HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY,
MASSACHUSETTS.
portrait of CoUNT kumford WHEN SENT to england
as Ambassador from Bavaria. 1798 . Aged 45
History of Middlesex County,
MASSACHUSETTS,
CONTAINING CAREFULLY PREPARED HISTORIES
OF
EVERY CITY AND TOWN IN THE COUNTY.
by well-known writers;
AND
A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE COUNTY.
FROM THE EARLIEST TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY
SAMUEL ADAMS DRAKE,
AUTHOR OF "OLD LANDMARKS OF BOSTON," "NOOKS AND CORNERS OF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST," ETC.
Vol. II.
ILLUSTRATED.
BOSTON:
ESTES AND LAURIAT, PUBLISHERS,
301 Washington Street
1880
Copyright,
By Estes & Lauriat.
1880.
CONTENTS.
ÍjEXINGTON .
Lincoln .
Littleton
Lowell
Malden
Marlbokougu .
Maynard
Medford .
Melrose
Natick
Newton
North Reading
Pepperell
Reading .
SUERBORN
Shirley
TOWNS IN MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Hon. Charles Hudson
William F. Wheeler .
Herbert Joseph Harwood
Alfred Gilman .
Deloraine P. Core;/
Rev. R. A. Griffin and E. L.
Bigelwo
Asahel Balcom
IT. H. Whitmore
Elbridge H. Goss .
Rev. S. I). Hosmer, assisted bg
Rev. Daniel Wight and Aus¬
tin Bacon
Samuel F. Smith, D.D. .
Hiram Barrus and Carroll D.
Wright....
Lorenzo P. Blood .
Hiram Barrus and Carroll D.
Wright....
Albert H. Blanchard, M. D.
Rev. Seth Chandler
Pack
9
34
44
53
113
137
153
• 158
175
184
203
259
261
270
288
297
Paoi
SoMERViLLE . . E. C. Booth, M.D. . 309
Stoneham . Silas Dean .... 339
Stow Rev. George F. Clark . 350
Sudbury . Rev. George A. Oviatt . . 357
Tbwksbury Leonard Huntress, assisted bg
J. C. Kittredge . . 373
Townsend . Ithamar B. Satctelle . 381
Tyngsborougii Rev. Elias Nasan 391
Wakefield Chester W. Eaton . . 399
Waltiiam . Alexander Starbuck . 407
Watertown . Francis S. Drake . . 433
Wayland Rev. Jositth H. Temple 460
Westfokd Ed Kin R.Hodgman, assisted bg
Julian Abbott . . 475
Weston . C. A. Nelson . . 488
Wilmington Jjcmuel C. Eames . . . 506
Winchester . Edwin A. Wadleigh . . 511
WoBURN George .1/. Champneg . . 526
JuDici.AL History and Civil List . . . 555
General Index 561
List op Subscribers.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, PLANS, ETC.
PoKTEAiT op Count Bumford . . Frontiipiece
Eliot Monument ...
201
pla.n op Roads in Lexington, 1775 .
10
Exploration op the Charles ....
207
Hancock-Clark. House ...
18
First Congregational Church, Newton
218
Battle op Lexington .
22
Eliot Monument
219
Munroe's Tavern
25
Portrait op General William Hull
227
Statue op the Minute Man op 1775
28
Portrait op Roger Sherman ....
228
Statue op the Soldier op 1861 .
29
Portrait op Horace Mann . . . .
230
Statue op Samuel Adams . .
30
Newton Theological Institution .
242
Statue op John Hancock ....
31
Newton Public Library
249
The Battle Monument
32
Echo Bridge
251
Plan op Nashobah
45
William Jackson
256
Ancient Sign op the Lawrence Tavern .
52
Portrait op Alex. H. Rice ....
258
Portrait op Nathan Appleton
59
Old South Church, Reading
271
Portrait op Kirk Boott
59
Sawin Academy, Sherborn ....
296
Boott Cotton Mills, Lowell
74
Old Powder House, Somerville
327
The New Canal
81
McLean Asylum
331
Five Cents Saving Bank Building
85
A Winter Bivouac: Warriors and Captives
363
Appleton Bank Block
99
Haynes' Garrison House, Sudbury
367
St. Anne's Church, Chapel, and Parsonage
103
The Wayside Inn . . .
373
Eliot Congregational Church ....
109
Henry Price
389
John Street Congregational Church .
111
Meeting House, 1688, Wakefield
402
Church op the First Parish, 1848, Malden
132
Baptist Church . . ....
402
Boston Rubber Shoe Company's Works
136
Portrait op Cyrus Wakepield . . . .
405
A Settler depending his Children .
139
American Watch Factory, Waltham .
432
The Gates House, Marlborough .
152
Portrait op Sir Richard Saltonstall
436
The Town Hall
153
John Gallup's Exploit
441
The Cradock Mansion, Medpord .
163
United States Arsenal, Watertown
455
Launch on the Mystic
172
A Brave Woiaan
465
Old Lynde House, Washington Street, Melrose
177
Portrait op Frederick O. Prince .
524
Bacon Free Library, Natick
197
The Public Library Building, Woburn
536
Morse Institute
198
Birthplace op Count Rumpord .
551
Henry Wilson
200
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
LEXINGTON.
BY HON. CHARLES HUDSON.
TON is situated in latitude 42°
26' 50" northj and in longitude
71° 13' 55" west; and is about
eleven miles west-northwest from
Boston. It has Winchester, Wo-
hurn, and Burlington on the
northeast; Burlington and Bed¬
ford on the north ; Lincoln on
the west ; Walthara on the south¬
west ; and Belmont and Arlington on the southeast.
The shape of the township, like that of the neigh¬
boring towns, is somewhat irregular. The town
contains about twenty square miles, or about thir¬
teen thousand acres. Lexington as a whole is more
elevated than any of the adjoining towns, unless it
be Lincoln ; and hence the water from her territory
finds its way to the ocean through the Shawshine,
the Mystic, and Charles rivers. The water-power
in the town is inconsiderable ; and what there is, is
remote from the centre. There is at present but
one mill in the town, that being in the easterly part,
at the outlet of the Great Meadow, so called. On or
near the site of this mill was erected the first mill
in the township, probably as early as 1650. It
was owned by Edward Winship of Cambridge, and
was given by his will to his son Edward, and re¬
mained more than a century in the family.
The township is rather uneven, furnishing a
pleasant variety of hill and dale. Though the
surface is sometimes broken, the soil for the most
part is productive. The rock formation through a
great part of the township is a species of green¬
stone; and though it frequently crops out of the
ground, the rock is so irregular, and the sides so
precipitous, that the soil is deep, and often capable
of being cultivated up to the very face of the
ledges. The presence of this rook generally indi¬
cates a hard, but at the same time a warm and
productive soil, well adapted to grass, grain, and
fruit trees of every sort, and in fact to every
vegetable production.
There are many good farms in the town, and
their value is greatly enhanced by the peat swamps
which are found in almost every neighborhood.
These swamps, when properly drained, constitute
some of the most valuable land for cultivation;
and at the same time the material taken from the
drains serves to fertilize the rest of the cultivated
land. These reclaimed swamps, when properly
cultivated, are found to be very productive, yield¬
ing large crops of hay, corn, potatoes, and every
variety of garden vegetables. Lexington may be
regarded as a good agricultural township. She
has heretofore been somewhat noted for the hay
and fruit she has sent to market; but at the
present time milk may be regarded as her great
staple. Many of our farmers keep from twelve to
thirty cows, and a few of them keep from thirty to
sixty, or even seventy. It appears by the returns
of the assessors, published by the authority of the
state, that the whole number of milch cows kept in
town the last year was 1,081, — a larger number
than that kept by any town in the county, with
one single exception; and by the census return
for 1875, it appears that Lexington furnished for
the market 510,551 gallons of milk annually, a
larger amount than is produced by any city or
town in the state, except Worcester.
Lexington has not been able to boast of her
mineral treasures. Within the last few years,
however, a granite quarry has been discovered in
the northern part of the town, which, when prop-
10
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
LEXINGTON, 1775.
Clarke House.
Buckniau Tavern.
Muiiroe's Tavern.
Parker's Company.
Jonathan Harrington's.
Daniel Harrington's.
Nathan Munroe's,
Blacksmith's Sliop.
Emerson's House.
Loriug's House.
Lonng's Bara.
Meeting Boose.
Percy's Field Pieces.
erly opened, may prove valuable for building pur¬
poses. In tbe same general neighborhood a paint
mine has been discovered, of which the State
Assayer says, " The composition, from its enduring
nature, confers great value upon this pigment. In
mixing with oil, a partial combination takes place,
which produces an elastic and mechanically excel¬
lent paint, like white lead. It has nothing of a
perishable nature." There is a spring in the valley
of Vine Brook, which has been thought by some
to possess medicinal properties, having indications
of sulphur and iron. It has never been analyzed.
There is, however, a spring recently brought to
public attention, which bids fair to rival the popu¬
lar springs which are commended for their curative
properties. It is situated in the southeasterly part
LEXINGTON.
11
of Lexington, near the line of Waltham, on the
farm of Alden Jameson, Esq. ; and is about three
miles distant from the centre of each of the towns.
It is a copious spring, and is so protected by a
granite curb as to secure it from all surface water ;
the flow being free from the source. The water is
highly recommended by those who have used it, as
being valuable in a variety of complaints. Pro¬
fessor Hayes, after an analysis of the water, classes
it favorably with the Poland, Allandale, and Vi¬
enna waters, which have a high reputation. He
adds, " It is naturally aerated or charged with car¬
bonic acid, oxygen, and nitrogen gases. It is
alkaline, and free from any appreciable organic
matter. It is a remarkably pure water." It is
highly recommended in cases of dyspepsia, diabe¬
tes, stone, gravel, and the whole class of kidney and
bowel complaints. Many who have used it speak
strongly of the curative properties of the water.
The village of Lexington is pleasantly situated
on land comparatively level j and though it is ele¬
vated more than two hundred feet above tide
water, being surrounded by hills more or less dis¬
tant, and having meadows on either hand, it has
the appearance of being rather low. In the centre
of the village is the Common, a triangular plot of
ground, situated at the junction, and lying between
the roads leading to Concord and Bedford. It
contains about two acres, and is nearly level, with
the exception of a gentle swell, rising some five or
six feet on the southerly side, on which is the
monument erected to the memory of the first
Eevolutionary martyrs. The diagram on page 10
will show the premises as they- were in 1775,
and will illustrate the history of that flay. The
borders of the Common are skirted by rows of elm,
ash, and other ornamental trees ; some of them
having braved the blasts of more than a hundred
winters, while others are glorying in youthful
beauty. There is one young tree on the Common
which merits notice, as it is designed for posterity.
In 1875, when President Grant was in Lexington,
at our Centennial, he at our request planted a
young elm upon this consecrated ground, that
those who came after us might mark the succession
of years, and recall the events which have made the
spot memorable. This green is consecrated by the
first blood of the Eevolution ; and the sacred asso¬
ciations which surround the spot render it a place
of considerable lesort, and many a passer-by pauses
to contemplate the scene which renders it classic.
The population of Lexington in 1876 was
2,510, which may be distributed through the town
as follows : 1,100 in the centre village, 750 in the
east village, while the remaining population is
scattered over the rest of the township.
Both villages, the centre and the east, are situ¬
ated on the Main Street, a road leading to Boston ;
and the line of separation between them must be
somewhat arbitrary, as the settlement on the Main
Street is almost continuous and uninterrupted.
Both villages are embowered in ornamental trees,
which give a rural appearance to the place; and
the large, spreading elms have ever attracted the
passers-by. While the roads in Lexington are far
from being hiUy, there are in different ports of the
town swells of land rising from a hundred to a
hundred and twenty-five feet above the ordinary
level of the surrounding eouiitry, giving an exten¬
sive view of the regions around. There is a range
of high lands on tlie southerly side of the main or
Boston road, commencing a little southerly of the
centre of the town, whicii, though interrupted by
one local depression, extends into Arlington. The
swell above the old Mimroe Tavern is considerably
elevated, and overlooks the main village and a
large portion of the town. It was on the north¬
ern declivity of this hill that Lord Percy placed
one of his field-pieces on the 19th of April, 1775.
The elevated portion of this range, southwesterly
of the village hall in East Lexington, commands
a prospect of great extent and rare beauty. Not
only, the northeasterly portion of the town, but the
village of Medford, with its numerous dwellings
and public buildings, are displayed to view. Nor
does tlie prospect end here ; the more distant city
of Lynn, and the dark-blue ocean beyond, whitened
by the sails of her hardy fishermen and her enter¬
prising merchants, give variety and grandeur to
the scene.
Mount Independence, near the East village, rises
about one hundred and thirty feet above the main
street. This is but a continuation of the range of
which we have spoken. It is nearly opposite the
church, and commands a full view of the village
and the high lands on the opposite side of the
broad meadows which spread out on each side of
Mül Brook. But while Main Street, on which are
situated the principal houses in the village, lies at
the foot of this eminence, and the eye of the be¬
holder on the summit can observe every movement
in the village, a more distant prospect attracts at¬
tention, and in the openings among the hills in
Arlington the growing village of Medford rises
12
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in full view. The prospect from this hill is truly
delightful ; and the people in this part of the town
have shown their good sense and good taste in
giving this hill a name worthy of its character and
the town where it is situated.
Farther to the south this elevated range rises
still higher, with a more extensive prospect, par¬
ticularly to the south and east, enabling the eye
to take iu the village of Newton, and to a great
extent the beautiful country intervening. At the
lower end of the East village this range is consid¬
erably depressed, but soon rises again as it ap¬
proaches the Arlington line, giving a good view
towards the north.
But the most celebrated elevation in town, and the
one which affords the grandest prospect, is Hancock
Height. It is situated some hundred and twenty
rods from the railroad station. This general swell
or elevation commences near tlie centre railroad
station, and continues in an easterly direction,
culminating in a rocky summit, which terminates
in a precipitous descent of about one iiuiidred and
eighty feet, to the intervale of Vine Brook. Stand¬
ing on the summit, you have almost the whole
northern and eastern part of the town in full view.
At the base, and almost under your feet, is spread
out the valley of Vine Brook, showing its broad
meadows, — here in a iiigh state of cultivation, and
there covered with a growth of oak, birch, and
maple ; while on the other hand is the village in
its leafy beauty. Beyond, you have the plains
waving with grass or grain, hillsides adorned with
orchards or crowned with forests, — the whole
dotted over with farm-houses and barns, to show
tiie presence of industry and thrift. Here, too,
you behold the streamlets meandering through the
meadows, the roads winding among the hills, to¬
gether with the school-houses and churches, show¬
ing that the mind and the heart, no less than the
face of the earth, are designed for cultivation and
improvement. Nor is the prospect confined to the
township. The villages of Woburn and Burling¬
ton, with the high lands beyond, bound your pros¬
pect on the northeast. On the east you liave the
hills in Winchester, Mount Gilboa, and the other
elevations in Arlington in view ; and between these
a part of Somerville, the towering shaft on Bunker
Hill, and a portion of the city of Boston may be
seen, refiecting the rays of the rising and setting
sun. To the southeast you behold the Blue Hills
in Milton, the elevated land in Newton, Prospect
Hill in Waltham, and the high grounds ui W'estou.
Passing over the village of Bedford, the high lands
of Westford, Groton, and the intermediate towns,
the prospect towards the west and northwest is
almost unbounded, interrupted by the lofty Wachu-
sett in Princeton, the first land which glads the
eye of the mariner as he approaches the coast.
Farther north you behold the Watatic in Ashby,
and the hills in New Ipswich ; and still farther the
Grand Monadnock, " with brow half seen and half
concealed in clouds, fixes and bounds the view."
This hill was known to the inhabitants by a low
and insignificant name, but the citizens in town-
meeting assembled, in November, 1867, gave it the
more worthy name of Hancock Height. The sum¬
mit of this hill, like almost every other iu town, is
capped with green-stone, ground off smooth at the
top; thus sustaining the theory of the geologists
that, during what they denominate the drift period,
vast mountains of ice passed over our country, and
in their steady progress, with their enormous weigiit,
composed as they are thought to be of rocks of all
kinds which they have accumuLited in their grand
march, ground off the tops of rocks over wiiich they
passed.
The general topography of the township, the
rolling surface of the ground, present desirable
sites for dwellings, giving what is becoming a very
important element in building lots, a good oppor¬
tunity for sewerage. We have a railroad passing
through the villages, furnishing us with five passen¬
ger stations within the township, and so accommo-
datidg every locality. We have two post-offices,
with a daily mail morning and evening, a telegraph
and telephone office. I know of no town so near the
city of Boston, and enjoying such facilities of com¬
munication, so rural as Lexington. Though our
main village presents all the variety of a thickly
settled place, having its school-houses, churches,
English and West India goods stores, a capacious
town-hall, public houses, livery stables, post-office,
and the usual variety of mechanics' shops, and the
railroad station in the centre of the village, — yet if
you take a carriage to enjoy any of the pleasant
drives which our good roads afford, in five minutes
from the village you are in a scene as quiet and as
rural as though you were a hundred miles from
the city.
Lexington has always been regarded as one of
the most healthy towns in the region. Situated a
dozen miles from the coast, with high lands inter¬
vening, those unpleasant, raw, and unhealthy east
winds which annoy the inhabitants nearer the sea.
LEXINGTON.
13
and convert a goodly portion of the pleasant months
of May and June into an uncomfortable season,
are in a great degree avoided, or rather that these
winds are so far modified as to be Tendered com¬
fortable. At the same time we are so far removed
from the snow-capped hills at the north and west
as to be measurably exempt from tlie drifting snows
of winter, and the chilling air of spring. These
are among the causes which tend to save us in a
degree from that plague of New England which
brings to an untimely end so many of our young
people. The altitude of our township gives a salu¬
brity to our atmosphere, and the absence of slow
sluggish streams saves us in a measure from the
malignant diseases so fatal to children. And it can
be easily siiown by the bills of mortality that Lex¬
ington has furnished a larger proportion of deaths at
an advanced age than most of the towns around us.
The healthfulness of Lexington is so well known
that many invalids by the advice of their physicians
have come to Lexington to regain their health.
Lexington was originally a part of Cambridge,
and was known by the designation of " Cambridge
Farms," supplying the main village with wood and
hay. It is difficult to say when the settlement
proper began. Several persons spent most of the
farming season here, and still retained their resi¬
dence in Cambridge. There was no permanent set¬
tlement at the "Farms" till about 1640. Tiie
.early settlers came mostly from Cambridge and
Watertown ; but at first they were few in number.
Without attempting to state the order in which
the first settlers came to the place, we must be
content with saying that the Bridges, Winships,
Cutlers, Fisks, Stones, Bowmans, Merriams, and
Eussells were among the earliest and the most
numerous families. It was not till after the cloge
of Philip's War that there was any considerable
increase of population. In 1670 there could not
have been over eighty-five or ninety inhabitants at
the Farms ; but in 1690 there was probably three
times that number. Among the first wants of
every New England settlement were those of church
privileges. In 1682 the settlers petitioned the
General Court to be set off as a distinct precinct.
The old parish in Cambridge opposing, it was not
till 1691 that the court granted the Farms a sep¬
arate corporate existence. Their first object after
being made a precinct was to provide permanently
for religious instruction. They had had preaching
somewhat regularly before. But in 1693 they had
erected a meeting-house and employed a minister.
But unfortunately their minister, Eev. Benjamin
Estabrook, who had preached for them, and was
permanently settled in 1696, died within a year
of his ordination. The parish, after some delay, in
1698 settled John Hancock, a graduate from Har¬
vard, a young man of good promise. He remained
with his people till his death in 1752. He proved
to be a man of superior talents, of great useful¬
ness, and probably exerted more influence than any
clergyman in the county. If any difficulty arose
in any of the churches, and a council was called,
Mr. Hancock was always on the council, where he
was generally made moderator ; and often became
the council itself. In those days, when the churches
were much fewer than at present, and when minis¬
ters remained long with their people, being settled
for Ufe, he gave the solemn charge to twenty-one
ministers at their induction into their sacred office.
He was as influential at home as abroad, and
always managed to keep his people united and
happy. He was the counsellor and guide of his
parishioners, not only in their spiritual, but in
their temporal affairs. Their title-deeds and their
accounts werç generally in his handwriting. If
any difficulty or misunderstanding arose between
any members of his flock, he would invite the
parties before him, and by his good sense and good
humor, would generally reconcile them. But when
he failed in this, he would often act the part of the
arbiter, though self-appointed, and decide the ques¬
tion between them ; and such was their confidence
in him, and such their respect for his judgment
and purity of inteution, that they generally acqui¬
esced with cheerfulness in his decision.
Mr. Hancock had three sons : first, John, who
was settled a minister in Braintree, and was the
father.of John Hancock of the Bevolution ; second,
Thomas, a successful merchant of Boston, who
adopted and educated his nephew John, who was
left an orphan at the tender age of seven years,
and to whom he bequeathed his large fortune;
third, Ebenezer, who was settled as a colleague
with his father, and died in 1740, after a brief and
very acceptable ministry of six years. John Han¬
cock, the elder, built a house on what is now
known as Hancock Street, soon after his ordina¬
tion in 1698, and about 1735 his son Thomas built
an addition to the house. Both the original and the
addition are still standing, each showing the archi¬
tectural taste of the age in which they were erected ;
and they are subjects of interest at the present day.
The house has recently been purchased by a gentle-
14
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
man of means and patriotic sympathy, who has
caused the same to be painted and put in a state
of good preservation, so that this relic of the past
may remain an object of veneration many years to
come. Mr. Hancock was succeeded in the minis¬
try by Jonas Clarke, who was inducted into the
pastoral oiEce in 1755. He married Lucy Bowes,
a granddaughter of his predecessor. Rev. John
Hancock. Mr. Clarke purchased and resided in
the house erected by his predecessor, so that the
old building, still an object of attraction, has
been the ministerial mansion for more than a
century. Mr. Clarke was a man of distinguished
ability, and has left his mark upon his country's
history. During the later years of the French and
Indian wars, Mr. Clarke, though comparatively a
young man, encouraged a warm devotion to his
country; but when the English ministry first
attempted to impose taxes upon the colonies, he
was among the first to raise his voice against it.
It was customary in those days for towns, when
they elected representatives, to instruct them how
to vote on important public questions. When
Lexington had elected its representative, if there
was any particular question before the people, he
was not simply advised how to act, but be was
presented with an able, elaborate state paper,
entering into the merits of the question, and teach¬
ing the duty of rulers, and the rights and privi¬
leges of the ruled.
Lexington records contain a number of those
valuable papers, all prepared by Mr. Clarke, which
would do honor to any statesman in the country.
The practice of giving instructions to its dele¬
gates was not peculiar to Lexington ; but, though
I have seen the instructions given by quite a num¬
ber of towns, I bave seen none so full and able as
those upon our town-book. In fact, if all other
records were destroyed, and all traditions were ig¬
nored, a historian wishing to ascertain the cause of
the Revolution, and the exact points of the contro¬
versy, — the demand on the one side and the an¬
swer on the other, — would be able from tbese pa¬
pers to obtain information which would enable him
to fill this chapter of his history with facts of an un¬
doubted character, which could be relied on. Mr.
Clarke was well read in the science of civil govern¬
ment, and in his masterly documents he met the par¬
ticular issues of the day, and showed in the clearest
manner that as English subjects we were deprived
of the rights and privileges of British freemen
which were granted to us by our charter, and con¬
firmed by the constitution of Great Britain ; and
that during the whole controversy we were in the
right and the parliament in the wrong ; that they,
in truth, and not we, were the rebels, ignoring,
disregarding, and trampling upon the fundamental
principles of their own organic law. These papers
not only instructed our own people, and so pre¬
pared them for the events of the 19th of April,
1775, but by their publication they enlightened
the public mind, and prepared the people generally
to resist the encroachments of Great Britain, and
also to establish free governments and to perform
all the duties of republican citizens. Mr. Clarke
possessed a clear, vigorous, and well-balanced
mind, and was always actuated by higb moral
principles, wbetber acting as tbe divine or as the
statesman. He was, in fact, religiously political
and politically religious, and so was progressive
and conservative at the same time. He was the
friend, the adviser, the compeer of Adams, Han¬
cock, and Warren, who frequently found a home
under his roof and received wise instruction from
his lips.
Lexington was peculiarly fortunate in being
blessed with two such ministers as Hancock and
Clarke, whose united ministry exceeded a century,
and whose wisdom and prudence guided the people
in the arts of peace and in the perils of war. Their
lives, their teachings, and their characters were so
blended with the affairs of the town that they are
as necessarily a part, and an important part, of the
history of Lexington as Washington is of the
American Revolution. Mr. Clarke was not a poli¬
tician in the popular sense of the word ; he was a
statesman, and his teaching was not calculated to
make men partisans, but understanding, patriotic
citizens. He regarded civil government as a divine
institution, necessary for the well-being of society
and being designed for the whole people, the whole
people should have a voice in the form of govern¬
ment. He regarded government, when established,
as a social compact, where the people enter into a
solemn contract to abide by its provisions, until
they are annulled by the terms of the compact
itself. He regarded the consent of the people as
essential to the validity of government, and sus¬
tained this doctrine by divine authority. He says,
in his election sermon preached before the state
government: "The laws of nature give men the
right to select their form of government. Even
God himself, the Supreme Ruler of the world, whose
government is absolute and uncontrollable, that
LEXINGTON.
15
ever paid a sacred attention to this important right,
— hath ever patronized this interesting claim in the
sons of men. The only constitution of civil govern¬
ment that claims its origin direct from heaven is the
theocracy of the Hebrews ; hut even this form of
government, though dictated by infinite wisdom, and
written by the finger of God, wo» laid before the
people for their consideration, and was ratified,
introduced, and established by common consenti'
Both Hancock and Clarke were very popular
with their fiocks, and possessed great infiuence over
them in all things. Mr. Clarke's patriotic views
were instilled into the hearts of his fellow-citizens,
so that they could with propriety be addressed by
him as fellow-patriots. And, no doubt, his ardent
love of liberty and devotion to the interest of the
colony tended to produce that firmness and self-
sacrificing spirit displayed in the opening scene of
our Eevolutionary drama. Among the important
services rendered by Mr. Clarke may be mentioned
his influence upon Colonel Hancock in preparing
him for the Eevolutionary struggle. Young Han¬
cock was an ardent, impressible man, fond of soci¬
ety and show. He had been abroad, and was
present at the funeral of George II. and at the
coronation of George III. Coming at once, as he
did at the death of his uncle, into the possession of
a princely fortune, would naturaEy make a young
man vain. His position of course attracted atten¬
tion, and the royalists sought to secure him in
their interest. The security of his large property
and the chance of promotion were held up to him.
In weighing them against his natural love of lib¬
erty and devotion to his country it is believed that,
for a time, he faltered. But, fortunately for the
country and for his reputation, there were other
influences brought to bear upon him. Samuel
Adams was ever ready to strengthen the weak, and
his influence with Hancock was in the right direc¬
tion. But there was another influence, more silent
perhaps, but quite as controlling. His connection
with Mr. Clarke's family, his respect for Mr.
Clarke, and his confidence in his judgment, brought
him frequently to his house. The well-known
patriotism of Mr. Clarke, his courtly and persua¬
sive manner, and his commanding talents, could
not fail to impress the mind of Hancock, and it is
believed that he was highly influential in inducing
the young merchant of Boston to take an open and
decided stand in support of the rights of the colo¬
nies. And it is due to the memory of Hancock to
say that if there ever was a time when he faltered,
after he had avowed his sentiments no man was
truer or holder, or more ready to make sacrifices in
the cause of liberty.
But Lexington has a civil and military history as
well as an ecclesiastical one. Lexington was made
a precinct in 1691, and was incorporated as a town
in 1713. As a municipal corporation she laid out
highways, provided for the support of the poor,
and established that indispensable institution of
New England, — free schools. The town being
entirely agricultural, and lying near the neighbor¬
hood of manufactures and commerce, her young
men loo frequently have been induced to quit the
primitive calling of tilling the soil, and to seek
more lucrative business in other callings elsewhere;
and hence the population of Lexington has been of
a slow growth. And her population received
another check in 1754, when a thousand acres of
her territory with the inhabitants thereon were
taken from her to help form the town of Lincoln.
The people of Lexington have been too unwilling
to encourage manufactures and the mechanic arts ;
and hence she has not increased in }}opulation like
some of her neighboring towns. But more of this
history hereafter.
Lexington has, of course, a military history, and
one which reflects no dishonor upon the place. In
the French and Indian wars Lexington acted no
insignificant part. The rolls of that day are so
imperfect that no full and accurate account can be
given of the number of soldiers that were sent into
the field from this town. Froni 1755 to 1763,
inclusive, taking the number of men each year,
will give a total of one hundred and sixty-eight
men, who were found on every battle-field, — at
Louisburg, Quebec, Crown Point, Ticonderoga,
Fort "William Henry, and wherever a foe was to
be encountered or a daring deed to he performed.
Some of the Lexington men were attached to the
famous corps known as " Bflgers' Bangers," — a
corps in which Stark served his military appren¬
ticeship; a corps whose name was expressive of
the life they led, ranging through the wilderness,
seeking their wary foe by day and by night, in
silent glens or secret ambush ; a corps whose win¬
ter-quarters were in tedious marchings amid drifted
snows and ice-clad hills, relying sometimes upon
snow-shoes and sometimes upon skates for loco¬
motion, and carrying their only arsenal and com¬
missariat in their packs.
We have already alluded to the controversy of
the colony with the mother country. This was
16
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
continuous from the passage of the Stamp Act in
1765, to the opening of the Revolution. This
controversy, which excited the attention of every
town and village, was in no place better understood
by the mass of the people than in Lexington. The
clear and elaborate instractions of Parson Clarke,
the frequent visits of Hancock and Adams, kept
these questions constantly before the people ; and
the whole subject was discussed, not merely in a
declamatory and passionate way, but on its merits.
So that when our fathers resorted to arms, they
rallied, not as an ignorant and infatuated mob, but
as a band of patriots knowing their rights, and
resolved to defend them ; to resist by arms unjust
oppression, whether they acted under the command
of superior officers, or on their own responsibility,
always keeping in mind the oft-repeated, popular
prohibition not to commence a war : "Not to fire
until they were fired upon."
"We claim for Lexington no natural courage or
patriotism beyond that possessed by the citizens of
other towns. We know that the whole community
was alive to the subject ; and we have no doubt
that if the British had moved in hostile array in
any other direction, or through any other town,
they would have met with firm resistance.
The peculiar relation which subsisted between
Hancock and Lexington was such that her citizens
came to regard Hancock as a Lexington man. It
was here that his grandfather spent his days. It
was here that his father was born ; and it was in
Lexington that he spent his boyhood with Iiis grand¬
father, his father having died and left him an orphan
at the age of seven years. There were other causes
which attracted him to Lexington. Parson Clarke
was a college acquaintance, and had married a
cousin of his; and as Mr. Clarke resided in the
house built by his grandfather and uncle, — the
house where he had spent years of his boyhood, —
Hancock would naturally feel attached to the place
and the people to him.^ This attachment was shown
on his part by the frequent visits to Lexington,
and several presents made to the people ; and on
their part by the cordiality with which he was re¬
ceived, and the respect they were always ready to
manifest to the President of the Provincial Con¬
gress, and chairman of the Committee of Safety,
' This venerable old mansion, where Hancoek, the elder, and
Claike resided, making it a ministerial residenee for more than
« century, —the resort of Adams and Hancock, at the opening
of the Revolution, —has been the resort of crowds of people,
and the attraction of the place seems to inerease with years.
ex-officio chief magistrate of the province and
commander of her military forces. Not only
John Hancock, but that stem patriot Samuel
Adams, who was in fact the organizer of the
American Revolution, — the man who stood firm
when other honest patriots faltered, — he too was
a warm friend of Mr. Clarke, and a frequent vis¬
itor at his house. He, with his friend Hancock,
had been singled out by the British ministry, as
victims to be arrested and sent to England for
trial, that is, for execution. They were both stay¬
ing at Mr. Clarke's, not caring to trust themselves
to the tender care of Governor Gage, who had ad¬
vised their arrest. They were both at Lexington
on the 19th of April; and the people seemed to
regard their safety as a sort of sacred trust; and
consequently they posted a guard around the house
on the night of the 18th, in consequence of an
apprehended attempt to seize them, and deliver
them over to Governor Gage.
All these circumstances would naturally tend to
awaken the feelings, warm the patriotism, and call
out the military spirit of the people. These causes
and otliers had operated, some of them for years,
to keep the citizens of Lexington alive to the in¬
terests of the colonies, and ready to make any
sacrifice in the cause. In 17 72, when things seemed
approaching a crisis, and indications not to be mis¬
taken were visible that the oppressive policy of
Britain was to be enforced by military power, there
was a pause, a faltering, even in Boston. John
Adams had retired from the service of the people;
Gushing, Philips, Church, and others, who had been
active before, hesitated, or declined to serve on the
committee of correspondence. But there was one
master spirit, who, like all other truly great men,
was sure to rise with the occasion. Samuel Adams
stood firm at his post. He saw in prospect the
independence of the colonies, and conceived the
plan of opening a correspondence with all the towns
in the province ; and though this measure was but
feebly seconded in Boston, Adams and others sent
out a circular to the different towns to ascertain
their feelings, and see how far the true patriote
could be sustained in decisive measures of opposi¬
tion to the arbitrary acts of the royal governor.
Lexington, in response to this circular, gave this
patriotic reply : " "We trust in God, that should
the state of our affairs require it, we shall be ready
to sacrifice our estates and everything dear in life,
yea, and life itself in support of the common
cause."
LEXINGTON.
17
Such a pledge given in religions trust three
years before hostilities commenced, indicated a
fixed, firm, inflexible reliance upon Providence;
and a determination to make any sacrifice in the
cause of freedom. Nor was this an empty boast.
The final event showed that they were as good as
their word. In 1774 the Provincial Congress, in
view of the threatened danger, recommended to the
people throughout the province to organize them¬
selves into companies, elect their officers, and be
ready for any emergency. This was the origin of
the organization known as minute-men. Lexing¬
ton, which had given such an assurance of devotion
to the cause of human rights, was ready to adopt
this proposed military organization; and she ap¬
pears to have been free from an incumbrance ex¬
isting in some of the neighboring towns, that of
existing companies whose officers were commis¬
sioned by the royal governor ; and who felt a kind
of allegiance to the officers of the crown. Lex¬
ington felt no restraint of this sort. She was free
to act, and looked only to the Provincial Congress
for authority. Her company of minute-men in¬
cluded nearly every citizen, except the aged and
infirm, who associated themselves as what was de¬
nominated the "alarm list." The minute-men
elected their officers agreeably to the recommen¬
dation of the Provincial Congress, so that Captain
John Parker was the lawful commander of a regu¬
larly organized company, clothed with power by,
the only government which the people recognized.
No town, therefore, could have a military force
more legal, more in conformity with the new order
of things than Lexington; and no company had
in its ranks men better instructed in their duty as
soldiers and citizens, or men more devoted to the
sacred cause of liberty.
The town had pledged itself to the province,
and it was not found wanting, at the threat of
danger. After forming their military organization,
they strove to make that organization efficient, so
far as their limited means would allow. They
voted in open town-meeting, " To supply a suitable
quantity of flints," " to bring two pieces of cannon
from Watertown and mount them," "to provide
a pair of drums for the use of the military com¬
pany in town," " to provide bayonets at the town's
cost for one third of the training soldiers," " to
have the militia and alarm-list meet for a review
of their arms, etc." They also voted to pay the
soldiers for the time they spent in drilling and
preparing for active service; and in order that
these votes should not become a mere dead letter,
committees were chosen to carry them into effort ;
all of which showed that the people were in ear¬
nest, and expected that war would ensue.
It is due to the patriots of Lexington and to
our fathers generally, to correct an error which
has prevailed extensively, that they took up arms
rather than pay a threepenny tax upon tea. This
is a narrow view of the subject. They did object
to taxation, because they had no representation in
parliament. But the claim of Great Britain was
not limited to taxation. She claimed the right of
legislating for us in " all cases wh.ntsoever," — a
right to deprive us of all our civil privileges, such
as of trial by jury, of suffrage, of holding prop¬
erty, — a doctrine by which they could compel us
to serve in her army and navy, and to fight her
battles in any part of the world; in a word, the
right to make us slaves. And, in fact, before
we took up arms, her parliament reduced some
of these arbitrary principles to practice. The act
changing the charter of Massachusetts practically
deprived us of trial by jury, and other domestic
rights and immunities, which we all hold dear ;
and it was the first bold step of exercising absolute
control over the colonies. They had passed such
laws, and had sent a governor, backed by military
power, to enforce them. The resolution on their
part was taken, their purpose was fixed. Their
laws, however oppressive or cruel, should be exe¬
cuted even at the point of the bayonet. Nor were
the colonies undecided. Old Middlesex had been
in council, and from a full view of the subject her
people said : " Life and death, or what is more,
freedom or slavery, are in a peculiar sense, now
before us ; and the choice and success under God
depend greatly upon ourselves." And after assert¬
ing that the late acts of parliament are uncon¬
stitutional, and ought not to be obeyed, but re¬
sisted if need be unto death, they assert "that
he can never die too soon who lays down his life
in support of the laws and liberties of his coun¬
try."
Such was the sentiment and resolution of the
county, and Lexington was not a whit behind the
foremost in patriotic self-devotion. And now when
to all appearance the crisis was at hand she had
taken measures to meet it heroically. The issue
was virtually made up, and nothing was wanting
but an occasion to try the same. Gage had prac¬
tically said that the late acts of parliament should
be enforced, and the people said they should not.
18
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The military stores deposited at Concord furnished
an occasion to test the spirit of the people.
The order of time and the succession of occur¬
rences bring us to an event of the most interesting,
delicate, and important character, — to what the
country, with great unanimity, has denominated
the "Battle of Lexington." While we cannot
claim that any battle or fight, in the broadest sense
of that term, occurred at any particular point on
the 19th of April, 1775, since the battle, if such it
be called, extended from Concord to Charlestown
Neck, yet it becomes convenient and highly neces¬
sary to give a local name to the skirmish of that
eventful day. And to no locality could it be given
with as much propriety as to Lexington. It was
here that the first encounter in arms occurred ; it
was here that the first organized opposition to the
King's troops was made; it was here that the
first blood on each side was shed, and here the
first martyrs to liberty fell ; and it was in Lexing¬
ton that the first British prisoners were made ; it
was here that Percy met the fugitive forces of
Smith, and saved them from perfect ruin ; and it
was here that the British soldiers commenced their
system of vandalism, by firing the houses they had
plundered ; and it was from Lexington that the in¬
telligence went forth which broke the spell of neu¬
trality and called the nation to arms. And, besides,
Lexington made greater sacrifices of men and prop¬
erty than any town in the province on that occa¬
sion. To what place, then, could the events of
the day be ascribed with as much propriety as to
Lexington? While we would not detract from
the honors claimed by any other town, we will not
ignore the honors bestowed upon ours by the whole
country, as being the birthplace of American lib¬
erty; and the praise bestowed upon our patriot
fathers whose acts have contributed to make our
town historic and our country free.
Hancock and Adams were stopping with their
friend Clarke, at Lexington, and from the position
they occupied they would naturally be possessed of
all the facts known, and the rumors afloat, relative
to the designs of the British; they must have
known that threats had been thrown out by the
ministry of having them arrested and sent to Eng¬
land for trial. They, of course, kept their friends
Clarke and Captain Parker well informed on all
these subjects. There was, therefore, in Lexington,
a perpetual watchfulness of the movements of the
British. They knew that the few stores deposited
at Concord had attracted Gage's attention; and
Hancock knew that Colonel Barrett, to whose cus¬
tody they were committed, had been apprised of the
danger, and had been directed to scatter and secrete
them. With a knowledge of these facts the people
of Lexington would have an eye to the safety of
Hancock and Adams, and of the stores at Concord.
There was, in fact, a general belief in the spring
of 1775 that some hostile movement would be
made by Gage ; it was known that his troops were
desirous of action, and that Gage himself was
anxious to make some demonstration before the
arrival of Howe, Clinton, and Burgoyne, who were
on their way to Boston to supersede him. Every
known fact and reasonable suspicion kept the
patriots of Lexington on the watch. On the 18th
of April they saw a number of strangers on horse¬
back pass up the road toward Concord. This
created a suspicion that they might be British offi¬
cers sent on some hostile expedition. They had
seen British officers making excursions in the
country somewhat frequently, but they always re¬
turned towards Boston as the day drew towards a
close, but ia this particular case they passed up the
road as the shades of evening were gathering round
them. This circumstance went far to convince
them that these strangers were British officers, bent
on some hostile mission. Meanwhile, Solomon
Brown of Lexington, who had been to market at
Boston, returned late in the afternoon and informed
Colonel Munroe, then orderly sergeant of Captain
Parker's company, that he had seen nine British
officers, dressed in blue great-coats, passing leis¬
urely up the roads, sometimes before and some¬
times behind him, armed, as he discovered by the
occasional blowing aside of their great-coats.
Munroe, suspecting that their design was to seize
Hancock and Adams, immediately collected a
guard of eight men, well armed and equipped, and
placed them, himself at their head, at the house of
Mr. Clarke, which was nearly a quarter of a mile
from the main road leading to Concord. After
some consultation, it was decided by the Lexington
men to send three of their number, Sanderson,
Brown, and Loring, towards Concord, to watch
the British officers, and endeavor to ascertain and
give information of their movements. In the borders
of Lincoln, these men were taken prisoners by the
British officers, who were paraded across the road.
Soon after, Mr. Hevens, a patriot of Charles-
town, sent to Lexington intelligence that the Brit¬
ish in Boston were in motion, and were preparing
to leave town on some secret expedition, and that
LEXINGTON.
19
probably Concord was tbe place of their destina¬
tion. In view of the fancied danger, Captain Par¬
ker despatched messengers calling the members of
his company to meet forthwith at the Common.
The evening passed in comparative quiet at Lex¬
ington. Hancock and Adams had retired for the
night. A little past midnight a stranger arrived,
post haste, at Mr. Clarke's house, which he found
guarded by Sergeant Munroe and eight men ; and
on requesting to he admitted to Mr. Clarke's house
he was told that the family had just retired, and
requested that they might not he disturbed by any
noise about the house. "Noise !" exclaimed Re¬
vere, "you will have noise enough before long!
Tlie regulars are coming out ! " He was then
permitted to pass. On his knocking at the door,
Mr. Clarke opened a window and inquired who was
there. Revere, without answering the question,
said he wished to see Mr. Hancock. Mr. Clarke,
ever deliberate and watchful, was intimating tliat
he did not like to admit strangers to his house at
that time of night, without knowing who they
were and the character of their business, when Han¬
cock, who had retired to rest but not to sleep,
recognizing Revere's voice, cried out, "Come in.
Revere, we are not afraid of you ! " Shortly after,
Dawes, who came out through Roxbury, arrived,
bringing the same intelligence, that a large num¬
ber of British troops had left Boston, and it was
suspected that they were destined to Concord to
destroy the military stores there.
After refreshing themselves at Lexington, Re¬
vere and Dawes, not knowing the fate of the three
men who had been sent up the road from Lexing¬
ton, set off for Concord to alarm the people. Soon
after they were overtaken by a young gentleman
of Concord, who had been spending the evening in
Lexington in no hostile array, with a special female
friend. Being an ardent patriot, he entered heart¬
ily into their design, and proceeded with them,
alarming the people on the road. Before reaching
Concord they were suddenly met by a party of
British officers, armed and mounted, who immedi¬
ately surrounded and captured Revere, who was in
advancé of his companions. The young man from
Concord, being a little in the rear and mounted on
a spirited horse, eluded them by leaping a stone
wall, made his escape, and arrived safely in Con¬
cord, where he gave the alarm. The same officers
had already taken the three men from Lexington,
and had them in custody. These prisoners were
all subjected to a rigid examination. Presenting
their pistols, the officers threatened to blow out
the brains of the captives if they did not give true
answers to their questions. They interrogated the
Lexington men relative to Hancock and Adams,
and inquired where they could be found. They
questioned Revere, who at first gave them rather
evasive answers, but finding himself in their keep¬
ing, and seeing no way of escape, said to them,
firmly, " Gentlemen, you have missed your aim ! "
One of the officers said, " What aim ? " Revere
replied, " I came out from Boston one hour after
your troops left, and if I had not known that mes¬
sengers had been sent out to give information to
the country, and must have had time enough to
carry it fifty miles, I would have ventured one shot
from you before I would have suffered you to stop
me." Startled at this, they pushed their inquiries
further, when, on hearing the sound of a distant
bell, one of the Lexington prisoners said to them,
" The bell is ringing, the town is alarmed, and you
are all dead men ! " These declarations frightened
the British officers, who, after a brief consultation
aside, started on their return towards Lexington.
They kept possession of their prisoners till they
came within about a hundred rods of the meeting¬
house, when, taking Revere's horse from him, and
cutting the girths of the saddles and the bridles of
the other prisoners, the officers left them, and rode
off at full speed toward Boston. This was about
three o'clock on the morning of the 19th.
While these things were occurring on the road
towards Concord, the alarm was spread rapidly
throughout Lexington, and the minute-men were
assembling on the Common. At two o'clock on
the morning of the 19th Captain Parker caused the
roll of his company to be called, and ordered every
man to load his gun with powder and ball, so as
to be ready for any emergency ; and gave the well-
known and well-concerted order, " Not to fire un¬
less they were fired upon ! " After remaining
some time upon parade, and no certain intelligence
being received of the approach of the regulars, as
the king's troops were generally at that time called,
and the evening being cool, the company was dis¬
missed, with orders to assemble again at the beat
of the drum, the ringing of the bell, and the firing
of the alarm guns. Some, who resided in the
neighborhood, repaired to their own homes, but a
greater part, ])erhaps, went to Buckman's tavern,
near the place of parade.
In order to comprehend fuUy the events in Lex¬
ington which we have partiaUy narrated, and to
20
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
understand the events of which we must speak to
make our history perfect, it must be known that
Eevere and Dawes, of whom we have spoken, were
sent out by that vigilant patriot. Dr. Warren, the
one by way of Charlestown and the other by way
of Eoxbury; that Gage had detailed eight hun¬
dred men, under the command of Colonel Smith,
to march hastily upon Concord to destroy the mili¬
tary stores collected there ; that this corps left Bos¬
ton about ten o'clock on the evening of the 18th of
April ; and, moreover, that Gage and Smith at the
time deemed the movement a perfect secret, not
knowing that messengers had already passed out
from Boston to give the alarm, and that the lan¬
tern from Christ Church was flashing intelligence
of the movement with the rapidity of light; and
that they supposed the officers, who had dined at
Cambridge, would intercept all travel upon the
road, so as to prevent any spread of intelligence at
Concord of the approach of this expedition. But
Smith had not marched far before the ringing of
the church bells and the firing of alarm guns con¬
vinced him that their deáign was known, and that
he felt the danger, and sent back for a reinforce¬
ment, which brought Percy to Lexington and saved
Smith's force from utter destruction; and Smith
in the mean time despatched Pitcairn, with the light
troops, to move as rapidly as practicable to Concord
and take possession of the bridges. These well-
established facts are deemed necessary to a full
understanding of what transpired in Lexington;
and are mentioned here thus briefly, so as not to
anticipate what properly belongs to the history of
the county, or of other towns.
We have already stated that Parker had allowed
his company a recess, as they had learned nothing
with certainty of the approach of the regulars. It
was subsequently learned that the messengers sent
to ascertain the movements of the British were
captured and held in custody, for the very purpose
of rendering their movement a secret. Their course
was to send two or more of tlieir men ahead, and,
if they discovered the approach of any person to
secrete themselves, and permit him to pass, and
then turn upon him and make him a prisoner.
The last messenger sent from Lexington was Thad¬
dens Bowman, who was riding down the road
rapidly, when about a mile and a half from the
Common, his horse became suddenly frightened,
stopped, and refused to go forward. In a moment
he discovered the cause. The light of the morn-
ing appearing in some degree, he perceived just
ahead, sitting on opposite sides of the way, two
British soldiers ; and while he was attempting to
urge his horse forward, not suspecting their plan
to entrap him, he caught a glimpse of the British
troops, then about thirty rods off. He instantly
turned his horse, and rode with all possible speed
to the meeting-house, and gave Captain Parker
the first certain knowledge of the approach of
the king's troops. There was no longer a doubt
that the British were near at hand. It was now
about half past four in the morning. Captain
Parker immediately ordered the alarm guns to be
fired, the bell to be rung, and the drums to beat
to arms. Sergeant William Munroe was directed
to form the company, which he did with all pos¬
sible despatch, a few rods north of the meeting¬
house, which stood near where the present hay
scales now stand. About fifty of the militia lud
formed, or rather were forming, while there were
some thirty spectators near by, a few of whom had
arms. But what was to be done? What could
this little devoted band do in the face of wlut
they then believed to be twelve or fifteen hundred
veteran troops ? To attack them would, in a mili¬
tary point of view, be the height of foUy, and con¬
trary to the moral resolve of the province, not
to commence any act of war ; and to stand their
ground in case they were attacked by such over¬
whelming numbers would be exposing themselves
to certain destruction without any justifiable mo¬
tive. Captain Parker and his men not only knew
their danger, but they knew the great responsibility
which rested upon them. They stood their ground,
not merely as soldiers, but as citizens, nay, almost
as statesmen, having the destiny of the country in
their hands.
But this was not the time or the place to de¬
liberate. They must act, and that speedily, from
principles imbibed and resolves taken before that
trying morning. Knowing his duty as a soldier,
and feeling the full weight of his responsibility as
a citizen. Captain Parker gave strict orders that no
man leave his post until he was ordered, and he
gave the well-concerted command, "not to fire
until they were fired upon."
At a short distance from the parade ground.
Major Pitcairn, who, with his light troops, was a
little in advance of Smith, halted lus men, and
ordered them to fix their flints, and see that their
guns were properly loaded and primed, and so fitted
for action. The British then rushed forward with
a shout, led on by Major Pitcairn, who exclaimed.
LEXINGTON.
21
" Disperse, ye rebels ; lay down your arms and dis¬
perse I " The Americans stood firm-; when he
repeated his exclamation with an oath, rushed for¬
ward, discharged his pistol, and commanded his
men to fire. A few guns were discharged, but as
no execution was done, the Americans supposing
that hlank cartridges only were fired, remained
unmoved, but did not return the fire. The com¬
mand was repeated by Pitcairn, and a general dis¬
charge from the front rank followed, decimating the
American line. The Americans, seeing that some
of their number were killed and others wounded,
hesitated no longer as to their right to resist, and
several of them immediately returned the fire of the
British, Jonas Parker, John Munroe, Ebenezer
Munroe, Jr., and some others returned the fire be¬
fore leaving the line. Captain Parker, seeing sev¬
eral of his men fall, and the British rusliing upon
the little band from both sides of the meeting-house,
as if to surround them, ordered his men to disperse.
They did so ; but as the British continued firing,
several of the Americans returned the fire when
leaving and after leaving the field. The firing on
the part of the Americans, and also on the part
of the British, after the first two rounds, was scat¬
tering and irregular. As Major Pitcairn led the
van, the responsibility of the first attack rests
solely upon him. Prom the best information that
can be obtained, it is not probable that Colonel
Smith was upon the ground until after or about the
moment of the fatal volley. Most of the accounts,
and especially those of the British, which are the
best authority on the question as to who was then
in command, ascribe it to Pitcairn, who, I believe,
never attempted to shun the responsibility.^
The depositions taken in 1775, a few days after
the events transpired, and subsequently, have pre¬
served many interesting facts, relative to the firm¬
ness and gallantry of individuals on that occasion.
' The fallowing extract from Lieutenant-Colonel Smith's re¬
port to General Gage conclusively shows that Smith was not with
the troops who began the firing.
Boston, April 22. 1776.
" I think it proper to obsei-re, that when I had got some miles
on the march from Boston, I detached six light infantry com¬
panies to march with all expedition to seize the two bridges on
different roads beyond Concord. On these companies' arrival at
Lexington. I understand from the report of Major Pitcairn, who
was with them, and from many officers, that they fonnd on a
green close to the road a body of the country people drawn up in
military order, with arms and accoutrements, and, as appeared
after, loaded ; and that they had posted some men in a dwelling
and meeting house. Our troops advanced towards tbem, without
any intention of injuring them, further than to inquire the reason
Jedediah Munroe was wounded in the morning;
but nothing daunted by the danger he had encoun¬
tered and the wound he had received, instead of
quitting the field, when his wound was dressed, he
mounted his horse, and rode to a neighboring town
giving the alarm, and rallying the citizens; and
when Parker's company went forward to meet the
British returning from Concord, Munroe joined the
company and was killed in the afternoon. On the
first fire of the British in the morning, Jolm Mun¬
roe, seeing no one fall, said coolly to Ids namesake,
Ebenezer Munroe, Jr., that they had fired nothing
hut powder. On the second discharge Ebenezer
replied, "They have fired something besides powder
this time; for I am wounded in the arm." He
then discharged his gun at tlie British, receiving two
balls in return, one of which grazed his cheek,
the other passed between his arm and his body,
leaving its mark in his garment. Jolm Munroe,
after firing in the line, loaded his gun with two
halls, aiid on leaving the Common discharged it at
his pursuers ; the strength of the chaige carrying
away eight or ten inches of the muzzle of bis gun ;
the gun has been preserved, and may be seen with
the relics in our Library Hall. William Tidd, Cap¬
tain Parker's lieutenant, when retreating from the
Common, was pursued by an officer on horseback,
supposed to be Pitcairn, up the Bedford road, with
repeated cries ; " Stop, or you are a dead man ! "
Tidd turned from the road into the lot, where he
made a stand, and discliaiged his gun at his pur¬
suer, who in turn souglit safety in flight. John
Tidd remained upon the field so long that, as he
was leaving the Common, a British officer on horse¬
back rushed upon him, and struck him down with
his cutlass ; and while he remained insensible from
the effect of the blow upon the head, they despoiled
him of his arms, taking away his gim, cartridge-
box and powder-horn.
of their being thus uaembled. and. if not aatiafoctoiy. to have
secured their arms ; bnt they in cuufusion went off. principally
to the left, only one of them fired before he went off. and three
or four more jumped over a wall and fired from behind it among
the soldiers ; on which the troops returned it and killed several
of them. They likewise fired on the soldiers from the meeting
and dwelling house. We had one man wounded and Major Pit-
caim's horse shot in two places."
Upon this report, and the statement of Major Pitcairn, who
always asserted that the Americans fired first, the letter of
General Gage to Governor Trumbull, in which is an account
of the action of the 19th of April, is based. Stedman re¬
peats, with considerable detail, this distinct charge, in which
he has been followed by a long line of successors. See Vol. I.
p. 120. — Ed.
22
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Battle of Lexington.
[The central figoie is the Meeting-Honse, the right hand the Belfry, the left hand the Baclanan Tavera.3
Joshua Simonds, with three others, on the ap¬
proach of the British, had gone into the church
where their ammunition was kept, to obtain a sup¬
ply of powder. They had succeeded in getting two
quarter-casks from the upper loft into the gallery,
when the British reached the meeting-house. Two
of them, Caleb Harrington and Joseph Comee, re¬
solved at every hazard to escape from the house,
and join the company, Harrington was killed in
the attempt at the west end of the meeting-house.
Comee, finding himself cut off from the company,
ran unijer a shower of balls, one of which struck
him in the arm, to the Munroe house, (now occu¬
pied by the widow of the late John Hudson) and
passing through the house, escaped at the back
door. When this house was repaired some years
ago, they found several bullets lodged in the tim¬
bers, being those fired at Comee. The third se¬
creted himself in the opposite gallery, while Simonds
loaded and cocked his gun, and lying down, placed
the muzzle upon the open cask of powder, deter¬
mined to blow up the British, if they should enter
the gallery, choosing to destroy his own life rather
than fall into their hands.
" History, Boman history," said Everett, in an
address delivered in Lexington, " does not furnish
an example of bravery that outshines that of Jonas
Parker. A truer heart did not bleed at Ther-
mopylrn. He was next-door neighbor of Mr.
Clarke, and had evidently imbibed a double por¬
tion of his lofty spirit. Parker was often heard to
say that, be the consequences what they might, and
let others do what they might, he wonld never run
from the enemy. He was as good as his word, —
better. Having loaded his musket, he placed his
hat, containing his ammunition, on the ground be¬
tween his feet, in readiness for the second cha^.
At the second fire from the enemy he was wounded,
and sunk upon his knees, and in this condition dis¬
charged his gun. While loading it again, upon
his knees, and striving in the agonies of death to
redeem his pledge, he was rushed upon uid trans¬
fixed by a bayonet, and thus died on the spot where
he first stood and fell." In addition to Jonas
Parker, whose death was thus remarkable, Isaac
Muzzy, Bobert Munroe, and Jonathan Harrington,
were killed on or near the Common, where the com¬
pany were paraded. Bobert Munroe, who fell a
LEXINGTON.
23
sacrifice to the lawless oppression of Great Britain,
had on a former occasion perilled his life in her
defence, having served in the French War, and
been standard-bearer at the capture of Louisburg.
Harrington's was a cruel fate. He fell in front of
his own house, on the north of the Common. His
wife at the window saw him fall, and then start up,
the blood gushing from his breast. He stretched
out his hands towards her, as if for assistance, and
then fell again. Rising once more upon his hands
and knees, he crawled towards his dwelling. She
ran to meet him at the door, but it was to see him
expire. Samuel Hadley and John Brown were
killed after they left the Common, and Caleb Har¬
rington in attempting to escape from the meeting¬
house. Asahel Porter of Wobum was not under
arms. He had been captured on the road by the
British that morning on their approach to Lexing¬
ton, and in attempting to make his escape, about
the time the firing commenced, was shot down a
few rods from the Common.
The Lexington men killed on or near the Com¬
mon in the morning, were Ensign Robert Munroe,
Jonas Parker, Samuel Hadley, Jonathan Harring¬
ton, Jr., Isaac Muzzy, Nathaniel Wyman, Caleb
Harrington, and John Brown, — eight in number ;
and the wounded were Ebenezer Munroe, Jr.,
John Tidd, John Robbins, Solomon Pierce, Joseph
Comee, Thomas Winship, Nathaniel Farmer, Jede-
diah Munroe, and a colored man called Prince.
Francis Brown was wounded in the afternoon, and
Jedediah Munroe was wounded in the morning and
killed in the afternoon. John Raymond was killed
in the afternoon. Here is a heavy loss ! The num¬
ber of ten killed and ten wounded of the Lexing¬
ton men is a larger proportion than the loss in the
most deadly battles recorded in history. In the
famous battles of Napoleon, where the enemy were
defeated, overwhelmed, and destroyed, twelve or
fifteen per cent would cover their loss. In this
case, if we should allow that Lexington had a
hundred men in the field that day, which is a high
estimate, her loss would be twenty per cent.
After the British had driven the Americans from
the place of parade, and pursued them as fer as
they deemed expedient,' they drew up on the Com¬
mon and gave three cheers as a token of rejoicing
■at their supposed success. ■ They then commenced
their march to Concord, to which the intelligence
of their killing some half a dozen men at Lexing¬
ton had preceded them, as appears from the depo¬
sitions of John Hoar and eleven others of Lincoln,
and Captain Nathan Barrett and sixteen others of
Concord, who testified that they had assembled
near the meeting-house in Concord, in consequence
of the approach of the British, who, they learned,
had fired upon the citizens of Lexington and killed
six of their men.
Expresses were sent forth in every direction, and
considering the state of the roads at that day, it
is remarkable that intelligence of the attack upon
the militia at Lexington could have reached dis¬
tant places in so short a time. The intelligence
reached Newburyport at 12 m. on the 19tli, and
Portsmouth, N. H., early on the 20th ; Worcester
before noon on the 19th; Newport, R. L, on the
20th ; Fairfield, Conn., at 8 m. on the 22d ;
New York, at 12 m. on the 23d ; Philadelphia, at
12 H. on the 26th ; Baltimore, at 10 .v. h. on the
27th, and so on. Every town within ten or fifteen
miles of Lexington must have had the intelligence
of the slaughter at Lexington before nine o'clock
that day. Tlie military operations in Lexington
in the morning being in almost eveiy respect dif¬
ferent from what occurred in the afternoon, we will
embrace the interval between them, when Smith
is absent at Concord, to state some incidents which
occurred in Lexington, and to review the scenes
of the morning.
After the British left Lexington in the morning,
several of their soldiers who had strayed from the
main body, and probably had entered some of thè
houses in search of refreshments (for in the then
existing state of things, every house near the Com¬
mon was open and in a state of confusion), were
captured and dehvered over to James Reed of Bur¬
lington, who, in his deposition, admits that five or
six were entrusted to his care in tiie morning, and
a langer number in the afternoon. These prisoners
were sent the next moniing to Chelmsford for safe
keeping. Another prisoner, who from fatigue or
other cause, was found resting by the wayside near
the Viles Tavern in Lexington, was taken soon
after the main body had passed. His gun is be¬
lieved to be the one given to Captain Parker, and
by his grandson, the late Theodore Parker, pre¬
sented to the Commonwealth, and is now in the
senate chamber at the state house at Boston,
among the relics of the Revolution, kept as me¬
morials of the patriotism and valor of our fathers,
— an example weU worthy of imitation.
The men of Lexington had declared, two years
before, their trust in God to prepare them to sacri¬
fice property and life in the cause of the countrv ;
24
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
and they felt themselves ready to meet the exi¬
gency; and their conduct on that eventful day
was such as to redeem the pledge then given.
They had resisted British tyranny, and prudently
refrained from the premature act of commencing
hostilities, by firing before they were fired upon.
But for this prudent observance of the voice of
the public, they have been accused of cowardice,
of not returning the fire at all I But as all the
facts connected with the events of the day go to
show that the fire was returned, that some half-
dozen participants have testified that they did re¬
turn the fire, that Parson Clarke, Dr. Warren,
Hancock, and Gordon, at that day, testified to
the fact, and that it was asserted by Smith and
Gage, and has had the sanction of Everett, Ban¬
croft, and Frothingham, and in fact has gone into
history on both continents, we deem the mere asser¬
tion of jealous interested individuals, made half
a century after the event, and totally unsustained
by any proof, unworthy of any labored refutation.
But then it has been said that if individuals did
fire, they did it without orders. Such an assertion
only shows that the privates in Captain Parker's
company knew their duty — knew what the public
required and what the orders of their captain im¬
plied; and like skirmishers in the discharge of their
duty, and sentinels on their post, they were sensi¬
ble that they were required to act on general princi¬
ples, and not wait for a superior to come and give
the order to fire.
On the other hand, it has been said that it was
rashness in Parker to parade his handful of men
in the face of such a superior force. What could
he expect to accomplish ? Parker knew his duty.
He was sensible that the demand of the patriots
throughout the province was to assume an exemp¬
tion from the requirements of the late acts of par¬
liament ; and to make this manifest whenever and
wherever an opportunity presented itself. Here
was an opportunity, sind though attended with
great danger, he knew that disinterested patriotism
required the hazard. But to depreciate the impor¬
tance of the acts of Lexington on that trying morn¬
ing, it has been often repeated that the resistance,
whatever it may have been, was not "organized"
resistance. Nothing can be farther from the fact.
To say nothing of the public voice, the moral organi¬
zation, which was understood and realized in Lex¬
ington as fully and as sensibly as in any other town,
every movement, and even each preparatory*step
had the sanction of the only authority which the
people at the time acknowledged. Parker's com¬
pany was recruited and organized in conformity
with the requirements of the Provincial Congress ;
and Parker was legally chosen their commander.
The troops were duly paraded, and that with the
knowledge and under the eye of John Hancock,
who, as chairman of the Committee of Safety, was
commander-in-chief of all the military force of the
province. He was near by, and knew what was
going on; and he was anxious to go upon the Com¬
mon and take command of the minute-men, but
reluctantly yielded to the remonstrance of Adams
and Clarke. Surely here was organization more
perfect than anything which occurred on that day.
Besides, there were some half-dozen prisoners taken
that morning, and delivered over to Mr. Eeed, who
were kept as prisoners of war. Here was military,
physical, organized resistance; and the prisoners
were the first taken in the Revolution.
When Smith was on his retreat from Concord
and was severely pressed in passing the woody
defiles in Lincoln, Captain Parker, who had col¬
lected his company, met him ; and, taking a posi¬
tion in the open field to avenge the outrage of the
morning, poured a full volley into his flying ranks;
and from that time hung upon his flank, giving
him great annoyance. As Smith approached the
line of Lexington, his retreat was little lesS than a
rabble rout. To save himself from disgrace, he
threw a detachment of his men upon a rocky bluff
which almost overhung the road near the old Viles
Tavern, to hold Iris pursuers in check till he could
arrest the flight of his men on what is known as
Fiske Hill. Taking advantage of the woods and
a narrow defile, he brought the front of his fugitives
to a stand, and attempted to form a line, where he
could, temporarily at least, hold the provincials in
check. But before his line was fully formed, his rear,
stationed on the bluff, was driven in upon Iiis half-
formed column, creating great confusion. In the
mean time a considerable number of the provincials,
avoiding the troops on the bluff, had passed through
the woods, and secreted themselves behind a lot of
split rails near the road where Smith was attempt¬
ing to form his men ; and when his rear was driven
in, and the Americans were gathering around him
and picking off his men, the Americans, from their
hiding-place behind the rails, poured a well-directed
enfilading fire into his ranks, creating perfect con¬
fusion and dismay. Here Smith was severely
wounded, and Pitcairn was also wounded and
thrown from his horse, which, in his sudden flight.
LËXJNGTON.
25
bounded from the road and with all his trappings
became an easy prey to the pursuers. The horse
and the accoutrements were sent to Concord, where
they were sold at auction. Captain Nathan Bar¬
rett purchased the holsters and pistols marked
with Pitcairit's name, and offered them to General
Washington, who declined them. They were after¬
wards presented to General Putnam, who carried
them through the remainder of his active service
in the war. They were long in the possession of
his family, but have recently been presented to
Lexington by Mrs. Elizabeth Putnam of Cam¬
bridge, N. Y.
Another incident occurred at Fiske Hill worthy
of note. The gallantry of the .\cton men on that
day is proverbial. They were the tirst to attack
at Concord, and among the last to give over the
pursuit. James Heywood, one of her brave sons,
a young man of twenty-two years, being one of the
foremost in pressing uiwn the enemy, at the east¬
erly foot of Fiske Hill came in contact with a
British soldier, who had stopped to slake his thirst
at a well. The Briton presented Iiis musket and
said defiantly, " You aixi a dead man ! " " .\nd so
are you ! " retorted young Heywootl. Both fired
and botli fell, the Briton dead, and Heywood mor¬
tally wounded.
After the affair at Fiske Hill where Smith was
wounded, he made no further attempt to check his
pursuers, but gave himself up to inglorious flight.
By their own confession, "they were driven like
sheep " through Lexington village, where in the
morning they had shown such a proud step and
brazen front ; and when they met their reinforce¬
ment, their own historian, who was present, says,
"they threw themselves upon the ground with
their tongues running out of their mouths like
dogs after a chase;" The long-expected reinforce¬
ment met Smith's fugitive troops about two o'clock
on the plain about three fourths of a mile below
Lexington Common. It consisted of eleven hun¬
dred men, and two pieces of artillery, under the
command of Lord Percy. This gave Smith an
opportunity to halt, and give his weary troops a
short time to rest and seek refreshment ; which
they improved by entering into the houses on the
plain, and demanding food, which was readily given
them. But after tiiey had obtained all the house
26
HISTORY OF MILBLESEX COUNTY.
afforded, they wantonly commenced a system of
pillage and plunder, and in several cases set fire
to the house they had plundered. The officers
with Percy resorted to Mnuroe's tavern just be¬
low. The occupants of the house left the place
in affright, leaving only John Eaymond, an aged
man, who was at the time one of the family. The
intruders ordered him to supply them with all the
good things the house afforded, which he readily
did. But after they had imbibed too freely, they be¬
came noisy and so alarmed Eaymond that he sought
to escape from the house ; but was brutally fired
upon and killed in his attempt to flee from danger.
While the troops were resting here, the field-
pieces were put in requisition ; and wherever any
gathering of Americans was discovered, they were
saluted by a cannon-ball. One gun posted on a
mound then existing where the present high-school
house now stands threw several shots into the vil¬
lage, one of which entered the meeting-house, passed
out of the pulpit window, and lodged in the north¬
ern part of the Common. The large reinforcement
with their artillery kept the provincials at bay
while they remained at Lexington. In the mean
time General Heath came over from Watertown,
and took the command of the provincials, and in
a manner directed their movements during the
remainder of the day; General Warren accom¬
panied him. After resting here about an hour
and a quarter, Percy, as commanding officer, com¬
menced his retreat. The surrounding hills for the
first two or three miles protected his flanks, and
his cannon guarded his rear. The provincial troops
kept up their pursuit, and when he arrived at
Arlington, he was met by the military which had
gathered from the towns below, who readily escorted
him, to his great annoyance and mortification, to
Charlestown.
We have seen that the capture of Hancock and
Adams, who were known to be at Clarke's, was
probably one of the objects of the expedition.
When Revere and the Lexington men who had
been taken prisoners by the British officers were
liberated, Hancock and Adams were apprised of
their danger, and they left Mr. Clarke's house. Be¬
ing desirous of witnessing whatever might occur,
they repaired to the rising ground in front of Mr.
Clarke's, then covered with a thick growth of
wood, where they could overlook the Common,
and feel themselves secure. They remained there
till the British left for Concord. It was here that
the patriotic Adams, foreseeing the result of the
British oppression, when he heard the report of
their fatal volley, exclaimed, "What a glorious
morning for America is this ! " Far-seeing patriot,
thy vision has been realized with exultation!
After the British left for Concord, Hancock and
Adams were conducted first to Burlington and then
to Chelmsford. •
Lexington's patriotic zeal did not expire with
the I9th of April. During the siege of Boston
she furnished men, wood, and other supplies for
the army. On the 6th of May, Captain Parker
with a detail of forty-five men repaired to the
headquarters of the army at Cambridge, and re¬
mained several days guarding the lines. And on
the memorable 17th of June of that year, the gal-
laut Parker with sixty-one of his company reported
for duty at Cambridge; but they were deprived
of the honor of participating in the struggle on
Bunker Hill, by being kept at Cambridge, from
an apprehension tliat the British might cross the
river and attack the Americans while so many of
our troops were engaged at Charlestown. Lexing¬
ton also furnished her quota in the different cam¬
paigns at ÎÎew York, Ticonderoga, White Plains,
the. Jerseys, Bennington, Providence, and other
places, on the shortest notice ; and in the Conti¬
nental army of the Revolution she had over one
hundred men who enlisted for three years or during
the war. And more recently, in the late Rebelhon,
she furnished, including re-enlistments, two hun¬
dred and forty-four men, which was something
more than her quota. She also sustained her sol¬
diers liberally, expending $27,000 in the late war.
Nearly $2,000 of this sum was furnished by the
ladies, who provided clothing and hospital supplies
for tiie gallant men who were exposing their lives
for their country.
But Lexington has a civil, as well as a military,
history. Her population, for reasons already stated,
has not advanced rapidly, but her growth has been
gradual and iiealthy, her population at this time
being 2,510. But by industry her wealth has in¬
creased more rapidly than her population. Within
the last twenty years her valuation has arisen from
$1,815,799 to $2,979,711, a gain of sixty-four
per cent in twenty years. Lexington has not been
behind her sister towns in providing for the edu¬
cation of her children. As soon as she was clothed
with corporate powers, she erected a school-house
in the centre of the town, and provided for what
was known at that day as "a moving school,"
which was kept alternately in different parts of the
LEXINGTON.
27
town. After the close of the Eevolution, in 1795,
three new school-houses were erected, and $333
were appropriated to sustain the schools. Though
tlvis sum may appear insignificant, when we reflect
upon the low rate of wages at that day, and the
fact that the fuel was given, and the board of the
teacher was gratuitous, we see that this sum would
sustain a school much longer at that day than at
this. The sum here mentioned has been increased
from time to time. In 1819 the town appropriated
$900, in 1830 $1,000, in 1837 $1,400, in 1850
$2,400, m 1860 $3,400, in 1870 $6,000, in
1875, $10,000; amounting to $21.72 to each
scholar in town between the ages of five and fif¬
teen ; and making Lexington stand tentli in a
list of three hundred and thirty-eight cities and
towns in the state; and sixth in the county of
fifty cities and towns, — a distinction highly cred¬
itable to Lexington. She has now seven good
school-houses, in two of which we have graded
schools. Lexington also supports a high school,
and has paid her teacher more than almost any
town in the state of the same number of scholars.
The subject of education and the organization of
the school system being a subject of deep interest,
in 1820 Lexington appointed a committee to con¬
sider and report upon the whole subject. This
committee, at a subsequent meeting, submitted a
full and able report, and to their honor it may be
said, that not only the town accepted their report
with great unanimity, but that seven years after,
when the subject had been agitated and discussed
by the legislature, they enacted a general school
law, embracing substantially every provision which
had been reported by the Lexington committee
seven years before. In 1821, an academy was es¬
tablished in Lexington, which was well sustained
a few years, and at length the building was occu¬
pied by the first normal school established in New
England, if not in the country. This school was
well sustained, and met public approbation, but
was in a few years removed to Newton on mere
local considerations. The proprietor of the " Lex¬
ington House," a large and popular hotel, became
embarrassed, and after the property passed out of
his hands, it was purchased by Dr. Dio Lewis, who
opened what he denominated a movement school,
in which physical development received a large
share of attention. This school was confined to
females, and was patronized by young ladies from
all parts of the free states. The school was well
sustained and conducted, and continued about
three years, when the devouring element reduced
the edifice to ashes, and so broke up this flourish¬
ing and successful school, to the regret of the peo¬
ple. Lexington cannot boast of her learned or
distinguished men. Since the days of Hancock
and Clarke she has had her full share of men of
respectable standing for ability, but none of world¬
wide fame. The only exception to this is Theodore
Parker, who was bom in Lexington, and whose
eccentric, sceptical tendencies have given him a
strong hold upon those whose speculations ran in
the same channel. A marble bust of him may be
seen in our library.
Like most other towns, Lexington has about the
usual variety of religious societies : one Unitarian,
one Calvinistic, one Baptist, one Union, — com¬
posed of Unitarians and Universalista, — and one
Roman Catholic. All have good houses of wor¬
ship; the two first named have houses tastefully
finished ; and all are supplied with faithful minis¬
ters, and are in a good condition.
Our churches, school-houses, and the dwellings
generally are well painted, and are in a state of
good rejjair; and in these respects Lexington will
compare favorably with the neighboring towns.
We have one building which is worthy a special
notice, "The Massachusetts House," which is
open for public entertainment. It is the identical
building erected at Philadelphia for the visitors
from this commonwealth at the great centennial
exhibition in 1876. The building was purchased,
taken down, and brought to Lexington, and here
set up and put in good order. It is a building of
a peculiar structure, and makes a singular but
pleasant appearance. It is situated in the centre
of the town, near the town-hall. Its history and
the manner in which it is conducted commend the
house to public patronage.
The town-hall in Lexington is an edifice highly
creditable to the town. It is a brick building,
ninety-five feet by fifty-eight, and is thirty-eight
feet in height above the basement, with a double
Louvre roof. The building furnishes a large
audience hall, with suitable anterooms, apartments
for the town officers, a memorial hall, and a library
hall. The memorial hall is an octagon, with suit¬
able corridors, containing four niches, filled with
four marble life-size statues : two of soldiers, one
a minute-man of 1775, and the other a Union
soldier of 1861. The other two niches are filled
with the statues of Samuel Adams, the organizer
of the American Revolution, and of John Hancock,
28
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
tlie first signer of the Declaration of Independence.
These statues are the work of distinguished Ameri¬
can artists. The hall also contains tablets with
the names of the martyrs of both wars, and a Con¬
federate gun captured in the late Rébellion. The
entrance to this hall has the following appropriate
inscription : —
LEXINGTON
CONSECRATES THIS HALL AND ITS EMBLEMS
TO THE MEMORY OP THE
FOUNDERS AND SUSTAINEHS OF OUR FREE INSTITUTIONS.
The library hall is a large, commodious room,
appropriately fitted up for the purpose. The
library was established iu 1868, and now contains
six thousand tM'o hundred volumes, besides maps
and charts, and is constantly increasing. As its
resources furnish about f 550 annually, and public
institutions and individuals are liberal in their
donations, we trust the library will soon be worthy
of the historic town of Lexington. The library
hall also contains many interesting relics of the
LEXINGTON.
29
Eevolution, such as swords, guns, powder-horns,
etc. Among the relics the most interesting are
the identical pistols carried by Major Pitcairn on
the memorable 19th of April, 1775. One of these
pistols broke the peaceful relation between the
colonies and the mother country, being the first
gun of the Eevolution. For these valuable relics
we are indebted to the patriotism of Mrs. Putnam,
wife of the grandson of the old patriot. General
Israel Putnam, the hero of two wars. The walls
are adorned with portraits and engravings. Like
most towns, Lexington has a considerable corporate
debt. Her town-hall, though built on very fa¬
vorable terms, cost at least $ 43,800, and her cen¬
tennial celebration some $10,000 more. These
items, with her war debt, etc., had amounted in
1876 to $ 64,000. But with a true spirit of econ¬
omy the town has reduced the debt to $51,800, and
has a surplus of at least $6,000, which might have
been held as a sinking-fund to pay the notes as they
3Ü HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COVNTÏ.
become due. The assessors estimate the corporate
property of the town, without including the library,
the cemeteries, statues, etc., at $91,200; so that
no alarm arises from the indebtedness of the town.
Her rate of taxation last year was $12 on $1,000,
and will probably not exceed $10 in future.
Lexington, as we have already seen, is well sup¬
plied with railroad, post-office, and telegraph ac¬
commodation. She has two daily expresses, an
organized fire department, a gas company which
supplies an excellent article, and, — a doubtful ap¬
pendage .to the institutions of a small country
town, —a weekly newspaper, edited by a non-resi¬
dent and printed out of town. She has her roads
in good repair, her streets kept clean by day and
well lighted by night.
The people of Lexington have always felt that
they were placed by Providence in a peculiar
situation. To be acknowledged throughout the
country as the birthplace of American liberty—
LMXINGÏON.
31
the spot where the first organized resistance was
made to the king's troops, where the first blood
was shed and the first martyrs fell, — had given
to Lexington a historic character which impressed
upon them a sacred regard for the free institutions
of the country. Not only the twenty-two muni¬
cipalities which have taken our name, but the peo¬
ple iu every section of the broad domain, virtually
ask us to be true to our ancient fame.
On the approach of the centennial anniversary, i
the day to which we have so often referred, Lex¬
ington felt called upon to open her doors, and invite
the friends of freedom from every part of the country
to meet on her consecrated soil, that we might join
our hands and our voices in gratitude to the mem¬
ory of the patriots who achieved and have sus¬
tained our glorious independence; and to renew
mir vows to make our republic an example to the
world. Our invitations were sent to the presi-
i dent and suite, to the governors of all the states.
32
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Battle Monument.
officers of the army and navy, members of con¬
gress, judges of the courts, members of our state
government, and gentlemen of distinction of every
profession in all sections of the country. Nor were
our invitations confined to this country. They
were sent across the Atlantic, and brought cordial
responses from our ministers abroad and from two
distinguished members of the British parliament.
We saw that we were destined to lead off in a
series of centennial celebrations, which, though
confined to this country, would exert an infiuence
abroad ; and we resolved that we would set an ex¬
ample that should be followed in harmony with the
general design of these commemorative rejoicings ;
and, without waiting for others, we, as our fathers
did of old, acted on our own judgment. And
knowing that we had a country to harmonize, we
extended our invitations to those who had been
estranged from us, to show them that we, like the
father in the parable, would " meet a great way
off " all those who had come to themselves, and
were willing to return to the parental mansion.
We intended that all our proceedings should be
strictly national, and calculated to remove mistrust
and restore harmony between the different sections
of the country. Our speakers were selected with
reference to this design, and the tone and spirit of
their speeches were of a highly patriotic and con-
LEXINGTON.
33
ciliatory character j and while we have heard with
pleasure the tone of later celebrations, and the
voice of the press, we can congratulate ourselves
that the fraternal, forgiving manifestation here dis¬
played was touching the key-note which has proved
acceptable to all the lovers of national harmony.
The attendance at our celebration vastly exceeded
our expectations. The President and his cabinet,
and distinguished guests from every section of the
country, honored us with their presence; and legions
—for they were many—flocked to our town, and so
blocked our streets that they were for a great part
of the day impassable for carriages. It was esti¬
mated by the best judges that there were in the
town that day at least a hundred thousand people.
The day was unusually cold for the season, — the
thermometer ranging from 24 to 28° above zero.
Such numbers disappointed most of our guests and
greatly mortifled us at the time, because we could
not accommodate them as we desired. But on
further reflection we, and we believe the intelli¬
gent portion of our guests who were incommoded,
rejoiced rather than otherwise that the crowd was so
great. Though this was rejoicing in tribulation,
this gatliering by thousands showed that the spirit
of 1775 was not extinct. And it became mani¬
fest to all that the story of the 19th of April, and
the results and associations connected therewdth,
had produced such a grand swell of patriotism, such
a feeling of gratitude to our Eevolutionary fathers,
such a deep sense of the worth of our institutions,
as would insure the perpetuity of the Eepublic.
We have endeavored to show the interest taken
by the citizens of Lexington in the events connected
with the opening scene ef the American Eevolution ;
and to claim the honors justly due to her for the
part which occurred in our town. But we do not
rely upon the locality of the occurrences. It is not
the soil that imparts glory to the transactions of
the day. If the hpnor was territorial, then Acton
and Danvers, whose gallant citizens performed so
conspicuous a part on that day, would be robbed
of the honor so justly their due. No ; the honor
is due to the deeds and to the brave men who per¬
formed them, and not to the town in which they
happened to occur. There need be no jealousy be¬
tween any of the towns through which the British
passed, or which participated in the affairs of that
day ; the glory is sufflcient for each locality and
for eveiy actor on the occasion, and cannot right¬
fully be monopolized by any one town.
We are satisfied with the share of honor awarded
to us by the public ; and we cannot better close
our remarks than J)y showing the appreciation at
the close of the eighteenth century of the fame of
Lexington by the state legislature, which made an
appropriation for the first monument in honor of
i\i& first effort by the first martyrs of Liberty.
The following is the language of the appropria¬
tion : " For the purpose of erecting in said town a
Monument of Stone, on which shall be engraved
the names of the eight men, inhabitants of Lexing¬
ton, wiio were slain on the moniing of the 19th of
April, 1775, by a party of British troops; together
with such other inscription as, in the judgment of
the Selectmen and the approbation of the Governor
and Council, shall be calculated to preserve to pos¬
terity a record of the first effort made by the people
of America for the establishment of their freedom
and independence."
The inscription upon the monument was furnished
by the patriotic Mr. Clarke, and met the approba¬
tion of the governor and council. It is so replete
with devotion to the cause of America and the love
of freedom and the rights of mankind, and so true
to history and the spirit of the day, that we will
give it entire ; —
" Sacked to Libekty and the Riohts of Mankotd ! ! !
Tue Freedom and Independence op America,
Sealed and defended with the Blood of hub Sons.
This Monument is erected
By the inhabitants of Lexington,
Under the patronage and at the expense of
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts,
To the memory of their fellow Citizens,
Ensign Robert Munroe, and Messrs. Jonas Parker,
Sanmel Hadtey, Jonathan Harrington, Jan.,
Isaac Muzzy, Caleb Harrington, and John Brown,
Of Lexington, and Asahel Porter of Wohum,
Who fell on the Field the First Victims to the
Sword of British Tyranny and oppression.
On the Morning of the ever memorable
Nineteenth of April An. Dom. 1775.
The Die was cast ! ! I
The Blood of these Martyrs
In the cause of God and their country
Was the Cement of the Union of these Stales, then
Colonies, and gave the Spring to the Spirit, Firmness,
Aud Resolution of their Fellow Citizens.
They rose as one Man to revenge their Brethren's
Blood, and at the point of the sword to assert and
Defend their nativé Rights.
They nobly dared to be free ! I
The contest was long, bloody, and affecting,
Righteous Heaven approved the solemn appeal.
Victory crowned their arms ; and
The Peace, Liberty, and Independence of the United
States of America was their Glorious Reward."
34
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
LINC
BY WILLIAM
EE town of Lincoln is a collec¬
tion of hills in the heart of
Middlesex County. Its centre
is about thirteen and one half
miles west-northwest from the
state house, and its territory is
bounded north by Bedford, east¬
erly by Lexington and Wal-
tham, southerly by Weston and
Wayland, and northwesterly by
Concord. Its greatest length is upwards of five,
and its greatest breadth about three and one half,
miles, and it embraces about eight thousand five
hundred aeres. The hill on which the meeting¬
house stands is four hundred and seventy feet
above high-water mark at Boston, and though
there are other hills of greater altitude, it is believed
to be the highest land in the county whereon men
have built themselves habitations. From the sum¬
mit of this hill, in fine weather, the prospect ex¬
tends from the seminary buildings in Ando ver to
the churches in Hopkinton, and from Bunker Hill
Monument to the New Hampshire hills.
Sandy Pond, a beautiful sheet of water, lies on
the western side of the town, and a fine tract of
arable land extends from the centre of Lincoln
to the borders of Wayland, the quality of which
was well known to the Indians, and they repeat¬
edly petitioned to have a town on the easterly
shore of Sandy Pond, or the westerly side of
Beaver Swamp. The southwestern border of the
town is washed for more than a mile by the slug¬
gish waters of Concord River. Brooks which are
tributaries to the Concord, Charles, and Shaw-
shine rise and flow out, but not a tubful of water
comes into the town from any source except the
rains and dews of heaven. Two of these brooks
acquire sufficient force and volume before leaving
the town to furnish water-power for saw and grist
mills, and a small mill for sawing marble taken
from a quarry near by existed here many years
ago J but the business was not remunerative.
The inhabitants of Lincoln are occupied with
OLN.
F • H S F li F K ■
agricultural pursuits. The population, according
to the state census of 1875, was eight hundred
and thirty-four.
The town of Lincoln was incorporated April 19,
1754, and went into the contest for freedom
and independence on the day it became of age.
Although the history of a town may properly be
said to commence with the date of its incorpora¬
tion, it seems as properly to include some account
of its parentage. Portions of the present town of
Lincoln were, at different periods of colonial history,
parts of the towns of Watertown, Cambridge, Con¬
cord, Weston, and Lexington. The grant of the
General Court of April, 1635, to Watertown of
a tract of land extending eight miles from Fresh
Pond west-northwest into the country, and the
grant to Concord of September 3, of the same year,
of "six myles square of land," overlappd each
other about two miles, and included about two
thirds of the present town of Lincoln. This gave
rise to a controversy between Watertown and Con¬
cord, and on the 8th of June, 1638, the General
Court ordered, " for the final end of difference be¬
tween Watertown and Concord, that Watertown
eight miles shall extend upon the line between
Watertown and Cambridge as far as Concord
bounds give leave." This decision gave the prin¬
cipal part of the territory of Lincoln to Concord.
Bond, in his history of Watertown, says that "as
the land was first surveyed and settled by Concord
people, they were allowed to retain it, notwith¬
standing the prior title of Watertown," but it is
not probable there were any settlements here as
early as 1638. It is not easy to determine when
or by whom the first settlement was made or house
built. Nathaniel Billings was probably the earli¬
est settler. Thomas Brooks moved from Water-
town to Concord about 1638. His son Joshua
probably learned his trade of tanner from Captain
Hugh MasoJi of Watertown, whose daughter he
married, and moved to the easterly part of Concord,
between 1650 and 1660.
On the 7th of June, 1734, Joseph Brooks and
LINCOLN.
35
others, inhabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
the northerly part of Weston, and westerly part of
Lexington, presented a petition to the General
Court, setting forth their difficulties and inconven¬
iences by reason of their distances from their usual
places of public worship in their respective towns,
and praying to be erected into a separate township.
This petition was summarily dismissed ; but, noth¬
ing daunted by their failure, the next year, July 2,
1735, John Flint, Simon Dakin, Josiah Parks, and
other inhabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
northerly part of Weston, and westerly part of
Lexington, petitioned to be made a separate town¬
ship. On this petition the General Court issued
the usual orders of notice to the towns of Concord,
Weston, and Lexington, to appear on the second
Wednesday of the next sitting of the court, and
show cause why the prayer of the petition should
not be granted. In October the petition was
taken up and read again, with the answers of the
towns of Concord, Weston, and Lexington; and
the council voted that the prayer of the petition
"be so far granted that Francis Foxcroft and
Josiah Willard Esqrs., with such as the Hon.
House may join, be a committee to repair to the
plaee proposed to be made into a township, and
carefully view and consider the situation thereof
and the circumstances of the petitioners, and the
towns named in the petition, giving seasonable notice
to all parties of their coming ; and make report
to this Court what they judge proper to be done
on this pétition, the charge of the Committee to be
borne as the court shall order.''
To this vote of the council the house of repre¬
sentatives voted a non-eoneurrence ; upon which,
the couneil voted to adhere to their own vote.
The subjeet was taken up again on the 26th of
November and 2d of December, 1735, with like
results; each branch voting a non-concurrence
with the other. January 2, 1735-36, after a
long debate, the house voted a reconsideration of
their votes of non-concurrence, and on the 7th
voted a concurrence in the vote of the council,
and Captain Jeremiah Stevens, Captain Adam
Cushing, and Ephraim Leonard, Esq. were joined
to the committee of the council. On the 18th of
March the committee were directed to report to
the next May session. June 2, 1736, the com¬
mittee submitted the following report : —
" Pursuant to an order of the Great and Gen¬
eral Court, on the petition hereunto annexed, the
Committee appointed to repair to the place men¬
tioned in said petition, prayed to be a township, to
view and consider the situation thereof, and the
circumstances of the petitioners, and also of the
towns mentioned in the petition, and hear all par¬
ties concerned, have carefully performed that ser¬
vice, and are of the opinion that the prayer of the
petition be riot granted, which is humbly sub¬
mitted by. Era' Foxcroft, pr. order."
The report was accepted in both branches, and
the petition ordered to be dismissed, and it was
further ordered that the charge of the view,
amounting to £54 16«. 9 a?., be paid as follows :
£18 to the committee of this court for their
attendance and travel by the petitioners, — £18
8«. 4 if. by the town of Concord, and the remain¬
der by the towns of Weston and Lexington in equal
proportions.
No further action looking to the incorporation
of the town took place for several years. Au¬
gust 18, 1744, Joshua Brooks and forty-eight
others, inhabitants of the easterly part of Concord,
northerly part of Weston, and westerly part 'of
Lexington, petitioned to be made a separate pre¬
cinct. On this petition the usual orders of notice
were issued, and after various delays a viewing
committee was appointed. On the 18th of April,
1746, the committee reported that the prayer of
the petition ought to be granted, — which report
was accepted, and it was ordered that " the peti¬
tioners, together with the persons living within the
bounds mentioned in the petition (except such
persons and estates as are excepted by the report),
be and are hereby erected into a distinct and sepa¬
rate precinct, and vested with all such powers and
privileges as other precincts within this province
have, or by law ought to enjoy — and that such
of the aforesaid exempted persons as shall within
one year signify to the Secretary under their hands
their willingness to join with the petitioners be to¬
gether with their estates incorporated with them,
to' do and receive alike duty and privilege as the
petitioners "
No act of incorporation other thari this order
was passed, but it was voted " that Benjamin
Brown one of the principal inhabitants of the
Parish this day set off from Concord, Lexington
and Weston be and hereby is enabled to call the
first precinct meeting in said parish to choose
parish officers and to act and do all other things
according to Law." This order or precept is still
preserved by Deacon Brown's descendants. UndeT
its authority the precinct met at the house of Mr.
36
UISTOliY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Edward Flint, May 26, 1746, and chose the fol¬
lowing officers : Benjamin Brown, moderator ;
Ephraim Fhnt, precinct clerk; Chambers Eus-
sell, Esq., Benjamin Brown, Josiah Parks, John
Headley, and John Hoar, precinct committee ;
Samuel Dakin and Jonathan Wellington, collec¬
tors ; Stephen Wesson, treasurer ; Ebenezer Cut¬
ler, Daniel Adams, and Ephraim Flint, assessors.
The incorporation of the precinct prepared the
way for the incorporation of the town. A com¬
mittee, consisting of Hon. Chambers Russell,
Captain Samuel Bond, and Deacon Joshua Brooks,
were chosen in March, 1754, to petition the Gen¬
eral Court for an act of incorporation. The rea¬
sons alleged in the petition were the inconvenience
of being connected with so many towns, and the
refusal or neglect of those towns to lay out roads
for their convenience.
The petition encountered little opposition, and an
act to incorporate the town of Lincoln passed both
branches April 19, 1754, and received the assent
of'the governor on the same day. On the 26th
of April the new town held its first meeting, and
the following officers were chosen : Hon. Chambers
Russell, moderator ; Ephraim Flint, town-clerk
and treasurer ; Ephraim Flint, Ephraim Hartwell,
Ebenezer Cutler, Samuel Farrar, and John Hoar,
selectmen; John Gearfield and Joshua Brooks,
Jr., constables; Nathaniel Whittemore and Ben¬
jamin Munroe, clerks of market.
The ostensible object of those who petitioned
for the incorporation of the town and the precinct
was to enjoy the preaching of the gospel. They
urged, in their petitions to the General Court, and
before its committees, the difficulties and incon¬
veniences they labored under by reason of the dis¬
tances of their usual places of worship. These
difficulties and inconveniences will be better un¬
derstood when it is remembered that they had no
carriages in those days, that the Concord and Cam¬
bridge turnpike was not built till fifty years after
the incorporation of the town, and that the only
avenues from the central parts of Lincoln to Con¬
cord were the roads from Watertown by Waiden
Pond, and "the Bay-road" from Lexington to
Concord. The road from Lieutenant Samuel
Dakin's to the house of Dr. John Prescott in Con¬
cord was laid out shortly before the incorporation
of the town, and the road from Lieutenant Dakin's
to the Watertown road soon after. Public worship
had been held in private houses, and a house of
worship projected, before the incorporation of the
precinct. This house, built and partly finished,
was formally presented to the precinct, June 22,
1747, by Benjamin Brown, Edward Flint, Judah
Clark, Joseph Brooks, Joshua Brooks, Samuel
Bond, Jonathan Gove, Benjamin Munroe, John
Headley, Samuel Dakin, Ebenezer Cutler, Jere¬
miah Clark, Amos Merriam, John Gove, Jonathan
Wellington, Ephraim Flint, Thomas Wheeler,
Joseph Pierce, Nathan Brown, Jonas Pierce, Timo¬
thy Wesson, and George Pierce, the builders. It
occupied the site of the present meeting-house of
the first parish, while further, and near the summit
of the hill, three years afterwards, a house was built
for Rev. Mr. Lawrence. Beautiful, indeed, for
situation was the house of the Lord, and the resi¬
dence of its first minister "on the sides of the
North."
In 1755 the town voted to build a tower,
whereon to hang a beU, and a spire to the meeting¬
house. They were built in the same year, and a
bell, the gift of Mr. Joseph Brooks, was hung in
the belfry. This Joseph Brooks died September
17, 1759, aged seventy-eight years. The inscrip¬
tion on his gravestone states that "he was a liberal
benefactor to the town of Lincoln, manifested by
his generous donations." In his will he gave £ 20
to the church of Christ in Lincoln, to purchase
vessels for the communion service, and £10 to
Rev. Mr. Lawrence, and, after giving legacies to
various relatives, gave the residue of his estate to
the town for a school-fund. The amount received
was £368.^
Measures were also taken for the formation of
a church, and on the 18th of August, 1747,
twenty-five male members of the churches in Con¬
cord, Lexington, and Weston met together, and
agreed to embody themselves into a distinct
church. The organization took place two days
after, the Rev. John Hancock of Lexington, Wil¬
liam Wilhams of Weston, Israel Loring of Sud¬
bury, and Warham Williams of Waltham par¬
ticipating in the public services of the occasion.
A church covenant was adopted and signed by the
male members of the church the same day, but
the names of the female members nowhere appear.
Six candidates for the ministry preached here in
^ The statements in Shattuck's and Bond's histories that the
Joseph Brooks who gave the bell and school fund to the town
married Rebecca Blodget and had eight children are erroneous.
This Joseph Brooks died before there was any precinct, town,
church, or meeting-house here. The Joseph Brooks who gave
the bell and school fund to the town married Jane Jeunison, and
left no child or widow.
LINCOLN.
37
1747 and 1748, without receiving an invitation to
settle. April 11, 1748, it was " Voted, That Mr.
William Lawrence is the man desired to preach
four Sabbaths and the Fast, on probation for set¬
tlement in the ministry." On the 18th of May
following the church united with the precinct in
extending a call to Mr. Lawrence. The call was
accompanied by an offer of £800, and an annual
salary of £400, according to the Old Tenor bills.
Subsequently a committee was appointed to treat
with Mr. Lawrence in reference to his settle¬
ment, and it was agreed that his salary should be
regulated upon these prices of the following arti¬
cles:^ Indian corn, 15«. per bushel. Old Tenor;
Eye, 20«. per bushel; pork, 1«. 8if. and beef 1«.
per pound, to be stated in the months of Novem¬
ber and, December. It was also agreed to give ten
cords of wood annually, in addition to £400.
The ordination of Mr. Lawrence took place
December 7, 1748, the ordaining council being
composed of the elders and messengers of the
churches in Lexington, Weston, two churches
in Cambridge, First Church in Groton, and the
churches in Waltham and Littleton. Eev. Mr.
Hancock was moderator, who also prayed and gave
the charge. Eev. Caleb Trowbridge preached the
sermon, and Eev. Warham Williams gave the
right hand of fellowship. Eev. Nathaniel Apple-
ton and Eev. Daniel Eogers offered prayers.
Eev. William Lawrence, son of Colonel William
and Susanna (Prescott) Lawrence was born in
Groton, May 7, 1723, and graduated at Harvard
College in 1743. He married February 1, 1750-
51, Love, daughter of John and Love (Minott)
Adams. Mr. Lawrence had a family of three sons
and six daughters who survived him. Little is
known respecting his character, peculiarities, and
beliefs. By the inscription on his monument we
are told that " he was a gentleman of good ahili-
.ties aqd a firm supporter of the order of the
churches," and one of his successors writes of him,
" had we no other sources of judgment than the
records of his church and the character of the
men raised up under his ministry, we should be
justified in believing that he was an able, judicious,
1 The practice of " stating a salary " was common in New Eng¬
land towns, and arose from the depreciation of paper currency
issued by the colonial legislatures, and by the Continental Con¬
gress. The relative value of the paper currency to silver in
1748 was about £6 paper currency to £1 silver, and in 1781
£75 paper to £1 silver. In 1791 the town sold {he old paper
currency in the treasury, amounting to £2374 17 for
£ 15 16 6 d. " being the whole value thereof."
and devoted minister of the gospeL" The only
stigma that attaches to his memory is a suspicion
of toryisra. His people assembled at the meeting¬
house one Sabbath morning in the fall of 1774,
and would not permit him to enter the pulpit. His
eldest daughter. Love, was married about that time
to Dr. Joseph Adams of Townsend, an uncompro¬
mising loyalist, and probably some scandal con¬
nected with the marriage was the cause of this
ebullition of popular feeling; but whatever the
trouble was, it vanished during the week and left no
explanation to posterity. Mr. Lawrence died April
11, 1780. Mrs. Lawrence died January 3, 1820,
having survived her husband nearly forty years.
After the death of Mr. Lawrence, Messrs. Ebene-
zer Hubbard, Jr., William Bentley, and Asa Piper
were employed to preach, but it does not appear
that any of them made a favorable impression on
their hearers. Mr. Charles Stearns was first em¬
ployed to preach in October, 1780, and on the
15th of January following the church voted unani¬
mously to invite him to be their pastor. In this
vote the town, on the 5th of February, concurred
and voted to give him £220 "hard money, or its
equivalent," (to which £70 was subsequently
added) as a settlement, and £80 and fifteen cords
of wood as an annual salary. His ordination took
place November 7,1781, the churches in Waltham,
Weston, Lexington, Concord, Eeading, Lunenburg,
Leominster, Sudbury, East Sudbury, and Stow
being represented in the ordaining council. Eev.
Mr. Adams of Lunenburg preached the sermon,
which was printed.
Dr. Stearns' ministry, like that of his prede¬
cessor, was remarkably free from distracting influ¬
ences ; their united ministries extended over a
period of more than seventy-five years, and no eccle¬
siastical council was called to settle controversies
or harmonize differences. No root of bitterness
ever sprang up between minister and people, and
no trace of any serious disagreement can be found
on church or town records. The secret of the uni¬
form peace and prosperity of the church is doubt¬
less to be found in the fact that the ministers were
willing to do the work of the Master, and let
sectarian strife alone. During the latter part of
Dr. Steams' ministry, the Congregational churches
of New England were disturbed and divided upon
the subject of exchanges between ministers hold¬
ing different views upon matters of faith alone,
but Dr. Stearns steadily refused to take auy part
I in the controversy.
38
HISTORY OF MÏDBLESFX COUNTY.
" Ï0 sect or party bis large soul
Disdained to be confined."
Dr. Sprague, in his Annals of the American Pul¬
pit, has classed Dr. Stearns with the Unitarian di¬
vines, and doubtless he is rightly so classed. In
his earlier utterances may be found statements of
doctrines in accordance with the theology of the
times, which in the wisdom of maturer years he
would probably have clothed in diflFerent language ;
but if he was ever a Calvinist in any sense of the term,
neither his sons whom he fitted for college and pre¬
pared for the ministry, nor his daughters who were
intelligent beyond most women, ever suspected it.
" His glory," said Dr. Lowell, " was to be a Congre¬
gational minister, and such he was." Dr. Stearns'
labors and usefulness ended only with his life.
The first Sabbath in July, 1826, found him at the
post of duty, but he was stricken with a disease
which terminated his life on the 26th of that month.
The town buried him beside his children who had
gone before, and placed a marble monument over
his grave, on which the distinguishing traits of his
character were drawn with force and accuracy by
his life-long friend. Dr. Eipley, of Concord. He
married Susanna, daughter of Jonathan and Rachel
(Green) Cowdrey, of Reading, and had six sons
and five daughters. Four sons and two daughters
survived him. His widow died July 24, 1832.
Dr. Stearns was succeeded in the ministry by
Rev. Elijah Demond, who was installed November
7, 1827, and dismissed at his own request October
26, 1832. During His pastorate, the organization
of the First Parish took place, and the management
of ecclesiastical affairs by the town ceased. The
second Congregational Society was organized and
a meeting-house built by the Unitarians in 1842,
and an Episcopal church in 1872.
The old meeting-house was nearly square and
was entered by three porches, the front porch being
on the southerly side. The tower in which the hell
was hung and on which the spire stood were at the
westerly end, as the gables ran, and another porch
at the easterly end, a part of which was occupied
by the stocks, a terror to naughty boys, though
it does not appear that they were ever used. The
stocks were made of heavy oaken planks, strong
enough to hold a brace of elephants.
Within the house "wall pews" were built around
the sides of the house at an early day, space for
them being allotted, not to those who would pay
most for it, but to those who paid the highest
taxes, — Judge Russell being allowed to- choose a
place for his pew in the meeting-house where he
pleased, and to build it when he pleased. He built
his pew on the right of the front entrance, nearest
the door. The opposite pew was reserved for the
minister's family. The body of the house was
occupied by long seats; portions of these were re¬
moved at different times to make room for pews,
and a portion of them was assigned in 1771 to the
singers; it was fifty years after the building of
the meeting-house before the choir could be induced
to sit in the gallery. Galleries were constructed
around three sides of the building, while the pulpit,
with its high sounding-board overhead and dea¬
con's seat in front, was on the northerly side qf the
liouse. No sharp-witted mortal ever guessed the use
of the sounding-board until he was told of it, and
one thoughtful urchin, at least, pondered less upon
the final destiny of the race than the fate of the
preacher, should the iron rods, which held the
architectural abomination in its place, let go their
hold.
On Sunday, as a rule, the whole population went
to meeting. Of the six himdred and ninety persons
who composed the population of the town at its
incorporation, probably five hundred usually gath¬
ered together for worship on the Sabbath. The old
and the young, the rich and the poor, the bond
and the free, the wise and the simple, the halt and
the lame, the blind and the palsied, were there.
The young men and maidens were intent to hear the
prelude to the services, — not in those days a peal
from the organ, but a cry from the town-clerk, —
and as soon as the young people had time to resume
their Sunday faces, the minister arose, and announced
that the worship of God would begiu by singing
one of the Psalms of David, which he read iu the
old version of Sternhold and Hopkins.^ When the
reading was finished the chorister " set " the tune,
and a venerable deacon arose in front of the pulpit
and read the first line of the psalm, which the choir
immediately sung ; then another line was read and
sung alternately till the psalm was finished. Then
came the prayer, the " long prayer," prefaced al¬
ways by the reading of the notes, when the whole
congregation stood up and bowed themselves. The
seats being destitute of cushions and hung on
hinges, when the people stood up they turned up
their seats also, either to have better standing-room,
or to hear them fall down when the prayer was
1 Dr. Ripley, in his half-centuiy discourse, November 16,1828,
says of this version : " Many parts of it could scarcely now be
read with sobriety iu the assembly."
LINCOLN.
89
over, with a noise resembling the discharge of mus¬
ketry. Then another psalm was read, "deaconed,"
and sung. After it came the sermon. The regular
orthodox length of a sermon was an hour, but that
limit was often passed before the venerable preacher's
" finally " was reached.
Here we note some of the changes of the years,
lu 1763 the reading of the Scriptures was first in¬
troduced as a part of the exercises of public wor¬
ship. In 1768 a short prayer was made before
this reading. In 1767 "Dr. Brady's and Mr.
Tate's version of the Psalms of David, with some
hymns of Dr Watts', which are now bound up and
published with this version," were substituted for
the version of Stemhold and Hopkins. In 1795,
at the request of some of the brethren who were
members of the musical society, a bass-viol was
allowed to be used on trial to assist the singers in
divine service. After two more seasons of trial it
was allowed to be used until further order.
At the time of the incorporation of the town
there were within its limits three school-houses.
One stood near Mr. Snelling's place, on the south
road, near the railroad crossing, another on the
Common near the old chestnut-tree. Shortly after
the incorporation of the town new school-houses
were built in the north and east parts of the town,
principally by the subscriptions of individuals re¬
siding in those quarters. These were long, low
buildings, with a door at one end and a chimney
and fireplace at the other ; two or three rows of
benches with forms extended along the sides of
the rooms. Seats with backs and desks with re¬
ceptacles for books were not found in any of the
school-houses till within the last seventy years.
The possession of so many school-houses was
found objectionable, and many attempts were made
between 1760 and 1770 to agree upon a less num¬
ber. Li 1762 a committee, composed of gentle¬
men from other towns, was invited to come here
and decide upon the location of the schools. This
committee, consisting of Messrs. Jonas Stone of
Lexington, Thomas Barrett of Concord, and Brad-
dyl Smith of Weston, visited the different parts of
the town, heard the advocates of various projects,
and made a report which was rejected ; but the
plan they recommended was adopted a few years
later. Since that time there has been no material
change in the arrangement of the schools, except
the establishment of the high school in 1852.
The first action of the town in relation to schools
was September 2, 1754, when the town "voted
that there be a school kept in said town, and to
remove to three several places, and that the select¬
men provide a school-master; " but the first pay¬
ments do not appear to be in accordance with this
vote, Samuel Farrar and Amos Heald being paid,
February 14, 1755, £1 6«. 8 if. each for teaching
school, and Ephraim Flint and Timothy Wesson,
Jr., in March, 1755, £2 13«. 4if. each for teach¬
ing school two months. During the earlier years
of the town " a moving school " was kept, the
teachers usually teaching in one school-house from
six to ten weeks, and then going to anotlier, ac¬
cording to the directions of the selectmen.' jVo
school committees were cliosen till 1808, and ex¬
cepting that year till 1813, the duties of sciiool
committees being performed by the selectmen.
Among the teachers employed in the earlier
years of the town were Micah Lawrence, Jacob
Bigelow, Timothy Farrar, Samuel Williams, Joseph
Willard, and Fisher Ames, and in later times Eev.
Drs. Hosmer and Hill. Mr. Micah Lawrence was
a cousin of Eev. William ; he afterwards taught in
Worcester, and, later in life, was settled in the
ministry in Winchester, N. H. He was a more
pronounced loyalist than his Lincoln cousin, and,
after a third council, was dismissed from the min¬
istry because he was unfriendly to the war. Mr.
Bigelow, afterwards minister of Sudbury, taught
here three years. He was not only popular as a
teacher, but also succeeded in gaining the affec¬
tions of Miss Sarah Hartwell, to whom he was
married January 14, 1773. Timothy Farrar,
afterwards a distinguished judge and civilian in
New Hampshire, was a native of the town.
But what graphic pen shall describe the schools,
the teaching, the poverty of the appliances of
learning ? Lead pencils, steel pens, and ruled
paper were unknown in those days. The exercises
of the school consisted of reading from the spelling-
book and psalter, spelling, the study of arithmetic,
and learning to write. Arithmetic was the sole
science taught in those days, and the method of
teaching it was somewhat peculiar; the teacher
only was provided with a text-book, usually Cock-
' The statements in Shattuek's histoiy, " that at its incoi-po-
ration in 1754 Lincoln was divided into three school districts,'*
and "in 1770, and some other yeai's, the ginrnmar school was
substituted for all others," ai*e incoiTeet. The town never was
divided into school districts, and the votes of the town. May 28,
1770, "that the grammar school he kept in the middle of the
town the ensuing year, and that there shall he womans' schools
set up in the extreme parts of the town," were reconsidered July
30 of the same year.
40
BISTORT OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
er's or Hodder's,^ and his business was to set sums
for his pupils on their slates or in their manuscript-
books. The rules of arithmetic were copied from
the text-book of the teacher into the manuscripts
of the scholars, and the examples set down under
the rules. Now, taking into consideration that
this was the method of teaching, it seems incredible
that the schools of Massachusetts should have gone
on for one hundred and fifty years without the in¬
vention of a blackboard. These exercises, and the
discipline of the school, — which was usually in
accordance with the maxim of Solomon, — occu¬
pied the session.
Improvement was slow until 1792, when Morse's
Geography was first published, and soon found its
way into the schools, both as a reading-book and
as a text-book in geography. Webster's Third
Part was published about the same time, and the
Scholar's Arithmetic, the meaning of the title of
which has ceased to be understood, in 1801, which
marks a new era in the history of common-school
instruction.
The Liberal School, an institution differing in
name only from the academies of the time, was
established here in 1793. The house was built by
an association of some of the principal men of the
town, and Mr., afterwards Dr., Stearns taught the
school. Instruction was given in rhetoric, astron¬
omy, and the higher branches of mathematics, and
in the principles of religion and morality, text¬
books upon these subjects being prepared by the
teacher and transcribed by the pupils. The Latin
and Greek languages were also taught, and par¬
ticular attention was paid to the manners and
morals of the pupils. This school gave a new
impulse to the cause of education, and tended to
elevate the character of the town. In it Samuel
Parrar, Esq., Professor John Parrar, Hon. Samuel
Hoar, Nathan Brooks, Nathaniel Bemis, Prancis
Jackson, Winslow Lewis, and other distinguished
men received instruction preparatory for admission
to college. The first exhibition was given Septem¬
ber 27, 1793, Misses Anna Harrington, Hannah
Copies of these text-books are in possession of the writer.
Cocker's was licensed in 1653, .printed in 1699. Hodder's, a
later and more generally used book, is a smaü duodecimo, printed
in London in 1719. The title-page reads, " Hodder's Aritb-
mctic, or that necessary art made most easy. Being explained
in a way familiar to the capacity of any that desire to learn it in
a little time. By J.ames Hodder, writing-master. The twenty-
eighth edition, revised, augmented, and above a thousand faults
amended, by Henry Mose, late sei-vant and successor to the
author."
Piske, and Susanna Hoar being assigned the hon¬
orary parts. The innovation of allowing young
ladies to speak in public provoked a good deal
of discussion and some censure, but Dr. Steams
was able to sustain himself and his school, and the
people became reconciled to it.
No part of the history of the town is more in¬
teresting or instructive than the part taken in the
struggle for independence. Shattuck, in his his¬
tory, says, "in this controversy [with England]
it became early enlisted, and uniformly on the
popular side, and was distinguished for its ardent,
decided, and independent patriotism, and for its
intelligence and originality," — statements which
will bear the scrutiny of history, and the judg¬
ment of posterity. On the 15th of March, 1770,
the town " Voted, That we will not purchase any
one article of any person that imports goods con¬
trary to the agreement of the merchants of Bos¬
ton ; " and, in a long answer to a circular sent to
the town, they say, February 8, 1773, "We will
not be wanting in our assistance, according to our
ability, in the prosecuting of all such lawful and
constitutional measures as shall be thought proper
for the continuance of all our rights, privileges,
and liberties, both civil and religious; being of
opinion that a steady, united, persevering conduct
in a constitutional way is the best means, under
God, for obtaining the redress of all our griev¬
ances."
A committee of correspondence consisting of
Samuel Farrar, Eleazer Brooks, and Abijah Pierce
was chosen November 2) 1773, and a similar com¬
mittee was chosen every year tül 1784; several
documents emanating from this committee have
been preserved, and will bear comparison with any
state papers of the time.
December 27, 1773, the town " Toted, That
we will not purchase or use any tea or suffer it to
be purehased or used in our families so long as
there is any duty laid on such tea by act of the
British Parliament, and we will hold and esteem
all such as do use such tea as enemies of their
country and will treat them with the greatest neg¬
lect." Afterwards the following agreement was
signed by eighty-two of the principal inhabitants.
" We, the subscribers inhabitants of the town of
Lineoln do sineerely and truly covenant and agree
to and with each other, that we will not for our¬
selves, or any for or under us, purchase or con¬
sume any goods, wares, or manufactures, which
shall be imported from Great Brittain after the
LINCOLN.
41
thirty-first day of August, 1774, until the Con¬
gress of Deputies from the several colonies shall
determine what articles if any, to except, and that
we will thereafter, respecting the use and consump¬
tion of such British articles as not be excepted,
religiously abide the determination of said Con¬
gress."
At the annual meeting, March 6, 1775, the town
"Voted, That £52 4«. be granted to provide for
those persons who have enlisted as minute-men,
each one a bayonet, belt, cartridge box, steel-ram¬
mer, gunstock, and knapsack ; and that they attend
military exercises four hours in a day, twiçe a week,
till the first day of May next. In case any one
refuse to attend, 2«. for each four hours, and in
proportion for a less time, shall be deducted from
their wages."
Companies of minute-men existed at this time in
most, if not all, of the towns in Middlesex County ;
those in the central part of the county had been
organized into a regiment, of which Abijah Pierce
of Lincoln was colonel. William Smith was cap¬
tain of the minute-men. Samuel Parrar was
captain of the military company, and Samuel
Hoar and James Parks were lieutenants ; these
officers were chosen by their men, but were with¬
out commissions. Eleazer Brooks, the last cap¬
tain commissioned by the royal governor, had
thrown'up his commission and renounced the king's
service.
Such was the condition of things in the spring
of 1775. The Provincial Congress had collected
a quantity of military stores at Concord, and an
attempt to seize and destroy those stores was daily
expected. On the evening of the 18th of April
a detachment of the king's troops under the
command of Colonel Smith was sent for the pur¬
pose.
The main road from Lexington to Concord, called
in early times " the Bay-road," passed through the
northerly part of Lincoln and by Captain Smith's
house. Probably he was the first to receive intel¬
ligence that the royal forces were in motion. At
about three o'clock in the morning the church bell
was rung, and no one mistook its meaning. The
officers and men soon began to gather at the meet¬
ing-house, and early in the morning took up their
march for Concord to participate in the events of
the day. After the departure of their husbands
and sons for Concord many of the women gathered
up. their silver and best clothing, took their chil¬
dren and Bibles, and hid in the woods. The Brit¬
ish soldiers passed up the north road between the
hours of six and seven in the morning; the re¬
treating column re-entered the town about noon in
good order. From the foot of Hardy's Hill, the
first considerable ascent on the returning route, to
the tan-yard which was near the foot of the next
hill, the road was the dividing line of Lincoln and
Concord. At the southwest corner of the tan-yard
the line of the town left the road and turned
northward. Eastward from the tan-yard the road
ascends a sharp acclivity and bends northward also.
The rains, travel, and repairs of a century had
worn a deep cut in the road at this place, and on
its easterly side was a dense forest which afforded
a covert for the provincials, while the curves in the
road exposed the British to a raking fire from both
rear and front. Two of the enemy were killed in
this defile, and five others a little further on. At
or near Cornet Ephraim Hartwell's house. Captain
Jonathan Wilson of Bedford, Nathaniel Wyman of
Billerica, and Daniel Thompson of Wobum were
slain. It was now past noon and the heat was
excessive for the season. The British continued
their flight and passed the line of the town upon
the run. Six hours before, they had crossed that
line in all the pride and pomp of war ! Six hours,
big with destinies of men and nations, had passed,
and they were in ignominious flight ! At a short
distance below the line of the town, where a preci¬
pice juts into the road. Smith halted and made a
resolute attempt to re-form his column, which was
partially successful. A few minutes afterwards he
was severely wounded. Pitcairn, the evil genius
of the day, was reserved for the bullets of Bunker
Hill. The other events of the day belong to the
history of other towns. The bodies of three Brit¬
ish soldiers were buried by the side of the road.
Five other bodies were gathered up the next day
and buried in the old burying-ground in Lincoln.
One of these had on a fine ruffled shirt, and a
queue tied with a silk ribbon. He was supposed
to have been an officer. Tradition says that two
others were buried in a knoll near Lexington line,
but the evidence is not sufficient to warrant the
assertion.
To write in detail ail account of the doings of
the town and the services and sacrifices of its men
and officers in the field and at home during the
eight evèntful years that followed, would require
a much larger space than is allotted to the his¬
tory of Lincoln in this work. A few events may
be noticed. A new organization of the militia
42
HISTORY OF MIBBLESEX COUNTY.
was made in February, 1776, and Concord, Lex¬
ington, Weston, Lincoln, and Acton were assigned
to the Third regiment ; Eleazer Brooks was com¬
missioned colonel, February 14, 1776, and held
that office till October 15, 1778, when he was
appointed brigadier-general. Samuel Farrar was
commissioned captain, and Samuel Hoar and James
Parks lieutenants of the Lincoln company Feb¬
ruary 14, 1776, and were in office March 7, 1780.
Colonel Brooks commanded a regiment in the ex¬
pedition to Ticonderoga, and Samuel Hoar was
a lieutenant in that expedition; both were at
the surrender of Burgoyne. Colonel Brooks com¬
manded a regiment of Middlesex men at White
Plains in 1776, and Samuel Hartwell was his quar¬
termaster. Colonel Brooks' regiment behaved with
great bravery in the battle of White Plains, and
received especial commendation from General Wash¬
ington. Samuel Farrar commanded a company
at the surrender of Burgoyne's army in 1777.
This appears to have been a volunteer company
composed of Lexington and Lincoln men. John
Hartwell was a lieutenant in Colonel Dyke's regi¬
ment in 1776, and a captain in the same regiment
in 1777. Thirteen men from Lincoln were in
Captain Hartwell's company, and six others from
Lincoln in the same regiment.
There were thirty-six calls upon the town for
men during the war, besides repeated calls for pro-,
visions, clothing, and blankets. In 1780 £33,840
were granted to hire men for the army and £8,500
more to purchase provisions and clothing, and in
January, 1781, £16,240 more were granted for the
same objects. Afterwards, when men were called
for, the town was divided into as many classes as
there were men called for, each class being re¬
quired to furnish a man. In this way individuals,
as well as the town, became greatly embarrassed.
During the years of depression and gloom which
followed the Eevolutionary war, the people of Lin¬
coln continued steadfast and loyal in their attach¬
ment to the government they had labored so hard
to- establish, and Shays and Shattuck found but
one sympathizer and no followers here. The ef¬
forts of these deluded men to stay the proceedings
of tlie courts and overthrow the government were
regarded with abhorrence.
The same spirit which animated the people of
the town in the contest with England was mani¬
fested in the War of the Eebellion. In the former
war a few men were suspected of toryism, and one
wealthy and influential man left the town on the
19th of April, 1775, never to return. But not so
in the War of the Eebellion; secession had here
no sympathizer or apologist, and no one — man,
woman, or child — regarded the contest with indif¬
ference.
The first town-meeting to act on matters per¬
taining to the war was held May 13, 1861, and it
was "Voted, Tliat two thousand dollars be appro¬
priated to provide bounty, arms, ammunition, cloth¬
ing, provisions, and extra pay for such of the
inhabitants of the town as have enlisted, or may
hereafter enlist, into the military service of the
United States, and for aid to their families."
July 28, 1862, on motion of Charles L. Tarbell,
the town " Voted, That eighteen hundred dollars
be raised to pay nine men who may enlist as our
quota of soldiers in the service of the United States,
and that said eighteen hundred dollars be forth-
Avith assessed upon the taxable property of the
town, and as much of it as may be necessary be
expended by the committee appointed at a citizens'
meeting in securing said recruits ; and that all
persons be requested to pay the same to the col¬
lector on the presentation of their tax bills, on or
before the first day of September next." This
vote was passed in a full meeting without a dis¬
senting voice or vote ; and, although it was known
that the town could not enforce the payment of
this tax, it was immediately assessed and more
than nine-tenths of it was paid upon the presenta¬
tion of the bills. Four weeks afterward, the town
" Voted, To pay each volunteer who shall enlist
for nine months, and be mustered in and credited
to the quota of the town, a bounty of two hundred
dollars," and the same committee which recruited
the volunteers for three years' service was requested
to recruit the nine months' men. At the annual
meeting in March, 1863, six hundred doUars were
appropriated for the payment of aid to soldiers'
families ; and at the November meeting the treas¬
urer was authorized to settle with the state treas¬
urer for the town's proportion of the volunteer
bounty-tax. In the spring of this year town offi¬
cers were forbidden to pay bounties, and the gov¬
ernment resorted to drafts.
April 25, 1864, fourteen hundred dollars were
voted to refund the money raised by subscription
and paid for recruiting ten volunteers in December
and January last. Seven hundred dollars were
voted at the same time to pay the veteran volun¬
teers belonging to Lincoln. June 13, 1864,
Samuel H. Pierce, Francis Smith, and William F.
LINCOLN.
43
Wheeler were chosen a committee to recruit eight
men at least to serve the town as volunteers, and
the treasurer was authorized to borrow twenty-five
hundred dollars for the purpose. October 21,
1865, it was "Voted, To refund to the citizens the
money subscribed and paid by them last spring for
procuring recruits to fill the quota of the town."
Various other sums were voted during those years
for expenses incidental to the war and for bringing
home and burying their dead. Of those who sac¬
rificed their lives for their country in this war, the
following deserve especial commemoration : —
Eirst-Lieutenant Thomas J. Parker enlisted as
a private at the breaking out of the war, and con¬
tinued in active service until his death. He was
twice promoted for meritorious conduct, and was
mortally wounded before Petersburg, March 25,
1865.
George Weston enlisted in the 44th regiment
September 12, 1862, and was commissioned
second lieutenant in the 18th regiment March 4,
1863. He was wounded while leading his com¬
pany in the attack on Rappahannock Station, No¬
vember 7, 1863, and died of his wound January 5,
1864. He was a young man of fine promise, a
graduate of Harvard of the class of 1860, and
designed for the profession of law. A faithful
delineation of his character may be found in the
second volume of the Harvard memorial.
Elijah H. Wellington enlisted in the 44th regi¬
ment at the same time as Lieutenant Weston, and
died of disease at Newbern, N. G., in the winter of
1862. He was a young man of excellent charac¬
ter, universally respected and beloved.
The votes of the town given herewith convey,
at the best, only a faint idea of the spirit which
animated the town during the war of the Rebellion.
They were, in fact, only the embodying in legal
form and registering the spontaneous outbursts of
enthusiasm and patriotism which characterized the
citizens' meetings, where measures were discussed
and most of the war business transacted. The
writer of this narrative served the town on its
board of selectmen, as its treasurer, and on all its
recruiting committees during the war, and can
testify that he never wanted for a doUar, — never
asked of any of his fellow-citizens any service or
assistance connected with the war, which was not
promptly and cheerfuUy rendered.
Nor were the women of the town wanting on
their part. They early enlisted in the work of
providing hospital stores and comforts for the sick
and wounded soldiers,—a work always "sanctified
and ennobled by the blessed spirit which prompted
its undertaking, and which kept alive to the last
hour of need the earnestness so noticeable in a
New England community."
Lincoln furnished seventy-nine men for the war,
which was a surplus of four over and above all
demands.^ The amount of money raised and ex¬
pended by the town on account of the war was
$ 10,385.50, all of which was paid before the close
of the year 1865. The town also expended $3,915
for aid to soldiers' families, of which sum $3,205
were reimbursed by the state.
The history of the town to be complete should
contain notices of its college graduates and the dis¬
tinguished men who were bom here, and early left
their home for more promising fields of usefulness
and enterprise. A history of the Brookses and
Browns, Farrars and Flints, Hartwells and Hoars,
Pierces and Russells, and others, would of itself
fill a volume, and be a valuable contribution to
New England literature. But the writer must
stop here. He commends the task to some one of
the gifted sons of the town, who were trained in
the halls of learning, and have the ability and cul¬
ture to do the subject justice.
^ This number does not include Mr. N. F. Cousins, who
enlisted for three years, went to Lynnfield in August, 1862, was
prostrated by heat while preparing the camp-grounds, aud came
very near losing his lite.
44
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
LITTLETON.
BY HEEBEET JOSEPH HAEWOOD.
MONG the first Indians con¬
verted to Christianity by the
Eev. John Eliot were the sa¬
chem Tahattawan, or Ahata-
wance, and many of his people^
who expressed a wish to be¬
come more civilized and have a
town given them at Nashobah,
the Indian name of the territory
now Littleton. On May 14,
1654, " In ans', to the peticon
of Mr. Jno. Elliott, on behalf of seuerall Indians,"
the General Court granted his request, viz., liberty
for the inhabitants of " Nashop " and other places
" to erect seuerall Indjan tounes in the places pro¬
pounded," thus incorporating them under the colo¬
nial government.
Daniel Gookin wrote, in 1674: "Nashobah is
the sixth praying Indian town. This village is sit¬
uated in the centre between Chelmsford, Lancaster,
Groton, and Concord. It lieth from Boston about
twenty-five miles west-northwest. The inhabi¬
tants are about ten families, and consequently
about fifty souls. The dimensions of this village
are four miles square. The land is fertile, and
well stored with meadows and woods. It hath
good ponds for fish adjoining to it. The people
live here, as in other Indian villages, upon plant¬
ing corn, fishing, hunting, and sometimes labour¬
ing with the English. Their ruler of late years
was John Ahatawance [son of the above-men¬
tioned], a pious man; since his decease Penna-
kennet, or Pennahannit, is the chief. Their
teacher is named John Thomas, a sober and pious
man. His father was murdered by the Maquas in
a secret manner, as he was fishing for eels at his
wear At this place they attend civil and
religious order, as in the other praying towns, and
they have a constable and other oflicers.
"This town was deserted during the Maquas
war, but is now again repeopled, aud in a hopeful
way to prosper."
Pennahannet was marshal-general of all the
Indian towns, and attended their chief court at
Natick ; he was sometimes called Captain Josiah.
It is remarkable that the southeastern part of
Littleton, now called Nashoba, was not a part of
the Indian town, but was vety early settled by
white people and called Nashoba Farm. A fam¬
ily by the name of Shepard was living there in
1676, during King Philip's War. Tradition says
that, in February of that year, Mary Shepard, a
girl of fifteen, was stationed on Quagana Hill, a
small rising south of' Nashoba Hill, to warn hér
brothers, who were threshing, if any Indians ap¬
peared; but they stole up behind her, killed tlie
brothers, and carried the girl away to Nashaway
[Lancaster], from which place she escaped the
same night, mounted a horse, swam the river, and
rode home. The Eeed house, the ruins of which
may still be seen at the foot of Nashoba Hill, was
built as a garrison probably about this time.
The praying Indians fared badly during the war,
being distrusted by both sides and feared by the
whites. During the month of November, 1675,
the Nashobah Indians, numbering twelve men and
forty-six women and children, were, by order of
the General Court, taken to Concord and put un¬
der the charge of Mr. John Hoar, with the double
purpose of guarding and protecting them ; from
there they were taken, in February, to the islands
in Boston Harbor, whence they were removed in
May, part to Pawtucket [Lowell] and part to Cam¬
bridge Village. Few returned to Nashobah, the
greater number finally settling in Natick or other
places.
Thomas Dublett, alias Nepanet, who, ■with his
wife Sarah, was among the few who returned to
Nashobah, acted as interpreter between a com¬
mittee of whites and one of the hostile sachems, in
arranging a ransom of one of the white prisoners
at Nashobah in the summer of 1677, for which
service the court awarded him two coats.
The Indians having almost deserted their plan¬
tation, the English began to move into it, some by
right of purchase, others without any right, and
LITTLETON.
45
the neighboring towns, especially Groton, began to
appropriate the land. In 1682 the County Court
of Middlesex appointed a committee " to run the
ancient bounds of Nashobey," who reported that
Groton had taken into their bounds nearly half the
Indian plantation ; also that the northwest comer of
Nashobah had, according to the statement of Gro¬
ton men, encroached on their town to the extent of
three hundred and fifty acres.
June 15, 1686, Colonel Peter Bulkley of Con¬
cord and Major Thomas Henchman of Chelmsford
bought of Keehonowsquaw, daughter of John
Tahattawan, and other Indians, for the sum of
£70, one half of Nashobah plantation, lying on
the east side. It was laid out in the following
January by Jonathan Danforth, whose plan shows
the whole plantation. It was a nearly square
quadrilateral, bounded northerly by Groton, east¬
erly by Chelmsford, southerly by Concord, westerly
by Stow, the sides being about four miles in length ;
its position may be determined by the four corners.
(COPT.)
" This paretll of (and û bounded by Concord Town bounda toutkward two
mi(e ^ three quarters, eastward by Chelmsford bounds three mile ^ a hälfe,
/* Northward by good^ Rabbins ^peligg laurance, two mile, westward bounded
by y remainder of Nashoba plantation three mile ^ a hälfe, ^ something more,
ir this last line runs south» 7 degr. jr J east, there being 2 maples marked H
for y* N. W corner a red-oak mark't H for the south west comer.
Explanation.—The dotted lines sliow the original plan; the straight
lines the present bounds.
which were, as nearly as can be ascertained, the
present comer on Brown Hill, a pine-tree near the
house of the late Barnabas Dodge, the southwest
end of Nagog Pond, and a point in the neighbor¬
hood of Boxborough town-house. Previous to
this the Indians had sold a part of the plantation,
lying north of the Bulkley and Henchman tract,
to Peleg Lawrence and Bobert Bobbins of Gro¬
ton. These sales did not (as some have assumed)
join the land to the towns in which the purchasers
lived.
That the fertile meadows of Nashobah should lie
unclaimed was, as before intimated, too much for
the itching palms of the neighboring people of Con¬
cord, Chelmsford, Stow, and Lancaster, who first
severally, and then jointly, petitioned the General
Court for parts or the whole of the land, urging
various and weighty reasons why they should have-
it, not the least of which was that Groton people,
who were quietly appropriating, without leave or
hcense, all they could lay hands on, were getting
more than their share. An investigating com¬
mittee, appointed in answer to the joint petition,
reported, November 2, 1711, the bounds of the
plantation about the same as laid down by Jona¬
than Danforth in 1686, and stated that Groton had
" run into Nashobah so as to take out near one
half and the bigest part of the meadows." They
further state that the plantation contained about
seven thousand nine hundred and forty acres.
They recommended that the place be made a town¬
ship, with some addition from Concord and
Chelmsford, stating that there were already five
families settled in Groton's claim, ten in the re¬
mainder of the plantation, and three on Powers'
farm, adjoining.
The few surviving Indian proprietors, nearly all
of whom lived in Natick, had then sold the re¬
mainder of their land ; one half, a strip about a
mile wide and four miles long, having been pur¬
chased by "Walter Powers of Concord, May 9,
1694, for £15; and the other half, of the same
dimensions, by Josiah Whitcomb of Lancaster,
May 10, 1701.
The following act of incorporation was passed
by the General Court Tuesday, November 2, 1714
(0. S.) : " Upon consideration of the sev" Petitions
& Claims relating to the Land called Nashoba
Land. Ordered, That the said Nashoba Land be
made a Township with the Addition of such ad¬
joining Lands of the Neighboring Towns whose
owners shall Petition for that end & this Court
shall think fit to grant. That y® s® Nashoba
Lands having been long since Purchased of y'
Indians by M' Bulkley & Hinchman one hälfe,
the other hälfe by Whetcomb & Powers, that y®
s^ Purchase be confirmed to y® Children of y® s^
4Ô
HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Bulkley, Whetcomb & Powers & to Cap*" Kob-
ert Mears as assignee of Maj' Hincliman, ac¬
cording to their respective Proportions. Eeserv-
ing to y' inhabitants wlio have settled within those
bounds their settlements, with divisions of Land
in Proportion to y* grantees & such as shall here¬
after be admitted, y's* Occupants or present in¬
habitants Paying proportion as others shall pay
for their alotments. Provided y® s" Plantation be
Settled with Thirty-five familys & an Orthodox
Minister in three years time.
" And y' five Hundred acres of Land be Reserved
and layd out for y° benefit of any of y" Desend-
ants of y' Indian proprietors of y's^ Plantation that
may be surviving, a Proportion whereof to be for
Sarah Dublet alias Sarah Indian, the Revrend M'
John Levret & Spencer Phips esq"^ to be trustees
for y' s** Indians to take care of y's"* Reserved to
their use.
"And it is farther ordered y' Cap'" Hopestill
Browne M' Timothy Wiley and Joseph Bur-
nap of Reading be a Committee to lay out y" s"*
five hundred acres of Land reserved for y" Indians
& to runn ye line between Groaton & Nashoba at y°
Charge of both partyes & make Report to this Court
& however the line may divide y" land with re¬
gard to y" Townships y" y" Proprietors on either
side may be continued in y' possession of their im¬
provements paying as afore s^, & no mans Legal
rite or Property in ye s^ Lands is hereby infringed."
•The grantees drew up a paper agreeing to throw
all the land in common and draw out their several
proportions, admitting as associates Paul Dudley,
Esq., Addington Davenport, Esq., and Mr. John
White, all of Boston. The paper is signed by
Addington Davenport, Jona. Prescott, Walter Pow¬
ers, Jno. White, John Hancock, Josiah Whet¬
comb, Joseph Bulkley, Daniel Powers, William
Powers, Robert Robbins, Robert Mears, John
Bulkley, Increase Powers, Isaac Powers, Paul
Dudley, Thos. Powers, and Eleazer Laurance.
Of these original proprietors, a few lived in the
town, the majority in the adjoining towns. The
committee above mentioned made a report upon
the Groton bounds, which they decided were the
original ones, and though rather indefinitely stated,
were probably the same as laid down by Jonathan
Danforth and by a former committee of the Gen¬
eral Court.
The five hundred acres for the Indians were laid
out in the southeast comer of the town as it was
then, taking in parts of Nagog and Fort Ponds.
The latter is so called from an Indian fort, which
once stood near its shores, and part of it Speen's
End, from an Indian of that name. There are
many other things to indicate that quarter of the
town as a favorite one with the red men ; it is
now called Newtown, a name probably given to it
about 1734, when, by sale from the last survivor,
it came into the possession of white men.
The name Littleton was given to the town by
act of the General Court, December 3, 1715 (a
date which has been erroneously given for the
incorporation), as a compliment, it is said, to the
Hon. George Lyttleton, M. P., one of the commis¬
sioners of the treasury, in return for which the
noble gentleman presented the town with a church
bell ; but on account of an error in spelling, by
substituting "i" for "y," the present was with¬
held, with the excuse that no such town as Lyttle¬
ton could be found, and was sold by the person
having it in charge. The first recorded town-
meeting, for the choice of officers, was held March
1-3, 1715-16; the selectmen chosen were Samuel
Dudley, John Perrum, John Cobleigh, Moses Whit¬
ney, and William Powers. On the 9th of May
following, the Rev. Benjamin Shattuck, A. M.,
was chosen minister for the town, at a salary of
£55 a year, to advance 20« a year until it
amounted to £70.
Mr. Shattuck was born in Watertown, July 30,
1678, graduated at Harvard College in 1709, and
for six years following was teacher of the gram¬
mar and English school in Watertown, studying
for the ministry in the meantime. He was or¬
dained the first minister óf Littleton, December
25, 1717, and continued this connection until
August 24, 1730, when it was agreed, by mutual
consent, that a council be called for his dismission.
He continued to reside in the town, in the house
now owned by Mrs. Eliza Hartwell, until his death
in 1763.
The first meeting-house — which we may imag¬
ine a rough, barn-like structure, without bell or
steeple, with doors on the east, south, and west
sides — stood on the Old Common, in front of the
house of John B. Robinson, where it was located
to accommodate those Concord and Chelmsford
families who worshipped in it. Reference is made
to a meeting-house in 1717, and it is probable
that the building was in an unfinished condition at
the time of Mr. Shattuck's ordination, and re¬
mained incomplete until the year 1723.
Numerous attempts were made to have the
LITTLETON.
47
above-mentioned families, among whom were those
of "Walter and John Powers, David Eussell, and
John Merriam, of Concord, living on Nashoha
Farm, and six families of Chelmsford annexed to
Littleton. They were for several years freed from
their ministers' rates in the towns to which they
belonged, and finally, in 1725, the General Court
granted the petition for annexation, as far as it
related to the Concord families ; and a large tract
of land, — that earliest settled by white men, —
extending from Nagog Pond nearly to the Old
Common, was added to the town, enlarging the
bounds in that direction to their present position.
There was probably more of a village in that
neighborhood then than now; the first burying-
ground, some years since ploughed up, was there,
on the Eeed farm ; and a little farther east, in the
woods, may be seen a well-preserved dam and mill-
site beside the brook.
Within the first score of years after the incor¬
poration there were laid out a great many roads,
the most of them mere paths, marked by blazed
trees, following very tortuous and entirely different
routes from the present ; the road from Chelmsford
to Groton, for instance, was through the Old Com¬
mon, across Turkey Swamp and Beaver Brook to
Mr. Charles P. Hartwell's, then through the New
Estate, turning eastward to the Mill Pond, and
then westward through Pingreyville. The first
road to Newtown started from the Old Common,
a short distance east of the late Captain Luther
White's. The object in laying them out seems to
have been to pass every one of the few scattered
houses, rather than to go direct.
Sparsely settled as the town was, a great excite¬
ment was aroused in the year 1720, by an accusa¬
tion of witchcraft brought by three little girls, —
daughters of Thomas Blanchard, living on or near
Mr. Elbridge Marshall's farm, — against Mrs.
Abigail Dudley, an estimable woman, the wife of
Samuel Dudley, the first town-clerk. The death
of Mrs. Dudley in August, resulting from an acci¬
dent, put an end to the excitement and to the
strange and unaccountable actions of the children,
who confessed in later years that they told and
acted a most diabolical lie. This was the last
attempt in the country to revive the horrors of
Salem.
The proprietors of Littleton held meetings sepa¬
rate from the citizens and kept separate records
until the year 1755. The last lot of common land,
some one thousand acres, lying mostly in the north-
em part of the town, was divided in 1730, when
the name New Estate was probably first applied.
About the year 1732 the town of Stow brought
à claim against the proprietors of Littleton for a
large tract of land now part of Boxborough, and
relinquished it only upon the adverse decision of
a lawsuit lasting many years.
After an interim of nearly two years from the
time of B«v. Mr. Shattuck's dismission the Kev.
Daniel Eogers, " son of ye worshipfull Mr. Danl.
Eogers, Esq.," was ordained minister of the town
March 15, 1731-32. He graduated at Harvard
College in 1725, and before coming to Littleton
preached at Byfield.
With a change of ministers the town began to
talk of building a new meeting-house, and it was
decided that the location be changed to the Eidge
Hill, as the centre of the town was called ; accord¬
ingly in 1740 the town built their second meeting¬
house, forty by fifty feet in dimension with twenty-
three feet posts, on the site of the present First
Church (Unitarian).
It was customary for the men and women to sit
separately in meeting, and to choose a committee
once a year to assign the seats to the men accord¬
ing to what each paid, considering also " age and
dignity." General dissatisfaction and an order for
a new seating was often the result of the commit¬
tee's first effort. At March meeting, 1742-43, the
town voted " To cut up six feet of the two hind
seats on the women's side next the alley to erect a
pew at the town's cost for (Eev.) Mr. Shattuck ■
and his wife so long as either of them live in
town."
January 4,1738-39, the General Court granted
the petition of Peleg Lawrence and others of Groton
to be set off with their estates to Littleton, and the
town bounds were then extended in that direction
from the original Nashobah north line to the pres¬
ent bounds between Groton and Littleton.
Tlie desire for political honors does not seem to
have possessed the people of this town to any great
extent in the olden time, for it was only when some
measure directly affecting the town, like a change
of bounds, was to come before the court that it
was thought worth while to send a representative,
to which the town was entitled once in a certain
number of years, and pay his expenses.
The town was repeatedly fined for not being
represented, in consequence of which a represen¬
tative would be chosen the following year for the
sole purpose, apparently, of getting the fine re-
48
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
mitted, in wliich they were generally successful.
On one occasion the town voted to send a repre¬
sentative if any one would go on half-pay, and on
another if any one would go for £12. Captain
Isaac Powers accepted the offer, and was accord¬
ingly elected without opposition.
In the year 1749 wolves were so plenty and
troublesome that the town offered, in connection
with some of the adjoining towns, a bounty for
their heads in addition to that offered by the prov¬
ince, with the stipulation tiiat the wolves' ears be
cut off to prevent a second claim for bounty on
the same head.
Until almost modern times it was customary to
vote at every March meeting whether the swine
should go at large during the ensuing year. Al¬
most invariably previous to 1800, and occasionally
after that, the swine were allowed to roam at will,
provided each one had a ring in his nose, which
it was the duty of the hog-reeves to insert, to
prevent rooting.
The discontent at the oppression of British taxa¬
tion found expression in town-meeting at Littleton
March 5, 1770, the day of the Boston Massacre,
as follows : —
" Voted the following Persons a eommittee to consider
of some proper Measures for the Town to Come into with
Regard to the non-importation of Goods, vis. Sam" Tut-
tle, Leonard Whiting, Sam" Rogers, Robert Harris, Nathan
Raymond wlio made report of the following Resolves which
the Town Voted to accept.
" The Grievous Impositions the Inhabitants of the british
Colonies have long suffered from their Mother Country
strongly claim their attention to every legal Method for
their Removal.
" We esteem the Measures already proposed, 'viz. the
withdrawing our Trade from Great Britain both economi¬
cal & effectual. We therefore Vote
" 1" That we will not (knowingly) directly or Indirectly
purchase any british Goods that have been or may be im¬
ported contrary to the patriotic agreement of the Mer¬
chants of the Town of Boston.
2'' If any Inhabitant of this Town of Littleton shall be
known to purchase any article of any Importer of Goods
contrary to the afores^ agreament or of any one who shall
purchase of any such Importer he shall suffer our high
Displeasure and Contempt.
3'' That the same Committee be also a Committee to
Inspect the Conduct of all Buyers & Sellers & to report
the names of all (if any such there shall be) who violate the
true spirit and Intention of the aforegoing Votes and Reso¬
lutions, to the Towne at their next. Meeting.
4c' Voted that we will not drink or purchase any foreign
Tea howsoever imported untill a general Importation of
british Goods shall take Place."
The resolutions were published in the Boston
Gazette of March 12. In the same year the town
purchased a. bell for the meeting-house, but there
being no steeple, the bell was hung on a frame sep¬
arate from the building. The committee to buy it
reported that they had purchased a " Bell manufac¬
tured in this Province" at a cost of £78 0«.
December 31, 1772, the town met to consider a
letter and pamphlet on the subject of the times, re¬
ceived from the town of Boston, and chose a com¬
mittee on it. A conservative majority-reported,
February I, that the town take no action in the
matter. The report was rejected and a draft of a
reply accepted, asserting confidence in the Britisii
constitution, but calling upon the General Court
to make an effort to remove the consequences of
certain acts of parliament eudangeiing the peace
and security of the Province and to restore confi¬
dence between England and her colonies. As this
reply was considered by some not strong enough,
it was withheld until after the March meeting,
when it was amended, and a more extended list of
grievances added. It is noticeable that about this
time a change took place in the administration of
town affairs. Several men who had held prominent
town offices but who were quite conservative, and
some even inclined to toryism, were very suddenly
left in retirement, and those chosen in their places
who took active parts in the Revolutionary War.
In the Middlesex Convention of August 31, 1774,
there were from Littleton Captain Josiah Hartwell,
Oliver Hoar, and Daniel Rogers, Jr. September
26, Robert Harris was chosen a delegate to the
Provincial Congress to be held at Salem, and Abel
Jewett to the one to be held at Concord.
The alarm of April 19, 1775, reached Littleton,
and was quickly responded to by Lieutenant
Aquila Jewett's company of militia, numbering
four officers and forty-two men, who marched to
Concord, where some of the men dropped out, while
the rest followed the enemy probably to Cambridge,
as they marched twenty-six miles. Undoubtedly
many others not belonging to an organized com¬
pany went as volunteers.
The following month the town voted to purchase
a number of fire-arms with bayonets, and it is
probable that a new company of minute-men was
formed, as we find the following paper bearing date
of June 18, 1775 : —
" We the Subscribers having Received ammuni¬
tion out of the Town Stock of said Town, Do prom¬
ise to Keep & Return the same again into said
Stock Except obliged to use the same in Defence
LITTLETON.
49
of our Rights and Privileges when calP By an
alarm "j signed by thirty-six men, with the amount
of powder, bullets, and flints delivered to each.
Among the rolls of the army at Cambridge, Au¬
gust 1, we find still another company in which nine
officers, including the captain, Samuel Gilbert, and
twenty-five men, were from Littleton, with others
from neighboring towns.
To trace the men from this town throughout the
war would take too much space ; suffice it to say
that the writer has collected the names of one hun¬
dred and forty-seven men who served at various
times. The smoke from the burning of Charles-
town, June 17, was distinctly seen at Littleton,
and caused great alarm.
June 17, 1776, a few days before the Decla¬
ration of Independence, the town voted that " If
the Honorable Congress should for the Safety of
the Colonies Declare them Independent of the
Kingdom of Great Britain the Inhabitants of Lit¬
tleton engage to support them in the measure."
The selectmen this year were Jonathan Reed,
William Henry Prentice, Aaron Jewett, Abel
Fletcher, and Jeremiah Cogswell.
Strenuous measures were taken to make men
declare themselves whether loyal to the cause of
the colonies or not ; and, if not, they were either
guarded or forbidden to leave their premises.
It is relatgd that one day a squad of soldiers
under command of an officer called upon Rev. Mr.
Rogers, who lived where Mr. James Hussey now
lives, to come out and declare himself ; he did not
appear, and several shots were fired which passed
through the front door and panels to the staircase,
upon which Mr. Rogers was standing. He then
came out and made declaration. The bullet-holes
may be seen yet, though the house has been moved.
Notwithstanding this incident, Mr. Rogers was
much beloved and respected by his people, and
throughout his long ministry the utmost harmony
apparently existed in the church. In January, 1776,
being old, he asked a dismission, but it was refused;
at the same time it was decided to give him a col¬
league.
Rev. Edmund Foster was ordained January 17,
1781, and succeeded to the ministry on the death
of Mr. Rogers, in November, 1782. Mr. Foster
was born at. North Reading, Massachusetts, April
18, 1752, and was left an orphan when seven years
old ; he worked his way through Yale College, and
afterwards studied for the ministry. Both Harvard
and Yale conferred honorary degrees upon him.
While a divinity student he shouldered his musket
and went to face the enemy at Concord and Lex¬
ington. He represented his district both in the
senate and house after the war of 1812 (in which
three of his sons held commissions) ; on one occa¬
sion preached the election sermon, and was a delegate
to the constitutional convention of 1820. He died
March 28, 1826, in the forty-sixth year of his
ministry. His ministry can hardly be called a
peaceful one: he was settled not without opposi¬
tion, partly on account of which the movement for
a new parish was started, which resulted in the for¬
mation, in 1783, of the district of Boxborough,
taking from Littleton a large comer; then the bur¬
dens of the war, which altogether cost the town
£126,172 16«. 10<f. in money of various values,
bore so heavily upon the people that they found it
difficult to pay Mr. Foster's salary, and he was
obliged, on one occasion, to sue for it.
The meeting-house was out of repair, and after
much discussion and many votes, afterwards recon¬
sidered, it was voted decisively, December 31,
1792, to build a new house on the same spot, and
the town proceeded to erect their third meeting¬
house, " 40 X 55 feet with a steeple and porches " ;
it was finished in the summer of 1794. It was
evidently considered a grand affair, and from all
accounts was really quite an imposing building.
It was provided with a new bell in 1808.
Of Littleton's record in the war of 1812 little is
known, the town records not making the least allu¬
sion to the war. A number of men from the town
served in the war, but how many the writer is un¬
able to state.
December 4, 1815, Rev. Mr. Foster preached a
century sermon on the history of the town, an
able and interesting discourse, which has been fre¬
quently referred to in writing this article. It is
unfortunate that it was delivered a year too late
for the true centennial anniversary. From the
sermon we learn that the post-office at that time
was on the " great road," as it is called, probably
at the "long store," now the dwelling-house of
Mr. Ralph Parker.
About 1818 or 1820 the peace of the church
was disturbed by the presence of preachers from
abroad, who held meetings in the interest of va¬
rious denominations. Among them was one from
Andover Theological Seminary, sent, it is said,
with the special purpose of drawing members away
from Mr. Foster's church, on account of his active
opposition, while in the legislature, to the bill to
50
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
oblige all ministers to have a license from that in¬
stitution. Mr. Foster had ruling elders appointed
to assist him in bringing back to communion those
who absented themselves to hear the "itinerant
and disorderly preachers." He sometimes at¬
tended the meetings himself to refute the speakers,
and on one occasion, announcing that he was the
minister of the town, took the chair and dismissed
the meeting.
Rev. Benjamin Willard preached at various
times, from 1820 to 1823, in the interest of the
Baptist denomination, and March 14, 1821, a so¬
ciety was organized with twelve members. Mr.
Foster ruled his people with a rod of iron, and not
one was allowed to leave the church to join the
new society without a vote of public censure.
The first Baptist meeting-house was built in
1822, of brick, and stood where Mr. John P.
Tuttle now lives; it was dedicated July 9, 1823,
when Rev. Amasa Sanderson was ordained, and
acted as pastor until March 23, 1831. The suc¬
ceeding ministers were Rev. Silas Kenney, 1831 -
1834; Rev. 0. Ayer, 1837-1843; Rev. T. H.
Lunt, April, 1844, to March, 1845 ; Rev. Aaron
Haynes, April, 1845, to , 1847 ; Rev. B. H.
Clift, June, 1847, to February, 1848 ; Rev. George
Mathews, May, 1848, to , 1852; Rev. F.
E. Cleaves, June, 1852, to October, 1857 ; Rev. D.
F. Lampson, July, 1858, to April, 1861; Rev. C.
M. Willard, August, 1861, to November, 1867;
Rev. C. L. Frost, August, 1868, to June, 1869;
Rev. J. F. Morton, September, 1869, to Septem¬
ber, 1872; Rev. B. N. Sperry, January, 1873, to
May, 1875 ; Rev. William Read, July, 1875, to
May, 1878; Rev. Paul Gallaher, November, 1878.
The brick meeting-house was burned, probably by
an incendiary, August 5, 1840, and the present
wooden one was then built at the Old Common,
and dedicated June, 1841.
In 1825 the town purchased a farm on which
to support the poor.
After the death of Mr. Foster the town voted,
October 29,1827, to call Rev. William H. White to
settle as minister. He was born in Lancaster, Mass.,
in 1798, and lived on a farm in Westminster until
twenty-one, when he fitted for college under the
tuition of Rev. Dr. Stearns of Lincoln. Mr. White
graduated at Brown University in 1824, and at
Cambridge Divinity School in 1827 ; he received a
call to preach in Kingston, Mass., but preferred
Littleton, where he was ordained January 2, 1828.
We learn that it had long been his ambition
to settle in this town and win his predecessor's
daughter, Sarah Bass Foster, whom he married a
year after his ordination. He died July 25, 1853,
in the twenty-sixth year of his ministry. He wâs
succeeded by Rev. Frederick R. Newell, September,
1854, to November, 1856; Rev. Eugene Denor-
mandie, February, 1857, to July, 1863; Rev.
Albert B. Vorse, June, 1864, to June, 1869;
Rev. David P. Muzzey, October, 1869, to April,
1871 ; Rev. T. H. Eddowes, January, 1872, to
December, 1872; Rev. S. R. Priest, January,
1873, to August, 1874; Rev. J. Wingate Wink-
ley, March, 1876. In 1841 the society took down
their old church and built the present one on the
same spot, the fourth building of the First Parish.
We have to record the formation, within a few
years of each other, of three other societies, viz.
the Universalists, the Unionists, and the Orthodox
Congregational.
The Universalists held meetings in the Centre
school-house and in Chamberlin's Hall from 1830
until December, 1846, when they bought at auction
the meeting-house the Unionists had built a few
years previous, a short distance east of the present
union school-house, on the old road between the Cen¬
tre and Common. The house was burned by an in¬
cendiary in 1847, after which the society dispersed.
The Unionists, or Millerites, were an outcome
from the Baptists, in whose meeting-house William
Miller first preached in town. They built a small
meeting-house for themselves in 1840. The con¬
tinued existence of the world beyond the time they
had fixed for its destruction was a blow which the
society did not survive.
The Orthodox Congregationalists withdrew from
the First Church in 1840, and formed their society
March 23, and their church May 14, of that year.
They met in the hall over George Lawrence's Yel¬
low Store until the present meeting-house was
completed in the fall of 1841. Their pastors have
been Rev. J. C. Bryant, October, 1840, to March,
1845 ; Rev. James M. Bacon, October, 1846, to
November, 1849; Rev. Daniel H. Babcock, April,
1851, to February, 1853; Rev. Elihu Loomis,
October, 1854, , 1870; Rev. Henry E.
Cooley, May, 1872, to October, 1874; Rev. George
E. Hall, September, 1875, to February, 1877;
Rev. William Sewall, March, 1877.
The Littleton Lyceum was organized Decem¬
ber 2, 1829, through the efforts of Rev. Mr.
White, and has been continued every -winter until
the present day. It was at first a debating society
LITTLETON,
51
with an occasional lecture preceding the debate,
but has of late years developed into a lecture
course, which, from its antiquity and the quality
of its lectures, is the pride of the town.
The first mention of schools in the town records
is under the date of March 31, 1725, when it was
voted " that the selectmen provide a school mas¬
ter." They hired John Powers. At that time and
for many years after, it was the custom to have
one school from four to six months in the year,
kept in private houses, and generally moving from
one part of the town to another during the time, but
in some years it was kept wholly in the Centre.
May 19, 1760, the town voted "to abate Mr.
Stephen Shattuck the Rates for his Son's Poll y'
last year on condition his Son Goes to college the
next year."
Repeated attempts to pass votes for school-
houses were unsuccessful until 1795, wlien the
town voted to build five, but afterwards changed
the number to four, which were built the following
year, the South near the house of J. A. Priest,
the West near the present school-house in that
quarter, the North near the "long-store," and the
East at the corner of the road near the house of
Mr. Elbridge Marshall.
This arrangement was unsatisfactory; as it left
the Centre and Old Common without school-houses,
and a long struggle for changes was commenced,
which resulted in building school-houses in the
Centre and at Nashoba in 1822, — of brick to pre¬
vent their being moved, — and the moving of some
of the others; after another struggle a school-
house was built on the Common in 1843, making
seven in all. This number was preserved with re¬
newals of buildings, and slight changes in location,
until 1867, when the Union school-liouse, with
grammar and primary schools, was built for the
Common and Centre villages combined. For the
past few years a high school, of one term yearly,
has been kept in the brick town-house.
The selectmen during the Rebellion were in
1861-62 John P. Robbins, John Cutter, and
James A. Parker; in 1863-64-65 Joseph A.
Priest, William Kimball, and George W. Sander¬
son. The town-clerk in 1861, and all through
the war, was William Kimball.
The first town-meeting to consider matters re¬
lating to the war was held May 1, 1861, when it
was voted to raise by taxation one thousand dol¬
lars, and to authorize the selectmen to borrow
more, if needed, to pay each soldier belonging to
the town ten dollars a month while in the service,
and to provide for their families. In July a com¬
mittee consisting of Richard Hall, F. P. Knowlton,
Thomas S. Tuttle, and Benjamin Edwards were
chosen to act with the selectmen in expending the
money appropriated. In July, 1862, it was voted
to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to each
three years' volunteer, and in August, 1863, the
bounty was raised to one hundred and twenty-five
dollars. It was also voted to keep a full record
of each volunteer belonging to the town. The
town continued recruiting and paying bounties
until the end of the war.
The whole number of men furnished was one
hundred and seventeen, a surplus of eighteen over
all demands. Two were commissioned officers.
When the nine months' volunteers were ready to
leave, the people met and escorted them in pro¬
cession to Central HaU, where a full meeting was
held to bid farewell to and encourage them.
In one instance the town brought home and
buried at its own expense one of the slain. The
total amount of money appropriated and expended
by the town on account of the war, exclusive of
state aid, was $11,104.33. In addition to this,
the ladies under the presidency of the late Mrs.
S. B. White formed a Soldiers' Aid Society, and
sent many boxes of clothing, bandages, and com¬
forts to the seat of war.
A Farmers' Club formed February 22, 1869,
has had three successful town fairs, in 1870, 1873,
and 1874.
Littleton is almost entirely a farming town;
there are three stores, and two mills for grinding
and sawing. About the time of the Revolution
there was a factory for dressing cloth on the brook
near the house of Peter S. Whitcomb; it was
owned by a stock company, which had in 1779
seventeen share-holders, mostly residents. The
population in 1875 was 950 ; in I860, 1,063 ; and
in 1776, 918; this number, however, included
many who were soon afterwards set off to Box-
borough, so that the number has not been so con¬
stant as would appear at first sight.
The valuation of the town was in 1860
$666,270; iu 1865,$602,720; in 1875,$707,835.
The town has been represented in the state sen¬
ate by Rev. Mr. Foster, Hon. Jonathan Hartwell,
and Hon. Joseph A. Harwood, who is now a mem¬
ber of the executive council, holding the highest
office yet attained by a citizen of Littleton.
The state-engineer of the Hoosac Tunnel, com-
HISTORY OR MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
pleted in 1875, was Benjamin D. Frost of this
town.
A few facts selected at random illustrate the
many changes in customs during a century. First,
the inventories of 1770 and 1771 give the number
of slaves owned as eight. A carriage was a great
luxury, and subject to a duty ; in 1786 the town
boasted two only, — both chaises. The selectmen
were empowered to warn out of town any persons
whom they thought likely to become paupers, or
for other reasons. In 1790, all persons who had
come to town since 1767 were warned out. The
chief items of expense for the funeral of the town's
first pauper were for kid gloves and rum !
The railroads running through the town are the
Fitchburg, with a station in the westerly part, dis¬
tant thirty-one miles from Boston, and the Stony
Brook, with a flag-station in the north part, distant
twelve miles from Lowell.
Since the building of the railroads the local
travel has gradually diminished, so that it does not
support a hotel, and the traveller through the town
must depend upon the hospitality of the citizens.
In former times there were many taverns ; the first,
kept by Samuel Hunt, is mentioned as early as
1722 ; it probably stood near the house of P. S.
Whitcomh. Another was the Lawrence tavern,
kept in the house now occupied by Henry Crane ;
the sign, on which was painted a soldier and the
words, " Pay To-day and Trust To-morrow," with
the date 1768, is still in the house. Others were
kept by John Fox and Captain Leonard Whiting
in the Centre, previous to the Eevolution; by
Saml. Gilbert, and afterwards by Captain Kidder,
called the Tremont House (where the Baptist par¬
sonage stands) ; by Simeon Proctor (where Solo¬
mon S. Flagg now lives), and by Madison Loring
(in the house now occupied by J. W. Adams)
and Samuel Smith on the Common in later
times. The Tremont House was struck by light¬
ning and burned in 1842 or 1843. Smith's hotel
was afterwards kept by J. M. Colhum, William
Chamherlin, Boynton Needham, and others, and
last by George D. Brown, who owned it when it
was burned in 1878. It had not been a public
house for a number of years.
The town has two cemeteries remaining; the
first, at Nashoha, having been long since dese¬
crated, as before mentioned. The one at the Com¬
mon was laid out in 1721 ; we give two of its
epitaphs : —
Memento Mcei
Here lies the Body of Db. Enoch Dole
op Lancaster, M 33 ybs. 5 mos. & 3 days,
he unfortunately fell with 3 others y* 9th of Mar. 1776 by
a Cannon Ball from our cruel & unnatural Foes y* British
Troops wliile on his Duty on Dorchester Point,
No warning giv'n, unceremonious fate !
A sudden rush from life's meridian joys I
A wrench from all we are, from all we love.
What a change From yesterday I
Thy darling hope so near (Long laboured prize)
Oh how ambition flushed Thy glowing cheek,
Ambition truly great, of virtuous praise.
And oh ! ye last (what can word express.
Thought reach) ye last last silence of a friend.
Meaning his entrance into Boston which so soon took
Place & on which his heart was much set.
Hebe lyes the body of Isaac Powers
One of those sweet and pleasant flowers
Who in his Lifetime Lived well.
But God did toll his mournfull bell
Let this be a call unto the rest
When God doth take from us the best
Who was a pattern to us all
But God can give a louder call
All Earthly Parents now behold
The price of Grace is more than gold
Prepare to meet yom- Children first
At the Besurection of the Just —
Who died December 15" 1729 in the 29" Year of his age.
LOWELL.
53
LOWELL.
BY ALPEED OILMAN.
OWELL, in Middlesex County,
State of Massachusetts, was
taken from the northeasterly
part of Chelmsford. It is sit¬
uated twenty-five miles north
by west from Boston, in latitude
42° 38' 46" north, longitude
71° 19' 2" west from Greenwich.
It is bounded on the north and
east by Dracut, on the east and
south by Tewksbury, and on
the south and west by Chelmsford. Its original
bounds, as defined in the charter, were as follows :
" Beginning at Merrimack Eiver, at a stone post,
about two hundred rods above the mouth of Paw-
tucket Canal, so called, thence running southerly
in a straight course, until it strikes the Middlesex
Canal, at a point ten rods above the canal bridge,
near the dwelling-house of Henry Coburn ; thence
southerly on said canal twenty rods ; thence a due
east course to a stone post at Concord Eiver."
Its area is 7,735 acres, or about twelve square
miles. Since its incorporation as a town, in 1826,
it has received two additions from Tewksbury on
the east, two from Dracut on the north and east,
and one from Chelmsford on the west. These addi¬
tions will be appropriately noticed.
The territory now belonging to the city of Lowell
was originally granted to Cambridge, June 2,1641,
and again June 14,1642. This grant was condi¬
tional. " All the land lying upon Shawshin Eyver,
and between that and Concord Eyver, and between
that and Merrimack Ryver, not formerly granted by
this Court, are granted to Cambridge, so as they
erect a village there within five years, and so as it
shall not extend to prejudice Charlestowne village,
or the village of Cochitawit" (Andover), etc. This
grant was confirmed absolutely March 7,1643-44,
and included the present town of Billerica, portions
of Bedford and Carlisle, and a part of Tewksbury
and Chelmsford, or of both. " All the land between
Concord and Merrimack rivers " includes Lowell. ■
In order to prevent confusion, it is well to state
that there were two villages of Indians inhabiting
the territory on which Lowell stands. The Wame-
sits occupied the land on both sides of Concord
Eiver, and the Pawtuckets, the region in the vi¬
cinity of Pawtucket Falls. They belonged to one
tribe. Allen, in his History of Chelmsford, says,
" It was customary to call those of the same nation
or tribe by the different names of the villages at
which they resided. Inattention to this circum¬
stance has introduced great uncertainty and con¬
fusion in those transactions of the town which
related to the Indians in Waniesit and Pawtucket.
They belonged to the same tribe, and, living so near
together, constituted but one village. They are
sometimes called Pawtuckets ; more commonly,
Wamesits."^
Lowell can claim no share in the patriotic efforts
that achieved our independence. The history of
these belongs to Chelmsford, Dracut, and Tewks¬
bury. The names of Ford, Walker, Spalding,
Parker, Varnum, and Clark are still held in vener¬
ation, and will continue to be until patriotism
ceases to be a virtue.
Two important enterprises, both connected with
the present territory of Lowell, were inaugurated
in the years 1792 and 1793. Dudley A. Tyng,
William Coombs, and others were incorporated as
The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Mer¬
rimack Eiver August 8, 1792, and James Sulli¬
van, Esq., and others were incorporated June 22,
1793, as The Proprietors of the Middlesex Canal.
The Locks and Canal Company was formed to
improve the navigation of Merrimack Eiver. The
great obstacle in the way, at this period, was Paw¬
tucket Falls. They were so precipitous, the current
so violent, and the rocks in the channel so abun¬
dant, that it was impossible, unless in time of a
freshet, to run lumber over them with any pros¬
pect of success. The water in Concord Eiver,
which enters the Merrimack below Pawtucket Falls,
is thirty-two feet lower than the water at the head
' For the early history of Lowell, sec articles Cambridge, Bil-
lerica, and Chelmsford, VoL I. — Ed.
54
HISTORY OF MIDHLESFX COUNTY.
of the falls in Merrimack River. Previous to the
building of the canal around Pawtucket Falls, the
lumber and wood that came down the Merrimack
had to be teamed around the falls and then made
up into rafts.
The canal was opened in 1796. Its length is
about one and one half miles, and it has four sets
of locks. Its direction is nearly east. It cost
$ 50,000, and the stock was divided into five hun¬
dred shares. The yearly dividend on these shares
varied from two to ten per cent. As it plays an
important part in the history of Lowell proper, it
will call for further notice.
At the opening, the directors, and other gen¬
tlemen who were invited, occupied a boat that was
to make the first trip through the locks. Hun¬
dreds stood around to witness the passage, — men,
women, and children. " Scarcely had they entered
the first lock," says Allen, "when the sides sud¬
denly gave way. The water, bursting upon the
spectators with great violence, carried many down
the stream. Infants were separated from their
mothers, children from their parents, wives from
their husbands, young ladies from their gallants,
and men, women, timber, broken boards, and planks
were seen promiscuously floating in the water
All came safely to land without any material in¬
jury."
During the year 1792 Parker Varnum of Dra-
cut and others, incorporated as The Proprietors
of the Middlesex Merrimack River Bridge, built
the first bridge across the Merrimack at Pawtucket
Falls. It was built of wood. Previous to this,
the conveyance across the river had been by a toll
ferry-boat. The average width of the river in
Chelmsford is about four hundred yards.
In May, 1792, a number of gentlemen held a
meeting to consider the project of "opening a
canal from the waters of the Merrimack, by Concord
River, or in some other way, through the waters
of Mystic River, to the town of Boston." There
were present at this meeting the Hon. James Sulli¬
van, Benjamin Hall, Willis Hall, Ebenezer Hall,
Jonathan Porter, Loammi Baldwin, Ebenezer Hall,
Jr., Andrew Hall, and Samuel Swan, Esq. Sulli¬
van, Baldwin, and Ebenezer Hall were chosen a
committee to obtain an act of incorporation. They
presented a petition to the General Court, and their
petition was granted in an act of incorporation
dated June 22, 1793, and on the same day it was
signed by John Hancock, governor of the com¬
monwealth. Hon. James Sullivan was chosen
president, Loammi Baldwin, Esq., and Hon. John
Brooks, vice-presidents.
The survey was completed August 2, 1794.
The work on the canal was prosecuted with great
caution from the commencement to the year 1803,
at which time it was so far completed as to be
navigable from the Merrimack to Charles River.
This canal was thirty-one miles long, thirty feet
wide, and three feet deep. It was fed by Concord
River, had seven aqueducts over rivers and brooks,
and twenty locks. The company had the privilege
of converting Concord River into a canal for twen¬
ty-three miles of its extent, through the towns of
Billerica, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, and Sudbury.
The improvements in the navigation of the
Merrimack in connection with the canal were : the
locks built at Wickasee Falls, round Tyng's Island,
which were afterwards rendered useless on account
of the back fiowage when Pawtucket Dam was
built ; the locks at Moor's Falls, at Little Cohoes,
at Short's Falls, at Moor's Big Falls, at Amoskeag
(now Manchester), at Hooksett Falls, Craven's
Falls, and Turkey Falls, a little below Concord.
Going up, those locks had to be used ; but, coming
down, the boats, in an ordinary state of water, ran
the falls.
In 1851 the proprietors surrendered their char,
ter, and in 1852 sold the property in sections, aqd
the owners of land on its borders were, in njpst
cases, the purchasers. On the 3d of Octpber,
1859, says Cowley, the proprietors were decjared,
by a decree of the Supreme Judicial Court, to have
forfeited all their franchises and privileges by rea¬
son of non-feasance, non-user, misfeasance, and
neglect.
beginning of manufactujes.
" In 1801 Moses Hale set up a carding-machine
in his mill on River Meadow Brook." This fact
is stated by Allen in his history of Chelmsford,
and is corroborated by Mr. Bernice S. Hale, one of
his (Moses Hale's) descendants, in a paper read
before the Old Residents' Historical Association,
November 10, 1876.
In 1807 sundry Masonic brethren from the
towns of Chelmsford, Dracut, and Tewksbury peti¬
tioned the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts for leave
to erect a lodge in Chelmsford at Pawtucket Falls.
The petition was granted, and a lodge organized
under the superintendence of Captain Isaac Coburn,
Master. It was consecrated in due form October 12,
1809, and called Pawtiicket Lodge in Chelmsford.
LOWELL.
55
In 1812 Mr. John Goulding invented "a very
curious loom for weaving boot-strapsj moved en¬
tirely by water." Mr. Goulding, who resided in
Worcester, gave the following account of his labors
in this vicinity : —
"I settled there in the year 1812, had a factory
built for me by Fletcher and Whiting, on Concord
Eiver ; hired it for eight years at $ 200 a year ;
carried on the business of spinning cotton yarn in
a small way, as all our manufacturing was done at
that time ; spun about twenty pounds of yarn per
day ; also had a carding-machine for carding cus¬
tom wool for spinning by hand, making what was
called homespun cloth ; carried on a machine-shop,
making cotton and wool machinery ; made looms
for weaving suspender webbing and boot webbing,
and a tape loom to weave thirty-six pieces at one
and the same time.
" The place was very thinly settled at that time,
— say Mr. Fletcher, Joseph Tyler, and Philip Ged-
ney, —just over into Tewksbury ; Major Fletcher,
William Warner, and Tavern House belonging to
the canal, and I think one other, were all the houses
that could be seen there at that time. I occu¬
pied the building I hired of Fletcher and Whiting
for some four years, when Mr. Thomas Kurd pur¬
chased it, and used it for making satinet. I built
a small mill on the canal property, and took water
from the canal, and made machinery there ; helped
fit up Kurd's mill. I moved from there just before
the Canal Company sold out to the present owners,
who came in possession and established Lowell.
Mr. Tyler built a grist-mill just below me on the
canal."
From the close of the Eevolutionary War to
1812, England had enjoyed an almost uninter¬
rupted monopoly in supplying the United States
with manufactured goods. The War of 1812 put a
stop to her trade with us ; and the attention of capi¬
talists was directed to supplying these goods for
home consumption. Mills were erected in various
localities, wherever a sufficient water-power could
be obtained for the purpose. Congress passed a law,
approved July 1, " adding one hundred per centum
to the permanent duties then levied upon imports,
with an additional ten per cent on goods imported
in foreign vessels," the effect of which was to en¬
hance the price of everything. It is curious to
look back to those days when families carded, spun,
and wove the cloth they wore. The autobiography
of a mill overseer, Daniel Knapp, throws a little
light on home-life in New England. "We had
cotton brought to our house by the bale, to pick to
pieces and get out the seeds and dirt. The children
had to pick so many pounds as a stint. We had
a whipping-machine made four square ; and about
three feet from the fioor was a bed-cord run across
from knob to knob, near together, on which we put
a parcel of cotton, and with two whip-sticks we
lightened it up and got out the dirt, and made it
ready for the card." In families the hand-card and
the one-thread spinning-wheel were in use. " There
was no chemical process of bleaching in the country
at this date. My mother put loops in the selvage
on both sides, and stayed the cloth down on the
green grass with sticks, so the wind should not
blow it about. When she had a quarter of an acre
spread out she would take her watering-pot and
sprinkle the whole ; and as soon as she got through
the lot, the first was ready for another sprinkling.
The bright sun drying up the water did the
bleaching."
In 1813 Captain Phineas Whiting and Colonel
Josiah Fletcher erected a building sixty feet long,
fifty feet wide, and forty feet high, for a cotton
manufactory, at an expense of $2,500, on Concord
River, about three hundred rods from its mouth.
This occupied the present site of the Middlesex
Mills ; and in 1818 it was sold to Thomas Kurd of
Charlestown. Kurd fitted it up for the manufac¬
ture of woollen goods, and employed twenty per¬
sons. The product from sixteen looms amounted
to about one hundred and twenty yards of satinet
per day. The whole process of carding, spinning,
weaving, and dyeing the cloth was completed in
this mill. Bishop says : " Kurd erected a brick
edifice, and converted both into a wooUen factory,
which ran fifty power looms, and was burned in
1826. It was rebuilt on a larger scale, and sold
in 1828 to the Middlesex Company."
In 1816 two new mills were built. Luke Bow¬
ers and son built a saw and grist-mill just below
the bridge, at Pawtucket Falls. Nathan Tyler
built a grist-miU on the canal near Concord River.
It is said that Captain John Ford had a saw-mill
at the mouth of Concord River. Captain Ford was
a tall, stout, rugged man. Tradition says .the In¬
dians held a grudge against him. One of them,
with the intent to kill the captain, was skulking
round the mill. Captain Ford was busy moving a
log with his grippers, when he caught sight of the
Indian near some logs. He kept on with his work
until the Indian approached him and stood up to
grasp him. The captain, concentrating his whole
56
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
strength, threw his hand round and knocked the
Indian into the stream. Captain Silas Tyler locates
the mill just below the bridge, at Pawtucket Falls.
In 1819 the road from Pawtucket Falls to the
head of the Middlesex Canal was built.
Before the progress of the waters of the Merri¬
mack to the sea had been checked and restrained by
dams, they bore in their bosom a bountiful source
of supply for the sustenance of not only the Indians,
but also the first English settlers. Within the
memory of the oldest inhabitant now living, the
Merrimack teemed with salmon, shad, alewives, and
eels. Occasionally a sturgeon was seen leaping,
in sportive activity, high in the air. This is what
one of the oldest inhabitants ^ says ; " The best haul
of fish I ever knew was eleven hundred shad and
eight or ten thousand alewives. This was in the
Concord Eiver, just below the Middlesex Mills.
Formerly there was what was called an island on
the Belvidere side of the bridge, near the mouth
of the Concord. Occasionally the water from Con¬
cord Eiver found a course down by the Owen house
and the old yellow Tavern House. There were four
fishing places, two above and two below the Con-
cord-Eiver bridge. Joe Tyler, my uncle, owned
those above, and Josiah Fletcher those below the
bridge. The first owner of the yellow Tavern
House was Brown. The house stood where St.
John's Hospital now stands. Brown sold to Cod¬
ing (Gedney?) of Boston; Gedney sold to Wood¬
ward, and Woodward sold to Major Whittemore^ of
West Cambridge; Whittemore sold to Livermore,
and Livermore sold to John and Thomas Nesmith.
" My uncle got so many alewives at one time
that he did not know what to do with them. He
made a box that we called a ' shot,' and filled it
full of alewives. This he attempted to run over
the falls^ but it struck a rock and spilled the
whole. The law allowed us to fish two days each
week in tlie Concord, and three in the Merrimack.
This law was enforced about the same as the pro¬
hibitory law of the present day ; and just about as
much attention was paid to it. The fish wardens
were the state police.
" The Dracut folks fished in the pond at the foot
of Pawtucket Falls. They would set their nets
there on the forbidden days. On one occasion the
fish wardens from Billerica came, took and carried
off their nets. The wardens, when they returned
to Billerica, spread the nets on the grass to .dry.
^ Captain Silas Tyler.
2 The inventor of the machines for making cards.
The next night the fishermen, in a wagon with a
span of horses, drove to Billerica, gathered up the
nets, brought them back, and reset them in the
pond.
" People would come 15 or 20 miles on fishing
days to procure these fish. Shad were worth five
dollars per hundred, salmon ten cents per pound."
In concluding the early history of Lowell, we
must note that the abundant water-power of the
Merrimack Eiver had been made available only for
the purpose of propelling the wheel of an insignifi¬
cant saw-mill near the Pawtucket Falls ; and this
was done, not by a regularly constructed dam and
canal, but by the current of an offshoot from the
falls themselves.
During the period over which we have taken the
reader, from 1810 to 1820, the calculation, fore¬
sight, and enterprise of one man had gradually
been so shaping the material interests of the state,
that he is now considered the author and father of
its system of manufactures. It is true that others,
with a laudable ambition, were engaged in the
same work ; but it is to his systematic efforts and
thorough appreciation of the people, their capa¬
bilities and wants, and the natural facilities they
possessed, that he was enabled to win success under
difficulties. Perhaps " he builded better than he
knew," having only the strong desire and hope of
making a fortune. The credit for results that re¬
dound to his honor cannot be denied.
Francis Cabot Lowell was born in Newburyport,
April 7, 1775. His father moved to Boston in
1776, and it was there that the son acquired his
education. The Lowells, it is said, were descended
from two brothers, Eichard and Percival Lowle,
who came from Bristol, England, in 1639 and set¬
tled at Newbury. The Eev. John Lowell, probably
a descendant of one of these, was pastor of the
first church in Newburyport for forty-two years.
He died in 1767, leaving—one son, John Lowell,
LL. D., who was born in Newbury, June 17, 1743
(0. S.), and graduated at Harvard College in
1760. He was appointed Judge of the United
States District Court for Massachusetts by Wash¬
ington, and was distinguished for his learning and
eloquence.
