History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Vol. II, Part 63

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 63

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ORGANIZATION.

Originally ealled Boston Township, No. 2, the name of the settlement was changed in 1742 to Coleraine (then written Colrain), in honor of Baron Coleraine, of Ireland, who prom- ised in advance to send over the gift of a church-bell. It is said that the bell was sent, but it never reached its intended destination, although the honor was permitted to remain with Baron Coleraine, and later on was ratified when, June 30, 1761, the town was incorporated with the name it now bears. The tract incorporated was increased in 1779 by the addition of a strip of land called the Gore, taken from that part of

Bernardston lying west of Green River, by which the town became one of the largest in the county.

SELECTMEN.

1761 .- Thomas Morris, George Clark, Jolm Pennell, Jr., Robert F'ulton, William McCreles (21).

1762 .- James Stewart, William Henry, John Pennell, Jr., Thomas Morris, Samnel Eayrs.

1763,-George Clark, John Clark, John Cochran, Mathew Bolton, John Me('reles. 1761,-James Stewart, George Clark, John Morrison.

1765 .- William Henry, Richard Ellis, John McCreles, Mathew Bolton.

1766 .- Thomas Morris, George Breckenridge, William McCreles (2d), Andrew Lukes, David Harroun,

1767 .- Thomas McGee, William Henry, Robert Fulton, George Clark, James Clark.

1768 .- John Clark, Hezekiah Smith, Thomas McGee, James Stewart, Jr., John Anderson.

1769 .- Robert Fulton, George Clark, William Clark, William Stewart, Thomas Morris.

1770 .- Joseph Caldwell, James Stewart, James Bell, David Harronn, Hugh Bolton.

1771 .- Thomas Morris, Thomas McGee, James Bell, John Morrison, Hugh Mc- Lellan.

1772 .- James Stewart, Joseph Caldwell, Hugh Riddle, John Clark, II. Mclellan. 1773 .- George Clark, Joseph Caldwell, James Stewart, John Morrison, H. Mc- Lellan,

1774 .- George Clark, Joseph Caldwell, James Stewart, Hugh Riddle, II. Mclellan. 1775 .- Jolin Harroun, Robert Pennell, John Morrison, William McCrales (20), Joseph Thompson.

1776 .- John Harroun, Hugh Mclellan, John Morrison, David Harroun, Abraham Pennell.

1777 .- William Mireles, George Clark, Hugh Riddle, David Wilson, Jas. Stewart. 1778 .- John Morrison, Capt. Mc Lellan, Daniel Donelson, Robert Miller, James Stewart.

1779 .- Orrin Smith, Capt, MeLellan, Win. Stewart, Deacon Clark, James Stewart. 1780,-IIezekiah Smith, Capt. McLellan, James Stewart, Hugh Riddle, David Harroun.

1781 .- John Morrison, Hugh MeLellan, William Stewart, Daniel Donelson, Oliver Newell.

1782 .- William Caldwell, Ilngh Mclellan, James Stewart, George Pattison, David Wilson.

1783 .- Jona. McGee, Deacon Harionn, William Stewart, Hugh Morrison, James Fulton.

1784 .- Joseph Caldwell, Geo. Pattison, Wm. Stewart, David Wilson, John Gragg. 1785,-Jos. Caldwell, Col. Melellan, Wm. Caldwell, David Wilson, Jona. McGee. 1786 .- Joseph Callwell, James Stewart, William Stewart, David Wilson, George l'attison.

1787,-Joseph Caldwell, Jona. McGee, Col. MeLellan, Win. Stevens, Oren Smith. 1788 .- George Pattison, Moses Johnson, Jona. Wilson, Josiah Cooledge, David Wilson.

