^^c^CRY OF ^^^ TOWIST OF SAVOY PUBLISHED BY H. E, MILLER. WEST CUMMINQTON, MASS. ( 1881 : 'n <"■ ^ASH'*^- N->:<^.^ HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SAVOY, 1/ BY I-I. E. MILLER PUliLIRHED BY H. E. MILLEK, WE8T CUMMINGTON, MASS. ?> PREFACE. Our object in issuing this book, is to collect in a form for )reservation the several incidents most prominent in the listory of the town, from its settlement to the present time. ^e do not claim that it is complete, as we have been com- )elled to condense the matter, in order to furnish a book at I price so low that all can afford a copy. We have also baen unable to p'ive the necesFary time to I thorough search for ma-terial : indeed, it is impossible to giwe a full account of several incidents relating to its early aistory : yet, enough has been collected to give the reader a fair view of the events that have v)ccured during the cen- buiT that has passed since our ancestors commenced their struggle for subsistence among these rugged hills. In collecting the dates and other matter for this work, we liave received valuable assistance from Hon. J. N. Dunham, of Pittsfield, Mass. PhHo Carpenter, of Chicago. 111. Kev. A. Dcming, L. McCullock Esq. and others, of Savoy, Mass. and their kindness will evor be remembered by the AUTHOR West Cnmniington, M %ss. .Inly 1879, p^torj) of ^avoy. At the time of the settlement of Adams, and the towns ong tk3 riv3i% all the territory from Cheshire, Mass. to he Vermont line, w i^ exiled East Hoosac, and the unset- ed tract, now called Savoy, was included in this region, 'rom the time of its settlement until its incorporation, it as called by the settlers New Seconk, and was known to le General Court as ''Bullock's Grant," being a portion f the tract of land consisting of six square miles, granted 7 the General Court, to Col. Wm. ]5ullock of Rehoboth, 3 Agent for the heirs of Capt. Samuel Gallup and his )mpany of men, in consider. a tion of servicss rendered bj^ liem during the French and IndUn war. This grant was lade April 25th, 1771. Previous to this grant, this tract formed N ). G, of the ten own ships, sold at auction hj the Ganerdi Court, n,t Bos- m, June 2nd 1762. and was purchased by Abel Law- mce, at £ 1350 sterling. He was afterwards released 4 mSTOBY OF SAVOY. from his bargain because the land was not so good as rep resented. In the grant to Col. Bullock, it was stipulated that three rightn, of 380 acres each, should be reserved for the foUv^wing uses, viz. : one as a donation for the first settled miniater, one fcr the ministry forever, and one for the use of schools; thus securing religious mid education- al advantages before any settlement was made. The firnt settlement in town was nmde in 1777 by a man named Robinett, whe located near where the Coal - kilns now stand. How long he remained, or what became of him we are unable to leara. Capt. Lemuel Hathfvrry. of Taunton, came into the south part of this town during the se.ma year. Mr. Hathaway was an able man, and his de- scendants are people of good character. His great grand- son, Rev. C. L. Waite, is now pastor of the Univcrsalist Church at Orange, Mass. About this time other families commenced clearing lands in the north pnrt of the ^'own, one on the "Dunham " lot. (now occu])ied by James Kelly,) in School District No. 4, another, £i Mr. Bishop, located on land now o\^^led by ■^* s HISTORY OF SAVOY. 