USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Our County and Its People A History of Hampden County, Massachusetts > Part 33
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
O. Bliss, Elijah Colton, Ethan Taylor; 1839, Oliver Dwight, Gad O. Bliss, Willis Phelps; 1840, Gad O. Bliss, Simeon Newell, Stephen Ashley ; 1841, Gad O. Bliss, Simeon Newell, Willis Phelps; 1842, Simeon Newell, Willis Phelps, Joseph MeGregory ; 1843, Lorin Burt, Dimond Colton, Joseph McGregory; 1844, Lorin Burt, Joseph MeGregory, Simeon Newell; 1845-6, Simeon Newell, Lorin Burt, Daniel Burbank; 1847-8, Alford Cooley, Warren Billings, Simeon Newell; 1849-50, Alford Cooley, War- ren Billings, Oliver Dwight; 1851, Alford Cooley, Elias Coomes, Randolph Stebbins; 1852-3, Alford Cooley, Stephen T. Colton, Randolph Stebbins; 1854, Randolph Stebbins, Stephen T. Colton, William Higley; 1855, Stephen T. Colton, Alfred Taylor, Sumner W. Gates; 1856-7, Stephen T. Colton, Alfred Taylor, Lucius C. Burt; 1858-9, Stephen T. Colton, William Burt, Lucius C. Burt; 1860-62, Stephen T. Colton, David Lathrop, Abel H. Calkins; 1863-5, Stephen T. Colton, David Lathrop, Horace Hills; 1866, Stephen T. Colton, Charles S. Newell, Geo. W. Gould; 1867, Stephen T. Colton, Charles S. Newell, Randolph Stebbins; 1868, George W. Gould, Charles S. Newell, Abel H. Calkins; 1869-70, Charles S. Newell, George W. Gould, Ralph P. Markham; 1871-3, Charles S. Newell, John C. Porter, Edwin Endicott; 1874, Charles S. Newell, Edwin Endicott, Abel H. Calkins ; 1875, Chas. S. Newell, Edward P. Tabor, Abel H. Cal- kins; 1876, Charles S. Newell, Edward P. Tabor, Edwin Endi- cott; 1877, Charles S. Newell, Edward P. Tabor, Abel H. Calkins; 1878-79, Charles S. Newell, Edward P. Tabor, David Lathrop; 1880-82, Charles S. Newell, Edward P. Tabor, Abel H. Calkins; 1883, John C. Porter, John A. Mckinstry, Henry Hall; 1884-9, John A. Mckinstry, Henry Hall, John C. Porter; 1890-91, Henry Hall, John C. Porter, Frank B. Allen; 1892, Henry Hall, John C. Porter, Edward P. Tabor; 1893, Frank B. Allen, John C. Porter, George B. Robinson; 1894, Frank B. Allen, William C. Pease, Charles S. Newell; 1895, Frank B. Allen, Charles S. Newell, John A. Mckinstry; 1896, Charles S. Newell, John A. Mckinstry, Charles S. Gates; 1897-8, Charles S. Gates, Frank B. Allen, Thomas D. Watters; 1899-1900, Charles S. Newell, Charles A. Birnie, Walter Bliss; 1901, Edward S. Brewer, Thomas D. Watters, Harry G. Webster.
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THE TOWN OF LONGMEADOW
Precinct Clerks .- 1716, Jonathan Ely; 1717, Samuel Steb- bins; 1718-51, Jonathan Ely; 1751-75, Jonathan Stebbins; 1775-83, Jonathan Hale, Jr.
Town Clerks .- 1783-91, Jonathan Hale, Jr .; 1791-3, Daniel Stebbins; 1793-1813, Jabez Colton; 1813-20, Chester Woolworth; 1820-51, William White; 1851-3, David Booth; 1853, Dimond Chandler; 1854-6, Henry J. Crooks; 1856, James L. Pratt; 1857-89, Oliver Wolcott; 1889-94, Fred W. Lathrop; 1894, William B. Medlicott; 1895-1901, William F. Emerson.
Representatives .- 1784, Nathaniel Ely; 1785-6, Gideon Burt; 1787, Elihu Colton; 1788-9, William Stebbins; 1791-2, Jabez Colton ; 1794-5, Gideon Burt; 1800, Hezekiah Hale; 1801,
Longmeadow Town Hall
Gideon Burt; 1802-3, Nathaniel Ely; 1804, Hezekiah Hale; 1805- 12, Ethan Ely.
State Senators .- 1856, Gad O. Bliss; 1863, Thomas L. Chapman.
