OCTOBER 2005
Index:
Notes from Ashfield Gravestones
Mary Lyon in Stockbridge, New York
Remembering Ester (Smith) Green
FALL FESTIVAL OPEN HOUSE
NEW FROM THE MUSEUM STORE
CALENDAR 2006 The AHS calendar for 2006 titled "Ashfield Historical Pictures" features scenes of Ashfield copied digitally by our President, Dr. Norman Pike, from postcards and other photos in our archival collection. Some were taken by Maude Dodge or the Howes Brothers and some by unknown photographers.
The 2006 calendar will be on sale at the AHS museum store during Fall Festival weekend for $10, tax included. After Fall Festival the calendar will be available at either Ashfield Hardware or Neighbors or it can be ordered from our website for $10 plus a $4 shipping charge.
POTTERY BOOK On August 28th David Graci signed copies of his book, Thomas Crafts Pottery & The Ashfield Adventure. In the foreward Peter E. Schriber writes, "David Graci has produced a well-written and well-documented book on the two western Massachusetts potteries [Whately and Ashfield]. We finally have a good description of the ware that these potteries produced and the master potters that were responsible
a fascinating history of two of the most influential pottery families of New England and New York that thrived in the period from 1797 to nearly 1860: the Orcutts and the Crafts. This book is close to being the definitive work on the Whately and Ashfield potteries
identifying and correcting the past mistakes and wrong conjectures of earlier writers, and adding much new information." David Graci says in his introduction, "The main participants in the history of the Whately pottery enterprise are Thomas Crafts and his extended family and many of his work force, which moved to Ashfield, engaging in pottery operations there
the first participant to be mistakenly identified by previous writers is Mr. David Belding, or the three gentlemen with this name
"
One David Belding, potter, was born July 13, 1796 to John and Priscilla (Wait) Belding. He and his wife lived in Ashfield for 26 years. He died Sept. 2, 1865 at age 69. The other David Belding, potter, was born March 7, 1813 to Elisha and Abigail (Kellogg) Belding. He died at age 41 on Sept. 10, 1854. "Past historians have confused events and assumed that only one individual existed
. Another case of mistaken identity involves John Guilford, of Ashfield, who was an investor in the Ashfield pottery, not John Luther Guilford, labeled by all previous writers as the first man." David Graci explains in detail the history of these men, the Craft and Orcutt family potters, as well as others who worked with them. He has illustrated the 76+ pages of his book with many excellent photos of both Ashfield and Whately pottery. For anyone who owns and/or loves pottery, this is a "must-own" book.
David Graci's book is for sale at the AHS museum store for $22 plus tax. Or you can place an order through our website by e-mailing our curator. There is an extra charge for shipping.
RECENT GIFTS TO THE MUSEUM We sincerely thank all those who have donated items to our museum collection in 2005. We have received the following:
ANNUAL MEETING
The annual meeting of AHS members was held on September 12th.
PRESIDENT'S REPORT: Dr. Norman B. Pike As president I welcome you all to the 35th Annual Meeting of the Ashfield Historical Society. This last year has shown that the Historical Society of Ashfield is continuing to make the Pioneer Valley aware of our Museum. The semiannual newsletter has kept you aware of our endeavors.
Grace Lesure is a spark plug as a curator and a shaker and mover for the Museum. She and the other trustees, who exhibit the same qualities, have made improvements that continue to make the AHS museum a showplace in Ashfield. We have made changes and improvements in the store, the exhibit rooms downstairs and upstairs, and especially in the Ashfield Schools Room. As President I am very proud of the abilities and work of all our Trustees and Officers.
The Howes Brothers' photo collection continues to help financially, but we depend on and are grateful for the generosity of our members and other donors who help keep the Museum open and operating.
CURATOR'S REPORT: Grace Lesure
During the winter months I worked at home transcribing several of the tapes from our oral history program. There are still quite a few to transcribe; this will be another winter project.
Our first visitors of the year were from the Storrowtown Museum in West Springfield. A bus arrived with about 40 people and they spent an hour touring our museum.
In May teachers from Sanderson Academy spent an afternoon at the Museum getting ideas for a program they will be working on during the coming school year with their students.
