Evening star., 1907-08-28
REC|C|DES IN HIDING
Many Years Lay in Conceal
ment in Old HadIey, Mass.
HAD DOOMED CHARLES |
Fled to America to Escape the Venge-
ance Of His Son.
CURRENT LEGEND OF THE IOWA
Town Saved From Indians by Inter
position of Mysterious and
Valiant Stranger.
CURRENT LEGEND OF THE IOWA
BY WILLIAM Z. CURTIS.

Special Correspondence of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald
| OLD HADLEY, Mass. August q. 1907.
| Charles l, King of England, was de-
| th,oned and executed in 1910 and Gen. VIII
! liam Goffe son-in-law of oliver Cromwell,
| and Gen. Edward Whaley, cousin of the
protector, were members of the high court
of justice which pronounced his doom.
Upon the restoration of King Charles II,
| they fed to America to escape the hang
man and were searched for in every cor
ner of the world except the village Of Old
Hadley, where they arrived secretly and in
| disguise in the winter of 1864 They came
| direct from Springfield, having been kept
| in concealment at New London. New
! Haven, Hartford and several other places,
| and were consigned to the care of the Rev.
John Russell, pastor of the Congregational
| Church at Hadley, who received them into
his house and kept them there safely until
| their death. Gen. Whalley died in 1876 and
| Gen GOffe in 1879.
| For twelve years in the one case and
| for fifteen years in the other they lived in
| concaalment in the parsonage, and were
| not permitted to leave its shelter during
the daytime for fear of spies. The royal
vengeance was keen. The refugees had
! been followed to America. and, after their
| arrival were chased from place to place
until they were conducted on foot from
| Springfield through the forests of the
! Holyoke mountains by friendly Indian
| and remained concealed there until their
pursuers were thrown off the scent and re-
| turned to New Haven to try to pick it up
! again.
Their life in Hadley must have been lone
| some and irksome, Notwithstanding the
| cordial hospitality Of Parson Russell and
| the neighbors who were in his confidence.
A secret chamber, reached by trap-door,
| was prepared for them In the attic OF the
| parsonage, and when the ladder was taken
away and concealed there was nothing In
| the ceiling to indicate the existence OF
human being above; 1t is said also that
! closet In the cellar was fully stocked
with provisions and properly furnished and
| ventilated. which could be used in an
! emergency as retreat for an Indefinite
vent their discovery. Peter Tilton. one of
| the deacons in the church, was the means
| of communication with their friends IN
England. Through his agents in Boston
| they managed to keep up communication
| with their old country, but SO great price
was set upon their heads that they dared
not take the slightest risk. They spent
| their DAYS in sleep and study and their
| nights in exercising in the open air, trust
| Ing to the sympathy and discretion of any
| citizen who might observe, them as stran-
| gers in the street.
| After the death of Gen. Whalley the lone
someness and anxiety Of Gen COTE were
| Increased. He left diary from which we
learn details of his daily life. and it shows
| that he was broken-hearted man.
A Local Legend.
| According to the local traditions the mo-
| notony of his existence was broken by a
startling incident, which is described by
| Sir Walter Scott in his story "Peveril Of
| the Peak" although there is no reference
| to it in Goffes diary. and modern skeptics
declare that the legend is an invention Of
| recent years.
| In September 1915, while the citizens of
| Hadley were attending a long fast day
| service, the church was surrounded by
| band of Indians. Before the savages could
| carry out their horrible intention of setting
| fire to the building the congregation was
| warned by stranger of venerable and
| commanding appearance wearing old-fash-
| ioned English garments and carrying
! a sword. He assumed command without
| question and conducted the defense in
| military manner, as if he was familiar with
| warfare, and, under his leadership, the
| savages were repeled and many of them
i slaughtered. In the confusion or identity
| ing the bodies of the dead at the close of
| the battle he suddenly disappeared and was
| never seen again. The Inhabitants of Had
| ley could not explain the phenomenon ex-
| cept as divine interposition. and called their
| rescuer an angel from God. For many
years that version was believed, and the
scene is depicted in an old engraving en-
titled THE Angel of Hadley.' which is to-
| day hanging upon the walls OF nall the
| homes in the village.
Parson Russell. Peter Tilton and several
| other leading citizens. however, did not fail
to identify the venerable rescuer, and the
notoriety the incident received made 1t nee
| essary to change his quarters back to Hart
| ford where Goffe remained for a year or
| more in concealment and then returned to
| the home of Peter Tilton, where he was
| taken care of until he died in 1879.
The burial place of the regicides Is un-
| known. One story. which is generally be-
| lieved says that graves were dug for them
30 flNa Snyla pa.
! stated that their bodies were carried into
the mountains and laid at rest In solitary
| nlace in the woods, while a third version
| is that they lie in unmarked graves in the
old cemetery of which Gov. Webster. the
| ancestor of Noah Webster, was the first
inhabtant, having been laid at rest in 1861.
The Place Of Concealment.
According to local tradition the present
village inn was the parsonage in which
Parson Russell lived and the regicides were
concealed The landlord assured me SOL
emnly that such the case, but admitted
| that the house had been remodeled and
| rebuilt several times in the interval, which,
! in all probability. is the case. 1t is a mod
! ern-looking building. with a piazza, and it
seems comfortable and attractive. 1t stands
J about the center of the main street next
to the old church. which is precisely the
| location that would have been assigned to
the pastor in the original allotment of the
| land.
! Worn out with Indian alarms, hiding
regicides fighting witchcraft and hunting
the devil out of Hadley," the Rev. John
| Russell, after a pastorate of forty-three
| years, called to his reward, and his
| tired bones were laid beside those of his
| loving wife. Rebecca. in the old graveyard.
| Their monuments are the oldest on which
| the inscriptions can be deciphered. No
| costly marble marks the graves of the first
| settlers, because they died at d time when
| attention for the living was more impor-
| tant than for the dead. 1neir burial places
| were marked with rude slabs of stone CHS
| eled from the outcOpping rocks in the
| neighborhood No doubt their names and
virtues were originally described as was
| customary, but the eptaphs on all the
| stones that were placed there previous to
! 1920 have become entirely obliterated, eX-
| cept those of Parson Russell and his wife,
| which must have been carved with especial
| care. His tells us that the good pastor
| faithfully guarded The flock of Christ In
| Hadley til the Chef Shepheard suddenly
but mercifully called him off to receive his
reward IN the 66 year of his age December
| 10, 1892
The epitaph of Mrs. Russell reads as
! follows:
| Rebekah made by God melt help to
| Mr.. John Russell and fellow -labourer
[l,rVs