USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Rowe > History of Rowe, Massachusetts, third ed > Part 3
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Two interesting letters addressed to Othniel Taylor at Charlemont may here be inserted as showing the service of scouts in and about Rowe.
Colrain, May the 18, 1758. Sr I have ordered the scout from this place to go once in a week to Deerfield River about 8 miles above the province Line, and fall town (Bernardston) Scout to strike the North River 6 miles above us, and direct you to send your Scout once a week to Deerfield River at the province line. we have no news, but all well.
I am your sevent, John Catlin.
Colrain, May the 30, 1758.
Sr Last Sunday night I rec'd an account from Sergt. Hawks that his Scout had made Some discovery of an Enemy not far from pelham fort. These are therefore to direct you to taek one man from your fort with you and go to Rice's, and taek two men there to Hawk's and taek Samuel Morrison with one man, five in whole and go to the place where they took their start, and make a thourer Search, and if you make no discovery then carry the Scout as hy up as the pro- vince Line, and make return to me.
Your Sevnt, John Catlin
The following letter from Governor Shirley to John Stod- dard, dated April 10, 1747, is especially interesting in show- ing the continued plan to build a fort west of Pelham. The letter is so full of interest that we give it in full.
"The General Court having come to a Resolution respecting the Defence of the Frontiers, and provided for erecting a Number of Blockhouses, particularly one at or near the Place where Massachu- setts Fort stood, another to the Westward of Fort Pelham, and third
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between Colerain and Fall Town, (for the building of which you have my order herewith enclosed), and having voted Pay and Sub- sistence to the Garrisons to be placed in such Blockhouses, and the Soldiers to be posted in other Places particularly mention'd, I shall give Orders to Brigadier Dwight to draw out of his Regimt so many Men as with those now in the Service in the County of Hampshire will make up the full number allowed on this Establishment for Gar- rison Soldiers; And I desire that you and he would agree upon the Distribution of them accordingly, viz Twenty Men for a Garrison at Northfield, and as many at Colerain, Thirty at the new Massachusetts Fort. At Fort Shirley, Fort Pelham, the Blockhouse at Fall Town, the Blockhouses to be built one between Colerain and Pelham and the other to the Westward of Fort Pelham twenty Men each. And you must give Orders to the Commanding Officers of the several Forts and Blockhouses that will be garrisoned by other Soldiers than those of Brigadier Dwight's Regiment (as I shall direct him to do respecting those Officers in the Service that are in his Regimt) to keep a constant Scout from one Blockhouse to another to give proper Advices and Signals of the Appearance of the Enemy, and to the Commanding Officers at Massachusetts Fort to keep out a Scout Westwards of said Fort, and all of them to keep Journals of their Proceedings and transmit them to you: You must put ten of the Inhabitants of Colerain and as many of the Inhabitants of Green River above Deerfield into the Pay of the Province.
Besides the Recruits you will have from Brigr Dwight for the Gar- risons before mention'd, I shall order him to draw out a hundred Men for a Marching Company to scout on your Borders, and more especially for covering the Men that will be employed in building the new Blockhouses; In the disposition of which as well as in all matters relating to the Defence of your Frontier I shall order him to 'advice you from time to time.
I am Sir, Your most Assur'd Friend and Servant W. Shirley."
Colº John Stoddard
Col. Israel Williams under date of September 12, 1754 wrote to Governor Shirley in part as follows:
"I conclude by this time you are fully inform'd of the hostil attacks of the Indians, and the mischief done by them in our own Frontiers
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and the neighboring Governments-It is now open war with us, and a dark distressing scene opening ..
Herewith I send a plan of the Western Parts of this Province by which your Excellency will be able to form a judgment of our situation and whether what I am about to propose will serve the general Interest of the whole which is,-That there be a Garrison at Fall Town, another at Morrisons in Colrain, two at Charlemont, Massachusetts Fort and a garrison at Pontoosook. The people are preparing for their defence, as I suppose, and the charge of making those places sufficient will not as I apprehend be very great to the Government.