In July we held an ice cream social for the Sanderson Academy Alumni and their guests. We served approximately 80 people and the museum was filled with visitors. Fred Scott signed his family history book on that day.
In August David Graci, author of a new pottery book, Thomas Crafts Pottery & The Ashfield Adventure, had a book signing. The Thayer family had their family reunion and came to tour the museum.
We continue to have many inquiries regarding genealogy. Nancy Gray Garvin, Carol Booker and Alden Gray have been a great resource to many people looking for information.
Norman Pike handles the Howes Brothers photo orders and has been very busy this year.
Several volunteers helped with spring-cleaning, the museum exhibits have been changed and several new items have been added to the collection.
I will close by saying thank you to a wonderful group of volunteers who keep the Ashfield Historical Society moving forward. People who visit from near and far are amazed at the size of the collection and always remark on what a wonderful treasure we have.
TREASURER'S REPORT: Marilyn Bobetsky
For the fiscal year ending 31 Aug. 2005 the total income from membership and other donations, museum sales, Howes Brothers photo sales and interest was $9,850.09. The total expenditures for building maintenance, insurance, web page, office supplies, postage, printing expenses and CPA services were $9,198.19 leaving a net income of $651.90.
MEMBERSHIP REPORT: Nancy Gray Garvin
For the fiscal year ending August 31, 2005 we had 100 new or renewed annual memberships for a total of 142 annual members. The total income from these annual memberships was $2655.00. There were 46 non-renewed memberships. It is hoped that many of these will be renewed during the next fiscal year. We are grateful to all that have helped us this year.
We have not offered life memberships for some time; several of our life members have died this year. At present we have 77 life memberships for a total of 93 people.
In summary, as of 31 August 2005 there were 177 AHS memberships for a total of 235 people.
ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND TRUSTEES: The following slate of officers and trustees for 2005-2006 were nominated and elected:
President - Dr. Norman Bronson Pike
Vice-president - Alden Gray
Secretary - Seth Cranston
Treasurer - Marilyn Bobetsky
Trustees: NOTES FROM ASHFIELD GRAVESTONES
Nancy Gray Garvin and Carol Booker
We have finished reading and recording all the gravestone inscriptions for the ten Ashfield cemeteries with existing gravestones. Our project included: researching maiden names and/or other married names; checking vital records and other sources to confirm the accuracy of the dates we read; identifying some of the individuals whose graves are marked by a stone with no inscription; identifying the possible burial site of people who have no gravestone, but are mentioned in primary or secondary sources as buried in Ashfield; identifying those who served in the military.
We have cited each of our sources which include town and/or city vital records, census records, newspaper articles or obituaries, and family histories. We have indexed all the names for each cemetery. Soon we will begin working with David King, AHS webmaster, to put the Ashfield gravestones on the AHS website at www.ashfieldmuseum.org.
Gravestones are not primary genealogical sources since the information may be incorrect. Peter Wells' date of death is given on the monument in Northwest Cemetery as 1829, but both the Congregational Church record and his newspaper obituary give his death date as Jan. 1832. In Hill Cemetery the monument for Job Lilly gives his death date as 1881, but his obituary says he died in 1889. Transcriptions of gravestones should be checked against vital records. Especially difficult to read is the number '4' which is often mistaken for a '1.' The numbers '3' and '5' or '3' and '8' are sometimes read for the other. The number '6' can be mistaken for a '0' and vice versa.
Some common words found on early gravestones include: "AEt." or "AE." for aetatis, the Latin word for age or lifetime. A woman who was a "consort" died before her husband. A "relict" was a widow. Often the engraver used '' in place of 's.' In Baptist Corner Cemetery Hannah (Richmond) Mallory, died in 1818 "AEt 50" the "Amiable Consort" of Mr. Niram Mallory. Mr. Aaron Lyon died Dec. 21t 1802. He was "a loving hu band
a faithful on."
