USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Plainfield > History of the town of Plainfield, Hampshire County, Mass., from its settlement to 1891, including a genealogical history of twenty-three of the original settlers and their descendants, with anecdotes and sketches > Part 7
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Names and ages of persons over 75, living in Plainfield March 14, 1891 :
Mrs. Temperance Atkins, 92 Ira Mason, 76
Isaac T. Barker, 82
Isaac Parker, (about) 80
Sumner Burt, 75 James Spearman, (about) 83
Leonard Campbell, 80
Hiram Stearns, 81
Mrs. L. Campbell, 76
Lyman K. Thayer, 79
Levi Clark, 88 Samuel B. Thayer, 75
Mrs. Levi Clark,
88 Russell Tirrell, 76
Millson S. Colburn, 83 Thos. K. Wheeler, 78
Mrs. Roxana Dunham, 77
Wm. C. Whiting, 78
Bethuel Gloyd, 81 Mrs. Nancy Williams, 83
Mrs. Martha Hamlen,* 85 William Winslow, 78
Mrs. Margaret Knipping, 85 Emalvin Wing, 83
FOREIGNERS.
Very few foreigners have become permanent residents of this town. James and Edward Spearman, Irish, and by trade blacksmiths, settled here about 1854. Neither were ever naturalized and therefore did not vote. They were industrious, respectable citizens, and amassed quite
* Mrs Hamlen died May 17, 1891.
(112)
Mrs. Susan Cook,
88
Jeremiah Tyrrell, 82
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OLD HOUSES.
a competence. Edward died in October, 1887. James still lives here, his sister, Margaret Knipping, keeping house for him .- Neil Swanson, a Swede, came here with his family about 1888. His father and mother followed in 1890. Carl and Swan Petterson, relatives of Swanson, also arrived here about the same time as Swanson. They are all industrious, peaceable citizens, most of them fairly well educated. The above named are all the foreigners now living in town.
OLD HOUSES.
The first frame houses built were nearly all of the same style and general plan; one story in height, front door in center, opening into a small entry about 4x8. This opened on each side into a front room about 16x16; each of these into a kitchen and general living room at the back of the house about 20x16. At the gable end of the house, was a door opening into an entry 4x9, at one side of which a flight of narrow and steep stairs ascended to the floor above. At the end of this entry, a door opened into the great kitchen. By the side of this entry door was the en- trance to the cellar; just beyond a door opened to a bed- room about 8x9. At the opposite end of the room was a door opening to another bedroom somewhat larger, and by the side of it a "buttery " of ordinary size. A door from the back of the kitchen led to a back room or woodshed, in a separate building. In the center of the house was the capacious chimney, 8 or 10 feet square at the base, by the side of which were cupboards in each of the front rooms, and a big brick oven in the kitchen. A small closet usu- ally opened from the front entry. The windows were high above the floor, and those in the principal rooms con-
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HISTORY OF PLAINFIELD.
tained 24 lights of 6x8 glass; those in the bedrooms and buttery, 15 lights. Two bedrooms with very low ceilings were usually finished off in the chamber. All the nails used were forged by hand and were quite expensive. This description fits nine out of ten of the first frame houses, many of which are still standing. Some have been re- modelled by taking out the original chimney and substi- tuting a modern one, changing the interior somewhat. Of those now remaining in nearly their original condition I will name the following : Thos. Mason's, in the southwest part of the town. Original occupant, Ashur Holdridge. Further north on West St., Lemuel Mason's, formerly oc- cupied by Samuel Thayer, Jr. In the east part, on Grant St., the Benj. Gloyd house, unoccupied. On South St., Bethuel Gloyd's, formerly occupied by his father, Joseph Gloyd. On Central St., just south of the village, the house occupied by the family of the late Lewis Shaw and L. A. White, formerly occupied by Josiah Shaw, Jr. This is in the best preservation of any of its class in town. Just south of this is the house built by Josiah first, where his son Freeman lived, but the large chimney has been removed. One fourth of a mile east of this, on Broom St., is that of O. C. Burt, also well preserved. Former occupant Jared Dyer. At the end of Parsons Av. is the house of Stephen Parsons, one of the oldest ; built and oc- cupied by Jacob Nash. South of the meeting-house, on Union St., is the house of James F. Gurney. This has been modernized somewhat by the addition of a piazza, and large windows have been substituted for the old style. The essential features remain, including the chimney. This was formerly occupied by Ichabod Noyes and others. The house of E. A. Atkins, on High St., was built and
