Black History in Hampden

Black History in Hampden

1761 – 1960

A supplement to the Hampden Historical Commission Cemetery Exhibit,

Town House, Hampden, MA

February-March, 2002

INTRODUCTION

The Hampden Historical Commission has been working with the Selectmen, Cemetery Commission and Veteran’s Agent to assure that all veteran’s graves in Hampden are honored with a marker and an American flag.  We felt a series of exhibits on our Cemeteries would be a good way to call attention to both the condition and the history of our cemeteries.  The exhibits begin with Black History Month and recognize early African-American’s contributions to our Town’s history.  Often the only tangible evidence of African-Americans residence in Hampden is a cemetery stone.  We can positively state that 15 African-Americans are buried in our cemeteries.  We may yet be able to identify more grave sites.  Over the last two centuries, we believe that around 100 African-Americans called Hampden “home”.

Mysteries abound on the lives of these former residents and we herein give you some clues to solve a few of them.  Be warned!  It won’t be easy.  It will be time consuming and frustrating but also fun and should you solve a mystery, the exhilaration experienced will be your reward.

Keep in mind that Hampden was a part of Wilbraham until 1878.

C. C. Witt

M. C. Cesan

Hampden, Mass.

February, 2002

2nd Edition 2020                                                                      

Slavery in Massachusetts

1641 – 1780

1641 – Order of the General Court:  “It is ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that there shall never be any bond slavery, villenage or captivity amongst us….”

1780 – Massachusetts Constitution, Part One Section One: “All men are created free and equal, and have certain natural, essential and unalienable rights: ….”

As can be seen by the above extracts, slavery was outlawed in 1641 under colonial law and was outlawed again under the State Constitution of 1780.  In colonial days, a few of the rich and/or powerful flouted the law and owned slaves.  Three examples of slave owners in our area are John Pynchon of Springfield, Rev. Noah Merrick of Wilbraham and Rev. Steven Williams of Longmeadow1 who was himself previously captured and enslaved by American Indians at Deerfield. 

When the Massachusetts Constitution was adopted, the State really put its’ foot down – no more slavery – this time many things were different including a white and black population that was fighting for freedom from English rule.

Slavery in Hampden

Did Slavery ever exist in Hampden?  The answer may well be “yes”.  Was it widespread?  The answer is “no”. 

John Williams, the son of Rev. Steven Williams of Longmeadow mentioned above, was a resident of the South Parish of Wilbraham (now Hampden) when the following were entered in the records of the First Church of Wilbraham.

          Nov 8, 1761  “negro woman of John Williams” died in Wilbraham

          Dec 6, 1762  “negro man of John Williams” died in Wilbraham

We cannot ascertain whether these were free blacks or slaves although it appears from the wording that they were owned by John Williams.  John served in the Revolutionary War and is buried in Old Cemetery.1,2

A black man by the name of Prince Williams and his family of 5 were living free in Wilbraham in 1790 and perhaps lived in one of three houses on John Williams property near the Connecticut line in Hampden.3,4  Whether Prince and his family were “the negros of John Williams” is unknown but it seems highly likely.

To our knowledge, John Williams is the only person in Hampden to have perhaps owned slaves.

1780 – 1900

The following story from the History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts and reprinted below has one - possibly three – Hampden connections.

   In the early part of the present century a runaway slave woman from Schenectady, N.Y., came to this town, (Springfield) bringing her son, then a small boy.  She subsequently married old Jack, a negro, who is said to have been a slave in Longmeadow.  In February, 1808, her old master, Peter Van Geyseling, hearing of her whereabouts, came and arrested her.  She was arraigned before John Hooker, and, says Dr. Alfred Booth, “when asked by her master if he had not always used her well replied, ‘yes, but her mistress hadn’t’.  Old Jack cried, and Oliver B. Morris, then a young man, finding out what was going on, gave the master a sharp lecture on his conduct.”

