USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Middlefield > History of the town of Murrayfield : earlier known as Township No. 9, and comprising the present towns of Chester and Huntington, the northern part of Montgomery, and the southeast corner of Middlefield : 1760-1763 > Part 4
USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Huntington > History of the town of Murrayfield : earlier known as Township No. 9, and comprising the present towns of Chester and Huntington, the northern part of Montgomery, and the southeast corner of Middlefield : 1760-1763 > Part 4
USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Chester > History of the town of Murrayfield : earlier known as Township No. 9, and comprising the present towns of Chester and Huntington, the northern part of Montgomery, and the southeast corner of Middlefield : 1760-1763 > Part 4
USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Montgomery > History of the town of Murrayfield : earlier known as Township No. 9, and comprising the present towns of Chester and Huntington, the northern part of Montgomery, and the southeast corner of Middlefield : 1760-1763 > Part 4
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A new generation of men has grown up and passed middle life since the time when all the enrolled militiamen were required to turn out once or twice a year, with the arms and equipments required by law, for drill and inspection. In recent times so many grew to regard this as an unnecessary burden that the law was modified to accommodate this aversion to a duty which our ancestors regarded as absolutely necessary to safety and good government. The disposition to shirk public duties which are attended with personal inconvenience is a sin whose fruits will sooner or later be visited upon our children. At one time two military companies were maintained contemporaneously within the present limits of Chester. The regard for military honors which prevailed in the olden time is well attested by the frequent elec- tion to offices of trust and honor, in both church and state, of men who rejoiced in the right to prefix to their names the titles colonel, cap- tain, lieutenant, ensign, and sergeant. Training day's were a break in the monotony of rural life, such as cattle-show days are to the modern
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
rural population. This little plat of eight acres was the scene of many stirring events in the early history of the town. To this spot all the town folks came to do and to receive those things which men do and seek for the preservation of society, for the elevation and refinement of social life, and for consolation in those afflictions which are common to all. The church, the schoolhouse, the training field, the cemetery; what a wealth of memory centers here! Upon the headstones you may read the names of men and women who were active in the events which transpired within these eight acres in years long since passed, and who were loved and honored in their day and generation.
THE TOWNSHIP NAMED MURRAYFIELD.
The proprietors named this township Murrayfield. They were much disturbed and disappointed by reason of the former grants out of this territory. Their discontent found expression in their memo- rial to the General Court of the province, in December, 1763, repre- senting the facts of their purchase for £1,500; that they had laid out part of the township into lots and expended large sums of money to bring forward the settlement. They set forth the fact of their dis- appointment at finding the township so uneven and mountainous, and described it as "divided into three parts by three very rapid, rocky rivers; the banks of which rivers are so steep and rocky that it is almost impossible to pass from one side of said rivers to the other."
PROPRIETORS' COMPLAINT TO THE GENERAL COURT.
They complained that about 7,500 acres of the best land had been taken up in former grants and by a pond covering about 500 acres; also, that they found nineteen settlements begun upon the best of the land, and that they had not the power to turn them off, and that if they had the power it would be attended with great trouble and expense, and so they were obliged to give them 100 acres of land each where they had begun to settle; that the only place they could find to lay out the town plat was upon a very high mountain, and that it would always be extremely difficult to get to it, and that they must necessarily ex- pend great sums of money in making roads over mountains and in building expensive bridges over the three rapid rivers. Wherefore they prayed that a part of the sum paid by them for the township be re- funded, or else that they be recompensed by the grant of a piece of province land near to or adjoining the township, either in Hampshire or Berkshire counties, " to enable them to make roads and bridges in said township."
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
THE PROPRIETORS OBTAIN AN ADDITIONAL GRANT OF LAND.
On the 3d of February, 1764, the General Court "ordered that 1,200 acres of the unappropriated lands of the province be granted to the petitioners, and that they present a plan thereof to this court within twelve months from this time for their confirmation, which is in full consideration for the complaint made in the petition." April 26th, 1764, the proprietors presented to the General Court the plan of a traet of land containing 1,200 acres, located in Hampshire county. It was bounded east by No. 4 of the Narragansett grants; north by Huntstown, afterwards incorporated under the name of Ashfield; and west and south by province land. This tract of 1,200 acres is within the present bounds of Cummington. In the "History of the Connec- tient Valley," published in 1879, it is erroneously stated that this traet was west of Murrayfield, township No. 4, that was afterwards incor- porated under the name of Becket, being mistaken for No. 4 of the Narragansett grants, which were made to the descendents of those who were in the Narragansett fight with the Indians.