Francis Cabot Lowell, second son of Judge
Lowell, graduated at Harvard College in 1793, at
the age of eighteen. One of his classmates was
Charles Jackson, afterwards judge, a* brother of Pat¬
rick Tracy Jackson, whose sister Lowell married.
Very little is known of his early life; it is not
LOWELL.
57
until he had arrived at the age of thirty-six that we
know about him. John A. Lowell speaks of him as
" a young man at that time (1810), thirty-five years
of age, whose business had been that of a merchant,
but who had been driven from his business, at first
by the Embargo, afterwards by the Non-intercourse
Act, and finally by war." Hon. Nathan Appleton
met him in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1811 ; and it
was then that Mr. Lowell communicated his de¬
termination to obtain all possible information on
the subject of the manufacture of cotton, with the
purpose of introducing it into the United States.
Mr. Appleton says, " I urged him to Jo so, and
promised him my co-operation." In the fulfilment
of his purpose we can imagine how persistently he
investigated the whole process of manufacturing
cotton as known in England and Scotland. Wil¬
liam Horrocks of Stockport had patented a power-
loom in 1803, another in 1805, and another,
with improvements, in 1813. These so alarmed
the hand-loom weavers in England and Scotland,
that they destroyed many of them. Mr. Lowell
undoubtedly improved his opportunities ; and,
although the construction of these looms was kept
secret, he obtained sufficient information to enable
him to construct one. He returned home in 1812.
It was to Patrick Tracy Jackson he first imparted
his designs, and offered a share in the enterprise.
Mr. Appleton says of Lowell ; " He and Patrick
T. Jackson came to me one day on the Boston
Exchange, and stated that they had determined to
establish a cotton factory ; that they had purchased
a water-power in Waltham (Bemis's paper-mill),
and that they had obtained an act of incorporation,
and Mr. Jackson had agreed to give up all other
business and take the management of the coneern."
Associating themselves with some of the most in¬
telligent merchants of Boston, they procured in
February, 1813, a charter under the name of The
Boston Manufacturing Company, with a capital of
one hundred thousand dollars.
It appears that immediately after Mr. Lowell's
return be had at once gone to work to construct
a loom ; but he found its construction no easy
task. Without patterns, or even drawings, so far
as we know, each part had to be planned and
tried, altered and rearranged, until the whole as¬
sumed the shape of a maehine. We are told that
" many little matters were to be overcome or ad¬
justed before -it would work perfectly." Mr.
Appleton says : " Mr. Lowell said to me that he
did not wish me to see it until it was complete, of
which he would give me notice. .Vt length the
time arrived. He invited me to go out with him
and see the loom operate. 1 well recollect the
state of admiration and satisfaction with which we
sat by the hour watching the beautiful movement
of this new and wonderful machine, destined, as it
evidently was, to change the character of all textile
industry. This was in the autumn of 1814."
The great obstacle to the use of the power-loom,
at that time, proved to be dressing the yarn ; it
required a man at each loom to dress the warp
as it unrolled from the beam. This rendered it
necessary to stop the loom while the man was
doing it. This difficulty was removed by the in¬
vention of an ingenious mode of dressing the warp
before it was placed in the loom. Mr. Lowell
procured from England a drawing of Horrocks'
dressing-frame, and Mr. Moody, whose services
he had secured, made an improvement which more
than doubled its efficiency, — a very ingenious
machine called a warper, that wound the threads
from the bobbins on the beam. After this there
was no further difficulty in running a power-loom.
" The greatest improvement was in the double-
speeder. The original fly-frame introduced in
England was without any fixed principle for regu¬
lating the changing movements necessary in the
process of filling a spool. Mr. LoweU undertook
to make the numerous mathematical calculations
necessary to give accuracy to these complicated
movements, which occupied him constantly for
more than a week. Mr. Moody carried them into
effect by constructing the machinery in conform¬
ity The last great improvement consisted in
a more slack spinning on throstle spindles, and the
spinning of filling directly on the cops without the
process of winding."
Samuel Batchelder, in his work on cotton man¬
ufacture, relates the following anecdote : "Mr.
Moody also stated to me another incident respect¬
ing the construction and completion of the dressing-
frame. At first they had used wooden rollers
where the threads of the warp were submitted to
the action of the size ; but being constantly wet,
the wood swelled and warped, so that the rolls
would not fit accurately. They then tried covering
the rollers with metal, by casting a coat of pewter
on the outside ; but after various methods of cast¬
ing, sometimes in sand, and sometimes in a mould
made of iron, they were still found to be imperfect.
He at length thought of making a mould of soap-
stone in which to cast them. Meeting his brother
58
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
David in Boston, who had known the trouble he
had experienced, he said to him, ' I think I shall
get over the difficulty about the rollers ; I intend
to try soapstone,' — meaning for a mould to cast
them in. His brother replied, 'Well, I should
think soapstone would made a very good roller.'
Mr. Moody made no reply, but took the hint, and
made his rollers of soapstone, and they are in gen¬
eral use."
They had one loom in operation, and it threw
off the cotton cloth so fast, that they were fearful
the production would exceed the demand. Mr.
Lowell thought the goods would not sell ; they
called on Mrs. Bowers, who kept the only shop in
Boston where domestic goods were sold, and she
said everybody praised the goods, and no ob¬
jection was made to the price ; but still she made
no sale. Mr. Appleton had previously formed a
copartnership with Benjamin C. Ward, for the
purpose of importing British goods. He told
Mr. Lowell to send the next parcel to the store of
B. C. Ward & Co. Although Mr. Lowell was will¬
ing to take twenty-five cents per yard for the
goods, they were put into an auction-room, and
brought "something over thirty cents." This was
the commencement of the practice of consigning
goods to a house to sell on commission.
The whole economy of a cotton-mill was regu¬
lated by Mr. Lowell; the different processes fol¬
lowed each other with the regularity of a clock.
His studies led him to a systematic division of
labor, and the difficulties he had to encounter
taught him that, if he would succeed in his under¬
taking, he must adopt the- strictest economy. He
had seen manufacturing establishments in the Old
World, and the glitter of wealth growing out of
their operations ; but this, did not hide from his
view the miserable condition of the operatives.
Believing that such a state of things did not legiti¬
mately belong to manufacturing establishments, he
conceived of a commimity where neatness and com¬
fort, pleasant residences and happy homes, churches
and school-houses, good, wholesome food and
decent clothing, were all to be found. In the es¬
tablishment at Waltham he endeavored to give
"a local habitation and a name" to his conception.
Mr. Lowell died September 2,1817,-at the early
age of forty-two, " beloved and respected by all
who knew him."
Stimulated by the success of the business at
Waltham, and sanguine that the time would come
when the United States could compete with Great
Britain in the manufacture of cotton goods, Pat¬
rick T. Jackson, who succeeded Mr. Lowell in the
management at Waltham in 1820, began to look
round for a locality where the business might be
extended as soon as the capabilities of Charles
Eiver should be exhausted.
In 1820-21, as has been stated, Patrick T. Jack¬
son and his associate, Hon. Nathan Appleton, were
looking for a water-power in order to extend the
manufacturing business. They had been enabled,
by the association of capital and their improved
machinery, to withstand the financial pressure that
crushed so many cotton and woollen manufac¬
turers in New England after the war, and looked
forward to an improved state of things. Mr.
Lowell, as early as 1816, had not favored a very
high rate of duty on foreign goods ; he beheved
that the improvements in machinery and economy
in management operated as a protection.; In 1819
the price of domestic cottons had fallen almost one
third from 1816; yet the Boston Manufacturing
Company were enabled to make a dividend of five
per cent in 1820, a time of unusual depression.
Mr. Appleton says : " At the suggestion of Mr.
Charles H. Atherton of Amherst, N. H., we met
him at a fall of the Souhegan Eiver, a few miles
from its entrance into the Merrimack; but the fall
was insufficient for our purpose. This was in
September, 1821. In returning, we passed the
Nashua Eiver without being aware of the existence
of the fall, which has since been made the source
of so much power by the Nashua Compan^^ We
only saw a small grist-mill standing near the road,
in the meadow, with a dam of some six or seven
feet. Soon after our return I was at Waltham
one day, when I was informed that Mr. Moody had
lately been at Salisbury, when Mr. Ezra Worthen,
his former partner, said to him, ' I hear Messrs.
Jackson and Appleton are looking out for a water-
power; why don't they buy up the Pawtucket
Canal? That would give them the whole power
of the Merrimack, with a fall of over thirty feet.'
On the strength of this, Mr. ,Moody had returned
to Waltham by that route, and was satisfied of the
extent of the power which might he thus obtained."
We have a record of the first visit of Paul
Moody to the Pawtucket Falls, written in 1843,
by the venerable rector of St. Anne's Church,
Eev. Theodore Edson, related to him by one of the
party, Mrs. Susan (Moody) Dana.. " An arrange¬
ment was made for Mr. and Mrs. Worthen to take
a chaise and accompany Mr. and Mrs. Moody to
Nathan Appleton.
KIrk Boott.
LOWELL.
61
Pawtucket Falls ; but John Worthen being taken
ill Mrs. Worthen could not go, wherefore Mr.
Worthen went in one chaise, and Mr. and Mrs.
Moody and Susan in the other. When they came
to the foot of Hunt's Palls, the gentlemen got out
to look round, while Mrs. Moody and Susan sat
in the chaise. They then came up to Mr. Jona¬
than Tyler's to dine. He kept the public-house at
that time. After dinner they rode out again, went
up the river and reconnoitred the Pawtucket Palls
and neighborhood to their satisfaction. The two
friends parted, and Mr. Worthen went home to
Amesbury."
Eeturuing to Mr. Appleton's narrative : " Our
first visit to the spot was in the month of Novem¬
ber, 1821, and a slight snow covered the ground.
The party consisted of Patrick T. Jackson, Kirk
Boott, Warren Dutton, Paul Moody, John W.
Boott, and myself. We perambulated the grounds
and scanned the capabilities of the place, and the
remark was made that some of us might live to
see the place contain twenty thousand inhabi¬
tants."
In Kirkland's Anecdotes will be found the fol¬
lowing amusing notice of Kirk Boott: "When
the prospect of founding a large, manufacturing
town on the Merrimack Eiver was in contempla¬
tion, some of the persons interested in that great
commercial enterprise sent up Mr. B , a young
gentleman skilled as an engineer, and who was
also fond of sporting, to view the water-privilege
carefully, and to make inquiry as to the prices of
land in the vicinity. He went with his dog, gun,
and fishing-tackle, and obtained board in a farmer's
house, a Mr. P . He spent his time in view¬
ing the falls, the canal, the river, and the grounds,
with occasional fowling and fishing. After spend¬
ing some time there, in talking with the farmer
one evening he told him that he liked the place
very well, and thought he should be pleased to
come and live there. The man said 'he should
be pleased to have him.' ' Well, Mr. P , what
will you take for your farm?' 'Why, I don't
want to sell it, Mr. B , nor would I unless I
got twice what it is worth, as I am satisfied here,
and don't want to move.' ' WeU, what do you say
it is worth, Mr. P ? ' ' Why, it's worth fifteen
hundred dollars, and I can't sell it for less than
three thousand dollars.' ' That is too much,' said
Mr. B , 'I can't give that.' ' Very well, you
need not.' Here the conversation ended.
"Mr. B continued his sporting, and having
received his instructions, in the course of a few
days renewed his talk with Mr. P , and said
to him, ' Well, Mr. P , I have made up my
mind that I should bke to live here very well ; and
though you ask so much, I will take up with your
offer, and give you three thousand dollars.' ' Why,
as to that, Mr. B , you did not take my farm
when I offered it to you, and I am not willing to
sell it now for anything less than six thousand
dollars.' 'You are joking, Mr. P !' 'Not
so, Mr. B ; I am in earnest, and I sha' n't
continue my offer more than twenty-four hours.'
B , finding he was determined, went off for
instructions, and the next day told Mr. P he
would give him six thousand dollars. The pur¬
chase was made, deed passed, and money paid.
" Some time afterward Mr. B asked the farm¬
er what reason he had in the course of a few days
to double the price of his farm, and to insist upon
it. ' Why, Mr. B , I will tell you ; a day or
two after I offered you the farm for three thousand
dollars I saw two men on the opposite side of
Merrimack Eiver, sitting on a rock, and talking for
some time ; then they got up and one went up tiie
river and the other down, and after some time they
returned, seemed in earnest conversation half an
hour or more, when they arose and went away.
I did not know what it meant, but I thought
something was in the wind, and I determined if you
asked me again to sell my farm, I would demand
double the price.' Thus began the purchase, by
Boston merchants, of the land upon which the city
of Lowell has been erected."
General Butler, in his address at the semi-cen¬
tennial celebration, says: "First and foremost of the
remarkable men who were its [Lowell's] founders
stands the name of Kirk Boott I have said
that the early engineers reported no water-power
here, and it remained for an English half-pay
cavalry officer, wandering along the side of our
fall, rod in hand, casting the fly for the salmon, to
discover and appreciate the mechanical force of a
river which now does the work of ten thousand
horses Kirk Boott reported this view of
the capabilities of the Merrimack Eiver to Patrick
T. Jackson, which view was confirmed by Paul
Moody."
John A. Lowell, in his address on the same oc¬
casion, says : " I should be the last person to say
one word in depreciation of Kirk Boott. He was
my bosom-friend, and I was his trustee. I would
not say anything to detract from his credit j but
62
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
it is no more true as a matter of fact, that he made
the first experiment in joint-stock companies in
carrying on the cotton manufacture, than it is true
that he went out with a fishing-line and found that
there was a water-power at Chelmsford. I pretend
to know all about that thing. The first person
who suggested this place was Ezra Worthen. Paul
Moody knew nothing about it. Mr. Moody and
Mr. Jackson came up afterwards, and saw the place.
It is not true that Mr. Boott was the first to sug¬
gest it. So far from it, the whole purchase was
made of the Pawtucket Canal, and of most of the
farms here, before Mr. Kirk Boott had set foot on
the spot."
It will be seen that Mr. Appleton and Mr. J. A.
Lowell do not agree in regard to Mr. BootPs par¬
ticipation in viewing the premises.
February 6, 1822, the legislature granted " an
act to incorporate the Merrimack Manufacturing
Company." Kirk Boott, William Appleton, John
W. Boott, and Ebenezer Appleton were the persons
named in the act. The capital was $600,000. A
personal-liability clause was inserted in the charter,
"that every person who shall become a member
of said corporation shall be liable in his private
capacity, after his membership may have ceased,
for all debts contracted during the time he was
a member of said corporation."
Up to this time they had purchased six hundred
and thirty-nine shares in the Pawtucket Canal or
Locks and Canals Company, for which they paid
$30,607.62 ; the Tyler farm for $8,000, the Josiah
Fletcher farm for $6,860, the Joseph Fletcher
farm or land for $1,230.62, and eight tenths of
Cheever's land for $ 1,605. These sums, with
$2,700 paid to N. Wright, $647.80 paid to T. M.
Clark, and other incidental expenses, amounted to
$69,815.62.1
In 1822 a dam was built across the Merrimack
at Pawtucket Falls, and the main canal enlarged
^ There has been a story current for a long time that Thomas
Hurd. reputed to be a shrewd operator, being in Boston about
the time these lands were bought, overheard a conversation
that led him to hasten back to Chelmsford, seeure the refusal of
the Bowers saw-mill near Pawtucket Bridge, and of land in that
vicinity. The story is corroborated by the record of the doings
of the directors of the Merrimack Manufacturing Company ; for
July 29, 1822, the directors received a proposal from Mr. Hurd
of Chelmsford relative to his purchases at Pawtucket Bridge,
which was referred to a committee. August 17,1822, Mr. Kurd's
mill at Pawtucket Bridge and sundry parcels of land adjoining
were purchased. Hurd at that time bought Artemas Holden's
place, but he failed without paying for it, — a serious loss to
Mr. Holden. We shall hear from Hurd again.
to a width of sixty-five feet and a depth of eight
feet. The locks were renewed, and the Merrimack
and Hamilton canals were commenced. Five hun¬
dred men were employed. These improvements
cost $120,000.
The Lowell Journal, March 10, 1826, in an ac¬
count of these operations, says : " In digging this
canal ledges were found considerably below the
old canal, which bore evident traces of its having
ouce been the bed of the river. Many places were
found worn in the ledge, as there usually are in
falls, by stones kept constantly in motion by the
water ; some of these cavities were a foot or more
in diameter, and two feet deep."
This year Jonathan C. Morrill was appointed
postmaster at East Chelmsford, and continued to
hold the office until 1829.
September I, 1823, the first mill on the Merri¬
mack was completed, water let into the canal, and
the wheel started. The first cloth was turned out
in November of this year. October 9 started the
first cards on the Merrimack.
There was no suitable public-house in the place
at this time. The Stone House, where company was
received and entertained, was erected soon after this.
June 18, 1824, Ezra Worthen, while giving
directions to his workmen, dropped dead. War¬
ren Colburn was appointed to the place made
vacant by his death. The company gave Mr.
Worthen's widow $750, the amount of his salary
for six months.
At this time the establishment of another com¬
pany, to be called the Hamilton Manufacturing
Company, was proposed. The Merrimack Com¬
pany voted to charge the new company thirty dol¬
lars per spindle, including machinery and land,
or four dollars per spindle for land without ma¬
chinery.
October 25, 1824, J. B. Varnum erected a wing
dam near the foot of Pawtucket Falls, on the
Dracut side of the river, and the Merrimack Manu¬
facturing Company remonstrated, asserting its right
te the whole falls; but remonstrance being of
no avail. May 3, 1825, the agent was author¬
ized to purchase the land in Dracut of J. B. Yar-
num. This was another of Mr. Hurd's plans, and
Mr.,Varnum was selected to assist him in carrying
it out. Relying upon the current created by the
dam, he attempted to drive a water-wheel by that
current, and in 1825 and 1826 built a mill on the
spot, the foundation of which still remains. June
1, 1825, the Warren estate was sold to Hurd by
LOWELL.
63
the Merrimack Company, a quit-claim given, and
also water from the Hamilton Canal, at the rate of
four dollars per spindle. After Kurd's mill, on
the Concord River, was burned, the mill at the
foot of Pawtucket Falls was taken down and re¬
built on the site of the one burned. The canal,
through which Mr. Kurd's mill drew its supply
of water from the Hamilton Canal, crossed Central
Street at the foot of Jackson Street, to the rear
and south of Kurd Street into the "Warren Street
Canal. The recent building improvements on Cen¬
tral Street unearthed the remains of this conduit.
Thvo persons, Callender and Whipple, committed
suicide by drowning in this conduit.
From 1821 to 1826 the records of the Merrimack
Company constitute the history of the period, and
the writer is under obligation to the treasurer, C. K.
Dalton, Esq., of Boston, for permission to consult
them. As early as November 22, 1824, the sub¬
ject of a new township occupied the minds of the
directors, and a committee was appointed to con¬
sider the expediency of petitioning the legislature
to have a certain part of Chelmsford set off as a
separate township.
The Merrimack Print-Works were started in the
autumn of 1824, under the charge of Mr. Allan
Pollock. He resigned in 1826, and Mr. Boott
went to England to secure engravers. Mr. True
Wiggin had secured the services of J. D. Prince,
who continued in the position of superintendent
until 1855, and then retired on an annuity of
$2,000. He died suddenly January 5, 1860.
Mr. Prince enjoyed the reputation of a generous-
hearted English gentleman, and a faithful servant
to the company. The second mill on the Merri¬
mack was started in 1824. The machinery for it
was built at Waltham.
February 28, 1825, the Proprietors of the Mer¬
rimack Manufacturing Company voted to transfer
the water-power, lands, etc., to a new company, to
be called The Locks and Canals Company. " In
1826, finding it inconvenient to carry on under
one management a large manufacturing establishr
ment and a land and water power enterprise, the
property was divided. The Proprietors of Locks
and Canals, under the authority of an act of the
legislature, taking the land, water-power, and ma¬
chine-shop, and the Merrimack Company retaining
their mills and print-works, with laud and water-
power sufficient for their purposes.
"Under the new arrangement, with Kirk Boott
for its treasurer and agent, the Proprietors of Locks
and Canals sold mill sites and water-power to the
manufacturing companies, as they were chartered,
from time to time ; also, in most cases, building
the mills and machinery for them ; they also sold
budding-lots as the growth of the place demanded.
Kirk Boott died in 1837 ; he was succeeded, as
treasurer, for a short time, by Joseph Tilden.
From 1838 to 1845 Patrick T. Jackson (son of
the Hon. Jonathan Jackson of Newburyport, the
first president of the original Locks and Canals
Company) held the office of treasurer. In 1845
the Proprietors of Locks and Canals, having dis¬
posed of all the permanent water-power, nearly all
the available building-lots, and the machine-shop,
their only remaining property of much importance
was their interest in the water-power. To control
this, the manufacturing companies bought up all
the shares of their stock."
January 26, 1825, the Hamilton Manufactur¬
ing Company was incorporated with a capital of
$600,000. The associates named in the act were
Samuel Batchelder, Benjamin Gorham, William
Appleton, William Sturgis, and John Lowell, Jr.
From time to time the capital has been increased
to $1,250,000.
Under Mr. Batchelder^ the power-loom was
applied to weaving cotton drilling and other twilled
goods. " It waa an entirely new article upon the
market ; nothing of the kind had previously been
imported or manufactured in this country It
sold readily at nineteen and one quarter cents per
yard, and the treasurer of the company made a
contract for all that could be made for six months
at sixteen cents." This business was so profitable
that the directors were considering the practica¬
bility of changing the machinery of the Appletou
Mills, but concluded, on account of the expense,
to build new mills. The result was the Suffolk
Company in 1831.
In 1804 a man by the name of Robbins, one
of Mr. Slater's workmen, built a mill on the
Souhegan River, in New Ipswich. In 1807 an¬
other mill was built on the same stream by Seth
Nason, Jesse Kolton, and Samuel Batchelder; it
went into operation in 1808. These were the first
cotton-miUs built in the state of New Hampshire.
From what was known of Ezra Worthen's consti¬
tution and health, it was thought that his death
would be sudden. Mr. Batchelder had been
^ Samuel Batchelder came to East ChelmsfQi*d iu 1825. He
was bom iu Jaffrey, N. H., in 1784, and died at Cambridge Feb¬
ruary 5, 1879, aged uiuety-tive yeai*s.
64
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
spoken to by Nathan Appleton, in case of Mr. Wor-
then's decease, to take his place. Mr. Batchelder
came to Chelmsford as soon as it was proposed to
form the Hamilton Company, and superintended
the erection of all the buildings for that company.
The memorable events of 18¿5 were the or¬
ganization of an independent military company,
called the Mechanic Phalanx, the incorporation of
the Central Bridge Company and of the Middlesex
Mechanic Association. The third mill on the Mer¬
rimack Corporation was started with a complete
set of machinery made in the machine-shop under
the superintendence of Mr. Moody. May 18, the
first dividend of profits of ten per cent, or one
hundred dollars per share, was declared by the
Merrimack Company; and December 1, another
dividend of seventy-five dollars on each share was
made. December 30, the terms of separation were
agreed upon by the townsmen of Chelmsford. The
name of " Merrimack " was to be given to the new
town. The editor of the Journal suggested that
of La Grange. Mr. Appletou states when, where,
and how the name originated: "In 1826 I met
Mr. Boott [in Lowell] one day, when he said to
me that the committee of the legislature were ready
to report the bill. It only remained to fill the
blank with the name. He said he considered the
question narrowed down to two, Lowell or Derby.
I said to him, 'then Lowell by all means'; and
Lowell it was."
The directors of the Merrimack Company appro¬
priated the sum of $500 to purchase books toward
the formation of a library; and Kirk Boott, War¬
ren Colburn, and Eev. Theodore Edsou were ap¬
pointed a committee to lay out that sum for the
purpose.
municipal history.
We have already described the boundaries of the
new town ; now we turn to the terms of separation
said to have been agreed upon by the townsmen
of Chelmsford. We can very readily imagine the
anxious participation of such men as Kirk Boott
and Nathan Appleton in the deliberation of these
important questions.
The Merrimack Company had nearly completed
five factories, three of which were filled with ma¬
chinery in full operation, and two large buildings
for print-works. They were using 450,000 pounds
of cotton, and making 2,000,000 yards of cotton
cloth per annum. The cloth was bleached, and
three fourths of it dyed and printed. The Hamil¬
ton Company had erected one factory and laid the
foundations for the second. They had erected two
blocks of houses, with eight tenements in each;
and were preparing to erect two more, one hundred
and ninety-three feet in length and thirty-six feet
in width. They had built a counting-house, store¬
house, and a dwelling for the agent. These were
all of brick roofed with slate. By a regulation of
the proprietors, all buildings more than ten feet
high, hereafter to be erected upon any of the lands
then belonging to them, must be of stone or brick,
with a slated roof.
Five families moved off the ground occupied by
the Merrimack Company ; 1,500 persons were now
accommodated on the same ground. There were
now, in all, one hundred tenements erected for
those employed in the factories, print-works, and
machine-shop. In the tenements of the Merri¬
mack Company there were 967 persons ; 299 males
and 668 females: in those of the machine-shop
were 263; 162 males and 101 females. It was
estimated that the population at that time was
2,500. In addition to this, Belvidere, separated
from Lowell by the Concord Elver, contained a
population of 300 or 400. There were already a
dozen stores in the place, a church, a stone house
almost ready for the rector, a school-house, and
two hotels, — the Stone House and Frye's Tavern.
March 2, 1826, Joseph Locke, justice of the
peace, issued a warrant directed to Kirk Boott,
authorizing him to call a meeting of the freeholders
and other inhabitants, to choose town officers, to
vote for register of deeds, and agree upon the man¬
ner of calling future town-meetings. Mr. Boott's
return is dated March 6, the day of the meeting,
which was held at Balch and Cobum's tavern, the
" Stone House." Kirk Boott was chosen moder¬
ator, Samuel A. Coburn towm-clerk, and Nathaniel
Wright, Samuel Batchelder, and Oliver M. Whip-
pie selectmen. .Artemas Holden was chosen treas¬
urer, and Luther Marshall constable.
Up to this time (1826) the affairs of this com¬
munity had been managed by the resident agents
of the companies. No doubt, in their view, it was
their prescriptive right. The companies had done
much for the weKare of the people gathered here :
building, and maintaining a church and school-
houses, purchasing books for a library, and doing
everything necessary for the religious, moral, and
physical well-being o'f the people. Incorporation
as a township brought another element to the sur¬
face ; the people found that theif were, themselves,
LOWELL.
65
called apon to participate in the management of
affairs. It is not strange, therefore, that there
should be occasionally a wide divergence of opinion,
resulting, not in a feeling of hostility to the pecun¬
iary interests of the companies, but in a desire to
carry out and perfect what the companies had so
generously begun. On the part of the agents, the
desire of directing and controlling all matters in¬
volving the expenditure of money may have been
prompted by prudential motives, as the companies
were the heaviest and almost the only possessors
of taxable property. By them, therefore, all pub¬
lic burdens would have to be borne. It is neces¬
sary to keep this fact in view.
At the first town-meeting, March 6, 1826, Oliver
M. Whipple, Warren Colburn, Henry Coburn, Jr.,
Nathaniel Wright, and John Fisher were appointed
a committee to divide the town into school and
highway districts. The committee reported at the
next meeting, April 3, proposing its division into
five school districts. The school-houses were lo¬
cated as follows : District No. 1, where the new
Green School-house now stands; No. 2, at the
Falls, near the hospital; No. 3, near the pound;
No. 4), near Hale's mills, called the Bed School-
house; and No. 5, on Central Street, south of
Hurd Street. At this meeting (April 3) Theo¬
dore Edson, Warren Colhurn, Samuel Batchelder,
John 0. Green, and Elisha Huntington were elected
school committee; and the town appropriated
$1,000 for the support of the schools. Dr. Ed-
son says : " One of the districts. No. 3, was very
small, not comprising more than about sixteen
pupils. In 1823, the year previous to the incor¬
poration of Lowell, the town of Chelmsford ap¬
propriated for schools in this whole region, which
was reckoned one district, the sum of $113.50."
At the town-meeting. May 8, a proposition was
made and carried, that the school-money be dis¬
tributed in proportion to the taxes paid from each
district, provided that where the sum for any dis¬
trict amounted to less than $112, it be made up to
that sum.
The establishment of schools on a more liberal
foundation, and their regulation, became a matter
of heated controversy between the new town
authorities and the representatives of the mill cor¬
porations, who opposed large expenditures for new
school-houses and for their maintenance, the bur¬
den of which would fall chiefly upon their corpora¬
tions, and from which they would derive little direct
benefit. A long struggle terminated in a vote of
the town to build two new school-houses, at a cost
of $20,000.
Early in 1826 a stage line was established be¬
tween Middlesex Village and Boston, to run three
times a week. April 10, a stage ran from LoweU
to Boston daily. June 30, Hurd's mill (woollen
factory) and machine-shop were destroyed by fire.
December 15, Central Bridge, across the Merrimack
Biver, was finished so as to be passable. Its length,
500 feet; span of centre arch, 180 feet; two outer
arches, 160 feet each. Luke S. Band was architect
and builder.
February 9, 1827, the postmaster-general estab¬
lished a daily mail between Lowell and Boston,
and one every other day from Salem, Newburyport,
Worcester, and Concord, N. H.
March 1, the first savings-bank originated with
the Merrimack Company. All persons in the em¬
ployment of the company could, if they chose, al¬
low their wages to remain ; and on the amount so
remaining they were allowed interest at six per cent
per annum, payable semi-annually. The company's
pay-day was the Saturday before the 16th of each
month; all sums left were to go on interest the
16th. Books received at the counting-room were
vouchers. The deposits were not to exceed $100
at any one time, and the whole received on any one
name not over $1,000. Payments were made at
all times. The interest on money deposited ceased
when the depositor left the employment of the com¬
pany, and did not draw the principal. The rules
allowed the company to demand one week's notice.
This plan was suspended July 7, 1829. According
to Samuel Batchelder, the Hamilton Company tried
this experiment : " After one of the Hamilton Mills
was in operation, I found tliat those in our employ
suffered such frequent loss of their money by having
in their boarding-houses no safe place to keep it,
that I allowed them to deposit it with the company
on interest, and opened books for the purpose, on
the plan of a savings-bank. After a time, Mr.
Nathan Appleton suggested that it might be doubt¬
ful whether our charter would authorize this; I
accordingly prepared a petition to the legislature
for the incorporation of a savings-bank. On re¬
ceiving the charter, I notified a meeting, at my office,
of the petitioners and any others that felt an inter¬
est in the subject, to take measures for the accept¬
ance of the act of incorporation. According to my
recollection, there were only five persons present :
Mr. Colburn, Mr. Carney, Mr. Nichols, Mr. Beard,
and myself. It was suggested that if so little
66
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
interest was felt in the matter, it was hardly worth
while to organize ; but Mr. Carney was willing to
act as treasurer, and we concluded to appoint our¬
selves trustees, and make the experiment. A few
months after this the town of Lowell decided to
build a town-house, and wanted to borrow the
money for the purpose, which we decided to lend
them. The sum, I think, was $17,000."
This was the origin of the Lowell Institution for
Savings, which was incorporated in October, 1829.
James G. Carney was treasurer until his death in
1869. Dr. Green, president of the Old Eesidents'
Historical Association, in alluding to this event,
says : " The record of forty years at the head of
our oldest savings institution will not show a sin¬
gle dollar lost of the millions which have passed
through Mr. Carney's hands, and not a figure re¬
quiring to be changed in nineteen ledgers of nearly
one thousand pages each ! "
July 23, the first Universalist society was
formed. A committee was chosen to manage the
concerns of the society, consisting of Captain John
Bassett, Benjamin Melvin, James Derby, David
Cook, and Winthrop Howe. Thomas J. Green¬
wood was secretary. The second meeting was
held in the Merrimack Company's school-house.
February 4, 1828, the Appleton Company was
incorporated, with a capital of $600,000. Thomas
H. Perkins, Ebenezer Francis, and Samuel Apple-
ton were named in the act.
February 8, the Lowell Manufacturing Com¬
pany was incorporated, with a capital of $ 300,000,
since increased to $2,000,000. Frederick Cahot,
William Whitney, and Eichard C. Cabot were named
in the act. The history of the carpet manufacture
is of great interest, but our space does not permit
an extended review of its progress in this country.
Messrs. Henry Burdett and Alexander Wright
established a small carpet manufactory at Medway.
Mr. Wright afterwards sold his interest to Mr.
Burdett, who in turn sold the whole property to
Frederick Cabot and Patrick T. Jackson. Messrs.
Cabot and Jackson, after, the organization of the
Lowell Manufacturing Company, sold the mill and
machinery at Medway to the new company. While
the buildings were being erected in Lowell, the
works in Medway were kept in operation, under
the superintendence of Mr. Wright. Our towns¬
man, Peter Lawson, had charge of the designing
department at Medway, and continued that relation
to the company for many years after he came to
Lowell. The company have looms, invented by E.
B. Bigelow, for weaving Brussels carpeting. They
manufacture also heavy shoe-lastings and worsted
goods, a new branch of industry in Lowell. The
original capital of $300,000 has been increased to
$2,000,000.
Dr. Elisha Bartlett delivered the 4th of July
oration. October 6, the Lowell Bank was incor¬
porated, with a capital of $200,000.
January 7, 1829, the Merrimack Company's mill
was destroyed by fire. At this time the machine-
shop was busy on the Hamilton Company's ma¬
chinery ; but the agent of the Merrimack Company
was authorized to make an agreement with the
Hamilton to give way to the necessity of the Mer¬
rimack.
At the town-meeting, March 2, $1,000 was
appropriated to purchase a fire-engine and hose.
April 6, the town voted to build a town-house,
and May 4, Messrs. Boott, Moody, Jonathan Tyler,
Elisha Glidden, and Elisha Ford were appointed a
building committee. May 21, the town voted to
borrow $18,000 for this purpose, and to petition
for the incorporation of a fire department.
May 4, the town acted on the petition of John
LoweU, Jr., and others to be annexed to Lowell.
John Lowell, Jr., a son of Francis C. Lowell, came
here with the intention of making Lowell his home.
He had planned a magnificent structure to be lo¬
cated in Belvidere, just below the residence built
by Samuel Lawrence, now owned by General B. F.
Butler, where he no doubt intended to spnd the
remainder of his days. The keep, or house, at the
entrance of his grounds is still standing, and was
once owned or occupied by the late A. L. Brooks.
It was thus early that he petitioned for the annexa¬
tion of Belvidere. The vote stood ninety in favor
of and fifty against the petition.
February 25, Mr. Lowell of Boston introduced
an order in the legislature to consider the expe¬
diency of constructing a railroad from Boston to
Lowell. In consequence of this order, Mr. Hey¬
ward was appointed, under a resolution of the
Massachusetts Legislature, to survey a railroad
route to Lowell. He made the eastern route
twenty-three miles, twenty-two chains, and the
western route twenty-two miles, seventy-eight
chains in length. The distance by stage-road was
twenty-four miles, nineteen chains, and in a straight
line twenty-two miles, five chains.
William Wymart was appointed postmaster.
Soon after his appointment he moved the ofRce
from Central Street to the City-Hall Building.
LOWELL.
67
Dr. Israel Hildreth delivered the oration on the
4th of July.
Odd Fellowship commenced its beneficent work
in Lowell this year. Merrimack Lodge was the
first instituted. Its charter is dated November 19,
1829. This was surrendered in 1836, but in 1842
the lodge was reinstated, and at present lias a
membership of over three hundred. Mechanic's
Lodge was instituted October 24, 1842, and now
has four hundred and fifty members. Oberlin
Lodge was instituted November 2, 1843, and now
has about five hundred members. Veritas Lodge
was chartered October 21, 1844, and continued
until April 9, 1851, when its charter was surren¬
dered. It was re-instituted August 18, 1871, and
now has two hundred and fifty members. Lowell
Lodge was chartered September 30,1845, and was
prosperous for a time, but, like the others, had its
dark day and surrendered its charter. It was re¬
instated February 20, 1874, and now has one hun¬
dred and fifty members. Evening Star Lodge (Ee-
bekah) was chartered November 25, 1876. It
consists of the wives of the members of the other
lodges. There are three Encampments : Monomake
was chartered June 1,1843; "Wannalancet, August
4,1869; Lowell, August 5,1846, after a time sur¬
rendered its charter, but was re-instated November
17, 1873.
In 1871 Merrimack, Mechanic's, and Oberlin
Lodges, with Monomake and Wannalaneet En¬
campments, united in the purchase of the building
on Merrimack Street, known as the Carleton Block,
and rearranged the upper portion into suitable
halls and anterooms for their own use.
The vote passed. May 4, 1829, to annex a por¬
tion of Tewksbury to Lowell, evidently took the
companies by surprise. The legislature appointed
a committee on the petition, backed by the vote of
Lowell; and early in May, 1830, the town ap¬
pointed a committee to meet the legislative com¬
mittee and oppose ' the annexation. At the town-
meeting, May 24, 1830, one article in the warrant
was, "to see if the town would rescind the vote
passed in 1829." The argument in favor of re¬
scinding was thus stated : " It was believed that
the annexation of Belvidere would lower the value
of real estate generally ; but particularly that the
privileges on the new canal would be less salable.
This, it was thought, would affect the prosperity of
the Corporations; it being well understood that
whatever affects their prosperity affects also the
prosperity of the whole town." The voters, there¬
fore, consulting what they considered their own
private interests, voted to rescind, yeas 240, nays
64 ; and instructed their representatives to " do all
they could " to oppose the annexation.
June 5, the Middlesex Company was incorporated,
with a capital of $500,000, which was increased
$250,000 February 19,1839; and again $450,000,
February 17,1848. Samuel Lawrence and W. W.
Stone were named in the act. This company was
for the manufacture of woollens, broadcloths, cas-
simeres, etc. During the agency of James Cook,
from 1830 to 1845, the profits were large, reaching
seventeen per cent. Whether it was owing to the
disastrous operations of the tariff, or to mismanage¬
ment on the part of the treasurer and selling agents,
in 1857 and 1858 the stock went down to forty per
cent of its par value. It was found in 1858 that the
capital was sunk. A new company was formed,
with a capital of only $50,000 (500 shares at $100
each), increased to $750,000. The selling agents
were formerly compensated by a percentage on
the whole amount of sales; now the percentage is
based on profits. The new arrangement works well.
The Boston and Lowell Eailroad was incorpo¬
rated June 5, 1830, and the persons named in the
act were John F. Loring, Lemuel Pope, Isaac P.
Davis, Kirk Boott, Patrick T. Jackson, George W.
Lyman, and Daniel P. Parker. The stock was
divided into one thousand shares, of $600 each.
The act provided that no other railroad should,
within thirty years, be authorized leading to any
place within five miles of the northern termination
of the road. The track was laid so as to strike the
most formidable obstacle on the whole route, a
ledge some four or five hundred feet long, which
would require an excavation of forty feet in depth.
After operations had commenced, and the rock had
been excavated twenty or thirty feet in depth, two
persons (James Currier and Mary Smith), while on
their way to Chelmsford, drove their horse and
chaise into this ugly hole. The chaise was com¬
pletely shattered, and the occupants were found,
Mr. Currier on South Street, nearly a quarter of a
mile away, and Miss Smith in the woods, but a
short distance from the scene of the accident, ap¬
parently unhurt. Mr. Currier received injuries
which caused his death. This occurred Decem¬
ber 11, 1832.
In building this road stone sleepers were used,
probably tq insure durability. It was found to be
poor economy, as the unyielding nature of the ma¬
terial caused great wear and tear to the rolling-
68
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
stock of the road, and the frost in winter broke
the sleepers into fragments. The stones have all
been replaced with wood. " A bonus of $100,000
was voted by the Locks and Canals Company, paya¬
ble on its completion." The cost of the completed
road was $1,834,893, or $70,573 per mile.
The Hon. Edward Everett was the orator for
July 4 this year.
November 15, one of the walls of a brick build¬
ing being built by the Hamilton Company for their
print-works, fell, and William W. George was
killed.
December 4, the census showed the population of
Lowell, males 2,392, females 4,085; total 6,477.
Of these, 631 were aliens.
January 17, 1831, Joseph Tilden, Samuel Ap-
pleton, William Appleton, George W. Lyman,
and Henry Cabot were incorporated as the Suf¬
folk Manufacturing Company, with a capital of
$600,000. Robert Means was the agent until
1842, and was succeeded by John Wright, who
died in 1869. Mr. Wright was succeeded by
Thomas E. Shaw, June 1, 1868.
March 19, Amos Lawrence, Abbott Lawrence,
William Pratt, Thomas B. Wales, George Hallett,
David Sears, William Appleton, and Benjamin R.
Nichols were incorporated as the proprietors of
the Tremont Mills, with a capital of $600,000.
Israel Whitney was agent from 1831 to 1834,
John Aiken from 1834 to 1837, Charles L. Til-
den from 1837 to 1859 ; Charles E. Battles from
1859 to 1870. Thomas E. Shaw succeeded Mr.
Battles when the Tremont and Suffolk were con¬
solidated.
During the war both the Suffolk and Tremont
engaged in the manufacture of woollens, which
proved to be a losing business.
At the town-meeting of May 11 it was voted
" to hire a room for the high school " ; and on
Alpheus Smith's petition for the annexation of
Belvidere, the vote stood, yeas 52, nays 224.
June 7, William Appleton, Benjamin R. Nich¬
ols, and Nathan Appleton were incorporated as
the Lawrence Manufacturing Company, with a capi¬
tal of $1,500,000. William Austin was agent
until 1837, John Aiken from 1837 to 1849, Wil¬
liam S. Southworth from 1849 to 1865, William
E. Salmon from 1865 to 1869, Daniel Hussey
from 1869 to 1878; John Kilbum is the present
incumbent.
The canal that supplies the Suffolk, Tremont,
and LavTence companies was made this year.
John P. Robinson was the orator for the 4th of
July. The Railroad Bank was incorporated, with a
capital of $600,000. Luther Lawrence was chosen
president, and Pelham W. Warren cashier.
Paul Moody died July 6, 1831. He was bom in
Byfield, a parish of Newbury, May 23, 1779, and
was fifty-two years old at his death. He was de¬
scended from William Moody, who emigrated from
England and settled in Newbury in 1634.
Jacob Perkins, having invented a machine for
cutting nails, put up a small nail factory in Byfield,
in which young Moody found employment. He
continued with Mr. Perkins several years, and was
intrusted by him with the charge of his machine-
shop. Having learned to construct a carding-ma-
chine, the greatest improvement in woollen manu¬
facture, he spent some months in Boscawen, N. H.,
and in Maine, making and putting these machines
in operation. In September, 1798, he married
Susan Morrill, daughter of Jonathan Morrill of
Amesbury, to which place he had removed. Soon
after, he entered into copartnership with Ezra
Worthen and others, and erected and run a cotton
mill in Amesbury. In this business he was suc¬
cessfully engaged until the War of 1812, about
fourteen years. During this time he had become
a thorough practical machinist, fully understand¬
ing what was then known of cotton spinning and
weaving.
In 1814 the Waltham Company was incorpo¬
rated, and Erancis C. Lowell was in search of
a competent mechanic to take charge of their
machine-shop. The situation was offered to Mr.
Jacob Perkins, but, being on the point of starting
for England, he declined, and recommended Paul
Moody as the best man for the place. Mr. Moody
was engaged, and, with his family, removed to
Waltham. His success, during the ten years of
his engagement at Waltham, fully sustained the
expectations of his friends and employers. It was
a position in which his genius could have full
scope, and the improvements made by him have
successfully stood the test of time and experi¬
ence.
December 20, 1820, he took out a patent for a
double-speeder for roping cotton ; and January 17,
1821, another for frames for spinning cotton ; and
January 19, the same year, two patents for roping
or spinning cotton, one being the double-speeder.
He is credited with the introduction of the " dead
spindle," and the use of leather belts to drive
machinery instead of iron gearing. These were con-
LOWELL.
69
sidered a great improvement. These, and other
improvements introduced by him into the new fac¬
tories at Waltham and Lowell aided in establish¬
ing the cotton manufacture in the United States
upon an improved and permanent basis.
Paul Moody came to Lowell in 1823, and su¬
perintended the building of the Merrimack Com¬
pany's machine-shop, which was completed in 1825,
at an expense of $150,000. He held the position
of superintendent under the Merrimack Company,
and, when the property was transferred to the Locks
and Canals Company, also under that company
until bis death.
In 1832 the Lowell Bleachery was incorporated,
with a capital of $50,000, since increased to
$300,000. Jonathan Derby was agent for one
year. He was succeeded by Joseph Hoyt from
1833 to 1835, Charles T. Appleton from 1835 to
1846, Charles A. Babcock from 1846 to 1853,
Frank P. Appleton from 1853 to the present time.
In 1821 Mr. Hurd sold the land and water
privilege on the east side of Concord Eiver, com¬
prising what was then the " island " in Belvidere,
to Winthrop Howe, who built a mill, and disposed
of the surplus power to other parties. This mill
was sold to John Nesmith, who in turn sold to
W. B. Park of Boston, in 1832. Mr. Park, hav¬
ing obtained a charter, sold his privilege in 1834
to Eliphalet Barber, Walter Farnsworth, and George
Hill of Boston, the Belvidere Manufacturing Com¬
pany. Having purchased the stone mill, they con¬
tinued the business until 1851, when Charles Stott
and Walter Farns worth bought out the company's
interest. The stone mill was destroyed by fire in
1851, and the old flannel-mill in 1852. The
company was reorganized in 1853 ; Messrs. Stott
and Famsworth conveyed one third of their interest
to the new company. The brick mill on Lawrence
Street, on the Wamesit Power Company's canal,
was built in 1862. The capital stock is now
$200,000. Charles Stott has been agent since
1835.
At the town-meeting. May 5, a committee was
appointed to buy a poor-farm ; and Gorham Street
was laid out.
At the town-meeting, January 21, 1833, it was
voted to petition for the establishment of a police
court in Lowell. This petition was granted, and
the police court, with Joseph Locke as justice,
became one of the institutions of Lowell. April 1,
measures were taken to commence a system of sew¬
erage. May 6, Chelmsford Street was laid out.
July 2, the subject of a market-house was referred
to a committee ; and a petition to license theatrical
exhibitions or entertainments was negatived ; yeas
356, nays 473. November 11, Tyler Street was
laid out, and the question of licensing a theatre
came up again, with the same result; yeas 392,
nays 529. A building for a theatre had been
erected on Lowell Street, in which a number of
performances were held under the management of
Mr. Barrett, of the Tremont Theatre, Boston. The
building was eventually turned into a tenement-
house, called the Theatre Building for a long time.
At the adjourned meeting, November 25, the Belvi¬
dere people were highly gratified, for a short time,
by the apparent success of a measure that they had
so persistently advocated. The town voted on the
question of annexation, yeas 597, nays 445 ; and
instructed its representatives to vote for the annex¬
ation of Belvidere.
The Irish Benevolent Society was organized this
year. It was incorporated in 1843.
In anticipation of the visit of the President of
the United States, General Andrew Jackson, to
Lowell, a meeting of the citizens, without distinc¬
tion of party, was held. May 20, to concert measures
for receiving him with proper demonstrations of
respect. This visit occurred on Thursday, June 27.
The committee of arrangements, accompanied by
a cavalcade, met the President near the Andover
line in Tewksbury, and escorted him to Nesmith
Street, where he was welcomed in a brief address
by Joshua Swan, Esq., chairman of the board of
selectmen. In the mean time the mill-girls, to
the number of 2,500, " all dressed in a style of ele¬
gance and neatness," were formed on Jackson Street;
thence they were escorted by the military to their
position on Church Street. This street was the
place assigned for the school-children also. The
citizens on foot were formed on High Street ; the
military and the cavalcade on Nesmith and Andover
streets. The artillery was stationed on Chapel
Hill, east of Central Street, near to and overlooking
Concord Eiver.
The President, who was accompanied by Messrs.
Van Buren, Cass, Woodbury, and Donelson, his
private secretary, was too ill to attend the banquet
prepared for him. He, however, visited the Mer¬
rimack Corporation, and went through mill No. 2,
where all the machinery had been put in operation.
The girls belonging there, in their holiday attire,
took charge of the work and exhibited the process
of cotton manufacturing. The President was greatly
70
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
interested. He also visited the print-works, where
he saw the process of printing calicoes.
Warren Colburn was bora in Dedham, March 1,
1793, and was the son of Richard and Joanna
(Eaton) Colburn. While a teacher he wrote and
published his well-known work on^ Arithmetic,
called the First Lessotts. He finished the Sequel
after he went to Waltham, during his leisure time.
His First Lessons gradually worked its way to
notice and favor, and enjoyed a more enviable suc¬
cess than any other school-book ever published
in this country, and its merits were deservedly ac¬
knowledged. It has been stated that fifty thousand
copies of Colburn's First Lessons are annually used
in Great Britain. About two millions of copies
had been sold in 1856.
June 18, 1824, the superintendent of the Merri¬
mack Manufacturing Company, Mr. E^ra Worthen,
died instantly while engaged in his ordinary duties.
Mr. Colburn was appointed his successor.
Mr. Samuel Batchelder says of Colburn : " His
mathematical skill, and his knowledge 'of the prin¬
ciples of mechanics, gave him important advantages
for the situation in which he was placed, and he
was not less successful in his good judgment in the
general management of business." He died Sep¬
tember 13, 1833.
October 25, Henry Clay, the eminent Kentuckian,
visited Lowell. He visited the schools, and in
the evening of that day held a reception in the old
town-hall.
At the town-meeting, January 18, 1834, a
motion to reconsider the vote of November 25,
1833, on the annexation of Belvidere, was carried
(yeas 724, nays 1), and the representatives were
instructed to oppose the annexation. March 29,
the legislature passed " an Act to set off a part of
the town of Tewksbury and annex the same to the
town of Lowell." This settled a long controversy.
November 10, a committee appointed May 5,1832,
to consider the matter of a poor-farm, reported in
favor of a house seventy-five feet long, thirty-seven
feet wide, and three stories high in front, to be
built of brick or stone. Estimated cost, $6,000.
May 7, David Crockett, of Tennessee, visited the
town, and was toted, toasted, and praised to his
heart's content. He says of this visit : " I wanted
to see how it was that these Northerners could buy
our cotton and carry it home, manufacture it, bring
it back, and sell it for half nothing ; and, in the
mean time, be well to live, and make money be¬
sides. We stopped at the large stone house at the
head of the falls of the Merrimack River, and having
taken a little refreshment, went down among the
factories. The dinner-bells were ringing and the
folks pouring out of the houses like bees out of a
gum. I looked at them as they passed, all well
dressed, lively, and genteel in their appearance;
indeed, the girls looked as if they were coming
from a quilting frolic."
May 31, 1834, a steamboat was launched above
Pawtucket Falls, to run on the Merrimack River
between Lowell and Nashua. This enterprise
originated with Joel Stone of Lowell and J. P.
Simpson of Boston. The first steamboat on the
Merrimack is said to have come from Boston in
1819, and reached Concord, N. H. Stone and
Simpson's boat, ninety feet long and twenty wide,
was named the Herald. Joel Stone was her first
captain.
Thomas Hopkinson delivered the oration on the
4th of July.
October 4, George Thompson, a distinguished
English antislavery orator, spoke in Lowell. Mis¬
siles were hurled at the building from behind the
speaker. One of these, a large brickbat, came
through the window with a startling crash, passed
near Mr. Thompson's head, and fell upon the floor.
This was preserved, and exhibited in the rooms of
the New England Antislavery Society, Boston. On
it was this inscription : —
" While G. Thompson, from England, was pleading the
cause of 2,300,000 human and immortal American horn
beings, held in brutal, unmitigated, and sonl-destroyhig
bondage, in this land of Republicanism and Christianity,
this deadly missile was hurled with tremendous force at his
head by one of the citizens of Low-hell. In the year of
our Saviour Christ, 1834 ; of American Independence, 58."
The following placard was found posted up the
next morning : —
" Citizens of Lowell, arise ! Look well to yonr interests !
Will yon suffer a question to be discussed in Lowell which
will endanger the safety of the Union, — a question which
we have not by our constitution a right to meddle with ?
Fellow-citizens, shall Lowell be the first place to suffer an
Englishman to disturb the peace and harmony of our coun¬
try ? Do you wish instruction from an Englishman ? If you
are free-born sons of America, meet, one and all, at the
town-hall, this evening, at half-past seven o'clock, and
convince- yonr Southern brethren that we will not interfere
with their rights."
Mr. Thompson that day received an anonymous
letter, a rare specimen of the literature of tliat day,
telling him that " there is a plot in agitation to
immerse you in a vat of indelible ink."
LOWELL.
71
The hour of the third meeting arrived. Quite
a large audience had gathered in the hall. The
night was " dark, drizzly, and disagreeable." A
crowd was outside, in full force : some with a pur¬
pose to break up the meeting, some to see the fun,
and more to see a mob ; while all helped to swell
the noise. Mr. Thompson, his friends, and the
selectmen of the town were in the anteroom of the
hall. Brickbats and stones were hurled against
the windows from the Shattuck Street side, but a
board screen rendered them harmless. Although
the selectmen wanted to see fair play, they were
powerless in such a crowd. The Abolition friends
of Mr. Thompson, concluding that " discretion was
the better part of valor," disguised him as best
they could, and let him go out and see the fun.
The meeting was adjourned to, and held, the next
afternoon, without any hindrance or disturbance.
Mr. Thompson came to Lowell again, March 15,
1865, in the company of WiUiam Lloyd Garri¬
son, at the invitation of the Lowell Freeman's Aid
Society. The meeting was in Huntington Hall,
and the Hon. Nathan Crosby presided.
In 1835 the market-house was built, and for a
short time looked a little like business; but the
occupants of the stalls had to adopt the plan of the
stores, — obtain their orders and carry out their
goods. It became very evident that a market-
house was not adapted to Lowell's wants.
The transfer of the courts from Concord and
Cambridge created a necessity for a court-room ;
and the upper story of the market-house was made
available for that purpose. To follow all the
changes that the building has been subjected to
would require too much space. It is now used for
a police station, a police court, and by Messrs.
C. P. Talbot & Co. as a store-room for their drugs
and dyestuffs.
At the town-meeting, January 12, the committee
appointed in November, 1834, to consider the
subject of having one or more terms of the courts
held here, reported in favor of the June term, and
it was voted to petition the legislature for that, and
also that the house of correction be located in
Lowell.
March 27, the Boott Cotton Mills were incor¬
porated, with a capital of $1,500,000. Abbott
Lawrence, Ozias Goodwin, and John A. Lowell
were named in the charter. B. F. French was the
agent till 1845 ; he was succeeded by Linus Child
till 1862, and by William A. Burke, from the
Lowell Machine-Shop, in April, 1862. Mr. Burke
left in September, 1865, and was succeeded by
A. G. Cutniiock, the present incumbent.
The cars on the Boston and Lowell Eailroad be¬
gan to run regularly July 4.
Rev. E. W. Freeman delivered the oration for
July 4.
The Middlesex Mechanics' Association finished
and occupied their building this year. This Asso¬
ciation was incorporated June 18, 1825, and was
organized October 6. The first annual meeting
was held October 5, 1826. Warren Colbum de¬
livered an address on the comparative state of the
sciences, arts, and literature in ancient and modem
times.
In December, 1834, the Merrimack, Hamilton,
Appleton, Lowell, Middlesex, Suffolk, Lawrence,
and Tremont corporations made a donation to the
Association of one fourth of one per cent on their
capital, amounting to $14,075. A mortgage was
given by the Association, upon its land and build¬
ing, to the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on
Merrimack* River. The conditions of this dona¬
tion were, " that the Association shall, during its
existence, apply the sum of $1,000 annually to
the maintenance and increase of a library and
reading-room, in the establishment of lectures,
and for the payment of premiums for inventions
and improvements in the mechanic arts, and for
any or all of these objects."
A vote of thanks to Kirk Boott, who was in¬
strumental in procuring these favors, was passed
by the Association, January 3, 1835, and a request
made that he would sit for his portrait, at the ex¬
pense of individuals of the Association. No indi¬
vidual was to be allowed to subscribe more than
five doUars. A full-length portrait was painted,
and hung in the haU, where it still is.
As has been stated above, the building was com¬
pleted this year, 1835. The money that had been
donated, together with admission fees, assessments,
and a loan of $2,000, was all expended. Under
these circumstances, more assistance was needed ;
and in April, 1839, the Boott Cotton Mills made
a donation of $ 2,500 in money. After paying the
debt, this left $500 to be used to replenish the
library. Soon after, the Lawrence, Boott, Hamil¬
ton, ikemont, Suffolk, Appleton, and Middlesex
made an additional donation of $1,395, making
the whole amount from the companies $22,480.
In the spring of 1837 an amendment to the
charter was obtained, giving authority to establish
a reading-room, which was done. Since that time
72
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
it has proved to be one of the most useful and at¬
tractive departments in the building.
In 1845 Nathan Appleton and Abbott Law¬
rence were invited to sit for their portraits, which
they did ; and the portraits were placed in the hall.
The hall is now adorned with the portraits of
Washington, Boott, Appleton, Lawrence, John A.
Lowell, and Patrick T. Jackson.
In 1847 Hon. Abbott Lawrence gave the sum
of $1,000 to be expended in the purchase of valu¬
able Prench scientific works. After the death of
Kirk Boott his widow presented the Association
with two hundred volumes.
The Middlesex County Society of Natural His¬
tory, an incorporated association, which was organ¬
ized in 1836, consisting of members of the Mechan¬
ics' Association, had collected and arranged in cases
and drawers a valuable assortment of curiosities
and minerals. These specimens occupied a room in
the building. A large portion was contributed by
Oliver M. Whipple, Esq., and in honor of him the
collection was called the Whipple Department.
October 6, 1859, this department was presented to
the Association by the above-named society, and
so little is the interest felt in it that it is now con¬
signed to an attic.
In 1856 the Association successfully undertook
to establish an annual course of twelve public lec¬
tures, which have been maintained ever since at
an expense of about $1,200 per annum. In con¬
sideration of the scientific character of some of
these lectures, the companies contributed $300
annually to sustain them. The profit arising from
these lectures is devoted to the library.
During the latter part of 1834 and the early
part of 1835 the people of Lowell were severely
exercised on the subject of slavery. The visit of
Thompson had served to fix the opinions of the
people, and two parties were formed. In order to
stand well with the South, it was thought necessary
to hold a public meeting and denounce all agita¬
tion of the slavery question. Such a meeting was
held August 22, 1835, and a series of resolutions
were offered by Charles H. Locke, which were dis¬
cussed and then referred to a committee consist¬
ing of Messrs. Charles H. Locke, John Aiken,
John P. Robinson, Samuel H. Mann, Elisha Bart-
lett, John Avery, Thomas Hopkinson, John L.
Sheafe, and William Austin. A paper called the
Lowell Times says of this meeting, " Hisses,
scrapings, coughings, and yells were mixed with
the exercises," and that an attempt made by H.
C. Merriam, Esq., to justify slavery from the
Scriptures, was hissed down. The Courier pro-
nounced the whole account "deliberately fa^,"
The resolutions were adopted at a subsequent
meeting.
CITY GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED.
As early as November 17, 1835, the Cotirier
called the attention of the people to the necessity
of a city government. The facts that there had
been ten town-meetings during that year, that the
population had increased to over sixteen thousand,
and that the voters entitled to a participation in
town affairs numbered over twelve hundred, were
sufficient in themselves to warrant a movement in
that direction. The experience had in the trans¬
action of business, raising the necessary sums of
money, laying out streets, building school-houses,
sidewalks, drains, and sewers, made it evident that
there was a need of reform, and that some method
must be devised to obviate the necessity of calling
such a large number of people from their regular
business to transact the business of the town.
At the town-meeting held February 3, 1836,
a committee of twenty-five were chosen and in¬
structed to consider if any alterations or modifica¬
tions in the municipal regulations of said town
were necessary, and also the expediency of estab¬
lishing a city government. The following gen¬
tlemen were chosen to serve on this committee :
Luther Lawrence, Eliphalet Case, John Nesmith,
0. M. Whipple, William Austin, Joseph W. Man-
sur, Seth Ames, Joel Stone, Jr., Amos Spalding,
Hamlin Davis, John E. Adams, John Chase, Wil¬
liam N. Owen, Erastus Douglas, Granville Parker,
Walter Willey, T. P. Goodhue, Isaac Swan, Thomas
Flint, Eichard Fowler, Daniel H. Dean, Henry J.
Baxter, J. M. Doe, John Aiken, George Brownell.
This committee reported, on the 17 th of February,
that it was expedient to establish a city govem-
meut, adducing in its favor that under the town
government there was a " want of executive power,"
and a " loose way of spending money."
To this committee ten more members were added,
as follows : " Joseph Locke, David Boynton, Tap-
pan Weutworth, John Mixer, Peter H. Willard,
Benjamin Walker, Samuel A.Cobum, Thomas Hop¬
kinson, Benjamin Hutchinson, Thomas B. Comins ;
and they were instructed to draft a charter and
present a petition to the legislature for its embodi¬
ment in an act of incorporation. They were author¬
ized to print fifteen hundred copies of the charter
LOWELL.
73
for distribution. At the meeting, February 27,
the proposed charter was read and accepted. Only
one amendment was suggested, but not carried,
that " no person holding au office under tlie United
States or state goVeriunents should be eligible to
the office of mayor."
The charter was promptly granted by the legis¬
lature, and the governor, Edward Everett, signed
the act April 1. Its acceptance must be % a
majority of the voters in town-meeting assembled,
and it suspended the election of town officers for
the year 1836, allowing the old board to hold over
until their successors were chosen. It gave the
selectmen authority to call the first meeting under
the charter, by issuing their warrant before the first
Monday in May for the citizens to give in their
votes for a mayor, six aldermen, twenty-four coun-
cilmen, and six members of the school committee,
who were to hold their offices until the first Monday
in April, 1837.
This charter was accepted by the voters at a
meeting held April 11 ; yeas 961, nays 328. The
selectmen issued their warrant April 14, for a
meeting to be held April 21, at which time the
following persons were chosen : Elisha Bartlett,^
mayor ; William Austin, Benjamin Walker, Oliver
M. Whipple, Aaron Mansur, Seth Ames, Alexan¬
der Wright, aldermen; Thomas Nesmith, Thomas
Ordway, Samuel Garland, George BrowneU, Cyril
French, Horace Howard, William Wyman, Eras-
tus Douglas, Henry J. Baxter, Weld Spalding,
Jonathan Bowers, Sidney Spalding, John Clark,
James Russell, H. W. Hastings, David Nourse,
Stephen Mansur, John Mixer, John A. Savels,
James Cook, Josiah B. French, Jonathan Tyler,
David Dana, Tappan Wentworth, councilmen;
Lemuel Porter, Amos Blanchard, Jacob Bobbins,
John 0. Green, John A. Knowles, Thomas Hop-
kinsoii, school committee.
Our municipal craft was now fairly launched,
officered, and ready for service. It is well to look
at her bill of lading.
The Merrimack Company, with a capital of
$1,500,000; running 25,704spindles, 1,253 looms;
employing 1,321 females, 437 males; making
184,000 yards of cloth weekly, of which 163,000
yards were dyed and printed ; consuming 44,000
pounds of cotton weekly, and 5,200 tons of coal,
1,500 cords of wood, and 8,700 gallons of oil per
annum.
^ Elisha Bartlett, bom in Smithfield, R. L, October 6, 1804;
died at Smitbfield, R. I., July 19, 1855.
The Hamilton Company, with a capital of
$900,000; running 19,456 spindles, 560 looms;
employing 780 females, 200 males ; making 85,000
yards of cloth per week, of which 70,000 yards
were dyed and printed ; consuming 28,000 pounds
of cotton per week, and 2,000 tons of coal, 1,500
cords of wood, and 6,000 gallons of oil per an¬
num.
The Appleton Company, with a capital of
$500,000; running 11,776 spindles, 380 looms;
employing 470 females, 65 males ; making 100,000
yards of cloth per week ; consuming 33,000 pounds
of cotton per week, and 300 tons of coal and
3,375 gallons of oil per annum.
The Lowell Company, with a capital of $500,000;
one mill running 5,000 spindles for cotton, besides
woollen ; 142 looms for cotton, 70 for carpets ; em¬
ploying 325 females, 150 males ; making 55,000
yards of cotton cloth, 2,500 yards of carpeting, and
150 rugs per week ; consuming 30,000 pounds of
cotton per week, and 180 tons of coal, 500 cords of
wood, 3,000 gallons of olive and 4,500 gallons
of sperm oil per annum.
The Suffolk Company, with a capital of
$450,000; running 10,752 spindles, 460 looms;
employing 460 females, 70 males; making 90,000
yards per week ; consuming 30,000 pounds of
cotton per week, and 294 tons of coal, 70 cords
of wood, and 3,840 gallons of oil per annum.
The Tremont Company, with a capital of
$500,000; running 11,520 spindles, 416 looms;
employing 460 females, 70 males ; making 125,800
yards per week; consuming 34,000 pounds of
cotton per week, and 329 tons of coal, 60 cords
of wood, and 8,692 gallons of oil per annum.
The Lawrence Company, with a capital of
$1,200,000 ; running 31,000 spindles, 910 looms;
employing 1,250 females, 200 males; making
200,000 yards of cloth per week; consuming
64,000 pounds of cotton per week, and 650 tons
of coal, 60 cords of wood, and 8,217 gallons of oü
per annum.
The Middlesex Company, with a capital of
$500,000; running 4,620 spindles, 38 looms for
broadcloths, 92 looms for cassimeres; employing
350 females, 185 males; making 6,300 yards of
cassimere, and 1,500 yards of broadcloth per week ;
consuming 600,000 pounds of wool, 3,000,000
teasels, 500 tons of coal, 1,000 cords of wood,
11,000 gallons of olive and 2,500 gallons of sperm
oil per annum.
The Boott Cotton Mills, with a capital of
74
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
S 1,000,000; two mills erected but not in opera¬
tion.
The Proprietors of Locks and Canals, with a
capital of $600,000. Their machine-shop em¬
ploys 290 males, where the complete machinery
for a mill of 5,000 spindles can be turned out in
four months ; and locomotives built that will run
sixty miles in an hour.
In addition to what is stated above, the con¬
sumption of starch in the mills was 510,000 pounds
per annum, flour 3,800 barrels,and charcoal 500,000
bushels. The average wages of females, exclusive
of board, two dollars per week, males; eighty cents
per day.
Besides these companies, there were the powder-
mills of 0. M. "Whipple, the Lowell Bleachery, the
flannel-mills, the card and whip factory, planing-
inachine, reed-machine, grist and saw mills, alto¬
gether employing 300 hands and a capital of
$300,000. Also a worsted mill, formerly the
Hurd Woollen Mill, ruuning 1,200 spindles, em¬
ploying 125 persons, and consuming 200,000
pounds of wool and 5,250 gallons of oil per
annum.
There were twenty schools : one high, four gram¬
mar, and fifteen primary ; employing thirty-three
teachers, and having an average daily attendance as
follows: high, 75; grammar, 550; primary, 745,
— total, 1,370 scholars.
The whole number of churches was thirteen :
four Congregational, two Baptist, two Methodist,
one Episcopal, one Universalist, one Christian Union,
one Free-will Baptist, one Eoman Catholic.
The Lowell Bank, with a capital of .$250,000,
and the Eailroad Bank, with a capital of $ 500,000,
were both well established, and also the Lowell
Institution for Savings.
The Lowell Mutual Fire Insurance Company
was incorporated March 6, 1832. John Nesmith
was president, Tappan Wentworth secretary.
Total population, 17,633, of which 2,661 were
aliens, 44- colored. School-children between four
and sixteen, 2,577.
May 2, the new government was organized. The
oath of office was administered to the mayor by
Judge Locke. In the common council, John Clark
was chosen president and George Woodward clerk.
In convention, Samuel A. Coburn was chosen city
clerk.
The mayor, in his address, said : " Looking back
to the period when I came among you, a penniless
stranger, alike unknowing and unknown, I find the
interval of more than eight years filled up with
manifestations of kindness and good-will. One of
the most striking points of the entire history of our
town and city consists iu the unparalleled rapidity
of its growth. The graves of our fathers are not
here. The haunts of our childhood are not here.
The old trees and the old men, which rendered
venerable and sacred the quiet towns of our nativ¬
ity, are not here. The large and gradually accu¬
mulated fortunes of nearly all our older towns are
not to be found here. The great mass of wealth
which is centred here, and which has made our
city what it is, is owned abroad. Its proprietors
do not reside amongst us. Its profits are not ex¬
pended amongst us.''
April 16, the legislature passed an act remov¬
ing a term of the Supreme Judicial Court and one
of the court of Common Pleas from Concord to
Lowell. For the accommodation of these courts,
rooms were fitted up hi the market-house.
John Clark, James Cook, and James G. Carney,
incorporated as the Lowell Dispensary, were or¬
ganized June 10. Its object was to provide med¬
ical advice and medicine for the poor. A division
of the city into six wards was made Novem¬
ber 28.
An event of importance to Lowell was the death,
of apoplexy, April 11, 1837, of Kirk Boott. At
the moment of his decease Mr. Boott was sitting in
his chaise near the Merrimack House. Kirk Boott
was born in Boston, October 20, 1790. At an
early age he was sent to England, and was for some
time a member of the Eugby School. On his re¬
turn he entered Harvard. His name appears among
the juniors in 1807, and the seniors in 1808; but
he did not graduate. Choosing the military pro¬
fession, his father obtained for him a commission
in the English army, with which he was comiected
for about five years. He served in the Peninsular
War, under the Duke of Wellington, and com¬
manded a detachment at the siege of San Sebastian
in July, 1813. After this his regiment was ordered
to New Orleans to serve against the United States.
Mr. Boott obtained leave to withdraw, and entered
a military academy, where he acquired a thorough
knowledge of engineering and surveying, arts which
were afterwards of such eminent service to him.^
During the summèr of 1821 Kirk Boott "was "pass-
^ His father, Kirk Boott, who died January, 1817, came to
Boston in the latter part of the last century and established an
importing house. In 1810, February 1, Johu Wright Boott was
admitted a partner, and the firm became Kirk Boott and Son.
LOWELL.
75
ing a day at Nahant, in company with Mr. Patrick
T. Jackson; the latter gentleman expressed great
delight in having even that brief respite from his
numerous and pressing cares. Mr. Boott expressed
a wish that he had cares too, and offered to accept
of any post of service which Mr. Jackson might
assign him.'' Thus, accidentally, he found the place
for which he was so admirably fitted. "We find a
communication from him to the owners of the Locks
and Canals on Merrimack Eiver, dated November 14,
1821, offering to hire tlie water-power at $1,800
per annum. The offer was refused, and the Boston
Company proceeded to buy up a sufficient amount
of the stock to control it ; when Thomas M. Clark,
clerk of the old Locks and Canal Company, was em¬
ployed to purchase the lands in the vicinity. Tlie
property in the hands of J. Wright Boott was in
tlie market seeking a profitable investment. The
Boston Manufacturing Company at Waltham had
splved the problem in regard to the ability of
manufactures to sustain themselves in the business.
It was here, then, that the trust funds held by
J, W. Boott under his father's will were to find a
profitable investment, and I find among the articles
subscribed to by the founders of Lowell the fol¬
lowing : —
" Article 6th. Wliereas we have been informed that the
Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimack River
are possessed of valuable mill-seats and water-privileges,
and whereas Kirk Boot has with o\ir consent advaueed
money for the purehase of shares in the stoek of that cor¬
poration, and of lands thereunto adjoining, we hereby con¬
firm all he has done in the premises, and further authorize
him to buy the remainder of the shares in said stock, and
any lands adjoining the Locks and Canals he may judge
it for our interest to own ; and also to bargain with the
above-named corporation for all the mill-seats and water-
privileges they may own."
Kirk Boott we find now'thoroughly and syste¬
matically engaged in this new enterprise. He gave
himself up heartily to its prosecution, and in the
discharge of every duty devolving upon him he
amply fulfilled the expectations of his most sanguine
friends. But we have become aware of one fact,
that he was not a rich man. The interest from his
portion of his father's estate did not go a great
way toward the support of himself and family, while
tlie pittance allowed him by the company ($3,000
At a subséquent period Francis, another son, was admitted as a
partner. The father built the mansion-house where the Revere
House now is, in Boston. This was the family mansion until
1845, when it was sold to William Lawrence.
per annum in the light of salaries of the pres¬
ent day looks meagre. There was no public-house
at that time suitable for the entertainment of his
friends or the directors, when they came to Lowell.
It fell upon him to make his house their resort,
whether they were attracted here by curiosity or
. business. The Merrimack Company built a house
for him which formerly stood on the ground now
occupied by the Boott Mills. Besides his cares
and duties as resident manager of the Merrimack
Company, and afterwards of the Locks and Canals
Company, he was the foremost man in every public
enterprise. He was chosen moderator of the first
town-meeting, and repeatedly represented the town's
interests in the state legislature. He married Anne
Haden in 1818, and had six children.
March 6, 1838, Luther Lawrence was elected
mayor. He was bom in Groton, September 28,
1778, and was a son of Samuel Lawrence, a soldier
of the Kevolution. He graduated at Harvard in
1801, and read law with the Hon. Timothy Bigelow
of Boston, whose sister he afterward married. He
was several times a member of the Massachusetts
Legislature, and in 1822 was Speaker of the House.
He came to Lowell in 1831, and built the mansion
on Lawrence Street now occupied and owned by
the widow of Tappan Wentworth. He served the
city with ability, and was re-elected in 1839 by an
increased majority. He entered upon his second
term April 1, 1839. On the 16th of the same
month, " while walking through one of the build¬
ings forming a part of the Middlesex Mills, he
suddenly fell into the wheel-pit, a distance of seven¬
teen feet. His head struck a cast-iron wheel, his
skull was fractured, and death ensued almost im¬
mediately."
October 8, steam-ears commenced making regu¬
lar trips between Lowell and Nashua. A new jail
was built on the laud since occupied by the Boiler
Works, near the Wamesit Mills; it was taken
down after the completion of the County Jail in
1858.
In 1839, as has been stated, Luther Lawrence
was re-elected mayor. After the unfortunate ac¬
cident which terminated his life, the city council
declared the office vacant, and April 24 proceeded
to fill it. Elislia Huntington had twenty-four
of thirty votes, and was declared elected. He was
bom in Topsfield, April 9, 1796, the son of Eev.
Asahel Huntington. He graduated at Dartmouth,
at the age of nineteen. In 1823 he received the
' In 1832 his salaiy was increased to $4,000.
76
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
degree of M. D. at the Medical School at Yale, and
in 1824 came to Lowell or East Chelmsford.
May 31, 1825, he married Hannah Hinckley,
daughter of Joseph and Deborah Hinckley of
Marblehead. He was re-elected mayor in 1840,
1841, 1844, 1845, 1852,1856, and 1858, making
eight years in all. He served in the board of alder¬
men in 1847, 1853, and 1854. In 1852 he was
elected lieutenant-governor with Governor Clifford,
but declined the nomination for the next year.
He was on the board of overseers of Harvard Col¬
lege ; and served one term as an inspector of the
State Almshouse at Tewksbury. His wife died
September 19, 1859. He was for many years a
vestryman of St. Anne's (Episcopal) Church, and,
with others from St. Anne's, in 1860, united to
form St. John's Church, of which, during the re¬
mainder of his life, he was senior warden. He
died December 13, 1865, of apoplexy.
When the new city hall was built, it was named
in honor of him. His portrait graces the reading-
room of the Middlesex Mechanic Association, and
a beautiful memorial window was placed in the
west end of St. John's Church, in the centre of
which is a life-size figure of St. Luke, the " beloved
physician."
January 28, the Massachusetts Cotton Mills
were incorporated, with a capital of $1,500,000,
which was increased in 1846 to $2,000,000. The
persons named in the act were Abbott Lawrence,
Ozias Goodwin, aiid John A. Lowell. Homer
Bartlett was the agent from 1839 to 1849 ; he was
succeeded by Joseph White from 1849 to 1856;
and by Erank F. Battles from 1856 to the present
time.
April 26, a proposal was made for the creation of
the office of city solicitor. It originated in the
board of aldermen, but was rejected in the common
council.
July 24, the city council authorized the building
of a bridge over Concord Eiver, near 0. M. Whip¬
ple's house. It was completed December 28.
John Nesmith and others were incorporated as
the Whitney Mills for the manufacture of blankets,
and occupied the Stone Mill in Belvidere. The
enterprise proved a failure, and they sold the
machinery to Joseph W. Mansur and John D.
Sturtevant.
C. P. Talbot & Co. commenced the business of
cutting dyewoods and manufacturing and selling
chemicals in a small way. The firm is now a lead¬
ing house in the business.
November 1, 1839, the several incorporated
companies united for the purpose of establishing
the Lowell Hospital Association. The purpose of
this association is "the convenience and comfort
of the persons employed by them respectively when
sick, or needing medical or surgical treatment."
They purchased the house formerly occupied by
Kirk Boott, which had been sold August 1, 1838,
to Luther Lawrence, and moved it to the spot
where it now stands, near Pawtucket Falls. Diis
house, and the land on which it stands, were deeded
in trust to the Proprietors of the Locks and Canals
on Merrimack River the trustees were not to be
held liable for insurance, repairs, and taxes. The
treasurers of the several companies have the control
of the property, and power to elect twelve trustees
and a treasurer, to hold office during their pleasure.
This board of trustees, made up from the resident
agents of the companies, is empowered to hold
meetings once a month, to have a chairman and
fclerk, to appoint one or more surgeons or physi¬
cians, and a superintendent for the hospital, and to
establish the rate of board to be paid by the patient.
In case a patient fails to pay, the company in whose
service he or she may be at the time of admission
pays it.
The location of the hospital is retired, and yet
easy of access ; commanding a view of Pawtucket
Falls and the adjacent country north and west.
Dr. Gilman Kimball had charge of it until 1865 ;
he was succeeded by Dr. George H. Whitmore,
Dr. John W. Graves, and Dr. Hermon J. Smith, the
present physician.
In 1840 Dr. Elisha Huntington was re-elected
mayor. April 7, Thomas Hopkinson was elected
as city solicitor, the first person who occupied the
office.
According to a census taken in June, the popu¬
lation of Lowell was : males, 7,341 ; females,
13,640; total, 20,981.
July 29, a caU was issued for a meeting of all
desirous of establishing a cemetery. The meeting
M'as held at the office of the Lowell Mutual Insur¬
ance Company, and Elisha Bartlett was chosen
chairman and Thomas Hopkinson secretary. A
committee of thirty was chosen to take the matter
into consideration. This committee reported, at a
meeting held Aug. 22, in favor of obtaining a suit¬
able lot of land for the purpose. At this meeting a
new committee of five were chosen to make esti¬
mates and suggest plans. This committee reported
in favor of the Fort-Hill Lot, owned by Ohver
LOWELL.
77
M. Whipple^ which could be had for $5,000.
Subscriptions were opened for lots containing 300
square feet, at $10 each. October 19, five hundred
lots having been subscribed for, a committee was
chosen to procure a charter. February 22, the act
of incorporation granted January 23, 1841, was
accepted, and at the meeting of March 8 a code of
by-laws was adopted, together with a seal bearing the
words, "Lowell Cemetery, 1841. The dead shall
be raised." Oliver M. Whipple was chosen presi¬
dent, James G. Carney treasurer, and Charles
Hovey clerk. The grounds were consecrated Sun¬
day, June 18,1841, at 4^ o'clock, p. m. The ad¬
dress was delivered by the Eev. Amos Blanchard.
In 1847 the chapel was built.
In August the high-school building was dedi¬
cated.
The first number of The Lowell Offering appeared
in October of this year. It was really what it pre¬
tended to be, a magazine containing original com¬
positions by girls working in the mills. My
experience in the publication of The Album, or
Ladies^ Common-Place Book, as early as 1833, con¬
vinced me that there was " mind among the spin¬
dles." Quite a number of my correspondents were
factory-girls, and it was evident that all that was
wanted to show their ability was a medium of com¬
munication with the public. This was obtained in
1840 in the publication of The Offering. ■ The cir¬
cumstances attending its origin have been faithfully
detailed by the Eev. A. C. Thomas and Miss Har¬
riet Parley. An improvement circle was formed
in 1839-40, where written communications were
received and read by the pastor of the Second Uni¬
versalist Church, Mr. Thomas. Their authorship
being unknown, they were subject to criticism and
amendment. The reading of these articles was the
sole entertainment of the circle. This led to the
practice of reading, at social meetings of the church-
ifiembers or the society, those articles which were
of a serious and religious character. The talent
thus brought out led to the publication of The
Offering, a production that caused quite a commo¬
tion in the literary world. _
The two most enterprising and leading members
of the circle were Harriet Farley and Harriet F. Cur¬
tis. Miss Farley, the daughter of the Eev. Stephen
Farley of Amesbury, left home, and worked in the
mills to obtain funds for the purpose of helping a
brother secure a collegiate education. In 1842,
while in sole charge of the editorial department of
The Offering, she writes of its first appearance :
" We shall never forget our throb of pleasure
when we first saw The Lowell Offering in a tangi¬
ble form, with its bright yeUow cover ; nor our
fiutterings of delight as we perused its pages.
True, we had seen or heard the articles before, but
they seemed so much better in print ! They ap¬
peared to he as good as anybody's writings. They
sounded as if written by people who never worked
at all."
The success of The Offering was such that a
rival sprung up, called The Operatives' Magazine.
It may have grown out of the jealousy of the other
denominations, as Mr. Thomas suggests, lie being
a Universalist. Miss Farley says : " It differed
from The Offering by receiving communications
from both sexes and from those females who had left
the mill .... After a time, however, the gentle¬
men's articles were discarded, and the magazine
passed entirely into the hands of the young ladies ;
they owned, edited, and pnblished it." Previous
to this, the male editor, A. C. Thomas, sold The
Offering to the printer of The Magazine, William
Schouler ; and after a while both works were
united in one by the proprietor, and edited by
Harriet Farley. After this, all denominations
contributed to and sustained it.
Harriet F. Curtis, " who held a dashing pen,"
as Mr. Thomas says, was a pretty good specimen
of the Yankee girls, wide awake, keen, and sharp.
Women, in her opinion, were just as fit for business
as men, in whose vocations she was very much
interested. She wrote a novelette entitled Kate
in Search of a Husband, and an essay, S. S. S. Phi-
losophg. All her articles were signed " Kate."
Lydia S. Hall, over the signature of " Adelaide,"
wrote poetry that has won merited encomiums.
Lucy Larcom, another contributor, enjoys a repu¬
tation that dates back to The Offering. Her sig¬
nature was " L. L."
Harriet Lees united with Farley and Curtis in
presenting Harriet Martineau with an elegantly
bound copy of The Offering. This was in response
to the publication in England, by Miss Martineau,
of selections from The Offering, entitled Mind
among the Spindles.
Articles signed " S. G. B." were contributed by
Sarah G. Bagley, a New Hampshire girl, from that
part of Meredith now called Laconia.
The Eev. William Seoresby, D. D., Yicar of
Bradford, Yorkshire, England, visited this country
in the summer of 1844. During the month of
February, 1845, he delivered two lectures in Brad-
78
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ford on American factories and their female opera¬
tives, in which he quotes very largely from The
Offering. Here is his description of the girls as
they came from the mills at noon : " They were
neatly dressed, and clean in their persons ; many
with their liair nicely arranged, and not a few with
it flowing in nicely curled ringlets. All wore
(being the height of summer) a light calico cov¬
ered bonnet, or sort of calèche, large enough to
screen the face, and with a dependent curtain
shielding the neck and shoulders. Many wore
veils, and some carried silk parasols. By no means
a few were exceeding well-looking, more pallid
than the factory-girls with us, and generally slight
in their flgure. There was not the slightest appear¬
ance of boldness or vulgarity ; on the contrary, a
very becoming propriety and respectability of man¬
ner, approaching with some to genteel."
In regard to the elementary education of the girls,
he was assured by the manager of one of the cor¬
porations that " an examination that had recently
taken place in respect to eight hundred girls be¬
longing to the four mills of his corporation, showed
that there were only forty-three out of that number
who did not write their names legibly and tolerably
well ; of these, forty were Irish, and two not na¬
tives."
January 11, 1841, Benjamin F. Varnura died
at his home in Centralville. Although Mr. Var-
num belonged to Dracut, he was identified with
the interests of Lowell. He was born in Dracut
in 1795, the son of General Joseph B. Varnum.
He represented Dracut in the state legislature from
1824 to 1827, and as senator from 1827 to 1831.
In 1828 he was appointed one of the board of
county commissioners, which office he retained
until 1831, when he was appoiuted sheriff for Mid¬
dlesex County. He was succeeded in this office
by General Samuel Chandler of Lexington, who
retained the office until 1851, and was succeeded
by Fisher A. Hildreth. In 1853 John S. Keyes of
Concord was appointed sheriff, and in 1860 Charles
Kimball succeeded him. Mr. Kimball died in
1878. Elisha Huntington was re-èlected mayor.
The City Guards, an independent military com¬
pany, was organized this year. This company,
the Phalanx, and the National Highlanders were
allowed the use of the city hall for drill. The
grammar-school house, afterward called the Green
School, in honor of Dr. John 0. Green, was
erected on Middle Street. This building was sold
in 1870 to J. C. Ayer & Co., and the school re¬
moved to the new Green School-house on Merri¬
mack Street, built on the spot where the old Mer¬
rimack Company's scliool-house stood.
"Until 1841 there had been no substantial
bridge over Concord Eiver, connecting Church and
Andover Streets. The first structure was a float¬
ing bridge for foot-passengers. The next was a
bridge set upon piles. This year a double-arch
stone bridge was constructed, which was replaced
in 1858 by the present structure."
In 1842 Nathaniel Wright was elected mayor.
He was born in Sterling, Worcester County, Feb¬
ruary 13, 1785. He graduated at Harvard in tlie
class of 1808. Shortly afterwards he came to
East Chelmsford, and entered the office of Asahel
Stearns. He died November 5, 1858, of heart
disease.
Charles Dickens made a flying visit to Lowell,
the impressions of which were given in his Ameri¬
can Notes for General Circulation.
Among the most extensive and successful pri¬
vate enterprises in the city, is the establishment of
the "J. C. Ayer Company," which was founded
by Dr. James C. Ayer in 1842.
Dr. Ayer passed his early life as a clerk in
an apothecary store in this city ; ample scope to
gratify his predilections for the study of chemistry
and medicine was afforded, and he acquired a skill
in compounding preparations which enabled him
to build up a business that is almost unparalleled
in its extent and success.
In 1855 his brother, Frederick Ayer, became
his partner in the concern. His business tact,
energy, and executive ability, coupled with the
doctor's professional talent, gave a new impetus
to the business.
This establishment, attractive to travellers be¬
cause of its world-wide reputation, has been visited
by many foreign potentates, who have admired the
magnitude of its proportions and the extent of its
facilities.
June 19, 1842, John Tyler, President of the
United States, visited Lowell. He was accom¬
panied by Abbott Lawrence, Isaac Hill, John
Tyler, Jr., and others. There was a procession,
in which appeared the teachers and scholar^ of the
high school, a citizen's cavalcade, and a military
escort. The President visited the works of the
Middlesex, Lowell, Boottj and Merrimack com¬
panies, and expressed himself highly gratified with
all of them.
In 1843 Nathaniel Wright was re-elected mayor.
LOWELL.
79
February 20, the city council instructed the rep¬
resentatives to the General Court to oppose the
annexation to Lowell of that" part of Dracut called
Centralville. The Central Bridge Company ob¬
tained an act authorizing it to rebuild the bridge
across Merrimack Eiver, and it was accepted, April
5, by the city council. Foot-tolls were abolished
on this bridge, — an inducement for people em¬
ployed in Lowell to reside in Dracut.
February 5, 1844, the Prescott Manufactur¬
ing Company was incorporated, with a capital of
$800,000. The persons named in the Act were
Nathan Appleton, William Sturgis, and Patrick T.
Jackson. Homer Bartlett, the agent until 1849,
was succeeded by Frank F. Battles from 1849 to
18.56, and in 1856 by William Brown. Mr. Brown
died October 18, 1875, and was succeeded by Eras-
tus Boyden, who is the present superintendent.
The Prescott was united to the Massachusetts Com¬
pany, ill December, 1846, and they are now one
company.
The city council, February 19, appointed a joint
special committee to take into consideration the
subject of establishing a city school-library. May
20, an ordinance was passed establishing the City
School-Library in Lowell, and the sum of $2,000
was appropriated, to be added to $1,215 received
from the state for that purpose. During the thirty-
five years since the establishment of the library, end¬
ing January 1, 1879, there has been appropriated,
including $ 1,215 from the state, by the city council
the sum of $51,150.95, which, with the receipts
from various sources ($21,470.94), makes an ag¬
gregate of $72,621.89. It is estimated that the
number of volumes in the library, including all
works of reference, is about twenty-four thou¬
sand.
The Lowell Machine-Shop was organized as a
corporation, at a meeting held in Boston March 12,
1845, by the choice of Kirk Boott clerk, seven
directors, John A. Lowell president, and J. Thomas
Stevenson treasurer. $300,000 was fixed for the
capital stock, and had been previously subscribed
for by fifty-five subscribers. The par value of the
shares was fixed at $ 500. The office of the treas¬
urer has always been in Boston. At a meeting of
the directors on the same day, William A. Burke
was appointed superintendent at Lowell.
The Lowell Machine-Shop having bought of the
Proprietors of the Locks and Canals on Merrimack
Eiver their machine-shops and foundry, with all
the tools and machinery in them, also the tenement
houses and land belonging to them, on the first day
of April, 1845, commenced making cotton machin¬
ery, mill-gearing, and castings. At the present time
(1879) the authorized capital is $1,000,000, and
the capital stock, as voted by the stockholders and
paid in, is $600,000.
The Proprietors of the Locks and Canals, pre¬
vious to 1845, built and equipped with machinery
all the cotton-mills, with the exception of two,
then in operation in Lowell ; but since then nearly
all the machinery, turbine water-wheels, and mill-
gearing have been furnished by the Lowell Ma¬
chine-Shop. The Locks and Canals Company were
among the first in this country to build locomo¬
tives, and the Lowell Machine-Shop continued the
manufacture to some extent ; they also made steam-
engines, boilers, and machinists' tools. This class
of machinery was discontinued a few years since.
In 1858 the shop began buildhig paper machinery
of the different kinds in use, and it is now one of
the departments of its manufacture. Besides the
machinery made for the cotton-mills in Lowell, very
large quantities have been and are furnished to
other mills in the New England States, and to quite
a number of the smaller mills in the Southern
States.
J. Huntington Wolcott, Esq., is president of the
corporation; J.Thomas Stevenson, Esq., was the
treasurer from the first, till his death in August,
1876. To the strictest integrity in all his dealings
he joined a rare ability as a business man.
May 5, the city council authorized the purchase
of land for two commons. The South Common
contains about twenty acres, and cost $17,954.98.
The North Common contains about ten acres, and
cost $12,857.59.
A new grammar-school house, on the corner of
Middlesex and Branch Streets, was built this year,
and was called the Franklin.
Pentucket Lodge of Masons, organized in 1807,
after a checkered experience, in March, 1834, held
the last " recorded" meeting. " The charter, jewels,
and property of the lodge were surrendered to the
Grand Lodge, the furniture divided among the
brethren, or sold at auction, and a long, dark night
settled down upon masonry in Lowell." In 1845
this was succeeded by brighter promises. A meet¬
ing was held July 14, at which measures were taken
to resuscitate the lodge, and " September 10, Jesse
Phelps, Daniel Balcli, Joshua Swan, Colburu
Blood, Jr., Eansom Eeed, Jefferson Bancroft, and
Joel Adams petitioned the Grand Lodge for a
80
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
restoration of the charter of Pentucket Lodge, its
jewels and its property." This petition was granted,
and it was reopened September 16, at the dwelling-
house of Jesse Phelps, on the Merrimack Corpora¬
tion. October 2, the meeting was held- for the
first time in Wentworth's Hall.
March 10, 1846, the former members of Mount
Horeb Eoyal Arch Chapter petitioned for a restora¬
tion of their charter, which had been revoked in
1840. This petition was granted, and the first
meeting was held April 6, 1846.
June 19, 1852, a dispensation was granted for
a new lodge, called the Ancient York, and Jeffer¬
son Bancroft was appointed Master. The charter
bears date June 9, 1853.
October 21, 1855, a charter was granted under
which Pilgrim Encampment was instituted, and its
officers were installed November 8.
December 9,1856, a charter was granted for the
resuscitation of the Ahasuerus Council. This, origi¬
nally a "self-constituted" body, was established
July 6, 1826.
March 13, 1867, a charter was granted for the
Kilwinning Lodge, and its officers were installed
March 26.
March 11, 1868, another lodge, called tlie Wil¬
liam North, was chartered, and the officers were in¬
stalled March 26.
In addition to the above there were the Lowell
Lodge of Perfection, the Lowell Council of Princes
of Jerusalem, and the Mount Calvary Chapter of
Eose Croix, and Massachusetts Consistory thirty-
two degrees. The consistory was removed to
Boston in 1871. Charters were obtained for these
between 1857 and 1862.
The last meeting held in Masonic Hall on John
Street was January 31, 1872. The number of
members of the different lodges at that time was :
Pentucket 265, Ancient York 196, Kilwinning 43,
William North 111,—total 615.
Pebruary 13, 1872, the lodges dedicated the new
Masonic Temple, erected by Hocum Hosford, Esq.,
on Merrimack Street; on which occasion E. W.
William Se wall Gardner delivered an address, from
which the above facts in regard to Masonry in
Lowell have been gleaned.
This year the Eev. H. A. Miles published a little
handbook, entitled Lowell as It Was and as It Is.
It was very much needed at that time, giving in¬
formation that had been carefully gathered from
the best authorities, and is considered strictly re¬
liable.
February 2, 1846, the city council passed an
order remonstrating against a petition to the legis¬
lature asking for the annexation of that part of
Dracut caUed Centralville.
Jefferson Bancroft was mayor this year. He
was born in Warwick, Mass., April 30, 1803. The
Exchange Coffee House on Lowell Street, the store
now occupied by Cook and Taylor on Central Street,
and the first dwelling-house built on Tyler Street
were erected by him. He purchased of the Locks
and Canals Company the Stone House, and leased
it to Major Samuel A. Cobum. When that gen¬
tleman relinquished it, he changed it from a hotel
to a private dwelling-house. Eventually it went
into the possession.of Dr. J. C. Ayer.
When President Polk visited Lowell, June 30,
1847, Mayor Bancroft said, among other things,
" Although I have the honor, as mayor of the city,
to welcome you among us to-day, some twenty
years ago I commenced my career here, and was
a long time employed as an operative in yonder
mills."
April 14, the venerable judge of the police court,
Hon. Joseph Locke, resigned his office.
Nathan Crosby received the appointment of
judge of the police court in May, and has con¬
tinued, from that time to the present, to discharge
the arduous duties of the position acceptably.
The Hamilton Manufacturing Company, finding
that their purchases of cloths for printing were
inferior in quality, erected a new mill on tlie bank
of the canal in which to manufacture their own
printing cloths. April 17, the wall of the new
mill towards the canal fell with a crash, filling the
canal Avith the debris.
A new carpet-mill, built for the power-looms,
covering over three quarters of an acre of ground,
being two hundred and seventy-two feet long, one
hundred and thirty-eight feet wide, one story above
the basement, was commenced this year.
The New or Northern Canal was commenced in
June of this year. The necessity of this caual was
felt, from the fact that so many mills were drawing
on the ôld canal. The loss of head, after running
a few hours in the morning, was about five feet,
compelling the mills to run at a low speed the re¬
mainder of the day. The length of this canal is
five thousand feet. The water-way is one hundred
feet wide and fifteen feet deep. Water was let
into it Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1847.
The canal cost $530,000, employing in its con¬
struction seven hundred to one thousand persons.
The New Canal.
LOWELL.
83
seventy horses, seventy-two oxen, and seven steam-
engines. Twelve thousand barrels of cement were
used in building it.
The subterranean canal under Wortheu Street
unites the waters of the New Canal with the old
Merrimack Canal, thus giving all the mills located
on the latter a more reliable supply. Its length
is about one quarter of a mile, width thirty feet,
and depth ten feet. It cost about $ 100,000.
The people of Ireland this year (1847) were
threatened with starvation, and our country, with
a generous liberality, contributed for their relief.
Meetings were held in this city, committees organ¬
ized, and $1,990 contributed for the relief of the
sufferers.
May 1, the number of school-children in the city
between the ages of four and sixteen was 6,089.
May 11, the county commissioners purchased a
lot of land on Gorham Street, Chapel Hill, for the
new court-house, at ten cents per foot, and also
five acres of land of Ransom Reed at $800 per
acre, on which to locate the jail, or house of cor¬
rection.
September 12, Patrick Tracy Jackson died at his
seaside residence in Beverly. He was born at
Newburyport, August 14, 1780, the youngest son
of the Hon. Jonathan Jackson. From 1812 to
1817 the life of Mr. Jackson is so interwoven with
that of Francis C. Lowell, that to know one is to
know both. They were engaged in the same pur¬
suits, and labored for the same end. Being deprived
of the co-operation of Mr. Lowell, who died in
1817, there was no hesitation, no drawing back on
his part. The experience he had acquired, united
with his sagacity, eminently fitted him for the posi¬
tion of manager in carrying forward to completion
the plans he had the genius to form. From 1821
to the time of his death the history of Lowell is
his history.
The slow process of teaming and boating mer¬
chandise from Boston to Lowell and back, the in¬
convenience of being blockaded with snow in winter
or delayed by heavy rain-storms in summer, must
give way to a more expeditious method, and the
Boston and Lowell Railroad was planned and built.
To do this, surveying had to be done, estimates to
be made, eminent engineers consulted, the objec¬
tions of opponents answered, friends assured, grum¬
blers pacified, delays explained, and money sub¬
scribed. All this Mr. Jackson accomplished.
After the death of Mr. Boott, when it was found
that the stock of the Locks and Canals Company
had depreciated, Mr. Jackson was placed at the
head of that company, and succeeded in bringing
back its palmiest days. This enhanced his previous
reputation, and no great public enterprise was
undertaken without consulting him. During the
last few years of his life he was treasurer and agent
of the Great Falls Manufacturing Company at
Somersworth, New Hampshire. Bad judgment and
injudicious management had made it an unprofitable
concern. The changes he made and the capabili¬
ties he developed soon brought about a different
result. The strain, however, was great ; the care
and responsibility proved too much for his physical
strength. After a year or two the effects were
exhibited in a gradual prostration. When attacked
by dysentery in the summer of 1847, he sunk under
it. His biography, written by his friend, John A.
Lowell, enters more fully into the beauty and con¬
sistency of his character. He possessed a nice
sense of honor, was governed by an enlightened
conscience, and distinguished by a cheerfulness
and benevolence that attracted and won all with
whom he came in contact.
October 30, the City Institution for Savings was
organized. The Appleton Bank was incorporated
this year, with a capital of $100,000, since increased
to $300,000.
Ayer's New City is the name given to one of the
suburbs of Lowell. Daniel Ayer was its founder.
He purchased the land, a sandy plain near Hale's
Brook, laid out streets and lots, obtained a plan,
and had a monster auction sale, enticing attendance
by the promise of a barbecue, tliat is, an ox roasted
whole. The occasion drew a crowd of people, but
the unsavory smell spoiled théir appetites. Ayer
went into chancery in 1844, owing money to a
number of persons ; but he eventually paid them.
July 4, 1848, there were two celebrations, and
orations were delivered by Elisha Bartlett and the
Rev. John Moore.
The reservoir on Lynde's Hill, in Tewksbury,
was built by the companies this year under the
superintendence of J. B. Francis. It is about one
and one half miles from the city hall. The top of
the embankment is 190 feet above the water-level
in the upper canals. The depth of the reservoir is
18 feet, with 12 feet of water, giving the water
in the reservoir a height of 184 feet. The reser¬
voir is 174 feet square at the top and 102 feet at
the bottom. When full it contains 1,201,641
imperial gallons.
It is supplied from the canal near the machine-
84
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
shop by a pump driven by a breast-wheel. The
object of the reservoir is to supply water in case
of fire, when the canals are drawn ofi', to feed
steam-boilers, and for the use of boarding-houses.
September 11, the prevalence of the cholera
created much alarm. The number that had died
in Lowell, previous to date, was seventy-one, of
which fifty-two were buried in the Catholic bury-
ing-ground.
September 12, Father Matthew visited Lowell,
lectured in the city hall and in some of the Catho¬
lic churches. Over four thousand of his country¬
men signed the pledge during his stay.
January 1, 1850, the Lowell Gas Light Com¬
pany introduced gas.
The spacious court-house on Gorham Street
was erected this year. The edifice is of brick,
fire-proof throughout, and cost about $100,000.
Captain William Wyman proposed to erect an
observatory on Lynde's Hill in Belvidere. This
hill is over two hundred feet higher than the water-
level in the canals. He obtained a lithographic
plate of the observatory, commenced soliciting sub¬
scriptions, and put in the foundation, which re¬
mains the only evidence of his patriotic intentions.
The process of kyanizing timber was com¬
menced by J. B. Francis, the agent of the Locks
and Canals Company. It is a preservative of
wood against wet and dry rot, attacks from insects,
and the adherence of animal and vegetable matter.
The material is chloride of zinc in solution, con¬
taining fifty-five per cent of dry chlorine.
April 6, the Prescott Bank was incorporated;
capital $100,000, since increased to $300,000.
December 9, the question, " Is it expedient that
the part of Dracut called Centralville be annexed
to the city of Lowell, according to the petition of
L. G. Howe and others ? " was voted upon ; yeas
851, nays 1153. Notwithstanding this vote, the
bill before the legislature was passed, to be en¬
grossed February 27, 1851, and approved by the
governor the next day. The addition to Lowell
was about three fourths of a square mile.
January 21,1851, the governor and council ap¬
pointed Fisher A. Hildreth sheriff for the county of
Middlesex. General William Hildreth of Dracut,
his ancestor, was sheriff in 1813; he was succeeded
by General N. Austin of Charlestown, B. F. Var-
num of Dracut, and General Chandler of Lexing¬
ton. Fisher A. Hildreth was succeeded by John
S. Keyes of Concord, Charles Kimball of Littleton,
and Eben Fiske the present incumbent.
This year the manufacturing companies found it
necessary to economize in the use of water. The
old breast-wheels, having a diameter of from thir¬
teen to thirty feet, and a length of twelve feet,
that had been in use from 1823 to 1845, were
being replaced by turbine-wheels. The breast-
wheels were held in high estimation, but required
an extravagant use of water. The water used did
not give more than sixty per cent of the power.
The first turbine-wheel was put in at the Appleton
Company's Works in 1839.
December 16, the old Stone Mill in Belvidere,
owned by Charles Stott, was burned. The Watson
Light Guard was organized this year.
May 22, 1852, the proposition to build a hall
in connection with the Boston and Lowell Rail¬
road Company's depot on Merrimack • Street was
adopted by the city council, and a committee
chosen with full power to make the contract and
carry out the plan. The result was Huntington
Hall and Jackson Hall.
April 22, the great freshet occurred. Tlie Mer¬
rimack rose thirteen and one half feet on the dam
at Pawtucket Falls. Stones were placed on Paw-
tucket Bridge to prevent its demolition. Concord
River Bridge was barricaded. In Belvidere, on
Davidson, Wall, and Howe streets, nearly all the
houses were surrounded by water ; some of them
to the depth of four or five feet. Stott's mills,
the surrounding workshops, and the Prescott
Company's block were deep in the water. The
bar-room of the City Hotel had three feet of water
in it.
All the houses on the low lands in Centralville
ivere flooded, and the families in them were obliged
to move out. The yards of the Middlesex, Pres¬
cott, Massachusetts, Boott, and Lawrence compa¬
nies were overflowed, also the lower rooms in their
mills.
The premises of Cobum Blood, in Dracut, were
flooded ; he saved his cattle by swimming them
to dry land. He was ninety-three years old, and
never knew the water so high before. The trains
on the Stony Brook and Northern Railroads were
stopped. The foresight oP J. B. Francis in re¬
building the grand locks became evident when the
water reached its highest point. The large gate
was lowered for the first time.
June 1, 1853, the Wamesit Bank was organ¬
ized, with a capital that has since been increased
to $250,000. It went into operation Novem¬
ber 1.
LOWELL.
85
July 4, Samuel Appleton died in Boston. He
was a large stockholder in the various manufactur¬
ing companies in Lowell.
August 1, the Wamesit Steam Mills Company
was formed; Isaac Place, J. G. Peabody, and
others were interested in the enterprise.
September 30, the LoweU Museum was burned.
October 6, T. P. Goodhue, postmaster, died.
At a later day Pisher A. Hildreth was appointed
his successor.
November 1, George Wellman invented one of
the simplest and yet most important improvements
to the carding-machine, called the " self top-strip¬
per."
November 10, Joseph Locke died. He was
born in Pitzwilliam, N. H., April 8, 177Ä, and
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1797. He
studied law with Timothy Bigelow, and was ad¬
mitted to the bar in 1801. The next year he
opened an office in Billerica. He was elected rep¬
resentative to the legislature from that town in
1806, and was re-elected seven times. He was
president of the court of sessions eight years. He
was presidential elector the same year. He was a
member of the constitutional convention of 1820,
and of the governor's council in 1822-23. He
came to Lowell in 1833, and received the appoint¬
ment of justice of the police court. In 1849 he
was one of the representatives to the legislature
from Lowell.
The old city hall building was remodelled this
year at an expense of S 13,000.
In 1854 Sewall G. Mack was chosen mayor.
Two principal events of this year were the organi¬
zation of the Merchants' Bank, May 8, and of the
Pive-Cent Savings Bank, May 16.
In March, 1855, William Livingston died.
Chiefly to him Lowell owes the successful comple¬
tion of the Lowell and Lawrence, and the Salem
and Lowell railroads. These roads were incorpo¬
rated and built, notwithstanding the persistent op¬
position of the Boston and Lowell Company, which
claimed that its chartered rights were violated by
their construction.
June 1, the number of school-children was
6,253.
The plans drawn by James H. Band for the new
jail were adopted by the county commissioners.
In June the Middlesex North Agricultural So¬
ciety was organized, William Spencer president.
The society purchased a lot of land of the Bos¬
ton and Lowell Eailroad Company, and in 1860
bought of the Lowell Bleachery Company a build¬
ing which was moved on the ground and fitted up
for the accommodation of the society. This build¬
ing was dedicated June 18, 1860. Early in Sep-
FlTe-Cent Savings Bank.
tember, 1861, this ground was rented to the United
States for a camp, called Camp Chase. It was
vacated November 19.
In 1860 the Union Agricultural Library Asso¬
ciation was established, with one hundred and forty
members and a library consisting of two hundred
and seventy-five volumes. The interest has sub¬
sided, but the books remain.
July 2, a registry of deeds for the Northern
District of Middlesex County was opened in the
new court-house, and A. B. Wright was appointed
register. Mr. Wright was succeeded by I. W.
Beard, and Mr. Beard by J. P. Thompson. The
district now comprises Lowell, Billerica, Carlisle,
Chelmsford, Dracut, Dunstable, Littleton, Tewks-
bury, Tyngsborough, Westford, and Wilmington.
July 4, Augustus Woodbury delivered the ora¬
tion.
August 18, Hon. Abbott Lawrence died. In
1830 he was induced to take an interest in the
manufacturing business established here ; his name
86
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
is recorded as one of the incorporators of the Tre-
mont Mills in 1831, of the Boott Cotton Mills in
1835, and of the Lowell Machine-Shop in 1845.
Central Bridge was laid out as a public highway
by the city council. It was opened as such in
October, 1856. In 1832 the proprietors of the
bridge allowed the occupants of their land in Cen-
tralville to cross the bridge toll free, thus offering
inducements to people to become their tenants.
When Centralville was annexed to Lowell, it con¬
tained 909 inhabitants ; its valuation was $294,511.
In 1874 it contained 8,000 inhabitants, and its
valuation was $2,500,000.
The Lawrence Cadets were organized this year.
The name was changed in 1861 to the National
Greys.
August 9, 1856, three young men — Eogers,
Cushing, and Tilden—tried the experiment of going
over Pawtucket Falls in a boat. They are alive
to tell their experience.
October 28, while Eufus Choate was addressing
more than 3,000 citizens in Huntington Hall, the
floor of the hall suddenly settled, causing great
consternation. The seats had been removed, and
the hall was packed with people. General B. P.
Butler being present, quieted the people by a timely
caution, and the meeting dissolved without injury
to any one.
December 8, the post-offlce was removed from
TylePs building on Middle Street to the Museum
building on Merrimack Street.
Dr. Nathan Allen, who for many years has in¬
terested himself in sanitary and hygienic questions,
expressed in 1857 the opinion "that Lowell, whether
compared as a whole with other cities and towns
in New England, or its American population with
the same class in other places, presents a remark¬
ably favorable state of health for the past twenty-
five years. The absence of aged people in the
population, to increase the rate of mortality, is
offset in a great degree by the number of deaths
occasioned by casualties. From 1830 to 1846,
two hundred and thirty-one deaths are reported
as occasioned by drowning, accidents with ma¬
chinery," etc.
Messrs. Charles P. and Thomas Talbot, the firm-
name being 0. P. Talbot & Co., who commenced
business in Lowell in 1839, in a store opposite the
"Washington House, as dealers in drugs and dye-
stuffs, found the business of sufficient importance
to warrant them in building a factory in North
Billerica.
The bridge over the Concord Eiver, on East Mer¬
rimack Street, was rebuilt at an expense of $2,700.
The fall of the easterly arch of the Church Street
bridge over the Concord Eiver occurred this year.
This year (1857) will long be remembered as a
period of financial distress. Some of the mills in
Lowell completely stopped, and others ran on short
time. Thousands were unemployed, and all kinds
of business suffered.
In 1858 the Church Street Bridge over the Con¬
cord Eiver was rebuilt at an expense of $11,295.11.
August 13, 1859, the first steam fire-engine pro¬
cured by the city was tried with satisfactory re¬
sults. The fire department had been encouraged
and sustained from the organization of the town,
the best men secured for engineers, and all the
modern appliances and improvements adopted.
March 28, 1860, the city purchased Park Gar¬
den, in Belvidere, for a common, at an expense of
$1,800.
May 10, the Lowell Felting Mills were estab¬
lished by Moses A. Johnson and Isaac Schofield,
who commenced the manufacture of felting from
Eussian and American cattle hair, at the foot of
Howe Street, Belvidere. Mr. Schofield retired, and
in 1866 James S. Wiggin and George Brierton
of Boston, with Mr. Johnson, purchased the steam
saw-mill on Pawtucket Street, and erected a build¬
ing suitable for their purpose.
May 23, the old jail on Dutton Street was sold
at auction for $5,360. The original cost was
$15,000.
July 23, the proprietors of Pawtucket Bridge
offered to seU the bridge for $12,000. The town
of Dracut agreed to pay $2,000 and the city of
Lowell $4,000, in case the county commissioners
would lay the bridge out as a public highway.
February 4, 1861, the matter was settled by the
commissioners; the county was charged with the
balance of $6,000, and the bridge was free. Feb¬
ruary 20, 1861, the event was duly celebrated ; a
rope was fastened to the toll-gate, horses were
hitched to the rope, and the gate was drawn across
the bridge, preceded by a band of music.
THE REBELLION OF 1861.
March 1, 1861, Mechanics' Savings Bank was
incorporated.
April 12, the guns of South Carolina fired upon
Fort Sumter. The intelligence of this aroused the
patriotism of the North, and all political differences
were forgotten in the one prevalent desire to pre-
LOWELL.
87
serve the Union. As early as January 21, a meet¬
ing of the officers of the 6th Massachusetts Regi¬
ment was held at the American House in Lowell
to "arrange for future contingencies." At this
meeting Major B. F. Watson of Lawrence pre¬
sented the following resolution, which received the
approval of all present : —
" Resolved, That Colonel Jones be authorized and re¬
quested, forthwith, to tender the services of the 6th regi¬
ment to the commander-in-chief and legislature, when such
service may become desirable, for the purposes contem¬
plated in General Order No. 4.
This resolution was read in the legislature by
Gen. B. F. Butler, who was at that time a member
of the senate.
April 15, Colonel Jones received the following
order : —
" Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
" Adjvtant-Genebal's Office, Boston, April 15, 1861.
"CoL. Jones: Sir, I am directed by His Excellency,
the Commander-in-Chief, to order you to muster your regi¬
ment on Boston Common, forthwith, in compliance with a
requisition made by the President of the United States.
The troops are to go to Washington.
" By order of His Excellency, the Commander-in-Chief,
"WiLLiAJi ScHOULER, Adjulttnt-OeneruV
On the night of the 15th it became known that
the 6th regiment was called to go to the front ;
the soldiers assembled at the armories, and fifty
or sixty names were added to the rolls. Colonel
Jones was present, and made a speech to the
companies. The men were busy all night making
necessary preparations. The next morning the
armories were crowded by citizens, who came
forward with offers of money, clothing, etc. A
drizzly rain-storm prevailed, but it did not damp
the ardor of the men.
The out-of-town companies arrived about nine
o'clock, a. M., and the regiment assembled in
Huntington Hall.
The following companies were from LoweU :
Company A, National Greys, Josiah A. Sawtell,
captain ; C, Mechanic Phalanx, Albert S. Follans-
bee, captain ; D, City Guards, James W. Hart,
captain; H, Watson Light Guard, John F. Noyes,
lieutenant commanding.
At ten o'clock Huntington Hall was filled.
Colonel Jones introduced the mayor, who presided.
Rev. Amos Blanchard, D. D., read the Eighteenth
Psalm. Addresses were made by the mayor
(B. C. Sargent), A. R. Brown, Esq., T. H. Sweetser,
Esq., Captain Peter Haggerty, Hon. Linus Child,
Colonel George F. Sawtell, and Hon. Tappan Went-
worth. Mayor Sargent assured the soldiers that
they and their families should be cared for by the
city. The city government promptly responded
April 18, voting the sum of $8,000 to be used for
that purpose. The benediction was pronounced by
Rev. Dr. Blanchard.
The regiment, accompanied by the Brigade Band,
took an extra train of cars for Boston at a quar¬
ter before twelve o'clock. On its arrival in Boston
it marched to Faneuil Hall. During the march
the men were enthusiastically cheered by the people
who lined the streets and occupied the buildings
along the route. At quarter-past four o'clock, p. m.,
it marched from Faneuil Hall, through State and
Washington streets, to Boylston HaU, where quar¬
ters had been prepared.
April 17, the regiment was increased in Boston
by the addition of the Stoneham Light Infantry,
Captain J. H. Dike ; the Washington Light Guard,
Boston, Captain Walter S. Sampson; and the
Worcester Light Infantry, Captain Harrison W.
Pratt. The other companies were filled up by men
from other regiments, so that the 6th numbered
six hundred and fifty men. At eleven A.m. the
regiment marched to the State House, where those
of the troops who had old muskets were furnished
with the new rifled musket ; each man received an
overcoat,^ flannel shirt and drawers, and a pair of
stockings. While in front of the State House the
regimental colors were presented to Colonel Jones
by Governor Andrew, who said : —
" Soldiers, summoned suddeidy, with but a mo¬
ment for preparation, we have done all that lay in
the power of men to do, — all that rested in the
power of your state government to do, — to pre¬
pare the citizen soldiers of Massachusetts for tliis
service. We shall follow you with our benedic¬
tions, our benefactions, and prayers. Those whom
you leave behind you we shall cherish in our heart
of hearts. You carry with you our utmost faith
and confidence. We know that you never wiU
return until you can bring the assurances that the
utmost duty has been performed which brave and
patriotic men can accomplish. This flag, sir, take
and bfear with you. It will be an emblem on
which all eyes will rest, reminding you always of
that which you are bound to hold most dear."
In reply. Colonel Jones said : —
" Your Excellency, you have given to me this
flag, which is the emblem of all that stands before
1 Procured by tbe governor, at the suggestion of General
B. F. Butler.
88
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY
you. It represents my whole command ; and, so
help me God, I will never disgrace it ! "
Before leaving the city, Lizzie Clawson Jones,
the youthful daughter of the colonel, was adopted
as the daughter of the regimeut.
At seven p. m. the line of march was taken for
the Worcester depot, under the escort of the second
battalion of infantry. The shouts of the people,
mingled with the discharge of cannon and the ring¬
ing of the bells, were heard all through the route.
At Worcester the military, fire department, and
thousands of people lined the track as the train
passed. Early on the morning of the 18th the regi¬
ment arrived in New York and marched to its quar¬
ters at the Astor, St. Nicholas, and Metropolitan
hotels. The reception was cordial and enthusi¬
astic. The streets were literally packed with sol¬
diers and citizens to do it honor. At noon the
6 th marched to the Jersey Ferry, and took the
train for Washington. At Trenton and Newark,
N. J., a salute was fired in honor of its appear¬
ance. The 6th arrived at Philadelphia about eight
o'clock, p. M., where the crowds of people were
so dense that the regiment could only move through
the streets by the flank. The cheering was inces¬
sant. The officers were entertained at the Conti¬
nental Hotel, and the soldiers were quartered at
the Girard House. While the soldiers were
seeking repose, Colonel Jones had a conference
with Brigadier-General P. S. Davis, of the First
Brigade, Massachusetts Militia, who had been sent
forward by Governor Andrew to arrange subsistence
and transportation, and who, having heard the
most exciting rumors and threats from Baltimore,
declined to take the responsibility of ordering the
regiment either to go on or wait for further infor¬
mation. Colonel Jones' reply was, " My orders are
to reach Washington at the earliest possible moment,
and I shall go on." General Davis, extending his
hand, replied, " Colonel, if you go on, I shall go
with you." The only fear Colonel Jones expressed,
in continuing the conference, was, that the train
might be destroyed by an obstruction on the track,
or by the destruction of a bridge, causing a whole¬
sale slaughter, for which the friends of the regiment
would hold him responsible ; but he added, " My
orders are peremptory, and, whatever may be the
consequences, I must proceed." They arranged
for the despatch of a pilot engiue, in advance of
the train, to avoid a casualty. The soldiers had
scarcely retired to rest in Philadelphia, when the
long roll sounded, and they were obliged to turn
out. They left at one o'clock, A. m., April 19.
All possible care was taken in embarking the men,
so that, if called upon to disembark suddenly, they
would be in regimental line. The car containing
the field and staff officers was at the head of the
train. At Havre-de-Grace the cars were not run
off the ferry-boat in the order in which they went
on. This derangement may have conferred martyr¬
dom on men who would otherwise have escaped.
On arriving at the Susquehanna, the train was
augmented by the addition of cars containing an
unarmed corps of young men apparently from
sixteen to twenty-two years of age, numbering
about one thousand, calling themselves Small's
Brigade. In rearranging the train on the south
side of the Susquehanna, it being night, some of
the cars, in which were a portion of the 6th regi¬
ment, were misplaced, separating them from the
other companies of the regiment. Company K,
Captain Sampson, was to have had the left, and
thus, with Major Watson, would have had the post
of honor, but for the derangement at Havre-de-
Grace, which misplaced the companies so that, on
their arrival in Baltimore, Company D occupied
the position of Company K, and Company L, which
belonged on the right, was transferred to the left.
Quartermaster Munroe had d.istributed twenty
rounds of ball cartridge, and Colonel Jones had
gone through the cars, issuing an order for the
regiment to march across Baltimore in column of
sections. The soldiers loaded and capped their
rifles. The colonel ordered Major Watson, his
second in command, to repair, upon the stopping
of the train, to the left company. Captain Sampson,
and remain in the car with that company. When
the train arrived and stopped (about 10 o'clock,
a. m.), the major proceeded from the forward car
to the one containing Captain Sampson's command.
No order came to file out. All the cars forward
of Captain Sampson's company, or the larger por¬
tion of that company, disappeared, and horses were
being attached to that car. Major Watson supposed
he had the left of the regiment, and no intimation
had been received of a change in the orders. The
railroad authorities, without consulting the colonel,
had ordered the cars drawn across the city by horses,
before the mob collected, as the regiment was not
expected until about noon. The car containing
Captain Sampson's company, at the first turn in
the street, owing to obstructions, was thrown from
the track. Major Watson, with the aid of a pass¬
ing team, replaced it upon the track. The mob
LOWELL.
89
were much excited, and missiles were thrown at
and into the car. On Pratt Street, nearly opposite
the dock, the mob detached the horses, in prox¬
imity to a pile of paving-stones. Here a most
furious and determined attack was made Avith stones
and fire-arms, wounding several soldiers in the car.
Major Watson ordered the men to shelter them¬
selves, as far as possible, by lying upon the floor
of the car, while he went out among the crowd, and
by threats, and the formidable appearance of his
revolver, compelled the driver to reattach the horses.
They had proceeded but a short distance, when the
horses were again detached and the same scene
was repeated ; the car was then drawn to the Wash¬
ington depot without further trouble.
There were eleven companies in the regiment.
Above is a narration of the passage of seven com¬
panies, occupying eight cars ; the remaining four
companies left in the cars were : Company C, Me¬
chanic Phalanx, Captain A. S. Pollansbee -, Com¬
pany I of Lawrence, Captain John Pickering;
Stoneham Light Infantry, Captain J. H. Dike;
Company D, City Guards of Lowell, Captain James
W. Hart. The balance of the thirty cars in the
train were occupied by Small's Brigade.
While awaiting the movement of the cars two
men came in and announced that the track had
been torn up and removed, and advised the officers
to march their men through the city. They were
sharply questioned by Captain Pollansbee and the
other officers, and the determination taken to march
through. The four companies filed out of the cars
in regular order. Captain Dike of Stoneham was
entitled to the right, and M'hen requested to take
that position he declined, with the remark that he
did not wish to take the responsibility. After con¬
sultation, the officers decided that the command
devolved upon Captain A. S. Pollansbee, Company
C. He immediately took his position upon the
right, wheeled into column of sections, and ordered
the march in close column. But a difficulty arose ;
no one knew the way to the destination of the
troops. Inquiry was made of the by-standers,
when a policeman stepped up and volunteered to
guide them. The policeman had not proceeded far
before he was knocked down by a stone. Very
soon the mob was upon them, with a secession flag
attached to a pole, which was taken and trampled
in the dirt; the whole column marched over it.
The street through which the troops marched was
parallel with the canal, and when they came to the
bridge over the canal they fomid it barricaded.
The planks of the bridge had been taken to form
the barricade. The men made short work of this
obstruction, replaced the planks on the bridge, and
continued their march. Stones were hurled at the
troops, and some of the men were hit ; pistols were
discharged ; terms of obloquy were used to irritate
the men ; they were informed that they could not
march through the city; every "white nigger"
would be killed before they could reach the depot.
Not a gun had been discharged by the troops.
The band being without arms refused to leave the
station ; there was no music, but the flag was there.
In the march through Pratt Street the right of the
column had passed a three-story brick building, in
the third story of which three of the windows had
been taken out, and men were stationed there with
muskets in their hands. The City Guards, Captain
Hart, had the rear of the column. When they
were in front of the building, the men in the win¬
dows of that building fired, and the balls took
effect in Captain Hart's company, killing two men.
In front and on the flanks of the column was a
dense mass of excited and furious people. Into
this crowd the troops were ordered to fire, and the
result was, according to Captain Pollansbee, that
it "laid a great many of them away." In the
judgment of Captain Pollansbee and others on
whose information he relies, the firing continued
about thirty-eight minutes. While this was taking
place, two blocks from where the men were killed,
a well-dressed man, with a police force, came up
to Captain Pollansbee, announced himself as Mayor
Brown, requested him to cease firing, and told him
he should be protected. While he was speaking one
of the men was knocked down by a stone. The
mayor seized a rifle and shot the man that threw the
stone. The crowd renewed the attack, and stones
and balls continued to fly about the mayor's head.
He remarked to Captain Pollansbee, " This is get¬
ting too hot for me," and hastily took his leave.
Beyond this they came to a place where the
street branched into two streets. Having no guide,
the gallant leader was in doubt. A circumstance
now occurred that decided him. At the opening
of one of the streets a man had posted himself,
shouting he would shoot the first man that at¬
tempted to pass him. " That's the road for us,"
remarked Captain Pollansbee, and the order was
promptly given to " Porward, march ! " That man
was Marshal Kane, chief of police of Baltimore.
A short march brought the column to the depot,
where they joined their companions. After they
90
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
were in the cars, a crowd surrounded them, but
the significant appearance of guns protruding from
the windows prevented any further material injury.'
Efforts were made by the mob to delay the train,
and the conductor reported to the colonel that
it was impossible to proceed, that the regiment
must march to Washington. Colonel Jones re¬
plied, " We are ticketed through, and are going in
these cars. If you or the engineer cannot run the
train, we have plenty of men who can. If you
need protection or assistance, you shall have it;
but we go through." They reached the Eelay
House, where the double track ended; the train
from Washington had the right of way, and a delay
of two hours occurred. Late in the afternoon the
regiment reached Washington, where Major McDow¬
ell, of General Scott's staff, was in waiting to receive
it ; its quarters were established in the Capitol.
May 5, the regiment left Washington for the
Eelay House, at the junction of the Baltimore and
Ohio and the Baltimore and Washington railroads.
The Boston Light Artillery, one hundred and
twenty-one men, and the 8th New York Eegiment,
eight hundred and forty-eight men, were stationed
at the Eelay House. Here they remained tiU
May 13, when they were ordered to Baltimore.
They reached there in the evening, and during a
furious thunder-shower raised the national flag on
Federal Hill. May 16, the regiment was ordered
back to the Eelay House, where it remained,
guarding the railway. June 13, it was again
ordered to Baltimore to remain and protect the
polls during the election; on the. defeat of the
Union candidate it returned to the Eelay House.
June 26, the regiment was again sent to Baltimore,
where it encamped on Mount Clare and in a neigh-
^ A list of the killed and wounded ; Killed, Addison 0. Whit¬
ney, Co. D ; Sumner H. Ncedham, Co. I ; Luther C. Ládd, Co.
D; Charles A. Taylor, Co. D. Wounded, Captain John Dike,
Co. L ; Lieutenant Leander F. Lynde, Co. L ; Lieutenant James
F. Rowe, Co. L ; Charles B. Stinson, Co. C ; Sergeant W. H.
Lamson, Co. D ; Sergeant John E. Ames, Co. D ; Alexander
George, Co. D ; Charles H. Chandler, Co. D.; Edward Coburn,
Co. D ; George W. Loverin, Co. D ; Ira W. Moore, Co. D ;
Daniel C. Stevens, Co. D; William R. Patch, Co. D; Daniel
B. Tyler, Co. D; William G. Withington, Co. D; Sergeant
George G. Duirell, Co. I ; Victor G. Gingass, Co. I ; Michael
Green, Co. I ; Harry G. Jewell, Co. I ; George Colgan, Co. K ;
Henry Gardner, Co. K ; William D. Gurley, Co. K j George T.
Whitney, Co. K ; Charles L. Gill, Co. L ; Daniel Brown, Co. L :
Henry Dike, Co. L ; H. W. Danforth, Co. L ¡ Stephen Flanders,
Co. L; John B. Fortier, Co. L; John W. Kimpton, Co. L;
James Keeuan, Co. L; James S. Moody, Co. L; Julian Putnam,
Co. L; Ephraim A. Perry, Co. L; Andrew Robbins, Co. L ;
William H. Young, Co. L.
boring grove. On the 31st, at two o'clock in the
morning, it marched through the city to the resi¬
dence of Charles Howard, president of the board
of police commissioners, and conveyed him a pris¬
oner to Fort McHenry. The next day it returned
to the Eelay House. July 4, the loyal citizens of
Baltimore presented the regiment with a magnifi¬
cent silk banner, bearing this inscription : " Loyal
Citizens of Baltimore, to the Sixth Mass. U. S. V.,
Pratt Street, April 19, 1861." July 22, Congress
passed a vote of thanks to the regiment. General
Dix published a congratulatory order on relieving
the regiment from duty, dated July 29, 1861.
Passing through Baltimore on their way home,
they received a cordial reception. August 1, they
arrived in Boston, and were mustered out of the
United States service the next morning.
August 2, the regiment, accompanied by the
Brigade Band and a drum corps, was received in
Lowell at half past one o'clock. A salute of
nineteen guns greeted its arrival. The soldiers
were met and escorted by the fire department and
other bodies to the South Common, amid the en¬
thusiastic cheers of the people and the peals of the
bells. After speeches by the mayor and Colonel
Jones, they were escorted to Huntington Hall,
where a collation had been provided at the expense
of the city. Having given a connected history of
the 6th regiment, 1 now return to the date of its
departure from Lowell.
April 20, flags were displayed from St. Paul's
and the First Congregational Churches, the Hamil¬
ton Mills, Samuel Lawrence's house, the Lowell
Machine-Shop, on Warren Street, and the Lowell
Bleachery. April 22, the Brigade Band arrived
home from Baltimore. The several banks ten¬
dered loans of money to the state. April 27, the
Soldiers' Aid Association was organized ; Nathan
Crosby president, S. W. Stickney treasurer, and
M. C. Bryant secretary. The ladies entered heart¬
ily into the work of supplying the soldiers with
articles needed for their comfort and convenience.
The record of this Association is honorable to all
connected with it.
May 6, the bodies of Addison 0. Whitney and
Luther C. Ladd were brought to Lowell. The city
government and a detachment of the Eichardson
Light Infantry escorted the bodies to Huntington
Hall, which was dressed in mourning, and where
the following solemn services took place : —
Dirge by the Brigade Band ; reading of the
Scriptures, Eev. C. W. Homer; prayer, Eev. Dr.
LOWELL.
91
Cleveland ; anthem, St. Anne's Choir ; discourse,
Eev. W. E. Clark ; original hymn by Eev. C. W.
Homer, read by Eev. J. J. ïwiss, sung by St.
Anne's Choir j prayer, Eev. D. Mottj benediction,
Eev. Frederick Hinckley.
The pall-bearers were Lieutenant W. E. Parrar,
G. E. Dana, Edward S. Hunt, Surgeon W. H.
Bradley, James Francis, H. H. Fuller, David Hyde,
and Captain Temple Tebbetts.
May 11, the Abbott Light Guard, Captain E. G.
Abbott, left the city for Camp Andrew, Brook Farm,
Eoxbury. This company was attached to Colonel
Gordon's regiment.
May 15, Sergeant John E. Ames, Company D,
Corporal Daniel B. Tyler, Company D, privates
Edward Cobum, Company D, and Michael Green,
Company I, — the soldiers wounded at Balti¬
more,— arrived in Lowell. They were received
by the Eichardson and the Lowell Light Infantry.
May 21, the Eichardson Light Infantry, Captain
Phineas A. Davis, left Lowell via Boston for Fort¬
ress Monroe.
July 4, Hon. George S. Boutwell delivered the
oration.
July 8, the Butler Eifles, Captain Ehen James,
and the Hill Cadets, Captain S. Proctor, left Lowell
for Camp Cameron, Cambridge, and were attached
to the 16th Massachusetts regiment.
September 5, General B. P. Butler returned to
Lowell after the affair 'at Hatteras Inlet. He was
received by the mayor, and escorted by the military
to his home. September 10, he obtained an order
from the Secretary of War, countersigned by the
, President of the United States, to raise a force not
exceeding six regiments, and organized a camp at
the fair-grounds of the North Middlesex Agricul¬
tural Society. It was named Camp Chase.
September 24, the Prince Jerome Napoleon
visited Lowell, accompanied by Princess Clotilde
and the Duchess d'Abrantes.
January 2, 1862, the Bay State and Maine regi¬
ments left Camp Chase for Boston, where they
embarked on board the ship Constitution for Ship
Island.
January 5, the Eev. J. P. Cleveland was appointed
chaplain of the 26th regiment. On the 13th he
was presented with a sword and belt ; on the
15th he was dismissed as pastor of the Appleton
Street Church, and went to Ship Island. He was
discharged from his chaplaincy May 2, and returned
to Lowell May 24. He died March 7, 1873.
February 6, the Maine, Vermont, and 4th Massa¬
chusetts batteries and the Gloucester Light Infan¬
try, Captain Cook, left Camp Chase for Ship Island.
February 20, the 31st Massachusetts regiment left
Camp Chase.
April 22, John A. Andrew, governor of Massa¬
chusetts, transmitted to the General Court a copy
of " an Act for the relief of the families of those of
the Massachusetts 6th Eegiment of Volunteers who
were killed or wounded in the riot of the 19th of
April, 1861," passed by the General Assembly of
Maryland. This Act appropriated seven thousand
dollars for this object.
May 26, a call for troops to defend the capital,
endangered by the near approach of the enemy,
fired anew the patriotism and zeal of the 6th regi¬
ment. Proceeding to Boston, it remained in readi¬
ness two days, when intelligence was received that
the apparent danger had been averted, and it re¬
turned home.
July 1, President Lincoln issued a call for
300,000 volunteers. The quota for Lowell was
397. The city council authorized the payment of
" a bounty of $110 to all such men as should come
immediately forward, enlist, and be mustered into
the United States service for the term of three
years, or the war." Lowell was the first city in
the commonwealth to raise her quota.
August 4, the President issued a call for troops
to serve for nine months. The 6th regiment was
among the first to respond. September 9, the regi¬
ment departed from Lowell ; arrived in Washing¬
ton on the 11th; on the morning of the 12th was
ordered to Fortress Monroe, and on the 13th Gen¬
eral Dix ordered the regiment to Sufiblk, on the
Norfolk and Petersburg Eailroad. Sufi'olk was an
outpost of Norfolk occupied by a force of about
5,000 men under the command of General O. F.
Terry.
The field and staff officers of the 6th regiment
were : colonel, Albert S. Follansbee, Lowell ; lieu¬
tenant-colonel, Melvin Beal, Lawrence ; major, C.
A. Stott, Lowell ; surgeon, Walter Burnham,
Lowell; chaplain, John W. Hanson, Haverhill;
adjutant, Thomas 0. Allen, Lowell; quartermasters,
William G. Wise, Charles H. Coburn, Lowell;
assistant-surgeons, Otis M. Humphrey and George
E. Pinkham, Lowell.
List of the companies : Company A, Lowell, Cap¬
tains Andrew C. Wright, Alfred J. HaU, 97 men ;
Company B, Groton, Captain George F. Shattuck,
75 men ; Company C, Lowell, Captain John C.
Jepson, 100 men; Company D, Lowell, Captain
92
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
James W. Hart, 89 men ; Company E, Acton,
Captain Aaron C. Handley, 75 men; Company F,
Cambridge, Captain John S. Sawyer, 87 men;
Company G, Lowell, Captain George L. Cady, 94
men ; Company H, Lowell, Captain Rodney C.
Persons, 96 men ; Company I, Lawrence, Captain
Augustine L. Hamilton, 100 men ; Company K,
Dracut and Chelmsford, Captain C. E. A. Bartlett,
82 men. Hanson says : "During more than eight
months of our stay in Suffolk a line of works, nine
miles in extent, flanked by the Dismal Swamp, was
erected In sickness, wounds, and death the
regiment was remarkably favored throughout the
nine months, considering the unhealthiness of its
location and its exposure to danger."
Brevet-Major Edward G. Abbott, captain of
Company A of the Second Infantry, was killed at
the battle of Cedar Mountain, August 9, 1862.
He was born in Lowell, September 29, 1840, the
son of Hon. J. G. and Caroline Abbott ; graduated
at Harvard College in 1860, and entered the law
oiRce of Samuel A. Brown. He raised the company
of which he was appointed captain, called the
Abbott Light Guard, and joined Colonel Gordon's
regiment.
The battle of Cedar Mountain was drawing to a
close when he fell ; and during the fight, says Gen¬
eral Andrews, his colonel, his conduct "was as
brave and noble as any friend of his could desire."
Just as the Union army began their retreat Cap¬
tain Abbott was shot, the ball passing directly
through his neck. He died immediately. The
body was brought to Lowell, and buried Sunday,
August 17, with public honors.
September 27, William Spencer died. He was
born in Manchester, England; engaged in the
management of a print-works in Ireland ; came to
Lowell in 1827 - 28, and had charge of the Hamil¬
ton Print-Works until his death. He was a practi¬
cal printer, loved his business, and served the com¬
pany faithfully and well. He was the first person
who succeeded in dyeing yarn from the beam. He
was the first president of the North Middlesex
Agricultural Society, and manifested great interest
in its prosperity and success.
October 5, " Captain Timothy A. Crowley, com¬
pany A, Thirteenth Infantry, died at New Orleans.
He was born in Lowell, February 14, 1831, and
after leaving school was employed in the Lowell
Machine-Shop. For several years he was connected
with the city police; in 1858 was deputy marshal.
He subsequently studied law, and was admitted to
the bar in 1860. He was a corporal in the Watson
Light Guard in their three months' campaign, and
bore the colors of the 6th regiment, during the
Baltimore riot in 1861, with a steady courage that
attracted the admiration of all. He then gathered
the company of which he was captain at his death.
He displayed fine abilities as an officer, and won
the respect of all with whom he came in contact
in the Department of the Gulf. He left a widow
and two children. His remains were brought to
Lowell for burial, October 26, 1862.
Central Bridge, over the Merrimack Eiver, was
rebuilt this year at a cost of $34,008.51. Dracut
paid $7,875, Lowell, $26,133.51.
In his address to the city council, delivered Jan¬
uary 5, 1863, Mayor Hosford said: "The whole
number of men who have been or are now engaged
in the service of their country from this city is
3,279 ; of which number, 215 are three months'
men, 607 nine months' men, 2,227 three years'
men, 34 in the regular army, and 196 in the
navy. Since the commencement of hostilities, 176
are known to have lost their lives ; 56 have been
killed in battle or died of wounds received, 111
have died of disease, 8 of accidents, and one was
shot for insubordination. About 25 have been
reported as actual deserters."
January 12, General B. F. Butler returned from
New Orleans, and addressed his fellow-citizens in
Huntington Hall. He gave them an account of
his administration in the Department of the Gulf,
and answered the charges brought against him.
April 14, the Audover Association of Congrega¬
tional ministers met in Lowell. They called on
General Butler, and thanked him for his ser¬
vices.
January 24, at a meeting held by the ladies of
Lowell, the first sanitary fair was inaugurated;
officers were chosen and committees appointed.
All tlie religious societies were represented on the
committees. The fair was held in Huntington
Hall, February 26, 27, and 28, for' the benefit of
the Sanitary Commission, and $ 4,850 were realized,
after paying all expenses.
April 16, Peter Lawson, Nicholas Mickel, John
A. Goodwin, James Kent, and their associates
were incorporated as the LoweU Horse-Railroad
Company. Laying the track for the road was
commenced September 9.
The Chase Mill, on the bank of Concord Eiver,
was built for the manufacture of woollens. Jan¬
uary 17, 1866, the mill was burned.
LOWELL.
93
Brevet-Major Solon A. Perkins, of the Third
Cavalry, in an engagement June 3, 1863, at Clin¬
ton, La., was mortally wounded. He was bom at
Lancaster, N. H., December 6, 1836, the son of
Apollos Perkins, who came to Lowell in 1840.
Major Perkins served with General Butler in the
Department of the Gulf, and earned the reputation
of being the boldest and most successful cavalry
officer in the army.
April 2, 1864, the 26th regiment returned, and
marched to Huntington Hall, where a collation was
provided for the soldiers.
Henry Livermore Abbott, major of the 20th
regiment of Massachusetts volunteers, fell, mortally
wounded, in the battle of the Wilderness, on Fri¬
day, May 6, 1864, at the age of twenty-two. He
was the second son of the Hon. J. G. and Caroline
Abbott. He was born in Lowell, January 21,
1842, and graduated at Harvard College in 1860.
May 16, the First National Bank, incorporated
with a capital of $250,000, was organized.
July 6, Colonel FoUansbee received a request
inviting the 6th regiment to enter the service for
one hundred days. This was complied with, and
its services were offered and accepted.
In the record of the Great Eebellion two names
intimately connected with Lowell have gained a
prominence that entitles them to a place in her
history.
Captain Gustavus V. Fox was bom in Saugus,
June 13, 1821. He came to Lowell with his
father. Dr. Jesse Fox, in 1823, and entered the
United States Navy, where he served nineteen years
at different stations, — on the coast survey, in com¬
mand of mail steamers, and in the war with Mex¬
ico. While in the naval service, in 1856, he
accepted a position as agent of the Bay State
Mills, now the Washington Mills, of Lawrence,
which he held till 1861. In February, 1861, he
was sent for by General Scott, at the instance of
Postmaster-General Blair, in reference to throwing
supplies and troops into Fort Sumter, but Presi¬
dent Buchanan refused at that time to allow the
expedition.
On the 6th of April, 1861, the first part of a
secret naval expedition under Captain Fox sailed
from New York for the relief of Fort Sumter.
Captain Fox says : —
" My plan for supplying Fort Sumter required
three hundred sailors, a full complement of armed
launches, and three tugs. The Powhatan carried
the sailors and launches, and when this vessel was
about to leave in obedience to the orders of the
secretary of the navy, two officers. Lieutenant
D. D. Porter, U. S. N., and Captain M. C. Meigs,
U. S. Engineer, presented themselves with an order
from the President of the United States, authoriz¬
ing the former to take any vessel whatever in com¬
mission, and proceed immediately to the Gulf of
Mexico. This order did not pass through the
navy department, was unknown to the secretary of
the navy, and when signed by the President he was
not conscious that his signature would deprive me
of the means to accomplish an object which he
held to be of vital importance."
This expedition arrived in season to hear the
heavy guns and see the smoke and shells from the
batteries that had opened fire on Fort Sumter.
The arrival of this expedition was anticipated, the
President having on the 8th of April notified the
governor of South Carolina that supplies must be
sent to Fort Sumter. The fort was evacuated
on Sunday, the 14th of April. On Monday the
steamer Sabel took the garrison outside to the
steamer Baltic, which left that evening direct for
New York, where she arrived on the morning of
the 18th.
Captain Fox received a letter from the President
dated May 1, 1861, acknowledging that he, the
President, was in a measure responsible for the
failure of the expedition, and that the cause of
the country was advanced by the attempt.
Alive to the necessity of keeping open the com¬
munications with the North, Captain Fox, when he
found that those of Washington and New York
were severed, applied to Mr. Aspinwall for a small
steamer to enable him to reach Chesapeake Bay.
Mr. Aspinwall applied to John Jacob Astor, Jr.,
who very generously gave a check for $3,000.
With this. Captain Fox procured the tug Yankee,
and persuaded Commodore Breese to arm and fit
her out. Having received from the commodore an
appointment as acting lieutenant. Captain Fox left,
on the 26th of April, for Hampton Eoads. The
services of the boat not being required at this point,
he offered his vessel to General Butler, who was
about opening communications with Washington.
The general sent him through with a report to the
President, and immediately after Captain Fox was
appointed assistant-secretary of the navy.
After nearly six years' service as assistant-sec¬
retary of the navy. Captain Fox returned to private
life. In 1869 he became agent of the Middlesex
Company, which position he retained until March,
94
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1874. He is now a member of the firm of E. E.
Mudge and Company, Boston.
Benjamin F. Butler was bom at Deerfield,
N. H., November 5, 1818. The district school
helped him to spelling, figures, a little geography,
and the rudiments of grammar. His father died
in 1819, leaving the care of the son to the mother,
who conceived the idea of giving him a liberal
education as a preparation for the ministry. In
1828 she came to Lowell. Here he had an op¬
portunity for education, which was well improved.
From the common school he graduated to the high
school. Afterward he attended the academy at
Exeter, preparatory to a college course. Strong
in the hope of seeing him grace the pulpit of a
Baptist church, his mother sent him to WaterviUe,
Maine, where the Baptists had recently founded a
college. He returned to Lowell in his twentieth
year, with a preference for the legal rather than the
clerical profession. He entered the office of Wil¬
liam Smith, Esq., and helped himself to law, occa¬
sionally practising in the police court. This prac¬
tice, and teaching for a time in one of the public
schools, enabled him to pay for the clothes he
wore. In 1840 he was admitted to the bar. This
marked an era in his life, for in the practice of his
profession he has gained a reputation that will
abide. His military career commenced about this
time. He rose through the various grades to be
a brigadier-general of militia. His varied experi¬
ences in the courts and at the hustings are omit¬
ted from necessity, and the reader is taken to the
year 1860.
General Butler was a delegate to the democratic
convention held at Charleston that year ; and it was
there, at Baltimore, and subsequently at Washing¬
ton, that he acquired a thorough knowledge of the
designs and purposes of the Southern disunionists.
General Butler gave Governor Andrew a full rela¬
tion of what he had seen and heard, and advised
him to get the militia of the state in readiness to
move at a day's notice.
"On the morning of the 15th of Aprib 1861,
Governor Andrew received a telegram from Sena¬
tor Wilson, asking that twenty companies of Mas¬
sachusetts militia be instantly despatched to defend
the seat of government. A few hours after, the
formal requisition arrived from the secretary of
war, calling for two full regiments.
The 6th regiment, one of General Butler's brig¬
ade, it was determined should go first. Mr. Cam¬
eron was reminded that a brigade required a
brigadier, and an order was received calling for
a brigade of four full regiments to be commanded
by a brigadier-general. General Butler, on the
morning of April 17, received an order to take
command of these troops. The 6th departed tliat
afternoon. The general accompanied the 8th regi¬
ment to Philadelphia, where it arrived on the
memorable 19th of April. At 11 o'clock, a. m.,
April 20, the 8th started in cars for Havre-de-
Grace, where it embarked on the ferry-boat Mary¬
land for Annapolis. The general and troop
arrived safely, and after a tedious and vexatious
delay were landed, much against the wishes of the
governor of Maryland and the mayor of Annapolis.
Upon examination it was found that the raiboad
depot contained a "small, rusty, damaged loco¬
motive," and when the general inquired of his
men if any of them knew "anything about this
machine," Charles Homans, a private of Company
E, responded affirmatively.
The troops went through to Washington, but
General Butler remained at Annapolis, and was or¬
dered by General Scott to hold the town and supr-
intend the passage of the troops that were con¬
tinually arriving. An offer by General Butler to
employ Massachusetts troops to suppress an insur¬
rection of the slaves in Maryland called forth a
mild remonstrance from the governor of Massachu¬
setts. This question was better understood at a
later day.
General Butler went to Washington and recom¬
mended the occupation of Manassas Junction, but
his recommendation was unheeded. He was after¬
wards ordered to the Eelay House, the occupation
of which is given in the history of "the 6th regi¬
ment. After the occupation of Baltimore, General
Butler was recalled to Washington, received a com¬
mission as major-general and the command of For¬
tress Monroe. May 22, he took possession of his
command; then followed the possession of New¬
port News, the employment of slaves as contraband
of war, and a spicy correspondence. June 10,
occurred the unfortunate affair of Big Bethel, where
Major Winthrop fell. August 18, General Butler
was removed from the command of Fortress Mon¬
roe, and General Wool appointed in his stead;
General Butler had been in command of the De-
partment of Virginia two months and twenty-seven
days. He accepted a subordinate position under
General Wool, and participated in the capture of
the forts at Hatteras Inlet. September 10, he
obtained an order to raise not exceeding six regi-
LOWELL.
95
ments in the New England states. He returned
home ; the six thousand troops were raised. Febru¬
ary 25,1862, General Butler sailed from Hampton
Boads in the steamship Mississippi, for Ship Island,
with orders to capture New Orleans. After a re¬
markable voyage of nearly thirty days, the steam¬
ship arrived at Ship Island and the troops were
landed. April 17, the fleet, under command of
Captain Farragut, approached Fort Jackson, and
on the 24th was anchored before New Orleans.
On the 26th of April the 26th Massachusetts,
under Colonel Jones, started for Sable Island,
twelve miles in the rear of Fort St. Philip, and on
the morning of the 27th the fort was invested on
all sides. General Butler hastened to the fleet
before New Orleans, and arrived in season to aid
Farragut by his counsel. The troops were landed
May 1. June 5, Mumford was condemned to die
for tearing down the Union flag. General Butler's
government of the city of New Orleans is a matter
of history which my limits will not allow me to
dwell upon. The order appointing his successor
is dated Washington, November 9, 1862 ; his last
general order is dated December 15, and he left
New Orleans December 24. Upon reaching New
York he found a letter from the President, re¬
questing his presence at Washington. His at¬
tempt there to find out why he was recalled only
led him to the conclusion that the French govern¬
ment had to be conciliated. His reception at the
North showed that the people approved his course
in New Orleans. In November, 1863, he was
ordered to take command of the Department of
Virginia and North Carolina. AU colored troops
recruited at the North and in Maryland were sent
to him, and he caused them to be equipped and
drilled. On the 5th of May, 1864, Butler's forces
sailed up the James Eiver, preceded by the navy,
and seized and held two salient points which were
afterwards fortified, — Forts Powhatan and Poca¬
hontas.
On the foUowing day fortifications were com¬
menced on the left bank of the Appomattox, four
miles from Petersburg, and also on the right bank
of the James. Butler made a demonstration upon
Petersburg, and fought the battle of Swift Creek.
His movement upon Richmond was checked by the
battles of the Wilderness, and he returned to Ber¬
muda Hundreds, where he was attacked by Beau¬
regard, whom he repulsed. He ordered a cavalry
force, under General Kautz, to make an assault on
Petersburg from the south, which he did, but was
not supported by Gilmore on the north. In another
attack ou Petersburg by General Smith and Gen¬
eral Hinks, the defences were carried ; but Peters¬
burg was reinforced by a portion of Lee's army,
and our forces retired. The next enterprise Gen¬
eral Butler engaged in was the Dutch Gap Canal,
four hundred and fifty feet long, which would save
a circuit of seven miles; it was completed witliin
thirty feet, when the naval commander thouglit he
could not hold the river against the rebel gun¬
boats. September 29, General Terry, with a colored
division, made an attack on New Market Heights
and took them. Then the entire Tenth Corps
attacked the fortifications on the New Market road.
The Eighteentii Corps, under General Ord, made
an attack on Fort Harrison and captured it. Sep¬
tember 30, General Lee sent two divisions to attack
Butler's forces : a battle was fought which resulted
in a victory for the army of the James.
During the summer of 1864 General Butler
conducted the exchange of prisoners, a most labo¬
rious duty, and had command of the rebel prison¬
ers at Point Lookout. The experiment of blowing
up Fort Fisher with two hundred and fifty tons of
gunpowder was tried and fhiled. In November
General Butler was sent to New York with a por¬
tion of his command to prevent any disturbance
at the presidential election ; it was a very quiet
election.
July 21,1864, the HiU Cadets and Butler Rifles,
under Captains Donovan and O'Hare, returned
home after three years' service. Attached to the
16th regiment, they took part in the battles of Fair
Oaks, Malvern Hill, Fredericksburg, Chancellors-
ville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spottsylvania, Cold
Harbor, and Petersburg.
October 20, John P. Robinson died, aged sixty-
five. He was born at Dover, New Hampshire;
educated at Phillips Academy, Exeter, New Hamp¬
shire; graduated at Harvard College in 1823; stud¬
ied law in the ofiSce of Daniel Webster, and com¬
menced practice in Lowell in 1827. H. G. F. Corliss
was associated with him first as a student and after¬
wards as a partner. Mr. Robinson served one
year in the state senate, five years in the house
of representatives, and was one of the committee
on the Revised Statutes in 1836. It was said of
him : " John P. Robinson was an able and accom¬
plished lawyer, an eloquent and powerful orator,
and a thorough classical scholar." Mr. Robinson
married a daughter of Ezra.Worthen.
January 28,1865, General B. F. Butler returned
96
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
home, received an enthusiastic reception in Hunt¬
ington Hall, and made a speech in explanation of
the causes of the disaster at Fort Fisher.
Aprü 21, the Lowell Exchange was organized,
but failed for want of business.
June 17, the steamboat Traveller made a trip
from Lawrence to Lowell, and landed her twenty
passengers within ten minutes' walk of the horse-
car track. The engine had two-horse power ; the
boiler occupied the centre of the boat.
July 1, the census showed that Lowell had
30,757 inhabitants, a loss of 6,076 since the for¬
mer census.
Lowell's war record is thus stated : —
Three months' men 227
Nine " " .... 575
One hundred days' men .... 252
Twelve months' men . . . . 210
Two years' men 9
Three years' men 312é
Substitutes for three years' men . . 47
Re-enlisted for three years . . . 367
Navy recruits 455
Total 5266
Paid bounties, less amount refunded by state $235,010.92
" for relief of families 8,445.55
" interest on money for state aid . . 14,671.25
Private subscriptions .... 40,997.86
Other items swelled the grand total to . $323,942.11
October 23, 1866, Dr. J. C. Ayer gave the city
a. bronze statue of victory. It was placed in Monu¬
ment Square, and July 4, 1867, was unveiled in
the presence of a multitude of people.
July 10, 1867, the building purchased and ap¬
propriated for the Old Ladies' Home was dedicated.
It is situated at the corner of Moody and Tilden
streets.
March 29, 1867, St. John's Hospital was in¬
corporated. Early in the fall of 1866 the Sisters
of Charity purchased the " old yellow house," built
by Timothy Brown in 1770, with adjoining land
suitable for the erection of a hospital. Two years
afterwards (in 1868) the building was completed
and opened.
The report for 1879 says of St. John's Hospital:
"Its doors are always open to cases where indi¬
viduals are suddenly stricken down or injured by
accidents in the mills, or on the railroads, or by
other means."
December 4, 1868, General U. S. Grant visited
Lowell. A committee went to Boston the evening
of the 3d, to meet him and arrange for the visit.
General Grant was engaged until midnight, and
the committee postponed their visit until the next
morning. When the general was informed of their
mission, he said, " I will put on my coat and start
now."
As early as September 4,1868, Z. E. Stone, the
editor of the Vox Populi, called the attention of
the old residents of Lowell to the necessity of form¬
ing an association for the purpose of collecting and
preserving its history. The first meeting was held
at the bookstore of Joshua Merrill on Merrimack
Street, November 21. E. B. Patch called the meet¬
ing to order; George Brownell was chosen chairman,
and Z. E. Stone secretary. Fifty-four persons were
present, and a committee of eleven, consisting of
John 0. Green, J. G. Peabody, Charles Morrill,
George Brownell, E. B. Patch, E. M. Bicad, Sam¬
uel Fay, Artemas L. Brooks, Charles Hovey,
Z. E. Stone, and E. B. Howe, was chosen to report
a permanent organization. Another meeting was
held December 19, but the room was too small for
the numbers present, and it was adjourned to meet
in Jackson Hall December 21. At this meeting
the report of the committee on permanent organ¬
ization was accepted, a constitution adopted, and
the following officers were chosen : President, Johu
0. Green, 1868-1879 ; vice-president, A. L.
Brooks, 1868, Jefferson Bancroft, 1879 ; secretary
and treasurer, Z. E. Stone, 1868, Alfred Oilman,
1871-1879. Executive committee: Ward One,
J. B. Francis, 1868, Edward Tufts, 1868, J. W.
Smith, 1879, Charles Hovey, 1879; Ward Two,
Joshua Merrill, 1868-1879, J. P. Jewett, 1868,
A. B. French, 1879 ; Ward Three, Hapgood
Wright, 1868 - 1879, E. B. Patch, 1868, Alfred
Oilman, 1879; Ward Four, E. F. Watson, 1868-
1879, Benjamin Walker, 1868 -1879; Ward Five,
J. G. Peabody, 1868-1879, Charles Morrill,
1868-1879 ; Ward Six, J. K. Chase, 1868, Wil¬
liam Kittredge, 1879, E. B. Howe, 1868-1879.
The name adopted was The Old Eesidents'
Historical Association of Lowell, and the purpose,
" to collect, arrange, preserve, and, perhap, from
time to time, publish any facts relating to the his¬
tory of the city of Lowell ; as also to gather and
keep all printed or written documents, as well as
traditional evidence of every description, relating
to the city."
At the first annual meeting. May 3,1869, Presi¬
dent Green delivered an address. Tliis plan has
been preserved and continued very much to the
satisfaction of the members, and to the material
interests of the Association. The Association at that
LOWELL.
97
time numbered eighty-five. At the meeting May 4,
1871, it was voted to hold meetings quarterly, com¬
mencing with May. At the meeting November 10,
1871, Alfred Gilman was chosen secretary and
treasurer in place of Z. E. Stone, resigned. As
evidence of the interest felt in the objects of the
Association, the number of members has increased
from eighty-five in 1869 to three hundred and
twenty-four in 1879.^ The meetings have been
well attended, and four numbers of the Contribu¬
tions have been printed, containing historical mat¬
ter of great interest.
February 20, 1869, the question in regard to a
supply of pure water was again agitated. An esti¬
mate, by the engineer, gave the cost at $740,000.
J. B. Francis in a pamphlet discussed the matter,
and gave, as his opinion, that the cost would
amount to $2,000,000. February 23, the vote
was in favor of the introduction of water; yeas
1,866, nays 1,418.
The council sanctioned the natural-filter plan,
and authorized the commissioners to sink test-wells.
This was done, and proved so satisfactory that the
water-works were constructed accordingly. They
were completed in 1873; in 1879 the whole cost,
including everything, was $2,682,493.01, from
which deduct the income, $ 566,322.88, leaving net
cost, $2,116,107.13.
Lowell is provided with the only complete sys¬
tem in the country for obtaining pure water by
natural filtration. Subsequent efforts to increase
the quantity by artificial filtration are liable to the
criticism that an extension of the gallery would
have effected the same result.
May 26, 1869, the Lowell Hosiery Company
was incorporated with a capital stock limited to
$200,000. The company started with $100,000,
which was increased to $175,000. January 15,
1872, the charter was granted to William F. Salmon,
Thomas Nesmith, Hocum Hosford, and their asso¬
ciates and successors.
June, 1870, the Thorndike Manufacturing Com¬
pany commenced operations on Thorndike Street,
extending back to Hale's Brook. The mill is of
wood, three stories high, with a fiat roof. The
specialty of this company is the manufacture of
suspenders. A. C. Russell is superintendent, D. C.
G. Field, treasurer.
July 31, 1870, Colonel Thomas Nesmith died.
In his will he gave $25,000, to be held in trust,
the income to be expended for the benefit of the
^ Since the organization seventy-Beven members have died.
poor in the city of Lowell ; $3,000 to the town of
Windham, New Hampshire, for the purchase of a
library ; and $1,000 to be held in trust, the income'
to be expended for the benefit of the Sabbath school
of High Street Church.
March 14, 1871, the city council appropriated
$15,000 to establish a fire-alarm telegraph; and
voted to rebuild Pawtucket Bridge.
April 11, the Central Savings Bank was organ¬
ized.
This year the heirs of Zadock Rogers offered the
city thirty acres of land, on Fort Hill, as a gift.
August 22, the cars commenced running on the
Lowell and Framingham Railroad.
The first case of small-pox appeared February 8,
and gradually spread throughout the city until
September, when the measures taken to check its
spread were so inadequate that great dissatisfaction
was manifested. The old board of health resigned,
and a new one was elected, with a board of con¬
sulting physicians. Measures were promptly taken
to check the ravages of the epidemic, which were
successful. The whole number of cases was 570,
of deaths 172.
November 25, the new iron bridge across the
Merrimack River, at Pawtucket Falls, was com¬
pleted.
A new bridge was completed at Tyngsborough,
and the cost assessed by the county commissioners
as follows : Middlesex County thirty-eight, Tyngs¬
borough forty, Lowell sixteen, Dunstable three,
and Chelmsford three per cent of the amount.
May 6, John W. Tilton found a skeleton two
feet below the surface in excavating on the high
land at the corner of Central and Whipple streets.
It is supposed to be that of an Indian. Li March,
1874, another was found in Belvidere, while ex¬
cavating on the line of the Lowell and Andover
Railroad.
Lowell, in 1873, received a large accession of
territory. That portion of Chelmsford called Mid¬
dlesex Village was annexed, with an area of one
thousand acres, estimated to contain fifty-five fami¬
lies, two hundred and sixteen inhabitants, and forty-
seven voters. The valuation was $200,000. One
thousand acres were annexed from Dracut, and
six hundred and sixty acres from Tewksbury.
December 1, 1874, the new railroad to Boston
via Andover run its first passenger train.
March 1, 1876, the celebration of the semi-cen¬
tennial of the incorporation of the town of Lowell
occurred.
98
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The celebration consisted of three parts : Morn¬
ing, Afternoon, and Evening. The mayor, Charles
A. Stott, was president of the day.
The morning celebration was devoted to the
children. There was a choir of five hundred pupils
from the public schools under the direction of
George F. Willey.
The afternoon services commenced at one o'clock,
and were attended by the clergy, members of the
bar, physicians, the Ladies' Centennial Association,
and the Old Eesident's Historical Association.
The music was by the Lowell Choral Society and
the Germania Orchestra of Boston, Carl Zerrahn
conductor.
Overture, "Raymond" (Ambroise Thomas), by the Germa¬
nia Orchestra.
Prayer, by the Rev. Theodore Edson, S. T. D., Chaplain
of the day.
Choral, " To God on High " (Mendelssohn), by the Lowell
Choral Society.
Oration, by Major-General Benjamin P. Butler.
Ode (to the music of Keller's American Hymn), John F.
Frye, sung by the Lowell Choral Society.
Addresses by Hon. John A. Lowell, Rt. Rev. 'T. M. Clark,
D. D., Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, and Rev. A. A.
Miner, D. D.
Chorus, " The Heavens are telling," from the " Creation "
(Haydn), by the Lowell Choral Society.
Historical Reminiscences, by Dr. John O. Green, Presi¬
dent Old Residents' Historical Association.
Hallelujah Chorus, from the " Messiah " (Handel), by the
Lowell Choral Society.
Letters from Hon. J. G. Abbott, Hon. Seth Ames, Sam¬
uel Batchelder, and others.
Poem, by John S. Colby.
Old Hundred (Luther), by the Lowell Choral Society and
the audience.
Benediction, by the Chaplain.
After the overture, Charles Cowley, Esq., chair¬
man of the committee, introduced the Hon. C. A.
Stott, president of the day, who extended a cordial
welcome to those present. Rev. Theodore Edson,
S. T. D., rector of St. Anne's Church, and chaplain
of the day, read the litany; the responses were sung
by the choir of St. Anne's Church. The speakers
were introduced very pleasantly by the president.
The whole celebration was charaeterized by the
perfect order of the arrangements, the great in¬
terest displayed by the citizens and visitors, the
ability and eloquence of the speakers, and the im-
pressiveness of the music.
One of the results of this celebration was the
donation of $1,000 by Hapgood Wright as a semi¬
centennial fund, to be put at interest, its accumu¬
lations used at the end of fifty years "for the
benefit and improvement of the city or citizens of
Lowell, as the city council may determine by a
two-thirds vote of the city council in joint conven¬
tion assembled," and to be called The Hapgood
Wright Centennial Trust Fund.
June 8, Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, visited
Lowell, on his way from the North. The visit was
managed with as little ceremony as possible.
He visited Huntington Hall, where an examina¬
tion in vocal music of the different classes belong¬
ing to the grammar schools was going on. The
party visited the Middlesex, Lowell, Merrimack,
and Lawrence milb, without an escort.
March 27, 1878, the Boston and Lowell Rail¬
road commenced to widen the deep cut at the
northern station. When completed, the width wiU
be ninety feet, instead of twenty-eight feet, the"
present width.
May 13, the LoweU Art Association was formed,
for the purpose of cultivating a taste for works of
art, and the encouragement of art studies. Presi¬
dent, Thomas B. Lawson; vice-president, Mrs.
Daniel S. Richardson ; secretary, Samuel M.
Chase; treasurer, George J. Carney; directors,
E. W. Hoyt, Mrs. Horatio Wood, Henry Barrows,
Miss E. 0. Bobbins, William G. Ward, Miss
Helen A. Whittier, Miss Helen W. Wright. The
Association have rooms in Wyman's Exchange.
July 3, James Cook Ayer died. He was bom
May 5, 1819, in Groton, Connecticut. Dr. Ayer
accumulated several millions of property during
his lifetime ; how many it is almost impossible to
tell. He was largely interested in valuable real
estate in New York City, Chicago, Boston, and
Lowell. He was a large ovraer of the New York
Tribune stock, the Tremont and Suffolk Mills, the
Merchants' National Bank, and the Lowell and
Andover Railroad. In 1871, when the inhabitants
of that portion of Groton called the Junction
asked to be set off as a new town, with the name
of Ayer in honor of the doctor, he gave $10,500
toward the erection of a town-hall, which he sub¬
sequently increased to $30,000. The structure
was dedicated October 26, 1876, with appropriate
exercises.
December 11, the waters of the Merrimack
River rose ten feet, eight and one half inches on
the Pawtucket Dam.
December 30, a trial of the electric light was
made in one of the Merrimack Mills.
LOWELL.
99
school history.
In 1822 the territory now occupied by Lowell
was one school district with two school-houses, —
one near the pound and the other at Pawtucket
Palls, near the Stone House. The Merrimack Com¬
pany built a school-house ou Merrimack Street;
employed at first a female teacher and paid the
whole expense for its support. When Eev. Theo¬
dore Edson came, the school was put under his
charge. Joel Lewis was the first male teacher, for
one year, at the end of which time he was appointed
surveyor for the Locks and Canals Company. He
died November 11, 1834. In 1825 Mr. Lewis
was succeeded by Alfred V. Bassett, from Atkin- j
son. New Hampshire.
In 1829 the Merrimack School had one hundred
and sixty-five pupils. In the summer of this year
Mr. Bassett resigned his situation as teacher. Bas¬
sett was succeeded by Walter Abbott of Milford,
New Hampshire, who remained one year, left, and
engaged in the mercantile business. Eeuben Hills,
of Hancock, New Hampshire, came in 1830. In
May, 1833, the North School-house, near the
North Common, was completed, and the Merrimack
School was moved into it. In April, 1832, this
school had so increased that it was found necessary
to have an assistant, and Mr. N. D. Healey was
appointed. When the school was removed to the
new house, two female assistants were employed.
In 1834 the school was divided. Mr. Healey was
appointed principal to the new school, and Mr.
Bean appointed assistant to Mr. Hills. This school
has had the following names : Merrimack, North
Grammar, Hancock, and Bartlett.
Adams School. —The population in the vicinity
of the North Grammar School increased so rapidly
that the committee of 1836 opened the lower part
of that house, and appointed Otis H. Morrill as
principal.
When Mr. Fisk resigned his position in the
Hancock School, the house was remodelled by
dividing it into eight rooms, in seven of which
female assistants were placed, and Mr. Bement in
the eighth, the whole making one school called the
Bartlett Grammar School.
Irish Schools. — In 1844 the school committee
appointed a sub-committee to report upon the his¬
tory of these schools. I avail myself of their re¬
port : —
" By the advice and efforts of philanthropic indi¬
viduals a room was rented, supplied with fuel and
other necessaries, and a teacher placed in this
school who was to be remunerated by a small
weekly voluntary tax from the parents. From the
poverty and indifference of the parents, however,
the school languished and became extinct. It was
revived from time to time, but after months of
feebleness failed.
" Up to the year 1840 the attempts to establish
a school in the neighborhood of the Acre were sus¬
tained chiefly by individual benevolence. At the
annual town-meeting in May, 1830, an article was
inserted in the warrant for the appointment of a
committee to consider the expediency of establish¬
ing a separate school for the benefit of the Irish
population. The committee reported in favor of
such a school ; the report was accepted, and the
sum of $ 50 was appropriated for the establishment
100
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
and maintenance of a separate district school for
the Irish. It was kept only part of the time, and
suspended. All the arrangements hitherto were
unsatisfactory. In 1834 Rev. Mr. Connelly carried
on a private school in a room under the Catholic
Church. In June, 1835, this gentleman made
application to the school committee for aid, and
an arrangement was entered into between them.^'
Under the above arrangement the committee
assumed the supervision of the private school
already existing in a room under the Catholic
Church, and elected Patrick Collins its teacher, as
one of the public instructors. September 10, 1835,
another Catholic school, in the vicinity of Chapel
Hill, was adopted as a town school, taught by
Daniel Mclllroy under the auspices of Mr. Con¬
nelly. In the summer of 1837 another room was
prepared under the Catholic Church ; a new Cath¬
olic school was opened, and Mary Ann Stanton
elected its teacher. In June, 1838, Mr. Collins'
and Mr. Melllroy's schools were united, called the
Fifth Grammar School, moved to Liberty Hall on
Lowell Street, and Mr. Melllroy chosen principal,
with Peter MeDermott assistant.
On the 8th of January, 1844, the grammar
school was moved to,the new house on Lewis
Street. The building cost $9,650.
Mr. George W. Shattuck, who had been a suc¬
cessful teacher in Mr. Graves' school for two years,
was elected principal of the Lewis Street School.
His management was judicious ; the school in¬
creased in numbers and reputation. In 1848 a
large private school, which had been kept in the
basement of the Catholic Church, was disbanded,
and most of the pupils entered the public schools.
From 1838 to 1851 inclusive, 669 pupils of the
Mann School (Lewis Street) received certificates
to enter the mills, while the total number from the
other grammar schools was as follows: Edson, 156;
Hancock, 282 ; Washington, 167 ; Franklin, from
1840, 59 ; Adams, 429 ; Moody, from 1841,139 ;
Green, from 1841, 102 ; Colbum, from 1848, 67 ;
total, 2,070 from all the schools during this period.
In the fall of 1852 the Sisters of Notre Dame
opened a school for girls under the supervision of
Father O'Brien, through whose influence nearly
all the girls who had hitherto attended this school
joined that of the Sisters. Mr. Shattuek resigned
January 1, 1853, and engaged in other business till
the spring of 1859, when he was elected superin¬
tendent of the public schools.
Edson School. — This school was opened in a
small white house on the comer of South and Mid¬
dlesex streets, November 5, 1827, by Joshua Mer¬
rill of Milford, New Hampshire. In 1829 it was
removed to the Free Chapel, where it continued
until February 18, 1833, when it was removed to
the new brick school-house on the South Common.
Mr. Merrill retained his position as principal till
October, 1845, when he resigned and enter^ into
trade as a bookseller. During the first four years
Mr. Merrill condueted his sehool alone; hut in
1832 the district system was abolished, the school
increased in numbers, and he was provided with an
assistant. When Mr. Merrill's school was removed
to the new school-house, February 18, 1833, an¬
other grammar sehool, hitherto kept in the base¬
ment of the First Universalist Church, then located
on Chapel Hill, and taught by Moses F. Eaton,
was united with Mr. Merrill's, and Mr. Eaton was
retained as assistant.
Washington School. — In the spring of 1834
the accommodations in the North and South gram¬
mar schools were not sufficient for the pupils en¬
titled to attend schools of that rank. The school
committee, on the 24th of March, opened a new
school in the North School-house, and gave it the
name of the Third Granunar School. Nathan¬
iel D. Healey was appointed principal, and Isaac
Whittier and Edith Patch assistants. In June,
1838, the Third Grammar School was moved to
the South Grammar School-house in order to ac¬
commodate the children residing in Belvidere, who
had then acquired a right to attend the Lowell
schools.
Franklin School. — During the winter of 1839
Mr. Rufus Adams was employed to open a school
on Middlesex Street, and in 1840 the Fourth Gram¬
mar Sehool was established in a school-house near
the old burying-ground. Mr. George Spalding
was appointed principal, and held the position till
1844. His successor was Nason H. Morse. In
1845 the new brick school-house was erected, at
the intersection of Middlesex and Branch streets, at
a cost of $8,954.05. The number of pupils was
so large that Mr. Morse was furnished with two
female assistants, and Mr. James McCoy writing-
master. Mr. Frank F. Cohurn is the present in¬
cumbent.
Moody School.—January 8, 1841, this school
was opened, with Mr. Seth Pooler as principal.
He had been an assistant in the High School since
1838. Benjamin B. Thompson, Elizabeth C. Bart-
lett, and Helen E. Eastman were Mr. Pooler's
LOWELL.
101
assistants, and E. D. Sanborn was writing-master.
Mr. Joseph P. Peabody is the present incumbent.
Green School. — Prior to 1841 all the grammar
school scholars (except those attending the Irish
school) were obliged to go to the North or South
grammar schools. The rapid increase of popula¬
tion near the central point between these two
seemed a sufficient reason for the erection of an¬
other house, and in 1841 a location was selected
on Middle Street. A large two-story brick house
was built to accommodate a grammar and a pri¬
mary school. The grammar school was opened
about the middle of the year, with Samuel C. Pratt
principal, assisted by Nelson H. Morse, H. Amanda
Fox, and Nancy H. Green. C. H. Farnsworth was
the writing-master. Mr. Morse remained till 1846,
when he was appointed principal of the Franklin
School. Albert L. Fisk is the present incumbent.
Colburn School. — The increase of population
on Gorham, Church, and Lawrence streets, and the
large attendance at the Edson School, led the com¬
mittee to ask the city council for another school-
house, and recommended that it be located on
Lawrence Street. The request was granted, the
house built and finished, and dedicated December
13, 1848. The school was opened at the com¬
mencement of the winter term under the tuition
of Mr. Aaron Walker, Jr., who had been principal
of the Green School, but for several years preceding
1848 had been teaching at Charlestown. The pres¬
ent master is Albert L. Bachelier.
Varnum School.—February 3, 1851, that part
of Dracut called Centralville was set off from Dra-
cut to Lowell. This district had more than five
hundred children, for whom the school committee
were at once called upon to make provision. The
school-houses in the district were the old academy
on Chestnut Street and the brick school-house on
Tremont Street. These were put in good repair ;
a grammar school was immediately opened in the
upper room of the academy building, and a primary
school was commenced in the lower room of the
same building. Another primary school was opened
in the old brick school-house, and a third on Fourth
Street. The grammar school was named in honor
of General Joseph Vamum. A. W. Boardman, a
graduate from Harvard College, was elected princi¬
pal, and Elizabeth Calef assistant. Mr. Boardman
remained till the spring of 1853, when he resigned.
He was succeeded by Mr. D. P. Galloupe, who for
many years had been principal of one of the gram¬
mar schools in Salem. December 7, 1857, thé
new brick school-house on Myrtle Street was occu¬
pied by the Vamum School. In 1878 Mr. Gal¬
loupe, after a service of twenty-five years, resigned,
and was succeeded by Mr. Arthur K. Whitcomb,
who had been previously engaged in the editorial
departments Of the Courier and the Citizen}
High School. — In 1831 the High School held
its sessions in a small house near the Free Chapel,
on Middlesex Street; then in the lower story of
the Free Chapel ; then in the present Edson Scliool-
house; then in Concert Hall, on Merrimack Street;
then in the Bartlett Grammar School-house, near
the North Common ; then in the attic of St. Mary's
Church, on Lowell Street ; then back to the Free
Chapel; and finally, in 1840, in the building erected
for the High School on Kirk Street. This build¬
ing, as remodelled in 1867, accommodates three
hundred and thirty pupils, in seven different rooms.
The teachers connected with this school from
its commencement are as follows : —
Thomas M. Clark, principal (Yale College),
1831 -1833; is now bishop of Khode Island.
Nicholas Hoppin, principal (Brown University),
1833 - 1834 ; till recently rector of Christ Church,
Cambridge, Mass.
William Hall, principal (Amherst College),
1834 -1835 ; died in Pittsburg, Pa.
Franklin Forbes, principal (Amherst College),
1835 -1836, also 1842 -1845 ; now agent of Lan¬
caster Mills, Clinton, Mass.
Moody Currier, principal (Dartmouth College),
1836 -1841 ; now cashier of Amoskeag Bank,
Manchester, N. H.
Nehemiah Cleaveland, principal (Bowdoin Col¬
lege), 1841 - 1842; subsequently teacher in Brook¬
lyn, N. Y., now resides in Westport, Conn.
Charles C. Chase, principal (Dartmouth Col¬
lege), since 1845.
James S. Eussell, teacher of mathematics (Brown
University), 1835-1839, also from 1840 to the
present time.
John W. Browne, classical teucher (Harvard
University), 1841; subsequently attorney-at-law,
Boston, deceased.
George B. Jewett, classical teacher (Amherst
College) ; subsequently tutor iu Amherst College,
and pastor of church in Nashua ; now resides in
Salem, Mass.
^ Music-teachers : Isaac N. Metcalf from 1849 to 1857 ;
Lymau Heath 1849 ; B. F. Baker 1848-1849 ; and George P.
Willey from 1866 to the present time.
Writing-mastei-s for all the schools : C. H. Famsworth from
1860 to 1864 ; Bertram Harrison from 1865 to the present time.
102
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
David C. Scobey, classical teacher (Dartmouth
College), 1842-1850; died in Lowell, while in
service, March 1, 1850.
Ephraim W. Young, teacher of sciences (Har¬
vard University), 1849-1856; for several years
clerk of the house of representatives, Wisconsin.
Jonathan Kimball, classical teacher 1849-1852,
and sub-principal 1852 -1857 ; now superintendent
of schools in Chelsea, Mass.
John J. Colton, teacher of sciences (Amherst
College), 1857 - 1865 ; now physician, Lowell,
Mass.
Lloyd W. Hixon, sub-principal (Dartmouth
College), 1858-1860; now teacher in Newbury-
port, Mass.
James O. Scripture, classical teacher (Dartmouth
College), 1860-1863; since rector of St. Peter's
Church, Salem, deceased.
Joseph H. McDaniels, classical teacher (Har¬
vard University), 1865-1868; now professor of
Greek, Hobart College, N. Y.
Gorham D. Williams, teacher of sciences (Har¬
vard University), 1865 - 1866; attorney-at-law,
Deerfield, Mass.
Levi S. Burbank, teacher of sciences (Westfield
Normal School), 1867 -1873; now principal of
Warren Academy, Woburn, Mass.
Edwin H. Lord, teacher of sciences (Bowdoin
College), 1873 to the present time.
The ladies who acted as principals of the female
department, when the two sexes constituted sepa¬
rate schools, were : —
Lucy E. Penhallow, 1840 -1846.
Susan E. Burdick, 1846 -1850.
Anne B. Sawyer, 1850 -1852.
The present teachers of the school and the
branches of study taught by them are : —
Charles C. Chase, principal, Greek, political
science, etc.
Edwin H. Lord, natural sciences.
James S. Ëussell, mathematics.
Bertram Harrison, book-keeping, penmanship.
George P. Willey, music.
Mary A. Webster, Latin, botany, etc.
Marietta Melvin, German, elocution, etc.
Elizabeth McDaniels, English literature, Latin,
etc.
Harriet C. Hovey, Greek, rhetoric, etc.
Charlotte E. Draper, astronomy, drawing, etc.
Alice J. Chase, mathematics, natural philosophy,
etc.
Helen L. Ham, Erench, drawing, etc.
CHURCH HISTORY.
Saturday, March 6, 1824, by invitation from
Kirk Boott, Theodore Edson came to Chelmsford
for the purpose of holding a meeting for public
worship. One hundred and seventy-five years be¬
fore, the Eev. John Eliot appeared here for a simi¬
lar purpose.
