Eunice Cooley

Notes:

Taken verbatim from the Cooley Genealogy pp 468-470

ii Eunice Cooley
da. Benjamin, No. 269 above, b. Sept. 2, 1732, Brimfield, Mass.; d. about 1825-30, place unknown. On Apr. 13, 1752, her intention to wed was filed in Leicester, Mass., and on May 4, 1752, she was married to Benjamin Garfield of Leicester. He may have been the son of Benjamin and Bethia (How) Garfield, b. May 6, 1718, Marlboro, Mass., d. June 27, 1755. Eunice m. (2), prob. in 1756, Ephraim Pratt, res. Hardwick (now Dana) and Wendell, Mass., d. Wendell, Jan. 20, 1809, bur. near Shutesbury and Lock's Village, Mass., prob. s. Phineas and Martha (Puffer), b. Jan. 10, 1732, Sudbury, Mass. Eunice (Cooley) Garfield was his second wife; the name of his first wife is not known.
Benjamin Garfield and Eunice (Cooley) lived near Northfield, Mass., and had one or more children, of whom nothing is known. One report cites a son, captured with his mother by the Indians, who visited his mother in later years, but preferred to live like a savage, as he had been brought up as an Indian; another report says she had only a daughter, Eunice Garfield, concerning whose fate Mrs. Garfield was uncertain. It seems likely that the story concerning the son is "historical fiction" rather than fact; such stories were common regarding anyone with children captured by the Indians.
Married in 1752, captured in 1755, Eunice Cooley Garfield probably had a two-year-old child and an infant; the infant was probably slain by the Indians; generally, when a long march was intended, the mothers were not permitted to carry small infants with them.
In 1742 Orlando Bridgman had built a block-house on his farm, which stood within the then limits of Northfield, Mass. The fort was strongly built and well-picketed, and occupied by three families, those of Caleb How, Hilkiah Grout, and Benjamin Garfield.
On the morning of June 27, 1755, three years after the marriage of Benjamin Garfield and Eunice Cooley, these three men, with the two young sons of Caleb How, went to work in a meadow on the bank of the river a little above the fort. About sunset they started to return to the block-house. Mr. How and his sons were on horseback, and a little ahead of the others. Upon reaching the meadow hill north of the fort, they were fired upon from ambush. Caleb How was shot in the thigh and brought to the ground; he was then scalped by the Indians, and struck by a hatchet in the head and left for dead. His boys were taken alive. Grout and Garfield attempted to escape by crossing the river; Grout succeeded, but Benjamin Garfield was drowned.
As soon as it grew dark the Indians went to the fort, made the proper signal, which they had learned, and were admitted. They took the women and children prisoners, killing all infant children. The fort was then fired, and the captives started on their long trek to Canada.
There is nothing left of old Fort Bridgman. At the spot where the capture took place (now Vernon, Vt.) is a large boulder, commemorating the capture, taken from the old How farm, erected by the town of Vernon and marked with a tablet by the Brattleboro Chapter of D. A. R.; the monument seems to be largely to the memory of Caleb How, as no mention is made of the other two families involved.
The Indians took their captives to Canada. Eunice (Cooley) Garfield seems to have been a woman of considerable personal beauty, as well as of fortitude and presence of mind. She adapted herself to the situation by a forced cheerfulness and because of her evident courage gained favor with the Indians, and was thus treated fairly well on the long march. For many days she kept a sharp lookout for aid, expecting to be rescued by her husband, of whose death she learned only on her return. With the other two women she took turns standing all night, to be ready for quick flight, but no help came.
After many days and nights of travel, footsore and weary, the captives finally reached a French settlement in Canada. Here the Indians sold them as slaves. Eunice was sold to a French family, of which she quickly became a beloved and trusted member, and was soon entrusted with the purchase of all household goods and supplies. Longing for her freedom, she told her story to one of the tradesmen whose friendship she had gained. He was a kindly man and offered to put $10 with every dollar she could save, to be repaid after she got home, so that she could purchase her liberty; this she eventually did. She was sent to France, and from there to England and thence to Boston. She probably reached Massachusetts some time in 1756. In 1758, she was paid a sum of money by New Hampshire to cover her last year in Canada.
On her return to Massachusetts, Eunice learned of her husband's death. Shortly thereafter she became the second wife of Ephraim Pratt, and she lived for nearly half a century in Hardwick (now Dana), where she was widely known and beloved as "Aunt Pratt." People came from a long distance to see the old lady, and to hear the story of her Indian adventures. She lived to be well past 90. The place of her burial is unknown. Old graves in Dana were dug up in the process of building a reservoir for Boston; no record has been found of the old gravestones. Her second husband, Ephraim Pratt, is buried in the Pratt graveyard near Shutesbury and Lock's Village, with his son and grandson. At the time of her death Eunice may easily have been living with one of her numerable descendants, and have been buried in the lot of one of the other members of her family.

