SERIES 1: PERSONAL FILES

The personal files of the Early Springfield Manuscripts Collection consist of those materials separated from Series 2: Subject and Town Record Files. The criterion for this separation was if the records of an individual or family consisted of ten or more documents. The folders are arranged alphabetically by name and then chronologically within each folder. The material in this series, consisting of three linear feet, is dated from 1706 to 1856 with some material undated.

The bulk of the material collected here consists of personal records such as correspondence, indentures, deeds, contracts, and bills and receipts, with a small amount of miscellaneous material.

Families included are: Adams, Ashley, Bates, Bidwell, Bowles, Breck, Bullard, Burt, Chapin, Colton, Curtiss, Dwight, Edwards, Ely, Franklin, Glover, Graves, Hale, Hitchcock, Howard, Hunt, Ingersoll, Leonard, Miller, Nash, Rand, Rowlandson, Sikes, Smith, Strong, Trumble, Warriner, Wilcox, Worthington, and White.

SERIES 2: SUBJECT AND TOWN RECORDS FILES

This series consists of all miscellaneous materials not removed to Series 1: Personal Files. The folders are arranged alphabetically by subject or town and then chronologically within each folder. The bulk of the materials collected here consists of town records, containing both personal papers and town government records. Included also is a sizable number of miscellaneous materials. These materials are contained in the folders titled Western Mass. (1703-1898; N.D.), Outside Western Mass. (1713-1891; N.D.) or Unidentified (1717-1894; N.D.). The material in this series, consisting of four-and-a-half linear feet, is dated from 1703 to 1923 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the following company and association materials: The H. J. Brewer & Company (1790s-1850s; N.D.); Indian Orchard Canal Company (1845-1851); Portersville Manufacturing Company of Agawam (1835-1845; N.D.); Union Cotton Manufacturing Company (1812-1821; N.D.); Hampden Mechanic Association (1829-1858; N.D.): Springfield Fire Club (1794-1895); and the Temperance Association of Springfield (1831-1836; N.D.).

Also of interest in this series are the materials from the U. S. Armory at Springfield containing documents regarding the return of muskets and bayonets (1798-1803) and a printed description of the Armory (N.D.). Included also in this series are Militia Records (1758-1863; N.D.), Turnpike Materials (1832; N.D.), Early Railroad materials (1829-1850), and Shays’ Rebellion materials (1763-1802; N.D.), which include the letters of William Shepard dated 20 Dec 1786 and 1 Jan 1787.

SERIES 3: OVERSIZED MATERIALS

This series contains all material that because of size or fragileness had to be removed from the regular collection. The materials included are: town government records, company records, court records, military records, personal records, and miscellaneous materials. These miscellaneous materials are filed under either Western Mass. (1730-1768), Outside Western Mass. (1715-1831), or Unidentified documents. The material, consisting of two linear feet, is dated from 1701 to 1865 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the master roll of Captain Charles Colton’s Company of the Third Massaschusetts Regiment commanded by Colonel John Greaton (1777), and the statments of the U.S. Armory at Springfield showing the cost of manufacturing and repairing muskets (1795-1865). Also of interest are samples of the types of paper produced by the D. & J. Ames Company of Springfield (N.D.), along with the patents of John Ames and Samuel Eckstein (1831-1840) pertaining to the production of paper.

The materials in this series also contain: The Court Register of Writs for Hampden County (1812-1813); a Dwight Family Genealogy (N.D.); and a document regarding the tolls for the South Hadley Canal (N.D.).

Also included in this series are the papers of Chaucey Brewer and Mary Cushing (Gay) Robinson.

SERIES 4: 17TH CENTURY MATERIAL

This series contains all materials dated before 1700. The folders are arranged in boxes according to the nature of the materials: parchment materials (1652-1696), personal materials (1639-1699), and miscellaneous materials (1648­1699). The parchment materials, consisting of deeds and indentures, are not arranged by folder due to the nature of the materials. The personal and miscellaneous materials are arranged alphabetically by (name or) subject and then chronologically within each folder. The bulk of this material consists of deeds, with a large number of miscellaneous materials. The materials in this series, consisting of two-and-a-half linear feet, is dated from 1639 to 1699 with some material undated.

Of particular interest in this series are the records of John Pynchon. These materials consist of correspondence (1662-1694; N.D.), deeds (1664-1699), and bills and receipts (1680-1693; N.D.). In addition to these materials is a bound volume of John Pynchon’s notes in shorthand on the sermons of Reverend George Moxon (1639).

Also of interest in this series is the correspondence of Joseph Pynchon regarding the burning of Springfield by Indians (1675); a document regarding an early case of sexual assault in Northampton (1656); and Chapin family deeds (1663-1672) not found in the Chapin Collection.