History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 17

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896

USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II > Part 17

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Arra Martin, who was the first minister of the First Church, was succeeded in 1837 by W. HI. Dalrymple. Edward Hale was the minister about 1841-45, when George B. Bills was settled. Milo Frary and W. A. Pease have supplied at times since. Of late there has been no regular preaching.

The " Long Baptist Society" was supplied by Tristram Aldrich for about seven or eight years, when the two societies were reunited.

ROMAN CATHOLIC.

The Roman Catholic Church at Bloody Brook was organ- ized in 1871. The society occupies the meeting-house built by the Monument Society.

BURIAL-PLACES.

The " Old Burying-Ground" is doubtless the spot where the first settlers deposited their dead. It is located at the lower end of Ilitcheock Lane, and was the west end of the " town- lot" set apart for the use of the ministry. For more than a century this was the only " God's acre" in the town. There rest the fathers and mothers of the settlement. In one awful grave, undistinguished save by a faint tradition, lie the ghastly slain of Feb. 29, 1704. There the murdered Mrs. Williams lies beside her husband, our first minister. Few of the earlier graves are marked by monuments ; that to Joseph Barnard, killed by Indians, 1694, bears the oldest date to be found. There rest many other victims of the Indian wars,- John Allen and wife, slain at the Bars, May 11, 1704; their gallant grandson, Samuel Allen, who fell defending his chil- dren, 1746; Eleazer Hawks, Adonijah Gillet, Oliver and Simeon Amsden, who fell at the same time; Ebenezer Shel- don, killed in 1746. Many unmarked graves contain the ashes of the Broughtons, Wellses, Beldings, 'and other vie- tims of inhuman war. Here repose at least nine soldiers who followed Turner through the turmoil and din of the battle which cost him his life and named the scene of the conflict,- William Arms, Eleazer Hawks, Philip Mattoon, Godfrey Nims, Robert Price, William Smead, Benjamin Wait, Jona- than Wells, the young hero of the occasion, and his brother, Thomas Wells.

The first recorded notice of this ground was made in 1703. It was used by the larger part of the town until 1800, when a new lot was opened on Fort Hill, east of the town street, which has since been the principal receptacle for our dead. The South Wisdom ground was used for burial purposes about a hundred years ago. This does not appear to have been town property. It lies in a pasture, and has long been unused ; the gravestones are in a ruinous condition. About the same time the burying- ground in North Wisdom, called the " Robber's Yard," began to be occupied. In 1804 the town voted not to take a deed of this land. In 1803 the old grave-yard at Bloody Brook, eon- taining three-quarters of an acre, was bought by the town of Zebediah Graves. Probably it had been occupied some years before. The new ground of four acres, near the Whately line, was bought of the same man in 1848. In a pasture at Pine Nook, on the old Brigham farm, lies a deserted grave- yard of unknown origin, umused for fifty or sixty years. A now one was opened in that district about 1812. In 1816 the town voted $25 to fenee it, on condition the owner give a deed to the town. No deed has been found. In 1811, E. H. Wil- liams sold to the town half an acre north of the Baptist meet-

CHARLES E. WILLIAMS was born in Deerfield, Franklin Co., Mass., Feb. 29, 1824. He is the youngest son of Horace and Mary Williams.

Horace Williams, his father, was born in Deerfield, July 25, 1784. Mary Nims, his mother, was born in the same town, May 9, 1786. They were married May 31, 1811. Their son, Charles E., received the rudiments of his education in the common schools, and com- pleted it in the Deerfield Acad- cmy. He is a farmer, and has always lived upon the farm which he inherited from his father. The property was heavily encumbered when it came into his possession, but

he has satisfied all claims and materially improved it. The farm at present contains two hundred and ten acrcs.

In politics, Mr. Williams is a Democrat, and a staunch sup- porter of his party. He has served in the capacity of select- man for three years.

Ile was married, Nov. 27, 1856, to Ilelen L. Field. She was born in Conway, March 2, 1837. They have five children, all living. They are: Henry F., born July 30, 1858; Mary N., born Dec. 14, 1860; Charles W., born Nov. 8, 1864; Nellie R., born March 1, 1867, and Alice Maud, born March 26, 1871.

