Full text of "History of Worcester county, Massachusetts, embracing a comprehensive history of the county from its first settlement to the present time, with a history and description of its cities and towns"

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GOODELL
LIBRARY

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HISTOET

WOECESTEE COUNTY,

MASSACHUSETTS,

EMBRACING A

COMPREHENSIVE HISTORY OF THE COUNTY

FROM ITS FIRST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME,

WITH A

HISTORY AND DESCEIPTION OF ITS CITIES AND TOWNS.

>**^tl^^tj^J^*

11^ TWO TOLUMES.

Vol IL

BOSTON :
C. F. JEWETT AND COMPANY.

1879.

Entered according to Act of Congress in thie year 1879,

By C. F. JEWETT & COMPANY,

In the OfHce of the Librarian of Congi-css at Washington.

BOSTON :
WKIOHT ANB POTTER. PRIXTINO COMPANY,

NO. 79 MILK STREET.

CONTENTS.

YOL. II.

TOWNS IN WORCESTER COUNTY.

Leominster, .
Lunenburg, .
Mendon,

MlLFORD,
MiLLBURY,

New Braintree,

northborough,

northbridge,

Oakhabi,

Oxford,

Paxton,

Petersham. .

PniLLIPSTON,

Princeton, .

eoyalston, .

Rutland,

Shrewsbury,

Southborough,

Southbridge,

Spencer,

Sterling,

Sturbridge,

Sutton, .

Templeton,

Upton, .

Uxbridge,

Warren,

Webster,

Westborough,

West Boylstox,

Westminster,

Winciiendon,

Worcester, .

PAGE
1

Hon. Charles H. Merriam,

Adin C. Estabrook, 28

Joliu G. Metcalf, M. D., 42

Rev. Adin Ballon, 64

George A. Stockwell, A. M., 100

George K. Tufts, Esq., 118

Rev. Horace Button, 128

Rev. Abijali P. Marvin, 140

Maj. John B. Fairbank, 157

George A. Stockwell, A. M., 169

George A. Stockwell, A. M., 189

George W. Horr, LL. B., 199

George W. Horr, LL. B., 215

Hon. Charles Theodore Russell, 228

George W. Horr, LL. B 243

J. Warren Bigelow, Esq., 258

George A. Stockwell, A. M., 269

Dexter Newton, Esq., 284

Rev. Abijah P. Marvm, 295

Albert W. Curtis, Esq., 314

Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, 340

A. C. Morse, Esq., 353

Rev. William A. Benedict, 372

Varanus P. Parkhurst, Esq., 389

Hon. Velorous Taft, 409

George A. Stockwell, A. M., 421

Mrs. Eunice P. Cutter, 437

Frederick D. Brown, M. D., . . - 456

Rev. Ileman P. Do Forest, 479

Horatio Houghton, Esq., 500

Jonas Miller, Esq., 515

Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, 526

Charles A. Chase, A. M., 548

aiT/i^

iv CONTENTS.

INDEX TO TOWNS.

PAGE

LEOAnNSTER, 669

Lunenburg, 670

Mendon, , 671

MlLFORD, 672

Mlllbury, . . .■ 673

New Braintree, 675

northborough, 675

northbrldge, 676

Oakham, 677

Oxford, 678

Paxton, 680

Petersham, 680

Phillipston, 681

Princeton, 682

eoyalston, 683

Rutland, 684

Shrewsbury, 685

southborough, 686

Southbridge, 687

Spencer 688

Sterling, 689

Sturbridge, 690

Sutton, • .... 692

Templeton, 693

Upton, 694

Uxbridge, 695

Warren, 696

Webster, . . . • 698

Westborough, • 699

West Boylston, 700

Westahnster, 701

WiNCHENDON, 702

Worcester, 704

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

The Salisbury Place, Leominster, ....

Manufactory of Joslin & Williams, Leominster,
Hopedale Machine Company's Works, Milford,
Estabrook, Wires & Co.'s Factor}',
Portrait of Rev. Peter Whitney, ....

Old Homestead of Rev, Peter Whitney, Northborough,
Whitinsville Cotton Mills, Northbridgc,
The Whitin Machine Works, " . .

Linwood Mill — Whitin Bros., " . .

Paul Whitin Manufacturing Corapauj-'s Mill, Northbridge,
Memorial Building, Northbridge, ....

Wachusett House, Princeton, ....

Residence of Thomas Rice, Shrevrsbury,

Old Homestead of Maj. Gen. A. Ward, Shrewsbury,

Sumner House, Shrewsbury, ....

Southbridge Print Works, Southbridge,

Marcy Homestead, " ...

Town Hall, Spencer, ......

Pope Mansion, Spencer, .....

Josiah Green & Co.'s Boot-factory, Spencer,
Residence of Levi Wilson, Uxbridge, . . * .
C. A. & S. M. Wheelock's Mill, Uxbridge, .

Rivulet Mill, Uxbridge,

Residence of H. N. Slater, Webster,
H. N. Slater's Cambric Works, "
Portrait of Samuel Slater,
H. N. Slater's Cotton Mill,
" " Woolen Mill,

Facing page 16
" 24

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80
96
130
136
142
142
144
144
152
232
272
280
280
302
310
316
320
334
424
432
432
464
464
468
470
470

[V]

LIST OF ILLUSTEATIONS.

The Dr. William Paine House, "Worcester,

The Chandler House, "Worcester, .

Forehand & Wadsworth Manufactor}-, Worcester,

Loring Goes & Co.'s Wrench-factory, "•

Works of Rice, Barton & Fales, "

Washburn Iron Companj^'s Works, "

Old South Church, Worcester,

All Saints' Church, "

Salisbury Mansion, "

Public Library Building, Worcester,

Washburn & Moen Manufacturing Co.'s Works, AV

Residence of A. Macullar, Worcester,
" " Geo. Crompton, "

J. n. & G. M. Walker's Factory, ''

Manufactory of T. K. Earle & Co. "

Residence of T. K. Earle,

Residence of Loring Coes,

Crompton Loom Works,

Crompton Carpet Co.
Residence of J. H. Walker,
Residence of Geo. S. Barton,
Union Passenger Station, "

Residence of Warren McFarland, "
Residence of J. Edwin Smith, "

Portrait of Levi Lincoln, "

Ames Plow Company's Building, "
Salisbury Building, "

Arcade Malleable Iron Works, "

E. W. Vaill's Chair Works, "

Stephen Salisbury's Factories,
Portrait of Ichabod Washburn,

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HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY.

Vol. II.

LEOMINSTER

BY HON. CHARLES II. MERRIAM.

CHAPTER I.

ORIGINAL GRANTS — BOUNDARIES AND SURFACE — GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE —
STREAMS AND WATER-SYSTEM FREEDOM FROM INDIANS FIRST SETTLE-
MENT PROPRIETORS' AGREEMENT PROGRESS FAVORABLE SITUATION

INDIAN DEED OF THE TOWN.

This town, situated in the north-easterly part of the county of Worcester,
forty miles by carriage-road and forty-six miles by the Fitchburg Railroad, and
fiCty-thrce miles by the Old Colony Railroad, from Boston, and twenty miles
from Worcester, was formerly — a large share of it — a part of Lancaster ; being
substantially the northerly half of what was called the "Lancaster New" or "Ad-
ditional Grant," a tract of land conveyed by George Tahanto, Sagamore of the
Nashua tribe of Indians, to Insigne John Moore, John Houghton, and Nathan-
iel Wilder, dated June 13, 1701, and recorded in the Piopiietors' Records,
now deposited with the records of the town of Leominster, and contirmcd to
the town of Lancaster by an order of the General Court, passed Nov. 21 and 22,
1711. To this was afterwards added, by chapter lOG, Acts of 1838, a part of
the unincorporated land lying westerly of the first tract, called "No Town."
The first tract contained 1G,G02 acres, or thirty-eight acres less than twenty-six
square miles, according to a survey made by Jonas Kendall, Charles Grout,
Levi Nichols, David Wilder, and Joseph G. Kendall, as a committee of the
town, in the year 1830; and the second, or "No Town " tract, about 2,000
acres, or a little over three square miles, making the present area about
twenty-nine square miles. This territory is mostly quite regular in shape,
and is bounded northerly by Fitchl)urg and Lunenburg ; easterly, by Lunen-
burg and Lancaster; southerly, by Sterling; and westerly by Princeton and
Westminster. The Lancaster "New Grant," including that part of it now

TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

in Sterling, was described by the committee of the Council sent out to examine
it, while the subject of confirmatiou was before the General Court, as "rocky
and mountainous and poorly accommodated with meadow." Such, however,
would not seem to be a fair description of it at the present time ; certainly not
that'part of it in Leominster, the town of Leominster being considered one of
the best agricultural towns in the county. It is true that the surface is uneven
and that there arc twelve distinct hills, of greater or less magnitude, dotting
the various sections, the names of which are " Bigelow Hill," " North Monoos-
nock Hill," "Carter Hill," "Nichols' Hill," and "Houghton Hill," in the northern
portion ; "South Monoosnock Hill," "Sheldon Hill," "Gardner Hill," "Baberry
Hill," and "Long Hill," in the central ; and "Rocky Hill" and "Bee," or "Legate
Hill," in the southern portion. But only a small portion of the town is mountain-
ous or abrupt in formation, and seven out of the twelve hills are cultivated, or
capable of cultivation, to their very tops, having good roads over them, access-
ible in all parts for agricultural purposes, and furnishing some of the best grass
and tillage land in the State. The other hills, especially North and South
Monoosnock, are, in some parts, high, steep, and of granite formation; and
grow nothing in these parts, and furnish nothing of value, except wood and a
handsome variety of dark granite, suitable for building purposes and stone-
masonry generally, for which it has been, and is now, used quite extensively
in town and somewhat elsewhere. Other portions of the five hills are cul-
tivated, and furnish excellent pasture and mowing land. South Monoosnock
has an elevation of 1,020 feet above sea-level, and, in its central position,
towers in its rusTiredness above all its fellows; in combination with Nichols,
North Monoosnock, Carter, Sheldon, Gardner, Baberry, Long and Rocky
Hills, it forms a view of rich, elevated land and rugged hill-scenery through
the westerly part of the town, of rare beauty, and, as seen from some points,
hardly anywhere excelled.

The southerly portion of the town is plain land, flat or undulating, and of
sandy formation, and, while there is some good farming-land in this section,
the soil is much of it light and unfit for cultivation or grass. The valleys of the
Nashua and other streams contain fine intervale lands, producing good crops of
grass without much cultivation ; and the uplands, which are generally of a
strong, clayey soil, make excellent firms for the usual crops grown in Massa-
chusetts, and especially for the more hardy fruits, such as apples and pears, to
which they are largely devoted.

The geological formation is the Merrimack schist. In a portion of the cen-
tre village a very hard blue ledge comes nearly to the surf ice, and wells cannot
be dug without blasting, while the water obtained is quite hard, though perhaps
not unhealthy. In another section, on the plain lands, no water can be reached
without going down from sixty to eighty feet. Generally, however, there is
an abundant supply of good water, in wells of reasonable depth, for domestic
uses. Clay of good quality for bricks, and sand for mortar, arc found here at

LAKES AND STREAMS.

several points ; and there was a good supply of field-stones in most parts of
the town for fencing, to which nse they have been largely devoted on the farm s
and for rough walls and other purposes.

The "Nashua," or, as it was sometimes called in old records, "North" river,
which enters the town from Fitchburg on the north-westerly side about a mile
and a half from the most northerly corner thereof, is joined soon after by
Baker's Brook, also coming in from Fitchburg. A little farther north is a lanzo
stream, which flows through the north village by a pretty direct course soulh-
eastcrly to the town of Lancaster, at a point about a mile and a half from the
south-easterly corner of Leominster, cutting the town of Leominster into two
sections, jmd leaving about one-sixth of the whole territory on the north-east-
ei-ly side of the river. This river, most of the Avay in Leominster, passes
through a wide and comparatively level valley, though at some points havin<T^
sufScient fall to give excellent water-power. Four privileges have alreadj^ been
developed in town, where a large amount of machinery is run; and there arc
other places on the stream where good water-privileges might be taken u[).
The valley of this stream, for a considerable part of the distance in Leominster,
is formed on its southerly side by high, steep banks, which appear to have
been made by the wearing away of the deep, loose, gravely formation by the
action of the water in the time of freshets, dm-iuG: the lonir a<Tes it has been
working. Some of these banks are as much as seventy-five feet high, and arc
carved out as if done by the hand of art, leaving wide tracts of rich level sfrass
land renewed from year to year by the overflow. The " Scar," at the turn on
Main Street near the north village, is a sample of this working. The river at
some places is still busily wearing away these formations, bringing down the
stalely trees with giant power, and enlarging the area over which, in spring,
it roams at will, fertilizing and making productive its domain. Nothing could
be more grand than the thought of this silent but stupendous work, or more
lovely than some of these dales in summer.

The town is also divided again near its centre by "Monoosnock Brook,"
another considerable stream, rising in "Rocky Pond," in Leominster, and flow-
ing northerly through the Leominster Reservoir, and through a portion of
Fitchburg, back into Leominster, entering it on the same side as the Nashua,
farther south, and passing by a circuitous route through the centre village,
over a rapidly-dcseeuding surface to the Nashua River below the north village.
It furnishes a large juunber of mill-sites, eleven of which, within two miles'
distance in the centre village, have been taken up and afford power, Avith
the aid of the Leominster Reservoir, built by James IL Carter and other
manufacturers on the stream in 1850, for an extensive and profitable busi-
ness in various departments of manufacture ; and there are other sites in
town on this stream which can be taken up if Avantcd. "Morse Brook," with
its tributaries, "Slack Brook," "Hale Brook," "Haynes Brook," and " Quar-
ter-of-a-Milo Brook," all rising in Leominster, and emptying into "Mouoos-

TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

nock Brook " in Morsovillc, near the centre vilhigo, has a large amount of
fall : and up to the time of the construction of the Leominster water-works,
which take their supply from this brook, it furnished a good deal of water-
power, privileges having been taken u[) and developed at five different places
thereon.

"Fall Brook," the next largest brook in town, rises near Baberry Hill, in
the southerly part of the town, and flows circuitously in an easterly direc-
tion into the Nashua Hiver near Lancaster line. This stream has a branch
which rises near Sheldon Hill, in " Colburn Reservoir," and which, for the
Avant of any other name, we call "Colburn Brook," flows easterly through
a portion of the centre village, having considerable fall, and furnishing, Avith
the aid of the reservoir above, a considerable amount of power, Avhich has been
taken up at three different places. It empties into Fall Brook in the easterly
part of the toAvn. A tributary of Colburn Brook, called "AYood's Brook," rises
near Long Hill, and, running easterly and northerly, empties into Colburn
Brook between Union and Pleasant streets. , Wood's Brook is not large
enough to furnish water-poAver worth utilizing. Fall Brook has at present
but one mill-site in use on it; but it is a very permanent stream, and up
to its ordinary flow furnishes as uniform power during all seasons as any
stream in toAvn. Fall Brook has another branch, called "Kendall Brook,"
rising near Bee Hill, Avbich runs northerly, furnishing power for the Davis
shop, and empties into Fall Brook near the Nashua River in the easterly part
of the town.

" Bartlett Brook," in the south-westerlj' corner of the town, rises near
Baberry Hill, and flows southerly, furnishing power to Bartlett's mill, into the
town of Sterling.

Chualoom Brook, the outlet of the pond of that name, lying mostly in
Lunenburg, flows southerlj' through a portion of Leominster into Lunenburg,
Avhere it empties into Massapong Pond. It is not now used for power, although
it formerly had a mill on it, Avith considerable machinery run by it. White's
Pond, lying mostly in Lancaster, has its outlet in Leominster, Avhich forms a
brook called "White's Brook," and Avhich flows westerly and southerly into the
Nashua River, but is not used for power. There are some other small brooks
in town, draining small areas, and furnishing AA^ater for some purposes ; but
these are not of much magnitude. The town has but one natural pond of ranch
size wholly Avithin its limits, Avhich is Rocky Pond, in the south-Avesterly part
of the town, in Avhat formerly was "No Town." This pond has an area of
about ten acres, is quite deep, and is the principal source of Monoosnock
Brook; it formerly contained a large quantity of fish.

The easterly line of the toAvn includes a small portion of White's Pond, and
the north-easterly line a small part of Chualoom Pond. With these ponds and
streams scattered over its surface, but a small portion of the town is deficient
in a good natural supply of water ; but the part not supplied is an important

FREEDOM FROM INDIANS.

one, enibracinp^ a section of the centre village, and the land near to it, being
that most wanted, in the growth of the town, for building purposes. Nature,
however, has prepared one of the best places anywhere to be found, within
our own borders, for supplying this deficiency, as well as for supplying pure
aqueduct water generally, which, by the construction of the water-works, has
been made available on substantiall}'' all the streets in both villages.

In addition to these many desirable qualities, this ]an<l, when taken posses-
sion of by the first settlers, was covered with a magnificent growth of walnut,
oak, birch, maple, pine, chestnut, hemlock, and other varieties of wood and
timber. Taking, then, into account all the physical features of value and
attraction, it is easy to see why our fathers selected this place for the building
of a home, notwithstanding the unfavorable report of it referred to ; and to find
in them an important reason why they and their descendants have so abund-
antly flourished here.

The town of Leominster is substantially devoid of Indian history. It is true
that the whole territory of this town, as was also that of many other towns
around, was originally owned by Sholan, or Shauman, sachem of the Nasha-
ways, whose residence and headquarters was Waushacum, now Sterling, and
was occupied as hunting-grounds by him and his tribe. Very little, however,
is now knowni about the connection of these Indians with the land composing
the town of Leominster, the tribe having ceased to exist in any organized form
in this region before the Lancaster new grant was much settled by white men,
or the town of Leominster had been incorporated. It does not now appear
that any of these Indians ever had a permanent place of residence within the
boundaries of this town, or that they ever used any of this land for other than
hunting purposes, or that they ever troubled any white inhabitant of the
town :iftcr it was settled. This may have been, and probably was, owing
somewhat to the fact that the land had been purchased of the chief, and paid
for to his full satisfaction, and that no dispute or ill-feeling, so far as is known,
ever arose between the purchasers of this land and the Indians about the title
to it, although the grant embraced the home and headquarters of the chief;
also to the fact that the power, and with it the courage and spirit, of the tribe
and its rulers, had been thoroughly broken by the deadly contests with the
earlier settlers in the region for possession of and supremacy over the land
which had come down to them as the home of their fiithers, — for how many gen-
erations there is no record, — and which they valued as hunting-grounds, and
for its productions, with which to support themselves and their children ; and
which they loved as a home, in some degree as we love it now. This had
resulted in great slaughter and defeat; and from the effects of this, and the
advancing civilization brought by the new settlers, they seem, as a tribe, to
have uone into eternal oblivion.

The first organized movement made by individuals, looking to the division
and settlement of the Lancaster new grant, was made at a town meeting in

TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

Luncaster, Eel). 5Lh, 1711, N. S., by the preparation and partial execution of
tlic following agreement, the signing of which, by the persons whose names are
attached thereto, was afterwards completed according to its terms, so far as is
known, viz. : —

" Know all men hy these presents that we y® subscribers beins: desirous to jc-ine in y®
puichaseingof a tract of land which lyeth on the west side of the township of Lancas-
ter, which lands have been formerly petitioned for to the General Court which Ihe
Inhal)itants of said Lancaster are still in pursuance of, and their petition is now with
v** Court for granting the same, and considerable money hath already been paid to
George Tahanto and other Indians towards the purchasing of said land though not as
yet consumated. Wee the; subscribers do hereby bind ourselves our heirs executors &
administrators firmly by these presents each one his & theire equall share of the pur-
chase of said land & of all charges that have or shall be necesseircly expended about
the same: and to run equall hazard of obtaining 3 "^ said land, Provided that if the
said land be obtained we shall have each one an equall share of it, considered as lo
quantity and quality : and the whole of the money to be paid unto such person of the
town as shall be appointed by them to receive the same : at or before y® tifth day of
March next: & shall subscribe hereto at or before the 15th day of Felirnary current:
or else to lay no claim to the said land. Dated February y^ fifth 1710-1 L Some of
y^ persons subscribe:! y® same day : and others had their names entered afterwards,
the whole being ninety-eight that were the purchasers of said Land.

John Prentice.
David Whetcomb.
Jonas Houghton, Jr.
John Houghton, Sen.
John IIarrcs«.
Jonathan Wheeler.
Joseph Houghton.
Edward Ilartwell.
Bozalecl Sawyer.
Thomas Wilder, Sen.
Joshua Atherton.
Matthew Stone.
Henry Willard.
Josiah White, Jun'.
James Snow.
John Willard.
Gabriel Priest.
Ephraim Wilder.
Ebenezcr Boaman.
James Atherton, Jun^
Joseph Ilutchins.
JamQs Houghton.
Benjamin Houghton.
Peter Joslin.
Jonathan Willard.
Josei^h Fairbank.
William Sawyer.
William Houghton.
Josiah White, Sen'.
Mar\' Wilder, Widow.
Jonathan Wilder.
James Wilder.
Thomas Ross.

Jonathan Moor.
Samuel 1 Carter.
Thomas Carter.
Nathanil Wilder.
Benjamin Bellows.
John Whetcomb.
Samuel Willard.
Jonathan Sawyer.
Josiah Willard.
John Moore.
John Beaman, Jnn^
Gcumaliel Beaman.
Ebenezcr Wilder
Jonas Houghton, Sen^
John Goss.
Jacob Houghton.
Josei)h Whcelock.
John Warner, Sen'.
John Warner, Jun''.
Henry Houghton.
William Blodgett.
Joseph Brabrook.
Josiah Sawtell.
Josiah Whetcomb, Jun'
John Kendall.
Benjamin Harris.
Joseph Willard.
Elias Sawyer.
John Wilder, Sen'.
Thomas Sawyer.
Nathaniel Sawyer.
Joseph Wilder.
Thomas Tooker.

Jabez Fairbank.
John While.
Samuel Warner.
Hooker Wood, Jun'.
Daniel Priest.
Jonathan Ilonghton.
llezakiah Willard.
John Beaman, Sen'.
Robert Houghton, Jn'.
George Glazier.
John Prcscott.
Thomas Wilder, Ju'.
J>jhn Keyes.
John Johnson.
Ebenezcr Prcscott.
William Divoll.
Simon Aeevens.
Ilezekiah Whetcomb.
Caleb Sawyer.
Samuel Gibbs.
Samuel Bennett.
John Wildei', Jun'.
John Bowers.
Robert Honghton, Ju'.
Josiah Wheeller.
Oliver Wilder.
John Priest.
Joseph Sawyer.
Jonathan Wlietcomb.
Richard W^ilder.
Edward Pi)cl|)s.
Jeremiah Willson, Jnn'.
John Houghton, Jun'."

EARLY POPULATION.

The first persons who were actual settlers of the tosvn of which we have any
account were Gershoni Houghton and James Boutell, who erected houses here
in the year 1725 — the first on what is now the Charles C. Boyden place on
Pleasant Street, in the southerly part, and the second on the Calvin Morse
place, on Cole Street, in the south-westerly part of the town. In 1732, Jon-
athan White settled on the farm now owned hv Jackson King on Main Street,

I/O '

in the northerly ])art of town. In 1733, Thomas Wilder and Nathaniel Carter,
and soon after Benjamin Whetcomb, Jonathan Wilson, Jonathan Carter, Wil-
liiim Divoll, Gardner Wilder, Ebenczcr Policy, Oliver Carter, Josiah Carter,
Thomas Iloughton, Thomas Davenport, and others, came in and settled in vari-
ous parts of the town ; so that while at the end of nineteen years after the con-
iirmatio!! by the General Court of the new grant to the town of Lancaster, or
in 1732, only-two houses had been built, and so far as is now known, there
were not more than live fimilies settled on the territory comprising the present
townof Leominster. In 1733, five years later, so i-apid had bce.a the increase, that
a movement was begun by those living in this section to secure a division of the
old town of Lancast 4-, and the incorporation of the new town of Leominster.
These first settlers were generally hardy, intelligent and industrious farmers,
well fitted by birth and education for the work they were undertaking, of sub-
duing the forests and building up a thrifty and prosperous community, where
they and their descendants might enjoy the blessing of peace, plenty, educa-
tion and religion. This was afterwards shown by the results of their efforts. It is
said by the Hon. David Wilder in his history of the town, published in 1852,
that "few, if any, of the original proprietors removed on to the new grant, but
their sons were among the first settlers." This is no doubt true, as it was more
th;m twenty-five years after the confirmation, and nearly twenty after the first
organization of the l)ody of proprietors, before there was any considera-
ble number of settlers on the land ; and it is not to be supposed that the
staid farmers who were mostly the leading men of Lancaster at the time, after
twenty years would be likely to break up their well-settled homes, — in so rich
and beautiful a town as Lancaster was at that time, — and move into this com-
jiarative wilderness and begin the work over, of building new homes, in
old age. But that their sons should take up this inheritance of the fathers for
that pur[)ose is altogether likely ; and the fact that only two surnames appear
in Wilder's history among the early settlers other than the forty-one diflcrent
surnames attached to the proprietors' agreement, and only a few surnames of
men belonging here other than those of original proprietors appear anywhere
in the town records for twenty-five years alter its incorporation, shows pretty
conclusively that these first settlers, not the original proprietors, were gener-
ally their sons and relatives, coming here from Lancaster.

These early settlers seem to have been solid, substantial and energetic, rather
than brilliant and striking men, and these qualities characterizing the first set-
tlers, ajjpear to have come down to a large extent through all the generatious

8 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

to the present time. Hence no very distinguished persons in any department
of life liave been born here, though the town has always had strong and effect-
ive native sons, at home and abroad, and some that have attained considerable
distinction. They have been solid rather than brilliant men, good, successful
workers, but not being, or aspiring to be, geniuses.

The pioneers in the settlement of this town, and their immediate descendants,
were singularly exempt from those peculiar hardships and trying adventures
to which the early settlers of the parent town of Lancaster, and of many other
towns in the State, were subjected in their early history. The circumstances
under which the settlers began here were favorable to such a result. They
were at first a part of the town of Lancaster, which was one of the oldest towns
in the State, and one which had suffered bitter ex{)eriences, and fought its way
to supremacy over all contending forces, and had become wise in the manage-
ment of affairs. These men who had done this in the old town were largely
the fathers and near relatives of the pioneers here, and were ready to stand by
and counsel and assist them in any emergency ; and the first settlers themselves
were, many of them, men of standing and experience in the old town, and knew
how to manage the new one so as to secure peace and good order rather than
strife and contention, and how to thrive and succeed under adverse circum-
stances. So that the town has no striking features of hardship, suffering, or
disaster in its early history. It is true that the life of the pioneers here, was,
like that of all new settlers, one of toil, and in many instances of scantiness, if
not of poverty, as compared with the present. Yet a study of their records,
and the little history, in detail, preserved of them, show that they were men
fitted for their lot, healthy and robust, cheerful and hearty, with their noblo
wives, and larjje growinsj families around them, — all at home on the farm,
harmoniously working together, in unity of object and spirit, on the land which
was the common heritage of the family, secured to it by honest toil and sacri-
fice, and with many of them the only place they had ever known or loved as a
home, forming with these families independent communities, a sort of little
states, ruled over by the pioneer fathers, sometimes, it is true, in great strict-
ness, yet always in love ; being in their simple ways exempt from much of the
wear and strain of the present, and having many comforts and pleasures even,
which it is hard to secure now.

The earliest known land grant connected with the history of the town of
Leominster is the one made by George Tahanto of the Indian title to the Lan-
caster " New Grant," before referred to, which has sometimes been called an
agreement, but which was evidently intended to be a deed, and designed to
convey that restricted title which the legislature and the courts of this Com-
monwealth at an early day recognized as belonging to the Indian tribes within
her borders to the land therein described. This deed is as follows : —

" The Bargain of George Tahanto and other Indians, for land of them j^urchased, &g.
" Know all men by these presents, That I, George Tahanto, Indian Sagamore, for

INCORPORATION.

and in consirleralion of what money, namely, twelve pounds, was formerly paid to
Sliolan, my Uncle, sometime Sagamore of Nashuah, for the t)urcliase of said townsliip,
and also forty-six shillings formerly paid by Insignc John Moore and Jolin Houghton
of said Nashuah to James Wiser, alias Qticnepenett, now deceased, but especially for
and in consideration of eighteen jwunds paid part, and the rest secured to be paid, by
Jolm Houghton and Nathaniel Wilder, their heirs, executors and assigns forever, a
certain tract of land on the West side of the Westward line of said Nashuah township,
adjoining to said line, and butts southerly for the most part on the Nashuah river, bear-
ing westerly towaids Wachusett Hills, and runs northerly as far as Nashuah township,
and which land and meadows, be it more or less, to be to the said Insigne John Moore,
John Houghton, and Nathaniel Wilder, their heirs and assigns, to have and to hold
forever. And I, the said George Tahanto, do hereby promise and engage to procure an
order from the honored General Court, for their allowance and confirmation of the sale
of said lands as above said, and also that I will show and mark out the bounds of said
lands in convenient time, not exceeding four months : and also make such deeds and
conveyances as ma}' be necessary for the confirmation of the premises, and also I the
said Geoige Tahanto do by these presents fully ratifie & confirm all and every the said
premises of Nashuah, alias Lancaster to the Inhabitants and Proprietors thereof;
according as it was formerly granted to them or their ancestors, by my Uncle Sholan :
and laid out to them by Ensigne Thomas Noyes and confirmed by the Honored General
Court, for the [ierformance of all as above said, I the said George Tahanto have set to
my hand and seal, this twenty-sixth day of June. In the thirteenth year of the Reigne
of our Sovereign Lord William the Third over England &c King. Annoq® Domini one
thousand seven hundred and one.

In presence of George Tahanto

John Wonsquon his O m^^ik

his Q mark Mary Aunsocamug

John Aquitticus her Q mark

his Jj mark
Peter Puckataugh

his P mark
Jonathan Wilder
John Guild

This conveyance was afterwards confirmed, as before stated; and is the
fonudation of all the laud titles within the territory first granted by it, which
titles thereunder have never been questioned. No other early laud grants of
special interest are kuowu of any part of the town.

CHAPTER II.

INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN — FIRST BUSINESS — CHURCH HISTORY — BUILD-
ING OF A ilEETING-IIOUSE EARLY TASTORS — LATER RELIGIOUS ENTERPRISES

EDUCATIONAL MATTERS ESTABLISHMENT OF SCHOOLS AMPLE PROVISION

FOR PUPILS.

The town was incorporated by an Act of the Legislature, June 23, O. S.,
July 4, N. S., 1740, being the 151st town incorporated in the State as
it then existed, including what is now the State of Maine, set off in 1820.

VOL. II.— 2

10 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

The first town meeting was "notified iind warned" by Joseph Wheclock, "one
of the Principal Inhabitants," by anthority of an order from the General Court,
passed June 25, 1740, whose return of the same is dated July 7, 1740, whei-ein
he says : "I have notified and warned all the Inhabitants within said Township
to assemble and convene at the House of Mr. Jonathan White, Innholder in
said Town, on Wednesday ye ninth day of July instant, at eight of the clock
in the forenoon, then and there to choose officers for said Town as within men-
tioned." The record of the meeting says that, " At a meeting legally warned
the Inhabitance of the town of Leominster being meet at the House of Jonathan
White, Innholder, within said Town on Wednesday the ninth day of July
Annoque Domini 1740 and choose jNIr. Joseph Wheelock, Moderator for the
goverment of said meeting" — and that they "choose and swore Thomas
Houghton, Town Clerk ;" Thomas Houghton,EbenezerPolley, Jonathan Wilson,
Nathaniel Carter and Thomas Wilder, assc:tsors and selectmen ; Gershom
Houghton, town treasurer; William Divol, constable; Gardner Wilder and
Jonathan Carter, fence viewers; Jonathan White, sealer of weights and
measures; Benjamin Whitcomb, collector and sealer of leather ; Joseph Whee-
lock and Nathaniel Carter, surveyors of highways ; Cenjamin Whitcomb and
Gardner Wilder, hog reeves ; Thomas Davenport, surveyor of clapljoards and
shingles ; and Ebenezer Policy and Thomas Houghton, men to take care of the
deer, &c. No other business seems to have been transacted at the first
meeting.

The second town meetins: in the order of date, though not in the order of
record in the book, was held at the house of Benjamin Whitcomb, innholder,
Sept. 1, 1740. Ebenezer Policy was chosen moderator. At this meeting, —

" First. The Town voted to Buikl a Bridge Cross the river whare the Road is laid
out to sd. river.

" Second. The Town voted to raise forty pounds for the Buikling of Said Bridge:
■which forty pounds is to be Wrought out as Highway Work b}' the Survaiors of said
town allowing each man four shillings ^ da^'^ and two shillings ^ day for a yoakc of
.oxen and one shilling for a cart a day."

This was all the business transacted at this meetins:, and doubtless refers to
a bridge across the Nashua River at the North Village, where the present stone
bridsfe is on JNIain Street, which was afterwards referred to in the records as
the "i^reat bridge."

The third meeting was held at the house of Benjamin Whitcomb, "Innholder
within said Town, on Monday ye fifteenth day of Deceml)er Annoque Domini
1740." Thomas Davenport was chosen Moderator. At this meeting : —

" First. Voted, that thay would build a Meeting House in the 'year forty one.

" Second. The Town voted to build yc, Meeting House fifty feet in length and forty
feet in Bredth and Twenty three feet in Height.

" Third. The Town voted to choose a committee of three men namely Jonathan
White, Joseph Wheelock, Nathaniel Carter, to see that the work be done.

MEETING-HOUSE BUILT. 11

" Fourth. The Town voted that the committee should have a Carpenter to hew and
Frame said House allowing all the Inhabitance a liberty to Avork his proportion if he
come to work when he is notified by said committee and shall be allowed six shillinixs
a day and three shillings a day for a yoake of oxen and tJiay are to begin work the last
of March next.

" Fifth. The Town voted to raise two hundred pounds money to defray the charges
of building said house as far as it will do."

"The town voted that the meeting-house should be built on the north side of
the holh)\v at the cast side of Ebcnezer Houghton's field, it being the' Itmd that
Ebenezcr Wilder offered to give said town, for the accommodation of building
a meeting-house on."

"The town voted to raise forty pounds money to provide weights and measures
and a town-stock of powder and bullets and flints and a town-book, and to
defray other town charges."

These three meetings were all that were held the first season after the town
was incorporated ; and the business transacted in them, simple as it was,
constituted the civil organization with wuicli it started off; namely, a set of
town officers, provision for a bridge over the only stream that could not be
forded at all times, for a meeting-house, for a stock of ammunition and flints,
for a record book and for some small incidental expenses.

When Leominster was incorporated, towns being parishes as well as munici-
palities, the first business after the organization was to build a meeting-house
and settle a minister. The first of these duties was done here in 1741, under
the vote passed at the third town-meeting, held Dec. 15, 1740, so far as to
raise the frame of a meeting-house 45 by 35 feet on the ground and 22 feet
high, and board and cover it and lay a loose floor, with probably a few glass
windows and some movable seats. This house was first occupied for religious
worship in the winter of 1742, but was not completed and painted till 1753.
It stood in the north-westerly corner of what is now the old cemetery ; and
was used by the town as a place of religious worship and for town-meetings
till 1775, when it was sold at public auction and removed to Still Kiver, in
Harvard, and there used as a meeting-house. The next meeting-house was
built by the town in 1774-5, on the land now used as the Centre Common.
This house was occupied by the town for the same purposes as the old one till
Oct. 12, 1823 ; when, the present Unitarian meeting-house having been com-
pleted by the towai at a cost of $8,000, on land purchased in 1817 of the widow-
Maria Chase for that purpose, leave was taken of the old house, which was
afterwards moved on to the land bought of Mrs. Chase, and made into a town
house, and there used for town purposes till 1851, when the present town
house was completed, and subsequently into a high school building with a
public hall in it, known as Gardner Hall ; and in 1870 was consumed by fire.

The first minister of the town was John Kogcrs, a lineal descendant of the
martyr of that name, and a son of Rev. John Rogers of Boxford, Mass., born

12 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

Sept. 24, 1712, and a graduate of Harvard University in 1732, and was thirty-
one jears old when ordained in 1743. He is said to have been a man of
learning and al)ility, and was understood when settled to be strictly orthodox
in his religious views, according to the sentiments of his time and locality ; but
it was found after ten or twelve years that he was more liberal than a majority
of his parish, and a movement was made by those who were dissatisfied to have
him dismissed, which resulted, after a long contest — in which there was more
or less ill-feeliuij in the town and church meetings, where he seems to have
been in the minority ; before councils, where he did not succeed ; and before
the courts, where the matter was finally arranged — in the connection being
severed in 17G2 by mutual agreement, Mr. Rogers being paid what was louud
due him. A second precinct being incorporated in town, Mv. Rogers bec-.unc
and continued its minister nearly twenty-five years, till about the time of his
death, Oct. G, 1789. In 1788 the town was again united in one parish and
church by act of the General Court. Mr. Rogers, having been dismissed by
a vote of both the town and church, Jan. 28, 1738, soon after ceased to
preach, except to his followers in their own houses and in school-houses; but
the town did not hasten to settle any one in his place till its difficulties were
settled with ISIr. Rogers. Dec. 22, 17G2, however, after hearing a number of
candidates, and having united in calling Mr. Francis Gardner, a son of Rev.
John Gardner of Stow, Mass., born Feb. 29, 173G, and a graduate of Harvard
University in 1755, the town and church joined in his ordination as their
second minister. Mr. Gardner proving to be a man of good sense and
reasonable liberality in sentiment, as well as a fine scholar and an excellent
business man, was generally satisfactory to all classes, and continued to preach
to a united congregation almost fifty-two j'curs, till his death, which occurred
suddenly at Watertown, on his way to Boston, June 2, 1814. His remains lie
buried in the old cemetery.

The church in February, and the town at the annual town-meeting in Mtirch,
1815, made choice of Rev. William Bascom, formerly the minister at Fitch-
buro^ ; and May 10, of the same year he was installed as the third minister of
the town and church. Mr. Bascom was no doubt less broad and cath(jlic in
his views and feelings than his predecessors, and being so unfortunate as to
follow so long and pleasant a pastorate as that of Mr. Gardner's, — as is often
the case in parishes so situated, — was unable to satisfy, and was dismissed, at
his own request, after about five years' service, March 2, 1820. IIo was a
graduate of Harvard in 1802, and is said to have been an excellent man in all
private relations.

Mr. Abel Conant, the fourth and last minister of the town, born in Milford,
N. II., July 17, 1793, and graduated at Dartmouth College in 1815, and for
some time preceptor of Groton Academy, was ordained Jan. 24, 1821 ; and
after a pleasant and successful ministry of more than fifteen years, — during
which the parish, May 4, 1835, was severed from the town and formed into

EECENT DENOMINATIONS. 13

the First Congregcational Society of Leominster, the new society being still the
first parish and succeeding to all the property and rights held by the town in
its parochial capacity, — died of scrofulu, Dec. G, 1836.

Thus, for nearly a hundred years, the town in its corporate capacity
maintained a minister of the gospel and the ordinary services of a church and
society of the Christian religion without much division. The preaching was
generally broad and unsectarian in its character, and intellectually of a high
order; and the ministers employed were noble and true men, leaving a deep
unsectarian, though somewhat conservative religious impression upon the
people generally, Avhich manifests itself to this day.

The old church, under its new organization, continued to flourish, was
one of the largest country societies in the denomination, and had some very
able ministers settled over it ; but within the last few years, though still a
strong society, it has suffered from the loss of many of its best supporters by
death. Its present minister is Rev. AVilliam 11. Savage.

The Orthodox Congregational Society of Leominster was organized under
the name of the Evangelical Society, Dec. 25, 1822, consisting at the start of
only ten membors. Its first meeting-house was erected in 1824, and is now
the Catholic Church on Main Street, having been occupied l)y its builders until
sold to the jNIethodist Society in 1838. Its second place of worship was erected
on its present lot, on Park Street, in 1836, and dedicated Feb. 8, 1837. This
house Avas struck by lightning in 1850, and came near being destroyed.
In IMarch, 1871, it caught fire from an over-heated furnace, and was en-
tirely consumed. The society had, previously to the fire, arranged to build
its present splendid brick church during the then coming season, which was
completed so as to be dedicated in Aug. 19, 1873, costing about $63,000
besides the lot. It seats about eight hundred and fifty persons, and is one of
the finest country churches in the State. Soon after the new church was built
a portion of the members formed a new society at the North Village, under the
name of the Congregational Society of Christ, which division, with the large debt
incurred in the new church building, drew pretty hard and almost discouraged
some ; but, by great effort, the debt has been largely provided for, and the
prospects of the society made promising. This society is now without a
minister.

The Methodist Episcopal Society was formed March 27, 1823, and the
church legally organized March 10, 1828. Its first meeting-house, standing at
what is now the corner of Prospect and Harvard streets, and at present used
for a dwelling-house, was dedicated in December, 1829, and Avas used till
January, 1839, when the society removed to the house purchased by it of the
Evangelical Society, on Main Street. The society enlarged the last-named
house in 1839, erected a steeple on it, and afterwards occupied the house till
it was sold to the Catholic bishop in 1871 ; the society then removed to its
present beautiful brick church, on Main Street, in 1872, which it had previously

14 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

erected at a cost of some $65,000, and which has a seating capacity of eight hun-
dred and fifty. The ministers of this society being of the itinerant order, and
remaining but short periods, have consequently been numerous. The debt of
the society at the beginning of the recent hard times was quite large, and some
of its best supjjorters suffered severely from the pressure, so that, for a time,
its prospects seemed somewhat dark ; but by courage, devotion and good man-
agement, it seems in a fair way to overcome its difficulties, and be a power for
good in the future as in the past. Its present minister is Rev. E. A. Smith.

The Central Baptist Church of Leominster was duly organized March 10,
1850, by the former members, principally, of the Baptist Church established
April 30, 1821, and dissolved Oct 27, 1849. It was really but a re-organization
of the Baptist sentiment in town, which began with the conversion of Capt.
David Allen and his wife in 1818, and which, for a time, was connected with
the Baptist Church in Holden, and afterwards helped to form a Baptist church
in Princeton, with which it remained, either as a branch or otherwise, for many
years. The first place of worship of this society was the old John Richardson
tailor-shop, on Main Street. Its first meeting-house, built by Capt. David
Allen, between Oct. 23, 1830, and July 2, 1832, — the building contract bear-
ing the former and the receipt the latter date, — for $834.35, on land now
occupied for a residence by S. A. Meads, which was a gift to the society by
Calvin Joslin, was occupied by it until its dissolution in 1849, and was after-
wards owned and used by the Catholics until they purchased their present house
of worship on Main Street. At present it is occupied b}'^ said Meads as a barn
and carpenter's shop. In 1849 the new society purchased its church-site, on
West Street, of the First Congregational Society, and erected its present
symmetrical and tasty church-edifice, with a seating capacity of four hundred
persons. This society, although it has had many discouragements and made
frequent changes of pastors, is now in a flourishing condition under their pres-
ent popular minister, the Rev. O. D. Kimball, settled Sept. 1, 1876.

The first movement for the formation of a Catholic congregation in Leomin-
ster was made in 1849, when Rev. M. W. Gibson, pastor at Worcester, came
here and said mass in one of the Catholic families. He subsequently continued
his visits monthly; and, as the numbers increased, applied to the selectmen
for the use of the town hall, which was generously granted, and services were
held there twice a month. In 1851 the small meeting-house owned by the
Baptist Society, on INIain Street, near the North Village, was purchased and
fitted up, and when Fitchburg was assigned a resident pastor, Leominster
formed part of that parish, and was attended by the priests thereof; viz.,
Fathers Turpin and Foley. In 1871 their present church and parsonage were
bought of the Methodist Society, and refitted to suit their purposes ; and, to
accommodate their increasing numbers, remodeled and very much enlarged
in 1876, so as to give a seating capacity of eight hundred, making a fine
church. Leominster was made an independent parish in 1872, and the present

EDUCATIONAL POLICY. 15

efficient pastor, Rev. Daniel Shell, appointed ; the church was cledicated to
Almighty God, under the patronage of St. Leo, and is now a large and flour-
ishing parish.

The Congregational Society of Christ, at the North Village, was organized
in 1872, and has worshipped in Kendall Hall so far, but has a very tasty new
meeting-house nearly completed, on an eligible site on Main Street, in the
village. The society takes in a large share of all the church-goers in the
northerly part of the town, and under its present minister, Rev. E. G. Smith,
appears to bo flourishing, and promises to be a strong society.

From the incorporation of the town in 1740 to the pr.^sent time the inhab-
itants of Leominster have ever taken a deep and active interest in the welfare
of their public schools. The schools have always been sustained by generous
appropriations of money ; and the adoption of a Aviso and efEcient management
by the early settlers has contributed largely to the acknowledged success of the
schools. Leominster is one of the few towns of the Commonwealth that was
never divided into legal " school districts." The laws authorizins: towns to
divide their respective territories into school districts were never adopted by
the inhabitants of Leominster.

Not only did the town repeatedly refuse to divide its territory into school
districts, thus avoiding the evils of district corporations, but also, in several
instances, anticipated the action of the General Court in requiring and making
provision for a more systematic supervision of the public schools. For more
than half a century — from 1747 to 1803 — the schools were examined once
a year, at the close of the winter term, by the clergyman and the selectmen.
During that period the school-books were few — the Bible, Psalter and
Dilworth's spelling-book being the principal ones; but soon afterwards the
books used in the schools became too numerous, since almost every teacher
would introduce new ones. The result was, that scarcely any two schools in
town had the same books. To remedy this evil, and to provide for a better
inspection of the schools, the town early in 1803 chose a school-committee,
whose duty it should be to visit the winter schools at the beginning as well as
the close of the term, to take the books into their own hands, to select the
lessons, and make a thorough examination of the several classes. The school-
committee were also authorized to prescribe what books should be u<ed in the
several schools ; hence they became uniform throughout the town. About the
same time registers, somewhat similar to those now required by law, were
introduced. Thus the town anticipated, by nearly a quarter of a century', the
action of the State, in making provision for a better supervision of the public
schools ; for it was not till 1826 that the law was enacted, making it obligatory
on towns to choose a committee to superintend the schools. Such was the
system established by the fathers for the management of their schools ; and in
the same just, equal, and republican spirit, have the school aflairs of the town
been administered to the present time, with such modifications as have been

IG TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

made ucocssaiy by the increasing population in the Centre and at the North
Vilhige dining the hist quarter of a century.

For a period of fifty-seven years, from 1791 to 1848, the money raised for
the support of schools was divided equally, or nearly so, among the schools in
different parts of the town. Sometimes this equal division Avas made of all
but $75 or $100, and the balance was distributed at the discretion of the select-
men, or of a committee chosen for that purpose, or of the school-committee ;
and this equal division was just and equitable, for all the schools were what
are now called "mixed schools," and the circumstances of all were very
similar. But in 1850 the number of families in town had increased to five
hundred or more, and in order to meet the icquisillons of the law it became
necessary to establish a High School. Since that time the number of scholars
in the Centre and North Village has increased so rapidly that at the present
time, besides the High School with its two departments, three teachers and
more than a hundred pupils, it requires the maintenance of three grammar and
eight intermediate or primary schools to accommodate them all, where fcjrmerly
there were but two mixed schools. This concentration of the population and
school-children in the Centre Village made it practicable to make a proper and
desirable classification of the scholars.

This grading of the schools constituted the first important innovation upon
the old-time custom of supporting separate mixed schools in ditFcrent parts of
the town. In all schools where it is practical)le, a proper classification of the
scholars has now, for such a length of time, been proved to bo so manifestly
beneficial in its results, that it requires no argument to be ofTercd in its favor.
Of course, the establishment of the hiirh and graded schools, in the Centre and
North Village, rendered imperative some modification of the former method of
distributing the school money. Still the same principle is acted upon in
giving, so far as practicable, an equal amount of money to all the common
schools, with the intent that all shall enjoy equal school privileges.

The most important departure from the ancient method of managing school
affairs lies in this, that since 18G9 the town has entrusted the care of the school-
houses and the selection of the teachers entirely to the school committee,
instead of another committee chosen for that purpose.

Another innovation of recent origin consists in desi^fuatinir the several
schools by means of numbers, which is equally as definite as the former
method, and avoids the use of the word "districts" as inapplicable to towns
not legally so divided, and also the word " wards " as not legitimate in the
meaning for which it was used. But this change is not material. The spirit
and animus of the ancient system remains ; for the town, in its corporate
capacity, still builds all the school-houses, takes care of and keeps them in
repair, divides the school money as equally as circumstances allow among the
several schools, and hires and contracts with all the teachers by a committee
chosen for that purpose. And though that committee be the school committee,

THK SAi.TsHi iiv Tr.\CK, T,i;o:« iNsiKU, :mass.

SCHOOL APPROPRIATIONS. 17

they are none the less chosen officers of the town, and their continuance in
office depends upon the will of its citizens.

The wisdom and excellence of the school system is abundantly manifested
by the prosperity of the schools, and is further illustrated by its capability of
expansion to any extent to meet the wants of an increasing population. And
the reverent gratitude of the present generation is due the fathers for the
inheritance of a school system so nearly perfect in itself, and so eminently
adiiptcd to its wants.

In December, 1747, the first money was raised "for schooling," and it was
voted " that it should be schooled out, one half on the north side of the river
and the other half on the south side of the river." Of course, the schools must
have been kept in private houses. The sum raised was about £10, or $40. In
those days, and until the Revolution, £1 sterling was about the same value as
$4 in silver. In 1748, the town, at the March meeting, also voted "to build a
school-house and set it at ye moeting-house in said town," but it was not built
till the next year, 1749. So here, as elsewhere, the descendants of the Pilgrims
planted the school-house hard by the meeting-house. First the church was
organized, and then schools were established for the formation of a reliijious
and educated community. The amount of money raised for schools during the
first ten years, 1747-1757, varied from £10 to £13 6.9. Sd., or from about $40
to $56.

During the second decade, 1757-1767, the sum raised for schools gradually
increased from £15 to £40, or from $60 to §160. Some years this amount was all
expended at the school-house ; in other years at three places, as the selectmen
should think proper.

Thus for the first twenty years after the first money was rai-sed for the sup-
port of schools in 1747, there was but one school-house in town, and that was
in the Centre near the meeting-house. For some years there was but one
school kept, either winter or summer, and this was at the school-house ; at
other times, particularly in the latter half of the period, there were three
schools during the summer taught by women, one in the school-house at the
Centre, one in the northern, the third in the southern part of the town in pri-
vate houses.

In 17G7 it was "voted to divide the town into three parts for schooling."
It Avas also "voted that the town should pay the charge of building three new
school-houses, one in each part of the town" ; and these school-houses afforded
all the accommodations for attending school that the children enjoyed for the
next twenty-four years, or till 1702, though the population of the town in 1790
had reached the number of 1,197, consisting of about two hundred families.

From 1767 to 1774, the sum raised for schools was about £40, or $160.
During the Revolutionary war the sum raised for the suppport of schools was
small, and one year, 1777, no appropriation was made. From 1780 to 1790,
$333.33 was the amount appropriated for schools. In 1791, it was voted to

VOL. II.— 3

18 TOWN OF LEOMINSTEE.

divide the town into seven different parts, to be called "wards," and to build
seven school-houses to be finished during the next year. From 1701 to 1805,
inclusive, the sum raised for schools was gradually increased from $550 to $700.
In 1806, a new ward was established and a new school-house built, called No. 8.

From 1803 to 1836, a period of thirty years, a sum varying from $800 to $900
was appropriated for schools, $800 l)eing equally divided among the eight
wards, and the amount exceeding $800 being allotted to the different schools
at the discretion of the selectmen.

From 1837 to 1848, inclusive, $1,200 were annually raised for schools.
During this period the population in the Centre had increased so much that two
or three schools were required to accommodate the children, and another ward.
No. 10, was established, comprising a [)art of wards three and four; and in
1845, a new school-house was erected for the convenience of the increasing
number of scholars at the North Village. The money raised during this time
was divided as equally as practicable, generally at the recommendation of a
committee, consisting of the school committee or some member thereof, and
one citizen from each school ward, who was nominated by the inhabitants of
the same and approved by the town. And this method of dividing the school
money was continued till 1853, since which time it has been distributed accord-
ing to the recommendation of the school committee in their annual report, or
expended, as of late years, at their sole discretion.

In 1849, $1,500 were raised for schools; in 1850, $1,900; in 1851 and 1852,
$2,150. On account of the establishment of the High School in 1850, and of
the rapid increase of the town in population and wealth during the last twenty-
five years, the sum of money for schools has greatly increased. In 1855 the
amount was $2,976.36; in I860, $3,323.67; in 1865, $3,979.96; in 1870,
$6,600; and in 1875, $8,750. Of this last sum, $350 were expended for
teaching vocal music.

This year, 1879, the town raised for the support of schools the sum of
$9,900, with which a High School is maintained for the benefit of all
the inhabitants (having two departments, three teachers and more than one
hundred pupils), three grammar, eight intermediate and primary schools in the
Central and North Village, classified according to the scholars' attainments,
and six mixed schools in the outskirts of the town. None of these, except No.
7, is more than two miles from the Centre, all have comfortable and commodious
school-rooms, furnished with blackboards, maps, globes and necessary appara-
tus, and in all are employed well educated, faithful and experienced teach-
ers : if the children of the present generation fail to acquire a good education,
the fault must be theirs and their parents, and not because the town fails in
any degree to supply all necessary means and facilities. *

* No historic sketch of the school system aud school aflfairs of the town can be complete that
floes not record the name of Jonas Henry Kendall amoui? the generous benefactors of the town.
He died in 1863, a descendant of an ancient and honorable family. By his will, besides

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS. 19

CHAPTER III.

PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS HIGHWAYS AND BRIDGES — PUBLIC PARK CJ^^IE-

TERIES — TRAINING FIELD WATER-WORKS TURNPIKE CORPORATIONS

RAILROADS AGRICULTURE MANUFACTURES MILITARY SPIRIT — THE

REVOLUTION AND LATER WARS POLITICAL QUIET — NOTABLE MEN IN PUB-
LIC LIFE LOCAL PRESS BANKS AND ORGANIZATIONS — PUBLIC LIBRARY.

The first two votes passed by the town after its incorporation as a town,
were those heretofore referred to in connection with the second raeetinsf of the
town, held Sept. 1, 1740, providing for building a bridge across the Nashua
River, in the North ViHage, which made all the business done at that meeting,
were the commencement of a system of public improvements, in the town,
hardly second to that of any town in the Commonwealth. This bridge was built
immediately after the vote was passed, in a very thorough and substantial
manner; the abutments being made of pine logs, many of them from two to
three feet in diameter, and firmly locked together. Tiiis bridge was located
where the present stone bridge on Main Street — one of the finest structures in
the county, and costing the town nearly $25,000 — was built in 1872. In
clearing away for the foundation of this new stone bridge, these logs were
found after having remained in the earth, under the road-bed, traveled
over for more than a hundred and thirty years, as sound, except from one-half
to one inch in thickness of sap on the outside, as they were in their native
home in the primeval forests of the town. Many superstructures had been
worn out by the action of the elements and the large amount of travel on this
principal thoroughfare between the two most important sections of the town,
and been replaced by others, all resting more or less entirely on the southeily
side of the stream, on this simple wooden foundation ; and this, too, when to all
appearance and as everybody supposed, the southerly abutment was made
entirely of stone, the stone having been laid outside of the wood and hirgely
held up thereliy. Indeed, so solid was this foundation of wood, and so hard
to get out, that when the bridge was built in 1872, it was decided to cut away
sufiicicntly to bed the new stone work on solid earth and leave this old struc-
ture in, as a foundation for the road-bed, where for aught we know it may
remain for a thousand years or more, before it is all changed to anything but
simple wood, so durable was the pine timber of the original forests of the
country, when kept moist. The road referred to in this vote was the first laid

minor bequests to individuals and a gift to tlie town of a fine bell for the Town House, and
$r',OGO for a ball and scbool-room at Nortb Leominster, bo bequeatbed to tbc town $5,000 for
a Free Public Library, tbc income of $10,000 for tbo support of tbo Iligb Scbool, and tbe income
of $:],000 for tbe benefit cf tbe scbool at tbe Nortb Village. It is particularly for bis benefactions
to tbe cause of education tbat bis name sbould be held in grateful remembrance by all lovers of
sound learning and generous culture.

20 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

out by the town authorities of Leominster, all its earlier roads having been laid
out by Lancaster. The record is as follows :

" Laid out a By way from y® land of Cap. John Bennett, it begins at y' Mill pond
of Mr. Ebcnezar Wilder about four Rods above y" Dam and Itt Runs strate into y^
Bfoaid Roaid Unto The Bridge Made over y* Brook a little Distance north of y* Log
House y' is Now John Bennets and said Roaid Iss five rods wide and is Laid out by

Thos. Wilder, \

Nathaniel Carter, > Select Men.
October y* P' 1740. Jonathan Willson, )

And accepted by y* town in March town Meeting Leominster A. D, 174 2-3. And
truly Rec**^ p"" Me. Thos. Davenport, Town Clerk.'"

This road now forms the portion of Main Street, in the North Village, from
the stone bridge to a point near the engine-house, where the brook crosses the
street, but has been greatly reduced in width. The mill-pond referred to is
now the Wheelwright paper-mill pond. The " Broad Road," so called, was laid
out live rods wide by the tcnvn of Lancaster, in 1734, from Lancaster, running
near White's Pond, over Folhmsby Hill, through the easterly part of the North
Village, and on the westerly side of Chualoom Pond to Lunenburg, and now
forms part of Prospect and Main streets. Within the next fifteen or twenty
years all the principal roads in town were laid out substantially where they
now are, except Mechanic Street from Monoosnock Brook to the Nashua River,
laid out in 1800 and 1802 (communication with the easterly part of the town
having before that time been by the DivoU Road leading from Lancaster Street
near the Johnson Place across the plain by the Hollis J. DivoU Place to the
river, now seldom used) ; the portion of Central between Union Street and
Piatt's corner, laid out in 1850, and Pleasant Street, from Park to Franklin
Street, laid out in 1816; so that for a hundred years or more thereafter but
few entirely new roads were laid out, but some alterations were made, greatly
improving portions of these roads, as in the case of Central Street or the road
to Sterling, avoiding Bee Hill, made in 1830. Within the last ten years,
however, a large uumber of new streets have been opened and old ones
widened and straightened and many of them graded, with wide, paved side-
walks, making them almost metropolitan in their character, and costing the
town a very large amount of money. Among these recent improvements in
roads is the new stone arch bridge over Monoosnock Brook, on Mechanic
Street, built in 1873, — a very fine structure, made of Leominster granite,
dimension work, laid full joints in best cement mortar, on a solid ledge founda-
tion, iifty feet wide, with a twenty-four feet arch and a capped granite wall for
railings, making a bridge which would seem to defy the ravages of time to
destroy it. There are other fine, substantial stone bridges in town, made fifty
feet wide to correspond with the width of the streets ; but none so large or
costly as the two referred to. The town has always maintained good roads
and bridges, and to-day stands high in this respect.

THE CENTRE COMMON. 21

It was unfortunate that the town did not originally secure more land for a
public park, but had it not been for the necessity of land for a meeting-house it
would not, probably, have secured any. The "Centre Common," so called,
containing in the whole open space somethinci: over an acre of land, was
conveyed to the town, in its parochial cai)acity, by Rufiis Houghton, April 7,
1774, to build a meeting-house on for the use of the two precincts then existing
in town, and was used for that purpose until the present First Congregational
(Unitarian) mccting-hoiise was built by the town in 1823, when the old
meeting-house was removed, leaving this land thereafter open as a public park,
but not belonging to the town in its municipal capacity. When the First
Congregational Society was organized in 1836, it succeeded to all the parochial
rights of the town, including the ownership of this land, but in 1841 the
society conveyed it by deed to the town for a public conmion. Up to the time
of this conveyance but little, if anything, had been done to improve this land,
which was unfonced, barren, with little if anv shade, and uucouth-lookini;.
About the time of the conveyance, however, after much opposition, leave was
obtained, and some of the citizens set out a tree apiece on this land, sufficient
in number, if they had all lived, to have given ample shade to all parts of it,
but some of them have died and have never been replaced. Those which lived
arc the stately elms and maples now standing thereon as a rich legacy to the
present generation, and as fitting monuments to the forethought, generosity
and public spirit of these fathers of the town. Efforts were made from time to
time by individuals to induce the town to allow this land to be fenced by indi-
vidual effort, free of expense to the town, but it was so convenient for the
farmers and others comin"; into the villasjc to drive over this land at will, that
no such permission could be obtained until 1856, when the town not only
granted permission, but raised and appropriated sufficient money, and during
that summer built the present substantial fence. This at first was obnoxious to
some, but soon became entirely satisfactory, and has been a great help to
whatever of fcrlility and greenness exists there. That part of the land where
the soldiers' monument now stands, before its erection in 1866, had become,
by the filling of the streets around it, quite low and wet, so that the foundation
for the monument, which now seems low, the streets having been filled so
much since that time, was four and a half feet high above the ground below the
base of the monument. This is but a sample of the filling done in many of
the streets of the centre village, which were originall}'^ low and muddy, but
which are now so htird and dry.

About 1741 the town purchased of Ebenezer Houghton a piece of land near
to, but not quite adjoining the first meeting-house lot, on the easterly side of
Main Street, for a cemetery, being the present " Old Cemetery," so called, where
most of the early settlers who died here after the incorporation of the town are
buried. But few permanent improvements, beyond making a substantial stone
wall around it and the building of a hearse-house on this land, have ever been

22 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

made by the town, as such, on Ibis cemetery, but indivicluals in former times
built some handsome irranite tombs, accordinsj to the fashion of the day, on the
front line facing the street, which still remain, but which are wholly unused
now, all bodies havinof been removed therefrom and buried in the earth. But
the town has for many years kept it in a neat and tidy condition, and
individuals have always done more or less, and recently have done a good deal
to make it attractive ; which, with the shade of the trees that have been allowed
to grow, makes it far from an unattractive place of burial. The " New Cemetery,"
60 called, further north, on the same side of the street, was commenced there
in 1840 by the town's purchasing about seven and a half acres of land, and
walling in the back side, and the erection of a substantial picket-fence on
stone posts, in front and on the sides. The fence lasted, with small repairs,
until 1878, when the rails and pickets were renewed, the posts not being subject
to decay ; and immediately after its purchase the land was laid out into lots,
and the town has allowed any citizen of the town, at any time, to take up a lot
for burial purposes, by paying two dollars, if not wanted for immediate use;
one dollar if to be occupied at once, bringing the lots within the ability of
everybody to own one. The regular size of lots is 161 by 10 feet, and the
whole plan is rectangular. The town has built the avenues and paths, set
out the trees and keeps them in order ; and individuals have fitted up and taken
care of the lots, except mowing once or twice a year, which is done by the
town. In 1870 the town took and purchased additional land to the amount of
about thirty acres, making the whole area about thirty-eight acres, which, it is
thought, will last the town, with what remains of the old ground, about thirty or
forty years. The surface, so far as has been used, is quite level, but the remainder
is uneven, and affords more opportunity for the display of art and taste. The
monumental work is generally excellent, and some of it very fine. Within a
few years there has been considerable effort to change the place of burial, but
after very thorough examination and long discussion, the town voted not to
change, and has seemed to settle down permanently on its present place of
interment. March 4, 1754, Oliver Carter gave the town a deed of the land
on the easterly side of Main Street, called the "Training Field," containing
three and a fourth acres, "for a training field or perpetual common, with this
provision, that said town improve said land as a training field." Very few
improvements have ever been made on this land in the way of beautifying it
till quite recently, when some trees were set out and a substantial fence built
around it ; but it has been so cut up by the railroad that not much can be done
with it.

The Leominster Water Works were built in 1873, and the town commenced
supplying water for pay Jan. 1, 1874.

For many years prior to 1870 the people of the town resiling in the villages
had felt the need of a better supply of pure soft water for domestic purposes,
and of more effective means of extinguishing fires ; and the subject had been

TOWN WATER WORKS. 23

somewhat discussed by a very few individuals, but no concerted action had
been taken, or perhaps much thought of, till that year, when INIanson I). Haws,
Esq., caused an article to be inserted in the warrant for a town meeting to be
held November 8, "to see what action the town will take to obtain water." At
this meeting the subject was referred to a committee to examine and report at
a future meeting, consisting of jNI. D. Haws, C. H. Merriam, J. H. Lockey,
J. C. Allen, and Cephas Derby. On the 28th of the same month the commit-
tee reported, recommending to the town to petition the next legislature for
authority to take water from Chualoom Pond, or such other place or places
within four miles of the centre, as may be found mo^t desirable, and the report
was adopted; and the town voted that the same committee present the peti-
tion in I)ehalf of the town, and instructed them to take all i)rf)per measures to
secure such authority at the expense of the town ; $500 was appropriated
to pay the expense. Mr. Lockey declining to act further with the committee,
Dr. G. W. Peirce was elected to till his place, and Augustus Whitman,
Esq., was added to the committee. After considerable opposition in the legis-
lature, authority was granted by chapter 249 of the Acts of 1871, but requir-
ing the town, before proceeding to act under it, to accept of it by a two-thirds
majority, voting by ballot and using the check-list, at an annual meeting. This
was done at the annual meeting held April 1, 1872, 497 voting in the affirma-
tive to 176 in the nci^ative. At the next town mectin2: held May 6, 1872, a
committee was chosen to examine and report a plan of i:>roceedings to secure a
su[)ply of pure water, which reported May 20, 1872, and a committee was then
chosen to make preliminary surveys and estimates, which last committee having
l)erformed that duty, reported Dec. 30, 1872, and the town, on a test-vote of
249 yeas to 5 nays, decided to proceed with the work, and chose a water board,
consisting of Emery Tilton and G. W. Peirce for three years, 11. M. Lane and
George Hall for two years, and C. H. Merriam and Wm. M. Ilowland for one
year, and the board organized by the choice of C. H. Merriam, chairman; H.
M. Lane, clerk; and W. M Ilowland, treasurer; and the town, at an
adjournment of this meeting held Jan. 13, 1873, authorized and instructed the
board to proceed with the work, and at a subsequent meeting provided for a
loan to pay the expense, which was obtained from the State treasurer, paya-
l)le, one-third each, in ten, fifteen, and twenty years, at seven per cent, interest.
The work was let out to Charles L. Goodhue, Esq , of Springfield, Mass., and
completed by him to the satisfaction of the town Dec. 23, 1873, at which time
the water was permanently let into the pipes and has not since been drawn
out. The pipes, about seventeen and two-thirds miles in length, arc cement-
lined wrought-iron and vary in size from four to twelve inches ; the water is
taken from Morse Brook, one and a half miles from the corner of Main and
West Streets, with a fall of one hundred and eighty-three feet at the top of the
curb-stone around Monument Square, giving a pressure of al)0ut seventy-nine
pounds to the square inch. The drainage areas is 1,215 acres, and tlie storage

24 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

capacity of all the reservoirs about 150,000,000 gallons, or more water than
should be used by the present takers in a year. The cost of the works up to
the commencement of the present year, including all extensions, service-pipe
paid for by the town, and expenses above the income, with interest on the loan,
has been $170,150.16. The works the last year having paid running expenses,
including interest on debt, by allowing a reasonable sum for what the town
itself has had, and left a balance over of $241.09. This would seem to be a
good showing, considering that the works were built at a time when everything
cost nearly twice what it would now.

The foregoing would seem to embrace all the purely public improvements in
town ; but turnpikes and railroads come so nearly under that head that their
history is proper here. But two turnpikes were ever laid out in town, — the
Fifth Massachusetts and the Union Turnpike, — the first leading from West-
minster through the centre village on towards Boston, chartered in 1798, and
the second chartered in 1803, from the first-named turnpike near Monoosnock
Hill over Nichols' Hill, and over most of the other hills on the way, to the
Concord Turnpike. The first-named corporation built their road and made it
a profitable enterprise for many years, till it was made into a county road ; but
the Union Turnpike was never completed, and the enterprise, being an oppo-
sition to some extent to the Fifth Massachusetts, proved financially disastrous
and was abandoned, a part of its way being laid out as a county road and the
balance given up altogether.

The Fitchburg Railroad, chartered March 3d, 1842 (Abel Phelps and Alvah
Crocker, two of the three corporators named in the charter, being natives of
Leominster), runs through the north village with all its immense business, fur-
nishing the most ample railroad facilities to that part of the town.

The Fitchburg and Worcester branch of the Old Colony Railroad was char-
tered in 1847 and opened in 1850, forming now part of a Boston and a Provi-
dence and New Bedford line as well, runs through the centre village, furnishing
good accommodations there.

The town, for the first fifty years after its settlement, was a purely agri-
cultural community, except where it made enough to supply the wants of its
own inhabitants ; and it has always been a first class agricultural town, some
of its farms being made to produce crops equal to any in the State.

In 1775 horn comb-making was introduced by Obadiah Hills from West
Newbury, and soon grew to be among the principal employments of the
people; and the manufacture of combs and other horn goods has continued to
be carried on and is to-day the most important branch of business in town,
employing about six hundred and fifty hands and turning off from $500,000 to
$G00,000 worth of goods annually, which are sold in the cities mostly, at a fair
profit, generally for ready money.

The manufacture of children's carriages is another important business carried
on here by the F. A. Whitney Carriage Company. They employ, when full.

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]VrANVl-'ACTOKV OF JOSI.IX AM) AVILLIA^tS, LKOMIXSTKU, :\rASS.

LOCAL INDUSTRIES. 25

one hundred und lifty hands, and sell about $150,000 worth of goods a year.
This is said to be the leading concern in this business in the country, and
probably in the world ; and their goods are of the very best quality and
styles, selling readily in all the markets of this and in some foreign coun-
tries, so that during all the years of the recent depression in business this com-
pany has found a ready sale for all the goods it could make, at good prices.

The manufiicturc of piano-cases was commenced here thirty-five or forty
years ago, and has been an important and profitable business in town ever
since, bringing in a class of superior mechanics who have made excellent
citizens, and some of whom have occupied the highest positions in the gift
of the people, and are remembered with honor. At the present time there
are but two shops where cnscs are made, — John II. Lockey's and Levi AY.
Porter's. The former keeps twenty-two hands and docs $30,000 worth of
work a year, and the latter fifteen hands and does $15,000 worth of work;
and W. H. Jewett & Co. finish pianos, making a good article, employing
thirteen hands and selling some $45,000 worth of instruments a year. A.
G. Reckard tinishes what he can do himself with one workman.

The tannina: business, on a more or less extended scale, has been carried
on here from an early period, there being at some times three or four con-
cerns engaged in it, and at other times, as is the case now, but one concern,
— Messrs. Putnam & Phelps, — but this one is doing a business a number
of times larger than was ever being done at any one time before, keeping
as they do, when full, sixty-five hands, and doing about $200,000 worth of
business a vear. These men started business together in 1850 and have not

*' CD

changed their firm during the time, nearly thirty years, a period rarely
exceeded in this respect.

Paper was formerly manufactured here by several concerns, but is now
confined to one firm, George W. Wheelwright & Co., who employ 38 hands,
and make about $150,000 worth of paper a year; Merriam Hall &, Co., and
jNIartin, Bates & Co. manufacture unfinished furniture, the former keeping 60
hands, and doing about $200,000 worth of business, and the latter, keeping 45
hands, and doing $G0,000 worth of business a year ; and G. A. Bishop & Co.
finish furniture quite extensively, and are also dealers in furniture. J. A. & N.
Harwood manufacture leather board, keeping 60 hands, and doing about
$200,000 worth of business a year. Edward M. Rockwell runs the "Crocker
Mill," on woolen goods, employing 60 hands, and making $100,000 worth of
these goods a year. There is a large amount of manufacturing and mechani-
cal business done in town by smaller concerns, the number being too large to
mention in detail, and the mercantile business in most of its varieties, sufficient
to supply all the wants of the town, with some trade coming in from other
towns, is done here.

The town has been noted through all its history for its military spirit, having
iu 1757 furnished a full company of soldiers to go to the relief of Fort William

VOL. II.— 4

26 TOWN OF LEOMINSTER.

and Henry, in the old French and Indian War, during the alarm of that year.
This company went as far as Springfield before it was found that it was not
needed. Many single individuals also enlisted from time to time before the
Revolution. And during this laltcr struggle there were fully three hundred
men from Leominster engaged in the service of the country for various periods
of time, from minute-men to rcgnhir soldiers for three years. The town came
out of this great contest with thirteen men to spare beyond her full quotas
under the various calls. So in the days of the Shays' rebellion, the town sent
a whole company, with officers, for the relief of the courts at Worcester, which
were threatened by the insurgents ; and also a part of a company, with two
superior officers, to assist in dispersing a camp of the rebels at Petersham,
where Col. Timothy Boutelle of this town greatly distinguished himself; and
his comrades from here did excellent service, the camp being entirely broken
up, and the malcontents dispersed. In the War of 1812, a full company, Avith
officers, was sent from here to South Boston, and remained there till the danger
was over ; and in the War of the Rebellion the town furnished 404 men, which
were more than her full quota under all the calls for men, and came out at the
end with a considerable surplus standing to her credit. The men, too, whom
the town has furnished, have generally shown themselves to be good soldiers,
many of them having become commissioned officers, and served with credit
and distinction in important campaigns and battles ; and the town has always
been prompt in furnishing all requisitions from the government for military
supplies, and in her voluntary contributions of those things needed fv)r the
relief of the men in the hospitals, and after great battles. So too, in the
times of peace the town has not forgotten the men who served her in the times
of peril, no call has ever been made for the relief of an honest old soldier or his
family which did not find a generous response ; nor was the town slow to erect
a substantial monument in her public square, to the memory of the dead
soldiers who served in the late war ; nor have her men been delinquent in
proper organization and drill to prepare themselves for any emergency that
might arise. In fact, so constant have the citizens of Leominster been in their
military duties in time of peace, that her present military company is the oldest
but one in the State, havinir been chartered in 1798, and is as vigorous and
promising after more than eighty-one years of constant service as at any
former time.

For fifty years after its settlement the town seems to have taken very little
interest in politics, if we can judge by the fact that no representative was sent
from here to the general court till 1774. Still, at the times when great politi-
cal questions were being agitated, the records of the town show that the
people had some opinions, and were not backward in expressing them publicly.
But it being a comparatively new town, the people seem to have been busily
engaged in developing its resources and accumulating some property. In after
3'ears, however, there has been no lack of interest in this direction, nor has

LOCAL PRESS. 27

there been any lack of men here to fill all political offices open to them. Of
the citizens of this town three have been members of concrress, two of consti-
tntional conventions, and largo numbers of the State senate and honse of
representatives, — one five years — treasurer of the Commonwealth, and one
a judge of the Common Pleas Court, and two clerks of courts for the county.
The learned professions have had able representatives here during the entire
history of the town, from John Rogers in the clerical, Jacol) Peabody in the
medical, and Asa Johnson and Abijah Bigelow in the legal profession, down to
the present time ; and some of them have attained distinction beyond the
limits of their immediate neighborhood.

Printing was commenced here as early as 1795. The "Rural Repository,"
by Charles Prentiss, the "Political Focus," by Charles and John Prentiss, and
"The Telescope," by Adams & Wilder, were all published here for a time, but
all discontinued for want of sufficient permanent support, prior to 1803.
Charles Prentiss continued hero in the business for a number of years (his
bi'other John having moved to Keene, N. H.), and published several books,
and kept a bookstore and bindery. Doct. Adams, who was settled here,
published several editions of his " Scholar's Arithmetic" and his "Understand-
ing Reader," two valuable school books, which wore afterwards enlarged and
improved, and the arithmetic became quite celebrated. For many years prior
to 1872 there was no printing done in town, but now there are two offices,
with a newspaper having a subscription list of seven hundred and fifty, and a
large amount of advertising and job work.

The town has always maintained good, substantial, though not extravagant
public buildings for schools, churches, and municipal purposes.

There is a national bank in town, with a capital of $300,000, Samuel
Putnam, president, A. L. Burditt, cashier; and a Savings Bank with 1,709
depositors, and deposits to the amount of about $550,000 ; president, Leonard
Burrage, treasurer, A. L. Burditt. There are here a Masonic lodge, an Odd
Fellows lodge, a lodge of Knights of Honor, a division of the Sons of Temper-
ance, a Woman's Christian Temperance Union, a society of Hibernians, a
post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a Reform Club, and many other
organizations for charitable, religious and hel[)ful purposes, which are gen-
erally flourishing and accomplishing the objects of their existence. The
town has a fine public library of 9,000 volumes, which is patronized to the
extent of about 32,000 books taken out in a year ; and there is a very respect-
able museum connected with the library, as well as a public reading-room,
supported by the town, and open at all times free to everybody. In this most of
the daily and weekly papers circulating in this region, and all the best periodi-
cals in the country can be found.

The town has a well-organized and efficient fire department, some companies
of which have manifested a degree of skill and rapidity of action seldom if
ever anywhere excelled.

28 TOWN OF LUNENBUEG.

LUNENBURG.

BY ADIN C. ESTABROOK.

CHAPTER I.

ORIGIN OP THE TOAVN — CONDITIONS OF FIRST GRANT PROPRIETORSHIPS

INDIAN DISTURBANCES NATURAL FEATURES HILLS AND FORESTS EARLY

MANUFACTURES HIGHWAYS AGRICULTURE FARMERS' CLUB CEMETERIES

LEGAL BOUNDARIES.

This town originated in a grant made by the General Court, Dec. 7, 1710,
which provided for the laying out of two new townships, to ])e wholly west of
the line of Groton, and to measure, as nearly as possible, each si>: miles
square. Two hundred and fifty acres were to be given to each actual setUer
within three years, the allotted number of families in each town being eighty.
Each family was to pay £5 for their land, and to build a house and improve
three acres of ground within three years. A lot was given for schools, a lot
for the minister, and one for Harvard College ; and the settlers were to build a
meeting-house within four years.

The tracts thus granted were termed the North and South townships ; the
former became Townsend, the latter included Lunenburg of to-day, with Fitch-
burg and part of Ashby.

When the committee met to award the lots, they found one family of whites
had already the possession of one of the most pleasing locations, in what was
termed "Turkey Hills." Samuel Page of Groton had wandered over the
country till poverty compelled him and his family of six children to locate ;
and here he had been for years undisturbed, on the farm now owned hy
Thomas Wooldredge. He had located here in the spring of 1718. The mat-
ter was handsomely arranged by giving him a lot, and one to his son Joseph.
His son David soon settled in Fitchburg, and another son, John, in Shirley.
Joseph was also appointed surveyor's chainman, and had his lot cast of his
father's.

In May, 1721, the proprietors met at Concord to choose their lots and pay
for them, as directed by the grant.

EARLY ALLOTMENTS. 29

Wc here give the names of those who took lots at the first division in the
order of the lot, commencing with the "ministerial lot" for No. 1 : —

"Hilkiah Bovnton, John Russell, Thos. Taylor, James Gould, Shadrach Whitney,
Thos. Perley, Eleazer Flagg, Sam. Burbeen, John Child, Thos. Tarbell, Phineas
Parker, Henry Chandler, John Perham, Eben. Chadwick, Thos. Kimball, Jr., Jonathan
"Woodman, Warren Child, Nathaniel Stowe, Eleazar Green, John Coif, Thos. Hale,
Rob. Harris, Jo. Hubbard, Jonathan Whitney, Sanil. Hartwell, Jonathan Dow, Zach.
Sawtell, Isaac Stone, Joseph Allen, Timothy Harris, Elias Barron, Eph. Sawtelle,
Josiah Jones, Jonathan Boyden, James R'chardson, Jr., Ed. Hartwell, Nat. Harwood,
& one for son, Jeremiah Allen, Joseph Page, Nat. Ilolden, Josiah Gilsun, Wm. Lan-
sam, Joseph Ball, Aaron Smith, Wm. Wheeler, Wm. Clark, Walter Beer, Dan'l
Thurston, Jonathan Hubbard, Sam'l Page, Nat. Wood, Jonathan Poor, Wm. B'ount,
Wm. Keene, Nat. Whittcmore, Nat. Wood, Jr., Nat. Heywood, Jonathan Shipley,
Danl. Davis, Isaac Whitney, John Hastings, Moses Smith, Eleazer Green, James
Richardson, James Richardson, Jr., Jeremiah Perley, Eph. Pearce, James Bennett,
Phillip Goodridge, Nathan Harris, Benj. Prescott, Jonathan Hartwell, Thos. Wooly,
Joseph Kimball, Jr., John Whitney, Nat. Whitney, Jr., Ed. Emerson, Wm. Wood,
Jacob Fullum, John Fletcher, and Abraham Woodard."

We find that the school, college and other gratuitous lots were crowded
back upon hills not quite so valuable, and w^ere nearly or quite lost sight of.
The survey began in 1720 or '21, and the proprietors began to move on to their
lots about 1724, and in 1726 there were twenty-six houses up, while ten of
them were occupied, though we cannot fully make out v.'ho they were, or
whether the men were mostly hunters and surveyors, or not. The records
tell us that Samuel Johnson had the second family, and kept a tavern where
J. S. Willson lives, in 1729. The next was Josiah J(mes', where W. S. Jones
lives. After these, we arc obliged to fall back upon tradition in connection
with the slender record, and give the names of the houses as built; but as the
settlers came from Lancaster, many of them, we infer that the present Lancas-
ter road contained most of the first houses. The second house was at Hiram
Derby's, where Edward Hartwell, the principal business man of the settle-
ment, lived; third, at Joseph Goodrich's; fourth, L. S. Cushing's, where a
hotel was kept by one Hutchins and built by Prentiss ; fifth, George H. Mcln-
tire's, where the first town-meeting was held in 1728; sixth, Cyrus Kilburn's,
where Josiah Willard lived; seventh, Nathan Ilcywood, at O. A. Stratton's,
and the present Heywood homestead at the depot (he kept the first store in
town, and was a successful surveyor) ; eighth, on Houghton's Hill ; ninth, J. S.
Willson; tenth, west of Clark Hill; eleventh, S. D. King; twelfth, John
Howard; thirteenth, Stillman Stone; fourteenth, Richard Gilchrist : the last
four were built about 1725 to '30. The following lots were taken about 17.30,
and houses put on them : — A. Parks, the early home of the ancestors of Jesse
Sanderson ; W. S. Peabody, where the Boyntons first settled ; Widow Green,
where Daniel Austin lived.

30 TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

The people had garrison-houses for defence agahist the Indians. There was
one near C. G. Gushing ; one at or near Massapog ; one at Mr. Derby's ;
another at the "Castle," where W. S. Jones lives ; another at ]\Ir. Gould's, at
Goodrichviile ; and another on Flat Hill, near F. R. Beunet's; while Mul-
pus had one at or near the "Bridge."

Indians often came to these houses ; but the courage of the women
would drive them away, especially when powder was used, as it was by Mrs.
Jones and Mrs. Goodrich on one occasion, sending them in a hurry to their
wigwam.

In 1747, a party came from Canada to punish John Fitch for tearing down
a wigwam, and passed over the hills as f\ir as the Stephen Houghton place,
but, seeing the settlers going to church armed, they left, and took Fitch and
family prisoners to Canada, where they stayed a year. In after years, a son of
Fitch lived in town as clerk in a store kept by John Taylor, at the Centre.
He was dwarfed from the effects of his captivity, by being bound so long
with cords.

The town was named by a party of King George's subjects, who were travel-
ing through the place, and gave it the name of Lunenliurg in honor of his
German possession. They also sent a bell for the "first Meeting House," but
the house had no belfry, so it was sold for freight, and hangs on King's Chapel,
Boston.

"In Council, Aug. 2, 1728 : Ordered that J. Willard is empowered to assemble the
people of the town of ' Lunenburg ' to choose officers to stand till the anniversary
meeting in M^arch next. Chose James Colburn, II. Boynton, J. Willurd, Eph. Pearce
and Saml. Page, select men."

There are few towns in this county that contain so many pleasant hills from
which to view the surrounding country, even in some instances to the
distance of fifty miles; and yet most of these elevations are quite fertile, and
have residences upon them, and are well ad:ii)ted for all purposes pertaining to
agriculture. In 1793, Peter Whitney said that the town was nearly
divested of forests, and soon would not have enough for home consumption ;
and yet at this late day Ave have wood enough and to spare, and with care
there will grow all that shall be necessary from year to year for home use.
Statistics tell us that there is more land now covered with growing wood than
in 1793.

The hills of the town bear their primitive names, and will probably retain
them for generations. These are Hunting, Flat, Carter, Turkey or Clark's,
Cowdry, Town's, Savage's and Turner's hills. Town's Hill has a nice "city
residence" upon it, and has a commanding view. Savage's Hill has another
excellent city residence, where the Hon. James Savage spent a large portion
of his later summers. This residence overlooks our most beautiful sheet of
water, and the hill is nearly, or quite, the highest elevation in town.

OLD-TIME TRAVEL. 31

But little water flows into town, and the streams arc small. At " Mulpus
Falls " (so named as early as 1730) , is a saw-mill owned by the Perrin Brothers,
another owned by L. Phelps, and a saw and grist mill owned by W. & W. F.
Dickson. Here is the principal manufacturing part of the town. At the reservoir
— formerly called Catacoonamiig, with seven and one-half acres — we find Hough-
ton's saw-mill, doing good business. The reservoir now contains hundreds of
acres. As early as 1727, " Willard's" Mill was doing grinding at Cyrus Kilburn's,
the first on record. Another Willard had a mill soon after on land of Mr.
Trask. At Mulpus Brook was one near R. Gilchrist's ; farther west, near " No.
4" school-house, one Avas supposed to have been. In the south-west part, on
"Baker's Brook," arc the remains of the celebrated " Wetherbce Mill," which
did better service than any mill for twenty miles around. To supply it with
sufficient water, Mr. Wctherboe built a canal from the Nashua River.

In 1747, Benjamin Bellows, Jr., built a mill at "Mulpus Bridge," where
many of our oldest inhabitants remember carrying grain, and the millstones
can now be seen in the debris that remains where they were formerly in use.

In describing the practical arts of our ancestors, we might simply say that
their manufacturing was rude, yet honorable. Then our mothers made all the
clothing of the family rather than pay sixty-seven cents per yard for print
dresses. The loom and spinning-whccl were constantly in use, both by mothers
and daughters. It might be well if such domestic employments were more in
vogue at the present time than we generally find them.

Brick-making was carried on at an early day, and we can find the old yards
on nearly every farm. Tanning was also quite extensively pursued, and wo
may mention the yard of Jacob Caldwell, which has been entirely removed.
There was also a valuable tannery at or near George Billings' at an eaily day.
Potash was largely made. At a later period there was a book-bindrry
establishment in town, conducted by one Cusbing at James Putnam's, and
printing by William Greenough at J. C. Brown's. In 1837, sixteen thousand
volumes were printed and bound. Ninety thousand straw hats were made in
that year, valued at $17,000.

Nothing but "bridle-paths" served the early settlers, and horseback riding
was the only way to pass from place to place. To see a gentleman and lady
upon one horse might seem rude now, but then it was a rich treat to thus conduct
their course to church or on business. Many times the stream had to be forded,
as there were no bridges for years, the horse swimming with his burden upon
his back. In 1724, the trees were cut away from Lancaster to what is now the
Centre. Next the course was over the hills, west to South Fitchburg, and
thus communication with David Page's residence on Pearl Street, Fitchburg,
was made ; commencing at or near John Howard's, passing S. Stone's, thence
by J. W. Mossman's and Levi White's. It had no bridges, nor was it graded,
but timber and brush were cut away. "Mulpus" Bridge was built in 1745,
by a company in the employ of Maj. Willard. In 173G, Benjamin Bellows

32 TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

and others asked the General Court for four hundred and fifty acres of land,
with which to build the present "Northfield" road, sometimes called the
" Scott" road. It passes J. S. Willson's from Flat Hill, by ^Y. S. Peabody's,
by the Snows' to Pearl Hill school-house, thence on to Ashburnham, and was to
continue to Ticonderoga. These petitioners had land in Winchester and Wal-
pole, N. II., which caused them to ask for the road.

About 1830 the road to Fitchburoj direct was made, and is one for a good
diive. A])Out 1870, Townscnd and Leominster roads were built for the benefit
of outsiders, at a cost to this town of nearly 115,000. Thus we have kept on
addinir road to road, till it is one continued network, and amountino^ to one
hundred miles, which makes a pretty tax for the people to support.

The Fitchburg Railroad was built through the town at the south and west,
giving us a depot at the Heywood Homestead. Most people take the cars in
adjoining towns.

The laud was very fertile when first taken up, and but little effort had to be
made to get abundant crops. The meadows on our streams bore all the grass
needed f)r pasturage and hay; so that nothing required cultivation save what
was needed for the food of the family, and with a bog hoe and wooden plow,
the woi k was as easily done as at the present day with the swivel-plow or the
raowinQ-machine.

The Bellows family came into town about 1725, and took a large tract of
laud at the Centre, mostly on what is now the east side of the Lancaster road,
and north of Clark's Hill, while one Taylor had the opposite side. William
Clark owned a laige lot, including the hill bearing his name. Benjamin Bel-
lows, Jr., was a very active man, and had large estates at Bellows Falls, Vt.,
■which kept many men in his employ, so that he added much to the farming
interest of this town, and with his son Joseph, managed the estates with suc-
cess. This Mr. Bellows was constantly aiding the settlers by driving back
intruders, and became one of the most influential men in these parts.

Grains were grown at an early day, say 1730, while coin was the principal
living for a long time, being ground in a mortar by hand, and baked before the
fire ill a "spider," and thus called a "spider-cake." But as the land has
become worn, the farms have grown up to wood, so that whole neighborhoods
have become depopulated, oue in particular at Mulpus Bridge, and where
were a dozen or more houses. Now a farm of fifty acres is enough, and along
side of Col. Bellows's eight hundred, would be considered a paradise.

The south and west parts of the town are better adapted to farming than the
north, yet with much pains the farms will yield well in all parts. People are now
reclaiming the low lands, believing that these will soonest enrich their garners.

In 1848, a Farmers' Club was formed, it being the only one of the kind in
the State, which proves to be of great value to the interest of agriculturists in
callini? them together for concert of action. It has created jjreat interest in
and about the town, and now has just been given a liberal sum of money by

BOUNDARIES. 33

C. L. Ileywood, a nntive of the town, the interest to be used annually for the
benefit of the society.

We give the names of the presidents of the club since its organization : —

"N. F. Cunningham, D. Putnam, C. Kilburn, T. Billings, T. D. Pratt, E. Jones, E.
Graham, C. A. Goodrich, J. A. Cunningham, Asa Whiting, Abel Cook, INIartin John-
son, F. M. Marston, L. Pilts, James Ilildreth, 2(1, John F. Brown, Isaac M. Woolson
and Stillman Stone. William II. Jones was secretary and treasurer for fifteen years."

The first who was interred in the south cemetery was Philip Goodridge, in
1728, aged sixty years. The first buried in the north cemetery was Hannah
Dunsmoor, in 1770, daughter of Dr. Dunsmoor.

The present city of Fitchburg was taken from this town in 17G4. Torrey's
history seems to reflect on the mother town for not more willingly allowing the
child to go forth ; yet the mayor of the young city, in 187G, desired the assist-
ance of the mother's purse, and asked her to be rc-annexcd, and called the
" 7th ward."

The following are the boundaries as the town was in 1830, from surveys of
Cyrus Kilburu, which he has kiudly furnished to the writer : —

" It is the north-east town of Worcester County, and the survey begins at the north-
east corner of the town in Shirley line, and at the south-east corner of Townsend ;
thence north 60° 18' west 1,93G rods by Townsend line to n stone joost at Ashby line,
the south-west corner of Townsend ; thence south 5" 24' west by Ashby hne 1G5 rods
to a stone post set beside a largo white-pine stump, the true corner ; thence south 4° 5'
west 484 rods by Fitchburg line to a stone post ; thence south 2° 7' east 241 rods by
Fitchburg line to a stone post ; thence south 10° 21' west 745 rods by Fitchburg line
to a stone post ; thence south 33° 10' cast 198 rods to a large white-oak tree marked
by Leominster line ; thence north G0° 51' east 401 rods to a stone post on west side of
Unkeshewalom by Leominster line; thence south 32° 21' eastClG rods by Leominster
line to a stone post ; thence south 13° 57' east 401 rods by Leominster line to a stone
post; thence south G9° 37' east 149 rods to Lancaster; thence south 70° 35' east 383
rods by Lancaster line to a stone post ; thence north 15° 34' east 1,802 rods by Shirley
line to first bound ; containing 17,494 acres. In 1848, the Legislature changed the
Shirley line so as to agree with ' Groton old line,' and by so doing an angle was
formed at the ' old corner,' commencing at the south-east corner of Lunenburg ;
thence north 14° 52' cast about 217 rods to 'Groton old corner' to a stone post by
Shirley line ; thence north 1G° 31' east about 1,585 rods by Shirley line to a stone post
to the place of beginning aforesaid."

Tradition says that the south line was run as it is to "please somebody";
for some settlers of Lcomiuster assisted in the surveys, and all started from
Lancaster line and watered their horses in Massapog ; thence to Unkesha-
whalom and did the same ; then to the Nashua, and on to a point between "Dor-
chester and Wooburn Farms" as the south-west corner of the town. These
farms arc supposed to mean Westminster and Ashl)uiuham.

VOL. II.— 5

34 TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

CHAPTER II.

DAYS OF THE REVOLUTION LISTS OF SOLDIERS — MOVEMENT AGAINST SHAYS

SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND — THE SOUTHERN REBELLION A REMARKA-
BLE SERVICE ROLL OF HONOR SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION CHURCHES

AND RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS — ALMSHOUSE — HOTELS — LIBRARY PROFESSIONAL

AND PUBLIC MEN.

Our people were quite unanimous in support of our rights to "representa-
tion or no taxation," and cheerfully acquiesced in the hardships and privations
durino; the Ions: struijsrlo of the Revolution. George Kimball, who lived where
S. Stone now does, was a delegate to the Provincial Congress at Concord, in
October, 1774, and it was ordered that onc-fourlh of the militia should be
ready to march at a moment's warning. Fifty-seven men were chosen, with
John Fuller, captain (who lived where Mr. Hilbert now does), Jared Smith,
ensign, and Thomas Hovey, drummer. The company used to train on the
Common; and on the 4lh of July, 177G, they planted the buttonwood tree
now standing there.

Nearly all who were at Bunker Hill returned ; and we give, as near as can
be now done, the names of those who went into the army ; viz. : —

Jonathan Adams, Benj. Bellows, Jr., Peter Barthrick, colonel, killed at Long Island,
Ed. Bridge, Col. Peter Brown (who lived where O. L. Spaulding now does). Gen. John
Bellows, Nchemiah Bowers, Jonas Bowers, John Riiss, Aaron Riiss, Joseph Bickncll,
Charles Gushing, Abraham Carlton, Jr. (died 1775), Asa Carlton, Timoth}^ Carlton,
Phineas Carlton, Tbadeus Carter, James Carter (died), John Dunsmoor (was a sur-
geon), Phillip Goodridge, Jr., Thos. Ilarkncss, Noah Dodge, Israel W^-man, Richard
Fowler, Jonathan Martin, Wm. Martin.

A letter written by Col. Brown while at Bunker Hill is still in existence.

The adoption of the Constitution occurred in 1778, amid this sanguinary
strife, and the voters were unanimous in their action. Immediately afterwards
nine men were called for the army, and were furnished at an expense of $100
each, by borrowing the money and taking care of the family. Each person
was called to take part in support of the war, and unless he responded, was
termed "Tory." Many of the wealthy would unite as a company, so that if
one was called to the war, each was ready in his turn to furnish a substitute,
and when one could not be obtained they would "draw lots" to see who should
go ; as it fell to a Mr. Willard in one instance, he sent his slave in his place.
When many had done more than was thought right, the town voted to equalize.
The men from this town went to Bennington, having learned by "signal,"
within two hours after the fiist gun was fired, but reached there too late for
action at the second battle. But little can be learned by the records of the cost
of the war to the town, as the currency was so changeable, but $18,000 was
assessed, aside from what individuals did.

ENLISTMENTS. 35

Tbe people had become so oppressed by taxes after the war t«bat some even
in this town sympathized with Shays in his resistance to the sheriff in cnforcin<>"
the collection of taxes, but the better portion of the people ordered out a
company of men to assist the enforcement of the law, and marched as far as
West Boylston, and then the matter was settled, and no blood shed from this
town.

But little interest seemed to be manifested on the part of our people in the
war of 1812, as what men went seem to have been drafted, viz., Levi Flagij,
Jr., James Ilolden, Libbcus Priest and James Gilchrist. They appear to have
done little more than stay in and about Boston. There was considerable feeling
both for and against the war, and, as was common in the other towns, the "Riot
Acts" were read in public places hero to prevent tumults.

But when the civil war burst upon the country our people were deeply
interested, and to speak or even lisp one word against the northern army was
enough to give one the name of " co})perhead." On the memorable 19th of
April, 18G1, John E. Lyon started for Boston on foot, enlisted into the army,
and served continually till the surrender of Lee and the colhipse of the Rebel-
lion. On tbe 22J of April a large flag was flung to the breeze just in front of
the town house, and immediately after a large I)ald eagle was seen to approach
from the south, take a large circle over the flag, and with a loud scream pass
directly to the north.

In the evening the people met in the town hall, when volunteers Avcrc called
for. Charles Kilburn, George II. Stahl, Ansell W. Stahl, Russell O. Houghton,
with the one who went on the 19th of April, were enn^lled for tbe three months'
call of President Lincoln. These, we believe, htid $9 per month extra pay.

The response to tbe second call was very large, with $100 bounty and State
aid of $7 per month, as follows, viz. : —

Alfred Billings, Amos Cillings, Charles C. Walker, Charles D. Litchfield, "William F.
Harris, Thomas Lougliee, George L. Curtis, Hear}' L. Burncll, B. Frank Clark, Henry
O. Adams (lost an cj'e), Francis A. Hildretb, Joseph H. Pearson, William L. Boynton,
William Hodgeman, Anson Gleason, Isaac Newton, Jr., Roswcll G. Adams, Marcus
M. Spaulding, Charles Kilburn, Henry P. Kidder, Charles B. Longlc}', James M.
Ilildrclh, Charles E. Oliver, William B. Stahl, George V. Ball, Samuel Ilartwel!,
Noah T. Winn, Juhn A. Gilchrist, Calvin D. Sanderson, Alonzo Whiting, George
Hudson, George A. Lanc\', Luther A. Lancy, Gilbert Cook, David S[)aulding, James
D. Fairbanks, William II. Boynton, George S. Smith, William D. Perrin, Albert W.
Ha3'nes, George Ilaynes, Henry Sanderson, William R. Graves, J. Franklin Boynton,
Charles A. Harris, Hiram W. Longlcy, Joseph L. Proctor, Albert Houghton, David
Merrill, John Catin, Richard II. Wyeth, Joseph R. Graves.

The third call was for thirteen men ; and each one had $100 bounty for three
years, and $7 State aid to fjimily. These were : —

Foster E. L. Beale, George II. Mclntirc, L. O. Bruce, Gardner Vaughn, George H,
Merrill, Eli S. Lanc}-, Lemuel Pitts, Jr., George S. Pitts, Charles H. Ncale, Orlando

^Cy TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

Holraan, Ezekiel G. Bailey, James H. Smith, David N. Kilburn, Charles E. Marshall,
William II. Wyeth, James A. Litchfield, Charles D. Page, J. Frank Butler.

The following are included in the fourth call, viz. : —

Henry P. Kilburn, Forestus 11. Jewett, George A. Howard, Levi Parker, George
E. Brown, Clark Button, Eb. L. Blood, Henry II. Whitney, Fred. J. Lawrence,
Benjamin F. Marshall, Samuel Wallis, Frank O. Cady, Oliver F. Brown, Ed. E.
Carr, Levi W. Goodrich, George W. Conant, Merrill B. Carlton, Andrew J. Green,
Jesse A. Sargent, George A. Stahl, Noble Fisk.

The fifth call came upon the people when matters looked rather dubious, and
the youni^ men did not feel quite so ready to go, and a draft being ordered, the
following responded with a substitute, if not in person, viz. : —

Abijah S. Green, Andrew Cook, John Smith, James Hildreth, 2d, Judge T.
Dinsmoor, George A. Cook, Stillman Phelps, Francis J. Lane, Samuel A. White.

At the end of the second year we had lost eighteen men, which wore mostly
supplied by rc-eulistment of returned volunteers. Subsequently the following
entered the army, viz. : —

John Snow, E. C. Goodrich, Josiah L. Ilonghton, C. C. ToplifF, E. E. Morriam, John
J. Ramsdell, Charles Boynton, Martin Sanderson, George C. Jewett, Albert L.
Ileywood, William B. Neat, Jesse A. Sargent, Marcus F. Prue.

In addition, we are pleased to say that the following are, or were formerly
residents of this town, though not counted as part of its quota : —

James A. Cunningham (since Adjutant-General of the State), Charles II. Cunning-
ham (Major of 27th Wis.), George P. Cotting, Ed. F. Emory. James R. Gilchrist,
William A. Hildreth, Eev. William A. Mandcll, James Savage, Jr., Clark Simonds,
George S. Gilchrist, Warren E. Gilchrist, Stillman Stone (Capt. Vt. Y. M.).

The whole number of residents sent to the war was one hundred and two.
Thirty were killed, or died of wounds or imprisonment ; fourteen were
wounded ; fifty-eiglit came home uninjured. The town furnished nine men
more than the real quota, and in all sent one hundred and fifty-nine men, at a
cost to the town and individuals of fully $34,000. The town voted to "refund
to individuals all money, except to those drafted." In 18GG the town erected
two tablets, with the names of the faWen dead suitably engraved thereon, in
the present towai hall, at a cost of about $300. It is matter of great ivgrct
that the "$300 commutation" was not refunded to each individual.

The first settlers had but little advantages for schooling ; for a long time the
schools were kept at private houses in different parts of the town, at the expense
of those w'ho had children to educate and means to do it with. Rev. Andrew
Gardner taught the first school of which we find any record, in the parsonage
where Martin Johnson now lives, in 1732.

In 1733-4 Nathaniel Haywood, Benjamin Goodrich, Hilkiah Boynton and

FIRST SCHOOLS. 37

Josiah Willard taught in as many difiercnt families, as the scholars might be
more readily convened. Probably in their own houses, as follows : the first at
south part of town ; the second near Unkeshewhalom ; the third at or near
Peabody's ; the fourth at Cyrus Kilburn's. For this purpose $133.20 was
appropriated, and " to be called lawful schools." The next account we find shows
that in 1735 the selectmen were directed to provide, but how much money or
schooling was provided we do not learn. In 1737, $16G.50 w\as appropriated,
and in 1738 $199.80 voted, and school kept by "School Dames" two months
in six diflcrent places. In 1740 the first school-house was built at what is now
the centre of the town, though a great effort was made to have it located further
south, say near what is No. 2 school-house, or farther north, at or near No. 7
school-house. It was a log-hut, and stood on the common. This division of
sentiment had much to do with the present location of our village, so tradition
says. Here was the end of school-house building, as flir as we can learn, till
after the Revolution, as there was but little money.

In 1777 we find an appropriation of $10 made for two schools, one kept in
William Chadwick's corn- barn, now belonging to C. G. Hutchinson. In 1778
$20. 6G was raised. Although the schools were needed there seemed a more
pressing demand for religion, as about twelve times that amount was secured
to the minister. After this the people became more prosperous, and we find
more attention paid to schooling, so that the schools took their proper place
alongside the church, for in 1783 $500 was appropriated for five different
schools, located, as near as we can make out, at centre. No. 2, No. 3, No. 4,
and at Mr. Sanderson's, near Mulpus Bridge, all in private families, except the
centre. In 1792 a Latin teacher was employed, and later nine districts, with
houses built by tax on the inhabitants, located very nearly as at the present
day. The house at the centre was built in 1835 on land given by one Daniel
Stewart. The town supported its schools for many yeais by district tax, but
in 1SG9 the town took the houses and paid the owners in full. In 1841 an
academy was built on land now owned by G. A. Whiltcmore, with John R.
Rollins as the first principal. James J. H. Gregory succeeded him, who in
turn was followed by C. A. Goodrich, but did not prove a financial success,
and was removed in 18G7.

AVithin a short time about $3,000 has been appropriated each year for the
several schools, while the present year less than $1,500 is to be divided among
the eight schools, each to be kept six months, with an average of about twenty-
five scholars to a school. No. 1 house is at the centre ; No. 2 on Lancaster
Road, near Joseph Pcarce ; No. 3 north of " Whalom," near A. Hilbert's ; No.
4 on Townsend Road, near Upper Mulpus Bridge ; No. 5 on Flat Ilill ; No. 7
on Northfield Road, near J. S. Willson's ; No. 8 south of Fitchburg Railroad
depot, near "Hey wood Homestead"; No. 9 at Mulpus Falls, near Mr.
Hildreth's. The schools are now successfully taught by resident females of
the town.

38 TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

Rev. Autlrew Gardner was installed the first minister of Turkey Hills, in
1728, and became possessor of what is the present Dimsmor farm, and also an
extra lot, to make up "a deficiency," at Martin Johnson's, where he built a
house that year. In September of the same year it was voted to pay $88.88
for a meeting-house, which stood where the Orthodox Church is; it was
a very small building (45 feet long and 35 wide), and unfinished, a mere
"shell." Those who had pews had to build them according as a committee for
that purpose directed. Those who had the room behind the gallery were
Jonathan Wood, Samuel Reed, Phineas Osgood, Ezckicl Wymau, David Page,
Stephen Boynton (lived at A. C. Estabrook's), John Fitch and Jonathan
Abbot. The salary was $35.55 per year for six years ! It was intended that
the minister should derive his support from his lands, but how to do it was the
question, seeing he was not allowed to sell. Yet others did sell and litigation
was the result, and long and bitter wrangles folloAved, which set neighbor
against neighbor, so that many went away distrusted, Avhile strangers came and
"squatted" upon their rightful lands, thus getting large estates illegally, (and
yet the minister had no right morally to do so, but for trapping a fowl, instead
of his neighl)or, had to leave the church, while the same church cloaked the
lay members.) David Stearns was settled, in 1733, and lived where John
Howard docs.

In May, 1749, $1,000 was voted to build a mccting-housc on the common, —
this common was afterwards (1771) deeded to the town by Mr. Bellows and
Dr. Taylor. A sufficient sum was also voted to pay for the "rum" to bo
used at the raising ! It contained thirty-eight pews on the floor and twenty-
one in the gallery. Poor people were allowed the vacant plnccs.

In 1762, Samuel Paysou succeeded as minister, and, in 17G4, Zcbdial
Adams, and remained till 1802. He lived at John F. Brown's, and the par-
sonage is still standing as an L to other buildings.

John Hancock presented the church with a Bible in 1772, which is still in
good preservation.

After this Messrs. Flint, Damon and Hubbard were pastors in succession ; the
latter had much difficulty and litigation with his church, which never prospered
after the trouble. Previous to 1800, there had been 2,400 members. (Finally
this church was taken down and divided among the owners, each taking a portion ;
and some parts have been preserved to a late day. A new one was erected on
the common, north of the present hotel, and since sold for a town hall.) In a
few years the Unitarians became the owners of the house. The desk was sup-
plied by Thomas H. Pons till 1847, when William G. Babcock became pastor.
In 1855, James Thurston ; and, in 1859, Charles B. Josselyn. At last Jacob
Caldwell supplied the desk till the house was closed, about 18G5. The society
still holds its organization.

The Orthodox Society was formed by the aid of Rev. Mr. Bellows, in 1835,
with E. B. Harrington, pastor. The church was built in 1844. The preachers

LOCAL NOTES. 39

are as follows: — Asaph Boutellc, E. R. Hodgeman, W. A. Manclell, A. Gold-
smith, W. IL Dowdeii and Walter Rice. The congregation never was large,
and it may bo truly said that not more than one-third of our population are
church-going people.

In 1803, the Methodists organized a society by the assistance of Rev. M.
Crowell ; and worshipped in private families and school-houses, till a house,
situated north of the cemetery on Northtield road, was fitted up for a church
in 1813.

The present church was built in 1829. In 18 12, the Adventists so changed
the views of some of the members that the society came near losinsr its orsfani-
zation. A portion were allowed to leave, while the balance kept the society
alive, and have prospered, with slight exceptions, to the present time. They
have had about sixty diflerent speakers. One of the strongest supporters of
this church, and for a long life, is the venerable Ephraim Jones, now eighty-
seven years old.

Universalism was quite strong in 1840, and, with Rev. John Pcarce as
preacher, caused some stir in church affairs. It had much to do with toning
down the old style of preaching; and immediately following that, the Spirit-
ualists took a strong hold on the community, and have set all in a degree to
thinking, "if these things be so."

F. S. Francis built the first town hall, in 1839, for $1,200. This was sold
and moved from its old site opposite Mr. Francis, when the town bought the
Unitarian Church in 18G7. This church was moved north of D. Putnam's
store, and fitted into a commodious building for the use of the town, at an
expense of $9,165.32.

The first establishment for the benefit of the poor, was bought of Jonathan
Parker, in 1828, for $3,424. Previously the poor had been kept by the one
who would do it cheapest. The town voted, in 1874, to sell that farm, as
the house had been burned, and buy the " Spaulding Place," at "Mulpus
Falls," at an expense of $3,000.

During the early wars people were warned out of town that they might not
gain a settlement, yet some of such, who remained, proved the most valued
citizens in after years.

Rev. Mr. Adams said that, in 1793, the town had become famous for
paupers, "owing to the fecundity of the people ;" to-day, with the same num-
ber of people (1,150), we have less than a dozen, and at an expense of about
$100 each per year.

D. Putnam built a pleasant building for a store, the only one in town, near
the old site, a few years since ; and R. W. Snow moved the old store north
of the town hidl, and fitted it into a dwelling.

The Lowe Brothers have a meat-packing establishment near "Baker's
Brook," on Fitchburg Railroad, in south-west corner of town, which has an
extensive business.

40 ■ TOWN OF LUNENBURG.

Samuel Johnson opened a hotel where J. S. Wilson lives, in 1729, which
was known far and near for half a century, as one of the most excellent for
accommodations in New England, and was the head-quarters of the settlers
to do town business, he being selectman from 1729 to 1750. In later years
James Patterson kept a tavern at J. W. Woolson's, and later Philip Good-
ridge, Jr., one at Massapog ; and in 1792 Benjamin Goodrich's house was
made an inn (south of Whalom). Mr. Reddington kept one at Asa Whiting's ;
Jedediah Estabrook at the Gilchrist House, north of centre, in 1780 ; while the
present "Revere" is the only one in town, it having been in existence nearly
or quite a century.

The first pound was at Samuel Page's, and he was keeper. The next one, near
the present one, at the junction of the roads ; where also stood an oak tree,
the famous "whipping-post," where rogues w^ere sure to get their "just
deserts."

In the year 1850 the town organized a library by purchasing a few books,
and accepting donations of others from the farmers' club and private clubs ;
they also appointed Mrs. S. D. King, librarian. In 18G7, Miss Frances Cald-
well left a legacy of $500 to the town ; the interest, or $30, to be used annually
for books. There are at present about two thousand volumes in the library,
which is kept in the town hall. For nearly tAventy years the library was at
the residence of the librarian.

Dr. John Taylor early settled where Mrs. N. F. Cunningham now lives, and
remained some fifteen years. Then followed Dr. John Dunsmoor, at L. A.
Snow's, and was a surgeon in the army. Dr. Abraham Haskell lived at Mr.
Woolson's ; also, his son followed him in the profession, and lived at the present
hotel. Aaron Bard followed, and his office is still standing. Otis Abercrombie
w^as his successor, and finally S. D. King. Since then there have been quite a
number here for a short time, but most people employ physicians from the
adjoining towns, and as a result we have no surgeon among us.

Below are given li^ts of various civil offices, and of parties who have suc-
cessively occupied them : —

Town Clerks. — Isaac Farusworth, Benj. Goodriclge, 20 years, Benj. Bellows, Jr.,
Wm. Downe, Thos. Sparhawk, Jonathan Lowe, Geo. Kimball, Jedediah Bailey, 19
j'ears, Jacob Welsh, Wm. Cunningham, 10 j'ears, Abraham Haskell, Jr., N. F. Cun-
ningham, 8 years, Josiah Stearns, A. Bard, Wm. Harrington, Edmund Cashing, John
R. Rollins, James Putnam, 28 years, F. Brooks.

Town Treasurers. — Ed. Hartwell, S. Johnson, James Colburn, Jonathan Hubbard,
John Grout, Thos. Prentiss, Josiah Dodge, Wm. Stearns, Abijah Stearns, Joshua
Hutchins, Geo. Kimball, John Bailey, A. Stearns, J. Lowe, S. Graham, Jedediah Esta-
brook, Josiah Stearns, Geo. Kimball, Benj. Reddington, James Stearns, Stephen Stick-
ne}^ N. F. Cunningham, Jacob Caldwell, Wm. Harrington, Simeon Heywood, Thos.
Riley, Edmund Cashing, A. Bard, James Putnam, 30 years, F. Brooks.

Moderators. — Josiah V^illard, Sam'l Johnson, Benj. Goodridge, Jonathan Hubbard,
Isaac Farnsworth, John Grout, Thos. Prentiss, Hilkiah Boynton, John Ileywood,

STATISTICS. * 41

Joshua Ilutchiiis, Asabel Ilartwcll, Wm. Snow, Jonathan Wood, Wra. Stearns, John
Taylor, Jonathan Lowe, Geo. Kimball, John Fuller, Sam'l Billings, Josiah Stearns,
Jacob Welsh, Wm. Cunningham, Thos. Kimball, Chas. Gushing, N. F. Gunningham,
EJ. Gushing, Wni. Crown, Dan'l Putnam, David Wood, Sam'l Holman, David Wood,
Jr., Robert Kimball, G. A. Goodrich, F. M. Marston, G. A. Gunningham, James Ilil-
dreth, 2d.