We have found many interesting epitaphs on both signed and unsigned stones, such as the epitaph in Hill Cemetery for Capt. Lot Hall: Man that is born of a woman is of few days and full of trouble. The tall, marble stone of Mary (Drake) Fisk says (in part): I would not have when I am dead, Marble in monumental pride, Telling, while rising o'er my head, How well I lived, how peaceful died
In Spruce Corner Cemetery the epitaph for Mary (Eldredge) Clothier, who died at the age of 19 leaving behind an eight-month-old daughter, says (in part):
My infant daughter left behind, My God direct her youthful mind. Oh! teach her how to be a guest, Where her dear mother's spirit rests.
In Plain Cemetery Dr. Charles Knowlton, had the following admonishment carved on the stone of his son, Stephen, who died at age 20: Reader, if your friend breaths too frequently, however mild the other symptoms, rest not easy under the fallacious idea that it is nothing but a cold.
Simeon Wait gravestone Wait Private Cemetery
Hattie Beals died in 1863 at age 1 year, 9 months
Spruce Corner Cemetery Many of the stones are works of art, carved with elaborate lettering and/or meaningful symbols. The Simeon Wait stone in the Wait Private Cemetery has an urn (death of the flesh) between two columns (complete and full life, passageway into the next life) under a drooping willow tree (mourning and earthly sorrow). In the corners are rosettes (circles for eternity, completeness), and scallop shells (resurrection; pilgrim's journey through life). Across the bottom of the inscription are drapery and tassels (homelike to make the deceased feel comfortable). In Spruce Corner is a stone that reads: Little Hattie, Too pure for Earth. At the top is an angel (God's messenger) carrying a sleeping child. Children's stones often had a lamb (innocence, God's flock), flowers (resurrection) or buds (mortal life unblossomed). The stone for two infant children of Milton and Mercy (Sears) Sears in Spruce Corner has a carving of several buds. The epitaph reads: Earth's buds, and Heaven's blossoms.
ANCESTOR QUERIES
We have had the following inquiries or updates from people looking for information about their ancestors or other Ashfield people. Anyone with documented information about the following people, or who wish references for the information given here, may contact Nancy Gray Garvin. Please note that we have not authenticated any of the information printed here that we have received from other people.
If you need information about an ancestor who lived in Ashfield, we are happy to try and help. We don't charge for this service, but we appreciate a donation to the Ashfield Historical Society for the time we spend doing the research. We can search Town of Ashfield vital records, cemetery records, and tax records; and Franklin County probates and deeds. We do charge a fee for any copies that we send you.
Barnabas Alden - settled in Ashfield in the early 1800s, m. Mehitable Gould. They lived on Bug Hill Road next to Elias Wing. The house is no longer there. Son Jonathan Alden moved to French Creek, Virginia (now West Virginia) in 1816 with several other Ashfield families. He died in Lower Salem, Ohio. Some of his living descendants have the original letters written to him by his Ashfield family. At AHS we have the "Alden Family Genealogy," assembled in 1989 by Charles D. Alden of Marietta, Ohio. It contains excerpts of some of these letters, pages from the Jonathan Alden family bible, newspaper articles, and a detailed genealogy of descendants from each of Jonathan's fifteen children.
Enoch Allen, b. 1744, may have d. 1789, and his wife, Mercy/Marcy Belding Both Enoch and Marcy were born in Deerfield. Enoch was the son of Samuel and Hannah (Hawks) Allen. By 1766 Enoch and his brother, Lamberton, paid poll taxes in Ashfield, although Enoch had no property. Lamberton had land and animals, but no buildings. Their sister, Hannah Allen, died in 1768 "in ye 34th Year of her age" and was buried in the Old Cemetery section of Plain Cemetery. Lt. Samuel Allen was added to the tax list sometime between 1766 and 1772. Enoch was last listed on the Ashfield tax valuation list for 1788; widow Marcy/Mary Allen was listed until 1793. The last listing on the town valuation list for any Allens in Ashfield was for Lt. Samuel Allen in January 1795. The Allens sold their property in Ashfield and moved to Grand Isle, Vermont. There is a stone in the Grand Isle Cemetery, Vermont for an Enoch Allen, b. 27 Nov. 1744, d. 16 July 1831? (stone difficult to read) and his wife, Mercy, who d. 19 Apr. 1820, age 74. However, if the "widow Marcy Allen" was his wife, it appears that he died by 1789 was he buried in Ashfield or in Vermont?
