^s A- %n JENNY LIND ELM The Hatfield Book By CHARLES A. WIGHT Minister of the Congregational Church in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts Copyright IQoS by Charles A. Wight Chicopee Falls, Mass. The F. a. BASSETTE CO., Printers Springfield, Mass. Note of Dedication The author's parents, Joseph E. and Sarah R Wight, about two years after their marriage and while he was an infant, moved from Ashfield to Hatfield and settled in the north part of the town. Here their large family of children grew up to manhood and womanhood under the most advantageous conditions. The distant mountains on all sides, the great river, the ponds, the brooks, the meadows, the forests containing many chestnut trees, afforded a fascinating natural environment for a boy. Hunting, fish- ing, picking wild berries, gathering nuts, coasting and skating, were the common pastimes for the active boys of the region. Here the author made his home for about a quarter of a century. He prepared for college in the Academy located in the town. When a young man about to leave home for college he united with the Hatfield church, where he had been from childhood a constant attendant. His father after a short, but active and successful life died and was bur- ied in the little cemetery in the north part of the town, where his ashes repose among the graves of many of his neighbors and associates. His mother is still spared to enjoy in the old home the fruits of early toil and sacrifice. In the past year during the little leisure that could be snatched from the busy life of a Christian minister, the author has visited the home of his early life and gathered the material for this book. He is much indebted to Mr. D. W. Wells, Mr. L. H. Kingsley, Mr. David Billings, Rev. R. W. Woods, D.D., Rev. John M. Greene, D.D., and Mr. C. K. Morton, for their help in gathering material for his book. Most of the pictures were taken with the aid of his friend, Mr. F. P. Cobb, of Chicopee Falls. The book has been written at odd moments the past summer as a labor of love. No attempt has been made to write a complete history of Hatfield, but a faithful effort has been made to set forth in an appreciative spirit and convenient form some of the most interesting and important things in the history of one of the oldest and most attractive villages in New England. Hatfield does not stand still. Never was it so prosperous as to-day. Never was it so progressive as in these modern times. In this respect it affords a marked contrast to many of the old towns of New England. Fully appreciating what he himself owes to the place, the author gratefully dedi- cates this book to the first settlers of Hatfield, whose courageous deeds are unsurpassed in the annals of pioneer life. C. A. W. Chicopee Falls, Mass. Summer of 1908. Contents Seeing Hatfield by Trolley .... Historical Sketch of Hatfield .... Settlement. Separation from Had ley. Richard Fellows and Others. Hatfield Lands. Industrial Life. Population in 1850. The Coming of the Foreigner. Leading Men of Hatfield. War Time. Gifts of Wealthy Residents. Location of Smith College in Northampton. Religious Unity of Town. Sophia Smith, Founder of Smith College Smith Academy ..... Oliver Smith, Founder of the Smith Charities The Hatfield Church .... Indian Attacks on Hatfield PAGE I II 25 33 37 43 51 ILLUSTRATIONS Jenny Lind Elm Corner Cupboard, Hubbard Inn . The Lowell Elms and Mansion "Jenny Lind" Elm and Residences of D. W. Wells Esq., and Sophia Smith Residence of Mrs. S. R. Wight Old Doorway, Roswell Billings Residence Residence of Roswell Billings Graves of Rev. William Williams, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge and Rev. Joseph Lyman Residence of Reuben F. Wells Hatfield Street ...... The Catholic Church ..... Frontispiece FACING PAGE 2 7 8 II 12 13 16 18 19 FACING PAGE Doorway of the Morton House Sophia Smith's Birthplace Rev. John M. Greene, D.D. Sophia Smith at 72 . Colonial Porch of Miss Smith's New Residence Oil Painting of Sophia Smith Sophia Smith's Monument Smith Academy ..... Oliver Smith's Account Book and Office Furniture Memorial Hall and the Church The Graves Memorial Stone The Hatfield Church Rev. Robert M. Woods, D.D. Mrs. R. M. Woods Memorial Tablet A Hatfield Tobacco Field The Jenny Lind Elm 20 22 23 25 26 28 32 3+ Zl 38 40 42 45 48 51 53 55 Seeing Hatfield by Trolley SOON after it leaves Northampton the Deerfield division of the Connecticut Valley Street Railv^^ay reaches Laurel Park and turning east crosses the tracks of the N.Y.,N.H. &H. and B. & M. railroads. Here it enters a rich tobacco and onion growling section where once the aborigines raised their crops of maize. The natives sold the land to the whites for a compensation which was regarded by both parties as reasonable, but which seems to us today ridiculously small. Every foot of ground that the trolley passes in its course through Hatfield is rich in historic interest. In this region the Indians had their favorite camping, fishing and hunting grounds. Here was the scene of the long and terrible conflict between the natives and the settlers for final possession of the soil. Not far from the point where the trolley line crosses the railroad tracks, perhaps within the Hmits of Northampton, the Indian chief Umpanchala and his tribe had an important fort, the last fortified dwelling place held by the Indians in the valley. It was abandoned the night of August 24, 1675. The first houses reached by the trolley stand