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

SPRINGFIELD, 1636-1886. 577
of Henry Smith, John Pynchon was appointed captain in Smith's place. From
tliis he rose to be the commander of the regiment of the county, which then com-
prised all the State west of Middlesex county. In this capacity he acted during
the King Philip war. In the records of that time he is commonly styled the
" Worshipful " Major Pynchon.
In 1G59 he was chosen a deputy from Springfield to the General Court, and
continued in that capacity to represent the town until 1667, when he was elected
by the court to the upper branch of the Legislature as aii assistant. He held
that office until 1686.
He was often appointed to transact important business beyond the limits of this
State. In 1664 he was one of the commissioners who represented the English
government in receiving from tlie Dutch the surrender of New Amsterdam,
Avhich then took its present name of New York.
In 1680 he was sent as a commissioner by the General Court of Massachusetts
to Albany to arrange, with the aid of the governor of New York, a treaty with
the Macquas or Mohawk Indians, to secure the people of Massachusetts from the
incursions of the Indians of that powerful tribe.
In this negotiation lie was successful. The Indians gave him a written answer
to his proposition. This answer, originally drawn in the Dutch language, was
translated into English by an interpreter, and recorded in the colony records. It
is a curious and interesting document. The Indians addressed the major as
" Brother Pynchon," and expressed their gladness at seeing him again at Albany,
as they had seen him four years before, and their resolution to keep inviolate the
treaty which they had ju^t made with him.
The General Court directed the entire paper to be recorded, and ordered " that
Maj. John Pynchon, for his great paines in his hard journey last winter to the
Macquas and concluding a peace with them, be paid £12." Often associated with
Major Pynchon were his brother-in-law, EUzur Holyoke, and Deacon Sanmel
Chapin. The three were appointed commissioners in 1652, after William Pynchon
left, to hold courts and administer justice in Springfield. They had jurisdiction
in all actions of small amount, and in the trial of criminal cases th:it " reached
not to life, limbs, or banishment," saving to the parties the right of appeal to the
Court of Assistants at Boston.
Holyoke was a native of Tamworth, in England, and came to this country with
his father, Edward Holyoke, about 1687 or 1638, and lived for a time at Rumney
]Marsli, now Chelsea. He was probably drawn to Springfield by an attachment
formed for Mary Pynchon, the daughter of WilUani and sister of John, to whom
he was married in November, 1640. She is described as a very lovely woman.
" a very glory of womanhood."