   The case doubtless created considerable excitement in the town, as a subscription was started by the Rev. Mr. Howard, for the purpose of raising $100, for which amount Mr. Van Geyseling agreed to relinquish his title to the “property.”  Charles Howard, son of the parson, circulated the paper, the money was raised, a bill of sale given to the selectmen of the town, John Hooker, Thomas Dwight, and George Bliss, “of a negro woman, called Jenny, about thirty years of age.”  The sums subscribed were as follows:  Bezaleel Howard, Jas. Byers, Jr., Thomas Dwight and Daniel Lombard, $10 each; O.B. Morris, Ebenezer Tucker, James Byers, Mary Lyman, Daniel Bontecou, Soloman Warriner, Mrs. Worthington, Mrs. Dwight, Geo. Bliss, $5 each; William Pynchon, and Simon Negro, $2 each.  The original bill and subscription paper are in the City Library.  The master subsequently came for the boy, but he fled to the mountains in Wilbraham, where he was living with a Mr. Beebe, and the pursuit was abandoned. 5

The Oliver B. Morris in the story above later became the Judge of the Hampden County Probate Court in Springfield.

MYSTERY!  Who is the “Simon Negro” in the list of contributors to Jenny Cumfrey’s freedom?  A check through the records was made to see if any black man by the name of Simon fit the time period of the Jenny incident.  The only Simon who fit the bill age wise was Simon LaRoy who was about 41 at the time of the incident.6                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Simon LaRoy died in Hampden at the age of 66 in 1833 and is buried in Old Cemetery, Hampden.7

MYSTERY!   Who was the “Mr. Beebe” mentioned in the article above and did he live in Hampden?  Many Beebe’s lived in both Wilbraham and Hampden and it is unknown which Mr. Beebe this was.

MYSTERY!  What happened to Jenny’s son?  It is likely that he soon returned to live with Jenny and her husband Jack Williams in Springfield.  The 1810 Census lists 3 living in the household of Jack Williams.

The following paragraph from a Connecticut Valley Historical Society paper written by Henry Morris in 1881 mentions an incident that occurred in Hampden:

I could mention another instance that occurred near the close of the last century, in the neighboring town of Wilbraham (now Hampden), in which an elderly gentleman of great respectability, living near the Connecticut line, who had been an officer in the Revolutionary war, and an honored magistrate in this county, suffered a serious injury in his own house, in an ineffectual attempt to protect a colored man in his employ from being seized and dragged back to slavery in Connecticut.8                                                                                                                                    

MYSTERY!  Who was that “elderly gentleman” living near the Connecticut line?   This incident took place at 142 South Road in the late 1700’s, probably after slavery had been abolished by the Massachusetts Constitution.   John Bliss 2nd who owned 142 South Road during the late 1700’s, served in the Revolutionary War as a Colonel, served as State Rep., Senator and Judge and died in 1809 at the age of 83 in Hampden and is buried in Old Cemetery.9 He is our solution to the mystery – Carl Howlett in Early Hampden says it was Edward Morris but we don’t believe it was.  What do you think?  Which suspect would you eliminate and why?

The Rosetta Stone

Cracking the Code

Several years ago, George and Arlene Fisher loaned us some Thresher family papers, among which was a small notebook kept by Herbert H. Thresher who served as Cemetery Commissioner from 1909-1912.  The notebook contained several pages listing burials in Old Cemetery.  At the time, we had no idea why he made this list. In 2001, the Historical Commission spent weeks in Old Cemetery assessing the condition of all stones and noting whether veteran’s graves had a flag and marker.  This is when “Bert” Thresher’s list started to make sense.  We discovered that close to hundred years ago, he had walked from the north side of the cemetery to the very top of the hill on the south side, writing in the names of the interred from stones marked with initials only.  We had “cracked the code” of the Thresher notes – our own cemetery “Rosetta Stone”. 

Thresher’s list has made it possible, by using Hampden Vital Records, to indentify the graves of many of our past residents, including at least 15 African-Americans, whose final resting place had until now been a MYSTERY!

Yikes!  In 1885 the Town expended close to 10% of its Annual Budget of $6,306.00 on the African – American Andrews family.  By comparison, the entire School Budget was $1,780.00.  No wonder the Selectmen told Mr. Andrews they would “bind out” his children if he didn’t get a job! 10,11   In the 18th and 19th  century it was a common practice among the poor to send one’s children – of any race – to work at an early age on a farm, in a mill or in a store.  The children were given room, board and clothing in exchange for the work.  Many children learned a trade they pursued throughout their lives.

Martin Andrews died in 1896 and was buried at town expense in Prospect Hill Cemetery.  The Town also provided the funds for the military stone that marks his service in the Union Army during the Civil War.12  Until about 20 years ago, the area around Mr. Andrews was completely unoccupied by other graves.  Only now is that area being sold and occupied. 

