USA > Massachusetts > Franklin County > Whately > History of the town of Whately, Mass., including a narrative of leading events from the first planting of Hatfield, 1660-1871 : with family genealogies > Part 2
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And the principle of substantial equality was further recog- nized by the peculiar method adopted in distributing the Com- mon Fields, where no one received his full share in one lot-in which case he would run the chance to get all good or all poor land ; but each meadow was first partitioned off into two or more parts ; and each proprietor had a share in the subdivision of the several parts. Thus the North or Great Meadow was first appor- tioned into six parts, and each west side settler had a lot in each of the six divisions. Little Meadow was apportioned into two
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parts, and South Meadow into three parts, each proprietor receiv- ing a lot in each part. A £50 "estate" drew of meadow land in all thirteen and one-half acres ; a £200 " estate " drew fifty- four and one-half acres. At the same time, the vast extent of upland was open to all equally for wood, timber and pasturage.
And now they began to build upon these foundations. As there were no saw mills driven by water, the frame and covering of their houses must be got out by hand. Boards as well as joists were sawed in " saw pits," as they were called, i. e., two men, one above on a scaffolding, and one below in the pit, working the saw,-but most of the covering stuff for buildings was split or "eleft." These cloven boards, or clap-boards, were commonly from four to six feet long, five inches wide, and six-eighths of an inch thick on the back. Shingles were all the way from four- teen inches to three feet long, and one inch thick at the thick end. At first all stuff was split from oak.
Fences-always next in order after roads and houses-were built. The home lots, which were fenced by the owners, usually with posts and rails, required above twenty miles of fencing. The Common Fickls, except Great Meadow, which was sur- rounded by ponds and brooks, were usually enclosed with a broad ditch, on the bank of which were set two poles or three rails, making the whole over four feet in heighth. The ditch was on the outside, as the main object was to keep out roving animals. The by-laws regarding fences were minute and strict. Common fences were required to be made good by March 20th of each year, and to be so close as to keep out swine three months old. Each proprietor of a common field was required to fence accord- ing to the number of acres he held in the field, and "to have a stake twelve inches high at the end of his fence, with the two first letters of his name, facing the way the fence runs." The location of a man's fence, like that of his land, was determined by lot.
Gates were placed wherever a road crossed a common field. If a person, owner or traveler, left open the gates or bars of a meadow after March 20, he had to pay 28.6d. ; at a later date the fine was " 5 shillings besides all damages." Gates were in existence on the River road and in other parts of the town since the Revolution.
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All males over sixteen years were required to work one day yearly on the highway ; and owners of meadow land at the rate of one day for every twenty acres.
All over fourteen years were required to work one day in June, cutting brush or clearing the Commons.
At first the tillage lands were devoted mainly to corn, wheat, peas, and flax, as these were the essential articles of food, and the means of payment of debts and taxes. And an important item of each season's work was the gathering of fire wood and candle wood. The latter was the pitch or hard pine, and was the only substitute for candles for a number of years.
The first grist mill was built in 1661, by Thomas Meckins, on Hatfield Mill River. [The stream in a town on which a mill was first erected was usually called Mill River.] He received a grant of twenty acres near the mill for building it; and the town agreed to have all the grain ground at his mill, " provided he make good meal."
FORMATION OF A CHURCH AND INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN .- The west side proprietors grew and multiplied so that at the end of seven years they numbered forty-seven families. The river was a serious obstacle to the enjoyment of religious ordinances ; and as early as 1667 a petition for a separate society was sent to the General Court. The next year the Court granted them leave to settle and maintain a minister : but Hadley objected ; and an earnest controversy ensued, the result of which was that the west side was incorporated into a town by the name of " Hatfields," May 31, 1670. At the time the Court granted leave for separate church privileges they determined to have their own preaching, whether Hadley consented or not ; and at a " side-meeting," as it was called, held Nov. 6, 1668, a committee was chosen " to provide a boarding place for a minister, and arrange for his maintenance ; also to build a meeting-house thirty feet square." No plantation was considered fit for municipal privileges till a meeting-house and minister were provided for ; and it is likely that their determined action in this matter induced the court to set them off into a town, even before they expected, or were quite ready for it.
