History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 61

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 61

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

BURIAL-PLACES.

The oldest is in the northeast corner of the town, and was probably laid out at the time of the organization of the Bap- tist Church in that locality in 1761. It comprises about half an acre of land. Some of the earliest settlers of the town are buried there. The following inscription is to be found :

" Aaron Lyon, died Dec. 21, 1802, aged 45.

" A loving husband, kind and true, A lender father was, also ; A faithful son, a brother dear, A peaceful neighbor was while here. Though now his body here doth rest, We trust his soul's among the blest."

The next burying-place, in point of age, is a mile and a half south of the first named. Richard Ellis, the first settler of the town, and several of that name, were interred there ; also the Beldings, and other early settlers of the town. It was laid out about the same time as the other, comprises about an acre, and is still in use.

The burying-ground near the " Plains" was in use as carly as 1767, though not formally devoted to public use until 1770, in accordance with the following vote of the town :

" Dre. 17, 1769 .- Voted to purchase a piece of Land by the Meeting-House for a Burying-pace; also, voted and Choose Mr. Nathan Weight and Capt. Moses Fuller & Timothy Perkins a Committee to purchase & lay out s Burying-Place."

The following year one acre and a half of land was pur- chased of Samuel Lilly for 80s. The first person buried there was an infant child of Jonathan Lilly which died in 1767. 'Some of the earliest graves are not marked. Dr. Bartlet, the first physician of the town, was buried there in 1799. The tombstone of Deacon David Alden, who died Aug. 12, 1809, bears the following inscription :

" Tender Were his Feelings, The Christian Was his Friend, Honest Were his Dealings, And Happy Was his end."

The next burying-ground in point of age is in what is known as the "northwest district" of the town. One of the earliest burials there was that of Thomas Howes, who died in 1793, aged sixty-three. The ground comprises about half an acre.

The Spruce Corner burying-ground, in the southwest part of the town, was laid out near the close of the last century. The wife of Capt. Elisha Cranson was buried there in 1792, Jonathan Cranson in 1799, and Capt. Elisha Cranson in 1804. The Cranson family were early settlers of that part of the town.

The cemetery on Brier Hill, in the south part of the town, comprising about an acre, was laid out about 1825, or carlier.

The cemetery at the geographical centre of the town was laid out about 1813, the year that the meeting-house was built. Alanson Lilly, son of Capt. Bethuel Lilly, who died March 21, 1814, was the first buried there. The tombstone of Abner Kelly, who died Feb. 5, 1825, aged seventy-three, bears the following inseription :

" An apoplectic siezd my powers, When I was not expecting death, The conflict lasted twenty hours, And then I yielded up my breath."

In this cemetery lie buried the remains of Rev. Nehemiah Porter and Rev. Alvan Sanderson.

The cemetery at South Ashfield, comprising about two acres, was laid out about twenty years ago.

NOTES FROM TILE RECORDS.

The " valuation list" of 1766 shows that there were 71 tax- able inhabitants then in the town, having estates amounting to .£1633.

The names of these inhabitants were David Alden, Samuel Anable, Lamberton Allen, Enoch Allen, Ebenezer Belding, Ebenezer Belding, Jr., John Blackmer, Dr. Phineas Bartlet, John Bement, Moses Bacon, Asa Bacon, Zebulon Bryant, Roland Blackmer, Samuel Belding, Samuel Batchelder, John Briggs, John Belding, Nathan Chapin, Isaac Chancey, Isaac Crittenden, Isaac Crittenden, Jr., Reuben Ellis, John Ellis, Jonathan Edson, Moses Fuller, Nathan Fuller, Aaron Fuller, Nathaniel Ilarvey, Dr. Moses Hayden, Joel Kellogg, Timothy Lewis, Aaron Lyon, Samuel Lillie, Jonathan Lillie, Daniel Lazell, Joseph Mitchell, John Marble, Thomas Phil- lips, Richard Phillips, Benjamin Phillips, Philip Phillips, Sim- eon Phillips, Chileab Smith, JIr., Miles Standish, Israel Stand- ich, Lemuel Snow, Joshua Sherwin, John Sadler, Moses Smith, Jonathan Sprague, Jonathan Sprague, Jr., Ebenezer Sprague, Jonathan Taylor, Samuel Trucsdell, Nathan Wait, Jeremiah Wait, Elijah Wait, Samuel Washburn, Nehemiah Washburn, Jacob Washburn, William Ward, William Ward, Jr., John Wilkie, Simeon Wood, Samuel Washburn, Jr., Jonathan Yeomons, John Colburn, Joseph Row, Isaac Shep- ard.

