USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Ashfield > History of the town of Ashfield, Franklin County, Massachusetts from its settlement in 1742 to 1910 > Part 18
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35
Rev. Mr. Green took a great interest in, and exercised a fatherly care over the institution, putting in a good grade of books which gave character to the library. H. S. Ranney, Esq., A. W. Crafts and Asa Wait were warm friends of the Library, also Mrs. W. E. Ford, Geo. B. Church and others. For twelve years past the town has voted $200 per annum for the free use of books. In 1903, branch libraries were located in Baptist Corner and South Ashfield, both of which have been well patronized. At present the Library contains about 6,000 volumes.
CHAPTER XII
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
Names of men who have served as selectmen in Ashfield, with date of their terms of office.
Ebenezer Belding, 1762, '65, '68, '69; Chileab Smith, 1762, '66, '67; Phillip Phillips, 1762, '68, '88; Nathan Wait, 1763; Reuben Ellis, 1763, '64; Jonathan Edson, 1764; Nathan Chapin, 1764, '68; Samuel Belding, 1765, '70, '72, '73, '74; Jonathan Yeamans, 1765; Moses Fuller, 1766, '68; Thomas Phillips, 1766, '67; Timothy Lewis, 1767; Isaac Shepard, 1769, '70, '79; Samuel Allen, 1770, '73, '82; Jonathan Taylor, 1772, '74; Aaron Lyon, 1772, '75-'77, '80; Reuben Ellis, 1774; Jasher Taylor, 1775-'76, '79, '83; Elisha Cranson, 1775; Ben- jamin Phillips, 1776-'78, '80, '82; Peter Cross, 1777; Phineas Bartlett, 1777, '78; Jacob Sherwin, 1778, '82; John Bement, 1779, '93; Rowland Sears, 1780, '88-'92, '94, '95; Warren Green, Jr., 1781, '85; Uriah Goodwin, 1781; John Sherwin, 1781; Thomas Stocking, 1783, '84, '86, '87; Benjamin Rogers, 1783; Chileab Smith, Jr., 1784-'87, '89, '91, '92, 1800, '01; John Ellis, 1784, '90; Warren Green, Jr., 1785; Ephraim Williams, 1785, '88-'92, '94, '95, '98, '99; William Flower, 1786-'87; Warren Green, 1793; Lemuel Spurr, 1793; Abner Kelley, 1796-1808; Joshua Howes, 1796-'99; Abiezer Perkins, 1796; Elijah Paine, 1797; Samuel Guilford, 1800-'06; John Alden, 1806-'08; Thomas White, 1807-'15, 1825-'29; Bethuel Lilly, 1809-'11, 1816-'19; Josiah Drake, 1809-'11; Chipman Smith, 1812-'15; Nathaniel Holmes, 1812-'19, 1826-'27; Dimick Ellis, 1816-'19; Roswell Ranney, 1820-'21, '24; Jona- than Sears, 1820-'26, '29-'31; Samuel Eldredge, 1821-'25; Simeon Phillips, 1823; Sanford Boice, 1827, '28, '34, '39, '46, 47, '48; Austin Lilly, 1828, '29; Seth Church, 1830-'33; George Hall, 1830-'33; William Bassett, 1832, '33; Daniel Williams, 1834; Joseph Hall, 1834, '39; Chester Sanderson, 1835-'38, '40, '47; Anson Bement, 1835-'37, '40; Isaac Taylor, 1835-'37; Friend Knowlton, 1838, '39, '49, '50; David Gray, 1840, '41, '49, '50; Wait Bement, 1841, '42, '44, '70, '71; Salmon Miller, 1841; Hosea Blake, 1842-'44, '46, '47; Alvan Perry, 1842, '45, '51; John Guilford, 1843; Nathan Vincent, 1843; Lot Bassett, 1844, '45; Alvan Hall, 1845, '54, '65; Ephraim Williams, 1846; William Bassett, 1848; Henry Paine, 1849-'51,