on the site of a small negro settlement which vanished some time ago, but which was a familiar sight to the author of this book in his boyhood. Some of the negroes who had their cabins and cabbage patches here were descendants of slaves once owned in Hatfield. To the right lying on the river bank is the Capawonk or Little Ponsett meadow. As the trolley enters the thickly settled part of the place it passes a building now used as a tobacco warehouse that has a fine old door- way similar to that of the famous Parson Williams house of Deerfield. The building stands a little back from the high- way on the left. It was used by Eben White as a tavern in the days of the stage coach. A short distance further on the two large Lowell elms may be seen standing directly in front of the Lowell mansion. The larger of the two trees measures twenty feet in circumference. On the corner of Elm and Prospect streets, where the descent of the hill begins, is the residence of Mr. Roswell Hubbard. Here in Revolutionary war time Elisha Hubbard, and after his death his widow Lucy Hubbard, kept a tavern. It was in this house that Washington's staff officer Epa- phroditus Champion had his headquarters for several years. Here, too, were quartered for a time some of Count Rochambeau's officers. The panes of the old windows were marked with mottoes and epigrammatic sentences written with a diamond by the Frenchmen. It is also said that some of Burgoyne's officers and soldiers were quartered in the house when they were being marched to Boston after the surrender at Saratoga. Lucy Hubbard was a woman of such remarkable earning powers that in 1772 the town levied a tax of fifteen pounds upon her for her "faculty." The Hill burial ground, which may be seen from this point, was used by the town as the principal burial place until 1849. It is probable that there was an earlier burial place, but the site is unknown. The oldest inscription in the cemetery reads as follows: "Here Lies the Body of William Williams, Born April 3D & Died May 3, 168 1." The headstone at the grave of Captain John Allis bears the date 1691. Here is the grave of "Canada" Waite. The old headstone which was broken has been replaced by a new one, an exact copy of the original. The inscription reads, "Canada Waite Smith, wife of Mr. Joseph Smith, who died May 5, 1749 in ye 72 year of her age." "Canada" Waite was born in Canada the winter of the famous captivity described elsewhere in this book. She was the grandmother of Oliver Smith and the great grandmother of Sophia Smith. Colonel Israel Williams, who at one time had command of all the western troops against the French and Indians, is buried in this cemetery. Here are the graves of several soldiers of the Revolutionary War. In this cemetery were buried the three most distinguished ministers the town had in the early part of its history, Rev. William Williams, Rev. Timothy Woodbridge, and Rev. Joseph Lyman. Their graves and that of Colonel Israel Williams may be distinguished by the horizontal headstones supported by pillars. One is well repaid for visiting this spot, for these were great men and their graves should not be overlooked. At the foot of the hill the trolley crosses "Capawonk" brook, Mill River, often referred to as a landmark in the Indian deeds and old land grants, and a short distance further on, making a sharp turn, enters Main street. On the left there stands at the corner of the streets an interest- ing old house with its gambrel roof. The house is over a hundred years old and is owned by Mr. Reuben F. Wells, who, after graduating from Smith Academy and Amherst College established himself in his native town and is prominent in its business, social, and religious life. On the right, at the extreme south end of the street is the Mrs. Chloe Morton house with its beautiful old doorway. The house was built about 1750 and belongs to the oldest type of houses now standing in the town. There is a steep pitch to the roof on one side and a long slope on the other. In the rear of the house is a long shed. Several houses of this type are still standing in the town. The Morton house belonged at one time to Lemuel Dickinson, a Revolu- tionary soldier. About 1800 it was purchased by Mr. Josiah Morton, grandfather of the present owner, Mr. Albert W. Morton. This was the home of Miss Eunice Morton, who until her death a short time ago was one of the most beloved and useful women in church and society that Hat- field possessed. She was for many years a successful teacher in the public schools of Hatfield and Springfield. The first house erected in Hatfield was built by Richard Fellows in 1661 and stood just below the intersection of the "Northampton" road with Main street. South from Main street is Indian Hollow from which point the "twenty-five resolute young men" from Hadley fought their way up to the settlement and assisted the Hatfield men in putting the Indi- ans to flight in their assault on the town, May 30, 1676. To the right of Indian Hollow is the Great Ponsett meadow. Proceeding a short distance north on Main street the trolley passes the "Jenny Lind" elm, readily recognized by the cement which has been placed in decayed parts of the tree. There is a tradition that when Jenny Lind and her husband were in Northampton on their honeymoon they visited Hatfield, and the famous singer, standing under this tree, sang one of her ballads to the people of the village. The tree was set out by Josiah Dwight