The History of Springfield in Massachusetts for the Young

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Do you think the silverware on the Istalena was stamped 'Pynchon & Company?'

                         "Galley slaves?" Chiclitz roars. "Never, by God. 
                         For De Mille, young fur-henchmen can't be rowing."

From: The History of Springfield in Massachusetts for the Young, 
pgs. 41 on. It's better to search for 'Pynchon' within the book.
This volume is a proper children's history of Springfield written in 
the era of "Against the Day" with an engraving of William Pynchon 
labeled 

                         'The Founder of Springfield' 

on an un-numbered page just past the title page:


  The History of Springfield in Massachusetts for the young

                  Being also in some part the history 
                     of other towns and cities in the 
                            county of Hampden

                       By Charles Henry Barrows
                                 Published By 
             The Connecticut Valley Historical Society
                                          1911

CHAPTER III. 
THE EARLY GOVERNMENT—THE PYNCHON 
FAMILY.—WITCHCRAFT.

William Pynchon was the founder of Springfield and that he was good, and wise 
and kind. We must now return to him. While John and Mary Pynchon are growing up 
to manhood and womanhood, he has remained the chief man of the plantation. 

He was the richest man in it, in fact, the only man who had any considerable 
wealth. He had the most land and the most cattle. Of the cattle, Mrs. Pynchon 
took the immediate charge, and if she was like many farmers' wives of the early 
times, she had a good many cows to milk with her own hands and some of the 
churning to do. Her husband, though a planter, was more prominently a 
merchant and had to spend much time in fur trade with the Indians and seeing to 
the importation from Boston or Europe of things that the settlers needed and 
could not make. Besides, he owned the mills which ground the corn and sawed 
the logs on Mill river. 

And then, again, he was obliged to spend much time in the public service, 
because he was the man best fitted to do it, as everybody acknowledged. He was 
the judge before whom all the people brought their disputes for trial at law. He 
was a member of the General Court, which met at Boston and made laws for the 
whole colony. He was the Commissioner of the colony to treat with the various 
tribes of Indians between the Boston settlements and those on the Hudson. It is 
a very important fact that the Indians, who, if they had been wrongfully treated 
might have caused much trouble, found in him one who would do exact justice 
between them and the whites. For fear of him as a judge, an Indian feared to 
wrong a white man and because of him and his just ways in trade they liked to 
deal with the white man. Pynchon feared no man; but he feared God and was 
a man of good will toward men. When the people met for town business it was 
he who was always chosen to preside. He lived in a wooden house on the spot 
which would now be the corner of Main and Fort streets and next north was the 
house of his trusted friend, Thomas Cooper. Posterity is fortunate in the 
existence of a portrait of him, painted from life. It is now in the Essex 
Institute, at Salem. He is the only citizen of Springfield, in its first 
century, the likeness of whose face is known. Like many good men who are 
called upon, by their high position, to do difficult things and sometimes to 
oppose the wishes of other people in doing them, there were those who 
did not understand and admire William Pynchon. But they did not live in 
Springfield. Some of them lived in Hartford. 

At a certain time, when grain was very scarce, it was necessary for the people 
of Hartford, Windsor and this plantation to buy corn of the Indians. Mr. Pynchon 
was given power, by all the towns of the valley below, to buy corn for them all 
at a certain price and if he could not buy it at the price, to offer more. The 
Indians held off and would not sell at a price that was reasonable. Mr. Pynchon 
did not buy; he thought it not best that the Indians should know of the weakness 
of the colonists; and he did not wish to disturb the market price for corn, 
feeling that this would be bad, not only for his own trade with them in the 
future, but for all the colonists. He believed in suffering some present loss, 
in order to keep a lasting gain. The people of Springfield believed with him, 
but those of Hartford did not. Both towns were suffering for lack of grain, and 
the cattle were getting poor,—Mr. Pynchon's, like those of everybody else. Still 
Pynchon stood firm. He felt that the white man must be firm and self-sufficient 
in presence of the savage; and there were Indians up and down the valley who 
had done much injury to the whites in the Pequot war and might, and in fact did, 
later, do more. Connecticut had conquered the Indians with the sword, but 
Pynchon believed in the arts of peace. He believed in suffering for the sake of 
peace; in getting people to do the things they ought to or the things that one 
wants them to do, of their own free will and not by force. Springfield was more 
exposed to dangers of the Indians and to the evil results of disturbing the 
regular course of trade with them than Hartford. So Springfield and Hartford 
differed about this matter and Hartford sent up Captain Mason, a famous Indian 
fighter, with money in one hand and sword in the other, as it were. He was ready 
to give a higher price for the corn or to fight the Indians if they would not 
sell. They felt obliged to yield. Mr. Pynchon suffered many hard words from 
Hartford and Windsor about the matter, but Massachusetts stood by him, 
as especially did his own town, and in his honor the name of the plantation was 
changed from Agawam to Springfield, which was the name of his old home in 
England. In the parish church of old Springfield may be seen an ancient tablet 
bearing his name as one of the church wardens. 