214
HISTORY OF ASHFIELD
'55, '56, '67; Nathan Knowlton, 1851-'53, '57, '58, '63, '66, '72, '73, '75, '76; Foster R. King, 1852; Kimball H. Howes, 1853; Orville Hall, 1853, '56-'58, '66, '72, '76, '77; Henry S. Ranney, 1854; Addison Graves, 1854-56; Silas Blake, 1855, '74, '75; Danicl Williams, Jr., 1857, '58; Frederick Forbes, 1859; Free- man Williams, 1859; Chauncey Boice, 1859, '60, '79, '80; Nelson Gardner, 1860; Josephus Crafts, 1860-'63; Almon Howes, 1861, '63, '64, '67, '68, '78; Lorenzo Wait, 1861; Moses Cook, 1862, '68; Darius Williams, 1862; Josiah Cross, 1864- '65; Frederick G. Howes, 1865, '66, '74; Addison G. Hall, 1867-73; Joseph Blake, 1869-'71; Albert W. Crafts, 1869; Charles Howes, 1873, '75, '79, '80, '82, '84, '86-'93, '95, '96; Cyrus A. Hall, 1874; Alvan Hall, 2d, 1876-'78, '80, '87, '88, 1895-'99; Lavant F. Gray, 1877-'79, '85, '86; William H. Pease, 1881; Levi Gardner, 1882, '83; A. D. Flower, 1884, '85, '95; Emory D. Church, 1881-'85, 1899-1903; George B. Church, 1886-'94, '96-'98, 1908; Walter Guilford, 1889-'94; Sanford H. Boice, 1894; Charles A. Hall, 1897; Allison G. Howes, 1898-1909; Frederick H. Smith, 1899-1907; Harlan P. Howes, 1904-'09; Claude D. Church, 1909.
The following persons were elected town clerks, on the date indicated, and served until the next following date:
1762, Samuel Belding; 1766, Benjamin Phillips; 1776, Dr. Phineas Bartlett; 1778, Jacob Sherwin; 1782, Dr. Phineas Bartlett; 1794, Dr. Francis Mantor; 1795, Dr. Phineas Bart- lett; 1799, Levi Cook; 1802, Elijah Paine; 1806, Selah Norton; 1807, Henry Bassett; 1813, Lewis Williams; 1814, Dr. Enos Smith; 1816, Henry Bassett; 1823, Dimick Ellis; 1826, James McFarland; 1830, Russell Bement; 1832, Wait Bement; 1836, Samuel Barber; 1839, Henry S. Ranney; 1847, Nelson Gardner; 1852, Dr. Sidney Brooks; 1853, Henry S. Ranney; 1870, Moses G. Cook; 1873, Henry S. Ranney; 1898, John M. Sears.
The following list gives the number of years that each person named has served as town treasurer of Ashfield, since the year 1762:
Dr. Phineas Bartlett, 22; Hon. Elijah Paine, 19; Nelson Gardner, Esq., 18; John M. Sears, Esq., 16; Samuel Hall, Esq., 11; Asa C. Wait, 10; Almon E. Bronson, 8; Chester Sanderson, Esq., 6; Henry Bassett, Esq., 5; Ephraim Williams, Esq., 3; Capt. Benjamin Phillips, 3; Levi Cook, Esq., 3; Dea. Alvan Perry, 3; Warren Green Jr., 2; Dea. David Alden, 2; Charles
215
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
Williams, 2; Thomas Phillips, 1; Timothy Lewis, 1; Ebenezer Belding, 1; John Sadler, 1; Rev. Silas Blaisdell, 1; John Hart, 1; George G. Hall, 1; Moses Cook, 1; Charles H. Wilcox, 1.