Ang. 22, 1777 .- " Voted that the Town will do all yt lies in their power to sup- press vice, and yt they will use their endeavors to prevent profane Cursing and Swearing, that the name of God be not blasphemed amongst them."

June 2, 1778 .- " Voted to build a Pound back of ye Meeting-House, on Alje- zer's lot, he consenting to it."

Dec. 25, 1787 .- " Vuted to Raise a bounty of four dollars for each wolf that may be hereafter killed by the inhabitants of the town of Ashfield within the limit of the town of Ashfick."

745

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

April 18, 1791 .- " Voted to build a pound 35 ft. sq. & 7 ft. high, back of Seth Wait's ' horse-house.'"

Amil 23, 1813 .- " Voted that the Selectmen be authorized to put up a Log IInt on the Town's land formerly owned by Mr. Jenkins, for Tin Warren, to move him on, and see that he gets a support for himself and family with as little expense to the Town as possible."

INCIDENTS.

In the month of May, 1828, five individuals lost their lives by drowning in the pond a short distance west of the " Plain." They were Deacon David Lyon, aged sixty-three, and his son William, aged eighteen ; Arnold Drake, aged twenty-eight, and two sons of Eli Gray,- William and Robert,-aged respec- tively fifteen and thirteen. They had gone to the pond to- gether, with two others (who escaped), for the purpose of wasbing sheep, and, with the exception of Mr. Lyon, were frolicking a little way from the shore in a small log canoe, which was upset. Mr. Lyon, seeing the danger they were in, lost his life in attempting to save the others. Other casualties have occurred in the town.

On Dec. 10, 1878, a great freshet swept over the Green- Mountain region of this State, caused by a powerful rain falling upon fifteen inches of newly-fallen snow. As even- ing came on the temperature rapidly grew warm, the ther- mometer rose 25° in two hours, and the melting snow, filled hy the accumulated rainfall of the day, came down the hill- sides in torrents. At nine o'clock in the evening the " Great Pond" reservoir, in this town, on South River, gave way, immediately draining off the 75 acres of water that had there been held in check, thus precipitating a great flood into the valley below. The grist-mill of A. D. Flower and the tannery of L. C. Sanderson, at the centre village, were de- stroyed. At South Ashfield three dwelling-houses, two barns, and a blacksmith-shop were swept away on the in- stant that the flood reached them. In the southwest part of the town Darius Williams' reservoir broke away, carrying his large saw-mill to destruction. The roads and bridges here and throughout the region were greatly damaged. Through the valley, in the course of South River, the fields, fences, and bridges suffered almost total destruction.

In June, 1830, a full-sized bear was captured and killed. He was discovered when crossing the road near the present residence of L. W. Goodwin, chased into a tree near by where Stephen Jackson lives, and soon made to smell powder.

INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.