Represeyitatlves. — There is no record of the members of the General Gourt till 1754,
when John Ileywood was elected ; Edward Ilartwell in 17GG ; John Taylor in 1772 and
'74 ; Geo. Kimball in 1777-78 ; Josiah Stearns in 1780 and '96-98 ; Jacob Welch, 1799 ;
Thos. Kimball in 1800; Ed. Gashing in 1806, '10 '11 and '20; Thomas Brooks in
1812 ; Daniel Putnam in 1829 ; N. F. Gunningham in 1834. Wm. Harlow in 1836 ;
Daniel Low, Jr., 1838-40; Sewell Boutwell in 1842-3; Ithra Lewis in 1844; John
Lane in 1845 ; Willard Porter 1850 ; Isaac Harrington, 2d, in 1851 ; James Putnam,
1852, Geo. D. Brown, 1854; Solomon Tarbell, Jr., in 1861; Reuben W. Snow,
1865 ; Ehiathan Davis, 1868 ; Wm. Baker, 1872 ; Adin G. Estabrook in 1875 ; James
Hildreth, 2d, 1877, — each elected in November. Josiah Stearns was delegate to revise
the Gonstitutiou in 1820, and senator in 1792 to fill a vacancy; and in 1793 was
again chosen by the people.

At the first election of the Commonwealth Sept. 4, 1780, John nancock had
forty-eight votes for governor and only four scattering.

In 1729, jurors were first chosen in town meeting.

We cannot close without acknowledgiug our obligations to Mrs. N. F. Cun-
ningham for being permitted to copy extensively from an unpublished history
of this town, now in her possession, the work of the late George A. Cun-
uiugham.

42 TOWN OF MENDON.

ME N D O N.

BY JOHN G. METCALF, M. D.

CHAPTER I.

FIRST GRANTS OF LAND — ANCIENT BOUNDARIES — RIVERS — INDIAN TROUBLES

FIRST CORN-MILL EARLY PROCEEDINGS BELLINGHAM INCORPORATED

UXBRIDGE — UPTON.

Mendon is the oldest town in the county except Lancaster, and, before
Blackstone (the south parish of Mendon) was incorporated, was the south-
eastern town in the county.

May 28, ]659, the town of Braintree petitioned the General Court for a new
plantation. The Court granted their petition so far as to allow them liberty to
seek out a place and "present their desires, with the names of such persons as
will engage to carry on such a work, unto the next session of this Court."

Oct. 16, 1660, the Court granted them a plantation of eight miles square,
and when a "full number of persons, with an able minister with them, should
appear, they would assign them due bounds."

Mfiy 22, 1662. The commissioners, EHazcr Lusher, Roger Clap and William
Paike, chosen by the General Court to establish rules for the new plantation at
Netmocke, certified to the General Court that "a full number of persons" had
presented themselves, of wh(mi thirteen were from Braintree and ten from
Weymouth. The able minister was Mr. John Rayner, from Weymouth.

Dedham, Dec. 30, 1G63. The commissioners gave notice that those who
had been accepted must settle, with their families, at the plantation, by the
middle of November, 1664, or lose their rights there.

In the meantime Moses Paine and Peter Brackett, of Braintree, had
purchased the eight miles square of the Indians for twenty-four pounds
sterling.

In 1667 the inhabitants of Quinshepauge (Mendon) presented a plat,
surveyed by Joshua Fisher of Dedham, and petitioned for an act of incor-
poration.

May 15, 1667, the plantation of Quinshepauge was incorporated by the name
of Mendon, and was assigned to the county of Middlesex.

INDIAN DIFFICULTIES. 43

The ancient boundaries of the town were as follows, viz. : Be^-innino- at a
point (well known at this day) upon the south bank of Charles River, thence
down stream one railc, thence north four miles wanting forty rods, thence west
eight miles, thence south eight miles, thence east eight miles, and thence north
four miles and forty rods, to the first bound.

These ample bounds, by the successive incorporations of Uxbridge, North-
bridge, Upton, Milford, Bellinghain and Blackstonc, have been so largely
curtailed of their fair proportions that the Meudon of to-day contains but
11,375 acres of the 40,9G0 of the original grant.

At its incorporation the town was covered with a heavy growth of oak, pine,
chestnut and cedar, save a few acres in the vicinity of the rivers and brooks,
used by the Indians for planting-grounds.

Its principal streams arc the Blackstonc, Mumford, Mill and Charles rivers,
generally flowing in a southerly direction, foljp^ving the similar trend of the hills.

The hills of note arc Miigormiscok (its northern portion now known by the
name of Silver Hill) and Bear hills, now in IMilford ; Candlewood, Waterbug
and Chestnut hills, in Blackstonc ; Goat and Wolf hills, in Uxbridge ; while
Misco, AVest, Wigwam, Caleb's, Pond and Neck hills are within the present
limits of the town.

The grant for Mendon was located on the territory of the Nipmuck Indians,
but, having purchased the land by a deed which guaranteed the premises "to
be free and clear of all incumbrances from the foundation of the world to the
present titne," there was little margin for disturbances between the grantors and
grantees. History and tradition are both silent as to any trouble with the
Indians until 1675, when King Philip's war broke out, Mendon being the
first place attacked within the limits of the Massachusetts Colony. The attack,
headed by Matoonas, was made July 14, 1675. Contemporary notices of this
assault convey but meagre intelligence of its lesult. Cotton Mather says four
or five were then slain. A petition of Matthias Puffer, recently found in the
State archives, affirms that his wife and eldest son were among those killed at
Mendon. No names of other victims have as yet been ascertained.

Matoonas lived at Quinsigamond, wherethe Apostle Eliot and Maj. Gookin had
installed the sachem as a justice of the peace, and Matoonas as constable, sup-
posing they had converted them to Christianity. The sachem soon grew tired of
the war, and, to make his peace with the English, surrendered Matoonas, bound
with withes, at Boston. lie was summarily tried, and sentenced to be shot,
the Indians volunteering]: as executioners. His head was cut off and stuck on a
j)ole on Boston Common, near that of his son, who was hung the year before
for murder.

Upon the alarm reaching Boston, Capt. Henchman was immediately sent
for relief, Mendon was declared a frontier town, and the inhabitants forbidden
to abandon the settlement. It was, however, abandoned at the approach of
winter, and the town was soon after burned by the Indians.

44 TOWN OF MENDON.

Although the war was soon terminated by the death of King Philip, muni-
cipal government was not reorganized in Mendon until 1680. Some of the
inhabitants had, however, returned before that time, as the record of births in
the Middlesex County records show.

Among the inconveniences and hardships to which the inhabitants of all new
and frontier settlements are subject, the chief grievances of the people here
were that they were fifteen miles from the nearest corn-mill at Medfield, and
that they "were meanly provided with meddo." The erection of a grist-mill
on Mill River (hence its name), by Benjamin Albee, relieved them of the one
grievance, and, pursuant to their petition, the General Court, by a grant of
"more meddo without their line," abated the other.

The commissioners for overseeing the settlement at Netmocke, among others,
established the following rule : that one hundred and fifty acres should be
granted to an estate of £100 ; viz.^ thirty acres fjr the house lot, ten acres for
meadow, five acres for swamp, and one hundred and five acres for the great
lot; and according to this proportion for all other estates, be they more or
less. This rule was to be observed in all divisions of land, until the settlement
should be incorporated as a town, nor do we find that this rule was materially
chano:ed afterwards.

In after times, when land was sold or grants were made for services rendered
the town, unless the conveyance contained the clause "and entitled to all the
rights and privileges which lots of like dimensions have," the grantee or the
beneficiary gained no interest in the common lands yet undivided. Such were
not regarded as proprietors.

Dec. 12, 1G70, Moses Paine and Peter Bracket, being so directed by the
General Court, assigned the deed they had received from the Indians to the
selectmen of Mendon, for the use of the inhabitants.

The first town meeting was held June 7, 1667, when "the flJ'remen and the
rest of the Inhabitants did choose for theire Selectmen, to order their Pru-
deutiall afitiirs, Col. Willi Crowne, Goodman Benjamin Albee, ifardinando
Tliayre, Dan : Lovett and John Thompson, seniour, & Col. Crowne for
Eegister."

From this time, except from 1675 to 1680, we have an unbroken record of
the transactions of the town to the present day.

In early times, in the transaction of municipal afiiiirs, the people did little
else than choose the principal town officers, always charging them, however,
" to make such rules as should clear the town from the penalty of the law."

Sept. 16, Daniel Lovett was chosen "Clarke of the Writts." It was his duty
to grant "summons and attachments," and to return to the county clerk the
births and deaths, many of which, so returned by him, may now be seen in
Middlesex County archives, at Cambridge.

This year a bounty of 20s. was offered for every wolf killed within the limits
of the town.

PROGRESS OF SETTLEMENT. 45

Jan. 6, 1GG9, Col. Crownc Avas chosen "to be Rcturnccl to Ihe General Court
to gaine power to take y° virdict of y° Jury upon y° death of John Lovctt (killed
by an unruly horse), to Marry and to give the present Constable his oath."

About this time it was ordered, "to take into this town but six more
families " Upon these eight miles square there are living, to-day, more than
twenty thousand people. About this time, "some disquiet" havnig arisen in
regard to municipal affairs, a committee of three was chosen by the General
Court to visit Mcndon and "reijulate their Prudentials."

In 1672 persons absent from town meeting, or leaving before the close,
were fined 2s.

In 1G73, Col. Crowne having removed from town, Mr. Ralph Wheelock of
Medfield (fifteen miles away) was appointed by the General Court to admin-
ister oaths, and to marry persons belonging to either town.

Jan. 1, 1G74, the town appointed John Thompson, Sr., "for to keepe an
Ordinary and publique Hous of Intertainmcnt." About this time the pro-
prietors liegan to keep records separate from the town, in which the lands set
off to the proprietors or sold to others were recorded. By a decision of the
Supreme Court, a few years ago, these records were remanded from the Inst
clerk of the proprietors to the custody of the town of Mcndon. In the Colony
tax to defray the expenses of King Philip's war, when there were but forty-
nine towns in the Colony, the tax for "Mendham" was £G G>". 2d.

In 1G82 Josiah Chapin built the first saw-mill, upon Muddy Brook, just
north from Post's Lane. Matthias Puffer built the second gri.st-mill, upon the
site of the old one built by Benjamin Albec, which was burned by the Indians.
Joseph Stevens, the first blacksmith, being dead, James Bick was to have a
ten-acre lot provided he would do "the town's smithcry work." But James
proved a crooked stick, for he would neither do the "smithcry" work, \)^y for
his lot, or quit it. Finding Bick bent on bickering, the constable was ordered
to pull down his fences. Upon this ho emigrated to Rhode Island.

The usurpation of Andros having terminated in 1G81), the town chose Ensign
Josiah Chapin a delegate to attend a convention to provide for the government
of the Colony.

In 1G89 taxes could be paid in moue3^, or in wheat at 5s\ Qd., barley or
barley malt at 3s. GtZ., vyo, at 3s., and pease at 4s. per bushel.

1692. The tract of land known as the North Purchase was bought of the
Indians for £3 sterling. It is now the north part of Milford.

1G93, March 1. Capt. Josiah Chapin was chosen clerk of the market, and
Benjamin Wheelock, Sanniel Hayward and Samuel Tyler were chosen tything-
men. This was the first time these ofliccs were filled. The train-band was to
give one day's work for cutting wood and carrying it to the minister.

1G94. Assessors were chosen for the first time, and the first pound and
stocks were built, thus early providing the means for restraining damage
feasant, whether committed by man or beast.

46 TOWN OF MENDON.

1G99. Sixteen wolves were killed this year, and "their ears cut off as the
law directs." Of the first settlers np to this time, the following persons had
died; viz., George Aldrich, John Spragne, John Thompson, Sr., Dea. Simon
Peck, Daniel Lovett, Dca. John Warfield, Timothy Winter, Walter Cook and
Jacob Aldrich.

1703. This year the names of seventy persons arc found on the tax list.

1704. The Indians upon the eastern frontiers of the Colony began to
commit depredations, and a general Indian war was deemed imminent. Mcn-
don v/as asaln declared a frontier town, and one-half of the militia-men were
required by law to provide themselves with "a pair of good, serviceable
mogginsons and snow shoes," in anticipation of a winter campaign. The
"mogginsons and snow shoes," however, were not called into service, as the
Indians failed to put in an appearance. About this time an attempt was made
to oust some squatters, from Khode Island, near Shokolog Pond (now in
Uxbridge). In the attempt Joseph and Robert Taft were made prisoners, and
carried to Providence ; but, as they charged the town but Gs. apiece for tlie
campaign, it is supposed their captivity was of short duration. At this time
the load leading north was known as the Marlborough Road, the one leading
south as the Rehoboth Road, the one west as the Connecticut Road, and the
three leading east as the Sherburne, INIedfield and Wrentham roads.

In 1711 a grist-mill was built on Charles River, and was the first one within
the limits of the present town of Bcllingham.

In 1712 the ass-reijate of all taxes were £208 14s. 2d.

1714. Town lines between Mcndon and Sutton, and between Mendon and
Sherburne, w^ere perambulated.

1717. Since the necrological record made in 1699, the following leading
citizens had died; viz., Sergt. Abraham Staples (to perpetuate whose memory
Rev. Carlton A. Staples, of Providence, R. I., and Hamilton B. Staples, Esq.,
of Worcester, have recently erected a substantial granite monument), Christo-
pher Winter, Samuel Thompson, Capt. Joseph White, Benjamin Thayer,
Ebcnezer Read, Dea. Peter Ilolbrook, Samuel Ilayward, Sr., and Ensign
William Holbrook.

1719. Seven persons were chosen ty thing-men ; and, by the act of March 3,
1G94, they were to be fined 40s. each if they refused to serve. They were to
carry a black staff two feet long, with one end tipped with brass.

Nov. 27, 1719. Bcllingham was incorporated, enclosing portions of Men-
don, Dedham and Wrentham. Named for Gov. Bellingham.

1720. The town tax for this year was £134 3s. Ad.

March 31, 1721. The General Court passed an act for the emission of fifty
thousand pounds in bills of credit. These were to be loaned to the towns,
should they so elect. Mendon was set down at £313 10s. Notwithstanding a
strong protest, the town voted to accept their portion of the bills. The bills
soon began to depreciate, and came down to 5s. Gd. in the pound.

NEW TOWNS FORMED. 47

Sept. 5, 172G. Mention is m-'^-e of a great sickness, but the only recorded
deatlis during its supposed prevalence were those of Ebenezer White, Benjamin
Wheaton and Josiah Chapin, Esq.

June 27, 1727. Another portion of territory is taken away and incorporated
by the name of Uxbridge, being the west part of the town.

April 2, 1731. The county of Worcester was incorporated, and Mendon,
which had belonged first to the. county of Middlesex and afterward to the
county of Suffolk, since 1671, was absorbed in the new county, though much
against her will.

Up to this time, 1732, all the roads remained at their original Avidth — that
of ten rods. From this period they began to sell portions of the roads to the
abutters, so that, finally, the roads were brought to the width of four rods.
For every ram running at large it was voted the owner should pay five shillings,
or not have him, and 6d. a week for keeping him.

1733. Raised £100 for repair of roads, and that those wdio did not work
out their taxes last year may do so this year, at the bridge by Samuel Thomp-
son's mill, now Millville, in Blackstonc.

June 14, 1735. The General Court ("seeing that the outlands of the several
towns of Mendon, Uxbridge, Sutton and Hopkinton are completely filled with
inhabitants, and by reason of their remoteness from the places of public
worship,") incorporated the town of Upton.

]\Iay 18, 1737. Voted to raise £40 to let the fish up Patucket River, pro-
vided other towns will pay their proportion.

May 22, 1738. Something new under the sun ! Benjamin Wheelock was
chosen representative to the General Court, and " refused to serve " Ebenezer
Merriam was then chosen representative to the General Court, and he didn't
refuse to serve. This was nothing new under the sun.

1739. The selectmen were directed to lease the burying-yard for thirty
years to some good man, provided he will enclose it with a good stone wall.

1740, May 19. Upon the question of dividing the town, the moderator
directed those who were in favor of it to place themselves upon the women's
side of the house, and those who were opposed upon the men's side.

1744, jNIarch 6. It was voted to erect a monument over the grave of the
Rev. Grindal Rawson, late minister of Mendon.

Voted, that the Mill River Precinct have the town's old law-book during the
pleasure of the town.

174G. Voted to forego a tax of £2 14s. 5d. 3/., new tenor, which is, in old
tenor, £10 17s. llcZ., a discount of seventy-five per cent.

1749. Raised £300, old tenor, for town charges.

1751. Voted to build a school-house, for the use of the town, near the
meeting-house in the East Precinct. Its cost was £212 lis., old tenor.

1753. Wages to be paid on the highway this year were, f.r a man, 2s.,
and for a man and team, 5s. a day, old tenor.

48 TOWN OF MENDON.

1754. This yeur (he long controversy between Mention unci Uxbriilge about
the boundary line was amicably adjusted, and the present line was confirmed
by the General Court.

CFIAPTER II.

MENDON DURING THE WARS — FREXCH AND INDIAN WAR THE REVOLUTION

INFLATED CURRENCY MILFORD INCORPORATED BLACKSTONE — ACTION

DURING THE REBELLION BI-CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION FISHERY EDU-
CATION — FIRST SCHOOL- HOUSE SECOND AND THIRD HIGH SCHOOL.

The town records make no mention that Mendnn furnished any men for
the French war; but npf)n a search among the archives at the State House, it
was found that the town raised seventy-four men for the expedition in
1755.

In 1757, twenty-nine men marched from Mendon for the relief of Fort Wil-
liam Henry. In 1759, when the war was virLually closed by the conquest of
Quebec, IMcndon furnished ninety men ; and in 17C0, Mendon furnished twenty-
one men for the reduction of Montreal.

17G4, March 7. The selectmen reported that they had warned forty-three
persons out of town, according to law. A colonial census was taken this year,
and the whole population of Mendon was one thousand eight hundred and
forty-three.

1771. The valuation of Mendon this year was as follows, viz. : — Eeal estate,
£1,100 15.5. 2d. ; personal, £2,558 5s. 4fZ. ; acres of tillage, seven hundred and
eight ; and ratable polls, four hundred and three.

As early as 1773, the people of Mendon passed twenty resolves, presented
by Joseph Dorr, Esq., as chairman of a committee, condemning, in vigorous
and patriotic terms, the encroachments of the British government. In 1774,
they resolved they would regard all persons buying goods from England as
enemies of their country.

To the call for men, after the battle of Lexington, Mendon responded with
one hundred and sixty-four men. Just how many men were furnished by the
town for the war, the imperfect state of the muster-rolls at the State House
make it impossible to determine. At one time, in 1778, there were seventy-
five men in the army. This year the town voted to approve of the Articles of
Confederation, and rejected the draft of a State constitution, made by the
General Court, by a vote of fifty-seven to two.

June 19, 1780. The town raised £10,000 to defray town charges, and
£13,000 to buy beef for the army. At this time the Continental money had
depreciated so that £100 in specie would buy £6,400 in paper.

April 11, 1780. After a long struggle, the East, or Mill River Precinct was

IN THE ^YAUS. 49

incorporated by the name of Milford, and all matters of business between the
two towns were amicably adjusted.

The first election under the State Constitution, which had just been ratified
by the people, took place Sept. 4, 1780, when John Hancock was chosen
governor. Joseph Dorr, Esq., of Mendon, was chosen a senator by the peopl-,
and a councillor by the General Court.

1781. Thisyearthetotal valuation of Mendon was£3, 708 18s. M. hard money.

1782. At the State election this year, no votes were cast in Mendon,
"though repeatedly called for," but for what reason is not known.

1786. Shays' Eebellion occurred this year, but the people of Mendon di 1
not sympathize with the movement. December 4, Capt. William Torroy, with
his company, marched to Worcester. When a requisition was made for twelve
hundred men, Mendon furnished sixty-three of the number.

1792. A small-pox hospital was allowed, and Dr. Joseph Adams had charge
of it.

In the war of 1812, it was voted to allow each soldier in the service seven
dollars a month in additio:i to the pay allowed by law.

1816. Lewis Allen, collector of taxes, absconded, having embezzled a por-
tion of the money he had collected. His bondsmen supplied the deficit.

1818. The fourth highway district were allowed to work out their highway
taxes, "agreeable to their own minds." They made no report of their doings I

1819. Raised $1,200 to defray town charges; $1,000 for repair of roads,
and $800 for schools.

1820. Hon. Jonathan Russell and Dr. Daniel Thurber were chosen deleiyates
to the convention for revision of the State Constitution.

1821. The town adopted Articles 2, 3, 6, 8 and 14, while the State at large
adopted the articles from 1 to 9 inclusive.

1823. A committee of thirteen was chosen to recommend measures for the
suppression of intemperance, but no report of their doings is found.

The subject of dividing the town began to be agitated, and it was frequently
the subject of discussion at town meetings, the vote being generally against the
division.

1825. The subject of a division was brought before the General Court this
year upon the petition of Sclh Hastings and others.

1826. The petition being lost, as reported by the committee on towns, the
matter of dividing the town at this time came to an end. It was supposed thit
the petition was surreptitiously removed.

1830. Raised $1,200 for schools ; $1,200 for repair of roads and bridges, and
$3,000 for town charges. The farm of Caleb Mowry was bought for $3,400 for
a poor-farm, and the poor were removed to the same.

1834. Obadiah Wood, a representative from this town, introduced a bill i;i
the General Court greatly reducing the number of representatives, and the
same became a law.

VOL. 11.— 7

50 TOWN OF MENDON.

1835. The selectmen were instnictcd to withhold their approbation for
licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors.

1837. The town treasurer ^/\s^ required to give bonds. The United States
being free from debt, and having a surplus of about seventy millions, placed it
on deposit with the several States. Massachusetts placed her share on deposit
with the several towns. Mendon received $(5,921.61:, of which sum Blackstono
at its incorporation received $4,803.45, leaving for Mendon $2,118.19, which
has been kept intact and at interest to this time for the use of the schools.

1840. The enrolled militia were five hundred and five. At the presidential
election the Democratic ticket had three hundred and five, the Whig ticket
three hundred and one, the others seven. No representative was chosen.

1841. The fourteenth article of the amendments to the constitution having
been adopted, Mendon was entitled to but one representative.

1843. Town officers' report printed for the first time.

1844. The division of the town again mooted, and a petition to that effect
put in circulation.

1845. The town was divided by the parish line, and the new town incor-
porated by the name of Blackstone, March 25, 1845. In the North Parish
(Mendon) were three hundred and nineteen polls; real estate, $379,374;
personal, $137,391 ; and in the South Parish (Blackstone) were six hundred
and ninety-six polls; real estate, $548,299 ; personal, $306,025. Of the sur-
plus revenue Mendon had $2,118.19, and Blackstone, $4,803.45.

1846. The enrolled militia were two hundred and two.

1847. The two towns voting together until 1850, as by the act incorporating
Blackstone they were required to do for representatives to the General Court,
Rev. Benjamin D. Peck was chosen representative. He was afterward State
treasurer of Maine.

1849. Raised $500 for roads, $800 for schools, $750 for the poor, and $400
for incidental expenses. A fire-engine was purchased thiy year, but was sold,
without being used, to the town of Milford, at a loss of about $450.

1850. Harrison Hall was purchased of the proprietors by the town, and to
be known hereafter as the town hall

1852. The road (now Elm Street) laid out by the county commissioners.
The enrolled militia were two hundred and eisrhteen.

1853. A fire-proof safe for holding the records was purchased and placed in
the town hall.

1854. Work on the highway was paid twelve and one-half cents per hour,
and the same for oxen and cart ; for a plow, fifty cents per day.

The Kansas-Nebraska bill being before Congress, strong resolutions were
passed by the town deprecating the act.

1855. A receiving tomb was erected at the old burying-ground.

1857. The 20th, 21st and 22d articles of amendments to the Constitution
were adopted by large mnjorities.

SECOND CENTENNI/U.. 51

1857. The farm of Millius A. Taft was bought for a poor-farm, the Mowry
farm having been sold at the incorporation of Blackstone in 1845. Nov. 3,
the first election under the district system. John G. Metcalf of Mendon was
elected senator for the Worcester south-eastern district, and Samuel W. Scott
of Uxbridge representative for the 20th Worcester district.

1859. The 23d article of amendment to the Constitution adopted by a
vote of 39 to 3G.

18G0. Raised $1,000 for the support of schools, $500 for the poor, $600 for
repair of highways, and $1,000 for incidental expenses.

1801. At the November meeting, the town voted to hire $5,000, to help
sustain the war against secession ; and the selectmen were directed to pay $1
per week each to the wife and children under sixteen years of age of any inhab-
itant in the military service of the United States, and also the same sum each to
any parent, brother, sister or child dependent upon such person at the time of
his entering the army.

The amount of bounties paid by the town was $1G,085, besides $2,510 paid
by individuals. Large sums were also paid as State aid, the same being reim-
bursed by the State at the close of the year. During the war, Mendon fur-
nished 132 men, being 16 in excess of the number required by the several
calls. The number of those who died in the service was 19, and the bodies of
but four were broucrht home for burial.

1864. Fifteen cents per hour was allowed for work on the highway for a
man, the same for oxen and cart, and ten cents per hour for a plow.

Raised $1,200 for schools, $550 for the poor, $1,000 for roads, $1,000 for
incidental expenses, and $1,000 for interest on the war debt.

1865. Raised $1,200 for schools, $550 for the poor, $1,000 for roads,
$1,000 for incidental expenses, $1,000 for interest, and $5,000 to reduce the
town debt.

1867. May 15. The two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the
town was celebrated this day by an address from Rev. Carlton A. Staples of
Providence, a native of Mendon, and a poem by Judge Ilcnry Chapin of
Worcester, a native of Upton. Twelve hundred persons partook of a substan-
tial repast provided by William Tufts of Boston.

1868. The High School was established.

1870. The fish commissioners leased Mendon Pond for twenty years, to
Leonard J. Wilson of Milford and John Bliss of Newton, " for the cultivation
of useful fishes," at $656, payable by instalments.

The lessees have stocked the pond with black bass and land-locked salmon.
The enrolled militia were found to be 144. Voted that no persons bo
allowed to sell intoxicating liquors.

1871. Voted that, to all taxes not paid by September 10, one per cent, per
month shall be added until paid.

The line between Bellingham and Mendon established by the General Court.

52 TOWN OF I^IENDON.

The repairs made on the road from the house of Silas Dudley to Milford line,
l)y order of the comity commissioners, cost $(J.950, the length of the road being

306 rods.

1872. The poor-farm leased (afterwards sold), and the poor provided for

elsewhere.

The school-house in District No. 1 was built, at a cost of $1,800.

A self-acting fire-engine and portable extinguishers were purchased, at a cost
of $1,300.

The building formerly the Mendou Bank was purchased and fitted up for a
hall of records, at a cost of $G25.

1873. It was voted that a bounty of ten cents be paid for each woodchuck
killed Avithin the limits of the town.

1874. Raised $1,700 for schools, $1,200 for the poor, $1,500 for roads,
$800 for incidental expenses, $1,600 for payment of interest, and $2,000 for
payment of principal.

D. C. Howard was paid $490.79 as damages and costs for injuries received
by reason of a defect in the highway leading to Milford.

1877. The law-oflice of the late Warren Rawson, Esq., was bought and
converted into a "Lock-np for Tramps."

The educational growth of the town began Jan. 8, 1700, by voting the erec-
tion of the first school-house, and installing Dea. John Warfield, who came
from Dedham, as the first schoolmaster.

In 1709, the minister (Rev. Grindal Rawson) offered, if the town would
procure a Latin schoolmaster, to give him his board for four years. The town
voted to do so, and that his salary should be twenty pounds a year; but, as no
further mention is made of a Latin schoolmaster, it is supposed the project fell
through.

At an early day, the school and the ministry were regaided as proprietors,
and so, when any division of land was agreed on, the school and the ministry
had each a lot assigned them.

In after times, these lots were sold, and the proceeds applied to their
support.

In 1712, Dea. Warfield having resigned his position, the selectmen " being
informed of one Robert Ilusse (Hews), who had formerly been emi)loyed in
that service at Eastham, Agreed to endeavour the obtaining him." At the end
of two years, Martin Pcarce succeeded him, and was to have seventeen pounds
a year, " with his bord and Dyett."

In 1718, William Boyce was hired for a schoolmaster for twenty-eight pounds
per year. In 1721, William Boyce was still the schoolmaster, and was to keep
school in four places; viz., at the school-house by Dea. Warfield's, over Mill
River, at the south end of the town, and about the Great River.

1728-30, Grindal Rawson kept school here, and was to have £22 10"?. for
six months. He was the eleventh child of Rev. Grindal Rawson, and had

SCHOOL MATTERS. 53

graduated from Harvard College in 1728. He was settled in the ministry at
South Hadley, where he remained until 1741, whence he removed to East
Haddam, Conn., and died there March 27, 1777, aged seventy.

In 1733, it was voted that the school should be kept the three summer
months and the three winter months at the school-house, and the other six
months where the selectmen should direct, and Samuel Terry was hired "to
keep a Grammar School for four months for £20."

1735. This 3^ear forty pounds were raised to pay town debts and the
schoolmaster ; but, as no mention is made of the amount of the town debts, we
are left in doubt how large a mofety fell to the share of the schoolmaster. At
this time, Samuel Terry was succeeded by John Field, who was hired for three
months.

1736. John Field was continued as schoolmaster, and "is to keep six
months in the town and six months in the outskirts of the town, and is to have
£45 for his services."

Nov. 26, 1737. Capt. William Rawson was hired to keep a grammar
school for three months. In 1737, he was hired to keep a grammar school for
ten months, at fifty pounds per annum. lie was the nephew of Rev. Griudal
Rawson, and graduated at Harvard College in 1703.

In 1738, Josiah Marshall, A.M., was hired to keep school six months,
"according to the direction of the Province Laws," for thirty pounds old teuor,
in bills of credit of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay.

In 1742, Josiah Marshall, A. M., was hired to keep a grammar school for a
year for nineteen pounds, lawful money, or bills of credit equivalent thereto.

In 1744, Josiah Marshall, A.M., was again chosen schoolmaster; "but the
town refused to build a new school house."

In 1746, Samuel Thayer and six others were chosen a committee "to con-
sider the affair of building a school house or school houses and report at the
next town meeting." At this time, there was but one school-house in the
town.

1747. Voted not to hire Mr. Josiah Marshall as schoolmaster, and, as no
further mention is made of schools during the year, it is presumed none were
kept.

Although the town had recently voted not to build a school-house, yet,
probably in consequence of the report of the committee above mentioned, the
vote was reconsidered, and the town now "voted to build a new School house
and to set it on ye Training Field, adjoyniug ye road." It was to be twenty
feet long, sixteen feet wide, and seven feet between joints. It was located
near where the barn of Albert W. Gaskill now stands, and its cost was to be
defrayed out of the money received for the sale of land in reducing the width
of the roads from ten to four rods in width. The old school-house was sold to
Samuel Thayer for fourteen pounds.

1748. Josiah Marshall, A. M., was duly installed in the new school-house,

TOWN OF MENDON.

but at what salary the record is silent. The school was to be kept four

months.

1749. The town voted the grammar school should not be kept in the school-
house, and no reasons are given for this novel vote.

1750. The town voted to have a grammar schoolmaster, but voted, " l)y
the whole town save one," they would not have Mr. Foster.

They then voted to have Mr. Dorr's son Joseph and Capt. Eleazer Taft's
son Moses "to Keep School by Spells as they can agree."

The second school-house was built near the East Precinct (Milford) meeting-
house "for the use of the town." Neither its size or its exact location can now
be ascertained. Its cost was £212 lis.

1751. Voted that Mr. Dorr's son Joseph shall be the town's schoolmaster
as soon as he can be had, and, when he cannot be had, Mr. Taft's son Moses
to be the schoolmaster. These two teachers were both recent graduates from
Harvard College.

1756. There were but two school-houses in the town, and the attempt to
build another was defeated. It will be remembered that this was in the time
of the French war, when the expenses of the town would be materially
increased, and this, quite likely, was the reason of the adverse vote.

1757. Voted that the "aflfair of the Schoolmaster be left in the hands of the
Selectmen."

1759. This year the town was divided into school districts, but, of their
number, size and boundaries, we have no record.

1760. This year it was voted that each of the eleven school districts should
draw just the amount of money they paid to the amount raised for the support
of schools.

17G3. Some of the districts, not having drawn out all their portion of the
school money, asked the town to allow them interest on the same, but the
town held that all the money should have been expended during the year in
which it was raised and appropriated.

1765. Although there were eleven school districts in town, and but two
school-houses, the town again voted they would build no more.

1771. Voted to appropriate sixty pounds lawful money for schools, with
the interest from the school notes. These notes were given for land set apart
for the schools which had been sold.

From this time, the care of the ordinary schools was confided to the care of
the several districts.

1786. It was voted that the town "provide a Grammar School so far as to
clear the town from any fine." ^

1789. Voted to sell the old school-house which stands on the training-field
"for the most it will fetch."

1796. The first general school committee chosen.

1804. Of the sum of $400 raised for schooling, $33.33 was reserved, and

HIGH SCHOOL. 55

to be divided among such districts as "the Selectmen shall think just," the
remaining portion to be equally divided among the scholars.

1811. Blackstone factory village made a school district.

1824. Kaised $800 for schooling, to be divided among fourteen school
districts.

1832. The school committee were to have $10 each for their services.

1834. There were seventeen school districts, and the town raised $1,200 for
the support of schools.

1838. The first notice of a high school is found this year, as a committee
was chosen to consider the subject " of establishing a school for the benefit of
the whole town."

1845. By the division of the town and the incorporation of Blackstone,
Mendon was left with seven school districts.

Since 1827, the schools have been under the supervision of the school com-
mittee chosen by the town, and, during this period, the character of the schools
has been much improved. Nov/ and improved text-books have been intro-
duced, and persons of more ample qualifications have been engaged as teachers.

The high school, to which scholars from all parts of the town having the
requisite qualifications are admitted, was organized in 1868, and has been
continued to this time. The committees, in the main, have succeeded in pio-
curing the services of able and competent teachers. Two of its alu7nni have
graduated from colleges.

In the centre school, the scholars are graded, being distributed by the com-
mittee among the high, grammar and primary schools.

By chapter 110 of the acts of 1869, the school districts were abolished. By
the same act, the towni was to take possession of the school-houses and
appraise them. Of this appraisal, a tax was to be laid, and the amount
remitted to the tax-payers, "provided the appraised value shall not exceed the
actual cost of the school-houses."

Although the people of Mendon at the time were quite generally opposed to
the abolition of the districts, the feeling is now quite unanimous in the wisdom
of the act.

During the school-year for 1878-9, the whole number of scholars that
attended was 270, distributed among eight schools ; the average attendance
was 89.2 per cent. ; the amount paid teachers was $1,654.50; paid for fuel
and care of fires, $93.20 ; school apparatus, $4 ; the pay of the teacher of the
high school was $65 per month ; the wages of the other teachers varied from
$20 to $34 per month ; salary of superintendent, $75.

56 TOWN OF MENDON.

CHAPTER III.

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY MINISTERS AND MEETING-HOUSES THE MENDON

ASSOCIATION LATER CHURCHES AGRICULTURE POLITICAL DOINGS

INDUSTRIES COLLEGE GRADUATES STATISTICS.

As the grant to the Braintree petitioners for a new plantation made it
requisite that there should be an "able minister with them," it will be seen
that the ecclesiastical history of the town began with its first settlement.

It has always been supposed, until recently, that Joseph Emerson was the
first minister of Mendon, as the town records are silent as regards a minister,
save the single mention that land was granted to " the minister." This has
been interpreted to mean "the minister" whenever one should be called; but,
among the State archives, a petition from the inhabitants of Mendon has been
found, wherein it is averred that, if their prayer should be refused, they should
lose "the valuable services of their able and faithful minister, Mr. John
Eayner." This evidence established the fact that Joseph Emerson, who was
not settled until 1G69, was not the first minister. Mr. Rayncr removed from
Mendon in 1668, and was soon afterwards settled at Dover, N. II., succeeding
his father, John Rayner, in the ministry there, who died April 3, 1661). Mr.
Rayner, the son, died Dec. 21, 1676, and was probably unmarried, as his
mother, Frances Rayner, was administratrix of his estate.

April 21, 1668. "It was ordered to give Mr. Benjamin Allot a Call with
his fiather's leave, and a letter was sent to that effect." As Benjamin did not
come, he probably did not receive the apostolic benediction to that effect.

In 1668, it was agreed to build a meeting-house twenty-two feet square, but
it was not finished until the following year.

Dec. 1, 1669, Rev. Joseph Emerson (son-in-law of Peter Bulkeley of Con-
cord), was installed as minister, his father-in-law making the contract with the
town. Part of his pay was to be taken "at some shop in Boston," and he was
to have two pounds of butter for every cow.

Mr. Emerson continued in the ministry until the breaking out of King
Philip's war, when he retired to Concord, and as he died a few years afterward,
it is believed he d^l not again enter the ministry.

Upon the return of the inhabitants after the war, in 1680, the town took
early measures for the r 'building of the meeting-house and parsonage, which
had been destroyed in the general conflagration by the Indians.

The new meeting-house was to be 26 by 24 feet and 14 feet between joints.
The parsonage was to be 26 by 18 feet, with "a leantowe," 12 feet wide, at
one end of the house.

Oct. 4, 1680, Rev. Grindal Rawson, son of the colonial secretary, Edward
Ilawson, was called to the ministry here, but was not permanently settled until

MEETING-HOUSES. 57

April 7, 1684. He was a classmate in college with Cotton Mather. Ho was
installed in the parsonage with his family (he having married a daughter of
Eev. John Wilson of Medfield), by 1682, as we find, in that year, a committee
of three were chosen " to Rectifie Mr. Rawson's Chimneyes."

Mr. Rawson's salary was to be £55 a year, with one cord of wood for every
forty-acre lot, and the train band were to cut it up at his door.

Persons living at a distance from the meeting had liberty "to build a place
for their Relief upon the Sabbath day between the Meeting-House and the
Town Pound." This place of relief was what, in after times, became known
as the noon house. The primitive meeting-house had none of the modern
improvements for warming, and a noon house, with a hole in the roof and an
ample hearth beneath for charcoal, aflforded a comfortable retreat during the
recess at noon.

In a few years the meeting-house was found to be too small and it was voted
to "Inlarge it ten feet up street and ten feet down street."

In 1710, Mr. Rawson and Mr. Jethro Coffin had liberty to build pews in the
meeting-house.

In 1712, Mr. Rawson's salary had been raised to £6Q yearly.

Mr. Rawson died Feb, 6, 1715, after a ministry of thirty-five years, and
Avas buried in the westerly part of the ancient grave-yard in this town, where
a monument was afterward raised to his memory by the town.

In 1713, Mr. Rawson being in feeble health, Mr. Joseph Adams was hired
to supply the pulpit a portion of the year.

Dec. 20, 1715. The town and the church agreed to the settlement of Rev.
Joseph Dorr as their minister, and to give him £160, to be paid in labor and
materials towards building him a house and £75 as his yearly salary.

Feb. 24, 1716. Mr. Dorr accepted the above terms and became the minister
of the town.

He was the youngest son but one of Rev, Edward and Elizabeth Dorr, and
was born in Roxbury in 1689 or 1690. He graduated at Harvard College in
1711 and married Mary, daughter of Rev. Grindal Rawson, his predecessor in
the ministry, April 9, 1724. He continued in the discharge of his ministerial
duties here until his death, March 9, 1768.

Mr. Dorr was the father of the Meadon Association of Ministers, it being
organized at his house, and of it he was a long time moderator.

As early as 1727, the subject of building a new meeting-house began to be
agitated ; but it was not erected until after a long controversy as to the most
eli'^ible site for its location, and after it had been referred to a committee from
neighboring towns. Finally, in 1730, the frame of the house was raised ; the
town, among other articles for refreshment, providing for the occasion "a barrel
ofRhum."

May 18, 1731. The opposition to the site of the meeting-house was not yet
entirely placated, as the following vote will show. The town being met it was

VOL. 11.-8

58 TOWN OF MENDON.

put to vote " to see if they could find out who hath, by cutting, damnified the
meeting-house," and it "passed in the negative." By this it seems the town
was willing to "bury the hatchet."

In 1733, Mr. Dorr had £25 added to his salary.

In 1734, the town voted to build no pews in the meeting-house, or allow
others to do so. Seats, instead of pews, had been constructed, and a com-
mittee assigned the seats, placing the women on one side and the men on
the other.

1736. Although the meeting-house had been some time occupied, it was not
yet finished, as we find £100 was raised to pay John Lyon when he "hath fin-
ished the meeting-house."

In 1741, quite a disturbance in the church took place, Mr. Dorr being
accused of mal-administration, but in what manner does not appear. Thomas
Tenney and others prayed the General Court " to set them ofl* from Mendon on
account of a controversy with Mr. Dorr." Upon the question of referring the
petition to the next General Court there was a dead-lock between the Council
and House of Representatives, and here the controversy ended.

This year the territory east of Mill River and the families living between
Mill River and the eight-rod road were made a precinct. The precinct was soon
organized and the Rev. Amariah Frost of Framingham was ordained Dec. 21,
1743. Mr. Frost remained the minister until the precinct was made a town
and named Milford.

Nov. 8, 1766. The south part of the first precinct was made a precinct, by
the General Court, and called the south precinct, since made the town of
Blackstone.

The Rev. Mr. Balch was settled over it Sept. 14, 1768, and remained its
minister until March 27, 1773. Difficulties soon arose between Mr. Balch and
the people, and there was continual bickering during his stay. According to
a pamphlet printed in Boston, in 1773, Mr. Balch left the precinct in the night.
The pamphlet says Mr. Balch came there very poor, so that the people had to
furnish him with a suit of clothes for his ordination.

After the death of Mr. Dorr, May 9, 1768, there was occasional preaching
during the remainder of the year. Mr. Balch last before mentioned, a Mr.
Messinger, a Mr. Penniman, and perhaps others, rendered occasional service.

Rev. Joseph Willard was installed over the first precinct, April 19, 1769,
and dismissed Dec. 4, 1782. During the latter part of his ministry, there was
a great lack of harmony between him and the people, arising, principally, from
the tardiness with which his salary was collected and paid, finally culminat-
ing in a suit at law brought by Mr. Willard to enforce its payment. Rev.
Caleb Alexander succeeded Mr. Willard as the minister of the First Parish,
and was installed April 12, 1786, and dismissed Dec. 7, 1802. He removed
to western New York, and died at Onondaga, April 12, 1828, siged seventy-
two. He was born in Northfield, July 22, 1755, and graduated from Yale

SUCCESSIVE PASTORS. 59

College, in 1777. Mr. Alexander was an able teacher and writer. He was
greatly iustrumeDtal in founding Hamilton College and Auburn Theological
Seminary. Rev. Preserved Smith was installed Oct. 2, 1805, over the first
and third parishes, preaching alternately at the meeting-houses in each parish
until Oct. 10, 1812, when he was dismissed upon his own request. In Novem-
ber, 1787, he was settled at Rowe and continued his ministry there u itil May,
1804, when he came to Mendon. In 1812, the people of Rowe gave him a
unanimous call to return to that town, and with which he complied. He con-
tinued to preach there for twenty years, having completed a ministry of forty-
five years. In 1832, he went to reside with his son, Rev. Preserved Smith,
at Warwick, until his death, Aug. 15, 1834. He graduated at Brown Uni-
versity in 1786.

It is supposed the pulpit was supplied for the next two years, as we find
there was a committee, in 1812 and 1813, chosen for that purpose.

June 16, 1814. The first parish gave a call to Rev. Luther Bailey, with a
salary of $450. Mr. Bailey declined the call on account of the sum offered as
his salary, but would accede to their request for $550.

Nov. 28, 1814. Gave a call to the Rev. Simeon Doggett at a salar}^ of
$350. Dec. 17, 1814, Mr. Doggett accepted the call and the parish took
measures for his ordination. Mr. Doggett was ordained Jan. 17, 1815, and
dismissed Dec. 4, 1830. Mr. Doggett graduated at Brown University in 1788,
and was a tutor in the University from 1791 to 1796. He was a, native of
Middleborough, and removed to Raynham at the close of his ministry in Men-
don. Many young men fitted for college under his tuition while living in
Mendon.

Rev, Adin Ballou commenced his ministry in February, 1831, being installed
May 3, 1832. Rev. Bernard Whitman preached the ordination sermon. Mr.
Ballou closed his ministry April 1, 1842. While residing here he published
an address on the subject of American Slavery, which was republished in
England. Rev. Linus B. Shaw commenced his ministry in April, 1842, and
closed it May 1, 1844. There was no formal installation. Rev. George M.
Rice was engaged to supply the pulpit, and commenced his labors April 20,
1845, and remained until July 1, 1847. Rev. George G. Channing, brother of
the late William Ellery Channing, began a supply in October, 1847, and con-
tinued his sevices until Dec. 1, 1849. Rev. William H. Kinsley was installed
in June, 1850, Rev. E. S. Gannett, D. D., preachiug the installation sermon.
He remained in the discharge of his parochial duties until his death, Sept. 7, 1851.
Rev. Robert Hassall succeeded Mr. Kinsley, and his ministry continued from
April 1, 1852, to the second Sunday in Januaiy, 1856. He was soon after
settled at Haverhill. Rev. Stillman Barber commenced his ministerial labors,
May 18, 1856, and closed them the second Sunday in April, 1860. Rev. Wil-
liam Tate Phelanwas ordained in May, 1863, and was dismissed, at his request,
April 27, 1866. Rev. Richard Coleman began to preach July 1, 1866, and con-

60 TOWN OF MENDON.

tinned his services until February, 1868. Rev. David Philip Liiklsley com-
menced preaching Jan. 1, 1868, and concluded his services March 31, 1871.
Rev. George F. Clark, late minister at Castiue, Me., began an engagement in
June, 1871, and still continues to supply the pulpit.

The "Mendou Association," so called, was an association of Consfreofational
ministers. It was organized at the house of Rev. Mr. Dorr, "Nov. y^ 8th.
1751." There were present four persons, viz. : — Mr. Dorr, who was chosen
moderator, and Rev. Nathan Webb of Uxbridge, scribe. The two other mem-
bers were, Rev. Amariah Frost of the east precinct in Mil ford, and the Rev.
Elisha Fish of Upton.

At this meeting David Thurston was licensed to preach, and was ordained
over the church at West Medway, June 23, 1752. He was a graduate from
Princeton College, N. J., in 1751. This association still continues to hold
meetin2:s.

Having, in the preceding pages, given an account of the churches down to
1730, a small space will suffice to complete the record. The present Unitarian
Church was built, in 1820, by voluntary contributions, for the u^e of the first
parish. The first Friends' meeting-house was built in 1729, and stood a short
distance below the shop occupied by Timothy Ellis. The meetings in this
house were discontinued by Smithtield monthly meeting, third month, 1841,
and the house sold to Col. Israel Plummer, in 1850, and converted into a
depot at the Northbridge Quarries, on the Providence and Worcester Rail-
road.

The second Friends' meeting-house was built at South Meudon (now Black-
stone), in 1812.

Not long before the incorporation of Blackstone, churches were built at
Millville, Blackstone and Waterford, villages in that town.

In 1828, the "North Congregational Church" was organized, and in 1830
built a church ; but, after a few years of struggle, the organization was aban-
doned and the meeting-house sold to the Methodist Society, which had lately
been gathered, for $650. During the past year, Rev. Phineas C. Sloper of
Natick has officiated as pastor of this society.

The Blackstone Canal was begun in 1824, and the first boat, the "Lady
Carrington," started July 1, 1828. The cost of the canal was $700,000, and
proved a losing investment for its stockholders. It, however, was of benefit
to the public, as it increased the water-power, by its dams and reservoirs, and
thus aided largely in the multiplication of factories. The Blackstone cotton-
mill was built in 1808, and there were smaller mills at Millville, and at Kelley's
and Paine & Ray's on Mill River. Soon after this, W. & D. D. Farnum
erected a large woolen-mill at Waterford, and additional machinery was
operated at Millville and at Paine & Ray's.

In 1847, the Worcester and Providence Railroad superseded the canal, and
not long afterward the canal corporation obtained liberty to surrender its

LOCAL INDUSTRIES. 61

charter. Blackstono was an integral portion of Mendon at this time, and
contained 3,524 inhabitants. In 1870, the two towns contained 6,596, of
which Mendon furnished 1,175, and Blackstone, 5,421.

In Mendon, with its present boundaries, there is one box-factory, two shoddy-
mills, and two boot manufactories. There are five saw and one shingle mill,
one wheelwright's and three blacksmith's shops. There are two taverns, one
of which, kept by David Adams, is a true temperance house. Two stores, in
one of which the post-office is kept.

For farming purposes there is much excellent laud in Mendon. "With a
general inclination to the south, except in the low lands, it is not subject to
early frosts. Its principal productions are hay, potatoes, corn, rye, apples
and cranberries. Many fruit-trees have been set out within a few years, and
many patches of meadow reclaimed for the cultivation of cranberries. Large
quantities of milk are sold from this town, principally at Milford.

Mendon has always been true to the Union. In the days of the Revolution,
while she was passing patriotic resolutions in town meeting, she was, at the
same time, passing patriotic men to the front. So in the Rebellion of 1861,
almost without exception, the citizens of Mendon stood shoulder to shoulder
for its overthrow.

From the days of Jefferson, until a recent period, Mendon had always been
Democratic. The anti-slavery discussion, the repeal of the Missouri compro-
mise, and the attempt to make Kansas a slave-holding State, opened the eyes
of many, and the recent attempt to destroy the Union completed the disin-
tegration of that party.

Since 1861, IMendon has been Republican, and, always, whenever a full vote
is called out, by a decided and satisfactory raiijority. In the election of town
officers partisan predilections have been very generally disregarded. As an
evidence of its sanitary condition and the law-abiding disposition of its
inhabitants, it is sufficient to say that but one physician and one lawyer find
a home within its limits.

The principal portion of the industry of the town is expended in the culti-
vation of the soil.. With the adoption of the improved mipleraents of agri-
culture and a more intelligent application of fertilizers, whether derived from
the compost-heap or the laboratory, the general aspect of the forming lands
shows a decided improvement over the exhibit of thirty-five or forty years ago.
If he who makes two spears of grass grow where one grew before is a public
benefactor, the farmers of Mendon may justly claim an honorable distinction
in that regard.

Owing to the general depression of business at this time (April, 1879), but one
of the boot-shops is in operation, turning out but forty or fifty cases weekly.

The home industries, besides the ordinary care of the household, are mainly
devoted to the sewinsr of bonnets and hats for the straw manufactories in the
neighborinor towns.

TOWN OF MENDON.

The following college graduates are worthy of prominent mention : —

Grindal Rawson,

(Harvard,)

1728

Moses Taft,

1751

Joseph Dorr,

1752

Ezra Thayer,

1754

Alexander Scammell,

1769

Amariah Frost,

1770

William Jennison,

1774

Samuel Jennison,

1774

John Eugene Tyler,

1786

Daniel Peters,

1793

Samuel Dexter,

1801

Warren Rawson,

1802

Seth Chapin,

1808

Peter Wheelock,

1811

Samuel S. Adams,

1812

Preserved Smith,

1812

Samuel Allen,

1814

George Taft, (Harvard,) 1815

William Soden Hastings, " 1817

John Locke Doggett, " 1821

George R. Russell, " 1821

Charles C. P. Hastings, " 1825

Moses D. Southwick, " 1828

Theophilus P. Doggett, " 1829

Nathan George, " 1830

Edward Freeman, " 1833

Eli Thayer, " 1845

George Capron, " 1847

Enos N. Taft, (Yule,) 1850

Samuel P. Bates, (Boston Univ.,) 1851
Hamilton B. Staples, " 1851

Julius A. George, Lawrence ScientiQc
School, . . (Harvard,) 1859-60

These annals are now brought to a close by an exhibit of the financial stand-
ing of the town at the close of the two hundred and eleventh year of its muni-
cipallife, March 3, 1879.

Summary of expenditures during the year.

Damage and costs (defect in the highway).

Incidental expenses.

Repairs of school-houses and supplies.

Printing,

Town officers' services.

State aid to pensioners,

" for other soldiers.
School apparatus.
Support of schools,
Fuel for town hall.
Roads and bridges.
Support of poor.

The liabilities of the town are as follows, viz. :■

Due town officers (estimated), .......

Expended on roads and unpaid (estimated), . . . .

Amount of town bonds outstanding,

«(

((

notes

$350 00

102

127

577

250

226

1,747

1,018

1,770

$6,235

$212 50

387

12,698

3,876

$17,174

STATISTICS. &3

A.vailahle assets.

Taxes uncollected, $1,521 90

Cash in treasurer's hands, ...... 79 25

Due from State, (State aid disbursed, pensioners,) . . 264 00

" " ( " " other soldiers,^ . 187 79

$2,052 94

Leaving the present indebtedness of the town, .... $15,121 35

Toivn officers for 1879. — Town clerk, David Adams ; selectmen, Alexander
H. Allen, Albert W. Gaskill and Horace C. Adams ; treasurer, John G. Met-
calf; assessors, A. H. Allen, M. C. Gaskill and Jas. J. Nutter; constable,
Andrew W. Judson ; superintendent of schools, George F. Clark.

Appropriations for 1879.

Support of schools, $1,200 00

Eepair of roads, 900 00

Support of poor, 1,500 00

Repair of school houses, 450 00

Interest on public debt, 1,100 00

Principal of " 1,000 00

Incidental expenses, 300 00

' $6,450 00

04 TOWN OF MILFORD.

M I L F O II D .

BY REV. ADIN BALLOU.

CHAPTER I.

POSITION AND EXTENT EARLY CONNECTION — INCORPORATION — TOPOGRAPHI-
CAL FEATURES — GEOLOGY AND PRODUCTIONS — GROWTH AND INDUSTRIES —

BOOT AND SHOE BUSINESS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS ORTHODOX CHURCH —

UNIVERSALIST, METHODIST, BAPTIST, EPISCOPALIAN, CATHOLIC, UNITARIAN,
SPIRITUALISTS.

MiLFORD is a south-easterly border town of the county, skirting on Middle-
sex and Norfolk near their junction in that quarter. It is bounded north by
Hopkinton, east by Holliston, Medway and Bellingham, south-westerly by
Mendon, and westerly by Upton. It contains 12,170 acres of land, or nineteen
square miles and ten acres. Of this area about two hundred and eighty-one
acres are covered with water in spring and wet seasons, and over three hundred
more are occupied by roads and commons. Its latitude is about 42° 08' N.,
and its longitude 71° 09' W. from Greenwich. Its centre is eighteen miles
south-east from Worcester, thirty south-westerly from Boston, and twenty-five
north by west from Providence, R. I. Its mean altitude above tide-water is a
little less than four hundred and seventy-three feet, its lowest level being three
hundred and eight feet, and its highest six hundred and thirty-seven feet nine
inches. Its length from north to south is about six miles, and its breadth very
irregular, averaging not more than three and one-sixth miles.

In aboriginal times this tract of territory belonged to an easterly sub-tribe or
clan of the Nipmuck Indians. Five-sixths of it were included in the original
purchase from those Indians of eight miles square for Quinshipaug Plantation,
alias Mendon, April 22, 1G62. The other sixth was bought of a family belong-
ing to the same clan, by a Mendon committee, Feb. 19, 1G91. This additional
tract has always been called "The North Purchase." The present territorial
domain of Milford was apart of Mendon until April 11, 1780, when it was
incorporated as a town. Its south-westerly corner began to be settled slightly
between 1670 and 1695. The whole tract, after purchase from the Indians,

EARLY CONDITIO^^ 65

belonged to the proprietors of Mcndon, and was laid out by them from time to
time in lots and parcels to suit incoming settlers. These grew more and more
numerous from 1700 and downward. In 1741 they became enterprising and
ambitious enough to obtain an act of incorporation setting them off as a
separate precinct, sometimes designated as "the second," but more commonly
as "the Easterly Precinct of jMendon." This act bears date Dec. 23, 1741,
and required, as one of its indisponsal)le conditions, that a meeting-house bo
built and an orthodox minister be settled within two years from the date
thereof. A church of twenty-six male members, calling itself "The Second
Church of Christ in Mendon," had already been organized, April 15, 1741,
jircliminar^' to anticipated precinct incorporation. Immediately after incor-
poration the precinct was organized, and set about the erection of a meeting-
house. The exterior of that humble edifice, 40 by 35 feet in dimensions,
fashioned in the usual style of those days, was completed, and Rev. Araariah
Frost ordained as their first minister, Dec. 21, 1743 — just two days before
their incorporation would, in default, have been forfeited.

The incorporation of this precinct into a town, April 11, 1780, was preceded
by a lonir, intermittent struggle between the "INIill River people," then so
termed, and the other inhabitants of the mother town, which, however, was
amicably terminated by a mutual agreement between the parties. May 3, 1779,
in the fourth year of the Revolutionary Avar. The act of incorporation followed
without further opposition, and the town was formally organized May 1, 1780.
Its population w;;s then seven hundred and sixty souls. No certain data give
the number of families, dwellings or legal voters. It may be reasonably esti-
mated that there w^erc one huntlred and fifty families, about the same number
of voters, and one hundred and twenty dwelling-houses, such as they were.
These Avere scattered here and there on about fifty rough and crooked roads,
bridle-paths, &c. The only public edifice in town was the aforesaid precinct
meeting-house. Not a single school-house had then been erected ; private
dwellings or tenement-rooms of inferior convenience being then the only
temples of learning. There was one clergyman, Rev. Mr. Frost; one physi-
cian, the first Dr. Scammell, though the senior Dr. Corbett dwelt near by in
the edge of Bcllingham ; no lawyer, nor but one justice of the peace, Edward
Raw^son, and he not till 1781 ; one licensed innholder, at what was later known
as the Godfrey stand, Jonathan Jones; one or two huckster stores in the
Centre, and another at South Milford, licensed to retail spirituous liquors;
here and there a mechanical craftsman of humble pretensions — a blacksmith,
carpenter, tanner, shoemaker, weaver, tailor, clothier, &g. ; and the other
inhabitants subsisting as best they could on the productions of common
husbandry. Such was Milford at its incorporation, in the afternoon of the
Revolutionary struggle, yet plucky, enterprising and hopeful in its " day of
small things," nothing abashed when some of its smarter neighbors jocosely
named it "Broomshire." Severe were some of its trials that immediately

VOL. U.—9

GQ TOWN OF MILFORD.

ensued, but, through persistent toil and endurance, it gradually rose to distinc-
tion, and won for itself an honorable fame.

The topography of the town may now be briefly delineated. Although it
exhibits little of the grand and picturesque in comparison with many localities
of our counVry, yet it has features of variegation, beauty and utility worthy of
respectful appreciation. If it has some rocky, rough and unattractive por-
tions, it has highlands, dales, plains, rivers and brooks, alike admirable and
useful. It is intersected by two small rivers, both of which rise on its northern
frontier and run its whole length almost parallel to each other. The most
easterly of these is the Charles, which rises in a large highland swamp near
Hopkinton line. It is there a mere brook, four hundred and thirty-two feet
above tide-water at Boston. Thence, running a little south-easterly, it
descends rapidly to a mill privilege in a locality called " "Wildcat," where it
receives "Deer Brook," from Hopkinton. Thence, running in a general
southerly direction, it passes through Cedar Swamp Pond, over "the falls" in
eastern Milf)rd Centre, down the valley to Bellingham factory privilege,
receiving various little tributaries along its course, and so passing onward to
Boston. It leaves town at our lowest level above the sea, three hundred and
eight feet, and affords within our limits only two or three mill-sites. The
other and more westerly river issues from what is now known as North Pond,
but by the Indians was called Maspenock Pond. Only the extreme southerly
end of this pond belongs to Milford — the main body of it to Hopkinton. This
stream has always been called Mill River by the whites. At the point of its
issue it is 452 feet 9 inches above tide-water. It runs in a general southerly
direction, forms a part of the boundary between Milford and Upton, falls 136
leet inches before it leaves toAvn, and affords no less than eleven mill-sites,
six of which are occupied. It leaves town at a level of 310 feet above tide-
Avater, i. e., 8 feet 3 inches above the Charles at its exit. Thence its course is
southward into the Blackstone at Woonsocket, R. I.

Charles and Mill rivers divide the town into three considerable sections.
The most westerly of these abuts northerly on Upton, and skirts INIendon on
the west. It lies on the eastern declivity and along the base of Neck Hill,
extending some four miles southwardly, with an average width of perhaps one
hundred and fifty rods. A large part of it is woodland, swamp, rocky pasture
or otherwise non-arable. A minor portion is good farm laud, and occupied by
thrifty cultivators. Some of these have handsome, elevated and pleasantly
situated estates. The range of highlands known as North Hill and Neck Hill
presents some wild and romantic scenery, and affords, at several points, fine
l)erspeclivc fields in the distance to the eye of the curious visitor. The
altitude on North Hill is 572 feet above sea level, and on Neck Hill, where
iNlilford Main Street crosses Mendon line, it is 470 feet.

The section between Mill and Charles rivers is much the most important of
the three, being six miles in length from north to south, that is, from Hopkin-

NATURAL FEATLT.es. 67

ton to Mendon, and from one to two miles in average breadth cast and west.
It not only affords desirable surface and soil for numerous valuable farms,
country seats, village sites and most of the populous town centre, but very
commanding and delightful pro-^pects of the neighboring regions in all direc-
tions. This is especially true of its highland eminences. Tunnel Ilill, at
Ilopkinton line, near Haven Street, is 61 G feet above tide-water, and gives the
casual beholder who strays thither a pleasing panoramic view toward the south.
Silver Hill, at Aaron Claflin's country seat, presents a still more magnificent
and beautiful expanse of near and distant landscape. The altitude here is 586
feet 9 inches above the ocean level. But this is exceeded by the loftier
eminences of old Magomiscock Hill, so named by the Indians on account,
probably, of the grand and far-reaching prospect it afforded them of their
Nipmuck domain. Standing near where Rucl Cleaveland and his sister
jMeheta1)el now dwell, their keen eyes, in a clear day, could sweep the horizon
from the Blue Hills of Milton round the highlands towards the Wampanoags,
the Narragansctts and the Mohegans, to their own imperial Wachusett, and
even to the distant Monadnock. Their standpoint, as thus contemplated, is
637 feet and 9 inches above the sea-level. This Magomiscock Hill, or rather
range of highlands, affords many commanding and charming views of the
surrounding country. It is of gentle ascent on all sides, and, theref )re, some-
what deceitful as to its actual height. It extends in a slightly south-easterly
direction from the vicinity of Silver Hill, some two miles, till it subsides into
the plains of South Milford. Its western slope descends to Mill River, along
whose intervale the pleasant village of Ilopedale is extending its bright array
of machine-shops and homes. Toward the east it descends in gentle slopes,
replete with larras, rural abodes, and the cheerful evidences of industrial
improvement.

The easterly section is bounded westerly by Charles River, and on other
sides by Ilopkinton, HolHston, jNIedway and Bellingham. Its most con-
spicuous feature is Bear Hill, long a famous landmark, and whose highest peak
is found to have an altitude of 532 feet above tide-w^ater. lis only very steep
acclivity is on its south-westerly side, where it is closely adjacent to the river,
not far south-east of the railroad depots. Its base must have a circumference
of over two miles. It has several eminences and depressions, and a consider-
able portion of it is covered with forest of older or younger growth, though
farms and habitations encroach upon it, and it is rendered somewhat accessible
by decent roads over and around it. Another noticeable feature of this section,
less elevated, is presented by the '' Rocky Woods " in its northerly portion.
These woods are fitly named, for they are rocky indeed. "The North Cedar
Swamp," anciently so called, was once famous, but has been thoroughly
despoiled of its primeval cedars. Perhaps this swamp may be properly
considered as belonging to this section. "The Great Meadow," too, lying
north-east of Bear Hill, was no loss famous with the early settlers of Mendou

68 TOWN OF MILFORD.

and Sherborn, who both coveted its hay, and qnarrelled for a time about their
rival claims. It long ago ceased to be deemed of extraordinary value. The
plain lands north of Bear Ilill are valuable, and have become thickly settled.
There is a range of good farms all along the eastern frontier of this section,
from Bra£r2;ville in the north to Bellingbam in the south. And it has attained
to the honor of having two very popular cemeteries located within its limits,
near the cedar swamp ; viz., the "Pine Grove Cemetery "and the " Catholic
Cemetery."

The geological rock and composition of soil in Milford, in common with the
general surrounding region, arc predominantly gneissic, though the northern
part of it, and especially the north-easterly part, affords some excellent granite,
which is extensively quarried. There is a considerable breadth of peculiar
gneiss rock crossing the town somewhat diagonally from the centre of North
Purchase, south-westerly into Mendon. It seems to be largely composed of
quartz, with little mica and hornblende, and scarcely any feldspar. It is very
hard and brittle. Much of it is of a reddish-yellow hue, as if oxidated by a
slight infusion of iron, though portions of it arc dark gray and blackish. It
has an cccentiic and obstinate fracture, and crumbles into an uncouth gravel.
In some places below the surface it is found in layers of from a few inches to a
foot in thickness, but in general appears in rather unshapely blocks. It is not
a desirable kind of stone, nor, when disintegrated, a good ingredient of the
soil, yielding no potassa, and giving a certain sponginess to the loam. Neither
docs it tread or wear well on roads. But the common gray gneiss and its
detritus generally neutralize it to a considerable extent. The result is a decent
soil throughout the town, quite strong and fertile in spots, but rather deficient
generally in potassa, alumina and the phosphates. These arc desirable fertil-
izers, and are used with good effect. For roads the town has a good crusher of
Buitaljlc stone, and macadamizes liberally.

Of the Hora and fauna of the town it is hardly necessary to speak, as our
vegetable and animal productions, native and exotic, arc the same with those
of the immediate surrounding country. The present forest growth is compara-
tively young. The ancient cedars are gone, probably never to be renewed.
The chestnuts and the oaks arc diminutive in size compared with their sturdy
ancestors. The railroads have made chestnut timber now the most valuable. This
was the predominant timber of our aboriginal forests, and still is so. Beasts,
birds, reptiles and fish, with a few exceptions, remain in kind, but not in abun-
dance. Ilattlesnakes, once fearfully numerous, have been nearly exterminated.
Ferocious beasts have ceased out of the land. Wild game is scarce, and useful
fish arc kept down to a minimum. Milford can boast of but little natural
wealth. It has no mines of the precious, or, indeed, any other metals ; no slate
or limestone ; no marl ; only one small bed of clay, and a few deposits of good
peat. Its quarries of granite already opened, and promising to be opened on
a larger scale, make the chief item in its natural inventory. Its water-power,

GROWING INDUSTRIES. 69

woodlantls and cultivable soil fill up the account. These, thou"-h not lar^-e.
have a respectable value. The town must depend mainly on manufacturins',
mechanical and mercantile thrift. In these it i)rescnts a creditable exhibition.

The growth of Milford and its productive industries was ratlier slow till 1845,
when the branch railroad to South Framingham was auspiciously in progress.
Before that period, several important developments of prosperity had succes-
sively taken place, less marked but full of promise. In 1780, its population
was 7G0 ; in 1790, it was 839 ; in 1800, 907 ; in 1810, 973 ; in 1820, 1,160 ; in
'30, 1,360 ; in '40, 1,773 ; in '50, 4,819 ; in '55, 7,489 ; in '60, 9,132 ; in '65,
9,108 ; in '70, 9,890, and '75, 9,818. During this period the number of ^'ami-
lies rose from 150 to 2,103 ; the number of dwellings from 120 to 1,549 ; the
number of legal voters from 150 or less to 2,118, and the total valuation of
estates from a proportionately small sura to over $5,000,000. The industrial
productions of these ninety-five years advanced in the same ratio. At the
outset they consisted chiefly of agricultural products — of Avhat was raised on
perhaps one hundred and twenty farms, and by. collateral domestic thrift.
The amount of these must be guessed, rather than estimated. But the inhabi-
tants Lad always a predisposition and genius for mechanical and manufacturing
pursuits. These steadily gained ground, as did those of trade, over agricultural
interests, though it took them a quarter of a century or more after the town
was incorporated to obtain the ascendancy. Boot and shoe making got started
as early as 1795, but on a very small scale. The pioneers commenced in petty
apartments of ordinary dwelling-houses or crude outbuildings. They bought
a few dollars' worth of upper and sole leather, made up a dozen pairs of boots
or shoes, and then started oflT with them on foot to find purchasers. If suc-
cessful, they increased their stock, worked it up, took it off in a horse-
wairon to market into the neisrhborinGT towns, often 2:oin2: as far as Boston and
Providence. Next the tanning and dressing of leather became profitable, as
well as convenient. In the course of ten or fifteen years, little fourteen by
sixteen one-story shops sprung up about town, which the bosses crowded
almost to suffocation with journeymen and apprentices. Thus the boot, shoe
and leather business, before 1825, distanced all other kinds of industrial pro-
duction. But even at that date, the largest boot manufactory in town was a
two-story building, not more than thirty-two by twenty feet in size. In 1837,
we had the first authentic return of Milford industries, by order of General
Court, and its showing Avas not very formidable. The following is its abridged
substance in j)art : — one cotton-mill, 1,200 spindles, consumed 13,000 pounds
cotton, turned out 80,000 yards, valued at $5,000, employed 22 hands ; capital
invested, ^15,000.

Boots manufactured, 128,000 pairs, valued at $212,200; employed 342
hands. Hides curried, 5,000; value of leather, $12,000; hands, 5; capital,
$5,000. The other articles specified are sheep and their wool, chairs and
cabinet-ware, tin-ware, straw bonnets, varnish, clothing, shoe-pegs, wagon-

70 TOWN OF MILFOED.

irous and whips. All these minor articles netted only $28,516. This gives ns
the preponderance of the boot and leather industry in 1837. The printed
return of 1845 reports 243,890 pairs of boots manufactured, valued at
$373,835, the work of 482 males and 220 females ; total of employes, 702.
The leather curried was valued at $30,000. In this return cotton manufacture,
whips, &c., drop out, and several new articles are reported, few of which were
of much account. Among them were hatting, saddle and harness making,
soap manufacture, stone quarrying, lumber dressing, mechanics' tools, firewood
prepared, boot-boxes made, sash and blind business, wheelwrighting, &c., —
none of them on a large scale. Some agricultural statistics are worth quoting,
viz. : — " Horses, 205; value, $11,045: neat cattle, 917; value, $18,022:
swine, 414, $2,954; Indian corn, 5,821 bushels, $4,(357; rye, 804 bushels,
$725; barley, G04 bushels, $453; oats, 1,929 bushels, $750; potatoes, 20,123
bushels, $G,'03G; other esculent vegetables, 1,521 bushels, $610; hay, 1,538
tons, $17,500; fruit raised, 13,552 bushels, $5,000; butter, 31,124 pounds,
$5,602; cheese, 17,444 pounds, $1,050."

In 1855 Ihe return mounted np to more striking figures in all the branches
of manufacturing and mcchaiiical industry. Then boots of all kinds manufac-
tured amounted to 1,042,944 pairs, and shoes of all kinds to 5,048 pairs —
total value, $1,787,315.20 ; employing male and female hands to the number of
3,398. Several new and profitable branches of business were reported, but
further details are omitted. When we reach 1875, the statistics are much more
elaborate and formidable. Then the town reported itself to have a population
of 9,818, pursuing nearly fifty occupations, working up stock in over eighty
establishments to the value of $2,353,251. In these eighty odd establishments
the buildings were valued at $335,000, the average amount of stock constantly
on hand at $627,935, and the machinery in use at $211,466. They kept seven-
teen steam-engines in operation, with seven hundred and ninety horse-power,
and six water-wheels, with one hundred and sixty-five horse-power. In these
establishments were 2,618 employes, receiving wages to the amount of $1,110, -
532. There were twenty-one boot and shoe establishments (several of them
large enough to hold all those of 1825), operating on a capital of $710,800,
and turning out goods valued at $2,741,935. It would be tedious in this
abstract to repeat many of the specifications returned for this year. The two
branch railroads, Boston and Albany and Worcester and Providence, kept open
communication with all the great metropolitan centres ; nearly fifteen hundred
boot and shoe makers plied their tools and skill, one hundred and forty mer-
chants and shopkeepers dealt out their various stores, one hundred and forty-
five farmers furnished their kinds of supply for man and beast, one hundred
and seventy-four machinists wrought out the products of their ingenuity,
twenty-six foundryraen faced their furnaces, eighty carpenters were busy at
their callings, twenty-five blacksmiths sweat at their anvils, ninety-two dress-
makers and twenty-three milliners attired the fair sex, forty-five painters

KELIGIOUS HISTORY. 71

garnished the houses and other articles in their line, two commodious hotels
entertained travelers and boarders, eighteen saloon-keepers ministered to lonr'-
ing appetites, six male and tifty-seven i'emale teachers taught the public schools,
two nati'onal banks and one savings bank watched over the currency, three
post-offices received and distributed the mail, thirteen physicians treated the
sick, six lawyers gave counsel in legal matters, one district judge and numerous
justices of the peace preserved public order, three printing-offices diffused
intelligence, and ten clergymen devoted themselves to the salvation of souls.
Much more might be told of the town's upward march in municipal importance,
but, so far as necessary, it may bo better presented under other heads.

Next the religious history, development and status of the town may be given.
There are seven regularly organized religious societies, which have church
edifices and maintain public worship, besides other peculiarists, who, without
much organization, hold occasional meetings of a religious nature. Originall}^
there was but one organized society, "the standing order," so called, of Con-
gregational i>ts. INIention has already been made of the church organized
April 15, 1741. Its members seceded from the First Church in Mendou,
under plea of having been "aggrieved" in their former relations, and succeeded
in getting themselves recognized by an ecclesiastical council as the "Second
Church in Mendon." They chose John Jones and Josiah Adams as their ruling
elders ; also Nathaniel Nelson and Abraham Jones as their deacons. All these
were formally oidained, and public worship was more or less frequently held in
the dwellings of certain members. Presently, as has already been told, the
easterly precinct was incorporated, a meeting-house built, or at least the
exterior of one, and Rev. Amariah Frost ordained as the first pastor, Dec. 21,
1743. Meantime a full reconciliation Avas effected with the mother church, and
its pastor, Rev. Joseph Dorr. Rev. Amariah Frost, who appears to have been
a learned, prudent. Christian gentleman, held the pastoral office until his dealh
March 14, 1792, at the age of 72 years, and in the 49th year of his ministry.
Immediately after the town was incorporated, the church took the title, " Fir^t
Church of Christ in Milford," which has continued to the present time.
During the first ten or twelve years of Mr. Frost's pastorate, he had consider-
able trouble in his church frcmi a species of Comeoutism, that originated prob-
ably in Whitefield's revivalism, or the influences that followed it. The
Comeouters, headed by one Samuel Hovey, who set up as a lay preacher, were
quite numerous for a time, and kept up a separate meeting in private houses,
chiefly in the North Purchase. But their zeal cooled off, and Mr. Frost's pru-
dence brought most of them back into his fold. For many years his moderate
salary was raised by rate, but afterwards mostly by voluntary contribution in
some form. He christened a large number of children, added many members
to his church, solemnized about four hundred marriages, and educated a con-
siderable number of young men for college or the professions. He died while
bis meeting-house was in process of enlargement and thorough repair.

72 TOWN OF MILFORD.

The nine years immediately succeeding Mr. Frost's death were inauspicious.
Religious opinion became divided, sectaries mnltiplied, the town awkwardly
performed its assumed parochial functions, and forty candidates were tried
before a new pastor could bo agreed on by concurrence of the church and
parish. At length Rev. David Long gave satisfaction, and was ordained
May 20, 1801. His pastorate continued forty-three years, and terminated in
his resignation, May 15, 1841. He was in no respect inferior to his
predecessor, and, in several respects, probably superior. In natural ability,
learning, judgment, and all the qualities of a successful clergyman in a rural
community, he commanded general reverence and confidence. He was strictly
evangelical in faith, ecclesiasticism and pietistical methods, and maintained his
position with great fidelity. But he officiated in more turbulent times than
Mr. Frost, and found more difficulties to face. Division and antagonism
prevailed among the people, and ho lived to see new tastes spring up even
within his own fold, which hankered for more attractive pulpit performances.
About the year 1819, a new church edifice was proposed, and a very handsome
one erected. This movement occasioned a bitter controvers}'^ between the town
party, so called, and the parish party. Both parties claimed the old meeting-
house. The parish pnrty reorganized itself so as legally to inherit precinct
rights, and hold them by final decision of the courts. But party feelings,
party lines and party rivalry involved man}' unpleasant consequences. It were
useless to particularize. The new parish meeting-house was completed,
elegantly furnished, dedicated and enjoyed, 3^et with a heretical rival set up
the next 3'car in its neighborhood, which became the cherished rendezvous of
many antagonistic minds. Nevertheless, the Conijreijationalist Church and
parish prospered, maintained its preponderance of zeal, wealth and numbers,
and to this day rejoices in its strength. Mr. Long, like his predecessor, served
faithfully on a meagre salary, practiced a masterly economy, laid no burdens
on his people, and when he felt that a successor of m(jre brilliant address was
desired, quietly resigned, but still continued to serve the town as a trusted
school committee-man till his death, March 13, 1850.

Rev. Smith Bartlett Goodenow succeeded Mr. Long. He was installed Oct.
30, 1844, and dismissed Jan. 1, 1840. He was followed by Rev. Preston
Pond, who was installed May 24, 1849, and dismissed Feb. 16, 1852. His
successor was Rev. James Trask Woodbury, who was installed July 15, 1852,
and died suddenly in his pastorate, Jan. IG, 1861. Rev. Alfred A. Ellsworth
was ordained Sept. 4, 1862, and dismissed June 28, 1865. Rev. James B.
Thornton was installed Nov. 22, 1865, and resigned Jan. 28, 1868. Rev-
Sylvester C. Kendall was installed Aug. 5, 1868, and dismissed June 12,
1S73. Rev. Merrill Richardson, D. D., was installed June 12, 1873, and
died in his popular pastorate, Dec. 12, 1877. The present incumbent. Rev.
Oliver S Dean, was installed Sept. 20, 1877, and ministers to his people with
commanding respect. The church edifice was removed westward its whole

UNIYERSALISTS. 73

length in 1868, raised up so as to afford space for a suite of basement rooms
in the handsomest modern style, much extended in length, and completely
renovated, — all at an expense of over $25,000. Its accommodations, beauti-
fications, line organ, &c., are eminently satisfactory to the congregation and
public. It will scat a large concourse, and has an average Sunday attendance
of several hundreds. The parish has been paying its pastors, since 18G8, an
annual salary varying from $2,000 to $3,500. This church numbers 79 male
members, and 210 females ; a total of 289. Its Sunday school numbers
between 300 and 400, and the library thereof over 800 volumes. Several sub-
sidiary henevolent societies are in active co-operatiou in couneclion with the
parish and church.

The Universalist Society ranks next in age. Universalism began to be
preiichcd in Milford, probably, in 1781 or '82, by Rev. Adam Strceter. The
society w'as organized with eleven members in August, 1785. It bore the title,
"The Independent Christian Society, commonly called Universalist." Dec. 28,
1787, it adopted the religious compact recommended by the then recently
organized General Convention of Universalists to all its constituent societies ;
a document too long for insertion here. The society held regular Sunday
meetings once a month in the dwellings of its members for many years. In
1791, the town voted them the privilege of holding meetings in the "Town's
Meeting-house on week days, when not otherwise wanted." They continued
to hold meetings, cither monthly or less frequently, down to 1819. The
preachers who supplied, either regularly once a month or occasionally, from
1785 to 1819, were Revs. Adam Strceter, Zcphaniah Lathe, Joshua Flagg,
Mr. Bigelow, Richard Carrique, Caleb Rich, John Murray, and others whose
names are not recorded. In 1819, when the controversy arose between the
town and parish parties about the ownership of the old precinct meeting-house,
the Universalist Society became at once the focus of new afBliations, and was
the prominent heir of public favor from the excited town party. The result
was the "Brick Church," often so designated. Twelve proprietors associated
themselves to erect that edifice, complete it for public worship, and sell or rent
the pews to whoever might want them. Rivalry and ambition took care to
make it a fraction larger than the parish sanctuary, to give it a substantial
tower sixty feet high rather than a spire of loftier pretensions, to procure it a
bell five hundred weight heavier, and to furnish it with one of Ilolbrook's best
village clocks. All this was accomplished, and the house dedicated Jan. 10,
1821, with great rejoicings. The Universalists of Milford were now a people
prepared to assume and maintain a respectable religious standing. Since 1821,
they have had a succession of sonle twenty pastors; viz.. Revs. Thomas Whit-
temore, Jacob Frieze, Adin Ballou, Elbridge Trull, Ruins S. Pope, II. W.
Morse, Z. Baker, William Bell, W. R. G. Mellen, Benjamin II. Davis,
William Coe, Willard Spaulding, Henry A. Eaton, David II. Plumb, James
R. Johnson, George Hill, Russell P. Ambler, G. L. Demarest, Edward A.

VOL. II.— 10

74 TOWN OF MILFORD.

Perry, and the present incumbent, Royal T. Sawyer. Their pastorates have
been of various length, from one year to six, and their salaries per annum
from $300 to $1,800. The present one is $1,200.

The society has passed through several vicissitudes of prosperity and adver-
sity. It has been reorganized once or twice under revised constitutions, with
some little change of title. Under the pastorate of Rev. Henry A. Eaton, a
church of communicants was formed, and recognized with the solemnities insti-
tuted by the order. This was in 1849 or '50. About the same period, the
society erected their present handsome church edifice on Pearl Street, at a cost
of over $9,000. It was dedicated May 1, 1851. It has about 600 rentable
sittings, a valuable organ that cost $1,800, a commodious basement vestry,
and most other modern conveniences. The average Sunday congregation
numbers 300; the communicants of the church, 28; the Sunday school, 125,
and its library 425 volumes. The society is at this time in a flourishing and
hopefid state.

The Methodists gained an early foothold in Milford. Their circuit-riders
began to preach in the North Purchase in 1792, and, with their sterling zeal,
soon planted a society there. A preaching station was presently established in
connection with a twin one in (Ilayden Row) Ilopkinton, and regular ministers
were officiating before 1801. There was a devoted class in vigorous activity
that year under Rev. Joseph Snelling, with Edmund Bowker and Ebenczer
McFarland as leaders. A meeting-house Avas built in 1815, 34 by 30 feet,
with 12 feet height of posts, which, with occasional repairs, continued till
burnt down by rowdy incendiaries Oct. 23, 1860. A long succession of
preachers, mostly Episcopal, but some of them Protestant INIethodists, minis-
tered to the society till it became defunct, some twenty years or more ago.
Those preachers, so far as records and tradition now show, were : Revs. George
Cannon, John Harper, George Pickering, Joseph Snelling, Joshua Sonic,
Nehemiah Coy, Elijah Hedding, Isaac Bouncy, Erastus Otis, Ilezekiah
Thatcher, Herman Perry, Thomas W. Tucker, O. Robbins, A. T. Temple,
Nathaniel Spindle, John Dale, Lorenzo Johnson, Thomas Johnson, Thomas F.
Morris, William Tozzer and Leonard Wakefield. The society passed through
many phases of fortune and polity until it gradually died out, or was super-
seded in 1844 by the present flourishing society in the town centre.

This society commenced by holding prayer, praise and conference meetings
in private houses in 1836. These grew at length into meetings for public wor-
ship in the old town house. The result of development was a church edifice
and parsonage on Exchange Street by aid of a liberal donation from their
wealthy brother in the faith, Hon. Lee Claflin, late of Ilopkinton. The par-
sonage was wholly his gift. The sanctuary was much enlarged and improved
in 1864. The society's property'" is now valued at $14,000, entirely free of
debt. Its communicants number 240; average Sunday audiences, 250; Sun-
day school, 200, and library 750 volumes. It has been served by the follow-

EPISCOPALIANS. 75

iug named preachers and pastors, none of wliose terms have exceeded three
years : Revs. Henry E. Hemstead, Joseph Whitman, C. W. Ainsworth, Albert
A. Cooke, Isaac Smith, Aaron D. Sargeant, Daniel Richards, J. INI. Bailey,
George G. Jones, Edward S. Best, Joseph Scott, William G. Leonard, Loranus
Crovvell, William II. Hatch, Rodney H. Howard, Porter M. Vinton, and George
F. Eaton, the present incumbent. The society seems to have a bright and
assured future.

The Baptists of this town deserve respectful mention. They are less numer-
ous than the INIcthodists, but have a creditable standing among their contem-
porary religionists. Their organization is styled "The Central Baptist Church
and Society." Their church was organized Feb. 15, 1853, and recognized by
an ecclesiastical council, ]\Iarch 10 of that year, having then twenty-three con-
stituent members. Its meetings for public worship were held at first in the
Brick Church, and then in various pul)lic halls, until, by persistent exertions
and some aid from benevolent friends outside, they completed their commo-
dious church-edifice on Pine Street. This was dedicated, with appropriate
solemnities, July 18, 18GL There have been a few Baptists in town, and
occasional preaching of their faith and order, mostly in private dwellings or in
school-houses, from 1780 downward. Indeed, it may be presumed that the
line might be run back to early precinct times, say 1750. But the denomina-
tion gained no organized foothold here till 1853. The Baptists here, as every-
where, are a sober, determined and devoted people, who, if not fast, are sure-
footed. They have struggled hard under consideral)le difiiculties, and grown
slowly, but may reasonably expect solid success. Their sanctuary cost $7,000,
and is encumbered by no burden of debt. They have a good organ of twenty-
two stops, an average Sunday audience of over 100, a resident membership of
113 communicants, a Sunday school of 117, and a library of 270 volumes.
Their succession of pastors has been as follows : Revs. J. W. Russell, Levi
Abbott, Horace G. Plubbard, K. Holt, Joseph Ricker, Mv. Paige, Mr. Carr,
who died in about three months, and Julius B. Rol)inson, whose pastorate
closed May 25, 1879, to the great regret of his people and many outside
friends. Rev. E. A. Woodsun followed, installed Sept. 19, 1879.

The Protestant Episcopal Church has a representative organization in this
town, known as "Trinity Parish." It was organized in April, 1864, and incor-
porated by act of the Legislature in May of that year. Its membership then
consisted of twenty persons. Religious services of this denomination were
first held in Irving Hall on Sunday, May 17, 1863, by Rev. Reese F. Alsop
of St. John's Church, Framingham. Others followed, resulting in the organ-
ization of the parish and church. After organization, public worship was
regularly held in Washington Hall, until the consecration of a church edifice,
March 21, 1871. That edifice stands on Congress Street, corner of Exchange.
It is an ample structure in the Gothic style of architecture, with a new tower
recently added ; affords the usual conveniences of a public sanctuary, and

76 TOWN OF MILFOPvD.

exhibits the peculiar features everywhere dear to Episcopalian veneration. It
has also a fine or2;au to lead its choral devotions. The entire cost of the whole
was about $12,000, paid by subscription of members and outside donors. A
dignified and reverent respectability characterizes the Protestant Episcopal
Church wherever it casts the shadows of its sanctuaries, and it is so here. Its
pillars are persons of weight, culture and taste, and their less distinguished
associates are people of reputable moral worth. They have an average Sunday
audience of 100 or more, about 80 communicants, a Sunday school of nearly
60, and a library of 300 volumes. Their succession of rectors, commencing
Jan. 1, 1864, has been: Revs. Henry Adams, George G. Jones, E. B. Allen,
Reginald II. Howe, John M. Benedict, William F. Lloyd, and George R.
Wheelock, recently resigned. Permanence and prosperity are the probable
destiny of this society.

St. Mary's Church (Roman Catholic) is now by far the largest religious
organization in town, having an average attendance on its principal Sunday
sei'vices outnumbering that of all the other concfregations tocrether. Yet it is of

o coo

comparatively recent date. Previous to 1830, there were no known Catholics
in Milford. There may have been, first and last, half a dozen Irishmen, and
one or two of Catholic christening, but there was no profession. After that
period, here and there, one appeared as a craftsman or laboring jobber, who
avowed his religion. The construction of the branch railroad to Framinsfham,

O O '

between 1841 and 1848, brought swarms of them into town, and the great
Irish famine doubled their number. The boot manufacturers gave them much
employment, and they entered into every kind of practicable business. Mean-
time they were as sheep without a shepherd, and were naturally looked after
by those whose professional duty it was to see that they were not lost. Occa-
sionally a priest called them together for religious services in their private
dwellings. In 1848, Rev. John Boyce from AVorcester commenced the erec-
tion of a church edifice. About the same time he organized the church and
parish known as St. JNIary's, and set in motion the necessary parochial opera-
tions. The church edifice was a wooden one of no extraordinary pretensions,
but adapted to the then humble circumstances and wants of the people. It
was erected in the neighborhood of "the Plains," so called, on the road to
HoUiston, north of Bear Hill. It was consecrated in due time, and continued
to be occupied till Dec. 25, 1870, when the spacious stone semi-cathedral on
Granite Street was dedicated. Its first stone was laid with solemn prelatical
ceremonies, by Rt. Rev. J. J. Williams, June 1, 1866, and it was nearly five
years in building. It stands on the corner of Granite and Sumner streets, and
is one hundred and sixty-five feet in length by seventy-two in width, besides
the porches, the foundation of an intended lateral tower, which is to be of
solid stone masonry. An extemporized wooden tower near by sustains, for
the present, one of the richest toned bells in America. It was cast in Ireland,
a few years since, and with its hangings weighs 4,000 pounds. The church

HOPEDALE PAEISH. 77

superstructure itself was built of n, whitish grauite takeu from a quarry in
Rocky Woods, is iu the early Euglish style of architecture, and scats about
1,400 persons, without extras. During 1878, the organ of the "Old South
Church " in Boston was purchased and translated to St. Mary's choral gallery.
Under three-fourths of the edifice is a commodious chapel for daily services
and mass for children on Snuday ; and it is furnished throughout with a rich
plentitude of symbols, statuary and paintings — some of the latter displaying
rare excellence. Attached to this spacious sanctuary are two acres of land
occupied by priest's house and garden. The entire cost of the premises is
stated to have been over $100,000. The projection, direction, execution and
consummation of this whole parochial establishment reflect great credit on Rev.
Father Cuddihy, whose long pastorate of this parish has been replete with ener-
getic achievement for its welfiire and prosperity. He took charge of St. Mary's
iu 1857, which at that time included not only the Catholics of this town, but
of a largo surrounding region now supplied by several independent pastors.
He has still 3,500 souls under his care, requiring 200 baptisms a3'car, and
affording an average of 1,000 attendants on high mass, every week, and a Sun-
day school of about 800. He has always had one or more sub-pastors to assist
him in his arduous duties. His predecessors, of longer or shorter official ser-
vice, were Rev. Fathers James Fitton (now of East Boston, first here), John
Boyce, George A. Hamilton, Michael Carrahal and Edward Farrclly, who died
in his pastorate here Aug. 13, 1857.

The Catholics of Milford have had a remarkable growth in numbers, indus-
trial enterprise, aggregate wealth, intelligence, social standing and political
weiirht. Thev have also made crcdita])le moral improvement. Notwilhstand-
ing some defects and delinquencies, which good Catholics deplore and arc striv-
ing to correct, the general body exhibits a fair average of civil and moral Avorth.
Protestant civilians and moralists, whose educational prejudices inclined them
to anticipate serious evils from their influx, confess themselves, on the whole,
happily disappointed. As a religious society their prospects are eminently
auspicious. Natural increase, growing intelligence, gradual accumulation of
property, reformation of unfortunate habits, devotion to their church, and
above all, the oversight of an ecclesiasticism the most potent and efficient in
Christendom, all concur to insure them a commanding future among us.

The seventh religious society in town was organized Oct. 27, 18G7. It is
an independent Congregational parish, though associated by membership and
religious fellowship with "The Worcester Conference of Congregational (Uni-
tarian) and other Christian Societies." At formation it designated itself "a
Liberal Christian Society, to bo called The Ilopcdale Parish." It made no
declaration of faith or principles, other than might be inferred from the pre-
amble and articles of its constitution. Nor has it ever had any church organ-
ization distinct from that of the parish. Its origin and circumstances rendered
its constituency somewhat peculiar. It became the successor, heir and assign

78 TOWN OF MILFORD.

of "The Hopedale Community." That community was formed in 1841, located
at Hopedale in 1842, vigorously prosecuted as a joint-stock and a nnited indus-
trial association till 1856, and then continued as a practical Christian religious
society, with certain guaranties, till 18G7. It was projected, and sustained
till 1S5C^, as an attempted exemplification of all the cardinal principles of prac-
tical Christianity, both individually and socially. It has an important history
of its own, but too long for this sketch. Suffice it to say, that, though one
of the noblest of undertakings, it lacked some indispensable conditions of per-
manent success, and its members had not the requisite wisdom, goodness and
perseverance to master adverse influences. They therefore fell back into the
prevailing order of society. A part of them naturally dispersed in the course
of a few years, new comers took their places, business prospered under the
skilful management of the firms and corporations which succeeded the commu-
nity, and its remaining members were blended with a complex population.
The result was, "The Hopedale Parish," which inherited, by subsequent ami-
cable arrangements, a nice little church edifice nnd grounds worth some $8,000,
the Sunday school, its library of five hundred volumes, and a fund to support
said liljrary of $800. Also the community cemetery and other residuary
leavings of less importance. The new parish called the senior pastor of the
community, who had resided in Hopedale since 1842, to be their pastor, and
he has continued in that office to the present time, on an annual salary of $800.
It will be understood that he is the writer of this paper. The parish is small,
never having over one hundred and twenty voting members. The average
attendance on public worship cannot be rated at over one hundred ; though it
would be somewhat larger if it included the Sunday school. But the latter,
which ranges from sixty to seventy-five attendants, has separate forenoon exer-
cises, and is but slightly represented in the regular afternoon congregation.
There are pleasant privileges and associations connected with the parish, small
as it is. IIo[)edale itself, as a village, is a beautiful and cheerful one — steadily
growing and prosperous. Several of its families attend public worship in the
various sanctuaries of the town centre. Others quietly dispense with regular
public ministrations and worship as unedifying to them. But church-goers or
not, a general good order and kindly feeling prevails among the Hopedale pop-
ulation.

There is a considerable number of modern Spiritualists in town, who have
held many public meetings as well as social seances, during the past twenty-
five years ; but have sustained no permanent organization. A Unitarian
Society in the centre existed for a time, held public worship and had a minister,
but disbanded after a year or two of experiment. There was also, at one time,
a society calling themselves "Friends of Progress," which had only a brief
existence. Probably there are a few peculiarists difficult to describe, and not
a few sceptics, iudifierentists, and unchurched outsiders of various characteris-
tics. It may, however, be truthfully said that Milford has never had a propor-

MILITARY RECORD. 79

tionately largo criminal class ; that it has never developed much of superstition
or fanaticism among its population; and that, though it has a fair quota of
minds inflexibly settled in their religious or non-religious convictions, there arc
few municipalities in the world whose inhabitants arc more kindly tolerant of
each other's differences.

CHAPTER II.

MILITAPtY AND PATRIOTIC RECORD — REVOLUTION — INSURRECTIONS — MILITARY

ORGANIZATIONS KDUCATIONAND LITERARY STANDING — MAINTENANCE OF

THE POOR — SANITARY EFFORTS — FIRE DEPARTMENT — ROADS AND WAYS

PARKS AND COMMONS — CEMETERIES.

In respect to patriotism, warlike sacrifice and martial gaUantry, this town
has always sustained an eminent reputation. It has bred no cowards or
traitors. And even the number on its soil, who, from religious scruples, stood
aloof from military organizations has always been small. In its early precinct
days it is said to have been well represented by otBcers and soldiers in the
French and Indian war of 1744 to '48. In the great French war of 1755 to
'G3, which resulted in annexing the Canadas, &c., to the British Empire, the
muster-rolls and provincial records, although defective, bear testimony that
this, as well as every part of Mendon, contributed liberally of men, bv.ood and
treasure to the triumph achieved. When the Revolutionary war opened, no
portion of Mendon exhibited more stanch patriotism, zeal and devotion than
the citizens east of Neck Hill, — soon to be set off as Milford. Of the four
companies sent by the parent town to the early scat of hostilities, two" were
largely manned and officered from the easterly pi-ecinct ; one of these, if not
both, flew with gallant alacrity to the near neighborhood of Boston, the mo-
ment the battle of Lexin2:ton sent forth its alarm. This sketch cannot admit
the detail of names, or even of collective movements, which belong to the
local history of that period. Suffice it to say, that through every stage of that
war, before and after Milford became a town, its record is replete with deeds
of heroic patriotism and self-saciiticing devotion to the great cause of American
Independence. Among its native-born officers and soldiers, the noblest was
Alexander Scammcll. He was distinguished for all the personal, social and
military qualities which rendered him a favorite in Washington's family, and
made him a:i adjutant-general of the United States armies. He was born in
1744, graduated at Harvard University in 1 7 G9, fought and was wounded at
the battle of Saratoga in 1777, made adjutant-general in 1780, was field officer
at the siege of Yorktown, Sept. 30, 1780, when he was surprised and captured
by a party of the enemy's cavalry, who basely wounded him after surrender.

80 ■ TOWN OF MILFORD.

He died of his Avounds, at Williamsburg, Va., Oct. 6, 1781, deeply lamented
by his countrymen and friends as a pre-eminent hero-martyr.

In the distressing financial times which immediately followed the establish-
ment of national independence, and which bred the Shays insurrection, Mil-
ford sympathized deeply with the suffering classes, but gave no countenance to
the insurrectionists, and stood ready to aid in crushing the armed malcontents ;
yet, when they disbanded, it earnestly petitioned the General Cuurt to give
them amnesty. Thus its people ac'ed the part of loyal pacificators. When
the alarm occasioned by the whiskey insurrection of 1794 in Pennsylvania
came, and the one occasioned by the threatened war with France in 1708, the
town promptly prepared to answer the requisitions of government, by providing
all the necessaries, and holding their contingent of men ready (as the records
phrase it) "to march at a minute's warning." A vigorous train-band was liber-
ally fostered, as had been done from early precinct times. In 1803, the enter-
prising young men of the period organized an artillery company, which had a
long run of popularity extending through forty-three years. It h;id two brass
field-pieces, with generally full ranks in nice uniform, and was commanded
nearly always by the most gallant officers "to the manner born." It only had a
single opportunity to go into camp service, which was in 1814, near the close
of the second war with England, and then for only about sixty days. The
State government feared a British assault on Boston from formiclal)lc fleets
hovering along the coast. But the danger was soon over, and the company
honorably discharged. This company gave initiatory training to one brigadier-
general, two colonels, eight mtijors, fourteen captains, no further promoted, and
a proportionate number of lower officers. Probably most of its majors would
have risen higher had not the company for the most part, been attached to an
artillery battalion distinct from the ordinary militia.

A "fine company of light infantry, called "The Larayettc Guards," was
organized in 182G, and sustained a good reputation till 184G, — twenty years, — •
when it was disbanded. It reared two lieutenant-colonels, eight captairs, no
further promoted, and a proportionate number of subordinate officers. The
ordinary infantry company, which began with the militia organization immedi-
ately succeeding the Revolutionary war and continued till 1840, when super-
seded by the "Volunteer Militia," produced seven colonels and lieutenant-
colonels, one mnjor, twelve captains, no further promoted, &c. In 1840, nine
Revolutionary pensioners still survived in towm. The enrolled militia, liable
to be mustered only in extraordinary emergencies, rose from one hundred and
forty-five in 1840, to nearly fourteen hundred in 1875. A smart volunteer
company, designated as "Co. A," was organized in 1853, which had a popular
run till the war of Rebellion, when a considerable part of it became incor-
porated with a New York regiment, called "The jMozart," and went into
United States service. It had a succession of five captains, one of whom
became a lieutenant-colonel.

HOPEDAI.K MACHINE CO., AND UrXCHEU TEMPLE CO. S "WORKS, HOPEDALE, MASS.

HOPEDALE MACHINE COMPANY'S WORKS, HOPEDALE, MASS.

THE CIVIL WAR. 81

Milford claims an honorable record, for contributions of men, life, blood,
treasure, and various useful services in the great war of Rebellion. She fur-
nished, directly and indirectly, 1,205 men for the battle-fields of the Union, —
IX surplus of 195 over all regular requisitions. Of these fifty were killed in battle,
seventy-six died of wounds and disease, and 180 were sadly disabled, several
of whom have since died in consequence. The soldiers were led by forty-eisfht
officers of the grade of lieutenants and captains, including four suigeons.
Several of these fell in battle or died in camp. Those who survived won more
or less promotion. One who l.ft home a captain returned a major, and one
who left a second lieutenant returned a brevet bri^adier-sjeneral. The town
also insists on fair credit f,)r having bred and educated A. B. Underwood
(though sent from another locality), who left a captain, and retnrncd a crippled
hero, breveted a major-general, richly merited by deeds of valor and painful
endurance. The amount of money appropriated and expended on account of
the war, exclusive of State aid, was $62, GOO, to which should be added
$14,832, contributed by private subscription; total, $77,432. The amount
p;iid by the town during the war, for State aid, and which was refimded, was
$90,135.02. Meantime the ladies of the town devotedly served the cause by
assiduously providing sanitary stores, among which were 240 sheets, 77 pairs
slip[)ers, 222 pairs drawers, 885 bandage rolls, 448 shirts, 227 pairs woolen
hose, 595 towels, 189 woolen undershirts, 447 handkerchiefs, 24 "boxes of
delicacies," 225 napkins, 05 pillows for wounded limbs, &c., &c. And while
their seniors were encountering the perils of actual war, their juniors at home
fv)rmed and drilled a company of lads, numbering from sixty to seventy-five,
between the ages of fourteen and eighteen years. It was well officered, hand-
somely uniformed, armed with light guns, and performed much escort duty on
various public occasions, in this and the neighboring towns during the war.
They were known as "The Milford Cadets."

Since the war the town has had two regular volunteer companies; viz.,
"The Mayhew Guards," designated as " Co. F, 10th Regt. Mass. Vol. Militia;"
and, more recently, "Co. M, Gth Regt. Mass. Vol. Militia," — both sprightly
and creditable companies. "The Mayhew Guards " had a succession of five
captains, one of whom became lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. The new
company is taking an auspicious start and promises well.

"The Grand Army of the Republic" has a constituent Post here, designated
as "Major E. F. Fletcher Post 22." It was organized in October, 1807, has
a goodly membership, is efficiently conducted, commemorates faithfully the
heroic services of its fellow-soldiers ; decorates annually the graves of its fallen
comrades, receives pecuniary encouragement from the town treasury, and is
held in universal respect by the citizens.

In education and literary accomplishments Milford never made very high
pretensions, yet is by no means " least among the thousands" of our New Eng-
land Israel. At its incorporation in 1780, it had not a single school-house,

VOL. H.— U

82 TOWN OF MILFORD.

and mother Mcndon herself but two on her whole domain. There were
nominally four school districts, identical with those for highway work.
Schools, such as they were, few, brief and poor, were kept in the L's of dwell-
ing-houses, impel feet out-buildings, and other extemporized quarters. In the
course of ten years the first generation of school-houses, to the number of six,
were set up ; probably, all but one or two, made out of old shops reconstructed.
They were of very inferior size and cheerless accommodations. Under what
form of social co-operation they were erected, neither record nor present tradi-
tion tells. After 1795, they began to be replaced by another generation of
structures, erected according to a prescribed legal process and paid for by
regular taxation. These were of an improved type, yet little akin to those of
our times. The school districts passed through a long series of changes in
number and boundaries until there were twelve. These were reduced to less
than half a dozen, and finally entirely abolished in 1854. This radical change
was preceded by the establishment of a high school which was opened in 1850,
with cheering auspices, and has ever since been sustained to great general
satisfaction. The site, edifice and furnishings cost $6,795. The district school-
houses, when passed over to the town, were appraised to the amount of $6,591.
So, in 1854, the town had invested in school-houses $13,386. Improvements
were thenceforlh made in these school-houses and new ones built, till now
there are some twenty in all, besides town-house rooms made use of for school
purposes. These accommodate over forty schools. There are several hu-ge,
handsome and commodious edifices in the list, but none exhibiting a vain dis-
play. Their present total appraisal stands at $()7,000.

School moneys have been derived chiefly from the following named sources.
When the town was set off from Mendon it inherited one-third of a small school
fund — the amoimt not ascertained, but of little account. Taxation has always
been the main dependence. In 1780 the town raised $3,333, but it was Con-
tinental money — poor trash. In 1781 the appropriation was $66.67 in silver.
Ten years later the sum was $133.33. In 1805 it was $300 ; in 1825, $500 ;
in 1845, $1,200; in 1855, $4,500; in 1865, $10,000; in 1875, $18,000.
Meantime the number of scholars increased from an unrecorded small handful
to over 2,000. After the legislature established the State School Fund in
1834, this town drew its annual share of dividends, which at one time ran up to
over $500. Small incidentals sometimes came in from other sources. In early
times the winter schools were taught only by males, and the summer ones by
females. Latterly, female teachers are largely in the majority in winter as
well as summer, and greatly to the public advantage. Wages, board, fuel,
&c., were formerly low in comparison with present prices. The old distribu-
tion of school money was per district, and unjustly arbitrary ; the later more
equitable, partly per district and partly per scholar ; but it is now accommo-
dated still more equitably to local wants, as practicably as the nature of the
case admits.

SCHOOLS AND LIBRARY. 83

As to the oversight of the schools and general management, it was at first
rather casual, irregular and irrcsponsil)]e. The town records mention no
general school committee as chosen, till March meeting, 1795. ProbaI)lv a
few parents, the prudential committee and the clergyman took what little over-
sight the schools got down to that date. Afterwards a general committee was
annually chosen, with perhaps two or three omissions, to act without pay in
conjunction with the prudential committee of each school district. At lenirth
new laws enlarged their powers, and gave them moderate compensation. Since
1854, when the districts as corporations wore al)oli^hcd, the town's committee
have constantly risen in authority and importance, till they almost equal the
selectmen in otBcial control. Recently the town has sanctioned their recom-
mendation for the appointment of a superintendent of schools, on a salary of
$1,500 per annum. lie has taken in hand most (f the committee's executive
duties, and the experiment has proved eminently successful. Since 1795 the
town has been served by over one hundred and seven general school-committee
individuals, for longer or shorter terms, and several of them for many succes-
sive years. Samuel Jones, Esq., served ten years ; Pearlcy Hunt, Esq., nine-
teen years; Samuel Daniell, seventeen years ; Dr. Gustavus D. Peck, eleven
years ; Isaac Davenport, Esq , fifteen years ; Rev. David Long, twenty-three
years, besides much previous clerical service; Leander Ilolbrook, Esq.,
seventeen years; George G. Parker, Esq., fourteen years; Herman 11.
Bowers, sixteen years; and Charles J. Thompson twelve years, being still in
service. The present status of the public schools is prosperous and satisfactory.
The town has a valuable library, established in 1858, under judicious regula-
tions, which supplies admirably a great literary want. It contains 5,447
volumes, delivered out for the year ending Feb. 8, 1879, 3G,G0G books, and
stands among the town's assets as valued at $5,000.

It should be added to the foregoing that JNIilford has always been expending
considerable sums of money in the way of educating her sons and daughters
out of town, in colleges, academies and private seminaries. The nimiber of
regular college graduates, commencing in the days of the Easterly Precinct, is
not large, numbering, perhaps, about thirty ; but the number of undergraduates
and partially liberally educated persons would make up a much larger list.
Then, there have been numerous private schools in town from its incorporation
to the present time. These have ranged in grade all the way up from
primaries to academic and select seminaries capal)le of fitting students for
college and the less exacting professions. At the present moment several
excellent private schools are in successfid operation, as they have been for
years. One of these is a flourishing kindergarten, and the others are well-
sustained schools of higher grade, taught by competent and accomplished
female teachers. All these are mentioned justly, as showing the general
interest in education among the people outside of valuable schools sustained by
public appropriations.

84 TOWN OF MILFORD.

The town has made a fiiir record, too, in respect to the maintenance of its
poor, its provision for the public health and its protection against fire. In its
younger days it shared the dread of pauperism which seemed general in all
New England municipalities. It warned out all persons liable to become
chargeable for maintenance to the extreme of legality. It stood out at law
against maintaining paupers belonging to other towns, and triumphed in some
memorable cases. And in supporting its own poor it pursued the p.irsi-
monious policy of its neighbors for awhile, vendueing them to those who would
keep soul and body together at the lowest price. To its credit, however, it
was amonsr the first in its neighborhood to vote down that abominable custom.
It did this in 1806, urged by Col. Ariel Bragg, who in early youth had tasted
the bitter cup, and who was able to muster a sufiicient following of sympa-
thizers to make up a majority. But it did not rid itself of all concomitant
abuses in pauper management till 1825. Then, by a strong vote, it decided
to purchase a farm and open a well-regulated asylum for its poor. That
experiment worked well, and after a few years of managemental experience the
poor were not only economically provided for, but have had a comfortable
home. The farm now consists of about one hundred and thirty acres, has an
ample mansion-house, built in 1849 at a cost of $3,502.34, and has the requisite
barns, outbuildings and other conveniences, all in good order, which arc set
down among the town's assets as valued at $4,000, For the year ending Feb.
11, 1879, the town expended on account of its poor, in and out of the asylum,
$11,539.23, and $300 more in repairs on the farm buildings. The average
number of poor in the asylum in any year has never exceeded thirty-nine, and
in 1860 was only fourteen. In 1878 it was reported to be thirty-six. The
immediate management of the farm and asylum has been confided to a superin-
tendent and matron, who, with few exceptions, have been husband and wife.
Of these there have been, thus far, twcnty-ouc pairs. Most of these have been
humane, judicious and exemplary persons. The jM-eseiit incumbents, who
have been in position since April, 1809, — Sumner Ilairington and wife, — -are
pre-eminently such ; very kind-hearted, patient and discreet in their difficult
office. The town had no officers distinctively styled Overseers of the Poor till
1820. Since then sixty individuals have served in that office one or more
terms of a year, and several of them many years each. Amasa Leland served
six years, Chester Clark six, Leonard Chapin nine, Henry Chapin six, Richard
Carroll six, John Madden nine, Benjimin II. Montague eight, and Elias
Whitney, who seems to be a fixed favorite, is still in the harness for the
tvventieth year.

The town has been carefully endeavoring to maintain wholesome sanitary
regulations. Its Board of Health was instituted in 1859, and has been in
successful operation ever since. It has issued, from year to year, in print, its
methods and directions for the prevention of disease, the removal of causes
dangerous to public health, and all necessary helps to general cleanliness. It

FIRE DEPARTMENT. 85

has had, for the most part, competent and efficient officials, who have annually
reported to the town the results of their administration, and made such recom-
mendations for future action as seemed to them necessary. For several recent
years the town has made the selectmen its Board of Ileallh.

In respect to provisions for the prevention and extinguishment of fires, the
town, after getting fairly inducted into the business, has been wise and
generous. Previous to 1831 the inhabitants had no fire-engine or special
apparatus to meet the outbreak of this dangerous destroyer. Then a small tub-
engine Avas procured by subscription, and manned by voluntary assistance.
Thereafter followed in rapid succession the procurement of better and better
engines. Then the town began to vote moderate encouragements in the form
of appropriations, and to elect fire-wards, so called. A second engine and
company soon took the field. Engine-houses were built. Then followed
other companies, with various kinds of helpful apparatus. Then came, at
length, in 1854, the organization of a proper fire department under a special
act of the legislature, with all needful rules, regulations and official machinery.
The results have been very salutary and satisfactory. Step by step this fiie
department has attained its present strength and efficiency. It is now ready
to face the fiery enemy at a moment's warning with one hundred and sixty-
seven men, five engines (two of them powerful steamers), a fine hook-and-
ladder company, a "Wide-Awake" hose company, with 5,950 feet of hose, a
fire-extinguisher company, seventeen good reservoirs, well distributed about
town, and various other appliances to ensure victory. The cost of all these
organized anti-fire forces may be tolerably understood by the annual appropria-
tions made in their behalf. It will be sufficient to specify those of 1857, 18G7
and 1879. In the first-named year the appropriation was $3,222.03; in 18G7
it was $G, 172.07 ; in 1879 it was $G,065.96. Perhaps, however, these figures
somewhat exceed the annual average. Since its organization the department
has been commanded by forty-eight chief engineers for longer or shorter
series of years. Several of these have served eight and ten years each, and
one, Albert C. Withington, has served eighteen years. The institution is a
costly one, but the duties of the firemen are arduous, perilous and responsible,
and the citizens generally feel that they are none too well compensated and
provided for out of the public treasury. The department is appreciated and
respected. Its well-directed energies have quelled several dangerous confla-
grations, and prevented, by prompt action in their incipient stages, a multitude
of others.

