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 84
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William Pynchon, who is properly styled the founder of the settlement here, came from England with Gov. Winthrop, and became one of the founders of Roxbury. Ile was a man of great strength of character, indomitable will, untiring per- severance, and in every particular was well qualified for the discharge of the duties which were subsequently thrust upon him. He was one of the patentees named in the colony char- ter of 1627, and also in that of 1628, and was appointed mag- istrate and assistant in October, 1629, before leaving England.
Henry Smith was a man well qualified to direet the affairs of the new settlement, and was appointed by the General Court in March, 1636, as one of the commissioners to admin- ister the settlements on the Connecticut River.
Not of the least importance among the pioneers was Jehu Burr, a carpenter, who came from Roxbury, and, in the lan- guage of Judge Morris, " during the two or three years of his residence here was evidently a man of some consequence. He left Springfield in 1640, and went to Connecticut."
The agent of the settlement in the erection of the first build- ing, mentioned on a previous page, was John Cable, who first officiated in the capacity of constable in the town.
John Woodcock, who appeared as plaintiff in the first case tried in the plantation, seems to have kept the magistrate ex- ceedingly busy. He not only appeared as plaintiff in the first case tried in the new settlement, but he figured as de- fendant in a slander case brought against him by the Rev. Mr. Moxon, and later as plaintiff in a similar case, in which Henry Gregory was defendant. He was also engaged in a suit with the said Gregory in which a " pigge" and a "hogge" seemed to have been the bone of contention. There was also more litigation in which he played a prominent rôle. William Blake and Mathew Mitchell remained but a short time ; the former returned to Dorchester, and the latter removed to Connecticut.
The loss sustained by the departure of three so prominent and influential citizens as Pynchon, Moxon, and Smith, in the words of Judge Morris,
" although a very serious one, and at the time deeply felt, did not permanently check the growth and prosperity of the town. The place of William Pynchon was sooo filled by his son John, with distinguished ability and success, and the loss of Mr. Moxon was fully compensated by the arrival, io 1659, of Rev. Pela- tiah Glover, who soon after succeeded to Mr. Moxoo's pulpit, and occupied his dwelling-house. .. . John Pynchoo, although a young man at the time of his father's departure, was a person of very superior character and abilities, and fully qualified for the responsible stations to which he was immediately called.
He was at once placed at the heal of a commission, with Elizur Holyoke and Samuel Chapin as his associates, with full authority to administer the government of this town. He was soon after elected lieutenant of the military company at Springfield, and so, in the absence of his brother-in-law, Henry Smith, who had been appointed captaio before he left for England, became the chief military officer here, holding successively the offices of captain, major, and eventually of colonel and commander-in-chief of the forces in this part of the State."+
During the first forty years the settlement did not increase with much rapidity, and besides the church mentioned previ- ously, there was but one public building erected here during that period,-the jail, or house of correction, built soon after 1662. Judge Morris states that it was " located near what is now the intersection of Maple and Temple Streets," and is of the opinion that it "stood not far from the site of the house of Mr. William Gunn."
In addition to these buildings, there was one other that is deserving of especial mention in this connection, which, from the fact of its having served as a place of refuge for the in- habitants in the memorable King Philip war, was sometimes called the "Old Fort." This was the private residence of John Pynchon, a cut of which is shown below, and was the first
* 481
OLD PYNCHON MANSION.
brick building erected in the Connecticut Valley. It was lo- cated on the west side of Main Street, a short distance north of Fort Street, and remained in the possession of the Pynchon family until it was demolished in 1831.
During the above-named period the history of the little col- ony was one of peace and prosperity. No internal dissensions marred the harmony of the people, and the friendly intercourse auspiciously begun with the Indians by William Pynchon was continued by his son John. At last, however, the savage spirit of the Indians was aroused against the white settlers throughout the valley by Philip, chief of the Wampanoags, and in June, 1675, began what has gone down in history as King Philip's war.
In this connection Judge Morris, in his " Historical Ad- dress," says :
" Notwithstanding the defenseless condition of Springfield, and the tendency of current events to awaken anxiety, its inhabitants seem to have felt no serious apprehension of danger threatening this town. Philip and his warriors were understood to be engaged in operations against the towns up the river, where he had the sympathy and co-operation of the Indians of that vicinity.