I propose that there be at least fifty men at Fort Massachusetts, thirty at Pontoosook, they to maintain a constant scout from Stock- bridge thro the Western part of Framingham township, and the West Township at Hooseck to the said Fort and from thence to the top of Hoosack Mountain. That there be 14 men at Fall Town, 20 at Morrisons and 12 at each garrison at Charlemont, these to perform a constant scout from Connecticut River against Northfield to the top of Hooseck Mountain. These scouts thus performed will cross all the roads the Enemy ever travel to come within the afore- said Line of Forts. £ There will doubtless be more wanted for the Protection of some places within the Line. However if the scout- ing be faithfully performed there will not, I apprehend, any con- siderable body of the enemy get within the Line aforesaid undis- covered and there will be a great restraint upon small parties who will be afear'd of being ensnar'd.
The reasons why I would neglect Shirley and Pelham Fort is because the Indians were scarce ever known the last war to come down Deerfield River, and that road is very bad and almost im- passable. Shirley is rotten and if maintained must be rebuilt. That at Morrisons will answer as well and can be much easier supply'd. After all if our Government would build a Fort upon the top of Hooseck Mountain between Pelham and Fort Massachusetts it would shorten the scouting and answer as well the first proposed line thro Charlemont."
Governor Shirley replied to this letter of Israel Williams in part as follows:
"I am extremely well satisfied with the great care and vigilance you have already shew'd for the protection and safety of the people upon the Western Frontier . . .
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The plan you sent hath been of great service for my information in the state of Western Frontier, and I much approve of the Line of Forts propos'd by you for the defence and protection of it, by marching parties or scouts.
So far as I could go in the execution of it before the meeting of the General Court, I have gone and propos'd to his Majesty's Council the augmentation of the Garrison of Fort Massachusetts with 25 men, and 30 men to be posted and employed in scouting as you shall think most for the protection of the frontier under your care, which you will find they have advis'd to, and you will raise the men accordingly.
When the General Court meets I shall endeavor to carry the remainder of your scheme into execution, and shall make the pro- tection and defence of that part of the Province, in the most effectual manner in every respect, one of the principal objects of my attention."
1
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CHAPTER III FROM 1754 TO 1785
"The last Indian raid on the frontiers of Massachusetts was at Colrain March 21, 1759."
George Sheldon.
Rufus Putnam was one of the heroes of the Revolutionary War, upon whose career the pen of the historian has touched too lightly. Overshadowed perhaps by his more picturesque cousin, Israel Putnam, Colonel Rufus Putnam was probably of greater value to the American cause; and as Washington's Chief of Engineers his service was incalculable. However, it is an event in his varied career which took place in the "Old French War" that concerns us now, as it touches upon Rowe.
Born in 1738, his boyhood was not different from that of other New England boys, learned in the art of hunting and woodcraft. When nearly sixteen, he was bound as an ap- prentice to the mill-wright trade under a brother-in-law at Brookfield. For the next three years he practiced his trade, and at the same time acquired a large brawny frame possess- ed of great muscular strength.
The war between England and France had broken out in 1754. The news of the battles, Braddock's defeat, the ex- ploits of Israel Putnam, must have fired his youthful mind, for in his nineteenth year he enlisted as a private soldier in the Company of 100 under Capt. Ebenezer Learned. The term of service was to be from March 15, 1757 to February 2, 1758. The last of April 1757, the company left Brook- field for Kinderhook, N. Y., about eighteen miles below Albany. The rest of the campaign was spent in the Hudson Valley, mostly between Albany and Fort Edward. New Year's Day, 1758 found the company at Stillwater on the east side of the Hudson across the river from the spot where
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the battle of Bemis Heights (or Saratoga) was later to decide the fate of Burgoyne. The men were eagerly awaiting Candlemas (February 2nd) when they would be released from "servitude."
From the movements of Captain Skene, the Commander of the stockade garrison, they suspected that he intended to hold them in service beyond the limit of their enlistment. So they quietly made arrangements for their journey and constructed snow-shoes for each man. Capt. Learned then returned from a furlough; and when apprised of the plan, he consented to lead them. The 2nd of February came and Capt. Skene read an order from Gen. Abercrombie, directing him to persuade the Massachusetts men to remain a few days until he could hear from that Government. The men re- plied that he is a good soldier who serves his full time.
True to their purpose, about three o'clock in the morning of the 3rd they left the garrison, seventy in number under Capt. Learned. The distance to Hoosack Fort (in Williams- town) was 30 miles and was allotted for two days' march. The provisions had been saved from the daily rations for a week or so previous. The snow in the woods proved deeper than expected, while a snow storm on the second day be- wildered the leaders. Three wild turkeys were killed which added a little to the scanty stock of provisions. On the fourth day they found that they had missed the way and had been following the wrong stream. This branch, it seems, led them into the New Hampshire grants where Bennington, Vermont is now located.