In the matter of roads, streets, commons, cemeteries, &c., the town can
give a good account of herself. She inherited from mother Mendon, in 1780,
about fifty legally-laid roads, bridle-paths and wa^'s of various title. But they
were nearly all narrow, crooked, ill-graded and uncouth tracks. Her road
material was generally of inferior quality, and the bottom rough. It has,
therefore, been rather costly to repair, build anew, widen, straighten and

8G TOWN OF MILFORD.

improve the highways. But the process of so doing has been pushed forward
vigorously all through the now closing century of the town's corporate exist-
ence. Such old ways as could be dispensed with have, of course, been discon-
tinued, but this could seldom be done without first opening new lines.
Continual petitions came in year after year from citizens needing better
accommodations, and far more costly requirements came in from the county
authorities which could not be resisted or much delayed. The thoroughfares
through town, from Mendon to Holliston, from its centre through North
Purchase to Ilopkinton by two routes, to Upton in a north-westerly direction,
towards Belliiigham and Rhode Island through South Milford, and towards
Medway in an easterly direction, were formidable undertakings in their day,
but they were necessary, and, anyhow, came up in such a form that they could
not be shirked. Less important roads need not be mentioned. In 1843 the
town had nearly fifty miles of road within its limits, by accurate measurement.
Without any critical reckoning of subsequent additions in detail, it may be
assumed that the present total is at least one hundred miles. And, extraor-
dinary to this, the railroads must be considered. These are the branch of the
Boston and Albany out from Framingham, opened July 1, 1848; the Milford
and Woonsocket, incorporated in 1855, in the stock of which the town invested
$50,000; and the Ilopkinton, more recently built, of whose stock and bonds
the town owns $15,000. Communication, internal and external, is now
eminently good, though, doubtless, additional accommodations will continue to
be called for and provided. In 18G3 all the legally-accepted ways, higher and
lower, were designated by name, and the nomenclature was sanctioned by the
town. Most of them are named as streets, and number now considerably over
one hundred.

The town has numerous commons of various dimensions. Most of the
smaller ones are connected with school-houses. That of the high-school house
is the largest and handsomest of these. The town-house common is not large
enough for panegyric. It contains only one acre and a half. The first town
house was built on it, of brick, in 1819, in the midst of much partisan excite-
ment. It became too small, and its present respectable successor was erected
in 1854, of wood chiefly, at the cost of $15,000. It has spacious and numerous
accommodations. The old one still stands in the backsfround, and serves
divers necessary purposes of public utility. A little more elbow-room on this
common would add to its beauty, as well as convenience. But the town has a
noble i)!irk to glory in. It contains about fifteen acres, belonged formerly to
the Twitchell estate, was bought in 18G3 for $10,000, is eligibly situated, and
has received a liberal outlay for improvement and ornamentation. It has a
splendid future in prospect.

The town has four cemeteries under its control. 1. The ancient Burying-
Ground of the Easterly Precinct, where "the rude forefathers of the hamlet
sleep," or did sleep, some of them without any stone inscription. This is quite

CEMETERIES. 87

in the centre, and after the town's incorporation was several times enlarged.
It has ceased to receive burials in its bosom, has been dismantled of its once
formidable rans^e of tombs, and the ashes of its dead with their memorials have
been numerously removed to more cheerful resting-places. Some parts of it
have been rudely dealt with in quest of gravel for the street^:, and the more
reverent citizens feel that it has been desecrated. What will finally become of
its soil remains to be seen. 2. The South Milford " Burying-Ground." This
was opened in 1801. It originally contained only sixty-six rods, purchased of
or rather donated by Elijah Albee. This small area was moro than doubled in
183G by the purchase and annexation of half an acre. It has afforded very
desirable accommodations to the bereaved in that quarter of the town, has
been decently cared for, and presents a respectable array of monumental
memorials. 3. The North Purchase "Graveyard." This was opened in
1849, the town having purchased two acres of Ellis Sumner, Esq., and pro-
vided for all the requisites of an unostentatious but creditable cemetery. Its
silent inhabitants have been steadily increasing since its opening, and it
exhibits a reputable sepulchral depository. 4. "Vernon Grove Cemetery."
This was opened in 1859, and contains over twenty-one acres, purchased of
Abel Albee for about $1,700. It is situated nearly a mile south-east of the
town common, and possesses most of the natural features and advantages held
desirable in a modern cemetery. It has become the depository of many recent
dead, and of the remains of hundreds removed from their original resting-
places. A considerable portion of it has been avenued, laid into lots and
greatly beautified. It has numerous fine memorial stones, several admirable
monuments (including that of the soldiers who fell in the late war), and all the
display which good taste and proper economy dictate. In former times the
town furnished hearses, grave-cloths and other paraphernalia, but these have all
been superseded by professional undertakers, and it is deemed sufficient to
provide receiving-tombs and a few substantial necessaries.

The Hopedale Parish has a cemetery under its own control. It is of humble
and modest pretensions. The Catholics of St. Mary's Church have a large one
of their own, containing eight acres, on Cedar Street. There sleep already a
host of forms whose mortal life began in the " Emerald Isle," as well as of
those born on our soil ; and their marble tablets, with the monument of Pastor
Farrelly, surmounted by the cross, proclaim to the passer-by that they died in
the b(jsom of their holy mother church.

But the "Pine Grove Cemetery" transcends all others in the town for scenic
beauty, artificial embellishment and monumental display. It is owned by an
association of proprietors belonging to Milford and the neighboring towns, who
were incorporated in 1841. They have shown the inclination, ability and taste
to provide a home for the remains of their loved ones which commands the
admiration of all beholders. It is situated on the west side of Cedar Street,
about two miles north-east of the town centre towards Ilopkiuton. It occupie-s

88 TOWN OF MILFORD.

a wild and romantic site, between the ancient "North Cedar Swamp" and
"Rocky Woods," which tlie forcfalhers little dreamed would ever be conse-
crated to such a use, but which, nevertheless, proves to have been happily
selected. It is superintended with excellent judgment and care.

CHAPTER III.

CIVIL RECORD LEGISLATIVE AND TOWN OFFICERS POST-OFFICES FINAN-
CIAL DEVELOPMENT CORPORATIONS AND SOCIETIES SOCIAL SPIRIT

DISTINGUISHED PERSONS.

The civil, political and financial annals of the town furnish some interesting
facts and figures worthy of notice. It has been represented in all the State
conventions assembled since 1780, to act on national and State constitutions,
by its allowed number of delegates. It has sent to General Court fifty-eight
representatives (some of them serving several years each), and five senators.
It has been honored by one member of the Governor's Council, and one
Presidential Elector. It has had lists of voters ranging all the way up from
one hundred in its infancy to over two thousand in its maturity. Its meetings
have been presided over by eighty-three dillerent moderators, many of them
acting on numerous occasions. It has been served by fourteen difTerent town
clerks, thirteen treasurers, one hundred and eighty-three selectmen, one
hundred and eleven assessors, sixty overseers of the poor, and a proportionate
number of minor town officers. A considerable minority of the principal
officers were many times re-elected, and some through a long series of years.
It has had about sixty different justices of the peace, often re-appointed. It
had a Police Court established in 1854, which was subsequently abolibhed, then
re-established, and finally superseded in 1872 by the Third District Court of
Southern Worcester. These successive courts have had their proper judges,
assistants and clerks. Meantime, the town has had its needed supply of deputy-
sheriffs, policemen, &c.

The citizens had no post-oflSee within their municipal limits till March 7,
1814, when one was established at South Milford. Another was established in
the Centre, Feb. 10, 1823, and another at Hopedale May 13, 1861. These
have had, in all, twenty-five different postmasters. The present incumbents
are ; H. B. Fisk at South Milford, George G. Pond in the Centre, and George
Draper at Hopedale. The one in the Centre does a very large amount of
business, but the others are lively establishments on a smaller scale. The
population uses mail facilities to an extraordinary extent, besides patronizing
liberally a telegraph office now for several years in operation.

BUSINESS CORPORATIONS. 89

The financial affairs of the town have gradually grown to a huo-e mao-nitutle.
The infantile valuation could not have exceeded $150,000 as a guess estimate.
It now stands, under a recent reduction, at $4,519,227. It be<?an without
a single school-house, and now claims to have $67,000 invested in some
twenty such houses, many of them commodious and substantial edifices. In
1781 it raised $67 for schooling; in 1878, for teaching, $15,952.10, fuel,
$717.53, school incidentals, $4,471.99, and repairs of school-houses, $1,158.17 ;
total, $22,299.79. In 1781 it raised for highways $300; in 1878 it expended
for the same and kindred purposes $9,183.28. Its early assets of municipal
property were a mere trifle ; they aro now estimated at $249,600. But some
of its citizens rather regret that its indebtedness amounts to $204,600. Its
credit is, nevertheless, good, and nobody fears a financial collapse of its
treasury. The hard times have shrunk its valuation about one-fifth since the
panic of 1873, but there is a general hopefulness for the future.

Milford has numerous corporations and associations which must not be for-
gotten. They have various objects and characteristics, from strictly secular
to strictly religious, as will be nnderstood from their titles and a brief descrip-
tion. Milford National Bank, in Bank Block, Main Street, organized March,
1865; capital $250,000; par value of shares $100; president, Aaron C.
Mayhew ; cashier, Augustus Wheeler; teller, James E. Walker. Milford
Savings Bank, Bank Block, Main Street ; incorporated 1851 ; president, Orison
Underwood ; vice-presidents, A. C. Mayhew, Allen C. Fay and Obed Daniels ;
Avith nine trustees, and James E. Walker, treasurer. Home National Bank,
Old Bank Building, Main Street, organized May, 1875; capital $130,000;
par value of shares $100; president, Samuel AValker; vice-president, G. W.
Johnson ; cashier, N. B. Johnson. Milford and Woonsocket Railroad, incor-
porated in 1855, extends from Milford Centre to Bellingham, nearly four miles;
depot and office on Central Street, near South Bow; authorized capital $100,-
000, about $80,000 paid in ; president, George Draper ; treasurer, Charles F.
Claflin, with seven directors. Milford Gaslight Company, incorporated in
1854; capital $80,000; president, Allen C. Fay; treasurer, B. E. Harris;
superintendent, I. N. Davis, with eight directors. It has several miles of pipe
and sends gas all the way to the village and the machine-shops of Ilopedalc.
Worcester South-east Agricultural Society : This includes, of course, citizens of
the neighboring towns. It was incorporated in 1860 ; annual meeting first
Thursday in December; fair last Tuesday and Wednesday of September, at
Charles River Riding Park, where the society has a spacious edifice, with com-
modious hall, &c. President, William Knowlton of Upton ; vice-presidents,
Stephen Mathewson of Milford, Newell Eames of Ilolliston, John Phipps of
Hopkinton, F. Worcester of Grafton, and Anson Warren of Westborough ;
secretary, Charles G. Thompson of Milford ; treasurer, Alexander T. Wilkin-
son of Milford. Number of members 700. Milford Farmers' Club, organ-
ized 1859; incorporated 1870; fair held first and third Saturdays in every

VOL. II.— 12 ,

90 TOWN OF MILFORD.

month at Farmers' Exchange on the town park ; officered by a president, sec-
retary and treasurer. Horse-Thief Detecting Society, organized Dec. 21,
1795 ; composed of three hundred members, belonging to this and the neigh-
boring towns; president, Julius R. George of Mendon ; vice-president, Henry
A. Aldrich of Mendon ; secretary. Dr. John G. Metcalf, also of Mendon ;
treasurer, Charles F. Chapin of Milford ; membership fee $1 ; funds on hand
$4,081 ; and an ample pursuing committee in several towns. Thurber Medical
Association, composed of medical gentlemen in Milford and the vicinity, who
belong to the Massachusetts Medical Society ; organized June 9, 1853 ; object,
professional improvement; fund $600, the income of which is devoted to the
purchase of books ; number of members about twenty ; rooms 120 Main Street,
meetings once a month; officers elected annually in October; president, Chas.
E. Spring of Holliston ; vice-president, George King of Franklin ; secretary,
J. Allen Fay of Milford; treasurer, John G. Metcalf of Mendon. Of Masonic
bodies there are four; viz., Montgomery Lodge, chartered in 1797, formerly
of Medway, and thence removed hither several years ago ; Mt. Lebanon Royal
Arch Chapter, chartered in 1824, also formerly of Medway and removed hither ;
Milford Commandery of Knights Templar, and the Masonic Mutual Relief
Society. The Odd Fellows have two bodies in town, entitled Quinshipaug
Encampment, No. 20, and Tisquantum Lodge, No. 46. Knights of Pythias
have one body entitled. Bay State Lodge, No. 51, organized April 14, 1870.
The temperance cause has had a long succession of organizations with various
titles. At present it has the following named : Fidelity Lodge, No. 21 ; Inde-
pendent Order of Good Templars; Elmwood Lodge, No. 129, do. ; Catholic
Temperance Association ; Milford Temperance Reform Club, &c. There is a
considerable body of Irish-American citizens in town, known as the Ancient
Order of Hibernians, whose object is to commemorate and preserve Irish
national unity. Of a more strictly religious character there arc : The Milford
Bible Society, organized in 1857 ; the Young Men's Christian Association, and
several minor societies of various designations. Most, if not all, the above-
named corporations, assocititions and organizations are in a flourishing condi-
tion. Several less public corporations and associative institutions are also
prospering, but need not be named in this account.

What may be termed the social characteristics of Milford ought, perhaps, to
receive some notice. Although the distinctions of race, rank and class exist,
and with increasing dcfiniteness, yet there is a predominant sociality and fra-
ternity of feeling throughout the town. The population has, for the most part,
always inclined to common humanity, equality, sympathy and friendly social
intercourse. There has always been a general fondness for congenial and con-
vivial gatherings and amusements. A "good time" never came amiss, and its
repetition was never long delayed. In the olden days they had the hustings,
quiltings, rural dances, play parties, games and sports of various kinds. Next
came the traveling jugglers, slight-of-hand performers, caravans and olhci

EMINENT MEN. 91

showmen. Dramatic exhibitions and theatrical plays by home troupes, com-
menced as early as 1824, in the brick meeting-house. Balls of more fashion-
able style and importance came into vogue, and came to stay. And now
scarcely a week passes without more or less of social entertainment, in the form
of theatrical performance, musical concert, excursion, fair, levee, club-feast,
base-ball, or some one of the thousand modern amusements. Even the churches,
as well as moral reform societies, have gone into the practice of getting up
various sorts of "good times" to raise funds, please their Sunday schools and
increase their congregations. There are yet no theatres or opera-houses erected
for such express purposes, but the town hall, Lyceum Hall, Washington Hall,
Irving Hall, and others of less note, afford the necessary accommodations, and
are well patronized. We have some staid and plain-living people, who think
they can enjoy existence with a smaller spice of social amusement, and who
are disposed to mind their own business in a more quiet way ; but they are not
in the majority, nor exactly in the fashion. Although there arc some vicious
amusements, and, doubtless, many abuses of innocent ones in town, which
ought to be abated, its civil morality will average fairly with that of most other
communities, even of some who claim to be much more Puritanical. It has no
excess of the dangerously criminal classes, albeit we are not free from misde-
meanors, and there is room for a vast improvement before the milleuium.

Milford cannot boast of having given birth to many distinguished persons,
widely known beyond its immediate and general vicinity. Among the few in
whose eminence and fame it claims honorable patrimony, one has already been
mentioned as its Revolutionary hero-martyr, — Gen. Alexander Scammcll, of
■whom the town was bereaved in the second year of its corporate existence.
He was a son of Dr. Samuel Leslie Scammcll and Jane his wife, born in
1744, and left an orphan lad by the death of his father in 1753. His father
commended Alexander, with an elder brother, to the educational oversight of
Rev. Amariah Frost, to be fitted for college. Alexander graduated at Har-
vard in 17G9 ; studied law with Gen. John Sullivan of New Hampshire; was
appointed brigade-major of the New Hampshire militia, 1775 ; became colonel
of the third New Hampshire battalion of Continental troops, 1770 ; com-
manded the third New Hampshire regiment, 1777, and was wounded in the
battle at Saratoga, N. Y. ; commanded the first New Hampshire regiment in
1780 ; and was about that time appointed adjutant-general. He is said to have
been a great favorite of Washington, and very popular in the army. At the
siege of Yorktown, while acting as field officer on the 30th September, 1781,
and reconnoitring one of the enemy's redoubts, he was suddenly surprised
and captured by a detachment of scouting cavalry. He then gracefully said :
"Gentlemen, I am your prisoner"; whereupon a brutal Hessian gave him u
mortal wound. He was conveyed to Williamsburg, Va., where he died of his
wound, October 6th, ensuing, deeply lamented by all who knew him iu camp,
*t home, and throughout the country.

92 TOWN OF MILFORD.

Rev. Stephen Chaplii, D. D., president of Columbian College, Washington
City, D. C, is another distinguished native of this town. He was a son of
Stephen and Rachel (Rawson) Chapin, born Nov. 4, 1778. In his seventh
year he learned the alphabet in a neighborhood school, taught by his uncle,
Adams Chapin. At nine years of age he experienced religion; at seventeen,
united with the church; in 1804, graduated at Harvard University; studied
theology under Dr. Emmons of Franklin ; was ordained pastor of the Congre-
gational Church in Hillsborough, N. II., June 19, 1805, and dismissed there-
from May 12, 1808. He was next installed over the Congregational Church
at Mt. Vernon, N. II., Nov. 15, 1809, where he changed his views of baptism,
from those of Congregationalism to those of the Baptists, and was thereupon
dismissed. In 1819, he became pastor of the Baptist Church in North Yar-
mouth, Me. In 1822, Brown University conferred on him the degree of S. T.
D., and the same year he was elected professor of sacred theology in Watcr-
ville College, Me., which office he filled till 1828. He was then called to the
presidency of Columbian College, just established at Washington, D. C, where
he remained until his death, Oct. 1, 1845, at the age of sixty-seven years. In
1809, he married Sarah Mosher of IloUis, N. II., who, with three sons and two
daughters, survived him. He was held in very high estimation for piety and
learning by all who knew him.

Rev. Levi Nelson was less distinguished, but regarded, especially in his own
religious denomination, as a remarkable man. He was a son of Dea. Seth
and Silence (Cheney) Nelson. He was born Aug. 8, 1789. He was edu-
cated partly at Brown University and partly at Williams College, but failed to
graduate on account of ill-health. He studied theology with Dr. Emmons,
who encouraged him to persevere in his aims at the ministry, and he was finally
approbated to preach. After preaching in several places, as health permitted,
he settled in Lisbon, Ct., where he was ordained Dec. 5, 1804. He is said to
have preached fifty-seven hundred different sermons, several of which were
published. He was a conscientious, devoted and industrious man in his call-
ing, and so stanchly orthodox of the old school, that he bequeathed $1,000 to
his parish on the strict condition of their not settling as his successor a man
embracing "the New Haven theology." He died in 1855, at the age of sev-
enty-seven years, and in the fifty-second of his ministry.

Hon. Jonathan Thayer, a son of Elijah and Sarah (Robinson) Thayer, was
born Jan. 27, 1779, was graduated at Brown University in 1803, paid some
attention to legal studies, settled in Camden, Me., held a seat in the Governor's
Council f(jr man\'^ years, and was Judge of Probate for seven years. He mar-
ried his wife in W^iscassct, Me., and had at least two children in Camden. He
died there Sept. 20, 1853.

Hon. Ezra Hunt, a son of Daniel and Mary (Phillips) Hunt, was born April
7, 1790, graduated at Harvard University, 1815, excelled in the knowledge of
mathematics and the exact sciences, was preceptor of Leicester Academy for

PUBLIC CHARACTERS. 93

some lime after his graduation, took charge of the academy in Pidaski, Tenn.,
in 1818, studied law while there under Judge William C. Carr, went into prac-
tice in Louisiana, Mo., and thence removed to St. Charles. Later he removed
to Bowling Green in the same State, and pursued his profession there. In
1836, he was appointed Judge of the Circuit Court of that judicial district,
and discharged his duties with tidelit}', ability and to general satisfaction. He
decided questions of law, but seldom or never addressed juries. He was
chairman of the judiciary committee in the Convention called to revise the
Constitution of Missouri, had one of the best libraries in the State, and was
regarded not only as an excellent jurist, but as eminently accomplished in gen-
eral literature. At the age of about forty years, he married a young wife, ihe
eldest daughter of Judije Rufus Pettibone of St. Louis, Mo. : viz., Maria E.
Pettibone, May 18, 1830. Ho died suddenly, while attending a session of his
court at Troy, Lincoln Co., Mo., Sept. 19, 1860, aged seventy years.

Hon. Albert Hobart Nelson, son of Dr. John and Lucinda (Parkhurst)
Nelson, was born March 12, 1812, removed early to Middlesex County, with
his parents, graduated at Harvard University 1832, went into the legal profes-
sion with success, was raised to an honorable position on the bench, and finally,
in 1855, to be chief justice of Suffolk Superior Court. He died in 1858, in
the ripeness of his usefulness and honors.

William Claflin, LL. D., ex-governor of the Commonwealth, and since mem-
ber of Conirress from the eiijhth district, was reared in Milford. He was a

err o '

son of Hon. Lee Clafliin and Sarah (Adams), his wife, born March 6, 1818,
was educated partly at Brown University, and partly in other seminaries,
without a formal j^raduation, and received his dejrrce of LL. D. from Harvard
University in 1869. He removed in early manhood from his native town,
first to Hopkinton and later to Newton, devoted himself successfully to busi-
ness in the boot, shoe and leather line, won the confidence of his fellow-citizens
and reached the gubernatorial chair in 1869. He retained his high position
as chief magistrate of the State three years, and in more recent years has been
twice elected by the eighth Congressional district to represent them in the
National Congress. He is still in the vigor of life, active in public as well as
business affairs, and deservedly held in high esteem by thousands of apprecia-
tive friends.

The town is proud of another Claflin, who has risen to eminence in commer-
cial pursuits from a career commenced in his native vicinage — Horace B. Claflin
— who may be reckoned among the merchant princes of New York City. He
is a son of John Claflin, Esq., and Lydia (Mellen), his wife, born Dec. 18,
1811, respectal)ly educated outside of the colleges, inspired by a genius for
trade, commenced mercantile business here in 1832, soon removed to Worces-
ter and established there a successful firm ; went to New York in 1843, and
at the head of a congenial copartnership opened a jobbing dry -goods establish-
ment. It has hud a wonderful growth, reached a mammoth importance, and

94 TOWN OF MILFOED.

now commands universal admiration. The house of 11. B. Clafliu & Co.
swa3's its sceptre over avast sphere of commercial dependence, confidence and
honor. Its head is full of vigorous brain, and its hands diligent in triumphant
traffic.

Gen. Adin B. Underwood has already been mentioned in connection with the
military record of his native town, lie is a son of Gen. Orison Underwood
and II;innah B. (Cheney) his wife, was born May 19, 1828, graduated at Brown
University in 1849 ; studied law ; practiced his profession awhile in Milford ;
removed to the vicinity of Boston ; closed his office at the outbreak of the Re-
bellion to become a captain of ]SIassachusetts Volunteers, and was mustered into
service May 18, 1861. He performed valorous feats in Virginia, rose on his merits
to the command of a regiment, was ordered to join the army near Chattanooga,
Tenn., and fought in the memorable Battle of Lookout Mountain, which drove
the rebels from one of their strongest holds. lie was all but mortally vv'ounded
in that bloody conflict, laid at death's door for months, and sadly crippled for
life. He was made a briiradicr-general in acknowledgment of his dear-bouirht
heroism, but was never again able to take the field. When sufficiently recov-
ered to perform less perilous service, he was made president of an important
court-martial in Washington, from which, however, he was excused and
appointed surveyor of customs at Boston. On being discharged from the
army he was breveted a major-general. He is still in the official harness at
Boston, endures resolutely the life-long consequences of his wounds and wears
his laurel-wreath with becominnr grace.

Milford has other children in whose worth she takes just pride, and who
perhaps ought to have their names inscribed on this roll of honor ; but lack of
space forbids. Brief reference can only be made to a few fathers of the town,
who were most conspicuous in the conduct of its affairs during their several
generations. Many others must remain unmentioned, though no less merito-
rious. During the first quarter century of the town's corporate existence, the
following named were among its prominent actors; viz., — Caleb Cheney, Sr.,
Samuel Jones, Esq., Adams Chapin, Esq., Capt. Sam'l Warren, Dr. Samuel
L. Scammell, Col. Ichabod Thayer, Lieut. David Stearns, James Sumner,
Esq., Lieut. Ephraim Chapin, &c. In the second quarter-century the stage
presented Pearley Hunt, Esq., John Claflin, Jr., Esq., Newell Nelson, Esq ,
Col. Ariel Bragg, Col. Benjamin Godfrey and his son William, Col. Sullivan
Sumner, Capt. Clark Ellis, Maj. Clark Sumner, Capt. Henry Nelson, Hon. Lee
Claflin, cS:c. Since then, down to the present time, the following actors have
been more or less conspicuous: — Hiram Hunt, Charles F. Chapin, Aaron
Claflin, Aaron C. Mayhew, S^dvester Dean, Alfred Bragg, Andrew J. Sumner,
James II. Barker, Edwin Battles, Winslow Battles, George W. Stacy, Dr. A.
A. Cook, Isaac Davenport, Ohed Daniels, John S. Scammell, Leandcr Hol-
brook, James R. Davis, Zibeon C. Field, Geo. B. Blake, Hermon II. Bowers,
Thomas G. Kent, George G. Parker, George Draper, William F. Draper,

LOCAL INDUSTRIES. 95

Lewis Fales, Henry E. Fiiles, and a host of others whom it is hardly worth
while to specify in a category of mere names without designation of rank,
title, ofBce or service.

CHAPTER IV.

INDUSTRIAL AND BUSINESS INTERESTS — VALUABLE BUILDINGS — FACTORIES

AND MILLS NEWSPAPERS — MAP OF THE TOWN DIRECTORIES TOWN

HISTORY.

The present general status of the town in respect to its more important
interests, activities, mechanical inventions, productive industries, &c., must
close this sketch. There are few farms and homesteads in Milford that have
come down in the line of family inheritance to the fourth generation — perhaps
half a dozen. Real estate has been frequently changing owners from the era
of iirst settlement to the present hour. The town seems to have been good both
for emigration and immigration. There is nothing worth specification in these
sentences concerninG; its agriculture. It is a manufacturinsr and mechanical
community. In the statistics already given, enough has been said of its pre-
dominant manufacture, that of boots, shoes, &c. It will be understood that
this business is more or less vigorously pursued by numerous individuals and
copartnerships of emplo3'ers, and a corresponding host of employes. Several
other kinds of business establishments, important in their place, may also be
passed over in present silence. There are some, however, which deserve
t-pecial attention.

What we call Milford Centre is of course the principal locality both of
population and business. Its factories, shops, blocks, &c., afford large accom-
modations. Of blocks, distinctively so styled, and kindred buildings, there are
the following: — Arcade Block, Nos. 95 to 101 Main Street; Bank Block, Main
Street ; Bay State Block, Nos. 102 to 108 Main Street ; Blunt's Block, corner
Franklin Street ; Central Building, No. 86 Main Street; Church Block, Nos.
43, 45, 47, 49 Main Street; Exchange Block, Main, corner Exchange Street;
Gleason's Building, School, corner of Spruce Street; Grant Block, No. 174
Main Street; Ilayward's Exchange, Nos. 137, 139, 141 Main Street; Irving
Block, Nos. 143, 145, 147 Main Street; Jefferson Block, Nos. 90, 92, 94, 9G
Main Street; Lincoln Block, School, corner of Pine Street; INIechanics'
Block, Nos. 138, 140, 142 Main Street; Phoenix Building, Nos. 3, 5, 7 Main
Street; Thayer's Block, Main Street; Union Block, Nos. 73, 75, 77, 79 Main.
Street; and Washington Block, Nos. 150, 152 Main Street.

Among the most remarkable establishments in the Centre is that of Esta-
brook, Wires & Co. for the manufacture of their "clinching screws," and vari-

96 TOWN OF MILFORD.

ous other useful articles. Competent judges have pronounced the whole
unique and unrivalled in general and detail. Location, Spring Street, opposite
Front Street. The design of this patent clinching screw is to fasten boot and
shoe soles, Avhich it does to perfection. These enterprising manufacturers
invented and patented their screw some years ago, and for awhile executed
their work chiefly by hand. But such was the demand created by its extraor-
dinary merits as fast as known, that they soon applied their inventive genius
to the production of the machinery necessary to more rapid execution. Thoy
perfected such machinery and can now exhibit to the admiration of behold-
ers a series of automatic workers that not only demonstrate their now
superior mechanical ingenuity, but enable them to fill promptly their constantly
multiplying orders from ail parts of the country. The usual average of each
machine is one hundred and fifty screws per minute, with the capability of
doubling that number if desired. The superior excellence of these screws has
rendered their manufacture a triumphant success. Even the War Department
of the United States, having thoroughly tested them, endorses and patronizes
them. Besides this leading production of their establishment, Messrs. Esta-
brof)k & Wires turn out first-rate crimping-brakes, forms, sinks, tables, sticks
and steels, seam-rubber legs, boot and shoo trees, turning-jacks, &o. ; all in
considerable quantities, and bearing the warranty stamp of their names. The
driving force for their machinery is a steam-engine of thirty-five horse power;
and all their buildings and appliances are in prime' condition.

There is another rather notable establishment in the same neiijhborhood —
Greene Brothers' heel-factory. It belongs to Messrs. George M. & Randall
B. Greene. They manufticture boot and shoe heels, and are said to have the
largest concern of this kind in the United States. These heels are made of
upper-leather remnants, purchased wherever obtainable, and brought in
immense quantities by railroad cars to their factory doors. They turn out
1,500,000 pairs of heels annually. By ingenious processes, they form these
heels, extract from them all their greasy substance, and utilize, in one Avay or
another, all the scrap leather that comes into their possession. The most
worthless remains arc used as fuel to feed their engines. They find an ample
market in Boston, Lynn, and numerous boot and shoe towns for all the heels
they can manufacture. In two recent months they sold to soap and candle
makers no less than 112,000 pounds of their extracted grease — a mere
incidental of their operations. They began business in 1807 with four
employes, and have now one hundred.

But most remarkable in this category are the establishments at Ilopedale.
This bright and beautiful village is situated a mile and a half westerly from the
town centre on Mill River, toward the frontier of Mendon. In its whole
length and breadth it must have nearly one hundred dwelling-houses and six
hundred inhabitants. It was founded in 1842 by the Ilopedale Community,
grew thriftily till that community relinquished its unitary arrangements in 185G,

ESTABROOK, WIRES & CO'S FACTORY, MILFORD, MASS,

MILLS AND FACTORIES. 97

and still more thriftily from thtit time to the present. From the beginning its
leading people have distinguished themselves more and more by mechanical
genius and manufacturing enterprise. It has been a seminary of inventors, and
may now, without extravagance, be called a miniature university of ingenious
patent-lore. By invention and purchase, it can exhibit quite a museum of
mechanical contrivances for the entertainment of the curious visitor. And its
manufactures are correspondingly efficient and productive. It would require a
considerable volume, elaborated by a master's hand, to do justice to the inven-
tions, productions and business enterprise of this little village. They can only
be indicated in this synoptical article. Hero are four strong firms operating,
besides their minor subsidiaries, all more or less connected in their pecuniary
interests, and co-operating in their industrial results. These firms are : 1.
George Draper & Sons, whose special province includes a host of valuable im-
provements in cotton and woolen machinery, such as temples, sawyer-spindles.
Draper's fiUing-spinners, double spinning-rings, steps and bolsters, patent
motions for looms, Thompson oil-cans, shuttle-guides, &c., &c. 2. The
Ilopcdalc INIachine Company, manufxcturers of improvements in cotton machin-
ery, special machinists' tools, patent warpers, spoolers with patent steps and
bolsters, &c., &c. ; George Drapor, president; William F. Draper, treasurer;
Joseph B. Bancroft, superintendent. 3. Dutcher Temple Compan}'', sole
mannflicturers of Dutcher's patent temples, Kayser's patent temples, Murk-
land's carpet temples, &c., &c. ; George Draper, president; F. J. Dutcher,
treasurer and secretary, and W. W. Dutcher, agent. 4. The Hopedalo
Furnace Company, whose business is to manufacture and furnish to order iron
castings of all descriptions.

The Ilopcdale Machine Company occupies the most northerly of the water-
privileges, and has a principal shop two hundred and twenty feet in length by
sixty-six in width, and three stories in height. Its machinery is driven by a
motor force, derived from a LefTel turbine-wheel, and, when scarcity of water
requires it, by a steam-engine of fifty horse-power. The next privilege bolow
is occupied by the Dutcher Temple Company and its adjimcts with ample build-
ing's, water and steam power, and many ingenious contrivances (some of them
wonderfully constructed) to facilitate its operations. The foundry, with all its
appurtenances, stands closely adjacent on the west side of the canal, and the
ring-shop only a few feet south of the temple-shop. Nearly a mile further
south is another valuable privilege, with a capacious shop, chiefly devoted 1o
the elaboration of the famous Sawyer spindle, owned by Dca. A. A. Westcf)tt,
and managed in connection with the interests of George Draper cS;; Sons. The
dams, ponds, canals, anti-fire apparatus, offices, supplementary shops, out-
buildings and manifold conveniences up and down the river can bo appreciated
only by judicious observers.

A vast majority of the cotton-mills in the United States, and many woolen-
mills, have adopted these Ilopedalc improvements to a greater or less extent,

VOL. II.— 13

98 TOWN OF MILFORD.

and their proprietors are reaping therefrom a rich harvest of profits. Foremost
among them are the temple, Sawyer spindle and the adjustable spinning-rings
— three notable patents. The temples are in universal use in the United
States, Mexico, South America, and, to a considerable extent, in Europe.
Leading manufacturers have dcmDn^trated to their satisfaction that the spindle
yields an enormous saving in power, labor, cost, &c. The number of these
spindles already introduced and in use is over 1,200,000. The rings, too, have
proved a great success. The number of these furnished and in satisfactory use
exceeds 1,500,000. But the multitude of less conspicuous articles sent forth
from these Ilopedale laboratories are distributed far and wide over the countrjs
and roll up a formidable aggregate of mechanical production, usefulness and
wealth. In good times all these establishments together employ nearly three
hundred and fifty hands, meet a monthly pay-roll of $12,000, and make aggro-
gate sales to the amount of more than $500,000 per annum. The diflfcrent kinds
of machines and appliances manufactured here, with and without patent securi-
ties, must number at least one hundred.

In closing this sketch it seems proper to mention a few facts concerning the
ministrations of the printing-press to public intelligence in Milford and its
general vicinity. The first [)rintingofIice opened in town was started by
Ballou & Stacy in the winter of 1830-31, in William Godfrey's row of shops
and sheds on the west side of the Parish Common. On the 1st of January,
1831, a weekly religious paper was issued from that ofEce, entitled "The
Independent INIessenger." The office and paper were removed in the following
spring to Mendon. In 1843 the Hopedale Community opened their printiug-
oflice at Hopedale, which executed job work, and issued a semi-monthly paper
called "The Practical Christian." This was published till the year 1860, and
then discontinued. Since then the office has issued numerous smaller publica-
tions in pamphlet and tract form, and done more or less j;)b work. It is now
owned and operated in the village by Bryan J. Butts. In 184G George W.
Stacy estaldished his printing-office in the Centre, and, with his son, has had a
successful run of business ever since. Besides the usual variety of j )b work,
he has frequently issued pamphlets from his press, and public documents. He
has long kept a book and stationery store in connection with his oflice. " The
Milford Journal " was started in 1850 from a fresh printing establishment, and
is now about completing its 29th year. It has passed through the publishing
and editoiial management of several successive owners, steadily increasing in
power and influence down to the present time. Its present proprietors and
editors are J. I. C. Cook, W. II. Cook and George G. Cook — the latter two
sons of the first-named. The firm is styled Cook cS; Sons. They have an
ample, well-furnished printing-office, and execute a large amount of business.
There was at one time a short-lived competitor of the "Journal" establish-
ment, with an office and paper. Since then it has had no rival, and flourished
alone. It is published weekly at two dollars per annum.

TOWN HISTORY. 99

The town has been surveyed by authority several times since its incorpora-
tion, and plans duly recorded. The first published map was elaborated
by Newell Nelson in 1829, under the patronage of Pcarley Hunt, Esq., who had
some hundreds of copies lithographed. This was revised, improved and re-
published in 1843 by Isaac Davenport, Esq. One or two more recent maps
have been executed and laid before the public. Another more accurate one is
needed, and will prol)ably be forthcoming.

Five directories have been published for the convenience of the inhabitants.
The first v/as prepared and issued in 1856 by A. D. Sargeant ; the second by
C. C. Drew in 1869; the third by Greenough, Jones & Co. in 1872; the
fourth by the same company in 1875 ; and the fifth by Greenough & Co. in
1878.

The town initiated measures and commenced making appropriations, two or
three years ago, for the preparation of a suitable history, to be in readiness for
publication on or before its centenary in April, 1880. It confided the work to
the author of this sketch, which is a condensed abstract of its properly historic
contents. It w'ill contain a genealogical register, with numerous biographical
notices, not herein called for. It is in process of completion, and, if no un-
toward events intervene, will be ready for the press before next April. It will
probably be a volume of eight hundred pages, fair-sized octavo, with more or
less attractive illustrations. In hope that the foregoing will answer the reason-
able expectations of all parties at present interested, it is respectfully submitted
to the public.

100 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

MILLBURT

BY GEORGE A. STOCKWELL, A M.

CHAPTER I.

LOCATION AND TOPOGRAPHY INCORPORATION AND GROWTH — ECCLESIASTICAL

HISTORY.

In the fertile valley of the Bhickstonc, and on the adjacent hills, is the
thriving town of Millbury, distant from Worcester six miles, and from Boston
forty-five. Its northern boundary forms a part of the southern limit of
Worcester; Auburn and Oxford are neighbors on the west; Sutton, its parent,
lies on the south-east; and Grafton borders it on the east.

The natural scenery of Millbury is well diversified, and presents many pic-
turesque features. The surface is irregular and hilly, but not so marked in
this respect as that of adjoining towns. East and west, the land rises gradu-
ally from the banks of the Blackstone to eminences of considerable height. To
one looking from the highlands of Worcester, the town of Millbury appears to
lie in a cradle of hills, — to be shut in, east, west and south, by natural bul-
warks of protection, and further progress of the Blackstone seems impossible.

No town has a more abundant or better improved water-supply, and to this
is due the fact that Millbury, as a manufacturing village, has few equals in
the county. The well-known and much-used Blackstone rises in the south-
western part of the town, in what is called Ramshorn Pond, and flows northerly
through the territory of the adjoining town of Auburn into that of Worcester,
where it takes an easterly course, and, again turning, is joined by Mill Brook,
and flows southerly to the place of its birth, which it no sooner enters than it
begins to contend with various turbines, and becomes an all-sufficient motor.
On the western border of the town is Singlelary Pond, covering about six
hundred acres. The greater part of this is in Sutton, but its outlet, called
Singletary stream, flows south-easterly through Millbury, and, before joining
the Blackstone, furnishes power for several large mills. Dorothea Pond, in
the eastern part of the town, is a valuable and attractive sheet of water. On
the stream flowing from it, called Dorothea Pond Brook, which also joins the
Blackstone, various mechanical pursuits are in progress.

ORIGIN OF THE TOWN. 101

The commercial centre of Millbury is on the left bank of the Blackstone,
and is composed of Armory and Goodell villnges, formerly so called. The
streets are wide, and, for the greater part, regularly laid out and well shaded.
Here are all the church edifices save one, high school, bank, post-ofBce, stores,
manufactories of different kinds, railway stations, and many handsome resi-
dences. One mile west of the centre is Bramanville, named in honor of Dr.
Braman, an early settler, irregularly built on the rocks and in the steep places
along the course of Singlctary stream. The upper or western part was for-
merly called Singlctary Village, from John Singlctary, whose mill was the tirst
in this part of the town ; and the lower or eastern part Burbankville, for here
Gen. Caleb Burbank built, owned and operated a large paper-mill. The rise
and growth of this village are consequent upon the occupation of the different
water-privileges on the Singlctary. It contains twelve hundred inhabitants. The
house of worship of the First Congregational Society is in this part of the town ;
also large manufactories of cotton and woolen fabrics, stores and a public house.

Further west, on the highlands, is West Millbury, early named, and now
often called "Grass Hill," from the exceeding richness of the verdure. Before
the town was settled, owners of cattle, living in the vicinity of Boston, came to
this place early in the spring to burn over the cleared tracts, that there might
be an increased growth of grass for their herds driven thither later in the
season. There is a post-office here, and formerly the church-edifice of the
West Milllniry Congregational Society was in this village ; also, earlier, various
mechanical industries received the attention of the inhabitants, but, at the
jDreseut day, the leading pursuit is agricidture, to the prosecution of which the
lands hereabouts are well adapted. Park Hill in the eastern part of the town,
and Highland Hill to the south of it, are eligible and commanding sights, and
the dwellers thereon till the soil, and are rewarded by plentiful harvests.

The town of Millbury had its origin in the north parish of Sutton. In 1742,
the inhabitants living in the northern part of Sutton petitioned the General
Court, through Capt. Robert Goddard, Solomon Holman, and Jeremiah Buck-
man, to be erected into a separate precinct. • The committee appointed by the
General Court to visit Sutton and view the i:)remises, reported in favor of the
separation, and on Oct. 28, 1743, the report of the committee was concurred
in by the Court, and the northern part of Sutton was known as the North
Parish of that town. The first legal meeting of the inhabitants of this parish
was held at the house of Richard Singlctary, which stood near the outlet of
Crooked, now Singlctary Pond, on Dec. 26, 1743, of which meeting Capt.
Timothy Carter was moderator, and, of the parish, Robert Goddard was
chosen clerk. The subsequent meetings of the poi-ish were held at the house
of Singlctary until May 30, 1746, when the house of worship, erected on what
is now called the "Old Common," and which was designed to be the centre of
the town, was so near completion that meetings of the parish, both religious
and secular, could be held there.

102 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

On June 3, 1813, while the secoud war with Euglaud was iu progress, and
after much opposition and sectional strife, the North Parish of Sutton was
incorporated as the town of Millbury, and vested with all the powers, privi-
leges and immunities enjoyed by any town in the Commonwealth. The boun-
daries of the new town were coincident with those of the parish.

The call for the first town meeting was addressed to Aaron Pierce, justice of
the peace, and was endorsed by Caleb Burbank, Samuel Bixbee, Azor Phelps,
Jacob Chamberlain, Solomon Marble, Asa Waters, W. Jonathan Trask, Josiah
S. Prentice, Simeon Waters, and Stephen Blanchard. In pursuance of this
call, the inhabitants of Millbury assembled in town meeting for the first time,
on July 1, 1818, and elected the following officers : Moderator, Azor Phelps;
clerk, Aaron Pierce ; selectmen, Asa Goodell, Azor Phelps, Solomon INIarble,
Reuben Barton, Jr., James Greenwood ; treasurer, Samuel Waters ; assessors,
Aaron Pierce, Simeon Waters, Jonathan Grout ; collector and constable,
Alfred Hood ; surveyors of highways, Amasa Wood, Curtis Searls, Jonathan
Muzzy, Moses Brigham, Jonas Gale, Samuel Waters, Josiah S. Prentice,
Josiah Brown, Joel Wesson; tything-man, Jonathan Richardson.

At the time Millbury took its place among the municipalities of the
Commonwealth it contained about one hundred and sixty fiimilies, and a
population of less than five hundred. At what is now the centre of the town
there were, at its incorporation, only twelve or thirteen houses, seven or eight
on the east side of the Blackstone, along the County Road, now the Main
Street, and three or four on the west side, below or south of Singletary stream.
The only mills on the Blackstone in operation then were the Old Armory and
a grist-mill a few rods south of it. On Singletary stream there were manu-
factories of different kinds, of which an account will be given elsewhere.

During the ten years that followed incorporation the town changed very
little, either with respect to the number of inhabitants or commercial enter-
l^iise. In 1824 the prospect of better communication with the seaboard by
means of the Blackstone Canal caused the erection of new buildings and the
making of improvements. The canal was opened to the public in Millbury in
1828, and the first boat passed through on October 6 of that year. Although
much was expected of this new enterprise, little was realized, and the inhabi-
tants of the town of Millbury, and possibly those of other towns who were
financially interested in the canal scheme, had cause to wish that it had
remained dormant in the minds of those w4io projected it.

The era of growth and increase, however, had begun, and with or without
the aid of canals, the town of Millbury was destined to become what it has.
The activity begun in 1824 was continued until 1830, when it received new
impetus, and between that time and 1840, during which a branch of the Boston
and AVorcester Railroad was opened to the town, the greater number of the
mills now in operation, and some that are not, were built. Again, in 1846,
when the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company began operations,

CHURCH HISTOEY. 103

greater energy was infused into the spirit of improvement and enterprise, and
from that time to the present Millhiiry has gradually advanced until it has
become one of the larger manufacturing communities in Worcester County.

As the ecclesiastical history of Millbury began prior to the date of its incor-
poration as a town, and ns it was for several years thereafter connected with its
civil history, its place is hero.

On Dee. 13, 1744, twenty persons asked to bo dismissed from the mother
church iu Sutton. This was granted, but as these persons did not within the
year following form themselves into a distinct society, the Sutton church
called them to an account, fearing that they were walking disorderly, and
required them to renew their covenant. On Jan. 17, 1745, a meeting was
held "to seek earnestly to God for direction in calling and settling a Gospel
minister in the parish," and on March IG, 1747, a call was given James
Wellman. It was voted to i^ive him, "as an encourasfement to settie amonc:
ns, £500 in old tenor, as a settlement, and £250 of like tenor as a yearly
salary," The call and terms met the approval and acceptance of Mr. Wellman.
The complete organization of the church was not effected nntil Sept. 10, 1747,
when, as the records of the Sutton church show, fifty-seven persons were
dismissed to form the Second Church in Sutton, now the First Church in Mill-
bury. The new society adopted the Cambridge Platform for its confession
of faith, its covenant, and rules of church government. This platform
admitted ruling elders as a distinct class of church officers. This church,
however, was never Presbyterian. For many years it had its I'uling elders,
but has always adhered to the " pure and unmixed idea of a Congregational
church, that equality and disciplintuy power are inherent in its members."
Mr. Wellman, the first pastor, was ordained on Oct. 7, 1747, and remained
fourteen j'ears. At the conclusion of his farewell address " he dismissed ye
church with a blessing (not ye blessing whearwith Moses ye man of God
blessed the children of Israel) but something like it." Mr. Wellman was
considered as one well instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,
and as having adorned, not forfeited his ministerial character.

The second pastor of this church, Ebenezer Chaplin, was ordained on Nov.
14, 1764. On Feb. 4, 1768, it wns voted "to sing one of Dr. Watts' hymns
at ye communion, if it would not bo grievous to any of the bretheren." On
Feb. 28, 1779, a vote Avas piissed to the effect that all youth under the authority
of parents and masters of the congregation should be catechised four times a
year by the pastor.

The parish began to build its house of worship early in the year 1744, but it
was not completed for several years. This edifice stood upon the "old
common," called by some of the inhabitants "Mount Zion, whither the tribes
went up to worship." The old common is a mile and a half north-west of the
present business centre, and town affairs were transacted there until 183G.
This church building had neither belfry nor steeple, and, from its resemblance

104 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

to a barn, was called the "Lord's Barn." The erection of a second chnrch
edifice was begun in 1802. Its dimensions were fifty by tifty-two feet, and its
site was that of the former structure, which was moved a few rods and
converted into a public house. The new edifice was dedicated on Nov. 27,
1804. As early as 1832 it was proposed to remove the church to Bramanville,
where it now stands. This caused a division in the society, and the matter
was left to the decision of referees, who decided that all would be benefited by
its removal, but that "only those who favored the change should pay the expence."
Accordingly, in the fall of 1835 the structure was demolished and rebuilt,
and re-dedicated on Jan. 14, 1836. In 18GG the edifice was remodeled as to its
interior, and dedicated again on March 11, 18C6. Pastors: James Wellman,
ordained on Oct. 7, 1747, dismissed on July 22, 17G0; Ebenezer Chaplin,
ordained on Nov. 14, 1764, dismissed on INIarch 22, 1792; Joseph Goffe,
ordained on Sept. 10, 17'J4, dismissed on Dec. 9, 1830; Osgood Herrick,
ordained on Dec. 9, 1830, died on March 16, 1837 ; Nathaniel Beach, ordained
on Nov. 22, 1837, dismissed on May 11, 1857 ; Edmund Y. Garrette, installed
on Sept. 30, 1857, dismissed on Nov. 3, 1869. George A. Putnam, the
present pastor, began his service on April 11, 1872.

The Second Congregational Church, an offspring of the first church, was
organized on Aug. 23, 1827, as the "First Presbyterian Church in Millbury."
At a church meeting held on July 5, 1827, a petition, signed by forty
members of the mother church, was presented, asking to be dismissed
for the purpose of forming a Presbyterian church in that part of the town
known as Armory Village — the present centre. The petition was granted
and the church formed. The Presbyterian polity was chosen to avoid
the supposed difficulty of calling a council which would recommend the
instituting of another Congregational church in the town. Seven years after,
in 1834, this society changed its polity and name, and has since been known as
the Second Congregational Church in Millbury. The house of worship was
built in 1828. In 1862 a parsonage was secured, and occupied in September of
the same year. Pastors: George W. Campbell, installed on Jan. 13, 1830,
dismissed in 1833 ; AVilliam A. Larned, afterwards professor in Yale College,
ordained on May 7, 1834, dismissed on Oct. 19, 1835 ; Samuel G. Buck-
ingham, D. D., ordained on May 24, 1837, dismissed on May 3, 1847;
Leverett Griggs, D.D., installed on Sept. 22, 1847, dismissed on Jan. 9,
1856 ; Lewis Jessup, installed on April 24, 1856, dismissed on March 29,
1860; Charles II. Peircc, installed on Oct. 22, 1862, died on Oct. 5, 1865;
Stacy Fowler, installed on Dec. 6, 1866, dismissed in February, 1878; J. L.
Ewell, the present pastor, was installed on April 16, 1878.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Milll)ury had its origin in 1822, when
the first class was formed by William Archer, a local preacher from England,
■who dwelt here. This class w\as connected with the Northbridge and Milford
circuit, and, although not permanent, was served and nourished by the clergy-

RECENT SOCIETIES. 105

men M'ho traveled on Ibis circuit. In March, 1833, a parish organization was
cfFectcel, and in 1840 the present house of worship was erected. Pastois :
I^.Ierritt P. Alderman, 1833; Thomas W. Tucker, 183G ; "Wareham L. Camp-
bell, 1837 ; William P. "White, 18-10; Lorenzo R. Thayer, 1841 ; John Roper,
1842 ; E. W. Jackson, 1843 ; Phincas Crandall, 1844 ; John F. Pettce, 1845 ;
George W. Bates, 1847 ; Charles W. Ainsworth, 1848 ; William A. Braman,
1850; Willard Smith, 1852; John Rickets, 1854; Ichabod Marcy, 1855; B.
F. Green, M.D., 1857; Joseph Scott, 1859; Solomon Chapin, 18G1 ; Daniel
Atkins, 18G2; N. 11. jNIartin, 1861; Edwin S. Snow, 18G6 ; T. B. Treadwell,
1869; S. A. Fuller, 1870; W. R. Tisdale, 1871; William A. Pentecost, A.
O. Hamilton, W. A. Hatch. The present pastor is F. T. George.
• The Baptist Church in Millbury was formed on Dec. 16, 1836, at the house
of Abijah Gleason in West Millbury. For a year or more services were held
"from house to house," and subsequently in the house of the West Millbury
Congregational Societ3^ In 1841 the Baptists removed to Armory Village,
and fjr nearly twenty-live years occupied the Academy building. A house of
worship was erected in 1864, and dedicated on March 22, 1865. Pastors:
Ilcrvey Fitts, 1841 to 1843; James Upham, 1843 to 1845; S. J. Bronson,
1846 to 1853 ; C. T. Tucker, 1854 to 1857 ; S. A. Thomas, 1858 to 1861 ; C.
F. Nicholson, 1862 to 1864; Jonathan E. Brown, 1864 to 1868; C. A.
Skinner, 1869 to 1870; S. J. Bronson, 1870 to 1874; G. B. Gow, 1874 to
the present time.

The Coni:^rco;ational Church in West Millbury was oriijanized on Mav 23,
1837. Some of the inhabitants, members of the First Church, living in the
western part of the town, "displeased with the pulling down of the house of
God, that had been consecrated to the service of the Redeemer's kingdom,
thus rendering desolate the sacred spot where their fathers had worshipped,"
withdrew from the parent church, and, b}' a council called for the purpose,
organized the West JNIillbury Congregational Society. Twenty-nine members
were received from the older church, and sixteen on profession of faith. This
church was under the ministerial care of Caleb B. Elliot for two years after
organization, and on July 8, 1840, Sidney Ilolman, the first and last settled
pastor, was installed, and remained till June 11, 1851. This society disbanded
on Dec. 28, 1857.

A Catholic church was erected in Millbury in 1850. Prior to that, services
were held in the town hall. James Fitton of Worcester was the first minister,
and was succeeded by Matthew Gibson, A. L'Evequo, E. J. Sheridan, and
.7. J. Power. In 1869, this mission was made a separate parish, and M. J.
Doherty, the present head, placed in charge.

VOL. II.— 14

106 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

CHAPTER II.

EARLY MANUFACTURES AND PRESENT INDUSTRIES — IMPROVEMENT OF PRIVI-
LEGES ON THE BLACKSTONE AND SINGLETARY.

The town of Millbiiry, as its name signifies, is a borough of mills. At its
incorporation, some of the privileges on the Blackstoiie and Singletary were
improved ; but the founders of the town must have foreseen that the name
would be nxn'e appropriate later in its history.

Horace Waters, the oldest manufacturer now living in Millbury, was born
Aug. 28, 1799. Remaiuing at home during his minority, he assisted his father,
Samuel Waters, in building the oldest factory now standing in town, save one,
known as the Cordis Mills.* In 1831, he became connected with the firm of
Waters & Goodell in the manufacture of broadcloths. This firm was among
the first to make broadcloths, and produced some of the finest goods made in
the country under difliculties which are now happily unknown. Long journeys
were necessary in order to purchase wool from sections where as yet the whis-
tle of the locomotive or the click of the telegraph had never been heard, and
where the only means of transportation was by horses and oxen. In those
days, the dyer was obliged to cut his own woods, and the mechanic had not
only to build his own machinery, but, like the Yankee boy, "make the machine
which makes it." Hostile legislation in the year 1842 checked the production
of this class of goods in this country, which has never been revived to any
extent. In 1849, the firm of Waters & Goodell was dissolved, and in 1856
Mr. Waters became associated with the late Hon. Ilosea Crane, forming the
firm of Crane & Waters, of which he is now the senior partner. In this con-
nection, he has had a successful business career of twenty-three years in the
manufacture of knit-goods in the same mill formerly occupied by Waters &
Goodell, in which place he has now been in active business nearly a half cen-
tury, with little interruption. At different times during this long life, he has
been directly or indirectly connected with many of the other mills in town,
and has held many places of trust and responsibility, having well earned the
respect and esteem in which he is held by his fellow-townsmen and business
acquaintance.

The first mill in what is now the territory of Millburj^ was built on Single-
tary stream, near the outlet of Crooked Pond, now called Singletary Pond, on
the site of the Wheeler Cotton Mills, by John Singletary, about the year
1720, who bought the land of Ebenczer Daggett, to whom it was given on con-
dition that he should "keep a grist-mill for the use of the town." A saw-mill
was added, and the two were in operation many years after the Revolution.

* The armory building of Asa Waters, now usefl as a woolen factory, was built in 1808, some
ten or twelve years before the Cordis Mill, referred to.

IMILLS AND FACTORIES. 107

On the site of these mills was erected a woolen-factory operated by the Sin-
gletary Mannfacturing Company, and afterwards by Frank and Henry Tenney
and Dea. Mills. They were succeeded by Randall & Ilolman, they by
Jenks & Farnum, and they by Farnum & Wheeler. J. D. Wheeler then
became sole owner, and in 1867 the present company was incorporated as the
" Wheeler Cotton Mills." Four thousand spindles and sixty operatives are
employed, and ninety-five thousand yards of sheeting a month are produced.

In this village, formerly called Singletary Village, was a scythe-shop owned
by Samuel Marble, who operated a similar manufactory on the site of the
present Brierly Mills. Afterwards, a woolen and cotton mill was built and
operated by Woodard & Gorton. They were succeeded by Jonathan A. Pope,
and he was followed by James Brierly & Co. Mr. Pope was again in
possession, and after him came Emerson & Brierly. Crane & Waters are the
present owners, but not operators. Yarn is now made in this mill, and one
hundred and fifty thousand pounds per month are produced. Below, on the
same stream, — the Singletary, — is a woolen-mill owned and operated by M. A.
Lapham of Worcester. This mill occupies the site of the paper-mill of Abijah
Burbauk, which was in operation in 1777. Its erection was suggested by the
following resolution passed in convention of the committees of correspondence
and delegates from the towns in Worcester County : —

" Resolved, That the erection of a paper-mill in this county would be of great public
advantage, and, if any person or persons will undertake the erection of such a mill and
the manufacture of paper, that it be recommended to the people of the county to
encourage the undertaking b}' generous contributions and subscriptions."

This convention was held on Aug. 9, 1774, and adjourned from time to time,
holding it last meeting on May 31, 1775.

This was the first paper-mill in the county, and the fourth or fifth in Massa-
chusetts. Its capacity was thirty reams a week, and the mill was the main
dependence of printing-ofHces in Worcester County, particularly that of
Isaiah Thomas in Worcester. Abijah Burbauk was succeeded by his son,
afierwards called Gen. Caleb Burbank, who improved the property and
increased the production of the mill. At one time, Gen. Burbank was one of
the more influential as well as one of the wealthier manufacturers in Worcester
County. He published the various kinds of school-books then in use, Watts's
and other hymn and tune books. The old paper-mill was in operation until
1864, when the property was sold to the present owner by F. H. Richmond, and
new buildings erected, which were burned in 1876, and immediately rebuilt.

A short distance below the Lapham Mill is what is known as the Emerson
Mill, built by Braman & Benedict. On the site of this mill was formerly a
clothier's f.ictory, where cloth made by hand was dressed, operated by Simeon
W^aters. Jonathan A. Pope was at one time interested in the present mill.
After Pope came Smith & Pratt, and they were followed by Emerson &
Brierly, the Braman Cotton Mill Company, and by the present owners, J. M.

108 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

Mason & Co. of Providence, R. I. This mill has not been in operation for
several years.

Below the Emerson mill was formerly a linseed oil factory in active operation
several years ago. Below the site of this is the large and handsome mill-
structure of Nelson Walling. A machine-shop built and operated by John
Leland in 183G occupied the site of this mill. The property came into the
possession of the Oxford Bank in 1850, and in 1854 the present owner pur-
chased it. Enlargement and improvement have made this the best and largest
mill on the Singletary stream. It contains seven sets of forty-eight inch
cards ; one hundred and filteen operatives are employed, and the annual prod-
uct of fancy cassimeres amounts to three hundred and twenty thousand
yards.

Below the Walling manufactory is the hosiery-mill of Crane & Waters.
The dam and a small mill on this site were built by the Longley Brothers in
1825, who, however, did not complete the work. Waters & Goodell were
owners in 1831. In 1844, Horace Waters was added to the firm, and in 1849
Hosea Crane, and the firm-name is now Crane & Waters. Ten sets of cards are
in use in this mill, one hundred and fifty workmen are employed, and goods
valued at two hundred and fifty thousand dollars are produced annually. The
mill has been much enlarged and improved.

Next below the last-nani'^'d privilege is the Rhodes Mill, owned and operated
by John Rhodes. This mill was built in 1828 by Samuel Waters, who, with
others, supplied it with cotton machinery and made thread. Afterwards
Jonathan A. Pope occupied it for a manufactory of print goods. A. J. Hovey
was the next operator ; and between 1845 and 1850, Rhodes & Merry were
proprietors. Two thousand three hundred spindles are in use, thirty opera-
tives are employed, and seventeen thousand pounds of cotton warp are pro-
duced monthly. ■ The foregoing comprise all the privileges occupied on the
Singletary stream. The old powder-mill and the gun factories, formerly on
the Smglctary, and the armory on the Blackstonc will be noticed elsewhere.

The first mill-site on the Blackstone, in Millbary, is that of the Burling
Mills, situated in the northern part of the town on the old Blackstone Canal.
At the abandonment of the canal scheme, Asa Waters secured the privilege
and built the dam. Michael Cougan built a part of the present mill in 1850,
and for a short time was operator. II. II. Chamberliu was associated with
Cougan and afterwards the firm-name was Chamberliu & Co. The property
is now owned and operated by W. II. Harrington of Worcester. Previous to
18G4 the mill contained four sets of machinery. Eight sets are now in opera-
timi, one hundred and fifty operatives are employed, and eighteen thousand
yards of French beaver-cloth produced monthly.

South of the Burling Mills on the Blackstone are the sash and blind works of
C. D. Morse. This privilege was founded by Asa Waters and has furnished
jiower for various manufactories. The present owner and operator, C. D.

MANUFACTURES. 109

Morse, employs forty-five workmen, aud the product amounts to one hundred
thousand dollars annually.

Just below the confluence of the Singletary and Blackstone, near the centre
of the town, on the site of the armory building, are the Atlanta Mills, owned
and operated by William 11. Harrington & Co. Four sets of machinery are in
use, fifty operatives are employed, and the product is fifteen thousand yards of
woolen cloth per month. Immediately below the Atlanta Mills are the Millbury
cotton-mills, owned and operated by Benjamin Fhigg. This mill was built in
1847, by Asa H. Waters & Co., and occupies the site of a grist-mill erected in
about the year 1800. The present owner came into possession in 18G7. The
operatives in this mill number one hundred and twenty-five ; thirty thousand
yards of print cloths made per week.

Further down on the Blackstone is the Cordis Mill. The dam and canals
were built by Asa Waters, who, in 1821, by deed, dated Nov. 26, conveyed the
privilege to Asa, Orra and John Goodell. Near the present mill on the site of
the dye-house was, previous to 1820, a rolling-mill, in which nails without
heads were made.

The Goodells were known as the GoodoU Manufacturing Company, and with
the assistance of Brown & Tileston, erected a part of the p^jcscnt mill and
made broadcloth. They were succeeded by the Brown Manufacturiu": Com-
pany. The Cordis Company was in possession till 1864, when John S. Wright,
John II. Wright and Eben Wright became owners. In Jtdy, 1875, the present
company was incorporated under the name of the " Cordis Mills." This mill
is a fine brick structure and the largest in Millbury. It contains six thousnnd
five hundred spindles ; one hundred and thirty-five operatives ate employed,
and one hundred and thirty thousand yards of ticking are produced per
month.

The next and last privilege on the Blackstone in Millbury is occupied by
Peter Simpson's satinet-mill. This was built, 1830, by Shepard & Ridge way.
Park & Wright were owners at one time ; as were also, later. Wood & R:iy, and
^lerriam & Simpson. Forty-five hundred yards are made a month, and seven-
ty five operatives are employed.

On the stream from Dorothea Pond, is the edge-tool manufactory of Buck
Brothers. This industry was established in the city of Worcester in 1853,
and removed to Millbury in 1864. In 1868, the present factory building, —
the finest structure in town, — was erected. The company make chisels and
various other edge-tools, and have won a world wide reputation. Fifty work-
men are employed, and the annual product of this industry is valued at one
hundred and twenty thousand dollars.

Other industries, less in extent, occupy the attention of many of the inhabi-
tants. There is a smelting furnace, a carriage manufactory, one of boxes and
one of whips. Some of the earlier settlers have continued to the present time,
the business begun soon after the incorporation of the town. Nathaniel God-

110 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

dard l)e2:an the manufacture of boots and shoes in 1819, has since been en2:ao:ed
in some branch of that industry, and with his son, Ira N. Goddard, still con-
tinues the business at or near the place where it was begun sixty years ago.

In 1837 the total products of the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods,
guns, scythes, paper, boots and shoes, and other articles were valued at half a
million dollars. In 1870 the value of the town's production was two and a half
million dollars, exclusive of agriculture. Including the products of the latter,
the total in 1875 was valued at about two million dollars.

CHAPTER III.

MANUFACTURE OF SMALL-ARMS — THOMAS BLANCHARD — EDUCATIOXAL INTER-
ESTS CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS LIBRARY AND TOWN HALL THE WAR OF

THE REBELLION BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

The manufacture of small-arms, such as muskets, rifles and pistols, was for
many years a prominent and leading interest in Millbury. It was begun long
before the national armories were projected, and some years even before
Samuel Slater had started in this same valley of the Blackstone his famous
cotton-spinning frame.

On the breaking out of the Revolutionary war, guns were at once of prime
necessity. They could not be imported, and mechanics, especially gun-makers,
were scarce. Among the first settlers of this town was a large family by the
name of Waters, whose progenitor, Richard Waters, was by profession a gun-
maker when he emigrated from England to Salem in 1632. Gun-making
became hereditary in the family line. Two of his descendants in this town,
Asa and Andrus, brothers, inherited the mechanical genius or skill requisite in
this business. Guns were wrought out in that day, even in England, mostly
if not wholly by hand power ; a very laborious and expensive process. These
brothers conceived the idea of bringing water-power to their aid, and built a
gun-ftictory on the Singletary, upon a site next below the present mill of
Crane & Waters. This is believed to be the first instance on record where
water-power was brought to the aid of hand-power in the manufacture of guns.
It is certainly true that gun-barrels were then welded in England entirely by
hand, and so continued to be until the next generation of this family, when
Asa Waters, 2d, invented a process of welding them under trip-hammers by
motive-power.

These brothers discovered thus early — what is true to-day — that the best
iron for gun-barrels lay in the mines of Salisbury, Conn. They bought it
there in pigs ; had it carted through the forests to a forge in Douglas, where it
was converted into refined iron, and thence was carted to their factory in North

AEMORY ENTERPRISES. Ill

Sutton (now Millbury), Avhere it was wrought into the various parts of the
s^un. It is a tradition that this factory received the patronage and aid of the
State. It is certainly known that the State erected a Uirge powder-mill
on the site next above — which was the one referred to in the folio winf'
resolve : —

"Massachusetts Council, Oct. 18, 1776. — Resolved, That the further sum of
two hundred pounds be paid out of the treasury of the State to carry on the building
of the powder-mill at Sutton."

This mill was run by water-power, and was put in charge of Asa Waters, who
was often heard to say that there was hardly a barn in Worcester County under
"which he had not bent his back to scrape up saltpetre.

After the war was over, the factory was converted into a scythe-shop, and the
powder-mill sold at auction.

In 1808 Congress having established two public armories for the nation, one
at Springfield and one at Harper's Ferry, proceeded to establish six "private
armories to furnish arms to the separate States."

They enacted a standing law requiring the annual payment from the United
States Treasury of $200,000 for this purpose. The war department selected
six of the most distinguished mechanics for this business, as follows : Asa
Waters of Sutton (now Millbury), Lemuel Pomroy of Pittsiield, North &
Starr of Middletown, Conn., Eli Whitney of New Haven, and Derringer of
Philadelphia, Pa., and issued to them contracts for a term of years, and
renewed them from time to time.

In that same year of 1808, Asa Waters, 2d, and Elijah, his brother, built
upon the Blackstone, it being the first privilege below the mouth of the Single-
tary, and having greater power, the armory building, which still remains there,
and gave to the village its name. It was in active operation during the war
with England in 1812, and its business largely increased by the manufacture of
scythes, saw-mill saws, bar-iron, cast-steel, and various articles which could not
be imported.

Deacon Elijah Waters died in 1814, much lamented. He left a large family
of children, among whom was the ingenious inventor and eminent expert in
patent cases, Hervey Waters of Boston.

Asa Waters continued to prosecute the business until his death in 1841, when
he left an unexpired contract of four years to run.

The war department was liberal in its contracts to him in consideration of
the various improvements he introduced, among which was a process for weld-
ing the gun-barrel by motive-power instead of hand-power, doing the work
much quicker, cheaper and better. It was adopted in all the armories in this
country, and by many in Europe, and has been in continued use since. His
patent is dated Oct. 25, 1817, and his claim to originality was never disputed.
Its worth to the country has jDrobably been far greater than the whole amount
paid him on his contracts.

112 TOWN OF MTLLRURY.

The English method of grinding down the barrels before a revolving stone
was found to leave the metal of unequal thickness around the calibre, and this
made them liable to explode. Various inventions were made by the contractors
to turn them in a lathe. INIr. Waters invented one (patented Dec. 19, 1818)
ill which he succeeded so far as the barrel was round, but to turn the irregular
shape of the butt, baffled all his efforts, and the eflbrts of the most ingenious
mechanics in all the armories as well.

At length, in sheer desperation, having heard of a young man living in a
border favmino--district who had exhibited some genius for mechanics, he sent
for him to come to his armory. When he came he seemed a stranger to all
present, appeared diffident, had a stammering tongue, and little was expected
of him. Glancing his eye over the machine, and learning what was wanted, he
very soon suggested an additional, very simple, but wholly original cam
motion, which relieved the difficulty at once, and proved a perfect success. It
was adopted at once in all the armories, has been in use ever since, and, as it
saves fully a half dollar on every gun, some estimate may be formed of its value
to the country. This verdant youth, then called " Stammering Thom," was
none other than the now-reijowed Thomas Blanchard, whose inventive genius
has rarely been surpassed in this or any other age. It was then and there, as
he afterwards said, that the idea of his world-renowned machine for turning
irregular forms, such as gun-stocks, shoedasts, spokes, tackle-blocks, ox-yokcs,
&c., ad i)ifinitum, first flashed through his mind. The germ of the latter lay
in the former, and both had their birth in the armory of Mr. Waters, and,
though he made no claims whatever to either invention, he might justly claim
that he was the cause or occasion of their being brought out.

The private armories having been publicly and repeatedly recognized by the
secretaries of war from John C. Calhoun down, as a part of the United States
force for the supply of arms, the owners regarded them as permanent estab-
lishments, and invested largely in tools and machinery, which for any other pur-
pose would be nearly worthless. In 1845, when the contracts of Asa Waters
and others expired, the whole system was broken up, without notice or warn-
in"', and the business broua:ht to a sudden and final termination. No poor
tenant could be ejected for non-payment of rent with so little ceremony. Not
only the contractors suffered severely, but their workmen, who had become
experts on certain parts, knew no other trade, and had settled down in com-
fortable homes around the armories. This was a leading interest in jMillbury,
and its destruction was a severe blow to the prosperity of the town. That the
contractors had no undue advantage over other mechanic pursuits, will be
obvious from the fact that the prices paid them were limited to the actual cost
of makinir similar arms at the national armories. The reasons given Avore that
the mechanics in those armories, being paid by the day, bad no motive to invent
.labor-saving machinery, while the contractors would be compelled to make
them to secure their profits.

EDUCATION". 113

Necessity is the mother of invention, and the wisdom of this policy was
abundantly proved by experience. While very few inventions of much import-
ance were ever made at the national armories, the private armories were
wonderfully prolific in them. A few have been alluded to. Of the great
multitude made, space will allow the mention of only one more, the millinii;-
machine. This machine, with cast-steel cutters fitted for plain or any irregular
surfaces required, has nearly superseded the old-fashioned and expensive
process of hand-filing. It was first brought into notice in the private armories
at Middletown. Now it is to be found in all our machine-shops, and hand-
filing, as a trade, formerly so common, has become nearly obsolete.

The cause or motive for the discontinuance of these armories was for a Ion"'
time unknown, although the direct agent in the affair was known to be Gen.
George Talcott of the Ordnance Department. Some years after, this officer was
arraigned before a court-martial for some malfeasance in no ways connected
with these armories. In the trial evidence was brousfht out that he was the
owner of a large iron foundry in Richmond, Va., devoted to making cannon-
balls for the United States ; that it was in charge of his nephew, to whom con-
tracts were issued from time to time upon most favorable terms; that Talcott
had become very rich, and was living in the style of an Eastern nabob. The
mystery of the discontinuance of the private armories was now revealed. The
moneys intended for their support had found their outlet chiefly through this
channel. Gen. "Winfield Scott was judge-advocate, and, with his high sense of
honor, was greatly shocked that a government official, so high in position, and
a graduate of West Point, should be guilty of such cori'upt embezzlement.
His sentence was accordingly severe ; viz., that said George Talcott should be
removed from the office of Chief of Ordnance, be deprived of his commission
of brigadier-ueneral, and his name erased from the roll of army officers.

The surviving contractors had thus the satisfaction of seeing the author of
their great wrongs brought to condign punishment, but not of having their
business reinstated. The system had been broken up, and most of the armories
converted to other pursuits.*

Improvements and organizations of various kinds upon which the welfare of
a people depends, have been made and formed to keep pace with the commercial
growth. The first school was established near the Cordis Mills. This was
divided, and a school opened on the Worcester Road, and another on the
Boston Road. Not long after there was a school on Park Hill, and subse-
quently -^ii^v-.near the centre of the town, on the east side of the Blackstone.
In 1832- tue Academy Building, so called, was built north of the centre of
Armory Village, on land given for the purpose by Asa Waters, on condition
that the site should always be occupied by buildings devoted to educational
purposes. The academy was established by a stock company, and designed

* For the history thus far given in this chapter the author acknowledges the kindness of Col.
Asa H. Waters.

VOL. II.— 15

114 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

for Ji "ladies' acadcaiy." Both sexes, however, were afterwards admitted,
but a very high success was never, perhaps, attained, and in 1851 the property
was purchased by the town, and a high school established, which has been in
successful operation since. The public schools of Millbury now consist of one
high school at the centre, and sixteen common schools in different parts of the
town, under the care of a committee of six members. The common schools
are divided into graded and mixed schools. There are mixed schools in the
Haywood district, at the Burling INIills and on the old common ; graded schools
are in Bramanville, and at the Centre or Armory Village, divided into a sub-
primary, primary, intermediate and grammar schools ; on Providence Street,
in the eastern part of the town, are sub-primar}', primary and intermediate;
and in West IMillbury intermediate and grammar schools. The course of study
in the high school requires four years, and is divided into English and classical.
The latter is intended to prepare pupils for college. The high school gives
diplomas. The appropriation for schools in 1879 was $7,000, and the school
jiroperty is valued at $30,000. The schools are provided with apparatus for
the use of those pursuing philosophical and scientific studies.

The Millbury Free Public Library was established in 18G4. The board of
trustees consists of three members, chosen to serve three years, together with
the chairman of the school committee and the principal of the high school.
The library is composed of books belonging to an agricultural society long
since disbanded, and of those given by the Social Friends, an organization
connected with the academy. In 1864 this society offered its library of about
six hundred volumes to the town "for the purpose of founding a free public
library, on condition that the town will accept it, and make suitable provision
for its care and increase." The offer w^as accepted, and in 1865 the town took
charge of the library and made appropriations for its support. The dog-fund
has been annually voted to maintain it. The library has three thousand two hun-
dred volumes. In 1872 Deacon Leonard Dwinell bequeathed the library $100.

Until 1836 town meetings were held on the old common ; after that time,
till 1851, at Bramanville. AVhcn the town bought the academy, meetings were
held in it until 1879. In 1873 the town began the erection of a new town
hall, the cost of which, including lot, was $32,500. It stands at the inter-
section of South Main with Elm Street, in the heart of Aimory Village. The
material is brick, with sandstone trimmings. A h;dl in the upper stoiy has a
seating capacity of one thousand. The building contains, also, ofEces for
town officials, a reading-room and the public library.

The "Olive Branch" Lod2:e of Masons of Millburv was orsr.inized on May 1,
1797, by Masons living in Sutton and Oxford, and the meetings were held in
these towns alternately. The charter was granted on Sept. 14, 1797, and
bears the names of Paul Revere, grand master, and Isaiah Thomas, senior
grand warden. In 1816 the home of this lodge was in Sutton, where it
remained till 1860, when it was removed to Millbury. This lodge is the

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS. 115

parent of similar organizations in Oxford, Webster and Grafton. Its members
number about one hundred.

Blackstone Lodge, No. 18, of the Independent Order of Good Templars, was
organized in Millbury on March 18, 1864, with a membership of thirteen.
The total number of members is four hundred and more, and its number in
1879 was about one hundred and fifty.

The Millbury Guards, a company of the tenth regiment, State militia, is
composed entirely of citizens of the town.

It is claimed that the first lyceum, the parent of the present system,
originated in JNlillbury.* It was composed of residents of the town, who
lectured belbrc their townsmen on philosophical and scientific subjects. The
exact date of the formation of this society is not known, ])ut it is believed to be
about 1820. It is also true that John B. Gough's lecture sj'stem had its origin
here, for his first lecture was delivered in Millbury. And it is also claimed
that the first temperance society was formed in Millbury. According to tradi-
tion and the oldest inhabitant, a society was organized many years ago for the
promotion of temperance ; total abstinence was then unknown. The members
of this society met on Saturday evenings to render an account of their drinking
during the week: If a member had been intemperate ho was put upon an
allowance for the week to come. At one meeting a member declared that he
had abstained from the use of liquors since the last meeting, and, moreover,
should not drink again. His veracity was questioned in regard to the past,
and he Avas considered insane with respect to the future ; for it was then
thought impossible for any one to exist, much less thrive, without his thrice-daily
dram. Notwithstanding, or possibly in consequence of the strict watch kept
of the movements of this total abstainer, his declaration was made good until
his death.

The Millbury National Bank was founded by Asa Waters, and incorporated
as a State bank of discount and deposit in 1825, with a capital of one hundred
thousand dollars. The chanire from State to national bank was made in 18G1.
The present capital is two hundred thousand dollars. The first board of
directors consisted of Asa Waters, Simon Farnsworth, Caleb Burbank, William
M. Benedict and Elijah Waters of IMiilbury, Jonas L. Sibley of Sutton, Samuel
Wood of Grafton, Sylvanus Tlolbrook of Northbridgc and Au-tin Denny of
Worcester. The following have been presidents and cashiers in the order
given: — Presidents: Asa Waters, Simon Farnsworth, Asa II. Waters, Simon
Farnsworth, Jonathan Warren, Ilosea Crane. Cashiers : Lewis Mills, William
Whittlesey, R. B. Chapman, Jonathan Cary, John Prentice, Joseph S Farnum,

* Many towns and cities now claim this lionor. Millbury has to support her claim, a public
statement of Rev. I. Holbrook, who devoted many years to giving lectures upou astronomy before
the lycenms throughout the country, and whose labors in this field are still remembered with
gratitude by many. In his last course ho said ho had made it a matter of special inquiry in hia
travels to find out where the first lyceum originated, aud he had become convinced it was in Mill-
bury, and about the year 1820.

116 TOWN OF MILLBURY.

David Atwood, F. C. Miles, Amos Armsby. This bank was robbed, in 1842,
of twenty-two thousand dollars, but the money was found and the robbers
punished.

The Millbury Savings Bank was incorporated in 1854, through the influence
of David Atwood, who has been treasurer from that time until the present,
with the exception of two months, when Frank C. Miles held the office. The
following have been presidents : — Jonathan A. Pope, Clough R. Miles, Thomas
J. Harrinijton, Horace Arms I) v, William R. Hill.

A post-office was established in Armory Village about 1818, and Simon
Farnsworth appointed postmaster. Other postmasters were appointed in this
order: — »Tonathan Grout, Asa H. Waters, Daniel J. Paul, Simon Dudley,
William Fenner, T. W. Childs, Simon Farnsworth, Jr., and Roland E.
Bo wen.

During the war of Rebellion the town of Millbury put three hundred and
forty-six men in the field, twenty-six over and above all demands; raised for
war purposes, thirty-five thousand nine hundred and thirty dollars and seventy-
four cents ; and paid State aid to the amount of nineteen thousand six hundred
and seventy-six dollars and fift3'-six cents.

On May 7, 1861, at the first meeting held to consider war measures, a com-
mittee of seven was appointed "to furnish such persons as shall enlist in the
military service in that town with anything which in the opinion of the com-
mittee may be necessary for their comfort, with power to draw money from
the treasury." In September the town voted to raise two thousand five hun-
dred dollars to defray expenses already incurred in recruiting volunteers, and
to aid those who enlisted thereafter. The selectmen were directed to continue
supplying the families of volunteers at their discretion.

On March 17, 1862, it was voted to appropriate two thousand five hundred
dollars to aid families of volunteers; on July 17, a bounty of one hundred
dollars to each volunteer who should enlist, be mustered into the service, and
be accredited to the town's quota; also voted to pay one hundred dollars in
addition to that already voted to those men who should enlist between August
13th and 15th, inclusive, to fill the quota of the town in the first call
of the President for three hundred thousand men ; also voted to give a bounty
of one hundred and fifty dollars to each volunteer for nine months, to bo paid
when mustered into the service of the United States ; also the treasurer was
authorized to borrow money.

In March, 1863, the town treasurer was authorized to borrow money to pay
aid to families of volunteers, and the selectmen were directed to assist such
families, "as they shall think best for the treasury of the town." During this
year many meetings were held to encourage enlistments, and money was raised
by subscription to pay bounties.

On March 30, 1864, the town voted to raise four thousand four hundred dol-
lars to refund money advanced by citizens to pay bounties ; also voted to give a

STATISTICS. 117

bounty of one hundred and twenty- five dollars to each volunteer who should
eulist and be accredited to the quota of the town. On June 22, the sauie
bounty was offered. In 18G5, the town again voted to raise money to reim-
burse those who had assisted in paying bounties.

The following lost their lives in the service of the United States : — Henry
Bartou, Charles Burr, James J. Colby, Patrick Doherty, William W. Dane,
Lewis Dover, Reuben Dyson, John S. Emerson, George W.Emerson, Edward
K. Harrington, Elisha S. Liverniore, Andrew J. La vert}^ Jeremiah INIoynihan,
Edward IE Moore, Mitchel W. Paul, George G. Phillips, Daniel G. Pitts,
George 11. Powers, Lucius Parodis, Francis C. Pope, George A. Ryan, Rufus
H. Stone, James S. Slocomb, William II. Smith, Franklin Varney, Edwin D.
Waters, Robert Wilson, Truman B. Waters, Nelson Sabin, John B. Dunn,
Edward C. Glcason, Robert Kelley.

In 1853, Asa II. Waters was a delegate to the Constitutional Convention.

Calvin Willard, Ilosea Crane and Ilcnry L. Bancroft have been members of
the State Senate.

The first representative to the General Court from Millbury was Asa Good-
ell, elected May 2, 1814, and again in the following year. He was followed by
Amasa Braman in 181G ; Caleb Burbank, 1819; Asa Waters, 1823-4; Elias
Forbes, 1827-8 ; Aaron Pierce and Amasa Hall, 1829 ; Elias Forbes and
Simeon Waters, 1830; Simeon Waters and Asa Waters, 1831 ; William Bene-
dict and Elijah Waters, 1832 ; Amasa Wood and Ilcnry iNlills, 1833 ; Amasa
Wood and Joseph Griggs, 1834 ; Joseph Griggs and Lyman Goodcll 1835 ;
Lyman Goodcll and Aaron Trask, 183G ; Aaron Trask and Job Gorton, 1837 ;
Job Gorton and Charles Halo 1838 ; Charles Hale and Cyrus Faulkner, 1839 ;
Joseph Robbins and Ezra Lovell, 1842; Calvin Willard, 1844; Benjamin
Flagg, 1845 ; Asa II. Waters, 1848-9 ; OrviUe E. Thompson, 1850-51 ; N. P.
Smith, 1854; Joseph Robbins, 1855-6; Ilosea Crane, 1858; Horace Armsby,
1860-Gl ; Leonard Spaulding, 18G2 ; Henry E. Rockwell, 18GG ; Silas Duntou,
18G7 ; Henry L. Bancroft, 18G9 ; Irvin B. Sayles, 1871 ; C. D. Morse, 1872 ;
David Atwood, 1874; Georo-c A. Flaijf?, 187G.

The following statistics will be interesting: — Population, 1820, 92G ; 1835,
2,153 ; 1850, 3,091 ; 18G0, 3,29G ; 1870, 4,400. In 1875, 4,529 ; families, 940 ;
dwellings, 578; polls, 1,084; voters, GS6 ; farms, 10(i ; acres cultivated,
2,257 ; total acreage in farms, G,9G5 ; value of farm lands, $59G,978 ; value
of products of agriculture, $118,401; horses, 158; cows, 348; sheep, 9;
employed in manufactures, 1,102; value of products of manufactures,
$1,937,797; value of personal property, $771,485; value of real estate,
$1,746,633 ; total valuation, $2,518,118 ; rate of taxation, $15.25 per $1,000.

118 TOWN OF NEW BRAINTREE.

NEW BRAINTREE

BY GEORGE K. TUFTS, ESQ.

CHAPTER I.

SITUATION AND NATURAL FEATURES — FIRST CONDITION — INDIAN REMINIS-
CENCES — EARLY RECORDS — POLITICAL HABITS — MEETING-HOUSE — FIRST

MINISTER SCHOOL-HOUSES AND " SQUADRONS" SPIRIT IN THE REVOLUTION

SHAYS REBELLION AVAR OF 1812 IMPROVEMENTS REBELLION

BOUNTIES AND ENLISTMENTS — PUBLIC MEN.

New Braintree is nearly in shape of an isosceles triangle, with sides of six
miles and base of nine ; bounded by Oakham and Barre on the north-east side,
Ilardwick on the north-west, and West Brookficld and North Brookfield on its
base or southerly line. It contains twenty-one square miles, lying distant from
Worcester seventeen miles west. Its surface is hilly and finely adapted to
grazing, and finds its highest elevation in Tufts Hill. Its first recorded valu-
ation Avas £2,454, when it had 217 polls and 272 head of cattle and horses.
Its rate of taxation was then tcnpence per pound, and one man only — Henry
Penniman — was taxed for money at interest, to wit, £150. Its highest valua-
tion was in 1871, being $590,430 ; number of polls, IGG ; number of heads of
stock, 1,340. Its highest population Avas in 1790, when it was nine hundred
and forty persons.

Nearly one-half of the town consisted of a gore of land lying between Rutland
and Ilardwick (formerly Lamb's Town), and was granted by the General
Court to certain individuals of Braintree, and called Braintree Farms. This
tract, with a portion of Ilardwick and Brookfield, Avas incorporated into a
District, Jan. 31, 1751, and received the name of New Braintree. About one
and a half miles in a north-A\'est direction from the centre and on the flats of the
Winnimisset the Indians had formerly a settlement of considerable importance.
Here Mrs. HoAvard, Avho Avas taken captive at Lancaster in 1G79, was brought
with her two children, and one of the latter Avas killed by the Indians. On the
hill half a mile east of the Winnimisset there is now a small stone monument,
Avhich, as tradition aflirms, marks its graA'^e. A little south of the Indian

LOCAL CHARACTER. 119

village twelve men, agents on their way to treat for peace with the Indians,
were slain by them in ambush, Aug. 2, 1675.

Capt. Eleazer Warner, the first white male child born in the district, and
for many years after its formation conspicuous in local matters, through his
skill and success in the struggles with the Indians, had brought upon himself
their lasting enmity, which peace could not erase. One day, some time after
the war was over, an Indian called at the house of Mr. Rice of Hardwick, and
inquired the way to IMr. Warner's house. lie was directed by the common
road. After ho had gone, Mr. Rice, suspecting the object of his visit,
despatched a messenger by a blazed path through the forest to apprize Mr.
Warner of his danger. Mr. Warner quietly took down his gun and entered
the forest. The parties soon became aware of each other's presence, and
sought each his cover, the Indian a tree and Mr. Warner a fallen log, cadi
awaiting some exposure on the part of the other. After waiting a while Capt.
Warner placed his h it on the end of the muzzle of his gun and raised it a triilc
above the log. The Indian fired, and the bullet passed through the hat.
Capt. Warner then arose and shot the Indian, sinking his body in the Black
Pond near by. The afijiir was kept secret by Mr. Warner until near the close
of his life. He died Feb. 28, 177G.

The most fruitful source of information as to the character of the early inhal)-
itants is the records of their public meetings, which seem to have been kept
very minutely. From these it is inferred that they were jealous of their rights
as citizens, independent in the formation and fearless in the expression of their
convictions on all national, State and county matters, and watchful of their
religious, educational and material interests, and by their industry and thrift
accumulating independence, and many of them wealth. The action of the
town on all local as well as State and national matters has been characterize^....^
by a greater harmony than is usual in most towns. Seldom, if ever, have
there been two rival political candidates for representative. There has been
but little disposition for frequent changes in officers or manner of conducting
business. Men once chosen to office, and proving themselves capable and
faithful therein, have received the continued support of the people. The
longest uninterrupted period of service was by Rev. John Fiske, chairman of
school committee fifty-five years; the next by Philip Delano, town clerk
thirty-four years.

In politics the Federalists, Whigs and Republicans have in succession always
been in a majority ranging from twenty to one to three to one. The greater
inequality was in 1803, when Gerry, the Democratic candidate for governor,
received only one vote, against eighty for Strong, his opponent. The nearest
approach to equality was in 1876 — Republicans, 75 ; Democrats, 56.

Educational institutions have received a liberal and hearty support. Previ-
ous to 1840 there were fourteen graduates of colleges, a larger number than
in any town in the Brookfield Association of Churches.

120 TOWN OF NEW BRAINTEEE.

The first district meeting was held at the house of David Ayers (on site of
present residence of Sullivan Converse), March 13, 1751, with Eleazer Warner
as moderator, and David Woods, town clerk. The selectmen of the first 3ear
were Eleazer Warner, David Gilbert and Cornelius Cannon. Among the first
acts of the new district was "To raise ten pounds to provide preaching, and to
choose a Committee to procure a preacher as soon as conveniently he could be
bad"; also, "to find a centre of land already laid off, which should bo the
prefixed spot for a meeting-house." Jan. 1, 1752, the town voted "to build
a meeting-house forty by fifty feet," on the site of the present one. Pews were
not erected until 1756, and in this wise. A bounty sufficient to cover the
expense of a pulpit and deacon's seat, ranging from seven pounds to three per
one hundred, was laid on the pew-ground, according to its dignity (location).
The ri^ht of choice was assigned to persons according to age and character,
and each purchaser was to build his own pew. In 1767 the house was lathed
and plastered. 1772, porches were added. In 1800 the town voted to build a
new meeting-house, fifty feet square, on the site of the old one, to be com-
pleted in two years and eight months. Henry Penniman gave $300 to buy a
new bell, and received in return the first choice of seats in the new house.
1802, Henry Penniman and Joseph Bowman gave a new town clock. Novem-
ber 1, first mectino- held in new house. No alterations made until 1846, when
the house was lowered and entirely remodeled, with town hall and vestry
below. Dedicated Oct. 26, 1846, the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of
Rev. John Fiske, D.D. Bounty money on pews procured an organ at an
expense of $1,100. 1877, house again repaired, with funds contributed by
Ladies' Social Gathering and a gift of $300 from estate of Edward Fiske, of
Brooklyn, N. Y. The members of the district used great caution in settlement
cf a minister. They listened to three candidates the first year without choice.
They set apart Feb. 21, 1753, as a day of fiisling and prayer for direction.
Jan. 23, 1754, they sought advice of five neighboring ministers, and, February
4, extended a call to Rev. Benjamin Ruggles of Middleton, with thirty pounds
encouragement to settle and fifty pounds an!Uial salary. April 18, ho was
installed, and officiated twenty-four years. Died May 12, 1782. He was a
man of "average ability and sincere piety, and his relations with the people
were entirely harmonious and productive of great blessing." Oct. 27, 1778,
Rev. Daniel Foster was oidained Avith one thousand pounds settlement and
sixty-six pounds annual salary, and thirty cords of wood. There Avas much
opposition to his settlement, but he proved exceedingly popular, and ultimately
won the aflections of his people. He died S?pt. 1, 1795. The town was
without a pastor until Oct. 26, 1796, when Rev. John Fiske of Warwick was
installed, with two hundred and thirty pounds settlement and ninety pounds
annual salary. He remained until his death, March 15, 1855, fifty-nine years.
He received in final settlement from his parish $800, and $200 as a private
contribution from Josiah Gleasou. June 22, 1853, Rev. James T. Hyde, a

CHURCHES AND SCHOOLS. 121

gracliiato of Yale College and Andover Seminary, was ordained as colleague
with Dr. Fiske. Mr. Hyde was dismissed Aug. 27, 1855. April 23, 1856,
Rev. John II. Gurnoy Avas installed, salary $900; dismissed June 30, 18G9.
INIay 3, 1871, Ilcv. John Dodge of North Brookfield was installed, salary
$1,200; died June 19, 1872. Oct. 30, 1872, Rev. William B. Bond of
Chicago was installed. April 18, 1754, the church was first gathered and
formed, but no records exist for forty-two years, except in 1778 and '79. Imme-
diately after the settlement of Mr. Foster certain members of the church
applied for dismission on the ground of their belief in the virtual denial by
their pastor of some of the fundamentid truths of the gospel. The application
was refused because the points at issue had been settled by the ordaining
council. A few retired and attended the Baptist church in Rutland. Pre-
vious to 179G no confession of faith was required for admission to the church.
There was no covenant in use between its members. Children were baptized
indiscriminately, whether their parents were partakers of the sacrament or m)t.
But in the first year of John Fiske's ministry a new order of things was
established. A pul)lic confession of faith was required, the practice of baptism
restricted, and in 1810 the church was formally and publicly reorganized, with
articles of faith and covenant essentially the same as those now in use. It
received, from 179G to 1821, yearly accessions by profession : in 1810 and '11,
37; 1819 and '21, 100; 1827, 30; 1831, 25; 1841, 49; 18GG, 20. From
1800 to 1879, 334. Membership in 1810, 58 ; 1851, 123 ; 1879, 59.

The following list gives the names of the deacons of this church, and the
order ia which they were chosen : "William Witt, James Woods, Samuel
Ware, Jonathan Woods, Jonathan Gould, chosen previous to 1775 ; George
Barr, previous to 1800; Abijah Bigelow, 1805; James Woods, 1808; Jacob
Pepper, 1815; Samuel Warner, 1815; Phinchas Warner, 1817; Francis
Adams, 1828; Amasa Bigelow, 1830; Welcome Newell, 1830; Henry M.
Daniels, 1855 ; Elbridge Gleason and Moses Pollard, 18G2.

The first appropriation for schools was made Oct. 1, 1753, of three pounds.
School was taught three mouths, one month each in three different parts of the
district. In 175G the district 'was divided into four school squadrons, but
school was taught in private houses until 17G0, when the first school-house was
built at the Centre, "twenty feet square, with chimney in the middle," at a
cost of ten pounds. In 17G7 four new houses were built; appropriation,
twenty pounds; 1778, sixty pounds. 1785, first grammar school maintained.
1787, Aaron Hall exempted from taxes so long as he shall serve the town as
grammar-school master. The customary appropriation for schools was con-
tinued through the Revolutionary War, although it was omitted in many
towns. 1777, town divided into eight districts. 1792, permission was granted
to each district to build new houses, and they continued to hold and improve
their property until 18G1, when the town purchased the old houses and erected
five new ones at a cost of $5,000. It was divided in that year again into six

VOL. II.— 16

122 TOWN OF NEW BRAINTREE.

districts. It is interesting to note that in 18G1, when the town virtually
abolished the district system, it returned to the custom, first adopted in 1753,
of orivinor to each district the same len2;th of school, havinsf in the meantime
divided the appropriation, first, in proportion to the amount of taxable property
in each district, and afterwards according to the number of scholars ; some of the
districts with fewer scholars made up the deficiency in wood and board. In
1799 the general supervision of the schools was committed to Rov. John Fiske,
who performed the active duties of the office more than iifty years without
compensatioD, excepting the last five years. To him mainly was the town
indebted for the relativcl^^ high standard of its schools, and the interest in
education that has never diminished. In 1800 teachers were first required to
pass a legal examination before receiving compensation for services. In 1845
school committees first received compensation. In 1800, appropriations, $400 ;
1813, $500; 1836, $801; 1874, $1,800; 1878, second town in county aud
twenty-second in State in amount raised per scholar, $17.40.

On the first Monday in June, 1773, in reply to a letter from "y° Inhabitants
of v° Town of Boston," the town

" Voted that the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of 3'C^ Town of Boston hereby
receive the hearty thanks of this district for the vigilance, firmness, and wisdom which
they have discovered at all times in support of y** rights and liberties of the colony,
aud do heartily concur with them in all their constitutional determinations."

March 7, 1774. A committee was chosen to draw up something in reply to
"y** Inhabitants of y® Town of Boston," relative to the difficulties the Province
labors under. April 20, the following resolves were reported, " which, being
twice read and considered, were passed unanimously " : —

" P'. That we will, in conjunction with our Bretlieren in America, Ilisk our Fortunes
and even our Lives in defense of his Majesty King George the third, His Person,
Crown and Dignit^y, and will also with _y^ same Resolution, as his free-born subjects in
this Countr}', to the utmost of our Power, And Abilit}-, Defend our Charter Rights that
the}' may be transmitted Inviolate to the Latest Posterity.

" 2**. Resolved that every British Subject in America, has by our happy constitutio:'
as well as by nature, the sole Right to dispose of his own Property either by himself o.
by his Representative.

" 3*^. Resolved that y^ act of y* British Parliament La3ing a Duty on Tea Landed i '■
America payable here is a Tax whereby the Property of Americans is taken from ther.
without their consent.

" Therefore, Resolved : That we will not, either by ourselves or any for or under us
buy or sell or use any of y" East India Company Tea Imported from Great Brittain, (
any other Tea with a Duty for raising a Revenue thereon in America, which is aflixc'
by acts of Parliament on the same. Neither will we suffer any such Tea to be made u;
in our Families.

" Resolved, that all such persons as shall purchase, sell or use such Tea shall be A^
the future deemed unfriendly & Enemies to the happy Constitution of this Countrj'."

REVOLUTIONARY FEELING. 123

At the same time, —

"Voted, Ninel3'-cne Pounds to provide a Town's Stock of Powder and Lead and

Flints with."

August 25, Deas. James Wootls and Samuel Ware were appointed a com-
mittee to meet like committees from other towns in the county " to consider
what measures they ought to come into at this ci'itical, difficult day," and a com-
miltec of correspondence was chosen. September 2, Dea. James Woods chosen
a deleijate to a Provincial Congress, to be held in October. The town then
chose officers for a standinsr militia. November 7, a committee of seven chosen
to inspect all tea-drinkers, and post their names.

May 22, 1775. James Woods chosen a delegate to a Provincial Congress at
Watertown, INIay 31. The same date, the town accepted the proposal of the
minute-men to serve without pay, on condition that the other members of
the district provide themselves with arms and ammunition. Same date, a
committee chosen to receive and forward the donations to the poor of Boston,
and a committee chosen to see that the Provincial and Continental resolves bo
strictly adhered to.

" May 22, 1776, The Question being put whether y® Town would willingly support
y* General Congress if it shall declare Independence : Passed unanimously in the
affirmative."

Feb. 17, 1777. Jonathan Woods chosen delegate to a County Congress to
obtain a more equal and just representation in the General Court for smaller
towns. February 24, the Committee of Safety, to prevent monopoly and
oppression, fixed a uniform price of all produce and merchandise, and all kinds
of labor.

March 31. Voted a bounty of twenty pounds to every soldier who should
enlist in the Continental army for three years, and one of ten pounds for one
year, and chose a recruiting committee to fill the town's quota. November 24,
a remonstrance was sent to the General Court against charging interest on bills
of credit emitted by the State.

Jan. 5, 1778. Voted that the town has no ohjection to articles of Confeder-
ation and perpetual Union between the United States of America. But the
town refused. May 19, 1778, and again May 31, 1780, to adopt the Constitu-
tion of the State of Massachusetts Bay. The cost of war to town and number
of men furnished is unknown; but the records from 1778 to '82 are replete
with votes for filling quota of men and horses, paying bounties, monthly
w^ages, and furnishing clothing and provisions to soldiers and their families.

May, 1786. The town gave instructions to its representative, setting forth
the great extortion and oppression practiced by the law^yers of the Common-
wealth, their growing importance as a class in numbers and wealth, and the
danger to civil liberty thereby; the tardiness of obtaining justice in the courts,
and high fees of certain court officers ; and expressing the belief that our only

124 TOWN OF NEW BRAINTREE.

hope of existence as a nation rested in the frngality, economy and industry of
the people. The dissatisfaction arising from these grievances cuhninated in
Shays' Rebellion. Twenty-two from New Braintree joined Capt. Shays.

Jan. 13, 1787. The town entered its protest against the course adopted
by the Regulators, and chose a committee to confer with the Hon. Gen. Lin-
coln and officers, and Capt. Shays and officers, and effect a reconciliation. It
also voted, February 3, to petition the General Court for a general pardon of
the insurgents, provided they laid down their arms and returned to their
allegiance; also to send circular-letters to a number of towns in this and other
counties, inviting them to send similar petition'^. February 5, a communica-
tion was received from Gen. Lincoln, advising the town to call home without
delay all the men belonging to it in arms under Capt. Shaj's, and not to afford
any aid or comfort to the insurgents. When this letter was received, after
being several times read and considered, such a disagreement appeared con-
cerning the adoption of the course advised, that the meeting dissolved without
action.

March 17, 1787. The twenty-two took the oath of allegiance. May 21,
the town instructed its representative as follows : —

" In all free Governments, that idea ought ever to be Kept in view that the Rulers
and Ministers of State are the Honorable Servants and not the Haughty Masters of the
people, and directing him to use his utmost exertions for a general pardon of the insur-
gents latel}' in rebellion, restricting the number of lawyers in the Commonwealth to a
small number of approved and upright character, to dismiss the Courts of Common
Pleas, Sheriffs and Dep. Sheriffs of Worcester County, empower the selectmen to do
the business of Judge of Probate, and have the General Court removed from Boston."

June, 1790. Adopted an act to discourage unnecessary lawsuits, providing
for a committee of three discreet freeholders, to whom should bo submitted for
settlements all demands whatsoever held by one citizen against another. The
fees of the committee were two shillings each for each case. Any person
refusing to present his claim to the committee for settlement should be deemed
unfriendly to the peace of the town, and treated by the inhabitants with con-
tempt and neglect as to dealings and intercourse, save in the bare offices of
humanity, and should have no votes for any town office for three years.

March 20, 1792. The town became security to the Commonwealth for
Joseph Bowman and three others in a contract to support the entire poor of
the State for ten years. They in turn agreed to collect all taxes during that
time free of expense ; to take all hinds of produce in payment of taxes at a
generous price, and to purchase at a generous price from said town all produce
needed besides for the support of said poor.

1753. The " Great Bridge " was built over Ware River, near the " Furnace."

1770. First known fire occurred, of John Barr's house, and town meeting
adjourned thereby.

NOTES AND ANNALS. 125

1775. A committee chosen to encourage mannfacture of saltpetre.

1796. Parade-ground presented by Henry Penniman.

1804. Bounds established between Brookfield and New Braiutree.

1808. September 1. The town petitioned the President of the United
States for a suspension of the act of embargo of 1807.

1810. Town visited with spotted fever, and two hundred and forty dollars
paid by town for attendance of physicians. Bounds of Common established.

July 2, 1812. Voted to co-operate with the town of Boston in using all
constitutional means to avert the threatened war.

Jnly 24. Memorialized the President of the United States, disapproving of
the present war, and abhorring an alliance with France.

1817. Salibath-school first organized.

1818. Stoves first introduced into meeting-house.

Previous to 182G, the support of the poor had been put up at auction to the
low^est bidder. In 1833, the town purchased the Little farm, and supported
its poor thereon.

1835. Adopted rules for the regulation of its pauper establishment.

March 7, 1832. New Braiutree Thief-Detecting Society organized with a
membership of forty-eight.

The "New Braiutree Temperance House" was erected by a stock company at
an expense of nearly six thousand dollars. It has not proved to be a paying
investment to stockholders, but a prevention to the spread of intemperance.

Until 1843, religious institutions were supported by a town tax, New Brain-
tree being the last town in the Commonwealth to sever the relation between
Church and State.

March 20, 1843. The Congregational parish was organized with a member-
ship of seventy-nine.

Li 18G0, the "pleuro-pneumonia" appeared among the cattle. Two whole
herds were slaughtered, and five hundred dollars paid for the relief of the
sufferers.

The pursuits of the inhabitants have been almost wholly agricultural. The
dairy has been the chief source of income. As early as 1800, New Braiutree
cheese had acquired an enviable reputation in Boston. Previous to 1865, this
was made in private dairies ; during that year, the New Braiutree Cheese Man-
ufacturing Compau}'- was organized with a capital of $4,000, and erected and
furnished a factory at a cost of $11,000. The greatest quantity of milk
made in one year was 3,021,000 pounds, which may be a fair estimate of the
annual production of the town. The market value of this was $42,294.

1861. The first legal town meeting to act upon matters relating to the war
of the Rebellion, was held May 7th, at which the selectmen were authorized
to pay each volunteer belonging to the town five dollars per month while in
service, in addition to regular pay, and four dollars per month to his wife, and
two dollars to each child under twelve years of age. July 21, 1862, voted, to

12G TOWN OF NEW BRAINTREE.

pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to each voUmtecr who enlists for three
years, and ten dollars additional to those who enlist within one week. Aug.
2G. The bounty for three years' volunteers was raised to two hundred dolhirs,
and the bounty to volunteers for nine months lixcd at one hundred and fifty
dollars, which Nov. 4 was raised to two hundred dollars. Nov. 3, 1863. The
town treasurer was directed to pay the treasurer of the State " the balance due
under the act equalizing the bounties of volunteers."

April 11, 18G4. Voted, a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars
to volunteers for three years' service, and this bounty was continued to be paid
until the end of the war. The town raised $9,000.55 for the war, besides State
aid, and seventy-eight men, four beyond her quota. One only, Lieut. George
Davis, was a commissioned officer.

The first representative to the General Court, Maj. James Woods was chosen
in 1775, for which he received a compensation of eleven pounds eight shillings
and twopence. Ilis successors were, in 177G, Jonathan AVoods ; 1770 to
1784, Joseph Bowman ; 178G, Capt. Artemas Howe ; 1787 to 1793, Capt. Ben-
jamin Joslyn ; 1794, Capt. A. Howe ; 179G, Elias Hall ; 1797, 1800 and 1801,
Benj. Joslyn; 1798, Elias Hall; 1803 to 180G, Capt. James Woods; 1807 to
1814, Joseph Bowman, Jr.; 1815 to 1817, Col. Henry Pcnniman : 1818 and
1819, Col. Samuel Mixter ; 1821, Gideon Delano; 1823, Capt. David AVait;
1824 and 1825, Gideon Delano ; 182G and 1827, Jos. Bowman ; 1828 and 1829,
Philip Delano; 1831, Jos. Bowman; 1833, Samuel Bigelow ; 1834, Amory
H. Bowman; 1835 and 183G, James Bowdoin ; 1837 and 1838, Job Rainger ;
1839, James Bowman; 1840 and 1841, Col. Stephen Fay; 1842 and 1843,
Capt. HoUis Tidd; 1844 and 1848, Henry A. Delano; 1851, Jonathan G.
Frost; 1852, Moses Pollard ; 1854 and 1855, Amory H. Feltou ; 1857, Henry
M. Daniels, 18G3, Saxton P. Martin, M. D. ; 1869, Charles Wilcox ; 1873,
Charles A. Gleason.

Prominently connected with its local matters previous to 1790, were : David
Ayers, Capt. Eleazer Warner, Dea. James Woods, Joseph Pepper, Dea. Jon-
athan Woods, David Woods, James Thompson, Dea. William Witt, Samuel
AVare, Matlhcw Barr, Ilobert Hunter, Jonathan Coblcigh, Boriah Hawes, Miij.
Joseph Bowman, Thomas Whipple, Jacob Pepper, Percival ILill, Solomon
Mathews, Joseph Barr, Maj. Artemas Howe, Benj. Joslyn, Henry Pcnniman,
Wareham Warner, John Tufts, Jonathan Nye.

April 19, 1775, a company of minute-men, numbering fifty, was organized
under John Granger as captain, and attached to Col. Jonathan Warner's regi-
ment. Their time of service averaged two weeks. A muster-roll of the
company under Capt. Granger, in Col. Learned's regiment, Aug. 1, 1775,
includes thirty-three from New Braintree, twenty from Westurn (now War-
ren), and ten from other towns. Their time of service was three months one
week and six days. May 27, 1778, wages were paid to soldiers per month at
the following rates: To those serving in the array in New York, five pounds;

PROMINENT MEN. 127

at, Ticondcroga and westward, six pounds; in the Jerseys, four pounds; at
Fishkill, six pounds; to Continentals, for three years, three pounds ten shil-
lings. The third regiment. State militia, including, Avith others, one company
of militia from this town, and one company of grenadiers from New Braintrec
and Oakham jointly, mustered every alternate year on the parade-grounds
granted by Henry Penniman.

The commissioned colonels of the third regiment from New Braintree, were :
Samuel Mixtcr, Louis Blackmer, Ilenr}' Penniman, Stephen Fay, Asa Barr, Eos-
well Converse and Amory II. Bowman, Brigade Inspector, with rank of colonel.

Hon. Samuel Mixtcr, born Oct. 15, 1784; in the House of Bepreseiitatives,
1818 and 1819 ; senator for Worcester County, 1833, 1831 and 1835 ; council-
lor, 1837 and 1838; commissioned colonel of third regiment State militia;
prominent in school matters and probate of estates ; died iNlarch 30, 18G2.

Hon. Joseph Bowman was born in New Braintrec, Sept. 11, 1771. With
very limited education, he entered business, during his minority, with Henry
Penniman, in his native place. By enterprise, untiring industry, perseverance,
sound judgment and unflinching integrity, he enlarged the business until it
extended through very many of the towns in the west half of Worcester and
cast part of Hampshire counties. He continued in business thirty-five years,
realizing a considerable fortune. He was chosen president of Hampshire Manu-
facturers' Bank in Ware, in 1827, and held the office twenty-one years. In
politics he was a member of the Whig party ; elected representative in 1807
and thirteen times thereafter; senator in 1827 and 1828, and meml)er of the
council under Gov. Lincoln's administration, in 1833 and 183-1; a liberal sup-
porter of religious and educational institutions; died Jan. 30, 1852.

Rev. John Fiske, D. D., born at Warwick, Oct. 26, 1770; graduated at
Dartmouth, 1791 ; studied theology under Rev. Dr. Lyman of Hatfield ;
licensed to preach at Iladley, March 6, 1794 ; settled in New Braintree, Oct.
26, 179G ; received degree of D. D. from Amherst College in 1844 ; published
a spelling-book in 1807 ; Fast Day sermon 1812 ; dedicatory and semi-centen-
nial discourse 184G ; a founder and long a trustee of Amherst College ; emi-
nently wise, cautious, determined, modest, with a steady adherence to his con-
victions of truth and justice ; had a thorough knowledge of human nature, an
uncommon tact in dealing with men, and exercised a great influence in his town,
and in the association in which, by common consent, he occupied the first posi-
tion ; died March 15, 1855, after a ministry of fifty-eight years.

A list of the town clerks of New Braintree is appended, with the date of
first election of each : David Woods, 1750 ; Benjamin Bradshaw, 1778 ; Joseph
Bowman, 1779 ; Ellas Hall, 1781 ; Percival Hall, 1787 ; Alpheus Warner,
1794; Philip Delano, 1800; Amasa Bigelow, 1834; Henry A. Delano, 1843;
A. A. Kendall, 1855 ; Henry A. Delano, 185G ; Abijah Eddy, 18G1 ; Rev.
John H. Gurney, 1863; Charles B. Frost, 1864; George K. Tufts, 1867.

128 TOWN OF NORTHBOEOUGH.

NORTH BO ROUGH.

BY REV. HORACE BUTTON.*

CHAPTER I.

SITUATION AND ASPECTS — INCORPORATION — EARLY SETTLERS — RELIGIOUS

HISTORY MINISTERS LATER SOCIETIES EDUCATION LYCEUMS

LIBRARIES.

NoRTiiBOROUGH is a pleasant town on the eastern boundary of Worcester
County, thirty-two miles west of Boston by the railroad, which runs throuprh
its centre. It lies in a kind of valley open toward the south, and bounded by the
hills of Berlin on the north, Boylston and Shrewsbury on the west, West-
burough on the south, and Marlborough on the east. This valley is finely
watered by the Assabet River, and its tributaries, Howard and Cold Harbor
brooks, which unite with the larger stream at the centre of the town. By
Stirrup Brook, the waters of Chauncy and Bartlett ponds in the south-westerly
part of the town find their way through a long swamp into the Assabet. In
the northern part of the town are three parallel ranges — Ball Hill, Mount
Pisgah and Sulphur Hill. In the centre is Mount Assabet, from the summit
of which the spires of nearly twenty churches may be seen. In the south-east
is Rock Hill. In the south-west is Tomlin Hill.

Although Northborough lies in a kind of valley, the reader will not conclude
from this that the situation is unhealthful. Away back in post-glacial times,
this was probably the bed of a primeval lake ; at any rate the subsoil is generally
of gravel, and the surface well drained. People attain to good old age within
its borders.

Northborough contains within its present limits 10,150 acres of strong and
good soil. Its outline roughly resembles an arrow-head, with the axis of great-
est length runnins: from north-east on Ball Hill to the south-west on the Assabet
River, near the dwelling-house of Mr. Sidney Bigelow. The outer corners of
the base are on the east at the farm of Mr. G. P. Heath, and on the west at
the farm of Mr. Ira Lawrence.

* The author would here acknowledge his indebtedness to the sketch of the history of North-
borough, published in 1826, by Rev. Joseph Allen, D. D.

EARLY INHABITANTS. 129

This town was not incorporated until Jan. 24, 1766, but for the previous
twenty-two years it really had a separate existence from the parent town, being
set off as the second precinct or parish of Westborough, Oct. 20, 174L The
town records commence at this 1 ist-namcd date, and the people, by their
struggles to build a meeting-house, and support a minister, and by their con-
tinual gatherings on the Sabbath in a separate house of worship, were effectually
divided from the parent town, though they still voted, paid their taxes and
received appropriations for the support of schools and roads from the treasury
of AV^estb.Jrough until 1766.