about 1768. Just north of the "Jenny Lind" elm is the memorial stone which marks the dwelling place of Thomas Graves, the first of his name, so the inscription reads, to settle in the valley. He died in 1662. His sons Isaac and John were killed by the Indians in the attack of September 19, 1677. Thaddeus Graves, a prominent citizen of Hatfield, is a descendant of Thomas Graves. The trolley is now passing over historic ground. The stockade built by the first settlers as a defence against attacks by the Indians was in this part of the town. It stood on each side of the road about two hundred feet back and extended from the south end of Main street to a point a little south of the Academy. On the right side of the road almost opposite the Graves memorial stone is the house in which Sophia Smith, the founder of Smith College, was born and in which she lived until near the close of her life. The house is marked by a tablet. It was on the site of this house that the first male child was born in Hatfield. The next house north with its mansard roof and beautiful colonial porch was built by Miss Smith a short time before her death. She lived in the house the last years of her life and died here, June 12, 1870. It has been occupied in recent years by the Rev. Robert M. Woods and family. The next house north is the residence of Mr. Daniel W. Wells, president of Smith Charities and one of the lead- ing men of Hatfield. The house was once the Dr. White tavern. Here were held the lotteries by which money was raised for building bridges across the river. The first post office in the town was located in this house. In front of the house is the site of the old brick schoolhouse, built about 1800 and pulled down in the summer of 1846. North of where the schoolhouse stood is the site of the first meet- ing-house built in the town. It was erected in 1668 and like the schoolhouse stood in the middle of the road. To the left is the residence of Mr. Roswell Billings with its fine old doorway. In the north front room is a beautiful corner cup- board. Great cased beams are a striking feature of the lower rooms of the house. It was built some time before the French and Indian War. The next building north is the new Memorial Hall, the gift of the late Samuel H. Dickinson. In the lower story is a fine collection of relics of the early days of the town. The town clerk has his office in this building. The second story is used for the town library. In the hall are tablets on which are inscribed the names of the soldiers of the Revolutionary and Civil v^ars. In the north room of the lov^er story is a tablet erected by the people of the town in commemoration of the heroes, Ben- jamin Waite and Stephen Jennings, who made the long and dangerous journey to Canada and brought back the cap- tives of Sept. 19, 1677. The church which stands just north of Memorial Hall was built in 1849, and is the only Protestant house of worship in the town. It is the fourth meeting-house built since the incorporation of the town. The third meeting-house was moved across the street and is now used as a barn by its owner, Mr. F. H. Bardwell. It may be recognized by its coat of red paint. In this building are some red oak timbers that belong to the second meeting-house, which was erected in 1699. Back of the church is the principal cemetery of the town. The graves of Oliver Smith and Sophia Smith are in this cemetery. Here is the grave of Sergeant Joseph P. Coburn, who did gallant service in two wars, having been in four engagements of the Mexican war and sixteen battles of the Civil war. He was promoted during the Civil war to the position of color sergeant. In the writer's boyhood an elm tree, that measured about forty feet in circumference and which Oliver Wendell Holmes pronounced the largest tree in Massachusetts, stood in front of the church. It was an old tree when the first settlers saw it. Along the highway at this point was the parade ground of the local militia. On the site of the Town Hall, the building north of the church, stood the handsome residence of Colonel Israel Williams. It was torn down in 1857 to make way for the present building. It had a gambrel roof and in the interior were immense fireplaces, beautiful corner cupboards, ^■'*.- ■ 3.-*- .. JENNY LIND ELM AND RESIDENCES OF D. W. WELLS, ESQ. AND SOPHIA SMITH elaborate hand carved mantels, high wainscoting and crim- son velvet vs^all paper. Colonel Williams was a staunch Tory and was the richest man in the town. A little further north on the right-hand side of the road is the fine old house with its Corinthian pillars, the residence for many years of Samuel H. Dickinson and his sister Abby Dickinson. The house was built about 1825. Almost opposite is Smith Academy, founded by Sophia Smith in 1870. The Indians in the famous attack of September 19, 1677, came down the lane that enters Main street north of the Academy. It was in this section just outside of the stockade that the settlers lived who were taken captive or killed. Thirteen homes were invaded and from one to four persons in each killed or taken captive. Some distance above the Academy stand three houses each having a tower as an architectural feature. The first one on the left is the residence of Dr. C. A. Byrne. The next on the same side is the residence of Major C. S. Shattuck. The one on the right hand was the home of the late William H. Dickinson, for many years a very prominent citizen of Hatfield, and one of the first