The Isham Brothers of South Wilbraham: Two Homesteads and a Family's New Beginning
Long before South Wilbraham became the independent town of Hampden in 1878, its landscape was being shaped by families who arrived, acquired land, established farms, and raised generations of children. Among those families were the Ishams, whose roots in New England extended back several generations.
Their story is particularly interesting because it brings together two brothers, Daniel and Asa Isham, who established separate homesteads along what is now Wilbraham Road. Their properties were once part of an earlier landholding that passed through several prominent local families before becoming associated with the Ishams in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Perhaps most remarkable is that the Isham family connection to this land has endured for generations, with descendants of the family still living on portions of the original homesteads today.
The story of these two brothers, however, begins much earlier, with their family's journey from Barnstable, Massachusetts, to Connecticut and eventually to South Wilbraham.
The American branch of the Isham family can be traced to John Isham, who appeared in the records of Barnstable, Massachusetts, around 1677. His English birthplace and his precise connection to the historic Isham families of Northamptonshire, England, have never been conclusively established.
John's descendants remained connected to Barnstable for generations, eventually spreading into other parts of New England. Among them was Isaac Isham, born in Barnstable in 1693, who married Abigail Lumbart.
Their son, Daniel Isham, was born in Barnstable on April 13, 1729. He would become the father of the two brothers whose lives and property holdings are central to this story.
These early family connections are documented in Homer Worthington Brainard's 1938 publication, A Survey of the Ishams in England and America, which traces the family's American genealogy.
Daniel Isham, born in 1729, eventually left Barnstable and traveled west into Connecticut. By 1753, he was acquiring property in Bolton, Connecticut, where his brother Timothy was living nearby.
In November 1753, Daniel purchased fifty acres from Matthew DeWolf. However, he subsequently sold the property to his brother John in May 1755 and acquired eighty-two acres in Colchester, Connecticut, from another brother.
Daniel's early years in Connecticut also coincided with the French and Indian War. In September 1755, he enlisted for military service and subsequently served in Captain Israel Putnam's company. His company was assigned to the garrison at Fort Edward, where he spent the winter of 1755–1756. He was discharged on May 30, 1756.
Several weeks later, on July 14, 1756, Daniel married Catherine Foote in Colchester. Catherine was born in 1733 and was the daughter of Josiah and Sarah (Wells) Foote.
The couple established their family in Connecticut, where Daniel became involved in local affairs. By 1764, he was identified in a deed as a resident of Lebanon. In 1774, he and several others petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly for the establishment of the Parish of Antioch, an effort that eventually resulted in a short-lived religious community.
Daniel and Catherine had eight children, including two sons who would eventually become associated with South Wilbraham: Daniel Jr., born September 23, 1768, and Asa, born December 8, 1769.
The other children were Mary, David, Alice, Joseph, Sarah, and Abigail. Their family experienced tragedy when their two youngest daughters, Sarah and Abigail, died in 1776.
Around 1796, Daniel Isham Sr. and his sons Daniel Jr. and Asa relocated from Connecticut to South Wilbraham, Massachusetts.
At this time, South Wilbraham remained part of the larger town of Wilbraham. Its southern section, known as the South Parish since 1782, had become a well-established agricultural community, characterized by farms, family homes, and small businesses.
Much of the southern portion of Wilbraham originated with the division of Springfield's Outward Commons in 1685. These lands were distributed among Springfield's original proprietors, with individual lots extending over considerable distances.
The property that would eventually include the Daniel and Asa Isham farms was identified as Lot No. 81 and originally belonged to the Pynchon family, descendants of Springfield's first settler.
According to Carl C. Howlett's Early Hampden, Mass., Its Settlers and the Homes They Built, Lot No. 81 extended approximately four miles from the East Longmeadow line and was more than 133 rods wide. It covered the Daniel and Asa Isham farms and continued eastward over the mountain through properties that later became associated with several other Hampden families.
The land had already experienced several ownership changes before the Ishams arrived. In 1738, John Pynchon deeded the property to Edward Pynchon. In 1740–1741, Edward transferred it to William Pynchon. That deed referred to a house and barn already standing on the property.
The land subsequently passed through the Stebbins family before Daniel and Asa Isham acquired their respective properties.
This earlier history is important because the Ishams were not the first settlers to occupy this particular portion of South Wilbraham. Their farms became part of a landscape that had already been shaped by several generations of landowners.
The central figure in this portion of the story is Daniel Isham Jr., born September 23, 1768, in Colchester, Connecticut. He married Mary Thomas and followed his father to South Wilbraham around 1796.
In 1799, Daniel acquired property from Daniel Stebbins and Abner Blodgett. This transaction established his ownership of the land on which he developed his homestead.