Photo, by Popkins, Greenfield.

E.E. Williams

RESIDENCE OF CHARLES E. WILLIAMS, SOUTH DEERFIELD, MASS.

MRS. ESTIIER (HARDING) DICKINSON was born in Whate- ly, Mass., Feb. 13, 1790. She was the daughter of Capt. Abi- jalı Harding, and a deseendant of Abraham Harding, who came to this country from England in 1623. She married Consider Dickinson, a successful farmer in Deerfield, Jan. 7, 1840, when he was seventy-nine years old and she was fifty. They lived together peacefully and happily until his death, Dec. 16, 1854, at the age of ninety-three years and ten months.

Ile left his property, the accu- mulated earnings and savings of many years, to his wife. She lived in a simple, unostentatious way, a thoroughly good woman, honest and upright in all her dealings. She survived her husband twenty-one years, and died, June 15, 1875, at the age of eighty-five. By her will she bequeathed the bulk of her property - to the amount of

to ther Dickinson

$60,000 -to trustees for the establishment and maintenance of a high school, library, aud reading-room, to be located on her " home lot" in Deerfield. The trustees also received from the Deerfield Academy, when the property was merged into that received from Mrs. Dickin- son, about $18,000, and in 1878 they proceeded to erect a build- ing for the use of the school and library. This building, with a valuable apparatus, etc., cost about $24,000. It was dedicated Dec. 31, 1878, and the school opened under the charge of J. Y. Bergen, Jr., A.M.

It is the expectation of the trustees that this will be a first- class institution, where pupils can be fitted for college, for scientific schools, and for busi- ness, while at the same time it furnishes to the inhabitants of Deerfield a high school without cost to them.

LITTLE SC.

DEERFIELD ACADEMY AND DICKINSON HIGH SCHOOL, DEERFIELD, MASS ._

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HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

ing-house for a burying-ground. This is now in use for that part of the town. In 1808 the town voted to buy a burial- place at Great River, near Jona. Cobbs', which had been pre- viously occupied. No deed of this is found. At Mill River a burial-yard was established about -. In 1826 the town voted to fence this ground, provided Mr. Hawks will give it a deed of the land. In 1859 the lot was enlarged by land bought of Messrs. Timothy and Charles Phelps. There are also several private burial-places,-Stebbins', at Sugar-Loaf ; De Wolf and Hawks', in South Wisdom, and two belonging to the Catholics, in North Wisdom, near the Greenfield line ; and a part of the new " Greenfield Cemetery" lies within our territory.

SCHOOLS.

In 1694, Mrs. Hannah Beaman was keeping school on her own home-lot when the town was assaulted. This is the first notice of a school. In her will, dated 1723, Mrs. Beaman left her lands to the town for a school fund. In 1698, a school- house was built, 21 by 18 feet,-seven-foot posts. Each head of a family was to pay for the support of schools, whether their children attended or not. In 1700, the first school committee was John Catlin, John Hawks, and John Stebbins. In 1703. Mr. John Richards was chosen to keep school a year for £25, to be paid one-third in barley, two-thirds in wheat, corn, or rye,-no oats receivable. In 1717, the school-house was soll to Joseph Alexander for £5. In 1722, a master was hired to teach reading, writing, and ciphering. In 1737, a school- house was built. In 1732, a school-dame was employed for Green River, and a schoolmaster in 1740. In 1744, £60 were allowed Green River for schools and preaching. In 1748, Betty Childs was employed as teacher. In 1740, evening school was established. In 1750, a master the year round. In 1752, Eleazer May was master. In 1753, Nicholas Street was master. In 1754, Levi Dickinson. In 1755, James Tay- lor was master. In 1760, a school-house was built south of Meeting-house Hill,-Seth Phelps teacher. In 1767-70, Rufus Wells was employed. In 1767, a school-house was built at Bloody Brook, where a master to teach reading and writing was allowed in 1770. In 1767-68, Rebecca Childs was school- dame. Before the close of the Revolution the principal teachers were David Dickinson, Daniel Cooley, Samuel Bar- nard, Daniel Fish, Elihu Ashley. In 1779, a school-house was built at Wapping. In 1782, a master was hired to keep a grammar school. In 1787, the town was divided into six dis- tricts,-No. 1, Town Street and Cheapside ; 2, Bloody Brook ; 3, Wisdom; 4, Wapping and Bars; 5, Mill River ; 6, Great River. The number of districts has been changed from time to time as the original districts have been subdivided and re- united. The district system was continued until abolished by law. In 1790 a school-honse burned, and a new one was built in 1791. Schools have been kept in many of the present houses in town, either private or public. Gradually houses for schools were built in each district. All these are now owned by the town. In 1787, fifteen citizens of the town, feeling the need of instruction of a higher grade, organized a company, and built a school-house on the spot where Philo Munn's shop stands. Each share representing two scholarships, the school could not exceed 30 scholars. Freegrace Reynolds, a graduate of Yale, was employed as teacher.