to undertake the raising of tobacco for the market. His widow still occupies the house. A few feet south of the Dickinson residence is the site of the house in which Oliver Smith, the founder of the Smith Charities, was born. The house was moved to North street some years ago and is the second one standing on the street. The Hatfield Inn at the north end of Main Street was opened as a tavern about 1824. It was on the op- posite side of the street, below the lane entering from the west that the Indian scout, Benjamin Waite, had his home. At the extreme 'end of Main street is an elevation known as King's Hill, where some of Sophia Smith's advisers wanted her to locate her college. The region that the trolley enters at this point in its course northward is known as Little Meadow. At Pine Bridge the trolley crosses "Wunckcompss" brook, traverses North meadow, called by the Indians " Mincommuck," and enters North Hatfield, recently named Bradstreet by the United States Post Office authorities. Here is a community of prosperous farmers, some of whom have as beautiful country homes as can be found in the valley. In the cemetery is the grave of a famous Revolutionary soldier, Joseph Guild, the last survivor of the Revolution- ary war residing in Hatfield. He served through the seven years of the war and was present at the surrender of General Burgoyne's army at Saratoga; at the battle of Monmouth; and at the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Once when he was on duty as sentinel General Washington and General Hamilton made a movement to pass him. He stopped them and demanded the countersign. They did not comply with the demand and General Hamilton persisted in the attempt to pass, whereupon Guild cocked his gun and told him that " he was a dead man if he passed." General Washington then directed that the countersign be given, and they passed on. The incident was related to the late Samuel D. Partridge by Mr. Guild. The large white house with the cupola, which stands just north of the Post Office on the opposite side of the street, is the residence of Mr. Clarence E. Belden, a success- ful business man and native of the place. The fine country home a short distance further north on the same side of the road is the residence of Mrs. Sarah R. Wight, widow of J. E. Wight, a man of large business interests, who took great pride in making for himself one of the most attractive country homes in the valley. Since his death the greenhouses and hundreds of ornamental trees and shrubs that once 8 beautified the place have been removed. Mr. L, H. Wight has charge of the place. The next house north v^^ith the fine porch and extensive tobacco barns is owrned by Mr. Gil- bert E. Morton, a large growler and packer of tobacco. Bradstreet was named after Governor Bradstreet who was the proprietor of a grant of land in this region. About half a mile further north the Whately line is reached. OLD DOORWAY ROSW ELL BILLINGS RESIDENCE Historical Sketch of Hatfield A STRANGER passing along the main street of Hat- field would not fail to observe the great natural beauty of place, the grand old elms, the pretty mod- ern homes, and the many signs of prosperity to be seen on every hand. If he v^^ere to mingle w^ith the inhabitants in some of their social gatherings he vi^ould be impressed w^ith their culture and refinement. Indeed there is little in the place to remind one of its ancient origin and its connection vi^ith the earliest history of our country. A small number of very old houses, a few examples of architecture of the Colonial period and the old headstones in the Hill cemetery are about all that is left to bear witness to the distant past. The trolley line that passes through the place, the new Memorial Hall, the Academy, the comparatively modern house of worship, and the pretty modern homes all speak of the present day. Many of the New England towns have suffered greatly from the loss of gifted and enterprising sons and daughters who have gone to the city or to the West. Hatfield is an ex- ception. Many of her best sons and daughters have re- mained in the place of their birth and identified themselves with the life of the town. Such men as Thaddeus Graves, Charles K. Morton, Daniel W. Wells, the late Henry S. Hubbard, George Billings, Jonathan E. Porter, Alfred H. Graves, the brothers Roswell and David Billings, F. H. Bardwell, and in the north part of the town Oscar Belden and sons, Charles W. Marsh, William Belden, Frank Jones, Gilbert E. Morton, Clarence E. Belden, Reuben Belden, L. H. Wight, Archie P. Graves, Edwin Field, and others equally II worthy of mention have remained in the town and devoted themselves to the maintenance of its business and social life. The educational and religious interests have been fostered with wisdom and care. The result may be seen in the pro- ductive farms, the beautiful homes, the well kept lawns, the culture and refinement of the inhabitants, and the superior moral and religious state of the community. In many in- stances the young men of the town have found their wives among the charming daughters of the place and the latter have kept up their mothers' reputation for good house- wifery and fine womanly qualities. It is doubtful if there is another town of its size in New England that numbers so many fine appearing and cultivated young women as Hatfield. Such persons as Rev. Robert M. Woods, D.D., Isaac B. Lowell, Major C. S. Shattuck, Hugh McLeod, the brothers