N
W. 20° N. 320 Rods .
S. 20° W.
2 Pain 1/5 240 Acres 4 Chandler1/5 240 Murray /s 240 Willard /4 300 Otis /5 /4 180 1200 =
W
482 Rods
500 Rods
Narragansett Grant No. 4.
1200 Acres. Surveyed April 25th 1764 by Chas Baker
E. 20° S
5
Swift River
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
The original proprietors never built any public ways within the limits of Murrayfield, nor any bridge over either of the "three very rapid, rocky rivers " mentioned in their petition. Their conduct in the matter of building roads and bridges can best be told in the lan- guage of a memorial to the General Court by the people of Murrayfield and Norwich in January, 1479.
CONDUCT OF THE PROPRIETORS IN THE MATTER OF BRIDGES.
After representing the absolute necessity for a bridge over East Branch at the place where Norwich bridge was afterwards built, the memorial sets forth " That in the year 1764 there was granted by the Honorable General Court of this state unto Timothy Paine, Esq .. and others, the proprietors of Murrayfield, 1,200 acres of land adjoin- ing to No. 5. for the extraordinary cost they, the said proprietors of Murrayfield, said they had been at in building bridges across said river and its branches, and in making roads in Murrayfield, as was represented by them in a petition to the General Court which is to be seen on record in the Secretary's office, which cost they, the said pro- prietors, were never at, neither did they ever build a bridge, nor were they at any cost in building one, or in making roads, either directly or indirectly; as there were no bridges ever built across said river or its branches in Norwich or Murrayfield, and as said petitioners did, soon after they had got the town incorporated, raise the price of their lands to such an extravagant price that it hindered people from buying in said town, and as a number of the proprietors of said Murrayfield have for a number of years past gone off to the enemy, so that people who would have been glad to have purchased their farms in town could not buy because said proprietors could not be found, which has been a great hindrance to the town's settling; and the people that came first into town were many of them low and poor in the world, and always have had a great many roads and of great length to make and maintain in a new and rough country, which in a great measure was occasioned by the proprietors fixing their settling lots in every part of the town, which necessarily made more roads in the town to be made and kept in repair, which has kept the people low and behindhand.
" Therefore we pray your Honors that some method may be devised that a bridge may be built across said river and its branches either by said grant of land which the proprietors got granted to them for services they never did, or out of their estates, or any other way your honors in your wisdom shall see most fit."
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
Notice of this petition was ordered to be given to Timothy Paine, who appears to have remained loyal to his country. Chandler, Murray and Willard left the country as tories, and were of those who were by law forbidden to return.
In support of the statements made in their memorial, the petitioners obtained and laid before the General Court the affidavits of Stephen Lyman, Gideon Matthews, James Clark, John Smith and William Miller, who were among the first settlers of Murrayfield, who in said affidavit say " that in the year of our Lord 1762 the proprietors of No. 9, known by the name of Murrayfield, proposed to admit sixty settlers to draw for lots in said township of one hundred acres each, including those that had begun on said lands before the purchase. The number of those on the land before the proprietors' purchase were nineteen persons, viz .: Zebulon Fuller, James Clark, John Webber, Thomas Kennedy, William Mann, David Bolton, John Gilmore, Israel Rose, Moses Moss, Ebenezer Meacham, William Miller, David Scott, Ebe- nezer Webber, Jonathan Ilart Webber, William Kennedy, Abraham Flemming, Moses Hale, James Bolton, David Gilmore. Seven of the above men were allowed to hold 100 acres where they had before begun to labor, on the conditions of a bond as the other settlers were under. Six of the nineteen were allowed only to draw lots with the other settlers promiscuously. The other six were not allowed by said proprie- tors the privilege of drawing lots with the other settlers, nor of hold- ing their lands by their being on before their purchase." After recit- ing the conditions of the bond, the affidavit proceeds: "The settlers were under no obligations to do anything toward making roads or bridges, neither have said proprietors laid out any cost to make roads or bridges in said town since the settlement of the town. Only thirty-one of the sixty settlers have had lots given them by said pro- prietors. There is no pond in said township, excepting the pond that is mostly in Green & Walker's grant. According to the best of our judgment the former grants are no better lands than the township is taken together."
