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DATE  DUE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 
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Born  WSi.  -Died.l820r 


ACCOUNT 

/ 

OF   THE 

Centennial  Celebration 

OF   THE 

TOWN  OF  WEST  SPRINGFIELD,  MASS., 

Wednesday,    March    25th,    1874, 

WITH  THE 

HISTORICAL  ADDRESS  OF 

THOMAS    E.    VERMILYE,    D.    D,   LL.D., 

The  Poem  of  Mrs.  Ellen  P.  Champion, 

AND   OTHER    FACTS   AND   SPEECHES. 


COMPILED  BY  J.  N.  BAGG. 


PUBLISHED    BY    VOTE    OF    THE    TOWN. 
1874. 


II  m.i-^. 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
MASSACHUSEHS 

AMHERST,  MASS. 


TO  THE 

Citizens  of  West  Springfield, 


AND  ALL  THE 


CHILDREN  AND  RELATIVES,  NEAR  OR  REMOTE, 


THIS  LITTLE 


MEMORIAL 


IS  DEDICATED. 


INTRODUCTORY 


A  Centennial  Anniversary  is  an  event  in  human  history 
too  important  to  pass  unnoticed,  for  very  few  mortals  are  privi- 
leged to  bridge  its  mighty  chasm  from  shore  to  shore.  Lo- 
calities depending  upon  individuals  for  characterization  have,  in 
a  lesser  degree,  the  same  necessities  and  the  same  laws.  In 
both,  the  scenes  are  frequently  changing,  the  acts  often  inde- 
pendent and  fragmentary,  and  the  curtain  sometimes  suddenly 
falls  in  the  midst  of  an  important  action.  A  century  is  a 
great  landmark  in  any  local  history,  and  has  the  same  uses 
to  mankind  that  the  guide-board  and  the  mile-stone  have  to  the 
uncertain  traveler. 

"  Remove  not  the  ancient  landmarks  which  the  fathers  have 
set,"  is  the  graphic  language  of  inspiration,  and  it  fully  accords 
with  the  highest  human  wisdom.  This  is  sufficient  evidence 
that  landmarks  are  needed,  and  if  needed  surely  they  should  be 
heeded. 

What  better  use  of  a  Centennial  Anniversary  can  a  town- 
ship make,  than  to  review  its  past ;  to  rub  off  the  moss  and 
dusts  of  time,  accumulating  on  its  historic  tablets ;  and  by 
gathering  up  the  scattered  wastes  of  the  way,  plant  new  bound- 
aries, and  take  fresh  bearings  for  its  further  journey.  The 
present  owes  to  the  future  its  legacies  of  precious  and  pleasant 
memories,  its  royal  deeds,  its  noble  examples  of  self-denial  for 
the  public  good,  its  characters  of  great  men,  who,  in  molding 
communities  have  made  their  names  illustrious  and  their  lives 
sublime,  and  as  far  as  possible  its  garnered  histories. 


6  INTRODUCTORY. 

West  Springfield  lays  no  claim  to  any  exclusiveness  in  these 
particulars  over  her  342  sister  town  and  cityships  in  the  Com- 
monwealth, but  as  she  looks  back  upon  the  record  of  her  chil- 
dren, native  and  adopted,  and  including  the  clergy  through  the 
vistas  of  a  century,  the  spirit  of  the  ancient  Roman  matron 
infuses  her,  as  pointing  backward  she  proudly  exclaims,  "  These 
are  my  jewels."  This,  then,  is  our  apology,  if  one  is  needed, 
for  the  memorial  following. 


THE  ANCIENT  SCHOOL -HOUSE. 


CENTENNIAL  EXERCISES. 


The  first  action  of  the  town,  in  regard  to  the  Centennial,  is 
embodied  in  the  following  article  in  its  annual  warrant  for  town 
meeting,  March,  1873  •  "To  see  if  the  town  will  take  any  ac- 
tion in  regard  to  a  Centennial  Celebration." 

At  that  meeting  it  was  "Voted  that  J.  N.  Bagg,  Gideon 
Wells,  and  Edward  Parsons  be  a  Committee  to  investigate  and 
report  what  arrangements  are  necessary  for  celebrating  the 
Centennial  Anniversary  of  the  settlement  of  the  town." 

In  accordance  with  their  report,  in  April,  1873,  the  town  voted 
to  raise  the  sum  of  ^500  to  pay  such  expenses  as  may  occur  in 
the  Centennial  Celebration,  and  that  Edward  Parsons,  J.  N. 
Bagg,  Julius  Day,  G.  B.  Treadwell,  Lester  Williams,  Aaron 
Bagg,  B.  W.  Colton,  Andrew  Bartholomew,  and  Joseph  Mer- 
rick be  a  Committee  to  make  arrangements  for  the  celebration. 

The  Committee  had  their  first  meeting  January  31,  1874,  at  the 
residence  of  Col.  Edward  Parsons,  who,  by  reason  of  ill  health, 
was  unable  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  further  preparations 
and  ceremonies.  The  time  of  holding  the  Centennial  was  there 
fixed  for  March  25th,  and  the  result  of  this  and  subsequent  meet- 
ings was  the  issue  of  the  following  Circular  of  Invitation  : 

WEST  SPRINGFIELD,  MASS. 

Settled  about  1636.     Chartered  a  Parisli  i6y6.     Chartered  a  Town  1774. 

The  undersigned,  a  Committee  chosen  to  make  arrangements 
for  a  Town  Centennial  Celebration,  occurring  Wednesday,  March 
25th,  1874,  cordially  invite  their  fellow-citizens,  former  resi- 
dents, and  all  natives  of  the  town,  to  participate  in  the  public 
exercises  at  the  new  Town  Hall,  at  lo  1-2  o'clock,  A.  M. 

The  Historical  Address  will  be  by  Thos.  E.  Vermilye,  D.  D., 
of  New  York. 


8  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Facts,  incidents  and  anecdotes  pertaining  to  the  early  his- 
tory of  the  town  and  its  families,  together  with  portraits  of 
prominent  persons  and  pastors,  solicited. 

Aaron   Bagg,  ^ 

Joseph  Merrick,  >  Committee. 

J.  N.  Bagg,  ) 
J.  N.  BAGG,  Cor.  Secretary. 

The  following  Officers  and  Committees  were  also  appointed  : 

President  of  the  Day, 
COL.  AARON    BAGG. 

Vice  Presidents., 
Edward  Parsons,  James  P.  Ely, 

Charles  Ely,  Samuel  Morgan, 

Lester  Williams,  John  D.  Smith, 

Julius  Day,  Richard  Beebe, 

Cotton  Ely,  Norman  Day, 

Horace  S.  Miller,  Charles  A.  Ashley, 

William  Melcher,  J.  L.  Worthy, 

Andrew  Bartholomew,  George  L.  Bowe, 

Edwin  H.  Ball,  Daniel  Prince, 

J.  C.  Parsons,  Dr.  Cyrus  Bell, 

George  B.  Treadwell. 

Marshal^ 
William  C.  Hatch. 

Assistant  Marshals, 
Norman  T.  Smith,  Ethan  Brooks. 

The  Selectmen — Harvey  D.  Bagg,  Henry  A.  Sibley  and  Amos  Rus- 
sell— not  only  acted  as  Committee  on  Finance,  but  performed  various 
other  services  where  help  seemed  necessary. 

Committee  on  Music. — Joseph  Merrick,  B.  W.  Colton,  Aaron 
Bagg,  Jr.,  L.  F.  Mellen,    Dr.  H.  M.  Miller,    G.  C.  Buell. 

Committee  on  Decorations. — Theo.  Belden,  Edson  Clark,  Mrs. 
Susan  A.  Bagg,  Dea.  Samuel  Smith,  Mrs.  D.  H.  Baldwin,  Richard 
A  Bagg,    Charles  A.  Ashley,    W.  F.  Mosely. 

Committee  of  Reception. — Aaron  Bagg,  George  B.  Treadwell, 
Julius  Day,    Andrew  Bartholomew,    Harvey    D.   Bagg,     Jas.    P.   Ely, 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  9 

Lester  Williams,  H.  A.  Sibley,  Ethan  Brooks,  Talcott  A.  Rogers, 
Samuel  Morgan,  Benj.  D.  Ashley,  Justin  Ashley,  Alvin  Sibley,  D. 
H.  Baldwin,  I.  B.  Lowell,  James  E.  Champion,  N.  T.  Smith, 
Reuben  Brooks. 

Committee  on  Collation. — Edward  Parsons,  Julius  Day,  Andrew 
Bartholomew,    G.  B.  Treadwell. 

The  following  was  a  programme  of  the  day  : 
WEST  SPRINGFIELD,  MASS. 

Settled  about  1636.     Chartered  a  Parish  1696.     Chartered  a  Town  1774. 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES  at  the  TOWN  CENTENNIAL  CELE- 
BRATION, OCCURRING  WEDNESDAY,  MARCH  25TH,  1874,  on 
THE  COMPLETION  OF  the  NEW  TOWN  HALL. 

The  Exercises  began  at  io|-  o'clock,  A.  M. 

Music  by  the  Haydenville  Band. 

1.  Voluntary, By  the  Band. 

2.  Singing,     "  Home.  Sweet  Home,"  .  .  By  the  Choirs. 

3.  Invocation,  Rev.  E.  N.  Pomeroy,  Pastor  of  First  Church. 

4.  Scripture  Reading,  Rev.  L.  D.  Calkins,  Pastor  of  Park  St.  Church. 

5.  Singing,     "  Let  children  hear  the  mighty  deeds,"  Marloiv. 

6.  Address  of  Welcome,         .         .         ,         .         .  J-  N  Bagg. 

7.  Reply,         .         .  ....  Samuel  L.  Parsons. 

8.  Poem, Mrs.  Ellen  P.  Champion. 

9.  Music, By  the  Band. 

ID.     Historical  Address,  Thos.  E.  Vermilye,  D.  D.,  LL.D,  of  New  York. 

11.  Singing,     "  Shall  old  acquaintance  be  forgot  ?  "  Au id  Lang  Syne. 

12.  Prayer,    .         Ashbel  G.  Vermilye,  D.  D.,  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y. 

13.  Doxology,     "Praise  God  from  whom  all  blessings  flow,"     0/d 

Hundred. 

14.  Benediction, Dr.  T.  E.  Vermilye. 

The  following  description  of  the  day  and  assemblage,  is  from 
one  of  the  neighboring  journals  : 

West  Springfield's  Centennial  was  as  perfect  as  an  event 
ought  to  be  which  can  occur  but  once  in  a  hundred  years ;  as 
excellent  in  its  own  way  as  the  generous  bloom  of  the  aloe,  shin- 
ing in  the  midst  of  stormy  March,  amid  its  forbidding  lance- 
leaves,  and  induing  the  century  gone  and  that  begun  with  a 
fragrant    memory.      The   winds  themselves  were    charmed    to 


10  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

mildness,  yesterday,  and  breathed  from  the  south  to  mark  the 
welcome  of  the  occasion.  And  heartily  was  that  welcome  re- 
sponded to.  The  old  Common  was  bordered  with  waiting  horses 
and  vehicles,  by  the  hour  of  opening,  and  the  handsome  hall  of 
the  new  town-house  was  filled  with  as  fine  looking  an  assem- 
blage as  any  old  town  could  gather ;  many  venerable  men  and 
women  were  there,  and  the  active  citizens  of  to-day  seemed  not 
unworthy  to  wear  the  honors  of  their  predecessors,  whose  por- 
traits, in  quaint  attire  and  with  a  queer  family  resemblance  in 
their  very  varied  countenances,  looked  approvingly  upon  them. 
The  platform  was  occupied  by  a  distinguished  array  of  men  of 
hoary  heads,  with  now  and  then  an  exception,  chief  among  these 
being  our  Asiatic  townsman,  Mr.  Laisun. 

The  new  Hall  was  tastefully  festooned  and  decorated,  and 
from  its  walls  were  suspended  the  following  portraits  of  its 
former  citizens  :  Rev.  John  Woodbridge  the  first  minister  of 
1698,  Rev.  Joseph  Lathrop  D.  D.  the  third  minister  of  1756, 
Rev.  John  M.  Chapin  the  twelfth  minister  of  1872,  Justin  i-^ly 
1st,  and  his  wife  Ruth  White  of  1739,  Justin  Ely  2nd,  and 
his  wife  Lucy  Barron  of  1772,  Heman  Ely,  Theodore  Ely, 
Theodore  W.  Ely,  Miner  Stebbins,  Mrs.  Sibyl  Taylor  Bagg. 
Sewall  White,  Dr.  Reuben  Champion,  Heman  Day,  Aaron 
Ashley,  Daniel  Ashley,  Hosea  Bliss,  Rev.  D,  T,  Bagg,  Hon 
Samuel  Lathrop,  Capt.  Henry  Phelon,  and  Hosea  Day. 

The  band  prefaced  the  celebrative  exercises  with  the  impos- 
ing strains  of  Keller's  American  hymn,  and  then  came  the  sim- 
ple melody  of  "  Home,  Sweet  Home ! "  sung  by  the  united  village 
choirs.  The  Invocation  by  Rev.  E.  N.  Pomeroy,  is  here  given, 
because  it  was  the  first  public  prayer  offered  in  the  new  Town 
Hall,  and  is  in  part  dedicatory. 

INVOCATION. 
O  thou  most  high  and  mighty  One,  who  art  from  everlasting 
to  everlasting ;  who  dwellest  in  immensity  ;  who  hast  created 
this  wide  universe  from  nothing  ;  who  hast  created  us  from  the 
dust  of  the  earth,  and  hast  breathed  into  our  nostrils  the  breath 
of  thine  own  life  that  we  have  become  living  souls.  O  thou  be- 
fore whom  angels  bow  and  archangels  veil  their  faces,  we  come 


CENTENNIAL     CELEBRATION.  I  I 

before  thee  now  in  reverence  and  humility,  and  begin  these  ex- 
ercises with  prayer  to  thee. 

We  thank  thee  for  life,  the  great  boon  of  existence  which  hav- 
ing once  given  thou  dost  never  recall ;  we  thank  thee  that  we 
live  in  this  favored  land ;  we  thank  thee  for  all  the  social,  edu- 
cational, political  and  religious  privileges  that  we  enjoy  ;  we 
thank  thee  that  we  are  permitted  to  be  here  to-day  ;  we  thank 
thee  for  this  spacious  building  in  which  we  are  assembled. 

May  we  remember  that  much  will  be  required  of  them  to 
whom  much  is  given ;  may  we  make  a  right  use  of  the  various 
gifts  of  thy  kindness  ;  may  we  make  a  proper  use  of  this  noble 
edifice  ;  may  we  transmit  unimpaired  to  coming  generations  the 
civil  and  religious  liberties,  privileges  and  institutions,  which  by 
thy  gracious  kindness  and  by  the  self-sacrificing  efforts  of  our 
fathers,  have  been  intrusted  and  transmitted  to  us. 

Be  thou  with  us  on  this  interesting  and  important  occasion. 
Assist  all  who  shall  take  part  in  these  exercises.  Especially  be 
with  thy  servant,  a  former  pastor  of  one  of  these  churches,  who 
is  to  address  us  to-day  ;  and  be  with  all  who  in  time  to  come 
shall  occupy  the  positions  that  we  now  hold,  when  the  places 
that  now  know  us  shall  know  us  no  more  forever.  Ever  may 
thy  word  be  preached  here  in  its  purity.  Ever  may  truth  and 
righteousness  prevail  here.  Ever  may  civil  and  religious  liberty 
be  enjoyed  here  ;  and  may  we  ever  show  ourselves  to  be  indeed 
a  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord.     In  the  name  of  Christ.    Amen. 

The  Rev.  L.  D.  Calkins  then  read  portions  of  the  90th  and 
105th  Psalms,  beginning  with,  "  Lord,  thou  hast  been  our  dwell- 
ing place  in  all  generations,"  and  was  the  first  Scripture  publicly 
read  in  the  building,  after  which  the  old  hymn,"  Let  children 
hear  the  mighty  deeds,"  was  sung  with  excellent  spirit  and 
effect. 

The  addresses  and  poem  follow  in  the  order  of  delivery. 


12  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

THE  WELCOME  BY  MR.  J.  N.  BAGG. 

Mr.  President,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — A  little  more 
than  a  year  ago,  some  persons  turning  over  the  public  records, 
made  the  discovery  that  the  town  was  nearing  its  centennial 
birthday.  It  was  thought  that  the  event  was  of  sufficient  im- 
portance to  warrant  a  celebration.  The  objects  contemplated 
by  such  a  ceremony,  were  the  preservation  of  loose  local  his- 
tories and  the  cultivation  of  a  becoming  reverence  for  the  past 
and  high-toned  principle  among  children  and  those  who  are  now 
in  active  life.  Accordingly,  on  the  recommendation  of  one  of 
our  citizens,  the  town,  in  April  last,  appointed  a  committee  of 
nine  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  this  service  in  which  we  are  about 
to  engage.  This,  briefly,  is  the  origin  of  the  Centennial  Cele- 
bration. The  time  was  fixed,  March  25th,  because  that  was 
about  t,he  time  of  the  first  town  meeting.  The  town  was  incor- 
porated in  February,  1774  ;  the  first  town  warrant  was  issued 
March  14th  ;  the  first  town  meeting  was  held  March  23d.  A 
circular  was  issued  about  the  ist  of  February,  inviting  the 
former  residents  and  others  of  the  town  to  participate  in  this 
exercise  that  brings  us  to  the  end  of  the  century. 

Col.  Benjamin  Day  was  the  first  moderator,  the  first  select- 
man and  the  first  representative  West  Springfield  ever  had,  and, 
considering  that  he  was  only  32  years  old,  I  think  you  will  agree 
with  me  that  he  must  have  been  a  large  pattern  of  a  man.  He 
died  in  180S,  at  the  age  of  97.  His  descendants  remain  with 
us  still,  and  the  portrait  of  his  son  Heman,  who  died  in  1837, 
at  the  age  of  82,  adorns  yonder  wall.  That  Heman  was  the 
man  who,  in  his  21st  year,  in  1776,  shouldered  the  big  elm  in 
Shad  Lane,  whose  circumference  to-day  is  24^  feet,  and  planted 
it  there.  That  elm  is  one  of  the  largest  in  the  State,  and  for 
the  last  50  years  its  size  and  symmetry  have  been  the  admira- 
tion of  thousands.  The  characteristics  of  Heman  Day  and  his 
neighbors  are  shown  in  the  following  squib  of  his  time  : 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I3 

"  What  time  o'dee  ?"  says  Walter  Cooley  ; 
"  Eleven  o'clock,"  says  Judah  Bagg  ; 
"  Time  to  repent,"  says  Parson  Lathrop  ; 
"  Time  enough  yet,"  says  Heman  Day. 

The  Day  blood,  like  that  of  the  world-renowned  Morgan  horse, 
both  of  which  are  partly  indigenous  to  West  Springfield,  is 
strong  stuff,  and  has  a  good  deal  of  iron  in  it  yet.  But  I  leave 
history  to  an  abler  head  and  hand. 

We  stand,  to-day,  on  the  crest  of  a  century.  I  am  deeply  im- 
pressed with  the  rarity  of  the  occasion  and  the  solemnity  of  the 
hour.  We  shall  never  participate  in  a  second  centennial  service. 
We  are  making  history,  and  our  own  acts  link  us  to  the  ages. 
Faith,  reverence,  good  will  to  man  are  the  emotions  becoming 
us  now.  We  are  gathered  within  these  new  walls  to  dedicate 
them  by  this  service,  to  God  and  mankind.  This  new  building 
fitly  represents  our  new  century  life.  Long  may  it  stand  to  com- 
memorate this  occasion,  and  may  the  uses  of  education  and  po- 
litical liberty,  which  its  founders  had  in  mind  in  its  erection,  ever 
find  here  a  congenial  home. 

My  friends,  in  the  name  and  behalf  of  my  fellow  citizens,  and 
the  committee  of  arrangements,  I  have  been  authorized  to  ex- 
tend to  you  all  the  hand  of  greeting  and  the  voice  of  welcome. 
Let  us  bear  in  mind  that  this  is  West  Springfield's  natal  day, 
and  that  she  desires  to  commemorate  the  event  by  this  birthday 
party.  All  centenarians,  by  virtue  of  their  age,  are  entitled  to 
reverence  and  filial  honor.  Fathers,  mothers,  brothers,  sisters  ! 
we  are  made  glad  by  your  presence,  to-day.  Your  return  is  an 
evidence  that  you  have  not  forgotten  the  old  roof-tree,  and  that 
the  altar  fires  of  home  still  burn  in  your  hearts.  We  felt  that 
we  should  have  been  recreant  to  every  fraternal  sentiment  if  we 
did  not  beckon  you  to  the  old  homestead  and  make  ready  the 
fatted  calf  because  you  are  returned  safe  and  sound.  I  bid  you 
welcome,  thrice  welcome,  to  our  home  and  yours. 

If  I  were  to  particularize,  I  should  address  the  natives  who, 
after  years  of  absence,  find  themselves  strangers  in  the  place  of 


14  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

their  birth.  Some  of  you  went  out  single-handed  and,  like  Jacob, 
come  back  two  bands.  We  welcome  also  the  natives  by  mar- 
riage rite — those  who  would  have  been  born  here  if  they  could, 
and  are  not  to  blame  for  what  they  couldn't  help!  You  are  the 
real  husband — men  and  women  of  the  earth.  We  rejoice  that 
you  are  guided  by  silken  bonds.  We  are  proud  of  you  for  your 
tractability.  We  welcome,  also,  those  who  lay  claim  to  us  by 
remote  ancestry,  the  children  who  rejoice  in  the  prefix  of  great. 
We  welcome  those  whom  the  attractions  of  pleasure  and  busi- 
ness have  brought  among  us.  To  the  absent  friends,  remem- 
bered and  beloved,  with  us  in  spirit,  we  send  hearty  greetings. 

And  now,  one  and  all,  welcome,  doubly  welcome,  "  The  heart 
feels  most  when  the  lips  move  not."  We  welcome  you  to  the 
homes  of  your  childhood,  to  the  altars  of  your  God,  to  the  graves 
of  your  kindred.  As  you  meet  and  recognize  each  other,  may 
the  sentiments  of  honor  and  principle  dignify  and  ennoble  you. 
Grand  old  West  Springfield,  may  you  ever  be  the  joy  and  pride 
of  your  sons  and  daughters  ! 

THE  REPLY  BY  MR.  SAMUEL  L.  PARSONS. 

Mr.  President,  Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens  : — In  the 
name  and  on  behalf  of  the  natives  and  former  residents  of 
West  Springfield,  I  tender  you  our  most  hearty  thanks  for  your 
kind  invitation  to  return  and  unite  with  you  in  commemorating 
the  one  hundredth  anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of  the 
town.  The  beautiful  address  of  welcome  just  pronounced  is 
cheering  evidence  that  you  still  consider  that  we  have  some 
rights  here  that  you  feel  bound  to  respect,  and  although  we 
may  have  formally  transferred  our  titles  to  other  hands,  yet  our 
very  souls  still  yearn  after  the  flesh-pots  of  other  days.  While 
we  may  have  found  delights  in  other  fields,  still  the  sweets  of 
the  old  pasture  have  as  yet  found  no  rivals. 

P^rom  twenty  to  forty  years  ago,  we  transferred  to  your  care, 
in  trust,  the   interests  of  this,  our  beloved   home,  and  there  are 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  I  5 

numerous  questions  that  naturally  enough  rise  in  the  minds  of 
these  returning  pilgrims,  in  regard  to  the  use  that  has  been 
made  of  these  trusts  ;  a  few  of  these  questions  I  wish  to  pro- 
pound to  you  : 

First,  we  left  in  your  keeping  a  noble,  and  for  this  land, 
ancient  town,  stretching  entirely  across  the  county,  kissing  the 
feet  of  old  Tom,  on  the  north,  and  gathering  strength  as  she 
marched  fifteen  miles  to  gj^ate  the  Nutmeg  on  the  south,  four 
very  considerable  villages,  viz.  :  West  Springfield,  Ireland,  Aga- 
wam  and  Feeding  Hills  were  her  boast.  Tell  me,  do  the  screams 
of  that  noble  bird,  that  so  appropriately  crowns  this  beautiful 
edifice,  still  call  your  sons  from  these  extremes  }  Rumor  an- 
swers, "  No."  We  are  told  that  Ireland  has  been  deprived  of 
her  ancient  glory  by  a  sad  alliance  with  a  fellow  who  has  dared 
to  degrade  her  by  placing  upon  her  neck,  a  yoke  with  a  Hoi 
prefixed  to  it,  and  who  holds  her  in  perpetual  bondage. 

Agawam  and  Feeding  Hills  have  likewise  acted  the  part  of 
prodigal  sons,  and  are  feeding  upon  the  husks  of  their  own 
gathering,  and  so,  sir,  as  we  come  to  look  over  the  ancient  pas- 
ture grounds,  and  search  for  the  occupants  of  other  days,  we 
feel  a  little  sad  to  find  the  old  town  shorn  of  her  upper  and 
nether  glory,  and  so  many  strange  flocks  feeding  in  her  pas- 
tures. Is  this,  I  ask,  keeping  faith  with  the  once  lords  of  the 
soil  ? 

We  left  in  your  keeping  beautiful  and  wide-spread  fields,  in  this 
southern  vicinity,  that  you  have  allowed  to  be  covered  over  with 
shops  and  dwellings,  and  other  evidences  of  thrift  and  growth, 
and  have  even  allowed  bands  of  iron  to  be  stretched  across  this 
ancient  domain — binding  it  to  the  outside  world  who  care 
little  for  our  comforts  or  individual  rights.  Is  this,  I  ask,  ac- 
cording to  the  fathers  }  We  left  to  your  keeping  the  old  Com- 
mon where  unobstructed  and  free  as  the  air  we  breathed,  we 
roamed  and  played  at  our  pleasure  ;  where  the  general  training 
and  cattle-shows  were  the  delights  of  our  youth,  and  even  of 


l6  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

our  manhood.  We  return  to  find  that  you  have  aped  city  no- 
tions, and  have  enclosed  these  memorable  grounds,  and  have 
christened  it  a  beautiful  Park.  Are  such  things,  I  ask,  in  keep- 
ing with  the  notions  of  former  generations  ? 

I  have  a  very  joyous  recollection  of  the  many  very  large 
families,  having  from  eight  to  twelve  children,  who  occupied 
these  old  mansions.  I  wonder  whether  there  are  such  families 
here  in  these  later  days.  Even  down  to  184$,  the  Massac/itiset^s 
Gazetteer  said,  West  Springfield  contains  1,030  boys  and  girls 
between  the  ages  of  four  and  sixteen  years  ;  only  thirty-two 
towns  in  the  State  exceeded  that  number.  She  also  had 
twenty-five  public  schools,  and  756  voters  ;  how  do  these  figures 
compare  with  the  facts  of  to-day  1 

If,  for  one  moment,  I  turn  your  thoughts  to  a  personal  mat- 
ter, I  feel  quite  sure  I  shall  receive  your  sympathy,  for  it  will 
come  home  to  other  hearts  than  mine  ;  other  large  and  inter- 
esting families  have  passed  through  a  similar  experience.  When 
I  look  across  this  beautiful  Park  for  the  old  house,  where  the 
prints  of  my  youthful  feet  were  imbedded  in  the  very  floors  and 
stepping  stones,  and  find  that  old  Time  and  the  Vandals  have 
been  at  work,  and  my  eyes  may  never  again  look  upon  the 
rooms  where  in  infancy  I  was  rocked  to  sleep  in  loving  arms  ; 
when  I  call  the  names  of  father,  mother,  and  twelve  brothers 
and  sisters,  and  then  comes  back  to  me  the  feeble  answer  of 
but  one  who  has  maintained  the  integrity  of  the  old  homestead, 
it  seems  to  me  as  though  the  sweets  of  the  time-honored  vil- 
lage were  largely  extracted,  and  that  the  power  that  bound  the 
soul  to  its  early  associations  is  rapidly  loosening  its  grasp.  But 
neither  these  feet  of  mine,  nor  the  feet  of  those  who  have  re- 
turned with  me  to-day  have  ever  forgotten  the  oft-trodden  path- 
way. Neither  from  my  memory  nor  from  the  memories  of 
those  who  have  made  the  pilgrimage  with  me,  have  the  experi- 
ences of  our  youth  faded  away.  True,  as  we  enter  yonder 
gathering  place   of  the  dead,  who  were   the  honored  sires  and 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  1 7 

matrons  of  our  childhood,  we  find  more  familiar  names  than  we 
find  within  these  dwellings,  and  so,  in  recognizing  these  facts, 
we  are  constrained  to  admit  that  changes  are  taking  place — 
time  flies,  the  enemy  of  life  is  busy  at  his  work,  the  sickle 
flashes  even  for  us. 

I  have  the  faintest  recollection  of  the  old  church  and 
school-house  that  stood  in  the  middle  of  the  Common  opposite 
this  edifice,  but  I  have  a  vivid  memory  of  going  with  my  tin 
pail  to  gather  whortleberries,  just  east  of  where  the  old  church 
stood. 

I  well  remember,  sir,  how  noted  West  Springfield  was  for  her 
fat  cattle  ;  her  farmers  were  as  proud  of  them  as  they  now  are 
of  their  bank  stocks, 

I  would  not,  if  I  could,  forget  the  happy  evenings  spent  in 
corn-huskings,  apple-parings,  and  blind-man's-buff,  with  the 
adjuncts  of  cake,  cheese,  apples  and  kisses  ;  nor  the  school- 
hours,  and  sleigh-rides — precious  memories  !  Buried  realities, 
for  which  there  is  no  resurrection  ! 

Some  years  since  there  was  published  a  letter  from  Rev. 
John  Pendleton  of  Springfield,  to  Mr.  Amos  Allen  of  West 
Springfield  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy  : 

Springfield,  July  6,  1787. 
Mr.  Amos  Allen  : 

Honored  Sir  : — My  kind  love  to  thee  and  thy  wife  and  dear 
family,  hoping  these  lines  will  find  you  well. 

Dear  Sir,  I  know  you  love  to  do  good,  Pray  Sir,  I  intend  to 
cut  my  grass  next  Wednesday,  if  fair  ;  if  not,  ne^t  day,  and  as 
we  are  to  make  our  wants  known,  if  you  would  be  so  kind  as 
to  let  any  friends  know  of  the  same,  and  they  would  come  and 
cut  my  grass  down  for  me,  I  hope  I  should  be  thankful  and 
obliged  to  them  for  the  same.  Four  or  five  will  do  it,  with 
what  I  expect  from  this  side  of  the  river.  And  pray  be  so  kind 
the  next  day  after  they  come  and  cut  my  grass,  for  you  and 
Miss  Allen,  Deakon  Homeston  and  his  wife,  Deakon  Rogers 
and  his  wife,  Mr.  Lizer  and  his  wife,  to  come  over  and  see  ray 
3 


I  8  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

wife  and  I,  and  show  me  a  little  to  stack  my  hay,  for  I  am  in 
hopes  you  and  my  friends  will  come  and  see  me  oftener  than 
you  have  done,  so  then  your  horses  may  have  some  to  eat. 
Dear  sir  farewell.     Yours  in  love, 

John  Pendleton. 

But  my  friends,  I  have  taken  enough  of  your  time  in  dwell- 
ing upon  the  past.  As  much  as  we  love  it,  we  are  prepared  to 
proclaim  to  the  world,  that  to-day  is  the  best  day  the  world  has 
ever  seen.  The  past  century  has  opened  new  avenues  to  the 
future.  We  may  no  longer  dwell  upon  the  buried  past.  New 
life  and  activity  is  being  infused  into  the  world  ;  new  ideas  are 
to  be  encouraged  ;  new  victories  are  to  be  won.  Let  us  buckle 
on  the  armor,  for  the  contest  before  us.  At  the  opening  of  the 
century  we  commemorate,  some  six  million  people  inhabited 
this  land ;  to-day  forty  millions  boastfully  flaunt  the  stars  and 
stripes.  Then  we  paid  tribute  to  another  nation  ;  to-day,  after 
two  sanguinary  wars,  that  nation  pays  tribute  to  us.  TJien  one 
or  two  months  were  necessary  to  cross  the  ocean  under  sails,  to 
the  Fatherland.  Now  in  1873,  seven  hundred  magnificent 
steamers  left  the  port  of  New  York  and  crossed  the  ocean,  in 
an  average  of  twelve  days.  The  same  steamers  brought  to 
these  shores  270,000  emigrants  to  people  our  lands.  In  fifteen 
years,  from  1855  to  1869,  2,300,000  emigrants  landed  in  New 
York. 

Then,  we  used  the  old  tinder-box  and  flint  to  light  our  fires. 
In  1873,  according  to  the  man  you  love  to  honor,  Mr.  Dawes, 
the  government  received  $2,500,000  revenue,  as  tax  on  the  lu- 
cifer  matches  made  in  this  country.  Then  the  manufactures  of 
our  country  were  very  limited.  Now  almost  every  industry  of 
the  known  world  is  found  within  our  borders.  The  first  rail- 
way in  this  land  was  constructed  in  1830;  thirty  miles  in  the 
State  of  Maryland.  In  1872,  67,104  miles  of  railway  had  been 
laid,  at  a  cost  of  1^3,159,423,057,  and  whose  earnings  in  1872, 
reached  the  enormous  sum  of  $472,241,055. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I9 

Of  these  railways,  Massachusetts  has  1,658  miles,  whose 
earnings  in  1872,  were  $25,363,177. 

The  letters  that  pass  through  our  post-offices  are  almost  too 
numerous  to  count.  The  city  of  New  York  alone,  received  in 
1873,  16,500,000  foreign  letters,  and  about  45,000,000  domestic 
letters.  Her  postmaster  is  under  bonds  of  $1,200,000  for  the 
faithful  performance  of  his  duties.  1,052  clerks  and  carriers  are 
under  his  control,  and  the  post-office  building  now  in  process 
of  construction  in  New  York  will  cost  more  than  $7,000,000. 

Let  us  then  thank  God  to-day  for  this  pleasant  reunion,  and 
for  the  advance  that  has  been  made  in  our  land  during  the  past 
century,  in  manufactures,  agriculture,  steam-power,  labor-sav- 
ing implements  of  various  sorts,  education  and  the  arts,  and  es- 
pecially in  the  developments  of  a  mineral  character,  gold,  silver, 
iron,  copper  and  lead,  which  are  being  discovered  as  rapidly  as 
there  is  necessity  for  them.  Neither  are  the  people  regardless 
of  morality  and  religion.  Evidences  greet  us  on  every  hand, 
that  the  religious  element  is  very  strong  in  our  land,  and  the 
foundation  of  that  element  is  the  recognition  of  one  only  living 
and  eternal  God.  But  we  have  also  great  occasion  to  rejoice 
to-day,  that  not  only  are  there  improvements  throughout  this 
land  and  the  world,  in  mechanics,  arts  and  agriculture,  but  that 
morality  and  religion  are  finding  their  way  into  the  remotest 
corners  of  the  earth,  and  penetrating  the  islands  of  the  seas. 
But  these  matters  can  only  be  kept  in  progress  by  the  hearty 
and  united  action  of  the  people.  Let  us  inquire  diligently  our 
duty  in  regard  to  them,  and  when  the  pathway  shall  be  opened 
to  us,  be  ready  to  take  our  place  in  the  foremost  ranks  and  bat- 
tle for  the  right,  as  God  may  give  us  strength. 


ONLY   A    STORY. 


'OEM   Written  isy  Mrs.  Ellen  P.  Champion  of  New  Market,  N.  H. 
THE  West  Springfield  Centennial. 

[read    by    MR.    L.    F.    MELLEN.] 

It  is  only  a  story  I'm  waiting  to  tell, 

CM  it  vision  of  sleep,  or  a  wild  flight  of  fancy  ; 
If  'twere  conjurer's  trick,  sooth,  he  managed  it  well. 

And  worked  up  like  magic  his  shrewd  necromancy. 

There  are  spirits  so  ardent ; — no  pun,  you'll  perceive, — 
I  mean  those  that  go  rapping  and  tipping  the  table  ; — 

They  turn  some  weak  brains,  and  oft  strong  minds  deceive, 
But, — well,  here  is  the  mystery,  to  solve  if  you're  able. 

I  sat  reading  last  night, — it  was  lonely  and  late, 
I  forget, — it  was  morning, — yes,  midnight  and  after. 

When  I  heard  this  strange  sound,  just  outside  by  my  gate, 
"  Ha,  ha,  ha,"  like  a  burst  of  the  merriest  laughter. 

In  amazement  I  sprang,  half  bewildered  and  dazed. 
Then  shrunk  back,  full  suspecting  some  demon  of  evil  ; 

Were  the  lights  turning  blue  ?     No,  they  cheerily  blazed, 

"  'Tis  my  rolicking  chum,"  I  thought,  "home  from  a  revel." 

My  books  suited  the  hour.     One  was  grewsome;  it  told 

Of  fierce,  warlike  Vikings,  a  wild  dismal  story; 
My  nerves  are  well  strung,  but  my  flesh  crept  with  cold 

When  the  stern  pirate  heroes  walked  headless  and  gory. 

Another  grim  volume,  enchanting  me  quite. 

Pictured  pale  shades  in  bride  robes  through  dim  arches  straying, 
Where  waiting  maids,  tortured  to  fainting  with  fright. 

Spent  whole  nights  at  their  beads,  weeping,  trembling  and  praying. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

Still  my  lamp,  burning  pure,  gave  me  courage  and  calm, 

I  e'en  smiled  at  the  thought  that  gaunt  ghosts  should  go  stalking  ; 

That  strange  laugh  I  had  heard,  fie  !  it  boded  no  harm, 
'Twas  plainly  a  young  moon-struck  poet,  out  walking. 

One,  the  city  clocks  chimed,  pealing  near  and  afar  ; 

Thrice  my  watchful  dog  growled  ;  warned,  I  waited  intrusion, 
Listening.     Loud,  louder  still,  that  hobgoblin  "  ha,  ha  !  "' 

Dismaying,  appalling  !     A  mocking  delusion  ! 

'  Tis  a  witch  !  She  shall  die  !     If  she's  ugly  and  old! 

(That  no  witches  exist  'twould  be  hard  to  convince  us, 
But  those  weird,  which  disturbed  Cotton  Mather,  I'm  told. 

Disappeared  long  ago  with  their  hot  pins  and  pincers.) 

The  mad  shout  echoed  long.     The  same  voice  as  before. 
Then  a  foot  on  the  threshold  seemed  sturdily  falling; 

That  firm  step  in  the  hall  is  no  sprite  to  be  sure. 
But  a  bachelor  friend,  always  late,  comes  a-calling. 

The  door  opened.     A  stranger,  gray,  stalwart  and  tall, 

Doffed  a  queer  old  cocked  hat,  bowing  slowly  and  grandly, 

"  I've  dropped  in  for  an  hour  or  two's  chat,  that  is  all, 
I'm  so  happy,"  he  said,  smiling  slyly  and  blandly. 

"  You've  a  sensible  fire,  friend,  birch  wood,  fragrant,  sweet. 
Singing  songs  of  the  forests  while  burning  and  glowing ; 

That's  no  back  log  of  tinsel,  with  fagots  to  cheat 

With  their  mock  flames  of  gas  jets,  mere  shamming  and  showing. 

"  I'm  an  old-fashioned  man.     How  our  lives  fly  away  ! 

I'm  a  hundred  !     You  stare, — you  wouldn't  suspect  it  ? 
I've  made  a  great  feast  for  my  children  to-day. 

And,  ha  ha,  not  a  daughter  or  son  shall  neglect  it. 

"'Tis  my  birthday,  you  know,"  looking  quizzical  still. 

"  I,  a  yeoman,  was  born  by  this  beautiful  river, 
Though  a  babe,  when  the  guns  boomed  at  old  Bunker  Hill, 

I  shouted,  'tis  said,  '  Independence  forever  !' 

"My  name's  Rural,  what  poets  call  Sylvan,  in  rhymes  ; 
My  old  home  such  a  nook  for  a  bit  of  day  dreaming  ! 


22  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Rut  my  sleep  is  disturbed  by  tlie  rush  of  the  times, 

The  whir  of  swift  wheels,  and  the  engine's  shrill  screaming. 

"  I'm  a  wizard, — don't  laugh, — this  cane  is  my  wand  ; 

Mark  through  the  green  meadows  those  calm  waters  stealing; 
That  fair  hamlet,  broad  street,  bowered  by  forest  trees  grand, 

The  maple  boughs  parting,  a  quaint  church  revealing." 

I  thought  of  Aladdin.     The  wand  waving  still. 

The  scene  changed  ;  busy  haunts  and  proud  dwellings  appearing, 
Halls  of  learning,  tall  spires,  in  the  vale,  on  the  hill. 

And  the  hum  of  a  city,  hard  by,  I  was  hearing. 

"Now  I'll  tell  you,"  he  said,  "just  the  funniest  joke, 
Cunning  pranks  of  my  children  I'm  fond  of  disclosing, 

Bold  young  Holyoke  took  off  half  my  head,  at  a  stroke, 
And  Agawam  my  feet,  as  I  lay  one  day  dozing. 

"  And, — but  this  is  a  secret  between  you  and  me  ; — 
Straws  show  how  the  wind  blows,  I  have  a  suspicion 

If  I'm  ever  caught  napping  again,  don't  you  see. 
Shad  Lane  will  be  gone  without  asking  permission. 

"  But  though  robbed  of  my  head,  and  despoiled  of  my  feet. 
Friends  declare  I've  improved,— I  don't  think  they  flatter, 

For  I'm  quite  sure  myself,  'tis  a  happy  conceit, 

That  each  change  I  have  known  is  a  change  for  the  better. 

"  I'm  no  dreamer,  deploring  the  past,  faded,  gone. 
Many  Days  still  are  left  me,  kind  fate  is  propitious. 

And  for  each  Bliss  that  vanished  a  new  Bliss  is  born," 

My  guest  whispered  and  winked,  he  was  growing  facetious. 

"  I'm  no  miser,"  he  said,  "  though  not  lacking  in  pelf, 
I've  Baggs  of  choice  treasure,  no  coin  of  it  spurious, 

But  I'm  given  to  prating  too  much  of  myself 
And  family  history ;  I  forget  you're  not  curious. 

"  One  word  more  you  will  pardon.     These  doting  old  eyes 

See  my  children  all  noble  beyond  any  other  ; 
More  faithful,  more  loyal,  more  worthy  and  wi.se. 

Weighed  (*Wade)  but  never  found  wanting,  on  sister  or  brother. 


•Hon.  Benjamin  F.  Wade  of  Ohio,  is  a  native  of  West  Springfield. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  23 

"  And  they  coming  to-day,  I  long  to  behold  them  ; 

I'm  waiting  to  greet  them  with  tender  caressing ; 
My  fond,  empty  arms  are  outstretched  to  enfold  them, 

My  heart  warms  to  welcome  with  bounty  and  blessing." 

The  voice  ceased  and  the  Presence  grew  formless  as  air, 

The  dawn  broke  gray  and  chill,  with  the  gusty  March  weather, 

Twilight  faded,  the  lamp  dimmed  with  flicker  and  flare, 
Then  guest,  warmth,  and  taper  all  vanished  together. 

Hark  !  is  it  the  south  wind  that  rustles  the  vines, 

Tossing  crisp,  withered  leaves  in  the  wood  and  the  meadow  ? 

Or  is  it  thy  voice,  O,  "  long  river  of  pines," 
Whispering  low  with  soft  music  through  mist  and  through  shadow  ? 

Or  the  bluebird,  which  seeks  her  home  nest  as  of  old  ? 

Taking  Spring  now  on  trust,  now  in  doubt,  yet  she  lingers. 
For  the  elms  don  their  holiday  tassels  of  gold, 

And  the  maples  with  coral  gems  deck  their  brown  fingers. 

'Tis  the  bustle  and  stir  in  old  Ramapoag  street, 

Sounds  of  joy  and  rejoicing  disturbing  my  slumbers, — 
I've  been  dreaming,  but  this  is  no  charm  and  no  cheat, 

This  multitude  growing  with  gathering  numbers. 

'Tis  the  Century  Feast.     Swift  they  come,  none  are  late, — 

Some  from  far  northern  climes,  where  too  long  they've^been  staying. 

Or  from  warm  sunny  slopes  ;  from  the  rich  "  Golden  Gate," 
And  from  mosques  of  the  East  where  the  Moslems  are  praying. 

All  are  here,  all  are  here,  on  this  grand  natal  day, 

Their  gifts— garnered  lore  and  rare  eloquence — bringing, 

Tender  memories,  fraught  with  the  grave  and  the  gay. 
Dainty  chaplets,  sweet  minstrelsy,  gladness  and  singing. 

All  are  here ;  are  all  here  ?     Side  by  side,  dust  to  dust. 

Kindred  groups,  turf  embosomed,  in  calm  silence  sleeping. 

Theirs  the  rest  which  God  gives  his  beloved,  through  trust, 
Till  the  morning  shall  come,  and  the  grave  yield  its  keeping. 

All  are  here,  all  are  here  !     The  loved  patriot  dead. 
Names  written  in  stone  and  remembered  in  story, 


24  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Held  safe,  safe  in  our  hearts,  they  who  battled  and  bled 
For  their  God,  for  their  country,  for  right  and  for  glory  ! 

And  the  centuries  will  pass, — Springs  and  Autumns  told  o'er; 

Still  will  flow  to  the  ocean  our  strong,  dauntless  river ; 
Some  bluebird  will  sing  in  these  elms  as  of  yore, 

But  each  voice  of  To-Day  will  be  silent  forever. 

Music  followed  by  the  Band, — after  which  came  the  great 
event  of  the  day,  The  Historical  Address,  by  Thomas  E.  Ver- 
niilye,  D.  D.,  LL.D.,  who  more  than  forty  years  ago  was  a  Pastor 
of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 


U'fxf/'^-^--^, 


FOURTH  PASTOR   OF   FIRST   CONGREGATIONAL   CHURCH. 


HISTORICAL  ADDRESS. 


It  seems  to  be  a  dictate  of  nature,  to  keep  alive  the  remem- 
brance of  events  of  private  or  social  or  public  interest,  by  days 
and  acts  of  formal  commemoration.  By  such  means  worth  is 
honored,  example  continues  to  speak,  sentiment  exerts  its 
proper  control  over  mere  physical  motions,  and  good  influences 
are  perpetuated  and  made  permanent.  Nothing  can  be  more 
in  accordance  on  such  occasions  with  the  character  and  spirit 
of  those  who  settled  this  country,  than  the  custom  handed  down 
from  earliest  times,  to  combine  religious  services  with  the  secu- 
lar observances.  Thus  did  the  Fathers,  and  thus  do  we  ex- 
press the  conviction  that  true  religion  is  all-pervading  ;  that 
God  is  the  guardian  both  of  families  and  states  ;  that  pros- 
perity and  safety  must  rest  upon  a  moral  and  religious  basis  ; 
that  religion  is  not  so  holy  a  thing  as  to  be  placed  far  apart 
from  the  ordinary  courses  of  life,  nor  the  State  so  weak  as  to  be 
endangered,  or  lose  its  proper  position  by  such  contact ;  that 
neither  the  purity  of  the  one,  nor  the  independence  of  the  other, 
is  necessarily  impaired  or  jeoparded  by  such  a  union  of  Church 
and  State.  No  country  has,  in  reality,  been  kept  more  free  from 
entangling  alhances  of  this  kind,  yet  in  none  has  religion,  at 
this  day,  a  more  distinctly  recognized  presence,  nor  more  pub- 
lic reverence.  When  the  first  bridge  was  to  be  opened  between 
Springfield  and  this  town,  it  was  deemed  most  appropriate  that 
so  important  an  event  should  be  inaugurated  by  religious  exer- 
cises, and  a  sermon  from  Dr.  Lathrop.  The  annual  election 
sermon  in  this  State  ;  prayer  at  the  opening  of  the  daily  session 
4 


26  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

of  Congress,  and  of  almost  or  quite  all  of  the  State  Legislatures  ; 
these,  and  many  similar  instances,  confirm  the  justness  of  the 
observation.  Never  can  I  forget  the  remarkable  scene  at  the 
Sumpter  meeting  held  on  Union  Square,  in  New  York,  at  the 
breaking  out  of  our  own  sad  civil  war.  The  immense  area,  the 
windows  and  even  the  roofs  of  the  surrounding  houses  were 
crowded  with  human  beings  of  all  classes  ;  and  when,  as  one  of 
the  chaplains,  I  advanced  upon  the  platform  to  open  the  meeting 
with  prayer,  every  hat  was  raised,  the  stillness  of  a  church  suc- 
ceeded, and  as  I  closed,  one  deep,  solemn,  almost  appalling 
"Amen"  rose  from  the  vast  throng  and  went  up  to  Heaven. 
Nor  can  I  forget  another  meeting,  hastily  gathered  on  the  an- 
nouncement of  President  Lincoln's  death,  at  the  junction  of 
Wall  and  William  streets,  the  very  mart  of  trade  ;  the  centre 
and  home,  it  might  be  called,  of  the  moneyed  operations  of  the 
entire  continent,  and  even  of  half  the  world  ;  the  place  where 
Mammon  holds  his  court.  Men  of  all  ranks  filled  the  streets,  as 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  And  when  again  I  was  invited  to 
open  the  meeting  with  prayer  from  the  portico  of  the  Custom 
House,  profound  solemnity  reigned,  and  as  I  closed  by  repeat- 
ing the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  whole  multitude  responded,  and  their 
"  Amen  "  seemed  to  attest  the  faith  as  well  as  the  feelings  of  the 
country,  flying  in  affliction  from  all  human  trust  to  "  Our  Fa- 
ther in  heaven."  I  thought  that  while  such  a  spirit  prevails, 
our  institutions  are  safe  ;  nor  need  the  Church  or  State  require 
that  Christianity  shall  be  established  by  law,  and  formally  en- 
grafted into  our  political  constitution  ;  nor  doubt  that  our  Fa- 
thers' God  will  be  the  God  of  their  children  after  them. 

