USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Our county and its people : A history of Hampden County, Massachusetts. Volume 1 > Part 10
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Hampden,-William Shepard, George Bliss, Samuel Lath- rop and Amos Hamilton.
Hampshire,-Joseph Lyman, Eli P. Ashmun, William Bod- man and Samuel F. Dickinson.
Franklin,-Ephraim Williams, Richard E. Newcomb, Rufus Graves and Roger Leavitt.
The committees of safety and correspondence were, for Hampden, Jacob Bliss, John Hooker, Oliver B. Morris and Jona- than Dwight, Jr .; for Hampshire, Jonathan H. Lyman, Lewis Strong, Isaac C. Bates and William Edwards; and for Franklin, Jonathan Leavitt, Samuel Wells, Elijah Alvord, 2d, and George Grennell, Jr.
"At the time of holding this convention Caleb Strong of Northampton was governor of Massachusetts. That the memo- rial and resolutions adopted represented his views is to be pre- sumed-a presumption receiving additional force from the fact that his son, Lewis Strong, was a member of the committee that reported them, and had the credit of being the able author of the memorial."
The memorial agreed upon and adopted by the convention
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was a long, solemn and formidable document, and ably reviewed the political situation in the country, and especially in New Eng- land, at the time, from a purely federalist standpoint. Accord- ing to its declarations the convention represented a constituency of 80,000 persons, and while not so stated in the proceedings, the very center of that constituency was in the Connecticut valley and the region adjoining it on the east. The resolutions adopted were even more radical than the memorial, and declared the war to be "neither just, necessary nor expedient."
In February, 1812, four months before the formal declara- tion of war, congress passed an act providing for the organiza- tion of 25,000 men for an army, and in April following 100,000 of the nation's enrolled militia was called upon for active serv- ice. These calls for troops aroused the federalist ire and pro- voked the unusual expressions of the Northampton convention in the final resolution adopted by that body, viz. :
"That, although we do not consider ourselves bound, volun- tarily, to aid in the prosecution of an offensive war, which we be- lieve to be neither just, necessary nor expedient, we will submit, like good citizens, to the requisitions of the constitution, and promptly repel all hostile attacks upon our country. That, col- lecting fortitude from the perils of the crisis, and appealing to the searcher of hearts for the purity of our motives, we will exert ourselves, by all constitutional means, to avert the dangers which surround us; and that, while we discountenance all forcible oppo- sition to the laws, we will expose ourselves to every hazard and every sacrifice to prevent a ruinous alliance with the tyrant of France, to restore a speedy, just and honorable peace, to pre- serve inviolate the Union of States, in the true spirit of the con- stitution, and to perpetuate the safety, honor and liberties of our country."
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Notwithstanding the protestations of loyalty on the part of the memorialists, at heart they had little sympathy and no en- couragement whatever for the cause for which the federal gov- ernment was contending, and in fact opposed all measures for the prosecution of the war. Governor Strong declined to fur- nish the quota of troops called for by the government, which
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THE WAR OF 1812-15
action raised a serious question as to the relations1 of Massachu- setts and the federal union.
None of the Massachusetts militia were called into service until September, 1814, when the British, having taken possession of Castine, on the Penobscot river and within the Massachusetts jurisdiction, a general invasion of the region was greatly feared. Then-and only then-the governor took decisive action and made a requisition for troops to be assembled at Boston. It was not the governor's purpose, however, to send his military forces against the British, but rather to repel any invasion of the terri- tory of the commonwealth, as the United States troops then had been withdrawn from the coast.
Two regiments of infantry were sent from old Hampshire county, one from the northern towns under Col. Thomas Longly, of Hawley, and the other from the southern towns under Col. Enos Foot, of Southwick. The county also furnished a regi- ment of artillery, in which was an entire company from Spring- field under Capt. Quartus Stebbins. Among the officers of rank from the county was Brig .- Gen. Jacob Bliss of Springfield. The troops left the valley about the middle of October, the Spring- field artillery taking its departure on a Sunday morning, fresh from the spiritual admonitions of Rev. Dr. Osgood. On arrival at Boston the men were stationed at Dorchester, where they en- camped about forty days and then returned to their homes. Thus ended what was known at the time in democratic circles as "Gov. Strong's war."