Members of State Constitutional Convention .- 1820, Calvin Burt; 1853, Gad O. Bliss.
The full list of town officers for the year 1901 is as follows : Town clerk, treasurer and agent of board of health, William F. Emerson; selectmen, assessors, overseers of poor and board of health, Edward S. Brewer, Thomas D. Watters, Harry G. Web- ster : auditor, William M. Willard; collector, Charles S. Allen;
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constables, William F. Sullivan, James Ward; highway sur- veyor, Charles P. Ward; water commissioners, Charles A. Birnie, Thomas D. Watters, Walter Bliss, William F. Emerson, clerk; cemetery commissioners, William F. Emerson, Charles S. Allen, Edward P. Tabor; park commissioners, William C. Pease, William S. Bacon, Gottlieb A. Baer; sinking fund com- missioners, William C. Pease, Charles S. Allen, Thomas F. Cordis; chief of fire department, Thomas D. Watters; school committee, Levere C. Fay, Mrs. Lucy J. Smith, William B. Medlicott ; superintendent of schools, Mary L. Poland of Spring- field ; principal of grammar school, Lucia B. Carver; trustees of public library, Edward F. Hayes, Mrs. Charles S. Gates (libra- rian), Mrs. Lucy J. Smith.
There is abundant evidence that in the days of warfare and peril which tried the American colonies so severely, during much of the first part of the eighteenth century, the inhabitants of Longmeadow bore their part in a brave and creditable manner. Unfortunately no separate records were kept for the parish, and the men from the southern precinct merely stood to the credit of Springfield. It is possible, however, to name a trio of officers who served with distinction. Rev. Stephen Williams, the first pastor of the church, was three times commissioned as chaplain in the colonial armies, and there can be no doubt of the quality of the service which he rendered. The tombstone of Capt. Isaac Colton, who died in 1757, in his fifty-seventh year, bears record that he "had a military genius, commanded a company at Louis- burg in 1742: was respected and useful at home; was a man of prayer." Similar testimony is borne by the stone which marks the grave of Lieut. Nathaniel Burt, "who was slain at the mem- orable battle near Lake George, September 8, 1755, when his colonel and other brave officers fell, yet a signal victory was obtained over the enemy." The record adds that he was "a deacon of this church, an exemplary christian, a man of public spirit, and a good soldier, well beloved at home and in the army. A concern for pure religion caused his going into the military service. He died in his forty-fifth year." Other military titles borne by Longmeadow men during this period were doubtless won by faithful service in the field.
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THE TOWN OF LONGMEADOW
The precinct still remained a portion of Springfield during the revolution, although aspiring to become a town, so that its military history is in general inseparable from that of the parent municipality. There is preserved, however, the muster roll of the "Longmeadow minute men" who marched away for service April 21, 1775, on receiving report of the battle of Lexington two days before. This promptness of action well illustrates the spirit of the times and of the community, though the company was but small, comprising only twenty-three officers and en- listed men, as follows:
The Old Colton Place
First Lieutenant (acting Captain) David Burt; Second Lieutenant Jonathan Hale; Sergeants Ebenezer Colton and Samuel Keep; Corporals Nathaniel Ely and Josiah Cooley ; Abner Colton, Oliver King, John Colton, Nehemiah Rumrill, Ebenezer Bliss. 2d, Thomas Stebbins, Aaron Bliss, Samuel Morgan, Samuel Smith, James Parker, David White, Gad Lamb, John Ackley, Ebenezer Stebbins, Elijah Burt, Samuel Burt, Richard Wool- worth.
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Before the close of the long struggle most of the able-bodied men of the parish had drawn sword or shouldered musket in the cause of liberty, and the people had borne their share of the burdens incident to the strife. Their joy at the final outcome was proportioned to the stress which they had borne during the years of trial.
. There was a sharp division of sentiment in the town regard- ing the Shays rebellion, and the leader of that movement had a considerable following, although it is probable that a majority were in favor of the government. Like most New Englanders, they had no sympathy with the war of 1812, and did not hesitate to put themselves on record by votes condemning many of the measures thought necessary by the federal government. Some men were drafted from the town, however, and the names of Levi E. Taylor and Sabin Burt are recorded as having been thus distinguished. When the war closed and peace had been declared, the inhabitants gave free expression to their joy, ringing the church bell with such vigor that it was cracked and ruined, neces- sitating the appropriation of a considerable sum for the pur- chase of a new bell.
In the war of the rebellion, 1861-5, however, the sentiment of the town was strongly loyal. Like every other town in the county, Longmeadow furnished more than its quota under the various calls for troops during the four years' continuance of the war, besides making generous provision for the care of volun- teers' families and other incidental expenses of the war.