Levi Cook and his wife, Nancy (Taylor) Jones Nancy was born in Buckland. Her first husband was Bidkar Jones of Middlefield, Mass. with whom she had a son, Philip Jones. Levi and Nancy (Taylor) (Jones) Cook are buried in Plain Cemetery.
Kilbourn Family - The following members of the Kilbourn family died tragically from a "malignant fever" within a short period of time. They lived at Steady Lane where Jacob Kilbourn had a tannery "across the road south from the schoolhouse." Jacob Kilbourn, Sr., was b. 1758 at Chatham, Conn., d. at Ashfield 21 Apr. 1813. His second wife, Hannah (Alden) Kilbourn was b. at Stafford, Conn., 1758, d. at Ashfield, 26 Jan. 1813. Their children: Anna, baptized (bpt.) 1798, d. 8 May 1813, age 23 years, 10 mos., 10 days; Jacob, Jr. b. 1791, d. 18 Apr. 1813; Hannah, b. 1795, d. 26 Feb. 1813; Ebenezer, b. 1797, d. 20 Mar. 1813. Jonathan Smith, father of Hannah (Smith) Kilbourn, first wife of Jacob, died 23 Mar. 1813 of this same disease. Other children of Jacob and Hannah, who did not die in this epidemic include: David, bpt. 1798; Jonathan, bpt. 1798; Samuel, bpt. 1799; Elijah, bpt. 1803.
It is suggested they were buried in Hill Cemetery, but, if so, their graves are unmarked. Jonathan Kilbourn's first wife, Eunice (Matthews) Kilbourn, and their infant son, Henry, d. 1833, and have a gravestone in Hill Cemetery. Were those who died in 1813 buried in this site? Hill Cemetery was not laid out until 1813, and the first recorded burial was in 1814. There was another cemetery on Creamery Road, where about thirty people were buried. The graves were unmarked and later plowed over for a mowing. It is possible this family was buried there.
Abner Rogers Family Update - We have received the following addition to the Rogers family information published in the May 2005 newsletter. Erastus Cottrell, b. 27 Aug. 1811, d. 5 Dec. 1874 at St. James, Minn., son of Gorham and Alethea (Whitmarsh) Cottrell, of Worthington, Mass. and Gorham, now Lafayette, Ohio, m. Emily Rogers. Children: Charles Joseph, Eliza Elma, Frances Amelia, Ellen Alethea Cottrell. Lucy Cottrell, b. 10 March 1820, daughter of Gorham and Alethea (Whitmarsh) Cottrell, m. (1) 1837 to James A. Rogers, b. Ashfield, Mass. Children: Lucy Maria, Mary Ann, Josephine Ophelia Rogers. James and Lucy (Cottrell) Rogers lived in Lenawee County, Mich., and Williams Co., Ohio where he d. 1846. She m. (2) George R. Joy, d. after 1888.
Reverend William Montague Ferry, (b. 1796, d. 1867) and his wife, Amanda (White) Ferry, (b. 1797, d. 1870) - Amanda White was the daughter of Thomas and Hannah (Harwood) White and a close friend of Mary Lyon. The Ferry's went to Mackinaw Mission, Michigan Territory (now Minnesota). This mission had connections to Ojibwe Mission and Red Lake Mission in Minnesota. Does anyone have information about these missions or related mission support from Franklin County in the early 1800s?
