History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 118

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700

USA > Massachusetts > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I > Part 118

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"'Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of ) Moses Rice. Benjamin Rolfe.

JONAS CLARKE and seal.

* Worcester County was not established till 1731.

"' Received the day and year above written, off the within-named Jabez Olm- sted, the sum of four hundred pounds, being the consideration-money withio expressed.

"+ JONAS CLARKE.

"' SUFFOLK, 88. Boston, April 2, 1729. The nhove-named Jonas Clarke person- ally appearing, acknowledged the above-written instrument to be his act and Deed.

"' Before me, SAMUEL SEWALL, Just. Peace. "' Received April 24, 1732, and recorded from the Original.'

" The southeast corner of this tract was near the north line of Hon. Joseph Cummings' farm, on the side-hill, above J. H. Cummings', Thence the line ran north, taking in the lower falls, and extending to the farm now owned by Mrs. Miner. Thence it ran west to the Read manor, and sontli, on its east line, to the southwest corner on the plain west of Muddy Brook, between land of John Gould, and the farm formerly owned by Deacon Enos Davis, covering nearly the whole territory of what is now this village.t

" Upon this tract the first settlements in the town were made. Capt. Jabez Olmstead came from Brookfield probably in 1729, and built mills upon the falls. He erected a house east of the Bank. The well now used for the hotel next the Bank was dng for his house, which afterward was a tavern. It was a large two-story house, called " the Great Honse,' and was standing when the first move- ments were made to erect factories here in 1813. Alpheus Demond ocenpied it for a year or more, and it stood till 1821.

"Jacob Cummings came very soon after, from Killingly, Conn., and was one of the most influential men in the establishment of a Church and Society. Ile located upon the farm now owned by Jonah Beaman, and owned that and the one owned by his great-great-grandson, Joseph A. Cummings. This tract was first laid out to Stewart Southgate, clerk of the proprietors of the Elbows.

" What is now the southeast corner of the town was first settled by Isaac Ma- goon. He and his son Isaac, Jr., owned the farms now owned by George Gould, George C. Boyle, and Josephuns Lamberton,-about 700 acres. These lands then belonged to the proprietors of the Elbows, now Palmer. Their grant covered all the lands not included in the 10,000 neres and the 500 acres, except 1443 acres in the northeast corner of the town, and some small portions since added to this town from Brookfield !.

" The first settlers on this tract were what would be called in these days squat- ters. Judah Marsh enme from Hatfield or Hudley about 1730, and settled near Marsh's mills. lle married a daughter of Capt. Jabez Olmstead, and his de- seendants now ocenpy some portions of the land granted to bio and his brothers. The petition nad grant may interest the descendants. They are copied from the originals in the Secretary's office at Boston :

" "To his Excellency Jonathan Belcher, Esq., Captain-General and Commander- in-chief of His Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, &c., The Honorable His Majesty's Council and House of Representatives in Gen- eral Court assembled at Boston, Ort. 3, 1733.

"" The Petition of us, the subscribers, Humbly sheweth, That your Petitioners are now actually dwelling on a tract of the unappropriated lands of this Prov- ince, in the county of Hampshire, bounded south partly by that tract of land called the Elbows and partly by Brookfield township, East by Ware River, North by land lately granted to Col. Lamb and Co., and west by that part of the Equiv- alent lands belonging to John Read, of Boston, Esq., containing fourteen hun- dred and forty-three acres, as per n plat of said land herewith presented more particularly appears, and on said tract of lands we have lived, some of us, three years, where we have spent the most of that little substance we have; and we assure your Honours it was not the extraordinary goodness or quality of the lands that induced us to go upon it, for a considerable part of said tract is Ledges of Rocks and very Rockey, so as to render it unprofitable and almost useless (as those that are acquainted with it can Testifie), but that which induced us to set- tle on it was our necessity ; our principde dependance for the support of our- selves is husbandry, and we had not a foot of land to imploy ourselves and fami- lies upon, were exposed to idleness and pinching want, and being then unsensible how highly the court resented such a way of settling, and apprehending that the principle thing insisted on was that there should be no trading or stock-job- ling, but an actual settlement and improvement in husbandry by the grantees themselves, with which we were ready to comply.

