Blandford's History
by Dr. Howard A. Gibbs
At the beginning of the Eighteenth Century the whole of Western Massachusetts, with the exception of sparse settlements along the Housatonic River, was an uncharted wilderness. In this territory the state of Massachusetts surveyed seven townships, similar in their topographical layout, and encouraged settlements therein. The town of Blandford was among the first to be taken up. It was unique among them all in that it secured, taken possession of, and settled en masse by a group of the Scotch-Irish, who at the time were arriving in this country by the thousand along the Atlantic seaboard. In Blandford the whole allotment of “home lots” was secured by a group of these people from the town of Hopkinton near Boston in the year 1735.
This group maintained its dominance in the town for a hundred years. The original name of the town, “Glasgow,” – often written by them as “Glascow, “ – is sufficient indication of its racial origin. The town furnishes a rich field for those who are interested in the study of American life from the viewpoint of the racial characteristics which make up its component parts.
Their religion was simple and direct, springing as it did from their daily communion with things infinite and eternal amid the hills and lowlands of their native Scotland. In it the pomp and pageantry of the Latin races had little place. It was of the strongly individualistic type, Calvinistic to be exact, which entailed strict obedience to their moral code.
Their religion, like that of the Puritans, was not altogether devoid of sternness, pugnaciousness, and bigotry, which, if not defensible, was at least understandable in the light of contemporaneous events. The age in which they lived was not one of sweet reasonableness or charity. But throughout this time their simple virtues and sterling worth won their way to an honorable place in our national life. In actual numbers this race of pioneers furnished about forty per cent. of the Revolutionary Army, and an even larger per cent. of its fighting spirit. They wrote the first declaration of independence proclaimed on American soil more than a year before our Fourth of July declaration saw the light of day. They were in the thick of the fight from start to finish. They shed their blood at Bunker Hill; they shivered over the camp fires of Valley Forge; their indomitable spirit drove Cornwallis out of the Carolinas.
This Scottish-Irish race has given to America some of its best-known names: General Stark, General Knox, General McClellan, Matthew Thornton, Horace Greeley, Asa Gray, John Lothrop Motley, President Jackson, President McKinley, Governor Rutledge, and many others. It may be said in general terms that in the esthetics of life, in art, music, and literature, they were excelled by the German and French races; but in those more sturdy qualities essential to the pioneer life of a new country, in government, in law, in invention and exploration, they were pre-eminent. Dr. MacIntosh thus sums up their mission and their work in America: “The plantation of the Scot in Ulster kept for the world the essential and best features of the low-landers. But the vast change gave birth to and trained a somewhat new and distinct man soon to be needed in a great task which only the Ulsterman could accomplish, and that task was, with the Puritans, to work out the Revolution which gave humanity this great republic.” Such is the race from which the Blandford pioneers sprung. It dominated the life of Blandford for a hundred years and though softened and mellowed by the intermingling of other blood, it has left its indelible impress even to the present day.
This group maintained its dominance in the town for a hundred years. The original name of the town, “Glasgow,” – often written by them as “Glascow, “ – is sufficient indication of its racial origin. The town furnishes a rich field for those who are interested in the study of American life from the viewpoint of the racial characteristics which make up its component parts.
Their religion was simple and direct, springing as it did from their daily communion with things infinite and eternal amid the hills and lowlands of their native Scotland. In it the pomp and pageantry of the Latin races had little place. It was of the strongly individualistic type, Calvinistic to be exact, which entailed strict obedience to their moral code.
Their religion, like that of the Puritans, was not altogether devoid of sternness, pugnaciousness, and bigotry, which, if not defensible, was at least understandable in the light of contemporaneous events. The age in which they lived was not one of sweet reasonableness or charity. But throughout this time their simple virtues and sterling worth won their way to an honorable place in our national life. In actual numbers this race of pioneers furnished about forty per cent. of the Revolutionary Army, and an even larger per cent. of its fighting spirit. They wrote the first declaration of independence proclaimed on American soil more than a year before our Fourth of July declaration saw the light of day. They were in the thick of the fight from start to finish. They shed their blood at Bunker Hill; they shivered over the camp fires of Valley Forge; their indomitable spirit drove Cornwallis out of the Carolinas.
This Scottish-Irish race has given to America some of its best-known names: General Stark, General Knox, General McClellan, Matthew Thornton, Horace Greeley, Asa Gray, John Lothrop Motley, President Jackson, President McKinley, Governor Rutledge, and many others. It may be said in general terms that in the esthetics of life, in art, music, and literature, they were excelled by the German and French races; but in those more sturdy qualities essential to the pioneer life of a new country, in government, in law, in invention and exploration, they were pre-eminent. Dr. MacIntosh thus sums up their mission and their work in America: “The plantation of the Scot in Ulster kept for the world the essential and best features of the low-landers. But the vast change gave birth to and trained a somewhat new and distinct man soon to be needed in a great task which only the Ulsterman could accomplish, and that task was, with the Puritans, to work out the Revolution which gave humanity this great republic.” Such is the race from which the Blandford pioneers sprung. It dominated the life of Blandford for a hundred years and though softened and mellowed by the intermingling of other blood, it has left its indelible impress even to the present day.
The development of this mountain town was similar to that of other communities. There were early years of arduous physical toil, clearing forests, laying out and constructing highways, building “mansion houses” to replace the crude log cabins. Coupled with all of this were the struggles and privations of the French and Indian wars as well as those of the Revolution, in all of which Blandford bore its full share. At the end of sixty years Blandford had become a thriving town of substantial frame houses, of broad and fertile fields, containing a population almost as large as the much older valley towns, Westfield, Springfield, or Northampton. It was on the main highway to Albany and the West and this fact contributed to its rapid growth. The tide of continental trade flowed back and forth through its main street on which were located almost a score of old-time taverns so faithfully and charmingly depicted by Rev. Sumner G. Wood in his “Taverns and Turnpikes.”
The first hundred years of Blandford’s history were typical of the old American agricultural life which was dominant in the United States down to 1850, when the farmers controlled more than one-half of the national wealth. There was practically free access to the land. Every farm was a community unto itself, supplying almost all the needs of the occupants. They built and owned their own houses; they raised their own grain; they raised their own wool which was carded, spun, and woven and made into clothing in the home; they raised and packed their own beef; they run their own candles; they raised and handled flax; they made their own butter and cheese; they even made, with the aid of the village blacksmithy, most of the tools with which they carried on these varied industries. The whole family lived and worked together and the work itself, besides furnishing sustenance, was the most practical technical education.
Through all their busy work-a-day life there ran the golden thread of community interest and community spirit and this is its real charm, the memory of which has been handed down to us through the traditions of our forefathers. One writer has said: "There has never existed a more complete and intelligent partnership between the earth and man than existed in the old New England village."
Such was Blandford down to 1850, but long before that time the beginnings of modern industrial life had appeared. Various manufactories in the handicraft and small shop stage were established and Blandford, like many other towns of that period, was the center of an active manufacturing life. Grist mills and saw mills were indispensable in any pioneer community and Blandford had its share. Added to these were manufactories of woolen cloth, leather, wooden ware, baskets, paper, bedsteads, and the like. These industries were largely centered in the North village where there was a large pond with an outlet which had a fall of 150 feet in half a mile, furnishing ideal water power for these small industries. There was also some manufacturing in the eastern and southern part of the town, although little is generally known of this.
The first hundred years of Blandford’s history were typical of the old American agricultural life which was dominant in the United States down to 1850, when the farmers controlled more than one-half of the national wealth. There was practically free access to the land. Every farm was a community unto itself, supplying almost all the needs of the occupants. They built and owned their own houses; they raised their own grain; they raised their own wool which was carded, spun, and woven and made into clothing in the home; they raised and packed their own beef; they run their own candles; they raised and handled flax; they made their own butter and cheese; they even made, with the aid of the village blacksmithy, most of the tools with which they carried on these varied industries. The whole family lived and worked together and the work itself, besides furnishing sustenance, was the most practical technical education.
Through all their busy work-a-day life there ran the golden thread of community interest and community spirit and this is its real charm, the memory of which has been handed down to us through the traditions of our forefathers. One writer has said: "There has never existed a more complete and intelligent partnership between the earth and man than existed in the old New England village."
Such was Blandford down to 1850, but long before that time the beginnings of modern industrial life had appeared. Various manufactories in the handicraft and small shop stage were established and Blandford, like many other towns of that period, was the center of an active manufacturing life. Grist mills and saw mills were indispensable in any pioneer community and Blandford had its share. Added to these were manufactories of woolen cloth, leather, wooden ware, baskets, paper, bedsteads, and the like. These industries were largely centered in the North village where there was a large pond with an outlet which had a fall of 150 feet in half a mile, furnishing ideal water power for these small industries. There was also some manufacturing in the eastern and southern part of the town, although little is generally known of this.
The making of butter and cheese, which had been introduced in the earliest years of the Nineteenth Century by Amos Collins, grew into a lucrative business for many of the inhabitants. Blandford at that time had 1,500 cows and 1,800 merino sheep. The manufacture of woolen cloth amounted to $50,000 annually.
While this was going on, the stream of transcontinental trade between Boston, Hartford to Albany, and the West was flowing through the main street of the town. With the coming of the steam railroads which followed the course of the river valley, the more accessible places gradually absorbed the industries of Blandford. One by one the old-time taverns which lined the street gave up the ghost. The parson no longer need turn to the sideboard decanter for his inspiration; the church deacons ceased to dispense rum and cider brandy. Under the militant leadership of Father Keep, following the example of his predecessor, the Rev. Joseph Badger, a wave of temperance reform swept the town and the conviviality of the old taverns disappeared none too soon for the good of the community.
Down to the year 1821, a period of 75 years, no less than thirty-one ministers and temporary supplies held pastorates in the church on the hill. Among these there were three outstanding characters, the Rev. James Morton, who was installed in 1749 and dismissed in 1767; the Rev. Joseph Badger, who was installed in 1787 and dismissed in 1800; and the Rev. John Keep who was installed in 1805 and dismissed in 1821. The pastorates of these three covered a period of forty-seven years. Deducting this from the seventy-five-year period above mentioned, leaves 29 years to be divided among the twenty-eight ministers and supplies remaining. The Methodist Church at this time was visited regularly by the now famous circuit riders. The excitement of church councils and the exhilaration of free toddy were a thing of the past.
While this was going on, the stream of transcontinental trade between Boston, Hartford to Albany, and the West was flowing through the main street of the town. With the coming of the steam railroads which followed the course of the river valley, the more accessible places gradually absorbed the industries of Blandford. One by one the old-time taverns which lined the street gave up the ghost. The parson no longer need turn to the sideboard decanter for his inspiration; the church deacons ceased to dispense rum and cider brandy. Under the militant leadership of Father Keep, following the example of his predecessor, the Rev. Joseph Badger, a wave of temperance reform swept the town and the conviviality of the old taverns disappeared none too soon for the good of the community.
Down to the year 1821, a period of 75 years, no less than thirty-one ministers and temporary supplies held pastorates in the church on the hill. Among these there were three outstanding characters, the Rev. James Morton, who was installed in 1749 and dismissed in 1767; the Rev. Joseph Badger, who was installed in 1787 and dismissed in 1800; and the Rev. John Keep who was installed in 1805 and dismissed in 1821. The pastorates of these three covered a period of forty-seven years. Deducting this from the seventy-five-year period above mentioned, leaves 29 years to be divided among the twenty-eight ministers and supplies remaining. The Methodist Church at this time was visited regularly by the now famous circuit riders. The excitement of church councils and the exhilaration of free toddy were a thing of the past.
Blandford’s contribution to the pioneering life of our nation has been large. The names of the first settlers in the successive waves of migration through New York and the middle West read like a roster of old Blandford families, many of which have so completely disappeared from the town that they are but vague memories. They are found in every state of the Union. The bicentennial mailing list of 2,000 has barely scratched the surface. Blandford today has a population scarce one-third of what it was a hundred years ago. It is now equivalent to one inhabitant to every twenty-five acres of land. The reverse of this is seen in the recent statement of Boston’s mayor that there is one square in that city of less than two acres which has a population of 1,840 people.
In these days of transition and upheaval it is a wise man who can forsee and a brave man who would foretell what the future has in store. Certain it is, however, that no people can call themselves civilized that tolerate such conditions as prevail in our congested cities, and no people can call themselves intelligent who neglect such opportunities for a sane and healthful life as are now available in such hill towns as Blandford. The signs multiply that with improved highways and means of rapid transportation the problem of the congested city and deserted country will be solved. The beginnings of this change are already apparent. The “summer settler” appeared in Blandford long ago and the number is increasing. With modern comforts and conveniences, winter, too, has its charms. Blandford, even with a large area under water to supply the thirst of Springfield, can have a population of 10,000 and yet give to each family an area of six acres as a back yard.