1789,-Ilughi MeLellan, Matthew Clark, Samuel Eddy, Jacob Gragg, D. Wilson. 1790 .- IIugh Mclellan, Jona. McGee, Samuel Eddy, David Smith, D. Wilson. 1791 .- Hugh Mclellan, Mathew Clark, Jona. Wilson, David Smith, D. Wilson. 1792 .- IIugh MeLellan, Mathew Clark, Wm. Caldwell, David Morrison, D. Wilson. 1793,-Ilugh MeLellan, Jona. Wilson, Samuel Eddy, Oren Smitb, D. Wilson. 1794 .- Ilugh Mclellan, Jona. Wilson, David Smith, Moses Ranger, D. Wilson. 1795,-1lugh MeLellan, David Wilson, Oren Smith, David Smith, M. G. Riddle. 1796 .- Hugh MeLellan, Davil Wilson, Jona, Patterson, David Smith, Robert Miller.

1797 .- HI. Mclellan, David Wilson, David Smith, Jona. McGee, Hugh Thompson. 1798,-Jona, Pattison, Oliver Hollors, David Smith, Jas. Taggart, Mathew Clark. 1799,-Hugh MeLellan, David Smith, David Wilson, Jona. Patterson, Nathaniel Smith.

1800 .- Ilugh MeLellan, David Smith, Clark Chandler, David Wilson, Joua. Pat- terson.

1801 .- Ilugh Mclellan, David Smith, Jona. Patterson, David Wilson, Calvin Smith.

1802 .- Hugh Mclellan, David Smith, David Wilson, Calvin Smith,

1803 .- Ingh Mclellan, Adam Pattison, Calvin Smith, David Smith, Clark Chandler.

1804 .- Ilugh Mclellan, Adam Pattison, Daniel Wilson, David Smith, Abel Shat- tuck.

1805 .- Samuel Ross, Adam Pattison, Daniel Willis, David Smith, Robert Miller. 1806,-Samuel Ross, Adam Pattison, Daniel Willis, David Smith, Elias Bardwell, 1807 .- Samuel Ross, R. L. Mclellan, Daniel Willis, David Smith, Calvin Smith. 1808 .- Samuel Ross, R. L. Mclellan, Levi McGee, David Smith, Calvin Smithi. 1809 .- Thomas Miller, R. L., MeLellan, James White, David Smith, Calvin Smith. 1810 .- Robert Miller, Jona. Peterson, Jas, White, David Smith, Elias Bardwell. 1811 .- Robert Miller, Jona. Peterson, Ilugb Mclellan, David Smith, Daniel Willis.

1812 .- Robert Miller, L. S. McGee, Ilugh Mclellan, David Smith, Damel Willis. 1813 .- Robert Miller, L. S. McGee, John Drury, David Smith, Daniel Willis. .

1814 .- Robert Miller, R. L. MeLellan, George Walkup, David Smith, Daniel Willis.

1815 .- Robert Miller, R. L. Mclellan, L. S. McGee, Russel Avery, D. Willis. 1816 .- Robert Miller, Calvin Smith, Samuel Pierce.

1817-18 .- Calvin Smith, Samnel Pierce, Michael Me Lellan.

* Probably the usual annual fast.

+ The death penalty was remitted, no one being executed.

This gentleman is descended in a direct line (the eighth generation) from William Shattuck, who was born in England in 1621 or 1622, died in Watertown, Mass., Aug. 14, 1672, and was the progenitor of those who have borne his name in America. The line is as follows : 1st, William Shattuck ; 2d, John Shattuck, born in Watertown, Feb. 11, 1647, and drowned Sept. 14, 1675; 3d, William Shattuck, born in Watertown, Sept. 11, 1670, died in Groton in 1744; 4th, John Shattuck, born in Watertown in 1696, a mason and farmer, died about 1759; 5th, Thomas Shattuck, born in Marlboro', March 3, 1724, died in Petersham ; 6th, Ezra Shattuck, born in Petersham, Aug. 5, 1751, a miller and farmer in the town of Leyden, and died there Aug. 8, 1816; 7th, Luther Shattuck, born in Leyden, April 18, 1787, died March 10, 1834; 8th, Calvin W. Shattuck. who was born in Leyden, Franklin Co., Mass., Feb. 15, 1811, the eldest child of Luther and Margery Shattuck.

