USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Cheshire > History of the town of Cheshire, Berkshire County, Mass. > Part 20
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Among the greatest curiosities of porcelain, among the rarest bits of old china and ancient silver are those in the possession of Mrs. William Card and her daughters at Pumpkin Hook, and Mrs. Julius Hammond, daughter
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of Squire Ezra Barker. Perhaps the most ancient and quaintest article owned by the latter is a set of knives and forks brought from England with the Barkers and descending from generation to generation, a round-shaped blade in the knives and three tines in the forks, with a green handle of horn almost transparent. Pieces of pewter and silver are treasured that glittered upon the dresser of Squire James Barker as long as he lived, and were no doubt among the household goods which in 1723 he shipped to Providence, there to set out with wife and children for the Lanesborough settlement in the wilds of Berkshire. Upon his death they fell to Ezra, his son.
These silent memorials of Colonial times are scarcely known beyond their own immediate owners, but are of deepest interest and should always be treasured with greatest care, for, as the years sweep on, and this town with its history and traditions and legends of the past is entering upon the second century of its existence, their value will increase in a geometri- cal ratio.
In closing this chapter we must not fail to mention the Cheshire Shoe Manufacturing Company, which has recently rented the old tannery prop- erty, and transformed the formerly deserted rooms into scenes of busy industry. Where, at the close of 1884, all was silent, save the steady whir of the grist-mill, in May, 1885, is heard the buzz of machinery, the pound- ing of countless hammers, the tread of hurrying feet, and our quiet town heartily welcomes this addition to its business enterprises. They have one hundred and twelve people now in their employ, and the building will admit of a working force of three hundred. Population of the town in 1880, 1,537; valuation 1884, 8692,090.
CHAPTER XII.
SKETCH OF REV. JOHN LELAND.
So thoroughly interwoven is the name of John Leland with the New Providence settlement, and the town of Cheshire that succeeded it, no his- tory of them would be quite complete without a short biography of this great and good man.
From commencement to close, the story of this life is full of interest. The town can ill afford to lose the memory of its strong men. Every manly life is valuable beyond computation, and this one, so upright and so power- ful, prolonged to more than four-score years, and given to the public service with such humble zeal and fidelity, takes on a dignity that demands our homage. He came to the Cheshire church when in its very infancy: he came, a preacher of the gospel, to labor for more than sixty years; to leave a name ever to be pronounced with reverence; to leave words and sermons ever to be remembered by a rapturous throng of admirers.
Through the years following 1754 there lived in the village of Grafton, forty miles inland from the Puritan city of Boston, a boy called by his friends, John Leland. Leland, the father, was a man in humble position, and the childhood of John passed as was the fashion of childhood among rural folk at that early period-a period when the perfect hush of primeval nature rested upon the fair forests of northern Berkshire. Century after century the mornings had dawned upon its picturesque solitudes, and the setting sun been reflected in its ponds and streams.
Leland's birth was coeval with the breaking out of that cruel war invoked by eastern monarchs in 1754. Braddock had not yet sailed from the shores of England, and George Washington, scarcely at his majority, was wending his way toward the fords of the Monongehala. Among the first of Leland's remembrances were some of the atrocities committed during this war. His thirst for knowledge was intense, and he went, almost in his babyhood, to a village dame who taught him so well that at five years he could read the Bible with ease and fluency. He was not handsome, and did not attract his teachers or mates, as a rule; his manners were stiff and rustic. Al- though not an Adonis in early days, in later life his mild hazel eye
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beamed with an an eloquent, winning light, and the burning words that fell from his lips seemed to invoke a magnetic circle that, like the touch of the magnet, drew every one within it. It was often said of him, "Had Jolin Leland chosen politics for a vocation he would have reached the pres- idential chair at the White House."
