The Descendants of William Horatio and Eliza (Hanchett) Wyman of Blandford Massachusetts
According to family tradition, William Horatio Wyman ran away from home at ten years old and travelled over 100 miles to Westfield, Massachusetts where he apprenticed with blacksmith Moses Hanchett. He served his apprenticeship successfully, married Eliza, the blacksmith’s daughter, and they moved to Blandford where he opened his own blacksmithing business. The shop began around 1840 and was continued by Horatio’s son, William and then grandson, Ernest. With the advent of the automobile, the shop eventually closed and was torn down in 1923. To this day there are still Wymans living on the street where Horatio’s blacksmith shop was located. Descended from a runaway who wanted no contact with his family after he left, the Wymans have become a close family who continue to gather in Blandford to share family stories and photos. Beyond genealogy, this book is a collection of some of the many anecdotes and snapshots that have been archived over the past 175 years.