As the motive which originally impelled its settlers was agricultural, pastoral pursuits have held the first place in the activities of the residents of the town, especially in that section now known as Longmeadow. In fact, the plan of the settlement was such as to preclude any other idea than that of an agricul- tural community, with such simple allied industries as were necessary for the comfort and convenience of the people. The broad village street, twenty rods in width, converted from a sandy waste into a vista of greenness and beauty, the generous allotment of the central lands, running far back from the street, the air of repose and quiet which has survived with so little im-
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THE TOWN OF LONGMEADOW
pairment through nearly two centuries of development, with the wide meadows extending to the river on one side and to the forest on the other, combine to form an embodiment of well- preserved pioneer wisdom, embodied in a permanent community in a measure seldom met, even in the earlier New England set- tlements.
With the exception of the saw mills, grist mills and black- smith shops naturally pertaining to the early settlements, the manufacturing interests of Longmeadow have never been ex- tensive, or very important. The first of any consequence appears to have been the manufacture of gold spectacles and gold and silver thimbles, which was begun by Dimond Chandler about 1838, and carried on for some ten years, when he sold out to Colton & Hollister. Various other parties have sinee carried on the business in a moderate way, but it is now extinct. After disposing of this industry Mr. Chandler started in 1848 the manufacture of buttons, presently taking in as partners Nelson C. Newell and his brother, Samuel R. Newell. Within eight or ten years the industry had grown so that employment was given to some forty or fifty hands, when it was removed to Springfield. where it is still carried on. At the mouth of Pe- cowsic brook some manufacturing has been done, a small pistol factory being at one time operated there. Later a papier-maché plant turned out pails, basins, globes and various other artieles, but the business did not long continue.
While the central thought in the incorporation of Long- meadow parish was that of religious worship accessible to the dwellers in the settlement, the important matter of education was not overlooked or neglected. No sooner had a church been provided than the matter of a school house was taken up, and a structure for that purpose was soon erected on the village green to the north of the church. This served the needs of the community until 1791, when a brick building of peculiar design was erected somewhat further south on the green, where it re- mained until destroyed by fire in 1851. The appropriations for school purposes during the precinct period were made by the town of Springfield in common with those for the other schools
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in the town limits; but there is no doubt that the children of Longmeadow received their share of the appropriations in the provisions made for that part of the town. In 1784, the year following the incorporation of Longmeadow as a separate munic- ipality, the school appropriation was £40, and the amount in- creased yearly with the growth and development of the town. New districts were created and provided with school houses, as the need became apparent. From the early town records it appears that in several cases the buildings were constructed by the inhabitants of the district, at their own expense, the cost being afterward reimbursed by the town. From that time to the present, the needs of the town schools have been generously met ; and though no educational institutions of wide scope have been founded within the town limits, that the needs of the town children have been well considered is amply attested by the quality of citizenship produced.
The early history of the First Congregational church has already been told in the story of the precinct period, neither of which can be dissociated from the other during the long period covered by the ministry of Rev. Dr. Williams. His death of- curred June 10, 1782, and before the settlement of his successor important events occurred in the history of the community and of the nation. The war of the revolution ended in 1783 by recognition of the independence of the colonies, and in the autumn of that year the precinct became a town. For more than three years the church was without a settled pastor, though its pulpit was doubtless supplied during this interval. But on the 17th of December, 1785, Rev. Richard Salter Storrs, who had graduated from Yale college in 1783, was ordained as the successor of Rev. Dr. Williams. His was an able and successful pastorate, and continued until terminated by his sudden death. October 3, 1819. It will be observed that the two pastorates of these ministers extended over one hundred and three years in the history of the parish and town, and represented more than a hundred years of actual service. Probably this is a record unequaled in the history of the country for two successive pas- torates. The succeeding pastors were Rev. Baxter Dickinson.
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The First Congregational Church at Longmeadow, of which Rev. John Harding was pastor forty-two years. The chapel is seen on the right and the parsonage on the left of the church edifice
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
from 1823 to 1829, Rev. Jonathan B. Condit, from 1831 to 1835, Rev. Hubbard Beebe, 1837 to 1843, and Rev. Samuel Wolcott, 1843 to 1847.
In 1850 began another pastorate of notable length, Rev. John Wheeler Harding being installed on the first of January, and ministering to the people of his church and parish with great ability, fidelity and acceptance until 1891. With the pos- sible exception of Rev. Mr. Beebe, all of these pastors received the degree of D. D. Rev. Stephen G. Barnes, Lit. D., was the pastor from 1892 until 1901, and the present incumbent, Rer. Henry Lincoln Bailey, began his pastorate October 1, 1901.