"" Wherefore, being thus unhappily intangled on said Land, with great sub- mission we most humbly move that this great and Honorable Assembly would condescend to exercise their charity and Pitty towards us in granting us (out of said land, including the spots we have already begun on) so much Land as may he a competency for us to improve for a livelyhood for ourselves and children ; we have no tho't of any other, but with submission to spend the remainder of our lives and substances on the spot, are content and ready to submit to any in- junctions or Limitations within our reach, this Great and Honorable Court shall think meet to lay upon us, who, as in Duty bound, shall ever pray.

his "'JOHN X CLEMENS. mark.

" . THOMAS MARSHI.

. " ' WILLIAM CLEMMENS. luis "'JONATHAN X ROOD. mark. "'JUDAR MARSH.

+ It appears by the Palmer records that 100 acres adjoining Jabez Olmstead's farm was granted to his eldest son.

362

HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

"'In the House of Representatives, Oct. 29, 1733. Read and ordered that the prayer of the Petition as particularly set forth in the vote on the plat of the lands hereto annexed.

" ' Sent up for concurrence,

".J. QUINCY, Speuker.

"' In Council, Oct. 29, 1733. Non-concurred, and ordered that a committee be appointed to view the Jauds and report.

"The Ilouse non-concurred in this vote, and the petition was oot called up again until 1737.'

" Here follow the plat of the survey, with the oaths adorinistered by Timothy Dwight, Esq., of Belchertown, to Nathaniel Dwight, the surveyor, and to Wil- liam Clemeots and Jonathan Rood, the chain-men.

"'In the House of Representatives, Jan. 3, 1737.

"" Read and ordered that the petition be revived, and that the plat be accepted, and that the lands therein delineated and described he and hereby are confirmed to the said Thomas Marsh, William Clements, John Clements, Jonathan Rood, Judah Marsh, and Samuel Marsh, their heirs and assigns respectively, provided each of the grantees do within the space of five years from this date have six aeres of the granted premises brought to English grass, or broken up by plow- ing, and each of them have a good dwelling-honse thercon of eighteen feet square, and seven feet stud at the least, and each a family dwelling therein that they actually bring to the settlement of said Lands by themselves, or their chil- dren as above laid; provided, also, the plat exceeds not the quantity of fourteen hundred and forty-three acres, and does not interfere with any former grant, and also that the grantees do, within twelve months, pay to the Province Treas- ury five pounds each for the use of this province.

" ' Sent up for concurrence,

". J. QUINCY, Speaker.

"' In Council, Jan. 4, 1737. Read and concuried.

"' SIMON FROST, Deputy Sec'y.

"'Conseoted to. J. BELCHER.'

" It appears to have been the custom of the Indians to burn over the territory of Ware, to aid them in securing game. The practice has destroyed the forests, to a great extent, and doubtless injured the soil. Brookfield was settled as early as 1673, and the inhabitants used these lands for pastming, and con- tinned the practice of burning to improve the feed. Brookfield pastures was their common name. So bare of timber was the country that the early settlers of Warren, on coming to the top of Coy's hill, could discern a stray beast any- where in this whole valley.

"The town does not appear to have been settled very rapidly. The soil was poor, and we cannot appreciate the hardships the carly settlers encountered. In 1742, when, by the aid of Mr. Read, they petitioned to be incorporated as a town, it seems there were but thirty-three families in the town.

" The Read Manor was the first located in 1713.

"The Hollingsworth grant, taking in the tract now occupied by the village and the water-power, 1715. The Elbow tract was laid out in 1732. And the Marsh and Clements grant in 1733."