The Blandford of old agricultural life, of small shop manufacturing, has gone forever. Why mourn with our faces toward the past? Blandford is no longer an isolated community, self-contained and self-sustained. It is a part of a world in which “humanity is one and we must all rise or fall together;” in which the opportunity to live a more abundant life shall be the common heritage of all; in which “time to live shall be the poor man’s dower.” In this new world Blandford may come into its own and fulfill in the light of the Twentieth Century the vision which our pioneer forefathers saw two hundred years ago.
In these days of transition and upheaval it is a wise man who can forsee and a brave man who would foretell what the future has in store. Certain it is, however, that no people can call themselves civilized that tolerate such conditions as prevail in our congested cities, and no people can call themselves intelligent who neglect such opportunities for a sane and healthful life as are now available in such hill towns as Blandford. The signs multiply that with improved highways and means of rapid transportation the problem of the congested city and deserted country will be solved. The beginnings of this change are already apparent. The “summer settler” appeared in Blandford long ago and the number is increasing. With modern comforts and conveniences, winter, too, has its charms. Blandford, even with a large area under water to supply the thirst of Springfield, can have a population of 10,000 and yet give to each family an area of six acres as a back yard.
The Blandford of old agricultural life, of small shop manufacturing, has gone forever. Why mourn with our faces toward the past? Blandford is no longer an isolated community, self-contained and self-sustained. It is a part of a world in which “humanity is one and we must all rise or fall together;” in which the opportunity to live a more abundant life shall be the common heritage of all; in which “time to live shall be the poor man’s dower.” In this new world Blandford may come into its own and fulfill in the light of the Twentieth Century the vision which our pioneer forefathers saw two hundred years ago.
History of Blandford’s Schools
In the early days after the settling of Blandford, the educational advantages were limited. Not until 1750 was it voted “to grant three pounds to be layed out to hire a school master.”
The first school was taught by James Carter, an ex-sea captain in the house of Robert Black. In 1758 it was voted to hire a “school deame,” and dispurse the five pounds and two pounds more granted by the General Court to “defra” the charge. In 1762 the town was divided into three school districts and three schoolhouses were erected.
In 1802 thirteen school districts were created, which were continued for many years. In the year 1805, Widow Jane Taggart bequeathed the third school district $1,200 for educational purposes and that sum has increased to $7,148.67 in 1934. The town also received $2,000 from Miss Electa B. Watson for a school for the more advanced scholars. Gradually the districts were given up and scholars have been transported to other districts, until at the present time all the scholars in town are brought to the center of town to the new school and town hall made possible in 1922 by the gift of $20,000 from the late Dr. Wallace H. Deane, resident physician for many years, with grades from one to eight inclusive and with three teachers.
Among the graduates at Yale, Williams, Union College in Schenectady, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Mount Holyoke College for women, we find the names of the sons and daughters of the early settlers, such as Boise, Hayden, Ashmun, Smith, Blair, Collins, Knox, Lloyd, Eels, Robinson, Hinsdale, Wright, and Pease.
About fifty years ago there were over twenty young women in Blandford who were teachers, and with only thirteen schools, some one had to go elsewhere, unless they did some hustling. Now very few of our girls are teachers, preferring some other vocation.
- Nellie R. Ripley
The first school was taught by James Carter, an ex-sea captain in the house of Robert Black. In 1758 it was voted to hire a “school deame,” and dispurse the five pounds and two pounds more granted by the General Court to “defra” the charge. In 1762 the town was divided into three school districts and three schoolhouses were erected.
In 1802 thirteen school districts were created, which were continued for many years. In the year 1805, Widow Jane Taggart bequeathed the third school district $1,200 for educational purposes and that sum has increased to $7,148.67 in 1934. The town also received $2,000 from Miss Electa B. Watson for a school for the more advanced scholars. Gradually the districts were given up and scholars have been transported to other districts, until at the present time all the scholars in town are brought to the center of town to the new school and town hall made possible in 1922 by the gift of $20,000 from the late Dr. Wallace H. Deane, resident physician for many years, with grades from one to eight inclusive and with three teachers.
Among the graduates at Yale, Williams, Union College in Schenectady, Amherst, Wesleyan, and Mount Holyoke College for women, we find the names of the sons and daughters of the early settlers, such as Boise, Hayden, Ashmun, Smith, Blair, Collins, Knox, Lloyd, Eels, Robinson, Hinsdale, Wright, and Pease.
About fifty years ago there were over twenty young women in Blandford who were teachers, and with only thirteen schools, some one had to go elsewhere, unless they did some hustling. Now very few of our girls are teachers, preferring some other vocation.
- Nellie R. Ripley
Blandford Grange No. 24
Blandford Grange No. 24 was organized December 25, 1873, with 35 charter members; one is now living, Dea A. L. Stewart of Springfield, who is not a member now. After a period of dormancy the Grange was reorganized in 1897 with sixteen of the old members and twenty-three new ones, making a total of 39 charter members. In 1922 the town built a new schoolhouse and hall and sold the old school building to the Grange, and with repairs, new furniture, window boxes, and flower beds the Grange home is as attractive as any in the State. The membership was 161 at the beginning of September, 1934.
George Ashmun, son of Eli P. Ashmun, studied law in Northampton with his elder brother, John, and became partner in law with Chief Justice Chapman of Massachusetts. He practised law in Springfield, was four times a member of the Massachusetts Legislature and Speaker once, was twice in the Massachusetts Senate and three times in the National House of Representatives, was the dignified and masterful chairman of the Republican convention that nominated Abraham Lincoln.
“He had something of the great power of logical analysis for which his brother, the Professor, was distinguished; but he had also more brilliant qualities of mind, greater power of expression, a more commanding presence, and that gift of personal magnetism which gave him great influence with court and juries.” He was a “king among men, and drew around him a circle of devoted and loving friends.”
Quotation from Samual Bowles in the Springfield Republican, 1870.
“The Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford 1733-1833” by Summer G. Wood.
“He had something of the great power of logical analysis for which his brother, the Professor, was distinguished; but he had also more brilliant qualities of mind, greater power of expression, a more commanding presence, and that gift of personal magnetism which gave him great influence with court and juries.” He was a “king among men, and drew around him a circle of devoted and loving friends.”
Quotation from Samual Bowles in the Springfield Republican, 1870.
“The Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford 1733-1833” by Summer G. Wood.
Blandford's Church History
The current of religious life in Blandford has from the first run deep and strong. The town was born out of the religious fervor, strict and uncompromising, which characterized Scotch Presbyterianism. It originated in a little group of Scotch-Irish in the town of Hopkinton, where, after a struggle of a number of years with the more liberal Congregational creed, they were excommunicated from that church and formed a Presbyterian church of their own. Later they moved in a body to the newly-surveyed town now known as Blandford, taking their own Presbyterian organization with them.
In the beginning the town and church were one. This condition prevailed until 1800, when the Congregational form became dominant in the growth of the town and superseded the Presbyterian form. The original church edifice in which the pioneers worshipped without windows or heat has long since passed into oblivion, but a picture of it in later use remains, and its site is marked by a bronze tablet. The old building was used as a town hall and finally as a barn on the grounds of the Agricultural Society. The present structure, "The Church on the Hill," standing on one of the highest pinnacles of the town, has been a landmark for miles in every direction for more than a century. The bell bears the date 1835. Blandford would not be Blandford without it. Famous in the annals of this church are the names of Joseph Badger, Dorus Clark, John Keep, and Charles Hinsdale.
While this change had been going on at the center, Methodism had gained a foothold on Beech Hill in the southwestern corner of the town. Here the historic Beech Hill Church was organized, the first of its kind west of the Connecticut River. A large barn-like edifice was erected and a membership of several hundred was attained, the congregation coming from a radius of twenty miles in every direction. It flourished with all the fervor of early Methodism. The church stood just over the boundary line in Granville. Several pictures of the building remain. The last service was held there in 1886. A granite boulder with bronze tablet marks the site. A Methodist Church at North Blandford and one at the Center were the outgrowth of the Beech Hill Church. Gurdon Rowley was the father of Methodism in Blandford. The North Blandford Methodist Church burned in the spring of 1892; the Center Methodist building was demolished not many years ago when the remaining faithful united with the Congregational Church.
The Second Congregational Church at North Blandford, built in 1894, has been and is largely supported by a loyal band of King's Daughters, who bought and gave to the church the site of the building. This church was organized in the fall of 1892. An Episcopal Church was organized in the latter years of the Eighteenth Century. It had its own building on North Street opposite the George Gibbs place. It was the mother of the Westfield Episcopal Church and it furnished no small portion of the membership and means to found an Episcopal Church and school in the Western Reserve. The church edifice long ago disappeared. The Baptist and Advent faiths have also been represented in the town.
Editor's Note:-
Some of the halftones used in this book were very kindly loaned by Rev. Sumner Gilbert Wood, author of "Ulster Scots and Blandford Scouts" and "Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford.”
In the beginning the town and church were one. This condition prevailed until 1800, when the Congregational form became dominant in the growth of the town and superseded the Presbyterian form. The original church edifice in which the pioneers worshipped without windows or heat has long since passed into oblivion, but a picture of it in later use remains, and its site is marked by a bronze tablet. The old building was used as a town hall and finally as a barn on the grounds of the Agricultural Society. The present structure, "The Church on the Hill," standing on one of the highest pinnacles of the town, has been a landmark for miles in every direction for more than a century. The bell bears the date 1835. Blandford would not be Blandford without it. Famous in the annals of this church are the names of Joseph Badger, Dorus Clark, John Keep, and Charles Hinsdale.
While this change had been going on at the center, Methodism had gained a foothold on Beech Hill in the southwestern corner of the town. Here the historic Beech Hill Church was organized, the first of its kind west of the Connecticut River. A large barn-like edifice was erected and a membership of several hundred was attained, the congregation coming from a radius of twenty miles in every direction. It flourished with all the fervor of early Methodism. The church stood just over the boundary line in Granville. Several pictures of the building remain. The last service was held there in 1886. A granite boulder with bronze tablet marks the site. A Methodist Church at North Blandford and one at the Center were the outgrowth of the Beech Hill Church. Gurdon Rowley was the father of Methodism in Blandford. The North Blandford Methodist Church burned in the spring of 1892; the Center Methodist building was demolished not many years ago when the remaining faithful united with the Congregational Church.
The Second Congregational Church at North Blandford, built in 1894, has been and is largely supported by a loyal band of King's Daughters, who bought and gave to the church the site of the building. This church was organized in the fall of 1892. An Episcopal Church was organized in the latter years of the Eighteenth Century. It had its own building on North Street opposite the George Gibbs place. It was the mother of the Westfield Episcopal Church and it furnished no small portion of the membership and means to found an Episcopal Church and school in the Western Reserve. The church edifice long ago disappeared. The Baptist and Advent faiths have also been represented in the town.
Editor's Note:-
Some of the halftones used in this book were very kindly loaned by Rev. Sumner Gilbert Wood, author of "Ulster Scots and Blandford Scouts" and "Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford.”
The Old Cemetery was laid out in 1742, previously ordered by a town meeting, the ground cleared, and the day and hour set for the work. Every man who refused assistance was to pay a fine of six shillings. Shillings came with difficulty then. Here are the graves of the early pioneers of Blandford.
It was originally surrounded by a massive stone wall which was removed a number of years since. In 1926 the wall was completely rebuilt with an iron gate at the entrance. Later all the headstones, more than two hundred in number, were reset in cement. The money to do this work came from the sons and daughters of Blandford from Maine to California. It is now one of the most beautiful and picturesque old cemeteries of New England. Bordering on the new state highway, under a hill gently sloping to the west, beneath the shadow of the old church spire, overtopped by the stately pines which have grown up among the graves, it is a natural beauty spot to charm the eye or inspire the brush of an artist.
The second, or Hill Cemetery, opposite the white church, contains graves more than a century old down to the present. Facing the west, it is exposed to wintry blasts, but its very location testifies that the inhabitants faced life and death with faith too great for fear. Summer's sun and faithful care make this spot a place of beauty and an abiding evidence of Blandford's self-respect.
North Blandford's dead are as a city set upon a hill, for the cemetery lies upon an eminence above the town. It is of later date than the Hill Cemetery, perhaps about 1850.
Stannard Cemetery on Beech Hill is 125 to 150 years old. Secluded and peaceful, it contains no modern graves. There are several private burial plots: the Hastings family on the Sperry Road, the Blair lot, and the solitary grave of a child near the Wadhams homestead. The graves of two Revolutionary men were removed last year from the Brook Road and added to the sleepers in the Old and Hill Cemeteries.
South Street Cemetery, near Granville town line, was flooded by Cobble Mountain Reservoir and most of these were removed to Granville.