One of the most remarkable pieces of evidence associated with this property is a handwritten entry in Daniel's personal daybook.
Dated October 16, 1796, the notation reads:
"Then begun to dig my cellar — 2 teams and 3 hands — 2 days."
This brief entry provides an unusually personal glimpse into the establishment of an early South Wilbraham home.
Rather than simply documenting a property transaction, it records the actual work involved in preparing the site for a house. Two teams and three workers spent two days digging the cellar.
The entry also provides an important chronological detail. Daniel had begun work on his homestead before the deed was recorded in 1799. The recording date therefore should not be confused with the date construction began or necessarily the date he first occupied the property.
Howlett identifies Daniel's house as having stood near the location of the former Frank L. Munsell residence on Wilbraham Road.
He further describes the house as similar in appearance to his brother Asa's home, with both properties having been constructed on similarly terraced land.
Unfortunately, Daniel's original house was destroyed by fire in 1849.
Although the house no longer survives, Daniel's daybook entry preserves a direct connection to the beginning of the property. It is a rare example of an early resident documenting the work involved in establishing a home in South Wilbraham.
Daniel's younger brother, Asa Isham, was born December 8, 1769, in Colchester, Connecticut. He married Sarah Chapman on December 21, 1794, in East Haddam, Connecticut.
Asa also accompanied his father to South Wilbraham and established his own property in the community.
In 1811, Asa purchased additional land from Daniel Stebbins. His homestead became the second important Isham property associated with this portion of Wilbraham Road.
Howlett identifies Asa's house with the property later owned by the Leary family.
The two properties are particularly significant because they demonstrate how two brothers from the same family established separate farms in the same developing community.
Daniel's homestead was associated with the former Munsell property, while Asa's was associated with the later Leary property. Both were situated within the original Pynchon Lot No. 81.
The property history also shows how land transferred from one generation of settlers to the next. The Pynchon, Stebbins, and Isham families all played a part in the ownership history of this section of South Wilbraham.
Asa and Sarah raised a large family. Their children included Warren, born in South Wilbraham in 1798, and Asa Worthington, born in 1800, along with Henry, Sarah, Mary Ann, Eliza, Sophia, Wilson, and Chapman.
The family records show that several of their children were born in Massachusetts, providing additional evidence of the family's establishment in South Wilbraham.
Daniel Isham Sr., the father of Daniel Jr. and Asa, died on May 30, 1808, in South Wilbraham. His wife Catherine died on December 23, 1811.
Their deaths marked the end of the first generation of the family associated with the South Wilbraham settlement.
Daniel Sr.'s gravestone inscription, preserved in Brainard's genealogy, reflects the religious beliefs of the period:
"Beneath this stone death's prisoner lies. The stone shall move, the prisoner rise, When Jesus with almighty wordCalls his dead saints to meet their Lord."
The inscription is a reminder of the importance of religious faith in early New England communities.
The two brothers, Daniel and Asa, continued their lives in the area, although their family lines eventually extended beyond South Wilbraham.
Asa and his wife Sarah eventually relocated to Watertown, New York, where Asa died on April 7, 1852. Sarah died there on November 7, 1853.
Their children and descendants also moved into other parts of New York and beyond, carrying the Isham family name into another generation.
The Isham name remained prominent in the local community for generations. Daniel Isham Jr. was serving as a Wilbraham selectman as early as 1818, and members of the family continued to take an active role in civic and religious affairs. Some served as deacons in the Congregational Church and later became involved in the Federated Church, following the union of the Congregational and Methodist congregations. Their involvement extended beyond religious life, reflecting the family's continued presence in the community.
When the Town of Hampden was incorporated on March 28, 1878, members of the Isham family were also involved in the developing town's early government, education, and cemetery administration. Their participation illustrates how the family's influence extended beyond the original homesteads and continued into a new generation of community life.
For many years, the southern portion of Wilbraham was known as South Wilbraham. On March 28, 1878, the community separated from Wilbraham and became the independent Town of Hampden.
By that time, the Isham homesteads had become part of an earlier generation of settlement. The original Daniel Isham house had already been lost to fire, while Asa's former property continued through subsequent ownership.
The story of Daniel and Asa Isham is an important part of the early history of South Wilbraham. Their decision to establish separate homesteads along what is now Wilbraham Road helped shape the agricultural landscape of this part of town.
The next time you travel along Wilbraham Road, it is worth remembering that the properties along this familiar route hold stories extending back generations. Among them is the story of two brothers, Daniel and Asa Isham, whose farms became part of the early history of South Wilbraham and, eventually, the Town of Hampden.
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