USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Middlefield > History of the town of Middlefield, Massachusetts > Part 25
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The Smith family was always a tower of strength in the Baptist Church. Matthew Smith, with his brother Calvin, in- culcated in their children a strong sense of loyalty. Of Mat- thew's descendants, especial mention may be made of his son "Squire" Matthew Smith, and of the latter's son, Matthew, who was one of the foremost citizens of Middlefield, and whose wife was a daughter of Laura Root. Samuel Smith, the youngest son of the first Matthew, joined the church after his marriage, and was one of its staunchest supporters. His unusual capacity for high thinking and intelligent citizenship had a great in- fluence. His oldest daughter, Lucy, who married Ambrose Newton, was another devoted member of the church. As librarian of the town library she for years guided the reading tastes of old and young in Middlefield.
The intellectual traits of Samuel Smith were even more marked in his son, Metcalf John Smith, who like David Mack, was the most distinguished citizen of the town during his life. Largely to him and his father is due the emphasis on broad and idealistic thinking which kept the Baptist Church from sinking to the position of being a mere advocate of a distinctive form of baptism. Metcalf J. Smith was a man who embodied in his life what was best and noblest in the church life. Said one who had felt the power of his teaching and example: "His per- sonality was reflected in the persistent labors of our pastor whose hands he consistently upheld under all circumstances. It was reflected in the molding influence of the church upon its young people. He impressed me as few characters have ever done. He always seemed to me like one from another world lent to our little town by a kind Providence. He represented a type of life and breadth of vision of which some of us might have remained forever ignorant had it not been for him."
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Calvin Smith's son, Oliver, was another staunch member of the Baptist Church and one of its deacons. No weather was too inclement for him to make the four mile drive to attend Sunday service. Oliver's oldest son, Milton, was for years the chorister. His unbounded musical enthusiasm kept the choir well filled with good voices and faithful attendants at church. The youngest son, Clarkson, was converted in middle life, and was thereafter an exceptionally generous and loyal supporter of the church.
One of the strongest in her loyalty to Baptist principles was Laura Root, a daughter of Deacon Mack of the Congregational Church. The very fact that she was compelled to differ from her relatives in faith made her especially sensitive. To the end of her life "Grandma Root" was a vehement exponent of the scriptural way of baptism. Her testimonies in prayer meeting or in private conversation were marked by a zeal which bore witness to the profundity of her faith.
Among the many others who deserve mention were Henry Hawes, noted for his leadership of the choir; Solomon F. Root, who kept the Center store, and whose kindly spirit won him hosts of friends; "Aunt Amanda" Church, whose zeal for the Baptist cause was never-failing; Morgan Pease and Harlow Loveland, who served as deacons with rare devotion; Harvey Root, in whom Baptist loyalty and business shrewdness were strangely blended ; Charles Wright, who could always be counted upon to serve the church in unobtrusive ways, and Mrs. Arnold Pease, whose class in Sunday School was an institution, and whose knowledge of Josephus introduced extrabiblical considera- tions rare in those days; Daniel Alderman, whose fine tenor voice made him a welcome member of the choir; Asher Pease and his family, and Clark B. Wright, who could always be counted on to be present at services and at business meetings ; Howard Smith, whose interest in the church was constant and eager.
HISTORY OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH
About the time the first Baptist meetings were held in Middle- field, there began, in the southeast section of the town, another religious movement. As early as 1801 or 1802 the Methodists formed a class under the leadership of Daniel Falley and David
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Cross. Among the members of this class were Thomas Ward, Samuel Brown and wife, Jesse Brown and wife, also the Gilberts, Rhoadses, Talcotts, Mrs. Elijah Churchill and Giles Churchill, and at that time or later, the Peltons, Robbinses and Bells. Nathan and Jesse Wright. Mr. Falley subsequently moved to Fulton, New York, and there founded a flourishing Methodist seminary bearing his name. Thomas Ward, who had been a sea captain, overcome with grief at the death of his beloved wife. had with Bible and hymn book gone forth from Boston scarce knowing whither he went. Settling in Middlefield about 1793, he became an active Christian worker, conducting meetings in the absence of the minister, and was known far and wide as "'Father Ward." At times in his barn, at others in a barn on the east side of the brook flowing through the meadows in the Den, and sometimes in the Den schoolhouse, meetings were held by various circuit riders until at last a church was formed. which was a part of the Dalton Circuit; afterwards it was a part of the Hinsdale Circuit, and still later this and other churches constituted the Middlefield and Washington Circuit.
