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

438 SPRINOFIELD, 1636-1886.
rich and poor, whig and Jacksoniaii, were very much mixed up. It
was made none the less diverting when Bancroft, the "white kid-
glove and silk-stocking democrat " was nominated against Calhoun
for Congress.
Mr. Bancroft had been a whig but two years before. He was
what was kuowu as a Jackson federalist. Not the least inter-
esting phase of this canvass was the dragging in of Mr. Bancroft's
connection with the Masons. It will be remembered that an anti-
Masonic convention was held at Warriner's tavern on the evening of
October 14, 1834. A resolution was proposed commending Mr.
Bancroft for a letter written by him to some Northampton voters, and
asking him to take a seat in the convention and become its candidate
for Congress. Seth Flagg, the chairman, came to the front in that
canvass of 1836 in explanation thereof. He claimed Mr. Bancroft
had approached him before the convention met with resolutions
favoring his own nomination for Congress ; that Mr. Bancroft was
invited to take a seat ; that he (Flagg) presented the resolutions as
requested ; that Mr. Bancroft read amusing extracts from a book on
Free Masonry, and then withdrew ; that the next day Mr. Bancroft
complained to him (Flagg) that he had been accused of looking into
the Avindows of the Warriner tavern while the convention was in
session, and demanded of Flagg a paper to the effect that this was
not true, which he secured ; that he returned shortly with another
stronger paper for Flagg to sign, stating that the convention had
asked Bancroft to sit in the convention, had recommended him as
congressional candidate, and then reconsidered this action ; that
Flagg signed this paper with the understanding that it was not to be
circulated publicly. Mr. Flagg claimed that in spite of this state-
ment, over his own signature, the resolutions recommending Bancroft
as a candidate were not passed, but simply presented and laid on the
table. Here was a pretty complication, and caused no end of crimi-
nation and recrimination then. Mr. Bancroft certainly had the
written statement of the chairman of the convention that he was