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occupied by John Hamlen. It was thoroughly construct- ed of the best materials, and the workmanship was better than ordinary. It is now in excellent condition. The Rev. Moses Hallock house, occupied by James Spearman. Mrs. Martha J. Lamb in an article in the Magazine of American History, writes of this house as follows: "A volume could be written with this picturesque old dwelling for a text, which even now looks very comfortable in its antiquity, surrounded by orchards and shade trees, although shorn of the roses and flowery shrubs which formerly beau- tified its front yard. If its walls could talk, a host of promi- nent characters who frequented it in the several decades of its history might be introduced to us. After Mr. Hallock's death it was sold, and became for many years the home of Mrs. Mack, a daughter of Dea. Richards, and her family." The house of L. K. Thayer on Pleasant St., built and oc- cupied by Abram Clark, is still in nearly its original con- dition. The house occupied by Samuel B. Thayer on South Central St., which Elijah Warner, Sr. built, and where he lived and died, and after him his sons Cushing and Wells. The Dea. James Richards house, still standing and in good condition, is occupied by A. B. Cole. The old chimney has been taken out and some minor alterations made in the interior. The house of C. W. Packard on West Hill, original occupant, Josiah Torrey. From this the chimney has been removed. The old Robinson house on Summit St., and N. K. Lincoln's on Pleasant St., are also of this type. The house of S. H. Sears just north of the meeting- house, was built and occupied by Samuel Streeter, and is believed to be the oldest house now standing. It was ex- tensively re-modelled by Cyrus Joy, Esq., some sixty years ago. He added a second story, built four chimnies, and
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HISTORY OF PLAINFIELD.
altered the interior so that scarcely any of the original features remain. These houses were all built from 90 to 100 years ago, and as a rule were painted red.
Charles Dudley Warner, in reply to an invitation to be present at the centennial of the Plainfield church in 1886, wrote as follows : "I was very young when I left Plain- field and I have only occasionally visited it of late years, but it has an interest for me that no other place on earth has. The older I grow the more grateful I am that I was born in Massachusetts and in that particular hill-town. I think I owe to its pure air, its noble scenery, the early purity and simplicity of its manners and the influence of an honorable, God-fearing ancestry, the best that is in my life. I was baptized by the splendid old Puritan pastor of that day, Parson Hallock. He was in the best sense the conscience of the town. Scholar, minister, pastor, coun- selor, who can measure the influence of such a man on his generation! There is the old red house. I should advise everybody to be born in a red house such as that in which I was born, with its rows of fruit trees, its maple orchard, its sunny fields and the stone walls that speak as a fence of wood never can, of security and home."
"From the weather-worn house on the brow of the hill, We are dwelling afar in our manhood today ; But we see the old gables and hollyhocks still, As they looked long ago, ere we wandered away; We can see the tall well-sweep that stands by the door And the sunshine that gleams on the old yellow floor.
We can hear the low hum of the hard-working bees At their toil in our father's old orchard once more, In the broad, trembling tops of the bright blooming trees, As they busily gather their sweet winter store; And the murmuring brook, -the delightful old horn, And the cawing black crows that are pulling the corn.
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OLD HOUSES.
We can hear the sharp creak of the farm gate again And the loud-cackling hens in the gray barn near by With its broad sagging floor and its scaffolds of grain, And its rafters, that once seemed to reach to the sky; We behold the great beams and the bottomless bay Where we farm boys once joyfully jumped on the hay.
We can see the low hog-pen, just over the way, And the long, ruined shed by the side of the road, Where the sleds in the summer were hidden away, And the wagons and plows in the winter were stowed; And the cider-mill down in the hollow below, With a long, creaking sweep, the old horse used to draw, Where we learned, by the homely old tub, long ago, What a world of sweet rapture there was in a straw; From the cider casks there, loosely lying around, More leaked from the bung-holes than dripped on the ground.
We behold the bleak hillsides still bristling with rocks, Where the mountain stream murmured with musical sound, Where we hunted and fished, where we chased the red fox, With lazy old house dog or loud baying hound; And the cold, cheerless woods we delighted to tramp For the shy, whirring partridge, in snow to our knees, Where, with neck-yoke and pails, in the old sugar-camp We gathered the sap from the tall maple trees.
And the fields where our plows danced a furious jig, While we wearily followed the furrow all day, Where we stumbled and bounded o'er boulders so big That it took three yoke of oxen to draw them away; Where we sowed, where we hoed, where we cradled and mowed, Where we scattered the swaths that were heavy with dew, Where we tumbled, we pitched, and behind the tall load, The broken old bull-rake reluctantly drew.