We now quote from Putnam's Journal which is deposited in the library of the college at Marietta, Ohio.
"Sundown we came upon the top of a very large mountain, (Wood- ford and Searsburg), which seemed to be the height of land, and now we were satisfied whereabouts we were. We judged ourselves to be 30 miles northwest of Hoosack. The weather was exceedingly cold, and the snow five feet deep and the provisions very short. February 7. This morning thirty of us made a good Breakfast of
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a small poor turkey without salt or bread; and now our provision was gone. In about 5 miles from where we Lodged, we came upon a Small Stream (near Heartwellville) descending toward the South East, at the seeing of which we were all very much rejoiced; there seemed to be a smiling countenance on all the Company, to think that we got on the Borders of New England. And on our way down this stream, there were several small streams come into it, so that it got to be a large River. This night we camped but felt exceeding faint for want of victuals, but yet our Courage held out. At present Courage was the only thing we had to support us, except it was Beech buds and some high swamp Cranberries.
"Feb. 8. This day we had exceeding 'bad travelling all day, and the River turned contrary to our expectations; so that we had but little hopes of getting into any Post these some days. It was now exceeding stormy weather and heavy travelling, only on the River (Deerfield) when the Ice would bear; and had we not had some relief by that means, we had all perished in the woods. About Sundown we came to camp and being exceeding faint, living without victuals some days and we having a large dog with us, we killed him and divided him among 70 men, giving every man his equal share
"Feb. 9. This day we had better travelling on the River and it seemed to steer the way we wanted, (they had rounded the Great Bend at Hoosac Tunnel), and about noon we came to where some trees were cut for shingles, (probably near Hoosac Tunnel), and at night we came to where one of our men knew the ground, (Zoar where Pelham Brook meets the Deerfield), and told the Capt. we were within three miles of Hawk's Fort, on the Charlemont; not- withstanding the Capt. would not go on because a great part of the men had froze their feet, and were at least two miles behind. But we went to Camping, (on Zoar flats), and the Capt. and James Call, who knew the ground went down the river about a mile till the Capt. was Satisfied the man knew as much as he pretended, and then sent him on, and ordered him to have a breakfast prepared in the morning; after which the Capt. returned back to us by which time those lame men came up, and as the Capt. came up to us, we were all very zealous to hear what news? But we soon learned by the Captain's countenance, before he got within some rods of us and as the Capt. came up to us, he said. Eat what you have to eat this night; for the promised land is just by. Some were for going on this night, but the Capt. told them; No, by no means, for it would hazard the lives of a great many. The news that the Capt. brought
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raised the Spirits of all the men, so that those whose Countenance looked sad, were brought to a very smiling Complection.
"Feb. 10. This morning we set out on our march, and about one mile from where we camped, we saw three men a-coming up the River which we were glad to see, and when they come to us, we found that one of them was the man we sent on the night before and he brought out some bread and meat boiled; which we recd. very Kindly, and about ten o'clock we came into Hawk's Fort on Charlemont, when we Refreshed ourselves until about noon; after which we marched to Rice's Fort about one mile, where twenty of us stayed, all which were lame by reason of their feet being froze on our march except Samuel Dexter, Lemuel Cobb, and myself. Through all this march I brought Ichabod Dexter's pack, because he froze his feet before we set out from Stillwater, and I tarried to help him along further."
The next day, twenty of the men including Putnam con- tinued to Taylor's Fort. Putnam then continued to Deer- field,* Hadley, Greenwich, and arrived at his home in Brook- field, February 15th.
PELHAM
The orgin of the appellation of Pelham is of considerable interest to lovers of Rowe. We can do no better than quote Perry again.
"Henry Pelham was nobody in particular except the brother of the Duke of Newcastle, but he became a first lord of the British Treasury in 1743, and was virtually prime minister of England there- after till his death in 1754, when William Pitt, whose gradual in- troduction into high public place by Pelham was the latter's greatest service to his country, stepped boldly though tentatively into the chief control of affairs, and in five years put an end to French domination in America. The rustic Colonial politicians were wont to keep a sharp eye on the drift of things in England, and knew who the rising statesmen were over there whenever any such seemed to
*Curiously, George Sheldon in his splendid history of Deerfield, overlooked the account of this expedition and apparently did not know of Putnam's Journal. His only reference, is on page 654 of Volume I,-"February 11th, Capt. Ebenezer Larned with forty-six men spent a day here on his return from the camp. Samuel Wells furnished them 147 meals at 5d."