The oldest vestige of pioneer life still in existence and general use is
unquestionably the "great road" to Worcester, as it is still very properly
called. The grant given to John Rediat in 1672 mentions an older load, but
speaks of it as disused at the time the deed was given. One of the bounds of
his grant was "the Nepmuck road that for merl>/ led toward Coneticoat." This
was the " old Conncticoat road," and led through the south-east part of the town
over Rock Hill and past Chauncy Pond. The above-named grant shows that in
1672 this road had ceased to be used, and was already displaced by the "new
Connecticut road," or, as it was afterwards called, "the post road." Though
but a mere foot or bridle path through the woods, it was the highway of com-
munication between Boston and the western settlements. Let us stop and
think of the throng that has traveled over its surface — the Indian, the
pioneer, the minute-men of Bunker Ilill, Burgoyne's surrendered army, Wash-
ington, Lafayette, the brilliant wife of Jerome Bonaparte, to say nothing of
the nameless host — and let us no longer deny respect to antiquity.

The oldest settler known to tradition is John Brigham, who, in 1672,
received a grant on "Licor INIeadow plain," and came at once, and built a saw-mill
and a cabin, staying until fear of savages drove him away.

Below is a partial list of the early settlers ; the second column gives the
names of persons living now on or near tho same house-lots or other idontiti-
cations. The list is only partial, and covers the period from 1672 till 1752 :

John Brigham, .... Parker, Twitchcll & Co.'s saw-mill.

Thomas Brigham, . . . . G. P. Ileatb.

Samuel Goodcnow, .... "Wra. A. Barllctt.

Natlianael Oakes, .... Sam. IMcCluer ; Martin & Whitney parsonage.

Simeon Howard, Sr., . . . Eliab Wood, opp. old Orthodox meeting-house.

Gorshom Fay, Sr., .... On hill-side, west of East school-house.

Capt. Jas. Eager,* .... Mclntyrc Place — Mrs. Thompson.

Dca. IMatthias Rice, . . . Stratton Place.

Jacob Rice, . . . . . Centre Grammar School-house.

* Capt. Eager'.'! bouse wlion built was the ouly bnman habitation on the new Conuecticut road
between Samnel Goodenow's (see above) and Crookficld. Dr. Allen says it was the ouly Louse ex-
cept the Indian village of Coggaclioag near Worcester, but this village was three miles sonth of the
road. (See Mass. Historical Coll., vol. I., p. 192.) This house was afterwards used as the first tavern
in town and a garrison. Capt. Eager gaA'c the laud on which tho raeetiug-house was erected.

130 TOWN OF NORTHBOPtOUGH.

Bclzeel Eager, Chas. Potter.

Silas Fa}-, Simmons Farm.

Doa. Isaac Tomlin, .... Mrs. George Davis,

riezcldah Tomblin, .... Top of Tomlin Hill.

Dea. Jonathan Liverraore, . . Asa Gage.

Thomas Goodnow T. C, Woodward.

Ephraim Allen, .... J. A. Budd.

Adam lloUowa)', .... George II. Williams.

Samuel Wood, .... Old Seavcr Place, owned by Milo Ilildreth.

Simeon Howard, Jr., . . . Judson Day.

The first church was organized by the signature of ten names to the cove-
nant, besides that of the pastor-elect. Creed there was none, and none was
needed, for the Assembly's Catechism, which was taught in every farm-house
and school-room, afforded an unquestioned standai'd of belief. As an illustra-
tion of the poverty of the people at this time (May 21, 174()), and their eager-
ness for religious privileges, it is interesting to note that the ordination services
took place in the meeting-house, although at the time of ordination it was des-
titute of pulpit, pews, galleries, or even permanent floors, and was lighted only
by rough openings in the unplastered walls. It was not completed till 175G,
ten years after.

The salary offered to Mr. Marty n is also interesting, and illustrates the
beauties of an irredeemable paper currency. "£50 in bills of the last emis-
sion or £200 in Bills of the old tenor, or otJier bills of Public Credit equivalent
to said sum ; also £300 Old Tenor money as a settlement." A pound, old tenor,
equaled eighty-two cents.

The orijiinal meetinsf-house — now moved from its old location, which was a
little west of the present Unitarian Church, to make the central part of the
barn of Mr. E. M. Norcross — had no bell, belfry, or even chimney. It was
painted a dingy yellow, and had three doors, one each on the east, west and south
sides, — doors which opened inward, and let in a great deal of cold air when
they were opened. There was a tall pulpit over which was a sounding-board ;
in front of the pulpit, facing the audience, were the deacon's seats; around
the four walls and in the centre were the pews, high-backed and square, with
half of the seats compelling one to sit back to the minister; overhead were
the galleries, with the men on one side, and the women on the other. At noon,
between services, some would go to the tavern and warm themselves by the
blazing fire without, and, we fear, by a glass or two of spirit within, or to Mr.
Holbrook's, who lived in the house next the residence of Mr. "Wilder Bush,
and who kept the saw-mill.

The following is a list of the ministers of this church from the beginning to
the present time : —

John Martyn, born in Boston, 1706; Harvard College, 1724; ordained in North-
borough, Ma}' 21, 1746. The interval between these dates he had spent in business
pursuits. Died April 30, 1767.

^tti/rWruZyUx^

MINISTERIAL RECORD. 131

Peter Wliitnej', born Sept. G, 1744 ; Harvard College, 17G2 ; ordainedin Northborougli,
Nov. 4, 1707. Mr. "Whitney was the author of an excellent history of Worcester
County. He was a very methodical man, always walking with his wife to meeting,
followed by his ten children always in the exact order of their age. He was an eas^--
going man, perhaps more absorbed in the political issues of his day than in direct
aggressive religious work. He died suddenly, Feb. 19, 181G, afier a pastorate of fort}--
nine years.

Joseph Allen, D. D., born in Medfleld, Aug. 15, 1790 ; Harvard College, 1811 ; or-
dained at Northborongh, Oct. 30, 181G; died in ripe old age, Feb. 23, 1873. Dr.
Allen was a remarkable man, — a peacemaker, and a cultivated scholar. He was widely
known throughout his denomination as the author of several Sabbath School Question-
Books ; and in town ho exercised a powerful and long continued influence. He had a
deep interest in the prosperity and the culture of this town, and wrote its history up to the
3'ear 182G. On the fortieth anniversary of his settlement he resigned the active labor
of the pastorate, and the following clergymen were settled as his colleagues : — T. 13.
Forbush, Jan. 1, 1858, to July 1, 18G3 ; H. L. Myrick, June 27, 18GG, to Oct. 1, 18G8 ;
F. L. Hosmer, Oct. 29, 1869, to Aug. 25, 1872.

The next pastor was C. T. Irish, installed July 9, 1873, and resigned July 1, 187G.

The present pastor is II. F. Bond, who commenced labor April 1, 1877.

This society has an excellent mecting-honso, erected in 1808, at a cost of
$10,000. They have a parsonage l)ui]t in 187G, at a cost of $3,000, exclusive
of the land.

The Eaptibt Church, consisting at the beginning of twenty-seven members,
was formed July 2, 1827. This organization has also had two meeting-houses,
both of which stood on the same site. The first was built in 1828. The pres-
ent edifice was dedicated Nov. 28, 1850. This church has had frequent
changes in the pastorate, having had fourteen pastors in the lifty-two years
of its existence.

Previous to 1848 the changes were so frequent and their stay in town was
so short, that the list of their names will not be of interc st. We append the
names of thf)sc who have held this office since 1848 : — Charles Farrar, 1848-
55 ; Silas Ripley, 1855-05 ; D. F. Lamson, 18G5-73 ; W. K. Davey, 1873-77 ;
E. L, Goddard, 1877-78. The present pastor is J. Tillson, who commenced
labor hero December, 1878. This society has a parsonage purchased in 18G8,
at a cost of $1,800.

The Evangelical Congregational Society was organized April 12, 1832, with
thirty-five members. The pastors of this church are as follows: — Samuel A.
Fay, 1832-30; Daniel II. Emerson, 1830-40; Joshua Rates, D. D., 1840-2;
William A. Houghton, 1843-51; Samuel S. Ashley, 1852-04; George E.
Sanborne, 1805-70. Horace Dntton commenced his labors INTiy, 1, 1870, and
resigned INIay 1, 1879. This society his also had two meeting-houses, the
first dedicated Oct. 17, 1832, now occupied as a dwelling-house by Capt.
Lewis Fay ; the second erected in 1847. The parsonage was purchased and
reconstructed in 1873, at a total cost of $3,000.

132 TOWX OF NORTHBOROUGH.

The followiag extract from our town records, dated April 13, 17G6, (the
year of incorporation) is of interest: — "Voted & allowed Thos. Goodcnow
school-master for boarding himself nineteen weeks £3 IGs." As has been said,
this man lived on the site now occupied by the house of j\Ir. Theodore C.
Woodward. Dr. Allen says in his centennial discourse: — "Long before any
school-houses had been erected, Master Goodcnow was accustomed to teach from
house to house, a few weeks at a time in each, the precinct paying him four
shillings a week for his board. At this date he was 57 years old."

In 1770 the district was divided into four "squadrons" or school districts.
And in 1780, fourteen years after its incorporation, the district granted £4,000
in the greatly depreciated Continental currency, equal to $175 in coin, to build
four school-houses ; afterwards there was an additional ijrant which amounted
to $3G7 in hard money, so that each school-house cost in all $135.

Interesting facts about these early nurseries of intelligence, the location and
construction of the buildins^s, and the names of some of the teachers micfht bo
given, but want of space alone forbids. No true child of New England is ever
weary of recaliing the incidents of his school-time days.

The first school-house in this town, erected as early as 1779, was the result
of private euterprise. An association of citizens was formed, called the
"Seminary Association," and the building was built by subscription, in thirty-
five shares. It stood nearly opposite the old Orthodox meeting-house, now
occupied as a dwelling-house by Capt. Lewis Fay. This seminary w^as sup-
ported by annual assessments of the shareholders, and if any children from
families, outside the association, desired to share its [)rivileges, they paid a
fixed tuition. Master James Hart was the teacher who seems to be remem-
bered for his skill in penmanship. A number of documents relating to this
association arc still preserved.

The seminary building stood in its original place for twenty-seven years. It
had gradually become neglected, as tho?e who had constructed it pissed off the
stage, and was finally used as a sheep-pen. In 1808 it was removed, and now
forms the main part of the house of Mv. Dennis ("Altamont") Rice.

In 182G, the town for the first time elected a school committee ; for the duty
of superintending the schools had, before this, devolved upon the minister and
selectmen.

At the present time, in addition to four district schools, there arc at tlie
centre a grammar school-house, erected in 1837, and a high-school building,
built in 1870. The appropriation for schools has risen from £11 ($3G) in
17G7, $750 in 1845, and $1,200 in 1855, to $3,200 in 1879.

Northborough has produced an unusually large number of teachers, and the
town has a fair record in respect to education.

"Among it educational institutions the lyceum deserves a passing notice. It
was among the earliest, if not the first formed in this county, and continued in
active operation for more than thirty years, beginning with 1828. It was in

LIBRARIES. 133

fact a free high school, and, by its lectures and debates, did good service in
the cause of popular education."

The honor of founding Ibis institution belongs to Dr. Allen, whose words
have just been quoted. In the year 182G, he delivered a course of astronom-
ical lectures which awakened great interest, and resulted in the formation of the
lyccum. AVithin a tew years an attempt was made to revive this institution,
but it does not seem to have succeeded very well for some reason.

From the year 1793 until 18G7, when our Free Public Library was
instituted, various attempts have been made, with more or loss success,
to supply the citizens of ihis community with an abundance of attractive read-
ing matter. We append a list of libraries which have been formed here :

Social Library, mentioned by Rev. Peter Whitney in his History of North-
borough, and said to have been formed by about thirty gentlemen, with
provisions for its annual increase ; in 1793 it contained 100 volumes.

Female Iteligious Tract Society (1817), finally merged into the Orthodox
Sunday-school Library.

Social Library (1817). Sixty young ladies met in a room in the meeting-
house and sewed straw, thus earning $100, which was spent for books.

Nortliborourjh Free Library (1827). Founded by a donation of fifty
volimies from Dr. Allen, and accepted by the church, with the promise that
it should remain forever free to all, and be supported only by voluntary contri-
butions. The old Social Library was afterwards merged with this, and thus
enlarged, it contained more than four hundred volumes.

Young MeiibS Library, kept in Gale & Davis's store, afterwards in the
Arcade Building. Finallv sold at auction.

School District Library. In 1843 the town accepted a donation of $90
from the State of Massachusetts, and purchased with this sum a library for
each school district. The intention was that each library should pass from
school to school in rotation, but this arrangement proving unsatisfactory, the
six libraries were merged into one, and kept at the store of Mr. George
Barnes. Finally incoi'porated with the Public Library.

Agricultural Library (August, 1857). The books of this were also given
to the next ; viz. : —

Free Public Library , which contains, at present, 4,608 volumes. Added last
year, 318. Income for 1877-78, $543.47. Fund, $1,125. In the year 18G6,
the centennial year, Hon. Cyrus Gale and Hon. Milo llildreth offered, the one
$1,000 and the other $250 to the town, for a public library, provided that a
suitable town hall should be built, and a room furnished for the books in the
new building. This offer was accepted, and the hall was built at a cost of
$35,000. The fund thus created was afterwards increased in various ways,
especially by a gift of $1,000 — $500 in cash and $500 in books, the latter of
which are for the most part yet to be received — from the Hon. Isaac Davis of
Worcester, a native of this town.

134 TOWN OF NORTHBOROUGH.

CHAPTER 11.

CIVIL HISTORY THE EEVOLUTION AND THE LATER WARS MANUFACTURES

EARLY MILLS IRON FORGE AND ROTASII WORKS PRESENT FACTORIES

LARGE DEVELOPMENT OF INDUSTRY EMINENT CITIZENS.

In the old French wars at least thirteen went from this small precinct ;
three joined the expedition to Ilalil'ax in 1754; two were at Crown Point in
1755; and eight were with the army under Gen. Abeicrorabic in his defeat
before Ticonderoga. (See Allen's History for particulars.)

With regard to the Revolutionary war, our town records from 1773 to 1780
furnish ample evidence that the people of this small community were fully
awake to the situation.

The following communication appeared in the "Massachusetts Gazette," Feb.
17, 1773: —

" AVc bear from Shrewsbury that one day last week a pedlar was observed to go into
a tavern with a bag containing about 30 lbs. of tea. Information of which being bad
at Nortbborougb a company of" [young men disguised as] " Indians went from tbe
Great Swamp or thereabouts, and seized upon it, and committed it to the flames in tlie
road facing said tavern, until it was entire!}' consumed."

It was ten months after this act of these young men of Northborough, viz.,
Dec. 16, 1773, iivat three hundred chests of tea were thrown overboard in
Boston harbor by a party of so-called "Indians."

Some time before the war broke out a company of fifty minute-men was
raised among this community, and it was while this company was gathering upon
the common, at 1 p. m., April 19, 1776, that a messenger came with the
tidings on his lips that l)lood had been shed that day at Concord. Instantly
the whole village became the scene of hurried preparation, and it is related
that a niece of Capt. Samuel Wood, who was also the mother of Dea. Samuel
Wood now living, sat up all of the next night to assist in casting bullets, and
that next day a daughter was born to her, who afterwards became the wife of
Asaph Rice. The company met the next morning in front of what is now well
known as the old Seaver house, which was at that time the residence of Capt.
Woods, and from there marched to the camp at Cambridge, and afterwards
took part in the battle of Bunker Hill. The pay-roll and other papers of this
company are still preserved, and are in the possession of Dea. S. W. Norcross.

The small number of Tories in town and the state of feeling toward them
are best illustrated by the following : —

" To (he Oenllemen Selectmen & Comm. of Correspondence for the Town of Northborough :

The petition of Sylvanus Billings Humbly Shcweth that he is desirous to settle with
this town «fc is willing to confess his faults. He owns that he has been backward and
unfriendl}' in not defending this Country against the Brittish Power ; he owns that he

PATRIOTIC SPIRIT. 135

was unfriendly in not bringing Caleb Green to Justice who was a notorious villain and
an enemy to his country : to this & all other of his faults in this matter ho is lieartil}'
sorry for, & humbly asks forgiveness of the good people of this Town & so is willing
to submit a peaceable & reasonable settlement : lie desires that j-ou wd hear his
petition & take it into your wise consideration & restore him into friendship again, as
in duty bound shall pray. This from your most obedient and well wishing friend, who
promises iu future to be a good member of Society.

[•Sg] SiLVANUs Billings.

"Mch. 23d, 1780."

Northborough was always strongly opposed to the system of slavery,
and, amongst other things, claims the honor of being the first to call for
the convention which resulted in the formation of the Free-Soil party. It
is, doubtless, true that the universal feelinn: of disijust throucfhout New Enar-
l;ind at the pro-slavery proclivities of the nominees of both the Democratic
and the Whig parties made this a spontaneous movement ; but still it is true
that Capt. Cyrus Gale of Northborough was the first to draw up a call for a
convention, and to take it, in company with Samuel Clark, Esq , to the oflSce
of the "Whig" newspaper, edited by Chas. Francis Adams. The original call,
printed as a hand-bill, and bearing the signature of one hundred and seventy-
two names, is in the possession of the author of this sketch.

A similar earnest spirit of patriotism was shown in the war of the Rebellion.
Immediately after President Lincoln made his first call for troops, a citizens'
meeting was held, at which resolutions were adopted showing an intense
determination to uphold the government. And, in the legal meetings which
followed, the town showed that the resolutions of the previous mass mectinirs
were not empty words of momentary enthusiasm, but were the indications of a
deep-settled purpose. It is worthy of note, that for one year the pay granted
to volunteers from this town and their families was considerably in excess of
what was allowed by law. The authority for this statement is Schouler's
History of Massachusetts in the Rebellion, which is also responsible for the
following statistics : —

"The number of men furnished by Northborough for the war was 140, which was a
surplus of 9 over and above all demands. Two were commissioned officers. The total
amount of raone\' appropriated and expended by the Town on account of the war.
exclusive of State aid, was SjO,G47.o7. The State aid to soldiers' families, afterwards
repaid by the State, amounted to 88,840.70."

The ladies of this town were also very patriotic, taking their sewing-
machines from their homos to the churches and working together in making
clothing. They also prepared and sent many boxes of provisions to our
boys in the army. One of our clergymen, the Rev. S. S. Ashley, was so
nuuh absorbed in this conflict that he i-esigned his charge and joined the
Christian Commission, where ho labored iu hospital and camp for the physical
comfort and religious instruction of our soldiers, and has, since the completion

136 TOWN OF NORTHBOROUGH.

of the war, oriven his whole time and strenijth to efforts for the elevation of the
colored people of (he South, having been Superintendent of Public Instruction
for the State of North Carolina, and President of Straight University, New
Orleans, La.

To commemorate these scenes of the war, and especially to perpetuate the
memory of those who never returned to their homes and kindred, the town, in
the year 1809, erected a Soldiers' jNIonument, at a cost of $3,000. It is a fine
shaft of granite, surmounted liy the figure of an eagle, standing upon a suitable
base, upon which are inscribed the names of twenty-five deceased soldiers. A
Post of the Grand Army of the Republic also exists in town, organized June
18, 18()9, having at present twenty-five members.

The beginning of mill-work and mechanical industry Avas very early indeed,
as we see by the following action of the local authority: "Nov. 15, 1744,
Voted that Precinct meetings for the Futuer should be warned by two notifica-
tions, posted np, one at Ephraim Allen's mill, & y'' other at Bczelecl Eager's."
Ephraim Allen had a grist-mill (the first in town) at the upper end of D. F.
Wood's mill-pond. The remains of his dam may still be seen.

The clothiers' l)nsiness was commenced in town by Samuel Wood, who came
from Sudbury and started in a small way in the old Seaver house, in the lower
story, while he and his family lived in the second story. lie must have moved
to town as early as the year 1750, as he was precinct clerk in 1751. At first
he simply fulled the cloth brought to him from the different farm-houses, after-
wards he added a dyeing and coloring department. The business descended
in due course to his two sons, Capt. Samnel and Capt. Abraham Wood, and
they in turn transferred it to Doa. Samuel Seaver, father of Mr. A. W. Seaver,
by whom the business Mas continued, first in the western L of the Seaver
house, then in what is now the rear end of the manufactory of Hon. jNIilo Ilil-
dreth, and then, having sold the Ilildreth shop to Capt. Thomas Lyon, in the
lower shop.

Rev. Peter AVhitney, in his sketch of Northborough, speaks of this fulling-
mill (then in the old Seaver house), and states that, at that time (1793),
"about seven thousand yards of cloth are annually dressed, and the work is
most acceptably performed to the honor and advantage of the town and the
interest of the community."

This locality, where the Assabet River crosses the post road, seems to have
been at that time the business centre of the town ; for, he adds, that, —

" On the opposite side of the road are works for the manufacture of iron, whore
many tons have been made. Thei'c is in the vicinity a great plenty of ore, especially
of the bog kind.* Near the forge are works for the manufacture of potash, owned by
Dr. Stephen Ball, where large quantities are manufactured j'carl}'.

* This was a poor liiud of ore, found in marshy lands. The iron was washed down in a sol-
nablc form, and precipitated by evaporation of the water. It was so brittle as to bo called
"cob" iron. Tools made from this ore were necessarily large and clumsy and apt to break vexa-
tiously, and thus stop a diiy'u work.

OLU HOMESTEAD OF KEY. PETER WHITNEY, >-0RTH110R0VGH , MASS.

(The historian of Worcester County. Built in 1780.)

EARLY INDUSTRIES. 137

At this time, according to Mr. "VVliitiiey's sketch, Northborough was, —

"A great resort from all neighboring towns to the corn and saw mills, to the fulling-
mill and forge and to the blacksmiths for their work of various kinds, as well as to the
shops and stores."

The same authority cjives an amusing illustration of the knowledo'e of
mechanics existing at that time. lie speaks of a notable mechanical contriv-
ance in Northborough : A man named Mnj. Ilolloway Taylor (at the " Geor^-c
Williams" place), had actually conducted water from a spring on a hill to his
barn, by means of bored logs ( !), laid deep enough under ground to enable
the plow to pass above them ; and lest any one should doubt his veracity, and
thus injure his reputation as a minister, he explains that water may be made
to run up and down hill, provided one docs not endeavor to raise it above the
source from which it proceeded.

The tanning and currying business has been carried on in the south part of
this town by three generations of a very marked and intluential family. As
early as the year 1778, Isaac Davis came from the town of Rutland, Mass., for
the purpose of giving instruction in the art of tanning leather to certain 3'oung
men. Pie lived at first in what is known as the "old Ben Fay place," in West-
borough. Concluding to stay, he carried on a prosperous business until his
death, when it descended to his sons, — "Col. Joe" and "Master Phin," as
they were familiarly called — by whom it was greatly extended and increased.
Hides were purchased by them throughout all this region, from Rhode Island
and from foreign countries. They also carried on the manufacture of boots
and shoes quite extensively, putting out the work as the custom then was. Dr.
Allen, in his history (182G) states that their annual sales of leather amounted
to $20,000. After their death the business was carried on to some extent by
Mr. George C. Davis, until within a few years of his death.

The business of carding wool by machinery was introduced into town by
Dca. Scth Grout, who came to town about the year 1800, and at first carried
on the manufacture of nails in the old iron-foundry on the site of the bone-mill
of Mr. Root : soon, however, chanr]rin2: to the above-mentioned branch of
industry in which he continued until the year 1813.

The year 1814 marks a new era in the manufacturing history of Northbor-
ough. Amidst great opposition, a stock company, called the Northborough
^Manufacturing Com[^any, was formed in this place for the purpose of making
cotton and woolen cloth. The privilege now owned by i\Ir. D. F. Wood, was
purchased, and a mill was erected at a total expense of about $30,000. Dr.
Allen (182G) states that this mill manufactured eighty thousand yards of cloth
annually. This enterprise did not thrive, and passed through a number of
hands until, in 18GG, it was purchased by Mr. D. F. Wood, under whose
management and that of his son, it has been very profitable. The lower mill
was built of brick, in 1832-33, by the brothers Phineas, Joseph and Isaac

VOL. II.— 13

138 TOWN OF NORTHBOEOUGH.

Davis, at a cost of $30,000. The business was carried on and finally owned
by the last named gentleman. After various vicissitudes this property was
finally purchased by Messrs. C. T. Chapin & Son, who at first manu!actured
cotton cloth, l)ut after a severe fire in 1SG9, they commenced the manufacture
of satinets, since which lime the business has been very pros[)crous. These
two miils of Messrs. "Woods and Chapin constitute at the present time perhaps
the principal manufacturing interest of Norlhborough. They each employ
from seventy-five to one hundred hands, and the monthly pay-roll of each is
about $2,000. They each manufacture diflerent varieties of cloth, the produc-
tion of each averaging about ten thousand yards per week, more or less,
accordinir to the value of the cloth made and the briskness of the market.
They are each supplied with powerful steam-engines, and with abundant means
for extinsjulshing fire should it arise.

The comb manufacture in Northborough was commenced by Messrs. Ilaynes
& Bush, in 1839, and for the ten or twelve years following the business was
much increased. Some six new firms engaged in it, and comb manufacturing
became, for the time being, the prominent industry of the town, giving employ-
ment to from one hundred to one hundred and fifty persons. At the present
time this business is carried on to a limited extent by Messrs. Parker, Twitchell
& Co.

The manufacture of tortoise-shell jewelry was commenced here in 18G0, by
Mr. Milo Hildreth, and continued to the present time, with manufacture of
horn goods. From fifteen to thirty hands are employed, and a business of
from $20,000 to $50,000 is done.

Two other firms have recently commenced the manufacture of shell jewelry —
Messrs. Yates & Co. and Mr. Walter jNI. Farwell.

The milk-contracting business was commenced here in 18GG, by C. Brigham
& Co., and has been continued to the present time. They run a milk-train
from Pratt's Junction to South Framingham, stopping at every station, gather-
ing at the present time a little short of one thousand cans daily, selling the
same in Boston the next morning.

The corset-stitching business was commenced here in 1877, and is at present
carried on by INIessrs. Waterman & jNIcycr of New York city. About fifty
girls are employed at the present time, and the intention is to increase the
number to seventy-five or one hundred.

Further space will only be taken to say, that there are in town two dry-
goods and grocery stores, Messrs. Samuel Wood, Jr., & Co. and Messrs. J.
Wadsworth & Co., and a grain and coal store, Messrs. C. Brigham & Co.
There is also a national bank, capital, $100,000 ; Wilder Bush, president, and
A. W. Seavcr, cashier.

This sketch may be appropriately closed with a short list of the various citi-
zens of Northborough who have held distinguished civil positions. Many more
might be added if greater space were available.

WORTHY CITIZENS. 139

John Davis, LL. D., born in Northborough, Jan. 13, 1787, died in Worces-
ter, April 19, 1854. An able lawyer, a member of Congress, and a governor
of Massachusetts, 1833-35 and 1840—11. lie bore the soubriquet of " Hon-
est John Davis."

Isaac Davis, LL. D., born in Northborough, June 2, 1799, still living, attor-
ney at law in Worcester ; raemljer of jNIassachusetts House ami Senate : fourth
mayor of the city of Worcester; of the governor's council, 1853-54.

Cyrus Gale, born in Westborough, Oct. 7, 1785, still living; in Massachu-
setts IIousj of Representatives. 1842-13 ; of governor's council, 1852-53.

Milo Hildreth, born in Townsend, Mass., Aug. 17, 1824; in ^lassachusetts
House of Representatives in 1858; in Massachusetts Senate 18G5; of the
governor's council iu 1872; retired from the council in 1875.

140 TOWN OF NORTIICRIDGE.

NORTHBRIDGE

BY REV. ABIJAH P. MARVIN.

CHAPTER I.

PHYSICAL CHARACTER INCORPORATION — EARLY MINISTERS — FEELING IN THE

REVOLUTION LATER DEVELOPMENT — LOCAL INDUSTRIES BOOT AND SHOE

TRADE COL. PAUL WHITIN INCREASE AND PROSPERITY OF THE TOWN.

The town of Northbridge was incorporated Jnly 14, 1772. It was originally
within the bounds of Mendon. When Uxbridge was incorporated, in 1727,
June 27, Northbridge formed the northern part of that town. It was then
about five miles in length and four in width. The boundary lines have since
been changed in some places, but the size of the town has not been materially
altered. It contains from sixteen to twenty square miles of land and water.
The boundaries are as follows : On the north by Grafton ; nortli-east by Upton ;
south by Uxbridge ; and west by Sutton. The centre of the town is eleven
miles from Worcester court-house by direct line. Its latitude is 42° 8'. The
distance from Whitinsville to Worcester by the Providence and Worcester
Railroad is not far from sixteen miles. In old times the great road from
Boston to Connecticut passed through Mendon, Northbridge and Oxford,
and the road from Providence passed through Northbridge.

The Blackstoue River runs the whole length of the town on the north-eastern
side, and about a mile from the border. Mumford River and several natural
ponds and great reservoirs water the south-west section of the town. These
flow easterly to Whitinsville and to the railroad station, about midway of the
southern line of the town. The borders of these rivers and ponds are intervale,
meadow or level upland, but the larger part of the town is hilly. The whole
tract west of the Blackstone and north of the INIumford, and the whole length
of the section east of the main river, are considerably elevated, and in parts
quite rocky. The soil is of average fertility, and rewards diligent and skilful
labor. Whitney said, in 1793, that there were "no stagnant waters or ponds
in the town," but it was "finely watered by springs, streams and rivers." He
wrote also that the "lands in general are high, the air is salubrious, and the
inhabitants have been blessed with great health from the first settlement of the

SUPPORT OF THE GOSPEL. 141

place." Since then largo reservoirs have been formed in the sontli-west of the
town, but they have had no perceptible effect on the healthfulncss of the
region.

The geological formation is termed gneissic, and large quantities of good
granite have been quarried in times past. The yield is still profitable, and,
being near the railway, the cost of transportation is reasonable. Formerly,
iron-ore was found in spots; tlicre was a furnace in what is now Whilinsville,
near the present grist-mill, before the year 1720. The '* old forge "stood on
the site of the present brick mill, but there was a still older one a little east of
that place.

The incorporation of the town grew out of the religious wants of the people.
Says Rev. Lewis F. Clark, in his Discourse : "Most of the people residing here
had been in the habit of attending meeting in Uxbridtjc. But on account of their
great distance from the place of worship, they desired to bo incorporated as a
separate town, so that they might have a church organization and the ordi-
nances of the gospel by themselves." Col. John Spring, father of Rev. Dr.
Spring of Newburyport, and grandfather of the late Rev. Dr. Gardiner Spring
of New York, headed the petition to the General Court. The people clearly
showed their estimate of religious institutions by their action in town meeting.
Seven out of nine articles in the w\arrant had reference to a house of worship.
Early in 1773 it was voted "to hire some suitable person or persons to preach."
For a year or two the meetings were held in private houses. In 1774 the
meeting-house was built in the centre. The pews, or "pew-spots" as they
■were called, that is, places where pews might be placed, were sold at auction,
Feb. 24, 1775, to sixteen purchasers, on whom the chief burden of sustaining
liublic worship was laid. The war of the Revolution soon absorbed public
attention, and taxed severely the resources of the people ; but during all that
period it is on record that " they nevei* neglected to make provision for their
own religious instruction." In I ho warrant for a town mcctinir, which Avas
held nine days previous to the Declaration of Independence, there were two
articles of historical importance. The first was "to see if the town will vote to
support the Continental Congress with their lives and fortunes, if the}' should
declare the American Colonies independent of Great Britain " ; and the other
■was to see " how much money they will grant and raise for the support of the
Gospel this present year."

Durino: the first nine vcars of the town's existence there was no church
or2:anization, and no settled minister. The Rev. Aaron Bliss, a graduate of
Yale College in 17GG, was the preacher in 1780, and probably in a part of the
year before and the year after. In July, 1780, it was voted "to grant forty-
five pounds, silver money, to pay INIr. Bliss for preaching." On the 6th of
June, 1782, the church was organized with eight members. Five were males
and three were females. The day was observed as a special season of fast-
ing, humiliation and prayer. The new church held a meeting, eleven days

142 TOWN OF XORTIIBRIDGE.

later, at tho house of Maj. David Batchellcr, and then "proceeded and chose
Mr. John Crane for their elect pastor l)y a unanimous vote." The town was
notified of the choice, and in legal meeting gave its concurrence. IMr. Crane
was ordained on the 25th of June, 1783, at the age of twenty-seven, and he
continued in the pastorate of the church and people nearly fifty years. In
1832, January 5, he sent the following note to the church: "Brethren of the
church, I now resign my office as pastor and teacher, and relinquish tho
ministry in this place forever." Dr. Crane was born in Norton, March 26,
1750. His family belonged to the Society of Friends, and his early training
was in accordance with their tenets and habits of life. He was gradnated at
Harvard College in 1780, and was the only one of his class who entered the
ministry. The Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Emmons of Franklin was his theological
instructor. Says the Rev. Mr. Clark: "He was regarded by his people,
during the whole period of his ministry, with the greatest veneration and
affection." Social, companional)le, and usually voiy cheerful, j'et he was
sometimes subject to great depression of spirits. His tender sympathies and
bis conversation, which was both pleasant and instructive, made him a welcome
visitor in the families of his parish. He could turn a joke and drop a witty
repartee in such a way as to reprove without wounding, and yet not detract
from the dignity of his office. In addition to his pastoral duties, he received
students into his family, where they were either prepared for college or for
teaching. More than a hundred in all were under his tuition and guidance at
different times, some of whom became men of distinction.

Dr. Crane was an excellent pastor, as well as an able and instructive
preacher. Without the graces of oratory, his sermons made a permanent
impression. One of his peculiarities was that when he said a pointed or severe
thing, either in the pulpit or in private, he "uttered it with closed eyes." One
who heard him more than twenty j^ears, said. "He was unlike any other
preacher with whom I was ever acquainted ; I can even now remember many
of his sermons, and the manner of his treatment of his subjects, although
preached more than fifty years ago." There were several periods of special
religious interest during his ministry, and, in the last year of his pastorate,
fifty-four were added to the church by profession of their faith. He was dis-
missed on the 14th of March, 1832, by a council, and on the 1st of September,
1836, in the eightj^-first year of his age, he was called to his reward. His
long period of service as a faithful minister, and the influence he exerted in
promoting all the interests of the community would justify a more extended
notice.

As tho town began its municipal history in the period when the Revolution
was brewing, so the people partook largely of the spirit of their patriotic
couulrymen. Tho first fourteen town meetings were held in private houses.
The first meeting, which considered matters pertaining to the coming outbreak,
was held Aug. 25, 1774, when a committee was chosen "to correspond with

WHITINSVILLE COTTON MILLS, WHITINSVILLE, MASS,

^kf^r^m^^^^^^y^ ^ ^y^-^^

THE -WHITIN MACHINE WORKS, WHITINSVILLE, MASS.

REVOLUTIONARY DAYS. 143

other committees concerning public atTairs as occasion shall call for." At the
same meeting it was voted, that "David Batcheller be chose to provide for a
town stock of ammunition, viz., one barrel of powder, and lead and flints
answerable to it." It was also voted not to import or consume English goods.
The last town meeting Avarned in his majesty. King George's name, was dated
Jan. 10, 1775. The act of calling a meeting of the town, without the royal
authority, may now seem an insignificant affair, but then it was an act of
daring. It was a declaration of independence before the declaration of the
Colonial Con^jress, and it meant renunciation of alle2:iance to the kins: of En2f-
land. From the opening of the Revolution till the autumn of 1781, when the
victory at Yorktown made an end of the war, the business in town meetings
related in large measure to the needs of the public service. It was voted to
pay men who enlisted in the army; to provide provisions and clothing for
their own men in the field, and to aid those who had hired men to take their
place in the scenes of war. Labor was performed on the farms of those
Avho were absent. T!ie burdens of the war were equalized as far as pos-
sible. At one meeting the vote was "to raise 40 pounds to pay for shirts,
shoos and stockings furnished by the selectmen for the soldiers in the Conti-
nental service." At another time money was raised to pay four men "for
carrying provisions to Roxbury at the time of the alarm at Lexington." Six-
teen men wei'c in the service, in the year 1775, in addition to those who
hurried to Lexington, and soon returned home, when the alarm was over, and
the army was being organized. The town had its proportion in the field during
the war. Some were three years' men. John Hopkins, Amos White and
others died in the army.

In some cases when a man was drafted, his son, under military age, went as
a substitute. Israel Taft enlisted in this way when less than sixteen years old.
"Ho urged his parents to permit him to take his father's place, and was in the
service at West Point, and at other places on the Hudson." The number of
men in the army during the war was one hundred and twenty-eight, some of
whom were in the vicinity of Boston before the British evacuated ; some were
in the expedition to Canada ; some were at Ticonderoga ; some in the northern
army at the time of Burgoyne's surrender; some at New York, Pockskill,
and West Point, and others in other places guarding stores, or contending with
the foe. Among these were Capt. David Batcheller, Capt. Josiah Ward, and
Lieut. James Fletcher, whose descendants have been prominent in the town.

When Whitney published his history in 1793, there was a Baptist Society in
the town, consisting of about ten families, but " destitute of any settled teacher."
There were also twelve families of Quakers, whose descendants have main-
tained their organization to the present time. They built a meeting-house in
1776, and a new one in 1804, still in use by them, near Blackstone River. At
the date above given, the people of the town subsisted chiefly by farming, and
were industrious and flourishing, and it was said that there was " hardly an idle

144 TOWN OF NOETHBEIDGE.

person, or a t:iverii haunter in the place." Farming continued to be the chief
employment for another generation, though the trades common to that period
of our history \vere pursued. Carpenters, blacksmiths and masons are always
a necessity, and it is always convenient to have them near at hand.

As the history of Northbridge, since the era of the Revolution, is chiefly
the history of the rise and extension of various branches of business, con-
siderable space will be given to that subject. As stated already, the first busi-
ness in the iron line was at a shop in what is now Whitinsville, which shop
stood east of the site of the l)rick-mill. This was started as early as 172D.
Here wrought iron was made from scrap and pig iron. It is not known
whether this business was kept up without interruption, but it is known that
it was in operation about the time of the incorporation of the town, in 1772,
and the manufacture of iron was continued till about 1815, when the works
w^ero owned by James Fletcher and Paul Whitin, Sr., under the firm-name
of AVhitui & Fletcher. They bought the establishment of Ezra Wood of
Upton, who was the father of Mrs. Fletcher.

A foundry, located at Northbridge Centre, was operated as early as 1790, by
a man named Lathrop, where pots, kettles, andirons and sad-irons were made.
At a later day the making of axes was pursued at the same place.

Thecotton-spinningbusiuess was begun in Whitinsville as early as 1809, when
the Northbridge Manufacturing Company was organized through the influence
of Col. Paul Whitin, who had erected the building, and procured a portion
ot the machinery. The company commenced in a building which is now use as
a saw-mill and wood shop, and has been moved from its original location to
make room for the foundry. The establishment had successive owners, and
only moderate success until it was purchased, in 1831, by Paul Whitin & Sons.

The Blackstone River, in the east part of the town, furnishes abundant water
power, which was early put to use. At first grain and saw mills were set np,
but early in the present century the making of woolen goods was commenced
at what is now Rockdale. Not lonci: after — 1814 — the Northbridije Cloth Com-
pany was chartered. This was situated at Rockdale, and was owned by Jesse
Eddy and William Kendrick. The property was sold, in 1851, to Sylvanus
Ilolbrook, who controlled it until August, 1851, when a large portion was
destroyed by fire. In 1851, the property remaining, and also that at Riverdale,
was bought by P. Whitin & Sons. The late lion. Daniel Waldo of Worcester
became one of the principal stockholders, and the late John Waldo Lincoln,
brother of Gen. Levi Lincoln, was at one time the agent of the corporation.
A linseed-oil mill had previously stood near the site of the Riverdale factory.
Both establishments, at Rockdale and Riverdale, came, about 1820, into the
possession of Sylvanus Ilolbrook, who manufactured cotton goods for many
years. During his ownership both mills had about five thousand spindles
running.

Regard to the order of time leads us back to the origin of several other

'LI.NWUOU MILL, WHITIX lillOTlIERS, WHITINSVILLE, MASS.

PAUL WHITl.V M'f'g CO.'s HULL (UOCKDALi:), NOUTHBRIDGE, MASS.

BOOT AND SHOE BUSINESS. 145

branches of business, before proceeding with the great increase of poi)iil:ition,
production and wealth in "Whitinsville.

Tlicre have been several tanners and curriers in the town, in former times,
from the opening of ihc centnry down to the year 18G1. In the Centre, Oliver
Adams was engaged in this industry previous to 1805, when John Hall took
the establishment, and conducted it several years. On the east side of the
river, Joshua Congdon was engaged in the same business between Rockdale
and Riverdale, previous to 1825. Charles and Derby Bigelow were engaged
in the currying business at Adams' Corner before 1832, after which David
Mowry used the same premises a few years. He was followed by Robinson &
Rice, who employed a few hands, and continued in partnership until 1843,
when they dissolved, and worked in separate places. Two or three others
continued the business in the town until 1868.

The coopering business was followed, many years ago, by David Batcheller
and others. They were in the habit of making as many barrels as could be
carried on a larcre ox-wagon, and then sending them to Boston, Providence and
other cities and towns for sale.

During many years, the boot and shoe business was engaged in by a large
number of persons, though few, if any of them, had such large establishments
as are common now in the towns where the business flourishes. It is related
of the earlier shoemakers that it was their custom to "go about to the houses
of the families, for whom they proposed to work, carrying their ' kit' in saddle-
bags, using an inverted wash-tub for a bench, and a stool for a seat, shoe up
that family, then tramp for the next customer." And here it may be amusing
to remind young readers that shoes were ranch less worn by former genera-
tions. Some boys still enjoy the pleasant freedom of going barefoot in sum-
mer ; but, in old times, it was uncommon to see a boy in country towns
wearins: shoes in the warm season, and the warm season was drawn out at
great length, and extended weeks beyond the first frosts of autumn. More-
over, it was a part of the economy of older persons — men and even women —
to do without shoes a part of the year ; and on Sundays it was the custom for
children and youth of either sex to waik barefoot towards the meeting-house,
on Sunday morning, till they drew near the immediate neighborhood, when
they put on stockings and shoes before meeting the crowd or entering the
sanctuary. Returning, they dofi'cd shoes and stockings when far enough on
their way, and reached home in the guise in which they started. "Others
would wear a poorer pair until they arrived nearly to the meeting ; then change
for the best."

Passing by the time when boots and shoes were made for custom work only,
and coming down to the date when they were manufactured to be sold to deal-
ers by the case, it appears that Cheney Taft began the business about 1810.
His shop was in the old centre of the town. He made what was in those days
styled " nigger shoes " in the summer, and in the winter went South to sell

VOL. II.— 19

146 TOWN OF NORTHBPJDGE.

them. This wns in the evil times when the word negro was spelled with two
"^s, since which time there has been a frrcater revohition in politics than in
business. Other workers in this line weic : John W. Slocomb, Joseph Leland,
the brothers Josiah, Welcome and Jacob Adams, and Francis Ilemonway.
The latter made men's brogans and women's shoes for the trade as well as cus-
tom boots. In 1824, he began to employ hands, — four or five in his shop,
besides others outside. From this time — about 1825 — the business was car-
ried on in different parts of the town by many persons, none of whom did a
large amount of work ; but the aggregate production was quite large. Some
of the manufacturers had shops, and others worked in their own dwelling-
houses. As lon<T niro as 1837, Barber, in his " ni>toi-ical Collections," states
that "there were six hundred pairs of boots and iifty-three thousand five hun-
dred pairs of shoes manufiictured," valued at fifty thousand dollars. The males
employed were seventy-five, and the females were twenty. This business was
followed by many in a moderate way down to the year 18G0, when it was in
few hands. The principal manufacturer at this time was Joel Bachelor, who
commenced in 1827, and contin\ied the business nearly fifty years. He con-
stantly increased the quantity of goods manufactured, and built, in 18G7, a
large factory, in which, in the year 1871, was turned ont a large amount of
work. The number of pairs of shoes for the year was seventeen thousand two
hundred and eighty ; the number of pairs of boots for the year was ninety-five
thousand. The value of tlie annual product of boots and shoes was $368,480.
By the State census of 1875, this business has been reduced in amount.

But the ])usiness men of the town, by way of eminence, belong to the Whitin
family, of whom the head was Col. Paul Whitin. From him and his enter-
pi'ise the village of Whitinsville had its origin and name. Paul Whitin, or
Whiting, as the name was originally, was born in Roxbury, Dec. 3, 17G7.
lie was the son of Nathaniel and Sarah (Draper) Whiting. Why the final
letter in the name was dropped is not known. It could not have been because
the name was not respectable, as it has been honorable in all generations of
New England history. His father died when he was quite young, and his
mother married James Prentice, who lived in Northbridge. In boyhood, ho
was apprenticed to a blacksmith named Jesse White. His opportunities for
education must have been very limited, as it is said that his whole attendance
at school did not probably exceed six months. But ho could read and think.
He had a sound mental constitution, though his physical system was weak
when his apprenticeship was finished, and for several years later. He had a
strong desire to learn, and liis mind fixed upon that which was useful. Says
the Rev. Lewis Clark : " He strugsrled with and overcame dJfEculties to which
most would have yielded. By perseverance and a diligent improvement of
those intervals of labor that many young men spend in idleness, he acquired a
good knowledge of those branches of study necessary for the successful prose-
cution of business. A book for aiding him in acquiring a correct use of

COL. PAUL WIIITIN. 147

language was always by hiin. IIo was as familiar with this as with the tools
of his shop." This was an excellent raelhod of discipline, as it led to pre-
cision of thought as well as of expression. By degrees, he gained the public
coulideuce, which increased during his whole life. He was chosen town clerk
at the age of twenty-eight years, and was continued in the office thirteen years
in succession. His services in other town offices were often sousrht and
obtained. Though of a quiet and undemonstrative turn, and averse to show
and parade, he was an excellent military officer, and rose through the successive
grades to the rank of colonel. He was a justice of the peace, and was often
urged to bo a candidutc for the General Court, but business engagements
induced him to decline. A proof of his industry and economy is seen in the
fact that, whatever time he spent in military or official duties, he always made
up by extra labor in his regular business. Such a man was sure to succeed in
life, provided his life was prolonged. To those who are prudent, industrious
and prayerful, the road to prosperity and eminence is as straight and plain as
the "road to the mill." Such was the character and such the success of Paul
AVhitin.

The qualities which secured success to Mr. Whitin made him a useful
member of society. His influence did not promote vice aud immorality, but
fostered industry, frugality, education. Sabbath observance, and all the insti-
tutions of reli2:ion. And his wife was fitted to aid and encouraij^o him in
everything which developed his own character, or was calculated to build up
the community. She was the daughter of Col. James Fletcher, one of the
leading men of the town. It is related that, when young Whitin sought her
hand, the suit was not encouraged by her father, on the ground of his feeble
health. "He will not be able to support a wife," said parental wisdom.
" Then I will support him," was the spirited reply ; and she was as good as her
word. Though the husband was amply able to support wife and family, the
wife aided him in every way to achieve success and reputation. She was his
counsellor in all his affairs ; and when he was taken away, and his four sons
succeeded to an extensive business, her advice was sousfht and followed in all
matters of importance, whether in relation to the family, or to business, or to
objects of Ijenevolence. The description of the wise and good woman in the
closing chapter of Proverbs found a remarkable exemplilication in her: "The
heart of her husband doth safely trust in her. . . . Her children arise up and
call her blessed."

Paul Whitin followed the business to which he was bred, and by steady
attention to the calling of a blacksmith acquired a competence, brought up a
family', and added greatly to the growth and general welfare of the town.
Two of his sons, Paul, Jr., and John C, were taken into partnership in 182G,
This firm was euijaGfcd in cotton manufactures. Soon after, John C. Whitin
invented a picker which much facilitated the manufacture of cotton into cloth,
and enabled the firm of Paul Whitin & Sons to compete successfully with

148 TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE.

others in cotton-spinning. Col. Whitin died Fob. 8, 1831, in the sixty-fourth
year of his age, by which time the business was firmly established. The firm-
name was continued, Charles P. and James Whitin becoming members.

In 1847 the first large machine-shop of John C. Whitin was erected. Its
dimensions are as follows: Length, three hundred and six feet; width, one
hundred and two feet. The new machine-shop was built in 1864, and is three
hundred and ninety feet in length by seventy in width. Taken together, they
constitute one of the largest and most complete establishments in the State for
the manufacture of machinery.

The old firm was dissolved Jan. 1, 1864, when the business was divided.
Paul Whitin took the cotton business at Rockdale and Riverdale : John C.
Whitin took the machine manufacturing ; Charles P. Whitin took the cotton-
mill in Whitinsvillo, and James Whitin took the unimproved privilege at
Linwood, near the railroad station, in addition to the mills at North
Uxbridge. The amount of work done in each of these establishments is
very extensive. In the cotton business the power-looms employed are seven
hundred and four. The spindles in use are thirty-three thousand seven
hundred and ninety-two. In machines and machinery, the capital invested,
according to the State census of 1875, was $605,000, and the value of the
machinery made was $900,750. By this is meant the product of the machine-
shops in one year, and not the value of all the machinery in the town. In this
branch of business Northbridge leads all the towns in the county. The two
cities, Worcester and Fitchburg, exceed it in the amount of capital invested,
but in the value of machinery produced Northbridge stands next to Worcester.
The increase in the currency value of manufactures in the town, from 1865 to
1875, including the total products of the manufacturing business, was almost
incredible. In 1865 the value was $912,310 ; in 1875 the value was $1,521,072.
The increase, therefore, was $608,762 in ten years. The advance made in the
cotton business between 1837 and 1875 is shown by the following figures. In
1837 nine thousand spindles were running, and cotton goods were made of the
valar.e of $136,750; in 1875 the number of spindles was thirty-three thousand
seven hundred and ninety-four, and the cotton goods made were valued at
$118,697.

The population of Northbridge in 1776 was four hundred and eighty-one.
During the next twenty-five years the increase was less than one hundred. In
1830 it was but a little more than doubled, being one thousand and fifty-three.
The increase was rapid during the next twenty years, being two thousand two
hundred and thirty in 1850. At the end of the next decade the population was
two thousand six hundred and thirtj^-three ; and in 1875 it had increased to
four thousand and thirty. The larger part of the increase has been in the
village of Whitinsville, which shows the marks of thrift on everv hand. The
buildings are comparatively new, and are kept in good repair. The shops and
factories are constructed on improved models, and supplied with the best

LATER MINISTERS. 149

machinery. The dwellings have an air of neatness and comfort. Some of
them are elegant and splendid, with capacions grounds, and gardens in the
highest state of cultivation. The pul)lic buildings are a credit to the place, and
betoken a healthful interest in education and the worship of God. The influ-
ence of Paul Whitin, Sr., who gave the original impulse to the business of the
])lace, has been felt as a constant force. Ilis four sons enlarged the business,
but kept it under the same prudent and beneficent management, whereby the
community svas a partner in all the advantages gained by the proprietors. As
years advanced, sons and sons-in-law of the third generation have come on the
stage of active life, and become participators in the various branches of manu-
facture. The whole process has been a growth from small beginnings to the
present magnitude, without undue haste, but with a steady annual progress,
evincing a rare combination of enterprise and prudence.

It would seem, from an inspection of the town and a survey of its water-
power, that its growth must be mainly in the villages on the river and the rail-
road ; viz., Rockdale, Riverdale and Linwood. And as the property in these
localities is very much under the control of the members of the family above-
named, the gradual development of all the capabilities of the valley of the
Blackstone, within the limits of the town, may be expected. As the villages
increase, the natural effect will be to raise the value of land in the Centre, by
furnishing a market for all the products of the farms and gardens. The
quarries are near for the convenience of builders, and thus many circumstances
combine to prophesy a prosperous future to this ancient town.

CHAPTER II.

CHURCH HISTORY RESUMED SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION — THE REBELLION,

AND THE ACTION OF THE TOWN MANUFACTURES, MILLS AND FACTORIES

PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS.

Resuming the ecclesiastical history of the town, we are led, in the first place,
to trace the fortunes of the old church and society in the Centre. The Rev.
Samuel H. Fletcher, who succeeded Dr. Crane in the pastorate, was installed
March 14, 1832, and dismissed at the end of two years. His successor, the
Rev. Charles Forbush, was installed June 4, 1834, but his brief pastorate was
terminated by his death on the 9th of September, 1838. In 1855, says the Rev.
Lewis F. Clark, "the old meeting-house, which had stood for half a century
on the highest point of land for miles around, was taken down, and the present
edifice erected on a site less conspicuous, but more easy of access." In 1839,
April 3, the Rev. Levvis Pennel commenced his ministry, which lasted throe

150 TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE.

years and eleven clays. The Rev. E. Demond supplied the church from 1842
to 1845. On the 5th of November, 1845, the Rev. William Bates was
ordained as pastor, and continued in the ofBce about twelve years. lie was
dismissed in 1857, November 23, and died in 1859. Temporary supplies have
occupied the pulpit the list twelve years. These are their names : Rev.
Messrs. George B. SafFord, Hiram Day, Sylvester Iline, Calvin Terry, D. W.
Richardson, W. Hazlewood, Thomas S. Norton and James Wells. The
present acting pastor is Rev. John T. Crumrine, and the church reports fifty-
six members.

During the last years of his ministry Dr. Crane occasionally preached in a
school-house in what is now Whitinsville. Other ministers conducted the
services at times, and in 1833 a conviction grew up that something more was
needed to "meet the religious wants of the people." In consequence, a Sabbath-
school was started in March, and its meetings were held earlier in the day than
the regular worship in the Centre. Another session was held in the afternoon.
On the 2d of February', 1834, some of the members of the church living in the
villaije, sought the concurrence of the church in an effort to establish "church
ordinances in that place, should circumstances in the providence of God seem
to require it." The church was not willing to part with any of its members,
fearing that its own ability to maintain public worship would be crippled. A
movement was then made by persons outside of the society, representing, as
they said, a "population of nearly three hundred, a large proportion of whom
do not attend public worship on the Sabbath." A council was called by a
"number of professors of religion in the village, belonging to different churches,"
which council met on the 17th of April, 1834. After hearing the case, the
council adjourned till the 28th, when the enterprise was sanctioned :ind a church
was soon formed. A chapel had been built in 1833, and religious services w^ere
held in it from the time of its dedication, January, 1834, until a meeting-house
w;is erected. The Rev. Michael Burdctt was engaged to preach for one j^ear.
The church was organized July 31, with thirty-three members. IMr. Burdett
was installed as pastor April 15, 1835, and dismissed April 29, 1841. The
Rev. Lewis F. Clark was ordained and installed June 1, 1842. At his
installation the church had eighty-four members. Mr. Clark died on the
18th of October, 1870, after a pastorate of more than twenty-eight years. He
was a good, kind, able and godly man, all the years of whose ministerial life
were lilkd with usefulness. "He never sought another place, and never took
a dollar for supplying on the Sabbath any other pulpit." He loved his people,
"and was contented to stay with them; they loved him, and were satisfied
with his work." Under his guidance the church became "large and influential,
abounding in love, and the grace of liberality." The Rev. John R. Thurston
was installed as his successor April 20, 1871, and still continues in the pastoral
office. The number of church members is two hundred and sixty, and the
annual contributions for benevolent objects amount to over ten thousand

SCHOOL HISTORY. 151

dollars. The deacons have been Alvan Lchuid, John C. Whitin, Horace
Armsby, Stephen F. Bachelor, P. Whitin Dudley, H. A. Goodcll and Willi;ini
H. Whitin. The second and three la.st are still in office. The Sabbath school,
superintended by Dea. William H. Whilin, numbers two hundred and seventy-
five.

The first Methodist meetings in Northljridge were held in private houses,
many years ago, in the neighborhood known as Quaker Street, and vicinity,
and also in the school-house at Plummer's Corner. Northbrid^^e was the
centre of a circuit which included surrounding towns. In 1850 services
were began in "Whitinsville, in a hall on Railroad Avenue, and the Methodist
church was organized on the 23d of June in that year. The official members
at that time were Smith Bruce, Amos White, Charles Taylor, "William Smith,
Libeus Leach, A. E. Batchelor and J. H. Cole. A new and spacious house of
worship was erected in 1875, and was dedicated October 2 of that year. The
cost of the site, the church and the parsonage was nearly $20,000. The pastor
now in charge is Rev, Seth C. Carey.

As business and population increased in Whitinsviilo and the other villages
in the town, the foreign-born clement grew by degrees, until, in 1875, as
appears by the State census, there were natives of Ireland and Canada, to the
number of one thousand three hundred and six. As a large proportion of
these had been trained in the Roman Catholic faith, they naturally felt the need
of religious ordinances in accordance with their views. Public worship was
held in different places until 1870, when the Catholic church was erected in
Whitinsville, bearinsj the title of St. Patrick.

A United Presbyterian church' was organized, Oct. 3, 18G1. It worships in
the chapel formerly occupied by the Village Congregational Society for the
same purpose. The present pastor is Rev. J. L. Thompson.

The education of their children was considered of the highest importance by
the first settlers of Northbridi^C' Afcer the town w\as orijanizcd, and the offi-
cers were chosen, two votes were passed ; one was to provide for preaching,
and the other was for the support of a school or schools. Sixteen pounds were
appropriated for this object. Here was provision for secular and religious
instruction. The minister was the servant of tlie town as well as the school
teacher; both received their support from the town. The church and the
school combined, was the educational ap[)aratus of the people. No school-
houses were built during the first quarter of a century, or till about the year
1795, as appears by a report of the school committee made in the Centennial
year — 1S7G — but the schools were kept in private houses, or other buildings,
in different parts of the town. The terms were only two or three months in
length, and were often kept by the same master, who went from place to place,
and sometimes had in his school the elder pupils from all sections of the town.
Besides his pay in cash, which was not largo, the teacher bo udcd round in the
families which had scholars in the schools. The branches pursued were such

152 TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE.

as were common in all district schools in those early clays. All the children
were drilled in reading, spelling and writing. Penmanship was an art, and
some teachers were famous, in a narrow circle, as penmen, and for their skill
in making good goose-quill pens. They were required to set copies which the
scholars could safely follow as models. The introduction of steel pens and
copper-plate copies has been a great relief to many modern teachers. Arith-
metic was the study in the primitive schools. A boy that did not know enough
to keep accounts and cast interest, was not fit to take care of himself. Geog-
raphy and grammar came in by degrees, when Morse and Murray had provided
improved text-books in those important branches. It was many years, how-
ever, before a body of teachers was raised up who were competent to parse or
analyze a sentence of more than ordinary complexity. But in the words of
the committee : "While the education of the school was so meagre, their gen-
eral culture in morals and manners was strongly inculcated by the stern Puri-
tanism of those times. Whatever we may choose to say in comparison favor-
able to modern schools, we must acknowledge their supremacy in the develop-
ment of moral character, the virtues of honesty and truthfulness, Avhich are an
essential requisite for a useful and loyal citizen."

A few citations from the town records will let us see into the life of the
people more than a hundred years ago. At a meeting held Sept. 21, 1772,
after votins: to raise sixteen pounds for schooling, and three pounds for dis-
trict charges, a committee was chosen to "squadron the district of North-
bridiie." The committee divided the town, which seems to have been a school
district, into seven squadrons, 'naming the families in each squadron. At a
meeting held Feb. 1, 1773, it was voted to "divide the school money accord-
ing to the number of children in each squadron." In 1784, there were six
squadrons. In 1780 forty pounds were raised for schooling. The same sum
was continued for several years. In 1795, April 16, it was voted "to build a
school-house in each of the school districts in the town." By this time the law
of the State allowed the towns to be districted, which, in the opinion of Horace
Mann, was bad policy. After long trial, the State has returned to the old plan
of making the whole town a district for school purposes. In 179G, further
action was taken in relation to school-houses, which resulted in their erection.
In 1797, the sum of $133.33 was raised for schooling, which was the grant till
1801, when the town voted to raise $150. The same sum was raised in the
year following, and Paul Aldrich, Nathaniel Adams and Jabez Wing were
chosen a committee to regulate school districts. V

Such were the feeble beginnings in the way of common-school education in
Northbridsfe. A few fiijures will show ihc contrast between then and now.
In 1850, the population of the town was two thousand one hundred and ten ;
the appropriation for schools was $1,000 ; the length of the schools was five
months and sixteen days, and the sum appropriated for each scholar was about
$2.32. In 1874-5, the population was four thousand and thirty; the appro-'

MEMORIAL BUILDING, WHITINSVILLE, MASS.

THE CIVIL WAR. 153

priation for schools was $7,350; the length of the schools was eight months
and nineteen clays, and the sum appropriated for each scholar was $8.87. In
the year 1877-8, the appropriation for schools was $7,850; the length of the
schools was nine months, and the sum appropriated for each child was $10.66.
These figures place Northbridge high in the list of public-spirited towns. There
arc in the town sixteen schools, including a grammar and a high school. The
cost of the high school in the year 1878-9 was $1,550, and the attendance was
about fifty pupils. In relation to this, the committee report that "the estab-
lishment of such a school has paid all its cost in the increased number of edu-
cated persons, and the stimulus it has presented to the pupils of lower grades
to increased study, and a better preparation to enter it." In addition to the
extended curriculum of the schools, attention has been given to drawing and
music in some of the schools.

The modern improvement in school-honses is indicative of the growing inter-
est in the education of the young. The school buildin2:s in Northbridsfe are in
line with the general progress. The property of this kind, in the whole town,
is valued at about foity thonsand dollars. The "four-room" school-house
erected in Whitinsville, last year, is furnished with seats for two hundred and
twenty-four scholars, but will admit of more if necessary. There is also a
good recitation-room, where an assistant may be employed, and "the building
contains really five schools. The building is elegant in its outward appearance,
and the inside finish is of the best materials. The rooms are large, high, well-
lighted, and abundantly supplied with blackboards and apparatus. The cloak-
rooms, closets, halls and stairways are large and convenient. There is a good
basement with ample play-rooms, and a liberal allowance of yard or lawn
around the house. There is complete separation of the sexes in the groimds,
and in the building, until they come under the supervision of the teachers."
Proper attention has been paid to ventilation and warmth. The grounds have
been handsomely graded and surrounded by a suitable fence, in keeping with
the plan of the house. In a word, the school- house is an ornament to the vil-
lage. The money invested in school-houses since 1868, amounts to $50,000.
The committee in charge of the schools in 1878-9, were Messrs. R. R. Clarke,
M. D., Edward Bachelor, Josiah Lasclle, Arthur F. Whitin, George Benson
and William H. Whitin. Dr. Clarke has been a member of the school com-
mittee and practically superintendent of schools nearly twenty-five years, and
it is largely owing to his zeal and enthusiasm that the schools of the town have
been raised to their present high standard.

In the work of suppressing the Rebellion — 1861-65 — the town bore an
honorable part. As soon as the news of the firing upon Fort Sumter was
received, all hearts were resolved to maintain the supremac}^ of the national
government. The first legal meeting was held May 8, when it was voted to
raise "such sums of money as may be required, rot exceeding five thousand
dollars," for various war purposes. Ilazen O. Bean, Jeremiah Robinson,

VOL. II.— 20

154 TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE.

Joseph Dudley, Luke S. Farnum, and Hirara Wing were j(jincd with the
selectmen to carry the vote into effect. The selectmen in that year were Wil-
liam Kendall, Merrick L. Taft, James F. Whitin, John C. TaCt and Charles
Fowler. Some of these, with the following, served in the remaining years of
the war : P. Whitin Dudley, Joel Bachelor, Leander F. Smith, Lewis Armsby,
Jeremiah Robinson, Nelson Paine, Stephen F. Bachelor, Davis P. Gray, George
W. Rawson, David B. Winter. During the war Iliram Wing was town clerk
and treasurer.

In 1862 the selectmen were authorized to pay a bounty of one hundred dol-
lars to each volunteer for three years' service, who should enlist and be credited
to the quota of the town. The sum of lifty dollars additional Avas raised for
those already in the field. Other votes raising money for additional volunteers
were passed at vai'ious meetings in the fall of this year. In 18G3, November
3, the town voted "that the families of conscripts, disabled soldiers and those
who have died in the service of United States, be placed on the same footing
as regards State aid, as the families of volunteers." A vote was passed, April
9, 18G4, to "pay a bounty of one hundred and twenty-Ove dollars to each
volunteer enlisting to the quota of the town for three years' scrvico," under a
call issued at that time by the President. And, in 18G5, after the war was
over, August 5, it was voted to "refund the mone}^ to all individuals," who had
paid money to aid reciuiting. According to the figures as given I)y Gen.
Schouler, Northbridge furnished three himdred and eleven men for the war,
which was a surplus of seventeen above all demands. Five were commissioned
officers. The whole amount of money expended by the town for Avar pur-
poses, exclusive of State aid, was $15,407.10. The amount paid for State aid
to soldiers' families, was $12,064.47, making a total of $27,471.57. A report
made to the town by a committee chosen to '' collect statistics showing the
action of the town in regard to the war," gives a total expense much larger
than the above. The estimate of the committee included all the appropriations
of the town for war purposes, including State aid, and increased taxation on
account of the war, and the voluntary contributions of the people, including
the amount raised by the ladies. The summary is as follows : — On ticcount of
the war, $26,034.62 ; voluntary contributions, $8,427.91 ; amounting to $34,-
462.53. The estimated increase of the State tax was $25,000. Sundry per-
sons paid the United States for internal revenue, $461,311.10. Th(! latter was
of course added to the cost of goods manufactured, and, therefore, not a tax
on the citizens of the town, except so far as they purchased the goods thus
taxed. The whole cost of the war includes, besides the above, the cost of
stamps and other indirect expenses. To this must be added the total share of
the town in the national debt. The town contained, when the war began, two
thousand six hundred and thirty-three inhabitants, and the valuation was
$945,574 ; from which may be seen what a heavy burden was cheerfully borne
by the people of Northbridge.

MILLS AND FACTORIES. 155

In addition to the facts given in the preceding pages, the following authentic
statements respecting water-power, the dimensions of factories, and their
annual product up to date, will bo of permanent interest.

In 1826, the Mumford River, on which the works at Whitinsville are located,
supplied ten horse-power, but by a system of reservoirs constructed from time
to time, this limited power has been increased to three hundred and seventy-
five horse-power ; and the flowage has been increased from a few acres to over
fourteen hundred.

The machine shop, erected in 1847, is three hundred and six feet lono- by
one hundred and two feet wide, two stories high with a basement. The shop,
built in 1864, is three hundred and ninety feet in length by seventy feet in
width, with an L seventy by seventy feet. The main building and L's arc
three stories high, with a basement. The capital is $600,000. The shop has
a capacity to employ seven hundred men, and when running full consumes
upwards of fifteen tons of pig-iron daily, besides largo quantities of wrought
iron, steel, brass, &c., in the manufacture of the various machines. The
establishment was chartered in 1870, under the name of Whitin Machine
Works. John C. Whitin is president, J. Lasell, treasurer, and G. E. Taft,
superintendent. The two buildings, including the L's, contain live acres of
floor-room, besides twelve thousand square foot for foundry purposes, and fifty
thousand square feet for storage.

The Whitinsville Mills were built in 1845. The dimensionsare as follows: —
one hundred and sixty-two by forty-eight feet, with an Lone hundred and eight
by forty-eight feet, and a pickei--room, fifty by forty-eight feet. The L and
picker-room were put up in 1860. The number of spindles is thirteen thou-
sand four hundred. Use annually, fourteen hundred bales, equal to six hundred
and eighty thousand pounds, of cotton. Value of ])roducts, $200,000 to
$225,000. Hands employed, about one hundred and sixty.

The Rockdale Mill w\as erected in 1857. It is one hundred and sixty-six feet
by sixty-six feet, with boiler-house forty-one feet by fifty-eight. The River-
dale Mill is two hundred and sixty-four by forty-five feet. The number of
spindles in these mills is eighteen thousand two hundred and twenly-four.
Pounds of cotton used yearl}^ seven hundred and ten thousand seven hundred.
Number of bales, one thousand four hundred and ninety-four. Annual value
of products, $175,000. Hands employed, two hundred and sixty.

The Linwood Mill was erected in 1866. It is five stories in height with the
following dimensions: — one hundred and sixty-four by sixty-six feet, and a
picker-room fifty-nine by forty-three feet. The number of spindles is fifteen
thousand. The amount of cotton worked up yearly, equals one thousand five
hundred and fifty bales, or seven hundred and forty-five thousand pounds.
The value of the products is from $225,000 to $250,000 annually. Number
of bauds employed, about one hundred and eighty.

The National Bank was established in 1865. Its capital is $100,000. Paul

156 TOWN OF NORTHBRIDGE.

Whitiii is president, and H. A. Goodell is cashier. The president of the
Savini;s Bank is John C. Whitin ; the treasurer, H. A. Goodell.

The Pine GroV'C Cemetery was dedicated in 1878. It is the property of a
private corporation. The situation, between Whitinsville and Lin wood is
excellent, and the ground has great capabilities of improvement.

Whitinsville has a lyceuni lecture course annually, of a high order, at an
expense of about $12,000, Avhich is defrayed by the sale of tickets.

The "Whitinsville Compendium" serves as a vehicle of local news.

The Memorial Hall, near the centre of W^hitiusville, is one of the most
costly, spacious and elegant public buildings in the county. It was erected on
the family homestead where the sons met to take counsel of their venerated
mother, during all the years of her widowhood. It was erected in honor of their
parents, at a cost of about $50,000. It contains, in the high and airy base-
ment, a good-sized hall for town meetings, and all necessary rooms for heating-
apparatus and fuel. On the first floor are rooms for various town ofliceis, a
library of several thousand volumes, and a reading-room. The second floor
is occupied by a spacious hall, with platform, gallery and ante-rooms. Hero
a large audience can be comfortably seated. The building is most thoroughly
constructed of handsome brick and granite work, %vith hard-wood finish. In
size, shape, finish and location the Memorial Hall is a splendid structure, and
worthy of its noble design.

The " AVhitinsville Social Library" arose from a bequest of one hundred
dollars, left by Miss Sarah Fletcher in aid of such a library as the town might
create. The work was placed in charge of a committee of the town, viz.,
Rev. L. F. Clark, Horace Armsby, and Leander Gorton, who formed a con-
stitution ; and the library was opened in the chapel, once a week, to all per-
sons paying one dollar each, annually. There were then two hundred and
fifty volumes, and eighty-three subscribers. This action of the town was Dec.
10, 1844. In 1860 another legacy of five hundred dollars was given by Ezra
W. Fletcher, to which two hundred and fifty dollars were added by subscrip-
tion. The society voted Feb. 21, 1876, to make the library free, if the town
would appropriate two hundred dollars annually for its support ; the property
to revert on failure of this condition. The town accepted, and has since more
than met the condition. The library is kept in the Memorial Building and
now contains about three thousand three hundred volumes.

NATURAL FEATUKES. 157

OAKHAM.

BY MAJ. JOHN B. FAIRBANK.

CHAPTER I.

SITUATION AND SURFACE SETTLEMENT AND FIRST PURCHASE — INCORPORA-
TION APPROACH OF THE REVOLUTION MINUTE-MEN INFLATED CUR-
RENCY HIGH PRICES CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION — WAR OF 1812 —

VOTE AGAINST ALLIANCE CIVIL WAR.

Tins town lies fourteen miles north-west of Worcester, and joins Rutland
and Paxton on the north-east, Barre on the north-west, New Braintree on the
south-west, and Spencer on the south. It is eminently one of the "hill towns"
of the county. All the streams which water and drain it have their sources
within its borders, and flow either northerly to the Ware, or southerly to the
Chicopee River.

The surface is uneven. The underlying rock is of the gneiss formation,
nearly horizontal in position, the strike of which is nearly north and south, and
the dip slightly to the west.

The soil is fertile and well adapted to the grasses, grains and fruits of New
England. The subsoil of the hills is a compact clay ; of the valleys is sand
or gravel. Over one-fifth of the surface is covered with forests, chiefly of
chestnut. There are no large streams of water in the town, but the brooks
and small streams by their rapid fall furnish considerable water-power the
greater part of the year.

Upon Cold Brook in the northerly part of the town are mineral springs of
great interest. Their waters are successfully used in the treatment of many
forms of diseltiie. There are several of these springs situated near each other,
yet entirely distinct in the character of their waters.

Oakham constituted the south-west portion of an Indian tract called Naquag.
This tract was conveyed Dec. 22, 1686, by five Natick Indians to Henry Wil-
lard, Joseph Rowlandson, Joseph Foster, Benjamin Willard and C3q:)rian
Stevens. The Indian deed was confirmed by the legislature Feb. 23, 1713, and
to that conveyance is traced the titles of the present owners.

The municipal history of Oakham commences in 1762, when it was set off"

158 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

from Rutland, and incorporated into a town. Previous to that time it was
known as Rutland West Wing. Its social history begins in 1750, when the
first settlements were made within its limits.

In the autumn of the last mentioned year a colony of ten families was formed
in the old town to settle the West Wing. The heads of these families were :
William Banks, Alexander Bothwell, Alexander Crawford, Patrick Green,
Alexander McFarland, James Bell, James Craige, James Dean, William
Harper, Robert jMcMains.

These colonists were Scotch-Irish, from the North of Ireland. In relisrious
faith and practice they were Presbyterians. Having selected their lands, the
settlers united in building' their houses, all working on each house in turn.
Nino houses were completed the same autumn, and the tenth the following
spring.

The West Wing had been laid out previous to its settlement by the pro-
prietors of Rutland into fifty-two lots of about two hundred and fifty acres
each. These lots are still known as " original lots," and their boundaries as
" oriijinal lines of lots."

The number of settlers was largely increased during the next eight years by
the arrival of other families.

In 1758 a petition signed by twent^'^-four persons was sent to the Colonial
Government, praying that they be incorporated into a precinct. This pe ition
was as follows : —

" To His Excellencf/, Thomas Poivnnl, Esq., Governor and Commander in Chief in and over
His Majesty's Province of Massachusetls Day : To the Hon^^e His Majesty's Council and
the Hmi^^e House of Representatives in General Court Assembled :

" December 29lh, HoS. — The Petition of us the Subscribers Inhabitants of the West
Wing of Rutland so called Ilumbl}' Shows That y^ greater of us live at a very great
Distance from the places of Public Worship both in Old and New Rutland. That we
arc not in a Capacity of Ourselves to Raise any sum of money in order to hire Preaching
among us as we are neither a Proprict}-, Town District nor Parrish. Besides man}^ other
Inconveniences we labor under to witt for the want of Power To raise money for the
Scliooling and Educating our children And also money To Repair and make Highways
and build Bridges And many other Difficulties we Labor under by Reason of being thus
in A State of Nature. We Humbly apprehend y' if we were Incorporated into a Par-
rish and Impowered to Raise Money for the Ends and Uses above Mentioned it wou d
greatly Incourage the Settlement of the Place.

" Wherefore j'our Petitioners Humbly Pray your Excellency and Honours would be
Pleased to Incorporate all the lands in the said Wing as the}' are deliniated on the Plan
Herewith Presented Into a Precinct or Parrish and Inable us to assess the Inhabitants
of said Wing from Time to Time for such sums of Money as shall be agreed upon to
be raised by the Major part of the Inhabitants for the Ends and Purposes Aforesaid Or
Otherwise Relieve Your Petitioners as in Your great Wisdom You shall see Meet. And
as in duty bound Shall ever Pray."

Upon this petition an act was passed incorporating (he inhabitants of the

TOWN BUSINESS. 159

West Wing of Ilutland into a precinct, Avith all the rights, privileges and im-
munities which by law precincts had been vested with.

The first precinct meeting was hold at the house of Alexander Bothwell,
March (5, 1750, for the purpose of choosing precinct officers.

In the same year it was —

" Voted to raise teen poonds by tax to Repau- Ilyways. Also to tax the inbabitence
teen poonds to support pritching this present year and that the meeting be kept the
first Sabbath at the house of Capt. James Craigc, y^ 2 day at Alexander Craffords y'' 3
at Left Bothwells y" 4 at Patrick Greens and so the other four days accordingly."

In 17G1 the precinct voted to build a meeting- house "at the Santcr or next
convenient place," forty-six feet in length by thirty-six feet wide. The walls
were raised and enclosed in the autumn of that year, but the house progressed
slowly, and for eighteen years thereafter appropriations were annually made
towards finishinof it. A committee to seat the raeetiug-houso were instructed
in assigning seats to the people " to have respect not only to their pay but to
their age and reputation."

At a meeting held April 16, 1762, the precinct voted to petition the General
Court to bo incorporated as a separate town, and on the eleventh day of Jimo,
1762, was passed "an act for erecting the West Precinct of Rutland into a
District by the name of Oakham." The town was called Oakham from a town
of the same name in England, from which many of the inhabitants had come.

The lirst town meeting was hold at the house of Capt. James Craige, Tues-
day, the 22d day of June, 1762, and the following town officers were chosen : —
Clerk, George Harper ; selectmen and assessors, James Craige, George Harper
and Jonathan Bullard ; constable, James Dean ; treasurer, Arthur Forbes ;
warden, James Bell ; surveyors of highways, Joseph Craige, Arthur Forbes and
Alexander McFarland ; tithing-man, Solomon Parmenter.

From the incorporation of the town to the beginning of the Revolution, the
warrants for the annual town meetings usually prescribed the following busi-
ness : —

" To choose all necessary town officers.

To see what money the town will grant for preaching this j'car.

To see what money the town will grant for schooling this 3'ear.

To see what money the town will grant towards finishing tlie meeting-house.

To see what raonc}^ the town will grant for repairing highwa^-s.

To see if hogs shall be allowed to run at large.

To choose a committee to provide a minister."

The last article usually elicited the most interest. On one occasion the com-
mittee were instructed " to apply to the presbytery for a minister, and no ivhere
else."

The causes which led to the Revolution were rapidly producing their results,
and the minds of the people of the town were diverted from their own local
matters, and attracted to the broader field of national affairs.

160 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

The records abundantly attest the deep interest which they took in the great
events of that time. They were accustomed to express and enforce their
opinions by resolutions, instrnctions to their officers, and by their votes.

On the sixteenth day of January, 1775, the selectmen convened the inhabi-
tants at the meeting-house to "discover their minds on the following ques-
tions : —

" I. To see if they will choose a man to go to the Provincial Congress to set at
Camljriclge on the first of February next.

" 11. To see if they will chose a Committee of Inspection and give them an}'
instructions.

" III. To see if they will vote to pa}' their proportion to the Continental Congress."

At this meeting, it was voted —

" To pay the Continental Congress their proportion, and that the Treasurer advance
the same, one half to be taken from the money raised for preaching, and one half from
the school fund, and that the amount — £12 3s. Gd. — be paid to the receiver appointed
b}^ Congress, and that no money be paid into his Ilajestf/'s Exchequer hij the officers of
^his Town.

" Also voted unanimously to adhere to what they have done, as follows, to wit :
Having perused the votes and proceedings of the Continental Congress held at Pliila-
delphia on the 5th of September, 1774, containing the Bill of Rights, a List of Griev-
ances, the Association, &c. ; we esteem the same truly loyal and well stated, and
calculated for the preservation of our invaluable rights and privileges, and therefore, to
use the words of that venerable body, firmly agree and associate, under the sacred ties
of virtue, honor and love of our Country, faithfully to adhere to said association in all
respects."

Capt. Isaac Stone was chosen a delegate to the Provincial Congress to be
held at Cambridije, and the foUow^inor instructions were s'iven him : —

"Sir, — You having been unanimously chosen to represent us at this alarming crisis,
we expect you to exert j'oui'self for the public good.

" You are sensible that we have unanimously adopted the Association of the Conti-
nental Congress as truly lo^'al and well calculated for the preservation of our invaluable
rights and privileges, which we trust will be your general guide. And further, it is our
opinion to suspend the choice of officers for the administration of Civil government for
the present, unless something should be laid before the Congress which should make
the contrary highly necessary."

Jesse Allen, Jonathan Bullard, Isaac Stone, Joseph Craige, Joseph Hudson,
Benjamin Joselyn, and Samuel Metcalf were at the same time chosen a "Com-
mittee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety," and were instructed to "put
into execution the resolves of the Continental and Provincial Conf:rresses as lar
as they are al)le."

The committee had no authority under the law, and were powerless to
enforce these resolves except as they brought public opinion to bear upon

WAR PREPARATIONS. 161

offenders ; but this, in their hands, was a terrible weapon. Persons disloyal to
the cause of the Colonies were to be "held and treated as outcasts — to be
shunned and avoided as enemies of humanity " ; and 3'et to be closely watched,
and all their actions scrutinized by the committee.

This committee, with changes of its members, was continued throughout the
Revolution.

In Apiil, 1775, a company of minute-men was formed, which, upon the
Lexington alarm, left town for the scene of encounter, but the alarm subsid-
ing, they soon returned home.

On the first day of May, 1775, a town meeting was held to choose a repre-
sentative to the Provincial (congress to be held at Watertown, and, in the
lanofuaire of the warrant, calling the meetinsT "To consult, deliberate and
resolve upon such further measures as under God may prove effectual to save
this people from impending ruin, and to secure those inestimable liberties
derived to us from our ancestors, and which it is our duty to preserve for
posterity."

Capt. Isaac Stone was chosen to represent the town in that Congress.

Oct. 15, 1775, a special town meeting was held "to see what instructions
the town will give its Representative respecting the Stamped paper lately sent
from Ensrland." The followinir was voted : —

" Sir, — "We are sensible of the duty we owe to the Crown of Great Brittain, at the
same time cannot but have a sensible feeling not only for ourselves and this Province,
but for all the Colonies here on account of a late Act of Parliament respecting the
Stamp Duty, which we humbly conceive presses hard on our Inalienable rights and
privileges granted us by charter, and which tends to distress. the Inhabitants of this
countr}-, especially of this Province, and which must end, we are convinced in our
Ruin — we therefore think it our indispensable duty, in justice to ourselves and pos-
terit}-, in the most open manner to declare our greatest dissatisfaction with the said
Stamp Act, and think it incumbent on 3-ou b}' no means to countenance the same in
any measure whatsoever, but to use your utmost endeavors in the General Assembl}- to
oppose it and preserve our liberties Intire."

In the warrant for a town meeting held on the fourth day of March, 177G,
the following article of business appears : —

" VIII. To bring in an account of the Powder, Lead and Flints that was delivered
to the minute men or others on the alarm on the 19th of April last."

At the same meetinsr, it was " voted that the Town lod^je their amount of
Powder, Lead and Flints with the chairman of the Committee of Correspond-
ence, Inspection and Safety."

May 21, 1770, the town "voted £t 16,s. for intrenching tools." On the
same day, some six weeks before the passage of the Declaration of Indepen-
dence, the town "voted Avithout contradiction that if the Hon' Congress should
for the safety of the Colonies declare them Independent of the Kingdom of

' VOL. II.— 21

162 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

Great Brittain, they solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support
them in the measure."

After the passage of the Declaration, the writs and precepts of the town ran
"In the name of the Government and People of Massachusetts Bay," instead
of "In His Majesty's Name," as had previously been the form.

The people were fully committed to the cause of independence. A vote
was solemnly passed in town meeting that "such persons as shall refuse to do
their part in the war shall be deemed unfriendly to the States of America, and
ou2:ht to be so esteemed."

The town sent one hundred and twenty-nine men into the Revolutionary
army for terms varying from two and one-half months to five and one-half
years, the average term of service being ten and one-half months. It paid
and supplied these soldiers, and supported their families in all cases of neces-
sity, raising and paying, previous to the inflation of the currency, the sum of
£3,676. The numlier of inhabitants of the town, by the census of 1776, was
live hundred and ninctv-eie^ht.

After the currency had begun to depreciate, the town voted to pay two
por.nds for one to all persons to whom it was indebted, and later, Oct. 18,
1779, "to pay thirty pounds per month in addition to the usual pay and
bounty to each man who shall do a turn in the present campaign."

The value of the mone\'' raised subsequent to the inflation can hardly be
worth estimating, but the amount was by no means inconsiderable.

July II, 1780, the town voted £2,089 10s. for horses for the Continental
service. It is said that this sum purchased three horses.

September 4, the same year, voted to raise £18,000 for the six months*
campaign in the Continental army, and £9,000 for the mililia.

October 12. Voted £5,440 for beef required of the town for the army.

Feb. 5, 1781. Voted £9,112 10s. to purchase beef for the army. At the
last date, the town voted "to give three hundred silver dollars as hire to each
soldier enlisting in the Continental Army for three years."

To avert some of the evil consequences of a fluctuating currency, an attempt
was made in 1777 to fix the prices of labor and the most common articles of
merchandise, and a long list of prices was published. In 1779, this price-list
was revised, by a resolution, to meet the altered condition of the currency,
and this town voted "that the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and
Safety have a watchful eye over and deal with every person who should be
guilty of a breach of the Resolution as an enemy of his Country, and bring
every transgressor to condign punishment."

The following are the prices of a few articles, as published in 1777 and 1779 :
Good wheat, 1777, Gs. per bush., 1779, £8; Indian corn and meal, 1777, 3s.
per bush., 1779, £3 12s.; beef, best quality, 1777, Ad. per lb., 1779, 5s.
Gd. ; lamb, veal and mutton, 1777, did. per lb., 1779, 3s. Gd. ; New England
,rum, 1777, 5s. per gall., 1779, £5; potatoes, 1777, Is. id. per bush., 1779,

WAR OF 1812. 163

£1 5.S'. ; salt, 1777, Us. Qui. per bush., 1779, £12; sugar, best, 1777, 81'?.
per lb., 1779, 13s. M. ; good common board for a raau, 1777, os. Ad. per
week, 1779, £1 10.s\ ; good common dinner, 1777, M., 1779, 13,s'. ; common
labor, 1777, 3s. per da}', 1779, £2 14.9.

In spite of these attempts to fix prices, and in the face of threatened "condi^-n
punishment," they were more obedient to the laws of finance than to the lists
of committees, and continued to advance until 1781, when the town allowed
£18 per day for common labor, and paid a clergyman £120 for one Sabbath's
preaching. Perhaps inflationists of the present day could learn a useful lesson
from the history of one hundred years ago.

The early inhabitants of the town were evidently possessed of a strono"
national feeling, and were as zealous for establishin2: fin American Govern-
ment as they were sensitive to any encroachments upon their "inalienable
rights and privileges" by the English Government.

On the 9th of January, 1778, they voted: "That the Confederation and
perpetual union proposed by Congress is approved of by this town and that it
is left with our representative to join in any alteration which may appear to
him, when the matter shall be more fully discussed, to be necessary or for the
better."

In the same year it was proposed that the House of Representatives form a
Constitution for the State. The town opposed the proposition, but voted
"that a State Congress, chosen for the sole purpose of forming a Constitution of
Government is, in the opinion of this town, more eligible than a House of
Representatives." They, therefore, instructed their representative to use his
"influence for convening such a Congress for the forming a Plan of Govern-
ment, to be laid before the people for their inspection, approbation, rejection
or amendment."

When the Constitution was submitted to them it was fully discussed, article
by article, in town meeting ; portions of it were assigned to dificrent committees
more fully to consider and report upon; finally, parts were rejected, parts
approved, and to other parts amendments were suggested. When the Federal
Constitution was proposed it received a like careful consideration. These men
clearly felt that they had duties to perform as well as rights to enjoy, and if
they would have a good government that they must contribute to the extent of
their ability and influence to make it good.

From the adoption of the Federal Constitution to the declaration of war with
England, in 1812, there is nothing in the lown records of special interest.
Laying out and constructing highways, and locating and buikling school-houses,
were matters receiving considerable attention during this time.

The war of 1812 did not commend itself to the judgment, nor did the alliance
with France, then advocated, approve itself to the conscience of the town. In
the last-mentioned year a town meeting was called for July 10. The warnint
prescribed the following' business : —

164 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

" I. For the town to express their minds respecting the present declaration of War
against Great Brittain, or pass any votes thereon.

" II. To see if the town will express an abhorrence of an alliance with France."

The record of the meeting says : —

" I. Voted against a war under existtvg circumstances. Also, voted to choose a
committee of nine lo circulate a memorial for peace and that Rev. Danl Tomlinson,
Doct. Seth Fobes and W". Crawford be a committee to draw ui) the memorial.

*' II. Voted against any alliance with France."

The alliance was not made, but the war Avent on notwithstandinir the vote of
tbc town ; and two years later, when it threatened JMassachusetts, Capt. (after-
ward Gen.) William Crawford, member of the committee to prepare the
memorial for peace, led a company from Oakham and New Braintrce to
Boston, to take part in the defence of that city against an expected attack.
The company remained in the service at Boston for fifty-seven days, when, the
danger being over, they were discharged.

In the late civil war Oakham furnished one hundred and two men for the
Union army, which number, according to the report of Adjt. Gen. Schouler,
was twelve more than her quota on all calls. The town appropriated and
expended on account of this war, exclusive of State aid to the families of
soldiers, the sum of $10,807.58.

CHAPTER II.

POPULATION AND STATISTICS — PUBLIC BUILDINGS — RELIGIOUS HISTORY — AN

OLD - FASHIONED ORDINATION — SABBATH - SCHOOL EDUCATIONAL FEATURES

APPROPRIATIONS — COLLEGIATE AND EMINENT MEN.

The population of the town at various times has been as follows : In 177G,
598; 1790, 772; 1800, 801; 1820, 98G ; 1840, 1,038; 18G0, 959; 1870,
800; 1875, 873. Of the population in 1875, seventy-six Avero foreign-
born, and seven hundred and ninety-seven natives. The number of families
was two hundred and nineteen, and the number of voters two hundred
and twenty-two. The chief occupation of the people is agriculture. There
are in the town one hundred and thirty-two farms, of an average of ninety-one
acres each. The whole number of dwelling-houses in the town is one hundred
and eighty-five. The valuation of the town, $354,742. The value of farm
products for the year 1875 was $99,478. The value of manufactured products
for the same year was $47,831. The principal manufactures are sieves and
lumber. A few men are employed in nraking boots and shoes, obtaining their
work from the manufacturers of North Brookfield and Spencer.

There are in the town two water saw-mills, two grist-mills, one manufactory

ECCLESIASTICAL NOTES. 165

of sieves, one of baskets and one of plows. Each of these industries gives
employment to a few men. There are also two blacksmith shops, one carriage
shop, one iniichine shop, and one harness shop.

The public l»uildings include one church (Congregational), six school-
houses and one town hall. jNIemorial Hall, built by the town in 1874, is two
stories in height. In the first story are two large and commodious school-
rooms, tittcd up and furnished in the most approved style. In the second
story is the town hall, in which arc placed mural tablets engraved with the
names of the soldiers of the town who lost their lives in the war of the
Ecbellion. The people are justly proud of this building.

The ecclesiastical history of the town for the first fifty years is closely inter-
woven with its political history.

The town was the parish. It paid the minister by a tax upon all the property.
It built and owned the meetlii2i;-house. The selectmen were often the com-
mittee to supply the pulpit. Church polity and the qualifications of ministers
were sul)jects often warmly discussed in town meeting. For the first nine
years of the settlement there is no record of religious services on the Sabbath,
but as soon as the settlers were formed into a separate precinct in 1759, they
m;ide arrangements for preaching at private houses for two or three months
each year.

A Presbyterian church of about thirty members was organized Aug. 28,
1767.

There is a tradition that there was great embarrassment because of the
habits and character of some of the proposed members. Objections were made
to some that they tarried too long at their cups, to others that their language
sometimes bordered too closely upon profanity, and it appeared for awhile as
if no one could be found worthy of membership. At last a Scotchman
exclaimed, " Weel, if the Laard wants a church in Oakham, he must tak' thera
such as they be." This church lived a precarious life until 1783, when it dis-
banded, the town having voted "that the church should be under the Congre-
gational constitution or government." The first minister ever settled in the
town was the He v. John Strickland. He was installed over the Presbyterian
church, Aug. 28, 1766.

The town voted him £133 Qs. Sd. for a settlement, and for a salary £60 the
first year, £63 (Is. Sd. the second year, and £Q() 13s. 4:d. annually thereafter so
lon£? as he should remain their minister. He sent his resignation to the town
June 2, 1773, which was accepted on the same day.

Upon Mr. Strickland's resiojnation a Conj^reirational church was orcranized.
The recoid of the organization gives only the names of the male members, six-
teen in number. Jesse Allen and Jonathan BuUard were chosen deacons.
This church has continued to the present time, and is the only church in the
town. It now has about two hundred members.

For thirteen years from its organization the church had no pastor. July 3,

166 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

1778, a call was extended to Rev. Baruch Beckwith. The town offered him
£150 for a settlement, and an annual salary of £GG 13s. Ad. ever afterwards,
more or less in proportion as good merchantable Indian corn brings 3.s\ per
bushel ; rye, 4s. ; best quality of pork, 4tZ. per pound, and best grass fed beef,
3d. per pound. Mr. Beckwith declined. Rev. John Davenport, Rev. Solomon
Walcott and Rev. Daniel Farrington were severally invited to settle, but
declined.

In 1779 a controversy arose in the town respecting the baptizing of children
whose parents were not members of the church.

In town meeting it was " voted that the town is willing to settle a minister
if they can find one that is suitaV)le. Also that they will settle a minister
although he does not baptize for those who do not belong to the church, 37 for
settling in that way and 24 not for settling that way."

On the 3d of April, 178G, the town and church concurred in calling the Rev.
Daniel Tomlinson to be the minister of the town and pastor of the church. He
was offered £200 for a settlement, and a salary of £G0 the first year, £70 the
second, and £80 annually thereafter.

Mr. Tomlinson having accepted the call, a town meeting was held on the
18th of May to appoint a day and make all necessary arrangements for his
ordination. The twent^'-second day of June was fixed upon as the time.
Numerous committees were chosen, one "to provide for ye Council," one
" to secure ye meeting-house from being in danger of being damaged on ye
day of ordination."

Another committee was "to keep order in ye meeting-house on said day of
ordination, and provide seats for ye Council." And still another was "to seat
ye singers."

The town also voted £15 to defray the necessary expenses. In the expenses
paid by the town were these items : — "For entertaining the Council, 85 meals,
liquor included, £6 16s. dd. ; for wine and lemons for the ordination, £2 5s. 6i."

The "liquor included" and the "wine and lemons" indicate the drinking
customs of the times. Several members of the Council lived to see a reform
of those customs, and themselves became, both by example and precept, the
earnest advocates of total abstinence.

ISIr. Tomlinson at the time of his ordination was twenty-seven 3'ears of age.
He was born in Derby, Conn., graduated at Yale College, and studied theology
with the eminent Doctor Backus. He remained as sole pastor until 1828, and
as senior pastor until his death, fourteen years later. His ministry was most
successful ; under his pastorate the church largely increased in numbers and in
beneficent work. Of him his successor said : " He was a sound theologian —
a man of great faith and prayer, and mighty in the Scriptures." Thoroughl}'
loved and respected, he died Oct. 29, 1842, and was buried within the shadow
of the church which for more than fifty-six years he had faithfully served.

In 1829 Rev. Asa Hixou was settled over the church, but after preaching

SCHOOL MATTERS. 1G7

about three months, he was compelled od accouut of feeble health to resign and
leave town.

In 1832 Rev. James Kimball became pastor of the church, and filled the office
for twenty-eight years. IIis health failing, he resigned in the autumn of 18G0,
and died in the following March, in the sixty-fourth year of his age. His
ministry, like that of Mr. Tomlinson, was most successful. At the time of his
retirement the church numbered two hundred and twenty-three members.

A man of great piety and exceeding gentleness, abounding in charity and
sj'mpathy, remarkable for the wisd(jm of his judgment, respected, confided in
and loved by old and young alike, ]Mr. Kimball was a faithful minister, a
tender shepherd, a safe counsellor, and by his life a most persuasive preacher.
Happy the church with such a pastor, and the youth of a community with such
a iruidc.

Of these two men, Mr. Tomlinson and Mr. Kimball, it has been truthfully
said : " More enduring than monuments of brass or marble are the monuments
which they have built for themselves in the characters and lives of the people
of Oakham."

In December, 18G0, Rev. F. N. Pelonbet became pastor of the church, and
remained until the summer of 186G, when he was succeeded by Rev. J. C.
Halliday, who, in 1871, was succeeded by Rev. Alpha Morton, who still occu-
pies the place.

Jesse Allen, who was chosen deacon upon the organization of the church in
1773, held that office until his death in 181G, when his son, the late Hon.
James Allen was elected, and held the place until his death in 1870, when he
was succeeded by his son, a present incumbent.

The officers of the church at the present time are Rev. Alpha Morton,
pastor; James Packard, Jesse Allen and Horace W. Lincoln, deacons.

In 1832 a Methodist church was organized, but becoming w^eak in jmmbers,
it finally disbanded, most of its meml)ers joining the Congregationalists.

In 1818 a Sabbath school was organized in connection with the Congregational
church. Dea. James Allen was the fir^t superintendent, and filled that office
for more than forty years. He was succeeded by Dea. James Packard for
eighteen years, and he in 1878 by Dea. Jesse Allen. The school now numbers
two hundred members.

The citizens of Oakham have always manifested a commendable interest in
the cause of public education. Liberal appropriations have been made annually
for schools, and conscientiously expended. In 17G2 the town voted £10 for
schooling ; in 1780, £30 ; in 1835, $500 ; in 18G5, $1,000. In 1780, £1 2s. M.
per month and board was paid to male teachers, and 4s. per month to female
teachers.

The teachers "boarded around." In 17G9 the town was divided into five
"school-plots," and each plot required to build a "decent school-house."

In 1787 Rev. Mr. Tomlinson was chosen inspector of schools, and in 1798

168 TOWN OF OAKHAM.

three men were chosen "to assist in examining school musters and inspecting
schools."

The town now supports six schools for twenty-six weeks in the year, afTord-
ing reasonable opportunities for all the youth of the town to acquire a fair
education. The schools have generally been of a high standard of excellence,
and the pupils have had a deservedly good reputation for scholarship.

Since 1833 a select school has been taught in the autumn of nearly every
year, with an attendance varying from twenty to seventy. It has been of incal-
culable benefit to the town.

Twenty-nine men from the town have received a liberal education at American
colleges and professional schools, and have adorned the [)rofessions which they
have chosen. Several others have been influential in the counsels of the State
and the nation, yet the chief glory and pride of the town is, not in her few
sons who have attained eminence, but in the many true hearts and sound heads
that have gone from her common schools to the common vocations of life.

INDIAN PURCHASE. 1C9

OXFORD.

BY GEORGE A. STOCKWELL, A. M.

CHAPTER I.*

THE NIPMUCK COUNTRY — THE FIRST GRANT — SETTLEMENT OF THE HUGUENOTS
INCURSION OF THE INDIANS, AND FLIGHT OF THE INHABITANTS.

The Indian name of Oxford was Manchar<;e or Mancbaiiof. The native
inhabitants formed a l)ranch of the Nipmuck tribe, and were nnder the chief-
tainship of Black James of Chaubiinagiingamaug, now Wel)ster. The first that
was known of this branch of the Kipmucks was throngh the visit of the Indian
apostle, Eliot, and Daniel Gookin, in 1G74. This scltlement then consisted of
about twelve lamilies, or sixty souls. Its members had made some progress in
agricultiire, were peaceful and docile, received the Bible from Eliot, and
formed what was called one of the "New Praying Towns." In Philip's war,
this tribe proved treacherous to the English, joined Philip, and was nearly
destroyed.

In May, 1681, William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley were appointed by
the General Court to treat with the Indian owners for a tract of land lying in
the Nipmuck country, and in May, 1682, these agents received of Waban,
Pyambobo and others, "Indian natives, and natural descendants of the ancient
proprietors and inhabitants of the Nipmuck country," in consideration of fifty
pounds and a black coat for Black James, a deed of all that part of the Nip-
muck country lying beyond the great river called Kuttatuck or Nipmuck, now
known as the Blackstone. Nearly in the centre of this country was the Indian
town or village called Manchaug, for which a grant was made as follows : —

" This Court having information that some gentlemen in England are desirous to
remove themselves into this colony, and (if it may be) to settle themselves under the
Massachusetts ; for encouragement of such persons and that they may have some
from among themselves, according to their notion, to assist and direct them in such
a design, this court doth grant to Major Robert Thompson, William Stoughton and

* For many of tlie leading historical facts in this chapter, the writer is intlebted to the recently-
published volume by George F. Daniels, entitled " The Huguenots iu the Nipmuck Country, or
Oxford prior to 1713."

VOL. II.— 22

170 TOWN OF OXFORD.

Joseph Dudley, Esqs., and such others as the}' shall associate to them, a tract of land
in any free place, containing eight miles square, for a township, they settling in said
place within fower years, thirty families, and an able orthodox minister, and doe allow
to the said township freedom from country rates for fower years from the time above
limited. May IG, 1G82."

The first survey of this grant was made by John Gore of Roxbury. It con-
tained 41,250 acres, or a little less than sixty-live square miles. This plan
and survey were accepted by the General Court on May IG, 1683, and the
tract given the name of New Oxford, in honor of Oxfordshire, Eng., and its
university. On the eastern side of this grant, 11,250 acres were set off for a
village ; the remainder was divided among the proprietors. The deed of
division was found in London in 1872, and is now in possession of the New
York Historical Society. The north-east corner of Angutteback Pond was
the western limit of the village.

The grant for Oxford v.-as the first for a town within the territory now
known as Worcester County, after Philip's war. Previous to this time, only
four townships had been granted in the "great interior territory," namel\%
Lancaster in 1653, ]\Ieudon in 16G7, AVorcester in 1008, and Brooklield in
1073. In consequence of the general effect produced by Philip's war, and
the fact that predatory bands of disafi'ected Indians still menaced the fron-
tier settlements, the inhabitants of the old towns near Boston were loth to
remove into the "distant wilderness," as the Nipmuck country was then called.
Hence, settlement proceeded slowly, and the grantees of Oxford, fearing that
the time of their grant would expire before the requisite number of families
were obtained, applied to the Court for an extension, which was granted
thus : —

" In answer to motion and request of William Stoughton and Joseph Dudle}', Esqr'.,
on behalf of Major Thompson and themselves, desiring this court's favor to enlarge the
time of their grant of their plantation, this court do enlarge the time for settling that
plantation therein mentioned, the Space of three years from this da}."

This was dated in January, 1085, the year in which Louis XIV. signed the
infamous decree called the "Revocation of the Edict of Nantes," which annulled
forever the privileges granted to the Huguenots by Henry IV. and Louis
XIII., and absolutely prohibited the exercise of their religion throughout the
kingdom, with the exception of Alsace. In consequence of this repeal, the
French Protestants or Huguenots, who had suffered great cruelties and perse-
cutions on account of their religious faith, became exiles from their native
country. Many settled in England, and, of these, some found their way to
America. Though the influence and aid of Gal)riel Bernon, a native of Rochelle,
France, and a person of distinction, who in England made the acquaintance of
Robert Thompson, one of the grantees of Oxford, many of these refugees
emigrated to Boston, and in 1080 several families were settled at Oxford.

ENGLISH ARRIVALS. 171

With them carao Isaac Bertraud Du Tiiffeau, as agent for Bcrnon, and as
director in the aftliiis of the Colony. As an encouragement, the company
granted to him and Bernon, who, induced by Du Tnffcau, came to America,
seven hundred and iifty acres of hind. Afterwards Bernon was granted seven-
teen hundred and fifty acres. With this company of Huguenots came, also,
Daniel Bondet, as minister.

During the spring (>f 1688 the requisite number of families — thirty — was
settled. The height of prosperity of the colony was reached in 1693. In this
year the town was authorized to send a representative to the General Court,
and Daniel Allen was chosen. In the summer of 1694 the hostile Indians
appeared, and then commenced the decline of the settlement. In the fall of
this year their minister, Daniel Bondet, left them. Nothing further is known
of this colony until the Johnson massacre in 1696, w^ien John Johnson and
three children, Andrew, Peter and INIary, were murdered in cold blood by
a roving band of hostile Indians. Mrs. Johnson escaped and fled towards
Woodstock, expecting to meet her husband returning from that place. He
reached the house by another route, and was shot at his own door. This
attack broke up the plantation, and the settlers returned to Boston. In 1699
eight or ten families returned to the plantation, and remained until 1704.

The place chosen for the headquarters of the colony was on a hill south-east
of the present village. The main fort was built there, the road from Boston
entered the town at that point, and below the fort at the distance of half a mile
was the church and burying-yard. The first mill was a saw^-mill, built near the
lower end of Oxford plain ; also, on the same stream, about a mile above, was
a <?rist-mill. The best known relic of the Hu2:uenot settlement is the ruin of
the old fort, one mile and a half from Oxford village, the outlines of which may
now be traced by means of the foundation-stones. The fort was one hundred
feet long and seventy-five feet wide, was built of unhewn stone and possibly
timber, enclosing a house and well. Another relic is the site of the Johnson
house, on Johnson plain, where, in 1875, citizens of Oxford erected a stone.
An industry of the Huguenots was the manufacture of ship-stores, and another
that of makino; iilove-leather from deerskins.

CHAPTER II.

THE ENGLISH SETTLEMENT THE TOWN AND CHURCH THE REVOLUTION

ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.

The settlement of English families in Oxford began in May, 1713. In July
of the same year the required number of families was obtained, and on the
twelfth of the month the following proclamation and deed was made by the
proprietors of the grant : —

172 TOWN OF OXFORD.

"To all persons unto icJiom these pres^Jits shall come: Joseph Dudley, of Roxbur}^, in
the count^y of Suffolk, and province of the Massachusetts Bay, in New England, Esq. ;
William Taylor, of Dorchester, in the same county, Esq. ; Peter Sargent, of Boston,
Esq., and Mehetable, his wife ; John Nelson, of Boston, Esq., and Elizabeth, hiswife ;
as they, the said William Taylor, Peter Sargent, and John Danforth, are the heirs and
executors of the Hon. William Stoughton, late of Dorchester, deceased, send greeting:

'•'- Wliereas, The General Court of the Colony of the Massachusetts Bay, in the year
one thousand six hundred and eight3--two, granted to said Joseph Dudley, William
Stouo-hton, and their associates, a certain tract of land in the Nipmuck country, eight
miles square, for a townshif), as may be seen more at large by the records of the
General Court, pursuant whcreunto, and for the uses aforesaid, the said Joseph Dudley,
William Stoughtcn, and their associates, in the year one thousand six hundred and
ei'T-hty-six, brought over thirty families of French Protestants into this country, and
settled them upon the eastern part of the said tract of land, and reserved, granted, and
set apart 11,250 acres for a village, called Oxford, for the said families, and bounded it
as by a plat upon record will more fully appear ; but forasmuch as the said French
families have, many years since, wholly left and deserted their settlements in said
village, and the said lands, as well by their deserting the same, and refusing to return,
upon public proclamation made for that end, as by the voluntary surrender of most of
them, are now reinvested in and restored to and become the estate and at the disposi-
tion of the original proprietors, their heirs and successors, for the ends aforesaid :

"^iid, whereas, There are sundry good families of her Majesty's subjects within this
Province who offer themselves to go out and resettle the said village, whereby they may
be serviceable to the Province, and the end and design of the original grant aforesaid
be answered and attained :

"iVbio, know ye, That the said Joseph Dudley, William Taylor, Peter Sargent and
Mehetable his wife, John Nelson, and Elizabeth, his wife, and John Danforth, and
Elizabeth, his wife, for and in consideration and to the uses, and intents above
mentioned —

'•Have fully, freely, and absolutely, and by these presents, do give, grant and
con firm unto Samuel Ilageburn, John Town, Daniel Eliot, Abiel Lamb, Joseph Cham-
berlain, Benjamin Ncaland, Bcnoni Twitchel, Joseph Rocket, Benjamin Chamberlain,
Jr., Oliver Coller, Daniel Picrson, Abram Skinner, Ebenezer Learned, Thomas Leason,
Ebenezer Humphrey, Jonathan Tillotson, Edmund Taylor, Ephraim Town, Israel
Town, Yfilliam Hudson, Daniel Eliot, Jr., Nathaniel Chamberlain, John Chandler, Jr.,
John Chandler, and others, their associates, so as their number amount to thirty
families at least, all that part of the said tract of land, etc., etc., herein above
mentioned ; Provided, always, That if any of the persons, grantees above named, or
any of their associates, shall neglect to settle upon and improve the said land with
thimselves and families, by the space of two years next ensuing, — or, being settled
thereon, shall leave and desert the same, and not return to their respective habitations
in the said town, upon due notice given, — that then in such case, it shall and may be
lawful to and for the rest of the grantees and their associates, heirs, or assigns, respec-
tively, or the major part of them, to seize upon and take the said estate, or estates of
such person or persons so deserting. Excepting always, and reserving to Gabriel
Bernon, merchant, the whole of his right, grant, or purchase which made one of the
original proprietors, as by deed or record thereof may appear.

MEETING-HOUSE BUILT. 173

"7m witness lohereof. The parties above named to these presents have hereunto inter-
changeabh' set their hands and seals, the 8th day of July, in the 12 year of her
Majesty's reign. Anno Domini, 1713.

" (Signed) J. Dudley,

"William Taylor,
Peter Sargent,
Mehetadle Sargent,
John Dan forth,
Elizabeth Dan forth,
John Nelson,
Elizabeth Nelson,
and each a seal."

" Boston, July 15, 1713. — Received and recorded with the Records of Deeds for the
county of Suffolk, Book xxvii., p. 174.

" Attested : John Town, Per Addington Dayenport,

Clerh of Oxford. Register."

During the yenr 1714, the proprietors' lands were divided and the head of
each of the thirty families drew by lot a tract of thirty acres. The represent-
atives of these families were Isaac Learned, Joshua Chandler, Joseph Chan-
dler, John Coller, Joshua Whitney, Thomas Ilunkins, Ebenezer Lami), and
those mentioned in the foregoing deed, except John Chandler.

The first vote I'ecorded on the proprietors' books is dated Sept. 13, 1713,
which reads : "Voted, That Peter Shumway shall come in as an inhabitant of
Oxford upon the right of Joshua Chandler."

The first town meeting was held on July 22, 1713, "upon due warning given
by warrant from John Chandler, Esquire, one of her majesty's (good Queen
Anne's) justices of the peace for Suffolk county," at which the following ofK-
cers were chosen ; Selectmen, John Town, Benoni Twitchel, Joseph Chamber-
lain ; clerk, John Town ; constable, Thomas Ilunkins ; highway surveyor,
Oliver Coller; tything-man, Abiel Lamb. The first record on the town book
after organization, was that in reference to the purchase of a law book, and a
book for town records. At a meeting held on Nov. 0, 1773, the town voted,
"that John Town, Samuel Ilagburu and Benjamin Chamberlain should be a com-
mittee to lay out a minister's lot and burying-jjlacc."

In March of the next year it was voted "that each lot man shall pay his
equal proportion of ten shillings a Sal)l>ath for a quarter of a ^^ear, to Mr.
John James for his preaching with us." From this it is inferred that John
James was the first minister in Oxford after the En2:li>h settlement.

On July 29, 1714, the town voted "to build a meetiug-house thirty feet
square, and eighteen feet stud, and to set the house on the west side of the
highway, near Twitchel's field." This place was a few rods north-west of the
site of the present edifice of the Congregational society. At the same meet-
ing it was also voted " that every lot man should pay his equal proportion of

174 TOWN OF OXFOED.

labor for building the meeting-house, as the committee shall direct, or pay
two shillings and sixpence a day for every day's neglect, in money, to the com-
mittee." This house of worship was not completed for several years. In
1715, Benjamin Shattuck was engaged to preach two days, and received thirty
shillings therefor. During the next year the town raised £30 for the support
of preaching, and in the same year appointed a committee to petition the Gen-
eral Court for aid in supporting the Gospel, with what success is unknown.

In 1718, the town offered Rev. John McKinstry equal proprietorship "with
the rest of Oxford village," £60 yearly salary, a hundred acres of land, and
"£60 to be paid in labor in building, breaking up the ground and in fencing."
This offer was not accepted.

In 1720, the town, through its selectmen, applied to the association of neigh-
boring ministers for advice in regard to John Campbell, a candidate for the
ministr}^ then in the employ of the town. The reply of the association, in
effect, was that Mr. Campbell was "endowed with ministerial accomplishments,
and that he would serve to the glory of God and the spiritual edification of
souls in the place where Divine Providence shall fix him in the Gospel minis-
try." On July 15, 1720, a committee was chosen to treat with Mr. Campbell,
and this committee presented its report : —

" In the name of the inhabitants of the town : 1st. We called the Rev. John Camp-
bell to be our minister. 2d. AVe promised to the said Mr. Campbell £00 salary. 3d.
That the said Mr. Campbell himself, his heirs, and assigns, have freely given them the
lot already laid out for tlic first minister of Oxford, with the rights thereunto belong-
ing, and one hundred acres joining the above, if it can be had ; if not, where it can
eonvenienlly be had. 4th. That we will give the said Mr. Campbell, one hundred
pounds settlement, in Avork, as reasonably as others have work for money in Oxford ;
twenty-five pounds of it to be paid quarterly, as shall be directed by Mr. Campbell,
provided he shall be willing to live and die with us in the work of the ministry."

Mr. Campbell accepted these proposals provided the inhabitants of Oxford
continued " a ministerial people."

