April 1775: Longmeadow Reports

Battle of Lexington 1775 by Amos Doolittle

This week Massachusetts celebrates Patriots’ Day, a holiday commemorating the Battles of Lexington and Concord which took place on April 19, 1775, and marked the first significant military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. But what impact did “the shot heard ‘round the world'' have on the more distant Western Massachusetts towns like Longmeadow? Though Paul Revere certainly didn’t ride as far as Springfield warning of the approaching British Regulars, surrounding towns were certainly aware of what was occurring to the east of us.

We have a lens on this important time via the diary of Longmeadow’s minister, Rev. Stephen Williams. Interestingly, April 19th, 1775 is only noteworthy in Williams’ diary as the day that a new house was raised on the town green. It was built for David White (1746-1823) and still stands in town today. Williams wrote: “this day David White’s house was raised - it was a windy day and therefore more difficult - but no remarkable disaster - Oliver Burt’s foot was bruised some and Billy Colton’s shin - broke -...” These were the last hours the community would be unaware of the history-altering events taking place on the other end of the state. Two days later it is believed that this same David White, whose house was being raised, and twenty-two other of Longmeadow’s own minutemen began a journey on foot towards the scene of the battle to see what kind of support they could lend.

By the next morning, April 20th, word of the conflict arrived in Longmeadow. Williams records, “This morning- as soon as it was light, the drum beat and three guns were fired as an alarm. The story is that some of the troops had marched from Boston to seize some military stores at Lexington, or Concord, and that some men had been killed, but the accounts are vague – and as yet uncertain - - we must wait. The Lord mercifully prepare us for the tidings we may have. … The minute men are gone to town and men are collecting from various parts, and we have reason to fear that much mischief is done - we are in distress…”

April 21 - this morning about 4 o’clock another message is come advising that there has been a smart engagement at Concord between the regulars and our people, and many killed, but we have but an uncertain account. ‘Tis said houses are burnt, and women and children killed - sad work, indeed - more men are collected and going forth. I prayed with a company. The Lord be pleased to go with them and preserve them; keep them in thy fear. This day we met together for prayer in the meeting house…

April 22 - this morning the post (Mr. Adams) came along and we got his account of matters; they are very indistinct, but we are told that there has been a battle between the King's troops and the people of the country, and that on both sides it was supported with great spirit; thus a war is begun. …In the evening our people (excepting the minute men) came home and bring an account that the King’s troops are got back to Boston; the account of the battle is yet very uncertain.

Six days later, Longmeadow resident, George Cooley, who had gone east with a wagon and provisions for the minutemen, returned to town and reported that Longmeadow’s men had made it as far as Waltham and were camped awaiting further direction. Over the next several years, men from Longmeadow served in various roles in the Continental Army. As you stroll up and down Longmeadow Street today, keep your eyes open to look for homes marked with signs depicting tri-corner hats. These are the homes where these men lived, David White’s house among them.

-Contributed by Melissa M. Cybulski, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Source: Stephen Williams Diary, Volume 8 (Transcribed)

Originally published April 21, 2022

For the Love of Books

William G. Medlicott Image courtesy of Stephen Forbes

I love books. While I will, on occasion, read an e-book, I prefer the heft and physicality of a traditional, bound book. Our story today is about another book lover, William G. Medlicott, a Longmeadow resident who once had a private library estimated to contain 20,000 books. According to his 1883 obituary: “Far from being a bibliophilist in the passion for costly rarities for a market value, Mr. Medlicott loved his books for their own sake. He counted every moment he could snatch from business cares as golden for reading. It was his restful pastime and domestic recreation.” Like many people, I feel the same way.

William was born in Bristol, England in 1816. After finishing his formal education, he worked on a sailing ship for several years. A shipwreck on Rockaway Beach, Long Island when he was age 18 directed his focus to land-based employment and he started working in New York. His executive skills and business acumen enabled him to excel in business. In a few years, he was managing a manufacturing company in Thompsonville, Enfield; soon afterward, he established the Medlicott Company on the canal in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Medlicott Company manufactured full-bodied woolen knit underwear and other woolen knits. While just the thought of woolen underwear makes me itchy, the warm garments were highly valued by people who had to work outside in northern winters. The company was very successful; now wealthy, Mr. Medlicott was free to pursue his passions – reading and building his private library.

