"Jonathan Kingsley Underwood was recorded in the Woodstock
records under that name but as a man dropped the first name
and was always known to his family as Kingsley Underwood.
His first wife d. 6 Feb., 1824, and he m. (2) 30 Dec., 1834,
Clarissa Gunn of Sunderland, Mass., b. 1 Aug., 1779; d. 27
Feb., 1850. Kingsley Underwood d. 2 Nov., 1849, the best-read
man of his town, 'a man of original force of mind, wit, and
poetic feeling'. Some of his poetical compositions still remain
in the possession of the family of his grandson, Francis H. Underwood.
He wrote some articles for the press, one or
more of which appear in Garrison's
Emancipator. He was a
strong anti-slavery, anti-masonic, and anti-alcohol advocate.
The character of the blacksmith in
Quabbin by Francis H.
Underwood, which is a picture of Enfield, Mass., was
based on Kingsley Underwood.
Some of his rhymes were spontaneous, made up naturally on
the spur of the moment. We give one or two quaint samples
of these of the spontaneous sort.
ON THE MARRIAGE OF ARIEL PARRISH AND ANNA WOODS.
Of Aladdin's great lamp we have all heard the story
How it rose in one night in full splendor and glory;
But that is a fiction no mortal can swallow
While a fact comes from Enfield which beats it all hollow,
How a small piece of Woods, sure, the deuce must be in it,
Was changed to a Parish in less than a minute.
In working the roads between Enfield and Ware there was
once a dispute between the road-repairers of the two towns
which led to considerable chaffing. On this occasion Kingsley
Underwood gave vent to the following.
Dame Nature once in makin' land,
Hed refuse left o' stones an' sand;
She viewed it o'er, then flung it down
Between Coy's Hill and Belchertown.
Said she, 'Yeou paltry stuff, lie there!'
An' made a town and called it Ware.
Among his more extended rhymes was a long Essay on Melchisedek in which he attempted to prove that that personage was
the second person of the Trinity. An account of his literary
habits and writings but with no mention of name may be seen
in
Quabbin, pp. 66-67."