" The Springfield Indians were their own neighbors, with whom for nearly forty years they had lived io daily and friendly intercourse. . . .
" Whatever anxieties the disturbances north of them may at first have occa- sioned, the people here felt that, so long as the Springfield Iodians were true to them, Philip could do them no harm.
"Such was the feeling of security with which the inhabitants of this town re- tired to their rest on the evening of Monday, the 4th of October, 1675. Their sympathies were warmly enlisted for the settlers in other towas, less favorably
+ " Most Worshipful Major" Pynchon, as he was sometimes called, was a prominent and influential citizen, and did much to advance the interests of Springfield and Western Massachusetts. Ile died in 1703.
* " The Meretorions Price of Our Redemption, Justification, etc." 103
818
HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.
situated, to whose relief their husbands and brothers and sons had gone, and they doubtless offered fervent prayers that they might be preserved from the dangers that threatened them. For themselves and their families here they felt safe, and so they laid themselves down on that memorable Monday night to a quiet sleep.
" While such was the feeling of composure here, twenty miles down the river, at Windsor, there was one person whose bosom was agitated with emotions so powerful that they could not be concealed. This person was an Indian, named Toto, who was domesticated in the family of Mr. Wolcott, and was friendly to the English. He was in possession of a secret that stirred the very depths of his nature. Upon being questioned by the family, and urged to explain the cause of his manifest distress, he at length revealed the fact, which had in some way be- come known to him, that a plot had been formed to destroy Springfield, and that for this purpose a large hody of Philip's men had been treacherously admitted by the Springfield Indians to their fort. This fort was situated on Long Ilill, about a mile south from the central part of the town. The precise location is supposed to have been at the head of a ravine, running down from the brow of the hill, west of the present Long Hill Street, toward the Connecticut River.
" Upon the disclosure of this plot by Toto, immediately a swift messenger was dispatched to warn the people here of their danger, and another sent to Maj. Treat with similar information. The messenger arrived here in the night. The alarm was inunediately given to all the jahabitants, and a messenger sent to Maj. Pynchon, at Hadley, for help.
" At that time there were three fortified houses here. One was the brick house of Maj. Pynchon, already noticed, standing near the head of Fort Street. Two others were near the southerly end of Main Street, the lower one perhaps not far from Broad Street.
" Roused at midnight from their slumbers by notice of the impending danger, the villagers fled at once to these fortified houses, taking with them in their flight such of their more valuable effects as they could readily remove. Every preparation was made for defense that the nature of the case would admit of. But there was a painful consciousness that if an immediate assault was made by the Iodians the issue would be doubtful. There were some brave men and heroic women within the forts. Some of the leading men of the town were there. Deacon Samuel Chapin, one of the associates of Maj. Pynchon in the magistracy, and ancestor of all of that name in this country, was one of this number. Jon- athan Burt, for a time the town clerk, was another. There, too, was Thomas Cooper, the lieutenant of the military company, who had Imt a short time before led a party of soldiers that marched from Springfield to the relief of burning Brookfickl. These were wise and courageons men, but they were considerably advanced in life. The young and able-bodied men, who composed the military force of the town, were mostly absent with Maj. Pynchon at Hadley. Elizur Holyoke, the captain of the company, although not a young man, was probably with his command, and his son, Samuel Holyoke, who distinguished himself so much the next year in the famous fight at Turner's Falls, undoubtedly was with the troops at Hadley. More than all, the people at Springfield felt the absence of Maj. Pynchon himself, who, beyond any other man, possessed their confi- dence. Under these circumstances the people in the fortified houses watched with sleepless anxiety for any indication of an enemy.
" The night wore away, and the morning of Tuesday, October 5th, dawned upon the watchers. It brought no confirmation of their fears ; the risen sun disclosed no savage foes. The houses, stretched along the street, showed no signs of having heen molested. Everything remained so quiet that the impression prevailed in many minds that the alarm was a false one. The Rev. Mr. Glover, the minister, was so certain that there was no real danger to be apprehended, that he removed back to his own house his library, which had been transferred for safety to Maj. Pynchon's house. This opinion of one so much respected doubtless tended much to shake the faith of others in the reality of the danger. Of the number that questioned the truth of the report from Windsor was Lieut. Cooper, who determined to test its accuracy by a personal visit to the Indian fort. Taking with him Thomas Miller, the two set ont on horseback down the main street to- ward Long Hill. They had passed about a quarter of a mile beyond the most southerly house, and entered the woods, which then skirted the settlement in that direction, but had not crossed Mill River, when their further progress was suddenly arrested by a discharge of firearms from some unseen focs. Miller was instantly killed. Cooper was fatally shot, and fell from his horse, hut, being an athletic and resolute man, he contrived to mount again, and turned and rode at full speed back to the nearest fort. Before reaching it he received a second shot from the savages, who were in full pursuit, and died as he reached the fort.