In addition to preparation for the ordinances, it was voted, at
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a side-meeting, February, 1670, to lay out a piece of ground, twenty rods long by eight rods wide, upon the plain near Thomas Meckin's land, for a burying place. They had also virtually " called " their minister and fixed his salary before incorporation. In the November following, Mr. Hope Atherton, the pastor elect, signified his acceptance of the call ; and the town voted him, in addition to the home lot of eight acres, the ministerial allotment in the meadows, to build him a house, forty by twenty feet, double-story, and allow him £60 a year, two-thirds in wheat and one-third in pork, with the proviso, " If our crops fall so short that we cannot pay him in kind, then we are to pay him in the next best way we have," and the further proviso, that if Mr. Atherton left them before his death, certain sums were to be refunded the town.
The precise date of the formation of the church is unknown. There is pretty clear evidence, however, that it took place near the 1st of April, 1671.
It appears that six only of the male inhabitants were church members. They were Thomas Meckins, Sen., William Allis, John Cole, Sen., Isaac Graves, Samuel Belding, and either Richard Billings or William Gull. At a meeting in February, 1671, the town voted that these resident members should " be those to begin in gathering the church," and that they should have power to choose three persons to make up nine to join in the work. The exact import of this last clanse is not apparent. " As seven is the least number by which the rule of church disci- pline in the eighteenth chapter of Matthew can be reduced to practice, that number has been held necessary to form a church state." [Ency. Rel. Knowl.] And we find that at North- ampton, in 1661, seven men, called the " seven pillars," were organized as a church. Also at Westfield, in 1679, seven men, called " foundation men," were selected to be formed into church state.
Thus all the essentials of social life-homes, and fenced fields, and roads, and a grist mill, a burying place, a meeting-house and minister-were secured. Schools, as we now use the term, were not regarded a necessity in the first years of a settlement. Indeed, the public or free school system was not a germ, but a
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growth, of our institutions. To give all access to the Holy Scriptures, family instruction in spelling and reading was con- sidered obligatory, and was common, from the first. To secure this, a law was passed in 1642, requiring the selectmen of towns to look after the children of parents and masters who neglected to bring them up " in learning and labor." In 1647 it was enacted that every town with fifty families should provide a school where children might be taught to read and write. Practically, this secured an education to only those who were able to pay for it ; and it was commonly understood to apply only to boys.
The first books used were the " Horn Book," Primer, Psalter, and Testament. The Horn Book was the alphabet and a few rudiments printed on one side of a card, and this was covered with translucent horn, to prevent its being soiled. They were in use till about 1700, when Dilworth's Spelling Book was introduced.
Ilatfield had a school regularly established in 1678, the expense of which was borne two-thirds by the scholars and one-third by the town. The first schoolhouse was built in 1681. Dr. Thomas Hastings was the first teacher. It was not uncommon to unite the profession of physician and teacher in the same person ; and as the grandmothers were mainly relied on for prescriptions and poultices, he seems to have found suffi- cient time for the discharge of duty in the double capacity. The school year was divided into two terms, beginning respectively about April 1 and Oct. 1. A separate rate was made for each term,-the parent paying for only the time his child attended. From a record of attendance for 1698-9 it appears that thirty- seven boys were pupils in the winter, and thirty-eight in the summer,-of whom four only were writers. The salary of the teacher was £30 to £35 per year, payable in grain.
This school became free in 1722.
Though the statutes relating to schools use the word " child- ren," yet it was understood to apply primarily to boys. Girls were taught to read at home, or by " dames " who gathered a class at their private dwellings. But the education of girls seems to have been regarded as unnecessary for the first hundred years of the New England Colonies. Even so late as the American Revolution comparatively few women could write their
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names. In the grammar schools of most of the older towns no girls were found. Boston did not allow them to attend the pub- lie schools till 1790. Northampton admitted them for the first time in 1802.