As has been already remarked, the leading industrial in- terest of the town is that of agriculture. The want of ample v water-power has prevented capital of much amount from being invested in manufacturing enterprises. Saw-mills are erected on the streams, and considerable timber is sawed during the season of high water and carried to other places for sale. Grist-mills have also always existed in the town. The first was built in 1743, to supply the first settlers of the town with meal, and stood about one hundred rods northeasterly of the site of the present Episcopal Church, and was in use until about the year 1830. In 1753 a saw-mill stood upon Bear River, one-fourth of a mile east of the dwelling-house of Solomon H. Deming. At the present time A. D. Flower has a grist-mill at South Ashfield ; L. & J. S. Gardner a saw-mill at South Ashfield ; Nelson Gardner a saw-mill at Spruce Cor- ner ; William E. Ford a saw-mill in the west part of the town, and Jonathan Howes one near the Buckland line. Besides these, different varieties of wooden-ware are manufactured in the town by Nelson Gardner, Marcus T. Parker, Walter Guil- ford, and Charles H. Day.

Many considerable fortunes were made in former portions of the present century in the traffic of various essences and oils. There were several distilleries where all kinds of herhs and plants that could find a market were made to contribute of their peculiarities. Ashfield essence-peddlers could be

found all over this and neighboring States, and many even sought the West and South .*

MILITARY.

The exact part which the town took in the earliest wars that agitated this section of country is not definitely known. Reference has already been made to the trials which the in- habitants of the town underwent during the French-and- Indian war, and there is reason to believe that a large pro- portion of the male inhabitants served in the war.

THE REVOLUTION.

The inhabitants took an early and active part in the war. The following preamble and resolutions, drawn up as early as 1774, and signed by Benjamin Phillips and 64 other citizens, will show something of their spirit :

" We, the subscribers, inhabitants of the town of Ashfield, from a principle of self-preservation, the dictates of natural conscience, and a sacred regard to the constitution and laws of our country, which were instituted for the security of our lives and property, do severally and mutually covenant, promise, and engage with each other and all of us,

" Ist. That we profess ourselves subject to our sovereign lord the king, and hold ourselves in duty bound to yield obedience to all his good and wholesome laws.

" 2d. That we bear testimony against all the oppressive aod unconstitutional laws of the British Parliament whereby the chartered privileges of this Province are struck at and cashiered.

"3d. That we will not be aiding nor in any way assisting in any trade with the island of Great Britain until she withdraw her oppressive hand, or until n trade is come into by the several colonies,

"4th. That we will join with our neighboring towns in this province and sister colonies in America in contending for and defending our rights and privileges, civil and religious, which we have a just right to both by nature and by charter. "5th. That we will make preparation that we may be equipped with ammu- Dition aml other necessaries, at town cest, for the above purposes.

" 6th. That we will do all we can to suppress petty mobs, trifling and causeless."

A number of other votes passed by the town during this stirring period will further illustrate the activity and patriot- ism of the people. May 29, 1775, Elisha Cranson was chosen to attend the convention at Watertown, and again on July 10th. June 1, 1775, at a meeting of the committee of correspondence, the following votes were passed, viz. :

Ist, Voted " not to take any Notice of Ephraim Williams, a suspected Tory." Ang. 22, 1775 .- " Voted to send a man to Albenah to procure Guns & amanison upon the town's Credit."

July 10, 1777 .- " Voted to accept of the list exhibited to the town of Certain l'ersons who are thought to be inimical to ye American States."

Aug. 22, 1777 .- " Voted by the Town yt in their esteem the following persons exhibited to the Town in the meeting by the Selectmen do appear so unfriendly to ye American States that they ought to be brought to proper trial, viz., Samel Belding, Seth Wait, Lieut. Philip Phillips, Samel Anable, Jr., Wait Broughton, Asa Bacon, Elijah Wait, Jesse Edson, and Daniel Bacon.

" Voted yt the above-named Persons be committed to close Confinement in this Town.

" Voted that Capt. Bartlet's house be the place of their confinement.

" Voted yt the Selectmen make Provision for the support of those who are put under confinement, as also for the Guard which shall have the Care of them, upon the Town's cost."

May 24, 1781 .- " Voted to allow Elisha Bartlet £7 for going to Surrotoga to Carry Packs to the Soldiers.