" The Indians then burst upon the town with the greatest fury.
" Unable to gratify their thirst for blood by the slaughter of the people within the forts, they began the work of destroying their uodefended houses, barns, and other property. The whole number of dwelling-houses in the town was forty- five, and in a short time thirty-two of these dwellings and twenty-four or twenty- five barns were in flames.
" The house of correction was destroyed,
" Maj. Pynchon's corn-mill and saw-mill were burned, and in general the corn and hay, in store for the coming winter, were consumed.
" Besides Cooper and Miller, one woman, l'entecost Matthews, wife of John Matthews, the drummer, who lived near the south end of the street, was killed. Four other persons were wounded, one of them, Edmund Pringrydays, so severely that he died a few days afterward.
" From one end of the street to the other, this scene of havoc and devastation was exhibited. The beleaguered people looked ont guardedly from the windows and loop-holes of the fortified houses, and saw the Indians, whom they had known familiarly as neighbors and friends for years-to whom they had done no wrong -ruthlessly apply the torch to their dwellings, and consign them, with their fur- niture, their stores of food, and all those little provisions they had made for the
comfort of their families during the approaching winter, to a remorseless de- struction.
" In this diabolical work the Springfield Indians, some forty in number, were not a whit behind the strangers whom they had admitted to their fort. Indeed, first and foremost in this work, 'the ringleader in word and deed,' as Rev. John Russell, of Hadley, wrote the next day to Gov. Leverett, was Wequogan, the chief sachem of the Springfield Indians, 'a man in whom as nnich confidence had been placed by the settlers as in any-of the Indians.' Another chief, well known to our people, while actively engaged in this mischief, loudly proclaimed to them that he was one who had burned Quabong, and would serve them the same way.
" The assail ants did not go entirely unscathed in this work of destruction. Some of them were shot from the fortified honses. It is said that one of them, who had taken a large pewter platter from one of the deserted houses, received a mortal wound by a baillet through the platter, which he was vainly nsing as a shield. Hoyt, in his 'Ilistory of the Indian Wars,' states that at the time he wrote, this platt er, with a bullet-hole through it. was still preserved in Springfield as a memento of that day."
The following is a copy of a letter written by Maj. Pynchon to Rev. John Russell, of Hadley, the day after the burning of Springfield :
" SPRINGFIELD, Octo. 5, '75. " REVEREND ST .- The Ld will hane vs ly in ye dust before him ; we yt were full are emptycd. But it is ye Ld & blessed be his holy name; we came to a La- mentable & woefull sight. The Towne in flames, not a honse nor Barne standing except old Goodm. Branches till we came to my house, & then Mr, Glovers, John Hitchcocks & Goodm. Stewart, burnt downe wtb Barnes, Corne, & all they had ; a few standing about ye Meeting-house, & then from Mirick's downward all burnt to 2 Garrison honses at ye Lower end of ye Towne, my Grist-Mill & Corne- Mill Burnt downe, wth some other houses & Barns I had let out to Tenants. All Mr. Glover's library Burnt wtb all his Corne, so yt he hath none to live on, as well as myselfe & Many more; y' have not for subsistence they tell me 32 houses & ye Barns belonging to ym are Burut, & all ye Livelihood of ye owners, & what more may meete wtb ye same stroaks ye Ld only knows.
" many more had there estats Burnt in these houses ; so yt I belecne 40 famy- lys are vtterly destitute of Subsistence; ye Ld shew mercy to vs! I se Dot how it is Posible for vs to live here this winter, & If so the sooner we were holpen off ye Better.
" Sr, I Pray acquaint of Honord Govr wth this dispensation of God. I know not how to write, neither can I be able to attend any Publike service. The Ld in mercy speake to my heart & to all or hearts is ye Reall desire of
" Yors to serve you,
" JOHN PYNCHON.