After this Mr. Pynchon again found himself in difficulties with the neighboring 
colony. That colony had a fort at the mouth of the river, kept for protection 
against the Indians and Dutch, and insisted that Pynchon's boats should pay toll 
when they passed it. The tolls were to go towards its maintenance. This Mr. 
Pynchon would have been willing to do if both Massachusetts and Connecticut 
could have had control of the fort; but he did not relish the idea of taxation 
without representation, an idea against which all the colonies afterwards 
revolted and thus brought on the Revolution. So he refused to pay toll. 
Massachusetts stood by him and required a toll on Connecticut ships sailing into 
Boston harbor. Then Connecticut gave way. But now came real trouble for William 
Pynchon; for even Massachusetts, except Springfield, turned against him. 
William Pynchon was not only a man of wisdom and peace but of godliness. 
For this reason he thought and studied much on the goodness of God to his
children and the duty that they owed to Him. He loved and studied the Bible and 
had his own thoughts about it. Here in his house on Main street he wrote a book 
which he got printed in London and which gave his thoughts on these things. It 
was called "The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption." Some copies of this book 
came to America and three copies are still in existence, one of them in the 
Congregational Library in Boston. Because this book was, in some respects, 
contrary to the opinions then held, it caused much excitement, particularly in 
Boston and the neighboring towns. The General Court condemned it. By order of 
this court the book was publicly burned in Boston and its author removed from 
his position of judge at Springfield. All these unhappy results of Mr. Pynchon's 
desire to set before the world what he believed to be the truth were a serious 
blow to him. He had the best intentions and, perhaps, supposed that his 
efforts to do good would be met with a spirit of kindliness. On the other hand 
he found himself punished and in the way of continued persecution. For himself
he might have endured this. Already there had been thorns as well as roses in 
his path. Founding a settlement in the wilderness and being mainly responsible 
for its safety and happiness had not been easy. Yet he was not a man who would 
sacrifice the public's interests for his own. He apparently thought that though 
the settlement would suffer somewhat if he left it, yet, under all the 
circumstances, the responsibility had better be thrown on younger men, after 
his own leadership had become so much interfered with as, perhaps, to be an 
embarrassment to his fellow townsmen. Looking back from the long future and 
in view of the after career of his eldest son, who was early thrown upon his own 
resources, it really does seem that William Pynchon chose, for Springfield, what 
was the wisest course, in deciding to return to England, which he did in the 
year 1652. With him went his friend and minister, Mr. Moxon, and his own 
daughter Sarah, with her husband, Henry Smith. Thus ended the public career 
of one of the truly great colonial leaders, to whose character and the character 
of those whom he naturally drew about him, much of the stability and purity of 
the public and private life of Springfield has always been, and let us hope, for 
a long time to come, will be due. When Springfield learns what she owes to 
him, his statue will be seen in one of her public places. 


It was a dark day for Springfield when William Pynchon, Mr. Moxon and Henry 
Smith set out to spend the rest of their lives in England. It was the loss of 
the leaders. Other and younger men must now be called upon and it remains to be 
seen how well they would fulfill their duties. As it turned out, there were good 
men and true to do what the lost leaders had done, namely, to work together for 
the good of the town.As we look back we see that of these men, the four most 
prominent were John Pynchon, Samuel Chapin, Elizur Holyoke and 
Thomas Cooper. . . .

      . . . . he owned the mills which ground the corn and sawed the 
logs on Mill river. And then, again, he was obliged to spend much time in the 
public service, because he was the man best fitted to do it, as everybody 
acknowledged. He was the judge before whom all the people brought their 
disputes for trial at law. He was a member of the General Court, which met 
at Boston and made laws for the whole colony. He was the Commissioner 
of the colony to treat with the various tribes of Indians between the Boston 
settlements and those on the Hudson. It is a very important fact that the 
Indians, who, if they had been wrongfully treated might have caused much 
trouble, found in him one who would do exact justice between them and the 
whites. For fear of him as a judge, an Indian feared to wrong a white man 
and because of him and his just ways in trade they liked to deal with the white 
man. Pynchon feared no man; but he feared God and was a man of good will 
toward men. When the people met for town business it was he who was always 
chosen to preside. He lived in a wooden house on the spot which would now be 
the corner of Main and Fort streets and next north was the house of his trusted 
friend, Thomas Cooper. 

Posterity is fortunate in the existence of a portrait of him, painted from life. 
It is now in the Essex Institute, at Salem. He is the only citizen of 
Springfield, in its first century, the likeness of whose face is known. Like 
many good men who are called upon, by their high position, to do 
difficult things and sometimes to oppose the wishes of other people in 
doing them, there were those who did not understand and admire 
William Pynchon. . . . 

http://tinyurl.com/25ulvc


                         NEW DEVICE FOR SOUND IN CINEMA

                         October 7, 1928, Sunday
                         A NEW device which is expected to 
                         revolutionize the projection and 
                         amplification of sound is motion 
                         picture theatres was installed in 
                         the William Fox laboratories last 
                         week for a series of tests. The 
                         invention of Christian A. Volf Jr. 
                         of 366 Madison Avenue, an electrical... 
                         [ END OF FIRST PARAGRAPH ]

http://tinyurl.com/2dh65q

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