DEERFIELD ACADEMY.

An act establishing this institution was approved by Gov. Adams, March 21, 1797. The same year $2700 were raised by subscription, in sums from $20 to $100, for the building and for a fund. The school building was put up-60 by 28, of brick, two stories-in 1798, and dedicated Jan. 1, 1799.

This academy at once took rank among the best in the land. The attendance of scholars the first year was 292, from forty- one different towns. Many who have held high stations in the community were graduates or teachers in this school.

In 1859, the academy was merged in the town high school. In 1878, its funds were transferred to the trustees of the Deer- field Academy and Dickinson High School, to be used in con- nection with the bequest of Mrs. Esther Dickinson. An ac- count of this school will be found elsewhere.

The brick school-house that stood on the common was built in 18-, and burned in 1840.

A high school was established in 1860 at Bloody Brook.

INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.

Agriculture has always been the leading industry of our population. The first settlers cultivated successfully wheat, Indian corn, barley, rye, and oats. Flax was a crop essential to a livelihood, contributing largely to clothing and household stuff. Sheep-husbandry was equally necessary for the same ends. Both continued indispensable so long as cloth-making was a home industry. For more than a century barley-malt was an article of traffie, and home-brewed beer a daily ber- erage. Tobacco was raised as early as 1694, and as a field crop about 1790. For about twenty-five years this weed has been the staple crop. In 1859 our town produced nearly 400 tons.

Previous to the reign of tobacco, beef was king for several generations in the valley of the Connecticut. A man of stand- ing was largely estimated by the number, and especially by the quality, of his fut oxen. Under this dynasty Deerfield held many " lords of the valley" and a few princes of the realm. These were well known to the epicures of New York and Boston.

In the early days every man's house was a factory, and the family all operatives ; the men made their plows, yokes, carts, drags, shovels, scythe-snaths, rakes, forks, fails, mortars, bowls, plates, household furniture, flax-brakes, corn-fans, and sometimes spinning-wheels ; the women carded, spun, wove, and made up their garments of linen, tow, linsey- woolsey, flannel, and fulled cloth. "Arbs" furnished tea, and the maple their sugar. The people lived off the land ; the blacksmith made the plowshares, cart-irons, chains, axes, hoes, and scythes ; the tanner furnished the leather ; and the shoemaker made shoes, slippers, moccasins, and horse-tackling. A few articles of prime necessity, like rum, iron, steel, brass, and pewter utensils, were imported. A division of labor ob- tained after a while, and a century ago we had handicraft-men in abundance, which increase with our growth,-bakers, bar- bers, button-makers, blacksmiths, bookbinders, brick-makers, cabinet-makers, carpenters, distillers, gunsmiths, gravestone- cutters, hatters, jewelers, joiners, saddlers, shoemakers, tailors, tanners, wagon-makers, weavers, wig-makers.