No  commemoration  would  seem  to  be  more  strictly  secular 
than  that  of  a  town  charter.  But  it  would  be  a  strange  thing  to 
exclude  the  chapter  on  religion  from  the  history  of  any  New 
England  town,  for  thereby  the  record  would  often  keep  out  of 
sight  the  most  interesting  and  important  agency  that  has  been 
at  work  in  the  process.     Care  has  been  taken,  therefore,  that 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  2/ 

this  element  shall  have  its  place  in  the  present  celebration, 
and  I  appear,  by  your  kind  invitation,  as  a  former  pastor  of  the 
old  parish,  to  give  the  discourse  on  the  occasion.  It  will  not 
be  a  formal  sermon ;  and  yet,  as  we  follow  the  current  of  time, 
I  think  we  shall  meet  many  things  calculated  to  awaken  deep, 
serious  reflections.  I  cannot  disguise  from  myself  the  thought, 
that  we  are  engaged  in  performing  the  funeral  rites,  and  rais- 
ing the  monument,  and  inscribing  the  epitaph  over  a  century 
of  years. 

West  Springfield,  stretching  along  the  west  bank  of  the 
river,  occupies  one  of  the  most  beautiful  portions  of  the  Con- 
necticut valley.  The  river,  the  noblest  in  New  England,  from 
its  northern  beginning,  through  its  long  course  to  the  Sound, 
presents  a  great  variety  of  scenery  ;  but  at  no  point,  as  it  seems 
to  me,  is  it  so  attractive  as  here.  We  can  easily  imagine  the 
surprise  and  delight  with  which  the  first  comers  from  the  East 
were  filled  as  they  reached  the  summit  of  Springfield  Hill,  and 
the  eye  took  in  the  river  and  rich  meadow-lands  below,  and 
swept  the  horizon,  from  the  northern  limit  of  vision,  down  along 
the  hills  at  the  west,  and  for  many  miles  away  to  the  south, 
roaming  over  a  picture  of  surpassing  loveliness.  The  morning 
and  noonday  sun  brings  out  its  varying  features  with  fine  ef- 
fect, and  the  beholder  might  almost  fancy  himself  to  be  stand- 
ing upon  one  of  the  Delectable  mountains.  Yet  I  think 
several  views  from  the  west  side  of  the  river,  if  not  so  bold  and 
extensive,  are  even  more  simply  beautiful.  Often  have  I  stood, 
almost  entranced,  upon  the  Meeting  House  Hill,  and  surveyed 
the  fields  and  meadows  around,  clothed  with  a  luxuriant  vege- 
tation ;  Mount  Tom  at  my  left,  that  has  reared  his  hoary  front 
to  the  suns  and  storms  of  a  thousand  years  ;  the  peaceful  river, 
gliding  away  at  my  feet,  and  below,  on  my  right,  expanding 
into  a  beautiful  lake,  where  lately  the  rowers  competed  for  the 
prize ;  before  me  Springfield,  now  showing  its  many  spires,  and 
the  Armory  its  acropolis  ;  and  Longmeadow,  though  far  away. 


28  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Still  visible  on  the  distant  horizon.  And  how  still  and  Sabbath- 
like the  air  !  How  verdant  and  quiet  this  Goshen  beneath,  hid- 
den away  from  the  bustling  world  !  How  rural  their  dwellings, 
embowered  in  foliage,  and  overarched  by  those  majestic  elms  ! 
"  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob,  and  thy  tabernacles,  O 
Israel !  As  the  valleys  are  they  spread  forth,  as  gardens  by 
the  river's  side,  as  the  trees  of  lingaloes  which  the  Lord  hath 
planted,  and  as  cedar  trees  beside  the  waters."  Surely  the  peo- 
ple of  this  happy  valley  have  a  favored  heritage,  and  these  are 
the  abodes  of  thrift  and  contentment  and  love.  And  so  it 
might  be,  but  they  are  the  children  of  Adam,  who,  even  in  Par- 
adise, stretched  out  his  hand  to  the  unpossessed  and  forbidden 
thing. 

The  town  of  Springfield,  including  at  that  time  the  whole 
settlement,  first  had,  and  until  1640,  i.  e.  five  or  six  years  after 
its  occupancy,  it  retained  the  Indian  name  of  Agawam,  The 
name  Springfield  was  given,  as  some  say,  out  of  compliment  to 
Mr.  William  Pynchon,  the  leader  of  the  band  who  came  from 
Springfield,  near  Chelmsford,  England.  According  to  others,  it 
was  so  called,  from  the  springs  and  streams  which  abounded  in 
the  region.  Names  were  given  to  their  new  possessions  by  the 
early  settlers  from  various  reasons,  and  often  capriciously. 
Many  Old  Country  names  are  repeated  here  ;  many  are  derived 
from  something  peculiar  in  their  localities,  as  Brookfield,  Long- 
meadow,  Greenfield ;  and  in  many  cases  the  Indian  appella- 
tives were  retained,  almost  always  with  advantage  for  beauty  of 
sound,  and  descriptive  meaning.  Thus,  in  this  neighborhood, 
"  Pawcatuck,"  the  western  brook  and  village  of  the  town,  means 
"  clear  water."  "  Chicopee,"  "  birch  bark  place."  "Agawam," 
"  crooked  river,"  or  "  low  meadow  land."  "  Mittineaque," 
"  swift  water."     "  Ramapogue,"  is  uncertain  and  unknown. 

The  place  was  reached  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  after  the 
landing  of  the  Pilgrims,  and  the  settlement  of  Plymouth  Colony, 
in   1620.     In  the   short  interval  they  had  spread   abroad   and 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  29 

founded  the  colonies  of  Salem  and  Charlestown  in  1628,  and 
Boston  in  1630.  In  that  year  a  large  number  of  immigrants,  in 
ten  or  twelve  ships,  reached  Boston,  and  complaints  began  to  be 
made  of  over  population,  and  the  cry  was  heard,  "  Give  place 
that  we  may  dwell,  for  the  place  is  too  strait  for  us."  "  The 
inhabitants  of  Massachusetts,"  says  the  historian,  "  were  over- 
pressed  with  multitudes  of  new  families  that  daily  resorted 
thither,  so  as  like  a  hive  of  bees  overstocked,  there  was  a  ne- 
cessity that  some  should  swarm  out."  A  Hvely  idea  is  thus 
afforded  of  the  extent  of  the  Puritan  movement  in  England,  as 
well  as  in  this  country.  But,  certainly,  there  is  something  very 
amusing  in  the  idea  of  an  inconvenient  crowding  of  population 
at  that  early  date,  and  with  such  wide  territories  all  around 
them.  To  relieve  the  great  pressure,  however,  as  we  must  sup- 
pose, application  was  made  to  the  General  Court,  for  leave  to 
advance  to  the  Connecticut  and  form  a  new  settlement  there, 
which  was  granted.  About  1633,  they  reached  the  Great  river, 
(Quonnecticut,)  so  called  by  the  Indians,  not  so  much  from  its 
size  or  length,  probably,  as  from  the  number  of  smaller  streams 
which  flow  into  it  along  its  course,  and  swell  its  volume. 
Windsor,  the  first  settlement  in  Connecticut  in  1633,  Hartford 
in  1635,  and  New  Haven  in  1638,  were  peopled  by  emigrants 
from  Dorchester  ;  Springfield  about  1635,  by  those  from  Rox- 
bury.  Northampton  was  purchased  from  the  Indians  in  1653, 
by  Mr.  John  Pynchon,  for  one  hundred  fathoms  of  wampum  and 
ten  coats  and  some  trifles  besides.  Westfield  was  settled  about 
1660.  From  these  movements  we  get  an  idea  of  a  company  of 
surveyors  rather  than  of  permanent  inhabitants.  They  were 
the  pioneers  of  the  wilderness.  Thus  were  they  on  the  march 
to  fulfill  the  destiny  which  Divine  Providence  seems  to  have  ap- 
pointed for  them,  and  for  this  country  ;  first  to  people  New 
England  with  sons  begotten  in  their  own  likeness,  and  then  to 
pour  forth,  north  and  west  and  south,  with  ceaseless  migration, 
and  interfuse  themselves  among  all  the  other  peoples  on  the 


30  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

continent,  becoming,  wherever  they  go,  an  element  of  intelli- 
gence, enterprise  and  progress. 

As  the  motive  which  induced  them  to  seek  the  Connecticut 
was  the  report  of  the  rich  lands  in  its  neighborhood,  the  west 
bank  naturally  first  attracted  them.  The  Indians  esteemed 
land  on  this  side  more  valuable  than  on  the  other.  Their  first 
building  was  in  what,  from  that  circumstance,  is  known  as 
"  Home  Meadow  Lot"  in  the  present  Parish  of  Agawam.  But 
being  warned  by  the  friendly  Indians,  and  probably  finding  from 
experience  that  there  they  would  be  exposed  to  floods,  they  re- 
turned to  the  east  side  and  made  that  their  homestead.  They 
formed  fifteen  articles  of  agreement:  a  constitution,  you  per- 
ceive ;  the  American  principle  that  from  the  beginning  has 
been  introduced  into  all  our  municipal,  State  and  general  gov- 
ernments ;  and  the  spirit  which  predominated  in  their  mind  ap- 
pears from  the  fact  that  the  very  first  article  of  their  compact 
related  to  the  settlement  of  a  minister.  They  apportioned  the 
'  land  of  which  they  had  become  possessed,  with  rigid  impartial- 
ity, giving  to  each  settler  a  home-lot  and  meadow  and  wood-lot 
extending  eighty  or  one  hundred  rods  up  the  hill,  and  also  a 
meadow-lot  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  as  nearly  opposite  to 
the  home-lot  as  possible.  But  the  actual,  permanent  settle- 
ment of  West  Springfield,  after  the  failure  at  Agawam,  was  not 
until  1654  or  5.  It  was  on  Chickopee  Plains  ;  so  that  the  real 
original  settlement  of  this  town  seems  to  have  been  above  Meet- 
ing-House  Hill  ;  from  there  they  spread  below  the  hill,  and  into 
what  is  now  known  as  Agawam.  The  whole  town  of  Spring- 
field, on  both  sides  of  the  river,  was  originally  twenty-five 
miles  square,  including  what  is  now  the  whole  of  Holyoke, 
West  Springfield,  Agawam,  Westfield,  Suffield,  and  nearly  all 
of  Southwick  on  the  west,  and  Springfield,  Enfield,  Somers, 
Wilbraham,  Ludlow  and  Longmeadow  on  the  east ;  a  large 
tract,  now  teeming  with  an  industrious  population.  To  the 
honor  of  the  first  settlers,  it  should  also  be  recorded  that  their 


CENTENNIAL     CELEBRATION.  3 1 

possessions  were  secured  not  only  by  legislative  grants,  but  by 
what  was  regarded  by  both  parties  as  a  fair  purchase  from  the 
Indians.  What  were  the  equivalents  in  all  cases  we  do  not 
know  ;  and  no  doubt  at  the  present  time  the  most  valuable 
would  appear  ridiculous.  Trinkets,  strings  of  wampum  for 
miles  of  beautiful  and  fertile  lands,  seem  like  simply  cheating 
the  natives.  But  the  purchase  recognized  Indian  rights,  and 
the  parties  appear  to  have  been  satisfied.  An  anecdote  is  given 
by  Dr.  D wight  in  his  travels,  upon  what  he  thought  good  au- 
thority, to  this  effect :  That  in  the  early  history  of  West 
Springfield,  one  of  the  planters,  a  tailor,  had  purchased  from 
an  Indian  chief,  for  some  small  equivalent,  a  tract  of  about 
three  miles  square  of  some  of  the  best  land  in  the  region.  An- 
other planter,  a  carpenter,  had  constructed  a  clumsy  wheel- 
barrow, and  after  careful  deliberation  and  bargaining  the  tailor 
took  the  wheelbarrow  in  exchange  for  his  land.  If  this  was  a 
fair  bargain  between  whites,  it  would  have  been  gratuitous 
knavery  to  have  gone  about  to  cheat  the  Indians.  Troubles 
and  wars,  we  know,  soon  arose  between  the  whites  and  the  abo- 
rigines all  over  New  England.  It  was  a  result  simply  natural, 
and  perhaps  absolutely  necessary,  or  at  least  unavoidable.  The 
two  races  could  not  co-exist  on  the  same  soil.  Jealousy  of  the 
white  man  soon  stimulated  the  Indian  to  secret  plots  and  open 
violence,  which  incensed  the  whites  in  turn  to  retaliation,  and 
wrong  was  revenged  by  wrong.  In  the  French  war,  the  Cana- 
dian French  subsidized  and  inflamed  them  against  the  English  ; 
the  Pequot  and  King  Philip's  wars ;  and  in  this  vicinity  the 
burning  of  Springfield  in  1675,  so  that  only  four  or  five  houses 
were  left ;  the  massacres  at  Hadley  and  Deerfield, — these  were 
parts  of  the  fearful  tragedy.  The  flame  which  finally  spread 
all  over  the  country  was  the  funeral  pyre  of  the  red  man's  race, 
and  the  means,  dreadful,  often,  but  certain,  of  the  white  man's 
ascendancy.  But  whatever  wrongs  there  may  have  been,  the 
unrequited  seizure  of  their  inheritance  was  not  among  them. 


32  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

» 

Although  Springfield  was  the  homestead,  yet  West  Spring- 
field seems  to  have  early  become,  and  even  until  between  1810 
and  1820  it  continued  to  be,  the  leading  town — the  largest  in 
population  in  the  old  County  of  Hampshire,  which  included  the 
area  now  divided  into  the  three  river  counties,  Springfield, 
Northampton  and  Hadley  ;  and,  in  fact,  in  1662  the  whole  west- 
ern part  of  the  State.  I  have  not  the  statistics  previous  to 
1695.  At  that  time  West  Springfield  had  two  hundred  inhab- 
itants in  thirty-two  families.  In  1756,  in  the  March  of  which 
year  Dr.  Lathrop  commenced  his  pastorate  of  sixty-five  years' 
continuance,  the  population  was  between  500  and  600,  i.  e.,  it 
had  a  little  more  than  doubled  in  about  sixty  years.  But  the 
following  comparison  may  surprise  you.  In  1790,  West  Spring- 
field had  a  population  of  2,367  ;  an  increase  of  four-fold  in 
about  thirty-four  years.  Westfield  had  2,204;  Conway,  2,290  ; 
Northampton,  1,628,  and  Springfield  1,574,  the  smallest  of  all. 
West  Springfield  was  the  largest,  and  exceeded  Springfield  by 
about  800.  This  explains  the  prominence  which  West  Spring- 
field held,  not  only  in  this  region  but  throughout  the  Common- 
wealth. It  was  the  leading  town  in  Western  Massachusetts, 
and  hence  its  historical  influence.  The  census  of  1810  showed 
it  to  be  still  in  advance  by  400.  But  fifty  or  sixty  years  have 
wrought  a  great  change.  In  1870  the  tables  are  turned.  West 
Springfield  had  in  that  year  2,606  inhabitants  ;  Westfield,  6,679  5 
and  Springfield,  26,703.  This  was  owing  to  obvious  causes. 
Springfield  was,  from  the  first,  the  trading  centre,  which  nat- 
urally concentrates  population  ;  and  West  Springfield  was  a 
farming  district,  which  implies  a  sparse  settlement.  The 
Armory,  established  in  1794,  also  brought  operatives  together; 
and  then  the  railroads  since  1839  ^^ve  made  it  the  centre  of  an 
immense  business.  Yet  the  preponderance  of  Springfield  was 
in  some  respects  more  apparent  than  real ;  for  if  we  bring  into 
the  calculation,  as  we  fairly  should,  the  inhabitants  of  Holyoke 
and  Agawam,  new  towns  formed  out  of  the  old,  we   shall  find  a 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  33 

population  covering  the  ancient  territory  of  West  Springfield, 
not  so  very  far  behind  that  of  Springfield  in  numbers. 

The  first  parish  of  West  Springfield  was  constituted  the  27th 
of  May,  1696,  and  the  first  church  was  organized  in  June,  1698, 
about  sixty  years  after  the  settlement  of  the  place.  Two  things 
seem  to  be  implied  in  this  statement :  First,  that  with  Puritan 
piety,  their  religious  organization  was  first  attended  to,  as  it 
preceded  the  incorporation  of  the  town  by  nearly  eighty  years  ; 
and  secondly,  that  before  that  time  the}^  were  accustomed  to 
cross  the  river  to  worship  in  Springfield,  which  was  regarded 
as  the  home.  The  application  to  the  General  Court  at  Boston, 
to  authorize  them  to  form  a  separate  parish,  brings  this  latter 
fact  very  strongly  to  light.  It  enlarges  upon  the  inconvenience 
and  danger  to  which  they  were  subjected  by  being  obliged  to 
cross  the  river,  and  the  General  Court,  with  commendable  cau- 
tion, and  in  the  quaint  phraseology  of  the  day,  resolved  to  nom- 
inate "indifferent  men,"  who  should  adjudicate  and  settle  the 
matter. 

The  oldest  burying-ground  is  said  to  have  been  given  to  the 
parish  by  a  Mr.  Foster.  The  oldest  grave-stones  found  there 
are  dated  in  171 1  and  1712;  but  there  must  have  been  many 
interments  previous  to  that  time  in  the  ground  in  Springfield, 
which  must  have  the  oldest  burying-place,  and  the  oldest  mon- 
uments, probably,  in  all  Western  Massachusetts. 

The  first  meeting-house  was  occupied  in  1702.  It  was  lo- 
cated on  the  Common,  near  where  the  new  Park  Street  meeting- 
house now  stands,  and  almost  in  front  of  this  new  Town  House. 
It  was  forty-two  feet  square  by  ninety-two  feet  high,  in  humble 
imitation,  one  might  think,  of  the  tower  of  Babel,  and  well 
calculated  to  cause  a  shudder  in  all  lovers  of  elegant,  architec- 
tural proportions.  It  had  three  roofs,  going  up  to  a  point,  and 
doors  on  three  sides.  There  the  people  met  each  Sabbath  and 
on  public  days,  for  just  one  hundred  years ;  for  about  forty 
years  by  sound  of  drum.  In  1743,  a  bell  was  procured,  which 
5 


34  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

was  once  recast,  and  on  the  opening  of  the  n-ew  meeting-house 
was  placed  in  its  steeple.  The  first  minister  was  Rev.  Mr. 
Woodbridge ;  the  second,  Mr.  Hopkins;  both  able  and  popular 
men  in  their  day,  and  both  bearing  names  that  in  succeeding 
generations  have  been  conspicuous  and  honored  in  the  theologi- 
cal and  educational  annals  of  New  England.  From  the  un- 
gainly pulpit  of  that  ungainly  house  they  preached  the  Word  with 
all  fidelity ;  Mr.  Woodbridge  for  twenty,  and  Mr.  Hopkins  for 
thirty-five  years ;  and  from  it,  also,  were  delivered  by  Dr.  Lathrop 
many  model  sermons,  among  the  most  sensible  and  excellent 
in  matter,  singularly  clear  and  simple  in  arrangement,  and  clas- 
sical in  style,  ever  preached  in  New  England,  as  his  published 
volumes  attest.  No  man  of  his  day,  probably,  wrote  as  many 
and  as  good  sermons  as  he.  He  was  said  to  have  written  5,000  ; 
thus  proving  that  that  farming  community  was  not  so  rude  and 
unlettered  that  their  minister  lacked  stimulus  for  study  and  ex- 
ertion ;  it  has  ever  been  thus  in  West  Springfield ;  and  show- 
ing also  that  he  was  not  so  sluggish  as  to  allow  his  position  to 
tempt  him  to  indolence  in  his  '"great  work.  Indeed,  in  mind,  in 
industry,  in  influence,  and  success,  he  was  one  of  the  foremost 
men  in  the  land.  Not  more  diligently  did  the  people  cultivate 
their  fields  than  he  his  spiritual  charge,  which  by  such  hus- 
bandry became  "  a  field  which  the  Lord  hath  blessed."  Be- 
sides the  volumes  given  to  the  press,  he  left  large  stores  of  man- 
uscript sermons,  which,  for  years  after,  were  accustomed,  in  the 
absence  of  their  minister,  to  be  read  by  his  son  at  deacons' 
meetings,  and  always  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  old  people,  who 
seemed  by  the  reader  and  the  sermon  to  be  carried  back  to  the 
days  when  the  venerable  man  himself  stood  before  them.  I 
always  felt  quite  comfortable,  when  necessarily  absent,  in  the 
assurance  that  the  people  would  not  lose  by  a  deacons'  meet- 
ing and  a  good  sermon  from  Dr.  Lathrop's  pile;  and  I  am  not 
certain  the  people  did  not  sometimes  have  the  same  feeling. 
The   singular  old  structure,  in  time    became  so  dilapidated 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  35 

that  the  winds  and  the  rain  had  free  entrance  and  exit.  It  is 
said,  that  at  a  public  meeting  the  rain  came  down  so  abundantly 
that  a  member  proposed  they  should  adjourn  under  the  trees  for 
shelter.  And  if  a  pleasant  satirical  poem,  by  Dr.  Lathrop,  was 
to  be  literally  interpreted,  the  geese  and  the  cattle  found  com- 
fortable quarters  during  the  week,  where  the  Christians  wor- 
shiped on  the  Sabbath.  A  copy  of  this  poem  was  given  to 
me  by  the  late  'Squire  Samuel  Lathrop,  and  the  good-humored 
ridicule  seemed  to  have  had  a  happy  effect.  But  diversity  of 
views  and  wishes  as  to  its  location,  prevented  the  building  of  a 
new  meeting-house  for  a  long  time,  and  somewhat  endangered 
the  peace  of  the  Society.  The  controversy  was  at  length  com- 
posed by  the  wise  agency  of  Dr.  Lathrop,  and  by  the  gift  of  Mr. 
John  Ashley,  which  now  forms  the  Parish  fund,  and  was  be- 
stowed on  the  conditions  that  all  parties  would  agree  to  the  loca- 
tion he  should  select,  and  that  the  meeting-house  should  remain 
there  for  a  hundred  years.  It  was  opened  in  1802,  and  has  en- 
dured for  seventy-two  of  the  prescribed  term  of  years.  Thus 
came  the  church  on  the  hill,  which  became  thenceforth  the  Hill 
of  Zion  and  the  hill  of  peace.  The  building  contract  was  for 
^1,400  and  ten  gallons  of  good  rum  !  The  pews  were  occupied 
by  families  according  to  the  arrangement  of  what  was  called  a 
Seating  Committee ;  the  aged  persons  having  the  preference, 
and  being  advanced  towards  the  pulpit.  A  mark  of  respect, 
and  perhaps,  also,  a  gentle  reminder  that  they  were  getting  on 
in  years,  and  needed  to  pay  particular  attention  to  the  words  of 
the  preacher.  A  lot  in  Agawam  meadows  is  still  known  as  the 
"  Seatin  lot,"  from  the  fact  that  the  committee,  while  resting 
from  their  work  at  noon,  (beavering,  I  think  they  call  it,)  gath- 
ered under  the  elms  and  seated  the  meeting-house.  A  very 
primitive  and  even  Old  Testament  mode  of  doing  business  ! 
The  seats  were  free  ;  but  every  one  was  taxed  for  the  support 
of  the  standing  order,  unless  he  signed  off;  i.  e.,  declared  him- 
self to  be  a  member  of  some  other  society,  to  which  he  paid 


36  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

taxes.  (This  law  was  altered  or  annulled,  I  think,  while  I  was 
settled  here.)  The  standing  order  was  the  Congregational :  ex- 
clusive of  the  Episcopalians,  Baptists  and  Methodists.  More- 
over a  fine  was  imposed  upon  such  as  absented  themselves  for  a 
certain  time  from  the  regular  Sabbath  services,  and  hence  the 
remark,  that  one  went  to  meeting  often  enough  to  save  his  fine. 
These  and  like  practices,  and  the  fact  that  the  authorizing  and 
bounding  of  parishes,  i.  e.,  in  reality  the  establishment  of 
churches  was  a  prerogative  of  the  General  Court,  show  how 
strong  a  hold  the  ideas  and  ways  of  England  still  kept  over  the 
minds  of  the  colonists.  Nor  need  it  create  surprise.  Men  do 
not,  at  a  bound,  reach  the  goal  of  final  right  on  any  subject,  and 
as  little' do  they  emancipate  themselves  in  a  moment  from  old 
ideas  and  customs.  The  truth  is  that  the  separate  spheres  of 
church  and  state,  and  real  "freedom  to  worship  God"  according 
to  the  dictates  of  one's  own  conscience,  were  principles  to  which 
no  party  of  the  Reformers  or  of  that  age  had  fully  attained. 
Not  the  estabhshed  church  of  England,  surely.  Not  the  Puri- 
tans, as  portions  of  their  history  show ;  nor  the  Presbyterians 
of  Scotland,  for  there  is  as  much  truth  as  sarcasm  in  Milton's 
words,  "  New  Presbyter  is  but  old  Priest  writ  large."  Those 
great  thoughts  grew  into  principles  and  usage  much  later,  after 
many  struggles  and  only  on  this  soil ;  nor  are  they  everywhere 
nor  yet  in  perfect  practical  operation,  even  among  ourselves. 

This  connection  prompts  me  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to 
the  ministry  of  early  New  England,  and  their  successors. 
The  ministers  were,  as  a  general  thing,  men  of  decided  ability, 
or  they  could  not  have  stood  foremost  in  the  great  enterprise  in 
hand  ;  men  of  learning,  and  many  of  them  of  superior  culture. 
They  had  received  all  the  training  the  Universities  could  give ; 
had  taken  the  several  degrees  which  attested  their  proficiency, 
and  had  had  regular  ordination,  and  some  of  them  held  promi- 
nent places  in  the  church  of  England  before  they  broke  from  its 
fold  and  came  to  the  New  World.     As  far  then,  as  they  were 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  3/ 

leaders,  and  no  other  class  was  so  much  so,  the  Puritans  were 
not  led,  nor  was  New  England  settled,  by  a  rabble  of  vulgar, 
ignorant  fanatics,  while  the  great  sentiment  which  guided  their 
course  naturally  ennobled  them  and  their  deeds.  Rehgion  was 
the  motive  power,  and  not  commercial  gain,  A  marvelous  in- 
tensity of  religious  convictions,  which  in  our  day  we  can  scarcely 
understand,  and  regard  perhaps  as  only  a  strange  scrupulosity 
about  matters  indifferent  and  trivial ;  these  religious  convic- 
tions, which  could  not  be  quelled,  and  would  brook  no  compro- 
mise, God  infused  into  their  souls,  to  impel  them  to  break  the 
strong  ties  of  kindred  and  country,  to  tempt  the  ocean  in  mis- 
erable ships,  and  to  plant  themselves  on  the  edge  of  a  wilderness 
behind  which  stretched  out  a  vast  continent,  on  whose  very 
borders,  even  at  their  entrance,  they  seemed  to  hear  the  com- 
mand that  they  should  go  up  upon  the  length  and  the  breadth 
of  the  land  to  possess  it.  One  spirit  animated  pastors  and  peo- 
ple. No  colonists,  of  whom  history  gives  us  any  record,  were 
ever  impelled  by  such  a  spirit,  and  guided  by  such  leaders. 
With  their  piety  the  ministers  brought  their  learning  ;  their 
trained  habits  of  thinking,  and  of  careful  preparation  for  their 
duties.  With  their  learning  they  brought  their  books  ;  in  some 
instances,  libraries  containing  volumes  of  profound  research  and 
rare  value — the  best  erudition  of  the  age.  Education  was  a 
necessity  of  State.  An  educated  ministry  was  one  of  the  stones 
laid  at  the  very  foundation  of  the  edifice  they  reared.  To  pro- 
vide for  this  object,  and  for  the  education  of  their  children,  was 
Harvard  College  founded  as  soon  as  possible,  and  ever  since, 
education  has  been  a  cardinal  point,  a  glory  of  New  England, 
and  an  educated  ministry  indispensable. 

But  they  were  not  a  morose  class,  although  the  position  and 
work  of  the  first  generation  might  well  make  them  very  serious. 
We  smile,  indeed,  to  read  of  the  set,  and  very  formal,  solemn 
manners  which  existed,  for  example,  in  President  Edwards'  fam- 
ily.    Such  formality  and  precision,  it  is  true,  were  quite  com- 


38  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

mon  ;  the  virtue  of  reverence  was  inculcated  upon  the  young 
with  great  care:  but  these  manners  did  not  eradicate  human 
nature;  rather  they  raised  and  refined  it ;  while  the  humor,  the 
anecdotes  we  read  of,  the  pleasantry,  the  wit  which  abounded 
in  the  social  intercourse  of  many  of  the  old  ministers,  prove 
that  their  real  piety  was  not  an  enemy  to  domestic  and  social 
enjoyment  ;  that  a  timely  laugh,  and  even  a  joke,  were  not  the 
unpardonable  sin.  "  A  large,  roundabout  common  sense  "  was 
conspicuous  in  their  ways.  There  was  a  large  infusion  of  this 
element,  combined  with  great  vivacity  of  spirit,  that  relieved 
the  strength  and  dignity  of  his  character  in  Dr.  Lathrop. 
Many  stories  of  his  genial  humor  and  keen,  ready  wit,  circulate 
in  the  parish  to  this  day.  His  physical  and  moral  proportions 
seemed  in  happy  accord. 

They  employed  the  press  freely,  and  by  that  means  supplied 
very  useful  reading  to  the  people  in  the  scantiness  or  absolute 
want  of  reading  matter  from  other  sources;  for  as  yet  reading 
rooms  were  unknown,  bookstores  rare,  and  newspapers  very 
few.  True  they  wrote  and  published  chiefly  upon  theological 
themes  ;  they  were  the  absorbing  topic,  and  imbued  the  com- 
munity with  principles  and  kept  them  thinking.  And  this  ac- 
counts perhaps,  in  a  measure,  for  the  noticeable  cast  of  the  New 
England  mind,  even  yet  ;  its  tendency  to  discussion  ;  to  moral, 
political,  metaphysical,  religious  and  irreligious  speculations. 
The  Mathers  ;  Shepherd,  of  whose  writings  I  have  in  my  library 
two  ancient  volumes,  one  published  in  London  in  1655,  the  other 
in  1659;  Stoddard;  and  of  the  generations  following,  Edwards, 
Bellamy,  Hopkins,  Dwight,  Lathrop, — these  were  a  few  of  the 
men  whose  work  exerted  a  powerful  influence  in  their  own  day, 
and  live  and  are  likely  to  live  in  coming  times.  This  particular 
region  was  eminently  favored  with  such  ministers  and  writers, 
as  also  with  religious  light  and  revivals  promoted  by  their  min- 
istry. "The  great  awakening"  began  and  prevailed  along  this 
valjey. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  39 

These  men  as  a  general  thing  were  not  indeed  elegant  orators. 
Very  few  of  them,  probably,  would  have  been  chosen  professors 
of  elocution  in  our  colleges.  Some  specimens  -of  most  godly 
men,  of  this  class,  I  have  known,  were  about  as  far  from  elo- 
quence, in  the  popular  idea  of  the  word,  as  could  well  be  conceived. 
And  many  manuscripts  I  have  seen  of  Dr.  Lathrop's  sermons, 
and  of  others,  written  on  the  smallest  sized  paper,  in  a  very  fine 
character,  and  very  close  lines,  (as  if  paper  was  very  scarce,) 
would  defy  all  efforts  at  free  reading,  not  to  speak  of  anything 
bordering  on  elocution.  But  the  people  were  in  sympathy  with 
their  spirit  and  their  thoughts,  and  wished  no  beautifully  em- 
broidered screen  interposed  between  them  and  the  truth  ;  they 
were  willing  its  light  and  its  heat  should  come,  without  softening 
its  rays,  directly  to  their  consciences  and  hearts.  Their  minis- 
ters, again,  were  always  abreast  of  their  age,  and  often  in  advance 
of  it  in  wise  progress,  and  beyond  denial  they  were  a  political 
as  well  as  a  religious  power.  But  rash  experiments  in  govern- 
ment ;  abrupt  and  radical  upturning  in  policy  ;  change  for  the 
sake  of  change ;  endless  reforms  with  no  time  for  the  edifice  to 
settle  on  its  foundation ;  the  shaking  up  of  the  commonwealth 
that  the  dregs  might  come  to  the  top,  such  things  they  neither 
preached  nor  favored.  Yet  here,  as  all  over  the  land,  the  revo- 
lution met  the  cordial  support  of  the  clergy ;  as  more  recently 
the  clergy  of  the  country  were  almost  unanimously  on  the  side 
of  the  government  in  our  sad  civil  war,  because  they  felt  the 
righteousness  of  the  cause.  If  then  your  social  and  political 
heritage  is  to  be  prized  beyond  that  of  other  lands,  let  this  town, 
let  New  England,  let  the  whole  country  never  forget  their  obli- 
gations to  the  Christian  ministry  in  the  seed-time  of  their  State. 
And  if  infidelity  should  sneer  and  communism  scoff  at  priestly 
politicians  and  claim  to  devise  a  system  better  than  our  own  ; 
to  rear  a  temple  of  civil  freedom  without  a  religion  and  without 
a  God  ;  to  establish  a  community  with  no  law  but  the  unchecked 
impulse  of   raving  passion,    without  personal  purity,  domestic 


40  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

order,  social  morality  ;  we  may  boldly  reply  that  but  for  such 
agency  as  the  Christian  religion  and  its  ministers  exerted  in  our 
history,  we  might  have  had  a  French  revolution  but  no  United 
States.  Nor  can  our  blessings  be  secured  against  these  and  all 
enemies  in  time  to  come,  excepting  upon  the  same  condition 
and  at  the  same  price  of  eternal  vigilance.  The  ambition  for 
place  and  power  ;  the  dreadful  relaxation  of  moral  bonds  ;  pecu- 
lations and  frauds  ;  admonish  us  that  even  now  we  need  a  new 
enforcement  of  the  like  agencies.  Our  morality  wanes  under 
the  power  of  a  cold,  calculating,  selfish  worldliness. 

As  Springfield  was  in  the  beginning  the  centre  of  the  whole 
settlement,  the  new  parishes  formed  on  this  side,  before  West 
Springfield  was  incorporated,  were  styled  parishes  of  Springfield. 
Thus  Agawam  (the  only  portion  of  the  original  domain  that 
retains  the  Indian  name)  was  made  a  distinct  parish  in  1737,  in- 
cluding what  in  1800  was  constituted  into  the  parish  of  Feeding 
Hills,  and  was  the  sixth  parish  of  Springfield  ;  afterwards  the 
second  of  West  Springfield.  Ireland  parish,  so  named  from  the 
unusual  circumstance  that  a  few  Irish  families  were  located  there, 
was  first  united  with  settlers  on  the  east  side  in  1750,  and  formed 
into  the  fifth  parish  of  Springfield,  afterwards  the  third  of  West 
Springfield.  Of  ministers  living  I  shall  speak  of  no  others  than 
my  predecessor  and  friend.  Dr.  Sprague,  who  through  his  long 
pastorates  here  and  in  Albany,  has  maintained  a  popularity 
equalled  by  few  and  excelled  by  none ;  whose  literary  labors 
have  been  extensive  and  valuable,  and  who,  in  retired  age,  still 
gathers  around  him  the  respect  and  affections  of  very  many 
friends — the  reward  of  a  consistent  and  useful  life. 

I  told  you  at  the  outset  that  the  religious  and  civil  histories 
were  so  intertwined  as  hardly  to  be  separable.  They  are  the 
one  history  of  the  one  people.  The  charter  for  a  separate  town 
was  granted  by  the  General  Court  in  1773-4,  120  years  from  the 
permanent  settlement  at  Chicopee  Plains,  and  yS  after  the  or- 
ganization of  the  first  parish.     I  say  the  charter  was  granted 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  4 1 

but  in  reality  it  was  imposed.  For  it  seems  that  the  application 
for  a  separate  township  came  not  from  West  Springfield,  but 
from  Springfield,  and  was  carried  against  the  earnest  remon- 
strances of  those  who  were  to  constitute  the  new  town.  The 
cause  of  this  singular  procedure,  why  the  people  of  Spring- 
field should  thus  seek  separation  from  their  neighbors,  is  not 
known.  But  the  fact  to  which  I  have  referred,  that  West 
Springfield  about  that  time  was,  or  was  becoming,  the  more 
populous  and  controlling  place,  may  afford  a  clue  to  the  mys- 
tery. If  so,  Springfield  disliked  to  be  ruled,  and  must  have 
been  ambitious  to  have  its  own  way  ;  and  then  it  must  follow 
that  West  Springfield  liked  to  rule,  and  was  not  ready  to  part 
with  authority.  Simple  human  nature  in  both  !  The  limits  of 
the  town  thus  incorporated  were  fourteen  miles  in  length  by 
four  in  width.  Now  they  are  about  six  miles  in  length  and  four 
in  breadth.  It  became  a  town  in  troublous  times.  The  con- 
troversy between  the  mother  country  and  the  colonies,  the  main 
point  of  which  was  the  claim  of  the  colonists  that  representa- 
tion should  go  along  with  taxation,  was  reaching  its  crisis.  In 
1774  the  clouds  had  already  darkened  the  sky  ;  the  thunder  had 
been  heard  to  mutter  in  the  distance  ;  the  storm  came,  and  in 
1776  the  Declaration  of  Independence  ended  forever  the  author- 
ity of  Great  Britain  over  these  States,  and  created  a  new  star 
in  the  constellation  of  nations,  destined  ere  a  century  should 
have  rolled  away  to  rise  upward  in  the  firmament  and  shed  its 
influence  for  good  over  all  the  rest, — over  the  civilized  world. 
We  are  beginning  to  realize  the  import  of  that  act,  and  the 
world  begins  to  realize  it  also.  It  was  not  for  ourselves  alone. 
It  was  one  of  those  grand  events,  arranged  by  a  superintending 
Providence,  both  to  indicate  and  to  advance  the  world's  prog- 
ress. Through  its  working  among  the  nations,  thrones  have 
been  cast  down,  and  power  has  been  given  to  the  people  against 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  oppression. 

It  was  a  thing  to  be  expected,  that  some  internal  commotions 
6 


42  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

should  appear  before  the  political  sea  could  rock  itself  to  rest. 
Shay's  insurrection  in  1786  broke  out  in  this  region,  and  West 
Springfield  was,  in  part,  the  theatre  of  operations,  a  large  force 
of  the  insurgents  being  collected  here  under  Luke  Day,  who 
gave  the  most  complete  description  of  a  demagogue  I  have  ever 
heard  :  "  I  will  do  as  I  please,  and  other  people  must  do  as  I 
say."  The  insurrection  arose,  it  is  said,  because  of  the  oppres- 
sive debts  contracted  by  individuals  and  the  State  during  the 
Revolution,  and  chiefly,  as  we  may  suppose,  from  the  deprecia- 
tion of  values  caused  by  the  unredeemable  paper  currency,  the 
old  Continental  money.  It  was  soon  and  easily  suppressed  ; 
but  the  cause  may  teach  a  valuable  lesson  to  legislators  con- 
cerning the  demoralizing  and  dangerous  effects  of  an  irredeem- 
able currency  and  financial  derangements.  To  compare  great 
things  with  small,  the  French  revolution  and  Shay's  insurrec- 
tion may  be  cited  as  cases  in  point. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  to  the  town  and  the  State, 
after  the  giving  of  the  charter,  was  the  erection  of  the  bridge 
in  1805  by  a  corporate  company.  The  sermon  by  Dr.  Lathrop 
to  which  I  have  alluded,  a  great  literary  curiosity,  has  this  title- 
page :  "A  Discourse  delivered  at  Springfield,  October  30,  1805, 
on  occasion  of  the  completion  and  opening  of  the  great  Bridge 
over  Connecticut  River,  between  the  towns  of  Springfield  and 
West  Springfield,  By  Joseph  Lathrop,  D,  D.,  Pastor  of  the 
first  Church  in  West  Springfield.  Second  Edition,  H.  Brewer, 
Printer,  Mass."  The  text  was  from  Isaiah  xlv.  18, — "God  him- 
self, that  formed  the  earth  and  made  it,  he  created  it  not  in 
vain  :  he  formed  it  to  be  inhabited."  How  apt !  Conceive 
some  ancient  prophet  announcing  that  sublime  text  to  the  Pil- 
grims on  Plymouth  Rock !  The  Scripture  the  text,  their  his- 
tory to  be  the  sermon  !  The  discourse,  which  displays  great 
ingenuity,  is  a  sort  of  passage-way  for  pertinent  thoughts  from 
the  most  widely  separated  regions,  as  the  bridge  itself  collects 
and  conveys  commodities   from  the  extreme  parts  of  the  land. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  43 

The  lessons  inculcated  are  exceedingly  appropriate.  The  inter- 
course between  the  people  on  the  opposite  sides  of  the  river  for 
150  years  had  been  by  boats.  We  may  imagine  what  a  won- 
derful revolution  the  bridge  must  have  made  in  the  social  and 
business  relations  of  the  whole  country, — as  great,  for  that  day, 
as  the  opening  of  the  railroad  bridge  more  recently, — affording 
a  perfect  justification  of  the  religious  mode  of  '^improving'  the 
great  occasion,  as  the  phrase  is,  which  never  made  the  bridge 
less  firm  and  safe,  nor  more  sightly.  It  was  for  many. years  a 
toll  bridge,  but  is  now  free  and  but  one  of  several. 

The  building  of  the  town-house  on  the  Common,  in  1820,  was 
another  prominent  public  event.  And  one  fact  of  interest  in 
connection  with  it  is,  that  portions  of  the  first  meeting-house, 
which  had  stood  for  120  years,  and  was  used  for  public  meetings 
after  the  meeting-house  on  the  hill  was  opened,  were  placed  in 
this  edifice.  Beams  and  rafters  that  had  grown  up  into  stately 
trees  while  the  Indian  was  yet  monarch  and  the  white  man  had 
not  trodden  the  soil ;  which  then  for  one  hundred  years  re- 
sponded to  hymns  and  sermons  ;  and  then,  for  fifty  years  more, 
have  reverberated  with  parochial  and  town-meeting  eloquence. 
How  interesting  would  it  have  been  if  they  could  have  been 
identified  and  placed  in  this  new  and  commodious  town-house 
you  dedicate  to-day.  What  a  connecting  link  between  savage 
and  civilized  life  !  What  tallies  notched  with  the  chief  events 
of  the  settlement!  What  tales  of  solemn  import;  of  quaint 
manners  and  earnest  words  and  deeds  ;  of  the  flight  of  years 
and  the  flow  of  human  generations,  would  they  tell  into  our 
ears ! 

But  other  interesting  antiquities  there  are.  Mr.  Aaron  Day's 
house  on  the  Common  is  120  years  old,  and  near  it  is  said  to  be 
a  subterranean  passage  constructed  as  an  escape  from  the  In- 
dians. Mr.  Richard  Baggs'  house  in  Shad  Lane  is  of  an  un- 
known age,  but  very  ancient.  The  grand  old  trees  are  also  a 
striking   feature   in  the  appearance  of  the  town.     The  elms  in 


44  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Ramapogue  street,  dug  at  Baber's  swamp  in  Tatham,  were  set 
out  by  Lewis  and  Ebenezer  Day  and  John  Ely  over  one  hundred 
years  ago.  Darius  Ely  set  out  the  large  button-woods  in  Joseph 
Morgan's  yard  in  1782.  And  if  Dr.  Johnson's  remark  was  just, 
that  the  man  who  makes  a  tree  to  grow  where  there  is  none  is 
a  public  benefactor,  their  names  deserve  honorable  mention. 
But  the  monarch  of  all  is  the  "big  elm"  in  Shad  Lane  ;  so  called 
because  the  men  living  there  were  all  engaged  in  the  shad  fish- 
ery, and  hence  it  received  the  most  business-like,  but  least 
euphonious  or  pleasing,  of  all  the  names  in  the  town.  That 
district,  near  the  bridge,  has  now  become  a  dense  settlement  of 
operatives  in  Springfield  ;  and  the  aspect  of  the  place  is  under- 
going such  changes  that  soon,  I  fear,  the  once  rural  Paradise 
will  cease  to  be  "the  loveliest  village  of  the  plain."  The  Big 
Elm,  as  'Squire  Heman  Day  told  me,  was  brought  on  his  shoul- 
ders from  the  Agawam  meadows  and  planted  there  on  his  21st 
birthday.  Three  feet  above  the  ground  it  is  24J  feet  in  circum- 
ference, and  its  branches  shade  about  half  an  acre.  Planted 
there  in  1776,  it  is  about  the  same  age  as  the  town.  It  is  just 
as  old  as  our  national  government,  and  a  beautiful  emblem  of 
that  tree  of  liberty  that  has  struck  deep  its  roots  into  the  earth, 
whose  trunk  has  stood  firm  and  majestic  amidst  all  the  storms 
it  has  endured,  and  whose  spreading  branches  cast  a  healthful 
shade  over  the  entire  continent.  "  The  hills  are  covered  with 
the  shadow  of  it,  and  the  boughs  thereof  are  like  the  goodly 
cedars.  She  sends  out  her  boughs  unto  the  seas  and  her 
branches  unto  the  rivers," 

For  nearly  three  quarters  of  a  century,  the  town  experienced 
few  changes.  The  people  met  on  the  Sabbath  in  devout  wor- 
ship, and  at  stated  times  to  transact  parochial  and  town  busi- 
ness, and  elect  delegates  to  the  General  Court  and  to  Congress. 
And  thus,  and  in  industrial  pursuits,  the  years  flowed  on.  The 
grave-yards  gathered  the  generations  into  their  silent  domains, 
and  sons  took  the  places  of  their  sires.     It  was  so  in  part.     But 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  45 

from  a  desire  to  escape  the  quietude  and  plunge  into  more  ex- 
citing scenes  ;  from  natural  ambition  to  better  their  circum- 
stances, and  still  more  from  that  restless  spirit  which  has 
impelled  the  race  onward  and  still  onward,  to  cover  the  whole 
continent  and  possess  its  wealth,  the  young  men  very  com- 
monly left  the  old  homes,  to  people  the  receding  West.  Yet  it 
was  not  a  "  sleepy  hollow,"  where  life  was  sunk  in  lethargy. 
They  were  intelligent  as  well  as  industrious,  and  kept  informed 
of  what  was  going  on  in  the  world.  There  was  an  unusual 
number  of  college-bred  men  here  in  my  day,  and  I  doubt 
whether  any  community  of  the  size,  was  more  regardful  of  the 
education  of  the  young,  or  sent  to  the  colleges  more  young  men 
than  West  Springfield  ;  the  lists  comprising  many  of  different 
professions,  and  the  record  of  the  town  in  this  respect  being 
most  honorable. 

Within  the  last  twenty-five  or  thirty  years,  however,  the  state 
of  things  has  greatly  altered.  Although  the  soil  was  adapted  to 
farming,  there  were,  all  over  the  surrounding  region,  and  within 
the  town  itself,  vast  capabilities  for  manufacturing  purposes, 
which  have  been  utilized,  and  have  wrought  extensive  changes, 
not  only  in  the  occupations  and  habits  of  the  people,  but  to  a 
large  degree  also  in  the  appearance  of  the  town  and  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Springfield,  nearly  up  to  1840,  had  the  char- 
acter of  a  pleasant  inland  country  town  of  quite  moderate  size, 
chiefly  occupying  a  district  of  perhaps  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  or  a 
little  more  in  circuit,  from  the  first  meeting-house  as  the  centre. 
"  A  few  stores  on  the  main  street  were  frequented  by  the  inhabi- 
tants, and  the  people  from  the  country.  There  were  two 
churches  so  far  as  my  recollection  goes,  possibly  three,  some 
very  sightly  dwellings  on  the  hills,  Ames'  Paper  Factory,  the 
Armory,  probably  one  quarter  of  its  present  extent,  and  there 
were  less  than  10,000  inhabitants.  The  principal  hotel  was  at  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Court  streets,  whence  stages  started  at  set 
times  up  and  down  the  river,  and  east  and  west,  delivering  their 


46  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

passengers,  wearied  and  worn,  at  Albany  or  Boston,  in,  it  may 
be,  twenty  hours.  I  have  left  West  Springfield  at  midnight,  to 
take  the  morning  boat  at  Hartford  for  New  York,  arriving 
there  in  the  evening,  with  great  boasting  at  the  wonderfully 
rapid  transit  from  Springfield  to  New  York  in  a  day.  But  how 
has  Springfield  enlarged  the  place  of  her  tent,  and  stretched 
abroad  the  curtains  of  her  habitations.  It  has  now  a  popula- 
tion, I  suppose,  of  about  30,000,  churches  numerous  and  costly, 
elegant  residences  and  capacious  stores  of  all  kinds,  a  fine  pub- 
lic library,  several  able  and  influential  newspapers,  long  ranges 
of  streets,  alive  with  busy  crowds  ;  is  the  radiating  centre  of 
railroads,  north  and  south,  and  east  and  west,  over  which  are 
annually  carried  millions  of  freight,  and  myriads  of  travelers, 
showing  in  a  very  striking  manner  the  material  prosperity,  and 
the  moving,  bustling  energy  of  American  life. 

Cabot  was  a  small  village,  now  the  seat  of  large  factories,  and 
the  home  of  a  large  manufacturing  community.  And  so  of  the 
Hadleys. 

