Timothy Woodbridge

Early life

Timothy Woodbridge was born on February 27, 1709, to Reverend John Woodbridge VIII and Jemima Eliot. His father, the first minister of West Springfield, Massachusetts, was the eighth generation of ministers by the name John Woodbridge, including John Woodbridge V and John Woodbridge VI, and his brother was the ninth. His mother was the granddaughter of John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians". His brother Benjamin was also a minister, and the town of Woodbridge, Connecticut, is named in his honor. Timothy's father died young, when a tree fell on him in 1718. John left Timothy one fifth of his land in the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, in his will.

Missionary life

Early years

John Sergeant had arranged to return to Yale to complete his duties as a tutor, so the ministers associated with the mission sought Timothy out as an ideal candidate, due to his education, family history, and possibly, knowledge of their language. Sergeant himself called Timothy "a young gentleman very well qualify'd for the business". At this time, there were about forty or fifty Mahicans settled at the mission, and little more than twenty children attended the school. Timothy arrived the last week of November, 1734, while Sergeant was away at Albany, meeting with the Mohawks, and the mission was left in his hands when Sergeant returned to New Haven on December 9. As schoolmaster, he taught reading and writing of English, cleanliness, English manners, and Christian morals. On January 19, 1735, a council with Mahican leadership was held, and they voiced their desire that Timothy would remain with them, and that John Sergeant would return to live among them.

However, not all of the Mahicans agreed that they should submit to the English lifestyle, and rumors circulated that there was resentment about Chief Konkapot and Umpachenee being given military commissions by Governor Jonathan Belcher, as well as the mission in general. Soon after the council, several of the locals, including Lieutenant Umpachenee's family, fell seriously ill, and they were convinced they had been poisoned by their discontented brethren. They asked that Timothy pray for them, and that they be given a Christian burial, if they should die, which two individuals did. A few weeks later, determined to discover the perpetrator, the spiritual leaders held a type of divination ceremony. When Timothy learned of this, he set out to observe the ceremony, arriving just in time. After the ceremony, he voiced his great displeasure of their "sinful" method of worship, and they agreed never to repeat the mistake.

In February, the Mahicans went into the woods to harvest maple syrup for their annual supply of sugar. Timothy took this opportunity to return to Springfield to visit friends and relatives, returning in early spring. Sergeant returned for a short time, and they took turns at the two Mahican settlements. When Sergeant returned to Yale again, he wrote Dr. Colman, one of the Commissioners of Indian Affairs at Boston, and requested that Timothy would be compensated so that he might continue there, being that there was enough work for two missionaries. Sergeant returned to stay in early July, and they resumed trading places on a weekly basis. In August, Timothy fell ill with a form of malaria. When he felt well enough to travel, he returned to Springfield, only to relapse, delaying his return until November. During the winter of 1736, Sergeant and Woodbridge decided to accompany the Mahicans on their maple syrup harvest, so that their education could continue, uninterrupted.

Indian Town

On March 25, the General Court granted a township on the Housatonic River, which would become Stockbridge, to the Mahicans, so that they could all live in one place, facilitating their education. Sergeant and Woodbridge each were to be granted 1/16th of the land, although Timothy lodged with Captain Konkapot that spring. At this time, the population increased to about ninety individuals.

The Woodbridges had built a house, the first permanent residence in the township, by January 1737, and John Sergeant lodged with them at this time, to live among his congregation. On May 7, the town, then known only as "Indian Town", was confirmed to the Mahicans, and funding was granted for a schoolhouse and meeting house to be constructed in August, with Timothy appointed to the supervising committee. In 1737, Timothy and Abigail served as witnesses to a land deal between Colonel John Stoddard and the Native Americans, comprising the modern town of Pittsfield. Timothy would be involved with many more purchases and land swaps in the coming years. During the winter of 1738-39, Sergeant and Woodbridge worked to create a passable road from New Glasgow, greatly increasing the accessibility of their town. Timothy was the senior deacon of the church, and identified as a New Light regarding the contemporary Great Awakening (he would later help recruit Jonathan Edwards, and become his greatest ally in Stockbridge).

Stockbridge formed

On June 22, 1739, the town of Stockbridge was incorporated, and the Rev. Arthur Lawrence, a Stockbridge historian, found it very probable that Timothy was responsible for the name, as the Woodbridges had come from a neighboring town of Stockbridge, Hampshire. Due to its new status, town officers had to be elected, and Timothy was chosen for town clerk. One of the conditions of the grant was that four new English families be allowed to settle there, and Timothy's brother Joseph, who became an important citizen, soon joined him. This same year, Timothy was involved in a land swap with the Indians, trading 280 acres of riverfront land in Stockbridge for some 4000 acres in what is now the city of Lenox, his part of which was 480 acres. In 1743, the Mahicans wrote to Governor Shirley, asking that lands be confirmed to Timothy and Ephraim Williams Jr., and the next year, Timothy sold some of his land granted by the General Court to Ephraim Sr.

1749 was a tumultuous year for Timothy and Stockbridge. The Mahicans had many complaints, including that Timothy had illegally purchased a tract of land without the consent of the entire tribe, so a committee was sent to investigate. Despite the fact that the sale was confirmed to be illegal, it was decided he should keep the land. John Sergeant's death in July left the town without a resident minister for over two years, and began a feud for control of the town between the Woodbridges and Williamses.