A building had been erected on the land now
occupied by the Green School-house, on Merrimack
Street, designed to serve permanently for a school-
house, and temporarily for religious meetings. It
was in the upper room of this building that Íír.
Edson held his first service Sunday, Maiidl|,7,
1824. "On this occasion the room was well
filled."
The engagement with Theodore Edson was not
distinctly on sectarian grounds. The division in
the Congregational ranks, which had taken place
some time previous, became irreconcilable, and re¬
sulted in the establishment of the Unitarian Con-
gregationalists. The two parties had put forward
their ablest men ; a war of words resounded through¬
out the old commonwealth ; men took sides, and
the war raged fearfully. It was Cambridge and
Andover hurling thunderbolts at each other; each
endeavoring to demolish the other's citadel and
spike its cannon. Under these circumstances the
question arose, "Is it best to take either of the
belligerents to build up this new enterpris#? "
With the cautious prudence which characterized
all their movements, the directors, a majority of
whom were Unitarians at heart, concluded that they
did not want war, but peace and quiet, and Mr.
Edson was invited, not to establish a Protestant
Episcopal Church, but to inaugurate the Merri¬
mack Beligious Society.
Early measures were taken by the directors of
the Merrimack Manufacturing Company to pro¬
vide for the religious interests of those persons in
their employ; the following printed rules were
given to each one, as a part of the contract entered
into ; ;—
"All persons are required to be constant in
attendance upon public worship, either at the
church in this place, or in some of the neighboring
parishes.
"All are required to pay 37 J cents per quarter
in advance, for the support of public worship m
this place, which sum shall be paid over for the
use of such regular society as each may choose to
join."
8t. Anne's Chnrch, Chapel, and Parsonage.
LOWELL.
105
The directors appointed Patrick T. Jackson and
Kirk Boott, December 27, 1822, as a committee
to build a church, and five thousand dollars were
appropriated for that purpose. This vote was
amended April 15, 1824, a little more than a
month after Mr. Edson came, so that the church
was to be built of stone, and a sum not exceeding
nine thousand dollars was appropriated for this
purpose.
March 16,1825, the church was completed, con¬
secrated, Mr. Edson was ordained as a priest, and
the parsonage occupied.
During the year 1827 it was thought desirable
to dissolve the connection between the Merrimack
Eeligious Society and the Merrimack Manufactur¬
ing Company. Eor three years the affairs of the
society had been managed at the counting-room.
In order to effect this change, and establish a
parish on an independent foundation, it was neces¬
sary that the company's contract with the rector
be assumed by the society, and that the society
should have the use of the church and parsonage.
Accordingly, September 23, 1827, the church and
parsonage were leased to the society ; the company
discharged from all further obligation on account
of taxes, rector's salary, repairs, and insurance, and
the society to have possession for fifteen years at a
mere nominal rent.
At this time (1839) the parish had become large
enough to warrant the employment of an assistant;
the Eev. Mr. McCoy was engaged for one year,
and Chapel Hall was rented for services. This
movement resulted in the formation of St. Luke's
Church.
April 17, 1841, a committee was appointed by
the directors of the Merrimack Manufacturing
Company to seU the church. The lease expired
November 23, 1842, and February 27, 1843, the
church alone was sold to the society for $12,000,
and a deed given, with the condition that the par¬
sonage should be vacated.
The experiment of a second Episcopal Church
(St. Luke's, located in Belvidere) did not prove
successful.
In 1844 the Hector's Library of St. Anne's
Church was commenced, which now numbers over
2,000 volumes of valuable, useful, rare, and curious
books.
In 1857 a chime of bells was placed in the
tower of the church, obtained through the per¬
sistent efforts of George Hedrick, Esq., who seldom
fails in accomplishing whatever he undertakes.
The rector of St. Anne's, Bev. Theodore Edson,
D. D., presents the almost unparalleled example of
a clergyman officiating in one church fifty-five con¬
secutive years, lu 1858 he was confined to The
Manse thirteen weeks by sickness. On his re¬
covery, at the suggestion of his parishioners, the
Rev. C. W. Homer became his assistant, and ser¬
vices were held in the chapel as well as the church.
The engagement of the Eev. C. W. Homer led to
the formation of a new society, called St. John's
Church, a notice of which will appear in its order.
June 20, 1866, the parsonage of St. Anne's
Church was purchased of the Merrimack Company
and presented to the parish. B. F. Butler, in be¬
half of the donors, said, in presenting the docu¬
ments to the rector : —
" Our gift is a perfect title, coupled with a sin¬
gle condition only, — that it shall be appropriated
to charitable, educational, and religious uses, in
conformity with the Protestant Episcopal canons,
rites, and usages, under the direction of the church
of St. Anne's in Lowell, forever."
St. Anne's Chapel was finished in 1869 at a cost
of about $7,000. It will seat two hundred per¬
sons. The tower was erected at an expense of
$ 1,200, which sum was contributed by Mrs. Mary
Dummer Carleton, widow of George H. Carleton.
November 3, 1877, Rev. A. E. Johnson com¬
menced his labors as assistant rector.
The House of Prayer, a mission of St. Anne's
Church, was built in 1876, and dedicated Decem¬
ber 29 of that year. Rev. B. F. Cooley, rector,
was succeeded in 1878 by Father Browne.
September 29, 1875, No. 13 Anne Street was
opened as a Home for Orphans, under the charge
of the Sisters of St. Margaret, an American sister¬
hood having headquarters in Boston. April 20,
1876, the Home was organized under the statutes,
and the property conveyed by the Rev. Dr. Edson
to a board of trustees ; Rev. Theodore Edson was
elected president. Rev. N. Hoppin treasurer, H. H.
Grosvenor secretary. The object is " the education
and maintenance of orphan and other children, and
such charitable work as may be incidental thereto."
In 1876 twenty, in 1877 twenty-one, and in
1878 twenty-nine children found a home in this
institution. It is supported by voluntary contri¬
butions.
First Congregational Church.—January 7,1824,
William Davidson, James M. King, Nathaniel
Holmes, and others met at No. 21, Merrimack
Company's Boarding-House, and held a union
106
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
prayer-meeting. Prayer-meetings continued until
some time in 1825, when the Congregationalists,
Baptists, and Methodists separated.
The First Congregational Church was organized
July 12, 1826, and on the 25th of December,
1827, the house on Merrimack Street was dedi¬
cated. It was owned by a joint-stock company ;
the whole amount of stock had been subscribed for
and taken. July 18, 1827, George C. Beckwith
had been ordained and installed as pastor, the
ceremony being performed in the Baptist Church.
He continued until March 3, 1829, when he re¬
signed. December 25,1829, Amos Blanchard was
ordained and installed as pastor, and continued un¬
til May 21, 1845, when he was called to the Kirk-
Street Church. October 1, 1845, Eev. Willard
Child was installed as pastor, and continued till
January 31, 1855. October 17, 1855, Eev. J. L.
Jenkins was ordained and installed -, he continued
until January 15, 1862. September 17, 1862,
Eev. George N. Webber was installed as pastor;
he resigned in March, 1867. October 31, 1867,
Eev. Horace James was installed as pastor, and
continued till December 13,1870. September 13,
1871, Eev. Smith Baker was installed as pastor,
and has continued to the present time.
January 8, 1828, the proprietors of the First
Congregational Meeting-House returned thanks to
Kirk Boott, agent, for donation of the land on
which their house stands.
In 1830 one hundred and fifty members were
dismissed, and formed the Appleton Street Church.
In 1832 one hundred and twenty-five members
were dismissed to form a third church, which had
a short life.
In 1839 one hundred and six members were dis¬
missed, and .formed the John Street Church.
In 1845 one hundred and forty members left
with the pastor and formed the Kirk-Street Church.
First Baptist Society. — January 1, 1826, Na¬
than Oliver, William D. Mason, Cyrus Oliver,
George Puffer, Abel Eugg, and Jonathan C. Mor¬
rill met at the house of Nathan Oliver and voted
to organize a church. The regular organization
took place February 6, 1826. The council con¬
vened two days after at the Merrimack Hotel (Stone
House), then kept by Balch and Co burn. Land
for a church building was given by Thomas Hurd.
The corner-stone was laid with Masonic ceremonies
early in the summer of 1820, and November 15
the building was dedicated and the Eev. John
Cookson of Maiden was installed. Mr. Cookson
continued as pastor till August 5, 1827. June 4,
1828, the Eev. E. W. Freeman was installed, and
continued until his death, September 22, 1835.
February 24, 1836, Joseph Warren Eaton was or¬
dained and became the pastor, until February 1,
1837, when he resigned. December 25, 1837,
Eev. Joseph Ballard of South Berwick, Maine, was
installed, and continued until September 1, 1845.
January 29, 1846, the Eev. Daniel C. Eddy was
ordained, became the pastor, and remained until
December 18, 1856. The Eev. William H. Alden
was installed as pastor June 10, 1857, and resigned
March 25, 1864. The Eev. William E. Stanton
was ordained November 2, 1865, became the pas¬
tor, and continued until June 30, 1870, when he
was disfnissed on account of ill health. Eev. Nor¬
man C. Mallory was settled September 14, 1870,
and closed his labors in this church June 30,1874.
- Eev. Orson E. Mallory was settled March 24,1875,
and remained until 1878. He was succeeded by
Dr. T. M. Colwell, the present pastor.
The Second Baptist Society was organized Sep¬
tember 13, 1831, and built the brick edifice now
known as St. Mary's Church, on Lowell Street.
This building was sold in 1838 to the Methodists
for $12,000, and was called the Wesley Chapel.
It went out of their possession in 1843 ; in 1847
it was sold to the Catholics.
In 1838 the building on Worthen Street was
erected, at a cost of $8,000. Its pastors have
been Eev. James Bamaby, 1832 to 1835; Eev.
Lemuel Porter, D. D., 1835 to 1851 ; Eev. J. W.
Smith, D. D., 1851 to 1853 ; Eev. D. D. Wiim,
1853 to 1855; Eev. T. D. Worrell, 1855 to 1857 ;
Eev. J. W. Bonham, 1857 to 1860 ; Eev. G. F.
Warren, 1860 to 1867 ; Eev. F. E. Morse, 1867
to 1870 ; Eev. D. H. Miller, D. D., 1870 to 1873;
Eev. E. A. Lecompte, 1873.
The Third Baptist Society was organized in
1840, and the Eev. John George Naylor was its
first pastor. The church on John Street was
erected under the pastorate of the Eev. Ira Person,
and sold to the Methodists in 1861.
Branch Stfeet Chapel was organized in Aug¬
ust, 1870. Two years before it was started as
a mission from the two Baptist churches, and as
such was conducted by the Eev. E. A. Whittier.
In the above year the chapel was enlarged, and be¬
came the charge of Eev. G. F. Warren. He was
succeeded by S. Hartwell Pratt, who left January
1878, when Orson E. Mallory became pastor.
First Methodist Episcopal Churelu — June li
LOWELL.
107
1827, the corner-stone for a building was laid I
with Masonic rites ; Eev. Dr. Edson officiated as
chaplain, and the address was made by the Eev.
John N. Maffitt, the celebrated revivalist. In the
evening the Eev. J. N. Maffitt preached in St.
Ânne's Church. November 29, 1827, the building
was dedicated. It was placed at the corner of
Central and Elm streets, and suggested the name
of Chapel Hill. As early as June 1, 1824, the
Methodists had a class on the Front Eow, Merri¬
mack Corporation, composed of Mr. and Mrs. Jas.
R. Barnes, Phebe Higgins, Winsor Puffer, Gratia
Ann Balcom, Mary Ann Balcom, and Ann Page.
The Eev. Daniel Dorchester claims that the First
Methodist Church was then organized, and is, con¬
sequently, the oldest church organization in-Lowell.
He says " their names were duly recorded in a class-
book, or register, and Mr. Barnes officiated as a
class-leader"; but adds, "they attended upon the.
public services of Rev. Dr. Edson."
From August, 1826, to November 29, 1827, ser¬
vices were held in the Old Red School-house at
Hale's Mills. From November 29, 1827, to No¬
vember 14, 1839, services were held in the Chapel
Hill Church. From 1839 to the present time ser¬
vices have been held in St. Paul's Church, Hurd
Street.
January, 1832, an edifice on Lowell Street was
dedicated, and retained until November, 1837,
when the Baptist Church, on the opposite side of
the same street, was purchased for $12,000, and
called the Wesley Chapel. The Wesley Chapel
was sold to Rev. James T. McDermott in 1846.
November 13, 1839, the Hurd-Street Church
was built, and called St. Paul's Church. While
digging for the foundation, skeletons were un¬
earthed, and an ear-jewel taken from the side of
one of the skulls by the late S. K. Fielding.
June 22, 1842, the Worthen Street Church was
dedicated.
March 25, 1843, St. Paul's Church divided; a
portion bought the old church on Chapel Hill, and
moved it to Prescott Street. They were styled
Wesleyan Methodists.
July 9, 1843, the Second Wesleyan Methodist
Church was formed by members from Wesley
Chapel, under the Rev. W. H. Brewster.
January 1, 1851, the church edifice on the cor¬
ner of Central and Merrimack streets, which had
been erected by the Third Universalist Society, was
sold to the Second Wesleyan Methodist Society,
W. H. Brewster, pastor.
Pastors of the Methodist Episcopal First
Church: Benjamin Griffin, 1826; A. D. Merrill,
1827, 1833- 1834; B. F. Lambert, 1828; A.
D. Sargent, 1829 ; E. K. Avery, 1830 - 1831 ;
George Pickering, 1832 ; Ira M. Bidwell, 1835 ;
Orange Scott, 1836, 1839-1840; E. M. Stick-
ney, 1837 -1838 ; Schuyler Hoes, 1841 -1842 ;
W. H. Hatch, 1843- 1844; Abel Stevens, 1845;
C. K. True, 1846-1847; A. A. Willets, 1848;
John H. Twombly, 1849 - 1850 ; G. F. Cox,
1851 -1852 ; L. D. Barrows, 1853 -1854 ; D. E.
Chapin, 1855 ; George M. Steele, 1856 - 1857 ;
H. M. Loud, 1858-1859; William R. Clark,
1860-1861 ; Daniel Dorchester, 1862 — 1863;
S. F. Upham, 1864-1866; S. F. Jones, 1857,
1868-1869; D. C. Knowles, 1870-1871 ; B.
T. Smith, 1872 -1873 ; W. S. Studley, 1874-
1875 ; Merrit Hurlburt, 1876 -1877 ; C. D. HiU,
1879.
The First Universalist Society.—July 23,1827,
occurred the first recorded meeting of the pioneers
of this society. The second meeting was held in
the Merrimack Company's school-house, on the
28th of July. The Old Red School-house, near
Hale's Mill, and Livermore Hall in Belvidere were
occupied for the meetings until November 27,
1828, when a church that had been erected on
Chapel Hill was dedicated, and the Rev. Eliphalet
Case installed as pastor. Mr. Case remained pastor
of the society about two years. Eev. Calvin Gard¬
ner succeeded Mr. Case, and officiated till March,
1833, when he resigned. Rev. Thomas B. Thayer
accepted the position of pastor March 25, 1833,
and remained twelve years. During his pastorate
the church building was removed from Chapel Hill
to the corner of Central and Green streets. Eev.
E. G. Brooks succeeded Mr. Thayer, and remained
one year. Eev. Uriah Clark became pastor in
1846, and continued until 1850. In 1851 Eev.
T. B. Thayer returned to his former charge, and
remained six years, until 1857, when he was called
to the charge of the Fifth Universalist Society in
Boston. In May, 1859, Eev. J. J. Twiss received
a call. He commenced his labors the first Sabbath
in September, and continued until January 1, 1872.
Eev. G. T. Flanders, the present pastor, commenced
his labors April 1, 1872. The old building on the
corner of Central and Green streets was sold to the
Lowell and Andover Eailroad Company, and an
elegant and imposing structure erected on Hurd
Street.
The Second Universalist Church is situated on
108
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the corner of Shattuck and Market streets. June
30, 1836, the first meeting was held to form this
society, which was organized September 21. No¬
vember 6, Eev. Zenas Thompson was called as
pastor, and installed February 3, 1837. On the
15th of November, 1838, the church building was
dedicated. Mr. Thompson resigned his pastorate
March 10, 1839. August 26, Eev. Abel C.
Thomas was ordained pastor, and continued until
the first Sunday of July, 1842. On the afternoon
of the day that Mr. Thomas preached his farewell
sermon, Eev. Alonzo A. Miner commenced his
duties as pastor, and continued until May, 1848.
Eev. L. J. Fletcher immediately succeeded Mr.
Miner, and remained till September. October 1,
1848, Eev. L. B. Mason became pastor for a short
time. September, 1849, Eev. J. D. Williamson
commenced his labors. Owing to ill health he re¬
mained but one year. May 14, 1850, Eev. N. M.
Gaylord was installed as pastor, and remained two
years. Eev. J. S. Dennis was the immediate suc¬
cessor of Mr. Gaylord, and remained two years.
Eev. Charles Cravens followed, and resigned at the
end of the year. In April, 1855, Eev. C. H. But¬
ton was settled as pastor, and resigned in June,
1858. In March, 1859, Eev. L. J. Fletcher be¬
came pastor, and remained till 1863. July 1,1864,
Eev. Francis E. Hicks commenced his labors here.
He died April 23, 1865. November 18, 1865,
Eev. J. G. Adams became pastor, and remained
till July, 1872. In April, 1873, Eev. W. G.
Haskell took charge of the parish, and remained
till April, 1876. In April, 1877, Eev. E. A.
Greene, the present pastor, began his work.
The Third Universalist Church was built in
1843, on the corner of Merrimack and Central
streets, and was dedicated January 31,1844. Eev.
H. G. Smith was the first pastor. Diflerence of
opinion on doctrinal points arose between Mr.
Smith and Eev. A. A. Miner, pastor of the Second
Church, which caused a lengthy and acrimonious
discussion in the Gospel Fountain, a Universalist
paper printed here at the time. A majority of the
Universalista of the city espoused the views of
Dr. Miner, and the result was Mr. Smith resigned.
He was succeeded by Eev. John Moore and L. J.
Fletcher, but the society languished and ceased to
exist. The building was leased to the Second Wes-
leyan Methodist Society, W. H. Brewster, pastor.
April 1,1864, this church building wàs changed
into stores and offices, and called Barrister^s Hall.
The First Unitarian Society was organized Sep¬
tember 26,1829, and procured a hall in the school-
house of the Hamilton and Appleton companies,
which was furnished with conveniences for a house
of worship. Tliis school-house is now the Free
Chapel of the Ministry at Large. October 8,1830,
the society voted to assume the name of South Con¬
gregational Society, and that lias ever since been
the legal name of the society. For the first year
various persons supplied the pulpit. September 8,
1830, a call was extended to Mr. William Barry,
who was ordained November 17,1830. Mr. Barry
resigned December 2, 1835, and Eev. Henry A.
Miles was installed as his successor December 14,
1836. The long pastorate of Dr. Miles was one
of great prosperity to the parish ; the church was
greatly enlarged in numbers, and he is still affec¬
tionately remembered not only by members of his
own parish, but by many of our citizens. He re¬
signed in 1853. Dr. Miles was afterwards secre¬
tary of the American Unitarian Association ; trav¬
elled extensively, and is now active and vigorous
as pastor of the North Church in Hingham.
His successor, Mr. Theodore Tebbets, was or¬
dained September 19,1855 ; he retained his pastor¬
ate eight months, and resigned on account of ill
health in May, 1856. He died of consumption in
1863.
The fourth pastor, Eev. Frederick Hinckley,
was installed in Lowell, November 12, 1856; re¬
mained about nine years, and was succeeded by
Mr. Charles Edward Grinnell, who was ordained
February 19, 1867. He reniained a little more
than two years, and afterwards took charge of a
parish in Charlestown, and has now left the min¬
istry for the law.
Eev. Henry Blanchard, the sixth pastor, was
ordained January 19, 1871. After remaining two
years he resigned, and took the Church of the
Unity in Worcester, where he now preaches.
The seventh and present pastor, Eev. Josiah
Lafayette Seward, was ordained in Lowell, Decem¬
ber 31, 1874.
The parish contains three hundred and nine fami¬
lies ; the church numbers about one hundred and
seventy-five members, and the Sunday-school about
one hundred members, exclusive of the Bible class,
about fifty more. The number of children in the
parish is small compared with the number of adults.
The fiftieth anniversary of the parish was duly ob¬
served September 26, 1879.
Second Congregational Church. — The Appleton
Street Church was organized December 2, 1830.
LOWELL.
109
One hundred and fifty members were set apart
from the First Congregational Church. An act
of incorporation established The Proprietors of
the Second Congregational Meeting-House, and
the stock was $100 per share. The house was
built in the summer and autumn of 1830, dedi¬
cated July 10, 1831, and hired until 1856; when
the soeiety took the name of Appleton-Street Con¬
gregational Society. The house was purchased in
1869.
Eliot Confrregatlonal Charcli.
October 4, 1831, Bev. William Twining was
installed pastor. He resigned the position on
account of failing health, and was dismissed by a
council May 25, 1835. July 6, 1837, Eev. Uzziah
C. Burnap was installed as pastor, and continued
until February 6, 1852. He died August 12,
1854. December 30, 1852, Eev. George Darling
was installed. He resigned December 6, 1854.
October 2, 1855, Eev. John P. Cleaveland, D. D.,
was installed. He was dismissed January 15,
1862 ; became chaplain of the 26th Massachusetts
Eegiment, and went to Ship Island. He returned
May 2, 1862. December 17, 1862, Eev. J. E.
Eankin, D. D., was installed, and continued until
October 29, 1864. October 3, 1866, the Eev.
Addison P. Foster was installed as pastor ; but re¬
signed October 17, 1868, on account of ill health.
July 20, 1870, Eev. J. M. Greene, the present
pastor, was installed.
The new church, on the corner of Summer and
Favor streets, called the Eliot Church, was fin¬
ished and occupied January 1, 1874, at a cost of
$79,249.68. The present debt is $15,000.
The Freewill Baptist Church was organized in
1833, and the proprietors were incorporated in
1836. The church buildiug on Merrimack Street,
at the head of Central Street, was erected in 1837,
at a cost of $20,000. The money was obtained
by Elder Nathaniel Thurston from the mill girls as
subscription, or as loans. He not only undertook
the building of the church, but also that of a large
establishment in Centralville, afterwards used as a
water-cure. In consequence of the misapplication
of the funds, or of incapacity in the management
of the finances of the church, it came to grief.
The building was afterwards converted into a mu¬
seum and theatre by Noah F. Gates, who, in 1845,
purchased Moses Kimball's museum, which had
started in 1840 in Wyman's Exchange, and moved
it across the street into the Freewill Baptist Church.
It was the question of licensing this theatre that
agitated the community at that time. The license
was eventually obtained, and the excitement sub¬
sided.
Fire ravaged this building three different times.
The tall spire was taken down November, 1846.
The building seemed fated to disaster. It is now
reconstructed and occupied for stores, offices, etc.
The post-office. Daily Courier office, and horse-
railroad office are located in it.
The above is a history of a church building.
The history of the church, now called the First
Freewill Baptist, is as follows : —
May 19, 1833, the first public services were held
in Classic Hall by Eev. Nathaniel Thurston of
Dover, N. H. The Hamilton Chapel, on Middle¬
sex Street, was afterwards engaged, and the society
organized August 15, 1833 ; the Eev. Nathaniel
Thurston was elected pastor, but did not enter
upon his duties mitil April, 1834. During the
interim Eev. Benjamin S. Mausur and J. L. Sin¬
clair officiated. March 30, 1836, an act of incor¬
poration was obtained for the erection of a church
edifice. The notes of the corporation were issued
to obtain the money. The church was dedicated
November 15, 1837, and vacated July 31, 1846,
during the pastorate of Eev. Silas Curtis. Eev. Na-
110
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
thaniel Thurston remained until September, 1840,
at which time Eev. Jonathan Woodman was in¬
stalled as pastor, and remained until March 1,
1844. Eev. Silas Curtis came a few weeks later,
and continued until February, 1849. The first
Sabbath in August, 1846, the society commenced
to hold meetings in Mechanic's Hall. In 1847
Welle's Hall was secured for two years ; afterwards
the Wesleyan Church on Frescott Street was rented
and occupied. In June, 1849, Rev. A. H. Moni¬
ten was installed as pastor. He resigned the pas¬
torate in June, 1855. The Paige-Street church
building was commenced in August, 1853, and
dedicated February 1,1854. It cost $15,877.67;
$3,500 of which was donated hy the manufactur¬
ing companies. July 2, 1855, Rev. J. B. Davis
was installed as pastor, and continued until the
close of 1859. April 1, 1860, Rev. Darwin Mott
was installed as pastor, and continued until June,
1862. In May, 1863, Rev. G. W. Bean became
pastor, and continued until March, 1865. No¬
vember 1, 1865, Rev J. B. Drew became pastor.
He resigned January 17, 1868. May 1, 1868,
Rev. D. A. Morehouse was installed as pastor, and
resigned December 31, 1869. November 1, 1870,
Rev. J. E. Dame commenced his pastorate, and
continued until June 30, 1875. On the first Sab¬
bath of December, 1875, Rev. E. W. Porter, the
present pastor, commenced his labors. The whole
number of members from the date of organization
is 2,836; present number, 614.
John - Street Congregational Church. — This
church was organized May 9, 1839, by two hun¬
dred and forty-three persons; all but eighteen
came from the First Congregational and Appleton
Street churches. The church edifice was dedicated
January 24, 1840. It was built at a cost of
$17,884.12; repaired in 1846, again in 1871, at
a cost of $ 10,000. The first pastor was Rev. S. W.
Hanks, who was installed March 20, 1840, and
labored twelve and one half years. Rev. E. B.
Foster immediately succeeded him, was installed
February 3, 1853, labored eight and one half
years, and left on account of impaired health.
Rev. J. W. Backus was the third pastor, installed
September 24,1862, and served three and one half
years. Rev. Dr. Foster was recalled, and reinstated
May 16, 1866. For twelve and one half years he
labored among his people, and, on the 29th of No¬
vember, 1878, he was made Pastor Emeritus by
the unanimous vote of the church. His entire
pastorate embraced a period of over twenty-one
years. Rev. J. B. Seabury was installed Septem¬
ber 8,1875, as associate pastor. Since November,
1878, he has been pastor in full charge.
The entire membership of the church during its
existence of forty years has been 1,324 ; the pres¬
ent membership is 376.
Kirk-Street Church. — The Fourth Congrega¬
tional Church was organized June 13, 1845, and
adopted the above name. Rev. Amos Blanchard
was called from the First Church, and continued
pastor until his death, January 14, 1870. He was
succeeded by Rev. C. D. Barrows, the present
pastor.
High-Street Church. — The first meeting to con¬
sider the expediency of forming a fifth Congrega¬
tional church was held in the lecture-room of John-
Street Church, July 7, 1845. The failure on the
part of the Episcopalians to raise sufficient funds
to liquidate the debt on St. Luke's Church, in Bel-
videre, necessitated the sale of that edifice, and
negotiations were opened for its purchase. The
purchase was accomplished December 4, 1845, and
the first meeting for worship was held in the lec¬
ture-room of St. Luke's Church, December 14,
1845. The name was changed to High-Street
Church. The inauguration of the church took
place in John-Street Church, January 25, 1846,
when seventy-one persons entered into a covenant.
February 25, 1846, Rev. Theodore Atkinson was
installed as pastor ; the services were held in John-
Street Church. He was dismissed June 28, 1847.
December 15, 1847, Rev. Joseph H. Towne was
installed as pastor, and remained until May 22,
1854. September 5, 1855, Rev. Orpheus T. Lan-
phear was installed, and remained until October 21,
1856. September 16, 1857, Rev. Owen Street,
the present pastor, was installed.
The Worthen-Street Methodist Episcopal Church
was organized October 2, 1841, and the edifice
erected in 1842, at a cost of $8,800. Pastors:
Rev. A. D. Sargent, Rev. A. D. Merrill, Rev. J. S.
Springer, Rev. Isaac A. Savage, Rev. Charles Adams,
Rev. I. J. P. Collier, Rev. M. A. Howe, Eev. J. W.
Dadmun, Rev. William H. Hatch, Rev. A. D. Sar¬
gent (second time). Rev. J. 0. Peck, Rev. George
Whittaker, Rev. George S. Chadbourne, Rev. David
H. Ela, Rev. F. J. Wagner, and Rev. George L.
Collyer, the present pastor.
The Central Methodist Episcopal Church, corner
of John and Paige streets, was built for the Third
Baptist Church in 1846, at a cost of about $14,000.
The Central Methodist Episcopal Church was orr
LOWELL.
Ill
John Street Congregational Churcli.
ganized in 1854 ; Pastors, Eev. William 8. Stud-
ley, Eev. Isaac S. Cushman, Eev. I. J. P. Collier,
Eev. Chester Pield, Eev. Lorenzo E. Thayer, Eev.
J. H. Mansfield, Eev. William C. High, Eev. F.
Woods, Eev. Daniel Dorchester, Eev. J. H. Mans¬
field, Eev. M. B. Chapman.
The Free Chapel. — The Ministry at Large was
organized in 1844; Henry A. Miles president, John
Clark, David Dana, J. G. Carney, Hazen Elliott,
Hapgood Wright, A. W. Buttrick directors. Frank¬
lin Forbes secretary and treasurer. The object of
the institution is to reach those outside of the
churches; relieve poverty; sympathize with and
console the suffering; enlighten and elevate the
ignorant ; reclaim and guide the wandering.
This institution purchased the chapel on Mid¬
dlesex Street in 1863, at a cost of .82,064. The
funds for this purpose were given by citizens who
did not regard the institution as sectarian, but as
a broad public charity. The land and building
were deeded to trustees, who choose their succes¬
sors, to be devoted to religious, charitable, and
educational purposes, unsectarian and free.
The Free Chapel is sustained by a general sub-
112
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
scription of $1,000 by citizens, and an equal
amount by the manufacturing companies. In
addition to these, the income of the Nesmith, Tyler,
Dalton, and Holbrook funds is devoted to this ob¬
ject, making altogether an income of $3,000.
Eev. Horatio Wood was the Minister at Large
from October, 1844, to January, 1869, and was
succeeded by Eev. H. C. Duganne, the present
minister, in July, 1872. Mrs. Duganue is an
assistant in the work.
July 30, 1860, St. John's Parish was organized.
August 29, Eev. C. W. Homer was elected rector.
Services were held in Wym.an's Hall, on Merrimack
Street, until October 6, 1861, when the church on
Gorham Street was finished and occupied. The
corner-stone was laid April 15, 1861. The church
was consecrated as soon as the debt on it was
cancelled, July 16, 1863. It cost $14,000. Mr.
Homer's connection with the church ceased in
November, 1862. He was succeeded by Eev.
Cornelius B. Smith, May 24, 1863, who remained
until May 18, 1865. In November of the same
year Eev. Charles L. Hutchins became rector. He
resigned May 24, 1869. During his rectorship
the chapel was built, at a cost of $5,000. From
June 1, 1869, to June 30, 1873, Eev. D. C. Eob-
erts was rector. Eev. Leander C. Manchester, the
present rector, came October 1, 1873. The pres¬
ent number of communicants is two hundred and
seventy.
The First Preslyierian Church was established
June 23, 1869, with the Eev. J. L. Eobertson as
stated supply. He had declined a call. Novem¬
ber 9, 1869, Eev. John Brash was installed as
pastor. He resigned May 31, 1870. Eev. A. C.
Eowe came in June, 1870, was installed Novem¬
ber 1, 1870, and resigned May 3, 1871. Eev.
S. P. Calhoun was installed in November, 1871,
and resigned September 9, 1873. The church on
Appleton Street was purchased in the fall of 1873
for $15,000. The first service was held Novem¬
ber 2. Eev. Eobert Court, the present pastor, was
installed in March, 1874.
The Fifth-Streèt Baptist Church was organized
March 17, 1874. The chapel was dedicated Jan¬
uary 2, 1873. It was under the charge of Eev.
T. J. B. House from November, 1873, to the close
of the year 1876. Eev. M. C. Thwing, the present
pastor, was installed March 1, 1877. It com¬
menced with twenty-six, and now has two hundred
and five members.
The Highland Methodist Episcopal Church was
organized March 12, 1875, with Eev. G. W. H.
Clark as pastor. He remained until August, 1875.
The house was dedicated Juue 11, 1876. It cost
$7,000. Eev. A. E. Gregory came April 11,
1877, and left April 9, 1878. Eev. George H.
Clark came April 9, 1878, and left April 8, 1879.
Eev. Austin H. Merrill, the present pastor, came
April 8, 1879.
The Ml. Vernon Free Baptist Church, located
on the corner of Mt. Vernon and Butterfield streets,
was built in 1872-73, and dedicated July, 1873.
In July, 1874, Eev. George S. Eicker of Eichmond,
Maine, was called to labor as a missionary, and
commenced his labors August 1. The church was
organized December 29, 1874, with twenty-six
members ; the present membership is one hundred
and twenty-six. The Mt. Vernon Church is con¬
ducted on the free-seat system, and all funds are
raised by voluntary contribution. Connected with
the church and parish is a literary society, a young
Christians' association, a ladies' benevolent society,
and a band of Little Mission Helpers. Hie Sunday
school numbers more than two hundred, with an av¬
erage attendance of about one hundred and twenty.
The Young Mcni Christian Association was or¬
ganized in the fall of 1854. S. N. Merrill was
president, and continued about two years. After
a number of preliminary meetings, the present in¬
stitution was organized January 26, 1867, with
Ithamar W. Beard as president. The rootns in
Barristers' Hall were dedicated April 4, 1867, and
the Association was incorporated February, 1868.
The rooms consist of a hall, reading-room, parlor,
lodging-room, and secretary's office. The present
officers are Philetus Burnham president, Henry J.
McCoy missionary and general secretary.
St. PatricFs, Fcnwick Street. — October 28,
1828, religious services were held in the Merrimack
Company's School-house on Merrimack Street,
under the direction of the bishop of the diocese.
July 3, 1831, St. Patrick's Church, which had
been erected on land donated by the Locks and
Canals Company, was dedicated. It was a frame
building seventy by forty feet. Father Mahoney,
who had charge of the parish, built the priest's
house, located next to the church, in 1832. Ii
1835 Father Curtin came to Lowell as an assistant
to Father Mahoney for a short time. He was suc¬
ceeded by Father Connelly, who, imder Father
Mahoney's direction, built two wings to the church.
Father J. T. McDermott succeeded Father Ma¬
honey in 1837. In 1839 Eev. James Conway was
MALBEN.
113
appointed assistant to Father McDermott, and in
1842 built and had charge of St. Peter's Church,
on Gorham Street. Father McDermott purchased
the church on the corner of Lowell and Suffolk
streets, which was built by the Baptists; it was
dedicated in 1847, and called St. Mary's. Father
Tucker, after a brief pastorate at St. Patrick's, was
succeeded by Fathers I'imothy and John O'Brien.
The old building was removed; the new church
was erected by these clergymen, and dedicated Oc¬
tober, 1854. Eev. Michael O'Brien, the present
pastor, is assisted by Bev. William and Eev. Wil¬
liam M. O'Brien. St. Mary's Church is a mission
attached to St. Patrick's Church. Father Campbell
is the officiating priest.
The Academy of Notre Dame, on Adams Street,
is under the care of the Sisters of Notre Dame. A
free school for six hundred and fifty pupils, and a
boarding school for one hundred pupils, is main¬
tained, under the charge of nearly thirty teachers.
St. Peter's Church, Gorham Street. — Eev.
James Conway, who came to Lowell as assistant
to Father McDermott in 1839, secured a lot of
land, in August, 1841, on the corner of Gorham
and Appleton streets. On this he built the brick
church, still standing, known as St. Peter's Church.
It was dedicated October 16, 1842. In March,
1847, Father Conway was succeeded by Eev. Peter
Crudden, the present incumbent, who is assisted by
Eev. John Eyan.
St. Peter's School and Orphan Asylum occupies
the former residence of the agent of the Hamilton
Manufacturing Company, on Appleton Street. It
was established in 1866.
The Church of the Immaculate Conception was
dedicated June 10, 1877, and is nnder the charge of
Eev. James McGrath, assisted by Eev. E. Van Laar.
St. Joseph's Church, Lee Street, was established
by the Society of Oblates for Poor Missions for
the French Catholics. This church was built by
the Second Unitarian Society, and sold to the
Catholics in May, 1868, for $11,500. The pur¬
chasers added galleries at an expense of $ 1,500 ;
bought more land for $2,800, and made an addi¬
tion that cost $16,000. Fathers Garin and Four-
nier have charge of the mission.
MALDEN.
BY DELORAINE P. COEEY.
N 1629 Ealph Sprague and his
brethren, who had recently land¬
ed at Salem, passing through
the country on the easterly bank
of the Mystic Eiver, found it
" an uncouth wilderness " and
"full of stately timber." Its
inhabitants, a remnant of the
once powerful tribe of the Paw-
tuckets, were under the nominal
rule of Wonohaquaham, or Sag¬
amore John, a chief " of gentle and good disposi¬
tion," whom Thomas Dudley described as " a hand¬
some young man, conversant with us, affecting
English apparel and houses, and speaking well of
our God." He dwelt upon the creek which runs
from the marshes between Powder-Horn Hill and
Winnisimmet into the Mystic at Sweetseris or
Beacham's Point, in Everett. His tribe, at the
dawn of authentic history, were led by the Sachem
Nanapashemet, who lived on the borders of the
wide marshes which stretch from the easterly por¬
tion of Maiden through Eevere to the sea. From
the Atlantic to the Connecticut Eiver the savage
tribes owed him a rude allegiance ; but the com¬
bined attacks of the Tarratines, whom Mr. Lewis
styled the " Goths and Vandals of aboriginal New
England," and the plague, which Thomas Morton
of Merry Mount called " the hand of God," reduced
his tribe to a feeble remainder. He retired from the
banks of Eumney Marsh to a hill near the head¬
waters of the Mystic, where he was slain in 1619
by his old enemies the Tarratines.
After the death of Nanapashemet and the retire¬
ment of the Tarratines, his people again gathered
around the Mystic and Eumney Marsh under the
general government of his widow, the Squaw Sa¬
chem, and the local rule of his sons, Wonohaqua¬
ham and Montowampate, or Sagamore James of
Saugus. The Squaw Sachem appears to have been
114
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
equal to the task of ruling the barbarous bands of
the Pawtuckets ; and she succeeded in re-establish¬
ing and maintaining authority over the domain of
her deceased husband to the Connecticut Kiver.
In 1632, says Increase Mather, "the Indians
began to be quarrelsome touching the Bounds of
the Land which they had sold to the English, but
God ended the Controversy by sending the Small¬
pox among the Indians at Saugust, who were
before that time exceeding numerous." Whole
villages were swept away by this new enemy ; and
Wonohaquaham and Montowampate died, with the
most of their people. The former, at his own re-.
quest, " was taken among the English, promising
if he recovered to live with the English and serve
their God." By the death of the Sagamores, their
brother Wenepoykin, then about seventeen years
of age, became chief of the few Indians remaining
in this vicinity. He was known to the English as
George Eumney Marsh, from the place of his abode
near Powder-Horn Hill, on the southern borders
of this town. He had one son, Manatahqua, and
three daughters, who were named by the whites
Cicily or Su-George, Sarah, and Susannah; but
who were collectively styled by their own people
Wanapanaquin, or the Plumed Ones.
George Eumney Marsh appears to have lived in
friendship with his English neighbors until 1651,
when he produced evidence of "his interest and
just Title to the Lands of his late brother deceased
on mistick side," and " the Ground about powder
home hill," which, in the words of the record,
were "wrongfully detayned from him." In his
petition he prayed " that now at last out of your
Great clemency and compastion towards your poore
Indian and Petitioner you will be pleased to vouch¬
safe him somme small parte parcell or proportion
of his inheritance for himself and company to plant
in." He was advised by the General Court, in
answer to his petition; to prosecute his claim in
some inferior court ; and the worldly wisdom of such
advice was proved by the fact that he was twice
defeated in attempting to recover his own. The
matter was finally set at rest by an order of the
court to " lay out twenty acors of good plantinge
land in some convenient place for Sagamore George
to make vse off." Whether this land was ever
laid out or not is unknown; but the Indian's
friendship for the English thereafter was not strong.
Having by the death of the Squaw Sachem in 1667
become chief of the Pawtuckets, and the nominal
if not the real head of the Nipmucks, who oceu-
pied the land toward the Connecticut Eiver, he
joined King Philip in the bloody war of 1675-76.
At the same time the Eumney Marsh Indians left
the Mystic and the Abousett and retired to the
Pawtucket Falls at Wamesit, now Lowell. Wene¬
poykin was taken prisoner, and was sent, with other
captives, a slave to Barbadoes. By some means
he was finally enabled to return to Massachusetts
Bay, and he died in 1684 in the house of Mumin-
quash, or James Eumney Marsh, the son of his
sister Yawata, at Natick. With him the line
of the Pawtucket sachems came to an end. His
English surname survived many years, and an
Indian of that name did military service as late
as 1740.
Tradition has preserved the memory of the red
men in Maiden, and still points with uncertain
finger to the place of their habitation on the high
lands of the tract long known as the Nichols farm;
and, to enforce this vague testimony, the pickaxe
of the laborer has at times uncovered the moul¬
dering bones of the former lords of the forest.
There still remains the Nichols farm-house, a relic
of the days of the seventeenth century, within
whose time-worn walls the visitor may see the spot
where household legend says the axe of the settler
clove the head of an Indian and insured safety to
the wife and child who were hidden from sight in
the ample fireplace near by.
It was not long after the Spragues passed over
the land before the " uncouth wilderness " became
attractive to the new-comers. In 1633 the terri¬
tory between Island End Eiver and Maiden, or
North Eiver, " and soe vpp into the country," was
granted to the town of Gharlestown ; and the next
year an allotment of land was made to the sev¬
eral inhabitants. This land, which was afterwards
known as the five-acre lots, was apparently lea-land,
and lay between the forest and the marshes in the
extreme southern portion of the grant which now
began to be known as Mystic Side and Mystic
Field, and was, long after the foundation of the
new village, within the bounds of Gharlestown.
About the same time four hundred acres of land
upon the west side of "the North Eyv, otherwise
called the Three Myle Brooke," were granted to
Eev. John Wilson and Increase Nowell, and for
many years separated the towns of Maiden and
Medford. At this time several had actually set¬
tled upon the ground. Governor Gradock's men
had crossed the Mystic and built the first house
upon its northern bank at Wilson's Point; audit
MALBEN.
115
seems probable that Ralph Sprague early removed
from Charlestown to his ninety acres in Pond Field,
near Eel Pond, where he died in 1650.
In 1636 a commission laid down the line of
Boston and Charlestown, "from the mked tree
vpon the rocky hill above Eumney Marshe, neere
the written tree nore-nore west vpon a straight
lyue by a meridean compass vpp into the coun-
trie." This line, running from near Black Ann's
corner in Linden, has never been changed, and is
still the eastern limit of Maiden and Melrose. The
rocky hill, called in 1635 " a point of rock, on the
side of the high way to Mistick," may still be
recognized, and is a prominent feature in the land¬
scape; but the "marked tree," an ancient pine,
after having been a landmark more than a century,
disappeared many years ago.
In 1638 another division of Mystic-Side lands
was made, and a large tract was set apart for " de¬
sirable persons," and " for such as may come with
another minister." The southern border of this
tract was " at the head of the five-acre lots," and
" ran in a straight line from Powder-Hom Hill to
the head of North Eiver"; and to this reservation
" three hundred acres above Cradock's farm " were
added.
Settlers now increased; and the building of a
dam by Thomas Coytemore, in 1640, at Black
Eock, on Three Myle Brook, and the establishment
of a mill soon after, prove a growing community.
The- first comers appear to have located upon the
hiUs in the easterly vicinity of the landing-place
at Sandy Bank, near the burying-ground. Traces
of early habitation could be found here witliin a
few years, but improvement has obliterated them.
Among these early settlers we may recognize John
Greenland, who was granted, in 1640, his petition
"to plant upon a five-acre lot in Charlestown
bounds on Mistick side." About the same time
came Joseph Hills, who was a landholder here in
1638, and his son-in-law, John Wayte. With the
names of these men, who were ever foremost in its
affairs, the early history of Maiden is indissolubly
connected ; and the story of their lives is the story
of the founding of a town. William Sargeant, a
" haberdasher " and a preacher, who is described
by Edward Johnson as a " Godly Christian," was
here as early as 1643. His lands, which were pos¬
sessed by his descendants nearly two centuries,
were in the southern part of the town. With these
men came others across the Mystic from the parent
town. Settlers began to push northward up the
valley between Mount Prospect and the western
hills, whither the Spragues had led; and the sparse
population, in their advance, met others coming
from Lynn and settling around the ponds in Read¬
ing. The " Salem path to Mistick ford" now began
to be intersected by other ways; and in 1640 the
Penny Perry was established, which existed until
it was superseded by Maiden Bridge in 1787. In
1643 Thomas Caule represented that he " Dwell-
eth by the water at the Ferry-place on mistick
side, many people having occasion to come that
way "; and he did " humbly request leave to sell
bread, beare, and other victualling for the refresh¬
ing of such." The road to the ferry lay along the
edge of the marshes between the burying-ground
and Mystic Eiver.
In 1647 the public convenience demanded a
new way from Reading to the ferry at Winnisim-
met, which was not finally laid out until 1653.
This winding way may still be traced from the
Chelsea line to the Reading ponds, although large
portions of it have been abandoned many years.
Chelsea and Bucknam streets, in Everett, and sec¬
tions of Madison, Main, and Forest streets, in
Maiden, are the relics of the " new way." Above
Forest Street, in the still wild hills, although long
disused, its marks are seemingly of yesterday ; and
the curious pedestrian may cross a little brook on
a rude stone bridge which served the men of two
centuries ago.
All the elements of an independent community
might now be found at Mystic Side ; and that the
element of religion made all others subordinate,
and was the power which gathered together the
people in the formation of a town, was character¬
istic of our Puritan fathers. Separated "by the
broad spreading river of Mistick," as Johnson re¬
cords, from the Christian privileges of the parent
town, the outlying settlers "gathered into a
church some distance of time before they could
attain to any church-oificer to administer the Seals
unto them," aud were edified by the ministrations
of " a godly Christian," William Sargeant, " who
did preach the Word unto them, and afterwards
they were supplied at times vrith some young Stu¬
dents from the Colledg."
Having the foundation of a church, measures to
separate from Charlestown naturally followed ; and,
" loving terms of agreement " haying been happily
made, the Court of Assistants passed, May 2,
1649, O. S., the following vote of incorporation ;
" Upon the petition of Mistick-side men, they are
116
HISTORY OF-MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
granted to be a distinct towne, and the name
thereof to be called Mauldon."
It is not known who signed the petition as
" Mistick-side men but a document iu relation
to the church, written in 1648, may be supposed
to contain the' names of the leading men of Mai¬
den. They were Joseph Hills, Ealph Sprague,
Edward Carriugton, Thomas Squire, John Wayte,
James Greene, Abraham Hill, Thomas Osborne,
John Lewis, and Thomas Caule.
Joseph Hills, who, as we have seen, was an
early settler here, was a man of ability and was
honored in the colony. He had been engaged in
important commissions with the leading men of the
government, and in 1647 had been speaker of
tlie house of deputies. He had just completed the
famous revision of the Massachusetts laws which
was printed in 1648, and which was the first code
of laws established by authority in New England.
He came, with his wife Rose, from Maldon, in
Essex, England, and in compliment to him Mystic-
Side is supposed to have received its new name.
The present incorrect form of the word was not
generally used until near the middle of the last
century ; and, until that time, the usage of the best-
informed persons, both in written and printed doc¬
uments, shows that the town was, during its first
century of existence, known as Maldon.
The line between Charlestown and the new town
appears to have been that laid down'"at the head
of the five-acre lots" in 1638, running from near
Powder-Horn Hill, in a northwesterly direction,
to the North River ; and Stephen Fosdick, Thomas
"Whittemore, "William Sargeant, and Richard Pratt
are mentioned as abutters thereon. This division
left to Charlestown the southwestern portion of
the present town of Everett, which retained the
old name of Mystic-Side ; and its inliabitants are
known to us as "our Charlestown neiglibors."
Charlestown retained a right in the burying-place
at Sandy Bank and the landing-place near by, and
exempted the inhabitants of Mystic-Side from
church charges for three years.
The first records of the town are lost, and
the antiquary must gather from widely scattered
sources the story of its birth and early years of
growth. The authorities are documents and rec¬
ords, indefinite and unsatisfactory, — papers made
for a purpose soon past, and not intended to con¬
vey information to a distant age; but, in the
vagueness and uncertainty of the light they shed,
we may see a sparse and sturdy population over¬
coming a wilderness and laying deep the founda¬
tions of the institutions we enjoy. Of the doings
of the town in its first essays at self-government we
know but little. Joseph, Hills was chosen its first,
deputy, which position he filled until his removal
to Newbury in 1665, with the exception of five
years when the town was not represented in the
General Court. John Wayte was the first town-
clerk ; and Thomas Squire, William Brackenbury,
John Upham, John Wayte, and Thomas Caule were
selectmen. Richard Adams was constable.
As the desire to establish and maintain church
privileges was a leading cause of the separation
from Charlestown, so that establishment and main¬
tenance became prominent, and fills an important
place in the story of the early days. Closely inter¬
woven as was the religions idea with the secular
life of the people, we shall find it coloring and in-
fiuencing all their doings, and shall perceive the
history of the church and that of the town to be
inseparable.
Hardly had the men and women of Maiden be¬
gun to enjoy their new privileges, before troubles
came from the blessings for which they had labored.
This affliction was brought about by the unfortu¬
nate settlement of Marmaduke Matthews, a clergy¬
man who, for aiight that can be discovered, was a
man of piety and ability. Certain words, which
savor of transcendentalism rather than of ungodli¬
ness, and give evidence of a spiritual rather than of
a material theology, which did not appeal in its
subtle meaning to the popular mind of that age,
brought upon him the censure of the civil power;
and the independent action of the church in his
ordination exposed it, likewise, to the wrath of
authority. In the proceedings which followed,
which concerned both the right of individual
thought and expression, and the independence of
the churches, — rights which more than any others
had been stoutly upheld in England by the Puri¬
tans, —the people of Maiden showed a spirit of self-
reliance and strength which proved them worthy
champions of freedom. Though many were found in
the churches and colony to uphold, in some measure,
the Maiden church, yet, practically, it stood alone
in the contest, and was forced by the power of the
state to submit. The principle of state authority
in church government and in matters of doctnne
was fixed beyond dispute ; and the court completed
the work by the passage, in 1653, of an act "a^inst
preaching without approbation." Against this act
the Salem church issued a fervent remonstrauce;
MALDEN.
117
but it was too late, and thenceforth, for many years,
the civil magistrate ordered the things of God.
Mr. Matthews did not remain long in Maiden,
but returned with several of his church to England.
He became vicar of St. John's in his native Swan¬
sea, where he remained until the Bestoration, when
he again gave proof of his sincerity and independ¬
ence by leaving his living rather than to subscribe
to the tyrannical Act of Uniformity. He remained
at Swansea, where he lived by the bounty of his
friends and with the love of the people, and died,
having attained a ripe old age, about the year
1683.
Having a church of their own, and a town gov¬
ernment, the people of Maiden waited not long for
another concomitant of English populations ; and
early in 1651 a petition was made by the select¬
men and the constable, Richard Adams, for the
appointment of Thomas Skinner as keeper of an
ordinary " for the Accomodacon of Travellers and
such like occasions." John Hawthorne, how¬
ever, received the favor of the court and the ap¬
pointment; but, having apparently incurred the
displeasure of his neighbors for certain testimony
against Mr. Matthews, the court afterwards licensed
"Thomas Skinner to keepe an ordinary there in
the roome and stead of John Hawthorne." Later
the selectmen asked a broader license for "our
Bro' Thomas Skiner," that he might " sell Strong-"
waters And wine to Supplie the necessitys of the
Towne and Travellers." In 1657 the town was
without an inn ; and " A Bro' of the Church there
namely Abraham Hill" was allowed "to keep
an Ordinarie there. As Aliso to draw wine for
the better Accomodating both the church and
countrie." Tlie house of Abraham Hill was the
precursor of a line of taverns kept by the Hill
family, the last of which, venerable in years but
not in its appearance, is still in existence. For
more than a century it occupied the site of the
town-house, and was known, in its palmy days, as
the Rising Eagle. Its rival, the Half-Moon, for
a lifetime kept by Daniel Newhall, and lastly by
James Kettell, stood near by. A relic of the latter
days of the seventeenth century, it was razed many
years ago ; but its well, at which generations of
men and beasts liave drunk, is that, so well known,
at the comer of Main and Salem streets.
After the departure of Mr. Matthews, Maiden
received a minister who was destined to spend a
long life with her people. This was Michael Wig-
glesworth, who was then about twenty-two years
of age, and who had been graduated at Harvard
College, at the head of his class, in 1651. He is
supposed to have preached here in 1654 ; but he
supplied the pulpit nearly two years before he ac¬
cepted the call to become the teacher of Maiden
and was ordained. The custom of the New Eng¬
land churches recognized both pastors and teach¬
ers ; and, although the colleagues of Mr. "Wiggles-
worth were pastors, the title was not applied to
him until the later years of his ministry, and it is
probable that he never assumed it. Soon after his
ordination a sickly constitution, which had mani¬
fested itself while he was at college, so prevailed
upon him that for a long period, variously supposed
to have been from twenty-one to twenty-eight years,
he was unable regularly to attend his pulpit duties.
Shut out from the more active affairs of his office,
he turned his attention to literary labors ; and his
poems. The Day of Doom, and Meat out of the
Eater, those " grim uttei'ances of the past," now
known only as literary curiosities of an age of
thought and belief now departed, attained a popu¬
larity which we of the present, with more generous
views of God and man, can hardly understand. A
modem writer says of his muse : "Homely and
coarse of speech as she is, her voice probably sunk
into the hearts of those who listened to her rude
melody, leaving there an impression deeper than any
which the numbers of some of our modern bards
may ever produce " ; and his biographer says ;
" There are passages in his writings which are truly
poetical, both in thought and expression, and which
show that he • was capable of attaining a higher
position as a poet than can now be claimed for
him."
In 1663, while Mr. Wigglesworth was absent in
Bermuda, Rev. Benjamin Bunker was ordained as
"Pastor in Maldon." As Mr. "Wigglesworth's
colleague he gained the Maiden teacher's love and
esteem ; and the friendship which a companionship
of six years in the ministry had cemented was cele¬
brated by the poet in an elegy which rebuked the
sins of "Maldon" while it praised the departed
saint. After the death of Mr. Bunker, there is no
record of any other than Mr. Wigglesworth having
preached at Maiden until 1674, when Rev. Benja¬
min Blackraan began to preach. He continued
here four years, and then removed to the banks of
the Saco River, where he became a large land-
proprietor and a prominent man. He is supposed
to have died in the vicinity of Boston. The next
colleague of Mr. Wigglesworth, and the third pas-
118
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
tor of Maiden, was Rev. Thomas Cheever, who be¬
gan to preach in 1680. He was a son of Ezekiel
Cheever, the celebrated New England schoolmas¬
ter, who had been urged years before to come to
Maiden as its first pastor. He had recently been
graduated at Harvard College, like Mr. Wiggles-
worth, at the head of his class, and, after preaching
about a year and a half, was ordained, July 27,
1681. In 1686 a charge was brought against
him concerning certain scandalous words, the char¬
acter of which is not now known, but which are
supposed to have been of a theological nature.
So much strife ensued that, at the desire of the
church, a council assembled which, at its final
meeting, advised the church to grant Mr. Cheever
"a loving dismission," it seeming probable that
his continuance would not " tend to y" peace of
that place, or to y' edification of y" church, nor
to his own comfort." Mr. Cheever retired to a
pleasant farm, overlooking the sea at Rumney
Marsh, which was in the possession of his de¬
scendants many years. Here he often preached
to the sparse population gathered around him :
and in 1715 he was settled as the first pastor of
the church at Rumney Marsh, afterwards Chelsea.
Here he remained during a long pastorate of over
thirty-four years, and died beloved and honored,
after having served his Master to the last, at the
mellow age of ninety-one years. Of the long line
of ministers, descendants of him alone remain in
Maiden.
Much division and many troubles appear to have
occurred after this time. Perhaps some embers
of the fire kindled in the time of Mr. Matthews
still remained ; and there are indications that Mr.
Wigglesworth was considered as one having no-
claim upon the town and church. Although a
salary was regularly voted to Mr. Cheever, and a
provision made for his wife in the event of his
death, yet no action is recorded for many years
in behalf of the teacher ; and it was not until 1694
that a salary was voted to him, and that lie was
given the use of the parsonage. The other clergy¬
men had resided in the " ministry-house" ; and Mr.
Wigglesworth in the mean time lived in his own
house, which stood in an easterly direction from
the parsonage, and the location of which could a
few years ago be readily found. It was burned in
1730, while Mr. Emerson was preaching the last
sermon delivered in the old meeting-house, having
been fired by a negro who was hung at Cambridge
in consequence of the act.
The parsonage, standing upon four acres set
apart for that purpose in 1651, had been occupied
by Mr. Wigglesworth in the early years of his
ministiy. After his death his widow continued to
reside here a short time ; and it was occupied by
the succeeding pastors, David Parsons and Joseph
Emerson. During the occupancy of the latter it
was burned, with a large part of his substance. A
new house was built, eight or ten rods north of
the old site, which was inhabited by the successive
ministers of the Pirst Parish until the close of the
pastorate of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb in 1837. In this
house the celebrated and noble Burman missionary,
Adoniram Judson, was born in 1788. It is now
m the possession of George W. Wilson, who care¬
fully cherishes it as an heirloom of the past to the
present age.
Mr. Wigglesworth preached at his first coming
in the building in which Mr. Matthews had uttered
his " inconvenient " words, and in which the church
was probably originally gathered. It stood on the
southerly slope of Bailey's Hill, perhaps a little to
the westward of Bell Rock, and near the site upon
which Job Lane contracted in 1658 to build the
second meeting-house. This "Artificial meeting
House," which had not been completed in June,
1660, was thirty-three feet square, and cost about
one hundred and fifty pounds. The contract speci¬
fied a turret in which the beU, which then hung
in a frame on Bell Rock, was to be placed; but
it probably was not built for thirty years, as a vote
was passed in 1693 to hang the bell "one the top
of y' meting-house." In the course of forty years
the congregation became straitened in the house
which they had built, and an addition of fourteen
feet was made upon the south side of the building.
The "Charlestown neighbors" contributed thirty
pounds towards the cost of the addition, and re¬
ceived in return "free liberty to com jnto y* s'
metinghous to heare y' word of god." Colonel
Nicholas Paige, who, mth others of Winnisimmet
and Rumney Marsh, appears to have attended
divine service in Maiden, gave six pounds to the
same object.
In 1662 Joseph Hills and other inhabitants,
complaining that "the Bounds of our Town are
Exceeding streight," petitioned for a tract of land
"About fowre Miles Square at A place Called
Penycooke," on the Merrimack River. This peti¬
tion was not granted, as the General Court had
other views in relation to Penacook, and had re¬
served it as a township for actual settlers ; and a
MALDEN.
119
grant of one thousand acres had just been made
for the benefit of the Maiden ministry. This graut
was laid out in the present towns of Shrewsbury,
Boylston, and Holden ; and it was a fruitful source
of lawsuits and troubles for near a century, not
only with the towns in which the land was located,
but also between the precincts into which Maiden
was afterwards divided.
In common with all towns of the colony, the
people of Maiden had early attended to the matter
of a regular military organization ; and, at the time
of the incorporation of the town, we are informed
that " tlie Band of Maiden, being as yet a Young
Town, who have not chosen their Officers, are led
by Mr. Joseph Hills." Joseph Hills appears to
have commanded this company until his removal
to Newbury about 1665, when his son-in-law, John
Wayte, who had been lieutenant since 1654, suc¬
ceeded him in that office. Not all the available
military force of the town was enrolled in the foot
company, as a portion of the men, probably those
of the better class, were members of a company of
cavalry known as the Three County Troop. This
company consisted of " Troopers Belonging to the
Townes of Maiden, Bedding, Rumney marsh and
Linn," and was formed in 1659. Its standard of
crimson damask displayed a naked arm bearing
aloft a sword. It furnished its quota during King
Philip's War, and was in existence under Captain
William Green in 1689. Of its latter history
nothing is known, save that dissensions existed in
its ranks, and it probably dissolved not far from
the beginning of the last century.
The military power of the colony, which had not
seen service since the Pequot War, began, about the
year 1667, to receive more attention, and was soon
to be called into action. It was then that the fears
" concerning Philip and his Indians," which were
so terribly realized eight years later, began to be
general. Portents were not wanting to add to the
general alarm; and, on a clear, still morning
" diverse Persons in Maldon " heard in the air the
sound of a great gun, and "the report of small
Guns like musket shott, discharging very thick,"
and the flying of bullets over their heads ; " and,
after this, they heard drums passing by them and
going Westward." In the bloody war which pre¬
ceded the death of King Philip, the men of Maiden
performed their duty, both in service and by con¬
tribution of their substance. In October, 1675,
seven country rates were ordered, in consideration
of " the great and dayly growing charge of the pres¬
ent warr against the Indians." Of this levy the
proportion of Maiden was £15 10«. for a single
rate ; and this was no small burden to the farmers
of that day, whose currency often consisted only
of the products of the soil. During the summer
and fall of that year soldiers of the town were in
active service ; several as troopers under Lieutenant
William Hasey of Rumney Marsh, the commander
of the Three County Troop. Early in December
seven Maiden men marched with the company un¬
der Captain Samuel Mosely for the Narragansett
country. In the battle known as the Narragansett
Fight, which soon followed, and where nearly seven
hundred Indians are said to have perished, this
company was the first to enter the enemy's fort;
and two of the nineteen men which it lost in slain
and wounded were of Maiden, — Edmund Chamber¬
lain among the former, and James Chadwick among
the latter. At the same time another Maiden sol¬
dier, Lieutenant Phineas Upham of Captain Isaac
Johnson's company, received a wound from the
effects of which he died in a few months. During
the next year Maiden soldiers served under several
captains ; and in a settlement made in August of
that year the town was credited with the services
of twenty-nine men. This war, which came to a
close in the fall, was productive of much suffering
in all parts of the colony, but not to so great an
extent in Maiden as in towns nearer the frontiers.
There are extant petitions which portray cases of
individual hardships ; and fourteen families, com¬
prising fifty-two persons, received aid in Maiden
from the Irish Charity, a contribution sent from
Ireland for the relief of those who had suffered by
the war. After the war the records indicate that,
in common with the other towns of the colony.
Maiden gradually gained in strength, and added to
her intellectual and moral power as well as to her
material stature in the season of general recupera¬
tion into which the country entered.
It may be supposed that a school was early es¬
tablished here ; and in 1663 one WiUiam Godden,
after sundry individual bequests, left the residue of
his estate for schooling poor children of Charles-
town and Maiden. In 1671 a school was main¬
tained at the charge of the town, and Captain
JoliTi Wayte appeared in court and declared that
" Maldon " was " provided •«'ith a schoolmaster
according to law." No other reference to schools
has been found prior to April 1, 1691, when the
simple entry, "Ezekiel Jenkins continuing to be
the Townes Scoule master," proves that the school
120
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
had not ceased to exist. In 1693 John Sprague
was chosen master, which position he filled, at
times, for nearly twenty years. In 1703 Ezekiel
Jenkins resumed the rod, and taught until his death
in 1705. His gravestone informs us that "Maul-
dens Late School Master From a Painfull Life is
Gone to Take His Rest His Lord Hath Called
Him Whome." Nathaniel Way te also taught sev¬
eral years, and was at times " Improued " as a
moderator of town-meetings. The salary of the
master in 1701 was fifteen pounds, and he was
afterwards granted a nominal sum and the " Bene¬
fit of the Scolars." In 1703 the school was kept
"jn y' watch-hous," and under Ezekiel Jenkins it
was convened " at his one hous." Later, it was
held in houses in different parts of the town. In
1710 the town was presented " for not haueing a
gramar School as the Law directs " ; but, it ap¬
pearing that the inhabitants were " many of them
needy rather than Capable of Supporting a gramar
School," the complaint was dismissed " as to a
gramar School," and the selectmen were ordered
"to provide them seines of a good able sufficient
Schoolmaster to teach their Children to write and
Read." In consequence of this order the town
finally engaged Samuel Wigglesworth, a son of the
Rev. Michael Wigglesworth, who, during his two
years' residence here, practised medicine and studied
divinity in addition to his school labors. He was
afterwards settled as the minister at Ipswich Ham¬
let, where he died after fifty-four years of service.
His diary, covering the period of his residence in
Maiden, is still in existence. The first school-
house, an edifice twenty feet long and sixteen feet
wide, was built in 1712; and the next year the
town voted to use it " for a wach hous when ther
js an ocasion And nott To disoblige y° school jn s^
house at aney time." After tiiis there was much
trouble in keeping the teacher's place filled by a
suitable person, and the town was several times ar¬
raigned for its neglect. For nearly forty years the
roll of masters is filled with the names of many
persons, who in their brief seasons probably taught
with varying success, until, in 1781, the shoe¬
maker, Nathaniel Jenkins, who h^d prepared for
the situation by a year's study at the parson¬
age, assumed with hesitancy the honors of the
school-house. This was the " Master Jenkins "
of yore, who taught the youth of Maiden for
nearly a quarter of a century, and whose vigorous
methods of enforcing discipline led one who had
suffered under him to write in his old age, " The
afifiictions of my childhood were neither few nor
far between."
In the latter years of the seventeenth century
the town appears to have been free from the dis¬
turbing influences which had embroiled and har¬
assed its inhabitants in the early days of their ex¬
istence as an independent church and municipality.
After the dismission of Mr. Cheever from the pas¬
torate, and the recovery of Mr. "Wigglesworth's
health, a period of peace ensued ; and the quaint
records of the time are full of entries which indicate
a general advance in the prosperity which the sturdy
yeomanry were shaping out of the wilderness.
Roads were laid out or made more definite, com¬
mons were surveyed-and divided, church supphes
were voted, and regulations for the preservation
and advancement of morals and property were con¬
sidered and fixed. Moreover, the people of Maiden
were not wholly engrossed by the work which they
found to do within their own borders, but they
cheerfully assumed and bore their share of the bur¬
den which the common weal imposed upon them.
In the differences which at that early day existed
with the mother country, they were with the party
of liberty; and the name of their representative.
Captain John Way te, soon after speaker of the
house of deputies, stands on the roll of honor
among those patriots who were denounced by the
infamous Edward Randolph in his "Articles of
high misdemeanour." Later, in 1689, the men
of Maiden were not unrepresented in the crowds
which, pouring from the country into the streets
of Boston, overthrew the government of Andros
and the authority of the Stuarts in New England.
Returning, they met in town-meeting; and, call¬
ing upon the charter officers, who had been dis¬
placed by Andros in 1686, to resnme their powers,
they promised and engaged to " aid and assist them
to the utmost of our Power with our Persons and
estates."
In the gloom and terror of the days of 1692,
when the delnsion and insanity which reached its
strongest development in Salem threatened to
spread over New England, the town, in the per¬
sons of its inhabitants, did not wholly escape.
Elizabeth Fosdick of Maiden and Elizabeth Paine
of Mystic-Side were arrested and placed in Salem
jail on a charge of witchcraft practised on the
bodies of those mnch-bewitched young reprobates,
Mercy Lewis and Mary Warren of Salein "Village.
Peter Tufts of Mystic-Side, who many times dur¬
ing a long life appears in the court records as a
MALBEN.
121
uot desirable neighbor, also complained of them
"for acts of Witchcraft by them Committed on his
negro Woman." Captain John Floyd was also
arrested and committed to prison. Fortunately
the delusion spread no farther here, and the accused
were set at liberty in the general jail-delivery which
followed.
In 1695 a division of the town commons, con¬
sisting of about twenty-three hundred acres, was
made among seventy-four freeholders. In this
division a large part of the present town of Melrose
became proprietary land, and many lines then laid
down may still be recognized.
On Sunday morning, June 10, 1705, Eev.
Michael Wigglesworth " Finnished His Work and
Entre'' Apon an Eternal Sabbath of Rest." Of his
characteristics as a poet I have before spoken.
That he was offered the presidency of Harvard Col¬
lege evinces the esteem in which he was held by
his contemporaries. His sermons were marked by
a modest, though energetic, clearness of thought,
which, joined to the natural polish of his manners,
made him to be respected and beloved by his peo¬
ple; and his memory long remained fragrant in
the town and church, and outlived the generation
of those who had known him. Within the memory
of the living his name has been a sacred one in
many families. As a physician he is mentioned as
" attending the Sick, not only in his own Town,
but also in all those of the Vieinity " ; and, on his
gravestone, he is styled " Mauldens Physician For
Soul And Body Two."
After the death of Mr. Wigglesworth the spirit
of strife again revived. At times the town refused
to raise money for the ministry, and at others failed
to concur with the church in the choice of a pastor.
The civil power again interfered in the ecelesiastical
affairs of the town ; and it was not until the fall of
1708, after nine ministers had been considered as
candidates for the pulpit of Wigglesworth, that the
town and church were able to come to a " loving
Agreem*" in the choice'of Mr. David Parsons.
Even this was not a unanimous act ; for twelve free¬
men entered their dissent to the " procedens," for
the reason that, by order of the court, negotiations
had been entered upon with Mr. Thomas Tufts, and
the town was not " abl to mautain two ministers
at once." Mr. Parsons, however, was settled, and
remained here nearly twelve years. He was an ec¬
centric man, of strong passions and a quarrelsome
temper; and his labors in Maiden do not appear
to have been altogether peaceful. His departure.
in 1721, was preceded by a dismissal. He became
the first minister of Leicester, whose people expressed
their utter un worthiness of " so great a Blessing";
but the fourteen years of his settlement with them
was a period of bitter strife. He died in Leicester
in 1743. The curse which went with him through
life might almost seem to have followed him to a
not honored grave. The mound beneath which
he was laid to rest was long since broken by the
plough ; and the stone which alone remains as his
memorial is utilized as the cover of a chimney ash-
hole. The removal of Mr. Parsons was attended
by that of many of his younger parishioners ; and
the names of Green, Lynde, Waite, Newhall, Sar-
geant, Whittemore, and others of Maiden origin
still remain in Leicester.
The church and town were not long in filling the
place left vacant by Mr. Parsons. They very soon
concurred, on the same day, in the choice of one
who, like Mr. Wigglesworth, was to pass with them
a long and useful life. Joseph Emerson was bom
at Chelmsford, April 20, 1700, and entered Har¬
vard College at the early age of thirteen years. He
was graduated in 1717, and at that time "began to
preach to general acceptance." Having spent four
years in teaching and preaching at various places,
he was ordained at Maiden, October 31, 1721.
Here he labored nearly forty-six years ; and such
was his rare good health and strength that, during
this long period, he was absent from his pulpit but
two Sabbaths. During his pastorate a long and
bitter dissension, resulting in a division, occurred
in his parish ; but he so lived that " he was not
reproached by any as being the cause." He died
suddenly in 1767. The town record thus quaintly
pays a tribute to his memory : " The Rev. Joseph
Emerson consort to Mrs. Mary Emerson who had
been in the judgment of charity a faithful minister
here, and that for the space of forty and five years
Deceased in the evening of the 13 day of July
1767, very soon after lying down to sleep who was
cheirly and in health before." On his gravestone
he is called " learned, pious, and faithful " ; and
one who writes of hiin says, " He was just, amiable,
kiud, and benevolent." The record of his life pre¬
sents no point s of interest to the careless observer ;
but those who love the simple, earnest, and faithful
lives of the clergy of the colonial jjeriod wiU find
much that will refresh them therein. Like the most
of his contemporaries, he was strongly attached to
the doctrines of Calvin, which he made to hold no
secondary place in his sermons. He looked upon
122
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
piety in practice as the only sure foundation of a
happy life ; and he made the Bible his daily com¬
panion, that he might gain wisdom at the fountain-
head of truth. He never entered upon affairs of
importance without seeking the blessing and im¬
ploring the guidance of God. We are told that at
the tender age of eight years he conducted family
worship in the absence of his father, " to the aston¬
ishment of those who attended on the exercises of
the family ■" ; and that through his life " at stated
times he every day addressed himself to Heaven.''
" Such was his humility," writes his biographer,
"that when unguarded words fell from his lips,
he would ask forgiveness of his children arid ser¬
vants." His son, the Eev. Joseph Emerson of
Pepperell, thus emphatically describes his charac¬
ter : " He was a Boanerges, a son of thunder, to
the workers of iniquity ; a Barnabas, a son of con¬
solation, to the mourners in Zion."
As has been intimated, the course of church
affairs during the settlement of Mr. Emerson was
not such as would induce great spiritual peace.
From the incorporation of the town " our Charles-
town neighbors," or those who dwelt at Mystic-
Side within the limits of Charlestown, had enjoyed
church privileges with the inhabitants of Maiden.
As members of the church they were entitled to
vote in its affairs ; but as inhabitants of Charles-
town they had no voice in the complementary trans¬
actions of the town. It may be readily seen how,
under these conditions, a town-meeting, although
nearly, if not entirely, composed of church-mem¬
bers, might refuse, as often happened, to concur
with the church of which they were a part. Be¬
fore the ordination of Mr. Emerson steps had been
taken for the annexation of Mystic-Side ; but, in
consequence of the opposition of Charlestown, and
perhaps for other reasons, it was not consummated
until the spring of 1726, when the General Court
passed the necessary act in answer to the petition
of Joses Bucknam, Jacob Wilson, and Jonathan
Barret. This act ceded to Maiden all the territory
of Charlestown on the northerly side of Mystic
River and the easterly side of North River, except
a small strip of land at Penny Ferry which still
forms a part of Charlestown. This tract com¬
prised about one half of the present town of
Everett, and thirty-four years later it was in¬
habited by thirty families.
It was not long before the sections came into
conflict. The meeting-house near Bell Rock had
become too small for the town, and it was pro¬
posed in 1727 to build a new one. Two locations
were considered, one upon the town land near the
old house,_ and the other upon a knoll in the par¬
sonage orchard. These were soon abandoned, and
the town voted to build " between Lewis's Bridge
and the Pound on the west side of the Country
Road." It was afterwards found that " the South¬
erly Inhabitants-were Something uneasy" about
the matter ; and " they Said if they Could have a
Committee of wise, indifferent men to determine
the matter they Should be intirely easy." The
other inhabitants, in a conciliatory spirit, "not¬
withstanding the former vote, readily consented";
and, at a town-meeting held November 17, 1727,
a committee was chosen, which was composed of
five eminent men of the colony, to whom the three
localities mentioned were submitted for their de¬
cision. The committee reported in favor of the
location near Lewis's Bridge ; but their report fell
into the liands of those of the selectmen who were
of the south side, who refused to put it upon the
record. At this point the General Court inter¬
posed, and ordered the record to be made and to
become obligatory upon the town, in accordance
with the vote by which it had constituted the com¬
mittee. This was not a settlement favored by the
southern selectmen, who at once called a town-
meeting, which the other side " thought to be a
manifest Contempt of Authority " ; and to the num¬
ber of nearly seventy they "entered.their Dissents."
The meeting was held, however, and the men of
the south decided against the recording of the re¬
port. The factious party appear to have had their
own way for a while ; and nothing more was done
about the new house for more than a year and a
half, when the General Court passed an order that
the house should be placed on the location most
favored by the people of the northern section, be¬
tween Lewis's Bridge and the pound, on the site
now occupied by the church of the First Parish.
The land for this purpose was given by William
Sprague, and was a portion of that which had been
known as the " clay-pits," in reference to which a
fine was laid in 1699 to "punish transgressors y'
shall intrench on y° highways jn diging of clay."
Bricks were made near by many years after ; and
the Frog Pond, well remembered by Maiden boys
who are on the writer's side of forty, was a relic
of the clay-digging days. The frame of the new
meeting-house was raised, no doubt with liberal
compotations, August 28, 1729. A rude ground-
plan of the house was made some years ago by one
HALDEN.
123
who had known it in its latter years. It was un-
painted, both inside and outside. The pulpit stood
on the north side, opposite the great south door,
which was the principal entrance. Another door¬
way, on the easterly side, gave additional, facilities
for ingress and egress. In two corners stairways
gave access to the gallery; and the description
quaintly adds, " The east stair was for women and
the west stair for men, and they could not get
together in the gallery without getting over the
railing."
"While the newly admitted inhabitants of the
southern portion of the town were striving with
their neighbors of the elder section, several fami¬
lies of the north end presented their complaints.
The great distance at which they lay prevented
attendance upon the ministry, except in the finest
weather ; and many of them preferred the nearer
way to Heading. Seven of them were members of
the Beading church as early as 1720. They peti¬
tioned to be set off in 1726, but for some reason
their application was not successful. A proposi¬
tion to erect two churches in Maiden appears to
have been made about this time; but a negative
vote of the town caused the petition to be renewed
in 1729;. and ten families, and "some of the
wealthiest," with their farms, were annexed to
Beading with the free consent of the town. The
section thus lost shortened the town about a mile,
and is now known as Greenwood. The peculiar
configuration of the southern portion of Wakefield
clearly shows the extent of territory which the old
town of Beading then gained.
The new meeting-liouse was nearly a year in
building. On its completion, a town-meeting was
held, and "there was a unanimous Vote to meet
therein to carry on the Worship of God for the fu¬
ture." To this the inhabitants of both sections,
joining freely in the vote, assented. It was claimed
that the house was near the centre of the town and
much more convenient for the southern than for
the northern people, " both by Beason of the near¬
ness of the House and Goodness of the Boads."
Although the people of the southern district had
taken a part in the passage of the vote just men¬
tioned, their pacification was far from being real.
The first sermon in the new house was preached
by Mr. Emerson, August 16, 1730; and, four
Sabbaths later, the malecontents held a service
by themselves. After this their meetings were
frequent; and some attempts to maintain stated
preaching appear to have been made, although no
regular place of worship may have been provided,
and an organization was not effected for several
years.
While the people of the south district absented
themselves from the town's meeting-house, they
continued, as they were legally bound, to contribute
to the support of Mr. Emerson, and to this matter
of fancied injustice they often alluded, with em¬
phasis, in their frequent petitions for a separation.
At length, in 1733, they petitioned to be made
" a distinct Township or Precinct," with Pember-
ton's Brook as its northern bound. This was ask¬
ing a liberal division, as the new meeting-house, to
which thirty families, living within the bounds of
the proposed new town, still resorted, was within
thirty rods, and was the first building north of
Lewis's Bridge. The town opposed a division, as
being a measure which would " necessarily tend to
the impoverishing the Town and bring them into
the utmost Difficulty, Confusion, and laying Such
Burdens as will be grievous to us and our Pos¬
terity." The petition was unsuccessful ; but, the
next year, the seceders took another step for¬
ward, and a council of neighboring churches em¬
bodied what was for fifty-eight years known as the
Maiden South Church ; and a meeting-house was
soon after raised upon land given by Jonathan Sar-
geant for that purpose. This location was upon
the height since known as Nelson's Hill, near the
centre of the farm which had descended from "Wil¬
liam Sargeant, who first " broke the seals " to tlie
infant church of Maiden ; and it was reached by a
way twenty-six feet wide which led from the high¬
way. The meeting-house was never fully com¬
pleted, and it is said to have been in a very
dilapidated condition in 1787. The members of
the new church afterwards complained that, having
borne their part " at great Cost in Erecting a fine
substantial meeting-house" for the other part of
the town, and having "waded thro' so great a
Charge," they were " oblidged to Erect a nother."
A second petition for separation representing that
they had " been at the charge of building a meet-
ing-House for the publick worship of God and for
Several Years past maintained a Gospel Minister
amongst them for the Comfort and Conveniency of
them and their Families," was made in April, 1735 ;
but it met the fate of the former.
Bev. Joseph Stimpson of Charlestown was or¬
dained as the first pastor of the South Church, Sep¬
tember 24, 1735; and an unsuccessful attempt
was made to have the town assume the payment of
124
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the salaries of both ministers. A season of quiet
ensued for a few months until December, 1737,
when the petition for separation was renewed by
fifty-three individuals ; and their persistence was
rewarded by the division of the town into two pre¬
cincts "for the Promotion of Eeligiou and the
Peace of the Town." By the act of separation
eight persons with their estates, some of which
were near the' centre of the new parish, were
allowed to continue with the North Precinct. The
ministry-lands were to be equally divided, except
that Mr. Emerson was to have the use of the par¬
sonage-house and ground during his continuance
in the ministry in Maiden.
The history of the South Church, so far as
known, shows no prolonged season of prosperity.
Erequent quarrels with the North Parish in relation
to the ministry-lands, and repeated efforts to pre¬
vent the secession of its members to the sister
church, make up the staple of its substance. Mr.
Stimpson continued its minister a few years, and
was dismissed in 1744 ; but he remained an in¬
habitant of the precinct, and resided there in 1752.
The church had no settled pastor until 1747, when
Eev. Aaron Cleaveland,who had been settled at Had-
dam. Conn., was called to the vacant pulpit, which
had been offered to others. As an encouragement
to Mr. Cleaveland to remove, the precinct voted to
purchase a parsonage for his use, the cost of which
was advanced by Benjamin Hills, a leading member
of the parish, who became dissatisfied a few years
later, and was set- off, with others, to the North
Precinct. Mr. Cleaveland was installed in June,
1747. He was a native of Cambridge, and a grad¬
uate of Harvard College, and is said to liave been
" a prodigy of physical strength and agility." He
remained in Maiden but three years, and removed
to Halifax, N. S., where he became an Episcopa¬
lian. He died in 1754, in Philadelphia, in the
house of his friend, Benjamin Eranklin, who " hon¬
ored and praised him."
Soon after the departure of Mr. Cleaveland the
church and precinct called Eev. Eliakim Willi»,
who was a native of Dartmouth, and had been
graduated at Harvard College in 1735, in the same
class as his predecessor. There was much opposi¬
tion to his settlement, " on aceount of their jna-
bility to support him and the Prospect of the two
Parishes being united again if his Settlement [be]
deferred." About the same time the North Parish
unanimously voted that " the north meeting house
mite be pulled down and Set up at the old spot
which was the -cans of the south drawing of pro¬
vided the South would Joyn with them to Carring
on the worship of god with tliem there "; but " the
South did Eefuse Complying with So good a pro¬
posal"; and Mr. Willis was ordained, probably in
the summer of 1752. Fifteen persons, "many of
whose estates were as large as any in the Parish,"
addressed the ordaining council, " signifying their
Disapprobation." Mr. Willis, though an able man,
beloved by his parishioners and respected by the
whole town, was unable to stay the downward course
of the affairs of his precinct. In 1757 it was rep¬
resented that they " find by long Experience that
they are not able to support the Gospel among
them and are greatly in arrears to their minister,"
and that they were " greatly impoverished by sup¬
porting a minister among them, and by contending
with the north Parish"; and twelve persons of
considerable estates petitioned to be restored to the
old church. Some light is thrown upon the inter¬
nal condition of the precinct by the report made
by a committee to the General Court, which de¬
clared that this petition was "a Design to break
up y° South Parish." Though the petition was
refused and the malecontents forced to remain, for
a time at least, with the South Church, matters
grew no better, but steadily tended downward ; and
the course of a few years witnessed an almost total
loss of interest and an inability to raise the means
wherewith to meet the expenses of public worship.
The salary of Mr. Willis was unpaid, and the par¬
sonage estate was relinquished to him in settlement.
Mr. Willis thereafter, during the existence of the
South Precinct, depended upon his labor as a farm¬
er for a-livelihood, preaching upon the Sabbath
for the scanty contributions which his people and
strangers might make.
A generation was now coming into the world
which was destined to achieve the independence
of the colonies and to found a great empire ; and in
the military movements which now began to eiihst
the patriotism of the men of that day the inhabi¬
tants of Maiden prepared to take a part. Since
the days of King Philip they had always home their
share in the various expeditions which were sent
forth. Maiden troopers, under Captain William
Green, whilom of the Three County Troop, marched
on an expedition against the Indians in 1695 ; and
Edmund Chamberlain, a son of that Edmund
Chamberlain who fell at the Narragansett Eight,
who was born after his father was slain, died from
disease contracted in the expedition to Port Boyal
HALDEN.
125
in 1710. About the same time James Hovey
was a prisoner in the hands of the French and
Indians in Canada. Later nine young men from
Maiden laid down their lives in the performance
of their duty in the celebrated siege of Louisburg,
in 1745.
In the successive campaigns of the French war,
which began in 1755 and extended over a period
of nearly eight years, the men of Maiden took an
active part, although no full company was recruited
here. Lieutenant Simon Wade was wounded in
the futile expedition against Crown Point, and was
killed at the capitulation of Fort William Henry,
in 1757, when the savages of Montcalm's army,
in the presence of their French allies, inhumanly
massacred the greater part of the unfortunate gar¬
rison. In a company commanded by Dr. Ebenezer
Marrow of Medford, in 1758, were Lieutenants
Samuel Burditt and Darius Green, with thirty-one
non-commissioned officers and privates of Maiden.
This company was sent to the westward with the
forces under General Abercrombie, and participated
in the unsuccessful and bloody attempt upon Ticon-
deroga, in which the colonial troops experienced a
heavy loss and were afterwards much reduced by
sickness. The Maiden men who died in this cam¬
paign were James Whittemore, John Burditt, Jr.,
Ezekiel Floyd, Joseph Jenkins, and Nathaniel
Wayte. In a company in service in 1762, com¬
manded by Captain Moses Hart of Lynn, were
eleven men of Maiden ; and individuals were
scattered in various regiments during the war.
This war was the nursery of the army of the Eev-
olution ; and there seems to have been a growing
fondness for military life, at this time, among all
classes. The enrolled militia of Maiden in 1758
was one hundred and thirty-four men, under the
command of Captain John Dexter. In 1763 its
officers were Captain Ezra Green, Lieutenant Jabez
Lynde, and Ensign Thomas Hills.
As we tread the threshold of the Eevolution it
may not be unprofitable to inquire into the state
of the town as it approached the close of the
colonial period. Materials to satisfy such an in¬
quiry, though scattered, are happily not insuffi¬
cient for our purpose. In common with the great
body of the people of Massachusetts Bay, the in¬
habitants of Maiden were alive to the great dan¬
gers of the time. They were heartily in sympathy
with the cause of liberty, and evinced their readi¬
ness to act in its defence. Their action at a later
period we shall consider in its place. The inhabi¬
tants of the town, in 1765, were divided into one
hundred and seventy-four families, inhabiting one
hundred and forty-four houses. Of the aggregate
number of nine hundred and eighty-three, forty-
eight were negroes and four hundred and sixteen
were under sixteen years of age. During the next
eleven years the population increased to one thou¬
sand and thirty. In 1767 seven work-houses or
shops are mentioned; and £244 was the value of
the " Trading Stock " of the community. Of mon¬
ey at interest £1,169 6«. 8^/. appears; and the
live stock of tiie farmers consisted of eighty-four
horses, one hundred oxen, and four hundred and
eighty-six cows, besides sheep and a few swine.
The taxable products of tlie land were fifty-eight
hundred and thirty-nine busliels of grain and six
liundred and fifty-two barrels ■ of " Cyder," with
one thousand and fifty-two tons of hay, of which
but two hundred and thirty-four tons were of Eng-
lisli grass, the salt marshes then, and in earlier
years, furnishing a large proportion of the hay ob¬
tained. By these figures the sparseness of the
population of the territory now covered by the
towns of Maiden, Melrose, and Everett may be
understood. The simplicity of their condition may
appear in the fact that, eight years before, one
chaise and fourteen chairs were the wheel carriages
sufficient for the wants of this community. Trav¬
elling was performed upon foot and on horseback ;
and a few years earlier the purchase of a " shay"
was the plentiful source of spiritual disquiet in the
soul of Mr. Emerson.
Slavery existed in a mild and patriarchal form;
but it was still a real slavery wherein human beings
had a money value and were sold like cattle or tbe
ground on which they trod. The names of a few
of these servitors have come down to us ; but the
names of Brahma Bucknam and Cato Lynde, of
Phyllis Willis and Violet Hills, belong to a day and
a condition which have passed away. The compar¬
ative value of human flesh in Maiden may be known
by the inventory of Deacon John Pratt, which was
made in 1742, when an "oald negroman" and a
cow were valued alike at £ 10 each. The inven¬
tory of the estate of Ezra Green, made in 1768,
valued "a Negro man named Jeferre" at £20,
while the more youthful " Negro Boy Named
Simon " was invoiced at £ 33. A " Negro Garl
Named Vilot," increased the inventory only by
the amount of £10 13«. 4 ¿7. Several individuals
who had been slaves lemained in Maiden within
the last fifty years, the last of whom was Simon
126
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Knights, who, with Iiis worthy and industrious
wife, is well remembered by many. He had been
a slave of Bernard Green, and was a sincere and
consistent Christian and a member of the Baptist
Church. He lived many years in a small house,
as black as himself, which stood in Haskin's Lane,
not far from the site of the Unitarian Chapel, and
died in July, 1847. His funeral service, which
was held in the Baptist Church, was attended
by the towns-people as that of a neighbor and
friend.
At the death of Mr. Emerson, in 1767, the North
Precinct and church again entered upon a season
of discord upon the question of the ministry ; and
it was three years before one was found worthy to
wear the mantle of Wigglesworth and Emerson.
This was a young man who had recently been
graduated at Harvard College, and. who, at the
early age of eighteen years, was ordained by the
Maiden church. Peter Thacher came of a race of
ministers who had upheld the faith of the churches
both in England and America. So uncommon was
his gravity, and such his fondness for books of
piety and religious conversation, that it was said
of him that he had never been a child. Though
plain of speech and manners, even to roughness,
in his daily life, yet, in the pulpit, a melodious
voice and fervent speech, joined with a rich glow
of fancy, held the attention of the cultivated and
won the applause of the multitude. The celebrated
Whitefield esteemed him as the ablest preacher in
America, and looked upon him as one born for the
defence of New England Orthodoxy. Nor was he
backward in the patriotic endeavors of the day,
but placed himself at once in the front rank of
those who in the puljht and by the pen gave direc¬
tion and strength to the growing spirit of liberty.
His mind and energy gave form to the feelings of
the town in several papers of note for their deep
and earnest patriotism and their fearlessness of
utterance. In an address voted by the town to
the inhabitants of Boston in 1773 he wrote : " May
the great Over-ruler and Disposer of all events, so
direct and succeed your wise endeavors, as that the
yoke of tyranny may be entirely broken, and New
England yet enjoy her invaluable privileges invio¬
late to the latest generations." At a meeting held
September 23, 1774, the town adopted instructions
to their representative. Captain Ebenezer Harnden,
in which they proclaimed " our firm, our deliberate
resolution, rather to risque our lives and fortunes
than to submit to these unrighteous acts of the
British Parliament which pretend to regulate the
government of this province " ; and they closed
with a sentence which is full of the spirit of free¬
men who dare to be free : "We are determined in
the strength of our God, that we will, in spite of
open force and private treachery, live and die as
becomes the descendants of such ancestors as ours,
who sacrificed their all, that they and their pos¬
terity might be free."
While the tongue and pen of the minister bore
testimony to the patriotism of his people, the men
of Maiden were not backward in more active ex¬
pressions of their determination. The militia be¬
came the subject of town ordinances, and frequent
drills were ordered. The regular company of mili¬
tia, under Captain Benjamin Blaney, was "placed
upon the alarm-list as miiiute-men, being about
one-quarter of the enrolled militia, as prescribed
by an order of the Provincial Congress. On the
alarm of April 19, 1775, they marched for the
scene of conflict with seventy-five men, bearing
doubtless arms that had seen service at Ticonde-
roga and Cape Breton, and the bayonets which
Captain John Dexter purchased in 1758. They
were under orders to report at Watertown; but,
on the way, they were intercepted by a general
officer, who ordered them to proceed towards Lex¬
ington. At West Cambridge they came upon a
provision train, which had followed the detachment
General Gage had sent out under Lord Percy for
the relief of Colonel Smith, and by the aid of
others it was captured. Dr. Gordon states that
this exploit was performed under the leadership
of Eev. Phillips Payson of Chelsea ; but the testi¬
mony of Bernard Green, who was present, gave the
honor to the Maiden company. It is not improb¬
able that a gathering of the country-people had
followed in the pursuit, and that Mr. Payson was
among them and took a part in the affair. The
Chelsea company that day was commanded by
Captain Samuel Sprague. The Maiden company
joined in the pursuit and followed the enemy to
Charlestown. As they passed over Winter Hill
they saw a portion of the Essex regiment coming
through Medford. This regiment, in less than six
hours, had marched from Salem, a distance of
twenty miles. Another portion arrived later and
passed the night at Maiden. It was early even¬
ing when Captain Blaney reached the vicinity of
Charlestown Neck, and his men saw the rear¬
guard of the British on the western slope of Bun¬
ker Hül.
MALBEN.
127
During the afternoon and evening of the day
many inhabitants of Charlestown fled for safety
across Penny Ferry, and they remained in Maiden
during the siege. Such as were able to do mili¬
tary duty were obliged to join the militia of the
town for its defence. Two days after the battle
several field-pieces were ordered to be removed
from Newburyport and placed in the hands of Cap¬
tain John Dexter of Maiden for concealment. This
was for the double purpose of placing them out of
the reach of the enemy upon the sea-coast and
bringing them near Boston, which the militia of
the country was now gradually placing in a state
of siege. About the same time the inhabitants of
Maiden and Chelsea were " absolutely forbidden to
fire upon, or otherwise injure, any seamen belong¬
ing to the navy under the command of Admiral
Graves, unless fired upon by them." This injunc¬
tion was soon withdrawn, and they were directed
"to put themselves in the best state of defence,
and exert the same in such manner as under their
circumstances their judgments may direct " ; and
two companies, under Captain Benjamin Blaney of
Maiden and Captain Samuel Sprague of Chelsea,
were ordered to he raised " for the defence of the
Sea Coast of those Towns." These companies par¬
ticipated in the affair at Noddle's Island, May 27
and 28, when the live-stock of the island was
driven off, and the Americans captured from the
enemy who opposed them twelve swivels and four
small cannon. This has been called the battle of
Noddle's Island, and it contributed not a little to
prepare the way for the attempt to fortify and hold
the heights of Charlestown.
Besides the company of Captain Blaney another
company had been formed in Maiden, under the
command of Captain Naler Hatch. This company
was attached to the regiment of Colonel Thomas
Gardner; and, on the ever-memorahle June 17, it
was stationed at Sweetser's or Beacham's Point,
in the southern part of the town. From this spot
the whole eventful scene of battle was in view, and
the advance and retreat of the contending forces,
and all the details of the conflict were discernible.
There Peter Thacher saw the events, a statement of
which he afterwards prepared, at the request of the
Committee of Safety, for transmission to England
and for the information of posterity. Wliile the
battle was in progress, and afterward, the few in¬
habitants of the southern portion of the town re¬
moved their families and effects to less exposed lo¬
cations, — some going as far as Be.ading and others
along the old Salem road to Black Ann's Comer
and the secluded nooks of Scadan. From the
favoring crest of Wayte's Mount many of the in¬
habitants of the northern and central parts of the
town witnessed the distant battle. A number of
wounded men were brought to the tavern of Dr.
Jonathan Porter. This old house, unpainted and
weather-wom, stood upon Salem Street, about a
third of a mile from Main Street, and was demol¬
ished in 1844.
After the battle the southern portion of the
town was embraced within the American lines,
which extended from Chelsea to Dorchester, and
earthworks were thrown up at Beacham's Point
and near the present junction of Main and Bow
streets. Some traces of the latter M'ere visible a
few years since. The defence of these slight works
was assigned to the company of Captain Hatch.
Tiiis force not being adequate to a proper guard-duty
upon the river, the northern shore of which was
open to incursions from Charlestown, a small com¬
pany, under Captain Eleazer Lindsey, from Essex
County, was afterwards stationed at Penny Ferry.
Sunday noon, August 6, a party of regulars landed
at the ferry, burned a house near by, and caused a
general alarm along the American lines. Captain
Lindsey " fled with his company and got before
the women and children in his flight" ; but a field-
piece well served at Ten-Hill Farm, up the river,
caused the enemy to retire, and Captain Lindsey
and his men retumed to their station. They re¬
covered from this Bull-Kun affair, however; and
a few days later they drove two barges down the
river by the service of their musketry. The dam¬
age to property in Maiden during the investment
of Boston was estimated at £262 13 a. 4(7.; the
greater part of which was probably in the more ex¬
posed portion along the Mystic Eiver.
In the spring of 1776 the subject of independ¬
ence became prominent m the minds of the peo¬
ple ; and the inhabitants of Maiden expressed their
wishes in a spirited document, written by Mr.
Thacher, in which, after recalling the time " when
we loved the King and the People of Great Britain
with an affection truly filial," they declared that "It
is now the ardent wish of ourselves, that America
may become Free and Independent States " ; and
they instructed their representative, Ezra Sargeant,
to give the Continental Congress " the strongest as¬
surance that if they should declare America to be a
Free and Independent Bepublic, your constituents
will support and defend the measure to the Last
128
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Drop of their Blood and the Last Farthing of their
Treasure."
The removal of the army from around Boston
carried the scenes of strife from this vicinity ; but
Maiden still bore her part in the conflict. Many
men were scattered in various parts of the service
until the peace. In the summer of 1776 twenty-
nine men were sent as the town's .quota of the
levy ordered for the reinforcement of Washington,
who was threatening the enemy in New York. In
September nine men were drafted ; and, with Ser¬
geant Bernard Green and Corporal Timothy Tufts
at their head, they marched with Captain John
Walton of,Cambridge to the American camp at
Horse Neck, and were at the battle of White Plains,
October 28. Sergeant Green became one of the
most influential men of the town, and died in 1834,
at the age of eighty-two years. After the defeat
at White Plains, Washington passed into New
Jersey, where the victories of Trenton and Prince¬
ton aroused the flagging hopes of the American
people. A company of eighty-eight men, of whom
nine privates were of Maiden, was drafted from the
flrst regiment of Middlesex militia, and marched
under Captain Benjamin Blaney, in December, to
join the army.
The next year another call for soldiers was
made, and the town responded with thirty men, who
enlisted for three years ; and she furnished her pro¬
portion of men for service in Rhode Island, which
was then threatened by a British force. At the head
of the quota of 1779 stands the name of Pomp
Magus. Old residents of Maiden will remember
him as the aged negro inmate of the almshouse,
who on Independence days indulged in reminiscen¬
ces of his campaigning life by donning his ragged
and faded regimentals and shouting " Cambridge I "
Under a demand for four thousand men from Mas¬
sachusetts in the fall of 1780, Maiden promptly
furnished her quota of thirteen men ; and the next
year seven men are enumerated who enlisted for
the war. Substitutes were often furnished by men
liable to be drafted. In one case, in 1781, the
sum of " Twelve Pounds Solid Coin " was paid for
a substitute for three years; and in 1782 the sum
of sixty pounds was paid for the same service.
Among the militia-men who marched with Cap¬
tain Blaney on the day of the battle of Lexington
was Daniel Waters, a master-mariner, who resided
in the southeasterly portion of the town, where
Waters' spring still preserves his memory and re¬
freshes the thirsty traveller. He then performed i
his only service upon the land. Immediately
upon the investment of Boston he was appointed
by Washington to the command of a. gun-boat
doing guard-duty in Charles River ; and in Jan¬
uary, 1776, he was promoted to the schooner Lee.
The name of this little vessel, of eight six-pounders
and fifty men, fills an important place in the his¬
tory of the American navy; for under the noted
Captain John Manly, in the preceding year, it was
the first vessel which sailed with the authority of
the rising nation, and the prizes which it made
were the first in the long list which has become
the glory of the American flag. Captain Waters
retained the command of the Lee about a year, in
which time he distinguished himself by bringing
the prize ship Hope, which had been captured by
the gallant Mugford, into Boston Harbor in the
face of the British fleet, and by assisting in the
capture of a number of transports, in one of which
was the colonel and a portion of the British 71st
regiment. These captures, laden with supplies of
all kinds, were of inestimable value to the continen¬
tal service. On the recommendation of Wash¬
ington, "who wrote of him in terms of high
approbation," he was appointed by Congress a cap¬
tain in the navy of the United States, March 15,
1777, and received orders to build a twenty-gun
ship for his command ; but, difficulties appearing,
the matter was postponed, and he sailed with his
friend. Captain Manly, as"a volunteer, in the Han¬
cock, with the understanding that he should he
given the first ship captured. He had not long to
wait ; for, when a few days out. Captain Manly cap¬
tured the British frigate Fox, of twenty-eight guns,
of which Captain Waters, with a crew of sixty men
from the Hancock, took command. Soon after,
the two ships, in company with the Boston, Cap¬
tain Hector McNeil, boldly looked into the harbor
of Halifax, where lay a British fleet under the com¬
mand of Sir George Collier. In the action which
followed, the Fox was captured, after a sharp re¬
sistance, by the Flora, of superior force. In this
engagement the Hancock was also taken, but the
Boston escaped. Captain McNeil, who could per¬
haps have prevented the capture of the Fox, was
afterwards dismissed from the service for his con¬
duct in the affair. Captain Waters was taken to
New York, where he was detained a prisoner until
April, 1778, when, with Captain Manly and others,
he was exchanged. His return to Boston is men¬
tioned in the Boston Gazette of April 27, 1778.
In March, 1779, he was in command of the United
MALBEN.
129
States brig General Gates, and sailed from Marti¬
nique, acting as commodore, in company with Cap¬
tain John Foster Williams of the Massachusetts
state brig Hazzard. The General Gates arrived at
Boston, April 17, with a prize brig which the con¬
sorts had taken on the voyage.
In the summer of 1779 the state of Massachu¬
setts fitted out an expedition to dislodge the British
under Colonel McLean, who had taken possession
of a point upon the Penobscot Eiver, where they
commenced the erection of fortifications. This
enterprise was very popular with the peo2)le, and
a fieet of nearly forty vessels was brought together
for its purpose. The ship General Putnam, a pri¬
vateer of twenty guns and one hundred and seventy
men, which had just arrived in the harbor of Bos¬
ton from a very successful cruise, was seized by
the state and placed under the command of Cap¬
tain Waters. The fieet, which was commanded by
Commodore Dudley Saltonstall, arrived before the
enemy's works July 25, and disembarked the land
forces under General Lovell. It was soon found
that success could scarcely be hoped for, owiiig to
the utter incompetency of Commodore Saltonstall,
who failed to co-operate or agree with General
Lovell or to heed the advice and remonstrances
of his own officers. Under these circumstances,
it was seriously proposed forcibly to depose him,
and place the command in the hands of a more
competent officer. Captain Waters was one of
those spoken of in this connection, the others being
John Foster Williams and Hoysted Hacker. A
general attack, which at one time could hardly
have proved otherwise than successful, was de¬
ferred fröm day to day until it was too late, and
a fieet under Sir George Collier appeared in the
mouth of the river. The American vessels were
destroyed by their crews or taken by the enemy,
and the forces straggled back to Massachusetts
through the wilderness, as best they might. Cap¬
tain Waters drew up an account of the expedition
on his return, and the affair became the subject,
of an investigation which resulted in the severe
censure of Commodore Saltonstall.
The lack of public ships and the exigencies of
the times compelled many naval officers, as Captain
Manly and others, to take command of private
vessels; and in December, 1779, Captain Waters
sailed on a cruise in the armed ship Thorn, of
eighteen guns and one hundred and twenty men,
belonging to Lee and Sewall of Marblehead. About
the same time the British brigs Tryon and Sir
William Erskine sailed from New York, offering
what the tory papers called " A Glorious Chance
for a fortunate cruise." On Christmas morning
they encountered the Thorn, when the Tryon hailed,
and demanded by what right she wore the thirteen
stars in her pendant. Captain Waters replied,
" I '11 let you know presently," and gave the ques¬
tioner a broadside at short range. The Thorn
sustained the united cannonade of the two brigs
about an hour, when the Tryon attempted to carry
her by boarding, which was prevented by the
Yankee mariners ; and, in the words of an eye¬
witness, "the British sailors were seen running
about deck with pikes in their backs instead of
their hands." The Tryon fired a few more broad¬
sides, and struck the fragments of her fiag ; while
the blood running out of her scuppers gave proof
of the slaughter which had taken place upon her
decks. The Erskine, seeing that her consort had
struck, made shift to escape. After a chase of
about three hours she was overtaken, when, after
a few shots, she surrendered. The English brigs
were of a force much superior to the Thorn, carry¬
ing thirty-four guns and one hundred and seventy-
one men. The Thorn lost eighteen men killed
and wounded; and among the latter was Captain
Waters, who received a wound in the right knee,
from the effects of which he became permanently
lame. After the chase the Tryon was descried,
hull down, making away ; and in the darkness of
the night, which was squally, she disappeared. A
quantity of wreckage being seen in the morning,
it was supposed she had foundered, and no farther
search was made for her. It was afterwards ascer¬
tained that she reached Antigua, in a shattered
condition, with a remnant of her crew. A crew
was put on board the Erskine and she was sent to
Boston, where she arrived safely. The manning
of the prize left Captain Waters with only sixty
men, with whom he proceeded upon his cruise.
In January, 1780, he fell in with the ship Sparlin,
of eighteen guns and seventy-five men, from Liver¬
pool for New York, which was taken after an action
of forty minutes. The next, and probably last
voyage of Captain Waters was as commander of
the armed ship Friendship of Boston, to which he
was appointed in January, 1781. After the war
he retired from the sea and lived upon his farm
in Maiden, where he died March 26, 1816, at the
age of eighty-five years.
Jonathan Oakes, who was bom in Maiden, Oc¬
tober 4, 1751, and was in command of a vessel in
130
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the merchant service before he was twenty years of
age, deserves mention as a successful naval officer.
In the latter part of the year 1776 he was captain
of the private armed hrigantine the Hawke, of ten
guns and eighty men. In May of the next year
the Hawke was taken into the service of the state,
and sailed, with other vessels, in company with
Captain Manly, on the disastrous cruise which has
been mentioned. Captain Oakes was more fortu¬
nate than his more powerful consorts •, for, being
separated from them, he escaped their fate and
took several valuable prizes. The Hawke's arma¬
ment being increased, he continued in her untü
1779 (making at least three important captures in
the year 1778), when he purchased an interest in
the armed hrigantine Thomas, of which he took
command. Early the next year he made a short
cruise in the ship Favorite, of ten guns ; and on his
return he took command of the letter-of-marque
Patty, of which he was an owner. In the latter
vessel, in April, 1781, he took the British brig
Betsey, bound from New York to Lisbon. After
the war he made several mercantile voyages, and
in 1796 was in Paris as agent for the influential
house of John and Eichard Codman of Boston.
He retired from the seafaring life soon after this,
and became prominent in town affairs. He was
chosen' representative to the General Court twelve
times. This service, though not unbroken, is un¬
paralleled in the history of the town by any other,
except that of Captain John Wayte, who represented
the town during an uninterrupted term of eighteen
years, crowned at its close by the office of Speaker
of the House. Captain Oakes died August 16,
1818, at the age of sixty-seven years.
Dr. John Sprague, who acted as surgeon's mate
in Bridge's regiment in the early part of the war,
entered the naval service as a surgeon, in which
capacity he was taken prisoner in 1777, in the
schooner Active, Captain Andrews Gardner, one
of the ill-fated fleet of Captain Manly. He was
exchanged about the same time as Captain Waters,
and became surgeon on board the state sloop Win¬
throp, where he remained until the close of the
war. He practised medicine in Maiden until his
death in 1803, and is remembered as a man of
ready, but rough wit, of whom many stories- are yet
told by the old inhabitants.
Dr. Ezra Green, who was graduated" at Harvard
College in the class of 1765, was a son of Ezra
Green, and was, at the opening of the war, settled
at Dover, New Hampshire, in the practice of his
profession. During the siege of Boston he was
attached to Eeed's New Hampshire regiment as sur¬
geon ; and, after the evacuation, he went with the
army to New York, and thence to Ticonderoga and
Canada. After the retreat of the northern army
he returned to Dover, and in October, 1777, was
appointed surgeon of the ship Eanger, which was
commanded by the afterwards celebrated Paul
Jones. It was during the cruise which followed
that Jones carried terror and alarm along the
British coasts, and made his famous descent upon
Whitehaven and his more famous call upon the
Countess of Selkirk. Dr. Green was attached to
the Eanger until the close of the sununer of 1779.
He afterwards made two cruises in the Alexander,
and returned to Dover in 1781. In the practice
of his profession and in the exercise of the kindly
ministrations of life he passed far beyond the usual
bounds of man's life, and died at Dover, July 25,
1847, "at the very advanced age of 101 years
and 28 days ; retaining, to his last hour, a clear,
unclouded mind."
Besides the persons whom I have mentioned
other inhabitants were engaged upon the sea dur¬
ing the war ; and the names of Isaac Smith, Naler
Hatch, and Nathan Nichols appear as commanders
of armed vessels.
The population of Maiden at the close of the
war was about the same as at its commencement.
In a valuation, taken in 1784, one hundred and
two dwelling-houses are mentioned. Three hun¬
dred acres of tillage-land supplied the crops of the
scanty population ; and about the same number of
acres of "English and Upland Mowing," with a
thousand acres of fresh ineadow and salt marsh
land, furnished the winter sustenance of their mea¬
gre herds. The residue of the improved land con¬
sisted of twenty-five hundred acres of pasturage;
while about the same number were in wooded and
wild land. " An Acco' of Every persons Stock in
Trade " amounted to the not prineely sum of £210.
Ninety-three horses and eight hundred and thirteen
oxen and cows constituted the herds of the Maiden
yeomanry ; and their flock of one hundred and
fifty-three sheep and goats furnished wool for win¬
ter weaving and cloth for their wear.
The bridge over the Mystic Eiver was formally
opened to the public " by firing of a cannon and
the regailing of the workmen at the expense of the
proprietors," September 29, 1787. This bridge,
affording a direct way to Charlestown and Boston,
was of immediate benefit to Maiden and the towns
MALDEN.
131
above it, which were formerly obliged to follow a
circuitous route through Medford or seek the incon¬
venient passage at Winnisimmet or Penny Ferry.
The building of the bridge, which was strongly
urged by the Maiden people, was bitterly opposed
by the inhabitants of Medford, who lost both rea¬
son and temper in the contest. " Fools," " Maiden
miserables," and " ignoramuses " were some of the
names which the staid Rev. Dr. Osgood of Med¬
ford applied to his neighbors, whom he repre¬
sented as " distracted creatures," who " leave their
corn unhoed, and their grass not cut, to carry peti¬
tions to court for a bridge," in consequence of
which "their families next winter will have no
bread and their cattle no hay." The opening of
the bridge was followed, before the close of the cen¬
tury, by the building of a direct road to Black
Ann's Comer in East Maiden, which had been
reached by a winding way through Chelsea. Later
still, the Newburyport turnpike traversed the town
from its northeastern borders to the bridge, and
increased travel by offering a well-made road which
avoided the many windings of its predecessors.
In the winter of 1784-85 Rev. Peter Thacher,
who was the most popular preacher ever settled in
Maiden, removed to Boston in consequence of a
call from the Brattle-Street Church. This removal
was the cause of a number of communications in
Massachusetts Centinel ; those signed by "A
Country Booby" and "A Country Minister"being
the most noticeable. A poetical epistle, which ap¬
peared in the same paper, has heen several times
reprinted. That the Maiden people felt the re¬
moval keenly, is shown in a letter of the church in
which they complain that their wealthier neighbor
" has wounded us in a tender part," and declare
that " our Distress, anxiety, and trouble are great
indeed " ; and they " most earnestly entreat " the
Boston church to endeavor "to reinstate us in that
quiet and happy condition in which your papers
•found us." In the settlement of the difficulty the
Boston church paid the debt of its distressed neigh¬
bor, and gained a minister who proved to be not
the least in the brilliant line of preachers who
graced the honored pulpit of Brattle Street.
After remaining without a pastor about eighteen
months, the church called Rev. Adoniram Judson.
A violent opposition was made to this callj and
six months elapsed and four councils were held
before Mr. Judson was ordained. He was held as
one of "Bade Hopkintonian Principéis," whose
settlement would offer " an Effectual Barrier in
preventing the mutually wish" for Union of the
Two Parishes in this Town both of which have
severely felt Their Separation and thus Remaining
will Probibly Terminate in the Ruin of both." A
strong protest, signed by Captain John Dexter and
twenty-one others, which was presented to the or¬
daining council, proving of no avail, the signers,
mostly men of infiuence, withdrew to the South
Parish. This secession carried an element of
strength from the North Church, and induced a
temporary throb of life in its expiring neighbor.
The unfinished meeting-house, which had become
almost a ruin, was repaired ; and Mr. Willis, after
more than thirty years of discouragements and dis¬
appointment, found himself with something like a
society under his charge. Mr. Judson proved un¬
able to control or quiet the distracted churcK over
which he was placed. His religious sentiments,
which are said to have materially differed not only
from those of his people but also " from the Es¬
tablished Doctrines of the Neighboring Ministers
and Churches," counteracted the influence of " his
moral virtues and his meek and pious demeanor."
After a settlement of four years of discord he was
dismissed in 1791. In his latter years he joined
the Baptist denomination ; and he died at Scituate
in 1826, requesting at the last that he might be
buried from the church of his early faith. His
son, the celebrated missionary to Burmah, was bom
in Maiden, August 9, 1788.
With the retirement of Mr. Judson a way was
happily opened for a reunion of the parishes. On
the return of Captain Dexter and his associates
to their own church they carried with them the
pastor and people of the South Precinct; and
March 25, 1792, Mr. Willis became the sole min¬
ister of Maiden. He was then near fourscore years
of age, and had passed through a life of disappoint¬
ments, gaining a reputation as a good and worthy
man. In the eighty-eighth year of life, in the quiet
and gentle ministrations of his office, death found
him at his post; and he fell on sleep with the love
of his own people and the respect of the neighbor¬
ing churches. His Bible, which was used many
years in the pulpit of the First Parish, has been
thrust aside ; and the books which he left as the
foundation of a parish library have disappeared.
Mr. Willis was succeeded by Rev. Aaron Green,
who had been ordained as his colleague, Septem¬
ber 30, 1795. He was the sou of Ezra Green of
this town ; and was bom January 4, 1765, and was
graduated at Harvard College, 1789. Like his
132
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
brotherSj Dr. Ezra and Bernarda he reached a good
old age. He survived all his class, and died at
Andover, December 23, 1853, at the age of eighty-
nine years. During his pastorate the parish be¬
came subjected to a process of disintegration which
in the end resulted in a total change of its doc¬
trines. As early as the settlement of Mr. Judson
doubts had been entertained by many of the validity
of infant baptism ; and several embraced the prin¬
ciples of the Baptists. A sermon, preached in
Church of the First Parish, 1848.
1797 by the venerable itinerant, Samuel Shepard,
which is said to have been the first Baptist dis¬
course delivered in the town, was received with
much favor ; and was followed by a revival which
resulted in regular Sabbath services being held in
a school-house that stood under a large button-
wood tree where Sprague Street now enters Salem
Street. These regular services were commenced in
1800, and received much bitter opposition from
those of the " standing order." Finding the school-
house at last closed to them, the " Schismatics," as
they were called, took refuge in a barn belonging
to Benjamin Faulkner, which until within a few
years stood on Salem Street; and here, Decem¬
ber 27, 1803, the First Baptist Church, with a
membership of forty-two persons, was recognized
by a council of three neighboring churches. To
counteract this movement. Dr. David Osgood of
Medford preached two energetic sermons, in de¬
fence of infant baptism and the validity of sprink¬
ling, in the pulpit of the old church. These ser¬
mons were much esteemed at the time, and were
printed in two rival editions with a title-page stat¬
ing that they were " occasioned by the setting up
of a Baptist Society." Nevertheless, the new
church and society prospered ; and the next year
they built a meeting-house on Salem Street, then,
and for half a century after, known as Baptist
Eow, on a site now enclosed in the Salem Street
Cemetery. This exceedingly plain house, with its
large windows and square belfry, was occupied
until 1843, when a new church was built at the
comer of Main and Salem streets. The present
church building is the third which has stood upon
that site, the others having been destroyed by fire.
While the town and parish were thus distracted
they found time and means to replace the old meet¬
ing-house, which had become unfit for its purpose,
by a more commodious house built of brick, which,
although several times remodelled, is that now
occupied by the First Parish. Tliis house, which
was estimated to cost $5,019, was completed in
the latter part of 1802. It was originally sur¬
mounted by two cupolas, in one of which himg a
bell presented by the eccentric, so-called " Lord "
Timothy Dexter.
Hardly had the animosities caused by the Bap¬
tist movement been allayed, before the church suf¬
fered depletion by the withdrawal of a large part
of the people of North Maiden and the formation
of a Methodist society there. This was the direct
result of a strong Federal sermon, preached in
1813, at a time when Eepublicanism was not un¬
likely to become heated by opposition, which irri¬
tated the majority of the north-end people, who
were of the latter party. This society, itself the
offspring of political excitement acting upon minds
already prepared for a change by the preaching
of Jesse Lee and other early Methodists, was the
parent of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Mai¬
den Centre, the formation of which was caused by
the removal of a member of the North Church to
that locality, and a revival which, originating at
the north end, spread to the other parts of the
town. A class of Methodists had been formed
nearly thirty years before by the celebrated Jesse
Lee; but time and other causes had nearly de-
MALDEN.
133
stroyed it. The class which was now formed held
its meetings at first in the house of the late James
Howard, and afterwards in the hall of the brick
school-house, which was built in 1822 on School-
House Hill, upon the site where stood, until 1875,
the Centre Grammar School, where they worshipped
until 1825, when they built a house on Main Street.
This unpretending building, which they occupied
until 1843, and whicli is now used as a dwelling-
house, was irreverently called "the duck-pen."
The early members of this church found many
prejudices in their way and many crosses to bear.
Of them it was truly said : " They have moved on¬
ward under the guidance of the day-star of hope,
and sat down in tears, amid the darkness of clouds
of disappointment." But they were not lost in
the tempest and the gloom ; and the little church
of 1820 is now one of the most prosperous of the
churches of Maiden.
After the formation of the Baptist and Method¬
ist churches it became evident that other changes
were in the near future. There had been a gradual
falling away from the old beliefs as expounded by
Joseph Emerson and Eliakim Willis. Mr. Green,
whose sermons were rarely doctrinal, but mainly on
the practice of piety and the efficacy of good works,
was of the Arminian school ; and it is said that his
preaching was not displeasing to a majority of his
hearers. There was, moreover, in the society a
leaning towards the doctrine of universal salvation,
which was preached at times in the school-house
hall and in private houses by such men as Thomas
Whittemore, then on the threshold of life, and
others. Another disturbing element was found in
the fact that, under the law, the members of the
antagonistic churches had not ceased to be mem¬
bers of the parish ; and their votes could be given,
as they doubtless often were, in a manner unfavor¬
able to the church. It is said that Mr. Green
foresaw that dissensions and troubles were likely to
come, in consequence of the circumstances I have
stated, and that his prudence urged him to avoid
that which he could not hope to avert. However
this may have been, he resigned his charge in
1827, and a struggle over the choice of a pastor at
once commenced. It was ended the next year by
the election of Kev. Sylvanus Cobb, a Universalist
clergyman, who had attained some reputation as a
controversialist. Mr. Cobb was installed in the
face of a strong opposition, July 30, 1828; and a
portion of the church withdrew from the commun¬
ion. The seceding members met at first in Sar¬
gent's Hall, in the building now standing at the
corner of Salem and Ferry Streets ; but they after¬
wards held their services in the hall of the school-
house. They claimed to be the old church in all
respects, while their opponents stood upon all the
rights of the original parish and the church con¬
nected with it. The controversy which followed
not only divided the church and parish, but spread
throughout the community, and was the fruitful
cause of strife which lasted many years ; and a long
series of lawsuits over the projierty of the parish
did not tend to quiet the evil spirit of contention.
Time, which removes or hides all evils, has happily
cast the veil of oblivion over the angry strife of
fifty years ago ; and none but the most injudicious
could wish to raise it and expose the scars of
wounds which long ago were healed. The new
society was formally organized in 1832, under the
name of the Trinitarian Congregational Society,
and Eev. Alexander W. McClure, who had occu¬
pied the pulpit, was ordained its first pastor. The
church had become strengthened by an accession
of members ; and a house erected at the corner of
Main Street and Phillips's Lane, now Haskins
Street, was dedicated the next year. This build¬
ing, after standing in its original location many
years, was removed to a site on Main Street, near
the square, where it was destroyed in the great gale
of September 8, 1869.
The old society, though it has departed from the
faith of the fathers, still retains the name of the
First Parish, and occupies the venerable meeting¬
house of 1803, which seems to bear an ever-present
air of youth. Its people have received the bless¬
ings of prosperity in common with their brethren
of the other churches.
The history of the First Parish now ceases to be
intimately connected with that of the town ; and,
for the purposes of a sketch of the general history
of Maiden, the ecclesiastical concerns of its people
henceforth become of little interest; but I may
linger a moment over the names of two clergymen
whose memories are cherished and honored in the
churches and town which they loved. The Eev.
Alexander W. McClure, the caustic wit of the
Trinitarian society, and the Eev. John G. Adams of
the First Parish, revived in the nineteenth century,
for a while, the pastorates of the olden time. Both
heartily earnest in their work, they became as one
with the people of their charges, and were, to the
rich and the poor alike, faithful pastors and sympa¬
thetic friends. Nor were they less earnest in their
134
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
duties as neighbors and townsmen in the daily and
secular affairs of life. Antagonistic as they were
in their religious beliefs, with the memories of the
recent conflicts of their societies still alive, they
stood stoutly shoulder to shoulder and hand in
liand in the many reforms which they instituted or
promoted, and cemented a friendship which time did
not destroy, which is still green in the heart of the
survivor, and which may make more joyous the
meeting on the shores of life.
In the temperance cause, in charitable work, and
in educational matters tliey urged reforms and in¬
troduced new methods by which the interests of
the people were advanced and their prosperity pro¬
moted.
During the period occupied by these ecclesias¬
tical affairs, which nearly includes the first half of
this century, the people of Maiden were gradually
increasing in numbers and wealth. Situated re¬
mote from the trunk-roads and isolated from the
usual routes of travel and traffic, they remained for
many years a sparse and rural population. In
1800 they numbered but 1,059 souls, — a very
slight growth over the population of more than
sixty years before; but during the next decade a
large increase took place, showing a population of
1,384 at its close. This increase was owing to the
enterprise of the Odiornc family and William Bar¬
rett, who established trades here which flourished
many years and added sensibly to the wealth of the
town. The Odiorne firm, composed of three
brothers, George, Thomas, and Ebenezer, pur¬
chased land and water-power in 1806 upon
Three-Mile Brook, and established themselves at
Black Eock, where Thomas Coytemore built a mill
in 1640. This enterprising company made the
first nails which were cut and headed at one opera¬
tion. Though this was an experiment, made at
much loss and in the face of popular prejudice, it
was ultimately successful and was a profitable busi¬
ness for many years. William Barrett commenced
the business of silk-dyeing iu 1803, on the site
still occupied by his sons. This business, begun
at a time when little or no competition existed,
was also very profitable, and is continued at the
present day. Otlier branches of business improved
as these enterprises increased in strength ; and
other manufacturers followed those who were now
established. The manufacture of shoes became an
important industry, and articles of block-tin and
tin-plate were quite extensively made, and were
distributed by wagons sent far around into the
country. In 1837 the population had increased
to 2,300, and the gross value of articles manufac¬
tured was over $350,000 per annum. A gradual
reduction of tolls upon the bridges, and the estab¬
lishment of lines of omnibuses and expresses,
brought the town into a more close connection
with Boston, and assisted in the growth of trade
and population. But a stronger impetus was
given both by the opening of the Boston and
Maine Eailroad in 1845, which had a very marked
influence upon the growth of the town in many
Mays. The number of the inhabitants, whicli in
1840 was 2,514, was 3,520 in 1850, not including
a population of 1,260 souls M-hich had been set off
from the town during the preceding year. This
division of the town, by M'hich North Maiden be¬
came Melrose, was made by an act of the legisla¬
ture in 1849, and M-as not opposed to any extent
by the inhabitants of the other sections of the
town. Iu its separate existence Melrose has par¬
ticipated in the prosperity which has attended the
parent town, and has not proved unworthy of its
origin.
The opening of the railroad and the cheapness of
land gave birth to various enterprises, M'hich were
more or less successful in the various objects for
which they were originated. One of these was the
formation of the Edgeworth Company, which pur-
cliased the Newton farm on the west bank of the
river and a tract of land on the highlands. These
lands were laid out for business and building pur¬
poses, and great inducements were offered to pur¬
chasers. On a portion of this property has groM-n
up the district of Edgeworth, where several large
manufacturing establishments are located, whose
total products in 1875 amounted to $2,000,000 in
value. Meanwhile the town advanced in all direc-,
tions in population and in wealth ; and its religious
and educational interests kept pace with its material
jjrosperity. On the eve of the EebeUion the popu¬
lation was 5,865, and the valuation of the town
was $3,365,101.
In the stirring years which followed the opening
of the EebeUion the men of Maiden proved that
they had not forgotten the traditions of their fa¬
thers, and that the spirit which had led her sons to
fields of duty and honor in the bygone years had
not ceased M'ithin the limits of the ancient town.
Out of the peace and calm of what had almost
seemed an inane present, all the heroism and fervor
of the past arose, and it was seen that the old-time
patriotism had only slumbered until the occasion
MALDEN.
135
which should need it came again. At a crowded
meeting of the citizens April 20, 1861, it was
" Resolved, That we believe it to be the duty of every
lover of his country and his race to assist in crushing out
the rebellion and treason now existing in the Southern
States.
" Resolved, That the town of Maiden, true to its ancient
history, will furnish the men and the means to the extent
of her ability for this object ; and we recommend the im¬
mediate formation of a company of volunteer militia to aid
in preserving the government of these United States."
Au enrolment of volunteers for three years was
at once commenced, and a liberal subscription
made for equipments and supplies ; and the town,
a few days later, authorized the expenditure of ten
thousand dollars " for the comfort and support of
the families of those who have been or may be
called into the naval or military service of the
United States, and who shall be inhabitants of
Maiden."
Thereafter the town in its corporate capacity,
and the people, both in organizations and as indi¬
viduals, labored to the utmost in the spirit of their
resolves. The volunteers were formed into a com¬
pany, under Captain Joseph E. Simonds and Lieu¬
tenant Ivory N. Eichardsoii, and drilled in the
town-hall until July 10, when, as Company K,
17th Eegiment, they went into camp at Lynnfield.
Of this, company, which was mostly composed of
citizens of Maiden, and which saw much hard ser¬
vice in North Carolina during the war. Sergeant
Henry Foskett, Corporal James E. Gilchrist, and
privates Charles M. Eagan, Oscar Biebier, Thomas
H. Speed, Albert W. Crockett, and James M.
Powers perislied in rebel prisons. The first Mai¬
den citizen who was slain in the war was Sergeant
Gordon Forrest, a member of the 1st regiment,
who fell at Blackburn's Ford, July 18, 1861, in
one of the skirmishes which preceded the battle of
Bull Eun.
The six hundred men who were sent by Maiden
into the service upheld her honor through many
scenes of trial and danger, and bore their part man¬
fully on land and sea. It is to be regretted that
no steps have been taken to preserve their names
from the common lot of man, and that much in
relation to them has already passed beyond the
reach of him who would gather it up.
The town expended in war charges the sum of
$60,000, which was exclusive of $32,000 which
was disbursed as state aid and was refunded by
the commonwealth ; and a large sum, supposed to
have been not less than $25,000, was raised at
public meetings and by organizations of the citi¬
zens for the various purposes of recruiting and
relief.
Since the close of the war, and during the great
business prosperity which preceded the panic of
1873, the town has received its largest growth.
In 1865 the population was 6,840, and the valua¬
tion $3,733,993. This was not a large gain over
the statistics of 1860, but the increase had just
begun.
By an act of the legislature, March 9, 1870, the
southern portion of Maiden, vrith 2,200 inhabi¬
tants, was allowed to become a separate town, by
the name of Everett. The territory thus taken
comprised all that which had been gained from
Charlestown in 17?6, with the southeastern portion
of the original town, and was substantially that
which had formed the Second Precinct. The in¬
habitants of this section had never been quite easy
as citizens of a town in which the will of a minor¬
ity was subordinate to that of the whole ; and com¬
plaints of injustice, which are natural to a growing
community, jealous of its rights, were often made.
For near a quarter of a century they had agitated
the question of a separate township, and had made
six ineffectual éndeavors to obtain an act of incor¬
poration. The division wa? stoutly opposed by the
town ; and the meetings in which the question was
considered, and where the rival sections met, were
as stormy as declamation could make them. What¬
ever may have been the short-comings of the peo¬
ple of South Maiden in the days of their real or
fancied wrongs, as citizens of Everett they have
managed their affairs with judgment, and have re¬
joiced in a common prosperity with their brethren
of the elder town.
The division of the town left Maiden with 7,370
inhabitants, and a valuation of $4,999,272, which
has now increased to 10,831 souls, and a valuation
of $10,138,800. In 1870 the water-works con¬
necting the town with Spot Pond were completed,
and a copious supply of pure water was introduced.
This measure, which was subjected to a strong
opposition in its earlier stages, has proved to be
of great advantage and a real benefit to the com¬
munity. During this period a remarkable rise in
real estate occurred, and a corresponding activity
in building operations was observed ; and several
flourishing villages, as at Faulkner's and at Liu-
den, sprung up with great rapidity. Though much
of this increase was fictitious, and has disappeared
under the pressure of the times, it added to the
136
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
resources of the town, and has left at least the
foundation of a solid prosperity which the coming
years will consummate. In 1877 a portion of
Medford, comprising about two hundred acres of
land with one hundred inhabitants, was annexed
to Maiden.
Eetaining about one tliird of its original terri¬
tory, Maiden is bounded southerly by Everett,
westerly by Medford, northerly by Melrose, and
easterly by Saugus and Eevere. Its greatest length
from east to west is about three miles, and its
average width about one and one half miles. Its
northern portion comprises a region of rocky hills,
which, a few years since, were generally wooded,
and which abound in many natural beauties. This
section has, in recent years, been invaded by the
builder, and has afforded many pleasant and ro¬
mantic sites. The eastern division, where the
thriving villages of Faulkner's, Maplewood, and
Linden — stations upon the Eastern Bailroad —
have, as before mentioned, grown with great rapid¬
ity, is probably that which will receive the largest
growth in the early future, as its romantic scen¬
ery and the comparative cheapness of its lands
offer inducements which will not be unnoticed in
the return of general prosperity. At Belmont, on
the highlands at the southern border of the town,
and at Oak Grove, at its opposite extremity, sim¬
ilar growths have occurred, with fair prospects of
the future; while at Edgeworth a vigorous com¬
munity of mechanics and laborers has gathered
around the manufactories which are there estab¬
lished.
At the latter section the extensive works of the
Boston Rubber Shoe Company are located. This
corporation, which was established in 1853, has
enjoyed a remarkable degree of prosperity. Under
the vigilant and intelligent direction of its treas¬
urer, Elisha S. Converse, its interests have steadily
advanced ; and the variety and value of its products
now place it among the largest establishments of
its kind in the country. These works were destroyed
by fire, November 29, 1875, at a time when the
then existing depression caused the liveliest concern
for the welfare of those who were suddenly deprived
of their accustomed means of livelihood ; but, by the
aid of the benevolent and the care of the corpora¬
tion, the winter passed without the extreme incon¬
venience and suffering which were anticipated ; and
larger buildings and improved machinery soon gave
evidence of the enterprise and courage of the com¬
pany and its managers in the face of disaster and
the discouragements which then prevailed.
Besides rubber goods, the principal articles man¬
ufactured here are leather of various descriptions,
sand and emery papers, and shoe-lasts. Other
goods are made to a limited extent ; but, with the
exception of the articles mentioned, the products
of the town are not of unusual importance. The
number of persons employed in manufactures in
1875 was 1,062, and the goods produced were
valued at $2,664,484.
While their material interests have advanced,
the people of Maiden have not neglected those in¬
terests which enhance the grosser forms of pros¬
perity. In its schools of all grades the town has
taken a high rank, and it has not been niggardly in
its expenditures to that end. While unwise coun¬
sels have at times prevailed, it has, upon tue whole,
performed its work in the interests of education
with ability and discretion. Its twelve churches, ■
of various denominations, are prosperous, and enjoy
that best adjunct of prosperity, freedom from in¬
ternal strife and external opposition. Its charita¬
ble bodies and its societies of reform are of large
membership and are ably directed ; and they watch
over the various matters which they have in charge
with spirit and success. A bequest by John Gard¬
ner, a native of the town, has been made the foun¬
dation of a public library, which, though of recent
birth, has, by a large and increasing circulation of
carefully selected books, already proved its great
utility and insured for itself an ultimate liberal
support and a permanent endowment.
MARLBOROUGH.
137
MARLBOROUGH.
BY REV. R. A. GRIFFIN AND E. L. BIGELOW.
N May, 1656, Edmuad Eice,
William Ward, John Bent, Sr.,
John Woods, Thomas King,
John Howe, John Mayiiard,
Edward Eice, John Euddocke,
Peter Bent, Thomas Good-
now, Einhard Newton, and
Henry Eice, inliabitants of
Sudbury, petitioned the Gen-
eral Court for a traet of land
eight miles square, affirming
" God hath heene pleased to increase our children,
which are now divers of them grown to man's
estate, and wee, many of us, grown into years, so
as that wee should bee glad to see them settled
before the Lord take us away from hence, as also
God having given us some considerable cattle, so
that wee are so streightened that wee eannot so
comfortably subsist as could bee desired ; and
some of us having taken some pains to view the
country j wee have found a place which lyeth west¬
ward, about eight miles from Sudbury, which wee
conceive might bee comfortable for our subsist¬
ence." On the 14th of the same month they
were granted six miles in the locality desired. It
contained 29,419 acres. This region was situated
about a hill called by the Indians Whipsufifenicke,
adjoining another, on which was land reserved for
the aborigines called Ockoocangansett. In the
colony records, 1658, it is spelled Ognoinkongua-
mescit, and the name of the English plantation is
railed Whipsuiferage. Daniel Gookin, in 1674,
speaks of both tracts as Okommakamesit.
The first meeting of the proprietors of the Eng¬
lish plantation occurred September 25, 1656, at
which it was ordered that those who took lots
should pay their proportion toward the general ex¬
penses, should either live themselves on the land
two years or appoint some one the town would
approve, or else forfeit their lots ; " but if God
shall take away any man by death, he have liberty
to give his lott to whom he will." December 26,
1659, it was ordered "that all such as lay clay me
to any interest in this new plantation at Whipsuf-
feradge (by the Indians called Whipsuppenicke)
are to perfect their house lots by the 25th of
March next itisueing, or else to loose all their in¬
terest in the aforesaid ijlantation." November,
1660, thirty-eight house-lots, including one for
the minister and one for the smith, were set off and
confirmed to their proprietors. These grants aggre¬
gated 992J acres, divided into holdings of from
fifteen to fifty acres. The rest of the land, called
cow commons, was left subject to future grants.
May 31 (0. S., June 12 as we now date), 1660,
the town was incorporated under the name of
Marlborow, it is supposed after the English town
of that name, so called on account of the vicinity
abounding in marl ; the word was formerly spelled
Marlberg or Marlbridge. Why it was chosen it
is difficult, perhaps impossible, to say, though the
most probable conjecture, would be that some one
or more of the early settlers hailed from Marlbor¬
ough in Wiltshire. Its records for the first
thirty-nine years are missing; those extant begin
April 27, 1699. The first selectmen were Edmund
Eice, William Ward, John Euddocke, John Howe,
Thomas King, Solomon Johnson, Thomas Good-
now. J ohn Euddocke was chosen clerk. One of
the earliest acts of the municipality was to order an
assessment for six months for the support of Eev.
William Brimsmead, their preacher, "of 4 pence per
acre upon house lots and 3 pence per pound upon
cattle." In 1662 the frame of a house and the
land on which it stood were given to the minister.
It was thirty-six feet by eighteen, and twelve'and
one half feet high between the joints. It had
four windows in front and two at the west end.
It had two gables in front, ten feet wide and
eight feet square, projecting eight feet, with two
small windows on the front side of the gables. It
was built by contract for £15, to be paid in corn :
one third wheat, one third rye, and one third In¬
dian corn; wheat at 4i. 6(7., rye at 4i., and Indian
corn at 3 s. per bushel. In the payment of this
sum, a rate was made of seven and a half pence per
138
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
acre upon all house-lots in the plantation. This
year they decided on erecting a meeting-house.
Unfortunately the site chosen was within the Indian
plantation. Although this land was subsequently
bought, there seems to have been sufficient provo¬
cation given to the Indians to awaken the suspicion
that it was afterwards burnt by them in revenge.
Mr. Cyrus Felton says it is probable that at this
time three fourths of the land within a mile of the
meeting-house was covered with wood.
April 4, 1663, Anamaks, an Indian whose title
was probably disputed by other Indian proprietors,
sold to John Euddocke and John Howe, for the use
of the town, " the land that the meeting-house now
stands on — also the land for the highway on the
fore side of said meeting house, and so upon a
square of ten feet, round about the said meeting
House." The next month William Ward gave in
exchange for other land half an acre in front of it,
and it was ordered that the half-acre " surrendered
into the town's hands as before said, shall be for a.
perpetual common or highway not to be taken or
otherwise disposed of without the consent of every
proprietor that hath town rights." This half-acre,
it is thought, covered the ground on which the two
manufactories hi front of the High School Common
now stand.
For fifteen years there was fear tliroughout the
township. The Indian community consisted of
about fifty persons. Their ruler's name was Ono-
mog, who was described by a contemporary as a
pious and discreet man. They had religious and
civil institutions like their white neighbors; em¬
ployed a schoolmaster, a constable, and other offi¬
cers. They had brought their land under cultivation,
and remained pacific under the vexatious encroach¬
ments of the English settlers ; although they "were
in part to blame for their annoyances, seeing they
were careless in fencing their fields. Their town
lying, as it did, in the heart of Marlborough, the
eattle wandered into it, and could hardly be pre¬
vented by their owners. The Indians passively re¬
tired about a mile into the interior of their land.
The celebrated General Gookin of Cambridge, from
whose account our knowledge is derived, proposed
to the English settlers to buy part of this land
from which they had retired, fence it with stone¬
walls, and on one part build a house for a school¬
master, with a school-room under the same roof,
erecting a bam, and giving the teacher as his sal¬
ary the use of the rest of the land. He also says
that at this time the English were backward about
employing a schoolmaster, availing themselves of
the law which exempted towns of less than fifty
families from being compelled to engage a teacher,
although they wanted but a few families to make this
number. He suggested that if the Indian school
proposed were instituted they might send their
children to it, " being the most thrifty and facile
way they can take." This field was conveyed to
Generàl Gookin by the Indians May 2, 1677. Tlie
English town grew unchecked, though not rapidly.
Unhappily during this time the community was
agitated, indeed distracted, with internal dissen¬
sions about both civil and ecclesiastical affairs.
They had to do, first, with the reliabiHty of the
records and indirectly with the tenure of their lands ;
secondly, with questions as to the support of the
minister and the desirability of organizing a church.
The public mind was apparently in a state of
chronic irritability ; to raise a question, was to raise
a bitter dispute. Some light is thrown on this
period from subsequent sentences in a petition and
remonstrances to the General Court. The first
explains that their difficulties are of long standing,
arising " partly from our own corruptions and the
temptations of Satan, hindering their own good
feelings in matters both civil and ecclesiastical,
which have been and are very uncomfortable to
them and their friends." Even this devout and
frank statement proved an irritant, —a denial fol¬
lowing that any considerable difficulty existed, and
the declaration that they " never went about to de¬
stroy the Town Book but only to rectify what was
amis in it " ; nor had they attempted " to root out
the minister." They vaunted the fact, that, in per¬
sonal character and liberality to religious and secular
institutions, they were the equals of the petitioners,
and concluded with the caustic statement, "We are
willing, with our persons and estates, to uphold the
Authority of the country, and do tlierefoie desire
the liberty of the law which gives towns power to
transact their own affairs." The a^jpeal to the
General Court resulted (1675) in the appointment
of a committee which indorsed the records. The
strife, however, was not allayed ; Thomas King and
others demanded the reopening of the case. The war
ensuing, the matter was not immediately pressed;
but in October, 1679, the quarrel was practically
ended by the decisive action of a committee ap¬
pointed by the court to hear the complaints on
the spot. They censured the turbulent opposition
to the former decision, declared better provision
should be made for tiie minister, and gave orders
A Settler Defending His Children.
MARLBOROUGH.
141
as to the custody of the town records, enjoining a
full and veracious report of the proceedings and
decisions of the committee who had arbitrated in
the case. Their action was approved and con¬
firmed by the court.
Their ecclesiastical dispute was considered by a
council of ministers, who naively advised that they
spend a day or days of humiliation and prayer, and
" after their spirits are somewhat sweetened and
satisfied mutually, it may be meet without too long
delay to gather a church here."
The atmosphere was not yet clear. Mr. Brims-
mead left the town, and preached at Plymouth
for a time. He returned October 3, 1666, on
which day the church was formed and he was
ordained its pastor. A few years after, to quote
the graphic and quaint account of Mr. Packard,
"On the Sabbath, when Mr. Brimsmead was in
sermon, March 20, 1676, the worshipping assem¬
bly was suddenly dispersed by an outcry of ' In¬
dians at the door ! ' The confusion of the first
moment was instantly increased by a fire from
the enemy ; but the God whom they .were worship¬
ping shielded their lives and limbs, excepting the
arm of one Moses Newton, who was carrying an
elderly and infirm woman to a place of safety. In
a few minutes they were sheltered in their fort, with
the mutual feelings peculiar to such a scene."
The meeting-house was burnt to the ground,
and nearly, if not quite, all the dwelling-houses.
Everything of value was destroyed, cattle were
killed, and the fruit-trees hacked. " The enemy re¬
tired soon after their first onset, declining," says
Packard, " to risk the enterprise and martial prow¬
ess of the young plantation. The new settlers
being much debilitated by their various losses,
living in a frontier town, and still exposed to the
' adjudication ' of their savage neighbors, left their
farms till the seat of war was further removed."
Thus husbandry was interrupted for oue year, and
the municipal organization for two.
The growth of the town was materially checked
by these incursions of the savages, and till this day
traces remain of the fear and insecurity of those
times. On the hill Sligo are the remains of an
old stone fort connected with a well by a subter¬
ranean passage of about one hundred and fifty feet,
which it is conjectured was constructed in view of
those early invasions.
Iimidentally, it may be mentioned that the name
originated in much later times ; the authentic tradi¬
tion is that it was so called in allusion to the so¬
briquet of an owner of the hill, who in the time of
the Bevolution was understood to be absent at the
war, but who in reality remained at home, passing
the nights with his family and slyly going, in the
early morning and in the dusk of evening, to and
from a cave situated across this land. Hence the
name Slygo, as it was formerly spelled.
On the return of the inhabitants, while they found
on every hand a scene of desolation, and were prac¬
tically forced to the tasks and rigors of the emigrant,
yet the war which had destroyed their buildings so
far weakened the Indians as to facilitate, at length,
possession of the whole township, and insured a
larger measure of personal security.
Some of the Marlborough Indians had joined
Philip, and those who remained apparently passive
or amicable were suspected of treachery. Whether
the suspicion was well grounded or not, the in¬
habitants lived in dread of them, and from tradition
we learn that they, with other towns, sought protec¬
tion from the government, so that Captain Mosely,
it is believed, with a company of soldiers, early in
the morning surprised these Indians while they were
in the fort to which they repaired at night, seized
their persons and arms, fastened their hands behind
their baeks, connecting them with a cart-rope, and
drove them to Boston, from whence they were
taken with others to some island in the harbor and
kept in durance until the conclusion of hostilities.
Those who returned denied the charge j but while
suffered to remain even when guilt had been proven,
as in the case of David Munnanow who confessed
participation in the destruction of Medfield, they
were despised and uninfluential, and though their
plantation was not formally forfeited by disloyalty,
it was gained the more easily from so demoralized
and enfeebled a jjeople.
After the re-establishment of their municipal
organization, and the rebuilding of dwelling-houses,
they proceeded to the erection of a new meeting¬
house about 1678. Like the first one, it was
thatched with tall grass from Thatcher Meadow.
It was left ill an unfinished state ; an unsuccessful
attempt was made to enlarge and repair it in 1680 ;
it lasted only eight or nine years, and in 1689 was
valued at only £10. The third meeting-house was
built as early as 1689. The pulpit in the second
meeting-house was valued at £4, "which was im¬
proved in the new meeting-house, for carrying on
the finishing of that." This house was used be¬
tween twenty-two and twenty-three years. The
fourth meeting-house was erected in 1711. It was
142
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
large enough to accommodate the whole town.
In 17B7 and 1758 the town had two porches built,
one on the east end and another on the west end.
This house was used' for public worship ninety-
five years, and exclusively for town-meetings four
years. It was taken down in 1810. This and the
two meeting-houses before it were situated about
a rod or two north of the present horse-trough
on Main Street.
In 1684 measures were taken to perfect the title
of Marlborough to its lands, for as yet the proprie¬
tors had simply the permission of the court to
settle on them. For about thirty years they had
cultivated the soil, apparently without thought of
purchasing the right of the natives. The Indians,
however, were not unmindful of their claim, and
by virtue of it " were continually making demands
upon the towne.'l At length, after the cessation
of hostilities, the Indian plantation being broken
up and most of its possessors dispersed, the
tribe to which they belonged asserted their right
in the whole township. A committee of three per¬
sons was appointed to confer with the claimants ;
and as the result, April 17 and 18, Major Peter
Bulkley and Captaiu Thomas Hincksman, together
with the committee, agreed to pay £31 for a deed
in full. The money.was immediately raised, and
the deed was signed at Natiek, June 12, 1684.
The town now endeavored to possess itself of the
Indian reservation. On the 15th of July, a little
more than a month after securing all rights in
their own possessions, they obtained a deed for the
whole of the Indian plantation, some 5,800 acres,
with the exception of the Indian planting-field,
which had been already conveyed to General Gookin,
and was bought of his three sons for the town in
1688. But within three months the General Court,
on petition of the Indians, declared that the deed of
sale was null and void, because illegal, "being made
and done expressly contrary to the law and order of
this court." Despite the invalidity of their title,
thus formally and authoritatively pronounced, the
proprietors, after a delay of about two years, pro¬
ceeded to divide and appropriate the land. The
first division consisted of thirty acres to each, of
the land best in quality and situation. Tlie task
of surveying was assigned to Mr. John Brigham, —
of whom it should be said, in passing, that he was
one of the most popular and remarkable men of his
day, having considerable capacity for public affairs,
unusual ability as a surveyor, and some ambition
as a land speculator ; he was styled " Doctor," and
was returned as representative from Marlborough
in 1688, and from Sudbury in 1706. The pro¬
prietors engaged to board him while at work, and
to pay five shillings a day, one half in money, the
other half in rye and Indian com, the one at four
shillings a bushel, the other at three. The land
was apportioned by lot. The proprietors now
took measures to make their tenure secure, in spite
of its illegality, by binding themselves together in
such a way that each might possess his part undis¬
turbed.
At their meeting in March, 1695, it was agreed
and subscribed to, " that whatsoever has been doue
and acted by the company or the major part of
them as to any grants or acts or orders about the
land purchased from the Indians as will further
appear by a deed of sale recorded in court rolls
sliaU stand good to all intents and purposes if it
be attested under the hand of John Brigham."
The agreement concludes by stating it was passed
by a full vote, and "that it should stand good
to all intents and purposes for ever."
At a meeting of the proprietors held February 15,
1703, it was voted that "they would try to come
into a way for a confarmation of g^ land." Tlie
record continues, " Att y' same meeting it was voted
y' they would chuse three men to atain a coiifoar-
mation of s^ laud if may be." The committee
consisted of James Sawyer, Thomas How, and Na¬
thaniel Jonson. On the 15th they were empw-
ered " to take such sutable methods as they shall
think fitt, or shall by y' best advice and instruc¬
tions as they find to be most sutable for y* Pro¬
curing of a Conformation of this our Purchase
according to y" General Courts grant."
February 4, 1709, "It was acted that they
would make arttekles to bind ourselves in covenant
whereby what we do may stand in force." These
articles provided that " all grants, acts, and records
now entered in our book of records .... shall
stand good for ever," and that all money granted
by the company "at an orderly meeting" for
mutual defence should be raised by "every par¬
ticular parson paying his equel propotion."
In their records about this time there is one
noteworthy transaction. Among the proprietors
was Mr. John Parry, who owned two and a half
acres back of the meeting-house. The town natu¬
rally desired to have their graveyard, as was the
ancient custom, close to their meeting-house. Here¬
tofore they had buried in what is now called Spring
Hill Cemetery ; therefore at a meeting of the pro-
MARLBOROUGH.
143
prietors, April 8, 1706, " it was ordered, granted,
and concluded that the land exchanged ■with John
Parry Taylor, adjoyning to the present meeting¬
house land for which he hath other land of the
proprietors in the cow common — shall lay for a
Trayning place and a Burying place for ever."
This two and a half acres, it is thouglit, included
the cemetery, the ground now occupied by the
High School, and half of the common between
the High School and Main Street.
In 1719 hope revived of obtaining legal sanc¬
tion. March 20, they decided to appoint a com¬
mittee to petition the General Court " to confirm
our book of records ; and to make our propriatory
capable to act in all things concerning our lands."
After years of anxiety and eflbrt they at last pre¬
vailed, and the plantation was formally annexed
to the town, and their title to the property was
confirmed.
There was another tract of land of two hundred
acres called to this day " The Farm," of which the
town possessed itself in 1718. It lay on the south¬
east border, and had been granted to John Alcocke,
in lieu of the same number of acres wliich he had
relinquished elsewhere. He was an inhabitant of
Boxbury, who had received considerable gifts of
land for services rendered to the colony ; part of the
land thus transferred to him was claimed by the
Whipsuffenicke Company, and, to adjust the dif¬
ficulty, he accepted the land since called "The
Farm."
In 1700 the town was enabled to absorb several
tracts of land of this kind, but the Alcocke prop¬
erty still remained unannexed. The conviction,
however, grew that it was unjust for 2ieople who
largely shared in the privileges of the town organ¬
ization to be exempt from municipal responsibility
and expense.
At length, in 1718, Joseph Morse, John Bigelow,
John Sherman, Samuel Bigelow, Thomas Bigelow,
and Daniel Harrington, residents of " The Farm,"
united with the town in a petition to the General
Court for annexation, which was of course imme¬
diately granted.
The annals of the town for one hundred and fifty
years have principally to do with ecclesiastical and
military affiiirs.
Ecclesiastical History. — The first pastor, Eev.
William Brimsmead, was a man of apostolic stead¬
fastness and capacity. He watched and sustained
the flame of piety in the town, when the spirit of
contention threatened its extinction. He was a
student of Harvard, of the class of 1648. He
preached the election sermon in 1681, which was
printed. From 1665 to 1695 he kept a journal
in Latin ; it is thought the' second volume, cover¬
ing the years 1682 to 1695, is identical with a
Latin journal of his now in possession of the
Massachusetts Historical Society. From this it
api)ears he preached not only in the meeting-house
but also in tlie homes of the parishioners. He
was beloved in the town and influential in the
colony. His eccentricities are matters of tradi¬
tional interest ; the most quoted was by no means
peculiar to himself, nor could it have struck his
contemporaries as absurd ; it appears he had con¬
scientious scruples which forbade his baptizing
children born on the Sabbath day, and accounted
for, in part, by the fact that he was never married.
There are some curious entries in the town books
showing the affectionate, almost paternal attitude
the town sustained toward him in his old age.
Dr. Allen quotes one of them with these prefatory
remarks : " In the growing infirmities of age, he
had neither wife nor children to care for him, and
so his people very considerately and much to their
credit voted, as the record says, ' to procure a place
to remove their minister to, and to provide him
a nurse.' " He died July 3, 1701, at an advanced
age. After his death the community was afflicted
with all the miseries of divided counsels and acri¬
monious controversies concerning his successor.
The rival parties were found, for the most part,
in different geographical sections; in the case of
the first candidate. Rev. John Emerson, the west
part being for him and the east against him. Mr.
Emerson finally declined, and the town, at their
April meeting, 1702, rescinded their call by a full
majority. At the same time " it was agreed and
voated that M' Remington be paid 20 Shillings the
day, for two daies holy we had of him in the min¬
istry." In October a delegation of two was sent
to " Seek for a transcient supply of holy in the
ministry for three or four dàys."
A call was extended, Feb. 7,1703, to Rev. Fran¬
cis Goodhue, but declined. At length the town met
on the 7th June, 1704, "and the churches choice
was laid before them which was of Mr. Robert
Breck for their concurrence and there was a con¬
currence with the churches choice of the major part
of all present."
Two days after the town again met, and voted a
salary to Mr. Breck of seventy pounds annually
and " firewood for the year annually if he axept it
144
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ill order to a settlement." The record continues :
" We ofifer ourselves ready to do what may be com¬
fortable either by obtaining a suitable place or
granting such gratuity as may procure that may be
satisfactory according to our present circumstances
in these troublous times." His acceptance drew
forth a formal and hearty expression of " their
thanks for his gratifying answer to their call," and,
more than this, the vote of a gratuity of £100.
Their choice proved eminently satisfactory ; for
nearly twenty-seven • years he labored among them,
and took rank among his brethren in the ministry
as a leader on account of his talents, his high char¬
acter, and his brilliant attainments. The Marlbo¬
rough Association was formed at his house in 1725 ;
it existed eighty-nine years. ^Ir. Breck published
four sermons : one preached at Siirewsbury in 1720 ;
two discourses on the accession to the church of
fifty persons mostly in early life ; and the Election
Sermon of 1728.
He was a man of the prelatic type, a master in
the humanities, a profound and orthodox theologian,
a trenchant polemic, an able preacher, of a grave
deportment, somewhat reticent, possessed of much
personal dignity, and devoted to the support of
public order, withal catholic in spirit and given to
hospitality. His fondness and appreciation of the
sacred classics, as well as his linguistic skill, are
illustrated by the fact that it was his work to trans¬
late the Hebrew Bible to his family. The last line
of his epitaph indicates the veneration in which he
was held : " Prophetae ipsi non in seculum vivunt."
He was a Harvard graduate of the class of 1700.
He died January 6, 1731, aged forty-nine.
Mr. Benjamin Kent was called, at a salary of
£180; and a gratuity of £400 was voted on his
settlement. His ordination took place October,
1733. In less than a year and a half he was de¬
barred from the ministry on account of heretical
views concerning the doctrines of the Trinity and
election. He was a man more secular than sacer¬
dotal or even religious in his modes of thought
and methods of action; more fit for the profes¬
sion of the law than of the Christian ministry of
that day. At the same time he was characterized
by loyalty to principle, breadth of vision, and mag¬
nanimity of spirit. He would have appeared a
greater man at a later period.
Unhappily, other than doctrinal differences inter¬
vened between Mr. Kent and his late charge. The
town record, March 22, 1736, sufficiently indicates
the state of afiairs : "It was put to vote whether the
town would impower their committee lately chosen
to defend the town against Mr. Benj. Kent in an
action said Mr. Kent had commenced against the
town for sallery: to bring forward an action or
actions against Mr. Kent for recovering from iiim
the money he has received of the said town as thev
think by fraud and as set forth in the warrant and
it passed in the affirmative." Much corainotion
ensued on Mr. Kent's dismissal, September, 1735.
The second Wednesday was set apart to seek Divine
guidance by prayer and fasting, with the view of
preparing the way for the choice and settlement of
a new minister ; embarrassments constantly arose :
if the church was agreed on a candidate, the town
negatived the proposition; if both church and town
were agreed, the candidates declined. Two years
elapsed ; another fast-day was held, and neigiibor-
ing ministers were invited to advise them in their
difficulties. The cost of the first council was
£61, and the expenses of both were assumed by
the town.
In the following October the town chose Mr.
Joseph Eice as an agent to answer the present¬
ment of the town of Marlborough, at the last Su¬
perior Court held at Charlestown, for not having a
settled minister. But this interference was with¬
out effect, for the church continued without a pas¬
tor some two years longer ; not till December
24, 1739, was harmony restored and a minister
chosen.
Some thirty young people of the northeast part
withdrew from tlie strife, seeking mutual spiritual
edification in an association which met on Lord's
Day evenings and other times for religious wor¬
ship. It is supposed that their ulterior aim was
to found a meeting in their neighborhood.
Eev. Aaron Smith was called, at a salary of £80
a year in bills of credit of the New Tenor and a
settlement of £400, Old Tenor. He was ordained
June 11,1740. It is thought the house now owned
by Mr. William Gibbon was built for him; here
he lived throughout the time of his residence in
the town. He graduated at Harvard in 1735. His
pastorate was, on the whole, prosperous; the churcii
numbered, in 1767, one hundred and sixty-four
members ; toward its close his popularity waned,
owing, in part, to his enfeebled health, and the
suspicion of royalist sympathies ; although in Dr.
Allen's judgment there was not sufficient reason
for calling in question his patriotism.
The animosity of some unknown fanatical people
manifested itself in a brutal assault in 1777 ; two
MARLBOROUGH.
145
bullets were fired into his house, which lodged in a
beam near the bed on which he was lying. This
room was pulled down in 1831. The town was in¬
dignant at the outrage, although many were of the
opinion that it was done simply to intimidate. A
reward was offered for the offenders.
Mr. Smith was dismissed the following year, and
died at East Sudbury, March 25,1781, aged sixty-
seven.
An interval of seven years elapsed before the
settlement of the next pastor. Rev. Asa Packard.
He graduated at Harvard in 1783, and was ordained
March 23, 1785, — a day long remembered on ac¬
count of the fact that the snow was of sufficient
depth to cover the fences, the crust being hard
enough to bear the heaviest teams.
The town voted, March 23, 1785, to give Mr.
Packard for a settlement £300; and for a salary
£100 and twenty cords of wood annually. In
1804 the question agitated the town as to the loca¬
tion of the new meeting-house. The west part
desired to see it erected on the site of the former
houses. The east part desired to have it where
the Union Church now stands, maintaining that the
old location was not central. At the town-meeting
on the 16th of July the town refused, seventy-five
to one hundred and ten, to give their consent to
the incorporation of the west part as a separate
town. May 26, 1806, consent was refused to the
formation of a separate parish, one hundred and
twenty-five to seventy-six ; whereupon the west
part, having contributed their proportion to the
meeting-house built by the town, proceeded to
erect another in the pasture-field of Benjamin Rice.
Mr. Packard, after consulting the Marlborough
Association, and with their acquiescence, decided
to ask for a dismissal from the church. He was
minister of the town twenty-one years. The two
meeting-houses were opened on the same day,
April 27, 1806. February 23, 1808, the West or
Second Parish was incorporated, and Mr. Packard
was installed its minister March 23, 1808. He
took a dismission May 12, 1819, and removed to
Lancaster, where he died, March 20, 1843, aged
eighty-five years. He was a man of fluent gifts,
cheerful temper, and pastoral capacity, neither a
profound thinker nor given to polemic divinity, of
a liberal spirit, while his opinions more resembled
those of the Arminian than of the Evangelical school.
The First Church chose the Rev. Sylvester F.
Bucklin as their first minister after the separation.
He remained pastor of the society until June 20,
1832, when at his request he was dismissed, re¬
maining for twenty-eight years a devoted member
of the church and a highly respected citizen of the
town. He died March 25, 1800. On the retire¬
ment of Mr. Bucklin the church openly manifested
a division of opinion on doctrinal questions.
March 18, 1833, the clerk of the parish was noti¬
fied that about fifty of its former members had
formed themselves into The First Evangelical
Congregational Society. On the 1st of April
the church voted to worship with this society, and
seventy-three out of the ninety-one members with¬
drew from their connection with the First Parish.
The remaining church-members held the meeting¬
house and church property ; a church was organ¬
ized, and Mr. Bucklin was employed to supply their
pulpit for a year.
March 18, 1835, these two societies petitioned
the legislature to be incorporated as the Union
Sociéty, and on the 1st of April, 1836, they held
their first meeting and voted to receive the act of
incorporation. On the 24th of April, 1836, the
church voted that "the name of this church be
changed from the East Church in Marlborough to
the Union Church in Marlborough, to correspond
with the name of the Union Society with which we
are connected."
Rev. John N. Goodhue was the first pastor of
the Union Church, installed May 4, 1836. Since
then they have enjoyed the services of the Rev.
George E. Day, installed Dec. 2,1840; Rev. David
L. Ogden, installed April 26, 1848; Rev. Levi
A. Field, installed August 31, 1853 ; Rev. George
N. Anthony, installed November 8, 1860; Rev.
Charles R. Treat, installed March 30, 1870 ; and
Rev. John Willard, installed December 30, 1873.
The present membership of the church is two hun¬
dred and eighty-five.
The West Parish called Rev. Seth Alden, May
12,1819; Rev. William Morse, June, 1834; Rev.
Horatio Alger, November, 1844; Rev. W. C.
Tenny, July 6, 1861. These have been succeeded
by Rev. Eugene De Normandie, Rev. Calvin Steb-
bins. Rev. J. H. Wiggin, and Rev. R. A. Griffin.
The Methodist Church was originated by Mr.
Phineas Sawyer in 1808, the first class-meeting,
of which he was appointed leader, being held at his
house. Ill 1827 it was decided to erect the Old
Brick Church, as it is called. It was situated be¬
tween Sudbury and Marlborough, for the accom¬
modation of the adjacent villages. It was destroyed
by fire December 28, 1852. The society amicably
146
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
divided, and eventually built three churches, one at
Eock Bottom, another at Stow, and a third in the
East Village, Marlborough : the latter has a mem¬
bership of one hundred and thirty-seven.
The Baptist Church was formed April 14, 1868.
Eev. M. E. Deming was called to the pastorate a
month later. He was succeeded by the late incum¬
bent, Eev. J. T. Burhoe, who was ordained June
20, 1872. The metnbership, April 14, 1878, was
one hundred and sixty-two.
The Universalists have had a flourishing soeiety
for many years. Eecently, owing to severe losses
by removal and death, their numbers have been
considerably reduced.
Military History. — At the beginning of the
eighteenth century the Indians, instigated by the
Erench, again troubled the settlement. During
the time of Queen Anne's War (as it was called)
the people experienced all the tantalizing annoy¬
ances and injuries of guerilla strife. They bravely
resisted the enemy, and fortified (as in former
times) dwelling-houses in different parts of the
town. These were called garrisons, and were sup¬
plied uith arms and ammunition. There were
as many as twenty-six of these refuges in 1711,
among which the one hundred and thirty-seven
families constituting the number of inhabitants
were distributed. Among many distressing inci¬
dents of this time there has come down to us an
account of the assault of a party of Indians (1704)
on a number of men while they were at their work
in the field. One, Nahor Eice, son of Edmund,
was killed ; two other of his sons, Silas and Timo¬
thy, were taken captive, married Indian women, and
changed alike their names and habits for those of
the savages, Timothy rising to the position of an
influential chief. Arthur and Adonijah, sons of
Thomas Eice, were carried off at the same time,
the former being afterward ransomed by his father,
and the latter remaining in Canada as a farmer.
At another time Abraham How and Benjamin
Hutchins, Marlborough men, were slain at Lan¬
caster.
On the 1.5th of October, 1705, Mr. John Bige-
low was captured at Lancaster, with Mr. Thomas
Sawyer and his son, at whose garrison-house he
had taken refuge. They effected their escape by
the aid of the French governor, to whom they had
rendered the important service of erecting the only
saw-mill in Canada. Mr. Bigelow commemorated
his deliverance by calling the first daughter, sub¬
sequently born. Freedom, and the second Comfort.
In 1707 Mary Goodenow and Mrs. Mary Pay,
while gathering herbs near Stirrup Brook, were
surprised by a party of twenty-four stalwart In¬
dians. Mrs. Fay fled, and reached the garrison ; but
her companion, who was hindered by lameness, was
overtaken, dragged a short distance, killed, scalped,
and the body left to be sought and, as it proved,
buried by her friends. On the same day, about a
mile from the brook. Captain Daniel How was cap¬
tured and handcuffed by this body of savages, who
left him in charge of one of their number, and
proceeded to attempt the capture of Mrs. Fay and
Miss Goodenow; but the captain adroitly freed
himself, gained possession of a gun, and forced his
captor to flee.
During this war-time Captain Thomas How sig¬
nally distinguished himself for bravery and activity,
and Samuel Brigham, his lieutenant, was rewarded
by the government for his military services.
During the ensuing wars from 1741 to 1763
Marlborough was as loyal as it was afterward
patriotic. No official record, however complete,
could give an adequate idea of the endurance, self-
sacrifice, and hardship these vexatious campaigns
entaüed on the people of this and other towns.
Unfortunately the records are meagre and imper¬
fect, so that even a list of the men in active ser¬
vice cannot be given. There is, however, enough
data to justify us in saying that the whole avail¬
able manhood of the town was engaged either for
action or defence; citizens incapacitated for the
field by age. and other causes organized themselves
into what was called an " alarm list." From the
minister to some of the oldest men, all joined this
organization who could contribute to the general
security. There were two military companies, con¬
sisting of a hundred men each, including " alarm
men," under the lead of Captain J. Weeks and
Colonel Abraham Williams. It is known that
eighteen Marlborough men were in the service in
1756 under Captain William Williams. Two com¬
panies marched to the relief of Fort William Henry,
the one under the command of Captain Samuel
Howe, and the other led by Lieutenant Stephen
Maynard.
During 1758 and 1759 at least thirty-three men
were engaged in the attempt to reduce Canada to sub¬
mission. Some of these served from 1760 to 1762.
In 1760 there were fifteen men in Captain Wil¬
liam Williams' company.
From the inception of the Eevolutionary strug¬
gle until its triumphant conclusion, it should be
MARLBOROUGH.
147
said, to the honor of the town, that the people of
Marlborough were outspoken and ardent in their
sympathy with the movement. They shared the
indignation of the Bostonians at the conduct of
the British government, and passed resolutions
unanimously indorsing the courageous attitude
and protective action of the Boston committee of
correspondence.
In 1770, at a town-meeting, they resolved to
support the merchants in their non-importation
agreement, and bound themselves not to buy of
their own tradesmen who continued to sell con¬
trary to this agreement. They further resolved
"that the name of those who purchase goods of
the importers, or of those who buy of importers,
shall be made public, as far as we have the knowl¬
edge of them."
In 1773, after animadverting upon the unjust
policy of the king, and the dangers hanging over
the country, it was resolved " that peace and har¬
mony will never be enjoyed between Great Britain
and the colonies, until the interests of both be in¬
separably connected; which will be accomplished
by nothing short of a repeal of all unconstitutional
acts, and the removal of all sinecures, pensioners,
pimps, informers, and bad governors." The reso¬
lutions close with an expression of thanks " to our
worthy brethren in Boston and adjacent towns,"
and the assertion, " we stand ready to assist them
in the execution of their votes and resolves at a
minute's warning."
September 39, 1774, they instructed their repre¬
sentative, Peter Bent, to " pay no acknowledgment
to any unconstitutional and new fangled counsellors,
and that you do not give your consent to any act or
thing that may be construed a tacit acknowledge¬
ment to any of the late oppressive, wicked, and-un¬
just acts of the British Parliament, for altering the
government of the province of Massachusetts Bay."
The town was represented by Peter Bent, Ed¬
ward Barnes, and George Brigham in the first Pro¬
vincial Congress, and by Peter Bent in the second
and third congresses. There was but one thoroughly
pronounced and outspoken royalist in the town,
namely, Henry Barnes. He had already made
himself odious by refusing to indorse the non-
importing agreement of the Boston merchants.
He was a man of considerable substance and ca¬
pacity, against wlioin nothing is alleged but his
political opinions. It should be said for him, that
he courageously and consistently stood by them,
and lost and suffered as much for his convictions
as any man in the place. At the breaking out of
hostilities he sought British protection; as the
result his property was confiscated. Eventually
he repaired to England, and died m London in
1808, aged eighty-four. As the political horizon
darkened, the people of Marlborough prepared
themselves for the worst. They procured fifty-five
additional guns, with bayonets, increased their
stores of ammunition, and united with other towns
in reorganizing the militia of the neighborhood.
They raised a company of minute-men, provided
for their drill and discipline, promised bounty in
case of active service, and resolved that the prov¬
ince tax should not be paid to the royal treasurer,
but to the Provincial Congress.
April 19, 1775, Marlborough sent four compa¬
nies of minute-men, under the captaincy of Cyprian
Howe, William Brigham, Daniel Barnes, and Silas
Gates. These companies consisted of one hundred
and eighty men, drawn from a population of not
more than thirteen hundred souls, who responded to
the call of their compatriots at a moment's warning.
Although they were not absent from home more
than forty days, and had no opportunity of spe¬
cially distinguishing themselves, yet the town
demonstrated its intense sympathy, and its devo¬
tion to the cause, by the alacrity with which it or¬
ganized these companies and sent them to the scene
of hostilities. Later, over a hundred enlisted for
eight months, and many re-enlisted for three years.
In 1777 twenty-seven men served two months in
the continental army ; in 1778 eight served three
months; in 1779 eighty served in various cam¬
paigns for shorter or longer periods. Some one
hundred and thirty served either as " first " three
years' men or as "last" three years' men, and some
enlisted " during the war." There can be no doubt
that the town contributed its full share of the Eevo-
lutionary army ; redeeming the pledge given May,
1776, "that if the honorable Continental Congress
shall, for the safety of the United Colonies, declare
them independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain,
we the inhabitants of Marlborough will solemnly
engage, with our own lives and fortunes, to support
them in the measure."
In addition to giving a bounty of £7 in 1776
to soldiers enlisting for service in Canada, and £40
to all three years' men, and providing them with
clothes, they voted to support the families of non¬
commissioned officers and soldiers ; and, as more
troops were called for, the town offered monthly
wages, and a bounty in addition to that of the gov-
148
HISTORY OF MIBBLESEX COUNTY.
ernmentj for any who would enlist. When the
treasury became empty, and the high rate of
money impaired the worth of real estate as security,
then they anticipated the revenue from taxation.
Loans were ordered, and when they could not be
obtained, cattle were offered as bounty. Indeed,
no method of raising troops was left untried, save
that of conscription ; although this was authorized
by the state, the town, rather than adopt arbitrary
measures, preferred to pay the fine for not furnish¬
ing the full quota of soldiers for the six and three
months' service in 1781. May 22, 1780, the con¬
stitution and frame of the government was submit¬
ted to the town and adopted, seventy-five to seven.
In April, 1861, on receiving the news of the
attack on Fort Sumter, immediately a large number
of the leading citizens of all political parties assem¬
bled, and discussed the duty of the town in this
emergency. They were of one mind in the opin¬
ion that prompt and hearty concurrence with the
government was the true policy ; cousequently they
urged the selectmen to call a town-meeting, and
prepared for a fit presentation of their views. The
citizens met April 29, 1861; when, in response to
the appeal of the President calling upon all loyal citi¬
zens to support the Union, it was resolved, " That
the citizens of Marlborough, in legal town-meeting
assembled, tender our cordial and united support to
the government of the United States ; and pledge
our lives and our fortunes for whatever service our
country may require." Subsequently ten thousand
dollars were appropriated to be used for " the aid
and encouragement of the individuals or for the
support of the families of the individuals compos¬
ing the volunteer military company now raised or
hereafter to be raised in this town to meet the calls
of the government."
The selectmen at this time (1861) were Isaac Hay-
den, B. F. Underbill, Stephen Morse, George E.
Manson, John Goodale ; in 1862 and 1863, B. F.
Underbill, William H. Wood, John F. Gotting;
in 1864 and 1865, William Wilson, Fred N.
Morse,' Charles H. Robinson. The town-clerk for
1861 and 1862 was John Phelps; for 186-3, 1864,
and 1865, Edward L. Bigelow. The town-treas¬
urer in 1861 was Winslow M. Warren; in 1862,
186.3, 1864, and 1865, N. Wetherbee.
July 21, 1862, the following resolutions, pre¬
sented by Hon. 0. W. Albee, were unanimously
adopted : —
" Whereas, a great rebellion, engendered by a wicked de¬
sire to perpetuate and extend the institution of chattel slav¬
ery, and stimulated by an unholy ambition to rule, has set
at naught the legally constituted authorities of thb nation
and imperilled constitutional liberty on this continent,
" Therefore, Resolved, That Marlborough is determined
to stand by and maintain the great truths of the declaration
of American Independence and the Bepublican Govern¬
ment instituted by our Revolutionary Fathers.
" Resolved, That if any oligarchy or any institution, how¬
ever fortified by power and prejudice, stands in the way
of the full realization of our Revolutionary Fathers' ideal,
in regard to the inalienable rights of man, such oligarchy
and such institutions must perish, rather than that consti¬
tutional liberty should fail.
" Resolved, That whilst we honor the patriotism and ac¬
knowledge the sacrifices which hundreds of our fellow-
townsmen have shown by devoting tbeir all to the cause of
their country, we would not be unmindful of the glory our
adopted fellow-townsmen have won on many a well-fought
field.
" Resolved, That the names of Carey and Regan, and their
fellows who have fallen in this contest for right, have be-
come historic, and Marlborough will cherish their memories
and keep their garlands fresh, that posterity may know
their worth and honor them ■with the incense of grateful
hearts.
"Resolved, That to the recent call of the President of
the United States for men to fill the thinned ranks of the
armies of the Republic, Marlborough expects her sons, both
native and adopted, to respond with an alacrity that shall
emulate her past fame and be a guaranty for the future of
her unwavering determination to sustain the cause of lib¬
erty, God, and our country.
"Resolved, That, though patriotism can neither be meas¬
ured nor weighed by money, yet Marlborough is ready, in
her corporate capacity, to pledge herself to compensate, in
part at least for pecuniary sacrifices, those brave men who
shall generously throw themselves into the breach in this
hour of a nation's peril.
"Resolved, That we pay one hundred and twenty-five
dollars to each volunteer who shall volunteer, under the
present call of the President of the United States, not to
exceed fifty-two in number."
The total number of men furnished by the town
and actually engaged in the war was 869 ; 574 serv¬
ing for three years, 91 for one yeari 108 for nine
months, and 96 for a hundred days.
The money expended for the war, exclusive of
state aid, was $ 51,584.11 ; the amount repid by
the state was $45,368.45.
There were seventeen natives of Marlborough
in the navy ; seventy others were credited to the
town. July 14, 1863, two hundred and thirty-
nine were drafted ; part of these went into the ser¬
vice and are not included in the enlistment record;
some furnished substitutes, while others paid com¬
mutation money; and some were dischai^ed for
disability.
The foUo'wing are the names of those who feU
MARLBOROUGH.
149
in the war, all but the last two being inscribed on
the soldiers' monument.
John Francis -, Charles W. Andrews ; Francis G.
Graves; Joseph P. Barnes; Isaac B. Crowell; J.
Josiah Gleason ; Michael Ahern; Alfred W. Howe ;
Willia Keating; Thomas Nolan; Robert Dailey ;
Lieutenant George N. Bridgewater; Bartholomew
Fiuerty; Patrick McDermot; Sylvester H. Bice;
Claude Greenache; Silas A,,Coolidge; Matthew
Drummy; Cornelius Tobin; Daniel J. Reagan;
Albion Nutting ; Edwin N. Welch ; Bernard Wall ;
John Frye; Charles E. Goodnow; Charles W.
Moshier; Marshall Keyes; Elijah Howe, 2d;
Aaron A. Brigham; Patrick-Boy Ian; Thomas
Murry; Patrick Clark; John B. Jenks; Rufus
C. Rice ; Captain William F. Brigham ; Theodore
H. Goodnow; Granville H. Smith; Charles E.
Perkins; William L. Knight; John L. Spencer;
Thomas Pettis ; John Eaton, Jr.; Henry H. Brown;
John Connors; Hugh Keegan; Elisha W. Fay;
Otis Chase; Andrew J. Goodnow; George A. At¬
kinson; Charles Stone ; Captain John Carey; John
M. Russell ; Thomas J. Oddy ; Reuben B. Rice ;
Josiah H. Vose; Daniel Doyle; Joseph Joel;
George D. Huntington; William Fife Brigham;
Edwin Goodwin; John Buckley; Stephen H.
Phelps ; Edwin W. Exley ; John Crowley ; Frank
J. Wood; Patrick Quinn; Lucius Allis; Edwin
C. Rice; Peter Flynn; William Murname; John
P. Peebles; James McCarty; Thomas Roberts;
James Sheehan; Myron L. Balcom; John H. Col¬
lins; Michael Clark; Eugenp Burns; Lieutenant
Charles W. Whitcomb; Washington I. Lathrop;
W. Frank Brigham; Benjamin F. Russell; George
H. Mundell; Henry H. Perry; Oseóla V. Newton;
George A. Nourse; George H. Stowe; Alfred G.
Howe; Cornelius Long; David Barnes; Edward E.
Bond ; George B. Newcombe ; James M. Sheehan.
Education. — Before Philip's War some atten¬
tion had been given to the education of the chil¬
dren, but for several years the town had been unable
•to support a public school. About 1698 Mr. Ben¬
jamin Franklin, who had formerly taught, was re¬
engaged. The school met in the unoccupied house
of Isaac Wood. The teacher's salary for fourteen
weeks was £5 12«. In December of this year it
was decided to build a school-house, and Mr. Jona¬
than Johnson, Sr., was engaged to teach at a salary
of £14 for the year, the school to meet in his
house until the building was finished. Decem¬
ber 14, 1701, the town was fined £6 4«. for hav¬
ing failed to provide a qualified teacher. Whatever I
the gifts or attainments of Mr. Johnson may have
been, no one can be surprised at this action, see¬
ing he was at once village blacksmith (the town in
those days providing a smith's lot as they did a
minister's), sexton, and school-teacher. He was
dismissed after the fine was imposed, although he
was employed again. April 19, 1708, this entry
occurs : "To Jonathan Johnson, Sen', for keeping
school in the year 1707 in full for satisfaction
£9 15«."