" I Pray send downe by ye Post my doblet, Cote Linnen, &c., I left there, & Papers, &e."
The destruction of their dwellings, barns, mills, hay, grain, etc., was a severe blow, and in the following year they peti- tioned the General Court for leave to remove from the place. The following is a copy of the original petition :
" To ye Honorable Governor & Councell at Boston or General Court Assembled :
"The Inhabitants of Springfield Humbly present your Honours with Sundry Grievances Craving your serious Consideration thereof, & Redres therein wch are as follow :
"First. The non allowance of pay For quartering Garison Sonldiers to lies considered : Whether they were for ye towne beneffit, or ye Countries more prin- cipally ; the Towne being the greatest part layd in ye ashes, & ye farms left to ye mercy of ye Indeans, that had it not been thought of great Concernment for ye Country to have garisons here for ye releef of Armys Conveighing amunition, provision, &c., as the Army should stand in need ; the inhabitants had deserted ye place & betooke ymselves elsewhere, where they might have secured them- selves from yt danger they dayly run in (which hath lost severall their lives) & have advantaged themselves more elsewhere, They being many Forced to hyre land here there own being so remote, & to be as garison souldiers themselves where they had no Concerns.
"2d'ly. Wee humbly Conceive (yt wes being detained in Garrison upon a Country Concerns as aforesayd in obedience to a law made to yt end) That all such as had no honses or Concerns in ye town ought rather to be allowed for keeping Garrison (as well as Garrison Souldiers) They being put of from their lands & having no way to get a livelihood, yet were detayned in ye place by vertue of sayd law.
"3ly. No town in these parts have had ye Indeans so Constantly skulking about them as wee have, which hath imployed our townsmen in joyning wth ye souldiers in bunting after them a great part of ye summer, night & day, pursu- ing & hunting of them, killing some, & frighting otbers away.
"4thly. The great los wee have sustained in our eatle, wch wes had prevented hud wee had liberty to have removed. The Indeans having killed & driven away so many catle & horses, that wee are much impoverisht thereby.
"5thly. Upon ye premised Considerations as wee Conceive in Justice we onght to be exempted from keeping Garrison sould. (viz) hearing their diet, & alsoe to have allowance some Measure for such of our inhabitants keeping Garison yt had no Concerns in ye place. Otherwise many, nay, the Generality of the in- habitants are absolutely unable to deffray such Country Rates as Legally shal bee layd upon them.
"6thly. Another Grievance is ye inequality yt is made by the Comittee be- twixt disbursements aod payments, & They allowing us but 48. 6d. pr weeke ye nsnall Rate for diet for pastoring horses, &c., which was usually given amongst
819
HISTORY OF HAMPDEN COUNTY.
us at our rates of corn (viz) wheat at 3sh. 6d. pr bushel. & indean corn at 2sh. p. bushell, & ordering for ye payment of thees disbursements wheat to passe at 6sh. pr bushell, & Indean at 3sh. 6d. pr bushell, when other counties have 5sh. 4d. per weeke. Wee humbly Crave your serious Consideration of yo premises und yt such Redres may bee afforded as may inconrag our people to stay & build up their rnins, otherwise wee shall be disinabled & discouraged either to stay or make payment of Legall demands.
" Wee are your Your Honours Huble suppliants,
The selectmen, by the towns appointment,
" August ye 30th, 1676,
" JONATHA BEEBE,
Springfield.
" ANTHONY DORHESTOR. " JOHN HITCHCOCK."
This petition for removal was not granted, and when at the close of the war peace once more threw its charitable mantle over the valley, the inhabitants of Springfield sought to re- trieve the great loss they had sustained, and in a few years marks of the desolation and ruin of that October day were ob- literated, and prosperity again reigned among the persevering members of this unfortunate settlement.
ORIGINAL ALLOTMENTS.
During the first half-century the dwelling-houses of the town were all situated on the west side of what is now Main Street, with lots extending back to the river. There were forty-five grants of lots in the original settlement of the street, and were in width as follows: one, six rods; twenty- five, eight rods ; twelve, ten rods ; three, fourteen rods ; while Mr. Pynchon's was thirty rods; Elizur Holyoke's, twenty rods ; and Harry Smith's, twenty rods.