Ezra Shattuck, his grandfather, was one of the first settlers of the town of Leyden. Hle built there a grist- and saw-mill, and carried on a farm. His father, Luther Shattuck, was a millwright by trade, and lived and died in Leyden.

Calvin W. Shattuck remained at home until seventeen years old, to which period he was employed in his father's mills and on the farm, receiving his education in the district schools of the neighborhood. In 1828 he left home and was clerk in a store at Guilford, Vt., where he remained about two years and a half. Jan. 1, 1831, he was clerk in C. & H. Thompson's store in Coleraine City, and remained there until May, 1832, when he commenced trade on his own account at Shelburne Falls, where he remained two years. He then began merchandising at Coleraine, and continued there in trade until 1848. In 1837 he purchased an interest

with his old employers, the Messrs. Thompson, in a cotton- mill in that portion of Coleraine now known as Shattuck- ville, and in the spring of 1849 he moved there, and has continued to reside there sinee. In 1869 the entire prop- erty, valued at one hundred thousand dollars, was swept away by a flood. Mr. Shattuck rebuilt the factory, enlarg- ing it to nearly double its former capacity. The factory has one hundred and seventy-eight looms, and employs about one hundred hands.

Mr. Shattuck was married, Oct. 14, 1834, to Mary Thomp- son, daughter of Charles and Mary Thompson. Mrs. Shat- tuek was born in Coleraine, June 11, 1815. Their chil- dren are Charles W., born March 25, 1837, a merchant in Shattuckville; Luther T., born Aug. 19, 1840, a com- mission merchant in New York; Elizabeth, wife of Harvey Ingalls, born Nov. 14, 1843, resides in Rhinebeck, N. Y .; John W., born Aug. 18, 1846, in company with Luther T. in New York. Mrs. Shattuck died Aug. 14, 1876.

Mr. Shattuck has filled various positions of publie trust. He was twenty-one years a justice of the peace, and post- master from 1837, for most of the time, to 1860. He was town elerk for many years, and was elected a representative to the State Legislature for the session of 1876.

In polities he is a Demoerat ; in religion a Universalist. Few men of Coleraine have been more closely identified with the growth and upbuilding of the town than has Mr. Shattuck. Starting as a clerk in a store, then proprietor, ~ afterward an owner in a large cotton-mill; and follow- ing up the total loss of the same, the result of years of labor, with a foresight and pluek so characteristic of the New England manufacturer, has enabled him to replace the property much enlarged, and is now the honored proprietor of the thriving hamlet to which he has given a name.