The more eminent early teachers were Benjamin
Choate, a graduate of Harvard, who taught in 1703
and 1704. William Thomas, a Welshman, taught
in 1716, and about this time Robert Breck, son
of the minister, who was afterward settled over the
parish at Springfield. Dr. Samuel Brigham taught
ill 1750 ; he was physician and town-clerk. Until
after 1734 there was but one schoolmaster; this
year it was voted " that the school be kept for 6
mths at the school house ; 5 weeks at the Farm ;
5 weeks at the westerly part of the town 8 weeks
at the school house of Joseph Baker and 8 weeks
at the house of the widow Forbush."
The cause of education progressed slowly for
many years, but was by no means neglected.
School-houses were erected from time to time in
different parts of tlie town; in 1762 six were huilt,
and in 1779 and 1781 two more were added. Cap¬
tain Ephraim Brigham, a prominent citizen, left in
the year 1771 a gift of £111 for educational pur¬
poses ; the interest of this fund, agreeable to the
provisions of the will, was expended in founding
and sustaining what was called the Brigham School ;
its principal object being to supplement the work
of the town sehools, giving older scholars the
opportunity of perfecting themselves in writing
and arithmetic. It was held after the closing of
the winter schools, generally through the month
of March. This bequest has since been merged
in the general school fund.
During the Revolution a grammar sehool was
supported until the pressure of the times led to
its suspension. In 1790 there were seven school
districts and houses, each having an average ses¬
sion of fifteen weeks in the year.
In 1803 female teachers were employed for the
summer schools, the winter schools being, as be¬
fore, in charge of male teachers. After the War
of 1812 private schools sprung up in the fall.
Additional accommodation was provided near Fel-
touville; two other new schools were established,
one in the south part, another near the centre.
150
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In 1827 the examination of teachers was made
by the state, to devolve on an inspecting committee
specially qualified for the purpose; before this
time it had fallen to the minister or the selectmen
to decide on the fitness of candidates.
Li 1826 an academy was established by indi¬
vidual enterprise, to secure a higher grade of in¬
struction than that given in the district schools ;
two years later Silas Gates and his son Abraham
gave a joint donation of $2,000, and in recogni¬
tion of their generosity the name of the insti¬
tution was changed to the Gates Academy. It
flourished for several years, but afterwards de¬
clined, and in 1833 its condition seemed hopeless.
In that year Mr. 0. W. Albee took charge of it,,
and gradually raised it to a higher position than
it had ever before occupied. He was undoubtedly
the most influential and popular teacher the town
has had. He was a man of wide and liberal sym¬
pathies, public spirited, efficient in his profession,
able in the school-house at once to secure the most
submissive attention and the warmest affection.
To this day his old scholars regard his memory
with almost filial tenderness, and celebrate it by
annual reunions.
Mr. Albee taught until 1849, when the academy
was merged in the high school. It had long
been felt that proprietary or semi-private institu¬
tions of this kind reacted unfavorably on the free-
school system, — citizens being reluctant to vote
ample town appropriations when they were pri¬
vately supporting academies. It was decided, with
the consent of the representatives of Silas Gates
and his son, to transfer the endowment to the town
for free-school education. The policy was abun¬
dantly justified by the increased appropriations
and quickened interest in the cause.
The appropriation for 1840 was $1,000, the
number of scholars being 651 between the ages of
four and sixteen; for 1850 it was $1,300, the
number of scholars (643) being somewhat less ; for
1860 it was $ 3,882, for 829 scholars of from five
to fifteen years ; for 1870 it was $ 16,500, the num¬
ber of scholars being 1,877. At the present time
there are thirty-four schools and thirty-eight teach¬
ers, five being male and thirty.three female; num¬
ber of children between five and fifteen (May, 1878),
2,127 ; increase over 1877, one hundred and ninety-
one. There are eleven school buildings : one high
school, having a principal and two assistants ; eight
grammar schools, employing two male and eight
female teachers ; and twenty-five primary schools.
employing twenty-five female teachers. The town
appropriation for 1878 was $ 18,500. The cost of
instruction per scholar is about $ 8.50.
Marlborough originally included the tract of
land now called Westborough, Northborongh,
Southborough, aud Hudson. Westborough, with
what afterwards became Northborough, was incor¬
porated in 1717. Southborough was set off in
1727. At the June meeting the mother town
agreed to further the petition of the inhabitants of
Stony Brook for incorporation to the General Court.
Hudson was incorporated in 1866.
The population of Marlborough in 1660 was
about 55, rising to 210 in the ensuing ten years,
remaining stationary for the next ten years, and
increasing considerably until 1700, when there
were 530 inhabitants ; fifty years later there were
1,000 ; in 1800 there were 1,635. Prom this
date, for forty years, there was a gain of only 500.
From that time, owing mainly to the establishment
of shoe-factories, the population has rapidly in¬
creased. In 1850 there were 2,941, in 1860,5,910,
the population being doubled in ten years. In
1870 it reached 7,885, although in the preceding
decade Hudson had been set off. The highest
point was gained in 1872, when there were 8,941
persons. Since then the number of inhabitants
has slightly varied from year to year.
Owing to the imperfection of the records, it is im¬
possible to give a complete statement of the valua¬
tion of the town until very recent times. Prom
1771 to 1820 the number of polls slowly increased
from 323 to 434 ; the number of houses, from 169
to 254. In 1830 there were 454 polls and 288
houses ; the real estate was valued at $485,805 ;
personal estate at $ 121,451. In 1840 there were
559 polls aud 325 Tiouses; the real estate was
$623,807 ; personal estate, $ 155,951.
In 1850 the number of polls was 834 ; of houses
458 ; value of real estate, $ 948,931 ; of personal
estate, $286,506. In 1878 the number of polls
was 2,182; number of dwellings, 1,376; total
valuation, $3,451,365.
The industries of the town, until within forty-five
years, were confined to agriculture and the supply of
local needs. In 1837, 103,000 pairs of shoes were
made, valued at $ 41,200 ; seventy-five males and the
same number of females were employed in their pro¬
duction. There were two tanneries, employiug seven
hands; two manufactories of chairs and cabinet
ware, employing four hands. 7,500 straw bonnets
were manufactured, valued at $10,850.
MARLBOROUGH.
151
111 1845, 182 persons were employed in making
straw braid and bonnets; 378 men and women
manufactured 624 pairs of boots and 302,725
pairs of shoes, valued at $ 92,932. Ten years later,
in 1855, 103,500 pairs of boots and 1,971,500
pairs of shoes were made, by 969 male and 973
female hands ; the value of the product being
$1,156,975. In 1860, 2,000 men and 7,000
women were employed in this industry, and
$2,000,000 were realized on sales.
It has steadily grown from that time, and, despite
the loss of several manufactories through the setting
off of Hudson, the state of the business for the year
1878 may be gathered from the following statistics,
communicated directly from the manufacturers :
Number of hands employed, 2,500 ; pairs of boots
and shoes made, 3,500,000, valued at $3,000,000 ;
estimated value of property and machinery em¬
ployed, $ 225,000. The principal impetus to this
business was given in 1836, when Mr. Andrew Boyd
conceived the idea of making boots and shoes by
what is called "the team" or "gang" system ; his
brothers, Joseph and Samuel, in whose employ he
was, adopted the plan, which has been generally
followed. At this time they worked in a barn in
the east part of the town. In 1848 they erected
the first large factory, which is now standing, form¬
ing the brick part of Messrs. Morse Brothers' shop.
Machinery was not introduced until 1852, when
the sewing-machine came into use ; after this other
labor-saving contrivances were gradually invented.
Among the earliest manufacturers who adopted
the team system were Joseph aud Samuel Boyd,
Prank Brigham, Lorenzo Stratton, Samuel and
John Chipman, Lewis T. Pry, George Brigham,
William Dadmun, Morse Brothers, John W.
Stevens, Hiram Temple, Elijah Dickinson, Denison
Brigham.
There are now twenty-two large factories, each
employing from four hundred to fifty hands when
running briskly. The prospects of the trade are,"
on the whole, encouraging.
The first National Bank of Marlborough was
incorporated October 1, 1863, with a capital of
$50,000, increased to $100,000 May 1, 1864;
to $150,000 October 1, 1864; and to $200,000
May 1, 1865. The original officers were : direct¬
ors, Mark Pay, Samuel Boyd, Sidney G. Pay,
William Morse, 2d, William Gibbon, Joseph Boyd,
John M. Whiton, Erastus S. Woods, and George
E. Woods ; president, Mark Pay ; cashier, Edmund
C. Whitney.
Mark Fay continued president until his death,
June 30, 1876, succeeded by William Gibbon;
and January, 1878, by Sidney G. Pay. Tiie pres¬
ent officers are : president, S. G. Pay ; vice-presi¬
dent, William Gibbon ; directors, G. P. Pay, W.
Gibbon, William Morse, John G. Prye, and Sam¬
uel Boyd ; cashier, E. C. Whitney.
The Marlborough Savings Bank was incorpo¬
rated April 3, 1860 ; the corporate members be¬
ing Mark Pay, Thomas Corey, Samuel Boyd, Wil¬
liam Morse, 2d, Levi Bigelow. The organization
was completed by the election of Samuel Boyd as
president; J. S. Wetherbee, vice-president; Mark
Fay, treasurer. May 16, 1864, E. C. Whitney be¬
came treasurer, and on his resignation, September
17, 1878, Edward R. Alley was elected. Amount
of deposits ill 1864, $16,750; amount due depos¬
itors September, 1878, $600,700.
The People's National Bank was organized De¬
cember 11,1878 : capital stock, $100,000 ; presi¬
dent, Elbridge Howe ; vice-president, S. J. Shaw ;
directors, Elbridge Howe, S. Herbert Howe, Joseph
Boyd, L. S. Brigham, John O'Counell, J. S. Welch,
Winslow M. Warren, George N. Gate, Samuel
Boyd, D. W. Hitchcock, L. A. Coolidge, S. A.
Howe, 2d, Abel Howe, S. J. Shaw, Samuel N.
Aldrich.
The fire department consists of four companies,
having about one hundred and fifty members.
E. C. Whitney, Esq., is chief engineer. There is
also an independent -company, called the Veteran
Fire Association, doing good service. All these
companies are in an efficient condition.
The first public library was established in 1792.
It had sixty proprietors, who paid $2.50 for their
share, and an annual contribution of twenty-five
cents. The present library was commenced April,
1870. The Mechanics' Institute donated their
library of several hundred volumes. The town
voted over $1,300 for its formation. This was
supplemented by private contributions. The town
has made liberal appropriations annually for its'
support. It now contains 6,864 books, besides
many duplicates of popular works, and many im¬
portant pamphlets and reports. It has a large
proportion of standard works, and if the policy
hitherto pursued be continued, it will become,
eventually, a valuable library of reference.
Topography, ef.c. — Marlborough is situated on
the westerly border of the county, bounded on the
north by Hudson and a part of Berlin, on the south
by Southborough and a part of Northborough;
152
HIS TOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
on the west by Berlin and Northborough; east by
Sudbury and Framingham. It is twenty-eight
miles west of Boston, and sixteen east of Worces¬
ter. Tiie Boston, Clinton, and Fitchburg Railroad
runs through the town, and the Fitchburg Railroad
communicates with it by a branch line from South
Acton. It is about six miles in length from east
to west, and three miles in breadth from north to
south. The whole township consists, for the most
part, of elevated land. The highest point is Mount
Sligo, situated some six hundred and fifty feet
above the level of the sea. From this point, on
every side, the country presents a scene of exquisite
pastoral beauty, and suggests a high degree of cul¬
tivation. There is nothing wanting to constitute
a complete landscape. To the southwest lies the
sheet of water called Williams' Pond ; few lakes of
its size exhibit so charming a viiriety of scenery ;
its waters are always clear; the land gently rises on
all sides, in part pasture-fields and in part woodland,
nntü graduaUy both stretch away and are blended
in the purple distance.
One of the oldest and most interesting land-
Gates Uonse.
marks of the town is the Gates House, situated on
the east corner of the pond. There are some pleas¬
ant stories of the visit of General Washington and
other historic characters connected with the place.
In the centre is the historic Ockoocangansett Hill,
and in the east is the ancient plantation of Whip-
suppenicke, now cultivated by William Stephen
Morse. The other principal hills in the town are
called Indian Head Hill, Shoe-String Hill, Jericho,
Crane, Stirrup, and Prospect.
The town is well wooded. The trees are mostly
oak, though chestnut, pine, walnut, and maple
abound. It is well watered, although the streams
are small and infrequent. It has a large number
of ponds or lakes, some of them of considerable
area. The soil, as a rule, is a rich loam, capable
of producing large crops of hay, com, small grain,
and vegetables.
Fruit cultivation has always been a successful
specialty. From the time of the Indians, who had
flourishing orchards, till now, the apples liave been
famous alike for their quality, size, and abundance.
For many years the place was noted for the excel¬
lence of its cider, and in 1752 cider-brandy was
distilled and exported in considerable quantities.
The older farmers dwell with much animation on
the time when they regarded the cider-mill as one
of the most necessary parts of their farm; they
made it a rule to commence carrying cider to Bos¬
ton the latter part of September, sending their
teams two to four times a week, to the last of
November, according to the quantity they had to
dispose of. Pears, grapes, and peaches are all
grown to advantage.
It is the unanimous and unqualified opinion of
those best acquainted with the land, that it com¬
pares very favorably with the best portions of the
state. The farmers evince a good deal of interest
in scientific agriculture, and take pride, in many
instances, in the breeding of a high grade of cattle.
The farms, as a rule, are large and highly culti¬
vated.
As might be inferred from the elevated site and
general character of the town, the inhabitants have
been and are remarkable for health and longevity.
Mr. Hudson says: "The registration of bills of
mortality for the four years, from 1856 to 1859
inclusive, shows the average percentage of deaths
on the population annually to be as follows: Li
the state, 1.73; in the county, 1.57 ; in Marlbor¬
ough, 1.18 ; showing the health of Marlborough
during that period to be .39 per cent greater than
that of the county, and .55 per cent greater than
that of the state The censuses show that
in 1830 there were living in Marlborough fifteen
persons between the ages of eighty and ninety, and
seven between the ages of ninety and one hundred ;
in 1840 there were twenty-one between the ages
of eighty and ninety, and two between ninety and
orie hundred; in 1855 there were twenty-two be¬
tween the ages of eighty and ninety, and three
between ninety and one hundred; and in 1860
there were twenty-three persons living, between the
ages of eighty and ninety." It is no doubt safe to
HAYN ARD.
153
say the rate of mortality^ certainly among the native
bom, is now as low as at any former time, and that
there are as many instances of longevity.
Town-Hall.
Within thirty years the two villages, the east
and west, formerly nearly a mile apart, have grown
together, so that they present the aspect of a town
of considerable size.
Near the depot is the new town-hall, a costly
and commodious building.
The general appearance of the town is suburban
rather than rural ; and the shoe-shops being located
in all parts, the inhabitants are largely relieved
from the undesirable features of a manufacturing
place. The population has a considerable pro¬
portion of Irish and Canadian French, wlio, as
individuals, harmonize as a mle with the native
citizens to a far greater extent than would be in¬
ferred from their combined action during periods
of economical agitation. They have two churches,
St. Mary's in the west village, and the Church of
the Immaculate Conception in the centre of the
town.
The first burying-ground lies northeast of the
Union Church. The oldest legible tombstone is
dated 1675 ; its inscription is as follows : —
Captain Edwakd Hutchinson
Aged 62 years
Was shot by Treacherous ludians
August 2nd 1675
dyed August 1675.
Here also is the tomb of Mr. Brimsmead, wholly
effaced ; and that of Mr. Breck, which is in a good
state of preservation. The second burying-place is
immediately in the rear of the high scliool ; besides
these there are The Brigham, The Easterly, Tlie
Morse (sometimes called The Farm), The Weeks,
The Chipman, The Bobin Hill, and Tlie Pleasant
Street cemeteries.
MAYNARD.
BY ASAHEL BALCOU.
Boston by the county road is twenty-one miles ; by
railroad, twenty-seven miles. There are two hotels
in the village, four dry-goods and grocery stores
(one of them a co-operative store), three dry-goods
stores, several millinery and dress-making stores,
two butchering establishments, a Masonic Lodge, a
Good Templars' Lodge, and a post of the Grand
Army of the Eepublic.
Maynard is a small, neiv town, having been in¬
corporated April 19, 1871, and named in honor of
Amory Maynard, Esq., formerly of Marlborough,
through whose untiring energy and sagacity the
industries of the town have been developed. Of
flAYNAED is bounded on the
north by Acton, on the east and
south by Sudbury, and on the
west by Stow. The population
in 1875 was 1,965. TheMarl-
borough Branch Eailroad, in
connection with the Fitchburg
Eailroad, furnishes the travel¬
ling and freight facilities, and
there is a prospect of further
railroad accommodation by the
extension of the Middlesex Central Eailroad, from
Concord Junction to Maynard. The distance from
154
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the territory, some 1,300 acres were taken from the
town of Stow, and included Pompsiticut Hill,
and other good farming lands, devoted to orchards,
tillage, and pasturage. Some 1,900 acres were
taken from the northwesterly part of Sudbury, and
included some good farming lands, but were to a
great extent woodland, having some of the largest
growth of wood and timber to be found in Massa¬
chusetts. By an arrangement the town of May-
nard agreed to pay to the town of Stow the sum of
$6,500 as a compensation, and to the town of Sud¬
bury the sum of $ 22,500 -, the town of Sudbury
to assign to the town of Maynard one hundred and.
four shares of their Pramingham and Lowell rail¬
road stock ; the town of Maynard was also to pay
to the town of Sudbury tbe sum of three hundred
dollars per year, for ten years, towards the support
of their paupers, and one third part of all costs
and expenses for the support of military paupers.
The lands called the New Grants, in Sudbury,
were purchased of the Indians, and consisted of
two strips, each one mile wide, with a " thirty rod
highway" to each lot, and parallel with them,
joining upon the westerly side of the town, and
were called squadrons of land. The following ex¬
tract may explain the matter : —
" At a town Meeting January y° 4 1657, voted in
y° Town Meeting that whereas there is a pond lying
in y' third and second squadron that soe our middel
Highway from South to North cannot pas streight,
our will and vote is that y° said way shall goe
round the pond at y° nearest end and alowance be
given by y° Surveyor to any person that shall be
damaged by y® highway going at y® ponds end and,
Alsoe let it be remembered that y® long Highway
from South to North goethe at y® west end of y®
pond through y® land of John Toll and Solomon
Johnson and is twelve rods wide at y® narrowest
for which may y® said John Toll and Johnson, have
suiReient alowance.
"A true copy se old Book of Grant Folio
54, 55. John Rice, Town Clerk."
That portion of the town taken from Sudbury
was a part of the New Grants to the town, and
according to the Old Proprietors' Book was pur¬
chased of the Indians by deed, dated 1684. Some
extracts from their records may be interesting.
"We tbe Subscribers and present owners of the
New Grant lots in Sudbury and as we think, and
imagine Proprietors of the two miles of land late
granted to Sudbury by the General Court, called
the New Grants, we humbly petition your honour
to grant us a legal meeting as the law directs, to
be at the House of Jonathau Rice in said Sudbury,
inn holder,
" To do or act what may be lawful and needful
when met in order to defend said grant of two
miles, and every other legal act as Proprietors.
"John Clap,
James Haynes,
Ephraim Pratt,
John Balcom,
Thomas' Smith,
Jonathan Rice,
Amos Smith,
Joseph Balcom,
and sixteen otbers."
A warrant was granted by'Joseph Buckminster,
Esq., of Pramingham, to meet December 1, 1729.
"Sudbury, December 1, 1729. At a meeting
of the present owners of the New Grant lots and,
as appears by the Indian purchase the Proprie¬
tors of the Two Miles of land last granted to the
town of Sudbury .... Chose Jonathan Bice,
Moderator to carry on the work of said day ....
Chose Impowered and Imployed Mr. John Parmen-
ter of Pramingham and Mr. Daniel Woodward of
said Sudbury, to act and do any legal act or acts
or whatsoever may be needful and lawful to defend
in the law their right and title and interest in and
unto the said two miles, &c likewise ad¬
journed their meeting."
After thirteen meetings without doing any busi¬
ness, September 6, 1731, they "Chose Josiah
Richardson to go to the Country and County
Records to take copies, and Oct. 18, 1731, chose
John Balcom, clerk."
At a meeting held March 3, 1731, " Voted that
they will discontinue of the thirty Rod Highway
or land, so called, twenty six rods wide throughout
the said highway." It was also " Voted to give and
grant to every Proprietor owner one and one half
acre of meadow and swamp land in tlie lands-called
the New Grants, thirty rod highway, also two acres
of vpland, January 23"" 1732, let out to Jonathan
Rice all the highway meadow from the Long Pond
to Concord Road and to Marlborough Road, for
five shillings."
Very little is known of the first settlers of May¬
nard. Some of the lands now held by Jonathan
R Vose were conveyed by Benjamin Crane of Stow
to Joseph Rice of Marlborough in 1685, and are
described as follows : " Six Stone and five acres of
land that he purchased of John "Woods, sen®, and
John Rutter, sen', and is bounded northward and
HAYN ARD.
155
westward with the land of Thomas Wedge, south¬
ward with the land of Solomon Johnson, Jun',
eastward with a highway thirty rods wide running
between the squadron of lots, in the New Grants,
of Sudbury, aforesaid. To have and to hold, the
said tract of land six stone and five acres (be the
same more or less) with the house thereon erected,
and all the fences, belonging to the said tract of
land and all timber and firewood and the orchard
thereon, with all the conveniency of water thereon,
whether of Pond or Brook and all profit and ad¬
vantage." The family of Eices were long lived, and
it is found that Jonathan Eice and Jonathan Eice,
Jr., kept an inn at this place for about one hundred
years.
The land above described was conveyed by Jona¬
than Eice to William Eice, his son, and described
as bounded by land now in possession of Ephraim
Pratt, etc., in a. d. 1733. The Wedge-Pratt farm
was sold to Jabez Puffer of Braintree in 1743,
and the house now standing was supposed to have
been erected prior to that date. Ephraim Pratt
removed to Shutesbury, where lie died in 1804, at
the great age of one hundred and sixteen years and
some months. The following account of Mr. Pratt
is from Dr. Dwight's Travels.
"He was born at Sudbury, Massachusetts, in
1687, and in one month from the date of our arrival
(Wednesday, November 13,1803), would complete
his one hundred and sixteenth year. He was of
middle stature ; firmly built ; plump but not encum¬
bered with flesh ; less withered than multitudes at
seventy ; possessed of considerable strength, as was
evident from the grasp of his hand and the sound
of his voice, and without any marks of extreme
age. Abo.ut two months before his sight became
so impaired that he was unable to distinguish
persons. His hearing, also, for a short time had
been so imperfect, that he could not distinctly hear
common conversation. His memory was still vig¬
orous; his understanding sound, and his mind
sprightly and vigorous.
"The principal part of the time which I was
in the house he held me by the hand ; cheerfully
answered all my questions; readily gave me an
account of himself in such particulars as I wished
to know, observed to me that my voice indicated
that I was not less than forty-five years of age,
and that he must appear very old to me ; adding,
however, that some men who had not passed their
seventieth year, probably looked almost or quite as
old as himself. The remark was certainly just;
but it was the first time that I had heard pereons
who had reached the age of seventy considered as
being young. We were informed, partly by him¬
self and partly by his host, that he had been a
laborious man all his life ; and, particularly, that
he had mown grass one hundred and one years
successively. The preceding summer he had been
unable to perform this labor. During this season,
his utmost effort was a walk of half a mile. In
this walk he stumbled over a log and fell. Imme¬
diately afterwards he began evidently to decline,
and lost in a eonsiderable degree both his sight
and hearing. In the summer of 1802 he walked
without ineonvenience two miles, and mowed a
small quantity of grass. Throughout his life he
had been uniformly temperate. Ardent spirits he
rarely tasted. Cider he drank at times, but spar¬
ingly. In the vigorous periods of life he had
aceustomed himself to eat flesh, but more abste¬
miously than most other people in this country.
Milk, which liad always been a great imrt, was now
the whole of his diet. He is naturally ciieerful
and humorous, and not much inclined to serious
thinking. According to an account which he gave
his host, he made a public profession of religion
near seventy years before our visit to him ; but
was not supposed by him, nor by others acquainted
«"ith him, to be a religious man. He conversed
easily, and was plainly gratified with the visits and
conversations of strangers. When he was ninety-
three years old, he made a bargain with his host
(who told us the story), that he should support
him during the remainder of his life for £ 20.
"He Avas never sick but once, and then with
fever and ague. It is scarcely necessary to observe
that a man one hundred and sixteen years old,
without religion, was a melancholy sight to me."
The Eev. Eeuben Puffer, D. D., was a son of
Jabez Puffer, a noted divine, graduated at Har¬
vard College in 1778, settled and ordained as pas¬
tor at Berlin, Mass., in 1781, and died in 1829,
aged seventy-three.
Other of the earlier settlers of Maynard were
Hezekiah Taylor, John Taylor, Thomas Smith,
Amos Smith, William Skinner, William Carly,
Zachariah Maynard, and John Brigham, and some
of the settlers on the Stow side of the river may be
found in the proceedings of the proprietors at their
meeting held May 19,1719, when, as appears from
Stow Old Proprietors' Book, a selection of lands
was made, as follows : —
" Pitched on by Eichard Temple, between Plum
156
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Brook and Willard's Pond. Israel Heald, sen', on
Pompsiticut Hill joining to Joseph Jewell's land.
John Butterick, on Pompsiticut Hill, and on the
north side of his ten acres of meadow. Jacob Ste¬
vens, at the Oak swamp at his ten acres on Assabeth
Brook and at elbow meadow. Thomas Whitney,
sen' joining to his half moon meadow and Mr. Goo-
gen's land. Elizabeth Fairhank, on Pompsiticut
Hill, and at great meadow. John Whitaker, on
Pompsiticut Hill and at green Meadow. John
Eveleth, on Pompsiticut Hill. Joseph Daby, right
across the Hill from his house lot to Sudbury line
and to Wetherby's line. Stephen Randall four
acres by his home lot and at his own meadow on
Assabeth Brook."
" Stow Oct y* 30, 1738. Voted, on said day
that Ephraim Gates, have one acre and three quar¬
ters of upland in the common land in Stow lying on
the westerly side of said Gates' House lot, for con¬
sideration of ten Shillings, and one quart of Rume."
The tract of land called the Brown farm, consist¬
ing of some one hundred and fifty acres, situate in
the northerly part of Maynard, was conveyed by
Edmund Brown of Sudbury to Josiah Brown in
1735 for £1,500, lawful money.
From a perusal of the Old Proprietors' Books of
Stow, I am led to believe that the stream now
called Assabet River was known one hundred
and fifty years ago as the Elzibeth River, and
the Assabeth Brook was a tributary brook run¬
ning into the Elzibeth River just above where the
river now runs into the town of Maynard. Mr.
William H. Wood, on his map of Sudbury, pub¬
lished in 1830, uses the name Elzibeth. It is
sometimes spelled Elzaheth.
Other inhabitants of the town previous to 1800
were Jabez Puffer, Jr., Phineas Pratt, William Rice,
Phineas Rice, Matthias Rice, Jonas Balcom, Amos
Smith, Benjamin Smith, Joshua Maynard,
Marble, Arrington Gibson, John Jekyl, and Heze-
kiah Smith.
There is a tradition that some time early in the
settlement of the town, during a severe storm in
the spring of the year, several persons came to and
were quietly quartered in the barn of one of the
Smiths, perhaps Thomas, near where Mr. A. S.
Thompson now resides. The unknown visitors
were afterwards supposed to have been pirates,
from the fact that they were very free with their
money, paying liberally for what they obtained
from the family. It was said that they threw
" pieces of eight " at the swallows for amusement,
and before leaving procured from the house some
clothing fitted for bags and tools for digging.
The bags, being filled with something apparently
heavy, were carried by them to the woods, north¬
erly of the house, and probably buried. The sus¬
pected parties soon after left, no one knowing
whither they went. Subsequently Mr. Smith re¬
ceived a letter from some pirates that had been
captured, convicted, and were about to be exe¬
cuted, requesting him to come and see them, and
they would give him information that would be
of value to him ; but Mr. Smith, with the feeling of
distrust for criminals common to those days, paid
no regard to the request, and for aught known the
secret died with the writers, and may never be re¬
vealed, imless some fortunate person should dis¬
cover the hiding-place.
The area of the town of Maynard is composed of
hills and dales traversed by numerous brooks ; and
the Elzibeth River, now called the Assabet, runs
through the town, furnishing a water-power that,
being assisted by steam, is made to do the most
prominent work of the town, being aided by the
helpers located there. On this stream, above where
the mills are now built, were formerly grain-mills,
known as Jewell's mills, and lateras Smith's mills;
and about the year 1821 or 1822 a part of the
water-power was rented to James and WiUiam Rice,
two young and skilful mechanics, for the manufac¬
ture of spindles and other factory machinery for
Smith's mills at Peterborough, New Hampsliire,
and also for the mills then heing built at Waltham,
Massachusetts. But finding that there was not
sufficient power to carry on so much business, the
manufacture of mill machinery was discontinued
here, and removed elsewhere. At a later day ma¬
chinery for wool-carding was introduced, thus re¬
lieving the wives and daughters from the carding
by hand, leaving the spinning and weaving for the
occupation of their leisure hours. But the march
of improvement was still onward ; and in 1845 the
water-rights that in 1821 or 1822 were deemed
insufficient to run a grain-mill with two or three
run of stones, and a small trip-hammer for the forg¬
ing of spindles and the manufacture of other ma¬
chinery employing two men, were purchased by
Mr. Amory Maynard, William H. Knight, Esq., of
Saxonville, a carpet manufacturer, being associated
with him. Mr. Knight had sold his water-rights
to the city of Boston for a valuable consideration,
thereby securing the water of Long Pond, or Lake
Cochituate, for the citizens of Boston.
MAYNARD.
157
The works now constituting the Assabet Mills
were commenced in July, 1846, all the water-
rights supposed to be necessary having been se¬
cured the preceding season. The dam was built,
and a canal dug, turning the water from its regular
channel into its present reservoir. The dam and
superstructure where the mills now stand were com¬
pleted, so that buildings were erected and work
commenced in the mills in the spring of 1847, car¬
pets and carpet yarns to the value of $110,000
being manufectured the first year.
The water privileges of the Assabet Mills, in¬
clude, besides some two hundred acres on the
river, four hundred acres at Fort Meadow Reser¬
voir in Marlborough, and three hundred acres at
Boon's Pond and Ram's-horn Meadow, in Stow
and Hudson ; and the works have in use and hold
in reserve steam-power estimated at 4,350 horses.
Additions and improvements have been made
continually to the present time. In 1852 Mr.
Knight, being quite advanced in years, retired from
the firm, and Mr. Maynard carried on operations
alone, gradually changing the machinery to the
manufacture of blankets and fiannels, until in
1862, steam-power having been added, a stock
company was formed, with a capital of $ 200,000,
that has been increased as occasion required. At
present no carpets or blankets are made, and the
productions are fiannels, cassimeres, and cloths, to
the value of $1,800,000 per year. The mills have
now sixty sets of woollen machinery, consuming
3,500,000 pounds of wool per year.
The number of employees is about five hundred
and forty males and three hundred and thirty fe¬
males, with a pay-roll of $275,000 per year. The
mills rank the third in size and capacity in the
state, and are said to equal any in New England
in the quality of their productions. The present
capital stock is $600,000.
Other industries of the town are the paper-mills,
first buUt by William May, for the manufacture
of paper by hand, about the year 1820. After¬
wards they passed into the hands of John Sawyer,
who introduced some new machinery ; but he was
not very successful, and the mills soon passed into
the hands of William Parker, Esq., of Boston, and
at his decease his son, William T. Parker, suc¬
ceeded him. The mills have been burned some
three or more times, and, owing to the depression
of that branch of industry, have lain idle a large
proportion of the time for several years. They are
now manufacturing wall-paper, employing some
ten persons, and making about one ton per day,
of the value of $40,000 per year.
There are two cider and vinegar manufactories,
making about two thousand barrels per year.
The staple production of the farmers of the town
is milk, a large proportion being sold in the vil¬
lage, and some forty thousand cans sent to the
Boston market yearly.
The first church in the town was organized with
ten members, September 23, 1852, and called The
Evangelical Union Church. Mr. George W. Frost,
a licentiate of the Methodist Episcopal Church,
was acting pastor until May, 1854, when Rev. J.
K. Deering succeeded him. In May, 1856, Rev.
A. Morton was installed. lie was dismissed in
May, 1859, and was, in turn, succeeded by Rev.
E. P. Tenney, Rev. F. Wallace, Rev. A. H. Fletcher,
Rev. Thomas Allender, and Rev. O. Hall as acting
pastors until October, 1867, when the Rev. T. D.
P. Stone was installed, and dismissed in June,
1870. Since then Rev. Webster Hazlewood, Rev.
E. S. Huntress, Rev. B. P. Sheire, and Rev. S. S.
Mathews have beeu acting pastors. At present
Rev. C. E. Milliken, lately from Littleton, New
Hampshire, fills the place. The Methodists have
a convenient chapel, with the Rev. A. C. Godfrey
as pastor. The Catholic society have a neat church,
St. Bridget's, with Rev. M. J. McCaU as pastor.
Glenwood Cemetery was laid out in 1871, and
by the united efforts of the ladies of the town it
has been beautified by the j)lanting of a variety
of trees and flowering shrubs, a good well of water,
and a neat artistic covering for the same. The
Catholics also have a pretty cemetery of their own.
158
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
MEDFORD.
BY W. H. WHITMOEE.
IKE most of our towns, the
outline of Medford on the map
is quite irregular. Its greatest
length is about three miles and
a half, and its greatest width is
about the same. Its northern
boundary line, inclined some¬
what to the northwest and
southeast, is upon Stoneham.
Its eastern boundary is upon
Somerville, and reaches to Mys¬
tic Eiver. Its southern line, very irregular in
form, tending always towards the northwest, crosses
the river at a point about a mile from its mouth,
then continues on the Somerville line, and crosses
again to the north hank near the crossing of the
Boston and Lowell Eailroad. It then follows the
east bank of the river (here flowing south) with
Arlington opposite, till it reaches Mystic Pond.
The east shore of the pond is Medford's west bomi-
dary to the line of Winchester, when the line turns
and runs due east for nearly a mile and then north¬
east to Stoneham line again.
Substantially, these have always heen the bounds
of the town ; Stoneham was a part of Charlestown
until December 17, 1725, as was Somerville until
March 3, 1842. Arlington, formerly West Cam¬
bridge, was formed from Cambridge and Charles-
town.
In 1754, according to Brooks, Medford peti¬
tioned for and obtained an enlargement both at the
north and the south, at the expense of Charles-
town. The river seems then to be the south bound
of Medford, and the land then added seems to have
comprised the farms of Mr. Smith, James Tufts,
Jonathan Tufts, and Colonel Eoyal; and probably
it embraced all of Medford now lying south of the
river. Medford then contained only about 2,000
acres. In 1817 some land was set off from Mai¬
den to Medford. In 1875 a part of Everett was
annexed, and in 1877 a part of Medford was given
to Maiden.
Medford has no ponds within its limits ; and the
river receives but two or three little tributaries, as
Whitmore's Brook, Meeting-house Brook, Winter
Brook, etc. The most noted hill is Pine Hill, near
Spot Pond, though the surface is very much diver-
sifled, and numerous ranges of hills abound.
The origin of the name of Medford is unknown.
No town or hamlet of the name appears in the
English gazetteers now. In Dudley's letter to the
Countess of Lincoln, dated March 28, 1631, he
states that the new-comers were obliged to " plant
dispersedly .... some of us upon Mistiek,
which we named Meadford." It seems, however,'
that Governor Cradock was a cadet of the family
at Caverswall in Staffordshire, and that very near
there was a liamlet called Mayford, but formerly
spelt Metford. Cradock's widow and daughter
describe their lands in New England as " in our
manor of Metford in New England." Again we
notice ''' that the parish of Maidford, now Towcester,
in Northamptonshire, England, was called Med¬
ford in the seventeenth century. Either of these
may have given a name to. our town, especially as
Dudley was born in Northampton.
The town is first mentioned in our records of
the General Court, September 28, 1630, when
Meadford is taxed £3. It is accordingly consid-
dered as the seventh town in the state in chrono¬
logical order.
Brooks states that about 1680 the inhabitants
petitioned for an act of incorporation and were
answered by the General Court that the town had
been incorporated under a general act in 1630, and
could at any time organize and choose a representa¬
tive. He adds that Stephen Willis was elected rep¬
resentative February 25, 1684. But the printed
records of the legislature contain no such answer,
nor is any deputy recorded from Medford during
the time of the first charter, that is, until 1686.
The General Court did pass a vote,® October 15,
1684, as follows : " In answer to the petition of
^ See N. E. Historical and Oenealogieal Register, X. 2îl-
® Our authoriiy is The Genealogist (London, 1879). HI
I ' Printed Records, V. 456.
MEDFORD.
159
Mr. Nathaniel Wade and Peter Tuffts, in behalf of
the inhabitants of Meadford, the Court judgeth it
meete to grant the petitioners request, and declares
that Meadford hath been and is a peculiar, and
hath power as other towns, as to prudentials, &c."
In fact, the views expressed by Frothiugham
{History of Charlestown, 70-92) seem entirely cor¬
rect. Medford was a plantation rather than a town
until the date of the new charter. Its records be¬
gin with the first Monday of February, 1677, when
"Joseph Wade, John Hall, and Stephen Willis
were chosen selectmen for ordering of the affairs
of the plani^ition for the year ensuing." '
It is indisputable that the first establishment of
Medford came from the grant in 1634, by the
General Court to Matthew Cradock ? He is thought
to have owned some 3,500 acres ; and though he
never came to New England, he sent his servants
and supplied them with money to build a house, a
ship-yard, a bridge, and to make other improve¬
ments. Wood writes to this effect in 1634. After
Cradock's death, his widow and daughter, in 1652,
sold their laud to Edward Collins. In 1656 Col¬
lins sold the house and 1,600 acres of the land to
Eichard Eussell of Charlestown ; and in 1661 the
latter sold the house and 1,200 acres to Jonathan
Wade. In 1677 the Eussell heirs sold 350 acres
to Peter Tufts. Collins seems later to have sold a
farm of 500 acres, one eighth going to Caleb Ho-
bart of Braintree (who sold, in 1678, to his brother-
in-law, John Whitmore of Medford), and other parts
to Stephen Willis or Willowes (another brother-
in-law), John Poulter (step-son of Whitmore),
Thomas Willis, and John Hall. Thus a family
settlement sprang up at this ¡Joint. In 1660 Col¬
lins sold 400 acres to Thomas Brooks and Timothy
Wheeler.
The following extracts will give some idea of the
early settlement at Medford. Wood's New Eng¬
land's Prospect (Prince Society edition, p. 43) has
the following descriptions, which we modernize in
copying.
" Towards the northwest of this bay is a great
creek, upon whose shore is situated the village of
1 Brooks, p. 97.
' That Governor Cradock's plantation was established prior
to September 28, 1630, is evident from the proceedings of an in¬
quest taken from the colony records of that date : —
" A jury impanelled to inquire couccroing the death of Austen
Bratcher .... dying lately at Mr. Cradock's Plantation," ad¬
judged Waller Palmer guilty of manslaughter. The date of this
occurrence is thus fixed between the courts of September 7 and
September 28. — Bo.
Medford, a very fertile and pleasant place, and fit
for more inhabitants than are yet in it."
Again, p. 44, he writes : —
" The next town is Mistick, which is three miles
from Charlestown by laud, and a league and a half
by water. It is seated by the water's side very
pleasantly ; there are not many houses as yet. At
the head of this river are great and spacious ponds,
whither the alewives press to spawn. This being
a noted place for that kind of fish, the English
resort hither to take them. On the west side of
this river the Governor has a farm, where he keeps
most of his cattle. On the east side is Mr. Crad-
dock's plantation, where he has impaled a park,
where he keeps his cattle, till he can store it with
deer. Here, likewise, he is at charges of building
ships, lire last year, one was upon the stocks of
a hundred tons ; that being finished, they are to
build one twice her burden. Ships, without either
ballast or loading, may float down this river; other¬
wise, the oysterbank would hinder them which
crosseth the channel."
In Wiuthrop's Journal, page 74, Vol. I., of the
edition of 1853, we find the following passage : —
"The governor,being at his farm-house at Mis-
tick, walked out after supper, and took a piece in
his hand, supposing he might see a wolf, (for they
came daily about the house, and killed swine and
calves, etc. ;) and, being about half a mile off, it
grew suddenly dark, so as, in coming home, he
mistook his path, and went till he came to a little
house of Sagamore John, which stood empty.
There he stayed, and having a piece of match in
his pocket, (for he always carried about him match
and a compass, and in summer snake-weed,) he
made a good fire near the house, and lay down
upon some old mats, which he found there, and so
spent the night, sometimes getting wood, but could
not sleep. It was (through God's mercy) a warm
night ; but a little before day it began to rain, and
having no cloak, he made shift by a long pole to
climb up into the house. In the morning, there
came thither an Indian squaw, but perceiving her
before she had opened the door, he barred her out ;
yet she stayed there a great while essaying to get
in, and at last she went away, and he returned safe
home, his servants having been much perplexed
for him, and having walked about, and shot off
pieces, and hallooed in the night, but he heard
them not."
Again, under date of February 7, 1631 - 32, we
find: —
IGO
HISTORY OF MIDBLESEX COUNTY.
"The governour, Mr. Nowell, Mr. Eliot, and
others, went over Mistick River at Medford, and
going N. and by E. among the rocks about two or
three miles, they came to a very great pond, hav¬
ing in the midst an island of about one acre, and
very thick with trees of pine and beech ; and the
pond had divers small rocks, standing up here and
there in it, which they therefore called bpot Pond.
Tiiey went all about it upon the ice. From thenee
(towards the N. W. about half a mile,) they came
to the top of a very high rock, beneatii whicli,
(towards the N.) lies a goodly plain, part open
land, and part woody, from whence there is a fair
prospect, but it being then close and rainy, they
could see but a small distance. Tliis place they
called Cheese Rock, because, when they went to
eat somewhat, they had only cheese, (the govern-
our's man forgetting, for haste, to put up some
bread)
John Dunton visited Medford in 1686, and writes
a trifle about it.^ He says he " took Sanctuary
in a Publick, where there was extra-ordinary good
Cyder, and tho' I had n't such a Noble Treat as at
Captain Jenner's; yet with the Cyder and such
other Entertainment as the House afforded (to¬
gether with my Landlord and my Landlady's good
Company), I made a very pretty thing on't."
" By this time, the rain was over, tho' it still
remain'd Cloudy ; and therefore I thought it was
best taking Time by the Fore-lock, and go back
to Boston while it held up, there being nothing
remarkable to be seen at Medford, which is but a
small Village, consisting of a few Houses."
Captain Francis Goelet was here in 1750. In
his journal^ he writes; "Passed through Mis-
tick, which is a small town of about a hundred
houses, pleasantly situated ; near to which is a flne
country seat belonging to Mr. Isaac Royall, being
one of the grandest in North America."
The fact that the references are so few is a proof
tiiat Medford was an exceptionally quiet place, with
few attractions to travellers. On this point a most
competent critic ® writes as follows : —
" Of so flourishing a town as Medford, the set¬
tlement of which had been made as early as that
of any other, except Charlestown, in the bay, it is
remarkable that the early history is very meagre.
From several statements of its proportion of the
' Leltnrs from New England, pp. 154, 155.
2 Printed in New England Historical and Genealoqical Reais-
ter. Vol. XXIV. p. 58.
' Savage, Wiuthrop's Journal, II. 195.
public charges in the colony rates, it must be con¬
cluded that it was, within the first eight years,
superior in wealth at different times to Newbury,
Ipswich, Hingham, Weymouth, all ancient towns,
furnished with regular ministers. Yet the pumber
of people was certainly small ; and the weight of
the tax was probably borne by the property of
Governor Cradock, there invested for fishing and
other purposes. When that establishment was with¬
drawn, I suppose the town languished many years.
Simon Bradstreet and James Noyes preached. Tlie
consequences of their subsequent destitution of the
best means of religion were very unhappy. The
town was poorly inhabited, the people much divided,
occasionally prosecuted for their deficiencies, and
long in a miserable condition. A long period
of happiness at last arrived in the times of Turell
and Osgood ; and, for more than a century, Med¬
ford has appeared one of the most thriving villages
in the vicinity of Boston."
The families connected with the town during the
first century from its foundation were those of
Wade, Hall, Willis, Brooks, Whitmore, Tufts,
Francis, Bradshaw, Symmes, Royall, Blanchard, and
Seccomb. Descendants of most of these still re¬
main in the town or its vicinity. Boston having
in this case, as in many others, drawn largely from
its rural neighbors.-
Indian History.— The renowned Sachem of the
Pawtuckets was Nanepashemit, who removed from
Lynn, in 1615, and took up his abode on Mystic
River, where he was killed in 1619. During his
short and eventful residence in Medford his house
was placed on Rock Hill, where he could best
watch canoes in the river.
The histories represent him as living in Medfoid,
not far from the river or from the pond, and on
the tops of hills.^ This eminent Grand Sachem was
the father of Sagamore John of Mystic, Sagamore
^ In connectioa with recent discoveries of Indian remains in
Medford, it is interesting to refer to what Mr. Brooks says in his
history.
" Remnants of the Indian tribes were common till the begin¬
ning of the present century. In Medfoi-d they lived in Turkey
Swamp. So late even as our day farmers in Medford have
ploughed up stone arrow-heads, stone drills, and other Indian
weapons and tools. No Indian necropolis has yet been discov¬
ered, though one probably exists on the borders of our pond."
The following, communicated by Professor Marshall of Tufts
College, curiously corroborates Biooks* conjecture. — Ed.
" College Hill, Nov. 3,1879.
" Some years ago Mr. Simms, the present superintendent of the
Mystic Water-Works, called my attention to some human bones
which he had discovered near the road leading from Curtis Street
to the engine-house. On visiting the place and making slight
MEDFORD.
161
James of Lynn, and Sagamore George of Salem.
George finally became Sachem of the Pawtuckets.
After the death of Naiiepashemit, his wife, as
queen and squaw sachem, reigned. She married
Webcowit, the physician of the tribe, "its pow¬
wow, priest, witch, sorcerer, and chirurgeoii." In
1637 the Squaw Sachem deeded a tract of land in
Musketaquid (Concord). In 1639 she deeded a
tract to Charlestown (now Somerville) ; also another
tract to Jotham Gibbon of Boston. This last deed
is as follows : —
"This testifies that I, the Sachem which have
right and possession of the ground which I re¬
served from Charlestown and Cambridge, which
lies against the Ponds of Misticke with the said
ponds, I do freely give to Jotham Gibbon, his
heyres, executors, and assigns for ever ; not vrilling
to have him or his disturbed in the said gift after
my death. And this I do without seeking too of
him or any of his, but I receiving many kind¬
nesses of them, and willing to acknowledge their
excavations, we discovered the skeletons of an adult and of an
infant within a few inehes of the surface, the head, in each in¬
stance, turned toward the west.
" At that time it was not suspected that they were Indian re¬
mains, and nothing mure was thought of the matter until last
month, when Mr. SImms again brought me a few hones aud a
specimen of red ochre which had been dug up near the place
where the skeletons had been previously discovered.
" A new road has been constructed the present year, leading
more directly from the reservoir on the top of College Hill to the
Pumping Works on the Mystic, aud at the junction of this with
the old road the workmen engaged in making a sidewalk found
eight or ten skeletons of adults, within a foot of the surfaee, the
Uhads all placed toward the west. The hones were for. the most
part quite fragile, only a few of the longest being strong enough
to bear removal from the clayey soil in which they were em¬
bedded. The molar teeth were very much worn dowu, though
otherwise in excellent preservation.
" Near one of the largest skeletons was found more than a peck
of red ochre, that lay as if originally deposited in some reeeptaclc
—perhaps a basket — which had a circular form.
" Undci-neath the same skeleton was dug out a fine stone chisel,
made of dark porphyry, whose length is about six inches and its
breadth ahont two inches on the cutting edge. This is preserved
in the museum of Tufts College.
" A few stone arrow-heads picked up near the remains, together
with the discovery of the stone chisel and the red ochre, which
was the favonte war-paint of the Indians, would seem to indicate
strongly that this is the necropolis of the Medford Indians, whose
existence had been suspected, but could not he determined until
these excavations for a highway had been made through it.
" Its location is on the northwest slope of College Hill, about
midway between its summit and the Mystic River, at the junction
of the two roads leading from Cm-tis Street to the eugiue-house
of the Mystic 'Water-Works.
" With great res|>ect I am
" Yours very truly,
"John P. Maushai,l."
many kindnesses by this small gift to their son,
Jotham Gibons.
"Witness my hand, the 13th of 11 mo., 1636.
" The SquA Sachem € marke.
" Webecowit O marke.
" Witness, Edmund Quincy."
Another grant, by the " Squa Sachem of Mistick,"
of lands bordering on Medford, is as follows : —
"The 15th of the 2d mo., 1639: Wee, Web-
Cowet and Squa Sachem, do sell unto the inhabi¬
tants of the towne of Charlestowne all the land
within the line granted them by the Court (except¬
ing the farmes and the ground on the west of the
two great ponds, called Misticke Ponds), from the
south side of Mr. Nowell's lott, neere the upper
end of the ponds, unto the little runnel that cometh
from Capt. Cook's mills, wliich the Squa reserveth
to their use, for her life, for the Indians to plant
and hunt upon, and the weare above the ponds
they also reserve for tiie Indians to fish at whiles
the Squa liveth; and, after the death of Stpia
Sachem, she doth leave all her Lands, from Mr.
Mayhue's house to neere Salem, to the present
Governor, Mr. John Wintlirop, sen., Mr. Increase
Nowell, Mr. John Willson, Mr. Edward Gibons,
to dispose of, and all Indians to depart ; and, for
sattisfaction from Charlestowne, wee acknowledge
to have received, in full sattisfaction, twenty and
one coates, ninten fathom of wampon, and three
bushels of corn. In witness whereof, we have here
unto sett o'r hands the day and year above named.
" The mark of SquA Sachem, m'c.
" The mark of Web-Cowet, m."
This queen died in Aledford before 1662, as
appears from the following documents in the second
volume of Middlesex Registry of Deeds : —
"Mr. Francis Norton and Nicholas Davison
(Mr. Cradock's agent) do, in the name of the in¬
habitants of Charlestown, lay claim to the tract of
land reserved to Squa Sachem during her lifetime,
and which is at present possessed and improved by
Thomas Gleison of Charlestown ; this land bounded
on the east by Mystic Pond, on the west by Cam¬
bridge Common, on the south by the land of Mr.
Cooke, on the north formerly in the possession of
Mr. Increase Nowell.
" This demand and claim was made in the person
of John Pennell and Mr. William Sims, the 25th
of March, 1662, at the house of Thomas Gleison.
" Entered 29th of March, 1662, by T. Danforth.
" Signed, John Fennell.
" Wm. Simmes."
162
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Sagamore Joliti, whose Indian name was Wono-
haquaham, lived in Medford, and probably occu¬
pied at times the house of his father. He was
friendly to our ancestors ; he gave them perinis-
sion to settle, and afterwards apprised them of tlie
premeditated assault of the unfriendly Indians.
He died in Medford, December 5, 1633.
The following affidavits refer to grants of land at
an early date : —
" The testimony of Benjaraiu Crispe, aged about
31 years. Testifieth and saith that about twenty-
six years agoe, Squa Sachem told mee often times,
that shee had given unto Jotham Gibbons 500
acres or more of land, lying neer the brooke, that
now goes by the Name of Capt. Cooke's brooke,
which said Land has a house built upon [it] long
since, and part of the said Land fensed in ; and
further this Deponent saith that Major Gibbons
possessed the whole Land, for his sonne Jotham
Gibbons about 26 years agoe, and further this
Deponent saith that Major Gibbons- would have
had mee improove this Land that now is in contro-
versie for his sonne, Jotham Gibbons, and sent by
his men unto mee to fence in the said Land, and
this was about the time above said. Charls-towne,
17, 10, 1662.
" Sworne in Court as attests
" Thomas Danforth, Recorder."
"The testimony of Eichard Beers, Benjamin
Crispe and Garret Church, Testifieth and saith that
Mr. Thomas Mayhew lived at Mistick alias Mead-
ford in the yeare, one thousand six hundred thirty
and six. Charls-Towne the 17th of the 10th, 1662.
" Sworne in Court as attests
"Thomas Dkmovii-a, Recorder."
" I, Thomas Convars, do further testify that I
was sent to those Gentlemen for a resignation of
this land now in controversie and no other. Charls-
towne, 17, 10, '62.
" Sworne in Court as attests
" Thomas Danforth, R."
"I, Joseph Hills, aged about 60 yeares, testify
that about 1638, Mr. Davison lived at Meadford
house, who shewed me the accomodations of the
farme, being about to take the said farme and stock
of him and Captaine Will. Ting ; and I testify that
Mr. Mayhew did not then dwell at Meadford house
to the best of my Knowledge. 17, 10, 1662.
" Acknowledged in Court by the party as attests
"Thomas Danforth, R."
An easy transition from these records leads us
to consider the old houses which have been a part
of the history of the town.
The old two-story brick house in East Medford,
on Ship Street, is one of the most precious relics
of antiquity in New England. That it was built by
Mr. Cradock soon after the arrival of his company
of cai-penters, fishermen, and farmers, is abundantly
proved. It has been called the Fort and the Gar¬
rison House, because its walls were so thick, and
because it had close outside shutters and port-holes.
It is eertainly well placed for a house of defence.
It is on land slightly elevated, where no higher
land or rocks could be used by enemies to assail
it, and is so near the river as to allow of reinforce¬
ments from Boston. Its walls are eighteen inches
thick. There were heavy iron bars aeross the two
large arched windows, which are near the ground,
in the back of the house; and there are several
fire-proof closets within the building. The house
stood in an open field for a century and a half,
and could be approached only by a private road
through gates. As the outside door was cased
with iron, it is certain that it was intended to be
fire-proof. There was one pane of glass, set in
iron, placed in the back wall of the western chim¬
ney, so as to afford a sight of persons coming from
the town.
" The bricks are not English bricks either in size,
color, or workmanship. They are from eight to
eight and a half inches long, from four to four and
a quarter inches wide, and from two and a quarter
to two and three quarters inches thick. They have
the color of the bricks made afterwards in East Med¬
ford. They are hastily made, but very well bunied.
They are not like the English bricks of the Old
South Church in Boston. The house has under¬
gone few changes. Mr. Francis Shedd, who bought
it about fifty years ago, found the east end so de¬
cayed and leaky that he took a part of it down
and rebuilt it. There is a tradition that in early
times Indians were discovered lurking around it
for several days and nights, and that a skirmish
took place between them and the white men ; but
we have not been able to verify the facts or fix the
date.
" The park impaled by Mr. Cradock probably in-
eluded this house. It is undoubtedly one of the
oldest buildings in the United States ; perhaps the
oldest that retains its first form.
" The other old brick house, built probably about
the same time and by the same persons, was not
Cradock House.
MEDFORD.
165
largi'. It stood about five hundred feet north of
Ship Street, and about five hundred feet west of
Park Street, opposite Mr. Magoun's ship-yard,
and was taken down many years ago by that gentle¬
man.
" The third house was built by Major Jonathan
Wade, who died in 1689. It was sometimes called,
like the other two, a fort, and is yet standing in
good repair, and used as a comfortable residence.
It is seen from the main street as we look up the
Governor's Lane. Its walls are very thick, and it
is ornamented with what have been called port¬
holes. When first built it was only half its pres¬
ent size j the addition was made by Benjamin Hall,
Esq., about seventy-five years ago."
The Eoyall House, so called from having once
been occupied by Colonel Eoyall, is of course of
less antiquity, but it is of interest as a specimen
of the style in which the rich men lived in the
colonial period. The present aspect of the place
is thus described by Mr. Drake : —
" The brick quarters which the slaves occupied
are situated on the south side of the mansion and
front upon the courtyard, one side of which they
enclose. These have remained unchanged, and are,
we believe, the last visible relics of slavery in New
England. The deep fireplace where the blacks
prepared their food is still there, and the roll of
slaves has certainly been called in sight of Bunker
Hill, though never on its summit.
" At either end of the building the brick wall,
furnished with a pair of stout chimneys, rises above
the pitched roof. The cornice and corners are
relieved by ornamental wood-work, while the west
face is panelled, and further decorated with fluted
pilasters. On this side, too, the original windows
are seen.
" The Eoyall House stood in the midst of grounds
laid out in elegant taste, and embellished with fruit-
trees and shrubbery. These grounds were sepa¬
rated from the highway by a low brick wall now
demolished. The gateway opening upon the grand
avenue was flanked by wooden posts. Farther to
the right was the carriage-drive, on either side of
which stood massive stone gate-posts, as antique
in appearance as anything about the old mansion.
Seventy paces back from the road, along the broad
gravelled walk, bordered with box, brings you to
the door.
" Behind the house, as we view it, was an en¬
closed garden of lialf an acre or more, with walks,
fruit, and a summer-house at the farther extremity.
No doubt this was the favorite resort of the family
and their guests.
" This summer-house, a veritable curiosity in its
way, is placed upon an artificial mound, with two
terraces, and is reached by broad flights of red
sandstone steps. It is octagonal in form, with a
bell-shaped roof, surmounted by a cupola, on which
is placed a figure of Mercury.
"Without lingering in the hall of entrance far¬
ther than to mark the elaborately carved balusters
and the panelled wainscot, we passed into the suit
of apartments at the right hand, the reception-
rooms proper of the house. These were divided
in two by an arch, in which folding-doors were
concealed ; and from floor to ceiling the walls were
panelled in wood, the panels being of single pieces,
some of them a yard in breadth. In the rear
apartment, and opening to the north, were two
alcoves, each flanked by fluted pilasters on which
rested an arch enriched with mouldings and carved
ornaments. Each recess had a window furnished
with seats, so inviting for a tête-a-tête, where the
ladies of the household sat with their needlework ;
these windows were sealed up in winter. The
heavy cornice formed an elaborate finish to this
truly elegant saloon.
" The second floor was furnished with four cham¬
bers, all opening on a spacious and airy hall. Of
these the northwest room only demands special de¬
scription. It had alcoves similar to those already
mentioned in the apartment underneath, but in¬
stead of panels the walls were finished above the
wainscot with a covering of leather on which were
embossed, in gorgeous colors, flowers, birds, pago¬
das, and the concomitants of a Chinese paradise.
On this side the original windows, with the small
glass and heavy frames, still remain."
Distinguished Citizens. — The most noted citi¬
zen of Medford in the early part of the eighteenth
century was undoubtedly John Usher. He in¬
herited considerable money from his father, and
increased it by successful business, first as a book¬
seller and afterwards in foreign trade. He was
a counsellor under Dudley, and counsellor and
treasurer under Andros. He was a son-in-law of
that Samuel Allen, a London merchant, who bought
out the claims of the Mason heirs to the pro¬
prietorship of New Hampshire. Usher was made
lieutenant-governor there in 1692, and was thence¬
forward engaged in endless controversies with the
settlers.
Much of his correspondence with the Home
166
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Office remains, and quotations will be found in the
fourth volume of Palfrey's history. This author
writes : "Usher's want of personal dignity provoked
gross affronts His invariable style of speak¬
ing and writing had a ludicrous peculiarity, consist¬
ing partly in the omission of connecting words.
The following is a specimen of his characteristic
manner : ' Acts of Parliament ought not to be laws
for plantations, unless had representatives in Par¬
liament, if may write plainly, are not for Kingly
but for commonwealth government, which pray
libera nos.' " Lord Bellomont speaks of Usher's
choleric temper, and, indeed, his administration
was at a time and under circumstances calculated to
provoke the mildest temper. As the representative
of the claimants of the soil under a royal grant, he
had to wage a ceaseless contest with the actual .set¬
tlers, — " squatters," as they may be termed.
He held office at intervals, often going to Mas¬
sachusetts or to England, until 1715, when he was
displaced. Vaughan wrote then^: " We pray Lieu¬
tenant-Governor Usher may have his quietus, which
he said he had often written to England for. He
complains his office is a burden to him, and so't is
a pity but both were eased."
He withdrew to Medford, where he died Septem¬
ber 25, 1726. His widow sold his estate of 504
acres and his house, to Colonel Eoyal, December
26, 1733, for £10,350.
He left a son, Eev. John Usher (H. C. 1719),
a clergyman at Bristol, E. I., whose son was also
ordained, and descendants are still living in that
state. An own cousin to Lieutenant-Governor
Usher was Eobert Usher of Dunstable, who left
descendants, one of whom, Eobert, moved to Med¬
ford, where he died in 1793. Of his sons, Eev.
James M. Usher has been prominent in political
affairs, as has also Eoland G. Usher of Lynn,
late United States marshall for Massachusetts.
In 1724 Medford acquired as its pastor Eev.
Ebenezer Turell. He was a clergyman of consid¬
erable note, an author in a small way, a clear¬
headed and useful man during his long ministry of
over fifty years. He opposed Whitefield and his
revivals, but he also wrote against witchcraft. He
married Jane, daughter of Eev. Benjamin Colman,
and he printed biographies of his wife and his
father-in-law. Mrs. Turell was one of our few
American authoresses before the Eevolution, and
she was perhaps the most able of them. Her me¬
moirs show that she possessed a decided poetical
' Palfrey, IV. 353.
inclination, and her religious convictions, though
strong, had not the morbid tendency so often shown
in the writings of that date. A century after her
death her poems were quoted and praised in Black¬
wood's Magazine, when any literary ability in an
American was deemed a wonder. Both husband
and wife may be included among our notabili¬
ties.
The following extracts from the Memoir of Mrs.
Turell present a fair view of her character, and
indicate slightly her literary abilities.
"Before her second Year was compleated she
could speak distinctly, knew her Letters, and could
relate many Stories out of the Scriptures to the
Satisfaction and Pleasure of the most Judicious.
I have heard that Govemour Dudley, with other
Wise and Polite Gentlemen, have plac'd her on
a Table and setting round it own'd themselves
diverted with her Stories. Before she was four
Years old (so strong and tenacious was her Mem¬
ory) she could say the greater Part of the Assem¬
bly's Catechism, many of the Psalms, some hundred
Lines of the best Poetry, read distinctly, and make
pertinent Eemarks on many things she read.
" Li this her Eleventh Year I find an Hymn fairly
written by her, dated January 4, 1718, Which 1
give you Verbatim.
' I Pear the Great Eternal One above.
The God of Grace the God of Love :
He to whom Seraphims Hallelujah's sing.
And Angels do their Songs and Praises bring.
Happy the Soul that does in Heaven rest,
Wliere with his Savior be is ever blest ;
With heavenly Joys and Rapture is possest,
No Tho'ts but of his God inspire bis Breast.
Happy are they that walk in Wisdom Ways,
That tread her Paths, and shine in all her Rays.'
" When 1 was first inclin'd (by the Motions of
God's Providence and Spirit) to seek her Acquaint¬
ance (which was about the Time she entered her
nineteenth Year) 1 was surpriz'd and charm'd to
find her so accomplish'd. 1 found her in a good
measure Mistress of the politest Writers and their
Works ; could point out the Beauties in them, and
had made many of their best Tho'ts her own : And
as she went into more free Conversation, she dis-
cours'd how admirably on many Subjects !
" An Invitation into the Country, in Imitation
of Horace, left only in a rough Copy.
' From the soft Shades, and from the balmy Sweets
Of Medford's flow'ry Vales, and green Retreats,
Your absent Delia to her Father sends
And prays to see him 'ere the Summer ends.
MEDFORD.
167
'Now while the Earth's witli beauteous Verdure dy'd
And Flora paints the Mends in all her Pride;
While laden Trees Pomonia's Bounty own.
And Ceres Treasures do the Fields adorn.
From the thick Smokes, and noisy Town, O come.
And in these Plains a while forget your Home.'
"The People, among whom she liv'd the last
eight Years of her Life, both Old and Young had
a Love and Veneration for her; as a Person of the
strictest Virtue and undefil'd Eeligion. Her Inno¬
cence, Modesty, Ingenuity, and Devotion charin'd
all into an Admiration of her. And I question
whether there has been more Grief and Sorrow
shown at the Death of any private Person, by Peo¬
ple of all Banks, to whom her Virtues were known ;
Mourning, for the Loss sustain'd by ourselves, not
for her, nor-as others who have no Hope. For it
is beyond Doubt that she died in the Lord, and is
Blessed."
About 1737 Isaac Eoyall returned from An¬
tigua, where he had gained a fortune, and estab¬
lished himself at Medford. He died two years
later, leaving a son, Isaac, and a daughter, Pe¬
nelope, who married Henry Vassall.
The sou inherited a grand estate, and lived in
the house still known by his name,^ in a style pro¬
portionate to his wealth and standing. He was a
representative fromGharlestown from 1743 to 1752,
was chosen a councillor in 1752, and afterwards
annually until 1774, when he was one of the Man¬
damus Councillors. He was probably not a man
of strong nerve or decided opinions; certainly a
lover of the province in which he lived and had
been honored. Timidity seems to have caused
him to fly to Halifax and thence to England when
hostilities commenced here. He always claimed
that he left intending only to go to Antigua for
his health. His property was, however, seques¬
trated, and he never returned, dying in London in
1781. He left three daughters, married respec¬
tively to Thomas Savel, Sir William Pepperell,
the younger, and George Erving, and through
them has many descendants now in England. By
his will he gave the town one hundred acres of
land in Granby in aid of the schools. He also
gave to Harvard College 2,000 acres in Granby
and Eoyalston, which gift was to endow a pro¬
fessorship of law, physic,-or anatomy, as might be
deemed best. In 1815 the Eoyall Professorship
of Law was accordingly established.
1 Brooks «ays (lIMory, p. 178) that the house was huilt by
leaac, Jr., and waa an eulargement of the old house built by
John Uiher.
The Eoyall property in Medford was kept to¬
gether, and it seems that in 1805 the legislature
gave a deed of the land to Eobert Fletcher of Lon¬
don, and that the heirs sold their rights to him in
1806 for £16,000. Jacob Tidd, in 1810, bought
the estate.
In the first half of the last century Medford had
reason to be proud of the three sons of Peter Sec-
comb. These were Eev. John of Harvard, Massa¬
chusetts, afterwards of Nova Scotia, whose clerical
position did not prevent him from giving utterance
to certain humorous compositions which make a
pleasing contrast to the bulk of our early litera¬
ture. The best-known of thesg is a poem entitled
Father Abbey's Will, often reprinted. Another
son was Eev. Joseph Seccomb of Kingston, New
Hampshire, and the third was the faithful and dili¬
gent town-clerk of Medford for many years, Thomas
Seccomb.
Prior to the Eevolution the following graduates
are to be credited to Medford : Thomas, John,
Simon, Joshua, Simon, Cotton, Simon, and Cotton
Tufts, Aaron Porter, Ebenezer Turell, Amrai C.
Cutter, William Whitmore, Samuel and Edward
Brooks, William Symmes, Samuel Aiigier, David
Osgood, John Bishop, and Ephraim Hall. Since
that date the list has greatly increased, and still
grows.
The most distinguished citizen born in the town
was John Brooks, governor of Massachusetts for
seven years from 1816 to 1823. He was born in
Medford in 1752, his family being one of the most
numerous and prosperous of the original settlers
there. He was placed in charge of Dr. Simon
Tufts, a noted physician of the town, with whom
he studied medicine until he was twenty-one. He
then settled in Beading, where he married, but
abandoned his home at the beginning of the Eevo-
lutionary War. He was in the flght following the
battle of Lexington, and joined the army besieging
Boston. He served throughout the war with great
credit, arriving at the rank of colonel. Later he
received the position of major-general in the state
militia. Eeturning to Medford when peace was
declared, he attained a prominent place as a phy¬
sician, whilst political honors were also freely
bestowed upon him. The inscription upon his
monument sums up his character. " He was a
kind and skilful physician; a brave and prudent
oflicer ; a wise, firm and impartial magistrate ; a
true patriot, a good citizen and a faithful friend.
In his maimers, he was a gentleman ; in morals,
168
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
pure ; and in profession and practice, a consistent
Christian. He departed this life in peace, on the
1st of March, 1825, aged seventy-three." His son
John, a lieutenant of marines, was killed Septem¬
ber 13, 1813, at Perry's victory on Lake Erie.
Other branches of the Brooks family have pro¬
duced notable men. Samuel Brooks (cousin to
Caleb Brooks, father of governor John) had sons,
Thomas and Edward. The grandson of the former
was Eev. Charles Brooks, who was born and died
at Medford, a writer on many subjects, and espe¬
cially noteworthy as the historian of his native town.
Edward Brooks had a son, Peter Chardon Brooks,
who acquired a large fortune in commerce at Bos¬
ton, but who retained always a home in Medford.
His descendants have continued to reside there,
and have been generous benefactors to the town.
A nephew, William G. Brooks, was an antiquary
of some note, and was the father of four clergymen,
one of them being Eev. Phillips Brooks of Trinity
Church, Boston.
Maria (Gowen) Brooks,^ called by Southey " the
most impassioned and most imaginative of poet¬
esses," was born in Medford in 1797. At fourteen
she married Mr. Brooks, a wealthy Boston mer¬
chant, who had interested himself in her education.
Widowed in 1823, she went to Cuba, which sub¬
sequently became her home, and where she died
about 1845.
Her most important ■wox\.,Zôphiël; or, The Bride
of Seven, was published in 1825, in Boston, subse¬
quently in London, and has recently been repub¬
lished in this country. Southey, between whom
and this gifted authoress a close friendship sub¬
sisted, gave her the name of Maria del Occidente.
Her son. Colonel Horace Brooks, U. S. A., entered
West Point through the interest of Lafayette.
Eev. David Osgood, the successor of Mr. Turell,
was an author of some note ; Brooks gives the titles
of some twenty pamphlets published by him.
Eev. Convers Francis and his sister, Mrs. Lydia
Maria Child, are both to be reckoned among our
native authors, although the former happened to be
born in a neighboring town. Their father was a
Medford man, and the family had been here for
several generations. Mrs. Child was born at Med¬
ford in 1802. Her literary career began before she
was twenty, Hobomok being published in 1821, and
The Rebele in 1822. The catalogue of her printed
works is too lengthy for our space, not to men-
' Notices of Mrs. Brooks, Mrs. Child, aud Mrs. Rowson are
by the Editor.
tion contributions to newspapers, controversial es¬
says, etc., which her busy pen has produced. It is
sufficient to say that she achieved success in fiction,
biography, aesthetic literature, and what may be
termed the literature of the kitchen; her Frugal
Housewife having had a prodigious sale. But the
governing purpose to which much — we may say
most — of Mrs. Child's literary life has been dedi¬
cated was the abolition of slavery, and in this cause
her labors were unremitted until the day when eman¬
cipation became a fact assured by the logic of events.
Her Appealfor Africans, printed in 1833, was the
first American antislavery book. From that time
this dominant motive may be traced in the long list
of Mrs. Child's publications. In 1841, in conjunc¬
tion with her husband, David Lee Child, of Boston,
whom she married in 1828, she edited The Anti-
slavery Standard, in New York. It should be
no small gratification to one who is now " looking
towards sunset," to know that emancipation achieved
was the legitimate result of persistent agitation and
unwavering devotion to a cause by herself and
others of a like life-purpose with herself. Mrs.
Child now resides in "Wayland.
Mrs. Susanna Eowson, author of the once cele¬
brated novel, Charlotte Temple, resided here from
1800 to 1803, in a house afterwards occupied by
the Hon. Timothy Bigelow.^ Here she kept her
excellent school for young ladies, and here some of
her books were written. Such was the purity of
her character, that though she had been an actress
and was a novel-writer, rigid Orthodox people, who
abhorred both, intrusted their daughters' education
to her. Her life has been written by the Eev. Ehas
Nason, a former resident of Medford.
We may also recall the fact that Eev. John Pier-
pont, also an antislavery and temperance reformer,
and a voluminous author, preached for seven years
in Medford, and died here in 1866.
Several of the clergymen who have been settled
here for a time have been eminent as authors, but
none perhaps are distinctively connected with our
town. Eev. Edward B. Hall, who was bom here,
spent nearly all his life in Providence, and most bf
his writings are connected with his pastorate there.
Military Affairs.— Of course Medford had to
bear its share in providing soldiers from its first
' Son of Colonel Timothy Bigelow, of Worcester, and a lawyer
of some note. He was bom in 1767, and died in 1821. Mr.
Bigelow served many terms in the Massachusetts legislatme.
His son, John P. Bigelow, was mayor of Boston ; his dsnghler,
Katherine, married Hon. Abbott Lawrence. — En.
MEDFORD.
169
settlement. Every settler was of necessity a soldier
encamped in a hostile country. Every generation
had a war, and the martial spirit of New England
has never flagged. As a little town, the Medford
contingent was naturally joined to the troop of
some neighbor. In 1658 the Medford men were
allowed to join the Cambridge band instead of the
Charlestown troop. It is greatly to be regretted
that no one has made use of the abundant records
remaining, to prepare a suitable account of the mili¬
tary organizations of colonial times.
As a matter of curiosity we insert a copy of a
petition from the wife of a worthy citizen, who sur¬
vived the perils of war to be for many years the
deacon of the church at Medford and the ancestor
of a quite numerous family. The writer was a niece
of Eev. John Eliot, and may have hoped to obtain
special favor through her influential relative.
" Petition of Rachel Whitmore.
"To the Hon. Simon Bradstreet, Esq., Governor,
and the rest of the Honored Magistrates now
sitting in Boston, The humble petition of
Bachell Whitmore, wife of John Whitmore.
"Whereas, your Petitioner's husband was im¬
pressed into the Countryes service against the
Indian Enemy, and is now with Major Swayne at
Newechawanick, and your Petitioner and her two
children are very weake and ill, and unable to help
ourselves and do any thing for our Belief and the
rest of the family, as severall of the neighbors can
and have informed your Honors. Doth therefore
humbly request the favour from your Honors that
her hushand John Whitmore may be dismissed the
present service, and that your Honors would please
to pass your Order for the same, that he may re¬
turn to his sick family, arid your Petitioner shall,
as in duty bound, ever pray, &c.
[Oct. 1689.] "Rachel Whitmore."
We find Medford names in such lists of soldiers
in the French and Indian wars as have been ex¬
amined, but we cannot positively identify them.
There was a company of militia in Medford 'be¬
fore the Revolution ; and, when troublesome times
came, they were ready for duty. It was the eighth
company in the first regiment of the first brigade
of the third division. Seth Bullard was captain ;
William Burbeck, first lieutenant; and Ezekiel
Plympton, second lieutenant. It belonged to Colo¬
nel THiomas Gardner's regiment. In 1775 it was
commanded by Captain Isaac Hall.. " This com¬
pany came out," says the adjutant-general, "on
the 19th of April, 1775, and were in service five
days, and were undoubtedly in the battles of Lex¬
ington and Concord." The names of the men com¬
posing the company on that memorable occasion
are all recorded on the muster-roll ; and they were
all Medford men, as follows : —
Isaac Hall, captain ; Caleb Brooks, lieutenant ;
Stephen Hall, ensign ; Thomas Pritchard, Isaac
Tufts, and Moses Hall, sergeants ; John Tufts,
Gershom Teel, and Jonathan Greeideaf, corporals;
Timothy Hall, drummer; William Farning, fifer.
Privates as follows : David Vinton, John Buck-
nam, Isaac Watson, Jorfathan Lawrence, Jonathan
Davis, Abel Richardson, James Tufts, Jr., Sam¬
uel Tufts, 3d, Andrew Floyd, Benjamin Floyd, An¬
drew Blanchard, Samuel Tufts, John Francis, Jr.,
Paul Dexter, John Smith, Abel Butterfield, Josiah
Cutter, John Kemp, Eleazer Putnam, James Buck-
nam, Jr., Aaron Crowell, Jonathan Tufts, Benja¬
min Peirce, Thomas Wakefield, Jonathan Teel,
Aaron Blanchard, Richard Cole, William Binford,
Thomas Bradshaw, Daniel Tufts, Peter Tufts, Jr.,
Ebenezer Tufts, Isaac Cooch, Daniel Conery, Rich¬
ard Paine, William Polly, Peter Conery, David
Hadley, Jacob Bedin, Joseph Clefton, Samuel
Hadley, Jr., Moses Hadley, John Callender, John
Clarke, Andrew Bradshaw, Thomas Savels, Francis
Hall, and Benjamin Savils.
Each man received pay for five days' service,
except William Polly, wlio was killed in battle.
In the company commanded first by Captain
Isaac Hall and then by Caleb Brooks were six
other Medford men : Benjamin Floyd, James
Wyman, Jonah Cutler, John Smith, William Bnck-
nam, and Jonas Bond. They served eight months
in 1775-76.
In the War of 1812 eighteen Medford men en¬
listed, three of whom were killed, including a son
of Governor Brooks.
After the Revolution there was a company of
militia in the town, which was disbanded in 1840.
The Medford Light Infantry was organized as an
independent corps in 1785, and resigned its charter
in 1828. The Brooks Phalanx lasted from 1841 to
1849. The Lawrence Light Guard was formed
in 1854, and a .large number of its members en¬
listed in the national forces in 1862.
A Soldiers' Monument was dedicated Septem¬
ber 6, 1866, to the memory of those who fell
in the war, and it bears the following names :
Lieutenant-Colonel J. G. Chambers, Lieutenant
William H. Burbank, Edward Gustine, L. M.
170
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Fletcher, Frank A. Keen, E. Sprague, D. T. New-
comb, D. Nolan, A. H. Stacy, D. McGillicuddy,
S. Harding, J. Stetson, J. M. Powers, C. W. Wil¬
lis, F. Curtin, James Haley.
Volunte,ers of Company C, 39th regiment, as
follows : J. P. Hubbell, James Bierne, A. Joyce,
Patrick Gleason, Augustus Tufts, R. Livingston,
F. J. Curtis, B. J. Ellis, H. G. Currell, E. Ireland,
Wdliam H. Rogers, William Harding, H. R. Hath-
eway, H. Mills, G. H. Lewis, J. M. Garrett, D. S.
Cheney, R. W. Cheslyn, M. O'Connell, Sergeant
S. N. Stearns, Sergeant J. T. Morrison, J. M.
Fletcher, E. B. Hatch, R. C. Hathaway, G. H.
Cliamplin ; Privates, C. H. Coolidge, S. W.
Joyce.
ecclesiastical history.
In 1699 the town engaged the Rev. Benjamin
Woodbridge of Portsmouth as their minister. Be¬
fore that time Rev. Benjamin Colman and Rev.
John Hancock had preached for a few months;
and probably the college at Cambridge had sent
occasional assistance. Mr. Woodbridge did not
satisfy his parishioners, and a quarrel of several
years' continuance ensued. He died in 1710, but
not until 1713 was his successor. Rev. Aaron
Porter, ordained. He served till his death in
1722; and November 25, 1724, Rev. Ebenezer
Turell was ordained. For fifty years Mr. Turell
discharged his duties acceptably, receiving a col¬
league in 1774, and dying December 5, 1778,
aged seventy-six years.
The third minister was Rev. David Osgood,
chosen in 1774, who officiated for forty-eight years,
and died December 12, 1822. During his min¬
istry the majority of his flock had embraced Uni¬
tarian views ; at his death they chose Rev. Andrew
Bigelow. Very soon the portion of the society
which retained the Calvinistic tenets asked for and
obtained dismission, and the church was divided.
Those remaining were duly incorporated as the
First Parish of Medford, March 31, 1824. In
1826 Mr. Bigelow was obliged to leave from ill-
health, and February 28, 1827, Rev. Caleb Stetson
was ordained. His ministry lasted twenty-one
years, and closed by his resignation, March 24,
1848. August 1, 1849, Rev. John Pierpont suc¬
ceeded, and remained till 1856. April 15, 1857,
Rev. Theodore Tebbetts was installed, and to him
succeeded Rev. Edward C. Towne, April 17, 1861.
He remained until 1867 ; and March 3,1869, Rev.
Henry C. DeLong, the present pastor, was ordained.
Second {Trinitarian) Parish.—This was formed,
as we have seen, in 1823, and its pastors have been
the following : Rev. Aaron Warner, ordained Sep¬
tember 1, 1824, dismissed October 2, 1832; Rev.
Gordon Winslow, ordained June 12, 1833, dis¬
missed November 12, 1834 ; Rev. Levi Pratt, or¬
dained August 19, 1835, died August 9, 1837;
Rev. A. R. Baker, ordained April 25, 1838, dis¬
missed September 20, 1848 ; Rev. E. P. Marvin,
ordained February 25, 1852, dismissed Novem¬
ber 8, 1865 ; Rev. James T. McCollum, ordained
November 8, 1865, died November 25, 1874.
As will be shown immediately after the last date,
this church united with the Mystic Church, and
its existence as a separate body ended.
The Third Congregational {Trinitarian) Church,
called also the Mystic Church, was an offshoot of
the Second Church. It was established Mav 9,
* '
1847, with sixty members, and its first pastor was
Rev. Abner B. Warner. The list of ministers is
as follows : Rev. Abner B. Warner, ordained Octo¬
ber 27, 1847, died May 26, 1853; Rev. Jacob
M. Manning, ordained January 5, 1854, dismissed
February 17, 1857; Rev. Elias Nason, ordained
November 10, 1858, dismissed November 19,
1860 ; Rev. Edward P. Hooker, ordained Novem¬
ber 13, 1861, dismissed March 31, 1869; Rev.
Solon Cobb, ordained November 3, 1869, dismissed
March 12, 1874.
The two churches for some time felt that there
was no need of maintaining distinct organizations,
especially as the establishment of an Orthodox
Church in West Medford drew much from both.
The death of Mr. McCollom just at this time per¬
haps brought the matter to a crisis, and the two
churches combined chose as their pastor Rev.
Charles H. Baldwin, who was installed June 30,
1875. The Mystic Church building was enlarged,
and re-dèdicated January 12, 1876.
Universalist Society. — This society was formed
March 10, 1831, and has been under the following
named pastors: Rev. Winslow W. Wright, from
April, 1833, to April, 1835; Rev. Joseph Banfield,
from 1835 to 1838 ; Rev. Hosea Ballon, from
April, 1838, to Aug., 1853; Rev. G. V. Markham,
from March, 1854, to May, 1858 ; Rev. C. B. Lom¬
bard, from May, 1859, to Jan., 1861 ; Rev. B. H.
Davis, from Nov., 1861, to Feb., 1867 ; Rev. R. P.
Ambler, from March, 1869, to Dec., 1873; Rev. J.
H. Farnsworth, from May, 1874, to July, 1875;
Rev. W.. G. Haskell, from May, 1876, to June,
1878; Rev. Richard Eddy, Dec., 1878.
The First Methodist Society was incorporated in
MEDFORD.
171
18á8, when the first church was built. It was re¬
built in 1845, mainly by the exertions of Rev. Mr.
Pickering. The custom in this denomination of
making annual changes in the preachers prevents
us from offering a list of those who have held this
place. The present minister is Rev. T. C. Watkins.
The Baptists of Medford were witiiout a church
until July 7, 1841, when a regular organization
was efi'ected. The record of ministers is as fol¬
lows : Rev. G. W. Bosworth, settled September 8,
1841, resigned, 1845 ; Rev. B. C. Grafton, settled
July, 1845, resigned April, 1846; Rev. G. C. Dan-
forth, settled August, 1847, resigned October,
1848 ; Rev. B. K. Fuller, settled April, 1849, re¬
signed April 1, 1854 ; Rev. T. E. Keely, settled
October 1, 1854.
Owing to financial and other questions the so¬
ciety dissolved in 1856, but a portion immediately
reorganized as the Central Baptist Church, with the
same minister, officers, and edifice. The list con¬
tinues : Rev. T. E. Keely, settled September 9,
1856, dismissed July 31, 1857 ; Rev. G. M. Pres¬
ton, settled 1858, dismissed June, 1868.
During his term the church resumed the name of
the First Baptist, and received back the old members.
Rev. J. C. Kurd was settled November, 1868;
dismissed May, 1870. Rev. J. G. Richardson was
settled May, 1871; dismissed May, 1877. Rev. J.
P. Abbott was settled December 19, 1877.
Gnwe Church, Episcopal.—The rectors of this
church have been : Rev. David G. Haskins, chosen
March, 1848, resigned February 18, 1852; Rev.
Justin Field, chosen September 14, 1852, resigned
December 31, 1859; Rev. George A. Strong,
chosen January, 1861, resigned June 1, 1863;
Rev. Charles H. Learoyd, chosen September 1,
1863, resigned 1872; Rev. Charles L. Hutchins,
chosen September 15, 1872, present pastor.
The first building, of wood, was consecrated
May 11, 1850 ; the present stone edifice, built at
the expense of Mrs. Gorham Brooks, and costing
about $40,000, was given to the parish, and con¬
secrated May 6, 1873. At the same date Dudley
C. Hall, Esq., gave a rectory, costing, with the
land, about $11,000; and an endowment fund of
$15,000 was raised by the parishioners. The
church is steadily growing in strength and numbers.
The West Mertforä Congregational Church
{Trinitarian).— As already mentioned, this church
is a branch from the older churches, organized in
June, 1872, with twenty-six members, of whom
sixteen came from the Second (Trinitarian) Church.
There have been but two pastors, the first being
Rev. Edwin L. Jaggar (who resigned in 1874,
owing to ill-health), and the present minister. Rev.
Marshall M. Cutter. The church building is on
Harvard Avenue, West Medford, with a present
capacity of three hundred and fifty seats. The
membership has risen to over seventy.
The Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church was
organized April 1, 1872, and Rev. Jarvis Amos
Ames is the present minister.
Population. — In 1707, as Brooks records, Med¬
ford liad 46 ratable polls, a small increase over the
36 polls rated in 1688. This would give a popu¬
lation of about 230. In 1736 there were 133 polls,
or 665 inhabitants; in 1763, 741 inhabitants; in
1776, 967; in 1784, 981 ; in 1790, 1,029 ; in
1800, 1,114; in 1810, 1,443; in 1820, 1,474;
in 1830, 1,755; in 1840, 2,478; in 1850, 3,749 ;
in 1860, 4,831; in 1865, 4,839, with 1,031
voters; in 1870, 5,717 inhabitants. Ratable polls
in 1871, 1,480; in 1875, 6,627, witK 1,512
voters ; in 1878, 1,785 assessed polls, and a vote
cast for governor of 1,206. As the vote for presi¬
dent in 1876 was only 1,273, it is safe to assume
that Medford has in 1879 over 7,000 inhabitants.
In 1879 we find its polls 1,790.
In the first tax to pay £50 in 1630, Boston
paid £11 and Medford £3; Charlestown £7 and
Salem £ 3. In 1634, in a levy of £ 600, Medford
paid £26; in 1637, on £1,500, Boston paid
£233i and Medford £52^, the smallest sum out
of nine towns.
The following tax-list is copied from the Jeffries
Papers, published in the New England Historical
and Genealogical Register, Vol. XXXll. pp. 316,
317.
, " A List of the number of Male Persons and ratable Es¬
tate in Meadford, taken by the Selectmen and Commissioner.
Major Jonathan Wade,
heads 5,
estate £1
9i.
Qd.
John Hall, Sen'
" 3
0
15
H
Caleb Brooks
" 2
0
10
H
Thomas Willis
" 5
0
13
0
Stephen Willis
" 3
0
11
Oè
Peter Tuffts
" 2
0
11
6
Stephen Francis
" 2
0
07
1
John Whitmore
" 2
0
07
John Bradshoe
" 1
0
03
1
Jonathan Tuffts
" 1
0
06
6
John Tuffts
•' 1
0
05
1
Daniel Woodward
" 1
0
05
1
Mr. Joseph Squire
" 2
0
03
4
Isaae Fox
" 1
0
03
9
John Hall ju'
" 1
0
02
4
Edward Walker
" 1
0
03
4
Mr. Ebenezer Front
"
0
01
5
Nathaniel Wade
" 3
0
17
6
Total
£7
15
10
172
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
"This List was perfected by the Selectmen and Commis¬
sioner of Meadford, this 31 day of August, 1688.
" Natu. Wade, ^
" Peter Tufts, >■ Selectmen.
" Stephen Willis, )
" John Whitmobe, Commissioner.
" John Tubfte, Constable^
In the first province tax-levy, that of 1695,
Medford was assessed only £34, about eighteen
Trade and Manufactures. — The only largh
branch of manufacturing which has been carried
on in Medford is that of ship-building. July 4,
1631, Governor Winthrop launched at Mystic a
bark of some thirty tons called The Blessing of the
Bay. In the next two years the servants of Mr.
Gradock built at least two vessels here, one being
of two hundred tons' burthen. For the next century
and a half vessels were built, owned, and sailed
from here. As, for example, in the Boston News¬
letter, June 9, 1707, we note, as entered inwards,
sloop Callipatch, Francis Whitmore, from Con¬
necticut.
It was, however, after 1800 that this industry
received its impetus, and Brooks records the names
of Magoun, Turner, Lapham, Sprague, James,
Chilmark paid£31 each; Hull, £43 ; Newton,£90;
Maiden, £100 ; Sudbury, £110 ; Cambridge £180,
and Charlestown £304. In 1790 its state valu¬
ation was $9,441.68; in 1800, $15,036.08; in
1810, $26,311.19; in 1820,$30,507.84; in 1830,
$931,050; in 1840, $1,095,195.31 ; in 1850,
$2,128,470.50. In 1870 its town valuation was
$5,972,504; in 1879, $7,025,809 ; and its rate
of taxation is $14.10 per $1,000.
Fuller, Rogers, Stetson, Waterman, Ewell, Curtis,
Foster, and Taylor as worthy " to be held in grate¬
ful remembrance for many generations." From
1803 to 1854 there were built at Medford five
hundred and thirteen vessels, with a total of
232,206 tons, valued at $10,449,270. This in¬
dustry, however, has passed away.
For many years the business of making bricks
has been carried on here, and in the last census it
figures as the main local industry. Distilling has
also been long a special industry here, and Medford
rum is still famous. Another local industry was
the manufacture of Medford crackers, established
by Mr. Francis.
In 1875 there were in Medford seventeen manu¬
facturing establishments, producing goods valued
towns out of eighty paying less. Tisbury and
Lau neb on the Mystic.
MEDFOBD.
173
at $536,400 on an invested capital of $393,500.
In other occupations $151,695 worth of goods
were produced. Of these products the most im¬
portant were brick, $123,500; rum, $64,000;
carriages, $80,000 ; carpets, prints, etc., $ 95,000 ;
buttons, $40,000; bread, $45,000; gold-leaf,
$45,000. Of the trades, carpentry produced
$30,620, and butchering, $52,000. The total
product was $688,095 ; the workers employed were
452 males and 88 females.
TUFTS COLLEGE.!
Tupts College is situated on an eminence for¬
merly known as Walnut Hill, now College Hill, in
the southerly part of Medford, near the boundary
line of Somerville. The grounds comprise about
one hundred and twenty acres, lying in convenient
shape, and ample for all present and future needs
of the college. The buildings consist of a main
hall in which are recitation-rooms and laboratories,
with chapels and library, and three halls used
chiefly as dormitories, and containing between
sixty and seventy suites of rooms for students.
These buildings occupy the summit of the hill, and
command a view which in variety, interest, and
beauty is rarely surpassed.
Tufts College owes its existence to a conviction
in the minds of influential Universabsts that the
usefulness and prosperity of their denomination re¬
quired the establishment of higher institutions of
learning. Nearly fifty years ago several academies
were created in New England and New York under
the control and patronage of the denomination, and
the experience of these schools showed that the
college is indispensable to the scheme of education.
The movement that resulted in the founding of
Tufts College began in 1847. Eev. Thomas J.
Sawyer, D. D., had then recently left the church
over which he had been settled, in the city of New
York, to accept the principalship of the Clinton
Liberal Institute in the same state. Here, seeing
still more clearly the necessity of higher institu¬
tions, he in April, 1847, issued a call through the
denominational papers for an educational conven¬
tion to be held in the city of New York on the
18th of May following. This convention was
largely attended by representative men of the de¬
nomination from New England as well as New
York, and as the result of its two days' session
measures were inaugurated for raising by snbscrip-
^ Commanicated by Professor W. R. Shipman, of Tufts Col¬
lege. — Ed.
tion $100,000, which sum, it was agreed, would
be necessary to found a college. Tlie following
autumn Eev. Otis A. Skinner of Boston was ap¬
pointed general agent for raising funds, and in the
spring of 1848 entered upon what proved a most
difficult task. It was a very large sum to be raised
at that time in a small denomination little accus¬
tomed to giving, and with no general interest as
yet in the cause of education, and the subscription
was not completed till the spring of 1851. On the
16th of September in that year the subscribers
to the fund met in Boston, and elected trustees
representing all the New England states, with New
York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
The original convention had expressed the opin¬
ion that the college should be located in the valley
of the Hudson or the Mohawk ; but the board of
trustees, to whom the question of location had been
referred, found that the principal part of the sub¬
scriptions to the fund had been obtained in Massa¬
chusetts, and that the promise of pecuniary support
would be greatest in the vicinity of Boston. Very
advantageous offers of land and money were made
by Dr. Oliver Dean of Franklin, Mass., on condi¬
tion that the college should be located in that
town ; but after mature consideration the present
site was chosen. Twenty acres of land, afterwards
made up to about one hundred acres, were given
by Charles Tnfts of Somerville, and the institution
located upon it received his name, in accordance
with what has been a very common custom in the
founding of American colleges. Other prominent
benefactors of the college at the outset or during
its earlier years were Silvanus Packard and Thomas
A. Goddard of Boston, Dr. Dean of Franklin,
Dr. William J. Walker of Newport, R. I., Mr.
Wade of Wobnrn, and Timothy Gotting of Med¬
ford. While the first subscription of $100,000
for building purposes was raised only by the ut¬
most exertion, probably no other college in the
country has received during its early years, for
■current expenses and permanent fujids, so large an
amount from so many donors as Tufts College.
The question of location having been decided
early in TTanuary, 1852, application was immedi¬
ately made to the legislature of Massachusetts for
a charter, which was granted in the usual form and
with all the usual privileges, April 21, 1852. The
charter authorized the conferring of all except
medical degrees, and this restriction was subse¬
quently removed. The first board of trustees,
after incorporation, consisted of twenty gentlemen.
174
HI STOB Y OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of whom Dr. Oliver Dean was president, Eev.
Tilomas Whittemore vice-president, Eev. Otis A.
Skinner secretary, Benjamin B. Mussey treas¬
urer. These offices have subsequently been held
by Eev. Thomas Whittemore, D. D., Dr. Dean
(re-elected),and Hon. Israel Washburn, Jr., LL. D.,
presidents; Silvanus Packard and Hon. Charles
Eobinson, Jr., vice-presidents; Eev. A. A. Miner,
Eev. Lucius E. Paige, D. D., and Hon. Newton
Talbot, secretaries; Thomas A. Goddard, Hon.
Eichard Frothingham, LL. D., and William H.
Finney, treasurers.
The presidency of the college, that is, of the
Board of Instruction and Government, was first
tendered to Eev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D., but he
declined the position, and Eev. Hosea Ballon, 2d,
D. D., was made its first president. He held the
office until his death, in 1861, and in the following
year Eev. A. A. Miner, D. D., LL. D., was elected
as his successor. Dr. Miner, resigning in 1875,
was succeeded by Eev. Elmer H. Capen, D. D.,
the present incumbent.
The erection of the main college building was
commenced in the spring of 1853, and the corner¬
stone was laid by Dr. Ballon, president elect, in
the presence of a large gathering of people, on the
I9th of July following. The address on this occa¬
sion was delivered by Eev. Dr. Miner. Tiiis build¬
ing was completed in the summer of 1854. The
three dormitories have been erected later, the last
in 1871.
The college was informally open for freshmen
and sophomores in September, 1854, seven students
being in attendance, and instruction given by the
president and three professors. The formal open¬
ing of the college and installation of the president
took place August 22, 1855. The first class ad¬
mitted after the formal openiug numbered twenty-
one.
The course of instruction was, in general, the
same as that of other New England colleges, but
only the degree of A. B. was given till 1866. Since
that year the degree of B. Ph. has also been given on
the completion of a course the requirements of which
were changed from time to time, but in 1875 were
made to coincide with the A. B. course, with the
exception of Greek, for which additional French
and German and certain optional studies are sub¬
stituted. A department of civil engineering was
opened in 1867, in which the degree of C. E. is
conferred on the completion of a three years' course.
The object of this department is to give professional
instruction in connection with such studies of the
regular course as can properly be pursued. The
regular course, which includes about four fifths of
the whole number of students, prescribes the stud¬
ies of the first two years, but in the last two years
admits elective studies to the extent of one third
the entire requirement, with additions according to
the desire and ability of each student.
The board of instruction consists of the presi¬
dent, ten professors, and one special instructor.
The physical and chemical laboratories are provided
with all that is necessary to give extensive and
thorough practical instruction in these departments.
There is also a cabinet of ample size, and admira¬
bly selected, for the purpose of illustration in the
several branches of natural history, in which de¬
partment practical instruction is given, as well as
in those previously named. The library contains
18,000 volumes and 5,000 pamphlets. The whole
number of students graduated from 1857 to 1879,
inclusive, is two hundred and seventy-nine.
In 1869 a divinity school was opened, which is
under the same board of trustees and the same
presidency, and at present occupies a part of one
of the college halls, but is in charge of a distinct
faculty, consisting of three professors, one in¬
structor, and one non-resident lecturer. At the
head of the school is Eev. Thomas J. Sawyer, D. D.,
whose connection with the founding of Tufts Col¬
lege has already been mentioned, and who after
more than half a century of active labor in behalf
of manifold denominational enterprises is still
rendering efficient and most honorable service.
The course of study in the school occupies three
years for college graduates, or four years for those
who enter without such preparation. The degree of
B. D. is conferred upon those who complete the full
course of studies. In special cases students are
also received to partial courses, and may receive
diplomas certifying to such attainments as they have
made. The degree has been conferred upon forty
graduates.
MELROSE.
175
MELROSE.
BY ELBIIIDGE H. GOSS.
iLBOSE was incorporated May 3,
1850, and is one of the youngest
of the towns in old Middlesex.
It is situated seven miles from
Boston, directly north, on the
line of the Boston and Maine
Eailroad, on which it has three
depots, — Wyoming, Melrose,
and the Highlands, or Stoneham ;
from the last of which a horse-
railroad connects with the town of Stoneham, two
miles distant. Previous to its incorporation most
of the territory now Melrose was known as North
^alden ; a small portion, now forming the north¬
western corner of the town, being set off from the
eastern part of Stoneham, March 15, 1853. It
was named after Melrose, Scotland, at the sugges¬
tion of Mr. William Bogle, having, it is said, great
similarity in its natural features with the renowned
seat of Melrose Abbey.
Melrose contains a superficial area of about
2,900 square acres, 2,720 of which are taxable.
It is two and one eighth miles in length, and has an
average width of two miles. It is bounded on the
north by Wakefield, on the east by Saugus, on the
south by Maiden, and on the west by Stoneham
and a corner of Medford. It has four villages :
Wyoming, at the south part of the town ; the Cen¬
tre; the Highlands, at the north; and Norrisville,
in the northeastern part. Its surface is charmingly
diversified with hill, valley, pond, and stream.
Prom the summits of a number of its elevations —
particularly Boston Eock in the south, Barrett's
Mount in the centre, and West Eock, or Vinton
HÜ1, in the north — extensive views of the sur¬
rounding country and of the ocean may be had.
L Pond, situated in the centre of the town, so
named from its shape, contains about thirty acres,
and upon its borders are many of the finest resi¬
dences. This pond received its name as early as
1638, nine years after the settlement of Charles-
town, in whose records it is then mentioned ; and
it was so called in many other early documents.
It is often spelled "Ell," an undoubted misap¬
prehension from its sound. It has recently been
stocked with black bass and alewives by a fishing
association under the protection of state law. Long
Pond, in the eastern portion of the town, part of
which is in Melrose and part in Saugus, is the
source of the Saugus Eiver. This and Swain's
Pond, in the southeastern part of the town, were
named as early as 1660, being then referred to
in the Charlestown records. Dix, formerly Little,
Pond, near the centre, is small, but it is the legen¬
dary pond of Melrose, rumor giving it a fathomless
bottom from time immemorial.
L Pond and Spot Pond brooks, outlets of their
respective ponds, are the only streams, and both
unite a little below Wyoming, and run into the
Maiden River, an affluent of the Mystic.
Melrose was once a part of Charlestown. Early
differences concerning boundaries were settled by
the General Court, which passed several orders re¬
lating to the domain now Maiden and Melrose.
July 2, 1633, Mystic Side, now Maiden, was granted
to Charlestown, when it was ordered that the
"grounde lyeing betwixte the North Ryv'^ and
the creeke on the north side of M' Mauacks (Mave¬
rick's) and soe vpp into the country, shall belong
to the inhabitants of Charleton." "Up into the
country " not proving sufflciently definite, another
order was passed, March 3,1636, as follows : " That
Charles Town bounds shall run eight myles into the
country from their meeting-howse, if noe other
bounds intercept " ; and the Charlestown records
of 1638 say that, "the Gen" Court had setled
theire Bounds, by granting eight miles from the
old Meeting-house into the Contry Northwest
Northrly." At about this time some of the in¬
habitants of Charlestown crossed over and settled
on the north side of the Mystic Eiver, and Thomas
Coitmore had built a mill near Mount Prospect,
or Waite's Mount, as early as 1640. May 11,
1649, Mystic Side was set off from Charlestown
by the General Court, with this brief act of incor-
^ Sometimes called " Three Myle Brooke."
176
m STORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
poration : " In answer to the peticôn of seûll in¬
habitants of Misticke side, their request is granted,
viz., to he a distinct toune of themselves, & the
name thereof to be Maulden,"—thirty words in all ;
the act of the same General Court, May 3, 1850,
two hundred years afterwards, incorporating Mai¬
den's fair daughter, Melrose, contains seven sec¬
tions, with six hundred and forty-eight words.
When Maiden was incorporated nearly all of its
territory above the settlement, a tract of 2,300
acres of undivided land, covering what was after¬
wards North Maiden, now Melrose, was a dense
forest " full of stately timber," and " indeed gen¬
erally all the country round about was an uncouth
wilderness." In time it came to be known as the
"common lands," or "the commons," becoming
valuable as woodland and pasturage ; and various
votes were passed by the town for its preserva¬
tion and utility. The Maiden Eecords, March 26,
1694, contain the report of a committee " to run
lines between the Common and proprietors' lands,
as follows : Eun y° bounds Eound Eeedy pond
y" bounds are first a great buttenwood tree before
Joseph Lines dore — and so bounded Eóund with
seuerall trees marked with letter C next common."
November 20, of the same year, it was " Voted,
That Y common shall be divided : bottom and top,
yt is, land and wood " ; and six days afterwards,
a committee of three. Major William Johnson, Cap¬
tain John Brown, and Captain John Smith, re¬
ported to the town the manner in which it should
be done, giving to every freeholder in the town*
a proportion according to his ratable estate. A
committee of seven was then appointed to proceed
with the division, and it was ordered that they
" employ an artis to lay out the lots." Every lot
was to " run 82 poles in length," and there was to
he allowed " two poles in breadth between every
range of lots for highways Every proprietor's
name to be written distinctly, and y lots be well
shuffled together, and one man chose by the town
to draw them out of a bag. The first name drawn
to have the first lot." This division was thus made
in 1695, when seventy-four freeholders, then in
Maiden, received their respective allotments.
Melrose had been occupied several years before
"the commons" were divided. The Spragues,
Lyndes, and Greens had possessions here before
then, and at about that time or a little later
came the Barretts, Uphams, Howards, and Vin-
tons. Some of these families have been here over
two centuries, and the descendants of all of them
are among our citizens to-day. There are some
of the old homesteads now standing, portions of
which are at least two hundred years old ; such is
the case with the Jabez and Jonathan Lynde houses
on Washington Street, and the Joseph Lynde house
on Main Street, near Maiden line. The Lyndes
once owned nearly all of the southern part of Mel¬
rose, and several of the old homesteads are still
occupied by members of this numerous family.
They are all descendants of Ensign Thomas Lynde,
who settled in Maiden very soon after its incor¬
poration in 1649, and who was the eldest son of
Thomas, who came from England, settled in Charles-
town, and became a freeman in 1634.
In the " Possesion of Eichard Sprague in
Charltowne limites," in the Charlestown land
records of 1638 the twelfth item is, " Sixtie acres
of land by estimation, more or lesse, scituate in
pond fielde, bounded on the one side by Ealph
Sprague, on the northeast by ell pond and the river
that comes through the meadow into Ell pond, and
on the northwest by the comon." Eichard Sprague
was one of the three brothers, Ealph, Eichard, and
William, who came to Charlestown in 1629. The
Spragues of Melrose are descendants of Ealph, the
oldest of the three. His son John early settled in
Maiden, and his son Phineas came to what is now
Melrose about the year, 1700. A grandson of this
Phineas, also named Phineas, was the Eevolution-
ary patriot of whom many interesting anecdotes
have been told. His farm was on the plain, and
his homestead on Foster Street, where now stands
the residence of Mr. Liberty Bigelow. He kept a
diary, and his account of the ever-memorable Dark
Day is worthy of record.
"Friday May the 19th 1780.—This day was
the most Eemarkable day that ever my eyes be¬
held the air had bin full of smoak to an uncommon
degree So that wee could scairce see a mountain at
two miles distance for 3 or 4 days Past till this
day after Noon the smoak all went off to the South
at sunset a very black bank of a cloud appeared in
the south and west the Nex morning cloudey and
thundered in the west about ten oclock it began
to Eain and grew vere dark and at 12 it was all-
most as dark as Nite so that wee was obliged to
lite our candéis and Eate our dinner by candel lite
at Noon day but between 1 and 2 oclock it grew
lite again but in the Evening the cloud caim
over us again the moon was about the full it was
the darkest Nite that ever was seen by us in the
world."
MELROSE.
177
The various families of Greens descended from
Thomas Green, who settled in Maiden about tlie
year 1651. He early owned a farm of sixty-
three acres at the Highlands, which was exempted
when the commons were divided, according to a
vote passed in town-meeting May 18, 1694, " that
Samuel Green [son of Thomas] shall Injoy his
hous and y® land y' stands on and so much land
mitted freeman in 1631, and settled in Maiden
about the year 1650. His son. Lieutenant Phin-
eas Upham, took a prominent part in King Philip's
War, being severely wounded at the battle of Nar-
ragansett Port, December 19,1675, from the effects
of which wound he died the year following. Phin-
eas, the grandson of Lieutenant Upham, was the
first to come to Melrose, and settled on Upham
Hill, where there are still living several families
of descendants on the old homesteads, on one of
which, that of George Upham, is still seen the old-
fashioned well-sweep with its " iron-bound bucket."
The Barretts are descendants of James Barrett,
who settled in Charlestown in 1635, and who after¬
wards came to Maiden, where his son James was
bom in 1644. His son. Deacon Jonathan Barrett,
came to Melrose about the year 1705, and built his
about It as y® Commite shall se cause to lay to It " ;
and the records, in referring to lot number 64, say
" part east against Bedding Rhode and part on y®
west of y® Greens farm." Portions of this same
farm are in the possession of the descendants of
Thomas Green to-day.
The Uphams, of whom we still have many fami¬
lies, descended from John Upham, who was ad-
homestead on Barrett Lane, now Porter Street.
Captain Jonathan Barrett, a great-grandson of
Deacon Jonathan, was the first manufacturer
of shoes in Melrose, commencing at his homestead
on Vinton Street, at what is now known as the
Mountain House. In "y® olden time" this lo¬
cality was called The Village, where the people
from different parts of the town used to congregate
for social chat and pleasure. Captain Barrett
died November 18, 1821, and his funeral sermon,
delivered in Maiden, November 25, 1821, on " the
Lord's Day after the Interment," by Eev. Aaron
Green, was published in a pamphlet. His shoe
business was continued by the late Mr. George
Emerson ; and in later years shoe-manufacturing
has been quite an extensive branch of industry in
Melrose.
Old Lynde Honse, Washington Street.
178
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Thomas aad Benoni Vinton, direct descendants
of John Vinton, of Lynn, who came to this country
not far from 1643, settled in that part of Melrose
called the Highlands, then a part of Stoneham, about
the year 1742. Thomas left three sons, Thomas,
Timothy, and Ezra, all of whom had farms at the
Highlands ; the old homesteads are yet standing.
These three brothers joined Captain Sprague's com¬
pany of minute-men which marched from Stoneham,
to Lexington when the Revolutionary alarm was
sounded. During the latter part of the eighteenth
century a number of other families came to Mel¬
rose, among them the Howards, the Emersons,
Pratts, Grovers, Edmundses, Larrabees, Boardmans,
Hemenways, Tainters, Goulds, Coxes, Eatons, and
Pullers.^
At a session of the General Court held Septem¬
ber 10, 1653, a committee of three, Thomas Mar¬
shall, John Smith, and John Sprague, was " chosen
to lay out the country high way between Reddinge
and Winnesemett." This was the first and only
road through Melrose for many years. The various
bounds were given by the committee, beginning at
Reading, until it reached Melrose, and then they
say it is to run " along on the east side of Thomas
Coytmores lott, by Ele Pond, in the old way, to
Thomas Lynds land, then through the first field, and
so by the field by his howse, from thence, on the old
way, by Maldon meeting howse, through the stony
swampe, etc the sd way to be fower pole
broade in good grounde, and six or eight where need
requires." " The old way " here referred to means
the old, crooked Indian path, or trail, in use before
this date, winding hither and thither, going around
this hill, shunning that swamp or bog, and over
which the early traveller wended his way between
Reading and Chelsea. On a plan of Maiden sur¬
veyed by Peter Tufts, Jr., of Medford, in 1795, the
only roads laid down in what was then North Mai¬
den are the main road, called the Reading road,
and a Stoneham road, which leaves this near the
corner of what are now Wyoming Avenue and
Main Street, where stands the Masonic Hall. There
is one essential change between the main road as
laid out in 1653 and that on this plan; it then
went to the right of Boston Rock, in going north
from Maiden, and at the time the plan was made it
passed to the left. The old-time residents of North
Maiden had to wend their way down this old road
1 Other details concerning the old families and homesteads are
given in the Historical Address delivered at Melrose, July 4
X876.
to " middle-town " whenever they attended divine
worship, or when they wished to vote on election-
days, or take part in any of the town-meetings.
The present Main Street was built in 1806. A
short time previous to this, in 1798, a two-horse
stage, the first public conveyance through Melrose,
commenced running between Boston and Reading,
driven by Mr. Farwell Brown ; and after the new
road was built stage lines between Boston, Ando-
ver, and Haverhill were established, which also
carried the mails.
The first preaching service in what is now Mel¬
rose was in the year 1813, and was held in the
little old district school-house which was situated
near the corner of the old road, now Lebanon
Street, and Upham Lane, now Upham Street, which
led up to the hill on which lived so many of the
Upiiams. This school-house was the only one then
in North Maiden. From these meetings the Meth¬
odist Episcopal Church was organized in 1816,
which continued to hold its services in this liouse
until 1818, when a small meeting-house was built
on the green at the junction of Main and Green
streets. This was occupied until 1842, when it
was removed, and a larger edifice built on the same
spot, and dedicated November 30, of that year.
In this the society worshipped until 1857, when
it was sold, moved to the corner of Main and Essex
streets, became Concert Hall, and was burned No¬
vember 30, 1875, just thirty-three years from the
day it was dedicated. The society then built the
church now used by them on Main Street, which
was dedicated April 1, 1857. Wright says in his
HistoricalDiscourse, preached at Maiden on Thanks¬
giving Day, December 1, 1831, "Two individuals,
formerly members of this church, are now success¬
fully engaged in publishing the tidings of salva¬
tion to their fellowmen." This refers to Rev.
Frederick Upham and Rev. Warren Emerson, both
born in Melrose, and both still preaching, — the
former in Fairhaven, Mass., and the latter in West
Thompson, Conn. The present pastor of this
church is Rev. Isaac H. Packard.
During the years just previous to 1828 serious
troubles, " petty jealousies, and bitter animosities,"
had existed in this church ; certain members be¬
came displeased with the form of church govern¬
ment, and in that year events culminated in a
division, a new church being formed, called the
Protestant Methodist; sometimes called the Re¬
formed Methodist. This society bought the old
district school-house, and moved it down to Main
MELROSE.
179
Street, corner of Upham, where it was enlarged and
dedicated in 1880. After repeated but unsuc¬
cessful attempts to reunite these two societies, the
Protestant Methodists built a new edifice in 1841,
removing the old church to the corner of Foster
and Myrtle streets, where it became a tenement
house, and was afterwards burned. On the 1st of
January, 1856, this society was merged in the First
Baptist Church, which continued to worship in this
meeting-house until July, 1873, when it was sold
to the Catholics, and moved away to give place to
the present brick chapel, which was dedicated No¬
vember 17, 1874. Bev. Eobert F. Tolman is the
present pastor.
The Orthodox Congregational Church was formed
July 11, 1848. Its first meeting-house was built
on Foster Street, and dedicated May 17, 1849.
Previous to this services had been held in the
house of Dr. Levi Gould, opposite the present
Methodist Church. After that services were held
at the house of Deacon Jonathan Cochrane, and
then at the centre depot of the Boston and Maine
Bailroad. Their meeting-house was remodelled
and enlarged in 1858, and destroyed by fire Feb¬
ruary 17, 1869. The present church edifice was
dedicated October 26, 1870, and the Kev. Albert
G. Bale, the present pastor, was settled Decem¬
ber 3, 1868.
The Universalist Society was organized in 1849,
and the meetings held in Academy Hall, then
standing on Berwick Street, afterwards moved to
Main Street, .where it became Lyceum HaU, and
was destroyed by fire August 21, 1870. The
meeting-house on Essex Street now used by the
society was built by them and dedicated in 1851.
Eev. Charles A. Skinner is the present pastor.
Trinity Church {Episcopal) was formed May 20,
1857, its first service being held at the residence
of Mr. Samuel Eice on Lake Avenue, afterwards in
Waverley Hall. The present church, on Emerson
Street, was erected and dedicated in 1859. Eev.
Henry A. Metcalf is now the rector.
The Unitarian Congregational Church was or¬
ganized July 17, 1867, and the church on Emer¬
son Street was dedicated May 1, 1872. Eev.
Nathaniel Seaver, Jr., is the present pastor.
The Catholic Church was formed in April, 1873.
The society, having purchased the old Baptist
Meeting-house, moved it to Dell Avenue, and com¬
menced services therein in October of that year.
Eev. Dennis J. O'Farrell is the present priest.
The Melrose Highlands Church was organized
September 29, 1875. A new chapel is now being
erected. Eev. John G. Taylor is the acting pastor.
The only school in Melrose for many years was
kept in the little unpainted district school-house,
whose after history as a church has been traced.
It was built in the year 1800, was twenty by
twenty-five feet, and was situated on a knoll on
the old road, now Lebanon Street, about a dozen
rods south of Upham Street. In this old school-
house Eobert Gerry, who died in Stoneham, April
1, 1873, in his ninetieth year, taught school dur¬
ing the winter season for twenty-four years in suc¬
cession, commencing in 1803. Here the North
Maldenites were taught to " Eeed and wright and
to Eefmetick." The boys and girls of the west
part of the tovm came " across lots," passing by
the old Howard house, still standing on Main
Street, and crossing L Pond Brook on a log. After
this house was sold to the Protestant Methodists
a new one was built on Upham Street, in 1828, by
the schoolmaster, Eobert Gerry, for the town of
Maiden. This was burned in 1845, and the one
built on its site was the only one owned by Melrose
when incorporated ; in this was kept a primary,
intermediate, and grammar school. This house
was burned in April, 1874, and was succeeded by
the present grammar-school structure. A high
school was established in 1857, and the present
high-school building, between Emerson Street and
Lake Avenue, was built, and dedicated July 15,
1869. There are now seven school-houses, with
sixteen schools. Value of buildings, $55,000,
and of school property, $3,150.
When the Eevolutionary War broke forth, and
the alarum-note from Concord and Lexington
sounded for men " to resist the minesteral troops,"
nearly every able-bodied man living in North Mai¬
den joined the Maiden company, under the com¬
mand of Captain Benjamin Blaney, which marched
immediately for Concord -, a few joined the " alarm
list" of about sixty men, under Captain Nayler
Hatch, which proceeded to Beacham's Point and
threw up a fort. Captain Hatch's company re¬
mained at the fort during the day, and after return¬
ing to town at night a number of the men started
for Concord, to join their comrades in battle. The
names of those who took part in this contest, Eving
in Melrose, were Sergeant Jabez Lynde, Nathan
Eaton, Joseph Lynde, Jr., Ezra Howard, John
Vinton, Benjamin Lynde, WilEam Upham, Ezra
Upham, John Graver, 3d, Unite Cox, Joseph
Barrett, Jr., Phineas Sprague, John Graver, Jr.,
180
ms TOB Y OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
John Gould, Phiiieas Sprague, Joseph Lynde, and
John Pratt. The two Spragues were father and
sou; the father living on Foster Street and the
son on Porter Street. Of the father, Wright says,
in his discourse, he was " a most daring advocate
of American rights. He was quite advanced in
life at the breaking out of the war; but one of
the individuals connected with Captain Hatch's
company, mentioned as starting for Concord in the
night, after having lain at Beacham's Point during
the day. Mr. Sprague was very deaf; but his
heart was as impervious to fear as his ears were to
sound. And when the rest of his party were flying
from the view of the enemy, he was seen upon a
piece of rising ground swinging his hat, and shout¬
ing ' Yictory ! ' "
The following receipt was given for bounty paid
by Mr. Joseph Barrett, who was the grandfather
of Mr. Artemas Barrett, from whom this and other
documents have been obtained.
"Cambeidge, Aug' 17, 1781.
"Bfic^ of M' Joseph Barret the sum of Twelve
Pounds Solid Coine in full of all Accompts, Debts
Dues and Demands Against M' Joseph Lyonds or
M' Joseph Barretts Class for Procuring a man for
three years' service in the Army.
" Eec^ by me Benj Perkins."
Some of the citizens of North Maiden had been
in the previous wars of the country, and others
furnished substitutes, and the following is the re¬
ceipt of one of these substitutes.
"Jan. 13. 1761.
"Eeceived of Phinehas Sprague june'r eight
Pounds lawful money it being for my going a
Solger to forte Cumberland and I had a promes
not of Six Pounds be fore
" Pr me John Batts."
In the Civil War of 1861-65 Melrose has a
noble record. Fort Sumter was fired upon
April 12, 1861. The first call upon Massachu¬
setts for three months' troops was by telegram,
April 15, when five citizens of Melrose responded,
and four of them were in the first battle of Bull
Eun. May 3, came the President's call for three
years' men, and May 6, a town-meeting was held in
Concert HaU, at which it was voted, "That the
Town of Melrose appropriate the sum of $3,000
for the relief of the families of the citizens of Mel¬
rose, now absent in the service of the United
States, or who may hereafter volunteer into the ser¬
vice of the United States, or the state of Massa¬
chusetts. Also that above all other appropriations
the sum of fifteen dollars per month be paid to
those persons having families, and the sum of ten
dollars per month to those who are single men, dur¬
ing their time of service in the war now pending."
As the Eebellion progressed many other meetings
were held, and votes passed in aid of raising volun¬
teers and other necessary matters. Two hundred
and three of her citizens entered the service, and
two commissioned officers and twenty-one enlisted
men gave their lives to their country. This roll
of " unreturning bra^e " is as follows : Lieuten¬
ant George Thomas Martin, Lieutenant George
James Morse, William Francis Barry, Nathan H.
Brand, Jonas Green Brown, Albert Waterston
Crockett, Edmund Wallace Davis, Henry Franklin
Fuller, Augustus Green, Martin Greene, James
Eoland Howard, William F. Krantz, Eichard
Lever, Benjamin Lynde, George Warren Lynde,
William Henry Macey, Sidney Bradford Morse,
Francis Peabody, George Elwyn Eichardson,
Thomas H. Stevens, John Eastman Stilphen, John
Parker Shelton, and Benjamin F. Wilde.
Since the close of the war others have died from
diseases contracted while in the service, and have
gone hence to "the land of the hereafter" to meet
their comrades and their God. Besides her own
citizens, Melrose furnished for the various quotas
two hundred and fifty-one men, making a total
number of four hundred and fifty-four, which was
a surplus of seventy-three men above the number
called for by the United States. She contributed
$38,000 for war expenses, besides the various and
multiplied amounts given by individuals for bounty
and charitable objects during its continuance. Ac¬
cording to its population and wealth, no town in
the commonwealth did better service than Melrose
during this attempt to disintegrate our nation. A
full and detailed history of the action taken in this
internecine war has been given in the Melrose
Memorial ; The Annals of Melrose in the Great
Rehellion of 1861 - 65.
Through the instrumentality of this Eebellion
the fearful evil of slavery was swept from our land.
During the last century our own territory here in
Melrose was cursed by this traffic, as is witnessed
by the following original document conveying two
human beings into bondage to Mr. Phmeas
Sprague, Jr.; the same person who afterwards
hired the substitute for the French War, who
served in the Eevolution, and who wrote the ac¬
count of the Dark Day in 1780.
MELROSE.
181
" Know all men by these present that I Thomas
Nickels of Beding In the County of middlesex
gentilman for and in Consideration of the sum of
thirty three pounds six shillings and " Eight pence
lawfull mony of New England to me in liand paid
hy piniash Spraigue Jun of Maiden in the same
County above s" Cordwinder whereof I do hereby
acknowledge the Eeceipt and ray selfe therewith fuly
and entirely satisfied have hargened sold set over
and Deliverd and hy these present in plain and
open markit acording to the due fourm of law in
that case mad and provided do bargain set over
and Deliver unto the said phinas Spraigue Jun a
negro woman narad pidge with one negro hoy to
have and to hold to his proper use and hehoofe of
him the said phinas Spraigue his heirs, executors
administrators and assigns for ever and I Thomas
nickles for my self my heirs executors administra¬
tors and asigns ganst all in all manner of person I
shall warrant and for ever Defend hy these present.
In witness whereof with the Deliver of the bar¬
gained persons I have set to ray hand and seal the
twenty five Day of april in the 17 fifty three year
of y' Eaign of oure Souerign lord gorg the Second
oner grate Britten.
"Thomas Nichols [seal]
" Signed and our Seal 1753 and Delever in the
present of us
"Jon-' Kidder
"Edward Lambert."
In 1869 the three towns of Maiden, Medford,
and Melrose unitedly purchased the franchise of
the Spot Pond Water Company, which was char¬
tered hy the legislature in 1867. Several pro¬
tracted town-meetings were held, and strong oppo¬
sition was made, before Melrose voted to join her
neighbors in the introduction of this water; hut
now that it is running through sixteen miles of
our streets, supplying houses, fire-hydrants, manu¬
factories, and public buildings, so great a blessing
has it proved, that no consideration would induce
the inhabitants to part with it. Situated as Spot
Pond is, it being a natural reservoir one hundred
feet above the general level of the town, fed wholly
by springs, it is not only a charming sheet of water
surrounded by beautiful scenery, but forms one" of
the best supplies of pure, soft water to be found
in the state. The water-works were finished and
the water introduced August 26, 1870. The cost
to the town has been $174,551.44. There are
over nine hundred water-takers. The present
water commissioners are Joseph D. Wilde, W. I.
Ellis, and Joseph B. Simonds.
At the annual town-meeting held March 27,
1871, the Melrose Public Library was organized
by the passage of the following vote, which was
ofl'ered by David Eairbanks, Esq. : " That the
money now in the treasury, refunded to the town
by the county treasurer, pursuant to Chapter 250
of the acts of the legislature in 1869, and all
that shall hereafter accrue to the town under said
act, be appropriated for a public library and read¬
ing-room." This refers to what is known as the
dog-tax. At this same meeting Frederic Kidder,
Elbridge H. Goss, and Charles C. Barry were
elected trustees, and the library was opened the
following November, with 1,400 volumes. It has
been since sustained by a small annual appropria¬
tion in addition to the above sum. Its circulation
has increased each year, and the library now has
4,000 volumes. Miss Carrie M. Worthen is the
librarian, and the trustees remain the same, with
the exception that in 1873 Miss Hannah Lynde
and Miss Addie A. Nichols were added to the
board. The town has, besides the public library,
one circulating and eight Sabbath-school libra¬
ries.
April 15, 1872, the town voted to build a town-
hall on its lot of land corner of Main and Essex
streets. It was finished and dedicated June 17,
1874, and the address was delivered by Mr. George
F. Stone. It is a fine brick structure, costing
$65,000. It has a bell weighing two thousand
pounds in its tower, and the clock was a gift to
the town by the Hon. Daniel Eussell, the present
state senator.
Melrose is the home of several authors. Samuel
Adams Drake has written several standard histori¬
cal works : Old Landmarks and Historic Person¬
ages of Boston, Historic Fields and Mansions of
Middlesex, Nooks and Corners of the New Eng¬
land Coast, besides other historical publications.
Mr. Drake has also been a contributor to the lead¬
ing magazines, and to the revised edition of the
Encyclopcedia Britannica} His most recent work,
Cagdain Nelson, a romance of the Kevolution of
1689, is pronounced a successful revival of Amer¬
ican historical fiction.
At the breaking out of the Civil War Mr. Drake
was a resident of Kansas, which then had no or¬
ganized militia or public arms, while her eastern
^ The articles Sebastian Cabot, Floridn, and Geoi^ia are the
principal ones.
182
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
border was threatened by a population hostile to
the Union. Having been appointed adjutant and
inspector-general, Colonel Drake took a prominent
part in putting the state in a posture of defence,
and in organizing troops for service in the field.
Having served as colonel of the 1st regiment of
state troops, he was in February, 1864, promoted
to be brigadier-general. In July, 1864, he was
made colonel of the 17th Eegiment of Kansas
Volunteer Infantry, which he led during the memo¬
rable invasion of Missouri by the rebel general
Sterling Price. Mr. Drake has resided in Melrose
since 1870.
Frederic Kidder has written several historical
works : The Abenaki Indians, Eastern Maine and
Nova Scotia in the Revolution, Expedition of Cap¬
tain John Lovewell, The Boston Massacre, First
N. H. Regiment in the Revolution, and, in con¬
nection with Dr. A. A. Gould, a History of New
Ipswich, N. H., his native town. Mr. Kidder also
made a valuable contribution to the vexed ques¬
tion concerning the first discoverer of the main¬
land of America, entitled. The Discovery of North
America by John Cabot, which was printed in the
Historical and Genealogical Register.
William Frederick Poole, now librarian of the
Chicago Public Library, was for many years a
resident of Melrose, and while here contributed to
The North American Review, and other magazines,
several articles of historical and educational char¬
acter; among them Cotton Mather and Salem
Witchcraft, The Witchcraft Delusion of 1692,
The Battle of the Dictionaries, and other ortho¬
graphical papers. He has since published Anti-
slavery Opinions before the year 1800, The Ordi¬
nance of 1787 and Dr. Manasseh Cutler. His
Index to Periodical Literature has a world-wide
reputation.
Mary Ashton Livermore, so often called the
" queen of the platform," whose voice and pen are
always used in behalf of woman, temperance, and
all other causes that benefit humanity, has made
her home in Melrose for the past dozen years. She
has been editorially connected with the press for
over twenty years. In 1858 her husband, Kev.
D. P. Livermore, went to Chicago to become editor
and publisher of The New Covenant, Mrs. Liver¬
more becoming assistant editor. When the Re¬
bellion broke out she became connected with the
Sanitary Commission at Chicago, and, as president
of the board of directors, performed a vast amount
of labor in sustaining that beneficent movement.
Soon after peace was declared she started a paper
called The Agitator, which was afterwards merged
in The Woman's Journal at Boston, of which she
became editor. She held this position for two
years, and is still connected with the editorial staff.
For the past three years she has been president of
the Massachusetts Woman's Temperance Christian
Union. Her published books are Pen Pictures ;
or. Sketches from Domestic Life, and a temperance
prize tale, which was written and issued over
thirty years ago, was out of print for a quarter of
a century, and recently republished ; it is entitled.
Thirty Years too Late. It has been well said,
"Every vice finds in her a determined foe, and
every reform has in her an able, but not a bigoted
champion."
George P. Burnham, who came* to Melrose the
year it was incorporated, has written nine or ten
works on ornithology. His first was a History of
the Hen Fever: A Humorous Record; and last.
Our Canaries, and other Pet Birds. He, has writ¬
ten an antislavery story. The Rag-Picker ; or.
Bound and Free, besides other works. When the
Rebellion broke out, Mr. Burnham was a press-
correspondent in Washington. He received an
appointment on the general staff by the President,
as brigade commissary, with the rank of captain,
and was assigned by the secretary of war to Gen¬
eral Banks' command at New Orleans. He after¬
wards served in the same capacity in the Army of
the Potomac, under General Grant.
Robert F. Leighton, while master of the Melrose
High School, prepared several text-books for
schools : Greek Lessons, adapted to Goodwin's
Greek Grammar ; Latin Lessons, adapted to Allen
and Greenough's Latin Grammar ; and Harvard
Examination Papers, in two volumes. Since be¬
coming master in the Brooklyn High School he
has written a History of Rome.
In 1870 Gilbert Nash issued a volume of poems
entitled Bay Leaves; and in 1878 Everett W.
Burdett wrote a History of the Old South Meeting¬
house in Boston.
Melrose has one newspaper. The Melrose Journal,
which was also for a short time published as The
Melrose Visitor, a weekly paper established in
1868. A few numbers of a paper called The Mel¬
rose Advertiser were issued in 1856.
Besides its literary celebrities, several well-known
artists have made Melrose their home, finding
among its picturesque hills and dales abundant
materials for their pencils. For several years, J.
MELROSE.
183
Foxcroft Cole, the eminent landscape and cattle
painter, resided at the Highlands, of which region
he has made several fine views. George F. Hig-
gins and George E. Morse are both very clever
landscape-painters. Charles Fumeaux is a portrait
and landscape painter, perhaps rather excelling in
his landscapes. Miss Mary K. Baker and Abbott
Fuller Graves are flower-painters ; the former has
an established reputation, and has given the world
some most excellent pieces ; and the latter, a most
promising young artist, has produced some admi¬
rable specimens of his handicraft, and if he main¬
tains his present high standard, a brilliant future
awaits him.
Hon. Daniel W. Gooch was born at Wells,
Maine, January 8, 1820. He graduated at Dart¬
mouth College in*1843, was admitted to the Suf¬
folk bar in 1846, and came to Melrose, then North
Maiden, in October, 1848. He was a representative
to the General Court in 1852, and to the state con¬
stitutional convention in 1853. He was elected
representative, and served in the thirty-fifth, thirty-
sixth, thirty-seventh, and thirty-eighth congresses ;
he was a member of the Congressional Committee
on the Conduct of the War during its four years
of investigations, and its chairman on the part of
the House. He was also elected to the thirty-ninth
congress, but resigned his seat September 1, 1865,
having been appointed naval officer for the port of
Boston by President Johnson, which position he
held about one year. In 1868 he was elected a
delegate to the Chicago convention. In 1872 he
was again elected, and served as representative for
the fifth Massachusetts district in the forty-third
congress. In 1875 he was appointed pension-
agent at Boston, a position which he still holds.
The first vote of Mr. Gooch was thrown for the
Free-Soil party, with which he acted until the Ee-
publican party was organized, since which time he
has ever been an earnest supporter and champion
of its principles.
Hon. Samuel E. Sewall was bom in Boston,
November 9, 1799, and came to Melrose a year
or two after the Boston and Maine Eailroad was
built, which was opened for travel July 4, 1845,
when there were but two or three hundred inhabi¬
tants. He has been identified with the antislavery
movement in Massachusetts since its first small
beginnings, being one of the very few who joined
William Lloyd Garrison when he came to Boston
in 1830, and commenced his lifelong crasade
against slavery. Mr. Sewall was an active mem- \
her of the Massachusetts Antislavery Society, and
of the National Antislavery Society; and when
the Liberty party was inaugurated he was for two
years their candidate for governor, and ever after¬
wards acted with that and the Free-Soil party until
they were merged in the Eepublican party. In
1852 he was elected to the state senate from Stone-
ham, his residence then being just within the line
of that part of Stoneham which was detached and
set off to Melrose the year following. This was
the only political office he has ever held. While in
the senate he was instrumental in passing a number
of wise and salutary laws, one of them being that
which gives aliens the right to hold real estate;
and he drafted a bill which became a law two or
three years afterwards, giving married women the
right to hold property ; and from that day to this
he has ever been among the foremost, with voice
and pen, in advocating the passage of laws for the
benefit of women, and a stanch advocate of the
doctrine of Woman Suffrage.
Melrose has three cemeteries. Melrose Ceme¬
tery, in the centre of the town, is the oldest. Wyo¬
ming Cemetery, containing twenty-one acres, in
the southern part of the town, was purchased and
laid out in 1856, and is the one now principally
used. The Jews have a cemetery on Linwood
Avenue.
Battery C, of the Massachusetts Volunteer Mili¬
tia, has its headquarters in Melrose, Vith its ar¬
mory on Dell Avenue. The Fire Department has
eighty-one hydrants of Spot Pond water well dis¬
tributed throughout the town. There are four
companies : Liberty Bigelow Hook and Ladder
Company, with twenty-five members, Eussell
Hose Company, N. D. Blake Hose Company, and
the Highland Hose Company, with fifteen members
each ; also one hand-engine, — the Endeavor.
The Melrose Savings Bank, organized in 1874,
now has $ 62,000, deposited by 536 patrons.
There are several other societies and associations
in Melrose not yet spoken of, and which can only
be mentioned. There are six temperance organiza¬
tions, namely. Guiding Star Lodge No. 28, Inde¬
pendent Order of Good Templars, Siloam Temple
of Honor No. 29, Siloam Social Temple of Honor
No. 6, Cadets of Temperance No. 6, Loyola Tem¬
perance Cadets, and the Catholic Total Abstinence
Society.
Masonic Hall was built in 1866 by the Waverley
Masonic Association for masonic purposes, and in
this Wyoming Lodge, Waverley Eoyal Arch Chap-
184
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ter, Melrose Council, and Hugh de Payen's Com-
mandery of Knights Templars hold their meetings.
The Melrose Lodge No. 157, Independent Order
of Odd Pellows, and the Golden Eule Degree
Lodge No. 23, Daughters of Kebekah, hold their
meetings in Temple of Honor Hall, corner of Main
and Poster streets. The U. S. Grant Post No. 4,
G. A. E., was organized in 1866. The literary so¬
cieties are the Eoundahout Club, Franklin Frater¬
nity, Centennial Club, Avon Club, and the 0. O. S.
Club. The High School Alumni holds an annual
gathering. The Melrose Lyceum gives an annual
course of lectures and entertainments in the town-
haU. The Knights of Honor and the Eoyal Arca¬
num each have a lodge. The Crystal Lake Boat-
Club has its headquarters on L Pond. And there
are the Melrose Orchestra, and the Wyoming
Musical and Social Union, which has taken the
place of the Melrose Musical Association. Truly
it may be said, that of societies — religious, tem¬
perance, educational, fraternal, charitable, military,
and social — Melrose has a great abundance.
The growth of Melrose has been very even, as
will be seen by the different censuses. When incor¬
porated in 1850, it had a population of 1,260 ; in
1855 it had 1,976 j in 1860, 2,526; in 1865,
2,865 ; in 1870, 3,414 ; in 1875, 3,990. It now
has a population of 4,365. In 1850 its valuation,
personal and real estate, was $483,446; now it is
$8,666,343. In 1850 there were 125 buildings;
now, 1,045 dwelhngs, stores, churches, school-
houses and halls, — Masonic, Temple of Honor,
Good Templars, Unity, and Armory. There are
now 1,203 ratable polls and 925 voters. Ac¬
cording to the census of 1875, there were thirteen
manufacturing establishments and thirty-three
occupations, which produced during that year
$388,772 ; and fifteen farms, valued at $118,450,
which produced $16,180.
Situated as it is, so near Boston, with admirable
railroad facilities, delightful and varied scenery,
charming drives, with every facility for home com¬
fort and enjoyment, churches of many denomina¬
tions, good schools, an unfailing supply of pure
water for dwellings and public buildings, with soci¬
eties and associations of almost every kind, Melrose
will continue to grow in the future, as it has in
the past, and, in a time not far distant, there will,
perhaps, he another city in the good old common¬
wealth of Massachusetts.
N ATICK.
BY EEV. S. D. HOSMER, ASSISTED BY REV. DANIEL WIGHT AND AUSTIN BACON.
E neighbor towns of Natick
are, on the east Needham and
Dover in Norfolk County, Sher-
born to the south, Framingham
west, and Way land north. Lake
Cochituate, the Long Pond of
our fathers, but resuming its
Indian name when it became
Boston's water-supply, is a note¬
worthy natural feature. Charles
Eiver crooks through South Natick; and on the
edge of Dover Pegan Hill rises four hundred feet.
Natiek has three villages : the compact, populous
Centre, on the Boston and Albany Eailroad, seven¬
teen miles from the city ; Felchville, a mile north ;
and two miles southeast the original settlement.
South Natick. Population, by the census of 1875,
7,419.
This town, one of the few in Massachusetts with
an Indian name, preserves thus the fact of its abo¬
riginal origin; for when John Eliot's missionary
labors at Nonantum bore fruit, he wished to gather
these converts into a community remoter from the
whites. Eiding in quest of a good location, and
disappointed in one place examined, the record
states that he prayed behind a great rock for
guidance in this matter. Soon after a friendly
Indian suggested another site, of which Eliot thus
writes : " The Lord did discover that there it was
his pleasure we should begin this work. When
grasse was fit to cut, 1 sent some Indians to mow,
and other to make hay, because we must oft ride
thither in the Autumn, and in the spring before
any grasse is come, and there is provision for our
horses, their work was performed well, as 1 found
when 1 went up to them with my man to order it.
NAT ICK.
185
They next built a foot-bridge eighty feet long,
rising from either end to the centre. It gave easier
access, especially in the spring floods, to their gar¬
dens and orchards ; for on the left bank of Charles
River lay a meadow previously reached by a ford.
This bridge was so firmly set that it did good ser¬
vice for years. The Indians gave their labor,
though Eliot offered payment, and the bridge was
dedicated with religious exercises.
The Speen family (Indians) owned the land which
by a quitclaim deed, yet treasured in the town
archives, signed by Eliot and witnessed by seven¬
teen Indians, they generously gave to the common
weal, taking only a single right in, land, but retain¬
ing the weirs they had put in the stream.
But as the new plantation was within the limits
of Dedham, that town through the General Court
granted Natick two thousand acres.
Natick has been commonly thought to mean
" the place of hills," which it certainly is. Anoth¬
er suggested signification links the word with the
sound of water dashing over rocks. A third ex¬
planation gives " my land."
History is silent as to the exact time of removal
from Nonantum; but on coming to Natick they
laid out three parallel streets, two on the north,
and one on the south side of the water, and divided
the land into fifty lots more or less. That would
show a population of two hundred probably. A
few houses were built, but Gookin says they liked
wigwams better as being warmer and more port¬
able. Then for the general good à fort was con¬
structed, ditched, banked, and stockaded; round
and capacious.
In the summer of 1651 they were building a
framed edifice, fifty feet by twenty-five, with two
stories — the lower a schoolroom week-days, a sanc¬
tuary on the Sabbath. The upper story became a
warehouse for furs — one of their chief men,
Waban, being a trader — and other valuables,
with a comer walled off for ä small chamber. Here
Ehot lodged when at Natick. The natives sawed
the timber, and only had the help of an English
carpenter at the raising. An Indian despises man¬
ual labor ; but these friends of the white teacher
proved their civilization and Christianity by their
industry and skill. And now, below the wooded
hills, we see the riverside plantation in the dense
forest.
The next step established the village into a body
politic. It was already under the general jurisdic¬
tion of the colony, and so Eliot's converts became
loyal subjects of the English crown. But in local
affairs, for his convenience and theirs alike, Eliot
would teach them self-government. Read his ac¬
count : —
" Therefore upon the sixt day of the sixt Month
of this present year, (their Pallizadoe Fort being
finished) they had a great meeting, and many came
together from diverse parts, though sundry were
hindered and came not at that time : where with
Prayer to God I read and expounded the eighteenth
of Exodus, and finally they did solemnly choose two
rulers among themselves, they first chose a Ruler
of an hundred, then they chose two rulers of fifties,
then they chose Ten or Tithing Men." When ten
captains of ten men each were elected, every private
selected his captain. Totherswamp, we suppose,
was generalissimo; our oldest acquaintance, Wa¬
ban, stood next in rank. So early were they in¬
structed in the science of government, and each
jnan allowed the freeman's right to vote for his
rulers. Does Eliot's policy in making his settlers
landowners and voters suggest light on the Indian
problem of to-day ?
October 8, 1651, was a notable day at Natick.
Their revered teacher visited the place. Other
dignitaries also came. The minister and the mag¬
istrate in those times received marked respect.
Church and state were well represented on this
occasion. Governor Endicott, Rev. Mr. Wilson
of Boston, with others, wished to be eye-witnesses
of the good work, and bid the workers Godspeed.
The governor came as far as Dedham, resting
there overnight, and next morning, escorted in
official dignity by a troop of twenty horsemen,
rode hither. We fancy the nine miles after leaving
Dedham town found clearings scarce, and the bri¬
dle-path may have been on an Indian trail through
the woods. Rev. Mr. Wilson, with cousin Rawson,
the secretary of the colony, spent the night at
Watertown Mill, and rode over in the morning.
After the guests had looked around meeting-
time came. The drum-beat may have served for
a toUing-bell, the falling sands of an hourglass
as their clock to measure time. We suppose the
service that day was held in the open air inside
the fort. The meeting-house probably stood with¬
in the palisade. The visitors were seated under a
canopy ; beneath a smaller awning were the village
magistracy, twelve men ; the Indian women were
in one part, the men in another. What a scene ! —
the governor in state ; the reverend clergy, eager
listeners ; the train-band with a trumpeter at least
186
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
to make music ; and before them the dark sons of
the forest, men, women, and children, a hundred
or more ! One of the best-taught natives preached.
His name is not chronicled, but we have his text
and homily, the treasures hid in a field, and the
merchantman seeking goodly pearls. When he
prayed he stood up, but gave his exhortation sit¬
ting on a stool. He was dressed like the English,
and discoursed three quarters of an hour. Then
Eliot expounded for an hour. The governor and
Mr. Wilson briefly addressed the assembly through
an interpreter. Finally the schoolmaster, Mone-
quassun, deaconed off a psalm, which the Indians
sang to an English tune cheerfully and "pretty
tunable," the governor writes.
After service the chief men consulted with Endi-
cott about a grist-mill they proposed to build.
Mr. Wilson speaks of the fair house, the fruit-
trees, of the goodly plain over the river toward
Dedham, their planting ground, and their bridge.
Civil affairs being arranged, Eliot sought to
gather the converts into church estate, a task need¬
ing more time and patience than the former ; for
the churches, as well as the converts, must be sure
of their thorough preparation. Nor do we forget
the helpers in England who watched their progress
with unflagging interest. In 1649 had been in¬
corporated The Society for Propagating the Gospel
in New England. Men like Baxter, Caryl, and
Sir Thomas Boyle co-operated. They gathered
funds to sustain Eliot and his coworkers. The
letters of Wilson, Shepard, Mayhew, and Eliot
were published and widely read; and the titles
of these little books reveal a growing confidence
in the good work : The Day Breaking, if not the
Sun-rising of the Gospel with the Indians ; The
clear Sun Shine of the Gospel; The Light appear¬
ing more and more unto the perfect Day. These
tracts afford original information from the workers
themselves.
Waban and others became Christians at Nonan-
tum. Good Wampoas on his death-bed there said
to his friends, " I now shall dye, but Jesus Christ
calleth you that live to go to Naticke, that there
the Lord might rule over you, that you might
make a church, and have the Ordinances of God
among you."
October 13, 1652, the elders and messengers of
the churches met with Mr. Eliot and his dusky
friends at Natick. Five of the principal natives
told their religious experience, which was trans¬
lated for the visitors. The waning- afternoon gave
no time for others, but the confessions of fifteen
were next spring published with the title. Tears of
Repentance, and widely read on both sides of the
Atlantic.
June 13, 1654, eight men from Natick went
to Eoxbury for examination. Monequassun, the
school-teacher and chorister, was detained by sick¬
ness, of which he died soon after.
In 1656 Daniel Gookin of Cambridge became
civil superintendent of all the Indians under Mas¬
sachusetts jurisdiction. This of&ce brought him
into close relations with Eliot, and the two wrought
each in his sphere most lovingly; one ordering
the civil matters of the natives, and the other their
religious. Eoxbury and Cambridge were mutual
helpers in gospelizing the aborigines in yet another
way, as we shall soon see.
In the fall of 1658 a solemn fast was kept at
Natick, partly preparatory to church gathering,
partly also on account of excessive rains, hurtful
to their crops. The substance of the exhortations,
or sermons, by Waban and Nishokou is still extant.
At last the Natick church was gathered in 1660,
composed of those whose confessions had been
printed, with others ; but just when, and with how
many members, and under what circumstances, we
find no record.
In a letter of later date Eliot describes the
church usages of the Praying Indians. Tlieir
practice was like the whites in the inchurching,
and after a church was established they received
members thus: "They were diligently examined
both privately and publickly in the catechism, their
blameless and pious conversation is testified to,
their names are publickly exposed as desiring to
make confession. When the teachers and chief
brethren judge them meet they are called publickly
to confess, confederate, and be baptized, both
themselves and their children, if not grown up.
All the Indian churches in 1673 were furnished
with officers, saving the church at Natick, and in
modesty they stand off, because so long as I live,
they say there is no need; but we propose (God
willing) not always to rest in this answer."
In 1658 Mr. Eliot petitioned the General Court
for more land to be granted the plantation " out
of the common lands adjoining " ; four thousand
acres were given in a northerly and westerly direc¬
tion. This tract covered what is now South Fram-
inghara, and the lands westerly and southwest of
Farm Pond, and on the northwest it touched Sud¬
bury River near Merriam's Hill.
NATWK
187
The church fairly planted, Natick became a
missionary centre. Till the formation of other
churches, those living at Hassanemesit, Magunkook,
and Marlborough held membership here. Teachers
and preachers were trained for the growing work.
Already oui- untiring apostle, notwithstanding pas¬
toral labor at Eoxbury (he had three colleagues
during his fifty-eight years' ministry) and days of
toilsome travel, — for he had explored the country
from Martlia's Vineyard to the Merrimack, from
Cape Cod to Brookfield,—had devoted pains by day
and night to a greater task of Christian scholar¬
ship. Having learned the language from an Indian
servant, he could, in 1646, preach to Waban in his
mother tongue. But Eliot longed that the natives
should have the Bible at their wigwams. In 1649
he wished to translate the Scriptures ; in 1651 he
wrote that he had no expectation to see the Word
of God translated, much less printed in his day.
The attempt was so heroic, we do not wonder at
his fears. But he did see both. In 1658 Genesis
and Matthew were in use at Natick. This transla¬
tion of the Bible must have been studied out partly
in Eoxbury, partly in his little chamber here;
thoughts, words, plans, came to him doubtless in
his journeyings.
In 1661 the New Testament issued from the
Cambridge Press, followed in 1663 by the Old
Testament. Two hundred copies of the first,
strongly bound in leather, had at once been cir¬
culated among the Indians. The whole Bible
makes a stout quarto of over one thousand pages,
and with it are bound the Psalter versified from
the Bay Psalm-Book, and a short catechism. All
were published at the expense of the English soci¬
ety, who sent over the press and materials. The
building erected for Indian students became the
printing-house for the second edition. A diffuse
laudatory dedication to Charles II. prefaced the
copies of the first edition sent to England, and Sir
Eobert Boyle tells how the merry monarch received
the strange gift. " He looked a pretty while upon
it, and showed some things in it to those that had
the honor to be about him. Yet the unexpected
coming in of an Envoyé from the Emperor hindered
me from receiving that fuller expression of his
grace toward the translators and dedicators,,that
might otherwise have been expected."
We appreciate the difficulties and grandeur of
Eliot's work, with no grammatical helps to acquire
a dialect utterly unlike the Old-World languages,
when we remember the college of scholars that
gave England King Jamès' version, and the select
company of English and American divines whose
headquarters in preparing the latest revision are
the Jerusalem Chamber, in Westminster Abbey.
Eliot made an Indian grammar, and describes
his method of study. " I would pursue a word,
noun or verb, through all the variations I could
think of." As the savages had no written language,
our author represented their sounds by the Eoman
letters. All the qualifying terms relating to the
principal idea were joined by prefix or suffix to
the leading word. For genders, nouns were divided
as representing animate beings or inanimate things,
and formed their plurals accordingly in og or ash.
" They had no complete or distinct word for the verb
substantive, but it is under a regular composition,
whereby many words are made verb substantive."
Tire personal pronouns had a separable and insepa¬
rable form, mg being expressed by the letter W,
prefixed to the word."
Our Apostle of New England assisted in organ¬
izing an Indian church on Martha's Vineyard, Au¬
gust 22, 1670, and in 1671 his own second church
arose at Hassanemesit. But the Natick church,
the first-born in the wilderness, was the largest, and
enjoyed more of the missionary's presence. In
1670, ten years old, it had fifty communicants.
That it was active in all good endeavors, is shown
by the instructions of the Natick church to its
chosen members, William and Anthony, also John
Sausamon, whom it sent as ambassadors to the
Missonkouog savages, to avert if possible their
going to war with the English.
More Indians were educated for preachers by
Natick schooling and exercising their gifts in
church-meetings, than availed themselves of the
Indian Hall at Cambridge, though a number stud¬
ied there. One aboriginal name graces the Har¬
vard Triennial, an islander from the Vineyard, a
graduate in 1665. But the close confinement to
books was more than the native temperament could
bear. Mr. Eliot left at Quinbisset, now Thomp¬
son, Connecticut, in 1674, Daniel, a Natick Indian,
as their teacher, — probably Takawampbait, of
whom more presently.
Next year came that fearful conflict of the abo¬
riginal and European races, called, from its instiga¬
tor, Philip's War. Waban and Sausamon warned the
whites of Philip's designs, and Sausamon lost his
life thereby. Eliot, in the Eoxbury records, thus
characterizes him : " A man of eminent parts and
wit, he was of late years conv'ted, joyned to the
188
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Church at Natike, baptized, and was sent by the
church to Asowamsick, in Plimoth Pattent to
p"ach the gospel." Among his Taunton neigh¬
bors he was esteemed a good Christian, and his
death was much bewailed.
A company of fifty-two soldiers was raised by
the Praying Indians. In- July Oneco, son of the
famous Uncas, came to Natick with fifty Mohegan
braves as allies of the English. After a successful
battle the Mohegans went looting, while our Natick
men wanted ' to pursue the foe. They knew the
tactics of the wily savages better than the whites,
and did good service, and might have lielped much
more. But the colonists grew unwisely distrustful
of the Christian Indians. Says Eliot, " The pro-
phane Indians p've a sharp rod to the English, and
the English a very sharp rod to the praying In¬
dians."
To quiet the popular apprehension, the General
Court had ordered the Christian Indians to confine
their residence to five yillages, — Natick was the
first, — nor roam more than a mile away from these ;
which order quite broke up their hunting and fish¬
ing. White superintendents were chosen, two
residing at Natick. These measures did not satisfy
the public.
Accordingly the General Court, "1675, October
13, ordered that all the Natick Indians be forth¬
with sent for, and disposed of to Deare Island
as the place appointed for their present abode."
Other praying Indians were also transported down
the harbor. Deer Island to-day is a place of ban¬
ishment for the city's lawless boys, and the brick
House of Industry is a familiar sight to all who
come or go by water.
October 30, Captain Thomas Prentice, with a
guard, came to bring away the villagers and their
goods to the Pines, near where is now the Water-
town Arsenal. Old Jethro and ten more escaped
into the woods,-preferring the range of the forest
with his own race to the cold hospitality of the
Massachusetts authorities.
Sadly the rest left their fish weirs and bridge,
their orchards and gardens, their fort and meeting¬
house. Mr. Eliot writes: "When the InJians
were hurried away to an Hand at half an hour's
warning, pore soules in terror y left their goods,
books, bibles, only some few caryed y' bibles."
Erom Natick they went afoot nine miles to the
Pines, near the base of Nonantum Hill. Here
Eliot, Gookin, and some others met them, and
spent the night hours in prayer and exhortation.
An eye-witness says : " 'T was affecting to see how
Christianly these poor soules carried it, being in
fear they should never return, but be transported
out of the country." With the flood-tide at mid¬
night the waiting boats dropped down stream.
Through the dreary winter they suffered, espe¬
cially the aged and feeble. Some of their men had
leave of absence for duty as guides and scouts.
The Hassanamesit Indians were carried off by the
enemy, who offered them plenty to eat and good
treatment if they went with them. Job Katte-
nanit escaped, but his family were taken. It ap¬
pears that these fared better among the heathen, as
the hostile savages were called, than their Natick
brethren with the Christian whites.
In December James Quannopowit and the Job
just named were sent from Deer Island as spies, to
learn the enemy's spirit and movements. Tliey
took to the woods at Natick December 31st, and
soon were among the warlike Nipmucks, where
they represented themselves as wronged by the
English. Here they found the Hassanamesit refu¬
gees. James' relation to tiie General Court we
now follow. These Nipmucks sold beaver and
wampum to the Mohawks, in exchange for powder
obtained from the Dutch at Albany.
Some Indians mistrusted these spies, but John-
with-the-One-Eye knew James, and said, "I know
thee that thou art a valiant man, therefore abide at
my wigwam and I will protect thee." But Job
stayed with his children. They abode thus some
days, and went forth to hunt deer. Early one morn¬
ing James, having gotten a pint of nokake, or
pounded corn, went hunting with Job. Some Indi¬
ans suspected and watched them, but at night they
were unobserved. About three o'clock before day
James said to Job, "Now let us escape away if we
can." But Job said, " I am not willing to goe now,
because my children are here. I will stay longer, if
God please he can preserve my life, if not, I am will¬
ing to die. I will use what policy I can to get away
my children ; if I live three weekes hence I will come
back to Natick. I shall if I live, by that time get
more intelligence of affairs." Then James said:
" I must now go away, for I am not like to have a
better opportunity ; but I am sorry for you, lest
they kill you for my sake." So, having prayed,
James travelled homeward night and day on snow-
shoes, and reported his eighty miles' scouting to
Major Gookin.
February 9, Job arrived, confirming the tidings,
before brought, that Lancaster would be attacked.
NAT ICK.
189
and naming the day. In the spring those at the
island were allowed to dwell on Mr. Oliver's estate
in Cambridge, whence in the autumn some came to
the falls of Charles Hiver, others to the original
station at Nonantum.
Wattasascompauum, or Captain Tom, whom
Gookin had made a magistrate in remote planta¬
tions, by that fact had stayed with the warring
savages. Taken prisoner, he was on very slight
evidence condemned, and suffered death in Boston,
June, 1676. He died much mourned by Eliot and
the better sort.
In September four chief captives were shot at
the town's end, one of them Old Jethro, who, at
the removal to Deer Island, had taken to the woods.
Some others, once dwellers at Natick, found with
the enemy, had been carried into slavery.
" 1676, Nov. 10, An account of the disposait of
the Indians, our friends (pro tempore) presented to
the Councill (at their desire) by Daniel Gookin, sen.
" The Natick Indians are disposed in fewer com¬
panies as folioweth, vict. one company with James
Eumney Marsh, and his kindred living in Meadfield,
with the approbation and consent of the English
there; these are in number about twenty-five, 5 : 20.
" Another company live near Natick adjoyning
the garrison-house of Andrew Dewin and his sons,
who desire their neighborhood, and are under their
inspection; the number of these may be about
fifty soules, 10 :40.
"A third company of them with Waban live
neare the falls of the Charles Eiver, near to the
house of Joseph Miller, and not far from Capt
Prentice. The number of these may be about sixty
soules, whereof are 10 : 50.
"A fourth company dwell at Nonantum Hill,
near Leift Trowbridge and John Coones, who per¬
mits them to build their wigwams upon his ground.
They are employed to cut wood, and spin, and
make stone walls, being but a small distance from
the hill of Nonantum where their meeting is to
keep Sabath. These may be about seventy five
souls, 15:60."
After the winter others returned to their old
home. In 1679 Natick exchanged land with
newly settled Sherbom, giving 4,000 acres north
of Sherbom, and receiving a like amount at Ma-
gunkook Hill, with two hundred bushels of grain
to boot.
Philip's War and Mr. Eliot's infirmities of age
sadly weakened the prosperity of the native
churches in Massachusetts. But on the cape, as
well as at Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, dis¬
tant from the battle-scenes, the work still fiour-
ished. Waban puts his mark to a petition for the
pecuniary encouragement of the pastor at Sherhoni,
son of Major Gookin, for lecturing regularly at
Natick. They say, that, deprived of seeing Mr.
Eliot's face, and hearing his voice (especially in
the winter season) so frequently as formerly, the
church and people of Natick invited Mr. Gookin,
two and a half years before, to lecture, which he
had done in English, and an interpreter translated
his words. This letter has sixteen Indian names
subjoined. Old Waban marks first, and eight
more also mark. Daniel Takawampbait, the sec¬
ond name is signed, and the last is Thomas Waban,
son of the first. This document Professor Stowe,
himself Natick-born, discovered in London. Its
date is March 19, 1684.
The next summer old Waban died, his last
words attesting a Christian's trust. To-day a placid
lake, whose surface his canoe oft cleft, bears his
name.
Here is Natick in 1685 as sketched by John
Dunton of London, who visited New England on
a bookselling speculation. Calling on Eev. Mr.
Eliot at Eoxbury, he received twelve Bibles just
from the press. They would be a fortune to our
booksellers. But we quote : " On horseback about
twenty miles to Natick. We tied up our horses in
two old barns almost in ruins. We had no place
where we could bestow ourselves, unless upon
greensward until the lecture began. We were in¬
formed that the sachem and queen were there, and
went immediately to visit them. Wiieii we had
made our visit, we went to the meeting-place,
where the lecture was preached by Mr. Gookins.
The poor Indians were very much affected, and
seemed to hang upon his lips. The Natick Lec¬
ture was done about four in the afternoon, and we
had twenty miles to Boston, so that we were obliged
to mount immediately and make the best of our
way."
March 19, 1687, died Major Gookin, whose
gravestone is yet in the ancient cemetery at Cam¬
bridge. Near this time Eliot's wife, his companion
for more than fifty years, a person remarkably
fitted for her position, died. Her husband's sim¬
ple eulogy has a tender pathos : " Here lies my
dear, faithful, pious, prudent, prayerful wife."
From Judge Sewall's recently published diary
we glean these facts ; " Wednesday, May 21,1690,
about one in the morning Mr. Eliot died. This
190
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
puts our Election into Mourning." His death
was referred to by Mr. Walter in the Thursday
lecture with reference to 2 Kings ii. His funeral
was attended on Friday by the magistrates and
ministers, six of the latter serving as bearers. The
burial-spot, since then the tomb of the pastors of
the First Church of Roxbury, is in the cemetery,
on the corner of Washington and Eustis streets.
The Natick church mourned their spiritual father
many a day, for no Elisha caught the mantle of
the ascending prophet. In amiability of character
he was our New England St. John; in abundant
labors for an outside race our apostle to the In¬
dians was a very St. Paul. Cotton Mather's ana¬
gram on his name reveals his earnest spirit, for
" Eliot," reversed, reads " toile." Three places in
Massachusetts shall ever honor his holy memory, —
Eoxhury, Newton, and Natick.
The cloud which Eliot in his later years saw
resting over his cherished work did not lift, but
rather darkened, after his decease. In 1693 one
writes, " Since blessed Eliot's death the Natick
church is much dwindled." Daniel Takawampbait
had been ordained as their teacher, probably when
Eliot's age took him from active service. Judge
Sewall's interleaved almanac, under date of July 29,
1683, says: "The first Ind ordeyned Minest was
Daniel of Natick."
But the light was waning. In 1698 two pas¬
tors were chosen by the legislature to visit all the
native plantations and report their state. Here
they found a church of seven men and three
women, "their pastor Dan' Takawampbait (or¬
dained by the Eev and holy man of God, John
Eliot deceased) who is a person of great knowl¬
edge. Here are fifty-nine men, and fifty-one wo¬
men, and seventy children under sixteen." In
1699 they inform the legislature that their house
was fallen down, and ask leave to assign John Collar,
Jr., a little nook of land in their plantation, in
recompense for his building another meeting-house.
Two hundred acres, after some delay, were granted
him. Takawampbait died September 17, 1716,
aged sixty-four, as his humble stone on the side¬
walk informs us. Two Indians jDreached tran¬
siently after him ; the last record of such was in
1719. The ten members of 1698, as the church
probably added none, may all have passed away
in the next twenty years.
Natick had been a purely Indian settlement.
The town records were written at one time in their
language by Thomas Waban, son of Eliot's first
convert. Besides acting as village clerk, he was a
justice of the peace. One of his arrest-warrants
reads : —
" You you big constable ; quick you catchum
Jeremiah Offscow ; strong you holdum ; safe you
bringum afore me,
"Thos WNBA'S, Justice peace."
At a public meeting. May 4, 1719, certain per¬
sons, twenty in all, of those six Speens, and an¬
other, a woman, were declared to be " the Only and
True Proprietors of Natick."
In 1720 John Sawin erected a saw-mill first on
the river, but soon removed it to the brook named
after him. His father, Thomas of Sherbom, made
a grist-mill for the Indians as early as 1686.
Some time later the dam just above the bridge
was made. The little island was then the south
bank of the stream, but a freshet once found a
short cut, and to-day the new channel is rather
the wider of the two.
Eev. Oliver Peabody (Harvard, 1721) was en¬
gaged as an Indian missionary by the same society
that assisted Eliot. He took a mission service
which eleven men, it is said, had declined. His
first sermon was preached August 6, 1721. A
meeting-house must have been built, as a proprie¬
tors' meeting in September granted Moses Smith
of Needham forty acres on the southwesterly side
of Pegan Hill for finishing the meeting-house.
Mr. Peabody found the original church extinct,
and no records preserved. Therefore, December 3,
1729, a new church of three Indians and five
whites was formed, Eev. Mr. Baxter of Medfield,
whose daughter, Hannah, Mr. Peabody had mar¬
ried, preaching the sermon. And our Indian mis¬
sionary was ordained a fortnight later at Cambridge.
He built his house on the Sherborn road, on a
knoll commanding a fine river-view. Traces of
the cellar may yet be seen. The Indians brought
two young elms, and planted them as friendship
trees in his front yard. They stood about a cen¬
tury.
In 1728 the proprietors had voted "that Eev.
Mr. Peabody, during his continuance in the work
of the ministry in Natick, have the sole use and
improvement of the Ministerial Lot," a hundred-
aere tract on Pegan Plain, the very heart and busi¬
ness centre of Natick to-day; also "that there he
a Contribution for y' Eev. Mr. Peabody the last
Sabbath in every month, Lieut. Wamsquan to hold
the box."
NAT ICK.
191
Our Indian pastor must have been a good
preacher, for in 1732 he preached the Artillery
Election Sermon, which was printed at Boston by
T. Fleet.
Thomas Sawin had a mill in Natick, and may
have sojourned here awhile ; his son John has been
thought to be the first white resident, though others
had lands from the natives before him. Mr. Pea-
body, in 1726, speaks of his lonesome life, as his
nearest English neighbor was a mile away.
Captain David' Morse, son of Captain Joseph, of
Sherboru, moved to Natick, and built upon the
site where now Mr. Asa Caswell resides. This was
about the year 1727. He became first captain of
the white military company. Jonathan Carver,
who has given name to the hill back of the hotel,
was among the early settlers. Ebenezer Felch
lived in the north part of the town. He was an
active citizen, filling various offices acceptably, such
as schoolmaster, surveyor, proprietors' clerk, and
the first English deacon of the church.
The village officers until 1733 were all Indians,
the first whites elected being John Sawin, consta¬
ble, and Thomas Ellis, tithing-man. No Indian
held a town office after Natick became a parish!
In 1698 the plantation had no schoolmaster;
and only one child, out of seventy under sixteen
years of age, could read. But in 1731 - 32 Eben¬
ezer Felch received six pounds for teaching, and
four pounds the next year. Four years later the
town sold one hundred and fifty pounds' worth of
common lands, " the income and yearly interest
whereof to be toward the maintenance of a school
in Natick." In 1746 it was voted not to have a
school, but they spent eighty-five pounds for parish
ammunition. Two years after the inhabitants grew
wiser, and appropriated forty pounds. Old Tenor,
for a reading and writing school.
In 1743 the church felt the wave of Whitefield's
influence in New England. Their pastor wrote
that within two years about fifty persons, Indians
as well as whites, were added to the cliurch.
As the white population increased, Natick plan¬
tation became by legislative act a precinct or par¬
ish, January 3, 1745. But the Indians lost their
citizenship, and were henceforth under guardians.
They could not sell their land without permission
of the General Court. Many a petition for that
object is on the state files.
A tax list, in 1746, ahout church aflairs con¬
tains thirty-three Natick names, whites only ;
seven Framingham, and two Sudbury men. The
document reads: "An assessment of £12 10«.
being a tax granted and agreed upon by ye inhabi¬
tants of Natick, regularly assembled, to give to the
Eev. Mr. Peabody, as a Gift Money, by the sub¬
scribers, January y® 21", 1746-47, each person's
proportion to said Hate."
We have a complete list of the Indian families
in 1749, adults and children in each household,—
one hundred and sixty-six in all : forty-two on
the south side of the river by Dedham, sixty-four
south of Saw-pit Hill on Pegan Plain ; sixteen
west of Saw-pit Hill, and twenty-six southeast of
Pegan Plain. This census was taken on account
of the endeavor of some dissatisfied white people
to change the location of the church. Beneath the
names we read, " All these are accommodated as the
meeting house now stands."
Another valuable paper is entitled, " This is a
Plan of the Roads, and the Situation of the houses
in the Parish of Natick. The red spots are Eng¬
lish houses, and the black spots are Indian houses
or wigwams, Aug. 1" 1749, Samuel Livermore
Surveyor." There are about forty black spots and
fifty red ones.
We find, in 1746, a town vote, the forerunner
of many stormy debates upon the question " to see
if the Town will agree upon a place to set the
Meeting-house, and to see if the Town will vote,
that the Indians of Natick shall have an equal
privilege with them, according to their number in
a new meeting-house, when they shall build one,
if they will meet with them." Soon follows this
record : " Voted to have Mr. Peabody for minister
if he will come to the centre of the town which
opened an unpleasant difference of opinion that
embittered Natick history for the next fifty years.
Our good minister, however, was to be taken from
the evil to come. He spent a season on a mission
to the Mohegans in Connecticut. About this time
a new meeting-house was under way. In a private
diary we read: "June 8, 1749. Natick meeting¬
house raised." We have seen the bills for money
paid to sundry Indians for labor and material for
the meeting-house. But it was not proceeded with,
on account of divided desires as to its location.
Returning with enfeebled health, Mr. Peabody
fell into a decline, and died on Sunday, February 2,
1752. His gravestone, as was then customary
for ministers, bears a Latin epitaph. His widow
married Deacon John Eliot of Boston, and died in
1796, aged ninety-two. As a preacher, his ser¬
mons were plain, direct, and yet tender. His in-
192
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
fluence over the Indians was excellent in leading
them to intelligence and habits of temperance and
industry. Governor Belcher was a personal friend
who often welcomed him to his house. Besides the
discourse already named, a sermon of Mr. Peabody's
was published, delivered at the evening lecture at the
New North Church in Boston, June 8, 1742. He
had twelve children. With the servants and visit¬
ors his family frequently numbered twenty around
his hospitable board. The oldest son, Oliver, Jr.,
graduated at Harvard, was ordained pastor of the
church in Koxbury,- Mr. ElioPs fourth successor,
but died after a brief ministry. He built a resi¬
dence nearly opposite the church, which for eighty
years was the parsonage. It is now owned and
occupied by that eminent scholar and antiquarian,
C. K. Dillaway, Esq.
A meeting of the parish of Natick was called in
1754,. " To see if the inhabitants accept the school
that was kept at Joseph Travis' as a school for
that Squadrian and some years later, " To see if
the Parish will Imploy School-Dames to school
their children." A list of the soldiers in Natick
under Captain John Coolidge names forty-two, and
the alarm-men were twenty-one more. Ee v. Stephen
Badger's name heads the last company, April 19,
1757. We find returns of men enlisted or im¬
pressed for his Majesty's service. They were at the
lakes in the French and Indian War, and learned
a soldier's duty, useful hereafter, when not in his
Majesty's service. A number of Indians went in
these campaigns. But in 1759 a distemper carried
off some score of Indians, only two who were
attacked recovering, while of the English who took
care of the sick natives but oue caught the disease
and died. Nantucket chronicles a similar story
about the same time.
On the town records stands this early emancipa¬
tion proclamation : —
" Know all men whome these Presents may Con¬
cern, that we Samuel Taylor and Hannah Taylor
his wife ; In Consideration of the Good Servis our
Negroé Man Servant, Named Plato, hath Done and
may Do for us During our Life, and Considering
the trouble he the said Plato May be brought to
After our Deceas : we Do by these Presents att our
Decease, Absolutely and fully Free and Aquit him,
the said Plato from being sold or being any Slave
Servant to any Person whoom soever : but he shall
have his full Liberty to serve with whome he will,
and his wages Shall be for his well-maintenance.
and the Bemainder to thoae that shall take the best
Care of him During his life.
" Given under our Hands in Natick, in the
County of Middlesex, this twenty-first Day of
June, Anno Domini 1764.
"Sam'l Taylor.
" Hannah Taylor.
" Signed in Presence of
"Nath. Mann.
"Thos. Stanford.
" A Trew Record of his Freedom."
Just before this time died Joseph Ephraim, the
Indian deacon. At his election all the whites gave
him their votes, and he held the office from the
organization of the church through Mr. Peabody's
ministry, and probably till his death, about 1761.
He was a man of good parts, and highly respected.
Having been asked why young Indians when living
with the whites kept sober and, industrious, but
returning to their own kindred soon grew lazy, in¬
temperate, and shiftless, he replied, in his broken
English, " Tucks (ducks) will be tucks for all old
hen he hatch um." He had a descendant, John,
who inherited his acres, but not his virtues.
Rev. Stephen Badger, in 1753, was appointed
Indian missionary at Natick. The white inhabi¬
tants agreed to give £ 13 6«. 8(7. towards his salary,
and build him a house with timber from the minis¬
terial lot, and draw him thirty cords of wood yearly,
He was born at Charlestown j graduated at Harvard
College, 1747 ; and was ordained March 27, 1753,
President Appleton, of Cambridge, preaching the
sermon.
The next year a new meeting-house, the fourth
on the spot, was built, largely at the cost of the
Society for Propagating the Gospel among the
Indians. The mutual influence of the whites and
Indians worked badly on many of each race, who
took each other's evil qualities. Natick, as a parish,
voted money toward galleries in the meeting-house,
and the preacher's salary was voted by the town,
often reluctantly, the trouble growing out of the
location of the church.
Mr. Badger built a manse which is still inhabited.
It well preserved its character of respectable age,
and was the residence of Oliver Bacon, founder of
the free library ; but since his death it has been
modernized.
An old diary states: 'March 21" 53; Mr.
Badger's church was gathered."
Let us sketch the life of John Jones, born in
NAT ICK.
193
Weston, 1716, who married Hannah Morse in 1742.
Though residing over the river, and so in another
town and county, his public life is connected with
Natick. His house, finely placed on a gentle
swell of land upon the river-bank, was removed
only four years ago, when Mr. Benjamin P. Cheney
built his beautiful mansion on the very spot.
Esquire Jones was an influential citizen; justice
of the peace under royal and republican jurisdic¬
tion, a colonel in the militia, considered conserva¬
tive ill his politics about the Revolutionary period.
He filled the office of proprietors' clerk, and was
an excellent surveyor. His plans of surveys at
Mt. Desert in 1762 have been presented to the
Maine Historical Society by his grandson, Elijah
Perry, Esq. Some amusing extracts from his
journal as justice of the peace have been in print
recently. Mr. Jones was for many years deacon
in Mr. Badger's church. His second wife was
Tabitha Battle. He died in 1802.
In the troubles with the mother country pre¬
ceding the Revolution Natick, like other New Eng¬
land towns, was deeply moved. Crispus Attucks, —
that stalwart mulatto who with three others fell in
the Boston Massacre, March 5, 1770, — though he
had been servant to William Brown of Eraming-
hara, used to live just over the line in Natick. The
site of his hut is well known. There flowed in his
veins a tinge of Indian blood. At the time of his
death he was a sailor.
A company of minute-men had been formed here
March, 1775, and on the eventful 19th of April a
company under Captain Joseph Morse marched, on
the Lexington alarm, to harass the retreat of the
redcoats. A muster-roll in the state archives
registers seventy-six men, out of a population of
five hundred and thirty-five. Some of them were
veterans of the French and Indian wars. They
were leading men in the place,.— the Morses,
Bacons, Broads, Sawins, and Manns.
The Natick men brought several prisoners who
settled in Dover.
These companies belonged to Colonel Samuel
Bullard's regiment. The town voted. May 12, to
dismiss "Captain Joseph Morse, Lieutenant Wil¬
liam Boden, and Lieutenant Abel Perry from being
selectmen, as they are going into the Massachusetts
service." Captain Morse's company was with the
army at Cambridge, in Colonel Patterson's regi¬
ment, until August 1,1775 ; other Natick soldiers
were in Captain Mellen's company, of Colonel
Ward's regiment. The next .year Captain Aaron
Gardner's company, in Colonel Brooks' regiment,
has eleven names from this town. A recruit
needed a suit of clothes. Tradition avers that the
sheep were sheared, and twelve maidens spun, wove,
cut, and made it, in twenty-four hours. Natick
had her sons at Bunker Hill. The British can¬
nonade could have been heard in her peaceful
homes, and the smoke of burning Charlestown that
Saturday afternoon was to be seen from her hill¬
tops. Rev. Mr. Badger met with serious pecuniary
loss, for Charlestown had been his home.
A town-meeting was called, June 20, 1776, "to
see whether the inhabitants will vote to stand by the
Continental Congress with their lives and fortunes ;
in Case the Continental Congress shall in their
Wisdom, Declare for Independence of the King¬
dom of Great Britain." After reaching the article
they adjourned two and a half hours to await the
report of their committee, — Rev. Stephen Badger,
Captain John Coolidge, and Daniel Morse. These
presented a well-written, patriotic resolution, which
the town adopted. An extract will show the spirit
of the day : " We will with our lives and fortunes
Join with the other inhabitants of this Colony, and
with those of the other Colonies, in supporting them
in said measure, and which, if we may be permitted
to- suggest our opinion, the sooner it is Come into
we shall have fewer Difficulties to Conflict, and the
grand objects of peace. Liberty, and Safety will
be more likely Speedily to be Restored, and Estab¬
lished in our once happy land."
July 3, 1776, Samuel Welles being moderator,
the town voted "seven pounds additional to the
bounty of seven pounds, that the colony gives to
those that Tnlest into the Canada Expedition." A
number went with Arnold on that toilsome march
through the Maine forests, ending in the brave but
unsuccessful assault upon Quebec.
The Declaration of Independence is recorded on
the town-book, in the handwriting of the clerk, a
true patriot and gallant soldier. Ensign Daniel
Morse. Soldiers enlisted, or " did a tum," as the
expression was, at Dorchester, Canada, New York,
and Rhode Island. Some citizens paid their sub¬
stitutes. Captain Joseph Morse, who had risen to
the rank of major, returned in poor health, and
died December 16, 1779. Ensign Sawin, the
father of her who founded Sawin Academy, served
in the Revolution. His cap and gun are still pre¬
served m the family. Asa Drury became captain,
and lived respected years after the peace. Heze-
kiah Broad won a major's commission. He had
194
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
been a delegate to the Provincial Congress of 1774
at Concord, and after the war was a member of
the Constitutional Convention in Boston. A gen¬
tleman of the old school, he long continued to
dress' in the Continental costume. Lieutenant
William Boden did good service in the army, and
was a public-spirited citizen. He gave land for a
school-house and cemetery. His monument in the
West Cemetery was erected in 1855 by the town,
for the ungrateful adopted son who received his
property had not raised the simplest stone to the
memory of his honored foster-father. Benjamin
Smith outlived all his fellow-pensioners. He was
musician to tlie minute-men who went to Lexing¬
ton, was at Monmouth, and in his old age delighted
to furnish martial music on public occasions. At
the last Cornwallis celebration in Natick, 1857, lie
was present, a robust man of ninety-eight years.
He died at Grafton, at the age of nearly one hun¬
dred and one.
The negroes of Natick joined in the patriotic
struggle. Out of an hundred and twenty who en¬
listed, some twenty had been slaves. Csesar Ferrit
and his son John were in the ranks nearly all the
war, beginning at Lexington. Caesar came from
the West Indies, and used to say that the blood of
four nations flowed in his veins; for he had a
French and also a Dutch grandfather, and one of
his grandmothers was an Indian, the other an Afri¬
can. Plato Lambert, whose emancipation was
noticed, deserves further mention. Years after
peace was ratified he took to roaming around the
country with his great dog. But man and dog
strangely were missing at last. A large skeleton
corresponding to Plato's size was found near the
lake a long time after his disappearance. He had
been murdered, it was said, but by whom was never
known.
Natick became an incorporated town in 1781.
A tract of land called Needham Leg, reaching
nearly to Lake Cochituate, and containing 1,600
acres, was in 1797 annexed to Natick. Its loca¬
tion was a source of debate, and several times its
inhabitants had sought to be set on or off during
the last fifty years. In exchange Natick ceded to
Needham about four hundred acres, between Waban
Brook and the. present town line. The land thus
transferred included the Welles farm, whence the
name Wellesley comes, widely known as the place of
the much-visited park-like grounds of H. H. Hun-
newell, Esq. The barren field, cultivated for years
with judicious expense and the best taste, is changed
into a garden of rare beauty ; azaleas and rhodo¬
dendrons delight the lover of flowers; there are
broad velvety lawns, trees grouped or massed,
paths revealing beautiful vistas, terraces com¬
manding charming lake-views.
The Welles family of Boston had here their
country home. Mr. Samuel Welles was active in
church and town affairs in Mr. Badger's time, and
offered to advance funds for finishing the meeting¬
house at the time when the town was uncertain
what to do. TVo houses the family formerly lived
in are tenanted still. One retains the pictured
tiles round the fireplace. Lake Waban in the last
century lay chiefly in Natick, and was called Saw-
Mill Pond, then Bullard's Pond. Samuel Welles,
the famous banker of Paris, was bom in Natick,
going hence in 1815 to win celebrity and a fortune
abroad. He died in 1841, and his widow, a native
of Watertown, became afterward a titled lady,
Marchioness de la Valette ; and their son, Samuel
Welles, married a daughter of M. Eouher, Prime
Minister under Napoleon III.