In the original plan of the settlement the church building formed the center of the village of Longmeadow, standing on the green which occupied the central portion of the wide street. an honor in which only the school house was permitted to share. A new building, just north of the original structure, was erected in 1767-8, and was used until 1828, when it was extensively re- modeled and improved. Nearly a half-century later another change was made when the building was removed from the central site which it had occupied thus far and placed upon that portioa of the burial ground grant abutting upon the street. This location was directly east of the original church site, a lot in the center of the village having been assigned for burial pur- poses. Placed upon the new site, the church was again thor- oughly remodeled, within and without, and thus, new in detail but bearing still the sacred associations of nearly a century and a half of worship, "the old church" stands in the heart of the village, "the westering sun" casting the shadow of its spire over the accumulated graves of nearly two centuries.
St. Mary's Catholic church is the outgrowth of a mission which may be said to have been established in October, 1870, when mass was said for the first time in the history of the towz in what is still the church building, and had formerly been & spectacle factory. The officiating priest was Rev. Patrick Healy. then acting pastor of the Catholic church in Springfield. For thirteen years monthly service was held in this manner, until, in 1883, the Catholic churches in both of the Longmeadows
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THE TOWN OF EAST LONGMEADOW
were made missions of St. William's church in Mittineague. In 1894 they were created a parish. Both have been continuously under the care of the same pastor, the list of incumbents being given under the heading of East Longmeadow.
A moderate-sized public library of 2,250 well-selected books was established in 1895, and is under the charge of a board of trustees chosen by the town.
The population of the town as reported by the national census of 1850 was 1,252; in 1860 it had increased to 1,376; but in 1870 showed a slight falling off, to 1,342. The figures for 1880 were 1,401, and the next decade witnessed a remarkable growth, bringing the total up to 2,183 for 1890. The setting off of East Longmeadow in 1894 brought the population of the old town down to 620, as shown by the state census of 1895; but the national census of 1900 showed an increase to 811. The present area of the town is 11.2 square miles, a little more than one-half of the original territory having been set off as East Longmeadow.
CHAPTER XIII
THE TOWN OF EAST LONGMEADOW
The territory comprised within the limits of the present town of East Longmeadow is more diversified than that of the mother town, from which the separation has so lately taken place. In the eastern portion hills of moderate elevation are frequent, several of these containing valuable quarries of red sandstone, of great extent. In most other portions the soil is fairly fertile, and compensates well the intelligent labors of the husbandman. The meadows and orchards are attractive, and the grazing lands are desirable, the whole region being especially adapted to dairy- ing purposes, which have always held prominent place in the town's economy.
After the early settlements began to take form, this region was known as "Inward Commons," it being a portion of the
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large territory included in the Springfield grant, and was used in common, if it can be said to have been used at all. In fact. in the early days it was emphatically "a land unknown, " being heavily covered by forest and abounding in game, deer, bears and wildcats. Feathered game, including wild turkeys, was also abundant. Gradually, now and then a daring pioneer penetrated the wilderness, secured a grant of land, and cleared a home site. The records of such settlements are extremely meagre. The first settlers from Longmeadow Street appear to have been
An East Longmeadow Quarry
Jonathan Burt and his brother Elijah, with Silas Hale; but they do not appear to have located on "the Commons" until about 1740. The distribution of these lands among the people of Springfield, some time previous, made easy the development of this portion of the Longmeadow parish. This distribution was brought about by the acts of Edmund Andros, who is 1686 had been appointed by the crown as "Governor of New England. " in sequestering undivided land or "Commons" con-
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nected with some of the settlements. Through fear that this course might be pursued in the case of Springfield, and that through the revocation of the colony's charter, then threatened, the lands might revert to the crown, the commons were laid out in sections and were equitably allotted in regular form to the several families then resident in the township. These remote holdings, however, were generally held of little value, and the enterprising young man who desired to "lay out a farm" could easily do so through the purchase of a few adjoining sections, or by exchange with other proprietors.
It was in this way that the settlement of this portion of Longmeadow was principally developed, and the connection between the two sections of the parish and town long remained close and friendly. Intermarriages were common, and the old church on the village green remained for many years the Mecca to which the residents of the eastern portion turned their steps on the Sabbath, traversing, on foot and by all the means of con- veyance then known to their civilization, the miles of forest which separated, and in a measure still separates, the two com- munities.
