USA > Massachusetts > Hampden County > Springfield > The first century of the history of Springfield; the official records from 1636 to 1736, with an historical review and biographical mention of the founders, Volume II > Part 46
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Union, February II, 1641.
Samuel, b. May 10, 1645.
Son, b. May 19, 1647.
BENJAMIN MUNN.
Benjamin Munn came here from Hartford and married Abigail, the widow of Francis Ball, April 2, 1649. She was
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
the daughter of Henry and Eulalia Burt, who was born about 1623. In 1637 he was a member of Capt. Mason's company, engaged in the Pequot war. He received from Hartford in 1639, a grant of land on the east side of "Cow Pasture" lane, now Hartford's North Main Street. He resided here on the lot that was granted to his wife's first husband, Francis Ball. In 1653 he was fined 5 shillings for "taking tobacco in his hay-cock." "Taking tobacco" means using it. He died November -, 1655, and she married Lieut. Thomas Steb- bins, December 14, 1676. His children were :-
Abigail, b. June 28, 1650, m. Thomas Stebbins, Jr.
John, b. February 8, 1652, m. Abigail Parsons.
Benj., b. March 1, 1655.
James, b. February 10, 1656, m. Widow Mary Pantheron. Nathaniel, b. July 25, 1661, m. Sarah Chapin.
JAMES MUNN.
James Munn, son of Benjamin and Abigail, m. Widow Mary Pantheron. Intention of marriage May 29, 1698. She was a daughter of Samuel Moody. She died June 20, 1725, aged 62. He died December 18, 1744, aged 86. Their children were as below :-
Mary, b. here February 18, 1699.
Went to Colchester and had :- Abigail, b. October 17, 1700. James, b. February 2, 1703. Hannah, b. March 26, 1706. Sarah, b. June 28, 1708.
JOHN MUNN.
John Munn, son of Benj. and Abigail, m. Abigail Parsons, daughter of Benj. and Sarah, married December 23, 1680. He went to Westfield and had there, John, b. March 16, 1682. Sheldon's Northfield said he had born at Westfield, Benj. and James. He died September 16, 1684, and his widow Abigail, married John Richards.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
NATHANIEL MUNN.
Nathaniel Munn, son of Benj. and Abigail, m. Sarah Cha- pin, daughter of Japhet and Abilene, March 24, 1689. He died December 31, 1743. His widow died November 23, 1747. He was a Deacon of the first church of Springfield, and a man who was highly respected. Their children were:
Nathaniel, b. - , m. Hannah Colton, 1721.
Sarah, b. September 10, 1692, m. Samuel Taylor of Deer- field.
Abigail, b. April 9, 1796, m. Thomas Bridgman of North- ampton.
Benjamin, b. May 20, 1698, d. June 2, 1698.
Hannah, b. May 20, 1698, m. Edward Baker of North- ampton.
Benjamin, b. August 12, 1700, went to Brimfield and mar- ried Rebecca, daughter of John Russell.
Jemima, b. December 10, 1702.
Samuel, b. July 20, 1706, m. Sarah Van Horn.
John, b. January 24, 1709, m. Widow Abigail (Brewer) Merrick.
Ann, b. September 18, 1712, m. Rogers Clapp of North- ampton.
ZEBULON MYGOT.
Zebulon Mygot, son of Joseph of Hartford, married Ra- chael Merrick, daughter of Thomas and Hannah, November 20, 1720. She died at Hartford, May 14, 1721, aged 20. Thomas Merrick's will, 1738, gives property to George My- got, only child of his daughter Rachael, deceased. Accord- ing to the church's record, Geo. Mygot died at Louisburg, 1745.
THOMAS NOBLE.
Thomas Noble married Hannah Warriner, daughter of William and Joanna, March 9, 1660. He died January 20, 1704, and his widow married Medad Promeroy. Their chil- dren were :-
John, b. March 6, 1662, m. Abigail Sacket.
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
Hannah, b. February 24, 1663, m. John Goodman.
Thomas, b. January 14, 1665, m. Elizabeth Dewey. Went to Westfield and had :---
Elizabeth, b. February 9, 1673, m. Richard Church.
Luke, b. July 15, 1675, m. Hannah Stebbins.
James, b. October 1, 1677, m. Ruth -.
Mary, b. June 29, 1680, m. Ephraim Colton.
Rebecca, b. January 4, 1683.
