History of Northampton, Massachusetts, from its settlement in 1654;

544 HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTON. [1766-1788.
Personal Reminis- William Boltei', wliGii teii years of age, in
cences. 1776, Came to live in the family of Major
Hawley ; his brother Benjamin had lived
there before him, and a younger brother followed. William
rode with Major Hawley from Boston, and he reported
that his companion was treated with great respect along
the route. He says : "When
it was announced that Ma-
jor Hawley was coming, all was in motion to set things in
order and wait upon him, and many people came to see him
during the journey." In one of his gloomy turns, when he
thought the British would prevail, and that he would lose
his head, some person undertook to comfort him with the
assertion that only a few of the leaders would suffer, such
as Adams, Hancock, etc. , and he exclaimed that he would
be among the first to be executed. His wife was always
kind and affectionate towards him, and treated him tenderly
in all his despondency.
In appearance and dress he was plain and
i^'^ess. unassuming. On Sundays he wore a
checked shirt, made by his wife, and on
Appearance and
other occasions was ordinarily clad in homespun garments.
Benjamin Tappan, in 1768, then a new-comer into town,
called upon him with a letter of introduction. He found
the door-latch raised by a leather strap, and seeing a plain
looking man in every-day working garb, inquired if Mr.
Hawley lived there. " My name is Hawley, sir," was the
reply, much to the astonishment of Mr. Tappan.
3iarriage. Josepli Hawley was married in 1752, to
Mercy, daughter of Joseph Lyman, who was
a direct descendant from John, son of Richard Lyman, one
of the early settlers of this town. His mother was much
opposed to the match, and tried to break it off. Mercy Lyman
is represented as a person of fine appearance, of excel-
lent disposition, and "a beauty at 70." They had no chil-
dren. She died Nov. 29'", 1806, at the age of 77.
jiajor Hawiey's Gift
Major Josepli Hawley, who died in March,
to the Town. 1788, bequeathed to the town considerable
real estate— nearly one thousand acres in
all — for the " support of a school." In Belchertown there