596327

[3104.ftw]

[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 22, Ed. 1, Tree #3104, Date of Import: Dec 9, 1998]

!ref:Geneal.Dict of N.E;IV:659; I:313; Wright Geneal.p.151
Deerfield, MA by Sheldon; Wright-Chamberlain Gen. by Barber
Samuel Jr. came to Am. with his father in 1630 and lived in Springfield nearly 20 years;rem.Northampton 1655/56 and settled on Bridge Street where the house of John L. Draper stood. In addition to the 3 acres for a homelot, he was granted 34 acres of meadow land, and probably some upland, so that his father in his will speaks of his "Beloved son Samuel being in the providence of God well provided for..." When this homestead was sold in 1895, it was then thought that it had been in the same family a longer time than any other in western MA ...for 238 years.
After living on this homestead about 17 years, and serving the town as one of its selectmen and in other offices, he went with his family, in company with 15 other families, as pioneer settlers, to a place about 35 miles up the Conn. River, called by the Indians from whom it was purchased, Squakeag. This place which was named by the English "Northfield" because it was the northermost settlement on the river, became the future home of Samuel Wright Jr. and many of his descendants. Here they built small huts near each other, and ran a stockade around a number of them for a fort into which they might flee, if attacked. All went peacefully for 2 years until the King Philip war broke out in 1675 The latter part of August fears were had for the safety of Northfield, and so 20 men were sent up and placed under command of Lt. Samuel Wright. Thursday 2 Sep 1675, as Lt. Wright and the men under him were in the field gathering flax, they were attacked by King Philip's men, who killed Lt. Wright, aged ca 45 yrs; also 2 sons of Elder William Janes, their preacher and 5 others, and wounded Samuel Wright III. The rest, men women, and children, fled inside the small stockade, and were shut in there 5 days.
What days and nights of terror those must have been to the widow and fatherless children with the savatges burning and destroying outside, and liable to break in at any time and put them all to death. The day after the attack, Capt. Beers, not knowing what had happened sset out from Hadley, with 36 mounted men, to bring away the soldiers and inhabitants, but on reaching the outskirts of the town, fell into an ambush, and he and the larger part of his men were killed, but 13 escaped and flec back to Hadley.
Immediately Major Treat with more than 100 men prepared to go up for the relief of Northfield, where he arrived Monday afternoon 6 Sep. One account is that immediately set about burying those killed 2 Sep., and the first found was the body of Lt. Wright, which was taken up the bank and buried in 1st grave opened in present Northfield Cemetery. His burial was hardly finished when Maj. Treat was struck with a spent ball from the thicket. Upon consulting with his officers, it was decided to take the 100 or more people that had been shut inside the stockade and start back to Hadley that night.
In their journey down through the wilderness what fears they must have had; fears of falling into an ambush and meeting the same fate as came to Capt. Beers and Co., on this same route 3 days before, and the fate that came to the 80 young soldiers at Bloody Brook, a few days later. On arriving home in safety, they could well say, as did the Psalmist, "If it had not been the Lord who was on our side than they had swallowed up quick." But why were Samuel Wright Jr. and a few others willing to risk their lives, and the lives of their families, in the perilous attempt of founding a settlement on the frontier, surrounded by Indian territory and far from any help?
Killed by Indians at Bloody Brook, Northfield, MA. King Philips War