There is evidence that girls attended the school in Hatfield when it was first opened and for several years thereafter, and pursued the same studies as the boys. From 1695 to '99 none are found upon the list. In 1700, during the winter term, four girls and forty-two boys were in attendance. In 1709 there were sixteen girls in a class of sixty-four; showing a rapid change in public sentiment. Probably the mothers, educated in their girlhood by Dr. Hastings, found the advantage of learning (possibly their husbands found out the same fact), and when their daughters arrived at suitable age they sent them to school ; and thus the custom originated and rapidly gained force which resulted in the free school of 1722.
With this fact in mind, there is seen to be a striking fitness that a Hatfield woman * should be the first to found a female college in Massachusetts.
Whately wisely adopted her mother's views, as no one rement- bers the time when girls did not commonly attend school, and pursue the same studies as boys.
These early settlers lived mostly within themselves, depend- ing on the produce of their lands and cattle ; though some, in addition to farming, did carpenter's or blacksmith's work, and coopering.
The women helped their husbands, reared children, bolted the flour, and spun flax and wool, and wove them into cloth.
Most families had a few cows, and sheep, and many swine.
Oxen were used for farm work, and to haul grain and flour to market ; horses were kept solely for the saddle.
Money was scarcely a circulating medium, and trade was mostly "in kind," or wampum.
Zechariah Field was the first who carried on trade in Hatfield ; but his business was limited and proved unprofitable. Families bought most of their goods of John Pynchon of Springfield, and paid in wheat, flour, pork, and malt.
* Miss Sophia Smith.
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Taxes were paid in grain ; and even the sacramental charges of the church were paid in wheat, for which purpose three half-peeks per member per year appears to have been the usual requirement.
The only communication with the outside world was with Northampton and Springfield, and their old homes in Connecti- cut. There was a cartway to Windsor and Hartford by way of Westfield ; and there was a road to Springfield on the east side of the river.
The Bay Road, through Quaboag, was only a horse path till after 1700.
CHAPTER III.
THE FIRST INDIAN WAR, 1675-1678.
Thus in their quiet seclusion and healthful pursuits, and the enjoyment of social and Christian intercourse, they passed fif- teen years. Some who came to the valley with gray hairs had laid them down to rest in the old grave-yard. The infant had become a youth, and the youth had reached manhood. With some home-sickness and reverses, the sun of prosperity beamed kindly and brightly ; and a future full of promise and hope for their children seemed opening upon them. But on a sudden this quiet life was broken up. War in its most frightful form ; war, such as the merciless and treacherous savage knows how to wage, burst upon them !
Up to this time the whites and red men had lived together on terms of friendship. There was no social equality, and no mingling of races. Each led his own distinctive life; and though the separation between the two forms became daily more apparent, no conflict occurred, and suspicion, if it existed, was studiously concealed. The English had plowed for the Indians the reserved planting field, or, as they sometimes preferred, had rented their own plowed fields, the squaws planting and tending them " at halves ; " the Indians had dwelt in their fort, or pitched their wigwams on the Commons and sometimes on the home lots, and gone in and out at pleasure. The only danger apprehended seems to have been from the thieving and begging propensities of the savages, and their anger when under the influence of alcoholic drink. The people erected no fortifications ; and the militia men were rather for ornament than use. Hatfield had only six troopers in 1674.
It had been the custom for the Indians to apply for ground to
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plant upon, and make arrangements for the same, very early in the season, usually in February ; but this spring (1675) they were silent on the subject, and made no preparation for putting in a erop. They also removed their wigwams, and whatever goods they claimed, from the home lots and adjacent meadows to the fort. And early in summer a favorite squaw counselled goodwife Wright of Northampton "to get into town with her children." These things were known, but attracted little attention. They may have awakened suspicion ; but it could hardly be called alarm, as it led to no special preparations for defence.