" Voted to allow £14 as Rations for fourteen Men from Ashfield to Ticonderoga in Feb., A.D. 1776, &c."

A large number of the inhabitants of the town served in the army, and the town promptly furnished its proportion of supplies.

WAR OF 1812.

With this war the town was not in sympathy, and reluct- antly furnished the men required by the government. Among

* About the year 1814, Samuel Ranney introduced here, upon his farm, the culture and distillation of the peppermint herb. which was found to be for many years quite a profitable pursuit. For a number of years the price of oil of pep- permint was from $6 to $16 per pound. Its production was continued to a con- siderable extent until about the year 1833, minny acres being raised each year. At that time and before, its cultivation had been commenced in Phelps, N. Y., where the soil and the climate were better suited to its growth, and where it was produced at much less expense. Of late years the crop is largely raised in St. Josephs Co., Mich.

746

HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

these were David Vincent, Josiah Kelley, George Hall, Ely Eldredge, Anson Bement.

WAR OF 1861-65.

In the suppression of the Southern Rebellion, the town manifested the same sterling patriotism which their ancestors did in the Revolutionary period. Men and money were freely furnished to answer government demands. After the close of the war a handsome monument was ereeted in memory of those who perished in the war, as the following vote indicates :

March 5, 1866 .- " Voted to raise $650 (six hundred and fifty dollars) for the purpose of erecting and establishing a monument or memorial to perpetuate the memory of those persons of this town whose lives have been sacrificed in the effort to sustain the government against the slave-holders' Rebellion."

The following list, culled from the adjutant-general's list, is believed to be approximately correct :

Wm. II. Ford, Rufus A. Lilley, Lewis Eldridge, Edward F. Hale, Elisha B. Ilowes, John L. Ilowes, Sylvester Howes, Henry F. Kilbourn, Alfred C.

Thayer, Elon S. Williams, Lewis Williams, all in 52d Mass .; Levi Elmer, James M. Howes, Micajah H. Vincent, Cyrus B. Cone, Leander V. Ilill, Daniel G. Ilowes, Henry Parsons, Horace V. Taylor, David M. Vincent, Wm. T. Vincent, all in Ioth Mass .; Joel Wing, in 27th Mass. ; Sumner HI. Bardwell, Luther D. Chapin, Harvey E. Bailey, Leroy C. Beals, llenry Guilford, Wm. R. Harris, Wm. L. Luce, Ephraim Taylor, Reuben W. Tay- lor, Wells P. Taylor, James A. Treat, Levi Warren, Milo F. Warren, Oli- ver Warren, all in 3Ist Mass. ; George Ward, Norris E Chapin, Lafayette Eddy, Mitchell Gorn, Ralph II. Ranney, Roswell L. Church, Alphonzo Church, in 34th Mass. ; Murray J. Guilford, Darius W. Taylor, Caspar Lilly, Joel Lilly, James McCormick, all in the 37th Mass. ; besides Ste- phen Bates, Levi S. Elmer, R. B-ment Smith, R. W. Lawrence, Orange Richardson, William Willis, Albert Lilly, Charles Richardson, Ilarvey Hadlock, Henry Hallett, Emery II. Bement, Thomas L. Munsell, Henry L. Luce, Cyrus B. Cone, Elias T. Yeamans.

In the compilation of this town history, the writer is chiefly indebted for assistance to Henry S. Ranney, town elerk, and for access to interesting and useful documents. Thanks are also due to other citizens of the town.

COLERAINE.

GEOGRAPHICAL.

COLERAINE, one of the largest towns in Franklin, with a taxable area of 25,286 aeres, lies on the northern line of the county, and is bounded north by the Vermont State line, south by the towns of Charlemont, Shelburne, and Green- field, east by the town of Leyden, and west by the towns of Charlemont and Heath The town has no railway facilities within its borders, nor railway communication nearer than Shelburne Falls depot, in the town of Buekland, six miles from Coleraine Centre.