In 1827 a movement to build a meetinghouse was started and a site selected. A curious incident occurred when the building began. The two brothers, Nathan and Jesse Wright, were en- gaged one morning in breaking the ground for the foundations, when a neighbor came and on looking over the ground with them observed that the corner opposite the house of Jesse Wright was a much better location for the church than the one upon which they were working. The brothers then decided that the neigh- bor's opinion was correct and they at once began the foundations on that site. This is one of the few times when a church site was selected without more or less friction and excitement.
The church was called the "Bethel" and remained and flour- ished for many years. Here the circuit rider preachers held forth to large congregations with such old-time fervor that at times the neighbors at the top of Churchill Hill, half a mile away, could hear more or less of the sermon. Here many a boy preacher made his first entrance into pastoral life under the fatherly care and guidance of his spiritual leader. On the occa- sion of quarterly meetings it was not an uncommon site to see sixty teams hitched around this little church, for the "Bethel"
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drew its congregation not only from Middlefield but from the neighboring sections of Chester and Worthington as well. In those days its congregation is said to have been as large as that of any other society in town. It was quite the thing for the swains to take their lady friends to the meetings in the Den. Even old Aunt Betty Pinney admitted that when she wanted to hear a down-right good sermon she always went to the "Bethel."'
The new ways and unction of the Methodist ministers pro- duced the same results here as elsewhere. The great revival work of 1827-30 was conducted by Rev. Peter C. Oakly and Bradley Shelleck. Cyrus Prindle was one of the successful workers. In this church women had even larger liberty than was accorded them in the Baptist Church and a Miss Barnes is remembered as a preacher of uncommon fervor. There was also a local circuit rider of considerable ability, Rev. Alexander Dickson, grandson of the pioneer settler, James Dickson. Of Rev. Alexander Dickson, a member of another denomination has written, "Mr. Dickson was a tanner by trade, but reconstructed into a Methodist minister, one of the shouting kind." He mar- ried Sally Metcalf, a prominent member of the Bethel Church, and spent the latter part of his life in Middlefield.
As early as 1833 there was a faction in this church which thought that the society would be benefitted by moving its house of worship to the Center, and in response to a petition the town of Middlefield voted "that the Methodist Society in Middle- field have liberty to build a house of public worship and horse- sheds for the use of the same on the public ground near the Center meetinghouse." But no action was taken and wiser counsel probably prevailed to prevent the unwise move. But the faction continued agitation and when a committee of town officials reported in 1846 they recommended that the town pur- chase land of Oliver Blush so that the Methodist Society could build south of the Baptist Church, which, at that time was planning to move to the Center and build a new meetinghouse south of that of the Congregational Society.
It was seven years later, in 1853, that the town voted to permit the Methodist Society to erect a meetinghouse and horse- sheds south of where the town hall now stands. Against the
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judgment of the members who lived in the valley, the "Bethel" was taken down and rebuilt on a larger plan at the Center, though, due to difficulties, financial or otherwise, it was many months in reaching completion. The society lost by the change and the correctness of the judgment of the opposition was justified, for, after the removal from the Den, the church never prospered. The strong roots of its power were in the southeast part of the town. It was needed there, for it was accessible
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TITE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCHI 1853-1873
to its constituents in the neighboring sections of other towns. Its necessity at the Center was not so obvious.