In about three weeks after the Brookfield Fight, the scattered bands of Indians gathered on the Connecticut river. They con- centrated at the Fort between Northampton and Hatfield. Capt. Lathrop and Capt. Beers, with their companies, composed mostly of men from the eastern part of the State, having scoured the region of the river, came to Hadley, probably on the 23d of. August. As a precautionary measure, rather than from a belief in their hostile intentions, it was judged best to disarm the Indians then in the Fort. And on the next day a parley was held, and a formal demand for the surrender of their arms was made. The Indians objected, and demanded time for consider- ation. And it was finally agreed that if a deputation should be sent over the next morning, a final answer would be then given. Distrusting their sincerity, the officers determined to surround the Fort, and secure their arms by force, if need be. To effect this with certainty, about midnight word was sent to the con- manding officer at Northampton, to bring up his company to the south of the Fort, "as near as they could without being per- ceived," while the others would post themselves on the north. The two companies then crossed to the Hatfield side, and moved quietly down, reaching the Fort a little before break of day.
But the movement was too late to effect its object. The wily savage had fled, taking arms, goods and all-having first killed an old sachem who opposed their plans.
After a brief council of war, the Captains resolved to follow, and with one hundred men pursued " at a great pace," up the Deerfield path. The Indians had evidently anticipated such a movement, and were lying in ambush in a swamp near the road.
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From the facts that have come to light, it seems probable that the English Captains expected to hold a parley, rather than to fight, and were marching without special precaution. But on a sudden, as the troops were crossing the head of a ravine, the Indians "let fly about forty guns at them." Our men quickly returned the fire ; some of them rushed down into the swamp, forcing the enemy to throw away much of their baggage, and after a while each man, after the Indian manner, got behind his tree, and watched his opportunity to get a shot at them. The fight continued about three hours, when the Indians withdrew. " We lost six men upon the ground; a seventh died of his wounds coming home, and two died the next night, making nine in all."* Only one of the killed, Richard Fellows, belonged to Hatfield.
Owing to an apparent contradiction in the two accounts of this fight extant-Mr. Russell of Hadley placing it at " a swamp beyond Hatfield," and Hubbard saying it occurred "ten miles above Hatfield, at a place called Sugar Loaf Hill "-the location has not been hitherto identified.
But there is really no contradiction. Both accounts are agreed that it was at a swamp above Hatfield, at a place called Sugar Loaf Hill. It is also clear that our men were pursuing the usual Indian trail between Hatfield and Deerfield. If, then, a spot can be found where the trail skirts the edge of the swamp near the foot of Sugar Loaf, the presumption would be, that the ambush was concealed at that point. And if this point furnished a background fitted for a cover, and at the same time afforded a good chance of retreating in case of defeat, the presumption would amount to almost certainty. The chief ground of doubt remaining is the " ten miles from Hatfield," stated by Hubbard. But Mr. Hubbard received his information at second hand ; while Mr. Russell, who lived at Hadley, and gathered his account at the time from the soldiers themselves, names no distance. And this apparent difficulty vanishes when the common estimate (for no measurement had then been made) of distances on this path is considered. As appears from papers relating to the " Dedham Grant," the distance from Hadley to Deerfield was reckoned "twelve miles." Taking this estimated distance as a basis for
* Stoddard's Letter.
D
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getting a ratio of the true distance, the "ten miles " would be to the southward of Sugar Loaf. The only remaining difficulty is as to the exact line of march. By reference to the Indian deed, and the act defining the north line of Hatfield, it is plain that the Deerfield path crossed Sugar Loaf Brook where said brook intersects the Deerfield and Hatfield (afterwards Whately) line. Starting from " Poplar Spring," a well-known locality on this path, and following the line of trail towards the point indi- cated, at a point about a fourth of a mile south of Sugar Loaf Brook the traveler comes upon a ravine which exactly meets all the published conditions of the Fight. The swamp here trends into the plain, making a triangular depression, where is a spring of water that finds its way into Hopewell Brook. An ambush of forty Indians (the number named by Stoddard) could be hidden among the " beaver holes," and prostrate stumps, and huge hem- locks ; and as their pursuers crossed the head of the ravine their line would be exposed for nearly its whole length, as the Indians could fire up both slopes of the bluff. The peculiar lay of the land also accounts for the fact that "one of ours was shot in the back by our own men," -- which might readily happen if he pushed down into the swamp while a part of the force remained on the opposite side of the triangle .*
There is no doubt that the destruction of Quaboag, and the successful stratagem by which they escaped from the fort at Hat- field, and the indecisive struggle at " the Swamp," last described, greatly encouraged the Indians. The advantage gained was on their side.t The scattered and isolated situation of the towns, and their almost defenceless condition, was in the savages' favor. Our officers and soldiers were not familiar with their modes of warfare, and were not united in opinion as to the best method of attack and defence. The settlers were not lacking in courage, but in skill and unity.
