USA > Massachusetts > Hampshire County > Westhampton > Memorial of the reunion of the natives of Westhampton, Mass., September 5, 1866 > Part 2
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In 1765, Samuel Kingsley, of Southampton, deeded to his son Samuel 40 acres, and to his son Joseph 50 acres, in Long Divis- 'ion on Shirkshire road.
In 1768, William Bartlett moved his family into town, and
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settled upon the same spot, or near the residence of Jared Bart- lett ; and in the same year, Samuel Kingsley, Jr., began to build on the south side of the Norwich road, very near the house. where he lived so many years. Bartlett was a man of consid- erable means, for his estate was taxed at £62 18s. in 1768. He brought sheep with him, as well as other animals, and is sup- posed to have first introduced sheep into town.
Martin Clark and John Smith moved into town in 1769. Clark first built upon the north side of the Norwich road, nearly opposite the new house of Mr. Ludden. Soon after this, he built another house on the south side, where he died after a life of great usefulness and labor.
John Smith, the brother of Abner, came from Chester with a large family. He lived in several places, once on the spot after- wards occupied by Levi Post ; there he built the house in which Enoch Lyman used to live. In this year sheep first appear upon the tax list, 23 in all, and owned as follows : 14 by Bartlett, 4 by Pomeroy, 3 by Clark, and 2 by Kingsley.
Ten more persons came into this town in 1770 ; nine of them had families, making sixteen in all. There were Seth Burk, Joseph Kingsley, Jacob and Jonah Mallory, James Cowen, Ezra Hickson, Simeon Ward, Ephraim Sanford, and Joshua Claflin.
Seth Burk came from Goshen, built a house a little under the hill, and sold the same to Elijah Norton in 1785, when he moved to Vermont. This house is now standing. Joseph Kingsley settled near his brother Samuel. The Mallorys and Cowen mar- ried the sisters of Smith and built near them on the Norwich road. Jacob Mallory and Cowen soon left the town; Joshua Claflin built on the place at Turkey Hills, where Capt. Henry Hooker lived and died. Ezra Hickson planted on the east road near the old house of Justin Edwards. Simeon Ward built near the present residence of Asa Parsons. Ephraim Sandford was the first person to build on the road to Northampton by Roberts Meadow. Sandford built on the Bridges place, beyond Turkey Hill school house. He was for a time in the war, but finally sold out to Zachariah Curtis. Several new families moved into the place in 1771 and 1772, and remained here. Jonathan Fish- er, who was the father of Major Fisher ; Timothy Thayer, who built the old Alvord house over the brook where William Ed- wards now lives ; John Bullard, who located in the place owned by Willard Smith. Gideon Clark, Jr. built on the farm which he occupied for so many years. Nathaniel Elliot and Ezekiel Snow built log houses down in the vicinity of the mines. Jona- than Wales moved his family into town in 1771, though he be- gun his plantation in the preceding year. Azariah Lyman was at work in the town in 1771 ; he built, in 1774, the two story house where his son, Jesse Lyman, lives. Ebenezer Stearns had
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a place south-east of the old place, formerly occupied by Luke Phelps. John F. Tucker had a log house on Nathaniel Edwards' land, east of Joel Cook's ; his wife and child were buried in Ed- wards' pasture. John Strong, Sd, first built near Wm. Bartlett, afterwards moved down opposite Gee's house.
On the tax list of 1771, are 21 names, having 23 1-2 polls and 8 houses, and they owned among them 13 horses over 3 years old, 10 1-2 yoke of oxen, 16 swine, and 20 sheep over one year old ; and their land consisted of 26 1-2 acres mowing, 40 1-2 acres tillage, and 28 1-2 acres pasturing. The whole valuation was £259 18s., of which much the largest estate was that of Wm. Bartlett, valued at £62 14s.
On the list of 1772, there are 26 names and 26 polls, with 13 houses and five barns. The whole valuation was £379 15s, con- taining 174 1-2 acres improved land, 12 horses, 21 oxen, 22 cows, 18 swine, and 31 sheep. The six largest tax payers fol- lowed in this order :- Wm. Bartlett, Martin Clark, Samuel Kingsley, Timothy Pomeroy, John Smith, and Noah Strong, Jr. Bartlett had two horses, 4 oxen, 4 cows, 6 swine, 15 sheep. All the above houses were undoubtedly framed buildings, and the others lived in log houses. Two persons are rated as having one-third of a barn each. The whole tax was on polls, £5 12s, 1 1-2d, and on all other estate £2 4s., 3 1-2d, making a total of £7 16s., 5d, for 1772.