751

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

1819 .- R. L. Mclellan, Isaac Johnson, George Echs. 1820 .- R. L. Mclellan, John Wilson, George Echs. 1821-23 .- R. L. Mclellan, David Denison, George Echs. 1824-25 .- Charles Thompson, Samuel Pierce, John Wilson. 1826 .- Charles Thompson, Samuel Pierce, Michael McLellan. 1827 .- Joseph Smith, Samnel Pierce, Michael Mclellan. 1828 .- Joho Wilson, George Echs, Michael Mckellan. 1829 .- Samuel Pierce, David Purington, Michael McLellan. 1830 .- John Wilson, Joseph Smith, James Shearer. 1831 .- Samuel Pierce, John Wilson, Amos Stewart. 1832 .- Joseph Smith, Amos Stewart, Jona, Johnson. 1833 .- Joseph Smith, Amos Stewart, Joel Farley. 1834-37 .- Amos Stewart, Joel Furley, Jesse Spain. 1838 .- Amos Stewart, Thomas Barher, Baxter Bardwell. 1839 .- Baxter Bardwell, Stephen Shepardson, Joel Farley. 1840 .- Baxter Bardwell, Lucius Lyon, Levi Thompson. 1841 .- John Wilson, Jonathan Johnson, Hugh McElvaine. 1842 .- John Wilson, Amos Stewart, Aaron Lyons. 1843 .- John Wilson, Amos Stewart, William Coonibs. 1844 .- James Barber, Ilezekinh Smith, David Thompson, Jr. 1845 .- Daniel Wilson, Hezekiah Smith, David S. Pierce. 1846 .- Hugh Mclellan, Amos Stewart, Morris Pierce. 1847 .- Jonathan Totman, Thomas Fox, Asaph W. Snow. 1848-49 .- Dexter Wilson, Hezekiah Smith, A. W. Snow. 1850 .- Joseph Smith, F. S. Ilillman, Gurdon Thompson. 1851 .- Morris Pierce, Asaph W. Snow, S. W. Gleason. 1852 .- Hezekiah Smith, George W. Miller, Charles Hillman. 1853 .- Hezekiah Smith, Franklin Newell, D. A. Deoison. 1854 .- John Wilson, David Nelson, Jonathan Johnson. 1855 .- Joseph Smith, George W. Miller, John Cromack. 1856 .- David L. Smith, David Nelson, Thomas Purington. 1857 .- Rominer Smith, David Nelson, Nelson Peterson. 1858 .- Hezekiah Smith, David Nelson, Nelson Peterson. 1859 .- Hezekiah Smith, Asaph W. Snow, C. S. Patterson. 1860-61 .- Samuel D. Cole, Samuel N. Wilson, E. H. Thompson. 1862 .- Samuel D. Cole, Dennis Wilson, Hugh Mclellan. 1863 .- Amos Stewart, E. H. Thompson, David L. Smith. 1864 .- S. D. Cole, O. F. Morrison, Hugh Mclellan. 1865-66 .- David L. Smith. S. D. ITandy, Joseph B. Clark. 1867 .- D. L. Smith, S. D. Handy, E. H. Thompson. 1868,-William Stewart, Nelson Peterson, E. H. Thompson. 1869 .- William Stewart, A. C. Smith, Morris Pierce. 1870 .- Joseph Griswold, William S. Gleason, S. W. Wheeler. 1871 .- Joseph Griswold, E. II. Thompson, S. W. Wheeler. 1872 .- Dennis Wilson, William Stewart, S. W. Wheeler. 1873 .- Dennis Wilson, William Stewart, Joseph B. Clark. 1874-75 .- J. B. Clark, Earl Shearer, George II. Phillips. 1876 .- J. A. Dwight, Earl Shearer, H. M. Peterson. 1877-79 .- J. Dwight, Earl Shearer, Lorenzo Spurr.

TOWN CLERKS.

John Pennell, Jr., 1761 to 1762; Mathew Bolton, 1763 ; James Stewart, 1764 to 1780; William Caldwell, 1781; James Stewart, 1782 to 1787 ; Thomas Bell, Jr., 1788 to 1790; Jonathan McGee, 1791 to 1803; Clark Chandler, 1801 to 1818; Samuel Pierce, 1819 to 1828; Jonathan Totman, 1829; Hallis Thompson, 1830 to 1841; C. W. Shattuck, 1842; Samuel Coolidge, 1843; C. W. Shattuck, 1844; J. W. McGee, 1845 to 1846; Samuel Coolidge, 1847 to 1848; Horatio Flagg, 1849 to 1855; Jesse Cone, 1856 to 1865; A. C. Smith, 1866 to 1879.

REPRESENTATIVES AT THE GENERAL COURT.