JOHN NORTON.
John Norton married Lydia Bliss, daughter of Deacon Samuel and Margaret Wright, October 31, 1678. He died August 24, 1687 and his widow married John Lamb.
JAMES OSBORN.
James Osborn, married Joyce Smith, 1645. Their chil- dren were :-
Elizabeth, b. May 27, 1647.
Mary, b. March 16, 1649, m. Thomas Bracey.
James, b. May 8, 1654, d. December 17, 1721.
Sarah, b. February 3, 1657, m. Joseph Wight.
Samuel, b. February 1, 1663.
HUGH PARSONS.
Hugh Parsons married Mary Lewis October 27, 1645. Their trial for witchcraft has been told in the first volume. See pages 73-79, and 146. Their children were :-
Hannah, b. August 7, 1646.
Samuel, b. June 8, 1646, buried March 8, 1649.
Joshua, b. October 26, 1650, killed by his mother March 4, 1651.
BENJAMIN PARSONS.
Benjamin Parsons, married Sarah. daughter of Richard Vore of Windsor. He was a brother of Cornet Joseph Par- sons, who married Mary Bliss. In Pynchon's account book, page 250, in an account with Joseph is this: "The wheat
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
your brother Benjamin delivered toline." Some of the de- scendants of Joseph have stated that he is not a brother of Benjamin. Benjamin was prominent in church and town af- fairs, was for many years a Deacon and a Selectman, and evi- dently was highly esteemed for character and ability. His wife died January 1, 1676, and he married, second, Sarah Leonard, widow of John, who was killed by the Indians, Feb- ruary 24, 1676. He died August 24, 1689, and his, widow married Peter Tilton of Hadley, November 3, 1690. The children by his first wife were :-
Sarah, b. August 13, 1656, m. James Dorchester. Benjamin, b. September 15, 1658, m. Sarah Keep.
Mary, b. December 10, 1660, d. January 27, 1652.
Abigail, b. January 6, 1662, m. John Munn, and second, John Richards.
Samuel, b. October 10, 1660, m. Hannah Hitchcock.
Ebenezer, b. November 17, 1668, m. Margaret Marshfield. Mary, b. December 17, 1670, m. Thomas Richards. Hezekiah, b. November 24, 1673, m. Hannalı Cooley. Joseph, b. December -, 1675, m. Abigail Phelps.
SAMUEL PARSONS.
Samuel Parsons, son of Benjamin and Sarah, m. Hannah Hitchcock, daughter of John and Hannah, March 18, 1683. He died at Enfield, February -, 1736, aged 70. Their chil- dren were :-
Samuel, b. November 3, 1690, m. Abigail Randall.
Born at Enfield.
John, b. July 23, 1693, m. Thankful Root.
Luke, b. January 4, 1696, m. Sarah Osborn.
Hezekiah, b. April 13, 1698, m. Rebecca Burt. Hannah, b. August 2, 1700, m. Nathaniel Horton. Nathaniel, b. December 28, 1702, m. Mary Pease. Sarah, b. November 10, 1704, m. Thomas Jones. Moses, b. January 10, 1707, m. Hannah Stebbins., . : Merriam, b. April 9, 1710, m. Caleb. Jones.) . Daniel, b. -.
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
JOSEPH PARSONS.
Joseph Parsons, son of Benjamin and Sarah, m. Abigail Phelps, daughter of William Phelps of Northampton. In- tention of marriage was entered March 26, 1698. He was prominent in town affairs, and was a Deputy in the General Court. He died October 21, 1733. His widow married Pel- atiah Morgan, February 17, 1767. Their . hildren were :-- Sarah, b. February 16, 1698, m. John Merrick.
Joseph, b. - , 1702, m. Hannah Penne ol Windsor.
HEZEKIAH PARSONS.
Hezekiah Parsons, son of Benj. and Saran, married Han- nah Cooley, daughter of Eliakim & Hannah, February 20, 1701. He settled in Enfield, was a resident of Suffield and also of East Windsor. Stile's Windsor says he died March 18, 1756, aged about 83, and that his widow Abigail died Oc- tober 25, 1764. His children born here were :-
Hannah, b. December 13, 1701.
Hezekiah, b. July II, 1708.
EBENEZER PARSONS.