The poll tax was then upon all males from 16 years old and upwards. It was called poll tax from the word poll, a name for the head, the tax being so much on a head.
A great work was performed in Westhampton about this time in connection with the lead mines. About ten years before the rev- olutionary war, the noted Ethan Allen and a few other persons came to the mines, purchased large tracts of land in the vicinity, and began an excavation for lead. After sinking some thousands of dollars, they sold out to Win. Bowdoin, brother of Governor Bowdoin, and others. These took hold of the work in great earnest, and employed many hands. They were led on by the common opinion that there was silver as well as lead in the mine. They excavated to the depth of sixty or seventy feet into the rock, and to remove the water which flowed into the pit, they put in a pump which was kept in motion by a stream of water brought more than two miles from Sodom brook, in the south- erly part of the town. From this brook, the water was carried into a swamp a little south of the former residence of Sylvester Judd, senior ; it then followed the course of a small stream, which issued from the easterly part of this swamp, and then a trench more than a mile long was dug to the mine. This trench could be seen in some places down to a late period of time. This Ethan Allen was very profane and noisy. He neither feared
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God nor man. At one of his visits to the mine, Rev. Jonathan Judd of Southampton, gently rebuked him for his profanity. Allen attempted to excuse himself on the ground of the badness of human nature ; the minister's answer is not given, but Ethan was much affected by it, and he was not heard to swear for sev- eral days ..
The population increased rapidly from 1772 to the incorpora- tion of the town in 1778. The land was cheap, and the soil proved much better than had been reported. The people worked upon the roads from year to year, and the north and south parts of the town began to meet together. The town of Northamp- ton voted 1767 to build a bridge over the Manhan, at King's saw mill, and in the next year, it voted to build a bridge over Sodom brook. This was the first bridge made in the town of Northampton. It was voted to build a bridge beyond Samuel Kingsley's in 1771. Little neighborhoods gradually increased. Preaching was had occasionally and schools were opened. Ev- erything invited emigration.
In 1773 came Ephraim Wright, Ebenezer French, Levi Post, Skelton Felton, Abiather French, Abner Claflin. In 1774 came Sylvester Judd, Reuben Wright, Rufus Lyman, Timothy and Asa Thayer, Elihu Chilson, John Baker, Nathan Clark, Jona- than Clark, Oliver Post. In 1775 there were forty persons taxed for 46 polls. And the new comers were Thomas Elwell, Joel Bartlett, Jonathan Frost, Ebenezer Clark. Epaphras Clark, John and David Parsons, Timothy Phelps, Timothy Edwards, Wil- liam Atwater, Daniel Winter.
There were 48 polls, 32 houses, and 18 barns, in 1776. In 1777 and 1778 the new settlers were Peter Montague, Noah and Timothy Edwards, Elijah Boyden, Noah Parsons, Joseph Chil- son, Jonathan Alvord, Sr. and Jr., Jehiel Alvord, John Fisher, Zachariah Curtis, Oliver Waters, Elijah Tyler, Nathaniel Rogers.
In 1778, there were about 60 families in Long Division, con- taining between 60 and 70 polls ; and the whole population, in the latter part of this year, was not far from 300 souls. Now they feel able to perform the duties of a town, and they begin measures to be incorporated. A petition signed by 37 persons was presented to the town meeting in March, 1778, praying that "4 miles of the west end of Long Division shall be set off into a town or district," and for their proportion of the real and personal estate in the hands of the town. The town voted their consent to the separation of the four miles asked for, and that the inhabitants thereof were entitled to £137 15s. of the town's funds ; and in part payment thereof voted to the pro- posed town a lot of land containing 107 acres.
At the next session of the General Court, the inhabitants of Long Division petitioned this body to be incorporated into a
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separate town, stating "that your petitioners being now in- creased to a considerable number, are of the opinion that we can support a minister of the Gospel among ourselves." An act of incorporation was passed on 29th of September 1778, whereby the westerly part of the said town of Northampton, separated by a line four miles eastward from the west line of said town of Northampton, and parallel thereto, be incorporated into a separate town by the name of Westhampton.