In December, 1814, the famous Hartford convention was as- sembled, comprising twelve delegates appointed by the Massa- chusetts legislature, seven by the Connecticut legislature, four
1The governor's refusal involved grave questions "touching the power of the federal government to call out the militia of the states, to decide on the exigency for calling them into service, and to place them in command of United States officers after they were called out. In all these points Gov. Strong was op- posed to the president and was supported in his position by the written opinion of the Supreme court of the state; and thus, the federal party, the strongest at first in the advocacy of the concentration of power in the federal head, became the first to oppose what was deemed a usurpation of the rights of the state. The governor did not believe that the mere act of declaring war on the part of the president of the United States gave him any right to call the militia of the sev- eral states into service."-Holland.
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from Rhode Island, two from New Hampshire and one from Ver- mont. George Bliss of Springfield and Joseph Lyman of North- ampton were the delegates from Western Massachusetts. The proceedings of the convention need no review in this work, yet it may be said that the principal recommendations of that distin- guished body were soon afterward embodied in a law of con- gress.1
In relation to the events of the second war with Great Brit- ain little need be said in these pages. The general results of the struggle are written in the conflicts of Lake Erie, the repulse of the invaders on the Delaware, the painful and humiliating scenes of the Chesapeake, the invasion of New York and the attempt to control the Hudson river and Lake Champlain. The story is further told in the brilliant victory at Plattsburg, the capture of Niagara and Oswego, the battles of Black Rock, Lundy's Lane, Sackett's Harbor, closing with the glorious defense of New Or- leans. Above all, however, were the masterly exploits of our navy, whose victory over the British cruisers gave the enemy a most serious view of American prowess. Peace, however, came at last and the treaty was ratified February 15, 1815.
1"The recommendations of the convention were that the states take meas- ures to protect their citizens from 'forcible draughts, conscriptions or impress- ments, not authorized by the constitution of the United States,' and that an earnest application be made to the general government, requesting its consent to some arrangement whereby the states separately, or in concert, might assume upon themselves the defense of their territory against the enemy ; and that a reasonable portion of the taxes collected within the state might be appropriated to that object. The law passed by congress three weeks afterward, authorized and required the president to 'receive into the service of the United States any corps of troops which may have been, or may be, raised, organized and officered under the authority of any of the states, to be employed in the state raising the same, or an adjoining state, and not elsewhere except with the consent of the executive of the state raising the same.'"-Holland.
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GENERAL MAP
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CHAPTER X
COUNTY ORGANIZATION
Previous to the creation of Hampshire county the region of country included within that jurisdiction as originally estab- lished was not a part of any civil division of the Massachusetts Bay, and there appears not to have been need for the exercise of civil authority in the locality. The settlers, few in number, yet firmly united by bands of kinship, church fellowship and mutual interest, required no law to govern their actions, and such petty differences as did arise among them were readily settled by the magisterial officers appointed by the general court. However, during the first quarter of a century of civilized white occupancy in the region referred to the number of settlers was so increased, and the plantations were so widely extended, that the organiza- tion of a new county in this part of the colony became necessary.
The three original towns comprising Hampshire county were known as Springfield, Northampton and Hadley, neither of which at the time of its creation, or recognition as a town, was measured by definite bounds. Springfield in itself was a vast territory, and in the history of Hampshire and Hampden coun- ties it has been a veritable mother of towns.
According to established records, Springfield originally was common land called Agawam, and became a town in the colony, June 2, 1641. The district called "Woronoco" (afterward Westfield) was annexed in 1647, and did not become a town until 1669.
Northampton, the second division in seniority and extent in Hampshire county, was common land called "Nonotuck" pre- vious to its settlement by the whites in 1653. Three years later
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COUNTY ORGANIZATION
it was organized as a town in the colony, but previous to 1662 it was not a part of any county jurisdiction.