The petition of the settlers to be incorporated as a town, above referred to, was as follows :

" To his Excellency William Shirley, Esq., Captain General and Governour in " Chief, the honorable the Council and Representatives in General Court assem- bled 26th May, 1742. The petition of Thomas Marsh and others, to the number of thirty-three house-holders, about and between Wear River and Swift River, near Brookfield, humbly Sheweth : That your Petitioners are settled on a tract of land bouoded, beginning at the Southwest Corner of the ten thousand acres of Equivalent land at Swift River, thence running due east to Brookfield Bounds, thence on Brookfield to Ware River, thence on Ware River to Hardwick, thence on Hardwick to the ten thousand acres of Equivalent lands aforesaid, and thence vo the Bounds of the said ten thousand seres, including the same unto the first- mentioned Boundings. They dwell at a great distance from any place of public worship, most of them six or seven miles, and therefore cannot enjoy that privi- lege io their present condition, but as their Hearts are sincerely desirous of the Public Worship of God, they persuade themselves they shall be able chearfully to bear the Charge that will attend it. But as some of them belong to the town at the Elbows, some to Brookfield, and the rest of them live on farms of the Province Grants, they cannot properly and lawfully I'roceed to erect and main- taio the Public Worship of Gud among them without the aid of this Court, and therefore Pray this honorable Court, by a suitable Committee of this Court, to inquire into their state and circumstances, and make them a separate and distinct Township or Parish, and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &c. "JOUX READ, for the petitioners,

" JABEZ OLMSTEAD. PAUL THURSTON.

JOSEPH MARKS, SEN.

TERM. OLMSTEAD.

Epai'D. AYars. JOSEPH MARKS.

ISRAEL OLMSTEAD.

ISAAC MAGOON, JUN. JOSEPH BROOKS.

JACOB CUMMINGS, JUN. WM. PATTERSON. BENJ', SHLIPLE.

NAHUM DAVIS. JOSEPH SIMONS.

JOHN ANDERSON, THO'S. CHAPIN.

JAMES CUMMINGS. Jou CORLEY.

JUS, MARSH. SAM'L MARSH.

DANIEL THURSTON.

RICH'D ROGERS.

JUDAH MARSII.

ISAAC MAGUON.

JACOB CUMMINGS.

ErI'M. MAISIl.

JOHN POST.

SAM'L ALLEN. THOMAS MARSH. SAM'L. DAVIS.

" Jo the House of Representatives, June 2, 1742. Read and ordered that Capt. Partridge and Capt. Converse, with such as the honorable Board Shall joine, be a Committee to view the State and Circumstances of the Petitioners. They giving seasonable Notice to the Inhabitants or Proprietors of Brookfield and the

Elbows (so called), and the Inhabitants of Western, who may be affected thereby, that they may be present at the meeting of said Committee if they see Cause. The Committee to report as soon as olay be what they judge proper for the Cont to do in answer to this Petition. Sent up for concurrence. T. Cushing, Spk'r. In Council June 8, 1742. Read and Concurred, aod Joseph Wilder, Esq., is joined in the affair.

"J. WILLARD, SECT.

" Consented to, W. SHIRLEY.

" Copy examined by J. WILLARD, SECT.

" The Committee appointed oo the Petition of Thomas Marsh and others, living near Ware River, in the County of Hampshire, have attended on said service, been upon the Spot, viewed the Lands Prayed for to be erected into a township, inquired into the Circumstances of the petitioners, and heard the objections of some of the Inhabitants of Kingstown," and are of opinion that the l'etitioners at present are not sufficient in order to erect a Town, with privileges, &e. But inasmuch as they Live at a weary great distance from any place of public wor- ship, and meet with great difficulty thereby, we are finther of opinion that the Petitioners living Northward of a Line Run due eastt from the Southwest Corner of the land Belonging to John Read, Esq., to Western Line, be freed from all Taxes to any other place or Town dming the Pleasure of the General Court, so that they may be able to Provide Preaching among themselves, which is sub- mitted in the name and by order of the Committee.

"Dec. 4, 1742.

"JOSEPH WILDER.