In his youth he was gay, wild and flighty, fond of revels and devoted to dancing; but, in the midst of this merriment, a voice spoke to him from the clouds, declaring that "he was not about the work he had to do." Hither- to he had been full of ambition and was no idler, although a lover of fun and frolic. He had planned to make a career for himself by becoming a lawyer. Knowledge he sought eagerly for for its own sake, and his fertile in- tellect could never rest; so, when the change came and he accepted the call from the skies, all, familiar with his history, remember how ardently he be- gan and continued the work he had found to do; with what enthusiasm he labored for the conversion of those around him, and the God-given power he held that swayed and carried with him great congregations as well as in- dividuals. His accents rarely fell upon indifferent cars.
Leaving his youth and young manhood, with their frolics and romance, he married Sally Devine of Hopkinton, and, in this drama of his life, re- peats, somewhat, the experience of another John who lived in the Ply- mouth colony during the first years of its existence.
Amid the rollicking and fun-loving spirits of this rural circle. Sally De- vine of Hopkinton seems to have been a prime favorite, a friend of Leland's had bestowed his society upon the fair Sally, and been captivated by her manifold charms, being rather shy, like Macbeth in that grewsome scene at the castle of Inverness, he had never been able to "screw his courage to the sticking place," and put in spoken words the story of his love, so he wrote to his charmer of his adoration, asked her to become his wife, and sent the missive down to Hopkinton by John Leland who chanced to be go- ing that way. The latter carried it and faithfully delivered it into the hands of Sally Devine; but to the indictment of love for the girl the subject of this chapter would be forced to plead guilty. Whether at the suggestion of Sally, or of his own free will, no one knoweth, but the conclusion is pal- pable that the word was spoken, and Sally Devine became Mrs. John Le- land, while the bashful suitor, like Captain Miles, was left to nurse the tongs in the chimney corner, or fight Indian wars. Directly after this mar- riage they went to Virginia, and at Mount Poney in Culpepper they joined the Church. Elder Leland was ordained, preached from this pulpit half the time, and spent the remainder doing the work of an evangelist.
The Baptist Weekly gives the following account of the ordination servi- ces: " The council, consisting of three staunch Calvanists, was called, the
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day appointed for the ordination arrived, and with it came a multitude of people to witness the ceremony. The work was divided among the several presbyters: one was to ask the usual questions concerning his faith and call; another was to offer up an ordination prayer, and another was to deliver the charge to the pastor and the church. Leland took his seat long before they appeared and, resting his arms on his knees and burying his face in his hands, awaited their movements.
"The presbyter appointed to conduct the examination at last began:
" Moderator. 'Brother Leland, it becomes my duty, according to previ- ous arrangement, to ask you a few questions upon the subject of your faith, and in reference to your call to the ministry.'
""' Well, brother,' said Leland, slowly raising his head, ' I will tell you all I know,' and down went his head into his hands again.
"M. 'Do you not believe that God chose his people in Christ before the foundation of the world?'
"Leland, looking up. 'I know not, brother, what God was doing before he began to make this world.'
" M. ' Brother Leland, do you not believe that God had a people before the foundation of the world?'
"L. ' If he had, brother, they were not our kind of folks. Our people were made out of dust, you know, and before the foundation of the world there was no dust to make them out of.'
" M. ' Do you believe, Brother Leland, that all men are totally de- praved ?'
"L. 'No, my brother, for if they were they could not wax worse and worse as some of them do. The Devil was no worse than totally depraved.'
"M. 'Well, there are other questions that will embrace all these in sub- stance. I will ask whether you do not believe that sinners are justified by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them?'
"L. ' Yes, brother, provided he will do right himself; but I know of no righteousness that will save a man if he will not do right himself.'
"M. 'Brother Leland, I will ask you one more question. Do you be- lieve that all the saints will persevere through grace to glory and get home to heaven at last?'
"L. 'I can tell you more about that, my brother, when I get there my- self. Some of them make a very bad start of it here.'
"The presbyter, seeing that the audience was very much amused, proposed to his colleagues that they should retire for a few minutes and consult to- gether. After their return they remarked to the congregation that Brother Leland had not answered their questions as satisfactorily as they could wish; but, as they all knew that he had many eccentricities for which they
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should make every allowance; they had concluded, accordingly, to ask him a few questions touching his call to the ministry.