In 1764 the selectmen were empowered to appoint a man to "go to the next General Court," but who was selected is not indicated. The first representative named in the records was Joseph Caldwell, who was chosen in 1775. Between that year and 1857, when Coleraine became a part of the First Representative District, the town was represented by the fol- lowing persons in sueeession :

Joseph Caldwell, Hezekiah Smith, James Stewart, Hugh Mclellan, Clark Chandler, David Smith, Jonathan McGee, Robert L. McLellan, Daniel Willis, Calvin Smith, Samuel Pierce, Charles Thompson, Michael McLellan, John Wilson, Joel Farley, Jonathan Johnson, Joseph Smith, Amos Stewart, Amos Bardwell, F. Newell, Presbury Hillmao, Arad Town, William J. Davis, Horatio Flagg, Rominer Smith, H. S. Denison, A. C. Deane, D. A. Deaison.

VILLAGES.

There are in the town seven villages, to wit: Coleraine Centre, Elm Grove, Griswoldville, Shattuckville, Adamsville, Lyonsville, and Foundry village, of which the first five named are postal stations.

COLERAINE CENTRE

is the oldest settlement, and is peopled and supported chiefly by agrieulturists. Here are the town-hall, three stores, an ex-

cellent hotel, and two churches; the town business is done at this place.

FOUNDRY VILLAGE,

now a rural settlement (although at an early date the location of an iron-foundry, operated by George Hastings in 1834, and later by U. Thomas, when it was swept away by a flood in 1869), is a mile west of the centre, and contains a Baptist Church and a few business places. Near here, at what is known as Willis Place, is one of the cotton-mills of the Gris- woldville Manufacturing Company, whose employés, to the number of 100, reside in substantial brick tenements close at hand, and owned by the company.

LYONSVILLE,

half a mile south of Willis Place, is a small hamlet of half a dozen houses, without features of especial interest, and south of this, about a mile, is

GRISWOLDVILLE,

the location of the main mills of the Griswoldville Manufac- turing Company. The handsome residences of the Messrs. Griswold, and the many neat tenements and cottages occupied by the employés, prettily embellish the village, while the busy hum of the great mills animates and enlivens the place.

SHATTUCKVILLE,

a mile south of Griswoldville, is a manufacturing point, where Mr. C. W. Shattuck has, since 1837, operated an extensive cotton-mill, in which 100 persons are employed. Here there are a store and post-office, and the population is mainly com- posed of employés in Mr. Shattuck's mill.

The villages above named are located on the North River, from which the factories mentioned obtain their water-power. In the west, ADAMSVILLE is a small agricultural settlement, as is also ELM GROVE, in the northeast.

CHURCHES.

The first move made by the early settlers toward the en- couragement of public worship was early in 1742, when a committee was appointed to provide preaching; and a com- mittee was also appointed to treat with "the gentlemen" for a ministry lot. About that time a committee was appointed to see " the gentlemen" (the Coleraine proprietors) and aseer- tain what offers they would make to give encouragement for the settlement of a minister.

In that year a meeting-house was built on what is now sometimes called Meeting-house Hill, about a mile east of Coleraine Centre, and west of the old burying-ground. There was some fear that the completion of the house would fail, and " the gentlemen" were again appealed to to assist in building the church.

Whether the aid was furnished or not is not known, but it is certain that the structure was not wholly finished and fur- nished until 1769.

The Rev. Mr. Morrison was probably the first preacher to occupy the pulpit of the first church, for an entry in the pro- prietors' records, dated Feb. 21, 1743, sets forth that " we will continue Rev. Mr. Morrison some time longer."

In 1744 it was voted to have transient preaching, and in 1745 the proprietors sent to the Boston Presbytery for a min- ister, making at the same time an appropriation of £120 to meet the charge of a minister. In May, 1746, a Mr. Graham was the pastor, but how long he served cannot be told. In 1750 the Boston Presbytery appointed Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, of Pelham, " to ordain the elders at Coleraine and prepare the way for the administration of the Lord's Supper." In 1752 the sum of £120, old tenor, was granted for " the charges of the gospel," and to Rev. Daniel Mitchell (who had supplied the preaching in 1749, 1750, and 1751) an offer of a settlement was made, with the promise, as a salary, of $210, 30 bushels of wheat, and 60 days' work yearly, but the Presbytery declined