Ebenezer Parsons, son of Benj. and Sarah, married Mar- garet Marshfield, daughter of Samuel and Catherine, April 10, 1690. He died September 23, 1752, aged 84. He was a Deacon 52 years. His wife died June 12, 1758 in her 87th year. Their children were :-
Ebenezer, b. January 12, 1690, m. Martha Ely.
Margaret, b. September 19, 1693, m. Daniel Elmer.
Jonathan, b. July 15, 1695, drowned July 1, 1703.
Benjamin, b. December 15, 1696, m. Martha Bliss.
Caleb, b. December 27, 1699, m. Widow Mirriam Willis- ton.
Sarah, b. February 4, 1703, m. Pelatiah Hitchcock.
Jonathan, b. November 30, 1705, became a minister, m. Phebe, daughter of John Griswold of Lyme, Conn.
Abigail, b. October 21, 1708, m. Thomas Day.
1
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
JOSEPH PARSONS.
Joseph Parsons, known to his descendants as Cornet Jo- seph, was among the very earliest settlers in Springfield. The first record of him dates back to July 15, 1636, when he signed the deed transferring the lands from the Indians to William Pynchon, Jehu Burr and Henry Smith. There is nothing to show that he remained here at that time. The next known of him was his marriage in Hartford to Mary, daughter of Widow Margaret Bliss, little more than ten years later,-November 26, 1646. He had three children born before coming to make a permanent settlement, three born here and seven born in Northampton, to which place he went shortly after the beginning of the settlement there, in 1654 or 1655. During the interval of ten years, between his signing the Indian deed and the record of him in 1646, nothing is known of his place of abode. He was the first one bearing his family name to come here to reside. His brother Benjamin did not arrive until several years later. There was a Thomas Parsons at Windsor, but there is no known relationship between him and Cornet Joseph.
His military title dates from 1678, following the Indian disturbances in the Connecticut Valley. Philip Smith was appointed "Leiftenant to the troop of horse of Hampshire County, under the command of Major John Pynchon, and Joseph Parsons to be Cornet of said troop." He was grant- ed many pieces of land in Springfield before he went to Northampton. He resided on the lot next south of that of his wife's mother, Margaret Bliss, until he removed to North- ampton.
His first official position was that of highway surveyor, chosen in January, 1646. In 1650 he was made overseer of fences and in 1652 he was elected Selectman. Clocks were unknown to the first settlers and in the transactions of the Selectmen in 1653 there is this record: "Voted to give Jo- seph Parsons 13 shillings for an hour glass." About this time he began trading with the Indians, buying goods of
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THE FIRST / CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
John Pynchon, exchanging them with the Indians for beaver and other skins and selling them to Pynchon for goods. This was pursued for many years and at his death in 1683 he was the wealthiest person, excepting Pynchon, in the old County of Hampshire. Pynchon sold him special rights to trade with the Indians and thus favored he secured evident- ly a large business. The following agreement is copied from the Pynchon account books and refers to Hadley and the country north of it. It is as follows :-
"August 24, 1657. Agreed with Joseph Parsons for ye trade of Nolwotog & thence up the River, for which he is to allow for this year ensuing ye Sum of Twelve pounds to be paid in Bever. Ye winter bever at 8s pr lb, ye spring at 9s, & I am to furnish him with Trading cloth at 7s 6d pr yd, & with shag cotton at 3s 7d pr yd, & to take of his Bever at 8s pr 1b for ye winter Bever, & ye Spring Bever at 9s pr lb, ex- cepting the stag Bever, & small skins, which I am to take at such price as wee can agree at. & in case of not agreeing, that is to say, if I cannot yield to his price for ye stag & small skins, then he is at liberty to pay me so much wheate as ye stag Bever comes to in leu thereof, he being otherwise in- gaged to pay unto me all his Bever & likewise otter & mush- quashes."
His accounts with Pynchon extend through the greater part of his active years. His indebtedness to him, frequent- ly exceeded $3,000, and to some extent show his business operations, which were exceedingly large for that time. ..