Coleraine has long been an important manufacturing point, but its population has shown an almost steady decline since 1840, largely due to removals to the Far West.

NATURAL FEATURES.

Coleraine is hilly in nearly every part of its extensive domain, and, like other mountainous towns in Massachu- setts, is a place much visited by tourists and searchers after the picturesque in nature.

The most important stream is North River, which flows almost directly south through the middle of the town, from the Vermont line to the Shelburne line. It furnishes abun- dant water-power, which is used by several large manufac- turing enterprises, as well as saw-mills, ete. Green River, which rises in Windham Co., Vt., flows along the eastern border of the town, dividing it from: Leyden, but its water- power is not used to any considerable extent.

The principal eminences are Catamount ITill, in the south- west, and Christian Hill, northwest of the centre, both names referring, however, to hilly ranges rather than to any particular elevations.

EARLY SETTLEMENT.

The first settlement upon the traet now occupied by Cole- raine is said to have been made by two brothers, Andrew and John Smith, residents of Deerfield, who, displeased with the management of affairs in that town, removed beyond it, north- ward, and located in 1732 on what is now the William Coombs farm, in Coleraine, near the Shelburne line, about a mile cast of Shattuckville. They pursued their way in the wilderness for nearly two years, when ineursions by the Indians made their new home undesirable, and they abandoned it in 1734 for a safer locality.

The brothers Smith returned to Coleraine upon its per-

manent settlement in the year 1736. A birch log, sunk by these brothers in 1732 in a well on their farm, occupies still about the same position, and is in a state of good preserva- tion, its location being near William Coombs' barn. The spring which spouted its waters through this log still bubbles as merrily as ever. It is said that during the days of their first settlement the brothers never mustered a more formidable weapon than a pitchfork, never felt very much afraid of Indians, and never took to the forts in hours of danger. An- drew became afterward a prominent man in the settlement. John was afflicted with palsy, and was known as "Shaking John."

Andrew's wife was a woman of great courage and nerve. One day, while riding home from a visit to a neighbor's, Indians attacked her, and, although she was shot through the thigh, and must have suffered great agony, she stuck to her horse bravely, urged him wildly forward, and safely escaped her savage pursuers. When she reached the fort she fainted, and, upon examination, it was found that the bullet had gone through her thigh and the saddle, and buried itself in the horse's side. The hardy woman got well and lived to a good old age.

June 17, 1735, the General Court granted to the town of Boston three townships, in response to the petition of the in- habitants of that town asking for land grants by reason of their paying about one-fifth of the colony tax, their burden- some expenditures for schooling, and the support of paupers. The larger portion of the present territory of Coleraine was set apart as the second of these townships, and was therefore known at first as " Boston Township, No. 2." Charlemont was No. 1, and Pittsfield No. 3.

~ The east line of Coleraine (or Boston Township, No. 2) be- gan at a point on the line of the State of Vermont, a short dis- tanee east of Green River, and, thence passing south, touched a point just east of Albert B. Nelson's place, and farther along a point just west of the house of Edgar F. Copeland, and intersected the Deerfield on land now owned by Stephen M. Long.

That part of Coleraine now lying east of this line was orig- inally a portion of Bernardston, and was called "the Gore." This tract and a gore on the north side of the original grant, with the land first granted for Boston Township, No. 2, are now comprised within the limits of Coleraine.

747

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

The earliest permanent settlers other than the brothers Smith were from the Scotch-Irish colony brought over from Ireland by Gov. Shupe. to settle Londonderry, N. H. They located upon a tract near the present Shelburne line, and just south of what is called Meeting-house Hill.