But  on  this  western  side  the  progress  has  not  been  less  sur- 
prising. Holyoke,  formerly  the  Ireland  Parish,  at  the  north  end 
of  the  town,  has,  within  a  year,  become  a  manufacturing  city, 
with  14,000  inhabitants,  and  its  valuation  has  increased  from 
$2,^74,S66  in  1863,  to  ^8,578,192  in  1873.  Mills  and  machine 
shops  are  various  and  very  extensive.  Its  water  works  from  Ash- 
ley's pond  cost  ^250,000;  its  free  bridge  nearly  ^150,000,  It 
has  nine  churches,  eleven  school-houses,  and  land  has  risen 
in  some  localities  over  200  per  cent,  in  five  years.  About 
7,000,000  of  pressed  brick  are  made  there  annually. 

At  the  north  end  of  modern  West  Springfield,  Mr.  Clark  has 
a  flourishing  carriage  factory,  which  reminds  me  to  say,  that  the 
first  wagon  known  in  the  town,  was  without  springs,  and  owned 
in  Amostown.  Whoever  has  suffered  by  such  a  conveyance 
over  a  rough  road,  and  then  has  tried  Mr.  Clark's  carriage,  and 
then  a   drawing-room    car  over  a   smooth  rail,  mjast  be  well 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  47 

drilled  in  the  degrees  of  comparison  :  positive,  misery;  compar- 
ative, comfort ;  superlative,  enjoyment.  Yet  the  primitive 
method  of  going  to  meeting  on  horseback,  the  women  on  a  pil- 
lion, could  hardly  have  equaled  the  springless  wagon  in  comfort. 
The  water  power  of  the  Agawam  has  also  been  turned  to 
good  account.  Mittineaque,  begun  in  1844,  contains  900  inhab- 
itants, being  one-third  of  the  whole  town,  a  Congregational  and 
a  Catholic  church,  and  four  large  schools,  a  cotton  mill,  employ- 
ing about  300  hands,  three  paper  mills,  manufacturing  in  the 
aggregate  five  tons  daily ;  all  grown  up  on  the  spot,  which,  in 
my  time  was  as  wild  and  unreclaimed  as  when  the  savage 
hunted  its  forests,  or  shot  his  canoe  across  its  waters.  Mr, 
Sewall  White,  who  overflowed  with  curious  and  antique  lore, 
was  accustomed  to  relate  a  tale,  not  all  invented,  probably,  but 
received  by  the  early  settlers  from  current  tradition  ;  a  legend 
of  Indian  love  which  had  its  seat  at  Mittineaque.  Names  and 
minute  circumstances  have  perished  in  the  lapse  of  years.  But 
diverse  forms  of  life  are  really  not  so  opposite,  that  we  cannot 
in  one  condition  often  picture  to  ourselves  the  realities  of  an- 
other. We  may  conceive  the  Indian  beauty,  the  pride  of  her 
village,  and  the  Indian  brave,  her  favored  suitor,  and  follow  out 
a  story  which  needs  no  vivid  imagination  to  fill  up  its  details  of 
love  and  plighted  faith  ;  of  joys  and  fears  ;  of  desertion  and  jeal- 
ousy ;  of  frantic  passion  and  wild  despair;  the  "swift  waters" 
at  Mittineaque  closing  at  last  over  the  broken-hearted  pagan 
maiden.  We  do  not  often  recall  to  our  thoughts  the  truth,  that 
this  whole  continent  had  been  the  theatre,  upon  which,  ere  yet 
the  white  man  came,  great  nations  flourished,  and  the  drama  of 
life  was  enacted  in  its  twofold  forms,  both  tragedy  and  comedy ; 
that  here  were  homes  in  which  the  affections  and  sympathies  of 
human  hearts,  warm  and  tender  as  our  own,  conjugal  and  pater- 
nal and  filial  love  and  duty  played  their  part ;  and  that  here 
also,  human  passions  dwelt  in  savage  breasts,  and  were  excited  to 
deeds  of  grandeur  or  horror  ;  to  heroism  and  self-sacrifice  ;  to 


48  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

treachery  and  blood.  The  ground  on  which  we  tread  covers  a 
whole  people,  once  numerous  and  mighty,  of  whom  scarce  a 
vestige  remains.  Sometimes  the  names  imprinted  on  the  soil 
remind  us  that  they  were  here  ;  and  tradition,  fast  fading  into 
mist,  tells  what  they  were,  and  obscurely  what  they  thought,  and 
what  they  did.  The  air  seems  full  of  voices  of  the  past ;  of  ro- 
mance unstoried;  histories  untold  :  and  poetry  unsung.  Stream- 
lets and  groves  were  often  the  seats  of  a  mythology  as  beautiful 
and  imaginative  as  that  of  Greece,  and  the  deep  forests,  of  a  su- 
perstition as  stern  and  cruel  as  that  of  the  Druids.  And  many 
a  spot  over  which  we  heedlessly  wander,  has  been  the  scene  of 
sweet  home-bred  joys,  or  Spartan  fortitude,  or  more  than  Ro- 
man courage.  And  many  also,  could  the  earth  give  up  her  se- 
cret of  fearful  crimes,  of  desolated  homes  and  crushed  happiness. 
But  it  was  all  human  still.  And  there  was  a  religion  too.  The 
Great  Spirit  implied  the  idea  of  a  God ;  the  Northern  Dancers, 
immortality  ;  the  great  hunting  ground,  a  conscious,  active  being 
beyond  the  grave  ;  all,  no  doubt,  the  shattered  fragments  of  some 
very  ancient  tradition  brought  away,  probably,  from  the  early 
seats  of  the  human  family.  Could  the  red  man  have  held  the 
pen,  what  narratives  could  he  have  given  of  life  enacted  on  this 
very  soil,  to  show  how  human  nature  is  evermore  the  same  in 
its  elements,  and  how  truth  is  stranger  than  fiction.  But  the 
Indian  is  dispossessed,  and  from  the  homes  of  his  tribes,  and  the 
graves  of  his  fathers,  he  pursues  his  weary  journey  to  the  set- 
.ting  sun.  Soon  he  will  have  disappeared  forever  from  the  con- 
tinent that  once  was  his  ;  and  no  historian  or  poet  of  his  own 
will  ever  write  his  story,  or  chant  the  funeral  dirge  of  his  race. 
We  give  our  version,  not  always  perhaps  the  truth,  and  the 
term  savage  is  made  to  mean,  whatever  is  faithless  or  ferocious 
among  men.  But  have  you  ever  read  a  tale  of  savage  barbar- 
ity that  could  not  instantly  be  matched  by  one  of  civilized  and 
self-styled  Christian  men,  against  their  Christian  brothers  .''  often, 
too,  under  the  mask  of  religion.     And  oh  !  how  long  and  fearful 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  49 

the  catalogue  of  wrongs  of  civilized  men  against  the  poor  In- 
dian. 

But  while  we  thus  expend  our  sympathies,  we  may  be  re- 
minded that  the  Indian  was  but  a  modern  compared  with  na- 
tions, the  monuments  of  whose  civilization  and  power  excite 
our  wonder  and  baffle  our  curiosity.  All  over  the  continent, 
but  especially  through  its  central  regions,  their  works  remain 
more  skillful  and  imperishable  than  any  the  red  men  have  left, 
and  bearing  evidence  of  a  higher  degree  of  cultivation.  But 
when  and  whence  they  came,  and  who  and  what  they  were,  and 
how  they  perished,  what  oracle  will  proclaim  ?  How  strange 
that  in  this  newly  discovered  and  virgin  world  we  are  walking 
amidst  the  tombs  of  many  ages,  and  successive  races  of  men, 
who  here  grew  great  and  built  cities  and  have  left  evidences  of 
military  art  to  prove  their  title  to  man's  warlike  passion,  and 
their  Babel  towers  are  ruins,  and  the  builders  have  made  them- 
selves no  name  to  be  remembered.  Truly  "  Man  is  like  to 
vanity."  Over  this  vast  tomb  is  written,  "  Generation  goeth  and 
generation  cometh." 

The  glance  we  have  taken  at  the  changes  which  have  oc- 
curred in  this  town,  during  the  few  past  years,  is  full  of  inter- 
est. In  place  of  the  one  church,  we  find  eighteen  or  twenty, 
meaning,  as  we  hope,  that  religion  has  kept  pace  with  the  ad- 
vancement in  other  respects.  The  population  has  increased,  in 
the  last  half  of  the  century,  six  or  seven  fold.  Three  free 
bridges  and  two  railroad  bridges  span  the  river  in  place  of  one 
then  within  the  limits  of  the  town ;  and  all  around  this  rural 
centre,  the  throngs  of  operatives,  and  the  roar  of  machinery, 
and  the  bales  of  merchandise,  and  these  but  a  small  portion  of 
what  the  whole  State  produces,  seem  to  say  that  New  England 
will  soon  rival  Old  England  in  various  fabrics,  as  Pennsylvania 
threatens  to  do  with  iron.  But  education  in  this  favored  region 
has  advanced  in  like  proportion.  Round  Hill  at  Northampton, 
the  Female  Academy  at  South  Hadley,  the  Academies  at  East 
7 


50  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Hampton,  Wcstfield,  Wilbraham,  and  Amherst  College,  all  in 
this  vicinity,  and  all  created  within  the  present  century,  in  ad- 
dition to  a  full  supply  of  district  schools,  show  the  value  the 
people  set  on  education,  and  that  of  the  higher  order.  This, 
and  their  Puritan  principles,  have  given  them  their  pre-emi- 
nence. We  can  with  difficulty  estimate  the  advancement  in 
books,  apparatus,  school  accommodations  and  modes  of  instruc- 
tion at  the  present  day,  over  the  very  limited  means  of  educa- 
tion fifty,  or  even  twenty-five  years  ago.  And  the  discoveries 
and  improvements,  particularly  in  Natural  Science,  are  literally 
immeasurable.  Boys  and  girls  at  primary  schools  are  now  in- 
ducted into  learning  that  was  unknown  when  their  grandsires 
were  at  college. 

And  if  we  raise  our  eyes  from  this  immediate  vicinity,  to 
survey  the  whole  country,  what  wonders  fill  our  minds.  From 
a  narrow  strip  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  population  has  spread 
in  fifty  years  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  filling  all  the 
intermediate  space  with  States,  many  of  them  larger  than  sev- 
eral kingdoms  of  the  Old  World.  They  have  over-leaped  the 
mountains  and  poured  down  the  declivities  on  the  west,  plant- 
ing Cities  and  States  on  the  Pacific  shore,  and  carrying  there 
the  principles,  the  institutions,  and  the  religious  conscience, 
also,  which  characterized  the  early  colonists  in  America. 

And  if,  with  wider  view,  we  take  in  the  civilized  world,  we  find 
that  the  whole  has  been  in  motion.  In  inventions  and  discov- 
eries affecting  almost  all  departments  of  industry  ;  in  conse- 
quent improvement  in  the  conditions  of  social  life ;  in  political 
changes  that  promote  the  true  ends  of  government,  and  the 
well-being  of  the  masses  of  the  people  ;  in  the  introduction  of 
high  moral  and  religious  principles  into  public  acts ;  in  thus 
urging  on  the  race  in  the  path  of  true  progress,  the  last  hun- 
dred years  have  been,  probably,  the  most  efficient  of  all  the 
ages  of  recorded  time.  With  Galileo  we  may  exclaim,"  But  it 
does   move ! "     And  let   us   not  overlook  the  fact  that  in  this 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  5  I 

progress,  the  idea  of  right  and  of  duty,  in  place  of  mere  will 
and  brute  force,  has  been  gaining  ground.  It  was  consicence  ; 
the  feeling  of  obligation  to  their  own  conscience  and  to  God  :  it 
was  Luther's  "  Here  I  stand  :  God  help  me  :  I  can  do  no  other- 
wise," that  filled  and  exalted  the  souls  of  the  Puritans  in  Eng- 
and,  the  Huguenots  in  France,  the  Covenanters  in  Scotland, 
to  brave  all  consequences  in  the  maintenance  of  what  they  felt 
to  be  right.  That  conscientiousness  planted  these  wastes  with  re- 
ligious men,  and  they  have  carried  it  over  the  continent  and  have 
spoken  its  lesson  to  other  lands.  The  assertion  of  principle 
wrought  out  our  independence.  It  was  to  establish  justice. 
And  let  me  add,  duty  to  God  and  to  humanity  roused  the  spirit 
and  stiffened  the  sinewy  arm  of  the  nation  in  our  late  civil  con- 
flict, to  uphold  our  free  constitution,  and  wipe  out  forever  and  for- 
ever the  stain  and  the  curse  of  African  slavery,  I  think  this  idea 
of  conscientious  duty  runs  through  our  whole  history.  Plymouth 
Rock  ;  the  monumental  granite  on  Bunker's  Hill  ;  the  soldiers' 
monuments  in  every  town,  and  that  beautiful  memorial  tablet 
you  have  so  fittingly  placed  at  the  entrance  of  this  hall,  to  com- 
memorate your  sons  given  up  at  the  call  of  duty,  all  proclaim 
that  the  Puritan  principle  and  spirit  have  not  yet  died  out. 

But  strange  contradictions  appear  in  human  societies.  Israel, 
God's  chosen  people,  was  selected  from  among  the  nations  as 
the  repository  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Divine  Unity.  Yet  their 
prevailing  sin,  until  the  Babylonish  captivity,  was  idolatry.  The 
United  States  were  committed  to  the  doctrine  of  universal 
freedom  and  equal  rights  for  all  men.  It  was  the  boasted  land 
of  liberty.  But  nowhere,  certainly  in  modern  times,  was  slav- 
ery so  widely  spread  and  so  deadly.  I  believe  God  appointed 
this  as  the  theatre,  and  brought  the  two  principles  face  to  face, 
that  here  the  battle  might  be  fought  out  and  the  victory  pro- 
claimed for  all  future  times  and  places.  And  I  ever  thought  the 
evil  was  so  inveterate  that  it  must  end  in  convulsions  and  blood. 
The  issue  came,  and  has  been  settled  in  our  day.     When  the 


52  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

thunders  and  lightnings  of  war  ceased,  a  voice  came  out  from 
the  throne  saying,  "  It  is  done."  Slavery  is  ended.  This  op- 
probrium is  removed  henceforth  from  this  fair  continent,  and  it 
will  disappear,  in  due  time  and  speedily,  from  all  civilized  States, 
in  marked  reversal  of  the  practices  of  all  former  ages  and 
modes  of  social  and  political  life. 

And  to  America  also  the  honor  falls  of  having  under  very 
irritating  circumstances,  reduced  to  practical  use  the  Christian 
idea  of  international  arbitration ;  reason  and  right  in  the  settle- 
ment of  national  disputes,  in  the  place  of  senseless  and  passion- 
ate war.  It  is  a  fitting  prayer  for  our  nation  ;  evermore  let 
principle  and  conscience  assert  their  supremacy  in  all  our  affairs  ; 
let  this  idea  be  ingrafted  into  the  fixed  sentiments  of  the  people, 
that  reason  is  better  than  violence,  justice  is  always  politic,  that 
truth  is  great  and  will  prevail.  And  this  prayer  should  be  re- 
duced to  a  settled  purpose,  universal  in  its  application  ;  including 
all  classes  of  men  and  all  kinds  of  evil.  The  broad  and  mas- 
sive foundation  of  our  whole  national  superstructure  should 
be  righteousness  ;  then  will  become  manifest  to  mankind  the 
reason  of  the  being  of  this  republic  in  the  course  of  human 
events.  The  training  of  the  Fathers,  under  the  hard  rule  of 
despotism,  civil  and  ecclesiastical  ;  their  guidance  to  this  land  ; 
their  settlement ;  the  revolution ;  our  civil  war,  and  by  that 
means  the  extinction  of  slavery ;  will  be  seen  to  have  been  so 
many  steps  by  which  our  nation  became  prepared  to  take  its 
pecuhar  place  and  speak  with  high  authority  of  liberty  and 
of  justice  in  the  counsels  of  mankind.  Thus  events  will  "  Vin- 
dicate eternal  providence,  and  justify  the  ways  of  God  to  man." 
Here,  then,  we  close  our  review  of  the  settlement  of  West 
Springfield  and  of  the  past  hundred  years  of  the  town.  It  has 
been  a  time  of  great  commotion  ;  and  the  changes  wrought 
have  not  been  superficial  merely,  but  have  reached  the  founda- 
tion of  the  religious,  social  and  political  fabric.  Our  entire  civil 
polity  has  been  changed  ;  and  with  the  perfect  freedom  of  action 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  53 

now  enjoyed,  with  the  path  of  advancement  in  various  directions 
opened  to  the  generous  ambition  of  all  classes,  and  with  in- 
creasing wealth  and  ease,  the  sentiments  and  habits  of  the  peo- 
ple are  likely  also  to  undergo  great  modifications.  The  character 
of  the  generations  that  are  to  come  after  us,  will  feel  these  in- 
fluences even  more  than  we  have  done.  It  is  to  be  developed 
under  other  conditions  than  those  which  existed  in  the  retired 
life  and  simple  occupations  of  the  Fathers  ;  and  the  result  must 
be  contemplated  with  solicitude  by  every  Christian  patriot  and 
every  lover  of  his  race.  Will  they  escape  the  danger  of  a  low, 
material  civilization  .''  The  Fathers  served  their  generations  by 
the  will  of  God,  and  are  fallen  asleep.  But  their  life-work  re- 
mains. Their  just  thoughts,  their  religious  spirit,  their  energy 
and  enterprise  infused  themselves  into  the  young  blood  of  the 
nation,  and  their  memorial  appears  in  the  noble  institutions 
under  which  we  live.  Thus  far,  these  institutions  have  been 
preserved  against  trials  not  a  few  nor  small.  They  stand,  at 
this  day,  in  a  more  hopeful  condition,  in  some  respects,  than  at 
any  preceding  period  ;  more  free  from  inward  contrarieties  and 
outward  dangers  ;  better  poised  on  their  foundations,  and  more 
authoritative  before  the  world.  Shall  it  continue  thus  ?  We 
read  the  past.  The  record  of  a  century  of  struggles  and  suc- 
cesses, is  open  before  us,  and  we  thank  God  and  take  courage. 
But  the  future  is  always  uncertain.  What  eye  can  pierce  the 
obscurity .''  what  prophetic  mind  can  forecast  the  events .  of  a 
century  to  come  ?  That  they  will  be  as  momentous  in  their  in- 
fluence upon  the  progress  of  mankind  as  any  that  have  ever 
occurred,  I  fully  believe.  We  have  not  yet  reached  the  prom- 
ised land.  But  we  are  acting  in  one  of  the  grand  revolu- 
tions of  time.  We  are  hasting  in  providence,  as  I  think, 
to  a  new  order  of  things,  of  which  only  divine  prophecy  gives 
us  a  glimpse.  Nor  can  we  fail  to  ask  with  anxiety  what  shall 
be  the  place  and  position  of  our  beloved  country  in  that  coming 
age  ?     And  we  may  answer  with  confidence,  that  if  the  princi- 


54  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

pies  which  animated  the  first  settlers,  if  the  spirit  that  was  in 
them  be  maintained  ;  if  the  God  they  obeyed  be  revered  ;  if 
our  children  love  truth  and  justice,  and  practice  moderation, 
amidst  the  affluence  of  their  advantages,  all  will  be  well.  Our 
Republic  will  then  march  in  the  van  of  the  nations,  going  on  to 
a  higher,  purer,  and  altogether  a  better  civilization  than  any  the 
world  has  yet  known.  The  bright  vision  that  dawns  on  our 
fancy  will  have  become  reality ;  our  hopes  will  have  passed  into 
fruition  ;  our  children  will  be  living  amidst  the  splendor  of  the 
golden  age  of  promise,  enjoying  the  blessings  the  Bible  foretells. 
The  days  of  ignorance,  and  injustice,  and  vice,  and  misrule,  and 
convulsions,  and  wars  will  have  gone,  to  be  succeeded  by  pros- 
perity and  gladness 

"  Such  as  earth  saw  never," 
"  Such  as  heaven  stoops  down  to  see." 

"  Shall  old  acquaintance  be  forgot  ?  "  was  then  sung  with  ex- 
cellent effect ;  prayer  was  offered  by  Rev.  Dr.  Ashbel  Vermilye 
of  Schenectady,  N.  Y. ;  the  long  meter  doxology  rang  out 
grandly  in  the  solemn  strains  of  "  Old  Hundred,"  and  the  bene- 
diction, by  the  orator  of  the  day,  concluded  the  exercises  in  the 
hall. 


THE  FIRST  TOWN  HALL. 
BUILT  IN  1820. 


THE  CENTENNIAL  DINNER. 


Following  the  hall  exercises  came  the  glad  news  of  dinner  in 
the  school-room  below.  The  space  being  limited,  only  190 
found  places  at  the  table,  but  enough  crowded  in  afterward  to 
make  locomotion  almost  impossible.  Col.  Aaron  Bagg  appro- 
priately presided  here,  as  he  did  in  the  hall  above.  Rev,  E.  B. 
Clark,  of  Chicopee,  invoked  the  Divine  blessing  on  the  prepared 
food.  The  feast  ended,  the  Band  played,  and  the  President  of 
the  day  announced  the  first  regular  toast  : 

"  The  Governor  of  the  Commonwealth."  The  response  came 
from  the  Secretary  in  the  following  letter : 

Boston,  March  21,  1874. 
My  Dear  Sir  : — Your  favor  with  an  invitation  for  me  to  be 
present  at  the  anniversary  exercises  of  your  town  on  the  25th 
ultimo  is  at  hand.  Be  assured  it  would  give  me  pleasure  to  be 
with  you  on  so  interesting  an  occasion  ;  but  my  official  en- 
gagements are  such,  that  it  will  be  impossible  for  me  to  accept 
your  kind  request.  You  may  well  be  proud  of  your  history  in 
the  past,  and  I  trust  the  future  will  be  no  less  eminent.  While 
I  am  not  personally  acquainted  with  many  of  your  townsmen, 
yet  I  know  how  ready  you  have  been  to  further  every  good 
and  noble  enterprise.  May  your  children  be  worthy  successors 
of  so  noble  an  ancestry. 

I  am  your  obedient  servant, 

W.  B.  Washburn. 

"  The  Commonwealth  of  MassacJmsetts^'  was  responded  to  by 
Mr,  Samuel  L.  Parsons,  of  New  York : 

About  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  there  landed  from  the 
old  ship,  Mayflower,  on  the  rocky  shores  of  Massachusetts,  a 


56  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

company  of  one  hundred  and  two  persons,  seeking  the  freedom 
that  the  New  World  offered,  to  worship  God,  and  to  plant  a  new 
nation  that  might  be  an  honor  to  the  world.  The  severe  win- 
ter, exposures,  and  disease,  carried  to  the  grave  in  four  months 
one-half  of  the  Pilgrim  party.  But  this  terrible  affliction  only 
served  to  draw  the  hearts  of  those  who  survived  more  closely 
together,  and  to  knit  them  more  firmly  in  bonds  of  brotherhood, 
for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing  the  work  the  Master  had  for 
them  to  do.  The  compact  formed  on  the  Mayflower  was  carried 
into  the  new  State  ;  it  is  the  corner-stone  of  the  institutions 
that  have  been  handed  down  to  us,  and  in  which  we  so  proudly 
rejoice  to-day.  Massachusetts  is  the  leading  State  in  manufac- 
tures ;  she  is  not  behind  in  the  arts  ;  her  commerce  is  of  world- 
wide repute  ;  her  statesmen  are  among  the  leading  minds  of 
the  world  ;  her  churches  and  schools  are  open  to  the  people ; 
her  purse  is  open  to  the  cry  of  distress  from  whatever  land. 
Wherever  I  have  traveled,  I  have  found  the  people  not  only  re- 
spect a  man  from  Massachusetts,  but  they  are  ready  to  trust 
him,  believing  that  true  men  hail  from  the  old  Bay  State  ;  in- 
deed her  sons  are  among  the  leading  men  in  nearly  all  the 
States  of  the  Union,  and  have  carried  her  institutions  and 
energy  with  them.  It  is  hardly  necessary  for  me  to  occupy 
your  time  further  ;  your  own  immortal  Webster  was  content  to 
say  of  Massachusetts,  "  There  she  is,  behold  her."  And  surely 
it  would  be  presumption  in  me,  with  the  added  glories  of  a 
quarter  of  a  century,  not  to  leave  her  in  that  same  exalted 
position. 

"  The  Orator  of  the  Day"  called  up  Dr.  Tiios.  E.  Vermilye, 
of  New  York  City  : 

Mr.  President  : — I  thank  you  most  sincerely  for  the  com- 
plimentary manner  in  which  you  are  pleased  to  speak  of  my 
services  to-day  ;  and  I  thank  this  company  and  the  good  people 
of  the  old  town  of  West  Springfield,  for  the  kindness  they  have 
shown  me  to-day,  and  me  and  mine  in  times  past.  I  feel  much 
at  home  in  this  region  and  recall  years  of  pleasant,  and  I  hope 
not  unprofitable  residence  among  you — as  the  pastor  of  the  old 
first  parish.  I  have  always  felt,  and  often  said  that  my  minis- 
terial life  and  usefulness  (if  I  have  been  useful  in  my  calling), 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  57 

was  greatly  formed  and  made  by  my  pastorate  in  West  Spring- 
field, and  my  advice  to  my  young  brethren  would  be  to  prefer 
such  a  parish  for  their  first  settlement,  if  they  could  find  it,  to 
any  city  charge,  as  the  school  for  their  professional  training. 
But,  Mr.  President,  I  ought  not  to  indulge  such  a  strain  ;  and 
particularly  I  ought  not  to  occupy  the  time  of  this  respected 
company  after  taxing  them  already  for  more  than  an  hour  at 
the  public  meeting.  Let  me,  however,  pay  a  debt  of  justice 
before  I  sit  down.  Of  course  I  knew  a  good  deal  of  West 
Springfield  ;  its  history,  its  localities,  its  men,  and  many,  also, 
of  its  peculiarly  good  things  in  the  way  of  story  and  anecdote. 
But  I  needed  aid  in  the  short  time  given  me  for  preparation, 
and  for  that  aid,  in  the  collection  of  materials,  I  wish  it  to  be 
understood  that  I  was  indebted  very  largely  to  Deacon  Bagg, 
who  has  taken  such  a  lively  interest  in  this  Centennial  Celebra- 
tion ;  and  who  is  such  an  adept  in  West  Springfield  lore  that 
what  he  does  not  now  know  of  West  Springfield,  can  hardly  be 
greatly  worth  knowing. 

Mr.  President,  we  shall  not  meet  again  ;  none  of  us  will  be 
here  when  the  next  century  shall  have  rolled  round.  But  may 
they  who  then  shall  occupy  these  places  have  no  reason  to 
chide  themselves  for  any  defection  from  the  principles  and  ex- 
ample of  the  Pilgrim  fathers. 

"  Oitr  Brave  Soldiers','  was  responded  to  by  Rev.  E.  N.  Pome- 
ROY,  Pastor  of  the  First  Church  : 

Mr.  President  : — Of  the  soldiers  of  this  town  who  took  part 
in  the  three  great  wars  of  our  nation's  history,  I  cannot  now 
speak  particularly.  I  cannot  tell  you  of  their  individual  ex- 
ploits, or  of  their  individual  sufterings.  I  cannot  even  point 
out  the  great  engagements  in  which  they  severally  took  part  ; 
indeed  I  can  call  very  few  of  them  by  name.  I  can  only  speak 
of  them  as  constituent  parts  of  a  mighty  force  of  freemen,  who, 
from  farm,  and  mill,  and  shop,  and  bench,  and  study,  and  pulpit, 
and  every  other  place  where  men  support  their  families,  and 
earn  the  rights  of  citizenship,  assembled  under  asms  with  de- 
termination to  resist  oppression,  to  suppress  rebellion,  and  to 
maintain  their  rights  ;  and  who,  after  accomplishing  their  object, 
returned  to  their  homes  and  quietly  resumed  their  occupations. 


58  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Perhaps  the  world  never  witnessed  a  grander  spectacle  than 
that  of  these  earnest,  intelligent,  and  many  of  them  educated 
men,  assembling  at  their  country's  call  to  fight  her  battles,  and 
to  die  if  need  were  in  her  defence  ;  except  when  it  saw  the  vic- 
torious survivors,  after  these  battles  were  fought,  and  when  the 
cause  was  maintained,  returning  to  their  families  and  to  the 
duties  of  civil  life. 

But  sir,  I  am  not  here  to  pronounce  an  oration  on  the  virtue 
and  the  valor  of  our  soldiers  ;  the  occasion  does  not  call  for  it. 
The  living  do  not  desire  our  encomiums  ;  the  dead  do  not  need 
our  eulogies.  It  is  enough  for  the  former  that  the  integrity  of 
this  Union  is  preserved  ;  that  the  foundation  of  this  government 
is  established  ;  that  the  fetters  of  the  slave  are  broken.  It  suf- 
fices for  the  latter  that  their  deeds  have  passed  into  history  ; 
that  their  names  are  written  in  substantial  granite,  and  memo- 
rial marble  ;  that  their  memories  are  cherished  by  those  who 
love  them,  and  that,  with  every  returning  spring-time,  their 
graves  are  decorated,  and  their  epitaphs  re-written  with  flowers. 

It  is,  however,  especially  fitting  that  our  soldiers  should  be 
remembered  to-day ;  and  in  every  future  centennial  celebration  ; 
even  when  this  imposing  structure  shall  have  given  place  to  one 
still  loftier  and  grander,  may  our  soldiers  receive  ever  prouder 
and  more  honored  mention.  Without  their  aid  this  people 
could  never  have  become  a  nation  ;  they  had  never  resisted  the 
aggressions  of  British  tyranny  ;  they  might  often  have  declared, 
but  could  never  have  established  their  independence.  It  is 
owing  to  their  valor,  in  great  part,  that  this  nation  remains  a 
first-class  power;  that  the  sun  in  the  heavens  does  not  look 
down  on  "states  dissevered,  discordant,  belligerent ;"  that  the 
roll-call  of  slavery  has  never  yet  been  heard  under  the  shadow 
of  our  Bunker  Hill  Monument,  and  that  it  is  now  quite  certain 
it  never  will  be  heard  there. 

It  is  commonly  considered  a  great  and  glorious  thing  to  have 
fought  for  one's  country  ;  to  have  stood  upon  "  the  perilous  edge 
of  battle  ;  "  to  have  flung  one's  self  into  "the  imminent,  deadly 
breach;"  and  so  it  is.  But  sir,  it  is  a  noble  and  a  glorious 
thing  to  have  done  one's  duty  anywhere.  The  grandest  victo- 
ries are  not  those  won  in  deadly  strife  ;  the  most  valiant  fight- 
ing is  not  that  done  on  the  sanguinary  field  ;  the  proudest,  the 
supreme  moment  is  not 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  59 

"  When  speaks  the  signal  trumpet  tone, 
And  the  long  line  comes  gleaming  on  ;  " 

it  follows  not  "  the  rush  of  adverse  battalions,  the  sinking  and 
rising  of  pennons,  the  flight,  the  pursuit,  and  the  victory;"  it 
comes  rather  to  a  man  when  through  a  long  course  of  years, 
having  patiently,  persistently,  fearlessly  done  right,  at  last 
though  only  at  the  close  of  his  mortal  career,  he  sees  his  life's 
object  accomplished.  Not  every  hero  has  borne  arms  in  battle  ; 
not  every  soldier  has  been  under  fire  ;  not  every  valiant  man 
has  marched  to  the  cannon's  mouth  ;  not  every  conqueror  has 
been  crowned  with  laurel. 

"  Peace  hath  her  victories, 
No  less  renowned  than  war." 

They  who  incur  odium  in  the  discharge  of  duty  ;  they  who  re- 
fuse to  sacrifice  principle  for  pelf  or  position  ;  they  who  dare 
part  with  reputation  if  need  be  to  preserve  character ;  they,  the 
vanguard  in  the  army  of  the  Lord,  who  take  and  hold  positions 
in  advance  of  the  age  in  which  they  live ;  they  who  are  deter- 
mined and  prepared  to  do  their  duty  though  the  heavens  fall; 
these,  sir,  I  maintain  are  the  bravest  of  the  brave. 

Our  soldiers  in  the  Revolution,  and  in  the  war  of  1812,  did 
their  work  well ;  but  after  peace  was  finally  established,  and  an- 
other conflict  with  the  mother  country  placed  almost  beyond  a 
peradventure,  it  was  a  harder  thing  to  forgive  the  past,  and  to 
recognize  the  virtues  of  the  English  people.  The  soldiers  who 
put  down  the  Great  Rebellion,  covered  themselves  with  glory  ; 
but  it  will  be  a  grander  victory  than  that  achieved  at  Vicksburg, 
at  Gettysburg,  or  at  Richmond,  when,  remembering  that  our 
foes  were  our  brothers,  and  that  their  valor  was  not  inferior  to 
our  own,  we  can  erase  from  our  standards  the  records  of  the 
conflict  and  forgive  and  forget  the  past. 

All  honor,  then,  not  to  our  soldiers  only,  but  to  all  our  heroes. 

"  Yea,  let  all  good  things  await 

Him  who  cares  not  to  be  great. 

But  as  he  saves  or  serves  the  State. 

Not  once  or  twice  in  our  great  nation's  story, 

The  path  of  duty  was  the  way  to  glory. 

He  that  walks  it,  only  thirsting 

For  the  right  ;  and  learns  to  deaden 

Love  of  self,  before  his  journey  closes, 

He  shall  find  the  stubborn  thistle  bursting 


60  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Into  glossy  purples  that  outredden 

All  voluptuous  garden  roses. 

Not  once  or  twice  in  our  fair  country's  story, 

The  path  of  duty  was  the  way  to  glory. 

He,  that  ever  following  her  commands, 

On  with  toil  of  heart  and  knees  and  hands. 

Through  the  long  gorge  to  the  far  light  has  won 

His  path  upward  and  prevailed. 

Shall  find  the  toppling  crags  of  duty  scaled 

Are  dose  upon  the  shining  table-lands 

To  which  our  God  Himself  is  moon  and  sun. 

Such  were  they ;  their  work  is  done  : 

But  while  the  races  of  mankind  endure, 

Let  their  great  example  stand 

Colossal,  seen  of  every  land. 

And  keep  the  soldier  firm,  the  statesman  pure, 

Till  in  all  lands  and  through  all  human  story 

The  path  of  duty  be  the  way  to  glory. 

And  let  the  land  whose  hearths  they  saved  from  shame, 

For  many  and  many  an  age  proclaim 

At  civic  revel  and  pomp  and  game, 

And  when  the  long  illumined  cities  flame, 

Their  ever-loyal,  noble  soldier's  fame. 

With  honor,  honor,  honor  to  them. 

Eternal  honor  to  their  name." 

"  The  Old  School-House"  was  responded  to  by  Rev.  Ashbel 
G.  Vermilye,  D.  D.,  of  Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  son  of  the  orator 
of  the  day : 

My  own  recollections,  Mr.  Chairman,  run  back  about  forty 
years,  when  I  was  here  as  the  "  minister's  son."  In  that  old 
"school-house"  next  door,  which  you  have  made  the  subject  of 
this  toast,  I,  with  other  boys,  received  some  old-fashioned 
floggings.  Peace  to  the  ashes  of  Mr.  Dutch — they  were  well 
laid  on.  To-day,  after  forty  years,  I  bear  him  witness,  as  one 
who  knew  how  to  touch  up  the  boys,  and  inculcate  sound  learn- 
ing. But  to-day,  sir,  the  old  school-house  looks  gloomy ;  as  if 
it  were  saying  to  itself — nevermore  !  I  suppose  it  must  now 
come  down — perhaps  it  would  rather,  since  there  will  be  none 
in  it  any  more  to  give  or  take  a  taste  of  the  birch. 

Even  in  so  quiet  a  town,  I  find  few,  as  forty  years  have  left 
their  marks  and  changes.  The  elms  and  the  river  are,  indeed, 
about  the  same ;  Nature  only  notches  her  centuries.  And  I 
suppose  the  katydid  still  makes  music  in  the  trees  for  boys  put 
to  bed  in  the  dark,  as  the  little  creatures  did  for  me.     But  I  see 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  6l 

you  have  since  fenced  in  the  old  "  Common  "  out  here,  where 
on  Sunday  evenings  after  sundown  the  youngsters  used  to  kick 
foot-ball :  usually  selecting  the  part  in  front  of  the  minister's 
house,  how  much  to  his  edification  I  do  not  know  ;  I  can  only 
speak  for  his  son,  whose  eyes  saw  from  a  distance  what  he  was 
not  permitted  to  join  in,  and  whose  ears  also  (let  me  say)  some- 
times caught  the  sound  of  the  wash-tub,  just  under  the  hill. 
Also,  they  did  their  courting  on  Sunday  evening  ;  though,  for 
that  matter,  probably  it  is  the  same  now.  That  is  a  business 
not  subject  to  the  mutations  of  time  and  tide.  Empires  may 
rise  and  fall,  rivers  may  lapse  and  run  dry,  but  never  the  course 
of  courting. 

In  those  antique  days,  as  they  will  seem  to  some,  we  made 
our  way  to  Springfield  by  a  little  steam-boat  with  the  wheel  be- 
hind. I  remember  that  the  old  "  Oliver  Ellsworth  "  had  to 
back  off  seven  times,  where  the  river  joins  the  Sound  ;  and 
then,  unable  to  get  through,  had  to  put  back  to  New  Haven 
short  of  wood  !  From  this  you  may  realize  the  stride  of  time 
and  change.  Why,  sir,  two  years  ago  I  met  the  man,  a  Mr. 
Harrod,  who  probably  introduced  the  tomato  (then  called  "  love 
apple  ")  as  an  edible  into  the  country.  And  here  I  may  tell 
you  what  I  think  is  an  unpublished  anecdote  of  Dr.  Lathrop 
(or  Lotrop,  as  the  people  called  him),  but  which  I  heard  when  a 
boy.  Dr.  Lathrop  had  obtained  and  planted,  (the  first  here- 
about) some  seeds  of  that  new  luxury,  the  water-melon.  But 
to  his  sheer  annoyance,  just  as  they  were  ripe,  some  wicked 
depredator  carried  them  all  off,  and  moreover  cut  his  vines  to 
pieces.  However,  if  he  was  in  "  meeting"  the  next  Sabbath,  as 
he  most  likely  would  be,  and  had  any  conscience  left — which,  it 
must  be  confessed,  stealing  from  a  minister  would  hardly  indi- 
cate— he  doubtless  got  the  worst  of  it ;  for  the  Doctor  gave  an 
excoriating  sermon  from  the  apt  text :  "  When  thou  comest  into 
thy  neighbor's  vineyard,  then  thou  mayest  eat  thy  fill  at  thine 
own  pleasure;  but  thou  shalt  not  put  any  in  thy  vessel." 

You,  Mr.  Chairman,  will  easily  recall  some  things  that  are 
fixed  in  my  boyish  remembrances — the  old  foot-stoves,  the  open 
Franklin  stoves,  and  brass  fenders,  the  warming-pans  and  such 
like ;  but  one  old  custom  sticks  to  my  memory,  because  it 
caused  an  awkward  catastrophe  to  a  relative  of  mine.  It  was 
the  habit  they  had  in  "  meeting"  of  chewing  dill,  not  because  the 


62  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

minister  was  sleepy,  but  because  they  were  ;  and  then  of  throw- 
ing the  stems  into  the  carpetless  aisle.  Through  that  dill  my 
relative,  to  his  great  mortification  as  a  city  young  man,  came  to 
a  fall ;  nor  did  he  relish  any  better  the  next  accident  (for  it  was 
such)  and  the  general  titter  which  followed,  when  my  father 
gave  out  a  hymn,  two  verses  of  which  had  in  them  something 
about  making  his  standing  more  secure  than  it  was  before  he 
fell! 

In  closing,  sir,  I  would  just  recall,  but  with  undiminished  re- 
spect, a  name  or  two  of  that  day — among  the  Elys  that  of  Jus- 
tin, so  unfailingly  kind,  so  good ;  and  then,  'Squire  Samuel 
Lathrop  who  in  face  and  form  and  mien  always  reminded  me 
of  Washington,  and  if  I  could  go  back  farther,  I  should  well 
like  to  speak  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Parsons  (Whitefield's  friend) 
who  was  born  here.  But  this  was  an  admirable  jjarish  in  both 
men  and  women.  There  were  here  women  who  shed  a  luster 
upon  their  bygone  names — Charity,  Mercy,  Patience,  Prudence 
and  the  like ;  I  think  the  town  never  produced  but  one  Silence, 
and  she  was  under  ground  before  my  day.  She  was  a  Champion 
while  living,  and  I  guess  was  buried  with  the  "  belt."  My  friend 
Parsons  spoke  of  the  past  this  morning,  in  contrast  with  the 
present,  as  the  "  mummy  "  state  of  the  town.  I  think  he  was 
mistaken.  When  the  tomb  of  James  Otis,  the  patriot  orator, 
was  opened,  they  found  the  roots  of  the  great  Paddock  elm  en- 
folding his  skull.  So  are  the  roots  of  your  present  prosperity 
to  be  found,  inseparably  entwined  with  the  skulls,  resting  in  the 
homes  and  the  homely  virtues,  of  those  who  went  before  you, 
and  now  lie  entombed  under  the  shadows  of  your  spreading 
elms.  If  other  causes  you  would  seek,  turn  with  gratitude,  as 
for  one  I  do,  to  the  old  church  and  the  old  school-house. 


"  Springfield,  the  Mother  of  ToivusT  Hon.  J.  M.  Stebbins, 
Mayor  of  Springfield,  responded  : 

I  am  happy  to  announce  to  you  that  the  mother  of  West 
Springfield  is  usually  well,  in  fact,  she  is  always  pretty  well. 
After  two  and  a  quarter  centuries  of  active  life,  she  is  just  en- 
tering upon  the  early  stages  of  a  noble  womanhood.  She  has 
some  promising  daughters  of  whom  she  is  proud,  and  some 
grand-daughters,  Agawam  and  Holyoke,  one  of  whom  aspires  to 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  6$ 

be  larger  than  her  mother.  Still  she  is  apparently  young  and 
more  vigorous  than  ever.  She  grows  in  graces  as  she  grows  in 
years.  We,  who  ought  to  be  her  friends,  think  we  see  in  her 
daily  new  virtues  and  attractions  by  which  she  draws  us  more 
closely  to  her. 

West  Springfield  is  one  of  her  oldest  daughters,  and  was  the 
most  perverse  and  refractory  of  all  the  members  of  the  family. 
She  persisted  in  chosing  her  man  to  represent  the  old  town  in 
the  General  Court,  when  the  whole  family  voted  together,  and 
more  than  once  succeeded  in  doing  it.  The  mother  town 
wished  to  be  represented  by  John  Bliss  and  John  Worthing- 
ton,  and  West  Springfield  wanted  her  man.  The  indignant 
mother  called  to  her  aid  her  sons  from  the  Springfield  mount- 
ains, who  voted  down  the  candidate  of  her  disobedient  daugh- 
ter. At  the  next  session  of  the  General  Court,  at  the  mother's 
request.  West  Springfield,  against  her  protest,  was  turned  out 
of  doors,  and  became  a  town  against  her  own  will — a  thing  un- 
paralleled in  town  history.  A  punishment  of  a  hundred  years 
has  satisfied  the  forgiving  mother,  who  has  almost  forgotten  her 
daughter's  offences,  and  now,  after  a  century,  it  is  whispered, 
the  daughter  is  penitent,  and  is  looking  wistfully  back  into  the 
old  household,  and  there  are  hints  of  a  ninth  ward.  Let  her 
put  herself  in  order,  protect  her  dike  from  muskrats  and  the 
south  winds  in  flood-time,  build  her  school-houses,  water-works, 
side-walks,  pave  her  streets,  and  behave,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  the  kind  mother  will  take  her  back. 

West  Springfield  has  been  fortunate  in  many  things.  Her 
old  men  remembered  her  fruit-bearing  orchards,  her  fat  cattle, 
heavy  fields  of  grass  and  rye,  and  her  young  men  have  seen 
and  felt  the  influence  of  her  gold-bearing  fields  of  corn  and  to- 
bacco. But  especially  has  she  been  fortunate  in  her  preaching 
and  the  character  of  her  preachers.  In  Springfield  we  were 
not  quite  so  fortunate  in  our  first  preacher,  but  we  have  had  a 
vast  deal  of  law.  One  of  the  earliest  trials  by  jury  was  that  in 
which  the  Rev.  Geo.  Moxon,  our  first  preacher  recovered  a  ver- 
dict of  ^6  against  John  Woodcock,  for  slander.  None  of  your 
preachers  ever  needed  to  have  their  good  names  polished  up 
before  a  jury.  But  this  was  in  1640.  Since  then  our  ministers 
have  been  shining  lights  in  the  churches  and  faithful  guides 
to  the  people. 


64  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

I  was  requested  to  speak  of  the  bridge  across  the  Connecticut 
River,  which  was  built  in  1805,  partly  to  reconcile  the  mother 
and  daughter.  For  a  century  and  a  half  the  inhabitants  of 
the  old  town  were  separated  by  the  river,  which  in  freshets 
swept  over  the  meadows  and  some  of  the  settled  parts  of  West 
Springfield  now  protected  by  dikes.  Crossing  by  the  three  fer- 
ries was  often  dangerous — sometimes  impossible.  In  the  latter 
part  of  the  last  century,  some  visionary  young  men  were  bold 
enough  to  agitate  the  question  of  a  bridge.  It  was  talked  of 
and  delayed  for  years.  The  old  men  had  seen  freshets  and 
great  masses  of  ice  in  the  river.  One  said  if  a  bridge  was 
built  it  would  not  stand,  others  said  it  could  never  be  done — 
they  might  as  well  think  of  bridging  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The 
old  men  died  and  then  the  young  men  built  the  bridge. 

The  Federal  Spy,  published  October  29,  1805,  has  the  follow- 
ing: 

"  The  elegant  bridge  erected  over  Connecticut  River  in  this 
town,  will  be  opened  on  Wednesday  (to-morrow),  one  toll  free. 
We  understand  there  will  be  a  sermon  preached  by  Dr.  La- 
throp,  a  procession  formed,  cannon  fired,  a  ball  in  the  evening, 
and  that,  in  fact,  it  will  be  a  day  of  glee." 

The  sermon  was  preached,  and  the  procession  was  formed, 
and  when  it  reached  the  bridge,  a  salute  of  seventeen  guns  was 
fired,  which  was  three  times  repeated  from  both  ends  of  the 
bridge.  Three  thousand  people  were  present.  It  was  a  day  of 
jubilee.     The  newspaper  the  week  after  says  : 

"The  bridge  is  so  constructed  with  frames  upon  piers,  con- 
nected by  long  timbers  with  the  arches  that  the  traveler  passes 
over  nearly  the  whole  extent  of  it,  on  an  elevated  plane,  afford- 
ing a  view  of  extensive  landscapes,  in  which  are  blended  well 
cultivated  fields,  plains  and  villages,  river  and  meadows,  lofty 
mountains,  and  indeed  a  variety  in  the  beauties  of  nature 
which  is  highly  gratifying  to  the  eye." 

We  hardly  see  in  the  bridge  that  now  spans  the  river,  an 
"elevated  plane"  or  "elegant  structure."  The  old  men  were 
half  right.  The  young  men  could  not  or  did  not  build  a 
bridge  that  would  stand.  The  old  red  bridge  "  gave  way  and 
fell  to  the  water,"  July  19,  18 14.  The  fall  is  said  to  have  been 
caused  by  the  passage  of  heavy  army  wagons,  many  of  which 
had  crossed   the  year  before.     It  was  rebuilt    and   completed 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  6$ 

October  i,  i8ij5.  It  "was  carried  away  in  a  flood  in  March 
1818.  Two  piers  at  the  west  end  were  left  standing, —  five  were 
swept  away.  It  was  just  after  the  war.  The  times  were  hard, 
no  money  could  be  had  to  rebuild  the  bridge.  The  people 
might  have  been  discouraged  if  the  evil  one  had  not  come  to 
their  aid.  What  he  was  doing  to  help  them  appears  from  this 
advertisement : 

"  Springfield  Bridge  Lottery. — Who  will  complain  of  Hard 
Times  when  ^1,500  may  be  had  for  ^3.  The  Drawing  is  near 
at  hand." 

The  two  last  bridges  were  built  partly  from  the  profits  of 
lotteries. 

The  fight  to  make  it  free  was  fought  almost  as  long  and  val- 
iantly as  that  to  make  the  slave  free.  Worthy  friends  of  free- 
dom often  defeated,  as  often  renewed  the  battle,  till  at  last  they 
conquered — but  not  till  long  after  the  slave  had  become  free, 
did  the  bridge  become  "  toll  free  "  as  it  was  advertised  to  be  on 
the  day  of  its  opening.  A  petition  to  the  City  Council  asks 
that  a  covered  way  be  extended  along  both  sides  of  the  bridge 
on  the  outside.  And  so  the  bridge — the  only  thing  but  the 
river  between  us — is  still  the  subject  of  discussion  as  it  has 
been  for  the  last  century — and  likely  to  be  for  the  next.  In  the 
next,  we  may  hope  there  will  be  better  men  and  women,  better 
laws  and  manners,  new  and  higher  wants,  and  greater  means 
of  gratifying  them.  Men  are  not  running  down, — the  fountains 
of  life  are  not  drying  up.  Customs,  manners,  amusements, 
habits  change  ;  but  men  are  no  worse. 

In  the  next  century,  I  have  no  doubt,  there  will  be  better 
men  than  there  were  in  the  last — than  there  are  now.  They 
will  be  more  intelligent,  and  have  better  food,  clothing,  houses, 
and  have  more  comforts  than  we.  They  will  want  nearly  the 
same  things,  as  human  nature  and  wants  may  not  change. 
They  will  use  more  and  better  water,  and  have  better  wine  at 
the  Sacrament,  and  we  and  our  children  will  preserve,  I  hope, 
the  old  love  that  has  existed  so  long  between  us,  and  the  old 
bridge,  too,  which  has  been  a  faithful  servant  to  us  both,  till  we 
build  a  better  one. 