5 Leonard MoCullock. in the part of the town caLlod ''New State." another on the "Gcff" place, and another on the liill north of the Hollow. These men, when clearing land, often " exchanged work " all laboring together, for a given time, at each place. In those days there were no roads, and some of the men being obliged to go to Adamn a ad work, to earn provisions for their families, brought the meal, and other commodities upon their shoulders. Some w^ho had trades, would go to Troy and other places for work, leaving their courageous wives to superintend affairs at home. In several instances, these plucky women remained for a number of weeks lit- erally alone in a wilderness, surrounded by wolves, b^ars, and other animals. There is a tradition that one lady staid many nights with nothing but blankets to keep the wolves from her window. Many of the settlers passed their first night under an upturned hogshead, to protect themselves from wild beists. All the houses wcr 3 built of logs, and people who kept sheep or swine, made peiis for them be- neath some window, that they might be easily reached in 6 HISTORY or SAVOY. time of danger. One man, returning from Adams in the evening, was followed for some 'listance, by a bear walking upon its hind feet, ready to give an unwelcome bug, but the resolute pioneer, turning about, commenced a lecture which so disconcerted Bruin, that he left in disgust. For several years after the first settlement, the colonies were engaged in the struggle for independence, and dur- ing this period tha settlemeiit of this town was much re- tarded: yet, at the close of the war 35 families had homes in "Bullock's Grant." We hare give the names of these families, followed by brief sketches of their sul^seqiient his- tory. Lemuel Hathaway, Daniel Wetherel, Wm. Wilbur Joseph Williams, Joseph Williams, Jun., Wm. and Thos. Williams, Loved Eddy, and Zcchariah Paddleford, from Taunton; John Bourn, Joseph Bishop, C3mfort Bates, Abial Dunham, Michael Sweet, and David Matthews, from Attleborough ; Simeon Hodges, and Snellem Babbitt, from- Norton ; Peleg Hathaway, Nathan Sherman, and Mr. Reed from Middleborough ; Peter Bennet, and Eliezur Edson of Pelham ; Joshua Felt from Easton ; James Nelson from HISTORY OF SAVOY. ^. 7 Brimfield; William Ingraham from Rehoboth; Nathan Haskins from Shntesbury : Samuel Ro<^ers and Wm. Tol- man from Sharon ; Wm. Bowen from Warren, R. I. ; Sam- uel Read, Shubael Fuller, Azariah Heath, Joseph Putney, a man by name of Murphy, and another by the name of Hamlin, from Home part of Connecticut. The families of the two Hathaways rem;iined in to-svn, and many of their descendants still reside here. Wm. Williams kept the first Hot?l, or " Tavern," in the town, obtaining^ his license in 1794. The Williams families kept Hotel, and were residents of the to\\^i for many yera-s. The Eddy and P-iddleford familirs were also represented in town, for the o-reat^r portion of time sin"<^ its settle- ment. The Paddlefords lived for some time in what is now called the "Brier." Mr. Bishop did not remain lono^ in the place, becoming' discontented he removed to Adams. The descendants of Mr. Bourn still resic range of the Green Mountains, 110 miles west of Boston. SKETCHES OF FAMILIES, &c. Some of the older families in the south part of the town, are Inofrahams, Bowkers, Biteses, Blisses, and Sturtevants. Wm. Ingraham was one of the original settlers, and an in- fluential citizen. Obadiah Ingraham ( son of Wm. ) was for many years owner of a grist mill at the Hollow, was also a HISTORY OF SAVOY. 11 Deacon in tlie church. His son, Di,vid Ingraham, is now Town Clerk in Savoy. The Bowkers ware well eiu^ated, all of them attaining to honorable position? in so':5iety. The on- ly male survivor of he Bliss family, n3w living in the south part of the town, is Wm. Bliss, a ^ibinet miker. Williams son, Duane, is extansively engxgel i:i th3 lun'jjr business in Nevada. Of the Bates family, S. W. Bates, alone, resides in town. The Sturtevants cam?, to Swoy in 1811, since which time, they have been an influential family. Simeon Goff was the first of -this name in the place. The only vil- lage