Springfield 1636-1886, History of Town and City, by Mason A. Green ...

76 SPRINGFIELD, 1636-1886.
powads," which Avas paid in quarterly instalments of " wheate, pease,
porke, wampani, deptes," anil labor above the twenty-eiglit days re-
(luired of each inhabitant. Mr. Cooper had until September, 1646, to
fulfil this contract, but the last stroke was done by the March previous.
William Pynchon and Henry Smith signed in February, 1644, this
document :
—
A(;cur(Uiige to trust imposed on us, the partys uiidernamed l>y y"^ ijlantation : we
have treated w'" Thomas Stebbins and ffraneis Ball, for the purchas of a parsell
of grownd of them in theyre house lotts next the river. W"> ffraneis Ball we
have agreed for one acre of growiiil, and to give him two acres for it, in recompense,
in his second lott on the other side of the river : with Thomas Stebbines we
have agreed for one acre and an halfe, of W^'^ we have conditioned to have 2
rod in bredth to y*^^ meeting house :
aTid in recomi)ense of this acre 6^ halfe, we
agree to give liim 3 acres of land adjoyning to his third greate lott on y^ other side
of y*^^ greate river.
We do not know of any early local scene that so challenges our
curiosity and cordial sympatliy as this when the pioneers gathered in
their new house, with Mr. Pynchon sitting under the pulpit and Mr.
Moxon offering thanks ; while the voice of praise rose from a full-
hearted though small congregation. There can be counted in that mem-
orable gathering no less than sixteen men, founders of families, and
from them have come thousands of descendants, through each line of
which run the distinctive traits of mind and heart that were the mak-
ing of Springfield. It had been said at Boston and it had been said
at Hartford that the Agawam settlement would not hold out ; and it
did take nearly a decade of lonely toil to secure a footing.
Mr. Moxou's connection with the witch excitement of Springfield
has led to the erroneous conclusion tliat he was a weak and a super-
stitious person. Those who have deciphered his sermons and have
examined the meagre traces (^f his teachings come to a far different
conclusion. He was what might be called an exhaustive preacher.
He always followed out an elaborate scheme of sermonizing, covering
about all that could be said upon his subject, dividing and subdividing