" In council Read and ordered that this Report be accepted, and also that the Lands within the limits above mentioned, and the Inhabitants thereon, he erected into a Precinct, and that the said Inhabitants have the Powers and Privileges which other Precincts do, or by Law ongbt to enjoy, and that they be and hereby are obliged to maintain the Public worship of God among them in the Support of a learned orthodox minister. Sent down for Concurrence.

" J. WILLARD, SECT. " In the house of Representatives, Dec. 7, 1742. Read and Concurred. " Attest, ROLAND COTTON, CLERK, Dom. Rep.

" Consented to, W. SHIRLEY.

" Copy examined per J. WILLARD, SECT.

" The following deed from Mr. Read will show that he took some interest in establishing religions institutions here :

" To all People to whom this writing shall come, I, John Read, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, Send Greeting. Know Ye, that for the founding and In- dowment of a Parish Church on the Teo Thousand acres of Equivalent lands, lying on the East side of Swift River, upon the Road from Brookfield to Hadley, and now called the mannor of l'eace, I do hereby give, grant, convey, and con- firm unto Jabez Olmstead, Gent., and Isaac Magoon, Yeoman, living near the said mannor, and William Blackmer, John Davis, and Benjamin Lull, of the said mannor, Yeomen, the Sixth lott of land from the North of the fourth Tier of lotts from the East in the matinor of Peace, Extending South on a four-rod highway a hundred rod wide, and froor thence West and by South half a mile Jong. Also, part of the fifth Jot near against the middle of that extending west and by south on the Main road twenty rod wide, and from thence North twenty- four rod long, with the appurtenances. To Have and to Hold the Sixth lot and part of the fifth lot aforesaid, with the appurtenances to them, the said Jabez Oluisterd, Isaac Magoon, William Blackmer, John Davis, and Benjamin Lull, and their heirs forever, in special Trust and confidence for the only uses, intents, and purposes hereafter exprest, viz., for the use of the first minister of God's Holy word and Sacraments, who shall be freely chosen by the Inhabitants, free- holders of the said mannor, and snch others as the laws of the Government shall joyu in one Parish with them, or by the major part of them, and thereupon be lawfully Instituted and Ordained to that holy office there, and such his successors forever, in pure and perpetual Almes, and for these special purposes, viz., the three acres, part of the fifth lot aforesaid, for the founding and continuance of a Parish Church and Christian Burying-place forever: and the Sixth lot for a Glebe thereunto annexed for the improvement of such Minister and his Successors at their discretion towards their maintenance and support forever. In witness whereot, I hereunto put my hand and seal this nineteenth day of September, Anno Dom. seventeen hundred and forty-eight.

"' Signed, sealed, and delivered in presence of ? " .JOSEPH AYRES, LEMUEL BLACK MER. "'JNO. READ, and Seal

"' Hampshire, ss. At an Inferior Court of Common pleas, held at Northampton by wijournment on the first Tuesday of March, Anno Dom. 1757. Then Lemuel Blackmer, one of the Witnesses to ye within written Instrument, appearing, made solemn Oath that he saw John Read, Esq., now deceased, in his lifetime, sign, seal, and Execute the within instrument as his act and deed ; that he signed as a Witness to the same, and saw Joseph Ayres sign as a Witness also, at ye same time.

"' Attest, J. WILLIAMS, C'LERK. "' Rec'd March 24th, 1757, and Recorded from the Original. "'Enw'o PYNCHON, REG'R.'

" The warrant for the first meeting of the precinct was issned Feb. 18, 1742-43, by William Pynchon, Esq., of Springfield. It will be remembered that the change from the old style to the new was not recognized in this country until 1752. Previous to which the year commeneed on the 25th of March, and the dates upon our records, between the 1st of January and that time are double. The first meeting was March 15, 1742-43, at the house of Jabez Olmsted, near where the

* Now Palmer. '

+ The south line of the Equivalent ran cast by north. The st.ip between these lines was called "The Garter."