For a while the society continued services under Messrs. Shurtleff, Morgan, Boxley, Cobb, Johns and Alexander Dickson. Among the later officers were George Spencer, class leader ; John L. Bell, and Mr. Spencer, stewards. Ambrose Smith and Horatio N. Dickson and others were active members. In 1861-62 the society was very much weakened by a large number of deaths and removals occurring not far from the same time. The mem-
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bers left were too few to continue the work successfully, and services were finally discontinued some years previous to 1873. In that year the Church brothers bought the property and fitted it up for a vestry and church parlor for the use of the Congrega- tional Society. Later the property was deeded to the church. After the burning of the Congregational Church in 1900 services were sometimes held in the Chapel as it was then called, and when two years later the society bought the Baptist Church for its meetinghouse, the Chapel was moved and joined to the other building on the north side, where it now serves as the Sunday School room of the Middlefield Church.
The principal pastor of the Methodist Society was Rev. Alex- ander Dickson, who, though not a native of Middlefield, seems to have spent most of his early life there. He learned the tanner's trade, working no doubt, with his father-in-law, John Metcalf. whose business he purchased. As some of the Metcalf's were Methodists, it was probably in the Bethel Chapel in "the Den" that Dickson received the religious inspiration which led him to abandon his trade for that of a minister. After studying at Troy, New York, he became a traveling preacher on various circuits, returning finally to Middlefield to become minister of the Bethel Chapel in its last days.
Dickson's preaching was of the shouting kind, and though he perhaps did not have the intellectual capacity or training of the ministers of the other denominations in Middlefield, he was a zealous, and probably effective, worker in less settled communi- ties. His wife, later known as "Aunt Sally" was an enthusiastic co-worker on the frontier to the north. In 1837 she wrote from a small town in Vermont where the people were "making every effort to get rich," but were "not so well informed as the people in Middlefield." Her husband gives the following brief glimpse of his impressions during the prosperous days of the New Eng- land wool growing :
"The preacher in the Baptist Church is a great wool speculator; he has $40,000 of stock on hand (it is said) now, which is the case, probably in sheep and cattle, horses, etc., and if his preaching is made up on anecdotes and stories, you need not wonder."
"I have a hard field of labor. I preach five times frequently in a week, aside from prayer-meetings. Last week and week before I attended meeting's every evening but two. This evening I go four miles to meeting. But the Lord is with me."'
CHAPTER XV
MIDDLEFIELD PERSONALITIES AND TRADITIONS
I N THE preceding chapters the development of community and town life among the hills of Middlefield has been traced in a more or less abstract fashion, without any particular emphasis upon the individual characteristics of the people who were concerned in this development. It is the authors' intention in this chapter, through the medium of folklore, anecdote and reminiscence, to make more vivid some of the personalities with whom a first-hand acquaintance was impossible. This treatment will necessarily give only brief sidelights on the people and should not be interpreted as representing complete characteriza- tions.
David Mack, through his resourcefulness and courage in ac- complishing the incorporation of Middlefield and later in uphold- ing the authority of the state militia against the insurgents of Shays' Rebellion, stands out sharply as the most prominent man during the first half century of the town's existence. It is rather remarkable that, though he had many lines of activity and was a leader among the early citizens, he was in a measure illiterate. Being the oldest son in a large family he had been able to attend school but eight weeks in all. He realized his ignorance, however, and to remedy it he was not ashamed to attend the district school near his house, even sitting in the same classes with his children. It is said that his young son, David, was always much elated when he was able to get the better of his father in spelling.
In making the most of his business opportunities, however, David Mack seems to have needed no schooling. He established the first store in town, and opened branches in other places. He financed the business ventures of the first blacksmith and the first harness and saddle maker. In the early days he bought wood ashes and manufactured potash. He kept tavern at his house a few years and was very active in securing good roads.
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He traded in real estate and was interested in many financial enterprises. Thus from a condition of poverty,-for he is said to have come from Connecticut with nothing but his ox-team and his axe,-he became comparatively wealthy. Nor was this accom- plished by hoarding his money, for his gifts in support of the Congregational Church, of educational institutions and other worthy causes amounted during his long life to over $70,000 in addition to many other unknown amounts given to help young people in obtaining an education.
It is to be presumed from this recital that David Mack was naturally thrifty, and this seems to be verified by an incident told by Rev. Mr. Bisbee, who was a frequent visitor at the Mack homestead. One evening as a group sat about the great fire- place eating apples, some one threw parings into the fire. Quickly seizing the tongs, the old deacon rescued some large pieces from the flames, remarking as he did so, "Something will eat that."