is in this part, on a branch of the Westfield river. It has generally supiDortai tw3 stores, two churches, and for some time two Hotels, kept by the Hathaways, Bowkers, Hrl^s And others. In 1849 there was a flourishing lodge of the I. O. O. F., called Green Mountain Tent. In 1850 th^ "Hollow" was one of the most prosperous of the hill vil- lages in Berkshire County. Since that time, like other hill towns, its prosperity has declined: however, a spirit of en- terprise still exists, indicated by improvements of late. 12 mSTORT OF SAVOY. In the south eastern par: of the town, the older famihes were those of Benjamin Carpenter, who settled where Mr. Elbridge Ingraham now lives, and was the ancestor of the Carj^enters residing in this section ; of Mr. Mirick, from New Bedford. Allen and Noah Mirick, his sons, still reisde in the place : of thi Rimingtjns ; and of Capt. John Dem- mg, who came from W^thersfiald, CL, in 1811. Mr. Dem- ing had several children, one of them, Rev. Amos Deming, is yet living here. The " E'd3r " is in his 88th year, was for many years pastor of the Baptist Church in tliis place, has baptized over 200 persons, and officiated at 142 wed- dings. He now lives with his sons, Mark and Amos, enter- prising farmers, and minufacturers of Boxes. In the part now called Savoy Centre, lived Mr Consider Hathaway and his family ; the Millers : Samuel, Barnard, Nathan and Wm., they were naturally a strong and hardy people. Wm. Miller built and for a time kept a Hotel on the cv)rner, now owned by Wms. Sherman. There are now four families of this name in Savov ; The Carters, were , HISTORY OF SAVOY. 13 business men, in their day, but none are living here at the present time. The Wm. Carter place is now owned by Lo- renzo Shaw, of Cummington, who built here a steam saw- mill, and for a short time, carried on an extensive lumber business. In the New State were the Shermans, (already mention- ed ), the Fish families, who owned an edge tool shop near Cold river, north east of W. W. Burnett's residence, the Bliss, Koberts, Simmons, and Bridges families. Bradisi Dunham, who lived where Horace Ford now does, was one of the foremost men in the town, taking part in all public affairs. Abel Carpenter came to Berkshire County, in 1787 Abel's son, Philo Carpenter, was born in Savoy, Feb. 27lh 1805. "When about 23 years of aga he went to Tro}-, N. Y. and afterwards to Chicago, 111., buying land in that place when it was but a village of log houses. He established the first Sabbath School, end delivered the first temper- ance lecture in Chicago. He has become wealthy, and has lived to see the city he helped to build, one of the most 14: HISTORY OF SAVOY. prosperous cities in tiio Uaion. Mr. Carpenter has given over $ 100,000, for religious and educational purposes. His brother, the late Abel Carpenter, was also a resident of the same city. We might d,lao mention other families of this section, among them, the C-iins, of whom D?a. James Cain is the oldest hving representative ; Daniel Est as, a former sea captain, whose adventures would make an interesting volume; and of Wm. Perkins, the father of Kev. Orrin Perkins, a Univeriilist prd icher, and grandfather of Rev. O. P. Gilford, the eminent Baptist praacher, of Boston. The Tylers have left the town, their farm is now owned by Dennis Haskins, who has near here a stave manufactory^ furnishing employment to a number of j)ersons. In the "Brier" were the Dunhams, Daniel, and his sons Alvin, and Orrin who still lives in the place ; the Pollys, of whom Asa is the oldest now living here : the Snows, Sim- eon, Russel and Harmon, all intolhgent and respected cit- izens ; Rev. Nathaniel MeCullock was ft resident of this section from about 1830 until his death in 1867. He had a HISTORY OF SAVOY. 