How we grasped the old sheepskin with feelings of scorn As we straddled the back of the old sorrel mare, And rode up and down through the green rows of corn Like a pin on a clothes-line that sways in the air; We can hear our stern father reproving us still, As the careless old creature " comes down on a hill."
We are far from the home of our boyhood to-day, In the battle of life we are struggling alone; The weather-worn farmhouse has gone to decay, The chimney has fallen, its swallows have flown, But Fancy yet brings on her bright golden wings Her beautiful pictures again from the past, And Memory fondly and tenderly clings To pleasures and pastimes, too lovely to last.
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HISTORY OF PLAINFIELD.
We wander again by the river today ; We sit in the school-room o'erflowing with fun,
We whisper, we play, and we scamper away When our lessons are learned and the spelling is done.
We see the old cellar where apples were kept, The garret, where all the old rubbish was thrown, The little back chamber where snugly we slept, The homely old kitchen, the broad hearth of stone, Where apples were roasted in many a row,
Where our grandmothers nodded and knit long ago.
Our grandmothers long have reposed in the tomb; With a strong, healthy race they have peopled the land; They worked with the spindle, they toiled at the loom, Nor lazily brought up their babies by hand.
The old flint lock musket, whose awful recoil Made many a Nimrod in agony cry,
Once hung on the chimney, a part of the spoil
Our gallant old grandfathers captured at "Ti."
Brave men were our grandfathers, sturdy and strong; The Kings of the forest they plucked from their lands;
They were stern in their virtues, they hated all wrong, And they fought for the right with their hearts and their hands.
Oh! fresh be their memory, cherished the sod That long has grown green o'er their sacred remains, And grateful our hearts to a generous God For the blood and the spirit that flows in our veins.
Our Hallocks, our Whites, and our Warners are gone But our mountains remain with their evergreen crown, The souls of our fathers are yet " marching on," The structure they founded shall never go down.
From the weather-worn house on the brow of the hill We are dwelling afar in our manhood to-day;
But we see the old gables and hollyhocks still, As they looked when we left them to wander away. But the dear ones we loved in the sweet long ago In the old village churchyard sleep under the snow."
EUGENE J. HALL.
SINGING SCHOOLS.
As early as 1794, three choristers were chosen "for the Church and Congregation," viz. : Capt. James Richards, Lieut. Joseph Joy and Ensign Thomas Shaw. In 1798 it was voted to raise $30 for the support of a singing
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SINGING SCHOOLS.
school. An appropiation of $25 was also made in 1804, to be expended for the same purpose, under the direction of Josiah Shaw, Capt. Joseph Joy and John Hamlen. James Richards led the singing for many years. Later Dea. Freeman Hamlen and Capt. Reuben Hamlen were chor- isters; afterward, Wm. J. Shattuck, Horatio A. Shaw and others. David Shaw and Orson S. White were the first to introduce the violin into the choir. Dexter White brought in the base-viol about the same time. Orson played the violin in the choir about fifty years in succes- sion, except a few years when he was living in Springfield. Joseph L. Campbell and Seth W. Clark each played the violin with the choir for a few years. Leonard Campbell played the flute and also the double bass-viol for a time. These instruments were some years since superseded by the cabinet organ. This was played by Mrs. L. A. White for a time, then by Mrs. Wm. C. Smith. After she removed from town Mrs. A. R. Tirrell filled the place. Mrs. L. A. White is now the regular organist. An active interest was taken in sustaining a good choir and for many years Plainfield excelled in this respect. Among those who taught singing schools here, were G. W. Lucas, Col. Asa Barr, Wm. F. Sherwin, Marshall Q. L. Dickinson, Mr. Harding and Mrs. Sanderson. Mr. Dickinson has for the third time taught a class here the past winter. As long ago as the old meeting-house was standing, as many as 100 were at one time members of the choir. Wm. C. Whiting and wife, both now living in town, were for 58 and 53 years, respectively, active mem- bers. Both retain their voices for singing in a remarkable degree. One Ford, was the first who taught music here, with the possible exception of Dea. Richards.
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" THE OLD VILLAGE CHOIR."
" I have fancied, sometimes, the Bethel-bent beam That trembled to earth in the patriarch's dreanı, Was a ladder of song in that wilderness rest, From the pillow of stone to the blue of the blest, And the angels descending to dwell with us here, "Old Hundred" and "Corinth" and "China" and " Mear."