Deacon Mack's land adjoined that of Andrew Meacham, and in the early days a dispute arose over the location of the boundary line between them. The deacon had already, for some reason, incurred Mr. Meacham's dislike, and when this dispute was settled in favor of Mr. Mack, this ill will was naturally in- tensified. So strong did this feeling become that whenever Deacon Mack engaged in public prayer Mr. Meacham would rise from his seat and walk out of the meetinghouse. Once when Meacham protested to Solomon Ingham that he could find noth- ing good in that man, Mr. Ingham remarked dryly, "Well, Meacham, he can do one thing, he can cast out devils."
Though a strong upholder of the Congregational faith, Deacon Mack was unsuccessful in keeping all his ten daughters in the proper denominational path. In addition to "Grandma Root," the youngest daughter, who was a staunch supporter of the Baptist Church, her elder sister, Lois Robbins, had previously followed her husband into the Baptist denomination in their frontier home in New York State. On her next visit to her childhood home, her good father was moved to inquire why she had "turned Baptist," and her ready reply was, "Because you gave me a Baptist Bible."
"And Deacon Newton, straight and stout,
Who knew his mind and spoke it out."'
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This characterization of the Baptist leader was probably em- phasized in the mind of the poet of the Middlefield Centennial by the following incident. On one occasion Mr. Newton had advocated some policy in the church which met with violent opposition. The pastor brought the opposing factions together and got them to agree to support the majority vote on the matter, when that should be determined. The vote went against Deacon Newton. The pastor thinking to consecrate the formal agree- ment in a tactful way, asked Deacon Newton to lead in prayer for God's blessing upon the decision just made. To this Deacon Newton with sturdy honesty replied, "I can't pray and I won't pray."
The good deacon's irrascibility was demonstrated upon another occasion. The story goes that one day he went into the field to obtain some information from the boys who were working a short distance away. As he left the farmyard the old turkey gobbler followed at his heels like a dog. After going a little way the deacon stopped and shouted his question to the boys. This shout excited the old gobbler who raised his cry of "Gobble, gobble, gobble" at just the instant that one of the boys was answering, with the result that Deacon Newton could not hear a word that he said. Again the deacon called and as before the old turkey replied drowning out the answer to the question. When upon repetition the same thing occurred a third time, he he could endure interruption no longer, and with a vicious swing of his cane he smote off the head of the intruder. "There," ejaculated Mr. Newton, with some heat, "You'll never gobble again."
Israel Pease, of Enfield, Connecticut, who settled on Ridgepole Road, was the ancestor of many families of that name in Middle- field, and his farm has always been in the hands of his descend- ants, in late years in the line of Harvey Root. Israel's son, Dan, first settled several miles north near the Peru line, but in 1821 he left this farm to his son, Dan, and purchased the Blossom Tavern property, which included the still which had been set up by Dr. Coleman, and was one of the best farms in the com- munity. Of him a prominent citizen once said, "Mr. Pease was very hospitable in every way. It was difficult to pass his house without receiving an invitation to call and drink cider and look
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at his stock of cattle and sheep which were always good speci- mens."
Dan Pease was a man of excellent business judgment and a good provider for his family. As he prospered he purchased farms in the neighborhood of his own land which he presented to his sons, Walter. Eldridge, Morgan and Arnold, when they married. To his daughters he gave a thousand dollars each when they married,-the purchasing value of which was several times more then than it would be to-day. He thus had the satisfaction of seeing five sons and five daughters in homes of their own within the town.
That he was a man of decided opinions is illustrated by an anecdote which has come down from very early days. It seems that there was a public trial of a case of church discipline in which his brother, Israel, was a witness. Israel was of a different temperament from his brother, and his testimony, in Dan's opinion, was so indefinite and unconvincing that after the hear- ing was over, Dan got hold of him, drew him aside, and in a partially subdued voice which choked with indignation, ex- claimed, "Is'rul, Is'rul, I'd be suthin, or I'd be nuthin, but I wouldn't be a cussed fool."