It was originally surrounded by a massive stone wall which was removed a number of years since. In 1926 the wall was completely rebuilt with an iron gate at the entrance. Later all the headstones, more than two hundred in number, were reset in cement. The money to do this work came from the sons and daughters of Blandford from Maine to California. It is now one of the most beautiful and picturesque old cemeteries of New England. Bordering on the new state highway, under a hill gently sloping to the west, beneath the shadow of the old church spire, overtopped by the stately pines which have grown up among the graves, it is a natural beauty spot to charm the eye or inspire the brush of an artist.
The second, or Hill Cemetery, opposite the white church, contains graves more than a century old down to the present. Facing the west, it is exposed to wintry blasts, but its very location testifies that the inhabitants faced life and death with faith too great for fear. Summer's sun and faithful care make this spot a place of beauty and an abiding evidence of Blandford's self-respect.
North Blandford's dead are as a city set upon a hill, for the cemetery lies upon an eminence above the town. It is of later date than the Hill Cemetery, perhaps about 1850.
Stannard Cemetery on Beech Hill is 125 to 150 years old. Secluded and peaceful, it contains no modern graves. There are several private burial plots: the Hastings family on the Sperry Road, the Blair lot, and the solitary grave of a child near the Wadhams homestead. The graves of two Revolutionary men were removed last year from the Brook Road and added to the sleepers in the Old and Hill Cemeteries.
South Street Cemetery, near Granville town line, was flooded by Cobble Mountain Reservoir and most of these were removed to Granville.
Blandford's War Epic
by Rev. S. G. Wood
The town of Blandford began her existence like a foundling laid upon the doorstep of an army barracks. From her youth up she learned war. For more than the full span of a generation Blandford was habitually in the maelstrom of international struggle, and suffered the cruel desolations of human strife.
Louisburg, Crown Point, Cape Breton, Fort George; Captain Elisha Noble, Captain William Houston, Lieutenant David Black and their respective Blandford companies, and Sergeant John Ferguson, all with something like a hundred other patriots of this pioneer hill town – fields of battle and their heroes, intermingled in immortal history, seem today to rise up again out of “formless ruin and oblivion.”
Yonder in the ancient burial ground lie the remains of some of these men along with the ashes of William Kerr, whose inscription reads, “Slain by the Indians in a morning scout, August 4, 1757. Aged 46.”
This period of intermittent French and Indian Wars prepared the people for their later struggle for nationhood. The very day after the Lexington alarm reached Springfield, Captain John Ferguson (already mentioned as Sergeant) marched, doubtless from this very ground, at the head of thirty men. Thus responded the frontier town of Blandford twenty-four hours after Captain Parker had uttered those immortal words on Lexington Green, “Don’t fire unless you are fired upon; but if they want a war, let it begin here.”
Thus began Blandford’s active participation in the War of the Revolution, whose men, “three hundred strong”, and whose “uncounted women” contributed “their full share of devotion.” If in the days of ’76 the town was too poor to pay for schooling or to employ a settled pastor, it was that they might do all this better when once they should have purchased their unfettered liberty. General Lafayette wrote to his wife; “Human patience has its limits. No European army would suffer the tenth part of what the Americans suffer. It takes citizens to support hunger, nakedness, toil, and total want of pay, which constitute the condition of our soldiers, the hardiest and most patient to be found in the world.”
In their lonely homes women and girls knitted and spun and wove for their absent soldiers. Severe and calculating economy narrowed the culinary tastes and habits of the home. The tax collector’s certain and inescapable bill was squeezed from the thin purse of insistent poverty. The tavern tap-room and the meager kitchen invited the old men and the younger, waiting for the next recruiting, to wit and wisdom about the interminable war and the decisions of peace with honor, and the liberties of free men.
The Town Common, a ten-acre lot, in the midst of which various monuments stand, was set apart from the very beginning of the settlement, writ in legal terms drawn with utmost carefulness, for the exclusive use and behoof of the town as a whole. No private enterprise or trespass of any kind was to be allowed forever. At the summit of this area stood the old meeting house, where also the town meetings were held. Below, “under the hill,” was cleared and fenced the sacred enclosure for the dead, where “unto this day” stand, in numbers, ancient stones over the soldiers dead. In the midst ran the great road extending the length of the province and beyond westward, now the General Knox highway. Over that passed, for forty years, armies and trains of ammunition. In the open spaces of this arena was the training ground. Near the intersection of the roads was the schoolhouse. Here the boys learned the awful arts of war. Here the girls, as always and everywhere, furnished much of the wine of life. In meeting house, taverns – of which there were many, and in homes and tents all about, were quartered the Burgoyne prisoners of war, all under the diligent watch of the conquering patriot guards. Overhead, the whispering pines uttered their unresting inspirations to men who vowed they would live as those who needed not “to make excuses for their birth.”
Louisburg, Crown Point, Cape Breton, Fort George; Captain Elisha Noble, Captain William Houston, Lieutenant David Black and their respective Blandford companies, and Sergeant John Ferguson, all with something like a hundred other patriots of this pioneer hill town – fields of battle and their heroes, intermingled in immortal history, seem today to rise up again out of “formless ruin and oblivion.”
Yonder in the ancient burial ground lie the remains of some of these men along with the ashes of William Kerr, whose inscription reads, “Slain by the Indians in a morning scout, August 4, 1757. Aged 46.”
This period of intermittent French and Indian Wars prepared the people for their later struggle for nationhood. The very day after the Lexington alarm reached Springfield, Captain John Ferguson (already mentioned as Sergeant) marched, doubtless from this very ground, at the head of thirty men. Thus responded the frontier town of Blandford twenty-four hours after Captain Parker had uttered those immortal words on Lexington Green, “Don’t fire unless you are fired upon; but if they want a war, let it begin here.”
Thus began Blandford’s active participation in the War of the Revolution, whose men, “three hundred strong”, and whose “uncounted women” contributed “their full share of devotion.” If in the days of ’76 the town was too poor to pay for schooling or to employ a settled pastor, it was that they might do all this better when once they should have purchased their unfettered liberty. General Lafayette wrote to his wife; “Human patience has its limits. No European army would suffer the tenth part of what the Americans suffer. It takes citizens to support hunger, nakedness, toil, and total want of pay, which constitute the condition of our soldiers, the hardiest and most patient to be found in the world.”
In their lonely homes women and girls knitted and spun and wove for their absent soldiers. Severe and calculating economy narrowed the culinary tastes and habits of the home. The tax collector’s certain and inescapable bill was squeezed from the thin purse of insistent poverty. The tavern tap-room and the meager kitchen invited the old men and the younger, waiting for the next recruiting, to wit and wisdom about the interminable war and the decisions of peace with honor, and the liberties of free men.
The Town Common, a ten-acre lot, in the midst of which various monuments stand, was set apart from the very beginning of the settlement, writ in legal terms drawn with utmost carefulness, for the exclusive use and behoof of the town as a whole. No private enterprise or trespass of any kind was to be allowed forever. At the summit of this area stood the old meeting house, where also the town meetings were held. Below, “under the hill,” was cleared and fenced the sacred enclosure for the dead, where “unto this day” stand, in numbers, ancient stones over the soldiers dead. In the midst ran the great road extending the length of the province and beyond westward, now the General Knox highway. Over that passed, for forty years, armies and trains of ammunition. In the open spaces of this arena was the training ground. Near the intersection of the roads was the schoolhouse. Here the boys learned the awful arts of war. Here the girls, as always and everywhere, furnished much of the wine of life. In meeting house, taverns – of which there were many, and in homes and tents all about, were quartered the Burgoyne prisoners of war, all under the diligent watch of the conquering patriot guards. Overhead, the whispering pines uttered their unresting inspirations to men who vowed they would live as those who needed not “to make excuses for their birth.”
A Two-Minute Story - Perhaps Three
JOHN KEEP became minister in Blandford in 1805. He had been a student in Goshen, Connecticut, and boarded with Judge Nathan Hale. Mrs. Hale was an invalid and depended much on her eldest daughter, Lydia. It occurred to John to ease the labors of Lydia a bit by building the fire for her on winter morn ings; and when the breakfast was cooking and the rest of the family were taking their morning nap, the two sat by the fireplace in the glow of the burning logs and sang together such old church tunes as Mear and St. Martin's, "with fitting conversation interspersed." While they were musing, another fire burned, and on the evening pre- ceding the day of John Keep's application to the Southern Hampshire Ministers' Asso- ciation for approbation to preach the gospel, he made an application of another nature to Lydia Hale, giving her one week for an answer to his quest a longer time by six days than he expected the association to take in coming to their decision regarding his fitness to preach the gospel. Before the expiration of the week, Miss Lydia handed him a paper, mostly blank, containing her signature near the bottom, and the following postscript: "I accept your proposal, and that you may make your arrangements unem barrassed, you may put above my name any words you may choose expressive of my affection for you, and I will redeem the pledge." They lived together fifty-nine years and four months; and to her whose household songs he had shared in the early morning of their lives he ascribed the success of his ministerial career.
Rev. John Keep became one of the chief builders of Oberlin College. In Blandford he established the first class for Negroes known to have been established in the North. At Oberlin he threw the casting vote which opened the doors of that now famous insti- tution to colored people. He was lovingly known there as "Father Keep." The late Rev. Dr. A. H. Plumb, a kinsman, said of this aged couple, "When at length they were tottering down the hill together, no sweeter picture of wedded love ever met my eyes than they presented to the view of all."
S. G. W., West Medway, Mass.
Rev. John Keep became one of the chief builders of Oberlin College. In Blandford he established the first class for Negroes known to have been established in the North. At Oberlin he threw the casting vote which opened the doors of that now famous insti- tution to colored people. He was lovingly known there as "Father Keep." The late Rev. Dr. A. H. Plumb, a kinsman, said of this aged couple, "When at length they were tottering down the hill together, no sweeter picture of wedded love ever met my eyes than they presented to the view of all."
S. G. W., West Medway, Mass.
GEORGE W. FROST, first volunteer from Blandford in the Civil War, enlisted in August, 1862. He was born in East Windsor, Conn., 1843, son of David P. and Sophrona W. Frost. The family moved to Russell before the war and, when he enlisted, Mr. Frost was a farmer in the home of Herman Stannard of Blandford. He was twice returned from the army through the efforts of his father, for he was under age; but upon reaching nineteen he joined the Northern forces at a war meeting held in the church under the Rev. Charles Hinsdale. Mr. Hinsdale found no other volunteers until young Frost made a speech offering all his money, ten dollars, to the next recruit. This offer was accepted by Charles Tinker. His generosity struck a responsive note in the crowd and the hat was passed, so that every volunteer who enlisted that evening was awarded $10. It was nearly one o'clock even then before Blandford's quota of eleven was complete. Mr. Frost became a member of the 18th Corps, 46th Regiment, under the command of Col. Bowler. Served at Kingston, Goldsboro, Whitehall, Little Washington, Plymouth, and Newburne, N. C., and in an outpost position at Gettysburg. Following that battle he came to Washington to be discharged, having served his nine months' enlistment. In the fall of that year he went back into the army as a hostler for Gen. Sedgewick in Virginia and remained with him until the close of the war.
Mr. Frost took up homestead rights for veterans in Michigan after his marriage to Clarissa Tinker of Blandford, but the homesick settlers soon returned to Russell. He spent some ten years in Springfield, where he practised osteopathy. For the past thirty years he has spoken for the Woronoco school children on Memorial Day and is the only living Civil War veteran in four of the Berkshire hill towns. He is an exponent of the World Court, which he believes will become the legitimate way to settle disputes between nations. Mr. Frost, now ninety-two years young, lives with his daughter, Mrs. Charles Wyman, in Russell and takes a keen interest in the life about him.
Mr. Frost took up homestead rights for veterans in Michigan after his marriage to Clarissa Tinker of Blandford, but the homesick settlers soon returned to Russell. He spent some ten years in Springfield, where he practised osteopathy. For the past thirty years he has spoken for the Woronoco school children on Memorial Day and is the only living Civil War veteran in four of the Berkshire hill towns. He is an exponent of the World Court, which he believes will become the legitimate way to settle disputes between nations. Mr. Frost, now ninety-two years young, lives with his daughter, Mrs. Charles Wyman, in Russell and takes a keen interest in the life about him.
Natural Resources of Blandford
The list of minerals, compiled by Dr. Shurtleff, a native of the town, is quoted by Wm. H. Gibbs in 1850 as follows:-
Carbonate of lime, serpentine containing chromate of iron, steatite, foliated green talc, actinolite, asbestos, chlorite, crystallized actinolite, octohedrenal crystals of iron in talcose mica state, mammilliary calcedony, kyanite, anthophyllite, rose quartz, crystals of schorl in limpid quartz, granite and feldspar, black serpentine with schiller spar, limestone and graphite, crystals of garnet, sulphuret of molybdenum, mussite, sulphuret of iron, and a "lost" lead and silver mine.