In the later years of his life Eev. Mr. Badger
wrote a valuable communication on Natick his¬
tory.^ When the new meeting-house at the Cen¬
tre, where the cross-roads met, was completed, he
was requested to preach the first sermon there in
1799, but declined on account of his health; and
there was no preaching in the old church after
1798. He died in 1803, after a stormy pastorate
of fifty years, and lies buried in his family lot,
where one stone records all the family epitaphs.
His personal appearance and character as a man
and preacher are portrayed in Biglow's Hutory
of Natick by one who knew him well. A double
sermon on Drunkenness, preached October, 1773,
was published at the time, and reprinted in 1829.
He has also some philosophical essays in the Co¬
lumbian Centine.1. He was the Parson Lothrop in
Ol(ltx)wn Folks. His widow survived him twenty
years, and the settlement of her estate involved a
famous lawsuit, in which Daniel Webster pleaded.
Now follows Natick's history since 1800. It
was then a farming community, its population
694. The growth was slow. In 1830 the census
found only 890 persons. Five farms occupied the
land within a half-mile circle from the first church.
The meeting-house where Mr. Badger preached,
unused before his death, was sadly neglected after¬
ward. The village children sported there ; and an
' Published in Massachusetis Historical CoHectioas, 1st Se-
ries, Vol. V.
NAT I CK.
195
old resident has heard a now distinguished doctor
of divinity as boy-preacher from its pulpit address
his playmates.
The present First Church was organized at the
Centre, with twenty-three members," in February,
1802, and for about thirty years was the only re¬
ligious society in town. Eev. Freeman Sears, the
first pastor, was ordained January 1, 1806, and
died, lamented, June 30, 1811. His monument in
Dell Park was erected in 1873.
Eev. Martin Moore succeeded him, being pastor
from 1814 to 1833. The most of the ministerial
lot, an hundred acres given by the Indians in Mr.
Peabody's day, was now sold. It covered the
present business centre of Natick. The proceeds
largely form the ministerial fund now. Mr. Moore
was a sound divine, and fond of antiquarian re¬
search. His New Year's Historical Sermon, Jan¬
uary 5, 1817, and Life of Eliot possess much
merit. At his dismissal in 1833 the church num¬
bered one hundred and seventy members. The
Sabbath school began in April, 1818. Mr. Moore
edited the Boston Recorder after leaving Natick,
and, dying in 1866, lies buried in Mt. Auburn.
Eev. E. D. Moore followed from 1833 to 1838.
A new church was built in 1835. Eev. Samuel
Hunt preached from 1839 to 1850. He after¬
wards became private secretary to the late Vice-
President Wilson, rendering valuable assistance in
some of his published works. July 23, 1878, he
followed his distinguished associate into the other
world.
During the ministry of Eev. Elias Nason, the
well-known historical writer, from 1852 to 1858,
a new church was built, the third on the same site.
Eev. Charles M. Tyler (1859 to 1867) and Eev.
Jesse H. Jones bring the list down to the present
pastor, Eev. F. N. Peloubet, installed January 17,
1872. In 1875 a new brick edifice of fine pro¬
portions replaced the church consumed in the great
fire of January, 1874.
In 1828 the Unitarian (Eliot) Church, South
Natick, was built and dedicated, whose semi-cen¬
tennial was observed November 20, 1878. This
sanctuary stands upon the spot of ElioPs church.
Its first pastor, ordained February 17, 1830, was
Eev. J. W. Thompson, D. D., now of Jamaica
Plain, Eev. Alexander Young of Boston preaching
the sermon. Nine permanent ministers have fol¬
lowed him. Eev. H. Alger filled the desk nearly
fourteen years, the house being improved by add¬
ing the chancel, spire, and clock. Eev. J. P.
Sheafe, Jr., ordained September 30, 1874, is the
present pastor.
The recent semi-centennial commemoration was
a day of historic interest. Valuable papers were
read by the pastor on the previous houses of wor¬
ship built on this spot, and by Eev. Mr. Alger on
the history of the present edifice. Eeminiscences
were given by former pastors and older members,
and expressions of good-will by visiting friends.
Voices were heard that were musical in the choir
fifty years ago. We hear, from one who remem¬
bered, that the weather, a pouring rain, corresponded
to that on the day of original dedication.
The Methodists worshipped a long time just
across the line, on the edge of Needham and "Wes¬
ton. But in 1834 they organized at Natick, dedi¬
cating their first house July 4, 1834. It became
the town-house in 1868, and went down — or up
— in the flames of January 13, 1874. The vestry
of the new and beautiful house is now used.
In 1848 the Baptists began services at South
Natick, removing in 1851 to the centre of the
town. Tlieir church stands south of the Common.
Eev. A. E. Eeynolds is their able and devoted
pastor.
The John Eliot (Orthodox) Church, South Na¬
tick, was formed in 1859, under Eev. E. E. Strong
as pastor. In the fall of 1862 they entered their
pleasant sanctuary. Eev. Pearse Pinch, the present
pastor, was ordained July 25, 1878.
The inerease of the foreign element of the popu¬
lation soon introduced the Eoman Catholic wor¬
ship. The congregation of St. Patrick's occupy
the enlarged house, originally sold by the First
Church to the Universalists, and by them, on their
disbandment, to the Catholics in 1860. At South
Natick also is another prosperous congregation.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church was formed in 1871.
They entered their house of worship in 1875, which
was consecrated December 13, 1877. Eev. B. E.
Giflbrd officiates as rector.
We have seen that the school and church at
Natick at the first used the same room. Piety and
learning were closely associated. Eliot's Indian
teacher wrote for copies in the scholars' writing-
books the questions and answers in the Catechism.
For some time prior to 1819 the town raised
annually $600 for schools. After 1820 select
schools, giving instruction in the higher branches,
were taught by John Angier, Charles Forbush,
Eev; Daniel Wight, Eev. Samuel Damon, and
J. W. Bacon. During the winter of 1837 the
196
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
centre district school was successfully conducted
by a young man, Henry Wilson, who became an
educator in a wider sphere. In 1852 the town
established a high school, appropriating $ 1,000 for
its support. This school has enjoyed able teachers
and trained capable pupils; but it never had a
suitable domicile till the spring of 1878, when it
occupied the new and attractive building on East
Central Street. Abner Rice was its first principal,
serving ten years. Mr. E. C. Bastón is the present
incumbent. Judge Bacon, one of the committee
at the starting of the high school, gave a fitting
address at the dedication of the new edifice, March
23, 1878. Some of our graduates take a college
course. Harvard being usually their choice; but
more follow some handicraft of industry or skilled
labor. There are three grammar schools, and the
last enumeration of children of the school age was
seventeen hundred.
We may just name the Sawin Academy, crown¬
ing Sherborn^s central hill, since it originated and
is etidowed by the legacy of Miss Martha Sawin of
South Natick. That institution realized from her
estate $40,000.
William Biglow (now spelled Bigelow) should
be mentioned here. He graduated the second scholar
at Harvard, 1794; was ^BK poet in 1799. He
studied theology with Rev. Mr. Thayer of Lancas¬
ter, and. preached some iu prominent pulpits, but
never settled as a pastor. He carried on a success¬
ful school in Salem, and was master of the Boston
Latin school, from 1805 to 1814. In later years
one infirmity marred his power. He was an easy
writer. He published his history of Natick in 1830.
He wrote also a history of Sherbom, and was a
frequent contributor to the papers and magazines.
He died in 1844, and rests with his generation in
the old cemetery at South Natick.
Literary and scientific associations and free
libraries also do an educational work among the
people. In 1835 thirteen young men formed the
Natick Debating Society. Most of its members
have shone in after-life, — Austin Bacon, the in¬
defatigable antiquarian; Judge J. W. Bacon; Edi¬
tor E. C. Morse; A. W. Thayer, American Consul at
Trieste, and author of a life of Beethoven written in
German; primus inter pares, Henry Wilson.
Their meetings in the old sciiool-house aided mucli
in developing skill and power in spoken or written
argument. To the future senator, his work-bench
and debating-club became his college and profes¬
sional school.
The Ladies' Social Library began at South
Natick in 1836, and has contributed to the intelli-
gence and culture of that village. In 1870 Mr.
Oliver Bacon presented to the society their neat
little building as a memorial of the interest his
lately deceased wife had always felt in the library.
It stands under the maples, close by the Eliot Mon¬
ument. Their collection will soon be merged in
the new library.
The Historical and Natural History Society at
South Natick Tvas started in 1870. Its name in¬
dicates the intent of its founders, — scientific inves¬
tigation and local historical research. It was incor¬
porated in 1873 as the Historical Natural History
and Library Society. In the destructive fire of
March, 1872, its collections were consumed, includ¬
ing certain antiquarian treasures, the sounding-
board of Parson Badger's pulpit, his wife's satin
slippers, a pair of venerable shoe-buckles, etc. All
the society's stuffed specimens were destroyed, a
fine polar bear having been put on the shelves
only the evening before. An extensive collection
of ferns was lost. But the society has risen from
this disaster to greater prosperity. Papers of his¬
toric and scientific interest are read quarterly. Mr.
William Edwards, an active member, a loving and
reverent student of nature, has a very fine collec¬
tion of ferns. The society has a good cabinet of
South American birds gathered for them in Guiana
by one of their members, an ornithologist, Mr. A.
L. Babcock of Sherborn. There are also stuffed
animals, minerals, shells, some Indian stone im¬
plements, and relics from aboriginal graves. Its
library numbers nine hundred and twenty-five vol¬
umes. It possesses some ancient and curious books
and pamphlets. Rev. H. Alger has long been its
efficient president. By the munificent bequest of
the late Oliver Bacon, Esq., the society will soon
have a fire-proof building in connection with the
Bacon Free Library. The ground-plan makes the
building in the form of a Greek cross. R. G. Shaw
is the architect.
From information furnished by Judge Bacon, we
can speak of early libraries and the Morse Institute,
our present free library.
The Natick Social Library was founded about
1810. A catalogue shows fifty-two proprietors
and ninety-four volumes. No books were added
after 1820, and in 1840 the society became ex¬
tinct.
The religious or parish library of the First Church
was organized by Rev. Martin Moore early in his
NAT ICK.
197
Bacon Free Llbrarf.
ministry. In 1840 it had about one hundred vol¬
umes of religious works.
The Citizens' Library was established February
10, 1847. Five hundred dollars were subscribed
in five-dollar shares. Its catalogue of 1852 counts
four hundred and thirty-two volumes. February 11,
1857, it was given to the town as the foundation
of a town library, "provided Natick appropriates
three hundred dollars the first year for books, and
one hundred dollars annually afterwards, also a
room for the library, and choose and pay a libra¬
rian." The town accepted the proposal, and in
April the Citizens' Library, with four hundred and
eighty-three volumes, became the town's property.
The town library thus originated, in 1859 had
1,741 volumes. This was transferred in 1874 to
the Morse Institute, bringing that organization its
3,154 volumes.
In June, 1862, Miss Mary Ann Morse died.
Her will gave all her estate to found a public
library for the use of all the inhabitants of Natick.
If the town accepted the bequest, then five trustees.
to serve five years, were to take the estate and exe¬
cute the intent of the will. The town accepted, and
chose Willard Drury, John W. Bacon, Horatio
Alger, John O. Wilson, and Elisha P. Hollis,
trustees ; and this board has been thrice re-elected.
A friend thus -writes of Miss Morse : " ^lary
Ann Morse was the third child and only daughter
of Eeuel Morse and Mary Parker, born June 16,
1825, and died June 30, 1862. She was of the
eighth generation in a direct line from Samuel
Morse, born in England in 1585, who was the first
of this name emigrating to this country. He came
to New England in 1635, and settled in Dedham.
Miss Mary Ann Morse had two brothers, who both
died before her. They were all born in the brick
house then standing on the spot where the library
now is, but moved to Clarendon Street to give the
site for the present fine edifice. Her teacher, when
Miss Morse was a girl of fourteen, speaks of her
excellent health, kind disposition, and fair abilities.
Her later years were spent in the family of Dr. Ira
Eussell, now of Winchendon, who influenced her
198
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Horse Institute*
much in the final disposition of her property/^
Within the library, facing the staircase, a marble
memorial tablet bears this inscription : —
In perpetual memory of
Mary Ann Morse ;
the munificent founder
of this Institute.
Bom June 16, 1825 : Died June 30, 1862.
She gave her whole estate
to establish this Library for the
use and benefit of all the inhabitants
of her native town.
But her generosity came near being thwarted. In
1864 the town rescinded their acceptance, declined
the hequest, and instructed the trustees to resign.
These applied to the Supreme Judicial Court for
instruction as to their duty, and the case was heard
by the full bench at the January term, 1865. A
report of this can be found 10 Allen's Reports,
and is interesting as being the first case in this
country where it has been held that a bequest to
establish a public library for the use of all the in¬
habitants of a town IS a public charity, which the
courts will not allow to fail by reason of any mis¬
conduct or neglect of any of the parties charged
with the trust. The appraised value of the estate
was about $ 17,000, with several thousaud dollars
of debts. Yet the skilful financial management
of Captain Drury, the treasurer, enabled the trus¬
tees in 1872 to have about $45,000, besides a
large lot on which to place the new library build¬
ing. The plan was drawn by George B. Thayer
of Boston. The beautiful edifice was completed,
aud dedicated, with an address by Judge J. W.
Bacon, December 25, 1873. It is a two-story
brick structure, of Gothic style, with light granite
trimmings. The whole number of volumes, Feb¬
ruary 1, 1879, was 10,099.
The trustees hold funds to the sum of $12,500,
the income of which may be appropriated for the
purchase of books alone. Other expenses the town
pays. Among the treasures of this library is a
copy of Eliot's Indian Bible.
When the first printing-press was set up in Na-
NATIOK.
199
tick we know not, but the Natick Ohsener made
its appearance April 5, 1856, and went through
at least six volumes. The Natick Times, Vol. I.
No. 1, is dated October 28, 1864, and lasted cer¬
tainly five years. The Natick Bulletin, a wide¬
awake weekly, reached its tenth anniversary Novem¬
ber, 1879 ; while its vigorous competitor. The
Natick Citizen, came into being in December, 1877.
Both are able papers.
Various kinds of nianufactures have engaged the
industry of our people. The dam at South Natick
gives a fall of nine feet. On the canal formerly
stood Curtis' paper-mill, now owned and operated
by the Boston Flax Leatlier Company. They con¬
trol the entire water-power, and their land was the
planting-ground of the first settlers. They em¬
ploy fourteen men, Mr. J. B. Sewall being their
efficient superintendent. The little island midway
the dam Mrs. Stowe makes the young men's study-
place in her Oldtown Folks. The grist-mill hums
its well-accented song. Years agone a paper-mill
and a plaster-mill were in one building here ; indeed,
the spot has been a mill-site over a century. Brick-
making was successfully pursued many years on the
west shore of Lake Cochituate. A hat establish¬
ment, now extinct, did a good business. A long
three-story building near the railroad shows where
one of the enterprising citizens has made his for¬
tune, and given work to many in the extensive base¬
ball factory of Harwood and Sons.
But the largest business here, as in other towns
of Eastern Massachusetts, has been shoemaking.
The original manufacturer, Mr. Asa Pelch, died in
April, 1878. He first made sale shoes in 1827.
Later his brother Isaac became a partner, and those
of the family name stiU follow the business. The
thriving suburb of Felehville thus got its name
and growth. Mr. Felch manufactured brogans,
since Natick's staple production; his workshop
was a room in his house. He took apprentices,
whom he instructed. William Bent, founder of
the house of W. and J. M. Bent, of Cochituate,
served with him. Mr. Asa Felcli is said for years
to have kept no books, remembering all his affairs.
Mr. William Coolidge, Albert Leighton, and
Edward Walcott, in the West Part, and George
C. Whitney, Mr. Kimball, and David M. Whitney,
at the Centre, were in the shoemaking trade before
or by 1830.
The shoes were made by hand, one or two per¬
sons doing the whole. The lapstone, hammer, and
awl, the knee-clamps for stitching, and the low
bench are as out of place now as our grandsire's
flintlock muskets, or grandmother's swinging
cranes in the great fireplace. On Saturdays a
one-horse wagon took the week's work to Boston,
bringing home new stock. Mr. Kimball kept the
only store at the Centre, on the present Common
facing the yellow church. His shoe-shop was up¬
stairs. Biglow's History names several handicrafts
pursued, but has not a word about shoemaking,
soon to be the making of Natick.
In 1830 there were two post-offices, — at South
Natick and on the Worcester Turnpike. Three
roads intersected Natick,—the Worcester Turnpike,
in the north part, the Central Turnpike, and the
Old Hartford Koad, through South Natick. The
following account carries us back to the day when
our fathers travelled : "On the Worcester Turnpike,
the great southern mail each way daily. Several
other mail and accommodation stages are frequently
passing. On the Central Turnpike, Boston and
Hartford Telegraph line of stage coaches every day
but Sunday, up one day, down the next. On the
Old Hartford Eoad, Boston, Mendon, and Uxbridge
daily line of coaches, and continues on to Hartford
three days in the week, and back the other three."
On each of the-three highways stood the old-time
tavern, its hanging sign swinging aloft, offering
refreshment to man and beast.
•For the next twenty years the shoe-business
greatly increased. Its originators here enlarged
their operations ; left rooms at home or small sheds
for the commodious shops ; instead of a few ap¬
prentices, they sought workmen by tens and twen¬
ties; and new firms sprang up. Natick leaped
from the slow growth of a farming town to quick
increase. Stores, houses, and inhabitants doubled.
Until 1830 the population had added from forty to
ninety every decade. The increase from 1820 to
1830 was five per cent; from 1830 to 1840, forty-
four per cent; between 1840 and 1850 the popula¬
tion more than doubled, and nearly doubled again
during the next ten years. As labor-saving ma¬
chines were used in shoemaking, the several oper¬
ations were subdivided among cutters, bottomers,
dressers, and stitchers.
In 1831 two enterprising dealers took their
goods by water to New York. So hard was the
voyage, it was feared that they were lost ; but they
arrived and prospered.
When the railroad was opened in 1835 the Centre
outgrew other parts of the town, and was known as
Natick, the older village being called South Natick.
200
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In December, 1833, a young man of Farming-
ton, N. H., walked thence to Natick. On arriving,
Henry Wilson engaged with a manufacturer, giving
five months' labor to learn the business. In a few
weeks he bought back his time and began for him¬
self. He once started to make fifty pairs of shoes
without sleeping, and almost succeeded. In 1836
he visited Washington for his health. As an opera¬
tive Mr. Wilson was industrious, alert, economical,
and temperate. Men worked then twelve or fifteen
hours a day. Prom doing a journeyman's work
he became in 1838 an employer, doing business ten
years. In 1847 he employed one hundred and nine
persons, who made over two thousand cases of shoes.
Henry Wilson.
He resumed business for a year and a half, till his
election as United States Senator in 1855. As a
manufacturer he was honest and fair-dealing, sym-
^jathizing with the workmen, for he himself had
worked as one. But his ambition was in another
direction than business and wealth.
Edward Walcott was a personal friend of Mr.
Wilson. He is largely identified with the business
growth of Natick. He was a manufacturer at first,
but afterwards became interested in real estate. He
built the Walcott Block, and at his death was much
missed. A fully equipped shoe-factory runs almost
as much machinery as a cotton-mill. In the be¬
ginning all the operations were hand-work, but now
each part has its ingenious machine, and some six
or eight of these clattering inventions do the work.
Once a pair of shoes signified three hours' labor.
The first shop at South Natick began in 1840.
Four large shops at one time were busy hives ; but
two were burned, and business fell off. Many
make shoes in little shops, getting stock from the
large dealers. Mr. Pfeiffer has recently built a
fine workshop.
A series of interesting articles in The Citizen, on
the history of Natick's principal business, preserve
many valuable facts.
The Harrison political campaign brought Henry
Wilson into his sphere of- life-work. An accepta¬
ble platform speaker, he won notice as " the Na¬
tick Cobbler." Occasional defeats when nominated
for ofhce only led at last to higher promotion.
He was state representative in 1841, state senator
in 1844, major, colonel, brigadier-general in the
state militia, delegate to the National Convention
in 1848, from which he and Charles Allen with¬
drew, and an unsuccessful Free-Soil nominee for
governor. But his meridian was not yet reached.
In 1855 he became a senator in Congress, the
colleague and comrade of Charles Sumner. Both
were stanch patriots, who did splendid service in
the nation's critical hour. Mr. Wilson attained the
vice-presidency on General Grant's second nomi¬
nation, and was the third Massachusetts man to
fill that chair.
Upon the north side of the Common stands the
Soldier's Monument, dedicated July 4, 1868. We
read eighty-nine names of our townsmen who died
in the war. Natick sent some three hundred men.
Many went in the 13th regiment. Company H, and
in the 39th regiment. Company I. This monument
is flanked in front and rear by four brass twelve-
pounders. Standing between two churches, and
near a school-house with five hundred pupils, it is
a memorial to old and young of patriotism and sac¬
rifice. General Wadsworth Post 63, G. A. E., is
in a flourishing condition.
Before us lies a printed sheet, entitled, " Psalm
C., — to be sung at the Tea Party given in the
Town-Hall at Natick, Oct. 28, 1846, for the pur¬
pose of raising means to purchase a copy of Eliot's
Indian Bible, to be preserved in the Archives of
the Town."
A note reads : " N. B. The Psalm in the Natick
dialect is copied from Mr. Eliot's translation of the
Psalm, bound up with his Indian Bible. The
English translation of the same Psalm is from the
NAT ICK.
201
* Baye Psalme Book/ prepared by Eev. Mr. Eliot
and Eev. Mr. Welde of Roxbury, and Eev. Mr.
Mather, of Dorchester. The edition of the work
from which we copied was printed at Cambridge,
by Stephen Daye, in 1640, and was the first bound
volume printed in British America. The tune is
from Ainsworth's ' Psalms in Metre, Imprinted in
the yere MDCXVIII.,' at Amsterdam. The origi¬
nal is in diamond notes, and is the tune to which
Eliot's Indians actually sung the Psalm. — AWT."
We would almost as lief sing the Indian as the
unrhythmic English of the third verse : —
"Wah-teau-mk Je-lio-vah God-<o
kez-liuk-que-ag-kup-na-gum uoh
Qut nee-na-wuu mat ; nee-na-wuu
Ma-uit um-mis-sin-nin-nu-moli."
" Know, that Jehovah he is God,
who hath us formed it is he,
& not ourselves ; his own people
& sheepe of his pasture are wee."
Next year, by the efforts of Professor Francis,
D. D., of Cambridge, who wrote Eliot's life in
Sparks' American Biography, Oliver Bacon, Esq.,
and Rev. Thomas B. Gannett of South Natick, a
monument of sandstone was reared in memory of
Eliot's work in the little park, on the site of the
Indian burial-ground, hard by the location of the
Indian church. The obelisk bears in front this
simple inscription : —
John Eliot
Apostle
to the Indians.
Born 1604,
Died May 20,
1690.
The rear side shows an open Bihle with, on the left-
hand page, the legend, " Up Bihlum God, 1663."
An iron fence encloses the shaft.
October 8, 1851, was celebrated as Natick's
bi-centennial. Incorporated as a town but sev¬
enty years before, this anniversary commemorated
the earliest settlement. The festival included an
address by Professor Stowe, himself born near the
old oak, a procession, and a banquet with speeches,
one being delivered by Rev. George Copway, an
Ojibway Indian. The supposed portrait of Eliot,
recently brought from England by Hon. William
Whiting, hung before the pulpit. A young girl
of sixteen, a lineal descendant of the Natick In¬
dians, sat among the guests.
On election-day. May, 1842, an old hollow oak
in the roadway, which had been valued as an his¬
toric link with the past, was cut down. This act
provoked great indignation. A lawsuit followed,
which was settled by the offenders against public
Eliot Monument*
opinion paying the costs, and planting trees in the
public green. The present Eliot Oak, just east of
the Unitarian Church, is in better preservation than
its fallen brother of the forest primeval. Tradi¬
tion links these trees with the Indian missionary.
Longfellow has a fine sonnet to the Eliot Oak.
" Thou ancient Oak ! whose myriad leaves are loud
With sounds of unintelligible speech.
Sounds as of surges on a shingly heach.
Or multitudinous murmurs of a crowd ;
With some mysterious gift of tongues endowed
Thou speakest a different dialect to each ;
To me a language that no man can teach.
Of a lost race long vanished like a cloud.
For underneath thy shade, in days remote.
Seated like Abraham at eventide
Beneath the oaks of Mamre, the unknown
Apostle of the Indian, Eliot, wrote
His Bible in a language that hath died.
And is forgotten save by thee alone." ^
Sam Lawson, the good-natured, lazy story-teller
in Oldtown Folks, put his blacksmith's shop un¬
der this tree. It was removed when the church
was built. We saw a missionary from Turkey
^ J. H. T. (of Hartford) proves the closing lines a rule with
one exception, by giving an Indian version of this sonnet. Vide
Atlantic Monthli/, May, 1877-
202
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
gathering its leaves as mementos of a hallowed
spot; and one midsummer afternoon a few years
sincCj a well-known citizen, leaning against its
trunk, took his own life.
There stands an ancient wide-spreading elm on
the road near Cochituate, said to eover with its
shade a space one hundred and fifteen feet wide.
Those who knew these trees in " auld lang syne,"
the Natick residents of fifty years, held a very
pleasant gathering February 7, 1879.
The town has three modern cemeteries. Glen-
wood, at South Natick, was opened in 1852, Rev.
Mr. Alger delivering the address. Dell Park lies a
mile west from the First Church, a pleasant natural
site, and judiciously beautified. Rev. Samuel Hunt
gave the consecrating address July 8, 1849.
Townsmen and strangers alike seek the grave
of Henry Wilson. While vice-president he died
at Washington in his official apartment, adjoining
the Senate-Chamber, November 22, 1875, and was
home with eulogies, processions, and mournful
music from the Capitol to be nobly received by his
adopted commonwealth in the Doric Hall of the
State-House. There, over the Sabbath, he lay in
state, — the statues of Washington and Andrew,
his companions; the torn and blackened battle-
flags of the Massachusetts regiments (his own gal¬
lant 22d too), in crape around hiin. After fitting
honors there, the state gave up the remains to his
townsmen, who completed the funeral ceremonies
in which a weeping nation had participated. Pri¬
vate services were held at his home, and a thronged
public memorial service at Concert Hall. And so,
as the sun of November 30 sank beneath the
horizon, they laid him beside his kindred, — his
saintly wife and only son, who died in the army.
Whenever we gather in our beautiful hall, the por¬
trait of Wilson looks down serenely on the assem¬
blage, and his memory shall ever make " our faith
in goodness strong."
We name, too, the North Graveyard beyond
Felchville, and the South Natick Burial-ground,
where sleep the ministers of the last century. Mr.
Peabody's stone, with a Latin epitaph, is here.
This ground, the first English burial-place, was set
apart in 1731, and the oldest monument bears the
date of 1730. There were two other burial-places,
one on Pond and South Main streets, the other
where stands the post-office. Only older citizens
or the antiquarian know their places now.
The Indians buried their dead a little farther
along on Pond Street. At South Natick the road
before the Unitarian Church and the hotel was a
graveyard. We daily ride and walk over the bones
of Natick's earlier inhabitants. The stone of Taka-
wampbait, Eliot's successor in the ministry, still
stands against the sidewalk fence. In laying pipes
for the water-works a number of skeletons were
exhumed, also a small copper kettle, a heavy flask-
shaped bottle, a^ sleighbell, beads, and trinkets,
now to be seeu in the Historical Rooms.
The American town of any size has and needs
its fire-brigade. Three hand-engines with'a hook-
and-ladder truck constituted the old fire depart¬
ment. We now have two fine steamers, the ladder
company, and two hose companies. With so many
wooden buildings at the business centre, a large
fire there was often predicted. Tuesday morning,
January 13, 1874, it came. Starting on Summer
Street, corner of North Main, the flames leaped
upon Clark's Block and Walcott's shoe-factory. A
building across Main Street caught, and stores,
halls, houses, and the Congregational Church went
down. Its spire was the last to burn, and just
before its fall the bell struck three sad strokes.
Nearly forty buildings were consumed, and the loss
was estimated at $500,000.
Such a calamity roused the town to secure a
better water-supply. Dug Pond (Pegan has been
suggested as a fitter name) supplies water, pumped
and forced two miles to the reservoir on Broad's
Hill from which pipes run through the centre to
Cochituate line and to South Natick. Water was
first let on August, 1875, and at South Natick
September 1, 1877. That village had its great
fire in March, 1872, consuming a block of stores,
houses, and Bailey's Hotel. But the energy of the
people rebuilt at once larger and better than be¬
fore. Bailey's new hotel is as comfortable a hos¬
telry as a man eould ask. ' The locality has been
a tavern or hotel for a century. Mine host Cham¬
berlain, of Adams House (Boston) repute, once
kept hotel here.
The Cochituate aqueduct crosses the extreme
north section of Natick, and the Sudbury River
conduit runs through its southern part. Two tun¬
nels, the Rockland Street 1,760 feet, and the second
1,575 feet, bored through the solid rock of Carver
Hill, are fine specimens of engineering skill.
Clark's Çlock covers the space of a block on
Main Street, with fine stctres and convenient halls
for general uses. Natick's growing prosperity is
seen in the new streets and residences on Walnut
Hill, overlooking the workshops, schools, and
NEWTON.
203
churchesj with Nobscott's Height and Hopkinton
(Mrs. Stowe's Cloud Land) in the near view, and
Wachusett and Monadnock on the distant horizon.
A truly New England landscape is presented in
Natick, — the church and school, the library and
factory, the public hall and stores, the green¬
house and the farm, the flying train and the tele¬
graphic wires. What would Waban or John Eliot
himself say, to look upon the Natick of to-day ?
HE history of Newton, in its
earliest stages, is intimately
connected with the history of
Boston, which was originally
a very contracted peninsula.
But though the territory of
Boston was small, hostile In¬
dians were in the vicinity, and
the inhabitants of the penin¬
sula, as well as of Charlestown,
Eoxbury, Dorchester, Water-
town, and other places, felt it necessary to have a
fhrtified place to flee to in case of invasion. With
this view they commenced the town of Cambridge,
under the name of "NewTown," or "the new town."
They undertook to surround this new town with a
stockade, as a defence from the savage foe. The
fortification was made, and a fosse dug around the
town enclosing upwards of one thousand acres.
The fence enclosing the place was about a mile and
a half in length.
This was the new town (Newtown). In 1638
the foundations of the college were laid in the new
town; and, in remembrance of the University in
England where several of the prominent settlers
had received their early education, the new settle¬
ment took the name of Cambridge.
It was not long before the inhabitants of the
insignificant peninsula of Boston and" the enclosed
settlement of Cambridgé sought enlargement ; and
grants of land were made to individual settlers in
the remoter wilderness. Crossing Charles River at
the point afterwards covered by the Great Bridge,
so called, since Brighton Bridge, they began to
settle on the south side of the river." When the
north side of the river received the name of Cam¬
bridge, the settlement on the south side was called
.Cambridge Village, or New Cambridge; and, on
the 8th of December, 1691, recurring to the old
designation, by authority of the legislature it be¬
came Newtown, which was gradually and imper¬
ceptibly, without any formal action, softened into
Newton.
The town of Newton, in its earliest history, em¬
braced at one time a considerable part of Brighton
and Brookline, also a small portion which at a
later date belonged to Watertown, and a slice
which was ceded in 1838 to Eoxbury, and another,
in 1847, to Waltham. A portion of the territory
now belonging to Brookline was ceded by Boston
to the Eev. Mr. Hooker and his company when
they complained of lack of room, on the condi¬
tion that they should continue to be citizens of the
town. They remained for a season, but soon grew
uneasy again; and, making their way a hundred
miles through the untravelled wilderness with their
wives and children and cattle, subsisting during the
journey on the milk of their herds, they settled in
Connecticut, and the grant of land that had been
made for their benefit reverted to the town of
Boston.
The early settlers of Newton, properly so called,
numbered only twenty, or at most twenty-two.
Foremost among them is the name of Jackson, —
an honored name, which has mingled prominently
with its entire history. Other early names were
Fuller, Hyde, Park, Ward, Wiswall, Prentice, and
Trowbridge. Most of these names still linger,
either in the persons of their descendants or in
connection with the lands and tenements which
belonged to them. The men bearing these names
exercised a leading influence in all the affairs of
the town. By their prudence, piety, enterprise,
patriotism, and virtue they impressed upon the
town a character which it is still proud to maintain,
and started it in a career which has led to prosper-
NEWTON.
BY SAMUEL F. SMITH, D.D.
204
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ity, education, culture, enlargement, influence, fame,
and wealth. The flrst mayor of the city of New¬
ton, Hon. J. F. C. Hyde, was a direct descendant
of this early stock. The Boston and Albany Eail-
road owes its existence largely to the far-reach¬
ing foresight and influence of another, the Hon.
William Jackson, in the Massachusetts legisla¬
ture.
The first settlers of the town did not come in a
body, but family after family, and one by one.
The flrst who came were Deacon John Jackson, of
London, in 1639, and Samuel Holly, in the same
year. In 1640 came Deacon Samuel Hyde, in
1643 Edward Jackson, both also of London, and
the next year, John Fuller. In 1647 came Jona¬
than Hyde, from London, and Eichard Park, from
Cambridge; in 1649, Captain Thomas Prentiee;
and in 1650, Messrs. John Ward, Thomas Ham¬
mond, John Parker, Vincent Druce, and James
and Thomas Prentice, Jr. John Jackson, Jr.,
bom in 1639, was probably the first child born
within the limits of the town. The hardships in¬
cident to life in a new country seem to have been
not unfavorable to health and longevity. Out of
thirty, whose age at the time of their decease is
recorded, only two died under fifty, only eight
under seventy, and fourteen lived beyond eighty.
John Jackson's lot, including a dwelling-house
and forty-eight acres of land, was near the present
dividing line between Newton and Brighton, bor¬
dering twenty-four rods on Charles Eiver. The
estate of the Parks was in the northerly portion of
the territory of the town ; the Hammonds in the
east and southeast ; Hydes, Prentices, and Springs,
near the centre; Wiswalls and Qarkes, south of
the centre; Fullers, from the centre to the west
and northwest ; Woodwards, southwest. The Gov¬
ernor Haynes farm, of a thousand acres, was at the
south. Up to the year 1700, the names of only
seventy-one male settlers in the town are found
upon the records. Most of them were, at the time
of their settlement, in the prime of life, — only two,
so far as is known, being more than fifty years of
age, and only five having reached the age of forty.
The majority of them were between thirty-one and
thirty-five.
Date of
Âge at
Settlement.
Settlement.
Names.
Where AH)m.
Date of Death.
Age.
Amount of Inventory.
1639
39
Dea. John Jackson
London
1674-75
75
1,230
0».
Od.
1640
30
Dea. Samuel Hyde
London
1689
79
1643
42
Edward Jackson
London
1681
79i
2,477
19
0
1644
33
John Fuller
England
1698
87
534
5
0
1647
21
Jonathan Hyde
London
1711
85
1647
Eichard Pailc
Cambridge, Mass.
1665
972
0
0
1649
29
Capt. Thomas Prentice
John Parker .
Thomas Hammond Y
England
1710
89
1650
35
Hingham, Mass.
1686
71
412
2
0
1650
Hingham, Mass.
1675
1,139
16
2
1650
Vincent Druce
Hingham, Mass.
1678
271
19
0
1650
27
John Ward '
Sudbury, Mass.
1708
82
88
16
10
1650
21
James Prentice
England
1710
81
286
14
0
1650
Thomas Prentice, 2d
England
1654
Thomas Wiswall
Dorchester, Mass.
1683
340
0
0
1658
40
John Kenrick
Boston, Mass.
1686
82
1661
23
Isaac Williams
Eoxbury, Mass.
1708
69
85
6
9
1662
34
Abraham Williams
Watertown, Mass.
1712
84
1664
28
James Trowbridge
Dorchester, Mass.
1717
81
240
0
7
1664
34
John Spring
John Eliot, Jr.
Watertown, Mass.
1717
87
1664
28
Eoxbury, Mass.
1668
33
457
2
5
Besides these twenty settlers, there were in New¬
ton, at the time of the ordination of John Eliot, Jr.
(1664), twelve young men of the second genera¬
tion, nearly all then unmarried, namely : John
Jackson, Jr. ; Sebas Jackson, Jonathan Jackson,
1 John Ward, preriooa to his death, had conveyed most of his
property, by deed of gift, to his children. Several of the first
settlers did the same thing; and this property was, therefore,
not included in their inventories.
sons of Edward Jackson; Noah Wiswall, son of
Thomas Wiswall; John Kenrick, Elijah Kenrick,
sons of John Kenrick; Vincent Druce, Jr., John
Druce, sons of Vincent Druce; Samuel Hyde, Job
Hyde, sons of Samuel Hyde; Thomas Park, son
of Eichard Park ; Thomas Hammond, Jr.
Deacon John Jackson was the first settler of
Cambridge Village who remained and died in it.
He brought a good estate with him from England.
NEWTON.
205
He bought a dwelling-house and eighteen acres of
land of Miles Ives, of Watertown, in 1639. This
estate was situated on the line which now divides
Newton from Brighton. He took the freeman's
oath in 1641, and was one of the first deacons of
the church. He gave one acre of land for the
church and a burying-place, on which the first
meeting-house was erected in 1660, and which is
now a part of the East Parish Cemetery on Centre
Street. He was probably the son of Christopher
Jackson, of London, who died December 5, 1633.
He had by two wives five sons and ten daughters,
and at the time of his death about fifty grand¬
children.
The time when Deacon John Jackson came into
Cambridge Village may be properly considered the
date of the first settlement of Newton. He died
January 30, 1674-75. His widow, Margaret,
died August 28, 1684, aged sixty. His son Ed¬
ward was killed by the Indians at Medfield in their
attack upon and burning of that town, Eebruary 21,
1676. His house was near the place in later times
covered by the shop of Mr. Smallwood. The cellar
remained till recently, and he is said by tradition to
have planted the pear-trees on the premises, still
bearing fruit. Abraham Jackson was the only one
of his sons who reared a family. This son gave
one acre of land adjoining that given by his father,
additional to that set apart for the church and
burying-place.
Deacon Samuel Hyde was bom in 1610. He
embarked in the ship Jonathan, at London, for
Boston, April, 1639, and settled in Cambridge
Village about 1640. In 1647 he and his brother
Jonathan bought of Thomas Danforth forty acres
of land, and in 1652 two hundred acres, of the
administrators of Nathaniel Sparhawk. This land
they held in common till 1662, when it was di¬
vided. He was one of the first deacons of the
church. He had, by his wife Temperance, Samuel,
Joshua, Job, Sarah, and Elizabeth. Sarah married
Thomas Woolson of Watertown, in 1660. Eliza¬
beth married Humphrey Osland in 1667. Samuel
Hyde conveyed to his son-in-law, Osland, a piece of
his land on the west side of Centre Street in 1678,
on which the latter had previously erected a house,
being part of the land later of Israel Lombard, Esq.,
and now of E. C. Converse, Esq. Samuel Hyde
died in 1689, aged seventy-nine, and his wife died
shortly afterwards. George Hyde, Esq., of the
sixth generation, now owns and resides on part of
the same land occupied by Deacon Samuel. Job,
son of Deacon Samuel, married Elizabeth, daughter
of John Puller. Job and his wife both died in No¬
vember, 1685. His father took and provided for
half their children, and hers for the other lialf.
Samuel, son of the deacon, married Hannah Stead-
man in 1673. His house was burnt May 21,1709,
and raised again, with the help of his neighbors, in
fourteen days. He died in 1725, and his wife in
1727. His house stood on the east side of Centre
Street, near where George Hyde afterwards built,
and more recently Mr. Freeland.
Edward Jackson, Sr., was born in London, in
1602, according to his gravestone. Examinations
of the parish register of White Chapel, where he
lived and followed the trade of a nail-maker, indi¬
cate that he was the son of Christopher Jackson,
and was baptized February 3, 1604. His first
wife's name was Frances ; by her he had four sons
and four daughters. Family tradition affirms that
the youngest son, Sebas (Seaborn ?), was born on
the passage to this country in 1642 or 1643 ; if so,
Frances, the mother, died on the passage, or soon
after their arrival here. His second marriage, in
1649, was with Elizabeth, daughter of John New¬
gate, and widow of Eev. John Oliver (H. C. 1645),
the first minister of Eumney Marsh (Chelsea), by
whom he had four daughters and one son. He
purchased land in Cambridge Village of Samuel
Holly, in 1643, took the freeman's oath in 1645,
and the year following purchased a farm from
Governor Bradstreet, of five hundred acres, for
£ 140, long known as the Mayhew farm, — Brad-
street having purchased it of Thomas Mayhew in
1638, with all the buildings thereon, for six cows.
This five-hundred-acre farm commenced near what
is now the division line between Newton and
Brighton, and extended westward, including what
is now Newtonville, and covering the site where
Judge Fuller's house stood, now the site of the
residence of ex-Govemor Claflin. The site where
General Michael Jackson's house stood (later Hon.
William Jackson's) was near the centre of the
Mayhew farm j and a few rods nearer the brook
stood the old dwelling-house conveyed with the
land in Mayhew's deed to Bradstreet. Of course
it was built previous to 1638, and therefore it is
highly probable that it was the first dwelling-house
built in Newton. The cellar-hole, a few rods from
the brook, was visible until recent times. In the
laying out of the highway in 1708, which passed
by the house, the description is, " crossing the
brook near where the old house stood." The
206
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
house, which was erected before 1638, was gone
before 1708. It had stood about the allotted
space of threescore years and ten. It was proba¬
bly the first residence of Edward Jackson, Sr.,
in Cambridge Village, from his coming in 1642 or
1643, till his marriage in 1649, and perhaps for
many more years. His dwelling-house, at the date
of his death, in 1681, stood about three quarters
of a mile east of the old house, and is described as
a spacious mansion, with a hall, designed, undoubt¬
edly, for religious meetings.
Edward Jackson was elected one of the deputies
(representatives) from Cambridge to the General
Court in 1646, and continued to be elected to that
office annually or semi-annually for seventeen years
in aU, and was otherwise much employed in public
life. He was one of the selectmen of Cambridge
in 1665 ; chairman of a committee, of which
Edward Oakes and Lieutenant-Governor Danforth
were the other members, appointed by the town of
Cambridge in 1653 to lay out all necessary high¬
ways in Cambridge on the south side of Charles
Eiver ; chairman of a committee composed, in ad¬
dition, of his brother, John Jackson, Eichard Park,
and Samuel Hyde, " to lay out and settle highways
as need shall require in Canïbridge Village" ; and
one of the commissioners to end small causes in
Cambridge, for several years. He was constantly
present with the Eev. John Eliot at his lectures to
the Indians at Nonantum, to take notes of the ques¬
tions of the Indians and of the answers of Mr.
Eliot.
He was one of the proprietors of Cambridge, and
in the division of the common lands in 1662 he
had four acres, and in 1664 he had thirty acres.
He was also a large proprietor in the Billerica
lands, and in the division of 1652 he had four
hundred acres, which he gave by his will to Har¬
vard College, together with other bequests. He
was the author and first signer of a petition in
1678 to have Cambridge Village set off from Cam¬
bridge and made an independent town.
In Johnson's History of New England, in a
notice of many of the leading men of the time, Ed¬
ward Jackson is referred to as one who "could not
endure to see the truths of Christ trampled under
foot by the erroneous party." Mr. Jackson had
thirteen children and upwards of sixty grand¬
children. He died June 17, 1681, aged seventy-
nine years and five months. His inventory
contained upwards of 1,600 acres of land and two
men-servants, appraised at £5 each. He was prob¬
ably the first slaveholder in Newton. His wife
survived him twenty-eight years, and died Septem¬
ber 30, 1709, aged ninety-two. He was a land-
surveyor, and not long before his death surveyed
his own lands, and made a division of them to his
children, putting up metes and bounds.
It is a remarkable fact in relation to these two
brothers, John and Edward Jackson, that while
Edward had but three sons and John five, there
are multitudes of Edward's posterity who bear his
name, and not more than three or four of John's.
Forty-four of Edward's descendants went into the
Eevolutionary army from Nevtdon, and not one of
John's. In September, 1852, there were but three
families in the town of his descendants bearing
his name.
John Fuller was bom in 1611, and settled in
Cambridge Village in 1644. In December, 1658,
he purchased of Joseph Cooke seven hundred and
fifty acres of land for $160, bounded north'and
west by Charles Eiver, south by Samuel Shepard,
and east by Thomas Park. His house stood on
the south side of the road, on the west side of the
brook, and within a few rods of both road and
brook. • By subsequent purchase he increased his
farm to 1,000 acres. Cheese-cake Brook running
through it. He had six sons and two daughters ;
his son Isaac died before him. He divided his
farm between the other five sons, — John, Jona¬
than, Joseph, Jeremiah, and Joshua. This tract
of land was long known as the Fuller Farm, or
Fuller's .Corner. He was a maltster; he was se¬
lectman from 1684 to 1694, and died in 1698-99,
aged eighty-seven. His wife, Elizabeth, died in
1700. They left five sons, two daughters, and
forty-five grandchildren. His will provided that
none of the land bequeathed to his sons should be
sold to strangers until first offered to the nearest
relation. Twenty-two of his descendants went into
the Eevolutionary army from Newton. His five
sons died at the following ages : John, seventy-
five; Jonathan, seventy-four; Joseph, eighty-eight;
Jeremiah,eighty-five; Joshua,ninety-eight. Joshua
was married the second time in 1742, when eighty-
eight years old, to Mary Dana, of Cambridge, who
was then in her seventy-fifth year.
Edward Jackson and John Fuller came into
Cambridge Village about the same time. They
probably knew each other in England, were the
largest land-owners in the Village, divided their
lands afnong their children in their lifetime, con¬
firming the division by their wills, and have had a
NEWTON.
207
Exploration of the Charles.
far greater number of descendants than any other
of the early settlers of the town.
Jonathan Hyde was horn in 1626. He bought
two hundred and forty acres of land in Cambridge
Village with his brother Samuel, which they owned
in common until 1661. In 1656 he bought eighty
acres, which was one eighth of the tract recovered
by Cambridge from Dedham in a lawsuit. He
settled upon the land, and increased it by subse¬
quent purchases to several hundred acres. His
house was about sixty rods north of the Centre
Congregational Church. He bought and sold
much land in the town. He had twenty-three
children,—fifteen by his wife Mary French, daugh¬
ter of William French of Billerica, and eight by
his second wife, Mary Sediat, daughter of John
Sediat of Marlborough, with whom he made a
marriage covenant in 1673, in which it was stipu¬
lated that, ill case he should die first, she should
have his house, bam, and about one hundred acres
of land. This part of his homestead was bounded
by the highway from Watertown to Dedham (Cen¬
tre Street), one hundred and sixty rods, and one
hundred westwardly, and south by the farm of Elder
Wiswall, reserving a highway one rod wide next to
Wiswall's. This highway ran from the training-
field (Common) by the north bank of Wiswall's
Pond, and for more than a century was known as
Blanden's Lane, — its commencement on Centre
Street nearly coinciding with Pelham Street, and
bending southwestwardly, past the house anciently
known by the name of Blanden, more recently
208
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of Mr. Joseph White. The front of this lot, on
Centre Street, extended from this lane to a point
about opposite Ward Street. This farm was there¬
fore near the centre of Newton, and included the
ground on which the First Parish Meeting-house
now stands. In 1702 he gave to John Keiirick
and others, selectmen of Newton, and their suc¬
cessors in office, " half an acre of his homestead,"
for the use and benefit of the school in the south¬
erly part of the town. It is supposed that he also
gave most of the land which has long been known as
the Common, at Newton Centre, as a training-field;
but no record of this gift has been found. He was
selectman in 1691, and in his deeds was styled
" Sergeant." He settled his own estate a few years
before Iiis decease, by deeds of gift to eleven of his
children, conveying about four hundred acres, witli
several dwelling-houses thereon. The other twelve
children had probably died before him, or had been
otherwise provided for. His first wife died May 27,
1672, aged thirty-nine; the second died Septem¬
ber 5, 1708. He died October 5, 1711, aged
eighty-five, leaving numerous grandchildren.
Eichard Park was a proprietor in Cambridge in
1636, and of Cambridge Farms (Lexington), 1642.
In 1647 there was a division of lands, and he had
eleven acres, abutting on Mr. Edward Jackson's
land, east and west, and the highway to Dedham
(Centre Street) was laid out through it. His
dwelling-house was probably erected on this lot,
and stood within a few feet of the spot now occu¬
pied by the Eliot Church. This ancient house was
pulled down about 1800. This spot was near the
four-mile line, or the division line between Cam¬
bridge and Cambridge Village. During the con¬
test between the Village and Cambridge in regard
to being set off, he sent a petition to the General
Court, praying to retain his connection with the
Cambridge church.
He owned a large tract of land in the Village,
bounded west by the Fuller farm, north by Charles
Eiver, east by the Dummer farm, and east and
south by the Mayhew farm (Edward Jackson's),
containing about six hundred acres. By his will
he bequeathed to his only son, Thomas, this tract
of land with the houses thereon, after the death of
his wife, Sarah. This only son, Thomas, married
Abigail Dix of Watertown, 1653, and had five
sons and four daughters, among whom this tract
of land was divided in 1694 (Thomas ha\dng de¬
ceased), and the contents then were about eight
hundred acres, — Thomas having added by pur¬
chase about two hundred acres, and built a com-
mill upon Charles Eiver, near where the dam now
is, in the North Village.
In 1657 Eichard Park was one of a committee,
with Edward Jackson, John Jackson, and Samuel
Hyde, to lay out and settle highways in Cambridge
Village. In 1663 he was released from training,
and therefore past sixty years of age. He died in
1665, leaving a will, naming in it his wife Sarah,
two daughters, and only son, Thomas. One of his
daughters married Francis Whittemore of Cam¬
bridge. His widow was living at Duxbury in 1688.
Henry Parke of London, merchant, son and heir
of Edward Parke of London, merchant, deceased,
conveyed land in Cambridge to John Stedman in
1650. Edward may have been the ancestor of the
first settlers of that name in New England, namely,
of Deacon William of Eoxbury, Eichard of Cam¬
bridge Village, Samuel of Mystic, and Thomas of
Stonington, Conn.
Captain Thomas Prentice was born in England
in 1621. He was in this country November 22,
1649, as shown by the record of the birth of his
twin children, Thomas and Elizabeth. He was
elected lieutenant of the company of horse in the
lower Middlesex regiment in 1656, and captain in
1662. In 1661 he purchased three hundred acres of
land in the Pequot country, which was in Stoning¬
ton, Conn. Two hundred and thirty acres of this
land are appraised in his sou Thomas' inventory
at £109, in 1685. His grandson, Samuel, married
Esther Hammond, and settled upon this land in
1710. In 1663 he purchased of Elder Frost of
Cambridge eighty-five acres of land in the easterly
part of Cambridge Village, adjoining John Ward's
land. This was his homestead for about fifty years.
In 1705 he conveyed it by deed of gift to his
grandson. Captain Thomas Prentice. His house
was on the spot where the Harback house now
stands. He was one of the Cambridge proprietors,
and in the division of the common lands he re¬
ceived a hundred and fifty acres in Billerica in
1652, and nine acres in Cambridge Village in
1664.
He was greatly distinguished for his bravery and
heroism in Philip's War, which broke out in 1675.
On the 26th of June a company of infantry under
Captain Henchman from Boston, and a company
of horse under Captain Prentice from Cambridge
Village and adjoining towns (twenty from the Vil¬
lage and twenty-one from Dedham), marched for
Mount Hope. In their first conflict with the In-
NEWTON.
209
diaiis, in Swauzey, William Hammond was killed,
and Corporal Belcher had his horse shot under
him, and was himself wounded. On the 1st of
July they had another encounter, on a plain near
Eehoboth, with the Indians, four or five of whom
were slain. Among them was Thebe, a sachem of
Mount Hope ; another was one of Philip's chiefs.
In this affair John Druce, son of Vincent (one of
the first settlers of the Village), was mortally
wounded. He was brought home, and died at his
own house the next day.
On the 10th of December five companies of
infantry and Captain Prentice's troop of horse
marched from Massachusetts and from Plymouth
Colony to Narragansett. On the 16th Captain
Prentice received information that the Indians had
burned Jeremiah Ball's house, and killed eighteen
men, women, and children. He marched imme¬
diately in pursuit, killed ten of the Indians, captured
fifty-five, and burned a hundred and fifty wigwams.
" This exploit," says the historian of the day, " was
performed by Captain Prentice, of the Horse."
On the 21st of January, 1676, Captain Pren¬
tice's troops, being in advance of the infantry, met
with a party of Indians, captured two, and killed
nine of them. On the 18th of April ^ following,
the Indians made a vigorous attack on Sudbury.
Captains Wads worth and Brockelbank fought
bravely in defence, but were overpowered, and
eighteen of their men took refuge in a mill.
When notice of this attack reached Captain Pren¬
tice, he started immediately for Sudbury, with but
few of his company, and entered that town with
but six besides himself. The remnant of Captain
Wadsworth's men defended the mill bravely until
night, when they were relieved, and the Indians
put to flight. All accounts agree that Captain
Prentice rendered most invaluable service through¬
out the war. He was constantly on the alert, and
by his bold and rapid marches he put the enemy
to the sword or to flight, and made his name a
terror to all the hostile Lidiaus. After Philip was
slain in July, 1676, terms of peace were offered to
all Indians who would surrender. A Nipmuck
sachem, called John, with a number of his men,
embraced the offer, and by order of the General
Court were given in charge to Captain Prentice,
who kept them at his house in Cambridge Village.
Captain Prentice had been in command of the
company of troopers fifteen years when Philip's
1 This date, though often given, is erroneous. See Vol. I.
pp. 87, 88. —Ed.
War broke out, and was then fifty-five years old.
He was hardy, athletic, and robust, and capable of
enduring great fatigue. He continued to ride on
horseback till the end of his long life, and his death
was occasioned by a fall from his horse.
Notwithstanding the fact that the Indian con¬
verts maintained unshaken their fidelity to the
English, such was the prejudice against them and
fear of them, that the General Court, on the break¬
ing out of Philip's War, ordered them to be re¬
moved to Deer Island, in Boston Harbor, and
Captain Prentice, with his troopers, was charged
with the execution of the order. Their number,
including men, women, and children, was about
two hundred.
Although Captain Prentice was a terrible enemy
to the hostile Indians, and greatly feared by them,
he was a warm friend and counsellor, and had
the full confidence of the friendly tribes. General
Gookin was for many years, by appointment of
the General Court, the magistrate for managing,
advising, and watching over the friendly Indians.
After Gookin's death several of the bands united,
in 1691, in a petition that Captain Prentice might
be appointed their ruler.
Captain Prentice was appointed one of a com¬
mittee to proceed to Quinsigamond (Worcester),
with the view of forming a settlement there. He
was one of tlie owners of the first fifty-eight houses
built there, and had a grant of fifty acres of land
for his public services. He was a representative
to the General Court in 1672, 1673, and 1674.
In 1679 he was appointed chairman of a com¬
mittee for rebuilding the town of Lancaster, which
was destroyed by the Indians during Philip's War.
Captain Prentice and his wife, Grace, had four
sons and four daughters. Two of his sons died in
childhood ; the other two were married. Thomas,
the, eldest, had three sons, and died in 1685, and
the old captain had the bringing up of the three
grandsons, to whom he gave a good education
and all his estate. Thomas, the eldest grandson,
was a leading man in Newton, a captain of in¬
fantry, and died in 1730. The second grandson,
John, married a daughter of Edward Jackson, and
died without children, aged thirty-five. The third
grandson, Samuel, married Esther, daughter of
Nathaniel Hammond, and settled in Stonington,
Conn. From this marriage have proceeded numer¬
ous descendants. Captain Prentice's wife, Grace,
died October 9, 1692. He died July 6, 1710,
aged eighty-nine, and was buried under arms. He
210
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
settled his own estate by deeds of gift to his grand¬
children. He was one of the most substantial men
of his age, and enjoyed the unlimited confidence of
his associates in the settlement of New Cambridge.
■Edward Jackson, in his will, made in 1681, inserts
this clause, which is a contemporary testimony to
his merits : " I bequeath to my honored friend,
Capt. Thomas Prentice, one diamond ring.'"
John Parker was one of the earliest settlers of
Hingham, Mass. He probably came over in the
ship James, of London, in 1635, and had land
granted him there in 1636 and 1640. He was a
carpenter by trade, removed from Hingham, and
bought a tract of land in the easterly part of Cam¬
bridge "Village in March, 1650, adjoining the lands
of John Ward and Vincent Druce. By his wife
Joanna he had five sons and five daughters, and
died in 1686, aged seventy-one. His estate
passed, soon after his death, into the hands of
Hon. Ebenezer Stone, and is the same long owned
and occupied by Mr. John Kingsbury.
The Parkers in Newton have descended from
two distinct families, namely, John and Joanna of
Hingham, and Samuel and Sarah of Dedham.
Nathaniel Parker was a prominent man in Newton ;
he was the son of Samuel and Sarah, born in Ded¬
ham, March 26, 1670. He owned the land on
which the third meeting-house was erected, — the
site still occupied by the First Parish Church. He
sold this land, containing one and a half acres and
twenty rods, for £ 15, and conveyed it to the select¬
men of Newton by deed, in August, 1716.
Thomas Hammond was one of the earliest set¬
tlers of Hingham ; he took the freeman's oath
there March 9, 1637, and had land granted to him
there in 1636 and in 1637. His children were
born in Hingham. He sold his lands in that town
in 1652, and his dwelling-house in 1656. In 1650
he and Vincent Druce bought of Nicholas Hodg-
den land in Cambridge Village, and in 1658 they
bought of Thomas Brattle and others six hundred
acres, partly in Cambridge Village and partly in
Muddy Eiver (Brookline). They held this land
ill common until 1664, when a division was made
between them. The dividing line was one hundred
rods in length, running over the great hill. The
pond was in Hammond's part, and has been called
by his name ever since. He also bought in 1656
of Esther Sparhawk three hundred and thirty acres.
By his wife, Elizabeth, he had two sons and two
daughters. He died September 30, 1675, and left
a will written by his own hand, but not signed, in
which he calls himself aged. His lands were di¬
vided among his children. He had upwards of
twenty grandchildren.
Vincent Druce was one of the earliest settlers
of Hingham, being there in 1636, and had land
granted to him there in 1636 and in 1637. His
son John was baptized in Hingbam, in April, 1641.
In 1650 Nicholas Hodgden, of that part of Boston
now Brookline, conveyed to Thomas Hammond and
Vincent Druce, of Cambridge, a tract of land in the
easterly part of Cambridge Village, adjoining John
Parker's land, which land was originally granted by
the town of Cambridge to Eobert Bradish. The
highway from Cambridge Village to Muddy Eiver
(Brookline) was laid out through these lands in
1658. John "Ward conveyed to Druce one hun¬
dred and thirty acres of land, bounded east by the
Eoxbury line and north by Muddy Eiver line.
His dwelling-house was near the spot afterwards
occupied by the school-house in the east part of the
town, not far from the mansion of the late F. M.
Johnson, Esq. Of his two sons, Vincent and John,
the latter was a soldier in Captain Prentice's troop
of horse, and was killed in the war with King
Philip at Mount Hope in 1675, aged thirty-four,
and was probably the first victim who fell in that
war from Cambridge Village. The former, Vin¬
cent, died in January, 1678.
Ensign John Ward was bom in England, in
1626. He was the eldest son of William Ward,
who, with his second wife, Elizabeth, and other
children, came from Yorkshire or Derbyshire, and
settled in Sudbury, where he had lands assigned to
him in 1640. John Ward married Hannah, the
daughter of Edward Jackson, in 1650 ; was select¬
man nine years, from 1679, and a representative
eight years, being the first representative sent from
Cambridge Village. The first year, 1689, he served
fifty-four days, and the Village voted " 1«. 61. per
day for his serving." His dwelling-house was con¬
structed for a garrison-house about 1661, and used
as such during King Philip's War. This ancient
building stood on the ground occupied at present
by the house of the heirs of Ephraim Ward, a
descendant of John, and was demolished in 1821.
This house and forty-five acres of land were con¬
veyed to John and Hannah by his father-in-law,
Edward Jackson, by deed dated March 10,1661.
He owned about five hundred acres of land, which
he distributed among his sons by deeds of gift in
1701. He was by trade a turner. He had eight
sons and five daughters, and died July 1, W'OS,
NEWTON.
211
aged eighty-two. His wife, Hannah, died April 24,
1704, aged seventy-three. There were twelve of
this name among the early settlers of New England.
James Prentice and Thomas Prentice, Jr., both
of Cambridge, purchased of Thomas Danforth four
hundred acres of land in Cambridge, in March,
1650. In 1657 they purchased one hundred acres
of Danforth, " being the farm that James Prentice
dwells on, bounded N. E. by land of John Jack¬
son," part of which is now the ancient burial-place
oil Centre Street j extending southwesterly, beyond
the house now occupied by heirs of Marshall S.
Rice, Esq. James and Thomas, Jr., or 2d, were
probably brothers, and doubtless came into Cam¬
bridge Village the same year with Captain Thomas
Prentice. The ancient Prentice house was demol¬
ished in 1800. It stood a few rods southeast of
the house now occupied by the heirs of Joshua
Loring, on Centre Street, opposite Mill Street.
James Prentice married Susanna, the daughter
of Captain Edward Johnson, of Woburii, and had
one son, James, and five daughters. Captain
Johnson, by his will, dated 1672, gave his grand¬
son, James Prentice, £15, and also made a small
bequest to Susanna and Hamiah Prentice, daugh¬
ters of his soii-iu-law, James Prentice. He was
selectman in 1694, and died March 7, 1710, aged
eighty-one. His sou James, who was his adminis¬
trator, sold out his share in his father's estate for
£60, in 1711, to his five sisters, "all single
women," and probably left the town.
Thomas Prentice, 2d, with James, just mentioned,
purchased four hundred acres of land in Cambridge,
in March, 1650, and one hundred acres in 1657.
Both parcels were conveyed to James Prentice and
Thomas Prentice, Jr., the one hundred acres being
described as "the farm that James Prentice now
dwells on." He married Rebecca, daughter of
Edward Jackson, Sr., by his first wife, who was
bom in England about 1632, and had six sons and
one daughter. There is no record of the births,
marriages, or deaths of the parents or children of
this family. Edward Jackson by his will gave
him one hundred acres of land, called " Bald-Pate
Meadow," near Oak Hill, and several other tracts
of land, and to his wife, Rebecca, a gold ring, with
the motto, " Memento morex " (mori ?).
When he came into the Village he was called
Thomas, Jr.; when Captain Thomas Prentice's son
Thomas was grown up, he was called Thomas, 2d ;
when his own son Thomas was grown up, he was
called Thomas ; while the captain was called and
widely known by his military title. Edward Jack¬
son, by his will, made bequests to both these Pren¬
tices in 1681 ; the one he styles Thomas Prentice,
and the other Captain Thomas Prentice. In the
latter part of his life, he was called Thomas, Sr.
In 1706 he conveyed land to his grandsons
Thomas and Samuel, and in 1714 he conveyed
land to his sons Thomas and John, in which con¬
veyance he named his son Edward. There is an
affidavit of his, signed Thomas Prentice, Sr., and
dated 1713, recorded with the deeds, stating that
" sixty years ago he held one end of a chain to lay
out a highway over Weedy Hill in Cambridge Vil¬
lage." Supposing him to be twenty-one years old
then, his birth would have been in the year 1632.
He lived to a great age, but the date of his death
is not known.
Thomas Wiswall was a prominent man among
the first settlers of Dorchester. He came to this
country about 1637. He was selectman in Dor¬
chester in 1644 and 1652, and highway surveyor
in Cambridge Village in 1656, having removed into
the Village in 1654. He was one of the signers
of a petition for the support of a free school in
Dorchester in 1641, took the freeman's oath in
1654, and was one of the petitioners to the General
Court that the inhabitants of Cambridge Village
might be'released from paying taxes towards the
support of the Cambridge church. In 1657 he
and his wife conveyed to his sou Enoch, of Dor¬
chester, his homestead in Dorchester, which for¬
merly belonged to Mr. Maverick. In 1664 he was
ordained ruling elder of the church of Cambridge
Village. His homestead in the Village consisted
of three hundred acres, including the pond on
Centre Street, which still bears his name. His
house was on the east bank, the site of the dwelling
of the heirs of the late Deacon Luther Paul. He
had four sons and three daughters, and more than
thirty grandchildren. His last wife was Isabella
Parmer, a widow, from Ansley in England. He
died December 6, 1683, aged eighty. He left no
will and had no monument. His son Noah mar¬
ried Theodosia, daughter of John Jackson, and
had two sons and six daughters. He was killed
on Sunday, July 6, 1690, iu an engagement with
the French and Indians at Wheeler's Pond, after¬
wards Lee, N. H. His son Ichabod became min¬
ister of Duxbury.
John Kenrick was born in England in 1605,
was in Boston as early as 1639, and then a member
of the church. He took the freeman's oath in
212
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1640. He owned a wharf on the easterly side of
the town-dock, Boston, afterwards called Tyng's
Wharf, which he sold in 1652. He purchased two
hundred and fifty acres of land in the southerly
part of Cambridge Village in 1658. His house
was near the bridge across Charles Eiver, which
has been called Kenrick's Bridge from that day to
this. His first wife, Anna, died November, 1656.
He died August 29, 1686, aged eighty-two. His
second wife, Judith, died at Eoxbury, August 23,
1687. He had two sons, John and Elijah, and
one daughter, Hannah, who married Jonathan
Metcalf of Dedham. John had nine daughters
and two sons, and Elijah three daughters and three
sons.
Captain Isaac Williams was the second son of
Robert Williams of Roxbury, who came from
Norwich, in England, the common ancestor of
many distinguished men who have honored the
country of their birth. Isaac was born in Roxbury,
September 1, 1638. He married Martha, daughter
of Deacon William Park, of Roxbury, about 1661,
and settled in the west part of the village. His
second wife was Judith Cooper. He owned five
hundred acres of land adjoining John Fuller's farm
on the east. Thomas Park, John Puller, and Isaac
Williams were the first, and probably at that time
the only, settlers of West Newton. William's house
was about thirty rods northeasterly of the West
Parish meeting-house, near the brook, on land
afterwards owned by Mrs. WhitweU. He was a
weaver by trade, and represented the town in the
General Court six years, and was a selectman three
years. His farm was divided among his three sons;
Isaac received two hundred and fifty acres, Eleazer
one hundred acres, and Ephraim one hundred and
fifty acres and the mansion-house. This land was
granted by the town of Cambridge to Samuel
Shepard in 1640. In 1652 Robert Barrington,
Esq., obtained judgment against the estate of Sam¬
uel Shepard, and this tract was appraised at £150
to satisfy the execution. Deacon William Park
of Roxbury, the father of Isaac Williams' first u-ife,
paid the execution, and took this tract of land for
his son-in-law. Captain Williams died February 11,
1707, aged sixty-nine. He had twelve children
and upwards of fifty grandchildren. His son
William graduated at Harvard University, in
1683, and became minister of Hatfield. His son
Ephraim married Elizabeth, daughter of Abraham
Jackson. Ephraim, the son of this last marriage,
was the founder of Williams College.
Abraham Williams was not related to Captain
Isaac Williams. He came from Watertown, where
he took the freeman's oath in 1652. He purchased
a dwelling-house and twelve acres of land of John
Callón in August, 1654. In 1662 he purchased
of William Clemens a dwelling-house and six acres
of land in what was in later times Newton Comer,
very near the Watertown line. He married Jo¬
anna, sister of John Ward, about 1660, by whom
he had two sons and two daughters, and perhaps
others, of whom two were born in Cambridge Vil¬
lage. He sold his place to Gregory Cooke, and
removed to Marlborough, near Belcher's Pond, in
1668. He was a colonel in the militia, and repre¬
sentative from Marlborough in the General Court.
He kept a public-house in that town, which was
long known by the name of the Williams Tavern,
where he died December 29, 1712, aged eighty-
four. His widow, Joanna, died December 8,1718,
aged ninety.
James Trowbridge was bom in Dorchester, and
baptized there in 1638. His father, Thomas Trow¬
bridge, was one of the early settlers of Dorchester,
a merchant, and engaged in the Barhadoes trade.
The latter came from Taunton, England, where his
father founded a large charity for poor widows,
which is still administered for their benefit. Thomas
went home to Taunton in 1644, leaving his three
sons in charge of Sergeant Jefi'ries, of Dorchester,
who removed with those sons to New Haven about
1648. Thomas, the father, died in Taunton, Eng¬
land, about 1670. James returned from New
Haven to Dorchester about 1656, where he married
Margaret, daughter of Major Humphrey Atherton,
December 30, 1659, and had three children in
Dorchester, and removed to Cambridge Village.
His wife, Margaret, was dismissed from the church
in Dorchester, to form the church in Cambridge
Village, in 1664. After the death of John Jackson,
he became a deacon of the church. He was one
of the first board of selectmen formed in the village
in August, 1679, and continued in that office nine
years. In 1675 he purchased of Deputy-Governor
Danforth eighty-five acres of land, with a dwelling-
house, which stood on the lot long occupied by the
house of Mr. Nathan Trowbridge -in later times,
and outbuildings thereon, which he had occupied
for some years,—bounded by the highways west
and south, the narrow lane north, his own land
east, the dividing line being straight through the
swamp. He was a lieutenant, clerk of the writs
in 1691 and 1693, and representative in the Gen-
NEWTON.
213
eral Court in 1700 and 1703. He had five sons
and nine daughters, and upwards of eighty grand¬
children. His first wife died June 17, 1672 ; sec¬
ond wife, Margaret, daughter of Deacon John Jack¬
son, died September 16, 1727, aged seventy-eight.
He died May 22, 1717, aged eighty-one.
Lieutenant John Spring was born in England
in 1630. He was the son of John and Eleanor, and
but four years old when he arrived in this country.
His fatlier settled in Watertown. John, Jr., mar¬
ried Hannah, daughter of William and Anable
Barshane, of Watertown, in 1656. His house
stood opposite the burial-place on Centre Street,
and near to that owned and occupied by the late
Gardner Colby, Esq. He was a selectman eight
years, and representative three years. He had one
son and eight daughters, and a multitude of grand¬
children. His wife died August 18, 1710, aged
seventy-three. He died May 18, 1717, aged
eighty-seven. He was a very active and useful
man among the first settlers of the Village. On
his gravestone he is styled Lieutenant. In 1688
he, with Edward Jackson, Abraham Jackson, and
James Prentice, was a committee on the part of
the Village to meet Old Cambridge about the sup¬
port of the Great Bridge.
John Eliot, Jr., son of the apostle Eliot, was
born in Eoxbury in 1635, and graduated at Har¬
vard University in 1656, being in the same class
with President Increase Mather. He was ordained
first pastor of the church in Cambridge Village
July 20, 1664, — the church being gathered the
same day. He was a young man of much promise,
and began to preach about the twenty-second year
of his age. He is said to have been "an ac¬
complished person, of comely proportion, ruddy
complexion, cheerful countenance and quick appre¬
hension, a good classical scholar, and possessed of
considerable scientific knowledge for one of his age
and period." A tender and inviolable affection
subsisted between him and his people. Under the
direction of his father he obtained considerable
proficiency in the Indian language, and acted as
his assistant until his settlement at Newton. He
was twice married ; by his first wife, Sarah Willett,
daughter of Thomas Willett, Esq., first mayor of
New York, he had a daughter, Sarah, born in
1662, who married John Bowles, Esq., of Eox¬
bury, in 1687. By his second wife, Elizabeth,
daughter of Daniel Gookin, Esq., he had one son,
John, born in 1667, who was educated at Harvard
College, by his grandfather Gookin, and married
Mary, daughter of Johu Walcott, and settled in
Windsor, Connecticut. He died October 13,1668,
aged thirty-three. His remains rest near the me¬
morial monument in the cemetery on Centre Street.
His widow, Elizabeth, married Colonel Edmund
Quincy, of Braintree, December 8, 1680, by whom
she had two children, Edmund and Mary, and died
November 30, 1700. Mr. Eliot's homestead, of
twenty acres, was situated on the westerly side of
Centre Street, about sixty rods north of the burial-
place. This homestead continued to be the prop¬
erty of his heirs for sixty-five years after his decease,
and was then sold to Henry Gibbs, Esq., to raise
money to carry Eliot's grandson, John Eliot of
Windsor, Connecticut, then seventeen years old,
through college at New Haven.
At first New Cambridge, or Newtown, was an
integral part of Cambridge. There was the place
of public worship and the only school, and the
people assembled for their town-meetings. But
the spirit of independence soon prompted them to
seek separation from Cambridge, and the organiza¬
tion of an independent town. Efforts in this direc¬
tion began to take form as early as 1654, when the
inhabitants residing on the south side of Charles
Eiver petitioned to be relieved from paying taxes
for the support of the ministry in Cambridge ;
and they never rested till they had accomplished
their purpose. They found it too burdensome to
travel from the remote southern portion of the
town to the public worship at Cambridge ; and in
those days every family was expected to be found
in the house of God every Lord's Day. The fact
that religious services were already held in a hall
in Newton, probably in the house of Mr. Edward
Jackson, so that the inhabitants enjoyed the bene¬
fits of public worship in the Village, undoubtedly
tended to nourish the plan of separation on wliich
the people had set their hearts.
In 1656 John Jackson and Thomas Wiswall, in
behalf of the inhabitants of Cambridge Village,
petitioned the General Court to be released from
paying rates for the support of the ministry at
Cambridge church. The town of Cambridge re¬
monstrated against this petition, and stated " that
many persons in whose names the petition is signed,
although inhabitants, yet not by the approbation of
the town, having no right to town privileges save
only the land whereon they dwell, and others of
them do live on the farms of those who as yet
never manifested their desire of any such change —
the most of them do live within four miles of our
214
ms TOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
meeting-house, except two or three farms that lie
ahove the Falls on Charles River, near Dedham, and
hardly ever go to meeting, and some of them are
not much above two miles off. If they attain their
desire and set their meeting-house at their pleasure,
sundry of them will be farther from it than many
of them now are from Cambridge church. And
upon the same ground when they plead for a divis¬
ion, we have need to have at least four meeting¬
houses in our town, which now find it difficult to
maintain one, as it should.''
The committee of the court — Richard Russell
of Charlestown, Eleazur Lusher of Dedham, and
Ephraim Child of Watertown — reported against
this petition. The principal reason assigned in
their report was that "if the petitioners should
■withdraw their help from Cambridge church and
ministry, it would be over-burdensome to Cam¬
bridge to provide for the support of their minister."
And so the petitioners had leave to withdraw.
In 1661 the inhabitants again petitioned the
General Court to be released from paying church
rates to Cambridge. The erection of a new meet¬
ing-house had greatly strengthened their petition,
and the court accordingly granted them " freedom
from all church-rates for the support of the minis¬
try in Cambridge, and for all lands and estates
which were more than four miles from Cambridge
meeting-house, the measure to be in the usual
paths that may be ordinarily passed."
The petitioners were not satisfied ■with the divid¬
ing line, and in 1662 they petitioned the court for
a new'line. The action of the court upon this pe¬
tition was as follows : " October, 1662. In answer
to the petition of John Jackson and Thomas Wis-
wall, in behalf of the inhabitants of Cambridge
Village, as a full and final issue of all things in
controversy between the town of Cambridge and
the petitioners, the Court judge it meet to order
and appoint, and fully empower. Major William
Hawthorne of Salem, Capt. Francis Norton of
Charlestown, and Capt. Hugh Mason of Water-
town, as a Committee to give the petitioners, or
some in their behalf, with some invited in behalf
of the town of Cambridge, opportunity to make
their desires known, and Major Hawthorne to ap¬
point the time and place for the hearing of what
all parties can say, so it be sometime before the
next Court of elections ; and on the hearing thereof
to issue fully and absolutely conclude and deter¬
mine, what they shall judge necessary and just to
be done, as to the determining the four mile
bounds, that so this Court may no more be troubled
thereabouts."
This committee ran the line and settled the
bounds between the Village and Cambridge in
1662, so far as ministerial taxes were concerned.
This, no doubt, is substantially the same line that
now divides Newton from Brighton.
Again in 1672 Edward Jackson and John Jack¬
son, in behalf of the inhabitants of Cambridge Vil¬
lage, petitioned the General Court to be set off from
Cambridge and made an independent town. In
answer to this petition, "the court in 1673 doth
judge meet to grant to the inhabitants of said Vil¬
lage annually to elect one constable and three
selectmen dwelling among themselves, to order the
prudential affairs of the inhabitants there accord¬
ing to law, only continuing a part of Cambridge in
paying County and Country rates, as also Town
rates so far as refers to the grammar school and
bridge over Charles River, and also their propor¬
tion of the charges of the deputies."
This act of the court was not satisfactory to the
Village, and they did not accept it nor act under it.
In 1677-further action was had relative to the
dividing line between Cambridge and the Village.
The Village chose Captain Thomas Prentice, James
Trowbridge, Noah Wiswall, and Jonathan Hyde,
a committee to settle the line by reference, — two
referees to be chosen by the Village and two from
Cambridge, and they four to choose the fifth. The
referees thus chosen were Richard Calicott, Wil¬
liam Symes, William Johnson, William Bond, and
Richard Louden. The result of this reference was
a line described as follows : —
" Corner near the widow John Jackson's orchard
and a chestnut-tree in Mr. Edward Jackson's pas¬
ture, and to continue until it comes to the River;
then southerly by a heap of stones, four miles from
Cambridge meeting-house; thence to continue until
it comes to Boston (now Brookline) bounds.
"Dated July 27, 1677."
This is probably the line which now divides
Newton from Brighton.
In 1678 most of the freemen of the Village signed
a petition to the General Court, praying to be set
off from Cambridge and to be made a town by itself.
Fifty-two names were appended, to this petition ;
thirteen of the inhabitants did not sign it. Six of
the first settlers had deceased, viz. John Jackson,
Sr., Richard Park, Sr., Thomas Hammond, Sr.;
Rev. John Eliot, John Jackson, Jr., and Vincent
Druce, Sr.
NEWTON.
215
The following is a copy of this petition ; —
" To the honored Governor, Deputy-Governor,
together with the Hon. Magistrates, now sitting in
Boston.
" The humble petition of us, the inhabitants of
Cambridge on the south side of Charles Eiver,
showeth, that the late war, as it hath been a great
charge to the whole colony, and to us in particular
both in our estates and persons, by loss of life to
some, and others wounded and disabled for their
livelihood, besides all our other great charges in
building our meeting-house and of late enlargement
to it, and also our charge to the minister's house,
and as you know the Lord took the worthy person
from us in a little time, and now in great mercy
hath raised up another in the place, who hath a
house in building for him, which requires assist¬
ance, — as also we are now by the great mercy of
God so many families that a school is required for
the education of our children according to law, be¬
sides our public charge in the place, — yet notwith¬
standing this, last year the townsmen of Cambridge
have imposed a tax upon us, amounting to the sum
of three country rates, without our knowledge or
consent, — which we humbly conceive is a very
harsh proceeding, for any townsmen, of their own
will and power, to impose upon the inhabitants
what taxes they please, and to what end, without
even calling the inhabitants to consider about such
charge ; — yet nevertheless, for peace sake, the in¬
habitants of our place did meet together and jointly
consent to give the town of Cambridge the sum of
£100, and to pay it in three years, without desir¬
ing any profit or benefit from them of wood, tim¬
ber, or common lands, but only for our freedom,
being content with our own proprietary, which
some of us had before Cambridge had any site
there, which tender of ours they having rejected,
as also to grant to us our freedom from them, —
" We do most humbly commend our distressed
condition to the justice and mercy of this Honored
Court, that you will please to grant to us our free¬
dom from Cambridge, and that we may be a town¬
ship of ourselves, without any more dependence
upon Cambridge, which hath been a great charge
and burden to us, and also that you would please
to give the place a name ; and if there should be
any objection against us, that the Honored Court
will admit our reply and defence. So, hoping the
Almighty will assist you in all your concerns, we
rest, your humble petitioners."
The petition was presented to the court at the
.first session, 1678, and committed, and a hearing
of the parties was ordered on the first Tuesday of
October, 1678 (second session), and all parties to
have timely notice. Cambridge presented a remon¬
strance to the petition, dated October 23, 1678,
signed by their selectmen, — a voluminous docu¬
ment extending to fifteen pages. Portions of this
remonstrance were very severe, and the remonstrants
undoubtedly felt that they had made out a very
strong case. Nevertheless, the court granted the
petition so far as to order that the freeholders of
the Village should be duly notified to meet on the
27th day of August, 1679, and choose three select¬
men and a constable from among themselves to
manage the municipal affairs of the Village, as othir
towns, according to law.
The freeholders were duly notified, and the first
town-meeting was held on that day. Captain
Thomas Prentice, John Ward, and James Trow¬
bridge were chosen selectmen, and Thomas Green¬
wood, constable. A book of records was also
begun.
Previous to this time the town-meetings were all
held at Cambridge, and the town officers were
elected there. On and after this date, the freemen
of the Village held their town-meetings at the meet¬
ing-house in New Cambridge, and conducted their
municipal affairs according to the will and pleasure
of a majority of the freeholders.
During their long and severe struggle to obtam
the privileges of an independent town, the inhab¬
itants of the Village had shown a most determined
perseverance and love of freedom. They had pe¬
titioned the General Court time after time for
twenty-three years. The parties had met each
other repeatedly, by committees and otherwise, and
Cambridge had made several offers to the Village
by way of compromise. But the inhabitants of
the Village were determined to accept nothing
short of an independent town.
The name of -New Cambridge was not given by
the General Court, but was assumed by the inhab¬
itants of the Village, and generally acquiesced in
by the public, and recognized by the General
Court, as the records show. But the inhabitants
of New Cambridge, later, became dissatisfied with
this name, and petitioned the General Court more
than once to give the place a name; whereupon
the court passed the following order : —
" Dec. 15, 1691. In answer to the petition of
the inhabitants of Cambridge Village, lying on the
south side of Charles Eiver, being granted to be a
216
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
township, praying that a name may be given unto
the said town, — it is ordered that it be henceforth
called New Town/' Thus the name originally
given to the town across the river — which was
the new town because Boston was the old town,
and which was lost when, after the establishment
of the College, the territory received the name of
Cambridge — was now restored, and given to the
portion of the town on the south side of the river.
The name stands in the court records in two
words, of one syllable each, as it was originally
written when first used, in 1631. This form of
writing it was gradually changed into one word
of two syllables. But all the town-clerks followed
the order of the court in spelling it until 1776,
when Judge Fuller was elected town-clerk, and
held the office twenty-six years. He always spelt
it on the records Newton. There was no vote on
the subject. Usage in this and other towns had
prepared the.way for him to assume the responsi¬
bility of making the contraction by dropping the
w from the last syllable.
Soon after the removal of the tyrannical gov¬
ernor, Sir Edmund Andros, the inhabitants of
New Cambridge met on the 20th May, 1689, and
passed the following resolutions : —
"That it is our desire, 1. That the Honorable Governor
and Deputy Governor and Assistants, ehosen and sworn
in the year 1686, and the Deputies then ehosen by the
freemen for that year, do now resume the government of
the Colony according to Charter privileges.
" 2. That there may be an enlargement of freemen, tbat
is to say, that those persons who are of honest conversa¬
tion and a competent estate may have their votes in all
civil elections.
" 3. That the Court, having thus re-assumed the govern¬
ment, then endeavor to confirm our Charter privileges.
" 4. That the Court thus settled do not adnut of any
change or alteration of government among us, until it is
first signified to the several towns for their, approbation."
On the same day (1689) the inhabitants made
choice of Ensign John Ward as their representa¬
tive or deputy, in the present session of the Gen¬
eral Court, the first representative ever sent from
Cambridge Village, and who continued to represent
the town for eight years.
The ecclesiastical division preceded the political,
and Newton had a church and a pastor more than
twenty years before it was incorporated as an in¬
dependent town ; for Cambridge released its bold
upon Newton by degrees, and painfully. The
date, August 27, 1679, when the General Court
ordered that the Village should have the right to
choose selectmen and a constable from among
themselves, was for many years held to be the date
of the incorporation of the town of Newton, and it
is so recorded by Mr. Jackson in his History, and
was engraved iu 1874 on the city seal. The action
of the court, however, seems to have foreshadowed
the independent organization rather than confirmed
it; for more careful investigations of the facts
and testimonies have established the conclusion be¬
yond reasonable doubt that the true date of the
event is January 11, 1687, and that the name was
given to the town three years later, December 8,
1691.
The following statements, taken from Mr. Hyde's
Centennial Address, present the case with suflicient
distinctness : In 1678 they again petitioned to be
set off, and continued to do so till 1687, when, on
January 11, Cambridge was summoned to appear
before his Excellency in council, ' to show cause
why Cambridge Village may not be declared a
place distinct by itself, and not longer be a part of
said town, as hath been formerly petitioned for and
now desired.'
"At a Council held at Boston on Wednesday,
Jan. 11, 1687, it was ordered, 'That the said Vil¬
lage from henceforth be, and is hereby declared a
distinct village and place of itself, wholly freed
and separated from the town of Cambridge, and
from all future rates, payments, or duties to them
whatsoever ; and that, for the time to come, the
charge of keeping, amending, and repairing the
said Bridge, called Cambridge Bridge, shall be de¬
frayed and borne as followeth : that is to say, two
sixths parts thereof by the town of Cambridge, one
sixth part by the said village, and three sixths parts
at the public charge of the county of Middlesex.
" ' By order of Council, &c.,
"'John Deputy-Secretary.'
" ' This is a true copy taken out of the original
record, fourth day of December, 1688. As attest,
"'Laue. Hammond, Clerk.'
" This order," says Mr. Hyde, " shows conclu¬
sively that the town was not wholly independent
until 1687, although the town records commence
in 1679, when the inhabitants of the Village seem
to have first availed themselves of the privileges
granted them in 1673, by choosing three selectmen
and one constable, — all the officers they were
authorized to choose, — to manage their ' pruden¬
tial affairs.'
" In further proof that they were not yet enti-
NEWTOK
217
tied to all the privileges of an incorporated town
previous to 1687, is the fact that 'they never
assumed to send a deputy to the General Court
distinct from Cambridge, but did not miss rep¬
resentation a single year for half a century after.'
People so tenacious of their rights as tiie inhabi¬
tants of the Village manifestly were, both before
and after incorporation, would not be likely to let
the newly acquired right of representation lie dor¬
mant for seven years at a period of intense political
excitement.
"The records of Cambridge show that consta¬
bles were elected by that toion for the Village after
1679, as follows : James Prentiss, 1680 ; Sebeas
Jackson, 1681; Edward Jackson, 1682; Abra¬
ham Jackson, 1683; John Prentice, 1684; Thomas
Parker, Sr., 1685; Ebenezer Wiswall, 1686; Jo¬
seph Wilson, 1687. After 1688 none are dis¬
tinctly described as for the Village.
"'In 1686 a committee was chosen by the in¬
habitants to make the rate for the minister for the
ensuing year and a rate for the town. Eor the
Village chose Noah Wiswall, to join with the select¬
men to make a rate for the Village.'
"In addition are 'the Articles of Agreement,
made September 17, 1688, between the selectmen
of Cambridge and the selectmen of the Village, in
behalf of their respective towns.'
" ' That whereas Cambridge Village, by order of
the General Court in the late Government, was en¬
joined to bear their proportion of the charges in
the upholding and maintaining of the Great Bridge
and school, with some other things of a public
nature, in the town of Cambridge,—also, there
having been some difference between the selectmen
of said towns concerning the laying of rates for
the end abovesaid, — that the Village shall pay to
the town of Cambridge the sum of five pounds in
merchantable corn at the former prices, at or before
the first day of May next ensuing the date above,
in full satisfaction of all dues and demands by the
said town from the said Village, on the account
above said, from the beginning of the world to the
11th January, 1687. Provided always, and it is
to be hereby understood that the town of Cam¬
bridge, in consideration of £4, in current county
pay, already in hand, payed to the Village above
said, shall have free use of the highway laid out
from the Village meeting-house to the Palis for¬
ever, without any let, molestation, or denial ; also
that the constable of the Village shall pay to the
town of Cambridge all that is in their hands unpaid
of their former rates due to the town of Cambridge
above said. In witness whereof the selectmen above
said hereunto set their hands the day and year first
above written.' Signed by six selectmen of Cam¬
bridge, and John Spring, Edward Jackson, and
James Prentice, selectmen of New Cambridge.
" The date of the above ' act ' corresponds exactly
with the order of the council incorporating the
town."
Dr. Lucius E. Paige, the historian of Cambridge,
says : " Hence, it appears reasonably certain that
the Village, which obtained ecclesiastical privileges
in 1661, became a precinct in 1673, and received
the name of Newtown in 1691, was separated from
the town of Cambridge, and incorporated as a
separate and distinct town, on the eleventh day of
January, 1687."
The history thus far shows that the territory
now constituting the city, formerly the town, of
Newton, had, in connection with other territory,
and separately, been called. New Town, Cambridge,
Nonantum, South Side, Cambridge Village, The
Village, New Cambridge, Newtown, and lastly,
when reduced in extent, Newton.
The river Charles encircles a large part of New¬
ton. The centre of its channel forms the northerly,
westerly, and southerly boundaries of the town,
being a continuous curving line of upwards of fif¬
teen miles in length. This boundary is interrupted
at only two points, — the first near Watertown
Bridge, where, by the agreements of 1635 and 1705,
Watertown gained possession of eighty-eight acres,
and the second at the extreme northerly part of the
town, where in 1847 six hundred and forty acres
were ceded to Waltham.
The average town tax during the first nine years
was about £20 annually; the next twenty-five
years (1700-1725), £90 ; and the succeeding
forty-five years, £166. The first representative to
the General Court was Ensign John Ward, who
served from 1689, eight years, and the second. Cap¬
tain Isaac Williams, who served from 1692, six
years. One representative. Captain Abraham Ful¬
ler, served the town in this capacity eighteen years,
and another. Major Timothy Jackson, fifteen years,
and two others, thirteen and ten years respectively.
The first meeting-house in Newton (First Parish
Church) was erected near the middle of the old
cemetery on the east side of Centre Street, and the
road on the south side of that cemetery, now called
Cotton Street in honor of the third pastor of the
church, was one of the important thoroughfares of
218
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
First Congreffational Church.
the town. The first meeting-house was enlarged
in 1678. Subsequently a new church edifice was
built on the opposite side of the street, nearly on
the site of the house of the late Gardner Colby, Esq.
After a time this meeting-house was taken down
and removed to Waltham, where it was used for
religious worship from 1721 to 1776. The last
sermon was preached in it in Newton, October 29,
1721. The town, after mucli discussion, mutual
differences, and measuring of distances, purchased
land of Nathaniel Parker, and erected their new
meeting-house (the third) on the present site of
the Eirst Congregational Church, and dedicated it
November 5, 1721, — three years from the time
the vote was taken authorizing its erection. An¬
other house was erected on the same ground, and
dedicated November 21, 1805, during the ministry
of Dr. Homer. The present edifice, in its original
form, was dedicated March 24, 1847.
Eev. John Eliot, of Eoxbury, had already made
Newton famous by his labors in behalf of the In¬
dians. Mr. Eliot was bom at Naseby, England,
in 1604, and died in Eoxbury, Mass., May 20,
1690. ' He came to Boston in 1631, and was set¬
tled as teacher of the church in Eoxbury in 1632.
He fancied that the Indians were descendants of
the lost ten tribes of Israel, and early in his min¬
istry in Eoxbury began to take a deep interest in
their welfare. He acquired their language through
Job Nesutan,—an intelligent Indian servant in his
family, who had learned English.
The first religious service among the Indians
was held in the' wigwam of Waban, their chief,
October 28, 1646. At the date of this first mis¬
sionary effort, both Mr. Eliot and Waban were of
the same age, forty-two years. The chief met Mr.
Eliot at some distance from the spot since marked
by the Eliot monument, erected in 1879, and wel¬
comed him to the place of the assembly. The text
chosen by Mr. Eliot for his first sermon was Eze-
kiel xxxvii. 9, — " Come from the four winds, 0
breath, and breathe upon these slain that they may
live.'' By a singular coincidence, doubtless observed
by Mr. Eliot, the word breath, in this text, was,
NEWTON.
219
in the Nonantum dialect, the same with the name
of the Indian chief ; and Waban was the first con¬
vert under Eliot's ministry among this people.
The service on the occasion extended to three hours,
yet the Indians affirmed that they were not weary.
After the sermon one of the Indians asked whether
Eliot Monument.
God could understand prayers in the Indian lan¬
guage as well as in English. Another asked how
the Indians could be so different from the English,
if they all had one father. A third asked how the
world could be so full of people, if they were once
all drowned by the fiood ; and a fourth, a very
aged man, inquired whether it was too late for so
old a man as he to repent and be saved. Some of
the sachems and conjurers were enemies to Mr.
Eliot's work, and threatened him with violence if
he did not desist. But he bravely replied : "I am
about the work of the great God, and he is with
me, so that I neither fear you, nor all the sachems
in the country. I will go on, and do you touch
me if you dare."
At the second and third meetings, Eliot was
accompanied by some of the magistrates and min¬
isters of the colony, adding dignity to the work
and the occasion. He began by questioning the
Indians on the truths already learned, and answer¬
ing the questions which their curiosity dictated.
Mr. Eliot travelled extensively in this work,
making his missionary tours every fortnight, visited
all the Indians in the colonies of Plymouth and
Massachusetts, and once preached the gospel to
the celebrated King Philip, who, it is said, rejected
it with disdain. He induced many of the Indians
to relinquish their wandering habits of life, and
lived to see no fewer than twenty-four of them
become preachers to their own people. In Iiis
labors for the Indians he endured great hardships
and exposures. In one of his letters he says : " I
have not been dry, night or day, from the tliird
day of the week to the sixth, but so travelled ; and
at night, pull off ray boots and wring my stockings
and on with them again, and so continue ; but God
steps in and helps."
The report of the success of these early efforts
in behalf of the aborigines of Massachusetts ex¬
cited a strong sensation in England. The British
Parliament, then under the Protectorate, passed
an act, July 27, 1649, for the advancement of the
work. The preamble of the act runs as follows :
" "Whereas the Commons of England, assembled in
Parliament, have received certain intelligence from
divers godly ministers and others in New England,
that divers of the Heathen natives, through the
pious care of some godly English, who preach the
gospel to them in their own Indian language, not
only of barbarous have become civil, but many of
them, forsaking their accustomed charms and sor¬
ceries and other Satanical delusions, do now call
upon the name of the Lord and give great testi¬
mony to the power of God, drawing them from
death and darkness to the life and light of the glo¬
rious gospel of Jesus Christ, which appeareth by
their lamenting with tears their misspent lives,
teaching their children what they are instructed
themselves, being careful to place them in godly
families and English schools, betaking themselves
to one wife, putting away the rest, and by their
constant prayers to Almighty God morning and
evening in their families, — prayers expressed, in
all appearance, with much devotion and zeal of
heart, — All which considered, we cannot but, in
behalf of the nation we represent, rejoice and give
glory to God for the beginning of so glorious a
propagation of the gospel among those poor hea¬
then, which cannot be prosecuted with that ex¬
pedition as is desired, unless fit instruments be
encouraged and maintained to pursue it, schools
and clothing be provided, and many other necessa¬
ries, &c." The act of which this preamble sets
forth the reasons, then proceeds to establish a cor¬
poration of sixteen persons, to superintend the dis-
220
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
bursement of moneys which should be given to aid
in instructing, clothing, civilizing, and Christian¬
izing the Indians. A general collection was or¬
dered to be made for these purposes through all
the churches of England and Wales. The minis¬
ters were required to read this act in the churches,
and to exhort the people to a cheerful contribution
to so pious a work. Circular letters were pub¬
lished at the same time by the universities of
Oxford and Cambridge, recommending the same
object. A fund which in the time of Charles the
Second produced six hundred pounds sterling per
annum was thus provided, the benefits of which
lasted till the period of the separation of the colo¬
nies from the mother country. Oliver Cromwell
interested himself in missions to the heathen, and
formed a gigantic scheme of uniting all the Protes¬
tant churches in the world into one great mission¬
ary society. The Society for Promoting Christian
Knowledge, founded in 1698, the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,
founded in 1701, and the Scottish Society for
Propagating Christian Knowledge, founded in
1709, with all their benign fruits, had their roots
in the work of John Eliot among the Indians in
Newton.
An Indian church was never organized at New¬
ton; but very soon after Eliot's work began at
Nonantum, a settlement of "praying Indians"
was formed, which was removed in 1651 to Na-
tick, by the advice of Eliot and the magistrates
and ministers. Here the Indians huilt a bridge
across the river, and erected for themselves a
meeting-house which would have done honor to an
English housewright. A civil government was es¬
tablished among them on the model of the Hebrew
theocracy, and a church organized with fasting and
prayer. Mr. Eliot translated the whole Bible into
the Indian tongue, besides The Poor Man's Prac¬
tice of Piety and other works, and had the satis¬
faction to see the Indians well advanced in their
civil and ecclesiastical estate.
At the age of eighty Mr. Eliot offered to relin¬
quish his salary from the church in Eoxbury, and
desired to be released from his labors as their
teacher. And when, from increasing infirmities,
he could no longer visit the Indians, he persuaded
several families to send their colored servants to
him every week, that he might instruct them in the
Word of God. So thorough-going was his mis¬
sionary spirit and his self-denial, that, it is said,
he gave most of his salary to the Indians, liv¬
ing simply, and allowing himself little sleep, that
he might have the more time and strength for
his missionary work. Besides his Indian Bible,
printed in Cambridge in 1661 - 63, which was the
only Bible printed in America till a much later
period, he made a version of the Psalms in metre
in the same dialect, and prepared a Harmony of
the Gospels in English, a work on the Christian
Commonwealth, which the magistrates pronounced
seditious, and compelled him openly to retract its
sentiments ; and various letters describing his work
among the Indians. When he departed, all New
England bewailed his death as a general calamity.
Cotton Mather says, "We had a tradition that the
country could never perish as long as Ehot was
alive."
At the period of the War of King Philip in 1675,
a wide-spread prejudice sprang up against the In¬
dian race, as was very natural, and from this preju¬
dice the Nonantums, who had been the peculiar
charge of the apostle Eliot, were not exempt. He
remained faithful to them to the last; but they
became the object of the suspicions of the whites ;
and partly to satisfy those who were hostile to
them, and partly as a measure of safety, to pre¬
serve their lives, they were unwillingly removed
from their homes, and transferred, amid much suf¬
fering, to Deer Island in Boston Harbor, and de¬
tained there till after the death of King Philip.
They never regained their manhood. But although
they had their civil and church state at Natick,
and acquired a certain degree of civilization, never¬
theless through emigration, death, or intermarriage,
they gradually disappeared before the advancing
tide of the white population. In about two hun¬
dred years from the. commencement of Eliot's
labors, it is believed the last drop of the Nonantum
blood ceased to flow in human veins; and now,
except for the histories of Eliot's missionary work,
the monuments commemorating his name and la¬
bors in South Natick and Newton, the few copies
of the Indian Bible known to exist, the gravestone
of Daniel Takawambait, the native Indian preacher,
at Natick, and the ceUar-holes of the houses of
some of the Indians on the slope of Pegan Hill m
Dover, the name and record of these people have
utterly vanished. The Indian Bible and the Poor
Man's Practice of Piety, with a few historical re¬
ports and letters, are the only existing records of
the work of faith of the Indian apostle. It is said
that with the materials thus supplied, the wife of
Eev. Dr. Robinson, the author of the Biblical Re-
NEWTON.
221
searches, herself an ornament to German culture
and learning, studied successfully the dialect of
the people and prepared a grammar of it.
The first pastor of Newton was John Eliot, Jr.,
the son of the Indian apostle. He graduated at
Harvard University in 1656, and was ordained at
Newton July 20,1664. So far as can be ascertained
there were at that date only about twenty families
within the limits of Newton. The church was or¬
ganized the same day, and Thomas Wiswall, for¬
merly of the church in Dorchester, was ordained
ruling elder. Mr. Eliot was an earnest and faith¬
ful minister until his death, which occurred Octo¬
ber 11, 1668, after a brief pastorate of a little
more than four years. Besides his proper minis¬
terial duties in his own parish, he aided his father
in his missionary work among the Indians, taking
part in the preaching of the gospel to them in
Stoughton, Natick, and elsewhere, and thus, like
his father, performing the double duties of pastor
and missionary. His residence was on the west
side of Centre Street, not far from the corner of
Cabot Street, and the well from which he drank
still yields refreshing water on the premises lately
owned by .Hon. Thomas Edmands.
From the beginning, Newton manifested an
honorable patriotic and military spirit, and some
of the citizens distinguished themselves by acts of
marked bravery. A large number of the earlier
inhabitants bore military titles. In a genealogical
register of the town reaching down to the begin¬
ning of the present century, — the period of a
meagre population and a very slow growth, — we
find two generals, nine colonels, three majors,
forty-one captains, twenty-one lieutenants, and
eight ensigns. From 1799 till within a few years,
a powder-house, erected by the town, stood near
the site of one of the ancient " noon-houses," at
the junction of Lyman and Centre .streets, Newton
Centre. Newton men showed much bravery in
the early confiicts with the Indians, and some of
them were among the martyrs who fell in those
fearful struggles. John Druce, son of Vincent
Druce, belonged to Captain Prentice's troop of
cavalry, which rendered important service in Philip's
War in 1675. Captain Prentice did much to check
the progress of King Philip's troops, and by his
bold and rapid marches drove the enemy before
him wherever he went. He was a man of great
courage. His keen eye detected every movement
of the savage foe, and his fearless band of troopers
were ever ready to accompany him into the thickest
of the fight. He died at the age of eighty-nine
years, and was buried under arms by his old com¬
rades. He had been an officer in the company of
troopers about twenty years at the commencement
of King Philip's War, and in 1691 the Indians sent
a petition to the General Court that he might be
appointed their ruler. His house, at the junction
of Waverly Avenue and Ward Street, is said to
have been built by Captain John Clark. Edward
Jackson, son of Deacon John Jackson, was killed
in an attack by Indians on the town of Medfield,
February 21, 1676.
Through the influences of the gospel as preached
by Mr. Eliot, the inhabitants of Newton lived in
peace with the Nonantum Indians and were never
molested by them. But they dreaded the attacks
of other and hostile tribes which roamed around
them. Hence they erected two garrison-houses,
which might serve as a place of defence in case of
an attack. In these houses the chamber projected
over the lower room, and was supplied with bullets
and stones in abundance, that with these and with
scalding water, to be poured upon the heads of the
savages, the inmates shut up in these'places of de¬
fence might protect themselves against their bar¬
barous foes. One of these garrison-houses was on
land of E. C. Converse, Esq., late Israel Lombard's,
opposite the estate long known as Hyde's Nursery
on Centre Street; and another on Ward Street,
near the Newton reservoir, nearly on the site of
the residence of heirs of Ephraim Ward.
Newton men aided their brethren, the early set¬
tlers of New England, in various quarters against
the Indians, now at Casco (Portland), afterwards
at Bethel, Me., to which some of the people of
Newton had removed; now in New Hampshire,
where the oldest Captain Noah Wiswall was killed
in 1690, and now in Massachusetts, where two of
the colonists were massacred at Groton, July 21,
1706, and now in Khode Island in the woods
around Mount Hope.
In the war with the French and Indians called
the Old French War, some of the citizens of New¬
ton were engaged, and sacrificed their lives. One
of the most distinguished of these was Samuel
Jenks of West Newton, who served as ati officer
in the campaigns of 1758 and 1760, the father of
the late Eev. Dr. William Jenks, who was horn
in West Newton. Another of these brave men in
the Indian confiicts was Lieutenant Timothy Jack¬
son, whose wife carried on the farm and worked
on the land with her own hands while her husband
222
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was absent in the war. Colonel Ephraim Jackson
also served as a lieutenant.
Cololiel Ephraim Williams, born in Newton,
February 24, 1715, was captain of a military com¬
pany in the war. In a memorable battle fought
with the French and Indians near Lake George,
he was shot through the head. The name of this
Colonel Williams is honorably connected with the
cause of education in Massachusetts. In early life
he removed to the town of Stockbridge, and was
killed September 8, 1755, aged forty years. He
was never married. About seven weeks previous
to his death he made a will, providing for some
small bequests to his friends and kindred, and then
appropriating the residue of his property to the
support of a free school in a township west of
Fort Massachusetts, " provided that the said town¬
ship, when incorjjorated, shall be called Williams-
town." The fund gradually increased, and a free
school was erected in 1788, which in 1793 became
Williams College, — a living fountain of good to
the cause of religion and sound learning, and whose
influence has reached to every quarter of the globe.
As the city of Hartford traces its birth to tlie
original town of Newton, from which Hooker and
his company proceeded in 1636 to found the
new colony in Connecticut, so Williams College,
where the great work of missions to the heathen
from the American churches was nursed into life,
points to the same hills and vales in acknowl¬
edgment of its origin. Newton has thus been a
greater benediction to the world than many even
of her most intelligent children know. Cotton
Mather received a letter from Dr. Leusden, affirm¬
ing that the example of New England in Chris¬
tianizing the Nonantum Indians of Newton, awak¬
ened the Dutch to attempt the conversion of thé
heathen in Ceylon and their other East-Indian
possessions, and that multitudes had in conse¬
quence been converted to Christianity.
The first cemetery in Newton was around the
First Church, on the east side of Centre Street. An
acre of land was given to the town for the meeting¬
house and burial-place by Deacon John Jackson,
and afterwards enlarged by a gift from his son,
Abraham Jackson. The requisite legal convey¬
ance of this latter gift was never recorded, and the
right of the town to its ownership was contested
by Mr. Jackson's heirs. The land being in a low
situation, and the town having never used any part
of it as a place of burial, it was subsequently relin¬
quished to the heirs of the original owner. This
is the rectangle of land bounded on the north and
east by the cemetery, south by Cotton Street, and
west by Centre Street. The first tenants of the
cemetery, so far as is known, were the Eev. John
Eliot, Jr., the first pastor, and his first wife, —the
latter buried in June, 1665, the former in October,
1668. The marble tablet erected on the spot where
Mr. Eliot was buried took the place of the original
memorial. The cemetery was enlarged by subse¬
quent purchases in 1802 and 1804. Near the
spot where the meeting-house of the First Church
originally stood, a marble pillar was erected Sep¬
tember 1, 1852, at the expense of forty-two per¬
sons, descendants of the first settlers, with appro¬
priate inscriptions on the four faces, commemorating
the first inhabitants of the town, and recording
their names. On the four sides of this monument
are the following inscriptions : —
On the north side :
" Dea. John Jackson gave one acre of land for this Burial
Place and First church which was erected upon this spot
in 1660.—Abraham Jackson, son of Dea. John, gave one
acre, which two acres form the old part of tills Cemetery.
Died June 29, 1740. M. 75.—Edward Jackson gave
twenty acres for the Parsonage in 1660, and 31 acres for
the Ministerial Wood Lot in'ieSl. His widow Elizabeth
died, September, 1709, M. 92."
On the east side :
" Rev. John Eliot, jr.. First Pastor of the First church,
ordained July 20, 1664. — His widow married Edmond
Quincy, of Braintree. Died, 1700. — His only daughter
married John Bowles, Esq., of Roxbiiry, and died May 23,
1687. — His only son John settled in Windsor, Connecti¬
cut, where he died in 1733, leaving a son John, a student
in Yale College Erected September 1, 1852. By
descendants of the First Settlers."
On the west side :
"John Jackson, 1639-1674. Samuel Hyde, 1640-
1689; 79. Edward Jackson, 1643-1681; 79. John
Fuller, 1644-1698; 87. John Parker, 1650-1686; 71.
Richai'd Park, 1647-1665. Jonathan Hyde, 1647-1711 ;
85. Thomas Prentice, 1649-1710 ; 89. Vincent Druce,
1650-1678. Thomas Hammond, 1650-1675. John Ward,
1650-1708 ; 82. Thomas Wiswall, 1654-1683. Thomas
Prentice, 2nd, 1656. James Prentice, 1656-1710; 81.
John Kenrick, 1658-1686; 82. Isaac Williams, 1661-
1708; 69. Abraham Williams, 1662-1712; 84. James
Trowbridge, 1664-1717 ; 81. John Spring, 1664-1717;
87. John Eliot, 1664-1668 ; 33 First Settlers of
Newton, Times of their Settlement and Deaths, with their
Ages."
On the south side :
"Thomas Wiswall, ordained Ruling Elder, July 20,
1664. His sons,—Enoch, of Dorchester, died Nov. 28,
1706, M. 73.—Rev. Ichabod, Minister of Duxbury 30
years. Agent of Plymouth Colony in England, 1690 ; died
NEW
'TOE.
223
July 23,1700, 63. Capt. Noah, of Newton, an Officer
in the Expedition against Canada. Killed in battle with
the French and Indians July 6, 1690. JE. 50, leaving
a son Thomas. Ebenezer, of Newton, died June 21,
1691. .¿B. 45 J. B. Jepson, Newton Corner,
Maker."
The amount subscribed for the erection of this
monument was $325, in sums varying from $2 to
$25.
In this cemetery are found the memorials of a
multitude of the early settlers. A walk among
the graves where
" The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep,"
reveals many gravestones whose inscriptions are
no longer legible, and others, recalling the names
which filled a large place in the early history of the
town, and belonged to the founders of its institu¬
tions and the authors of its prosperity. Neglected
though it be, the historical associations by which it
is hallowed can never be transferred to the beautiful
cemetery reared by modern art and refinement in
the centre of the town. It stands, unique in in¬
terest, in the midst of the tide of life and business
that bustles beside it.
The West Parish Cemetery is situated on land
conveyed to the parish by Nathan Fuller, by deed
dated. September 21, 1781. The South Burying-
Ground, at the junction of Centre Street and Need-
ham Avenue, was laid out in 1802, and belonged
to twenty-eight proprietors, who sold it to the
town in 1833. Amasa Winchester, Esq., con¬
veyed to the town three quarters of an acre of land
to increase its proportions. In 1813 Samuel
Brown, Esq., a merchant of Boston, gave two acres
of land at the Lower Falls for the use of the Epis¬
copal Church and for a cemetery. The extensive
rural cemetery, near'the geographical centre of the
town, was dedicated to its present use June 10,
1857. The prominent feature of the occasion was
an interesting and appropriate address by Eev. Mr.
(since Bishop) F. D. Huntington. The soldiers'
monument, near the entrance to the cemetery, was
dedicated with fitting ceremonies July 23, 1864,
nearly a year before the War of the Eebellion was
ended. An address was delivered by the Bev. Pro¬
fessor H. B. Hackett, and a poem by S. F. Smith,
D. D., which were printed. The original purchase
was about thirty acres, but by subsequent additions
the whole area now extends to about eighty-two
acres, the average price of the whole being $145
per acre. The number of interments to the close
of 1878 was about 1,800, average number per
year, 130.
During a period of fifty years thirty-six slaves
are mentioned in wills and inventories, owned by
about twenty-four persons in Newton. The slaves
were probably brought from the West Indies. One
of these slaves was a woman, the property of Mrs.
Meriam, wife of the fourth pastor of the church in
Newton. One day, seeing her unkindly treated by
her mistress, Mr. Meriam paid his wife the price
at which she valued the woman, and set her free.
The last slave in Newton was an aged man, a life¬
long encumbrance of the estate of Judge Fuller,
afterwards of General Hull,—the estate now
owned and occupied by ex-Govemor Claflin.
At the town-meetings in the early periods of the
existence of Newton, much time and attention
were necessarily devoted to the preliminary wants
of the town, especially the laying out of roads, and
the security of all the rights and privileges of the
inhabitants. The first road laid out was from
Newton Corner, through what is now Brighton, to
Koxbury. By this road John Eliot came to visit
his Indian charge at Nonantum. Then followed
Dedham Eoad, now Centre Street, reaching from
Watertown to Dedham ; then the Sherburne Eoad,
so called, extending from Brookline, through the
southerly and southwesterly parts of Newton, and
opening up the estates as far as Charles Eiver.
Ensign Spring's mill- created the thoroughfare
leading from the west side of Centre Street, called
Mill Lane, since. Mill Street. Cotton Street,
south of the burying-ground, named in honor of
the third pastor of Newton, was the principal ave¬
nue through which the people in the east part of
the town came to public worship and to the town-
meetings. The Upper and Lower Falls on Charles
Eiver created an occasion for roads by which these
villages could be reached from other parts of the
town. Boylston Street, formerly the Worcester
Turnpike, was constructed in 1809, and intersected
the town from the border of Brookline to Charles
Eiver. Beacon^ Street was made in 1847-48.
The second minister of the town was Nehemiah
Hobart, a man of learning, and at one time vice-
president of Harvard University. He was ordained
December 23, 1674. During his ministry the
meeting-house was enlarged and improved. The
custom of " dignifying the pews " was in vogue in
the church in Newton for many years, but at last,
happily, it fell into disuse. A committee was ap¬
pointed at stated periods to assign.to the families
224
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
and individuals their places in the house of God in
reference to their dignity, rank, standing, or merit,
but at the same time with the charge that they
" were not to degrade any." The pews were built
around the house, adjacent to the walls, and some¬
times one or two ranges were permitted in the
vacant space, nearest the entrance doors. The
body of the house, or " vacant space," was occu¬
pied mainly by long seats, the older persons being
nearest the pulpit ; the galleries were devoted on
one side of the house to the boys, on the other to
the girls. Permission was given to a few persons
of note to build pews in " the vacant space " at
their own cost ; but this privilege was held to be
very precious, and sometimes, permission, being
asked, was refused, in spite of the wealth and
standing of the petitioner. The deacons' seat was
raised above the floor in front of the pulpit, and
on the railing in front of it stood the hour-glass,
which one of the deacons turned at the beginning
of the sermon ; and if it was not necessary to turn
it again before the close, the minister was thought
to be deflcient in duty to his congregation.
The worshippers in early times attended public
worship conscientiously, or, under the pressure of
publie opinion, with great regularity, though some
of them were obliged to travel considerable dis¬
tances from remote parts of the town. Never¬
theless, in winter the comfort of a stove in the
meeting-house was a thing unknown. It was not
till a hundred and thirty-two years after the forma¬
tion of the First Church that the parish voted " to
have a stove to warm the meeting-house"; and
when stoves were introduced, it was formally dis¬
cussed and voted in town-meeting where the stove
should stand, and through what window the smoke-
pipe should make its egress ; and in the contract
with the sexton it was made a matter of express
stipulation that he should take care of the meeting¬
house and the stove.
In the deficiency of other means of warmth, two
or three "noon-houses," so called, were erected
near the meeting-house, where, seated around a
blazing fire, the worshippers could warm their stif¬
fened limbs in the rest at noon between the ser¬
vices, and enjoy their homely lunch and a mug of
cider ; for it is said that some of the farmers found
pleasure in rolling a barrel of cider in the fall into
the cellar, to add to the good cheer of the Lord's
Day. Here, too, the people replenished their foot-
stoves from the glowing coals on the hearth, to
add to the comfort of the women and children
when they returned to the house of God. Two of
these noon-houses stood on portions of the present
meeting-house lot of the First Church at Newton
Centre, one west of the meeting-house, and another
near the junction of Lyman with Centre Street.
The powder-house, which replaced this noon-house
in the year 1799, was built for the convenience of
the troopers on days of military parade on this
ancient training-field, and was demolished not far
from the year 1850.
Mr. Hobart died August 25, 1712, aged sixty-
four years, after a service of thirty-eight years.
His tombstone in the cemetery at Newton bears
an honorable testimony in Latin to his character
and worth. Deacon Edward Jackson in his will
left thirty-one acres of woodland to the First Par¬
ish. This land was sold for $ 1,000 subsequently,
for the benefit of the parish.
The third pastor of the First Church was John
Cotton, great-grandson of the famous John Cotton
of Boston, who had been pastor of Boston in Lin¬
colnshire in England, and in whose honor Boston
in New England received its name. Young Mr.
Cotton graduated at Harvard College in the year
1710, and was ordained in Newton November 3,
1714. He was a young man of such talent, piety,
and promise that he won the respect and confi¬
dence of all ; and when he came into the town to
enter upon his work, so great was the reverence
of the people for him, that, though he was but a
youth of twenty, they turned out in procession to
welcome him and escort him to his home. He was
a faithful, earnest, and energetic minister, and con¬
tinued in oflSce till May 17, 1757, when he died,
in the sixty-fourth year of his age and the forty-
third of his ministry. His remains rest in the old
burial-ground, and an honorable inscription in
Latin marks his resting-place.
The fourth pastor of the church, and the last
settled by the town, was Rev. Jonas Meriam, who
was ordained May 22, 1758, and remained pastor
twenty-two years and five months. He died of
consumption, August 13, 1780, aged fifty years.
He was twice married. His remains rest in Bos¬
ton with those of the family of his last wife. His
character was mild and amiable, and he was re¬
puted to be a man of considerable learning.
In the early days of New England, a consider¬
able period often elapsed between the calling of
a minister and the date of his ordination. Mr.
Meriam was called to be pastor over the First
Church in Newton December 9, 1757 ; he was
NEWTON.
225
ordained May 22, 1758) — after an interval of five
months. His predecessor, John Cotton, was elected
pastor March 22, 1713; but it was not till No¬
vember 8,1714, more than a year and a half after¬
wards, that he received orditiation. The average
period of the ministry of the first four pastors was
exactly twenty-seven years ; or, leaving out of the
account Mr. Eliot, who died after only four years,
the average service of the second, third, and fourth
pastors was thirty-four years and two thirds.
The church controlled everything pertaining to
the public worship. When the choir, ambitious
of exhibiting their musical attainments, had learned
a collection of new tunes, the church voted, No¬
vember 6, 1770, that "a due proportion only of
the new tunes should be mingled with the old."
It was voted in church meeting, December 11,
1771, to introduce "Tate and Brady's version of
the Psalms, with Hymns annexed." And, by a
similar vote, November 7, 1790, this latter book
of Psalmody was exchanged for the Psalms and
Hymns of Dr. Watts.
While Mr. Meriam was pastor, there were signs
foretokening the rupture of the union of church
and state in New England. The independence of
the people began to manifest itself in the tendency
of some to leave the established worship, and found
churches after their own convictions. This sep¬
aration was promoted as well as evinced by the
organization of New Light churches here and there.
One of these churches, formed in Newton, held its
meetings at the house of Nathan Ward, who be¬
came their ordained leader and pastor. Another
owed its existence to one Mr. Jonathan Hyde, who
lived in the extreme southeastern part of Newton,
nearly on the line of its division from Brookline.
He was ordained pastor of this church January 17,
1750, and many from Newton attended his min¬
istry. The cellar hole of his house is still visible.
The First Baptist Church, including in its number
several of the members of these New Light organi¬
zations, reconstructed and purified, was formed
about one month before the death of Mr. Meriam.
An event very unfortunate for history took place
during his ministry ; his house took fire on Sab¬
bath evening, March 5, 1770, while the family were
at supper, and was wholly consumed, together with
the records of the First Church. Through the
memory of Mr. Meriam, the deacons and others,
the names of the members, and of those who had
been baptized in the several families connected
with the church, were mainly restored, — a less
onerous task at that period than such a work would
be at present. The table around which the family
were seated was removed from the house just as it
was, and is still preserved in the family of Mrs.
Kenrick.
During the ministry of Mr. Meriam and pre¬
vious to the year 1764, the people in the west part
of the town had occasional preaching in their own
neighborhood, especially in the winter season. As
tlie natural outcome of this arrangement, meetings
for deliberation were lield, and a building com¬
mittee chosen who were instructed to solicit sub¬
scriptions for the building of a meeting-house, and
to commence the work as soon as there was suf¬
ficient encouragement. In July, 1764, Phineas
Bond, innhoider, conveyed to the building com¬
mittee, in consideration of £ 2 2 «. about eight rods
of land on which to erect a meeting-house, the
land bounding upon tiie county road, the land of
Isaac Williams and other laud of Phineas Bond.
The work of building was commenced in 1764;
but the society was not ripe for the settlement of
a pastor till seventeen years later.
Three years after the commencement of the
church edifice, Jonathan Williams and others, in¬
habitants of the west part of Newton, presented a
petition to the town, requesting that a reasonable
sum of money should be granted by the town to
aid in supporting the preaching of the gospel in
their new meeting-house ; this request was refused
by the town. Persevering in spirit, they repeated
their petition in the years 1770, 1772, 1773, and
1774. Finding their fellow-townsmen disinclined
to grant them help, they in the mean time peti¬
tioned the General Court for a grant of money out
of the town treasury, for four months' preaching.
In 1778 they petitioned the General Court to be
set off as a distinct parish. This request was
granted, and the act of incorporation was passed
in October, 1778, the dividing line being described
in the act, and the inhabitants on either side of it
being allowed to belong to either parish they might
choose, provided they should make their election
within six months after the passing of the act.
The society or parish was organized by the choice
of officers in November, 1778, and the next year
the proprietors of the meeting-house chose Alexan¬
der Shepard, Jr., Joseph Hyde, and Phineas Bond
to give a title to the pews.
The church was organized October 21, 1781,
being composed of twenty-six members, dismissed
from the First Church, with the exception of one.
226
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Joseph Adams, Sr., who was dismissed from the
church in Brookline. The members solemnly de¬
clared their assent to the leading doctrines of the
General Assembly's Shorter Catechism, and passed
the following vote ; —
" Voted, in order to entitle any person to either of tlie
ordinances of tiie Christian Scriptures, namely, baptism
and the Lord's Supper, he shall make a public confession
of religion, and dedication of himself to God; and that
every person so doing shall be entitled to both ordinances,
and may come to them without making any other profes¬
sion of his faith and belief."
Mr. William Greenough, valedictorian of his
class at Yale College, was ordained pastor Novem¬
ber 8, 1781, having been elected by unanimous
vote. Dr. Jolm Lothrop, of the Second Church in
Boston, preached the sermon; Mr. Gushing, of
Waltham, gave the charge ; and Mr. Jackson, of
Brookline, the riglit hand of fellowsliip. One who
was present recorded the remark : " A small house
and a handful of people." An early vote of the
church was that a portion of the Scriptures should
be read in public on eaeii Lord's Day. The Second
Church in Boston gave to the new body a pulpit
Bible; Thomas Greenough of Boston, the father
of the young pastor, a baptismal font, two flagons
and two dishes for the communion service ; and the
First Church added, in token of brotherly affection,
four pewter tankards and one pewter dish. Joseph
Ward and Joseph Jackson were elected the first
deacons. The first meeting-house, comtnenced in
June, 1764, was enlarged in 1812, altered and
improved in 1831, and again in 1838. Worship
was held in that edifice for the last time March 26,
1848. The present meeting-house was dedicated
March 29, 1848, and the dedication sermon,
preached by the pastor. Rev. Lyman Gilbert, from
Acts xxviii. 22, was printed. The former house
was removed a few feet westwardly, and became the
Town House, in which at one period town meetings
were held alternately with the meetings in the other
town hall, erected at Newton Centre. The first
pastor, Rev. William Greenough, remained pastor
fifty years and two days, and died November 10,
1831, aged seventy-five, leaving his colleague. Rev.
Lyman Gilbert, sole pastor. Mr. Gilbert served
tlie church, in all, twenty-seven years, till 1855,
when he resigned. He was a wise and faithful
pastor, and widely known and highly esteemed.
He was an active member of the school committee
for twenty years.
Dr. Gilbert was succeeded by Rev. Joseph P.
Drummond, who remained till November 12, 1857,
and was followed immediately by Rev. George B.
Little, formerly of Bangor, Maine. He became
pastor in 1857, and died of consumption in Rox-
bury, July 20, 1860, aged thirty-eight. The next
pastor was Rev. Henry Johnson Patrick, formerly
of Bedford, Massachusetts, where he was ordained
November 16, 1854. He was installed here Sep¬
tember 26, 1860, and is still pastor.
IN THE REVOLUTION.
It was while Mr. Meriam was pastor of the
First Church that the country passed through the
earlier scenes of the American Revolution. Newton
was all alive to this great occasion. The records
of the town show that the inhabitants were keenly
sensitive in respect to the interests of the country,
and that they were not the men to submit tamely
to oppression. They entered with vigor and spirit
into the war, and manifested an enlightened and
unconquerable patriotism, in the vicissitudes which
culminated in that great struggle. They judged
rightly that the welfare of the country demanded
that it should rely mainly upon its own resources,
so that it might not suffer from embarrassments
occasioned by foreign wars. Moreover, they deemed
it wise not to aid the manufacturing interests of
the mother country, which aimed only to oppress
them, nor to promote its commercial prosperity by
receiving goods imported in British vessels. Hence
in 1765 they recorded their protest against the
Stamp Act, and in 1767 they resolved in town-
meeting not to use any gloves except of domestic
manufacture, and to procure no new garments on
funeral occasions, except those which were abso¬
lutely necessary. Among the articles included in
their protest were also men's and women's hats and
apparel, lace, diamonds, jewelry, snuff, broadcloth,
costing more than ten shillings a yard, furs, milli¬
nery, stays, silk, cotton, velvet, lawn, and cambric.
As the tempest of the Revolution thickened, the
town also voted, " that we, each and every one of
us, will not, directly or indirectly, by ourselves or
any person under us, purchase or use or suffer to
be used in our respective families any India tea,
while such tea is subject to a duty payable upon
its arrival in America." At the destruction of the
three hundred and forty-two chests of tea from
vessels in Boston Harbor, commonly called "the
Boston tea-party," Newton had its representative
in the person of Samuel Hammond, of the east part
NEWTON.
227
of the town. In January, 1772, the inhabitants,
in town-meeting assembled, passed a resolve, declar¬
ing that " no good man can be silent and inactive
in the cause of liberty at this alarming period,"
and also a resolve declaring that " all taxation im¬
posed on the colonists without their consent and
without representation in Parliament, for the pur¬
pose of raising a revenue, is unconstitutional and
oppressive."
As the times, grew more threatening, the select¬
men were authorized to procure fire-arms for those
who were too poor to furnish them. John Pigeon
gave the town two field-pieces, which were accepted
by the town with thanks, and a vote was passed,
January 2, 1775, to raise a company of thirty-two
minute-men, who were to meet half a day every
week through the winter for drill, and every man
was to be paid for his time the sum of eightpence,
or, as afterwards stated, one shilling, and the eight
officers eight shillings per day "over and above
the shilling each."
At the opening of the war, April 19, 1775,
Newton numbered three companies, the east and
west companies and the minute-men, — a total of
two hundred and eighteen men. Jeremiah Wiswall
commanded the east company, Amariah Puller the
west, and Phineas Cook the minute-men. Besides
these, many Newton men who had passed the age
for military service, inspired by patriotism, were
eager to renew their youth and participate in the
excitement and the glory of the conflict. Noah
Wiswall, a man seventy-six years of age, who, like
his ancestors, occupied the house at the northeast¬
erly side of the pond at Newton Centre, now in
possession of the heirs of Deacon Luther Paul,
went to Lexington on the 19th of April, 1775, be¬
cause, as he said, " he wanted to see what the boys
were doing." As he was pointing out to his com¬
panions three British soldiers on the field of strife,
a ball whizzed through his hand, inflicting a pain¬
ful wound. Undaunted, he coolly took out. his
handkerchief and hound up the wounded member,
and then picking up the musket of a fallen regular
bore it home with him as a trophy.
When the War of Independence was actually
commenced, Newton proved itself among the most
patriotic towns in the commonwealth, and all the
families of the town were largely represented in
the armies and battles of the Eevolution. Few
records of military ardor exceed in interest the
narrative of Captain Michael Jackson on the day
of the battle of Lexington. Boused by the rumor
that hostilities had actually commenced, he rushed
from his house in tlie gray of the morning, and the
minute-men having gathered on the parade-ground,
no commissioned officers being present, he was
made captain by acclamation. Arrived at Water-
town, he found the authorities assembled in con¬
clave, discussing the situation and deliberating on
the course proper to be pursued. His fiery spirit
could not brook delay ; and feeling that the time
WiUlam Hall.
for debate was past, and that this was the time for
action, lie stepped from the ranks to the head of
the company, and issued the sharp and stirring
military order, " Shoulder arms — platoons to the
right, wheel — quick time — forward march ! "
And in the excitement of the moment he was actu¬
ally on the way to the front with those who had
the bravery to follow him. Of the rest, some lin¬
gered where they were, and some dispersed. Colo¬
nel Benjamin Hammond, the captain, followed
after his company and joined them before they
reaehed Concord.
Soon after the affairs of Concord and Lexington
two companies were raised, both commanded by
Newton captains, and embracing seventy-four New¬
ton men. They enlisted for eight months, and
joined the army at Cambridge, March 4, 1776.
The east and west companies, numbering one hun¬
dred and thirteen men, by request of General
Washington marched to take possession of Dor¬
chester Heights.
228
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In the warrant for the town-meeting, June 17,
1776, was this important article: "That in case
the honorable Continental Congress should, for the
safety of the American colonies, declare them in¬
dependent of the kingdom of Great Britain, whether
the inhabitants of this town will solemnly endeavor
with their lives and fortunes to Support them in
this measure." After the debate the question was
put, and the vote passed unanimously in the afiirma-
Boger Sherman.
tive. John Woodward was moderator of this
memorable meeting. A centennial celebration of
the same was held June 17, 1876, at which a his¬
torical address was delivered by the Hon. James
F. C. Hyde, and the proceedings and address were
afterwards published in a volume worthy of the
occasion by the city of Newton.
In August, 1777, a company of ninety-six men
was raised by Captain Joseph Fuller, of whom
thirty were Newton men. They marched to Skenes-
borough, Bennington, and Lake George, to oppose
the advance of General Burgoyne. In March,
1778, a company of sixty-eight men was raised by
Captain Edward Fuller, of whom forty belonged
to Newton. In January, 1777, sixty-four Newton
men enlisted for three years, or the war. In 1780
fifty-fonr Newton men marched to reinforce the
continental army. So sensitive were the people
in their patriotism, and so averse to the toleration
of tory principles, that a list was made out of per¬
sons whose residence was deemed prejudicial to
the public safety, and arrangements were made for
their removal from the town.
About four hundred and thirty men from New¬
ton served in the continental army during tlie war
of the Eevolutioii. Among these were forty-four
descendants of Edward Jackson, bearing the name
of Jackson. There were twenty-two bearing the
name of Fuller, sixteen the name of Parker, fifteen
of Hyde, eleven of Stone, six of Seger, etc. Cap¬
tain Henry King, of Newton, was one of the guard
at the execution of Major André.
The citizens freely voted their money as well as
gave their services to their country during this
great struggle. Many individuals loaned their
property in generous sums. Besides this, in 1778
a tax of £3,000 was voted towards the expenses
of the war, and the next year a similar sum for tlie
purpose of raising men for the army and other ex¬
penses. In March, 1780, £30,000 were voted for
a like purpose; in September, £40,000, and in
December, £100,000. Paper money, it is true,
had greatly depreciated in value. But this enor¬
mous depreciation, making many poor who had
been rich, did not render these valiant patriots
penurious. The entire population of the town in
1775 has been estimated at less than 1,400. If
this be correct, about every third person in the entire
population was more or less in the army, and all
the families left by them at home must have shared
painfully, though uncomplainingly, in the self-
denials and hardships of the times. It is not un¬
worthy of notice that Eoger Sherman, one of tiie
signers of the Declaration of Independence, was a
native of Newton, born near the Skinner Place, on
Waverley Avenue.
SCHOOL HISTORY.
It was many years before the education of the
young in Newton took the rank, among the meas¬
ures adopted by the townsmen, which its im¬
portance claimed. The earliest settlers of the
territory, originally embracing what was after¬
wards denominated Newtown, enjoyed the advan¬
tages of the " fair grammar school " at Cambridge,
taught by Master Corlet. But only a few would
be likely to travel such a distance from day to day,
even if the instruction had been, as it probably
was not, adapted to their wants. Doubtless, chil¬
dren were taught more or less at home in many
families ; but- in that forming period of society.
NEWTON.
229
and under the pressure of toil and poverty, it is
not surprising that education was at the minimum.
Mr. Jackson records that "there does not appear
to have been any public or private school in the
Village [Newton] for sixty years' after its first set¬
tlement. The erection of a school-house was near
half a century behind that of tlie meeting-house."
In May, 1699, — forty-five years after the first
movement for their separation from Cambridge,
and twenty years after their petition to become an
independent town had received the first favorable
notice by the General Court, — the town voted to
build a school-house, sixteen feet by fourteen, and
Deacon John Staples, who oceupied the estate now"
owned and occupied by W. C. Strong, Esq., was
hired " to keep school " four days in the week,
at a salary of two shillings per day. As early as
1642 the General Court passed an order requiring
"the townsmen to see to the educating of their
children," and also enjoining it upon every town
having a hundred families to set up " a grammar
school," which in those days meant a school of
sufficiently advanced character to fit boys for ad¬
mission to college. If any of the children of
Newton found their way to Master Corlet's school
at Cambridge, for the support of which Newton
was taxed until it became an independent town,
they must have been few in number. They had
a right to these high privileges; but elementary
learning, reading, writing, and, arithmetic, were
more adapted to their wants. In 1701 the town
voted to build two school-houses, one to be near
the meeting-house and the other at Oak Hill, —
" sixteen feet square besides chimney room." The
town voted £25 towards the expense,, and the rest
was to be made up by private subscription. One
master was to teach both schools, — the one near
the meeting-house, two thirds of the time, and that
near Oak Hill, one third. "Those that send chil¬
dren to school shall pay three pence per week for
those that learn to read, and four pence for those
that learn to read, write, and cypher ; and all may
send to either school as they choose."
John Staples, the schoolmaster above referred
to, and the first public schoolmaster in Newton,
came to New Cambridge about 1688. He was for
many years deacon of tlie church, and town-clerk —
the third in that office — twenty-one years, from
1714 to 1734, and selectman eight years. His
chirography in the town records is creditable to
his attainments in that department; but his in¬
genuity in misspelbng the most common words
implies that if he knew how to teach, he had also
something to learn. He left in his will seventeen
acres of woodland " for and towards the support of
the ministerial fire from year to year annually."
He died in 1740, aged eighty-two years. His
wife was Mary Craft. They had no children.
The first school committee was elected in 1706.
The members were Isaac Williams, Jolm Mason,
and Abraham Jackson. From this time onward a
school committee was chosen annually. The school
question seems to have given the people for a long
time no little trouble, and was the subject of fre¬
quent discussion, planning, experimenting, and
voting. This is evident from a mere glance at the
entries in the town records. In 1718 the town
voted £10 to the inhabitants in the northwest part
of the town, to aid them in employing a school¬
master. In 1721 they voted not to have more
than one school ; but Samuel Miller, at the west
part of the town, offered a room in his house for a
school, and the town accepted it. In 1722 the
vote of 1701 was reaffirmed, giving school privi¬
leges to the centre of the town two thirds of the
time, and to the south part one third. In 1723
the inhabitants voted to have the school kept in
three places, one " half the time at the west part,
quarter at the north, and quarter at the south."
At the same time the town was divided into three
school districts. In 1751, and again in 1753, the
inhabitants voted to have two more schoolmasters.
In 1763 they voted to have four districts and four
schools, and all to be provided with wood. The
duration of these schools was determined as fol¬
lows : Centre, twenty weeks and two days ; north¬
west, fourteen weeks and two days ; Oak Hill, ten
weeks and six days ; southwest, six weeks and five
days. In 1776 there were five school districts,
in 1791, six, and in 1808, seven. In 1766 the
sum of £16 was appropriated to employ a school¬
mistress. This was the first " woman's school."
In 1768 £50 were appropriated for men's, and
£16 for women's schools.
The appropriation for schools was for many
years £50. In 1774 it was raised to £60; in
1786, £80; in 1790, £85; in 1795, £130; in
1796, $500; in 1800, $600. In 1762 the
townVas " presented for not setting up a grammar
school, and the selectmen were chosen to defend
the town against it at the Court."
In 1761-62 votes were passed ordering that
the grammar school should be taught at the house
of Edward Durant.
¿30
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In 1796 the citizens voted "to provide five
stoves to warm the school-ltouses/' As late as
1780-85 Eev. Mr. Blood, the first pastor of the
First Baptist Church, Newton Centre, pieced out
an inadequate salary by keeping the winter school
at Oak Hill two seasons.
A new interest was awakened in the cause of
education in connection with the action of the
Massachusetts Board of Education, and especially
as a result of the efficient labors of Hon. Horace
Mann, its secretary, who was a citizen of West
Newton. The schools had been conducted for
many years without much variation from the estab¬
lished routine, except as the growth of population
from time to time demanded increased accommo¬
dations. This routine contemplated mainly nine
or ten school-houses, chiefly of one story and Con¬
taining but a single room, with a schoolmaster for
a certain number of weeks in the winter months,
and a schoolmistress in the summer. At the period
indicated, about 1854, judicious citizens, deeply in¬
terested in the cause of education, of whom the
late Dr. Henry Bigelow and the late Hon. D. H.
Mason were among the foremost, — and it is in their
honor that two of the school-houses are named, —
began to counsel the citizens in town-meeting to
adopt measures looking to a more generous course
of training for the young. The first efforts were
merely tentative, because the people in many in¬
stances were not prepared to relinquish their ancient
customs for new and untried measures. But after
warm debate a resolution was passed to establish
graded schools throughout the town, except in the
Oak Hill district, which was remotely and there¬
fore peculiarly situated, and the citizens of that
part of the town were not willing to accede to the
new arrangement. Two grammar schools, one at
Newton Centre, the other at Newtonville, were to
be provided with masters all the year round, com¬
petent to prepare young men for college. Two
new school-houses were erected, — one at Newton¬
ville, a few rods north of the railroad station, where
three or four ways met ; the other at Newton Cen¬
tre, nearly on the site of the present Mason School-
house. The school at the Centre was in charge of
J. W. Hunt, Esq., formerly of Plymouth, the first
master, and proved a success. The building was
afterwards removed to a lot on the opposite corner
of Station Street, to make room for a much larger
and more convenient structure, and was finally
transferred to a lot near the southeast part of
Wiswall's Pond, and became Crane's machine-
shop. The new school-building was burned by an
incendiary, and the present Mason school-building
took its place. The school did excellent service
as a mixed high and grammar school, until the
public interest in education demanded a still fur¬
ther advancement, and the present pure high-school
edifice was erected at Newtonville in 1858-59.
The appropriations for schools, showing an inter¬
esting increase in the progress of years, indicate
the growing intelligence and liberality of the citi¬
zens. From £50, the earliest appropriation, and
which remained fixed at that sum for many years,
and from $600, the appropriation in 1800, the
advance has been in an ever-increasing ratio. In
1870 the amount paid for educational purposes
was $117,252.98, and the value of school prop¬
erty owned by the town was $327,600. In 1873
the last town grant for schools, before Newton be¬
came a city, was $73,000. In 1878 there were in
the city eighteen school-houses, eighty-six teachers,
3,359 pupils ; total expenditure for schools in 1878,
$83,208.63, or $24.77 per capita, the expense of
every pupil enrolled. The whole number who
graduated from the high school from 1861 to
1878 inclusive was 315; males 140, females 175.
The first class (1861) numbered four, all females;
the last class (1878), thirty-six; the largest class
(1877) numbered fifty-one. In the class of 1878
NEWTON.
231
twenty-five were males and eleven females. The
class of 1866j nine in number^ were all females.
Various private schools have been taught in
Newton in difl'erent parts of the town, as well in
its earlier as its later history. In 1765 Charles
Pelham of Boston opened a private school in the
house formerly owned by the Eev. John Cotton,
in Newton Centre. Judge Abraham Fuller at a
still earlier date had a private grammar school, and
in his will he left a bequest of £300 to the town
of Newton, as the foundation of an academy to be
known as the Fuller Academy, to promote higher
education. The amount was left to be paid by his
executors, and did not come into the possession
of the town till after the death of his son-in-law.
General Hull, whose affairs became embarrassed,
and he was unable during his lifetime to pay the
bequest. After his decease a piece of land was
conveyed by his heirs to tlie town in settlement of
the claim, and the Fuller Academy was erected at
West Newton, on Washington Street. After a few
years the building was sold, and became the seat
of the first normal school for young ladies in
Massachusetts, which had been previously located
for a brief period in the town of Lexington. It
has since become the classical school of the Messrs.
Allen.
Mrs. Susannah Rowson opened a female acad¬
emy and boarding-school at Newton Corner, in the
brick portion of the building since known as the
Nonantum House, in the early part of the present
century. She was the daughter of a British officer,
a woman of many accomplishments, and an author
of considerable reputation. Her school was at¬
tended by young ladies from remote states in the
Union and from the West India Islands. She
taught also, either before or afterwards, in Med-
ford, Eoxbury, and Boston. Many items of her
personal history are preserved in her novel entitled
Rebecca, which, under fictitious names, is a record
of actual events and occurrences in the days of the
American Revolution. She is said to have been
a very courtly woman, and paid special attention
to the carriage and manners of her pupils.
Mr. Seth Davis was a teacher of high and de¬
served reputation in West Newton, where he taught
first in the public school, and afterwards in a
private academy of his own. Many who subse¬
quently became distinguished men in Newton and
elsewhere were among his pupils, and his teaching
in higher branches was altogether in advance of
the teaching of the period. It is said that the
Rev. Mr. Greenough on one occasion expostulated
with him for instructing his pupils in astronomy,
— a favorite study of the venerable master; but
with a natural genius for teaching, great capacity,
and keen conscientiousness, he endeavored to give
his pupils the highest and best in his power. The
influence of Mr. Davis as an enterprising citizen
has been highly beneficial to the town. Most of
the trees which adorn the streets of West Newton
were set out by him. The large elm in front of
the old tavern-house, so called, was set out by
John Barber, who gave to the town the land im¬
proved for the West Parish Burial-Ground, and
was the first male tenant of it. A woman who had
died of small-pox had preceded him. After Mr.
Davis relinquished teaching in West Newton, on
account of the pressure of other duties, his daugh¬
ter, Miss Harriet L. Davis, took up the work, and
was a most successful teacher until she was com¬
pelled by failing health to dismiss her school. Her
father gave instruction to. her pupils on certain
days of the week in astronomy, geology, etc., and
when she was laid aside by sickness, he continued
the sehool for several weeks, hoping for her res¬
toration.
Under the influenee of a newly awakened educa¬
tional zeal, the first normal school for the instruc¬
tion of female teachers was commenced in Lexing¬
ton, Massachusetts, and afterwards removed, under
the auspices of that great educator and philanthro¬
pist, the Hon. Horace Mann, then residing in
West Newton, on Waljiut Street, to the village of
his abode. It was his favorite plan to keep the
school under his constant supervision. The school
found its home in the building of the Fuller Acad¬
emy, which was bought for that purpose. The
Rev. Cyrus Pierce, called generally Father Pierce,
was the first teaeher. A model school was estab¬
lished in the immediate vicinity in connection with
the normal school, where the pupils of tiie latter
had opportunity by personal teaching to put to
practical use the instruetion they received. This
school, afterwards under the care of Mr. Eben
Stearns, continued for a few years to have its seat
in West Newton, where it was a most successful
enterprise. It was removed afterwards to Fram-
ingham.
The late Marshall S. Rice, Esq., for twenty-
seven years the town-clerk of Newton, and holding
office when the town obtained incorporation as the
city of Newton, came into Newton Centre, in
1824, and established a private school for boys, in
HllSTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
which more than a thousand pupils received a por¬
tion, either greater or less, of their education. His
residence and school were on Centre Street, in the
mansion formerly the estate of Henry Gibbs, Esq.,
from whom Gibbs Street receives its name, nearly
opposite the first parish meeting-house. In this
ancient house the ordaining council of ministers
and delegates met and dined together on the occa¬
sion of the ordination of Kev. Dr. Homer, Febru¬
ary 14, 1782. The apple-trees in tlie orchard
north of Mr. Eice's house were raised from the
seeds planted by his own hands, and the two fine
maples in front of the house were brought by him
in his chaise-box, when they were saplings of a
foot in height, from New Ipswich, New Hampshire.
Mr. Eice died February 24, 1879, aged seventy-
eight years and eight months, — a man universally
respected and lamented.
In the year 1830 an academy was commenced
at Newton Centre, under a board of nine trustees.
The land occupied by the academy building on
Centre Street, nearly opposite Grafton Street, and
now occupied as a dwelling-house, was given to
the board of trustees for that purpose by Marshall
S. Eice, Esq. An addition was made to the estate
in 1831, by purchase, for the purpose of erecting
a boarding-house. This was a fiourishing school
for many years. The first preceptor was Mr. El-
bridge Hosmer, who was followed in succession by
Messrs. Ebenezer Woodward, Eev. John B. Hague,
Bartholomew Wood, and Eev. E. H. Barstow, who
was the last teacher. After this the academy build¬
ing was sold for a private residence. The boarding-
house, in 1866, became the seat of a home and
school for young girls, orphans and others, rescued
from the haunts of vice in the neighboring city of
Boston. This benevolent institution was, in all its
history, under the charge of Mrs. Eebecca B.
Pomeroy, an efficient, self-denying, and faithful
friend and ministering angel in the military hospi¬
tals of Washington during the civil war, and spe¬
cially in the home of the chief magistrate of the
nation, Abraham Lincoln. On a Sabbath afternoon,
June 14, 1868, one of the inmates of the house
set fire to the building, and it was burned to ashes,
and the site has remained unoccupied till the pres¬
ent time. The Home was reorganized in the house
formerly owned and occupied by Mr. Ephraim
Jackson, southeast of the Theological Institution,
and continued till 1872, when it was disbanded.
Four little orphan girls, members of this institu¬
tion, became the nucleus of the Orphans' Home,
established on Church Street, Newton, in Novem¬
ber, 1872, and which afterwards was removed to
the Episcopal parsonage, which was purchased for
its use.
Professor Charles Siedhof, from a German gym¬
nasium, kept a family school for boys from about
1848 to 1853, in the southernmost of the two
houses erected for professors on the Institution
land at Newton Centre. Both these houses have
since been removed, and now stand, altered and
enlarged, on Cypress Street. The school of Pro¬
fessor Siedhof was afterwards removed to the old
Clark house on Centre Street, south of Wiswall's
Pond, now occupied by Mr. Jepson.
Lasell Female Seminary, in Auburndale, was com¬
menced in the fall of 1851, by Professor Edward
Lasell. The large building occupied by the insti¬
tution was erected in the same year. Professor
Lasell died soon after the institution was opened,
and it was taken in charge by Josiah Lasell, a
brother of the professor, and a brother-in-law,
Deorge W. Briggs, Esq., under whom it enjoyed a
marked degree of prosperity. In 1864 the property
was purchased by Professor C. W. Cushing. In
1873 it was acquired by ten gentlemen of the
Methodist Episcopal Church, and reopened under
the superintendence of Professor Charles C. Brag-
don. About eighteen hundred young ladies have
been attendants of the school.
Moses Burbank taught a classical and high school
for boys from 1848 to 1852 in the basement of
the First Baptist Meeting-house at Newton Centre.
This was both a boarding and day school. Sev¬
eral other and more recent private schools have
existed in different parts of the town, which liave
held a high rank and done honorable service ; but
it is unnecessary, as they belong to the latest times,
to speak of them particularly.
The First Baptist Church in Newton was organ¬
ized July 5, 1780, numbering thirty-eight mem¬
bers. There had been members of the Baptist
denomination in the town many years previously.
Mr. Jonathan Willard, of Newton Lower Falls,
joined the First Baptist Church in Boston, Decem¬
ber 7, 1729. Noah Parker joined the Second
Baptist Church in Boston, July 21,1749. Several
others, later, joined the Baptist Church in Leices¬
ter. May 14, 1753, Noah "VViswall and others
presented a petition to the town that they might
be released from paying a ministerial tax for the
NEWTON.
233
support of the clergymen of the town, they being
conscientious Baptists. But the town voted that
their petition be not granted. March 15, 1756,
John Hammond and others, who were Baptists,
requested of the town that they might not be rated
for the support of the ministry ; but their request
was met, after some debate, by a prompt refusal.
In 1774 ten persons — John Dana, John Kenrick,
Caleb Whitney, Thomas Parker, Eben Bartlett,
Joseph Hyde, Nathaniel Parker, Thomas Tolman,
Widow Abigail Kichardson, and Elisha Bartlett —
addressed another memorial to the town, certifying
that they were Antipsedobaptists, and generally
worshipped with people of that persuasion. In
June, 1776, the town, urged by the importunity
of tiiese repeated petitions, at last excused James
Bichards and Edward Hall from paying the minis¬
terial taxes, and four years later the First Baptist
Church was formed.
In the autumn of 1740 Be v. George Whitefield
preached in Newton and the vicinity, and a general
interest in religion attended his ministry. From
his labors sprang a movement which resulted in
the formation in several towns of Separate, or New
Light churches, so called. A church of this name
was organized in Newton. They held their assem¬
blies at the house of one of their members, Mr.
Nathan Ward, who became tlieir pastor. Most of
the members afterwards adopted the views of the
Baptists, and formed the nucleus of the First Bap¬
tist Church. They held their meetings at first in
dwelling-iiouses, and afterwards in a school-house,
the worship being conducted by Deacon Jonathan
Bichardson and Mr. John Dana, and occasionally
by visiting ministers. They continued their wor¬
ship in this manner nearly twenty years. In the
spring of 1780 Mr. Ellianan Winchester, who after¬
wards embraced and jjreaclied the doctrine of uni¬
versal restoration, visited Newton, he being then
a Baptist, and several persons received baptism at
his hands, who were embodied into tiie church
July 5, 1780, as before stated, by public ceremo¬
nies, probably in a* room in the house of Noah
Wiswall, since the home of the heirs of Deacon
Luther Paul. The first pastor was the Bev. Caleb
Blood, wlio continued to serve the church till Jan¬
uary 24, 1788. When he became pastor the
number of members was seventy-three ; at his dis¬
mission, ninety-two ; number of admissions, nine¬
teen.
Tlie vote to build a church edifice is dated Jan¬
uary 17, 1781. The dimensions of the church
were to be forty feet by thirty-two, and the expense
about £300 specie, or $1,000. The land was
given for the building by Noah Wiswall. Dread¬
ing the encumbrance of a debt, the parish was sev¬
eral years in accomplishing the enterprise, and it
was not till April, 1795, fourteen years after the
commencement, that the edifice stood complete.
During this period a subscription had been set on
foot five times for the purpose of carrying on the
work. The frame of the house still stands, trans¬
formed into a dwelling-house, on the east side of
Wiswall's Pond. A vote was passed March 19,
1782, " that the singing be carried on, in a general
way, by reading a line at a time in tiie forenoon,
and a verse at a time in the afternoon." In the
first meeting-house no person could have a pew
who subscribed less than £10 towards the build¬
ing. The church contained twenty wall-pews, that
is, six on each side and four on each end, and " four
pews back of the body seats." In 1802 the house
was enlarged by the addition of seventeen feet to
the west side, which gave space for til'enty-four
new pews. The salary of Mr. Blood was £60,
" and tlie loose money contributed on the Lord's
days." The contribution-box was carried around
on the lower floor every Sabbath, and in the gal¬
lery only once a month, until the year 1815.
Bev. Joseph Grafton was ordained pastor June 18,
1788, having received a call after he had preached
sixteen Sabbaths. The salary promised him was
for the first year £55, equal to $183, to be paid
quarterly, " and after that to make such additions
as his necessities require and our circumstances
admit of." After Mr. Grafton became pastor, in
addition to the salary and eight cords of wood,
f 20 a year were granted " in consideration of the
enhanced price of the necessaries of life." Several
members of the parish purcliased for £75, or $250,
" half the place that Mr. Blood used to own," and
gave it to Mr. Grafton as a " settlement," or pres¬
ent, in token of esteem and good-will. This estate
was the triangular estate owned and occupied by
the late George C. Band, Esq., and bounded by
Centre, Homer, and Grafton streets. The value
of the whole estate, therefore, at that period was
only $500.
The society was incorporated by the legislature
of Massachusetts, and the act of incorporation
signed by the governor February 12, 1821. The
ministry of Mr. Grafton extended over a period of
forty-eight years and six months, and he had many
hearers, not only citizens of Newton, but from sev-
234
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
eral of the neighboring towns. The whole number
admitted to the church during this period was five
hundred and sixty-seven. In consequence of the
increasing infirmities of Mr. Grafton, through age,
Eev. Frederic Augustus Willard, of Worcester, was
elected colleague pastor, and installed November 25,
1835. A new meeting-house was erected on the
present site in the year 1836, the land for which
was a donation from Mrs. Deacon Eben White, Sr.,
formerly Mrs. Elizabeth King, a member of the
church. The house, as originally finished, con¬
tained seventy-six pews, of which six in the north¬
west corner were appropriated, free of rent, t(# be
occupied by the students of the Newton Theologi¬
cal Institution. The clock, the gift of Deacon
Eeuben Stone, was transferred from the former
meeting-house. The last service in the old meet¬
ing-house was the funeral ceremonies of the senior
pastor, who died December 16, 1836, aged seventy-
nine, having been pastor nearly half a century.
The number received into the church during Mr.
Grafton's ministry was five hundred and sixty-
seven. His remains rest in the cemetery on Cen¬
tre Street. The monument commemorating his
virtues and attesting the affection of his people
was erected through the efforts of the late Thomas
Edmands, Esq., to whom the public is indebted
for the neat and faithful inscriptions. After two
years and eight mouths Mr. Willard left Newton,
and was settled in Abington, South Danvers, and
Needham, and was lecturer on chemistry in Louis¬
ville, Kentucky, and died in Philadelphia in 1866.
During his ministry seventeen were received into
the church.
The fourth pastor was Eev. S. F. Smith, whose
service continued twelve years and six months, —
from January 1, 1842, to June 30, 1854, — and
during that period one hundred and six were ad¬
mitted to the church. The fifth pastor was Eev.
Oakman Sprague Stearns. His term of service
began September 23, 1855, and closed May 31,
1868. During his ministry two hundred and two
were received into the church. The sixth pastor
was Eev. William N. Clarke, whose term of service
commenced May 16, 1869. The church edifice,
erected in 1836, painted white on the outside, and
having a spread of elegant crimson damask be¬
hind the pulpit within, was wholly reconstructed
in 1855-56, and the low tower, formerly in the
middle of the east front, was replaced by the
steeple on the southeast corner and the low tower
on the northeast corner, as at present. The church
has been twice since altered and improved, — in
1869 and 1874. A supplementary chapel was
erected at Thompsonville in 1867, for a neighbor¬
hood Sabbath-school.
After the decease of Mr. Meriam, the fourth
pastor of the First Parish, in the year 1780, the
towm and parish having become distinct from each
other, the First Church and society united in calling
Eev. Jonathan Homer to be their pastor, and the
invitation was accepted. The ordination occurred
February 14, 1782. At the public service in the
meeting-house the church formally renewed their
call, and the pastor elect in like manner renewed
his acceptance of it. Dr. Homer graduated at
Harvard University in 1777, and received the de¬
gree of Doctor of Divinity from Brown University.
His entire ministry as sole pastor of the church
was forty-four years. His whole residence with
the church was fifty-one years and six months.
During his ministry a new church was built, the
fourth from the commencement of the town, and
dedicated November 21, 1805. His principal
study for many years was directed to ascertaining
the precise condition in which the English veßion
of the Bible was left by the translators of King
James, and the successive variations in the text
in the translations of Wicklifie, Matthews, Tyn-
dale, Coverdale, Sogers, and the rest. Dr. Homer
manifested great enthusiasm in this branch of
study, and wrote many notes, which he proposed at
a future time to publish. But he left them at his
decease in a scattered and disordered state, so that
no use could be made of them. Dr. Homer died
August 11, 1843. Dr. John Codman of Dorches¬
ter preached on the occasion of his funeral. No¬
vember 14, 1827, the infirmities of Dr. Homer
being such as to require aid in the pastoral work,
Eev. James Bates was ordained colleague pastor,
and they both resigned the charge simultaneously,
April 7, 1839. Eev. William Bushnell was in¬
stalled pastor in May, 1842; resigned Decem¬
ber 13, 1846 ; died April 28, 1879. Daniel L.
Furber was ordained December 1, 1847.
The Common at Newton Centre was given to
the town as a training-field probably as early as
1700. There is no formal record of the donation,
but tradition ascribes the gift mainly to Jonathan
Hyde, Sr., who died in 1711, at the ripe age of
eighty-five years. Mr. Jackson thinks he may
have given nearly two thirds of it, and tliat more
NEWTON.
235
than one third was given by Elder Wiswall or his
sons. In 1702 Mr. Hyde also gave to the select¬
men of Newton in trust iialf an acre of land near
Oak Hill, for the benefit of the school in the south
part of the town. This half-acre of land was sold
after many years, and a small fund accumulated
from the proceeds, which was divided among the
inhabitants of the south school-district by vote of
the town, pro rata, according to the taxes which
each one paid. This Jonathan Hyde had twenty-
three children, to whom he distributed his property
by deeds of gift a few years previous" to his de¬
cease. Yarious records show by incidental testi¬
mony that tlie Common was regarded and used for
many years as the property of the town ; besides
which, the existence of bound-marks and fencing
and undisputed possession for a hundred and sev¬
enty years seem to indicate a sufficiently secure
title.
A similar tract of land, to be used also for
a training-field, was given in 1753, by Captain Jo¬
seph Fuller, to the military company of Captain
Ephraim Williams and their successors- forever.
This Common was located at Newtonville, near
Washington Street; but in .1787 the land re¬
verted to the heirs of the original proprietor, they
paying the town for it the sum of two pounds.
This insignificant price shows how little value was
at that time put upon real estate.
The first grist-mill in the town of Newton was
erected by Lieutenant John Spring, on a stream
called Smelt Brook, at the outlet of Bullough's
Pond. Mr. Spring resided opposite the cemetery
on Centre Street, and opened Mill Lane, now Mill
Street, to accommodate the patrons of his mill.
Previous to the erection of dams on Charles Eiver,
alewives, smelts, herring, and other fish used to
pass up the river as far as Newton Upper Falls ;
and fish-reeves, annually elected, were charged with
the duty of protecting the fishing interest on the
river. Smelt Brook, on which Lieutenant Spring
erected his grist-mill, undoubtedly received its
name from the graceful shiners which found their
way into its waters.
Charles Eiver, called by the Indians Quinobe-
quin, encircled a large part of Newton, its channel
forming the boundary line on the north, west, and
south sides of the town, being a continuous curv¬
ing line more than fifteen miles in length. The
falls on the river invited the spirit of enterprise
at a very early period. The first mills were erected
at the Upper Falls. At this part of its course the
waters of the river fall perpendicularly twenty feet,
and then descend thirty-five feet in the course of
lialf a mile. Here a saw-mill was built in 1688
by John Clark, whose father, Hugh Clark of Eox-
bury, conveyed to him by deed of gift sixty-seven
acres of land in New Cambridge in April, 1681.
Tills laud was on the easterly side of Centre Street,
at the training-field, and his house was on the spot
now occupied by the old house formerly Deacon
Ebenezer White's, on the west side, a few rods
north of the First Baptist Church at Newton Cen¬
tre. In 1675 John Clark died, bequeathing to his
sons William and John the saw-mill on the river,
and the land adjoining. The mill and eight acres
of land were appraised at £180. In May, 1708,
John Clark conveyed to Nathaniel Parker one
quarter of the saw-mill, stream, dam, and eel-weir,
and half an acre of land for £ 12, with an open
highway from the county road to the mill and eel-
weir. Soon afterwards William Clark conveyed to
Nathaniel Longley one quarter of the same, and
these four proprietors and equal owners built in
addition a grist-mill and fulling-mill. In 1720
Noah Parker became the sole owner of tlie mills
and appurtenances. At his death in 1768 this
whole property passed into the hands of his son,
Thomas Parker, his administrator, who sold the
same to Simon Elliot of Boston, with about thirty-
five acres of land, house, barn, etc., for £1,700 in
1778 and 1782. Mr. Elliot, who was a tobacco¬
nist, erected snuff-mills, and that business, with
tlie grist-mill, was carried on by him and his son.
General Simon Elliot, till 1814, with additions of
other works. In that year the screw-factory, wire-
mill, four snuff-mills, annealing shop, and dwell¬
ing-house were sold to the Elliot Manufacturing
Company, Frederick Cabot, agent. This company
removed the grist-mill, and erected on its site a
cotton-factory, which was under the superintend¬
ence of Mr. Otis Pettee, Sr., for five years. Mr.
Pettee then erected extensive shops for building
machinery for cotton-mills. Many manufactories
in the south and west and in Mexico have been
supplied with their entire machinery from these
works.
In 1841 Mr. Pettee purchased all the property
of the Elliot Manufacturing company, and carried
on the business till his death in February, 1853.
Mr. Pettee was one of the prime movers and most
energetic and liberal patrons of the Charles Eiver
Eailroad, now the New York and New England,
Woonsocket Branch.
236
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
In 1799 the Newton Iron Works Company
built a rolling-mill, and commenced operations in
1800, opposite the small island in the river, where
a dam was built and a saw-mill erected in 1783.
In 1809 a new manufactory was built for mak¬
ing cut nails. Nails were sent by the cargo from
the manufactory in Newton to New Orleans and
the West Indies, to be used in the construction of
sugar-boxes, in which they were thus returned to
every port on the Atlantic seaboard. The same
year the Worcester Turnpike was constructed
through this estate, and the bridge was built over
the river. In 1813 this company erected a cotton-
factory on the same dam, on the Needham side of
the river. In 1831 Mr. Ellis bought out this
company and became sole owner. In 1833 a new
company of seven persons was incorporated under
the name of the Nevi'ton Factories, and in 1835
Kufus and David Ellis became sole onniers of the
property. In later years the cotton-factory was
destroyed by fire, and has not been rebuilt. The
rolling-mill, adjoining the bridge, was long managed
by the late Frederic Barden, Esq.
Previous to 1800 the business carried on at the
Upper Falls by water-power was small, being only
three snutf-mills, a grist-mill, and a saw-mill, and
only about six families resided in the place. In
1850 there were, at the upper dam, one cotton-fac¬
tory, with about nine thousand spindles ; machine
shops sufficient to accommodate about three hun¬
dred workmen ; and a steam furnace for iron cast¬
ings, employing about fifteen workmen. At the
lower dam was a rolling-mill, working about 1,500 ,
tons of iron into various shapes; a nail-factory,
making about five hundred tons of cut nails; a
cotton-factory (on the Needham side), with about
3,000 spindles, and manufacturing about 500,000
yards of cotton cloth annually. There were then
in the Upper Falls village about 1,300 inhabitants.
The first religious society at the Upper Falls
occupied the meeting-house now in possession of
the First Methodist Church. The building was
commenced in the autumn of 1837, and dedicated
February 37, 1838. The land on which the meet¬
ing-house is built was given for this purpose by
the Elliot Manufacturing Company. jTlie building
cost about $3,300. Of this amount the Elliot
Manufacturing Company paid three fifths, and Mr.
Bufus Ellis two fifths. The society was incor¬
porated as The Upper Falls Keligious Society, and
the pulpit was supjfiied mainly by preachers of the
Unitarian faith about five years. lu 1833 the
church edifice was sold to Marshall S. Rice, Esq.,
of Newton Centre, and it has since been occupied
by the First Methodist Society of Newton.
The Methodists in Newtonfirst formed a "class,"
but in consequence of removals it was dissolved.
In April, 1838, another "class" was formed, of
seventeen members, the germ of the present Metho¬
dist Society at Newton Upper Falls. The church
was organized November 11, 1833, numbering
fifty-three members. The meeting-house, purchased
by Mr. Rice, has been repeatedly enlarged and
improved. The first stationed preacher was the
late Rev. Charles K. True.
The Second Baptist Church in Newton (Upper
Falls) was organized February 8,1835, numbering
fifty-five members, all of whom were previously
members of the First Baptist Church. The meet¬
ing-house, which had been erected two years earlier,
was dedicated March 37, 1833. It was erected
on land given for the purj)ose by Mr. Jonathan
Bixby, an efficient and leading member of the
church, and in whose house the meetings had been
held before the church-building was erected. The
property was divided into twenty shares, of which
Jonathan Bixby owned seven; three others, two
each ; and seven others, one each. The first pastor.
Rev. Origen Crane, was ordained September 14,
1836. He was succeeded by Rev. C. W. Denison,
S. S. Leighton, A. Webster, and W. C. Richards.
The congregation was very much weakened by the
removal of members, resulting from changes in the
character of the business, and ultimately by a
change in the character of the population.
A Universalist society was organized in Septem¬
ber, 1841, at Newton Upper Falls. They erected
a meeting-house, which was dedicated in May,
1843, and cost about $1,300. Their only regular
pastor was Rev. Samuel Skinner, who left in 1845.
The society finally relinquished the enterprise, and
the meeting-house was changed to a village hall,
called Elliot Hall.
Catholic services were first held at Newton
Upper Falls in 18*43 or 1844. The celebrant was
Father Strain, of Waltham, and his cliapel a room
in the house of Mr. James Cahill. A begimung
was made to collect funds for the erection of a
church in 1853. In 1860 the congregation be¬
gan to assemble regularly in Elliot Hall, number¬
ing about three hundred. In 1867 the CathoUc
church was built, forty feet by seventy-six, and
dedicated November 17, 1867. In 1875 this
church was enlarged by a transept, forty feet by
NEWTON.
237
eighty, having galleries at each end, and furnish¬
ing accommodation for one thousand worshippers.
Newton Lower Falls is two miles distant from
Newton Upper Falls, and has two dams, the upper
of sixteen feet of water, the lower of six. Iron¬
works, a forge, and trip-hammer, were erected here
in 1704, when the water-power was first utilized.
In June, 1703, John Leverett, Esq., conveyed to
John Hubbard, of Roxbury, four acres of land on
Charles River, at Newton Lower Falls, being the
same land which the proprietors of the common
and undivided lands in Cambridge granted to him,
and the same which is now occupied by all the
mills on the Newton side of the river. In 1705
John Hubbard, merclmnt, of Boston, conveyed to
his son, Nathaniel Hubbard, one half of the four-
acre lot above referred to, " together with half of
the iron-works thereon, with two fire heartlis and
a hammer wheel, which said John Hubbard and
Caleb Church, of Watertown, are now building in
partnership on said land, with as much of the stream
as may be necessary for said works, with half the
dam, flume, head-wares, running and going gear,
utensils and appurtenances to the forge belonging."
John Hubbard died in 1717.
In 1722 Nathaniel Hubbard, in consideration
of £140, conveyed to Jonathan Willard, bloomer,
of Newton, part of a tract of land purchased of
John Leverett, with a smith's shop thereon. This
Mr. Willard had occupied the smith's shop as a
tenant several years previous to his purchase and
partnership with Hubbard. He is said to have
been an ingenious, upright, and conscientious man,
and the first Baptist in the town. He was the
principal man of the iron-works and of the village
for nearly half a century. He died in 1772, aged
ninety-five. Among the various kinds of business
carried on here are iron-works, saw-mills, grist¬
mills, snuff-mills, clothing-mills, leatlier-mills, pa¬
per-mills, calico-printing, machine-shops, etc.; but
the manufacture of paper has been the principal
business for the last half-century, during which
eight or ten paper-mills have been in constant op¬
eration. The first paper-mill was erected at the
Lower Falls about 1790, by Mr. John Ware,
brother of Dr. Henry Ware, Hollis Professor of
Divinity in Harvard University. The paper-mak¬
ing business, in the progress of years, assumed
very important proportions. The mills here, under
the auspices of Thomas Rice, Esq., for many years
a most useful and influential citizen of the town,
and his brother, Alexander H. Rice, Esq., ex-gov¬
ernor of the commonwealth of Massachusetts, for
a long time supplied all the paper for one of the
most widely circulated daily journals of Boston.
The growth of the village at the Lower Falls, pre¬
vious to the enjoyment of railroad facilities, was
very slow. In 1800 the whole number of families
did not exceed eight or ten. In 1823 there were
405 inhabitants and about 33 dwelling-houses ; in
1837, 493 inhabitants and about 88 families ; in
1847, 560 inhabitants and about 103 families;
in 1850, 627 inhabitants and about 121 families
and 80 dwelling-houses.
Public worship after the form of the Episcopal
Church was first held in Newton Lower Falls in
the autumn of 1811. The meetings were at first
in the district school-house,- and the service was
read by Mr. John R. Gotting. An Episcopal parish
was organized April 7, 1812, and Major Solomon
Curtis and Thomas Durant were chosen wardens.
A hall for worship was procured in a building at
the west corner of Main and Church streets. The
society was incorporated by the legislature of Mas¬
sachusetts in June, 1813. Samuel Brown, a mer¬
chant of Boston, presented to the society two acres
of land for a church and cemetery. The corner¬
stone of the church was laid September 29, 1813,
and the church dedicated April 29, 1814, Rev.
Bishop Griswold officiating. Public worship was
afterwards conducted mainly by graduates of Cam¬
bridge who were students in theology, and by tem¬
porary supplies, till November 28, 1822, when
Rev. A. L. Baury was installed rector. The Sun¬
day-school was organized in the spring of 1818.
Tiie church was enlarged in 1838, and the base¬
ment converted into a lecture-room. Mr. Baury
was rector till September, 1851. His successors
were Rev. Henry Woods, 1851 to 1853; Rev.
Andrew Croswell, 1853 to 1856 ; Rev. Henry
Bun-oughs, 1856 to 1858; Rev. Benjamin F. De
Costa, 1859; Rev. Winslow W. Sever, 1860 to
1865; Rev. Joseph Kidder, 1865 to 1868; Rev.
Richard F. Putnam, 1868 to 1875. Rev. Henry
Mackay, installed in 1876, is the present pastor.
The Methodist Church at Newton Lower Falls
was organized in 1867.
West Newton, owing to the advantages of its
location, but more to the enterprise of its inhabi¬
tants, early took a high position among the villages
of the town. The large tavern-house, so called,
still standing, shows the place to have been an im-
¿38
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
portant one at an early period. Many stage¬
coaches, passing regularly through the village from
towns, farther west, gave it prestige. When the
Boston and Worcester Railroad was constructed,
its station at West Newton gave the citizens of all
the vicinity greater facility of going back and forth
to the metropolis, and very soon suggested the possi¬
bility of doing business in the city, and at the same
time enjoying the repose and the healthful atmos¬
phere of the country. The Fuller Academy, the
first normal school, the model school, and the fact
that the town-meetings were held at West Newton
alternately with the meetings at Newton Centre,
contributed still more to the growth of the village.
The first meetings held by Unitarians in West
Newton took place in the summer of 1844 in the
hall of the hotel, but were discontinued in August.
They were revived again in 1847, and held in the
village hall. Among the prominent early mem¬
bers -were William Parker, Esq., and Hon. Horace
Mann. Rev. Arthur B. Fuller spent three months
in West Newton in 1847-48, and aided in
gathering the society. The first pastor was Rev.
William Orne White, who was ordained in the vil¬
lage hall November 18,1848. The first communion
service was held January 7, 1849. After two
years Mr. White resigned Iiis office and removed to
Keene, N. H., where he was pastor twenty-seven
years. Rev. William H. Knapp was pastor from
1851 to 1858, and the next year Rev. C. E. Hodges
engaged to preach on Sabbath afternoons at West
Newton, and Sabbath forenoons in Watertown.
Rev. Washington Gilbert followed for two years.
Rev. Joseph A. Allen for two years, Rev. W. H. Sa-
vary for three years, John C. Zacchos for two years,
and later. Rev. Francis Tiffany. After worshipping
in the village hall thirteen years, the present church
edifice was built, and dedicated November 14,1860.
The Baptist Chitrch at West Newton was organ¬
ized in Newtonville, December 1, 1853, and held
meetings in Tremont Hall several years. The first
pastor was Rev. Joseph M. Graves; the second.
Rev. B. A. Edwards. In March, 1860, their un¬
finished house of worship, built of brick, now the
Methodist Church of Newtonville, was sold on
account of embarrassments, and the meetings were
suspended till June, 1866, when the church was
reorganized at West Newton, services being held in
the village hall, and the pulpit supplied by students
of the Theological Institution. The church edifice,
near Lincoln Park, was dedicated in August, 1871.
The pastors since the reorganization have been Rev.
Ralph Bowles, 1866-1868; Rev. B. S. James,
1869 -1870 ; Rev. W. M. Lisle, formerly mission¬
ary to Siam, 1870-1875; Rcv. T. B. Holland,
1875-1878. Mr. Holland died in office.
In 1874 about twenty colored persons in West
Newton formed a church, denominated the Myrtle
Baptist Church. They erected a small chapel
(dedicated in June, 1875), and soon increased in
number to one hundred and eighteen. Rev. Ed¬
mund Kelly was pastor one year.
Father Michael Dolan took charge of a congrega¬
tion of about two hundred persons of the Roman
Catholic persuasion in Boyden Hall, Newton Lower
Falls, and with these persons in 1874-75, at a
cost of about $15,000, he built a church on Wash¬
ington Street, now St. Bernard's Catholic Church,
West Newton, near Lincoln Park.
The village of Auburndale originated in a sug¬
gestion of the Rev. Dr. Lyman Gilbert to the late
Rev. C. D.Pigeon (graduated at Harvard University,
1818, died 1872). While Newtonville was only a
flag-station on the Boston and Worcester Railroad,
and its growth was all in the future. Dr. Gilbert
casually remarked to Mr. Pigeon that he anticipated
that it would come to be a place of importance,
and that money invested in land at that locality
would prove a success. He believed that if a small
number of persons, from five to eight, would pur¬
chase season-tickets between that point and Boston,
with the intention of making daily trips to the city,
the railroad corporation would make it a regular
stopping-place, and thus it would soon become the
nucleus of a considerable village. Mr. Pigeon, a
descendant of John Pigeon, whose name became
famous at the beginning of the Revolutionary War
as the stanch patriot who gave two field-pieces to
the town of Newton, said to himself, " And why
not also a similar station on the same conditions
a mile or two farther westward ? " where the home
of his ancestors was still standing. Acting on the
thought, his plan was formed, and Aubunidale be¬
gan to be. The first important enterprise in that
part of the town was the erection of the Lasell
Female Seminary. Numerous residents soon be¬
gan to come in.
The Congregational CJntrch, in Auburndale, was
organized November 14, 1850, with thirty-three
members. The hall of the Lasell Seminary was
placed at the disposal of the church for two years
after its organization, and the religious services were
conducted in turn by several resident ministers, ^
Rev. Sewall Harding, Rev. J. E. Woodbridge, and
NEWTON.
23y
Rev. M. G. Wheeler. The church edifice was dedi¬
cated in 1857, and has been since enlarged. The
pastors have been Rev. E. W. Clark, 1857 -1861 ;
Rev. A. H. Carrier, 1864-1866; and Rev. Calvin
Cutler, installed in Alay, 1867.
The Centenary Methodist Church, at Auburn-
dale, originated in meetings first held in August,
1860, in private houses, and afterwards in an
unoccnpied school-house. The first sermon by
a Methodist clergyman, preached in the inter¬
ests of Methodism in this part of Newton, was
by Rev. George W. Mansfield, November 18,
1860. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was
first administered by Rev. L. P. Prost, of Wal-
tham, December 1, 1860. The Sabbath school
was commenced January 27, 1861. The church
was organized, with twelve members. May 25,
1862. The place of worship which had been oc¬
cupied by the society was burned July 22, 1865.
The corner-stone of the new chapel was laid De¬
cember 25, 1866, and the chapel dedicated May
25, 1867.
Episcopal worship was held in a hall standing
near the corner of Auburn and Lexington streets,
Auburndale, as early as 1858. This hall was
afterwards burned. A meeting was held to organ¬
ize the parish at the house of Jeremiah Allen,
West Newton, September 8, 1871. Regular ser¬
vices were first held in the village hall. West New¬
ton, July 16, 1871, and continued from that date,
either in the same hall, the Unitarian Church, or
tire chapel of Lasell Seminary, Auburndale. In
July, 1872, Rev. C. S. Lester became the first
rector, and resigned in March, 1873. He was
succeeded by Rev. H. W. Pay and Rev. Pran-
cis W. Smith. The name of the society was
changed, ApriH6, 1877, from the Church of the
Messiah of West Newton to the Church of the
Messiah of West Newton and Auburndale. The
services have since been held in the chapel of
the Lasell Seminary. Mr. Smith resigned Octo¬
ber, 1877.
In April, 1635, a strip of land on the south side
of Charles River two hundred rods in length and
sixty rods in breadth, near the location of the
bridge subsequently erected, was set apart to Wa-
tertown, thus giving to Watertown seventy-five
acres on the south side of the river. In 1705, by
mutual arrangement, this space was increased to
eighty-eight acres. The whole length of the river-
bounds of Newton, from 1679 to 1838, was fifteen
miles and fifty-one rods ; the whole length of its
land-bounds, nine miles minus fifty-one rods.
The whole length of its land and water bounds
together, in 1838, was twenty-four miles, and the
town contained an area of 14,513 acres. In 1838,
1,800 acres from the south part of the town were
ceded to Roxbury, and in 1849, 640 acres from
the northwest part to Waltham, reducing the area
to 12,073 acres. Covering, geographically, a wide
area, as it did in the beginning, its villages were
mainly disposed around the circumference, and the
actual centre of the town was left nearly in its
native wildness, until in the latest times it has been
covered by an Irish population.
In 1660 the bridge was built across Charles
River called the Great Bridge, connecting the
north and south sides of the river. It was re¬
paired a few years later, the timber being used for
that purpose which had been prepared to fence the
town with a stockade as a protection against the
assaults of Indian invaders, — the termination of
King Philip's War and the humiliation of the sav¬
age tribes rendering such a defence no longer
necessary. In 1690 this bridge was rebuilt at the
joint expense of Cambridge and Newton, with
some aid from the public treasury. It was across
this bridge that the troops of Lord Percy marched
on the ,19th of April, 1775, to meet their humil¬
iating defeat at Concord and Lexington. The
American patriots took up the flooring of the bridge
to prevent Percy's advance, haying the planks in
a pile not far away, that they might be eonven-
iently restored when the danger was past. But
Lord Percy's men soon found them and replaced
them. This is the bridge in Cambridge over
Charles River which has been long known as
Brighton Bridge, connecting, as it does, the towns
of Cambridge and Brighton. Before the erection
of Cambridge Bridge (West Boston Bridge), the
travel from Cambridge passed, by this bridge,
through Brookline and Roxbury, over the neck,
to Boston.