Medlicott Company Image courtesy of Stephen Forbes

Interested in learning about the earliest English literature, William initially collected works written in Anglo-Saxon. He taught himself to read Anglo-Saxon (aka, Old English) and he gathered one of the world’s most complete collections of books written in the language. His intellectual interests then expanded to books on Middle English, medieval French, early modern English, the Church of England, Bibles, ballads, songbooks, broadsides, and chapbooks. His library became so large that he needed to expand his Longmeadow home to accommodate all of the volumes.

William generously shared his library with scholars. In particular, his collection of Anglo-Saxon literature drew academics from around the country to Longmeadow to delve into its deep resources. According to a 1917 article,

“Often the professor, too, would go away with half a dozen or more of Mr. Medlicott’s rarest volumes packed in his trunk, for the scholar-business man was generous with his loans when the interests of knowledge were at stake. Indeed, some of his volumes acquired additional value through the annotations which the leading authorities of the nation wrote on the margins and the fly-leaves.”

While the archivists among us may be cringing at the thought of hand-written notes in a rare book, William especially treasured these annotated volumes. Scholars were quick to acknowledge Mr. Medlicott’s valuable assistance when they published their research.

Springfield Republican, June 20, 1870

In appreciation of his contributions to scholastic research, Williams College and Amherst College each honored William G. Medlicott with an honorary degree.

Christian Watchman, July 18, 1867

In 1876, Medlicott Company failed. The company quickly reorganized under different leadership but William G. Medlicott, a major investor, was financially impacted. Needing money, he decided to sell part of his library and he created a catalog of the part of his collection that he was willing to sell.

The archives of the Longmeadow Historical Society contain a copy of Mr. Medlicott's 1878 Catalogue of a Collection of Books. Printed by Rockwell and Churchill of Boston, the book measures 10” by 6” and runs for 380 pages. The pages are now very brittle and it is stored in an envelope to protect it from further decay.

Catalogue of a Collection of Books Longmeadow Historical Society archives

Almost 7,000 volumes are listed in the catalog, and they are organized into 3,667 lots. The oldest work listed in the catalog is a mounted and framed Egyptian papyrus dated c. 500 B.C. The catalog does not include prices – they were available upon request – but we know some of the prices from annotated copies of the catalog that exist in university and private collections. Even accounting for inflation, buyers paid a modest amount for these rare books.

Marketing of the sale began in mid-March, 1878. Advertisements such as the one shown below appeared in newspapers around the country. To scholars, William G. Medlicott was much better known for his library than for his stockinette company and interested parties wrote to Mr. Medlicott for additional information.

New Orleans The Times-Picayune May 18, 1878

In 1990, J.R. Hall thoroughly analyzed the collection of books and the distribution of William G. Medlicott’s library in an excellent scholarly article, “An American book collector and his collection” and I am indebted to J.R. for this research. Annotations on copies of the catalog document that portions of the library were sold to at least 52 libraries and private collections. Significant purchasers included university libraries such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, and Wellesley and public libraries in San Francisco, Boston, and Springfield. As J.R. Hall stated in the article (p. 46), “The disposition of Medlicott's library did not dramatically enrich a single institutional collection. Rather, it spread a wealth of resources among several, enriching each according to its special needs. For eleven decades the fruits of Medlicott's labor and catholic interests have served readers in anonymity.”

William G. Medlicott died in 1883. What happened to the remaining estimated 13,000 volumes in the Medlicott library? We are not sure, but we know that Mary Medlicott, William G.’s eldest daughter, coordinated further sales of the library collection after the initial sale. J.R. Hall was able to document several additional sales to Harvard. And we know that members of the family retained some of the collection. But, according to a 1917 account in the Springfield Republican, the library at the Medlicott house remained rich in scholarly resources. In 1917, the Medlicott family sold the family home in Longmeadow and they deaccessioned the remainder of the library through Goodspeed’s Bookshop in Boston.

Mary Medlicott Image courtesy of Stephen Forbes

In helping her father with his library, Mary Medlicott discovered her vocation. She trained at the Columbia Library school in New York under Melvil Dewey for two years; afterwards, she returned to Massachusetts and started to work at the Springfield City Library. Mary was imminently suited for one of her first assigned tasks at the library – the development of the research department. She continued to work at the Springfield City Library until shortly before her death in 1927.

Excerpt from “Miss Medlicott, Librarian, Dies at Age of 81” Springfield Republican, March 3, 1927

An electronic version of Mr. Medlicott's Catalogue of a Collection of Books is available for review on Internet Archives. But, you can also easily obtain your own bound volume of the catalog. Scholars still consider William G. Medlicott's catalog to be a culturally significant bibliography of early western literature and it has been reproduced several times. Today, you can buy these reproductions, in either hardcover or paperback form, through online bookstores.