Representatives to the General Court were elected as follows:
1775, Capt. Elisha Cranson; 1779, Dea. Jonathan Taylor; 1780, Jacob Sherwin, Esq .; 1782, Benjamin Rogers; 1783-'86, Capt. Elisha Cranson; 1787, Chileab Smith, Jr .; 1789, Capt. Phillip Phillips; 1790, Ephraim Williams, Esq. (who served eleven years); 1801, Elijah Paine, Esq .; 1806-'07, Ephraim Williams; 1808, Ephraim Williams and Elijah Paine; 1809. Ephraim Williams and Thomas White, Esq .; 1810, Ephraim Williams and Henry Bassett; 1811-'12, Thomas White and Henry Bassett; 1814, Dr. Enos Smith; 1816, Dr. Enos Smith and Henry Bassett; 1817, Dr. Enos Smith; 1820, Henry Bassett; 1823, Dimick Ellis; 1827, Henry Bassett; 1829, Dr. Enos Smith and Capt. Roswell Ranney; 1830, Dr. Enos Smith and Dea. Samuel Bement; 1831 (May), Capt. Roswell Ranney and Henry Bassett; 1831 (Nov.), Henry Bassett, Esq., and Chester Sanderson, Esq .; 1832, Chester Sanderson and Jonathan Sears; 1833, Seth Church and Anson Bement; 1834, Justus Smith and Judah Taylor; 1835, Jonathan Sears and Wait Bement, Esq .; 1836, Anson Bement and Wait Bement, Esq .; 1837, Roswell Ranney; 1838, William Bassett and Friend Knowlton; 1839, Friend Knowlton; 1840, Sanford Boice; 1844, Jasper Bement; 1847, Samuel W. Hall, Esq .; 1848, Samuel Barber; 1849-'50, Hosea Blake; 1851, Henry S. Ranney, Esq .; 1852, Anson Bement; 1853, Nelson Gardner, Esq .; 1855, Manly Guilford; 1856, Phillip Bassett; 1858, Nathan Knowlton; 1860, Dea. Joseph Vincent, Jr .; 1863, Chauncey Boice; 1865, David S. Howes; 1867, Henry S. Ranney; 1870, Levi Gardner; 1874, Frederick G. Howes; 1877, Nelson Gardner; 1883, Dea. Frederick H. Smith; 1888, Charles Howes; 1899, Dr. George R. Fessenden.
Elijah Paine, Esq., and Dr. Enos Smith each served one or two years as senator.
The pay of the lawmakers was small and usually fixed by the legislature of that year. The pay for the year 1812 was $2 per day-in session about sixty days. In 1814 they were to forfeit five shillings for each day's absence without excuse. The fare from Boston to Ashfield and return was about $8 and there were no free passes. Judah Taylor, who was sent in 1835, did
216
HISTORY OF ASHFIELD
not come home during the cntirc session, which was for ninety- two days for that ycar. Small as was the compensation there were even then men who were willing to sacrifice themselves. It is not on record, but there is a well authenticated tradition that one year a prominent man of the town in open meeting made an offer of $30 to the town treasury if they would send him to the General Court, and he was sent.
Another story not on record, comes down to us. Squire Phillips was sent one year and the town at the meeting seemed favorably disposed to send him another, when "Uncle Zeke Taylor," who was not quite friendly to the Squire, said he had always noticed that representatives the first year served the state, the second year they served themselves and the third year they served the devil; but Squire Phillips had been smarter than the rest and had served all three in one year and he thought they had better send another man. It seems that the argument was convincing, for another man was sent.
In the election of these representatives, there were in the main the two parties, Whig and Democrat, but the results show that even in those days there were independents, who dared to strike out and vote for the man in the other party, if they deemed him the better. The Whigs seemed to have been in the ascendency, but there were occasional Democrats sandwiched in. In 1838, Edward Everett, the Whig candidate for governor had 200 votes, and Marcus Morton, Democrat, 113 votes. The Whig candidates for representative, Messrs. Bassett and Knowlton, had 170 votes and Chester Sanderson and Anson Bement, Democrats, had 130. In a number of cases, after balloting several times there would be no choice, and the town would vote not to send, or, if the vote was close, another meeting would be called. In 1836, two brothers, a Whig and a Democrat, were both chosen to represent the town in the legislature the same year. In 1847, the two physicians in the town were set up as opposing candidates, Dr. Sidney Brooks receiving 113, and Dr. Charles L. Knowlton 96, with many scattering votes. At another meeting called two wecks later, the voters decided that the doctors were needed at home; they were dropped as can- didates and Samuel W. Hall elected.
217
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
About the beginning of the forties, the Liberty or Abolition party made its appearance in the shape of perhaps half a dozen voters, of whom Jasper Bement, Henry S. Ranney and Dea. Samuel Bement were most prominent. As this small beginning was the nucleus of the Free Soil party, which was in turn the nucleus of the Republican party in Ashfield, as well as in the nation, a little account of its growth may be interesting.