In 1741 mention is made of a bridge at New¬
ton Upper Falls, called Cook's Bridge, uniting
Newton with Needham. In 1743 the records
speak of a bridge between Newton and Weston.
In 1753 a new bridge was completed between
these towns, ninety-eight and two thirds feet in
length. In 1761 a bridge was built between
Newton and Waltham, at the joint expense of
the two towns. It cost the town of Newton
£ 12 16 Í. 5 if., much of the timber for the struc¬
ture having been given for the purpose by private
240
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
parties. In 1765 the town voted to build one
half the bridge called Kenrick's Bridge, the name
being due to the fact that the land of John Ken-
rick, one of the first settlers of Newton, was in
this immediate vicinity. The bridge on Boylston
Street was built in connection with the Boston
and Worcester Turnpike in 1809. A bridge at
the North Village was built by the Messrs. Bemis
between 1790 and 1796. The bridge on Need-
ham Avenue was built at the same time with that
highway, in 1876. The first bridge at Newton
Lower Falls was constructed previous to 1726.
The spirit of enterprise on one hand, and the
desire for greater convenience on the other, which
characterized the people of Newton from the be¬
ginning, and led them, in the earliest times to seek
separation from Cambridge, continued to operate
at a later period. Several families at the south
part of the town, finding that they were nearer to
the meeting-house in Roxbury than to their own,
petitioned to be set off to that town for the pur¬
poses of public worship; and after much debate
and opposition their petition was granted. When
the meeting-house of the First Parish Church was
built in its present location, the decision and the
purchase of the land were preceded by long-con¬
tinued and earnest inquiries as to the geographical
eentre of the town, the comparative distance from
that point of the various families in the outskirts,
the number of families attending worship in each
portion of the town, and the possibility of provid¬
ing for the equal rights and privileges of all. And
it was in consequence of these inquiries and the
result of them, that the town determined to pur¬
chase of Mr. Nathaniel Parker, in 1716, the land
on which the church edifice has stood without
opposition from that date to the present time. In
the earliest days of Newton this land was part of
the estate of Mr. Jonathan Hyde. The course of
events in later times has shown that the fathers
of the town, unwittingly, formed a wise decision
which entitles them to the gratitude of posterity.
In the period extending from 1838 to 1845, the
question of the division of the town into two in¬
dependent organizations was warmly contested.
Two or more lines of division were at different
times proposed, partly with reference to geographi¬
cal extent, partly with reference to population and
the location of the different villages in the town.
Owing to the peculiar configuration of Newton,
and the disposal of most of its villages at that
period nearly on the circumference, because of the
water privileges on Charles River on the one hand,
and the conveniences created by railway stations
along the line of the Boston and Albany Railroad
on the other, many favored a division. Others
preferred to remain a united people, maintaining
that 110 line of division could be drawn which
would be alike equitable to the organizations
formed on each side of it. Some favored division,
but were not satisfied with any of the lines pro¬
posed. Petitions and counter-petitions to the
town proved unavailing. Petitions were numer¬
ously signed and presented to the legislature of
Massachusetts, advocated, contested, accepted, re¬
jected. Among the champions in favor of division
who were most forward in debate was Mr. Seth
Davis, of West Newton ; on the other side were
Rev. Samuel Skinner, then residing at Oak Hill,
and the late Thomas Edmands, Esq., of Newton
Centre, all good and true men and upright citizens,
and conscientious in the advocacy of their several
views. The people were instructed by the earnest
and excited discussion. Sometimes a compromise
was made. A vote was passed to hold the town-
meetings half the time at the West Parish and half
the time at the Centre. Then, an arrangement was
entered into to use the hall of Fuller Academy, for
town purposes, alternately with a new town-hall to
be erected at the east part of the town ; and in
conformity with this vote a hall was erected near
Newton Centre, on Centre Street, opposite the
building formerly used as the meeting-house of
the First Baptist Church. Under the ancient sys¬
tem of town governments and parishes in the
state of Massachusetts, when the parish and the
town were one, the meeting-house was the property
of the town, and the natural and rightful place
for the town-meetings. But when the parish
and the town became separate organizations, and
the people were gathered into several parishes
in the same town, each erecting its ovm church
edifice, no parish was any longer under obligation
to supply a place for the town-meetings to the
entire town. The First Parish about this time
objected to the holding of the town-meetings in
their place of worship, M'hich no longer belonged
to the town, but to a single society ; and this
action doubtless urged the citizens to a definitive
settlement of the difficulty. About this time a
vote was passed to hold all the town-meetings at
West Newton. The town-hall that had been built
at Newton Centre was, after an interval, removed to
the northeast corner of Station and Centre streets.
NEWTON.
241
and used by tlie people as a village hall for lec¬
tures and public meetings, receiving the name of
Lyceum Hall. It was afterwards removed again
to a point nearer the railroad station, and be¬
came a stable, and was ultimately burned. When
the new church of the West Parish Society was
built on its present site, the old meeting-house, re¬
moved a few feet westward, was remodelled as a
town-hall. After Newton became a city, the same
building, again altered and enlarged, and fitted to
the wants of the several municipal offices, was
transformed into the city hall. An increasing
population and new elements among the people, the
system of graded schools, an improved police, an
efficient fire department, pride in the history of the
town, and a more equable growth in all its parts,
exercised a unifying influence ; and the division
of the town has been not only no more mooted but
no more desired. And its present status as a
united city, as a culminating argument, has made
it finally and indisputably one.
THE NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.
This institution was opened in 1825, under the
patronage of the Baptist denomination. The land
in Newton Centre on which the buildings are sit¬
uated was formerly the estate of Mr. John Peck.
Instruction in the institution was first given in a
house, since removed, on a lot next west of the
Harbach House, near the junction of Ward Street
and Waverley Avenue. The first officer in the in¬
stitution was Professor Irah Chase. The first class
which graduated consisted of but two members,
Eli B. Smith and John E. Weston. The territory
belonging to the institution at the beginning con¬
sisted of about eighty acres of land, and was after¬
wards enlarged by the purchase of forty additional,
bounded by Pound Lane (Cypress Street) on the
south. Centre Street on the west, and Station Street
on the north, including the present scliool-house
lot-and the site of many fine residences on streets
since laid out. The comely mansion-house which
stood on the crown of the hill was used in the
early days of the institution for a steward's resi¬
dence and boarding-house for students. The attic
story, containing four dormitories for students,
used to be denominated "the crow's nest." A
stranger on a certain occasion, alluding to the
breezy situation of the building and the cupola on
it, perhaps also to the annual grist of young men
sent forth from its Iialls, pleasantly asked the Eev,
Mr. Grafton, who was a man of wit, if that build¬
ing was a mill. He replied, " Not exactly ; I never
heard of but one peck being ground there." The
humor is explained by the fact tliat ^Ir. Peck ex¬
pended a great deal of money in adorning and
developing the estate, from which he never received
any returns; and the neiglibors used to call the
place Peck's Polly. Two houses for the use of
professors were built on the soutli side of Institu¬
tion Avenue, about half-way from the summit of the
hill to the Common ; tliey have since been removed
to Cypress Street, and remodelled. A third liouse
for the same purpose was built near the west line
of the original estate, first occupied by Eev. B.
Sears, D. D., and now by Gustavus Forbes, Esq.
The following have been professors in the institu¬
tion : Rev. Irah Chase, D. D.; Rev. Henry Jones
Ripley, D. D.; Rev. James Davis Knowles, A. M.;
Rev. Barnas Sears, D. D.; Rev. Horatio Balch
Hackett, D. D.; Rev. Robert Everett Pattison,
D. D.; Rev. Albert N. Arnold, D. D.; Rev. George
D. B. Pepper, D. D.; Rev. Alvah Hovey, D. D.;
Rev. Galusha Anderson, D. D.; Rev. Oakman S.
Stearns, D. D.; Rev. Heman Lincoln, D. D.; Rev.
Arthur S. Train, D. D.; Eev. Ezra Palmer Gould,
A. M.; Eev. Samuel Lunt Caldwell, D. D.; Rev.
E. B. Andrews, D. D.
At the close of half a century from the planting
of the institution, it appeared that the whole num¬
ber of students in the institution, whose names are
recorded in the historical catalogue, was six hun¬
dred and ninety-nine, of whom, at that date, one
hundred and seventy-two had died. Of the whole
number, about fifty-five have been, for a longer or
shorter time, presidents or professors of colleges or
theological seminaries, and fifty-four — more than
one for each year of the existence of the institu¬
tion — had served as missionaries in foreign lands.
And of these, one. Rev. John Taylor Jones, trans¬
lated the New Testament into the Siamese lan¬
guage; another. Rev. Francis Mason, translated
the whole Bible into the Sgau Karen, and a third.
Rev. Durlin L. Brayton, the whole Bible into the
Pwo Karen, languages of Burmah ; a fourth. Rev.
Josiah Goddard, translated into Chinese the whole
New Testament and three books of the Pentateuch.
Many of the alumni have been widely known as
editors, writers, and translators, " and the volumes
which they have given to the public would make
a library worthy of any man's attention." The
cash paid for the original estate was $4,250 ; ex¬
pense for alterations and repairs, $3,748.45 ; total.
242
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Newton Tlieological Institution.
$7,998.45. Besides the subscription to pay this
amount, a sinking fund was instituted at the be¬
ginning to pay the salaries of the first professors,
and afterwards a $100,000 fund, a $200,000
Tund, and a library building fund of about
$40,000. Several acres of the estate have been
sold for building purposes ; these portions are on
the west, bordering on the Common and Centre
Street, extending the whole, distance from Cypress
Street to Station Street ; and on the north, border¬
ing on Station Street, and including several streets
which have been laid out within the territory,
especially Chase Street, Eipley Street, and Knowles
Street, named in honor of the first three professors.
The comer-stone of the Eliot Church edifice,
Newton, was laid March 19, 1845, with religious
services. The building was dedicated July 1,
1845, and the church organized the same day.
The church was composed of thirty-seven members,
of whom thirty-one were from the First Parish
Churcli in Newton Centre. The name of Hon.
William Jackson heads the list, and his influence
and counsel were at the foundation of this impor¬
tant measure. William S. Leavitt, the first pastor,
was ordained December 3,1845, and was dismissed,
at his own request, November 8, 1853. In the
spring of 1849, the house of worship, being insuffi¬
cient to accommodate the increasing congregation,
was enlarged by the addition of twenty-eight pews,
making the whole number ninety-two, and re¬
opened for public services May 13, 1849. The
second pastor, Eev. Lyman Cutler, was installed
October 25, 1854 ; but his health declined rapidly
from the tyne of his settlement. He was able to
preach but once a day for eight successive Sabbaths ;
he administered the sacrament the first Sabbath in
January, 1855, and then asked for a suspension of
his labors for three months, which was granted. But
he continued to decline, and died April 28, 1855.
June 11, 1856, Rev. J. W. Wellmän was in¬
stalled pastor, and remained in office about seven¬
teen years. The old church-building was removed
a few rods northerly, and converted into a public
hall, and the present house of worship, on the
original site, was commenced about January 1,
1860. The comer-stone was laid on the day of the
state Fast, April 5, 1860, and the church was dedi¬
cated on the following Fast-day, April 4, 1861.
NEWTON.
243
The next pastor was Eev. S. W. Freeland, who
remained in service about three years.
The Chamting Church, at Newton Comer, had
its origin in meetings held by a few persons of the
Unitarian faith in Union Hall. The society was
formed September 2,1851, and the Sabbath-school
was organized in April, 1852, the late Dr. Henry
Bigelow being superintendent. The Kev. Convers
Francis, professor in the Divinity School at Cam¬
bridge, supplied the society with preaching. Jan¬
uary 3, 1853, Bev. Joseph C. Smith, Calvin
Bailey, and Samuel G. Simpkins were appointed to
prepare a form expressive of their common faith
and fellowship. The first pastor of the society was
the Eev. Joseph C. Smith, who preached the last
sermon in Union Hall, and the dedication sermon
of the new house of worship erected for the society,
in February, 1856. The church was organized in
February, 1853. Mr. Smith supplied the pulpit
four years, and then, on account of failing health,
he left, and sailed for the Sandwich Islands,
where he died in December, 1857. His remains
were brought to this country, and rest in the
Newton Cemetery. The second pastor was Eev.
Edward J. Young, who was ordained June 18,
1857, and resigned March 15, 1869, to become
professor in the Divinity School of Harvard Uni¬
versity. May 30, 1860, the church edifice was
struck by lightning, but the fluid passed into the
ground, doing but little damage to the building.
Eev. Eli Fay, the third pastor, was installed
May 4, 1870, and resigned March, 1873. He
was followed by Eev. George W. Hosmer, D. D.,
formerly president of Antioch College, Ohio, who
commenced his service November 14, 1873, being
at that time within two weeks of threescore years
and ten. In 1867 the house of worship was en¬
larged by being sawed into two parts ; and the back
part was removed southwardly towards the line
of the railroad and the vacant space refilled.
Baptist Church, Newton Corner.—Public wor¬
ship was first held by several members of Baptist
churches residing in Newton Corner, in the village
haE, in the spring of 1859. The church was organ¬
ized June 7, 1860, with twenty-one members. The
church edifice was built on the comer of Washing¬
ton and Hovey streets, in 1864. Five Indian skel¬
etons and several ancient copper coins were turned
up by the laborers in digging the cellar for the
building. The remains were found in different
parts of the ground, about two feet below the sur¬
face. This spot was probably once the seat of an
Indian settlement, and here they buried their dead.
The jaw of one, which was in perfect preseiwation,
with the full number of teeth, and double all
round, was placed in the box which was sealed and
deposited under the corner-stone. The coins, it is
said, are believed to have been made during the
reign of George I., bearing the date of 1720 or
1729. There were also two or tliree arrow-heads.
The communion service was given to the church
in April, 1865, by Messrs. Quincy and Harwood.
Tlie pastors have commenced service as follows:
Eev. G. Bobbins, June 30, 1860 ; Jeremiah Chap¬
lin, April 20, 1862; John Tucker, Jr., Octo¬
ber 31, 1865; Thomas S. Samson, May 1, 1873.
Tlie church edifice was dedicated in the autumn
of 1864. In April, 1874, ten years later, the
following statistics were recorded : Eeceived up
to date, by baptism, seventy-eight ; by letter, one
hundred and fifty-seven; by experience, five ; to¬
tal, two hundred and forty. Members, April 14,
1874, one hundred and forty-six. The largest
number admitted in any one year hitherto (1874)
was twenty-nine.
Grace Church. — The first services of the Epis¬
copal Church in this part of Newton were held in
the old Union Hall, May 30, 1855. The parish
was organized in the parlor of Stephen Perry, Esq.,
father of the present Eev. William S. Perry, Bishop
of Iowa. Mr. Perry's house stood on the east side
of the street leading to Watertown Bridge. An
Episcopal parish was organized September 25,
1855. Eev. T. T. Fales, for many years rector of
the Episcopal Church in Waltham, was invited to
become the first rector, but declined. The call was
then extended to Eev. John Singleton Copley
Greene, son of the late Gardiner Greene, Esq., of
Boston, who accepted the charge. He commenced
his service in January, 1856, gave liberally towards
the erection of the chapel, and built the school-house
and rectory at his own expense. Tlie comer-stone
of the chapel, at the corner of Washington and
Hovey streets, opposite tiie Baptist Church edi¬
fice, was laid May 28, 1858, and the church, de¬
signed to accommodate about two hundred and
twenty-five hearers, cost not far from S4,000. Mr.
Greene resigned his office in 1864, after a service
of nearly nine years. The second rector was Eev.
P. H. Steenstra, who held office from November,
1864, till July 1, 1869, and was followed by Eev.
Henry Mayer. The fourth rector was Eev Jo¬
seph S. Jenckes, from July, 1872, to September,
1874; and the fifth, Eev. George W. Shinn, from
244
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
January, 1875, to the present date. The comer-
stone of the present church edifice was laid Sep¬
tember 4, 1872, — the stone being the same stone
used in the foundation of the church-building on
Washington and Hovey streets. Tlie cost of the
church, including the land, was about $105,000.
The new church was used for public worship the
first Sabbath in December, 1873. The old church-
building was afterwards sold, and removed to Wa-
tertown. The ciiime of bells was the gift of Mrs.
Elizabeth Trull Eldridge, who presented the money
on Christmas Day, December 25, 1872. The
bells, with the framework on which they rest,
weigh about 8,300 pounds, and cost $4,400.
The largest bell weighs 2,140 pounds.
Meilodisi, Church, Newton, Corner. — Union
Hall was hired as a place for meetings for the
Methodist people of Newton Corner, February 1,
1864. Eev. Dr. Cobleigh, editor of Zion's Her¬
ald, was the first preacher. The society was or¬
ganized April 21, 1864, the constituent members
being twenty in number. The land on which the
church is erected was originally low and wet, and the
■whole tract, about two acres, was filled. The cost
of the church, including the land, was about $ 9,000.
It was dedicated September 26, 1867. The follow¬
ing have been the pastors : Kev. C. Cromack, Eev.
C. S. Sogers, Eev. S. F. Jones, Rev. A. A. "Wright,
Rev. Fred. Wood, Rev. W. E. Huntington, and
Rev. S. Jackson.
Universalist Church. — A society existed for
several years called the Newton and Watertown
Universalist Society, whose meeting-house stood in
Watertown, north of the border-line of Newton.
The church edifice was dedicated August 15, 1827,
and the church formed March 16, 1828. The
members were thirteen in number, nine belonging
to Newton and four to Watertown. The society
was served by about fourteen successive pastors,
and finally dissolved about 1866. The church-
building was sold for a school-house, and still oc¬
cupies its original location. The tower was removed,
and the bell sold to the Second Baptist Church in
Newton (Upper Falls), and is still in use by that
society. The communion furniture was formerly
the property of the First Universalist Church in Bos¬
ton (comer of Hanover and North Bennett streets,
now the Seamen's Bethel), and one of the cups was
brought from England by Rev. John Murray.
This society may be regarded as the beginning of
the Universalist Society now at Newtonville.
Not long after the railroad to Woonsocket was
completed as far as Needham, the pulse of life
began to stir at a point in Newton intermediate
between Newton Centre and Newton Upper Falls.
This locality had been the seat in former years of
the well-known Bacon Tavern, a place of consid¬
erable resort, and also of the.Mitchell Tavem, kept
afterwards by Mr. Mancy Thornton. The inter¬
section of several streets, the Worcester Turnpike,
now Boylston Street, the Dedham Road, now
Centre Street, and the old Sherburne Road, ren¬
dered it a situation of importance in the days of
stage-coaches, teaming, winter singing-schools and
sleighrides, clubs and merry-makings. On the
location of the railroad a station was planted here,
and some enterprising gentlemen purchased land
and began to lay out streets in anticipation of
future growth. The name of the station was suc¬
cessively Oak Hill, Newton Dale, then Oak Hill
again, and finally Newton Highlands. The level
land, stretching for a long distance in every
direction, is well adapted for building purposes,
demanding little or no expense for grading; and
the facilities for reaching the neighboring city of
Boston soon attracted a considerable population.
As in all the early towns of New England, so in this
new village, the church and the school came at the
beginning. One of the public schools of the town,
the Hyde School, was erected at a central point.
The Congregational Church here originated in
meetings first held in Farnham's HaU, in November,
1871. A church edifice and chapel were erected in
1872. For a considerable time the meetings were
held in the chapel; the church was finished aud dedi¬
cated in 1875. The land on which it stands was the
gift of Moses Grafts, Esq. The cost of the house
was about $ 16,000. The church was organized
June 13, 1872, composed of twenty-seven mem¬
bers, of whom twenty-three were dismissed for the
purpose from tlie First Church in Ne'wton. The
first pastor ■was Rev. S. H. Dana, who was or-:
dained October 9, 1872. Mr. Dana held office till
May, 1877, when he resigned. The second pastor
was Rev. G. G. Phipps. Deacons, James F. C.
Hyde, Samuel N. Woodward, Albert F. Hay ward;
members, February, 1878, fifty-six.
Chestnut Hill Chapel, with the school-house
attached, was given by the late Thomas Lee, Esq.,
to the families residing at Chestnut Hill. The
property was placed in the care of trustees, with
authority to sell it and devote the proceeds to
charity when it should be no longer employed for
religious or educational purposes. The society
NEWTON.
245
was organized in 1861, and the chapel dedi¬
cated to Christian worship October 2, 1861. The
first pastor was Rev. William A. Whitwell, who
remained pastor till his death in 1865. He was
succeeded by Rev. Artemas Bowers Muzzey and
Mr. Buckingham.
Unitarian Church, Newton Centre. — In the
autumn of 1877 persons attached to the Unitarian
faith, belonging in Newton Centre and Newton
Highlands, commenced holding worship in the hall
in White's Block, Station Street, near the railroad
depot. The first service was held on Sabbath,
November 11, 1877. Rev. Dr. Rufus P. Steb-
bins was called as the first pastor, and regular
worship has been maintained since the above date.
Chapel at Thompsonville. — Thompsonville, a
village half a mile southeast of Newton Centre,
acquired its name from the name of Mr. Thomp¬
son, a laboring man, who lived a kind of hermit
life in that locality. A few families, chiefly Ger¬
mans, became residents of the place, and a room
was hired at the expense of members of the First
Baptist Church, and a Sabbath-school commenced
March 6, 1867. The number present was forty-
five. The chapel was erected during the following
summer, and dedicated November 9, 1867. At
the close of eleven years, it was stated that no
Sabbath had passed without a public service. In¬
cluding the cost of the chapel, up to March 31,
1878, $1,700 had been laid out to sustain the
chapel and school, and a quarterly collection taken
up in the First Baptist Church supplied the funds.
It was in this immediate vicinity that the New
Light excitement commenced nearly a hundred
years before, which was among the elements lead¬
ing to the formation of the church now holding
out its helping hand to support this mission.
The Central Congregational Church, Newton-
ville, grew out of a neighborhood conference meet¬
ing, first held at the house of Mr. Nathaniel D.
Vose, December 11, 1867, and continued weekly,
until it resulted in the formation of a church and
society, the purchase of a house of worship, and
the settlement of a pastor. The chapel on the
comer of Washington and Court streets, previously
occupied by the Methodist society, was opened for
the regular Sabbath services of this new society,
April 8, 1868. The church was organized Sep¬
tember 8, 1868, and Rev. Joseph B. Clark was
installed pastor. The constituent members num¬
bered thirty-six. Mr. Clark resigned July 1,
1872. The church edifice was enlarged in 1869,
The second pastor. Rev. James R. Danforth, was
installed January 2, 1873, and resigned March 17,
1874. He was followed hy Rev. E. Frank Howe,
who was installed December 6, 1876. The original
cost of the church edifice was $ 6,500. It was en¬
larged the second time in 1875, and re-dedicated
November 6, 1875. Its seating capacity was now
about six hundred and fifty. Deacons, William
A. Goodwin, D. Wayland Jones, M. D., William P.
Slocum, Henry C. Hayden, Charles E. Chester, Ed¬
ward W. Greene.
The New Church [Swedenborgian). — The first
families in Newtonville holding the Swedenborgian
faith were those of Mr. Davis Howard and, a year
later, Mr. T. H. Carter. The former, shortly after
his removal to Newtonville, died. The church
services were read first at the house of Mrs. How¬
ard, and afterwards for several years at the house
of Mr. T. H. Carter. As the families attached to
this faith increased, a hall for worship was hired
in the village, and in October, 1857, Rev. John
Worcester was invited to preach regularly. This
arrangement continued eleven and a half years, and
the services were held during that time in four
different halls. The chapel on Highland Avenue
was built in 1868-69, on land given for the pur¬
pose by Mr. T. H. Carter, and dedicated April 11,
1869. It will seat about two hundred and seventy-
five persons. At the same date a society was or¬
ganized with twenty-nine members. Rev. John
Worcester was installed pastor December 26, 1869.
Among the original members were Messrs. T. H.
Carter, H. L. Keyes, R. M. Pulsifer, Edwin Field,
S. I. Kellogg, and F. N. Palmer. In February,
1878, the society numbered sixty-three members.
The Universalist Societg of Newtonville em¬
braced at the outset several persons who had been
connected with the former Newton and Watertown
Universalist Society and the Waltham Universalist
Society. The first meeting was held in the small
hall over Williams's drug-store in Newtonville
Square, in February, 1871. The following spring
the society removed into Tremout Hall. The soci¬
ety was legally organized in April, 1871 ; the cor¬
ner-stone of the church on Washington Park was
laid October 22,1872, and the building was dedi¬
cated June 26, 1873. The church is of stone, and
suited to accommodate three hundred hearers. Rev.
J. Coleman Adams, the first pastor, was ordained
December 19, 1872. The church was organized
in February, 1873, with thirteen members.
The Methodist Episcopal Church in Newtonville
246
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
originated in a Methodist class formed in 1857,
and composed of members previously residing in
Watertown. The question of forming a Methodist
society was first agitated in the spring of 1860.
The first public meeting of tiie society on the Sab¬
bath was held March 24, 1860, in the piano-forte
wareroom of Mr. Amasa Dexter. The public
services were shortly afterwards held in Tremont
Hall, and the first pastor of the society appointed
by the conference, Eev. G. W. Mansfield, com¬
menced his labors April 14,1860. The chapel on
the corner of Washington and Court streets, now
occupied by the Central Congregational Society,
was their first house of worship, dedicated in
April, 1860.
The church was organized May 17, 1860, con¬
sisting of twenty-four members. Two of them
were in the Union army in the war of 1861 - 1865.
The Sabbath-school was organized April 21, 1860.
Another society in the village, which had com¬
menced the brick church near the railroad station,
having become weakened by removals, so that they
were unable to finish the work, desired to sell the
edifice which they were unable to hold. It was
purchased by the Methodist Society for about
$6,000, finished, and dedicated in August, 1863.
The following ministers have been stationed
here : G. W. Mansfield, Z. A. Mudge, Henry
Baker, William M. Ayres, T. W. Bishop.
The growth of the North Village of Neudon
dates back to a period of more than a century ago,
when David Bemis purchased thirty-nine acres of
land on the Watertown side of Charles River, and
subsequently twenty-five more, — embracing all
the land now covered by the buildings on that side
of the river. In 1778 David Bemis, with Dr.
Enos Sumner, who then owned the land on the
Newton side of the river, constructed the dam
across the river, where it now stands. A paper-
mill was erected here in 1779, and the business of
manufacturing paper was carried on successfully
more than forty years. Many of the workmen
and much of the machinery requisite were im¬
ported from Europe. So important was the en¬
terprise considered in a public point of view, that
when the establishment was burned down, the
legislature of Massachusetts made a special grant
to enable the owners of the mill to rebuild. The
process of paper-making was then slow and tedious,
requiring as many months as it now requires days.
Each sheet was made singly by dipping the mould
into the pulp, and then turning it over upon a
woollen felt, to which the pulp adhered. Upon
this another felt was laid for the reception of an¬
other sheet, and thus the process was continued.
Mr. Jacob Mead, an ingenious citizen of Waltham,
subsequently invented a machine for weaving cop¬
per wire for the construction of paper-moulds,
which proved a great convenience to the public,
and highly remunerative to the inventor.
All the land bounded by Charles River on the
southerly, that is, the Newton side, extending from
or near Watertown line to a point on Charles
River, near the north end "of Morse Island, after¬
wards called Fox Island, belonged, during a cen¬
tury or more from the first settlement of Newton,
to Richard Park and John Fuller, and their de¬
scendants. The former owned six hundred acres
of the easterly portion, and John Fuller the wes¬
terly portion, containing-seven hundred and fifty
acres. John Fuller had seven sons, whose names
all began with the letter J. This valuable tract of
land was ceded in 1849 to Waltham, and is the
territory now occnpied by the Waltham Watch
Factory. For more than a century it bore the
name of Fuller's Corner. The father, with some
or all of his sons, while traversing the then wilder¬
ness, refreshed themselves with cake and cheese,
and drank from the brook near which they re¬
clined, which hence gained the name of Cheesecake
Brook, by which name it is still known. At a
later hour they cooked, some wild game on a small
conical hill, which from that time onwards for half
a century was known as Cook Hill ; but the name
has now become obsolete.
Besides the manufacture of paper on the New¬
ton side of the river, David Bemis built and car¬
ried on a grist-mill and snuff-mill on the Water-
town side until his death in 1790, it being the
first mill on that side at that place. At his de¬
cease the property on the Watertown side was
inherited by his two sons, Luke and Seth, the
latter of whom in 1796 made preparations for the
manufacture of chocolate, dye-woods, and medici¬
nal roots and woods for use, and carried on these
branches of business successfully till about the
year 1803. At that time he commenced spin¬
ning cotton by machinery. At this early day, when
few factories were in operation, it was the custom
to manufacture cotton cloth for domestic use in the
family. All families weie possessed of spinning-
wheels, and nearly aU had looms. Hence there was
a great demand for " Bemis' warp," which was
much superior to that spun by hand. The woof
NEWTON.
247
for filling was still spun, and the cloth woven, in
families.
The preparation of the cotton for carding was at
that time slow and expensive, the cotton being
picked by hand at an expense of about four cents
a pound. This gave employment to a great many
people in the families in the vicinity. Mr. Bemis
subsequently invented a machine for this purpose,
which was denominated "tlie devil," which per¬
formed the work in a much more expeditious and
satisfactory manner. It did not differ materially
from the cotton-pickers in use at the present day.
In 1808 or 1809 Mr. Bemis, with the aid of
foreign weavers using hand-looms, began to manu¬
facture somewhat extensively sheeting, shirting,
bed-ticking, satinet, bagging for packing cotton at
the South, and cotton duck.
In the fall of 1812 Mr. Bemis commenced the
manufacture of illuminating gas from coal, under
the direction of an English' expert, and the light¬
ing of his factory by the same in 1812-13 is
said to liave .been the first attempt to illuminate
with coal-gas in the United States. Many persons
from a distance visited the factory to ■witness the
experiment. But the situation of the gas-factory
near Mr. Bemis' dwelling-house, and tlie many
leakages of the pipes, which were of tin, rendered
it objectionable, and after the second year the ex¬
periment was discontinued. It is, however, a fact
worthy of record that carburetted hydrogen gas
was used for illuminating purposes here two years
before it came into use in England.
For the first eighteen or twenty years the opera¬
tives in the various branches of business in this
locality were summoned to tlieir work by the blow¬
ing of a tin horn. It is said that at that period
there was not a bell in Newton, Waltham, or
Watertown. In process of time the horn fixed
its name upon the village, which for many years
bore the soubriquet of Tin Horn. It is said,
however, that this title is a coinage of later times,
no such name having been in use until subsequent
to the employment of the tin horn for the purpose
specified.
In 1821 Mr. Seth Bemis became sole owner of
the whole water-power, mills, etc., and soon after¬
wards sold to tlie Boston Manufacturing Company
twelve inches of the power; that is, he lowered
his dam one foot, receiving $12,000 for so doing.
He tiien re-conveyed to his brother Luke and four
or five others a joint interest in the establishment
under the firm name of the Bemis Manufacturing
Company, and during their corporate continuance
carried on principally tlie manufacture of satinets
and cotton duck until 1830, when this company
was dissolved.
On the dissolution of the Bemis Manufactur¬
ing Company, Mr. Seth Bemis, in company with
Thomas Cordis, one of the old company, bought
out the entire property of said company, and
continued the same business until 1839, when
Thomas Cordis sold out his interest to Seth Be¬
mis and his son, Seth Bemis, Jr. They used the
water-power on both sides, partly for the manu¬
facture of cotton and wool, and partly for the
manufacture of dye-woods and drugs, until 1847.
They then sold out their dye-wood business on the
Newton side to William Freeman, and Seth Be¬
mis, Sr., again became sole owner of the factory
buildings and water-power on the "Watertown side,
and so continued till his death in 1850.
On the settlement of his estate, in 1851, Seth
Bemis, son of the deceased, became sole proprietor
of the Watertown mills and property, and retained
the ownership till 1860, when he sold out to Wil¬
liam Freeman & Co. Still later, William Free¬
man & Co. sold to the iEtna Mill Company, by
whom the works were greatly enlarged, for the
purpose of manufacturing woollen fabrics by both
water and steam power.
From the original 2)urchase in 1753 by David
Bemis, the property on the Watertown side of the
river has been in the Bemis family more or less
exclusively for more than a century and a quarter,
and on the Newton side for nearly a century.
A bridge across this part of the river was first
built by the Messrs. Bemis, being jjrivate prop¬
erty, between 1790 and 1796. For ten or twelve
years it was without a railing. In 1807 the Wa¬
tertown end was swept away by a freshet, and a
foot-bridge was substituted for two or three years.
Still later a bridge suitable for teams was built
by subscription. In 1818 the Watertown end of
this bridge was again carried away. The next
day two men attempted to cross in a boat to the
Newton side, above the dam. The boat was up¬
set, and they were carried over the dam, and one
of them was drowned. The other, after having
been several times drawn back into the vortex,
was thrown out on the Newton side and rescued.
California Street was laid out as a public highway
in 1816.
The Congregational Church in the North Til¬
lage originated in a Sabbath-school gathered at
248
HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the depot known as Bemis' Station, on the Water-
town Branch Kailroad, on the North side of Charles
Eiver. This school was commenced June 2,1861.
It was transferred, July 27,1862, to a small chapel
erected for its use on Chapel Street. The land was
given by Mr. Thomas Dally, and the cost of the
building was $ 1,200. In December, 1865, the
chapel was enlarged at an expense of $2,000.
The church was organized July 11, 1866, com¬
posed of twenty-three members. Eev. Samuel E.
Lowry was ordained the fírst pastor February 21,
1867. The chapel, which had been in use ten
years, was destroyed by fire June 9, 1872, and
the present stone edifice was erected on the same
site at a cost of $18,000, which was all subscribed
previous to the dedication. This service occurred
October 16, 1873. From June till December,
1872, when the vestry was completed, worship
was held in a shop owned by Mr. Dally. Tiie
stone used in the construction was taken from a
quarry near Beacon Street, Newton, on land then
owned by Mr. Samuel Gooch. The church-mem¬
bers, in February, 1878, numbered one hundred
and ten. The following are the names of mem¬
bers who have served as deacons : Messrs. Joseph
Wain, Henry Mason, Arteinas Enmrill, Nathaniel
Davidson, W. E. Smith, and Eugene Garlick.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Newton
Centre was commenced by a prayer-meeting in the
Old Engine-House in June, 1875, corner of Centre
and Station streets. In January, 1876, a Sab-
bath-school was formed, and in the spring follow¬
ing a preaching service followed. Until October,
1877, it was regarded as a branch of the church
at Newton Upper Falls. The late Marshall S.
Eice left in his will $1,000 to be used in the
erection of a church edifice. April 29, 1879, a
church was organized, Eev. G. H. P,erkins being
the pastor. The first trustees were Alden Speare,
E. M. Fowle, J. F. Lamson, S. D. Garey, W. L.
Libbey, E. G. Stevens, E. G. Stevens, Jr. Hon.
Alden Speare presented to the society the lot
kno-wn as the Engine-house Lot, where the first
meetings had been held. Tiie church edifice was
commenced in the winter of 1879.
The following table gives the location, date of
organization, and religious denomination of the
churches in Newton.
Congregational.
First Parish Church .July 20, 1664
West Congregational Church . . Oct. 21, 1781
Eliot Ciiurch July 1, 1845
Auburndale Nov. 14, 1850
North Evangelical Church . . . July 11, 1866
Central Congregational Church Sept. 8, 1868
Church of the Highlands . . July 9, 1872
Baptist.
First Baptist Church .... July 5, 1780
Second Baptist Church . . Feb. 8, 1835
Newton Baptist Church . . . . . I860
West Newton Baptist Church . . June 5,1866
Myrtle Baptist Church . . . Sept. 1874
Methodist.
First Methodist Episcopal . . . Nov. 11,1832
Newtonville Methodist 1860
Auburndale Methodist .... Jnne 1,1862
Newton Methodist 1864
Lower Falls Methodist 1867
Newton Centre Methodist . . . April 29,1879
Episcopal.
St. Mary's, Lower Falls . . . April 7,1812
Grace Cliurch, Newton 1855
Church of the Messiah, West Newton . . 1872
Unitarian.
Religions Society, Upper Falls (now extinct), . 1827
First Unitarian Society, West Newton . . 1847
Channing Religious Society, Newton. . . 1851
Chestnut Hill Chapel 1861
Universalist.
Uuiversalist Society, Upper Falls (now extinct) Sept. 8,1814
Universalist Church, Newtonville, . . . 1872
Roman Catholic.
St. Mary's, Upper Falls . . . Nov. 15,1867
Our Lady of Help to Christians, Newtonville . 1873
St. Bernard's Church, West Newton
Swedenhorgian.
New Church, Newtonville . . 1869
The first post-office in the town, and previous
to 1820 the only one, was at Newton Lower
Falls, a village remote from many of the inhabi¬
tants. As the first settlers of Cambridge seem to
have eherished the expeetation that that town, em-
braeing also New Cambridge, or Newton, would
become the eapital of the country, so the people of
the Lower Falls very likely anticipated that their
village was to be the principal depot and centre
of business of the town ; which accounts for the
location of the first post-office there. The busi¬
ness enterprise of the inhabitants gave them some
grounds for such an anticipation ; for in early times
the village was the seat of iron-works, saw-mills,
grist-mills, snuff-mills, clothing-mills, leather-mills,
paper-mills, calico-printing, machine-shops, etc.
The second post-office was established at Newton
Corner in 1820, the income of which at first was
only thirty or forty dollars per annum. In the
NEWTON.
249
Nen'ton Public Líbrarj.
early days of the Newton Theological Institution
the students and officers were obliged to go to
Newton Corner — a distance of two miles — to
receive and deposit their letters.
About the year 1798 two public libraries were
founded, — one in the east, the other in the west
part of the town. The first, after a time, fell into
neglect, and tiie books were sold. The library
styled- tiie "West Newton Social Library, inaugu¬
rated in 1797, had a very grave but useful selec¬
tion of books, and did good service in the town
for several years. The West Newton Athenaeum,
orgauized in December, 1849, had in 1872 a
library of three or four thousand volumes. Tliis
iiistitutiou was established both as a library asso¬
ciation and an organization for the promotion of
liberal culture and good-fellowsiiip in the town.
Among its founders were the late William B.
Powle, Hon. Horace Mann, Rev. Joseph S. Clarke,
Cyrus Peirce, Dr. J. H. Brown, and Mr. J. W.
Plimpto7i, the latter of whom, in 1867, made a
donation of Î 1,000 to the library funds. The li¬
brary property was held in shares of the par value
of ten dollars each. But previous to the existence
of the Free Public Library of Newton it was for
many years contemplated, as soon as its financial
condition would allow, to throw it open to the gra¬
tuitous use of the public. A library called the
Adelphian Library was formed about 1830. Mr.
William Jackson and others, by begging, buying,
and giving, procured quite a valuable collection of
books, which were placed in the entrance-room
of the academy of Mr. Seth Davis, of West New¬
ton, who was the librarian until 1839. About
1832 or 1833 it was arranged that the books in
part should be kept, and occasionally exchanged,
in both parishes. Marshall S. Rice was the libra¬
rian in the east parish. Deacon Samuel F. Dix
was the custodian of the library of 1798. About
1839 or 1840 the libraries of 1798 and the Adel¬
phian Library were both merged in the Atheuseum.
The Newton Lower Falls Free Library, organized
in 1869 for the free use of the inhabitants resid¬
ing in Newton Lower Falls and the vicinity, gath¬
ered a collection of nearly two thousand volumes.
A small library in the North Village nmnberod
250
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
five hundred volumes. The Newton Centre Li¬
brary Association, organized in 1859, iiad about fif¬
teen hundred volumes, which, after the inauguration
of the Newton Free Library in 1869, were trans¬
ferred, by vote of the subscribers, to that institution.
The Newton (Corner) Library Association was
organized originally as only a book-club ; but in
January, 1849, it assumed the character of a cir¬
culating library, and gradually acquired, through
the liberality of the members and others, about
seventeen hundred and fifty volumes. The subject
of a Newton free library was from time to time
debated in an association of gentlemen styled the
Newton Literary Association. But no definite
action was taken till June, 1866, when S3,300
were raised by subscription, with which to pur¬
chase a lot of land on Centre Street, to be offered
as a free gift to the Newton Library Association,
on which to erect a suitable building for library
purposes, and, if declined by that association, to
be offered to any other organization which would
guarantee the erection of such a building.
In 1867 the late Hon. J. Wiley Edmands offered
the sum of S 15,000 towards the establishment of
a free public library in Newton, provided that an
equal sum should be secured by the trustees of the
fund. The requisite amount was obtained, and
even more, — the whole sum secured being up¬
wards of $53,000. Mr. Edmands subsequently
gave $5,000 more as a special donation for the
purchase of books. Ground was broken for the
building oTi its present location June 10, 1868.
The rough stone for the walls was taken from a
quarry in Newton Centre. The corner-stone was
laid August 13, 1868, and the building dedicated
June 17, 1870, — the public exercises on the oc¬
casion being held in a tent spread in front of the
building. The cost of the building and fixtures
was about $37,000. Before any books were pur¬
chased, the donation of the Newton Library Asso¬
ciation formed an important and valuable nucleus,
and donations from individuals added five hundred
volumes more. The principal room in the build¬
ing was named Edmands Hall, in honor of Hon.
J. Wiley Edmands, the most munificent donor.
A beautiful copy of Raphael's celebrated painting
of the Transfiguration, in the Vatican at Rome,
given to the library by Mrs. D. B. Jewett, adorns
Edmands Hall ; also a bust of Charles Sumner,
and portraits of distinguished individuals, formerly
residents of the town. The number of volumes in
the library is about fifteen thousand.
On the third day of November, 1875, the trus¬
tees, in behalf of the subscribers to the Newton
Free Library, were empowered to transfer the
Newton Free Library to the city of Newton, on
the city's assuming the conditions of trust of the
existing organization, under the act of incorpora¬
tion obtained in 1871. The terms being accepted,
the transfer was duly made, and the library became
thenceforth a city institution.
Newton Water- Works. — Prior to the year
1871 two or three private aqueducts had Wn
constructed in Newton, which yielded a limited
domestic supply; but there was no public pro¬
vision adequate to the necessities of the town.
In April, 1871, a resolve was passed by the citi¬
zens in town-meeting assembled, appointing a
committee of three gentlemen "to investigate the
best method of supplying the town with water,
and to report at a subsequent town-meeting." At
a town-meeting held November 13, 1871, this
committee reported in favor of taking water
from Charles River. The report of this com¬
mittee, which was thorough and of considerable
extent, took into view a careful consideration
of sources of supply, cost of works, mode of
distribution, water damages, and other points im¬
portant to a full understanding of the subject, and
closed their report by recommending that a com¬
mittee be chosen to apply to the legislature for an
act giving the town full power to carry the report
into effect, and report at a subsequent meeting.
In order to obtain an expression of the popular
opinion concerning the introduction of water, the
citizens were called upon in 1874 to vote "Yes" or
"No" on the question, "Shall the city of New¬
ton be supplied with water for fire and domestic
purposes, at an expense not exceeding $600,000,
in accordance with the special Act of the Legis-
lalature of 1872, chapter 344, authorizing the
same ? " The vote was taken by ballot Decem¬
ber 1, 1874, and resulted in yeas 928, nays 448.
On the 9th of December a board of three water
commissioners was appointed, who in May, 1875,
made their report to the city council, recommend¬
ing as a source " a well at a point on Charles
River above Pettee's works at the Upper Falls " ;
advising the use of a reservoir for distribution,
and estimating the cost at not over $ 800,000.
A vote was passed to purchase Waban Hill,
formerly called Prospect Hill, in the east part of
the town, as a site for the reservoir. October 9,
1875, the first pipe was laid, in Washington
NEWTON.
251
Echo Bridge.
Street, near Woodland Avenue. Land was pur-
chased in Needham, between Kenrick's Bridge and
Needhain Avenue, and near the latter, for a filter¬
ing basin. On the occasion of the inspection of
the water-works by the city government, Novem¬
ber 13, 1876, the filter-basin, which is situated in
Needham, fifty feet distant from the river, was in
use; -the great pumping-engine was in operation,
the Waban Hill reservoir was one third full, and
the hydrants supplied with water along forty-eight
miles of street mains. The capacity of the reser¬
voir is about fifteen million gallons. The area of
the bottom of the reservoir is 91,525 square feet;
and the area of water surface, when the reservoir
is full, is 126,000 square feet. The gate-house
was built in the last half of October, 1876. Wa¬
ter was first pumped into the reservoir October 30,
1876. In November, 1877, the report of the
water commissioners stated that water-pipes had
been laid in the streets of the city to the extent of
fifty-one and a half miles. Most of the pipes were
famished by the Warren Foundry, Phillipsburg,
N. J. The first service-pipes were laid in Octo¬
ber, 1876. In Woodward Street the Newton
water-*pipe passes over the Cochituate aqueduct.
Both the conduits of the Boston water-works,
—that from Lake Cochituate and that from the
Sudbury River, — pass through Newton from west
to east. The former is about eighteen miles in
length, and enters Newton a short distance below
the village of Upper Falls. Ground was broken
for tliis aqueduct August 20, 1846, and water
was introduced into the city of Boston with im¬
posing ceremonies October 25, 1848. Tlie act of
legislature empowering the city of Boston to en¬
gage in this enterprise was approved by the gov¬
ernor, George N. Briggs, March 30, 1846. The
water is carried over Charles River by three iron
pipes properly supported and secured against the
frost. The most interesting feature of the work
in Newton is a tunnel, executed through porphyritic
rock of extreme hardness, on the Harback prop¬
erty, a few rods east of Waverley Avenue. This
tunnel is 2,410 feet in length; in its construc¬
tion two or more shafts were sunk to a depth
of eighty-four feet to the bottom of the tunnel.
Several specimens of copper ore were fomid by the
workmen in the process of excavation.
Chestnut Hill Reservoir was constructed on
land formerly a part of the town of Newton, and
constituting a portion of the Lawrence farm, pre¬
viously Deacon Nathan Pettee's, and before him
occupied by Deacon Thomas Hovey. In April,
1865, the water board of tlie city of Boston was
252
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
authorized to purchase for this use not exceeding
two hundred acres in Newton, Brighton, and
Brookline. The bank on the Lawrence meadow
was begun May 16, 1866. Water was let into
the Lawrence, or upper basin, October 26, 1868.
There was no formal celebration, but members of
the city government and others were present, an
account was given of the progress of the work, and
three hearty cheers were given by the five hundred
laborers who were crowded on the bank. Water
was let into the Bradlee, or lower basin, Octo¬
ber 25, 1870,—the twenty-second anniversary
of the introduction of Cochituate water into the
city.
In the construction of the Chestnut Hill Eeser-
voir. Beacon Street was turned from its course.
The land formerly belonging to Newton and occu¬
pied in this enterprise, after Brighton was annexed
to Boston, was, by exchange or otherwise, made a
part of Boston.
The Sudbury Eiver conduit, bringing an addi¬
tional supply of water to the city of Boston, is
fifteen and four fifths miles in length, and passes
through Newton Upper Falls, north of Newton
Highlands, and through Newton Centre to the
Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The principal features
of this work in Newton are the bridge over
Charles River at the Upper Falls, and the tunnel
through Chestnut Hill. The bridge is five hun¬
dred feet long, and consists of seven arches, — five
of thirty-seven feet span, one of twenty-eight feet,
and the large arch over the river, the second in
size in the American continent, and one of the
largest stone arches in the world. It is one hun¬
dred and thirty feet in span, with a radius of
sixty-nine feet. The crown is fifty-one feet above
the usual surface of the water, and the top of the
bridge about seventy feet above the same. The
key-stone is five feet in depth. The pressure upon
the foundation is about 2,900 tons, or about 16^
tons to the square foot. The foundations of the
entire bridge are in the solid rock. To a person
standing beneath it, the arch has a very slender
and beautiful appearance, being only eighteen feet
in width at the crown. There is a remarkable echo
in this arch, the human voice being rapidly repeated
upwards of fifteen times, and a pistol-shot twenty-
five times. The scenery along the river at this
point is extremely romantic, and the bridge by its
symmetry and elegance adds a striking and beau¬
tiful feature to the landscape, and attracts many
visitors. It was built in 1876 and 1877, during
the period when such work could be successfully
prosecuted.
There is a tunnel of five hundred feet in lengtli
near Pleasant Street, built through quicksand and
rock. The Beacon Street tunnel is cut through
solid rock, 4,635 feet in length. At one place
considerable quantities of iron and copper pyrites
were found. One siiaft was sunk on land of the
late F. M. Johnson, about fifty-five feet in depth
to the bottom of the tqnnel, the excavation being
carried on from eacii end, and from the sliaft eacli
way.
Tlie Pine Farm School, an institution under the
patronage of the Boston Children's Aid Society,
and designed to furnish a home for boys rescued
from the courts of Boston and saved from the
haunts of vice and ruin, was commenced in 1864
in West Newton. It is located on a farm of
twenty acres, formerly the Murdoch estate, and
is situated at the corner of Homer and Chestnut
streets. The place was purchased and fitted up
for its present use in the winter of 1864, and an
act of incorporation was procured, enabling tlie
society to hold real estate to a certain amount, for
the purpose of aiding children brought before the
police courts, and to rescue them from vice and
crime by all possible methods. Mr. Rufus E.
Cook, chaplain of the jail in Boston, was from the
beginning the efficient agent of the society. The
building is designed to accommodate thirty boys.
A small school-house, formerly a blacksmitli's
shop, is on the place, where the boys spend every
day the hours usually devoted to school instruc¬
tion. The house was ready for use June 28,
1864, and a service of dedication was held on that
day in a grove on the estate. The first superin¬
tendent and matron were Mr. and Mrs. Howe,
followed in 1870 by Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Wash¬
burn. During the first seven years the number
who had been inmates of the home was one hmi-
dred and ninety-five. As soon as it is judged
safe, the boys are placed in permanent liomes in
the country, the watch-care of the society being
still extended over them. A press and types have
been procured, and some of the boys have learned
to print so neatly and skilfully, that the annual
reports of the Home have been issued for several
years from this office.
A Home for Orphan and Destitute Girls was
originated under the auspices of the Boston Ciiil-
dren's Friend Society in 1866, and was sustained
for a few years, but finally discontinued. A fund
NEWTON.
253
of $7,000 was raised by subscription to purchase
and equip a house of mercy for liomeless and vi¬
cious girls under twelve years of age, received from
the courts, or rescued from the haunts of vice in
the neighboring city of Boston. The house pur¬
chased for this use was the boarding-house origi¬
nally erected in connection with the academy at
Newton Centre, on Centre Street, opposite the es¬
tate formerly of Dr. Jonathan Homer, later of
Mayor Speare. Here the girls were instructed in
the usual branches of a common-school education,
and also in needlework and household duties.
Tiie home was supported by the contributions of
five denominations of Christians. The first admis¬
sion was November 12, 1866, and before the dedi¬
cation on Christmas Day, one month later, eight or
nine more were admitted. The matron was Mrs.
Rebecca B. Pomroy, well known for her faithful
and efficient services in the hospitals of Washing¬
ton and in the family of Abraham Lincoln during
the war. Tiie Home prospered until the summer
of 1868, when the building was set on fire by one
of the inmates, and totally consumed. The school
was then removed to the estate formerly of Mr.
Ephraim Jackson, southeast of the Theological In¬
stitution. The number of girls in the Home in
June, 1872, was twenty-two. But the necessity
for such an institution seeming to be less apparent
than in the beginning, it was suspended, and other
provision was made for the inmates. One or two
little waifs, however, remained, for whose disposi¬
tion there was no immediate opening. These be¬
came the nucleus of a new institution, — the
Orphan Girls'Home, — since located at Newton,
in the house on Hovey Street which was formerly
the Episcopal parsonage, and from the commence¬
ment has been in charge of Mrs. Pomroy.
To the War of 1812 belongs the name of Gen¬
eral William Hull, a distinguished citizen of New¬
ton, who married Sarah, daughter of Judge
Abraham Puller, and resided for many years on
the estate of her father, afterwards the property of
ex-Governor Claflin, at Newtonville. General Hull
built the brick portion of the Nonantum House at
Newton. The house formerly standing, on the old
site, which was Judge Fuller's, was removed nearer
the railroad, and is now occupied by J. L. Roberts,
Esq. The services of General Hull during the Revo¬
lutionary War are said to have been constant and
valuable. At the beginning of the War of 1812
he was appointed commander of the northwestern
army for the conquest of Canada, and in an evil
hour surrendered his army to General Brock. Gen¬
eral Hull claimed that he was not adequately sus¬
tained by the government; he published a defence of
his conduct, and his grandson. Rev. James Freeman
Clarke, also prepared a pamphlet in which he exon¬
erates him from blame. On his return to Boston,
a public dinner was tendered to him by a number
of the best citizens of the town, as an indication of
their estimation of his worth. Tlie venerable Seth
Davis, now a nonagenarian, has such a conviction
of his innocence and uprightness, that he sedulously
carries flowers every year, on the appointed decora¬
tion day, to strew in his honor on his grave.
In the War of the Rebellion, 1861-1865, New¬
ton, which had so distinguished herself in the days
of the Revolution, fully and honorably maintained
her patriotic character. In the progress of the war
the town freely voted large amounts of money to
meet the accruing expenses: November 4, 1862,
$50,000; August 7, 1863, $5,000; Aprü 3,
1864, $23,000; August 5, 1864, $20,000, —in
all, $98,000, of which $92,621 were actually ex¬
pended. The whole number of men required to
fill the quota of Newton under the calls for volun¬
teers was 1,067 ; the number actually furnished by
the town was 1,129. The number of volunteers
mustered into service for three years who belonged
to the town of Newton was 323. This is exclu¬
sive of those who served in the navy, and of others,
natives of the town, but who were, at the date of
their enlistment, citizens of other places.
Tlie town of Newton furnished thirty-six com¬
missioned officers and two general officers, General
A. B. Underwood and General J. GushingEdmands.
The whole number of Massachusettts regiments con¬
taining one or more Newton men was thirty ; and
in no less than seventy-five fields did the men of
Newton imperil their lives for their country. Be¬
sides these, thirty-four men, at that time or for¬
merly connected witli the Newton Theological
Institution, served in various capacities in the
army. Some of them suffered in prisons or on
battle-fields, and brought back only mutilated forms
for the service of the churcii. The amount paid
by the town and by individuals for military pur¬
poses, from the beginning of the war to February,
1865, near the close, was $138,457. Of this
sum, $46,918.92 were afterwards refunded to the
town by act of the legislature. In a thousand
ways' probably as much more was contributed, of
which no record was ever kept and of which no
adequate account can be rendered.
2Ö4
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
"While Boston and many other cities and towns
lingered in the work of rearing a fitting memorial
to the patriotic dead, Newton was one of the ear¬
liest towns in the commonwealth to erect a monu¬
ment to the memory of her brave soldiers. It
stands near the entrance of the cemetery in the cen¬
tre of the town, and was dedicated July 23, 1864,
more than a year before the close of the war.
On the 31st of December, 1873, the town gov¬
ernment was brought to a close, after a duration
of one hundred and ninety-four years, and the
city government was inaugurated January 1,1874.
The first mayor of the ci^, Hon. J. F. C. Hyde, is
a native of the town, and his genealogy reaches
back in regular succession to its earliest records.
In a history reaching through nearly two hun¬
dred and fifty years many names have attained
prominence.
Cakes Angier (born 1698, died 1783) kept a
public-house near the location of the Nonantum
House. From him that part of the town was for
many years named Angier's Corner, until the sta¬
tion on the Boston and Albany Eailroad displaced
the old designation.
John Barber kept a public-house at West New¬
ton, and set out the great elm-tree which stands in
front of it, in 1767. It was so small that he
brought it from the woods on his shoulder. He
was the second tenant, and the first male tenant of
the West Parish Cemetery.
Frederic Barden (died 1877) was proprietor of
the rolling-mills at Newton Upper Falls, on Boyl-
ston Street. He was representative to the General
Court two sessions, and a prominent member of
the Channing Church.
Dr. Henry Bigelow (died 1866) was a prominent
physician at Newton Corner. For fifteen years he
was at the head of the interests of education in the
town, and to him, as chairman of the school com¬
mittee, more than to any other person, Newton is
indebted for the noble condition of its public
schools. He was foremost in selecting, arranging,
and adorning the beautiful cemetery in the centre of
Newton, and the first president of the corporation.
Gardner Colby (died 1879) was born in Bow-
doinham, Maine, September 3, 1810, and removed
to Newton in 1846, making his residence here
equal to a generation of men. In early life he was
a clerk for two years in a store in Charlestown,
then in a dry-goods house in Boston, and at the
age of twenty-two he commenced business for liim-
self, beginning with a capital of $500, which he
borrowed. He was afterwards engaged in the dry.
goods importing business, and in 1848 retired
with a handsome competency. In 1850 he em¬
barked in the manufacture of woollens, being as¬
sociated with Mr. J. Wiley Edmands in the Mav¬
erick Mills in East Dedham; and, having large
contracts with the government during the War
of the Eebellion, he accumulated rapidly new re¬
sources. He retired a second time from business
in 1863, and in 1870 undertook the building of the
Wisconsin Central Eailroad, a road three hundred
and forty miles long, constructed through a wild
and rough country ; he lived to see the road com¬
pleted. He was a public-spirited citizen, inter¬
ested in all the improvements of Newton, and a
liberal giver. He was treasurer of Newton Theo¬
logical Institution twenty-seven years, and a mu¬
nificent patron of that institution, as well as of
Brown University, and Colby University at Water-
ville, Maine, which bears his name irf honor of bis
munificent donation of $ 50,000 at one time to the
funds of the college, followed afterwards by gifts
of thousands. In the published list of subscribers
for the support of Newton Institution, his name
appears at one time for $3,000, at another for
$11,000, and at a third for $ 18,000.
Captain Phineas Cooke (died 1784) was a direct
descendant of Gregory Cooke, one of the first set¬
tlers of Newton. He was captain of a company
of minute-men raised in 1773, commanded on the
memorable day of Concord and Lexington by
Colonel Michael Jackson. His house was at New¬
ton Corner, near the line of Watertown, — the same
house which, after the war, was owned and occu¬
pied by General William Hull.
Mrs. Mary Davis (died 1752) lived to the great¬
est age of any person in Newton, being one hundred
and seventeen years and one hundred and fifteen
days old at the date of her death. She lived at
the south part of the town (Oak Hill), and culti¬
vated the ground in her extreme age with her own
hands. At the age of one hundred and four she
could do a good day's work at shelling corn, and
at one hundred and ten she sat at her spinning-
wheel. There is a portrait of her in the rooms of
the Massaehusetts Historical Society, painted by
request of Governor Belcher.
Edward Durant (died 1782), son of Captain
Edward Durant, was a man of wealth, inherited
from his father. He was moderator of the town-
meetings of Newton from 1765 to 1775,that
exciting period which drew on the Eevolution, —
NEWTON.
255
a leading patriot, and one of the selectmen for four
years. He was known as an active and leading
spirit in opposing the measures of the British gov¬
ernment for more than ten years preceding the
Bevolutionary War, was chairman of a committee
to report instructions to the representative to the
General Court in 1765 on the passage of the Stamp
Act, and a delegate to the Provincial Congress in
1774-75.
J. Wiley Edmands (died 1877) was the son of
Thomas Edmands, Esq.,. and removed to Newton
from Boston in 1847. He was a man of remark¬
able business tact and energy, a member of con¬
gress in 1852, presidential elector in 1868, and his
name was mentioned on several occasions in con¬
nection with high official stations at Washington,
including that of secretary of the treasury under
President Lincoln. ITuring the Civil War he was
always ready with his infiuence and his resources
to sustain the |;overnment, and two of his sons did
honorable service in tlie field. He was one of the
first liberal contributors to the Home for Orphan
Girls in Newton, and the largest patron of the
Newton Free Public Library, whose principal hall
bears his name.
Eev. James Freeman, D. D. (died 1835), lived on
the Skinner Place, so called, on Waverley Avenue,
a large portion of the year for more than a quarter
of a century. He was pastor of King's Chapel in
Boston more than half a century, and it was during
his ministry that that church, from Episcopal, be¬
came Unitarian, and changed the liturgy to accom¬
modate their views of doctrine. He was one of the
first members of the Boston school committee,
and one of the founders of the Massachusetts His¬
torical Society. He is buried in the Curtis tomb,
in the old cemetery.
Joseph Fuller (died 1740), son of John, and
known as Captain Fuller, received from his father-
in-law, Edward Jackson, twenty .acres from the
west end of the Mayhew Farm, including what is
now Newtonville, and covering the General Hull
place, now owned and occupied by ex-Governor
Claflin. Here Joseph Fuller built his house, and
this twenty acres, with about two hundred in¬
herited from his father, formed the farm which
descended to his grandson. Judge Fuller, and his
great granddaughter Sarah, wife of General Wm.
Hull. The large elm-tree near the house is said to
have been planted, a mere riding-stick, by this
Joseph Fuller. Until 1830 the hall was orna¬
mented by the horns of a deer, which he shot
from his front door. He gave the second training-
field to the town.
Captain Amariah Fuller (died 1802) was select¬
man two years, and captain of the west company
of militia. He and his company were in the en¬
gagements of Concord and Lexington. He was
also at Dorchester Heights.
Colonel Nathan Fuller (died 1822), an infiu-
ential and patriotic citizen, joined the army at Cam¬
bridge at the time of the Eevolution as captain of a
company in Colonel Gardner's regiment. He was
promoted to the rank of major, and look part in
the Canada expedition of 1,776. In 1795 he was
representative to the General Court, and took a
deep interest in the affairs of the church and town.
In 1781 he gave to the West Parish an acre and a
half for the burial-place, and in 1785, £60 for the
use of the church and congregation.^
Judge Abraham Fuller (died 1794) was the
leading citizen of Newton in his day. Previous to
1760 he kept a private grammar-school in Newton,
and left in his will a sum of money to found the
Fuller Academy. He was selectman four years,
town clerk and treasurer twenty-seven years, com¬
mencing in 1766, representative to the General
Court eighteen years,— the longest period of ser¬
vice in the last two departments of any citizen in
Newton, — delegate to the Provincial Congress,
senator, councillor, and judge of the court of
common pleas. His only daughter married Gen¬
eral William Hull, who, after the death of Judge
Fuller, removed to the old homestead.
Henry Gibbs (died 1761) came to Newton from
Boston about 1742. Eev. Mr. Cotton, minister
of the First Parish, was his brother-in-law. He
built and occupied the house lately the residence
of Marshall S. Eice, Esq. He was selectman six
years, justice of the peace and representative three
years. He left a provision in his will that his
mansion-house should not be taken for a tavern,
but for the residence of some gentleman of the dis¬
senting interest, who should support the dissent¬
ing minister in Newton. He also left a bequest
1 Colonel Nathan Fuller deserves a word more here. Buríng
the disastrous retreat of our army under General Sullivan from
Canada, Colonel, then Major Fuller, of Bond's Massachusetts regi¬
ment, was put in charge of the baggage of the army. Deserted by
all except eighty-seven of the five hundred men constituting the
guard, and iu imminent danger of capture by the enemy, Major
Fuller perfonned the duty assigned to him with signal fidelity,
intelligence, and courege. It is enough to say that when an
express frem Fuller reached Colonels Stark and Poor, informing
them of his cntical situation, they retuimed, aud at once put
themselves under the orders of their gallant subordinate. — £o.
256
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
to aid in the evangelization of the Indian natives,
but not in the Church of England form. Gibbs
Street, ■which formed a part of his land, received its
name in memory of him.
John Jackson (died 1675), eldest son of Deacon
John Jackson, was probably the first child born in
Newton of the permanent settlers. He died un¬
married, aged thirty-six years.
Captain John Jackson (died 1755) was the
wealthiest man in Newton, paid the largest tax,
and had the highest seat in the meeting-house.
Jonathan Jackson (died 1810), son of Edward
and Dorothy (Quincy) Jackson, graduated at Har¬
vard College, 1761j as did also two of his sons,
Charles (judge) and James (doctor), the latter of
whom was professor in the Harvard Medical School
from 1812 to 1836. Mr. Jackson was a member
of the Provincial Congress, member of the National
Congress in 1781, state senator, appointed by
Washington first marshal of tiie district of Massa¬
chusetts, treasurer of Massachusetts, and also treas¬
urer of Harvard College.
Major Timothy Jackson (died 1814), father of
the late Hon. William Jackson, served continu¬
ously from 1780 to 1811 in various town and
William Jackion.
state offices. He was adjutant and brigade-major
in the militia, kept the town school in the north
district two winters, was deputy sheriff ten years,
selectman many years, moderator of nearly all the
town-meetings from 1795 to 1810 inclusive, and
representative to the General Court fifteen years
successively. His house, which was demolished in
1809, stood on the same ground as the present
Jackson homestead.
Hon. William Jackson (died 1855) was elected
representative to the General Court in 1819 and
again in 1826 ; he was a member of the board of
selectmen and of the school committee, took an early
and decided stand in the cause of temperance, be¬
came one of the earliest and most ardent favorers
of the enterprise of railroads, and was superintendent
of construction of the Boston and Worcester and
several other railroads, and director of the Western
Eailroad for nine years. He ■was one of the prime
movers of the savings-bank in Newton, and its
first president. He was elected member of Con¬
gress in 1830, and served two terms. His infin-
ence was the primary cause of the establishment
of special trains on the Boston and Albany Bail-
road. He was the main-spring of the organization
of the Eliot Church, and one of the deacons from
the beginning, and also the mover and president
of the American Missionary Association for the
first eight years of its existence. His influence
also led to the efficient development of the new
village of Auburndale.
John Kenrick (died 1833) purchased the place
formerly of Edward Durant, on Waverley Avenue.
He was selectman two years, and representative
to the General Court seven. In 1825 he made a
donation to the town of $1,000, and afterwards
other donations, amounting in all to $1,700, as
the basis of a permanent fund for the rehef of
the poor of the town. He provided that the fund
should be allowed to accumulate till it should
amount to $4,000, and after that the whole an¬
nual income should be distributed to the indus¬
trious poor, especially widows and orphans. The
fund reached the stipulated amount ($4,000) in
1851. Mr. Kenrick was an ardent friend of the
temperance reform, and a liberal contributor to
the first antislavery society in this country, and
died its president.
Dr. John King (died 1807), of Newton Centre,
was the only physician in Newton for nearly half
a century. He came from Sutton, and his house
was on the site of the present residence of Gusta-
vus Forbes, Esq. The house still stands in its
new location on Pelham Street. Dr. King was
selectman eight years, and for several years ■was
moderator of the town-meetings. He was a true
NEWTON.
257
patriot, and member of several committees during
the revolutionary struggle. He was one of the
minute-men from Newton in the battle of Lex¬
ington, and one of the soldiers from Newton
designated to guard Burgoyne's army. In that
service, after visiting his patients at Newton in
the morning, he started for the prisoner's camp
to perform corporal's duty. He was representa¬
tive in 1792. His son, Captain Henry King, was
one of the guard at the execution of Major André ;
he lived on the farm on Homer Street now owned
and occupied by Kev. George J. Carleton.
Hon. Horace Mann (died 1859) resided for
several years on Walnut Street, West Newton.
He was a native of Franklin, Massachusetts, grad¬
uated at Brown University, studied law in Litch¬
field, Connecticut, and commenced practice as a
lawyer in Dedham, continuing in practice fourteen
years. He was a member of the House of Eep-
resentatives from 1828 to 1833, and of the Senate
from 1833 to 1837, and president of the Senate
from 1836 to 1837. He was the originator of the
State Lunatic Hospital at Worcester, which was the
parent of all similar institutions throughout the
country. He was the first secretary of the Board
of Education, and through his influence important
changes were made in the school-laws and educa¬
tional system of the state. He was member of
Congress in 1848-53, candidate of the Free-Soil
party for governor of Massachusetts in 1852, the
originator of normal schools and teachers' conven¬
tions, and finally president of Antioch College at
Yellow Springs, Ohio.
Hon. David H. Mason (died 1873) resided in
Newton for twènty-five years, and was one of its
most prominent and useful citizens. He was a
member of the House of Eepresentatives three
years, and the tried and trusted friend and adviser
of the patriotic Governor John A. Andrew, during
the war of 1861—1865. He declined the nomina¬
tion of state senator on account of the claims of
his profession as a lawyer. In 1859 he delivered
the oration at the celebration of the eighty-third
anniversary of American Independence, held at
Newton Centre. Among the measures before the
legislature in which he took a leading part were
tlie consolidation of the Boston and Worcester
and Western Bailroad corporations, equalizing the
bounties of the soldiers, adopting the fourteenth
amendment to the Constitution of the United
States, making the Milldam free of toll, and lev¬
elling Fort Hill in Boston. He was for several
years an efficient member of the Board of Educa¬
tion, and was deeply interested in promoting the
high character of the schools of Newton. In 1870
he was appointed United States District Attorney
for the State of Massachusetts, which was his last
public service.
Otis Pettee (died 1853) for nearly a quarter of
a century was the leading man at Newton Upper
Falls, a man of remarkable mechanical ingenuity
and great business capacity. He was superinten¬
dent of the mills of the Elliot Manufacturing Com¬
pany, and afterwards a large manufacturer of cotton
machinery. His improvements in cotton machinery
have been highly valued for their practical utility.
He was the leader and moving spirit in the enter¬
prise which culminated in the New York and New
England Railroad, and presided over the construc¬
tion and operation of the road through his own
village and beyond. Every part of Newton Upper
Falls bears witness to his wisdom and enterprise.
Marshall S. Rice (died 1879) came to Newton in
1824, purchased the Gibbs place at Newton Centre,
which was the seat of a school in which more than
one thousand boys passed under his tuition. Mr.
Rice was the main support of the Methodist Church
and Society at Newton Upper Falls, superintendent
of the New York and New England Railroad
(Woonsocket Branch, at first the Charles River
Branch Railroad) at the beginning, selectman, rep¬
resentative four years, and town-clerk twenty-seven
years, till the town of Newton became a city.
Thomas Rice (died 1873) was a native of New¬
ton Lower Falls, where he spent his whole life.
He was an eminent paper manufacturer, and one
of the leading men of the town both before and
during the Civil "War. He was selectman twenty-
eight years, and chairman of the board ten years,
state senator, representative, and member of the
governor's council. During the war he was spe¬
cially active as a citizen and patriot, never weary
of service done for the country, the town, or its
soldiers and their families.
Roger Sherman (died 1793), one of the signers
of the Declaration of Independence, was born in
the east part of Newton, near the residence of the
late Rev. Dr. Freeman, on Waverley Avenue.
Judge Edmund Trowbridge (died 1793) was a
graduate of Harvard College, and one of the most
learned lawyers of Massachusetts. He was a mem¬
ber of the council, attorney-general of the province,
and chief justice of Massachusetts. He stood justly
pre-eminent on the bench and at the bar, and exer-
258
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
cised a salutary influence on the younger members
of the profession. Many of the most distinguished
lawyers of the state enjoyed his instruction. His
ofBce and salary came from the crown, and he thus
not only became unpopular, but also lost the glorious
opportunity of becoming one of the noblest of the
sons of liberty.
ColonelJoseph Ward (died 1812) was great-great-
grandson of William Ward, who came from Eng¬
land in 1639. He was a teacher until the battles
of Lexington and Concord, and a frequent con¬
tributor of articles to the newspapers. He was
intimate with the patriots of the Eevolution, and
co-operated with them in bringing about the great
results of the struggle. He served at the battles of
Concord and Bunker Hill, and rode over Charles-
town Heck through a cross-fire of the enemy's float¬
ing batteries, to execute an order from General
Ward, at which time a broadside was fired at him
from a British man-of-war. In 1777 he was ap¬
pointed commissary-general of musters with the
rank of colonel. In the fall of 1778 he was taken
prisoner in New Jersey, and confined for a year in
Elatbush, Long Island. In January, 1780, he was
honored with a complimentary letter from Wash¬
ington for his zeal and faithfulness. He was a
representative from Newton to the General Court
in 1796. He built the house on Waverley Avenue
now owned and occupied by the heirs of the late
Charles Brackett.
Colonel Ephraim Williams (died 1755), eldest
son of Colonel Ephraim Williams, had distinguished
military talents, and commanded the line of Massa¬
chusetts forts on the west side of the Connecticut
Eiver in the war with tlie French and Indians, and
fell in battle near Williamstowu, September 8,
1755. Williams College is the fruit of a donation
left by him in his will. He was never married.
Deacon John Woodward, bom February 4,1724,
was captain, selectman seven years, and representa¬
tive two years, 1783 and 1784. He was modera¬
tor of the town-meeting in 1776, which passed the
unanimous vote, approving the act of Congress de¬
claring the colonies free and independent, and
pledging the lives and fortunes of the citizens to
sustain the government in the struggle for com¬
plete freedom. He was in the battle of Concord,
and loaned £100 to the town to pay the soldiers.
He died May II, 1801, aged seventy-seven.
Deacon Elijah F. Woodward (died 1846) was
prominent in church and town affairs. He was
deacon of the First Church thirty-one years, repre¬
sentative four years, and town clerk and treasurer
twenty years.
We are forbidden by the necessary limitations of
this history to extend these notices of citizens of
Newton who have been distinguished in church
and state, and whose names are worthy of honora¬
ble mention. A richer catalogue of men who have
been benefactors of their race, and whose influence,
reaching abroad in every direction, has been felt
throughout the world, could not easily be recorded.
And if to the honored dead we were permitted to
add the names of many noble men among the living,
to whom Newton has been a cradle or a home,
such as ex-Governor Claflin and ex-Govemor Alex¬
ander H. Eice, — both of whom attained the liigh-
est office in the gift of the commonwealth, and have
been, or now are, members of Congress, — it would
be manifest to the world that this ancient town had
shown itself worthy of its founders, its fame, and
its history.
NORTH READING.
259
NORTH READING.
BY HIRAM BARRtjS AND CARROLL D. WRIGHT.
ORTH READING as a distinct
municipality is of recent date,
although it began to be settled
about 1680. The first refer¬
ence to the territory appears in
1651, in the grant to the in¬
habitants of Reading by the
court, as an addition to their
former bounds, " a certayne
tract of land, about two miles
content," lying between Mr. Bellingham's farm (in.
Ando ver) and the great river (Ipswich). In 1661
Reading ordered that John Smith, Jonathan Poole,
John Browne, Jr., and William Cowdrey lay out
the two-mile grant beyond the river.
The chief points of interest in the early history
of the town, which do not require repeating, are
included in that of Reading, of which it contin¬
ued to form an important part till its incorpora¬
tion in 1853. It was formerly known as the
Second, or North Parish, and was incorporated as
sueh in 1713, and a church in connection with it
was organized soon after, which was the second
church in Reading.
The first meeting-house, built upon the Common
in 1717, was used for a church till the building of
another in 1752. The third, which is now stand¬
ing near the spot occupied by its predecessors, was
built in 1829. This house was relinquished to the
Uuiversalists, who had become a majority of the
parish, in 1836. The lower part of the house was
afterwards fitted up for a town-hall, while the upper
room, during portions of each year, continues to be
used for meetings of the Universalist Society.
The Orthodox portion of the society, after the
surrender of the house, erected a new one, in which
they have since continued to worship.
The following is a list of pastors of the Second,
or North Parish : Rev. Daniel Putnam, ordained
1720, died 1759 -, Rev. Eliab Stone, ordained
1761, died 1822; Rev. Cyrus Pierce, coll., or¬
dained 1819, dismissed 1827 ; Rev. J. W. East¬
man, installed 1828, dismissed 1832 or 1833 ; |
Rev. J. D. Lewis, ordained 1834, dismissed 1836;
Rev. John Orcutt, ordained 1837, dismissed 1842 ;
Rev. E. W. Allen, ordained 1843, dismissed 1852;
Rev. T. N. Jones, ordained 1853, died 1869;
Rev. J. W. Kingsbury, ordained 1872, dismissed
1877 ; Rev. P. H. Poster, ordained 1877.
The more prominent clergymen who have offi¬
ciated as pastors in the Universalist Society, for
terms of varying length, have been Rev. Mr.
Marston, Rev. Mr. Griswold, Rev. Horace Morse,
Rev. G. B. Emerson, and Rev. Earl Guilford.
The Baptist Society, in the North Parish, was
formed in March, 1817. The church was organized
in April, 1817, with twenty-four members. Their
first house of worship was built in 1828, and burnt
in 1860. The pastors have been : Rev. J. M.
Driver, settled October, 1828, dismissed 1829;
Rev. George Matthews, settled January, 1830,
dismissed 1834 ; Rev. William Heath, settled
June, 1836, dismissed 1841; Rev. J. Holbrook,
settled July, 1841, dismissed 1842; Rev. J. N.
Sykes, settled August, 1842, dismissed 1843 ^
Rev. Benjamin Knight, settled April, 1845, dis¬
missed 1846; Rev. P. E. Cleaves, settled May,
1847, dismissed 1851 ; Rev. A. C. Bronson, set¬
tled June, 1851, dismissed 1854; Rev. E. W.
Pray, settled Pebruary, 1855, dismissed 1857 ;
Rev. Horace Eaton, settled April, 1862, dismissed
1863; Rev. W. K. Davy, settled 1863, dismissed
1868; Rev. A. W. Ashley, settled April, 1868,
dismissed 1870 ; Rev. Charles P. Myers, settled
June, 1872, dismissed 1873 ; Rev. William L.
Brown, settled December, 1877, dismissed 1879.
The town was prompt in action on matters per¬
taining to the war of 1861. At a town-meeting
held May 4, $1,000 were appropriated for relief
of the families of the soldiers, and $500 for the
soldiers. An appropriation not to exceed $1,200
was voted, April 26, 1862, for families of volun¬
teers, and $200 for sick and wounded soldiers and
for transportation and burial of those falIpT^ in
battle. July 25, the selectmen were instructed to
enlist twenty-one men to fill the quota under the
260
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
pending call, and to pay each volunteer a bounty
of $100. It was also voted to pay the same
bounty to each volunteer belonging to the town
who had already enlisted. August 14, it was
voted to pay a bounty of $ 150 to fill the next
quota, and $4,500 were appropriated for that ob¬
ject. An appropriation of $500 was made No¬
vember 16, 1863, for the benefit of discharged,
invalid, and disabled soldiers and their families.
March 26, 1864, it was voted to raise $ 1,600 to
pay bounties to volunteers. The treasurer was
authorized to borrow $2,500 to pay volunteers for
future calls. It was voted, August 22, to pay a
bounty of $ 125 " for each man of the present
call." Meetings were held in January and March,
1865, in which votes were passed to continue re¬
cruiting and the payment of bounties.
The town furnished one hundred and thirty-
one men for the war, a surplus of seven above
all requirements. The town expended for war pur¬
poses, exclusive of state aid, $15,315. State aid
raised for the families of the soldiers amounted to
$11,828.37.
Flint Memorial Hall is a fiiie building, erected
and donated to the town by Mrs. Charles F. Flint.
It cost nearly $20,000, and contains a public
library of fifteen hundred volumes, towards which
Mrs. Flint contributed $1,000. She has also
given $3,000 as a permanent fund, the income
of which is to be devoted to the support of the
library. The hall was dedicated with appropriate
services October 21, 1875. An address was de¬
livered on the occasion by Hon. George B. Loring.
On each side of the hall are slabs containing the
names of the soldiers and sailors who died in the
Civil War.
Among the men of note who were natives of the
town was Eev. James Flint, D. D., born in 1779.
He graduated at Harvard College in 1802, was
pastor in East Bridgewater from 1806 to 1821.
In the latter year he removed to Salem, where he
was installed pastor of the East Society. He died
in 1855. He was a man of varied and extensive
culture. He won distinction as a scholar, preach¬
er, poet, and critic.
Eev. Timothy Flint, bom 1780, graduated at
Harvard College in 1800, and was pastor in Lunen-
burg, from 1802 to 1814. " He was well known
in America and on the other side of the Atlantic as
the author of various works, that have given him a
rank among the most distinguished writers of the
country." He died in 1840.
It is worthy of mention that a daughter of
General Stark, the hero of the battle of Benning¬
ton, resided here for about twenty years, and died
June 18, 1870, at the age of eighty-eight years.
She married Samuel Dickey, of Manchester, New
Hampshire, and was the mother of eleven children.
Her youngest daughter, Mrs. Charlotte Stark
Campbell, the youngest grandchild of the general,
with whom Mrs. Dickey spent the last twenty years
of her life, is Still a resident here. She confirms
the. statement that the name of her grandmother
was not-" Molly," but Elizabeth. She thinks it
quite probable, however, that the general used the
expression, "Molly Stark," as claimed in the tra¬
dition. It was one of the pet names he often
applied to her. In later years he more frequently
called her " Deborah."
The town statistics for the year 1878-79
give, as the total valuation, $444,518; total tax
assessed, $7,792.06; rate of tax per $1,000,
$16.40; number of houses, 203 ; number of acres
of land assessed, 7,564 ; number of horses, 148 ;
cows, 249; town debt, $19,445; number of
polls, 251.
The census for 1875 gives the whole number of
manufacturing establishments in the town as twen¬
ty-two ; number of persons employed, one hundred
and seventeen; capital invested, $42,225; value
of manufactures, $ 145,071. Number of per¬
sons employed in agriculture, one hundred and
twenty-five; value of agricultural productions,
$78,000. The population of the town in that year
was nine hundred and seventy-nine.
The people of the town have always taken special
interest in educational matters. A private acad¬
emy, through the influence of Colonel Daniel Flint,
was opened about 1825, and flourished for several
years. A high school was established by the town
in 1868, which, notwithstanding the limited popu¬
lation, is still maintained.
The number of schools in town is six; the
whole number of pupils attending the schools in
1878 was one hundred and sixty-four; total
amomit expended for support of schools for
that year, $2,124.62. This sum represents very
nearly the amount annuaUy devoted to the support
of schools.
PEPPERELL.
261
PEPPERELL.
BY LORENZ
ETTLEMENTS in the part of
Groton west of Nashua Eiver
were commenced as early as
1720. In 1742, the number
of families having increased to
forty-two, a petition from them
to be set off as a distinct pre¬
cinct was granted by the Great
and General Court. Groton
West Parish included all the
territory bounded southerly by the road as then
travelled from Pitch's Bridge to Townsend, west¬
erly by Townsend, northerly by Dunstable West
Precinct and Old Town, and easterly by the
Nashua River. As a parish, it was empowered to
act for itself in matters of a parochial nature, but
in all other respects it still remained a part of
Groton.
At the first legal meeting of the parish, January
17, 1743, all the requisite officers were chosen,
and ten pounds lawful money were voted to defray
necessary charges. At a subsequent meeting, Feb¬
ruary 16, Samuel Wright was appointed a com¬
mittee to provide preaching till the last day of
April next ensuing ; and it was voted " to build
a meeting-house at the most convenient plaee near
Jo. Blood's fordway." During the two years or
more before the house was built, public worship
was held in the house of Enosh Lawrence, at the
East Village, and in the house of Nehemiah Ho-
bart, near where Elijah A. Butterfield now lives.
So much dissatisfaction was manifested in re¬
gard to the location of the meeting-house, that
before the expiration of the year a parish meeting
was called, the vote reconsidered, and another
passed, " to locate the meeting-house three fourths
of a mile northeast of the centre of the town, or
at the next convenient place." The result was a
fierce contention, which at one time threatened the
disruption of the parish. As a final resort, an
appeal was made to the General Court, which ap¬
pointed a committee to adjust the matter. The
parish also chose a committee " to show the
i p. BLOOD.
Court's Committee the inhabitants of the place."
So promptly was the busmess attended to and set¬
tled, that the parish voted, February 19, 1745,
" to set the Meeting-House on the Place that the
General Court perfixed" which is the spot still
occupied by the meeting-house of the First Parish.
The house — forty-two feet long, thirty feet
wide, and twenty feet to the eaves — was soon
after raised, and finished sufficiently to be occu¬
pied in the early part of the year 1745 ; although
it was not completed for several years, as appears
from the following recorded votes : —
March, 1745, "to build the Pulpit and y* Body
seats below ; — to seal the Meeting House as high
as the girts all Round."
March, 1746, "that Windows be cut where
needed. Provided that they who cut them. Main¬
tain them at tiieir own Cost, so that they be no
Parish Charge."
March, 1749, "to finish the building the seats
in y' Gallery, and to seal y® Meeting House from
the Gallery fioor up to the beams." Also, "to
Glaze the Public Meeting House, and to provide
boards to Lay Loose on y® fioor overhead."
The house at the best could have been but little
better than a barn ; and it must have required no
little exercise of fortitude and resignation to sit
through the lengthy services in an unfinished and
unwarmed house, especially in mid-winter. But
our hardy ancestors had not attained to the mod¬
ern ideas of church luxury nor of parish debt.
In the settlement of a minister they appear to
have proceeded in a more united and prayerful
way. March 13, 1744, the parish voted "to
keep the last day of March instant a day of fast¬
ing and prayer to Almighty God for direction in
the important affair of settling a minister." It
seems rather unfortunate that in this vote the
location of the meeting-house was not also in¬
cluded.
A church was gathered on the 29th of Janu¬
ary, 1747, consisting of fifteen male members and
about the same number of females, most of whom
202
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
had withdrawn from the church at Groton, for the
purpose of forming this. On the 25th of Febru¬
ary following, Eev. Joseph Emerson of Maiden
was ordained and settled in the gospel ministry
over the church and parish. He received a settle¬
ment of forty acres of land within half a mile of
the meeting-house, and £120 j also a yearly salary
of thirty-five cords of firewood cut and delivered
at his door, and £62 10i., to be increased £12
10«. when the parish should contain one hundred
ratable families ; the number of families at that
time being seventy-two. This salary was regu¬
lated according to the price of provisions from
year to year; but the plan occasioned consider¬
able difficulty, and after a few years was by mu¬
tual consent of pastor and parish abandoned, Mr.
Emerson receiving annually £73 6«. %d., reckon¬
ing silver at six shillings per dollar, and at six
shillings and eightpence per ounce.
Municipal and Political. — On the 12th of
April, 1753, Groton West Parish became a dis¬
trict by act of the General Court, and was named
Pepperell in honor of Sir William Pepperell, the
hero of the memorable capture of Louisburg in
1745. Mr. Emerson had been a chaplain in that
expedition, and probably suggested the name of
his old commander as the name of the new dis¬
trict. Sir William acknowledged the comphment
by the customary present of a bell, which, how¬
ever, was never received by those for whom it was
intended. It was cast in England, bearing the in¬
scription of the donor's name, and the couplet,
" I to the church the living call.
And to the grave I sunmiou all."
It was shipped to Boston, and stored there. One
tradition is, that it was destroyed ' by the British
soldiers during their occupancy of Boston. An¬
other story is, that the people of Pepperell, being
so earnestly engaged in the great struggle for in¬
dependence, neglected to send for the bell uiitil it
had been sold to pay the expenses of storage, etc.
As Sir William Pepperell died in 1759, neither of
these reasons is very satisfactory. Still another
version is, that a committee of three, afterwards
changed to one, was chosen by the town, to go to
Boston and get the bell; that he went, sold the
bell, and, having put the proceeds into his pocket,
returned and reported the bell non inventus.
But no record of any such committee, or of any
action of the district in reference to this bell, can
be found in the town records.
Mr. Emerson's previous experience and his mar¬
tial proclivities led him to take an active interest in
military matters. To his influence and encourage¬
ment, undoubtedly, was due much of that militaiy
and patriotic spirit which characterized the inhabi¬
tants of Pepperell, and which furnished so many
brave officers and soldiers from among her citizens.
Indian hostilities had nearly ceased before Pep¬
perell became a separate parish, although for, several
years after Mr. Emerson's settlement the men car¬
ried their guns uith them to meeting. As inhabi¬
tants of Groton, they had had their full share of
Indian warfare. Many were the thrilling tales of
the red man's attack and the white man's bravery ;
of Indian cunning and of Chamberlain's circum¬
spection, told by the granddames of a generation
ago, as received from their grandmothers, whose
husbands, fathers, and brothers were the heroes of
the story.
In 1758 a company for the French War was en-
listed under the command of Captain Thomas Law¬
rence. Previous to their departure to join the
army, Mr. Emerson preached a sermon to the com¬
pany, congratulating the men for the cheerfulness
and becoming seriousness with which they had en¬
gaged in this affair. Thus he encouraged them:
" Boldly, then, advance into the heart of your ene¬
my's country. Fear them not; let it never be said
of a New England soldier, — let it never be said of
a Pepperell soldier, — that he was afraid to feice his
enemies, or that he turned his back on them, and
cowardly deserted the cause of his country." The
brave and stalwart captain was obedient to the in¬
junction of his minister. While out with a rang¬
ing party of about twenty, he was surprised by the
Indians, and, with the exception of a few who fled
at the first fire, the whole party were killed while
fighting desperately ; not one was taken alive.
Trained in sueli a school, and inspired by so zeal¬
ous an apostle of liberty, the people of Pepperell were
all prepared to enter with ardor into the contention
between parliament and provinces, which led to
open hostilities and war. They were among the
first to notice and protest against the arbitrary acte
of the British Ministry, and among the first to sus¬
tain that protest by active and forcible measures.
District meetings were called, which were fully
attended, and at which resolutions were unani¬
mously passed, instructing their representatives in
the legislature " by no means to join in any meas¬
ures for countenancing or assisting in the execu¬
tion of the said Stamp Act"; to exert themselves
" in the Great and General Assembly to the utmost
PEPPERELL.
263
for the regaining of such privileges as have been
wrested from us, and establishing those we do en¬
joy " J and to be ever watchful that they* " be not
induced by any means to consent to any vote or
votes in the Great and General Assembly that may
have a tendency to weaken our constitutional rights
and privileges." Eesolutions of sympathy, en¬
couragement, and co-operation, " at the risk of life
and treasure," were sent to the Committee of Cor¬
respondence in Boston ; and a .Committee of Safety
was chosen to act with the committees in other
towns. In January, 1766, Mr. Emerson preached
a thanksgiving sermon on the repeal of the Stamp
Act, and this sermon was printed for general circu¬
lation. A company of minute-men was enlisted,
which, with companies in Hollis, New Hampshire,
Groton, and other neighboring towns, was included
in a regiment, of which William Prescott was ap¬
pointed colonel, and Henry Woods major. The
Pepperell company was commanded by Captain
John Nutting.
William Prescott was born in Groton Centre,
February 20, 1726, but before he was of age had
removed tb the'West Parish, and taken a farm in the
tract called Groton Gore. He had been a lieutenant
of provincial troops in 1755, and on his return from
the expedition to Nova Scotia had been promoted
to a captaincy.
About nine o'clock on the morning of April 19,
1775, a messenger from Concord arrived in Pep¬
perell with tidings of the fight at Lexington, and
the advance of the redcoats towards Concord.
Colonel Prescott immediately gave orders to the
companies in Pepperell and in Hollis to march to
Groton, and join the other companies there. So
well prepared were the Pepperell minute-men, and
so ready for such an emergency, that they arrived
at the Groton rendezvous, five miles distant, before
the company there was ready to march j and after a
halt of a few minutes they marched on without
waiting for the other companies.
Abel Parker—afterwards Judge of Probate for
Cheshire County, New Hampshire, and father of
the late Chief Justice Joel Parker — was plough¬
ing on his farm two or three miles distant ; but as
soon as he heard the alarm, leaving his oxen un¬
yoked, he seized his gun in one hand and his best
coat in the other, started on a run, and did not stop
until he overtook his comrades, about three miles
below Groton.
Another of Captain Nutting's company, Edmund
Bancroft, afterwards captain, had just started for
Maine when the messenger arrived at his father's
house. His father ran out into the field, and
mounting a large rock called to his son, who re¬
turned to the house, changed his clothes, took his
gun, and started towards Concord.
Colond Prescott, with his regiment, hastened on
to Concord ; but, being unable to overtake the
British on their retreat, proceeded to Cambridge,
and made that place his headquarters.
The women of those towns were not a whit in¬
ferior to the men in patriotism and courage. After
the departure of the minute-men, the women in
the vicinity of the bridge over Nashua River (uow
the covered bridge) collected, dressed in their
absent husbands' clothes, and armed with such
weapons as they could find. Having chosen Mrs.
David Wright commander, they patrolled the road,
determined that no enemy to freedom should pass
that bridge ; and to good purpose, for soon they
had the satisfaction of arresting Captain Leonard
Whiting, of Hollis, a noted tory, and the bearer
of despatches from Canada to Boston. He was
searched, and the treasonable correspondence which
was found in his boots was sent to the Committee
of Safety, while he was detained as prisoner.
Of the fifteen hundred provincial soldiers who
fought at the memorable battle of Bunker Hill,
Pepperell furnished the commander and about
sixty men, of whom eight were killed and eight
wounded, as follows : —
Killed, — Joseph Spaulding, aged thirty-seven;
Nathaniel Parker, Jr., aged thirty-three; William
Warren, aged twenty-eight ; Ebenezer Laughton,
aged twenty-seven; Wainwright Fisk, aged tweu-
ty-four ; Jeremiah Shattuck, aged twenty-one ;
Edmund Pierce, aged forty-four ; Benjamin Wood,
aged twenty.
Wounded, — William Spaulding, John Adams,
Abel Parker, Moses Blood, Simon Green, Jonathan
Stevens, Thomas Lawrence, 3d, Wilham Green.
Colonel Prescott remained in the service until
the close of 1776. He was stationed at Govern¬
or's Island, New York, until the American troops
were obliged to retreat from New York, when he
withdrew his regiment in such good order as to call
forth the public commendation of General Wash¬
ington. In the fall of 1777 he, with several of his
former officers, went as a volunteer to oppose the
onward march of Burgoyne, and was present at the
surrender of the formidable but discomfited army,
which, according to the British programme, was
destined to insulate New England from the other
264
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
colonies, and thus effectually crush the rebellion.
This was Colonel Prescott's last military service.
He retired to his farm in Pepperell, where he
passed the remainder of his days, honored by his
fellow-citizens, whom he served in the various
municipal offices of town-clerk, selectman, magis¬
trate, and . representative to the legislature. He
died October 13, 1795, at the age of sixty-nine.
In person he was of tall and commanding stat¬
ure, and well-marked and intellectual features ; in
deportment he was plain and courteous; in dis¬
position, kind and benevolent, — liberal even to a
fault, and always ready to assist others to the neg¬
lect of his own business.
The old homestead still remains in possession
of the Prescott family, having descended to the
son, Hon. William Prescott; to the grandson,
William H. Prescott, the historian; and to the
great-grandson, William G. Prescott, Esq., the
present proprietor ; by each of whom it has been
occupied during the summer and autumn months
as a country residence.
By an act of the legislature passed in 1786,
applying to all the districts incorporated previous
to 1777, Pepperell became a town; although it
appears that from 1776 it had made its records as
a town, and chosen representatives, who were ac¬
knowledged and received as such by the legis¬
lature.
The military spirit of the town was kept up for
many years. The 17th of June was a red-letter
day, whose celebration quite overshadowed the
4th of July. About 1820 a voluuteer militia
company was organized under the name of the
Prescott Guards. Prom this company were pro¬
moted the following officers of the old 6th Kegi-
ment : Colonel William Buttrick, General George
Green, Major Joseph G. Heald, Major Luther S.
Bancroft, Colonel Samuel Pepperell Shattuck,
Major George T. Bancroft, Colonel Alden Law¬
rence, Major E. A. Parker, Colonel E. P. Jones.
On the 15th of April, 1861, Colonel Jones re¬
ceived an order from headquarters to muster his
regiment on Boston Common forthwith.^ Although
the regiment embraced over thirty towns, yet in
a few hours seven hundred men were in Boston,
ready for duty, over twenty of whom were from
Pepperell.
The record of the old 6th, its march through
Baltimore on the twice memorable 19th of April,
the service it rendered the government at a most
critical period, the vote of thanks passed by Con¬
gress for its " alacrity, patriotism, and bravery," —
have all become a part of the history of our
country.- The number of soldiers enlisted from
Pepperell during the war was nearly one hundred
and fifty, of whom fifteen were killed, or died from
disease contracted in the army.
The Worcester and Nashua Eailroad, which was
opened for travel in 1848, was located along the
eastern bank of the Nashua Eiver, through Groton.
A depot for Pepperell was established opposite Bab-
bitasset Village. Around this station a village
grew up, in all its business and interests identified
with Pepperell rather than with Groton. A new
bridge was built across the river, thus connecting
the two villages, and reducing the distance from
the depot to Pepperell Centre to one mile. In
1857 this depot village, together with about two
square miles of territory in the northeast corner
of Groton, was, by act of the legislature, annexed
to Pepperell.
Ecclesiastical Affairs. —Pepperell was called
upon to offer up as a sacrifice to the cause of lib¬
erty not oidy the eight men who fell at Bunker
Hill, but also her beloved minister. Upon the
assembling of the army at Cambridge, Mr. Emer¬
son immediately repaired thither to visit his nu¬
merous parishioners in Colonel Prescott's regiment;
and it is said that he offered the first prayer that
was made in the American camp. While minis¬
tering to the physical as well as spiritual needs
of the soldiers, he contracted a severe cold which
induced a fever that resulted in his death Octo¬
ber 29, 1775, at the age of fifty-one years. Dur¬
ing the twenty-nine years of his ministry one
hundred and ninety-six persons had been admitted
into the church, and eight hundred and seven bap¬
tized.
lu 1769 a larger and more suitable house of
worship had been erected on the site of the old.
Cornet Simon Gilson, the contractor to build the
new house, took the old one in part payment, and,
having removed it to his farm, now J. M. Bel¬
cher's, converted it into a barn. In 1830 it was
burned by an incendiary.
Preparatory to the building of this new house
a day of fasting and prayer was appointed by the
church, wherein " particularly to humble ourselves
before God, for our uuprofitableness under the
means of grace we have enjoyed in the old meet¬
ing-house, and to entreat his guidance in erecting
a new one." The only question that appears to
have caused any difference of opinion was whether
PEPPERELL.
265
the house should have a steeple, which was finally
decided in the negative. Several years subsequently,
however, the steeple was built.
On the occasion of the dedication of the new
house, March 8, 1770, Mr. Emersoh preached a
sermon from the text, 1 Samuel, vii. 12, wherein
he enumerated the various ways in which God had
helped them; that the number of the inhabitants of
Pepperell had increased, since his settlement, from
seventy-two to one hundred and fifty-two families,
and that their wealth had increased in equal ratio ;
that they had been able to pay the charges of be¬
coming a parish, and then a district, and of build¬
ing a house for worship ; and that peace, love, and
harmony had prevailed in the gospel among them.
Mr. Emerson had indeed lived in peace and
harmony with his people in all their relations of
life, religious, social, and political. Upon the tab¬
let, which the town erected over his tomb, his
virtues are thus enumerated : —
"Stedfast in the Faith once delivered to the Saints.
Fixed and laborious in the cause of Christ and precious
Souls. Exemplary in visiting and sympathizing with his
Flock. Diligent in improving his Talents. A kind Hus¬
band ; a tender Parent ; A Faithful reprover ; a constant
Friend ; and a true Patriot. Having ceased from his La¬
bours his works follow him."
Nearly four years passed after Mr. Emerson's
death, when his successor, Eev. John Bullard of
Medway, a Harvard graduate, was ordained, Octo¬
ber 19, 1779. His ministry of forty-two years was
prosperous and happy. He was eminently social
in his habits, and is spoken of by a contemporary
as "of that almost peculiar urbanity which led him
to treat all men of learning and of fair moral char¬
acter as friends and companions." He died Sep¬
tember 18, 1821, at the age of sixty-four, truly
lamented by his people, who long cherished his
memory.
Eev. James Howe, of Jaifrey, New Hampshire,
a graduate of Dartmouth and of Andover, was
ordained October 16, 1822. For several years
the relation between pastor and people was har¬
monious, but at length dissatisfaction began to
be expressed by certain of the more liberally in¬
clined in regard to exchanges. In May, 1831,
the following vote was passed at town-meeting :
"To excuse Eev. James Howe from preaching six
Sabbaths in the course of the ensuing year, and
permit the pulpit to be supplied on those Sab¬
baths by ministers of other denominations." The
enforcement of this vote Mr. Howe regarded as
an expulsion from his pulpit. Accordingly he.
with nearly the entire church and a large major¬
ity of the congregation, peaceably withdrew, and
formed a separate religious society under the title
of the Evangelical Congregational Society of Pep¬
perell, to which the church allied itself, and of
which Mr. Howe was recognized as pastor by a
council called for that purpose February 1, 1832.
Thus the town was divided into two parishes and
two churclies ; each church, however, claiming to
be the original First Church of Pepperell.
The First Parish, which now included all the
legal voters that had not " signed off," and the
remnant of a church which adliered to it, being
thus left without a minister, after having heard
several candidates, decided in favor of Eev. Charles
Babbidge of Salem, a Harvard graduate (class of
1828), and he was ordained February 13, 1833.
A gentleman and a scholar in the fullest import of
the phrase, courteous and affable to all without
distinction of sect or party, he soon gained the
esteem of his people. He married, January 1,
1837, Miss Eliza Ann Bancroft, daughter of one
of his parishioners, — Luther Bancroft, Esq. ; he
bought a farm, built a house, and so fully identi¬
fied himself with the people of Pepperell and their
interests, that he several times refused calls to
much larger congregations and more eligible pul¬
pits. He is almost a permanent member of the
school-board; and in 1858 he represented the
town in the legislature. At the commencement
of the late war he was chaplain of the 6th regi¬
ment, and the first minister in the country to
enlist ; thus giving to Pepperell the honor of fur¬
nishing the first chaplain for the War of the Ee-
bellion as well as for the Eevolution. Having
served through the three months' campaign of the
6th, he received, in November, 1861, a commis¬
sion as chaplain of the 26th Massachusetts Eegi-
ment, in which he served three years. Being
discharged November 7, 1864, he returned to the
peaceful pursuits of his professional life, and to
his people, who gladly welcomed him. Although
he has passed the allotted age of threescore and
ten, and the golden wedding of his ministry is
near at hand, yet " his eye is not dim nor his
natural force abated."
During the greater part of Mr. Babbidge's ab¬
sence Eev. John A. Buckingham, of Boston, sup¬
plied his pulpit as pastor in charge. The old
meeting-house having been remodelled and mod¬
ernized, was dedicated anew October 27, 1836.
The Second Parish, immediately upon their or-
266
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ganization, commenced to build a commodious
meeting-housCj which was dedicated October 31,
1832. Previous to this time their public services
had been held in au unfinished hall over the store,
where the town-house now stands. Mr. Howe,
having an hereditary tendency to consumption,
found his healtli and strength gradually failing,
until he was obliged to ask for a colleague to as¬
sist him in his labors. After a trial of several
candidates, the choice fell on Kev. David Andrews
of Dedham, a graduate of Amherst and of Andover,
and he was ordained January 29,1840. Mr. Howe
died the following summer, July 19, 1840, aged
forty-four.- He was a man of unusual sagacity and
foresight. With remarkable tact as well as judg¬
ment, his administrative abilities were of a high
order. Very few ministers could have led off
so successfully, and withal so peaceably as he,
so large a majority of church and congregation.
Tliere was no legal controversy, no actual quarrel.
A spirit of bitterness, iiowever, was developed
among the people, and the town was divided into
two politico-theological parties, which existed for
many years. But the ministers of the opposing
sects, although they could not meet each other
theologically, always met as gentlemen, on the
common ground of Christian courtesy.
Mr. Andrews, who became sole pastor on Mr.
Howe's decease, was, in many respects, quite differ¬
ent from his predecessor. Though a thorough
scholar and forcible writer, he was no orator. Kind
and sympathizing, he was externally cold and un¬
congenial. A. perfect gentleman at heart, in his
deportment he was awkward and constrained. He
had no policy, no finesse, but in everything pursued
an honest, straightforward, outspoken course. He
preached the gospel, as he believed it, plainly, and
with a directness that was often more pungent than
agreeable to his hearers. More than ten years of
the best portion of his life were literally devoted to
his church and society, and he learned, by bitter
experience, that republics are ungrateful. He
asked a dismission, which was granted April 2,
1850. He afterwards preached several years at
Tiverton, Rhode Island, and then went to the West.
He settled in Winona, Minnesota, where he resided
till his decease, in 1870.
Rev. Lyman Cutler of Dorchester, a graduate of
Dartmouth and of Andover, was ordained Jan¬
uary 22, 1851. He was a superior scholar, with
a ready command of language, and a nervous style
of thought and delivery, which thrilled his hearers
to the fingers' ends. Open-hearted and free from
guile, he won the regard of all. But he was am¬
bitious for literary distinction, and unsuited to the
parochial duties of a country parish. His request
for a dismissal was granted November, 1853. The
following year he was settled in Newton, where, af¬
ter a brilliant but brief career, he died. May 2,1855.
Rev. Thomas Morong, a graduate of Amherst
and of Andover, was ordained April 12, 1854, and
dismissed November 4, 1855.
June 11, 1856, Rev. Edward P. Smith, a grad¬
uate of Yale and of Andover, was ordained pastor
of the church and society. He was endowed with
remarkable executive ability. With him, to think
was to act ; so much so that he was liable to
hastily follow his first impulse, rather than wait for
the sober second thought. In his preaching and
in his whole life — pastoral, civil, and political —
this characteristic was prominent. At the begin¬
ning of the Rebellion he took an active part in
arousing the people and procuring enlistments.
Having obtained a monthV leave of absence in
January, 1863, he attached himself to the United
States Christian Commission, and went to the
front. The month's absence was extended in¬
definitely, and a dismissal was asked for. But
the society were unwlling to grant it, vainly
hoping that, after the war, he could content him¬
self with the quiet life and circumscribed sphere
of Pepperell. At length, December 7, 1864, his
repeated request for a dismissal was granted. At
the close of the war he engaged with his natural
ardor in the cause of the freedmen, and held a
prominent position in the American Missionary
Society. He was afterward Indian agent in Min¬
nesota ; then was appointed commissioner of Indian
affairs. Having resigned this position and been
elected president of Howard University, he went
to Africa, to become more intimately acquainted
with the needs of the Negro race, and the most
feasible methods for missionary work among the
native tribes. While on this mission he died of
African fever, on board of the United States vessel
Ambrig, in the Gulf of Guinea, June 15, 1876,
aged forty-nine. One of his colaborers thus
writes of him : " He was noted for his love of cliil-
dren, his mirthfulness, his generosity, his strong
attachments, and his advocacy of the cause of the
oppressed. Doing good in forgetfulness of self
was his business, and he pursued it to the end.
In July, 1859, the meeting-house was en¬
tirely destroyed by fire, together with Mr. Luther
PEPFERELL.
267
Tarbell's tavern and store buildings, in which the
fire originated. The house had just been repaired,
and the basement finished into a convenient vestry,
which the congregation were expecting to use for
the first time on the ensuing Sabbath. Inste?td of
which, they met, ou that Sabbath, in the Unitarian
house, whose use for the afternoons had been cor¬
dially tendered, and listened to an impressive dis¬
course by Mr. Smith, from the text (Isa. Ixiv. 11),
" Our holy and our beautiful house where our
fathers praised Thee is burned up with fire." Af¬
ter considerable delay, occasioned by a want of
unanimity on the question of location, the present
commodious and "well-arranged house was erected
on the site of the old one, and dedicated Jan¬
uary 29, 1860.
The same council that concurred in the dismis¬
sal of Mr. Smith ordained Eev. S. L. Blake, a
graduate of Middlebury and of Andover. Having
preached acceptably to - the people four years, he
asked for a dismission December 28, 1868, in
order to accept a call from the Old South Church,
in Concord, N. H. His successor was Eev. Horace
Parker, a graduate of Amherst, who had previously
been settled in Asliby. He was installed March
17, 1870, and dismissed September 16, 1873, on
account of poor health. During his pastorate, and
through his active efforts, a debt of nearly $1,000,
which had gradually accumulated, was wiped out,
and some $200 additional raised for repairs of the
meeting-house. A parsonage was also bought.
After a year and a half of unsatisfactory and
unsuccessful trial of candidates, Eev. George P.
Swain, the present incumbent, accepted a call, and
was ordained May 12, 1875.
The first serious endeavor to introduce the ser¬
vices of Methodism in Pepperell appears to have
been made in the winter of 1865-66, under the
labors of Eev. A. D. Merrill and Eev. M. M. Park-
hurst, at the North Village school-house. The
following spring Parker's Hall, at the East Village,
was hired, and Eev. G. Adams was sent from the
New England Conference as the first pastor of
a cnurch which was organized May, 1866. The
succession of ministers has been as follows : Eev.
M. E. Barry, 1867; Eev. Asa Barnes, 1869; Eev.
A. W. Baird, 1871 ; Eev. J. H. Emerson, 1874 ;
Eev. J. E. Gushing, 1875 ; Eev. Alfred Noon,
1877.
Li 1873, through the zealous and untiring la¬
bors of Mr. Baird, a fund was raised sufficient to
build a commodious church edifice in Babbitasset
Village, where has been gathered a large and flour¬
ishing society.
About 1871 a Catholic chapel was built in the
Depot Village. Services are held there twice a
month by the priest from Ayer.
Educational History. — In 1741 the town of
Groton voted to have a school, kept a part of the
time at Nissitisset, which was probably the first
school on the west side of the river. In 1749 a
petition from the parish for means of supporting a
school was granted by the town of Groton, on con¬
dition that a school-room be provided without ex¬
pense to the town. This condition being fulfilled,
the town granted the sum of £13 6«. 8^. In
1751 the parish voted to raise £7 10«. for school¬
ing, and that the school be kept at the nearest con¬
venient place to the meeting-house; and that all
who lived more than two miles distant might draw
their proportion of the money, and use it for
schooling as they might see fit. In 1754 the dis¬
trict voted that the school be kept in three places,
but afterwards changed the number to two. A
school-house in the Centre is first mentioned in
1764. It stood on the corner where the town-
house now is. In 1770, it was voted to have the
school successively in four difiierent parts of the
district, in dwelling-houses. The school-house
is again mentioned in 1771, and a vote passed to
have a grammar master ; but the school-house
appears to have belonged to individuals; for in
1772 the district voted to pay £10 13«. 4ff. for it,
and also to build four more. About this time the
district was divided into six squadrons, as they were
called, — middle, west, southwest, north, south,
and east ; and a committee of three persons in each
squadron was annually chosen to see that the money
appropriated was properly expended. In 1809 the
name of squadron was changed to district, and the
districts designated by numbers.
In 1819, No. 7 was formed from the eastern
part of No. 1, and the following year No. 8 was
taken from the western part of No. 6. In 1849,
No. 9 was formed from parts of No. 3 and No. 5.
The territory east of Nashua Eiver, on its annexa¬
tion to the town in 1857, became District No. 10.
In 1868 the town voted to abolish the district
system, and since then the schools have been rmder
the entire control of the school committee ; although,
for convenience, the old numerical districts are stül
retained.
The appropriations for support of schools in
various years have been as follows: 1758, £-10;
268
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1768,£25; 1778,£400 (continental); 1788, £90;
1798, £150; 1808, $500; 1818, $600; 1828,
$750; 1838, $850; 1848, $1,000; 1858, $1,200;
1868, $1,500; 1878, $2,400.
In September, 1833, Mr. Erasmus D. Eldridge,
a graduate of Amherst, who liad previously taught
in Pembroke, New Hampshire, opened a private
school for the fall in school-house No. 1. The
school was so successful that an interest in educa¬
tion, already awakened among the prominent citi¬
zens, was increased so much that iu February
following an association was formed, with a capital
of $ 1,000, in forty shares, for the establishment of
an academy. An eligible lot was bought for $100,
and Dr. Nehemiah Cutter, who was always ready to
forward to the utmost any public improvement, con¬
tracted to build a suitable building for the remain¬
ing $900. So expeditiously was the work carried
on, that in July, 1834, the school-house was dedi-.
cated with appropriate services ; and Mr. Eldridge,
who had returned in the spring, and reopened his
school, took possession of the same, with fifty-two
pupils, under the name of the Pepperell Academy.
Mr. Eldridge, although a stern disciplinarian,
was, when off duty, exceedingly social and lively.
A shrewd observer of human nature, and endowed
with a full share of executive ability, he possessed
in an eminent degree the faculty of making a school
popular. Excelling in the natural sciences, he in¬
clined more to practical methods of teaching than
was usual at that day. He extemporized a chemi¬
cal apparatus, with which he gave experiments in
frequent lectures to crowded and astonished audi¬
ences. With only a school-building, without a
dollar in funds or a single volume of library, and
with no apparatus, except of his own furnishing,
he succeeded in making Pepperell Academy the
most flourishing institution in the vicinity. Stu¬
dents flocked to-it from a distance of twenty miles
or more. In the catalogue for 1836 we find the
total number of scholars during the year to be :
males 90, females 82, with an average attendance
of 70. Of these 44 were classical scholars, and
90 were from other towns.
At the close of the fall term in 1837 Mr. El¬
dridge resigned, in order to enter the ministry.
The teachers that have succeeded him are as fol¬
lows; Eev. George Cook till September, 1838;
Hervey B. Wilbur till March, 1839 ; Willard Brig-
ham till May, 1840 ; Horace Herrick till May,
1841 ; Josiah Pillsbury till September, 1842 ;
Charles Cummings fall term of 1842 ; Moses Case
from March, 1843, till May, 1844; J. E. B. Jew-
ett till November, 1844 ; Moses Case from March,
1845, till November, 1847 ; J. Stone till May,
1849 ; E. E. Boynton till May, 1850 ; Eev. Z.
M. Smith till November, 1851 ; L. P. Blood from
April, 1852, to November, 1853 ; Charles S. Far-
rer the fall term of 1854.
An act of incorporation was granted by the
legislature of 1841, and a board of fifteen trustees
chosen in accordance therewith. But the real estate
having been originally conveyed in such a mamier
that the corporation could have no v<alid title to
the property, the trustees could only superintend
the management of the school. The interest iu
the school gradually decreased, and there is no
record of any meeting of the trustees after March,
1855. The building stood ready for the occu¬
pancy of any respectable and competent person
who might be willing to take possession and ojieu
a school. It was thus successively occupied for
a shorter or a longer time by H. T. Wheeler, S.
C. Cotton, D. W. Richardson, Miss Caroline A.
Shattuck, and A. J. Huntoon. In 1860, A. J.
Saunders opened a school, which he successfully
maintained for several years.
The building had been kept in repair by funds
raised by fairs, tea-parrties, and similar spasmodic
efforts at sundry times. Occasionally the teach¬
ers had paid for necessary repairs, rather than at¬
tempt to collect from the public.
In 1864, the town having voted for a school of
higher grade, and appropriated $700 for the pur¬
pose, the academy building was also appropriated^
and Mr. Saunders, being in possession, was dis¬
posed of by being appointed .principal. This high
school was sustained for four years and then discon¬
tinued till 1873, when it was again established, and
continued six years, and then again discontinued.
Meanwhile about $800 had been raised by sub¬
scriptions for additional shares of stock in the
academy, and the building, having been remod¬
elled and repaired throughout, has been rented to
the town for school purposes.
In 1850 a boys' boarding-school was opened
by Eev. David Perry in the house that stood on
the spot now occupied by J. E. B. Jewett. This
school was quite successful; but iu May, 1853,
the whole establishment was destroyed by fire, to¬
gether with the boarding-house and insane retreat of
Dr. N. Cutter and Dr. J. S. N. Howe. Mr. Perry
removed his school to Brookfield, but returned
with it to Pepperell in 1857, and established it
PEPPEBELL.
269
on the farm now owned by Colonel S. P. Shattuck.
Upon the decease of his wife, about three years
after, he abandoned the school and left town.
A female boarding-school was commenced in
1852, in the house now Mrs. Hutchinson's, and
for several years was quite a success under the
management of Mrs. A. E. Conant and her two
daughters.
A public library was established by the town in
1877. It now numbers over 3,000 volumes, and
is very generously patronized by the public.
Industrial. — In the petition to be set oif as a
parish, the territory of Pepperell was not inaptly
described as " good land well situated." The sur¬
face is undulating, in the western part decidedly
hilly. The town is noted for its beautiful scenery
and fine drives, and attracts during the summer
months many visitors from the cities. Along tlie
Nashua Eiver are several fine intervales. The soil
is generally good, and well adapted to fruit-culture,
to which considerable attention is paid.
During the earlier history of the town the prin¬
cipal industry was farming, almost every farm-house
being supplemented by a cooper's shop, wherein the
enforced leisure of winter was improved in making
barrels for the Boston market. Panning is still
the chief business, although the cooper-shops have
nearly all disappeared.
Por many years the Centre, with its meeting¬
house, post-office, and stores, to say nothing of the
tavern, was the principal village. Two miles north
of this is the North "Village, a cluster of about
a dozen houses, on the Nissitisset River, a small
stream affording here a privilege, which has, from
time to time, furnished the power for a saw and
grist mill, a carding and clothier's mill, a shoddy-
mill, and now a paper-mill. About one and a
quarter miles below, on the same stream, is the
East Village, which in earlier times rejoiced in
the name of the Lower Store, and later, in the
possession of a large tavern, and still later, a post-
office, which has been removed to the Depot Village.
Here are the grain and lumber mills, and also the
machine-shops of Blake Brothers, manufacturers
of the Blake turbine water-wheel. Some hundred
rods below this are the Nissitisset Mills, owned by
H. A. Parker & Co., who manufacture batting,
wrapping-paper, and leather board ; and have also
an extensive lumber-mill and grain-mill. A paper-
mill was located here as early as 1820.
About 1834 Mr. And Emerson built a paper-
mill at Babbitasset Palls, on the Nashua. This
privilege, one of the best on the river, had hereto¬
fore been utilized for a clothing and carding mill,
and was known as The Porge. Two paper mills
were burned, and the property passed through sev¬
eral ownerships, with varied success or want of it,
until in 1862 Mr. H. M. Clark obtained possession
of the whole property, and immediately commenced
to develop its capacities. There are now, owned
by S. D. "Warren & Co., two first-class mills,
which employ about one hundred and twenty-five
hands, at a monthly pay-roll of $4,000, and make
one hundred and fifty tons of paper per month.
In the manufacture of tinted paper they claim es¬
pecial excellence.
Babbitasset Village in 1833 contained six houses,
and upon the territory now occupied by the Depot
Village, on the opposite side of the river, there was
in 1847 one house. The two villages now form
one, which, with over one hundred and twenty
dwellings, has become the business part of the
town. Much of its prosperity is due to the enter¬
prise and success of Mr. Prank Leighton, shoe
manufacturer. His factory having been destroyed
by fire in March, 1879, a new one, with all the
modem improvements, has already been completed,
with a capacity for furnishing employment to five
hundred persons.
270
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
READING.
fBY HIRAM BARRÜS AH
HE town of Reading, which for¬
merly included the present
towns of Reading, Wakefield,
and North Reading, was once
the domain and hunting-ground
of the Saugus tribe of Indians.
They cultivated the lands bor¬
dering upon the Great Pond
(now Lake Quanapowitt), and
the proofs of their residence
here are seen in the numerous implements of stone
still found in the vicinity.^
The colonial records show that in September,
1639, the inhabitants of Lynn petitioned "fora
place for an inland plantation at the head of their
bounds." A tract of land four miles square was
granted, with the condition " that the petitioners
shall, within two years, make some good proceed¬
ing in planting, so as it may be a village fit to
contain a convenient number of inhabitants, which
may, in due time, have a church there."
In 164.0 the court ordered that "Lynn Village,"
the name first given to the new settlement, should
be exempted from taxes as soon as seven houses
be built and seven families settled." The town
was incorporated May 29, 1644, by the name of
"Redding," in honor of Reading in England,
whence, it is said, some of the first settlers of Lynn
Village came. The four miles square included
nearly the same territory now constituting Reading
and Wakefield. The first settlements were made
near the southern part of the Great Pond. The
names of the earliest settlers are in doubt, the
first records of Lynn and Reading being imperfect.
It is believed that the following named persons,
with their families, were residents about the
time of incorporation: Nicholas Brown, Thomas
Clark, John Damon, William Cowdrey, George
Davis, Robert and Samuel Dunton, Josiah Dustin,
Jonas Eaton, William Eaton, Zachariah Fitch, Isaac
' ilr. James H, Carter of Wakefield has a very fine collection
of arrow-heads, stone pestles, hatchet-heads, and other Indian
relies found here.
I CARROLL D. WRIGHT.
Hart, Thomas Hartshorn, William Hooper, Thomas
Kendall, John Laukin, Thomas Marshall, William
Martin, John Pearson, John Poole, Thomas Par¬
ker, Francis Smith, John Smith, Jeremy Swayne,
Thomas and Edward Taylor, Richard and Samuel
Walker, John Wiley.
Those who have had occasion to examine the
early records of the town assume that portions have
been lost, but they seem to forget that the boards of
town officers, common enough at the present, did
not for some years exist. The different officials
were created from time to time as the exigencies
of the situation seemed to require. No provision
appears to have been made for some years for call¬
ing town-meetings, or for keeping records of their
doings.^
The earliest entry in the records of this town is
dated the 6th of the eleventh month, 1644, when
land was given John Poole. An agreement was
made with him to build a water-mill for the use of
the town. He was to keep it in repair at his own
expense, and attend to grinding corn two or three
days of the week unless more days were required.
The town gave him control of the river and such
land as should be needful for the mill. It agreed
neither to set up, nor to allow to be set up, any other
mill within the bounds of Reading to hinder the
custom of said mill, so long as said Poole, his heirs,
etc., should well and sufficiently grind for the town's
use. The mill was built near the present site of
the Rattan Works in Wakefield.
Several grants of land were made at the same
date to other persons who appear to have been resi¬
dents.
The first church was organized in 1644 or 1645,
being the twenty-fourth in the colony. A house
of worship was probably built about the same time.
The absence of records indicates that it was done
® Meagre records seem to have been a cause of general com¬
plaint. In 1639 the court, referring to the imperfect records kept
in civil suits, decree that fuller records be kept, as they might be
of good use as precedent for postenty. The loss of early town
records, so often lamented, may be largely due to the fact that
they never existed.
READING.
271
In May, 1648, Eev. Henry Green, first pastor of
the church, died. Eev. Samuel Haugh, of Boston,
succeeded him, and began preaching here in No¬
vember, but was not ordained till March, 1650.
He was educated at Harvard College, but did not
graduate. He died March 30, 1662, in Boston,
at the house of his brother-in-law, Hezekiah
Usher. He left a large estate, appraised at £1,822
Is. hd. The church, at his ordination, had forty
members.'
In 1649 the town ordered that "there being
manni sad acsidantes in the Con tree by fire, to the
great damning of many, by joining of barnes and
haystackes to dwelling houses ; tharfor, no barne
nor haystacke shall be sett within six poEes of anni
dwelling house opon panilte of tenue shillings."
Also, ordered, "that every dwelling house shall
have a suffieient lather [ladder] standing by the
chimney for the preventing of the damage of fire,
and this to be binding by the tenth day of April,
1650, opon the panilte of tenne shillings."
The court gave Prancis Smith leave to draw wine
in Beading for the refreshment of travellers and
others.
It is quite uncertain whether a town-clerk was
chosen by the town for more than forty years.
The court in 1641 ordered that in every town
there should be appointed a person to grant sum¬
monses, attachments, etc., who should be called
"Clark of the Writtes," to be chosen fora year,
and till others should be chosen in their room. The
court made the appointment for the different towns
then existing. The " darks of writs " in 1642
were required to keep records of births, deaths,
and marriages. William Cowdrey, in 1649, was
chosen for this town.^ The town records as kept
by him became more full from year to year, but
no record of the choosing of a town-clerk by the
people appears till the annual meeting in 1682,
when the records say, "Goodman John Bach-
elder was chosen clerk for this day." This form is
changed in 1687, when Deacon Nathaniel Cowdrey,
' Fire almanacs printed in Cambridge for the years 1646 to
1650, once belonging to Rev. Mr. Haugh, interleaved, and con¬
taining much valuable information written by him, were sold at
auction (March, 1879) for $283.50. They belonged to Mr.
Brinley, of Hartford. The family of Judge Sewall, who was
guardian of Mr. Haugh's children, had possession of them for
many years, and disposed of them to Mr. John K. Wiggin, of
Boston.
s William Cowdrey prohahly held the office of Clerk of Writs,
till his death in 1687. "Clerk for this day,"—a phrase for
" clerk fro tern."
by individual effort rather than at the charge of
the town. The first pastor of the church was Eev.
Henry Green; the first deacons were Zachariah
Fitch, John Pearson, Thomas Kendall, Thomas
Parker, and William Cowdrey.
A military organization was a necessity of the
times, and " the Reading Infantry Company," with
Richard Walker, a brave officer for its captain, was
soon formed. The next recorded act of the town
was in 1647, levying a tax on boards sold or car¬
ried out of town. In this year seven men, Robert
Dunton, Francis Smith, William Cowdrey, Ser¬
geant Marshall, Henry Felch, William Martin,
and Richard Walker, were chosen "to order all
the prudential affairs of the town except giving of
land and timber." Similar boards continued to be
chosen, and ten years later were called "select¬
men." In 1648 appeared the first vote relative to
the callitig of town-meetings.
Old Sonth Chnrch.
Land was given Timothy Cooper, which, if he
did not come and build house or fence upon, re¬
verted to the town, and he was " to pay 50 shillings
for disappointing them of an inhabitant." Though
inhabitants seemed to be at a premium, yet due
care was exercised in the distribution of land, and
the town ordered "that no land should be given any
man but what shall be propounded orderly at town-
meeting to be considered till next meeting, then to
be given or not given ; that so nothing may be done
liastily."
272
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
son of William, is recorded as town-clerli " for the
ensuing year."
Surveyors of fences and highways were first
chosen in 1648, and a constable in 1649. The
town-meetings, as might be inferred from the
manner of calling tliem, occurred at irregular pe¬
riods till 16.57, wiieii it was o.rdered that there
should be two annual meetings, — cue on the 1st
or 2d of December, the other on the 1st or 2d of
February. The selectmen were chosen in Decem¬
ber and the minor officers in February. In 1674
the December meeting was discontinued.
In October, 1651, the court granted to the in¬
habitants of Reading, in addition " to their former
fower miles, .... about two miles content," the
territory that is now North Reading.
A division of lots on Woburn line was made in
1652 among thirty-four male inhabitants wliose
names are given, and are supposed to be all the
adult males belonging to the town.
It was ordered, in 1653, tiiat "no man shall
fall any Oak, Spruce, or Pine trees, fit for boards,
within three miles of the meeting-house, except for
his own use, under a penalty of five sliillings for
every tree." Measures were taken in the follow¬
ing year for preventing unnecessary waste of trees
for fuel. Thomas Browne, the disli-turner, had
liberty to fell ash and maple trees on condition
that he paid " scott and lotte^ to the town of Red¬
ding." Walter Fairfield had " free liberty " to
fell trees for his trade on the same terms.
A county iiighway was laid out from Andover
to " Reddinge," four rods wide " except through
the common fields of Reddinge, and the renot to
be less than two rods wide."
Henry Felch, "for departing the publique as¬
sembly when the ordinance of baptism was about
to be administered, was admonished by the Court
of his sin, and was ordered to pay costs to Jonas
Eaton, two shillings."
William Cowdrey was empowered, in 1654, "to
sell wiue of any sort, and strong liquors to the
Indians, as to his judgment shall seem most meet
and necessary for their relief in just and urgent
occasions, and not otherwise, provided he shall not
sell or deliver more than one pint to any one In¬
dian at any one time upon any pretence whatever."
Ensign John Smith, having been licensed to keep
an "ordinary," was fined two shillings for not
having a sign.
' " Scott and lotte," — a contribution laid on persons aceording
to their ability.
The town received a complimentary notice at
a very early date. Johnson's Wonder-Working
Providence, published about 1654, says : " Bead¬
ing is well watered and situate about a great pond,
besides it hath two mills, the one a Saw-MiU, the
other a Corn-Mill, which stand on two several
streams ; it hath not been so fruitful for children
as her sister Woburn hath; her habitation is fallen
in the very center of the country ; they are well
! stocked with cattle for the number of people.
Tliey have gathered into a church, and ordained a
pastor from among themselves at the same time ;
a young man of good abilities to preach the word,
and of very humble behavior, named Mr. Green,
he having finished his course, departed this life
not long after, whose labors are with the Lord.
After liim succeeded in the place one Mr. Hoph, a
young man, one of the first fruits of New England,
a man studious to promote the truths of Christ."
In 1655 there were twenty slaves in town, four¬
teen males and six females.
The town was vigilant in regard to all that
affected the morals of the people, and in 1662
ordered that " no woman, maid, nor boy, nor gall
shall sit in the south alley and east alley of the
meeting-house, upon penalty of 12 if. for every day
they shall sit there And every dog that
comes to meeting either on the Lord's day or lec¬
ture day, except it be their dogs, that pay for a
dog-whipper, the owner of these dogs shall pay six¬
pence for every time they come to meeting."
Rev. John Brock, third pastor of the First
Ciiurch, was ordained November 13, and on the
following day married the widow of his predeces¬
sor who died a few months before.
In 1667 it was agreed "that all the privileges of
land, timber, and commons shall belong unto the
present houses now erected, and to no other that
shall be erected hereafter." There were at this
time fifty-nine houses. The next year it was or¬
dered " that no man after this date shall come
into the town here to inhabit, without the consent
of the town ; but he shall put in security, to secure
the town of all charges that shall come thereby."
That part of the town now called Reading was
styled, in 1673, " Wood End," probably with ref¬
erence to the large amount of wood growing there
in comparison with that in the First Parish, where
the lands had been cultivated by the Indians.
Frequent votes by the town indicate a scarcity of
wood and timber, and stringent measures were
adopted for their preservation.
READING.
273
King Philip's War began in 1675, and Eeading
was required to furnish its quota of troops. Among
those known to have entered the service were
Major Jeremiah Swayne, Captain Jonathan Poole,
Thomas Bancroft, Samuel Lamson, David Bach-
elder, James Case, Samuel Damon, Gabriel Taylor,
Thomas Nichols, William Eoberts, Nicholas Lunn,
John Arnold, William Arnold, William Bobbins,
Thomas Brown, Ebenezer Plint, Daniel Plint,
Joseph Hartshorn, John Weston, and Bichard
Smith. A tax was assessed upon the towns in the
colony amounting to £1,553 6i. Of this sum.
Beading paid £16 9i. Wcl., twenty-eight towns
paying more than this, and twenty paying less.
A garrison-house was erected in what is now North
Beading, in which the people could take refuge,
and defend themselves against the Indians. The
marks of Indian bullets might long be seen upon
the doors. Other houses were built with plank
walls lined with bricks as a defence against the
common foe.
The council issued orders to Captain Swayne, of
Beading, as follows : " Captain Swaine, — The
Council having taken into consideration the present
state of matters as to the common enemy, do judge
meet to order that forthwith upon receipt of this,
you garrison, and as soon as may be draw up the
garrison soldiers under your command, of the towns
of Hadley, Hatfield, Springfield, and Westfield, and
with them to march to Deerfield, and the places
thereabouts and then search for and destroy the
common enemy."
There were two prominent military men in town
at that time. Captain Jonathan Poole and Captain
Jeremiah -Swayne, between whom there seems to
have been a strong feeling of rivalry. Both were
efficient officers, and had done good service against
the Indians. In October, 1675, Captain Poole was
in Hatfield when the garrison was attacked by
about eight hundred Indians. Captain Poole, with
his men, made a spirited defence at one point,
while the veteran Moseley defended another. The'
fight was desperate ; but the Indians proved no
match for the English, by whom they were repulsed
at every point. Captain Poole was quartermaster
under Captain Hutchinson in 1671.
A petition was sent from the town to the Gen¬
eral Court in 1677, from which it appears that an
election of captain was pending, and the town was
divided into two partie? concerning the matter.
The petitioners said : " It begins to have infiuence
in Town matters, to strive to circumvent one another
in our Actions which wee feare will have a bad con¬
sequence. Therefore, wee humbly intreate the
Honored Court that you would be pleased to issue
the case for us, and settell some abell and meete
person in the place of a Capten amongst us that our
strife may be at an ende." The court cut the knot
by appointing Swayne as major; and Poole became,
or continued to be captain, but died the next year,
greatly lamented. He was ancestor of Hon. Hor¬
ace P. Wakefield, M.D., formerly of this town,
recently superintendent of the State Almshouse at
Monson.
Cafrtain Swayne was the younger, and perhaps
the more ambitious man. He was employed on
important expeditions, and has a good record in
the history of those trying times. He was a lieu¬
tenant under Major Appleton in the Narragansett
Fight, where he received a severe wound. David
Bachelor, of Beading, was wounded at the same
time.
Ill August, 1688, Major Swayne was appointed
by the court "as commander-in-chief of all the
forces raised and detached out of the several regi¬
ments within the colony, against the Kennebec
and Eastern Indians and their confederates, with
power to fight, take, kill, and destroy the said
enemy by all the ways and means possible." He
received ten pounds as an outfit for the expedi¬
tion. He had his headquarters at Salmon Falls,
in Berwick, Maine, and was engaged in several
battles. Major Swayne was a physician, and held
the offices, at various times, of justice of the peace,
selectman, reiiresentative, and assistant. The court
granted to him and to Samuel Damon, Samuel
Lamson, William Bobbins, James Pike, Jr., and
Samuel Nichols, of Beading, and others belonging
in Lynn, Beverly, and Ringham, a tract of land in
the "Nipmug Country," eight miles square, "for
their services in the late Indian war." Major
Swayne died in 1710, aged sixty-seven.
An assessment of ten pounds was laid in 1686
upon the tax-payers of the town, numbering nine¬
ty-one persons, to raise money to pay the Indians
for the territory of Beading purchased some years
previously. The deed was not signed till 1687.
The Indians who signed it claimed to be descend¬
ants and near relative's of Sagamore, " George-No-
Nose," whom they affirm to liave been the true
owner of the land that the towns of Beading and
Lynn stand upon. Four sign by their mark,
and one only writes out his name in full, "James
Quonopohit." His wife, Mary, is also one of the
274
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
signers. They are described as of Natickj and it is
pleasant to know that this James Qnonopohit, as
the name was then spelled, was one of the Apostle
Eliot's " praying Indians." He was often em¬
ployed during King Piiilip's War in assisting our
people and officers in their expeditions against
Philip. James and his brother Thomas, then about
eighty-six years old, were at one time in active
service with Captain Henchman as guides.
Lake Quanapowitt undoubtedly received its name
ill honor of James Quonopohit, but we are not told
when, or by whom, the " Great Pond " was chris¬
tened with its present name.
Eev. John Brock, third pastor of the church,
died in 1688. He was born in England in 1620 ;
graduated at Harvard College in 1646 ; preached
in Bowleg and at the Isles of Shoals; he was settled
in Beading twenty-six years.
Cotton Mather, in his Magtialia, gives some re¬
markable instances of answers to his prayers. It
was said of him, "He lives as near heaven as
any man on earth." His successor was Bev. Jona¬
than Pierpont (H. U. 1685), who was ordained
June 26, 1689. He was pastor till his death, in
1709. He was held in much esteem. A contem¬
porary said, "He was a man of great worth."
Judge Se wall speaks of his death as "a very great
loss." The second meeting-house was built about
1689. Subscriptions were received towards its
building from seventy-two persons in Beading,
twenty-six in Lynn End, now Lynnfield, and nine
in Charlestown End, now Stoneham.
A company of soldiers from Beading joined the
Canada expedition in 1690. Ephraim Savage was
captain. The witchcraft lunacy prevailed to some
extent in this town in 1692. Lydia Dustin, Sarah
Dustin, — probably daughters of Josiah, and per¬
haps maiden ladies, — Mary Taylor, and Sarah,
wife of Nicholas Bice, were arrested for witchcraft,
and imprisoned in Boston, but were finally ac¬
quitted. Mrs. Bice was kept in jail from June to
October, when her husband petitioned the court for
her release. He declared he " had lived with her
above twenty years, in all which time he had never
reason to accuse her of impiety or witchcraft ; but
the contrary, she lived with him as a good, faithful,
dutiful wife, and always had respect to the ordi¬
nances of God, .... and it is deplorable that,
in old age, the poor, decrepid woman should lye
under confinement in a loathsome jail, when her
circumstances rather require a nurse to attend
her." She was soon after liberated.
The town voted in 1693 to have a free school
kept.
For several years the town had been taxed
toward the maintenance of the Mystic Bridge in
Medford, which the people of Beading were
obliged to pass over in going to Boston. In 1693
thé town voted " that they will not be at any charge
to repair Mystic bridge, unless compelled to it by
law."
The town voted, 1694, "that there should be
only one house of entertainment in town"; and
also voted "that there shall be shade trees left
upon the common " ; chose for first time a separate
board of assessors, and paid for fitting up the house
where Master Lines kept "scoole," — probably
Nicholas Lynde. Joseph Upton was schoolmaster
in 1694-95. The selectmen agreed with Joim,-
than Poole, in 1697, for keeping "a scolle to tech
the young people to wright, to read, and to cast
up accounts, soe far as said Poole could, and they
cappable to larne in the time." In 1701 the se¬
lectmen agreed with John Herbert to teach the
children in " reding, wrightiug, and sifering," at a
salary of £11 per year in money.
Stephen, son of Samuel Dix, was drowned in the
Great Pond in 1705, at the age of thirteen years.
Samuel was son of Balph, who came to Beading
from Ipswich in ,1662. The late General John A.
Dix of New York has stated that " Anthony Dix,
who came to Plymouth in the second vessel that
reached there after the landing of the Pilgrims, was
the common ancestor of Balph Dix and myself."
In 1706 five of a party of Indians who had at¬
tacked Dunstable came to the dwelling of John
Hamden, in the northwesterly part of Beading,
now included in Wilmington. They entered tlie
house at night, through the roof, in the absence of
the father, and killed Mrs. Harnden and three of
eight children, and carried the others away; but
the captives were recovered.
The inhabitants on the north side of Ipswich
Biver, now North Beading, in 1709 asked advice
of the town " where to sett their meeting-house.'
Tiie town voted that the school be kept in the
Wood End one quarter of the time this year.
In the exjjeditions, sent against the French and
Indians in Canada and Nova Scotia, in this and
the following years, forty-six soldiers went from
Beading.
Bev. Biehard Brown, graduate of Harvard Col¬
lege in 1697, was ordained pastor of the church
in Beading in 1712, and, like his predecessor, died
READING.
275
after a pastorate of twenty years. The church, in
January, 1720-21, had a membership of two hun¬
dred and thirty-six persons, belonging in the ter¬
ritory now embraced in the towns of Melrose,
Stoiieham, Wilmington, North Beading, Lynn-
field, Beading, and Wakefield. Three churches,
Lynnfield, North Beading, and Stonehara, were
formed during the pastorate of Mr. Brown, which
reduced the number in his church to one hundred
and eighty-four. The North Precinct was set off
as a distinct parish in 1713. Its first meeting
was held November 27, Sergeant George Plint
serving as moderator, and Jobn Harnden as clerk.
The town voted, in 1714, to give them £30;
" one half when they finish their meeting-house,
and the other half when they build a ministerial
house." The town voted this year " to procure a
new Bell, not to cost over £50.''^
John Browne, captain, selectman, justice of the
peace, and representative, " witty, yet wise, grave,
good, among the best," as his tombstone says, died
in 1717, aged eighty-three.
Eev. Daniel Putnam, from Danvers, a graduate
of Harvard College in 1717, was ordained pastor
of the second church in Beading (North Beading)
in 1720, which then had thirty-nine members.
Six families were here in 1680 ; eight other fami¬
lies in 1684; five more before 1687 ; eight more
before 1690. There were fifty-three tax-payers in
this precinct in 1720.
In 1723 the town voted to petition the General
Court concerning a free course for the fish to come
to Beading.
The church records in the North Precinct men¬
tion "a terrible earthquake October 29, 1727,
which lasted at times three months." In 1728
the town voted to accept their proportion of the
bills of credit issued by the General Court.
The town voted, in 1729, to try to get rid of
mending Mystic Bridge in future. The town met
at Landlord Wesson's, to hear the Indian deed of
the township read. The north part of Maiden,
now Greenwood, of ten families, was annexed to
Beading.
The meeting-house,in 1730, was "seated" by a
committee under instruction that " real estate and
age are the two first and chiefest rules to go by in
seating the meeting-house."
The town refused, by a vote of fifty to forty-five to
set off Wood End to be a parish by themselves, but
allowed them £17 a year for support of preaching
among themselves during the winter. The North
Precinct, desiring that a part of Beading, Lynn,
and Andover be set off to them to help support
the gospel, a committee was chosen to go to the
General Court to defend the parish from any
"breaking in" from the North Precinct or else¬
where.
The expenses of the town for 1730 amounted to
£77, of which £36 were paid for schooling. The
receipts were £99, leaving to " ye town's credit"
£22.
Bev. Bichard Brown died in October, 1732.
In the bill of funeral expenses Andrew Tyler, of
Boston, is credited with six gold rings, £10 18«.
Mrs. Martha Brown for wine furnished, £5;
"Bhom" (Bum), 18«., etc. Bev. Mr. Hobby was
ordained pastor of the Pirst Church iu 1733, with
£200 as a settlement gift, an annual salary of
£120, and thirty cords of wood, with the use of
the parsonage. One item in the bill of expenses
for the ordination is " 1 bbl. of wine," costing
£13 8«.
In 1736-37 the throat distemper was preva¬
lent, and thirty children in this town died of it in
the course of six mouths. John Swain lost his
wife and six children by the disease in the course
of two months.
In 1737 Ensign Nathaniel Parker died, and was
the first person buried in the present cemetery in
Beading. Important action was taken by the
town in laying out highways, etc., throughout the
town.
Ill 1741 Bev. George Whitefield preached on
Beading, now Wakefield, Common. A vote de¬
scribing and defining common lands was passed,
requiring them to remain unfenced. Action re¬
specting the burying-grounds in Wood End and in
the Pirst Parish was also taken. The town fur¬
nished its quota of men for the expedition to
Nova Scotia in 1745, and for the war that was
waged for several years after against the Prench
and Indians. It appears that nearly two hundred
men of tins town were in service in those years.^
The Prench Neutrals, who were removed by
order of government from Nova Scotia in 1755,
were distributed among the American colonies.
About two hundred families were allotted to this
state. One family, consisting of Battes Tibbedo
(Baptiste Thibodeaux?), his wife, and eight chil¬
dren, was sent to Beading. The town provided
for them and the colony paid their expenses. In
1 Lists of soldiers in these wars are given in Eaton's HUton/
of Reading.
276
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1760 John (Baptiste?) Tibbedo and Margaret his
wife, with six children, John, Moses, Joseph, Paul,
Mary, and Eli^abeth, and one grandchild, were
removed from' town.
In the same year another Prench family, Francis
Meers, or Mears, with his wife and nine children,
were sent here from Boston, but soon after three of
them were sent to Stoneham, one to Maiden j the
remainder, including the father, were left in Bead¬
ing. In 1763 the town appropriated £2 to Fran¬
cis Mears, " a Frenchman," provided he, with his
family, move to Salem. He probably went away,
but for ten years received assistance from Heading,
mostly in wood, as appears from the records.
There is no positive evidence of the fact, but it is
suggested that the Mears families in this vicinity
may be descendants of this Francis Meers.
ßev. Daniel Putnam, pastor of the Second Church
(North Precinct), died in 1759, after a pastorate
of about thirty-nine years. There were added to
his church, during his ministry, one hundred and
ninety-four persons; he baptized four hundred
and ninety-one persons, and joined one hundred
and eleven couples in marriage.
Bfiv. Eliab Stone, in 1761, was ordained pastor
as the successor of Mr. Putnam. This year, by
payment of £ 14, Reading was relieved of all fur¬
ther expense in " repairing and supporting the
Mystic Bridge in Medford."
The first store in the present town, and perhaps
in the three parishes, was probably opened by
James Bancroft in 1761. He gave notice of hav¬
ing " sundry sorts of West India and other goods,"
which he proposed to sell " as reasonably as they
are sold in Medford, Charlestown, and Boston."
The people for many years did their principal trad¬
ing in Salem. During the winter season they drew
their produce on hand-sleds, going in parties to
market, and bringing back such goods as they
needed.
Rev. Mr. Hobby, pastor of the First Church,
died in 1765, after a settlement of thirty-two years.
He was reputed a man of learning, piety, and abil¬
ity as a speaker and writer. In 1750 and 1751
he was called to sit in the councils in Northamp¬
ton, at the request of Jonathan Edwards, who
wished to have two churches from abroad to coun¬
terbalance, in some measure, the prejudices of thé
churches invited in that vicinity. Deacon Samuel
Bancroft — grandfather of the historian, Hon.
George Bancroft — was one of the delegates.
The people of this town seem to have taken a
constant and active interest in public affairs. A
tomi-meeting, held October, 1765, instructed their
representative in the General Court to join in eveiy
proper measure for a repeal of the Stamp Act, and
" to oppose the execution of it, until the remon¬
strances, petitions, and cries of these distressed
colonies shall reach the ears of our sovereign."
While professing the greatest loyalty to the king,
and to the parliament as the " the most respectable
body of men on earth," they insist on maintaining
" our rights as freebom Englishmen."
The First Parish, in 1768, erected a new house
of worship, near the old one. The residents of
Wood End demurred, and made an effort for sepa¬
ration, which was not successful, although it was
recommended by a committee of the General
Court. The effort was renewed in the next year,
and the Court ordered the division, and incor¬
porated the Third Parish, it being substantially the
same territory that is now included in the town of
Reading. The new parish took many of the best
men and families from the First Parish. The first
meeting was held August 9, 1769. John Temple
was moderator; Samuel Bancroft, clerk; John
Temple, treasurer; John Temple, Samuel Ban¬
croft, and Captain Nathan Parker, assessors.
Money was raised for completing the meeting¬
house, which stood on the south side of the Com¬
mon. It was subsequently removed, and is now
known as the Union Hall school-building.
Rev. Caleb Prentiss, a graduate of Harvard Col¬
lege in 1765, became pastor of the First Parish.
Eighty-eight members of the First Church, in
answer to their petition, were dismissed Febru¬
ary 8, 1770, "in order to their being incorporated
into a distinct church by themselves." This body
established what is now known as the " Old South "
Church in Reading.
Rev. Thomas Haven, the first minister, ordained
November 7, 1770, was a graduate of Harvard
College in 1765. He died May 7, 1782, aged
thirty-eight years. He was the son of Rev. Ehas
Haven, of Franklin, Massachusetts.
The number of voters in the First Parish (Wake¬
field), in 1771, was eighty; in the Second Parish
(North Reading), sixty-six; in the Third (Bead¬
ing), sixty-three. Ten persons were chosen " quir-
isters" in the First Parish, "to tune the Psalm."
Live alewives were put into Martin's Pond by
an authorized committee of the North Parish.
The troubles with the mother country now attract
the public attention, and in January, 1773, ata
READING.
.277
public meeting held in response to a letter from
the town of Boston, the town chose Benjamin
Brown, Samuel Bancroft, Esq., Lieutenant John
Walton, Captain Thomas Flint, Deacon Amos
Upton, Captain David Green, Mr. John Temple,
Mr. William Sawyer, Mr. Andrew Beard, a com¬
mittee to consider and report upon the public griev¬
ances recited in the letter. The report instructs
Deacon Daniel Putman, the representative from
Reading, " to exert himself " that the salaries of
the judges be raised " adequate to their station
and service," so as to render them "as independent
on prince and people as possible." Other griev¬
ances " publicly known " are referred to, and the
representative is instructed " to use his utmost en¬
deavor in every constitutional way to procure a
redress of our grievances, and a restoration of that
happy harmony which lately subsisted between
Great Britain and her colonies." They caution
him against consenting " to measures which may
in the least preclude us or our posterity from as¬
serting our just rights as men and British subjects."
In June, 1774, it was voted that we "maintain
our Charter Rights in every constitutional way."
Also, a committee of nine was chosen to inquire
into present exigencies, and report at a future
meeting. The report is signed by Benjamin Brown,
chairman. It refers to the unjust taxation, the un¬
availing remonstrances, the increasing distresses,
the action previously taken to maintain their rights,
the uncertainty that clouded the future, and to the
fear of taking any action that might counteract
measures that the proposed Congress of Commis¬
sioners from all the colonies might fix upon to
relieve the present distress. The closing paragraph
is worthy of repetition: "We also think it the
duty of every one to refrain from the luxuries and
superfiuities of life, and to the utmost of our power
to encourage our own manufactures, humbling our¬
selves before Almighty God, and earnestly suppli¬
cating him for deliverance j for how much soever
we judge these things unrighteous, as coming from
the hands of men, we must allow they are just, as
sent from God." John Temple and Benjamin
Brown were sent as deputies to the Provincial Con¬
gress, and an appropriation was made for support
of the commissioners. The town, subsequently to
the action of the congress, voted to adopt the senti¬
ments of'the congress as their own, and strictly to
adhere to them. A committee was chosen to carry
their vote into effect. Early in 1775 it was voted
to pay minute-men for three hours' attendance on
parade, twice a week, for three months. May 24,
1775, the town met in the West Parish meeting¬
house (now Union Hall School-house), and voted
to choose a committee of correspondence. Cap¬
tain John Walton, Lieutenant Benjamin Flint, and
Sergeant Jonas Parker, were chosen. It was
voted in July following to add six more to the
committee, and Benjamin Brown, Thomas Sim-
onds, James Flint, Abraham Sheldon, Jacob Emer¬
son, and John Emerson were chosen.
A company of volunteers was early formed here,
which was drilled by Ör. John Brooks, who be¬
came its captain, and was afterwards major, general,
and finally governor of the state. Before the
commencement of hostilities he frequently visited
Boston, and observed the manner in which the Brit¬
ish troops were drilled. He instructed his com¬
pany of minute-men here in the lessons he thus
learned, till they became proficient in military
tactics.^
On the 18th April, 1775, Captain Brooks was
in Boston, and learned of the probable movements
of the British. He returned to Reading, and while
professedly visiting his patients, during the evening,
in different parts of the town, summoned his men
to be ready to march at once. They gathered in
the latter part of the night at Weston's Corner,
in Wood End, and under command of Lieutenant
James Bancroft, marched via Bedford to Concord.
Rev. Edmund Foster, then a young man, a private
in the Reading company, in an account of these
events, wrote : " A little before we came to Mer-
riam's Hill we discovered the enemy's fiank guard
of about eighty or one hundred men, who, on the
retreat from Concord, kept the he^ht of land, the
main body being in the road. The British troops
and the Americans at that time were equally dis¬
tant from Merriam's Corner. About twenty rods
short of that place the Americans made a halt.
The British marched down the hill with very slow
but steady step, without music, or a word being
spoken that could be heard. Silence reigned on
both sides. As soon as the British had gained the
main road, and passed a small bridge near the
1 This company was drilled in the evening in the large kitchen
of the parsonage, now the residenee of Mr. George Gronard. It
was said that the marks made by the guns of the men in the eeil-
ing were visible tiU recently covered by repairs. When General
Lafayette stopped on his way through this town in 1825, and was
waited upon by some of the citizens and old soldiers. Rev. Mr.
Sanborn, in a brief speech, claimed that the first eompany of
minute-men formed in the colonies was this under the commaud
of Dr. Brooks.
278
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
corner, they faced about suddenly and fired a volley
of musketry upon us. They overshot, and no one
to my knowledge was injured by the fire. The
fire was immediately returned by the Americans,
and two British soldiers fell dead at a little dis¬
tance from each other in the road near the brook.
The battle now began, and was carried on with
little or no military discipline or order on the part
of the Americans during the remainder of the day.
Each sought his own place and opportunity to
attack and annoy the enemy from behind trees,
rocks, and fences, as seemed most convenient."
Some of the citizens of Beading shouldered their
arms, and went alone to the scene of action and did
good service. The " trainband " of the First
Parish were ordered by express to Lexington. The
alarm-guns were fired at about eight o'clock in the
morning, and brought the " alarm list " together.
Bev. Mr. Prentiss shouldered his musket and
marched with them, faithfully doing his duty in
hastening the retreat of the British back to Boston.
Some if not all the company of minute-men
were soon after stationed at Cambridge. On the
day of the battle of Bunker Hill, it is said that
they were on guard at headquarters. When
General Washington took command under the shade
of the Cambridge elm, July 3, the Beading men
where there on duty.
There were received, April 26, probably from
Salem, and deposited in Eeading meeting-house
and school-house, one hundred and fifty-one bar¬
rels of pork, sixty-three barrels of flour, six barrels
of beef, and sixteen bushels of rye ; but it appears
that these supplies were immediately removed to
Watertown by order of the commissary general.
June 17, the selectmen were ordered to send forth¬
with all the powder in the town stock to Water-
town, except one pound per man, and June 18,
they were " desired to provide provision sufficient
for the militia of your town, now at Cambridge, and
send it forward soon as may be."
The battle of Bunker Hill, June 17, compelled
the flight of many persons to the neighboring
towns. Numbers came to Beading and remained
here. Mr. Dana Parker, of this town, has an eight-
day clock, still keeping good time, that was with
other things thrown into a cart and brought from
Charlestown on that memorable occasion.
In response to the Committee of Supplies at Wa¬
tertown, Benjamin Brown, chairman of the .select¬
men, and John Walton, chairman of the town com¬
mittee of correspondence, June 22, say: "We trust
we are as ready to assist in defence of our country
as any town in the province ; but the great flow of
the inhabitants of Boston, Charlestown, Mcdford,
Maiden, Salem, and Marblehead, daily flocking into
this town, must, we think, be a sufficient excuse for
not sending provisions. As for blankets, we liave
been obliged to find near a hundred for men en¬
listed out of this town, and they were collected
from house to house, there not being new ones to be
bought."
In November an urgent call was made on the
town for wood for the soldiers. In reply, it was
stated : "We have exerted our utmost that they may
be supplied ; but there being about one hundred
men from this town in the army, we are imder
great difficulty for hewers of wood ; if you will send
up the captain of the company from this town, with
a party of men, to cut wood, we make no doubt our
teams will be immediately employed, and continue
until they carry a hundred cords or more." De¬
cember 4, it was voted that the First Parish carry
fourteen cords of wood, the Second Parish twelve
and a half cords, the Third Parish twelve cords,
per week, to the army on Winter Hill. Subse¬
quently the town is urged, by order of the General
Court, in cousequenee " of the distress of the army
for wood, to supply not only such quantity as has
been set to them, but as much more as they possi¬
bly can."
Nine persons were chosen by the town to carry
wood to the army. Hay was also sent, in answer
to a requirement of the court. The quartermaster
allowed £ 5 per ton for it, and the town voted to
pay what it cost more than that.
A census of the state taken in 1776 shows Bead¬
ing to have been the second town in the county in
population. In May the town voted unanimously
to adhere to the determination of Congress relative
to independence, and stand by it to the last, with
their lives and their fortunes.
Lieutenant-Colonel Archibald Campbell and
seven other Highland officers were sent prisoners
to the West Parish, with some women and chil¬
dren. They were quartered near the post-office in
Beading (the present town), in the house formerly
belonging to Colonel Nathan Parker, and more
recently to Mr. James Davis. They occupied their
time to such an extent in practice with musical in¬
struments, as to be a source of much annoyance
to the citizens. The British officers petitioned the
council for support for their servants, but it was
not granted.
READING.
279
The selectmen petitioned the court for assistance
in supporting about sixty needy persons from Bos¬
ton and Charlestown, called " Donation People."
In August, 1777, the selectmen certify that the
number of men borne on the training-band and
alarm-list is three hundred and forty-eight, and
they request of the honorable board of war the
town's proportion of fire-arms, gunlocks, lead, and
flints. The town also votes £12 for purchase of
lead and flints. Calls are made for men to be in
readiness to march " without delay," and " on the
shortest notice," indicating the frequent emergen¬
cies of the times. The town further showed its
loyalty to the patriot cause by voting that the town
treasurer should receive none but continental bills.
In town-meeting, September 22, 1777, Captain
John Goodwin was added to the committee of cor¬
respondence, inspection, and safety; and Mr. Jona¬
than Flint was chosen " tory prosecutor."
Many of the Beading soldiers were in the battle
of Saratoga, which resulted in the capture of Bur-
goyne and his army. Joshua Eaton was killed
there October 7. Colonel Brooks saw him fall,
and exclaimed to Captain James Bancroft, " Our
brave Sergeant Eaton is gone." Eaton lived on
the Ivory Murray farm, near the Esquire Pres-
cott place in Beading.
The town voted in 1778 to raise £246 12«. to
defray the expense of purchase and delivery of
clothing at Concord, required for the army by the
General Court.
Burgoyne's men were quartered in Cambridge
and vicinity. Some of the Beading soldiers were
in service during the winter of 1778, at Winter
Hill, in charge of the prisoners. It is said that
nearly fifty of the prisoners were quartered in
Beading, in the house near the depot, formerly the
residence of Esquire Sweetser. In repairing the
house a few years since, a metallic spoon, of pecul¬
iar shape, was found, stamped with the British
lion and other devices, indicating that it belonged
to the British prisoners. It is said the prisoners,
for their daily exercise, were required to march
under guard around the Great Pond.
In 1779 pestilence was added to war, the small¬
pox prevailing so extensively that the town took
measures to prevent its spreading. Inoculation
was forbidden. The town chose a committee
against monopoly, and another against forestalling.
Active efforts were made to regulate prices, which
were becoming exorbitant. The town voted to
accept the measures recommended by a convention
held at Concord, "for lowering the prices of the
articles of life," and a committee was chosen for
" regulating internal prices." It was voted, a few
months later, to choose a committee to carry mat¬
ters into speedy execution. The committee was
also required to affix prices to those articles not
regulated by the convention. The meeting was
adjourned to a future day, when the committee re¬
ported. It appearing that people in general were
breaking over the " regulating bill," it was thought
proper not to appoint another meeting.
In the following year the town was required
to furnish twenty-three militia soldiers for three
months, twenty-three continental soldiers for six
months, and twenty-three for three years, or during
the war ; and it is recorded that the town always
filled its quota. In October and December requisi¬
tions were made upon the town for 36,000 pounds
of beef for the army, and the town voted to
raise £56,000, Old Tenor, for purchase thereof.
In July following it was voted to raise £250 in
silver to purchase 9,866 pounds of beef for the
army ; and also voted that their treasurer receive
£1 of new emission for £40 of old emission, or
£ 1 in specie for £75 of old emission. In 1782
the town voted to empower the treasurer to sell
new emission bills at the rate of three dollars for
one in hard money. At a later date a committee
was chosen for taking up "inimical Fellows."
No important votes pertaining to the war appear
on record after this date.
On the 19th of May, 1780, occurred what is
called the Dark Day. Captain Joseph Bancroft
recorded : " On this day there was an uncommon
darkness from 10 to 2 o'clock, and the evening
after not to be forgot by me, I trust, while I live."
In 1782 occurred the death of Bev. Thomas
Haven, first pastor of the church in the West
Parish, in the twelfth year of his ministry; "a most
sorrowful event to the people of his charge." The
parish bought back the parsonage estate they had
sold to him. Troubles also culminated in the
First Parish in an attempt to dismiss Bev. Mr.
Prentiss. The chief objection against him was re¬
specting his Arminian sentiments ; but the parish
" voted to dismiss the whole," and the pastor re¬
mained.
The town had its " relic of barbarism," and it is
said that previous to the Bévolutionary War nearly
every large landholder here had a slave. In 1723
Benjamin Pool advertises his negro man who had
run away. In 1753 Thomas Nichols sold a negro
280
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
woman and boy to Phineas Sprague, of Maiden, for
£33 6i. 8 c?. In 1754 Deacon Eaham Bancroft,
in his will, ordered his negroes sold. At this time
there were twenty colored persons here, and in 1765,
thirty-four. Several gained their freedom hy en¬
listing in the army. One of these, called " Sharper,"
and " Sharper Preeman," was brought from Africa,
and was believed to be the son of a king. He
lived till about ninety years old, and received a
pension from the government.
The Beading Social Library was formed in 1786,
and Hay Nichols was chosen librarian.
The Shays Eebellion, in 1786, necessitated the
calling out of men to support the government, and
a dozen or more went from the First Parish.
The church in the West Parish, after the death
of Mr. Haven, found it a difficult matter to unite
upon a successor. The Calvinistic and Arminian
members did not harmonize, and it is said that
more than thirty candidates were called before one
was found to accept. Finally; Eev. Peter Sanborn,
after considering the matter for nine months, ac¬
cepted, and was ordained June 9, 1790. He was
a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1786. He
was an impressive and earnest preacher, and there
were several revivals during his pastorate. It is
said that in the revival of 1810 there were but
few houses in the parish that did not have family
worship. He first married Miss Mary Stimpson,
an adopted daughter of Daniel Chute, Esq., and
for a second wife Miss Martha Wakefield. He had
a family of fourteen children. He was dismissed
June 7, 1820; died August 8,1857. He has two
sons in the ministry now living, Eev. Pliny F. and
Eev. George E. Sanborn.
The town appropriated for schools, in 1791, £ 80,
and voted not to hire any " school-dames." But
a different spirit prevailed in the following year ; the
vote of 1791 was ignored, and female teachers
were employed. The public health was duly cared
for, and no person coming from a town infected
with the small-pox was allowed to pass the smoke¬
house without being smoked ; none but the inhabi¬
tants were allowed to have the small-pox in town,
and those wishing to have it (by inoculation) must
go to a house provided for the purpose, and pay
the expense thereof.
The first library in the West Parish (now Eead-
ing), was established in 1791, and was known as
the Federal Library. Eev. Peter Sanborn was
librarian till 1814. It had sixty members, and
existed about forty years.
Fires for warming the churches were for a long
time not allowed, and the ladies carried footrstoves
for their comfort during the long services in the
winter. In 1794 the West Parish voted that a
stove might be put in their meeting-house, "if in-
dividuals will pay the expense."
The Baptist Society ih the First Parish was
organized in 1797. Its first meeting-house was
built in 1800. The society provided that the
workmen erecting the frame should have good beef,
well baked, potatoes, bread, cheese, cider, grog, and
enough of each. Eev. Ebeuezer Nelson began to
preach here December, 1801, but was not installed
till the organization of the church, January, 1804.
Eev. Caleb Prentiss, seventh pastor of the First
Church, died February 7, 1803, aged fifty-seven,—
" a good man and faithful minister of Christ."
A private school, or academy, as it was called,
was opened here in 1808, by the Misses Eaton, and
for several years was well patronizedr It was suc¬
ceeded in 1827 or 1828 by another academy, under
the instruction of John Batchelder. Numbers of
young men from this and the neighboring towns
were here fitted for college. Mr. Batchelder gave
up the school in 1843, and it was soon after dis¬
continued.
A post-office was first opened in the present town
of Eeading in 1811. Colonel Nathan Parker^ was
the first postmaster. He was succeeded in 1815
by John Weston, Esq., who held the office till his
death in 1849. L. E. Gleason,the present incum¬
bent, is now in the eighteenth year of his service.
In political matters the three parishes of Eead¬
ing did not harmonize. The South Parish was
largely Democratic; the North and West Par¬
ishes were nearly a unit as Federalists. The South
Parish was the largest of the three, but less than
the two others. Party spirit ruled in town as well
as in national affairs, and it came about that the
leading men of the South Parish were altogether
excluded from public office unless they were of the
few that belonged to the dominant Federal party.
For thirty-three years this condition of things con¬
tinued, and naturally stirred up bad blood, and
finally resulted in a movement on the part of the
South Parish for incorporation as a separate town.
Initial efforts in 1811 to this end were so far suc-
' Colonel Parker was removed in eonsequence of having dis¬
pleased the President by presiding at a meeting which passed
resolutions disapproving the direct tax. John Weston, Esq.,
his successor, served the notice, saying, " It becomes my painful
duty to inform you, sir — " " No pain to me, sir," interrupted
the Colonel, " glad to get rid of it."
REA Dim.
281
cessful, that the separation was completed by the
incorporation of South Eeading as a town early in
1812.
The declaration of war this year against Great
Britain called the early attention of the town to
national matters. A town-meeting was called, and
the question, whether the town was in favor of the
war, being put, the record with emphatic brevity
says, "No man voted in favor of said war." But
the town did not allow its political prejudices to
overwhelm its patriotism, and it subsequently
voted that the wages of such soldiers as were " de¬
tached" should be made up to $15 per month;
and if the whole militia were called out their wages
should be made the same. The selectmen were
also directed to provide baggage-wagons to be in
readiness when wanted for the soldiers.
The War of 1812 in a rather singular manner
gave to the town its first fire-engine. The war
being unpalatable to many of the citizens, to avoid
service in the army a fire-company was formed
and an engine bought; thirty-five men to each
engine being exempt by law from service as sol¬
diers. The exempted positions were sometimes
sold at exorbitant prices.
The fire department was created by an act of
1854, and B. M. Boyce served as chief engineer
for seven years. The present chief is Charles H.
Lang. The town owns four engines, and the an¬
nual expenses of the department are about $1,700.
The Bieading Agricultural and Mechanical Bank¬
ing Association was incorporated in 1831. Its
officers were Edmund Parker, president; Warren
Perkins, ' vice-president ; Jonathan Frost, secre¬
tary ; Cyrus Smith, treasurer ; Thomas Smith,
Abiel Holden, Caleb Wakefield, and Eliab Parker,
Jr., directors.
The bank did business in the way of discounts
and deposits, and was very successful till the war
of 1861 brought reverses to its customers, and
compelled the closing up of its affairs.
The Beading Savings-Bank was established in
1869. E. Hunt served as its first president;
Thomas Sweetser, vice-president; N. P. Pratt,
clerk and treasurer, with a board of thirteen direc¬
tors. It was closed in March, 1879, when its
affairs were put into the hands of receivers for
final adjustment.
March 22, 1833, the ladies of this town formed
the Beading Female Antislavery Society. Mrs.
Sarah Beid was president, Mrs. Sarah Parker, vice-
president. The first vote of the society, after
adopting its constitution, was for appropriating
money to aid Hon. William Lloyd Garrison in
his mission to Great Britain. Mr. Garrison says:
" The historical honor belongs to Beading, of giv¬
ing birth to the first female antislavery society
ever formed in this country. It continued for
several years to be an efficient instrumentality, and
helped to give a strong impetus to the whole move¬
ment." To this town also belongs the honor
of having formed the first male society auxiliary
to the New England Antislavery Society. Rev.
Jared Beid was president, Horace P. Wakefield
secretary, Ambrose Kingman treasurer. "This
society was also active and efficient," says Mr.
Garrison, and " for some time Beading continued
to be the banner town in the antislavery conflict."^
On the 29th of May, 1844, Beading and South
Beading celebrated the bi-centennial anniversary
of their incorporation. Deacon Caleb Wakefield
was president of the day. The address was deliv¬
ered by Bev. James Flint, D. D., of Salem, a na¬
tive of Beading. Hon. Lilley Eaton followed with
a historical poem. Toasts and responses were
given, interspersed with vocal and instrumental
music. Four thousand people, at least, were in
attendance, and nearly half the number partook of
the collation. The principal exercises were held
near the spot where the Bethesda Church now
stands. It was then an open field owned by Bev.
Peter Sanborn, who offered its use gratuitously, on
condition they should put up the bars when the
celebration was over.
In 1845 the Boston and Maine Railroad was
opened through this town. The first train passed
over the road July 1. Mr. Calvin Temple was
station agent twenty-one years. The railroad has
greatly changed the business character of the town
and people. Quite a large portion of the active
citizens reside here, but do business in the city.
The originator of the express business, William
F. Harnden, was a native of this town, and learned
the trade of cabinet.-making with his cousin, Syl¬
vester Harnden. He commenced carrying small
packages of money and other valuables between
Boston and New York in 1839. His brother,
Adolphus H., while in his employ, perished in the
steamer Lexington, burned on Long Island Sound,
January 13, 1840.
1 The antislavery ladies of England sent an elegant china tea-
set by Mr. Garrison to the ladies' antislavery society of Reading,
which is still preserved. Each piece bears a cnt representing
a kneeling slave, with manacled hands raised in the attitude of
prayer.
282
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
An association of which Messrs. Stephen Foster
and C. P. Judd were proTninent members, in 1845
did a commendable work in setting out many of
tlie shade-trees that now adorn the principal por¬
tion of the village. Nearly |200 were raised by
subscription for purchasing the trees, and the work
of setting them out was voluntarily performed.
The work of improvement went forward, and in the
next year the Old South Parish purchased thirteen
acres of land north of the old buryiug-grouiid, and
laid it out in lots for cemetery use. Consecration
services were held November 25, in the church, a
severe storm preventing their observance on the
grounds. In 185.3 the cemetery was transferred
to the town on payment of $2,527.41. Since
1870 the cemetery has been managed by a board
of trustees, who have done much towards making
it one of the most attractive rural cemeteries in the
vicinity.
For several years efforts were made to establish
a high school, but the North and South Parishes
could not agree upon a location. The incorpora¬
tion of North Eeading as a town in 1853 removed
this difficulty, and the high school in Eeading was
established in 1856. A course of study was pre¬
scribed, and its first class graduated in 1863. The
standard has been repeatedly raised, and classes
have graduated every year since. The whole num¬
ber of graduates to the present time has been one
hundred and ninety-one. The high-school house
was built in 1867. The present efficient teacher,
Cyrus A. Cole, has been in charge of the school
for ten years.
The town furnished four hundred and eleven
men for the Civil War, a surplus of thirty-four
beyond its quota. Thirteen were commissioned
officers. Under tlie first call of the President,
April 15, 1861, twenty-ohe men enlisted, and on
the 19 th started for Washington, and were in the
first Bull Eun battle. June 4, the town appropri¬
ated $ 5,000 for state aid, and voted to pay each
man who enlisted for the war $25 as an outfit.
July 17, 1862, it voted a bounty of $100 to each
volunteer who enlisted for three years, to the
town's credit. August 26, was voted a bounty of
$150 to each recruit for nine months' service.
The total expenditure by the town, on account of
the war, excluding state aid, was $37,971.11.
Total amount of state aid furnished by the town,
$25,888.84. The ladies of Eeading met two or
three times a week during the war to prepare lint,
bandages, and clothing for the soldiers; but as
they kept no record of the work they contributed,
it cannot be given. One of their number. Miss
Emily Euggles, furnished a representative recruit
for three years' service. In 1863 Abiel Hol¬
den, Esq., bequeathed $500 for the erection of a
soldiers' monument, on condition that the town
would furnish the same amount. The town, in
March, 1865, added $1,000 to Mr. Holden's be¬
quest, and a monument was dedicated, with appro¬
priate ceremonies, October 5. Forty-six names of
" the sons of Eeading who died for their country"
are inscribed upon it. The Eeading Veteran As¬
sociation have since erected headstones over the
graves of those deceased soldiers who had none.
The Franklin Library was formed in 1842, and
continued in operation till 1869, when it trans¬
ferred its four iiundred and sixty-two volumes to
the Eeading Public Library.
The Agricultural Library Association was organ¬
ized in 1860, with N. P. Pratt, Esq., as president.
After existing nine years,^it placed its books in the
care of the town library, for the public benefit.
The Eeading Public Library was established in
1868. Dr. Horace P. Wakefield donated $500
towards it, and the town appropriated the same
amount. E. Appleton was the first, and is the
present president of the board of trustees. The
library is well patronized, and contains, at present,
four thousand one hundred and ten volumes.
The manufacture of shoes, which has been and
still is one of the leading industries in that part of
the town now known as Eeading, was begun as early
as 1758. The business steadily increased, and early
in the present century the goods found their way
to the Southern States and to the West Indies.
The shoes to be sent to market were thrown
into barrels, and packed as solidly as the weight
of a boy could make them by " treading." The
prices for making children's and misses' shoes in
1804 was from seventeen to twenty cents per pair,
and twenty-five to twenty-nine cents for larger
sizes. The value of boots and shoes made in 1837
was $184,583; in 1845, $166,734; in 1855,
$191,500; in 1865, $247,653; in 1875,
$ 185,035. Hands employed in 1837, males 338,
females 494; in 1845, males 358, females 385.;
in 1855, males 267, females 156 ; in 1865, males
244, females 124 ; in 1875, males 93, females 107.
The manufacture of cabinet furniture, beginning
probably in 1810, by Ambrose Kingman, contin¬
ued for many years to hold a prominent place.
He sold out to his brother Henry, who greatly en-
READim.
283
larged the business, and had a store, for sale of
products, in New York. Sylvester Harnden, be¬
ginning in 1833, did a large business in this line
for more than forty years. The number of estab¬
lishments in 1837 was 8; in 1845, 10; in 1855,
13; in 1865, 10; in 1875, 7. Value of goods
in 1837, $ 91,360 ; in 1845, $103,100 ; in 1855,
$305,000 ; in 1865,177,900; in 1875, $133,478.
Hands employed in 1837, 100; in 1845, 131; in
1855, 179; in 1865, 53 ; in 1875, 76.
The high price of hats during the War of 1813
prompted Nathan Weston to commence their manu¬
facture. He made a waterproof stove-pipe hat,
covered with cotton plush ; but this soon fading,
he began to use silk plush, and it is claimed that
he thus became the inventor of the silk hat now
in use. The business was removed in 1819 from
Beading to Charlestown.
The manufacture of clocks was commenced in
this town in 1833, by Jonathan Frost and Daniel
Pratt, Esq. The brass movements were introduced
about 1835. The business was continued here till
1858 or 1859.
Samuel Pierce began the manufacture of organ
pipes in 1847, and supplies a demand that extends
throughout the United States and Canada.
Ill 1857 Mr. Thomas Appleton commenced the
making of church organs, and continued the busi¬
ness here for seventeen years. He was the builder
of thirty-five organs for Boston churches, and
three times as many to be used in nearly every
principal city in the Union. His instruments were
noted for purity and sweetness of tone, and for
their perfect construction. One was used in the
Baldwin Place Church for thirty years without re¬
pairs.
The manufacture of neckties began here by
Damon, Temple & Co. in 1866. The business
rapidly increased, and in 1869 about one hundred
and twenty-five hands were employed. The firm
are still doing an extensive business.
The total value of the manufactures of the
town, given in the census returns of 1875, was
$603,613. The total value of agricultural prod¬
ucts was $89,102.
The present town of Beading is bounded north
by North Beading, east by Lynnfield and Wake¬
field, south by Stoneham, west by Woburn and
IVilmington. It is located on the Boston and
Maine Bailroad, twelve miles north of Boston. It
borders upon the Ipswich Biver, but has no im¬
portant waters within its boundaries.
The town has a good record for the health and
longevity of its inhabitants. On the first of
January, 1858, there were living in the town
ninety-five persons who were seventy years old and
upwards. Six were above ninety, twenty-eight
between eighty and ninety, sixty-one between
seventy and eighty.
College Graduales of Reading. — The following
is a list of persons who have graduated from col¬
lege while belonging to this town : —
Bev. Samuel Bachelier, graduated at Harvard
College in 1731, was settled as pastor in the West
Parish, in Haverhill, in 1735. In 1769 and 1770
he was representative from that town. He died in
March, 1796, in Boyalston, Massachusetts. Chase,
in the Hisiorg of Haverhill, calls him a man of
superior talents and attainments.
Daniel Emerson, graduated at Harvard in 1739;
Joseph Swain, 1744; Aaron Putnam, 1752; Elias
Smith, 1753; Jacob Emerson, 1756; Samuel Dix,
1758; and Amos Sawyer, 1765.
Samuel S. Pool, graduated at Harvard College,
class of 1770. He took sides with the tories iti
the War of the Bevolution, and like many others of
that class when they " wanted more room," he
removed to Nova Scotia, where he became a judge.
He lived on the place formerly owned by Dea¬
con Wakefield, in the easterly part of the town.
Bev. Jacob Burnap, D. D., son of Isaac, Harvard
College, class of 1770, was ordained first pastor of
the First Church in Merrimac, New Hampshire, Oc¬
tober 14,1773, " in which honorable position," says
his historian, " he remained till his death, December
6, 1831, a period of more than forty-nine years."
Martin Herrick, graduated at Harvard in 1772 ;
Jacob Herrick, 1777 ; and Brown Emerson, 1778.
Bev. Aaron Bancroft, D. D., son of Samuel, Esq.,
Harvard, class of 1778, settled in Worcester, in
1785, where he died in 1839, aged eighty-four.
He was father of George Bancroft the historian,
and published several works. He shouldered his
musket as a volunteer at Lexington and Bunker
Hill. The Bible was his standard. He was cheer¬
ful, active, and benevolent.
Bev. Edmund Foster, a graduate of Yale, 1778,
was ordained third pastor of the church in Little¬
ton in 1781. He died in 1826. Early in the
War of the Bevolution he was very active in the
cause of the people, and was one of the minute-
men that enlisted under the command of Dr. (af¬
terwards Governor) John Brooks, who then resided
here.
284
mSTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Nathaniel Parker, Harvard, class of 1779, stud¬
ied medicine and settled at Salem.
Micah Stone, graduated at Harvard in 1790 ;
Jacob Flint, 1794 ; Charles Prentiss, 1795 ; and
Eeuben Emerson, 1798.
Tilomas Pratt, son of Isaac, graduated at Dart¬
mouth in 1798. Spent some time as teacher, and
finally became a merchant at Mechanicsburg, Penn¬
sylvania.
Timothy Flint, graduated at Harvard in 1800,
and James Flint, 1802.
Eev. Nathan Parker, Harvard, 1803. Eeceived
the degree of D. D., and settled in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire, where he remained as pastor nearly
thirty years. He is said to have been " successful
almost without a parallel in the ministries of the
growing denomination to which he belonged."
Those who remember him say he was a man of
talent, genial, and very unassuming. He was
born and lived where Mr. James Davis now re¬
sides, and was brother of Hon. Edmund Parker.
Jonathan D. Weston, son of Captain Jonathan,
Harvard, 1802. Became a prominent lawyer, and
removed to Eastport, Maine. Said to have been
" one of the smartest men ever raised in Bead¬
ing." He served also as collector of the port.
Elias Upton, Harvard, 1802. Was a successful
teacher. Went to Blue Hill, Maine.
Daniel Temple, Dartmouth, class of 1817 ; An-
dover Theological Seminary in 1820; ordained in
1821; went as a missionary to Malta in 1822;
removed to Smyrna in 1833; returned to the
United States in 1844; died August 9, 1851, at
the house of his brother. Deacon M. M. Temple, at
the age of sixty-one, and was buried in this town.
His funeral sermon was preached by Bev. Mr.
Goodell, the missionary with whom he had long
been associated, both as a classmate and in mission¬
ary interests. Mr. Goodell said: "Among the va¬
rious nations and tribes and sects of the East, his
name is held in high estimation He evi¬
dently endeavored to be as upright, sincere, cor¬
dial, gentle, kind, benevolent, economical, true, and
good, as he expected everybody would be in the
millennium." His life and letters, forming an in¬
teresting volume of nearly five hundred pages, were
published in 1855.
