William Pynchon | |
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 Engraving of a contemporary portrait of William Pynchon, 1657 | |
| Born | October 11, 1590 Springfield,Essex, England |
| Died | October 29, 1662(1662-10-29) (aged 72) Wraysbury, England |
| Known for |
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| Spouse | Anna Andrews |
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William Pynchon (October 11, 1590 – October 29, 1662) was anEnglishcolonist andfur trader inNorth America best known as the founder ofSpringfield,Massachusetts. He was also acolonialtreasurer, originalpatentee of theMassachusetts Bay Colony, and theiconoclastic author of theNew World's firstbanned book.
Pynchon was also a prolific letter writer. He maintained a wide network of correspondents across the Atlantic and exchanged letters with figures such as John Winthrop, Jr. and Roger Williams. These letters offer valuable insights into Pynchon's personal life, his views on trade and commerce, and his relationships with other colonists and Native Americans.
An original settler ofRoxbury, Massachusetts, Pynchon became dissatisfied with that town's notoriously rocky soil and in 1635, led the initial settlement expedition to Springfield,Hampden County, Massachusetts, where he found exceptionally fertile soil and a fine spot for conducting trade. In 1636, he returned to officially purchase its land, then known as "Agawam." In 1640, Springfield was officially renamed after Pynchon'shome village, now a suburb ofChelmsford inEssex, England — due to Pynchon's grace following a dispute withHartford, Connecticut's CaptainJohn Mason over, essentially, whether to treat local natives as friends or enemies. Pynchon was a man of peace and also very business-minded — thus he advocated for friendship with the region's natives as a means of ensuring the continued trade of goods. Pynchon's stance led to Springfield aligning with the faraway government of the Massachusetts Bay Colony rather than that of the closerConnecticut Colony. His critique onPuritanism,The Meritorious Price of Our Redemption, was published in London in 1650, and after reaching Boston the book was burned onBoston Common by the Puritan-controlled Massachusetts Colony. The Puritans pressed Pynchon to return to England, which he did in 1652.
William Pynchon was one of New England's first and most business-minded settlers. In foundingRoxbury, Massachusetts, in 1630, Pynchon settled land near a narrowisthmus, which was necessary to cross in order to reach thePort of Boston — thus all of Massachusetts' mainland trade needed to pass through his town. Roxbury — originally named "Rocksbury" for its rocky soil — was a poor site on which to farm in comparison to the fertileConnecticut River Valley. Thus, in 1635, Pynchon carefully scouted out the Connecticut River Valley for its best location to both farm and conduct business. On the banks of the Connecticut River, in an area called "Agawam" (ground overflowed by water) by local Native people, Pynchon and his collaborators found such a place. In locating the land that would become the City of Springfield (first called Agawam Plantation), Pynchon found land just north of theConnecticut River's first large falls, theEnfield Falls, which was the river's northern terminus navigable by seagoing ships. By founding Springfield where Pynchon did, much of the Connecticut River's traffic would have to either begin, end, or cross his settlement. Additionally, the land that would become Springfield was inarguably among the most fertile for farming in New England. A high-volume fur trade began.[2]
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Earlier settlers of the Connecticut River Valley — who then resided in the three Connecticut settlements atWethersfield,Hartford andWindsor — had been primarily religious-minded and did not judge land for settlement in the shrewd terms that Pynchon did. Perhaps most strategically of all, Pynchon's settlement was located equidistant to the New World's (then) two most important ports,Boston andAlbany, with Native roads already cleared to both places. Springfield could not have been better situated — and currently, as Springfield is the Connecticut River Valley's most populous city, history seems to have vindicated Pynchon's original assessment of the land.[3][4]
In founding "The Great River's" northernmost settlement, Pynchon sought to enhance the trading links with upstream Native peoples such as thePocumtucks, and over the next generation he built Springfield into a thriving trade town and made a fortune, personally. As noted above, after disagreements with Captain John Mason and laterThomas Hooker about how to treat the native population, Pynchon became disenchanted with the Connecticut colony. Pynchon believed that Connecticut's militant policy of intimidating and brutalizing natives was not only unconscionable, but bad for business. An example of his own attitudes towards the Native tribesmen may be found in his warrant seeking a thief who had stolen the petticoat of Sarah Chapin, wife ofRowland Thomas and daughter ofSamuel Chapin. In the 1650 warrant he instructed the constable's conduct as follows-[5]
"By virtue hereof, you [Constable Thos. Merrick] are to make inquiry among our Indians on the other side [of the river] what Indian hath broken open Rowland's house, and taken away her best new kersey petticote & some linin in a Baskett, & you are to bring the Indian before me, or the goode, if he make an escape...[amended] if you find him at Woronoco [Westfield,] you may persuade him to come, and push him forward to make him come, but in case you cannot make him come by this means, then you shall not use violence, but rather leave him
After Pynchon became disaffected with the Connecticut Colony, he annexed Springfield to Massachusetts Bay Colony, confirming that colony's western and southwestern boundaries. Pynchon built a warehouse in what was once Springfield, but is present-dayEast Windsor, Connecticut, known as Warehouse Point — and to this day, it still bears the name. In the years 1636–1652, Pynchon exported between 4,000 and 6,000beaver pelts a year from that location, and also was the New World's first commercialmeat packer, exportingpork products.[6] The profits from these endeavors enabled him to retire to England as a very wealthy man.[7]
In 1649, William Pynchon found time to write a critique of his place and times' dominant religious doctrine,PuritanicalCalvinism, entitledThe Meritorious Price of Our Redemption. Published in London in 1650, it quickly reached Boston and caused a sensation. Pynchon was one of Massachusetts' wealthiest and most important men, and in his book — which confounded Puritan theology by claiming that obedience, rather than punishment and suffering, was the price of atonement — was immediately burned on theBoston Common (only 4 copies survived), and soon after became the New World's first-ever banned book. Officials of the Massachusetts Bay Colony formally accused Pynchon ofheresy and demanded that he retract its argument. Coincidentally, Pynchon's court date took place on the same day and at the same place that the New World's firstwitch trial — that of Hugh and Mary Parsons (not Mary Bliss Parsons) of Springfield — took place. Instead of retracting his arguments, Pynchon stealthily transferred his land holdings to his son John — who later became an equally large influence in Springfield — while William Pynchon returned toEngland in 1652, where he remained for the rest of his life.[8] He died inWraysbury, then inBuckinghamshire in England in 1662, and was buried there at St Andrew's Church.
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After Pynchon's return to England, his son John extended his father's settlements in the Connecticut River Valley northward, foundingNorthampton,Westfield,Hadley, and other towns. His daughter, Mary Pynchon, marriedElizur Holyoke, after whom the city ofHolyoke, Massachusetts and the nearbyHolyoke Range are named.
William Pynchon is an ancestor of the acclaimed novelistThomas Pynchon.
Since 1915, theOrder of William Pynchon has been awarded to individuals who have "rendered distinguished service to the community" byThe Ad Club of Western Massachusetts.[9]