752

IHISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.

to consent to the settlement. Early in 1753 it was decided to extend a call to Rev. Alexander MeDowell, who had been preaching, to the church, which was organized as a Presby- terian Church about 1750, and in September of that year he was ordained. lle preached until the summer of 1761, when he was dismissed. lle died in 1762, and was buried in the old cemetery on the hill, but no stone has ever marked the spot where he lies. Mr. MeDowell's annual salary was £200, old tenor, or £26 13s. 4d., lawful money, 40 bushels of wheat, and 60 days' work. In 1768 the town, discussing the question of Mr. MeDowell's neglected grave, voted not to get gravestones for it.

In 1763, Rev. Mr. Abercrombie preached occasionally, and he was boarded, according to town agreement, at Deacon McGee's ; but for some reason he failed to give satisfaction, and the town, deciding that he should preach no longer, sent for Rev. Mr. Thompson, of Nassau llall, N. J.

In 1764 it was announced that any man who would take the shingles off the south side of the meeting-house might have them if he would return the nails to the town. Rev. Mr. Kin- kead was supplying the preaching that year, and was chosen a commissioner " to do his indevor to invite a minister from pensilvania to preach with us and also to settle with us, if we like each other." At the same time £45 were raised for a set- tlement, and £40 salary promised for such minister as should be settled. At this time Mathew Bolton was directed to " frame in a cell" in the south side of the meeting-house, and it was further decided to color the meeting-house " Blew."

There was much apparent difficulty attendant upon the se- curing of a pastor, and, in 1765, Abner Newton, with whom the minister boarded in 1764, was sent to the Presbytery at Pelham, at a cost of £2, to "do the business of obtaining a preacher." Rev. Jonathan Leavitt was invited to preach in 1766, and, in 1767, Rev. Simeon Miller was given a call, with the promise of a settlement of £100 and a salary of £40. There was, however, no settled pastor until 1769, when Rev. Daniel MeLellan was ordained. It is related that Mr. Me- Lellan, having also another call besides that of Coleraine, was undecided which to accept, and, finally setting a stiek on end, it fell toward Coleraine, whereupon he determined to go thither. lle died in 1773, while in the pastoral charge, and from that date until 1777, when Rev. Samuel Taggart was ordained, the church depended upon supplies.

Shortly after Mr. Taggart's settlement, in 1779, there was some agitation in favor of building a new meeting-house on the west side of North River, because of the change in the centre of the town's population, but the project was deferred until 1788, when, the matter being revived, the building of a new house was deeided upon, and a committee appointed to direct the enterprise. Meanwhile, in 1784, dissensions arose in the first church, and several members withdrew, but, be- yond reference to the appointment of a committee to settle the controversy, the records throw no light upon the matter at issue. It is supposed the trouble was owing to objections by some members to the choice of location for the meeting-house. The breach widened, however, and some time thereafter the seceders built a church of their own, about two miles south- east of the site of the present Congregational Church.

Mr. Taggart was, in 1784, directed by the town to preach one-third of the time on the west side of the river, although there was no church there. In 1786, Mr. Taggart preached there one-half the time at the house of George Pattison, and in 1788 or thereabouts, as related, the new meeting-house was built on that side the river.

There were, therefore, at this time two meeting-houses in town,-one owned by the town, and one owned by those who withdrew from the first church. These latter returned, how- ever, to the mother-church in 1827.

Mr. Taggart maintained his pastoral connection with the first church for a period of upward of forty-one years,

although for fourteen years from 1804-during which time he represented his distriet in Congress-his pulpit was supplied by others. Ile was dismissed in 1818, and, continuing to reside in Coleraine, died there in 1825. Among bis immediate suc- cessors were Revs. Aretas Loomis, Iloratio Flagg, and C. W. Allen.

In December, 1819, the church dissolved its connection with the Presbytery and was changed in its organization to a Con- gregational Church.