Reverend William M. Ferry AHS archives
Amanda (White) Ferry AHS archives On 15 Nov., 1871, Thos. W. Ferry sent a thank you letter form Grand Haven, Michigan, on stationery with the heading "House of Representatives, Fortieth Congress, US, Washington, D.C." to Henry S. Ranney, Esq. "Dear Sir Yours of 10th enclosing #3.00 and advising of shipment of 7 Boxes of Goods for releif [sic] of Michigan Sufferers by Fire duly recd ~ You may rest assured the articles will be carefully distributed to the needy & prove acceptable in the alleviation of suffering ~ The generous responses that come from the noble mena nd women all over the land manifested the strength of universal brotherhood ~ please accept the sincere thanks of the unfortunate through me. Very Truly, Thos. W. Ferry" -- Connections to Mary Lyon
The Ashfield Baptist Church, Stockton, N.Y.,"
And her Family's Missionaries Research by Nancy Gray
One of the AHS museum exhibits is devoted to Mary Lyon. I first became interested inMary Lyon's family whenI was researching Armilla Alden b. 1797 in Ashfield to John Alden (son of my great-great-great-grandparents, David and Lucia (Thomas) Alden) and his wife, Nancy (Gray) Alden, sister of my great-great-grandfather Jonathan Gray. IN 1812 Armilla married Aaorn Lyon, brother of Mary. IN 1830 two of Armilla's sisters, Sophronia and LUcy Thomas Alden, were students of Mary Lyon.
While researching deeds for the Lyon family in Chautauqua County, N.Y., I found Mary Lyon's will filed there in 1864 many years after her death in 1849. In her will she left "the use of all my property in his hands" to her brother and his wife during their lifetimes. On their death the property was to go to the American Board of Comissioners for Foreign Missions. I was intrigued by Mary's connection to Stockton, N.Y. and by her support of the Baptist Church foreign missions. I recently found (with the help of Grace Lesure, curator for AHS) the answer to why her will was filed in New York. And further research helped me understand the possible reason why at least three of her neices served in foreign missions and why five of her brother's eight daughters married ministers.
Aaron, b. 1789, and Mary, b. 1797, were two of the eight children bornin Buckland to Aaron and Jemima (Shepard) Lyon. Their maternal grandparents were Deacon Isaac and Jemima (Smith) Shepard. Jemima was the daughter of Chileab Smith, one of the first settlers of Ashfield. He owned the property on which the Batpist Corner cemetary is located and lived just south of the cemetery. Chileab founded the Batpist Church for Buckland, Conway and Ashfield' members of his family made up most of the early congregation. His son, Ebenezer Smith, as its first minister. His son, Eons Smith, was the second. Both were Mary's maternal great-uncles.
Aaron Lyon, father of Mary and Aaron, diedn in 1802, as did their maternal grandfather, Deacon Isaac Shepard. Their paternal grandfather, Aaron Lyon, died in 1806. All were buried in the Baptist Cemetery . Their mother married JOnathan Taylor in 1810 andmoved to Ashfield. Mary lived in Bukland wiht Aaron adn Armilla and fourn fo their children (Aaron Lyon, Nancy Alden Lyon, Lucy Thomas Lyon and Franklin Smith Lyon), until they moved to Stockton N.Y. on 1819. Serverla Ashfield families went with them -- members of the Batpist Church and relatives of Aaron and Armilla, including grandmother Jemima (Smith) Shepard. Mary was encouraged to move to N.Y. with them, but elected to stay and fulfill her goal of educating young women.
The Lyon house in Buckland as painted from memory by
Edwin R. Elmer in 1904 -- from the AHS archives
Inside the Mary Lyon House in Buckland as remembered by Emeline (elmer) Elmer (1844-1939) who was born there as was her brother, artist EdwinR. Elmer, children of Erastus and Susan (Smith) Elmer. Emeline married Ansel Chapin Elmer. From the Archives of AHS Aaron settled on the west side of Cassadaga Lake on land he had purchased from the Holland Land Co. in 1817. He built a sawmill and grsistmill on the lake and a dam to provide waterpower, but had to abandon this project after it was declared a "nuisance." People were getting ill and blaming it on the change in water levels.
In 1839 Mary Lyon visited her family in western New York. She found them on teh verge of bankruptcy, about to lose thier foarm, having een forced by illness and other misfortunes to mortgatge it. "She redeemed the farm, took the deed in her own name, gave them a life lease on the pot and on death it is bequeathed to the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions."
Much has been written about Mary Lyon's education and teaching. She taught in Shelburne Falls, Buckland and Ashfield and studied at Sanderson Academy. She went to school in Byfield, Mass. and studied with Rev. Joseph Emerson. She assisted Miss Z. P. Grant (later Mrs. Banister) at her Adams Female Academy, Derry, N. H. and at her Ipswich [Mass.] Female Seminary. All these schools had a curriculum with an emphasis on religion. Later Mary founded the Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary in South Hadley, Mass.