The church was formed on Jan. 18,1721, anl the day was observed "by
f;isting, by prayers, and by sermons." Mr. Cimpbell was ordained March 1,
1721, and remained until his death in 1761. lie was succeeded, in 1764, by
Joseph Bowman, whose ministry closed in 1782. The next pastor of the church
was Elias Dudley ; and he was followed by Josiah Moulton. In 1737, the town
began the erection of a new house of worship, and although not completed
until 1752, services were conducted in it in 1748. The cost of this house was
£640 145. lid., and it stood on what is now called the "Old Common."
Josiah IMoulton's pastorate terminated in 1813. Previous to that time, as
already shown, the affairs of the church were, to a certain extent, guided by
the town, and the support of the Gospel was a "town charge,' provided for
by the assessment of the polls and estates of the inhabitants. In 1837, a law
was passed separating church and state. The town of Oxford anticipated this

MILITARY RECORD. 175

law by twenty-four years, and after 1813, ecclesiastical affairs ^vere conduclcd
by those immediately interested.

Ill 1733, the town voted to procure a school-master, and, in 1736, a school-
hoiisc was built, fourteen by twenty feet, with a chimney at each end, and was
placed near the meeting-house. Other houses were provided in other parts of
the town, in which one and the same teacher taught at different times in the
year. In 1740, Richard Roijers was employed as " master" by the selectmen,
at a salary of £00 a year "to teach where he was directed — four places, two
on the north, and two on the south — a quarter of a year in each place." In
1751, the town voted "to build a house for INIr. Rogers to live in as long as
he shall be our school-master ; to be placed on the town's land near the meet-
ing-house ; to be sixteen feet wide, and eighteen feet long." This house was
sold in 17G2 ; hence Mr. Rogers served the town as school-master, twenty-two
years.

Below is the " muster-roll of a detachment of men from Capt. Edward Davis's
company of Oxford of Col. Chandler's regiment that marched on the late alarm
for the relief of Fort William Henry, under the command of Capt. Edward
Davis as their captain, who marched from Oxford to Sheffield, being 105 miles
out," Aug. 18, 1758: —

" Capt. Edward Davis, Lieut. John Edwards, Ensign Jeremiah Learned, Sergt.
Jedcdiah Barton, Sergt. Jos. Edwards, Scrgt. John Town, Corp. Phineas Ward, Corp.
Closes Town, Alexander Nichols, Jacob Cnmrauigs, Ebenezer Etldy, John Wiley, Wil-
liam Eddy, Joseph Phillips, Jr., Israel Phillips, Daniel Fairfield, John Duncan, Ileze-
kiah Merriam, Jr., Jona. Phillips, Silas Town, Samuel Learned, Ebenezer Gale, Jr.,
Joseph Gleason, Samuel Eddy, Jr., Elisha Gleason, Moses Gleason, Jr., Josiah Googins,
Josiah Walcott, Aaron Parker, Edmund Town, Joseph Pratt, Jesse Pratt, Nathan
Shumway, David Pratt."

These men were all impressed, and the detachment was out sixteen days.*
Muster-roll of a detachment of men from Capt. Samuel Davis's company,
Jan. 5, 1759 : —

" Capt. Samuel Davis, Capt. John Learned, Sergt. Elisha Davis, Sergt. John Nichols,
Scrgt. Amos Sbnmwa}', Sergt. AVilliam Parker, Corp. Jeremiah Shumway, Corp. John
Davis, Thomas Town, Isaac Learned, Jonas CoUer, John Shumwaj-, AYilHam Nichols,
John Barton, Jonathan Fuller, Ichabod Town, Joseph Pratt, Jr., Stephen Jewett,
Joseph Davis, Benjamin Hudson, John Marvin, Isaac Town, Adam Streeter, Arthur
Humphrey, Peter Shumway, Joseph Kingsbury, Jeremiah Kingsbury, Roger Amidown,
Abijah Harris, Zebulon Streeter, John Dana, Samuel Manning, John Watson, John
Robbins, John Coburn, John Shumway, Jr., William Comins, William Learned, Joseph
Wilson, John Moore."

The men of this detachment were mounted, and marched under Capt. Davis

to Springfield, and under Capt. Learned to Sheffield, and were out sixteen

days.f

* Mass. Arcb., XCV., 518. t Mass. Arch., XCV., 536.

176 TOWN OF OXFORD.

The following inhabitants of Oxford were "enlisted in the expedition against
Crown Point in 1759": —

" Capt. Sairiuel Davis, Capt. John Learned, Sergt. Elisha Davis, Sergt. John Nichols,
Scrgt. Amos Shumway, Sergt. "William Parker, Corp. Jeremiah Shumwa}^ Corp. John
Davis, Ebenczer Learned, Elijah Town, Ilezekiah Etldy, Jonathan Edd}', Stephen
Shumway, Caleb Barton, Jr., Joseph Phillips, Josiah Kingsbury, Joseph Bacon, Eben-
ezer Davis, Samuel Manning, Solomon Smilledge, Isaac Learned, Jr., John Barnes,
John Wilej', Jr."

Durino; the Revolution the inhabitants of Oxford wore " heart and hand with
the great and common cause." Before it was known in Oxford that indepen-
dence had been declared, the town, in "solemn conclave," voted "with loud and
unanimous voice" that the English yoke must be forever cast off, and the lives
and fortunes of its citizens were pledged to secure that state of liberty.

In the town warrant for the May meeting, held on the 17th, 1774, was this
article: "To sec if the town will give their representative any instruction
concerning the making good the damage done in destroying the tea in the
harbor of Boston, and do and net thereon as the tov/n shall think proper."
This article, however, was dismissed without action.

At a meeting held on Sept. 29, 1774, these resolutions were passed : —

" 1st. Resolved^ That, as by the late acts of Parliament we are deprived of the
constitutional laws of the government of Massachusetts Ba}', we will endeavor to main-
tain and keep peace and good order in this town ; to support and uphold all civil officers
in the execution of their offices, so far as they conform themselves to the charter rights
of this government, and assist them duly to punish all offenders against the same laws ;
to bear testimony against all riots, as well as against any number of men collecting in
bodies together to hurt the person or property of any one.

" 2d. Resolved^ That we ever have been and will be, true and loyal subjects of our
most gracious Sovereign, George III., King of Great Britain, so long as we are per-
mitted the free execution of our charter rights.

" 3d. Resolved, That, considering the present alarming and distressed circumstances
of this province, it is highly necessary for the military officers of this town to resign
their commissions, and, therefore, do advise the said officers to resign accordingly ; and
that the soldiery, as soon as may be, to elect the same officers to take the command of
the different companies in this town, if the}' will accept, and the major part of the sol-
diery shall elect them ; and if any refuse to serve, then to choose others, experienced in
the arts of war, in their stead."

At the same meeting Dr. Alexander Campbell and Capt. Ebenczer Learned
were chosen to attend the Provincial Congress, to be held in Concord ; and it
was voted that " the foregoing resolves were passed, with no other aim or view
than to keep peace and order in this town, until we can hear of some measures
taken by the Continental Congress, now sitting at Philadelphia, to which we
mean strictly to adhere."

The Continental Congress, then in session, published a "Bill of Rights," and

REVOLUTIONARY TIMES. 177

submitted it to the people, and the people, especially with respect to the "Non-
importation Compact," agreed not to import or use any British goods after
Dec. 1, 1774; and in Oxford, as elsewhere, a committee Avas appointed to see
that the agreement was kept. The town voted " that the province tax then in
the hands of the constable lie paid into the town treasury and there remain until
further orders ; and if the constable be put to any cost for withholding the
money from the province treasury, the town will pay the cost."

At a meeting held on July 8, 1776, after the Declaration of Independence,
but before that event was known in Oxford, this vote passed : —

" Voted: To advise our representative in the General Court, that if the honorable
Congress should, for the safety of the Colonies, declare themselves independent of Great
Britain, to concur therewith ; and the inhabitants of this town do solemnly engage,
with their lives and fortunes, to sustain the measure."

In 1777 it was voted "to add to the bounty offered by the American Congress
and this State, the sum of £14 to each man who shall enlist in the town as a
private soldier for three years or dnring the war, before any draft be made."
Also at the same meeting the town voted " to raise £1,000 to be assessed on the
polls and real estate in the town to complete the quota of soldiers now sent for
to reinforce the Continental army." In the same year Daniel Griffith was
chosen "to carry the evidence of those that m;iy bo proceeded with as being
inimical to the United States of America, to the Court as by law directed."

In 1778 the town provided 5,7G0 pounds of the beef for the army, and in
the same year voted concurrence with the Articles of Confederation proposed
by the American Congress ; and at the same meeting voted to pay £800 into
the State treasury.

In August, 1779, Ebenczer Learned and Ezra Bowman were chosen dele-
gates to the State Convention, held at Cambridge, for a purpose of forming a
Constitution of government for the State.

At the first election of State officers, in September, 1780, Oxford gave
twenty-one votes for John Hancock for governor.

The following is a list of the inhabitants of Oxford, who served in the "army
of the Revolution " : —

Gen. Ebenezer Learned, Capt. William Moore, Capt. John Nichols, Lieut. Benjamin
Vassall, Lieut. Ebenezer Ilumphre}', Lieut. Jacob Town, Jason Collier, David Lamb,
Frost Rockwood, Ebenezer Pra}-, William Simpson, George Alverson, Caleb Barton,
John Learned, David Town, Allen Hancock, Peter Shumway, AbijahKingsbur}-, Joseph
IlLU-d, James Merriara, Elisha Blanden, Francis Blanden, Jonas Blanden, Sylvanus

Learned, Arthur Doggett, Elisha Ward, David Stone, Ebenezer Robbins, Sewall,

Sylvester Town, Levi Davis, Elijah Learned, Sylvanus Learned, Richard Coburn,
Jacob Learned, Silas Edd}', Solomon Cook, Elijah Kingsbury, Ezekiel Collier.

In October, 1799, during the administration of Pres. John Adams, a detach-
ment of the United States army, called "Adams' army," consisting of four

VOL. u.— 23

178 TOWN OF OXFOED.

regiments of infantry, under the command of Col. Nathan Rice, son of Caleb
Rice, the first settled minister in Sturbridge, was stationed in Oxford, on the
hill, west of the plain, or Village Street. The officers of this army had their
headquarters at " Butler's Tavern," standing opposite the old common, and the
"money coffer" used by them is still preserved and may be seen.

"Butler's Tavern," or the building thus named, was built, it is believed,
before 1778, and to-day it is covered by the same shaved clap-boards, held by
the same hand-wrouirht nails that were attached to it at the time of its erection.
On the turnpike between Worcester and Norwich, it was in its day a noted
resort and stage station, and, it is said, that the amount of rum sold at this
place in a day, would float one of his majesty's ships. Indeed, throughout the
town, at this time and afterward, the inhabitants, it is also said, "drank too
much." The "bar-room" of this tavern is unchanged, although the bar is not
there. In this room was the first store in Oxford, kept by Andrew Sigourney
and James Bntler. A partition wns erected in one corner enclosing a place
about six feet long and four feet wide. In this space were kept and sold but-
tons, shoe and knee buckles, and tobacco. Molasses and codfish were stored
in the cellar. In this room also was held, for several years, a trial justice
court, by Jasper Brown, the present owner and occupant.

As already given, church and town were distinct institutions in 1813 and
thereafter.

In 1823, the Congresfational Society was reorgiinized under an act of the Legis-
lature relating to freedom in public worship ; the present house of worship was
erected in 1829, and, in 1857, was transferred from the original proprietors to
the society. Pastors: — John Campbell, ordained on March I, 1721, died iu
17G1 ; floseph Bowman, installed on Nov. 14, 17G4, dismissed on Aug. 28,
1782 ; Elitis Dudley, ordained on April 13, 1791, dismissed on March 6, 1799 ;
Josi:di Moulton, ordained on March 26, 1805, dismissed on April G, 1813;
David Batchcller, installed on Feb. 13, 1816, died in 1822 ; Ebenezer Newhall,
ordained on Dec. 17, 1823, dismissed on June 19, 1832: Loren Robbins,
ordained on Bee. 26, 1832, dismissed on June 8, 1836; Horatio Bardwcll,
installed on June 8, 1836, dismissed on June 8, 18G4; Samuel J. Austin,
installed on June 8, 1864, dismissed on Nov. 9, 1868 ; Thomas E. Babb,
installed on Sept. 20, 1871, dismissed on May 1, 1877; Amzi B. Emmons,
the present pastor, was installed on Oct. 16, 1878. The present members
number 185, and the total membership is 945.

The Universalist Society in this town had its origin in the year 1777. From
that time until 1785, persons of this faith secured "occasional preachers,"
among whom were Caleb Rich and Adam Streeter. On April 27, 1785, the
society was organized, and Adam Streeter engaged as pastor.

The ecclesiastical body formerly known as the " General Convention of Uni-
versalists of the New England States and Others," but now called "The United
States Convention of Spiritualists," originated in the Oxford Church. The

RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 179

society built a house of worship in 1791. There were no regular services
between 1797 and 1801, although Hosea Ballon and Edward Turner served the
society occasionally during that time. Pastors: — John Nichols, 1811-12;
Richard Carrique, 1813; Lyman Maynard, 1828-30; Seth Chandler, 1832-4;
Oilman Noyes, 1839-40; Alvin Abbott, 1841; Alfred Barnes, 1844; R. M.
Byram, 1846; Jacob Baker, 1849; Albert Tyler, 1852; 11. Closson, 1854;
O. H. TiUotson, 1856-7 ; George Proctor, 1858.

The history of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Oxford, begins in the
year 1835, in the winter of which the first sermon by a Methodist minister
was preached by Joseph Ellis. Subsequently, in the same year, Benjamin
Paine, then stationed in Northbridge, began to hold regular services in the
Universalist house of worship. In 1836, at tiie New England Conference,
Benjamin Paine was appointed pastor of the church in Oxford. The first
house of worship was built in 1840 and '41 ; the present edifice was erected in
1867 and 'GS. A parsonage was bought in 1844, and in 1846 the present one
came into the possession of the society. The membership is 155.

Benjamin Paine, the first pastor, was succeeded by Thomas W. Tucker, 1837-
8; Lyman Boyden, 1839; William R. Stone, 1840; Freeman Nutting, 1841 ;
Horace Moulton, 1842 ; C. C. Burr, 1843 : N. S. Spaulding, 1844 ; Charles W.
Ainsworth, 1845; Amos Walton, 1846-7; J. S. J. Gridley, 1848; A. A.
Cook, 1849; D. Y. Kilgore, 1850; C. L. McCurdy, 1851; William A. Bra-
man, 1852-3; MoselyDwight, 1854; Burtis Judd, 1855-6; William Gordon,
1857 ; Daniel Wait, 1858-60 ; Jonas M. Clark, 1861 ; George Prentice, 1862 ;
Thomas Marcy, 1863-4; D. E. Chapin, 1865-7 ; I. S. Cushman, 1868 ; Daniel
Wait, 1769-71; Franklin Furber, 1872; I. B. Bigclow, 1873-4; F. T.
George, 1875-6; O. W. Adams, 1877-8; Charles W. Wilder, 1879.

The Baptist Society was organized in North Oxford, on March 29, 1837,
when a constitution was adopted and signed by twenty-seven members. On
May 10, 1837, an ecclesiastical council called for the purpose, recognized the
new church as the North Oxford Baptist Church. The house of worship was
erected in 1836 and '37, and deeded to the deacons of the church in trust for-
ever. Pastors; — A. Smith Lyon, 1838-47; Solomon Gale, 1847-9; J. N.
Hobart, 1849-52; Joseph Hodges, 1852-5; J. E. Wood, 1855-7; C. M.
Herring, 1857-9; Thomas Chapman, two years; Joseph Smith four years;
W. II. Shedd, J. W. Lalhrop, each three years ; Oliver Ayer, present pastor.

The Episcopal church in Oxford was organized on May 10, 1864, although
services were held in 1863 in Sanford Hall. The church edifice, the most
attractive building in Oxford, and a fine specimen of Gothic architecture, was
erected in 1864, chiefly through the liberality of Mr. George Hodges. The
first rector was W. F. Lloyd, who served from Oct. 11, 1863, to July 1, 1867,
and, in October of the same year, was succeeded by W. H. Brooks, D. D.,
who continued in oflSce till Oct. 1, 1869, since when there has been no rector,
nor stated service. St. Roch's Catholic church was built in 1856.

180 TOWN OF OXFORD.

CHAPTER III.

OXFORD TO - DAY, ITS TERRITORY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES — ORIGIN AND

GROWTH OF MANUFACTURING VILLAGES PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS THE CIVIL

WAR BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

The town of Oxford lies in the southern part of the county, eleven miles
from Worcester and fifty from Boston. Auburn and a part of Leicester adjoin
on the north, Charlton and a part of Dudley on the west, Webster and Douglas
on the south, and Sutton and a corner of Millbury on the east.

According to the survey of the territory of Oxford in 1G88, the township
included 41,215 acres. In 1732 "Oxford South Gore" was annexed, and in
1735 a tract on the southern border, known as the farm of Paul Dudley, was
added, both additions increasing the area to nearly 45,000 acres. A part of
Sutton was annexed in 1793, another part of the South Gore in 1807, a p:irt of
Charlton in 1809, and the North Gore i;i 1838. In 1754 all of the original
jrrant Ivins: one mile west of the village line was set off to form the town of
Charlton, and in 1778 the town of Ward, now Auburn, acquired about a third
of its territory . from that of Oxford. The whole area in 1794 was 17,33()^
acres. In 1832 the southern part of Oxford was taken to form, with a part of
Dudley, the town of Webster.

The physical outline of the town is irregular and undulating. The soil is
light, but generally productive. Bondet's IliU, a high, round-top hill, on the
south-cast. Long Hill, also called Federal Hill, on t!ic north-east. Prospect
Hill, on the north, extending into Auburn, and Mayo's or Foit Hill, on the
east, Mount Pleasant in the north-Avest, arc the chief elevations, although every
hill and hollow, in consequence of the town's peculiar history, has a name.
The Maanexit [French] River, the principal stream, rises in Leicester and
Spencer, crosses the northern boundary, and flows southerly through the
Avcstern part of the town, furnishing power for various manufactories estab-
lished on its course.

The commercial centre of the place, which is one mile south of its territorial
centre, is situated on an extensive plain called Oxford Plain. Oxford Village
is divided, north and south, by a broad or "eight-rod highway," as it was
called in the early histor}'^ of the town. This street is a feature of particular
interest and beauty. It is about a mile in length, and throughout the whole
distance retains nearly its original width — eight rods. On this shaded and
well-kept thoroughfare are four church edifices, a bank, ISIemorial Hall, post-
office, stores and many handsome residences. Nearly midway of the main
avenue another broad street extends east and west, on Vvhich are various
mercantile establishments and the railway station.

At the time of the settlement of Oxford the place now called the "Old Com-

LOCAL NOTES. 181

mon," a mile north of Oxford Village, was designed for and was for many years
the centre; but the natural advantages of the plain, the fact that two great
thoroughfares intersected at the present centre, and that the station of the
Norwich and Worcester Railroad, opened to Oxford in 1838, was placed here,
caused the abandonment of the "Old Common," although town affairs were
transacted there until 1873.

In 18G0 the leading industry, aside from agriculture and the manufacture of
textile fabrics, was that of shoe-making. The war and other causes led to its
decline. This occupation is still foUowed, but the capital employed and the
amount produced is comparatively small. L. B. Corbin & Co. employ
forty-five workmen, and produce shoes to the value of $80,000 jDcr year. A.
L. Joslin & Co. employ one hundred and forty workmen, and the value of
shoes made by this firm is $140,000 per year.

The Oxford Bank was incorporated as a bank of discount and deposit, witli a
capital of $100,000, on Feb. 8, 1823. On March 13 of the same year organi-
zation was effected, at a meeting held in Eicliard Olney's inn. Lentil 185G the
affairs of the bank were conducted in a dwelling-house owned by the bank, in
v.hiih lived Sumner Bastow% the first cashier ; after that time in the present
building, erected solely for banking purposes. It was changed from a State to
a national bank on January 2, 18G5. First board of directors : Jonathan
Davis, Richard Olney, Andrew W. Porter, Daniel Tourtellot, Nathan Ilurd,
Aaron Tufts, Jeremiah Kingsbury, Henry Sai-gent, Joseph Thayer. Presi-
dents were elected iu this order : Jonathan Davis, 1823 ; Richard Olney, 1833 ;
Aaron Tufts, 183G; Alexander DeWitt, 1843; John Wetherell, 1848; .John
Jewett, 1849; Emory Sanford, 1857; Charles A. Angcll, 1864; Samuel C.
Paine, 1873, Cashiers: Sumner Bastow, 1823; Alvan G. Underwood, 1845;
Wilson Olney, 1855 ; C. A. Angcll, 1873.

Oxford became a post-town in 1801, and the following have been post-
masters: Samuel Campbell, Archibald Campbell, AVilliam Sigourney, James
G. Scott, Willard Benson, Emory Sanford, William E. Pease.

The largest and best public building is Memorial Hall, erected at a cost of
$25,000, in 1873. It is built of brick and sandstone, in a conventional style of
architecture, with porch and tower. In the upper part is a hall with seating
capacity of eight hundred ; in the lower are offices for town officials and the
public library.

In 1868 the Hon. Ira Moore Barton gave, in his will, one thousand dollars
to found a public library. The gift was accepted on April 6, 1868, and the
library established in 1870. It contains 2,300 volumes, and is supported by
town grants.

To the circulating library was added, in 1877, through the liberality of
Gef)rge L. Davis, Esq., of North Andover, a reference department, at an
expense of $500.

The town has twelve schools — eight primary or mixed, three grammar and

182 TOWN OF OXFORD.

one high — under the control of a committee of three. Four thousand dollars
were appropriated for schools in 1878. The school children number about
five hundred.

Early in the history of the town man}' of the present mill-sites and water-
privileges were occupied, and consequent upon their improvement villages
sprung up on the different water-courses. East of Oxford Plain, on the outlet
of Slater's Reservoir, called Mill Brook, a small stream flowing westerly,
was, formerly, a scythe-mill, owned by David Lilley. Below, on the same
brook, was a nail-mill, operated before and after 1808 by Rufus Moore, where
nails without heads were made by band. On Mill Brook, also further west,
■was a giist-mill, now owned and operated by Ebenezer Rich; and, at the
southern limit of the plain, Thomas Davis built on the "Old Mill Place," as
the site of the old Huguenot Mill is called, a fulling and cloth-finishing mill.
The two first named privileges are not now occupied ; the latter has been vari-
ously improved to the present time, the last manufacture being that of twine.

In the western part of the town, two miles from Oxford Village, near the
Charlton line, on Little River, is BufFumsville. The land in and surrounding
this village was formerly owned by John Nichols, who died in the year 1800,
when the property was divided among his heirs. Jonathan and Alexander
Nichols came into the possession of about ninety acres and the privilege on
Little River. In about the year 1812 they built a dam and saw-mili, the latter
on the north side of the river. In 1818 a grist-mill was built on the same side of
the river, and about that time blacksmith shops were erected on the opposite side
and supplied with two trip-hammers, a grindstone and three pairs of bellows ; in
which shops scythes were made, and afterwards axes and hoes. Either Sylvanus
Pratt or William Smith was the first to lease the blacksmith works. After-
wards Joab Maynard was the lessee. Scythes were made at this place from
1818 to 1824. In 1823 Stearns Witt purchased the privilege and twenty-nine
acres of land in the immediate vicinity, for himself and three brothers, HoUis,
Archibald and Alexander. They sold to James Farv/ell, in 1824, one-third of
the privilege, four acres of land and the blacksmithing establishment. Farwell
was in possession until about 1830, when his interest reverted to the Witts.
In 1825 the latter erected on the north side of the river a building for the
manufacture of cotton thread, under the firm name of "Stearns Witt &
Brothers." Afterwards this name Avas changed by authority to DeWitt. The
thread-mill contained six hundred spindles.

In 1830 Waters & Davis succeeded Farwell in the iron works, and continued
it two years. Their successors were Putnam, Taylor & Co., who remained
about two years. The Hunt Brothers came next, and made axes. The black-
smith shops were soon after removed, and working in iron and steel was no
longer an industry in the village. In 1832 or 1833 Samuel Dowse and
Franklin Campbell bought an interest in the thread manufacture, and the firm
name became S. DeWitt, Brothers & Co., and in the year following S.

MILLS AND FACTORIES. 183

DcWitt, Brothers & Co. & Harrison. In 1837 Elias B. Crawford becarao a
partner in the iirm. The mill was burnt in 1842, and during the same year
Crawford bought the property, and in the year following began the erection of
the building, now standing, to continue the manufacture of thread. When
nearly completed, in 1847, the mill was sold to Charles L. Harding, who put
in woolen n^-ichinery, and began the manufacture of broadcloths and doeskins.
Jn 1852 Harding sold to Moses BufTum and Edward Thayer, who, under the firm-
name of Buffum & Thayer, continued the manuJacture of broadcloths and doe-
skins. In 1855 BuflYim became sole owner, and continued the business until
1863, when a son, M. 11. Bnfium, was admitted to the firm, and in 1868 another
son, C. H. BufTum. M. Buffum & Sons were proprietors until the death, in 1874,
of Moses BufFtmi, when the sons came into possession of the mill and village
properly, and are the present manufacturers and owners. The present mill
was enlarged and improved in 1872, and now contains four sets of machinery.
Sixty oi)eratives are employed, and the product per month is fifteen thousand
yards of fancy cassimeres.

East of Buffumsville, and one mile west of Oxford Centre is Hodsfes Villasfe,
owned, and the mill operated by Mr. George Hodges, and situated on the bank
of the iSIaanexit and its basin, called Angutteback Pond. The village property
includes about three hundred acres. The villigo proper, owing to the enter-
prise and public spirit of the owner, has been so improved that it is one of the
more attractive outlying settlements. The mill-privilege at this place was im-
proved many years ago. Ephraim Ballard was an owner here at one time.
John Nichols owned and operated a grist-mill until about the year 1800, when
he was succeeded by his son, David Nichols, who continued to work the grist-
mill, and added a wool-carding factory. On Jan. 26, 1826, David Nichols
sold to the Oxford Woolen Company, which consisted of Sylvanus Ilolbrook of
Northbridge, Lyman Tiffany of Boston, and Stearns DeWitt, Samuel Dowse,
and Richard Olney of Oxford. The operations of the Oxford Woolen Company
were attended with great prosperity for eight years. Its broadcloths and
mixed goods acquired a high reputation throughout the country. Changes in
the management, the "hard times" of 1837, and other causes, led to the
downfall of this company, and on Feb. 2, 1846, it sold its property and privi-
leges to the present owner. Sixty operatives are now employed in the manu-
facture of flannel, of which fifty thousand yards a month are produced.

Soon after the English settlement small mills were built in the northern part
of the town, since called North Oxford, on the banks of the Maanexit.* Pre-
vious to 1728, Col. Ebenezcr Learned, father of Gen. Learned, built, on the
site of the present Huguenot Mills, a dam and grist-mill, which remained in his
possession until his death in 1772. The privilege was then owned by Capt.

* The following facts relating to the North Oxford mills were famished by Miss M. E. Stone,
and were prepared with a view to publication by her father, Lieut. Joseph Stone, and Cyrus Lamb,
Esq., both deceased.

184 TO\yN OF OXFORD.

Jeremiah Lcarne(.l, son of the above, and at his death in 1812, the properly
passed into the hands of his sons. In 1829, Stephen Barton, Jr., was in pos-
session, nsed the saw- mill, and in 1834 added a gi'ist-raill. This was converted
into a satinet-mill in 1837, and leased to IIol brook and Paul Parsons. On
March 17, 1839, the mill was burned; rebuilt of wood for a cotton-factory,
and leased to Royal Chapin andOrsamus Taft. It was burned a second time in
March, 1852, and rebuilt of stone during the same year, and is now standing.
The woolen-mill on the same privilege was built in 1818, burned in January,
185G, and rebuilt in 1858. Steplien Barton, Jr., sold this mill to II. I). Stone,
and the latter to Chambeiliu, McGaw & Co. Buirough & Bartlett were the
next owners of both mills, and they were succeeded by O. F. Chase & Co., the
present proprietors. The two mills contain tw^elve sets of machinery.

Above the IIu2fueuot Mills and village, an eighth of a mile, is Phoenix villaije
and the Sigonrney Mill. In 1794 a dam and grist-mill were built by Aaron
Sibley, who retained possession fill his death in 1812. Joseph Stone was the
next owner, rebuilt the grist-mill, and put in carding machinery and country
clothiers' works, which he operated till 1821. The stones employed in
the grist-mill were those used in the wind grist-mill on Prospect Hill in Auburn.
This mill was sold in 1831 to Edward Denny, who manufactured satinets. In
1838 a cotton-factory was built on this site, burned in May, 1852, and the
present mill built during the same year. W. A. Fisher became owner in 1843,
and built the stone factory which was used for a twine-mill, afterward f( r
weaving cotton cloth, and now for the manufactuic of cotton-warps ; six thou-
sand spindles are in use. O. F. Chase & Co. were W. A. Fisher's successors
in the ownership of this mill, and still retain it.

The next village above Phajnix is Rockdale. A dam and cotton -factory were
built there in 1814 by the "Oxford jManufacluring Company," and used for the
manufacture of cotton yarn. In 181G it was bought by the Elliot Brothers, who
sold to Asa Cutler, Calvin Lcffingwoll and Charles Preston in 1825, when
weaving was begun. This mill was owned in 1S28 by "VVillard Ai-ncdd, and
afterwards by Samuel C. Damon till 1851 ; burned in 1853, and the machine-
shop moved on to its site, and used as a twine-mill by W. A. Fisher. O. F.
Chase & Co. are the present owners.

Above Rockdale Mill is what is called "Protection Mill," built on the site of
a saw-mill owned and operated by Gen. Ebenezer Learned till his death in
1802. Thomas Parker was the next owner, and held the property till 1812,
when Sylvauus Pratt bought the privilege, and added a trip-hammer. In 1813
Abljah Abbott and Jonathan Rice were in possession ; and in 1831 Asa Cutler
and Joseph Stafford bought and began the erection of a stone factory for the
manufacture of cotton cloth, and to that end operated till 1839. Stafford then
disposed of his interest to George Torrey, and Torrey afterward sold to IMoies
& Wilmarth. Cutler, Rogers & Co. was the firm-name until 1859, when it
became Rogers & Wilmarth, and later Rhodes & Wilmarth. John Rhodes of

WAR OF SECESSION. 185

Millbury is the present owner micl operator. The stone factory erected in 1831
was bnrnod in 1839, unci immediately rebuilt. In 1870 fire again destroyed the
mill, and in 1871 the present stone strncturc was built. Thirty operatives are
employed, and Iwent}- thousand pounds of cotton-warp produced a month.

North (if the Protection ]Miil is what is called "Lamb's privilege," owned by
Cyrus Lamb, and in use since 1733. A grist-mill and malt-works were hero
until 1813, when chair-making occupied the attention of the lessee, Stephen
Atsvood. Cyrus Lamb was owner until his death in 1815. The mill Avas
burned in 1832, an 1 never rebuilt.

It was one of the earliest built grist-mills in town, the first being Elliot's, at
the south end of the pl:iin, built in 1715. Thomas Davis erected one at the
site of the present Rich's mill about 1750, and another was built as early, it is
believed, at the present Hodges Village by Mr. Ballard.

Still farther north, a quarter of a mile above the Lamb property, is the
privilege formerly owned by the heirs of Abisha Learned. In 1803 a dam and
saw-mill were built by Sylvanus Learned, sold to Abisha Learned in 1810, and
by him a stone factory w";!S erected, and leased to the Denny Manufactui ing
Company ; burned in 1833 ; rebuilt in the same year, and used for the manu-
facture of broadcloths till 1844, Avhen it was converted into a cotton-mill, with
sixty looms ; again burned in 1850, and in 1872 the property was purchased by
O. F. Chase &Co.

Above the Lamb privilege is the site of Luther Stone's grist and saw mill,
built before the Revolution, and since owned and operated by the Stone
descendants.

The post-office in North Oxford Avas established in 1837, and the following
have served as postmasters : Abisha Learned, 1837; Loren C. Parks, 1851 ;
Stephen Barton, Jr., 1853 ; Thomas Harrington, 1856. Luther Clemence was
appointed in 1857, and remained in office three months, Avhen, in IMay, 1857,
he Avas succeeded by INIiss M. E. Stoue, the present incumbent.

In the war of the Rebellion, the town of Oxford Avas represented by two
hundred and ninety-three of its citizens, although only tAA^o hundred and sixty-
six were demanded bv the Government. The first town meetin*? held to con-
sider Avar measures Avas called on May G, 1801, Avhen it was \'oted to raise
four thousand dollars to defray the expenses of organizijig a military company,
and a committee, consisting of Alexander DeWitt, Emory Sanford, George
Hodges, Jr., Samuel C. Paine, W. E. Pease, Charles A. Angell, Ira Harrison,
and Elisha Smith, was appointed to carry the vote into effect. On November
8, the town voted ''to pay the balance of board-bills due individuals for board-
ins; soldiers."

In the year 18G2, it was voted "to pay a bounty of one hundred and fifty
dollars to all men who had enlisted for three years' service, and the same
amount to all who should enlist within three da3^s ; to all Avho should enlist
within one week, one hundred and twenty-five dollars, and, to those Avho

VOL. II.— 24

186 TOWN OF OXFORD.

enlisted after that date, one hundred dollars," until the quota — thirt^'-eight —
was filled. On August 27, the town offered one hundred and fifty dollars "to
each volunteer who shall enlist during the week, and one hundred dollars to all
who enlisted thereafter."

On April 6, 1863, it was voted to continue State aid to families of volun-
teers, and to aid families of drafted men.

In June, 1864, the town voted "to give each man one hundred and twenty-
five dollars when mustered into service, if there is a call for more troops."

The town furnished eiii^ht commissioned officers. The whole amount raised
for war purposes was $22,372.09 ; for State aid during the war, $20,223.12.

On marble tablets, in the porch of Memorial Hall, are the names of the
sixty-one soldiers who lost their lives in the last war : — Sergt. Luther C.
Torrey, Scrgt. Amos II. Shumway, Corp. John Toomey, Corp. Edwin A.
Martin, Julius N. Bellows, Josiah C. Brown, Daniel V. Childs, Jacob L.
Childs, John Dore, Francis A. Fletcher, Chester J. Smith, Estes E. Baker,
James D. Adams, James O. Bartlett, Valentine Suter, Edwin Cudworth,
Henry C. Hay den, Amos P. Newtou, Jr., William Robbins, John Tully,
Albert Foskett, George Bacon, Samuel C. Smith, William Biggs, William II.
N. Cady, Steplien Eager, Patrick Ilogan, Patrick Holden, Rufus Vickers,
Christopher Yickers, Nelson Bartholomew, Edward Booth, George W. Cross,
George P. Davis, James II. Davis, Alfred W^. Davis, Edward Ennis, Patrick
Eliott, Herbert N. Fuller, Joseph E. Fellows, James Hilton, Joseph Jennison,
Jr., Henry Kock, Cyrus Earned, Albert S. Moffit, Elliot F. McKinstry,
Antonio Phillips, Francis C. Pope, Lyman Phipps, Vernon F. Rindge, Edwin
F. Rindge, George O. Raymond, Jerome P. Sonthwick, Bernard Schmidt,
Felix Sherbino, George Shortsleeve, Samuel Thompson, Conrad M. Tower,
Charles II. Wheelock, George S. Williams, Albert S. Williams.

Members of Constitutional Conventions : — Ebenezer Learned and Ezra Bow-
man, 1799; Richard Olney, 1820; Alexander DeWitt, 1853, 1856.

Members of the State Senate: — Ira Barton, 1833, 1834; Alexander De-
Wilt, 1842, 1844, 1850, 1851; A. G. Underwood, 1855; Nathaniel Eddy,
1860 ; Alexander DeWitt, 1867.

Representatives to the Genernl Court : — Richard Moore, 1721; Ebenezer
Learned, 1726, 1730; Sanuiel Davis, 1743; Benjamin Davis, 1749; Ebenezer
Learned, 1751; Duncan Campbell, 1752 to 1755, inclusive; Edward Davis,
1756, 1757 ; Duncan Campbell, 1758 ; Edward Davis, 1759, 1760, 1761, 1763 ;
Josiah Woleott, 1764, 1765, 1766; Edward Davis, 1767 to 1771, inclusive;
Jeremiah Learned, 1772, 1773; Ebenezer Learned, 1774; Edward Davis,
1775; William Campbell, 1776; Edward Davis and AVilliam Hancock, 1777;
William Hancock, 1778; Edward Davis, 1779, 1780; Ebenezer Learned,
1783 ; Jeremiah Learned, 1784 to 1793, inclusive ; James Butler, 1794, 1795 ;
Sylvanus Town, 1798 to 1806, inclusive; Abijah Davis, 1807, 1808; Abijah
Davis and James Butler, 1809; Abijah Davis, 1810 to 1821, inclusive; Rich-

EARLY PASTORS. 187

ard Oliiey, 1826; Jonathan Davis, 1827, 1828; Jonathan Davis and Richard
Olney, 1829; Ira Barton and Alexander DcWitt, 1830, 1831, 1832; Stephen
Barton and Benjamin F. Campbell, 183G ; Sylvanus Harris and Francis Sibley,
1838, 1839; Ebenczer Rich and Alexander C. Thurston, 1840, 1841; Emory
Sauford, 1812; Israel Sibley, 1843; Jasper Brown, 1844; Erastus Ormsbj',
1845; David Barton, 184G ; Jonas Bacon, 1847; Paul Perkins, 1849; David
Wait, 1850; Albert A. Cook, 1851 ; Thomas Appleby, 1852 ; Emory Sanford,
1853; David Barton, 1854; James M. Sanford, 1855; George W. Ilartwell,
1850 ; Lament B. Corbin, 1857 ; Ira Merriam, 1859 ; Seth Daniels and George
Hodges, 18G0 ; Moses Stone, 18G2 ; Moses S. Johnson, 18G3 ; Archibald Camp-
bell, 18G4; Lament B. Corbin, 18G7 ; George Hodges, 1873; George F,
Daniels, 1875, 187G; Samuel C. Paine, 1878.

John Campbell, the first minister in Oxford, was a native of Scotland, born
in the year 1G90, and was educated at the University of Edinburgh, where he
was an intimate friend of Lord Loudon, who was John Campbell, fourth earl
of Loudon, Baron Manchlane, one of the sixteen peers of Scotland. From
this and other fticts, it is believed that John Campbell of Oxford was the fifth
earl of Loudon. No citizen of Oxford was more highly regarded by church
and town's people, or did more to shape and purify society than John Campbell.
Not only was he a spiritual law-giver, honored and revered, but also acted in
a judicial capacity, with respect to civil affairs. He w^as physician, clergyman
and judge. " He was esteemed one of penetrating and discerning understand-
ing, of a [)eculiarly sagacious and enterprising genius, and of a very retentive
memory, as furnished with embellishing arguments, and more especially for
his acquaintance with the affairs of history and State policy." The following
epitaph is inscribed on his tombstone : —

" IntooinM lieth ye body of 5'e Rev'd Mr. John Campbell, who died May 2oth, 1761,
in ye 71 y' of his age. He was born in ye north of Scotland, educated & had 3'e bene-
fits and Honors of University. Came to N. England A. D. 1717, and was ordahied
Pastor of ye Church in Oxford A.D. 1721, where, with great wisdom & fidelity, he con-
tinued to Execute 3^e several parts of his offices for more than 40 years. In his last
sickness he sustained ^^e prospect of his approaching death with great serenity, as
Knowing Him in whom he had believed.

The sweet remembrance .

of ye just
Shall flourish when

they sleep in dust."

Ebenezer Learned was born in Oxford in 1728. In 177G, he had attained
the rank of colonel, and, during the same year, was disabled while in service
in Dorchester, for which he received a pension. In April, 1777, he was com-
missioned brigadier-general, and ])laced in command of the Northern army,
which position he held till the surrender of Buigoyne in October, 1777. He
was highly respected and beloved by the soldiers of his command, and was

188 TOWN OF OXFORD.

distinguished for his bravery and humanity. Gen. Learned died on April 1,
1801, at his home in North Oxford, aged seventy-three years, "and lies buried
near his father, Col. Ebenezer Learned, on Oxford Plain, where also lie his
family and friends."

Ira Moore Barton was born in Oxford on Oct. 25, 1796; was graduated at
Brown University in 1818; studied law with Gen. Bridgman in Providence,
ILL, and Gov. Lincoln in Worcester; received the degree of bachelor of
laws from Harvard University in 1822 ; was admitted to the bar in 1822, and
"passed through the several grades of professional dignity up to that of coun-
sellor of the Supreme Court." He represented Oxford in the General Court
several years in succession ; was a State Senator, and in 1834 was one of the
commissioners appointed to revise the statutes. In 1836, he was appointed by
Gov. Everett to succeed Nathaniel Paine as judge of probate, which office he
held for eight years. He was chosen Presidental Elector in 1840. He died on
July 18, 1867.

Alexander DeWitt was born in New Braintree on April 2, 1798. For many
years, he was closely allied with the manufacturing interests of Oxford, and he
may be reckoned as having been among the most successful business men of
the southern part of Worcester County. In 1830, Col. DeWitt represented
Oxford in the General Court as a Democrat, and remained in otSce six years ;
and, as a Republican, served the town in the same capacity in 1842, 1844, and
1850. In 1851 and 1869, he was elected to the State Senate, and, in 1853
and 1856, was a member of conventions held to amend the Constitution. In
1856 and 1857, he represented Worcester South District in Congress. He
was connected with railway corporations, banks, insurance companies, and
other organizations, either as president or director, for twenty-five years. He
died on Jan. 13, 1879. t

Statistics:— Population, 1820, 1,562; 1830, 2,031; 1850, 2,334; 1875,
2,938; polls, 843; voters, 686; fomilies, 691; dwellings, 5.0; farms, 141;
acres cultivated, 2,984; acreage of farms, 11,855; horses, 150; cows, 331;
sheep, 75 ; value of agricultural products, $145,936 ; value of farm property,
$539,962; capital invested in manufactures, $394,025; persons employed in
manufactures, 790; value of products of manufactures, $1,207,578; value of
personal estate, $442,912; value of real estate, $1,015,570; total valuation,
$1,458,482; rate of taxation, 1879, $12.50 per $1,000.

EFFORTS FOR INCORPORATION. 189

P A XT O N.

BY GEORGE A. STOCKWELL, A. M.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY HISTORY AND INCORPORATION — CHARLES PAXTON — THE WAR OF THE

REVOLUTION.

The town of Paxton, on and between rnggccl and wooded hills, lies nearly
in the centre of the county, seven miles from the city of Worcester, and fifty-
two from Boston ; bordered on the north-west by Rutland, on the north-east
by Ilolden, on the south by Worcester and Leicester, and on the west by
Spencer and Oakham.

The founders of the town of Paxton were inhabitants of Rutland and Lei-
cester, respectively; and, living on the outskirts of these towns, remote from
the county road, which was reached only by paths through the woods and
fields, their attendance upon public meetings was irregular, and caused them
great inconvenience. For these reasons, they desired to be incorporated into
a town, or district, in order to have authority to build a meeting-house easier
of access than the one in either Leicester or Rutland. Accordingly, in 1761,
a petition was presented to the General Court by the inhabitants living in the
southern part of Rutland, and the northern part of Leicester, praying to bo
incorporated into a separate municipality, giving as a reason, "the great diffi-
culties they labor under in attending public worship, by reason of the great
distance they were from its places in the towns to which they belong."
This petition was not successful, and in 17G2, a similar one, headed by Jere-
miah Howe of Leicester, was presented. This also was dismissed. In 17G3,
a third application was made giving similar reasons, and the additional one,
"that the land prayed for in Leicester was set off by a town vote, for the ends
proposed at a town meeting held on May 10, 17G3." An order of notice was
served on the town of Rutland, but as that town objected to granting the
prayer of the petitioners, the General Court again gave them leave to with-
draw.

A fourth petition, however, was presented for an act of incorporation, signed
by "Oliver Witt and others, inhabitants, some of them of Leicester, others

190 TOWN OF PAXTON.

of Eutland, setting forth the great difficulties they labor under by living at
such a distance from the place of public worship in the several towns to which
they belong, none of them living less than three miles distant, one only
excepted, and some of them four, and many of them five miles distant, and
the way bad ; and praying that they may be erected mto a distinct town, or
district, or precinct, by certain bounds in said petition mentioned." In response
to this appeal, "it was ordered that Jedcdiuh Foster of Brookfield, and Col.
Williams on the part of the House, and Benjamin Lincoln of the Council, be
a committee, in the recess of this court to repair to the place petitioned for,
to be erected into a parish at the charge of the petitioners, and that they hear
all parties interested for and against said corporation, and report at the next
session whether the prayer thereof should be granted." This committee
reported in favor of the petitioners on Jan. 23, 17G5, and a bill entitled, "'An
Act for Incorporating the Southerly Part of Rutland, and the Northerly Part
of Leicester in the County of Worcester, into a District by the Nnme of Pax-
ton,' passed both branches of the Legislature to be enacted ; and on the twelfth
day of February, Anno Regni Georgii Tertii, Quinto 17G5, was approved by
the governor, Francis Bernard, and Paxton was authorized to take its place
among the incorporated municipalities of the Commonwealth, vested with all
the powers, privileges, and immunities which the inhabitants of any town in
this Province do, or by law ought to enjoy, excepting only the privilege of
sending a representative to the General Assembly." The charter gave the new
district the right to join with the town of Leicester, and the precinct of Spen-
cer in choosing representatives to the General Couit.

The territory petitioned for was described as "two miles off each town —
Leicester and Rutland — to makeup the contents of four miles square." A
part of Ilolden was annexed to Paxton on Feb. 13, 1804, and another part on
April 9, 1839. A part of the south-western part of Rutland was also joined
to Paxton, and the line between the towns altered in other places by the Legis-
lature on May 24, 1851, and on Feb. 20, 1829. The present territory includes
8,541 acres.

When the bill for incorporating this town passed the House of Representa-
tives, no name was inserted ; the blank was filled in the Council by the word
Paxton, in honor of Charles Paxton, who, at that time, was marshal of the
Admiralty Court, and a friend and favorite of Francis Bernard, the governor,
and of Thomas Hutchinson, the deputy governor. It is said that Paxton prom-
ised the town a church bell if it was named for him ; this promise was never
fulfilled. "Charles Paxton, although polished in manners, and of pleasing
address, was an intriguing politician, and a despicable sycophant; 'every
man's humble servant, but no man's friend,' as his proper figure was labelled,
when on Pope's day, as the anniversary of the gun-powder plot was called, it
was paraded through the streets of Boston, standing between the effigies of
the Pope and the Devil. He was the tool of Charles Townshend, the chancel-

FIRST TOWN MEETING. 191

lor of the exchequer and with him devised the scheme of raising a revenue
from the colonies by a tax on ghiss, paper, painter's colors and tea," which
pMsscd both houses of Parliament and was approved by the king on June 29,
1767. which act also led the Colonics to abstain from the use of English ijoods,
and caused the destruction of tea in Boston harbor on June 16, 1773. "The
passage of this bill," says Barry, " was forwarded by the influence of Paxton,
a citizen of Boston, who had been sent from America, at the instance of Ber-
nard and Hutchinson, and Oliver, to appear as advocate of the officers of the
crown, and to mature a scheme for a Board of Customs," at the head of which
Paxton was placed, "for a pecuniary consideration, as he was a place-hunter,
bought and sold ofBce with money, and was as rapacious as the fabled harpy."
Paxton was particularly active in the issuing of writs of assistance, by which
officers of the customs were fully authorized to enter any and all buildings to
search for, and to seize, any and all goods and merchandise supposed to have
been smuggled ; and his course was so insolent and tyrannical, that he became
an object of public hatred, was hung in ef^gy upon Liberty tree (a large elm
that stood at the junction of Essex and Washington streets, Boston), driven
by the wrath of the people into Castle William, left Boston at the time of its
evacuation by the British troops, and died in England at the age of eighty-
four years in 1788. There is a portrait of Paxton by Wainwright, in posses-
sion of the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston ; also, one attributed to
Copley in the hall of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. One
of the earlier public acts of the town was to appoint a committee "to petition
the General Court for a name more agreeable to the inhabitants and the public
than that of Paxton"; and it is a source of regret, even at this time, to the
citizens of Paxton, that cither the committee, chosen for that purpose, or the
Legislature, neglected its duty.

The call for the first meeting of the inhabitants was addressed to Phineas
Moore, and signed by John Murry, justice of the peace, of Rutland. The
first meeting was held on March 11, 1765, at the house of Mr. John Snow, a
half mile east of the present centre, innholder, and the following officers
elected: Selectmen, Capt. Oliver Witt, Ephraim Moore, Capt. Samuel r>rown,
Timothy Barrett, Abraham Smith ; clerk, Ei)hraim ^loore ; wardeur,, William
Thompson, Jonathan Knight; assessors, Capt. Oliver W^itt, Ephraim Moore,
Aaron Hunt; constable, Jason Livermore ; surveyors of highways, Ebenczer
Hunt, Jr., Elijah Howe, Thomas Cutler; tythingmen, Samuel Mann, Ralph
Earle ; treasurer, Ephraim Moore ; hog-reeves, Jonathan Moore, William
Martin ; deer-reeves, James Ames, William Whittaker ; pound-keeper, James
Knight. Field-drivers, fence-viewers, sealer of weights and measures, sealer
of leather, sealer of boards and shingles were also appointed.

Aside from making grants for and establishing a town church — a sketch of
which is given elsewhere — nothing of particular interest appears on the
records until 1774. Li the warrant issued on Aug. 8, 1774, is this article-

192 TOWN OF PAXTON.

"To see if the District will act on Public Afl'airs in any metbocl which may be
then proposed, or laid before thera respecting the dilferences which Subsist
between Great Britain and the Colonies." At the meeting called by this war-
rant, "it was proposed and Put to Vote (after the act of Parliament for regu-
lating the Government of Massachusetts Bay had been read) to see if the dis-
trict are W'illing said act of Parliament should take Place, and Passed unani-
mously in the negative." At the same meeting it was V(jted to observe a (hiy
of fasting and prayer "on account of the threatening aspect of our public
Mtfairs."

At a subsequent meeting a committee on public affairs was appointed, con-
sisting of Lieut. Willard Moore, Dea. Oliver Witt. Capt. llalph Earle,
Phincas Moore and Abel Brown. On Sept. 23, 1771, " it was voted in town
meeting to buy two half barrels of gun-powder in addition to the present stock."
On Dec. 20, 1774, committees of correspondence and safety were chosen, the
duty of the former of which was to keep the district informed of the Acts of
Congress and State government, and the latter was very vigilant in watching
suspected Tories, of whom there were several in town ; also, at the same meet-
insr, it was voted to raise £21 14.s. Id. "for the Defence of this District in Par-
ticular & the province in General."

The able-bodied men of the district, capable of bearing arms, were formed
into two companies, the "Standing Company," of which Kalph Earle was
captain, John Snow, lieutenant, and Abel Brown, ensign ; and the "Minute
Company," which was fully armed and equipped, and often exercised in mili-
tary tactics ; and for its time and expenses spent and incurred in training, the
district appropriated iiioney. On Jan. 16, 1775, £15 was raised for this pur-
pose; also, at the same meeting, a committee was chosen "to draft out thirty-
three men to be erected into a Minute Company."

Following is a copy of the original " Minute Men Agreement at Snow's,
1775:" —

" We the Subscribers Do Engnge for to Jojn the Minute Men of this District & to
March with them Against our Common Enimys when we are call'd for, if so be that
the Minute Compenys are kept up as witness our bands.

" Marmaduke Earle,
Jonah Newton,
David Goodcnow, Jr.,
Abijah Brown,
Joseph Knight,
Clark Earll,
Nathan Swan,
Jonah Howe,
Ithcmar Biglow,
John Davis,
John Pike,

Phineas Moore,
Ebcnezer Hunt,
Thomas Lamb,
Oliver Earll,
Jonathan "White,
riczekiah Newton,
Stephen Barrett,

Samuel ,

Daniel Steward,
Joseph Prescott,
John Flint."

EEVOLUTIOXARY INCIDENTS. 193

On March 13, 1775, it was voted : —

"To raise £37 16s., and out of it to equip the Minute Men, and a committee was
appointed to see 30 men, exclusive of officers be forthwith oquipt with cartouch box &
Bayonctt, s'd ba^yonet to be well fixed to each man's gun & upon each person's being
so cquipt to the satisfaction of the committee then to pay each minute man so cqui|-t
the sum of 12 shillings, said minute men engaging upon receiving s'd 12 shillings that
in case they do not march on the first emergenc}', to deliver their Cartouch box &
bayonet to the committee who shall equip others."

This company, properly organized and officered, "on the alarm of the Con-
cord Fight," on April 19, 1775, marched to Cambridge under the command of
Capt. Willard INloorc, where ho, with a p^irt of his company, enlisted in the
Continental Army. Capt. Moore was promoted to the rank of mnjor, ami
fell in the battle of Bunker Ilill on June 17, 1775. On April G, 1775, Capt.
Moore was chosen representative to the Provincial Congress at Concord, and
instructed " to use his influence in Conjzress that ofovcrnment be assumed, in
case that it shall prove certain that Great Britain intends to enforce the late act
of parliament by the sword."

When the news reached Paxton that the " Regulars " had attacked Concord
and Lexington, Jason Livermore, with his three sons, was plowing in the field,
and learning that the company of minute-racn — C;ipt. Moore's — to which they
belonged would march forthwith, left the field, and with the wife's and mother's
pewter plates and spoons in the form of bullets, were on the road to Cam-
bridge " in less than a minute," and afterwards did good service on Breed's Hill.
The wife and mother, left at home with a son, only twelve years of age, con-
tinued the farm work, besides excavating the earth under the barn and other
buildings, and from it making more than one hundred pounds of nitre, or salt-
petre for the purpose of making gunpowder, of which there was great need in
the army. jNLs. Livermore died in 1825, or thereabouts, at the great age of
nearly one hundred years.

Jason Livermore, already referred to, and Samuel Brewer of Sutton, raised
in Paxton and Sutton a company that marched from Paxton on Aug. 9, 1770,
to Charlestown, thence to Ticondcroga and Mount Hope, where it was stationed
for some time.

The first representative to the General Court from Paxton was Abraham
Smith, elected on May 23, 177G. On the same day the town appropriated ^l
10s. for a fife and drum. On Nov. 11, 1777, it was voted to iu-.)vide iho
families of soldiers in the Continental army with the " necessaries of life." On
Oct. 12, 1778, it was voted to raise £260 for hiring Micah Harrington and
Benj imin Barrett to join the militia army ; £19 for clothing, and £19 for pow-
der and lead. In July, 1779, a committee was appointed " to hire men for the
Continental army, and it was voted to give each man that went into the army
£G00 or $2,400 ; also voted that each man that went to Rhode Island have £300
including rations and bounty, and wages that they are for to receive of the State

VOL. II.— 25

194 TOWN OF PAXTON.

■which will be £286 aad there remains then for this town to pay the two men
that have engaged to go to Rhode Island, £314." Again, in the same year, it
was voted to give each soldier £800, including bounty and wages offered by
the State ; and also the use of a blanket while in service.

On Aug. 10, 1779, Abraham Smith was elected a delegate to the Convention
at Worcester, Phineas Moore a delegate to the Convention at Concord, and
Adam Maynard a delegate to Cambridge Convention.

On June 14, 1780, the town voted to hire eight men, "to go to the army at
£30 a piece payable in grain and produce."

The State tax in 1780 was five thousand one hundred and twenty pounds,
and in that year Phineas Moore represented the town in the General Court.

In July of this year the town voted to take from the Rev. Alexander Thayer
a deed of the burying-ground. In the same year, also, the polls and estates
were assessed £29,400. At this time the qualification for voting was the
possession of £60 worth of property, or an annual income of three pounds.
At the first State election the town cast twenty-four votes for John Hancock
for governor, and seventeen for Azor Orne for lieutenant-governor. On Oct.
26, 1780, the town voted to purchase four thousand eight hundred pounds of
beef for the army, and the inhabitants were assessed seven thousand five hun-
dred pounds to pay for it ; also on Dec. 28, nine thousand two hundred and
sixteen pounds of beef Avere furnished. During this year and previous years,
meetings were held frequently for various purposes, of which no record was
kept. On April 11, 1781, the price of a bushel of Indian corn was fixed at
forty-five dollars.

In 1781, Capt. Adam Maynard was elected representative to the General
Court. In the same year, July 10, "£100 was voted for 3,804 pounds of beef
for the army ; two pounds per month for soldiers to Connecticut ; and on Scp-
cmber 10, five men were sent to Rhode Island, and given each 280 hard dollars."
During this year and the year that followed, many petitions were presented to
the General Court for abatement of taxes, with what result is not known. In
1782, Artemas Howe was chosen a delegate to the Convention at Worcester.

At the beginning of the Revolution Paxton contained about five hundred
inhabitants. During that struggle it furnished its full quotas of men, from
three to eight for different lengths of service, and twice it was called upon to
furnish eight each time. Besides these there were many volunteers. From the
records it appears that Paxton paid nearly ten thousand dollars for hiring men,
and for clothing and military stores demanded by the government, in addition
to the amounts paid into the State and other treasuries. "In short, it did its
full share in resisting the encroachments which its infamous namesake had
labored so assiduously to make upon American liberty ; and although its
individual and municipal sufferings were extreme, and sometimes almost
intolerable, its patriotism never flagged, and it evinced by its conduct a deter-
mination to die or be free. And history, if just, will laud its inhabitants as

TOPOGRAPHICAL FEATURES. 195

much for their untiring efforts in defence of liberty, as it may justly execrate
Charles Paxtou and his wicked coadjutors for their strenuous exertions for its
destruction."

CHAPTER II.

PHTSICAL FEATURES — INDUSTRIAL INTERESTS — CHURCH HISTORY — SCHOOLS

AND LIBRARY THE CIVIL WAR.

The land surface of Paxton, fiUhouo;h broken and irre2:ular, is so diversified
by hill, wooded tract and far-stretching intervale, and so dispos-ed with respect
to its agricultural advantages, that it not only possesses great natural beauty,
but also aifords ample scope and opportunity for the husbandman.

On the cast is Asnebumskit Hill, the highest elevation, except Wachusett,
in this part of the county. The view from its summit is wide and comprehen-
sive, "embracing in its sweep more than a score of towns and villages," and
well repays the toiler-up. Asnebumskit Lake, a cold, clear, spring-fed body
of water is near, and this, with the mountain, as the hill is often called, forms
the most picturesque and the most romantic part of the territory of Paxton.
The numerous springs that flow from the base of Asnebumskit contribute to
the water supply of the city of Worcester. Of the seven lakes and ponds,
Bottoraly Pond, extending southward from the Centre, is the largest body of
water. Springs, rivulets and l)rooks abound. In the northern territory a
spring sends a part of its waters to the Merrimac, and another part to the
Connecticut. Turkey Hill Pond is in the north-west, and on its outlet, fifty
years ago, was a fulling-mill and a carding-factory. Turkey Hill, Fox Hill
(near the Centre) and Pine Hill (on the north-east) serve as landmarks.

The inhabitants of Paxton are well scattered over its territory. The Centre,
so called, hedges the old stage or post road, that formerly was the prin-cipal
thorousrhfare connectinor the shire town with the northern settlements. This
road, midway of the village, divides, one branch leading to Rutland on the
north, and the other to Barre, on the north-west. In the angle of these two
branches of the village street is the town common, on which is the Soldiers'
Memorial, and facing both stands the only church edifice in Paxton. The
common and most of the land occupied by the church, including the adjacent
roads, was given to the town in 1791 by Seth Snow.

The town of Paxton is mainly agricultural. The soil is of average fertility,
and the farms and the excellence of their dairy products are well known. The
harvest of wood and the manufacture of lumber have been extensive for many
years, and now receive the attention of the inhabitants during the winter
months.

196 TOWN OF PAXTON.

The raouufactnre of cards and of boots and shoes was the chief industry,
except agriculture, for fifty years or more. In about the year 1820 the boot
business was established by John Partridge. lie was folhjwed by Lakin &
Bigelow, nud they by R. E. Bigclow & Son. In 1875 this industry, which had
given employment to a large number of the inhabitants, came to an end by
fire. The manufacture of boots was afterwards feebly revived, but the number
of persons employed and the amount of products is not large.

The Congregational church in this town was organized on Sept. 3, 1767, and
during the same year the house of worship was built or completed. iVt the
second meeting of the District, on April 1, 1765, twenty days after the incor-
poration, "it was put to vote to see if the district will Build a meeting House
in said Paxton, and of what dimentions they will Build it; also to see if the
district will agree upon some place for to Sett Said meeting House on." It
was voted "to build a house of worship fifty feet in length and forty in width,
with twenty-two foot posts, and to set the house at the Gate behind John
Snow's farm in Mr. Maynard's pasture." In September of the same year £13 Gs.
8d. was appropriated "for the purpose of procuring the Gospel to be preached
in this place during the winter." On March 3, 1766, the sum of £250 was
voted "for a meeting hou^fc, and a meetinghouse place"; and it was also
voted "to leave the raising of the house to the generosity of the public to
provide a supper, and bring it to the church." During this year — 1766 — the
house was raised, and carried so far towards completion that services were held
in it early in the following year. This structure stood in the centre of the
common. In 1835 it was moved a few rods to the north, remodeled and a
steeple added. The old church is thus described by George W. Livermore cf
Cambridge, in his address delivered at the hundredth anniversary of the incor-
poration cf the town : —

" A plain, square structure, standing in the middle of the Common in primitive
simplicit}', without dome or spire, destitute of external ornament and internal embel-
lishment, its prominent sounding-board above, and its deacon's scat, and semi-eirciilar
communion-table at the base of the pulpit — its uucarpeted aisles, and pen-like pews,
with their uncushioned and hinged seats, to be turned up and let down at the rising and
sitting of their occupants with a clatter sufficient to have awakered a Rip Van Winkle —
its negro seats in the rear of the front gallery-, and the old people's in front of the |nilpit,
for the use of the deaf, — its two corner pews perched aloft over the gallery staircase,

" 'Through which, and the scuttles above were the ways
To the attic, the arsenal of those early days.'

" It has now fallen back from its conspicuous localit}- to the site of its former horse-
sheds, rearing its stcepled head in all the grandeur and assurance of modern reno-
vation."

In April, 1767, a committee was chosen to secure a gospel minister, and on
May 4, 1767, the Bev. Silas Biglow was offered £133 Gs. Sd. as a settlement,

THE CIVIL WAR. 197

"and a yearly salary of £53 G,'. 8^7., for the first fjiir years, and £GG IS.s. 4c?.,
as long as he shall continue in (he relations of a gospel minister amongst ns."
lie was ordained on Oct. 21, 17G7, and remained till his death on Nov. IQ,
1760. ]\Ir. Biglow was highly esteemed for his intellectual and mf)ral worth,
greatly beloved during his life, and much lamented for years after his death.
Alexander Thayer, Mr. Biglow's successor, was ordained on Nov. 28, 1770,
and dismissed on Aug. 14, 1782. Mr. Thayer was a suspected royalist, and
this fact, together with the difSculty that arose in paying his salary in conse-
quence of the depreciation in the currency, rendered his pastorate unpleasant
for self and people. John Foster followed Mr. Thayer as pastor of the church.
He was ordained on Sept. 7, 1785, and was dismissed in April, 1789. II!s
settlement caused a division in the church, and there were two societies nntil
1703, when they were reunited. Other pastors : Daniel Grosvenor, installed
on Nov. 5, 1785, dismissed on Nov. 17, 1802; Gains Conan', ordained on
Feb. 17, 1808, dismissed on Sept. 21, 1831 ; Moses Winch, ordained on Sept.
21, 1831, dismissed on Aug. 28, 1834; James D. Farnsworth, installed on
April 30, 1835, dismissed on May 7, 1840 ; William Phipps, ordained on Nov.
11, 1840, dismissed on March 2, 18G0 ; Thomas L. Ellis, installed on Sept.
26, 1871, died on Nov. 12, 1873; Francis J. Fairbanks, hired in January,
1874, dismissed in October, 1877 ; Otis Cole, the present pastor, was hired on
Jan. 1, 1878.

The town of Paxton has five ungraded schools and one grammar school,
about one hundred and fifty pupils, and school property valued at three thouand
dollars. One thousand dollars was appropriated for schools in the year 1870.

In 1877 a public library was founded through the influence and aid of Led-
3'ard Bill, Esq., a resident of the town. The library contains over one thousand
volumes, and is supported by donations and the annual grant of the dog fund.

A post-oiSce was established in Paxton on Dec. 10, 1816, and Tyler Goddard
appointed postmaster. He remained in office till 1841 when he was succeeded
by Silas D. Harrington, who held the office till 1857. Otis Pierce was the
next incumbent, and was followed in 18G1 by Nathaniel Clark the jDresent
postmaster.

In the war of Rebellion, Paxton contributed seventy-four men, two of whom
were commissiocccl officers, besides eight citizens of the town who enlisted
elsewhere. The first town meeting, in reference to the Avar, was held on July
26, 1862, when it was voted to give a l)ounty of one hundred and ten dollars
to each volunteer, not exceeding ten in number. On August 9, the bounty was
increased eighty-five dollars. On December 8, the selectmen were authorized to
pay a bounty of one hundred and ten dollars for nine months volunteers, and
one hundred and sixty dollars to those who entered the service for three years.

On June 22, 1864, the town voted to give each volunteer for three years,
one hundred and twenty-five dollars. Of those who volunteered in behalf of
the town fifteen died while in service. Of those who enlisted elsewhere three

198 TOWN OF PAXTON.

died, making in all twenty citizens of Paxtou who lost their lives in the cause
of freedom and equal rights.

In 1871, a granite shaft was erected on the common to the memory of the
fallen, aud bears these names: — Samuel G. Osland, George O. Peirce, John
D. Peirce, Hollis H. Howe, Charles A. Harrington, Walter Shaw, Hezckiah
Sargent, George R. Hubbard, Samuel W. Stratton, George W. Brown, Hiram
N. Parkhurst, John S. Pratt, David W. Pratt, Nathan A. Munroe, Henry A.
Brown, Daniel Cummings, Solomon R. Maynard, John S. Mills, Alvin S.
Nichols, Edward E. Munroe, James D. Butler.

The centennial anniversary of the incorporation of the town of Paxton was
celebrated on June 14, 18G5. The Hon. George W. Livermore of Cambridge
delivered an historical address, the Rev. John F. Bigelow, D. D., of Brook-
lyn, N. Y., made an oration, and Mr. George Gardner Phipps of Paxton read
a poem.

The following have represented the town in the General Court; — Adam
Smith, 1776, '84-5, '87; Phineas Moore, 1780; Adam Maynard, 1781-2;
Hezekiah Ward, 1786; Nathaniel Crocker, 1806, '08-9, '11, '13, '16; M. B.
Livermore, 1810; Ebenezer Estabrook, 1811; David Davis, Jr., 1814;
Samuel Harrington, 1821 ; Tyler Goddard, 1829-30, '31, '32, '33, '34, '35, '37,
'39 ; Artemas Howe, 1838 ; David Harrington, 1840 ; Gains Conant, 1841, '42,
'43 ; Samuel Harrington, 1849-50 ; Simon G. Harrington, 1854 ; David G. Davis,
1856 ; Ralph E. Bigelow, 1858 ; William Mulligan, 1861, '70 ; John C. Bigelow,
1866.

The Hon. George W. Livermore of Cambridge, Mass., a native of the town,
was graduated at Harvard University, entered the law and was skilled in Lis
profession.

The Rev. John F. Bigelow, D. D., a native of Paxton is entitled to honor-
able mention in its history. He was born at the Bigelow homestead in the
year 1818 ; was graduated at Brown University aud Theological Seminary ;
entered the ministry and attained eminence. Dr. Bigelow is principal of the
Atheneum Seminary in Brooklyn, N. Y. He is chiefly noted for his wide
scholarship and high character.

Dr. Andrew J. Howe was born in Paxton on April 14, 1826 : was graduated at
Harvard University in 1853, and studied medicine in the cities of New York and
Philadelphia. Dr. Howe is professor of surgery in the Eclectic Medical Institute
of Cincinnati, Ohio. He is known as the author of several works on surgery.

Statistics: — Area 8,541 acres; population, 1790, 558 ; 1800,582; 1820,
613; 1850, 820; 1860, 725; 1875,600; polls, 184 ; voters, 159 ; families,
115; dwellings, 140; farms, 76; acres cultivated, 1,619; acreage of farms,
7,619 ; cows, 285 ; sheep, 23 ; horses, 148 ; value of farm property, $287,632 ;
value of agricultural products, $69,610; value of personal estate, $42,669;
value of real estate, $239,890; total valuation, $282,559 ; rate of taxation,
$11 per $1,000. The town is free from debt.

ORIGINAL PLANTATIO>f. 199

PETERSHAM.

BY GEORGE W. HORR, LL. B.

CHAPTER I.

THE ORIGINAL PLANTATION — FIRST SETTLERS — IXDLVN RELATIONS — INCOR-
PORATION OF THE TOWN — APPROACH OF THE REVOLUTION GROWTH AND

VIGOR OF THE COJIMUNITY — LIBERAL SPIRIT — EARNEST PATRIOTISM — THE
LATER WAIiS — REBELLION RECORD.

The present territory of the town of Petersham, including; the portion set off
to form part of the town of Dana, embracing rather more than six miles square,
was granted to seventy-one persons, who became proprietors in this plantation
in April, 1733. It was called, nntil it was incorporated a town, Nichewaug.
Thomas Farmer, Henry Conlbnrn, Jonathan Farrar, Samuel Shaddock, Samuel
Trull (sometimes Avritten Terril), Jacob Corey, Joshua Webster, Abiel Foster,
Samuel Tarbol were admitted among the proprietors, although not petitioners,
and among the petitioners Edward Hartwell, Joseph Wright, Joseph Wheel-
ock, Robert Phelps, and Jonathan Houghton, Jr., were excluded from be-
coming grantees. The petition reads as follows : —

" To His Excellency Jonathan Belcher Esq'' Captain General & Governour in Chief In
& Over His Ma jestis Province of the Massachusetts Bay, the Hon^^^ the Council & Rep-
resentatives In Gen^^ Court assembled at Boston April the 5^'* 1733 :

" The memorial of John Bennet & Jeremiah Perley for themselves and the Roste of
the i)evsons whose Names are hereunto subscribed : Humbly Showeth That whereas
ynur memorialists In the month of January 1731 & at the Beginning of this present
session ; viz., In May laste Severally prefered their Petishons or memorials to your
Excel<=y & Honours seting forth the Hardship & Difficult marches they underwent as
volunteers under the Comand of the Late Capt° Lovell & Capt^ White after the Inden
Enemy and Into their Conntrey & praying In consideration thereof to be favoured with
the Grant of a township & as by the several Petishons aforesaid will fully aper unto
which the memorialistcs would Refer, & Inasmuch as Nothing has Ben acted or Done
thareon for the Benifit of the memorialists by your Excellency & Honours They are
therefore Nesesitated once more to apley to your Excellency & Honours Humbly praying

200 TOWN OF PETERSHAiM.

that you will be pleased to take the Case of the memorialists into 30ur wise and Gra-
cious Consideration that so Ihcir former petishons may be Received & Reconsidered &
that they may meet with Such Due Encouragement for their Paste Sarvis by the favour
of your Excellency' & Honours as to have the Grant of a township of six miles square
in the unap|)ropriated Lands of Province thay being a comptent Number for such a set-
tlement ; — & the place which they are Desirous to settle on if it be your Excellency &
Honours Plesure is situated In the Western parte of this Province beginning six miles
from Rutland northweste Corner to the westward therof & Running to the westward six
miles & bounding southerly on Rutland Township which will leave and well accommo-
date the settlers for a town between this & the Narowgansct township your memorial-
ists being varry willing & desirous to be subject to such Conditions Rules & Restric-
tions in their settlement as jour Excelleuc}' and Honours shall see meet & as in Duty
bound shall ever praj' &c."

Then follow the signatures.

The proprietors numbered seventy-one, and seventy-two after the minister
settled upon his division, but he did not arrive until 1738. Very few of these
original proprietors settled in the plantation of Nichew.iug. In 1750 the names
of forty-seven of the sixty-one families then actually settled in town, are given
in a report to the General Court, and the name of Joseph AVillson alone appears
on the list of first proprietors. The conditions of the grant required only sixty
families to be settled on the granted territory within three years, and the priv-
ilege of postponing actual settlement beyond the period of three years was con-
ferred for a pecuniary consideration, paid into the proprietors' treasury. Rev.
E. B. Willson, in bis able address in commemoration of the one hundredth anni-
versary of the incorporation of the town, says : —

" A tradition exists that Joseph Willson built the first house in town, near the pres-
ent residence of Mr. David C. Page ; and I believe the tradition sometimes adds he was
the first white man who spent a winter here. If Mr. Simeon Houghton, who settled on
what is known as the Charles Wilder Place, was not here as early as Mr. Willson, he
certainly was not much behind him. And, if Mr. Willson did really precede Mr.
Houghton, there is traditional evidence that Mrs. Houghton was not preceded by Mrs.
Willson, or b}' any other of her own sex, in the new settlement. The tradition runs
that Madame Houghton, albeit not the possessor of a well-favored countenance, was
gifted with a genial disposition ; and that she used to saj-, in the j79si meridian of her
life, shaking her head significantly at the fairest of the maidens around her, ' Take no
airs ; I'd have you know, that the time was when I was acknowledged, without dispute,
to be the handsomest woman in the town ' — that time having been when there was yet
no woman in the town besides Mrs. Houghton herself."

Occasionally, the plantation of Nichewaug, in old records, is called Volun-
teerstown, or Voluntown, being granted to the volunteers who marched " mi-
der the Comand of the Late Cap**" Lovell & Cap*^ White after the Inden
Enemy and Into their Countrey." It is to the great credit of the pioneers of
Nichewaug that they paid the Indians for all their rights and interests they
claimed to have in the lauds granted by the General Court to the proprietors.

riEST TOWN MEETING. 201

This plautalion never suflerctl from an attack by the Indians. Peter Whitney,
author of a History of Worcester County, published in 1793, was the second
son and child of Aaron Whitney, who was ordained minister of the Plantation
of Nichewaug in December, 1738. Peter graduated at Harvard University in
17G2, and was ordained pastor of the First Church in Northborough, Nov. 4,
17G8, where he died suddenly Feb. 29, 1816. Whitney says : —

'•The original proprietors being some of them wealthy and enterprising, they encour-
aged and drove on the settlement of this then infant plantation, although there were no
settled towns nearer than Lancaster on the east, and Rutland to the south-east, and
Brookficld to the south, except a few new settlers in Lambstown, now Ilardwick. But
the land being excellent, divers persons soon began to work upon lots ; the proprietors
built a meeting-house, and so early as the year 1738 the}' contracted with and settled a
minister for the inhabitants, and who was supported by them until its Incorporation.

" Although the prospects from the soil were very promising, and settlers moved in
fast, yet they laboured under many and exceeding great disadvantages, being then so
remote from any white people, from whom they could procure the necessaries of life, or
derive any aid or support. While in its infancy, and struggling for life, a French war
broke out, and the Indians, being always in the interest of the French, they became
hostile, and began to commit depredations in various parts of the land, which occa-
sioned the few inhabitants great fear and danger, obliging them to build forts in differ-
ent parts of the town, round certain houses, into each of which a number of families
moved for safet\' and defence, and soldiers wore stationed there as a guard to the in-
habitants, and to reconnoitre the country'. The people used to labor on their lands in
small parties, changing work with one another, having their guns b}' them, and these,
also, they were for a long time obliged to carr}- with them whenever they went to the
house of God for religious worship, and also to place sentinels at the doors."

No attack was however ever made, and no white person was ever known to
be killed by the Indians in Nichewaug. After peace was established between
Great Britain and France, the plantation increased rapidly in population, and
Avas incorporated with all the rights and privileges of a town, April 20, 1754,
receiving the name of Petersham. There is no other town or city in the
United States by the same name. This one was probably named from Peter-
sham in England, a small parish situated in the County of Surrey, about seven
miles south-west by west from Loudon. " In the vicinity of this place are many
elegant villas, particularly Petersham Lodge, formerly the residence of the
Duke of Clarence."

The first town meeting in Petersham was held on the 19th of August, 1754.
Deacon Isaac Ward, Joshua Willard, John Wilder, James Clemence and
Joseph Willson, constituted the first board of selectmen; Joshua Willard was
elected town clerk, and Jonas Farnsworth, treasurer. From the period of
the incorporation of the town to the time when Revolution and Independence
were believed by a large portion of the people of Massachusetts, to be not only
probable but possible, the inhabitants of Petersham were no idle spectators of

202 TOWN OF PETERSHAM.

this great " preparation time." An anecdote, which vividly illustrates the spirit
of the Petersham patriots, is given by Willsou : —

"Early in 1768 the Massachusetts House of Representatives, after having voted an
address to the King on the subject of their grievnnces, in terms which were deemed
offensive by the government, were required to rescind their action. The vote on re-
scinding stood seventeen in the affirmative to ninety-two in the negative. Of course
the staunch nhiety-tico, who would not take bade their own words at the royal mandate,
were everywhere applauded revolutionists, and the seventeen who were ready to comply
were as vehemently denounced. The ' Sons of Liberty,' as they styled themselves in this
town, met on the 20th of September, 1TG8, to dedicate a tree to the Goddess of Liberty.
Having selected a thrifty young elm, they first cut off seventeen poorer branches, leav-
ing, as they asserted, ninet^'-two remaining. The tree was then, with some ceremony,
consecrated to liberty ; and the seventeen i\mputated limbs were consigned to the
flames, the fiimous ' Song of Liberty,' which began, —

' Come join hand in hand, brave Americans all,
And rouse your bold hearts Jit fair liljerty's call ;
No tyrannous acts shall suppress your just claim,
Or stain with dishonor America's name,'

beini; simar to the tune ' Hearts of Oak.'

The <^rowtb of Nicbewaug, in everything that goes to make np the prosperity
of the En<''lish-spcaking race, was very successful, from the time in 1734, when
the proprietors voted to confer upon Capt. Jonas Houghton valuable priv-
ileges as a proprietor, and pay him a sum of money "for making the road so
feasible — from Lancaster, along on the North side of Wacbusett, to the meetiag
of the other path, that goes from aforesaid Lancaster, along on the South side
Wacbusett, — as to carry comfortably, with four oxen four barrels of cider at
once," to the incorporation of the town in 1754.

For the next twenty years, the town steadily increased in population and
wealth : had nood schools, well cultivated farms ; the Congregational church ;
their town meetings, and were happy, prosperous, and upon every subject, save
one, quite harmonious. The votes, as recorded in the town meetings held
during these years of momentous interest, give us the key to the no uncertain
voice of the inhabitants of Petersham upon the great question of the Revolu-
tion. The heroes of the town were among the very first to enlist, and many
names are found in the regiment of minute-men commanded by Col. Ephraim
Doolittle, who marched from here with his troops on the I'Jtb of April, 1775,
and was stationed at Cambridge.

August, 1774, the town voted to devise the most wise, prudent, virtuous
and spirited ways and means for the saving of our free Constitution from
destruction, by the late alarming acts of Parliament. Voted to grant the
town's proportion of the money for the support of our Provincial Committee of
Conorress. September 13, voted to raise two companies of miuute-men, of fifty

STRUGGLE FOR LIBERTY. 203

men each, exclusive of ofSccrs. December 13, voted that the town will not
bargain with, or employ the Rev. Mr. Whitney to preach for them any longer.

Jan. 2, 1775, a list of fourteen Tories is given, followed by a recommenda-
tion "to every well wisher of American Liberty to break off all commercial
connection with any and every such person, until they will make public recan-
tation of their doings as aforesaid."

January 30, voted that the committee of inspection be directed to make
entries of all persons who may trade with the fourteen persons under censure,
and that they report the particular circumstances of any such commerce, that
the town may order their names published, if they see cause. April 12, voted
to warn every male inhabitant, from sixteen years old and upward, to meet at
the meeting-house, with arms and ammunition, on Monday next, at 9 a. m.

May 24, voted unanimously, that the town will not hire the Rev. Mr. Whit-
ney to preach any longer, and that he is dismissed from any further services
as a minister of the gospel in this town. Chose a committee of ten to see that
the public worship on the next Lord's Day, and all future worship, be not
disturbed by auy person or persons going into the desk, but such as shall be
authorized and endorsed by the town committee .

The first town meeting not warned in the name of his majesty, the English
king, was held on the 17th of July, nearly a year before the Declaration of
Independence. At this rime the selectmen " requested the Constable to warn
and notify the freeholders, and other inhabitants that have estate of freehold
in land of (the value of) forty shillings per annum, or other estate to the
value of forty pounds sterling."

In May following, the voice of the town was heard still more distinctly,
when a meeting was called on the 27th of that month, "to see if the inhabi-
tants will instruct their Representative to inform the Great and General Court
of this Province, that they stand ready, and are fully determined, to support
the Continental Congress with their lives and fortunes, on condition they should
declare the American Colonies independent of corrupt and arbitrary Great
Britain." This passed in the affirmative with but one dissenting vote.

March 5, 1776, chose Col. Doolittle, Samuel Gates, Col. Grout, Ephraim
Stearns, Daniel Hastings, Elisha Flagg and Joseph Gleason, a committee to
manufacture saltpetre and sulphur. July 4, voted that £20 be paid to each
soldier at the time of his appearing well-equipped for service.

July 26, it was voted that each soldier who enlists for the northern army,
shall receive the additional bounty of six pounds. September 6, voted not to
tax the soldiers who enlisted into the Continental service.

September 30, voted to established a small-pox hospital at the house of Mr.
Frederick Rogers. Also voted that thirty-nine pounds be granted as a bounty
to the lately drafted soldiers.

April 4, 1777, voted twenty-four pounds, as a bounty to each soldier that
enlists into the Continental service.

204 TOWN OF PETERSHAM.

October 13, voted to procure kettles fur the manufacture of salt; and to
bring another batch of four Tories to trial as enemies of their country's liber-
ties.

Jan. 27, 1778, voted that the town provide for families, when the head of
the house is absent in the Continental service.

April 8, voted that the selectmen provide clothing for the Continental sol-
diers, and chavo-e the cost to the town. Also voted, that the committee consist-
i:ig of Capt. Asa Howe, Capt. Wing Spooner, Lieut. Ephraim Stearns, Lieut.
Park Holland and David McLallen, hire soldiers for the Continental army, and
draw their p:iy from the town treasury.

May 8, voted to raise two thousand pound to hire soldiers into the Conti-
nental service.

Julv 7, voted and granted the sum of two thousand seven hundred and
thirty-eight pounds fourteen shillings to equalize the past services of the
soldiers in the present war.

July 7, 1779, voted to raised six thousand pounds to pay soldiers.

Sept. 4, 1780, granted fiftj^-three thousand pounds be raised for paying
soldiers hired by the town.

October 28, Rev. Solomon Reed was settled with a salary of one hundred
pounds a year, which sum was guaranteed to have the purchasing power
sufficient to pay for six hundred and sixty-six and two-thirds bushels of Indian
corn.

Oct. 12, 1780, chose a committee of three to purchase beef for the army.

With the record of these votes before us, we may safely assert that few if
any towns in the Commonwealth, went into the Revolutionary struggle with
more patriotism, pluck and earnestness than Petersham. The pledging of
their lives and fortunes were not idle words. Did space permit, it ^voukl be
pleasant to gives the names of that group of sturdy men, who came to the
front in the hour of trial, stood firmly up to the task and never fainted or
faltered.

During all the rough and costly discipline, they never neglected the church
or schools, or most of all, the welfare of the country. They poured out men
and money for the cause like water ; combated the small-pox; manufactured
salt, sulphur and saltpetre ; sent horses, beef, pork and clothing to the Conti-
nental army ; sat doAvn on the Tories heavily ; and then built a new meeting-
house directly after the war.

The state of political feeling in Petersham, at the time of and previous to
the war of 1812, was more evenly divided between the Federalists and Demo-
crats than in most towns of this section of the country, many of the people
being in favor of that war, and ardent supporters of the government in the
vigorous prosecution of the same. Of the measures adopted by the town at
this time, we have no authentic account, as the records of the town during all
these events have been destroyed by fire.

SHARP PRACTICE. 205

The following anectloto will serve to illustrate the division among the people
of the town as regards their politics at that time. Sometime dnring the war
of 1812, at the March meeting three Democratic and two Federalist selectmen
had been chosen, and the former were going home, satisfied with the result, but
by a little diplomacy practiced on the part of the Federalists, agents were
stationed at the doors, who invited the Federalists in a whisper to remain a
while longer, while the Democrats were permitted to go home without let or
hindrance. When the house was sufBciently cleared of the Democrats to make
it safe, a party arose (it might perhaps be termed a "Federal trick "), and said :
"The law allows us seven selectmen," and after a motion to that elTect the house
proceeded to choose them. " The situation " was immediately discovered by the
few Democrats remaining, and vigorous measures were taken to get back the
absent ones. A man noted for his carefulness of his horses, and having two
of them present, despatched young men on his pet animals after voters, with
the unparalleled instructions, "Don't let the grass grow under their feet." The
absentees were brought back one at a time; and to the oft-repeated question,
"Are the votes all in?" came the response, "No," and at a moderate and inde-
pendent pace another returned voter marched up and put in his ballot.

The result was the election of two more Democratic selectmen. One man
was prosecuted for putting in two votes, but the charge was not proved. Another
far profanity, in saying, after the meeting, " We've beaten (he d — d Feds."
The judge at Worcester said of the latter case, "We must not draw the lines
too sharp while political feeling is so intense." Oliver Clapp came home from
New Bedford, where he was at work, to vote. On his return he spent the
night at Bellingham, and told the story of the election at his home. Next
morning, on offering to pay his bill, the landlord refused the pay, and said his
report of that town meeting was liberal pay for his entertainment. This anec-
dote we have from the grandson of the man who was so careful of his horses,
and any one who knows the man, will desire no othd* authentication.

The history of Petersham in the war of the Rebellion needs no eulogy from
our pen, for the records of those days show the patriotic feelings which ani-
mated the citizens of this grand old town, while the blood sprinkled upon the
battle-fields of Port Hudson, Ball's Bluff, Antietam and Petersburg attests the
sacrifice offered upon our country's altar by the sons of Petersham. At a town
meeting held May 1, 18G1, the voters of the town took the following action : —

" Resolved, That the Town Treasurer be antborlzed to borrow a sum of money not
exceeding three thousand dollars, to be expended, in whole, or in part under the direc-
tion of the Selectmen for the purpose .of providing uniforms for a military company,
and supporting the families of those volunteers, who may be called into the service of
the State or United States, and that the Selectmen be authorized to pay one dollar per
day to Volunteers after they are enrolled, organized and accepted b}' the State, for their
services in drilling."

At this time there were iu the town one hundred and eighty-eight persons

206 TOWN OF PETERSHAM. ..

liable to enrolment for military duty, and the Rebellion record at the close of
the war, showed that there had been one hundred and seventy-seven enlist-
ments on behalf of the town. The fact that the total number of enlistments
so neaily reached the number enrolled is indeed remarkable.

The appropriations made by the town, subscribed by individuals, and paid
by drafted men, amounted to $18,U0r).4O. Of this amount only $3,GG3.56
was refunded, leaving as the cost of the war to the town, the sum of $15,-
631.84.

The roll of the soldiers dead, as far as we have been able to obtain them, are
as follows : —

Joseph M. Jackson, killed at Port Hudson, June 14, 1863 ; Charles E. Ball, died
from effects of wounds at New Orleans, June 29, 18G3 ; Charles F. Hapgood, died at
sea, Aug. 8, 1863 ; John F. Dennison, died at Baton Rouge, La,, June 25, 1863 ;
Dwight Lippitt, died at Brashear Cit}', La,, June 1, 1863 ; Wm, IL Mann, died at New
Iberia, La., April 23, 1863 ; John B. Stevens, died at Spencer, Mass., Sept. 4, 1863 ;
Quincy A, Shepardson, died at Baton Rouge, La., Jul}' 27, 1863 ; Austin C.Parmenter,
died at Templcton, Februar}-, 1864; Lauriston W, Simonds, died at Amherst, Mass, ;
John A. "Wilder, died at Worcester, Nov. 19, 1872 ; Henry Rathburn, died at Mound
City, 111,, Sept 2, 1863 ; Horatio W. Sanderson, died at Columbus, Ky., Dec, 2, 1862 ;
Dwight R'plcy, killed at Knoxville, Tenn., Nov. 25, 1863 ; J, Warren Clark, killed at
Petersburg, Va., June 1, 1864 ; Frank L. Stowell, died at Alexandria, Va., Jan. 9, 1863 ;
Charles Brigham, died from effects of wounds received at Antietara, Sept. 11, 1863;
Hoyt Hale, died at Washington, Aug. 7, 1862 ; Oliver C. Gates, died at Grafton, Mass.,
Feb. 20, 1865 ; Calvin C. Barnes, died at Petersham ; Edward Jackson, died at Gard-
ner, Mass.; Solomon O. Holraan, died at Greenwich, Mass., April 4, 1872; Ellis P.
Amsden, died at Baton Rouge, La., Sept, 25, 1863 ; Jacob E. Amsdcn, died from
effects of wounds received on the Red River campaign, June 3, 1864 ; Zebina Cutler,
died at New Orleans, Aug, 9, 1862 ; James Forbes, killed at Port Hudson, June 14,
1863 ; Charles A. Stone, died at New Orleans, Aug. 4, 1863 ; Horace F. Pike, died at
Port Hudson, June 13, 1863; George A, Davis, killed at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21,
1861 : Charles E. Johnson, killed at New Market, Va,, May 15, 1864 ; Silas Richard-
son, died at Andersonville, Ga,, Oct, 26, 1864 ; George II, Ilolman, died at Jacksonville,
Fla., Nov. 16, 1864; Edward Arnold, died at Boston, Dec. 19, 1872; Almond Wil-
liams, died at Barre, June 5, 1874 ; Edward Whitney, died at Petersham, July 1865 ;
Joseph Roe, killed at Atlanta, Ga,, July 30, 1864.

Also the following have died within the few years last past: Asa F. Ellis,
George W. Jillson, George D. Mason, Henry B. Williams, Jonas Brown, and
Charles Smith.

The reofiments to which most of the soldiers belonsred were the second, third,
thirty-fourth, and fifty-third. Company F, fifty-third regiment, was com-
manded by Capt. John G. Mudge, and the soldiers mostly belonged to the
towns of Petersham and Barre.

EELIGIOUS ANNALS. 207

CHAPTER n.

RELIGIOUS HISTORY MINISTERIAL SUCCESSION — DENOMINATIONS — SCHOOLS

STATISTICS — WORTHY AND NOTED CITIZENS — LOCAL NOTES — PHYSICAL

FEATURES AND TOPOGRAPHY.

The religious history of Petersham, like that of so many of our New Eng-
land towns, occupies a prominent part of the history of the town.

As early as 1733, at the second meeting of the proprietors of Petersham, it
was voted to build a meeting-house, and this, although not completed fur
several years, was prohahly far enough advanced to be used for Sunday wor-
ship in the spring of 1736, and it is probable that the first preaching was held
in the month of May of that year, for, on the 16th of June, Mr. Ephraim
Keith was paid " fifty shillings a day for three days preaching past," and a
committee was chosen to hire a minister for one year. In the summer of 1738,
the committee were instructed to "treet with a minister in order for a settle-
ment." And on the 6th of September of that year, it was voted at a proprie-
tors' meeting "to settle an Orthodox minister in this place." Mr. Aaron
Whitney was chosen as the minister, and received as a settlement a proprietor's
lot with £200 pounds in money, and an annual salary of £150. The church
was gathered in October, 1738, and consisted of fifteen male members. Mr.
Whitney was ordained in December of that year, and preached acceptably to
his people until, when the storm of the approaching Revolution was gathering,
he espoused the royal cause, and in his sermons and prayers inculcated submis-
sion to King George III. As he persisted in this course, at length the popular
indignation rose to such a pitch, that the church was rent with dissensions, and
public worship was neglected. In 1774 he was dismissed from the parish, but
refused to accept his papers, and by the vote of the town, Peter Gore, a half-
breed Indian was stationed at the meeting-house door, with a musket to keep
the Tory preacher from entering. He afterwards preached at his own house
regularly, to those who sympathized with the royal cause, and claimed to be
the minister of the town up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1779,
in the sixty-sixth year of his age.

The second minister of the First Church was Rev. Solomon Reed, who
graduated at Yale College in 1775, and was ordained as pastor of the church
in Petersham, Oct. 28, 1780. He is represented as being a man of " superior
mental power, and of great independence and freedom in his conduct and
modes of expression." He served as pastor until the 25th of June, 1800, when
he was succeeded by Rev. Festus Foster, who was ordained as pastor Jan. 13,
1802, and dismissed Nov. 26, 1817. The ministers of the First Church since
that date have been Rev. Luther Willson, installed June 23, 1819, dismissed Oct.
18, 1834 : Rev. George R. Noyes who served from October, 1834 to 1841 ; Rev.

208 TOWN OF PETERSHAM.

Nathaniel Gage, installed Oct. 6, 1841, dismissed 1845; Rev, Ephraim Nutc,
Jr., ordained Oct. 15, 1845, dismissed in 1848; Rev. Martin W. Willis,
installed May, 1848; Rev. John J. Putnam, installed in 1852; Rev. Seth
Saltmarsh, Rev. Daniel F. Goddard and Rev. Thomas D. Howard. Rev.
Lyman Clark, the present pastor, was installed Oct. 18, 1874.

An ecclesiastical council was held Juno 25, 1823, which resulted in the
organization of the present Orthodox church, the covenant at that time
being signed by sixteen persons. The pastors of the church have been Rov.
JNIr. Wolcott, ordained October, 1830, and dismissed in 1833; Rov. Caleb B,
Tracy, installed Juno 25, 1834; Rev. Columbus Shumway, instaflcd Oct. 4,
1837; Rev. Solomon Clark, installed April 13, 1841; Rev. A. B. Foster,
installed May 12, 1853 ; Rev. Lucicn II. Adams, installed Oct. 28, 18G2, and
who was dismissed Jan. 2, 18G5, to become a missionary of the A. B. C. for
Foreign Missions in Turkey. Pastors serving since that have been Rev. Charles
Kendall, Rev. Mr. Root, Rev. Wm. Miller, Rev. Abijali Stovvell, Rev. Benja-
min Ober and Rev. Charles W. Fifield ; since which time no one has been
ordained. The church now numbers forty-seven members. Rev. Elbridge W.
Merritt supplies at the present time.

A Baptist church was in existence in the south-westerly part of the town
during the Revolutionary war ; and its pastor. Rev. Samuel Dennis, was as
ardent and zealous a patriot as the Rev. Mr. Whitney was royalist. Of the
date of its organization we have no authentic record, but the society continued
for several years after the Revolution, Avhen the meeting-house was moved tj
Dana. In November, 1824, a branch of the Baptist church of Athol was formed
in Petersham, and for several years regular Sabbath-day services were held.

The present Baptist church was organized in INIay, 1849, with twenty-nine
members, and worshipped during a portion of the first year in the INIethodist
Chapel which they rented. They then purchased the meeting-house built by
the Universalists, which is their present house of worship. The first pastor
was Rev. John Shepardson, who served the church for (wenty-threo years.
He was succeeded bj-- Rev. T. ]\I. Merriman, who labored for two or throe
years. Other preachers have been Rev. E. C. Anderson and Rev. T. P.
Briggs. They have now no settled pastor.

A society of Universalists was formed in 183G or 1837. They built a meet-
ing-house, and had preaching until about the year 1840, since which time they
have had none. The pastors settled over this church were Rev. Mr. Willis
and Rev. Mr. Coolidgc. A Methodist society was also organized here al)out
the year 1843. They erected a small chapel and had preaching f(jr five or six
years. Their ministers were Rev. jNIr. Dulton, Rev. Mr. Clarke and Rev. Mr.
Goodwin.

The Shakers appeared in Petersham about the year 1783, and were joined
by some of the men of wealth and influence in the town, and their meetings
were attended by large numbers. They did not, however, establish a society in

EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS. 209

the town. The opposition of the people to them at length arose to snch a
pitch, that an excited mob gathered about the place of their meeting, and vio-
lently attacked them, Avhen it is said that Mother Ann Lee, the founder of
Shakerism, who was present, heroically fought against her assailants.

The latest of the religious organizations of the town is that of the " Adonai
Shomo " Corporation; the name signifying "the Lord is there," This is the
outgrowth of the Advent movements from 1843 to 1860.

They were gathered together about the year 18G0 into one family by Fred-
eric T. Howland, who until his death in 1873, continued as their leader. Their
home, with two hundred acres of land in the northerly part of the town, Avas
purchased and first occupied in August, 18G4. The corporation was organized
under the laws of Massachusetts, and received a charter therefrom Jan. 1,
1876. L. C. Fuller was chosen its first president, which office he resigned in
1877 and was succeeded by Asa F. Richards, who now holds the ofiice. The
object of this peculiar sect may best be expressed in its articles of faith and
union to be "in obedience to the direction of the spirit of the Lord, in order
to illustrate the principles of our fiiith and perform our duty to God, the world
and to each other, and to form a more perfect union in harmony with, and for
protection by, the laws of the State under which we live, and to maintain said
objects and purposes we consecrate our possessions, goods and labors, to the
common uses and purposes of the Brotherhood of the Corporation." During-
the last few years the organization has been disturbed by litigation.

Petersham from her earliest days has provided most liberally for her schools,
and the largo number of her sons and daughters whom she has sent out to the
colleges and seminaries of the laud, and who have gone forth as teachers, or
attained prominent positions in the various professions, are the results of this
liberal policy. The report of the secretary of the Board of Education for 1874-5,
shows that the town pays a larger per cent, of its valuation for school purposes
than a majority of the towns of either the State or county. Among the earliest
schoolmasters were Joel Matfhews, Jedediah Parker, Dr. Eleazar Hartshorn,
Nathan Stone, and Ensign iMann. Mann was liberally educated, being a grad-
uate of Harvard College in the class of 1764, and ardently espoused the cause
of liberty, being the only person of education whom the patriots could claim.
Mr. Mann came to Petersham about the year 1767 and commenced teaching,
which he continued to follow all his life, and is known to this clay as "Master
Mann." In 1773 he married Miss Alice AVhilney, daughter of the Tory
preacher, and afterwards favored the Tory party, but took no active part in
politics. His descendants still reside in Petersham and other sections of the
State.

Population. — Colonial census, 1776, 1,235; United States census, 1790,
1,560; 1800, 1,794; 1810, 1,490; 1820, 1,623; 1830, 1,696; 1840, 1,775;
1850, 1,527; 1860, 1,465; 1870, 1,335; State census, 1875, 1,203. We find
the following statistics in last State census; whole number of farms, 218;

VOL II.— 27

210 TOWN OF PETERSHAM.

total acreage in farms, 20,632| ; value of farais, lands and buildings, $535,402 ;
fruit trees and vines, $15,194; domestic animals, $91,084; agricultural imple-
ments in use, $21,536; total value of farm property, $GG3,21G ; number of
horses, 216; milch cows, 718; oxen, 141; sheep, merino, 49 ; other sheep,
112; marl and muck l)ed acreage, 19; value, $170 ; sand pits, $50; products
of manufactures, $31,961 ; products of agriculture and mining, $166,605 ; total
valuation, $666,270; total products, $198,566; total number of acres of land
taxed, 23,507; valuation of personal property, $149,011: valuation of real
estate, $517,259 ; lumber, value, for sale and use, $8,600, only Dana and Lun-
enburg in the county producing more than Petersham; butter, 44,355 lbs. for
sale, value, $14,146 ; 24,032 lbs. for use, value, $8,239 ; total value, $23,146 ;
charcoal, 1,000 bushels, for sale, value, $100 ; cheese, 20,129 lbs. for sale, value,
$2,884; 7,403 lbs. for use, value, $1,047; total value, $3,931 ; cider, gallons
for sale, 10,259, value, $907; gallons for use, 22,967, value, $1,596 ; total
value, $2,503; firewood, cords for sale, 1,666, value, $6,041 ; cords for use,
1,227, value, $3,059 ; total value, $9,100 ; apples, 8,996 bushels, value, $4,229 ;
beef, 55,275 lbs., value, $5,025; eggs, 14,557 dozen, value, $3,801; milk,
gallons, 33,297, value, $3,945 ; pork, GG,2oG lbs., value, $6,336 ; hay, English,
3,340 tons, value, $51,999 ; meadowy 508 tons, value, $4,881 ; clover, 10 tons,
value, $130 ; millet, 2 tons, value, $27 ; total value, $57,037. Number of polls,
345 ; naturalized voters, 21 ; total number of voters, 326 ; dwelling-houses,
289; number of families, 301. In 1879 — houses, 276 ; horses, 273 ; cows,
724; sheep, 199; real estate, $447,702 ; personal, $113,144 ; total valuation,
$610,844.

nepresentatives. — John Chandler, 1768; Ephraim Doolittle, 1773-4; Jona-
than Grout, 1775, 1779,1784, 1786, 1787; Samuel Peckhara, 1787; Park
Holland, 1788-9 ; Pvuggles Spooncr, 1790 ; Daniel Bigclow, 1791-2. Records
lost by fire from 1792 until 1817. Asa Pond, 1818; Joel Bryant, 1822;
Ilutchings Ilapgood, 1823 ; Israel Honghton, 1824; Cyrus Wadsworth, 1827 ;
Joseph ^Gallond, 1829-30 and 183^2; Micajah Reed, 1829, 1832-33;
Josiah Wheeler, 1830 and 1849; Aaron Brooks, 1834-5; Nahum Gale,
1836-37; Cephas Willard, 1835, 1838; Seth Ilapgood, 1837, 1840, 1849;
Joseph Brown, 1839; Artcmas Bryant, 1839-40; Asa Clark, 1841; Jonas
Howe, 1845; Elbridgo G. Miller, 1846; Lyman Robinson, 1848 ; George
White, 1851, 1853; Lewis Whitney, 1852; John G. Mudge, 1856, 1858,
1865; Josiah White, 1861; Hudson Tolman, 1862; Stephen D. Goddard,
1869, 1873; Lyman Clark, 1879.

Senator since 1855 : John G. Mudge, 1867-8. Constitutional Convention
1853, Seth Ilapgood.

Town C/er/js.— Joshua Willard, 1754, '58-60, '63; David Sanderson,
1757, '61, '62, '64-67, '69-74, '76-80; John Chandler, 1768, '89-92; Jona-
than Grout, 1775; Wm. Willard, 1781-4; Park Holland, 1785-6; Wm.
McCarty, 1787 ; Samuel Peckham, 1788; records lost; Jared Weed, from

COLLEGIATE NAMES. 211

1817 to and inclucling 1842; Scth ILipgootl, 1843, John L. Gallcma, 1S44-G ;
Ljmau E. Sibley, 1847 ; Chas. B. Moscly, 1848 ; Lewis Whitney, 1869 to
and including 1874; John G. Madge, 1875; Lewis E. Whitney, 187G-8 ; II.
N. Tower, 1879.

The following native inhabitants of Petersham have graduated at Harvard
University ; — Peter Whitney, A. M., class of 17G2 ; born Sept. 15, 1744 ; or-
dained minister at Northborouirh Noveml)er, 17(57 ; died at Northborouiifh Feb.
29, 1810 ; entered college when thirteen years ten months old ; was a member of
the Massachusetts Historical Society; son of Rev Atiron Whitney; March 11,
1763, married Julia Lambert of Reading. Paul Whitney, A. M. , class of 1772 ;
born March 23, 1753 ; lived in Westlield ; died at Westfield, March 9, 1795 ; ph}'-
sician ; son of Rev. Aaron Whitney ; was fifteen years four months old when he
entered college. Abel Whitney, A. ]M., class of 1773 ; born iNIarch 15, 175G ;
died at Westlield, 1807 ; received degree A. M. at Harvard, 1777, and also at
Yale, 1781. William Amherst Barron, A.M., class of 1787; born June 10,
17G9 ; was tutor at Harvard, and major United States army ; died at New
York, Dec. 2, 1825, in his fifty-eighth year; was son of Capt. William Barron
of Petersham; received degree of A. M. 1792. John Chandler, A. M., class
of 1787; born July 18, 17G7; lived in Petersham; died at Worcester Insane
Asylum, Sept. 21, 184G ; received degree A.M. 1794. Richard Whitney,
A. M., class of 1787 ; born Feb. 23, 17G7 ; died 1806 ; physician ; A. B. 1789 ;
A.M. 1792. Samuel Willard, class of 1803; born April 18, 1776; A.M.
1810 ; S. T. D. 1826, and A. A. S. ; lived and ordained at Deerlield, Sept. 23,
1807 ; died at Deerfield, Oct. 8, 1859 ; tutor at Bowdoin College ; son of Wil-
liam and Catharine (Wilder) Willard; married Susan, daughter of Dr. Joshua
Baker. Nathaniel Chandler, A.M., class of 1792; born Oct. 6, 1773; lived
in Lancaster; died at Worcester Insane Asylum, June 4, 1852. Samuel
Ward Chandler, class of 1822. Francis Augustus Brooks, class of 1842 ; born
May 23, 1824; son of Aaron, Jr. and Abby (Morgan) Brooks; Sept. 14,
1847, married Frances, daughter of Caleb Butler, Esq. ; began the practice of
law in his native town in 1845 ; removed to Boston in 1848, where he hns
gained distinction in his profession. John Brooks, class of 185G ; born April
29, 1836; son of Aaron, Jr. and Martha Amelia (Willson) Brooks.

The following native inhabitants have graduated from Dartmouth College : —
Jonathan Grout, K. M., class of 1787 ; born Jan. 23, 1761 ; son of Hon. Jon-
athan and Sarah (Page) Grout; died in Philadelphia, Pa., March 12, 1820;
lawyer; practiced law at Belchertown ; afterwards first contractor of tele-
graphs by signals in this country, and established a line of telegraphs from
Boston to Nantucket ; afterwards removed to Philadelphia, Pa., and opened a
grammar-school. Paul Grout, class of 1793, and George Grout, the most cele-
brated athlete of his day, class of 1795, were his brothers. Rev. John Jackson,
class of 1792 ; born July 16, 1771 ; died at Broome, Canada East, March 18,
1844, aged seventy-two ; studied divinity with Rev. Joel Foster, at New Salem,

212 TOWN OF PETERSHAM.

and Rev. Jiidah Xash of Montague ; ordained pastor of Congregational church at
Gill, Jan. 10, 1798 ; dismissed from Gill Oct. 10, 1801 ; then went to Canada ;
mis>;ionary at Stukel}', Canada East, 1801 to 1815 ; then removed to Broome,
Canada East, where he was a magistrate from 1830 until his death ; married
Rebecca, daughter of Josiah Rogers of Petersham, 1798. William Ward, A. M.,
class of 1792 ; born June 8, 17G7 ; son of Elisha and Mary (Baldwin) Ward ;
died at Shutesbiiry Dec. 10, 1827 ; lawyer; practiced law at Shutesbury all his
life; married Susannah Sanderson, of Petersham, 179G. Ilutchins Hapgood,
class of 1803; born Sept. 2, 1792; son of Ilutchins and Elizabeth (Grout)
Hapgood ; died at Petersham, Juno 2, 1828, aged thirty-five ; he read law with
Maj. John Taylor, of Northami)ton, from Nov. G, 1814, to July, 1815, finish-
ing the course at Cavendish, Vt., but did not practice ; became a merchant in
New York city; never married. Rev. Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor, class of 1818,
son of Rev. Daniel and Deborah (Hall) Grosvenor; studied divinity at Prince-
ton Theological Seminary, New Jersey ; was pastor of Baptist churches in New
Haven, Ct., Boston, Salem and Sterling; became resident of McGrawville,
N. Y. Moses Gill Grosvenor, class of 1822, is his brother.

The above is obtained from "Sibley's MSS.", late librarian of Harvard Uni-
versity, and from "Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth College, by Rev.
George T. Chapman, D. D."

We find among the graduates of Williams College, Daniel Bigelow, Jr., class
of 1803 ; physician ; settled in Columbus, Ohio, and died there in 182G. Lewis
Bigelow, brother of Daniel, graduated in the same class; born in 1785; he
studied law, and succeeded his father in the practice of his profession ; he rose to
so much distinction that he was chosen a member of the Seventeenth Congress ;
he afterwards settled in Peoria, III., and died there in 1838, aged iifty-threc
years. Charles Goddard, class of 1815 ; son of Dea. Joel Goddard ; was born
Sept. 7, 1790; taught school in Virginia; became editor of the "Family Vis-
itor," a religious paper; he died at the age of forty-eight years, being at
the time professor-elect of mathematics in Marietta College, Ohio. Joel S.
Sanderson, class of 1850; born Nov. 14, 1825; married, June 20, 1850, Dolly
Sophia Osgood of Beruardston ; became a large farmer and stock-raiser at
Greenfield ; he has lately died.

Among the graduates of Amherst College are the names of John B. Kendall,
class of 1827; Charles Grosvenor Goddard, class of 1841; Andrew Jackson
Wheeler, class of 184G ; George Sumner Grosvenor, class of 185S ; Abiathar
Blanchard, class of 1875, and Alfred Oren Tower, class of 1878. James Will-
son Brooks, brother of Francis A. and John Brooks, graduated at Brown
University, class of 1855, Attorney and President of the McKay Heeling
Association, Boston. Appointed Vice-Consul at Paris by President Lincoln.
Now owns the "Old Homestead" in Petersham. Also Charles Ilutchings
Hapgood, class of 1857.

It was in Petersham that what is known commonly as the Shays Rebellion

CEMETERIES. 213

collapsed, ou the 4th day of February, 1787. The rout of the troops under
Shays was complete, and no farther armed opposition was made to the author-
ity of the Commonwealth. The spotted fever raged in Petersham in 1810, and
Dr. John Flint, at the early age of thirty-one years, sacrificed his own life in
his endeavors to save others. Of the great fire of the 15th of April, 1847,
Willson says: — "Following as it did, upon the heels of other reverses and
misfortunes, from which the place was suffering, it seemed to prostrate and
paralyze the business of the beautiful village, throughout which were to be seen
previously the marks of enterprise and thrift on every side."

A worthy son of Petersham is the Hon. AVilliam B. Spoouer of Boston,
whose grandfathei', Capt. Wing Spooner, was a captain of minute-men and a
Kevolutionary ofSccr. iNIr. Spooner is one of the most distinguished sons of
Petersham, and his reputation as a business man, a philanthropist, and a friend
of all true reforms is not confined alone to this State, but is national. Going
to Boston a poor boy, he has, by his enterprise, become one of the mof-t
extensive leather dealers in the country. During the great fire of 1873 his
place of business, with large blocks owned by him, were destroyed, to the
amount of several hundred thousand dollars, but before the devourin2: flames
had finished their work he had engaged a new store and made arranijements
for the erection of new buildina;s. He has been President of the New England
Shoe and Leather Association, and was one of the two United States Centennial
Commissioners from Massachusetts.

A man whom the people of Petersham have respected and honored for three-
fourths of a century was Deacon Cephas AVillard, who died in August of the
present year, in his ninety-third year. Possessed of an uncommonly retentive
memory, he has for years been an encyclopedia of the events transpiring in his
native town. He has held the offices of assessor, deputy-sheriff, coroner and
member of the House of Representatives ; has been deacon of the first parish
in Petersham for fifty-six years, being one of three of the same family who held
the office of deacon for more than a hundred years, and was treasurer for
more than thirty years in succession, and more than forty in all, his final
account being settled not more than three months before his death. He visited
the Centennial at Philadelphia, alone, when in his ninetieth year, and presided at
the Fourth of July Centennial Celebration in his native town, his lifetime having
covered nine-tenths of the nation's history. In his life were all the elements
of a true New England character, and his well-spent life cannot fail to leave an
indelible impression for good upon the people among whom he lived.

There are no names to the cemeteries in Petersham, but they are ten in
number, and were probably established in the following order: No. 1, centre;
No. 2, extreme south-west; No. 3, east; No. 4, west; No. 5, extreme north-
west; No. G, near the "Lincoln Place," so called; No. 7, extreme east; No.
8, north; No. 9, south-west, near "Chamberlin Place," so called; No. 10,
half-mile east of centre. Petersham held a prominent position among her sister

214 TOAVN OF PETERSHAM.

towns during the last part of the last century, and efforts wore made to form a
new county, with Petersham for the shire town. Petersham still holds, rela-
tively, a prominent position among towns similarly located. This town
bounded on the north-west by Athol and New Salem, on the north-east by
Phillipston, on the south-east by Barre, and on the south-west by Dana. It is
about sixty-two miles due west of Boston.

Dr. Hitchcock speaks of the beauty of Petersham among the towns east of
Connecticut River, which have been built upon heights commaudiiig wide
horizons. And already the numerous summer visitors to the place attest the
f\ict that this l)eauty and attractive scenery arc being appreciated. He said ;
"Then let them visit Wachusett and other romantic spots of Worcester County.
In short, could our citizens but realize the riches of our scenery, I am sure so
many of them would not resort so often to distant spots l)eyond our limits, to
experience often less gratification than they might find among our own moun-
tains and vales." In speaking of autumnal scenery he writes : "Perhaps no
country in the world exhibits in its autumnal scenery so rich a variety of colors
in the foliage of trees as our own." The trees whose leaves give the liveliest
tints are the maple, the oak, the walnut and the sumach, while the pine and
hemlock retain their deep green.

In 1878 the citizens formed the "Petersham Village Improvement Society."
The secretary, F. J. Holman, in his first report, mentions, among other advan-
tages already derived, that "The best result of the year's work, however, is
the iruarantce of one thousand dollars for the establishment of a Free P(il>lic
Library, this sum being made up of five hundred dollars generously offered by
Francis A. Brooks, Esq , of Boston, seconded by an appropriation by the town
of three hundred and fifty dollars, the sum of one hundred and fifty dollars being
raised by subscription." The treasurer is Capt. John G. Mudge, whose heart
and hand are now, as they ever have been, first and foremost in every work
that tends to the prosperity of his beloved Petersham and the welfare of its
inhabitants. There arc also the Btiptist Sunday-school Library, Congregational
Sunday-school Library, and the Unitarian Sunday-School Library.