" M. . Brother Leland, you believe that God has called you to preach the gospel.'
" L. 'I never heard him, brother.'
"M. ' We do not suppose, Brother Leland. that you ever heard an au- dible voice; but you know what we mean.'
"L. 'But wouldn't it be a queer call, brother, with no voice, and noth- ing said?'
"M. (Evidently confused. ) ' Well ! well ! Brother Leland, you believe that is your duty to preach the gospel to every creature.'
"L. 'Ah, no, my brother, I do not believe it my duty to preach to the Dutch, for instance. When the Lord bade the apostles to preach to every creature he taught them how to talk to all sorts of people. He has never taught me to talk Dutch yet.'
"The council retired and reported much to the surprise of Leland who was compelled to submit to ordination. After they had ordained him in dne form he said: " Well, brethren, when Peter placed his hands on peo- ple, and took them off, they had more sense than before; but you have all had your hands on me, and before God I am as big a fool as ever.'"
The Revolutionary war had broken out and was well under way. Leland mingled daily with the people of Virginia, who were descendants of men that had made their settlements at the expense of individuals, not nations. They had shed their own blood, and spent their own fortunes. For them- selves they had fought; for themselves had conquered, and believed that it was their right to own and hold the fruits of their endeavors, a sentiment cordially shared by John Leland. Reverence for the divine rights of royalty, or the prerogatives of a titled nobility, had but little place in the mighty mind of Leland, and the burning words for liberty he uttered, the glowing sentences he traced as though with a pen of iron, carried with him the whole country of the wilderness, and County Culpepper. The intel- lectual Jefferson and the noble Washington did him reverence. When Madison, from his out-look, believed his country to be in danger unless a certain course was pursued, he halted aghast one morning when told by a friend that John Leland was on the opposition side.
"Then I am beaten," he gasped.
" Yes," replied his friend, " unless you can convince him. He will go up to the polls with his commanding form and mysterious power, and the rank and file of his counties will follow him in an unwavering line; no power will avail to win one of them. They will watch Leland. and the vote he casts will be the one that they will cast."
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There was little time to lose. Early the following morning, mounted on his thoroughbred horse, the statesman, cabinet officer and future president rode forth on his way to the County of Culpepper. It so chanced that, as the morning advanced, he saw a rider approaching him, and recognizing John Leland, by description, halting, he introduced himself and his busi- ness. Together they went over the events of the exciting campaign, and the issues involved. Leland's logic was inexorable; his arguments were strong; he summed up the principles upon which the new order of things would rest, and clung to his opinions. No intellect of the epoch, perhaps, was more powerful ; no genius greater for overturning and shaping a con- test, although untutored and uncultivated compared to that of the schol- arly ambassador before him, trained in all the elegance of the times. But the latter felt its strength, and never in hall of State, on Senate floor or lobby of the House did he select his arguments with greater care, or clothe them in finer eloquence.
Noon fell upon the scene. In their eagerness they dismounted, tethered their ponies, sat down upon a grassy knoll beneath a shading tree, and talked on. The sun went down the western slopes-and still they talked.
Belonging to history as these men do it is desirable to know their charac- ters and manners, as far as possible, and it is not difficult to imagine the picture and note the contrast-a contrast in which neither suffered.
Leland, clad in his home-spun suit; Madison, dressed as courtiers dressed, but with no thought of that on the part of either as they eagerly discussed the vital points in the issue at hand, until just as the sun went down Le- land sprang to his feet, extending his hand to Madison, exclaiming:
"You have convinced me at last, you are right; I'll vote for you."
" Then," said Madison, shaking eagerly the proffered hand, "I'm elected."
There was no need to look further after John Leland and his followers. When election day came around they surrounded the polls in a throng and Madison's party won the contest.