Dr. Plumb Brown, for thirty-six years a summer resident, gives further resources as follows:-
Forty-six varieties of trees, forty-four kinds of shrubs, twenty-four kinds of ferns, two hundred fifty-six kinds of flowers, and all must agree that the elevation, which reaches 1,760 feet at the high point, the clear, bracing air, and beautiful scenery are not often surpassed.
Carbonate of lime, serpentine containing chromate of iron, steatite, foliated green talc, actinolite, asbestos, chlorite, crystallized actinolite, octohedrenal crystals of iron in talcose mica state, mammilliary calcedony, kyanite, anthophyllite, rose quartz, crystals of schorl in limpid quartz, granite and feldspar, black serpentine with schiller spar, limestone and graphite, crystals of garnet, sulphuret of molybdenum, mussite, sulphuret of iron, and a "lost" lead and silver mine.
Dr. Plumb Brown, for thirty-six years a summer resident, gives further resources as follows:-
Forty-six varieties of trees, forty-four kinds of shrubs, twenty-four kinds of ferns, two hundred fifty-six kinds of flowers, and all must agree that the elevation, which reaches 1,760 feet at the high point, the clear, bracing air, and beautiful scenery are not often surpassed.
The Blandford Club
THE BLANDFORD CLUB, center of the activities of Blandford's numerous colony of summer residents, was founded in 1909 largely through the efforts of Dr. Plumb Brown.
Mrs. Josephine E. S. Porter had left to the town her beautiful Colonial mansion on North Street and the town had found it wise to decline the bequest. The club was then organized to accomplish its purchase from her estate.
The house was originally built in 1822 and was for many years the home of the town physician, Dr. Wright. Later it served for a period as a parsonage. In 1895, some nine or ten years after he bought it, Mrs. Porter extensively remodeled it, adding the porte cochere and the broad stairway which is such a striking feature of its interior. The first president of the club was the late William H. Dexter. Following the purchase of the house by the club, the ballroom and tennis courts were built.
In 1925, while George M. Holbrook was president, the nine-hole golf course, unique in its beauty and looking down on the world from the very ridge pole of Hampden County, was constructed.
Golf and tennis tournaments are held annually for silver challenge cups. The house, in which rooms are available, is cared for by a stewardess, who serves meals to members and their guests. Dances and card parties are held frequently during the
season.
In 1933 amateur dramatics were added to the club's activities. The first play was a Victorian melodrama, "Among the Breakers," which was followed in 1934 by a very successful presentation of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.
The club has proved a valuable addition to the cultural life of the community.
Mrs. Josephine E. S. Porter had left to the town her beautiful Colonial mansion on North Street and the town had found it wise to decline the bequest. The club was then organized to accomplish its purchase from her estate.
The house was originally built in 1822 and was for many years the home of the town physician, Dr. Wright. Later it served for a period as a parsonage. In 1895, some nine or ten years after he bought it, Mrs. Porter extensively remodeled it, adding the porte cochere and the broad stairway which is such a striking feature of its interior. The first president of the club was the late William H. Dexter. Following the purchase of the house by the club, the ballroom and tennis courts were built.
In 1925, while George M. Holbrook was president, the nine-hole golf course, unique in its beauty and looking down on the world from the very ridge pole of Hampden County, was constructed.
Golf and tennis tournaments are held annually for silver challenge cups. The house, in which rooms are available, is cared for by a stewardess, who serves meals to members and their guests. Dances and card parties are held frequently during the
season.
In 1933 amateur dramatics were added to the club's activities. The first play was a Victorian melodrama, "Among the Breakers," which was followed in 1934 by a very successful presentation of "The Importance of Being Earnest" by Oscar Wilde.
The club has proved a valuable addition to the cultural life of the community.
First Congregational Church of Blandford, Incorporated
Pastor, Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Clerk, Miss Susan Tiffany
Treasurer, John W. Peebles
Deacons, Julius Hall, Joseph Haley, Howard J. Sharpe
Trustees, Mrs. Sadie H. Knittel, Mr. Raymond Blair, Dr. Plumb Brown
Clerk, Miss Susan Tiffany
Treasurer, John W. Peebles
Deacons, Julius Hall, Joseph Haley, Howard J. Sharpe
Trustees, Mrs. Sadie H. Knittel, Mr. Raymond Blair, Dr. Plumb Brown
The Blandford Fox Club
by Allen S. Lehman
Most of the old-time sportsmen of New England are well acquainted with the existence and function of the Blandford Fox Club of Blandford, Mass. Many of them have undoubtedly attended one or more of its hunts up on the great green rolling hills of the eastern Berkshires. A great many of those who have not attended the hunt still hold happy memories, gastronomic and otherwise, of the club banquet held in the evening of the first day of the hunt. After the splendid dinner the sportsmen and friends of sport gather to recall old days, old dogs, old pals. Many of the latter are gone, never again to thrill to the baying of hounds, never again to level a gun at hurrying Sir Reynard, never again to mingle in the happy fellowship of the banquet board. Memories mingle with the cigar smoke of the sportsmen as each year they foregather on the hills of Blandford for the two days of sport and companionship.
An Interesting History
The history of the club is most interesting. It was an idealistic spirit that permeated the thoughts of the founders of the club. Having hunted these hills for years, the idea was conceived to organize a club for the sole sport of hunting foxes. Foxes were more plentiful in those days than they are today and many of the men of Blandford derived their only hunting joys from the pursuit of these animals. For two years the idea of a fox-hunt club germinated in the minds of two residents of the town. Mr. Clarence W. Bates and Mr. Henry R. Haley were responsible for the idea. A good deal of talk and debate filtered through town those two years but slowly the idea took hold of the imaginations of other sportsmen. Mr. Haley's brother, Joseph P. Haley, was an early convert to the cause. By October, 1898, enough men had become interested to make the formation of the club an actuality.
An Interesting History
The history of the club is most interesting. It was an idealistic spirit that permeated the thoughts of the founders of the club. Having hunted these hills for years, the idea was conceived to organize a club for the sole sport of hunting foxes. Foxes were more plentiful in those days than they are today and many of the men of Blandford derived their only hunting joys from the pursuit of these animals. For two years the idea of a fox-hunt club germinated in the minds of two residents of the town. Mr. Clarence W. Bates and Mr. Henry R. Haley were responsible for the idea. A good deal of talk and debate filtered through town those two years but slowly the idea took hold of the imaginations of other sportsmen. Mr. Haley's brother, Joseph P. Haley, was an early convert to the cause. By October, 1898, enough men had become interested to make the formation of the club an actuality.
Porter Memorial Library
In the late eighties of the last century, Mrs. Josephine E. S. Porter of New Haven, attracted by the natural beauties of the town, bought for a summer residence the house on North Street built by Dr. Wright and now owned by the Country Club. At that time there was no public library in Blandford and Mrs. Porter brought from New Haven several hundred volumes and loaned them from her home here. They found so many eager borrowers that Mrs. Porter and her younger son, Edgar Sheffield Porter, decided to make the library permanent by giving a library building to the town. After his sudden death, these plans were carried out by the erection, in 1892, of the present building as a memorial to him.
At first there were less than two thousand books, chiefly the gift of Mrs. Porter, though former residents and friends contributed generously, and books to the value of one hundred dollars were received from the State. 6,436 books are now catalogued at the library. The library has received two bequests, one of two thousand dollars from Mrs. Porter, the income to be used for books or insurance, the other from Judge Utley of Worcester in memory of his mother, Theodocia Knox, born in Blandford in 1810, of ten thousand dollars, the income available for everything but furniture and repairs.
The appreciation of the public and the usefulness of the library are indicated by the increasing circulation, in the face of shrinking population, from 3,182 in 1894 to 11,095 in 1933.
Francis E. T. de Braal
The Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society
The Union Agricultural and Horticultural Society was an outgrowth of a farmer's club, organized December 21, 1859.
The meeting, made up of the citizens of Blandford, was held in the hotel in the village then owned by Norman V. Lewis. The "Fairs" of the club were held on the Town Common, the village street being used for a race track and parades. The members of the club, feeling they should have ground of their own, at a meeting held January 11, 1866, appointed a committee consisting of William M. Lewis, F. C. Knox, and E. W. Boise to prepare and present to the General Court a petition for a charter.
A charter was obtained at the next session of the General Court under the name of the Union Agricultural Society.
The Union Agricultural Fair has been held for three days during the greater part of its history. Not many years since it shortened the time to one day, owing to economic necessity; but by beginning it on Labor Day, the first Monday in September, the Society holds a successful two-day session from all points of view, a real holiday crowd on the first day and the second day for home folks to enjoy each other.
Joseph P. Haley
The meeting, made up of the citizens of Blandford, was held in the hotel in the village then owned by Norman V. Lewis. The "Fairs" of the club were held on the Town Common, the village street being used for a race track and parades. The members of the club, feeling they should have ground of their own, at a meeting held January 11, 1866, appointed a committee consisting of William M. Lewis, F. C. Knox, and E. W. Boise to prepare and present to the General Court a petition for a charter.
A charter was obtained at the next session of the General Court under the name of the Union Agricultural Society.
The Union Agricultural Fair has been held for three days during the greater part of its history. Not many years since it shortened the time to one day, owing to economic necessity; but by beginning it on Labor Day, the first Monday in September, the Society holds a successful two-day session from all points of view, a real holiday crowd on the first day and the second day for home folks to enjoy each other.
Joseph P. Haley
MR. HOWARD A. GIBBS was born at Blandford in the year 1858 and lived in the North Village during his early boyhood days. He was the son of Charles W. and Emeline (Brown) Gibbs and a descendant therefore of two of the pioneer families of the town. The Gibbses settled and had large holdings out North Street, and the old family homestead, the Captain Abner Gibbs place, is one of the few "mansion houses" of that early period still remaining in the town.
Dr. Gibbs graduated from Boston University Medical School and from Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in 1882 and has been engaged in the practice of medicine more than fifty years, and for the last twenty years in office practice, specializing in electro-therapeutics in Boston.
Dr. Gibbs was for ten years President and is now Genealogist and Historian of the Gibbs Family of America. This association published an annual bulletin for five years, of which Dr. Gibbs was the editor.
Dr. Gibbs has taken an active part in the restoration and beautification of the Old Cemetery and the "Common" at Blandford and is deeply interested, not only in the history and traditions of his own family, but also in those of all the old families of the town. He has collected much material and written many articles along these lines and has entered actively into the work of the Bicentennial celebration as chairman of the General Committee.
Dr. Gibbs graduated from Boston University Medical School and from Massachusetts Memorial Hospital in 1882 and has been engaged in the practice of medicine more than fifty years, and for the last twenty years in office practice, specializing in electro-therapeutics in Boston.
Dr. Gibbs was for ten years President and is now Genealogist and Historian of the Gibbs Family of America. This association published an annual bulletin for five years, of which Dr. Gibbs was the editor.
Dr. Gibbs has taken an active part in the restoration and beautification of the Old Cemetery and the "Common" at Blandford and is deeply interested, not only in the history and traditions of his own family, but also in those of all the old families of the town. He has collected much material and written many articles along these lines and has entered actively into the work of the Bicentennial celebration as chairman of the General Committee.
The Ladies Benevolent Society
The earliest known records of this organization are Secretary and Treasurer's books dated 1870, the same year in which The First Religious Society was incorporated. Its membership has wrought helpfully toward the support of the Old White Church both financially and socially. To this body during the presidency of Mrs. W. E. Hinsdale goes the credit of the first Laurel Breakfast ever held thirty years and more ago and from the beginning an outstanding event of each year in earning money and entertaining friends from the valley below. It is a rule of the Society to set aside each year a sum to help in painting the Old Church as well as to give to other good causes.
Blandford's Newest Combination Pumper
In "ye olden days" modern fire equipment was impossible. Through the genius of man and in these days of pride and preservation of property the suburban towns are compelled to have fire-fighting apparatus.
In 1933, due to the fine co-operation of the Water Department of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, Blandford was able to purchase this modern equipment. There is in process of organization a voluntary fire department the equal of any small town.
-Warren V. Bodurtha
In 1933, due to the fine co-operation of the Water Department of the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, Blandford was able to purchase this modern equipment. There is in process of organization a voluntary fire department the equal of any small town.
-Warren V. Bodurtha
Formation Of Blandford's Hills
The town of Blandford is located upon the east range of the Green Mountains and is one of the highest townships in Hampden County.
The geological formation is metamorphic to a high degree, in which gneiss, pegmatite, serpentine, and various schists predominate.