At Northampton he was a leading citizen and received many grants of land from the town. In addition to his In- dian trade he kept the "ordinary," a house of entertainment. In the spring of 1671 he and a small party from Northamp- ton went on an exploring expedition to what is now North- field and there bargained with the Indians for a large, and valuable tract of land lying on both sides of the Connecticut River. He received grants of land there and bore his share of the charges of the first settlement. He did not go there to live, but held a large tract at the time of his death.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
After an active life of twenty-four years at Northampton he returned at about the age of 60 to Springfield in the spring of 1679, and purchased the lot of John Pynchon which formerly belonged to Thomas Cooper, and which Pyn- chon had acquired by debt of the widow of Cooper's son, Timothy. It included in homelot, meadow and woodland, about 27 acres, for which Parsons paid £130, nearly equiva- lent to $650. The lot was first granted to Henry Smith, William Pynchon's son-in-law, and is situated between Worthington and Bridge Streets. After his return here he was again called to public service. In 1681 he and Jonathan Burt were appointed a Committee to examine the Select- men's accounts, and his autograph is affixed to the report, to be seen on page 155 of the second volume of the Town Records. In 1682 he was elected Selectman. His death occurred the next year, a little more than 47 years from the time he witnessed the transfer of the lands from the Indians to the representatives of the town.
The inventory of his estate as presented to the probate court amounted to £2,088 9s, the largest that had been pro- bated up to that time in Hampshire County. The births of his three first children are not on record here. The others were born here and at Northampton. He died here Octob- er 9, 1683, and his widow died January 29, 1712. Their chil- dren were :-
Joseph, b. - , 1647, m. Elizabeth Strong.
Benjamin, b. - , d. here June 22, 1649.
John, b. - , 1649, d. soon.
Born Here.
John, b. August 14, 1650, m. Sarah Clarke, daughter of Lieut. Wm. Clarke.
Samuel, b. January 16, 1652, went to Durham, Conn.
Born at Northampton.
Ebenezer, b. May 1, 1665, killed by Indians, September 2, 1675.
Jonathan, b. June 6, 1657, m. Mary Clark.
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
David, b. April 30, 1659, d. young.
Mary, b. June 27, 1661, m. Joseph Ashley, and 2nd, Jos- eph Williston.
Hannah, b. August 1, 1663, m. Pelatiah Glover, Jr.
Abigail, b. September 3, 1666, m. John Colton.
Esther, b. December 24, 1672, m. Rev. Joseph Smith.
FRANCIS PEPPER.
Francis Pepper came here in 1645. He had no wife or children and died here December 5, 1685. He left his prop- erty to his nephews and nieces at Seaside, Conn., by the name of Northrop,-Joseph, Samuel, Jeremiah, Zopharu, Daniel, William, and Marah. His will was made in 1685.
JOHN PETTY.
John Petty and wife, Ann, came to Springfield in 1665. Savage says her name was Ann Canning, and that they were married at Boston, March 30, 1662. He died March 8, 1680, and his widow married Samuel Owen, September 5, 1681. Their children were :-
James, b. March 25, 1662, at Windsor, m. Mary Lawton. John, b. November 9, 1666, m. Mary Taylor.
Hannah, b. December II, 1667, d. January 1, 1668. Mary, b. March 27, 1670, m. Thomas Taylor.
Joseph, b. September 27, 1672, went to Northfield, m. first, Elizabeth Edwards, and second, Sarah Edwards.
. Anna, b. May 19, 1675, d. May 12, 1691.
Child, s. b. June 23, 1677.
Ebenezer, b. October 28, 1678, was living in Springfield in 1731.
JOHN PETTY, JR.
Jolin Petty, son of John and Ann, married Mary Taylor, April 13, 1693. Their children were :-
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
Mary, b. October 26, 1695, in. Robert Emmons of Brook- field.
John, b. April 6, 1701.
Joseph, b. - , d. August 29, 1710.
Abigail, b. April 3, 1713, m. Pedijah Field.
Ebenezer, b. - , m. Rebecca -.
JAMES PETTY.
James Petty, son of John and Ann, married Mary Lawton, daughter of John of Suffield, whose sister married Obadiah Miller, Jr., the same day, June 15, 1683. He was at North Brookfield about 1700. Their children were :-
John, b. January 5, 1684.
Mary, b. September 12, 1686.
James, b. July 31, 1688.
William, b. October 30, 1691, was at Richmond, R. I., in 1756.
Anna, b. June 23, 1694.
ROGER PRICHARD.
Roger Prichard was in Springfield, 1643. His wife Fran- ces died here March 9, 1651. He went to Milford, Conn., and married Elizabeth, widow of William Slough, daughter of James Pruden. He then went to New Haven, and died there in 1681. Alice, who married Wm. Bradley, and Joan, who married John Lombard, were his daughters. He had · also a son, Nathaniel.
