600 HISTORY OF THE CONNECTICUT VALLEY.
into the hands of the Indians. The flying troops were followed across the Pocomptuck
and as far as the Bars. The loss on reaching Hatfield was found to be 2 men
mortally wounded and 45 missing; 6 stragglers subsequently came in. The total
loss was the commander and 40 men. The interesting experiences of the chaplain
and the boy-hero, Jonathan Wells, two of those who came in alone, must be looked
for in a more extended work.
The following is the list of killed as far as ascertained:
Capt. William Turner, Boston; William Allis, Jr., Hatfield; James Bennet, Northampton;
George Buckley, James Burton, John Church, Hatfield; Jabez Dunkin, Worcester;
John Foster, Joseph Fowler, Peter Gerring, Samuel Gillet, Hatfield; Isaac Harrison,
Hadley; Experience Hinsdale, Deerfield; William Howard, John Langbury, Northampton;
Thomas Lyon, Fairfield, Conn.; John Miller, Northampton; Samuel Rainsford, Thomas
Roberts, Northampton; Nathaniel Sutlieff, Deerfield; John Walker, John Whitteridge.
Capt. Holyoke and John Munn each died "of a surfeit got at the Falls fight,"
some time after.
No intelligent estimate can be made of the number of Indians in this affair,
and no certainty exists as to the loss; perhaps 300, including women and children,
is a near estimate. Here Philip lost many of his best warriors, Wampanoags
and Narragansetts, and here the power of the Pocomptucks was broken.
As a tribe they never again appear in history. The remnant found refuge with
the Mohicans or in Canada.
The plans of Philip and the Nipmuck sachems, of holding this as a place
of refuge for non-combatants and depot of supplies, having failed, after an
abortive attack on Hadley, May 30th, open dissensions arose among the confederates
and the discordant mass made its way in detached parties aimlessly to the eastward,—the
Nipmucks to their strongholds about Wachuset, and Philip, with Quinapin
and Weetemo, who continued faithful, moving toward Plymouth County. Hostilities
in the valley were at an end. With the death of Philip, August 12, 1676, and
the capture soon after of Anawan, his great chief, "Philip’s war"
ended.
LEADING MEN OF THE PERMANENT SETTLEMENT, 1683.
John Allen, brother of Edward, was born in 1660. He married, Feb. 22, 1682,
Elizabeth, daughter of William Pritchard, of Ipswich. He lived in the Street
with Edward, and with him bought of Maj. Pynchon, in 1689, 62 acres at the Bars,
on which they settled. This property remained in the family until the death
of Asahel, in 1854. He held the office of selectman and other places of honor.
He was killed by Indians at his home, May 11, 1704. His wife was captured at
the same time, and killed soon after, according to tradition, one or two miles
from the place. As her death is not recorded with that of her husband, it is
probable her fate was not known until some time after.
Edward Allen, son of Edward, of Ipswich, was born in 1663. He married, November,
1683, Mercy Painter. In August, 1685, he had a grant of a home-lot at the south
end of the street, but before 1704 he had removed to the Bars. He was a selectman
six years, town clerk nine years, clerk of the market a long time, and often
filled other places of trust. He was an ancestor of the Greenfield branch of
the Allen family. He died Feb. 10, 1740.
William Arms was born in 1654, and first known as a soldier in the Falls fight,
May 18, 1676. He remained at Hatfield, where he married, Nov. 21, 1677, Joanna,
daughter of John Hawks. He had a large landed estate in Hatfield, which he sold
in 1702. In 1701 he bought of Hannah Porter the 16 cow-commons and home-lot
drawn by Rev. John Allen, of Dedham, which he sold in 1708 to John Sheldon.
This is the lot now owned by George Sheldon. He settled at he south end of the
street, on the lot granted to John and Edward Allen. The property is now owned
by a descendant, Geo. A. Arms, of Greenfield. He was a member of the school
committee, a tithingman, etc. While in Hatfield he was prosecuted for "driving
his cart into town half an hour after sunset on Saturday." "Having
been hindered with his cart, and appearing concerned," he was let off with
a reprimand and 2s. 6d. cash. He died Aug. 25, 1731.
Joseph Barnard, son of Francis, of Hadley, was born in 1641. He was a surveyor,
tailor, and farmer. He married, in 1675, Sarah Strong, of Northampton. He was
the first town clerk,—in 1687,—and held the office until his death, in 1695.
He was mortally wounded at Indian Bridge, August 18th, by a party of Indians
in ambush, and died Sept. 6, 1695. He was an ancestor of the Deerfield Barnards.
Hannah Beaman, sister of Joseph Barnard, was born in 1646. She married, in
1667, Dr. John Westcarr, of Hadley, and, in 1680, Simon Beaman. She lived on
the lot No. 37, drawn by Mrs. Bunker, and now occupied by Mrs. C. E. B. Allen.
She was the first known school-dame, and, with her little flock, had a narrow
escape when Castrine beset the town, in 1694. She and her husband were taken
captive in 1704, and carried to Canada; both returned. She died in 1739, a widow,
leaving a large landed property to the town for a school fund. The First Church
holds a piece of silver-plate which was her gift, and bears her name.
Daniel Belding, son of William, of Wethersfield and Norwalk, Conn. He married,
in 1670, Elizabeth Foote, of Wethersfield, and came here, with his wife and
eight children, and settled on lot No. 9, drawn by Samuel Hinsdale, and known
as the Ralph Williams lot. On the 6th of September, 1696, his place was assaulted
by Indians, his wife and three children killed and two wounded, and himself,
with two children, captured and carried to Canada. He returned in 1698, and
in 1699 married Hepzibah, widow of Lieut. Wells. She was captured in 1704, and
killed on the march to Canada. Mr. Belding again married, Sarah, widow of Philip
Mattoon, and died in 1734.
John Catlin, son of John, of Wethersfield, was born about 1642, and married,
in 1662, Mary, daughter of Joseph Baldwin. He was the colony which went from
Branford, Conn., to Newark, N. J., about 1667, where he was prominent in town
affairs. He returned about 1683, and settled here the next year on lot No. 30,
drawn by Isaac Bullard, now the Chapin lot. He bore the title of "Mr.,"
and was called to many places of trust and honor. In 1704 his house was burned,
he and two sons were killed, and four children captured,—two of them killed
on the march. His grandson, John, born in 1704, was a noted partisan officer
in the border wars, serving through Father Rasle’s war and both the French-and-Indian
wars. He died at Burk’s Fort, Bernardston, in 1758.
Thomas French, son of John, of Northampton, was born in 1651. He married, 1683,
Mary, daughter of John Catlin, and settled on lot No. 31, drawn by Robert Hinsdale,
now the Orthodox parsonage lot. He was a blacksmith; his shop stood in the Street,
in front of his house, the remains of which are still to be seen. He was town
clerk eleven years, and treasurer many years after. With wife and six children
he was captured in 1704. One child and the mother were killed on the march.
Mr. French with one son was redeemed; the rest never came back. In 1709 he married
Hannah, widow of Benoni Stebbins, and died in 1733.
John Hawks, brother of Eleazer, was born 1643. He married, 1667, Elizabeth,
daughter of Joseph Baldwin, of Hadley. He settled in Hadley, and was active
as a soldier in Philip’s war; was in the Falls fight, and one of the twenty-five
who crossed the Connecticut to succor Hatfield when attacked, May 30, 1676,
and wounded in the meadow. Removed here, and was living in the lane south of
the Dickinson Academy, Feb. 29, 1704. He had married a second wife, Alice, widow
of Samuel Allis, in 1696, and his family consisted of wife, a daughter, |
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