The outline of the plan for her seminary stated, "It is based entirely on Christian principles . . . designed to cultivate the missionary spirit among its pupils . . . The spirit of this seminary is suited not only to increase the number of educated ladies, but to enforce on them the obligation to use their talents for the good of others . . . to take any school and in any place where their services are most needed." By 1850 at least 40 members of the seminary, including nine teachers, had gone to foreign missions, including Persia, India, Ceylon and China.
Her niece, Lucy Lyon, oldest daughter of Aaron, graduated from Mt. Holyoke in 1840. She taught there until 1846 when she applied to the Baptist Board to be sent to China, unmarried, to start a school for young women. She met Edward Clemens Lord, a Baptist theology student, who was looking for a wife to go to China with him. In 1846 Mary Lyon wrote, "Perhaps you know that cousin Lucy Lyon (now Mrs. Lord) is going to China on a mission under the Baptist Board [American Baptist Missionary Union]. She and her husband are now here, making us their last visit. They sail from New York some time this month . . ." Lucy died ca 1853, probably in Ningpo, China of tetanus. Her two children died in infancy. Rev. Edward Clemens Lord then married Lucy’s sister, Freelove, who bore him four children before she died ca 1860.
One of Mary’s nieces, a missionary in India and daughter of her oldest sister, Electa (Lyon) Moore, wrote in 1850 of her aunt, "Her influence extended to all her relatives . . . [stimulating] her nephews and nieces to efforts to obtain an education . . . in her school she educated the daughters of two of her sisters and the daughters of her brother. One of the latter is now a missionary in China . . ."
Among the people with whom Mary lived were Thomas White, Esq. and his wife, Hannah, in Ashfield. Squire White was the adminstrator of her father’s estate. "He loved to see woman educated, and he freely gave her counsel, sympathy, influence and often a charming home . . . With it came also the gentle . . . influence of a highly-cultivated, sensitive, intelligent lady, the wife of Mr. White . . ." Mary attended the school in Byfield with her friend, Amanda White, with the help and encouragement of the White family. Amanda (White) Ferry and her husband, Rev. William Ferry, worked as missionaries in Mackinaw, Michigan Territory. Hannah White, Amanda's sister, helped Mary Lyon with her teaching in Buckland.
Esquire Thomas White - AHS archives
Mrs. Hannah (Harwood) White - AHS archives When Thomas White and his wife died within months of each other in 1848, Mary Lyon wrote to their daughter, Hannah, "Allow me to say that in the bereavements through which you have passed, I too have felt that I had lost a father and a mother . . . With what a cheering face he [your father] would ask me to come directly to his house from the stage, and depend on him to carry me to see my dear mother . . ."
Notes: From the Archives of AHS - Edward Hitchcock et al., compilers, The Power of Christian Benevolence Illustrated in The Life and Labors of Mary Lyon (Northampton, Mass.:
Hopkins, Bridgman, and Company, 1851), 212-213, 346, 357, 382, and (New York: American Tract Society, 1858), 317-318; Ellis, Biographical Sketches of Richard Ellis . . . (Detroit: 1888); Mary Lyon folder, Ascession #1505 and #1506 and AHS photo file # Also Elizabeth Alden Green, Mary Lyon and Mt. Holyoke, Opening the Gates (Hanover, N. Y.: University Press, 1979), 210, 233-234, 263; Kendrick, History of Buckland, Mass.(The Town: 1937); Alden, The Story of a Pilgrim Family (Boston: 1889); Will of Mary Lyon, Office of the County
Clerk, Mayville, Chautauqua County, N. Y., 102 (1864): 158-160; Will of Rev. Edward Clemens Lord, Surrogate Court, Chautauqua County, N. Y., Will Book 9 (1885): 167.