Hadley was settled in 1659, and in May, 1661, the plantation was organized as a town.
In the early part of 1662 a committee was appointed by the town of Springfield, "concerning settling the towns in this west- ern portion of the colony into the form of a new county," and on May 7, of the same year, the general court passed the follow- ing act :
"Forasmuch as the inhabitants of this jurisdiction are much encreased, so that now they are planted farre into the country vpon Conecticott Riuer, who by reason of their remotenes cannot conveniently be annexed to any of the countyes already settled, & that publicke affaires may with more facility be transacted according to lawes heere established, it is ordered by this Court & authority thereof, that henceforth Springfeild, Northampton, and Hadley shall be & hereby are constituted as a county, the bounds or ljmitts on the south to be the south ljne of the pattent, the extent of other bounds to be full thirty miles distant from any or either of the foresajd tounes, & what tounes or villages soeuer shall hereafter be erected within the foresajd precincts to be & belong to the sajd county ; and further, that the sajd county shall be called Hampshire, & shall haue and enjoy the libertjes & priviledges of any other county ; & that Springfeild shall be the shire toune there, & the Courts to be kept one time at Spring- feild & another time at Northampton; the like order to be ob- served for their shire meetings, that is to say, one yeere at one toune, & the next yeare at the other, from time to tjme. And it is further ordered, that all the inhabitants of that shire shall pay their publicke rates to the countrey in fatt catle, or young catle, such as are fit to be putt off, that so no vnnecessary damage be put on the country ; & in case they make payment in corne, then to be made at such prises as the lawe doe comonly passe amongst themselves, any other former or annuall orders referring to the prises of corne notwithstanding."
From this it may be seen that the county extended south to the north line of Connecticut, and east and west from the towns
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mentioned a distance of thirty miles, or an entire width of sixty miles. The north boundary, also, was indefinite and evidently was intended to be governed by the thirty mile limit northward from Northampton, as the north boundary of the colony then was uncertain. It may be said, however, that the above description is based on the assumption that the words, "the extent of the other boundaries to be full thirty miles distant from any or either of the foresaid tounes," refers to the settled portions of each of them in the immediate vicinity of the Connecticut river, and not the remote boundaries of those towns as understood un- der the purchase from the Indians.
After the passage of the act it became necessary for the peo- ple to make some provision for the conduct of affairs of the new county, and for that purpose Capt. John Pynchon, Henry Clarke, Capt. Aaron Cooke, Lieut. David Milton and Elizur Hol- yoke were chosen a committee. On April 2, 1663, the committee "Agreed and determined that the beginning of the year for the shire meetings of this county shall be on the first day of March yearly: And that the shire meetings shall be each other year at Springfield, and each other year at Northampton, in a constant course. And all our shire meetings this year to be at Northamp- ton ; Springfield having had them last year." Also they agreed that the commissioner chosen in March yearly by the shire com- missioner to carry the votes of nomination of magistrates to Bos- ton, "shall have allowed him by the county thirty shillings, to be paid by the county treasurer ; the rest of his charges he is to bear himself; and that no man be thereby overburthened, it is deter- mined that there be a change yearly of the persons to carry the votes, except for necessity of conveniencey they shall see cause to act otherwise."
Having made the necessary provision for the government of the new county, the commissioners also provided a place in Springfield and Northampton for holding courts. Previous to this time William and John Pynchon had served in the capacity of magistrate, the latter succeeding the former, and the proceed- ings conducted by them were held in the Pynchon mansion, or fort, as more commonly known. A short time before the crea-
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tion of the county Mr. Pynchon had erected a large brick man- sion, which served the purpose of a dwelling, court house, and also as a defensive fortress ; and in the attack upon and burning of Springfield in 1675 it furnished ample protection to the in- habitants. Indeed, so far as we have reliable information on the subject, Fort Pynchon was the usual place for holding ses-' sions of court for many years, although on extraordinary occa- sions the magistrates assembled in the "ordinary," as the tav- ern of the town was then called.
