Richard Ellis, the first settler of Ashfield, Mass., and the ancestor of many of the families of that name in the Connecticut valley, was born in Dublin, Ireland, Aug. 16, 1704, and was thirteen years of age when he landed in this country, as stated by one of his descendants, Aaron Smith of Stockton, N. Y. Tradition has handed down the following account of him: Mr. Ellis was the only son of a widow. A native of Ireland who had become a wealthy planter in Virginia, and having no children, made application to a friend in Dublin to send over a youth of promise to be adopted into his family and brought up under his care and patronage. Young Ellis was selected and started for this country. On his embarkation his passage was paid and an agreement made with the captain of the ship to land him safely in Virginia, but the captain proved faithless to his trust, brought the youth to Boston, and there sold him for his passage money. After serving out the time thus unjustly exacted from him he left Boston and settled in Easton, Mass., where he married Bridget Phillips and removed to Ashfield, then called Hunstown, where he probably made a settlement about the year 1742. Here they lived and raised a family of eight children. One of the most distinguished soldiers of the Revolutionary War from western Massachusetts was Col. Hugh Maxwell, who lived in that part of Charlemont now within the bounds of Heath. Col. Hugh Maxwell was born in Ireland, April 27, 1733. He was a devoted patriot and rendered his adopted country valuable service in the French and Revolutionary wars. He was in the battle near Lake George and at the capture of Fort William Henry. It was chiefly owing to his influence that there was not a Tory in his town. On the Lexington alarm he marched as lieutenant with a company of Minute Men to Cambridge. He was in the battle of Bunker Hill and received a ball through his right shoulder, and although he never entirely recovered from his wound, he served throughout the war, fighting at Trenton, Princeton, and Saratoga. He was also with the suffering army at Morristown, and endured the horrors of Valley Forge. Col. Maxwell enjoyed the friendship of Gen. Washington and other distinguished patriots of the Revolutionary struggle. At the age of sixty-six years Col. Maxwell started on a trip to visit the land of his birth, and was lost at sea during the voyage. Benjamin Maxwell, a brother of Col. Maxwell, also did service in the French and Indian wars, and was a lieutenant in a company of Minute Men in the Revolution. He lived in Heath, in the homestead occupied by his daughter Mary. His sons were Winslow, Benjamin, and Patrick.