While there have been no veins of valuable metal discovered in the town, there have been several stone quarries opened and operated the soapstone quarry, also the quartz, kaolin, feldspar, mica, and whetstone.
A great variety of minerals are to be found in the town, and a visit to these hilltops and valleys will well repay any geologist or collector of minerals.
The contour of the country in the south part of the town, together with quite an extensive watershed, made the location of Cobble Mountain Reservoir quite ideal. Here is located the highest earth dam in the world.
The base of the dam is over 1,500 feet thick and at the top 50 feet thick by 700 feet wide. This reservoir floods about 1,200 acres of land and when full holds about 25,000,000,000 gallons of water and forms the municipal water supply of our neighboring city of Springfield.
The geological formation is metamorphic to a high degree, in which gneiss, pegmatite, serpentine, and various schists predominate.
While there have been no veins of valuable metal discovered in the town, there have been several stone quarries opened and operated the soapstone quarry, also the quartz, kaolin, feldspar, mica, and whetstone.
A great variety of minerals are to be found in the town, and a visit to these hilltops and valleys will well repay any geologist or collector of minerals.
The contour of the country in the south part of the town, together with quite an extensive watershed, made the location of Cobble Mountain Reservoir quite ideal. Here is located the highest earth dam in the world.
The base of the dam is over 1,500 feet thick and at the top 50 feet thick by 700 feet wide. This reservoir floods about 1,200 acres of land and when full holds about 25,000,000,000 gallons of water and forms the municipal water supply of our neighboring city of Springfield.
Blandford Bicentennial Committees
GENERAL COMMITTEE
DR. H. A. GIBBS, Chairman
JOSEPH P. HALEY, Vice-Chairman
NELLIE R. RIPLEY, Treasurer
MRS. R. W. HAYDEN, Secretary
Miss Cora A. Boise
Mrs. F. E. DeBraal
Mrs. David Brockett
Rev. S. G. Wood
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mrs. F. C. Knittel
Mr. Norman Haines
Mr. A. H. Smith
Mr. Warren V. Bodurtha
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Mr. Richard Hooker
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
Mrs. A. H. Smith
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Erwin Shepard
Mr. C. R. Ripley
Mr. Colby Haines
Mrs. Howard Waite
Mr. Frank N. Gibbs
Mrs. S. C. Lee
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Mr. John W. Peebles
Mr. Ralph N, Fowler
Mr. Clyde W. Young
Mr. George E. Williamson
Mr. Edmund Nye
Mr. Carl Knittel
Mrs. R. L. Blair
Miss Myra Poler
Rev. Frank Higgins
Mr. Burton C. Lloyd
Miss Lena Knox
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
Rev. Allen S. Lehman, Chairman
Mr. Richard Hooker
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
Mrs. A. H. Smith
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mr. Ralph N. Fowler
Mr. C. R. Ripley
PRINTING COMMITTEE
Mrs. R. W. Hayden, Chairman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Susan E. Tiffany
Rev. S. G. Wood
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Mr. C. R. Ripley, Chairman
Norman Haines
A. H. Smith
Warren V. Bodurtha
Nellie R. Ripley
HISTORICAL COMMITTEE
Rev. Allen S. Lehman, Chairman Rev. S. G. Wood
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Dr. Plumb Brown
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
LOCAL PROPAGANDA COMMITTEE
Mrs. F. C. Knittel, Chairman
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Colby Haines
Mr. Erwin Shepard
COMMITTEE ON ANTIQUES
Mrs. R. W. Hayden
Mrs. F. C. Knittel
Mrs. Howard Waite
Miss Susan Tiffany
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Rev. Frank Higgins
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Warren V. Bodurtha, Chairman
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Miss Susan Tiffany
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
THE HISTORICAL PARADE COMMITTEE
Mr. Henry R. Haley, Marshal of Parade
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Addison O'Brien
M. J. Raymond
Edmund Nye
MARKER COMMITTEE
Norman L. Haines, Chairman
A. H. Smith
Warren V. Bodurtha
J. P. Haley
C. R. Ripley
Dr. Plumb Brown
ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE
Miss Sadie Barnes, Chairman
Mrs. Norman Haines, Secretary
Mrs. Lawrence Ripley
Mrs. A. W. Buck
Prosper Montavani
Hilton Haines
Wm. H. Hepsley
Howard Waite
Clarence A. Burt
DR. H. A. GIBBS, Chairman
JOSEPH P. HALEY, Vice-Chairman
NELLIE R. RIPLEY, Treasurer
MRS. R. W. HAYDEN, Secretary
Miss Cora A. Boise
Mrs. F. E. DeBraal
Mrs. David Brockett
Rev. S. G. Wood
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mrs. F. C. Knittel
Mr. Norman Haines
Mr. A. H. Smith
Mr. Warren V. Bodurtha
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Mr. Richard Hooker
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
Mrs. A. H. Smith
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Erwin Shepard
Mr. C. R. Ripley
Mr. Colby Haines
Mrs. Howard Waite
Mr. Frank N. Gibbs
Mrs. S. C. Lee
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Mr. John W. Peebles
Mr. Ralph N, Fowler
Mr. Clyde W. Young
Mr. George E. Williamson
Mr. Edmund Nye
Mr. Carl Knittel
Mrs. R. L. Blair
Miss Myra Poler
Rev. Frank Higgins
Mr. Burton C. Lloyd
Miss Lena Knox
PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
Rev. Allen S. Lehman, Chairman
Mr. Richard Hooker
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
Mrs. A. H. Smith
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mr. Ralph N. Fowler
Mr. C. R. Ripley
PRINTING COMMITTEE
Mrs. R. W. Hayden, Chairman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Susan E. Tiffany
Rev. S. G. Wood
FINANCE COMMITTEE
Mr. C. R. Ripley, Chairman
Norman Haines
A. H. Smith
Warren V. Bodurtha
Nellie R. Ripley
HISTORICAL COMMITTEE
Rev. Allen S. Lehman, Chairman Rev. S. G. Wood
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Dr. Plumb Brown
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
LOCAL PROPAGANDA COMMITTEE
Mrs. F. C. Knittel, Chairman
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Colby Haines
Mr. Erwin Shepard
COMMITTEE ON ANTIQUES
Mrs. R. W. Hayden
Mrs. F. C. Knittel
Mrs. Howard Waite
Miss Susan Tiffany
Rev. D. B. Aldrich
Rev. Frank Higgins
PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Warren V. Bodurtha, Chairman
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Dr. Plumb Brown
Miss Susan Tiffany
Mrs. M. J. Raymond
THE HISTORICAL PARADE COMMITTEE
Mr. Henry R. Haley, Marshal of Parade
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Addison O'Brien
M. J. Raymond
Edmund Nye
MARKER COMMITTEE
Norman L. Haines, Chairman
A. H. Smith
Warren V. Bodurtha
J. P. Haley
C. R. Ripley
Dr. Plumb Brown
ENTERTAINMENT COMMITTEE
Miss Sadie Barnes, Chairman
Mrs. Norman Haines, Secretary
Mrs. Lawrence Ripley
Mrs. A. W. Buck
Prosper Montavani
Hilton Haines
Wm. H. Hepsley
Howard Waite
Clarence A. Burt
The following are committees appointed by the various organizations in Blandford. They are included in the list of the General Committee.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, BLANDFORD
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mr. Joseph P. Haley
NORTH BLANDFORD CHURCH, NORTH BLANDFORD
Mr. Frank N. Gibbs
Mrs. Howard Waite
Mrs. S. C. Lee
BLANDFORD GRANGE NO. 24
Mr. Carl Knittel
Mr. Edmund Nye
Mr. Colby Haines
UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Erwin Shepard
Mr. C. R. Ripley
BLANDFORD COUNTRY CLUB
Mr. George E. Williamson
Mr. Clyde W. Young
Mr. Ralph N. Fowler
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, BLANDFORD
Rev. Allen S. Lehman
Miss Susan E. Tiffany
Mr. Joseph P. Haley
NORTH BLANDFORD CHURCH, NORTH BLANDFORD
Mr. Frank N. Gibbs
Mrs. Howard Waite
Mrs. S. C. Lee
BLANDFORD GRANGE NO. 24
Mr. Carl Knittel
Mr. Edmund Nye
Mr. Colby Haines
UNION AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
Mr. M. J. Raymond
Mr. Erwin Shepard
Mr. C. R. Ripley
BLANDFORD COUNTRY CLUB
Mr. George E. Williamson
Mr. Clyde W. Young
Mr. Ralph N. Fowler
This list of Blandford forbears is placed here in grateful memory of all those who, by their character, sterling worth, and useful lives have indelibly placed upon the annals of time the results of their best labors in the founding and building of Blandford.
W. H. H. Blair
E. W. Bennett
William Bates
Samuel A. Bartholomew
Edward H. Bishop
Charles B. Hayden
Gordon Rowley
Frank Knox
James Knox
Jarvis Lloyd
Almon W. Lloyd
George O. Millard
William Lewis
H. P. Robinson
Ralsa Burdick
Henry Burdick
Alvah Bishop
Martin S. Phelps
Alvin Cannon
Milo D. Nye
John C. Knox
Frank J. Mann
L. Chapman
F. M. Bliss
Alvin F. Bliss
Lewis Parks
Henry A. Blair
R. D. Gibbs
E. D. Nooney
William E. Hinsdale
W. A. Bartlett
C. W. Shepard
Ely Wyman
Dr. P. A. Shurtleff
There are many more names that should be in this list, names of people much older than many on this list but of equal importance. The person supplying the names is unable to make a more complete list, due to shortage of time to gather information and search.
Sketches of "Blandford Folks" Past and Present
DAVID S. HAMILTON
Son of Samuel and Laura (Cannon) Hamilton and grandson of Capt. David and Mary (Knox) Hamilton, was born October 26, 1821, and spent his life in the town of his birth. By habits of thrift and economy he acquired a farm of over 300 acres. He began working at the age of 10 years at $4 a month and at 23 years of age he had saved money enough to purchase 58 acres of land. In May, 1848, he married Renewah Clark, who was also born in Blandford and died March 18, 1895. Of the union two children were born-Sally, who died at the age of three years, and Laura, who married Roscoe O. Ripley. Mr. Hamilton, after the death of his wife, made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Ripley. He passed away, as he had lived, quietly in his sleep January 31, 1904.
Son of Samuel and Laura (Cannon) Hamilton and grandson of Capt. David and Mary (Knox) Hamilton, was born October 26, 1821, and spent his life in the town of his birth. By habits of thrift and economy he acquired a farm of over 300 acres. He began working at the age of 10 years at $4 a month and at 23 years of age he had saved money enough to purchase 58 acres of land. In May, 1848, he married Renewah Clark, who was also born in Blandford and died March 18, 1895. Of the union two children were born-Sally, who died at the age of three years, and Laura, who married Roscoe O. Ripley. Mr. Hamilton, after the death of his wife, made his home with his daughter, Mrs. Ripley. He passed away, as he had lived, quietly in his sleep January 31, 1904.
WARREN V. BODURTHA
Clerk of the Board of Selectmen, born in Blandford, April 25, 1885. Was educated in local schools and Bay Path Institute. Operates a lumber business in which he was formerly associated with his father. Served the town in many capacities at various times. For many years president of the Union Agricultural Society and Past Master of the Grange.
Clerk of the Board of Selectmen, born in Blandford, April 25, 1885. Was educated in local schools and Bay Path Institute. Operates a lumber business in which he was formerly associated with his father. Served the town in many capacities at various times. For many years president of the Union Agricultural Society and Past Master of the Grange.
NORMAN HAINES
Chairman of Board of the Selectmen, was born Dec. 6, 1897, in Martinsville, Province of Quebec, Canada, coming to West Springfield with his parents when a small boy. In 1921 took his residence in Blandford. Was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 1932. By trade a carpenter, associated with his father in business.
Chairman of Board of the Selectmen, was born Dec. 6, 1897, in Martinsville, Province of Quebec, Canada, coming to West Springfield with his parents when a small boy. In 1921 took his residence in Blandford. Was elected to the Board of Selectmen in 1932. By trade a carpenter, associated with his father in business.
GEORGE E. WILLIAMSON
A resident of Woronoake Heights, town of Russell, glad to assist in the Blandford Bicentennial, both as a neighbor and as a representative of the Blandford Club. Treasurer, Strathmore Paper Company, West Springfield and Woronoco, Mass.; Assistant Treasurer, Rising Paper Company, Housatonic, Mass.; President, Hampden County Improvement League; Treasurer, Eastern States Exposition.
A resident of Woronoake Heights, town of Russell, glad to assist in the Blandford Bicentennial, both as a neighbor and as a representative of the Blandford Club. Treasurer, Strathmore Paper Company, West Springfield and Woronoco, Mass.; Assistant Treasurer, Rising Paper Company, Housatonic, Mass.; President, Hampden County Improvement League; Treasurer, Eastern States Exposition.