66  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

"  T/ie  Founders  of  Springfield','  was  responfled  to  by  Hon. 
Henry  Morris,  of  Springfield,  Mass.  : 

Mr.  President  : — It  is  perhaps  proper,  as  my  friend  the 
Mayor  has  spoken  for  the  mothers  of  towns,  that  I  should  say 
a  few  words  for  the  fathers  of  towns.  And  in  responding  for 
those  who  were  the  fathers  and  founders  of  Springfield,  I  feel 
that  I  speak  of  men  who  were  truly  noble. 

F'oremost  among  them,  of  course,  was  William  Pynchon. 
He  came  over  from  England  with  Governor  Winthrop,  and  be- 
fore he  settled  here  on  the  Connecticut  River,  he  founded  the 
town  of  Roxbury,  once  a  historic  name,  but  recently  merged 
and  lost  in  the  poorer  one  of  Boston  Highlands. 

Mr.  Pynchon  held  for  several  years  the  office  of  Assistant  in 
the  Colonial  government,  and  was  for  a  time  its  Treasurer,  both 
offices  of  high  honor  and  responsibility. 

He  removed  from  Roxbury  to  the  Connecticut  River,  that  he 
might  carry  on  to  advantage  the  fur  trade  with  the  Indians,  in 
which  he  was  largely  engaged.  Here  he  established  the  "  Plan- 
tation of  Agaam,"  as  Springfield  was  at  first  called.  So  long 
as  he  remained  here  he  was  the  only  magistrate,  and,  with  the 
assistance  of  a  jury  of  six  men,  tried  the  causes  and  decided 
the  controversies  of  the  Plantation. 

In  all  the  public  affairs  of  the  settlement,  municipal  and 
ecclesiastical,  he  exercised  a  controlling  influence,  wisely  and 
usefully. 

With  Mr.  Pynchon  came  his  son-in-law,  Henry  Smith,  a  man 
of  education  and  ability,  who,  when  Pynchon  left,  was  appointed 
a  magistrate  in  his  place,  but  soon  after  abandoned  Springfield 
and  went  to  England. 

Elizur  Holyoke  was  another  prominent  settler,  and  took  a 
leading  part  in  all  the  affairs  of  the  town.  He  married  a 
daughter  of  Mr.  Pynchon.  It  was  upon  her  monument  that  the 
lines  were  inscribed — 

"  She  that  lies  here  was,  while  she  stood, 
The  very  glory  of  womanhood." 

He  was  the  father  of  Capt.  Samuel  Holyoke,  a  young  man, 
who  in  the  celebrated  Falls  fight,  when  our  men  were  attacked 
by  an  overwhelming  force  of  Indians,  and  Capt.  Turner,  the 
commander,  was  killed,  took  command  of  our  men  and  success- 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  6/ 

fully  conducted  the  retreat.  He  is  said  to  have  killed  six  of  the 
Indians  with  his  own  hand. 

Then  there  was  Deacon  Samuel  Chapin,  the  ancestor  of  all 
the  Chapins,  including  my  friend  of  the  Massasoit  House,  pres- 
ent here  to-day.  He  held  many  offices  of  trust  and  responsi- 
bility in  the  town. 

Samuel  Wright,  also  a  deacon,  was  a  leading  man  in  the 
church.     He  removed  to   Northampton,  and  died  there. 

Jehu  Burr,  who  came  with  Mr.  Pynchon  from  Roxbury,  was  a 
carpenter,  and  probably  made  the  identical  wheelbarrow  for 
which  the  tailor  sold  him  three  miles  square  of  land  in  West 
Springfield,  as  we  were  told  by  the  Reverend  orator  to-day. 

Another  influential  man  was  Rev.  George  Moxon,  the  first 
minister  of  the  place.  He  was  an  old  friend  of  Mr.  Pynchon, 
with  whom  he  returned  to  England  in  1652.  My  friend,  the 
Mayor,  has  held  him  up  to  censure,  because  he  sued  John 
Woodcock,  one  of  his  parishioners,  for  slander.  I  do  not  think 
the  minister  quite  deserved  the  censure.  It  was  his  misfortune 
to  be  called  as  a  witness  in  a  trial  in  Connecticut,  in  which 
Woodcock,  who  was  a  mischievous  fellow,  was  a  party,  and 
Woodcock  charged  him  among  his  people  with  having  been 
guilty  of  perjury  on  that  occasion.  Mr.  Moxon  sought  to  vin- 
dicate his  character  from  this  aspersion,  and  he  did  so  by  the 
verdict  of  a  jury,  which  rebuked  the  slanderer. 

Near  the  latter  part  of  Mr.  Moxon's  ministry,  suspicions  of 
witchcraft  began  to  be  entertained  in  Springfield.  A  poor 
woman,  living  at  the  lower  end  of  our  Main  street,  who  had 
killed  her  own  child,  and  was  probably  insane,  was  accused  of 
bewitching  Martha  and  Rebecca  Moxon,  the  minister's  daugh- 
ters, and  was  taken  to  Boston  for  trial  upon  the  double  charge  of 
witchcraft  and  murder.  She  was  acquitted  of  the  witchcraft, 
but  convicted  of  the  child  murder.  This  trouble,  and  his  friend- 
ship for  Mr.  Pynchon,  probably  induced  Mr.  Moxon  to  accom- 
pany him  to  England,  and   he   never  returned  to  America. 

I  must  not  omit  to  name  as  one  of  the  most  influential  of  the 
founders  of  Springfield,  John  Pynchon,  the  son  of  William. 
When  the  father  went  back  to  England  the  son  remained  here, 
and  soon  succeeded  to  all,  and  more  than  all,  his  father's  influ- 
ence and  honors.  He  was  a  man  of  very  superior  character, 
and,  during   nearly  the   whole  of  his  long  life,  performed  the 


68  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

duties  of  a  magistrate,  military  commander,  and  civil  leader  in 
the  town.  To  no  man  of  those  early  days  does  this  part  of  the 
State  owe  more  than  to  John  Pynchon. 

"  Our  Contrlbiitio7is  to  Missions,''  was  responded  to  by  Edwin 
Bliss,  D.  D.,  of  Constantinople,  Turkey  : 

In  claiming  me  here  to-day,  Mr.  Chairman,  as  one  of  your 
"  Contributions  to  Missions,"  you  help  me  to  answer  a  question 
which  has  sometimes  puzzled  me ;  namely,  where  I  belong. 
Born  in  Vermont,  bred  in  old  Springfield,  the  other  side  of  the 
river,  I  had  a  home  also  for  some  years  in  your  town.  Here 
I  was  ordained,  and  from  here  went  to  Turkey.  My  home  in 
that  country  was  first  in  old  Pontus,  near  the  locality  where 
once  it  was  supposed  golden  fleeces  could  be  found ;  so  far  as 
my  information  goes,  there  are  none  there  now.  From  Pontus 
I  went  to  Capadocia,  and  from  there  to  Constantinople  in  An- 
cient Thrace.  Changing  my  home  so  often,  when  called  upon  to 
register  my  name,  for  instance  at  a  hotel,  I  sometimes  doubt 
how  to  fill  out  the  blank  for  locality.  Perhaps  I  may  as  well 
hereafter  write  West  Springfield.  Were  this  the  time  and  place, 
I  should  be  glad  to  give  you  some  account  of  our  mission  work 
in  Turkey.  We  are  trying  to  establish  there,  these  same  insti- 
tutions :  schools,  churches,  which  so  bless  West  Springfield, 
and  all  New  England,  and  the  United  States.  And  I  should  be 
glad  if  some  of  you  could  come  out  and  see  what  measure  of 
success  we  are  having.  It  may  be  that  some  day,  his  majesty, 
the  Sultan  Abdulaziz,  will  call  upon  the  people  of  his  capital, 
Constantinople,  to  celebrate  a  centennial  (I  don't  know  whether 
it  would  be  the  twenty-second  or  the  twenty-third  centennial,) 
anniversary  of  the  founding  of  the  city  ;  and  I  hereby  avail  my- 
self of  my  privilege  as  a  citizen  for  some  years  of  that  city,  to 
invite  any  of  you  who  will,  to  be  present  on  that  occasion  when 
it  occurs.  Should  any  of  you  come  there  at  any  time,  please 
follow  the  directions  I  will  now  give  for  finding  there  your  West 
Springfield  friends.  Friends,  I  say,  for  my  brother,  Rev.  I.  G. 
Bliss,  is  also  there,  and  he  and  his  family  are  more  of  a  West 
Springfield  contribution  to  missions  than  I  am,  for  although  it 
did  not  occur  to  him  any  more  than  it  did  to  me  to  be  born 
here,  he  did  what  I  did  not,  took  his  wife  from  one  of  your  fami- 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


69 


lies,  and  they  are  both  there  still.  When  then  you  arrive  in 
our  harbor,  and  have  somewhat  satisfied  yourselves  by  looking 
around  upon  the  beautiful  scenery,  walk  to  the  side  of  your 
steamer  and  call  out  "  kaikjee."  Soon  a  little  boat  will  come 
along-side.  Go  down  into  it,  but  be  careful  to  step  into  the 
middle  of  the  boat  lest  you  tip  it  over,  and  get  a  cold  water  bath. 
Say  to  the  boatman,  "  Bagletcha  kapouse."  When  he  brings 
you  to  a  landing  place,  drop  a  shilling  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat 
and  step  out.  As  you  enter  the  street  passing  by,  turn  to  the 
right,  go  on  till  you  come  to  Yene  Jami  mosque,  pass  through 
its  court,  then  through  Musir  tcharshees,  and  keep  up  the 
street  till  you  see  written  on  a  corner  in  Arabic  letters,  "  Fin- 
jonjilee  Sokak,"  turn  that  corner,  and  you  will  at  once  get  sight 
of  our  Bible  House,  where  you  may  be  sure  of  a  welcome  from 
my  brother  or  myself,  or  any  one  whom  you  may  find  there,  and 
we  shall  be  happy  to  show  you  our  work  and  the  city  in  which 
we  live.  That  Bible  House  is  an  ornament  and  a  blessing  to 
Constantinople,  and  it  is  in  a  sort  a  West  Springfield  contribu- 
tion to  missions,  for  my  brother  has  had  a  principal  agency  in 
collecting  funds  for  it,  and  in  its  erection. 

"  T/ie  Park  Street  Church','  was  responded  to  by  the  pastor, 
Rev.  L.  D.  Calkins  : 

Mr.  President  and  Fellow  Citizens  of  West  Spring- 
field : — Though  barely  naturalized  amongst  you,  and  therefore 
inclined  to  remain  a  listener  on  such  an  occasion  as  this,  I  am, 
nevertheless  inspired,  by  the  theme  proposed,  to  respond  as  well 
as  may  be  to  your  call. 

I  have  heard  it  said  by  naturalists  that  the  descending  axis  of 
a  plant,  with  all  its  rootlets  and  fibers  is  equal  to  the  ascending 
axis  with  all  its  branches.  In  other  words,  that  the  entire  root 
of  a  tree  is  equal  to  the  entire  body  and  branch.  This  being 
so  it  is  true  that  in  transplanting,  except  young  and  small 
growths,  while  we  remove  to  the  new  place  the  entire  body  and 
branch,  we  always  leave  behind  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
roots. 

One  of  the  earliest  writers  among  the  ancients,  and  who  re- 
corded his  own  interpretation  of  certain  facts  of  nature  ;  the 
movements  ot  heavenly  bodies,  the  flight  of  birds,  the  habits  of 


70  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

wild  beasts,  said  of  plants  ;  "  There  is  hope  of  a  tree  if  it  be  cut 
down,  that  it  will  sprout  again,  and  that  the  tender  branch 
thereof  will  not  cease.  Though  the  root  thereof  wax  old  in  the 
earth,  and  the  stock  thereof  die  in  the  ground,  yet  through  the 
scent  of  water  it  will  bud,  and  bring  forth  boughs  like  a  plant." 

Well,  sir,  it  happened  in  our  town  once,  that  there  was  a 
famous  tree  growing,  whose  seed  had  been  planted  a  hundred 
and  two  years  before,  by  the  sainted  John  Woodbridge,  on 
whose  face  we  looked  this  morning  in  another  room.  It  stood 
and  it  flourished  in  the  midst  of  this  Common,  so  near  that  its 
morning  shadow  must  have  reached  to  where  you  now  sit,  sir  ; 
and  it  was  called,  because  of  its  comforting  shade  and  healing 
leaves,  the  Balm  of  Gilead  tree. 

Three  several  gardeners,  Woodbridge,  Hopkins  and  Lathrop, 
watered  and  tended  that  tree,  and  dispensed  its  healing  virtues 
to  the  honest  people  who  rested  beneath  its  shade,  and  together 
were  encouraged  to  endure  life's  trials. 

But  now  the  time  had  come  when  the  tree  must  be  trans- 
planted. It  must  be  literally  taken  up  from  the  valley  to  be  set 
on  the  hill.  It  was  a  large  tree,  and  an  old  tree,  and  required 
much  care  for  such  a  change.  So  they  dug  deep,  and  they  dug 
wide,  and  they  enriched  and  watered  well  the  new  soil,  and  it 
struck  root,  grew,  and  spread  itself  yet  more  nobly  than  ever 
before,  and  it  stands  to-day  a  joy  and  a  rejoicing  to  all  who  sit 
under  its  shelter  and  are  nourished  by  its  fruitage.  But,  sir,  when 
that  tree  was  moved  the  branches  were  wide  and  the  roots  both 
numerous  and  long,  and  some  of  these  must  needs  be  cut  off  and 
left  to  rot  in  the  ground.  But  sir,  they  did  not  rot !  or  if  they 
did  it  was  only  as  the  seed  must  first  decay  that  the  germ  may 
burst  forth,  and  after  seventy-one  years  a  shoot  sprang  from  the 
ground,  where  the  old  rootlets  hid  themselves,  as  fair  and  fresh 
as  if  it  were  the  first  twig  sprung  from  John  Woodbridge's 
planting. 

Mr.  President,  while  we  thank  God  for  the  old  tree  transr 
planted  to  yonder  hill,  let  us  also  thank  God  for  the  old  tree 
blooming  again  in  the  sprouting  of  its  roots. 

In  conclusion  let  me  humbly  express  my  gratefulness  to  Him 
who  has  counted  me  worthy  to  water  and  tend  this  new  tree 
sprung  from  that  whose  seed  John  Woodbridge  sowed  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy-six  years  ago.     And  let  me  also  express  the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  /I 

earnest  and  devout  hope  that  it  may  always  distill    the  same 
Balm  of  Gilead  in  which  the  forefathers  took  so  much  delight." 

'' Agawam,  the  Second  Daughter"  was  responded  to  by  Mr. 
Samuel  Flower,  of  Feeding  Hills  : 

Mr.  President  : — Had  I  supposed  that  I  should  be  called 
without  a  moment's  preparation  to  respond  for  "  the  youngest 
daughter"  of  this  grand  old  town,  I  might  wish  that  I  could  ask 
the  privilege  of  the  genuine  son  of  the  "  Emerald  Isle,"  who 
said  thc(t  if  he  knew  the  time  when  and  the  place  where  he  was 
to  die,  he  should  be  a  good  way  from  it.  And  I  am  more  embar- 
rassed by  the  remark  of  my  friend  on  my  right,  (Mr.  S.  L.  Par- 
sons,) that  "  Agawam  was  a  prodigal,  feeding  upon  husks." 

While  it  is  true  that  we  cannot  make  so  grand  and  imposing 
a  show,  nor  aspire  to  so  lofty  pretensions  as  our  elder  sister,  yet 
taking  into  account  the  fact,  that  we  are  almost  entirely  an  ag- 
ricultural population,  we  have  advanced  in  material  wealth, 
and  in  all  the  elements  of  prosperity,  and  of  a  healthy  growth,  to 
a  degree  of  which  we  may  be  justly  proud.  In  1855,  when 
Agawam  was  incorporated,  we  had  a  population  scarcely  ex- 
ceeding one  thousand,  and  a  valuation  of  about  half  a  million. 
Our  valuation  is  now  almost  ^1,200,000,  and  our  population  is 
between  two  and  three  thousand.  And  I  hazard  nothing  in 
saying  that  a  more  prosperous,  intelligent  and  law-abiding  com- 
munity cannot  be  found  in  the  county  of  Hampden,  or  in  the 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  It  is  probable  that  I.  may 
state  one  fact  in  relation  to  that  part  of  the  town  (Feeding 
Hills,)  in  which  I  reside,  which  cannot  be  said  of  any  other  lo- 
cality containing  an  equal  population,  that  there  is  not  a  place 
at  which  ardent  spirits  are  sold.  And  we  may  point  with  pride 
to  sons  of  Agawam,  whose  voices  have  been  heard  in  both 
houses  of  Congress,  and  who  are,  and  have  been,  ornaments  to, 
and  have  risen  to  positions  of  enviable  distinction  in  the  legal 
and  medical  professions,  and  others  who  occupy  the  sacred  desk. 

And  we  may  point  to  the  descendants  of  her  sons,  who  emi- 
grated to  other  parts  of  the  country,  who  stand  in  the  front 
ranks  of  our  teachers,  and  who  have  contributed  in  no  small 
degree  to  the  prosperity  of  our  educational  institutions,  which 
are  among  the  crowning  glories  of  the  age  in   which  we  live. 


72  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

And  in  conclusion,  I  may  say  that  we  rejoice  in  the  prosperity 
of  our  mother  town,  and  hope  that  her  future  may  be  as  pros- 
perous and  happy  as  the  past  has  been  good  and  great. 

"  The  Medical  Profession','  was  responded  to  by  Dr.  P.  LeB. 
Stickney,  of  Springfield,  who  interspersed  his  speech  with  many 
rich  anecdotes  : 

When  West  Springfield  was  separated  from  Springfield,  Dr. 
John  Van  Horn,  being  located  in  that  neighborhood  as  a  medical 
practitioner,  became,  in  point  of  time,  the  first  physician  of  the 
new  town.  Dr.  Van  Horn  was  the  son  of  Sumner  Van  Horn, 
and  was  born  in  that  part  of  Springfield  in  1726.  He  had  the 
advantages  of  a  collegiate  education,  graduating  at  Yale  Col- 
lege in  1749,  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  After  attending  the 
required  course  of  medical  lectures,  he  located  in  that  part  of 
his  native  town,  where  he  continued  to  practice  his  profession 
for  nearly  sixty  years,  dying  in  1805  at  the  age  of  seventy-nine. 
He  had  the  reputation  of  being  a  skillful  physician,  and  was 
undoubtedly  as  well  educated  as  the  advantages  and  opportuni- 
ties of  the  times  would  admit.  He  was  a  scholarly  man  and 
fond  of  literary  pursuits.  He  was  prominent  in  public  affairs, 
and  was  the  first  "  Town  Clerk  "  of  the  new  town.  In  the  later 
years  of  his  life  he  became  hypochondriacal,  and  imagined  him- 
self incapable  of  making  any  effort  whatever,  and  consequently 
betook  himself  to  his  bed,  where  he  remained  for  nearly  four 
years  under  the  care  of  a  constant  attendant. 

Dr.  Seth  Lathrop  was  the  son  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop,  and 
was  born  in  1762  in  that  parish  which  was  then  a  part  of 
Springfield,  and  over  which  his  father  was  pastor.  He  studied 
medicine  with  Dr.  Van  Horn,  became  his  partner  and  after- 
wards succeeded  him  in  his  practice.  Dr.  Bronson,  who  knew 
him  intimately,  says  of  him,  "  He  had  a  strong  mind,  sound 
judgment  and  excellent  common  sense;  was  frank,  social,  and 
fond  of  anecdote,  and  well  read  in  the  medical  literature  of  the 
last  half  of  the  last  century ;  an  able  and  acceptable  practi- 
tioner. More  than  six  feet  high,  with  a  large  frame,  and 
straight,  his  figure  was  imposing,  his  very  appearance  inspiring 
in  him  a  reliable  confidence."  He  was  very  successful  in  his 
business,  for  his  good,  practical  common  sense  supplied  the 
want  of  an  extended  liberal  education,  and  gave  him  a  success 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  73 

which  does  not  always  accompany  greater  learning  and  accom- 
plishments. He  lived  all  his  life  in  his  native  town,  and  was 
for  many  years  engaged  in  his  professional  business.  He  suf- 
fered in  the  later  part  of  his  life  from  consumption  which  as- 
sumed an  asthmatic  form.  He  died  in  1831,  aged  sixty-nine 
years. 

Dr.  Reuben  Champion  was  the  first  physician  who  was  born 
in  the  town  of  West  Springfield.  He  was  the  second  son  of 
Reuben  Champion,  and  was  born  in  1784,  ten  years  after  the 
town  was  separated  from  Springfield.  His  grandfather,  Reuben 
Champion,  M.  D.,  having  removed  to  Springfield  from  Saybrook, 
Ct.,  in  the  early  part  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  in  order  that  his 
family  might  be  in  a  more  retired  place  and  away  from  the  lia- 
bilities of  intrusion  from  the  opposing  military  forces.  He 
there  located  his  family  and  entered  the  army  as  a  surgeon,  in 
which  capacity  he  served  with  eminent  success.  He  was  with 
the  army  at  Ticonderoga,  where  he  died  in  1777,  being  fifty 
years  old.  He  left  two  sons,  Reuben  and  Medes,  both  of  these, 
although  quite  young  men,  served  as  soldiers  in  the  army. 

Dr.  Reuben  Champion  received  his  early  education  at  the 
academy  in  Westfield,  and  afterwards  entered  the  office  of  Dr. 
Sumner  of  that  town,  with  whom  he  began  the  study  of  his 
profession.  He  attended  medical  lectures  at  the  medical  school 
connected  with  Dartmouth  College,  which  was  then  under  the 
principal  charge  of  the  celebrated  surgeon.  Dr.  Nathan  Smith, 
who  was  the  original  founder  of  the  school.  During  this  time 
he  was  a  private  pupil  of  Dr.  Smith,  from  whom  he  received 
more  careful  instruction  respecting  what  was  then  termed  the 
new  method  of  treating  and  managing  typhus  fever ;  a  method, 
which  with  few  modifications,  prevails  at  the  present  time. 
Having  finished  his  course  at  the  Dartmouth  school,  Dr.  Cham- 
pion attended  a  course  of  lectures  in  New  York  City,  when 
returning  to  his  native  town,  at  the  request  of  his  fellow  citi- 
zens, he  there  commenced  the  practice  of  medicine  in  1809. 
With  his  new  ideas  of  the  treatment  of  typhoid  fever,  which  he 
carried  out  notwithstanding  the  great  opposition  from  both  laity 
and  the  profession,  he  became  quite  successful  in  the  treatment 
of  the  disease  and  gained  an  enviable  reputation.  He  was  an 
ardent  Jeffersonian  Democrat,  and  took  an  active  part  in  local 
and  general  politics.  He  served  the  town  in  many  public 
10 


74  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

offices,  was  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  represented  his  Senatorial 
District  in  the  General  Legislature.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Massachusetts  Medical  Society,  and  continued  in  the  practice 
of  medicine  for  nearly  fifty  years  and  died  in  1865,  aged  eighty- 
one. 

Dr.  Henry  Bronson  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1827. 
Having  passed  through  a  thorough  preparatory  course  of  study 
he  entered  the  Medical  Institute  of  Yale  College,  receiving  his 
medical  degree  in  1827.  He  remained  in  the  town  but  a  short 
time,  removing  to  Albany  in  1830.  Possessing  fine  talents 
which  had  been  carefully  cultivated,  with  refined  and  gentle- 
manly manners,  accompanied  with  a  genial  social  character,  and 
a  mind  well  stored  with  general  and  professional  knowledge,  he 
rapidly  gained  a  large  share  of  practice.  He  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  many  and  had  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all. 

Fond  of  literary  and  scientific  pursuits,  he  devoted  a  large 
share  of  his  spare  time  to  these  studies,  in  which  he  shortly 
gained  an  enviable  reputation.  In  J872  he  was  appointed  Pro- 
fessor of  Materia  Medica  in  the  Medical  Institute  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, a  chair  which  he  adorned  and  distinguished  by  his 
extensive  and  varied  learning,  and  admirable  style  of  lecturing. 
He  resigned  his  professorship  and  the  general  practice  of  his 
profession  in  i860,  since  which  time  he  has  been  busily  engaged 
in  those  more  general  and  scientific  studies  to  which  he  has 
been  so  long  devoted. 

Dr.  Ebenezer  Jones  was  born  in  West  Springfield,  and  after 
preparing  himself  for  the  practice  of  medicine,  settled  in  his 
native  town.  He  remained  there  some  twelve  years,  when  he 
removed  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  State. 

Dr.  Timothy  Horton,  whose  father  was  a  physician  before 
him,  was  a  practitioner  of  considerable  ability,  and  had  a  good 
reputation  as  a  physician  and  as  a  public  man.  Having  suffi- 
cient means  of  hving,  he  was  noted  for  the  extremely  small 
charges  for  his  medical  services.  His  regular  fee  in  his  own 
immediate  neighborhood  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  visit, 
rarely  ever  charging  over  two  shillings  (33^  cents),  no  matter 
how  difficult  the  case  or  the  distance  traveled.  He  was  fre- 
quently known  to  go  a  distance  of  four  or  five  miles,  spend  con- 
siderable time  in  holding  a  consultation  with  some  brother 
doctor,  and  charging  for  his  fee  one  shilling.      He  was  a  man  of 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  75 

good  sound  judgment,  and  was  much  respected  and  esteemed 
by  his  fellow-citizens. 

Dr.  Dunham  was  a  physician  of  good  reputation,  but  of  whom 
but  little  is  known,  having  died  some  fifty  years  ago.  He 
practiced  in  that  part  of  the  town  known  as  Ireland  Parish. 

Dr.  Calvin  Wheeler  settled  in  West  Springfield,  Feeding 
Hills  parish.  He  was  a  surgeon  in  the  army  during  the  war  of 
1812  and  in  1816.  Although  a  man  of  limited  education — like 
many  others  who  at  that  time  found  it  difficult  to  obtain  the 
thorough  knowledge  of  their  profession  which  characterizes  the 
progress  of  the  present  day — he  gained  by  his  strong  mind  and 
good  judgment  the  confidence  and  respect  of  his  patrons.  He 
died  in  1851. 

Dr.  Edwin  McCrea  practiced  medicine  for  some  twelve  years 
in  the  town,  in  Agawam  parish,  settling  there  in  1832.  His 
health  was  poor,  which  materially  affected  his  ability  to  take 
care  of  his  business.  He  was  a  good  practitioner,  and  a  genial 
and  good-hearted  man.     He  died  in   1859. 

Dr.  Cyrus  Bell  settled  in  the  parish  of  Feeding  Hills  in  1840. 
He  graduated  at  the  Berkshire  Medical  School  in  1839,  ^^^ 
soon  after  commenced  the  practice  of  his  profession,  locating 
himself  in  that  part  of  the  town  in  which  he  now  resides,  and 
which  is  now  a  part  of  the  town  of  Agawam. 

Dr.  Sumner  Ives  was  born  in  West  Springfield,  Ireland 
Parish.  After  obtaining  a  medical  education,  he  located  in  this 
part  of  the  town  in  1826,  remained  there  about  five  years 
and  then  moved  to  Sufifield,  Conn.,  and  was  there  engaged  in 
his  profession  as  a  successful  practitioner  until  his  death  in 
1845. 

Dr.  Solomon  Chapman  succeeded  Dr.  Ives  in  1832  ;  resided 
and  practiced  in  that  parish  about  ten  years,  then  removed  to 
Easthampton  where  he  died. 

Dr.  Lawson  Long  succeeded  Dr.  Chapman  in  1850.  He  still 
resides  and  practices  his  profession  in  the  same  parish,  but 
which  is  now  a  part  of  the  city  of  Holyoke. 

Dr.  Chauncy  Belden  was  a  graduate  of  the  Yale  Medical 
College  in  1829.  He  was  a  private  pupil  of  Dr.  Woodward  of 
Wethersfield,  Conn.  After  graduating  he  served  as  an  assist- 
ant in  the  Hartford  Insane  Retreat.  He  came  to  West  Spring- 
field  in  1832,  but  left  in   1842  and   removed  to   South  Hadley. 


^6  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Dr.  Belden  suffered  from  ill-health  for  many  years,  finally  dying 
of  consumption  in  1845.  He  was  a  well  educated  man  and 
fond  of  scientific  pursuits.  In  his  practice  he  exhibited  good 
judgment  and  skill,  and  was  remarkably  successful  in  the  man- 
agement of  disease.  He  was  greatly  beloved  by  every  one, 
gaining  and  retaining  their  confidence  ;  he  was  kind  and 
sympathetic  in  his  nature  and  devotedly  attentive  to  his  pa- 
tients. 

Dr.  Edward  Strong,  a  native  of  Northampton,  settled  in 
West  Springfield  in  1839.  ^^^  was  a  graduate  of  Williams 
College  in  1834,  and  studied  medicine  at  the  Harvard  Medical 
School  in  Boston,  where  he  graduated  in  1838.  He  continued 
to  practice  his  profession  until  1845,  when,  on  account  of  ill- 
health,  he  relinquished  it.  Since  then  he  has  been  engaged  in 
the  State  department  of  "Vital  Statistics,"  in  Boston. 

Dr.  P.  LeB.  Stickney  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1845, 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in  1839,  ^^^d  studied  his  pro- 
fession at  the  Jefferson  Medical  College  in  Philadelphia  where 
he  graduated  in  1842,  He  commenced  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine in  that  city,  being  connected  with  the  Blockley  Hospital  as 
out-door  physician  and  surgeon.  Returning  to  his  native  State, 
he  was  induced  to  locate  in  this  town  where  he  remained  six 
years,  and  afterwards  removed  to  the  city  of  Springfield  where 
he  now  resides. 

Dr.  Nathaniel  Downs,  a  graduate  of  the  Harvard  Medical 
School,  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1857.  He  remained  but 
a  few  years  and  moved  to  Harvard  in  the  eastern  part  of  the 
State. 

Dr.  Edward  G.  Ufford  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1855. 
He  gained  a  good  practice  and  remained  in  the  town  till  1872, 
when,  on  account  of  ill-health,  he  removed  to  South  Hadley  and 
gave  up  the  active  duties  of  his  profession. 

Dr.  Herbert  C.  Belden,  son  of  Dr.  Chauncy  Belden,  studied 
his  profession  in  New  York,  graduating  at  the  College  of  Phy- 
sicians and  Surgeons  in  1867.  ^^  served  a  year  as  Assistant 
Surgeon  in  the  Nursery  Hospital,  Randall's  Island,  N.  Y,,  then 
went  abroad,  spending  some  time  in  study  in  Vienna,  and  re- 
turning home  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1871,  where  he 
now  resides. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  'J'J 

"■The  Hill  Meeting-Hojise  and  its  Fowtder,  yohn  Ashley T  was 
responded  to  by  Rev.  Aaron  M.  Colton,  of  East  Hampton  : 

He  said  there  it  stands,  and  there  it  has  stood  for  seventy- 
four  years,  in  queenly  beauty.  Beautiful  for  situation — mount- 
ain of  the  Lord's  house — whither  the  tribes  go  up. 

It  began  with  the  century,  and  we  trust  will  bless  the  cen- 
tury to  its  close.  There  eleven  pastors,  "  elect,  chosen  of  God, 
and  precious,"  have  sounded  out  the  word  of  the  Lord.  "  Their 
line  is  gone  out  through  all  the  earth."  And  there  two  gener- 
ations of  the  godly  in  Christ  have  worshipped,  and  waited  for  the 
consolation.  That  goodly  house  has  breasted  the  storms  of 
seventy-three  winters.  And  strong  as  ever,  foundation  solid, 
timbers  sound,  spire  erect,  and  "  walls  of  strength  embrace  thee 
round."  How  many  sermons  in  that  house,  how  many  prayers, 
how  many  songs,  how  many  conversions !  How  many  hearts 
and  tongues  have  there  been  trained  and  tuned  for  worship  in 
the  temple  not  made  with  hands.  Like  its  prototype  in  Jeru- 
salem, it  looks  off  on  mountains  round  about.  It  has  seen 
"fairy  valleys  rise,"  and  villages  blossom  into  cities,  and  the  beau- 
tiful river,  ever  changing  and  still  the  same — a  goodly  scene — 

"  Beneath,  beyond,  and  stretching  far  away, 
From  inland  regions  to  the  distant  main." 
"  Heavens  !  what  a  goodly  prospect  spreads  around." 

That  grand  old  house  is  a  munition  of  rocks,  fortress,  citadel, 
watch-tower,  sentinel,  not  frowning,  but  benignant,  and  saying, 
"  All's  well !  "  Standing  on  that  elevation,  and  crowning  it,  and 
looking  off  northward,  eastward,  southward,  on  a  hundred  thous- 
and people,  seen  and  seeing,  and  blessed  by  the  vision,  greeting 
all  and  severally  "  with  an  holy  kiss."  Itself  pulpit,  preacher, 
choir,  song  and  benediction.  "  How  amiable  !  "  How  many 
hearts  have  warmed,  how  many  eyes  been  filled  with  tears  at 
beholding.  How  many  souls  from  afar,  have  had  longings  to 
look  upon  it  yet  once  more.  What  memories,  sacred  and  pre- 
cious, cluster  around  that  house  !  "  "A  thousand  blessings  on 
it  rest ! "  There  the  old  meeting-house  stands  to-day,  stately, 
grand,  goodly,  silent,  eloquent,  preaching  righteousness,  plead- 
ing for  God  and  goodness,  testifying  the  gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God.  I  beg  you,  sirs,  not  to  claim  for  yourselves,  of  West 
Springfield,  an  exclusive  proprietary  interest  in  that  house.     No, 


y8  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

sir,  please.  Not  yoiirs  only,  are  the  air  and  the  sunshine,  the 
stars,  the  trees,  the  streams.  These  are  for  all,  and  upon  all — 
the  common  heritage.  That  house  is  for  many,  and  me.  If 
you  built  the  house,  you  didn't  the  hill-top.  "  A  city  that  is  set 
on  an  hill  cannot  be  hid." 

But  let  me  advert  to  an  item  of  history.  Having  been  a 
preacher  in  this  valley  for  nearly  thirty-four  years,  I  have  had 
scope  for  knowing  something  of  the  men  who  filled  the  pulpits 
here  in  an  earlier  time.  Among  them  were  ^hre  men,  "  in  stat- 
ure proudly  eminent,"  —  excuse  the  "proudly"  —  Dr.  Joseph 
Lyman,  of  Hatfield,  Dr.  Nathan  Strong,  of  Hartford,  and  Dr. 
Lathrop,  of  West  Springfield.  Dr.  Lyman,  rigidly  orthodox, 
cool,  sagacious,  born  to  command,  learned,  great  in  council. 
Dr.  Strong — like  his  name — sound  in  doctrine,  an  able  sermon- 
izer,  in  style  of  writing  clear  and  logical,  in  manner  "decent, 
solemn,  chaste,"  not  a  model  of  ministerial  gravity  in  social  in- 
tercourse. 

Dr.  Lathrop  equalling  the  other  two  in  their  best  qualities, 
and  excelling  them  in  easy  natural  grace,  in  suavity,  in  personal 
magnetism,  with  wonderful  facility  of  adaptation  to  special  oc- 
casions, not  so  strenuous  upon  extreme  points  of  Calvinism,  a 
bishop  blameless,  model  of  a  man  rounded  out,  complete — 

"  Taken  for  all  in  all, 

"  We  ne'er  shall  see  his  like  again." 

And  now  ofie  more  name  to  be  had  in  honor.  A  new  meet- 
ing-house must  be  built.  And  where  to  be  located  t  A  vexed 
question — vexing  a  thousand  parishes.  So  here  ;  and  thus  a 
strife  among  •brethren.  Should  the  house  be  on  the  hill.''  The 
south  side  were  not  willing  to  go  up  the  hill,  and  the  north  side 
were  not  willing  to  go  over  the  hill.  And  the  contention  was 
sharp,  and  for  a  time  threatened  a  rupture.  And  how  was  the 
difficulty  adjusted.^  Happily  the  parish  had  a  man  of  masterly 
wisdom  and  prudence  in  their  pastor,  Dr.  Lathrop.  A  thought 
occurs  to  him.  "  The  history  of  a  thought  is  the  history  of  a 
life."  So  here.  Dr.  Lathrop  has  not  the  money,  but  he  knows 
who  has — a  prince  of  a  parishioner,  John  Ashley,  Esq.  The 
proposition  is  made,  and  is  generously  acceded  to.  Mr.  Ashley 
will  give  the  eminent  domain,  will  contribute  largely  to  the  ex- 
pense of  building,  and,  in  addition  will  endow  the  parish  with  a 
generous  fund  for  the  maintenance  of  the  gospel.     He  comes 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  79 

forward  with  the  offer,  which  is  accepted — "  So  making  peace." 
The  meeting-house  on  the  hill  is  thus  a  peace-maker ;  and  with 
that  sign  it  conquers.  My  apprehension  is,  that  the  hill-location 
was  a  pretty  fair  compromise,  when  considered  in  reference  to 
the  geography  and  population  at  that  time.  And  then  Mr. 
Ashley's  grand  donation  for  the  schools  of  his  town.  Thus  he 
idealized  the  great  thought  of  the  early  Puritans  and  Pilgrims 
of  New  England — religion  and  education  together — the  meet- 
ing-house and  the  school-house  side  by  side.  Considering  the 
times,  those  givings  by  Mr.  Ashley  were  very  liberal — princely. 
Those  were  not  days  of  "shoddy"  and  stock-gambling.  Men 
did  not  then  spring  to  sudden  riches.  What  was  gained,  was 
gotten  by  industry  and  prudence,  by  honest,  patient,  plodding 
toil.  "  The  hand  of  the  diligent  maketh  rich."  All  the  greater 
and  better  the  munificence  in  this  case.  The  hundreds  of  thous- 
ands given  in  our  day  are  not  so  much.  All  honor  to  the  name 
and  memory  of  John  Ashley  Esq. !  Many  among  you,  I  am 
glad  to  know,  still  bear  that  name.  May  they  all  be  worthy  of 
it,  and  ever  prove  themselves  worthy  sons  of  worthy  sires,  by 
their  liberal  devisings  for  God's  dear  house  and  worship.  The 
next  time  you  pass  along  up  Ashley  street,  look  upon  that  very 
unpretending  dwelling-house  at  your  left  on  the  hill.  Not  ^  an 
house  of  cedar"  that,  certainly.  There  lived  and  died  John 
Ashley,  "every  inch  a  king,"  and  of  like  zeal  with  Israel's  king, 
for  a  dwelling-place  for  the  most  high. 

I  am  so  much  of  a  stranger  in  your  beautiful  town,  as  not  to 
know  the  spot  where  Mr.  John  Ashley  was  buried.  From  my 
distance  I  am  fancying  that  grave  to  be  on  some  sightly  and 
sunny  spot  looking  down  on  the  Connecticut — your  Thames. 
And  to  that  hallowed  shrine  let  many  a  pilgrim  come,  doing 
honor  to  the  "dear  parted  shade"  of  one  whose  name  is  honor- 
able, and  should  be  had  in  everlasting  remembrance.  "Would 
you  see  my  monument  ?  look  around  !" 

"  Remembrance  oft  shall  haunt  the  shore, 

"  When  Thames  in  Summer  wreaths  is  drest, 

"And  oft  suspend  the  dashing  oar, 
"  To  bid  his  gentle  spirit  rest. 

"  And  oft  as  ease  and  health  retire 

"  To  breezy  lawn,  or  forest  deep, 
"The  friend  shall  v\^\i yon  wkifening  spire, 

"  And  mid  the  varied  landscape  weep. 


EXTRACTS  FROM  SPEECHES  AND  LETTERS. 


One  of  the  gems  of  the  occasion  was  a  sparkhng  httle  speech 
from  Mr.  Chan  Laisun  (of  Springfield  for  the  present,  but  really 
of  Shanghae,  China),  in  return  to  the  toast,  "  Our  Chinese 
Cousins''  He  thanked  the  chairman  for  the  honor,  but  he 
knew  very  little  about  West  Springfield,  and  feared  that  a  for- 
eigner would  make  a  mull  of  our  affairs.  In  1653,  when  this 
part  of  the  State  was  peopled  by  those  who  came  from  England, 
religious  liberty  was  in  great  agitation  ;  the  house  of  Stuart  was 
trying  to  subvert  it,  and,  for  that  reason,  these  men  fled  from 
their  comfortable  homes.  They  planted  then  in  the  wilderness 
that  old  Bay  tree,  whose  influence  spreads  east  and  west,  and 
even  far  beyond  the  ocean.  Hampden  county,  West  Spring- 
field— for  the  county  is  larger  than  the  town,  and  in  ray  land  we 
always  place  the  largest  first, — the  county  of  Hampden,  you  all 
know,  was  named  after  that  great  patriot,  John  Hampden  :  and 
it  has  been  the  home  of  a  spirit  like  his.  I  am  happy  to  join 
with  you  in  celebrating  a  hundred  years,  although  in  my  own 
country  I  have  often  celebrated  thousands.  However,  "despise 
not  the  day  of  small  things."  All  matters  must  begin.  The 
number  one  has  to  add  the  numbers  two  and  three,  and  so  on, 
to  make  the  thousands.  I  am  happy  to  thank  Massachusetts 
in  your  persons.  It  was  from  a  Massachusetts  lady  I  first 
learned  the  English  language  ;  and  little  then  could  I  think  to 
stand  here  to  give  Massachusetts  thanks.  One  hundred  years 
ago,  the  ocean-separated  countries  of  Asia  were  almost  totally 
unknown  ;  you  knew  not  whether  celestials  or  savages  dwelt 
there.  But  now  the  children  of  China,  the  celestials,  have  taken 
umbrage  under  the  shadow  of  kind  Massachusetts. — There  was 
no  speech  more  entirely  enjoyed  than  this. 

"  The  Memory  of  Dr.  yoseph  Latlirof  was  briefly  replied  to 
by  his  great-grandson,  William  Lathrop,  of  Newton,  Mass., 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  8 1 

who  remarked  that  Rev.  Dr.  Vermilye  had  left  him  little  to  say 
in  eulogy  of  his  revered  ancestor. 

''  Holyoke  the  yearling  city,  although  she  takes  a  large  pro- 
portion of  water  from  the  mirsing  bottle,  she  appears  to  be  mak- 
ing a  healthy  growth,"  called  up  Alderman  Henry  A.  Chase, 
who  said  that  notwithstanding  the  unanimous  acceptance  of  the 
centennial  committee's  invitation  by  his  city  government,  no 
other  member  was  at  the  banquet,  and,  like  Job's  servants  after 
the  calamity,  he  could  say,  "And  I  only  am  escaped  alone  to 
tell  thee."  Before  taking  his  seat,  he  gave  a  finely  condensed 
picture  of  Holyoke's  present  prosperous  condition  and  habits, 
and  excused  the  absence  of  Mayor  Pearsons  and  his  associates, 
who  had  pressing  business  engagements. 

D.  B.  Montague,  of  Springfield,  exhibited  the  identical  square 
and  hammer  used  by  his  grandfather,  Capt.  Timothy  Billings, 
in  building  the  First  Church  on  the  hill,  and  said,  the  contract 
price  for  that  building  was  one  thousand  four  hundred  dollars, 
and  ten  gallons  of  St.  Croix  rum,  valued  at  about  sixty  dollars. 
No  rum  was  used,  but  the  money  was  finally  divided  among  the 
workmen.  Six  to  ten  hands  were  employed  on  the  building, 
and  the  contractor  thought  he  made  about  four  dollars  a  day. 
The  price  of  board  was  then  from  one  dollar  and  twenty-five 
cents,  to  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  per  week.  The  Parish  Com- 
mittee on  building  were  Dr.  Seth  Lathrop,  Justin  Ely,  Jr.,  Rug- 
gles  Kent  and  Moses  Ashley.  There  was  sharp  competition 
for  the  job,  and  Capt.  Billings,  who  was  then  only  twenty-eight 
years  old,  was  thought  by  some  not  to  have  beard  enough  for 
so  large  a  work.  He  replied  that  "  skill  and  courage  were  more 
necessary  than  beard."  This  hammer  was  forged  by  a  common 
blacksmith,  and  this  iron  square,  made  in  the  same  way,  was 
the  first  used  in  this  part  of  the  country.  All  carpenters  used 
for  framing,  prior  to  that  period,  was  a  scribe  rule  and  a  ten  foot 
pole.  The  job  was  commenced  in  the  spring  of  1800,  and  the 
building  dedicated  June  24,  1802.  The  story  is  told,  that  when 
the  steeple  was  complete,  and  the  vane  which  resembles  a 
sturgeon,  adjusted,  some  waggish  men  assembled  at  the  tavern 
of  Mr.  Rufus  Colton,  in  Ramapogue  street,  got  a  rich  treat  out 
of  the  landlord.     They  told  him  they  had  made  a  bet  for  the 


82  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

drinks,  etc.,  to  be  paid  when  the  bet  was  decided.  This  was 
perfectly  satisfactory,  and  after  all  had  partaken  and  repartaken 
he  was  told  that  one  party  bet  that  when  the  church  steeple 
fell,  the  vane  would  go  to  the  north,  and  the  other  party  that  it 
would  go  to  the  south.  Landlord  Colton  doubtless  enjoyed  the 
joke  as  much  as  his  company,  for  he  was  a  jovial  man.  The  bet 
is  still  unpaid,  and  both  landlord  and  abettors  now  sleep  be- 
neath the  clods  of  the  valley. 

Dea.  Thomas  Taylor,  a  wealthy  farmer  of  Pittsfield,  was  an- 
other speaker.  He  said  in  substance :  Mr.  President,  I  left 
West  Springfield  in  April,  1810,  and  found  employment  in  the 
gun  factory  of  Mr.  Lemuel  Pomeroy,  of  Pittsfield,  at  ten  dollars 
per. month  and  board.  At  the  end  of  six  months  I  took  sixty 
dollars  and  a  few  clothes  tied  up  in  a  handkerchief,  and  started 
on  foot  for  my  native  town.  I  walked  the  entire  distance,  over 
forty  miles,  in  a  day,  and  handed  over  the  money  to  my  parents, 
reserving  about  twenty-five  cents  for  my  expenses  back  to  Pitts- 
field. That  was  the  way  to  make  money  once.  My  father  and 
grandfather,  natives  of  Tatham,  both  bore  the  name  of  Thomas 
Taylor.  My  mother  was  Clarissa  Bagg,  a  daughter  of  Dea.  John 
Bagg,  and  my  love  and  recollections  of  her  are  now  among  the 
chiefest  pleasures  of  my  life.  I  was  baptized  by  Dr.  Lathrop  at 
my  father's  house,  the  place  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Elijah  Sibley. 
My  mother  used  to  take  me  to  church  and  place  me  on  the  pul- 
pit stairs  during  service  ;  whether  because  I  was  so  good  I  am 
unable  to  say.  This  was  in  the  old  church,  where  over  Dr.  La- 
throp's  head  and  mine,  was  suspended  that  awful  looking  trap 
they  called  a  sounding-board.  Dr.  Lathrop  was  very  venerable 
in  appearance,  and  the  children  were  wont  to  form  in  lines  on 
either  side  of  the  road  as  he  passed,  to  do  him  reverence.  With 
his  hat  turned  up  on  three  sides,  he  would  bow  in  recognition, 
and  after  he  had  passed,  those  were  the  happiest  who  could  say 
"  he  bowed  to  me." 

The  speeches  did  not  close  till  night,  nor  did  the  throng  dis- 
perse till  the  band  were  summoned  to  play  the  departing  march, 
after  which  it  was  reluctantly  moved  and  voted  that  "  this  meet- 
ing do  now  adjourn  for  one  hundred  years." 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  83 

FROM  A.  A.  WOOD,  D.  D. 

Lyons,  N.  Y.,  Feb.  20,  1874. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Bagg  : — It  would  give  me  very  great  pleasure 
to  be  with  you  at  the  centennial  celebration.  But,  as  I  have 
already  written  to  you,  this  seems  to  be  out  of  the  question,  I 
shall  certainly  be  with  you  in  thought  and  sympathy  on  that 
day,  and  I  trust  that  the  occasion  will  be  everything  that  the 
most  loyal  child  of  West  Springfield  could  desire.  You  will 
greatly  miss  some  of  the  fathers  of  the  town,  who  would  have 
rejoiced  had  they  lived  to  engage  in  such  a  commemorative 
service.  Notably  among  these  would  have  been  Hon.  Samuel 
Lathrop,  and  Sewell  White,  Esq.         ***** 

Sewell  White,  "  Uncle  Sewell"  as  we  loved  to  call  him,  was 
a  walking  magazine  of  facts  and  incidents  in  regard  to  the  early 
history  of  the  town.  He  had  some  fact  to  state,  or  some  quaint 
story  to  tell,  in  regard  to  almost  all  the  old  houses  and  families. 
I  think  of  these  in  this  connection,  but  there  are  many  others 
whose  names  and  faces  rise  before  me — good  men  and  true. 

May  the  day  be  auspicious,  and  all  the  services   everything 
that  could  be  desired.    With  fragrant  memories,  and  good  wishes, 
I  am,  my  dear  sir,  yours  most  truly, 

A.  A.  Wood. 

P.  S. —  My  two  West  Springfield  boys,  are  Edward  A.  Wood, 
Geneva,  N.  Y.,  and  Wm.  L.  Wood,  Indianapolis,  Indiana. 

