WHATELY. THE territory comprising this town was a part of the original grant of Hadley, from which it was separated, with Hatfield, in 1761, with which town it remained one hundred years, till its incorporation in 1771. The Rev. Rufus Wells, the first Congregational minister, was ordained here in 1771; he died in 1834, at the age of ninety. Rev. Lemuel P. Bates, a native of Blandford, Scotland, was settled as colleague with Mr. Wells in 1822; he resigned in 1832, and was succeeded by Rev. John Ferguson in 1836. There is a small Baptist church in the western part of the town. There is a considerable quantity of interval land on Connecticut river, but it is not of the first quality. The town street, which passes by the Congregational church, runs parallel with the river about two miles westward; between this street and the river there is an extensive tract of swampy land, called Whately Swamp, extending from north to south almost the entire length of the town. Westward of the street above mentioned, the township is hilly, and the soil in many places rich and fertile. In 1837, there were 3 woollen mills, which consumed 52,500 lbs. of wool, employing 36 hands, 13 males, 23 females; 57,000 yards of cloth were manufactured, valued at $37,000. The value of palm-leaf hats manufactured was $7,500; value of gimblets manufactured, $11,125; value of brooms and brushes manufactured, $6,877; value of pocket-books and wallets, $16,000; value of stone ware, $3,000. Population, 1,140. Distance, 11 miles south of Greenfield, 9 from Northampton, and 92 from Boston. HAMPDEN COUNTY. HAMPDEN County was incorporated in 1812, previous to which it formed the southern part of the old county of Hampshire. The soil is generally quite fertile and well cultivated, particularly on Connecticut river, which centrally intersects the county. There are also fine lands on Westfield river. Chicopee river and its branches afford great water power; it flows westward, and passes into the Connecticut in Springfield. Agriculture has been the principal business of the inhabitants; of late years great attention has been paid to the manufacturing business. The New Haven and Northampton canal runs through the eastern section of the county, and promises great facilities for the transportation of various articles to, and from southern markets. The Western railroad from Boston to Albany is now in progress, and will extend through the whole length of this county from east to west. A range of the Green mountains lies along the whole western border of this county, separating it from Berkshire. The Lyme range of mountains rises in the eastern part, and extends in a southerly line into Connecticut. The following is a list of the towns, which are 18 in number. The population of this county in 1820 was 28,021; in 1830, it was 31,610; in 1837, it was 33,627. BLANDFORD. THIS town was incorporated in 1741. The inhabitants to a great extent are descended from a company of emigrants, of the Presbyterian denomination, from the north of Ireland, by whom this town was originally settled. The Rev. Mr. McClenathan appears to have been the first minister; it is supposed that he was from Ireland. Joseph Patrick and James Morton appear to have been the next in order, Joseph Badger and Jonathan Keep the next. Mr. Badger was for three years a soldier in the revolutionary war. Rev. Dorus Clark was settled here in 1823, he resigned in 1835; he was succeeded by Rev. Charles J. Hinsdale, in 1836. This township is situated principally upon the eastern side of a range of the Green mountains. In this town commences the ridge of rocky hills which extend to Pittsfield, in Berkshire county. In 1837, there were in this town 1 woollen mill, with 2 sets of machinery; 13,000 yards of cloth were manufactured, valued at $18,000; 1 paper-mill, which manufactured 60 tons of paper, valued at $2,500. There were 1,535 cows; cheese manufactured, 230,000 lbs.; butter, 20,000 lbs.; value of cheese, $16,100; butter, $3,000; males employed, 200; females, 300; capital invested, $60,000. Population, 1,443. Distance, 15 miles from Springfield, and 116 from Boston. BRIMFIELD. THIS town was granted by the general court, in the year 1701, to a number of petitioners, inhabitants of Springfield. The township as originally granted was 8 miles square, and was at first designated by the "Plantation adjoining Springfield;" but the committee, for the sake of convenience, as stated in the records, soon gave it the name of Brimfield. The first grants of land were made in December, 1701, to 13 persons. Very little seems to have been done towards the settlement of the place for a considerable time, owing probably to the embarrassments occasioned by the war with the French and Indians. In 1717, the proprietors' committee petitioned for an extension of the township 3 miles further east, which was granted. After this the settlement progressed rapidly. Among the early settlers who came from Springfield are found the names of Sherman, Lombard, Pynchon, Hitchcock Brooks, Morgan, Burt, Charles, Collins, Keep, Scott, Stebbins, Warriner, Nichols, Graves and Bliss. The Thomson family came from Woburn, and the Blodget and Russel families from Lexington. The first family which settled in Brimfield was of the name of Hitchcock, in 1714 or 1715. The principal settlers were from Springfield. The town was incorporated in 1730, and included within its original limits the towns of Monson, Wales, and Holland. In 1722, a meeting-house, 45 feet by 40, was erected, and stood more than eighty years. The records of the church were burnt in 1748, and some early interesting facts cannot now be ascertained. Rev. Richard Treat, the first minister, (a native of Milford, Conn.) was probably ordained in 1725; his successor, Rev. James Bridgham, was settled in 1736; the next minister was Rev. Nehemiah Williams, who continued in the ministry nearly twenty-two years, and died in 1796, aged 47. Rev. Clark Brown, his successor, was dismissed in 1803, agreeably to his own request. Rev. Warren Fay, D. D., was settled here in 1808, and remained two years and eight months; Rev. Joseph Vaill and Rev. Joseph Fuller have been the succeeding ministers. Most of the people of Brimfield, from its first settlement, have continued of one religious denomination. The above is a south-eastern view of the central part of the village of Brimfield, which