They came over from Ireland (County Ulster) as early as 1719, settling mainly in New Hampshire. From London- derry and Peterboro' to Coleraine moved the MeKowens, McCollisters, McGrews, MeClellans, McCrillisons, McCul- loughs, MeDonegals, MeDonalds, McLanthams, Morrisons, Clarks, Wilsons, Wallaces, Lukes, Workmans, and Stew- arts. The Thompsons came from Pelham, the Millers from Stowe, the Bells and Williams from Roxbury, Mass., the Miners from Stonington, Conn., the Smiths from Woodstock, Conn., the Browns from Rhode Island, and the Boltons from Lancashire, England.)

Hugh Bolton, who resided in the latter county, was a physi- cian, and a dissenter as well. Refusing one day to pay tithes, his house was invaded by a constable, who sought to levy upon the doctor's property. The latter resisted the officer with physical force, and put him to flight. His victory was, however, short-lived in its fruits, for the outraged majesty of the law clamored for vengeance in such an emphatic man- ner that the doctor abandoned his home, and at the very ear- liest opportunity sailed for America. lle landed in Boston, and, going directly to Coleraine, settled there, and entered at once upon the practice of his profession, which he pursued until his death.

Among other early settlers were James Barry, Alexander Harroun, John Pennell, Hugh Henry, John Henderson, Thomas Cochran, Robert Hunter, and John Newman. As a rule, the first settlers were tall and robust men with iron con- stitutions, but a notable exception was John Newman, who was a very small man in stature. He was, however, a man of wonderful courage, and many stories are still extant telling of his remarkable exploits as a successful fighter against wild beasts. Ilis favorite game was catamounts, and with these fierce animals he had many encounters, one in particular being worthy of mention. He was passing through a woods one day unarmed, when, espying a catamount in a high tree, he pro- vided himself with a cudgel, climbed the tree, fought the brute desperately, and, finally winning the battle, carried his prize off in triumph to the house of Lieut. John Pennell.

Nathaniel Smith and John Thompson were two remarkably strong men ; and once upon a time, representing Coleraine at Deerfield in trials of strength, they forced the men of the latter town to acknowledge that Coleraine was entitled to the palm.

It is said that the settlers in Coleraine who came from Londonderry were the first to introduce the foot spinning- wheel and the manufacture of linen-eloth, and the first to cultivate the potato in that part of the country.

The first choice of land in the township appears, from the original plan of the township on file in the office of the Secre- tary of State, to have been given to five persons, named Wild, Miller, Fairservice, Clark, and Morrison.

A petition for a meeting of the settlers was prepared in 1738, and signed by Andrew Smith, John Clark, James Barry, Alex- ander Harroun, Alexander Clark, John Pennell, Samuel Clark, Matthew Clark, Hugh Henry, John Henderson, James Clark, Wm. Clark, Thomas Cochran, and Robert Hunter. Thomas Wells issued the warrant for the meeting, which was held in 1738, at the house of Hugh Henry. At this meeting a com- mittee was chosen to manage the affairs of the settlement, and prompt attention was likewise bestowed upon church matters by setting apart a ministry lot. Hugh Henry was the mod- erator, and Andrew Smith the settlers' clerk.

In 1742, £8 6s. 11d. were assessed on each lot to defray public charges for the year " past and present." In that year it was agreed to make an appropriation to any person who

would build a grist-mill, and, soon after, James Fairlove put up one on the site now occupied by F. Purington's mill, near Lyonsville. It was burned by the Indians in 1757.

Among the public roads first opened was one to North River, one from the meeting-house to " the furder side" of John Henry's lot, one between No. 7 and No. 8, to the east line of the town, and a road to Deerfield.

The first child born in the settlement was Martha, daughter of Ilugh and Martha Morrison, June 29, 1740. Abraham, son of John and Sarah Pennell, the first male child, was born March 21, 1741.

The name of the settlement was changed in February, 1743, from Boston Township, No 2, to " Colrain," in honor of Baron Coleraine, who promised to donate a bell for the meeting-house. The records up to the time of the incor- poration of the town designated the locality as "Colrain, also alias Boston Township, No. 2, adjoining the north side of Deerfield."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 61

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