FROM  HENRY  M.  FIELD,  D.  D.,  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  EVANGELIST. 

New  York,  March  20,  1874. 
Dear  Mr.  Bagg  : — It  is  a  great  temptation  that  you  set  be- 
fore me  in  the  prospect  of  your  centennial  celebration,  and  my 
heart's  desire  is  to  come  to  the  feast ;  but  the  very  day  ap- 
pointed for  your  village  festival  I  am  engaged  here,  so  that  I 
can  only  send  you  my  best  wishes  for  the  blessed  old  town 
where  we  passed  so  many  happy  days.  A  place  is  always  dear 
to  us  where  we  have  been  very  happy ;  and  the  four  years  that 
I  was  your  pastor  form  a  bright  and  sunny  chapter  in  my  life. 
Was  there  ever  a  cosier  shelter  for  a  new-married  couple  than 
that  modest  parsonage  under  the  trees,  over  which  the  great 
elms  bent  in  loving  protection  ?  How  often  did  we  sit  under 
their  shade,  book  in  hand,  or  talking  with  dear  friends  ;  or  stroll 


84  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

along  the  banks  of  your  beautiful  river  at  twilight ;  or  ride  over 
the  hills  to  hold  meetings  in  the  different  districts  of  the  town. 
It  was  then  we  tasted  of  your  abundant  hospitality.  There  is 
no  fireside  in  the  world  more  truly  hospitable  than  that  of  a 
New  England  farmer,  and  when  "the  minister"  comes  nothing 
is  too  good  for  him.  It  seems  to  be  Thanksgiving  all  the  year 
round.  Your  people  were  indeed  very,  very  kind  to  us,  and 
their  kindness  will  never  be  forgotten.  Perhaps  I  fared  better, 
coming  after  so  many  distinguished  ministers,  so  that  I  inher- 
ited the  traditional  reverence.  I  have  heard  of  troublesome 
parishes,  and  of  crabbed  old  deacons,  who  vexed  the  life  out  of 
faithful  ministers,  but  I  know  nothing  of  such  from  my  own  ex- 
perience. The  first  man  who  received  me  at  West  Springfield 
was  good  Deacon  Merrick,  and  it  made  me  sad,  as  I  rode  by  his 
house  last  summer,  to  think  that  he  was  gone,  and  that  I  should 
see  his  face  no  more.  There  too  was  Deacon  Smith,  who  always 
came  to  meeting,  rain  or  shine,  and  whose  prayers  were  so  sim- 
ple and  fervent  they  touched  every  heart ;  and  many  others  whose 
faces  rise  before  me  as  I  write,  whom  you  miss  in  your  assemblies. 
They  are  laid  to  rest  in  the  yard  by  the  Common,  or  by  the 
church  on  the  hill,  where  "  the  forefathers  of  the  hamlet  sleep." 

You  meet  to  celebrate  the  completion  of  a  hundred  years  ! 
Where  will  you  be  a  hundred  years  to  come  t  Your  children's 
children  may  live  to  see  the  day,  but  all  who  take  part  in  this 
celebration  will  have  passed  from  the  earth.  May  it  be  that 
still,  in  that  beautiful  valley  where  it  is  your  happiness  to  pass 
your  lives,  pleasant  memories  shall  long  linger  among  the  trees, 
such  as  a  good  man  could  wish  to  leave  behind.  Few  towns  of 
New  England  have  been  favored  with  such  a  line  of  eminent 
preachers  of  the  gospel.  Remember  their  faithful  teachings,  and 
imitate  their  saintly  examples  ;  so,  if  you  never  see  another  such 
day  on  earth,  you  may  celebrate  your  next  centennial  in  heaven. 

Very  affectionately  your  friend,  and  the  friend  of  everybody 
in  West  Springfield,  ^^^^^^  ^^    P^^^^_ 

FROM  T.  H.  HAWKS,  D.  D. 

Marietta,  O.,  March  io,  1874. 
Mr.  J.  N.  Bagg, — Dear  Sir:     It  was  a  matter  of  great  regret 
to  me  that  I  could  not  attend  the  centennial   celebration   of  the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  85 

incorporation  of  West  Springfield  on  the  25th  ult.  I  remem- 
bered with  deUght  the  centennial  anniversary  of  Dr.  Lathrop's 
settlement,  observed  the  year  after  my  installation,  and  would 
gladly  have  participated  in  the  recent  festival,  expecting  a  similar 
occasion  of  pleasure. 

But  better  motives  influenced  me.  To  have  been  with  you 
would  have  been  to  mingle  with  dear  friends,  and  revive  precious 
memories  of  the  days  when  our  field  of  labor  and  our  home  were 
in  the  goodly  old  town.  There  for  six  years  we  experienced  the 
greatest  kindness,  were  associated  with  noble  Christian  workers 
both  in  the  church  and  in  sister  churches,  and  reveled  in  scenes 
of  natural  beauty  which  have  been  a  joy  to  us  ever  since  we  left 
the  place.  A  minister  may  go  far,  but  rarely  will  he  find  so 
many  causes  of  happiness  in  his  place  of  work  as  we  had  in 
West  Springfield.  I  should  like  to  pay  a  tribute  of  reverence 
and  love,  to  some  who  were  with  us  then,  but  who  have  entered 
into  rest.  I  do  not  forget  however,  that  your  festival  was  com- 
memorative of  the  incorporation  of  the  town,  and  that  such  a 
tribute  would  rather  befit  a  different  occasion. 

If  is  a  peculiarity  of  New  Englanders  to  love  the  places  of 
their  nativity  with  something  of  the  warmth  and  devotion  that 
characterize  the  Swiss  and  the  Scotch.  It  is  a  work  of  filial 
love  to  gather  together  the  fragments  of  history  and  put  them 
in  beautiful  order,  that  as  little  as  possible  of  the  doings  and 
sayings  of  their  worthy  ancestors  may  be  lost.  Their  children 
will  thank  them  for  it,  and  so  will  some  future  historian. 

West  Springfield  is  fortunate  in  having  one  so  able  as  Dr. 
Vermilye  to  put  in  permanent  form  some  of  the  facts  she  would 
not  have  forgotten. 

I  feel  much  like  a  son  writing  of  things  that  pertain  to  his 
mother  and  his  childhood  home  ;  for  if  I  was  not "  to  the  manor 
born,"  I  claim  the  privileges  of  an  adopted  son.  Let  me  now 
tell  you  in  few  words  how  it  has  fared  with  us  since  we  left 
West  Springfield  in  the  Spring  of  1861. 

Our  home  was  in  Cleveland,  till  May,  1868.  There  two  child- 
ren were  born  to  us  ;  we  had  three  when  we  went  from  you.  By 
the  goodness  of  God  all  are  living.  In  June,  1869,  we  came  to 
this  place,  where  I  am  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  Church. 

We  have  occasion  to  thank  God  for  His  leading.  But  in 
every  place,  and  as  long  as  we  may   live,   we  shall  praise   Him 


86  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

for  giving  us  the  privilege  of  living  and  working  in  the  good  old 
town  whose  natal  day,  a  hundred  years  ago,  has  been  so 
worthily  commemorated,  and  it  shall  be  our  prayer  that  on  her 
churches  and  on  all  her  people  the  choicest  blessings  of  heaven 
may  be  bestowed.  Yours  truly, 

T.  H.  Hawks. 

LETTER  FROM  E.  B.  FOSTER,  D.  D. 

Lowell,  Mass.,  March  23,  1874. 

My  Dear  Mr.  Bagg  : — Your  programme  of  the  celebration, 
and  your  very  kind  invitation  to  be  present  at  the  Centennial, 
came  duly  to  hand.  I  wish,  with  great  desire,  that  I  could  be 
in  West  Springfield  to-morrow,  to  join  in  memories,  prophecies, 
hopes,  congratulations,  thanksgivings.  Hardly  a  field  which 
the  Lord  has  planted  will  give  so  many  outlooks  into  the  past 
and  the  future,  which  will  be  instructive,  quickening  and 
precious. 

It  is  impossible  for  me  to  be  present.  My  people  meet  to- 
night to  consult  with  regard  to  some  plan  of  rest,  which  they 
propose  to  give  me.  I  am  well-nigh  worn  out,  and  have  asked 
for  a  vacation  of  six  months,  or  for  an  associate  pastor.  A  visit 
to  your  family,  and  to  the  dear  churches,  and  to  the  town,  would 
be  a  great  joy  to  me ;  but  I  am  too  much  exhausted,  and  too 
sensitive  to  exposures,  to  allow  me  to  take  any  journey  in  these 
bleak  March  airs. 

You  ask  for  some  particulars  of  my  own  history.  I  was  born 
in  Hanover,  N.  H.,  May  26,  18 13.  My  father's  name  was  Rich- 
ard, my  mother's  Irene  Burroughs.  My  maternal  grandfather, 
Rev.  Eden  Burroughs,  D.  D.,  was  for  the  first  ten  years  of  his 
ministerial  life  pastor  of  a  Congregational  church  in  Killingly, 
Conn.,  and  for  the  last  forty  years  of  his  life  pastor  of  a  Congre- 
gational church  in  Hanover,  N.  H.  He  was  a  life-long  friend 
of  President  Wheelock,  the  founder  of  Dartmouth  College,  and 
for  many  years,  as  trustee  and  in  the  intimate  fellowship  of 
counsel,  was  associated  with  President  Wheelock  in  the  gov- 
ernment of  the  college.  I  graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 
1837;  studied  two  years  at  Andover  Theological  Seminary; 
taught  two  years  in  academies  in  Pembroke,  N.  H.,  and  Con- 
cord, N.  H.  I  was  married  to  Catherine,  daughter  of  Deacon 
Orramel  Pinneo,  of  Hanover,  N.  H.,  August   it,    1840.     I   was 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  8/ 

ordained  pastor  of  the  Congregational  church,  Henniker,  N.  H., 
August  17,  1841.  I  have  also  been  settled  as  minister  in  Pel- 
ham,  N.  H.,  Lowell,  Mass.,  and  West  Springfield,  Mass,  My 
eldest  son,  Addison  Pinneo,  now  32  years  of  age,  is  pastor  of 
the  Winnisimmet  Congregational  church  in  Chelsea,  Mass. 
My  eldest  daughter,  Emily,  died  aged  22,  in  West  Springfield, 
Mass.,  Dec.  30,  1865,  greatly  beloved  and  greatly  mourned.  I 
have  buried  in  their  early  childhood,  just  as  the  bud  was  begin- 
ning to  break  forth  into  mental  and  moral  beauty,  three  sons — 
Charles,  Edward  and  Bela.  My  youngest  daughter,  Nellie,  is 
17  years  of  age.  I  have  published,  on  different  subjects,  twenty 
sermons  and  addresses.  Through  the  gracious  favor  of  a  loving 
and  guardian  God,  my  pastorates  have  all  been  very  happy,  and 
I  trust  have  not  been  without  some  fruits  of  blessing  and  of 
usefulness,  in  churches  quickened  and  in  souls  converted. 

Be  assured,  my  dear  Deacon  Bagg,  of  my  abiding  gratitude 
to  the  dear  old  church  of  West  Springfield,  now  working  for 
Christ  in  two  bands, — a  living  fountain  from  which  richest 
streams  of  good  have  flowed.  Be  assured  of  the  high  honor  and 
esteem  in  which  I  hold  the  men  and  women  of  the  town,  whose 
record  has  been  one  of  integrity,  enterprise,  mental  culture, 
generosity,  noble  progress.  Be  assured  that  my  prayers  will 
never  cease  for  the  large-minded  and  the  large-hearted  friends 
I  found  there,  and  for  whose  love  and  counsel  I  bless  the  Lord 
every  day  that  I  live. 

With  much  love,  and  grateful  remembrances  to  all, 
Very  affectionately  yours, 

Eden  B.  Foster. 

FROM  REV.  HENRY  M.  GROUT. 

Concord,  March  18,  1874. 
J.  N.  Bagg,  Esq. — My  Dear  Sir  :  It  is  with  unfeigned  regret 
that  I  find  myself  unable  to  accept  your  kind  invitation  to  be 
present  at  the  approaching  "  Centennial "  of  your  beautiful  and 
famous  town,  and  take  some  part  in  its  exercises.  I  comfort 
myself,  however,  with  the  thought,  that  in  so  large  and  distin- 
guished a  company,  my  presence  or  absence  could  not  much 
affect  the  interest  of  the  occasion.  A  considerable  portion  of 
my  last  year  at  West  Springfield  was  spent  in  looking  up  the 
early  history  of  the  Ancient  Church  upon  the  hill ;  so  that,  al- 


88  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

though  the  last  and  youngest  of  all  the  pastors  who  have  gone 
out  from  you,  I  came  to  feel  myself  on  quite  familiar  terms  with 
the  early  settlers.  It  struck  me  curiously,  in  tracing  and  iden- 
tifying some  hundreds  of  names,  that,  with  two  or  three  excep- 
tions if  I  rightly  remember,  double  Christian  names  made  their 
appearance  upon  the  records  after  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  It  was  somewhere  about  that  time  that  plain,  substan- 
tial John  and  Sarah  began  to  give  place  to  the  more  fanciful 
and  sentimental  John  Henry  and  Sarah  Jane.  We  are  not  sure 
that  this  indicates  any  radical  change  in  the  character  of  the 
people,  but  pass  the  fact  over  to  those  philosophically  inclined, 
as  one  worthy  of  their  attention. 

Among  other  discoveries  we  fancied  we  made,  in  connection 
with  our  historical  researches,  was  the  apparent  mistake  of 
those  who  imagine  that  there  has  been  a  decline  in  the  church- 
going  habits  of  our  old  New  England  towns.  Such  certainly 
has  not  been  the  case  in  West  Springfield.  Remembering  that 
there  are  not  fewer  than  twenty  churches  within  the  bounds  of 
what  was  once  the  solitary  First  Parish — -of  what  a  goodly  fam- 
ily is  she  the  yet  vigorous  mother ; — it  is  evident  that  there  at 
least,  the  excellent  example  of  the  fathers  has  not  been  forgot- 
ten. Then  we  observed,  that,  notwithstanding  the  frequent  re- 
duction of  its  families  by  the  formation  of  new  societies,  each 
succeeding  half-century  has  witnessed  yet  more  numerous  ac- 
cessions to  the  original  and  mother  church.  Beginning  with 
the  year  1721,  the  first  covered  by  existing  records,  three  hun- 
dred and  thirteen  were  added  to  its  membership  the  first  half- 
century,  four  hundred  and  forty-five  the  second,  and  six  hundred 
and  six  the  third.  If,  in  these,  and  other  respects,  the  course  of 
improvement  goes  on  in  this  way  another  half-century,  so  many 
of  your  scattered  sons  and  daughters  will  desire  to  return  to  the 
delightful  shade  of  your  elms  and  maples,  that  there  will  be 
hardly  room  to  receive  them.  I  am  with  loyal  spirit,  and  grate- 
ful memories,  Very  truly  yours, 

Henry  M.  Grout. 

FROM  DEA.  ELISHA  ELDRIDGE. 

Ann  Arbor,  March  12,  1874. 
Gentlemen  : — As  I  cannot  be  present  at  the  centennial  cel- 
ebration on  the  25  th  I  will  give  you  a  few  recollections. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  89 

My  father  moved  into  West  Springfield  from  Berlin,  Ct.,  in 
1790,  during  my  infancy.  Ministers  and  meeting-houses  occu- 
pied more  attention  formerly  than  at  present,  and  hence  these 
are  among  my  earliest  recollections.  The  first  meeting-house 
was  situated  near  the  middle  of  the  Town  Common.  It  was  a 
square  building,  with  doors  on  three  sides.  It  had  three  roofs 
or  stories,  each  story  being  smaller  than  the  one  below  it,  and 
the  highest  came  to  a  point  surmounted  by  an  iron  rod,  which 
supported  a  huge  sheet-iron  vane.  The  inside  of  the  house  was 
built  mostly  of  oak  timber,  including  the  pulpit.  On  the  right 
of  the  pulpit,  in  the  gallery,  the  treble  singers  sat.  Opposite 
were  the  bass  singers,  while  directly  in  front  of  the  pulpit,  the 
tenor  and  counter  were  seated.  There  was  one  seat  in  the  gal- 
lery above  all  the  rest  occupied  by  the  gentry  or  aristocracy. 
Dea.  Pelatiah  Bliss  led  the  singing  for  a  number  of  years,  and 
afterwards  Hon.  Samuel  Lathrop.  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Lathrop 
was  a  large,  portly,  venerable  looking  man,  who  preached  in  the 
same  pulpit  over  sixty-four  years,  and  until  Dr.  Sprague's  set- 
tlement. 

I  recollect  looking  up  into  the  old  pulpit  one  Sabbath  morn- 
ing and  seeing  a  man  that  looked  more  like  a  straggler  than  a 
preacher.  His  hair  looked  as  if  it  had  not  been  combed  for 
many  days.  This  was  Rev.  Mr.  Ballantine,  of  Westfield,  who 
had  made  an  exchange  with  Parson  Lathrop.  Timothy  Billings, 
of  Deerfield,  contracted  to  build  the  meeting-house  on  the  hill 
for  one  thousand  four  hundred  dollars,  and  a  suitable  accompa- 
niment of  good  rum.  The  raising  took  place  while  a  vessel  was 
building  on  the  Common,  and  the  men  there  employed,  assisted 
in  raising  the  steeple.     *     «     *     Yours  truly, 

Elisha  Eldridge. 

FROM  ALONZO  CHAPIN,  M.  D. 

Manchester,  March,  24,  1874. 

J.  N.  Bagg,  Esq. — Dear  Sir:  I  find  myself,  much  to  my  re- 
gret, unable  at  the  last,  to  be  present  at  your  centennial.  I 
send  my  kind  regards  to  all  present,  with  the  following  senti- 
ment :  "  Our  Alma  Mater.  Other  scenes  and  other  cares  may 
divert  us,  but  our  early  love  we  do  not  forget." 

I  will  at  some  time  try  to  tell  you,  as  requested,  of  the  Chapin 
family. 


90  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Wishing  you,  as  I  have  no  doubt  you  will  have,  a  very  mem- 
orable occasion, 

I  am,  yours  truly, 

A.  Chapin. 

FROM  PROF.  GEORGE  E.  DAY. 

Yale  College,  March  24,  1874. 

Gentlemen  :  Please  accept  my  thanks  for  the  invitation 
extended  to  me  to  attend  the  centennial  celebration  at  West 
Springfield.  It  would  give  me  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  ac- 
cept it,  but  other  engagements  prevent. 

Although  not  a  son,  I  can  claim  to  be  a  grandson  of  West 
Springfield.  There  my  ancestors  have  lived  for  many  genera- 
tions, and  I  shall  always  cherish  a  filial  interest  in  all  that  con- 
cerns its  prosperity. 

It  is  not  forgotten  on  this  ground  that  one  of  your  former  pas- 
tors, the  distinguished  Dr.  Lathrop,  was  called  in  1793  to  become 
Professor  of  Divinity  in  this  College,  and  that  the  names  of 
many  natives  of  West  Springfield  appear  upon  its  Triennial 
Catalogue. 

In  this  list  of  graduates,  the  town  is  represented  by  two  sons 
of  the  first  minister,  Rev.  John  Woodbridge,  by  his  successor 
Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins  and  his  son  Samuel,  by  Dr.  Lathrop  who 
succeeded  him  and  his  son  Hon.  Samuel  Lathrop,  not  to  men- 
tion others  among  the  living  and  the  dead.  May  a  true  regard 
for  education  continue  to  characterize  the  town  to  the  latest 
generation. 

Respectfully  yours, 

George  E.  Day. 

LETTER  FROM   N.  T.  LEONARD. 

Westfield,  April  18,  1874. 
J,  N.  Bagg,  Esq. — My  Dear  Sir:  In  accordance  with  your 
request  that  I  should  state  the  substance  of  my  reminiscences 
in  regard  to  the  inhabitants  of  West  Springfield,  which  the  state 
of  my  health  prevented  my  giving  orally  at  the  celebration,  I 
would  state  :  My  father,  Nathaniel  Leonard,  was  a  native  of 
Shefiield  ;  of  which  town  his  father,  bearing  the  same  name, 
was  one  of  the  original  proprietors.  His  mother  was  Sarah 
flower,  sister  of  Col.  Samuel  Flower  and  Mr.  Timothy  Plovver. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  9I 

She  died  when  my  father  was  five  years  of  age,  and  his  father 
when  he  was  but  twelve.  On  the  happening  of  the  latter  event, 
my  father  and  one  of  his  sisters  were  taken  into  the  family  of 
Major  Jesse  Mclntire  of  Feeding  Hills, — who  was  half  brother 
of  his  father,  and  his  wife's  own  sister  of  his  mother, — where  he 
remained  from  1776  to  about  the  time  of  the  close  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary war.  Some  incidents  occurring  during  this  time  in- 
dicate the  privations  to  which  those  living  in  that  trying 
period  voluntarily  submitted,  as  well  as  their  primitive  modes  of 
life. 

Major  Mclntire  had  a  good  farm,  and  his  house,  which  was 
the  only  one  of  brick  in  that  era  and  vicinity,  was  some  twenty 
feet  square  and  a  story-and-a-half  in  hight.  This  served  the 
purpose  for  accommodation  of  at  least  six  children,  embracing 
the  orphans  and,  it  is  my  impression,  Sarah  [Ely],  the  grand- 
mother of  my  father,  her  first  husband  being  Nathaniel  Leonard, 
and  after  his  death  (the  fashion  of  dissolution  by  divorce  not 
then  being  introduced)  she  intermarried  with  Mr.  William  Mc- 
lntire. In  this  household  the  fare  of  the  children  was  very 
plain.  Sometimes  when  the  pot  had  been  boiled  and  the  meat 
taken  up,  the  liquor  (thickened  with  flour  or  meal,  the  boiling 
process  continued)  served  as  one  dish.  At  another  time  the 
liquor  was  made  available  by  dipping  bread  into  it  and  thus 
making  toast.  Bean  porridge  was  another  savory  dish.  The 
good  aunt,  of  blessed  memory,  not  only  treated  her  orphaned 
sister's  children  as  well  as  her  own,  but  better ;  for  while  her 
boys  sometimes  refused  the  plain  pies  ordinarily  prepared,  when 
those  of  better  flavor  were  served  she  was  accustomed  to  give 
my  father  the  largest  piece,  as  a  reward  for  having  eaten  what 
was  set  before  him.  He  (Maj.  Mclntire)  and  his  wife  were  ac- 
customed to  sit  beside  each  other,  and  to  eat  from  the  same 
plate  at  the  table. 

The  plains  between  Feeding  Hills  and  Agawam  furnished  a 
supply  of  fat-pine  stumps  and  knots,  which  served  for  light  in  the 
kitchen  fire-place  by  which  my  father  worked  out  his  problems 
in  arithmetic,  and — under  the  instructions  of  his  grandmother — 
acquired  his  mode  of  reading  the  Scriptures,  which  he  followed 
in  after  life,  in  which  the  sound  given  to  some  of  the  verbs  was 
as  follows : — "  shoold,  shault,  woold,  coold,"  for  the  words — 
should,  shalt,  would,  could. 


92  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

As  I  understand,  Major  Mclntire  was  not  only  a  man  of  sub- 
stance, but  of  prominent  position.  An  anecdote  which  has 
recently  come  to  my  knowledge  shows  the  estimation  in  which 
he  was  held  as  a  reliable  man. 

A  garrulous  man  having  given  a  narration  to  a  company 
when  Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop  happened  to  be  present,  and  some  in- 
credulity being  manifested  at  the  recital,  "  It's  true,  every  word 
of  it,"  said  the  narrator ;  "  I  had  it  from  Major  Mclntire." 
"  Yes,"  replied  Dr.  L.,  "  but  we  don't  seem  to  have  it  direct  from 
Mr.  Mclntire." 

During  a  residence  in  Feeding  Hills  from  1824  to  1830,  I 
made  the  acquaintance  of  a  number  of  my  kindred.  Timothy 
Flower,  a  great-uncle  and  an  esteemed  member  of  the  Baptist 
church,  was  a  man  of  Zaccheus-like  stature,  though  the  fact  of 
his  encasing  his  nether  limbs  in  long  stockings  and  breeches 
buttoned  at  the  knees,  according  to  the  fashion  of  his  early  days, 
perhaps  gave  one  a  more  distinct  impression  of  his  diminutive- 
ness.  But  he  had  a  large  heart,  and  his  conscientious  and  per- 
sistent efforts  to  do  justice  to  others  would  be  well  illustrated 
by  an  anecdote  which  I  would  like  to  relate,  but  for  the  possi- 
bility it  might  wound  the  feelings  of  some  now  living.  His  son 
Spencer  was  the  leading  man  in  the  Methodist  church,  and  was 
at  times  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen. 

Another  cousin  of  my  father  (his  mother  being  a  Flower  was 
Justin  Granger.  He  had  a  great  fondness  for  music,  a  pleasant 
voice,  and  was  to  some  extent  a  composer.  A  piece  written  by 
him,  called  "  Repentance,"  was  sung  by  the  choir  in  the  church. 
Mr.  Frederick  Hazen,  now  of  Springfield,  was  the  leader,  and  I 
think  might  furnish  a  copy  of  the  tune  for  publication. 

At  the  period  above  mentioned  the  town  was  territorially  di- 
vided into  four  parishes — the  Central  or  First,  Agawam,  Ireland 
and  Feeding  Hills.  Each  of  the  latter  had  from  two  to  three 
religious  societies  or  churches  organized,  while  the  first  had 
but  one. 

The  executive  department  of  the  town  was  a  pentarchy,  unit- 
ing the  offices  of  Selectmen,  Assessors,  and  Overseers  of  the 
Poor.  They  were  the  representatives  of  the  parishes,  the  first 
having  two  members  of  the  Board.  Two  of  my  father's  cousins 
were  members  of  this  organization.  Timothy  Horton  (his 
mother  was  a  Flower),  whose  residence  was  in  Agawam,  was 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  93 

called  not  only  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  a  medical  practitioner 
in  that  town,  but  in  all  the  surrounding  towns,  having  the  repu- 
tation of  being  skillful  in  the  administration  of  remedies  and 
independent  in  his  opinions. 

Alfred,  son  of  Colonel  Samuel  Flower,  has  within  a  few 
months  been  "gathered  to  his  fathers"  at  the  ripe  age  of  93, 
after  having  served  his  generation  faithfully  as  a  deacon  in  the 
Congregational  church  in  feeding  Hills,  a  captain  in  the  militia, 
a  magistrate,  and  a  representative  in  the  Legislature.  There 
was  an  incident  in  my  intercourse  with  him  that  served  to  show 
the  importance  of  a  temperance  pledge  and  organization  in  its 
influence  upon  others.  In  1827,  being  called  with  him  and  an- 
other gentleman  to  attend  to  some  business  occupying  a  day  or 
more,  after  our  labors  were  completed,  and  being  at  a  hotel,  by 
direction  of  the  other  gentleman  "a  mug  of  sling"  was  brought 
into  the  room,  of  which  Mr.  F.  declined  partaking,  stating  that 
he  had  discontinued  its  use  for  some  months ;  which  was  un- 
known to  us,  though  in  habit  of  almost  daily  intercourse.  On 
the  formation  of  a  temperance  organization,  a  few  months  after, 
he  was  of  course  ready  to  sign  the  pledge. 

James  Kent  and  Captain  Hosea  Day,  who  with  his  company 
marched  to  the  defence  of  Boston  in  181 2  with  Aaron  Bagg 
and  Luke  Parsons,  were  associated  with  Messrs.  Horton  and 
Flower  in  caring  for  the  interests  of  the  town.  They  were  ac- 
customed to  meet  for  the  transaction  of  public  business  at  land- 
lord Colton's  hotel, — a  man  who,  notwithstanding  the  trials  in- 
cident to  his  position,  was  recognized  as  a  very  devout  person. 

The  Board  audited  all  the  bills,  and  were  never  suspected  of 
anything  like  Tweedism  or  Mobilierism  ;  and,  avoiding  even 
the  appearance  of  evil,  at  the  annual  town  meeting  they  were 
accustomed  to  make  their  bills  for  services  at  $1.00  per  day, 
without  charging  for  horse  hire,  and  present  them  for  allowance 
to  the  town,  together  with  a  bill  of  Mr.  Colton's.  On  one  oc- 
casion, the  Moderator  stating  the  question  in  regard  to  the  lat- 
ter, "Will  the  Town  allow  Mr.  Colton's  bill  of  $ —  for  refresh- 
ments furnished  the  Selectmen,"  a  voter,  not  accustomed  to  join 
in  the  discussions,  occasioned  a  good  deal  of  mirth  by  rising 
and,  in  a  feminine  voice,  throwing  his  head  back  and  looking  at 
the  presiding  officer  from  under  his  glasses,  saying — "  Mr.  Mod- 
erator, won't  you  please  to  read  the  items  ?" 


94  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

I  recall  pleasant  recollections  of  my  acquaintance  with  the 
Elys, — Justin,  Homer  and  Cotton  of  the  first  parish,  Robert  of 
the  second,  and  Henry  of  the  third. 

I  recollect  the  former  saying  to  me  in  my  bachelor  days,  "  Mr. 
L.,  I  think  you  would  enjoy  life  much  better  if  you  were  mar- 
ried." I  pass  the  statement  along  to  the  young  men  of  the 
present  day,  with  the  assurance  that  to  me  it  has  been  doubly 
verified.  Whether  any  of  these  were  of  my  remote  kindred  by 
reason  of  my  being  descended  from  an  Ely,  or  not,  I  cannot 
say.  As  to  my  kindred  bearing  my  own  name,  I  knew  Justin, 
Phineas  and  Dwight,  father  and  son  ;  Elias,  grandfather  of  Col. 
Parsons  ;  Rufus  and  Asaph,  the  latter  having,  even  in  old  age, 
an  enthusiastic  fondness  for  seine-fishing  ;  Reuben  and  his  son 
Robert,  and  their  neighbors  Apollos  and  William,  all  residents 
of  Feeding  Hills,  and  Thaddeus  of  Agawam,  who  married  a  sis- 
ter of  my  father.  None  of  these  gentlemen  were  descended 
from  any  ancestor  of  mine  nearer  than  Benjamin,  who  was  the 
son  of  John,  the  first  of  whose  fourteen  children  was  born  in 
Springfield  in  1641. 

An  anecdote  was  related  to  mC  in  regard  to  one  of  our  name 
who  was  not  then  living,  but  with  whose  family  I  was  intimately 
acquainted  :  A  neighbor  applied  to  him  for  a  horse  to  make  a 
journey.  He  made  no  direct  reply.  Three  or  four  days  after, 
meeting  the  applicant,  he  said — "  Horse  !  Yes  ;  I  don't  care  if 
you  take  him."  To  which  the  reply  was — "  Mr.  Leonard,  I  have 
been  to  Hartford,  and  got  back  last  night." 

Perhaps  it  might  be  inferred  from  this  that  the  operations  of 
our  minds,  as  a  family,  were  rather  sluggish. 


THE    CHURCH    ON    MEETING-HOUSE    HILL, 
ERECTED    A.  D.    1800. 


APPENDIX. 


The  following  is  a  literal  copy  of  the  record  by  which  West  Spring- 
field first  became  a  parish  : 

At  a  Great  and  General  Court  or  Assembly  for  his  Majesties 
Province  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  in  New  England,  begun  and  held 
at  Boston  upon  Wednesday  y^  27th  of  May,  1696,  In  the  Eighth  year 
of  his  Majesties  Reign,  and  Continued  by  Several  Adjournments  unto 
Wednesday  the  i8th  of  Novemb""  following. 

Upon  reading  the  petition  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Spring- 
field on  the  West  Side  of  the  great  River  running  throug''  the  s*^  Town, 
Commonly  called  Connecticut  River,  therein  setting  forth  their  distance 
from  the  place  of  meeting  for  the  publick  worship  of  God  in  s*^  Town, 
and  the  difficulties  and  danger  attending  their  passing  of  the  s''  River, 
besides  many  other  inconveniences  they  lye  under  by  reason  thereof, 
being  about  Thirty-two  Families  and  in  number  upwards  of  Two  Hun- 
dred Souls,  Praying  that  they  may  be  Permitted  to  invite  and  settle  a 
minister  on  that  side  of  the  River,  that  themselves  and  Families  may 
enjoy  the  Ordinances  of  Christ  and  their  Children  not  be  in  danger  of 
becoming  heathens  for  want  of  Instruction.  And  a  Committee  ap- 
pointed by  this  Court  of  indifferent  and  Judicious  persons  belonging  to 
the  several  neighboring  Towns  to  inquire  into  that  matter,  having  given 
a  Meeting  to  the  Inhabitants  of  the  s*^  Town  and  heard  what  was  offered 
on  both  sides,  Reporting  that  they  judge  the  desire  of  the  Petitioners 
to  be  reasonable,  and  that  the  granting  of  their  Petition  will  not  only 
promote  Religion^  but  be  much  also  for  the  worldly  advantage  of  the 
Town. 

Ordered,  That  the  s"^  Petitioners  be.  and  hereby  are,  permitted,  and 
allowed,  to  invite,  procure  and  settle,  a  learned  and  orthodox  Minister 
on  the  West  side  of  the  s*^  River,  to  dispense  the  word  of  God  unto 
those  that  dwell  there,  and  that  they  be  a  distinct  and  separate  Precinct 
for  that  purpose,  the  River  to  be  the  dividing  Line.  And  that  the 
Present  Inhabitants  on  the  west  side  of  the  s^  River,  together  with 
such  as  shall  from  time  to  time  settle  among  them,  have  liberty  to  con- 


96  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

vene  together,  to  advise,  agree  upon,  and  take  such  methods,  as  may 
be  suitable  and  convenient,  for  the  procuring,  encouraging.  settUng  and 
support  of  a  minister  qualified  as  afores*^,  and  for  the  building  of  a 
Meeting  House  according  as  shall  be  determined  by  a  Major  Vote,  and 
also  to  nominate  and  appoint  a  Committee  of  three  or  more  persons 
among  themselves  to  transact  and  manage  that  affair.  And  all  the 
Inhabitants  and  Estates  under  their  Improvement  lying  on  the  west 
side  of  the  s*^  River  shall  stand  Charged  towards  the  settlement  and 
support  of  the  ministry  in  s'^  place,  in  manner  as  the  Law  relating  to  the 
maintenance  and  support  of  the  ministers  does  direct,  and  Provide,  and 
be  assessed  thereto  proportionably  by  two  or  more  assessors  as  shall 
from  time  to  time  be  Elected  and  appointed  by  the  Major  part  of  the 
s*^  inhabitants  for  that  purpose,  who  may  also  nominate  and  appoint  a 
Collector,  to  gather  and  pay  on  the  same  as  by  Warrant  or  order  under 
the  hands  of  such  Assessors  he  shall  be  directed,  and  when  and  so 
soon  as  the  Inhabitants  of  s*^  Precinct  shall  have  procured  a  learned 
and  orthodox  Minister  to  preach  the  Word  of  God  among  them,  they 
shall  be  freed  and  Exempt**  from  paying  towards  the  support  of  the 
Ministry  on  the  other  side  of  the  River,  and  for  so  long  a  time  as  they 
shall  Continue  to  have  and  enjoy  such  a  Minister. 

I  consent 

WM.  STOUGHTON. 
By  order  of  the  Lieutenant-Governour, 
Council  and  Assembly. 

Js'"  Addington.  Secr*y. 

A  true  Copy,  Extracted  from  the  Original. 

Test.       Nath''  Atchinson,  Cler.  for  the  Second  Parish  or  Precinct 
in  Springfield. 

In  April,  1707,  the  land  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  was  divided 
into  plots  of  ten  acres  each,  which  were  assigned  by  lot,  to  the  male 
inhabitants  of  the  town  who  had  completed  their  twenty-first  year. 
Their  number  was  seventy-three,  as  shown  by  the  following  list,  copied 
literally  from  the  earliest  records  of  the  parish. 

Jose  Ely,  Snr  ,  Benja  Lenord, 

Jose  Ely,  Junr  ,  John  Day, 

Wm.  Macrany,  Jno.  Lenord, 

Jams  Barcker,  Jams  Tailer,  Snr., 

Jose  Barcker,  Jams  Tailer,  Junr., 

Sam'l  Barcker,  Jonath  Tailer, 

Oliver  Barcker,  Sam'l  Tailer, 

John  Bag,  Edward  Foster, 

Jonathan  Bag,  John  Miller, 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION. 


97 


Nath'l  Morgan, 
Sani'l  Miler,  Snr., 
Sam'l  Frost, 
Nath'l  Sykes, 
Pela  Jones, 
John  Peley, 
Sam'l  Wariner. 
Eben'r  Day, 
Christian  Vanhorn, 
Charls  Fery, 
Sam'l  Day, 
Sam'l  Ely, 
J  no.  Fowler, 
Mr.  Woodbridg, 
Eben'r  Miller, 
Joseph  Bodortha,  Snr. 
Sam'l  Bodortha,  Snr., 
Sam'l  Bodortha,  Junr., 
Eben'r  Jones,  Snr., 
Eben'r  Jones,  Junr., 
Josiah  Lenord, 
Lest  Ball, 
Sam'l  Ball, 
Henry  Rogers. 
John  Rogers, 
Nath'l  Dumbleton. 
Wm.  Scot, 


James  Mireck, 
John  Killam,  Snr., 
John  Killam,  Junr., 
Benja  Smith, 
Wm.  Smith, 
Jose  Lenord,  Snr. 
Sam'l  Lenord, 
Jose  Lenord,  Junr., 
Sam'l  Cooper, 
Sam'l  Kent, 
Gersham  Hail,  Snr., 
Jno.  Hail, 

Gersham  Hail,  Junr.. 
Deacon  Barber, 
Thos.  Barber, 
Nat  Bancraft, 
Jose  Hodg, 
Isaack  Frost, 
Jams  Stevenson,  Snr., 
Jams  Stevenson,  Junr., 
Jona  Worthington, 
Sam'l  Miller,  Junr., 
Thomas  Macrany, 
Joseph  Bodortha,  Junr. 
Francis  Ball, 
John  Ely, 
Sam'l  Fery. 


[See  Historical  and  Genealogical  Register  of  Boston,  October  num- 
ber, 1874,  for  a  literal  transcript  of  twenty  pages  of  Parish  Records, 
descriptive  of  the  manner  in  which  the  land  was  divided  among  the 
settlers  in  West  Springfield,  in  1807-20.] 


PETITION  OF  THE  PARISH  TO  BE  SET  OFF  AS  A  TOWN 
IN  1756. 

"  At  a  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Second  Parish  in  Spring- 
field, July  15,  1756,  Capt.  Benj.  Day,  Moderator,  voted  ist.  To  Chuse 
a  Committe  to  prefer  a  Petition  to  the  Great  and  General  Court  of 
the  Massachusetts  Bay,  That  they  would  set  off  all  the  Inhabitants 
and  the  Lands  on  the  West  Side  the  Great  River  in  Springfield,  To  be 
a  Distinct  Town  with  all  Priviledges  belonging  Thereto. 

Voted  2ly,  That  Capt.  Benj.  Day,  Doct.  John  Vanhorne,  Capt.  Jo- 
seph Miller  and  Mr.  Josiah  Day  be  a  Committe  for  that  purpose." 
13 


98  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

ACT  OF  INCORPORATION,  FEB.,  1774. 
"  Amio  jRegfii,  Regis,  Georgia,  Tertia,  Decifno,  Quarto." 

An  Act  for  dividing  the  Township  of  Springfield  and  erecting  the 
Western  Part  thereof  into  a  Seperate  Town  by  the  Name  of  West 
Springfield  passed  Feb.,  Anno  Domini  1774.  Whereas,  by  Reason  of 
the  great  Extent  of  the  Township  of  Springfield,  the  Remote  Settle- 
ments, Disputes,  Controversies  and  different  Interests  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants thereof,  the  Difficulty  and  often  Impractibility  of  the  Assembly 
in  Town  Meetings  for  Elections  and  other  necessary  purposes  by  Rea- 
son of  the  Great  River  Connecticut,  almost  equally  dissecting  the 
Township,  it  is  necessary  that  there  be  a  Division  thereof. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Governor,  Council  and  House  of  Representa- 
tives. That  that  Part  of  the  Township  of  Springfield  lying  on  the 
West  Side  of  Connecticut  River,  and  the  Inhabitants  thereof  be  con- 
stituted and  erected  into  a  different  Town  by  the  Name  of  West  Spring- 
field, and  be  invested  with  all  the  Powers,  Privileges  and  Immunities 
which  by  the  Laws  of  this  Province,  Towns  have  and  enjoy.  Pro- 
vided, &c. 

FIRST  WARRANT  FOR  TOWN  MEETING. 

Hampshire,  SS.  To  the  Constable  or  Constables  of  the  Town  of 
Springfield,  or  either  of  them  Greeting. 

You  are  hereby  required  in  his  Majesties  Name  forthwith  to  warn 
and  give  notice  to  the  Freeholders  and  other  Inhabitants  on  the  West 
Side  of  Connecticut  River  in  West  Springfield,  that  they  meet  and  as- 
semble together  at  the  Old  Meeting  House  in  said  Town  on  Wednes- 
day the  23d  Day  of  this  Instant  at  Ten  of  the  Clock  in  the  forenoon 
then  and  there  to  act  on  the  following  articles. 

ist.  To  choose  a  Moderator  in  Said  Meeting. 

2d.  To  choose  Town  Officers  in  s'd  Town  for  the  year  ensuing. 

3d.  To  See  if  the  Inhabitants  will  apply  to  the  General  Court  for 
any  alteration  in  the  incorporating  act,  as  was  made  the  last  seting  of 
said  Court  that  incorporated  the  Inhabitants  on  the  West  Side  the 
River,  in  s'd  Town  into  a  Seperate  Town. 

4th.  To  give  Liberty  for  Swine  to  go  at  large  being  yoked  and  ringed. 

5th.  To  choose  a  Commitee  to  hire  Bulls  for  the  Town's  use. 

6th.  To  bring  in  the  votes  for  a  County  Treasurer.  Hereof  fail  not, 
but  make  due  Return  of  this  Warrant,  with  your  Doings  thereon  unto 
us  the  Subscribers,  or  to  the  Clerk  of  .s'd  Town,  at  or  before  the  Time 
set  for  s'd  Meeting,  given  under  our  Hands  and  Seals  the  14th  day  of 
March,  in  the  14th  year  of  His  Majesties  Rein,  Anno  Domini  1774. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  99 

Benjamin  Day,  Charles  Pynchon,  Nathan '1  Ely,  2d,  Aaron  Colton, 
John  Hale,  Jonath  White,  Benjamin  Ely,  Selectmen  of  Springfield. 

SOME  OF  THE   TOWN'S   OFFICERS    WITH    THEIR   YEAR 
OF  SERVICE. 

MODERATORS. 

Col.  Benjamin  Day,  1774-79,  81-85,  87-89. 

Dn.  Jona  White,  1774-79,  81-84,  86,  87. 

Abram  Burbank,  1775,  76,  78,  80,  81,  86. 

Justin  Ely,  1775,  76,  84,  87,  90,  92-99,  1801. 

Maj.  and  Col.  Benjamin  Ely,  1778-80,  81,  83,  86,  96. 

Doct  John  Vanhorn,  1780,  85,  86,  88,  90. 

Capt.  Levi  Ely,  1780. 

Eliphalet  Leonard,  1783,  87,  89,  91. 

Capt.  John  Williston,  1783,  91,  1800. 

Deac.  Jacob  Winchell,  1787. 

Dea.,  Capt.  and  Col.  Pelatiah  Bliss,  1788,  90,  92,  93,  95-97,  99. 

Doct   Seth  Lathrop,  1789,  93,  1800,  i,  7. 

Horace  White,  1789. 

Martin  Ely,  1789. 

Elias  Leonard,  1792. 

John  Ashley,  1793. 

Jonathan  Smith,  Jr.,  1794,  98-1819. 

Capt.  Joseph  Morgan,  1799. 

Lucas  Morgan,  1800. 

Joseph  White,  1801. 

Heman  Day,  1802,  5,  6,  22,  26,  32. 

Pliny  White,  1804,  5. 

Maj.  Roger  Cooley,  1804. 

Maj.  Gad  Warriner,  1806. 

Aaron  Bagg,  181 1. 

Col.  Aaron  Bagg,  1841,  42,  52-67,  70,  72,  74. 

Hon.  Samuel  Lathrop,  181 1,  22,  27,  30,  32,  34,  37,  38. 

Doct.  Timothy  Horton,  181 1,  18. 

Charles  Ball,  18 14. 

Luke  Parsons,  1819-28. 

James  Kent,  1820,  21,  26,  29-31,  ^;^. 

Alfred  Flower,  1828,  29,  41. 

Norman  T.  Leonard,  1830. 

Reuben  Champion,  1832,  43,  44,  49. 

Amos  Worthington,  1833. 

Linus  Bagg,  1834-36. 


lOO  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Caleb  Rice,  1838. 

Lyman  Whitman,  1839-41. 

Lester  Williams,  1844,  71, 

Daniel  G.  White,  1845,  46,  48,  49-54,  56-58. 

Josiah  Johnson,  1845. 

Edward  Parsons,  1845,  59,  66,  73. 

Cyrus  Frink,  1845-47. 

Newbury  Norton,  1848. 

Augustine  Ludington,  1848. 

Martin  King,  1849. 

J.  W.  Freeland,  I853. 

Orson  Swetland,  1855. 

Reuben  Palmer,  1855. 

Aaron  Ashley,  1857,  58. 

Samuel  Smith,  1859. 

Ocran  Dickinson,  i860. 

Amzi  Allen,  1861. 

Andrew  Bartholomew,  1864,  65,  68,  69,  72-74. 

Ashbel  Frost,  1864. 

D.  F.  Melcher,  1865. 

William  Smith,  1866. 

Isaac  B.  Lowell,  1867. 

Norman  T.  Smith,  1869,  72. 

Reuben  Brooks,  1869. 

Ethan  Brooks,  1870,  71,  74. 

Henry  A.  Sibley,  1870,  72,  73. 

J.  L.  Worthy,  1871. 

Harvey  D.  Bagg,  187 1. 

C.  W.  Hoisington,  187 1. 

Amos  Russell,  1872. 

CLERKS    AND    TREASURERS. 
(Where  two  names  occur  in  one  year  the  last  named  is  Treasurer.} 

Doct.  John  Van  Home,  1774. 
Doct.  Chauncey  Brewer,  1775-S0. 
Justin  Ely,  1781. 
Aaron  White,  1782-95. 
Joseph  White,  1782-95. 
Aaron  White,  1793-95. 
Horace  White,  1793-95- 
Samuel  Lathrop,  1796-98, 
Horace  White,  1796-98. 
Sclh  Latin  op,  1799. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  JOI 

Horace  White,  1779. 

Aaron  White,  1800-12. 

Heman  Day,  1800-12. 

Reuben  Champion,  Jr.,  1813-21. 

James  Kent,  1813-21. 

Caleb  Rice,  1822-34. 

James  Kent,  1822-34. 

Charles  Ely  served  as  Treasurer  part  of  1834. 

Reuben  Champion,  Jr.,  1835-42. 

Lester  Williams,  1835-42. 

Michael  Marsh,  1843-47. 

Lester  Williams,  1843-47. 

Edwin  F.  Perkins,  Clerk,  pro  tempore. 

Enoch  N.  Smith,  1848. 

Harvey  Bliss,  1848. 

Enoch  N.  Smith,  1849. 

Lester  Williams,  1849. 

Enoch  N.  Smith,  1850-53. 

Charles  White,  1854,  56-62. 

Lewis  Leonard,  1855. 

Edward  Parsons,  1863. 

John  M.  Harmon,  1864-74. 

REPRESENTATIVES. 

(At  first  only  persons  with  an  income  of  forty  shillings,  or  of  forty  pounds  sterling, 
were  allowed  to  vote  for  Representative.) 

Col.  Benjamin  Day,  1774,  78. 

Maj.  and  Col.  Benjamin  Ely,  1775,  78-80,  82,  85,  88,  89. 

Dea.  Jonathan  White,  1776,  77,  79,  87. 

Mr.  and  Esq.  Justin  Ely,  1777,  80-85,  9°~97- 

Mr.  Eliphalet  Leonard,  1777. 

Abraham  Burbank,  Esq.,  1780,  81,  83,  84. 

Capt.  John  Williston,  1786-89. 

Mr.,  Esq.  and  Hon.  Jonathan  Smith,  Jr.,  1794-96,  98-1811,  14-19. 

Mr.  Jere  Stebbins,  1804,  8. 

Mr.  Heman  Day,  1805. 

Maj.  Gad  Warriner,  1805,  9,  14,  15. 

Col.  Samuel  Flower,  1806,  10. 

Lieut.  Charles  Ball,  1806,  08,  09,  11,  12,  15,  16,  20,  27. 

Doct.  Timothy  Horton,  1807,  10,  11. 

Mr,  Luke  Parsons,  1807,  10,  13,  14,  22,  23. 

Maj.  Jesse  Mclntire,  1808. 

Mr.  Elias  Leonard,  1809,  11,  13. 


I02  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Capt.  John  Porter,  1812,  13. 

Mr.  James  Kent,  1812,  13,  27. 

Mr.  Horace  Flower,  18 12. 

Col.  David  Morley,  18 14. 

Capt.  Alfred  Flower,  1815,  16,  23,  26,  27. 

David  Hastings,  18 16. 

Caleb  Rice,  182 1,  24-26,  28. 

Daniel  Merrick,  1823. 

Jona  E.  Ferre,  1823. 

Luther  Frink,  1824,  36. 

John  Street,  1827. 

Norman  Warriner,  1827. 

Doct.  Reuben  Champion,  Jr.,  1829,  35. 

Robert  Ely,  1829. 