At the March meeting of the town of Northampton in 1772, the inhabitants of Long Division petitioned the town to pay back to them their minister and school rates in order to pay for preaching. The request was granted, provided the money was spent for preaching ; and in August, 1773, the town " being sat- isfied that the people of Long Division has spent £7 16s for preaching, gave Samuel Kingsley an order on the town treasurer for that sum. In December, 1773, the town voted £8 to the 4 miles of Long Division for preaching, provided they use it for that purpose ; and in November, 1774, the town voted £9 to Long Division for preaching and schooling. November, 1777, the town voted £15 to Long Division, for preaching.
For some years after the settlement of the town, the men from Northampton went to meeting in Northampton on the Sabbath, and the Southampton men to Southampton. The first preaching in Westhampton was in the early part of the summer of 1772, Noah Cook of Hadley was hired for a few Sundays ; he was the first one who preached in the town. The meetings were held in the houses of Samuel Kingsley and Timothy Thayer : first at Kingsley's, then at Thayer's. Thayer lived over the brook near the house of Wm. Edwards, and to accommodate some of the foot people, some logs were placed across the stream. But some- times both girls and boys waded through the water. Mr. Cook was a lame man and walked with crutches, so that some persons used to call him the three legged minister. Next winter one Mr. Gould preached two or three times. In the winter of 1773- 4 Mr. Hooker, coming from Northampton; held service and bap- tised three children, whose names were Noah Kingsley, Justice Burk and Rebecca Fisher. These are supposed to be the first baptisms in the town of Westhampton. There was preaching in the Northerly part of the town, in 1774 or 5, at the house of Jonathan Wales, by a Mr. Taft, the brother of Mrs. Wales. Taft was a zealous Whig, went about talking politics during the week, and on the Sabbath, prayed and preached about liberty. He refused entirely to drink any tea and urged others to do the same. He said tea was the blood of the country, and those who drank it drank up the life blood of the land. It was whilst Taft was preaching that Mr. Wales' son Nathaniel was born. His mother, it is said, who as well as her father were of the
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Baptist sentiments, educated this son for a Baptist preacher. But the boy supposed he was wiser than his good mother, and when grown up adopted the opposite sentiments. Rev. Mr. Hooker of Northampton and Rev. J. Judd, of Southampton oc- casionally came and had lectures on the week days, in the town. As the population in the part of the town increased, the arrange- ment was made to hold the meetings alternately in the barns of Samuel or Joseph Kingsley, and Nathan Clark. A Mr. Hotch- kiss preached a few times in Westhampton and Norwich. John Elliot preached 4 Sabbaths in the spring of 1778; Jonathan Smith of Hadley, and David Parsons of Amherst preached here in the same year. An old man called Father Saxton, who lived in a log house near the old house of Solomon. Judd, preached all one summer in 1776 or 7. This Sexton was called very dull ; but Elliott was a rousing man in the desk.