Probably the descendants of Captain Nathan Wright, through the Dan Pease and Nathan Wright, Jr., lines, are more numerous in Middlefield to-day than those of any other pioneer, but all of them except his grandson, Clark B. Wright, bear other surnames. Captain Wright purchased a large portion of the meadows above Glendale Falls on the Den Stream, while his brother, Jesse, purchased the remaining portion. The Wrights were among the foremost supporters of the Bethel Chapel which stood nearly opposite the Jesse Wright house, and for some years "the Den." though quite difficult of access, was the center of a religious activity which had a wide circle of influence.
Captain Nathan Wright's son, Nathan, who succeeded his father, was a man, of vigorous mental powers and high moral character. In his later years he was something of a recluse, seldom being seen by visitors and passers-by. It was perhaps this characteristic that led him to train his horse to act with- out driver. In the morning the children would drive with him to the schoolhouse a quarter of a mile away, turn him
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around and send him back home alone. In the afternoon Mr. Wright would harness him again and start him toward the schoolhouse, where he would wait until school was out and bring the youngsters safely home.
It is said that one inquisitive small boy who had never seen Mr. Wright was determined to get sight of him. One day when visiting the farm he seized the opportunity, when no one was looking, to peek through the key-hole of the bedroom door, and was much terrified when he beheld a bright blue eye staring right at him from the other side of that key-hole.
At the extreme southern point of the township where the three counties of Hampshire, Hampden and Berkshire meet, the West- field River makes a sharp bend around the northern spur of Mt. Gobble. This picturesque spot, later recognized as the gateway to Berkshire and the West, was locally known as "the Gulf." Here settled Thomas Root, of Enfield, Connecticut, on the early road from Chester Factories to Middlefield Center which used to pass this Farm. Two sons and four daughters married and settled in the town, and as their mother was a sister of Israel Pease, another strain of the Pease blood was thus widely diffused throughout the community. The two sons, Solomon and Daniel, married so soon after the family located here that their father built them a double log house some distance back from the river, the foundations of which can still be seen. The eternal feminine is humorously evident in the tradition that Solomon's wife felt much superior to Daniel's wife because the window in her end of the house had one more pane of glass than the window in the other end.
Daniel Root, who succeeded to his father's farm, replaced his log home with what was known as "the old red house" until it was burned a few years ago. When the Pontoosuc Turnpike was laid out right past his door he had better communication with the outside world than anyone else in town, but this advantage disappeared when the Western Railroad bought out the turn- pike company. Daniel Root's third wife was Anna (Smith) Martin, the mother of the late Thomas Martin of Hartford, Con- necticut. Her lovable Christian character made a marked im- pression upon the people of that locality, especially during the building of the railroad when some of the workers boarded at the Root home.
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1
MRS. MARTIN HAUCK
HARLOW LOVELAND ORRIN WHEELER AND HARRY PEASE
HOWARD E. JAMES THOMAS
SMITHI INGHAM
MARTIN
E. JAMES INGHAM AND GEORGE HOLCOMB
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Thomas Martin, who lived with his mother and step-father for a few years, was fond of recalling how one day when the old folks were at church he went strolling down by the brook where he discovered a large trout swimming lazily about in a quiet pool. Forgetting all about the sacredness of the day, he rushed for his fish pole, hastily dug a few worms, and hastening back to the brook, was fortunate enough to hook the big fish. When he informed the family of his good luck, his step-father said sternly, "Thomas, after supper you will meet me in the barn. I will settle with you for fishing on Sunday." But the fish which Thomas had to exhibit was of unusual size, and after his mother had cooked it for supper and they had all eaten heartily, there was no more talk of the settlement in the barn.
Above the old Root farm lived Solomon Root's father-in-law, "Granther Selden," at what is now the Alderman place. When the latter died, Solomon came into possession of his farm. Here were born his four sons, Solomon, Timothy, Harvey and Selden, all of whom lived in Middlefield. Solomon, Jr., moved to the Center where he kept store for many years in what is now the Cody house. He was especially popular with the children be- cause he would sell them more raisins for a penny than would the Mack store across the way.
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