Warren  Chapin,  1829,  31. 

Spencer  Flower,  1829,  39. 

Lewis  Warriner,  1830,  31,  33,  36. 

Henry  Ely,  1830,  33. 

Capt.  and  Maj.  Linus  Bagg,  1831,  32,  36. 

Capt.  Henry  Phelon,  1831,  32. 

Asa  B.  Whitman,  1832. 

Capt.  Hosea  Day,  1833,  34. 

Josiah  Johnson,  1833,  36,  38. 

Benjamin  Leonard,  1834. 

Seth  Parsons,  1834. 

Heber  Miller,  1834. 

Samuel  Noble,  1835,  37* 

Dwight  Leonard,  1835. 

Amasa  Ainsworth,  1835. 

Pelatiah  Ely,  1837. 

Edwin  H.  Ball,  1838. 

Lester  Williams,  1839,  40,  49,  69. 

Lyman  Whitman,  1839. 

Rufus  S.  Payne,  1840. 

Ebenezer  B.  Pelton,  1841. 

Col.  Aaron  Bagg,  1842,  71. 

Lucien  M.  UfFord,  1842. 

Asa  Clark,  1843. 

Isaac  Roberts,  1843. 

Edward  Parsons,  1846. 

Harvey  Chapin,  1846. 

Daniel  G.  White,  1848,  50. 

Lyman  Allen,  1848. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  IO3 

Wells  Southworth,  1849. 
Harvey  Wolcott,  1851. 
Edward  Southworth,  1852,  53. 
Samuel  D.  Warriner,  1854. 
Jonathan  W.  Freeland,  1855. 
Jonathan  O.  Moseley,  1856. 
George  L.  Wright,  1858. 
Nathan  Loomis,  i860,  63. 
Justin  L.  Worthy,  1865. 
Charles  A.  Fox,  1867. 
William  Melcher,  1868. 
George  C.  S.  Southworth,  1870. 
Ansel  H.  Ward,  187 1. 

DELEGATES  TO  PROVINCIAL  CONGRESS  AT  WATERTOWN,  MASS. 

Dea.  Jona.  White,  Doct.  Chancey  Brewer,  Maj.  Benj.  Ely,  1775. 

DELEGATES  TO  CONSTITUTIONAL  CONVENTION. 

Abraham  Burbank,  Maj.  Benj.  Ely,  1780, 

Col.  Benj.  Ely,  Capt.  John  Williston,  1787. 

James  Kent,  Timothy  Horton,  Lulher  Frink,  Alfred  Flower,  1820. 

Homer  Ely,  1853. 

DELEGATES  TO  CONVENTION  AT  HATFIELD,  FOR  REDRESS  OF    GRIEVANCES. 

Col.  Benj.  Ely,  Capt.  John  Williston,  1782. 
Eledzer  Day,  Joseph  Selden,  1783. 
Col.  Benj.  Ely,  1786. 

SELECTMEN. 

Col.  Benj.  Day,  1774,  79,  81,  84. 

Dea.  Jona.  White,  1774,  79,  82. 

Col.  Benj.  Ely,  1774,  75,  78,  79,  82,  84,  86,88,  94. 

Dea.  John  Leonard,  1774,  75. 

Lt.  Benj.  Leonard,  1774,  75. 

Doct   Chauncy  Brewer,  1775. 

Justin  Ely,  1775. 

Dea.  Reuben  Leonard,  1776-79, 

Lt.  and  Capt.  Joseph  Morgan,  1776,  87,  95-99. 

Eliphalet  Leonard,  1776,  77,  81,  83-87. 

Charles  Ball,  1777. 

Abraham  Burbank,  1778-82,  85,  86. 

Benj.  Stebbins,  1780-87. 

Capt.  Levi  Ely,  1780. 

Lt.  Enoch  Cooper,  1780-82. 

Capt.  Joseph  Ely,  1780,  81. 


I04  WEST    SPRINGFIF.r.r) 

Aaron  White,  1781. 

Capt.  John  Williston,  1783-97. 

Russel  Leonard,  1783,  87. 

Lucius  Morgan,  1783. 

Joseph  White,  1788,  92. 

Samuel  Phelps,  1788,  96. 

Reuben  Leonard,  Jr.,  1788-97. 

Heman  Day,  1793-98,  1800-6. 

Maj.  Gad  Warriner,  1797-99. 

Lt.  Ruggles  Kent,  1798,  99. 

Elias  Leonard,  1798,  99,  1809,  11,  12.  15-17- 

Horace  White,  1799. 

Justin  Granger,  1799. 

Lt.  Benj.  Ashley,  1800,  i. 

Robert  Ely,  1800-7. 

Doct.  Timothy  Horton,  1800-24. 

Justin  Leonard,  1800,  r. 

Pliny  White,  1803-7. 

Col.  Sam'l  Flower,  1802,  3. 

Maj.  and  Col.  David  Morley,  1804-8. 

Jonathan  Smith,  Jr.,  Esq.,  1807-13. 

Luke  Parsons,  1808-10,  16-27. 

Aaron  Bagg,  1808-21.  23,  24. 

Col.  Aaron  Bagg,  1837-44,  48,  54,  56.  57,  63, 

Luther  Frink,  18 11-13. 

Horace  Flower,  1813,  14. 

James  Kent,  1814-21,  23-25,  31,  32. 

Peres  Hitchcock,  18 14,  15. 

Alfred  Flower,  1818-26. 

Ruggles  Kent,  1822. 

Jonathan  Parsons   1822. 

David  Hastings,  1825,  26. 

Hosea  Day,  1825-29. 

Caleb  Rice,  1826-30. 

Spencer  Flower,  1827-30,  34,  35,  42,  43. 

Lewis  Warriner,  1827-29. 

Warren  Chapin,  1828,  29. 

Linus  Bagg,  1830-36. 

Benj.  Leonard,  1830-33. 

Henry  Ely,  1830-32,  35.  36. 

Josiah  Johnson,  1831-33,  37,  38,  44. 

Charles  Ball,  Jr.,  1833,  34. 

Edward  Parsons,  1833,  35,  45-57.  ^>o- 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  IO5 


Samuel  Noble,  1834-37. 
Lester  Williams,  1836-44. 
Silas  Dewey,  1836-44. 
Willard  Ely,  1837-41. 
Lyman  Whitman.  1838,  39-42. 
Calvin  Wheeler,  1839. 
Ebenezer  B.  Pelton,  1840. 
Cyrus  Frink,  1842,  43,  48. 
Newbury  Norton,  1843,  45-47- 
Asa  Clark,  1844. 
Lucien  M.  Ufford,  1844. 
Isaac  Roberts,  1845-47. 
Russell  Gilmore,  1845-47. 
Homer  Ely,  1845-47. 
Augustine  Ludington,  1848. 
Herrjck  Brooks,  1848. 
Wm.  S.  Bowe,  1848,  51-54- 
Enoch  Leonard,  1848. 
Nehemiah  D.  Perry,  1848. 
Sam'l  Flower,  1848. 
Harvey  Bliss,  1848. 
Lester  Hamlin,  1849,  54. 
Ralph  Adams,  1849. 
Jona.  O.  Mosely,  1849-53,  56,  57. 
Harvey  Chapin,  1849. 
Daniel  G.  White,  1849-53. 
Jona,  W.  Freeland,  1850-53. 
Sam'l  Smith,  1851-53,  55. 
L.  S.  Brown,  1854. 
George  B.  Bebee,  1854. 
S.  L.  Griggs,  1855. 
Orson  S wetland,  1855. 
James  T.  Smith,  1855. 
Orrin  Root,  1855. 
James  P.  Ely,  1856,  57,  60. 
S.  B.  Day,  1858-60. 
Riley  Smith,  1858-60. 
Daniel  Ashley,  1858-60. 
Nathan  Loomis,  1861,  62. 
Alvin  Sibley,  1S61,  62,  74. 
Frank  F.  Smith,  1861,  62. 
Charles  C.  Smith,  1863. 
Lucius  Dwinnell,  1863. 
14 


106  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Albert  D.  Bagg,  1864-66. 
C.  VV.  Hoisington,  1864,  65. 
Aaron  L.  Hayes,  1864-67. 
William  Smith,  18.66,  67. 
Harvey  D.  Bagg,  1867-74. 
Charles  White,  1868,  69. 
Henry  A.  Sibley,  1868-73. 
Amos  Russell,  1870-74. 

SCHOOL  COMMITTEE. 

Rev.  Reuben  S.  Hazen,  1827-32,  34,  35,  37,  8 

Dr.  G.  White,  1827-30,  35,  36,  38. 

Sam'l  Lathrop,  1827-29. 

Henry  Ely,  1828,  30. 

Horace  Palmer,  1827,  28. 

Thos.  Barrett,  1827,  29, 

Rev.  Wm.  B.  Sprague,  1827. 

Rev.  Thos.  Rand,  1827. 

Justin  Ely,  1829. 

Hezekiah  Griswold,  1830,  ^3- 

Dr.  Reuben  Champion,  1830,  31. 

Norman  T.  Leonard,  1829,  30. 

Solomon  Lathrop,  1830,  32-35. 

Rev.  Thos.  E.  Vermilye,  1831-34. 

Rev.  Hervey  Smith,  1831-38. 

Rev.  Henry  Archibald,  183 1,  32. 

Rev.  John  W.  McDonald,  1833. 

Rev.  Horatio  J.  Lombard,  1834,  35. 

Rev.  John  H.  Hunter,  1836. 

Rev.  Jona.  L.  Pomeroy,  1836. 

Rev.  P.  Brockett,  1836. 

Elisha  Eldridge,  1837. 

Aaron  Day,  1837,  38. 

Rev.  Calvin  Foote,  1837,  38. 

Rev.  A.  A.Wood,  1839,  41-45- 

Doct.  Reuben  Champion,  1839,  46-48. 

Rev   Hervey  Smith,  1839. 

William  Taylor.  1839. 

Palmer  Gallup,  1839-43. 

Aaron  Bagg,  1840. 

Horace  D.  Doolittle,  1840,  41. 

William  Gamwell,  1842. 

Rev.  William  L.  Brown,  1843,  45. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  10/ 


Rev.  Gideon  Dana,  1844. 

Rev.  Dillon  Williams,  1844,  45. 

Rev.  Lester  Lewis,  1846. 

Rev.  Thomas  Rand,  1846,  47. 

Josiah  Johnson,  1847,  48. 

Rev.  Ralph  Perry,  1848-55. 

Rev.  Simeon  Miller,  1848. 

Daniel  G.  White,  1848,  56. 

Rev.  Asahel  Chapin,  1848,  49. 

Doct.  P.  LeB.  Stickney,  1849-51. 

Rev.  Henry  M.  Field,  1852. 

Doct.  Cyrus  Bell,  1851-53. 

Doct.  Nathaniel  Downes,  1853,  56,  57. 

Rev.  Henry  Cooley,  1854. 

Rev.  S.  D.  Ward,  1854,  55. 

Rev.  Theron  H.  Hawks,  1855-59. 

Rev.  E.  Scott,  1855. 

S.  D   Warriner,  1855. 

Lewis  H.  Taylor,  1855. 

E.  Clark,  1855. 

Amzi  Allen,  1857,  60-62. 

John  B.  Taylor,  1858. 

Riley  Smith,  1858. 

J.  N.  Bagg,  i860,  61,  69,  70,  72,  73. 

Nathan  Loomis,  1861-63. 

Rev.  Eden  B.  Foster,  D.  D.,  1862-64. 

Rev.  Henry  M.  Powers,  1862-65. 

Daniel  F.  Melcher,  1864,  65,  69. 

Ethan  Brooks,  1864-67,  71. 

Rev.  Moody  Harrington,  1864. 

Rev.  J.  S.  Batchelder,  1865,  66. 

Rev.  Perkins  K.  Clark,  1866-68. 

Daniel  F.  Morrill,  1866-69. 

Norman  T.  Smith,  1868-70,  72-74. 

Dr.  Herbert  C.  Belden,  1870. 

Emerson  Geer,  1871-74. 

Gideon  Wells,  187 1. 

Sarah  Isabel  Cooley,  1872-74. 

Angeline  Brooks,  1872. 

Charles  E.  Merrick,  1872-74. 


io8 


WEST    SPRINGFIELD 


POSTMASTERS    IN    WEST   SPRINGFIELD   CENTER. 

Since  the  organization  of  the  Department,  unless  some  were  entered  previously  in 
the  Post-office  books  destroyed  by  fire. 


NAME. 

Jerre  Stebbins, 
Benj.  Stebbins, 
Miner  Stebbins, 
Elias  Winchell, 
Henry  Cooley, 
Edward  Southworth, 
M.  M.  Tallmadge, 
Michael  Marsh, 
Lester  Williams, 
P.  LeB.  Stickney, 
Lewis  Leonard, 
W.  E.  Cooley, 
Henry  A.  Phelon, 


DATE  OF  COMMENCEMENT. 

i8th  Dec,  1802. 
19th  Feb.,  1817. 
26th  Oct.,  1819. 
27th  Aug.,  1824 
i6th  Nov.,  1836. 
30th  Sept.,  1841. 
9th  May,  1845. 
29th  Aior.,  1846. 
31st  Aug.,  1847. 
5th  June,  1849. 
2d  June,  1851. 
24th  July,  1S66. 
13th  Feb.,  1867. 


THE  BAGG  PEDIGREE. 


[Condensed  from  a  "  Genealogy  of  the  Bagg  Family  in  America,"  now  in  process 
of  compilation  by  Lyman  H.  Bagg  (1S7).  Of  the  numbers  to  which  the  star  (*)  is 
attached  additional  information  is  desired] 

John  Bagg,  supposed  to  have  emigrated  from  Plymouth,  England,  died  at  Spring- 
field, Sept.  5,  1683.  In  1660  he  conveyed  lands  in  the  "second  division,"  probably 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  to  Hugh  Dudley,  of  Chicopee  Plains  ;  in  1668,  his 
name  was  signed  fourth  to  a  petition  against  imposts  ;  in  1678,  Jan.  r,  he  was  one 
of  the  citizens  to  whom  Major  John  Pynchon  administered  the  oath  of  allegiance. 
He  married  Oct.  24,  1657,  Hannah  Burt  (b.  April  28,  1641,  d.  Aug  i,  1680),  dau. 
of  Deacon  Henry  Burt  and  Ulalia  his  wife,  who  emigrated  from  England  to  Rose- 
burg,  and  thence  removed  to  Springfield  in  1640. 

Their  children  were:  i,  Hannah,  b.  1658,  d.  1740,  m.  1681,  Nathaniel  Sikes.  2, 
Mercy,  b.  1660,  d.  1738,  m.  1679,  Ebenezer  Jones.  3,  Daniel,  b.  Nov.  d.  Dec.  1663. 
4,  John,  b.  March  26,  1665,  d.  Nov.  1740,  m.  March  30,  1689,  Mercy  Thomas  (b. 
May  15,  1671),  and  had  eltven  children,  from  three  ofiahovi  all  the  Baggs  now  living  in 

West  Springfield  are  descended.    *5,  Daniel,  b.  1668,  d.  1738,  m.  1694,  Hannah  — , 

and  had  ten  children,  from  two  of  whom  descended  the  Baggs  of  Westfield,  Lanes- 
boro,  Pittsfield,  Utica,  Detroit,  Montreal,  and  Northern  New  York.  6,  Jonathan, 
b.  1670,  d.  1746,  m.  1696,  Mary  Weller  (d.  1740),  and  had  nine  children.  *7,  Abi- 
gail, b.  April  23,  1673,  fate  unknown.  8,  James,  b.  1675,  d.  1689.  9,  Sarah,  b.  1678, 
m.  1701,  Benoni  Atchison  (d.  1704)  ;  m.  1711,  Samuel  Barnard.  *io,  Abilene,  b. 
July  25,  1680,  fate  unknown. 

Second  Generation.  Children  of  4  John  :  *ii,  Mercy,  b.  March  6,  1690,  fate  un- 
known. 12,  Hannah,  b.  1692,  d.  1764,  m.  1715,  Daniel  White.  13,  Sarah,  b.  1694, 
d.  1726  (.'),  m.  1717,  Samuel  Taylor.  14,  John,  b.  April  23,  1696,  d.  Jan.  28,  1776, 
m.  Jan.  7,  1730,  Elizabeth  Stockwell  (d.  June  11,  1792,  a.  88),  and  had  five  or 
more  children.  15,  Abigail,  b.  1699,  m.  1724,  John  Day.  16,  James,  b.  1702,  d'. 
1749,  m.  1744,  Bathsheba  Dewey,  and  had  three  children.  17,  Thankful,  b.  1704, 
d.  1747,  m  1727,  Joseph  Leonard.  18,  Rachel,  b.  and  d.  1706.  19,  Rachel,  b.  1708, 
m.  1 73 1,  Pelatiah  Morgan  (d.  1741)  ;  m.  1750,  Ebenezer  Day,  Jr.  20,  Thomas,  b. 
Feb.  22,  1710,  d.  April  11,  1776,  m.  July  29,  1748,  Margaret  Root  (b.  Nov.  21, 
1716,  (^  Oct.  4,  1775),  and  had  five  children.  21,  Ebenezer,  b  May  14,  1713,  d. 
March  18,  1803,  m  July  21,  1748,  Lois  Lamb  (b.  Nov.  13,  1720,  d.  June  2,  1793),  and 
had  five  children. 

Children  of  6  Jonathan:  22,  Mary,  b.  1697,  d.  1740,  mim.  23,  Jonathan,  b. 
March  18,  1699,  d  Oct.  7,  1746,  supposed  to  have  been  unmarried.  24,  Hannah, 
b.  1701,  d.  1735,  unm.  (?)  25,  Ebenezer,  b.  Feb.  14,  1703,  m.  July  18,  1754,  Patience 
Killum,  and  had  oneson.  26,  Elizabeth,  b.  1704,  m.  1748,  Joseph  Leonard.  27, 
Abigail,  b.  1706,  d.  1756,  m.  1729,  Benoni  Jones.  28,  Experience,  b.  1708,  d.  1748, 
m.  1747,  John  Ely.     29,  David,  b.  Sept.  3,  1710,  d.  May  18,  1760,  m.  Oct.  21,   1736, 


IIO  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Hannah  Stockwell  (d.  Jan.  29,  1789,  a.  80),  and  had  six  children.  *30,  Mercy,  b. 
1712,  d.  1746,  unm.  (.') 

In  the  division  of  West  Springfield  land  into  ten-acre  lots,  among  the  73  residents 
who  were  21  years  old  and  upwards,  April  7,  1707,  John  Bagg  (4)  drew  lot  No.  9, 
and  Jonathan  (6)  lot  No.  13  in  "  Chickebey  Field  above  Dorbeys  Brook."  Thirteen 
years  later,  John  14  and  Jonathan  23,  who  were  of  the  44  young  men  who  had  at- 
tained their  majority  in  the  interval,  drew  lots  near  their  fathers  in  the  same  field. 

Third  Generation.     Children  of  14  John  :  31,  John,  b.  Oct.  S,  1730,  d.  June  13, 

1809,  m.  June  19,  1755,  Rebecca  Phelps  (b.  Dec.  10,  1737,  d.  April  18,  1797),  and 
had  nine  children.  32,  Elizabeth,  b.  1732,  d.  1823,  unm.  33,  Aaron,  b.  Oct.  8, 
1736,  killed  in  the  batde  at  Lake  George,  Sept.  8,  1755.  34,  Sarah,  b.  1738,  m. 
1777,  Israel  Brooks.  *35,  Ebenezer,  b.  1740,  d.  May  18,  1796,  a.  56,  m.  1772  (?) 
Orpha  Granger,  and  had  eight  children. 

Children  of  20  Thomas :  36,  Thomas,  b.  Aug.  10,  1749,  d.  March  27,  1837,  m. 
Dec.  18,  1777,  Joanna  Cooley  (d.  Jan.  9,  1787,  in  her  34th  year) ;  m.  May  (?),  1788, 
Eunice  Sackett  (d.  Aug.  14,  1819,  in  her  65th  year),  and  had  nine  children.  37, 
Israel,  b.  April  16,  1752,  d.  July  10,  1838,  m.  Jan.  11,  1776,  Sarah  Green  (d.  Jan. 
10,  1832,  a.  78),  and  had  eight  children.  [This  family  moved  to  Bernardston,  where 
most  of  their  descendants  have  since  resided,  and  the  present  record  will  not  trace 
them  further.  All  the  eight  children  attained  to  extreme  age,  and  four  were  still 
living  in  April  of  the  present  year,  to  celebrate  the  97th  birthday  of  the  eldest, 
Israel,  who  was  born  at  W.  S.  April  14,  1777,  and  is  the  longest-lived  person  known 
to  this  genealogy.]  38,  Oliver,  b.  Jan.  27,  1754,  d.  Nov  17,  1833,  m.  Aug.  (?)  1783, 
Tryphena  Day  (d.  Aug.  25,  1803,  a.  51) ;  m.  Feb.  5,  1807,  Jerusha  Ely  Taylor  (d. 
Feb,  2,  1836,  a.  73),  and  had  three  daughters.  39,  Ezekiel,  b.  1756,  d.  1758.  40, 
Margaret,  b.  1758,  m.  1778,  Jephtha  Green.  41,  Ezekiel,  b.  Jan.  24,  1761,  d.  Jan. 
I,  1837,  m.  Jan.  4,  1787,  Huldah  Cooley  (d.  July  17,  1833),  and  had  five  children. 

Children  of  21  Ebenezer:  42,  Thankful,  b.  1749,  d.  1818,  m.  1778,  Nd)adiah 
Loomis.  43,  Frederick,  b.  Nov.  18,  1750,  d.  Nov  15,  1823,  m.  May  28,  1772,  Chloe 
Taylor  (d.  Dec.  15,  1818,  a.  66),  and  had  eleven  children.  44,  Warham,  b.  Nov.  i, 
1752,  d.  Sept.  14,  1803,  m.  Sept.  30,  1773,  Sarah  Ashley  (d.  Sept.  27,  1805,  a.  52), 
and  had  five  children.  *45,  Walter,  b.  Nov.  9,  1754,  ni.  June  17,  1779,  Nancy 
Granger,  and  had  five  children.  46,  Judah,  b.  April  2,  1758,  d.  Aug.  18,  1S12,  m. 
Oct.  31,  1780,  Anna  Roberts,  and  had  four  children. 

Child  of  25  Ebenezer  :  47,  Ebenezer,  b.  July  27,  1756,  d.  April  24,  1759. 

Children  of  29  David:  48,  David,  b.  1737,  d.  1756.  48^,  Hannah,  b.  1739,  d. 
1757,  m.  1756,  Ebenezer  Miller,  3d.  49,  Noah,  b.  1740,  d.  1746.  50,  Abigail,  d. 
Dec.  15,  1759,  a.  16.  5,  Mercy,  b.  1746,  d.  176S,  m.  1764,  Stephen  Ward.  52,  Mary, 
b.  1748,  m.  1766,  Stephen  Morgan. 

Fourth  Genei-ation.  Children  of  31  John  :  53,  Clara,  b.  1756,  d.  1765.  54,  Aaron, 
b.  Sept.  23,  1757,  d.  Aug.  16,  1839,  m.  Sept.  27,  1775,  Sarah  Miller  (d.  Sept.  7,  1829, 

a.  69),  and  had  five  or  more  children.  *55,  Chloe,  b.  1760,  d.  1797.  m.  17S5,  llha- 
mar  Morgan.  *56,  Charlotte,  b.  1763,  m.  1785.  Elijah  Bliss.  57,  Clarissa,  b.  1766, 
d.  1837,  m.  1787,  Thomas  Taylor.  *58,  Sophia,  b.  1769,  m.  1787,  Steph^i  Day. 
59,  Orrel,  b.  1774,  d.  1826,  unm.  *6o,  Helen,  b.  1776,  m.  1796,  Reuel  Vanhorn.  *6i, 
Mary  Meekins,  b.  1779,  m.  1804,  Theodore  Cooley. 

Children  of  35  Ebenezer:  62,  Ebenezer,  b,  Feb.  8,  1773,  d.  April  27,  1817,  m. 
Feb.  5,  1801,  Lucy  Cooley  (d.  July  17,  1843),  ^"d  had  three  children.     63,  James, 

b.  1774,  d.  1795,  unm.     64,  Pliny,  b.  March  24,  1776,  d.  Sept.  9,  1S63,  m.  May  31, 

1810,  Sabra  Nelson  (b.  April  7,  1787,  d.  May  14,  1849),  and  had  six  children.  *65, 
Heman,  b.  March  24,  1776,  d.  about  1840,  unm.  66,  Elizabeth,  b.  1777,  d.  1810,  m. 
1796,  David  Wilder;  ni.  iSio,  James  Bagg.     *67,  Orpha,  m.  iSoo-,  Solomon  Dewey. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  Ill 

68,  Abraham,  b.  Nov.  3,  1783,  d.  Sept.  5.  1867,  m.  1810,  Sophia  Ashley  (b.  July  34, 
1779,  and  had  five  children.  *69,  Mercy,  d.  i860,  m.  1806,  Chester  Smith;  m. 
1819,  Daniel  Noble. 

Children  of  36  Thomas :  70,  Thomas,  b.  Dec.  10,  1778,  d.  about  1840,  m.  Nov. 
12,  1807,  Lauretta  Hosford,  (b.  May,  1782,  d.  April,  29,  1846),  and  had  four  chil- 
dren. *7i,  Joanna,  b.  1781,  m.  1799,  John  Gaylord.  72,  Justin,  b.  1782,  d.  1786. 
"JT,,  Huldah,  b.  1725,  d.  1857,  m.  1S06,  Linus  Fowler  74,  Eunice,  b.  1782,  d.  1803. 
75,  Justin,  b.  March,  d.  Dec.  1792.  76,  Justin,  b.  Dec.  13,  1793,  d.  Feb.  5,  1861, 
m  1817,  Frances  Sackett  (d.  May,  i,  i860,  a.  74),  and  had  four  children.  77, 
Nancy,  b.  1796,  d.  1803.     78,  Clarissa,  b.  1798,  m.  i8i8,  Jeffrey  Seymour. 

Children  of  38  Oliver.  79,  Tryphena,  b  1789,  d.  1867,  m.  181 5,  Elisha  Eldridge. 
80,  Amanda,  b.  1793,  d.  1872,  unm.  81,  Grata,  b.  1795,  d.  1864,  m.  1818,  Horace 
Smith. 

Children  of  39  Ezekiel :  82,  Ezekiel,  b.  Jan.  16,  178S,  d.  Oct.  17,  1825,  unm.  83. 
Richard,  b.  Nov.  22,  1789,  d.  Jan.  4,  i860,  m.  Jan  3.  1809,  Flavia  Rogers  (b.  Jan. 
15,  1789,  d.  Feb.  15,  1870),  and  had  four  children.     84,  Huldah,  b.   1791,  d.  iSoi. 

85,  Justus,  b.  July  5,  1795,  d.  March  15,  1871,  m.  1826,  Sarah  Munn  Day  (d.  Jan. 
26,  1839,  a.  38)  ;  m.  1839,  Delia  Loomis  (b.  Dec.  29,   181S),  and  had  six  children. 

86,  Persis,  b.  1798,  d.  1803.     87,  Mary,  b.  1802,  d.  i860,  m.  1822,  Hosea  Bliss., 
Children  of  43  Frederick  :  88,  Chloe.b.  1774,  d.  1794,  m.  Cyrus  Starkweather.    89, 

Lydia,  b  1775,  d.  1815,  unm.  90,  Frederick,  b.  1779,  d.  i8oc,  unm.  91,  Linus,  b. 
Jan.  d.  March,  1780.  92,  Malah,  b.  and  d.  1781.  93,  Malah,  b.  1783,  d.  1810,  m. 
iSoi,  Francis  Miller.  94,  Tirzah,  b.  1785,  d.  1849,  m.  1823,  Hosea  Bliss.  95, 
Linus,  b.  Sept.  8,  17S7,  d.  Dec.  25,  1836,  m.  Jan.  14,  1813,  Fanny  Clapp  (b.  Nov. 
25,  1790,  d.  Nov.  7,  1870),  and  had  six  children.  *96,  Hiram,  b.  1789  (.''),  m.  Aug. 
(?)  1824,  Eunice  Smith,  and  had  one  daughter.  *97,  Miranda,  b.  1791  (.'),  m.  Dec. 
3,  1819,  Amos  Allen.     98,  Henry,  b.  1796,  d.  1800. 

Children  of  44  Warham  :  99,  Lucinda,  b.  1774,  m.  1798,  Joseph  Button.  100, 
Sally,  b.  1776,  d.  1780.  loi,  Electa,  b.  1778,  m.  William  Alley.  102,  Sally,  b.  1780, 
m.  1803,  Oliver  Bemont.  103,  Louisa,  b.  1783,  d.  i860,  m.  1806,  Rodney  Day. 
104,  Miriam  t^orter,  b.  1786,  d.  1834,  unm.  105,  Celina,  b.  1789,  m.  1810.  Simon 
Pitt  Button. 

Children  of  45  Walter:  106,  Daniel  Granger,  b.  April  23,  1780,  fate  unknown. 
107,  Henry,  b.  1781,  d.  1786.  108,  Jeremiah,  b.  1785,  d.  1799.  109,  Fanny,  b.  17S7, 
m.  1813,  George  Lee  Bow.     no,  Walter,  b.  1798,  d.  1820,  unm. 

Children  of  46  Judah:  in,  Altamira,  b.  1781,  d.  1812,  m.  1807,  Horatio  Kent. 
112,  Laura,  b.  1783,  m.  1831,  Henry  Lassells.  113,  Judah,  d.  Aug.  i,  1812,  a.  27, 
unm.  114,  Zebina,  b.  Jan.  5,  1788,  d.  Nov.,  1869,  m.  March  1828,  Elinor  Colton 
(b.  April  5,  1802),  and  had  five  children.  115,  Anne,  b.  1800,  m.  1826,  Chandler 
Todd. 

Fifth  Generation.  Children  of  54  Aaron  :  116,  Nancy,  b.  1776,  d.  1829,  m.  1796, 
Clark  Loomis,  117,  Annah,  b.  1778,  d.  1807,  m.  1802,  Joshua  Street.  118,  John,  b. 
Sept,  29,  1780,  d.  Oct.  26,  1820,  m.  1805,  Sophronia  Woodruff  (d.  Nov.  26,  1843,  ^• 
55),  and  had  eight  children.  119,  Lucy,  b.  1782,  d.  1873,  unm.  *I20,  Laura,  b. 
1785,  m   1807,  Joshua  Street. 

Children  of  62  Ebenezer :  *i2i,  James,  b.  1802,  m.  May  (.')  1S26.  Maria  S.  Coch- 
ran (b.  Oct.  28,  1804,  d.  June  24,  1835),  and  had  two  children.  122,  Cooley,  b. 
1804,  d.  1812.  *I23,  Betsey,  d  1830,  m.  1824,  Elias  C.  Taylor.  *I24,  Orpha,  b. 
1807,  m.  1824,  Charles  Williston.  *I25,  Nancy,  b.  1809.  126,  Lucy,  b.  1812,  d. 
1817.     *I27,  Olive,  m.  Jacob  Perkins. 

Children  of  64  Pliny  :  128,  Emily,  b.  1812,  m.  1834,  Franklin  Bliss.  129,  Nelson 
Pliny,  b.  Sept.  12,  1814,  d.  Feb.  28,  1851,  m.  May  5,  1849,  Julia  Sophia  House  (b. 


112  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

1831),  had  no  children.  130,  Ralph  Merry,  b.  Oct.  3,  1817,  m.  Oct.  9, 1842,  Lurania 
Bates  Tiffany  (b.  July  8, 1817),  and  had  one  daughter.    131,  Jemima  Bond,  b.  1820.  m. 

1843,  Dwight  Abner  Perkins.  132,  Ebenezer,  b.  April  9,  1823,  m.  May  22,  1846, 
Theda  Miner  Barnes  (b.  May  5,  1824),  and  had  two  children.  133,  Orpha  Lurania,  b. 
1825,  m.  1845,  William  Henry  Barnes. 

Children  of  68  Abraham  :  134,  Henry  Granger,  b.  181 1,  d.  1829.  135,  Mercy,  b. 
1813,  m.  1840,  Nathaniel  W.  Osborn.  136,  Charles  Francis,  b.  March  9,  1815,  m. 
1842,  Catherine  Bliss  (b.  Sept.  2.  1822),  and  had  four  children.  137,  Susan  Miller, 
b.  1821,  m.  1844,  Hervey  H.  Phettiplace.  *i38,  Henry  Granger,  b.  April  10,  1831, 
three  times  married,  but  without  children,  his  first  wife  was  Frances  Lincoln  (d. 
June,  i860,  a.  25). 

Children  of  70  Thomas  :  *I39,  Sylvester,  b.  Oct.  31,  1808,  d.  about  1858,  unm. 
*i40,  Lewis  Hosford,  b.  Aug.  15,  1810,  m.  about  1832,  Lucy  Maynard  (d.  before 
1840),  and  had  two  sons.     141,  Nancy  Cooley,  b.  1812,  m.  1835,  James  Loomis. 

Children  of  76  Justin:  142,  Amarilla,  b.  1816,  m.  1842.  George  H.  Chapman, 
143.  Justin  Dwight,  b.  1818,  d.  1836.  144,  Seymour,  b.  April  7,  1820,  m.  Jan.  25, 
1855,  Elizabeth  Nancy  Gassett  (b.  Sept.  12,  1833),  and  had  one  daughter.  145, 
Franklin  Sackett,  b.  Feb.  9,  1826,  m.  June   10,  1872,  Ellen  Louise  Ashley  (b.  June 

13.  1834)- 

Children  of  83  Richard:  146,  Harriet  Maria,  b.  1810,  d.  1872,  m.  1831,  Henry 
Parsons.  147,  Richard,  b.  March  20,  1812,  d.  Oct.  29,  1852,  m.  Jan.  3,  1838,  Nancy 
Bliss  (b.  June  12,  1814,  d.  Dec.  21,  1838) ;  m.  Jan.  3,  1841,  Susan  Atwater  (b.  July 

14,  1817),  and  had  three  children.  14S,  Mary,  b.  1S17,  m.  1837,  Edward  Joseph 
Bull.     149,  Flavia  Jane,  b.  1S22,  m,  1S51,  Henry  A.  Marsh. 

Children  of  85  Justus  :  150  Justus,  b.  1S29,  d.  1S30.  151,  Harvey  Day,  b.  March  16, 
1S31,  m.  March  2,  1856,  Clymena  Ashley  (b.  Oct.  15,  1827),  and  had  one  son.  152, 
William  Gilbert,  b.  Feb.  4,  1S33,  m.  Feb.  4,  1858,  Persis  Ely  Brooks  (b.  Feb.  13,  1833), 
and  had  six  children.  153,  Sarah  Winnifred,  b.  March,  d.  June,  1S3S.  154,  Huldah 
Maria,  b.  1840,  m.  1866,  Henry  L.  Ashley.     155,  Joseph  Loomis,  b.  Oct.  3, 1843,  unni- 

Children  of  95  Linus:  *I56,  Frederick  Henry,  b.  Dec.  6,  1813,  d.  March  14, 
1867,  m.  April  (.?)  1839,  Eunice  Avery,  and  had  four  children.  157,  Peres  Munn, 
b.  Nov.  23,  1815,  m.  Jan.  30,  1840,  Sarepta  Gamwell  (b.  Jan.  17,  1821),  and  had  si.x 
children.  158,  Joseph  Strong,  b.  Sept.  8,  1818,  d.  June  9,  1S59,  m.  Oct.  29,  1S53, 
Aurelia  Brown  (b.  July  29,  1S20),  and  had  two  sons.  159,  Albert  Dwight,  b.  June 
30,  1S21,  d.  May  30,  1874,  m.  May  25,  1S43,  Julia  Bagg  Button,  (d.  Jan.  24,  1846,  a. 
25),  m.  Feb.,  1850,  Harriet  S.  Otis  (d.  Oct.  3,  1850,  a.  30),  m.  Jan.  22,  1852,  Harriet 
Atherton  Sibley  (b.  Sept.  22,  1829),  and  had  three  sons.  160,  Fanny  Clapp,  b. 
1S23,  d.  1824.     161,  Fanny  Clapp,  b.  1826,  d.  1871,  m.  1851,  Henry  A.  Pratt. 

Child  of  96  Hiram  :  *i62,  Henrietta,  m.  1850,  J.  Francis  Downing. 

Children  of  114  Zebina  :  163,  Rufus,  b.  Feb.  22,  1830,  lost  at  sea.  164,  Anne,  b. 
Feb.  22,  1S30,  unm.  165,  Edward,  b  March  19,  1S36,  m.  Sept.  20,  1S6S,  Eliza 
No.xon  (b    1843),  and  had  two  children 

Sixth  Generation.  Children  of  118  John:  166,  Sophronia,  b.  i8c6,  m.  1825, 
Edward  Parsons.  *i67,  Annah,  b.  1807,  d.  1846,  m.  1828,  Abraham  Dwight  Mil- 
ler. 168,  Aaron,  b.  1808,  d.  1809.  169,  Aaron,  b.  Feb.  6,  1810,  m.  Nov  17,  1834,  Han- 
nah Mather  (b  Sept.  12, 1819,  d  Sept.  5,  1836),  m.  Oct.  16,  1837,  Lucy  Maria  Mather 
(b.  June  5,  iS2o),and  had  six  children.  170,  Sarah  Miller,  b.  1812,  d.  1S44,  unm. 
171,  John,  b.  March  13,  1814,  d.  March  i,  1850,  m.  Elvira  Brown  and  had  two 
daughters.  172,  Sullivan,  b.  1817,  d.  May  17,  1845,  m.  Sept.  15,  1S41,  Cordelia  M. 
Williams  (d.  April  4,  1847,  a.  25),  and  had  one  son.     173,  Lucy  Jane,  b.  1820,  d. 

1844,  m.  i84r,  Samuel  Dale. 

Children  of  121  James  :  *i74,  James.     *i75,  Annette. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  II3 

Child  of  130  Ralph  Merry:  176,  Jane  Elizabeth,  b.  July  14,  1843. 

Children  of  132  Ebenezer :  177,  Nelson  Edward,  b.  Feb.  28,  d.  Sept.  18,  i860. 
177^,  Carrie  Etta,  b.  Dec  28,  1851. 

Children  of  136  Charles  Francis  :  178,  Charles  Henry,  b.  April  27,  1843,  m.  Nov. 
14,  1866,  Mary  Louise  Harmon  (b.  April  17,  1847),  and  had  two  children.  179, 
Ella  Catherine,  b.  1845,  m.  1865,  Wallace  Grow.  180,  Adalaide  Augusta,  b.  1849, 
m.  1S6S,  Edward  M.  French.     181,  Frank  Bliss,  b.  July  28,  1858. 

Children  of  140  Lewis  Hosford :  182,  Edward,  b.  about  1834.  183,  son,  name 
unknown,  b.  about  1836. 

Child  of  144  Seymour:  184,  Frances  Elizabeth,  b.  Jan.  i,  1856. 

Children  of  147  Richard:  185,  Nancy  Elizabeth  Bliss,  b.  1838,  m.  1861,  Frank 
H.  Fuller.  186,  Richard  Atwater,  b.  Nov.  29,  1843,  "i-  Oct.  17,  1866,  Martina 
Sanchez  Doringh  (b.  Sept.  12, 184S),  and  had  three  daughters.  1S7,  Lyman  Hotch- 
kiss,  b.  Dec.  24,  1846. 

Child  of  151  Harvey  Day  :  188,  William  Harvey,  b.  April  27,  1857. 

Children  of  152  William  Gilbert:  189,  Frank  Parmelee,  b.  April,  1863.  190, 
Arthur,  b.  Feb.  26,  1S65.  191,  Charles  Philo,  b.  April  4,  1867.  192,  Harry,  b. 
June  19,  1870.     193,  Harriet,  b.  Jan.  13,  1872.     193^,  daughter,  b.  May,  18,  1874. 

Children  of  156  Frederick  Henry:  *I94,  Chloe,  m.  John  Lovekin.  *I95  Freder- 
ick.    *I96,  Malah,  m.  Charles  Cogswell.     *I97,  Emma,  m.  Clarence  Bailey. 

Children  of  157  Peres  Munn  :  198,  Linus  Lester,  b.  May  19,  1841,  m.  Jan.  12, 
1869,  Julia  A.  Woodward  (b.  Jan.  4,  1840),  and  had  two  children.  199,  Celia  Fanny 
b.  Nov.  23,  1842.  200,  Homer  Dwight,  b.  Jan.  18,  1846,  m.  April  14,  1S69,  Maria 
Raymond  (b.  Nov.  14,  1S48,  d.  Aug.  3,  1872),  and  had  one  son.  201,  Ella  Sarepta, 
b.  1849,  m.  1S67,  Thomas  P.  Mather.  202,  Caroline  Amanda,  b.  July  15,  1856. 
203,  Harriet  Cora,  b.  Sept.  28,  1858. 

Children  of  158  Joseph  Strong  :  204,  William  Joseph  Strong,  b.  July  6,  1854. 
205,  Joseph  Linus,  b.  1857,  d.  1858. 

Children  of  159  Albert  Dwight  :  206,  Frank  Albert,  b.  Jan.  27,  1853.  207,  Ath- 
erton  Sibley,  b.  Aug.  18,  1856.     208,  Edgar  Lavant,  b.  Aug.  4,  1859. 

Children  of  165  Edward  :  209,  Anne  Gertrude,  b.  May  27,  1870.  210,  George 
Edward,  b.  Aug.  10  (?),  187 1. 

Seventh  Generation.  Children  of  169  Aaron:  211,  Hannah  Mather,  b.  1836,  m. 
1856,  Ethan  Brooks,  212,  Aaron,  b.  June  21,  1839,  m.  June  9,  1869,  Mary  Heath, 
(b.  March  5,  1845),  ^"^  ^^^^  ^^^^  daughter.  213,  Lucy  Maria,  b.  June  26,  1842. 
214,  Rufus  Mather,  b.  Dec.  20,  1844,  m.  Dec.  20,  1865,  Mary  E.  Bartholomew,  and 
had  four. children.  215,  John  Sullivan,  b.  Dec.  31,  1848,  m.  May  30,  1872,  Louise  E, 
Shivelin  (b.  Feb.  22,  1853),  and  had  one  dau.     216,  Edward  Parsons,  b.  Aug.  28, 

1855- 

Children  of  171  John:  217,  Elvira,  b.  1840,  m.  1861,  m.  George  Wright.  218, 
Helen  M.,  m.  1868,  Joseph  F.  Griggs. 

Child  of  172  Sullivan  :  219  Sullivan,  d.  Nov.  8,  1865,  a.  22,  unm. 

Children  of  178  Charles  Henry:  220,  Helen  Fuller,  b.  March  21,  1868.  221, 
Daisy  Maud,  b.  Nov.  7,  1869. 

Children  of  1S6  Richard  Atwater  :  222,  Susan  Sanchez,  b.  July  17,  1867.  223, 
Martina  Doringh,  b.  Jan.  8,  1S69.     224,  Louise  Atwater,  b.  March  2,  1874. 

Children  of  19S  Linus  Lester:  225,  Harrison  Lester,  b.  Nov.  29,  1869.  226, 
Frederick  Arthur,  b.  Feb.  17,  187 1. 

Child  of  200  Homer  Dwight :  227,  Edward  Dauso  (.?),  b.  April  13,  1872. 

Eighth  Generation.     Child  of  212  Aaron  :  228,  Clara  Edith,  b.  Oct.  16,  1871. 

Children  of  214  Rufus  Mather:    229,   Laura   Street,   b.   March    15,    1867.     230, 
Rufus  Mather,  b.  April  19,  1869.     231,  Edward  Oren,  b.  May  (.')  1871. 
15 


114  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Child  of  215  John  Sullivan  :  232,  Louise  Elinora,  b.  May  25,  1873. 

Of  the  following  Baggs,  supposed  to  belong  to  the  pedigree,  the  proper  places 
therein  have  not  yet  been  discovered.  Any  information  in  regard  to  them,  or  in  re- 
gard to  the  numbers  marked  with  a  star  (*),  will  be  thankfully  received  by  the  com- 
piler. 

Abigail,  d.  Dec.  5,  1759.  Thankful,  m.  Jan.  1768,  Nathaniel  Gaylord,  of  South 
Hadley.  Martha,  m.  Dec.  17,  1787,  William  Alley  (or  Ashley).  Lucinda,  d.  July 
22,  1821,  a.  57,  m.  April  13,  1791,  Enoch  Deane,  and  had  a  dau.,  Hadassah  Bartlett, 
d.  Sept.  20,  iSoo.  Mercy,  m.  Aug.  (?),  1791,  Amos  Green,  of  Sharon,  Vt.  Mercy, 
m,  Sept.  27,  1797,  Lemuel  Felt.  Naomi,  baptized  July  3,  1768.  Chester,  b.  April 
14,  1772.     Sarah,  b.  June  30,  1774. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  ASHLEY  FAMILY. 

Benjamin  Ashley  died  may  1 1,  1772,  75  ;  his  wife  died  December  25, 1788,  87 ;  their 
children  were  Moses,  drowned  in  the  great  pond,  July  27,  1792,  61  ;  Aaron  died  sud- 
denly October  29,  1799,  71  ;  Mary  (Taylor)  died  June  9,  1809,  82 ;  David  died  March 
28,  1813,  78;  John  died  July  17,  1824,  84  ;  Benjamin  died  June  19,  1828,  91. 

From  Moses  descended  Elisha  and  Moses. 

Aaron  and  John  were  childless. 

From  David  descended  David,  Jr.,  Solomon,  Noah,  Justin,  Enoch  and  Aaron,  also 
Lucretia,  wife  of  Genubath  Bliss,  and  Eunice,  wife  of  Eli  Ashley. 

From  Benjamin  descended  Benjamin,  Jr.,  and  Elijah. 

Probably  the  first  record  of  the  Ashleys  is  in  the  following  memorandum : 

"March  13,  1660—61. 

There  is  grant*^  to  Rob*  Ashley,  six  acres  of  Meadow  on  the  back  side  of 
Chicopee  Plain,  within  2  or  3  Mile  of  the  Great  River,  where  he  Can  find  so  much 
Undisposed  of. 

A  Copy  from  Springfi  Records,  exa*^  by  Wm.  Pynchon,  Clerk. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  CHAMPION  FAMILY. 

Reuben  Champion  and  Lydia  Duncan,  his  wife,  came  to  West  Springfield,  as  a 
place  of  refuge  for  his  family,  from  Saybrook,  Ct.,  in  the  beginning  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war.  He  was  in  the  army  as  surgeon,  and  died  of  fever  at  Ticonderoga, 
N.  Y.,  in  1777,  aged  50.     He  left  four  daughters,  and  two  sons,  Reuben  and  Medes. 

Reuben  Champion,  Jr.,  born  1760,  died  1832  ;  married  Silence  Ely,  and  had  issue : 
Harvey,  Reuben,  Lovicy,  Elias,  Moses  and  Aaron,  twins,  Henry,  John,  Silence, 
Francis,  Flavia,  Maria. 

Harvey  settled  in  Westfield,  was  a  farmer,  and  died  in  1S60. 

Reuben  Champion,  3d,  born  1784,  died  1865  ;  married  Pama  Stebbins ;  was  a 
physician  and  farmer,  and  had  issue  :  Elizabeth,  married  Paoli  Lathrop,  of  South 
Hadley;  Franklin,  died  1861. 

Elias  was  a  hatter  by  trade,  and  died  in  1839. 

Moses  died,  1838. 

Aaron  is  a  merchant,  and  resides  in  .Savannah,  Ga. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  1 15 

Henry  died,  1829. 
John  died,  1845. 

Silence  married  Col.  David  Moseley  of  Westfield. 

Flavia  and  Maria  reside  on  the  old  Amostown  homestead  with  their  nephew  James, 
son  of  Elias. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  CHAPIN  FAMILY. 

Moses  A.  Chapin,  familiarly  known  as  "  Saddler  Chapin,"  from  his  occupation, 
was  also  a  well-to-do  farmer,  near  the  old  toll-bridge.  He  was  born  in  Somers,  Ct., 
in  1762,  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1777,  married  Lucina  Graves  of  Hatfield  in 
1787,  had  ten  children,  six  of  them  sons,  and  died  in  1841.  His  wife  died  in  1851, 
aged  85.     Their  children  follow  : 

Mary,  the  eldest,  married  Avery  Herrick,  a  farmer  of  Worthington,  and  had  nine 
children.     She  died  in  Westfield  in  1863,  aged  75. 

Moses,  born  1791,  graduated  at  Yale,  studied  law  in  Albany,  settled  in  Rochester, 
N.  Y..  held  the  office  of  judge,  was  a  prominent  Presbyterian  elder,  had  six  children, 
and  died  in  1865.  His  eldest  daughter,  Maria,  married  Rev.  Eli  Smith  of  the 
Syrian  Mission,  and  died  in  Beirut  in  1842. 

Augustus  Lyman,  born  1795,  graduated  at  Yale,  studied  theology  at  Princeton,  N. 
J.,  married  in  183 1,  had  four  children,  has  preached  in  various  places  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  and  now  lives  with  his  daughter  in  Galesburg,  III.  His  son,  Lyman,  is 
a  missionary  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  in  Northern  China. 

Alpha,  born  in  1796,  married  in  1831,  had  three  children,  settled  on  a  farm  in 
Ogden,  N.  Y.,  was  a  Presbyterian  elder,  and  died  in  1868,  aged  71. 

Seth,  born  in  1800,  was  a  commission  merchant  in  New  York  city,  and  died  un- 
married in  1833. 

