History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

172 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [1T48.
the government by which lie was employed, and thus serves
to indicate in a most emphatic manner, the true worth of
the individual. In most cases it is nearly all that remains
to the historian concerning the early settlers of any place.
Prominent though they may have been in the councils of
the community in which they lived, yet they have seldom
left upon record any thing by which to gauge their real
character or to show the governing motives of their actions.
Prominent among The biography of Joliu Stoddard, Reprethe
Leaders in seutativc to the General Court, Colonel of
and State. tlio Colouial Militia, Commander on the
western frontiers. Member of His Majesty's
Council, Commissioner to treat with the Indians, Agent to
redeem prisoners in Canada, Judge of Probate, Chief Justice
of the Court of Common Pleas, may be found on the
records of the town, the county, and in the archives of the
State. It has already to some extent been spread upon
these pages, and needs no recapitulation. His life was the
connecting link between the two series of great leaders
who controlled the affairs of Western Massachusetts for
nearly a century and three-quarters. His predecessors
were John Pynchon of Springfield, and Samuel Partridge
of Hatfield ; following him came Joseph Hawley and Caleb
Strong of Northampton, and these five men were the
leaders in the Colony, the Province and the State. From
1650 to 1819, their names are closely interwoven with the
local history of the valley, and no narrative of the formative
period of the Commonwealth, especially of its western
section, is complete without a recital of the part they performed
in establishi]ig the institutions that gave prosperity
and permanence to the whole country.
Loyal to the King. Very little can be gleaned concerning the
legislative career of Col. Stoddard. He
was a staunch supporter of royalty, and made himself obnoxious
by his i)roiiounced opinions in favor of the preroga-
tive. The spirit of liberty that finally threw off the burden
of kingly government, implanted when the first emigrants
landed on these shores, was already taking strong
hold upon the people. Many chafed under the restrictions