"Let us sing to God's praise," the minister said; All the psalm-books at once fluttered open at " York," Sunned their long dotted wings in the words that he read, While the leader leaped into the tune just ahead, And politely picked up the key-note with a fork; And the vicious old viol went growling along At the heels of the girls, in the rear of the song.
All the hearts are not dead, not under the sod, That those breaths can blow open to heaven and God! Ah, "Silver Street" flows by a bright shining road,- Oh, not to the hymns that in harmony flowed,- But the sweet human psalms of the old-fashioned choir, To the girl that sang alto, -the girl that sang air!
Oh, I need not a wing-bid no genii come With a wonderful web from Arabian loom, To bear me again up the river of Time; When the world was in rhythm, and life was its rhyme, When the streams of the years flowed so noiseless and narrow That across it there floated the song of the sparrow.
For a sprig of green caraway carries me there, To the old village church, and the old village choir, Where, clear of the floor my feet slowly swung, And timed the sweet pulse of the praise that they sung, Till the glory aslant from the afternoon sun Seemed the rafters of gold in God's temple begun'
You may smile at the nasals of old Deacon Brown Who followed by scent, till he ran the tune down; And dear Sister Green, with more goodness than grace, Rose and fell on the tunes as she stood in her place, And where "Coronation " exultingly flows, Tried to reach the high notes on the tips of her toes!
To the land of the leal they have gone with their song, Where the choir and the chorus together belong; Oh, be lifted, ye gates! Let me hear them again- Blessed song, blessed singers ! forever, Amen !
BENJAMIN F. TAYLOR.
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DRAMATIC CLUB-CONTRASTS.
DRAMATIC CLUB.
A dramatic club was organized here about 1870. With the assistance of Stephen Hayward, Jr., a drop curtain and stage scenery and fixtures to the value of $300 were pur- chased. A number of plays were successfully rendered, among them "Uncle Tom's Cabin," and "Paul Pry," all the characters being local members of the club. It has been practically disbanded for several years. The scenery, still in good condition, remains in the town hall. Frank Jenks, who went West nearly twenty years since, was an excellent actor and an enthusiastic member. When "Un- cle Tom's Cabin " was played, he took the part of "Phin- eas Fletcher," and also that of "Legree." At one of the rehearsals, at the point where the escape of Cassy is dis- covered, he, taking his cue, came on the stage hurriedly and in an excited manner shouted, "Call out my horse, Saddle the dogs." I think none who were present will forget it, or the bursts of unrestrained laughter that fol- lowed, mingled with applause, from the company.
CONTRASTS.
I can hardly close without contrasting the every day liv- ing of 100 years ago with that of to-day. The food of our grandfathers and grandmothers was rye and indian bread, johnny cake, pork and beans, and potatoes, with other garden vegetables in their season. Pies and cake were esteemed luxuries and were only had at Thanksgiving time or a wedding. Wheat flour in the earlier days was almost unheard of, but little wheat being raised here. No flour was brought into town for sale until 1812, when a few bar- rels were brought from New York State. Once or twice a week the capacious brick oven at the side of the chimney
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was heated by building a fire in it of "oven wood," fine and dry. After the fire had burned down, the coals and ashes were withdrawn, the oven swept with an "oven broom," and the bread, pork and beans and whatever arti- cles were to be baked, placed inside. A "bread peel," which was a broad, flat, long-handled wooden shovel, was used for placing and removing articles from the back of the oven, which was some five feet in diameter. This oven, although it would now be considered very incon- venient, surpassed all the modern stoves and ranges in its baking qualities. The table was set with wooden or pew- ter plates, the parents and older members of the family only being seated, it being customary at that time for the children to stand during the meal. The houses were heat- ed and cooking, except baking, was done at open fire- places, which consumed fabulous amounts of wood. They were large enough to take a " back log" 12 or 15 inches in diameter and at least six feet in length. In front of this, on huge andirons, was placed the "fore stick," perhaps one-half as large, with fine wood underneath. The oldest houses were constructed in such a way that a horse could be used to draw the immense back log into the house. It usually lasted two or three days. The fire when once kin- dled was not allowed to go out from one year's end to the other, the coals at bedtime and at such other times as the fire was not needed, being carefully covered with ashes to keep it. Matches were then unknown, and if by accident or oversight a family lost their fire, a child was dispatched to the nearest neighbors with a skillet or small iron kettle to borrow some live cloals, or if the distance from neigh- bors was too great, the flint and steel and a little tow were resorted to. Matches when first introduced were only
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CONTRASTS.
