Will of Nathaniel Smith, one of the early settlers of Amherst. He was the first physician to practice in Amherst. He was also a farmer. In this, his last will and testament, he leaves money to his wife and daughter, both named Rebekah, and some to…
Warrant to Ebenezer Kellogg to have him notify the inhabitants of Hadley Third Precinct (now Amherst) to meet at the house of Zachariah Field on October 8th to decide matters relating to choosing officers who will have the power to call meetings, and…
Record of town meeting held in Amherst in 1755, 20 years after the first meeting. Votes recorded are concerned with choosing officers, committees, raising money for wood for the minister, that the committee chosen to "seat the meetinghouse" make some…
Record of a precinct meeting held in a section of Hadley (now Amherst) in 1745, 10 years after the first meeting. Votes recorded are concerned with choosing officers, committees, highway work, wood for the minister, making payment for services, and…
Receipt written by David Parsons, Amherst's first minister, for payment of his salary in old tenor money by Jonathan Dickinson, one of the first Selectmen of Amherst and the treasurer at the time.
This is a letter of petition to Thomas Pownall, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts. John Nash, Isaac Ward, and Nehimieh Dickinson propose that the new town that is separating from Hadley should be named after Baron Jeffery Amherst.
Many of the early settlers combined some other occupation with that of farming. Nathaniel Smith, who was among the first of the East Inhabitants of Hadley, was a doctor, the first to practice his profession in the new settlement.
According to text on the back of the photograph, this house was built by John Sheldon about 1690 and razed in 1848. This photograph was copied from the only daguerreotype of the house in existence, belonging to the late Professor Aaron Warner (of…
This beautifully engraved and colored map represents an English version of the Jansson-Visscher series of maps of northeastern North America. Since it was published shortly after the expulsion of the Dutch from New York, the map displays geographical…
Letter to Mary Boltwood from her husband on the day before he says he is to set sail with a large contingent of soldiers, from Lake George to Ticonderoga.
Fort Ticonderoga controlled the route between the Hudson River Valley and Canada in the wars…
Letter from Jeffery Amherst to Lt. Col. John Bradstreet regarding construction of boats, hire and pay of laborers, and finance for military campaign, March 5, 1759. Several months later Amherst successfully captured Fort Ticonderoga on the Hudson…