363

HISTORY OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY.

Bank now is, where they met for some years. Jarob Cummings was the Moder- ntor of the first meeting, and he with Edward Ayres and Joseph Simons were chosen Precinct Committee, John Post, clerk. The object of this meeting, after choosing Precinct officers, was to raise money to defray the expenses of the artof incorporation, and for preaching the Gospel." It was voted to raise ten pounds and six shillings, old tenor, to pay the charge of the committee, surveyor, and chain- men, and to raise forty pounds, old tenor, to hire preaching with, In consequence of the depreciation of the currency at that time, two shillings and rightpence, sterling, was the value of twenty shillings, old tenor."

The measures adopted by the precinet for the establishment of religious worship, or for the regulation of parish affairs, are considered in the " Religious History" of the town.

THE FIRST SETTLERS.

"Capt. Jahez Olmstead is supposed to have come from Brookfield, and to have made the first permanent settlement in 1729. Of his former history but little can be learned. He must have been a man of property, as he paid $400 for the tract be purchased here, as appears by the deed. He is described as 'of Brouk- field, in the county of Hampshire.' When that town was incorporated, in 1718, it was 'agreed the said town to lye to the county of Hampshire,' where it con- tinued to belong till Worcester county was established, in 1731. Tradition rep- resents Capt. Olmstead to have been a man of great shrewdness and energy, and that Indian blood ran in his veins. He was a mighty hunter, and is said to have been an officer in the expedition against Lonisbourg, upon the island of Cape Breton, in 1745. The following anecdote is related of him. On the return of the army to Boston from Louisbourg, he was invited with the officers to dine with Governor Shirley. The pudding he found to be too hot, and taking it from his mouth, and laying it upon the side of his plate, he said he would keep it to light his pipe with.

"He had two sons, Israel and Jeremiah. To the oldest 100 acres of the Elbow tract was granted, adjoining his farm. They both married and had children. He had one daughter, Hannah, who married Judah Marsh. He does not appear to have taken a very active part in town affairs.

" John Post, the first precinct clerk, was a relative of Olmstead, and lived upon the Lothrop farm, which was part of Olmstead's purchase. His wife's death is recorded March 20, 1745.

" Isaac Magoon came from Ireland with the colony that settled in Palmer in 1727. The farm allotted to him by the committee of the legislature was at the southeast corner of the Read Manor. He built where Christopher Boyle now lives. Isaac, Jr., lived where Josephus Lamberton now lives. They owned a large tract-about 700 acres-in the strip of land between the south line of the manor and the south line of the town. Isaac Magoon, Jr., afterward bought of Capt. Olmstead's heirs the mills and the tract of land in the village, ahont 600 acres. He had two sons, Alexander, who lived at the mills, and Isaac, who lived where Christopher Boyle now lives. Isaac married Lucretia, daughter of John Downing, and had thirteen children. One son, Dr. Isaac Magoun, went to Mich- igan. One daughter married Elipbalet Marsh. Allen Grover's first wife was another daughter. Alexander bad two sons, Isaac, who died on the Red River, September, 1808, and Alexander, who died in Salem, N. Y. Isaac's son James married Mehitabel Ellis, a daughter of Ebenezer Gould, in 1810. There are no descendants left in town of a family as numerous as any other, probably, one hundred years ago, and possessing about 1400 acres of the best land in the town.

" Jacob Cummings came from Killingly, Conn., soon after the first settlements were made, and was the most prominent man in the precinct and town for many years. He was one of the first deacons in the church, acted as moderator of the first meeting of the parish, was one of the precinct committee, and when the town was incorporated in 1762, one of the first board of selectmen and town treasurer. He bought-probably of Stewart Southgate-the farm now owned by Josiah Beaman, and the one owned by his great-great-grandson, Joseph A. Cum- mings. He had five sons, Jacob, Benjamin, Abraham, Isaac, and Solomon, Jacob had no sons that lived to have a family. Abraham's daughter Hannah married Thomas Mcclintock, the father of Benjamin and Levans Mcclintock. Jerusha, another daughter, married Thomas Bacon, in 1780.