Elizabeth,  born  in  1S02,  married  H.  M.  Ward  of  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  had  four  child- 
ren, and  now  lives  with  a  daughter  in  De  Soto,  Mo.  Her  son,  Henry  A.,  has  been 
Professor  of  Natural  History  in  Rochester  University. 

Alonzo,  born  1S05,  graduated  at  Amherst  College  in  1826,  received  the  title  of  M. 
D.  from  University  of  Pennsylvania  in  Philadelphia  1831,  was  commissioned  mis- 
sionary physician  by  the  A.  B.  C.  ¥.  M.,  married  Mary  A.  Tenney  of  Boston,  and 
sailed  for  the  Sandwich  Islands  with  eighteen  others  in  the  whale  ship  Averick  same 
year,  returned  after  five  years'  absence  on  account  of  the  ill  health  of  his  wife,  and 
now  resides  in  Winchester,  Mass.,  practicing  his  profession. 

Lucina,  born  in  1806,  remains  single  and  resides  in  Rochester,  N.  Y. 

Louis,  born  in  1809,  resides  in  Rochester,  N.  Y.,  deals  in  flour  and  grain,  is  a 
Presbyterian  elder,  and  has  held  various  offices  in  the  city  government,  and  is  a  cor- 
porate member  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  COOLEY  FAMILY. 

The  Cooleys  of  West  Springfield  descended  from  Benjamin  Cooley,  who  came  to 
Springfield  in  1640,  settled  in  "  the  precinct  of  the  Long  Meadow,"  and  had  a  family 
of  ten  children  ;  the  first  being  born  July   16,  1643.     His  immediate  posterity  had 


Il6  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

large  families.  His  grandson,  Obadiah,  Jr.,  and  great  grandson,  Roger,  settled  in 
West  Springfield. 

Obadiah,  Jr.,  made  a  purchase  of  land  in  1730,  "on  the  west  side  of  the  Great 
River,"  in  Springfield,  and  in  173S,  purchased  of  Benjamin  Ball  three  acres  of  land 
on  the  bank  of  the  river,  now  known  as  the  Isaac  Humiston  place,  where  he  is  sup- 
posed to  have  died. 

In  1748,  his  son,  Abel,  purchased  of  Moses  Miller  six  acres  of  land  on  the  cor- 
ner, opposite  his  father's  homestead,  and  which,  with  the  exception  of  the  house  lot 
of  the  late  Justin  Ely,  sold  off  many  years  ago,  still  remains  in  the  possession  of 
his  descendants.  He  was  known  as  Captain  Cooley,  and  had  two  sons,  John  and 
Walter. 

John  settled  in  Tatham,  on  the  farm  opposite  that  of  Talcott  A.  Rogers.  He 
had  two  sons,  John,  Jr.,  who  died  unmarried  ;  and  Abel,  who  left  nine  children, 
one  of  whom,  Maria,  the  widow  of  James  Wallace,  resides  in  her  native  town,  and 
one,  Rev.  Henry  Cooley,  residing  in  Springfield,  are  his  only  survivors. 

Walter  remained  on  the  ancestral  estate,  and,  surviving  his  father,  died,  leaving 
two  sons,  Abel  and  Walter  ;  the  former  dying  without  issue,  and  the  latter  leaving 
two  sons  and  one  daughter,  Sarah,  who,  with  her  mother  and  brother  Richard,  now 
occupies  the  messuage. 

Roger,  the  great  grandson  of  the  patriarch  Benjamin,  before  mentioned,  removed 
from  "the  precinct  of  Longmeadow,"  to  West  Springfield,  in  1759,  and  settled  in 
"  Pauquetuck,"  having  bought  a  part  of  the  Benjamin  Smith  estate,  and  resided 
thereon  until  his  death,  in  1802,  at  the  age  of  83.  He  served  as  Lieutenant  in  Col. 
John  Moseley's  regiment,  stationed  at  White  Plains,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
in  1776. 

Roger,  Jr.,  the  sixth  of  his  ten  children,  remained  with  his  father  on  the  estate, 
while  his  brothers  went  off  for  themselves,  and  he  became  the  possessor  of  the  prop- 
erty. He  also  served  his  country  in  the  Revolutionary  war,  being  then  very  young, 
and  was  on  duty  at  the  execution  of  Major  Andre.  After  the  war,  he  became  a 
noted  military  man,  serving  several  years  as  Colonel  in  the  Massachusetts  militia, 
and  was  an  honored  and  worthy  officer.  He  was  twice  married;  his  second  wife, 
Electa  Smith,  surviving  him  seventeen  years,  he  having  died  in  1843,  at  the  age  of 
83  years.  He  had  eight  children;  the  youngest  two,  Ralph  and  Mary,  being  the 
only  representatives  in  West  Springfield  of  that  branch  of  the  Cooley  family. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  DAY  FAMILY. 

The  Day  family,  in  West  Springfield,  are  descended  from  Robert  Day,  one  of 
the  first  settlers  of  Hartford,  Conn.,  who  died  in  that  city,  in  1648,  aged  44.  He 
left  two  sons,  Thomas  and  John.  The  descendants  of  the  latter  are  found  in  Hart- 
ford and  Colchester,  Conn.,  Northampton,  South  Hadley  and  Monson,  Mass.,  Cats- 
kill  and  various  towns  in  New  York  and  Vermont. 

The  widow  of  Robert  Day  married,  for  her  third  husband,  Elizur  Holyoke,  of 
Springfield,  in  165S,  and  with  this  may  have  been  connected  the  removal  of  her 
elder  son,  Thomas,  to  the  town,  where  he  married,  the  next  year,  Sarah,  daughter 
of  Lieutenant  Thomas  Cooper,  and  died  December  27,  17 11,  leaving  five  sons, 
Thomas,  Samuel,  John,  Ebenezer  and  Jonathan.  Of  these,  Thomas,  the  oldest,  re- 
moved to  Colchester,  Conn.,  and  was  the  ancestor  of  Rev.  Jeremiah  Day,  D.  D., 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  11/ 

LL.D.,  late  President  of  Yale  College,  Hon.  Thomas  Day,  LL.D.,  for  many 
years  Secretary  of  the  State  of  Connecticut,  and  Rev.  Henry  N.  Day,  D.  D.,  of 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  late  professor  in  Western  Reserve  College. 

The  next  three  sons  of  the  first  Thomas,  viz.,  Samuel,  John  and  Eleazer,  removed 
to  West  Springfield,  and  from  them,  all  of  the  name  in  this  town  are  descended,  ex- 
cept the  family  of  Pliny  Day,  who  was  descended  from  John,  and  died  in  1846. 

Among  the  descendants  of  Samuel,  the  second  son  of  Thomas,  who  died  in  1729, 
were  his  son  Dea.  Samuel  Day,  of  this  town,  who  died  in  1773,  Mr.  Aaron  Day,  of 
New  Haven,  who  graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1738,  and  was  steward  of  that 
institution  from  1739  to  1747,  the  late  Mr.  Aaron  Day  of  this  town,  Rev.  George  E. 
Day,  D.  D.,  professor  in  the  Divinity  School  of  Yale  College,  Mr.  Horace  Day,  sec- 
retary of  the  Board  of  Education,  in  New  Haven,  Conn.,  and  Hon.  Calvin  Day,  of 
Hartford,  Conn. 

From  John  Day,  the  third  son  of  Thomas,  who  died  in  1742,  the  families  of  the 
name  in  Ireland  Parish  are  descended ;  also  the  late  Heman  and  Hosea  Day,  of 
this  town,  Hon.  Rowland  Day,  of  Moravia,  N.  Y.,  who  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  the  State  of  New  York  in  1S22  and  again  in  1S32,  Mr.  Benjamin  Day,  of 
Springfield,  lately  deceased,  and  Hon.  Charles  D.  Day,  of  Montreal,  Canada,  one 
of  the  judges  of  the  Court  of  the  Queen's  Bench. 

From  Ebenezer,  the  fourth  son  of  Thomas,  is  descended  Mr.  Julius  Day,  of  this 
town,  whoso  sons  Austin,  Henry  and  Edmund  are  residents  of  Seymour,  Ct. 

Jonathan,  the  fifth  son  of  Thomas,  lived  on  the  homestead  in  Springfield,  in  which 
place  many  of  his  descendants  have  resided. 

In  the  "  Genealogical  Register  "  of  the  descendants  of  Robert  Day,  published  in 
1848  by  Prof.  George  E.  Day,  of  Yale  College,  and  containing  the  names  of  nearly 
2500  of  the  descendants  of  the  first  settler,  with  dates  of  births,  marriages  and 
deaths,  it  is  estimated  that  the  whole  number  in  the  direct  line,  up  to  that  time,  was 
not  less  than  three  thousand,  and  that  the  same  rate  of  increase  for  another  hun- 
dred years,  would  give  from  thirty  to  fifty  thousand  souls.  Twenty-three  of  the 
name  had,  at  that  time,  received  a  college  education,  nineteen  at  Yale,  one  at  Dart- 
mouth, Williams,  Amherst  and  Brown,  respectively.  Eleven  had  been,  or  were 
then,  ministers  of  the  Gospel,  generally  in  the  Congregational  denomination.  The 
oldest  person  of  the  name  was  Col.  Benjamin  Day,  of  this  town,  who  died  in  the  year 
1808,  in  his  ninety-eighth  year.  The  average  age  of  those  who  have  become  heads 
of  families  has  been  sixty-eight  years. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  ELY  FAMILY. 

The  first  of  the  name,  who  canje  to  this  country,  was  Nathaniel  Ely,  who  landed 
at  Plymouth,  December  25,  1626.  He  came  to  Hartford  in  1636,  to  Springfield  in 
1660,  and  died  here  December  25,  1675.     ^^  ^^^  0"^  son,  Samuel. 

Samuel  Ely  had  six  children,  as  follows  :  Samuel,  Joseph,  Jonathan,  John,  Mary 
married  Mr.  Colman,  of  Hatfield  ;  Ruth,  married  Mr.  Warner,  of  Hadley. 

John  Ely,  the  fourth  son  of  Samuel,  was  born  at  Springfield  in  1678,  and  died  in 
175S,  aged  80  years.  He  married  Mary  Bliss,  daughter  of  Samuel  Bliss,  and  had 
issue  as  follows :  John,  Reuben,  Abner,  Caleb,  Noah,  Mary,  married  Luke  Bliss  ; 
Rachel,  married  Rev.  Jonathan  Hubbard. 

John  Ely,  the  second,  was  born  1707,  died  1754      Married  1733,  to  Eunice  Col- 


Il8  WEST    SPRINGFJELD 

ton,  and  had  issue  :  John,  Justin,  Eunice,  married  Roger  Newbury ;  Henian,  Rho- 
da,  Amelia,  married  J.  West. 

Justin  Ely,  the  second  son  of  John,  was  born  1739,  married  Ruth  White,  1762,  died 
June  26,  1S17,  and  had  issue  :  Theodore,  Anna,  Justin,  Heman.  After  the  death  of 
Ruth  White,  1809,  Justin  Ely  married  Mary  A.  Lane. 

Theodore  Ely,  eldest  son  of  Justin,  was  born  1764,  died  1837.  Married  Hannah 
Chandler  1S18,  and  had  issue  :  Hannah,  born  1819,  married  Wm.  Kent,  of  Brook- 
lyn, N.  Y. 

Justin  Ely,  second  son  of  Justin,  was  born  1772,  died  1850.  Married  Lucy  Bar- 
ron 1803,  and  had  issue:  Theodore  William,  died  in  1826;  Charles,  Lucy.  Lucy 
Barron  died  1808,  and  Justin  Ely  married  Abigail  Belden  1S09,  and  had  issue:  Jus- 
tin, Elizabeth,  died  October  5,  1837. 

Heman  Ely,  youngest  son  of  Justin  the  first,  was  born  1775,  married,  1818,  Celia 
Belden,  and  moved  to  Elyria,  Ohio,  where  he  died,  and  where  his  descendants  still 
reside. 

Charles  Ely,  second  son  of  Justin,  2d,  was  born  1805,  married  Harriet  Kent,  and 
had  issue:  Louise,  Leicester,  Harriet.  Alter  the  death  of  Harriet  Kent,  Charles 
Ely  married  Eliza  Upham,  and  had  issue  :  Eliza,  Charles. 

Lucy  Barron  Ely,  daughter  of  Justin,  the  2d,  married  Dr.  Chauncey  Belden,  and 
had  issue  :  Theodore,  Elizabeth,  married  Dr.  Stephen  Bowles  ;  Herbert. 

Justin  Ely,  youngest  son  of  Justin  the  2d,  was  born  1813,  married  Nancy  H. 
Lathrop  1854.  She  died  in  1866,  and  he  married  Abby  French  in  1S70,  and  resides 
in  Chicago,  111. 

Homer,  Fredric  and  Cotton  Ely,  (sons  of  Cotton,  the  son  of  Nathaniel,  3d,)  lo- 
cated in  Ashleyville,  on  or  near  the  paternal  homestead,  married  three  sisters, 
daughters  of  Lieut.  Ruggles  Kent,  reared  families,  and  were  valued  members  of 
society.  Homer  and  Cotton  have  recently  died,  the  latter  since  the  Centennial  cele- 
bration. 

James  P.  Ely,  who  married  Mercy  Smith,  is  the  son  of  Nathan,  born  1779 ;  the  son 
of  Nathan,  born  1759;  the  son  of  Samuel,  born  about  1730;  the  son  of  Samuel, 
born  about  1680;  the  son  of  Samuel,  the  only  son  of  Nathaniel  the  first  settler. 

Joel  Ely,  the  son  of  Samuel,  married  Thankful  Leonard,  and  lived  on  the  com- 
mon, the  spot  now  occupied  by  Mrs.  Sarah  Foster.  Their  children  were,  Richard 
who  died  in  early  manhood  ;  Sibyl  wife  of  Dan.  Taylor  who  removed  to  Turin,  N. 
Y.,  in  1802  ;  Joel  ;  Abishai ;  Thankful,  wife  of  Silas  Bannister  ;  Abigail,  wife  of  John 
Wood;  Ruhaima,  wife  of  Daniel  Wood.  These  last  three  removed  to  Windsor, 
Vt.,  about  1800. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  LATHROP  FAMILY. 

Dr.  Joseph  Lathrop,  the  eminent  pastor  of  the  AVest  Springfield  church,  was  the 
only  son  of  Solomon,  the  son  of  Joseph,  the  son  of  Samuel,  the  son  of  Rev.  John 
Lathrop,  second  pastor  of  an  independent  Congregational  church  in  London,  Eng- 
land. The  first  Joseph  came  to  this  country  and  settled  in  Scituate,  Mass.,  in  1634, 
afterward  in  Barnstable,  where  he  died  in  1653, 

Solomon,  son  of  the  second  Joseph,  born  1706,  married  Martha  Perkins,  (Todd,) 
1729,  died  1733.     Their  children  were  Martha,  who  died  young,  and  Joseph. 

Joseph,  born  1731,  married  Elizabeth  Dwight,  of  Hatfield,  1759,  ordained  in  West 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  II9 

Springfield  August  25,  1756,  died  December  31,  1820,  in  the  90th  year  of  his  age, 
and  sixty-fifth  of  his  ministry.  His  children  were,  Solomon,  born  1760,  died  1787  ; 
Seth,  born  1762,  died  1831  ;  Joseph,  born  1765,  died  1831  ;  Samuel,  born  1772,  died 
1846  ;  Dwight,  born  1780,  died  1818. 

Seth  second  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  married  Anne  Abbott,  of  Windsor,  Ct., 
17S7,  and  had  issue:  Betsey,  born  1788,  married  Rev.  Elisha  Andrews;  Solomon, 
born  1790,  died  1S62  ;  Edward,  born  1792,  died  1863. 

Joseph,  third  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  married  Rowena  Wells,  of  Ellington,  Ct., 
1790,  settled  in  Wilbraham,  and  had  issue:  Joseph,  born  1791,  died  1833;  Wells, 
born  1795,  died  1S71  ;  Paoli,  born  1797,  died  1872;  Seth,  born  1799,  died  1S34 ; 
Rowena,  born  1803,  died  1853  ;  Ralph,  born  1807,  died  1838. 

Samuel,  fourth  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  married  Mary  McCrackan,  of  New  Ha- 
ven, Ct.,  1797,  and  had  issue  :  Nancy  H.,  born  1800,  died  1866,  married  Justin  Ely  ; 
Samuel,  born  1801,  died  1825  ;  Mary,  born  1802,  died  1837,  second  wife  of  Rev.  Dr. 
Sprague  ;  William  M.,  born  1806,  resides  in  Newton  Mass.,  John,  born  1809  ; 
Sarah  M.,  born  181 1  ;  Elizabeth  D.,  born  1813,  died  1874,  married  H.  Romeyn  Ver- 
milye;  Joseph,  born  1815,  resides  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. ;  Henrietta  B.,  born  1817,  third 
wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Sprague;  Martha  P.,  born  1819,  married  Rev  Dr.  Wood. 

Dwight,  fifth  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph,  married  Lora  Stebbins  in  1S06,  and  had 
issue.    Frances,  born  1806  ;  Dwight,  born  1808  ;  Henry,  born  181 1  ;  Jere,  born  i8i6. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  PARSONS  FAMILY. 

Joseph  and  Benjamin  Parsons  were  early  in  the  Springfield  settlement.  Joseph 
removed  to  Northampton  in  1655.  The  court  records  of  that  town  show,  that  at  a 
court  holden  in  March,  1662,  he  testified  that  he  was  a  witness  to  a  deed  of  the 
latids  at  Springfield,  and  a  bargain  between  the  Indians  and  Mr.  William  Pynchon, 
dated  July  15th,  1636,  "  for  18  fathoms  of  wampom,  18  coates,  18  hatchets,  18  hoes 
and  18  knives."  This  included  all  the  land  now  known  as  Springfield,  West  Spring- 
field, Agawam,  Holyoke,  Chicopee,  Wilbraham  and  Longmeadow. 

Benjamin  Parsons  remained  at  Springfield,  was  a  deacon  of  the  church,  and  chief 
actor  in  its  formation.     He  died  August  24,  1689,  leaving  nine  children. 

Ebenezer  Parsons,  son  of  Benjamin,  was  a  prominent  man  in  West  Springfield, 
and  for  fifty-two  years  a  deacon  of  the  church.  He  died  September  23,  1752,  aged 
84.     He  had  nine  children.     His  tombstone  still  stands  in  the  "  old  burying  ground." 

Jonathan  Parsons,  grandson  of  Ebenezer,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Dea.  Joseph 
Merrick,  of  West  Springfield.  He  died  May  2,  1810,  aged  75,  and, owned  the  prop- 
erty on  the  south  side  of  the  Park.     The  house  was  taken  down  in  1872. 

Jonathan  Parsons,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Mary,  purchased  his  father's  estate,  mar- 
ried Graty,  daughter  of  Elias  Leonard,  of  Feeding  Hills,  was  an  active  man  in  pub- 
lic affairs,  an  extensive  farmer  and  dealer  in  farm  stock.  He  died  December  6, 
1827,  and  had  twelve  children. 

Edward  Parsons,  son  of  Jonathan  and  Graty,  still  occupies  the  homestead  that 
has  been  in  his  family  for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years.  He  has  represented 
the  town  and  county  in  the  State  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives.  The  town 
is  indebted  to  him  for  suggesting,  arranging  and  completing  the  Park,  in  front  of 
the  Town  Hall,  that  previous  to  1866,  had  been  an  open  common. 


WEST    SPRINGFIELD 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  ROGERS  FAMILY. 

Henry  Rogers,  born  1733,  who  was  killed  by  the  overturning  of  a  load  of  wood  in 
1795,  and  is  buried  in  the  town-house  cemetery,  lived  on  the  bank  of  Connecticut 
river  just  south  of  the  house  now  owned  by  William  Fox.  His  children  were 
Caroline,  who  married  Solomon  Ashley  and  died  in  1864;  Mahla,  who  married 
Hosea  Bliss  and  died  1821  ;  and  Asa,  who  died  1838.  Asa  had  nine  children,  one 
of  whom,  Theodore  B.,  lives  in  Wethersfield,  Ct.,  and  is  a  representative  man ;  a 
wagon-maker  by  trade,  and  inventor  by  nature,  and  the  builder  of  the  first  railroad 
car  in  North  Carolina. 

Abner,  the  famous  drummer  and  village  blacksmith,  who  removed  to  Black  River, 
N.  Y.,  was  another  branch  of  the  Rogers  family.  Talcott  A.,  the  son  of  Ely,  a 
thrifty  farmer,  is  still  another  branch,  and  the  only  known  resident  of  that  name  in 
town. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  SMITH  FAMILY. 

Among  the  Smiths  who  came  to  New  England,  was  a  family  of  four  brothers  and 
one  sister,  as  early  as  1630,  ten  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims.  Mary  Smith, 
the  sister,  married  William  Partridge  of  Hartford,  but  removed  to  Hadley,  where 
she  remained  through  life.  Christopher  lived  in  Northampton  and  died  childless. 
Simon  seems  not  to  have  left  any  trace  of  his  whereabouts,  and  his  place  of  abode  is 
not  now  known.  Joseph  settled  in  Hartford  and  had  a  family  of  fifteen  children, 
whose  descendants  cannot  be  missed  at  the  present  day  in  that  vicinity.  The  fourth 
brother,  William,  was  married  at  Hartford  in  August,  1644,  to  Elizabeth  Standley, 
and  after  residing  in  Wethersfield  and  Middletown,  settled  in  Farmington  Ct.,  where 
he  died  in  January,  1670,  leaving  nine  children. 

His  si.xth  child,  Benjamin,  was  born  in  Farmington  in  1658,  and  after  his  marriage 
with  Ruth  Loomis  of  Westfield,  he  removed  to  that  "  precinct "  and  established 
himself  as  a  resident  there,  having  his  homestead  near  that  of  Joseph  Moseley.  But 
on  the  7th  of  September  1688,  when  he  was  thirty  years  of  age,  he  purchased  of 
John  Pynchon  of  Springfield,  several  tracts  of  land  in  West  Springfield,  at  a  place 
called  by  the  Indians  "  Pauquetuck,"  where  he  commenced  the  cultivation  of  the 
rich  intervale  land  there  bordering  on  the  Westfield  river,  but  fearing  the  conse- 
quences of  this  interference  with  the  aboriginals  in  the  priority  of  occupation,  he 
wisely,  continued  his  home  in  Westfield  for  a  year  or  two,  cultivating  his  land  dur- 
ing the  summer  season,  and  returning  to  W^estfield  every  night.  But  after  a  sufficient 
trial  of  the  good  faith  of  the  red-skins,  he  at  length  ventured  to  construct  a  rude  kind 
of  house  or  fort  on  the  plateau  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  slope,  which  he  fortified  and 
guarded  against  their  suspected  treachery.  Here  he  made  his  castle  a  house  of  en- 
tertainment and  protection  for  the  wayward  traveler  who  might  be  overtaken  by 
nightfall  during  his  meanderings  through  this  primeval  forest,  for  the  country  had  no 
highways  nor  roads,  except  the  zigzag  cart-path  between  the  trees  that  led  to  the 
Massachusetts  Bay,  and  known  as  the  "  Bay  path." 

Having  outlived  the  feared  hostility  of  the  Indians,  he  was  joined  by  other  people, 
and  to  facilitate    their   settlement  there,  he  constructed  a  saw-mill  on  the  falls  of 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  121 

"  Pauquetuck"  brooks  the  foundation  timbers  of  his  dam  being  still  embedded  in  the 
stream,  and  when  the  mill  went  to  decay  his  mill-saw  was  preserved  and  is  now  in 
the  possession  of  his  great-great-great-grandson  in  the  city  of  Springfield,  and  is  a 
specimen  of  the  rude  implements  in  use  seventy  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims on  Plymouth  Rock,  that  period  having  elapsed  at  the  time  of  building  his  mill. 

He  became  a  great  land-holder,  and  after  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1738  at  the 
age  of  80  years,  his  estate  was  distributed,  according  to  his  will,  by  commissioners 
appointed  by  the  Judge  of  Probate  at  Northampton. 

The  names  of  Benjamin  Smith's  children  were  William ;  Ruth,  who  married  Sam- 
uel Taylor;  Samuel;  Elizabeth,  who  married  Ebenezer  Miller,  Jr.;  Rachael,  who 
married  Samuel  Morgan ;  Jonathan  ;  Job  ;  and  Mary,  who  married  Ebenezer  Day. 

Jonathan  and  Job  were  executors  of  their  father's  will,  and  remained  on  the  estate, 
the  latter  occupying  his  father's  dwelling,  while  Benjamin  lived  in  a  house  built  for 
him  a  little  west  of  his  father's  house. 

Jonathan  had  a  large  and  stately  house  erected  for  his  use  just  east  of  the  brook, 
on  a  commanding  eminence  at  the  junction  of  two  roads,  having  married  Margaret, 
the  only  child  of  Samuel  Ball  of  West  Springfield  Center.  The  names  of  his  seven 
children  were  Jonathan  ;  David;  Solomon  ;  Caleb  ;  Daniel;  Margaret,  who  married 
Stephen  Miller  ;  and  Simeon. 

Mr.  Ball  having  died,  his  second  wife  surviving  him,  it  was  found  by  his  will,  that 
he  had  devised  his  real  estate,  with  the  exception  of  his  homestead,  to  the  children 
of  his  daughter,  and  the  child  of  his  second  wife  by  a  former  marriage,  so  that  the 
"great  swamp,"  as  it  was  called,  now  known  as  Ball's  swamp,  with  other  large  tracts 
of  land,  fell  into  the  possession  of  the  Smith  family,  and  Jonathan,  Jr.  and  David,  the 
two  older  sons,  took  up  their  abode  with  their  step-grandmother,  and  assisted  in  the 
cultivation  of  the  farm,  where  Jonathan  remained  during  his  life ;  but  David,  after 
the  death  of  his  father,  sold  out  there,  and  removed  to  Pauquetuck,  and  occupied 
jointly  with  his  brother  Solomon,  the  house  and  lands  situated  northerly  of  their 
father's  residence,  subsequently  purchasing  his  brother's  interest  in  the  same.  Sol- 
omon resided  in  the  neighborhood  until  his  death  ;  Caleb  removed  to  Vermont ; 
Daniel  remained  on  his  father's  homestead  ;  and  Simeon,  removing  to  New  Leb- 
anon Springs,  returned  after  the  death  of  his  wife,  and  remained  on  the  old  home- 
stead with  his  brother,  until  death.  Jonathan  had  seven  children,  David  had  six, 
Solomon  four,  Caleb  three,  Daniel  five,  and  Simeon  one. 

Of  the  descendants  of  Benjamin  Smith,  only  seven  households  bearing  the  name 
of  Smith  are  remaining  in  West  Springfield.  There  are  residing  in  Springfield, 
three,  and  one  in  Troy,  N.  Y.  There  are  others  whose  residences  in  the  West  are 
not  now  known  to  the  writer.  One  Smith  family  removed  to  Chester,  one  to  Men- 
don,  one  to  Warehouse  Point,  Conn.,  and  several  more  to  the  States  of  New  York 
and  Vermont.  Of  the  large  estate  of  the  first  settler,  all  has  been  transferred  to 
parties  of  other  names,  except  a  tract  occupied  by  John  D.  Smith,  in  the  south-west 
corner  of  the  town,  which  has  not  been  allowed  to  pass  out  of  the  Smith  family. 
On  this  tract  stands  a  stately  and  venerable  white  oak  tree  ;  majestic  in  appearance, 
and  known  to  be  more  than  a  century  old,  yet  showing  no  signs  of  decay.  Part  of 
Gen.  Burgoyne's  army  passed  under  it  in  their  march  from  their  defeat  at  Saratoga 
to  Massachusetts. 

The  Smiths  have  never  exhibited  any  propensity  for  contributing  to  the  ministe- 
rial ranks,  but  many  of  them  have  been  teachers  of  the  public  schools,  some  physi- 
cians, one  a  high  sheriff,  several  artisans,  and  some  statesmen,  one  having  served 
his  constituency  several  years  in  the  Legislature,  dying  at  Boston  while  in  service. 

Solomon  served  in  the  war  with  the  French.  David  served  in  the  Revolutionary 
war,  his  son  David  serving  as  musician  in  the  same  regiment  with  his  father,  in  the 
16 


122  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

company  of  Capt.  Levi  Ely,  of  West  Springfield,  who  was  killed  in  an  encounter 
with  the  tories  and  Indians  lying  in  ambush. 

Simeon  Smith  was  a  scientist  in  his  day,  and  during  the  Revolutionary  war  manu- 
factured saltpetre  at  Pauquetuck  for  government  use.  He  also  distilled  New  Eng- 
land rum  for  the  army,  using  for  that  purpose  the  expressed  juice  of  our  common 
maize,  after  fermentation.     His  machinery  is  in  existence  to  this  day,  at  Pauquetuck. 

David,  Solomon  and  Daniel  Smith,  in  the  winter  of  1766,  contracted  with  the 
building  committee  to  furnish  two  hundred  bushels  of  lime,  for  the  construction  of  a 
"  brick  meeting-house,"  in  the  "  precinct  of  Longmeadow,"  and  promptly  manufac- 
tured the  commodity  ready  lor  the  builders.  But  one  of  the  building  committee 
becoming  "  miffed  "  at  the  conduct  of  the  others,  broke  down  the  project  of  build- 
ing, so  the  lime  was  neither  used  nor  paid  for,  resulting  in  a  total  loss  to  the  manu- 
facturers. 

Jonathan  Smith,  the  seventh  child  of  l^enjamin,  was  born  in  1697,  and  seems  to 
have  been  the  prince  of  Pauquetuck,  being  the  business  man  of  the  neighborhood, 
and  friendly  adviser  for  all.  He  was  a  very  conscientious  man,  and  strict  as  a  Jew- 
ish patriarch.  No  unnecessary  work  was  allowed  to  be  performed  on  his  premises 
after  the  going  down  of  the  sun  on  Saturday,  until  the  close  of  the  Sabbath ;  and 
on  one  occasion,  his  son  David,  when  a  grown-up  man,  returned  home  from  a  hunt- 
ing excursion,  for  which  he  was  said  to  be  famous,  after  sundown  on  Saturday ;  his 
father  obliged  him,  with  unshaven  face,  to  go  four  miles  to  the  old  church  on  the 
common,  the  next  day,  so  scrupulous  was  he  in  his  observance  of  the  Lord's  day. 

The  ancient  headstone  at  his  grave,  in  "  Paucatuck  Cemetery,"  thus  announces 
his  fame : 

"  In  memory  of  Mr.  Jona.  Smith,  (The  virtuous  Father  of  a  nuinerous  offspring, 
to  whom  he  gave  an  Example  of  Piety  and  Prudence,)  who  died  February  9,  A.  D. 
1772,  in  the  75th  year  of  his  age." 

Simeon  Smith  came  here  from  South  Hadley,  when  a  boy  of  16  years,  to  learn 
the  trade  of  joiner  and  cabinet-maker  of  Nathaniel  Gaylord,  in  Tatham.  During 
his  apprenticeship,  the  Revolutionary  war  broke  out,  and  he  went  into  service  in  the 
army.  After  his  return,  he  continued  here  until  his  death,  which  occurred  in  1843, 
at  the  age  of  90  years.  His  residence  was  in  Shad  Lane,  where  he  reared  a  family 
of  ten  children,  only  two  of  whom  are  still  living.  It  is  not  known  that  he  was 
related  to  the  descendants  of  Benjamin  Smith,  of  Pauquetuck. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  STEBBINS  FAMILY. 

Benjamin  Stebbins,  who  settled  in  West  Springfield,  was  the  son  of  Joseph,  the 
son  of  Thomas,  the  son  of  Rowland,  who  was  born  in  Suffolk  County,  England, 
1594,  sailed  from  Ipswich  in  ship  Francis  1634,  first  settled  in  Roxbury,  removed  to 
Springfield  1639,  and  died  at  Northampton  1671. 

Benjamin,  the  son  of  Joseph,  born  1677,  died  1748,  married  Martha  Ball,  and  had 
issue :  Benjamin,  Francis,  Martha,  Miriam,  Mary,  Mercy. 

Benjamin,  2d,  born  1702,  died  17S3,  married  Mary  Day,  and  had  issue :  Benjamin 
and  Vashti. 

Benjamin,  3d,  born  1727,  died  1S03,  married  Sabra  Lyman,  and  had  issue  :  Ben- 
jamin, Francis,  Jere,  Sabra,  Solomon,  Edward,  Lovicy,  Clement,  Festus ;  these  last 
died  in  infancy. 

Jere  and  Solomon  settled  in  West  Springfield. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  123 

Jere  Stebbins,  born  1757,  died  1817,  married  Elizabeth  Brewster,  and  had  issue: 
Betsey,  born  1779,  died  1834,  married  Jabez  D.  De  Witt,  of  Montreal,  P.  Q. ;  Lora, 
born  17S2,  died  i860,  married  Dvvight  Lathrop ;  Polly,  died  in  infancy;  Pama,  born 
1786,  died  1866,  married  Reuben  Champion;  Benjamin,  born  1788,  died  1819,  mar- 
ried Maritta  Parsons;  Miner,  born  1791,  died  1828;  Polly,  Francis  and  Maiia,  all 
died  young. 

Solomon,  son  of  Benjamin  3d,  born  1763,  died  1S13,  married  Mahala  Day,  and 
had  issue:  Sally,  born  1789,  died  1853;  Charles,  born  1788,  died  1864;  Heman, 
born  1791,  died  183S,  and  was  a  lawyer  in  Brookfield ;  Sabra,  born  1793,  died  1867, 
married  Harry  Palmer. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  WADE  FAMILY. 

James  Wade,  a  native  of  Medford,  Mass.,  born  July,  1750,  died  May,  1826,  mar- 
ried Mary,  daughter  of  Rev.  Edward  Upham,  January  15,  1780.  Their  children,  all 
born  in  Feeding  Hills,  Mass.,  were  Martha,  born  1782,  died  1863,  81  years  ;  Nancy, 
born  1786,  died  1865,  79  ;  Mary,  born  1787,  died  1866,  79  ;  James,  born  1789,  died 
1868,  79;  Sidney,  born  1793,  died  1847,  54;  Theodore,  born  1797,  died  1863,  70; 
Charles,  born  1798  ;  Benjamin  F.,  born  1800  ;  Edward,  born  1802,  died  1866,  64. 

James,  the  father,  was  a  shoe-maker  and  common  soldier,  was  at  the  battles  of 
Lexington  and  Bunker  Hill,  and  was  confined  for'sa  long  time  a  prisoner  at  Halifax. 
He  removed  to  Andover,  O  ,  in  1821,  traveling,  as  was  the  custom  of  those  times, 
with  an  ox  team  and  covered  wagon  Benjamin  F.  and  Edward  claim  to  have  walked 
the  entire  distance.     The  sons  were  self-educated,  and  for  a  time  all  school-teachers. 

James  settled  in  Watervliet,  N.  Y.,  was  a  physician  and  had  an  extensive 
practice. 

Theodore,  Charles  and  Sydney  became  farmers  and  settled  in  Andover,  O. 

Edward  studied  law  and  settled  in  Cleveland,  O.  He  was  a  great  temperance  and 
abolition  advocate,  a  member  of  Congress,  and  committee  on  commerce  from  1853 
to  i86i.  He  is  said  to  have  been  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  the  Cleveland  bar, 
honept,  high-minded,  a  genuine  democrat. 

Benjamin  Franklin  Wade,  distinguished  as  a  zealous  opponent  of  slavery,  resides 
in  Ashtabula  county,  Ohio      He  taught  school  and  studied  law  in  his  youth  ;  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  1828  ;  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Ohio  Senate  in   1837 
was  chosen  presiding  judge  of  the  third  judicial  district  in  that   State,  in    1847 
was  sent  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  in  1851 ;  was  re-elected  Senator  for  six  years,  in  1857 
was  made  President  of  the  Senate  in  1867  ;  having  been  selected  for  that  oftice  on 
account  of  his  resolute  character,  and  inflexible  fidelity  to  the  cause  of  liberty,  and 
has  been   honored  with  many  trusts.     In  the  early  days  of  the  Rebellion,  he  was 
appointed  chairman  of  the  joint  committee  on  the  conduct  of  the  war.     In  1871  he 
was  one  of  the  commission  to  visit  San  Domingo,  and  report  on  its  annexation  to 
the  United  States,  and  is  now  attorney  for  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  WHITE  FAMILY. 

Elder  John,  who  came  from  England  to  Cambridge,  Mass.,  in  1632,  is  the  father 
of  most  of  this  name  in  New  England.     Daniel,  the  son  of  Deacon  Nathaniel,  the 


124  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

son  of  Captain  Nathaniel,  the  son  of  Elder  John,  came  from  Hadley  and  settled  in 
West  Springfield  about  171 5.  His  son  Daniel,  was  a  carpenter,  and  built  a  house  of 
hewn  logs,  on  the  north  side  of  Meeting-house  hill,  which  stood  till  about  1S50, 
Here  were  born  to  him  Horace,  the  father  of  Sewall,  the  father  of  Homer  and  Wil- 
liam ;  Pliny,  the  father  of  Daniel  G.  and  Daniel  G.,  Jr.,  and  Edward,  the  father  of 
Edward,  the  father  of  Chauncey.  The  last  named  of  each  of  these  branches  now 
own,  in  part,  the  homesteads  of  their  grandfathers. 

Henry  White,  connected  with  the  Heman  Day  family,  is  the  son  of  Julius,  the  son 
of  Elijah,  the  son  of  Joel,  the  son  of  Captain  Daniel,  the  son  of  Lieutenant  Daniel, 
the  son  of  Elder  John. 

Francis  and  Joseph  White,  are  sons  of  Jared,  the  son  of  Martin,  the  son  of  Pre- 
served, the  son  of  Preserved,  the  son  of  Daniel,  who  first  settled  in  West  Spring- 
field. 


GENEALOGY  OF  THE  BLISS  FAMILY. 

Thomas  Bliss,  an  early  settler  of  Hartford,  Ct.,  died  there  in  1640.  His  widow, 
Margaret,  removed  to  Springfield  in  1646,  with  four  sons  and  four  daughters  ;  leav- 
ing Thomas,  her  eldest  son,  married  at  Saybrook,  whence  he  removed  to  Norwich. 

Of  the  four  sons  who  came  to  Springfield,  Mass.,  with  their  mother,  the  second 
was  Lawrence.     He  died  1676. 

Lawrence  married  Lydia  Wright,  October  25,  1654.  They  had  nine  children. 
Of  these,  the  youngest,  Pelatiah,  was  born  August  19,  1674.  He  died  January  2, 
1747-8. 

Pelatiah  married  Elizabeth  Hitchcock,  April  21,  1698.  They  had  nine  children. 
Caleb,  the  eighth,  married  Editha  Day,  January  5,  1739-40.  Deacon  Caleb,  (the 
father,)  died  May  22,  1758. 

Deacon  Caleb  and  Editha  had  eigiit  children.  Pelatiah,  ("  Colonel  Pelatiah,") 
was  the  fifth.     He  married  Ruth  Woodworth  in  1773  ;  died  October  29,  1828. 

Col.  Pelatiah  had  six  children.  Jeduthan,  the  eldest,  was  born  April  10, 
1774;  married  Susannah  Tracey,  1805.  They  had  eight  children,  of  whom  Luke, 
the  present  post-master  of  Mittineaque,  is  one,  and  Susan,  wife  of  John  D,  Smith, 
of  Tatham,  another. 

Miss  Sophia,  a  daughter  of  Col.  Pelatiah,  born  March  19,  1781,  still  resides  with 
her  niece,  Mrs.  Ruth  Beals,  in  Sunderland,  Mass. 

The  youngest  son  of  Widow  Margaret  Bliss,  was  John.  He  married  Patience 
Burt,  1667,  and  died  September  20,  1702.  John  and  Patience  had  seven  children. 
Ebenezer,  the  seventh,  was  born  1683  ;  married  Joanna  Lamb  ;  had  eight  children, 
and  ched  November  4,  1761.     Rev.  John  was  the  seventh  of  these  ;  born  June  6, 

1736  ;  ordained  November  9,  1765  ;  married White,  of  Bolton,  Ct.,  and  had 

six  children,  as  follows :  John,  Betsey,  Achsah,  Joel  W.,  Hosea  and  Daniel.  Achsah 
married  Ruggles  Kent,  who  came  from  Suffield,  Ct.,  and  settled  in  West  Springfield. 

Hosea,  "Uncle  Hosea"  as  he  was  commonly  called,  married  — Rogers,  and  was 

the  chief  blacksmith  of  Ashleyville,  for  many  years.  William  Bliss,  one  of  the  sons 
of  Hosea,  still  resides  in  Ashleyville. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION,  I25 


REMINISCENCES  OF  WEST  SPRINGFIELD. 

In  the  early  clays,  one  Cooper,  a  farm  laborer,  agreed  with  one  Ash- 
ley, a  farmer,  to  work  six  months,  at  $7  per  month ;  but  if  for  a  longer 
time,  he  would  work  at  a  less  rate.  Farmer  Ashley  finally  bargained 
for  seven  months  at  $6  per  month,  which  was  perfectly  satisfactory. 

The  standard  price  of  land  in  Chicopee  field  was,  for  some  time, 
twenty  shillings  per  acre  ;  but  one  tract  of  seven  acres,  belonging  to  a 
man  by  the  name  of  Bagg,  was  actually  sold  for  a  "  Barlow  "  knife  (a 
choice  specimen  of  English  pocket  cutlery). 

Seymour  Bagg. 

About  the  year  1800,  Mr.  Jonathan  Brooks  dug  potatoes  in  Chico- 
pee field,  and  took  them  on  an  ox  cart  to  "  Skipmug,"  now  Chicopee 
Falls,  and  sold  them  for  a  shilling  a  bushel.  There  was  neither  bridge 
nor  ferry  at  Chicopee  then,  and  he  drove  by  the  way  of  Springfield 
bridge,  a  distance  of  about  ten  miles  both  ways,  fording  the  Chicopee 
river,  in  order  to  reach  the  Ames  paper  mill  employes. 

Reuben  Brooks. 

Dr.  Lathrop  was  a  short,  broad-shouldered  man,  and,  in  his  latter 
days,  had  a  tremulous  motion  and  a  gruff  voice.  For  nearly  twenty 
years,  he  visited  his  brother  minister,  the  Rev.  Bezaleel  Howard,  of  the 
First  Church  in  Springfield,  twice  a  week,  usually  riding  horseback,  as 
he  was  fond  of  this  exercise.  Charles  Howard. 

Dr.  Lathrop  once  was  somewhat  annoyed  in  trying  to  bore  a  hole 
through  a  short  stick  for  a  beetle,  when  a  half-witted  fellow  suggested 
his  putting  it  in  a  hog's  trough,  to  keep  it  from  turning ;  which  idea 
was  used  and  pleased  the  doctor  greatly. 

Dr.  Lathrop  composed  with  rapidity,  and  wrote  with  a  quill,  turning 
it  round  and  round,  one  quill  lasting  to  write  several  sermons.  He 
usually  made  his  pastoral  visits  on  Monday  and  Tuesday.  He  lived 
with  great  economy,  and  no  carpet  was  in  his  house  for  many  years. 
He  always  dressed  in  black,  and  when  his  coat  faded,  a  tailoress  came 
to  the  house  and  turned  it.  Madame  Lathrop,  also,  dressed  in  plain 
homespun,  and,  although  she  lived  in  the  days  of  hoop  skirts  and  cor- 
sets, she  never  considered  them  a  necessary  appendage  to  the  dress  of 
a  minister's  wife  *  She  superintended  well  her  household,  and  on 
every  day  in  the  year,  except  Sunday,  a  boiled  Indian  pudding  was 
served  at  her  dinner-table.  Sewall  White. 


*  There  are,  in  the  Springfield  Mu.seum,  specimens  of  the  corsets  and  hoops 
used  in  West  Springfield,  previous  to  the  year  1800. 


126  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

At  Dr.  Sprague's  ordination,  in  1819,  the  event  was  so  unusual 
there  was  a  great  gathering,  and  when  the  church  doors  were  opened, 
the  press  was  so  great  that  coats  were  torn,  and  boys  trampled  on. 
Stands,  for  the  sale  of  gingerbread  and  watermelons,  were  erected  on 
the  north  side  of  the  church.  Aaron  Bagg 

The  large  trees  that  adorn  Ramapogue  street,  were  set  by  Lewis  and 
Ebenezer  Day  and  John  Ely,  about  the  year  1774,  and  were  dug  at 
Barber's  swamp,  back  of  the  house  of  Hiram  Carter,  in  Tatham. 
Mr.  Lewis  Day,  who  lived  to  be  eighty,  and  died  in  Deerfield,  N.  Y., 
inquired  of  Mr.  Julius  Day,  who  was  visiting  him  in  his  last  years,  if 
those  trees  were  standing  and  appreciated.  When  assured  they  were, 
he  replied,  "Then  I  get  pay  for  setting  them."  Ebenezer  Day  lived 
near  the  house  now  occupied  by  Samuel  Smith.  The  house  had  dia- 
mond-shaped window-panes,  and  was  pulled  down  about  1830. 

Julius  Day. 

The  large  button-woods,  near  the  house  of  Joseph  Morgan,  in  Chic- 
opee,  were  set  by  Darius  Ely,  when  a  hired  man  for  Abner  Morgan,  in 
1782.  Samuel  Morgan. 

June  25,  1776,  when  a  draft  was  made  for  the  army,  forty-four  men 
were  assigned  Springfield,  and  forty-eight  West  Springfield. 

1775.  West  Springfield  sent  fifty-three  men  to  the  war.  under  com- 
mand of  Capt.  Enoch  Chapin  and  Lieutenants  Samuel  Flower  and 
Luke  Day. 

News  of  the  battle  of  Lexington  reached  Springfield  at  noon  on  the 
second  day  after  it  occurred,  and  the  next  morning,  Col.  Patterson's 
regiment  started  thence  for  Boston. 

The  Shay's  Rebellion,  squelched  January  24,  1787,  was  aided  by  the 
brave  Capt.  Luke  Day,  who,  after  seven  years'  honorable  service  in  the 
Revolutionary  war,  fell  into  its  advocacy  at  the  old  Stebbins  tavern, 
now  occupied  as  a  private  residence  by  Mr.  Lucien  Bliss.  Adjutant 
Elijah  Day,  Benjamin  Ely  and  Daniel  Luddington  were  his  associates 
and  abettors.  Capt.  Day  drilled  his  men  on  the  common,  armed  them 
with  hickory  clubs,  and  uniformed  them  with  hemlock  sprigs.  Once 
they  seized  the  Springfield  ferry  and  searched  every  man  who  passed. 
The  government  party  were  distinguished  by  slips  of  white  paper  on 
their  hats. 

A  newspaper,  called  the  "  American  Intelligencer,"  was  established 
in  West  Springfield,  August,  1795.  Richard  Davidson,  an  English- 
man, was  the  proprietor.  £dward  Gray  soon  after  bought  it,  and  con- 
tinued it,  weekly,  for  three  years,  doing,  also,  job  work,  when  he  re- 
moved to  Sufiield,  Conn.,  and  still  later,  to  Hartford.  Mr.  Gray's 
ofiice  was  a  few  rods  west  of  the  old  meeting-house. 


CKNTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  12/ 

The  Hampden  Grays  were  a  famous  military  company,  organized  in 
West  Springfield,  in  1832,  and  noted  tliroughout  the  State  for  accuracy, 
promptitude,  and  the  neatness  of  their  uniforms  and  drill.  Linus 
Bagg.  Edward  Parsons,  Henry  Parsons  and  Enoch  N.  Smith,  were 
successively  its  captains,  and  every  private  seemed  to  take  pride  in  its 
exploits.     By  a  change  of  law,  it  was  disbanded  about  1840. 

Nathan  Ely,  born  1759,  was  an  officer's  waiter  at  the  age  of  17,  in 
the  Revolutionary  war.  While  at  Albany,  N.  Y.,  the  officer  had  a  con- 
sultation about  sending  a  reliable  man  to  Boston  for  supplies.  From 
an  adjoining  room,  young  Ely  overheard  the  remark,  '*  Send  Ely,  he  is 
an  honest  devil,  and  never  swears." 

Dr.  Lathrop's  prestige  in  divinity  did  not  destroy  his  sociability  with 
the  common  people  He  employed  farm  help,  and  was  jovial  with 
them.  At  sheep-shearing  time,  it  was  his  custom  to  go  and  visit  the 
shearers  every  forenoon,  and  enliven  their  monotonous  employment  by 
the  relation  of  circumstances  and  events  of  the  past.  His  men  always 
knew  when  he  was  about  to  leave  them,  because  he  was  in  the  habit  of 
reserving  the  most  unreliable  and  unlikely  story  for  the  last,  and  when 
that  came  on  the  docket  and  was  under  way,  his  departure  was  inevi- 
table. 

Thompson  Phillips  lived  at  "Aries  Little,"  opposite  Mittineaque, 
and  was  the  leading  joker  of  the  town.  On  town  meeting  days  he 
stood  the  "  head  centre  "  of  attraction  for  the  assembled  multitude. 
Some  of  his  jokes  were  very  personal  and  pointed.  At  one  time,  he 
gathered  a  quantity  of  sorrell  seed,  and  peddled  it  around  as  grass 
seed,  under  the  representation  of  a  new  variety,  called  "  Flare  Top." 
At  another  time,  he  procured  some  pamphlets,  made  entirely  of  plain 
white  paper,  without  any  writing  or  printing  on  them,  and  offered  them 
for  sale  as  the  "  dying  man's  speech,'''  many  persons  taking  them  at  his 
word  without  examination ;  but.  when  confronted  by  his  victims,  he  got 
off  by  exclaiming:  "  Oh  ;  he  died  without  saying  anything."  His  like 
does  not  reside  hereabouts  now.  His  propensity  for  curt  joking  was 
not  diminished  by  the  approach  of  death  ;  for,  in  one  instance  when 
a  neighbor  was  dangerously  sick,  he  cautiously  opened  the  back  door 
of  the  sick  man's  house,  and  inquired  in  respectful  tone  after  the  con- 
dition of  the  sick  man,  and  on  being  informed  that  no  change  was 
apparent,  he  gravely  inquired,  "  Are  there  any  hopes  of  his  death, 
marm  ?  "     And  many  like  deeds  did  this  man  do. 

