Putnam patriot., 1914-11-06
HISTORIC ADDRESS
Delivered by Miss Mary M. 0sgood

Delivered by Miss Mary M. 0sgood
 Delivered atNh Pomffet Old Home
 Festival
 In 1886 twelve men of RoXburY, M ass, formed company and bought several thousand acres of land in the Nipmuek Indians territory and desig- mated the tract AS the Mashmoqaet Purchase from the name of it's prtnei- pal stream. The eastern half Of the Purchase was divided among the pro prietors in 1894, but there were few settlers prior to FOO. Town organlZa. ton was efiected.n l7i3,and the Mash moquet settlement named Pomtret. After much delay the western half of the Purchase twas divided and distri. button made by lot in 17l9. Represen- tatives of many iof the families of the proprietors settled upon their respec- | tive allotments in this division. Men | from Roxbufy and AndoVer bought large tracts. The new settlers destroy ed the dams made by beavers to obtain | the water grass for hay. There are marvellous traditions of the fertility of the soil, that the meadow grass was so high as to reach above the head of | man on horseback.
 i Theirs was the life of the pioneer. They sewed rye, planted corn and beans, hunted deer and wolves, caught trout and salmon in the Mashmoquet, l branded their horses, were "Noted tn- 1 habitantsn at town meeting, kept Sal urday nights sud among them "a man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees All townspeople worshipped in Pomiret meeting house which stood about one are now gathered, As years passed | and the number of inhabitants in- creased and there were indications of advancing prosperity they wished for better facilities for public worship. l For two or three winters the First So- ciely graeiously "allowedp the western | division 10 have religious services in James Ingalls house. Having decided there ought to be another church and society measures were taken to that effect. There was much opposition for the western division was regarded as valuable asset and there were fears that "instead of being able to have good sound preaching lot of cheap New Light stut would come in
 The situation ef affairs is given by few lines from the petition to the Gen eral Assembly of Connecticut, "that some are six, some five miles from the place of worship-meeting house album i dantly loo small-under great and dis. tressing difficulty in respect to the smallneSS of our meeting house and pray the Assembly to divide us into two societies. The Assembly resolved l May ., l749, "that an ecelesiasticai so- eiety be and is hereby erected in the west part of said township, and chris tened il in this wise, "and be called and known by the name of Abingdon, ' There is pardonable pride in having i this ancient name of ecclesiastical ori- gin. In 6To Gissa, king of the West Saxons, built an abbey in town sixty ! miles from London on the Thames and renamed the place Abbotstown, which has finally evolved into Abingdon. The next step, Edward Pain in the name of his Majesty having duly awarnedo the inhabitants, they met at the house of James Ingalls to form themselves into society. IA commit ice was chosen to provide good min- ister and it was "voted to apply to the