LEWIS NYE ANCESTORS AND DESCENDANTS
The name Nye made its first appearance about the middle of the Thirteenth Century in the Sjelland section of Denmark. The first immigrant to America was Benjamin Nye, born in Bidlenden, Kent, England, May 4, 1620. He came to America on the Abigail to Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1635. James Nye, the fifth descendant of Benjamin, was born in Charleston, Rhode Island, May 13, 1758. He moved to Blandford in 1805 with his wife and eleven children and goods in an ox cart to a house on North Street near the old town pound. From there he moved to the eastern part of the town, where he purchased a lot of about a thousand acres from which Clark Nye bought his farm and built the house in 1836. He married Dolly A. Frary. They had three children- Lyman R., Lewis C., and Emily A. Lyman R. operated one of the first sawmills in this locality and was a machinist by trade. Lewis C. and father, Clark, was a breeder of fine cattle. He often went on a pair of snowshoes to the northern part of Vermont buying cattle. Lewis married Melinda Cook. They had three children-Ida Bell, Albert H., and Marion O. Albert H. married Hattie Holcomb of Simsbury, Conn. They had six children-Angeline Dolly; Lyman Lewis, died in infancy; Edmund Russell, married Anna M. Chouffet; Marion Melinda, married John W. Peebles; Gladys Mabel, married Walter E. Allen; and Donald Oatley, married Eleda I. Bodurtha.
The name Nye made its first appearance about the middle of the Thirteenth Century in the Sjelland section of Denmark. The first immigrant to America was Benjamin Nye, born in Bidlenden, Kent, England, May 4, 1620. He came to America on the Abigail to Lynn, Massachusetts, in 1635. James Nye, the fifth descendant of Benjamin, was born in Charleston, Rhode Island, May 13, 1758. He moved to Blandford in 1805 with his wife and eleven children and goods in an ox cart to a house on North Street near the old town pound. From there he moved to the eastern part of the town, where he purchased a lot of about a thousand acres from which Clark Nye bought his farm and built the house in 1836. He married Dolly A. Frary. They had three children- Lyman R., Lewis C., and Emily A. Lyman R. operated one of the first sawmills in this locality and was a machinist by trade. Lewis C. and father, Clark, was a breeder of fine cattle. He often went on a pair of snowshoes to the northern part of Vermont buying cattle. Lewis married Melinda Cook. They had three children-Ida Bell, Albert H., and Marion O. Albert H. married Hattie Holcomb of Simsbury, Conn. They had six children-Angeline Dolly; Lyman Lewis, died in infancy; Edmund Russell, married Anna M. Chouffet; Marion Melinda, married John W. Peebles; Gladys Mabel, married Walter E. Allen; and Donald Oatley, married Eleda I. Bodurtha.
CHARLES M. WAITE
son of Moses Waite, was born in Hubbardston, Mass., in 1822. His father operated a large sawmill in Hubbardston, making cardboards and handles. After acquiring a thorough knowledge of his father's business, he and his brother, Addison, came to Bancroft, Mass., where they began the same industry. Then as business grew they came to North Blandford and began business in the shop now owned by Mrs. A. E. Lee. They alternated between here and Bancroft until 1846, when they built the dam and cardboard factory where they successfully carried on the business until the death of both. Then F. M. & B. H. carried on until the City of Springfield bought them out in 1911. During the year from five to ten men were employed.
son of Moses Waite, was born in Hubbardston, Mass., in 1822. His father operated a large sawmill in Hubbardston, making cardboards and handles. After acquiring a thorough knowledge of his father's business, he and his brother, Addison, came to Bancroft, Mass., where they began the same industry. Then as business grew they came to North Blandford and began business in the shop now owned by Mrs. A. E. Lee. They alternated between here and Bancroft until 1846, when they built the dam and cardboard factory where they successfully carried on the business until the death of both. Then F. M. & B. H. carried on until the City of Springfield bought them out in 1911. During the year from five to ten men were employed.
HEALY
Dennison Card Healy was born in 1812. At the age of two years he was adopted by Joel Hall. His youth, under the guardianship of his genius father, was spent in gunsmithing, with always a keen interest for machinery. "Some day," said he, "I shall build a machine worth while." This lad grew to manhood, married Harmony Herrick, and settled on a farm in Pudding Hill. He stayed there until a position was opened for him in New Hartford. He moved his family to Pleasant Valley and began work with always the dream of his life in mind. The idea of a machine for turning wooden bowls occurred to him, and by hard labor and privation perfected a water power turning bowl machine. "Where can I operate my machine?" thought Dennison. Back in North Blandford, just the spot, here on the headwaters of Westfield Little River in an abandoned shop he installed his invention. His lathe turned bowls, graduating in size, out of a block of rough, hard maple. These were marketed as nests of bowls in New York. Soon the unusual business attracted a buyer for the machine. Thereupon he built an other one and it, too, was sold. At this particular time an offer came to do some sawmill work. Being mechanically minded, Dennison erected a water power sawmill directly across the river from his bowl shop. Here he installed the first circular saw to be brought to the town of Blandford. Operating this day and night required the help of his able son, Winfield Dennison, now grown to manhood. This business thrived for a few years, then another buyer chanced along. No sooner had the mill changed hands than Dennison and son began operating turning lathes again. This time clock pulleys, boxes, files, and parasol and brush broom handles were made and shipped to all parts of the world. This was a business of long ago, but the genius that promoted it lives today in his son, Winfield. Samples of the products may be seen, and if by chance one visits North Blandford, remains of the water wheel and flume and mill are still there.
Dennison Card Healy was born in 1812. At the age of two years he was adopted by Joel Hall. His youth, under the guardianship of his genius father, was spent in gunsmithing, with always a keen interest for machinery. "Some day," said he, "I shall build a machine worth while." This lad grew to manhood, married Harmony Herrick, and settled on a farm in Pudding Hill. He stayed there until a position was opened for him in New Hartford. He moved his family to Pleasant Valley and began work with always the dream of his life in mind. The idea of a machine for turning wooden bowls occurred to him, and by hard labor and privation perfected a water power turning bowl machine. "Where can I operate my machine?" thought Dennison. Back in North Blandford, just the spot, here on the headwaters of Westfield Little River in an abandoned shop he installed his invention. His lathe turned bowls, graduating in size, out of a block of rough, hard maple. These were marketed as nests of bowls in New York. Soon the unusual business attracted a buyer for the machine. Thereupon he built an other one and it, too, was sold. At this particular time an offer came to do some sawmill work. Being mechanically minded, Dennison erected a water power sawmill directly across the river from his bowl shop. Here he installed the first circular saw to be brought to the town of Blandford. Operating this day and night required the help of his able son, Winfield Dennison, now grown to manhood. This business thrived for a few years, then another buyer chanced along. No sooner had the mill changed hands than Dennison and son began operating turning lathes again. This time clock pulleys, boxes, files, and parasol and brush broom handles were made and shipped to all parts of the world. This was a business of long ago, but the genius that promoted it lives today in his son, Winfield. Samples of the products may be seen, and if by chance one visits North Blandford, remains of the water wheel and flume and mill are still there.
PEEBLES FAMILY
First settled on Beach Hill, West Granville, previous to the French and Indian War, but Sylvester, born in 1797, first Peebles to locate in Blandford, purchased January 1, 1822, part of the farm which has been in the family to the present time. Sylvester married Crucia Cannon, born 1800. They had John Loring, born 1824; Mary E., born 1826; Melissa C., born 1828; Sylvester M., born 1831; David C., born 1833; Hiram C., born 1835. John Loring Peebles married Elnora Polly Smith September 21, 1858. They had Warren John, born 1859; Crucia, born 1861; Sylvester Henry, born 1863; David A., born 1866; _____born 1870; Hattie Melissa, born 1872; Mary Elnora, born 1875; Lucy Hayes, born 1877. Warren John Peebles married Nettie Church in 1896. He lived a short distance from the old homestead and carried on a farming and lumbering business with his brother, Sylvester, until 1902, when he sold to Sylvester and moved to Blandford Center, there to conduct a general store. Children were John Warren, born 1897; Ruth Ella, born ___; David Martin, born 1902; Mary Louise, born 1908. John Warren Peebles married Marion M. Nye November 28, 1918. They had the following children: John Albert, born November 20, 1919; Elizabeth May, born October 5, 1921; David Martin, born April 23, 1923; Dorothy Louise and Doris Mary, twins, born September 26, 1925. John Warren Peebles carries on the general store, which he took over at the death of his father in 1930. Member of Electric Light Commission and Water Commission of Blandford.
First settled on Beach Hill, West Granville, previous to the French and Indian War, but Sylvester, born in 1797, first Peebles to locate in Blandford, purchased January 1, 1822, part of the farm which has been in the family to the present time. Sylvester married Crucia Cannon, born 1800. They had John Loring, born 1824; Mary E., born 1826; Melissa C., born 1828; Sylvester M., born 1831; David C., born 1833; Hiram C., born 1835. John Loring Peebles married Elnora Polly Smith September 21, 1858. They had Warren John, born 1859; Crucia, born 1861; Sylvester Henry, born 1863; David A., born 1866; _____born 1870; Hattie Melissa, born 1872; Mary Elnora, born 1875; Lucy Hayes, born 1877. Warren John Peebles married Nettie Church in 1896. He lived a short distance from the old homestead and carried on a farming and lumbering business with his brother, Sylvester, until 1902, when he sold to Sylvester and moved to Blandford Center, there to conduct a general store. Children were John Warren, born 1897; Ruth Ella, born ___; David Martin, born 1902; Mary Louise, born 1908. John Warren Peebles married Marion M. Nye November 28, 1918. They had the following children: John Albert, born November 20, 1919; Elizabeth May, born October 5, 1921; David Martin, born April 23, 1923; Dorothy Louise and Doris Mary, twins, born September 26, 1925. John Warren Peebles carries on the general store, which he took over at the death of his father in 1930. Member of Electric Light Commission and Water Commission of Blandford.
S. S. MARKS
Carpenter, settled in Blandford about 1830. He built the North Blandford Meeting House, the Rev. Chas. Hinsdale's house, and others. He acted as choir chorister. Members of his family sang in the choir when the bass viol was the only instrument allowed by public opinion. He became superintendent of Sunday School and was highly respected. His daughter, Arlina, was married in the Blandford church, leaving soon after for her new home in Connecticut, where her children, Howard and Lilla Kendall, were born. Her daughter, Lilla, living in Springfield, blind for more than twenty years and lame, spends much time at her typewriter, averaging twenty-five letters weekly, chiefly to shut-ins.
Carpenter, settled in Blandford about 1830. He built the North Blandford Meeting House, the Rev. Chas. Hinsdale's house, and others. He acted as choir chorister. Members of his family sang in the choir when the bass viol was the only instrument allowed by public opinion. He became superintendent of Sunday School and was highly respected. His daughter, Arlina, was married in the Blandford church, leaving soon after for her new home in Connecticut, where her children, Howard and Lilla Kendall, were born. Her daughter, Lilla, living in Springfield, blind for more than twenty years and lame, spends much time at her typewriter, averaging twenty-five letters weekly, chiefly to shut-ins.
TO HONOR THE CROSS AND TIFFANY FAMILIES IN BLANDFORD
John Cross and his wife, Mary, are said to have lived in Blandford in 1760, but present descendants of that name are traced to Samuel Cross II and Elizabeth Clarke Cross of Charleston, R. I., in 1792. They died in 1850 in Blandford and are buried in the Stannard Cemetery on Beech Hill. Their homestead site may be seen on Walnut Hill. Samuel Cross III married Hannah Miller of Blandford and of their seven children, Susan Ann married Jonathan Johnson Tiffany in 1852. The Tiffanys, Bela and Laura Johnson Tiffany, removed from Barkhamstead, Connecticut, about 1856 and bought the Samuel Boise Tavern on North Street. They had eight children. Three sons, Levi, Johnson, and Frank, married and settled in Blandford. They were all sterling citizens, respecting the rights of others and sharing in responsibilities of both church and community life. Samuel Cross Tiffany and Laura Belle Tiffany, children of Johnson and Susan Cross Tiffany, spent their lives in Blandford and are remembered pleasantly for their good qualities of mind and heart.