John Batchelder, Harvard, 1823. He taught
school in Nantucket for some time, and in 1827
opened an academy here in a building erected for
that purpose, and designed in part for a church by
the Unitarian society that then existed in town..
The building stood on the present site of the resi¬
dence of Dr. F. F. Brown. The school prospered
for many years, and numbers of young men from
this and the surrounding towns Mere fitted here
for college. Mr. Batchelder M-as succeeded in
1843 by a Mr. Wait, who soon gave up the school
here and opened one in Greenwood, where the
inebriate asylum of Dr. Day was formerly estab¬
lished. The academy was converted into a dwell¬
ing-house, and is now the residence of H. G.
Bichardson, Esq. Mr. Batchelder served the town
for thirty years with distinguished ability as one
of their school committee, commencing in 1828
and continuing nearly every year till 1862. He
was also once chosen representative to the General
Court, and served some years as selectman. He
died in 1871, aged eighty.
Bev. Benjamin Wyman Parker, Amherst, 1829.;
Andover, 1832. Went as a missionary to the
SandM'ich Islands the same year. He returned on
a visit to his native town in 1876, after an absence
of forty-four years. He died in Honolulu, March
23, 1877, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
He had been for many years oificially connected
with the Theological Seminary at Honolulu, and
was a faithful laborer in the mission-field.
Bev. George Nichols, son of James, graduated
at Yale, and studied theology at New Haven, but
never preached much. He M-as a successful teacher
for a term of years at New Haven and Hadley,
and for a long term at Springfield, Massachusetts,
where he died at the age of forty-six.
Bev. Cyrus Nichols, brother of Bev. George,
graduated at Williams, and studied theology at
Auburn. He has long been in the service of the
Home Missionary Society, first in Missouri, now in
Wisconsin.
Bev. Warren Nichols, another brother, grad¬
uated at Williams and Andover, and labored also
in Missouri for the Home Mission till his death.
Adams Nichols,' M. D., practised at Bockport,
Massachusetts, but removed to Quincy, Illinois,
where he had an extensive field of labor, and was
a popular physician. He was brother of the three
last named. He died in 1871.
Bev. Stillman Pratt, son of Benjamin, graduate
of Amherst, 1831, studied theology, and graduated
at Andover. First settled at Orleans, where he
remained four and a half years, and preached at
Eastham six months. He then removed to South
Adams, Massachusetts, and after doing missionary
work several years, succeeded in establishing a
READING.
285
church of which he became pastor. After nine
years of labor at Adams, he removed to Melrose,
laboring among the people, holding meetings in
the depot, and formed a ehurcli there over which
he was settled about three years, and which, like
that at Adams, still continues to flourish. He re¬
moved to Carver, and was pastor there three
years. He published The Mothers Assistant two
years, and The Mkldlehorongh Gazette from that
time to his death, September 1, 1862, at the age
of fifty-three years. He was the author of four
volumes published by the Massachusetts Sabbath
School Society, a life of General Fremont, two edi¬
tions of Sabbath School (Questions, and a biograph¬
ical catalogue of the class of 1831, Amherst Col¬
lege, and a genealogy of the Pratt family. Under
his ministrations seventy-one were added to the
church in Orleans, fifty at South Adams, twenty-
five at Melrose, fifteen at Carver. His son. Still-
man B. Pratt, is the present editor and proprietor
of The Randolph Massachusetts Register, and of
The American Workman,Cornhill, Boston; and
was the candidate of the Labor-Beform party for
secretary of state in 1869. Another son, Ean-
som D., has been connected with the Massachusetts
Bureau of Statistics. A third son, Thomas S., was
former editor of The Abington Standard.
William L. Peabody, sou of Enoch, Dartmouth,
1856, studied law, practised for several years at
Lynn, and is now established in his profession at
Omaha, Nebraska, where he is also judge of pro¬
bate.
Benjamin M. Hartshorn, son of Benjamin, grad¬
uated at the Harvard Law School, and opened an
ofiice in this town. He was chosen for three years
as one of the general school committee, and in 1867
was elected chairman of the board of selectmen.
He died the same year, aged twenty-seven.
Jolm M. Bancroft, son of Joseph, Dartmouth,
class of 1859. Went west as civil engineer till the
breaking out of the war, when» he enlisted as a
private in the second Michigan infantry, was in
sixteen battles, served three years, and attained the
rank of captain. He was then offered the colo¬
nelcy of a regiment of cavalry, which he declined
oil account of health. He removed to Brooklyn,
New York, and was engaged for a year or two in
laying out the public park there. He is now em-
pbyed by ten New York insurance companies as
surveyor, which gives him employment in different
parts of the country, with his principal ofiice in
New York.
B. Bèntley Young, son of Edward, graduated at
Dartmouth, 1862. Teacher in Brimmer School,
Boston.
Horace P. Wakefield, son of Deacon Caleb, Am¬
herst, 1832, practising physician at Oakham, Massa¬
chusetts, for several years, where he held the office
of selectman and town-clerk, and was twice elected
as representative to the legislature. Keturuing to
Reading, he was elected senator for this district
in 1862, and served one year, and also as school
committee and town-clerk for several years, and
justice of the peace. He was then appointed as
inspector of the almshouse at Tewskbury, and
afterwards physician there. Subsequently he was
transferred to the superintendency of the state
almshouse at Monson, which he retained till
1877.
Rev. William Wakefield, son of William, grad¬
uated at Amherst, 1839, taught the South Reading
Academy one year; Codman School, Dorchester,
about two years ; graduated at Andover, 1845 ;
went as home missionary to McConnelsville, Ohio,
remaining there six years ; preached at Madison,
Ohio, three years. In April, 1855, he removed to
Harmar, a village of Marietta, where he was pastor
for many years. He is now settled at La Harpe,
Illinois.
Edward Hartshorn, M. D., formerly of this
town, studied medicine, settled at Berlin, has an
office in Boston, and is proprietor of the well-
known bitters, " Key to Health."
S. 0. Richardson, M. D., son of Dr. Nathan, of
this town, resided in Wakefield, and was widely
known for his " Sherry Wine Bitters."
John Reid, son of Rev. Jared, formerly pastor of
the Old South Church in this town, graduated at
Yale, 1846, resides at Stockbridge, Massachusetts,
where he is engaged in teaching.
John S. Wallis, Yale, 1832, studied law; became
a farmer in Bolton, Massachusetts.
William P. Wallis, brother of John S., studied
at Yale, but died before graduating.
Rev. Pliny F. Sanborn, son of Rev. Peter San¬
born, Amherst, class of 1840. Settled for some
years at West Bloomfield, New York, afterwards
at Springfield, same state.
Rev. George E. Sanborn, brother of Pliny F.,
Amherst, 1843. Preached at Georgia, Vermont,
Mt. Vernon, New Hampshire, Northborough,
Massachusetts, and is now superintendent of the
orphan aslyum at Hartford, Connecticut.
Joseph C. Sanborn, M. D., of the same familv,
286
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
though not a college graduate, is a physician in
Boston.
George W. Symonds, son of Obed, not a college
graduate, studied medicine, was formerly in prac¬
tice at Lancaster and Clinton. Died in 1873.
Daniel Temple, son of Charles, not a graduate,
is a dentist. He has resided in the Southern States
many years. He first went there as an agent for
Dr. Morton, and engaged in introducing ether as
an anaesthetic in surgical operations.
Stillman E. Parker, Esq., entered Àmherst
College, 1841. After studying about two years
he was obliged to leave on account of ill health.
He is now engaged in the manufacture and sale of
shoes. He has served on the school committee in
this town longer, with one exception, than any
other person. He was a member of the state legis¬
lature in 1859, and holds a commission as justice
of the peace.
Alfred A. Prescott was a member of the class of
1843, Harvard College; began the practice of law
in 1845 ; was Kegister of Probate about six years,
— from 1852 to 1858. He now resides in Cali¬
fornia.
Eev. Thomas M. Symonds, son of Eben D.,
graduate of Waterville College, Maine, 1847, New¬
ton Theological Seminary, 1850. Was never settled
as a pastor. Labored under the direction of the
Home Missionary Society, with a good degree of
success, at Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he died
July 5, 1852, at the age of thirty-one.
William Wallace Davis, nearly two years a stu¬
dent at Dartmouth, left the college and enlisted as
a soldier in August, 1862. He received a bullet-
wound in his right wrist at the battle of Gettys¬
burg, on account of which he was discharged from
the service. Enlisting again in December, 1863,
in the 59th regiment, he was promoted to be first
lieutenant the next year. He lost his left arm in
the battle of Petersburg, JTuly 30, 1864, and again
received an honorable discharge November 29;
1864.
Solon Bancroft, son of Emery, graduated at Dart¬
mouth, 1864, studied law, and is now in practice.
Has an ofSce here and also in Boston. He was
for some time employed in teaching in one of the
city schools. He is Assistant Judge of Middle¬
sex District Court.
GilmanL. Parker, graduated at Dartmouth, 1868.
Is now in business in Boston.
Walter S. Parker, son of Henry P., Dartmouth,
1868. Taught school in Bradford, Sherborn, and
at the Farm School, Thompson's Island. Is now
sub-master in the Dwight School, Boston.
Thomas Appleton, graduated at the Eensselear
Polytechnic Institute, at Troy, N. Y., in 1868.
He has since been employed as civil engineer.
Howard A. Hanaford, graduated at Tufts Col¬
lege in 1873. He is now pastor of a Congrega¬
tional Church.
George H. Barrus, graduated at Institute of Tech¬
nology, in Boston, class of 1874. Mechanical
engineer.
Herbert Barrows, graduated at Institute of Tech¬
nology, class of 1874. Civil engineer.
Walter B. Barrows, graduated at Institute of
Technology, class of 1876. Teacher in Argentine
Eepublic, South America.
Frank E. Appleton, graduated at Worcester
Free Institute, 1874.
The Third Church, formerly called the West
Parish Church, and now the Old South Church of
Beading, organized in 1770, has had, as pastors:
Eev. Thomas Haven, ordained November 7, 1770,
died May 7, 1782; Eev. Peter Sanborn, ordained
June 9,1790, dismissed June 7,1820; Eev. Samuel
Green, ordained September 20, 1820, dismissed
March 26, 1823; Eev. Jared Eeid, ordained Oc-'
tober 8, 1823, dismissed June 12, 1833; Eev.
Aaron Pickett, installed September 25, 1833, dis¬
missed April 3, 1850; Eev. Lyman Whiting, in¬
stalled January 1, 1851, dismissed November 1,
1855; Eev. William Barrows, installed February
20,1856, dismissed May 6, 1869; Eev. William A.
Thompson, installed February 14, 1872, died Sep¬
tember 17, 1875.
Since the decease of Mr. Thompson, no pastor
has been settled. Eev. L. J. White has been the
acting pastor since 1877.
The Third Congregational Society in Beading
was formed April 2, 1827. It held its meetings
in the upper portion of the building known as the
Academy, erected in that year, while the lower floor
was used as a school-room. Several preachers
served for short terms, — Eev. Mr. Barbery till
his death in 1830, and Eev. Mr. Damon from
1833 to 1835. In 1838 it was absorbed in the
Second Universalist Society, which culminated, in
1856, in a new organization, with the name changed
to First Universalist Society. Eev. N. E. Wright
became pastor for two years, and was succeeded by
Eev. L. M. Burrington for two and a half years.
Eev. E. A. Eaton oificiated a portioli of the time
till 1865, and was followed by Eev. W. W. Hay-
READING.
287
ward till 1867. Eev. E. B. Faircliild, in 1868,
commenced holding an afternoon service in Lyceum
Hall. A house of worship was built in 1871,
where the society has since continued to hold its
meetings. In 1869 a new society was formed, un¬
der the name of The Christian Union. It adopted
the following as its platform and creed : " A belief
in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of
Humanity, as taught by Jesus Christ, and acknowl¬
edging Him as Our Teacher and Guide."
The present pastor, Eev. C. "W. Heizer, was set¬
tled in February, 1878. In June of the same year
the society placed itself in fellowship with the Uni¬
tarian denomination.
The Salem Street Baptist Church was organized
in 1832, with sixteen members. The meeting¬
house was built in 1836. The pastors were settled
as follows: Eev. Henry Smith, June, 1837;
Eev. J. Woodbury, 1842; Eev. John Upton,
1843; Eev. J. G. Townsend, 1845; Eev. John
Cookson, 1848; Eev. E. K. Fuller, 1854; Eev.
A. M. Higgins, 1858 ; Eev. William E. Davy,
1859 ; Eev. H. P. Guilford, 1865 : Eev. T. W.
Crawley, 1867 ; Eev. Luther D. Hill, 1870; Eev.
James K. Ewer, 1874.
Bethesda Church and Society. — The Bethesda
Society was formed in 1849. The first meeting
was called April 23. Captain Timothy Wakefield
was moderator; Oliver Peabody, clerk; Timothy
Wakefield, Aaron Parker, John H. Bancroft, as¬
sessors ; Milo Parker, collector and treasurer.
Stillman E. Parker was chosen clerk in 1855, and
has held the office to the present time. The church
edifice was dedicated January 1, 1850.
The Bethesda Church was organized April 17,
1849, with ninety members. Eev. Edward W.
Clark, the first pastor, was ordained January 1,
1850, and remained two years. Eev. W. H.
Beecher became pastor, September 14, 1853, and
was dismissed in 1856.
Eev. William H. Willcox, tiie third pastor,
was installed July 2, 1857. His pastorate was of
unusual length and prosperity. His resignation
being accepted, the connection with the church
and society was dissolved March 5, 1879. On the
same day Eev. William B. Ely was installed as his
successor.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized
June 9,1867, with nineteen members. The meet¬
ing-house was built in 1870. Eev. Stephen Cush-
ing preached one year. Eev. H. D. Weston suc¬
ceeded in 1869, and preached two years; Eev.
J. N. Short, three years ; Eev. W. H. Hatch, three
years ; Eev. J. L. Hanaford, one year ; Eev. J. F.
Mears, the present pastor, entered upon his labors
here in 1878.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized
February 27, 1873, with twenty members. Its
house of worship was dedicated February, 1874.
Eev. A. S. Gardiner was installed as pastor. May,
1873, and remained till September, 1875. Eev.
P. M. Macdonald has since supplied the pulpit.
In 1871 J. Hilary Skinner, Esq., correspondent
of the London Times, attended a political banquet
in this town, of which he gave a pleasant descrip¬
tion in his paper. A few extracts from his narra¬
tion may properly be given in closing the historical
sketch of the town.
"You must picture a brightly lighted hall, with
a gallery at one end where a band of music and six
rows of tables stretch down the centre. You must
fill the hall with quiet, earnest-looking people of
both sexes, and imagine the usual table at the top,
furthest from the music, where sat the principal
guests of the evening You may fancy that
the scene is before you, and hurry on to discuss
its social bearing without having heard of the
pretty young waitresses.
" Yet stay a moment, I entreat, for this matter
of pretty young waitresses aforesaid is worthy our
attention. The well-behaved, neatly dressed girls
who hand round the coffee and tea so demurely,
and who are, in one sense, the chief ornament of
the room, belong to the same class of society as those
on whom they wait Yanish all thought of
dull-eyed and weary British waiterdom, — vanish
the nimble garçon and the obliging Icellner. We
are waited on by nymphs who bring us the fra¬
grant coffee or the sleep-killing tea, and my only
trouble is about asking for more. Shall I venture
to beckon to me that pretty creature who has just
embraced the old dame on my right ? Siiall I call
out "Waiter! " in a firm undertone, and hold up
my cup at this smiling young person whose little
head overflows with curls ? The question is mo¬
mentous to a timid Briton, but its answer is sim¬
ple. Hold up the cup, ask for more, do anything
that reason and friendship will permit, and the at¬
tendant nymphs will be found as much alive to the
work of the hour as their countrymen are apt to be
alive to any work which they take in hand
I cannot attempt to tell all that was said, or to
give the names of all who spoke, but such a slight
sketch of the leading speeches as has gone before
388
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
may serve to show you to what sort of discussion
the company listened. Here were men and women
side by side, equally attentive to the recital of
party hopes and fears, equally warming up — with
only the mild stimulants before described — to
laugh and to stamp on the floor at good party hits.
It is but fair to say that they listened also with
courteous attention to some remarks from an Eng¬
lishman who was present, on matters further afield,
and that an able criticism in the next speech on
English prospects was very well received. The
people had thoughts for much more than parky
politics, but it is as politicians that their gather¬
ing together thus quietly, with wife and children,
is the most remarkable. What can be a better
sign for free institutions than the levelling upwards
which brings laborers and mechanics, small traders
and wealthy merchants, to the same assemblage of
intelligent, self-respecting citizens? Whilst so
much of the country is true and sound, there will
be strength in the Americans to stifle Tammany
and to regenerate a dozen Utahs.
SHERBORN.
BY ALBEBT H. BLANCHARD, M.D.
[EEBORN is one of the older
towns in the county, and
forms a portion of its southern
border, being separated by
Charles River from Dover and
Medfield in the county of
Norfolk on the east; on the
south is Medway, in the same
county. Holliston and Ash¬
land bound it on the west, Framingham on the
north, and Natick on the north and northeast.
The township now contains about 10,000 acres,
and its extreme length from north to south is
something more than six miles, and from east to
west about four and one half miles. Originally the
territory was very much larger, but it was reduced
by the formation of new towns. The population
is about 1,000. It is situated some twenty miles
W. S. W. of Boston, with which it has easy com¬
munication by the Mansfield and Framingham
Railroad, which passes through the town from
south to north, and connects with the Boston and
Albany Railroad at South Framingham.
The name of the town was anciently written
Sherborne, and sometimes Shearborn, Sherburn,
and Sherburne. The latter was the most accept¬
able, and finally became its permanent designation
for many years ; and the action of a portion of the
inhabitants in presenting a petition to the General
Court in 1852, to change the name to Sherborn,
has since been much regretted. The chief ground
of this action was a supposition that Sherhom, in
Dorsetshire, England, was the original home of
some of the first settlers. It was a town anciently
distinguished as the site of a monastery, and as a
place of burial for some of the Saxon kings ; and
at a later day as the spot where the prime nobility
met William, Prince of Orange, and welcomed him
to the throne of England. But the best author¬
ities spell the name of this Dorsetshire town "Sher¬
borne"; and in the usual confirmation, by the
General Court, of the grant of land for a township,
" it is ordered that the name of the towne be Sher¬
borne." And wherever the town is mentioned in
the records of the General Court of the colony it
is called Sherborne. It would, therefore, have
been more satisfactory, if an alteration must be
made at all, to have had the new name wholly
correct.
Grants of land by the General Court to indi¬
viduals were commenced as early as 1643, and
were continued at intervals for thirty years ; but
always subject to the rights of the Indians (Nip-
mucks), who received payment and gave deeds for
all the land included in the township. Few if any
of these grantees occupied their land. The first
transfer to actual settlers of land "lying in the
woods on the west side of Charles River, three
miles from Natick," was made May 3, 1652, 0. S.
Immediately after, Nicholas Wood and Thomas
SHERBORN.
289
Holbrooke took possession and commenced their
labors. They Mere soon followed by Henry Lay-
land, Benjamin Bullard, George Fairbank, John
Hill, Thomas Breck, and Daniel Morse. Most of
these persons were men of substance, of strong, de¬
termined character, hardy, and not easily discour¬
aged, as the event proved. Many of their names
still live in the persons of their descendants, who
are found among the prominent citizens of Sherborn
at this day. And they required all the energy and
endurance of M'hich man is capable to subdue the
wild lands " in the wilderness beyond Medfield,"
and to protect themselves against the lurking In¬
dian. For although the Nipmuck Indians who in¬
habited this portion of the colony had been treated
fairly in the purchase of their lands, and M'ere at
first friendly, they were afterwards influenced and
controlled by King Philip with disastrous results
to the settlers.
These first residents settled in the south and
southeast parts of Sherborn, which then included
a portion of the present eastern part of MedM^ay.
The Indian name for the locality was Boggestow ;
it is perpetuated in the name of a meadoM', pond,
and brook. In various petitions to the governor
of the colony and the General Court, the settlers
termed themselves " inhabitants of Bogistow," and
" inhabitants and proprietors of lands at or near
Boggestow."
Although living remote from Medfield and not
included M'ithin its bounds, the Boggestow people
obtained privileges there, and also enrolment and
taxation as her citizens ; and for some twenty-five
years the births and deaths in their families were
there recorded.
But at length, as the number of settlers increased,
and the farms were growing into better condition,
a petition signed by fourteen inhabitants was pre¬
sented " to the much honored General Court, 7 of
3 mo. 1662," praying for " liberty to be a Towne
of ourselves with such others as may be admitted
to our Society hereafter." The General Court ap¬
pointed a committee " to view the place and return
their apprehensions." The result appears to have
been unfavorable, as nothing more is found con¬
cerning the petition. But the colony remained,
for these were men not easily daunted M'hen they
had once determined to subdue the forest, and to
fonn a community of their own. They were
strengthened by the addition from time to time of
new residents, until in the year 1674, when the
settlement was twenty-two years old, the number
of families amounted to twenty. The long-cher¬
ished plan of forming a new town and church was
then revived, and urged by a second generation of
planters. Joseph Morse, a son of Daniel, was
prominent in preparing a new petition "To the
Honoured Gov. & Deputy Gov., with the rest of
the assistants and deputyes of the Generali Court
of his Majesty's Colony of tiie Massachusetts,"
October 7, 1674. This petition represents that
there are " neere twenty families already settled
on farmes .... in this part of tlie M'ildemess
called Boggestow, & neere thereunto, besides some
other farmes, not yet Improved, lying between the
bounds of Naticke & Meadfeild, & ttpon the
west of both, which probably may shortly be em-
prooved also." It also states that " amongst
otlier diflicultyes," the petitioners " have not found
it our least to goe to meeting on the Lord's day
unto Meadefeild, by reason not only of the distance
from theare, and the leaving of severall at home, but
also in regard of the difficulty in passing over the
water betwext, in winter seasons & times of floods,
which sometimes prooves hazardous to health &
life ; wherefore for our releife herein, and that wee
may not wholly omit our duty what, in us lyeth to
spread the Gospel in this wildeniesse, .... &
for the better regulating of affayres amongst us,
we your petitioners do humbly crave the favorable
help of this Honoured Court." It then asks that
a tract of land, six miles square, may be " made a
towne, & that the name thereof may be and
also that they may have liberty to purchase of the
Naticke Indians certain other parcels of land.
The petition was granted October 21, and the
town named Sherborne, on the condition " that a
farm of two hundred acres of land be reserved for
the country, that no land shall be allotted to any
but actual settlers, and that no man shall receive
above fifty acres till there be twenty new families
settled there, and then the whole that is free to be
disposed of as the major part of the inhabitants
capable by law to vote shall judge meet."
The form of this new township was very irregu¬
lar. It has been aptly compared to a hand-card,
M'ith its handle about one mile wide, between Na-
tick and Medfield, and with its blade west of those
towns, extending north to Sudbury Kiver, and
south to Charles River and the north line of Bel-
lingham, then a part of Dedham. It included
much territory which has since been assigned to
new toM'ns. As soon as practicable, negotiations
were held M'ith Major Gookin and Rev. John Eliot,
290
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in behalf of the Natick Indians, for an exchange
of land with them. This exchange was completed
in 1679, and the township thus rendered more
compact. The negotiations were commenced in
1675; but a terrible calamity suspended the work
for two years, and paralyzed every effort that was
not required for self-preservation. This was noth¬
ing less than the horrors of an Indian war.
The inhabitants first " assembled for the ordering
the affairs of Shearborn," on January 4, 1674-75,
fourteen persons being present ; and the records of
the town then commence. A committee was chosen
to view the land granted by the General Court for a
township, and to lay out the same ; and another
committee to treat with the Natick Indians for the
desired exchange of lands. Only one other town-
meeting was held for about two years, and that was
in March, 1676, for the transaction of indispensa¬
ble business.
At this time Philip, the great sachem of the
Wampanoags, was on the war-path, scattering fire
and death wherever he went ; and the consterna¬
tion excited in the minds of the settlers was some¬
thing of which we can have no adequate idea. The
rapidity of the movements of the Indians through
the by-paths, the thickets, and the forests, with
which they were perfectly familiar, their stealthy
advances, their sudden appearances, and violent
murderous attacks as they swooped down on a vil¬
lage or a settlement, caused them to be peculiarly
dreaded by a people who were wholly unaccus¬
tomed to this savage mode of warfare. More¬
over, as Philip truly stated in a paper which he
left on a portion of the bridge between Medfield
and Boggestow, destroyed by him on the retreat
following his desperate assault on the former
town, "the Indians lose nothing but their lives.
You must lose your foir houses and cattle." The
fear of so much loss undoubtedly added to the
pangs of dread for the loss of life ; for their farms
were of little use in this wilderness without their
buildings and cattle. His bold threat in the same
paper that the Indians " will war this twenty-one
years if you will," did not give them much hope
for the future, although, as Hubbard quaintly ob¬
serves, Philip fell short of this time by more than
nineteen years. But of his early death, effected by
a party under Captain Cliurch, the colonists could
then know nothing, and they had only the pros¬
pect of continual watchfulness and defence for an
indefinite period. During tiie known presence of
the enemy in the vicinity, the people all retreated
to the garrison-houses, of which there were two,'
and lived there. Many remained for a long time,
and there some of their children were born. One
of tliese garrisons was the house of Daniel Morse,
Sr., near the present road from Sherborn to Dover,
and not far from Charles River ; and the other on
the farm of Benjamin Bullard, near the present
boundary line between Sherborn and Medway, and
also near Charles River. The latter was attacked
by the enemy on February 21, 1676, the same
day that Medfield was burned, and after their re¬
treat from that place. This garrison was made
with great care and strength, and resisted the as¬
saults of the Indians, some of whom were picked
off by shots fired through the admirably arranged
loop-holes. Finding their efforts vain, they next
attempted to burn the building by pushing down
the declivity above it a cart of burning flax. De¬
struction now seemed imminent ; but fortunately
the progress of the cart was arrested by a rock,
still to be seen, and the lives of the garrison saved.
Some writers place, the date of this attack at a later
day, in May, but Hubbard, who wrote ahout
1677-78, is probably better authority. The only
other concerted attack by the Indians was made
either in May or July following (writers differing
as to date), when they met with such a notable re¬
pulse that " they never dared to show their faces
there afterwards." But there were single attacks
by scattered Indians, and some deaths occurred
among the whites. These were troublous times,
and tried to the utmost the nerve and endurance
of our ancestors. They never meditated a retreat
from their possessions, but resolutely adhered to
every means of defence, and were obliged to be
watchful against surprise for a long time, not
knowing the day nor the hour when they might be
again attacked by their treacherous foe. Philip
commanded not only his" own tribe, but also In¬
dians of other tribes, whom he had persuaded to
enlist in his attempt to extinguish the new settle¬
ments of English people. Some of these Indians
had hitherto been friendly to the whites, and among
them the Nipmucks, who inhabited this and the
neighboring region of country. Says S. G. Drake,
"These were the most distressing days that New
England ever beheld. Town after town fell a sac¬
rifice to their fury. All was fear and consterna¬
tion. Few there were who were not in mourning
^ Three other garrisons were aftei*wards built.
^ Note to Church's History of Philip's War, p. 65 ; Boston,
1829.
SHERBOBN.
291
for some near kindred, and nothing but horror
stared them in the face." But after the death of
Pliilip in August, 1676, although the Indians still
made hostile demonstrations, their power was
broken; and early in 1677 the colonists began to
resume their usual occupations. The inhabitants
of Sherborii again took up their negotiations with
the Natick Indians for the desirable and important
exchange of lands. This exchange, as before men¬
tioned, was not fully completed and an agreement
signed until April, 1679.
The town being now laid out in better form,
means for the transaction of the public business
being established, the officers chosen, and a social
compact adopted, the inhabitants next turned their
attention more fully to the preparations for stated
public worship. Of this they deeply felt the need,
and this had been one of their strong arguments
for incorporation as a town. Steps had previously
been taken towards the selection of a location for a
meeting-house, and a lot of land had been staked
out. But this location was unsatisfactory to many
of the people, and after much discussion it was
finally removed to a spot near the site of the meet¬
ing-house of the present First Parish, which conse¬
quently became the centre of the town. It has
remained to the present day the site of a meeting¬
house, and about it arc clustered the other public
buildings of the town. But it was only after
much controversy, and an appeal to the General
Court, that the business was settled. The court
felt obliged at last to place the town under the
* guardianship of a committee " to order and gov-
eme the prudentialls of the said towne for three
years." The town dutifully submitted, and the
differences were gradually adjusted. Other dif¬
ferences between inhabitants, concerning secular
matters, had been settled by arbitration or by the
decision of a committee of the General Court, so
that this action of the court in taking the whole
charge of the business of the town, through a com¬
mittee, did not seem unreasonable to them ; and
it certainly was preferable to a prolonged litiga¬
tion.
One of the inhabitants. Sergeant (afterwards
Lieutenant) Edward West, was accustomed to act
as a lay preacher before the settlement of a minis¬
ter. At a later day, in 1694, he was appointed
the first schoolmaster of the town. Public wor¬
ship was held at the house of Captain Joseph
Morse in the south part of the town, and was
continued there for a considerable time, until the
meeting-house was finished, which appears to have
been about 1684 or 1685.
After various efforts and much delay Mr. Daniel
Gookin, a graduate and fellow of Harvard College,
and a son of Major-General Gookin of Cambridge,
was ordained as their pastor, March 26, 1685.
He had previously been an assistant to the Apostle
Eliot in the Indian mission at Natick, and received
warm commendation from that eminent man. His
lectures at Natick were delivered first to the Eng¬
lish, and then " the same matter is delivered to
the Interpreter, whom, with much pains, Mr. Cook¬
ing had fore-prepared." He continued this work
among the Indians after his settlement at Sher-
born, and in fact during the greater part of his
life. He appears to have been a man of more than
common ability, and constantly labored for the
good of his people and of the Indians. He died
January 8, 1717-18, in the sixty-eighth year of
his age, having continued for about tliirty-four
years the minister of Sherborn.
The preamble to a certain petition presented by
the inhabitants of Sherborn to the General Court
about 1698 well represents the religious spirit
that animated the early settlers. It says : " In
the first beginning and settlement of the town of
Sherborn, the only and principall benifitt and previ-
lege which the ancient inhabitants [then known by
the name of Bogastow, near Medfield] did propose
to themselves was to have the meeting-house near
to them." And this same feeling was dominant in
the minds of that people for many years. They
considered it their greatest privilege to be near
enough to the meeting-house to be able to attend
the services regularly.
The extensive territory of the town made it
sometimes difficult for those near its borders to at¬
tend these stated religious exercises. And as the
number of inhabitants in these localities increased
by the addition of new settlers, a spirit of uneasi¬
ness began to appear, and also a desire to form
themselves into new towns with privileges of their
own. Objections arose on the part of other in¬
habitants as to the mode or place of division, or to
any division whatever. The older townsmen natu¬
rally desired to increase rather than diminish their
population, and also to retain all the tax-payers
possible. When, therefore, seventeen families re¬
siding on Sherborn Kow, in the north part of the
town, some adjoining Mr. Danforth's farms ^ and
^ A grant of land by the General Court to Thomas Danfortb,
Esq., deputy-governor.
292
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
others holding leases from him, made propositions
for separation in order that they might join the
inhabitants of " Pramlingham plantations " in ef¬
forts for the formation of a new town, there was
great opposition to the project. A long and seri¬
ous controversy ensued with regard to the pay¬
ment of rates, and to the jurisdiction, as when
Framingham was incorporated, in the year 1700,
the rights of Sherborn were reserved. The bounds
of Sherborn in that direction appear not to have
been well defined, and the right of territory thus
became involved and uncertain. The contest con¬
tinued for several years, and until settled, June 16,
1710, by the General Court, which annexed the
seventeen families permanently to Framingham and
made to Sherborn, as an equivalent for the loss, a
grant of four thousand acres of land west of Men-
don. We have not space to write further of this
memorable controversy, which excited deep feeling
for many years and stirred the whole community
to its foundation.
The next great civil question was one concerning
the accommodation with religious privileges of the
inhabitants " Who are Dwellers on ye West side
of Dopping Brook " ; but this appears to have
been settled amicably. At first, representations
were made in the town-meetings (where for many
years both parish and town business was transacted)
of the difficulty with which some of the western in¬
habitants of the town could attend public worsliip,
" the said town being near 1% miles long, and the
meeting-house situated at the Easterly End." The
remaining residents were disposed to accommodate
their distant brethren, and once passed a vote
(March 6, 1723) to build a meeting-house in a
more central location, " so that the town remain
together for the strengthening thereof." But it
was afterwards decided that this would not meet
the objections " in consideration that the Form and
Situation of the Town is so ill convenient that one
meeting-house Cannot be so placed as to Suit the
Whole town, but that in time there will be need
of two to accommodate the Inhabitants." It was
then voted to build a new meeting-house on or
near the old spot ; ' and on motion of some of the
principal western inhabitants it was also voted to
remit to them their proportion of the £ 160 granted
for that purpose in anticipation of the time when
they should build a meeting-house of their own,
they agreeing at the same time to do all other
" publick Duty to the town as heretofore till the
' This meetinK-housc was fiiiislied in 1726.
Genii. Court Shall Set us off." The latter event
was soon brought about. After a petition to the
General Court, a committee of that body was chosen
to view the premises, and make inquiry into the
matter. The report was favorable, and the western
precinct was incorporated by a bill passed Decem¬
ber 3, 1724, under the name of Holliston.
No other important event occurred for many
years. The year 1754 was remarkable by the inva-
sion of an uncommon disease, called in Sherborn
the " Memorable Mortality," and in Holliston the
" Great Sickness." Nearly thirty lives were lost in
Sherborn by its ravages, — a serious and alarming
inroad on its still small population.
Li 1770 it was found that the meeting-house
must be enlarged, and " this was done by sawing
the house in two in the middle, moving the western
half to the distance desired, and connecting the two
parts together by a new piece."
We now approach a time of great trial to out
colonists, not only in this town, but in all the
towns in this province, and in all the English prov¬
inces in this country. The oppressive exactions
of the mother country were becoming too onerous
to be borne, and the people began seriously to con¬
sider the necessity of throwing off the yoke. Sher¬
born was ready now, as ever, to do its part in
contributing men and means to support the great
struggle for what it deemed to be just and right.
As early as 1774 a committee of correspondence
was chosen, committees also to attend the county
conferences at Concord and Cambridge, and to pro.-
cure a field-piece. Three cannon, procured by the
latter committee instead of a six-pounder, were
accepted by the town, and it was voted " that the
committee prove them at the town's expense, and
fire the biggest as soon as may be, with all the
necessaries that may be needed." Many other
votes were afterwards passed, showing that the
people were animated to a high degree with the
spirit which finally achieved the independence of
the colonies. In 1776 it was voted to extend
relief to the poor of Boston, then besieged by the
enemy, and to find places for them to live in. A
company of minute-men was raised, and £8 granted
to provide ammunition for the cannon. As soon as
the news reached this town of the conflict at Lex¬
ington, on the 19th of April, 1775, the minute-men
proved themselves worthy of their title by march¬
ing immediately to meet the assailants, and the
rest of the able-bodied men, of all ages, followed
with all possible alacrity. But the distance was so
SHEKBOBN.
293
greatj and the route of the enemy so uncertain, that
they had not the satisfaction of meeting and help¬
ing to chastise them. They, however, furnished
tiieir quota to assist in besieging Boston, and a
number of them displayed their heroism in the
battles of Bunker Hill, White Plains, and Brandy-
wine. Seven brothers, the sons of Mr. Samuel
Clark, enlisted as soldiers, and served, on an aver¬
age, over three years per man.
In May, 1776, the town voted, that if Congress
decided to declare the colonies independent of
Great Britain, the people would, with their lives
and fortunes, endeavor to support them in that
measure. And Daniel Whitney, their representa¬
tive, was instructed to act accordingly. When
the question of the adoption of the Federal con¬
stitution arose, Sherborn sent Daniel Whitney to
the convention held in Boston in 1788, with gen¬
eral instructions, but also with full confidence in
his judgment to act for the right. And that
honorable member was one of the majority who
voted in favor of this great charter of our free¬
dom.
In 1781 an entry, found in the town records,
states that the salary of Eev. Elijah Brown for
one year, ending March 1, 1781, was £73 6i. Bd.,
"equal to £2,933 6i. 8^. continental currency."
This shows the depreciation which the latter had
suffered, and that it took more than £ 40 of that
currency to equal £ 1 of sound money. It is a
powerful argument against the establishment of an
irredeemable currency.
Early in the present century, when our national
honor and our authority on the high seas were in¬
vaded, Sherborn accepted her share of the work,
and made preparations as soon as a conflict was
threatened, and before hostilities had commenced.
In 1814, when an actual call for men was expected,
allowances were granted to them, and some soldiers
from the town performed duty in the forts in Bos¬
ton harbor.
In February, 1830, a portion of the inhabitants,
desiring a form of worship and belief different from
that then prevailing, requested of the proper au¬
thority that " a warrant may be issued, in due form
of law, for the purpose of forming a second relig¬
ious Congregational Society in said town." These
petitioners comprised a majority of the church, but
a minority of the congregation. They retained the
forms of government and belief of the original
Puritan church of 1685. They immediately or¬
ganized, and during the same year erected a meet¬
ing-house not far distant from that of the First
Parish.
The First Parish also felt the need of a new edi-
flce, as the old one had been in use for more than
a century. And during the same year, 1830, they
proceeded to build a meeting-house nearly on the
same spot that had always been occupied for that
purpose. On December 26 public worship was
attended for the last time in the old church, and
ail interesting and instructive sermon was given by
the pastor, Eev. Amos Clarke. On the 29th of
the same month the new church was solemnly dedi¬
cated to the service of God.
The meeting-house of the Second Parish was
also completed during the year 1830, and dedi¬
cated November 4. Its first pastor, Eev. Samuel
Lee, was installed on the same day, and remained
in charge of the church and society until 1836,
when he was succeeded by Eev. Daniel T. Smith.
The latter was obliged to retire, after a service of
about two years, on account of ill health. Eev.
Edmund Dowse, a native of Sherborn, was then
invited to assume the pastoral charge, and he has
served from 1838 to the present time. But few
instances of so long a pastorate can be found in
our day, and only one in the entire history of this
town. Perhaps there is not one other that has oc¬
curred in the birthplace of the pastor. The twen¬
ty-fifth anniversary of the settlement of Mr. Dowse
was celebrated with appropriate ceremonies. On
the approach of the fortieth anniversary his many
friends and parishioners desired to recognize his
long and useful service, and at the same time to
offer to their pastor a fitting memorial of their
confidence and esteem. They therefore resolved to
celebrate the event October 10, 1878. The ser¬
vices were held in the meeting-house, and were
deeply impressive and interesting. A large num¬
ber of clerical friends and old parishioners were
present, in addition to the residents in the town,
and the celebration was entirely successful.
In 1859 the church-building was found to be
insuiÇcient for the accommodation of the parish,
and it was enlarged and wholly remodelled so as to
make substantially a new and commodious edifice
of tasteful appearance. It was dedicated Novem¬
ber 29, of the same year. In 1875, in accordance
with a petition, the name of the Second Parish
was fixed by the legislature, and it is now known
as the Pilgrim Church and Society of Sherborn.
The Eev. Daniel Gookin has been mentioned as
the first pastor of the original church. His sue-
294
HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
cessors were the Rev. Daniel Baker, Rev. Samuel
Porter, Rev. Samuel Locke, D. D., afterwards
president of Harvard College, Rev. Elijah Brown,
Rev. S. B. Townsend, Rev. Amos Clarke, Rev.
Richard C. Stone, Rev. Theodore H. Dorr, Rev.
William Brown, Rev. Alfred E. Mullett, and
Rev. Eugene de Normandie, the present pastor.
Among these were strong, able men, highly es¬
teemed in their day and generation. Rev. Samuel
Porter was interested in agriculture and horticul¬
ture, and the well-known Porter apple was discov¬
ered on his land and was named for him, a worthy
memorial of his love for trees and gardens. Tlie
stump of the original tree was standing not many
years since on his farm in the centre of the
town.
In the year 1847 a very large gathering of the
Leland family was held, descendants of Henry
Layland, one of the earliest settlers of Sherborn,
and who now comprise a large proportion of its
population. A mammoth tent was required to eon-
tain all who desired to attend. It was a highly in¬
teresting occasion. A granite monument to their
common ancestor, suitably inscribed, was dedicated
to his memory on the same day by his grateful
descendants. It stands at the north side of the
Common.
From the earliest times Sherborn has set apart
portions of land for use as cemeteries. In general
these lots were bare and uninviting spots, devoid
of beauty or attraction, as was often the case in
New England towns. Before the middle of the
present century the subject of a more modern
rural cemetery was seriously considered and finally
urged by some of the inhabitants, prominent
among whom was the lamented Dr. Oliver Everett,
the beloved and respected physician of the town
from 1825 until near the close of the year 1851.
A location was most judiciously chosen by him on
Pine Hill, near the centre of tlie town, and still
sufilciently secluded from public view. An asso¬
ciation was formed, and the grounds were laid out
with much taste by Captain Jacob Pratt, who had
a deep interest in the work, and had also selected
the same spot independently of Dr. Everett. On
May 19, 1852, Pine Hill Cemetery was consecrated
with suitable exercises, an address being given by
Rev. Edmund Dowse. Dr. Everett was one of the
first to be buried in the cemetery he had advo¬
cated. It has always been a source of interest and
satisfaction to the people. The remains of some
of the older ministers of the town have been
removed there, and monuments erected to their
memory.
In ancient times, and even to a comparatively
recent date, the stated meetings of the inhabitants
for the transaction of the business of the town were
held in the public meeting-house which belonged
to the town. The business of both town and
parish was performed in the same meeting, and the
town records contained also the records of the
parish until August, 180P.
In the year 1836 the town purchased of the pro¬
prietors the academy building, and the public town-
meetings were held in it for several years. This
building had finally become old and worn, and also
of insufficient size, and it was evident that better
accommodations must be provided. But before
any definite action was taken the proposition of
the executors of Thomas Dowse, hereafter de¬
scribed, was received and accepted, and their consent
obtained to invest the amount in a new town-house
M'hich should contain a suitable room for the use
of the proposed high school. Thus was the town
providentially aided in a highly important work,
only a small additional sum being required to com¬
plete the building. It stands on the old site of the
school-house, at the southeasterly side of the Com¬
mon. It is a neat structure of sufficient capacity
for the wants of the town for many years, and con¬
tains a large hall for meetings and lectures, a good
school-room, and a room for the public library,
besides convenient anterooms. It was dedicated,
with appropriate ceremonies, December 23, 1858.
For many years there had been a library in the
town, owned by an association of individuals, and
at a later date an agricultural library. After the
passage of an act by the legislature, allowing towns
to establish libraries, the members of these asso¬
ciations expressed a willingness to present their
collections to the town to form the nucleus of a
public library. The proposition being favorably
entertained, the associations presented a petition to
the town at a regular meeting held March 5, 1860,
for the establishment of a public library, accom¬
panied with the offer of the gift of both libraries
(comprising 573 volumes), provided it would
comply with the request and conform to the full
provisions of the state law on the subject. The
town cordially granted the petition, and made an
appropriation for the establishment of the library.
It was opened for the use of the inhabitants in
the following month of June. Annual grants of
money by the town have secured the addition of
SHERBORN.
295
new booksj and great satisfaction has been derived
by the citizens from this popular institution. April
1, 1879j the whole number of volumes was 2,500.
This small town deserves credit for its early adop¬
tion of the law for the establishment of town
libraries, and it takes pride and pleasure in this
important aid to education.
The year 1861 arrived, and the black clouds
hurrying across the national sky portended a con¬
vulsion of no common character. Civil war was
upon us with all its great labors and trials and
sacrifices. Sherborn had always done her duty in
great emergencies ; she did it now. As early as
May 1, 1861, at a town-meeting called for the pur¬
pose, a committee was chosen to prepare patriotic
resolutions, which were unanimously adopted. Dr.
Loring, in his bi-centennial address, thus eloquently
discourses of the part borne by the town : " Eighty-
two of your citizens were enrolled in the array.
Large sums were expended in bounties to the
soldiers, partly contributed by private liberality,
and partly drawn from the treasury of the town.
Your charities were unbounded. Individual and
associated effort was unremitting in smoothing the
rugged pathway of the soldier, iu providing for those
whom he had left behind, and in alleviating his toil
on the field and his sufferings in hospital and camp.
From your fireside to every battle-field was stretched
the silver cord of affection and solicitude, bring¬
ing close to your hearts every great event of the
sublime period, and binding your familiar and
household names to every far-off spot in our land,
which the war clothed with immortal reason ; for
your sons were on every field, your blood was
spilled in almost every conflict. The sacrifices
which you made were great. Of those who went
forth, nineteen laid down their lives in their coun¬
try's service, defending the flag on many a hard-
fought field."
When the first grant of land was made to the
inhabitants, a tract of fifty acres was appropriated
for the support of a free school for the use of the
English and Indian children. " At first the work
of teaching was performed in the several families
or in some private house where the children of the
settlement were assembled for that purpose." ^ As
before mentioned, Edward West was chosen school¬
master. " He appears to have been a man of su¬
perior education, whom the people desired to retain
in the settlement, and to whom they offered special
1 jiey sdmuud Dowse; Bi-Centeunial Sermon, October 18,
1874.
inducements to remain." In 1727 a vote was
passed "to build a school-house 18 feet wide & 20
ft. long, and to set it on Meettinghouse common on
the Southeasterly side of the Meetinghouse." The
school lands were sold during the next year to de¬
fray the expense of this structure. And this spot
remained as the site of a building used either
wholly or in part for school purposes for nearly
one hundred and fifty years.
In addition to the common schools with which
the town has always been provided, there has
usually been, for the last one hundred years, a
school of advanced grade for instruction in the
higher branches and in the classics, kept by Eev.
Dr. Locke, Eev. Elijah Brown, Eev. Amos Clarke,
and others. And at a still later period there were
occasional terms of private select school. Many
of the citizens felt the need of a more permanent
school of this character, and efforts were made from
time to time to establish it, but without success.
They therefore received with great satisfaction and
gratitude, in the year 1858, the proposition of the
executors of the will of Thomas Dowse, to convey
'to the town the sum of $5,000 in trust, for the
support of a high school which should furnish to
the youth of the town the means for study of the
higher English branches, and also those which are
required in preparation for entering college.
Thomas Dowse was a leather-dresser, and resided
in Cambridgeport during nearly the whole of a long
life. He was a thorough workman, and attentive
to his business, but had also a taste for science
and literature. He gradually accumulated a fine
library of valuable books, which were elegantly
bound, and thus satisfied his critical eye by their
appearance. His library was his treasure, but his
books were not kept for show. He was well ac¬
quainted with their contents, and passed most of
his leisure time among them. Although not a na¬
tive of Sherborn, he passed much time there during
his boyhood. His father also resided in the town
for several years. A portion of his estate was
wisely left to his executors in trust, to be bestowed
according to their judgment, for scientific and lit¬
erary purposes. In consideration of his family
connection with this town, and also of the fact that
many relatives ' bearing his name still resided here,
the executors, through Mr. George Livermore of
Cambridge, one of their number, deemed it appro¬
priate that the town should be the recipient of a por¬
tion of the means for usefulness and improvement
contemplated by the donor. Hence this acceptable
296
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
bequest, which will always remain as a memorial of
the practical benevolence of Thomas Dowse. The
Dowse Institute, in the city of Cambridge, is another
result of the judicious and thoughtful action of the
executors.
The school was opened and its first term com¬
menced March 14, 1859, and for fifteen years fur¬
nished the only means of education in the higher
studies enjoyed by the inhabitants of the town.
It was highly successful in its results, and afforded
many examples of faithful teaching and earnest
study. Its last term as an independent school was
held in the autumn of 1873.
But Sherborn was destined to be still more
highly favored. In the year 1870 the executors
of the will of the late Martha Sawin, of Natick,
gave notice to the town that Miss Sawin had be¬
queathed a large sum of money for the purpose
of founding and supporting an academy for the
instruction of its youth in the advanced branches
of learning. This was truly a munificent gift, and
gave promise of providing all needful education.
Members of the Sawin family were anciently in¬
habitants of Slierborn, and in later years, after their
removal over tlie border line into the bounds of the
town of Natick, they still attended church and school
in Sherborn, and owned land there. Their old and
cherished associations were therefore with Sherborn
rather than Natick. Miss Sawin also doubtless
felt that this town had greater need of assistance
in this direction than the town of Natick, which
was already provided with an efficient high school.
It became necessary to effect a compromise with
the heirs, who contested the will. This was finally
accomplished, and at a town-meeting called for
the purpose December 19, 1870, it was voted to
accept the bequest, and trustees were clîbsen to
take charge of the estate.
Five hundred dollars were also given, by the
terms of the will, to each of the religious socie¬
ties in Sherborn.
The amount remaining for the support of an
academy was now less than $40,000, invested in
real estate and other securities not immediately
available. The trustees were therefore not able
for some years to commence the actual work of
placing the academy in operation. An act of in¬
corporation was obtained of the legislature April
12, 1871, in which authority was vested in five
trustees, one to be chosen in each year after the first
year, in the annual meetings of the town, from
among its inhabitants. These trustees were also
to be trustees from that date of the Dowse school-
fund, but the two funds were to be kept distinct.
By the terms of this act a certain proportion of
the fund could be used for the erection of a build¬
ing. This was commenced in 1873 and completed
in 1874, and is an ornament to the town. It is
54 X 60 feet in size, two stories high, with a Man-
Sanin Academj.
sard roof, and has at the eastern corner an octagon
tower ninety feet in height. The material used in
its construction was brick, with granite trimmings.
It contains several commodious and well-lighted
school and recitation rooms, and the front wall of
the larger room is appropriately adorned with por¬
traits of Martha Sawin and Thomas Dowse. The
exercises of dedication were held September 10,
1874, and were very largely attended by the in¬
habitants of the town and by friends of education
from other places. The first session of the school
commenced immediately under the charge of Mr.
Edward A. H. Allen, who has continued to be its
principal to the present time.
In the year 1869, on the occasion of the great
Peace Jubilee in Boston, the Sherborn Musical
Association, formed for the purpose, attended and
participated in the grand celebration. They re¬
peated this service at the second Jubilee in 1872,
and have continued their organization to this day.
The pleasing art of music has always been culti¬
vated in the town.
October 21, 1874, occurred one of the most no¬
table and deeply interesting celebrations that have
ever engrossed the feelings of the friends of the
SHIRLEY.
297
town. The occasion was the two-hundredth anni¬
versary of the incorporation of Sherborn. To tiie
Oliver Everett Lodge of Good TemplarSj established
in the town, is due the credit of inaugurating tl)e
celebration, and their eiforts were crowned with
signal success. The oration was given by the
Hon. George B. Loring, and was an eloquent
tribute to the founders of the little municipality,
and to the patriotism of its citizens in all emergen¬
cies. It was also an interesting historical address.
Various shorter addresses were made by past and
present inhabitants, interspersed with music. The
entire exercises, connected as they were with* an¬
cient times and the early history of New England,
excited the deepest interest in the minds of all the
people in any way related to the town.
June 17, 1876, the citizens re-dedicated their
town-house, which had been injured by fire, and
also celebrated the day in an appropriate manner,
with addresses and music.
July 4, 1876, arrangements were made for the
celebration, by the whole town, of the centen¬
nial anniversary of American independence. A
picnic was enjoyed during the day at Earm Lake,
a beautiful sheet of water in the eastern part of
the town. In the evening literary exercises were
held at the town-hall. The Declaration of Inde¬
pendence was read, patriotic addresses were given
by various citizens, and music was furnished by the
Sherborn Musical Association.
Agriculture has always been the chief occupa¬
tion of the inhabitants of this town, althougli va¬
rious mechanical trades have, from time to time,
occupied a limited number. At present the chief
industries of this nature are the manufacture of
shoes, of willow-ware, and of cider and vinegar.
The latter is conducted on a much larger scale than
ever before.
Among the distinguished sons of Slierborn not
already mentioned are Kev. Zedekiah Sanger,
D. D., afterwards of Bridgewater; Eev. Samuel
Kendall, D. D., of Weston; Eev. Henry Ware,
D. D., professor of divinity at Harvard University,
and the father of Henry Ware, Jr., D. D., John
Ware, M. D., of Boston, a medical professor at
Harvard, and William Ware, the author of Ze¬
nobia and other American classics; and Asher
Ware, LL. D., a cousin of Henry Ware, a distin¬
guished lawyer and jurist, at one time also a pro¬
fessor at Harvard, and afterwards a judge of the
district court at Portland, Maine.
A History of Sherborn from 167L to 1830, by
William Biglow, was published in Milford in
1830 ; also a History of Sherborn and Holliston,
with Genealogies, by Abner Morse, in Boston, in
1856. The historical oration delivered at the bi¬
centennial celebration of the town, by Hon. George
B. Loring, and a sermon given during the same
week by Bcv. Edmmid Dowse, were published to¬
gether at Natick in 1875.
SHIRLEY.
BY EEV. SETH CHANDLEE.
It contains about 10,525 acres, or sixteen and one
half square miles, according to an official survey
made in 1832.
It is bounded on the north by Groton, on
the east by Groton and Harvard (from which
towns it is separated by the Squannacook and
Nashua rivers, which unite on its eastern boun¬
dary), on the south by Lancaster, and on the
west by Lunenburg and Townsend. Harvard,
Lancaster, and Lunenburg are in the county of
Worcester.
Shirley was originally a part of Groton, which
included a large territory granted to Dean Winthrop,
[lELEY is situated in the
northwesterly part of Middle¬
sex County. It is thirty-eight
miles northwest from Bos¬
ton, thirty miles in the same
direction from Cambridge,
and twenty miles southwest
from Lowell, the two shire-
towns of the county.
The town is of irregular
form, being seven and one
half miles between its extreme north and south
points, and but four miles at its greatest width.
298
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
son of Governor Winthrop, with several others, by
an act of " tlie General Court held in Boston tiie
ZS"* day of the 5"" month, 1655." Its location is so
far from the centre of tlie above-named territory—
the settlement of which at first progressed very
slowly, owing to Indian depredations and to the small
number of settlers—that it remained an unbroken
wilderness for more than sixty years after the grant
of the territory of Groton, and until all the settle¬
ments of the neighboring districts had successfully
commenced. During this period the Indian wars
of Massachusetts had been waged, carried on, and
concluded, and enterprising settlers were encour¬
aged to penetrate and occupy those hitherto wild
lands which were to be the future homes of them¬
selves and their children, without the protection of
garrisoned houses, and with no fear of surprise
from the nocturnal visits of the revengeful abo¬
rigines of the soil.
Tlie precise time of the first settlement in Sliir-
ley cannot now be ascertained, but is supposed to
have been about the year 1720. The farms first laid
out and occupied were ou the Squannacook Eiver
and along the northern boundary of the town. Tlie
second framed house was erected two miles from
what is now Shirley Centre, at the corner formed
by a union of the roads leading from Shirley and
Lunenburg to Groton. Tiie population had, iiow-
ever, become sufficiently numerous, as early as
1747, to realize the need of a distinct municipal
organization, and those who most fully recognized
this need united in forwarding a petition to the
parent town, praying for an act of separation.
The petition was graciously received and read
" at the anniversary meeting in Groton, and the
prayer thereof granted," with few modifications,
and recorded. But it was not- until six years from
the date of tiie petition above named that an
act of incorporation was passed by the state legis¬
lature. This was done at the January session of
1753, when the territory beeame a district, and re¬
ceived the name of Shirley in honor of William
Sliirley, Esq., who was then governor of Massa¬
chusetts.
By a subsequent act of the legislature in 1786
all districts that had been incorporated previous to
the year 1777 were made towns. In this change
Shirley was included.
By an act of the state legislature of 1765 a strip
of land on tiie south boundary of Shirley, lying
between Shirley and Lancaster, "being a terri¬
tory of about two hundred rods in breadth, and
extending in length one mile from Lunenburg line
to Nashua Eiver, was annexed to Shirley." This
additional territory has usually been denominated
Stow Leg, and the union is what now constitutes
the domain of the town.
The population lias been variable. In 1765 it
amounted to 430 souls, and in 1870, when at its
greatest, it counted 1,451.
The house of Mr. John Whitney, where the first
town-meeting was held, and where the people took
their first step as a body politic, was afterwards
purchased for a work-house and alms-house. Thus
the building, appropriated to the first public busi¬
ness of the town, was devoted permanently to a
public service, and continued as long as the wants
of the town demanded, when it again became a
private establishment.
Shirley is favorably located for the health of its
inhabitants. It is situated about fifteen miles from
the southern boundary of New Hampshire, in full
view of the lofty hills that range along that part of
the Granite State ; the refreshing breezes are an
antidote to the fogs and unhealthy exhalations that
arise from the low grounds and rivers by which the
town is partially intersected and bounded.
The soil has an undulating surface, rising to con¬
siderable elevations in some places and sinking into
corresponding valleys in other places, and in char¬
acter is variablè. The Mulpus Brook, which passes
through a northern valley of the town, is bordered
by a low swamp that naturally yields a coarse un¬
palatable grass, of little value as fodder, and which
in time, if- not guarded against, will give place to au
entirely worthless jungle. When cultivated and
drained, it becomes prolific of hay and other produce.
There are, bordered by the rivers, tracts of inter¬
vale land, that are usually overrun by water in tiie
spring and sometimes in autumn. These overflow¬
ings leave behind an annual tribute of sediment by
which the soil is largely enriched. The crops are,
however, exposed to unseasonable frosts and floods,
by whieh they are occasionally injured and sometimes
totally destroyed. In favorable years, under the
hand of faithful cultivation, these lands, easily
tilled, yield large harvests of grass and grain, but
are especially fitted to the growing of hops.
The productions of Shirley are much the same
as are found in other towns of tiie same latitude,
except, perhaps, that hops have been more a spe¬
cialty than in most other towns of the vicinity.
This product has occasionally amounted to fifty
thousand pounds grown in one year.
SHIRLEY.
299
Until some years after Shirley became a munici¬
pality, there was but one corn-mill within the limits
of the original territory of Groton, and tiiat was
situated on the extreme southern section, and is
now within tiie bounds of Harvard, in a place
known as the Old Mill District. This mill was
built in 1673. A short period subsequently to its
erection the town of Harvard was made the scene
of Indian depredations, but this edifice, so useful
to the towns in its vicinity, was passed over unmo¬
lested, and has been left for after generations during
all the years that have followed, and may render a
service for years to come.
During several years after its erection, so great
was the press of business tiiat the town was com¬
pelled to enact a law binding the proprietor of the
mill to set apart the second and sixth days of each
week, on which he could grind only for the Groton
people.
If the settlements in Shirley were commenced
about the year 1720, it must have been over tliirty
years, while its farms were slowly being established
and receiving their proprietors, before the first
corn-mill was erected. It stood upon the north
bank of Cantacoonamaug, was built soon after the
incorporation of the town, and owned by William
Longley and Samuel Hazen, two enterprising
farmers, whose descendants have continued, for
more than a century, to be among the most active
and enterprising citizens of the town. They may
well regard with pride their energetic ancestors as
public benefactors.
This mill was an humble structure, had but one
run of stones, and was without apparatus for
bolting. But humble as was the undertaking, it
was then a great event for the town, and was hailed
as the Imrbinger of better times.
To the settlers in Shirley the distance to the Old
Mill was from three to seven miles. A large ma¬
jority were forced in winter to convey their grain
to mill upon haud-sleds, and in summer upon
wheelbarrows. Many a weary load was thus con¬
veyed in those days, while many another, still more
wearisome, was borne on their stalwart shoulders.
Aud such was the amount of service required of
one small mill, that two journeys instead of one
were frequently demanded.
As the town advanced in population other corn-
mills, with their almost necessary adjunct, the saw¬
mill, were libérally supplied, answering the wants
of the general public.
The manufacture of cotton goods was com¬
menced in Shirley as early as 1812, and has been
continued, through all the succeeding years, as the
most extensive and profitable enterprise of which
the town can boast. It has availed itself of all the
improved facilities that genius has invented for
expediting the work, and with a favorable issue.
True, it has had its periods of loss, yet, ou the
whole, it must be regarded as a remarkable suc¬
cess.
Until the year 1832 the cotton-mills of Shirley
were of an inferior grade, both in dimensions and
capacity, but at the above date a new structure
was completed, which, including an addition since
made, is in length 150 and in breadth 36 feet, and
three stories in height. Its fabrics are light brown
sheetings, and when all the machinery is in use it
produces 22,500 yards per week. It is known as
the Fredoniau Mill, and is owned and operated by
S. W. and J. E. Smith.
Another large edifice for the manufacture of
cotton goods was completed in 1850. The struc¬
ture is of brick, three stories in height, exclusive
of the attic, which is filled with machinery, and its
dimensions are 140 x 50 feet. It was erected by
the Shaker community, but soon passed into the
possession of its present owners, — a company from
New Bedford, — and bears the name of the Phœnix
Mill. Its fabrics are brown and bleached sheet¬
ings, and, under favorable circumstances, the mill
will turn out 30,000 yards per w-eek.
The other cotton manufactory now in being
(1879) was erected by N. C. Munson in 1865.
Its length is 114 and its breadth 45 feet, and it
is three stories high. Its fabrics are brown sheet¬
ings, of which 7,500,000 yards annually are made.
These mills — with their predecessors of hum¬
bler dimensions, most, of which have been destroyed
by fire — were, aud are, all propelled by the waters
of the Cantacoonamaug, a small stream that passes
through the southern valley of the town and emp¬
ties into the Nashua. They have created a village
on the banks of this stream, the largest, most pop¬
ulous, and most enterprising within the town. It
is situated two miles south of the Centre, and on
the road leading to Lancaster and Worcester.
The manufacture of paper stands next, in time
and importance, to that of cottons. In the latter
years of the last century Jonas and Thomas Par¬
ker, brothers, and natives of Shirley, left home and
resided one year in Waltham, Massachusetts, where
they acquired the art of paper-making. They re-
turiied to Shirley, and, in connection with Joseph
300
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Edgarton, Esq., built the first paper-mill. Like
most of the manufacturing interests of the town,
it was located upon the Catacoonamaug.
The announcement that paper-making was about
to be added to the other enterprises of the town
created quite a sensation among its yeomanry, and
all seemed to look with anxiety for a development
of the plan. It was, however, an humble effort
compared with what has since been put forth in the
same direction. The mill had but one engine, and
no other drying process was then known but the
slow one by sun and air. The enterprise, notwith¬
standing, was a great novelty in this vicinity.
The next paper manufactory was built by Edgar-
ton & Co., on the Nashua Eiver, near the borders
of the town. It was a large building, two stories
in height. Henry P. Howe was the superintendent
of this mill, and, being a skilful machinist, sought
out different methods by which to remedy the tedi¬
ous process of air-drying. He finally hit upon the
plan, which was subsequently patented, known as
the "fire dryer." This wonderful machine, after
many trials, alterations, and improvements, was at
length completed, and put in operation with satis¬
factory results. It is hardly possible to describe
the astonishment created by the discovery. That
produced by the old processes would hardly be
regarded as worthy the meanest service to which
paper is devoted at the present day.
By the invention of Mr. Howe the pulp is re¬
ceived from the grinding engines at one end of the
machine, and after passing through a complicated
process comes out at the other end finished paper,
ready for immediate use.
The reputation of the inventor was now suffi¬
ciently established to warrant him to undertake the
manufacture of paper-making machinery, furnished
with the "fire dryer." He accordingly fitted up
a machine-shop, and carried on the business in
town for three years, when he removed to Worces¬
ter, Massachusetts, where he soon after died. The
"fire dryer," which promised- so much in the
outset, has been superseded by steam drying,
which is the best method that ever has or probably
ever will be invented.
The Edgarton manufactory, under different
contractors, continued in operation until June 15,
1837, when it was destroyed by fire, with all its
contents, including several tons of paper ready for
the market. John M. Sherwin, one of the operá-
tives, fell a victim to the confiagration.
In 1842 another mill was erected on the privi¬
lege, with a capacity for making one ton of manilla
paper per day. It continued about ten years, when
it was also destroyed by fire, and the manufacture
of woollen goods was established in its place. The
buildings that were prepared for this new enterprise
were large and showy, but within one year from
their erection they shared the fate of their prede¬
cessors.
The manufacture of paper has been continued,
with varied success, from its commencement,
through all the years that have followed, and is
now (1879) in profitable operation, although upon
a much smaller scale than formerly. It is confined
to one mill, which turns out four tons of finished
paper per week, which is made into paper bags.
These bags are made by machinery, at the rate of
120,000 per day.
Farmers' tools — such as scythes, forks, and
various other iron and steel implements — have
at different times been manufactured in Shirley.
Carriage-building has also had its seasons of success
at different periods. For the twenty years that
succeeded 1840 a large carriage-making establish¬
ment was conducted by Harvey Woods and Broth¬
ers. They manufactured carriages from the
cheapest to the most ornamental kinds. During
some of these years they turned out six hundred
railroad carts, and in the time of the Mexican War
and during the War of the Eebellion many mili¬
tary baggage-wagons and ambulances were also
manufactured here, and the proprietors enjoyed a
well-earned reputation for their fidelity as business
men.
Leather, palm-leaf hats, baskets, hoop-skirts, and
various other products have had their place and
day among the manufactures of the town.
The Shakers of Shirley have devoted themselves
to different manufactures that the wants of the
community have demanded, and their products
have ever sustained a salable reputation. They
vary their employments according to the wants of
the times. They have made agricultural imple¬
ments, wooden ware, hair sieves, corn brooms,
grass bonnets, husk mats, feather fans, and fancy
articles of various kinds. They also cure herbs,
make apple-sauce, preserve catchup and pickles,
distil roses and the different mints, and thus meet
a want nowhere else so well supplied. Their
stanch honesty, industrious habits, and frugal
living inay "be seen and understood of all men.
Their products enable them to live above physical
want, and above any unreasonable fear of coming
SHIRLEY.
8U1
penury. They are neither rich nor poor, but
pursue that medium course which makes them
satisfied with themselves and the world, and leaves
open to them a consistent faith in another and
better state.
It has been truly remarked that the descendants
of the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony and those
of the Puritans of the Massachusetts Colony de¬
preciated greatly from the high standard of their
fathers in intellectual culture, for at least three
generations, where tiie best opportunities existed
that the country could supply ; but more than this
may be said of the settlements that were scattered
through the inland towns and plantations. In
these places very few school privileges could be
afforded. Generations were born and passed away
without access to institutions of public instruction.
This was true of the settlers of Shirley. So remote
were they from the centre of Groton, and so small
their own ability to sustain a school of the simplest
character, that from 1720 — the time when their
settlements were supposed to have commenced —
until four years after their incorporation as a
town, a period of thirty-seven years, no movement
was made in the direction of public instruction.
Hence, generations were born and passed away
without ever entering a school-room. And yet
there were but few that were reared in those times
who could not read, write, and cipher, which shows
that home instruction was not wholly neglected.
Indeed, it is known that several individuals of
respectable standing in town, who held municipal
offices, acquired the rudiments of learning after
their eighteenth birthday, and with little other tlian
self-help ! In one instance an aged man told the
writer of this sketch that he did not even know the
first letter of the alphabet until after lie was mar¬
ried, when, through the assistance of his wife, he
acquired a competent knowledge, for his day, to
hold a respectable place in society.
In May of 1757 the town voted "to have a,
school for three months, and have it commence in
August or September." This school ■ was con¬
ducted in an apartment of a private dwelling.
Schools were, from time to time, held in different
parts of the town, down to tiie opening of the War
of the Eevolution, when, owing to the straitened
condition of the town finances, they were suspended
until the close of that struggle. Peace imparted
new hope to the people, and secured an increase of
educational effort. The schools were then resumed,
increased, and enlarged as occasion required, giving
every child an opportunity to participate in the
benefits of public instruction.
The first school-house was located in the centre
of the town, for the use of all the children in town.
It was a humble edifice, about twenty feet square,
covered outside by rough boards, with no inside
ceiling. It was furnished with a cellar, to which
access was gained through a trap-door in the centre
of the room. In one corner of the apartment
stood a huge fireplace, built of rough stones and
surmounted by a chimney of the same materials.
The room was furnished with a few seats, made of
rough planks, and with benches constructed of
boards, over which a plane never passed. To
facilitate the means of supporJ;ing a school for
a few weeks each year, it was customary to rent
the building to some jjedagogue or school-dame, as
a tenement, in part payment for his or her services.
Dame Nutting — as she was reverently called at
the time by people of every age — occupied this
responsible station for many years. This female
official might have stood beside Falstaff him¬
self without losing aught by the comparison. She
kept herself furnished with a stick, some six feet
in length, with which she reduced her urchins to
due subordination. Hand-bells had uot then been
invented, and as a substitute the dame would step
outside the door and ply her stick to the weather-
beaten ceiling ; and woe to the offender who did not
heed, for the recent notions in regard to corporal
punishinent formed no part of the school code of
those days.
The work of school-teaching was assumed by
Dame Nutting at a late period of her life. In her
younger days she broke the monotony of household
duties by a very difi'erent employment, — she made
excursions to Boston, and procured young negroes,
either by gift or purchase, and secured homes for
them, at a price, in Shirley and vicinity. She
travelled on horsback, and conveyed her infant
charges in panniers. Andrew Mitchell, who was
a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and from
whom descended many families, was one of the
protégés of this afterward famous school-dame.
Eventually the town was divided into districts,
— three in number, — and these, by subsequent
changes, were enlarged to five, and then to seven,
which promise to meet all present and coming
wants in this direction. The town has also always
made such pecuniary appropriations for educational
purposes as to give it an average standing with
the other towns and cities of the commonwealth.
302
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
There are elderly people in all our towns who
behold with rejoicing the contrast between the
present schools and those of their early days, when
their school-buildings were little better than
hovels, their school-terms limited to six or eight
weeks, and their text-books confined to Dilworlh's
Speller, the New Testament and Psalter, and per¬
haps Webster's Third Part, and none but " written
arithmetics."
By the will of the late Hon. Leonard M. Parker
the town has been furnished with the commence¬
ment of a fund for the support of a high school
for the free use of all the inhabitants of the town.
Though the settlements of Shirley were subse¬
quent to the time jaf Indian depredations, the town
was organized as a district seven years before the
close of what has been termed the French War,
which occasionally demanded army recruits from
tlie colonies. Several volunteered from Groton
and some from Shirley, among whom was Mr.
Josepli Longley. He was chairman of the select¬
men at the organization of the district, and was
the first town-elerk. This latter office he was ap¬
pointed to fill until 1758, when he enlisted in his
Majesty's service, and was mortally wounded in the
battle and defeat of Fort William Henry.
Previous to tlie rupture witli the motherland
the town had assumed larger proportions, and was
enabled to take an active and decided part in the
controversies and conflicts that resulted in the inde¬
pendence of the country.
The settlers of Shirley had, with the Puritan de¬
scent generally, been proud of their motherland, —
" blessed England," as they reverently called her, —
and willingly did reverence to the " best of kings";
yet when the grievances imposed had become too
numerous and oppressive to be tamely endured,
they were prepared to second every worthy measure
to sustain the rights and secure the liberties of the
colonies, and to pledge their property and lives in
the glorious struggle for independence.
The papers that were drawn at the order and
sanctioned by a vote of the town, in relation to
British aggressions, —too long for insertion here,—
are admirable both in spirit and scholarship. The
first was adopted at a meeting of the town, October
18, 1765, and was a protest against the Stamp Act.
While they firmly condemned in this paper the
officials of the crown, they avowed loyalty to his
Majesty's person, and invoked for him the favor of
Heaven.
In about eight years after the repeal of the
Stamp Act the inhabitants of the town received a
missive from a committee appointed by a meeting
of the citizens of Boston, complaining of the in¬
justice of the crown in appointing judges for the
province of Massachusetts Bay, paying their sal¬
aries, and without whose consent they could not be
removed, as a serious infringement of their rights,
giving the people no better chance for justice, no
better security of life and property, than if they
were ruled by the most despotic government under
heaven.
In relation to the Act on Tea, passed by the par¬
liament of Great Britain in 1773, we find the fol¬
lowing resolutions, with other decisions equally
firm, receiving the unanimous vote of the citizens
convened for the purpose : —
"1. That we will neither buy, nor sell, nor
drink, nor suffer it to be drunk in any of our fam¬
ilies, any Tea tiiat is subject to an American duty.
" 2. That we will stand ready to unite ndth our
brethren, through the colonies, in every proper
measure to retrieve out liberties and to establish
them upon such a firm basis, that it will be out of
the power, iit least of our present enemies, to wrest
them out of our hands."
The sympathy, repeatedly expressed, with the
citizens of Boston was confirmed by deeds. After
the passage of the Boston Port Bill a town-meeting
was called and holden, January 18, 1775, at which
it was voted to " make some provision for the suf¬
fering poor in Boston and Charlestown on account
of the Boston Port Bill, so called, and that the
same be done by subscription." A committee was
chosen " to receive the donations for said poor, and
forward them, as soon as may be, to Boston or
Charlestown."
At this same meeting the yoke of allegiance to
the mother country was completely broken by a
vote to withhold the province tax for the support
of his Majesty's government.
It was also voted, at this meeting, to endorse
the Association of the Grand American Congress,
held in Philadelphia in October, 1774. The paper
of association, which was drawn for the signatures
of the entire people, — too long for insertion here, —
would have done honor to a much older commu¬
nity than that which peopled the young town of
Shirley. It was presented for signatures January 18,
1775. This decisión of the people avas attended
by another as extraordinary as it was rare. Here
is the record. " At a legal meeting of the inhabi¬
tants of Shirley, held on the 18th day of Jan.,
ÜHIRLEY.
303
A.D. 1775. Resolved and voted that the above
draught of an association is approved of, and that
the same be entered in the District Book of rec¬
ords, and that the same be signed by tlie several
inhabitants of said district, and that the committee
of correspondence see that the same is done or in¬
form the district at their next district meeting of
every person who shall delay or refuse to sign the
same, so that the district may take such further
order thereon as they may think proper."
This liearty and unanimous response to the pro¬
ceedings of the First Continental Congress proved
that the patriotism of Shirley was without any mix¬
ture of tory alloy.
By such decision on the part of the yeomanry of
the country a formal separation from Britisli rule
was encouraged, and nerve was given to the daring
of the council and to the valor of the battle-field.
The pledges that were made by the people of
Sliirley were nobly redeemed. When the tidings
of the Lexington battle reached town, every man
old enough to bear arms, except seven, volunteered
his services and marched to Cambridge. The age
and infirmities of these, or the situation of their
families, prevented them from joining their brethren.
One of them, Mr. William Longley, known to the
people as Old Will the Miller, though bent down
with age and supporting himself with two staves,
said he would join the company, and when reminded
of his infirmity, replied, " I know that I cannot
bandle a musket, yet I will fight the redcoats with
my two canes," at the same moment brandishing
those formidable weapons aloft.
The church common was crowded with the eager
citizens. Women and children were there to en¬
courage their sons and brothers to be true to the
principles of liberty, to supply them with the com¬
forts needed on their march to join the army before
Boston, to invoke tlie blessing of Heaven upon the
enterprise, and to bid them what might prove a
last farewell ! These movements were unmistak¬
able tokens of the patriotism of the actors.
Volunteers went, from time to time, as militia¬
men before the opening of the memorable campaign
of 1777. Twenty-two men were then raised for the
regular army, and tlie town voted each man thus
raised $20 additional bounty.
Subsequently the citizens of Shirley were re¬
quired to supply other support in the service of
the war, such as muskets, military coats, and camp
stores, all of which were readily contributed.
In 1780 more men were wanted, and the town I
voted every volunteer one hundred silver dollars,
and it also voted to give £40 to each recruit who
would serve three months additional to his ap¬
pointed time.
At the next annual town-meeting the town voted
to raise $1,200 in silver, to be assessed on the in¬
habitants, towards paying the soldiers hired for
three years, whose time had expired.
Added to this heavy war expense in camp and
field, the town appointed a committee to provide
for the wants of the families of tlie absent soldiers,
in addition to the ordinary current expenses of the
town.
But when peace came, and the armies of foreign
oppression were withdrawn, there was not that liar-
mony of action established that is required to build
up and sustain a well-ordered republic. In Mas¬
sachusetts insurrectionary movements commenced
with petitions from popular assemblies to the state
government for a redress of grievances, which were
not duly regarded. The result was that armed
forces assembled in several counties, under different
leaders, who committed acts of violence by stop¬
ping courts of justice, arresting private citizens and
holding them in durance, and in some instances by
pillage and robbery.
Now, although the jreople of Shirley had, with¬
out a solitary exception, sustained the cause of
American independence, they were, with one or
two exceptions, in favor of some movement
to ameliorate the existing condition of things.
And it may be tliat a majority did not discoun¬
tenance a resort to forcible measures, should milder
efforts fail. It was the first purpose of the insur¬
gents to suppress the courts of sessions until some
action should be taken to stay the fiood of execu¬
tions which wasted their property and made their
homes desolate. Hence, a party from Sliirley
joined another party from Groton, under the com¬
mand of Job Shattuck, of the last-named place, who
had served in the French and Revolutionary wars,.
and was otherwise qualified to be conspicuous in
such a cause.
Connected ivith Mr. Shattuck in this command
were two brothers, residents of Shirley, — Sylvanus
and Nathan Smith, — both of wliom had been offi¬
cers in the late War for Independence. The party
marched to Concord on the I2th of September,
bivouacked for the night, and by preventing the ses¬
sion of the court on the following day accomplished
their object, and returned to their homes.
In January, 1787, the army headquarters of the
3Ü4
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
insurgents being at Pelham, where the commander
resided, invitations were extended to the disaffected
in every part of the state to organize, and repair
thither, and act as circumstances should require.
This presented another opportunity for the disaf¬
fected patriots of Shirley and Groton to show their
zeal for the rebel cause. Matthew Clark, a resi¬
dent of Shirley, and a private in the campaign, has
thus described the movement ; we follow his ac¬
count.
" A number of men were, assembled from Shirley
and Groton, in the centre of the first-named town,
at the public-house of Mr. James Dickerson, and
after paying their devotions at the altar of Bacchus
grew brave, and proceeded to organize themselves
into a military company, to join the insurgent forces
under Shays, and assist him in his patriotic work.
Aaron Bigelow, of Groton, was elected captain;
Solomon Pratt, of Shirley, was promoted to a lieu¬
tenancy ; and Cornelius Davis, also of Shirley, was
appointed ensign. The company immediately took
up a line of march for Pelham, which place they
reached on the third day. They remained there
about eight days, when the rebel army was re¬
moved to Petersham.
" During this period the company from Shirley
formed a part of the detachment that was sent to
Springfield to suppress a court in that place. After
a slight skirmish the detachment was driven back
by government troops. As General Lincoln, who
commanded these troops, pushed forward towards
the rebel camp in Petersham, Shays, with his prin¬
cipal officers, fied to other states, and eventually
took refuge in Canada. Captain Bigelow and
Lieutenant Pratt were also among the missing ; but
Ensign Davis, true to the obligations he had as¬
sumed, never left his command, but made an
orderly retreat back to Shirley with his entire
company. At Fitchburg, through which town
they passed, a body of government troops were
stationed to intercept, and if possible capture them ;
but so well disciplined and firm was the rebel corps,
that it was allowed an unmolested course. As these
soldiers marched through the villages lying on their
way, they presented as great external appearance
of ' the pomp of war ' as their means would allow,
by unfurling their banner and marching in closed
ranks to the sound of music.
"When the company arrived at the border of
Shirley it was disbanded, and each man returned
to his home. Subsequently every individual that
volunteered in this campaign was arrested, carried
to Fitchburg, and there forced to surrender his
arms, take the oath of allegiance, and receive a
discharge."
The following action from the town records vrill
show the attitude of the people at this perilous
period. A meeting of the town called by a war¬
rant posted January 29, 1787, contained these
articles : 1. "To see what the town will do in re¬
gard to sending provision to those men who are
gone, or about to go (as they say), in defence of
their rights and privileges. 2d. To see if the town
will take into consideration the present distressing
circumstances of our public affairs, and consult
upon means for a settlement of those disturbances
that are subsisting in this commonwealth."
At the meeting that followed it was voted, " Ist,
not to send provisions to the men gone from this
town under arms. 2d, to choose a committee,
agreeable to the second article." This committee
reported in favor of sending a petition to the Gen¬
eral Court praying that all " the disturbances sub¬
sisting in this commonwealth may be settled";
which report was accepted, and the petition sent.
By this action of the town we find that a majority
of the people were opposed to the use of forcible
measures, though it cannot be denied that almost
all of them were in favor of some immediate and
salutary reforms in the affaira of government.
The War of 1812 with Great Britain and the
Mexican War have left no data worthy of record,
and the incidents usual to most of the New Eng¬
land towns were experienced in Shirley in regard
to the War of the Rebellion. The news of the
capture of Fort Sumter, which came to town
April 15, 1861, aroused the entire community
from their apathy, and caused the dullest to be¬
lieve that the rebels were in earnest in their bellig¬
erent declarations. From that time until the war
closed the interest and zeal of our people were
unabated. Town-meetings were of frequent occur¬
rence, large sums of the public funds were appro¬
priated for the benefit of the army, and the stream
of private charity was constantly accumulating for
the encouragement and comfort of the Federal sol¬
diers.
The whole number mustered into the service
from Shirley was one hundred and thirty-eight.
Of this number twenty-one were killed, died in
camp or hospital, or at home of disease engendered
by the hardships of army life.
The town has been largely peopled by persons
of rural occupations and rural habits. To till the
SHIRLEY.
305
soil has been their life business. The average
yearly death-rate during the one hundred and six¬
teen years of the town's existence has been 12 J per
year. There have been, at different periods, eight
physicians who have_ lived and practised their pro¬
fessions in town. Of those who made Shirley the
place of their life-work was Dr. Augustus G. Parker.
He was born in Harvard, February 14, 1796.
His father was a physician, and he was the youngest
child of a numerous family. He early imbibed a
taste for the profession of his father, and while yet
a youth began to acquaint himself with the rudi¬
ments of the healing art. It is undoubtedly true
that his future success was, in large degree, owing
to that singleness of purpose with which he de¬
voted himself to the duties of his calling. While
he was yet a minor his father removed with his
family into the state of Vermont, where he passed
the rest of his life.
Here the subject of this notice commenced the
active duties of his profession in company with his
fixther. He was thus ushered into business, like
many other practitioners of his time, without a
public education, and without those other privi¬
leges that are now almost universally regarded as a
necessary passport to the confidence of the com¬
munity.
Dr. Parker removed to Harvard, his native town,
and entered into partnership with Dr. Stone of that
place. In one year he removed to Shirley, where
he passed the remainder of his life, having a very
large and lucrative practice. In 1827 he received
a diploma from the Massachusetts Medical Society.
He died June 18, 1843, in the forty-eighth year of
his age.
The early settlers of most of the New England
towns were of Puritan descent, and possessed one
form of Christian faith, one order of church pol¬
ity, — hence the ecclesiastical history of one com¬
munity may be fairly taken as a history of all.
It consisted generally of accounts of special fasts,
the calling, ordaining, and burying of ministers, —
for it was rarely true that one was dismissed, or
relinquished his position while he lived, — the dis¬
ciplining of members, and the building of meeting¬
houses.
Fm* several years after the town was incor¬
porated the people continued to worship with their
friends in Groton, and it was not until after many
and hard struggles with poverty that they were
enabled to set up an altar to God nearer home.
In 1754 the first meeting-house was erected.
When first occupied it was only rough-ceiled on
the outside, and wliolly without pews or seats,
either on the ground-floor or in the galleries.
Still, it was an essential point of attraction for all
true lovers of the sanctuary. It protected them
from the rough winter blasts, and from the scorch¬
ing suns of summer, and supplied the hardy settlers
with a place of worship.
With various improvements, this house remained
the only place of public worship for twenty years,
when it was converted into a barn, which is now
in use. In 1773 the second meeting-house was
erected, and the framework and outside covering
of this second temple are now parts of the meeting¬
house of the First Congregational Society, which
is now and ever has been in constant occupancy.
The building has undergone alterations on three
different occasions, and is at present one of the
most convenient, ornamental, and substantial
church structures that can be found in any of our
rural districts.
It was some eight years after the meeting-house
had been prepared for use before a ministry had
been established, the pulpit, meantime, being sup¬
plied by transient preachers and regular candidates.
On the 25th of February, 1762, Mr. Phinehas
Whitney received a unanimous invitation to settle,
on the following terms ; First, he was to receive
£133 6«. 8 <7. as a settlement, one half to be paid
in three months, and the rest within the year.
Second, he was to receive £53 13 jt. 4 «7. as a sal¬
ary, to be raised to £60 when the towp should
have seventy-five families, and to £66 13«. 4<7.
when there were eighty-five families. Third, he
was annually to receive twenty cords of wood, to
be cut and brought to his door. These prelimi¬
naries being adjusted, Mr. Whitney was ordained
June 23, 1762.
The ministry of Mr. Whitney, which lasted for
more than half a century, was one of general peace
and prosperity. He had the confidence of his
people, and between him and them a good degree
of harmony was maintained. He was also favor¬
ably considered abroad, was frequently invited to
sit in ecclesiastical councils, to assist in the settle¬
ment of clergymen, and was noted for his decision
and firmness. In the trying period of the Ameri¬
can Kevolution, when the people of the town found
themselves unable to pay his full salary, he bore
the deprivation with calm resignation, and even
contributed of his private resources, towards the
expenses of the war, what would have been an
306
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
equitable tax on his property, had that property
been legally taxable.
Mr. Whitney was a classmate and particular
friend of Rev. Zabdiel Adams, of Lunenburg, and
preached the funeral sermon at the burial of that
distinguished divine. In his doctrinal views Mr.
Whitney assented to many of the tenets that were
imported in the Mayflower, yet maintained a be¬
coming liberality towards fellow-Christians of other
names. He seemed rooted and grounded in the
noble principles of Arminian Congregationalism,
and hplieved that on these principles the church
militant could be most securely established.
Mr. Whitney Avas born in Weston, Massachu¬
setts, April 2-3, 1740, graduated at Harvard College
in 1759, and died in 1819, after having entered
the fifty-seventh year of his ministry. For several
of the later years of his life he was deprived, by
paralysis, of ability to perform his pulpit labors,
and had the assistance of a colleague from 1815
until within a few months of his death. From
1819 until 1834 the society was without a settled
minister, when the present incumbent. Rev. Seth
Chandler, was chosen for the work.
The first important secession from the old Con¬
gregational Church was made by UniversaRsts in
1812. On the 21st of September of that year a
religious organization was effected, of these se-
ceders, who called themselves the First Universal
Christian Society in Shirley. This movement Avas
not more the result of seetarian than of local in¬
fluences.
The south village, through, its manufacturing
interests, had begun to assume an importance that
laid claim to some special identity, and the location
of a church in its midst would secure that identity.
Most of those, too, aa-Iio from religious motives
were engaged in the movement, lived in the vicin¬
ity; and that village — tAvo miles from the cen¬
tre of the town — was chosen to locate the ncAA',
and what Avas considered in all the region around
strange form of Christian belief.
The first meeting-house Avas erected in 1816.
It was a humble structure, neither neat, tasteful,
nor convenient. Its high box-pcAVS and angular
aisles were in striking contrast with the orna¬
mented mouldings and fretted cornices that had
distinguished those portions of.church architecture,
even in Puritan temples, that had survived to that
period. It had but one door of entrance, which
opened into a narrow porch, and thence tc the
body of the church. A singers' gallery extended
along the western waU, and was entered by flights
of stairs located within the auditorium of the house.
It was covered by a hip-roof and furnished with a
numerous array of windows, not protected by blinds.
The cheap and inartistic properties and proportions
of this religious temple marked the care and fru¬
gality of the time.
In 1846 this uncouth structure was thoroughly
remodelled, and made to present the graceful pro¬
portions of modem architecture. In 1869 it was
removed, and converted into a public hall, and a
new and splendid church edifice was set up in its
place. Its style of architecture is the English
Gothic, adapted to Avooden structures. The length
of the building, including chancel and vestiy, is
one hundred and ten feet. The width is forty-one
feet. Including the porch and towér, the Airidth is
sixty-six feet. The height of the spire is one hun¬
dred feet, and it is sufficiently capacious at the base
to admit carriages. The entire expense of the
church was $25,000. The society has furnished
itself with the various organized means of charity,
juvenile instruction, and adult mental culture, that
have become the order of the day, and is designed
to exert a healthful moral influence throughout the
village and vicinity.
The second ecclesiastical secession was a separa¬
tion of the Trinitarians from the First Church, a
majority of that church being of the Unitarian faith.
The new organization Avas effected March 12,
1828, and vras named the Orthodox Congrega¬
tional Church in Shirley.
A small brick meeting-house was erected in the
centre of the town, which remained the place of
worship for the new society until 1850, when, by
a majority vote, the society removed the location
of its Sabbath services from the central to the
south village of the town, where a new meeting¬
house was erected, more capacious than the first,
which has ever remained the place of its solemn
assembling.
The Orthodox Society had been in existence for
two years, Avhen its first minister, Mr. Hope
Brown, of Fitchburg, received a call to the pastor¬
ship. He was ordained June 22, 1830, and re¬
mained in the connection for nearly fourteen years,
when he was dismissed, by his own request, and re¬
moved to Naperville, Illinois, where he for a time
had the charge of a parish. Thence he removed to
Rockford, where he still lives, but without a stated
ministry.
While Mr. Brown held his pastorship in Shirley
SHIRLEY.
307
he conferred the rite of baptism upon forty-nine
persons, and received eighty-eight into church com¬
munion. He was very active and faithful in the dis¬
charge of his parochial duties, and had frequent calls
from other towns to sit in ecclesiastical councils,
and wherever he was known he secured the confi¬
dence and respect of his fellow-citizens. His sep¬
aration from his parish and his removal from the
neighborhood were very generally regretted, and
many of his friends could hardly be reconciled to a
policy that dissolved a connection which had been
so long and so prosperously sustained. The sub¬
sequent history of this society has been one of
frequent change.
A secession was made from the Orthodox Society
in 1853, of a few of its members of Baptist pro¬
clivities, who formed a ciiurch, erected a chapel,
and have sustained their identity as a distinct peo¬
ple, without a settled ministry.
The only remaining ecclesiastical revolution wor¬
thy of notice in this place occurred in 1781-82,
and its singularity will impart a peculiar interest
to the reading community. At the date named,
Ann Lee, the famous prophetess and preacher of
Shakerism, having immigrated to this country with
several of her followers, and having established
themselves a home in the wilderness near Albany,
in the state of New York, made a missionary tour
through parts of Connecticut and Massachusetts,
and at length found a family in Harvard, in the
last-named state, where she and her doctrines were
kindly received, and where she abode, dispensing
the word for a long season. She taught that
Christ must appear twicej in and through one per¬
son of each sex, in order that his system of faith
might be perfect and effectual in the work of human
salvation. She said that he had appeared the first
time through Jesus of Nazareth, the son of a car¬
penter, and that his second coming was through
herself, the daughter of a blacksmith, and by receiv¬
ing her faith — the distinguishing article of which
was celibacy — Christians would have a perfect
scheme of salvation, would be like the angels in
heaven, and that when it should be fully carried
out it would introduce a universal spiritual exist¬
ence, where men could no more be born or die.
While "Mother Ann," as she was reverently
called by her disciples, remained in Harvard, many
persons from the neighboring towns went to see
her and hear her speak, some with a desire to find
a purer feith, and others out of curiosity.
A portion of her hearers became believers in her
mission ; among whom were two farmers who lived
in the extreme southern part of Shirley. They were
brothers, Elijah and Ivory Wilds. These were
joined by two other families, living in Lancaster,
whose estates joined those of the Wilds. Their
names were John Warner and Nathan. Willard.
The farms of these four individuals were united in
a joint-stock proprietary, and it forms the territory
now owned and occupied by the Shirley Shakerg.
The two dwellings where the Wilds lived are yet
(1879) standing, time-worn and weather-beaten,
amid the more imposing structures ■which the
larger temporal means of these humble believers
have enabled them to rear around. They contain
the rooms, unaltered, in which the holy " Mother
Ann " discoursed to her spiritual children, where
her elders knelt in prayer, and where they led in the
sacred songs, the devout march, and the solemn
dance.
These meetings for worship were of frequent oc¬
currence during the early periods of their history,
and were often attended by strangers from a dis¬
tance. Women have been known to come to them
on foot a journey of twenty and more miles, and
return on the evening of the same day. On one
occasion two women walked from Mason, New
Hampshire, twenty miles, on a rainy Sunday, and
were even obliged to stop and wring the water from
their stockings, then proceeding on their journey
unharmed by the elements, being protected by their
faith.
Those who have witnessed the mild and graceful
movements of the modern Shaker worship cannot
fully understand the zeal with which the early
believers labored in the same vocation. Their
dances and marchings were accompanied with vio¬
lent twitchings and stampings, with shakings and
whirlings, and oftentimes individuals dropped in
a swoon, in which they would lie for hours, and
even for days.
Though the Shakers of Shirley had few, if any,
legal persecutions, they have not wholly escaped
the violence of mobocracy, especially in the early
stages of their existence. The most notable instance
of mob persecution occurred at the house of Elijah
Wilds on the evening of June 1, 1873, and on the
morning of the day following. From a written
testimony of said Wilds the following account has
been mainly derived. Ann Lee and her elders —
James Whittaker and William Lee—had come
over from Harvard to hold a religious meeting
with their friends in Shirley, "in conseciuence of
308
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Mother's testimony against all sin and every kind
of impurity of flesh and spirit, and the great con¬
viction it [her testimony] produced among the
people in this vicinity, a tumultuous mob was
raised, mostly from the town of Harvard, and con¬
sisting altogether of the enemies of the cross.
The malicious crew came to my house on Sabbath
evening, about eight o'clock, and surrounded the
house. Some of the leaders of the mob were or
had been captains in the militia, and still bore that
title. They were followed by a large number of
men, for the evident purpose of abusing Mother
and the Elders."
The little assembly of worshippers, thus invested
by a furious mob, knew not how to protect them¬
selves. They had no disposition to use the means
of physical defence,if they had them. Supposing the
malice of the invader would be aimed chiefly at their
female leader, they hurried her into a small, dark
closet, that led from a chamber, and concealed the
door of the closet by placing before it a high chest
of drawers. Their next plan was to convey intelli¬
gence to the municipal authorities, and claim pro¬
tection. But this could not be easily effected, as
the house was completely surrounded by the mob,
and none were allowed to pass out. At length a
woman who lived in the neighborhood, and who
had a nursing infant at home, asked permission to
depart and attend to her little one. Her request
was granted, and she lost no time in reporting to
the proper officers the perilous condition of her
friends at the house of Elijah Wilds.
The written narrative proceeds : "When day¬
light appeared, the leaders of the mob called for
Mother and the Elders to come out to them. With
this demand they did not see fit to comply, but
gave them liberty to come into the house, and they
came in accordingly. Mother and the Elders re¬
quested us to prepare some breakfast for them,
which was done, and the mob leaders sat down and
ate. Mother then advised me to feed the residue
of the mob who were in the dooryard. Accord¬
ingly, I carried out bread and cheese, of which they
eat freely. After this the elders went into the
dooryard, and Elder James [Whittaker] addressed
them, and said, ' Why have ye come here to
abuse or hurt us ? What have we done ? Have
we injured your persons or your property ? If we
have, make us sensible of it, and we will make
you restitution.'
" These words so enraged the mob with enmity,
that they seized the speaker by one arm, and the
brethren seized him by the other, and held him till
he cried out, ' Lord have mercy ! you will pull me
in pieces.' At this cry the hands of the mob were
loosed from him."
The police, arriving at this moment, ordered the
mob to disperse. This brought the intruders to a
stand, and after some parley the leaders in the riot
proposed that if the two elders — James Whit¬
taker and William Lee — would return with them
to Harvard, to the house of Jeremiah Willard, one
of their brethren, they would not injure them or
their friends. Though the elders had no confi¬
dence in the professions or promises of their per¬
secutors, they consented to their proposal, hoping
thereby to draw them away from the house of Mr.
Wilds, when an opportunity would be presented of
relieving the " Mother " from her closet confine¬
ment. Accordingly, with a number of the brethren,
they proceeded to Harvard, followed by the mob
that had molested them through the night.
On arriving at Harvard the rioters violated their
engagement with the elders that they would not in¬
jure them, and, dragging them out into a convenient
place for their purpose, first tied James Whittaker
to the limb of a tree, where they scourged him
with a whip until he felt that the skin was almost
flayed from his back. This flagellation he received
with calm submission, and blessed God that he was
accounted worthy to suffer in the cause of his Master.
They next brought out William Lee, who told
them he would not be tied, but kneeling, bade
them lay on their stripes, which he would receive
like a good soldier of the Cross. Just, however,
before the lash fell, a sister broke through the gang
of desperadoes, and throwing herself under the
uplifted whip, begged that she might receive the
blows instead of her beloved elder. The perse¬
cutor turned his whip, and, by design or accident,
struck this sister a blow upon the temple which
opened a wound that bathed her face in blood. At
this the rioters became alarmed, and, having released
the elders, left their disgraceful work but half
finished.
Wilds says, in his testimony, that at evening
" the Elders returned and were gladly received by
Mother, and the brethren and the sisters at our
house. ' Have they abused you, James ?' speak¬
ing to Elder Whittaker. ' I will show you.
Mother,' said he ; and kneeling down before her,
he stripped up his shirt, and showed his wounded
back covered with blood, which had run down to
his feet. In washing his back it was found to be
SOMER VILLE.
309
beatea black and blue from his shoulders to his
waistbands, and in many places bruised to a jelly,
as though he had been beaten with a club. ' I
have been abused,' said he, ' but not for any wrong
that I have done them ; it is for your sake ; I feel
nothing against them for what they have done to
me, for they were ignorant and knew not what
they did, nor what manner of spirit they were of.'
Mother and the Elders, with all the brethren and
sisters, kneeled down and prayed to God to forgive
their blood-thirsty persecutors. Elder James cried
heartily, and said, 'Father, forgive them, for they
know not what they do ! ' After praying for them.
Mother and the Elders were filled with joy and
thankfulness that they were counted worthy to
suffer persecution for Christ's sake."
From this time the Shirley Shakers have never
suffered physical persecution, and no other could
reach the moral equilibrium of their lives, and they
have been permitted peaceably to use the gifts of
this world while seeking for another, where perse¬
cution cannot reach them.
SOMERVILLE.
BY E. C. BOOTH, M. V.
Most of the citizens are engaged in business in
Boston, but there are several manufactories, and a
few farms remain.
Ample facilities are afforded for transit to and
from the metropolis, five lines of steam and three
of horse railways traversing the city, so that scarcely
an estate is situated more than fifteen minutes dis¬
tant from the business part of Boston. Seventeen
churches and eighteen large and modern school-
houses stand within its limits. A public library
is in successful operation, and two newspapers are
published weekly. The city is abundantly supplied
with water from Mystic Lake.
At the founding of Charlestown in 1628, and
for the first ten years, the area of the peninsula
generally sufficed for the wants of the settlers;
but when, in 1637, land became so scarce within
the neck that new-comers were rarely granted more
than a citizenship, purchases were made of the In¬
dians, and settlements began to extend upon the
mainland. The territory north and east of the
Charles River was then owned by the Pawtucket
Indians ; and by payment of thirty-six shillings in
1637, and twenty-one coats, nineteen fathoms of
wampum, and three bushels of corn, two years
later to Squa Sachem and Webcowit, rulers of the
tribe, the latter were well satisfied to relinquish to
the town of Charlestown all the territory that is now
Somerville. A few settlers had established them¬
selves on the mainland from the earliest period.
The Ten Hills Farm recalls a place of the past.
has a distinct
municipal history of only
thirty-seven years, but its
territory has a record, con¬
nected with that of Charles¬
town, extending back two
centuries and a half. The
city of Somerville is situated
two miles northwest from
Boston. It is four m les
long, varies in width from
two miles to five hundred
feet, and has an area of
twenty-seven hundred acres.
It is bounded as follows ; On the north by Med-
ford and the Mystic River, on the east by Boston,
on the south by Cambridge, and on the west by
Cambridge and Arlington. It was set apart from
Charlestown in 1842, and became a city in 1872.
The surface is uneven, and rises into no less than
eight considerable elevations, of which Prospect,
Winter, Spring, and Central hills, and Mount Bene¬
dict are the principal. The soil is various, and in
many places excellent for cultivation. Good sand for
building purposes is abundant, and a vein of clay,
suitable for brickmaking, underlies much of the sur¬
face. The only stratified rock to be found in Somer¬
ville is slate. The intrusive rocks, cropping out in
numerous ledges, in which occur an unusual variety
of minerals, are entirely diabase. The formation
is particularly rich in dikes.
810
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Extending along the right bank of the Mystic
River, from Charlestown to the town of Medford,
and formerly owned by one person, it has how been
improved by the location of a Public Park and
numerous avenues and streets, upon which have
been erected many beautiful residences conducive
to the wealth and beauty of that portion of the city.
In 1631 Governor Winthrop was granted six
hundred acres on the Mystic River, to which, from
the ten elevations upon it, he gave the name of
Tha Ten Hills Farm. Here he had built a house,
at some time previous, which was supposed by Sav¬
age to have been the governor's country residence.
The mansion-house, recently demolished, is pre¬
sumed to have marked the site of this earlier building.
At this farm Winthrop built the Blessing of
the Bay, a bark of thirty tons, the first vessel con¬
structed in Massachusetts Bay. It was probably
launched July 4, 1631, at the wharf the remains
of which were visible until recently just southeast
of the Middlesex Avenue Bridge.
In 1677 the farm passed out of the possession
of the Winthrop family, and was in the hands of
various owners, until it was bought, in 1740, by
Robert Temple, who resided here at the outbreak
of the Revolution. It was then less than half of its
original area. In 1801, and for thirteen years, it
was owned by Elias Hasket Derby, who stocked
it with improved breeds of sheep. In 1831 it was
bought by a party of wealthy gentlemen in the
neighborhood of Boston, and styled "The Ten
Hills Stock Farm." By them it was leased to
Colonel Samuel Jaques, under whose care the farm
became one of the objects of interest in the vicinity.
Colonel Jaques was born September 12, 1776.
He was a man of strong and original mind, and
active in the affairs of the day. He was chief
marshal at the laying of the corner-stone of Bunker
Hill Monument, June 17, 1825, and acceptably
filled the responsible position of Inspector General
of Hops for the State of Massachusetts. In his
manners and surroundings Colonel Jaques 're¬
sembled the English country gentleman. He was
an enthusiastic huntsman, and frequently the sub¬
urban residents of Boston were awakened from
their slumbers by the sound of his bugle and the
cry of his fox-hounds. Webster, Clay, and other
noted men were in correspondence with him, and
were occasional visitors at the farm. His diary, fully
recording the local events of the day, was continued
for a period of forty or fifty years, to the time of
his death, March 27, 1859.
Mr. John Woolwich, "Indian trader," lived a
mile and a half without the neck, on the Cambridge
Road, near Strawberry Hill, as early as 1630. He
was a representative to the General Court in 1634.
John Libby and William Ayre were also early
settlers in the same neighborhood.
The early inhabitants of Somerville were mostly
farmers, and many of them large producers of milk.
A few were engaged in alewife fishery at the proper
seasons. Brickmaking was a branch of industry
opened after the Revolution, and has been since con¬
tinued. At the time of the Revolution the popu¬
lation of the Somerville territory could not have
been more than two hundred and fifty. The houses
numbered a few more than thirty, and were prin¬
cipally on the Cambridge, Winter Hill, and Milk
Row roads.
The land between these highways was divided
into large farms, and held in comparatively few
hands. Winter, Prospect, Spring, Central, and
Walnut hills were pasture-lands, with an occasional
growth upon them, mostly of red cedars. The now
populous East Somerville was a farming tract.
North of the Winter Hill road the fields stretched
out to the marshes adjacent to the Mystic River,
in an expanse unbroken except by the farm at Ten
Hills. Mount Benedict was under cultivation, and
was termed "Ploughed Hill." It was said to
have been so named because it had been custom¬
ary to plough it in a circle around the hill, turn¬
ing the furrows always down the slope. Willis'
Creek (the Miller's River of later times) took its
rise at the base of Spring Hill, and flowed with
pure and pellucid stream through the meadows to
the Charles River.
The tide encroached upon the district now known
as " Brick Bottom," and passed up to a clump of
willows, whose stumps yet remain half-way be¬
tween Somerville Avenue and Washington Street.
East of Prospect Street, within our limits, was
largely marsh. On its west side was high land
covered with wood. South of the Fitchburg Rail¬
road, in the vicinity of Medford Street, was an ex¬
tensive grove of stately oaks.
The main highways — to Cambridge, and over
Winter Hill to Medford and to Arlington — are
known to have been laid out as early as 1637, and
the first is spoken of as a " path " four years
earlier. The road from Union Square to Medford
was also laid out at an early period. It began by
following the course of Bow Street, from Union
Square, and bore the name of Milk Row from the
SOMEB VILLE.
311
fact that nearly all the residents of the road were
milkmen. A lane ran from the head of Prospect
Street over Bollard's bridge, which spanned the
creek, and going through a birch-pasture came out
at Inman's Farm. From Bollard's bridge there
was an open way to the gate of the path which led
to the Lechmere Farm. In 1637 the land between
these principal highways — called the common —
was divided into rights of pasturage, or the " com¬
mon was stinted," as it was termed. In 1685
this tract was lotted out and confirmed to propri¬
etors, and eight range-ways were laid out, connect¬
ing the Cambridge and Milk Eow roads with the
Winter Hill and Arlington roads. These correspond
to Franklin, Shawmut and Gross, Walnut, School,
Central, Lowell, and Cedar streets, and Willow
Avenue. All are believed to have been two rods
wide originally, but the one corresponding to Shaw¬
mut and Cross streets was in later years one rod
wider, and was called Three Pole Lane. Middle,
Cross, or still later Barberry, Lane ran from. Cross
Street, nearly opposite the head of Tufts, in a line
with the upper part of Chester, into what is now
Highland Avenue. At School Street it turned
northerly ten rods, and then continued westerly,
and terminated in Central Street.
The houses standing in Somerville at the time
of the Revolution can be approximately placed as
foUows ; Beginning on Broadway at the Charles-
town line was the Locke place, with its low house
still standing on the north side of, and a little back
from, the road. Opposite was a building on the
site of the residence of the late Mr. Fitch Cutter.
It now stands on the corner of Sycamore and
Foster streets. There was another house on the
southwest comer of Cross Street. The next in
order was on the northeast corner of Temple
Street, formerly the entrance to Ten Hills Farm.
On the summit of the hill just northwest of the
residence of Mr. Jonathan Brown stood Joseph
Tufts' house, which has been removed to Lowell
Street. Daniel Tufts lived in a house which is a
part of the stately mansion on the north side of
Broadway, opposite the powder-magazine.
There was a dwelling upon the powder-house
farm. The generous old mansion of Mr. Oliver
Tufts was bought, and occupied during the war by
John Tufts, father of the present owner.
David Wood's country-house was in Three Pole
Lane, near the northeast corner of Pearl Street.
Hither he brought his family after the battle of
Bunker Hill. On the Cambridge road from the
Charlestown line nothing except a brook broke the
monotony of the open fields, till the house of
Joseph Miller was reached, on the easterly comer
of Franklin Street. It is still standing, and in
good preservation. It is believed there was a
dwelling opposite the asylum gate. An old cellar,
whose superstructure was unknown to any how
living, existed as early as the year 1800, opposite the
southerly end of Shawmut Street. The next was a
small dwelling on the estate at the westerly corner
of Boston Street. Mrs. Debby Shed lived above
and opposite, in a house which, with a subsequent
addition, is still standing, some fifty yards east of
Mystic Street. As the road turns toward the west,
opposite the " Yellow Block " stood the small
gambrel-roofed house of Samuel Shed, which is
now the second story of Mr. William Walker's
residence. On the southeasterly comer of Prospect
Street was a house, and in the vicinity of Bonner
Place lived Mr. Samuel Shed, Jr. Pythian Block
occupies the site of Benjamin Piper's tavern. No
other dwelling existed on the Cambridge road,
except a house at the entrance of Webster Avenue
and another on the site of the small dwelling just
west of the abutment.
Milk Row was somewhat more thickly settled.
After leaving the Union Square of to-day we
should first have come to Samuel Choate's, on the
west side of Bow Street, a few yards south of Wal¬
nut ; the house, though removed from its former
site, is still standing. In the scarred and bleached
old building just under the eastern wall of the
Methodist Church lived Mary Frost, a widow.
Jonathan Ireland lived on the northwest corner of
School Street, in a house which has been moved to
the rear of the Franklin School building. Samuel
Tufts occupied the old homestead still standing
on the west side of the road near Laurel Street.
The widow Rand lived on the northwest corner of
Central Street, in a dwelling which has long since
passed away. Samuel Kent resided in the low
hip-roofed house yet in good repair at the corner
of Garden Court. There was another dwelling on
the opposite side, near the present greenhouse.
The twin-brothers Hunnewell dwelt beyond, at the
turn of the road, on the east side between Craigie
and Lowell streets, in a very old house, demolished
some fifteen years ago. After this there was no
dwelling till we arrived at Timothy Tufts', near
Willow Avenue. A hundred years have passed
away, and this house is still standing unchanged,
and still occupied by a Mr. Timothy Tufts.
312
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Although no battle was fought within the limits
of Somerville, almost every considerable spot of
her territory is associated with the opening scenes
of the Eevolution. Ten Hills Farm, the old Pow¬
der-House, Miller's Kiver district. Milk Eow, the
road to Charlestown, Prospect, Central, and Win¬
ter hills. Mount Benedict, and the eminence on
which the Asylum stands, successively call up a
vivid series of events, from one of the first acts
indicative of the hostile policy of Great Britain, to
the time of the evacuation of Boston, — a series
almost identical with the history of the war in this
part of the country. The first of these events, the
incursion to Quarry Hill, will be described under
another head.
In their march to, and retreat from Concord,
April 19, 1775, the British passed through the
territory of Somerville. Landing on the marshes,
they struck the path leading from the house
on Phips' farm to Ballard's bridge, the only house
then upon the point, and located on the site of
houses now on the northern side of Spring Street,
between Third and Fourth streets. East Cambridge,
and at about two o'clock waded Willis' Creek,
emerged from the marshes at Bullard's bridge, and
entered the Cambridge and Milk Kow roads. Tra¬
dition informs us that several residents of Milk
Kow were awakened by their onward passage.
They were heard to call Piper's Tavern by name as
they passed. It is also said that Samuel Tufts was
running bullets with his negro in a small hut back
of the house, and did not hear them ; but the Widow
Band, who did, and was alarmed by seeing them
march by, ran in her night-clothes to his house,
when, instantly saddling his horse, he galloped
across his farm to Cambridge to spread the news.
The Hunnewell brothers were deaf, and could
not hear them, but Mrs. Tufts was aroused, and
saw from the bed the gun-barrels glistening in the
light of the risen moon. She awakened her hus¬
band, and they beheld the soldiers halt, hasten up
the yard, and, after drinking from the well under the
window, resume their march.
It was about six o'clock in the afternoon when
the retreating expedition re-entered Somerville,
almost upon the run. Here a body of Americans
opened a murderous fire upon them from a grove
of trees. A halt was made at Timothy Tufts', and
a cannon planted on the high ground behind the
house. Leaving a few dead, who now lie buried in
Mr. Tufts' lot, they soon resumed their march, with
a rear-guard, it is stated, to protect their retreat.
and a detachment in advance, which pillaged the
houses as far as the rapidity of their march would
allow. The inhabitants had left their dwellings at
the sound of the distant firing, and taken refuge
upon the hills. " It had been a wonder of a winter,
so moderate and unfreezing," and the day was un¬
usually warm, so that the thickly clothed British
soldiers wellnigh sank with exhaustion. Some
threw themselves into the old pond at the foot of
Laurel Street, and drank like dogs. Several dead
and wounded were left in the house mentioned as
being near the corner of Prospect Street. Lord
Percy received his hottest fire along the base of
Prospect Hill, and the field-pieces were again un-
limbered. A British soldier, while ransacking a
chest of drawers in the senior Samuel Shed's house,
was shot in the act, and fell over the open drawer.'
The jaded troops had now nearly reached the end
of their disastrous expedition ; but there was yet
to oppose them, and deliberately lay his life upon
his country's altar, Somerville's only martyr in the
Revolution. Some ten rods in front of the resi.
dence of Mrs. Gilson, on Prospect Hill, on the
grassy slope that looks toward the south, is a spot
hallowed by inspiring and undying memories.
James Miller, who had known the century from
its first decade, took his gun and went forth to do
his might against his country's oppressors. . With
a companion he stationed himself behind a stone
wall ; and they used the old Queen's Arm with such
effect upon the passing soldiery that a platoon was
detached to drive them back. As they advanced
up the hillside, his comrade said, " Come, Miller,
we've got to go." But Miller, with a fortitude
worthy of the best days of Sparta, replied, " 1 am
too old to run," and kept bis face toward the
enemy until, almost at the setting of the sun, he
fell, pierced by thirteen balls, — a fitting and glori¬
ous seal to set upon a ripened life and an immortal
day!
During the siege of Boston, Somerville bore as
prominent a part as any of her neighbors. Nearly
all her hills were fortified, and alive with men.
Greene and other generals had their headquarters
at Samuel Tufts' house. General Lee, for a time,
lived at Oliver Tufts'. Nothing more than guards
were posted within the Somerville limits before
June 17, and those were on Prospect and Winter
hills. On the .evening of the battle of Bunker
' This interesting relic, with the marks of the blood and bullets
still upon it, is preserved at the house of Mrs. Tnfts, in Medford
Street.
SOMER VILLE.
313
Hill, having passed over the Cambridge Koad be¬
tween nine and ten o'clock on the previous night,
tlie Americans retreated to tliese lieights, and soon
afterwards began the erection of a line of defences
in and about them, which finally made the former
almost impregnable, and the latter even more
strongly protected. The forces occupying the hills
of Somerville constituted the left wing of the army
besieging Boston. The first of the line of fortifi¬
cations were earthworks in the vicinity of Everett
Street. Patterson was at that time at the fort in¬
dicated as No. 3. There were other defences on the
opposite side of the Cambridge Eoad connected
with the citadel on Prospect Hill. This hill,
" Mount Pisgah," as it was sometimes styled,
embraced two eminences, the eastern being what
is now called Prospect Hill, the western being the
present Central Hill. Both were fortified, — the
former with a strong citadel, and the latter with
a redoubt near the present High-School building.
The two heights were connected by a rampart and
fosse. Greene's command of three or four thousand
Khode Island troops was stationed at these de¬
fences. Here Putnam, July 18, 1775, raised the
fiag bearing on one side " An Appeal to Heaven,"
and on the other, three vines and the motto, " Qui
transtulit sustinet," now upon the Connecticut state
seal. The new union fiag of the colonies, with its
thirteen stripes, was first flung to the breeze from
this height, January 1, 1776. There were works
in the valley between Central and Winter hills, but
all traces of them have long since disappeared.
The principal defence on the latter eminence was
in the form of an irregular pentagon, situated just
at the junction of the Medford and Arlington roads.
It was provided with bastions and a deep fosse,
and was further protected with • earthworks a hun¬
dred yards to the front.
A breastwork, nearly on the line of Central
Street, joined the main work at the northwest an¬
gle. The intrenchments on Winter Hill, begun by
Stark on the 18th of June were more extensive than
those of any other position of the American army.
Sullivan was stationed here with his New Hamp¬
shire troops. A smaller work was placed beyond
the main fort, a short distance down the northerly
slope of the hill ; and another, on a rocky eminence
northwest of the bend of Temple Street, in a posi¬
tion to command the Mystic Eiver as it narrows
and bends toward the west of Ploughed Hill, was
occupied on the night of August 26. The fort on
Cobble Hill, where the McLean Asylum stands, was
so perfectly built as to be known as " Putnam's
impregnable fortress." It was armed with eigh¬
teen and twenty-four pounders, and commanded the
ferry between Charlestown and Boston. It was
not occupied till November 22. History records
very little damage done to the fortifications by the
enemy's cannon. One thirteen-inch shell burst
within the citadel on Prospect Hill, but without
damage to life or property. The works on
Ploughed Hill received the hottest fire, three
hundred bombs having been thrown into them
previous to Christmas.
Upon the historical remains of the siege of Bos¬
ton and of earlier scenes time and the necessities
of man have worked their usual irreverent changes ;
a few dwellings, the old Powder-House, and iso¬
lated pieces of intrenchment between Walnut and
Pleasant streets and Vinal and Highland avenues,
being nearly all that now remain, and Prospect Hill
has given to Miller's Eiver, for sanitary require¬
ments, a part of her hi.storic crest.
After the evacuation of Bo.ston, March 17, 1776,
and the removal of the seat of war to New York,
the residents of the territory of Somerville, ex¬
empted from draft as an indemnification for the
losses they had sustained, enjoyed a season of quiet
undisturbed by the distracting scenes of war.
From November 7, 1777, for nearly a year, the
greater part of Burgoyne's army were quartered as
prisoners of war on Winter, Prospect, and Cobble
hills. Germans to the number of nineteen hun¬
dred occupied the first-named height, and twenty-
three hundred British were held on Prospect Hill.
From the Eevolutionary era till the time of its
incorporation as a town, the present city of Somer¬
ville was merely a farming suburb of Charlestown.
For the first twenty-five years no changes oc¬
curred, except a slight growth in population. The
next quarter of a century was marked by greater
advances.
The Middlesex Canal, chartered in 1793, and
made navigable from the Charles Eiver to the
Merrimack in 1803, pursued its sinuous course
through Somerville. First making its appearance
and crossing the extreme northern limits of the
town, it reappeared where the Mystic Eiver, after
flowing south, bends towards the east. Following
the course of the river and the Medford turnpike for
a short distance, it crossed the Ten Hills Fann, and
skirting the base of Mount Benedict to avoid the
marshes, it passed under the turnpike and entered
Charlestown Neck, cutting nearly in halves the little
314
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
strip of land belonging to Somerville east of the Bos¬
ton and Maine and Eastern railroads. The tally-ho
of the morning boat aroused few passengers from
Somerville, neither did the boats bring to or carry
away from the town ranch merchandise, nor was
the population perceptibly increased by this new
pathway of travel. With the opening of steam
railroads the prosperity of the canal gradually de¬
clined until its discontinuance in 1843. At pres¬
ent few traces of it remain within the city limits, a
short section of grass-grown bed just east of its
intersection with Mystic Avenue and near the old
toll-house being nearly all that now exists.
In 1804 the Medford Turnpike, now known as
Mystic Avenue, was opened. Medford Street was
constructed about the year 1812, after the comple¬
tion of Craigie's Bridge.
In 1820 there were three school-houses within the
limits of Somerville, — the Milk Bow school-house,
built in the last century in the southern corner of the
lot consecrated as a cemetery in the early years of
the century, the Medford Street school-house, at the
junction of Medford, Shawmut, and Cross streets,
and one in the Walnut Hill district.
For many years in the early part of the century
Captain Joseph Miller, who carried on a black-
smitlTs shop at the eastern corner of Washington
Street and Asylum Avenue, was the only assessor
in this part of Charlestown. He would take the
property returns and statements of sales from the
farmers, as they cajne to him with work, — for he
numbered nearly the whole district as his patrons, —
and then would take a day to drive in his chaise
to the upper limits of the town to finish the work
of assessment.
During the seventeen years preceding 1842 be¬
ginnings were made which were the sources of
much of the growth of the future city. The com¬
mencement of this era was marked by the opening
of Milk Street, now Somerville Avenue, from the
west end of Bow Street, — first to Medford Street,
"and a few years later to East Cambridge, — for
the better accommodation of travel over Craigie's
Bridge through Somerville.
In 1830 the Boston and Lowell Eailroad Com¬
pany procured a charter, and shortly afterwards be¬
gan surveying the land and laying the track for
their road. This innovation upon the established
methods of travel encountered much opposition from
the inhabitants of Somerville. Many were incred¬
ulous of its utility, and others thought it would de¬
stroy the brick-carrying trade. The workmen break¬
ing ground were first opposed with arms, but the
road was finally successfully laid, and cars began to
run June 25, 1835. The Charlestown Branch
Eailroad Company a few years later constructed a
road to Waltham, which was subsequently bought
by the Fitchburg Eailroad Company.
The citizens now began to awaken to a sense of
the importance of this appendage of Charlestown.
They felt that their territory was neglected by the
town government, and their wishes disregarded;
that they were taxed for supporting institutions,
and making improvements in the benefits of which
they did not participate, and that they did not re¬
ceive returns at all commensurate with the amount
of money they contributed. .In 1828 an attempt was
made to obtain separation from the mother town.
A petition was sent to the legislature praying for
an act of incorporation for a new town, to be called
Warren, and counsel was retained. The petitioners
were given leave to withdraw, however, and although
the subject was kept fresh in the minds of the peo¬
ple, no further attempt was made to secure a sepa¬
rate existence for thirteen years. The grievances
previously complained of had not been abated at
the end of this period, and the town was under
indictment by the grand jury for the dangerous
condition of Broadway, Medford Street, and Milk
Eow ; when, one day in November, 1841, Colonel
Asa Pritchard, who lived on Washington Street,
between Medford and Boston streets, stepped into
the freight-office of the Lowell Eailroad, where
Messrs. Charles E. Gilman and Hiram Hackett
were employed, and declared he would pay- no
more taxes into the Charlestown treasury. His
house was in the fields, and unsalable merely be¬
cause it was in Charlestown outside of the neck.
It was jjroposed, in pleasantry, to make a new town,
where affairs could be managed more in accordance
with the wishes of the residents. The proposition
was received in earnestness. Notices were im¬
mediately prepared, and posted in conspicuous
places in the district, calling a meeting, Novem¬
ber 22, at the Prospect Hill School-house, to ascer¬
tain the minds of the residents in regard to the
establishment of a new town with the division line
at the neck. Captain Joseph Miller was elected
chairman, and Edwin Munroe, Jr., secretary of the
meeting; and a committee, consisting of Messrs.
Francis Bowman, Asa Pritchard, Edward Cutter,
Eobert G. Tenney, Benjamin Hadley, and John S.
Edgerly, was appointed to notify the citizens more
generally, and to obtain their views more definitely
SOMERVILLE.
315
concerning the matter at issue. Subsequently
Caleb W. Leland and Joseph Clark were added
to the committee. The meeting was adjourned
for one week, when a committee was appointed :
namely, Francis Bowman, John S. Edgerly, Clark
Bennett, and James Hill, Jr., with tlie later addi¬
tion of Oliver Tufts and S. S. Runey, " to examine
the affairs of the town, and to ascertain the amount
of taxes paid by the inhabitants above the Canal
Bridge, and also the amount expended in that por¬
tion of the town." December 3, the committee
reported that the expenses of the town of Charles-
town for the year 1840 were $50,000; that of the
$34,093.76 raised by taxation, $5,687.78 were
gatliered in the disaffected region ; that a large sum
was expended for the poor, nearly all of whom
dwell within the peninsula ; and the affairs- of a
separate town might be at least as well maintained
for the sum of $5,500. This report was accepted,
and a committee, consisting of Charles E. Oilman,
Hiram Allen, Edwin Munroe, Jr., Caleb "W. Le¬
land, John C. Magoun, Oliver Tufts, Henry Gard¬
ner, Charles Miller, Samuel Thompson, and Robert
0. Tenuey, was chosen to distribute copies of the
report, obtain signatures, and use all honorable
means to effect a division of the town through the
legislature, then in session, employing counsel if
necessary. This committee organized by choice of
C. E. Oilman, chairman, and Edwin Munroe, Jr.,
secretary. At an adjourned meeting of the com¬
mittee it was reported that Ephraim Buttrick had
been retained as counsel. It was voted to call the
new town Walford, in hono-r of the first white set¬
tler of Charlestown. But at an adjourned meeting,
December 13, it was voted, on motion of Charles
Miller, to change the name to Somerville, — a
name selected solely on account of its rarity in the
United States. A petition was signed by Ouy C.
Hawkins and others, praying for a separation from
the town of Charlestown at the neck, and for the
incorporation of a new municipality. The petition
was opposed by the citizens of the main part of the
town, by the inhabitants just outside the neck, by
those in the extreme upper part of the dissatisfied
district, and in general by the Democrats, who saw,
in the success of the movement, the birth of a new
Whig town.
A committee was appointed by Charlestown to
give assistance to the petitioners, but they proved
themselves traitors to the cause which they had
been elected to further, and gave no assistance.
When the matter came before the legislature, to¬
ward the close of the session, it was found that the
act could not be secured with the boundaries as
they were designated in the petition. The Rev.
James D. Oreen, member from Cambridge, a mo¬
ment before the vote was to- be put, declared nothing
could be effected at the present session unless the
line was drawn outside the neck, as it now exists,
and a narrow strip in the northerly part of the
town extending nearly to Mystic Pond was ceded
to Cambridge. Only two of the committee of the
petitioners were present; but Mr. Hawkins declared
he would assume the responsibility of the conces¬
sions, and the act thus modified passed the legisla¬
ture and was approved by the governor, March
3, 1842. March 5, Ephraim Buttrick issued a
warrant to Charles E. Oilman, commanding him to
notify and warn all qualified voters in the new
town to meet in the Prospect Hill School-house,
March 14, to elect such olficers as the law pro¬
vided. A preliminary meeting, of which Colum¬
bus Tyler was moderator and Nathan Tufts, Jr.,
secretary, was held four days previously, and a
board of town officers nominated. At the meeting
on the 14th, Francis Bowman was chosen modera¬
tor, and the following officers, nominated at the
preliminary meeting, were duly elected : Selectmen,
Nathan Tufts, John S. Edgerly, Caleb W. Le¬
land, Luther Mitchell, and Levi Russell. The last-
named gentleman having declined to serve, Francis
Bowman was elected in his stead. Nathan Tufts
was chosen chairman, Charles E. Oilman was
elected town-clerk, and Edmund Tufts treasurer
and collector.
This was for Somerville a day of small things.
She began her.career as a sparsely populated farm¬
ing district, with less than two hundred dwellings
scattered over her whole territory. She numbered
but a thousand and thirteen inhabitants, with a
school population of two hundred and ninety-three,
distributed in six schools,—the Prospect Hill gram¬
mar and primary, the Milk Row primary, on the
site of the cemetery, the upper Winter Hill primary,
in Central Street, the lower Winter Hill primary,
in Broadway, near Franklin Street, and the Russell
District School, kept in a private house in the
Walnut Hill neighborhood. A single dilapidated
globe and two blackboards, three feet square, com¬
prised the entire apparatus of her schools.
Land seldom changed hands, and had never been
of sufficient value to be calculated by the foot.
The highways were merely country roads, with
grassy borders and in poor repair. Many of the
316
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
old range-ways, previously described, had been
enclosed by private parties. Highland Avenue was
still a cart-path, lined with barberry-buslies and
surrounded by open lands. It was impassable at
night. Franklin Street eould only be traversed on
foot. East Somerville was in the fields. Spring
Hill, whicli took its name in 1841 from the fine
spring upon its summit, was just receiving its first
streets. There Avere not a half-dozen houses in
West Somerville between the junction of Elm and
Milk streets and the Powder-House ; and the
location which is now dignified by the name of
Union Square was at that time merely a " coun¬
try cross-road." There was no cluster of dwell¬
ings anywhere of sufficient importance to be
designated a village. The total valuation of the
town was $988,513, and she could boast of no
rich men, scarcely any one paying a tax of a hun¬
dred dollars.
The town had no public hall other than the little
school-house on Medford Street. There was no
church, place of worship, or organized society, no
stores, no minister, lawyer, or physician within her
limits. Protection from fires was afforded by one
small tub-engine.
Under these unpromising auspices Somerville
began her municipal existence. The first meeting,
after the organization, was held April 4, 1842, and
the following appropriations were made : Support
of schools, $1,800; highways, $2,000; county
tax, $450; poor, $200; contingencies, $300;
total appropriation, $4,750.
The town was allowed one representative at the
General Court, and Caleb W. Leland was elected
for the year 1842.
The religious needs of Somerville received their
earliest attention from Miss Elizabeth Page Whit-
tredge, daughter of Livermore Whittredge, of
Beverly, a teacher in the public schools, who,
though in frail health, sought, out of the fulness
of her religious nature, to supply the want of
Christian teaching in the community. June 1,
1842, she gathered the Union Sabbath School in
the little public building on Medford Street. Sixty
pupils and twelve teachers assembled the first Sab¬
bath. George Tapley was chosen superintendent.
Miss Whittredge assistant. Miss E. A. Bonner
secretary, and Jeremiah Thorpe librarian. Miss
Whittredge continued her work in fast failing
health till April 4, 1844, when she relinquished it
to Mr. Farrington Mclntire. She returned to
Beverly, and passed away, "with a beautifully
resigned spirit, August 28, 1845." She was bom
February 4, 1812. This was the first religious
institution in Somerville, and it formed the nucleus
of the first church.
About this time the Eev. Richard Manning
Hodges, an unsettled minister in Cambridge, feeling
convinced that it was Iiis duty to supply the want
of Christian ministrations then existing, with the
concurrence of the Rev. George E. Ellis, of Charles-
town, within whose parochial charge much of the
new municipality lay, supplied the first Christian
preaching in town.
The first meeting for public worship was held
in an upper room of the engine-house, on the third
Sunday of March, 1844. Some thirty families
were represented. Services were continued by
Mr. Hodges and the students of the Harvard
Divinity School till within a short period of the
building of a church edifice. August 22, 1844,
the First Congregational Society was legally or¬
ganized, and the church erected on the site of the
present house on Highland Avenue. It was dedi¬
cated September 3, 1845.
Rev. John T. Sargent was installed pastor Feb¬
ruary 8, 1846, and, resigning March 4, 1848, was
succeeded by the Rev. A. R. Pope, who continued
in office until his death. May 24, 1858. Mr.
Pope, an earnest and public-spirited man, identi¬
fied himself with the educational interests of the
town, particularly in the establishment of the high
school, to which he gave a part of its philosophical
apparatus. The Rev. Charles Lowe was installed
May 8, 1859, and resigned, in consequence of fee¬
ble health, June 18, 1865. He was afterwards the
honored secretary of the American Unitarian Asso¬
ciation. His death occurred in June, 1874. Mr.
Lowe, an able, universally beloved man, was a
member of the school board, and at the time of
his death a trustee of the public library.
The Rev. Henry H. Barber, the present pastor,
was installed December 2, 1866. Mr. Barber is
one of the editors of The Unilarian Review, has
been one of the school committee, and is a
trustee of the public library. This society lias
suffered the loss of two church-buildings by fire,
— one, July 22, 1852, and the second, dedicated
April 28, 1854, humed October 8, 1867.
No other church existed iu town for nearly ten
years. A few residents of the East Village, how¬
ever, uniting with their neighbors of Charlestown
at the house of the Rev. William Stow, in Mt.
Pleasant Street, May 4, 1845, organized a Baptist
SOMER VILLE.
317
society, which held its meetings in an edifice at the
neck. In 1853 the building was moved to Som-
erville, enlarged, and called the Perkins Street
Baptist Church. It was destroyed by fire Janu¬
ary 8, 1866. June 26, 1867, the present costly
and commodious house of worship was dedicated.
The Eev. Mr. Stow was chairman of the school
board for the years 1848 and 1849. The Eev.
J. Judson Miller, the present pastor, was installed
September 17, 1861, and under his ministry the
church has greatly flourished, — the membership
having increased from seventy-five to nearly six
hundred.
During this decade Somerville made ho rapid
strides, but advanced with a steady and encourag¬
ing growth. In 1843 the population had increased
to 1,445, and real estate had nearly doubled in
value. The high rate of toll on the bridges hin¬
dered travel and settlement, but facilities for reach¬
ing Boston were constantly improving. The
Fitchburg Railroad Company, having bought the
road of the Charlestown Branch Railroad Com¬
pany, began running trains December 20, 1843,
and the Boston and Maine extension, chartered in
1844, began a few years later to promote the colo¬
nization of East Somerville. During the year
1846 two new school-buildings were erected, in
which were contained the Franklin grammar and
Prescott grammar and primary. In 1848 the
Somerville schools took the first rank in the
county, and the tliird in the state, in amount of
money expended upon them in proportion to the
wealth and population of the town. The annual
expenditures had increased to $18,397.60 for the
year 1848.
The inhabitants of the town had long felt, that
they were inadequately supplied with proper means
of protecting themselves against conflagration.
From about the year 1838 they had relied upon
the little tub-engine " Mystic," but there was no
regularly organized fire-company till 1850. No¬
vember 12, 1849, the selectmen were authorized
by the town to purchase " a good and sufficient fire-
engine and a hose-carriage." On the arrival of the
engine, styled Somerville No. 1, it was voted in the
board of selectmen, January 7, 1850, to appoint
five engineers, and Messrs. Gardner T. Ring, Na¬
than Tufts, Jr., George 0. Brastow, John B. Os¬
good, and Abram Welch were thereupon appointed.
January 8, Mr. Welch declining to serve, Hiram
Allen was appointed to fill the vacancy. The en¬
gineers met, and organized by the choice of Nathan
Tufts, Jr., as chief and George O. Brastow as
clerk. The first fire after the organization of the
department was the barn of Jotham Johnson, on
the Ireland range-way. The following is the list of
engineers and the periods of their service : Nathan
Tufts, Jr., from 1850 to 1852 ; Abram Welch, from
1852 to 1855; R. A. Vinal, from 1855 to 1858;
John Runey, from 1858 to 1861; S. H. Gooding,
from 1861 to 1865 ; D. A. Sanborn, Jr., from 1865
to 1872 ; J. R. Hopkins, from 1872 to the present
time. More than fifty members enrolled themselves
in the new company, but becoming dissatisfied, they
disbanded March 2, 1853, and surrendered tlie
engine and other property belonging to the town
to the engineers. December 5, 1854, a meeting
was held to form another company, which was duly
organized, and two hundred members connected
themselves with the department between December
6, 1854, and March 30, 1866, when the volunteer
system was abolished. On the 26th of May of the
latter year a costly and efficient steam fire-engine
was purchased and the department reorganized.
A working force of engineers, drivers, and firemen
were permanently employed. In 1871 a fine
building was erected on Highland Avenue, nearly
in the geographical centre of the town, for the
steam-engine, and the old house was fitted up for a
hose-carriage and a hook-and-ladder truck. In
1873 two more hose-houses were built. '
The department was again reorganized, in accord¬
ance with an act of legislature, April 24, 1874, and
June 17 a fire-alarm telegraph was established
through the instance of the present chief. In 1872,
tlirough the exertions of Mr. D. A. Sanborn, Jr.,
the Charitable Association of the Somerville Fire
Department was organized, and has now a fund of
$1,100 for the relief of sick and disabled firemen.
In May, 1877, an ordinance was passed reducing
the working force of the department. The depart¬
ment now consists of one steamer and hose-car¬
riage, four hose-carriages, and one hook-and-ladder
truck, all drawn by horses. The city has an abun¬
dant supply of water for extinguishing fires, fur¬
nished from the Mystic Water - Works to two
hundred and seventy-five fire-hydrants.
In 1851 the first directory was published by
Edmund Tufts ; it was a duodecimo of thirty-two
pages, and contained principally the heads of fami¬
lies in town, five hundred and ninety in number.
A considerable interest had been manifested for
several years upon the subject of a high school,
the statutes requiring that such an institution shall
318
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
be established in all towns numbering five hundred
families. But the grave factor of economy entered
into a consideration of the subject. Tiie town had
already expended large sums for school-buildings,
and was unwilling to make any further consider¬
able outlay ; but, finally becoming convinced of the
necessity of the demand, April 7,1851, they ordered
the erection of the present city hall building, a plain
structure, but sufficiently adapted to the wants of the
school for the following twenty years. The corner¬
stone was laid September 9, and the building dedi¬
cated with appropriate exercises on the 28th of April,
1852. It was designed for one hundred pupils.
On the following Monday the school was opened,
under the charge of Mr. Robert Bickford. Sixty-six
pupils were received under a lower grade of scholar¬
ship than was deemed fitting for such a school,
and in August twenty-two more were admitted on
a slightly higher standard. Que principal and one
assistant were employed till 1854 ; after this time,
till 1858, there were generally two assistants. All
the instructors having resigned in 1858, a new
principal was appointed, and a sub-master to take
the place of the two assistants. The high school
had never met the full approbation of the citizens,
because it was believed that the institution did not
exhibit results proportionate to the amount of money
expended upon it. This was due in part to the
constant changes in teachers and board of school
committee, and in part to the general apathy of the
community.
In 1859 Mr. H. H. Babcock was appointed prin¬
cipal, and the course of study was revised. Under
the new organization the first regular graduation
took place in 1862. The school at once became
more successful, and at the resignation of Mr.
Babcock, in 1867, it was in the first rank of the
high schools of the commonwealth. Mr. G. L.
Baxter succeeded Mr. Babcock, and under his man¬
agement the school retains its high degree of effi¬
ciency, and contains a larger number of pupils than
is usual in proportion to the number of inhabitants.
The accommodations of the first building being
entirely inadequate for the increasing wants of the
school, a large and beautiful school-house was
erected, and the same was dedicated February 27,
1872. The school numbered, in 1878, two hundred
and forty-four pupils, and was governed by a corps
of two male and four female teachers.
During the first ten years of the town^s corpo¬
rate existence the population nearly quadrupled, hav¬
ing been recorded at 3,540 by the census of 1850.
The valuation had increased twofold, aiid was esti¬
mated in the same year at $2,102,631. The an¬
nual outlay for highways had reached $3,000, and
for schools $6,000.
The poor were supported at a yearly cost of
$1,000, and a few hundred dollars were now regu¬
larly required for the fire department. But with
these increasing expenses came in 1846 a town debt,
which from $9,636.25 had grown to $20,320.49
at the end of the first decade. Seven school-build¬
ings had been constructed, augmenting the number
to eleven, and the school population was registered
at four hundred and ninety-seven, with three male
and eleven female teachers.
At the end of this era three more ecclesiastical
societies were established, — the First Baptist, the
Franklin Street Congregational, and the First Uni¬
versalist. The First Baptist Society was formed
in a liall_ at the corner of Somerville Avenue and
Spring Street, December 30, 1852, and the Rev.
D. W. Faunce ordained the first pastor, July 14,
1853. The society worshipped in a chapel in
Beech Street till the beautiful edifice, erected on
the crown of Spring Hill, was dedicated June 12,
1873. The following is the list of the pastors suc¬
ceeding Mr. Faunce, who ministered until September
1, 1854 : Rev. G. G. Fairbanks, from April 1,1855,
to March 31,. 1866 ; Rev. L. B. Hibbard, from
February, 1867, to , 1868 ; Rev. J. D. Sweet,
from May, 1868, to August 9, 1869; Rev. Charles
M. Smith, from February, 1870, to the present time.
The Franklin Street Orthodox Society had its
beginning at the house of Mr. Temple Paul, April
21, 1853. September 15, the society took its pres¬
ent name, but was not legally organized till April 1,
1855. The corner-stone of the first house was
laid in October, 1854, and the church dedicated
July 12, 1855. The following is the succession of
pastors, with the periods of their ministry : Rev.
B. Judkins, from January 3, 1856, to June 2,
1858; Rev. D. T. Packard, from September 20,
1860, to November 28, 1866 ; Rev. L. R. East¬
man, Jr., from June 27, 1867, to May 22, 1871 ;
Rev. William S. Hubbell, from February 1, 1871,
to the present time. The society lost their church-
building by fire, March 15, 1867, but promptly pro¬
ceeded to rebuild upon the same spot the spacious
and elegant structure now standing. The corner¬
stone was laid August 27, 1867, the vestries
opened for worship May 17, 1868, and the church
dedicated September 30, 1868.
The First Universalist Society was organized in
SOMERVILLE.
319
February, 1854. Por the first five years worship
was held in a chapel on Tufts Street. In 1859
a wooden church was erected on the present site.
This was destroyed by fire, January 21, 1868.
The present house of worship was built the ensuing
year. The following are the names of the pastors
and the time of succession : Eev. G. H. Emerson,
1854-1859; Rev. D. H. Clark, 1859-1862;
Rev. Benjamin K. Russ, 1862-1874; Rev.
G. H. Vibbert, 1874-1876; Rev. W. S. Ralph,
1877 to the present time.
The Somerville Light Infantry was organized
October, 1853. In May, 1854, the constitution
was approved, and the company was enrolled as
Company B, 4th Regiment, 3d Brigade, 2d Divis¬
ion; but the regiment was afterwards numbered
the 5th. George 0. Brastow was elected the first
captain. He was succeeded by Francis Tufts,
June 29, 1854, who served, with an intermission,
till April, 1859. Captain Brastow was then re¬
elected, and continued in office until the close of
the company's three months' service, at the begin¬
ning of the war, when he was succeeded by Cap¬
tain B. F. Parker, who commanded the company
during its nine months' service in North Carolina
in 1862 - 63. Later, under command of W. E.
Robinson, the company started for the seat of the
war, under a hundred days' enlistment, but was
recalled. Afterward, under the captaincy of J. N.
Coffin, they completed a service of a similar length.
In the spring of 1865 G. W. Daniels was elected
captain, retaining the position till May 3, 1871,
when he was succeeded by Charles F. King. In
the former year the company was reorganized.
Captain R. Kramer followed Captain King, August,
1874, and resigned June, 1876. The company
was then under command of Lieutenant R. T.
Blackwell, until it was disbanded, July 6, 1876.
At present no military organization exists in Som¬
erville.
February 23, 1853, by an act of the legislature,
the Charlestown Gas Company was authorized to
lay pipes in town, and, April 11, a similar author¬
ity was granted to the Cambridge Gas Company.
So generally did the new means of illumination
come into use, that, April 13, 1854, the Somer¬
ville Gaslight Company was incorporated ; but be¬
fore preparations could be made, the necessity for
a further supply of gas had ceased, and the com¬
pany has never gone into operation.
The establishment of horse-railroads in Somer¬
ville dates from 1855. The Middlesex Railroad
Company had been incorporated the previous year,
and shortly afterwards constructed a line to Boston
from the eastern boundary of the town on Wash¬
ington Street. In May, 1855, a charter was
granted to the Medford and Charlestown Railroad
Company, and one to the Somerville Horse Rail¬
road Company, May 29, 1857 ; and in July, 1858,
the roads were finished and put into operation, —
the one occupying Main Street and Broadway, the
other Washington, Milk, and Elm Streets. By
legislative enactment," April 4, 1863, the Somer¬
ville Horse Railroad Company was allowed to extend
its tracks from Union Square through to Somer¬
ville Avenue to the East Cambridge line. Travel
was established to Boston over this extension dur¬
ing the following year. That part of the Somer¬
ville Horse Railroad Company upon Elm Street,
Somerville Avenue, is under lease to the Union
Railroad Company, and the Middlesex Railroad
Company rents the line on Washington Street, and
also the line on Broadway to Winter Hill.
In 1856, the First Methodist Episcopal Soci¬
ety was formed, through the labors of the Rev. R.
Gerrish of East Cambridge. The first service was
held in Franklin Hall, on the site of Holmes'
store. The society was organized June 24, 1857,
and a house of worship, the corner-stone of which
was laid October 5, dedicated March 31 of the
following year. Rev. Charles Baker became the
first settled pastor in 1859. The needs of the soci¬
ety having outgrown the first building, the cor¬
ner-stone of the present costly and spacious edifice
was laid July 27, 1874, and another church dedi¬
cated May 29, 1875. The Rev. W. S. Chad-
bourne, the present pastor, is the eleventh since
the establishment of the church.
In 1859 the town undertook to readjust her own
boundaries and those of private estates, not so
much with the hope of restoring the original limits,
as to prevent further encroachments. The ancient
lines had become obliterated or uncertain, and
fenced had been erected to suit the convenience
of abuttors. No elucidation could be expected
from the Charlestown records, whose meaning had
become obscure from ji constant reference to
bounds of a perishable nature. Consequently a
survey was ordered, and upon its completion, in
1862, a valuable map was prepared, and an accu¬
rate record of all lines and limits, and sectional
plans of all the streets, were recorded in durable
form.
During the second decade of the town's existence
320
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
she made a uniform and rapid progress. The free¬
ing of the bridges to the metropolis liad tended
to turn the tide of travel in this direction. Eeal
estate had experienced an upward tendency. East
Somerville grew more rapidly than any other part
of the town. The northern and western districts
had received but little impetus as yet. In 1859
there were but three houses iu the now thickly
populated area bounded by Bow, Walnut, and
School streets, and Somerville and Highland
avenues. Many new streets had been laid out,
increasing their total length to thirty miles. These
highways had been kept in a fair condition by the
yearly outlay of a sum varying from $3,000 to
$10,000. A few reservoirs had been built for
better protection against fire, and five school-build¬
ings had been erected. The school population —
now numbered at 1,707 — had more than tripled.
The schools had increased in number to twenty-
four, and were presided over by five male and
twenty-six female teachers. A high school and
an intermediate grade had been established. The
town continued to maintain the previous high rank
of its educational establishments. An appropria¬
tion, fiuctuating from $6,000 to $18,000, had been
annually expended upon them.
The population had more than doubled, having
been registered at 8,025 by the census of 1860.
There were 1,751 polls, and 1,282 houses. The
total valuation of taxable property was $5,760,000.
The town debt had increased to $90,924.
During the period of the war the town under¬
took few improvements or important measures, feel¬
ing that any outlay beyond the demands of necessity
should rightfully be devoted to the interests of the
country. Therefore an account of the soldiers for
the four succeeding years is almost the history of
the town.
On Easter Sabbath, 1862, the Emmanuel Episco¬
pal Church had its beginning in a hall in Somer¬
ville Avenue, near Park Street, under the ministra¬
tion of Rev. N. G. Allen. In 1865 the present
church edifice was erected. The present pastor is
Rev. N. K. Bishop.
In May, 1863, a Sabbath school was gathered in
a chapel in Tufts Street by the efforts of Eev. N. G.
Allen, around which was formed the St. Thomas
Episcopal Church. In 1868 the Eev. George W.
Durell, the present rector, was installed, and it was
largely by his labors that the present church-build¬
ing was erected.
The Broadway Orthodox Congregational Church
also took its rise in the year 1863, when in the
month of August the Sabbath school was formed.
June 14,1865, the church was regularly organized,
under the pastorship of the Rev. E. Porter Dyer.
In January, 1868, a chapel was completed, and in
December, 1871, the society removed to its present
house of worship. The church is now under the
ministry of Rev. William H. Pierson.
In April, 1863, the town voted to illuminate
streets at night where the abutters would place
lamp-posts in position, and before the close of the
year ninety-two lamps had been provided.
Soinerville's war record is highly honorable.
Por rapidity in filling quotas, for measures taken
for the comfort of her soldiers, — by personal sym¬
pathy, by the visits of the town officers at the seat
of the war, in forwarding supplies of money and
clothing, — and for the attention given to the sol¬
diers' families, a duty which did not cease with the
war, this city stands in the front rank.
Four times the Somerville Light Infantry went
forth from the town for various periods of service,
and one full company, the Somerville Guard, went
out for the period of three years.
At the first call of President Lincoln for troops,
in April, 1861, the Somerville Light Infantry
entered the service as Company B of the 5th
Regiment. They numbered sixty-eight men with
George 0. Brastow captain, and W. E. Robinson
and P. R. Kinsley lieutenants.
April 17, an enthusiastic meeting of the citizens
was held to raise money to aid the departing com¬
pany and their families, and to give expression to
sentiments of loyalty to the government. A sum
of $4,323.50 was raised, of which a small purse was
given to each soldier, and a larger sum was placed
in the hands of Captain Brastow, with instructions
to provide without stint for the comfort of his men.
April 20, the company was escorted to Boston, and
each member presented with a Testament by his
fellow-citizen, Moses H. Sargent. Remaining in
Paneuil Hall that night, they started for Washing¬
ton the next evening. Arriving at the capital on
the 27th of the month, they were quartered for four
weeks in the Treasury Building, doing guard duty.
They were then removed to Virginia, on the Poto¬
mac, four miles from Washington, where they re¬
mained one week. Prom June 2 to July 16 they
were encamped in the vicinity of Alexandria. On
the latter day they were given the right, leading
a long column to Manassas Junction, and partici¬
pated in the ensuing battle of BuU Run. Here
SOMER VILLE.
321
E. Franklin Hannaford was believed to have been
killed. They returned home July 21, leaving
comrade W. Frank Moore sick in the hospital at
Washington, where he died July 31.
May 25, the Capitol being in danger, the gov¬
ernor ordered the State Militia to assemble on Bos¬
ton Common, and the Somerville Light Infantry
again came forward under command of Captain
Bobiuson. But the troops proffered by the state
were thought by the President not to be needed,
and they returned to their homes. This check to
the enthusiasm of the volunteers operated unfavor¬
ably in future calls. Time was given for the first
ardor of patriotism to cool, and a calculating and
somewhat mercenary spirit to enter into a con¬
sideration of the subject. Prices had advanced,
all branches of industry were in full operation,
making a counter-demand upon the services of able-
bodied men. Consequently, when on June 28 a
call was made for 300,000 men for a tliree years'
service, recruiting was carried on with a greater
and gradually increasing difficulty. The quota of
Somerville in this call was ninety-two, but the town
voted, July 19, to raise a full company, and pay
a bounty to each man. A citizens' committee of
sixty was chosen to co-operate with tlie selectmen
in filling the quota; Mass-meetings were held, and
a bounty of $125 was offered. Finally, a com¬
plement of men was enlisted, and the company
styled the " Somerville Guard." August 12, it
was mustered into service, and attached to the
39th Begiment as Company E. It was allowed
the privilege of remaining on Prospect Hill for
three weeks, when it joined the camp at Boxford,
and was assigned the right of the regiment. Here
it remained two days, and on September 6 took
the cars for Washington ; it proceeded to Arlington
Heights, and, later, went into winter-quarters at
Poolesville, Maryland. The season was spent in
doing guard and picket duty upon the Potomac.
Here the company suffered its first loss in the death
of S. P. Bollins. In April, 1863, the regiment
was ordered to Washington, and did guard and
escort duty till midsummer, when, on July 9, it
joined the army of the Potomac, with which it re¬
mained till the close of the war. It was assigned
to the first army corps, and took part in the marches
and engagements of the corps at Bristoe and Bap-
pahannock stations, and Mine Bun. In one of the
movements of the army, the pickets — of whom
there were thirteen from Company E —were left
exposed by their fifes at the front; seven were
captured, of whom two alone ever returned. J. W.
Oliver was paroled at Bichmond, and G. W. Bean
survived the privations of Andersonville. F. J.
Oliver, Washington Lovett, Joseph W. Whitmore,
Henry E. Howe, and Bichard J. Hyde died from
starvation and exposure. When the corps went into
winter-quarters at Mitchell's Station, Company E
had already lost sixty men by sickness, death, and
transfers. The regiment having been assigned the
extreme right, the picket duties were very severe,
and the company was under arms most of the time.
It participated with its regiment in the battle of
the Wilderness, and those following in quick suc¬
cession. In engagements between May 7 and May
19, Sergeant Palmer, Corporal Felker, Bobert
Powers, J. H. Boberts, W. M. Herbon, and Cor¬
poral Harburn were killed, and February 6, 1865,
E. B. Hadley. At Gravelly Bun, March 30, Cap¬
tain Willard C. Kinsley and Corporal Moran were
mortally wounded. The former entered the service
as second lieutenant of the Somerville Guard, but
was afterwards promoted to the command of an¬
other company. He was deeply beloved by all who
knew him, not only for his courage and manly
qualities, hnt for his kindness, sympathy, and for-
getfulness of self on all occasions of trial and suf¬
fering. The organization, of the Grand Army of
the Bepublic in Somerville has named its post for
this gallant young soldier and martyr. The Somer¬
ville Guard suffered no further losses in battle; but
of those taken prisoners, Glines, Allen, Jones, Gor-
ham, Horton, Hatch, and Kenrick fell victims to
disease brought on by the inhumanity of Southern
prisons.
Quickly succeeding the last call was another for
300,000 troops, and the Somerville Light Infantry,
with B. F. Parker captain, and W. C. Bailey and
John Harrington lieutenants, again entered the
service for nine months.
August 27, a bounty of $ 125 had been voted
by the town, which was increased to $200 Septem¬
ber 24. The company went into camp on Pros¬
pect Hill after the departure of the Somerville
Guard, remaining till September 16, when it de¬
parted to Wenham. Leaving camp in October, it
was ordered to North Carolina, and remained in
the vicinity of Newbem, without participating in
any considerable battle, till the expiration of its
service.
In July, 1863, one hundred and eighty-six men
were taken by draft from Somerville. As a result
of this levy, $3,000 in commutation money was
322
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
raised, four substitutes were procured, and one citi¬
zen personally answered tlie country's call.
October 17, tlie President made a further call
for three hundred thousand volunteers, and, with
some difficulty, the town filled her quota of ninety-
two men by March, 1864.
In July, 1864, the Somerville Light Infantry,
Captain Coffin, went to the front for one hundred
days, but participated in no engagement.
Somerville furnished forty commissioned officers
and one thousand and eighty-five men for the war,
in all branches of the service, which was a surplus
of one hundred and forty-seven above the number
required. Ninety-eight were killed, or died of
disease incident to the hardships of war, and
two hundred and fifty were wounded. The whole
amount of money appropriated by the town for war
purposes, exclusive of state aid, was $ 133,039.41,
and $65,823.38 was voluntarily contributed by
the citizens.
Upon the selectmen and war committees de¬
volved unusually arduous labors, atid to Thomas
Cunningham, recruiting officer during the greater
part of the war and town treasurer for 1863,1864,
and 1865, the town is esiDecially indebted for his
energetic efforts in the various departments of the
war business, and for preparing and preserving a
careful record of the transactions and expenditures
of this period.
The women of Somerville were not less patriotic
than the men ; and actively engaged in all possible
labors to manifest their sympathy and furnish ma¬
terial aid. Soldiers' aid societies were formed for
making clothing and other articles of comfort for
the soldiers in camp or hospital ; many delicacies
were prepared for the sick or wounded ; fairs were
held for the purpose of raising money ; and all that
womanly tenderness or womanly ingenuity could
suggest, was cheerfully assumed, aud as success¬
fully accomplished.
In the summer of 1863 a marble monument
was erected in the cemetery, to the memory of
those from the town who had fallen or were yet
to fall in the service of their country. It was
erected with the residue of the fund raised for the
Somerville Light Infantry at their first going forth.
It is a small and simple shaft, standing in the mid¬
dle of the yard, crowded with names, and it was the
first monument erected in Massachusetts to the fallen
soldiers and sailors in the War of the Eebellion.
In 1866 a reapportionment of legislative dis¬
tricts was authorized, and Somerville and Maiden
were united into the Pourth District, and entitled
to three representatives, in a ratio of sixteen to
fourteen upon an aggregate of thirty representa¬
tives in the ten years, and under the census of
1875, upon which a new apportionment was made
in 1876, Somerville became entitled to send three
I'epresentatives to the General Court, which was
done for the session of 1877 and tliereafter.
In 1867 a night watch was established.
During this year the Förster School building was
erected, and the large hall in the upper story was
fitted up for the use of the town. Town-meetings
were first held in the Medford Street school-house,
or the little engine-house on the corner of Prospect
aud Washington streets, until the completion of the
Unitarian Church, when its vestry was liired for
the meetings. The town occupied the lower hall
of the high-school liouse from the time of the
erection of this building until the increasing
needs of the school compelled a transfer of the
town-hall to the Forster School.
For several years the subject of an abundant
supply of pure water had been under consideration.
Previous to the year 1864 the inhabitants had de¬
pended upon wells, not only for drinking purposes,
but generally in case of fire. For the five years
succeeding this date the east village, the McLean
Asylum, and a part of Wintér Hill had been sup¬
plied from the mains running from Mystic Lake
to Charlestown. At a meeting of the town, No¬
vember 5, 1867, a committee was appointed to
meet the Charlestown board of water commission¬
ers, and to contract for the general introduction of
Mystic water into the town. April 13, 1868, this
committee reported, and another, consisting of
Aaron Sargent, C. E. Rymes, E. E. Demmon,
E. A. Vinal, and C. Downer, was instructed to
procure an act from the legislature authorizing the
town to make arrangements for a water supply,
and to raise $100,000 for defraying the cost of
the same. September 18, the act was accepted by
the town, and the committee, styled the Somerville
Mystic Water Committee, proceeded to confer with
the Charlestown authorities. Within three days a
contract was drawn up and signed, whereby the
inhabitants of Somerville should be sufficiently
furnished with water, provided the supply was
more than adequate for the wants of Charlestown
and Chelsea, at the rates charged to the inhabitants
of these cities, with a rebate to the town. Distri¬
bution pipes were immediately connected with the
Charlestown mains, at the corner of Medford Street
SOMERVJLLE.
323
aud Broadway, and during the following year the
town was generally supplied with water. March 11,
1870, a legislative enactment was procured to raise
bonds to the additional amount of $100,000, for
the extension of tlie works, and March 19, 1872, a
third issue was authorized, increasing the amount
to $400,000. Forty-four miles of pipe have been
laid in the city. The debt for the construction
of the water-works is $335,000, and the annual
municipal outlay for water purposes is nearly
$14,000.
Although the contract between Somerville and
Charlestown imposes conditions which might have
been foreseen and guarded against by a more ear¬
nest attention to the subject, when the introduction
of water from Mystic Lake into Charlestown was
in contemplation ; the inhabitants of Somerville are
receiving their annual water supply at less than the
average cost to cities of the commotiwealth.
Prior to 1867 the sewerage of Somerville was in
a primitive condition; a few private sewers and open
drains, emptying into river basins, creeks, and stag¬
nant pools, sufficiently supplied the needs of the
inhabitants.
In 1867 the first town sewer was laid, and
during the two following years a system was in¬
augurated which has since been essentially adhered
to, and which has brought the greater part of the
city to a satisfactory condition in respect to this
important item of municipal-regulation.
That watershed whose natural outlet was'Miller's
River was drained by trunk sewers constructed
from West Somerville to Charles River along the
line of Somerville Avenue and Beacon and Wash¬
ington streets. The valley of the Lowell Railroad
has been provided with an outlet into the old
Charlestown mill-pond. A trunk sewer running
under Broadway and the Park supplies the region
tending towards the Mystic River. The watershed
comprising the Walnut Hill district, having a nat¬
ural outlet in Alewife Brook, is still sufficiently
supplied with sewerage. Authority was obtained
from the legislature. May 20, 1873, to drain into
this stream, but it has been deemed inadvisable to
take advantage of the act. The city is now sup¬
plied with twenty-five miles of sewerage.
July 9, 1868, the Flint Street Methodist Epis¬
copal Church was organized. It began under the
auspices of the First Methodist Society, and wor¬
shipped in the chapel in Tufts Street. September
13, 1871, the chapel in Flint Street was dedieated.
Rev. W. B. Toulmin is the present pastor.
In 1868 the graduates of the high school since
the year 1862, and the members attending prior to
that date, reorganized an association which they
had formed some four years previous, and which
had been for some time quiescent. The leading
spirit in this new movement, Edward E. Edgerly,
believed an association of the graduates of the town's
highest edueational institution should be a power
for good in the community ; consequently the
Somerville High School Association was reformed,
not with the sole intention of refreshing the scenes
and renewing the aequaintances of youth, but to
consider and discuss the social and educational
problems of the day ; to teach the simpler branches
to those who had not the opportunity of instruc¬
tion in youth ; to supplement aud continue the
teaching of the schools by classes or lectures ; and
to introduce or further any scheme for the in¬
tellectual growth or moral welfare of the town.
The object was noble, and not entirely in vain was
the work of Mr. Edgerly, who, unhappily for the
cause of education, died within the short space of
two years. By his efibrts and example the Associa¬
tion has been able to render honorable service to
the citizens. It has instituted a course of lectures
in almost every season for the last ten years, it has
supported classes for the pursuit of speeial subjeets,
and it suggested and aided in the establishment of
the free public library.
The Association was incorporated by act of legis¬
lature, February 21, 1871, and authorized to hold
property to the amount of $50,000.
In November, 1868, two petitions were presented
to the legislature, asking for a division of the town,
but the subject received little encouragement. In
that year the selectmen ordered a census to be taken,
which showed the population to be 12,535.
December 23, 1869, the St. Joseph Catholic
Church was formed. The society worshipped at first
in Hawkins Hall. November 21, 1874, the present
church edifice was dedicated. Rev. C. T. McGrath
was the first pastor, and still continues in office.
The graves of Somerville's fallen soldiers were
first decorated in 1869, by George 0. Brastow,
Lebbeus Stetson, and a few other patriotic citizens,
with money raised by private subscription.
August 17, 1870, the Willard C. Kinsley Post
139, Grand Army of the Republic, was constituted.
Many of its charter members were from the John
A. Andrew Post of Boston. Colonel C. F. King
was chosen the first commander. He was suc¬
ceeded by Colonel H. E. Hill, to whom the post
324
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
is perhaps more indebted than to any other indi¬
vidual.
In 1870 the police department, which up to
this time had been of minor consideration, was re¬
organized, and one captain, eight night watchmen,
and four day patrolmen were in regular service.
In 1870 was printed the first paper, devoted ex¬
clusively to the interests of Somerville. During a
few years previous The Gharlestown Chronicle had
given many of its columns to the news of its neigh¬
bor ; but the rapid growth of the town served to
justify the establishment of a home-sheet, and the
first issue of The Somerville Journal appeared on
December 3. It has continued to be published
weekly with increasing success.
In 1870 the Lexington and Arlington Branch
railroad was constructed, and in December began
running trains tiirough a part of the town hitherto
but sparsely populated. From this innovation
dates the growth of West Somerville; and there
is now an extensive village, with its residences,
churches, school-houses, stores, and depots, where
in 1870 there were less than half a dozen cottages
surrounded by open fields.
For several years much dissatisfaction had been
manifested with the town system of government.
The town was becoming too large, her public busi¬
ness too various, important, and laborious to be
wisely considered and impartially despatched in
town-meeting. Some citizens favored annexation
to Gharlestown and Boston ; others urged the es¬
tablishment of a separate city government.
* In 1869 the town instructed her representatives
to favor annexation, and cast a small vote for a city
charter. During the following year the advocates
of the latter form" of government gained ground,
and early in 1871 a petition was presented to the
legislature, and April 14 an act passed to establish
the city of Somerville. April 27, the act was ac¬
cepted in town-meeting by a vote of three hundred
and thirty-six to one hundred and seventy. But
an undercurrent in favor of annexation existed for
some time after the acceptance of the city charter.
Meetings were held in the various ward-rooms, on
the first Monday of December, for the election of
such city officers as the law required. George 0.
Brastow was elected mayor, and a city council
of two aldermen and four common councilraen
was chosen from each of the four wards with a
higli degree of unanimity.
On the 1st of January, 1872, the citizens as¬
sembled in the hall of the Forster School-house
for a formal inauguration of the city government.
Twenty-six persons who were legal voters at the
founding of the town occupied prominent seats
upon the platform. After the address of the mayor-
elect one hundred guns were fired. The day was
made one of public rejoicing, and closed with a
grand ball in the same hall.
Upon the new city council devolved an unusual
amount of labor, not only in the instituting of a
proper code of ordinances for the government of
their own and successive bodies, but in that of
despatching through untried channels a public
business much increased by the exigencies of a new
city and of a rapidly increasing population.
The old high-school building was fitted up for a
city hall. Charles E. Oilman, who had held the
clerkship from the founding of the town, was elected
city clerk. Aaron Sargent was elected treasurer.
A seal was established, with the device of Wash¬
ington standing on Prospect Hill, grasjjing the
standard of the unfurled Union flag. In the back¬
ground is a view of a part of Boston, and showing
the State House and Bunker Hill Monument. In
a narrow inner circle about this centre-piece are
the words, " Somerville, founded 1842, Estab¬
lished a City 1872." In an outer circle is the
city's motto, " Municipal Freedom Gives National
Strength."
April 23, an act to establish a police court was ap¬
proved, and June 24, with appropriate ceremonies,
the court was constituted. Isaac Story was ap¬
pointed standing justice, and Lebbeus Stetson clerk.
From the founding of the town xmtil 1854
criminal cases were taken to Gharlestown and East
Gambridge for trial. From this latter date until
the incorporation of the city, almost without inter¬
ruption, cases were tried by Francis Tufts, under
commission as justice of the peace, and sub¬
sequently under a law by which certain trial jus¬
tices were triennially designated and commissioned,
who should exercise authority and jurisdiction in
criminal cases in any town in the county where
no police court was established. The first trials
in Somerville, and those for many years, were
conducted in the office of Gaptain Tufts, on
the southern comer of Medford and Washington
streets. In 1861 the court was moved to the
building on the eastern corner of Prospect Street
and Somerville Avenue. After the city police
court was constituted, the business of the depart¬
ment was held in a room at the city hall until thç
building in Bow Street was erected.
SOMER VILLE.
325
Although the ten years previous to the city
charter'included the period of the Civil War, Som-
erville made a progress in growth unprecedented
in her own history, and perhaps unequalled in that
of any other in the state. The population, 14,685
by the census of 1870, was estimated at 16,000,
a gain of nearly one hundred per cent in the ten
years. The number of polls was registered at
4,105, showing a much larger percentage of gain.
The number of dwellings had increased to 3,061,
making the same relative advance. The schools
now numbered fifty-four, eight having been organ-
ijsed ill this period, and seven male and fifty-eight
female teachers gave instruction to a school popu¬
lation of 2,951.
January, 1872, the town debt was $593,349,
and the amount raised by taxation the previous
year, $270,460.95. While the taxable valuation
of the state had doubled, that of the town had
quadrupled, being fixed at $22,755,000, May 1,
1872.
For some years the basin of Miller's Eiver had
been a growing nuisance, from its use as the outlet
of the sewers and as a depository of offal from the
slaughter-houses upon its banks ; and in 1872 it
was felt that the public health demanded that
measures should be taken for remedying this great
and increasing evil. Consequently on May 3 and 6
acts were passed by the legislature, — the former
authorizing the filling of lands to a grade thirteen
feet above mean low water, and the latter empower¬
ing the harbor commissioners and the state board
of health to investigate the cause of the nuisance,
and recommend measures for its abatement.
The board of commissioners reported plans for
filling the river, and the city council took steps
towards procuring an act. May 23, 1873, whereby
the cities of Cambridge and Somerville were author¬
ized to fill the river and to construct a sewer along
Somerville Avenue and Bridge Street to the Charles
Eiver, which should be an outlet to this made land,
the surrounding districts, and such other territo¬
ries as the river would naturally have drained.
Work was begun upon these important measures
without delay, and prosecuted uninterruptedly, as
far as the seasons would permit, until their com¬
pletion at the close of the following year. This
work was one of vast magnitude and expense, but
by its accomplishment the city was not only rid of
an intolerable nuisance, but it secured for taxation
an extensive and valuable piece of property within
two miles of the heart of the metropolis.
In 1872 the Holland Street Methodist Episcopal
Church was formed, largely through the exertions
of the Eev. Mr. Lacount. Eev. A. E. Winship
held the first pastorate. The chapel was dedicated
May 1,1873. The present pastor is Eev. William
Merrill.
During the second year of Mr. Brastow's ad¬
ministration the most important measures were the
opening of tiie public library, the abatement of the
Miller's Eiver nuisance, the erection of the Luther
V. Bell school-house and the George 0. Brastow
hose-house, besides constant and extensive im¬
provements in streets and sidewalks.
To Henry M. Brown, treasurer of the Somer¬
ville High School Association, belongs the honor
of originating the movement wiiich resulted in the
establishment of the public library. He believed
that the furtherance of such a project came within
the scope of the purposes of the Association, and
in 1870 he wrote a letter to the trustees, select¬
men, and school committee, urging the matter
upon their attention. Tlie selectmen promptly re¬
sponded, December, 1869, by appointing a com¬
mittee of three to confer with one from the Asso¬
ciation. In March, 1870, similar committees were
appointed, who prepared a brief plan for operating
the proposed library ; but this was not ratified by
the citizens, who in town-meeting, April, 1871,
appointed another committee of sixteen to prepare
a more elaborate code of regulations. The report
of this committee was accepted and adopted by the
town in November, 1871. It was therein pro¬
vided that a board of trustees should be chosen by
the first city council as soon after its organization
as should be convenient. Notwithstanding the
efforts of the Association, which made the promo¬
tion of this educational scheme one of its especial
objects, no further municipal action was taken
until June I, 1872, when it was voted that a room
be forthwith prepared for a library. October 21,
a board of nine trustees was appointed. Mr.
Isaac Pitman consented to become the nominal
head of the library during its formation, and Miss
Harriet A. Adams was chosen assistant librarian.
The first purchase of books was made in Mardi,
1873, and the library was opened to the public in
May with a collection of more than two thousand
volumes. The circulation for the first year was
24,693. In 1878 it had become 61,076, and the
number of volumes had increased to 7,441. The
total number of borrowers registered since the
opening was 7,780. One room sufficed for the uses
326
EISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of the library until 1876, when a smaller one was
added, with a reading-table supplied with twenty-
five newspapers and periodicals. The library is
open six hours daily. When the institution was
in successful operation, Mr. Pitman resigned, and
Miss Adams was promoted to the position to which
she has been annually re-elected.
W. H. Furber, who had held the position of
alderman since the formation of the city, was elected
mayor in 1874.
This administration completed the widening of
Highland Avenue and Milk Street, and many meas¬
ures begun by their predecessors. It continued
the generous line of improvements deemed neces¬
sary in view of the increasing popuHtion and
valuation of the city.
April 4, 1874, the West Somerville Congrega¬
tional Church was formed, under the auspices of
the Home Missionary Society, and the ministration
of Eev. Charles Mills. The present house of wor¬
ship was dedicated December 3, 1876. Eev. Albert
"Bryant is the present pastor.
June 22, 1874, the Broadway Methodist Epis¬
copal Church was formed through the labors of
J. Benson Hamilton, of the Plint Street society. In
November the new congregation first occupied its
present house of worship, the vestry of a contem¬
plated edifice.
In the spring of 1874 the Prospect Hill Con¬
gregational Church had its beginning at the house
of M. P. Elliot. A Sabbath school was soon after¬
wards gathered, and the church organized Decem¬
ber 20. The following year the present pastor,
Eev. A. E. Winship, was installed. Services were
held in the "Hill" building until October 19,1876,
when the present church édifice was dedicated.
An act having been procured from the legislature
for the establishment of a public park, the city
council voted to accept it, and immediately began
the purchase of an area of low land lying between
Mount Benedict and Winter Hill, thinly settled and
undesirable for dwellings, for the site of the pro¬
posed improvement. The construction continued
during the following two years, when on June 17,
1876, it was appropriately dedicated. The cost of
construction was $212,993.20.
In 1875 Mr. Purber received the indorsement
of the citizens by a hearty re-election, and con¬
tinued the same diligent oversight of the public
interests which had characterized his first term of
office. As the years 1874 and 1875 were the ones
of greatest inflation and speculation, particularly
in the matter of real estate^ there was in the com¬
munity a wide-spread and clamorous demand for
extensive and somewhat unreasonable public im¬
provements, involving large expenditures of money,
and it became exceedingly difficult to be able to
define the proper official course to pursue between
the idea of prudence on the one hand and obedience
to the popular will on tlie other. During these
years the police court building was constructed,
Broadway was widened and graded, and improve¬
ments in the various departments of the city con¬
tinued. Austin Belknap served as mayor during
the years 1876-77, being succeeded by George A.
Bruce, the present incumbent.
In accordance with an act of legislature in 1875,
to regulate municipal indebtedness, a board of com¬
missioners of the sinking-funds was appointed to
manage sums annually set apart for the payment
of the various municipal loans at their maturity.
$ 144,963.84 was held by this commission Janu¬
ary 1,1879. In 1877 the houses in sixteen streets
were numbered.
The West Somerville Baptist Church was or¬
ganized May 13,1877. It sprang from the Union
Church formed in 1874. Eev. J. E. Haskins was
the first, and Eev. William Lisle is the present
pastor.
In 1878 an act of legislature authorizing the
establishment of boards of health in the cities
of the commonwealth was accepted by Somer¬
ville, and such a board organized. Accurate
maps indicating the prevalence of the various con¬
tagious diseases in all parts of the town have been
prepared, and such sanitary measures have been
taken as would be most likely to guard against
epidemics. At present nearly every dwelling is
connected with the sewerage. Prior to this year
the selectmen and aldermen had constituted them¬
selves boards of health, but this department did not
become a regular source of expense to the town
until 1866.
Selwyn Z. Bowman, the first citizen of Somerville,
chosen to the national legislature, was elected to
the Porty-Sixth Congress.
Mr. Bowman was born in Charlestown, May II,
1840. He graduated at Harvard CoEege in 1860,
and subsequently at the Harvard Law School.
He was chosen the first solicitor of the city, and a
member of the first board of trustees of the public
library.
Before his election to Congress he served with
distinction in the state house of representatives in
The Old Powdor-lloaso.
SOMERVILLE.
329
the years 1870, 1871, and 1875, and in the senate
in 1876 and 1877.
In 1878 the total valuation of the city was fixed
at $20,976,900, a third less than in 1875. The
city debt in 1879 was $1,585,000. For the ex¬
tinguishment of this debt, $45,525 are raised
annually by taxation, and set apart as sinking-
funds, in accordance with the provisions of statute-
law. There are in the city twenty religious so¬
cieties and eighty-two schools. The great ques¬
tions of water and sewerage have been satisfactorily
disposed of. The highways have been thoroughly
reconstructed and are in fair condition, and the
city seems to be entering a season of prosperity
unrivalled in lier history.
In 1857 John Abbot Lodge of F. and A. M. was
instituted. It holds its meeting on the first Tues¬
day in each month, at Masonic Hall, Union Square.
Soley Lodge, which has its time of regular com¬
munication on the third Monday of each month,
is now working under dispensation. ■ Somerville
Royal Arch Chapter was constituted in 1871, and
meets the second Tuesday in each month, at Ma¬
sonic Hall, Union Square.
Somerville Encampment, No. 48, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows, meets the second and
fourth Monday of each month. Oasis Lodge,
No. 146, was instituted September 17, 1868, and
meets every Thursday evening, at Odd Fellows
Hall, Union Square. Paul Revere Lodge, No.
184, was instituted March 15, 1878, and meets
every Tuesday evening at Fraternity Hall, Broad¬
way. Ivaloo Lodge, No. 7, Daughters of Rebekah,
meets the second Friday in each month. The in¬
stallation of officers occurs the second Friday in
January.
There are six temperance organizations in Som-
ervUle : The Welcome Home Lodge, No. 71, In¬
dependent Order of Good Templars, instituted
June 29, 1877, and which meets at 18 Summer
Street; the Banner Division, No. 63, Sons of
Temperance, which meets every Thursday evening
at Bacon Hall, Union Square; the Clarendon
Division, No. 85, Sons of Temperance, which
meets at Clarendon Hall, West Somerville, every
Monday evening ; St. Paul Temple of Honor,
No. 41, which meets in Independence Hall, Reed's
Corner, Charlestown, every Wednesday evening;
the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, organ¬
ized April 26, 1876, which meets at Associate
Hall, Union Square, every Wednesday at 3 p. m ;
and the St. Joseph's Total Aifttinence Society,
which meets the second Sunday in each month
in the Old Meeting-house, Webster Avenue, at
4 p. M.
Among other organizations are the Franklin
Lodge, No. 41, Knights of Pythias, which meets
in Pythian Hall, Union Square, every Tuesday
evening ; Elm Council, No. 36, of the Royal Ar¬
canum, West Somerville, wliicli meets the first and
third Thursday, in Arcanum Hall; Somerville
Council, No. 6, R. A., which meets the first and
third Wednesday of each month ; Unity Council,
No. 59, R. A., which meets in Fraternity Hall
the first and tliird Monday in each month ; Excel¬
sior Council, No. 3, R. A., instituted August 8,
1877, and which meets in Franklin Hall the first
and third Wednesday; Warren Lodge, No. 89,
which meets every Monday evening in Odd Fellows
Hall, Union Square ; Cameron Lodge, No. 1,146,
which meets in Arcanum Hall, West Somerville,
the second and fourth Tuesday of each month ;
Winter HHl Lodge, No. 423, which meets in the
hall, Broadway Street, every Tuesday evening, —
all Knights of Honor; and the Willard C. Kinsley
encampment. Post 139, Grand Army of the Repub¬
lic, which meets at Police Station Hall on every
Monday evening.
The Powder-House. — This venerable structure,
associated equally with the appliances of war and
the occupations of peace, was erected in the first
quarter of the eighteenth century, and for several
years was a windmill, to which the settlers for
many miles around brought their corn to be
ground.
For some twenty years before the Revolution,
and till 1822, it was in use as a public store-house
for powder. Again becoming private property, it
has since remained idle, resting on the distinction
of being the oidy ancient ruin in Massachusetts.
Standing on an eminence, formerly called Quarry
Hill, with its round tower surmounted by a conical
cap, it is a conspicuous object for miles in many
directions.
It is built of slate-stone, such as occurs in the
neighboring quarry. There are three stories, di¬
vided by heavy fioors, and supported by large oaken
joists. In height it is nearly forty feet, and nine¬
teen feet in diameter. The walls are two and a half
feet in thickness at tiie base. The door was for¬
merly on the southwest side, tlie present entrance,
on the northeast, being of modern origin. The age
of the old mill is not now accurately known, but
records exist which fix tiie time of its erection
330
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUXTY.
between the years 1703 and 1720, and make it
probable the former date is nearer the true one.
In 1703-4 ten acres, so described as to make it
clear that the land on wliicli the ruin now stands
was indicated, were deeded by Jonathan Fosket to
Jolin Mallet, a French Huguenot. From the fact
of there being no mention of buildings upon the
property, and from its being designated merely as
a part of the stinted pasture " near the quarries,"
the deduction is made that the tower was not in
existence at that time.
John Mallet died in 1722, and by his will,
dated August 30, 1720, wherein he bequeaths
half of his grist-mill to each of his sons, Andrew
and Lewis, it is shown to have been then in active
operation. Andrew bought his brother's part in
1733, and continued in possession of the property
till his death in 1744.
Three years later the structure, with a quarter
of an acre of land around it, and the right of way
to and from the county road, was sold by Isaac,
son of Andrew, to the province of Massachusetts,
for "£250 in bills of public credit on the prov¬
ince of the old tenor." It had then ceased to be
used for its original purpose, as it is spoken of
in the deed as the stone edifice formerly a wind¬
mill. It was then remodelled into a magazine for
holding the powder of the province and of the
towns.