Jacob and Frederick Carl, have settled in the town and contributed greatly by their personal worth and enterprise to the prosperity and attractiveness of the place. Hatfield, however, as has already been shown, has a distant and notable past and this book would fail of its purpose did it not disclose that past and establish the con- nection between the Hatfield of our time and the plantation on the west side of the river in the days when what is now Hatfield was a part of the new settlement of Norwottuck or Hadley. In the spring of 1614, Adrian Block, a Dutch ad- venturer, who had spent the preceding winter on Man- hattan, embarked with his crew in his American-built ship Restless and sailed eastward on the waters of Long Island Sound. Skirting the northern shore, Block soon came to the mouth of the Connecticut River and sailed up the river till he reached the Enfield Rapids. This Dutch navigator seems to have been the first European to explore the lower 12 C/1 7^ o z :i3 X hJ ,-1 ^ P9 Xi J M U s o -2 w S u y w 5 Connecticut. Bacon in his book, The Connecticut River, gives Block the credit of having discovered the river. In 1633 the Dutch purchased a tract of land of the Pequots where the city of Hartford is now situated and erected a rude fort. It was the purpose of the Dutch to exclude the English from the region, but Providence had decreed other- wise. The English settlers at Plymouth and the Bay very early learned of the fertility and attractiveness of the Con- necticut Valley and in September, 1633, a small company of men made a journey through the wilderness to the Con- necticut River. In October of the same year another company of Englishmen ascended the river and built a trading house at a point some distance above the Dutch fort. In the following year English settlements were es- tablished at Wethersfield, Hartford and Windsor. William Pynchon and his small company from Roxbury established themselves at Springfield in 1636. Northampton was settled in 1654. The settlement of Hadley was begun in 1659 and was the result of differences in the churches at Hartford and Wethersfield. April 18, 1659, sixty persons made an "Engagement" to remove to the Norwottuck valley in Massachusetts and establish a new plantation. It is probable that the broad streets which are a striking feature of Hadley were laid out in 1659. The first settlers of Hadley were from Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield. The plantation was situated on both sides of the Con- necticut river. The settlement of the new town appears to have been completed in 1661. It was in that year that the General Court ordered that the new settlement should be called Hadley. It was inevitable that the settlers on the west side of the river should act more or less independently of those on the 13 east side, and that at no distant day a separate town should be established on the west side. The river at this point was broad and deep. Communication between the two places was difficult at all times and sometimes well nigh impossible. Naturally a community spirit was gradually developed among the settlers on the west side of the river. They were permitted to manage some of their affairs independently of the east side. In the all important matter of attendance on divine ordinances a serious difficulty arose. The place of worship was on the east side of the river and at times the passage of the river was extremely difficult and dangerous. The great labor attending the crossing of the river, together with the terror and screams of the women and children, interfered very seriously with an orderly observance of the Sabbath and a profitable participation in the services of worship. Persons occasionally fell through the ice into the river and barely escaped drowning. The petition to the General Court in 1667 stated that not more than one-half of the ninety persons on the west side of the river "capable of receiving good by ordinances" could ordinarily attend services on the Lord's Day. It was also urged in the petition that the inhabitants on the west side who remained at home were left "a prey to the heathen," who were quick to see their opportunity. A petition for relief from their hard conditions was made to the General Court by the settlers on the west side in May, 1667. In May, 1669, the General Court was informed that steps had been taken by the in- habitants of the west side towards "setting up a meeting house" and that a man had already been "pitched upon" for a minister, who had been recommended to them by "sundry reverend and godly persons." Articles of agree- ment between the inhabitants of the east side of the river and those living on the west side were made December 22, 1669 14 and sent to Boston. The town of Hatfield was incorporated May 31, 1670. It was named from one of the three Hat- fields in England. It was approximately two hundred and fifty years ago that Richard Fellows, Thomas Meekins, Wm. Allis, Nathaniel Dickinson, Jr., Thomas Graves and sons Isaac and John, Samuel Belding, Stephen Taylor, John White, Jr., Daniel Warner, Richard Billings, Obadiah Dickinson, Zachariah Field, Daniel White, John Cowles, John Wells, Samuel Dickinson and John Coleman built their homes on the west side of the river in the new plantation of Nor- wottuck and laid the foundations of the present town of Hatfield. The Hatfield lands were purchased directly or in- directly of the Indian chiefs Umpanchala and Quonquont. The land upon which the