On May 25, 1659, the general court provided for the estab- lishment of courts and the conduct thereof, and on the organiza- tion of the county the magistrates previously appointed were continued in office. They were Capt. John Pynchon, Lieut. Eli- zur Holyoke and Samuel Chapin, who were clothed with "full power and authority to govern the inhabitants of Springfield, and to hear and determine all cases and offences, both civil and criminal, that shall not reach life, limb or banishment; provided it shall and may be lawful for any party to appeal to the court of assistants at Boston, so as they prosecute the same to the order of this court ; provided also that their trials may be by the oaths of six men, if twelve cannot be had for that service, and that Northampton be referred to Springfield in reference to county courts, which courts shall be kept, one on the last Tuesday in the first month, and the other on the last Tuesday in September, yearly, at Springfield, unless the commissioners aforesaid shall see just cause to keep one of them at Northampton; and the two courts to be kept at Springfield or Northampton, as aforesaid, shall in all respects have' the powers and privileges of any county court till this court shall see cause otherwise to determine; pro- vided they shall not warn above fower [four] jurymen from Northampton to Springfield, or from Springfield to Northamp- ton," etc.
Under the authority of the act just mentioned a term of court was held in Springfield, March 27, 1660, two years before the county was created, and was conducted by the magistrates mentioned. Among the jurors present were Thomas Cooper, George Colton, Benjamin Cooley, Thomas Stebbins, Jonathan
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Burt, John Dumbleton, Thomas Gilbert, Benjamin Parsons and Samuel Marshfield, of Springfield, some of whose surnames are still preserved in Hampden county. After the organization of the county, courts were held more systematically, and in accord- ance with the provisions of the general court.
Although Springfield was designated the shire town of Hampshire county by the act, sixty years passed before a court house in fact was built. Northampton had a town house as early as 1661, and the building was subsequently occupied for court purposes. Springfield was the older settlement, though perhaps no greater in population than its neighboring plantation on the north, yet the strong men, the men of influence and wealth, were identified with the development of the older town.
In 1661 Mr. Pynchon had begun the erection of a "house of correction," a less dignified name for which is "a common gaol," and in 1668 the building was completed. It stood on what now is Maple street. The building was burned by the Indians in 1675, and was replaced in 1677 with a more substantial struc- ture1, at an expense of about 50 pounds. Simon Lobdell was its keeper-the first jailer. No steps were taken in the matter of erecting a court house at the shire town until November 29, 1721, when it was voted to build a structure for that purpose, "provided our neighboring towns, viz .: Westfield, Suffield, En- field and Brookfield, be assisting in doeing of it."
The town of Springfield offered to pay one-half of the cost of the building, and sent Capt. Luke Hitchcock, Joseph Willis- ton and John Worthington as emissaries to the towns mentioned to see what they would do in the matter of assistance. The re-
1The second house of correction and county jail stood on the west side of Main street, on the site of the Union house of later years. The jailer's dwell- ing adjoined it on the north and extended a few feet into what is now Bliss street. This was the jail in which, in 1770, William Shaw, of Palmer, killed a fellow prisoner named Edward East; and for the crime Shaw was hanged on December 13 of the same year. The gallows stood on the hill, about where the armory now stands. It was a public execution, and on the occasion Rev. Moses Baldwin of Palmer, preached to the assembled throng, using as his text, "There- fore the ungodly shall not stand in judgment." The period of usefulness of the old jail was about 120 years. After the removal of the seat of justice of Hampshire county to Northampton, in 1749, the jail property and buildings were sold.
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COUNTY ORGANIZATION
sult of their visit is not shown in the records, still, on December 26 Springfield voted that "the said court house shall be fourty foot long, thirty foot wide, and seventeen foot stud." It was also voted that the persons mentioned "be a committee to make provision for and effect the building and finishing of the court house," and to determine its location. The sum of 20 pounds was authorized to be drawn from the town treasury for a build- ing fund.