It was while living in Virginia that Mrs. Leland was subjected to the greatest hardships of her life. Located in a country infested with tories, whose occupation was devastating towns, plundering houses and taking for their victims defenseless women and unprotected children, in the little house by the roadside Mrs. Leland dare not burn a light that would stream out over the moor and highway, thus attracting these unwelcome marauders to her door; still, it was at night, when the duties of the day were ended and the children in bed, that she must take the necessary stitches for her family, and reel the yarn she spun yesterday. So by a low fire, with win- dows muffled, keyholes stuffed, and heart whose beatings she could almost
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hear in the stillness, she worked for many an hour while her husband was about his Master's work.
One afternoon of the Virginia fall-time, when the preacher was preparing to leave home on a long trip, he was startled by hearing a peculiar noise that proceeded apparently from a side of the room where the chimney was built. While it was an unfamiliar sound it resembled somewhat the buzz- ing of an immense fly or bee in distress. Search was made at once: every spot examined where by any possibility an insect could be confined. The noise gradually subsided and but little more was thought concerning the matter. The following day Elder Leland was off on his journey, and to him the thought of it never occurred during his absence of six weeks. Not so with his wife. The succeeding day, as four o'clock approached, the buzz- ing began louder than on the day before. Energetic and determined she made another search, but in vain, and each day the visitant came, a few moments later than on the preceding one, increasing in power and volume until in place of buzzing the sounds were groans, piercing and truly terriflic.
It is not difficult to imagine the intense nervous excitement that must have been the result of such an experience, daily repeated, or the dread that must have filled the mind of that lonely mother, as the pendulum in the tall clock swung on and on toward the midnight hour, and they waited breath- lessly until the solemn strokes tolled out through the gloom, then the children, in terror, exclaimed: "Oh! the groaner's coming," and, burying their faces in her lap, winding her apron around them, clinging to her, they remained while groan after groan sounded in their ears.
During that six weeks the clock must have ticked off the hours for this woman in a menacing way; the winds must sometimes have blown through the trees while she waited for the guest, scarcely less welcome than Brit- ain's soldiers, and the storm at times beating mercilessly on the roof, but the unwelcome comer never failed, and when the six weeks were ended, it had. by coming some five minutes later, every night, reached somewhere about half past twelve. Mrs. Leland cautioned all who knew the tale (for many had been to the house from curiosity, but none had lingered) to say nothing to the minister when he arrived, for she wished to see what impression it would make upon him, and, without any warning or word of preparation, the nnearthly noise fell upon his ears. He started up in amazement, in- quiring if that had been repeated every night of his absence.
Its usual stay was abont ten minutes, and for eight months it made its visits, baffling every effort to fathom the mystery. As often as an investi- gation was made at the spot from whence it proceeded, with a view of ascer- taining if anything was fastened there, it would pass to some other point.
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At length, one night at the end of eight months, Leland tried the effects of prayer. Kneeling with his family around him he prayed that if this messenger were a spirit of good he might be emboldened to speak to it, that it might make known its errand and depart; but if an evil spirit, that God would in his mercy bid it to leave and trouble them no more forever. As the words of prayer fell upon the ear they were mingled with the groans and shrieks of the visitor which grew in strength and voice until at the con- clusion of Leland's petition, as though in direct answer to it, with one last expiring groan it died away never to return.
This tale, as told by John Leland, is never doubted by any who knew him. His powers of mimicry and imitation were very wonderful, and, says one, "I had often wished to hear this account from the lips of Leland him- self, and one evening I told him my desire. He consented to repeat the circumstance provided I would promise not to be frightened. Sitting in a room all aflame with light and cheery brightness, a circle of friends about me, I readily made the promise: Looking at the narrator, listening to his words, knowing that he would imitate the noise ; when at length it fell upon my ear, although so well prepared for it, so wierd, so terriffic, so unlike any earthly groan was it, that I sprang to my feet, trembling with terror."
"Ha ! Ha !" laughed the old man, "I thought you were not going to be afraid."
When, upon one occasion, Elder Leland was traveling and preaching he sent his appointments on in advance:
"One week from Wednesday, Providence permitting, John Leland will be present with the people of Rye and improve from their church pulpit."
After this style the announcements usually were worded, and notice would be extended through the vicinity, with crowded houses as the usual result.