" Benjamin had three sons, Daniel, Simeon, and Joseph. Daniel died young. Simeon had two sons, Simeon and Nichols; the latter went into the State of New York. Simeon had four sons and one daughter, Lewis G., William, Simeon, and Nichols, and the wife of Daniel Dunbar (2d).

" Joseph married Temperance Nye, in 1775; had seven sons and four daughters. One son died young. Benjamin lived in North Brookfield. Simeon died in town. Braddish lives in Illinois, and Estes in Worcester. Jacob Cummings died Feb. 27, 1776, aged eighty-three. Ilis posterity still live in the town. Benjamin, his son, died Dec. 14, 1805, aged eighty-seven. Joseph, son of Benjamin, died June 30, 1826, aged seventy-three.

John Davis came, as is supposed, from Oxford, before 1750, and settled where Samuel M. Lemmon afterward lived. He was chosen deacon when the church was formed in 1751, and was one of the first board of selectmen. He had four sons, Nathan, David, Josiah, aud Abijah. Nathan married a daughter of Jona- than Rogers, who kept a tavern where Robert Tucker now lives. He had sons, Nathan, Elihu, Enos the deacon, Pliny, Rodney, and Leonard.

" Enos married Submit Bush, daughter of Solomon Bush, in 1797, and had BONS, Rev. Emerson Davis, of Westfield, and Solomon B.

" William Brakemidge, who was the prominent man here for more than thirty years, one of the first board of selectmen, and the first representative to the Provincial Congress, and town clerk for eighteen years, came to this country from Ireland, in 1727, when four years of age, with his father James, a native of Scotland, who was one of the first settlers of the Elbow tract. There is in the

Brakenrilge family an ancient manuscript music-book, upon the fly-leaf of which is written, 'Mr. Jacobus Breukenridye, His Music Book, made and taught per me, Koht. Cuirnes, at Glenrearoll, Sept. 1715.' Besides the scale and rudiments of nisic, it contains the date of his marriage, 1720, and the births of his children, giving the day, the hour, and the time in the moon, with other memoranda. Ou one page is written, ' We departed from Ireland, July 16, 1727, and my chil I died on the 19th of Ang' Another son was born in November following, to whom the same name was given. ITis sons were James, who settled in Ware, afterward removed to Bennington, Vt., and went as minister to Englaud; William, born Sept. 19, 1723, who settled in Ware in 1746; Francis and George, who remained in Palmer.

" William married Agnes Sinclair, who came with her parents in the same vessel with him from Ireland, and had four sons, William, James, George, and Francis. He took up about 1000 acres of land on the north part of the Elbow grant, built a house in the centre, where Francis Homer Brakenridge now lives, and planted his four sons around him. His education was imperfect, but his na- tive good sense and sound judgment gave him a leading influence in the town.

" William married Thankful, a daughter of Judah Marsh ; had two sons, Wil- liam Sinclair, who is dead, and Judah Marsh, whose son, Joseph C., now lives where his father did.

" James married a daughter of William Coney, and had four sons, James, who is dead; Allender, Reuben Moss, and William, all deceased. William's son, James, still lives in town.

"George married Persis Joslyn, of New Braintree, and had six sons.

" Francis married Lydia Pepper, and had one son, Francis, who is dead. Ilis son, Francis Homer, is now living in town.

" William Brakenridge died Feb. 16, 1807, aged eighty-four.

" Judah Marsh came from Hatfield or Hadley, in 1730, and settled near the mills built by him, and afterward known as Marsh's Mills. Thomas, Ephraim, Samuel, and Joseph, who were in town in 1742, were probably his brothers. Hle married a daughter of Capt. Jabez Olmstead, and had sons, Elijah, Joel, Thomas, Jonathan, Judah, and a second Joel.

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History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. I, Part 118

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 700

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 700