Signed by
. STEPHEN LYMAN. GIDEON MATTHEWS. JAMES CLARK, JOHN SMITH, WILLIAM MILLER.
HAMPSHIRE SS. FEBY 10th, 1169.
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
Then the within named Stephen Lyman, Gideon Matthews, JJames Clark, John Smith & William Miller, after being carefully examined & cautioned to testify the truth, made oath that the within deposi- tion according to the best of their knowledge contains the truth and nothing but the truth. Before me.
ABNER MORGAN, Justice of the Peace."
Timothy Paine appeared and made an able effort to defend the pro- prietors. He claimed that the proprietors had done their part in the matter of making roads and bridges, inasmuch as they had given, at the time they assigned lots to the settlers, the necessary lands for high- ways. He denied that the proprietors, in their petition to the Gen- eral Court in 1764, said that they had built a single bridge across said river, or ever made any roads in said town. He then reiterated the substance of their petition, and annexed a copy of it taken from the proprietors' book: and he claimed the extraordinary prosperity of the town was due to the proprietors, and denied the charge that they raised the prices of their land to an extravagant price after the incor- poration of the town. He averred " that all the proprietors except one carried on settlements, and some of them had the greatest improve- ments of any in the place. And their improvements were taxed with other inhabitants in said town and did their part in making bridges and roads."
He claimed that the scattering of the settlers, as the petitioners stated, was for the best interest of the settlers themselves. He also claimed " that the 1,200 acres of land granted the proprietors lay without the lands of any town, and at the time the grant was made was looked upon as of little value, and, according as lands were sold at that time, not worth more than sufficient to recompense the pro- prietors for the other complaints mentioned in their petition on which said grant was founded, exclusive of making roads and bridges."
He represented lastly: "That by the late law for taxing non-resident proprietors' lands, the proprietors of Murrayfield have been taxed in a greater proportion than any other new town in the neighborhood of Murrayfield; and the inhabitants of said town have had the benefit of said taxes, and they can afford to build bridges and make roads."
The General Court decided in favor of the petitioners by a vote of 31 for to 19 against them ; and passed an act, June 12th, 179, that the bridge be built at the expense of the original proprietors. The bridge was built, and several lots belonging to Timothy Paine were sold to pay the expense.
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
JAMES OTIS ADMITTED TO BE A PROPRIETOR.
In June, 1763, James Otis of Barnstable was admitted to a share in township No. 9, as one of its proprietors, by a deed, of which the following is a copy:
" Whereas John Chandler of Worcester, John Murray of Rutland, and Timothy Paine of Worcester, Esqrs. all of the county of Worcester, are inter- ested in three fourths of a tract of land lying in the county of Hampshire, con- taining about 24,700 acres exclusive of grants & of 250 acres in the posses- sion of John Bolton, said tract being bounded north on New Hingham & to run from the south west corner of New Hingham to the north east corner of No. 4; thence on the line of No. 4, & from thence in the same course to Bland- ford line; thence to bound south on Blandford & Westfield, & east on South- ampton; which tract of land lies in common & undivided, except such part thereof as hath been given away to encourage the settlement of said town. And whereas the tract of land was sold in June last by a committee of the General Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay to the said John Chand- ler, John Murray, Timothy Paine, & Abijah Willard of Lancaster, Esqrs. upon conditions of their fulfilling certain conditions of settlement as may appear by the vote of the General Court. Now be it known that the said John Chandler, John Murray, & Timothy Paine in consideration of the sum of £225 lawful money paid unto us by James Otis of Barnstable in the county of Barnstable, Esqr. the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged, do by these presents so far as in us lies give, grant, demise, & quit unto him, the said James Otis, his heirs & assigns, all our right in & unto one fifth of three fourths of said tract of land as it lies in common & undivided, excepting what hath been given away to encourage settlers as aforesaid, and the public lands in said township reserved for schools, first settled minister, & min- istry. The said James Otis performing his proportional part of all duties & obligations of settlement laid on said township with the other proprietors. To have & to hold the hereby quitted & released premises to him, the said James Otis, upon the conditions aforesaid to be by him, his heirs, & assigns held in as full a manner as the said John Chandler, John Murray, & Timothy Paine might have held the same by virtue of the original purchase, in June last.