main part of Hatfield is situated was purchased July 10, 1660 from Umpanchala for 300 fathoms of wampum and sundry gifts. The land in the south part of the town known as the Capawonk meadow was sold by Umpanchala to Northampton in 1657 for fifty shillings, and purchased of Northampton by Hadley January 22, 1663, for 30 pounds. The land in the north part of the town was purchased of Quonquont's widow October 19, 1672. These three purchases cover all of the Hatfield lands. By the terms of the deeds given for the land the descendants of Umpanchala and Quonquont still have a right to hunt and fish along the streams and erect their wigwams on the common. The period of the settlement of the town was followed by that of the French and Indian War. After that came the Revolutionary War. More than 125 Hatfield men served in the War of Independence. The following action was taken at a town meeting held June 24, 1776: "Voted — By the 15 town to instruct and direct their Representative at the present General Assembly to use his endeavors that the Delegates of this Colony at the Congress be advised, that in case the Congress should think it necessary for the safety of the American United Colonies to declare them independent of Great Britain, the inhabitants of the tov^n of Hatfield with their lives and fortunes wiW solemnly engage to support them in the measure." It was also voted that the sum of twenty-seven shillings be expended for a drum for the use of the town. Just before 1800 much attention was given to fattening cattle for the market. Oliver Smith was one of those who engaged in this business. A part of the supply of beef for the troops in the Revolutionary War was purchased in Hatfield. From about 1826 to the beginning of the Civil War broom corn was a leading product of the Hatfield farms. The value of the brooms manufactured in the town in the year 1837 was $28,600. In 1856 James Morton and William H. Dickinson began the cultivation of tobacco for the market. It had long been raised in small quantities for private use. In a recent year fourteen hundred acres of tobacco and eleven hundred acres of onions were raised in the town. A few years ago Alfred H. Graves and the late Wm. C. Dickinson gave special attention for a time to the breeding of fine driving horses. In 1800 the population of Hatfield was about 800, with only two persons of foreign birth. Up to 1850 the population was composed almost entirely of pure American stock, the descendants of the English Puritans. Since that time people from the Old World have been coming in increasing numbers until, at the present time, about two- thirds of the population is composed of people who are either foreign born or the children of foreign born parents. 16 w 3: :::: U The first foreigner to settle in Hatfield was Henry Wilkie, a Hessian soldier belonging to Burgoyne's army, who chose to make his home in the town rather than return to his native land. The foreign population has added very materially to the industrial and business life of the town. Without the help of this new increment of population it would be impossible to cultivate the extensive crops of onions and tobacco that are now raised each year. Some Irish and Canadian families came to Hatfield about 1850. A few German families came about the same time. The Poles came in the Eighties and Nineties. The last census gave about 600 Poles and some over 500 Irish, German, and French people as residents of the town. Of 66 children born in Hatfield in 1907, 43 were the children of foreign born parents. There are about 40 Hungarian Poles who are Protestants, Nearly all the rest of the foreign population are devoted to the Catholic faith. In 1892 a neat house of worship was built by this part of the population. Not a few of the foreign residents have prospered and built substantial homes for themselves in the town. Jacob and Frederick Carl, who came from Germany about 1856 and settled in Hatfield, are among the most successful business men of the town, being well known as large growers and packers of tobacco. Mr. Edward Proulx, who originally came from Canada and who settled in Hatfield in 1847, ^as accumulated a handsome property. John McHugh, Michael Boyle, James Ryan, and their families, have enjoyed great pros- perity since their settlement in the town. It is pleasant to record that good feeling and harmony have prevailed be- tween the people of American stock and the foreign pop- ulation. A broad Christian spirit of tolerance in civil and religious affairs has characterized both parties from the beginning and contributed greatly to the welfare of the 17 community and the material progress of the town. Hat- field affords a fine example of the harmonious mingling of people of different nationalities in community life under our free institutions. If the conditions existing in Hatfield prevailed everywhere in the United States our country would have no problem occasioned by the presence of the foreigner. Hatfield has produced not a few men of great ability and large influence. The story of her early ministers will be told in another chapter. Col. Israel Williams was one of the best known and most influential men of the western section of the state in his day. For more than sixty years Oliver Smith has been honored in all this region for his notable work in founding the Smith Charities. Sophia Smith by her great benefaction to her sex in founding her college has gained for herself wide and enduring