There are those living who can remember with what indiffer- ence if not derision, this little company was looked upon by the two parties of the day. But the new party gained steadily and in 1843, the representative vote stood: S. W. Hall (Whig), 131; Anson Bement (Dem.), 96; Jasper Bement (Liberty), 53. The next year Jasper Bement was elected. In '45, '46, there was no choice; in '47, '48, after close contests, Whigs were elected. In '49, the Liberty party, by accretions from the old parties, having grown into the Free Soil party, Hosea Blake was nominated by that party. There was a hot fight, but after two meetings Mr. Blake was declared elected by one vote.
There was much rejoicing by the Free Soil party and it was proposed to bring out the "Old Swivel" and celebrate the vic- tory, but a company of the two opposing parties gathered to prevent it. It was finally fired once through the window of Mr. Crafts' grocery, it being thought prudent not to risk it on the street. After dark, an outside farmer backed up to the grocery, ostensibly for a "barrel of flour." The cannon was placed in a barrel and loaded in. The farmer drove away and when at Bassett's four corners he was joined by a few of the faithful, the cannon taken out and a rousing salute fired. The pursuers being soon on the track, the gun was taken to Mr. Seth Hall's house. The enemy appearing in considerable force and there being some danger of capture, Mr. Josephus Crafts took the gun down through a scuttle in the back part of the house and with the help of a few other men were on their way up to the pasture while the crowd were entering the house from the front. The gun was soon heard from in the pasture and the pursuers gave chase, only to hear the report in another direction. By midnight the gun was secreted and pursued and pursuers re- turned to the village.
218
HISTORY OF ASHFIELD
To show the state of fecling not only in the town but in the county wc give the following from the Greenfield Gazette the next week after this election.
In Ashfield, Hosea Blake, free soil coalition, was elected by one vote under the following circumstances. After the polls were opened two men whose names were not on the tax list, one of them a black man, were dragged into the hall by the frce soil party, a tax assessed against them, their names put on the voting list and their votes deposited for Hosea Blake, the coalition candidate.
We hope the Whigs of Ashfield will not be browbeaten in this manner.
A petition signed by Capt. Kimball Howes and 77 others, remonstrating against the election of Mr. Blake, was sent to the Legislature and referred to the committee on elections. One of their number was sent to Ashfield to hear and report the evidence in the case.
The hearing was held in Cross' Hall, a large number of citi- zens being present. The evidence was taken to Boston and considered by the committee who finally reported against Mr. Blake retaining his seat. The matter was debated several days before the Legislature, Whiting Griswold of Greenfield and Nathaniel P. Banks of Waltham in favor of Mr. Blake and E. Rockwood Hoar of Concord and others against him. It was finally decided by a vote of 123 to 81 to allow Mr. Blake to retain his seat.
The next year, after two meetings and a close vote, Mr. Blake was reelected, and was one of the men who voted for Charles Sumner as United States Senator, who it will be remem- bered was, after a struggle, elected by one vote.
The advent of the American or "Know Nothing" order in the country was in 1853-4. Its object was to check and limit the power of the foreign and Roman Catholic element. A lodge was formed in this town in the season of 1854. It was a secret order, having its signs and pass words. The meetings were first held in the hall in Cross' hotel, later in the hall over a store which is now Rice's meat market. The name of the order,
219
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
known only to the initiated, was the American; the term "Know Nothing" was not acknowledged by the members, so if they were asked if they belonged to the Know Nothing party, they replied in the negative, and if a man who did not belong to the order was asked the same question he would of course give the same answer. There was therefore a great deal of mystery as to who really did belong to the order, so much so that before election time sentinels were posted near the piazza of the store to try and count the number entering the lodge. The estimate of the outsiders was very much underrated, for at the election the party carried the town, as it did the state, Henry J. Gardner receiving 121 votes; Emory Washburn, Whig, 93; Henry Wilson, Free Soil, 21; Henry W. Bishop, Democrat, 8. Dr. Charles L. Knowlton was the candidate for Representative but failed of election by one vote, he receiving 117 votes, all others 117. The Know Nothing party in the town soon disappeared, and Republican and Democrat only have existed since.