The church building, erected in 1788, was replaced in 1834 by the structure now standing in Coleraine Centre, which lat- ter was remodeled and enlarged in 1853. The pastor now in charge is Rev. David Strong.

Among the Congregational ministers originating in Cole- raine were Revs. Oren Johnson, Aretas G. Loomis, Elihu Loomis, Lorenzo Lyons, Luke Lyons, Jonathan McGee, Wm. Riddel, Hugh Wallis.

THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

was organized in September, 1780, and had then a membership of 19 persons, whose names were llezekiah Smith, John Call, Thomas Fox, Oren Smith, Hezekiah Smith, Jr., Nathaniel Smith, David Smith, Abner Atwood, Calvin Smith, Stephen Call, Sarah Pennell, Eunice Smith, Lucy Call, Grace Fox, Kezia Smith, Elizabeth Burrows, Elizabeth Call, Esther Smith, and Sarah Pennell (2d).

A church edifice was created near where Mr. O. J. Daven- port now lives, where worship was observed until 1848, when the present structure in Foundry village was built.

Among the early ministers were Revs. E. Smith, Obed War- ren, John Green, R. Freeman, Thomas Purrington, George Witherill, James Parsons, George Robinson, J. M. Purring- ton, Joseph llodges, Francis Smith, Milo Frary, A. V. Dim- mock, and Wm. E. Stowe. The pastor now in charge (1879) is Rev. S. P. Everett.

THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH

was organized in 1786, and some time thereafter a house of worship was erected just north of Christian Hill, where there is now a neat and substantial edifice. Some of the early min- isters were Rev. Edmond Littlefield (who preached eighteen years), Rev. Edward Davenport (who served nearly thirty- five years), and Revs. Mr. Smith, Arad Hall, D. H. Grant, Nathaniel Ripley, E. L. Baker, and A. W. Goodenow. For some time past the church has been without regular preaching.

In October, 1797, the Baptists were exempted by the town from payment of the minister rate, previous to which a com- mittee was appointed by the town " to agree on referenee with those of the inhabitants of the town that profess to be of another denomination, and feel themselves grieved by being taxed in the meeting-house tax."

A METHODIST CLASS

was formed in 1832, and from that time to 1836 publie serv- iees were held in school-houses and the Foundry Village Bap- fist Church. In 1836 a church was organized, and in that year the church building now in use at Coleraine Centre was erected. The carly ministers were Revs. J. D. Bridge, E. Mason, Freeman Nutting, D. E. Chapin, 11. P. Hall, John Cadwell, W. A. Braman, A. S. Flagg, W. M. Hubbard, and Mr. Middleton. The present pastor is Rev. John Capen.

SCHOOLS.

The first recorded evidence of any action by the "Colrain" proprietors looking to the encouragement of public education is dated March, 1753, when it was agreed to have a school ; but against this decision a protest was entered by Hugh Mor- rison, lames Breckenridge, Archibald Pennell, and John Mc- Creles, who objected to having the schoolmaster or school- mistress paid except by the scholars who attended the school.

753

HISTORY OF FRANKLIN COUNTY.

It was, however, decided to appropriate €8 for schooling, to be paid by assessment upon each of the sixty lots.

The first schoolmaster is said to have been James Stewart, who taught school at his house. The dwelling is still occu- pied as a residence by W. B. MeGee, Esq., and occupies its original site on the Greenfield road, a mile south of the old burying-ground. In the summer of 1761, school having in the mean while been taught in dwellings, the town built a school-house 18 feet long by 16 feet wide, composed of round logs and covered with long shingles. Two shillings per day were allowed to each man for working upon the school-house, and it was because of the expense incurred in erecting the building that the town decided not to build that year the pub- lie pound, which had been decided upon. £8 12s. were raised for schooling, and it was resolved that " all Parsons who Send Schoolers to the School Shall Provide wood, according to the preportion of there Schoolers, and Cut it fit for the fire."

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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 63

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