Lumber was at first sawed in " saw-pits," corn pounded in mortars, or taken horseback to Hatfield mill. In 1690 mills were established here. From time to time mills have been built in different parts of the town to supply its needs. Little lumber or grain had been manufactured for exporta- tion. Fifty years ago a large number of brooms were made from broom-corn, with which our meadows wore wellnigh covered ; the brooms were sold about the country by ped- dlers, and later sent to New York and Boston for a market.

Considerable business was done, 1745-05, by Joseph Steb- bins and Zadock Hawks, who owned tanneries on adjoining lots. Much of their stock was worked up by them into shoes, tump-lines,* and soldiers' accoutrements. The Hawks estab- lishment was carried on by Zenas Hawks a generation longer. At Bloody Brook, Samuel D. Billings carried on the business of tanning until his works were burned, about 1873.

Pocket-books of every variety have been manufactured for forty years at this village. In 1869, Charles Arms employed 75 hands, and produced a value of $92,000; Pease & Rudduck, 24 hands, with a product of $22,000; L. L. Eaton turned out

* A strip or line to put across the forehead, f, enable one to carry a pack.

616

HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

84000; North & Mishow, $1000; Hamilton & Co., with 26 hands, produced a value of $40,000. In lumber and grain, D. L. Goddard produced $35,000. In two shops carriages to the amount of $8000 were manufactured the same year.

At the Mill village R. N. Porter produced $35,000 manu- facturing lumber, grain, and husks, and W. W. Porter about $5000 in grain. Robert Childs, in lumber and grain, on Fort Hill, handled a value of $25,000. John J. Greenough, in the same locality, made cider and vinegar, with sales of $1500. He has since manufactured pickles. From the lumber-mills of C. C. Bates and Smith & Phelps $7000 worth was turned out. Wm. P. Allen made shingles to the amount of $3000.

The John Russell Cutlery Works, the pioneer in America, established about forty years ago, bad, in 1869, a capital of $520,000. It produced in that year knives to the value of $721,000, employing 500 men and consuming $85,000 worth of stock .*

Before the advent of railroads, Cheapside, being at the head of " fall boat" navigation on the Pocomptuck, was a place of considerable trade. Goods were hauled by teams from here to Greenfield and the towns to the north and west. A cooper- shop, an establishment for barreling beef, and a cabinet-shop were located here, and other industries.

OBJECTS OF INTEREST.

The Pocomptuck Valley Memorial Association, with head- quarters at Deerfield, was incorporated by an act of the Legis- lature in 1870. The then " Trustees of the Old Indian House Door"-George Sheldon, Robert Crawford, Nathaniel Hitch- cock, Luke Wright, and Samuel F. Wells-were named as cor- porators. The meeting for organization was held May 26, 1870. The officers chosen were George Sheldon, President ; Josiah D. Canning, of Gill, and James M. Crafts, of Whately, Vice-Presidents ; Recording Secretary and Treasurer, Na- thaniel Hitchcock; Corresponding Secretary, Rev. Robert Crawford, D.D. ; Councillors, Rev. P. N. Finch, of Green- field ; D. O. Fish, of Shelburne ; Jonathan Johnson, of Mon- tague ; Moses Stebbins, of Bloody Brook ; Rev. Edgar Buck- ingham, L. W. Rice, of Greenfield. The date of the annual meeting was fixed for the last Tuesday in February. The president, secretaries, and treasurer have been annually re- clected. The objects of the association are collecting and pre- serving memorials, books, papers, ancient furniture, relics, implements, etc., which may tend to illustrate the history of bygone generations, both Indian and English.

The association has had 130 members, scattered through the Northern States. It now owns the Deerfield Academy build- ing, which will soon be fitted up to receive the collections, and be the Memorial Hall.

No stranger comes to Deerfield but has heard of the tragic events of Feb. 29, 1704, and has a curiosity to see the " Old Indian House Door," with its rough carvings by Indian hatchets. This relie-"old, and brave, and scarred" -- is now in the hands of the Pocomptuck Valley Memorial Association, and will soon be placed in Memorial Hall.