consists of about 40 dwelling-houses, a number of stores and mechanic shops. The manufacture of boots and shoes is an important branch of business in this place. A few rods south of the Congregational church, seen in the engraving, was the residence of Gen. Eaton, celebrated for his daring Notice of Brimfield in the "American Quarterly Register," vol. x, by B. B. Edwards. Mr. Edwards has drawn up a full list of all the Congregational minis ters in the old county of Hampshire, with historical notices, evidently with much labor and accuracy, and the author of this work would here express his obligations to that valuable publication for much historical information. expedition through the deserts of Barca, in Africa. This town contains much good land, and is finely watered by Chicopee and Quinebaug rivers. In 1837, there were 10,000 pairs of boots and 36,000 pairs of shoes manufactured in this town, the value of which was $58,650; males employed, 125; females, 50. There were 12,780 palm-leaf hats manufactured, valued at $5,112. There was 1 cotton mill, with 1,332 spindles; 230,000 yards of cloth were manufactured, valued at $19,500. Distance, 19 miles from Springfield, 25 miles south-west of Worcester, and 70 from Boston. Population, 1,518. Gen. William Eaton spent the last years of his life in this town, where he died and was buried. He was born in Woodstock, Conn., Feb. 23, 1764. "At a very early period he disclosed strong indications of intellectual vigor, and of mental eccentricity. At the age of about 16 years, without the knowledge or consent of his parents, he went from home and enlisted into the army. This was in 1780, near the close of the revolutionary war; and young Eaton continued in the army until the close of the war, a considerable part of the time in the humble station of a private soldier; but he attained the rank of a sergeant. After the peace, in 1784, he commenced the study of the Latin language, and the year after was admitted a member of Dartmouth college, where he graduated in 1790, the period of his collegiate life having been protracted, from the circumstance of his having devoted a portion of his time to school-keeping, which his want of pecuniary resources rendered necessary. "In October, 1791, he was chosen clerk of the house of delegates of Vermont, residing at that time in the town of Windsor, where he had been engaged in schoolkeeping. In March, 1792, he was appointed a captain in the army of the United States; and whilst in this situation, he performed various services upon the western and southern frontiers. He continued in the army until 1797, when he was appointed consul to Tunis. He continued in this difficult (and it may be added, perilous) situa. tion until 1803, during which period he discharged the consular functions with great firmness and ability. In 1804, Gen. Eaton returned to America and visited Washing. ton, where he disclosed the famous enterprise which he had planned to restore the ex-bashaw of Tripoli, and having obtained the sanction of government, he embarked in July of the same year, in the Argus sloop of war, with the intention of engaging in this bold and hazardous undertaking, and arrived at Alexandria, in Egypt, on the 25th of November following. From Alexandria he proceeded to Cairo, where he found the ex-bashaw, who approved of the enterprise, and after having made suitable arrange. ments, and recruited about 500 men, (100 of which only were Christians,) it was determined by Eaton and the ex-bashaw to cross the desert and seize the province and city of Derne. After a difficult and fatiguing journey, through a dreary desert, presenting innumerable obstacles, they arrived within the province of Derne, and soon attacked and captured the city, having the assistance of the Hornet sloop of war. The boldness and desperate bravery of Gen. Eaton and his little party alarmed the reigning bashaw and his barbarian subjects, who almost thought they were something more than human beings; but the progress of Gen. Eaton was arrested by a peace which the American consul concluded with the bashaw. After this, Gen. Eaton returned to his native country, and was every where received with the most distin. guished applause, the grateful tribute of patriotic and heroic achievements. "Gen. Eaton was a very extraordinary character; he possessed much original genius, was bold in his conceptions, ardent in his passions, determined in his resolu tions, and indefatigably persevering in his conduct. He possessed considerable lite rary acquirements, and the style of his writings was characteristic of his mind; bold, energetic, and decisive. His courage was equalled only by his resolution; and the boldness of his enterprises, by his ability and perseverance to execute them." His majesty the king of Denmark presented him with an elegant * Pease and Niles' Gazetteer of Connecticut. acknowledgment, in a gold box, of services he rendered several captured Danes at Tunis, and he also received from Massachusetts the gift of 10,000 acres of land, in token of the respect in which his talents and services were held by that state. Epitaphs copied from the burying-yard in Brimfield. This is erected as a faint expression of filial respect; and to mark the spot where repose the remains of GEN. WILLIAM EATON, who died June 1st, 1811, Æ. 47. In memory of Stephen Pynchon, Esq., who died Feb. 5, 1828, E. 55. CHESTER. THIS town was incorporated in 1765. The Rev. Aaron Bascom and Samuel M. Emerson appear to have been the first ministers. Rev. Rufus Pomeroy was settled here in 1819; he resigned in 1827, and was succeeded by Rev. Saul Clark in 1829. Mr. Clark was succeeded by Rev. Alanson Alvord, in 1834. The above is a southern view of Chester village, situated in the south-eastern corner of the town of Chester. This place is situated at the corners of four towns, viz. Chester, Blandford, Norwich, and Montgomery. The Methodist church seen in the engraving stands on the line between the towns of Chester and Blandford; the house on the left is in Blandford. This little village, consisting at present [1838] of about 15 dwelling-houses, a cotton factory, and some other buildings, is situated in the gorge through which the Westfield river passes. The route of the Western railroad is laid out through the village. Part of the mountainous elevation seen in the back ground is within the limits of |