Sources:

1. “The Medlicott Library at Longmeadow,” Springfield Republican, May 3, 1878

2. “Death of William G. Medlicott,” Springfield Republican, Feb. 19, 1883

3. “Springfield’s Greatest Private Book Collection Passes On,” Springfield Republican, November 11, 1917

4. “Miss Medlicott, Librarian, Dies at Age of 81,” Springfield Republican, March 3, 1927

5. Hall, J. R. 1990. William G. Medlicott (1816-1883): An American book collector and his collection. Harvard Library Bulletin 1 (1), Spring 1990: 13-46. William G. Medlicott (1816-1883): An American book collector and his collection (harvard.edu)

6. Christian Watchman, July 18, 1867

7. Springfield Republican, June 20, 1870

8. Special thanks to Stephen Forbes

Contributed by Elizabeth Hoff, Longmeadow Historical Society Board Member

Originally published April 14, 2022

The Stars of Longmeadow

Star on the Storrs House Museum

Have you ever noticed the plaques on many of the antique houses in Longmeadow? The markers feature a white star and a many also have a number in the middle of the star. Why do these houses have markers and what do the symbols mean?

The house marker project was part of Longmeadow's celebration of the country's bicentennial. The numbers on the markers correspond to the numbers on a brochure created by the Longmeadow Bicentennial Commission in 1974 entitled “Colonial Longmeadow: A Brief History and Guide to the 18th and Early 19th Century Homes”. The brochure features a map of Longmeadow Street drawn by Longmeadow resident Wallis H. Sturtevant. Designed to be a walking tour of historic Longmeadow, 80 historic homes were assigned a number and they were briefly described. Numbering began at the north end of Longmeadow Street and continued south to the Connecticut border. Houses #78, #79, and #80 are on Williams Street.

Colonial Longmeadow: A Brief History and Guide to the 18th and Early 19th Century Homes

The markings on each plaque also provide information on each house.

• If a house was built in the 18th Century, the star is on a red background.

• If a house was built in the 19th Century, the star is on a blue background. There are 10 homes for which the build date could not conclusively be determined and these homes have both red and blue backgrounds.

• If the marker also includes a tri-cornered hat, someone who lived in the house fought in the Revolutionary War. Stars with the hat indicate how many soldiers from the house fought as Minutemen.

• If an “A” is on the plaque, the house is of architectural interest.

Legend of Symbols

The Bicentennial Commission asked homeowners for permission to install the wooden markers on their homes for the duration of the Bicentennial Celebration (April 1975 - December 1976); at the end of the celebration, the markers were to be removed. But, in December 1976, almost all homeowners requested that the markers remain on their homes, so most of these markers, which were designed to be temporary, stayed in place.

In 1988, these 80 homes were featured in Historic Homes of Longmeadow, a book written by Longmeadow residents Chris and Susan Hall and Jeff and Nancy Hayes. The authors further researched each of the houses in the “Colonial Longmeadow” brochure and included an image of each house. Historic Homes of Longmeadow is out of print but a copy can be found at Storrs Library.

Historic Homes of Longmeadow

The wooden plaques, which were intended for limited use, weathered over the years and the Longmeadow Historical Commission fielded many requests for replacement signage. In 2003, Alex Bistran of Boy Scout Troop 90 earned his Eagle Scout award for a project that replaced weathered house signs with new signs. The replacement plaques do not include a number, just the white star on a blue or red background. A sample replacement sign is the one on the Storrs House Museum which is shown at the top of this article.

Since 1988, new online databases and other research tools have enabled researchers to uncover additional information, and sometimes correct erroneous information, about these homes. Judy and Jim Moran provided updated research on many of these homes and the families that lived in them through the “Throw Back Thursday” articles that the Longmeadow Historical Society sent out from 2016 through 2020. Ongoing research will further illuminate the stories of the homes and their owners.

Today, the map in the “Colonial Longmeadow” brochure is available online as an interactive walking tour. Links to each home provide a history of the house from Historic Homes of Longmeadow.

Further information about houses, as well as information about other Longmeadow houses, can be found at our interactive online map, Through the Lens- Longmeadow 100 Years Ago.

Take a walk down Longmeadow Street, either virtually or on foot (getting your steps in!), and help celebrate our town's rich architectural heritage.

Sources

1. Historic Homes of Longmeadow

2. “Colonial Longmeadow: A Brief History and Guide to the 19th and Early 19th Century Homes”

3. Longmeadow Historical Society Archives

Contributed by Elizabeth Hoff, LHS Board Member

Originally published March 7, 2022