Around the spot occupied by the monument at Bloody Brook, where Capt. Lothrop and the flower of Essex

" their rich currents gave, And from that stain, that spread its awful hue D'er sticamlet and o'er sod, What stainless spirits woke their way and fled, Triumphing, to their God !"

The matchless oration of Edward Everett when laying the corner-stone in 1835, and a poem by his gifted son at the bi- centennial celebration of the massacre, which is one of the finest lyrics in the language, will always be associated with the fate of Lothrop and his men.

Wequamps, fan eminence of 500 feet, overlooking the spot, is

* Now at Turner's Falls.

+ Sugar Loaf.

much visited for the beautiful prospect it gives. Pocomptuck Rock, towering 750 feet above the Old Street, is a locality un- surpassed in the quiet beauty of the landscape it presents, -" not excepting the Bay of Naples," says a distinguished traveler.

The scene of the Bars fight is a point of historic interest, and, near by, the romantic Stillwater, where the wearied Po- comptuek sleeps in a cradle which it has quarried hundreds of feet deep from the solid rock.

The grand old trees which sentinel the Old Street and shade its quiet walks are rarely excelled, while the Champney elm, queen of them all in size, grace, and majestic beauty, has scarce its fellow in all New England.

LIBRARIES.

Before the elose of the last century there was an agricul- tural library here, and another devoted to military seience. Soon after, there appears a " Union Library, " which, perhaps, absorbed the others. The Union was finally dissolved and scattered, and upon its ruins was founded the "Social Li- brary," which contained about 4000 volumes in 1830. This being broken and getting behind the times, a more radical club was started in 1840. This now exists as the " Deerfield Reading Association," with about 2000 volumes. Its main features have been periodical literature and history. It has met every Thursday night since its organization. Its librarians have been Charles Williams, E. H. Ames, Geo. Sheldon, C. M. Crittenden, Alanson Thayer, C. S. Williams, James C. Hitchcock, Nathaniel Hitchcock, Eliza D. Williams, and Martha G. Pratt, who is now serving her eighteenth year.

A juvenile library was founded some sixty years ago, which was probably the foundation of the first Congregational Sun- day-school library. A library was established at Bloody Brook a few years ago, which is increasing in strength and usefulness. The new town library of the Dickinson bequest will be spoken of elsewhere.

MEN OF NOTE BORN IN DEERFIELD.

Maj. Salah Barnard, son of Ebenezer, was born in 1725, and was a soldier, merchant, tavern-keeper, and farmer. He mar- ried, in 1765, Elizabeth, daughter of Jeremiah Nims. He was in the old French war, and served under Capts. Thomas Ste- vens, John Hawks, and other partisan officers. Ile was in the Canada expeditions in the last French war, in 1757, as lieu- tenant in Capt. Burk's Rangers ; in 1758, as lieutenant under Capt. John Catlin, and on the death of the latter he was made captain. With this company he served in Col. Ruggles' regi- ment, and was with the army of conquest in Canada with the commission of a major. At the fall of Fort William Henry he narrowly escaped the perfidious butchery that followed the surrender. He lived on the old Frary lot, and about a century ago he enlarged his house to its present dimensions and set up tavern- and store-keeping. Ile died in 1795.

Maj. Seth Catlin, son of Capt. John Catlin, was born in 1743. lle married, July 1, 1762, Abigail Denio. In the last French war he was a drummer in his father's company,-in 1757-58. On the death of the latter he was appointed second lieutenant, and served under Amherst in the campaign of 1759. He was a lieutenant in the army of conquest, and came home with the title of quartermaster in Col. Ruggles' regi- ment. Maj. Catlin was a notable man in many respects. A contemporary says of him, " He was a man of strict integrity, of very strong feelings,-could never pass a scene of distress on the other side." These traits are proved by many anec- dotes. Another wrote, " From sincere and honest motives he was opposed to the war of the Revolution, but he often re- fused important offices in that war from the British govern- ment, as also from his own country." He was a gentleman from intuition, and his society was sought by men of all sta- tions. He was selectman nine years, and a representative in

hauge thelaw

617

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

1793. He was a lover of fine horses. In 1798 he was crushed in a stall by a high-spirited barb, of which injury he soon died.