Town Officers, 1879. — Selectmen : J. W. Upton, S. C. Goddard, Elisha
Webb. Assessors: Josiah White, Fred. Bryant, Thomas Aldrich. School
Committee : Elisha Webb, Rev. Lyman Clark, Mrs. George Ayers. Treasurer,
John G. Mudge. Town Clerk, H. N. Tower.

The author has availed himself of many facts contained in the admirable
address of Rev. Edmund B. Willson : also, is under obligations to Rev.
Lyman Clark, for information contained in his able Centennial address. Hon.
John G. Mudge has taken a deep interest in the preparation of this history ;
-and last, but not least, the author wishes to cordially thank J. B. Howe, who
is descended from the patriotic Revolutionary stock of Petersham, both on the
paternal and maternal side. Mr. Howe has furnished many facts and rendered
much assistance.

CIVIL ORIGIN. 215

PHILLIPSTON,

BY GEORGE W. HORR, LL. B.

CHAPTER I.

SITUATION CIVIL ORIGIN — EARLY PROCEEDINGS ACTION IN THE REVOLU-
TION MINUTE-MEN MILITARY ORDERS — CHURCH MATTERS PASTORS IN

SUCCESSION A SEVERE STRUGGLE MORE RECENT DEN03IINATI0NS.

Phillipston, situated in the north-western part of the county, about sixty-
five miles from Boston, and about thirty miles from Worcester, was originally
formed from portions of Templeton and Athol. The act erecting the territory
into a precinct reads as follows : —

" In Council Feb. 15th 1774 it was read and ordered that the tract of Land here-
after described lying partly in Templeton and partly in Athol together with the inhab-
itants thereon dwelling be and hereby' are erected into a Precinct, and the said Inhab-
itants are hereby intrusted with all the Powers and Privileges by Law belonging to
inhabitants of other Precincts in this Province. Viz. — Beginning at Ilnbbardston Line,
where Burnshirt stream runs out of Templeton, thence running up said stream to a
Maple tree being the Southerly Corner of the Second Division Lott No. 47, thence
running North 30° West to New Brook, so called, thence down the brook to Royalston
Line, thence west to Athol Line being the north-west corner of Templeton, then on
Athol Line to Miller's River ; thence down said River to a Brook called Thousand
Acre Meadow Brook, thence South-westerly to the westwardly Corner of the Hundred
Acre Lot, Lot No. 22, thence strait to the most Westerly Corner of Templeton,
thence by Templeton line to where it began."

The first precinct meeting was held March 22, 1774, at the house of Charles
Baker, innholder, when the following officers were chosen : Clerk, Charles
Baker ; precinct committee, Charles Baker, Ephraim Stockwell, Joseph White,
Henry Sawtell, Samuel Taylor; precinct assessors, Charles Baker, John
Wheeler, Simon Goddard ; treasurer, Jonathan Jones. Although starting out
alone, and becoming, to a certain extent, independent of the mother towns at
Ihe very time when the opening scenes of the Revolution would necessarily
inspire a feeling of uncertainty regarding the future of their little community,

216 TOWN OF PHILLIPSTON.

yet we find them contributing liberally for the support of religion and educa-
tion, and sending out of their midst a goodly number to battle in the armies of
the Revolution. The long years of the Avar, and the hard times produced
thereby, occasioned great struggles for the building up of the place, and it
required the most vigorous exertions of those that were public-spirited and
zealous in the cause. We find recorded the names of the following men that
went on the first alarm in 1775 : —

" Thomas Johnson, Joseph Fairbank, Jonathan Willington, Isaac Ball, Samuel Lamb,
John Crigham, John Wheeler, Berzeliel Maynard, Enoch Sawtell, Moses Gra}^, Simon
Goddard, Jotham Bigelow, Sam. Miner, Jonathan Train, Reuben Cummings, John
Shattuek."

Amonij the names of others recorded as servinir in the Revolution from this
precinct were : —

"■Benjamin Jones, Ezra Hudson, Joseph Cummings, Joshua Whitcomb, Jonas
Baker, Gardner Maynard, Noah Bates, Richard Sawtell, James Wheeler, Joseph
White, Abel Grout, Thomas Drur}', Jonathan Bowker, Jonathan Gates, Malliah Eaton,
Abner Sawyer, Thomas White, Stephen Smith, Asa Bowker, Charles Baker, Jr., Silas
Baker, Samuel Gray, Jonathan Jones, Jonas Gibhs, Joseph Mixer, Moses Taylor,
Henry Sawtell, Joseph Newton, Daniel Knight, Ithamar Bowker, Ephraim Shattuek,
John Shattuek, Levi Baker, David Train, Samuel Taylor, Jr., Charles Wliitncy, EI)cn-
ezer Dunton, Samuel Phillips, Joseph Cummings, Jr., Thaddeus Brown, Capt. Stock-
well, John Colman, Silas Conant, Joseph Newton, Jr., Joshua Lamb, Abner Ward,
Daniel Shattuek, Paul Church, Benjamin White, Jr., Joel Grout, Benjamin Jones,
Moses Miner, David Holman, Jesse Stockwell, Gardner Maynard and others."

At a precinct meeting held June 17th, 1777, it was voted to raise the sum
of £470 for the paying of our Continental men, and to choose a committee to
procure money and hire the remaining part of the quota of said men, and
make return to this precinct.

The inhabitants of the precinct desired greater privileges and rights than
those possessed by their existing organization, and a movement was made to
have the territory set off as a town, which object was accomplished, and the
territory was incorporated as a town Oct. 20, 1786, and was given the name of
Gerry, out of respect to the Hon. Elbridge Gerry, a representative of this
Commonwealth in the Congress of the United States, who, it is stated, offered
to glaze the meeting-house. The first town meeting held was Jan. 16, 1787,
when the following town officers v,'ere chosen: Town clerk, Charles Baker;
selectmen, Charles Baker, Joel Grout, Simon Godclard ; wardens, John
Wheeler, Joseph White; tithing-men, Jotham Bigelow, Ezra Hudson.

Among the families prominent in the early history of the town was the Jones
family. Mr. James Jones of Weston was one of the original proprietors of
Narraganset No. 6, which included the greater part of the present town of
Phillipston. Jonathan Jones came to Gerry in 1770, from Weston, and con-

OLD-TIME NOTES. 217

tiiuicd to resido in the placo until his death, in 1803. Ills son, Nahum Jones,
writes in his diary concerning his father and the town, as follows : —

" AVhen mj^ father came to this place, what is now Gerry was quite in a state of
nature. The society was yet to be incorporated ; a meeting-house to be built and a
muustcr to be settled ; school-houses to be erected, and roads to be made. The settle-
ment was in its infancy, and most of the inhabitants were living too remote from any
mceting-housc to attend public worship with convenience. A considerable number of
the inhabitants were greatly disaffected and were much opposed to the building of the
meeting-house, to the incorporation of the town, and to settling a minister, but after
the first minister was settled the town became well united. My father was frequently
in town business, having served as town clerk, selectman, assessor, &c., and often
employed on committees. And during the insurrection in Massachusetts, in 1786 and
1787, he was particularly active and assiduous in using means for the suppression of
the insurrection, and the restoration of good order."

Nahum Jones, son of Jonathan, was born Aug. 13, 1772, and became noted
as a schoolmaster. His education was received at the common schools of the
town, Applcton Academy, New Ipswich, N. II., the academy at Leicester,
Mass., and the academy connected with "Williams College. Ho taught for sev-
eral years in Whitestown and Paris, N. Y., making the journey there and back
several times on foot, with his bair^ao-e, a distance of 211 miles. He also
taught at Provincctown on Cape Cod, making frequent journeys to Gerry and
back on foot, walking forty miles a day. He instructed, in all, between ten and
eleven years. The total number of scholars under his instruction was 1,456.
He served as selectman and town clerk for the town of Gerry, and was much
interested in instituting a social library for the town, of which ^le was chosen
one of the trustees. He died Oct. 22, 1807, at the early age of thiity-five
years. Ithamar Ward, son of Maj. Geu. Artemas Ward of Revolutionary
fame, moved to Gerry in 1778, where he continued to reside until his death,
in 1828. He was a magistrate, and held offices of trust and honor in the town,
and represented the town in the General Court eight years. His sons, Arte-
mas and Trowbridge, now reside at the old homestead on Prospect Hill. They
have in their possession a valuable historical relic, it being a letter written by
George Washinojton to their o-randfather. The letter reads as follows : —

" To Major General Ward at lioxborough:

" Cambridge 29t,li Mar. '76.

" Sir, — As General Green is ordered to March with the next Brigade (on Monday)
and as General Spencer will follow the last (leaving four or five Regiments in this
department for Defense, Protection of the Stores, Erection of "Works, ect.) I should
be glad, if you are not afraid of the Small Pox, & Incline to continue longer in the
Service than you lately talked of, if you would remove in to Boston to-morrow or next
da}', & take upon you the Command and direction of Matters there.

" I am Sir

Y^' Most Obed Ser

G° "Washington."

VOL. II.— 28

218 TOWN OF PHILLIPSTON.

They also have an English dictionary, formerly owned by Gen. Ward,
printed in London in 1745, and a "Book of Sermons," published in Boston in
1726, containing a sermon preached to the artillery company in Boston on the
day of their election of officers, Jan. 2, 1701.

At a meeting held March 11, 1777, it was voted that the snm of ten ponnds
be raised in the precinct to be laid out in preaching, and chose Charles Bdcei-,
Abncr Sawyer and Thomas White a committee for that purpose ; also voted
that said preaching be one half at Capt. Baker's and the other half at Mr.
Berzeliel Maynard's.

At a meeting held INIay 27, 1778, a committee was chosen "to look out a
convenient spot for to set a meeting-house on."

At an adjourned meeting, held Jan. 18, 1779, it was voted to accept Mr.
Enoch Sawtell's generous offer of giving 100 rods of land to the precinct, for
the purpose of placing a meeting-house upon, where his mill stands ; secondly
the precinct voted that they would build a meeting-house 50 feet long and 40
feet wide ; also voted to raise the sum of six hundred pounds for carrying on
said house.

March 8, 1779, it was voted to raise one hundred pounds to be laid out in
preaching, and June 29 of the same year two hundred pounds was added for
preaching.

A Congregational church was gathered on the IGth of November, 1785, the
churches of Templeton, Barre and Royalston assisting in the first ecclesiastical
council. Rev. Ebenezer Tucker, a graduate of Harvard College in the class of
1783, was ordained as the first minister of the church, Nov. 5, 1788, and
continued as pastor until Fel)ruary, 1799, when he was dismissed. He was
succeeded by Rev. Ezekiel L. Bascom, who continued until 1820. The ministers
of the church since that time have been : Rev. Joseph Chickering, a graduate
of Harvard in the class of 1799, who was settled in 1822, and dismissed in
1835; Alexander Lovell, installed in 1835, dismissed in 1844; Rev. A. E. P.
Perkins, settled in September, 1844, and dismissed in May, 1855 ; Rev.
Samuel W. Barnum, served from January, 185G, to May, 18(52 ; Rev. Lyman
W^hite, 18G3 to 1871 ; Rev. Charles H. Morse, May, 1871, to May, 1872 ; Rev.
Stephen Harris, who was settled October, 1873, and was killed by the cars at
Athol, June 27, 1874; Rev. C. L. Cushman, September, 1874, to April, 1878.
There is no settled pastor now, but Rev. F. V. Tenny officiates as minister of
the church. The meeting-house was remodeled from the old original one in
1838, and the society was presented with a bell by Mr. Loammi Baldwin, a
native of the town, living in Savannah, Ga.

During the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Chickering, about the years 1829 and 1830,
occurred the memorable church controversy, well remembered by many of the
older people of the town. Some of the members of the parish had l)ecome
dissatisfied with the preaching of Rev. Mr. Chickering, and signed off from
the parish. Aboi^t this time Methodist preaching commenced, and the dissatis-

RELIGIOUS CONTESTS. 219

fied ones organized a society. The trouble appears to have been caused prin-
cipally by a fund in possession of the parish. Those that formed the new
society believed that they were entitled to the benefit to bo derived from
this fund, and also claimed the name of the First Parish ; thus there were two
societies claiming this title, and th(3 right to the moetiiig-house and fund. Mr.
C. C. Bassctt, the clerk of the parish, for refusing the votes of those who had
once withdrawn from the society, in a parish meeting, had nearly a dozen
actions brought against him in the courts.

At length the crisis came, when one Saturday night the IMethodists took
possession of the meeting-house, and, early on Sunday morning, placed their
minister, Paul Townsend, in the pulpit. As the Orthodox people assembled,
and the time drew near lor the commencement of the services, intense excite-
ment prevailed, when Oliver Powers, Esq., stepped up to the pulpit and
requested Mr. Townsend to leave the desk. His reply was, that he had been
placed there by the committee of the First Parish in Phillipston to preach, and
he should not vacate the desk. So excited had the people become, that a
conflict seemed imminent, there being several pews filled with Methodists
armed with clubs, determined to resist to the utmost any attempt to remove
their minister from the pulpit.

Finding that nothing could be accomplished without force. Rev. Mr. Chick-
ering and his people withdrew to the hall of 'Squire Gould, which they conti-
nued to occupy until the trouble was settled.

Action Avas brought against the Methodists for trespass, and entered in
court; but this, and also the actions against parish clerk Bassett were settled
before they came to trial, by compromise.

The Methodists gave a bond, signed by each member who had been dissatis-
fied, that they would never trouble the society again, and the Orthodox relin-
quished the fund, which was given to the town for the poor.

The Methodists first had preaching in town about the year 1830. The first
preacher of this denomination was Enoch Bradley, who preached in one of
the school-houses, and also held a camp-meeting in a grove near Goulding
Village. A society was formed, and what is now called Pike's Hall was hired,
some of the leading men of the town being connected with the society, and
having for their preacher Paul Townsend. A meeting-house was built on the
Athol and Templeton road in 1849, which was dedicated in the spring of 1850,
from which time to 1866 there was regular preaching.

The first minister sent by Conference, was Rev. G. Brown ; other ministers
stationed here have been: Rev. Burtis Judd, Rev. W. A. Clapp, Rev. John
Rickett, Rev, J. S. W. Weeks, Rev. J. Wilson, Rev. E. D. Winslow,
Rev. W. Phillips, Rev. N. H. Martin, Rev. J. Brackett, Rev. N. F.
Stevens.

From 1866 to 1870, there was preaching only a part of the time ; the church
was then closed until 1877, when the society was reorganized by Presiding

220 TOWN OF PHILLIPSTOX.

Elder Haskell. They now have twenty members and a Sunday school, their
preacher being Rev. W. II. INIarble, who supplies both this and the East Tcm-
pleton church.

In 1833 a society was organized called the " Independent Religious Univer-
salist Society ;" a meeting-house was soon built and preaching was continued
for several years. Among those who preached for the society were : Rev. John
V. \Vilsf)n, Rev. Aurin Buabeo, Rev. G. Cushnell and others. The meetinr::-
house has been taken down and removed to East Templetou, where it is now
used by the Methodist Society of that place.

CHAPTER II.

SECOXD AVAR WITH ENGLAND — NAME OF GERRY REPUDIATED — NEW NAME

FOR THE TOWN EDUCATION COLLEGIATE HONORS — PUBLIC LIBRAR Y — •

BEQUESTS TO THE TOWN — SPIRIT IN THE REBELLION — MILITARY HISTORY —
AGRICULTURE — LOCAL BUSINESS — NATURAL FEATURES AND SCENERY — CIVIL
RECORD — BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES.

The war of 1812 was strongly opposed by the people of Philllpston. Town
meetings were held, at which resolutions denouncing in the most emphatic
language the administration, and protesting against the war, were passed. The
Plon. Elbridge Gerry, from whom the town was named, incurred their displeas-
ure because of his political action, and at a town meeting held Jan. 18th,
1814, the following petition was adopted : —

" The Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court Assembled : — ■

" The inhabitants of the town of Gerry humbly represent, that while they participate
in comraon with their fellow citizens the sufferings and disgrace which the mad policy
of their national government has brought upon their unhappy country, and from which
they fear the wisdom and patriotism of the State Legislature will bo able to afford but
a partial relief, they would lay before your Hon. body a grievance of a more local
nature, and one which they rejoice, is entirely within 3'our control. As the moral and
political principle of a body politic are supposed to be assimilated to those of the indi-
vidual whose name they assume, and arc estimated by the public according to that
standard, your petitioners have long felt no small uneasiness and chagrin that tlicy
should support the name of a man who from the beginning was opposed to the National
Constitution, and to the politics of Washington ; and who is reputedly hostile to the
ministers and ordinances of religion : and they would respectfully represent to jour
Honors, that as they were never admirers of the moral or political character of the
Gentleman whose name the}' bear, so neither was Gerry the name originall}' prayed for
in the petition to become a town corporate ; and that they are under no obligation (o
that Gentleman for any favor or benefit conferred ; that the arbitrary and unjust iiolicy,

PUBLIC LIBRAEY. 221

"svbicli has since characterized liis administration, while chief magistrate of this Common-
wealth, has rendered the name itself a term of odinm and reproach, and that by longer
retaining it 5-our petitioners would be liable to the imputation of respect to a character,
and adherence to the measures upon which the good people of this State have bestowed
the most unequivocal disapprobation. Your petitioners, therefore, praj' that the act by
which the}' were incorporated a town by the name of Gerr}', may be so far repealed as
that they ma}' be exonerated from the name and known in future as a town corporate
by the name of Phillipston. And as in duty bound will ever pray. In legal Town
Meeting assembled, this eighteenth day of January-, 1814.

" Ignatius Goulding, Jr., Moderator,
Nahum Ward, Clerk."

As a result of this petition the name of the town -was changed to Phillipston,
Feb. 5, 1814, in honor of Lieut. Gov. William Phillips. At the conclusion of
peace between the United States and Great Britain, the event was celebrated
at Gouldino; Viilaiije bv the firin<? of f2:uns, and the illumination of the residence
of Col. Goulding.

In the cause of education Phillipston has always taken a special interest, and
her schools have ranked high among those of the State, while few towns of the
size have sent so many of their sons and daughters to the colleges and semi-
naries of the land. In 1790 it \vas voted to build three school-houses, and the
sum of forty pounds was appropriated for schooling. In 1840, $400 was
raised for schools, in 1841, $550, in 1848, $600, and in 1875, $1,000, when
there were six schools attended by 1G2 scholars. Among the college graduates
from Phillipston are John Milton Cheney, class of 1821, Harvard College;
Oliver P. Powers, class of 1830, Amherst College; Jeremiah Lomucl Newton,
class of 1850, Amherst College; Edward Payson Baker, class of 1853, Am-
herst College ; Fred Sanderson, class of 1861, Amherst College; Julius San-
derson, class of 1869, Amherst College ; W. II. Bowker, class of 1871, INIassa-
chusetts Aijricultural Colleixe. Artemas Zina Brown c^raduated from the Mcdi-
cal Department of Dartmouth College, in 1834 ; while many of the young
ladies have graduated at Mount Ilolyoke Seminary and other female seminaries.

An institution in which the citizens of the town take commendable pride is
the Phillips Public Library, and well they may, for no other town in the State
of the size of Phillipston has as fine a public library as this ; and we may
safely say that there are few communities that avail themselves of the privi-
leges so extensively as do the people of Phillipston, for with a population of
only GGG the yearly circulation of the library is 7,412, averaging eleven vol-
umes to each man, woman and child. The library was founded in 18G0, and
contains 3,404 volumes. It was the gift of Jonathan Phillips of Boston, a
nephew of Lieut. Gov. Phillips, from whom the town received its name. The
clause of the will in the bequest of Jonathan Phillips reads as follows : —

" The 12th annual report of the Board of Education shows that the Town of Phillips-
ton, in the County of Worcester, takes special interest in the cause of Education and

222 TOWN OF PHILLIPSTON.

has taken a pvominent, if not the first, rank among the towns of Massachusetts in the
care and support of Public Schools — I therefore gxvQfive tlionsand dollars to said town
as a trust fund, the income and produce of which shall annually be expended in procur-
ing: books for a Town Library, and I constitute the Selectmen of said town for the time
being trustees of said fund, and charge them with the duty of seeing to the true and
beneficial application of said income, and the due security of the capital sum, which
shall not be directly or indircctlj^ loaned to any inhabitant or resident of said town."

At a town meeting held Nov. G, 1860, it was voted tb;it the thanks of the
town of Pliillipston arc gratefully tendered to the executors of the will of ]Mr.
Jonathan Phillips and his heirs, for the liberal gift of $5,000 made to the town
by said Phillips, and that we and our posterity will ever hold in grateful remem-
brance, this generous benefactor of our town.

Another gift to the town is the legacy of SiUis Stow, which was left to the
town in 18 G4. The bequest reads as follows : —

" I give to the Town of Phillipston 20 shares of the Eliot Bank, Boston, and 20
shares in the RoUstone Bank, Fitchburg, the shares to be kept forever. The dividends,
after adding one per cent, of the same each and ever}' year for the terra of 100 _years to
said fund, the remainder or residue shall be applied to such public i)urpose as the town
may direct at their annual town meeting. Provided, however, that at no time shall
said appropriation made from the interest accruing from said fund by said town, be in an}'
manner whatever governed by non-real-estate owners. My intention is that the income
of said bank stock, after adding one per cent, of said income to the principal of said fund
for the term of one hundred years, shall be used so as to diminish, as far as possible,
the sum to be raised by taxation upon real-estate owners or holders residing in said
town."

The first town meeting after the breaking out of the Rebellion, at which
any action of the town was taken was May 2, 18G1, when the following
preamble and resolves were adopted : —

" Wliereas, The events of the past few days have disclosed to the astonished view of
the people of this nation the fearful character of the crisis that is upon us. Our very
existence as a Nation seems in peril. Therefore^ In view of this extraordinary
exigency, rendering life, liberty and property unsafe, the inhabitants of Phillipston, in
legal town meeting assembled, do adopt and make the following provisions to meet
the crisis : —

Resolved, 1st. That although our town is small in territory and population, and it
cannot be expected that we should raise a full volunteer military company at the
present time, we will yet make every effort to raise volunteers, to be joined to a
company or companies in Templeton or other neighboring towns, such volunteers to be
equipped under the State authority, and tendered to the Government on call.

'"■Resolved, 2d. That the town will furnish to each volunteer being a citizen of
Phillipston a suitable uniform, not exceeding in cost $25 each, to be procured under
the direction of a committee chosen for that purpose, the sum to be paid from the town
treasur}', and to be considered the property of the town for the use of said volunteers
or their successors in case of vacancies."

MILITARY INCIDENTS. 223

It was also voted "that the town will pay to each volunteer being a citizen of
Phillipston, while in actual service, in addition to the wages to which they are
entitled or may receive from Government per month, a sum sufHcient to make the
wages one dollar for each and every day of actual service, and also pay to each of
said volunteers fifty cts. for every half day that they may drill under the authori-
ties legally constituted for that purpose, preparing for actual service, limited,
however, in time, to an extent reasonably necessary," &c. Voted to appropriate
$2,000 to carry out the foregoing. At a town meeting, July 23, 18(52, it was
voted to pay the sum of $100 to each volunteer, to the number of eight, and
that the treasurer be authorized to borrow the money. July 2, 18G4, it was
voted that the selectmen be instructed to draw $125 from the treasury for
every man, to make up our quota, that may bo furnished by volunteerino- for
any future call by the President within the year. Phillipston furnished duriu"-
the war of the Kebellion sixty-eight men, who were true and noble soldiers,
ever ready to respond to duty, and who bravely followed their country's fla'^'
through many a hard-fought battle, the larger number servino" in the 21st,
27th, and 3Gth Regiments < f three years' men. and the 53d of nine months'
men. Frederick M. Sanderson, a student pursuing his studies at Amherst
College, left the classic grounds of Amherst and enlisted as a private in the
21st Regiment; he was promoted to orderly sergeant, then second lieutenant,
and afterwards to first licuteuant and captain. He was wounded at the
battle of Roanoke Island. Some who would have been exempt from service,
fired with patriotic ardor, enlisted, among whom was William J. Lamb, who,
when fifty years old, enlisted and did noble service for his country. Russell
Carruth was promoted from private to second lieutenant, and Pliny Fuller to
sergeant. A monument has been erected by the town, which contains the
following inscriptions :

" IN MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES WHO SLEEP IN SOUTHERN SOIL."

The names inscribed are : V. Piper, 21st Mass. Regiment, Co. A ; Thomas
IT. Carruth, 14th N. H. Regiment, Co. A; J. II. Lamb, 53d Mass. Regiment,
Co. II; C. M. Buxton, 3(3th Mass. Regiment, Co. 11; J. M. Newton, 30ih
Mass. Regiment, Co. E ; J. Rich, 3Gth Mass. Regiment, Co. H ; G. A.
Martin, 27th Mass. Regiment, Co. B ; D. Hare, 3Gth Mass. Regiment, Co. D ;
A. P. Searles, 30th Mass. Regiment, Co. D.

In the palmy da^'S of militia trainings Phillipston had one of the largest and
best military companies in this part of the State. An amusing incident which
occurred during these times has been related to us. It seems that the captain
and second lieutenant were about movinij out of town, and resisrned their
commissions. In the natural order of promotion the office of captain would
be given to the first lieutenant, but a brother of his, not wishing him to
become captain, oflfered to treat the company to gingerbread if, when the
election took i)lace, they would jump him. Upon the election Orderly-

224 TOWN OF PHILLIPSTON.

sergeant C. C. Bassett was chosen captain. Soon after came the clay for the
fall training, when the lieutenant, who was in command of the company,
angered at the slight put upon him, marched the company over the hills of the
town from sunrise to sunset, without allowing them any lunch. Immediately
on the dismission of the company attention was called to the promise made,
and the ginijerbread was brought out and distributed, each soldier receiving a
sheet or more as he wished, when at a given signal, the soldiers, thinking their
commander must be tired and hungry, urged him to accept of their gingerbread
in such a manner that he could not refuse, and for several minutes showers of
gingerbread fell thick upon the unfortunate lieutenant.

Phillipston is pre-eminently an agricultural town. Situated on the highlands
in Ihe north-western part of the county, it abounds in excellent grazing
land, upon which feed tine herds of cattle. The farmers, not satisfied with
continually following the old methods of farming, are ever ready to introduce
the improvements which the scientific agriculture of the present day is contin-
ually developing for their use. They have introduced upon their farms herds
of thoroughbred stock, their farm-buildings present a neat and attractive
appearance, labor-saving machinery and new and improved varieties of plants
and seeds arc used, while the strong, rich soil brings forth good crops of all
kinds of produce, which find ready market in the manufiicturing villages of
surrounding towns. They contribute largely to the annual exhibitions of the
Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechanical Society, and carry away
many of the prizes offered by that society. Among those largely and success-
fidly engaged in fiirming are: Plenry S. INIiner, Dea. Courtlon Sanderson &
Son, P. Myron, James W. Hager, J. Miller, Oliver Wellington, M.D. Fuller,
Philastus Powers, Josephus Clifford & Son (Alfred D.), Daniel G. Carruth &
Son (James A.), George Whitney, and Nelson Stone, with many others. The
census of 1875 returns 126 farms, valued at $210,075, and the agricultural
productions amounted to $90,246. The domestic animals were valued at
$46,003, and the butter produced amounted to 32,036 pounds, valued at
$11,591. There were 1,830 tons of hay produced. At one time manufac-
turing was carried on to some extent, there being in 1837 one cotton-mill
turning out 165,000 yards of cotton goods annually, a woolen-mill which pro-
duced 11,500 yards of cloth: and 65,500 palm-leaf hats were made. The
only manufacturing of any note at present are the chair factories of J. D.
Parker and Francis Whitney, located at Goulding Village.

For several years Phillipston was a more active business place than many of
the surrounding towns. The mercantile firm of Isaac Bassett &, Son, after-
wards carried on by C. C. Bassett & Co., Lee, Boynton & Co., and Lee &
Bassett, did more business than any other firm in this part of the State, people
coming from Alhol, Orange, Warwick, Petersham, Dana, Northficld, Royal-
ston, Winchendon and the towns of southern New Hampshire, to trade at their
store. The firm were also the second in the State to put out palm-leaf to braid,

CIVIL RECORD. 225

and were largely engaged in that business, their sales in this branch of their
business alone amounting to $125,000 in one year.

Phillipstou is bounded on the north by Royalston, on the east by Templeton,
south-west by Petersham, and on the west by Athol. Prospect Hill, situated
about two mdes west of the Centre, is a large and fertile hill. From an emi-
nence on this hill an extensive view of the surrounding country on every side is
obtained, — more than sixteen villages, with nearly thirty church spires, are iu
view, while the scenery of hill and mountain is magnificent.

" All ! that such beauty, varying in the light
Of living nature, cannot be portrayed
By -words, nor by the pencil's silent skill,
But is the jiroperty of him alone
Who hath beheld it, noted it with care,
And in his mind recorded it Tvith love."

The town is exceedingly well watered by perennial streams and rivulets.
Among these are Burnshirt River, which for some distance forms the boundary
line between this town and Templeton. Beaver Brook and Mill Brook drain
the northerly part of the town, the former for several miles forming the
boundary between Phillipstou and Templeton, and emptying its waters into
Miller's River in Royalston. Wine Brook rises iu the south-west part of the
town, and flows north-easterly through a beautiful valley. It derives its name
from the color of its waters. Other streams are Moccasin Brook and a branch
of Swift River.

Phillipstou has been represented at the State House by the following repre-
sentatives : —Ithamar Ward, 1805, '6, '8, '0, '10, '12, '14, '15; Elijah Gould,
1811, '13; Dea. Joseph Knowlton, 181G, '17, '18, '19, '27, '29; John Doanc,
1821; Al)el White, 1831, '32, '33; Jason Goulding, 1834, '41, '43, '44, '48,
'GG; Capt. Lot Doane, 1835; James Richardson, 1836, '37, '38, '40; Capt.
James Carruth, 1839; Peter Sanderson, 1842, '4G ; Charles C. Bassett, 1851,
'52 ; William Miller, 1853, '54 ; Russell Carruth, 1859 ; Edward Powers, 18G3 ;
James G. Smith, 1871 ; Henry S. Miner, 1875, '7G.

Jason Goulding served as State Senator in 1846 and 1847, and was a mem-
ber of the Constitutional Convention of 1853.

The following have served as Town Clerks : — Charles Baker, 1787, '88, '89 ;
Jonathan Jones, 1790, '91, '92; Jason Ayres, 1793; Elijah Gould, 1794, '95;
John Barnard, 1796, '97 ; Joseph Knowlton, 1798, 1802 to 1810; Elisha Cook,
1799, 1800 ; Nahum Jones, 1801 ; Nahum Ward, 1810 to 1816, '22, '23; John
Doane, 1816; Oliver Powers, 1817, '18, '19, '20; Josiah Stockwell, 1821;
Francis C. Champney, 1824 to 1827; James Stone, 1827 to 1830; Artemas
Piper, 1830 to 1834; Charles C. Bassett, 1834, '35, '36, and 1840 to '45;
Joseph Knowlton, Jr., 1837, '38, '39; Russell Carruth, 1845, '46, '60;
Jason Goulding, 1847 to 1855 ; Pliny N. Ward, 1855 ; T. T. Miller, 1856 t,)
I860 and 1861 V Thomas Martin, 1862 to 1867 ; Lyman White, 1867, '68, '69,
'70; A. A. Bolton, 1871 to 1879; Emory S. Bates, 1879.

226 TOWN OF PIIILLIPSTON.

In politics the voters of Phillipston have generally gone together, almost to
a man, whether as Fecloralists, in the early days of the town, or later, as
Whiss and Rcnublicans. So sure was the town in Whig times to go almost
solid for that party, that it became designated in the political world as

"The little star which never sets."

The population of the town, since its incorporation, has been as follows : —
1790-740; 1800-802; 1810-839; 1820-916; 1830-932; 1840-919; 1850-
809; 1855-799; 1860-764; 1865-725; 1870-693; 1875-666.

Harris Lodge of Freemasons was removed from Athol to Gerry iu 1811, and
for several years its meetings were held at the hall of Ehj ih Gould.

The town now has a good band known as the Phillipston Brass Band, Aaron
W. Merriara, leader.

The present town officers are : Clerk, Emory S. Bates ; selectmen, assessors
and overseers of the poor, James A. Carruth, James Watts, Emory S. Bates ;
school committee, C. Waldo Bates, George Whitney, George G. Smith ;
treasurer and collector, S. E. Pike.

Among those who have been prominently identified with the business, social
and political history of the town, may be mentioned Col. Ignatius Goulding,
who moved from Leicester to Gerry in 1811, and in company with Samuel
Damon of Holdcn, engaged in the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods ;
three factories were built in the east part of the town, and for many years a
larofe business was carried on there. He was a man of influence among his
townsmen, and was active in obtaining the change in the name of the town from
Gerry to Phillipston.

Hon. Jason Goulding, son of Col. Ignatius Goulding, was born in Paxton
Oct. 26, 1801, and came with his father to Gerry in 1811. He was a clerk in
a store at Holden for seven years, and during the rest of his life has always
resided in Phillipston. He has held many offices of trust and honor in his
town, county, and State, serving as State Senator from this district in 1846 and
1847 ; has been a member of the Legislature five years, the first time in 1834
and the last in 1866 ; was a member of the Constitutional Convention of 1853 ;
special commissioner of "Worcester County for six years ; justice of the peace
for more than forty years ; postmaster about thirty years, and has held nearly
every town office. He is a leading member of the Congregational church, and
still lives in the town where he has spent so active a life.

Edward Powers, who was a farmer and extensive lumber dealer, was a man
honored and respected by the entire community. He held important town
offices, and represented his district in the Legislature. He removed to Athol
in 1878, where he died in the summer of 1879. At the time of his death he
was a director of the Athol National Bank.

Deacon Courtlon Sanderson was largely engaged in the tanning business for
many years ; he now devotes his time to agriculture, being one of the progress-

NOTABLE PEESONS. - 227

ive farmers of the day, who believes iu the dignity and honor of his calling.
He has been President of the Worcester North-west Agricultural and Mechan-
ical Society, and a member of the State Board of Agriculture.

Among the sons of Phillipston, who have gone from their native town, and
have gained honor and distinction in their adopted homes, are Rev. P. O. Pow-
ers, who graduated at Amherst College, and went as missionary to Turkey.
He sailed for that place under the auspices of the American Board, Nov. 12,
1834, and died in Hassab, Turkey, Oct. 2, 1872 ; a daughter, Harriet G. Pow-
ers, is now a missionary teacher in Turkey.

Jeremiah L. Newton, graduated at xVmherst in the class of 1850, was princi-
pal of the Brown Ladies' School, at Ncwburyport, three years, and of the Bath
Academy and High School at Bath, Me., for five years. He went to Boston in
1859 and entered upon the practice of law, in which he is engaged at the present
time. Was elected a member of the Common Council of Boston for three suc-
cessive years, and a member of the Legislature two years, from the city of
Boston.

Dr. Horace L. Bowker was born iu Phillipston Nov. 22, 1832, and went to
Boston in 1861, where he commenced the practice of medicine, in which he
continued for eight years, when he became interested in chemistry and went
into business as a manufiicturing chemist, in which he is now engaged. He
was elected a member of the City Council of Boston in 18G4, and served in the
Legislatures of 1873, 1875 and 1878. Was appointed State Assayer for Mas-
sachusetts in 1877, which office he now holds.

Tlie author extends thanks to Hon. Jason Goulding and Charles C. Bassett,
Esq., for valuable information. Also to L. B. Caswell, C. E., of Athol, for
aid in preparation of MS., and to all others who have assisted him in obtaining
material, and in the preparation of this, the first extended history of Phillips-
ton.

228 TOWN OF PRINCETON.

PRINCETON.

BY HON. CHARLES THEODORE RUSSELL.

CHAPTER I.

TOPOGRAPHICAL SITUATION WACHUSETT MOUNTAIN — INDIAN POSSESSIONS

SUBMISSION OF THE TRIBES TO THE ENGLISH SUBSEQUENT OUTBREAK

MRS. ROWLANDSON'S SUFFERINGS PURCHASE OF THE TERRITORY ORIGINAL

ALLOTMENTS — LABOR GRANTS.

Princeton is situated upon the highlands of Worcester County, a little
north of its centre, and about midway of a line drawn nearly west from Boston
to Connecticut River. It comprises more than 22,000 acres of rough, hilly,
broken but fertile land, and constitutes one of the finest mountain reajions of
the State. It is bounded northerly by "Westminister; easterly by Leominster
and Sterling; southerly by Holden and Rutland; and westerly by Ilubbard-
Bton. In its northern section, rises in graceful outline and beauty, Wachusett
mountain, and with its adjacent hills occupies much the larger part of it. The
mountain rears its rocky and wooded sides two thousund and eighteen feet
above the sea, and some thousand above Pine Hill on its east, and little Wachu-
sett on its west. The three constitute a range, which, viewed from the south
and east, is rarely surpassed in picturesque and quiet loveliness.

The hiijhest land between the sea and Connecticut River, and with the
exception of Greylock, and one or two of the hills of central and southern
Berkshire, in the State, it naturally attracted the early notice of the settlers
upon Massachusetts Bay.

Jan. 27, 1632, old style, Feb. 7, 1633, by present reckoning, Wiuthrop, in
his journal, writes : —

" The Governour and some compan}' with him went up by Charles River about eight
miles above Watertown."*

After namim? certain streams and hills there found : —

"On the west side of Mount Fcake, they went up a ver}' high rock, from whence
they might see all over Neipnett, and a very high hill, due west about forty miles off,
& to the N. W. the high hills bj' Merrimack above sixty miles off."*

* 1 Wintlirop's Jour., 68.

INDIAN INHABITANTS. 229

This is the first mention, and probably the first sight of any portion of
"Worcester County by the colonists, as no part of its wilderness was traversed
by civilized man, nntil Hooker's company, or their immediate predecessors,
made their expedition towards the Connecticut in 1G35.

Princeton then belonged to the Nashaways or Nashuas, who held the lands
on and west of the river which still bears their name. Their sachem had his
royal wigwam between the Waschacums in Sterling.

The region was naturally the resort, if not the residence, of the Indians. In
1G43 Winthrop relates that —

" At this court Cutshamekin and squaw sachem, Mascononoco, Nashacowam and
Wassamagoin, two sachems near the great hill of the west, called Wachusett, came
into the court, and accordhig to their former tender to the governor, desired to be
received under our protection and government, upon the same term that Pumham and
Sacononoco were ; so we causing them to understand the articles, and all the ten com-
mandments of God, and they freely assenting to all, they were solemnl}^ received, and
then presented the court with 26 fathom more of wampom, and the court gave each of
them a coat of two yards of cloth and their dinner ; and to them and their men every one
of them a cup of sack at their departure, so they took leave and went awaj' very
jjyful."*

A more extended account of this submission is given in the records of the
Massachusetts Bay. As one of the earliest of the Indian treaties, of which our
States and Country have since made so many, we give its record entire : —

"Wossamegon, Nashowanon, Cutshamache, Mascanomet & Squa Sachim did volun-
tarily submit themselves to us, as appeareth b}' their covenant subscribed w"^ their own
hands, hear following, & oth*^ articles to w*^'' thej' consented —

"Wee have & b}^ these presents do voluntarilj- t^ w*''out any constraint or psuasion,
but of o" owne free motion, put o'"selves, o"" subjects, lands, & estates under the govern-
ment & jurisdiction of the Massachusets, to bee governed & ptected by them, accord-
ing to their iust lawes & orders, so farr as wee sbalbee made capable of understanding
them ; & wee do pmise for o^'selvcs & all o' snbiects & all o"" posterit}', to be true &
faithfull to the said government, & ayding to the maintainance thereof, to o' best
ability, and fro"' time to time to give speed}- notice of any conspirac}', attempt, or evill
intention of any which wee shall know or heareof against the same ; and wee do pmise
to be willing fro™ time to time to bee instructed in the knowledg & worship of God.
In witnes whereof wee have hereunto put o"" hands the 8"" of the first m", a 1643-
1644.

" Cutshamache.
Nashowanon.
"Wossamegon.
Maskanomett.
Squa Sachim.
"Certaine Questions ppounded to the Indians and Answears.
"1. To worship y^ onely true God, w'"" made heaven & earth, & not to blaspheme

him.

* 2 Winthrop's Jour., 156.

230 TOWN OF PRINCETON.

" An : "We do desire to rev''ence 3'"^ God of y" English, & to speake well of him, be-
cause wee see hee doth better toy* English than othe' Gods do to others.

" 2. Not so swear falcely. An,: They say they know not w' swering is among y™.

"3. Not to do any unnecessary worke on y* Sabath da^', especially w"'in y® gates of
christian townes. An : It is eas}' to y" ; they have not much to do on any day, & they
can well take their ease on y' day.

" 4. To bono'' their parents & all their supio'"s. An : It is their custome to do so, for
the inferiors to bono' their supio''s.

" 5. To kill no man w"*out iust cause and iust authorit}'. Ans : This is good & they
desire to do so.

" 6. To comit no unclean lust, &c. . . . An : Though sometime some of y™ do
it, yet they count that naught, & do not alow it.
. "7. Not to steale. An : They say to y' as to y® 6'^ quere.

" To suffer their children to learn to reade Gods word, y' they may earn to know God
aright, & worship in his owne way.

"They say, as oportunity will serve, & English live among y", they desire so to do.

" That they should not be idle.

" To these they consented, acknowledging y"' to bee good.

" Being received by us, they psented 26 fathome of wampum, & the court directed the
Treasurer to give them five coats, two yards in a coate, of red cloth, & a potfuU of
wine."*

In spite of this solemn compact, supplemented by religious instruction, and
ratified by the parting "pot full of wine," its makers, within a generation, were
engaged in savage hostilities with the government, to which they had acknowl-
edged allegiance, and from the sumniit of the mountain they had surrendered,
devoted its towns to pillage and slaughter. At the outbreak of the Narragan-
set war, in 1675, they joined King Philip, and after his defeat in his own coun-
try, the " lands about the Wachusetts " became one of the head-quarters of
his followers, where he was frequently present. In 1676, although some of
them had received the pious instructions of Eliot and Gookin, they made the
disastrous attack upon Lancaster, so familiar to us from the simple and touch-
ins; narrative of Mrs. Rowlandson.

After her capture she was taken to this mountain, and by successive
"Removes," through the wilderness to Squakeag (Northtield), on the Connec-
ticut.

"After many weary steps," says this trustful. Christian woman, returning
from her wilderness, winter wanderings, " We came to Wachusett." As they
approached it through a great swamp " up to their knees in mud and water,"
she says: "Going along, having indeed my life, but little spirit, Philip (who
was in the company), came up and took me by the hand and said, ' Two weeks
more and you shall be mistress again.' I asked him if he spoke true? He
answered, ' Yes, and quickly you shall come to your master again."

She remained at Wachuset, until released. Not only was King Philip with her

• Mass. Col. Records, Vol. II., p. 55.

A SAD CAPTIVITY. 231

captors, but several other of the leading Sagamores, aucl among them Qninna-
piii, the master of INIrs. Rowlandson, and his wife, the celebrated "Squaw
Sachim," Metamoo, "Queen of Pocasset," "a severe and proud Dame," says
her captive, "bestowing every Day in dressing herself near as much Time as
any of the Gentry of the Land, powdering her Hair and painting her Face."
"Next unto Phillip in respect to the mischief that hath been done and the
blood that hath been shed in this warr," says Cotton Mather.

Mrs. Rowlandson was here when the Indians returned from Marlborough,
and witnessed and graphically describes their grand powwow, preparatory to
attacking Sudbury, as well as that on the return Ironi that slaughter.

That " Wachusett " was at this time " the Ilcad-quarters " of the hostile
Indians appears, not only from Mrs. Rowlandson's narrative, but from those of
Hubbard and Mather, the letters of Capt. Henchman, in command of the Col-
ony forces, and official communications to the Indians by the General Court.
May 3, 1676, it sent Seth Perry as its "messenger to the sachems at Wachu-
sets," with a letter, addressed to "the Saggamore about Watchusetts, Phillip,
John, Sam, Waskaken, Old Queen and Pomham," all leading sachems in
Indian history. But before Perry,

" On a sabbath, the sun being about an hour high in the afternoon, came Mr. John
Hoar (the council permitting him, and his own forward spirit inclining him), with the
two Indians, Tom & Peter, with the third letter from the Council."

Ho at once opened negotiations for Mrs. Rowlandson's release. The narra-
tive continues : —

" In the morning Mr. Hoar invited the Saggamores to dinner ; but when we went to
get it ready we found they had stolen the greater part of the provisions Mr. Hoar had
brought."

This graceless act worked less mischief in these early diplomatic Wachusett
festivities than it might, "because," as the lady says, —

" ' Mr. Hoar called tliem betime to dinner, but they eat but little, they being so busy in
dressing themselves & getting ready for their dance ; which was carried on by eight of
them, four men and four squaws ; my master and mistress being two. He was dressed
in his holland shirt, with great stockings, his garters hung round with sbilHngs, and
had girdles of wampum upon his head and shoulders. She had a kerse}' coat, covered
with girdles of wampum from the loins upwanl. Her arms, from her elbows to her
hands, were covered with bracelets ; there were handfuls of necklaces about her neck^
and several sorts of jewels in her ears. She liad fine red stockings, and white shoes,
her hair powdered, and her face painted red, that was always before black. And all
the dancers were after the same manner.' "

The narrative proceeds : —

" On Tuesday morning, they called their General Court (as they stiled it), to consult
and determine whether I should go home or no. And the}' all seemingly consented
that I should go, except Philip, who would not come among them."

This absence of Philip is explained by a previous passage in the narrative : —

232 TOWN OF PRINCETON.

" Philip smelling the business, called me to him, & asked me what I would give
him to tell me some good news, & to speak a good word for me that I might go home
to-morrow. I told him I could not tell what to give him ; I would any thing I had,
& asked him what he would have? He said two coats, & 20 shillings in mone}', &
half a bushel of seed corn, & some tobacco. I thanked him for his love, but I knew
that good news as well as that crafty fox,"

On the 30th of April, old style, Mrs. Rowlandson was released to Mr. Hoar,
at a place tradition still points out, in a meadow, near a gigantic bowlder, ever
since known as " Redemption Rock, at the eastern base of the mountain and
near the shores of the pond of the same name; hut not, however, until Mr.
Iloar had been obliged to conciliate the royal Qiiannnpin with a pint of rum,
nj)on which he at once got beastly drunk, to the no small alarm of his captive,
and scandal of his royal spouse.

With the close of the war the Indians practically resigned forever this beau-
tiful spot to their persistent invaders.

In 1G82, commissioners Stoughton and Dudley, appointed to negotiate with
the Nipmucks for their lands, report a purchase from "Black James," but say
"The Northern part, towards Wachusett is still unpurchased, and persons yet
scarcely to be found meet to he treated with thereabouts.''''

Four years later private enterprise was more successful, and Henry Willard,
Joseph Rowlandson, .Joseph Foster, Benjamin Willard and Hyperion Stevens
purchased of Puagastion, Pompamamay, Wannapan, Sassawannow and Quali-
piniit, "a certain tract of lands Medows, Swamps, Timbers, Etervils contain-
ing twelve miles square." For this they paid twenty-three pounds, or about
eighty cents a square mile. This territory included the southern and larger
part of Princeton.

Nothing seems to have been done under this deed nntil 1714, when the
General Court, on the application of the sons and grandsons of Maj. Simon
Willard and others confirmed to them the title, provided there should be set-
tled on the lands sixty families in seven years, and "sufficient lauds reserved
for the use of the gospel minister and school."

Three plans of this purchase, known as Naquag, arc in the archives of the
Commonwealth ; the last a ver}'" accurate one presented by Rev. Thomas
Prince and others, a committee of the proprietors, in 1749, when they asked
the grant of a land tax. Upon this, the portion afterwards included in Prince-
ton is laid down as Rutland East Wing. It is a parallelogram nearly, all its
lines being perfectly straight, the east and west each eleven hundred and fifty
rods, the south sixteen hundred and ninety rods, and the north sixteen hundred
rods. Its area varies somewhat on these and later plans, a fact not surprising
in those days of liberal allowance "for sags of the chain." It contained abont
eleven thousand and seven hundred acres, and the north line separating it
fr(;m the Province lands, then unsurveyed and extending far beyond, ran
straight from the south-east corner of what was subsequently known as the

WACHUSETT HOUSE, I'UIXCETOX, MASS.

EARLY LOCATIONS. 233

letter M lot to the extreme south-west ecl^re of Wachusett, The Meetinsr-
House Hill was then culled Turkey Hill, and this line ran along the depressioQ
between the Wachusetts, where the road now passes.

This tract remained in common, neither surveyed nor explored, till 1718,
when it was divided hy the proprietors into forty-eight farms of two hundred
and thirty-seven acres each. At this time, there were thirty-three proprietors,
and at a meeting in Boston, November 5th of that year, one of these farms was
assigned to each by lot. The three meadow lots — Pout "Water, Wachusett
and Dead jNIeadow — were reserved for common use. Twelve lots, marked by
proprietors from A to M, were also reserved, — eleven for the proprietors, the
other "for the first ordained minister of Rutland." The full list of the proprie-
tors, with the lot of each, is recorded in their records.

The lettered lots were owned in common until Sept. 24, 1734, when, at a
meeting of the proprietors at the Royal Exchange Tavern, Boston, these lots,
together with the "gores and gussets," were divided. At the same meeting,
it was voted that sixty-three acres "in lot No. A [this included the Mecting-
Hoiise HiilJ, not having been set off to any of the proprietors, by reason of
the brokenness of it, be granted to Rev. j\Ir. Thomas Prince, in consideration
of the great care and labor he has taken in calculating and computing the
divisions above-mentioned, and other good services performed to the pro-
prietors."

lu November, 1736, the "Wachusett, Pout "Water and Dead Meadow lots
were divided, in the division one acre of meadow being "valued as three acres
of upland." Thus the whole territory became subdivided, and passed to indi-
viduals. Of these, the Rev. Mr. Prince, as the proprietor of five shares, was
the largest owner, although he does not appear to have been a j^roprietor at
the division of 1718. Probably still further purchases were made by him
before 1759.

Tlie northerly and remaining portion of the town, comprising at its incor-
poration seven thousand two hundred and eighty-three acres, is composed of
several distinct grants. The largest and most important was made to the
towns of "Weston and Watertown.

In 1051, Watertown, then embracing Weston, was involved in a controversy
with Sudbury, as to boundaries, which the General Court settled in favor of
Sudbury. At the same time, it passed an order that "Water Towne shall have
two thousand ackers of land laid out nere Ass ibeth River, in respect of such
land as was wanting to them, which was granted them formerly by this Court
to be the bounds of their towne."

For some reason, this grant never took effect, or was never located. In
1728, Watertown and Weston, which had then been incorporated, petitioned
to have it revived; and, in June of that year, the General Court granted to
those towns two thousand acres, to be located in any unappropriated lands of
the Province. In November, it was selected, surveyed, and a plan returned

VOL. 11.— 30

234 TOWN OF PRINCETON.

to the General Court, in which it is described as " in the unappropriated land,
joining to the Great Wachusett Hill, bounded south-westerly by Rutland line
of their township, every other way by Province land." This tract ran on the
Rutland line a little more than two and a half miles. Its lines are all straight
except the west, which is very daintily deflected to exclude the mountain, and
at the same time include all the valuable laud at its base. Wachusett was no
favorite with the land-seekers.

This tract, commencing at a point on the line of Rutland East Wing, a little
south-easterly of the Whitney Hill, extended to East Princeton, including a
part of that village, and thence over or to the north of Pine Hill to the base of
Wachusett, and thence along this to the Rutland line. It was known as the
Watertown Farm, and is usually so called in the public documents of the time.
It was sold by the towns to proprietors, and by them divided into farms of
equal value.

Another grant of fifteen hundred acres was made to Thomas Plaisted. This
tract is usually called the Potash Farm in the public records. AVhen granted
is uncertain. In 17G0, the General Court directed W^illiam Richardson to
demand of Timothy Mosman possession of the "fifteen hundred acres granted
Plaisted on certain conditions which were not fulfilled by him." In 1761, they
sent a committee to prevent and prosecute the encroachments upon this farm
of Lancaster, that town then including Sterling, and claiming some part of it to
be within its bounds. In 17G2, an attempt was made to sell this, a farm of
eighty acres west of it, and the Wachusett, at auction, putting them up at a
limited minimum price. The same year, Ezra Taylor, as a committee, came
up and ran the lines of the Potash Farm, and reported that he found the most
valuable part of the timber cut, and adds: "I can't find out any person who
has done it except one, Timothy Mosman, who was then in possession."

In 17G4, the General Court, on the last day of its session, granted the farm
to Gen. Timothy Ruggles, the speaker, "in testimony of their grateful sense
of the important services he rendered his country during the late war."

Besides these larger, there were various grants to individuals. In 1729,
three hundred acres to Rev. Joseph Willard of Rutland, and two hundred to
Benjamin Muzzy. In 1732, four hundred to Rev. Benjamin Allen, and two
hundred, in 1733, to Joseph Stevens, and one hundred and twenty to Joshua
Wilder, Jr., in 1743. There were also the Blagrow and the Mayhew farms,
and there was included in the town at the incorporation a considerable area of
Province laud, of which the mountain was part.

FIRST SETTLERS. 235

CHAPTER n.

BEGINNING OF SETTLEMENT — INCORPORATION AND NAME FIRST MEETING -

HOUSE — OLD-TIME MINISTERS — CHURCH HISTORY — MORE RECENT DENOM-
INATIONS PRESENT CONDITION MOUNTAINOUS FEATURES HOTELS AND

SUMMER VISITORS WAR RECORD SPIRIT OF LIBERTY, EDUCATION AND

RELIGIOUS LIFE.

As early as 1734 votes were passed by the Rutland proprietors in reference
to " brinGfinsr forward settlements in the East winu;," but none were made. The
first settlement was made not upon this tract, nor upon "the Watertown farm,"
but by an enterprising pioneer upon a grant obtained by him from the Province.
In 1742 Joshua Wilder, Jr., grandson of Nathaniel Wilder of Lancaster, who
was grandson of an earlier Nathaniel, killed in the Indian attacks upon that
town, presented a petition to the General Court, wherein he sets forth : —

" That the distance between Lancaster and a new town called Nichewaug (Peter-
sham) is about 25 miles : That about ten miles west of Lancaster Meeting-House
there is a tract of Province land, which contains about 120 acres lying between land
former!}' granted to Mr. Plaisted and Allen, and a farm called Blagrow farm, which l^ys
out of the bounds of any Town. That j'our petitioner, though a poor man, yet he
humbly apprehends he hath the character of an Honest and Laborious man, and is
minded to settle himself and family thereon.

" That, therefore, he is very desirous of obtaining a grant of said land on such condi-
tions as may be consistent with 3"our Excellency's and Honorable wisdom, on as easy
terms as maybe, and should he obtain it, he apprehends it would be of great service to
people travelling from Lancaster to the new towns now settling westward, to have a
bouse to depart to in their travelling."

Upon this petition the Court made the grant, provided the petitioner "does
within one year have a good and convenient house built thereon for the accom-
modation of Travellers, and have ten acres thereof cleared and brought to
English grass or plowing within four years, and that he dwell therein wilh his
family, or have other good family dwell thereon."

Upon this grant, made in aid of the pioneer emigrants to the then West, Mr.
AVilder settled in 1743. He continued to occupy it until 1755, when he con-
veyed it to Benjamin Houghton.

The next settler, and the first in the Rutland tract, was Abijah Moore,
subsequently a leading man in the town and church, who began the farm now
owned by Thomas II. Russell, and there opened a second tavern. The third
settler was Mr. Cheever, in the southerly part of the East wing.

The fourth was Robert Keycs, noted as a hunter, and hence probably guided
in his choice of settlement. He settled upon the farm on the back of Pine
Hill, and upon the eastern slope of Wachusett, where the present carriage-road

236 TOWN OF PEINCETON.

to its summit commences. Shoi'tly after his settlement, he lost a daughter,
who strayed into the woods, foliowhig her older sisters, who had gone to the
neighboring pond. No traces of her were ever found. In 1765 Mr. Keyes
presented a petition to the General Court, in which he says : —

" In y^ 3'ear of 1755 he lost one of bis children, and was supposed to be taken by the
Indians and carried to Canada. When it was first lost it was apprehended to be in the
woods, wandering about, & your petilioner was at great cost and trouble in searching
tlie woods for it, but to no good purpose ; after this he hears tliat it was at Canada & that
Le could get further information thereof at Porchmouth in New Hampshire ; on hearing
that ho went there, & also sent to Canada afterwards. He advertised said child in the
Xcw York papers, & upon that he had an account of such child being among the Mohawks
& determined to go after his child last Fall, but has hitherto been prevented by reason
of sickness and death in his family. And the loss he hath been at in seeking for said
child hath been so great, being about 100 pounds lawful money, that he is not able to
bear it, being in a new i)lantation, & as there is within sixtj' rods of his door some
Province land lying on ye Watchusetts hill, which would be some advantage to him
providing he could have it ; therefore, your Petitioner prays this Hon. Court to take
his case in j'our compassionate consideration & make him a grant of ye easterly half of
said Wacbusett hill."

This petition is endorsed " negatived" in the handwriting of the secretary.

The mountain itself, containing about f)00 acres, wo may here add, was
granted by the Province in 1768 to Hev. Timothy Fuller, then minister of the
town.

Subsequent to 1750 settlements must have been quite rapid, as in 1759,
after no little controversy between the inhabitants of "the Wing" and "the
Farms," a petition of forty-five citizens representing that neither "the
Wins:" nor "the Farms" alone would be able to defray the changes of
building a meeting house, settling a minister and maintaining the Gospel
among them, and making roads, without an intolerable heavy tax"; that
" both Wing and Farms are at present under very diiEcult circumstances by
the extreme distance, & badness of the roads to the public worship of God in
any other town," and praying for incorporation as a town, was presented to the
General Court. At the same session a petition was presented by twenty-one
other citizens, in answer to the first petition, and praying that "the East wing"
might bo incorporated as a town or district. In this petition, among other
things, they aver that "they had rather have one-quarter of their Reel estate
taken from them, than to be obliged to Joyne with these people," (the Farms)
"where they are certain they shall always live in Trouble and Difficulty." A
controversy of considerable asperity arose, but ended in the incorporation of
the whole territory as a District on the 20th of October, 1759, nnder the name
of Prince Town. The fears of the southerners were speedily allayed, and from
that day to this never has a town been more free from sectional strife or
animosities.

LOCAL BEGINNINGS. 237

The lown was named in honor of Rev. Thomas Prince of the Old South
Church, Boston, one of the largest of the Ruthind proprietors, and their secre-
tary, and who had then recently died.

The first District Meeting was held Dec. 24, 1759, at Mr. Moore's tavern,
where all meetings continued to be held until the meeting-house was so far
built as to be used in 17Go. The records of these meetinirs, until 1761, are
lost from the record book. Dr. Zachariah Harvey was the first town clerk, and
was evidently then the most influential citizen. The petition for incorporation
is in his handwriting, and in 1761 he was not only clerk, but moderator, chair-
man of the selectmen, of the assessors, and agent to the General Court. The
proceedings of the meeting, however, at which he attained this plurality of
offices, were contested; a protest declaring them illegal "by reason of the
meeting not being purged from such persons or voters as are unqualified by
law to vote," was filed. A memorial was sent to the General Court char"-in<>-
the doctor with pretty high-handed measures, and praying to have all the pro-
ceedings declared void, because "many persons" were "admitted to vote that
were not legal voters, & some that were not even inhabitants." lie was called
upon " to render an account of the proceedings complained of," which he did
in an answer, missing from the files. The decision was in his favor and the
proceedings confirmed.

The only roads then existing were the Province Road from Lancaster to Sun-
derland, along the north-east line of the town, crossing the edge of \yaehusett
Pond in Westminster ; a road to ITubbardston, and a road from Westminster
line, south of the mountain, near Meeting-IIouse Hill, to Iloldcn.

Upon incorporation, it became at once the duty of the district to build a
meeting-house and settle a gospel minister. The house was not located with-
out controversy; several meetings were held, and finally a committee was se-
lected from Bolton, Ilolden and Westminster, with surveyors from Westbor-
ough and Rutland, "all to be under oath for the trust committed to them to
survey the town, find the centre, and afl5x the place for building the meetino'-
house on." The report of this committee would be of great interest, but it is
unfortunately lost. The town refused to accept it, and finally voted to build
the house "on the highest part of the land" (Meeting-house Hill) "given by
John and Caleb Mirick, near three pine trees, marked, being near a large flat
rock." The trees are gone, but the rock remains, a favorite resort of modern
visitors, who, obtaining from it a remarkably fine sunset view, have christened
it "Sunset Rock." Here a meeting-house "fifty foots long and forty foots wide"
was built, and remained until 1796, when it was superseded by its larger and
more elegant successor, upon the same spot, where it stood a conspicuous and
beautiful landmark to the surrounding country, until unwisely removed in 1838.

The first preaching in the district was at the tavern of Mr. Moore, where an
old lady living in 1838, then informed the writer that she heard the sermon
preached by Rev. Mr. Harrington of Lancaster, on the occasion of the iucorpo-

238 TOWN OF PEINCETON.

ration. "There were then," she said, " but a handful of us, who found our way
to church by marked trees," Estimating by the petitioners for incorporation,
there must then have been not over three hundred and fifty inhabitants in the
district, — probably less.

The first church was formed Aug. 12, 1764, and its covenant, that usual in
Congregational churches of the time, was signed by eighteen citizens, and by
no females.

In 17G7 the Rev. Timothy Fuller, after a call had been declined by the Rev.
Sevvall Goodrich, was settled as the first minister by the church and district.

On the 24th of April, 1771, upon petition of the district, it "with all the
lands adjoining to said District, not included in any other town or District"
was incorporated into a town by the name of "Princeton." The additions of
this act increased the area of the town to somewhat more than twenty-two
thousand acres. It contained then ninety-one dwelling-houses, and of its ter-
ritory eighty-three and three-fourths acres had been redeemed to tillage, one
thousand and eighty-three to pasturage land ; its population was about seven
hundred, and included one slave.

As the Constitution and laws then were, the town was the parish, and con-
tinued to act as such until the amendment of the Constitution relievinsr the
people from compulsory support of religious worship, in 1833. For nearly
fifty-three years, down to the settlement of Rev. Samuel Clarke in June, 1817,
there was no difference of relififious sentiment in the church or town.

In 1768 the General Court granted ]\Tr. Fuller the mountain, in consideration
of his settlement with "a heavily burdened people" in a "wilderness country,"
and thus this grandest and most interesting object in the landscape, unfortu-
nately passed into private hands.

Mr. Fuller, after no little and bitter controversy, was dismissed at the open-
ing of the Revolution, on account of diflSculties between him and his people*,
growing out of that great conflict. Mutual confidence was, however, after the
war, restored. Mr. Fuller came back to reside in Princeton, and in 1789 was
its delegate to the State Convention to act on the Federal Constitution, when
he gave his vote against it, on the ground, it is said, of its implied recognition
of slavery.

The ministers who succeeded Mr. Fuller, up to 1817, were the Rev. Thomas
Crafts, settled in 1786 and dismissed, at his request, in 1791; Rev. Joseph
Russell, settled in 1796, and dismissed, at his request, in 1801 ; the Rev.
James Murdock, D.D., settled in 1802, and dismissed in 1815, to assume a
professorship in the University of Vermont.

At the dismission of Dr. Murdock the town, and a minority of the church,
had adopted the Unitarian sentiments, then so largely developing among the
Congrcgationalists of Massachusetts. Princeton became the scene of one of the
earlier and exciting conflicts between church and town, which grew out of this
development.

RELIGIOUS CONTROVERSIES. 239

Aug. 26, 1816, the Rev. Samuel Clarke, a graduate of Dartmouth College,
and a theological pupil of the late Dr. Channing, was "called" by the town,
without previous action by the church, by a vote of one hundred and two to
forty-four, to settle as Dr. Murdoch's successor, from whom he was known to
differ upon material points of religious faith. The church resented this action
of the town as irregular and uu-congregational, and refused by a large majority
to concur in it. The town was disposed to carry out to the full extent the
spirit of the then recent judicial decisions, as to the relative rights of church
and town : and after a second ineffectual attempt to get the concurrence of the
church, resolved to proceed without it. Mr. Clarke declined its call. Then
followed renewed calls by the town, and refusals by the church. An ecclesias-
tical council was called, a majority of which advised the settlement of Mr.
Clarke, and agreed to recognize so manj^ of the members of the church as
should adopt an amended c<jvenaut, submitted by this majority, "as the Church
of Christ in Princeton." This "Result" was warmly discussed at the time by
Rev. Dr. Bancroft of Worcester, of the majority, and by Rev. Dr. Goffe of
Millbury, of the minority of the council, in elaborate pamphlets. Mr. Clarke
accepted the call of the town and this minority of the church, and was ordained
June 18, 1817, the Rev. Dr. Pierce of Brookline preaching the sermon. He
continued in office until 1832, when, at his request, he was dismissed.

A large majority of the church, acting as the church, left the house of wor-
ship, — refused to recognize Mr. Clarke as their pastor, and voted to adopt the
government of the Presbyterian Church of the United States, its articles of faith
and discipline, and to become connected with the Newburyport Presbytery.

In 1819 they built a small house of worship near the existing meeting-house,
their rights, after some litigation, having been recognized by the town. In 1820
the Rev. Alonzo Phillips was settled as pastor of this church. The ordination
sermon was preached by the Rev. Professor Woods of Andover, a native of the
town. The church subsequently dissolved its connection with the Presbytery,
and returned to the Congregational order.

The town under the amended constitution ceased to be a parish, and a society
was organized. After the dismission of Mr. Clarke, various efforts were made
to re-unite the two churches but without success. In 1833, Rev. John P.
Cowles, an Orthodox Congregationalist, was settled as Mr. Clarke's successor,
and the original church covenant restored. ]Mr. Cowles, at his own request,
was dismissed in October, 1834. Efforts were now renewed for a union, which
resulted, after several ecclesiastical councils, in partial success.

In 1836, Mr. Phillips, at his own request, was dismissed by the church and
society to which he had for sixteen years ministered. In the same year Rev.
Elijah Demond was settled over the united church and society. He was
dismissed at his request in 1839, and in the following year Rev. Willard M.
Harding succeeded him, and continued the pastor until 1844, when at his
request he was dismissed, and succeeded by Rev. Alfred Goldsmith in 1845,

240 TOWN OF PEINCETON.

who, at his request, was dismissed in 1849, and was succeeded by Rev. Henry
Weeks in 1852 ; at his request he was dismissed in 1855 ; Eev. William T.
Briggs succeeded him in 1856, and was dismissed at his request in 1863. The
church was then supplied for three or four years by Rev. Mr. Zelie, until
Rev. Roger M. Sargent was installed in 1869, and at his request dismissed in
1871. In 1876, Rev. George M. Howe, the present pastor was ordained.

In 1838 the society built the neat and commodious-meeting house iu the
centre of the town, in which it now worships.

In 1817, a Baptist society was organized by residents of this town and
Holdcn. It was supplied with preaching part of the time, mainly by Rev.
Elisha Andrews. In July, 1822, a church was organized. In 1826, Rev.
Elias Johnson became and remained its pastor until 1830. In 1828, a small
brick meetimj-house was built about a mile north of the centre of the town.
In October of that year. Rev. Appleton Morse became pastor and so remained
until April, 1832. He was succeeded in July, 1834, by Rev. Nehemiah G.
Lovell, who remained pastor until 1836, and was in 1837 succeeded by Rev.
Mason Ball, Avho remained until 1041, when he was succeeded by Rev. Orlando
Cunningham, dismissed in 1844. IMeantime the society erected a new .and much
larger meeting-house, nearly opposite that of the Congregationalists in the vil-
lage. After 1844 the society became greatly reduced and subsequently ceased
to exist. Its meeting-house was sold and became the hotel, now the Prospect
House.

In 1839 a Methodist Episcopal church was organized and during that and the
next year a commodious house of worship was built at the village, a little north
of the centre of the town, and a society duly organized. Since then it has h:id
a resrular succession of the able and eiScient ministers which, accordin": to its
forms and practice, that large and influential branch of the Christian church is
accustomed to locate upon its stations throughout the country.

The inhalntants of this town have ever been in full sympathy with the spirit
of the Commonwealth, not only religious, but political, educational and social.
They have always been an intelligent, industrious, cultured, agricultural people,
none very rich, and all practically above distressing want.

They have contributed with New England liberality in support of all institu-
tions of education, religion and charity. Almost exclusively devoted to agri-
culture, in one department of it, that of rearing fine cattle, and in products of
the dairy, they have won a well deserved reputation. Since its early days the
town has not increased in numbers and has less now than in earlier periods of
its history. The venerable historian of Worcester County, in 1793, says : — •

" In little more than thirty j'ears from its incorporation, Princeton is become ver^''
considerable among the towns of the count}'. It has surprishigly increased in numbers
and weallb. The finest of beef is fatted here and vast quantities of butter and cheese
produced, and from the appearance of their buildings and farms we must judge the
people are very industrious."

LOCAL NEWS. 241

He closes a glowing descriptiou of the seat of Hod. Moses Gill, thus : —

"Upon the whole, this scat of Judge [Gov.] (?) Gill, all the agreeable circnmstances
respecting being attentively considered, is not pai'alleled by any in the New England
States ; perhaps not by an}- on this side of the Delaware."

President Dwight, in 1797, speaks of Princeton as a rich grazing township,
and adds, "the houses of the inhabitants, and the appearance of their farms are
sufficient indication of prosperity, and the people are distinguished for industry,
sobriety and good morals." He also speaks of Gov. Gill's estate "as more
splendid than any other in the interior of the State."

Neither the town nor the character of its people have degenerated in the
fourscore years since these commendations were written. In the neatness,
beauty and convenience of its dwellings, and in its agriculture the town has,
like its neighbors, improved. It has impaired somewhat its natural beauties by
the great and often wasteful clearing up of its grand old woodlands, an injury
nature will repair, if the woodman's axe and fires can be even now stayed.
■ Being a mountain region, easily accessible, with a clear, elastic, bracing air,
always healthy and invigorating, with a landscape attractive and charming; it
has become of late years very largely the resort of summer visitors. Large
hotels and boarding houses have been built for their accommodation which,
during the warm months, are filled with numbers, increasing each year, seeking
health and pleasure on these delightful hills. A carriage road has recently
been constructed to the top of Wachusett, and a hotel erected there large
enough to accommodate a goodly number of guests, as well as the tran-
sient visitors which by thousands annually come to it. From this house is
obtained perhaps the finest view in the State, extending from its northern to
its southern limits, and from Connecticut River to Boston Bay.

By a valuation in 1771 Princeton had ninety-one dwellings; 183| acres of
tillage; and 1,083 of pasture land. In 1790 its dwellings were 144.

This valuation of 1771 reveals the significant fact, that upon these mountain
heights, since so often vocal with the shouts of freedom, there was then one slave.

In 1800 the number of dwelling-houses were but four more than in 1790,
while in the seventy-five years since they have only increased to 261, or at the
rate of one and a half a year.

The population 1776, 701; 1790, 1,016; 1800, 1,021; 1810, 1,062; 1820,
1,261,1830,1,346; 1840,1,347; 1850,1,318; 1860,1,201; 1870,1,279;
1875, 1,063. It has increased but 47 in 85 years.

The number of acres of land taxed in 1875, was 22,040, of which 15,840
was included in 185 farms, and 3,633 were under cultivation ; 9,640 acres arc
returned as unimproved ; and 2,098 as woodland.

The products of the town are almost exclusively agricultural, and find,
especially since it has become so popular a summer resort, their market within
its limits.

VOL. n.— 31

242 TOWN OF PRINCETON.

Through its whole history the people of Princeton have sympathized, and
kept fully abreast of the prevailing sentiment of the country.

In matters ecclesiastical tliey have had their divisions and controversies,
sometimes the result of peivading changes in the community ; sometimes
special to themselves, but they have never failed in an earnest and efficient
support of the institutions of the gospel, from the day when united they
settled jNIr. Fuller, to tho present, when they are divided in their religious
sympathies between the Puritan faith, and that of the great church Wesley
founded, Whitcfield honored, and good men everywhere respect and love.

In all the creat strusrcflcs which have marked, and so largely made our coun-
try's history, they have been intelligent, early and active participants. They
fought tho preparatory battles of freedom with their king against the French,
and its ultimate battles with the French against their king. They were constant
and discriminating supporters of all the measures of the Revolution, from its
first dawn to its glorious consummation. Twice at least their action was of
character and importance enough to secure honoral)le mention by the latest and
ablest of the historians of the United States. Among them at this time, as a
leading and patriotic spirit, was the lion. INIoses Gill, afterwards lieutenant and
acting governor of the State, and who is some where called by Samuel Adams,
"The Duke of Princeton."

They voted for our State Constitution, but with an adherence to its State
rights assertion, too ardent to leave their judgment quite clear, they voted
against the adoption of the Constitution of the United States. Since it was
adopted they have ever sustained it, and when its hour of danger came, in the
recent Rebellion, cheerfully and with alacrity they rallied to its defence, assum-
ing their every responsibility and meeting every duty. Their first action was
April 29, 18G1, when $3,000 was appropriated to lie used for the enlistment
and drilling of any recrui's and for the benefit of their families.

"Princeton furnished one hundred and twenty men for the war, which was
a surplus of nine over and above all demands," one-tenth of its population,
and more then one-third of its voters and polls. It expended for war purposes
exclusive of Stale aid, $14,456.52, and in State aid $4,700 13. We have no
space for the roll of its patriots, dead or living. It contributed its full share of
sacrifice, sorrow and sutfering to the desolations of war, and demands of country.

Brief is our sketch of this little mountain town. Its history is not eventful.
Its place upon the map of even a county is not large : but as its people look
upon its free hills and valleys robed in their resplendent autumn beauties j
upon its farms, from which the teeming harvests are being gathered and
garnered ; its homes of comfort and plenty ; contentment and love ; its
churches for the service of God ; its schools for the education of men ; upon
their own independent, prosperous, moral and happy condition ; they at least
may bend in grateful homage before the Great Giver of it all and say, " Surely
the lines have fallen to us in pleasant places, and we have a goodly heritage."

ORIGIN OF THE TOWN. 243

ROYALSTON.

BY GEORGE W. HORR, LL. B.

CHAPTER I.

AUSPICIOUS ORIGIN — PROPRIETORSHIPS — INCORPORATION — ESTABLISHMENT OF

BOUNDARIES — NATURAL FEATURES SCENERY INTERESTING MINERALS AND

GEMS ABSENCE OF INDIANS SPIRIT OF LIBERTY REVOLUTIONARY NOTES

WAR OF 1812 FIRST MEETING-IIOUSE PASTORAL SUCCESSION INTER-
EST IN SCHOOLS — COLLEGIATE LISTS.

RoYALSTON is a beautiful specimen of a true New England town. Situated
among grand and lovely scenery, the inhabitants seem to have become imbued
"with the inspiration which the beautiful in Nature ever produces in the mind of
man ; and all through the history of the town they have shown a sturdy patri-
otism, a zeal for rt^ligion, and a desire for educational privileges. Not a town
in this 2:rand old Commonwealth of historic towns can boast of a better besfin-
ning or a more reputable heritage of name and blood. The proprietors and
early settlers of Royalston were men of character, whose influence can be traced
throughout the whole structure of our nation, and they laid here, on these
splendid old hills, the foundation of a town in which those sterling qualities of
the glorious days of New England have come down through the generations to
the present time.

The territory comprised in the township of Royalston passed from a public
domain to private hands in two ways — by public sales and private grants. It
was the last of the entire territory of Worcester County to be disposed of by
grants and charters, and in this respect is the last and youngest of the towns
of the county. Twenty-three hundred acres of its area were comprised in four
grants, known as Pierpont's, Priest's, Ilapgood's, and a grant to Benoni Moore,
Joseph Pettey, and Robert Cooper, while 28,357 acres were purchased at
public sale by Samuel Watts, Thomas Hubbard, Isaac Freeman, Joseph Rich-
ards, Isaac Royal, Caleb Dana, James Otis, Joseph Wilder, Jr., and John
Chandler, Jr., the deed being given Dec. 27, 1752, and the price paid, £1,348.
At a later date, others famous in the annals of New England and national his-
tory became proprietors of Royalston soil. Among these were John Hancock,

244 TOWN OF ROYALSTON.

the first Governor of Massachusetts and first signer of the Declaration of Inde-
pendence, James Bowdoin, the second Governor of the State, while James Otis,
one of the original purchasers, was the eloquent orator of the Revolution, whose
clarion notes aroused his countrymen to action. Lady Temple, widow of Sir
John Temple, baronet, also once owned eight hundred acres of Royalstou
land.

The proprietors, at their first meeting, held at the " Bunch of Grapes " tavern
in Boston, voted that the land be called Royal-shire, "whereupon the Hon.
Isaac Royal generously gave his word to give the partners twenty-five pounds
sterliuGT towards building a Meeting-IIousc in said town." From the time of
purchase until 17.S7, a period of thirty-four years, the proprietors held racet-
ino-s. It was at their first meeting that tbev ordered the land to be laid off
into sixty lots for settlers, and three others for a minister, for the support of
worship and for a school. In 17G5 this was further increased by setting apart
231 acres for the first minister, 424 acres for the ministry, and 420 acres for
the school. Thus did the first proprietors of Royalston recognize and liberallj^
provide for the cause of religion and education, making it the foundation upon
which was to be reared the superstructure of their town.

The French and Indian "War, which for seven years raged fiercely throughout
New England, drew heavily from the young men of Massachusetts, and the
settlement of the grant was delayed, so that it was in 17G2 before an active
settlement of the town was commenced. In June of that year six families
moved into the settlement; and from that time the increase was very rapid,
there being about forty families at the close of 17G7. On February IG, 17G5,
the town was incorporated with the name of Roj^alston, in honor of Hon. Isaac
Royal, one of the proprietors.

The first town meeting was held May 7, of that year, when the following
town officers were elected : Clerk, John Fry ; Treasurer, Peter Woodbury ;
Selectmen, John Fry, Timothy Richardson, and Benjamin W"oodbury. The
original territory, which contained thirty thousand six hundred and fifty- seven
acres, has been subjected to several changes since. About two thousand acres
were set off to AVinchcndon in 1780; several thousand acres were taken for
Orange, in 1783, when that town was incorporated ; three or four hundred
acres were added from Athol and Gerry in 171*9 ; a portion of Athol was an-
nexed in 1803 ; and in 1837 not far from two hundred acres were taken from
Phillipston and joined to Royalston, making at the present time about twenty-
six thousand eight hundred and eighty-two acres. The boundaries are ; New
Hampshire on the north, Winchendon on the east, Templcton, Phillipston, and
Athol on the south, and Orange and Warwick on the west. It is, by the
Hoosac Tunnel line of railroad, seventy-seven miles north-west of Boston.

The scenery of the town is beautiful ; high and verdure-covered hills overlook
the surrounding country, intersected with valleys through which flow the waters
of Tully and Miller's rivers, the Lawrence and Priest's. On one of these hills

SPLENDID SCENERY. 245

the founders of Royalston located their vilhige, overlooked by the Grand
Monadnock. Not only do the hill-tops present scenes of beauty, but the
streams in the valleys below contain gorges and waterfalls, with the
grandest and wildest of natural scenery. Three of these are described
by Prof. Hitchcock in his "Geology of Massachusetts." The most impor-
tant of these is situated in the extreme north-west part of the town, and
is commonly known as Forbes' Falls, although sometimes called by the name
of the Royal Cascade, suggested by Prof. Hitchcock. Here a stream de-
scends fifty feet at a single leap into a deep gorge, which has the appearance
of being excavated by erosion. The scene presented is one of wildness and
grandeur, rough and jagged rocks rising on every side lifty or sixty feet iu
height. Mr. Hitchcock pronounces this as one of the finest in the State.
Another is situated about two miles from Royalston Centre on the Athol road,
and is known as Doauc's Falls ; this has been called the Republican Cascade.
The stream descends by several successive leaps about two hundred feet be-
tween high walls of gneiss and granite to the valley below. The third is where
a small pond near the meeting-house empties itself into a deep valley. The geo-
logical structure is calcareous gneiss, in which occur specimens of allanite, ilme-
nitc, mica, and hornblende slate. Large crystals of feldspar are found. A large
number of specimens in the State collection are from this locality. Of that
beautiful mineral gem, the beryl, Royalston furnishes the finest and most
numerous specimens yet discovered in the United States. Prof. Hitchcock
describes it as follows : "The recent discovery of a rich locality of this mineral
in South Royalston enables mc to place it as the first and most abundant of all
the gems of Massachusetts. The specimens in the State Collection exhibit it
in its natural state, as well as cut and polished by the lapidary. When set in
gold, it is often much richer in appearance than the common beryl that goes by
the name of aqua-marine. Its color often approaches nearer to the genuine
emerald, though some specimens have the peculiar blue color of aqua-marine.
Sometimes, though rarely, the color is a yellowish-green, very much like the
chrysolite. Hundreds of specimens have already been obtained from this spot,
and the prospect is that a vast many more may be obtained. They occur in a
vein of coarse granite, ten or twelve feet wide, traversing gneiss ; and the
purest beryls are in the quartz. It, however, ought to be remarked, that on!}'-
a few of the specimens are free enough from fissures to be advantageously cut.
Yet, considering the large number of fine cabinet specimens that have been,
and probably can be, obtained there, I apprehend that no locality of beryl hith-
erto discovered in this country can compare with this. My attention Avas first
directed to it by Alden Spooncr, Esq., of Athol, who generously furnished mc
with several fine specimens." Since the time mentioned by Mr. Hitchcock
large numbers have been taken from this place.

Of the occupants of these hills and valleys prior to the advent of the white
man, little is known. Ex-Gov. Bullock says in his Centennial address, "a pre*

246 TOWN OF KOYALSTON.

cinct that bears no vestiges of the aborighies, and is in this respect so nnlike the
more southerly towns, which had half a century of life crowded with Indian
traditions, that I cannot find that those original lords ever lighted a pipe or a
fire here." But if it was wanting in the dusky sons of the forest, it was not
without its share of the wild animals : for l>ears and wolves crossed tlie paths
of the early settlers by day, and bore away their domestic animals from tiie
folds at night; while many are the anecdotes related of stirring adventures
with these denizens of the forest, and the howling of the wolves, with the
nightly concerts of wild-cats and panthers around the cabins and campfires of
the early settlers made vocal the watches of the night.

When the eventful years of the Revolution drew near, it found the spirit of
liberty brightly burning among the sturdy yeomanry of Royalston ; and
although with a population of less than seven hundred and a large proportion
of the territory covered with the original forests, yet it did not spare money or
men, but was i"eady to respond to every call. As early as 1773, the citizens
of Royalston put themselves in correspondence with the Central Committee in
Boston, and to this they also added a Committeeof Safety in 177G. Henry
Bond was sent as delegate to the First Provincial Congress in 1774, and Nathan
Green to the Second in 1775. The doings of the Continental Congress at
Philadelphia were frequently read and approved in open meeting here.

In 1778 ninety pounds was raised for bounties, and the selectmen were
instructed to collect clothing and ammunition for the soldiers. In 1779 no
family of its own soldiers was found to be needy, anJ so forty-two pounds was
voted to each of its citizens engaged in the service two years before, while in
1781 we find them raising more than a thousand pounds in Spanish milled
d. (liars for the hiring of soldiers, and voting in addition, to each man in the
field at the end of three years, " ten cows — heifers, three years old, with calf,
or with calves by their side."

The list of Revolutionary soldiers, as far as known, embraces forty-three
names, in addition to which a large company of Royalston men marched to
repel the Northern Army of Burgoyne in 1777. The following are the names
of the Revolutionary soldiers: — Nathan Green, Col. Ebenezer Newel, Major
John Norton, Capt. Jonathan Sibley, Capt. Enoch AVhitmore, Lieut. Edward
Ilolman, Lieut. Nathan Wheeler, Lieut. Jonas Allen, Lieut. James Work,
Lieut. Micah French, David Copcland, Ammi Falkner, John Davis, Jr.,
Squier Davis, Sylvester Davis, John Ellis, Nathan Bliss, Eliphalet Richardson,
Abijah Richardson, David Bullock, Silas Cutting, Bezaleal Barton, Samuel
Barton, Moses Walker, Joel Stockwell, Ebenezer Burbank, Benjamin Clark,

Perham, Josiah Waite, Nathan B. Newton, Joseph Emerson, Samuel W.

Bowker, Samuel Lewis, Jonathan Wellington, Rogers Chase, Benjamin Loathe
Isaac Nichols, William Clement, 2d, Nathaniel Jacobs, Benajah Woodl)ury,
David Cook, William Clement, Jonathan Gale, Timothy Armstrong. Shays'
Rebellion received but little if any support from the farmers of Royalston.

FIRST CHURCH. 247

Although strongly Federal in politics and strongly opposed to the national
policy which bronght on the Second War with Great Britain in 1812, yet, when
the war came, the citizens of Royalston were ready to hear their ))art in the
responsihiUties, and wc iind them, whib the naval forces of Eno-land were
threatening our scacoast, sending a largo company of grenadiers to Boston for
coast defence, where they served for thirty-five days.

In 17G4, only two years after the tirst families moved into town, the first
meeting-house was built, and for three jears after the incorporation of the town
several clergymen were employed who were hired for a (gw Sabbaths at a time.
Oct. 13, 17GG, the lirst church was organized, consisting of sixteen persons,
and in April, 17G8, the town extended a call to the Rev. Joseph Lee, who
accepted, and was ordained Oct. 19, 17G8, as the tirst minister of the town, a
position which he held for half a century. lie was offered for his settlement
four hundred pounds, " old tenor," in addition to the two hundred and thirly-
one acres granted by the proprietors for the first settled minister, and in lawful
money a salary of £4G 13s. Ad. per annum for the first three years; £53 Gs.
8(1. for the next three years ; and £G0 each year thereafter, and thirty cords
of wood, to be drawn annually from his own land to his door.

Mr. Lee was born in Concord, May 23, 1742, and graduated at Harvard
College in 17G5. He preached to the people of Royalston for fifty years, his
half-century sermon being his last.

Mr. Lee was succeeded by Rev. Ebenezer Perkins, who was ordained Feb.
17, 1819. ]\Ir. Perkins was born in Topsfield, July 4, 1794, and graduated at
Dartmouth College. lie continued as pastor for twenty-eight years, when he
was dismissed, but continued to reside in town until his death, Nov. 28, 18G1,
loved and respected by all. The third minister was Rev. Norman Ilazen, a
gi'aduate of Dartmouth College. He was settled in June, 1847 ; his ministry,
which was short, terminated at his death, in 1852. He was followed by Rev.
Lbenezer BuUard, who was installed Sept. 2, 1852, and dismissed Nov. 9, 1868.

Thus, for the first century of its existence, the church had only four pastors.
And it is a remarkable fact that the church was so fortunate as to secure the
services of those whose relations with their people were so harmonious
through such long pastorates, and to the influences of whom may be largely
attributed that freedom from civil and ecclesiastical controversies which has
always characterized the town. The pastors since then have been Rev. John
P. Cushman, installed Nov. 30, 1870, dismissed Dec. 4, 1872 ; and Rev. Wilbur
Johnson, the present pastor, who was installed May IG, 1874.

The first church, erected in 1764, was removed in 1797 to make room for a
more commodious structure, which was destroyed by fire in 1851, when the
present church edifice was erected.

The membership of the church is about one hundred and fifty at the present
time. The old parsonage, which was the residence of Rev. Mr. Lee, was
moved away five years ago, and a fine house has been erected upon the site. The

248 TOWN OF ROYALSTON.

old house and oue acre of land were purchased for one thousand dollars by
Miss Caudace Bullock, and presented to the society. She also gave six hun-
dred dollars towards the new building. The cost of the new parsonage was
five thousand five hundred dollars. Among those who contributed largely for
its erection were Mr. and Mrs. Ripley, Mrs. D. P. Clark, Mr. Joseph Esta-
brook, and Mr. Chauncy Chase. It is overshadowed by a magnificent old elm,
set out nearly eighty years ago by the Rev. Joseph Lee.

The first settlers included about ten families of Baptists, forming nearly one-
fourth of the population. They organized a church in 1768, and built a house
of worship several years later on the west bank of TuUy. Their first teacher
was Mr. Elisha Rich, who was never ordained. He was succeeded by Rev.
Whitman Jacobs, the first minister, in 1770, v,-ho continued as their pastor for
upwards of eighteen years. Since then they have been served by various pas-
tors ; but during the intervals between the pastorates they have rarely, if ever,
"•iven up religious service. About 1800, their old meeting-house was left for a
lar<Ter one erected near the line between Royalston and Warwick, which was
dedicated in 1805. The ministers of those days must have been possessed of
powerful lungs, if report is true, for it is said that, on the raising of the meeting-
house, the prayer of Elder Hodge was heard at the distance of half a mile.
This building was removed about the year 1847, nearly a mile east, to a place
culled "The City," and it is now used by the society.

The Methodists first held preaching in South Royalston about the year 1827,
and a church was organized in 1842, with Rev. Pliny AVood as the first
preacher. They built a house of worship in 1847, at a cost of two thousand
five hundred and fifty dollars, and most of the time since have had preaching.

A second Congregational church was organized at South Royalston, Feb. 22,
1837, and a house of worship was built the same year, at a cost of six thousand
four hundred and eighty-one dollars. The first pastor of this church was Rev.
Samuel H. Peckham, installed Dec. 13, 1838. Other ministers have been Rev.
John H. M. Leland, ordained in 1847; Rev. George Goodyear, installed in
1849 ; Rev. Edwin Seabury, installed in 18G7. Rev. Walter Rice preached
several years. The pulpit is now supplied by Rev. C. L. Tomblin. The soci-
ety was bequeathed two thousand five hundred dollars by the late Rufus Bul-
lock, to be held as a fund, the income of which is to be appropriated for the
preaching of the gospel in said society.

A Union Society, composed of Baptists and Universalists, was organized in
1839, and a meeting-house was built in the Centre, the two denominations
alternately controlling the services. The property was at length bought by the
Biiptists, and for some years a church quite large in numbers w^as kept up. In
18G3 the house was sold and moved away.

Royalston was not behind other ^Massachusetts towns in her care of edu-
cation. At the first beginning of the town the school was remembered, and,
before the purchasers of the territory drew lots for themselves, five hundred

EDUCATIONAL NOTES. 249

and twenty acres were set apart for school laud ; and the Hon. Isaac Royal, l)y
his will, also gave the town two hundred acres more for school purposes. lu
17G9, only one year after the tirst minister was settled, and but seven years
after the permanent settlement of the town, three pounds was appropriated for
schooliug. The first schoolmaster of which we have any record was Simeon
Chamberlain, who was paid eighteen shillings for two weeks' schooling in 1769.
At first, (ho schools were kept in dwellings and barns. The first school-house
was built about the year 1777, when liberty was granted to a number of inhab-
itants near the Centre to build a school-house near the meeting-house. In 1781 ,
the town "was divided into six districts. In 1790 the first school committee
was chosen. The town was redistrictcd in 1795, with nine districts. In 1797
it was voted to build school-houses in the several school districts ; and May 7,
1798, fifteen hundred dollars was appropriated for that object. Besides the
amount raised annually by the town for the schools, there is the "Old School
Fund," accruing fiom the sale of the school lands, and the " Bullock Fund,"
of five thousand dollars, bequeathed to the town by the Hon. Rufus Bullock
for the benefit and use of the common schools of the town. There is no reg-
ular high school. The schools of South Royalston arc partially graded, and
consist of a Primary Department and a Grammar School. The school com-
mittee for the 3'ear 1879-80 consists of A. D. Raymond, R. R. SaiTord, ]\Irs.
M. A. C. Adams, B. H. Brown, Miss Emma L. Pierce, A. M. White, and Chas.
A. HiiTijins. The list of college graduates who have attained distinction as
ministers of the gospel, as teachers, and in the various professions, is indeed
remarkable for a town with so small a population. Among this number,
natives and others, who have resided in Royalston, are the following;
Sidney Ilolmun, class of 1830 (Williams), was born at Royalston in the
year 1800. He studied theology at Auburn, N. Y., and has been settled
as pastor of churches at Saugus, Willington (Conn.), Webster and Mill-
bury, and acting pastor at Goshen and Windsor. He was married in 1833
to Myra Fisher of Templeton, by whom he had five children, of whom the
eldest, Thomas, died in the service of his country in 1862. Stephen
Ilolman, native-born, class of 1839 (Williams), and Rev. Sylvester Davis,
native-born, was also a graduate of college. Rev. Amory Gale, born in
Royalston, graduated at Brown University, class of 1843. Rev. Ebenezer
Cutler, native, graduated at University of Vermont, class of 1845. Franklin
Jones, class of 1829 (Amherst); Alexander Hamilton Bullock, 1836; Rev.
Jesse K. Bragg, 1838 ; Ariel Eben, Parish Perkins, 1840 ; Leonard Lorenzo
Leathe, 1843 ; Rev. Henry Cummings, 1847 ; Henry Martyn Harrington, 1860 ;
Charles Goddard Goodell Paine, 1861; and Rev. Albert Bryant, 1862 — all
graduated at Amherst College and were born in Royalston. Prof. Nelson
Wheeler, class of 1830 (Yale) ; Caleb Butfum Metcalf, 1842; George Brigham
Newton, 1843 ; and Samuel Chester Gale, 1854, — were native-born and gradu-
ated at Yale College. George Newton, class of 1808 (Dartmouth College), was

VOL. 11—32.

250 TOWN OF ROYALSTON.

born in Itoyalston, Jan. 16, 1785, son of Nathan Brigham and Mary (Stewart)
Newton ; died, June G, 1817, aged 32, lawyer ; began practice at Salem, removed
to Royalston in 1816. Rev. Ebciiezer Perkins, class of 1814 (D. C.) ; born
at Topsfield July 4, 1794 ; died at Royalston, Nov. 28, 1861, aged 67 ; studied
divinity wilb Rev. Dr. Elisba Parisb of Byficld, and at Andover Theological
Seminary; ordained pastor of Congregational Church at Royalston, Feb. 17,
1819, and dismissed May 19, 1846, but remained in the town. Ilis ouly
publication was a dedicatory sermon. Married Amelia, daughter of Rev.
Ariel Parish (D. C, 1788), at Manchester, Juno 8, 1819. Benjamin Conant
Perkins (D. C, 1848), was bis son. Rev. Norman Hazen, class of 1840 (D.
C), horn at Hartford, Vt., Sept. 7, 1814, died at Royalston, Feb. 13, 1852,
aged 37, graduated from Audover Theological Seminary, 1844; ordained
pastor of Congregational Church at Royalston, March 24, 1847, and died while
in his official position. Ilosca Davis, class of 1842 (D. C), born at Royals-
ton, June 21, 1817; son of Asa and Deborah (Mason) Davis; studied medi-
cine, and practiced near Indianapolis, Ind.. ; married (1) Maria Cynthia Marks
of Greeubush, III. ; (2) Abby Stevens of Petersham. Benjamin Conant Per-
kins, class of 1848 (D. C.) ; born at Royalston, Jan. 23, 1827 ; read law at
Harvard University Law School, and with lion. Asahel Huntington of Salem,
and Rufus Choate (D. C, 1819) of Boston; began practice at Danvers.
Leander Smith graduated from the medical department of Dartmouth in
1834. Rev. Samuel Bacheller, class of 1731, Harvard University; born at
Reading ; resided at Haverhill ; died at Royalston, April, 1796, aged 90 years ;
ordained minister. Rev. Joseph Lee, class of 1765 (II. U.) ; bcirn May 23,
1742, at Concord ; lived in Royalston ; died in Royalston, Feb. 16, 1819,
aged 77; ordained minister; received degrees of A. B. and A. INI. at both
Harvard and Yale. Rev. Samuel Barrett, A.M., S.T.D. (1847), class of 1818
(H. U.) ; born at Royalston, Aug. 16, 1795; lived, and ordained minister at
Boston (Twelfth Congregational Churoli), Feb. 9, 1825; died at Roxbury,
June 24, 1866, aged 70; son of Benjamin and Betsey (Gerrisli) Barrett;
Sept. 11, 1832, married Mary Susan Greenwood. Benjamin Shattuck Howe
Brown, class of 1850 (II. U.) ; born at Royalston, Sept. 6, 1828; died at
South Boylston, March 5, 1851 ; son of Artemas Howe and Catharine (Ilowe)
Brown. Charles Augustus Gregory, class of 1855 (II. U.) ; born at Royal-
ston, Sept. 7, 1833 ; son of Franklin and Martha Porter (Edwards) Gregory;
Dec. 4, 1861, married Julia A. Booth of New York. Arthur Clarence Brown,
class of 1879 (II. U.), born in Royalston, INIay 11, 1857; son of Elisha F.
and Angeline A. (French) Brown; lives in Athol ; intends to read law. The
author is indebted to "Sketches of the Alumni of Dartmouth Collesfe, bv Rev.
George T. Chapman, D.D.,"and "Sibley's MSS., by John Langdon Sibley,"
former librarian of Harvard University, for most facts and statistics given above
of graduates of Dartmouth College and Harvard University.

KOYALSTON IN THE REBELLION. 251

CHAPTER 11.

MOVEMENTS IN THE REBELLION MEMORIAL TABLETS WORTHIES OF THE

TOWN AGRICULTURE MANUFACTURES PROMINENT BUSINESS MEN.

When Rebellion lifted its band against tbe Q.ag and strnck its beavy blows for
tbe dissolution of the Union, tbe people of Royalston, true to tbe principles of
constitutional liberty and union, stood nobly by tbe government, and, altbougb
more largely exhausted of its young men tban many other sections of tbe
State, yet tbe calls of tbe country were promptly met, and tbe record of tbe
sons of Royalston on tbe many iiclds of l)attlc, is one worthy of tbe town and
State which they represented, and which in tbe pages of history will be proudly
referred to by every citizen of the town. The first action taken by tbe town
was at a town meeting, held April 30, 18G1, when, on motion of Capt. John
Whitmore, it was voted to raise tbe sum of $1,500 for fitting out volunteer
soldiers of this town. Also, ''voted to pay each volunteer soldier from the
town of Royalston, necessary for said town to furnish to form a company with
the town of Athol, the sum of ten dollars per month while they are in service,
and it is to be paid out of tbe town treasury, wdiicb is to be over and above
what they draw from the Government." A committee of three, consisting of
Dr. Isaac P. Willis, L. W. Partridge, and Jarvis Davis, Esq., were appointed
to canvass the town for soldiers to enlist into tbe company to be formed by tbe
towns of Royalston and Athol. On motion of Barnet Bullock, Esq., it was
"voted that a committee of three persons be chosen by the town, for tbe
purpose of fitting out such soldiers as shall enlist and be called for service from
the town of Royalston, by tbe State or United States, and to draw on the
treasury for tbe expense of a suitable fit-out for each soldier, and that said
committee shall take the charge of the State arms, and to be vouchers for tho
return of said arms, unless taken by the Rebels." Col. George Whitney,
Joseph Raymond and L. W. Partridge were chosen as that committee.

One hundred and ten men enlisted from this town. Of these, eighteen served
in the 21st Regiment, twenty-six in the 25tb, twenty-five in the oGth, twenty-
six in tbe 53d, and tbe remainder in various regiments.

Among tbe natives of Royalston who have served in the army from other
States are Maj.-Gen. Lysander Cutler of Wisconsin, Lieut. -Col. Charles
Cummings of Vermont, Capt. Andrew J. Richardson of Wisconsin, Capt.
Henry J. Howe of Pennsylvania, and Lieut. Silas Hey wood of New Hamp-
shire.

Through tbe generosity of Mr. Joseph Raymond, a wealthy citizen of
Royalston, four memorial tablets of white marble, containing tbe names of the
soldiers from this town who died in tbe service, have been placed in tbe Town
Hall. These tablets are shield-shaped and contain the following inscriptions :

252 TOWN OF ROYALSTON.

"25th Regt. Mass. Vols.,

" Co. I.

" Died of Wounds.

"C. W. Norcross, Roanoke Island, N. C, Feb. 21st, 1862, Aged 22 jrs. Geo.
Brown, Whitehall, N. C, Dec. IGth, 18G2, Aged 41 yrs. Hosea B. Bosworth, Cold
Harbor, Va., July 10th, 18G4, Aged 32 yrs."

^'- Died of Disease.
" Marcus Walker, Portsmouth, N. C, Jan. 29th, 1863, aged 22 years."

" Killed in Action.
"Henry E. Knight, Spottsylvania, Va., May 12th, 1864, aged 20 years."

" Died in Prison.
"John S. Chase, Andersonville, Ga., Aug. 11th, 1864, aged 19 j-ears. Joel S.
Bosworth, Charleston, S. C, Sept. 24th, 18G4, aged 37 j-ears."

" 36tii Regt. Mass Vols.,

"Co. D.
" Died of Disease.

"A. F. Pierce, Hartford, Va., Nov. 19th, 18G2, aged 26 years. Eugene C. King,
Nicholsonville, Ky., Aug. 23d, 1863, aged 18 years. Stephen P. White, Annapolis,
Md., May 3d, 1864, aged 35 years."

" Died of Wounds.

" Sanford Giles, Spottsylvania, Va,, May 12th, 1864, aged 37 years. Geo. L. Chase,
Wilderness, Va., June 8l.h, 1864, aged 25 years. Corporal R. N. White, Cold Harbor,
Va., June 25th, 1864, aged 20 3'ears."

" Killed i)i Action.
" Sam'l B. Hale, Spottsylvania, Va., May 12th, 1864, aged 31 years. George A.
Raymond, Cold Harbor, Va., June 2d, 1864, aged 22 years. John Shepardson,
Petersburg, Va., June 17th, 1864, aged 20 years. Henry Russell, Petersburg, Va.,
Aug. 8th, 1864, aged 17 years."

" 53d Regt. Mass. Vol. Militia,

"Co. E.

" Died of Disease.

" Geo. L. Hancock, Carrolton, La., March 8th, 1863, aged 21 years. Corp. Geo. W.
Knights, New Orleans, La., Apr. 10th, 1863, aged 23 years. Uri C. Day^ Baton Ron'^e,
La., Apr. 14, 1863, aged 19 years. Chas. E. Tenney, New Orleans, La., A[)r. 2Glh,
1863, aged 17 years. Henry C. Morse, New Orleans, La., April 27th, 1863, aged 20
years. John M. Wood, Baton Rouge, La., May 15th, 1863, aged 19 years. Jos. W.
Bosworth, Royalston, Mass., July 24th, 1863, aged 19 years."

"Co. F.

" Quincy A. Shepardson, Baton Rouge, La., July 27th, 1863, aged 37 years."

ROLL OF HONOR. 253

" Miscellaneous Regiments.

" Died of Disease.
" Milton C. Handy, Co. I, 4th Vt. Reg't, Feb. 17tb, 1862, aged 18 years. Corp. W.
H. Sprague, Co. B, 27tli Mass., May lOtli, 18G2, aged 40 years. Jas. Townsend, Co.
A, 32d Rcg't, Aug. 2d, 18G2, aged 2o years. Jefferson Richardson, Co. F, IGth N. II.,
Jan. 24lh, 18G3, aged 3G years."

" Died of Wounds.
" Edwin O. Vose, Co. F, 2d Mass., June 25th, 18G2, aged 19 years."

" Killed in Action.
" Geo. Miles, Co. A, 2d N. II., June 15, 18G2, aged 20 years. Geo. E. Fry, Co. E,
5th N. II., May 2d, 1863, aged 27 years. W. D. Goddard, Co. F, 57th Mass., Aug.
10th, 18G4, aged 39 years."

The first Representative to the General Court, from this town, was chosen
May 27th, 1776, and at the last town meeting warned in his mnjesty's name.
The following have served as representatives from Royalston : — Timothy
Richardson, 1776 ; John Fry, 1780, '83, '84, '85, '87 ; Peter Woodbury, 1788,
'89 ; Isaac Gregory, 1794, '95, 1801, '03, '06, '07, '08 ; Jonathan Sibley, 1786 ;
Oliver Work, 1792; Phillip Sweetzer, 1798; John Norton, 1800, '13, '14;
Joseph Estabrook, 1809, '10, '11, '12, '15, '16, '17, '25 ; Rufus Bullock, 1820,
'21, '27, '28, '29; Squicr Davis, 1823; Stephen Bachellcr, Jr., 1826, '30 ;
Franklin Gregory, 1831, '33; Benjamin Brown, 1832, '45; Asahel Davis,
1834; Arba Slierwin, 1835, '37, '39; Russell Morse, 1835, '36, '39; Bcnoni
Peck, 1836, '37; Salmon Goddard, 1838; Benjamin Fry, 1838, '40, '54;
Cyrus Davis, 1840; Hiram W. Al.bee, 1843, '46, '52, '53 ; Barnet Bullock,
1844; Silas Kenney, 1848; Elmer Newton, 1849; Joseph Raymond, 1850,
'51; Tarrant Cutler, 1855; Jarvis Davis, 1856; Joseph Estabrook, 1857;
George Whitney, 1859 ; Elisha F. Brown, 1861 ; Ebenezer W. Buli.ird, 1864 ;
William W. Clement, 1866 ; Jeremiah A. Rich, 1868, '74 ; Benjamin II. Brown,
1870; Joseph Walker, 1877. Senators: Joseph Estabrook, 1828 ; Rufus Bul-
lock, 1831-32; George Whitney, 1863-64. Constitutional Convention, 1779,
'80 : Sylvanus Hemenway, delegate, and John Fry, his substitute. Rufus
Bullock, delegate to Constitutional Conventions of 1820 and 1853 ; John Fry,
delegate at the ratification of the Constitution of the United States, 1788.
The Town Clerks of Royalston, from its incorporation to the present time, are
as follows: — John Fry, from 1765 to 1782, with the exception of 1773;
Stephen Bachcller, 1773; Peter Woodbury, 1782 to 1790, and for 1791 and
1794; John Bachellcr, 1790, '92, and '93; Daniel Woodbury, 1795, '96;
Isaac Gregory, 1797, '98, '99, 1800, 1806; Samuel Goddard, Jr., 1801, 1802;
Joseph Estabrook, 1803, '04, '05, '08, '09, '10; Stephen Bachellcr, Jr., 1807;
John Norton, 1811, '14, '15, '16, '17; Rufus Bullock, 1812, '13; Thomas J.
Lee, 1818, '21, '22, '23, '24; Franklin Gregory, 1819, '20, and from 1825 to
1837; Barnet Bullock, 1837 to 1847; George F. Miller, 1847, '48, '49, '51,

254 TOWN OF EOYALSTON.

'67, '68, '69, '70 ; Joseph Raymond, 1850, '53 ; Leander W. Warren, 1852 ; R.
II. Bullock, 54; Charles II. Newton, 1855 to 1867 ; Joseph T. Nichols, 1871,
'72, '73 ; Joseph W^alker, 1874, '75, '76 ; Frank W. Adams, 1877, '78, '79.

In 1768, the same year that the first minister was settled, Dr. Stephen
Bacheller established himself in town as the first physician, where for half a
century he practiced his profession. lie was succeeded by his son, Stephen
Bacheller, Jr., the father and son practicing in town for eighty years. Dr.
Stephen Bacheller, Jr., ranked among the most eminent physicians of the
State, having probably a more extensive consultation business than any other
physician in the county. He is said to have ridden more miles than any olhcr
doctor in Worcester County ; was a member of the Massachusetts Medical
Society, for two years its vice-president, and for many years one of its coun-
sellors, and was a delegate from the Society to the American Medical Associa-
tion at Baltimore. Nearly forty medical students w^ere under his instruction.
Other physicians of first-class reputation were Dr. Isaac P. W^illis and Dr.
Thomas Richardson. It is a singular fact that the central portion of the town
started on its second century not only with its fourth minister, but also its
fourth physician. Frank W. Adams, M. D., at the Centre and Henry O.
Adams, M. D., at South Royalston, now look after the health of the people.

Among the old-time worthies of the town may be mentioned Joseph Esta-
brook, Esq., who as merchant, first postmaster, first senator, and a gentleman
of the old school, occupied a prominent position among his fellow-citizens.
JMaj. Gen. Franklin Gregory, who excelled in military alfairs, was chosen to
preside at one of the receptions in honor of Lafayette, and was one of the
most enterprising merchants the town ever had ; and Jonathan Pierce, who for
nearly a quarter of a century brought the mall once a week, as he drove the
post between Worcester and Kecne through Royalston. His son, Horace
"Pierce, Esq., was at one time largely engaged in the manufacture of pails in
the north part of the town.

As an agricultural town Royalston bears a good reputation, and the large,
substantial, and well-kept farm-houses and barns testify that the soil of these
hills amply repays the industrious farmer for his labors. Like so many of the
bill towns of Massachusetts, the sons and daughters <jf Royalston have been
leaving the homes of their fathers, and seeking amid more exciting scenes a
name and fortune. Yet the drain from this town has not been so large as from
many of our towns, as the census of the various dates will show : Population,
1776, 617 ; 1790, 1,130 ; 1800, 1,243 ; 1810, 1,415 ; 1820, 1,424 ; 1830, 1,493 ;"
1840, 1,667 ; 1850,1,546 ; 1855, 1,469 ; 1860, 1,486 ; 1865, 1,441 ; 1870, 1,354 ;
1875, 1,260. The census report of 1875 gives the following statistics of the
agriculture of the town. Number of farms, 172, valued at $506,000 ; domes-
tic animals valued at $57,968. The products of agriculture amounted to
$94,792. There were 2,512 tons of hay produced. The number of horses
was 224, cows 410, and sheep 176.

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION. 255

A very creditable cattle-show, surpassing in many respects some of the
county fairs, was held by the farmers of the town the present season.

The hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town was celebrated
Aug. 23, 1865, when the address was delivered by Royalston's honored son,
Hon. Alexander IT. Bullock. The poet of the day was Albert Bryant, A. M. ;
and Mrs. George Woodbury contributed an original hymn for the occasion.

A fine town house Avas built in 18G7, at a cost of about $9,000. It contains
a large hall, a public library, and rooms for town officers. The hall is adorned
by three fine poi'traits, of Hon. Rufiis Bullock, ex-Gov. A. II. Bullock, and
Rev. Ebenezer Perkins, second pastor of the Congregational Church. Daniel
Parkhurst Clark came to Royalston as a clerk in the store of Gen. Franklin
Gregory, where he remained for ten or twelve years. He afterwards went to
New York, where he enija2;ed in business, and amassed a laro:G fortune. After
bis death Mrs. Clark came to Royalston, the home of her childhood : and about
seven years ago she, in connection with INIr. Joseph Estabrook, built an ele-
gant residence, where she now resides. Mrs. Clark is a generous contributor
to the Congregational Church, and to every worthy object connected with the
welfare of the town.

Royalston has the honor, not only of furnishing a Governor for her own
State, but of supplying the neighboring State of Vermont with one ; the Hon.
Asahel Peck, Governor of Vermont from 1874 to 187G, being a native of the
town.

South Royalston is a flourishing village on Miller's River in the south-cast
part of the town, where most of the manufacturing establishments are located.
It has two churches, hotel, two stores, Mechanics' Hall, and a depot on the
Vermont and Massachusetts division of the Fitchburg Railroad.

Among the manufacturers of Royalston, Salmon S. Farrar occupies a
prominent place. Born in AVinchendon, he came, a poor boy, in 1832, to what
was then called Royalston Factory Village. At first he worked by the day for
J. M. Upham, then commenced the manufacture of shoe-pegs with Leonard
Wheeler. The business being new and customers few, they soon disposed of
it. In 183G, he built the shop now standing and engaged in the manufacture
of "nest" or dry measures, children's rolling-hoops, boxes, sleds, &c. As his
business increased, he built additions to his shop, and also a saw-mill. After
being closely confined to manufacturing business for more than foity years, he
retired from active business with a competency. He has contributed largely
to the growth of the village of South Royalston, and has been an active mem-
ber of the Orthodox Society from its organization. For some years last past
he has held important positions of trust ; has been officially connected with the
Templeton Savings Bank from its incorporation ; is also a director of the
Athol National Bank ; and has been collector of taxes for many years.

Caleb W. Day has been actively engaged in the manufacture of shoe-pegs at
South Royalston for nearly twenty years. He succeeded Silas Jones, Jr., who

256 TOWN OF EOYALSTON.

had been a member of the firm of Bemis (Otis Bemis) & Jones. About twelve
years ago he commenced the manufacture of Innisli-blocks and brush-handles,
and now turns out a very extensive variety, adapted to almost every kind of
brush, and employs about twelve hands. Mr. Day has always taken a deep
interest in the prosperity of the vilhige, and has been an active promoter of the
social welfare and intellectual im[)rovement of its citizens. He has used his
means and influence to establish find sustain lectures in the village.

Edmund Stockwell of South Royalston is also engaged in the manufacture
of brush-blocks and brush-handles and croquet-sets. lie has been quite suc-
cessful and does a safe and sure business.

Dea. Maynard Partridge, an influential citizen, has been eng.iged for many
years in the manufacture of chair-stuff at the old Ilolman Mill, about one mile
north-east of the town house.