Until about 1820 the town meetings were held at West Longmeadow, as the original village came to be familiarly called; but at that time the growing population and important interests of the East village led to an arrangement by which the annual meetings were held alternately in the two sections. In 1882 a commodious town hall was provided for the use of the East Longmeadow meetings, occupying the upper story of a new school building, very properly constructed of stone from the village quarries.
Meantime, with the lapse of years there had developed the want of harmony inevitable from the diversity of interests and the geographical separation of the two villages. The commer- cial relations of each section were with the city of Springfield, with which each had independent connection by railroad and other lines of travel, while the two portions of the town remained almost as effectually divided as they had been from the days of original settlement. Under these conditions separate town gov-
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
ernments were the logical outcome, and after years of discussion and preliminary work the separation was made by the state leg- islature of 1894, the act to take effect on July 1 of that year. The act, which was approved May 19, 1894, thus describes the boundary line between the two towns: "Beginning at a stone monument on the boundary line between the town of Long. meadow and the city of Springfield, at a point where said boundary line intersects the westerly line of White street, and running thence south five degrees east to a stone monument on the Connecticut state line, and at an angle in said state line, which monument is located about seventy-five rods west of the point where the west branch of Freshwater brook crosses said Connecticut state line."
At the election of officers which followed, these were chosen for the remainder of the then current year : Clerk and treasurer, O. Louis Wolcott; selectmen, George B. Robinson, John F. Whitaker, Edward S. Ellis. At the election of 1895 Mr. Wolcott was again chosen town clerk, while William H. Hall, John L. Davis and Ethan Hancock were made selectmen, and at each suc- ceeding election up to the present year (1901) they have been re-elected. In 1901 Arthur G. Crane was elected town clerk, succeeding Mr. Wolcott. The full board of town officers for that year follows: Town clerk and treasurer, Arthur G. Chase: selectmen, assessors, overseers of the poor, board of health and fence viewers, William H. Hall, John L. Davis, Ethan Hitch- cock ; auditors, Frank H. Whitaker, Frank A. Crane ; collector, Arthur Geldard; constables, Henry Hellin, Billings Cooley; special police. Frank A. Champlin, Herman Tower; cattle in- spector, John L. Davis; highway surveyor, Asher Markham; school committee, Charles H. Bugbee, O. Louis Wolcott, Ethan Hancock ; superintendent of schools, Mary L. Poland of Spring- field; trustees of public library, O. Louis Wolcott, David D. Durantaye, Mrs. O. C. Hunn; librarian, Mrs. Lucy Coomes.
While the old church on Longmeadow Street remained for sixty years the place of worship of all the people of the town. a diversity of religious belief began to manifest itself in East Longmeadow about the first of the nineteenth century. In the
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southeastern corner of the town there resided at the time men- tioned several families with Baptist views, and that portion of the town was familiarly referred to as "Baptist Settlement." These people for a long time worshiped with their Connecticut neighbors in Enfield, but in 1807 they petitioned the Baptist church of that place and the Congregational church of Long- meadow for permission that "Elder George Atwell officiate with them as a preacher of divinity one-half of the time." This peti- tion was granted, and religious services were held there until 1818, as a branch of the Enfield church, when on the 23d of June the First Baptist church of East Longmeadow was estab- lished with appropriate exercises. The First Baptist society had been organized January 13, 1816, and was incorporated February 8, 1819. It was discontinued as an incorporated body March 31, 1873. The several pastors of the church, with the year of settlement or ordination, have been as follows: Rev. George B. Atwell, 1821-5; Rev. John M. Hunt, 1835-40; Rev. Moses J. Kelly, 1842; Rev. F. L. Bachelor, 1843; Rev. Mr. Farrar, 1846; Rev. N. W. Minor, 1848; Rev. Nicholas Branch, 1853; Rev. A. S. Lovell, 1858; Rev. Levi H. Wakeman, 1862; Rev. T. O. Judd, 1867; Rev. H. G. Gage, 1873; Rev. William S. Phillips. 1875; Rev. O. R. Hunt, 1877; Rev. L. H. Copeland, 1882; Rev. F. B. Joy, 1887; Rev. N. D. Parsons, 1888; Rev. R. S. Mitchell, 1891; Rev. Ward Fisher, 1897; Rev. W. L. Giles, 1897; Rev. Robert H. Carey, 1899, the present pastor. The house of worship occupied by this church is located near the southeastern corner of the town, in what has long been familiarly known as "Baptist District." It was built about 1830, but has since been remodeled, and under the efforts of the present pastor has been again thoroughly renovated. The church is now in a prosperous condition.
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