Capt. Timothy Childs was born in 1686, and married, in 1719, Hannah (Chapin), widow of John Sheldon. Ile was an active scout in Queen Anne's war, serving under the noted Capt. Benjamin Wright. He was fired upon and slightly wounded, July 10, 1724, while in the meadow at work, near Pine Hill. September, 1724, he was a lieutenant under Capt. Kellogg, in command of the forces at Deerfield and Sunder- land. He died in 1766. His son Timothy settled in Gill, was a captain in the Revolutionary war, and died Dec. 12, 1781, leaving a son, Timothy, who was a celebrated doctor in Pitts- field.

Rev. Rodolphus Dickinson, son of Thomas W., was born in 1786, graduated from Yale College in 1805, studied law, was admitted to the Bar of old Hampshire County in 1808, and married, Nov. 9, 1809, Nancy, daughter of David Hoyt. Ile was the first clerk of the courts in Franklin County, 1811- 19. Ile was ordained an Episcopal minister about this time, settled in Pendleton, S. C., about 1822, and supplied the Epis- copal Society in Montague several years after his return from the South. In 1813 he established a printing-office in Green- field, which he removed to this town in 1816. In this office many of his own works were printed. He was the author of a " Digest of the Powers and Duties of Sheriff's, Coroners, and Constables," 1810, 8vo; "Elements of Geography," Svo, pp. 360, 1813; "Compendium of the Bible," 1814, 18mo, pp. 250, which reached, in 1817, six enlarged editions ; a " Digest of Common Law," etc .; the "Power and Duties of Justices of the Peace," 8vo, pp. 521; " Deerfield,-John Wilson," 1818; " The Columbian Reader," 1818; "The Christian and Miscel- laneous Portfolio," 1823 ; " A New and Corrected Version of the New Testament," 8vo, pp. 500, Boston, 1831, with a por- trait of the author, and a list of subscribers headed by John C. Calhoun. Among his smaller works are "Law Tracts," 1812; " View of Massachusetts Proper," 1813; " Description of Deerfield," 1818. He died in 1863.

Col. David Field, son of Samuel, was born in 1712, and married, about 1740, Thankful, daughter of Thomas Taylor. lle was a soldier in the French-and-Indian wars. In the Revolution he was an ardent Whig; was chairman of the committee of correspondence and safety, 1776-78; was a representative in 1770; was a delegate to the Massachusetts Provincial Congress in May, 1775, and on the committee of safety for the colony appointed by that body. This commit- tee of thirteen, with Gen. Joseph Warren as its chairman, had the control of the civil and military power of the province, and were on intimate relations with Washington. Col. Field was a delegate to the constitutional convention of 1779, and was a selectman for twenty-five years. In the Revolutionary army he was active and useful as a commissary, and was un- der Gen. Stark at Bennington in 1777. He is said to have commanded a regiment toward the close of the war. He died in 1792.

Samuel Field, Esq., son of David, was born in 1743, grad- uated from Yale College in 1762, and married, in 1769, Sarah, daughter of Samuel Childs. Ile studied divinity with his pastor, Mr. Ashley ; later, he read law with Daniel Jones, at Hinsdale, N. H., and engaged in law-practice and trade in Deerfield and Greenfield. He was a delegate to the Constitu- tional Convention in 1788 for the ratification of the United States Constitution, and a representative to the General Court in 1773-74. In 1794 he removed to Conway, where he prac- ticed law and preached to a society of Sandemanians .* lle was a political writer and poet. A volume of his miscellane- ous writings was edited and published by Rodolphus Diekin- son in 1818, with a sketch of the author and creed of the Sandemanians. Mr. Field died Sept. 17, 1800.

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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. II, Part 17

Author: L.H. Everts & Co Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts Number of Pages: 896

Author: L.H. Everts & Co
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Philadelphia : Louis H. Everts
Number of Pages: 896