used in emergencies and cost 25 cents for a small box con- taining perhaps 50. They were called "Lucifers." Near- ly everything in the way of clothing was made from cloth produced at home. Linen and tow cloth from flax raised on the farm, with home-made flannel, supplied the under- wear. Men and boys dressed in homespun wool cloth, either blue or butternut color. This cloth after being wo- ven at home, was sent to a cloth-dressing machine, where it was fulled and dressed. The ladies perhaps had a chintz gown purchased at the store for Sunday wear, and the " goodman," if well-to-do, had a broadcloth coat, the ma- terial for which had been imported. The boots and shoes for the whole family were made by the shoemaker, each farmer as a rule furnishing his own leather. It was very common for a shoemaker to travel from house to house with his kit of tools, stopping long enough to make and repair what shoes were required for perhaps six months, for each family. It was also common for a tailoress to travel in the same way. Such a thing as buying a pair of shoes at a store was unheard of. Not until as late as 1825 or 1830 were any kept for sale, and then only a few "prunell" shoes for ladies. The loom and large and small spinning wheel were among the most necessary household furnishings. The plows were made of wood, covered by a blacksmith with iron plates. Cast iron plows when first introduced were treated with ridicule, few be- lieving that they could be used in this stony land without being broken at once. Only a few cows were kept, enough to supply butter, milk and cheese for family use, there be- ing little or no outside market for butter. Every farmer kept a flock of sheep, the surplus wool selling readily. Each registered with the town clerk a description of his
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ear-mark for sheep, which must be different from any pre- viously registered. Much attention was paid to raising, mating, and "breaking " steers ; ox teams being much more extensively used than now. They were almost the only team used for all farm purposes .- The usual form of salutation to a superior in social position, or when it was desired to show respect, was "Your sarvant, sir," or "Your sarvant, marm," with a lifting of the hat if by a gentleman, or a courtesy if by a lady. Spirituous liquors were at that time made use of by all, even the minister. They were cheap and unadulterated, and the evil effects resulting from their use were not as marked as at the pres- ent day. Not a building could be raised, nor any arduous work undertaken without an abundant supply of rum. I am informed by Mr. Levi Clark, who, although 88 years of age, retains his mental faculties in a remarkable degree, that about the year 1820 twelve hogsheads of rum and other liquors were brought into town and sold in a single year, and probably this did not represent the whole amount drank, to say nothing of unlimited quantities of cider. It is not perhaps worth while to present in detail the style and customs of the present age in contrast with the fore- going. We live in an age when improvement makes rapid strides. What is new and wonderful to-day, becomes like a twice told tale to-morrow. We cease to be surprised at any wonderful invention. Let us be thankful that we live in this age, rather than in the so-called " good old days " of our fathers and grandfathers.
HATFIELD EQUIVALENT.
(The following matter taken from the " History of Hawley," by Wm. G. Atkins, came to hand too late for insertion in the proper place.)
In 1659, in consideration of some services rendered, the General Court granted to Mr. Simon Bradstreet (afterward
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Governor) 500 acres of land, and the same amount to Maj. Daniel Denison, with the privilege of locating the same "at any place west of the Connecticut River, provided that it be full six miles from the place intended for North- ampton meeting-house, upon a straight line." Gov. Brad- street had first choice and chose Hatfield north meadows, beginning at the north end of the street and running north and west to the ponds. Maj. Denison took his north of the ponds, extending north on the river one mile, and west from the river 250 rods. Immediately after this Hatfield was settled, and the inhabitants began to murmur about these grants. As they were not then set off from Hadley, that town induced Gov. Bradstreet to remove his claim and accept 1000 acres lying north of Maj. Denison's, and in addition they were to pay the Governor 200 pounds. So after the transfer had been made they had a strip three miles long and 250 rods wide, taking all the meadow land on that side the river for three miles. After Hatfield became a separate town she felt uneasy about this possess- ion of so much of her best farm lands. So she petitioned the "Great and General Court " for some redress for her grievance and the legislature in 1744 gave her the lands lying adjacent to Huntstown, now Ashfield, in all 8064 acres, as an equivalent for the lands originally granted to Bradstreet and Denison. The basis of this division of the Hatfield Equivalent was the valuation of estates for taxa- tion, after the manner of the original division of the town of Hatfield in 1684. There were 83 recipients of this bounty which included all the tax-payers of Hatfied at that time. Their names are given in the records, with the number of acres and rods given to each. These proprietors met at Hatfield May 6, 1765, and passed sundry votes in regard
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