From the date last given, Aug. 25, there were constant alarms, and individual surprises, and scouting, till the disastrous fight at Northfield, and desertion of the place, Sept. 2 and 4,
* The spot indicated in the Frontispiece, is on land now (1871) owned by J. C. Sanderson, Esq.
+ The loss of the Indians in the Swamp Fight was put by our men at twenty-six ; but this is conjecture, and the number is improbable.
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and the still more disastrous slaughter of "the flower of Essex" at Muddy Brook, Sept. 18. Deerfield was immediately aban- doned, and her settlers retired to Hatfield and Hadley. The whole valley was a scene of apprehension and mourning. Fathers went out to cut fire wood or gather corn in the morning, and returned not. The light of blazing barns at night sent fear to the heart of the boldest. The crack of the Indian's gun in the thicket was at once the traveler's warning and death knell.
Thus passed the month after the battle of Muddy Brook,- afterwards appropriately called Bloody Brook. The savages were always on the alert, and usually appeared just when and where they were least expected. Springfield was burnt Oct. 5, -the very day on which an attack on Hadley from the north was expected. An extract from a letter written by Maj. John Pynchon, dated Hadley, Sept. 30, will give a vivid picture of the situation : "We are endeavoring to discover the enemy, and daily send out scouts, but little is effected. Our English are somewhat awk and fearful in scouting and spying, though we do the best we can. We have no Indian friends here to help us. We find the Indians have their scouts out. Two days ago, two Englishmen at Northampton, being gone out in the morning to cut wood, and but a little from the house, were both shot down dead, having two bullets apiece shot into each of their breasts. The Indians cut off their scalps, took their arms, and were off' in a trice." And in a posteript to another letter, dated Oct. 8, he says : "To speak my thoughts, all these towns ought to be garrisoned as I have formerly hinted. To go out after the Indians, in the swamps and thickets is to hazard all our men, unless we know where they keep; which is altogether unknown to us." This will explain the defensive policy adopted by the English.
On Tuesday, the 19th of October, early in the morning, the Indians kindled great fires in the woods to the northward of Hatfield, probably in the neighborhood of " Mother George," to attract the village people, and then concealed themselves in the bushes to await the result. About noon, ten horsemen were sent out to scout ; and as they were passing the ambush, the Indians fired, killing six, and taking three prisoners, one of whom they afterwards tortured to death. They then fell with
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all their fury upon the village, evidently hoping to wipe it out, as they had done to Northfield and Deerfield. But, as the chronicle has it, "according to the good providence of God," Capt. Mosely and Capt. Poole, who with their companies then garrisoned Hatfield, successfully repelled the assault. After a fierce and protracted struggle, the Indians fled, having mortally wounded one soldier, and burned a few buildings. This was the first decided defeat they had suffered,-if we except the repulse at Hadley (of which so little is known) through the skill and courage of Gen. Goffe.
Soon after this affair, the main body of the Indians withdrew from this part of the valley. The people of Hatfield immedi- ately began the construction of palisades around the more thickly built portion of the village, -- comprising, probably, the southern end of the street ; they also fortified the mill, and some of the more exposed houses.
Winter set in early ; and though no attack was made, or seri- ously apprehended, the time passed gloomily enough. Most of the families from Deerfield, and some from Northfield, were gathered here ; and a company of thirty-six (under Lieut. Wil- liam Allis) were quartered upon the people. Food appears to have been plenty. But the deep snows* and severe cold pre- vented much communication with other parts of the Colony. Shut up, and shut out from the world, as they were, thoughts of the past and apprehensions for the future must have weighed heavily on their hearts.
Mr. Russell's report of the numbers slain in Hampshire County, in 1675, is as follows :-
Aug. 2, at Brookfield,
" 25, above IIatfield, Sept. 1, at Deerfield, .
" 2, " Northfield, . 66 16
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