15 large family : tliongli only three of his children remain in the town. Four of his sons are preachers, in the western states ; the families of Augustus Maynard, and the late Eph- raim Walker, have lived here for many years ; the Joslyns. Rings, and C'lrpenters, former residents, have nearly dis- appeared. In 1841, Eussel Snow, Ezr.i St3n'is. ^^^d J. B. Cudworth built a tannery, near where E. J. Crandall's ^^aw- mill now stands, which was afterwards owned by Mr. Alvin Cudworth, and finally by Timothv Bik'^v who carried on the business until 1860, when it was given up. Mr. Baker now lives in Adams. From 186G t ) 1870 a large lumber mill wo s in operation here, owned by parties in other towns. The lumber business is now cnrried on by Asa and Har- vey Polly, E. J. Crandall, and N. B. Baker In the "Spruce Corner, " and the eastern part of Savoy, the early settlers were Josiah Blrnr h-rd, Asil Horton, who came from Windsor in 1800 ; and E. Leonard, who came in 1806. The Leonards were from Raynham, and were de- scendants of the Leonards, owners of the house in which lO mSTOEY OF SAVOY. the head of King Phillip ( the famous Indian warrior ) was exhibited, aiter he was slain ia battle. Among the later residents were Nelson Wing ; Ethan M\ynard ; Josiah Til- ton, who came from Goshen, in 1817 ; and the Barton fam- ily. This is a pleas'int region some of the buildings lately erected giving the place a neat cpper ranee. A saw -mill is owned by J. W. Bourne, and Eev. H. K. Fligg, an Adveiit- 3st preacher residing here a grf ater part of the time since 1863, has a printing office, established lately for the pur- pose of issuing tracts, &c. The famihes of Mr. Phillips, (father of Dr. H.P. Phillips of North Adams ), the Walkers, Leonards, and v)thers lived o Q. tbe road leading north from Savoy Hollow, over the hill known as "Fifty one," from the number of the original lot. Since the introduction of the modern system of building roads in the valleys, this road is little used, and the region nearly depopulated. The same may be said of the old road by Ezekiel Fullers: yet, this is not an indication of decline, since better advantages are afforded in the valleys. ^ mSTOEY OF SAVOY. 17 CHURCHES AND MINISTERS. The people of this town have always taken a lively inter- erest in all religious matbers, and while a majority of the hill towns in New England have had but one church, ( gen- erally the Congregational ) this one has nurtured almost every denomination : indeed, it has been the birthplace of one of the " isms " whose remarkable growth comman:ls the attention of our whole nation. The first church organization in Savoy, was that of thj FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, organized, at the house of Wm, WilHams. June 24, 1786. consisting of 10 members, viz : Nrtiian Haskins and wife, Wm. Williams and wife, Lucinla Wilbore, Nathan and Sol- omon Fay, Benjamin B'lllen, Z3'^hariah Paddleford, and Alice Reed. Nathan Haskins, the first minister, was or- dained Jan. 28, 1789, and was pastor until his death on Dec. 10, 1802. After his death there was no settled pastor until 1810, when Phillip Pierce became pastor, remainin.fr until 1817. Eld. Keyes next supplied the pulpit, in 182 '^ 18 HISTORY Cr 3AT0Y. he was succeeded by David Woodbury, who gave place the following year, to Benjamin F. Kamington. Since Mr. Rem- ington, the church has had the following pastors: Elnathan Sweet, 0. Mr.rtin, Gecrge Walker, Nathaniel McCuUock, Roswell Whipple, Amos Deming, H. B. Foskett, J. Wilk- er, A. H. Sweet, S. H. Amsden, C. L. Baker, Geo. F. Fiy, David Pease, Ira Bonny, R. H. Maine, L. Tandy, and Gjo B. Fittz. The first Church edifice was built in 1804, on the corner near the S. W. Bates place. In 1848 it was re- moved to its present location in Savoy Hollow. This church reached its highest -point of pros verity in 1850, anl had t': en 103 members. THE SECOND BAPTIST CHURCH was organized at New State, M«^y 23, 1842, with 24 meni- l^-^rs. Rev. N, McCullock was their first pastor, Jas. Cain, deacon and clerk. Amos Deming was ordained as their p?s- tor, May 27, 1834; and Edgar F. Cady Feb. 3, 1848. J. M Whipple became pastor in 1849, after him Rev. A. Deming was called to his second pastorate. In 1849 tliis church HISTORY OF SAVOY. 