It so happened that he reached Rye (a small hamlet) just at close of the day preceding that of the appointment. He had ridden far on horseback, the day was hot and dusty, so, travel-soiled and weary, he halted at the gate of a substantial farmhouse only a stone's throw away from the meeting- house, and where he had been told he was expected. He alighted from his jaded horse and, approaching the door, inquired if they could accommodate a traveler.
After a scrutinizing look and an exchange of glances between the farmer and his wife, who had both stepped to the door on hearing his appli- cation, the farmer replied:
"Why-no-I don't think we can keep you. The fact is we've agreed to take the Great John Leland for two or three days. We can't tell how many there'll be with him."
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The dusty traveler told the man of the house that his wants would be very few-a corner in the kitchen, a lunch on the kitchen table, with a bed thrown down anywhere (in the servants' room), would do for him, and on these conditions he was allowed to stay.
By the kitchen table he ate his frugal supper, while the table in an ad- joining room was loaded with the savory viands prepared for the expected guest. Servants ran back and forth in haste as the preparations advanced, and to the humble traveler, sitting quietly on a bench by the door, came the fragrant odors from the cooking meats and pies and puddings.
Night came, the evening wore on, and still the Great Leland did not ap- pear. At the hour of the appointment, next morning, the church was thronged. and the feelings of the farmer and his wife can, perhaps, be partially imagined when they beheld the man who had slept in their shed chamber and dined haphazard with their servants, enter the pulpit, and were informed that the great preacher was before them.
Leland's fine intellect, his master power to hold spell-bound those with whom he conversed, commanded for him a prominent place in whatever circle he was thrown. He was naturally shy and shrunk always from meet- ing the great men of his day; but when once in their society he forgot the feeling as he became interested in the topics discussed, and, launched on the tide, the words flowed on and on, drawing all around the simple, plainly dressed old man.
Martin Van Buren, Marcus Morton and many another man who occupied places of trust and position has left the main route of travel at Pittsfield or Adams and, taking private carriage, has driven over the hills to seek out the humble home of this man, and spend a few hours with its master, thus do- ing homage to his genius. His last home, and that longest associated with his name was the low red house upon the western hills beyond the Kitchen.
He wrote his own epitaph, and in the village cemetery, upon a shaft of blue marble which is placed where the driveway sweeps around the great circle, it is engraved :
"Here lies the body of John Leland, who labored sixty-eight years to promote piety, and vindicate the civil and religious rights of all men."
There lies the venerable dust, and there, even now, the reverential tear is dropped by his admirers. It is hard to picture what that day incant to the people of this village when the news came that Leland lay dead, in a neighboring town. Mr. and Mrs. Daniel Chapman, with whom he had made his home, received a message from him of his illness and hast- ened to his side.
One child alone was permitted to stand by his dying bed, all others were so widely scattered there was no time to gather them. His thoughts
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fondly lingered with the wife of his youth and his age, who had ever before been with him in days of sickness. He seemed conscious from the first attack that he should never recover, and with a sense of perfect trust he awaited the summons.
On the 14th of January, 1841, he fell asleep. They carried him back in the teeth of a winter storm; the desolate, frozen fields, the leaden skies, were fit emblems of the desolation that settled over the thousands of hearts made sad by his departure.
There are no perfect men, and no one claims perfection for John Leland. To err is only human, and this wise patriot, tender friend and eloquent preacher of the Word, made mistakes, no doubt; but he still lives in the affections of the people here, and the influence he exerted in this town will never be lost. This influence has followed him through the passing gener- ations; it will continue to follow him through those to come, widening and increasing until in that last final day he will meet thousands of his spiritual children on the plains above.
APPENDIX.
A CHAPTER OF REFERENCE.
The farms outlying the village of Cheshire have been mentioned in connection with various events that have been narrated on these pages; in this closing chapter a part- ing glance is taken, and the farms with their present occupants noticed, as such notice will serve as a reference, and may prove of interest when the great chro- nometer of time shall count off another quarter, or half a century.
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