"In witness whereof the said John Chandler, John Murray, & Timothy Paine have hereunto set their hands & seals this tenth day of June A. D. seventeen hundred & sixty-three.
JOHN CHANDLER, & SEAL. JOHN MURRAY, & SEAL. TIMO. PAINE, & SEAL."
CHAPTER THIRD.
THE OLD ROAD FROM EAST BRANCH TO THE MEETING HOUSE OR CENTER.
A few rods sontherly from the point where the highway turns off up the valley of the Middle Branch of Westfield river, a road branches from the main highway and extends westerly to Moose mountain, so-called, and on up the hillside in the valley of a brook to Chester Center. For the distance of about a quarter of a mile from the foot of Moose mountain the road is very steep and more dreaded by team- sters than any other road in the neighborhood for some miles around. At the top of this steep pitch and on the north side of the road is an old cellar-place by the side of which but a few years since stood a Lombardy poplar, a prominent landmark. This tree now lies upon the ground in a state of decay, having fallen several years since; but it is replaced by a younger one which sprouted up from the old root and bids fair to rival its parent if spared by the woodsman's axe. On this spot stood the dwelling house of the David Scott who, January 5th, 1763, drew the lot upon which this house stood. Here is a nearly level tract of fertile land containing several acres, sheltered on the north by a mountain called " Little Moose," and sloping gently toward the cast and afford- ing a chaming view in the direction of East Branch and beyond down the glen toward Russell, through which Westfield river flows. Near this cellar-place the old road can be traced toward the east until it becomes lost at the edge of the bank of the "dugway," under which lies the present highway. In the other direction the road can be traced winding off in a northwesterly course for half a mile or more through a valley which cuts the ridge of Little Moose, and here is another old cellar-place close by the old roadway. On this spot probably stood the house of Absalom Blair. The only thing in favor of it as a location for a home is that it is sheltered both from winds and from observation, and there is a spring near by. Following this ancient road further on we pass through this valley and come to the northerly side of Little Moose, which descends to Middle Branch, but the road without descending winds westerly on the north side of the ridge of the mountain for the distance of about three-quarters of a mile and passes
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
a spot where another ancient house stood by the roadside and known as the Riley place. It may have been and probably was the old home of James Clark. Passing on by this spot for a quarter of a mile further we come to another cellar-place on a ridge where a good view of the surrounding country challenges the traveler to pause. On the other side of the old road opposite the cellar-place are three ancient elms in a row. The cellar-place is considerably larger than the other ones we passed, which suggests that the house was an inn. There are also two old wells near by. It is altogether probable that here stood the house of Thomas Kennedy, and that he kept an inn. It would seem that this road had been in existence for some time before the township was sold in June, 1762, for Thomas Ken- nedy was one of the nineteen settlers whom the proprietors found there, and James Clark was another. Their houses had been built before the time of the sale of the township, no one knows how long. Kennedy's house stood upon lot No. 68 of the first division. It is probable that he was permitted to keep the land upon which he had settled.
At this spot a charming view opens to the eye. We are standing near the brow of the glen of Middle Branch upon the southwesterly side and looking toward the east. The foreground is a pasture and we are looking upon out-cropping ledges, bowlders, grass, weeds, brakes, bushes, and scattered trees. No landscape gardener has been here attempting to improve the grade. There is no gently graduated slope: but where the pasture ends abruptly at the distance of a quar- ter of a mile or less, the surface is considerably lower than at the place where we are standing. At the northwest the pasture is lost at the edge of a forest, over the top of which blue hilltops are seen in the distance. Before us the pasture ends in a sharp outline which sug- gests a gulf beyond, and the mind is filled with interrogation points. This outline is clear and distinct against the somewhat dim, hazy, and bluish tint of the north side of the glen which is the south slope of Goss Hill. As our field-glass is directed to Goss Hill we almost expect that it will disclose a Rip Van Winkle form slumbering under the southerly face of some ledge. In the sweet and delicious atmos- phere at this place one could sleep and dream that sorrow is but a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain. Goss Hill stretches toward the north from the confluence of Middle and East Branches, and also forms the west side of the glen of East Branch, which is concealed from our view by the trees along its bank, save a rift where the eye catches the sparkle of water rushing over the stony
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
bed at the foot of Goss Hill: and at the right of this the land rises toward the summit of Norwich Hill. Beyond all these, and dimly outlined, are still higher lands, the whole presenting one grand pan- orama receding with deepening shades until lost in the distant hori- zon. If we turn our gaze toward the west we will observe that the surface of the land gradually ascends in a broad plain for the distance of seventy-five to one hundred rods and ends abruptly at the summit of a quite regular ridge, with apparently a gulf beyond, relieved by a strip of the summit of the southerly side of the glen of West Branch and the heights of Blandford beyond that, bluer than the hills on the opposite side and giving a prettier effect. The mental interrogation points are kept in cheek only by the fact that their gratification is at the price of a somewhat laborious climb to the summit of the ridge. The valley immediately beyond this ridge contains a small brook, and through this valley lies the present road leading to Chester Center.