Jerre  Stebbins  kept  a  small  store  of  goods,  and  exchanged  them 
with  the  farmers  for  their  productions.  Among  his  commodities  for 
sale  were  some  small  grindstones,  leaning  against  the  outside  of  the 
store      One  day,  Phillips  got  a  farmer  to  enter  the  store  and  inquire 


128  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

of  Mr.  Stebbins  how  much  he  paid  for  cheese  ;  the  price  was  named, 
and  the  farmer  promised  to  bring  one  in.  Phillips  and  his  comrades, 
in  the  meantime,  had  papered  up  a  small  grindstone,  outside  the  store, 
and  the  farmer  delivered  it  upon  the  counter,  while  Phillips  and  his 
comrades  stood  watching  for  the  explosion  of  the  merchant  as  he 
opened  the  package. 

PUB[,IC    LIBRARIES. 

A  library  with  forty  subscribers,  headed  by  Rev.  Dr.  Lathrop,  was 
started  December,  1775,  and  divided  among  the  shareholders,  October, 
1807.  It  attained  the  magnitude  of  fifty-six  volumes,  was  kept  in  a 
two-bushel  basket,  and  made  the  circuit  of  the  parish,  lodging  with  the 
most  responsible  families. 

Another  library  started  in  18 10,  which  never  exceeded  the  capacity 
of  an  ordinary  cupboard,  had  its  headquarters  at  the  Town  House,  and 
was  divided  by  sale  about  the  year  1840.  The  present  Town  library, 
founded  by  individual  subscriptions  about  1854,  is  increasing  in  patron- 
age, and  has  already  attained  about  1,500  volumes. 

THE    OLD    SCHOOL-HOUSE    ON    THE    COMMON. 

This  structure,  as  near  as  can  be  ascertained,  was  erected  in  the  year 
1740,  and  stood  upon  the  Common,  east  of  the  old  Meeting-house, 
among  a  group  of  scattered  trees,  which  lent  a  shade  of  pleasantness  to 
the  locality.  The  style  of  its  architecture  is  nameless,  but  has  been  in 
use  for  centuries,  and  was  the  base  from  which  has  been  developed  the 
details  of  the  French  style  of  house  building,  by  Mansard  and  others, 
but  was  known  here  as  the  gambrel  roof  pattern.  The  frame  is  still 
sound  and  firm,  and  must  have  been  carefully  put  together,  the  size 
being  forty  feet  long,  twenty  feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  high  from  sill  to 
eaves.  It  was  finished  with  only  one  outside  door,  placed  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  front  or  south  side,  two  windows  each  side  of  the  door,  two  in 
each  end,  and  four  in  the  back  side  of  the  house.  It  was  covered  with 
narrow  clapboards,  exposing  between  three  and  four  inches  in  width  to 
the  weather,  which  appear  to  have  once  been  painted  white.  A  chim- 
ney was  placed  in  each  end  of  the  house,  each  containing  two  fireplaces 
big  enough  to  contain  "  back-log  and  fore-stick,"  according  to  the  usage 
of  the  times. 

The  lower  story  was  divided  into  an  east  and  west  room,  by  a  hall 
four  feet  wide,  leading  from  the  front  door  to  the  rear  of  the  building, 
and  were  used  by  the  smaller  scholars,  and  in  which  Ann  Cooley  taught 
the  children  for  twenty  successive  years. 

The  upper  room,  which  occupied  the  entire  length  and  width  of  the 
building,  was  in  the  "  French  roof,'^  and  was  reached  by  a  flight  of  stairs 
starting  at  the  back  end  of  the  hall,  and  turning  to  the  west  by  one 


THE  BIG  ELM. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I29 

broad  stair.  It  was  lighted  by  two  windows  in  each  end,  three  dormer 
windows  in  the  front,  and  two  in  the  rear,  and  warmed  in  winter  by  two 
blazing  fires  in  the  fire-places  at  each  end  of  the  room.  In  this  room 
was  kept  the  '■^  High  School"  of  the  town,  inasmuch  as  it  was  the  only 
one  kept  in  the  second  story,  and  served  as  a  college  for  the  large 
boys  and  girls,  in  which,  for  the  period  of  eighty  years,  the  free  dispen- 
sation of  knowledge  and  birch,  has  been  made  according  to  law,  and  it 
is  difficult  for  the  human  mind  to  comprehend  the  full  complement  of 
the  two  commodities  named,  that  have  been  wielded  during  the  four- 
score years  of  their  application.  How  many  an  unlucky  wight,  whose 
diurnal  duties  brought  him  to  this  place,  has  had  his  soul  blighted  and 
crushed  with  the  application  of  the  embers-drawn  stick,  as  each  succes- 
sive blow  came  basting  across  his  back,  or  his  calves  made  to  tingle 
with  the  repeated  applications  of  government,  from  the  strong  hand  of 
the  knight,  whose  duty  it  was  to  reign,  teach  and  punish.  How  many 
light  and  tender  hearts  have  been  made  heavy  and  sad  in  the  bosoms 
of  the  wayward  girls,  by  the  withering  look,  shot  like  an  arrow  to  the 
soul,  from  him  who  presided  over  the  realm  of  that  long  and  busy  room, 
the  reader  can  never  know,  but  is  left  in  his  reflections  to  conjecture, 
that  not  a  few  hearts  in  that  sovereign  apartment  have  found  their  sev- 
eral affinities,  and  opportunities  "  to  meet  and  mingle." 

For  several  years  before  the  building  went  into  disuse  for  the  pur- 
poses of  education,  the  school  district,  like  all  similar  organizations,  was 
the  scene  of  annual  clamorings  by  "  men  of  many  minds,"  for  a  new 
house,  or  some  improvement  of  the  old,  and  votes  to  rebuild  or  repair, 
were  annually  made,  and  as  often  rescinded,  until  the  year  1818,  when 
the  district  voted  to  raise  $800  for  a  new  school-house,  which  was 
raised  and  expended  in  a  brick  structure,  containing  three  school-rooms 
on  the  first  floor,  and  a  hall  in  the  second  story  for  the  use  of  the  town, 
which  being  completed  in  1820,  the  old  school-house  on  the  Common 
was  sold  and  moved  away,  after  having  served  the  purposes  of  the  edu- 
cation of  youth  for  eighty  years.  It  now  stands  on  the  grounds  of  Wil- 
liam White,  in  use  as  a  storehouse,  and  is  in  a  good  state  of  preserva- 
tion after  a  life  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-four  years. 


THE    BIG    ELM. 

One  of  the  largest  trees  in  the  State,  is  the  great  Elm  standing  on 
land  of  Mrs.  Heman  Smith,  and  Mrs.  A.  W.  Allen,  situated  on  the 
west  side  of  Main  street,  in  West  Springfield.  The  land  it  occupies 
was  formerly  a  part  of  the  farm  of  the  late  Heman  Day,  Esq.,  and  the 
tree  was  set  by  him  on  his  twenty-first  birthday,  January  27,  1776,  he 
having  brought  it  out  of  the  West  Springfield  meadows  on  his  shoulder, 
17 


130  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

it  being  then  a  thrifty  tree  of  eight  or  ten  years'  growth.  He  set  other 
trees  in  the  vicinity,  but  this  was  his  favorite  tree,  and  his  dwelling 
being  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  he  daily  watched  its  luxuriant 
growth  for  sixty-one  years,  at  which  period  he  was  gathered  to  his 
fathers,  at  the  honored  age  of  eighty-two  years. 

The  tree  flourished  wonderfully,  and  drew  the  admiration  of  many 
persons  from  afar.  The  cut  herein  presented,  Avas  engraved  from  a  pho- 
tograph of  the  tree,  taken  in  1874,  and  is  a  correct  representation  of  its 
features  and  dimensions ;  the  circumference  of  its  trunk,  at  its  smallest 
diameter,  measuring  on  the  surface  of  the  outer  bark,  traverses  the 
space  of  twenty-seven  feet ;  its  branches  extend  a  distance  of  one  hun- 
dred and  twelve  feet,  thus  sheltering  an  area  of  nine  thousand,  eight 
hundred  and  fifty- two  square  feet,  and  overhanging  a  circumference  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty-two  lineal  feet,  afibrding  shade  for  a  regiment 
of  men.  The  trunk  appears  to  be  sound,  and  the  foliages  hows  a  full- 
sized  leaf,  as  fresh  as  a  tree  of  twenty  years'  growth. 

It  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  last  of  the  big  trees  of  the  original  "  Aga- 
wam,"  will  be  spared  by  the  woodman's  axe,  and  the  day  far  in  the  dis- 
tant future  when  the  revolving  cycle  of  time  shall  lay  low  this  splendid 
specimen  of  vegetable  growth,  emblem  of  symmetry  and  of  strength  ; 
having  already  braved  the  tempests  of  more  than  a  century,  with  not  a 
friendly  companion  standing  near  to  shield  it  from  the  blasts  of  the 
pitiless  storm. 

THE    OLD    MEETING-HOUSE    ON    THE    COMMON. 

It  is  difficult  to  do  justice  to  the  memory  of  this  unique  and  demol- 
ished structure,  because  of  the  conflicting  opinions  in  regard  to  its  con- 
struction ;  but  its  history  is  not  entirely  obscure. 

In  May,  1695,  the  inhabitants  of  Springfield  living  on  the  west  side 
of  the  "Great  River,"  consisting  of  thirty-two  families,  presented  a  pe- 
tition to  the  "  Great  and  General  Courte,"  that  they  "  might  be  permitted 
to  invite  and  settle  a  minister,"  and  the  town  of  Springfield  appointed 
a  committee  to  follow  the  petitioners  to  the  "  Courte,"  and  object  to 
that  permission.  But  the  "  Courte "  investigated  the  matter,  and  in 
November,  1696,  "ordered  that  said  petitioners  be  permitted,  and  al- 
lowed, to  invite,  procure,  and  settle,  a  learned  and  orthodox  minister, 
on  the  west  side  of  Connecticut  river,  to  dispense  the  word  of  God  unto 
those  that  dwell  there,  and  that  they  be  a  distinct  and  separate  pre- 
cinct for  that  purpose." 

In  June,  1698,  the  church  was  formed,  and  the  Rev.  John  Wood- 
bridge  was  constituted  its  first  pastor,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
inhabitants  had  any  particular  place  for  worship  during  the  first  four 
years  of  their  organization  as  a  church.     The  inhabitants  of  the  "pre- 


rCHUBBUCK 


THE  FIRST  MEETING-HOUSE. 
BUILT  IN  1702. 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I3I 

cint,"  however,  commenced  the  erection  of  a  "  meeting-house,"  and  it 
was  completed  June  24,  1702,  much  to  their  joy  and  satisfaction.  One 
writer  has  said  that  it  remained  for  one  hundred  and  eighteen  years,  "  a 
curious  specimen  of  ancient  architecture,  and  a  monument  of  the  piety 
and  zeal  of  our  fathers  ; "  the  architect  being  John  Allys,  of  Hatfield, 
who,  twenty -five  years  previously  had  erected  on  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
the  second  meeting-house  ever  built  in  Springfield,  to  take  the  place  of 
the  first  small  structure,  the  dimensions  of  which  were  twenty-five  feet 
wide,  by  forty  feet  long,  erected  in  1645,  by  John  Burr,  the  first  carpen- 
ter who  ever  penetrated  the  "  Bay  Path  "  from  the  coast  to  Connecticut 
river. 

The  timber  for  the  construction  of  the  meeting-house,  was  prepared 
from  trees  grown  on  the  common,  near  the  spot  where  the  house  was 
placed,  and  the  inhabitants  were  so  few,  that  all  the  men  and  boys  of 
the  precinct,  could  find  room  to  be  all  seated  at  once  upon  the  sills  of 
the  house  after  the  frame  was  raised.  The  house  was  forty-two  feet 
square,  and  ninety-two  feet  in  height.  The  first  story,  constituting 
audience  room  and  galleries,  was  covered  with  four  steep,  uniform 
high  roofs,  each  side  being  of  equal  dimensions,  and  upon  each  of 
the  four  roofs  projected  a  triangular  dormer  gable,  pierced  with  a  win- 
dow. This  story  was  finished  with  three  outside  doors,  one  each  in 
the  center  of  the  south,  east  and  west  sides,  and  two  windows  each  side 
of  the  doors  with  corresponding  windows  above  them  to  light  the  gal- 
leries. The  pulpit,  placed  on  the  north  side,  occupying  the  place  of  a 
doorway,  was  lighted  by  one  window  on  each  side. 

Above  this  story  was  placed  another  much  smaller  than  the  first, 
having  one  window  on  each  side  of  the  story,  and  high  roofs  and  gables 
like  the  one  below.  Upon  this  was  erected  a  third  story,  smaller  than 
the  second,  with  corresponding  roofs  and  gables,  the  body  portion  of 
the  story  having  on  each  side  a  large  opening,  to  serve  the  purpose  of 
a  bell  room  ;  thus  making  a  succession  of  houses,  one  surmounting  the 
other,  each  being  correspondingly  and  symmetrically  smaller  than  the 
one  directly  beneath  it. 

The  upper  superstructure  supported  a  strong  iron  rod,  on  which  was 
mounted  a  huge  vane  of  sheet  iron,  through  which  were  cut  several  de- 
vices, and  also  the  figures  1702,  the  date  of  the  erection  of  the  house. 
Above  this  was  perched  an  ambitious  rooster,  the  ever-cherished  weath- 
er-cock of  those  days,  whose  reckonings  of  the  weather  would  beat  Sir 
Robert  B.  Thomas'  Almanac,  and  even  Old  Probabilities  himself.  This 
animal,  and  also  the  one  on  the  meeting-house  on  the  east  side  of  the 
river,  were  imported  from  England ;  composed  of  gilded  copper,  and 
were  each  four  feet  in  length.  One  is  still  in  use  on  the  First  Church 
in  Springfield,  but  the  whereabouts  of  our  chanticleer  rests  in  oblivion. 


132  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

The  structure  was  clapboarded,  but  was  never  painted.  All  the  win- 
dows were  small,  made  of  leaden  sash  and  glazed  with  small  diamond- 
shaped  glass. 

The  second  story  was  supported  by  two  pairs  of  massive  beams  set 
transversely,  and  resting  on  the  eaves-plates  of  the  first  story,  depend- 
ing on  which  were  the  four  corner  posts  of  the  second  story,  which  ran 
down  several  feet  below  the  cross  timbers,  terminating  in  the  shape  of 
a  heart,  being  interlocked  to  the  cross  beams,  and  ran  up  to  the  eaves 
of  the  second  story ;  these  four  cross  timbers  operating  as  sills  for  the 
second  story. 

The  whole  of  the  interior  of  the  first  story,  up  to  the  closing  of  the 
roof  at  the  commencement  of  the  second  story,  was  all  open,  exposing 
to  view  beams,  studding,  rafters  and  outside  boarding,  with  no  inside 
finish  above  the  window  stools,  a  floor  being  laid  at  the  bottom  of  the 
second  story,  which  closed  in  the  audience-room  and  galleries. 

The  flooring  of  the  audience-room  seems  to  have  been  placed  inde- 
pendent of  the  frame-work  of  the  sills  of  the  house,  composed  of  sleep- 
ers supported  by  independent  piers,  and  so  low  that  the  floor  was 
down  to  the  bottom  of  the  sills,  making  it  necessary  to  step  over  the 
sill  down  to  the  floor — a  very  awkward  method  of  entering  any  house ; 
but  Westfield  had  a  meeting-house  with  entrance  in  like  manner,  which 
was  a  stumbling-block  to  many.  Two  flights  of  stairs  led  up  to  the  gal- 
leries, in  the  south-easterly  and  south-westerly  corners,  commencing 
each  side  of  the  front  door,  and  rising  to  a  broad  stair  in  each,  direct- 
ing the  course  northerly  on  each  side.  Around  the  walls  were  fifteen 
large,  square  pews,  occupying  all  the  space  not  occupied  by  the  pul- 
pit, door-ways,  and  stair-ways.  In  the  central  part  of  the  house  were  two 
rows  of  long  slips,  fronting  the  pulpit,  with  a  partition  between  them, 
one  division  being  occupied  by  the  men,  and  the  other  by  the  women. 
This  arrangement  would  of  course  make  one  aisle  on  the  east,  and  one 
on  the  west  side  of  the  house.  The  pulpit,  the  pews,  and  the  railing 
were  of  oak,  and  yellow  pine  timber ;  the  pews  were  finished  with  open 
work  at  the  top  of  the  seat  back,  the  top  railing  being  supported  by  spin- 
dle-shaped balusters,  and  the  rails  were  large  and  clumsy.  Of  the  size, 
style  and  height  of  the  pulpit,  nothing  definite  is  now  known.  It  was 
furnished  with  a  sounding-board  over  the  speaker,  which,  by  reacting 
the  emanating  flow  of  sound  from  his  voice,  saved  the  articulation  of  his 
words  from  becoming  lost  in  the  reverberant  regions  of  the  cross  tim- 
bers and  braces  of  the  roof  above. 

In  this  house  our  forefathers  assembled  for  worship  at  the  beating  of 
a  drum,  for  the  space  of  forty-one  years  A  bell  was  then  procured, 
which,  tifter  eighteen  "years'  faithful  service  in  the  call  to  prayers,  and  in 
the  knell  of  the  fallen,  its  clear  ringing  tones  became  hushed  by  the 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I33 

frost  of  a  crisp  cold  Sabbath  morning  in  the  depth  of  winter.  It  was, 
however,  re-cast,  and  again  put  upon  duty  in  the  old  church  tower,  and 
at  three  subsequent  periods  has  been  submitted  to  the  crucible  for  re- 
construction from  like  causes.  In  1802,  it  was  transferred  from  its  fa- 
miliar locality  under  the  vane  and  weather-cock,  to  the  new  church  on 
the  hill,  where  it  still  continues  to  sound  the  call  to  prayers,  and  to  peal 
forth  the  solemn  notes  of  warning  to  the  people,  that  human  life  is 
surely  approaching  its  end.  For  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  has 
this  faithful  and  true  sentinel  continued  on  every  Lord's  day  to  call  the 
inhabitants  together  for  the  worship  of  God,  yet,  how  many  heed  not 
the  call.  On  the  other  hand,  there  have  been  some  who  have  hailed 
with  joy  the  sound  of  that  friendly  call  to  the  house  of  God;  and  eter- 
nity alone  shall  reveal  the  amount  of  tender  emotion  and  reverential  re- 
gard it  has  awakened  in  the  bosoms  of  His  followers  as  the  "  sound  of 
the  church-going  bell  "  invited  them  to  join  in  His  praise  and  worship. 
Its  last  re-cast  was  in  February,  1S25,  when  additional  metal  was  used 
to  enlarge  its  size. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  "precinct"  had  occupied  their  meeting-house, 
oblivious  of  time,  for  forty-six  years,  at  which  period,  Obadiah  Frary,  of 
Northampton,  constructed  a  "  meeting-house  clock,"  and  it  was  placed 
within  the  tower,  but  the  construction  of  the  house  was  such,  that  the 
leaks,  in  times  of  driving  storms,  had  so  affected  the  wooden  clock  as  to 
render  it  unfit  for  duty,  and  it  was  finally  taken  away  after  a  service  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  years. 

As  time  advanced,  the  meeting-house  was  becoming  more  and  more 
dilapidated,  and  many  unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  agree  on  a 
spot  for  a  new  meeting-house,  and  after  it  had  been  in  use  eighty-four 
years,  the  parish  gave  liberty  to  individuals  to  repair  it.  and  the  house 
was  considerably  remodeled  ;  the  gables  were  taken  away,  a  ceiling 
was  constructed  over  the  galleries,  extending  across  from  one  eaves- 
plate  to  the  other  ;  pews  were  put  in  place  of  the  two  rows  of  slips,  and 
wood  sash  and  crown  glass,  in  room  of  the  leaden  sash  and  diamond 
glass  ;  new  flooring  was  added,  placing  the  floor  on  a  level  with  the  sills  ; 
the  repairs  incurring  an  expenditure  of  between  five  and  six  hundred 
doilars.  The  house  was  used  sixteen  years  after  these  repairs,  when  it 
was  abandoned  for  the  new  one  on  the  hill. 

The  last  Sabbath  assemblage  in  this  house,  was  June  20,  1802,  when 
the  pastor,  Rev.  Joseph  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  preached  a  valedictory  sermon 
from  the  ninth  verse  of  the  forty-eighth  Psalm.  In  closing,  he  said  : 
"The  antiquity  of  this  house  carries  our  minds  back  to  the  time  of  its 
erection,  one  hundred  years  ago.  This  community  was  then  small, 
consisting  of  but  thirty  families  ;  savages  dwelt  among  them,  and  a 
wilderness  surrounded  them.     There  are  no  houses  here  except  this 


134  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

ancient  house  of  God,  which  were  built  a  hundred  years  ago.  The 
founders  of  this  ancient  temple  are  gone,  and  their  places  on  earth  are 
known  no  more.  The  same  in  a  century  will  be  said  of  us.  We  are 
now  about  to  leave  this  house  ;  this  is  the  last  time  that  we  are  here  to 
meet  for  God's  worship ;  there  will  soon  be  a  last  time  of  our  meeting 
in  any  place  on  earth.  May  we  all  meet  in  Heaven."  Four  days 
after  the  delivery  of  this  farewell  address,  Dr.  Lathrop  assembled  his 
flock  in  the  new  church  on  the  hill,  to  assist  in  the  dedication  of  that, 
"  which  day  completed  One  Hundred  Years  from  the  erection  of  the 
First  Church." 

Thus  was  this  unique  house  of  worship  occupied  for  the  long  period 
of  one  century,  by  a  patient,  devoted  people,  without  any  plaster-  or 
paint  on  the  inside  or  outside,  nor  was  there  ever  a  fire  kindled  within 

its  walls  ;  the  women  being  favored  with  the  use  of  "  foot  stoves,"  con- 
.  .  .     ♦     ■ 

taining  live  coals,  which  by  noon  had  become  ashes,  and  in  the  inter- 
mission were  replenished  with  coals  from  landlord  Stebbins'  bar-room 
fire-place  ;  while  the  men  in  winter  were  supposed  to  be  invincible  to 
that  principle,  termed  the  "negative  of  heat ; "  and  our  forefathers  often 
referred  in  after  life  to  the  fact,  that  they  were  often  required  to  sit,  of 
a  cold  Sabbath  morning  in  winter,  and  give  ear  to  the  delivery  of  a  ser- 
mon, whose  divisions  ran  as  high  as  sixteetithly  and  sevetiteenthly,  when 
the  keenness  of  the  air  had  absorbed  a  majority  of  the  heat  from  their 
extremities. 

The  house  remained  from  1802  to  1820,  for  the  accommodation  of  fu- 
neral occasions,  town  meetings  and  other  gatherings,  when,  by  a  vote 
of  the  parish,  it  was  taken  down,  the  building  having  served  its  day  and 
generation,  for  the  term  of  one  hundred  and  eighteen  years.  Miss 
Betsy  Loveland  taught  a  sewing-school  there. 

It  is  related  of  Mr.  Jonathan  Parsons,  about  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tionary war,  that  while  driving  a  five  cattle  team,  (two  yoke  of  oxen  and 
a  horse,)  attached  to  a  cart  load  of  stalks,  when  near  the  southern  en- 
trance of  Shad  Lane,  two  horsemen  overtook  him  and  ordered  him  to 
turn  out  for  the  coach  of  Gen.  Washington.  Not  knowing  that  Wash- 
ington was  expected,  and  doubting  the  couriers'  word,  he  refused,  /de- 
claring he  had  as  good  a  right  to  the  road  as  the  General.  Soon  after 
a  coach  passed,  having  forded  the  Agawam  river,  near  the  house  of 
Mr.  James  Leonard,  on  its  way  to  the  Springfield  ferry.  Parsons 
halted  his  team  near  Ferry  street,  and  followed  the  coach.  The  boat 
was  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  and  while  waiting  for  it.  the  couriers 
spoke  of  the  teamster  that  refused  to  turn  out.  Parsons  overheard 
Washington  say  :  "  That  man  was  right,  he  had  as  good  a  right  to  the 
road  as  I  have." 


CENTENNIAL  CELEBRATION.  I35 

The  following  extract  is  from  the  Springfield  Republican,  of  March 
23,  1872. 

"AN    OLD    LANDMARK    GONE." 

Mr.  J.  N.  Bagg's  large  brown  house  in  West  Springfield,  close  on  the  brink  of  the 
road  and  the  bank  of  the  river,  directly  opposite  the  "  double  ditch  "  shad  fishery, 
was  taken  down  on  Saturday.  It  was  an  old  structure,  how  old  the  oldest  inhabi- 
tant knoweth  not,  but  its  age  is  supposed  to  be  at  least  125  years.  Native  octoge- 
narians say  it  was  an  old  house  when  they  first  knew  it.  That  it  belonged  to  a  past 
age  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  original  clapboards  and  lath  were  both  of  rived 
oak,  and  all  put  on  with  wrought  hand-made  nails.  The  clapboards  were  about  four 
and  one-half  feet  long,  and  evidently  shaved  on  one  side.  It  was  a  stately  structure, 
and  the  timbers  were  all  hewn,  and  of  such  sterling  stuff  as  white  oak  and  yellow 
pine.  The  frame  was  mortised,  dove-tailed  and  pinned  together  so  firmly  that  it 
was  a  difficult  work  to  throw  it  down,  even  after  it  was  stripped  for  the  sacrifice. 
Some  of  the  principal  timbers  were  eight  to  twelve  inches  square,  and  the  joists 
three  by  five  inches,  and  planed  and  beaded  on  the  exposed  sides.  Eight  white-oak 
posts  supported  the  building,  and  these  are  sixteen  and  one-half  feet  long,  and  range 
from  eight  inches  square  at  the  base,  to  twelve  inches  at  the  shoulder.  Some  of 
the  floor  boards  are  eighteen  inches  wide  by  twenty  feet  long,  and  good  for  another 
generation.  A  chimney  with  five  separate  flues  and  three  brick  ovens  occupied  fif- 
teen feet  square  in  the  center  of  the  house,  and  the  mantle-pieces  were  of  oak,  four- 
teen inches  square,  and  ran  the  whole  length  of  the  chimney.  The  bricks  were  of 
the  largest  size,  and  laid  in  clay.  No  traces  of  the  exact  age  of  the  house  have  been 
found,  but  it  is  believed  to  have  been  built  for  a  boatman's  tavern  by  one  of  the 
Stebbins  family,  an  early  settler  there.  Under  its  floor  were  found  two  or  three 
old  coins,  including  a  George  II.  penny,  the  date  of  1749,  in  an  excellent  state  of 
preservation. 

REV.    JUSTIN    PERKINS,  D.  D., 

Was  one  of  the  remarkable  men  of  the  town.  He  was  born  in  1805,  in 
what  is  known  ds  Rock  Valley,  in  Ireland  Parish.  He  was  brought  up 
on  a  farm,  had  a  studious  turn  of  mind,  entered  Amherst  College  at  the 
age  of  twenty,  graduated  in  1829,  was  College  tutor  one  year,  studied 
theology  two  years  at  Andover,  was  ordained  a  missionary,  June,  1833, 
in  the  church  on  Meeting-House  hill,  and  embarked  with  his  wife 
for  Persia,  in  September  of  the  same  year.  He  spent  in  all,  thirty-six 
years  in  the  Nestorian  field";  founded  the  mission  there  had  charge  of 
the  mission  press,  and  was  the  author  of  several  books  published  in 
that  country  and  America.  His  great  work  was  the  translation  of  the 
entire  Bible,  into  the  modern  Syriac  language.  His  last  return  to 
America  was  in  August.  1869,  where  he  died  December  31st  of  the  same 
year,  and  he  is  buried  near  the  place  of  his  birth.  His  only  surviving 
child.  Rev.  Henry  M.  Perkins,  is  the  pastor  of  a  Congregational 
church,  in  Fremont,  Me. 

Obituary  of  Richard  Bagg,  Jr.,  (born  1812,  died  1852,  No.  147,  in  the 


136  WEST    SPRINGFIELD 

Pedigree  on  page   112,)  abridged  from  a  sketch  in  the  "New  England 
Farmer,"  1854. 

In  boyhood,  he  was  remarkable  for  an  activity  and  intelligence  beyond  his  years. 
His  promptitude  and  youthful  manliness  made  him  the  pride  of  his  parents  and  the 
villagers.  His  was  no  mediocrity  of  attainment.  He  was  first  and  foremost  both  in 
the  school-room  and  play-ground ;  a  leader  rather  than  a  follower  ;  bold,  without 
being  impudent,  punctilious,  without  being  mean,  and  shrewd,  without  being  treach- 
erous. His  love  of  books  was  extreme,  and  everything  within  his  reach  was  read 
with  astonishing  avidity.  At  Monson  Academy,  he  showed  great  proficiency,  and 
was  rapidly  fitting  himself  for  college,  when  ill-health  forced  him  to  abandon  his 
books  and  come  home,  as  his  friends  thought,  to  die  of  consumption. 

But  he  would  not  be  idle,  and  activity,  which  had  always  characterized  him,  con- 
tinued to  be  his  ruling  passion.  The  first  hot- beds  known  to  the  town  soon  ap- 
peared in  his  father's  garden,  and  other  unwonted  improvements  in  farm  life, 
attracted  general  attention  and  remark.  His  health  improved,  under  a  rigid  system 
of  diet  and  exercise,  and  he  was  entrusted  with  the  sale  of  the  farm  produce.  The 
memory  of  the  grand  success  of  his  first  attempt  as  a  market  man,  when  he  sold  a 
load  of  his  father's  pumpkins  for  the  magnificent  sum  of  ten  dollars,  never  quite  de- 
serted iiim.  As  he  approached  to  manhood,  several  of  his  winters  were  devoted  to 
school  teaching,  both  in  his  native  town  and  at  Brimfield,  at  Monson,  and  finally,  at 
Jamaica,  L.  I.,  where  his  health  again  broke  down  and  forced  him  to  devote  himself 
henceforth  exclusively  to  out  door  life. 

In  fifteen  years  from  the  beginning  of  his  agricultural  operations,  he  became  the 
largest  gardener  in  the  county,  if  not  in  the  State,  having  about  forty  acres  under 
cultivation,  some  of  which,  produced  two  and  three  crops  a  year.  He  had  several 
acres  each  of  asparagus  and  onions,  and  in  the  busiest  season  of  the  year  had  been 
known  to  employ  upwards  of  sixty  persons.  He  was  regular  and  precise  in  all  his 
movements,  and  required  regularity  and  precision  in  all  whom  he  controlled.  Every 
workman  had  a  specially  labelled  hook  for  his  hat  and  clothing,  and  every  tool  and 
implement  had  its  place  and  was  thoroughly  cleansed  after  using.  Printed  regula- 
tions for  the  government  of  his  workmen,  were  to  be  seen  about  his  buildings. 

Everything  he  undertook  was  vigorously  carried  to  its  completion.  He  consid- 
ered a  matter  well  before  he  enlisted  in  it,  but  once  engaged  he  entered  with  all  his 
might.  In  this  was  the  secret  of  the  immensity  of  his  labors.  He  was  just  as  cour- 
ageous the  day  after  defeat  as  before,  and  no  sooner  was  a  difficulty  vanquished, 
than  he  sought  out  and  grappled  with  another.  His  presence,  even,  inspired  confi- 
dence. He  had  the  power  of  infusing  ambition  into  those  around  him,  and  where- 
ever  he  went  there  was  life  and  energy.  His  spirits  never  seemed  to  flag  like  those 
of  other  men.  He  looked  a  difficulty  directly  in  the  face,  and  walked  up  to  it  while 
looking. 

Some  men  accomplish  more  in  a  short  life-time,  than  others  in  a  long  one,  and  so 
this  man,  though  dead  at  forty,  lived  longer  and  accomplished  more  than  most  men 
do  in  twice  his  years.  His  defects  consisted  in  an  over  promptness.  He  seemed  so 
anxious  to  reach  the  work  that  he  sometimes  went  beyond  it.  Take  him  for  all  and 
all,  however,  he  was  a  good  man,  beloved  by  his  family,  respected  in  the  community, 
and  an  honor  to  the  church  of  which  he  was  a  member.  His  life  and  his  burial  will 
not  soon  be  forgotten  by  those  among  whom  he  lived.  His  example  shows  clearly 
to  all  young  men  that  energy  and  intelligent  industry  are  all  that  is  needed  to  make 
farming  profitable.  J.  N.  B. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  13.7 


THE    WILL    OF    JOHN    ASHLEY. 

Extracts  from  the  Will  of  John  Ashley,  dated  December  18,  1818, 
and  proved  September,  1824.  After  specifying  legacies  to  his  per- 
sonal friends,  he  appropriates  the  residue  in  the  following  language  : 
"  The  pious  education  of  youth,  and  the  diffusion  of  Christian  knowl- 
edge among  the  ignorant  and  uninformed,  and  among  those  whose  lo- 
cal circumstances  forbid  their  enjoyment  of  the  stated  instructions  of 
the  gospel  ministry,  are  objects  which  now  engage  the  attention  of  the 
Christian  world,  and  to  the  promotion  of  which,  I  wish  to  contribute 
my  mite,  with  my  humble  and  fervent  prayers  that  the  great  truths  of 
Christianity  may  spread  and  pervade  the  whole  earth,  and  all  may  be 
brought  to  the  knowledge  and  belief  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus." 

For  this  purpose,  he  directed  his  Executors  to  pay  over  the  residue 
to  a  Board  of  Trustees  appointed  by  him  ;  directing  that  they  apply  for 
an  act  of  incorporation  under  some  appropriate  name,  and  have  the 
power  of  filling  any  vacancies  in  their  body. 

The  Trustees  named,  were :  Heman  Day,  Ruggles  Kent,  Jonathan 
Parsons,  Samuel  Lathrop  and  Justin  Ely,  who  were  ordered  to  divide 
the  sum  entrusted  to  them,  "into  two  distinct  parts;  two-thirds  to  be 
appropriated  exclusively  towards  the  education  of  youth  within  the 
town  of  West  Springfield,  and  the  remaining  one-third  to  be  appropri- 
ated towards  the  propagation  and  diffusion  of  Christian  knowledge." 
He  directs  that  the  money  be  placed  upon  interest,  and  that  portion 
bequeathed  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel,  be  equally  appropriated  for 
the  use  of  Home  Missions,  and  Foreign  Missions.  In  regard  to  the 
distribution  of  the  income  of  the  School  Fund,  he  says  :  It  is  my  will 
that  no  district  shall  at  any  time  be  entitled  to,  or  shall  receive  any 
part  of  the  annual  dividend,  unless  their  instructor  passes  the  qualifica- 
tions, and  produces  the  evidence  of  good  moral  character  by  the  laws 
of  the  Commonwealth,  and  unless  he  shall  daily  make  use  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  as  a  school  book,  and  shall  daily  address  the  Throne  of 
Grace  in  prayer  with  his  scholars. 

If  any  district  shall  not  be  entitled  to  their  dividend  according  to  the 
rules  which  I  have  jDrescribed,  it  is  my  will  that  the  same  shall  be 
added  to  the  principal  of  the  fund. 

JOHN   ASHLEY. 

Dr.  Sprague,  in  his  Historical  Discourse,  says  :  "  In  the  year  1799, 
Mr.  John  Ashley,  a  respectable  inhabitant  of  the  parish,  offered  thirteen 
hundred  pounds,  as  a  fund  for  the  support  of  the  ministry,  on  condi- 
tion that  the  parish  would  erect  a  spacious  and  elegant  meeting-house 


138  WEST     SPRINGFIELD 

on  a  spot  designated  by  him,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  place  where 
the  old  meeting-house  stood. 

"  On  the  sixth  of  January,  1800,  they  voted  their  thankful  acceptance 
of  the  donation,  and  thus  witnessed  the  termination  of  a  long  and  vio- 
lent contest,  which  had  threatened  the  dissolution  of  the  society." 

In  1792,  Mr.  Ashley  also  gave  $178.34  to  constitute  a  fund  for  the 
support  of  the  communion  table  of  the  church. 

He  gave  to  the  parish  a  lot  of  land  for  a  burial-place  for  the  accom- 
modation of  the  north  district  of  the  parish,  in  1787,  and  in  1789,  he 
gave  the  parish  a  small  library,  and  in  1819,  he  gave  twenty-two  dollars 
to  purchase  a  Bible  for  the  use  of  the  pulpit. 

Mr.  Ashley  died  July  7,  1824,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five  years. 

Samuel  Lathrop,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Lathrop,  was  born  in 
1771,  graduated  at  Yale  in  1792,  and  died  in  1846.  He  studied  law  ; 
was  for  ten  years  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  and  Presi- 
dent of  that  body  in  1829-30  ;  was  a  member  of  Congress  from 
1818-24  ;  and  once  ran  very  close  for  Governor.  He  devoted  himself 
considerably  to  farming  in  his  later  years,  and  contributed  much  to  the 
improvement  of  cattle  and  sheep,  potatoes  and  farm  implements  in  his 
native  town,  by  purchases  and  importations. 

Jere  Stebbins,  who  flourished  in  Ramapogue  street,  about  1780,  was 
a  man  of  large  business  capacity.  He  kept  a  tavern  and  store,  had  a 
large  farm,  manufactured  earthen  ware  and  saltpetre,  and  with  Moses 
Day,  was  extensively  engaged  in  boating  on  Connecticut  river. 

Maple  Sugar  was  introduced  to  the  public,  by  Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins, 
second  pastor  of  West  Springfield,  in  a  pamphlet  published  in  1752, 
giving  an  account  of  the  Indian  way  of  making  it. 

Brooms,  made  from  broom  corn,  were  first  carried  from  West  Spring- 
field to  Boston,  by  Solomon  Todd,  who  with  his  own  team  carried 
down  produce,  and  brought  back  goods  for  Jere  Stebbins  and  others. 

Ship-building  was  once  carried  on  in  West  Springfield,  and  the  east 
end  of  the  Common  was  used  as  a  ship  yard. 

The  schooner  "  Trial,"  of  sixty  tons  burthen ;  the  sloop  "  West 
Springfield,"  of  about  the  same  calibre,  and  the  sloop  "  Hampshire,"  of 
ninety  tons,  the  latter  owned  by  Samuel  Ely  and  Benjamin  Ashley,  all 
were  built  there  and  sailed  down  the  river  about  the  year  1800. 


CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION.  I39 

MONUMENTAL  INSCRIPTIONS  AND  EPITAPHS. 

FROM   THE   OLD    FIRST   CEMETERY,    CORNER   OF   CHURCH   AND   UNION    STREETS, 
BEGUN   ABOUT    I70O. 

Rev.  John  Woodbridge,  first  minister  of  West  Springfield,  after  serv- 
ing his  generation  faithfully,  fell  asleep,  June  10,  17 18.  The  righteous 
will  be  held  in  everlasting  remembrance.  Erected  by  the  descendants 
of  his  parishioners,  1852. 

Among  the  first  settlers  and  the  earliest  families  of  the  town  are 
found  the  names  of  Ashley,  Bagg,  Barber,  Bedurtha,  Cooper,  Day, 
Dumbleton,  Ely,  Fowler,  Jones,  Leonard,  Merrick,  Miller,  Petty,  Rog- 
ers, Parsons,  Smith,  Vanhorn  and  Foster,  who  gave  this  ancient  burial- 
ground  to  the  First  parish  in  West  Springfield, 

Here  Rests  y*  Body  of  y*  Rev*^  Mr.  Sam"  Hopkins,  In  whom,  sound 
Judgment,  solid  Learning,  Candour,  Piety,  Sincerity,  Constancy  and 
universal  Benevolence  combined  to  form  an  excellent  Minister,  a  kind 
Husband,  Parent  and  Friend,  who  deceased  October  the  6th,  A.  D. 
1755,  in  the  62d  yr  of  his  age,  and  ^6  year  of  his  ministry. 

Mrs.  Esther  Hopkins,  Rehct  of  y*  late  Rev*^  Mr.  Sam"  Hopkins,  In 
whom  a  superior  understanding,  uncommon  Improvements  in  Knowl- 
edge, exemplary  Piety  and  exalted  Virtue  combined  to  form  a  distin- 
guished female  character,  deceas*^  June  17,  1766,  in  y®  72*  year  of  her 
age, 

FROM    THE    PAUCATUCK    CEMETERY. 

BEGUN    IN    1770. 

In  Memory  of  Mr.  Jon*  Smith.     The  Virtuous  Father  of  a  numer- 
ous offspring,  to  whom  he  gave  an  example  of  Piety  and  Prudence. 
Who  died  Feb.  9th,  A.  D.  1772,  In  the  75th  year  of  his  age. 
How  blest  are  they 
Who  in  Christ's  bosom  sleep. 

Cease,  then,  dear  friends, 
To  mourn,  lament  or  weep. 

FROM    THE   TOWN    HOUSE   CEMETERY,  BEGUN    IN    1 787. 
(The  First  Burial.) 

In  memory  of  Mr.  Solomon  Lathrop,  who,  in  hope  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality, calmly  fell  asleep  April  27,  1787,  in  the  28th  year  of  his 
age. 

A  coffin,  sheet  and  grave  is  all  my  earthly  store, 

'Tis  all  I  want,  and  kings  will  have  no  more. 


140  WEST    SPRINGFIELD    CENTENNIAL    CELEBRATION. 

To  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Lathrop,  D.  D.,  third  pastor  of 
the  first  church  in  West  Springfield,  who  died  Dec.  31,  1820,  aged 
LXXXIX  years  and  2  months,  and  in  the  LXV  year  of  his  ministry. 

In  memory  of  Capt.  Levi  Ely,  who  was  killed  Oct.  19,  1786,  in  the 
service  of  his  country  on  the  Mohawk  river,  in  the  48th  year  of  his  age. 

Who  dies  in  youth  and  vigor  dies  the  best, 
Struck  thro  with  wounds,  all  honest  in  the  breast. 

FROM    MEETING-HOUSE    HILL    CEMETERY. 
BEGUN   IN    1S08. 

Rev.  D.  T.  Bagg,  died  Jan.  15,  1848,  aged  33.  The  Pastor,  Son 
and  Brother. 

Rev.  Pliny  Butts  Day,  D.  D.  Born  April  21,  1806,  died  July  6, 
1869.     Pastor  of  Congregational  Church,  Hollis,  N.  H. 

Rev.  Moody  Harrington.  Died  July  22,  1865,  aged  67  years.  Fer- 
vent in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord 

FROM  THE  ASHLEYVILLE  CEMETERY. 

To  the  memory  of  Mr.  John  Ashley,  who  died  July  17,  1824,  ^t 
84  years.  He  was  distinguished  by  Publick  Spirit  and  active  benevo- 
lence. 


THE    SOLDIERS'    MONUMENT. 

IN    THE    CEMETERY    ON    MEETING-HOUSE    HILL,    A    BROWN    STONE    SHAFT, 

ABOUT    TWENTY    FEET    HIGH,   BEARS    THE    FOLLOWING 

INSCRIPTIONS  : 

This  Monument  is  erected  in  memory  of  those  members  of  Co.  I,  loth  Mass. 
Regiment,  who  fell  in  the  service  of  their  country,  during  the  Great  Rebellion,  at  Wil- 
liamsburg, Fair  Oaks,  Glendale,  Malvern,  ist  Fredericksburg,  Mary's  Hights,  Salem, 
2d  Fredericksburg,  Gettysburg,  Rappahannock  Station,  Mine  Run,  Wilderness, 
Spottsylvania,  Coal  Harbor,  Petersburg. 

DIED   OF   WOUNDS   RECEIVED    IN    ACTION. 

Lieut.  William  Arthur  Ashley,  May  5,  1864.  Priv.  William  H.  Atkins,  August  12,  1862. 

Serg't  Amos  Pettis,  Jr.,  May  3,  1S63.  Priv.  John  Barry,  May  3,  1863. 

Serg't  Osmyn  B.  Paull,  May  18,  1864.  Priv.  Hubert  J.  Boyington,  May  3,  1863. 

Serg't  John  R.  Walker,  August  27,  1864.  Priv.  Anthony  Cain,  May  15,  1863. 

Corp'l  Hibbard  K.  Bean,  May  31,  1862.  Priv.  Charles  E.  Hovey,  May  3,  1863. 

Corp'l  James  Baldwin,  June  13,  1864.  Priv.  Simeon  P.  Smith,  November  7,  1863. 

Priv.  William  H.  Estes,  May  31,  1862.  Priv.  Joseph  Nugurer,  December  to,  1864. 

Priv.  Daniel  D.  Shea,  May  31,  1862.  Priv.  John  E.  Casey,  May  5,  1864. 

Priv.  Robert  J.  Stewart,  May  31,  1862.  Priv.  Daniel  Cronan,  September  19,  1864. 

DIED  OF   DISEASE. 

Corp'l  Robert  Best,  Jr.,  September  2,  1S64.  Priv.  Cassander  Frisbie,  July  12,  1862. 

Priv.  Jerry  Sullivan,  September  2,  1861.      -  Priv.  Charles  S.  Harris,  Jr.,  September  17,  1862. 

Priv.  James  W.  Burr,  September  10,  1861.  Priv.  Otis  H.  Littlejohn,  February  5,  '63. 

Priv.  John  G.  Squires,  September  13,  i86i.  Priv.  Abner  D.  Otis,  September  16,  1863. 
Priv.  John  Falvey,  May  i,  1862. 


TO   THE    INTERESTED    READER. 


That  many  other  facts  and  incidents  are  worthy  of  preserva- 
tion herein,  the  compiler  beUeves.  Those  most  easy  of  access 
within  the  time  specified  have  been  used.  To  glean,  save  and 
deposit  in  the  sacred  archives  of  the  town  is  the  privilege  and 
duty  of  all. 


INDEX 


Introduction, 

History  of  the  Centennial  Enterprise, 

Invocation, 

The  Welcome, 

The  Reply, 

The  Poem,        .  .  -  - 

The  Historical  Address, 


PAGE. 

5 
7 

lO 

12 

H 


Dinner  Speeches  : 


Gov.  Washburn's  Letter, 

. 

-      55 

Samuel  L.  Parsons,  Esq., 

55 

Dr.  Thomas  E.  Vermilye,  - 

-      56 

Rev.  E.  N.  Pomeroy,      - 

57 

Dr.  Ashbel  G.  Vermilye,    - 

-      60 

Hon.  J.  M.  Stebbins,     - 

62 

Hon.  Henry  Morris, 

-      66 

Dr.  Edwin  Bliss, 

68 

Rev.  L.  D.  Calkins, 

-      69 

Mr.  Samuel  Flower, 

71 

Dr.  P.  LeB.  Stickney, 

-      72 

Rev.  Aaron  M.  Colton, 

77 

Hon.  Chan  Laisun, 

-      80 

William  Lathrop,  Esq., 

80 

Henry  A.  Chase,    - 

-      81 

D.  B.  Montague, 

81 

Dea.  Thomas  Taylor, 

-      82 

:rs  : 
Dr.  A.  A.  Wood, 

■      83 

Dr.  H.  M.  Field, 

.      . 

83 

Dr.  T.  H.  Hawks, 

-      84 

Dr.  E.  B.  Foster, 

. 

86 

Rev.  H.  M.  Grout, 

-      87 

Dea.  Elisha  Eldridge, 

. 

88 

Dr.  Alonzo  Chapin, 

-      89 

Prof.  George  E.  Day,    - 

- 

90 

N.  T.  Leonard,  Esq., 

- 

-      90 

144 


APPENDIX. 


Parish  Charter, 

Names  of  the  First  Settlers, 

Petition  for  Incorporation  as  a  Town, 

Act  of  Incorporation, 

First  Warrant  for  Town  Meeting, 

Moderators  of  the  Town, 

Clerks  and  Treasurers, 

Representatives, 

Delegates  to  various  places. 

Selectmen,        -  -  -  - 

School  Committee, 

Postmasters,     -  -  -  - 


PAGE. 

95 
96 
97 
98 
98 
99 
100 
loi 
103 
103 
106 
108 


Genealogies: 
Bagg, 
Ashley,  - 
Champion, 
Chapin,  - 
Cooley, 
Day, 
Ely, 

Lathrop, 
Parsons, 
Rogers,   - 
Smith, 
Stebbins, 
Wade, 
White,    - 
Bliss, 


109 
114 
114 
"5 
"5 
116 
117 
118 
119 
120 
120 
122 
123 
123 
124 


Reminiscences  and  Anecdotes  ; 
Dr.  Lathrop's  Personal, 
Age  of  some  of  the  Larger  Trees,  - 
Revolutionary  Incidents, 
The  Newspaper  Enterprise, 
The  Hampden  Grays,     - 
The  Public  Libraries, 
The  Old  School-House, 
The  Great  Elm, 
The  First  Meeting  House, 
General  Washington  in  Town, 
One  of  the  Old  Houses, 
Obituary  of  Dr.  Justin  Perkins, 
Obituary  of  Richard  Bagg,  Jr., 
The  Will  and  Gifts  of  John  Ashley, 
Hon.  Samuel  Lathrop,  - 
The  Ship  Yard, 
Monumental  Inscriptions, 


125 
126 
126 
126 
127 
128 
128 
129 
130 
134 
135 
135 
136 

m 
138 
138 
139