THE TOWN MAGISTRATES
One hundred years ago the office of Justice of the Peace was a very important one. He solemnized marriages, issucd writs, tried both civil and criminal cases, and was both judge and jury in his decisions. Samuel Belding and Jacob Sherwin were the first recorded justices, Mr. Belding holding his commission from the King.
Capt. Phillip Phillips was one of the earliest state magis- trates. His father, Thomas, was the second settler in the town, and came here when Phillip was about six years old. Phillip commenced life by building his house on the west side of Bellows Hill, where the old cellar hole may still be seen from the highway just over in Mr. Levant Gray's pasture. He afterwards built a large two-story house on the corner opposite where Mr. Gray now lives. He was a great hunter in his younger days, and killed twenty-nine bears in one season. He had thirteen chil- dren, two daughters and eleven sons, each son said to have been over six feet in height, all of whom were in Captain Phillips'
220
HISTORY OF ASHFIELD
company. He held a commission from the King and when the Revolutionary war broke out dcemed it his duty to remain loyal to his oath and his Sovereign, therefore was classcd as one of the Tories and forced to pay heavy fines. Notwithstanding this, after the war he was chosen Representative to the General Court and was Justice of the Peace for many years. An old record book of the trials before him from May, 1790, to Sep- tember, 1792, shows over three hundred cases tried before him in that time, most of them at his dwelling house. Many cases were for debt, and often "Defendant did not Appear tho Soll- emnny Called and was default." Everything was recorded in due legal form, but the spelling is somewhat original. A number of "A salt and Batery" cases are mentioned and some boys were tried for stealing "Watermillions" and fined 5s. Simeon Crittenden and Benjamin Spinning were before the Court on complaint of Nathaniel Sherwin, tithing-man, for "Disorderly Behavior on the Lords Day in the House of Public Worship" and fined 5s. each, with costs of Is. There are a number of cases of fines imposed for neglect to appear at train- ings when notified, also fines for profane swearing. An old treasurer's receipt shows cash received from Esquire Phillips for fines imposed, among which was one for 5s. on Joseph Lilly "for uttering one profane oath." There is a tradition that when the fine was imposed, Lilly, who was an odd character, and the hero who brought the guns back from Pelham in Shays' time, put in his plea for clemency beginning as follows, "Well now Squire, this is too D-n bad." "Tut, Tut," said the Squire, "Be careful, Lilly, or I shall have to fine you again."
In spite of his poor orthography, the decisions of Esquire Phillips secm to have been highly respected for the fairness and good judgment shown, for he had important cases from adjoin- ing towns before him, both as justice and arbitrator. He died in 1800, and is buried in the old part of the Plain Cemetery.
Ephraim Williams came here in 1771. In 1769, the Pro- prietors voted "Encouragement to Daniel Williams to build a saw mill South of Lot No. 52, 2nd division." This was at the north end of what is now Spruce Corner. Daniel was the father
221
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
of Ephraim and had married a descendant of Capt. Ephraim Hunt and very likely inherited some land here from him. He had also bought out certain "Rights" from some of the other soldiers. Before Ephraim settled here it is probable that both he and his father looked the town over and finally fixed on the spot in Spruce Corner, then uninhabited, as a desirable site for the sawmill. In 1771, Ephraim and a millwright cafne here on foot from Easton, a hundred and twenty miles, bringing on their backs tools to build the mill and a little lumber besides. Rev. Francis Williams in a paper read at a Williams gathering, and quoted in the Ellis book, tells how he built his cheap cabin first, then his mill, covering it with boards sawed after the running part was finished. The millwright's bill for services was $13.33. Ephraim went back to Easton in 1775, was married, and with a four wheeled cart and two yoke of oxen brought his bride with furniture, and so forth, to Ashfield. He lived on the old place till 1800, when, his sons becoming old enough to carry on the mill and farm, he built the house where Clarence Hall now lives and spent the rest of his life there. He was an ex- cellent business man for himself, and was early called upon to do service for the town. He was selectman ten years, town treasurer three years, and representative to the General Court ยท eleven years, also clerk and treasurer of the Congregational Church for many years.