REMEMBERING ESTHER (SMITH) GREEN
ESTHER (SMITH) GREEN, widow of Clarence Green, died recently in Greenfield, at the age of 97, and was buried in Plain Cemetery. She grew up in the Apple Valley section of Ashfield on Smith Road in the house now owned by Rev. Addison Hall, son of Richard and Mary (Curtis) Hall. Helen Hall and Ruth Craft interviewed Esther Green at her home in Greenfield on 1 May 1996 as part of the Oral History Project. Some excerpts follow:
Watson sugar eats . . . which everyone enjoyed. Sugar on snow and pickles . . . I went to movies in the Town Hall and Alice Hunter played the piano.
My years at Sanderson were good ones. There was an agricultural class taught by Cliff Scott, chemistry lab, Latin and French classes, algebra and geometry. I’d go to school with my cousin, Frances Hall, and put the horse in the barn next door . . . Mrs. Bates owned it . . . there were three or four others who had stalls there . . . Debates in high school resolved that the hen came before the egg and resolved that the common pin is more useful than the safety pin . . . Carol Anderson and Frances Hall started the school paper, The Academy Bell.
My mother was a very talented woman. She directed the Congregational Church choir for years. Also put on minstrel shows. I remember being the Statue of Liberty in one . . . they would be banned today because the end men were blacked up and played jokes on each other. They
were very well received. She had one of the first cars in town - a Regal bought in 1911. She fixed flat tires, fixed inner tubes . . . Dad was not mechanical and never learned to drive. He loved horses and oxen, did all his work in the woods and fields with them. Note: Esther’s mother died in 1925 when Esther was sixteen. Her father died two years later. Her cousin, Frances Hall, born one month after Esther, was the sister of Addison Hall, Margaret (Hall) Cole, Richard Hall and Mary Priscilla (Hall) Howes, children of Lucius S. and Belle (Smith) Hall. - Ashfield Historical Society and
Town of Ashfield Collaboration
Ashfield Town HIstory: Writing the Third Volume The Ashfield Town History Organizing Committee, chaired by Susan Todd, has been working on a set of charges from the Select Board. These include a mission statement, book organization, ethical guidelines, research and writing guidelines, an organizational flow chart, communication and publicity, publishing options and sources of funding.
The Select Board, which will hold the copyright, will appoint an Oversight Committee to oversee the actual research, writing and publication of this book. Ashfield Town Records Preservation - It is an awesome experience to view original town records, such as those written by the proprietors’ clerks more than 250 years ago. These records are stored in the vault at the town clerk’s office, as are many other irreplaceable, original records of the people of our town. At a recent meeting the AHS Board of Trustees voted to work with Maryellen Cranston, Town Clerk, to help preserve town records and to accept donations for this project.
The
2005 summer issue of NEHGS (New Eng-land Historic Genealogical Society) New England Ancestors magazine has an article about their New England Town Records Project. The NEHGS library in Boston has one of the best genealogical collections in the world and an extensive online database for use by its members.
The article discusses a pilot project in several eastern Massachusetts towns "that
would become a model for preserving records in New England." All the early records under the purview of the town clerk and/or in historical societies or private hands were copied onto microfilm and digitized, except records previously copied by the LDS. "This unique under-taking will identify, preserve and make accessible various kinds of historical manuscripts of special use to genealogists that still exist only in unpublished form . . ." It identified sources of records previously unknown to the researching public. Each town received a complete copy of all the films - "dozens of reels."
We contacted Dick Eastman, Director of this Special Project and Ralph Crandall, Executive Direc-tor of NEHGS. They came to Ashfield in August and viewed the records in the Town Hall and at AHS.
Digitizing will relieve the wear and tear on our books, but it does not preserve the original records, some of which are in varying states of disrepair. The process of preserving these records was begun by former town clerk, Eleanor Ward. At the May annual town meeting the voters approved an expenditure of $2500 to continue the archival process of restoring and maintaining the original records. An anonymous donor gave an additional $900 to this project, but the total cost will be thousands of dollars more.
It is the goal of our committee to continue the preservation of our town records. We need to find sources of money. And we need to find volunteers who are interested in working on this project.
There will be an informational meeting on Thursday, Oct. 13th at 7PM at the Town Hall for those interested in the Town REcords Preservation Project. If you can help, please phone or e-mail Maryellen Cranston, Town Clerk, 413-628-4441.