At the first meeting after the incorporation of the town, held the 19th of November, 1778, the town voted to hire Mr. Hale to preach four Sabbaths. March 8, 1779, the town hired Mr. Hale to preach two months longer. In August, 1779, the town voted to give Mr. Hale a call to settle in the ministry, and it was voted " to give him for settlement a lot of land in the North- west part of the town, also fifteen acres of land taken from Na- than Clark's land, and five acres taken from Elihu Chilson's homestead, and that we will clear three acres of the land some time in 1780, three more in 1781, and four more in 1782, and we will build the said Mr. Hale a house thirty-two feet long and thirty feet wide, with a convenient shed to the same, said house to be built-the outside with one room upon the lower floor, to be completely finished some time in 1780, the rest of the lower part to be finished by April 1st, 1783, or if the said Mr. Hale shall choose, we will pay him what such a house so finished shall cost, by the 1st of April, 1783, and that we will give Mr. Hale for salary the first year of his ministry forty pounds, equal to wheat at four shillings per bushel, rye at three shillings per bushel, Indian corn two shillings per bushel (except in a year of extraordinary scarcity to be higher and in a year of extraor- dinary plenty to be lower) and said salary to rise three pounds per year, at the above mentioned value, until said salary should rise to seventy pounds per year, and then seventy pounds to be continued yearly, and that we will give Mr. Hale his fire wood yearly after the first six years of his ministry, and, lastly, if what we now offer should be found insufficient, we will make such further addition as his necessity shall require and our ability will admit of." To their proposal for a settlement, Mr. Hale, under date of August 11th, 1779, returned a short note to the town, stating that he wished more time to give them a full an- swer, and "that as matters appear to me at present I shall think
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it my duty to accept your invitation if things continue to bear favorable aspect for it." And August 18th, 1779, he sent a full answer to the town in the following words :
" To the People of Westhampton, Gentlemen and Friends :
The message contained in your call and petition to me I have deliberately con- sidered. To know my duty on this important occasion has much engaged my mind. I have earnestly looked to the God of all wisdom to give me Divine direction, and as his providence has given me opportunity, I have asked the advice of my friends and those whose judgment and experience I respect, to assist me in determining. The language of providence and my duty towards you, the active and persevering zeal which you have shown to enjoy the ministry of the gospel, the serious counte- nance which I.have with pleasure observed in your religious assemblies, and the attention which has been given to my discourses invite me to engage my faithful endeavors to serve you with the encouraging hope, that my labors may be owned by the blessing of God for your spiritual welfare.
The agreement of the town to desire me to settle with you in the ministry of the gospel, as it is signified by the petition you have signed, is more general than I ex- pected from what knowledge I had of your circumstances, and although it is not so universal as may be desired in proceedings of this nature, yet considering your situation I think it my duty, so far as I am able to understand the voice of provi- dence, to comply with your request. This determination I am sensible will be un- welcome to some whom I have a hearty desire to please and oblige; these 1 earn- estly entreat to consider my unhappy situation, which put a necessity upon me of acting unfavorably to them, to prevent my giving disappointment and uneasiness to a larger number. My complying with the mere general call I would hope may not be interpreted as manifesting disrespect or unkindness of disposition to any individuals, but as expressive of a hearty willingness and desire to serve and oblige the whole. I well know there are many difficulties, especially at the present day, which attend your infant state. These Iam willing, and, if I settle in the ministry here, shall expect to share with you, and it is my hearty desire that you should be as little burdened as possible for my support, and provide only, as I am satisfied you are willing to do, such a comfortable living as the Gospel requires for its min- istry. To calculate exactly what my future wants will be is impossible, but I hope never to be under the disagreeable necessity of asking for more than you have en- . gaged to do for me, which fully answers iny present desire.
I am even willing and in acknowledgment of your generosity in your present dif- ficult circumstances, do freely consent that five pounds be abated from the height to which you offered that the salary should rise. Accordingly, instead of seventy pounds, I will, if you shall choose, consider sixty-five to be the extent of my yearly salary, even if I should continue with you more than ten years, trusting only as you have proposed that if this shall be found insufficient, you will make such addi- tion to it as my necessities shall require, and your ability will admit. For a num- ber of years, [ have had it in my mind, if Providence should open the door. to enter into the work of the Gospel Ministry. And it has been my study to qualify myself if possible, in some measure for it; but after all to think of the dignity and impor- tance of the office of a minister of Christ, the greatness of the work, and the con- cern and difficulty that must attend the faithful discharge of so important a trust, affects me with a very deep sense of my own insufficiency for these things, but it is a comfort to remember that He who has committed this treasure to earthen vessels. that the excellency of the power may be of God, is able abundantly to support them in all their labor and trials, trusting in his wisdom and strength, and expect- ing likewise your kind assistance and prayers, I am persuaded to engage with the leave of Providence, to serve you in the dispensation of the Gospel, humbly pray- ing that God's name may be glorified in blessing you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
I am yours to serve in the Lord, . ENOCH HALE. WESTHAMPTON, August 18, 1779.
The town voted that the ordination of Mr. Hale should take place the 20th of September, 1779. But an ordination was no common event, and it was not easy to find a place in which the
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exercises could be conveniently performed. A barn all covered except the east end, stood on the Norwich road, a little easterly of Jesse Lyman's house. It was decided to fit this building up for the occasion. At the east side of the barn a scaffold of boards was raised over the cattle stalls ; and upon this platform the clergymen sat, and all the parts of the ordination were per- formed, facing outwardly upon the open air. Rev. Joseph Hun- tington preached the ordination sermon. The occasion called together a crowd of people, who disposed of themselves as best they might, inside of the barn and upon the ground around the easterly end of the barn ; some sitting on rough boards, some standing, but all intensely watching the various parts perform- ing upon the scaffold.