EDMUND PRYNGRYDAYS.
Edmund Pryngrydays married Mary Morgan, November I, 1666. He had no children. He died October II, 1675, having been wounded October 5, 1675, at the time Spring- field was burned by the Indians. She married Nicholas Rust.
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
WILLIAM PYNCHON.
The story of William Pyn- chon's conflict with the religi- ous belief of the Bay authori- ties, the burning of his book of heresy in the Public Market Place in Boston, his examina- tion by the Elders and Magis- trates, and his return to Eng- land, have been fully told in the first volume of this work, to 2 which is added here some ac- count of his English ancestry, of his early history and place of residence after his return. Wil- liam Pynchon, the founder of The Founder. Springfield, brought to this country his wife and four children. After their arrival in Bos-
ton in 1630, they settled in Roxbury. His wife died the same year, and he mar- ried the Widow Frances Sanford of Dorchester. She was the mother of Henry Smith, who married Pynchon's daughter, Ann, and came to Springfield with him. She is said to have been a fitting com- panion of an educated man having the attainments of Mr. Pynchon. She must have had great influence in this community, remote from the older settlement from which she and her husband had come. His children were :-
His Church, Springfield, England.
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
Ann, married Henry Smith. 1 1
Margaret, married at Springfield, Capt. William Davis of Boston.
Mary, married Elizur Holyoke.
John, only son, married Amy Wyllys of Hartford.
Pynchon, with seven others, came to Springfield from Roxbury in 1636. The date of settlement, according to the records was May 14, and on July 16, the lands were pur- chased of the Indians. He was the Magistrate of the town and Assistant in the General Court. Prior to his coming here, he was for a year or more, Treasurer of the Colony. In 1650 he examined many witnesses relative to a charge of witchcraft against Hugh Parsons and his wife Mary. This was the first appearance of this strange delusion in the courts of the Colony, forty years before the trials at Salem.
His will, which has been brought to light by the researches of Henry F. Waters, in England, and published in the His- torical and Genealogical Register, is as follows :-
..
"My chief executor is at present absent. To Elizabeth, Mary and Rebecca Smith, daughters of my son Master Hen- ry Smith, and to his son Elisha Smith, twenty pounds apiece, to be paid by my son Mr. Henry Smith at the time of their marriage, as he did unto Martha Smith, out of a bond which he owes me, of two hundred and twenty pounds; to my daughter Anne Smith the rest of the said bond (220li) with the overplus of interest. To the children of my daughter, Margaret Davis, of Boston in New England, deceased, vide- licet unto Thomas, Benjamin and William Davis, ten pounds apiece to be paid by my son M' Henry Smith. To my son Master John Pynchon, of Springfield in New England (a sum) out of the bond which he owes me of one hundred and six pounds, dated 15 April 1654. Whereas my son Mr. Hen- ry Smith hath promise to pay unto me his debts which have been long due to him in New England and a horse of his at Barbadoes, for the satisfaction of an old debt that he owes me, in my- Quarto Vellum Book, in page 112, I bequeath them to the children of my son Master Elizur Holioke in
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
New England &c. To the poor of Wraysberie three pounds. Son Mr. John Pynchon of Springfield in New England to be executor, to whom the residue, provided he pay to Joseph and John Pynchon and to Mary and Hetabell Pynchon twen- ty pounds apiece. Mr. Wickens, citizen and girdler of Lon- don, and Mr. Henry Smith of Wraysbery to be overseers. Friend Mr. John Wickens to be my executor touching the finishing of my administration business concerning the es- tate of Master Nicholas Ware in Virginia, whose estate is thirty pounds in a bill of exchange to Capt. Pensax and about eighteen thousand of tobacco, in several bills made over by Mr. Nicholas Ware to Capt. John Ware of Virginia &c. To beloved sister Jane Tesdall of Abington twenty pounds; to sister Susan Platt twenty pounds, as a token of my cordial love; certain clothing to Mary, Elizabeth and Re- becca Smith."
