Hadley Community Day
On Tuesday July 4, 2006, The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum invites Hadley residents to Hadley Community Day. In celebration of Independence Day, free hourly tours of the home of one of Hadley's founding families will be given between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Lemonade and snacks will be served on the scenic back veranda, and visitors are invited to bring a picnic to enjoy on the museum's historic grounds.
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum provides a detailed look at the role of six generations of one family spanning more than two centuries in the Pioneer Valley. The home, built in 1752 by Moses and Elizabeth Porter and renovated and expanded between 1771 and 1799 by Charles and Elizabeth Porter Phelps, is preserved to its circa 1800 structure and interior dŽcor, composed completely of original objects, furniture and artifacts that belonged to the family. Through a tour of the house, one can see the impact of movements in American history, such as the Revolution, the abolition of slavery, and theological movements, on a single family in a rural farm town. At the Porter-Phelps-Huntington House, the evolution of a nation is seen through the eyes of one Hadley family.
Join us on July 4th to learn about the role the Phelpses, the second generation of family to live in the house, played in the Revolutionary War. Charles Phelps did not serve in the Continental Army, though he did take up arms with the Hadley militia at various points throughout the Revolution. Recruiting was difficult for the Continental Army, as many colonists were suspicious of standing armies, associating them with British tyranny. By 1776 the Massachusetts General Court had instituted a draft, as volunteers no longer provided enough soldiers. Prosperous farmers were able to send servants or slaves to serve in their stead. Caesar Phelps, one of the Phelpses' slaves enlisted for a three-year stint in the army, though we are uncertain whether it was of his own accord or through the promptings of Charles. Caesar had a disabled hand that inhibited much of his ability to labor on the farm, but his acceptance into the army illustrates the need for recruits. In a letter preserved at the Amherst College Archives, Caesar writes home to the Phelpses, complaining of the treatment by his commanding officer and the wages that had yet to be given to him.
Another man connected to the family was Major General Benjamin Lincoln. Lincoln was the great-grandfather of Hannah Dane Sargent, the wife of Frederic Dan Huntington, the fourth generation to live in the house. Lincoln was a respected Revolutionary War officer, and later proved instrumental in suppressing Shays Rebellion. After the Revolution, he became one of the founding members of the Society of Cincinnatus, a fraternal organization akin to the Freemasons formed by officers who had served in the American Revolution. It was, however, much stricter than the Freemasons, and entrance to the society could only be inherited via primogeniture. Thomas Jefferson decried the existence of the society, worried that it would create an American hereditary elite, contrary to the metaphysical egalitarian principles best espoused by Jefferson and the other Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. Though members of the society have held many high offices of government, JeffersonÕs fear has not reached fruition, as the society cannot be said to have created a hereditary elite akin to an institution such as the British aristocracy. Lincoln was the first president of the organization in Massachusetts. Twelve Chinese porcelain tea sets were made for the original twelve presidents of the society. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum possesses three pieces of LincolnÕs set. Now only seven sets are known to survive. Also on display at the museum is the tea caddy that Lincoln supposedly carried with him through the Revolution.
Two prisoners of war arrived at the Phelps farm as servants during the Revolution. As farm labor was scarce with so many men off fighting in the war, enemy captives were often doled out to colonists throughout the countryside as temporary workers. A Hessian soldier named Andries, was one such POW to arrive at the Phelps farm, who worked as a farm hand and remained with the family until his death. He brought his wife Mary to the estate, and the two of them occupied a small house of their own on the property. When Mary fell gravely ill, Elizabeth Porter Phelps cared for her in a converted chest on display in the museum.
The other POW to arrive at the Phelps farm was a Scotsman named John Morrison. Morrison was conscripted by the British to fight but by the time his ship arrived in Boston, the port was in the hands of the Americans. He was sent to the Phelps farm and became, among other things, the family gardener. Morrison remained on the estate voluntarily after the war ended and became a cherished member of the family. The beautiful garden to the north of the house was designed and cultivated by Morrison over two hundred years ago.
August 27 Marc Fromm and Beth Sperry, bluegrass gospel
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