We believe the “Mrs. Beavers” mentioned below was Ellen Beavers also African - American. She is buried in Old Cemetery in the 2nd  most southerly row of the cemetery.13  

1885 Town Report  page 6

                    Martin Andrews family:

          Board at R.M. Days’s                                  $361.35

          J.W. Mulrooney, carting goods from

                   Ellington                                                   5.25

          Mrs. Scripture, for furniture                                2.00

          R. M. Day, for supplies                                     11.94

          Mrs. Beavers, for nursing                                  10.00

O. Thresher, for supplies                              58.12

Sumner Smith, for supplies                             130.38

Dr. D.W. Bottum, attendance                               6.75        $585.79

Elizabeth Brown, the wife of John Brown of Springfield was employed as a domestic in Hampden at the time of her death on July 18, 1884.  “Lizzie” was 55 when she died of “congestive chills”.14 One can only wonder who she worked for.

1885 Town Report  page 7

          Elizabeth Brown (Springfield)

      E. Oakley, digging grave           $3.00

      E. G. Washburn, for coffin          8.00

      Dr. Ballard, attendance                4.00

      Clark Goodwill, hearse                3.00

      M.H. Warren, going for coffin     2.00

               20.00

The U.S. Census of 1850 lists Edwin Oakley as living in Hampden along with his wife, daughter, mother and Andrew and Lewis Whalen - all listed as black.  Property valuation of $300 with Edwin listed as a Farm Laborer.  A relative of Edwin’s mother (Cordelia (Story) Oakley) by the name of Elisha Story, a basket maker, is listed as living next door.   In 1855 Edwin Oakley was living on Main Street, Hampden, about where Gerrish Park is now.15

Edwin Oakley’s name frequently appears on the Pauper List in the late 1800’s, usually for medical expenses and final expenses.  He pulled his own weight most of his life and did many odd jobs for the town including digging graves and shoveling snow.16 Edwin died in 1903.  Below is a listing of the final expenses for Edwin’s second wife Della (Buffum) Oakley.

1893 Town Report

        Edwin Oakley:

             Francke W. Dickinson, for funeral

                furnishing for Mrs. E. Oakley               11.00

            Clark Goodwill, bringing casket                   .75

            Clark Goodwell, use of hearse                    3.00

            G.T. Ballard, medical attendance                8.00              22.75

MYSTERY!  Was “The Oakley Ballad”, a tragic poem/song written by George Fisk of Ludlow about one of the Hampden Oakley’s?17

MYSTERY!  Who was Sarah Laroy aka Sarah Le Roy?  Where did she live?  Was she married?  Did she have children? 

In some respects, the life of Sarah Laroy (c. 1772 – 1841) is a little easier to trace than most African-Americans of that period because of two legal documents in which she is the principal.  The first document, a deed dated 1813, tells us that she owned ½ an acre of land with a “joiner’s shop recently moved thereon”.  Sarah bought this property on her own from James Sisson, a joiner.  (What we would call today a finish carpenter.)  No doubt Sarah made her home in this former shop.  The deed states the property is “on the road leading from Monson to the South Parish of Wilbraham18.”  We believe this is the present day Bennett Road in Hampden.  A later deed gives a description of “the Black Sarah lot”, which is located on the south side of Bennett Road about ½ mile from the Hampden - Monson line.  The lot contains ½ an acre.  Sarah’s property was on the south side of the road and contained ½  acre.   We believe that “the Black Sarah lot” and Sarah Laroy’s lot are one in the same: however a thorough examination of other deeds would be needed to prove this. The Wilbraham tax records from 1800-1845 reveal that no property taxes were collected from either Simon or Sarah Laroy.  Perhaps her property was considered too insignificant to bother with.19

The next documents, the will and inventory of Sarah Laroy, give us more clues to understanding her life.  She left her entire estate to Clarissa Jane Sessions and appointed George Metcalf Sessions the executor of her estate.20 Clarissa and George were two children of Robert Sessions, Jr. and Charlotte (Metcalf) Sessions who lived on North Road, Hampden.  Clarissa was only 16 at the time Sarah made her will in 1837 and George was 24.21   Why did Sarah leave her estate to this young white girl?  How did she come to know Clarrisa so well?  Was Sarah a member of Hampden’s Methodist Church of which Robert Sessions, Jr. was a founder?22  Did Sarah work on the Robert Sessions Jr. farm?