The Pynchon genealogy in England, it appears by the re- searches of Mr. Waters has been incorrectly given in various publications in this country. He shows that William Pyn- chon, the founder of our Springfield, was the eldest son and heir of John Pynchon of Springfield, England, and that this John Pynchon was the second son of John Pynchon of Writ- tle, who was the eldest son and heir of William Pynchon of Writtle, who died in 1552, and not a son of Nicholas Pyn- chon, Sheriff of London. Dr. Thomas R. Pynchon of Hart- ford, says: "William Pynchon was educated at Oxford, ma- triculated at Hart Hall, afterwards Hertford College, October 14th, 1596, when he was eleven years old. It was then the custom to send boys to the Halls of Oxford at an early age. It was, no doubt, here that he acquired his familiarity with Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and accumulated those stores of theological and patriotic learning that he drew from later in life in writing his various works. He was in 1624 one of the church-wardens of Springfield Parish in England. Married Anna Andrew, daughter of William Andrew of Twiwell, County Northampton. Was one of the principal projectors of the settlement of New England. A patentee and assist-
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BIOGRAPHICAL AND GENEALOGICAL.
ant named in the charter of the colony of Massachusetts Bay, granted by Charles I, March 28, 1628. Sailed from the Isle of Wight March 29, 1630, in the fleet of three vessels that carried the charter over. Founded Roxbury the same year and Springfield in 1636. Returned to England in 1652 and in 1653 bought lands in Wrasbury, County Bucks, near his Bulstrode relations in the adjoining parish of Horton, and directly opposite Magna Charta Island in the Thames, and the field of Runnymede. He died October 29, 1662, and was buried in the Wrasbury churchyard."
Pynchon's letters to Governor John Winthrop, to be found in the Massachusetts Collections, are interesting in oc- casional allusions to persons of that time, or of occurring in- cidents. In a letter dated Springfield, October 19, 1648, he alludes to Mr. Ludlow's visit at his house, and to some fault he found with the construction of some orders that had been prepared, to which he added this sage conclusion, "But of- ten tymes it fals out that a man may be one of the 20 that will find fault, & yet be none of the 20 that will mend them."
Under date of October 30, 1645, he wrote Governor Win- throp: "My only son is now married & he hath brought home his wife this day to my howse, where he may continue as long as he finds comfort & benefit."
JOHN PYNCHON.
John Pynchon, son of William, married Amy Willys, daughter of Geo. Willys at Hartford, October 30, 1645. His wife, Amy, died January 9, 1699, aged 74. He died January 17. 1703, aged 76.
John Pynchon, the only son of the founder of Springfield, was 26 years old when his father returned to England. In- heriting the lands his father had acquired here and his store of goods, and the special privileges which had been granted to him in the way of trade with the Indians, the son at once entered upon a prosperous career, and was placed at the front of every undertaking leading to the development of the country, and to the acquisition of wealth. He had from the
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THE FIRST CENTURY OF SPRINGFIELD.
start opportunities that came to no other inhabitant, and he possessed the ability to make the most of favoring circum- stances. In both private and public concerns he was the leading spirit. He was chosen Selectman in 1650, Town Clerk in 1652, appointed Magistrate to try small causes in 1653, elected Deputy to the General Court in 1662, and soon afterward Assistant in the Council, or Upper House, which position he held until 1701, almost to the close of his life.
He was appointed by the General Court on the commit- tees to establish the boundaries of the new towns within the vicinity of Springfield. He, with others, laid out the bounds of Northampton, Hadley, and what afterwards became Hat- field (purchasing the lands of the Indians), Westfield, Suf- field, and Enfield. In short there was no movement of a public nature in which he was not concerned. Even the names of some of the new localities suggest his practical and unsentimental nature. For instance, Westfield was so named from the fact that it was a field west of Springfield; Suffield was originally Southfield, from its direction from Springfield, but the English habit of contracting the prefix to "suf" for south, curtailed it to Suffield. Enfield was sometimes written Endfield, suggesting that it was a field at the end of the town, it being supposed at the time that it was within the sphere of Massachusetts. It might, however, have derived its name from Enfield, in England. Then, at a much later date, came the naming of Brimfield, suggested perhaps from the fact it was on the brim of the settlement. Brookfield, in which Pynchon had a hand, was probably named from its numerous brooks. Going north, though Pynchon was not concerned in its beginning, Northfield re- ceived its name from its geographical position to the older settlements, and Deerfield, from the fact that its meadows made a good feeding place and were frequented by deer. Sunderland was originally in the Pynchon vernacular Swampfield. The Stony brooks of Suffield and up the Con- necticut, received their names from Pynchon. These locali- ties had something about their position sufficient to suggest
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