On 21st of May, 1779, the town having selected a spot, voted . to build a meeting house thereon, and steps were taken to pro- cure the necessary materials. The house was to be fifty feet long and forty feet in breadth. But soon a disagreement arose between the two parts of the town as to the place where the meeting house should stand. The South part, being first settled, was the most populous, and srtonger than the North portion, and tried to convey the meeting house as far south as possible. This was resisted by the North with great zeal and violence. . One party proposed to place the church near Babcock's corner, on the old Norwich road, while the other side claimed that the little square in front of Nathan Clark's house was the best place. The struggle grew warmer and warmer, and became almost furi- ous. The South carried a vote in their favor, and thereupon the North, to meet this action of the South, proposed to have the town divided into two equal parts, by a line running from east to west in the middle of the town, or running the dividing line in such a place as to leave one part of the town four miles square and the remainder to be two miles long and four miles wide. In order to harmonize the contending parties, soon after Mr. Hale's house was covered, it was agreed to hold the meetings in his house. This was done for a few Sabbaths, in the second story. This story was unfinished, leaving all the chamber room one un- divided and unbroken hall. A rough box about four feet square was placed in the south-east corner of the room ; a block sawed off from a large trunk of a tree, was placed upon this box-and this was the pulpit. The garret floor had not been laid, some boards were placed across the beams, where the floor ought to go ; here the singers sat and sung. At first the only way to this platform was a ladder ; but the women made objections to climb- ing up the ladder in so publie a place, and thereupon a kind of box was built up around the ladder. This arrangement did not last long, for the North had to travel about four miles, and the South only two miles to church, and at the next town meeting the preaching was restored to Nathan Clark's barn.
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Year after year the controversy went on, but no point could be agreed upon. Some proposed the centre of the town, but this centre would fall upon the westerly side of Tob Hill, near its top. At length a committee of grave men, consisting of Col. Chapin of Hatfield, Deacon White of Springfield, and Deacon White of Whately, was authorized to select a spot. . They re- ported November 8th, 1783, a place for the church, which was accepted by the town. As usual, both parties finally repudiated this spot last mentioned. The timber had been provided, and the tradition is, that the frame of the meeting house passed back- wards and forwards, by Mr. Hale's house, three times. Finally the town came back to its first love, and in December, 1784, af- ter five years of strife, it was voted to put the house a little west of the spot last agreed upon before the settlement of Mr. Hale. In the next year, June 10th, 1785, the frame was erected, and meetings began to be held in it in 1786, though it was not com- pleted for four years afterwards.
To Mr. Hale we are all deeply indebted for the end of this strife, which came very near breaking the town into two or more fragments. He did all he could to heal the troubled waters. And no man was better able to do this than he ; so cool, calm. moderate and conciliating in all his movements, he held the peace offering to both sides. And to this noble man must be the chief praise in finally settling the commotion so harmoniously.
Now the meeting house is built, let us stop a moment and look at it with its surroundings. The place selected for it was the wild woods, the primeval trees of the forest had to be cut down to make room for it. There was no road to it, or from it, only a horse track passed by it in going from Nathan Clark's over to the south part of the town. There was not a habitation near it. save the log hut of Samuel Hering, and then came the house of Mr. Hale. But this wild spot was as near the centre of the town as the building could be conveniently put, and here finally all parties met in peace and love. The building was a plain, bunk-looking two story structure, with its length running north to south, and facing the east. It had neither bell nor steeple. The pulpit, with the sounding board over it, was on the west side, and there was an entrance into it from each of the other three sides, covered with porches. It had the high square box pews, with squeaking balusters on the lower floor, and there were the same kind of pews in the gallery next to the wall. raised up a foot or more above the aisle or pathway. The rest of the gallery consisted of two long narrow slips, extending round from the wall on the south side of the pulpit, to the wall on the north side. The old folks sat below, the children went into the gallery, the boys on one side by themselves, and the girls on the other side. How changed the scene now, and as we
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