John Cross and his wife, Mary, are said to have lived in Blandford in 1760, but present descendants of that name are traced to Samuel Cross II and Elizabeth Clarke Cross of Charleston, R. I., in 1792. They died in 1850 in Blandford and are buried in the Stannard Cemetery on Beech Hill. Their homestead site may be seen on Walnut Hill. Samuel Cross III married Hannah Miller of Blandford and of their seven children, Susan Ann married Jonathan Johnson Tiffany in 1852. The Tiffanys, Bela and Laura Johnson Tiffany, removed from Barkhamstead, Connecticut, about 1856 and bought the Samuel Boise Tavern on North Street. They had eight children. Three sons, Levi, Johnson, and Frank, married and settled in Blandford. They were all sterling citizens, respecting the rights of others and sharing in responsibilities of both church and community life. Samuel Cross Tiffany and Laura Belle Tiffany, children of Johnson and Susan Cross Tiffany, spent their lives in Blandford and are remembered pleasantly for their good qualities of mind and heart.
STEPHEN HARVEY BODURTHA
was born in Granville on March 10, 1858. His mother was Lois Lucinda Robinson and his father, David Alden Bodurtha. His mother died when he was at the age of seven. As a young man he hired himself out to farmers in various sections, earning his living and securing what limited education he could at the same time. In the early 80's he acquired the place later known as the Bodurtha Homestead. He was married to Ellen Maria Pendleton on April 22, 1884, and to them were born seven children, Warren Vernon, Stephen Elmer, Robert Ellsworth, Frank Theodore, Lois Sirena, Agnes Josephine, and Avis Ellen. He engaged extensively for more than fifty years in the lumber business and his judgment in this line was unlimited. He was elected to the State Legislature in the years 1905 and 1906 on the Republican ticket from what was called "The Old Shoe String District." He held many offices in the town of Blandford. During his residence in Blandford he secured many large holdings of excellent timberlands. In 1909 he purchased the Old Fowler Home stead on West Silver Street, Westfield, Mass., and made his residence there shortly afterwards. On Jan. 27, 1911, his wife passed away and he later married Abbie H. Herrick, formerly of Blandford. It was on May 16, 1932, while visiting his daughter, Lois, in Santa Barbara, Calif., that he died very sud- denly of heart trouble. In his passing there was a keen loss felt of a man devoted to his home and family, a friend to all, and a true citizen of the grand old New England type.
was born in Granville on March 10, 1858. His mother was Lois Lucinda Robinson and his father, David Alden Bodurtha. His mother died when he was at the age of seven. As a young man he hired himself out to farmers in various sections, earning his living and securing what limited education he could at the same time. In the early 80's he acquired the place later known as the Bodurtha Homestead. He was married to Ellen Maria Pendleton on April 22, 1884, and to them were born seven children, Warren Vernon, Stephen Elmer, Robert Ellsworth, Frank Theodore, Lois Sirena, Agnes Josephine, and Avis Ellen. He engaged extensively for more than fifty years in the lumber business and his judgment in this line was unlimited. He was elected to the State Legislature in the years 1905 and 1906 on the Republican ticket from what was called "The Old Shoe String District." He held many offices in the town of Blandford. During his residence in Blandford he secured many large holdings of excellent timberlands. In 1909 he purchased the Old Fowler Home stead on West Silver Street, Westfield, Mass., and made his residence there shortly afterwards. On Jan. 27, 1911, his wife passed away and he later married Abbie H. Herrick, formerly of Blandford. It was on May 16, 1932, while visiting his daughter, Lois, in Santa Barbara, Calif., that he died very sud- denly of heart trouble. In his passing there was a keen loss felt of a man devoted to his home and family, a friend to all, and a true citizen of the grand old New England type.
HORATIO WYMAN
born 1806, came Westfield in 1816 and learned the blacksmith trade. He married Eliza Hanchett of Westfield in 1837. Two years later he came to Blandford and built the shop which he operated until his death in 1871. He was the father of eight children, seven of which survived him. His oldest son, William Wyman, carried on the business until his death in 1907; then his son, Ernest, continued the business until 1918. Ely Wyman was in the wheelwright business in the same shop. By so doing there were three generations who ran the blacksmith business for more than 80 years. This was the last typical old New England blacksmith shop in the town until it was torn down in 1923.
born 1806, came Westfield in 1816 and learned the blacksmith trade. He married Eliza Hanchett of Westfield in 1837. Two years later he came to Blandford and built the shop which he operated until his death in 1871. He was the father of eight children, seven of which survived him. His oldest son, William Wyman, carried on the business until his death in 1907; then his son, Ernest, continued the business until 1918. Ely Wyman was in the wheelwright business in the same shop. By so doing there were three generations who ran the blacksmith business for more than 80 years. This was the last typical old New England blacksmith shop in the town until it was torn down in 1923.
JOSEPH HALEY
came to Blandford in 1820 from Charleston, R. I., and purchased a farm from Russell Freeland situated in the northern part of Blandford on the second division road. In the same year he married Alice Nye. They occupied this farm until 1837, when he bought from Alva Ferguson the farm now occupied by his grandson, Joseph P. Haley, and made it their home until his death. Five children were born to them: Eliza A., Joseph C., Sally E., Newman J., and William Randall Haley, father of Joseph P. Haley and Henry R. Haley, who now reside on the old homestead.
came to Blandford in 1820 from Charleston, R. I., and purchased a farm from Russell Freeland situated in the northern part of Blandford on the second division road. In the same year he married Alice Nye. They occupied this farm until 1837, when he bought from Alva Ferguson the farm now occupied by his grandson, Joseph P. Haley, and made it their home until his death. Five children were born to them: Eliza A., Joseph C., Sally E., Newman J., and William Randall Haley, father of Joseph P. Haley and Henry R. Haley, who now reside on the old homestead.
THE BOISE FAMILY
The name of Boise has been connected with the town of Blandford from its earliest settlers. David and Anna Boise had four sons, viz., David, John, Samuel, and William. From these four sons - no mention of daughters - have descended many sons and daughters now scattered. Enos Watson Boise, the last male descendant of the John line in Blandford, was a lifelong resident there and held public office in the town at the time of his death, December 28, 1921, at the age of 81.
The name of Boise has been connected with the town of Blandford from its earliest settlers. David and Anna Boise had four sons, viz., David, John, Samuel, and William. From these four sons - no mention of daughters - have descended many sons and daughters now scattered. Enos Watson Boise, the last male descendant of the John line in Blandford, was a lifelong resident there and held public office in the town at the time of his death, December 28, 1921, at the age of 81.
LORETTA SIZER LANDON
Blandford's "four-square" principles came to Kansas with Loretta Sizer Landon, daughter of Osman Sizer. Graduated in Adrian, Michigan, where her parents moved in 1858, she came, a bride, to Russell, Kansas, in 1873. In carrying on after her death (1906), a Sizer Circle letter developed, also a genealogist was revealed. Mrs. Lillian Holch, 330 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, N. Y., is now searching for all descendants of Anthony Sizer, whose son, Capt. Wm. Sizer, gave us his Revolutionary diary.- Her youngest daughter, Mabel Landon Plumer, 615 Ross St., Downs, Kans.
Blandford's "four-square" principles came to Kansas with Loretta Sizer Landon, daughter of Osman Sizer. Graduated in Adrian, Michigan, where her parents moved in 1858, she came, a bride, to Russell, Kansas, in 1873. In carrying on after her death (1906), a Sizer Circle letter developed, also a genealogist was revealed. Mrs. Lillian Holch, 330 Clinton Street, Brooklyn, N. Y., is now searching for all descendants of Anthony Sizer, whose son, Capt. Wm. Sizer, gave us his Revolutionary diary.- Her youngest daughter, Mabel Landon Plumer, 615 Ross St., Downs, Kans.
HERRICK FAMILY
Henry Herrick, born in England, 1604, came to Salem, Mass., in 1629. Thomas Herrick, Sr., married Betsy Brockway of Southampton and was the father of six daughters and one son, Thomas, Jr. Thomas, Sr., came from Montgomery to Blandford and purchased the farm, which has since been known as the Herrick farm, in 1821, when Thomas, Jr., was twelve years old. The farm, which is now called Greenwood Farm, has been occupied continuously by the Herrick family since that time. Thomas, Jr., married Mary Ann Knox in 1836. They had nine daughters and one son, Henry Knox Herrick, born Aug. 24, 1839, in the house where he died Feb. 19, 1932, aged ninety-two years. Henry Herrick married Sarah Parks in 1862 and was the father of three daughters. The family has always identified itself with town and church affairs. Henry Herrick, the last of our line to have the name, held the offices of selectman, assessor, school committee, tax collector, and was representative to the General Court in 1886. He was also at various times president, secretary, director, and delegate to the State Board of Agriculture of the Union Agricultural Society; also a charter member of the Grange.
Henry Herrick, born in England, 1604, came to Salem, Mass., in 1629. Thomas Herrick, Sr., married Betsy Brockway of Southampton and was the father of six daughters and one son, Thomas, Jr. Thomas, Sr., came from Montgomery to Blandford and purchased the farm, which has since been known as the Herrick farm, in 1821, when Thomas, Jr., was twelve years old. The farm, which is now called Greenwood Farm, has been occupied continuously by the Herrick family since that time. Thomas, Jr., married Mary Ann Knox in 1836. They had nine daughters and one son, Henry Knox Herrick, born Aug. 24, 1839, in the house where he died Feb. 19, 1932, aged ninety-two years. Henry Herrick married Sarah Parks in 1862 and was the father of three daughters. The family has always identified itself with town and church affairs. Henry Herrick, the last of our line to have the name, held the offices of selectman, assessor, school committee, tax collector, and was representative to the General Court in 1886. He was also at various times president, secretary, director, and delegate to the State Board of Agriculture of the Union Agricultural Society; also a charter member of the Grange.
DAVID BLANDFORD BOIES
David Blandford Boies (1933-) is the second son of Doctor and Mrs. Lawrence R. Boies of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His generation is the seventh after the first David Boies who was one of the first settlers of Blandford. His grandfathers in each generation were: Walter, 1857-1928; Israel, 1812-1887; Rufus, 1777- 1860; David (Captain in the Colonial Army and a Representative in 1805-06 and 1810), 1750-1839; William (Delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1779), 1721- 1804; David (Deacon), 1689-1752. The name Boies was originally DuBois in France, where they were French Huguenots. During the persecution of the Protestants from Charles the Ninth to Louis the Thirteenth, when the Protestant power was crushed by the influence of Cardinal Richelieu, the family fled to Scotland and there took the name of Boies. Subsequently, amidst the convulsions which followed the reign of Cromwell, they went to Ireland. The first David Boies was born there during the siege of Londonderry. He came to this country about 1727, settled in Hopkinton, and afterward removed to Blandford. (History of Blandford, Mass., Gibbs, 1850.) The Boies family in its migration from Blandford moved first to New York state and then to the middle West. Their residence in the middle West has been principally in Illinois and Iowa. Many members of the family have been clergymen, lawyers, or physicians. The late Horace Boies, former Governor of Iowa and once candidate for the Presidential nomination, was the best known member of the Western branch of the family.
David Blandford Boies (1933-) is the second son of Doctor and Mrs. Lawrence R. Boies of Minneapolis, Minnesota. His generation is the seventh after the first David Boies who was one of the first settlers of Blandford. His grandfathers in each generation were: Walter, 1857-1928; Israel, 1812-1887; Rufus, 1777- 1860; David (Captain in the Colonial Army and a Representative in 1805-06 and 1810), 1750-1839; William (Delegate to the Massachusetts Constitutional Convention in 1779), 1721- 1804; David (Deacon), 1689-1752. The name Boies was originally DuBois in France, where they were French Huguenots. During the persecution of the Protestants from Charles the Ninth to Louis the Thirteenth, when the Protestant power was crushed by the influence of Cardinal Richelieu, the family fled to Scotland and there took the name of Boies. Subsequently, amidst the convulsions which followed the reign of Cromwell, they went to Ireland. The first David Boies was born there during the siege of Londonderry. He came to this country about 1727, settled in Hopkinton, and afterward removed to Blandford. (History of Blandford, Mass., Gibbs, 1850.) The Boies family in its migration from Blandford moved first to New York state and then to the middle West. Their residence in the middle West has been principally in Illinois and Iowa. Many members of the family have been clergymen, lawyers, or physicians. The late Horace Boies, former Governor of Iowa and once candidate for the Presidential nomination, was the best known member of the Western branch of the family.
THE NYE FAMILY IN BLANDFORD
James Nye was a pioneer. In April, 1805, with his wife and 11 children, his goods and chattels on an ox sled, the single horse hitched ahead ridden by his son, Dennis, not yet eight years of age, James migrated from Charleston, R. I., and settled on North Street on the brow of the hill just beyond the Leonard Mason home. As the family tree grew, 26 voters, out of a total of 125 in town, were said to be Nyes. But the pioneer spirit still prevailed and today further migration coupled with much smaller families has reduced male Nye voters to 2, Albert H. (James, Clark, Lewis) and Edmund R. (James, Clark, Lewis, Albert). Intermarriage of Nye daughters with a score or more families of other names continues to maintain a due portion of Nye blood in the veins of many a Blandford household. One direct daughter, P. Beatrice (Nye) O'Brien (James, Randall, James), now resides but a short half mile south of our pioneer home in the Mountain View House, where her maternal grandparents, the Levi Tiffany's, lived for many years. The Tiffany-Nye-O'Brien house has sturdily withstood the bleak winds of the hilltop since erection in 1825.
