acter which stood in such good stead in the toilsome life of the hardy pioneer. The husband, himself a representative of a family well established in New England, was a trifle below the average size, but, kindhearted and vivacious, he made up by his untiring industry what he lacked in stature. For many years he was a figure in the community which developed about him, exciting the interest of all as he adhered to the old ways when changes came, and inspiring veneration as on the Lord's day he entered the meeting-house in antiquated dress, with accompaniments of bushy wig and curious cocked hat.

There was nothing strange in the beginning of Granville. Such migraSuch migrations were features of colonial life. Again and again, when the sons of a family married, finding no opportunity for gaining a livelihood near the old folks, they bade a loving farewell to the tearful friends at home, joined hands with their heroic wives, and then plunged into the wilderness to lay the foundations of a new estate. Sometimes they went but a few miles, returning occasionally to visit the scenes of childhood; sometimes the record, "Went west," or "Went to

THE COOLEY MONUMENT.

Maine," is the last the family historian finds as he attempts to trace the various lines of descent. At times, a young couple went away by themselves, as the Bancrofts did; at others, a company of young people went together and formed a new town in the forests; but, singly or in groups, by such slow means was New England settled, as western Massachusetts and Vermont, northern New Hampshire and Maine, gathered strength from the overflow of older districts along the seaboard.

Because of this constantly operating movement of population, the Bancrofts were not long left without neighbors. Two companies came. From Springfield were Daniel Cooley, Jonathan Rose, Samuel Gillett, Thomas

Spelman, John Root, Ephraim Monson, Phineas Pratt, Peter Gibbons and Samuel Church; from Durham, Connecticut, were Timothy, Noah, Daniel and Phineas Robinson, Ebenezer and Daniel Curtiss, Samuel Coe, David, Daniel and Levi Parsons. The very enumeration of names makes history, so important were these families in the subsequent development of the town, which, at first called Bedford, was named Granville

REV. GEORGE D. FELTON.

in 1754. These early settlers were persons of great strength, both of body and of mind. They were long-lived, many of those mentioned passing the the proverbial threescore years and ten, their hardiness being well illustrated by four tent-mates in the "Old French War," who, returning from that struggle, settled as near neighbors and died at the respective ages of eighty-two, eighty-six, eightynine and ninety. They were prolific, too, the pioneer settler, Mr. Bancroft, being represented during the first half of this century by eighty-nine persons who bore his name.

There must have been a rapid growth of the population, if the enlistment of troops for the Indian wars is suggestive, although the town itself was never in danger from the red men, despite the establishment of garrisons and the erection of houses which much resembled forts. When the Revolution drew near, the people were enthusiastic in their patriotism, like many of their neighbors, adopted resolutions which expressed disapprobation of the acts of Parliament, and secured the selection of a committee of correspondence. In course of time a military company was formed, in which the flower of the town marched away to the

war, fourteen of the number never coming back. Money and supplies were never lacking, and the hill town did its full part in bringing about the freedom of the colonies.

The soil brought forth abundantly during the early years of the settlement; game was plentiful, and the remarkable purity of the air and water secured a healthy growth, which was little retarded by the epidemics of smallpox, spotted fever, or "camp distemper," which swept away many in the sad years of their prevalence.

The great central fact in the history, of course, was the church. There were several pastors during the first fifty years, men of peculiar ability

who began his work in connection with the "Great Awakening," which followed the tour of Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards, as these two great preachers went through western Massachusetts putting spirit into the dry bones. Mr. Tuttle gave half an acre of ground for the meetinghouse, his salary for two years, and what was his for preaching before his ordination, the whole amounting to £863, old tenor, this gift being the

he rendered efficient service as a preacher, and both in the home of his childhood and among strangers he showed himself a man of exceptional ability. One of his sermons, preached from the text, "Ye shall not surely die," was published in 1805, and was printed and reprinted in America and England, passing through many editions. Timothy Dwight of Yale once heard him preach, and testified to the profit he received from the instruction. Like the famous Phyllis Wheatley, he seems to have been a marked character among the negro people of America, no doubt inheriting from some Puritan father an intellect which, united with a keen sense of humor and ready wit, enabled this child of love to lift himself from the degradation of birth into a place where he was esteemed by all who knew him.

But by all means the most famous of the pastors of Granville was Timothy Mather Cooley, who went. in and out before the people of the first church for

sixty-three years. His is the name around which centres much of the sentiment of the town; his life is the silken thread which discloses the secret passageways of its history. A graduate of Yale, he refused a unanimous call to a more important charge, where the salary was better, to return to his native place to take the pastorate of a discordant church which had not had a pastor for twenty years. His first request before settlement was that a fund be raised to provide in part at least for the support of the ministry. Generous subscriptions were made and the endowment was secured which has aided the church to the present time. On the third day of February, 1796, Mr. Cooley was dained pastor of the church, having in his parish 438 males and 439 females, among the number being his parents and grandparents. He was a fine classical scholar and, having great influence over the young, he was able to train many men who developed noble characters. When in 1845 the "Granville Jubilee" was held to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate, his historical

WEST GRANVILLE.

or