Col. George Whitney is one of the most enterprising and successful business
men of Worcester County. He has achieved success. lie was brought up on
a farm and drove a team on the highway for ten years. In 1858, soon after
the death of Rufus Bullock, he bought the woolen-mill at South Royalston,
although he already owned a chail-shop, and had been engaged in the manu-
facture of chairs since the year 1848. He thus became the head of two
important manufacturing interests. He employs more than one hundred hands
in both factories, and, during the past years of depression and widespread
"panic," has moved steadily on, keeping the full quota of help in both the mill
and chair-shop. Col. Whitnej^ has held the position of depot-agent continuously
since the establishment of a depot at South Royalston ; has represented his
town in the Legishiture, both in the House and Senate. He has been a mem-
ber of the Governor's Council for the years 1873, '74, '75, '7G and '77, five
consecutive years, when he declined to stand longer as a candidate for the
office. The vote at the election in 1875, to serve in 1870, as recorded in the
office of the Secretary of State, is, George Whitney, 24,318 ; scattering, 7.
The vote at the election in 187G, to serve in 1877, recorded as above, is, Geo.
Whitney, 33,354, and no votes against him. We venture to say that no other
public man in the Commonwealth has a like record of unanimity at any election
where 30,000 or more ballots have been cast.

In 1857, 72,000 yards of woolen cloth were manufactured, — value, $72,000 ;
there were 129,000 palm-leaf hats manufactured, — value, $16,225; value of
chairs and cabinet-ware manufactured, $15,041 ; there were eleven saw-mills;
value of lumber, $18,165. The value of goods made and work done in 1875
were : chair-stock and lumber, $7,500 ; chairs, wood seat, $20,000 ; hats, palm-
leaf, $20,000 ; shoe-pegs, brush handles, croquet-sets, &c., $16,000; woolen
goods, $150,000; wooden-ware, $10,300; total manufactures, $223,850.

A name which will ever be honored by the citizens of Royalston is that of
Rufus Bullock. He was the eldest son of Hugh and Rebecca Bullock, and was
born in Royalston Sept. 23, 1779, and died in his native town, where he had

MANUFACTURES. 257

always lived, June 10, 1858, aged 78. Although his means «vere limited, yet
he oI)t:iined a good education, worked upon the farm and taught school. He
afterwards engaged in trade, having a store on the Common. May 4, 1808, ho
married INIiss Davis of Rindse, N. II. He did not engaofe in manufucturiu'i-
until he was about forty-five years of age, but during the remainder of his life
he devoted himself assiduously to this business and accumulated a verv laro-o
foitune. It has been truly said of him : '"lie was a patriot of the early type,
— a gentleman of the olden school, — a friend to be trusted, and a man whose
principles bore the test of intimate acquaintance and inspection, and whose
influence, unobtrusive but potent, has been eminently useful." lie held many
offices of trust and honor ; was one of the trustees of Amherst Collesre, and
was the donor of a telescope for the College Observatory; represented the
town seven years in the Legislature, — five in the House, two in the Senate ;
was delegate to the Constitutional Conventions of 1820 and 18r)3, and was
chosen presidential elector. His benevolence was proverbial, and in his will
he left many bequests to most noble and worthy objects. When he died the
whole town was in mourning for the loss of the beloved, honored, and most
distinguished son of Royalston. The old homestead of the Bullock family is
now occui)ied by Mrs. Emily Bullock Ripley, daughter of Rufus Bullock, and
Condaco Bullock, her aunt. Mrs. Ripley gave the organ to the Congregational
Church.

Hon. Alexander Hamilton Bullock is the illustrious son of Rufus Bullock;
graduated at Amherst College, class of 183G, and was admitted to the bar in
ISU, — a man of learning, distinguished in belles lettres, an orator and states-
man. The people of the city of Worcester, of the county, and of the whole
Commonwealth have been delighted to shower honors and offices of trust upon
him. lie was a member of the House of Representatives for the years 1845,
1847, 1848, and 18G1, 1802, 18G3, 18G4, and 18G5 ; Speaker of the House
for 18t)2, 18G3, 18G4, and 18G5 ; member of the Senate, 1849; judge of the
Court of Insolvency for Worcester County, 185G, 1857, and 1858 ; mayor (;f
Worcester, 1859, and governor of the "Old Bay State" for the years ISGG,
18G7, and 18G8.

Toion Officers for 1879. — Joseph T. Nichols, Caleb W. Day, Asaph iM.
White, Selectmen and Assessors.

Treasurer, Joseph Walker; Clerk, Frank W. Adams.

The author is indebted to RoyaUton " Memorial " for many facts of historical
interest. He also extends thanks to Miss Emma L. Pierce, Mrs. Charlotte B.
Pierce, Hon. George Whitney, Mr. Caleb W. Day, and Dr. Frank W. Adams
of Royalston ; Mr. Caleb A. Cook and L. B. Caswell, B. S., of Athol, for aid
in the preparation of this histor}'. To all others who have taken an interest

in the work, he is grateful.

VOL. II.— 33

258 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

RUTLAND.

BY J. WARREN BIGELOW, ESQ.

CHAPTER I.

NAME OF THE TOWN ANCIENT PURCHASE FIRST SETTLERS INDIAN OUT-
RAGES INCORPORATION PHYSICAL FEATURES — CLIMATE SCHOOLS AND

EDUCATIONAL MOVEMENTS POPULATION.

This town was named after Rutland, in England, in honor of the Duke of
Rutland. The word "Rutland " is derived from the Ansrlo-Saxon words "rud,
rut" (variously spelt), red and land ; so called from the redness of the soil ;
this was so marked that it colored the wool of the sheep. Rutland appears in
the Latin poetic history of England, a.d. 500.

Dec. 22, 1G86, Puagastion of Pennicook ; Pompamamay, Sassawannow,
Qualipunit of Natic ; Wananapan of Waraassick (Indians who claimed to be
lords of the soil), gave and executed a deed to Henry Willard, Joseph Row-
landson, Joseph Foster, Benjamin Willard, and Cyprian Stevens, for £23 of
the currency of that time, a certain tract of land twelve miles square (the Indian
name being Naquag), according to the following bounds, viz. : —

" Commencing at Muscopauge Pond the South corner, and running North to Quani-
tick and to Wanchatopick, and thence upon Wachusett, which is the North corner :
running Northwest to Wallamanumpscook, and to Quapuanimawiek, and to Asnacon-
mick Pond which is the Northwest corner ; and running South to Musshange a great
swamp, and to SassakatafRck the South corner, and thence running East to Pascatick-
quage and to Abumpatunshauge Pond and thence to Sumpauge Pond, and to Musco-
pauge which is in the East corner."

This Indian deed was signed and acknowledged by the above-named Indians,
and recorded in the county of Middlesex, April 14, 1714. The above tract is
about one-eighth part of the county of Worcester, comprising what now is Rut-
land, Oakham, Barre, Hubbardston, the greater part of Princeton, and about
one-half of Paxton. The proprietors of this grant of land, at a meeting in
Boston, Dec. 14, 1715, voted that the contents of six miles square be surveyed
and. set off for the settlement of sixty-two families. This was granted to men

ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT. 259

who would go on and settle that part which is now callcLl Rutland. Thomas
IIow, Stephen Minot, Thomas Smith, Estes Hatch, Jacob Stevens, Ephraim
Wilder, and Samuel Wright were appointed as a committee to transact the
concerns of the proprietors, and to sec that justice and equity was done to the
settlers. This committee surveyed this tract, which was bounded on Worces-
ter, S. 34°, W. 2 miles, 191 rods, thence S. 12°, E. 3 miles, 293 rods;
Leicester, N. 7°, W. 5 miles, 50 rods; West Wing, N. IP, W. G miles, 283
rods on the" country, N. 30°, E. 4 miles, 183 rods; East Wing, S. 39°, E. 5
miles, 114 rods. This survey includes the one half of Paxton. lu 1716,
sixty-two house-lots were surveyed and numbered. The young settlers joined
in companies, swung their packs, shouldered their guns, with their axes and
provisions on their backs, or on a pack-horse, marched through the woods over
hills and valleys to what are now the pleasant hills of Rutland. Then each in
his own lot began to fell trees, and to erect a log-hut. Their food was wild
game, or such as they carried from their homes ; their drink was from the
fountain ; their lodging in their blankets. The next season they resumed the
felling of trees, and gathered their grain; some put up luils, and a few win-
tered in the woody settlement, the others returned to their friends. The next
spring, the clearing of the land is resumed; they have materials for making
bread, and vcijetables of their own raisins:; thev commenced moviuGf their
fjimilics, and on Sept. 23, 1719, the first child was born to Moses and Eunice
IIow in Rutland, for which fortunate event this child had one hundred acres of
land given to him.

So rapid was the settlement of Rutland, that in four 3'ears after its commence-
ment (1716), they numbered fifty families. June 7, 1720, they selected a
place for a church. In this and the succeeding year, it was so far completed
as to become a sanctuary for public worship. A committee of the grand pro-
prietors of the town laid out, surveyed and granted a road or street rimning
Ihrouirh the centre of the town one and a half miles in leni^th, and ten rods
wide. In 1743, it was voted that it be irranted and confirmed to the town of
Rutland as a common for public use, benefit and behoof forever, without any
manner of alienation or appropriation.

The first settlers of Rutland were principally from Boston, Lexington,
Concord, Sudbury, Marlborough, Framingham, Lancaster, Brookfield, and
emigrants from Ireland. They were persons of courage, enterprise and intel-
ligence, possessing something of the spirit of the Pilgrims, — left their native
towns and bade farewell to friends and home to settle in a howling wilderness,
exposed to the cruel Indians and wild beasts, the nearest settled towns being
Leicester and Worcester. In 1721, Rev. Joseph Willard was invited and
accepted the invitation to settle with the people of Rutland as their pastor.
He met with many discouragements, principally arising from the fears and
dangers of the Indians, so that an appointment of his installation was deferred
until the fall of 1723 ; but his life was not spared, being cut ofiT by the enemy,

260 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

as will now be related. As Dca. Joseph Stevens and four of his sons wei'e
making hay in a meadow at Kutland, a short distance north of the place where
the church now stands, Aug. 14, 1723, they were surprised by five Indians.
The father escaped in the bushes ; two of his sons were then and there shiin, the
other two (Phincas the eldest, and Isaac the youngest) were made prisoners.
Two of the five Indians waylaid Mr. Davis and son, who that afternoon were
making hay in a meadow not far distant, but, weary of waiting, they were
returnins: to the others, and met Mr. Willard, w^ho was armed. One of the
Indians' suns missed fire, the other did no execution. Mr. Willard returned
the fire, and mortally w^onndcd one of them; the other attacked Mr. Willard,
but he would have been more than a match ibr him, had not the other three come
to his assistance. The Indians having killed and scalped Mr. Willard, and
taken some of his clothes, left lor Canada with the two captives above named.
This account Phineas Stevens, who was a witness of the tragedy, gave on his
return from captivity. Aug. 3, 1724, the Indians came again to Rutland,
killed three persons, Avounded one, and made another })risoner. This was the
last time Rutland was molested bv the red man, as far as we have been able to
learn.

The six miles square being given to the settlers, a petition was presented to
the General Court, and the}', sometime in their session (which was begun at
Boston on Wednesday, May 30, 1722), passed an act of incorporation,
entitled, —

'•An Act fur further establishing the town of Rutland, and authorizing them to choose
town officers, raise and collect money for defraying the necessary charges of said
town,

"i?e it enac'.ed by Ills Excellence/ the Governor, the Council, and House of Representa-
tlces in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same:
"That the inhabitants and freeholders of Rutland be invested with, and forever here-
after enjoy all the powers, i)rivilegos and immunilies which other towns have and
enji)v : and that they he enabled to lev}-, assess and collect three pence per acre annu-
ally for the space of two and one-half years from July 1, 1721, on all lands whether
divided or undivided, contained within the lines of the six miles square, on which the
present inhabitanls have settled : and that the said land be subjected and made liable
to the i)ayment of the same, to defray the expense of building the Meeting-house, and
compensating the minister for his salar}*."

In consequence of the above act, an order of the General Court was passed
July G, 1722, authorizing Capt. Samuel Wright to call a meeting of the free-
holders and other inhabitants of Rutland on the last Monday of July current,
to choose town ofljcers to serve until the meetins: of March next.

The town was notified, and met accordingly, and this was the first legal
town meeting held in Rutland. The principal officers chosen were : — Modera-
tor, Capt. Samuel Wright; town clerk, Capt. Samuel Wright; selectmen,
Capt. Samuel Wright, Ens. Joseph Stevens, Lieut. Simon Davis ; assessors.

NATURAL FEATURES. 2GI

Ciipt. Samuel Wright, Eus. Joseph Stevens, Daniel Howe ; town treasurer,
Ens. Joseph Stevens.

This town occupies the central part of Worcester County. It is situated on
the height of laud fifty miles west of Boston, forty east of the Connecticut
River, twelve north-west of Worcester, and an equal distance from New
Hampshire on the north, Connecticut on the south, and, at the centre of the
town, 1,250 feet above the level of the ocean at Boston. The present bounda-
ries may be thus stated : North-east by Princeton ; east and south-east by
PTolden ; south b}^ Paxton ; south-west by Oakham ; and north-west by Barre
and Hubbardston.

It is well diversified with hills, valleys, plains, streams, ponds, and some
mineral springs. The soil is of several varieties, from the rich loam to the
dry, barren sand ; yet there is still but little of the latter description which will
not repay the industrious farmer for his labor. It is a good grazing township.
The growth of wood is of many kinds (from one of the largest and most beau-
tiful elm-trees in the State to the humble shrub), such as oak, chestnut, hem-
lock, pine, birch, beech, ash and maple ; these are found in many varieties.
The east branch of the Ware River is the only stream runninsf throusrh the
town. It has its source on the west side of Wachusett Mountain. It enters
the north-east part, taking a circuitous course, receiving several tributaries,
running over five miles in the town, falling one hundred feet, and leaving at
the uorth-west corner of the town. The principal brooks are : Pomagusset,
which is composed of the waters from the meadows and swamps near Prince-
ton, runs west through Pomagusset Meadow, and empties into Ware River.
Mill Brook derived its name from having the first mills in Rutland carried by its
power. It has its source from one of the two springs that rise near each other
one-half mile east of the church. The waters of several other springs west of
Muschopauge Hill unite with this, and form a stream on which considerable
business was carried on. Its course is westerly through the meeting-house
meadow, and flows into Long Meadow Brook. Davis' Brook has its source at
or near the same spring as Mill Brook. These two are a curiosity, as one
unites with the Connecticut, and the other with the Mcrrimac River. The
summit of the uncompleted Massachusetts Central Railroad, running from
Boston to Northampton, one-half mile north of the centre of the town, is near
these springs. Long Meadow Brook receives its waters from Long Pond,
empties into Ware River. Buck Brook is the outlet of Demond Pond, and
unites with Long Meadow Brook. About one-half a mile south-east of the
meeting-house is a spring, flowing from the waters which soon divide ; part run
to the Mcrrimac and part to the Connecticut River. Muschopauge Pond is
the starting and closing point of the Indian deed. It covers about one hun-
dred acres, is fed by springs. Its water is pure and deep, and it is a reservoir
for mills. Demond Pond has the same properties as Muschopauge, contains
about seventy acres. Long Pond is about a mile in length ; but it is narrow,

262 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

resembles a large river, and is fed by springs. Its waters are deep ; it is a
reservoir, and affords good water-power. These ponds furnish u variety of
fish.

The centre of the town is situated upon a hill, from which we have a tine
view of all the adjoining towns, Mount Waehusett, and Mouadnock Mountain
in New Hampshire. Muschopauge Ilill is the most elevated land in the town.
Joyner's Hill, one mile north of the church, presents a tine appearance as you
pass through the centre of the town. There are many other hills which afford
from their summits a beautiful prospect. Most of our meadows, when first
cleared, produced abundant crops. It is evident that some were partially
cleared by the natives or the beavers, and produced grass before the white
people settled here. This aided the first settlers in furnishiug food for their
stock during the first years.

Rutland has a healthful climate. The winters are cold and bleak, but the
summers cool and delightful. It is a favorite resort for city boarders, being
unequal to Princeton only in hotels and boarding-houses.

The General Court and proprietors made some provisions for schools in their
grant to the settlers of the six miles square. It was one of the conditions of
the grant that one sixty-third part of the lands should be set off and appro-
priated for school purposes. Accordingly the lot numbering 63 was set
apart for that object. What was called the House Lot of thirty acres was situ-
ated on a hill one mile west of the meetinar-house. The division of one hun-
dred and fifty acres was laid out and located partly by the House Lot, and
partly by the East Wing. In 1744, the school lauds were, by vote of the
town, sold for £156 4s. lOtZ., and put on interest.

For the first twenty years after the grant the privileges for an education
were limited, there being no school houses ; it was dangerous for children to go
from house to house, not only on account of the Indians, but of the voracious
bears and wolves. ISIothers when sitting at their doors with their children,
could see the wild beasts pass with their young. In October, 1733, the town
voted to pr(jvide a teacher before the court in November, and chose the follow-
ing School Committee : Capt. John Hubbard, Eleazer Ball and DunkinMcFar-
land. At the same time voted to have the school kept two-thirds of the time
in the centre of the town, at Col. Hatch's house, and one-third at the West
Wing, by the pond. This was taught by Mr. AVhitaker, and was the first pub-
lic school in Rutland. In 1734 the town voted that two school-houses bo
erected at the town's expense ; one near the church, the other south-west of
Cedar Swamp Pond. In 1735 the town engaged Mr. William Brintnal as
teacher for one year ; he taught three terms in three different places.

Until 1781 the centre district extended from Holden line to the bounds of
Oakham, in which, for several years before the Revolution, there was a Latin
grammar school taught during the year ; to encourage the same Col. Murray
gave twenty dollars annually.

RELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONS.

263

Durins: the Revolutionary war education was somewhat neglected. But it is
evident that Rutland has not been wanting in disposition or ability to educate
her children and youth.

The following tabic shows when each school district was formed; where
located, and number of inhabitants, male and female in each, in 1828 : —

No.

Formed.

Males.

Females.

Total.

Location.

Centre.

1
2

3
4

5
6

7
8

Oct., 1734
Sept., 1781
May, 1768
May, 1761
Aug., 1781
May, 1768
May, 1704
Aug., 1781
May, 1709

Total, . .

102
74
40
60
76
50
61
71
97

100
76
35
62
54
61
65
78
77

202
1.50

75
122
130
111
126
149
174

By the Common.

East of Sewell Farm.

West, of School Lot.

By Harwood Brook.

Pound Flill.

By Irish Lane.

Dublin.

Barracks.

By Ware River.

034

608

1,242

Population of the town at different periods of its history : In 1790, 1,072 ;
in 1820, 1,27G; in 1865, 1,011; 1875, 1,030.

CHAPTER II.

RELIGIOUS IXSTITUTIOXS — REVOLUTIONARY WAR ALARM MEN BURGOTNE S

ENCAMPMENT RUTLAND IN THE REBELLION AGRICULTURE MANUFAC-
TURES PUBLIC LIBRARY PUBLIC MEN A REMINISCENCE OF CRIME.

In the very beginning of the settlement of the town, the inhabitants of Rut-
land took active measures to secure to themselves gospel privileges. The tirst
act which is recorded was Juno 7, 1720, when a committee of the proprietors
held a meeting to request the settlers to decide where to locate the meeting-
house. It was subsequently voted to build a house forty-one and a half feet by
thirty, and locate it opposite the cemetery. In the following year, and only
sixteen days after the six miles square was conveyed by the proprietors to the
settlers, "as a sure inheritance to them forever," the Rev. Joseph Willard was
selected by a majority of the voters. The invitation was accepted by Mr. W. , but
ho never was installed, for the reason previously given. During the intervening
time of nearly five years, several persons preached to the inhabitants, and it
was not until 1727 that another minister was chosen. On the 17th of May, of
that year, the inhabitants of Rutland held a meeting " to choose and call an able
and learned orthodox and pious person to dispense the word of God unto them."

2o4 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

At that time Mr. Thomas Frink was unanimously chosen and accepted the
call. Nov. 1, 1727, he Avas ordained as their pastor. Shortly after Mr. Frink
was settled, a stronsf Presbyterian element was manifested. About two-tifths
of his members withdrew and erected a church at the West Wini?, which was after-
ward the church building in Oakham, until the present one in use took its place.

This act caused Mr. Frink to tender his resignation, which Avas accepted by
the town Sept. 8, 1740. He graduated at Harvard University in 1722, and was
"a learned divine." The second ordained minister was Mr. Joseph Buckmin-
ster, who was settled Sept. 15,1742. It was during his pastorate in 1759,
that the second church was erected. It was in size sixty by fifty feet, and was
considered "a large and well fini'^hcd house for so young a society."

Mr. Buckminster had an able and successful ministry of more than fifty years,
when it was terminated by death Nov. 3, 1792, at the age of seventy -three. It is
recorded that the town and church were so well united at the close of Mr.
Buckminster's ministry and life, that every person in town, who paid any
taxes, paid a part of his salary. " He was distniguishcd for intellectual ability,
ministerial fidelity and zeal." He was l)orn at Framingham and graduated at
Harvard University in 1739. The next year Mr. Hezckiah Goodrich was
ordained as the third minister and continued until his death, which occurred
Feb. 7, 1812.

Mr. Luke B. Foster very soon succeeded I\Ir. Goodrich. His ministry was
cut short after a duration of four years, by an early death. He died May 23,
1817, at the ago of twenty-eight. In less than a year the church invited ]\Ir.
Josiah Clark to settle here ; ho was ordained June 2, 1818. Mr. C. was born
at Northampton and graduated at Williams College. His ministry continued
twenty-seven 3'ears, when he died July 11, 1815, aged sixty. His labors were
blessed with rich success, and by his faithfulness and affection, he endeared
himself to his people. He was valued as a preacher, beloved as a pastor, and
prized as a friend. And even now, in the eminence of his piety and ability, he
lives in the memory of the people, as one superior in social sympathies and
official labors.

The church building has been twice destroyed by fire, the first time on Feb.
28, 1830, the second Jan. 7, 1849.

The society and chureh showed once more a commendable energy and perse-
verance (notwithstanding their misfoitune), by erecting a building more com-
modious in size and agreeable in architecture than any of the former ones. It
was completed at a cost of $8,000.

The remaining pastors arc : Rev. Daniel R. C idy, ordained Oct. 29, 1845,
dismissed Oct. 11, 1849. Rev. George E. Fisher, ordained Feb. 27, 1850,
dismissed May 13, 1852. Rev. David Burt, installed Jan. 10, 1856, dismissed
Feb. 25, 1858. Rev. Clarendon Waite, ordained Feb. 25, 1858, dismissed
Mar. 13, 18G6. Rev. Henry Cnmmings, installed Sept. 5, 186G, dismissed
July 1, 1874. Rev. George E. Dodge, installed Dec. 27, 1877.

IN THE REVOLUTION. 2G5

Though there have been long intervals when the society has been destitute of
a settled minister, yet there have been but few Sabbaths since the organization
of the church, in which there have been no religious services.

About 1840 the Methodists began to hold meetings. A society was formed,
and in 1844 they built a house of worship. The society for several years pros-
l)ered. In time many of its most wealthy members, died or left town, and
those remaining feeling unable or unwilling to support preaching, allowed the
society to expire. The house some years since passed into private hands.

The Advcntists have an established church and society at North Rutland,
where they have regular preaching in the chapel built by this society in 1874.

It could not have been anticipated that Rutland would take that united and
decisive stand that she did at the commencement of the Revolution, for her min-
ister was not very zealous in taking up arms against the mother country, and
Col. Murray, who was friendly with the present rulers, was a man in whom a
majority of the people had put implicit confidence ; yet Rutland, almost to a
man, united in defending her civil and religious rights and privileges.

In 17G5 the town instructed her representative. Col. Murray, " to use his
best endeavors in the General Assembly to have the rights and privileges of
this province vindicated and preserved to us and our posterity." The Stamp
Act was repealed. The people were so rejoiced that they raised a liberty-pole,
and set apart a day for feasting and gladness. Furthermore, they were so
patriotic that on March G, 1775, they voted that all the militia, from sixteen
years of age and upwards, be required to meet on the 13th inst., to form them-
selves into a company, and choose their officers to command and discipline
them, and each was to be provided with arms and ammunition. David Bent
was chosen captain, whose commission was '' Jionor and ]jatriottsm.'^ At this
ti-me they drew up and signed a solemn and patriotic obligation, of which the
following: is the last clause : —

"And as the law of self-preservation requires us at this time, to prepare ourselves for
repelling, force by force, ia case we should be reduced to such fatal necessity : Therefore
we do hereby firmly covenant, and engage with each other, under the sacred ties of
Honor, Virtue and Love of our country, that we will endeavor forthwith to be equipi^ed
with arms, ammanition and accoutrements, according to the Province Law, with this
addition, that each soldier shall have thirty bullets, instead of twenty. And furthermore,
that we will each of us respectfully adhere, obey and conform to all military orders."

Although the mortal sickness of 1749 and 175G swept off about eighty of our
children and youth, yet Rutland had a goodly number of heroic young men to
fuce the enemy at the commencement of the Revolutionary War.

In 1775 forty-eight of the most active and patriotic were selected, armed and
equipped, to be ready for action at a minute's warning. Thomas Eustis was
chosen captain, John Stone, lieutenant, William Bridge, ensign. When called
they marched; many of them engaged in the first eight months' service, and

VOL. II —34

266 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

were at the memorable battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, 1775. Benjamin Reed
and Mtij. Willard Moore were among the number slain.

In 1777 this town's quota of men to be raised for three years, or during the
war, was thirty-six, which number the town voted to raise and give them £20
each as an additional sum, and chose a committee to hire them. In 1781 the
quota was fourteen. Paper money being of little value, the town voted to give
the fourteen men who should enlist £90 each in hard money, or other property
equivalent, and chose a committee to carry the same into effect ; then voted that
the sum of £630 be assessed on the inhal)itants for that purpose. To defray
the expenses incurred by the war and town, there was paid into the treasury,
between April 14, 1781, and May 6, 1782, in paper money £22,656 6.9. 6d.,
and in hard money £1,405 13.s. 7tZ. This constituted a part of the expense of
the town duriu"- the war. "From the commeneemeut to the close of the war
was a time of danger, distress, hardship and deprivation."

Rutland was selected by the government as a safe encampment for Bur-
cToyne's army, after its surrender in 1777. A committee was appointed to build
a barrack of 120 by 40 feet, two stories high, containing twenty-four rooms
twenty feet square; this, together with a number of temporary barracks, was
enclosed in a square of several acres, surrounded by a fence twelve feet high.
The troops quartered here during the season of 1778, but it being difficult to
procure food for the winter, they were removed to the South. All that now
remains to mark the location is a pile of debris and a well ten feet in diameter
and tifty feet in depth.

The following is the list of " Alarm Men " of 1775 : —

Joseph Buckrainstor, Joseph Blake, James Blair, Samuel Brittain, John Brlant, Dan-
iel Bartlett, Joseph Bartlett, Gideon Brown, James Cunningham. Edward Clark, Samuel
Cowden, Peter Davis, Ephraim Davis, Nathan Davis, Daniel Davis, Daniel Murray,
John McClanthan, Moses Maynard, Jeduthan Moor, AVilliara McCobb, Joshua Nurse,
George Oak, John Phelps, John Rice, Jonas Reed, Benjamin Reed, Robert Rozer, John
Stone, Samuel Stone, Samuel Stone, 2d, Ebcnezah Foster, Robert Forbes, John Frink,
Ebenczah Frost, Thomas Flint, John Fessenden, Zacharias Gates, John Ilucker, James
Henderson, Ephraim Hubbard, Matthias Howe, Sunon Heald, Samuel Jones, Nathaniel
Munro, Paul Moor, Daniel Saunders, George Smith, James Smith, Isaac Savage, Sam-
uel Stratton, John Stratton, John Williams, James Wheeler, John Watson, Francis
Maynard, Jonathan Whiting, Simon Stone, Jason Reed, Daniel Estabrook, Samuel
Am'^s.

Below is found the muster-roll of the company of Minute-Men commanded
by Capt. Thomas Eustis, which marched from Rutland to Cambridge, April 19,
1775: —

Capt., Thomas Eustis ; 1st lieut., John Stone ; 2d lieut., Elijah Stearns ; sergeants,
Samuel Browning, Timothy Metcalf, Isaac Wheeler ; privates, Solomon Munro, Asa
Church, Aaron Phelps, Caleb Clap, Joshua Clap, David Howe, Luther Stevens, John
Cunningham, James Williams, Joseph Wood, Benjamin Munro, Asa Davis, Jeduthan

ROLL OF HONOR. 2G7

Stone, Epbraim Curtis, Israel Stone, "William Smith, Silas Bent, Thomas Ball, John
Bruce, Benjamin Estabrook, Benjamin Reed, Jr., John Davis, Abraham Wheeler, Jonas
Wallcer, Robert Munro. Benjamin Miles, Jr., Hugh Smith, Micliar How, Joseph Wright,
Seth Duncan, William Brittan, Jonas Parmcnter, Moses Baxter, Jonas Smith, Joseph
King, Simon Phelps, Matthias How, David Underwood, Eli Clark, Elijah Stone, Sam-
uel Moor, James Smith.

The following list comprises the names of soldiers accredited to the town, in
the Rebellion of 1861-65. Those marked with a star died in the service : —

Lvman A. Baker, Charles R. Bartlctt, George F. Bartlett, Roswell Bemis, Herman
N. Bemis, *William E, Briant, Jr., Edward Brown, *Jona E. Childs, Pcrrin Dean,
*Martin B. Dean, *Channcy P. Demond, John Evans, George Edgle}-, Frederick Em-
er^' , Edson Fairbank, Frank Fagan, Alvin B. Fisher, Edwin J. Forbush, George W.
Foster, Albert C. Foster, George P. Flagg, Joseph Gibbs, Samu^^l C. Green, Ferdinand
Gore, James M, Goodwin, Patrick Ilarrigan, George A. Hill, *Edson II. Howe, *Ed-
win Howe, George L. Hunt, John W. Hooker, Edwin II. Holmes, Oliver P. Judson,
John McCart}^ C. E. McDonough, John McKnight, Elbridge Lane, George Lakin, Ben-
jamin L. Leonard, *Daniel A. Leonard, *Charles H. Leonard, James Martin, Browa
Mason, M. R. Moulton, 11. V. Moulton, *John S. Mills, Bryant J. Moore, Frederick
Morse, James Murra}-, Hiram B. Oliver, John F. Orville, *Charles E. Parker, Isaac E.
Parker, Hill Parsons, George B. Phelps, Charles E. Pike, Edward F. Preston, *Joseph
K. Rawson, Thomas Rile)', John F. Rice, Irwin Ricker, Dr. James T. Rood, Merrill F.
Rogers, Joshua F. Roberts, Edward Russel, Alfred A. Sanderson, Pliny W. Sanderson,
Jacob Shaffer, David F. Smith, Frank W. Smith, Daniel II. Smith, James D. Smith,
David W. Smith, *Sidney M. Smith, George G. Taylor, Simeon B. Taylor, S. C. Thomp-
son, Cyrus II. Wesson, Albert Wetherbee, Edward D. Wetherbee, John Welch, Charles
West, Charles Williams, Frank Wood, Charles E. Woodis, Willard S. Woodis, Peter
Williamson, George P. Woodis.

We believe there was no soldier who went from, and belonged to, this town,
but returned (if at all) with an honorable record.

Rutlaud is principally an agricultural town, and (he most of our lands being of
a deep soil, will repay the farmer for his toil. The chief products are beef,
pork, mutton, poultry, bulter, cheese, wood, coal, hay, barley, oats and pota-
toes. We have uo extensive manufactures. At different periods of the hislory
there has been manufactured carriages, sleighs, cabinet furniture, chairs, rakes,
boots, baskets, chair-seating, cloth and palm-leaf hats.

A public library of ten hundred and sixty-tive well-selected volumes, is one
of our valued institutions. It has been established fifteen or twenty years,
owned and controlled by the town.

Gen. Rufus Putnam, an officer in the American Revolution, in the year 1782
purchased one of Col. Murray's confiscated farms, removed his family to Rut-
land, and while in the army gave directions for the management of the same.
At the close of the war he returned to his family. During the time he was
here he was active, and made himself useful. He of&ciated as constable, col-

268 TOWN OF RUTLAND.

lector, selectman and representative to the General Court. In 1787 he was
appointed by Congress as one of the surveyors to lay out the western territory ;
was one of the committee on the sale of eastern lands ; a justice of the peace
and of the quorum, and was one of the first and principal settlers of Ohio. At
this time the roads from New England to Ohio were not direct or desirable to
travel over ; no coach, steamboat or iron horse to convey them, but ox-wagons
and saddle-ponies were their only modes of conveyance;' yet iu 1790, Gen.
Putnam, with about fifty others from Rutland, emigrated to Ohio and settled
at what is now Marietta, and his descendants are some of the leading men of
that place and vicinitj'- at the present time.

Among the distinguished men who early settled in town, Col. John INIurray
was one of the most prominent and influential. lie came from Ireland in in-
digent circumstances, but by enterprise, good fortune, and the assistance of
friends, became the most wealthy man that ever lived in Rutland. lie repre-
sented the town in the General Court for twenty consecutive years, and held
most of the offices in the power of the people to bestow. His having been ap-
pointed a mandamus counsellor so exasperated the people, at the breaking out
of the Revolution, that they arose and compelled him to leave the town for the
last time. His real estate, except one farm which was retained for his son,
who remained true to his country, was all confiscated and sold to maintain the
government in its struggle for liberty.

The following persons, belonging to Rutland, have held offices in the
county : —

William Caldwell, Esq., sheriff from 1793 to 1805 ; Moses White, Esq., sheriff from
ISll to 1812, and Justice of the Court of Sessions, 1807 ; Daniel Clap, Esq., Register
of Deeds from 1784 1816 ; John Fessenden, Esq., senator from 1787 to 171)1 ; Francis
Blake, Esq., senator from 1810 to 1812, and from 1813 to 1815 ; also clerk of the court
1816 and 1817 ; Thomas 11. Blood, Esq., senator from 1816 to 1818 ; J. Warren Bigc-
low, Esq., Count3- Commissioner from 1862 to 1877.

The first murder, after this county was incorporated, was committed in this
town. Daniel Campbell, a Scotchman who came into New England in 1710,
was barbarously murdered March, 1744, by Edward Fitzpatrick, an employe
of said Campbell. Fitzpatrick was tried at the September term of the Superior
Court at Worcester, the same year, and found guilty and sentenced to be hung
on the eighteenth day of October ; but no record has ever been found of his
execution, and, strange as it may appear, there never has been any motive dis-
covered to justify the horrid crime. The following legible inscription may be
seen upon the headstone of Campbell's grave, in the old cemetery : —

" Here lies buried y^ bod}' of Mr. Daniel Campbell born in Scotland, came into New
England Anno. 1716 was murdered on bis own farm in Rutland by Ed. Fitzpatrick an
Irishman on March y® 8 Anno. 1744 in y^ 48 year of his age."

" Man knowetii not his time."

OEIGINAL GRANT. 209

SHREWSBURY.

BY SAMUEL I. HOWE, ESQ.

CHAPTER I.

RELATIVE POSITION AND TERRITORY — SETTLEMENT AND INCORPORATION THE

REVOLUTION.

The town of Shrewsbury is situated in llic eastern part of the county,
adjoined on the north-west by Boylston and a corner of West Do^Oston, on the
west by Worcester, on the south by Grafton and a part of Millbury, and on
the cast by AVestborough and a part of Xorthhorough. The distance from the
shire town is five and a half miles, and from the capital, by way of the old
post-road, thirty-seven miles.

The townshi[) of Shrewsbury was granted to certain persons, most of whom
were from Marlborouirh, on Nov. 2, 1717. The original tract was much
larger than the present territory. The township at fir^t contained all the lands
lyino: between the original crant for Lancaster on the north, Worcester on the
west, Sutton on the south, and Marlborouiih on the east. This larsre teiritory
included the greater part of Boylston, West Boylston, a part of Sterling,
Westborough and Grafton. In 1741 four petitioners, Ebenezer Cutler,
Obadiah Newton, Noah Brooks and David Read, with their Airms, were
annexed to Grafton. In 1752 all lands in the northern part of the town,
lying on the north side of the Quinncpoxet River, and b.etween the towns of
Lancaster and Iloldcn, known as the "Leg," were rated off, and in 17G3 joined
to Lancaster. During the year 17G2 other inhabitants living in the south-
westerly part of the town, called the "Shoe," were annexed to Wesiiiorough.
On March 1, 1776, the lands lying in the northern part of the town, then
called the "Second Parish of Shrewsbury," were annexed to Boybton, and in
March, 1793, a small part on the west was joined to Westborough. The
present territory of Shrewsbury comprises about thiitecn thousand acres.

In 1717 certain persons, formerly of Marlborough, became the first settlers
of Shrewsbury. Previous to this, probaI)ly in 171G, these persons petitioned
for a township. This petition or a copy cannot be found, but the "Viewing

270 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

Committee," appoiuted by the General Court, made their "Report on the
Petition of Marlboro' men,' as follows : —

" Pursuant to an act of the General Assembl}^ at their session in May last, we the
subscribers have been upon the land petitioned to be a township by John Brigham and
thirty others ; have viewed tlie situation and the quality' of the same, and informed our-
selves of the circumstances of the petitioners, that desire the grant of the land for a town-
ship, and are of opinion that the}', and such as join with them, are a competent number,
and such as are likely by themselves, or their descendants, to make a good and speed}"
settlement tliereon. And that, if this Honorable Court allow to the westerlv part of
Marlboro* a line to be continued from the westerly line of Lt. Rice's farm, until it meets
with Fay's farm, and then to bound by said Fa3''s farm, according to the line thereof,
until it meet with Sutton line on the southward, and from the nortli-west corner of said
Rice's land to run upon a straight line to a heap of stones, called Warner's Corner
which is the most Easterly corner of Ilaynes' farm by the County Road, and from tlience
by a line running North 20 degrees East by the needle, till it meet with Lancaster line
on the North, it will not so disadvantage the land petitioned for a township, but that
it may be XQvy accommodable and entertain a suitable number of persons to make a
good town."

"Samuel Tiiaxteu.
John Chandler.

Jonathan Remington.
"Marlboro', June 19, 1717."

On the foregoing report it was ordered, on Nov. 2, 1717, —

" That the tract of land protracted and described, with the farms heretofore granted
to particular persons contained in the plat be made a township, excepting so much
thereof, as the report of Samuel Thaster, John Chandler and Jonathan Remington,
Esqs., doth propose to be taken otf and added to the Westerly part of Marlboro' ; and
that Samuel Thaxter, Jonathan Remington, and Francis Fullam, Esqs , be a committee
fully empowered to grant and lay out the whole of said lands (except what has liecn
heretofore granted) to such persons as they in their wisdom shall think most likely to
advance the settlement of the place ; the}- paying the said committee for the use of the
province, not exceeding twelve pence per acre for said lands, and the charge of the
committee for laying out the same, which is to be done in as convenient and defensible
a manner as the circumstances of the plan will admit of, provided they have at least
forty families settled there with an orthodox minister within the space of three
j-ears, and that a lot and other accommodations as large and convenient as may be to
the place, will admit of in the judgment of said Committee be laid out to the flrst
settled minister, also a lot for the ministry, and another for the use of the school."

The "laying-out committee" made its report on Dec. 18, 1718. During the
summer before lands were allotted in parcels varying from fifty to seventy
acres, on condition that before June, 1725, each "lot man" or grantee should
pay "for the use of the province" three pounds and twelve shillings. The
names of the grantees are here given in the order reported by the committee :

Joseph Buckminster, John Houghton, George Brown, John Keyes, Sr., Jotham Brig-

PETITION FOR INCORPORATION. 271

ham, John Wheeler, James Ke3'es, John Keyes, Jr., Eleazer Taylor, Thomas Ilale,
Jacob Hinds, Samuel Crosby, John Gates. John Upham, Daniel Rand, Richard Temple,
John Shattuck, Joseph Baker, John Wheeler, Samuel Brigham, John Sherman, William
Johnson, Thomas Gleason, Peter Smith, Abiah Bush, William Ward, John Brigham,
Peter Ilains, Josliua Ilains, David Ilains, Moses Newton, John Crosby*, Jonathan Witt,
Thomas Ilapgood, James Gleazon. Caleb Rice, Elias Keyes, Jonathan Loring, Nahum
Ward, Edward Goddard, Gershom Keyes.

Ill addition to these grants the committee " appointed by the general court to
settle the town of Shrewsbury" were giveu what was called the "Committee's
farm." It contained fifteen hundred acres and formed the north-west corner of
the township.

During the five years that followed the early settlements and grants, occu-
pation proceeded slowly ; but in 1727 the number of inhabitants warranted the
presentation of this petition : —

" To the Hon. William Diimmer Esq., the Lieutenant Governor., and Commander-in-
chief, the Honorable Council, and the Honorable House of Representatives of His
Majesty's Province of Massachusetts Bay, in New England, in General Court assem-
bled, November 22, 1727:

" The petition of the inhabitants of Shrewsbury in the County of Middlesex, hum-
bly sheweth : That your petitioners were by the Great and Honorable Court, erected
into a township, and not having granted unto them the immunities and privileges of
other towns within this Province, w^ere put under the care of a committee, which com-
mittee carried on that work to great satisfaction, but have now declined acting ; so
that 3-our petitioners are under great difficulties as to paying their Minister and raising
the public taxes ; and the Province Treasurer has issued forth his warrant directing
the assessing of the inhabitants of the town of Shrewsbury, their Province tax for this
year ; and forasmuch as your petitioners have no Selectmen, or Assessors, nor are
empowered to choose town officers whereby many and great inconveniences do arise ;
therefore your petitioners most humbl}' pray your Honor's consideration of the prem-
ises, and that your Honors, would be pleased to empower the town of Shrewsbury to
use and exercise the same immunities and privileges as other towns within this Prov-
ince hold and enjoy, and that a day may be assigned for the choice of town officers for
the year current, and your petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray.

"JouN Keyes,
Daniel Howe,
Nahum Ward,
In behalf of the Town."

The foregoing petition was presented to the General Court and received
action on Dec. 14, 1727 : —

"In the House of Representatives December 14, 1727. Read and ordered that the
prayer of the petitioners be granted, and that the said town of Shrewsbury is accord-
ingly endowed with equal powers, privileges and immunities with any other town in
this Province, and Captain John Keyes, a principal inhabitant in the said town be

272 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

empowered and directed to notify and summon the inliabitants, duly qualified for
voters, to meet and assemble for the choosing of town offlcers to stand until the next
annual election."

The first town meeting was held on Dec. 29, 1727. Lieut. Nahum Ward
was moderator, .[ohn Kcyes, Sr., was chosen clerk, Nahum Ward, John Keyes,
John Kcyes, Jr., Samuel Wheelock and Isaac Stone, selectmen and assessors,
and Ensign Daniel Howe, treasurer.

From the time of the incorporation of the town of Shrewsbury to that of
the uprising of the American Colonics in defence of their inalienable rights and
privileges, its history, according to the records, is mainly ecclesiastical. It is
evident, however, from the following petitions, that Shrewsbury was repre-
sented in the expedition against Crown Point in 1755 : —

" A petition of Nathan ITowe of Shrewsburj', Ensign, also of William Howe and
Epbraim Smith, of said town, on account of his son Aaron, soldiers in the late Crown
Point expedition, Avho returned from the army sick, praying an allowance of their
accounts exhibited ; also Sarah Smith, Executrix of Joshua Smith, physician, who
administered to sundry sick soldiers on their return home. Granted to Nathan Howe,
£o IGs. 9Ul. ; William Howe, £6 Gd. ; Ephraim Smith, £3 4s. Ad. ; Sarah Smith,
Executrix, £1 14s. 8d."

In the same year — 1756 — "Zebediah Johnson, of Shrewsbury, represents
that he had a gun impressed for the use of a soldier, valued at 30 shillings, of
which ho received two dollars ; that the soldier had run away, and he was
likely to lose the balance, and prays relief. Granted to him twenty shillings
in full for his gun."

As required by law, Shrewsbury was early supplied wiih a whipping-post
and stocks which were placed near the meeting-house. According to tradition,
"the person who made the stocks for this town was the first to occupy them,
and received payment for them in the remittance of a fine, that accrued to the
town for his oficncc."

The first public act of the town of Shrewsbury in regard to the Revolution
was taken in May, 1770, when "a vote of thanks was passed to the merchants
and other inhabitants of the town of Boston for the noble and generous stand
they had taken in the defence of the people's rights; and in May 1772 the
town instructed its representative by no means, directly, or indirectly, to give
up any constitutional right, nor ask for a removal of the General Assembly to
its ancient and legal seat, in such manner as to jjive up the claim the House of
Representatives have heretofore so justly set up."

In January, 1773, the town voted " that viewing themselves as subjects they
had an undeniable right to life, liberty and property, and that the several acts
cf Parliament and Administration are subversive of these rights."

Early in the year 1774, it was voted " thtit wo will totally lay aside the use
of all Teas on which a duty is payable, or hath been paid by virtue of any act

KESIDENCK OF THOMAS KICK, SIIKK WSKIRY, MASS.

REVOLUTIONARY PERIOD. 273

of the British Parliament, that we will be ever ready to do all in our power to
preserve our just rights and privileges, and will view, as an enemy to the Con-
tinent any one who shall appear to be instrumental in carrying said Act of
Parliament into Execution, and that the town of Boston be furnished with a
copy of the proceedings of this meeting."

In August of the same year the town voted "that if the courts to be holden
at Worcester, for the County of Worcester, for the future, be, in consequence
of the late Parliamentary Acts, or any new appointment by our Governor,
authorized b\'' said acts, that the town will resist and not suffer said courts to
do business." During the following month, the town directed its constables
not to serve the venires issued by the court to be holden at Worcester and,
also, voted "to indemnify them for neglecting to serve the illegal and unprece-
dented venire lately sent to this town."

In 1774, the town voted " to purchase an iron field-piece and ammunition
for the same at the expense and for the use of the town." During the same
year, it was voted "to have two companies of militia, or training soldiers in
the South Parish " Of (>ne company. Job Cushing, Nathan Howe and Jasper
Stone were lieutenants, and Isaac Drury, ensign. Of the other Asa Brigham,
Isaac Harrington and Nathaniel Munroe, were lieutenants, and Samuel Noyes,
ensiiin.

On Dec. 27, 1774, "voted unanimously to adopt the association relative to
the non-importation and non-consumption of British goods, recommended by
the Continental Congress, and the recommendations of the Provincial of the 5lh
of December, 1774; and in order to carry the same into vigorous execution,
the following persons are chosen a committee of inspection : — Phincas Hey-
wood. Job Cushing, Isaac Temple, Ross Wyman, Cyprian Keycs, Ezra Bca-
man, Daniel Hemcnway, Asa Brigham, Isaac Harrington, Amariah Bigelow,
Samuel Crosby, Thomas Symmes, John Hastings, David Taylor and Jonas
Stone ; also voted that the collector of taxes be prohibited from paying the
outstanding monies in their hands to Harrison Gray, Esq., Treasurer, but that
they pay the same to Henry Gardner, Esq., of Stow; also to indemnify the
collectors for so doing; also to Indemnify the assessors of this town for not
assessing the Province tax and for neglecting to return a certificate thereof to
Harrison Gray, as by law required."

In the same year the town "granted to the Hon. Artemas Ward, £11 10-s.
to pay him for his services in attending the Provincial Congress at Concord
and Cambridge."

On May 2, it was voted " that each parish raise as many men as they can, to
hold themselves in readiness to reinforce our army near Boston, if needed, with
such officers as the companies shall think proper; also that Phincas Ileywood,
Isaac Temple, Edward Flint, Ross Wyman, and Isaac Harrington be a com-
mittee to examine the Rev. Ebenezer Morse and others, suspected of Toryism."
Mr. Morse was found guilty, and it was voted "that the committee of corre-

VOL. II.— 35

274 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

spondence forthwith take from said Morse his arms, ammunition and warlike
implements of all kinds to remain in said committee's hands for the present ; and
that the said Morse do not pass over the lines of the 2d Parish in Shrewsbury,
on any occasion whatever, without a permit from two or more of the committee
of said precinct." Similar action was taken in regard to other Tories.

At the county convention, held at Worcester, on Aug. 9, 1774, the county
of Worcester was divided into seven " reijiments," and the sixth regiment com-
l^rised the towns of Southborough, Northborough, Wcstborough, Grafton and
Shrewsbury.

Diirino: the Revolution delegates were chosen as follows : — To the first Pro-
vincial Congress, 1774, Artemas Ward and Phineas Iley wood ; to the second
Provincial Congress, 1775, Artemas Ward ; to the third Provincial Congress,
1775, Daniel Ilemenway ; to the convention to frame a Constitution of ]\Iassa-
chusetts, 1779, Daniel Ilemenway ; to the convention to adopt a Constitution
of the United States, 1789, Isaac Harrington ; to the convention to revise the
Constitution of the United States, 1821, Nathan Pratt.

During the insurrection of 1787, called "Shays' Rebellion," the town of
Shrewsbury was the place of rendezvous for the insurgents. "The town wore
the appearance of a military camp ; drilling of men, marching and counter-
marching."

Following is a list of pensioners who entered the army of the Revolution
from Shrewsbury : —

John Bragg, Humphrey Bigelow, Peter Gary, William Dexter, George Filmore,
Austin Flint, Jonathan Harrington, Jonah Ilowe, Daniel Harrington, Nathan Howe,
Jonas Hastings, Epbraim Holland, Jonah Holland, Daniel Holden, Thomas Harrington,
Nathaniel Ilapgoorl, Solomon Howe, Gardner Howe, Josei)h B. Jcnnison, Ebenczer
Mann, Benjamin Maynanl, Itliamar Newton, Marshall Newton, Galvin Newton, Benjamin
Pratt, Nathan Pratt, Stephen Pratt, John Peirks, Jasper Rand, Galvin Saw3-cr, Ashur
Smith, Lewis Smith, Elijah Sonthgate, Samuel Smith, Lewis Smith, 2d, Jonas Stone,
Stephen Smith. Joseph S. Temple, Asa Wheelock, Daniel Williams.

CHAPTER IT.

PHYSICAL FEATURES ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY EDUCATIONAL INTERESTS

AGRICULTURE AND MANUFACTURES THE CIVIL WAR.

Shrewsbury, England, has no fairer namesake than Shrewsbury, Massachu-
setts. The latter, owing to its position and natural advantages, to the efforts
and industry of its early inhabitants, and to the thrift and pride of their
successors, has become one of the more picturesque as well as one of the
wealthier towns in the county. The centre of the town, so called, is on the

TOWN FEATURES. 275

southern slope of Meeting-IIouse Hill. A part of the old post-road between
Boston and Worcester is the main street of the town. Formerly the only
direct communication with Worcester was by this road, which entered the city
at the northern limit of Lake Quinsigamond. At the centre are the Congrega-
tional and Methodist church edilices, high school, town hall, stores, post-ofBce
and the town's common. The common, with adjoining lands, formerly com-
prised about seventeen acres, and belonged to William Taylor, one of the
original proprietors and early settlers. He gave the land to the proprietors
of the meeting-house on condition that the house of worship was erected upon
it. Many years after Daniel Smith, claiming to be an heir of William Taylor,
took possession of the common, plowed it and made preparations to obtain a
crop of rye. The town brought action for trespass, ousted the claimant, and
secured the r3'c and the common for ever.

One mile south of the centre is the old turnpike road, laid out before the
town was incorporated and while it was a part of Middlesex County. The act
chartering the Worcester Turnpike Association was passed on June 10, 1808.
It is nearly parallel with the post-road and crosses Lake Quinsigamond about
midway. In 182G four stages a day passed on the post-road, and five on the
turnpike. The town is abundantly supplied with small streams and brooks.
Biimmet Brook and Hop Brook drain the eastern part of the town, and South
Meadow Brook and others the Western. The land surface is remarkably
uneven and diversified, and presents a succession of rounded hills and winding
valleys. Ilawson Hill, Harlow's Hill, Sewall's Hill and Meeting-Hou?e Hill,
in the northern part, Ward Hill in the eastern. Green Hill in the south-eastern,
and Prospect Hill, in the south-western part, are all commanding elevations.
The latter overlooks the l)eautiful lake of Quinsigamond, the greater part of
which is in the territory of Shrewsbury. The town contains about three
thousand acres of woodland, from which large quantities of fuel and timber
are obtained. Agriculture is the chief occupation, and the soil is well adapted
to its prosecution. The town is noted for its extensive and productive apple
orchards.

The manufacture of watches was an early enterprise in this town, and the
first of the kind in this country. As early as 1780, Mr. Luther Goddiird, a
native of the town, commenced the business of making brass clocks; and being
a man of great ingenuity and perseverance, he s(jon turned his attention to
watch-making, which business was very successfully pursued by him for a
number of years, producing watches superior to what were in general use at
that day. Many (;f l)is make are still in existence, and one is at present
])reserved by the American Antiquarian Society at Worcester. Many of the
intricate tools used in the construction of a watch were the product of his own
invention, skill and native genius, and in the early part of the time he was
oblised to procure skilled foreiirn workmen, as no native mechanics could be
found who were able to cope with the fine work. This enterprise was con-

276 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

tinued in Shrewsbury till 1817, when it was removed to Worcester; where it
formed the nucleus for the large and successful business carried on for so many
years by his sous Daniel and Parley Goddard, who were apprentices of their
father in Shrewsbury. Mr. Goddard died in 1842, at the age of 80 years.

About the year 1797 John Mason, a native of Sherburne, Mass., and a
gunsmith by trade, removed to this town and commenced the manufacture of
rifles, then a new enterprise in this country; and for a long series of years
made marked progress in perfecting the rifle, as well as the shot-gun, haviug
several apprentices who proved experts in the business. About 1815-18 no
less than five prominent manufacturers of rifles were located in this town, as
follows: John Mason, Silas Allen, Henry Baldwin, Josiah IMaynard and John
Maynard. These turned out rifles of superior workmanship and finish, costing
generally not less than fifty dollars, and often as high as one hundred dollars
each, which had a wide reputation for excellence. Others followed later in
the same line, but the once famous rifle-makers of Shrewsbury have long since
disappeared. Mr. Mason, the originator, died in 1843, at the age of G8 years.

East of Shrewsbury Centre, in what is known as the "Lower Village," where
are elegant and costly residences, are the extensive currying works of Nelson
& Rice, founded by Nymphas Pratt, an early and prominent resident, who
manufactured shoes, and tanned and curried. At Mr. Pratt's f lilure, Jonathan
H. Nelson and Thomas Rice, apprentices, became owners, buying of Pliny
Merrick and others on Sept. 18, 1841, and of L. S. Allen the adjoining tan-
yard on Sept. 29, 1862. Paul D. Boutell was admitted to partnership on
Jan. 1, 1866 ; John W. Lawrence was admitted a partner in April, 1877, and
retired in April, 1879. This establishment is the largest of the kind in
Worcester County, giving employment to about fifty workmen, and producing
about eighteen hundred sides per week, and in 1873 the value of the product
was $400,000. The firm has unquestioned credit and is u'idely known in this
country and in Europe. The company oAvn and operate a tanyard in Chester,
and one in Winchenclon, Massachusetts, and one in Gi'sum, New Hampshire.

In this village the manufacture of boots and shoes was begun in the year
1823, or about that time, by Leander Fales, who was the leader in this
industry for forty j-ears or more. Boot-making is now in i)rogrcss, and
receives the attention of a small part of the inhabitants.

A few of the more notable societies and organizations of the town claim some
notice here.

One of the oldest is the "Thief-Detecting Societ3%" which was fjrracd in

1814. The first meeting was held at James Hamilton's inn, February 28 of
that year, and the society has remained unimpaired till the present day, holding
meetings for choice of officers on the first Monday in January.

The "Agricultural Associates of Shrewsbury and Vicinity" was organized in

1815, and adopted its constitution Jan. 2, 1816. They established stated
meetings at three times in the year, which were to be devoted to "discussions

LOCAL ORGANIZATION. 277

aud dissertations upon agricultural subjects." This society was earlier in its
origin than the similar one in Worcester, in which it, however, was finally
merc^ed.

The "Shrewsbury Eifle Company," one of the early independent military
organizations of the State, was chartered by Gov. Strong in 1815, upon peti-
tion of Jacob Rice and fifty-three others. For a period of about twenty-five
years it maintained its position as one of the most efScicnt and active companies
of the regiment, and it included in this time over two hundred and fifty enlisted
men, representing the best families of the town, and in some cases successive
generations in the same line. The list of commanders is as follows : Jacob
Rice, Nathan Baldwin, Erastus Tucker, Araasa Howe, Leander Fales, Joab
Hapgood, William II. Knowlton, Samuel Harrington and Leander Sawyer.

Shrewsbury has a handsoiue town hall, erected in 1872, on the site of the
Old Haven Tavern, a famous resort before the era of railways. A high school
was established in 1867, and there are seven common or district schools. The
public library was established by the town on June 22, 1872, when five hundred
dollars were appropriated. The library contains about fifteen hundred volumes,
aud is supported by the annual grant of the dog-fund and other moneys.

The post-office in Shrewsbury was established in 1804, and has since been at
the centre of the town, with the exception of two years, during which it was in
the lower village. The following have been postmasters : Joseph Stone, Dec.
4, 1804; Calvin R. Stone, April 2, 1816 ; same, Jan. 2, 1826; W. W. Pratt,
July 16, 1835; Josiah A. Brigham, Sept. 6, 1845; Thomas Lyon, June 15,
1846; Lorenzo Maynard, June 5, 1848; Osborn Stearns, 1850; A. B. Bliss,
1852; Lozano C. Knowlton, 1855; Samuel I. Howe, Aug. 1, 1861, and is
postmaster at the present time.

The church in Shrewsbury was organized soon after the settlement of the
town. On Oct. 27, 1719, the proprietors of the township of Shrewsbury
voted "that the place for the meeting-house be on Rocky Plain, near the pines,
aud that in case the land agreed upon could not be procured upon reasonable
terms, the meeting-house be set on the hill northward therefrom, and that the
meeting-house be forty feet in length, thirty-two in breadth and fourteen feet
stud. In April following a committee was appointed "to manage about the
Meetinu-House," and on June 22, 1720, "voted £210 for and towards bulldins:
a Meeting-House, it being five pounds on each proprietor" ; also, "chose a com-
mittee to address the Rev. Mr. Breck of Marlborough in behalf of the proprie-
tors of the town of Shrewsbury praying his notes of a sermon preached by
himself in said town at a lecture on the 15th June 1720 in order to have the
same sermon printed at the expense of the proprietors." This was the first
sermon preached in Shrewsbury. At the same meeting, also, the proprietors
empowered a committee to contract with some person "to build and finish a
Meeting-House." This house was probably built in 1721 or 1722.

The meetings of the proprietors were held at the house of the widow Eliza-

278 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

beth Howe, in Marlborough. In November, 1722, "on application to John
Houghton of Lancaster, he issued his warrant calling a meeting of the pro-
prietors, to be held on the 28th of that month, at tho Meeting-House, t)
consider and conclude of all, or anything, or things proper and necessary to be
done for the procurinir of a minister. That was the fin-^t time the meeting-
house was occupied. It stood eight rods north-east of where the present
Congregational church now stands.

In October, 17G4, it wis voted to build a new house, and in anticipation of
"the raising," which occui-rcd on May 13, 1766, the parish voted "to send to
Boston for a barrel of rum."

" It was at this raising that General Artemas Ward, then a colonel in the colonial
militia, received the order of the governor. Sir Francis Bernard, taking away his com-
mission ; Whereupon the late colonel, after reading the order aloud to the persons
present, turned to the governor's messenger, an officer in full uniform who had ridden
from Boston to serve the order, and asked him to take his thanks to the governor for
furnishing him with evidence that he was what the governor was not, a friend to his
country ; and to tell him that of his honors, his commission and his removal, he
regarded the second as the greater."

During the year 1807, a belfry, with steeple, was added, and a bell placed
therein. In 1834, the house of worship was removed to its present site. The
church society was organized on Dec. 4, 1723, and, on the same day, Mr. Job
Gushing was ordained as religious teacher of the parish. He Avas given sixty
pounds "as a settlement, and sixty pounds yearly salary for two years, then to
rise four pounds a year until it should amount to eighty pounds a year." Mr.
Gushing remained until his death in 1760. During his ministry, on Oct. 6,
1743, the north part of the town was incorporated as a distinct parish, and
called the North Parish of Shrewsbury. It now lies in Boylston.

In the year 1731, a controversy arose in regard to the principles of church
government, having special reference to the appointment of ruling elder, and
continued to distiub the harmony of the church for ten years or more.

On Feb. 2, 1761, Joshua Paine was invited to the pastorate of the church,
and was offered an annualsalary of £66 13s. and £200 settlement, both of
which he declined. The ordination of Joseph Sumner occurred on Jan. 23,
1762, and "was conducted in the open tair on a platform erected in front of
the church, and the day observed with fasting and prayer in conformity with
the vote of the church, in which the parish concurred ; 'to observe said day as
a day of fasting and prayer, as being most agreeable to the Scripture rule of
ordaining as said church apprehends.'"

On Jan. 30, 1771, it was voted "that those may not bo admitted to the
privilege of baptism for their children concerning whom it is evident that they
do not practice praying in their families"; also on Feb. 2, 1791, "voted to
begin to sing Dr. Watts' version of the Psalms with his Hymns, provided there
be no objection lodged with the pastor from the congrcijation."

ECCLESIASTICAL. 279

Dr. Sumner remained with the church until his death in 1824, and, durins
his pastorate of more than sixty years, one thousand two hundred and iifty-one
persons were admitted to the church by baptism, and three hundred and sixty-
seven othcrwisic.

Pastors: — Job Gushing, ordained on Dec. 4, 17*23, died on Aug. 6, 17G0 ;
Joseph Sumner, D. D., ordained on June 23, 1762, died on Dec. 9, 1824;
Samuel B. Ingersoll, colleague of Dr. Sumner, ordained on June 14, 1820,
died on Nov. 14, 1820; Edwards AVhipplo, second colleague of Dr. Sumner,
installed oi Sept. 20, 1821, died on Sept. 17, 1822; George Allen, third
colleague of Dr. Sumnor, ordained on Nov. 19, 1823, dismissed on June
18, 1840; James Avcrill, ordained on Juno 22, 1841, dismissed on Nov. 15,
1848; N. W. Williams, ordained on Feb. 28, 1849, dismissed on April 27,
1858; William A. McGinley, ordained on June 2, 1859, dismissed on July
27, 1865 ; E. Porter Dyer, installed on Nov. 7, 1867, dismissed on June 19,
1877. John L. Scudder, the present pastor, was ordained on Dec. 20, 1877.

A Baptist society was organized in Shrewsbury in 1812, and a house of wor-
ship built iu the following year. At its formation, the society was called the
" Shrewsbury and Boylston Baptist Society," and had thirty-three members.
After a Baptist church was formed in Boylston that in Shrewsbury was
styled the Shrewsburj' Baptist Society. Elias McGregory, the first pastor,
was ordained on June 17, 1818, and dismissed in May, 1821. Samuel W.
Vilas supplied the pulpit until his death on July 15, 1823. No pastor was
ever settled by this society. The pulpit was supplied by Elder Luther God-
dard, Dr. Jonathan Going, and others. In about the year 1836, the society
disbanded as an organization, and united with the Baptist Church at New
Enijland Villa2;e, in Grafton.

A society called the First Restoration Society of Shrewsbury, was formed
on April 11, 1820, and incorporated on April 26, 1824. In 1823, a house of
worship w^as built on the turnpike, a mile from the centre of the town, in what
is now called South Shrewsbury. Jacob Wood was the first pastor. This
society had a precarious existence for about ten years, and was finally dis-
banded.

The Methodist Society in Shrewsbury had its origin in 1845, in a class
formed by the Rev. Gardner Rice. Previous to this time, there had been
preaching in a school-house in the western part of the town. Meetings were
afterward held in Haven Tavern until the present house of worship was erected
in 1847. The first preacher of the Methodist faith in Shrewsbury was Leonard
B. Griffin. John W. Wheeler followed Mr. Rice, and he was succeeded by
Jcflferson Ilascall, who remained two years. Other pastors : — D. K. Banister,
1848; David Sherman, 1850; William R. Bagnall, 1852; J. Ilascall, 1854;
William Gardner, 1855; D. K. Banister, 1857; Hiram P. Sntchwell, 1859;
"William W. Colburn, 1861; Joseph W. Lewis, 1863; Charles T. Johnson,
1865 ; John Peterson, 1867 ; William Merrill, 1869 ; J. Ilascall, 1871 ; Edwin

280 TOWN OF SHREWSBUEY.

S. Chase, 1871; N. Bemis, 1872; A. Caldwell, 1873; S. H. Noou, 1875;
W. M. Hubbard, 1877; O. W. Adams, 1879.

A Catholic house of worship was erected in Shrewsbury in 1873, the present
pastor of which is A. G. Darbuel.

At this point it is proper to notice the fine old mansion still existing in the
town and known as the " Sumner House." This patrimony has been in the
family ever since 1762, when it was purchased by Rev. Joseph Sumner of
Artcmas and Elisha Ward. Before this it had been occupied by Artemas
AVnrd (afterwards major-general), having been conveyed to him by his father,
in 1753, "in consideration of his love, good will and affection to his well-
behaved son." Some part of the building had been used as a store. Dr. Sum-
ner, on acquiring the property made many improvements, and at length erected
the present mansion in the year 1797. It is now in possession of Geo. Sum-
ner, Esq., of Worcester, being occupied by the fourth generation of the
lamily.

In the last war the record of the town of Shrewsbury is worthy of its citi-
zens. The first "war meeting" was held on May 2, 1861. A committee was
chosen "to consider and report what action the town should take in regard to
the war," and it reported and advised the town "to pay to each volunteer one
dollar a day for each day's drill, two days in the week for the first four weeks,
and one dollar a day for one day's drill each week during the second four
weeks." It was voted to appropriate two thousand dollars to purchase uniforms
and equipments; also to pay each volunteer one dollar a day while in service,
one dollar and fifty cents a week to the wife of a volunteer, and fifty cents a
week to each child under fifteen years of age. On July 31, the town voted to
aid families of volunteers as provided by law.

In March, 1862, it was voted that "children who have been born to volun-
teers since the time of their enlistment shall bo entitled to receive the same
amount of aid as those born previous and the selectmen be authorized to pay
the same." On July 28 the town ofiered a bounty of one hundred and twenty-
five dollars "to each of the twenty-two men called for to fill the quota of the
town when mustered in to the credit of the town, and if said volunteers shall
serve for two years, or die, or become disabled during the second year's ser-
vice, twenty-five dollars additional to each or to his heirs." Mr. Jonathan H.
Nelson ofiered and gave to each volunteer, ten dollars. At the same meeting
it was voted to enter the names of volunteers on the records of the town. The
selectmen were authorized to borrow money and a committee was appointed
"to canvass the town for volunteers." On August 8, the town voted "to pay
a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars" to each inhabitant of the
town who shall enlist for nine months," and again the selectmen were author-
ized to borrow money, and to give State aid to families of nine months' volun-
teers.

In jNIarch, 1863, the selectmen were empowered to continue to pay State aid

oi.i) h():mi:steai) ov ^faj.-gex. Aini::MAs avaud, siiiM-.wsurHY, mass.
CWherc lio lived and died.)

SUMNEK HOUSE, SHKEWSBUllY, MASS.

REPEESENTATIVES. 281

to the families of volunteers. On April 6, it was voted to appropriate three
thousand five hundred dollars " to defray the expenses of removing to their
homes the bodies of those soldiers who have died, or may die in the service of
the Federal Government, provided the families of the deceased request it."

In 18G4, State aid was continued to families of volunteers, and on April 25,
it was voted to grant seven hundred and fifty dollars "to pay bounties to five
recruits." On August 1, the selectmen were ordered " to pay one hundred and
twenly-five dollars to any person liable to a draft who furnishes a sulistitute " ;
also "to keep on recruiting, to pay the same bounty until March 1, 1865, and
to borrow money to pay the same."

At the March meeting in 18G5, the town voted State aid to fomilies of vol-
unteers, during that year as formerly. On May 21), it was voted to raise
five thousand dollars l)y taxation within three years, " to refund money con-
tributed by individuals to pay bounties to volunteers during the past year and
the selectmen be authorized to borrow the whole amount for the present."

Shrewsbury furnished one hundred and seventy-seven men — a surplus of
twenty over and above all demands. One was a commissioned officer. The
amount expended for war purposes was $16,663.90; and for State aid during
the war, $5,214.26.

In 1869, a handsome monument, to the memory of fallen soldiers was
erected on the town's common and on it is inscribed these names : —

Adj. Charles G. Wood, J. J. Witherbce, M. D., Edward A. Andrews,
Albert W. Carey, Horatio A. Cutting, James II. Cutting, Silas N. Carter,
Hiram W. Doane, Thomas B. Eaton, Leander Fay, Nathan B. Garfield, Charles
F. Gleason, Frank L. Hapgood, Hollis Ilolden, Amasa S. Hyde, John F.
Howe, Michael O'Laughlin, Alonzo B. Louks, Calvin C. Pratt, Franklin J.
Perry, Alfred F. Porter, Charles F. Rice, Edward P. Richardson, George W.
B. Sawyer, Elijah Smith, George E. Sprague, Henry A. Sawtelle, Jonas M.
Wheelock, William H. Wilson.

Following are the names of representatives to the General Court : —

Nahum Ward, 1735, 1737, 1740; Caleb Johnson, 1741; Nahum Ward,
1742; Caleb Johnson, 1743; Nahum W\ard, 1744; John Keyes, 1746; Isaac
Temple, 1747; Nahum Ward, 1748; Isaac Temple, 1749; Nahum Ward,
1751 ; Phineas Heywood, 1752 to 1755, inclusive ; Isaac Temple, 1756 ; Arte-
mas Ward, 1757; Isaac Temple, 1758; Artemas Ward, 1759 to 1770, inclu-
sive; Phineas Heywood, 1771 to 1774, inclusive ; Jonas Stone, 1775,1776,
1777 ; Charles Bowker, 1778 ; John Maynard, 1779 ; Ephraim Beaman, 17S0 ;
John Maynard, 1781; Artemas Ward, 1782; Jonas Temple, 1783; Artemas
Ward, 1784, 1785, 1786; Isaac Harrington, 1787 to 1791, inclusive; Jonah
Howe, 1792 to 1807, inclusive; Vashni Ilemenway, 1808 to 1813, inclusive;
Jonah Howe, 1814; Samuel Haven, 1815, 1816, 1817; Nathan Howe, 1819;
Nathan Pratt, 1821; Fort. Harrington, 1822; Balch Dean, 1826; Nymphas
Pratt and Jacob Rice, 1827; Thomas Harrington, 1830; Nymphas Pratt,

VOL. II.— 36

282 TOWN OF SHREWSBURY.

1831, 1832; Balch Dean, 1835; Adam Harrington and A. R. Phelps, 1838;
Adam Harrington and A. R. Phelps, 1839 ; Job C. Stone, 1840, 1841 ; Lucius
S. Allen, 1848, 1849, 1850; Luke B. Withcrby, 1851; Adam Harrington,
1852; Leauder Tales, 1853, Lucius S. Allen, 1854; Jonathan Nichols, 185G ;
Rev. Nathan W. Williams, 1858 ; Jonathan IL Nelson, 18G1 ; Thomas W.
Ward, 1864; Charles O. Green, 1865; Thomas Rice, Senator, 1869; George
H. Harlow, 1872 ; Oliver B. Wyman, 1877.

Gen. Artemas Ward's biography is written upon his tombstone, and reads
thus : —

" Major Gen. Artemas Ward, son of Col. N. Ward H. U. 1 748-1 7G2 a Justice of the
C. C. Pleas For the Co. of Worcester — 1778 a Major hi the expedition against Canada
— 1759 appointed Col. 17GG his commission as Col. revoked for his inflexible opposition
to arbitrary power, whereupon he informed the Royal Gov. that he had been twice hon-
ored — 1768 chosen one of the executive council and by the same Royal Gov. and for
the same reason negatived and deprived of a scat at the Board — 1775 appointed to ihe
command of the army at Cambridge and by the Continental Congress first Major Gen.
of the Army of the Revolution — 1 779 appointed a member of the Continental Congress,
and under the Federal Government repeatedly elected 16 years a Representative of this
town in Legislature & in 1786, Speaker of the house of Representatives.

" Firmness of mind & integrity of purpose Were characteristic of his whole life, so that
he was never swayed by the applause, or censure of man, but ever acted under a dei^p
sense of duty to his country and accountability to his God. Long will his memory be
precious among the friends of liberty & religion. Oct. 27, 1800 2E 78."

Calvin Goddard, M. C. 1801 to 1805, and seventeen years mayor of the city
of Norwich, Connecticut, was born in Shrewsbury on July 17, 1768, and died
on May 2, 1842. He was a judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut, and
member of the Hartford Convention in 1814.

Job Gushing, son of Rev. Job Gushing, the first settled minister in town, was
born in Shrewsbury Jan. 1, 1728. In April, 1775, ho marched to Lexington
at the head of a company of minute-men ; wtis captain in Col. John Ward's
regiment, in 1776; then major. Sixth Worcester regiment; then colonel of the
same. He was both at Bennington and the surrender of Burgoyne. Before
the war he kept an inn on the site of the present town hall, and after the re-
turn of peace, when he opened a tavern called the "American Arms." He died
April 16, 1808, aged eighty years.

Austin Flint, son of Dr. Edward Flint, was born here, Jan. 4, 1760. He
studied medicine with his father, and in after life became eminent in this pro-
fession. He enlisted and marched to Bennington Aug. 16, 1777, after which
action he remained wMth the army in the region of the Hudson till after the sur-
render of Burgoyne. Later, he was again in service, being found at West
Point in 1781. He afterwards dwelt in the town of Leicester, married and
reared a successful family, and died there, Aug. 29, 1850, aged ninety years.

Levi Pease is also to be noticed as the pioneer in the stage enterprise in New

STATISTICS. 283

England. He started the first line between Boston and Hartford, and was for
a long time the only contractor for mail-carriage known or responsible to the
government for that duty. Ho had been connected, while yet young, with the
commissary department of the army ; and in later life he kept a tavern in
Shrewsbury, where he was active till his death, Jan. 24, 1824, aged eighty-
four years.

The town of Shrewsbury furnished one full-commissioned ofBcer in the
French war; one major-general in the Revolution ; a member of the Executive
Council and Speaker of the House of Representatives ; one Judge of Probate ;
two Judges of the Court of Common Pleas of Worcester County ; two Repre-
sentatives to Congress, and one High Sheriff of AYorcestcr County.

Statistics:— Population, 1820, 1,458; 1830, i;35G; 1840, 1,481; 1850,
1,623; 1875, 1,524; polls, 430; families, 377; dwellings, 332; farms, 158;
acres cultivated, 3,469; acreage of fu-ms, 10,420; cows, 780; sheep, 49;
horses 336 ; value of farm products, $166,302 ; value of farm property, $674,-
872 ; capital invested in manuf^ictures, $420,400 value of products of manu-
factures $461,732; total products, $628,034; value of personal estate, $343,-
020; value of real estate, $766,110; total valuation, $1,109,130; rate of tax-
ation $6.50 per $1,000.

284 TOWN OF SOUTHBOEOUGH.

SOUTHBO ROUGH.

BY DEXTER NEWTON, ESQ.

CHAPTER I.

LOCATION AND INCORPORATION — SOIL AND SURFACE WATERS WAYS —

PRODUCTIONS AGRICULTURE — MANUFACTURES AND MECHANICAL INDUS-
TRIES.

This town is situated in tlie extreme easterly part of Worcester County,
about twenty-eight miles from tlie State House, and about sixteen miles from
the Court House in Worcester. The Town House in Soutlil)orough is located at
a bearing of about 7° 5' south of due west from the State House. The town is
skirted on three sides by ISIiddlcsex County. It has INIarlborough on the
north, Framingham and Ashland on the east, Ashland and Hopkinton on the
south, Westborough and Northborough on the west. Formerly most of the
town of Southborough belonged to Marlborough, and was then called "Stony
Brook," probably so named from a stream of water which still bears that name.
That part which lies north of Stony Brook was also called "Cow Commons,"
from the fact that it was used by the inhabitants of Marlborough for a common
pasture.

The town of Southborough was incorporated July G, old style, or July 17,
new style, 1727, in response to the following petition, to wit : —

"To the Hon^^e William Dummer Esq Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief, the Honbie
Council and House of Reprcsentalives at their session in May 1727 :

" The petition of us the subscribers inhabitants of the Southerly part of the town of
Marlborough Humbly sheweth That whereas Divine Providence which appoints llic
bounds and habitations of all men hath so ordered our lots or at least most of us that
we are at such a distance from the place of Public Worship that ourselves but especially
our aged and infirm together with our women and little ones cannot comfortably endure
the necessary travel that they are forced unto for the attaining an opportunity at the
place of Public Worship, and likewise others whose lots although not at present so
difficult as the other aforesaid, yet considering that it is but a point of christian duty
and charity to compassionate the circumstances of such, and having also oblaiued a vote

PETITION FOR INCORPORATION. 285

of the town of Marlborough in our favor to be set off as a separate Town, by such bounds
as is described by the vote of Town and the Plan herewith annexed, and likewise for a
further manifestation of the aforesaid Town of Marlborough's ffood will towards us in
the matter have by their vote directed their Selectmen to sign or order an assignment
with us as petitioners to this Honorable Court upon the consideration of the whole wc
have some reason to think Providence favors the matter and have hope of a Blessing.
Whorefurc we humbh' petition this Honorable Court that we the Inhabitants of the
aforesaid southerly part of the Town of Marlborough being about Fift}^ families already
settled with some preparation for more, may be set off by such bounds as described bj^
the aforesaid vote of the Town for setting us off and more full}- set forth in the plan
herewith annexed and with the land may be incorporated into a Town and have and
enjoy all immunities Privileges Rights and power as other Towns w'ilhin this Province
have and do by law enjoy, and we your humble Petitioners as in Duty Bound shall ever
pray."

The above pursuant to a vote of the town of Marlhoroui^h, June 12, 1727,
directing the major part of the selectmen, or the whole of them, to sign a peti-
tion to the General Court with the inhabitants of "Stoney Brook," being the
southerly part of the town, for a corporation of the same. Joseph Stratin,
John Sherman, Eliazor Howe, Samuel Brigham, Abraham Eager, selectmen.

Names of Petitioners : William Ward, William Johnson, John Bellows,
David Fay, John Woods, Daniel Taylor, Nathnn Brigham, Nathaniel Joslen,
John Mathis, Jr., David Brnse, William Johnson, Jr., Jonathan Witt, John
Amsden, Jon-'^ Newton, Joseph Woods, Roger Brnse, Othniel Taylor, Daniel
Newton, Isaac Bellows, Samuel Bellows, Robert Horn, John Newton, Joseph
Ball, Abram Newton, Ephraim Newton, Benjamin Newton, Caleb Witherbce,
Samuel Lyscom, Eliazer Bellows, John Belknap, Isaac Newton, Joseph Wither-
bee, Samuel Gibbs. Jon. Bellows, Timothy Johnson, David Woods, Zachariah
Moses, Benjamin Mixer, John Bellows, Moses Johnson.

From its local situation in the mother town it was named Sonthborough.
Marlborough, the mother town has had three children ; to wit, Westborough,
Sonthborouijh and Hudson. Her sjrandchild, Northborousrh, is the issue of
Westborough. At the time of the incorporation of Scnilhborongh it contained
abf)ut 8,822 acres. On the 7th day of INIarch, 178(3, in response to a petition
signed by the following persons, who resided on the premises, viz., Daniel
Fay, Elisha Bemis, Phinehas Bemis, John Leonard and Lydia Pierce, that
part of Framingham, then known as "Fiddle Neck," and which now forms the
southerly portion of Sonthborough, containing about 300 acres, was by an act
of the legislature set to Sotithborough. May 5, 1835, by an act of the legisla-
ture, about sixteen acres Avere taken from the formerly supposed area of South-
borough and added to Westborough, thereby putting an end to a long contest
between the two towns in regard to their boundary lines.

March 24, 1843, by an act of the legislatiu-e, and in response to the petition
of Willard Newton, AVillis Newton, Henry B. Newton, William F. Newton,
David Temple and Daniel AValker, that part of Sonthborough lying north of

286 TOWN OF SOUTHBOROUGH.

Monument No. 3, near the house formerly owned by Barnabas Brigham, and
Monument No. 5, near "Tuunecog Bridge," containing about eighty-two acres,
was set to JSIarlborongh. Southborough now contains about 9,024 acres,
according to the old surveys, including roads, common, cemeteries and land
under water. Its surface is somewhat undulating, and its scenery delightful
and varied. The soil is a strong, deep, gravelly loam, rich and very produc-
tive. The land is somewhat stony, especially in the southerly portion of the
town. The principal rock is granite. In the western part and near Fayville
there are numerous springs which contain large quantities of iron.

The wood consists chiefly of oak, walnut, chestnut, maple and birch. The
following are the names of its familiar hills, meadows and streams of water:
Wolf-pen Hill, Break-neck Hill, Pine Hill, Oak Hill, Clean Hill, Mount
Vickory, Troublesome Meadow, Handkerchief INIcadow, Angle Brook, Deer-
foot Brook, Pancake Brook, Stony Brook and Sudbury River. Stony Brook,
having its source in the westerly part of Southborough, meanders in an easterly
direction through the central portion thereof, and falls into Sudbury River in
Framinirham. This last-named stream lias its source in Westborough, and
forms the southern boundary of Southborough. Its thread divides this town
from Hopkinton. The two latter streams afford considerable water-power.
Angle Brook, a tributary of Stony Brook, has its source in Marlborough.
Numerous town and county roads of superior quality checker the town. Her
many bridges are mostly of stone. The inhabitants of the town, in her early
days, were principally employed in agriculture. The sturdy yeomanry of the
town have laid low many of her forests, and her men of energy and persever-
ance have, through the lapse of her past years, converted many of her once
rugged hills and valleys into beautiful fields, orchards and gardens, which
bring forth abundant crops for man and beast.

This town now contains several superior farms, and there are 179 in all of
from 10 to 200 acres. By statistical comparison of farm products, including
her great yield of excellent fruit, Southborough leads all the towns but one in
the Commonwealth. The farms are nearly all in a high state of cultivation, and
arc mostly fenced with stone walls. The buildings are of good architecture,
and are, generally, kept in good repair. Her agricultural products in 1875
amounted to $197,3()5. The farmers formerly produced butter, veal, and
beef, for market; now, their energies arc largely devoted to the production i>{
milk and fruit. Between ten and twelve hundred gallons of milk are sent by
them daily to Boston. A few make butter. The noted "Deer-foot Farm" is
situated in the westerly part of this town. The proprietor, Mr. Edward Burnett,
is a graduate of Harvard College. His "Excelsior" butter is manufactured
on the most scientific principles, from the milk of pure Jersey cows, and com-
mands the highest prices. The superior grazing fields of Southborough afford
a peculiarly rich and agreeable flavor to the milk and butter. The inhabitants
of this town have long been, and are now, generally, in comfortable circum-

BUSINESS ENTERPRISES. 287

stances. The number of persons fully supported by the town, durinij the
eighteen years immediately precetling 1878, averaged yearly only about five.
The following statistics, from the Assessors' Report in 1879, inform concernino"
the wealth of the citizens, and other matters of interest : Said report shows
that there arc in town 924 cows, 16 oxen, 330 horses, 3881- houses. The
amount of property taxed is as follows, viz. : personal, $272,738 ; real, $1,003,-
817 ; — total, $1,270,615 ; number of pulls taxed, 538. By statistical comparison
it will be obvious that there is much wealth here — far exceeding, ^9e>* capita,
that in most other towns. Although a large portion of the inhabitants, in
former years, were employed in agricultural pursuits, we find that there has
been a commendable degree of interest manifested in other important enter-
prises. There have been intoAvn, since its incorporation, at least 6 grist-mills,
3 saw-mills, 1 wire-factory, 1 carpet- factory, 1 flour-mill, 2 sash and blind
factories, 1 peg-mill, 3 extensive tanneries, 1 currier shop, 1 biush-factoiy,
2 brick kilns, 3 cotton and wool factories, 6 boot and shoe factories, 1 bonnet
factory, and 1 carriage-factory. This town contains 4 villages; viz.. South-
borough Centre, Fayville, Cordaville, and Southville. Fayville is situated in the
easterly, and Cordaville and Southville in the southerly portions thereof.
The Boston and Albany Railroad extends through Cordaville and South-
ville; the Boston, Clinton, Fitchburg, and New Bedford Railroad, now
leased to the Old Colony Railroad Company, extends through Southborough
Centre and Fayville, and connects with the Boston and Albany Railroad at
South Framiugham. In about the year 1845 S()uthl)orough seemingly took upon
herself a new life, in consequence of the sudden influx of mtuiufacturers.
Extensive boot and shoe f^xctories were built in the south part of the town, and,
as a consequence, the beautiful village of Southville quickly sprang into exist-
ence. John Hartt & Co. and Newton & Ilartt manufactured boots and
shoes there extensively and successfully for many years, giving employment to
a larsre nutnber of workmen. Newton & Hartt still continue the business
there, and, in good times, employ from one to two hundred hands; and their
annual sales of boots and shoes amount to nearly two hundred thousand dollars.
Soon after the erection of those factories, Milton II. S.mford, Esq., purchased
a large tract of land in the south part of the town, and in 1846-7 he erected
thereon a large stone factory, for the manufacture of cotton and woolen goods.
lie also built thereon many dwelling-houses, and other buildings. This thnv-
injj village he named Cordaville, in honor of his wife, Cordelia. The same
factory was burnt October 31st, 1855. Two persons lost their lives in conse-
quence of the fire, and others were injured. On the same spot he erected the
present stone factory. He manufactured very extensively various kinds of
cotton and woolen fabrics, and jute blankets. lie became very wealthy. In
1864 he sold the real and personal property to a stock company, called the
"Cordaville Mills Company," Franklin Haven, Esq., being president, John II.
Stevenson, Esq., treasurer, and Judge Thomas Russell, clerk. In 1871 said

288 TOWN OF SOUTHBOROUGII.

property was sold, by auction, to Adolplms Merriam, Esq., of Framingbam,
For some years large quantities of goods were there manufactured by JMcrriam
& Wilson.

March 9, 1876, a stock company was formed under the cor[K)rate name of
"Cordaville Woolen Company," — Hubbard Wilson, Esq., president and
superintendent; Adolphus Merriam, Esq., treasurer; and Mr. Joseph Mer-
riam, clerk. This company now manufactures blankets, satinets, and flannels,
employ about eighty operatives, and their sales amount yearly to about
$100,000. In 1860 one Kidder commenced the manufacture of brick near
Fayville. After his death the property was owned, and the business continued,
by Ball & Tlolman. They were succeeded by the Framingham Brick Company.
By the aid of steam power and improved machinery, the latter company are
able to manufacture, yearly, one and a half millions of brick. Fayville was so
nnmcd in honor of a large portion of its former business men — to wit; Col.
Dexter Fay and his two brothers, Col. Francis B. Fay and Hon. Sullivan Fay,
Col. Artcmas Fay and his brother, Elijah Fay. Col. Dexter Fay commenced
business as a butcher. He afterwards built a small store about 14 feet square.
His trade so increased that he had to enlarge his store from time to time. It
became a (amous place for trade, and, eventually, the yearly sales therein for
many years exceeded $125,000. His brothers formerly were more or less
interested with him in this business ; so, latterly, were his sons, Emory B. Fay,
Caleb T. Fay, and Sylvester C. Fay. Col. Dexter Fay was also a noted cattle
broker, and was a constant attendant at the Brighton Cattle Market for over 40
years. Col. Francis B. Fay, after having filled many important offices in town
and county, moved to Chelsea, Mass. He became a very successful com-
mission merchant, was several times in his lifetime honored by a seat in both
branches of the Legislature, and was once elected representative to Congress.
He was the first Mayor of Chelsea. Hon. Sullivan Fay was conveyancer,
settled many estates, was clerk of the Agricultural Branch Kailroad Company,
was elected to both branches of the Legislature, and was president of a Medical
College in Worcester, Mass. Col. Artcmas Fay was a manufacturer of boots,
shoes, and bonnets. Elijah Fay was a currier. The phrenological poet once
wrote concerning the organ of weight in the he:id of Col. Dexter Fay: "This
organ is very large in your fiiend, Col. Fay — Col. Dexter, of course. There
are many of that name on the records of fame — there is Francis, of Boston, in
the mercantile trade ; and Artemas, here at home, by whom bonnets are
made."

In 1872 Curtis Newton and Dexter Newton, having previously purchased the
large estate of the late Col. Dexter Fay, erected, with the assistance of a few
public-spirited neighbors, the spacious shoe factory in Fayville. It was leased
to Allan D. Howe, Esq., whose monthly pay-roll, for a long time, amounted
to over $6,000. It is now leased to Crain, Rising & Co., of Boston, the said
Howe being the General Superintendent and Purchaser of Supplies. The

FIRST TOWN MEETING. 289

amount manufjxctured yearly is about $250,000, and they employ some 250
operatives. In consequence of the erection of this factory, Fayville has nearly
doubled its inhabitants and tenements.

In 1875 the whole amount of goods manufactured in Southborough was
$442,950.

CHAPTER IT.

rOPULATION — FIRST TOWN JIEETIXG — CHURCH HTSTORT — EDUCATIONAL AFFAIRS

FREE rUBLIC LIBRARY BENEFICENT CITIZENS — NOTED SCHOLARS AND

GRADUATES THE TOWN IN THE HISTORY OF FREEDOM THE REVOLUTION

AND THE REBELLION.

The number of inhabitants in town at the time of its incorporation is not
positively known. There were about fifty families, and probably about two
hundred and eighty inhal)itants. In 1757, it appears that the number of
enrolled men was seventy-five, and the number of minute-men fifty-six. In
1790, the nmnbcr of the inhabitants was eight hundred and thirty-seven. At
the close of each subsequent decade, the number of inhabitants was as follows,
viz. : — 1800, 871; 1810,920; 1820,1,030; 1830,1,080; 1840,1,145; 1850,
1,347; 1860, 1,854; 1870, 2,135.

Of the names of the inhabitants, the Newtons, Fays, and Brighams have
always predominated. The number of Newtons born in town since its
incorporation, is four hundred and forty ; and the number of Fays born in
town during same time, three hundred and thirty-two.

By order of the General Court, the first town meeting was held August
28, 1727, at the house of Timothy Brigham, which stood where is now
located the St. Mark's school-house. William Johnson was moderator. The
first town-meeting, under warrant of selectmen, was held March, 1728 : James
Newton, moderator; Moses Newton, Seth Bellows, Doe Bellows, Doe Mathe's,
and Captain AVard, were selectmen. The principal business of this meeting,
besides the choice of officers, and of several town meetings which followed, was
to arrange for procuring a minister of "good conversation to preach God's
word," and to devise ways and means to build a meeting-house. Money for
both purposes was promply raised. The first meeting-house built, was fifty I)y
forty feet, and twenty feet posts. Three hundred pounds, or $1,000, was
appropriated for same. It was built in 1727-8. This house lasted seventy-
nine years, at the end of which time it was sold for $70.99, and taken down. It
was located a few feet south of the house, now owned by the Pilgrim Evan-
gelical Society, and on a portion of the land given by the inhabitants of Marl-
borough to the inhabitants of this section thereof, previous to the incorporation

VOL, II.— 37

290 TOWN OF SOUTHBOROUGH.

of Southborough (said land was given for a "Training Field, Buryal Place, and
a Meeting-house." In 1806, December 17, the second church edifice was
dedicated. The cost of same was $7,778. The pews sold for $2,G58 above
the appraisal. In 1856 said meeting-house was conveyed by the First Parish
Society, to said Pilgrim Evangelical Society, and by the latter it was remodeled
and fitted up in its present modern style at a cost of about $13,000, and dedi-
cated. In 1828, SeiDtember 10, the Baptist society dedicated the brick church
which is now occupied as a dwelling. For want- of sufficient room in the
church, the dedicatory services were held in the grove near "Mount Vickory."
The present Baptist church was built in 1845. The first church of the
Pilgrim Evangelical Society was built in 1832. It is now the high school
house. The Episcopal church was dedicated Aug. 15, 1862. The Second
Conofrewational Church, located in Soulhville, was built in 1872. The Catholic
church, located between Cordaville and Southvilie was built in 1879.

The first minister settled by the town was Rev. Nathan Stone. lie was
ordained, Oct. 21, 1730, and continued their pastor until his death. May
31, 1781. June 1, 1791, Rev. Samuel Sumner was settled. He was dismissed
agreeably to his request, Dec. 1, 1797. In 1799, October 9, Rev. Jeroboam
Parker, a native of Southborough, was ordained and became their pas-tor. He
was dismissed at his own request in 1832. The First Parish Society after-
wards settled Rev. John D. Sweet, Rev. William Lord, Rev. Mr. Alden, and
Rev. Mr. Barnard. The salary first paid to Mr. Stone was £120 or $400, and
thirty cords of good wood. In 1734 his salary was raised to £150, and thirty
cords of good wood. Only one religious society existed in town until 1825.
The Baptist society have settled Rev. Jonathan Forbush, Rev. Abiasaph
Sampson, Rev. W. Morse, Rev. Aaron Ilaynes, Rev. M. Ball, Rev. John
Alden. They have had several acting pastors, the present one being Rev. W.
K. Davey. The Pilgrim Evangelical Society was organized Feb. 17, 1831,
and have settled Rev. Walter Follett, Rev. Jacob Cummings, Rev. E. M.
Elvvood, Rev. G. D. Bates, Rev. W. J. Breed, Rev. John Colby, and Rev. H.
M. Holmes. Rev. Alanson Rawson was acting pastor from April 28, 1843,
to April 2, 1852. Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D. D., was acting pastor from April
1, 1874, to April 1, 1875. The Episcopal Society have had for rectors, Rev.
Charles Wingate, Rev. A. C. Patterson, Rev. R. Lowell, and Rev. J. I. T.
Coolidge, D. D. The Second Congregational Society have settled Rev. C. A.
Stone, and have now for acting pastor Rev. John Le Bosquett.

The first appropriation made by Southborough for teachers, was in 1732;
viz., to Timothy Johnson, six pounds ; and to Samuel Bellows, four pounds ten
shillings. Subsequently, for several years, Solomon Ward was employed to
teach in rotation the four schools located in different sections of the town.
Southborough maintained but four schools until 1837. The citizens of South-
borough have ever manifested a great interest in education.

In 1859, Henry H. Peters, Esq., a wealthy citizen, feeling a deep interest in

SCHOOLS AND SCHOOL-HOUSES. 291

the education of the youth, and having a desire that the scholars of South-
borough should have as good advantages for obtaining an education as was
enjoyed by the scholars in the neighboring towns, donated the present high
school house, nicely tiuished and furnished, and the land connected therewith,
to the town, on condition that it should be used for a high school, to be taught
by a master qualified to teach the branches usually taught in a high school, and
be kept at least eight months in each year. The town accepted the very liberal
donation at a regular town meeting ; and as a token of their appreciation of
his generosity, they directed that it be called the "Peters High School house."
The citizens, generally, have manifested great satisfaction with the good results
of the school. They have been willing to appropriate a liberal sum, yearly,
for the support of this as well as for the other nine schools. The school com-
mittee, in 1878, expended for schools, $5,854. In 1852 a public free library
was established. The opening of the same was properly celebrated. A public
meeting was held in the Town Hall, February 12. The occasion was enlivened
by speeches, songs, and music. A. L. Hobart, M. D., of Southborough, made
the principal address. The following extract from his address will quite fully
explain the character of the preliminary measures incident to its establishment:

"Col. Francis B. Fay, in the fullness of his soul and the liberality of his spirit,
conceived in his heart to do a good thing unto the inhabitants of the good old town of
Southborough, which gave him birth ; and so, unsolicited, and of his own good-will and
pleasure, he thrust his hand dee[) into his pocket, and drawing forth tive hundred pieces
of silver ($500), held them up before the eyes of the inhabitants of this town, while he
thus spoke : ' Fellow-citizens ! Fellow-townsmen ! I was born, and nurtured, and
rocked, and reared in your midst, I am one of 3'ou, and j'ou are dear unto me. And
now as you are dear unto me, and as ray heart and my hand are drawn towards you in
affection, and as the enlightenment and elevation of j'our minds are things near my
heart ; therefore, if all together, or any one of 3'ou, will give a like sum, I will give
these five hundred pieces of silver to form the nucleus of a Town Library, which shall
be free for all the inhabitants of the town, to use for their improvement, and for their
children's children forever.' The town appropriated the other five hundred dollars, and
directed that as a token of their esteem for the generous donor, it should be called the
' Fay Library.' "

In 1870, April 20, Col. Fay donated to the town the additional sum of one
thousand dollars, for the benefit of the library. There is now a fund of tifteen
hundred dollars in the hands of the trustees of the library ; the interest of which,
with various other items contributed and appropriated, enable the trustees to
expend about $200 annually for books. There are now in the library 3,901
volumes. The people of Southborough have great cause to hold in fond
remembrance the names of the aforesaid donors ; and, not only we, but in
future years, full many a son and daughter who shall inhabit this land, read
books, and learn in this school, — looking back, perhaps, through time's long
vista, will also exultingly claim these donors as their immortal benefactors. lu

292 TOWN OF SOUTHBOROUGH.

1865 the St. Mark'd School was iucorporaled uiuler the laws of the Common-
wealth, and was founded for the classical education of boys.

Its course of studies is prepared with the purpose of giving a thorough prep-
aration for admission to the universaties and colleges of the country. It is a
school of the Episcopal Church, and its order and management are in conform-
ity with the principals and ypirit of the church. Its scholars number about
fifty and are required to board at the institution. It is said to be one of the
most thorouo-h and best disciplined suhools in the State. The establishment of
this school and the erection of the beautiful Episcopal church are the results
of the great enterprise and perseverance of our honored and esteemed fellow-
citizen, Dr. Joseph Burnett. The beautiful appearance of the centre village is
laro'ely due to his benevolence, influence and taste. In 1840, the town built
its first town house. Previous to that time the town meetings were held in
the church of the First Parish Society. Said town house cost about $4,000.
It was burnt in 1869. Without delay the inhabitants proceeded to erect
another. The present handsome, substantial and commodious brick town house
was built in 1869-70, at a cost, includiug fixtures and furniture, of about
$30,000. The budding committee, consisting of Dr. Joseph Burnett, Dexter
Newton, Dr. J. Henry Robinson, Franklin Este and Curtis Ilydo, delivered
the keys thereof to the selectmen April 20, 1870. In 1S24, the young men
organized a lyceum. Hon. Francis B. Fay was president of the same for sev-
eral years. This is said to be one of the first lyceums ever formed in this
vicinity. One of the most exciting debates paiticipated in by the then young
America, was "Is an untruth ever justitiable?" Disputants appointed in the
afiirmative were Peter Fay and Blake Parker ; negative Joel Burnett and
Brigham Witherbee. The discussion waxed warm. The disputants, pro and
con, fought the battle inch by inch during the allotted time. Questi(jn was
finally decided on its merits, in the negative. This lyceum accomplished much

good.

Another Ivceum was formed in 1842. Its members atone time numbered
forty-four. Many momentous questions were considered. Interesting and
instructive free lectures through their exertion were furnished to the public.

Southborough has raised many noble men and women. Several distinguished
scholars. The following is a list of those reared in town, who hive availed
themselves of the Ijenefits of a college education; viz., Jeroboam Parker,
graduated at Harvard in 1797, became a minister; Nathan Johnson, graduated
at Yale in 1802, Judge of Court of Common Pleas ; Sherman Johnson, gradu-
ated at Yale in 1802, minister; Luther 7Vngier, graduated at Amherst in
1833, minister; INIarshall B. Angier, graduated at Yale in 1834, minister;
Henry M. Parker, graduated at Harvard in 1839, teacher; Joel Burnett, grad-
uated at Harvard Medical in , physician ; Waldo I. Burnett, graduated at

Harvard Medical in 1849, naturalist; Edward Burnett, graduated at Harvard
in 1871, farmer; Harry Burnett, graduated at Harvard in 1873, chemist;

DISTINGUISHED MEN. 293

Waldo Burnett, gradiiatctl at Harvard in 1875, student; Clarence Thompson,
graduated at Amherst in 1874, civil eughieer ; George E. Brewer, graduated
at Amherst in 1874, teacher.

Jeroboam Parker, mentioned above, was for many years the minister in
S()uthl)or()Ugh. Joel Burnett was a noted physician in the town, was particu-
larly interested in her schools, and was greatly honored and respected. His
son, Waldo I. Burnett, was a zealous student, and became a distinguished nat-
uralist. By the Boston Society of Natural History he was elected curator of
entomology. In successive years he gained many of the prizes offered by said
society. In the winter of 1851, he delivered at the Medical College in
Augusta, Ga., a course of lectures in microscopic anatomy. In 1852, he pre-
pared the essay which received the prize from the American INIedical Associa-
tion. He died of consumption July 1, 1854, in the 26th year of his age.
From an address concerning his life and writings, delivered before the Boston
Society of Natural History, July 19, 1854, by Dr. Jeffries Wyman, is taken
the following extract : "We cannot but sensibly feel that in his death we have
lost an associate of no ordinary talents ; we can point to no other member of
our society, and not more than one other naturalist in our country who has
given such proofs of zeal and industry, and who, in so short a life, has accom-
plished so large an amount of scientific labor. Had he been spared to future
years, we cannot but feel the assurance that he would have acquired for him-
self a far higher place and a still more honorable name in the annals of science.
Let us cherish his memory and profit by his example."

The records of the town show that the people have always taken a forward
rank in the cause of freedom.

Capt. John Taplin went in command of a company of forty-nine men on the
Crown Point Expedition in 1756 ; was out from February 18 to December 20.

(^apt. Aaron Fay commanded a company sent fur the reduction of Canada,
and was out from March to November, 1758.

Capt. John Taplin was also out in this campaign. A number of Southbor-
ough men were out in all the campaigns of the last French and Indian war.

Dilenton Johnson was at Fort William Henry when it capitulated, Aug. 9,
1757, and was exposed to the Indian barbarities of that terrible day. Elijah
Heed and Joshua Newton also of Southborough, were in that battle.

In 1765, in town meeting, the following unanimous vote of instruction was
given to their representative, Ezra Taylor, Esq. : "That you would in the
most efl'ectual and loyal manner firmly assert and lawfully maintain the inhe-
rent rights of the Province, that posterity may know that if we must be. slaves
we do not choose by our own acts to destroy ourselves and willingly entail
slavery on them."

Capt. Josiah Fay's company of fifty-six minute-men, who were disciplined
and supported at the expense of the town, marched to Lexington and Concord,
April 19, 1775. Every able-bodied male citizen sixteen years old and upward

294 TOWN OF SOUTHBOROUGH.

was armed accorcliug to law. They were required to be iu constant readiness
to repel any attack of the enemy. In town meeting April 29, 1861, on motion
of Sylvester C. Fay, Esq., it was voted unanimously "that the town is ready
to respond to the proclamations of the President with every able-bodied citizen
and every dollar, if necessary." The town furnished two hundred and nine-
teen brave and patriotic men — being thirty-three more than enough to fill her
quota under every call of the President during the great Rebellion. Seventeen
of those men died in the service of their country, and these names appear on
the beautiful monument erected to their memory. Said monument, erected on
the common in Southborough Centre, is of Fitzwilliam granite, and was built
by E. F. Meany of Boston, from a design of A. R. Esty, Esq. It was dedi-
cated Jan. 1st, 18G7. It is twenty feet high. On the south (front) side are
inscribed the words "Erected by the Citizens of Southborough"; on the east
"In Memoriam"; on the north "Our Country's Defenders"; and on the west
"Rebellion, 1861."

" Patriots are here in freetlom's battle slain,
Men whose short lives were closed with scarce a stain ;
Men, lovers of our race, whose labors gave
Their names a memory that defies the grave."

This monument cost $1,613.50, and was paid for mostly by subscription.
Some of the money, however, was contributed by various assemblies and socie-
ties. Henry II. Peters, Esq., subscribed $500; Dr. Joseph Burnett, $100;
Curtis Newton, E. D. Rockwood, Peter Fay and S. N. Thompson each $25,
and ninety-two other persons contrilMitcd smaller sums.

This town has a very perfect record of her soldiers who enlisted in the late
war. To William P. Willson, Esq., great credit is due for his alacrity and
perseverance iu its preparation and completion.

FORMATION OF THE TOWN. 295

SOUTHS RIDGE.

BY REV. ABIJAH P. MARVIN.

CHAPTER I.

FORMATION OF THE TOWN — PHTSICAL ASPECTS — INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT —
WATER-POWER — MEETING-HOUSES AND PARISHES — CONGREGATIONAL SOCI-
ETY — PASTORAL LIST — BAPTIST SOCIETY MANUFACTURES.

The town of Southbridge was taken from the towns of Charlton, Dudley
and Sturbridge, and was incorporated in 18 IG. The larger part of the tract
north of the Quinebaug formerly belonged to Charlton. The part south of the
river was divided nearly in half by the two latter towns. The inhabitants, in
early times, were obliged to go long distances to attend public worship and
town meetings. Belonging to different municipalities and religious societies,
they had but slight bonds of union before the time when the mills on the
Quinebaug began to form a centre of business. The town is bounded as
folU:)WS : On the north by Charlton, on the east by Charlton and Dudley, on
the south by Woodstock, and on the west by Sturbridge. The centre of the
town is in latitude 42^ 5', and the distance from the court-house in Worcester
is seventeen and one-half miles. Formerly the great route of travel from
Worcester to the south-west was through Charlton and Sturbridge. After
1825 it went throujjh Southbridsre. The connection with the shire town is
now by the New England Railroad to Webster, and thence by the Norwich and
Worcester line. There is direct railway connection with Boston through
Webster, Blackstone, &c., by the New England Railway.

Like other towns formed since the early settlements were made, Southbridge
is comparatively small in size and irregular in shape. The southern line is
straight, being on the Connecticut border. The lines between Sturbridge,
Charlton and Dudley are run to suit individual convenience, to some extent,
and are therefore angular. The number of square miles in the town is about
nineteen, and the number of acres is twelve thousand two hundred and
eleven.

The surface of the town is much broken by hills and valleys. The hills rise

296 TOWN OF SOUTIIBRIDGE.

northward and southward from the valley of Quincbaug River, some of them
graduallj^ and some with abrupt and rugged sides. Hatchet Hill is a thou-
sand and sixteen feet above the level of the sea, and the summit furnishes an
extensive prospect. The main river is the Quinebaug, which comes in from
Sturbridge on the west, and runs across the township north of the middle ia an
easterly and south-easterly course. The river is fed by Globe-, Cady and
McKinstrey brooks on the north, and Hatchet, Cohasse and Lebanon brooks on
the south, all of which empty within the limits of the town. The valleys of
these streams greatly diversify the scener3^ A traveler ascending by the banks
of the river seems to be euterins: a cul-de-sac until he emerges on the west. The

CD <Jj

bed of the river below the Globe Village Pond appears like a deep gorge, with
the northern and southern horizon shut out from view. But plateaus and
gently rising grounds on the south, furnish sites for the villages of Southbridgo
and Globe Village. From the lofly hill at the north of Globe Village one can
look down on a hive of industry, and see nearly every factory 'and church and
dwelling in Southbridgo Centre and Globe Village, which, by gradual ap-
proach, now form one large and flourishing town.

As stated above, the territory now comprised in the bounds of Southbridgo
was occupied by settlers long before the time of its incorporation. The settlers
were generally farmers, but there were men engaged in other industries than
cultivating the land, as there must be in all communities. As early as 1733,
November 29, it was voted to give Moses Marcy fifty acres of land, on condi-
tion of his setting up a grist-mill. The Marcy family was prominent in
Charlton, and took a leading part in the organization of Southbridge. The
Hon. William L. Marcy, Governor of New York, and Secretary of State under
President Pierce, was a member of this family.

It appears that a meeting-house was built in 1797, but it belonged to
persons of various denominations. Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists
and Universalists were joint-oAvners. In 1801 a "Poll Parish," as it was
styled, was incorporated. This was in distinction from a territorial parish,
Avhich included all the inhabitants within certain bounds. A poll parish
included only those who joined it. This was the nucleus of a town, as about
ninety persons, with their families, formed a distinct organization called the
Second Religious Society in Charlton. They became accustomed, in this wa}^,
to associate together, and thus were led into the further union of a town
organization. For some cause unknown to outsiders, this section was named
Honest Town. *

The Congregational Church, styled the Second Congregational Church of
Charlton, was formed in 1801, September IG, with twenty-one members, —
eight men and thirteen women. They made use of the meeting-house, and, as
those who sympathized with them were more numerous than the meml)ers of
any other denomination, had a proportionate share of influence in supplying
the pulpit. During sixteen years there were seventy-four ministers on tho

REMARKABLE GROWTH. 297

ground in succession. This Avas continuctl until 1816, when the other dcnomi-
ntUions united and bought the right and interest of the Congrogationalists in
the meeting-house. At this time the Congregationalists began holding public
worship by themselves, and on the KJth of December, 1816, the Rev.
Jason Park was ordained as first pastor of the church. The other denomina-
tions held the meeting-house in common several years longer. The name of
the church was now chansjcd to Congregational Church of Southbridsxe. Ser-
vices were held four or five years previous to 1822 in a hall in the house built
for a parsonage and place of worship.

As late as 1811 there were on the site of the present village of Southbridge
only a few dwellinij-houscs and the small meeting-house above mentioned. In
1820, four years after the incorporation of the town, the population was only
one thousand and sixtj^-six, and this was scattered over the whole township.
From that date the increase of population has been steady, in consequence of
the use made of the great water-power furnished by the Quinel)aug. By means
of dams and reservoirs a steady flow is secured through the season. Natural
ponds have been raised, so that their storage of water is greatly increased.
The lowlands in Holland, Wales and other towns have been flooded, and
thus made tributary to the industry of the people living on the banks of the
river, through Sturbridge, Southbridge and Dudley, as well as towns in
Connecticut. In old times the river would sometimes become so low in dry
seasons that it would hardly turn the wheel of a grist-mill part of the day,
whereas now some of the largest establishments in the county have an unfailing
supply of water-power. The use of this power by skill and industry has built
up several villages, the most important of which is Southbridge, including its
neighboring or consolidated community. Globe Village. The development of
business on that part of the river within the bounds of Southbridge will be
treated on subsequent pages.

This town, on account of its comparatively recent origin, has no municipal
history in connection with the old Indian and French wars, nor with the heroic
strife and sacrifice of the Revolution ; but the fathers of the town were
descended from those who had borne the strain and trial of all the conflicts
through which the colonists had passed in preceding generations. Many men
living on this soil when it belonged to the mother-towns were in the battles of
King George's wars, 1745-63, and in the battles of the War of Independence ;
but their names are on the muster-rolls as part of the quota of Charlton, Dudley
and Sturbridge.

It will be convenient to divide the religious history of Southbridge into two
parts, having some regard to the order of time. The first part will bring the
notices of the Orthodox and Baptist churches down to a comparatively recent
date. A sketch of the rise and increase of business in the town will follow,
after which the ecclesiastical narrative will be resumed.

The house of worship used by the Congregational Church was erected in

VOL. II.— 38

298 TOWN OF SOUTIIBRIDGE.

1821, and dedicated Jan. 1, 1822. A small fund had been provided for the
church at an earlier date, the income of which had been used for the support
of preaching. This fund was now applied to the building of the new sanctuary.
When dedicated, the sermon was preached by the Rev. Jason Park, the pastor
of the church. The house was remodeled in 1839, and dedicated anew, Sep-
tember 5, when Rev. Eber Carpenter, the pastor, delivered a sermon, and an
ori^-inal hymn, written by Mrs. Sigourney, was sung. The house was again
remodeled, and re-dedicated Sept. 24, 18G9. The sermon was delivered by Rev.
E. L. Jaggar, pastor from 18G9 to 1872. It is said that the house occupied
by Dr. Ilartwcll, where the meetings of this church were lirst held, was built by
Mnjor Calvin Ammidown, in behalf of the society, its design being to furnish
a parsonage and a temporary hall for meetings. The present meeting-house is
well filled, and a need is beginning to be felt for a larger audience-room. The
pastors since the dismission of Mr. Park have been as follows : Rev. Henry J.
Lamb, ordained June G, 1833, and dismissed April 25, 1835. The Rev. Eber
Carpenter was installed July 21, 1835, and dismissed July 21, 18G4:. On
account of impaired health, Mr. Carpenter was released from pastoral duties
from 1853 to 1857. The installation of his successor. Rev. Edwin B. Palmer,
took place Dec. 27, 18G1, and, after a pastorate of about four and a half years,
he was dismissed. May 3, 18G9. Rev. E. L. Jaggar was installed Oct. 14,
18G9, and dismissed Aug. G, 1872. The settled ministry of Rev. J. E. Fuller-
ton began July 22, 1873, and terminated Oct. 31, 187G. The present pastor,
Rev. Joseph Danielson, was installed June G, 1877.

The following members have been deacons : Asa Walker and Daniel Morse,
both elected in 1801 ; Jason Morse, George Sumner, Ilcnry Ilaynes, Josiah
Hayvvard, Elbridge G. Harding, Jonathan Cutting, and Samuel L. Morse. The
present deacons are Samuel M. Lane, elected in 1851, and William P. Plimp-
ton, in 1875. The superintendent of the Sabl)ath school is C. D. INlunroe. A
few lines taken from the Covenant, used at the organization of the church, will
give the fundamental basis which they hold in common with all Evangelical
Christians : " We, the members of this church, do acknowledge and assert the
Lord Jehovah — Father, Son, and Holy Ghost — as the only true God, the foun-
tain of our being, and the source of our happiness ; and devote ourselves to
Illm in the bonds of an everlasting covenant, to serve and glorify Him
supremely. We do acknowledge and profess that the salvation of man is wholly
from the free, unmerited grace of God, and is the result of sincere repentance
of sin, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that these graces are wrought in
the soul by the ' Spirit of God.' " Six hundred and fifty-two persons have been
members of the church, by confession or by letter. The present membership
is a little over two hundred.