fame. Colonel Samuel Partridge, who was born in 1645 and died in 1740, was one of the first settlers of Hatfield. He was known in Boston as one of the "River gods," and was a powerful colonial leader in the Valley. He lived to be ninety-five years old and was active to the end of his life. Samuel D. Partridge, who was born in Hatfield the latter part of the eighteenth century and lived to a very old age, was a man of great personal worth and in his "Remi- niscences" has left valuable material for the future his- torian of Hatfield. Samuel P. Billings, who was at once farmer, lawyer and politician, and who died in 1902 at the age of eighty-three years, exerted a large influence in town affairs and was for many years the leading Demo- crat in the town. The writer well remembers when he was a boy the oratorical contests that took place in town meetings between Mr. Billings and Thaddeus Graves, spokesman 18 for the Republican side of the house. Both men were pos- sessed of good oratorical powers. The writer gratefully records the fact that it was an eloquent speech by Mr. Billings made in town meeting that influenced the voters of Hatfield to act favorably upon a motion to erect the fine schoolhouse and hall now standing in Bradstreet. Of those who have gone from the town in recent time and won recognition elsewhere, perhaps the most worthy of mention is the late Edward C. Billings, who was for many years judge of the United States District Court of Louisiana. Mr. Henry C. Marsh, proprietor of the Cooley House, Springfield, Mass., is one of the leading business men of his city, greatly respected by all for his business ability and public spirit. Among the younger men who have gone from Hatfield and made a good record for themselves in the business world mention may be made of Mr. Elliott H. Wight of New York, Mr. J. H. Wight of Northampton, Mass., Mr. Henry Cutter of St. Louis, Mo., Mr. Clarence E. Belden, who has recently purchased a home in his native town, Mr. H. W. Field of Northampton, Mass., and Mr. Edward Belden of Boston. Rev. Wm. B. AUis has made a good record as a Congregational clergyman. Mr. James C. Leary, who left Hatfield penniless and was picked up in New York City by a charitable society and sent west, has become well known in business and political circles in Salt Lake City, where he resides. Dea. George W. Hubbard, after a long residence in Hatfield where he had great in- fluence in town and church aff^airs, moved to Northampton. He was for several years President of the Smith Charities. He had much to do with the founding of Smith College, having been a trusted adviser of Miss Sophia Smith, and at his death left the bulk of his large estate to the College. 19 Although agriculture has always been the leading in- terest in the business life of the town, mention should be made of the Porter Machine Works, of which Mr. Jonathan Edwards Porter, a great grandson of the famous Jonathan Edwards, is the leading spirit. Maj. C. S. Shattuck's Gun Shop is also an important industry of the town. These industries are located on Mill River, not far from the site of Thomas Meekins' grist-mill. During the Civil War Hatfield was intensely loyal to the Union. Her citizens abhorred the institution of slavery. Oliver Smith in his will gave the sum of ten thousand dollars to the American Colonization Society. This is some indication of the feeling existing in the town against slavery. Rev. John M. Greene, who was the Hatfield minister from 1857 to 1868, was a man of unusual pulpit ability, intensely devoted to the idea of human rights and patriotic in spirit. His sermons were well calculated to in- spire a strong feeling for the Union cause in the Civil War. The author of this book, although very young at the time, has not forgotten the great feeling shown by the minister and his impressive speech as he discoursed to the people the Sunday following Lincoln's assassination. Back of the pulpit was draped a large American flag. The minister made it appear that rebellion and slavery and the death of Lincoln were truly works of Satanic origin. No youth could have been present on such an occasion without being inspired with loyalty to the Union and abhorrence of every- thing associated with the Rebellion. About an even hundred men from Hatfield enlisted in the war for the perservation of the Union and about one quarter of this number lost their lives in the service of their country. The names of the Civil War soldiers are inscribed on one of the tablets in Memorial Hall. 20 DOORWAY OF THE MORTON HOUSE Hatfield has an extraordinary record for the gifts of its wealthy citizens to educational, philanthropic, and religious objects. The well known Smith Charities, an institution that has aided a great number of worthy young men and women to get a start in life and has afforded relief to many widows left with young children to support; Smith College, which in a single generation has come to be one of the best known and the largest of the institutions in this country for the higher education of women; Smith Academy in Hatfield; the Dickinson Hospital in Northampton; and the Smith Agricultural School now being started in North- ampton, all owe their existence to the benevolent spirit and liberal gifts of former residents of Hatfield. The founder of Williams College wrote in his last will and testament, "I, Ephraim Williams of Hatfield," thus repre- senting himself to be a resident of Hatfield at the time of his