James Nye was a pioneer. In April, 1805, with his wife and 11 children, his goods and chattels on an ox sled, the single horse hitched ahead ridden by his son, Dennis, not yet eight years of age, James migrated from Charleston, R. I., and settled on North Street on the brow of the hill just beyond the Leonard Mason home. As the family tree grew, 26 voters, out of a total of 125 in town, were said to be Nyes. But the pioneer spirit still prevailed and today further migration coupled with much smaller families has reduced male Nye voters to 2, Albert H. (James, Clark, Lewis) and Edmund R. (James, Clark, Lewis, Albert). Intermarriage of Nye daughters with a score or more families of other names continues to maintain a due portion of Nye blood in the veins of many a Blandford household. One direct daughter, P. Beatrice (Nye) O'Brien (James, Randall, James), now resides but a short half mile south of our pioneer home in the Mountain View House, where her maternal grandparents, the Levi Tiffany's, lived for many years. The Tiffany-Nye-O'Brien house has sturdily withstood the bleak winds of the hilltop since erection in 1825.
HATCH
Among the influential men who took an important part in the settlement of Blandford was Timothy Hatch, a direct descendant of Thomas Hatch who settled in Dorchester in 1634. Timothy Hatch came to Blandford in 1781 and purchased a piece of land and built his house. Being a man with a fine sense of honor, great energy, and perseverance, together with a cultivated mind, he became prominent in public affairs. He was the first postmaster of Blandford. He was also moderator of public assemblies, several times selectman, and was known as an inn-keeper and merchant.
Among the influential men who took an important part in the settlement of Blandford was Timothy Hatch, a direct descendant of Thomas Hatch who settled in Dorchester in 1634. Timothy Hatch came to Blandford in 1781 and purchased a piece of land and built his house. Being a man with a fine sense of honor, great energy, and perseverance, together with a cultivated mind, he became prominent in public affairs. He was the first postmaster of Blandford. He was also moderator of public assemblies, several times selectman, and was known as an inn-keeper and merchant.
CLIFFORD R. RIPLEY
Tax Collector and Treasurer, was born in Blandford, June 14, 1874. Was educated in the public schools of Blandford. For many years has taken a keen interest in town affairs, holding at various times about every town office. Is secretary and treasurer of the Union Agricultural Society, and a Past Master of the Grange.
Tax Collector and Treasurer, was born in Blandford, June 14, 1874. Was educated in the public schools of Blandford. For many years has taken a keen interest in town affairs, holding at various times about every town office. Is secretary and treasurer of the Union Agricultural Society, and a Past Master of the Grange.
JEDEDIAH SMITH
the eldest in a family of ten children of Ebenezer and Christiana Smith. of Suffield, Conn., and grandson of Ebenezer and Sarah (Huxley) Smith of Hadley, Mass., and Suffield, was born in that town (while it was still a part of Massachusetts) on January 31st, 1726 or 1727. He studied theology and was ordained on Dec. 1st, 1756, as a pastor of the First Church in Granville, Mass. is described as a man of remarkable piety, pleasantness, and affability, and an evangelical preacher. His views subsequently became "Stoddardean" and excited the opposition of many members of his church. He was dismissed April 16th, 1776. He was not in sympathy with the Revolutionary cause, so was therefore easily prevailed upon by Thaddeus Lyman to emigrate to the Mississippi Territory. He was accompanied by his wife and nine children. The eldest child, Jedediah Smith, Jr., remained and for a number of years was judge of the District Court in Blandford, Mass. He is buried in the Old Blandford Cemetery. Jedediah Smith, Sr., died in Natchez, Mississippi, Sept. 2nd, 1776, and was buried on the banks of the river at a point which was subsequently swept away. Charlotte Smith, daughter of Philitus Smith, the sixth child of Jedediah Smith, Sr., married Nathaniel Hog. gatt Jan. 17th, 1808, in Adams County, Miss. To this couple were born seven children, Philip, John, Nathaniel, Charlotte Smith, Anthony, Sarah, and Agnes. Charlotte Smith Hoggatt, the fourth child, married Oct. 29th, 1840, Gerard Brandon, son of Gerard C. Brandon, Governor of Mississippi, in 1827. Anthony Hoggatt, son of Nathaniel Hoggatt and Charlotte Smith, married Aug. 24th, 1844, Martha Ann Robards. They had seven children. Nathaniel Hoggatt, son of the above, married Natalie Mary Ann Robertson in Vicksburg, Miss., and had issue, Phil, Sallie, Nathaniel, Charlotte, Ella, May, Nellie Routh, and John Stacey. Nathaniel, the third child, married Eva May Conway. They had four children, Nathaniel, Eva May, Martha Rebecca, and Conway.
the eldest in a family of ten children of Ebenezer and Christiana Smith. of Suffield, Conn., and grandson of Ebenezer and Sarah (Huxley) Smith of Hadley, Mass., and Suffield, was born in that town (while it was still a part of Massachusetts) on January 31st, 1726 or 1727. He studied theology and was ordained on Dec. 1st, 1756, as a pastor of the First Church in Granville, Mass. is described as a man of remarkable piety, pleasantness, and affability, and an evangelical preacher. His views subsequently became "Stoddardean" and excited the opposition of many members of his church. He was dismissed April 16th, 1776. He was not in sympathy with the Revolutionary cause, so was therefore easily prevailed upon by Thaddeus Lyman to emigrate to the Mississippi Territory. He was accompanied by his wife and nine children. The eldest child, Jedediah Smith, Jr., remained and for a number of years was judge of the District Court in Blandford, Mass. He is buried in the Old Blandford Cemetery. Jedediah Smith, Sr., died in Natchez, Mississippi, Sept. 2nd, 1776, and was buried on the banks of the river at a point which was subsequently swept away. Charlotte Smith, daughter of Philitus Smith, the sixth child of Jedediah Smith, Sr., married Nathaniel Hog. gatt Jan. 17th, 1808, in Adams County, Miss. To this couple were born seven children, Philip, John, Nathaniel, Charlotte Smith, Anthony, Sarah, and Agnes. Charlotte Smith Hoggatt, the fourth child, married Oct. 29th, 1840, Gerard Brandon, son of Gerard C. Brandon, Governor of Mississippi, in 1827. Anthony Hoggatt, son of Nathaniel Hoggatt and Charlotte Smith, married Aug. 24th, 1844, Martha Ann Robards. They had seven children. Nathaniel Hoggatt, son of the above, married Natalie Mary Ann Robertson in Vicksburg, Miss., and had issue, Phil, Sallie, Nathaniel, Charlotte, Ella, May, Nellie Routh, and John Stacey. Nathaniel, the third child, married Eva May Conway. They had four children, Nathaniel, Eva May, Martha Rebecca, and Conway.
SUMNER GILBERT WOOD
Blandford's historian extraordinary was installed minister at Blandford in 1901. He is a graduate of Williams College, of New England ancestry, and of New England service to his fellow-men, having spent his active pastorates within her borders. He published "Ulster Scots and Blandford Scouts" and "The Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford, 1733-1833." It is hoped that during the Bicentennial Celebration sufficient assurance may be given Mr. Wood so that his latest book, "Homes and Habits of Ancient Blandford," may be printed without personal loss to the author.
Blandford's historian extraordinary was installed minister at Blandford in 1901. He is a graduate of Williams College, of New England ancestry, and of New England service to his fellow-men, having spent his active pastorates within her borders. He published "Ulster Scots and Blandford Scouts" and "The Taverns and Turnpikes of Blandford, 1733-1833." It is hoped that during the Bicentennial Celebration sufficient assurance may be given Mr. Wood so that his latest book, "Homes and Habits of Ancient Blandford," may be printed without personal loss to the author.
LUTHER GIBBS SHEPARD
Born in Blandford, Berkshire County, Mass., on "No. 3" in 1823. Luther Gibbs Shepard, son of Chandler Shepard and Lois Gibbs, had all the experiences of the early pioneer. Moving with his parents, two sisters, and two brothers to Perrysburg, N. Y., in 1832, they made the three- weeks' trip on the Erie Canal. Two years later both parents died. Returning to Blandford, Luther spent one year with his grandparents, Martin and Huldah (Scott) Gibbs. In 1845 he went farther west to York, Wisconsin, buying a small farm, which at his death, in 1904, he had increased to fifteen hundred acres. His first wife died, leaving one son, Curtis. In 1864 he married Lydia Ann Wright of Perrysburg, daughter of Zina Lay and Lydia Emerjane (Cook) Wright, and great-great- granddaughter of Josiah and Miriam (Shepard) Cook of Blandford, in later years of Augusta, N.Y. The children of the second marriage were Ida (Mrs. Robert Lackey). Luther Gibbs, May (Mrs. Guy Rogers), and Jessie (Mrs. Jos. Dickson). Mrs. Shepard is living with Mrs. Dickson in Lakewood, Ohio.
Born in Blandford, Berkshire County, Mass., on "No. 3" in 1823. Luther Gibbs Shepard, son of Chandler Shepard and Lois Gibbs, had all the experiences of the early pioneer. Moving with his parents, two sisters, and two brothers to Perrysburg, N. Y., in 1832, they made the three- weeks' trip on the Erie Canal. Two years later both parents died. Returning to Blandford, Luther spent one year with his grandparents, Martin and Huldah (Scott) Gibbs. In 1845 he went farther west to York, Wisconsin, buying a small farm, which at his death, in 1904, he had increased to fifteen hundred acres. His first wife died, leaving one son, Curtis. In 1864 he married Lydia Ann Wright of Perrysburg, daughter of Zina Lay and Lydia Emerjane (Cook) Wright, and great-great- granddaughter of Josiah and Miriam (Shepard) Cook of Blandford, in later years of Augusta, N.Y. The children of the second marriage were Ida (Mrs. Robert Lackey). Luther Gibbs, May (Mrs. Guy Rogers), and Jessie (Mrs. Jos. Dickson). Mrs. Shepard is living with Mrs. Dickson in Lakewood, Ohio.
HAYDEN FAMILY
Joel Hayden came Blandford from Sutton, Mass., sometime between years 1783-1788. His grandson, Eli, married Sarah Elvira Brackett. Their son, Charles, married Ellen Henry in 1864. their children, Howard, Agnes, Warren, Harry, Myron, Donald, and Hoyt went to Connecticut. The youngest, Ralph, still resides in the old Brackett home built before 1800.
Joel Hayden came Blandford from Sutton, Mass., sometime between years 1783-1788. His grandson, Eli, married Sarah Elvira Brackett. Their son, Charles, married Ellen Henry in 1864. their children, Howard, Agnes, Warren, Harry, Myron, Donald, and Hoyt went to Connecticut. The youngest, Ralph, still resides in the old Brackett home built before 1800.
BLAIR
The name Blair is found early in Scotland, later in Ireland, where many fought in the siege of Londonderry. Among the first Blairs in America was Robert, who lived and died in Worcester, Mass. His son, Matthew, was one of the founders of Blandford and owner of two home lots. Blairs were prominent in church and town affairs. Matthew's son, Jacob, and grandson, Reuben, served in the Revolution. Samuel Oren Blair, son of Reuben, built the old house on South St. where he lived fifty years. All his children left Blandford. In the Old Cemetery are the graves of the early Blairs of Blandford, but their descendants are scattered over the country. Many are successful and famous and all are proud of their name and early New England heritage.--Written in loving memory of my father, Willis Edmund Blair (Nov. 14, 1866 - April 28, 1930), and grandfather, Judson Blair (July 19, 1835 - April 5, 1891), by Betty Blair Meserve, direct descendant of Matthew Blair.
The name Blair is found early in Scotland, later in Ireland, where many fought in the siege of Londonderry. Among the first Blairs in America was Robert, who lived and died in Worcester, Mass. His son, Matthew, was one of the founders of Blandford and owner of two home lots. Blairs were prominent in church and town affairs. Matthew's son, Jacob, and grandson, Reuben, served in the Revolution. Samuel Oren Blair, son of Reuben, built the old house on South St. where he lived fifty years. All his children left Blandford. In the Old Cemetery are the graves of the early Blairs of Blandford, but their descendants are scattered over the country. Many are successful and famous and all are proud of their name and early New England heritage.--Written in loving memory of my father, Willis Edmund Blair (Nov. 14, 1866 - April 28, 1930), and grandfather, Judson Blair (July 19, 1835 - April 5, 1891), by Betty Blair Meserve, direct descendant of Matthew Blair.