Eunice married Benjamin Garfield on 2 Sep 1752 in Leicester, Worcester Co, Province of Massachusetts Bay. Benjamin was born on 6 May 1718 in Marlborough, Province of Massachusetts Bay; died on 5 Jun 1755 in Vernon, Province of Massachusetts Bay. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Married:
From Massachusetts Town and Vital Records and the 1857 transcription of marriages in Leicester Mass the date of the Benjamin and Eunice marriage is 2 Sep 1752. As respects the note below about the "Old Stile" date, the 2nd of September 1752 is still an Old Style date, it was the last date of the Julian calender in Britain and the British Colonies. At midnight on what would have been the 3rd, 11 days were added resulting in the new date of September 14th, 1752.
Some sources have their date of marriage 2 Sep 1752 "Old Stile" but this is surely wrong since the date of conversion to the Gregorian Calendar by England and the American Colonies was the very same day, 2 Sep 1752 so the next day was 14 Sep 1752. Confusion abounded at the time just as today so the 16 Aug 1752 date seems most likely from the Mass Vitals source.
As a refereence, the Cooley Genealogy states: "On Apr. 13, 1752 [Eunice Cooley's] intention to wed was filed in Leicester, Mass., and on May 2, 1752 she was married to Benjamin Garfield of Leicester."

Eunice married Ephraim Pratt before 1757 in Hardwick, Worcester Co, Massachusetts. Ephraim was born about 1732 in Massachusetts; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Benjamin4 Cooley was born 5 Nov 1701, probably in the long meddowe precinct of Springfield, Hampshire County, Massachusetts. He was twice married, first to Elisabeth Charles, second to Mary Needham.
In Mass Vital Records microfilmed by LDS Church there is an entry: #9-Greenwich p36 "Mary daughter of Benjn Cooley by Mary his wife was born Dec 24, 1768". This is highly unlikely since there was already a Mary Cooley b. 1750, d. 1769. While the first Mary died young in 1769 and sometimes families, who lost a child renamed a later child the same name, there is overlap here.

(Research):Massachusetts Political Organization Hampshire county was created 7 May 1662 from Non-County Area 1 (towns of Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, and all territory within 30 miles). It effectively covered the entire western part of the province. (Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 2:52) Hampden county was was set off from the northern half of Hampshire Co 1 Aug 1812.

Benjamin4 married Elisabeth Charles on 1 Sep 1730 in Brimfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. Elisabeth (daughter of John Charles and Elizabeth Swetman or Sweetman) was born on 15 Feb 1709/10 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts; died on 26 Oct 1743 in Brimfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Note: In Brimfield Historical Celebration of the Town of Brimfield page 389 Genealogy of the Charles Family, Elizabeth's birthdate is listed as 3 Oct 1711

Notes:

(Research):Massachusetts Political Organization
Hampshire county was created from Non-County Area 1 (towns of Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, and all territory within 30 miles) on 7 May 1662. It effectively covered the entire western part of the province. Non-County Area 1 was eliminated (Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 2:52)
Hampden county was was set off from the northern half of Hampshire Co 1 Aug 1812.

