newly cleared land. This Mr. Edwards bought and sent to New York,
bringing back goods in return. In five years he became the most
prosperous man in the county, buying and clearing a very large farm on
which he employed as many as fifty men in the busy season.

The outbreak of the Revolutionary struggle was a most inopportune time
for Timothy Edwards; but for that he would have become one of the
wealthiest men of his day. All business was suspended and he gave
himself to his country's cause with intense devotion. He was at once
appointed on a commission with General Schuyler to treat with the
Indians; was appointed commissary to look after the supply of the army
with provisions. From 1777 to 1780 he was a leader in the Legislature of
Massachusetts; was elected to the Continental Congress with John Hancock
and John Adams; was a colonel in the Massachusetts militia and a judge
of probate. When the war broke out Timothy Edwards was worth $20,000,
which he had accumulated in addition to all his other burdens. When the
war closed he had nothing, and was $3,000 in debt to New York merchants.
To understand what sacrifices he made it must be understood that when
the government was in great straits he took $5,000 of money that was as
good as gold and let the government have it, taking in return money that
was of slight value. He also took fifty tons of flour to Springfield
and let the government have it for paper money at par. There were no
greater heroes in the Revolutionary war than such men as Timothy
Edwards. He was nearly fifty years old when the war closed and he
found himself the father of thirteen children and without property or
business. Full of courage and enterprise he succeeded in supporting his
family in comfort and in regaining a substantial property before his
death, which occurred in the midst of the next war, October 27, 1813.

It was not an easy thing to educate children in those times. When the