19 lad 61 m^mbsrg. S^on .i^t-^r th'^ ehnrch being able to sup- port a preacher, disbanded and united with the first Bap- tist church. Their house of worship was built in 1842, and las since been repaired and neatly fitted up as a union jhurch. THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL SOCIETY vas formed Feb. 18, 1811, composed of 20 members living n Savoy and Windsor. R3v. J'3])hth'^h Poole was ordain- ed pastor of this church Oct. 11, 1811. After his dismissal lie pulpit was mainly suppLV d from missionary scurres. rheir church was erected on the line between the above lamed towns, near Mr. Hollis' res'dence. This church, at >ne time, had 56 members. THB METHODIST SOCIETY «ras orpfanized in 18*^4, and bu*T+. their church at Savoy Tollow in 1835. The names of the pastors of this church ,re as follows: A. C. Wheat, Samuel Palmer, Benjar-i'i /[eLeoth, Thomas Marcy, J. B. Dean, Joha Cadwe^'. \ 5aillie, A. G. Bowles, A. S. Flag?, R. Mitche!\ D, T ):^.\ 20 HISTORY OF SAVOY. E. Gage, E. H. Oh%pm, C. N. M3rrifield and E. B. Morgan. In 1864 they had 38 m3mbars. This church has not sustain- ed regular meetings during the last twelve years, but sev- eral a tempts have been made to revive them, with Rev. G- Hewes as pastor in 1870, Rev. A. Lawrence in 1878, pnd Rev. J. Wood in 1879. ADVENTIST CHURCH. When the doctriaes promulgated by Wm. Miller, ( a rel- ative of the Savoy Millers), created so much attention in this country, they acquired a strong foothold in this town, and several church organizations have resulted therefrom. The preaching has been mainly bv travelling ministers of the denomination: although several preachers of consider- able talent have originated in this locality. One of these societies have held services in the Union Church, and were quite prosperous under the pastorates of Eld. E. McCullock (now of Nevada O.), Eld. R. Starts, Mrs. E. A. Warren and others. 50 members. Another society built a chapel and still hold meetings at Spruce Corner. D. Saars, pastor- I ^ HISTOEY OF SAVOY. MORMONISM, ETC. /^ About the year ISlOj^ the veritable Joe. Smith, of Mor- mon notoriety, coming here from Vermont, commenced the formation of a church, or " community. " Smibh, being a man of considerable tact and wonderful psychological or mesmeric influence, succeeded in attracting many followers in the north part of the town, and taking a wife, he seem- ed likely to prosper: when lo ! a former wife aj^peared, a'-id the citizens being loth to accept this innovation, he made a sudden exit in search of "greener" fields. He aftfrw&rds gathered his "GhuT-ch of the Latter- day Saints," at Palmy- ra, N. Y., taking care to avoid future "domestic troubles" by securing their sanction through inspired (?) revelatii)n. THE SHAKERS of New Lebanon, N. Y., established here, in 1815, a com- mnnitv from the remnnnt of Smith's foUowers. They built f> orr-'pt-mill, shop, a hall for worship, (now used rs shed on H. Ford's place ) and for a few years prospered, but the rf^- gion was not adapted to their raorle of living, and after five yenrs of ex"nr>rTment, returned to New Lebanon, with sevei'- al families from Savoy. Their doctrines were a curious mix- 9-7 HISTORY OF SAVOY. tnre of tnith, wifcchoraffc, ani superstition. The excitement attending this