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show up their heads. Besides this, it is said that Henry Pelham made a personal tour of Massachusetts a little before the outbreak of King George's War; and at any rate, the old county of Hampshire, for one or both of these reasons, exhibited to the world a township, a fort, and a mountain stream, all called after his name at just about the same time."
The tract comprising the town of Pelham was first sold to Colonel Stoddard of Northampton, and was known as Stod dard's Town. Later he sold it to some settlers from Wor- cester, and the name was changed to Pelham at the time of incorporation in 1742. Probably Col. Stoddard gave the same name to the fort in Rowe, for he was Chairman of the Committee in charge of the erection of the cordon of forts west of Colrain. He has been called "one of that great trio which had John Pynchon of Springfield for its first member, and Col. Samuel Partridge of Hatfield for its second, and which ruled or led Western Massachusetts through an entire century of its history."
FIRST PERMANENT SETTLEMENT
In February 1762 the General Court of Massachusetts ap- pointed a committee to sell "nine Townships and 10,000 acres of the Province Lands" in the counties of Hampshire and Berkshire. In accordance with its instructions the commit- tee, on June 2, 1762, held a public auction at the Royal Ex- change Tavern in King Street, Boston; and the tenth parcel was bid in by one Cornelius Jones for 380 pounds. Appar- ently there was some competitive bidding, for the 10,000 acres had been "set up at three Hundred Pounds." The con- ditions of the sale were "that within the space of five years there be residing on said Land twenty five Inhabitants, each to have a Dwelling-House of the Dimensions above mention- ed, (24 feet long, 18 feet wide and 7 feet Studd), and each seven acres of Land well cleared and Fenced." (See Appen- dix C.)
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Perhaps the same year, 1762, Rev. Cornelius Jones emi- grated from Sandisfield in Berkshire where he had been the minister of the Congregational Church since its formation in 1756. £ The Sandisfield parish must have been small, for his ordination was held in a barn a year before the erection of a meetinghouse, and the congregation the first year total- led only fourteen. Holland states that Mr. Jones was dis- missed from the Sandisfield Church in 1761. The craze for land which our forebears possessed it is hard for us to realize in these modern times when half the American people are classed as urban; but we must remember that agriculture was practically the only pursuit that the average man could follow. At any rate we find the Reverend Mr. Jones ac- quiring title to a tract of land four miles square whither he moved his family comprising his wife, two daughters and several sons .* The grant reads as follows :-
"A Tract of Land bounded North on the Province Line, East on Land belonging to Messrs. Green and Walker and Bulfinch, South partly on Charlemont, to extend West to make the Contents of Ten Thousand acres to Cornelius Jones for Three Hundred and eighty Pounds, and have received of him Ten Pounds, and taken his Bond, with John Chadwick for Three Hundred and seventy Pounds."
This act is dated June 11, 1762.
Holland tells us that "he erected a small house of split planks, and brought his family into the wilderness where there was not another house within six or seven miles," namely "on the Charlemont." To this tract he gave the name of Myrifield. A petition to the General Court in September, 1779 (Acts and Resolves of Prov. Laws) describes a "tract of land called The Ten Thousand Acres, alias Myri- field." The writer has always been skeptical of the story that this name was corruption of My-rye-field, and believes this to be but a pretty myth. Much more likely is it that
*Charlemont appointed him preacher from May to October 1763 which indicates his presence in this region at least within a year of his land purchase.
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Myrifield is a poetic spelling of Merryfield; and in fact the map of Green & Walker's Grant drawn in 1779, to show the tract of 7000 acres proposed to be added to Mr. Jones' original purchase, gives the spelling in two places,-Merry- field; while in an old Charlemont grant of 1774 the spelling is Murryfield.
The ninth of these ten parcels of land which were sold at auction in 1762 was incorporated three years later (1765) under the name of Murrayfield,* in honor of William Mur- ray, Lord Mansfield; and it continued under that name until 1783, when the name was changed to Chester. Is it possible that Murrayfield suggested to our early settlers the name of Merryfield and that later this was modified to Myrifield,- phonetically somewhat similar but with a distinctly different spelling?