The Baptists in Southbridge were joint owners of the old "Poll Parish"
meeting-house, above mentioned. Services were held in it occasionally by the
Baptists, according to their right in the house. In 181G the town was iucor-

ECCLESIASTICAL NOTES. 299

porated, and, as stated before, the Second Congregational Church of Charlton
changed into the Conijreffational Church of Southbridsre. The " Cons'rogatioual
Religious Society of Southbridge," acting with the Congregational Church, was
incorporated by act of the Legislature, Dec. 13, 1816. In connection with these
changes, and perhaps growing out of them, the Baptists held a meeting, May
1, 1816, in the hall of Ammidown Hotel, for the purpose of organization. A
constitution was adopted for the "First Baptist Society in Southbridge." One
hundred and twenty-three persons signed the constitution. A council was
held, Jan. 28, 1817, by whom a Baptist Church was recognized, consisting of
twenty-six members. The Congregationalists having sold out their interest in
the old meeting-house to the Baptists, Methodists, and Universalists, the Bap-
tists now held their meetings in it, though the Universalists occasionally used
it for public worship. The first Baptist minister was the Rev. George Angell,
whose salary was three hundred dollars per annum and firewood. His pas-
torate was closed by his decease, Feb. 18, 1827. His ministry was successful
in strengthening the church. In March, 1823, the society was organized under
an act of the Legislature, by which it was incorporated. A new bell was pur-
chased the same year. The Rev. Addison Parker, his successor, was ordained
Aug. 18, 1827, and remained till December, 1832, when he was regularly dis-
missed, and became the pastor of the church in Sturbridge. He was followed
by Rev. David C. BoUes, who was installed May 12, 1833, and remained two
years. In 1837 the meeting-house became the sole property of the Baptist
Society, the interest of the other joint owners having been purchased. The
house was repaired at an expense of $1,415. The interior was arranged in
accordance with the modern style, and slips took the place of the old-fashioned
square pews. The deeds of the pews " limited the kind of preaching, and
declared that it shall be of the same belief and practice as the Baptist in
olden times." The Rev. Joseph G. Binney was installed Aug. 23, 1837, and
continued two years, when the state of his health required a dissolution of the
pastoral relation. He has since become well known in connection with the very
prosperous Baptist mission in Burmah. In 1837 the Rev. Sewall S. Cutting
became the fifth pastor of the church. Four years later the proprietors of the
meeting-house organized themselves into a corporation, which took the title of
the " Southbridge Baptist Meeting-House Association." This action was
followed by the organization of a new church, under the name of the " Central
Baptist Church," in 1842. This was efifected by the withdrawal of a majority
of the members of the old church, who united in forming the new church. The
matter of recognizing the enterprise was referred to a council, before whom the
old church came and presented their objections. After hearing the committee,
the council deemed it expedient to recognize the new church. This was on the
12th of October, 1842. The Rev. Mr. Cutting, whose sympathies were with the
new organization, received an invitation to become the pastor. He was
released from the First Church, and became the first pastor of the new church.

300 TOWN OF SOUTHBRIDGE.

The First Church then called the Rev. C. P. Grosvenor to be their minister.
However, according to a statement in the " Southbridge Journal," "the work
of sustaining two Baptist churches was too much of a tax, and the old church
succumbed to its lively rival, some of the mctnl)ers going into that, and others
to the Methodist and Congregational churches. The society remained un-
changed," and now the First Baptist Society and the Central Baptist Church
work together in harmony.

Mr. Cutting remained the pastor until June, 1845, when ho resigned. Since
then he has been prominent, in the denomination to which he belongs, as an
editor of Baptist periodicals, as a college professor, and as Secretary of the
Baptist Home Missionary Society. The Rev. Timothy G. Freeman was the
second minister of the Central Church, but remained only two years, when he
was succeeded by Rev. O. S. Stearns, who was ordained in May, 1847. In
1848, the old meeting-house was sold, and a new one erected. This was con-
sumed in 18G3, when a fire destroyed it, the original meeting-house, and
other property. In 18G4 the present brick house was erected, at the cost of
120,000. It is considered the best edifice devoted to religious uses in the
town. Mr. Stearns took his dismission in 1854, and has since been honorably
known as one of the professors in the Baptist Theological Seminary at Newton.
He was followed by Rev. S. S. Parker, whose pastorate continued thirteen
years. The Rev. B. F. Bronson succeeded him in 18G7, and continued till
1873, when Rev. II. II. Rhecs was called to the pastoral office. In 1877,
Aug. 1, Rev. A. G. Upham, the present pastor, was ordained and installed.
The ministers of the two Baptist churches appear to have been superior men,
and some of them are well known and respected beyond denominational
bounds. The society is large at present, and connected with it arc many
influential citizens. The deacons of the first church were Thompson Kimberly,
Cyrus Ammidown, Joshua Vinton, Samuel Fisk, Elisha Cole, and Marvin
Cheney. The deacons of the Central Church have been Marvin Chenc\% Henry
Fiske, Adoniram Coombs, Charles E. Steward, and Alpha M. Cheney. The
superintendent of the Sabbath school is Mr. E. G. Guy.

Thebe2:innin<2;s of mechanical and manufacturins; business in Southbrid<;e were
small, and they have grown to their i)resent gigantic proportions by degrees.
Passing by the saw and grist mills, Avhich, as a necessity here, as elsewhere,
had been set np in the early days of the settlement, it appears that John Gray
was a clothier, in what is now Southbridge, as early as 1790. Deacon George
Sumner was in the same business in 1802. He manufactured the first wool
into fabrics, designed for sale, in the year 1811. Previous to this, his business
had been that usual with clothiers — that is, the dressing of cloth woven by
women in their hand-looms. At this time, 1811-12, there were a few dwelling-
houses in Southbridge Centre, a small meeting-house belonging to the poll
parish, and a sparse population. Globe Village was a thing of the future.
There was a burying-yard, and some attention had been given to the opening

FACTORIES A^D MILLS. 301

and improvement of the roads. Li 1813 the cotton bnsiness was started by
William Sumner. A cotton factory, on a small scale comparatively, was
erected. This establishment, enlarged somewhat when Deacon Sumner left it
in 1814, was owned by several men, who formed a new manufacturing company.
They bought of the heirs of Capt. Marcy one-half of the wafer-power, includ-
ing the power on the west end of the dam, where the old mills of Col. Moses
Marcy had stood. This company bore the name of the Charlton Manufac-
turing Company for a year or two, but in June, 181G, was incorporated as
the Southbridge Factory Company. This company failed in 1818, and the
properly returned to the Marcy estate. ]\Iany parties occupied this property
in succession, until Ebenezcr Ammidown came into possession, and, about
183G, organized the Central Cotton Mills Company. By various changes,
which it would be tedious to descriljc, the property was conveyed from the
Dresser Manufacturing Company to the Central Manufacturing Company,
which was incorporated in 1837, and authorized to hold real estate to the
amount of $75,000, and personal estate not exceeding $150,000 in value. The
company was organized with a capital of $G0,000. In 1845 it was re-organ-
ized, with a capital increased to $80,000, when E. D. Ammidown was chosen
agent; C. A. Dresser, superintendent; and Manning Leonard, clerk. The
whole property was sold to Messrs. Dresser and Leonard in 1858. By a
re-organization, in 1863, the whole estate was conveyed by them to the
Central Mills Company. The mill now has about six thousand six hundred
spindles, and one hundred and fifty looms. The water-power is nearly twenty-
nine feet fall.

The Dresser mill, or cotton mill, of Calvin A. Paige, was on the Marcy
estate, and the principal oAvner was William Sumner. This property passed
through many hands, including Linus Child and Alexander DeWitt. The paid
capital was $36,000. The product was light-weight sheeting. The mill was
burned several years since.

The cotton manufacturing business was commenced in what is now knoAvn as
Globe Village in 1814, when the Globe Manufacturing Company was
incorporated. They were authorized to make " cotton and woolen cloth and
yarn." The corpf)rators were Thomas Upham, David Fiske, and their asso-
ciates. James and P. B. Wtdcott had much to do in ori2:inatin2: this business.
The history of the works on the site of this company is too complicated for a
mere historical sketch ; but a brief statement may be acceptable. The com-
pany built a large mill in 1814, known as the Globe Mill. In 1816 the
brothers Wolcott and S. A. Graves formed a new company for the manufac-
ture of woolen products. The Wolcott AVoolen Manufacturing Company was
incorporated in 1820, with a capital of $50,000. The Wolcott Brick Mill was
built in 1823. The power broad-loom, for weaving broadcloths, w\as intro-
duced in 1824. The breaking down of the big dam, and other losses, crippled
the compan}'^, and in 1831 the Hamilton Woolen Company was incorporated,

302 TOWN OF SOUTHBRIDGE.

with a capital of $200,000. This company has built and enlarged mills on a
great scale, and has done an immense business. It is classed with the largest
establishments in the State. This is the company that established an excellent
library for the use of persons in their employ, and erected a church, costing
$20,000, in 18G8, for the accommodation of the religious society, or Free
Evangelical Church, in the village.

A brick mill was built in 1837-8. This was burned in 1850. It was built
anew, and now the company own and use several four and five-story brick
buiIdlno-8, in which are made the celebrated Hamilton delaines, worsted dress
goods, prints, and cassimeres. The capital of the company is $600,000. The
president is John R. Barnes; treasurer, Joshua Ballard; agent, John
Tatterson ; superintendent, Lewis H. Hunt.

The Columbian Company was formed in 1821, and was burnt out in 1844.
This was a cotton mill. The property has had several owners^ but in the year
18GG was sold to Henry T. Grant, of Providence. He erected an additional
mill, for making print-cloths. The weekly product in 1874 was twenty-four
thousand yards.

The Ashland mills were built in 1843, by Larkin Ammidown. This estab-
lishment was at Saundcrsdale. It was burnt in 1849 ; but, previous to this
time, as early as 1834, the Quinebaug River and Lebanon Hill Brook had ])een
raised by a dam. Different parties succeeded to the business done here, until
1847, when the village was known as Ashland. In 1864 the property was
purchased by James Saunders, of Providence, and the place is known as
Saundcrsdale. Extensive buildings of brick for print-works were erected in
1867-9, but depression in printing business made the investment unprofitable.
The property was sold to Earl P. Mason, of Providence. It is now leased to
T. & J. II. Saunders, who are making prints of superior style and quality,
which find a ready sale in the market.

The American Optical Company commenced operations in 1869. It has
irrown from small beginnin<2;s to the largest establishment of the kind in
the United States. The following are the names of its officers : President,
Robert H. Cole ; secretary, C. S. Edmonds ; treasurer, E. M. Cole. At
first, the capital was $40,000 ; it is now $60,000. In 1872 a new building
was erected, at a cost of $35,000. The business was originated by William
Belcher, a skilful mechanic, with a rare inventive genius. The glasses arc
growing in popularity, and the business has steadily increased. Gold, silver,
and steel, as well as rubber, are used for bows, and the workmanship is excel-
lent. This business adds much to the prosperity of the town, as it employs
many ingenious and intelligent men, besides adding to the wealth of the
community. Banks and other associations will be noticed on a subsequent
page.

SOUTHBRIUGE PRINT WORKS, .SOUTHKKIDGE, MASS.

LATER DENOMINATIONS. 303

CHAPTER IT.

METHODIST SOCIETY — UNIVERSALISTS — CATHOLICS FREE CHURCH — EDUCA-
TION PUBLIC LIBRARY — LOCAL PRESS THE CIVIL WAR BANKS AND SO-
CIETIES NOTABLE BIOGRAPHIES.

Resuming the ecclesiastical history, we fiocl there was Methodist preaching
in the limits of Sonthbricl^re, as it now exists, as early as the year 1801. When
the poll parish was organized, there were Methodists among the joint owners
of the first meeting-honse. It was not, however, till 1834 that they had a
sc'parate meeting. During six years they held meetings in the school-house at
Globe Village. Rev. Ilezekiah Davis was the first minister who was located
here. In 1843 a meeting-house was erected. Rev. F. P. Tracy officiated here
in 1834, about the time when the chnrch was formed and began to have meet-
ings by themselves. Many ministers had been on the ground before there Avas
a distinct church. Since then, they have come and gone, according to the usage
of the denomination to which thev belong. The church has a firm foothold in
the town, owns a convenient and tasteful house of worship, and seems well
equipped for Christian work. The present pastor is Rev. E. S. Best, who,
though f^ir from old age, is a veteran in the ministry.

As stated already, the Universalists were members of the poll parish, and
had an ownership in the meeting-house built in 1797; and ministers of that
denomination occupied the pulpit occasionally, in some proportion to the num-
ber of members who believed in the doctrine of universal salvation. About
the time when the old poll parish was dissolved by the separation of its com-
ponent parts, the Universalists began to have public services independently,
and, in the course of time, they formed a society and provided themselves with
a house of worship. The society was organized as the First Universalist Soci-
ety of Southbridge, in 1838. Money was raised for maintaining preaching
half the time, for the ensuing year. In 1842, a meeting house was erected,
and provided with a bell. Not less than fifteen ministers have supplied the
pulpit, besides occasional occupants. The first pastor was Rev. John Boyden,
who remained three or four years. The present pastor, who has held the posi-
tion several years, is the Rev. B. V. Stevenson, who is an earnest friend of
temperance, and ready to co-operate with others in promoting the moral and
religious welfare of the community.

The first meeting to make arrangements for regular worship by the Roman
Catholics in Southbridge was held at the house of Samuel Seavey, some time
in 1840. There were twelve persons present, seven of whom were of Irish
descent, and five were Germans and French Canadians. By 1845 the number
of Catholics had increased to fortv-five. This seems to have been the begin-
ning of the large influx of the foreign-born population. The Rev. G. Fitton

04 TOWN OF SOUTIIDRIDGE.

was the fiist priest on the ground, unless some one might have been here on
transient service. In 1846 Father Legan hegan his ministry in the place. The
present house of worship was completed, and dedicated May 1, 1853. It
bears the name of St. Peter, and has the cai)acity to seat a numerous audience.
The church is at present under the pastoral care of Rev. John M. Kremmen.

In 1870, the French Catholics had become numerous enough to authorize the
opening of a separate place of worship, and accordingly they organized as a
society and erected Notre Dame Church. The pastor is Rev. G. Elz Brochu.
The two Catholic churches stand near together, and are conspicuous from their
situation and style of architecture. They are between the two villages, and
therefore accommodate the population of foreign birth and their native-born
children, in and near the centre of the town. The tract of woodland, which
formerly separated the two villages a distance of nearly half a mile, is now
reduced to a small and pleasant grove, which enhances the beauty of the site
of the Catholic churches. The population of the town, by the census of 1875,
was five thousand seven hundred and forty. The number of the foreign-born
was two thousand four hundred and sixty. To these must be added their chil-
dren who were born here. Deducting from the whole number those of for-
eign birth who are Protestants, there would be left the number of persons
whose. religious sympathies and connections arc with the Catholic churches in
the town. The exact number cannot be given, but the census gives a signifi-
cant fact, which indicates what the population is to be before many years. The
number of mothers in Southbridge in 1875 was one thousand and twenty-six.
Of these, four hundred and thirteen were native-born, and six hundred and
thirteen were of foreiirn birth.

The Evangelical Free Church was formed in 1854. In that year a company
of believers living in Globe Village and vicinity, to the number of twenty-one,
took measures for providing the means of the public worship of God. In the
little band were Congregationalists, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians and
Episcopalians. They organized themselves into a church of Christ, under the
name of the Evangelical Free Church and Society. Their bond of union Avas
a common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and love for his service. The church
is substantially Congregational in polity or government, and strictly Evangel-
ical in faith, and the pastors have been connected with the Congregational
denomination from the beginning. Public worship was held in Gothic Hall
from 1854 to 1869, when the Hamilton Woolen Company placed at the disposal
of the society a beautiful and capacious brick church. This was dedicated
July 16, 1869, and has since then been occupied, freely, by a considerable con-
gregation. The following have been the pastors in the order of their names :
Rev. Messrs. John Cunningham, William C. Whifcomb, Harvey Loomis,
Thomas Morong, Martin L. Richardson, Austin Dodge, Frank A. Warficld,
George A. Jackson, G. H. Wilson. The superintendent of the Sabbath school
is Mr. Charles Hyde.

PUBLIC LIBRARY. 305

The cause of education has beeu well cared for since the town was incorpor-
ated, in 181 G. In that year, when the number of schohirs was small, the sum
of $400 was raised for school purposes. By 1840 the sum had increased to
$1,000. By degrees, the appropriation rose till 1857, when $2,000 were voted
for schooling. In 18G0, the sum was $3,000; in 18G8 it w\as $4,500; and in
1870, $5,500. A high school was started in 1854, at small expense. In 1855
the sum of $G00 was appropriated for its support. In 18G8 the sum raised
was $1,200, and in 1870, $1,900, making the total amount of money devoted
to schools in 1870, $7,400. By the report of the State Board of Education,
in 1878, the number of schools in the town was twenty-four; the number of
diflerent scholars in the schools in the school year 1877-8 was fourteen hun-
dred and two ; the schools were iu session eight months and ten days ; and the
money raised by taxes, exclusive of cost for superintendence and printing, was
$9,780. The sum spent for each child between five and fifteen years of age
Avas $7,001. It should be stated that a high school was sustained by private
subscription from 1841 to 1854, when the town established a high school
according to the law. The town was formerly divided into seven school dis-
tricts ; but in 1868, at the annnal iMarch meeting, it was voted " that the several
school districts in the town of Southbridge be and they arc hereby abolished,
and that the town will henceforth enter upon and take possession of the prop-
erty of the districts, in accordance with the provisions of the General Statutes."

One of the most efHcicnt means of general education is a good library. It
crowns all the other means and appliances of learning. In this regard the town is
w^ell supplied. The Southbridge Public Library was established by vote of the
town, March, 1870, and was opened for public use Feb. 4, 1871. At first the
books were kept in Whilford's Block, but on the first of January, 1872, the
collection was removed to the commodious rooms designed especially for the
purpose of a library, and perpetually leased to the town by Holmes Ammi-
down, Esq., of New York. By conditions of the lease, the town must raise
$700 yearly, to be expended for books not partisan in politics, nor denomina-
tional or sectarian in religion, and must keep it open eight hours a day, Sun-
days and legal holidays excepted. The library is free to all residents of the
town over fourteen years of age.

More than seven thousand volumes are already in the library, and frequent
additions are made. The number of pamphlets is about two thousand five hun-
dred. A reading-room, formerly supported by private subscription, but now
free, is connected with the library in an adjoining room, and a museum has
been established by the generous gifts of Mr. Ammidown. The hours for the
delivery of l)ooks are from ten to twelve a. m., two to five and six to nine p. m.
The library committee is composed of the following gentlemen ; George H.
Mellon, Manning Leonard, G. G. Bulfinch, J. Harrington, W. K. Paton, S. P.
Irwin, Jr., AVilliam Ilallorau, Joseph Jaggar. The first named is chairman
and the second is secretary of the committee. Miss A. Jeannette Comins is

VOL u.— 39

306 TOWN OF SOUTIIBRIDGE.

the librariaD. A remark inserted here iiia}^, perhaps, have a good result. It
is that the value of the library may be greatly increased by the addition of
pamphlets, uiaps, charts and plans of buildings, cemeteries, parks, and tovvns.
As these articles are rarely taken out of a library, their usefulness is over-
looked ; but, for all historical and biographical purposes, pamphlets and Qles of
newspapers and magazines are invaluable. Instead of being sent to the paper-
mill, these publications should be stored in the public library.

Besides the public library, there is a large number of books in constant cir-
culation which are connected with the various Sabbath schools. The library in
Globe Village has been referred to in another place.

The press stands in close relation with schools and libraries as an educating
force. The town is flooded with periodicals of every kind, but reference is
now had to the papers whioh have been or are now published in Southbridge.
The lirst paper published in the town was the " Relbrmer and Moralist,*' the
first number of which was issued on the first Thursday of January, 1828.
Pierpont Edwards B. Botham was sole proprietor and editor. It was, among
other things, an advocate of total abstinence from intoxicating drinks. After
the first year the name was changed to the "Moralist and General Intelli-
gencer." In the spring of 1829 the materials of the printing olEce were
bought by Josiah Snow, who started a paper named the "Southbridge Regis-
ter." The next owners of the property were ]\lilton Joslin and Edwin D.
Titfany, who started the " Village Courier," Feb. 7, 1832. The other papers,
it will be understood, had been discontinned. The "Village Courier" was
designed to be neutral in politics, but, as Mr. Tiffany was a Whig and an
ardent supporter of Henry Clay for the Presidency, he bought out the interest
of his partner and made the paper a stanch supporter of Mr. Clay. This
movement led to the starting of another newspaper, Sept. 1, 1832, which
was called the "True Republican," and advocated the measures of Gen. Jack-
son, who was then in the Presidential chair. Both of the above had a short
lease of life.

The " Ladies' Mirror," a literary paper, was published a little over one year.
The first number was issued Aug. 28, 1830. Each number contained eight
pages of nine by eleven inches. G. W. II. Fi^ke was connected with the
publishing depaitment, and during part of the time W. N. Sherman was the
editor. From this time about twenty years passed before another publication
was started in the town. Nine numbers of the " Southbridije Press " were
issued in the autumn of 1853, when it ceased to appear. Sidney Clark started
a paper of the same name Jan. 10, 1854; and, in the following June, Clark
Jillson, the editor, became joint proprietor, and continued in the connection
till near the close of 1855. E. A. Denney took the paper from Mr. Clark in
the latter part of 1857, and published it about one year. The "Saturday
Morning News" had a short run in 1859. This was followed in 18 GO by the
" Q.iincbaug Item."

WAR OF SECESSION. 307

The " Soutbbridge Journal " super-jeded the above paper in 18G1, and was
issued l)y Henry C. Gray until Aug. 17, 18G8. William B. Morse became
proprietor and editor, Aug. 17, and conducted the business till December,
1871, when George M. Whitaker became his associate. More recently, the
paper has passed into the hands of Mr. AVhitaker as editor and proprietor.
The paper has a large circulation in Soutbbridge and the adjoining towns, and
a good advertising business. As a local paper, it ranks among the best, and
its influence in favor of education, temperance, and good morals is out?poken
and decided. One feature of the "Journal" is worthy of notice and imitation.
The editor is fond of historical studies, and gathers much material for local
history into his columns. Lately the "Journal" has contained a record of
births, deaths and marriaircs in one or more of the towns in South Worcester.
If this shoidd be continued, the paper would become a desideratum in all our
libraries and historicab s.ociety collections. The columns of the "Journal"
have essentially aided in the preparation of this sketch.

In the war of the Rebellion, Soutbbridge bore an honorable part, with the
expenditure of much money, and the loss of many valuable lives. But the
town increased in population and valuation during the war. In 18(]0 the popu-
lation was 3,575; in 18G5 it was 4,131. The valuation was $1,304,825 in
18G0, and in 18G5 it was $1,G9G,2G4. The selectmen, during these eventful
years, were Vcruey Fiske, Ado^phus Mcrrinm, jNIalcolm Ammidown, James
Glcason, Gayton Ballard, Henry C. Ammidown, WilHam C. Stcadman, Man-
ning Leonard, and John O. McKinstry. The town clerk was Daniel F. Bacon.
Samuel M. Lane was treasurer in the years 18G1-G4, and Daniel F. Bacon in
18G5.

The first town meeting, legally called to concert measures in aid of the
Government against the Rebellion, was held May G, when the sum of $8,000
was appropriated for raising and equipping a military company, and for the
support of the families of those who might enter the service. The selectmen,
with the addition of William Beccher, J. O. McKinstry, John Edwards, and
C. A. Dresser, were chosen a committee to take charge of the appropriation,
and expend it "according to their best discretion." This committee were
authorized to pay for each volunteer, who resided in the town, a dollar and a
half each week to the wife, and half a dollar to each child under twelve years
of afre, dnrinsf the term of the volunteer's active service. The committee w re
also to pay to each enlisted man eight dollars a month "while in active service,
and fifty cents for each half day spent" in preliminary drilling. On the 7th of
October, the selectmen were authorized to pay State aid to the families of sol-
diers, as provided by a law passed at the extra session of the Legislature.

In 18G2, July 1, the following resolutions, offered by lion. E. L. Ammi-
down, were passed by the town : —

" 1. That the treasurer be authorized to borrow the sum of $4,000 to pay soldiers,
and the interest on the money borrowed, giving to each soldier, not to exceed thirty-

308 TOWN OF SOUTHBRIDGE.

eight, the sum of $100 ; said bounty to be paid to each soldier when mustered into the
mililary service for three years, and credited to the quota of the town.

" 2. That the town clerk be requested to obtain the names of volunteers who belong
to Southbridge, and are mustered into the United States service, and enter the same
on the Records of the town."

In Auo'ust the treasurer was authorized to borrow $6,000 for the payment of
a bount}^ of $100 to each volunteer, to the number of sixty, who should enlist
in a nine months' regiment, and be credited to the quota of the town.

In 18G3, January 5, the treasurer was authorized to borrow $2,500 for the
payment of bounties to volunteers, and the expense of enlisting the same. In
September it was voted to pay State aid to the families of drafted men as Avell
as the families of volunteers ; and in November money was appropriated to pay
State aid to the families of men wdio had died or become disabled in the mili-
tary service. In 18G4, April 4, $4,200 more were appropriated for military
purposes. June 20 the bounty to volunteers for three years' service was fixed
at $125, and the selectmen were authorized "to set apart a suitable plot of
ground in the public cemetery for the erection of a monument to the soldiers
of Southbridge who had died, or might thereafter die, in the service of their
country during the war." And in 18GG, March G, the sum of $3,500 was raised
to refund to persons who had paid money " upon subscriptions used for recruit-
ing purposes."

The number of men furnished by the town for the war was four hundred,
which was nineteen above all demands. Four were commissioned ofBcers.
The amount of money expended by the town on account of the war, exclusive
of State aid, was $17,313.G5. The amount of money paid by the town for
State aid was, during the war, $18,367.98. Individuals voluntarily contributed
$5,757, which was not refunded by the town. The ladies worked with
increased interest until there was no further call for supplies. The Soldiers'
Aid Society sent money and other contributions to the amount of nearly
$1,200. Tlie total of all these sums is $43,647.G3.

The Auditing Committee for the year 1866 reported in the words following,
referring to the list of soldiers on the quota of the town : —

"1. It is indeed a Roll of Honor, to which we shall be proud to refer as our attesta-
tion of the loyalt}' and devotion of our people to the Union of the States, and the cause
cf republican libert}'. There are among them few of rank, but all are of honor, save in
one or two instances, and served their countr}' well in all the vicissitudes of the war ;
and we desire to perpetuate the memory of the fallen and the title of the living braves,
by inscribing their names upon our public Records as part of our debt of gratitude to
them."

Returning to the business department of this sketch, some of the more
recently-formed companies will be mentioned. The Litchfield Shuttle Com-
pany was incorporated in 1868 with a capital of $21,000. The president is
F. C. Litchfield; treasurer, L. M. Litchfield; clerk, P. T. Litchfield. The

LOCAL RECORD. 309

company is doing considerable business. The Southbridge Button Company,
for manufacturing buttons out of vegetable ivory, is a recent enterprise. The
jNIutual Gas-Light Company was incorporated in 1870. The president is
William C. Barnes ; secretary, F. E. Edwards ; treasurer, S. S. Perry. Shoe-
knives are made by T. Harrington and S. Richards.

The Soulhbridge National Bank was incorporated in 1836, and reorganized
in 18()5. Its capital is $150,000. President, Jacob Edwards; cashier, F. L.
Chapin. The Southbridge Savings Bank was incorporated in 1848. The
president is John P. Stedman : treasurer, Samuel M. Lane ; secretary, Manning
Leonard.

There are two Masonic lodges, viz., the Quincbaug Lodge, F. and A. M.,
and Doric Chapter, R. A. M.

The Southbridge Lodge, No. 47, I. O. O. F., meets weekly at Odd Fellows'
Hall.

Here follow the names of several societies: — 1. A. O. of H., oriranized in
1873. The initials stand for Ancient Order of Hibernians. The name indi-
cates its nationality of birth. 2. The St. Jean Baptiste Society, whose mem-
bers are of French or Canadian extraction. 3. The Golden Rule Temple of
Honor, No. 40. It meets every Monday evening. 4. The Good Samaritan
Club.

For the cultivation of music, there are the Mechanics' Band, C. G. INIarcy,
leader; the Globe Village Band, or Bande Nationale ; and the Mozart Club,
president, P. T. Litchfield ; directress, Mrs. II. N. Carpenter.

The C. A. Dresser House, J. F. Parker, proprietor, is a new, spacious and
wcll-furnishcd hotel, with all modern conveniences for the comfort of guests.
The Globe Village House has a good reputation.

The fire department has two steamers, two engine companies, two hose com-
panies, and two hooic-and-ladder companies. The chief engineer is Pliny M.
Clark ; first assistant, William C. Barnes ; second assistant, Paul J. Whalen.

The school committee are E. M. Phillips, chairman ; Rev. B. V. Stevenson,
James M. Amm'down, secretary. They have eighteen schools under their
charge, and twenty-four teachers. There is a high school, George II. Mellen,
principal ; two grammar schools, three intermediate schools, and twelve primary
schools. Besides these, there are five mixed schools, so called.

The First District Court of Southern Worcester holds a session for criminal
business on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week ; for civil business,
on every Monday of each week, in the court-room in Ammidown Block. The
standing justice is Hon. Clark Jillson, of Worcester ; the first special justice is
Frederick W. Botham, Esq. ; the second is W. II. Davis, Esq.

The fallowing professional men arc now in practice. The lawyers are Hon.
A. J. Bartholomew and F. W. Botham and J. M. Cochran, E'sqs. The physicians
are L. W. Curtis, S. C. Ilartwell, G. G. Bulfinch, Thcophile Belanger, II. D.
West, and F. Gauthier.

310 TOWN OF SOUTIIBPJDGE.

The increase of Southbriclge in population, weiilth and business, is shown by
the following statements. The population of the town in 1820, when its lirst
census was taken, was one thousand and sixty-six ; in 1830, two thousand eight
hundred and twenty-four ; in 1870, five thousand two hundred and eight ; by
State census in 1875, five thousand seven hundred and forty. The valuation
in 1875 had risen to $2,946,351. The yearly agricultural products of the town
amounted to the value of $IG0,908. The capital invested in mumfactures in
1875 was $3,470,788; the total yearly wages were $921,389; the stock used
in manufactures was valued at $1,234,944; and the value of goods made and
work done was $3,509,438. According to a statement r^'cently widely cir-
culated, there were in Southbridge, twelve years ago, "thirty-five various
manufacturing enterprises, employing about fifteen hundred people. To-day
these enterprises are more than doubled, being in all eighty-two," with a
largely increased capital. "The number em[)loycd is now over two thousand,
and all the business enterprises in the town are steadily enlarging their capacity
and productions." The valuations in the centre of business have increased
many fold within a few years, notwithstanding the return to the standard of
gold. Several four and five story brick blocks have been built, three of them
last year. In the years 1878-9, fifty-four brick stores, tenements and dwell-
ings have been erected. The central part of the town is fast taking on the
appearance of a city. This is owing to the number, size, style and finish
of the principal buildings, including some of the churches.

A few biographical notes will fitly close the preceding sketch. By way of
introduction, it may be said that the leading business men of Southbridge,
during the last sixty or seventy years, have been men of large capacity, and
great power to effect definite results. Their names would form a loag list, and
any adequate account of their enterprise and achievements would fill a volume
of respectable size. The names of Marcy, Sumner, Dresser, Ammidown, Wol-
cott, Plimpton, Edwards, Botham, Mason, Paige, and their compeers appear
on every page of the town's annals, and a large part of its prosperity in the [)ast
and the present is due to them. Doubtless some future historian of South-
bridge will detail at length their career as men of foresight and practical ability,
and celebrate their virtues. In this place only a few of those who have passed
from earthly scenes will claim our attention.

The name of INlarcy has long been favorably known in Sturbridge, Charlton,
and the neighboring towns. The two Jedediah Marcys, father and son, were
men of clear heads and strong purpose, and the latter, especially, left his mark
upon the early history of Southbridge. But his son, the Hon. William Learned
Marcy, became the most distinguished of the family, and of all the sons of his
native place. He was born in Sturbridge, as the lines then ran, but in that
part which is now in Southbridge, and therefore may be fairly claimed as part
of the intellectual product of the town. He was born Dec. 12, 1780, and died
at Balston Spa, New York, July 4, 1857. Educated in the schools of his

MAKcv homk.sti:a]), southukidgi;, mass.

EMINENT men: 311

native district, and in tlie academies at Leicester and at Woodstock, Conn.,
he entered Brown University, and, maintaining the rank of a good scliolar, was
graduated with distinction in 1808, at the age of twenty-two years. He studied
law, and was admitted to the bar in Tro}', N. Y., where he followed the practice
of his profession. In the war of 1812-15, he entered the military service as
lieutenant, his company having volunteered for the purpose of defending the
country on the northern frontiers. Ho served with spirit and effect till the
close of the war. The posts he tilled in his public life can only be enumerated,
lie began official life as Eeoordor of Troy. Next he became the editor of " The
Troy Budget." In 1821 he was appointed adjutant-general, and in 1823 he
•was elected comptroller of the State by the Legislature. As a politician ho was
a leading member of the "Albany Regency," so styled, who controlled the
jiolicy of the Republican or Democratic party, as parties then were named. Mr.
]\lai'cy helped to give the vote of the State to Gen. Jackson. In 1829 he
became Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the State. He was elected
United States Senator, Feb. 1, 1831, as a supporter of Gen. Jackson, and
special friend of INIartin Van Buren. In 1832 he was chosen Governor of
the State of New York. He was re-elected in 1834, and again in 183G, but in
1838 was defeated by Mr. Seward. During the administration of President
PolU, 1815-9, Mr. ^larcy was Secretary of War, and exhibited great efficiency
in conducting the affiiirs of his department in the Avar with Mexico. When
Franklin Pierce entered on his Presidential term, 1853-7, Mr. Marcy was
placed at the head of the State Department. The duties of his office were
conducted with great ability. His term of office closed on the fourth of March,
1857, and just four months later his eventful life terminated in sudden death
while he was engaged in reading. He is described as a person above the
ordinary height, stout and muscular, with forehead, face and eyes indicating a
man of ability.

Rev. Eber Carpenter, who was pastor of the Congregational Church nearly
twenty-nine years, from 1835 till 1864, was born in Vernon, Conn., June 24,
1800. He was a man of considerable ability, of great industry and fidelity in
his sacred calling, and of deep and sincere piety. The influence of such a
man, as a public-spirited citizen and an ardent friend of the education of
the young, as v/ell as a devoted parish minister, was great, and in many ways
beneficial.

Among the more distinguished men who have ministered to the Baptist
Church are the Rev. Sewall L. Cutting, D. D., and the Rev. Oakman S. Stearns,
D. D. Mr. Cutting is a native of Windsor, Vt., where he was born Jan. 13,
1813. He was educated at Waterville (Me.) College and the University of
Vermont, jrraduatins: at the latter in 1835. His alma maier honored him with
the degree of Doctor of Divinity in the year 1859. After a brief pastorate in
West Boylston, he was installed over the Baptist Church in Southbridge, Sept.
25, 1839. After a service of eight years in this place, he became editor of tho

312 TOWN OF SOUTHBRIDGE.

" New York Recorder," Ji denominational paper of ability and inflnence. In
1850 he was chosen corresponding secretary of the American and Foreign
Bible Society. His editorial connection with the " Watehmtn and Reflector,"
of Boston, was continned from 1851 to 1853. At the same time he was princi-
pal editor of the " Christian Review," an able and learned quarterly. In 1853
he ngdin became connected with the "New York Recorder." Two years later,
1855, he was appointed professor of rhetoric and history in the University of
Rochester, where he remained about twelve years. In the later years of his
active life. Dr. Cutting has been engaged in promoting the education of a
learned ministry to enter upon their "profession among the churches of the
Baptist faith."

Prof. Stearns, son of Rev. Silas Stearns, for thirty years pastor of the Bap-
tist Church in Bath, Me., was born in that i)lace Oct. 20, 1817. lie was a
graduate of Waterville College in 1840, and of Newton Theological Institute
in 184G. In 1847 he became pastor of the church in Southliridge, and remained
in that position until May 30, 1854, when ho was dismissed, at his own rcque:^t,
on account of the failure of his health. After trying the climate of New Jer-
sey and jSnding no benefit, he accepted a call to the Baptist Church at Newton,
in 1855, and continued to labor in that position " with great harmony and success
until he accepted the professorship of biblical literature in Newton Theological
Institute in June, 1869."

The Hon. Ebenezer D. Aramidown, born Nov. 18, 179G, is said to have been
" eminently the leading man in Southbridge and vicinity in public improve-
ments." He was one of those sagacious men who comprehend the influence of
roads, whether highways or railroads, in promoting all the interests of a cora-
nuinity, whether material or intellectual and moral. At one time he "was
operating all the cotton-mills in the vicinity, as the Dresser or Paige j\Iill, the
AV'estville Mill, the Columbian and the Central Company iNIills." As a com-
missioner and president of a railroad, as a county commissioner, as a magis-
trate, a senator, and representative, he conducted with great ability and sound
judgment. The late Hon. Linus Child writes as follows: "He was a man of
great natural talent and energy, and to whatever business or employment he
applied himself he always exhibited great clearness of perception, comprehen-
siveness of views, and a capacity to appreciate at a glance the true bearings of
any subject to which he gave his attention. In these particulars he was rarely
excelled or even equalled."

The Hon. Linus Child resided in Southbridge many years in the maturity of
his noble manhood. He was born in Woodstock, Conn., near the State line,
in 1802, February 27, and obtained his preparatory education imder the tuition
of Rev. Samuel Backus, East Woodstock, and at Bacon Academy at Colchester.
After finishing the prescribed course of study, he was graduated at Yale Col-
lege in 1824. Having spent two or three years in the study of the law, ho
settled in Southbridge and commenced the practice of his profession. Here he

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES. 313

remained eighteen years, when, in 1845, he removed to Lowell to become the
agent of the large corporation styled the " Boott Mills." It is not needful to
follow the remaining years of his life, except to say that he occupied the posi-
tion of an eminent and useful Christian citizen till his decease in 1870. But
while ho resided in Sonthbridge his course was steadily upward till he became
one of the most prominent and respected men in the connty. His business as
a lawyer was extensive, and he rarely lost a cause in court. Six times was he
elected to the office of State Senator from Worcester County on a general
ticket, before the county was divided into senatorial districts. As a relifi-ious
man, he was not only exemplary in private life, but felt i)rofound interest in all
the great benevolent enterprises of the day. The cause of missions, as repre-
sented by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, was
especially dear to his heart.

In the "Historical Collections," two interesting volumes written by Mr.
Holmes Ammidov/n, merchant, of New York, honoral)le mention is made of
several prominent men in the annals of Sonthbridge. One of these was Moses
Plimpton, who was equalled by few for business capacity. It is said of him
that few, if any, exerted a greater or more beneficial influence in the town.
"To the cause of temperance, schools, lyceums, religion, and in fact to all
cbjects the design of which was the elevation of the people and society about
him, he gave his attention and active support."

In appropriate terms, Mr. Ammidown celebrated the character and deeds of
Timothy Paige, Jr., Esq., James Wolcott, Esq., Col. Otis Ammidown,
Frederick W. Bottom, Esq., and Drs. Jacob Corey and Samuel Hartwell,
physicians of great skill and extensive practice. The limits of this sketch
preclude a more extended notice of these and other men of energy and public
spirit, of whom the town of Sonthbridge appears to have possessed an unusual
number.

In preparing the preceding sketch, information has been derived from Man-
ning Leonard, Esq., Dea. Samuel Lane and Mr. Charles Hyde. The histories
of Davis and Ammidown, and the columns of the "Sonthbridge Journal" have
furnished valuable aid.

VOL. n.— 40

314 TOWN OF SPENCER.

SPENCER.

BY ALBERT W. CURTIS, ESQ.

CHAPTER I.

ORIGINAL GRANT AND INCORPORATION BOUND.\RIES AND TOPOGRAPHY

NATURAL FEATURES, LAKES AND STREAMS EARLY SETTLEMENTS POPU-
LATION TOWN BUSINESS SCHOOLS TOWN HOUSE — PUBLIC LIBRARY

MUSEUM — FIRE DEPARTMENT PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS — WAYS AND CON-
VEYANCES — HOUSES OF ENTERTAINMENT ANTIQUITIES POST-OFFICE.

The Indian grant to the proprietors of the town of Leicester was confirmed
by the General Court upon the condition that within seven year.s' time fifty
families bhonld settle on part of said land. To accomplish this the proprietors
sold the eastern portion of the grant to actual settlers, and reserved the western
portion for themselves. The town thus became early divided into the " settlers'
part," which constitutes Leicester, and the " proprietors' part," now Spencer.
The natural result of this mode of settlement was that the few who had pur-
chased land in the " proprietors' part " had to bear the full proportion of all
taxes, while those in the "settlers' part" enjoyed all the benefits of church,
school, and improvements. The western part soon became dissatisfied with
this arrangement, and in 1736 petitioned the General Court "that the tax of
one penny per acre laid on the proprietors of the westerly part of Leicester
might be ap[)lied towards the support of preaching in that part of the Town."
Through some informality the petition was not acted upon, and nothing further
was done until 1741, when the western portion requested the town that they
might bo "set olf." The vote was in the affirmative, and a committee was
chosen to secure the necessary legislation. A bill for that purpose was passed
by the General Court, but was vetoed by Gov. Shirley for the reason that
it would increase the number of representatives. The inhabitants of the
westerly part, however, did not despair, but employed John Ormes as agent
in their behalf, to petition to be made a distinct town, or otherwise, to
be a parish. He presented a petition to the General Court May 30, 1744,
asking that the westerly part of Leicester might bo made a precinct. The
petition was granted and "the second precinct of the town of Leicester" was

TOWN ORGANIZATION. 315

incorporated July 18, 1744. In 1749, because the solectmon refused to lay
out town roads in the west parish, application was made to the Court of Sessions
at Worcester to lay them out. A compromise was effected, but the town chose
a committee to petition the General Court to set off the west pirt"intoa
distinct and separate town." The bill was passed by the General Court, but
was vetoed by Lieut. G>)V. Spencer Phips, Gov. Shirley being in England.
The reason of the veto was similar to the former one, that the number of
representatives would l)e increased. Three years later, at a parish meeting
held March 0, 1753, Benjamin Johnson, eTohn White, and John Worster were
chosen a committee to make one more effort to secure incorporation as a town,
and they secured the passage of an act entitled " An act for erecting the second
precinct in the town of Leicester into a separate district." The provisions of
the bill were —

" Be it enacted hy the Lieutenant-Governor^ Council^ and House oj Representatives,

" Tliat the second precinct of Leicester, bounding north on the town of Rutland,
easterly on the First Parish in Leicester, southerly on land called the Country Gore,
westerly on the town of Bi'ookfield, be and hereby is erected into a separate and distinct
district b}' the name of Spencer, and that the said district be invested with all the
powers, privileges, and immunities that towns in this province by law do or may enjoy,
that of sending a represenlative to the General Assembly only excepted."

It was further provided that the district might join with the town of Leices-
ter in choosing a representative, and the district clerk was to be notified of all
meetings for that purpose. The act passed the House and Council April 3,
1753, and was approved by Lieut. Gov. Spencer Phips April 12. While this
act did not erect a separate town in name, yet it did to all intents and purposes,
and it is the only act of incorporation that Spencer ever had. The title of
district was used until July 17, 1775, wdien a meeting of the district, acting
upon the following warrant, —

" Whereas the Selectmen of Spencer have received a precept from the Provincial
Congress containing a resolve of the Honorable Continental Congress recommending
to form government as near the s[)irit and substance of the charter as may be and also
containing a request from the Provincial Congress to cause the inhabitants of the Dis-
trict of Spencer, who are qual lied agreeable to the charter aforesaid to vote for a repre-
sentative to set in the Great and General Court or Assembly' of this colony, to be
assembled for to elect and depute one or more person or persons to represent them in a
Great and General Court to be convened and held at Watertown on Wedncsda}' the
nineteenth day of July instant, and to continue, if need be, until the end of the day
next precccding the last Wednesday in Ma3- next and no longer, and by order of the
Selectmen I do hereby notify and warn all the freeholders and other inhabitants of
Spencer, aforesaid, to meet at the Meeting House in Spencer on Monday, the seven-
teenth day of July instant, at five o'clock in the afternoon, for the purpose of choosing
a person or persons to represent them in the Great and General Court.

" John Bisco, District Cleric

316 TOWN OF SPENCER.

— elected Oliver AYatson as representative ; thus severing their connection with
Leicester and establishing a separate and distinct town. Until this date, all
warrants had been directed to " a constable of the District of Spencer," and the
clerks styled themselves " District clerks," but after this date the warrants were
directed to "a constable of the Town of Spencer" and the clerks styled them-
selves " Town clerks."

The town contains 21,594 acres of land; its south line, bounding on
Charlton, runs S. 8° E. four miles and forty-three rods ; its east line, bound-
ing on Leicester and Paxton, N. 2^° AV. eight miles and one hundred and fifty
rods ; its north line, bounding on Paxton and Oakham, S. 85° W. three miles
and two hundred and fourteen rods ; its west line, bounding on North Brook-
field and Brookiield, S. |° E. eight miles and one hundred and eighty-six rods.
The town is situated upon elevated land with a southerly slope. Although the
face of the land is very uneven, yet there are not any very high or abru[)t hills.
There are a number of rounded hills interspersed through the town, which are
of urent fertilitv. The underlying rock is ferruginous gneiss, which in some
places bear evidence of the glacial action of remote ages. The elevated situa-
tion prevents the formation of any ponds or rivers of any magnitude. Whitte-
more or Moose Pond is the only natural body of water entirely within the
limits of the town. This is situated near the main village and contains about
eighty acres, and is almost entirely supplied from springs along its margin.
Browning's and Johnson's ponds embrace a small part of the northerly part of
the town. In the centre village are three artificial ponds, which furnish con-
siderable water-power. In the south-easterly part of the town is the Stiles
Reservoir, which covers about four hundred acres. Most of the streams run
southerly, the largest is Seven-Mile River. Rising in Browning's Pond and
flowing through the northerly part of the town into Brookficld, it empties into
Podunk Pond. Several small streams empty into this river before it reaches
the Brookfield line. Only one stream flows south-easterly into French River.
Although there is plenty of rock in the town, yet none of it is suitable for
building purposes. Considerable quantities of upland iron ore were formerly
carried to an iron foundry in Brookfield, but the business has died out. Dis-
coveries of silver have been reported in diflferent parts of the town, but not in
suiBcient quantities to pay for working.

The first person to purchase land in the " Proprietors' part " of the town of
Leicester was Nathaniel Wood, who, in 1717, purchased one hundred acres of
Paul Dudley near the Brookfield line on the old county road. lie resided there
but a few years and removed to Brookficld. In 1721, Samuel Bemis purchased
four hundred acres of Paul Dudley, adjoining the land of Wood. He was the
first permanent settler, and many of his descendants still live in the town.
The first frame house erected in town was built by him about 1727. It is
related that the Indians came frequently to his house to lodge, and that his
wife, when about to have a child, went to Sudbury from fear of them, and

TOWN HAI.L, SPENCEK, IMAS.S.

LOCAL IMPROVEMENTS. 317

when the child was only two weeks old she rode home with him in her arms
ill one day, a distance of about fifty miles. In 1723, John Greaton purchased
a lot of land near what is now the Stiles Reservoir. The fourth settlement was
made by Jonathan Lamb in 1726 in the south-easterly part of the town. In
1731, Samuel Bcmis, Jonathan Lamb, and John Greaton were the only persons
taxed in the " Proprietors' part " of Leicester. In 1733, James Ormcs and
Jonathan Ormes were added. In 1739 seventeen persons were taxed. In 1742,
forty-one. The population of the district at the time of its incorporation was
about 500. The population at the different censuses since that time have been,
in 1776, 1,042; in 1790, 1,322; in 1800, 1,432; in 1810, 1,453; in 1820,
1,548; in 1830, 1,688; in 1840, 1,604; in 1850, 2,243; in 1860, 2,777; in
1865, 3,024 ; in 1870, 3,952 ; in 1875, 5,451. The rank of the town in popu-
lation with others in the county has undcr^^onc many chauGjes. In 1776 it was
the eighteenth place in the county; in 1803, the fourteenth ; in 1820, the nine-
teenth ; in 1830, the twenty-third ; in 1840, the twenty-eighth ; in 1850, the
eighteenth; in 1860, the sixteenth; in 1865, the twelfth; in 1870, the ninth;
in 1875, the fifth. The number of houses in 1764 was 100; in 1850, 341 ; in
1860, 485; in 1875, 666; in 1878, 742. In 1875 the total valuation was
$2,605,027, being the eighth place in the county in this respect. In 1878 the
valuation was $2,862,650, and the number of polls 1,691. The number of
registered voters in 1878 was 973. Of the population in 1875, 1,971 were
born in the town, 1,327 were born in other towns in the State, 387 were born
in other States, and 1,766 were foreign-born.

In accordance with the act of incorporation, Thomas Steele, Esq., of Leices-
ter, issued a warrant to Benjamin Johnson "to notify and warn the inhabitants
of said District qualified by law to vote in town affairs to meet at the Meeting
House in said District on May 14, 1753." Benjamin Johnson was chosen
moderator, clerk, selectman, and treasurer. The other selectmen Avere John
AVorster, John Cunningham, John Muzzy, and James Willson. The selectmen
were also chosen assessors. Samuel Bemis and John Ormes were chosen con-
stables, Joshua Draper and Benjamin Woodard, hog-rceves, and James Draper
and Jacob Stoddard, tything-mcn.

One of the first acts of the district was, "Voted to allow Lieu. John White
two pounds and thirteen shillings and four pence for his services in going to
the Grate and Genrel Corte in order to git us to be a district." Several roads
which the town of Leicester had refused to lay out were ordered to be built.
The locations of these show the primitive condition of the country at the time,
the courses being marked by notches on some particular trees. Many of these
roads were beaten paths made by the settlers in their intercourse with one
another and to attend church, and each settler was accommodated, if possil)le,
with a road, after the formation of the district. The main road, the "old
county," was laid out previous to 1725, as the town of Leicester was indicted
at the Quarter Sessions in that year for not maintaining a bridge over Seven-

318 TOWN OF SPENCER.

Mile River. The south county road was laid out in 1756 and the north county
road in 1757. As the business and population of the town have increased, the
number of roads has rajiidly multiplied to meet the demands, until there are
nearly three hundred miles of town roads to maint;iin and repair. At a meet-
ing in 1753 it was voted " to raise forty two pounds of lawful money for the
repair of roads." At the same meeting it was voted "to allow two shillings
per day for a man and two shillings per day for one 3'oke of oxen and cart and
one shilling for a yoke of oxen for work on the highways." In 1754 forty-five
pounds were raised for highways, and this amount was annually appropri:itcd
until 1779, when the burdens of the Avar were so great that the town refused
to appropriate any money for this purpose, and the surveyors were instructed
"to invite the people to work on the roads without compensation." Since then
the appropriations for this purpose have gradually increased, and for several
years the appropriation has been $5,000. The roads have been under the
charge of surveyors, excepting in 1875-G-7, when thoy were under the care
of road commissioners.

Although one of the reasons assigned for the separation from Leicester was
the neglect to provide schools, the district did not take any action in the
matter until 1755, when sixteen pounds were raised to hire a schoolmaster.
In 175G twenty pounds were raised, and it was voted " not to build any school-
houses." In 17G6 thirty pounds were raised and the district divided into six
school districts, three south of the "old county road " and three north, and the
schools were kept in private houses during that year. In 17G8 it was voted
"to build a school-house in each district," but on account of di^afjieemcnts
among the people and the war, the vote was not carried into effect until 1790,
when a new division of the district was made and ten school-houses were
ordered to bo built. In 1759, by leave of the General Court, the district sold
its school lands, containing about 109 acres, for $43G. Previous to 1856 a
high school was maintained by private subscriptions ; in that year the town
raised $300 for that purpose, and the next year a large building was erected
fur the accommodation of the school on the north side of the common. The
land was the gift of William Pope, Esq. A fund of $2,000 had been bequeathed
towards building the house, by Charles E. Denny.

The .'ippropriutions for schools were, after 1800, for several years, from five
to six hundred dollars. In 1860 $1,800 were raised for common schools, and
$600 for the high school. In 1870 the high school had $1,000 and the common
schools $4,000. In 1879 common schools had $8,000, and the high school
$1,800. The town is now divided into twelve districts, and the school
property appraised at $36,150. During the year 1878 twelve hundred and
eighty-nine children attended the schools ; the number of minors between the
ages of five and fifteen were 1,407. Twenty-five teachers were employed during
the year. The average pay of the common-school teachers \vas $34 per month.

Town meetings were for many years held in the meeting-house, but the

LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 319

records show that many atljournments were made to some of the taverns, where
most of the important business was transacted. In 1839 a buildino- was
erected by the town. It was two stories high, 50 by 40 feet, with a cupola
and bell. The lower story was divided into a number of apartments for the
iiso of the town officers and fire department. The upper story was used for a
hall, and was the only one in town for years. In 18G3 a new bell was pur-
chased for the building. As the population of the town increased larger
accommodations had to be made, and in 1870 a committee of nine was chosen
to report at the next March meeting on the sul)jcct. This committee reported
in favor of building a new hall, but their report was rejected. The same month
another meeting was called and a committee of thirteen chosen to build a new
town house. The old house was sold and an eles-ant brick buildinor erected on
its site. The building is 100 by 70 feet, three stories high, with a bell and
clock. The building was completed in 1872, at a cost of about $58,000. The
lower floor furnishes accommodation for the public library, town officers, lock-
up and fire department ; the second story is used for a hall ; the third story is
divided into halls, one of which is occupied by the Masonic and Odd Fellows'
Lodges.

Several years previous to 1870 the Spencer Library Association was formed
for the purpose of furnishing books for public use. The books were kept in
the hisfh-school buildiuG:, and a small sum charsjed for their use. In 1870 the
town voted "to accept the Library of the Spencer Library Association," and
has annually appropriated the dog-fund for its benefit. The library contains
about 2,800 volumes, and is patronized by nearly one thousand persons. It is
under the care of three trustees appointed annually by the selectmen.

In the room with the library is the museum, a collection of historical relics
and natural curiosities, which was accepted by the town in 1874. It contains
many interesting relics of the wars in which the people of the town have
engaged ; also a large collection of Indian relics, which have been quite common
in many parts of the town.

The town has a good and substantial fire department, consisting of a hand
engine, which has done good service for many years, a steamer purchased in
1871, and a hook-and-ladder truck bought in 1874. Reservoirs have bee
located about the villaijc, which furnish sufficient water at all times.

The town has been active in public improvements to meet its rapid growth.
In 1869 it was voted to accept the provisions of the General Statutes in refer-
ence to sidewalks, and many plank walks have been laid. Lntcl}', concrete
walks have taken the place of plank walks. About fifteen hundred dollars are
expended yearly for this object. In 1872 the town accepted the street-lam[)S
which had been erected by private parties and voted to light them. The town
now maintains about sixty lamps. In 1871 and '72 three hundred dollars were
appropriated for shade-trees ; since that time no appropiiation h'ls been made
for this purpose.

320 TOWN OF SPEXCER.

One of the most important questions ever brought before the town was that
of connection with the business world. The first record of a public conveyance
is in 1783, when Levi Pease, of Somers, Conn., and Reuben Sikes, of Hart-
ford, Conn., established a stage line between Hartford and Boston. The coach
left Hartford at 11 o'clock a.m. Monday, reached Somers at night, on Tuesday
reached Brookfield, Northborough on Wednesday, and Boston Thursday even-
ing. The fare was fourponce per mile. Before the establishment of this line
the mail was carried on horseback, and then on this line of stages. A French
traveller in 1788 describes the stage as follows: "It was a carriage without
springs — a kind of a wagon. A Frenchman who was with me began at the
first jolt to curse the carriage, the driver and the county. Let us wait, said
I, a little before we form a judgment; every custom has its cause; there is,
doubtless, some reason why this kind of carriage is preferred to one hung on
springs. In fact, by the time we had run thirty miles among the rocks, wo
were convinced that a carriage with springs would very soon have been overset
and broken." Coaches continued to bo the means of public conveyance until
the construction of the Western Railroad, which was opened for public use Dec.
27, 1841. This road runs through the touth part of the town, and the depot
is located about two miles from the centre village. Attempts were made at
the time to get the road located nearer the business portion of the town, but
personal selfishness defeated them. Even after the road was located, some of
the business men endeavored to obtain sites near the depot, but the price of
land was so high that the plan was abandoned, and the business portion of the
town continued located two miles from the depot. As the business of the town
increased the subject of better railroad facilities began to be considered, and
many different projects were conceived. For a time a route independent of
the Boston and Albany Railroad was the favorite idea, and a corporation organ-
ized Tinder the name of Worcester County Central Railroad, composed of busi-
ness men of this and adjoining towns. A route was surveyed through the
town a little north of Centre Villai]:e, but the cost of construction was found to
be so large that the necessary funds could not be raised, and the project v/as
abandoned. After the construction of the North Brookfield Railroad many
were in favor of building a branch road to East Brookfield, but this had so
much opposition that it was given up for a branch road to the depot in town.
A survey of such a route had been made in 1870, but it was not until June 1,
1872, that the subject was brought before the town on an article " to see if the
town will build a railroad from Spencer Depot to the village." The vote was
in the negative. Nothing further was done except to make new surveys of
routes, until in 1877 the town again voted " not to take any stock in a proposed
railroad from the depot to the village." In 1878 the Spencer Railroad Com-
pany was organized "to construct a railroad from the depot to the village, with
a capital of $50,000," one-half of which was subscribed by the business men,
and the town asked to take the balance of the stock. After a close contest a

i::^'-;;^^. .r-^i^^S^pjtv/irT e.co-_

THE roPE MAXsiox, sPExcEit, MASS. (Oldcst Housc in Town.)

FAMOUS BUILDINGS. 321

vote to that cfTcct was carried, and the road is now in operation, having been
leased by the Boston and Albany Raib'oad.

Closely connected with the subject of public conveyance is that of public
houses or inns. These were many in the early days of the town, there being
five on the "old county road," three of them bcius; near each other in the lower
village, and probably the}^ were vvcll patronized, as this was the most frequented
rontc for travellers between Boston and New York. Thirteen lines of stages
were at one time running through the town. The oldest and most noted was
the " Jcnks Tavern," which occupied the site of the present Massasoit Hotel.
This hotel was erected by Josiah Robinson in 1743, and is described by a
French traveller in 1788 as follows: "The house of the tavern was but half
built, but the part that was (inished had an air of cleanliness which pleases,
because it announces that degree of competence, those moral and delicate
habits which arc never seen in our villages. The chambers were neat, the beds
good, the sheets clean, the supper passable ; cider, tea, punch, and all for four-
teen pence por head." Gen. AVashington stopped at this tavern over night
when he visited the Eastern States in 1789. It was destroyed by fire in 1870,
and an elegant and commodious hotel has been erected on its site by the Spencer
Hotel Company. The opening of the Western Railroad destroyed highway
travellinsr, and the other hotels were converted into dwelliuij-houses or torn
down. But two of the old taverns are now standing — the Mason House, near
Isaac Pronty &, Co.'s boot factory, and the Bemis House, opposite the Congre-
gational Church.

The Pope mansion, the oldest house in the town, was built by Rev. Mr.
Eaton. His journal has this entry : "Oct. 4, 1745. This day moved into my
own house. Blessed bo God, who has given me an habitation. May God
dwell with us." The house was purchased of his heirs by Rov. Joseph Pope,
Dec. 20, 1775. Situated on the main road from the western counties of
Massachusetts to the capital, it was for half a century t!ie hospitable resting-
place of ministers on their way to and from the metropolis. Mrs. Aima
Pope, widow of Rev. Joseph Pope, occupied this house for eighty-two years.
She survived her husband thirty-three years, and died July 14, 1859, at the
age of one hundred and four years six months and twenty-eight days.
The house has been kept in good repair, and is still occupied by her descend-
ants.

The post-ofBce, when first established, was kept in the Jenks Tavern, where
it remained many years, under the charge of Isaac Jenks and Isaac Jenks, Jr.
Upon the appointment of Amasa Bemis, Jr., as postmaster, it was transferred
to his tavern opposite the Congregational Church. Upon the appointment of
Eleazer B. Draper it was re-transferred to the Jenks Tavern. Georgj Livermorc
succeeded Draper, and the post-oiBcc was kept in Union Block, which was
erected in 1851. Willard Rice, the next postmaster, had his office in the
"Sol Davis" house, now Robert F. Howe's. Rice was succeeded by Luther

VOL. H —41

322 TOWN OF SPEXCER.

Hill, who kept the office in the store of Lorenzo Bcrais. Horace A. Grout
was the next postmaster, and he transferred it to Union Block, where it has
since remained.

CHAPTER II.

MILITARY HISTORY REVOLUTIONARY TIMES — SHAYS' REBELLION — THE GREAT

CIVIL WAR — SLAVERY — ECCLESIASTICAL MATTERS — CHURCHES AND DENOMI-
NATIONS — CEMETERIES.

The military history of the town is a patriotic one, whether the inhabitants
were serving the king, the Colonies, or the United States. It commenced with
the declaration of Avar by Great Britain against France in 1744, one year after
the incorporation of the district. Edmund Bemis and James Smith were in
the expedition which resulted in the capture of Louisburg. An obituary
notice of Edmund Bemis, published in the " Massachusetts Spy," Dec. 26, 1810,
says: "He early entered into the service of his country, and was a lieutenant
at the reduction of Louisburg in the year 1745. At this siege he was a zealous
and active officer. After the French had surrendered to the victorious arms
of New England, it was found that they had spiked their cannon, intending
thereby to render them entirely useless to the captors. It had been heretofore
deemed an impracticable thing, after a gun was thus spiked to drill it out, or
bv any other method whatever to render it again fit for service. The com-
mander of the American forces offered a premium to any one who would under-
take the task, if he should prove successful. Lieutenant Bemis undertook it,
and by a process heretofore imthought of effected the desired object. Instead
of drilling, till then supposed to be the only practicable method, he collected a
large quantity of wood around the cannon, and setting it on fire, heated it to
such a degree, that, with a cold punch, the spike was easily driven into the
barrel. Thus was he the author of a useful discovery to his country, which
has ever since been followed with complete success. After the reduction of
Louisburg, he was a captain in the war with France which succeeded ; at the
close of which he returned homo, to seek that repose among his friends which
he has since enjoyed without interniplion. It will be, perhaps, worthy of
notice, as one singular circumstance, tliat he dug the grave for the first person
in Spencer, upwards of seventy years ago."

John Stcbbings, Philip Richardson, John Wicker, James Smith, Jr., Israel
Richardson, Jonas Bemis, James Capen, William May, Josiah Robinson, Jr.,
James Stcbbings, and Joseph Worster, served in the war during the year
1756, Nathaniel Parmentcr Avas in the seivice in 1750, and David Prouty and
Daniel Hill in 1760. James Smith and Nathaniel Parmenter died in the service.

Ihus the inhabitants acquired that knowledge of military tactics which proved

MILITARY HISTORY. 323

to be of great use to them, within a few years, in the contest for the principles
of self-government. Most of the public actions of the town on the questions
which led to that contest were taken in connection with the towns of Leicester
and Paxton, Avhen they asseml)led together to elect their representative, or
when called to consult upon the issues which were impending. The resolu-
tions passed at these different meetings, and the instructions drawn up for their
representatives, show their earnestness in the cause of self-government and
civil liberty. During the year 1774, not less than five of these meetings were
held to consider "the melancholy situation of (Uir public affairs at this critical
conjuncture." In 1771 the town voted "that eleven pounds, one shilling, and
seven pence be raised to furnish the town stock of ammunition." In accord-
ance with this vote, one hundred pounds of powder were purchased for seven
pounds, and one hundred and sixty-four pounds of bullets for three pounds. It
was also voted to raise lifty "elTcc'ivc men" immediately, and furnish them
with blankets, equipments, each one pound of powder, and bullets. A sub-
scription for the relief of the inhabitants of Boston and Charlestown was also
taken. The town directed its treasurers and constables to make their remit-
tances to Henry Gardner of Stow, wdio had been chosen state treasurer by the
congress assembled at Watertown, and " to save them harmless therefor." It
was also voted "to accept the recommendtition of Congress in reference to the
non-importation of goods from Great Britain ;" and John Ciuminghara, Oliver
"VVatson, and Asa Baldwin were chosen " to see that the vole bo enforced."
During the year a company of minute-men was raised and placed under the
command of Capt. Ebenezer Mason. At the annual meeting in 1775, a Com-
mittee of Correspondence were chosen, consisting of Oliver Watson, Moses
Liverraore, and John Muzzy. A town meeting was called for April 24, 1775,
"to see what provision the town will make for the company of minute-men,
should they be called into service."

But they were called upon before that day. The messenger announcing the
march of Gen. Gage for Concord passed through the town in the afternoon of
April 19. Fifty-six men, under Capt. Ebenezer Mason, started at once and
marched throu'^'h Leicester that evenino;. Nine men from Spencer also marched
with Capt. Seth Washburn's company, of Leicester. On their arrival at Water-
town, f(U-ty of Capt. Mason's company enlisted for eight months, under Capt.
Joel Green and Lieut. David Prouty. This company was connected with the
reaiment commanded by Col. Lamed of Oxford. Josei)h Livcrmore, Llij.ih
Sonth"-ate, Andrew Morgan, Jonas Lamb, Peter Rice, Thomas Sprague, John
Hatch, Wright Woodward, and Isaac Livcrmore, enlisted in Capt. Washburn's
company. This company participated in the battle of Bunker Hill, and covered
the retreat of the troops who were engaged in the front. They escaped without
i: jury. John Guilford, Daniel Ball, Benjamin G. Ball, and David Chamberlin
were in the expedition to capture Quebec, in 1775.

In May, 1775, at the request of Congress to relieve the poor of Boston, the

324 TOWN OF SPENCER.

town supported thirty-oue persons ; ten fire-arms wore also furnished the State by
the town. It was also voted "to pay Jeremiah Whittemore for his services in
attending the minute company with his team, two pounds and twelve shillings."
In 177G, Asa Baldwin, Jeremiah Whitteraore, Joshua Draper, David Prouty,
Knight Spraguc, and Benjamin Gleason, were chosen Committee of Correspond-
ence. In June of that year, the selectmen being requested by Congress to
obtain the opinion of the town "whether it would be supported in declaring the
independence of the colonies from the Kingdom of Great Britain," it was voted
"that, should Congress think it expedient to declare the colonies independent of
the Kingdom of Great Britain, we do hcvehy falhj , fieeli/ , and solemnly engage
with our lives and fortunes^ to support Congress in such a measure." And
Oliver Watson was directed to communicate the vote to Congress.

In 1777 the Committee of Correspondence for 177G was re-elected for that
year. This year, in accordance with an act passed by the General Court, enti-
tled, " An Act to prevent Monopoly and Oppression," the selectmen and Com-
mittee of Safety fixed the following prices : A day's work for a man in summer,
OS. ; a day's work for a yoke of oxen, Is. (id. ; a bushel of wheat, Gs. ; a bushel
of rye, 45'.; bushel of corn, 36-.; sheep's wool, l.s*. lOd. per pound; cotton
wool, 35. 8t?. per pound ; brown sugar, 85. per pound ; coffee, 1,9. 4cZ. per
pound ; molasses, 4.5. Q)d. per gallon ; a meal of victuals, 9cZ. ; a night's lodg-
ing, Zd.; "West India flip, lie?, per mug; New England flip, 9J. per mug.
The town allowed to each man who should enlist for three years or during the
war twenty pounds bounty, and voted to furnish blankets, one pair of shirts,
stockings, and other clothing for the army, at the rate of one suit for every
male person from the town over sixteen years of age. Between January and
April, 1777, the town paid in bounties one hundred and ninety-nine pounds
and fourteen shillings. The General Court having called in four hundred thou-
sand poundsof the State's outstanding debts, the town made a vigorous remon-
strance, but, being unsuccessful, raised its proportion by a tax. The amount
raised was nine hundred and ninety-one pounds and seventeen shillings, or
about thirteen hundred dollars.

In July, 1777, a company, under command of David Prouty, went to Ben-
nington. In August another company, commanded by Josiah White, went to
the same place. In November it was voted to assess one hundred pounds for
ammunition bought. At a meeting in December, a committee was appointed
"to ascertain what service each person had rendered, either by men, money, or
otherwise, since April 19, 1775. There is nothing to show that this committee
ever made a report. It was voted " not to allow Asa V.'hiitcmore's bill for
carting baggage of Capt. Prouty's and Capt. White's companies to Bennington,
and going to Iladley, as he had already been paid by the State." Joshua
Lamb, John Muzzy, Joshua Barton, John Worster, and John Watson were
chosen Committee of Safety for 1778. Jan. 5, 1778, the town adopted "the
articles of perpetual union between the States," otherwise known as the

PATRIOTIC ACTION. 325

" Articles of Confederation." At a meeting in May, tho town rejected the Con-
stitution which had been formed by the General Court, the vote being one hun-
dred and two against it. Seven men were paid this year thirty pounds cadi
for enlisting for nine months, and thirty-seven pairs of shoes, shirts, and stock-
ings were furnished to the State. The selectmen were instructed to furnish
aid to the families of the soldiers. James Livermore, Benjamin Gleazcn,
John Worster, John Muzzy, and Jacob Upham were the Committee of Safety
for 1779. Early in the year, bounties of thirty pounds each were paid to six
men, who had enlisted for six months, and sixty pounds were raised for the
families of soldiers. Between March and July of that year, eighty-nine pounds
and seventeen shillings were raised for supplies for the army. At a meeting
in July, upon notice from tho selectmen of Boston that many Tories, who had
left at the commencement of the Revolution, were now returning, spirited res-
olutions were passed approving of the conduct of the town of Boston " in their
endeavors to take up and secure such odious persons who had the impudence
to appear in that town, that (hey may be dealt with according to a good and
wholesome law of this State." They also pledged themselves "to aid and
assist the civil magistrate in the execution of all laws made for the purpose of
excluding all such hateful creatures from among us, and we also recommend to
all persons that they would exert themselves to prevent all and every of these
dissolute wretches from coming and harbouring among any of the people of this
State." A committee, consisting of Stephen Hatch, Jeremiah "Whittcmore,
and Israel Ball, was chosen to look after the destitute families of the soldiers,
and two hundred pounds raised for that purpose. The town instructed John
Muzz3% their representative, " not to give his consent to any act for making up
the sinks of money between debtor and creditor, either public or private, sol-
diers and officers in the Continental army excepted." Eleven more men were
furnished for the army, and a tax of fifty-four hundred pounds assessed. It
must be remembered that at this time currency was greatly depreciated, and
this tax was equal to about nine hundred dollars.

In August, Asa Baldwin was sent by the town to a convention to be held at
Concord to fix the prices of the necessaries of life. The prices of the most
important articles were : corn per bushel, $14 ; wheat, $27 ; hay, $5 per hun-
dred ; labor, per day, $1) ; beef, 92 cts. per pound ; men's shoes, prr pair, $20 ;
stockings, per pair, $12.

In 1780, John Muzzy, Johnson Lynde, John Sumner, Benjamin Bemis, and
Jonas Muzzy were chosen Committee of Safety. In paying a bounty of thirty
pounds to soldiers this year, the value of it was fixed at three shillings for
corn and four shillings for rye. During the year there was a constant demand
for supplies and money. In IMarch, seven thousand one hundred and fifty
pounds of beef were furnished for the army, and sixteen thousand pounds raised
by a tax. In September, the selectmen were authorized to borrow money to
purchase clothing and blankets for the soldiers, and forty-eight thousand four

326 TOWN OF SPENCER.

hundrecl and fifty-six pounds was raised to pay soldiers. In October, twenty
thousand pounds were raised to buy beef for the army, and thirty-five hundred
and sixty-five pounds to provide horses for the use of the army. In December,
four hundred and sixty-seven pounds more were raised for beef, and three thou-
sand and fifty pounds to hire fourteen men to serve for three years. During
this year, eighty-eight thousand six hundred and thirty-three pounds were paid
into the town treasury. This seems a huge sum for the people of those
times, with their limited resources, and after the demands of the last few years ;
but it must be remembered that the currency was greatly depreciated at this
time. At the beginning of the year it was forty to one, and before its close,
two hundred and forty to one. In May the town assembled to vote upon the
State Constitution. All of the articles were approved, excepting those in rela-
tion to representation, which were regarded as unequal, many places not being
ulh)wed to participate in the election of them.

lu 1781, John Sumner, Jonas Muzzy, Johnson Lynde, Jeremiah Whitte-
ni(U-e and Nathaniel T. Loring were the Committee of Safety. The town voted
" that all money raised during the year l)e hard money." In July five hundred
and thirty-six pounds were raised to purchase beef. In September, two hundred
})onnds more were raised to pay S(;ldiers. The assessors having made out the
t:ix-lists, graduated in the paper currency, the town voted "that the tax bills
be leturned to the assessors, and that they be reduced to hard-money currency."
This year virtually terminated the war ; the last requisition made was in March,
1782, when the town was required to furnish its quota of soldiers for three
years. Asa Baldwin, Jeremiah Whittemore, and Ezckiel Newton were the
Committee of Safety during 1782, James Hathaway, Jonas Muzzy, and Isaac
Morgan, in 1783, and James Livermore, Jeremiah Whittemore, and John Wat-
son, in 1784, when the ofiice was abolished.

This outline of the town's doings in the Revolution shows their devoteduess
to the principles for which the war was fought, and that the people "freely,
fully, and solemnly" kept their [)ledge to sustain Congress in declaring the
independence of the Colonies from Great Britain. The number of soldiers
furnished by the town during the war has never been ascertained.

Before the close of the war the Continental currency had become worthless ;
the State was largely in debt, and to meet its payments largo taxes were
imposed upon the people, and this town was very active in remonstrating
against this course. John Bisco, their representative, was instructed to re-
quest the General Court to repeal an act which had l)een passed levying a tax
upon articles of trade, or otherwise "redress grievances too palpable to be
denied, and too irreat to bo borne." Obtaininsr no relief from the Legis-
laiure, conventions were held, "to take into consideration the many grievances
the good people of this Commonwealth labor under." Isaac Jenks was the
representative to the General Court in 1782, and among his many instructions
were these : — "To procure laws to be passed, that no suit should be commeuccd

THE SII.VYS IXSURRECTIOX. 327

without previous notification to the debtor; that State notes and certificates be
a legal tender for all debts, as gold and silver were ; that all property attached
for debt should be appraised to the creditor to satisfy his del)t." Executions
were issued against the constables in 1784 for two years' delinquent State
taxes. In 1785, a petition wis sent to the General Court, praying them ''to
establish a bank of paper money." or property of all Uinds be made a tender
for payment of debts. A special town meeting was called June 8, 178G, "to
sec if the Town will take into consideration the present distress of the people
of this Commonwealth, caused by a want of a circulating medium to satisfy the
demands now called for." A committee was chosen to attend a convention of
the adjoining towns, to bo held at Leicester; and they were instructed, "to use
their best endeavors to obtain a bank of paper money." It was also voted to
petition the Court of Common Pleas to adjourn all suits from Jtnie to Septem-
ber. Among the list of grievances reported to the General Court was, "the
existence of the judicial courts" declaring that they "conceived their existence
to be a great and unnecessary burthen upon the people, and that thoy may be
abolished." The attempt to overawe the court at Worcester was participated
in by a company from this town, who were armed and equipped with powder
and balls. About this time, the town's magazine was broken opc-n, and the
stock of arms and ammunition removed. As the annual meetiuG: for 1787 was
called by John Bisco, a justice of the peace, upon a petition to him from the
citizens, representing that the majority of the selectmen were out of town, it is
inferred that they had some connection with the removal of the town's stock.
Four citizens afterwards made an apology to the town for their connection with
the affair. Some of the town's people joined the insurgents at New Braintree,
and one of them, David May, was ol)liged to pay large damages to David Young,
who was wounded in attempting to disband the company in which May was.
After the insurrection was quelled, the records show that a large number were
obliged to take the oath of allei^iance before John Bisco. The sentiment of
the people in reference to Shays' Insurrection is shown in the vote for Gov-
ernor in 1787. John Hancock, who was supposed to be in favor of a lenient
course towards those of the insurgents who had been arrested and were then
imprisoned, and of a change of policy in administering State affairs, received
eighty-seven votes ; while Gov. Bowdoin received only seven. After the
election the trouble quietly subsided. In 1791 it was voted, "to take tifteen
shillings on the pound for what the State owes the town."

There is nothing to show that the town ever took any official action in the
war of 1812 or the Mexican war.

The Civil war in 18G1 found the inhabitants of Spencer as patriotic as they
Ave re in 1775. On the day after the firing upon the sixth regiment at Balti-
more a warrant was posted calling a town meeting, April 29, "to see what
measures the town will take to furnish outfits and uniforms for a company of
volunteers about to be organized for the service of the government." At this

328 TOWN OF SPENCER.

meeting the selectmen and assessors were chosen a committee of safety,
"whose duty it shall be to supervise, expend and lay out for the purposes
mentioned in the above article such a sum or sums, not exceeding five thousand
dollars, as may be necessary." At this time the selectmen were Luther Hill,
Dexter Bullard, Joshua Bemis, Josiah Green, Jr., and Jeremiah W. Drake ; the
assessors were Nathan Hcrsey, David Bemis and George L. Ilobbs. It was
voted "to pay each member of the volunteer company seventy-live cents for
each one-half day they drilled within the next thirty days." The committee of
safety were authorized to pay to each member of the volunteer company ten
dollars per month while in actual service, in addition to government pay. A
recruiting committee of eleven, one from each school district, was chosen.
A flag was purchased for the town house, and the ladies were invited to procure
a banner for the company. The volunteers were organized with William T.
Harlow as captain, and joined the twenty-first regiment as company C.

At a meeting in August the selectmen were authorized to furnish aid to
soldiers' families; and, if that furnished l)y the State was not enough, to draw
a sum sufficient for their comfortable support. Ten dollars was voted to each
volunteer. In 1862 the poll-taxes of volunteers were abated, and a bounty of
one hundred dollars oifered to thirty-two persons who would enlist for one
year, and fifly dollars more if they remained in service over one year. Under
the call for nine months' men the town offered one hundred dollars bounty.
Of the three hundred and thirty-two enrolled militia in 18G3, seventy-five
were in active service. In 1864 thirty-two men were furnished, and paid
bounties from $270 to $285. The w^hole number of soldiers credited to the
town during the war was three hundred and thirteen. Jidy 13, 1863, sixty-
eii^ht men were drafted. Eisht of these went into service ; two furnished
substitutes; four deserted ; nineteen paid three hundred dollars ; and the bal-
ance were exempted.

While the soldiers were in the field, the ladies at home were contributing
their mite. A soldiers' aid association was organized Oct. 28, 1801 ; and
clothing and other articles sent to the soldiers at the front, and their families
at home cared for. JMoney was collected by means of fairs and other enter-
tainments. The whole amount collected while the society was in existence was
about two thousand dollars.

When the new town hall was built, memorial tablets were put in on each
side of the platform, inscribed with the names of thirty-two soldiers who lost
their lives in the service. Each year since the war the graves of these soldieis
have been decorated with flowers, and public exercises are held in the town
hall : the town appropriating two hundred dollars annually for these purposes.
A post of the Grand Army was oigauized, and named after Frnz-ir A. Stearns,
who was a lieutenant in the twenty-first regiment and was killed at Newbern,
N. C, March 4, 1862.

Slavery existed here in the early days of the town. The census of 1704

CHURCH RECORD. 329

shows that the uiimber of negroes was five. This marriage is foimd on the
town records: — "February 19, 1778, Saul and Dinah, negro servants of John
Sumner, Esq., were married." Others were owned by Rev. Mr. Eaton, John
White, John Elliot, Rev. Mr. Pope and Robert Luther.

As before stated, the inconvenience of attending church was one of the
reasons for the division of the town of Leicester. In 1739 a committee of the
settlers in the west part met the proprietors in Boston, "to consider some
way to have the Gospel preached among the settlers, and to be freed from
paying tow^ards the support of the minister of the easterly part of the said
town." The proprietors agreed to tax their lands for this object; and in 1740
a tax of three pence per acre was laid upon their lands for that year, and a tax
of two pence per acre annually for two years, "for building a good substantial
meeting-house, forty-five feet long and thirty-five feet wide, on the land of
Nathaniel Cunningham, where he and the settlers shall agree, and towards a
minister's support." In February of that year two acres of land were deeded
to the town by Mr. Cunningham " for the accommodation of the meeting-house
and for a training field and for such other public uses as the town shall direct
forever." The house was erected in 1743, but it never was completely finished.
The outside walls were covered with unplancd boards. At first, only the pews
next the walls were built, being fourteen in number, and four in the gallery.
Afterwards, four seats were built on each side of the centre-aisle. The men
occupied the seats on the west side of the church, and the Avomcn those on the
cast side. The young people occupied the gallery. In 1767 the house was
clapboarded from the proceeds obtained from the sale of four pews. In 1759,
by leave of the General Court, the ministerial land, containing 105 acres and
108 rods, was sold for $33G.G7. The old structure served the parish until 1772,
when a contract was made with David Baldwin to erect a new house, fifty-six
feet long and forty-seven feet wide, with a porch at each end. It contained
thirteen windows on each side and nine windows at each end. The body of
the house contained forty-six pews, and the gallery twenty-three. The
price paid for the building was seven hundred pounds, with the privilege
of usin^r the 2:ood material of the old house. The contractor agreed to take
the pews for a portion of his pay, and they were appraised at five hundred
pounds. In 1802 a tower and cupola with a bell was added to the house,
$42G.87 being raised by subscription. In 1838 it w\as enlarged and entirely
remodeled. In 1843 a high wind blew over the steeple, and it went
through the roof and did great damage. The house was destroyed by (ire in
December, 18G0, and the present church afterwards erected on its site by
Barnes & Mullott.

The first pastor was Joshua Eaton, who commenced preaching in 1743. A
church Avas Annided in 1744, and the ordination of Mr. Eaton took
place Nov. 7, 1744. He had a salary of one hundred and fifty pounds,
with the land tax, voted by the proprietors, and a sum raised by sub-

VOL. II. — 12

330 TOWN OF SPENCEE.

scriptioii for a settlement. Five pounds were to be added annually to the
salary, until it should be two hundred pounds. In 1748 one hundred pounds
were added, and in 17G0 it was made equal to two hundred and forty-f>)ur
dollars.* iNIr. Eaton was born in Waltham in 1714, and i^raduated at Harvard
in 1735. He remained pastor of the ehurch until his dca!h, April 2, 1772.
During his pastorate there was considerable trouble in reference to the hymn-
book which should be used ; that of Sternhold and Hopkins having been
employed. In 17G1 the church took a vote upon the sul)ject, and there were
thirty-three for the old book, fourteen for Dr. Watts', and six for Brady and
Tate's. The subject was then referred to three ministers, who advised the
church to use Brady and Tate's on trial for six months. In 17(39, after trial of
this book, the church voted that the old book be used in connection with Dr.
Watts'. Finally, in October, 17G9, by a vote of twenty-six to six. Dr. Watts'
Psalms and Hymns was adopted. At this time the singers s:it among the
congregation, and it was not until 1763 that thoy were allowed to sit together
in the gallery. When this innovation was made, one gentleman told the
minister, "If yon give your encouragement to such improprieties, I will serve
you a trick that the devil wouldn't — I will leave you." This appears to be
the only dissension that occurred during Rev. Mr. Eaton's ministry.

Rev. Josepli Pope succeeded Mr. Eaton, and was ordained Oct. 20, 1773,
with a salary of two hundred and forty-four dollars a year. He received four
hundred and forty-four dollars as settlement. He was born in Pomfret, Conn ,
in 1746, and graduated at Harvard in 1770. Ho occupied the pulpit until
November, 1818, when he had a shock of paralysis, and died March 8, 182G.
During his pastorate the society was at many times unable, on account of the
demands of the war, to pay him his full salary ; but their r^'latious were always
I)lcasant, and he was highly esteemed.

During the illness cf Mr. Pope, Rev. Stephen Crosby supplied the pulpit,
and in INIarch, 1819, he w-as invited to become their pastor, and was ordained
in June, with a salary of six hundred and fifty dollars per annum. He was
dismissed May 31, 1825.

Rev. Levi Packard was the next minister, and was ordained June 14, 1826,
with a salary of four hundred and seventy-five dollars, and the use of a hmise.
He was dismissed in September, 1853.

Rev. Stephen G. Dodd, the next minister, was installed August 23, 1854,
with a salary, including house, of eight hundred and twenty-five dollars. His
dismission took place October, 18G0. Rev, Thomas T. Waterman succeeded

* The General Court, in 1749, passed an act abolishing old tenor, and substituted what was called
new tenor in its stead. The currency was greatly depreciated and irregular, and this act v^as a
great relief to the community. At the time this act was passed, twenty shillings, old tenor, was
equal to two shillings and eightpencc, lawful money, or about forty-four cents. Consequently,
the salary of Mr. Eaton, for his first year, being 150 pounds, old tenor, was equal to $33.67, and a
tax of twopence, old tenor, per acre, calculating 20,000 acres of land for the town, would be about
$74.83.

CHURCHES AND MINISTERS. S^I

bim, and was installed June 5, 18G1. During his ministry the church was
destroyed by tire, and services were held in the town hall. He sent his
resignation to the church Sept. 8, 18G2, but it Avas not accepted until the
installation of Rev. James Cruickshanks, Jan. 13, ISG-l. Mr. Cruickshanks'
dismissal took place July 12, 1871. There was not a regular minister until
Sept. IG, 1873, when Rev. Harrison A. Shorey was installed. He was
dismissed Dec. 21, 187G, and Rev. A. S. Walker, the present pastor, was
installed Nov. 11, 1877.

A Baptist chin-ch was organized June 30, 1819, and a church built in the
north-cast part of the town, so as to accommodate adjoining towns. Regular
services were held until about 1850; after that time there was occasional
preaching for several years, until the church was sold to private parties. In
1878 another church was organized, under the charge of Rev. O. S. C. Wal-
lace, and regular services arc held in a private hall.

A Universalist Society was organized April 22, 1830, consisting of ten
members. A church was built in 1833, and regular services were held until
about 1850, when the church was sold. Occasional services were held in the
town hall until 1877, when a new society was organized, with Rev. F. A.
Bisbec as pastor.

A Methodist society was organized in 1811, and services held in the
town hall until 1847, when a church was erected. Rev. Austin F. Herrick
is, at present, pastor of the church. Through the liberality of William Hen-
shaw, Esq., this church was re-built in 1872-3, and made one of the most
attractive public buildings in the town.

A Catholic church was erected in 1853. Rev. Julius Cosson and Rev.
Thomas D. Bcaven are the pastors at the present time. The Catholics com-
prise nearly one-half of the population of the town.

Nearly one acre of the land given to the town by Nathaniel Cunningham was
appropriated for a burying-ground, and was the only one in the place for many
years. Additional land has been purchased from time to time, until it com-
prises three acres. lu 1797, a house was built for a hearse, and a pall was
also purchased. A fund of about three thousand dollars has been raised by
former and present residents, the income of which is used in improving the
grounds, and keeping them in good condition. The first person buried in the
cemetery was Elizabeth Adams, in December, 1742. Many of the stones
which marked the graves of the old settlers have disappeared, being only com-
mon stones. But few burials arc made in this cemetery now, except l)y those
who have owned lots for some time, a new cemetery having been laid out on
the bank of the Seven Mile River. This comprises many acres, and is beauti-
fully situated, and tastefully laid out. It is known as "Pine Grove Cemetery."
The Catholics have a large cemetery on the old county road, and it is being
improved each year.

332 TOWN OF SPENCER.

CHAPTER III.

DISTINGUISHED MEN AGRICULTURE AND OTHER BUSINESS MANUFACTURES

CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION NEWSPAPER — SOCIETIES AND ORGANIZATIONS

FINANCE PROFESSIONAL MEN — PUBLIC CHARACTERS INTERESTING AND

CURIOUS OLD TOWN BUSINESS THE TOWN POUND.

Spencer has produced but few mcu of note ; but one of these has done as
much to improve the condition of the people as any man that has ever lived.
Elias Howe, the inventor of the sewing-machine, was born in this town, July
9, 1819. His youthful days were spent upon his father's farm in the south part
of the town, until he went to Lowell, wdicre he commenced to work on his
machine. His first iuvcntion was patented Sept. 10, 1846. Although he
was involved in many suits to protect his rights, he generally triumphed, :md
died wealthy, in Brooklyn, N. Y., Oct. 3, 18G7. William Howe, an uncle
of Elias, born May 12, 1803, was the inventor ( f the "truss wooden bridge,"
which has been successfully used in bridging large streams. The large roof of
the Boston and Albany Railroad dep:)t, in B;)st()n, was constructed by him,
and was considered a very difBcult undertaking at that time.

Agriculture was the occupation of the pe(;plo of Spencer for many years,
with the exception of a few gri t and saw mills scattered throughout the town,
where there was sulBcicnt water, but the changes during one hundred years
are, in this respect, very marked. The town is now one of the leading boot
manufacturing towns in the State. From this industry most of the pec^ple
acquire their living and many of the farmers have small shops on their farms,
where they work upon boots when their crops do not require attention. While
the manufacture of boots is the leading industry, there are others which fur-
ni5>h employment to many persons. There are four woolen-mills, two wire-
mills, two box-mills and one heel manufactory. The census of 1875 gives the
occupation of the inhabitants as follows : Clergymen, 4 ; physicians, 6 ; teach-
ers, 20 ; clerks, 22 ; merchants and traders, 47 ; railroad employes, 11 ; sales-
men, 3; teamsters, 24; farmers, 152; hostlers, 9; boot and shoemakers,
1,108; tinsmiths, 7; carpenters, 51; mason'', 13; painters, IG ; blacksmiths,
13; printers, 8; woolen-factory operatives, 109; wire-makers, 50; box-mak-
ers, 14 ; laborers, 34 ; retired, 3 ; housewives, 1,111 ; housekeepers, 22 ; house-
work, 56; domestic servants, 54; seamstresses, 5; dressmakers, 10; milli-
ners, 3. In 1875, the agricultural productions were $189,162, while the prod-
ucts of manufacture were $2,889,116. Other industries have been established
but they are now extinct. The most important of these was the manufacture
of powder by Lewis Bemis and Edward Hall. In 1837, there were two of
these mills and 162,500 pounds of powder were manufacture;!, of the value of
$14,500. lu 1850, the products were twenty-five tons, valued at $15,000.

BUSINESS ENTERPEISE. 333

April 21, 1840, ouc of these mills was destroyed by explosion, and three men
were killed. In October of the same year, another mill blew up, but no one
was injured. Nov. 4, 1853, another explosion occurred, and five men were
killed. Soon after this the business was given np.

The making of palm-leaf hats afforded the housewife means to obtain "pin
money" for herself and family, and these were disposed of at the stores or
sold to collectors. In 1837, there were 29, GOO hats made, of the value of
$700.

The small water-power in the main village was put to use at an early day.
In 1810, a w^oolcn-mill was erected on Elm Street, on the site of Capin's mill,
and it was run by Jabez Llowe, Willard Kicc and John Jcnks for several years,
until sold to Amos Brown & Co. Soon after the erection of this mill a second
one was erected near the site of Livermorc's box-shop, and occupied by Chapin
& Prouty. In 1837, there were cmploj'cd in these two mills, thirty-one males
and twenly-threc females ; thirty-four thousand yards of cloth were manufac-
tured, valued at eighty-seven thousand dollars. In 1837, Brown & Co.'s fac-
tory was destroj^ed by fire, and, in 1839, Chapin & Prouty's sutTered the same
fate. They were soon rebuilt. About 1840, William Heushaw and Silas and
Nathaniel Eldridofe came from Worcester and cn2:a2:ed in the manufacture of
cotton and satinet goods. The " Westvillc " mill was erected by Nathaniel
Eldridge about that time. In 1850, II. J. Lyman & Co., Thomas II. Shorey
and Williim Ilenshaw were making satinet, and Nathaniel Eldridge, cotton
goods. The production at that time was valued at fifty-eight thousand dollars.
Since that time there have been many changes in the ownership of these mills,
and in the quality and kind of goods made. There arc at pre=ent four facto-
ries in operation owned l^y Upham & Sagendorph, Upham & Ladd,^ Upham &
Kelly and Upham & Stanley. In 1875, the production of these mills Avas
valued at three hundred and forty thousand dollars. The mill occupied by
Upham & Kelly was, when it was first erected, about 1845, used as a wheel
manufactory.

One of the important industries of the town is that of wire-making, which
is carried on in " Wire Villa2:e " about two miles from the Centre. Located
on Seven-Mile River, it has the largest water-power in the town. The first saw-
mill erected in the town was built near the site of Sugden & Myrick's saw-mill,
about 1740, by James Wilson. The Avar of 1812 stopped the supply of wire
from Euijland for the card factories in Leicester, and induced Americans to
take hold of the business. In that year Elliot Prouty commenced wire draw-
ing; in a mill near the saw-mill. After the declaration of peace the business
died out and Mr. Prouty went West. He returned in 1820, and with his
brother, Russell Prouty, resumed the business. After a few years, Foster
Bisco bought them out, and he in turn sold to his brother, Roswell Bisco. In
1847, be sold out to Nathaniel Myrick and Richard Sugden. Lower down
the stream, Eli Hatch carJed wool for many years, and, in 1830, he com-

334 TOWN OF SPENCER.

nicuced the wire business. He was succeeded by Liberty Prouty, and after
his death the business was carried on by his sons, Jonas R. and Joel E. Prouty.
In 1876, the Spencer Wire Company was formed, and the wire business of the
upper and lower village is now done under that name. In 1837, there were
ten tons of wire manufactured by four mills, employing ten hands; the value
of the wire was $10,480. The value of the wire manufactured in 1850 was
$14,100; in 18G0, $80,000, and in 1875, about $150,000.

The manufacture of scythes, hoes and cutlery was carried on by Ziba Eaton
in the upper "Wire Village," between 1830 and 1850. In the latter year one
hundred and twenty dozen of scythes were made, valued at $1,200. This busi-
ness was given up about 1855.

The manufacture of sale boots began early in the present century. It is
said that Charles Watson of Spencer made the (ir.->t venture, but it did n:,t
prove a financial success. He made eighty-four pairs in 1^:09, and sold them
to a Southern trader for four dollars and fifty cents per pair, and never received
his pay. The real founder of this enterprise was Josiah Green. lie and his
brother Nathaniel started in the business of making sale boots in Leicester in
the winter of 1811-12, with a capital of ninety-five dollars, Josiah contrib-
uting six and Nathaniel eighty-five. They worked in their mother's garret and
used "card splits." The boots cost $1.25 per pair. In the summer, Josiah,
being at the time nineteen years of age, started for Boston with a horse-load.
Pic found it difficult to dispose of them, but finally an auctioneer took half a
dozen pair on trial. They sold so well that he took the remainder of the load
at $2.30 per pair. The next summer Josiah took a load of seven hundred
pairs to Albany, N. Y. , and sold them to army contractors at $2.25 per pair.
In 1815, the brothers dissolved and Josiah's share of the profits for the three
years amounted to fifteen hundred dollars. In 1817, he moved to Spencer, and
manufactured boots in his house. lie disposed of them by carrying them
about the country and selling at the stores. Soon after 1817, he commenced
to use pegs. His house was his workshop until 1837, when he erected the old
shop still standing on the old county road, and adorned with a plain but histor-
ical sign, "Josiah Green's boot manufactory, established in 1812," Such was
the humble beginning of an industry which has not only built up this town but
many others throughout the New England States, and has become one of the
leading branches of industry of this country. Mr. Green continued in busi-
ness until 1867, when he retired, leaving it to his three sons. He died in
1876. When it was found that the business was a paying one others engaged
in it with more or less success.

In 1820, Isaac Prouty commenced to make boots for the trade in a small
shop in what is called "North Spencer." In 1855, he moved to the village
and erected a shop, which formerly stood near the Methodist church. This
soon became too small for his business ; and, in 1859, a portion of the present
factory was erected, and soon after his sons were admitted as partners. Addi-

JOSIAH GREEN & CO.'s MOOT FACTORY, SPENCER, MASS.

BOOT AND SHOE TRADE. 335

tions have been made to the fiictory, auci at the present time it is four hundred
and fifty-five feet long and five stories high, and is claimed to be the largest
boot factory in the world. Isaac Prouty died in 1871, and the business is now
conducted by his three sons. In 1837, one hundred and sixty -two males and
twenty-eight females were employed in making boots and shoes; 52,091 pairs
of boots were made, and 2,940 pairs of shoes, their value was $U)G, 496. In
1850, there were six boot factories in operation, owned by Josiah Green, Isaac
Prouty, Grout, P>nsh & Co., A. T. & E. Jones, Charles E. Denny and Wat-
son, Bemis & Co. The value of boots manufactured was two hundred and
fifteen thousand dollars. In 18G0 there were seven firms, Josiah Green & Co.,
Isaac Prouty & Co., Grout, Bush & Co., A. T. & E. Jones, David Prouty &
Co., Livermorc & Drury and C. & G. Watson. The amount of capital invested
was one hundred and thiity-three thousand dollars, and the value of produc-
tion five hundiod and twenty thoustmd dollars. At the present time the firms
manufacturing b jots arc Josiah Green & Co , Vj. Jones & Co., Hullard &
Temple, David Prouty & Co., Isaac Prouty & Co., Bush &^ Grout, E. E.
Kent & Co., Prouty Bros., J. E. Bacon and David A. Drury. The amount
of capital invested in the business in 1875 was $525,040, and the value of
goods produced $2,155,429. The boot manufticturers have suflcred but little
from fires. Tlie only losses fiom this cause are those of David A. Drury,
whose factory was entirely destroyed by fire in the winter of 1874, and Bush
& Grout, their factory being burned in December, 1875. The latter was
the largest fire that ever occurred in the town, the factory and five other
buildiniTS bcinsf burned. Connected with the boot business are those of
currvinir find box-makin2:. The former business was carried on for some
years previous to 18G0 by Edward Proctor and Joseph W. IMorse, since that
time the business has entirely disappeared. The business of making boxes
for boots has been a growing one, to correspond to the giowth of the boot
business, and the farmers have found a ready and good market for their
pine lumber. The business is now conducted by Ebenezer Howe and Warren
J. Livermorc. The products of this industry, in 1875, Avere valued at forty
thousand dollars. The manufacture of shoe heels is carried on by William A.
Barr; the products, in 1875, were valued at eleven thousand dollars. The
manufacture of chairs h:is been carried on for many years in "Ilillsvillo" by
Sullivan Hill. These are the most important of the industries carried on in
the town at present.

In 1871, Isaac Prouty, Henry R. Green and Erastus Jones were incorpo-
rated as the Spencer Savings Bank. The office was for some time in the count-
ino--room of E. J(mes & Co. until the erection of the "Bank Block " in 1875.
In that year the Spencer National Bank was incorporated with a capital of
$150,000. Erastus Jones is president, and W. L. Dcmond, cashier.

"The Centennial " was observed by a procession of the different societies and the
fire department, an oration by Hon. Geo. B. Loring and a dinner in the town hall.

336 TOWN OF SPENCER.

A weekly newspaper, "The Spencer Suu," was established in 1872, by
Samuel G. Ames. The present proprietor is James Picl^up.

A Masonic lodge was established iu 1872, a lodge of Odd Fellows in 1877,
and an order of the Improved Rjd Men in the same year, and a council of the
Royal Arcanum in 1879. The Irish have a lodge of the Ancient Order of
Hibernians, and the French the St. John Baptist Society. The latter is the
largest organization in the place, numbering over four hundred. In 1821, the
"Ladies' Benevolent Society" connected with the Congregational church was
formed. Of the first forty members, only Mrs. Jeremiah Grout and Mrs. Den-
nis Ward survive.

The town debt in 1855 was $0,215 ; in 1860, $2,660 ; in 1865, $18,886 ; in
1870, $5,984; in 1875, $56,300. This debt was incurred by the erection of
the town hall. The debt at present is al)out $60,000.

The early physicians of the town were James Ormes, Asa Bnrden, William
Frink, Benjamin Drury, Jonas Guilford, Cheney Potter, Asa Jones, Jonas
Guilford and Edward C. Dyer. James Ormes settled here in 1732. The
present physicians are Edward M. Wheeler, Marquis ILdl, Chtirles L. Kings-
bury, Edward R. Wheeler, I. Verner, O. S. Chapman and Marc Fontaine. Others
have been here for a short time. Charles P. Barton and Edward W. Bowc
practice dentistry. The first lawyer who located in town was Bradford Sumner
in 1813. He remained but a few weeks. John Davis commenced his profes-
sional career here in 1815. He removed to Worcester in 1816, and was after-
ward a Representative to Congress for ten years, Governor of the State for
three terms and Senator in Congress for two terms. The other lawyers have
been William S. Andrews, located in 1816 ; Daniel Knight, in 1817 ; Napoleon
B. Smith, in 1852; William T. Harlow, in 1854, and Albert W. Cnrtis, in
1874. JNIr. Harlow, at the beginning of the war, in 1861, formed a company
and joined the 21st Regiment. He is now assistant-clerk of the Superior Court
for the county. The criminal business of the town was done for many years
by John Bisco, Esq., then by James Draper, Esq. In 1858 Luther Hill was
commissioned a Trial Justice, and still remains in the ofGce.

The following persons have been connected with the State government : —
William Upham, Councillor in 1878-9; Senators: James Draper in 1831-2,
William Upham in 1859, and Luther Hill in 1867 ; Delegates to the Constitu-
tional Conventions: John Bisco in 1779, James Draper in 1820, and Jabcz
Green in 1853; Representatives to the General Court: Oliver Watson in
1775-76-77-80, John Bisco in 1777-80-81, John Muzzy in 1779, Isaac Jenks,
1782 to '8G ; James Hathaway, 1787 to 1794; Benjamin Drury, 1794 to 1811 ;
Jonas Muzzy, 1811-12; Phineas Jones, 1812; James Draper, 1813 to 1819;
William Bemis, 1820; Rufus Adams, 1823; William Pope, 1827; James
Draper, 1828 to 1832 ; Rufus Adams, 1832 ; Walton Livermore, 1831 ; David
Prouty, 1833-34 ; Lewis Bemis, 1834-35 ; Amos Brown, 1835 ; James Draper,
1836-37; Dennis Ward, 1830-37-39-47-56 ; Walter Sibley, 1838 ; EleazerB.

EEPRESENTATION IN LEGISLATURE. 337

Draper, 1830-40-41-45 ; Jonas Guilford, 1842; Jabez Green, 1843-44-50;
:Milton Boydeu, 1848; Willium Baldwin, 1851; Alonzo Temple, 1852; Alan-
son Prouty, 1853; William Hensliaw, 1854; William Upham, 1857-72; John
L. Bush, 1859; George L. Ilobbs, 1801; Luther Hill, 1863-65-70; Dexter
Bullard, 1867; Erastus Jones, 1874; David Prouty, 1876, and James H.
Ames in 1878. Spencer, for several years after its incorporation, elected a
ropresenlativo alone. Then a representative district was formed of Spencer
and Leicester. In 1860 the towns of Auburn, Charlton, Leicester, Spencer
and Southbridge were formed into a representative district. In 1876 Oxford,
Southbridge, Charlton and Spencer were made a district. Since the incorpora-
tion of the town there have been twenty-two clerks. Benjamin Drury held
the olEce for thirty-two successive years from 1787 to 1820. One hundred
and forty persons have held the oiRce of selectman, from five to three being
elected each year ; the latter number has been elected for several years.
James Watson held the office for twenty-three successive years, from 1785 to
1809 ; Jonas Muzzy for nineteen years, Benjamin Drury for sixteen years, and
David Prouty for fifteen years. The tow^n has had twenty-one treasurers.
John Bisco was treasurer for twenty-one years; Horace A. Grout, the present
treasurer, was first elected in 1868. The town has had eighty diflfereut persons
for assessors. John Bisco held the office for twenty- three years, David Prouty
for seventeen years, Thomas Spraguc for eighteen years, James Draper for
twenty-seven years, and David Bemis, one of the present assessors, has held
the office for thirty-five years. Luther Hill has been moderator at twenty
annual meetings. Since the formation of the Republican party the voters have
given largo majorities for its candidates. In 1864 the vote for Governor was
three hundred and fifty-four for John A. Andrew, and fifty-three for Henry W.
Paine. At the first election of Governor, in 1780, John Hancock had sixty-nine
votes and no opposition, and in 1783-84-00-91 and '93 he had no opposition.
In 1794-95 Samuel Adams had sixty-one votes each year, with no opposition.

In 1757 it was voted that the town meetings, for the future, be warned by
the constables sjoinsT from house to house.

At the annual meeting in March, 1784, it was voted "that each person keep
on his hat, if he pleases, while in the meeting."

At a meeting held Dec. 10, 1821, it was voted "that leave be given to put
stoves into the meeting-house, by subscription, and without any cost to the
town, under the inspection of the selectmen." This is the first record of any
heatinir of the church, and for several years afterwards the town voted "not to
furnish fuel for the stoves in the meeting-house."

At the March meeting in 1831 it was voted " to appropriate $100 towards
purchasing a fire-engine for the town, and for the erection of a building to
contain it." The hand engine was purchased soon afterwards.

May 5, 1803, it was voted "to allow seventeen cents bounty on crows till
the first day of July next, to be paid by the Town Treasurer."

338 TOWN OF SPENCER.

•s

The town has been but little troubled with contasrious diseases. The follow-
ing petition appears upon the town records, dated Sept. 13, 1792 : —

'''•To the Gentlemen Selectmen of the Toion of Spencer : Humbly sboweth that b}- reason
of the prevalency of the Small Pox in this State, and the stage passengers quartering at
Mr. Isaac Jenks, that he and his family are in the greatest danger of taking the infec-
tion, if they have not as yet taken it, whereby the inhabitants of said town may be
greatly indangered, without a place or house being appointed to receive him and others,
think it necessary- that the Selectmen forthwith call a meeting of the Inhabitants of
said town, to see if the town will indulge said Jenks and famil}' only, and others if the
town see fit, the liberty of being enoculated with the small pox in some house."

Two meetings were held on the above petition, and the town "voted to take
no action thereon." In 1^72 small-pox was quite prevalent among the French
inhabitants."

An article in a warrant, Nov. 12, 1821, was "to see if the town will purchase
a farm and other accommodations for the use of the town's poor." A committee
of five was chosen to consider the subject, and they reported in fovor of buying
a farm. It was not until Sept. 19, 1825, that the town took final action on the
subject, and purchased the farms of Eleazer B. Draper, containing 96 acres,
for $2,600, and of Joseph Cheever, containing 661 acres, for $1,650. These
constitute the present town farm. The cost of supporting the poor at that
time was about $800. At the present time $3,000 is used for that purpose.
In this connection the following notice may be of interest : —

"Tb the Selectmen of Spencer :

Gentlemen, — I hereb}' acquaint you in a formal manner that a certain mollatto girl,
called Naomie Cady, whom I have had in my family in the state and capacity of a
minor, for a number of years, has arrived at the age of twcnt^'-one ^'cars, on the 2d day
of this instant, and is capable of acquiring a legal right of habitation in this town if
measures be not taken to prevent it.

Jos. Pope."

"Spencer, July 5, 1793."

An article in a warrant, Dec. 19, 1777, was "To see if any person will
appear to take Phineas Leonard for any reasonable compensation for the
ensuing year."

March 10, 1766, it was voted "that the Selectmen for the time beinor shall
act discretionary with regard to warning persons to depart out of this district,
who are not leijal inhabitants."

The town pound, when first erected, was built upon the common, near the
church. The date of its erection is not known. In March, 1768, it was voted
"to build a new pound Avith stone ; said pound is to be 30 feet within, the walls
six feet and a half high and capt with timber." Seven pounds was appropriated
for building it. It appears that it was as little used then as the pound is at
the present day, for in a warrant dated March 26, 1772, was an article "to see
if the District will take the pound to help underpin the meeting-house." The

CATTLE REGULATIONS. 339

vote was in the negative. In 1790 the town voted "not to take the pound to
fence the burying-ground and erect another in some suitable place." In 1791
it was voted "not to move the pound." At this time there was a demand for
more room on the common for horse-sheds, and in 1796 half an acre of land
was bought of Rev. Joseph Pope to enlarge it, and in March of that year it
was voted "to build a town pound on Mr. Jeremiah Whittemore's land, at the
corner of the town road where it turns to Benjamin Gleason's, of the same
bigness of the old one, three sides of stone and one of wood." The pound was
constructed by Mr. Whittemore for eleven pounds, and finished in November
of that 3'^ear. In 1825 the pound was repaired, but it has been used but little.
For many years it was voted at the annual meeting "that swine run at large,
being yoked and ringed as the law directs." In the early days of the district
cattle were allowed to pasture upon the common ; for in 1754 it was voted "that
strangers' cattle should be charged two shillings and eighteen pence per head,
and sheep one shilling per head, to run on the common."

A history of the town was written by James Draper, Esq., in 1840, and
re-written by him in 1860.

340 TOWN OF STEELING.

STERLING

BY REV. ABIJAH P. MARVIN.

CHAPTER I.

FORMATION AND ORIGIN — PHYSICAL ASPECTS — INDIAN DEALINGS — PROGRESS

OF SETTLEMENT — RAIDS AND DISTRESSES — WAR HISTORY INCORPORATION

NOTES AND INCIDENTS.

From a corner of the ample domain of Lancaster, was the town of Sterling
carved, yet it is one of the lar2;er towns of the Commonwealth, bcin2: above the
average in the number of square miles. The Indian name for this section of
the old town was Woonsechocksett, which, in the usage of the the white men,
was parted in the middle, and spelled Chocksett, or Choxett. Sometimes one
of the t's was omitted. The aborigines, in their idleness, would find time to
jironounce long and hard-sounding words, which the busy Yankee broke into
small and portable parts of speech. The town contains between twenty-seven
and twent3'-eight square miles of territory, and seventeen thousand three hun-
dred and sixty-one acres of land.

The centre is in latitude 42° 2G', and it is twelve miles in right line to the
court-house in Worcester. The distance to Boston is about forty miles. By
rail or road, the distance to both places is somewhat increased.

The surface of the country is very uneven, being broken into large and lesser
hills in every part, yet there is very little " unimprovable land " in the town.
In this respect the soil is divided as follows in the State census, 1875. Land
under crops — acres, 4,309| ; orchards, 28^ ; unimproved land, 9,142| ; wood-
land, 3,826^^; unimprovable land, 53^ acres. The soil was naturally good,
being moist and fertile ; and it is " improvable," to a high degree, under the
hand of skilled labor. It is good for tillage, pasturage, and mowing. All
kinds of grain and vegetables, common to New England, are produced in
abundance.

As the town lies between the Nashua Valley on the east, and the valley of
Still River on the west, it is made up of several irregularly parallel ridges
extending north and south, with pleasant valleys between them. There are
four or five elevations that take the name of distinct hills, but most of them

PHYSICAL FEATURES. 341

belong to ranges of unequal height. The west flank of George Hill is in
Sterling. Redstone Hill, so called from the stone colored with iron, is east of
the centre. Kendall Hill is south by east of the centre. Fitch's Hill is directly
west of the centre. Rowley's Hill is north of this, and Justice Hill is in the
extreme north-west part of the town. The first four form a barrier round the
centre, with openings north and south. On the east side of the central village
a stream flows north into Wckcpekit Brook, and enters the Nashua in the west
of Lancaster. Another brook flows south, on the west side of the village, into
Wanshacum Lake. These hills, and the long ridges to which the}'" belong, are
all covered with livin2: sieen to their rolling summits, as are the vallcvs between.
In the middle of the south end of the town is West VVaushacum Pond, or lake,
covering one hundred and eighty acres. East of this, some sixty rods, lies East
Waushacum, having an area of one hundred and ninety acres. This is connected
with the other by a brook, and the waters of both lakes are discharged by an
overflowing stream into Still River, near Oakdale. These lakes are unsurpassed
by any in the county, in the combination of particulars which make up delight-
ful scenery. The water is pure and sweet. The shores arc partly wooded and
partly cultivated land. The borders and bottom are sandy or pcl)bly, and the
sides wind in many graceful curves that delight the eye. The land in one
direction is level; in another rises in gentle swells; and, in still antjther, in
bolder outlines. In plain sight rises the rounded mass of Wachusett. Nor
are these lakes without a wild and tender historical interest. Here, between
the lakes, or just on the southern side of the intervening land, was the capital
of Sholan, the good sachem, who welcomed the English, and always lived in
amity with them. In his wigwam Indian councils were held, and around it
were Indian games and sports. Here was a church of converted Indians,
with their pastor, elder, deacon, and constable, armed with a "black staff
and power," to keep the peace and suppress powwows and drunkenness.
Here were Indian regattas, called by another name, where the light canoes
sped over the water, swift as the pickerel darted beneath. Here came Philip
in the spring of 1G76, and infused his revengeful and ambitious spirit into Sam,
the unworthy grandson of Sholan. And here, also, was what the local annal-
ists arc pleased to style the