Benjamin3 married Margaret Bliss on 30 Jan 1700/01 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. Margaret (daughter of Samuel Bliss and Sarah Stebbins) was born on 23 Nov 1683 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts; died est 1744 in Probably Brimfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Elizabeth Swetman or Sweetman on 1 Sep 1730 in Brimfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. Elizabeth and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Daniel is buried in the Springfield Cemetery in Springfield Massachusetts. The original burial grounds were at the river front behind the Old First Church. In 1849, to make way for the railroad, 2024 bodies were moved to the cemetery on the hill. They were placed in a mass grave. The main entrance to the cemtery is on Maple St but the graves are at the Pine Street entrance. Most of this information is found in the Cooley genealogy book by Mortimer E. Cooley published in 1941.

(Research):On 10 May 1643, Non-County Area 1 was formed by the General Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony comprising the unsettled, unorganized area which, at the time, extended from the Connecticut River basin an indefinite distance westward into the ill-defined "Western Country". Also on this date the four orginal counties were created
o Middlesex
o Essex
o Suffolk
o Norfolk (now a part of SW Maine)
(Mass. Recs., 2:38)
Springfield was founded (for non-religious reasons) in 1636 by William Pynchon thus it was simply in the Connecticut River basin until 1643 when it found itself in Non-County Area 1 (Winthrop expanding his power base).
Hampshire county was created from Non-County Area 1 (towns of Springfield, Northampton, Hadley, and all territory within 30 miles) on 7 May 1662. It effectively covered the entire western part of the province. Non-County Area 1 was eliminated (Mass. Recs., vol. 4, pt. 2:52)
Hampden county was was set off from the northern half of Hampshire Co 1 Aug 1812.

Daniel married Elizabeth Wolcott on 8 Dec 1680 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. Elizabeth (daughter of Simon Wolcott and Martha Pitkin) was born on 19 Aug 1662 in Windsor, Connecticut Colony; died on 3 Jan 1706/07 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts; was buried about 1707 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Cemetery: Re-interment

Notes:

Elizabeth is buried in the Springfield Cemetery in Springfield Massachusetts. The original burial grounds was at the riverfront behind the Old First Church. To make way for a railroad, 2024 bodies were moved to the cemetery on the hill in 1849 and placed in a mass grave. The main entrance to the cemtery is on Maple St but the graves are at the Pine Street entrance. Most of this information is found in the Cooley Genealogy by Mortimer E. Cooley published in 1941.

Cemetery:
Buried behind the Springfield church, the bodies were disinterred and moved to the Springfield Cemetery.

Notes:

Note: According to these dates he was 101 years old at his death. Mortimer Cooley in the Cooley Genealogy noted that Samuel Bliss was aged 102 at his death (101 years, 5 months).
From Boston Post-Boy, Boston, Massachusetts dated 17 Jul 1749. "On the 19th past [19 June 1749] died at Springfield, Mr. Samuel Bliss, in the 102d Year of his age: He was born in that Town, Sept 7, 1647; and has left alive 6 Children, 38 grandchildren, 114 Great-Grandchildren, and 10 great-great-grandchildren".
Children and death years: Samuel Jr-1st, 1692; Nathaniel 2nd, 1751; Sarah, ?; Margaret, est 1744, Thomas Bliss, 1767; Hannah, 1711; John 1784; Samuel Jr-2nd, 1724; and Ebenezer, 1784.
By my count four childern were definitely alive after 19 Jun 1749: Nathaniel 2nd, Thomas, John, and Ebenezer. Sarah's death date is unknown so if after 1749 she would be the 5th child alive.

Samuel married Sarah Stebbins on 2 Jan 1671/72 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. Sarah (daughter of Thomas Stebbins and Hannah Wright) was born on 6 Aug 1654 in Springfield, Massachusetts Bay Colony; died on 6 Nov 1721 in Springfield, Hampshire Co, Massachusetts. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Died as a resident in the long meddowe of Springfield.