It appears, however, that the adjoining towns failed to give
The First Court House
favorable ear to the request of Springfield, and that town be- came involved in a spirited controversy in regard to the build- ing. In September, 1722, it was voted that a committee be chosen "to consider of and propose some method or way to com- pose the differences that have bin or may arise about the court house, & to make report of their proposals to the town." "Voted, that Lieut. Ephraim Colton, Peletiah Bliss, Increase Sikes, Captain John Merick, Lieut. Joseph Cooley, Samuel Day, Deacon Joseph Ely, Ensign John Miller, Ensign James Merrick & Jonathan Worthington to be the said committee."
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At a subsequent meeting the committee reported a plan "to compose the differences" and at the same time to raise the means necessary to complete the building. It was determined to sell public land on the west side of the river "as to advance the sum of thirty pounds," and enough on the east side to realize forty pounds ; and if a sufficient sum was not then provided to draw the remaining sum from the treasury. It is evident that the treas- ury was called upon, for in 1724 it was voted (but afterward rescinded) that "the Assessors doe assess the Inhabitants the sum of Forty & Seven Pounds Ten Shillings & Eleven pence to defray the cost & charges of building the Court-House."
The first court house in Springfield, to which reference is made in preceding paragraphs, stood on the east side of Main street on land subsequently taken for Sanford street, and ex- tended into Main street a little beyond its present east line. The building was completed in 1723, and in December of that year Samuel Day, Ephraim Colton and Thomas Horton were ap- pointed to examine the accounts of the building committee. On January 7, 1724, the report of the examining committee was ac- cepted by the town.
The old first court house in Springfield was an institution of Hampshire county from the year of its erection until 1812-four score years and ten-yet occupancy for its original purpose ceased with the year 1794, when, for the convenience of the in- habitants of the county generally, Northampton was made the shire town, and all public records and properties were trans- ferred to that place. Then the old court house lost its useful- ness for a time, and for the next twenty years was occupied for various purposes, chiefly as a town hall. However, in 1812, on the creation of Hampden county, the building again was occupied as a house of justice, and so continued until the completion of a more commodious structure in 1822. In later years the old pioneer building was again used for town purposes, then was sold to the parish of the Congregational society. Subsequently it passed through various ownerships and, like an unprofitable tenant, was moved about from place to place, and finally became unsightly and crippled with age. Now it exists only as a mem- ory.
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COUNTY ORGANIZATION
The removal of the seat of justice from Springfield to Northampton was not favored by the people living in the south part of the county, and naturally they complained against the change as being injurious to their interests. But they submitted to the loss, yielding to the principle of "the greatest good to the greatest number." There was no necessity for a two-shire county, with the expense of supporting institutions in both, and if continued the northern towns were entitled to the same privi- leges as were those in the south part, hence the change was a necessity. Still, the temporary loss of the southern towns re- sulted in ultimate gain, for in less than twenty years Hampshire county was divided. On June 24, 1811, the northern portion of the territory was set off to form Franklin county, and on Feb- ruary 25, 1812, the mother county again was divided and Hamp- den county was created.
"An act for dividing the county of Hampshire and erecting and forming the southerly part thereof into a separate county by the name of Hampden."
Sec. I. Be it enacted, &c .: "That the county of Hamp- shire be and hereby is divided, and the following towns in the southerly part thereof be, and hereby are erected and formed into a county by the name of Hampden, that is to say : Spring- field, Longmeadow, Wilbraham, Monson, Holland, Brimfield, South Brimfield, Palmer, Ludlow, West Springfield, Westfield, Montgomery, Russell, Blandford, Granville, Southwick, Tolland and Chester, of which Springfield shall be the shire town; and that all that part of said county of Hampshire included within the boundaries of the towns before mentioned shall be deemed and taken to compose the said county of Hampden. And the in- habitants of the said county of Hampden shall have, use, exercise and enjoy all such powers, rights, privileges and immunities as by the constitution and laws of this commonwealth other counties within the same have, use, exercise and enjoy."
The creating act provided for the organization of the county and the administration of its affairs, "from and after the 1st day of August, 1812." But it appears that Governor Gerry, with something more than commendable promptness, on May 20 ap-
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