This slender volume tells of the origins, growth, and development of this New England town. "Painstaking effort has been made to search the town records, to scrutinize every historical document, and to weigh carefully familiar traditions."A dissenting faction of Puritans from Hartford and Wethersfield, Connecticut, purchased a strip of land situated between Mount Holyoke on the south, and Mount Toby and Mohawk Brook on the north. In 1659, these withdrawers, later named engagers, established their "Newtown" settlement in this Massachusetts wilderness. In 1661, Newtown was christened Hadleigh or Hadley.Readers are introduced to Parson John Russell Jr., Hadley's first minister; Joseph Kellogg, the first ferryman; and other early settlers. "The Angel of Hadley," Indian uprisings led by King Philip, and other conflicts between the settlers and their Native American neighbors; and the reputed witch, Mrs. Mary Webster, are also touched on, reflecting the sometimes-startling viewpoint of the times. Individual chapters are devoted to: Parson Russell's successors, including Rev. Isaac Chauncey, Rev. Chester Williams, Dr. Samuel Hopkins, and Rev. John Woodbridge; churches; schools; natural resources and economic growth; and the Old Hadley Cemetery.
Alice Morehouse Walker
(1906), 2006, 5.5" x 8.5", paper, 158 pp.
ISBN: 9780788413971
101-W1397