SECOND MEETING OF THE PROPRIETORS.
The proprietors held their second meeting at the house of Thomas Kennedy, September 29th, 1763. It is probable that their journey to this spot was on horseback. At that season of year when the gor- geously colored foliage is at its best, their journey must have been de- lightful beyond the power of language to describe. At this meeting they agreed to draw the " blank lots already laid out, so that each pro- prietor may enjoy his rights therein in severalty." One article in their warrant was : "To agree with some suitable person for building mills in said town, and to see what encouragement shall be given the person that shall undertake the building of said mills," but no formal action was taken touching this subject. After choosing a moderator the meeting adjourned to the 1st of October, at which time they pro- ceeded to divide among themselves the remaining lots of the first divisions.
Abijah Willard drew Nos. 3, 7. 10, 34, 16, 52, 42, 55, 61, 23, 78. 79, 91, 93 and 89. He then exchanged lot No. 89 with Abraham Flem- ming for lot No. 53, and lot No. 10 with David Gilmore for lot No. 84, and lot No. 73 with David Scott for lot No. 32.
John Murray drew Nos. 30, 44, 47. 81. 83. 88, 103. 105, 107, 109 and 113, and exchanged lot No. 88 with Nathan Mann for lot No. 92.
James Otis drew Nos. 69, 36, 39, 46, 48, 50, 76, 96 and 115, and ex- changed lot No. 69 with Ebenezer Webber for lot No. 33.
Timothy Paine drew Nos. 12, 22, 26, 29, 31, 63, 67, 74, and the
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A HISTORY OF MURRAYFIELD.
"make up" to 77, 62, 99, 101. Lot 77 was in two parts, the "make up" being on Middle Branch. Paine sold it to Abner Smith.
John Chandler drew Nos. 5, 9, 14, 20, 24, 28, 59, 65, 85, 95, 97 and 111, and exchanged lot No. 65 with Jonathan Hart Webber for lot No. 98. This brought the Webbers all into the same neighborhood on the westerly bank of Middle Branch. He exchanged lot No. 24 with John Crawford for lot No. 66.
The proprietors, at this meeting, appointed Thomas Kennedy, John Crawford and Abraham Flemming a committee to lay out highways and make a report to the proprietors for their confirmation. Whatever action the committee took, if any, the proprietors did nothing further touching the laying out of highways in the town.
At this meeting the question of building mills was discussed without any definite result. But it appears that shortly afterwards John Chandler built a sawmill at his own expense; for at a meeting of the proprietors held December 12th, 1764, they voted that "Lot No. 13, originally drawn by Alexander Gordon and granted back to the pro- prietors, be granted to John Chandler, Esq., his heirs and assigns, in consideration of his having built a sawmill in said township." It was upon the west end of this lot that the sawmill was built, nearly 300 rods southerly from the meeting-house. The west end of lot No. 13, together with the sawmill, subsequently became the property of the Searle family, and was owned by them many years. The mill was built upon " Nooney Brook," which at a lower point is called " Cook Brook." This lot was called Chandler's farm, and was occupied and carried on for him by Robert Smith. Of the highways laid out by the town of Murrayfield in 1769, one is described as laid " From the meeting-house to Col. Chandler's farm where Robert Smith lives; from said Smith's to the sawmill," etc. In 1726 two sawmills had been built, but whether both were built by Chandler is doubtful. John Smith built a sawmill very early, probably as early as 1766. In 1767 the proprie- tors gave Chandler lot No. 39 in the second' division of lots " in con- sideration of his extraordinary expense in building a sawmill in said town." This lot, No. 39, is within the present bounds of Middlefield.
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