Interim

Timothy was again elected as town clerk in 1749, and effectively oversaw the mission during the search for a replacement minister. At this time his school had an enrollment of 55 students, and his salary was about 87 pounds for six months of teaching. In November and December, Timothy had several real estate dealings, including a bargain with Konkapot and Umpachene, a petition to Spencer Phips that lands be confirmed, in exchange for a loan he had made to the Mahicans in 1740, and a statement regarding lands he had been granted previously. In April 1750, Timothy and others made a request of Sir John Wentworth, 1st Baronet, governor of New Hampshire, for a grant of a township. In the winter of 1750-51, a number of Mohawks, including Chief Hendrick and Chief Nicholas, relocated to Stockbridge, increasing their population to about ninety.

Jonathan Edwards years

Despite the maneuvering of the Williams family, Jonathan Edwards became the successor to John Sergeant and became the resident minister on August 9, 1751. Timothy, as clerk, wrote up a land deed for Edwards the following April. A man named John Wauwaumpequunnaunt served as translator for Edwards, and also assisted Timothy in his school, and Edwards lobbied that he be compensated more generously.

Management of the boarding school was an ongoing source of contention in Stockbridge. Martin Kellogg had been leading the school, to which Edwards and Woodbridge objected. They requested that a new teacher be sent, and Gideon Hawley arrived in February 1752 to teach the Mohawks and Oneidas (the resident Mahicans were still taught at Woodbridge's school). However, Kellogg was supported by the Williamses and Joseph Dwight, and so refused to abandon his post, resulting in a battle for control. In April, Timothy and other supporters of Edwards met to encourage the few remaining students' families that they should remove their children from Kellogg's classes. In response, Dwight presented a report to the General Court, stating that Kellogg's methods had been working well, until Edwards and Woodbridge interfered, and tried to get Edwards removed as minister. A rare point of agreement between the two camps was that the ginseng craze was drawing many of the Mohawks away. Timothy had been elected to the General Court, and so was able to refute this testimony, as well as to inform Edwards of the proceedings. This feud continued through Edwards' stay in Stockbridge. In addition to being elected as a representative, Timothy, by then known to the Native Americans as Solohkuwauneh, was made a Justice of the Peace in 1752, at the recommendation of Edwards. Timothy later made a judge of both probate and of Common Pleas, in 1761. Unfortunately, his historic docket was later destroyed by a fire in 1846.

On January 3, 1753, Timothy was appointed as guardian of the Mohawk children at the boarding school. In February, the boarding school mysteriously burnt down, and Hawley lost everything. It was widely believed that the Williams/Dwight/Kellogg faction had set the fire, although this was never proven. As a result, it was decided that Hawley might be more successful if he lived among the Mohawks, instead of having them come to him. So, on May 22, 1753, Timothy and Gideon took a trip to Onaquaga, in Iroquois territory. The British were especially motivated to establish a relationship with the Six Nations as they foresaw the onset of the French and Indian War.

Later years

In November 1758, another petition was sent to Thomas Pownall, requesting that Timothy be allowed to purchase another 350 acres of the Stockbridges' land. During these times, church attendance was often mandatory at a certain frequency, and tythingmen were charged with making sure that the families under their watch were attending. If one failed to attend, they were given a choice of paying a fine or spending a day in the stocks. Such was the case with a group of Dutchmen in Great Barrington. Timothy advised them to go the stockade route rather than pay a fine, and even went as far as accompanying them to Sheffield, to ensure they weren't treated badly, as was usually the case with the stockades.

Berkshire County was incorporated in spring of 1761, and Timothy Woodbridge was selected as an associate judge for the Court of Common Pleas. The very first meeting of the court was held at his house in July. In January 1762, Timothy was the moderator for another meeting of the Susquehanna Company in Hartford, Connecticut, and was voted a member of the committee to prepare their case for King George III to confirm their purchase. In April, he wrote a letter to Governor Francis Bernard requesting help in apprehending the murderer of a Stockbridge man named Cheneaquun in Albany. In May, he was selected to a committee to "direct and inspect" the settlement of Susquehanna Company land. In June, the General Court granted 1500 pounds to Timothy, to be distributed to the Stockbridges, for giving up their rights to disputed lands. This was augmented by another 200 pounds the following February. Timothy later supplied the court with a detailed listing of the distribution of this money.

Timothy had again been elected to the legislature in 1762, but was not reelected the following year due to an election rigged by Elijah Williams. In November 1762, the Susquehanna Company voted him to be a part of a committee to meet with the Native American chiefs at Albany to discuss the purchase they had made, which was still disputed. This meeting was set for late March, and Elijah and his supporters took advantage of his absence. At this time, the number of English settlers had increased drastically, and some of them were in favor of splitting the town between the English and Native Americans. Williams called for a town meeting while Timothy was in Albany, and while many of the Native American voters were away on their winter syrup harvest. Timothy heard about this, but was apparently convinced his supporters would reelect him. Williams, however, brought in outsiders to vote for him and used a written ballot, as opposed to the past policy of translating everything into Mahican so that the Mahicans would understand. Even using these extreme tactics, Williams still only won by a three-vote margin. Timothy and his supporters were outraged and demanded an investigation. A petition was sent to Governor Bernard in May with 23 signatures, and Timothy sent another letter in December with 16 signatures. The investigation was delayed until October, and confirmed many of their charges, however the results were allowed to stand.

Family

Timothy married Abigail Day, a descendant of Robert Day, one of the founders of the Connecticut Colony, on November 23, 1736. When their daughter Abigail (the first European child born in the township) was born just over five months later, they each had to pay a fifty shilling fine after pleading guilty to "fornication before marriage". The Woodbridges had ten children and also had a slave servant couple with at least one child of their own. Their son Enoch Woodbridge fought in the American Revolution, was the first mayor of Vergennes, Vermont, and a justice of the Vermont Supreme Court. Enoch's grandson was Frederick E. Woodbridge, who was a member of the United States House of Representatives.