revival was intense, and several persons be- came insane from its effects. SCHOOLS, TEICHEKS, ETC. P • >Yision w IS ma 1 ^ f )r tha support of schools by the res- < "'•^■ tion of oie ri':^'\*-. for th'S n^i-po^ \ At tho first town- meetin.GT, held at the house ( f AVm. Wiljirms Apr. 24, 1797, the sum of $80, wis apor )pnat3d for sclijo's. O: coursj tliis amount would not furnish suoarior advantages to the; children of those divs, bu^, it sufficed to giva our forefath- ers a d3cent common scho ")1 elu'^ition, and a batter idea cf ci\^litv than is acquired in some of our modern schools. As time advanced, the amount r-^ised i( r school? was in- creased, and in 1815 r3ach3d the sum of $250. I-i 1S?A) tha school fund acoruincf from the S"le of ^'"Imol light ( sola in 1821 ), and ministerial right ( sol 1 in IS IQ ), w i8 $ 1071. 9(^. The school interests have alw n-s betn wc 1 puftiiinccl, and the pupils generally as f )rw^rl as thos ^ io other com- mon schools. Among the teachers rrif>-inptirg in S'vcy p.rt^ the following : Bradish Dmihim ; Cileb Bour:i3 ; Wir 1 B. Bates, an expert mathematiciac, now r^^siding pt EprlvilJr, m.; F. C. Bourne ; O. Perkins, late prineipcd of txic^ I-isti- tute at Cooperstown, N. Y.; The following persons have represented the town in the ^T^^R. Legisl^i.ture : Snellem Babbitt, Wm. Ingraham, Ed. labbitt, J. B. Cudworth, Phillip Pierce, K. Sturtevrnt, HISTORY OF SAYOY. 23 David Ingraham, Timothy Baker, Harmon Snow, Mehdn Bowker, S. P. Dresser, Leonard McCullock. JUSTICES. Snellem Babbitt, Bradish Dunham, Harmon Snow, A. M. Bowker, L. McCuHonk, Geo. Dunham, S. P. Dresser, F. C. Bourne, N. E. Goff. LAWYERS. Savoy can not boast of the number of her sons in the le- iral profession, but what may be wanting in quan'ity is am- ■nlv made up in qualitv. The only lawyers from Savov are fh'^ sons of Bradish Dunham. Jarvis N, Dunham, of Pitts- field, is one of the leading lawyers in Western Mass. He has filled many offioes of trust and is highly esteemed in political, as in social circles. Henry J. Dunham, of Stock- bridge, Mass. is also an eminent nnd respected lawyer. Mr. Dunham is the author of a recent publication entitled ''The Game Laws of Massachusetts." THE CLERGYMEN from this place are , Revs. Amos Deming Gf orge Wplker and John Haradon, Baptist ; R^'\ Spencer Tileston, Meth- (.dist ; R3VS. O. Perkins and N. D. Sherman, Universalist. THE PHYSICIANS originatipg in the town are; Snell Babbitt, Isaac Hodges, Joel Burnett, Isaac Brown, Simeon Sqow, Amos Walker, mSTOBY OF SAVOY. Silas J. Bourne, Ghas. and A. M. Biwker, and C. M. Bar- to q, now practicing at Whately, Mass. The following are thephysicians who have practiced in Savoy: Nathan Branch L. Phillips, Samuel Bullo'^k, Isaac Hodges, Wm. A. Ham- ilton, A, Brown. Snell Babbitt, Warren C. Partridge, Phil- emon Stacy, Nathan Weston. Charles Bowker, A. M. Bow ker, O. A. Wheeler, S. P. Dresser and M. A. Bowen. POST OFFICES. The Savoy P.O., was estabhshed in 1817, on the Adams and Ashiield route, and has h id as postmasters : D. Sturte- vant, Busssll Sherman, Liberty, M idison and Calvin Bow- ker. The Savoy Centee P.O., was established in 1876, on the Adams and Charlemont route. J.W.Gnrney, P.M. WAR RECCED. We can not look with pride upon our records of the Rev- olution : in fact, the only tradition concerning the matter has an unpatriotic savur. It is said that a young pioneer (we with-hold his name) was engaged in clearing land when the call was made, for volunteers to defend the military stores. and striking his axe into a stump, he resolutely shouldered his musket and started for — his mother's home in Norton. The following were soldiers of the Revolution afterwards residing in Savoy : Joseph Williams, Snellem Babbitt, John Cain, Elijah Turner, i i I » i i