death. Sophia Smith gave ^30,000 to Andover Theo- logical Seminary. Dea. Geo. W. Hubbard left the bulk of his estate of ^75,000 to Smith College. Samuel and Abby Dickinson made large gifts to the American Board of Foreign Missions and the Congregational Home Missionary Society. The former gave the new Memorial Hall to Hat- field. This is a remarkable record for a place of the size of Hatfield and speaks volumes for the influence of the pastors of the Hatfield church, who from the time of the first minister of the church, the Rev. Hope Atherton, down to the pastorate of the present incumbent. Rev. Robert M. Woods, D.D., have been men of broad vision and liberal spirit, inculcating with great fidelity the doctrine of Christian stewardship. It is quite remarkable that nearly all of the money donated to worthy objects by residents of Hatfield should have gone out of the town. One wonders why Oliver Smith 21 did not provide that his Agricultural school should be established in Hatfield. Surely there is no better situation for such an institution than is afforded by the town with its rich farming lands and central location in the Connecticut Valley. Why was not Smith College located in the founder's native town ? Why should not Smith Academy, the only monument of the Smith family in Hatfield, have been given an adequate endowment .'' Would it not be a good thing if some of the former wealthy residents had given the church a handsome endowment ? The writer of this book has made some effort to discover the influences that determined the giving of so much of the wealth of Hatfield to objects outside of the town. He has made a special effort through correspondence with Rev. John M. Greene, D.D., Sophia Smith's chief adviser, to ascertain the reason for the location of Smith College in Northampton rather than in the founder's native town. He has satisfied himself in the matter and is convinced that the donors of the large sums of money that have gone out of Hatfield were governed for the most part by a desire to bestow their gifts in such ways as to accomplish the greatest good. Directly or indirectly Hatfield is the bene- ficiary of the liberal giving of her former residents. Special consideration is shown students from Hatfield at Smith College. In a letter dated July lo, 1908, Dr. Greene, referring to the time of the making of Miss Smith's will, says: "I think now as I thought then that Campmeeting Hill in Hatfield where we could have had a hundred acres of land in our campus, was the place for the college." Dr. Greene adds, "Both Deacon Hubbard and myself wanted to have the college located in Hatfield." Miss Smith would con- sent to Hatfield as the location for the college. There was, 22 REV. JOHN M. GREENE, D.D. The Originator of the idea of Smith College however, a difference of opinion among the friends of the project as to whether the college should be located on or near King's Hill, or simply in the town of Hatfield, leaving it to the trustees to decide as to the exact spot. At the sug- gestion and through the efforts of Dr. Greene, Northampton was finally agreed upon as the place for the college. The writer is persuaded that the facts are substantially as he has given them. He thinks that time has proved the wisdom of the final decision as to the site of the college and that in this important matter a higher Power may have guided Miss Smith and her advisers. Surely what was Hatfield's loss was Northampton's gain. It is improbable that Smith College would have grown to its present proportions and secured so much additional support from people of wealth as it has had if it had been located in Hatfield. Dr. Greene kindly read and approved the part of the manuscript relating to the location of the college.* To the great credit of the Hatfield people it can be recorded that in the whole history of the place there has been no appearance of that sectarian spirit, which has de- veloped in so many of our small New England communities, dividing the people into small religious groups and often giving rise to unseemly rivalry and bitterness of spirit. Among the causes that have contributed to the religious *In his "Reminiscences" Samuel D. Partridge says of Miss Smith: "She was at heart loyal to her native town, and when she had decided upon the establishmentof a FemaIeCollege,sheexpected to locate the institution in Hatfield; but those of whom she sought advice, were of a different mind, some urging the claims of Northampton, some of Amherst, until she was finally persuaded to locate it in Northampton; and it may be that circumstances in the future will justify the conclusion which now seems so unsatisfactory to the friends of Hatfield." Mr. Partridge's "Reminiscences" were written in 1880. 23 unity that has characterized the town are the facts that the people were in the early days so closely related by common interests, the character and influence of the distinguished men who have served the town as pastors of the local church, and the location of the town in a region that has from the beginning been dominated by Congregational influences in religion and education. For about two and a quarter centuries one church sufficed to minister to the religious needs of the town. Of course, with the coming to Hatfield of so large a number of residents of the Catholic faith it became necessary to organize a church of that denomination to minister to the Catholic population. 24 ^L. p^i^^^^^^^^^^l^^ i.i ~^^vVm||^^^^y^^K<''''*^