Mr. Jones is credited with having offered his lands at a low price, which induced others to come in and settle; among whom, Holland states were the following Worcester County men,-Jonathan Lamb, Artemas Ward, Michael Wilson, Na- than Howard, Gideon Chapin, Henry Gleason, Archibald and Joseph Thomas, Matthew Barr, John, Humphrey and William Taylor. Archibald Thomas came from Boston via Colrain.
The first settlement in the neighboring town of Heath was made by Jonathan Taylor of Charlemont in 1765, three years after Mr. Jones came to Rowe. Holland is authority for the following story in regard to the two towns.
"About 1777 a long series of difficulties commenced between Rev. Mr. Leavitt (of Heath) and the people of Charlemont. Some thought Mr. Leavitt preached Arminianism. His political sentiments were generally disliked. He did not seem to share in his people's
*Confusion arose between the two names, and in December 1775 the town of Murrayfield petitioned the GENERAL COURT to change its name. It was seven years later (Feb. 1783) that the ACT was passed. "Whereas, from the great similarity between the names of said town called Murrayfield and a plantation called Merryfield in this commonwealth, many difficulties and inconveniences have arisen
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zeal for the Revolution. On one occasion, Rev. Mr. Jones of Rowe came to deal with Mr. Leavitt for his religious or political heresies. Mr. Jones, armed with a bayonet fastened to a rake's tail, marched at the head of his parishioners, who were also armed, but what success they met with does not appear."
Mr. Jones was a native of Bellingham and a graduate of Harvard College in the Class of 1752. His labors in Rowe will be taken up in a later chapter. In February 1779, he conveyed to William Parkhurst and Company, of Brookfield, all the lands he then owned in Myrifield, some 4000 acres, for the sum of £ 9,000 in continental money which was never redeemed .* He removed to Whitehall, N. Y. where he died a poor man. Parkhurst subsequently divided one quarter interest each between Obed Foote (of Waterbury, Conn.), Samuel Rogers and Gersham Makepeace. The latter in 1780 sold his interest to Parkhurst and Isaac Wood.
Meanwhile the plantation of Myrifield continued to grow. The eight families of 1770 had increased to 28 families by 1775. By 1784 there were 88 polls, of which 77 were "rate- able."
Annual appropriations were made for the "Gospel Schools, Roads and other Necessary charges," and officers were chosen. It was a town in all but name only. The first petition for incorporation was presented to the General Court in September 1779 .* In September 1782 a committee of three, Joseph Nash, Archibald Thomas and Eldad Corbet, petitioned the General Court for an act of incorporation, the
*The deed is dated Feb. 19, 1779. The 4000 acres included all his land west of the Deerfield, the barren land on the east slope of the river, and an irregular strip, which included his farm, the site of the old fort and part of the swamp lands now comprising Pelham Lake.
** A petition from the inhabitants of a "tract of land called The Ten Thousand Acres, alias Myrifield, formerly purchased of this govern- ment." May 4, 1780 the report of a committee recommended that two tiers of lots, containing 200 rods in breadth, "lying on the west end of Green and Walker's Grant" be annexed into the plantation called Myrifield and incorporated with it into a town.
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name to be changed to Exeter. No reason appears for the selection of this name. The petition came up for considera- tion the following month, but failed of passage. In Septem- ber 1783, a year later, a longer and more detailed petition was submitted which reads as follows :-
"To The Honorable the Great and General Court or assembly of the Commonwealth of the Massachusetts.
The petition of the inhabitants of a Grant of land formerly made to Mr. Cornelius Jones of Ten Thousand acres called by the name of Myrifeld in the County of Hampshire Humbly Shews that your petitioners have Repeated by Requested incorporations into a Town- ship together with some addition from other places Viz Beginning at the S. West Corner of the beforementioned Grant of land, thence Running South two hundred Rods to a Corner, thence Running East 6 Degrees South 1566 Pods to a Corner, thence North 1343 Rods to the New-State line including the abovementioned Grant, together with two Hundred Rods in width from the Town of Charlemont, with some Grants of land West of Charlemont on the South Side of sd Myrifield, also together with 200 Rods in Width, on the East end, from the lands called Green & Walkers -- we would at this time Re- new our Request that your Honours would Speedily Grant our Re- quest for the privileges of an incorporated Township with the additions before mentioned by the name of Exeter and as this place has been looked upon to be cut in two by the county line crossing the same we Desire the whole to be set to the County of Hampshire.
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