Sarah’s inventory of belongings, taken after her death in 1841, shows that she owned an inordinately large amount of clothing for the time.  Perhaps she was a seamstress or perhaps many of her dresses, skirts, etc. were hand-me-downs.  She was well supplied with sheets and blankets.  The inclusion of spectacles, a Bible, watch and a clock are also of interest.  The entire inventory is what one would expect from a small holdings farmer with the exception that no animals are listed.  Sarah signed her will with “her mark” indicating she either never learned to write or some infirmity prevented her from doing so.23

 Sarah and Simon Laroy are buried in Old Cemetery, Hampden under a substantial marble stone.24     

The 20th Century

Louise (Burleigh) Davis’ childhood reminiscence of Emma “Auntie Em” Turner (1836-1920):

         “She was kind and visited the sick and took bowls of blanc mange made from seaweed.  She took me to see a black man who chopped wood for her.  He had a white cap on his head and sat up in bed.  I thought he was a wolf and ran out frightened.  He called to me but I ran away to find Red Riding Hood.”25

Howard Wilkes and his wife Rose lived at 417 Chapin Road in the early 20th century.  Howard worked for various people including Nelson Carew, Harold “Doc” Fiske and Bert Thresher doing odd jobs and later in life he did gardening for some people on North Road.  A testament to his gardening skills still exists at his late residence on Chapin Road where some of his plantings still flourish.  Rose was renowned for her delicious meals cooked in the fireplace of what is now the living room of 417 Chapin Road.  She put on meals for parties that came out from Springfield.26

________________________________________

Suggested further reading:  For the role of Hampden in the Abolition Movement, please see the typescript copy of  “Musings, Vol. 2”  by William E. Meuse, (Hampden, 2001) in the Hampden Public Library.

Notes

1.  Joseph Carvalho, III,  Black Families on Hampden County, Massachusetts, 1650-1855,                       NEHGS,1984,  pgs 163-164

 2.  J. Bruce Tingle, Military Rolls of the Outward Commons, ( Bowie, MD 2000) pg. F57

3.  Federal Census of 1790

4.  Carl C. Howlett, Early Hampden,  (Hampden, Mass., Yola Guild, 1958)  pg. 37

5.  Louis Everts, History of the Connecticut Valley, Massachusetts Vol.II, (Phila. 1879) pg.825

6.  Joseph Carvalo,III, op.cit. pg. 159

7.  Old Cemetery, Hampden, Mass.

8.  Henry Morris, Papers and proceedings of the Connecticut Valley Historical Society 1876-1881                (Springfield, Mass. 1881)

9.   J. Bruce Tingle, op.cit.  pg. F6

10. Doten, Beryle C.  Andrews Family in Hampden, typescript 1983, in the collection of the           Historical Society of the Town of Hampden, Inc.

11.  Town of Hampden, Mass. Town Report 1885

12.  Town of Hampden, Mass. Town Report

13.  Town of Hampden, Mass., Vital Records

14.  Town of Hampden, Mass., Vital Records

15.  1855 Atlas of Hampden County, Mass.  (Boston 1855)

16.  Town of Hampden, Mass. Town Reports

17.  Noon, Alfred  History of Ludlow 1774-1911 (Spfld. 1912)

18.  Hampden County Registry of Deeds, Springfield, Mass. Book 57, Page 105

19.  Wilbraham Tax Records, Town of Wilbraham, Mass.

20.  Hampden County Registry of Probate, Springfield, Mass.  Case # 6739

21.  Peck, Chauncey Vital Records of Wilbraham, Massachusetts, typescript, (Wilbraham, Mass.                1922)

22.  Carl Howlett, op. cit., pg. pg. 53

23.  Hampden County Registry of Probate, Springfield, Mass.  Case #6739

24.  Old Cemetery, Hampden, Mass.

25.  Judy Jackson, In and Around Hampden at the Turn of the Century, ms. copy, Hampden, 1973

            A.I.C. Oral History Project

26.  Personal interviews with George Fisher, Helen and Leonard Dickinson all of Hampden,          Mass., Interviewer, CC. Witt, February 2002