These grants were probably all made between the years 1636 and 1652, and it is evident that allotments were made to many who were not here until many years after the first set- tlement, for but thirteen persons were assessed when a tax was levied in 1639. Of this tax, which amounted to £41 4s., Mr. Pynchon paid more than half.
" Two years afterward allotments of planting lands were made to 17 persons, and in 1643 there were 22. In 1646, 42 persons were assessed to pay for the pur- chase of the Indians, and there were 6 vacant lots also assessed. In 1656 there were 52 who had taken the oath of fidelity. In 1664 there were recorded as ad- mitted inhabitants, 74 persons. These were all there were in different parts of the town."
" The rule of allotting and dividing the lands in the town, before the year 1685, is nowhere laid down" (says Hon. George Bliss in his address), "except what is stated in the original agreement, in 1636. A power was, however, given to per- sons designated from time to time, to admit inhabitants and to make allotments of lands, according to the original agreement. This must have been done in very many instances without being entered on the town records. In regard to the greater part of the original settlers on the town street, the only evidence of their title is in the record of the town recorder, and there is commonly neither the date of the grant nor the time of recording mentioned npon record. The entry is usually in this form: A. B. is by grant of the plantation possessed of a house- lot, 8 rods broad and 80 rods long, extending from the street to the river, and of a piece of meadow, opposite thereto, of equal breadth, extending east from the street 40 rods, to the fout of the hill, and of a wood-lot in the rear thereof, in the same direction, of the same breadth, 80 rods; and also of a lot over against his house-lot on the west side of the river, extending from the great river to Aga- wam River, all bounded on the north by C. D., and on the south by E. F."
EARLY REGULATIONS AND BY-LAWS.
The early regulations of the settlement were as varied as they were extensive. In one of the earliest records, Oct. 17, 1638, an anxiety is manifested about the scareity of timber.
" It is ordered, with the consent of the plantation, that from this day forward noe trees shall be cnt down, or taken away by any man in the compass of grounds from the Mill River upward to John Reader's lott, which parsall of ground is appointed for house-lots, and in case any man shall tresspass, contrary to this order, he shall be liable to the fine of five shillings."
Nov. 23, 1638 .- " It is ordered that a foot-path and stiles he allowed at every man's lotts, and next the greate River."
Feb. 14, 1639,-" It is ordered that it shall be lawful for any inhabitant to fall any canoe-trees and make them for his own use or for the use of an inhabitant, yt grow on ye comnon, but not to sell or anyways pass away any canoe ont of ye plautation until it be five years old, and in case any transgress this order after this day he shall be liable to a fine of twenty shillings.
" It is also ordered yt it shall be lawfull for any man to put over horse, cowes or younger cattle, on the other side of the river at the first of November and to ake them away thence on the 14th of April, and if any shall trespass this order he shall be liable to pay any damages that shall appear to be done by his cattayle."
" It is ordered that all yt leave a ditch by the highway before their doors shall keep it well scoured for the ready passage of the water, that it may not be pent up to flowe the meadowe."
Nov. 14, 1039 .- " It is mutually agreed on by the plantation that ye sealed Peck which Mr. Pynchon hath, shall be the ordinary peck to buy and sell by in the plantation, and whoever will may repayre to the constable and have his peck sealed, paying his 2d. for his labor with ye seal."
Particular attention was also given to the matter of train- ing, as,
"It is also ordered yt ye exercise of training shall be practiced one day in every month, and if occasions doe sometimes hinder then the like space of tyme shall be observed another tyme, though it be two days after one another. And yt this tyme of training is referred to ye discretion of Henry Smith, who is chosen by mutual consent to be Seargeant of the Company, who shall have power to choose a Corporal for his assistant. And whosoever shall absent himself with- ont a lawful excuse, shall forfeit twelve pence, and yt all above 15 years of age shall be counted for soldiers, and the time to begin the first Thursday in Decem- her next.11
" It is also mutually agreed on yt no person in this plantation shall trade, give, or lend to any Indian any quantity of Powder, little or great, under ye penalty of 40s. for any tyme yt any person shall be found a transgressor in this kind."
It seems that in the early days " ye people" of the town jointly made arrangement for the grinding of their grain, as is shown by the following quaint record found in the old town book, under date of " June 4, 1666:"
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