He was the leading surveyor of the town and had a better knowledge of the old original lots as laid out than any other man. By reference to the plan in the clerk's office of these original lots, it will be seen that some are not numbered and that there are gores or strips of land between the lots. These were called "undivided lands," and were sold out from time to time by the Proprietors, and Esquire Williams, from his knowl- edge, was able to secure some good bargains. Spruce Corner meadows, being at that time very wet and swampy, were not laid out in lots at all, as shown on the plan. The hundred acre lot north of No. 10, 3rd division, was not numbered and is now the farm of F. H. and Charles Smith, originally given by Esquire Williams to his son, David, great-grandfather of Charles Smith.
222
HISTORY OF ASHFIELD
Another son, Apollos, settled at the upper end of the meadow gorc in Spruce Corner. Another smaller gore will be noticed in the northwest part of the town near where Ezra Williams settled, and also in the north part of the town where Herbert Clark now lives, is another gore where the son Israel settled. At the time of the trouble between Ashfield and Goshen in the nineties, the Proprietors voted to employ Esquire Williams to try and find the line between this town and Goshen, provided he would take his pay in land, and he did the work; was evidently not afraid of real estate currency. In the old tax list of 1793, his tax on real estate was more than twice as high as that of any other man in town. In settling his boys he helped them to buy other desirable lots near these gores for their farms, thus in- ducing them to remain in town, where they made substantial and valuable citizens until their death. There is an old record book of the justice trials before him in possession of his de- scendants, and Fred Kelley, another descendant, has the com- pass with which his surveying was done.
Esquire Williams was a very public-spirited man. Two rooms in the chamber of his new house had folding doors between, and when open made a good sized hall which was free to the public for religious mectings and other purposes. Rev. Alvan San- derson at one time had evening schools there,where, it was said, that among other things "good behavior" was taught.
The town records show that in December, 1787, Esquire Williams was chosen delegate to the convention for the adoption of the federal constitution and was instructed "to use his in- fluence that said constitution doth not take place," but the state records show that said constitution did take place by a vote of 187 to 168, and that Esquire Williams voted for it in spite of his instructions.
The following was written by Mr. Ranney for the Ellis book:
HON. ELIJAH PAINE
Conspicuous among the prominent men of the town was Elijah Paine, Esq., a lawyer, who settled in this village near the close of the last century, and spent the remainder of his days
223
TOWN OFFICERS, CIVIL MAGISTRATES
here. He was a son of Dr. Elijah Paine, of Hatfield and Wil- liamsburg; was born in Hatfield, Nov. 29, 1760, graduated at Tale in 1790, and died Aug. 3, 1846, aged 85. He married, July 1, 1795, Patty Pomeroy, of Northfield. She died Jan. 28, 1842, aged 69. Esquire Paine became a man of much useful- ness and influence in the community; of sterling character with dignified bearing, and manners of a gentleman of the old school; a ruffle on his bosom was always a part of his attire. He served as a member of each branch of the legislature; and, on the division of the old county, in 1811, was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Sessions, and held the office some fifteen years, until it was abolished by law. For many years he was a deacon of the Congregational Church, and three of his sons- Elijah, William P. and John C .- became clergymen.
About 1795, Esquire Paine built a one-story house just in front of where the house of Henry M. and Elizabeth Smith now stands, and occupied it until his death. In the records of the early Justice trials Esquire Paine's name appears as counsel in a majority of the cases.
THOMAS WHITE, ESQ.
came here from Whately, (then Hatfield) in 1795 and built what is called the old White Homestead opposite the town hall and now occupied by a granddaughter, Mrs. Amanda Hall. He was chosen selectman in 1807, was on the board for twelve years, and also represented the town in the legislature several times. He held a commission as Justice of the Peace, trying most of the cases in the long kitchen of his dwelling house. This was the custom in those days, and being open to the public, the wives of the magistrates had their full share in the "clean- ing up" afterwards. Esquire White was an active friend of the old Academy, educating his own children there, and as- sisted Mary Lyon in her early efforts to obtain an education. He died in 1848, aged seventy-five years.
The following tribute to her grandfather has been kindly given by Mrs. Amanda Hall:
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.