As part of this project, AHS is looking for unpublished Ashfield family histories, Bibles, Family photographs or other documents that family members or researchers would be willing to have copied. If you have material to share with us, please call or e-mail Nancy Gray Garvin, 413-625-6234. Howes Brothers' Collection Update
Dr. Norman B. Pike
The newspaper articles published in the spring by the West County News and the Springfield Republican about the Howes Brothers’ photographic negative glass plates has stirred a lot of interest in western Mass. and Connecticut. People are realizing the potential of this historical treasure that features pictures of houses, people, agriculture and industry of the late 1800s and early 1900s in the Pioneer Valley. Only about 40% of the 23,000 plates in this collection have been identified as to the town in which they were taken.
Many Historical Societies have asked for small pictures, or "thumbnails," of their towns. These are invaluable for updating addresses and for individuals to choose a Howes Brothers’ print to order. We can show the photos as either a powerpoint or slide presentation and/or we can produce calendars for sale to individual Historical Societies.
The use of digital photography can transform the often blemished emulsion on the plate to its original form. We hope that with this digitalization we will be able to identify more of the plates in our vault. We are blessed with this rare treasure that benefits the Ashfield Historical Society. Website Update
David King, Webmaster
We have added Ebenezer Graves’ journal for 1850-1851 to the website. Much of this young man’s journal is devoted to weather and chores (May 15: "it rained the rest of the day so we piled up the sheep manure"), but there are
fascinating glimpses of life in 1850, from churchgoing (August 18: "Sunday. Father and Addison went to Conway to the church meeting. Mother and I went on the hill to meeting and James staid at home"), to politics (November 11: Town meeting. Great rush. No choice for representative. Try again in a fortnight Friday."), to schooling (December 15, when Ebenezer was teaching at a local school: "Had to ferrule [i.e. cane] one of Church’s boys Friday"). There are glimpses of the hardships of farm life at the time, from the near death of Ebenezer’s father to the disappearance and apparent suicide of his cousin, Darwin. Even given Eb’s spare, laconic prose, it can be exciting to read.
If you have any historic Ashfield documents transcribed to electronic form, they can become part of our online historical record. Please e-mail them to David King
The AHS museum will be open from 10 AM to 3 PM both Saturday and Sunday during the weekend of October 8 and 9. Guided tours of the exhibit rooms will be conducted at 11:30 AM and 2 PM. There will be no charge for current members of AHS. Non-members will be asked for a $5 donation. Non-members who tour only the barn will be asked for a $2 donation.
The downstairs exhibit room will feature the "Literary Lions" and other famous people of Ashfield's past, including Mary Lyon. Our curator has added some new items from our storerooms and from items recently donated to the museum. They can be seen in the upstairs apartment and in the Ashfield School room.
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I was born on November 10, 1907 in the Valley View farm house. My parents were
Charles and Grace [Bronson] Smith. The farm was settled by ancestors who came in the 1700s. My grandfather was Frederick H. Smith, an enterprising agriculturist . . . In 1864 he married Priscilla Williams . . .Grandpa Smith went to Dixie [Baton Rouge, La.] . . . in 1862 [and] was
discharged on August 14, 1863. In 1864 the house was built, also a sawmill to prepare lumber for market [and] firewood which was trucked by horse to Shelburne Falls . . . In the winter we slid - good hills to do that on. My folks had a double rip, too heavy for us kids. We had one of the first Flexible Flier sleds that you could steer . . . I went to the Apple Valley School when I was seven years old. We walked summer and winter. It was our job to go to school . . . My first teacher was Bessie Kimball, then a Miss Colter and Miss Etta Howes for the rest of the eight years. We went to the Herbert Clark house each morning for a pail of drinking water. Each one had a tin cup. The school was heated with a chunk wood stove in the front of the room with a stovepipe that ran the whole length of the room. Christmas programs at school were very special. Families all came to watch and listen to singing and pieces that were spoken. Popcorn balls were another part of the celebration. Memorial Day was another special day . . . we walked to the Northwest Cemetery. I rode my beautiful black dilly horse to lead the parade carrying the big flag . . . after the parades we went back to the Town Hall for programs.
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