Prescott journal. [volume] (Prescott, Wis.) 1861-1871, 1865-11-04
A Curious Biz Of n story,

tCriOue bit Oi n Story.
A correspondent of the Hartford Pres
writing from Charlemont, Massachu
sets, gives the following singular nara
| tive, illustrative of the puculiarities o
''the olden times"
If you look upon good map of this
region you will see that the town o
Charlemont (the origin of the name il
obscure, but one tradition says it wa.
first called Chesleys' Mount, from the
name of an earlier settler.) is OF very
singular shape. 1t lies along the Deer
field, embracing both sides of The rivel
only above the centre village from which
/ write, containing narrow strips of fer
tile meadow land shut in by abrupt
hills From the mouth of North river
to Zoar bridge the town is thirteen
miles long, but four miles below here il
is only the breadth of the farm of Col.
Leavitt; a scant strip of lovely meadow.
Indeed, at this point, the town is almost
cut in two by an angle which is run in
to it by the town of Heath. As origi-
nally laid out the town was broad at this
point; and the reason of its present
shape is 50 curious as TO be worth Civ
ing.
The first settled minister of the place,
before the Revolutionary war, was the
Rev. Jeremiah Leavitt, who came from
Suffield, Conn. He was a stern old
Puritan, of intolerant disposition and
naughty manners, and not very well
liked by his congregational Pensioners,
who were, nevertheless, compelled to
support him. Add to this the fact that
he was tory, and we have an explana-
ton of the hostile feelings which grew
mp against him among the old patriots
They at length proceeded to the length
of barring him out of the meeting house,
a constable standing at the door all day
Sunday to keep out the persistent old
royalist. For many years he adhered to
his settlement, and efforts were vain to
remove him, though the indignant far
mers kept him out of the meeting nous @
and refused to pay him his salary. But
he occupied the parsonage farm, which
lay at little distance from the river on
small water course, and at length
brought suit against the town for his
salary, withheld for so many years. The
courts sustained his suit, and gave him
an execution to collect his church dues
from the inhabitants. He was not slow
to exercise his legal rights, and levied
on property wherever he could find it,
annoying the well-to-do and unconscious
ly expressing the poor.
Many stories are told of his exac-
tions. There was a poor man named
Grimes perhaps the ''old'' one, whose
coat was buttoned down BEFORE who
lived near him with large family, who
was unable to pay his church tax. He
had, it seems, little available personal
property except one COW, upon which
the family depended. But parson Leav-
lit seized the COW, in spite of the en-
treaties of Grimes, and perhaps the
hungry little Grimeses. When Grimes
demonstrated, the parson replied. ''you
must call on the town."
Not long after, Mr.. Grimes, who
seemed to have something of the rough
humor of the time, had the opportuni-
ty to happily retort the advice of the
Old tory. The parson was returning
one cold winter day from auckland,
and at evening attempted to cross at
the place where ferry still exists. The
liver was frozen over, but the ice was
hin, and when little distance from
the shore, it broke under its reverend
load, and horse and man we're soused in
the lev stream, where the adepth was
probably not great. The parson seeing
a man on the opposite bank shouted
out Justify for help. The man was
Grimes.
"Help, help" roared the parson.
"I'm drowning"
"Who is it?'' halloed Grimes, who
stood coolly surveying the. accident.
s.Parson Leavitt.
"Parson, I'd ddrise you to call on the
top9," was the response of the imper-
turbable Grimes, as he turned away and
left the minister to founder out SIS best
he might.
That he got out is certain, for he con,
tinued to annoy the people by collect
ing money for preaching they would
not hear. 1t must have been a curious
sight of Sunday morning, the wrathy
parson before the barred meeting house
door, and the congregation loungine
about, watching the irate and baffed
divine nurse his anger.
ct shall go and preach the gospel il
the barn yonder," exclaims the min
| lister. 49, 81
:" 1t will be the first time you eveI
preached the gospel" shouts some ir
reverent one in the crowd.
But the day came when the town GO
its revenge, and in the strangest fashion
on record. As it was impossible to re
move the parson from the parish or NOV,
him ont of town. they resolved to ge
him out another way. The time cam
to incorporate the town OF Heath, an,
the shrewd men of the valley got tn
General Court to run the line of Heat
in sharp zig-zag into Charlemont, jus
so as to encircle and cut out the pan
sonage farm upon which the Rev. Jere
miah retained his hold. And that wa
the way they scooped him out of towr
and this is the cause of the wasplik
shape of Charlemont. 1t may be ths