It was used for this purpose by the American
forces during the siege of Boston, and by the State
of Massachusetts till 1822, a few years after the
magazine at Cambridgeport was completed.
The Powder-House is connected with one of the
opening scenes of the Eevolution, which led to the
first armed gathering of the yeomanry of Middlesex.
In the summer of 1774 the colonists, appre¬
hensive of the coming conflict, gradually withdrew
the powder belonging to the towns. Governor
Gage, being informed of this action, resolved to
save the remainder. Accordingly, at sunrise, Sep¬
tember 1, Lieutenant-Coloiiel Maddison, with two
hundred and sixty men, embarked in thirteen boats
from Long Wharf, and was rowed to Ten Hills
Farm, where lie landed. One detachment marched
to Cambridge, where it seized two cannon ; another
proceeded to the Powder-House, and removed to
their boats the two hundred and fifty half-barrels
of powder tliere remaining, whence it was carried
to Castle William in Boston Harbor.
The old Powder-House passed into the hands of
the heirs of the late Mr. Nathan Tufts, of Charles-
town, in 1836, and has since remained in posses¬
sion of the family.
The McLean Asylum. — The McLean Asylum
for the Insane is located in Somerville, on an emi¬
nence known during the Revolution and earlier as
Cobble Hill, mentioned in this sketch. It is a
branch of the Massachusetts General Hospital, and,
like its sister charity, was erected by the united
liberality of the commonwealth and of private in¬
dividuals. The newly formed corporation pur¬
chased the residence and grounds of Joseph Barrell
for the establishment of tlieir asylum. Tlie lot
procured was five hundred feet wide by sixteen
hundred feet deep, and extended to the water. The
mansion-liouse was occupied by the officers of the
institution, and two buildings were erected on
either side of it, each adapted for thirty patients.
Dr. Rufus Wyman was cliosen the first physi¬
cian and superintendent, March 23, 1818, and in
the following autumn, after visiting Philadelphia
and New York to examine the only lunatic hospi¬
tals then existing in the country, entered upon his
duties. Difficulties incident to the opening of a
new charity beset him on every side. The build¬
ings had been constructed with an imperfect knowl¬
edge of the requirements of such an institution, and
many alterations were necessary to adapt them to
the style of treatment proposed by Dr. Wyman, —
a treatment requiring more minute classification,
allowing greater freedom to the patients, and de¬
manding more moral agencies than had been here¬
tofore customary in similar institutions.
The first patient was admitted October 6, 1818.
His father believed he was possessed of a devil,
and said that whipping had been one of the reme¬
dial agents employed upon him. Thirteen patients
entered before the close of the year.
In 1819 Samuel Eliot donated $10,000 to the-
Asylum. Each year brought an increasing number
of patients, éspecially of males, and it became neces¬
sary to enlarge the accommodations in this depart¬
ment. Consequently in 1826 an extensive wing
surmounted by a dome was joined to the male
wards. During this year the institution took the
name of McLean Asylum, in honor of John McLean,
who a few years previous had made to the institu¬
tion a donation of $25,000, and the residue of his
property after the payment of certain bequests, —
a sum estimated at the time at $90,000. In 1830
Joseph Lee, recognizing the usefulness of this
branch of the hospital, and grateful for the oppor¬
tunities it had offered for the care of his deceased
SOMER VILLE.
331
McLean Asylum«
soiij donated $20,000 to it. In 1832 the asylum
was still further enriched by the will of Miss Mary
Belknap, who made the institution her residuary
devisee. This devise was valued at $88,602, and
crowned the munificence of a family which had
always shown unstinted liberality in this cause.
In August, 1832, Dr. Wyman resigned. But
the trustees, feeling that they could ill be deprived
of his services, temporarily separated, in the fol¬
lowing month, the offices of physician and super¬
intendent, and continued him in the medical
directorship ; and these duties he fulfilled till his
final resignation. May 1, 1835. During the super-
intendency of Dr. Wyman more than eleven hun¬
dred patients were received under treatment, and
the annual admissions had begun to exceed one
hundred. The prejudices of the eommuuity were
gradually becoming dissipated, and the common¬
wealth had recognized the necessity of such charity
by the erection of a state iiospital at Worcester.
It was fortunate for the McLean Asylum that
it secured for its first superintendent the services
of a man so fitted by his intellectual and moral
endowments to become the pioneer among the
hospital superintendents of New England. The
highly curable nature of insanity was not then
widely recognized. Stories, often not without
foundation, of the abuses of the private mad¬
houses of England were rife in the community.
People were loath to allow their unfortunate rela¬
tives to be taken to an institution where physical
punishment and violence were supposed to enter
into the means of treatment. To overcome this
wide-spread feeling of distrust and aversion, and
to exhibit the advantages arising from a kiud,
intelligent treatment, required a director of spotless
moral character ; and to lay the foundations of a
comparatively new charity wisely and successfully,
demanded a physician skilled in his profession, and
possessing, in more than ordinary degree, inventive
faculty and executive ability. Such qualities were
united in the first superintendent.
Dr. Rufus Wyman was born in Woburn in
1778. He graduated with honor at Harvard Col¬
lege in 1799, and studying medicine under direc¬
tion of Dr. John Jeffries, took his degree in 1894.
He sought to correct a naturally delicate constitu¬
tion by a country life, and settled in Chelmsford,
where he remained, notwithstanding a flattering
call from the citizens of Concord, until chosen
physician and superintendent of the McLean Asy¬
lum. Resigning in 1835, he retired to private life,
and died at Roxbury in 1842.
Dr. Wyman had the genius of inventing and
332
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of putting in operation needed mechanical appli¬
ances. He early gave attention to the heating and
ventilating of the buildings, and devised wood-
burning furnaces, by which the desired temperature
was obtained from small volumes of highly heated
air. His plan was put in successful operation, and
was shortly afterwards used in the Capitol at Wash¬
ington. To good natural endowments Dr. Wyman
had added an academic education, a training of
many years in the general practice of his profession,
and a judgment formed from a close and varied
acquaintance with other minds ; and at the begin¬
ning of his connection with the Asylum his life
had been matured by the experience of forty years.
To his wisdom and skill he united unwearied de¬
votion to all the interests and requirements of the
institution, and a fidelity which extended to the
lesser as well as to the greater and more showy duties
of his station. For fourteen years, or till his health
broke down, he had been absent but five nights
from his charge. He was averse to ostentation,
and to such a degree that it is doubtful whether he
gave due publicity to the results of his experience,
which might have strengthened the hands of others
about entering this field of labor, and served to
increase the reputation and usefulness of the insti¬
tution. Chief among his attributes was a sterling
integrity and a moral grandeur before which the
charges and assaults to which such institutions are
ever unavoidably liable fell harmless. The same
qualities which enabled him to proceed patiently
day by day, laying the foundations of an intelligent
and humane treatment of lunacy in New England,
that did not permit him to build or alter without a
wise forethought, or to act without a well-matured
and, as experience has shown, generally a just rea¬
son, will preserve his name fresh in the list of those
who have rendered invaluable services for the
amelioration of the insane in this country.
On the retirement of Dr. Wyman, Dr. Phineas
G. Lee, who had been the assistant for a year, was
elected to the superintendency, and at once began
a course of treatment in some respects opposite
to that previously pursued. Dr. Wyman had re¬
garded insanity as an inflammation. Dr. Lee believed
it to be an irritation, and curable in all cases. He
brought into greater prominence the moral agencies
begun by his predecessor. Idleness was deemed a
great evil, and all the inmates were sought to be
provided with some occupation, if not of a useful,
then of a diverting, nature. All the known vari¬
eties of amusement were adopted, which should
effectually shut out all trains of diseased thought.
In the midst of this experiment Dr. Lee died.
Although the indulgence in rational amusements
and the establishment of cheerful surroundings
are relied upon at the present day as the chief items
of treatment, under the light of added experi¬
ence it is doubtful whether the extreme measures
adopted by Dr. Lee could have been long carried
out unmodified.
Dr. Lee was born in New Britain, Connecticut,
in 1808. After a service under Dr. Todd at the
retreat at Hartford, in 1834 he became the assist¬
ant of Dr. Wyman, and at the expiration of a
faithful and active service of two years at the Asy¬
lum he yielded his life in the midst of his chosen
work, dying October 29, 1836, of nervous exhaus¬
tion brought on by his constant and fatiguing
labors. Dr. Lee was of a cheerful temperament,
devoted and enthusiastic in the pursuit of his call¬
ing, and possessed a wonderful control over his
patients. The purity of his character and the
strength and fervor of his religious convictions
endeared him to his many friends, and the energy
and skill displayed in the care for his unfortunate
charge made his decease — at the early age of
twenty-eight — an event universally to be deplored
by the friends of the institution. Under the di¬
rection of Dr. Lee one hundred and eighty-nine
patients were received.
Dr. Luther V. Bell, of Derry, New Hampshire,
was elected his successor in December, 1836, and
pursued with some modifications the treatment of
his predecessor. In 1836 the grounds were enlarged
by the addition of six acres, and work was begmi
to extend the female wing by a similar addition to
that upon the east side. The new wards, com¬
pleted in 1838, were erected with the money of
Miss Belknap, and perpetuated the memory of this
benefactress. In 1851 Cochituate water was in¬
troduced into the Asylum along the line of the
Lowell Railroad. In 1850 William Appleton
donated $20,000 for the erection of two buildings
for the accommodation of a class of patients who
had been accustomed to a more luxurious style of
living than could be furnished in the older apart¬
ments. During the administration of Dr. Bell
tlie class of occupants at the Asylum gradually be¬
came changed, by the tacit demand of the public,
for an institution more particularly devoted to the
care of the wealthier class. This change had come
about naturally by tlie more general provision for the
insane made by the erection of state institutions.
SOMEB VILLE.
333
Dr. Bell resigned in 1856, after a service of nine¬
teen years, leaving the institution in a iiighly {)ros-
perous condition. Twenty-five iiundred patients
had been admitted under his charge. The number
of institutions for the insane had increased in these
two decades from half a dozen to more than forty.
Dr. Bell left the McLean Asylum standing in tiie
front rank of tliese curative establishments, and
enjoying the confidence of the community to a rare
degree. No great change had been adopted in the
medicinal means, but the agents of moral treat¬
ment, so called, had become more perfect, and
many experiments and means of treatment had
been tried, to be accepted or discarded as expe¬
rience directed. Important improvements in ven¬
tilation and warming had been devised. Some
phases of disease hitlierto undescribed had been
detected, all of which added not a little to the
stock of knowledge in this specialty, and estab¬
lished for their author a world-wide reputation.
For twenty years Dr. Luther V. Bell was a citi¬
zen of this city, and during his residence as pliy-
sician and superintendent of the McLean Asylum,
identified himself with the interests of the town
and its inhabitants, as he did with the larger in¬
terests of tlie community in all public questions
and in matters ])ertaining to his special vocation.
His reports as chairman of the school committee
for the years 1845-46 and 1846-47 are un¬
usually long and minute, and show an earnest and
jealous regard for the welfare of our schools, and
a warm desire that they should attain that excel¬
lence for which they have beeu in later years con¬
spicuous.
Luther V. Bell was born in Francistown, New
Hampshire, December 20, 1806. His ancestors,
of Scotcli-Irish stock, were among the earliest set¬
tlers of New Hampshire, and the name of Bell lias
been in continual prominence in the annals of the
state. The subject of this sketch — son of one
governor, nephew of another, the brother of a sen¬
ator and a chief justice —was graduated at Bow-
doin College in 1826, and at the Medical School at
Hanover three years later, while still in his aninor-
ity. He began the practice of medicine in Derry
ill 1831, married in 1834, and continued in the
general practice of his profession till he was called
to the special service to which he gave the best
years of his life.
Becoming interested in the project of providing
public accommodations for the insane, he allowed
himself to be elected to the state legislature for the
furtherance of this object, and in 1837, while thus
engaged in his legislative duties, received a call to
undertake the superintendence of the oldest and
most prosperous institution for the insàne in New
England, — the McLean Asylum, where for nearly
twenty years he was prominently before the eyes
of the town, the state, and the country.
He was for five years president and a leading
spirit of the Association of Superintendents of
North American Institutions for the Insane. In
1857 he was elected presiilent of the Massachusetts
Medical Society. In 1850 he was a member of the
governor's council.
Kesigning the superintendency of the Asylum in
1856, not old in years, but in delicate health, he
returned to private life, fixing his residence in
Charlestown. But, important and useful as his
life had been, it was not destined to go out without
a further and crowning service. At the begin-
nirag of the Eebellion he promptly responded to the
call of his country ; was commissioned surgeon of
the 11th Massachusetts Eegiment, June 10, 1861,
made brigadier-surgeon in August, and medical
director of division when Hooker became major-
general. He was in the path of promotion to still
higher fields of usefulness, when, at Camp Baker,
near Budd's Ferry, he was stricken down with
pericarditis, .which terminated fatally on the sev¬
enth day, — February 11, 1862.
Dr. Bell achieved his greatest success in the
specialty which was the principal occupation of his
life, and upon the full and able performance of the
various duties incident to the many branches of
this calling his most enduring reputation will un¬
doubtedly rest. When lié assumed charge of the
McLean Asylum there were not more than half a
dozen such institutions in the country, and he was
frequently called upon to give the aid of his ex¬
perience in the construction of new hospitals. The
system of moral treatment of the insane was rec¬
ognized at this time, but the means for accom¬
plishing this end were far from being perfect, and
it was under the administration of Dr. Bell that
many of the appliances and adjuncts for carrying
out this higher treatment were adopted. Many
experiments were tried, some of which were aban¬
doned, others continued. All the results of his nine¬
teen years' experience were given to the public in
an interesting and elaborate series of annual re¬
ports, which did much to increase the efficiency of
similar institutions in the country, and to maintain
and advance the reputation of that which he had
334
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in charge. Dr. Bell had a taste for the legal aspeets
of insanity, and his full learning, his ready and
suggestive memory and self-command, fitted him
for medico-legal duties. For twenty-five years he
was constantly before the courts as an expert in
the vexed questions pertaining to his calling. No
man had performed these duties oftener, more con-
seientiously, or with a higher degree of success.
As a writer. Dr. Bell excelled ; but he left few
produets of his pen behind him. Essays on the
external exploration of disease, on small-pox, and
on a vegetable diet, his asylum reports, a work on
ventilation, a eulogy on President Taylor, and an
exhaustive and very able opinion on the Parrish
Will ease constitute nearly all of his literary re¬
mains. But his life was spent as an observer,
and the results of his experience were imparted
more frequently by speaking than by writing.
Dr. Bell possessed considerable skill and interest
in mechanical arts. The exterior of the Unitarian
Church was modelled after his plans., A machine
for the manufacture of flax has been in successful
use abroad. He claimed to have been the first to
send communication over the telegraphic wire, and
petitioned Congress for remuneration. Having an
even temperament, he had disciplined himself to
bear with dignity the petty annoyances of his sta¬
tion, and the aspersions of the malevolent. His
ciiaracter and life were pure and simple. Though
a member of no religious sect, he had deeply ¡ron-
dered the Scriptures, and in life and death was a
consistent Christian man.
March 16, 1856, Dr. Chauncy Booth, who had
been assistant physician for thirteen years, was
elected physician and superintendent ; but he lived
to make but one report, and to occupy the position
a little less than two years. He died, in the midst
of much promise, January, 1858. No important
changes were made in this period. Dr. Booth was
born in Coventry, Connecticut, in 1816. After a
residence of two years at Amherst College, he be¬
gan in 1837 the study of medicine with his uncle.
Dr. W. H. Eockwell, who had just assumed the
charge of the newly opened Vermont Asylum for
the Insane at Brattleboro'. Taking his medical
degree at Pittsfield, he was elected assistant at
Brattleboro', and in 1840 was chosen to the same
position at tiie new Hospital for the Insane at
Augusta, Maine, where he remained till his elec¬
tion to the McLean Asylum, two years later. Dr.
Booth possessed an unusual faculty for dealing
with the insane, and so closely identified himself
with his charge as universally to gain their con¬
fidence and love. His death occurred at the Asy¬
lum, January 12, 1858.
Dr. John E. Tyler was elected superintendent
February 12, 1858, and coutinued iu office till ill
health compelled him to resign, February 17,1871.
During this period two model buildings were
erected for the more violent insane, and the estate
was extended by the purchase of five acres of land.
Tlie library for the use of the patients was largely
increased, greater opportunities for amusement and
for exercise were offered, and the Asylum, then as
now, frequently enjoyed the performances and
works of artists iu the various brauches of art and
music.
John E. Tyler was born in Boston, December 9,
1819. After leaving school he entered upon a
business life, which he shortly after abandoned
to fit himself for a profession. Graduating at
Dartmouth in 1842, he soon turned to the study
of medicine, and took his degree at the University
of Pennsylvania in 1846. He established himself
in Salmon Falls, New Hampshire, where he prac¬
tised his profession six years. During this period
he represented the town in the legislature two
terms. The position of superintendent of the New
Hampshire Asylum for the Insane being vacant,
he received the appointment October 15, 1852.
Here he remained five years, radically improving
the condition of the insane iu that state. Wlien
about to return to general practice, he was elected
physician and superintendent of the McLean Asy¬
lum. Eesigning, with shattered health, after a
service of thirteen years, he retired to the private
practice of his specialty in the city of his birth.
He held a professorship iti the Harvard Medical
School, and continued to be frequently called in
consultation and in courts till his death, April,
1878. Dr. Tyler was a man of uncommon energy
and personal power. He not only had an unusual
personal magnetism in dealing with patients, but
possessed the faculty of gaining the confidence of
their friends and the public at large more gen¬
erally than is wont to fall to the lot of hospital
directors.
Early in the administration of Dr. Tyler the
asylum was deprived of the services of its steward
and matron for thirty years, — Mr. and Mrs. Co¬
lumbus Tyler. The fact that they are still living
iu their adopted city deters the writer from offer¬
ing that tribute to the recognized fidelity and wis¬
dom with which they conducted the affaire of the
so MER VILLE.
335
institution during so many yearsj and which such
important services demand. Suffice it to say that
the records of the trustees show frequent evidence
that to their devoted work the success and standing
of the Asylum in no slight degree belong.
By the simultaneous retirement of Dr. Tyler and
the first assistant, Dr. J. H. Whittemore, the man¬
agement devolved on Dr. George F. Jelly, who was
chosen superintendent October 13, 1871. Dr.
Jelly resigned June 1, 1878, after an administra¬
tion of seven years, in which the Asylum continued
prosperous. No particular changes were made in
the methods of treatment during this period, but
the agencies for moral treatment have been con¬
stantly extended, rendering the institution more
home-like in its character.
Dr. Jelly was born in Salem, in 1842, graduated
at Brown University in 1864, and took the degree
of M. D. at'the Harvard Medical School in 1868.
Establishing himself in general practice in Spring¬
field, he remained in that city fifteen months, till his
appointment to the Asylum. The present super¬
intendent is Dr. Cowles.
The Ursnline Convent. — Ploughed Hill lost its
Revolutionary title and rested in obscurity until tlie
erection upon it of the Ursnline Convent, the de¬
struction of which by a mob in 1834 was a notable
event.
The order of St. Ursula was established in 1536,
to give relief to the sick, and to educate gratui¬
tously female youth ; and the importance of its work
was so fully appreciated that it escaped the perse¬
cutions to which monastic institutions were often
subjected in Europe. After a time the vocation
of the order was confined to its second object, —
the education of female youth ; and as seminaries
of learning the convents became established in
America.
In 1820 such an institution was founded in Bos¬
ton, and six years later it was removed to Mount
Benedict. The farm-house of Arnold Cook was
fitted up for the school in 1826, while a more con¬
venient and commodious structure was in process
of erection. The following year the convent was
ready for occupancy. It was a four-story build¬
ing, eighty feet in lengtii, facing towards the east,
erected upon the summit of the hill ; a long flight
of steps led up to it from the street. Two large
wings were added on the west side in 1829. Alto¬
gether it was the most imposing structure of its
kind in New England.
The grounds were laid out in a tasteful and attrac¬
tive manner. The southern slope was arranged in
three terraces, on which were reared vines, trees,
and shrubs. A drive-way, shaded by handsome
trees, led up in a diagonal directioii from the south¬
east corner of the enclosure, and wound round a
circular flower-bed in front of the house. The
bishop's lodge and the stable were also upon
the southern slope. On the northern face of the
hill was grass-land, a vegetable garden, and an
orchard.
Here, then, on a beautiful eminence, with a
varied and delightful prospect extending for miles
on every side, among a ])eople believed to be as
intelligent and orderly as any in the world, this
little community of Ursnline nuns began their work
of instructing female youth, drawn mostly from
the respected and wealthy Protestant families of
the vicinity.
For seven years the institution flourished, and
doubtless would have continued in existence till the
present time had it not been for the combination
of events to be described.
Although the wealthier and more intelligent
classes in Boston and vicinity were in the main
tolerant of the convent, and believed that it carried
out honestly and faithfully the objects it professed,
the larger portion of the community, jiartly from
inherited prejudices and partly from the direction
given to thought by the pulpit, looked upon the
system of convent education with jealousy and dis¬
trust, as tending towards the subversion of our in¬
stitutions. Local events conspired to fan the flame
of popular feeling, till at last it broke forth into
riot and sacrilege. The first of these events was
the retirement of Miss Rebecca T. Reed from her
novitiate, and a subsequent account of her life at
the convent.
Miss Reed was a young woman of a respectable
Protestant family dwelling in this town. Her
parents had been possessed of some property, but
at this time were in straitened circumstances.
While at school Miss Reed witnessed the com¬
munity come out from Boston and take possession
of their new quarters, and her curiosity was stimu¬
lated to make inquiries about their objects and
mode of life. The more she learned of their seclu¬
sion and holy living, the more she became drawn
towards a cloister life. She communicated her
wishes to the superior and the bishop, and after
conversation with tliem, and further consideration,
against the wisiies of her parents she entered the
convent, with the intention of becoming a nun and
336
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
an instructress, after a suitable period of prepara¬
tion and trial. But the bright visions of convent
life which this highly imaginative young girl had
conjured up were destined to be dissipated in a
few brief niontlis. The picture of a dreamy and
perliaps indolent seclusion, and the fascination of a
mysterious worship, gave way to the homely and
sober routine of duties with each hour appropriate
to its own special work or worship. To endure
the hard couch, -the plain fare, the exacting pen¬
ances, she realized that one must draw from deeper
fountains of religious faith and love than she pos¬
sessed.
She resolved to return to the world, and that she
might not be hindered in her resolution by physical
restraint or by moral suasion, her departure took
the form of an escape, and scaling the fence, she
presented herself faint and bleeding at the house
of Mr. Kidder, keeper of tiie toll-gate. She stated
that she was tired of convent life, had mistaken
her vocation, and desired to return to her family,
friends, and early religion. The story of her life
during the months of her seclusion was not given
to the public, but only rehearsed to a few particular
friends, and the account committed to paper lay in
manuscript till after the burning of the institution,
when in justification to Miss Eeed it was thought
advisable that it should be published, with addi¬
tions and emendations by the authoress and her
Protestant friends. It appeared under the title.
Six Months in a Convent, and provoked a reply
from the superior, which was followed by another
pamphlet entitled, A Supplement to Six Months
in a Convent. The escape of Miss Heed had lotig
ceased to agitate the public, when another event
took place which must be regarded as the exciting
cause of the destruction of tiie convent.
Miss Harrison, or Mary Joiin, had been an inmate
of the institution for several years, and was a teacher
of music. Whether she imagined herself unable
to fulfil conscientiously the exactions of a monastic
life at a time when body and mind were fatigued
by her exertions in preparing for Coronation day,
or whether she chose to leave the institution from
other motives, will probably never be known. But
on the afternoon of July 28, 1834, shortly before
she would have held her recitation, she left the
grounds in an irregular manner, and sought ad¬
mission at the house of Mr. Cutter. She there
distinctly stated that she was tired of her secluded
life and desired never to return to it. She talked
calmly and rationally, and stayed until evening.
A Mr. and Mrs. Knney came in, and at her request
took her to West Cambridge, to the parents of a
former pupil at the school. In all her conversation
and manner she displayed no signs of insanity wliat-
ever. The bishop and superior were acquainted
with her whereabouts, and riding out to West
Cambridge succeeded in persuading her to retire
to the institution again, with tlie understanding
that she should return to the world at any time.
She asked the Cutters and Kuneys to visit her, and
if she did not appear in ten days, she requested
them to go to the convent and have an inter¬
view with her. At her non-appearance at tiie
specified time, this request was fulfilled -, but the
callers were told that Miss Harrison was sick and
had no desire to see them, was perfectly satisfied
with her present life, and wished to remain an in¬
mate of the institution. The report that a nun,
declared to be in sound mind, had escaped from
the nunnery, was induced to return temporarily,
but was not afterwards seen by the public, and had
not left, acted like tinder upon the inflammable
state of mind in the community.
Reports were circulated that a nun was impris¬
oned against her will, and that there were under¬
ground cells in the convent where the inmates were
immured. Two young ladies walking about the
grounds at this period were reported to have been
set upon by dogs. Stories were current that, from
the mystery of Miss Heed's account, there were
abuses at the convent which were too horrible to
be divulged.
Public indignation spread ; hand-bills were
posted, and threats uttered which menaced the
existence of the institution. The selectmen sought
to allay the excitement, and visiting the convent,
made a careful examination of the building, that
they might proclaim the groundlessness of the
charges ; but they were coldly received, and de¬
layed in their investigation, and before a public
announcement was made of the purity of the insti¬
tution the rioters had done their work, the black¬
ened memorials of which exist to this day.
On the night of August 11, 1834, by dusk,
entirely without the foreknowledge of the respect¬
able citizens of the community, little knots of men
began to gather about the vicinity of the convent
grounds. At nine o'clock the crowd had greatly
increased ; many were in carriages, and the greater
part were strangers to the residents, who neither
knew whence they came nor what was their pur¬
pose. Some of the crowd started a bonfire just to
SOMERVILLE.
337
the east of the convent, on the land of Mr. Kelly.
This brought the fire companies from Boston,
and Engine No. 13 came up the convent avenue.
When it reached the building a volley of stones
was discharged, yells were heard, and an attempt
was made to batter down the doors. Pinal ly,
disregarding the expostulations of the superior
and the feeble remonstrances of tiie selectmen, an
entrance was effected by the rioters, and for an
hour or more they ransacked the premises. The
building was examined in every part, secretaries
and drawers were broken open and rifled, costly
musical instruments, furniture, and books werè
thrown from tiie windows. Tlie sacramental
vessels were taken from tiie ciborium and scat¬
tered about the fields j the cross was torn down
and cast into the flames. All the symbols of wor¬
ship were, removed and desecrated,—r even the
tomb which contained the bodies of several nuns,
who had consecrated tlieir lives to deeds of charity,
mercy, and instruction, was ruthlessly entered, and
left open to gratify the prurient curiosity of the
rioters. In the meantime the frightened inmates,
numbering in the vicinity of about ten nuns and
forty-seven pupils, many of a tender age, had
passed into the courtyard between the wings, and
had sought refuge near the tomb till they were
taken to places of shelter. The rioters subse¬
quently set fire to the bishop's lodge and the other
buildings, and did not retire from the vicinity till
daylight, when many of them got into carriages
and drove off.
The deeds of the rioters were accomplished
without causing a general alarm among the inhabi¬
tants of Boston. But on the following day great
indignation was manifested among the better
classes in the community. The Catholics could
hardly be restrained from acts of retaliation. A
meeting was held in Faneuil Hall, and addresses
made by prominent citi^ens, who condemned the
outrage in the strongest terms. On the 15th of the
month Governor Davis issued a proclamation offer¬
ing $500 reward for the discovery of the perpetra¬
tors, and calling upon all classes to heal the wound.
Twelve men, of various employments, who were
believed to have been engaged in the riot, were
arrested and indicted. December 2, .John R. Buz-
zell, a brick-maker, against whom the evidence was
strongest, was brought up for trial, and although
he was generally believed to have been an active
participant, and is said to have confessed his guilt
years afterwards upon his death-bed, he was
acquitted. Notwithstanding the general desire
among the better class to have the perpetrators
brought to justice, Marvin Marey, Jr., a boy of
seventeen, who had been drawn into the affair
purely from a love of mischief, was alone con¬
victed, and he was set at liberty at the expiration
of seven months.
Altliough endeavors have been made, no bill
has ever passed the legislature indemnifying the
Catholics for this wanton destruction of their prop¬
erty, and effacing a black stain upon the honor and
good government of Massachusetts.
It remains to name a citizen closely and promi¬
nently identified with Somerville from the begin¬
ning of its corporate existence almost to the present
time, who has been frequently mentioned in connec¬
tion with the various enterprises for the promotion
of public interests or the public welfare.
George Oliver Brastow was bom in Wrentham,
September 8, 1811. He remained in his native
town during his minority. After following the
lumber business in Maine for a few years, in 1838
he became a resident of this place, and soon took
an active part in the affairs of the town. In
184-5 he was elected one of the board of selectmen,
and from this time till his death he might almost
constantly have been found occupying some public
station or engaged in some public enterprise for the
welfare of the community. He served three terms
of office, aggregating eight years, — from 1844 to
1862, — upon the school committee. He was sent
as a representative to the General Court from this
district in 1849, and returned in 1850 and 1851,
and in 1854 was elected to the senate. He was con¬
nected with the fire company at its formation in
1850, and in 1859 was one of the organizers of the
Somerville Light Infantry, and their first captain.
He was one of the charter members of John Abbot
Lodge of Freemasons, and of Somerville Royal
Arch Chapter.
The outbreak of the war found him again in
command of the Somerville Light Infantry, and
proffering his services to the governor for three
months. Later he was appointed paymaster in the
army. In 1862 he was'again elected to the house
of representatives, and again to the senate in 1866
and the three succeeding years, serving in 1868
as president of that body.
When the city government was inaugurated,
popular feeling was directed toward Mr. Brastow
as the most fitting person to become the first
mayor, and he was almost unanimously elected.
338
HISTORY OF MIDBLESEX COUNTY.
and the following year re-elected. Declining
further service, he was elected to the governor's
council for the years 1874, 1875, and 1876. At
the time of his death, November 23, 1878, he
was an inspector of the state-prison at Concord,
and director of the Duxbury and Cohasset Eailroad.
It is doubtful if any man in Somerville had a
firmer hold uj)on the hearts of his townsmen than
George 0. Brastow. This hold was not gained by
the display of any rare intellectual or moral quali¬
ties, but by his activity in promoting the interests
of his adopted town, his familiar social standing
with the people, his frank, genial nature, and his
self-sacrificing generosity to the afflicted and needy
of every class and color.
The intellectual qualities of Mr. Brastow's mind
were not, however, by any means of a low order,
for he was possessed of a good natural ability, and
a mind exhibiting many admirable qualities'" for
the public service. To a remarkable energy and a
capacity for work, he united a good judgment of
the wants of the people and a nice discrimination
of the tone of popular feeling, while few men could
assume a more imposing dignity on a fitting occa¬
sion ; in his social intercourse with the masses he
had a hearty and jovial though blulf manner. He
was the possessor of a strong common-sense with
a lively fund of humor and anecdote, a presence of
mind in any position or company, and a personal
community with every individual with whom he
came in contact that gave him great inffuence in
the councils of the state as well as of the town.
Mr. Brastow is largely identified with the de¬
velopment of this city. He bought lands, on enter¬
ing the town, with a view to erecting houses and
speculating in real estate, and having no continu¬
ous private business turned his attention entirely to
measures which would develop the district. Hence
we find him engaged in almost every enterprise that
was started for the welfare of the community, —
the establishment of churches, schools, societies,
companies. In all.these diverse occupations he
manifested the same earnest interest, and the same
aptitude for the successful conduct of these con¬
cerns.
Mr. Brastow made for himself a war record that
was highly honorable, and which clung to him
during the remainder of his life. Soldiers of his
command still speak of the watchfulness and affec¬
tionate care he bestowed upon his men, not only in
the hour of engagement, but in the every-day life
of the camp.
Mr. Brastow's period of service for the public
weal, and for institutions and measures of recog¬
nized necessity in the community, extend over a
period of more than thirty years, and justly entitle
him to be placed in the foremost rank of the bene¬
factors of Somerville ; and if we regard the high
honors accorded to him at his decease, we find such
to be the expression of the popular voice, and that
he was furthermore accorded a first place in the
hearts of his own fellow-citizens.^
^ Dr. Booth having sailed for Europe before this article was in
type, the proof-sheets have been carefully read by Mr. Charles
H. Guild, of Somerville, to whom both the author and editor are
indebted for valuable suggestions. — Ed.
STONEEAM.
339
STONEHAM.
BY SILAS DEAN.
'ONEHAM cannot, like many
other towns and cities, produce
any records or copies of records
to show that 4110 name was
given in honor and memory
of some place in the mother
country. Although such a
statement has been made in
bygone days, the source whence
it came cannot be relied upon
as authentic. The best infor¬
mation obtained fixes the time
of settlement about 1645, and though no names
can be given, it may be that a few families be¬
came residents at an earlier period. Colonial
records show that, on February 7, 1632, Gov¬
ernor "Winthrop aud a party visited the southerly
part of the town. Of this visit the following ac¬
count is given: "The governor, Mr. Nowell, Mr.
Elliott, and others went over Mystic Tliver at
Medford, and going north and by east among the
rocks about two or three miles, they came to
a very great pond, having in the midst an island
of about one acre, and very thick with trees of
pine and birch, and the pond had divers small
rocks standing up here and there in it, which
they therefore called Spot Pond. They went all
about it on the ice. From thence towards the
northwest about one half mile they came to the
top of a very high rock, beneath which, towards
the north, a goodly plain, partly open lands and
partly woods, from whence there is a fair pros¬
pect, but it being then close and rainy, they could
see but a small distance. The place they called
Cheese Eock, because when they went to eat some¬
what, they had only cheese, because of the gov¬
ernor's man forgetting, for haste, to put up some
bread."
In the year 1640 four brothers by the name of
Holden came to this country, being natives of the
county of Suffolk, England ; the fifth and youngest
brother remaining in his native land. The names
of three of them were Bicliard, Oliver, and Jus¬
tinian. Oliver took up a permanent residence in
the vicinity of what is now Charlestown Square.
Justinian, not being able to procure land to his
liking, finally removed to the present town of
Westminster, in the northerly part of Worcester
County. He is said to have taken possession of
the township and remained there to the close of his
life. The fourth brother, whose name is not given,
removed to the state of Connecticut, and nothing
further is known in regard to him. Richard, it
appears, decided to locate in the northerly part of
Charlestown, it being presumed that he remained
with his brother Oliver until he had selected the
ground for his new home. The land which he
purchased, and where he built his house and lived
for years, is but a short distance southwesterly
from the house of Nathan Bucknam, deceased, in
later years the property of J. Alvin Wilson. His
house was near the brow of what is now known
as Bear Hill, upon the summit of which stands
the notable Cheese Rock. It appears that from
Richard Holden descended all of his name in this
immediate vicinity. His first child, Samuel, was
born in 1649. Asa Holden, a former resident of
this town, who died at Concord, New Hampshire,
was a descendant of Richard in the fifth generation.
There is an ancient stone in the burial-ground with
this inscription ; —
" Here lies y" body of Mrs. Anna Holden, wife of Sam¬
uel Holden, who departed this life Juue 18", 1731, aged
72 yeara."
She was evidently the wife of Richard's first son,
and, according to the date of her death, was born
in the year 1659. As previously stated, when the
four brothers Holden came to this country — the
reason -for their removal being that they might
live in the enjoyment of religious ordinances —
the youngest brother remained in England. The
family was reported as having been heir to the
estate of a rich lord, who was a bachelor. After
his decease the remaining brother took all the in¬
heritance, and in 1646 came to this country with
his family. He purchased a large tract of land in
T
340
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the state of Khode Island, and there took up his
abode. He made every possible eflbrt, as has since
been ascertained, to find his brothers, in order to
give them their several portions of the estate, but
all proved unavailing. His anticipations also of
enjoyment in his new home in the possession of all
desired religious privileges were soon blasted, for
in a few short mouths he sickened and died. All
hope of finding the brothers being given up, his
widow sold the estate, took the property, which was,
no doubt, of considerable amount, in her own pos¬
session, and returned to old England. Mr. George
Piper, an Englishman by birth, who lived in East
Woburn about forty years ago, stated that he had
knowledge of a large sum of money on deposit in
England, designated as the Holden fund, which
leaves little reason to doubt that it was the same
to which the Holden brothers were entitled.
If traditionary statements are to be relied upon,
the first settler in town was a Scotchman, named
Patrick Hay, afterwards called Peter Hay, but
family record would lead to the belief that Kichard
Holden was the first one. It is probable that Hay
was the first to settle at the centre, or what is now
the business part of the town. The circumstances
connected with Hay's coming to this country are
as follows : He was bound out as an apprentice in
the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, but, being dissatis¬
fied with his situation, resolved to leave his master.
He accordingly sailed on board a vessel bound
for Salem. On his arrival at that port, being
unable to pay for his passage, the captain sold or
bound him out to a man in Lynnfield to work
until he should earn the necessary sum, which
would require some six or seven years of service.
He served out his time, after which he concluded
to settle in this vicinity, and commenced his labors
by clearing the ground now known as Cobble
Hill. It is stated that he came over from Lynn-
field with his axe and gun, sto])ping for a few days
at a time, and lodging in a building or hut which
stood near the spot where the house of the widow
Abby Locke now stands. Prom the fact of his
bringing his gun, it would seem tliat he stood in
fear of the Indians, although it is said that he
purchased his laud of them for the paltry sum of
two coppers per acre.
Northerly from the tract of land owned by Hay,
whicli might have extended considerably beyond
the northern limits of wliat is now Elm Street, on
the westerly section of that street, a man by the
name of Thomas Gerry became the owner of the
lands, including in his purchase tiiat lying on the
northerly side of Farm Hill. Gerry came to Bos¬
ton in a war vessel, acting in the capacity of boat¬
swain. On his arrival he incidentally met the
Scotchman Hay, came out and surveyed the land,
and being pleased with the prospects of taking up
a residence here, went back to Boston and obtained
permission to return and live in the place, it is
said, on condition that if called for to go on an
expedition against the French, he would do so.
He became acquainted with a young lady in Bos¬
ton, whom he married and brought to this place.
He is said to have been a man of great courage,
and the following incident is related of him : At
that time wolves were numerous in this section.
On a certain day Gerry was away from home
until a late hour, and on his return called upon a
family living near where the house of Cornelius
Doyle now stands. It then being about dark, it
was thought rather dangerous for him to go home.
However, having an axe with him, he went his
way, but after travelling a short distance he en¬
countered a number of wolves. He braced him¬
self against a large tree and fought it out with his
brute antagonists. Notwithstanding his neighbor
heard the confiict, he was left to conquer or die
alone. He was victorious, and went home. In
the morning he returned to the scene of the con¬
flict, and' found that he had killed four wolves, and
by the blood-stains it was evident that another
was wounded. The bounty on each wolf was, at
that time, £4. Gerry remained here for several
years, but was eventually called upon to fulfil the
promise made previous to settling. He left his
wife and children, never to return, and it is stated
that he fell during an engagement with a foreign
enemy. He had several sons, one of whom settled
in this town, another went to Harvard, and another
to Marblehead. Elbridge Gerry, formerly gov¬
ernor of this state, and vice-president during Mr.
Madison's administration, is said to have been
connected with the family. The following extract
from the oration of William B. Stevens, Esq.,
given at Stoneham, July 4, 1876, makes reference
to the same person : " The next pionéer of whom
I can speak with any degree of certainty was one
who, as early as 1669, had made a clearing just
beyond the northern slope of Farm Hill, and had
his home there during King Philip's War. He
was, at the same time, a cunning and courageous
man. On a certain occasion, having reason to
suspect that an Indian was lying in wait for him
STONEHAM.
341
behind a log, and not caring to unnecessarily ex¬
pose his person, he kept himself under cover, and
extended his hat in such a manner as to draw the
fire of the unwary savage, and the next instant the
ball had whizzed from his unerring musket with
fatal effect. Fearing the vengeance of the tribe
should they discover the dead body, he buried it in
his own cellar. By family tradition it has been
handed down that this man died as a soldier in
1690, when returning home from the expedition of
Sir William Phips to Canada. Prom then till
now his name has been borne by numerous de¬
scendants who have always been among the chief
men of the town of which he was one of the first
settlers. I refer to Thomas Gerry."
The tradition connected with the settlement of
the first person by the name of Hadley is as fol¬
lows : One morning, during the early settlement
of the town, a man named Gould, living near the
residence of Philander Ames, formerly that of
Thomas Gould, being at his barn at a very early
hour, saw a man destitute of clothing approach¬
ing him, who said that he had deserted from a
vessel the previous night, and being fearful that
his clothes might retard his escape, had divested
himself of them. He also stated that if Gould
would provide him with clothing, and keep him
secreted until after the vessel had left Boston, he
would work a sufficient length of time to compen¬
sate Gould for all the trouble and expense incurred.
Hadley's Christian name is supposed to have
been Anthony ; the records, however, do not con¬
firm this. But as he is said to have married a
daughter of Richard Holden, and the marriage of
Anthony Hadley to Abigail Green, November 15,
1744, is registered, and the birth of Abigail Had¬
ley, a daugiiter of Anthony Hadley, Jr., and Abi¬
gail, recorded July 5, 1747, there can be little
doubt as to his Christian name.
In a few years after Richard Holden's purchase
he disposed of a considerable portion of his land
to Ebenezer Parker, Jacob How, Spring, and
Anthony Hadley ; a piece of it still retains the
name of Spring Pasture. Among the first settlers
were John Vinton and Jonathan Green, at the
southeasterly part of the town ; the lands then be¬
longing to John Vinton, and in later years owned
by several of the same name, as well as lands
owned by j)ersons by the name of Green, being
at the present time included within the limits of the
town of Melrose. The house of Jonathan Green
was built about the year 1700, and is still standing
on the westerly side of Green Lane; When first
occupied, the east part of the house was used for
a stable, thereby exhibiting the kindness of the
occupant for his horse as well as for the members
of his family. Green was a member of the Troop
Company, and often went to Groton and vicinity,
as that appears to have been a noted place of resort
for the destruction of the Indians. Jonathan
Green, a descendant in the fifth generation, is still
an owner and occupant of the premises. John
Gould, Thomas Cutler, and William Rogers are
said to have been numbered with the first settlers
at the northeasterly part of the town, and although
the names of John Gould and William Rogers do
not appear in the records of births, marriages, or
deaths, the births of Sarah Gould, born August 29,
1706, and Daniel Gould, born June 10, 1709, son
and daugl)ter of Daniel and Sarah, are found the
first births occurring in Stoneham that are entered
upon the records.
Of those early days Mr. W. B. Stevens says
in his oration : " Prior to 1685, when two of the
first highways were built, — one from that part
of Reading which now constitutes Wakefield, to
Woburn, and the otlier to Charlestown, — and the
communication had been by means of bridle-ways
and circuitous cart-paths cut through the wilder¬
ness, you will be able to form an idea of the rude
life which must have been led by our early ances¬
tors. During these years our pious forefathers,
not numerous enough to support a minister them¬
selves, with the musket in one hand and the Bible
in the other, travelled on Sunday to the meeting¬
house in Reading, and there mingled their prayers
with the people of a neighboring town."
Stoneham remained for a long jjeriod a part of
Charlestown, notwithstanding the early dates of the
incorj)oration of the town of Medford, Septem¬
ber 28, 1630 ; Woburn, May 18,1642 ; Reading,
May 29,1644, and Maiden, May 2, 1649. Stone¬
ham was made a town December 17, 1725. The
following is a part of the act of incorporation : —
" An act for dividing the Town of Charlestown
and enacting a new Town there by the name of
Stoneham : —
" Whereas the Northerly part of the Town of
Charlestown, within the County of Middlesex, is
competently filled with Inhabitants who labor
under great difficulties by their remoteness from
the place of Public Worship, &c. And have there¬
upon made their application to the said Town of
Charlestown, and have likewise addressed this Court
342
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
that they may be set off a distinct, and separate
town, and be vested with all the powers and privi¬
leges of a Town, and the Inhabitants of Charles-
town, by their Agents, having consented to their
being set off accordingly. And a committee of
this Court having viewed the northerly part of the
said Town of Charlestown, and reported in favor
of the Petitioners : Be it therefore enacted, by the
Lieutenant Governor, Council and Kepresentatives,
in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same ; That the northerly part of the said
Town of Charlestown, That is to say. All the lands
lying on the east side of Woburn, the south side
of Reading, the west side of Maiden, and the north
side of the Fifth Range of the first Division of
Charlestown Wood-lots, be and hereby is, set off
and constituted, a separate Township by the name
of Stoneham. And that the inhabitants of the
said Town of Stoneham do, within the space of
two years, from the publication of this act erect
and furnish a suitable house for the Public Wor¬
ship of God and as soon as may be procure and
settle, a Learned Orthodox minister, of good con¬
versation and make provision for his comfortable
and honorable support and .likewise provide a
school master to instruct their youth in writing
and reading, and that thereupon they be discharged
from any payments for the maintenance of the
Ministry and School in the Town of Charlestown.'"
The bounds at the southerly line were set,
March 22, 1725, nine months previous to the act of
incorporation, by committees chosen from Charles¬
town and the proposed new town.of Stoneham.
The first town-meeting was held December 24,
1725. Timothy Bolden, Sr., was chosen modera¬
tor, and Daniel Gould, Jr., clerk. The next
vote passed was " To chouse a commity To treat
with Mr. Nathaniel Rencook to preach with us."
They also chose a committee of three to survey
the meeting-house at Lynn End. It was voted,
January 4, 1726, to build a meeting-house thirty-
two feet wide and thirty-six feet long, with twenty-
foot posts, but subsequently the dimensions were
changed to thirty-six feet in width and forty feet
in length. The third meeting was held March 7,
1726, at which time the following named persons
were chosen a board of selectmen : Captain Benja¬
min Geary, Captain John Vinton, Mr. Peter Hay,
Mr. Timothy Bolden, and Lieutenant Timothy
Wright. For many years the board consisted of
five persons, who received no compensation for
their services. The committee for building the
meeting-house was also instructed to select the
site. There was considerable contention in regard
to this, some being anxious to build at the easterly
part of the town, on the plain, which for a long
time ■was owned by the heirs of the late Captain
Daniel Green. It was, however, finally decided to
have it stand between the black-oak tree çnd the
red-oak tree, upon the hill, near the end of the
school-house ; and the building was raised about the
last of November, 1726. The lot of land on which
it was erected is now owned by Mr. Charles Buck,
and is situated on the east side of Pleasant Street.
For furnishing the meeting-house, " the sum of
£5 Hi. 9r/. was given by the women of Stone¬
ham, £11«. &d. by the Maiden Gentlewomen, and
£1 1«. 6 if. by the gentlewomen of Wobuni and
Reading." About ten years after its completion
a vote was passed that family pews might be built
which should be lotted out to such men as ap¬
peared to be the highest in rate and right, and
by the subsequent distribution the preferred indi¬
viduals were the Hays, the Goulds, and the Greens.
The old burial-ground was purchased of James
Hay for £13 5«., the deed being dated July 11,
1726.
" The only public building in existence previous
to the erection of the meeting-house was the school-
house. The town well organized, and the meeting¬
house built, measures were next taken to procure
a settled minister and to secure the services of a
schoolmaster. The former was considered a ques¬
tion of such vital importance to the welfare of the
people, tliat it was voted in town-meeting assembled
to Set apart a day for prayer to seek God's direction
in the choice of a minister, and so strong was their
religious faith, that they doubted not their prayers
had been answered when, in the following month,
they elected the Rev. James Osgood." ^
Mr. Osgood received his call from the inhabi¬
tants of the town to settle, October 29, 1728, and
gave an affirmative answer, April 21, 1729. The
church was organized July 2, 1729, and Mr. Os¬
good's ordination occurred on the 10th of the
following September. The first marriage solem¬
nized by him was that of John Tidd, of Woburn, to
Abigail Gould, of Stoneham, November 26, 1729.
Tiie town continued gradually to increase in
population, and consequently in the demand for
more tenements, land, and additional highvfays or
bridle-ways, so that about 1731 the road now
known as Wyoming Street was built, passing on
' W. H. Stevens' oration.
STONEHAM.
343
to Medford on the easterly side of Spot Pond.
Action relative to this way was taken at a meeting
held December 31, 1730, the town voting to have
" an open road from the county road at Spot Pond
to Charlestown land line, and as near the pond as
the selectmen shall see room and convenience for
the road to be."
It is probable that the first representative to the
General Court was Captain John Vinton, and that
he was elected May 24, 1734. The records do
not show this, but at a town-meeting held May 23,
1735, the following vote was passed: "Voted,
Based and granted to give John Vinton, Esq., the
sum of twenty-three pounds, eighteen shillings,
(£23 18«. Off.) for his sarving representative for
the yeare 1734."
At a town-meeting held Monday, May 22, 1738,
it was voted to raise ten pounds towards building
a new school-house, using, as far as was possible,
the materials of the old one.
Mr. Osgood continued as pastor of the church
until his sudden death, March 2, 1746. A war¬
rant was issued for a town-meeting to be held
March 4, at which fifty pounds. Old Tenor, were
voted for the burial of Bev. James Osgood, the
sum being equivalent to about thirty dollars. The
funeral was on Wednesday, March 5, when the
body was carried to the meeting-house, and then
attended to the grave by several ministers and a
great concourse of people.
The second minister was Bev. John Carnes, of
Boston, who was settled December 17, 1746.
In the year 1748 a man named Peter Hay, sup¬
posed to be the Scotchman Hay, died, at the ad¬
vanced age of ninety-one years. It is said that he
married no less tlian five wives, and at the last
marriage ceremony he displayed his youthful buoy¬
ancy by dancing. His death occurred at the
house, several years since destroyed by fire, for¬
merly owned by Captain Jonathan Hay, deceased,
stand ijig on the lot of land upon which the house
of tlie late Jesse Tay stands.
The dwelling-house known as the Old Parsonage,
standing on the west side of Central Street, for
many years the property and residence of the late
Bev. John H. Stevens, was erected or completed
in the year 1747, and first occupied by Bev. John
Carnes.
In reference to the matter of schooling there
seems to have been some delinquency, as no action
was taken until a meeting held August 15, 1729,
when Captain John Vinton, Daniel Gould, Jr., and
Peter Hay, Jr., were chosen a committee to pro¬
vide a schoolmaster. At a meeting held Novem¬
ber 21, 1729, it was voted to raise nine pounds for
a school for the ensuing year. In the years 1730
and 1731 nine pounds were raised; in 1732, six
pounds ten shillings; in 1733, nine pounds ; in
1734 it was voted to raise two pounds ten shillings
to repair the school-house. ^May 17, 1736, voted
nine pounds for schooling; in 1737, sixteen
pounds. At a town-meeting, held May 18, 1752,
" Voted, raised, and granted, the sum of two
pounds, lawful money, to pay for repairing the
meeting House in said town. Also, voted, to give
Elder Samuel Sprague liberty to build a pue in
said Stoneham Meeting House, according to his
désiré to cut down the remaining part of the two
hind seats in the body of seats below., on. the
woman's side, and to build said pue upon his own
cost and charge." At a meeting held in March,
1753, it was "Voted to sell a pue belonging to the
Town that was built by perticular men at thir own
cost and charge for Mrs. Sarah Osgood, formerly
widow of Bev. James Osgood, but now Mrs. Sarah
Hart." Also voted not to give to " those perticular
men that built said pues the money they expended
in building said Pue." A great deal of disquietude
appears to have been occasioned at diiferent times
in consequence of taking down the long seats and
erecting pew's. They also appear to have experi¬
enced considerable difficulty in reference to provid¬
ing seats for the colored persons then resident with
them, and at that time slaves, as at a town-meet¬
ing held October 14, 1754, they passed the two
following votes : " Voted, That the Town will seat
the negroes in Stoneham in Stoneham Meeting
House. Voted, That the negro men in Stoneham
shall set in the hind seat in the side Gallery in the
west end of Stoneham Meeting House, and the ne¬
groes wives and other negro women shall set in the
hind seat in the side Gallery in the east end of said
Meeting House and no where else in said Meeting
Hoúse, if there be convenient room in said seats,
except it be on special occasions."
The Bev. Mr. Games was dismissed from his
pastoral charge July 31, 1757, expressing his wish
to remain if he could have received a sufficient
amount of salary for his support. During his
ministry he solemnized eleven marriages.
His successor was Bev. John Searl, who was
settled January 17, 1758, so that they were with¬
out a pastor only a short time. The population at
that time was small, and the means of acquiring
344
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
wealth and the facilities for improvement were
limited. Stoneham was a poor towiij inferior to
most of its neighbors in territory, population, and
wealth, the number of its people being probably
about three hundred, witli fifty houses, including
those which now form parts of Melrose and Wake¬
field. In 1767 tiie valuation included 10 slaves,
42 horses, 41 oxen, 222 cows, 311 sheep, 233
swine. There were 2,346 bushels of grain, and
526 barrels of cider. The money at interest was
£1,160. May 9, 176S, the town voted the fol¬
lowing amount to defray the expenses for the year
ensuing.
For Schooling £S 0 ». Oc?.
Paper for town's use 0 2 0
For keeping Stoueiiam ineeting-liouse . 0 4 0
For sweeping said meeting-house . .040
For wood for school . . . . 0 10 0
The purchasing of a bell appears to have been
agitated as long ago as 1772, as an article was in¬
serted in the warrant for a meeting of that year held
July 9, and although the vote relative to its purchase
was negatived, a few months later the desirability,
if not the necessity of having one was seen.
Although nearly half a century had passed since
the incorporation of the town, there had been a
general unanimity of action in its public affairs,
but this tranquillity was soon to be disturbed by a
foreign foe. The change in the administration of
government in the mother country had given rise
to feelings of intense anxiety. The people believed,
with all the colonies, that their rights had been in¬
vaded. Expression was given to their views on the
subject by the calling of meetings, writing of letters,
passage of resolutions, etc. In January, 1773, a
communication was despatched to Boston, in which
they declared their belief that, as the right of free¬
dom is the gift of Almighty God, it is not in the
power of man to alienate it. At a meeting held
August 1, and adjourned to November 1, 1774,
a covenant was made which contained the follow¬
ing: "That having taken into serious considera¬
tion the present distressed condition of this in¬
sulted province, embarrassed as it is by several
acts of the Brittish parliament. That henceforth
we will suspend all intercourse with Great Britain,
That we will not buy, purchase, or consume any
goods or merchandise which shall arrive in America
from Great Briton. These things we solemnly
promise to observe, provided no better scheme
shall be devised to answer the same ends by the
Congress who are to meet the next month at Phila¬
delphia." Captain Samuel Sprague was chosen
delegate to the provincial congress holden at Con¬
cord, October 11, 1774, and also to the one con¬
vened at Cambridge, February 5, 1775. During
the time of the Revolution the house of Deacon
Edward Bucknam, at that time town-clerk, was
the place of rendezvous. An arrangement was
made that no gun should be diseharged in town,
except under the following rule : A certain number
was chosen to give an alarm. The first person that
received the notice was immediately with two or
more individuals to repair to tiie Common, in front
of the old meeting-house. The discharge of the
muskets in succession was considered as a general
alarm, when the members of the company were
immediately to repair to the place of rendezvous.
This ancient dwelling was recently owned by Hiram
Marston, and was taken down in 1873. "The
population was small ; but a common enthusiasm
possessed the hearts of the wliole community, and
a company of sixty minute-men was organized,
whicii comprised nearly all the inhabitants capable
of bearing arms. Samuel Sprague was captain;
Joseph Bryant, lieutenant; Abraham Gould, en¬
sign. John Bucknam and Daniel Bryant were ser¬
geants ; and David and Joseph Geary, drummers.
They were called togetiier at early morn, on the
19th of April, 1775, and hurried over tiie hills to
Lexington, arriving tiiere in time to meet the Brit¬
ish as they were retreating from Concord, and pur¬
sue them to Charlestown. The first shock over,
the war fairly commenced, and the history of Stone-
ham was that of almost every other Massachusetts
town. Captain Sprague and Major Joseph Bryant
were sent as representatives to the Provincial Con¬
gress. Among those who were killed during the war
were John Noice and William Connery. Ephraim
and George Brown and John Noble were prisoners
of war. The roll of honor embraced the names of
Peter Hay, Reuben and David Geary, Nathan
Willey, John Hill, John Holden, Charles Richard-
sou, Joseph Matthews, Joseph Holden, John
Wright, William Deadman, Samuel Clap, Benja¬
min Eaton, Jonathan Farley, Thomas Hay, Eli
Mclutire, John Thayer, Jabez Upton, Jacob Brown,
Samuel Brown, John Boyd, Henry Hawks, Daniel
Holden, Samuel Howland, Samuel Ingals, Jolui
Knight, James Weston, Joshua Geary, Daniel
Bryant, Daniel Hay, Freeman Sharper, Cato Free¬
man, John and Job Potama, and Pompey Magus,
the last five of whom were negroes, some of them
obtaining their liberty by enlisting in the army.
STONEHAM.
345
Among the military officers were Major, after¬
wards Colonel Josepli Bryant, Captain Abraham
Gould, Lieutenant John Bucknam, Lieutenant
Joshua Burnham, and Lieutenant Daniel Bryant.
The names of at least eighty-seven different Stone-
ham men appear upon the revolutionary muster-
rolls. During these years the town was constantly
purchasing ammunition, furnishing supplies to the
army, raising bounties with which to pay soldiers,
and with unflagging zeal supporting the common
cause.
At a meeting held September 17, 1792, it was
voted to procure a schoolmaster, with instructions
to commence the school the middle of October
and continue two months ; then a vacation until
the next March ; tiieu to continue until all the
money raised shall have been expended.
Although farming had hitherto been the chief
occupation, this year a mill was built, being first
used as a snuff-mill, but afterwards enlarged and
used for the purpose of manufacturing satinets.
It was located but a short distance nortii of the
rubber-works now known as Hayward Mills, and
near the buildings for a series of years owned and
occupied by the millwright, the late Jabez Kendall,
and subsequently by the Messrs. Grundy for the
purpose of brass-finishing. In 1812 a mill was
built on the grounds of the rubber manufactory,
and used for several years for grinding spices and
various medicinal articles.
The ministry of Mr. Cleveland was a few days
over nine years, his dismission taking place Octo¬
ber 23, 1794. During his ministry he solemnized
twenty-six marriages. His successor was Eev.
John H. Stevens, who was pastor of the church
at Methuen at the time of the dismission of Mr.
Cleveland. Mr. Stevens was installed November 11,
1795. He was a popular preacher and a good pas¬
tor, and continued with the society for thirty-two
years.
In 1800 Eev. John H. Stevens was elected as
one of the school committee, and this appears to
be the first instance where a minister was chosen a
member of that board. May 7, of the same year,
it was voted to build a new meeting-house, and a
committee was chosen to view the old one, now
standing in Stoneham, and report to the town
the estimated cost of repairing the old and of
building a new one. In 1802 this matter was
again presented, and the committee chosen in refer¬
ence to the subject was instructed to view different
lots of ground, and report at a meeting to be held
January 17, 1803. At that time it was voted to
build a meeting-house fifty feet in length and forty-
six in breadth, with a porch and steeple. Each
window in the building was to contain twenty-four
squares of glass 8x10. It was also voted to hire
$100 for building purposes. The meeting-house
was located on the north side of what is now known
as Spring Street, at its junction with Pleasant, and
stood upon the lot of land at present belonging to
the widow of the late Captain John H. Dike. The
dedicatory services took place Wednesday, Decem¬
ber 14, the sermon being preached by the pastor,
Eev. John H. Stevens. His text was taken from
Haggai ii. 7 : "I will fill this house with glory."
The Sabbath previous, December 11, Mr. Stevens
preached a farewell sermon in the old meeting¬
house, and on Thursday, the 15th of December,
the day following the dedication of the new church,
the people assembled and took down the old one.
There it had stood, with but few changes, for
seventy-seven years, the loved resort of a Sabbath-
loving people.
With the in-coming of the present century there
seems to have been a good degree of financial
prosperity.
With the new meeting-house, which was con¬
veniently and pleasantly situated, the jieople were
desirous of making improvements in church music.
Accordingly, at the annual meeting, held March 5,
1804, it was voted to raise $40 for the purchase
of one or more bass-viols, or for defraying the ex¬
penses of learning and practising in church.
About this time the manufacture of children's
shoes was begun in town, and in a few years it
became the principal employment ; the farmers
themselves, in many instances, engaging in it dur¬
ing the winter months. For several years a shoe¬
maker's shop might have been seen at almost every
house, or a room used for the convenience of those
engaged in this work.
In the year 1805 the Andover and Medford
turnpike, now Main Street, was laid out. At that
time a portion of the inhahitants were desirous of
having the road run on the east side of the parson¬
age, probably wishing it to be on the line of what is
now Central Street ; but their objections were finally
withdrawn, and in 1806 the turnpike was built.
In 1805 it was voted to raise the sum of five
hundred dollars to be worked out on a proposed
road from Woburn to Stoneham meeting-house, —
the present William Street. At that time the land
over which Cottage Street is laid out was the prop-
346
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
erty of Captain Hay, who owned a mill standing
upon a water privilege westerly from the house of
W. B. Stevens. It being advisable to have the
road go above the mill, it was voted to adjourn
the meeting to the upper dam of Captain David
Hay, where the necessary arrangements were made.
At a town-meeting held Monday, May 5, 1806,
it was voted to send a representative to the General
Court, and Daniel Gould was elected, receiving
thirty-one votes.
In 1809 Kev. John H. Stevens was elected a
representative to the General Court, and was also
re-elected in 1810. This year a bell was purchased
by subscription, and placed upon the meeting¬
house. It was to be rung for all the Sabbath
services and all other religious meetings, also for
funerals and all public meetings, as is usual in
other places. Any one ringing the bell without
the permission of the person employed for that
purpose was to pay a penalty of five dollars.
In 1811 Jabez Lynde was chosen representative,
and in 1812 Kev. Mr. Stevens was again elected.
This was the first instance of the number of ballots
cast being placed on the record, which is as follows :
Kev. John H. Stevens, forty-one ; Daniel Gould,
twenty-nine ; Peter Hay, 2d, three.
This year, in consequence of the pressure of the
times, the minister's salary was reduced from $400
to $333.33.
Early in the morning of November 26, 1819,
the inhabitants of the town were startled by the
announcement that a brutal murder had been com¬
mitted the previous night. The family of Jacob
Gould consisted of two bachelor brothers, a maiden
sister whose name was Polly, and a Widow Win-
ship, the hired help. Between eight and nine
o'clock in the evening of November 25 three ruf¬
fians, with blackened faces, and armed with dirks,
entered the house occupied by the Goulds, which
stood but a short distance from the one now owned
and occupied by Philander Ames, and situated on
the westerly side of Pond Street, a short distance
north of Spot Pond. They inflicted a deadly
wound upon Jacob, who died about three o'clock
in the morning. David and Polly were both
wounded. The robbers ascertained that $800
were in a chest, and secured the money. The event
produced great excitement for miles around, and a
reward of $500 was offered by David Gould for
the detection of the robbers, and to this the gov¬
ernor of the state added $500 more. A man by
the name of Daniels was arrested at Newport,
Rhode Island, and committed for trial, but just
before the time appointed for it to take place he
hung himself, thereby confirming the belief in his
guilt, though he made no confession. Several
others were arrested, but sufficient evidence against
them was not obtained to warrant their detention.
The annual town-meeting for the election of
officers was held at the school-house, Monday,
March 6, 1826, wanting but one day to complete
a hundred years from the time of the first annual
meeting, that having occurred Monday, March 7,
1726, at 8 o'clock a. m. The following is a sum¬
mary of the town expenses for the year commenc¬
ing March 7, 1825, as reported by the board of
selectmen.
Total expense of the poor $ 628.05
Money raised for a man school 150.00
Expended for a woman school 160.00
Militia, gunpowder, making cartridges, paper, etc. 7.25
Town Officers.
Town clerk 1.21
Collector's premium 40.00
Selectmen's account 17.70
Overseers of tiie poor 12.80
Assessor's services 26.23
Printing expenses 5.00
Making out accounts 8.60
Miscellaneous expenses 530.80
Debt of the town 504.90
John H. Wright, \
D.vvid Gerry, > Selectmen.
Alpha Richardson, )
At this meeting it was voted to raise one hun¬
dred dollars to defray the expense of building a
new school-house near where tiie old meeting¬
house stood. The building was to be two stories
in height, — a school-room being finished in the
lower story, and a hall above for the transaction
of town business, and for holding public meetings.
It was removed to tlie site where it now stands,
at the corner of Central and Pleasant streets, in
1833.
In the year 1825 the number of dwelling-houses
was seventy ; number of barns, sixty-three ; mills,
shops, and other buildings, about seventy-five.
The total valuation for the financial year ending
March, 1826, was $157,251.50 ; total amount of
polls, one hundred and sixty-six. Of this number
nearly one half must have been engaged in shoe-
making or other manufacturing business.
The ministry of Rev. Mr. Stevens terminated in
1827, he being dismissed November 11 of that
year. During the time of his connection with the
society he had enjoyed seasons of prosperity and
STONEHAM.
347
passed through varied scenes of sorrow and ad¬
versity. During his ministry lie solemnized one
hundred and seventy-five marriages. He also
kept a record of two hundred and fifty-seven
deaths. His successor, Eev. Joseph Searle, was
installed May 1, 1828. This year a subscription
paper was circulated, and fifty-seven dollars col¬
lected by Bev. Mr. Searle for the purpose of put¬
ting stoves in tiie meeting-house. During his stay
in the place he specially interested himself in be¬
half of the schools. He was dismissed January 2,
1832. Eev. Jonas Colburn was settled August 1,
of the same year. During the time of his ministry
he was at each annual March meeting elected a
member of the board of school committee. He
was dismissed February 27, 1837.
The following description was given of the town
for the year 1837 : " This is a small town, rocky and
uneven. It has some good soil and a considerable
quantity of woodland. The population, in 1837,
was 932. During the year ending April 1, 1837,
there were made in this town 380,100 pairs of
shoes, valued at $181,717, employing more than
half its inhabitants. Spot Pond, a beautiful sheet
of soft and pure water, lies in this town, eight miles
north from Boston. It covers an area of 283 acres,
and is 143 feet above high-water mark. Tiiere is
also said to be a fall of 100 feet in the distance of
about 100 rods from the pond. A short distance
northerly from Spot Pond is another one of small
size, situated on the easterly side of Pond Street,
and known as Doleful Pond. The water is said
to be of great depth and in a constantly unsettled
condition, which may account for the name. Eefer-
ence should also be made to a marble-pit situated
at the southwesterly part of the town, upon land
formerly belonging to Joseph Hurd, at the pres¬
ent time owned by Colonel Lyman Dike. The
lime used in building the first meeting-house is
said to have been'taken from that place. The for¬
mer practice of removing the marble to make lime
was that of making a fire in the pit, thereby ren¬
dering it more susceptible of impression from the
tools made use of for removing the same. Two
pits are open at the present time ; small quantities
of the marble have, at different times, been taken
out; specimens of which, when worked, have proved
it to be of an excellent quality. But as it lies far
below tlie surface of the ground, it is supposed
that the expense of getting it out would outweigh
its value when ready for use."
Tlie meeting-iiouse erected in 1803 was destroyed
by fire, Sunday, January 5, 1840. The fire was
discovered between the ceiling of the porch and
the singers' gallery, soon after the commencement
of the morning service. Eeligious services were
held in the afternoon at the town-hall, and were
continued at tiie same place during succeeding
Sabbaths until October. The Congregational Meet¬
ing-house now standing on the east side of Main
Street was erected and dedicated October 22.
The Universalist meeting-house (at present the
Eoman Catholic Church, standing on the nortii
side of Pomeworth Street) was also built in 1840,
on the lot of land now occupied by tlie Christian
Union Cliurch, and was dedicated August 20.
This year a newspaper was published in town,
bearing the significant name of The Stoneham
Regulator. The population of the town, according
to the census of 1840, was 1,017. Up to tiiis
time tlie number of shoe-manufacturers, as well as
of shoemakers, had been steadily increasing, and
consequently an increasing amount of capital was
invested.
The Eev. John Haven was settled as pastor of
the Congregational Church, February 24, 1841 ;
and dismissed October 4, 1849. In 1844 a lot
of land was purchased by the town, and laid out
into two hnndred and seventy-one burial lots, sit¬
uated on the northeasterly side of William Street,
and was publicly consecrated May 15, of that year.
It is now known as the William Street Cemetery.
In 1847 it was voted that all school-district boun¬
daries should be annulled, and a committee was
chosen to enlarge and make all necessary repairs
on the school-houses, and build new ones where
needed. Also to erect a building near the town-
house witii basement rooms, the second story to be
finished for a town-hall and the lower story for
school-rooms, this being the present town-house,
which was first erected a short distance north from
where it now stands, but was removed at the time
of the erection of the high-school building.
In 1851, by vote of the town, at a meeting held
January 20, five school-houses were erected.
The Stoneham Methodist Episcopal Church was
organized in April, 1856, and at the present time
has two hundred and fourteen members. It is
under the pastorate of Eev. Charles W. Wilder.
April 5, 1856, a section of the northeasterly
part of the town, containing about one hundred
and ninety acres, was annexed to South Read¬
ing.
At a meeting held May 7, 1859, the town voted
348
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
to establish a free public library, and appropriated
for that purpose the sum of $300; and at the
annual March meeting in 1860 it was reported
that the number of the volumes in the library was
fourteen hundred and seventy.
At this meeting it was also voted to purchase
land of William Richardson for a cemetery, if, in
the opinion of an appointed committee, it should
be for the interest of the town so to do, the ground
being located on the westerly side of the town,
adjoining Woburn. The lot was purchased, con¬
taining acres and 14 rods, and was sub¬
sequently laid out into 699 burial lots.
The first society of the Methodist Episcopal
church was organized January 2, 1865.
The religious society known as the Christian
Union Church was organized February 23, 1867.
The First Baptist Church was organized Feb¬
ruary 7, 1870, with Rev. A. J. Hovey as pastor.
The Stoneham Light Infantry Company, being
Company L of the 7th Regiment Massachusetts
Infantry, was one of the first to respond to the call
of the President for troops at the time of the late
Rebellion. The officers were John H. Dike, cap¬
tain; Leander F. Lynde, Darius N. Stevens,
James F. Rowe, and William B. Blaisdell of Lynn,
lieutenants.
This company was transferred from the 7th to
the 6th regiment. At two o'clock on the morning
of April 17, 1861, Captain Dike received orders
from the governor, by a special messenger de-
s])atciied from the office of Adjutant-General
Scliouler, to report himself with his company at
the state-house next morning. The reply of Cap¬
tain Dike to tiie messenger was, " Tell the adjutant-
general that I shall be at the state-house with my
full command by eleven o'clock to-day." True to
his word. Captain Dike reported at the state-house
at eleven o'clock, and that afternoon, attached to
the 6th regiment, the company left for Washing¬
ton. Two days afterwards, on the 19th of April,
during their march through Baltimore, Captain
Dike was shot down while leading his company
througli the mob, receiving a wound in the leg
which made him a cripple for life.
Stoneham furnished four hundred and four men
for the war, which was a surplus of forty-six
above ail demands. Twenty-five were commis¬
sioned officers. The amount of money raised and
exjiended for war purposes, exclusive of state aid,
was $36,646.79.
The amount of money raised and expended by
the town during the war for state aid to soldiers'
families, and repaid by the commonwealth, was
$36,111.73.
The women of Stoneham, from the commence¬
ment to the close of the war, were unceasing in
their efforts to render aid to the soldiers.
Stoneham lost during the war : died of Mounds,
seven ; died in rebel prisons, four ; died of disease,
twenty-one ; killed in battle, eleven.
In July, 1868, the town voted to build a sol¬
dier's monument, and chose a committee to carry
out the vote. The monument is of Concord gran¬
ite, and consists of a base six feet square and three
feet high. On this is a pedestal, five feet square
at the base, seven feet high, with a concave die sur¬
mounted with a heavy cornice. From the top of
tliis springs the shaft, which is sixteen feet high.
The four dies bear on tiieir faces heavy marble
shields, handsomely cut, and inscribed witii the
names of the soldiers whose deaths are commemo¬
rated. About middle way of the south side of the
shaft, in bas-relief, are two hands clasped over the
sM'ords of Justice and of State crossed ; a M'reath
of laurel surrounds the hands, and the streamer
that binds the wreath is inscribed: "By the
sword she seeks peace under liberty." Over
these emblems is a canopy of stars. On the west
the word "Justice," in.a wreath. On the north,
an anchor, cannon, national shield, and flags. On
the east " Liberty," in a wreath.
The shield on the south side is inscribed : —
To the
Men of Stoneham
wfio
died for tlieir country
in
the War of the Rebellion.
Erected by the Town,
A. D. 1869.
On the west side as follows : —
died op wounds.
Col. J. Parker Gould, 59th Mass., Aug. 21, 1864.'
Darius Johonnott, 19th Mass., March 22, 1865.
Sidney F. Mellen, 8th Battery, Oct. 11, 1862.
W. H. Richardson, 5th Mass., July 7, 1861.
Charles A. Whittier, 13th Mass., Sept. 27, 1862.
Frederick C. Ames, 36th Mass., June 25, 1864.
William Hayes, 59th Mass., Jan. 31, 1869.
' Jacob Parker Gould, a son of Jacob and Pliebe C., was bom
May 15, 1822, graduated at Norwich Univereity, Vermont; was
a civil engineer; was major of the ISth Regiment Massachusetts
Volunteers ; afterwards colonel of the 59th Massachusetts regi¬
ment ; wounded at the battle of Petersburg, Virginia, had a leg
amputated, and died at Philadelphia, July 21, 1864.
STONEHAM.
349
DIED IN DEBEL PRISONS.
James Riley, lltli U. S. Infantry, 1864.
Corp. Hiram George, 59tli Mass., Aug. 10, 1864.
Peter Torney, 99tli N. Y., Oct. 16, 1864.
Natliau M. Walton, 59th Mass., Sept. 11, 1864.
The north shield bears the following names : —
DIED OF DISEASE.
Surgeon W. H. Heath, 2d Mass., Aug. 28, 1864.
Sergt. W. v. B. Tibbitts, 33d Mass., March 15, 1863.
Corp. Charles A. Holmes, 13th Mass., Feb. 20, 1862.
Corp. N. E. Starbird, 33d Mass., Jan. 12, 1863.
W. H. Ayers, 13t!i Mass., Dec. 12, 1863.'
I. B. Cowdrey, 2d Co. Sharpshooters, April 20, 1862.
M. Morton Dike, 50th Mass., Nov. 29, 1863.
Samuel 1. Dodge, 1st Co. Sharpshooters, Oct. 20, 1862.
John T. Gowen, 3Sth Mass., March 19, 1863.
Walter B. G. Gray, 33d Mass., Aug. 23, 1864.
Aaron A. Green, 33d Mass., June 8, 1863.
E. A. Hale, 19th Mass., June 30, 1862.
William Holden, 42d Mass., Sept. 19, 1863.
Alphonso H. Finkham, 6th Mass., Sept. 14, 1863.
Otis W. Pinkham, 33d Mass., May 15, 1863.
William B. Smith, 8tlr Battery, Sept. 12, 1862.
Joseph B. V/heeler, 13th Mass., May 28, 1864.
Oliver Wheeler, Jr., 33d Mass., Nov. 10, 1862.
George W. Young, 2d Co. Sharpshooters, Oct. 7, 1862.
Jatnes A. Green, 99th N. Y., Sept. 6, 1863.
Augustus F. Stevens, 6th Battery, 1862.
The east shield is inscribed as follows : —
KILLED IN BATTLE.
Sergt. Charles H. Carr, 22d Mass., June 27, 1862.
Scrgt. Leonard S. Whittier, 59th Mass., May 12, 1864.
George O. Berry, 13th Mass., Sept. 17, 1862.
John Brosnaham, 9th Mass., May 12,1864.
Philip 0. Buckstone, 33d Mass., Oct. 29, 1863.
John E. Leclair, 13th Mass., Sept. 17, 1862.
Joseph Leclair, 33d Mass., May 15, 1864.
John Nolan, 33d Mass., May 25, 1864.
Joseph Wheeler, 1st H. A., June 20, 1864.
t This name, and the date of the death of M. Morton Dike,
are erroneously given on the monument. The 6rat should be
James H. Ayers, the second, Nov. 18, 1863. — En.
Corp. Herschel A. Sanborn, 13th Mass., July 1, 1863.
John Roach, 11th U. S. Infantry, July 3, 1863.
DIED OF DISEASE.
Charles L. Nash, 56th Mass., Oct. 30, 1866.
John L. Green, 99th N. Y., March 11, 1868.
Victor W. Lorendo, 8lh Battery, April 23, 1867.
Otis M. Eastman, 1st Battery, April 22, 1867.
John S. Geoi^e, 13th Vet. Res. Corps, May 10, 1865.
John L. Hovey, 4th H. A., June 11, 1865.
It was at first intended to place the monument
in Central Square, and had it been so located the
architectural effect would have been much better.
In its present location, on open ground in Linden-
wood Cemetery, at the right of the main avenue,
it does not appear so large as it really is, on account
of its isolhted position. By vote of the town the
location was changed from Central Square to the
Cemetery. It stands on a slight elevation, so that
the top of the monument is about thirty feet above
the avenue.
The following is from the oration of W. B.
Stevens, Esq., July 4, 1876 : —
"Stoneham's company of minute-men having
been engaged in the first battle of the Eevolution
it was almost a providential coincidence that Cap¬
tain John H. Dike's company, from the same town,
on the same day of the same month, should have
partieipated in the first skirmish of the Eebel-
lion. At Lexington, she was in the vanguard of
the army which founded the Republic ; at Balti¬
more and Washington, she led the hosts that saved
the Union."
According to the census of Massachusetts, Stone-
hain, ill 1875, contained 4,984 inhabitants; males
2,368, females 2,616.
The Stoneham Reform Club was organized by
Dr. Reynolds, March 16, 1876, and has a member¬
ship of one hundred.
850
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
STOW.
BY REV. GEORGE P. CLARK.
TER the incorporation of Con¬
cord, Sudbury, Marlborough,
Lancaster, and Groton, there
was left, environed by these
towns and the Indian plantation
of Nashoba (now Littleton),
quite a large tract of land called
by the Indians Pompasittacutt.
Upon this territory two settle¬
ments were made, — one by a
Mr. Boon, near Sudbury, about 1660, the other
by John Kettle, some three years later, near by
the borders of Lancaster. Both of these men are
said to have come from Charlestown, but neither
remained as a permanent settler ; for the breaking
out of King Philip's War drove them from their
homes, never to return. The day before the mas¬
sacre of Wadsworth's company at Sudbury, Boon
and his son, while removing their goods to a place
of safety, were ambushed and slain by tbe savages.
Nothing more is known relative to him or his
family. Kettle fled for protection to Lancaster,
where his second wife and some of his children
M'cre captured by the Indians in their famous raid
upon that town in 1676. There is a doubtful
story about Kettle himself having been captured
and killed by the red-skins. He probably died at
sea about 1690. He married first Sarah Good-
now, of Sudbury, and had by her three children,—
John, Sarah (born March 8, 1663), and Joseph.
His second wife was Elizabeth Ward, by whom
he had Jonathan, born November 21', 1670, and
probably James.
In 1666 a lot of five hundred acres was "layed
out unto the Worshipfull Maj' Eleazer Lusher,"
for services rendered the government. A year or
two later another lot of five hundred acres was
assigned to Captain Daniel Gookin, and also one
of one hundred and fifty acres to Richard Held-
ridge. Probably none of these men ever resided
upon their farms. The first direct movement
towards the formation of a town -was in 1669,
wlien George Haywood and others asked the Gen¬
eral Court to appoint some persons to view this
land, " which," say they, " we judge may be con¬
venient to make a plantation in that your petition¬
ers may see what encouragement they may have to
make farther address unto this honored court for
acomodations for themselves, famalyes being at
present much wanting therein."
October 13, 1669, the court appointed five per¬
sons to examine this territory and ascertain " the
qualitye and quantity thereof, whither it be capable
(if the farms be layed to it) to make a village."
The committee report. May 31, 1670, that they
find, by estimation, ten thousand acres of " coun¬
try's land, whereof five hundred acres of it is
meadow; the greatest part of it is very meane
land, but we judge there will be planting land
enough to accommodate twenty familyes; also
about four thousand acres more of lands that is
taken up in farms," that the Indian town of Na¬
shoba, bordering on one side " is exceeding well
meadowed, and they make but little or no use
of it." The court then granted the land to the
petitioners, to make a village, " provided the place
be settled with not lesse than tenn familyes within
three years, and that a pious, orthodox, and able
minister be mainteyned there." Daniel Gookin,
Thomas Danforth, and Joseph Cooke, or any two
of them, were appointed to regulate the settling of
the place. These men, December 4, 1672, ap¬
pointed a committee of four to lay out twelve
farms of fifty acres each, and to " cast Lotts for
them " among the persons and their associates to
whom the territory was granted, provided that
these persons " be men of good and honest conver¬
sations, orthodox in Religion," and engage to help
support " a Godly minister among them," and also
settle upon their lands wthin two years from the
next May, or else give up their lots to others who
would settle. But as late as June 1, 1675, most
of these lots had been forfeited by non-settlement,
and the committee sought to have them improved
by others. The Indian hostilities stayed all further
proceedings for some years.
STOW.
351
This territory, being deserted during the war by
the inhabitants, became a famous rendezvous for
the savages, wlience they made raids upon the
neighboring towns. Tradition says that the In¬
dians once held a consultation upon Pompasitta-
cutt Hill, overlooking Concord and Sudbury,
relative to which place they should destroy. Sud¬
bury was decided upon, because one of the leading
warriors said, " We no prosper, if we burn Con¬
cord. The Great Spirit love that people. He
tell us not to go there. They have a great man
there. He great pray." This allusion was to
Rev. Edward Bulkley, the Concord minister.
They feared his influence with the Great Spirit.
Hence Concord was saved, and Sudbury suffered.
Indians resided upon this territory for years after
its settlement and ineorporation, and some of the
inhabitants now have deeds of land given by the
aborigines to their ancestors. Soon after the in¬
corporation of the town a rate was made to pay
Ben Bowhugh, or Piphugh, and James Speene and
others, for lands purehased of them.
W^ho was the first settler in Stow after Philip's
War is unknown. In 1681 we find a list of the
twelve allotments of land. Lot number one was
set apart for the first minister. The other eleven
lots were probably taken up in 1678 or 1679, and
were assigned to Boaz Brown, Gershom Heale,
John Buttrick, Eidiraim Heldreth, Thomas Stevens,
Stephen Hall, Samuel Buttrick, Joseph Ereeman,
Joseph Da by, Thomas Gates, and Sydrack Hap-
good. Subsequently, and before the middle of
March, 1686, house-lots were granted to twenty-
three other persons. The inhabitants having so
increased in numbers as to be able to look after
their own afiairs, the prudential committee, on the
11th of October, 1681, appointed Thomas Stevens,
Boaz Brown, Thomas Gates, and Stephen Hall, to
take charge of tlie plantation ; and they were in¬
vested with the powers of selectmen " for the carry¬
ing on of such affaires as sliall relate to the good
settlement of the place," subject, however, to in¬
structions from the committee. This committee,
April 24, 1682, appointed John Hayward, of
Boston, plantation clerk. In the early part
of 1683 the inhabitants became anxious to take
tiieir place among the towns of the colony, and
made known their wishes to the prudential com¬
mittee, who on the 9th of April chose Thomas
Stevens, of the plantation, as clerk, and directed
the inhabitants to meet, and choose five selectmen
"to order and manage their Towne affaires, and
a Constable for y' year Ensueing." The meeting
was held on the 19th of April, 1683, and Sergeant
Benjamin Bozworth, Thomas Stevens, Stephen Hall,
Boaz Brown, and Joseph Freeman were chosen
selectmen, and Thomas Gates constable. Early
in the following May the citizens met, and pre¬
pared a petition to the General Court, asking to
be made a town witli " some suitable comly Eng¬
lish name," and to be freed " from Country pub-
lick Ciiarges & Rates a while Longer," on account
of the great expense they would be at in support¬
ing a minister, making bridges, and " other un¬
avoidable heavye secular matters, y' will sorely
pinch a poore people in soe yong a plantation,
where they can not yet Raise competent ordinary
food & Rayment." On the 16th of May, 1683, the
General Court granted their prayer, and ordered
them to be a town by the name of Stow, .and freed
them " from ye Country Rates for three yeares."
The town, thus constituted, was of very irregular
shape, extending from the ancient bounds of Sud¬
bury to what is now Lunenburg. But portions
of it have been taken from time to time to form
the towns of Harvard, Boxborough, Shirley, Hud¬
son, and Maynard. It now comprises only about
one third of its original area, and is bounded north
by Boxborough and Acton, east by Maynanl, south
by Hudson, and west by Bolton and Harvard.
It has three villages,—the Lower Village, where the
first meeting-house was erected, about a mile easterly
of the Centre, and Rock Bottom, in the southerly
part. Tlie principal stream is the Assabet River,
in the southeasterly part. Assabet Brook is the
next largest stream. The two noted hills, Pom-
pasittacutt and Shabbukin, are now respectively
within tlie limits of Maynard and Harvard. But
there are beautiful views from Spindle, Birch, and
Marble hills. In 1875 the population was 1,022.
Eccleniastical Affairs. — As many of the early
settlers were from Concord, we presume that Rev.
Mr. Bulkley of that place preached to them occa¬
sionally. But the first allusion on the records to
ministerial matters was in June, 1683, when a rate
of five pounds was made to pay Mr. Greene, who
had preached previous to that date. He proba¬
bly remained but a few months. June 5, 1685, a
rate was made to pay Mr. Parris " for his pains
amongst us." Tliis was Rev. Samuel Parris, subse¬
quently so noted in connection with the Salem witch¬
craft delusion. His stay was short. James Minot
(H. C. 1675), of Concord, preached about one
year, commencing in the autumn of 1685. At a
352
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
meeting, November 15, 1686, Mr. William Wood-
rop was invited to settle, and he accepted the call the
same day. His salary was to be £40 a year, " one
hälfe money, y' other half in corne and graine."
Immediately measures were taken to build a par¬
sonage. But the following spring Mr. Woodrop
asked to be released from his engagement, " he
having intelligence from his wiffe, as he saith, y'
shee can not come to him, concluded his call was
to goe to her," in England. He left the country
soon after. The last of May, 1687, a committee
was sent to induce Mr. Minot of Concord to re¬
turn, and assume the ministerial duties. They
were not successful. About the 1st of August,
1687, a Mr. Overton supplied the pulpit, and
probably received a call, as in the fall of that year
measures were taken to build him a house, to be
finished " by y" first of Aprill, 1688." He, how¬
ever, took his departure in the spring. In the
early part of 1689 Mr. John Winborn commenced
preaching, and was soon called to the pastoral
office, which he accepted previous to August 19,
1689, when an agreement was entered into be¬
tween him and the town, relative to his settlement.
His salary was fixed at £40 per year, "ten pounds
in money, ten pounds as money, & twenty in pay."
He was to have the use of the minister's house and
lot, and if he remained their pastor for five years
from that date, the house and land were to be
freely given him, but if he died within five years,
his widow was to have the " Liberty of one end
of the house for two years." It does not appear
that he was ever ordained or installed. After a
residence of about six years, difficulties arose that
led to his retirement from the pulpit. At a town-
meeting, June 24,1695, "y" people being gener¬
ally dissattisfied with some matt' of great offence at
home, besides y' noises & scandall abroad ....
desired to have faire Treaty with Mr. Winborn
.... but hee refused to attend ye meeting
though sent to & acjuainted therof." What was
the cause of the trouble, we know not. Mr. Win¬
born, having remained the full five years as the
minister of the town, claimed the parsonage and
lands. A lawsuit ensued, in which the town was
probably beaten, and appears to have subsequently
bought the house and lot of Mr. Winborn's son.
In January, 1695-96 an attempt was made to
settle Mr. John Woodward (H. G. 1693), of Ded-
ham, but it failed. Mr. Joseph Mors (H. C. 1695),
also of Dedham, soon after took the supply of the
pulpit, and January 18, 1696-97 was called to
the pastoral charge. He declined it, but contin¬
ued to preach. At the end of six months the call
was unanimously renewed, and again declined.
Application was then made in the autumn of 1697
to Eev. Samuel Parris, a former preacher, and
recently dismissed from Salem Village, to take
up once more the ministerial work with them. It
is supposed he would not come for the salary of¬
fered. The General Court was asked for help, and
ten pounds were granted. This induced Mr. Par¬
ris to remain. Yet after the expiration of a year's
service the town were unable to agree with him
relative to his further continuance, and he retired.
Another call was then extended to Joseph Mors,
March 27, 1699, but without avail. A new can¬
didate soon entered the arena. On the 24th of
July, 1699, Rev. John Eveleth (H. C. 1689), pre¬
viously settled at Manchester, was unanimously
called. The town voted him " forty pounds Sal¬
le ry p' Anna," and if he should settle, and " Gary
on y' worke of y° ministry & Live & Dye with
y™," then he was to have the " ministry house &
all y' Land & meadow aloted for y' ministry."
It was subsequently voted to get him thirty cords
of firewood yearly, and to help clear uj) and fence
his lands. In May, 1700, a long agreement rela¬
tive to his settlement was signed by thirty-two of
the inhabitants and Mr. Eveleth, from which it
appears that he had then accepted the call. He
was not, however, installed until about the 1st of
December, 1702; the exact date is unknown.
The church was probably gathered at the time of
the installation. Thus the town, after years of
trial, secured a permanent pastor, and all things
appear to have been prosperous until 1717, when
some trouble arose, say the records, " in referance
to Mr. Eveleth's miscarriage of late amongst us,"
which led to the calling of two councils, and the
dismissal of the minister near the close of that
year. Tradition says that Mr. Eveleth's " miscar¬
riage" was intem|ierance. He afterwards taught
school in town, and in 1719, "upon y" manifesta¬
tion of his Repentance, was Restored to Church
fellowship & Communion." He subsequently
preached in Maine, and finally became an Episco¬
palian, and died in or near Kittery, August 1,
1734, at the age of sixty-five. He married, De¬
cember 2,1692, Mary Bowman, and had Joseph and
Francis, and probably other children. His wife died
December 2, 1747, at about the age of seventy-fivei
In the spring of 1718 Mr. John Gardner
(H. C. 1715), who was the Stow schoolmaster the
STOW.
353
previous year, appeared as a candidate, and was
called to the pastoral office June 17 of that year.
He was offered a salary of £70, to be gradually
raised to £80, with £100 in money or lands as a
settlement. He accepted the invitation about the
1st of August, and was ordained November 26,
1718. The church at that time consisted of fifteen
males and about as many females. After a faith¬
ful, and in the main peaceful pastorate of over fifty-
six years, he died January 10, 1775, in the eightieth
year of his age. For some time previous to his
death he was quite feeble, and preached but little.
He was probably a strict Calvinist, and "was
strenuously opposed to the Whitfieldian move¬
ment " ; and is represented to have been very stern
in his demeanor, so that the children lived in con¬
stant fear of him, but was " of good intellectual
abilities, and sound in his principles of religion."
During his ministry 209 persons were admitted to
the church, and 1,346 were baptized. He married
Mary Baxter (daughter of Eev. Joseph B.), of
Medfield, April 14, 1720, and they had five sons
and four daughters. She died December 30, 1784,
in her eighty-fourth year. The question of an
assistant was mooted during the last three years of
Mr. Gardner's pastorate, and November 29, 1773,
the church invited Mr. John Marrett (H. C. 1763),
who had supplied the pulpit much of the time for
two years, to become "Colega Pastur," but the
town refused to concur.
Mr. Jonathan Newell (H. C. 1770) came as a
candidate in March, 1774, and received a call " by
a very great majority," on the 20th of June follow¬
ing. His salary was placed at £53 6i. 8r/. during
the lifetime of Mr. Gardner ; and thereafter it was to
be £80. He accepted the proposals in September.
It was voted that his ordination be " as private as
possible," and six pounds were granted to enter¬
tain the ordaining council. He was inducted into
office October 11, 1774, and the venerable Mr.
Gardner gave the charge to his young colleague.
The ministry of Mr. Newell was harmonious and
prosperous. The only serious difficulty that oc¬
curred during his pastorate was caused by dogs.
In 1796 a committee was chosen by the town "to
kill all the Dogs tliat come into the meetinghouse
on the Sabbath Day, if they can't keep them of
witiiout." On the 1st of December, 1828, Mr.
Newell asked the town to provide a preacher in his
stead, and he would then relinquish " all further
support from them as a minister." His proposi¬
tion was accepted on the 22d of tliat month, and
the town voted to " hold in lasting remembrance
and veneration the Eev. Mr. Newell .... for the
deep interest he has ever manifested in their wel¬
fare collectively and individually." He lived less
than two years after this, dying October 4, 1830,
being not quite eighty-one years of age, and lack¬
ing just one week of fifty-six years from his ordi¬
nation. During his mhiistry 140 jiersons were
admitted to the church, about 1,100 were baptized,
and 337 couples were married. He was more
liberal, theologically, than Mr. Gardner, but he
continued to exchange with both wings of the Con-
gregationalists till the close of his ministry. He
was a man of great prudence, kindness, and benevo¬
lence, — was simple, unobtrusive, and grave in de¬
portment, yet witiiout austerity. He was a large,
vigorous man, and of great physical strength, fond
of a joke, and a lover of children. He was a good
farmer, and of quite a scientific mind, liaving in¬
vented, among other things, a nail-cutting machine,
which with some modifications is still in use. He
married first, Sarah Fisk, of Watertown, a beautiful
young woman, November 24, 1774 ; she died Sep¬
tember 14, 1776. His second wife, married Octo¬
ber 11, 1781, just seven years after his ordination,
was Lucy Eogers (daughter of Eev. Daniel E.), of
Littleton. She died June 26, 1846, at the age of
ninety. They had five sons. Mr. Newell preached
a centennial sermon May 16, 1783, which was
printed, and also a sermon at the close of fifty
years from his ordination, which was published.
Mr. John L. Sibley (H. C. 1825) commenced
preaching as a candidate January 17, 1829. The
town asked him to settle, February 16, and offered
him $600 salary, with twelve cords of wood yearly,
and $500 as a settlement. He accepted the invi¬
tation, and was ordained the 14th of May following.
At his request he was dismissed from the pastoral
office March 29, 1833. He was of the liberal
school of theology. During his pastorate, June 6,
1830, the first Sunday school in the town was or¬
ganized, with Jacob Caldwell as superintendent.
Mr. Sibley was for many years afterwards the libra¬
rian of Harvard College. Up to the close of his
ministry aU the ecclesiastical affairs had been man¬
aged by the town, but in the latter part of 1833
the members of the religious society of which he
had been the pastor organized as the First Parish,
and the town ceased its supervision. At this time
the theological sentiment of the town was much di¬
vided, and no minister was settled for several years,
though the pulpit was supplied most of the time.
354
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Rev. William H. Kinsley was installed Decem¬
ber 25, 1839, and closed his labors the last of
March, 1846. He died at Mendon, September 7,
1851. Rev. Reuben Bates (H. C. 1829) was in¬
stalled June 18, 1846, and on account of feeble
health resigned September 24,1859. He died De¬
cember 1, 1862. Rev. George F. Clark received
a call January 20, 1862, was installed April 23,
of that year, and resigned in April, 1867. The
subsequcjit pastors have been Rev. F. W. Webber,
Rev. John F. Locke, and Rev. David P. Muzzey.
The first meeting-house was probably erected
in 1685, but not finished for two or three years.
It had four windows of three lights each, two
double doors, and was " filled between y' wall
tiinb" & studs from y" cills to y® goule peices with
clay.'' A new house of worship, " 40 foot long
^nd 32 wide, and 20 foot between joynts," was
built in 1713, and occupied about the 1st of May,
1714. After two or three years of controversy
another house (probably raised August 27, 1753)
was erected. It was 50 X 40 feet, and twenty-
three feet high. The pew-ground was sold, Jan¬
uary 27, 1755, for £91 14«. lOrf., and it was soon
after occupied for religious services. The fourth
house, after a five-years contest, was built in 1827
by a committee who were given the old house, and
were to pay the surplus of expenses, should there
be any arising from the sale of the pews, into the
town treasury. This house, dedicated October 1,
1827, was burned November 9, 1847. The pres¬
ent house of worship was erected in 1848, and
dedicated August 30 of that year.
Uuiversalisls. — About 1830 a Universalist
society was formed, and lived some twenty years,
but never had a settled minister.
Oii/iodox. — The Evangelical Church was or¬
ganized May 11, 1839, consisting of six males and
fifteen females. They were a branch of the Hill¬
side Church, in the westerly part of Bolton. Rev.
E. Porter Dyer was ordained pastor, September 25,
1839. A chapel was soon erected, and was dedi¬
cated July 8, 1840. Mr. Dyer was dismissed
January 29, 1846, and Theodore Cook was or¬
dained pastor, June 9,^ 1847. lii 1850 seven
prominent members withdrew to form a church
at Assabet Village (now Maynard). The place'
of worship was transferred, April 1, 1851, to
Union Hall, in Rock Bottom Village. Rev. Mr.
Cook was dismissed May 2, 1853. Public wor¬
ship was suspended about that time, and the so¬
ciety became extinct.
MetlioduU. — The Methodist Church in Rock
Bottom is an offshoot from the old Methodist so¬
ciety of Marlborough. About the 1st of January,
1853, the Old Brick Church in Marlborough iiav-
ing been burned, the society commenced worship¬
ping in a hall at Rock Bottom. A portion of the
members from Marlborough soon withdrew. The
corner-stone of a meeting-house was laid July 4,
1853, and the building was dedicated the following
December, Rev. L. D. Barrows preaching the ser¬
mon. Rev. T. B. Treadwell had charge of the
society in 1853 and 1854. The subsequent pas¬
tors have been Rev. Mr. Pool, Rev. William Pente¬
cost, Rev. W. T. Lacount, Rev. J. W. Lewis, Rev.
A. Gould, Rev. J. W. Hambleton, Rev. Augustus
Caldwell, Rev. B. Judd, Rev. N. A. Soule, Rev.
J. L. Laske, Rev. N. Bemis, and Rev. G. Bent.
Educational. The first reference to schools
was January 11, 1715-16, when John Whitman
was chosen schoolmaster for one quarter. The
town frequently chose the teacher, tliough some¬
times it was done through a committee. The
wages at first were about thirty shillings per
month. The schools were kept in private houses
in the different parts of the town. The vote to
build the first school-house was in January,
1731-32, and three were ordered to be erected
in August, 1733; yet it appears that there was
but one house in 1734, and only two in 1742. A
"school-dame" was employed for six months in
1750, and £40, Old Tenor, was raised to pay her.
It was voted in 1752 not to have a grammar
school, and a year or two later the town was in¬
dicted for this neglect. It was voted, March 14,
1763, to build a school-house eighteen feet square,
near the meeting-house, and that all families living
within a mile and a half should send their children
there ; the others to decide where their school should
be kept. Three other houses were voted for in 1766,
but probably did not go up immediately. In 1789
the town was divided into four districts. For some
years previous and subsequent to 1810 three school
committee were chosen by the town in each district.
In 1811 there were seven districts, and seven j)er-
sons, with Rev. Mr. Newell, were chosen to visit
the schools at the opening and close of the terms.
From 1819 to 1826 a committee of three was
usually chosen. Since then, with one or two ex¬
ceptions, a superintending committee has annually
been chosen. For many years the town chose a
prudential committee for each district, but in 1842,
and until 1868, when the district system was
STOW.
355
abolished by the town, the several districts were
allowed to choose their own prudential committee.
October 13, 1823, twenty-seven citizens of the
town formed an association for the establisliment
of an academy. A building, erected for tiiat pur¬
pose, was dedicated May 31, 1824, Eev. Mr.
Newell, the resident clergyman, giving tiie address ;
and the school was immediately opened under tlie
care of John M. Cheney. The institution was very
prosperous during its early history, having students
from six or eight different states, and from Canada.
It was discontinued after about twenty years.
The town, April 19, 1852, made an appropria¬
tion for a high school to be kept a portion of tiie
year ; and in like manner it was sustained for a
few years. In the spring of 1871 Colonel Elijah
Hale proposed to give the town $5,000 as a per¬
manent fund, the interest thereof to be used towards
the support of a high school, provided that the
town would appropriate an equal amount. Two
other persons offered to contribute $1,100 addi¬
tional. The town accepted the donations May 24,
1871, and chose seven trustees to take charge
of the fund. It also set apart the old academy
building and grounds for the use of the Hale High
School, which was opened about the 1st of Sep¬
tember following.
Eighteen or twenty natives or residents of the
town have graduated from college.
MilUarg Affairs. — Of necessity the early set¬
tlers had a quasi military organization. All were
prepared to defend theiriselves from the prowling
savages. Regular military companies were formed
as soon as possible. Sometimes, when met for
drill, and especially when about to depart on some
hostile expedition, religious exercises were held.
The town records are almost totally silent relative
to early military operations. From 1755 to 1760,
during the French and Indian War, soldiers from
Stow were in the army at Crown Point, Fort Wil-
liam Henry, Nova Scotia, and doubtless at other
places. For many years succeeding 1693 towns
were required to keep a stock of powder and
ammunition, and other military stores, for any un¬
looked-for emergency. Thèse materials of war
were sometimes deposited in the loft of the meet¬
ing-house, and afterwards a special building was
erected for them. The Stamp Act of 1765 roused
the people, and October 21, 1766, a town com¬
mittee prepared instructions to their representative
to the General Court, giving reasons why taxes or
duties should not be levied upon them, and urged
the greatest vigilance to prevent all unconstitutional
draughts upon the public treasury. The town,
March 7, 1768, declared in favor of economy and
industry, against the im])ortation of all "foreign
superffuities," and agreed to " do any thing proper
towards supplying the paper mills, at Milton, with
materials for carrying on said manufactures."
January 25, 1773, they approved of what the
Bostonians did November 20, 1772, relative to
the state of affairs, and chose a committee, to con¬
sider what more should be done. The committee
reported the importance of preserving their civil
and religious privileges, expressed their concern at
the action of parliament, and noticed with uneasi¬
ness the unreasonable extension of the power of
the vice-admiralty courts, etc. Further measures
were taken, in 1774, to protect their "rights as
British subjects, men, and Christians." The town
decided in January, 1775, to "do what they can,
in accordance with the constitution, to carry into
execution the agreements of the Continental Con¬
gress, and the several resolves of the Provincial
Congress relating thereto." They also requested
the constable to pay the taxes to Henry Gardner,
recently appointed province treasurer, and not to
Harrison Gray, the old treasurer. The opening
act of the Revolution, at Lexington and Concord,
soon followed. Anticipating the raid of British
troops, a large quantity of military stores and
some cannon were sent from Concord to Stow and
concealed near the residence of Henry Gardner.
Some of the citizens were in the fight at Concord,
and Daniel Conant was wounded. The " two mili¬
tary companies, under Captains Hapgood and Whit-
comb, marched for Concord at noon, passed the
North Bridge, and arrived at Cambridge at sunset."
During the war the town was active in furnishing
the men and means needed for its successful prose¬
cution. They purchased hay and beef for the
army, provided fire-arms for those unable to pro¬
vide for themselves, supplied the soldiers with
clothing, and ordered the selectmen to provide
for their families when needy. In the course of
the contest thirty-five men were furnished for three
years' service, and some three hundred more for
different periods, varying from one to eight months,
who went to Cambridge, New York, Canada, Nan¬
tucket, Dorchester, Providence, Stillwater, Fishkill,
etc., at an expense to the town of £4,880. Some
prisoners were brought to town in 1779, and the
town asked the honorable council what should be
done with them ; and in September voted that
356
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
" the Dutchmen, the Britons, and the Scotclimen,
should be sworn." None of the soldiers from town
were killed in battle, in the French and Indian or
Eevolutionary War, but some died of disease.
Only a few items have been gleaned relative to
the war of 1812-14. There was voted in May,
1812, to each volunteer two dollars down, and
three dollars when called into service ; and with
what the government paid to make his wages ten
dollars a month. In September following it was
agreed to make the monthly pay of the three soldiers
drafted twenty dollars. In this war it is believed
none of the town's soldiers were killed in battle.
During the Eebellion of 1861 - 65 the town
contributed to the Union army one hundred and
forty-three men, whose term of service varied from
one hundred days to three years. Several of the
soldiers gave their lives on the battle-field. Be¬
sides the large bounty paid the men, the Ladies'
Aid Society contributed to the sanitary commis¬
sion and to some of the town's soldiers more than
$ 1,000 in necessaries and money.
In 1730 the town opposed the taking of a por¬
tion of its territory to form the town of Harvard,
giving to the General Court these reasons : Tijat
tlie great part of the land was unimprovable ; that
it would take away one seventh of the population ;
that they were so poor as to be hardly able to
support their minister, and could not bear the
country charges without the others. But their
plea was unavailing. The incorporation of Har¬
vard in 1732 left a little strip of land west of the
Nasliua Eiver belonging to the old town, which for
many years was called Stow Leg; but in 1764 it
was annexed to and forms a part of Shirley. Be¬
tween 1773 and 1780 the town four times opposed
the incorporation of a part of her territory into the
district of Boxborough. No particular opposition
was made to the taking of a small slice In 1866 to
help form the town of Hudson, or to the larger por¬
tion taken in 1871 to form the town of Maynard.
The town voted, July 1, 1776, in favor of a
government independent of Great Britain. Jan¬
uary 23, 1778, a committee reported in favor of a
confederation of the states " as soon as convenient."
May 25, 1778, they voted against the form of state
government. The next year they voted again to do
nothing about such a measure. But May 29,1780,
the several articles of the state constitution were
accepted by a vote of from thirty-nine to fifty-five
yeas ; nays not given.
The town is principally agricultural. Besides
other farm products, 194,000 gallons of milk,
worth $ 18,250, about four tons of butter, worth
nearly $2,000, and some $8,000 worth of apples
are annually produced.
At Eock Bottom, about 1813, the manufacture
of cotton goods was commenced in a small way by
Silas Jewell. Some years later the works were
purchased .by Messrs. Cranston and Hale, and
woollen goods have since been produced. Tlie
mill is now operated by Hon. B. W. Gleason and
Sons, employing seventy-five hands, using 400,000
poundsL of wool, and making nearly two hundred
thousand dollars' worth of all-wool flannels yearly.
One of the most noted residents of the town was
Mr. John Greene, who was of great ability, and in
high favor with Oliver Cromwell during the Pro¬
tectorate, being a captain of the dock-yard at Dept-
ford, and clerk of the Exciiequer. Upon tlie
death -of Cromwell he came to New England, and
filially, with his sister and her husband, settled in
Stow, where he died and lies buried.
Probably the most distinguished native of the
town was Hon. Henry Gardner (H. C. 1750), son
of Eev. John Gardner, born November 14,1731.
He represented Stow, in the General Court, most
of the time from 1757 to 1775, and was a member
of the Provincial Congress that met at Salem, Octo¬
ber 7,1774, and was chosen treasurer of the province
by that body on the 28th of the same month, which
position he held until the adoption of the state
constitution in 1780, when he was elected the first
treasurer of the commoUwealth, and continued
in that office during his lifetime. He was also a
member of the Provincial Congress that met at
Cambridge, February 1, 1775, and at Watertowu,
May 31, the same year. He was chosen councillor
May 30, 1776, and was re-elected until the new
constitution rendered him ineligible. He was a
justice of the peace throughout the state for some
years, and one of the judges of the Court of Com¬
mon Pleas, for Middlesex County, and one of the
original members of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences. In announcing his death, the papers
of that day spoke of him as " a courageous, uni¬
form, industrious patriot, and a discreet, humane,
and upright judge." He removed from Stow a
few years previous to his death, which took place
October 7, 1782, in the fifty-first year of his age.
He married, September 21, 1778, Hannah Clapp,
of Dorchester, and was the grandfather of ex-Gov¬
ernor Henry J, Gardner.
8UDBUBY.
357
SUDBURY.
BY REV. GEO. A. OVIATT.
(L authorities agree that the
first settlers of JSudbury were
drawn to this locality chiefly
by the rich meadow-lands on
either side of the river bearing
the same name as the town
through which it flowed, as
also by the abundance of wood¬
land and the strength of the
soil when once subdued. John¬
son, in his History of New England, 1654, page
141, says : —
" The early settlers found broad meadows where¬
in grew neither shrub nor tree, but as much grass
as may be thrown out with a scythe, thick and
strong, and as high as a man's middle; some as
high as a man's slioulders, so that a man may cut
three loads in a day Tlie forests, free from
underbrush, resembled a grove of huge trees im¬
proved by art On the west side of the
river were heavy pine forests, from which tar was
manufactured." Johnson speaks of this town " as
well watered and having store of plow land," but
"little broke up" on account of "the oaken roots";
and of its great distance " from the mart towns "
as making " it burdensome to the inhabitants to
bring their corn so far by l^nd " ; and adds, " some
gentlemen here have laid out part of their estates
in procuring farms, by reason of the store of
meadow."
The first movement towards the formation of a
plantation here, of which a record has been found,
was made in 1637. Under date of November 20,
of this year, the colony records say : " Whereas a
great part of the inhabitants of Watertown have
petitioned this court, that in regard to their strait-
iiess of accommodation, and want of meadow, they
might have leave to remove, and settle a plantation
upon the river which runs to Concord, this Court,
having respect to their necessity, doth grant their
petition."
A committee was appointed to " take a view of
the place, upon the said river, and shall set out a
place for them by marks and bounds sufficient for
fifty or sixty families," who were required to re¬
move thither within one year ; and " if there be
not thirty families at least settled before said time
limited, then this court shall dispose of the said
plantation to any other."
September 6, 1638, the petitioners, Mr. Brian
Pendleton, Mr. Peter Noyes, Mr. Edmund Browne,
and company, are allowed to go on in their planta¬
tion, and such as are associated to them . . . . " and
the petitioners are to take care that in their allot¬
ments of lands tiiey have respect as well to men's
estates and abilities to improve their land, as to
their number of persons."
The plantation was laid out five miles square.
And under the court's order last quoted the house-
lots and planting fields were assigned to the inhabi¬
tants.
The order of the court for the division of the
meadows was passed September 4, 1639, under
which order a first division was made and recorded ;
a second division is recorded April 20, 1640; the
third division is recorded November 18, 1640.
" September 4, 1639, it is ordered that the new
plantation by Concord shall be called Sudbury."
May 13, 1640, the court granted to the town
" the addition of a mile in length upon the south¬
east and southwest sides of this plantation " ; and
May 2,1649, " Sudbury is granted two miles west¬
ward, next adjoining to them for their further en¬
largement."
As several of the settlers here were from the old
town of Sudbury in England, the town was chris¬
tened in honor of the place so dear to them in the
mother country.
Sudbury, five miles square, originally was
bounded by Watertown on the east, — which then
included what is now Weston, — Concord on the
north, and by the wilderness on the south and
west. The boundary on the south is the same to¬
day as it was in the beginning, only instead of tiie
358
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
wilderness, we now write Framingham. So on the
west, — on which side the town is two miles square
larger than it was at first, — instead of the wilder¬
ness we write Marlborough, which is an offshoot
of Sudbury, and was at the outset largely settled
by Sudbury men.
Our fathers purchased this extent of land, five
miles square, of an Indian called Cato, for the sum
of £5. The original name of this Indian is not
known. In addition to his name, Cato, he was
called Goodman, and the hill a little south of the
Congregational Meeting-house at Sudbury Centre,
as it is in 1879, on the left side of the road as you
go south, is designated Goodman's Hill. It is
where Cato (Goodman) had his wigwam".
The following, taken from the Suffolk Eegistry
of Deeds, is a true copy of the original deed given
by Cato : —
" Bee it known vnto all men by these presents
that I Cato otherwise Goodman for & in considera¬
tion of fyve pounds w"'' I have received, in com¬
modities & wompumpeage of Walter Hayne &
Hugh Griffin of Sudbury in behalf of themselves
& the rest of the planters of Sudbury ; doe this my
write in give & grant bargain & sell vnto the said
Walter Hayne — (Haine) — & Hugh Griffin & the
said planters of the town of Sudbury so much land
southward & so much land westward next adjoin¬
ing to a tract of land w®'' I said Cato formerly
souled unto George Munnings & the rest of the
planters of Sudbury as may make the bounds of
the said town to be full fyve miles square w"" all
meadows, brooks, liberties priviledges & apperte-
nances thereto belonging w"* all the said tract of
land granted. And I grant vnto them for me &
mine heirs & brethren that I & they shall & will
at any tyme make any further assurance in writing
for the more p'fct assuring of the s'd land & all
the premises w"* the appertenances vnto the s'd
Walter Haine & Hugh Griffin & the s'^ planters
& their successors forever as they shall require.
" In witness whereof I herevnto put my hand
& seal the twentieth day of the fourth month one
thousand six hundred fourty eight."
(Here follows \ , , . , ,,
Cato'smark.y L» mark & seale]
" Signed sealed and delivered in the presence of
"Emm-vnuel Downing
Ephraim Child
CuTCHAMEKiN [mark] ,
JojENNY brothers of Cato."
" This deed was sealed & acknowledged by the
s"* Cato (who truly understood the contents of it
the day & year above written) Before mee.
"John Winthrop, Governor."
In Book IX., pages 344 to 352 inclusive, in the
Eegistry of Deeds at East Cambridge, is a record
in full of the original deed given by the Indian
proprietors to Sudbury, of two miles square on the
west. This deed is very lengthy, — too much so
to be inserted here in full, interesting as it is, — and
consequently only an abstract of it will be given.
"Forasmuch as the Gen'Court of the Massa¬
chusetts Colony in New England hath formerly
granted to the Town of Sudbury in the County of
Middlesex in the same Colony, an addition of land
of two miles westward of their former grant of five
miles, which is also layd out & joyneth to it : and
whereas the English occupiers, proprietors and
possessors thereof, have chosen Capt. Edmond
Goodenow, Leift Josiah Haynes, John Goodenowy
John Brigham & Joseph Freeman to be a comittee
for themselves & for all the rest of the English
proprietors thereof, giving them their full power to
treat with & to purchase the same of the Indian pro¬
prietors of the s^ tract of land & to satisfy & pay
them for their native, ancient & hereditary right
title & interest thereunto.
" Know all People by these presents That Wee,
Jehojakim, John Magus, John Muskqua & his two
daughters Esther & Rachel, Benjamin Bohue, John
Speen & Sarah his wife, James Speen, Dorothy
Wennetoo & Humphry Bohue her son, Mary
Neppamun, Abagail the daughter of Josiah Hard¬
ing, Peter Jethro, Peter Muskquamogh, John Bo-
man, David Munnoan & Betty who are the ancient
native & hereditary Indian proprietors of the
afores"' two miles of land (for & in consideration
of the just & full sum of twelve pounds of current
money of New England to them in hand well &
truly paid at or before the ensealing & delivery
hereof by the said Capt. Edmond Goodenow, Leift
Josiah Haines .... in behalf of themselves & of
the rest of the English possessors, occupiers, pro¬
prietors & fellow-purchasers) the recipt whereof
they do hereby acknowledge & therewith to be
fully satisfied, contented & paid & thereof & of
every part & parcell thereof they do hereby for
themselves & their heyrs Executors Administrators
& Assigns clearly fully & absolutely release, acquit,
exonerate & discharge them & all the English pos¬
sessors . . . . & all & every one of their heyrs ....
SUDBURY.
359
forever The same is limited, butted &
bounded on the East by the old ¡jart of the s''
Towne of Sudbury .... & is butted & bounded
northerly by the line or bounds of the Towne of
Concord, westerly by the line or bounds of tlie
Towne of Stow & is bounded southerly & partly
westerly by the lands of Mr. Thomas Danforth.
" In Witness whereof the above named Indian
grantors have hereunto each for themselves &
altogether sett their hands & seals, dated ll"*
day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand
six hundred eighty & four. Annoqe Regni Regis
Caroli Secundi. XXXVI. [Then follow the names
of the grantors with their marks and seals.]
"Cambridge 15 Octo'' 1684. All the persons
that have signed & sealed this instrument appeared
before me this day & year above written & freely
acknowledged this writing to be their Act & deed.
" Daniel Gookin Sen® Assisi."
Indorsement. — " All the Grantors of the instru¬
ment within written beginning with Jehojakim &
ending with Peter Muskquamog did sign seale &
deliver s® instrument in presence of us
"John Greene, James Barnard."
" Moreover we underwritten did see Benjamin
Bohen, Dorothy Wauneto & Mary & Betty Nepa-
mun signe seal & deliver this instrument the 15"^
day of Oct'' 1684.
"Andrew Pittamee [mark]
James Rumny [mark]
Samuel Goff, James Barnard
Daniel Saconambatt."
Other indorsements are given, and with the fol¬
lowing the document closes : —
" Roxbury, April 16, '85.
"Charls Josias, Sachem of the Massachusetts,
having -read and considered the within written deed
with the Consent of his guardians & Councellors
underwritten doth for himself & his heyrs allow
of, ratify & confirm the within written sale to the
inhabitants of Sudbury & their heyrs forever, the
lands therein bargained & sold. To have & to
hold to the s^ Inhabitants of Sudbury their heyrs
& assigns forever & hath hereunto set his hand
& seal the day above written.
" CuARLs X Josias his mark & seal
" Allowed by us
William Stoughton j 1 Robert U. Montague
Joseph Dudley j j WilliamW.Ahonion.
" Recorded 19, 3. 1685
by Tuo. Danforth, Recorder!'
While among the early settlers of Sudbury were
families from Cambridge and Watertown, it is
believed that a large proportion of them came
directly here from England. It is quite evident
that these families were in good circumstances, as
well as intelligent and decidedly religious, so that
they were prepared to plant the town, build school-
houses and churches, and help lay the foundations
of the state and the nation.
In the New England Historical and Genealogi¬
cal Register for January, 1848, there is a valu¬
able paper headed " Passengers for New England,
1638." The editor of the Kegister gives this ex¬
planation : —
" The following list of early emigrants or pas¬
sengers was obtained for the New England Historic
Genealogical Society, by Henry Stevens, Esq., one
of its members lately resident in London.
' Southampton, 21 April, 1638.
'The list of the names of the Passengers in¬
tended for New England, in the good shipp, the
Confidence of London, of C C tonnes. John Job-
son M' and thus by vertue of Lord Treas" warr' of
the xj"* of Aprill 1638.' "
This list gives us the number of " passengers,
great and little " as one hundred and ten. Their
names, residence, occupation, and ages are specified.
Of this number a considerable proportion came to
Sudbury, the names of some of whom are quite
prominent in the early records of the place.
Names. Residence. Occupation. Ages.
„ i Sutton, Mandifield, I y.
Walter Hayne j cfWilta i Weaver 55
Etiza, his wife
Thomas Hayne )
John Hayne > their sonnes under 16 years of age.
Josias Hayne )
j
John Blanford 1 27
John Riddet > their servants 26
Rich: Bildcomb ). . 16
Peter Noyce Penton.Co.of South" Yeoman . 47
Thomas Noyce, his sonne . . •. . . .15
Eliaaheth Noyce, his daughter
Robert Davis 1 30
John Rutter 1 his servants 22
Margaret Davis ) 26
Jane, his wife
Maiy Guy, his daughter
Joseph Taynter I , 25
Robert Bayley j 23
John Bent | | Hushandmau 85
Martha, his wife
Robert Bent \
William Beút f his children under
Peter Bent I 12 years of age.
Ann Bent )
RichaH Sanger, Servant to Edmund Goodnow . . .18
SCO
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Among the first settlers of this ancient town are
names very familiar now, — names, some of which
are represented in families stiU resident here, and
who delight to trace their descent bade through so
many generations to those who came to this place
not twenty years after the landing of the grand
old Puritans on Plymouth Eock. We mention
Edmund Browne, Eobert Fordham, clergyman,
Edmund Eice (Eise), Eobert Bent, Thomas and
William Browne, Thomas Buckmaster, Thomas
and Antient Cakbread, Henry Curties, Eobert
Darnell, Edmond Goodenow, John Goodenough,
Thomas Goodnow, ilugh Griffin (ancestor of the
famous President Griffin of Williams College),
John Howe, Wyddon Hunt, Theodore Islyn, John
Maynard, George Munning, Eichard Newton,
William Parker, John Parmenter, Sr. and Jr.
Many other names might be mentioned as amojig
the early settlers of Sudbury, did our space permit.
The town had great prosperity in its early his¬
tory, growing in population and in wealth.
The town was chartered in 1639, and in May,
1642, the inhabitants made a contract with Am¬
brose Leach to build a cart-bridge over the river,
to be raised " three feet above high-water mark, to
be twelve feet wide," and completed by the last
day of August following. This contract, on the
part of Leach, was not met, and in November,
1643, another contract was made with Timothy
Hawkins of Watertown, to build a bridge at the
same place, five rods long, fourteen feet wide, and
one foot above high-water mark. "The inhabi¬
tants agreed to give the said Timothy, for his work,
£13, to be paid in corn and cattle at the price as
two men shall judge them worth."
November 26, 1643, it was " ordered that the
Marshall levy a rate for pay for the bridge," which
appears by subsequent records to have been finished
according to contract.
This bridge was probably one of the first regular
framed bridges built in the country. The bridge
at Watertown was not built till four years after,
and only for foot-passengers. This is an indica¬
tion of thrift, energy, and intelligence of which
Sudbury may well be proud.
Tliere is no account of the making of the cause¬
way half a mile long now to be found, when works
of smaller importance are minutely given. It is
supposed that the building of the causeway was
commenced in 1643, though it was not finished
till some years later. In March, 1758, the Gen¬
eral Court gave the town permission to have a
lottery for the benefit of the causeway. The town
purchased tickets of the third and fourth class, and
lost money by the operation.
Four years after the incorporation of the town a
ferry was established, which was kept by Thomas
Noyes for one year, and he was allowed to take
twopence for a single passenger, and a penny a
head for a greater number. This ferry was from
side to side of the river, not far from the upjier
causeway of to-day.
In 1643, when the colony was divided into
counties, eight towns, one of which was Sudbury,
were assigned to Middlesex.
June 15, 1645, the town of Lancaster joined
with other towns in petitioning the General Court
for a grant to finish the bridge and causeway in
Sudbury. £20 were granted.
Says Dr. Stearns : " The copy of the record of
Lancaster road is so much worn that it cannot be
given entire, yet so much remains that the princi¬
pal bounds can be ascertained : ' Beginning at the
great Eiver Meadow at the gravel pitt — by the
causeway, on the West side—and run to the North¬
west side of Thomas Plympton's house — & thence
to timber swamp, & so on to heart pond,' leav¬
ing the rock on the North side, and so on to Sud¬
bury bounds to be the common highway toward
Lancaster, through Sudbury, therefore wee have
hereunto sett our hands the 22^ day of this pres¬
ent vear, no other date 1654.
Edm. Goodenow ■) CommUsion
Thomas Noyes f appointed by
"Wis. Kebley j order of court.
Among the records for 1646.^"
As early as 1636 the inhabitants of Concord
applied to the court to aid them in draining the
meadows by deepening the channel at the falls. In
1644 Herbert Pelham of Cambridge, Thomas Flint
and Lieutenant Simon Willard of Concord, and Mr.
Peter Noyes of Sudbury were appointed a com¬
mission by the court to devise some means "for
draining and improving the meadows." Johnson
says : " Several times they assayed to cut through
the rocky falls, but cannot, yet it may be turned
another way by a hundred pound charge, by cut¬
ting a channel to Charles Eiver."
The meadow-lands were the standard of valuation.
At that time everything necessary to the welfare of
the town was attended to promptly and with marked
stringency. This is seen by the following : —
I Small pond, heart-shaped.
SUDBUBY.
361
"20 day last Mo. 1639. It was ordered that
for neglecting to come forth to the mending of the
highway, when lawfully summoned thereto, the
penalty shall be five shillings."
"On tlie 19"* day of Nov. the following rule
was agreed upon for working on the higliway :
1. The poorest man shall work one day; 2. For
every six acres of meadow land a man hath, he
shall work one day ; 3. Every man who shall neg¬
lect to make all fences appertaining to his fields by
the 24 of April shall forfeit 5 shillings."
About this time a great change took place in
the price of cattle. The ruling price, which be¬
fore this year had been enormous, now, in conse¬
quence of the cessation of importation of settlers,
fell to about one third of the former value. Milch
cows, which had brought from £25 to £30, now
fell to £5 or £6.
Li 1639, to prevent abuses on the part of both
employers and employees, as also on the part of
borrowers and lenders of money, the prices of labor
and the rates of interest were established by law.
Dr. Stearns says: "Yery soon after the incor¬
poration of the town a road was made on either
side of the river, from north to south, the length
of the town. These roads were on the east side
four rods wide, and on the west side six rods
wide.
"The meadow lands, altogether, are larger on
the west than on the east side of the river.
" In 1648 a highway was laid out between Sud¬
bury and Concord by men appointed by their re¬
spective towns : as the year before a committee was
appointed to lay out the line with Watertown men,
between Watertown and Sudbury."
In 1648 a pound was built under the direction
of Mr. William Brown and Edmond Goodnow.
December 7, 1647, ten years after Sudbury
began to be settled, as looking towards its incor¬
poration as a town, a cow common was laid out on
the west side of the river. This common included
nearly all the upland not laid out in house-lots,
between the river meadow on the east. Hop
Meadow (or Washbrook Meadow) on the west,
and Pantry Brook and Gulf Meadow on the north
and northeast. The inhabitants were allowed to
pasture in this common cattle, horses, sheep, etc.,
according to their valuation as proprietors of
meadow-lands. There was an equally valuable
cow common for the convenience of the inhabitants
on the east side of the river, in the southeast part
of the town.
Especial pains were taken to prevent idleness,
and to promote the highest tone of morality amoiig
the rising generation. Schools were early estab¬
lished,— reading schools and a grammar school;
the latter kept by a man capable of fitting pupils
for College, and this school was movable from dis¬
trict to district.
While from year to year the town made provis¬
ion for the poor, at quite an early date they raised
the question of providing a workhouse for idle —
in the records it reads idol — people, for the pur¬
pose of preventing the multiplication of tramps;
and such a house was built in Lanum district, but
after the trial of a few years it was given up.
June 16, 1647, " Ordered, That the surveyors
of the Town land shall lay out 50 acres of upland
about Hop Brook meadow, near the cart path that
goes over the brook, to be reserved for the use of
the town when they shall set a mill upon the
brook."
January 1, 1659, " Granted unto Mr. Thomas
Noyes and to Mr. Peter Noyes for and in consid¬
eration of a mill at Hop Brook, lying and being
on the west side of Sudbury great River, below
the cart way that leads to Ridge meadow, viz. fifty
acres of upland and fifteen acres of meadow, with¬
out Commonadge to the said meadow, four acres
of the said fifteen acres of meadow lying and being
within the demised tract of uplands. Also granted
to the above named parties, timbers of any of the
Sudbury common land, to build and maintain the
said mill.
"Also the said Thomas and Peter Noyes do
covenant with the town for the foregoing consid¬
erations to build a sufficient mill to grind the town
of Sudbury's corn, the mill to be built below the
cart way that now is leading to Ridge meadow, the
said grantees their heirs and successors are to have
nothing to do with the stream above, four rods
above the aforementioned cart way of said mill ; to
be ready to grind the corn by the first of December
next ensuing, and if the said grantees, their heirs
and assigns, shall damage the highway over the
brook, by building the said mill, they are to make
the way as good as it now is, from time to time,
that is to say, the above specified way over the
mill brook, and said Thomas Noyes and Peter Noyes
are also to leave a highway six rods wide joining
to the brook, from the cart way that now is to the
widow Loker's meadow."
"In 1659 a new mill for grinding the com
of the town was built on Hop Brook, now Wash
362
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Brook, and a new highway was built out from the
gravel pit on the west side of the river to the said
mill, six rods wide."
March 26, 1677, " Ordered, That Peter King,
Thomas Eeed Sen, John Goodnow, Jos. Preeman,
Jo° Smith have liberty granted to build a saw-mill
on Upper Hop Brook above Mr; Peter Noyes' corn
mill, at a place viewed by a committee of the town,
which if they doe they are to have 20 tons of tim¬
ber and earth for the dam." This mill was built,
probably, on the site of Moore's and Perry's saw¬
mill.
The first settlement in Sudbury was on the east
side of the river, where were the first burying-
ground and meeting-house, the parsonage, the
school-house, and the blacksmith-shop.
The town was divided into East and West Sud¬
bury, by the river in part, in 1780. The land was
more extended on the west than on the east side.
The population, before the division, was larger on
the west side than on the east, and long before the
division of the town took place the church had
been divided, — the church on the west side taking
the name of the Pirst Church of Sudbury. Por a
long time before the division the annual town-
meetings were held alternately on the east and
west side, and the town officers were selected from
each side in about equal proportion.
The division of the town became a necessity for
the accommodation of the people. Prom year to
year, for some years before it took place, the divis¬
ion of the town was discussed both in a private
way and in town-meeting ; but the step of dividing
the town was not taken till 1780, four years after
the Declaration of Independence, and about in the
middle of the Eevolutionary War.
We do not desire to introduce matter into this
sketch of Sudbury that properly belongs to the
history of Wayland, as that history will have a
place in this volume.
1648 [Winthrop's Journal, Vol. II. p. 332].
"About the midst of this "summer there arose a
fly out of the ground, about the bigness of the top
of a man's little finger, of brown color. They filled
the wood from Connecticut to Sudbury with a great
noise, and eat up the young sprouts of the trees
but meddled not with the corn. If the Lord had
not stopped them they had spoiled all our orchards,
for they did some few."
King Philip's War, though short, was exceedingly
disastrous both to the English and the Indians,
resulting, however, in the almost permanent subju¬
gation of the latter, and a better understanding, in
all respects, between the two races. The great
fight, near the close of the war, one of the most
bloody on record, was on Green Hill, Sudbury, the
Indians gaining the victory, though at too great a
cost to be of any value to them, as it left them too
much reduced, every way, to prosecute the struggle
with any degree of courage.
Green Hill is about one mile south of Goodman's
Hill, already spoken of, and the precise locality of
the fight is not much southwest of the monument
that marks the exact spot where moulder the bones
of Captains Wads worth and Brocklebank and their
noble men. Green Hill and Goodman's Hill are
really but one hill. Green Hill being at the south-
em extremity and Goodman's Hill at the northern,
with a slight depression between the two summits.
The terrible fight came to pass iu this way : The
Indians were concealed in great force, — some say
to the number of 1,500 ; but this is a conjecture,
and most likely an extravagant one On the ap¬
proach of the English, a few of the Indians came
out from their hiding-place, crossed the course of
Captain Wadsworth, and as soon as they were dis¬
covered pretended fright and fled, only, however, as
a matter of strategy. This plot succeeded, when
they instantly made a furious assault on the Eng¬
lish. Captain Wadsworth and his men received
the attack in good order, and falhng back to an
adjacent hill, maintained their ground for some four
hours, losing only a few of their number, but in¬
flicting a very severe loss on their assailants. The
Indians, in their emergency, resorted to another
stratagem, and set fire to the woods to the wind¬
ward of the English, which spread with great ra¬
pidity, as the wind was strong and the grass very
dry. The raging flames caused Captain Wadsworth
and his men to abandon their favorable positioUj
when the savages poured in upon them from every
side, and so by superior numbers overcame them.
All the English but about twenty were killed, or
fell into the hands of the enemy. A portion of
those who escaped took shelter in the mill near by,
and were rescued by Captain Prentice, with about
fifty horse, and Captain Cowell, who was on his way
from Brookfield with about thirty men. Both
Captain Prentice and Cowell barely escaped the
fate of Wadsworth and Brocklebank. Captains
Wadsworth and Brocklebank, by all the historians
of this battle, are spoken of as men of high stand¬
ing as captains, and as greatly esteemed for their
noble moral and Christian character.
A Winter BIroiiac: Warriors and Captires.
SUDBURY.
365
"The 18th of April, 1876, was observed as the
two hundredth anniversary of this remarkable fight.
The day was celebrated in a becoming manner,
with a procession, and an address by Hon. T. P.
Hurlbut at the monument, historical of the cause
and method of its erection, a prayer at the Unita¬
rian Church by Rev. G. A. Oviatt, and an oration
by Professor E. J. Young of Harvard College, fol¬
lowed by several addresses in response to senti¬
ments given by J. S. Hunt, Esq., all under the
direction of the committee of arrangements, Messrs.
J. P. Fairbanks, T. P. Hurlbut, and T. J. Sander¬
son, Homer Rogers acting as marshal of the day.
" The Wadsworth Monument stands as the joint
tribute of the state of Massachusetts and the town
of Sudbury."
"The first monument [quoting from Mr. Hurl-
but's Address] on this spot, erected about 1730, was
placed here by President Wads worth of Harvard
College, son of Captain Samuel Wadsworth." This
luonument, a simple, plain slate slab, was falling
away, when many felt that something should be
done to preserve it. November 10, 1851, the
town appointed a committee of twenty-five, with
Colonel Drury Fairbank as chairman, " to inves¬
tigate the subject and report at a future meeting.
The 26th of January, 1852, this_committee made
a partial report, and were instructed to petition the
legislature for aid in the erection of the monument."
As the result of this movement the legislature made
an appropriation of $500 to be expended under
the direction of Governor Boutwell. What was
needed in addition to this appropriation by the
state was given by the town. The monument,
together with a road leading to the spot, was
completed at an expense of nearly $2,000. The
monument was dedicated November 23, 1852, the
dedicatory address being delivered by Governor
Boutwell.
"The remains of the ancient dead were taken
from their former graves and placed in boxes.
Portions of twenty-nine skeletons, corresponding
to the number recorded as buried there, were found.
The bones were in a remarkable state of preser¬
vation, some of them bearing marks of blows that
were given two hundred years ago. The boxes
containing the remains were placed in the vault
beneath the monument, the aperture was closed,
and the ancient slab erected by President Wads-
worth placed in front."
The difference of opinion long prevailing among
historical writers in regard to the date of the battle
on Green Hill, in wKich Wadsworth was slain, led
the writer to make independent and careful investi¬
gation of the testimony favoring the 18th of April
and that supporting the 21st of April, 1676, as the
true date. The result confirms the belief that the
date recorded on the monument is an error, and
that this memorable conflict took place on the
afternoon of Friday, April 21, 1676.
There exist not less than five distinct sources of
evidence, all contemporary, all made by men who
were personally or officially connected with the
events described, or who were in a position to
leani'the facts as they occurred, and who had no
motive for recording anything but the truth.
To understand the exact force of the records, it
needs to be noted that the Indians attacked Marl¬
borough on Tuesday or Wednesday, and burnt
the houses; they assaulted Sudbury Town, which
was on the east side of the river, during Thursday
night or early in the morning of Friday ; and the
fight with Captain Wadsworth took place late in
the afternoon of Friday. News of the night or
early morning attack reached Concord in season
for their men to come to the relief and take part
in the conflict, and it was news of this attack which
induced Captain Wadsworth to retrace his steps
from Marlborough. It was news of this attack
on the east-side inhabitants which reached Major
Gookin and the authorities at Boston early in the
afternoon.
The evidence in the case may be stated thus : —
1. Major Gookiu's History. He had command
of the friendly Indians who were used as scouts,
and a company of whom were with him that after¬
noon. His account is; "Upon April 21, about
midday, tidings came by many messengers that a
great body of the enemy had assaulted a town called
Sudbury that morning. Indeed (through God's
favor) some small assistance was already sent from
Watertown by Capt. Hugh Mason. These, with
some of the inhabitants, joined, and with some
others that came to their help there was a vigor¬
ous resistance made, and a check given to the
enemy. But these particulars were not known
when the tidings came to Charlestown, where the
Indian companies were ready. Just at the begin¬
ning of the lecture there, as these tidings came.
Major Gookin and Mr. Thomas Danforth ....
gave orders for a ply of horses .... and the In¬
dian company under Capt. Hunting forthwith to
march away for the relief of Sudbury Early
in the morning upon April 22, over 40 Indians
366
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
passed over the bridge to the west side of the river
.... made a thorough discovery .... saw so
many English lie dead .... some they knew,
namely Capt. Brocklebank of Rowley and Capt.
Wadsworth of Milton, who with about thirty-two
private soldiers were slain the day before."
2. Judge Sewall's Diary. "Notabene. Fri¬
day about 3 in the afternoon, April 21,1676, Capt.
Wadsworth and Capt. Brocklebank fall, almost one
hundred, since I hear about fifty men slain 3 miles
off Sudbury, the said Town burned, garrison house
except." [The place of the fight on Green Hill
is about three miles from the middle of the town
of Wayland, then Sudbury.]
3. Military papers in the state archives. In
Vol. LXVIII., page 220, in the councils letter to
Governor Winslow is this statement: "This day
we have intelligence in the general that Sudbury
was this morning assaulted, and many houses burnt
down; particulars of the sorrowful certainty of
things is not yet come to hand. E. R. Sec^.
"April 21, 1676."
In the same volume, page 220, is the following
"Letter to Left. Jacob": "The Council having
lately received information of God's further power
upon us in depriving the country both of your
Captain and Capt. Wadsworth with several others
by permitting the enemy to destroy them yesterday
.... we do order you to take the charge of the
said Company. Edw. Rawson Secn.
" Boston 22 April 1676."
4. The Roxbury Town Records.
" Thomas Baker jr.
John Roberts
Nathaniel Leason
Thomas Romley sen.
W" Cleaves
Joseph Pepper
Thomas Hopkins
Sam' Gardner Lieut.
5. The Middlesex County Probate Records.
Here are preserved the following papers : " The
humble petition of Esther Curry of Concord, show-
eth that her late husband David was slain by the
Indians at Sudbury and left me a poor widow with
six small children " ; and in connection " the In¬
ventory of the estate of David Curry of Concord,
who deceased the one-and-twentieth day of April
1676."
" An Inventory of the estate of James Hosraer
of Concord, deceased, being slain in the ingage-
ment with the Indians at Sudbury on the 21 of the
second month 1676."
Papers of precisely the same import, relating to
the estates of Josiah Wheeler of Concord, and
William Heywood of Sudbury, are on file. And
it should be stated in this connection, that a paper
in the state archives [Vol. LXVIII., page 224],
signed by two of Captain Mason's men, gives these
particulars : " On the next day in the morning, we
went to look for Concord men who were slain in the
river meadow, where we found five, and brought in
canoes to the Bridge foot, and buried them there."
The Indians of Sudbury were not a distinct tribe,
nor did they belong to any of the neighboring
tribes, but were a mixture very likely from fami¬
lies who came here for some special purpose, and
finding such fine hunting and fishing, took posses¬
sion of the locality. They were not very numerous.
From time to time they greatly annoyed the Eng¬
lish, and the records show that our fathers feared,
every now and then, an Indian war, so that they
were obliged, on all occasions, to be well armed,
while it was contrary to law for any of them to
change their place of residence without permission.
The English evidently treated the Indians they
found here in a friendly and Christian way ; and
with some success — small indeed — endeavored
to bless them with Christian civilization.
In connection with the battles on the east side
of the river the 20th, and on Green Hill the 21st
of April, 1676, much property was destroyed and
many houses burnt.^
The Indians, after the battle with Wadsworth,
invested the Haynes garrison-house, near the river,
on the west side, in the northern part of the town,
and used various expedients to destroy it. " At
first they attempted to set it on fire with pitch-
pine arrows lighted at the ends, but as they were
obliged to approach quite near, they were reached
by the arms of the besieged, and so were unsuc¬
cessful. They then loaded a cart with unbroken
flax, set fire to it, and trundled it towards the
garrison, but the cart was upset and consumed
without doing any damage to the besieged.
" Twelve men coming from Concord for the rehef
of the garrison might have reached it, but for a
number of squaws who decoyed them into the
meadow, where all but one fell into the hands of
the enemy."
It is not probable that any Sudbury men were
' The theoiy that Sudbury was attacked on the 20th, is not
supported by the authorities cited in the text. — Ed.
were all slain at Sudbury
by the Indians under
» command of Capt. Sam'
Wadsworth upon
21. April 1676."
SUDBURY.
367
Hayneg Oarrison-House.
with Captain Wadsworth in his desperate struggle
with the savages on the 21st of April, as they must
have been the chief body that fought the Indians
the day before. On the side of the Indians were
their bravest and most trusted warriors, under their
most powerful braves, led either by One-Eyed John
or Sagamore Sam. In all coming time the Green
Hill fight will be referred to as one of the most
desperate and well-conducted battles ever waged
between civilized and savage soldiers.
Having spoken of the Haynes garrison-house,
it should be said that there were three noted houses
of this sort on the west side of the river : the
Walker house in the southwest part of the town,
called Peekham ; the Haynes house on Water Eow,
north of the upper causeway; and another on
tlie road to Framingham in the south part of
the town, where Mr. Luther Cutting now resides.
These garrison-houses were usually very massivê,
and bullet-proof. Professor Young, having person¬
ally examined it, describes the Walker house thus :—
Tliis house, "now owned by the venerable Wil-
lard Walker, was built by his great-grandfather
two hundred years ago, and has been in the pos¬
session of tiie family ever since. There is one
beam in this house measuring twelve by fourteen
inches. The building is covered on all sides witli
four-inch plank of pitch-pine, which is set up end¬
wise and reaches to the roof, and is held on the
inside by wooden pins. The chimney, likewise, is
immense, and has several enormous flues ; while
the fireplace was large enough to contain logs that
were eight feet long. The windows were originally
of diamond-shaped glass set in lead; but these
have been removed. It is a most unique curiosity
and an invaluable relic which should never be de¬
stroyed." This is the only one of the three garri¬
son-houses still remaining, the Haynes house hav¬
ing been demolished quite recently.
In the Eevolutionary War, in 1776, when the
Declaration of Independence was made, and the
war formally begun, Sudbury was the most popu¬
lous, and in many respects one of the most impor¬
tant towns in Middlesex County. At that date
the population was 2,160, while that of Walthara
was 870; of Watertown, 1,057; of Cambridge,
1,586; of Charlestown, 360; of Concord, 1,341;
of Lexington, 1,088 ; and of Marlborough, 1,554.
The records show that Sudbury was in advance of
almost all the towns round about in furnishing men,
horses, cattle, hay, and many other supplies for the
army. As in these respects Sudbury was such a
leading town, the action of the voters on any meas¬
ures of public moment was sought, as carrying
great weight with it.
It is evident that Sudbury at that time had sev¬
eral men of great ability, while the whole people
were loyal to the core, and ready to bear their jmrt
in the prosecution of the struggle. For a long
time before the war broke out there were in the
town two companies of minute-men, — one on the
east and one on the west side of the river, — and
an alarm-company composed of old men exemjit by
age from service, and of those too young to enter
the regular militia service. These companies met
frequently for drill, often in the evening, aiul in
the meeting-houses, and frequently by the light of
pine-knot torches. The town used to pay a small
368
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
compensation to these companies of minute-men,
according to the time they spent in the drill.
Patriotic instructions, prepared by a committee,
by a vote of the town, were given to Peter Noyes,
Esq., representative of Sudbury to the General
Court, as vigorously setting forth the sentiments of
the people in relation to the Stamp Act.
March, 1770, the town by vote " manifested their
hearty approbation of the generous agreement of
merchants in Boston to put a stop to tiie importa¬
tion of British goods, and engaged for themselves,
and all witiiin their influence, to countenance and
encourage the same."
It also voted to discountenance the importers
who advertised in the public prints, " who presume
to counteract the Patriotic scheme of the body of
merchants in Boston and throughout North Amer¬
ica, by withdrawiug all commercial connection from
them and their abettors, and by frowning upon
those who hold any commerce with them."
At that same meeting the town voted to encour¬
age the nailing business.
February 1, 1773, the town adopted the report
of a special committee chosen at a previous meet¬
ing, with instructions to their representative to the
General Court. The report is able, spirited, full
of the matter ; but for the want of space we here
give only the instructions to the representative.
" Instructions to John Noyes, Esq.
" Sir, — You being chosen by the inhabitants
of this town to represent them in the Great and
General Court or Assembly of this Province, we
think proper at this critical Day, when our inval¬
uable rights and privileges are so openly invaded,
to give you the following instructions : —
"That you invariably adhere to and stead¬
fastly maintain (so far as you are able) all our
Charter Eights and Priviliges and that you do not
consent to give them, or any of them up, on any
pretence whatever. That you make use of all your
influence that some effective method be devised and
pursued for the restoration of our violated rights
and redress of all our grievances. That you use
your endeavor, that the Governor be prevailed
upon to make a grant for the payment of an agent
chosen by the Eepresentative body of the Province,
to present our complaints to the ears of our King.
"John Maynard
Samson Belcher
John Balkam
Wm Rice Jr.
puineas GlEAZER
Aaron Merriam
December, 1774, the town chose a committee to
" observe the conduct of all persons touching the
association agreement entered into by the Conti¬
nental Congress, whose business it shall be to see
the articles contained therein are strictly adhered
to by the inhabitants of this town," and chose
John Nixon Chairman of this Committee.
June 10, 1776, the town voted "That in ease
the Honorable Congress should, for the safety of
the American Colonies declare them Independent
of the Kingdom of Great Britain they, the inhabi¬
tants of said town, will with their lives and fortunes
support them in the measure." Lieutenant Jona¬
than Rice, Mr. William Rice, and Ezra Taylor, Esq.,
were chosen a committee to draft instructions for
their representatives, and report at a future meet¬
ing. And the action of the town respecting the
importation of tea, in connection with the action
of Boston in throwing the tea overboard in Boston
harbor, was equally decided and patriotic.
Sudbury's most distinguished military man be¬
fore and during the Revolutionary War was Gen¬
eral John Nixon.1 He was a soldier by nature.
In the French and Indian wars he displayed great
ability and bravery. He was^ born in Framing-
ham, in 1725. When only twenty years of age he
served under Sir William Pepperell in the expedi¬
tion against Louisburg. Having been seven years
in service, both in the army and navy, he returned
to his native place, but not long to remain inactive,
or in the pursuit of the peaceful avocations of life.
After a short respite he again joined the army, and
was honored with a captain's commission. He was
in the attack on Ticonderoga, and bore a part in
the defeat of Abercrombie. He was in the battle
at Lake George, and subsequently in the same war
with the French was led into an ambuscade, but
" cut his way out " and escaped from the enemy,
but not without the sacrifice of most of his men.
As soon as the people began to organize an army
to resist the arbitrary measures of the mother
country, Nixon was placed in command of one
of the companies of minute-men in Sudbury, in
which town he then resided, which company, rep¬
resenting the west side of the river, he led in the
memorable battle at Concord and Lexington, April
19, 1775.
Under the resolution to raise and equip a regi¬
ment for the emergency. Captain Nixon was suc-
I Moat of the sketch of General Nixon is copied from an ad¬
dress by the late Hon. Lorenzo Sabine of Kramingham, Member
of Congress.
SUDBURY.
369
cessful in enlisting men to serve under him, and in
June, 1775, an order was passed by the Committee
of Safety, recommending Congress to promote him
to the rank of colonel, which recommendation was
at once complied with, as their records show that
he was appointed the next day, and that the five
commissions were appointed to his officers " agreea¬
bly to the list by him made out " ; tlius he went
into the service with both officers and men of his
own selection, all, as a regiment, having full confi¬
dence in each other.
In the battle of Bunker Hill Colonel Nixon's
regiment was on the Mystic side, and was con¬
spicuous for its good conduct, having the honor of
being directly under the eye of General Warren.
In tliis engagement Colonel Nixon received a severe
wound, from which he never wholly recovered, and
was borne off the field but a few moments before
General Warren fell.
November 4, 1775, Colonel Nixon was in camp
in Cambridge, in command of four regiments.
Early in 1776 Washington, as commander-in-chief,
addressed a letter to Congress in reference to the
appointment of general officers, and with it a list
of all the colonels in the army from New Hamp¬
shire to Pennsylvania, stating that Colonel Nixon's
military talents, and his bravery on the 17th of
June, entitled him to promotion ; and consequently
he was one of the six who, at that date, were com¬
missioned as brigadier generals.
In December, 1776, General Nixon was with
his brigade on the Delaware. July 1, 1777, Wash¬
ington wrote to General Putnam that it was almost
certain that Generals Howe and Burgoyne would,
if possible, " unite their attacks and form a junction
of their two armies," and, he continued, "I ap¬
prove much of your conduct in ordering Nixon's
brigade to be in readiness ; and I desire it may be
embarked immediately with their baggage, to go to
Albany as soon as General Varnum's and General
Parson's brigades are so near Peeks-Kill that they
arrive to supply their place."
General Nixon shared fully in the honor of the
capture of Burgoyne.
In the Stillwater battle a cannon-ball passed so
near his head as to nearly destroy the vision of
one eye and the hearing of one ear.
In June, 1779, Washington made his head¬
quarters at New Windsor, that he might better
])ersonally have his army on both sides of the
Hudson, under his eye. The main body he left
under the command of General Putnam. The ob¬
ject of Washington was to guard against an assault
on West Point. Three brigades were stationed on
the east side of the river, one of which was General
Nixon's.
This closes the account of General Nixon during
the Eevolutionary War. He resigned in 1780.
His residence in Sudbury was on the northeni slope
of Nobscott. He was twice married, and had eleven
children ; only one grandchild survives, Christopher
Gore Cutler, who lives in the south part of the
town. Esquire Cutler is now in the eighty-ninth
year of his age, and remembers very distinctly his
grandfather Nixon as a man of medium size, of a
pleasant countenance, and a very white head. He
used to delight in the society of his grandchildren,
and often amused them by relating stories and
singing a song of the war. General Nixon moved
to Middlebury, Vermont, where he died at the ad¬
vanced age of ninety years.
The next prominent military man as a represen¬
tative of Sudbury in the Eevolutionary War was
Colonel Ezekiel Howe. He was a native of this
town, and one of the proprietors and keepers of the
Red-horse Tavern, or, more poetically. The Way¬
side-Inn.
Shattuck's History of Concord says (p. 110) : —
"There were at this time, 1775, in this vicinity,
nnder a rather imperfect organization, a regiment
of militia and a regiment of minute-men. Officers
of minute militia. Col. Ja® Barrett and Lieut. Col.
Ezekiel Howe." Again (p. 115), "The Sudbury
Company attacked them (the British) near Hardy's
Hill and below the Brooks Tavern, and on the old
road north of the school-house a severe battle was
fought.
"Two companies from Sudbury under Howe,
Nixon, and Haynes came to Concord, and having
received orders from a person stationed at the
entrance of the town for the purpose of a guide,
to proceed to the west instead of south bridge, ar¬
rived near Colonel Barrett's just before the British
soldiers retreated. They halted in sight of Colonel
Barrett, and Colonel Howe observed, ' If any blood
has been shed, not one of the rascals shall escape,'
and disguising himself, rode on to ascertain the
truth. Before proceeding far, firing began at the
bridge, and the Sudbury companies pursued the
retreating British."
In the Concord and Lexington battle, April 19,
1775, — only one battle, in fact, — three of our men
were killed, namely. Deacon Josiah Haynes (of the
alarm company), Mr. Asahel Read, and Mr. Joshua
370
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Hayiies. Exclaimed George W. Curtis in his cen¬
tennial oration, April 19, 1875: "The minute-
man of the Eevolution ! He was Deacon Josiah
Haynes of Sudbury, eighty years old, who marched
with his company to the South Bridge at Concord,
then joined in the hot pursuit to Lexington, and
fell as gloriously as Warren at Bunker Hill."
Of Colonel Nixon's regiment in the battle at
Bunker Hill, one company was from Sudbury, and
of this company this minute is found : " Killed on
the 17"" of June, at Battle of Bunker Hill, Mr.
Joshua Haynes jr. of Capt. Aaron Haynes' com¬
pany."
The following, dated Sudbury, March 21, 1775,
is authentic, and shows the feelings and condi¬
tion of the town before the first gun was fired in
the war, in anticipation of the worst that might
come : —
" The return of the several Companys of militia
atid minute men, in Said Town, viz — Capt. Moses
Stone's Company — 92 men, of them 18 no guns,
at least one third part firelocks unfit for sarvis, and
otiierways unaquipt.
"Cap. Aaron Haynes company 60 men, well
provided with arms, the most of them provided
with Bagonits or hatchits, about one Quarter part
with cartridge Boxes.
"Cap. Joseph Smith's company consisting of
75 able bodied men, forty well aquipt, twenty
Promise to find and aquip themselves emedately,
fifteen no guns, and otherwise unaquipt.
" The Troop. Capt, Isaac Lover, 21 Besides what
are on minit Kole well aquipt.
"Eeturned by Ezekiel Howe Left Col."
And so all through the war Sudbury was ready
to respond to every call from the government for
men and treasure, and the course of tlie town in
that glorious struggle was most honorable. Her
sons were scattered, in the army, all over the coun¬
try, and many of them laid down their lives in
attestation of their deep and burning patriotism.
Tliis chapter of Sudbury's conduct in the War of
Independence might be extended to almost any
length, and as tlius extended would be as brilliant
and thrilling as the record of any town in Massa¬
chusetts during that struggle for civil and relig¬
ious liberty against the oppressive demands of the
mother country.
In Shattuck's Hislori/ of Concord (page 99) is
tlie following: "On 29 March 1775, a report was
circulated that British troops were coining to Con¬
cord, which created great excitement. The Pro¬
vincial committee of safety met in Concord 14 and
17 April, and gave orders for the removal of some
of the stores from Concord. These were ordered
to 9 different towms. 5 barrels beef, 100 of flour,
20 casks of rice, 15 hogsheads of molasses, 10
hogsheads of rum, 500 pounds of candles are
ordered to Sudbury." The government powder-
iiouse or storehouse in Sudbury was near the gravel-
pit on tiie west side of the river. This storehouse
was under guard of a small company of soldiers.
"Sep. 2, 1777.
"Agreeable to an order of court directing me
to enlist 1 corp' and 6 privates to serve as guard
to the stores belonging to the state deposited at
Sudbury, 1 have enlisted
Corp' Eobert Eames
Silas Goodnow jr.
Piiilemon Brown
Elisha Harrington
JoiP Graves
Lemuel Goodnow
Jon^ Clark
"All of Sudbury, & returned the enlistment to
Capt. Isaac Wood Coin''"' of the Continental Guard
in said Town. Tho' Plympton."
Guards as above were returned January 1,1778,
of the same number of men, tbough not all the
same men ; also, January 1, 1779, of eleven men.
In the War of Kebellion of 1861 Sudbury's
record was highly honorable. The following is
taken from A Histoiy of Massachusetts in the
Civil War, by William Schouler, late Adjutant-
General of the Commonwealth, published in 1871.
It should be premised that during this war a part
of what is now Maynard belonged to Sudbury,
which accounts for the difterence between the pop¬
ulation and valuation of Sudbury, as retunied by
General Schouler in 1871, and as returned by the
census taken about two years ago.
"Sudbury. Population in 1860, 1,691 ; in
1865, 1,703. Valuation in 1860, $1,043,091;
in 1865, $1,052,778. The selectmen in 1861
and 1862 were James Moore, Jolm H. Dakin,
George Parmenter; in 1863, A. B. Jones, George
Goodnow, H. H. Goodnough ; in 1864 and 1865,
Thomas P. Hurlbut, Charles Hunt, Walter Eogers.
"The town-clerk during all the years of the
war was J. S. Hunt. Tlie town-treasurer during
the years 1861, 1862, and 1863 was Edwin Har¬
rington; in 1864 and 1865, S. A. Jones.
SUDBURY.
371
" 1861. The first legal tovra-meeting to act
upon matters relating to the war was held on the
29th of April, and it being exijected that the Wads-
wortli Rifie Guards, — the same being Company B
of the Second Battalion Massachusetts Volunteer
Militia, — belonging to Sudbury, would be called
into active service, it was voted to furnish a new
uniform and a revolver to each private and non¬
commissioned officer, and a sword to each of the
commissioned officers; also to pay each member i
while in active service an amount which, added to
government pay, would make twenty dollars a
month ; also ' that the families of those who may
leave shall be furnished with all necessary assist¬
ance at the expense of the town, and their business
shall be cared for by the town, and not allowed to
su 11 er by their absence.'
" 1862. July 28, Voted to pay each volunteer
who shall enlist in the military service for three
years, and be credited to the quota of the town, a
bounty of125." The number required was four¬
teen, and the selectmen were instructed to eidist
the men, and to provide, at the expense of the
town, for any sick or wounded volunteer belonging
to Sudbury. August 19, the bounty to volun¬
teers for nine months' service was fixed at $100.
1863, December 7, the selectmen were authorized
"to use all legal and proper means to fill the
town's quota, in compliance with the call of the
President, dat«d Oct. 17, 1863, for three hundred
thousand men." 1864, J une 4, it was voted to raise
a sufficient amount of money to pay a bounty of
$125 to each volunteer who shall enlist and be
credited to tbe quota of Sudbury, in anticipation
of any subsequent call of the President for more
men. This amount of bounty was continued to be
paid until the close of the war.
" Sudbury furnished one hundred and sixty-eight
men for the war, which was a surplus of eleven
over and above all demands. Four were commis¬
sioned officers. The whole amount of money ap¬
propriated and expended by the town on account of
the war, exclusive of state aid, was seventeen thou¬
sand five hundred and seventy-five dollars. The
amount of money raised and expended by the town
during the war for state aid to soldiers' families,
and repaid by the commonwealth, was $6,199.18."
Ecclenastical History. — The First Church was
organized in 1640, but four years after the plant¬
ing of the First Church in Cambridge, which is
the oldest Congregational Church in Middlesex
County, the First Church in Sudbury being the
next. Rev.Edmund Brown was the first pastor, being
inducted into office at the time the church was or¬
ganized. Mr. Brown was a man of rare excellence,
able, discreet, and a sound preacher. The first meet¬
ing-house was erected in 1642, and was located on
the east side of the river, in the old burying-ground.
It was a rude structure, and was built by Sergeant
John Rutter for the sum of £6, to be paid in
articles of^ produce. It was 30 X 20 feet, and 6
feet high, having four windows with three lights
apiece, and two windows with four lights each.
It was without floor or seats for two or three years.
The second meeting-house was built on the site of
the first, was 40 x 25 feet, and 12 feet high, —a
framed house designed for galleries. This meeting¬
house served not only as the place of public worship,
but as a town-house and arsenal. In front of it was
an arrangement for punishing criminals, and in the
time of King Philip's War it was surmounted with
a stockade, and so answered the purpose of a forti¬
fication. This building remained thirty-four years,
when it was sold, except the seats, for £6.
Mr. Brown died January 22, 1678, and was
succeeded by Mr. James Sherman. The third
pastor was Rev. Israel Loring, a man eminent in
all the region as a powerful preacher. Mr. Loring
died in the ninetieth year of his age, and the sixty-
sixth of his ministry. He died on Tuesday, and
would have preached on the Sabbath immediately
preceding, but for tlie providential arrival on Satur¬
day of a brother. On Monday, the day before his
death, he opened town-meeting with prayer.
This story of him is well authenticated : He had
refused to baptize children born on Sunday. At
length Mrs. Loring gave birth to twins on the
Lord's Day, when Mr. Loring publicly confessed his
error, and in due time administered the ordinance
to his own Sabbath-born children.
In 1722, eighty-two years after its organization,
the church was divided, when Mr. Loring took
charge of the new church on the west side of tlie
river, which, with the consent of those who remained
on the east side, was designated the First Church,
and the parish, the First Parish in Sudbury.
There are now three places of public worship in
Sudbury, located in the centre of the town, belong¬
ing, in order, to the old First Society, which is Uni¬
tarian, to the Methodist Episcopal Church, and to
the Orthodox, designated as the Union Evangelical
Church.
The Goodnow Litirary is a great centre of in¬
terest and profit in Sudbury. It now has on its
372
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
shelves nearly seven thousand volumes, and fur¬
nishes a great variety of reading matter, of which
the citizens very generally avail themselves. The
library building has recently been enlarged, and in
the course of a few years it will be necessary to
enlarge it again ; when, undoubtedly, it will be
made an imposing and beautiful structure. On
the first page of the catalogue is the following : —
" John Goodnow, son of John Goodnow, Jr.,
and Persis Goodnow, his wife, was born at Sudbury,
September 6, 1791, and died in Boston, December
24, 1861. By the first two clauses in the last will
and testament of the above-named John Goodnow
was founded a public library for the benefit of the
inhabitants of the town of Sudbury, a true copy of
said clauses being hereby recorded as follows, viz. :
" First : I give, devise, and bequeath unto my
native town of Sudbury, in the County of Middle¬
sex, the sum of Twenty Thousand Dollars, to be
appropriated for the purpose of purchasing and
keeping in order a Public Library for the benefit of
the inhabitants of that town.
" Second : I also give, devise, and bequeath
three acres of land, in the northerly part of the
Sudbury Tavern Estate, adjoining the land of Howe
Brown, beginning at the meeting-house road, and
running with equal width with Brown's line to the
brook, for the purpose of erecting thereon a suitable
building for a Library, and the further sum of
Twenty-five Hundred Dollars for the erection of said
building: and whatever portion of said land shall
not be needed for the purposes of said Library.
Building, the said Town of Sudbury shall have full
power and authority to apply to other town pur¬
poses, but without any power of alienation.
" At a legal town-meeting held at Sudbury, on
the 7th day of April, 1862, the town voted to ac¬
cept the bequest contained in the first and second
clauses of the last will and testament of John
Goodnow, late of Boston. And Messrs. James
Moore, John H. Dakin, and George Parmenter,
selectmen of the town, were appointed and author¬
ized to receive and receipt for the said bequests."
Sudbury River rises in Westborough, flows
through Hopkinton, Ashland, Pramingham, Sud¬
bury, Concord, Billerica, and at Lowell empties
into the Merrimack. On this stream are factories
of note in Ashland, Saxonville, Billerica, and in
Lowell, the city of spindles. The river is tapped
in Pramingham for the purpose of furnishing Bos¬
ton with water. As it flows between Sudbury and
Wayland it has no fall sufficient for a mill privilege.
Wash-Brook rises in Marlborough, and after
flowing very circuitously through Sudbury, empties
into Sudbury River near the lower causeway. On
this stream are C. I. Howe's tack-factory and grist¬
mill, Pratt's and Willis' grist and saw mills, and
the factory of S. B. Rogers and Company. There
used to be a grist and saw mill on this stream near
the Dutton place.
The large woollen factory and the paper-mill in
Maynard, before that town was organized, were on
the Sudbury side of the Assabet River, by the water
of which those mills are carried, and which unites
with the Sudbury River in Concord.
In 1871 about 1,900 acres of land were set off
from Sudbury for the purpose of forming, with
land set off from Stow, what is now the busy and
flourishing town of Maynard.
The New Bedford and Lowell Railroad, lately
leased for ninety-nine years to the Old Colony cor¬
poration, passes through South Sudbury, Sudbury
Centre, and North Sudbury, having a depot at each
of these placés.
The Massachusetts Central passes through South
Sudbury, and crosses the New Bedford and Lowell
Railroad near the depot of the latter road.
The Wayside Inn. — This famous resting-place
for man and beast, so long associated with the
name of Howe, was built and opened as a tavern
in the year 1700 or 1701, by David Howe. It
was first known as "The Howe Tavern in Sud¬
bury," to distinguish it from the tavern of John
Howe, two miles west in Marlborough, ks early
as 1746 Colonel Ezekiel Howe, son of David,
took the hoüse and put up the sign which gave it
the name of the " Red Horse Tavern," which it con-
titmed to hold. It was the common halting-place
for soldiers iii the Preneh and Indian wars as they
passed from the Bay to Crown Point. Colonel
Ezekiel Howe died in 1796, when the house passed
into the hands of his son, Adam Howe, who kept
it for forty years. At his decease his son, Lyman
Howe, took it, and kept it till his own decease in
1860, when it passed out of the family and ceased
to be an inn.
The Wayside Inn is one of the historic places
not only of Sudbury, but of Middlesex County and
the state. The poet Longfellow has made the
world acquainted with it by his Tales of a Wapide
Inn, one of his most fascinating poems. Most of
the characters in this poem are real, and the story
told by e^ch will be read by thousands with delight
for ages to come.
TEWKSBURY.
37S
Longfellow's picture of this famous tavern, as
quoted by Professor Young and others, is as fol¬
lows : —
" As ancieat is tlib hostelry
As any in tlie laud may be,
Built iu the old colouial day.
When men lived in a grander way.
With weather stains upon the wall.
And stairways worn and crazy doors.
And creaking and uneven floors.
And chimneys huge and tiled and tall."
The Wayside Inn, as a building, was small at
first ; from time to time additions were made to it
as was needed, till it became a tavern, for such a
locality, of large dimensions. It is on the great
road from Boston to Worcester, about midway be¬
tween the two cities, and in the days before rail¬
roads was usually thronged by travellers of all
classes, while many were drawn there by the repu¬
tation of the house for fine entertainments.
The most important parts of this building re¬
main in the exact style of the olden times. The
rooms are as they were, most of them, when Wash¬
ington and Lafayette were entertained there over
night. The oaks still standing around it, very
large, sparsely supplied with limbs, and with hollow
trunks, are evidently very aged. Even now many
come from a distance to take a look at this ancient
structure and be conducted through its rooms and
up into the dancing-hall, in which the visitors of
so many years ago were wont to make merry.
TEWKSBURY.
BY LEONARD HUNTRESS, ASSISTED BY J. C. KITTREDGE.
LL that territory lying between
Ando ver and Wilmington on
the east, Wilmington and Bil-
lerica on the south, the Con¬
cord River on the west, and
the Merrimack River on the
north, was taken from Biller-
ica in 1734, and incorporated
into a new township, bearing
the name of Tewksbury. It
is supposed to have derived its English name from
Tewksbury in the county of Gloucester, in Eng¬
land. Its Indian title was Wamesit, from the
tribe of that name whose camping-ground was at
the confluence of the above-named rivers. The
area of the town is much less now than when in¬
corporated; for in 1834 nearly one thousand acres,
embracing the village of Belvidere, and in 1874
another considerable tract adjoining, were added to
Lowell. It now comprises some 13,200 acres, and
sixty-five miles of roads lying east of and adjoining
Lowell, and about twenty miles north from Boston.
It is separated from New Hampshire only by the
Merrimack River and the town of Dracut.
The soil for the most part in the central, eastern,
and southern portions of the town is sandy ; still.
there are a few exceptions to this rule, where the
land is of the best quality. As we approach the
northern part the ground rises, and assumes a
better character. The beauty of the scenery is
also superior in that part. The surface of the
town is also somewhat uneven, there being several
considerable hills, of which the most conspicuous is
Prospect Hill, near the Andover line, which much
adorns the town ; also Snake Hill, near the line of
Wilmington. In addition to the Merrimack and
Concord rivers, washing its western and northern
banks, the Shawshine runs through the southern
and easterly sections, and with JStrongwater and
Beaver brooks, and Long and Round ponds, fur¬
nish a good variety and quantity of the small fish
that usually inhabit our New England streams.
There are two saw and grist mills ; one in the
north part of the town, near the Merrimack River,
and the other in the southeast part, on the Shaw¬
shine. There are also an extensive tannery, expen¬
sive and successful chemical works, and a foundry
and machine-shop doing a large business in the
manufacture of cotton machinery. Both of these
last-named establishments are owned and operated
by Lowell parties.
Tiiere are two villages : one in the centre, where
374
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the town-hall, post-office, stores, and Congrega¬
tional Church are situated ; the other at the nortli,
where the Baptist Church is located.
The town has good railroad facilities. The
Lowell and Lawrence and Salem and Lowell rail¬
roads pass through the Centre. By a branch from
the Salem and Lowell Eailroad, near VVilraiiigton
Junction, at a short distance from the limits of the
town, a through connection is made over the Bos¬
ton and Lowell Railroad to Boston. In the latter
part of the year 1874 the Lowell and Andover
Railroad was completed, and leased to the Boston
and Maine Railroad. This road passes through
the town, the depot being situated about one mile
from the Centre Village, and two miles from the
North Village, and trains run quite frequently be¬
tween Lowell and Boston.
In the old times the two sections (southern and
northern) were distinguished by the significant
names of Pigeon End and Shad End ; the former
on account of the numerous flocks of pigeons cap¬
tured in that part, and the latter because of the
immense quantities of fish (shad and salmon)
taken in the spring of the year in the Merrimack,
before the days of Lowell and Lawrence, and when
the river was unobstructed by dams.
In the way of phenomena we have to note a
Sandy Desert situated near the Billerica line. It
is a barren, sandy tract of nearly a mile in extent.
In some portions of it not even a scrub-pine, twig,
or blade of grass is to be seen. It is truly a min¬
iature Sahara. Tradition says that part of it was
at one time an Indian bnrying-gronnd, which is
indeed probable, as some arrow-heads, hatchets, and
other appurtenances of the red man have been ex¬
humed here.
No gold-mines have yet been found within our
borders, nor silver, nor even copper ; but rarer, if
not as valuable, a bed of real Scottish heath has
been discovered ; and we believe in only one or
two other localities in this whole country has it
been found.
Agriculture has always been the principal occu¬
pation of the iidiabitants. In the early part of the
present century many of the farmers were engaged
in the cultivation of hops, which proved to be quite
profitable. As large forests abounded in several
parts of the town, the cutting and sale of wood
and timber have also been a source of profit to
many. Eormerly the farmers cultivated wheat,
corn, rye, oats, etc., as well as hops ; but since the
cities of Lowell and Lawrence came into existence.
market-gardening and small fruits have, to a large
extent, usurped the place of the crops previously
enumerated, on account of the ready markets for
them.
Tewksbury is practically free from debt. All
the expenses of the late war have been cancelled.
The town's property consists of seven good school-
houses, a new, convenient, and suitable town-hall,
an excellent farm, with substantial and sufficient
buildings for the shelter, comfort, and support of
the poor. Its cemetery is well, appropriately, and
tastefully laid out, and the proprietors and inhabi¬
tants keep it in excellent order. A public library
has been recently established, and is proving a
complete success.
The State Almahonse.—This great charitable
institution was founded May 1, 1854. Since then
it has been much enlarged and greatly improved
by the annexation of various buildings. This
town was selected for its location, perhaps, on
account of the cheapness of land, and, still more,
because it can be so easily reached from so many
of the great cities of the commonwealth, being at
short distances, with direct railroad communication,
from Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Newton, Som-
erville, Salem, Lynn, Newbnryport, Haverhill,
Lawrence, Lowell, and many other places. The
number of inmates averages from eight to nine
hundred in summer, and about one thousand in
winter. It has, for more than twenty years, been
under the kind, discreet, and judicious management
of Captain Thomas J. Marsh, whose watchfulness
and vigilance have secured to these multitudes of
poor and abandoned ones, under the liberal pro¬
visions of the cotnmonwealth, a quiet home, a well-
supplied table, clean and comfortable beds, with
many civilizing, moral, and Christian influences
surrounding and restraining them from evil, and
helping them to attain to a better life.
A large farm, of some two hundred and fifty
acres, is connected with this institution, on which
the inmates — such of them at least who have the
requisite strength — are employed. And the soil
being light and easily tilled, many are able to do
something towards their own support. At any rate,
with the wise management bestowed upon it, and a
few men employed to assist and direct, the farm
yields most abundantly, supplying great quantities
of vegetables for the house inmates, and great
quantities of field crops, hay, grain, roots, etc., for
the barn stock. Without being precise, of hay
nearly 200 tons, of cabbages more than 1,400
TEWKSBURY.
375
heads, of potatoes 3,400 bushels, were grown last
year ; milk produced, more than 25,000 gallons ;
besides large crops of roots of all kinds, sweet corn,
beans, pease, squash, tomatoes, etc. The number
of acres in hoed crops is usually about sixty.
The population of the town, including the in¬
mates of the State Almshouse, is about 2,000.
Valuation of property, excluding State Almshouse
and Farm, $834,000. Number of horses, 296;
number of cows, 546 ; number of houses, 256.
The earlier history of Tewksbury — that part
which dates back of 1734, when it was part of
Billerica — is exceedingly limited. Indeed, all
that is known is in the history of Billerica, and
therefore the history of that town and the general
incidents related up to the date of the separation
are Tewksbury's as well.
From the date of the organization and incorpora¬
tion of the town in 1734 to the beginning of the
struggle for independence, the chief matters of in¬
terest to the inhabitants, as shown by the records,
were laying out and constructing roads, and the
building, care of, and alterations in their meet-
ing-house. Scarcely a town-warrant was issued
for a meeting during that time that did not contain
one or more articles relating to these matters. The
people seemed to be deeply interested in them.
But how little appears in the records upon these
subjects from 1774 to 1784 ! All controversies as
to alterations and improvements in their house of
worship cease ; all petitions for new highways,
town roads, or even bridle-paths are laid aside.
War, grim and terrible, absorbed all their energies.
And while the town was not one whit behind her
neighbors in valor, on account of her scanty num¬
bers, and because no leading military commander
was found within her borders, her fame, perhaps,
was not as high as theirs.
The "old French and Indian War" records are
meagre indeed; only a few references are found
touching those perilous years from 1750 to 1760.
In the list of deaths are recorded the names of
four men, who died in 1756 " in y® service at Fort
Wm. Henry," also "one man died in y" service at
Lake George in 1760." One or two are recorded
as dying in New York, near Oswego.
It is believed there were six or seven more from
Tewksbury who served in the provincial armies in
that war. And as this struggle began about twenty
years after the incorporation of the town, when there
were only a few inhabitants, it was perhaps her'full
contribution to that early conflict.
"Tewksbury, June the 2d 1757. Eec'd of Mr.
Isaac Gray thirteen pounds ten shillings and six
pence lawful money in full of the wages due to
Benja™ Hoagg for the town while he was in the
country service in the expedition formed against
Grown Point in the year 1756. It was in Capt.
Butterfield's company. Pr we
"Thos. Marshall ") Seleclmett
Abrahau Stickney > of
John Needham J Tewksùnrg."
No traditional incidents relating to that early
struggle have been found by us, and we give
the above scraps from the early records as all
we know of Tewksbury in the French and Indian
War.
The first intimation of the impending revolution¬
ary struggle appears to be the votes passed Sep¬
tember 21, 1774 : " Voted to buy more powder for
a town stock .... to buy two barrels of
powder in addition to the town stock," .... and
" to leave it to the Committee to provide bullets
and flints as they shall think proper." Septem¬
ber 27, 1774, it was voted "to choose a Delegate
for the Provincial Meeting to be holden at Concord
on the Second Tuesday of Oct. next," and Mr.
Jonathan Brown was the delegate chosen " for the
said Provincial Meeting." The same delegate was
chosen on January 23, 1775, "for the Provincial
Congress Meeting at Cambridge on the 1st day of
Feby. next ensuing."
A little over six weeks before the opening of the
conflict, March 6, 1775, the following important
votes were passed. We copy them as they stand
on the town records : —
"Voted, To raise minute men."
" Voted, To give the minute men 5«. a peace for
every half day in a week that they train til further
order."
" Voted, To allow Jonathan Brown 4«. 8 J. per
day going a delegate to the Congress."
Of these minute-men Captain John Trull was
commander. He resided in the northern part of
the town, near the banks of the Merrimack Eiver,
on the farm where some of his descendants still
dwell. On the morning of the memorable 19th of
April he was awakened by the clatter of horses'
hoofs approaching his house from the road which
leads to the centre of the town. The rider was
either one of the few who had left Charlestown the
previous night, or might have been started upon
his course by Eevere himself. Immediately his
voice M'as heard shouting, " Captain Trull ! the
376
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
British are on their way to Concord, and I have
alarmed all the towns from Charlestown to here."
One of the cliildren, who were sleeping in a trundle-
bed in tiie room with their parents, — a boy about
eight years old,—said it was about two in the morn¬
ing. This boy, in his manhood, often told the story
to his son. Deacon Nathaniel Trull, who furnishes
these reminiseences. Immediately on receiving the
alarm from the horseman, who at once disappeared,
the captain sprang from his bed and seized the
gun which hung over it. To open the window and
discharge the gun was the work of but a moment.
Almost instantly a response in the same manner
was received from Captain Vamum, across the river
in Dracut. Soon the whole region was alarmed,
and was echoing and re-echoing with the discharge
of fire-arms. This was the preconcerted signal by
which the country was to be aroused.
Long before the numerous reports had ceased, and
while this section was arousing. Captain Trull was on
his horse, hurrying to the centre of Tewksbury,
where the arsenal was located. On his arrival he
found his company of minute-men drawn up in order,
and awaiting only the word of their commander to
march to the defence of Concord or to face the
common foe. The messenger who had awakened
Captain Trull had aroused tiie sleeping village on
his way to the captain's house, the limit apparently
of his ride, on account of the river. Tewksbury
once alarmed, her minute-men broke into the arse¬
nal, obtained their arms, and placed tiieinselves in
readiness to march on the appearance of their leader.
He was not long in coming, and soon the little band
was on its way toward Concord and Lexington. Con¬
cord is some fifteen miles from Tewksbury. Charles-
town, by way of Concord, is at least thirty-five miles
from this town. Yet our men appear to have fol¬
lowed the retreating British, and to have assisted in
turning their retreat into a terrible flight. A grand¬
son of Captain Trull still relates how, in his earlier
years, when on his way from Salem to Tewksbury,
to spend Thanksgiving, he was often hailed by the
aged and enfeebled Eliphalet Manning, one of the
survivors of that memorable march, who would
thus address him : " I fought with your grand¬
father from Concord to Charlestown." The Tewks¬
bury men are believed to have begun their part
in that opening of the conflict at Merriarn's
Comer, where it is stated that the Billerica men
and several small parties met the British and
the pursuing Americans. Captain Trull frequently
related how the regulars " ran well " under some
galling fire from the minute-men closely following
their rear. He had hard work to restrain the
eagerness of his excited and valiant men as they
were picking off the red-coats from behind the
sheltering trees. The men were so engaged in
their deadly work that they would frequently
expose their elbows, which were almost sure
to be pierced by a British bullet. Hence the
need of their leader's frequent warning, "Stand
trim, men, or the rascals will shoot your elbows
off!"
Tewksbury did her part not only from Concord
to Charlestown, but from the beginning to the close
of the glorious struggle. The scanty records, at
times amounting to little more than a bare catalogue
of accounts, are full of votes to raise troops for the
Continental army, — to furnish them with clothing,
arms, and ammunition, and to recompense them
for past services at Boston, Dorchester, Koxbury,
Cambridge, New York, Ticonderoga, and the vari¬
ous high places of the field. When it was deemed
necessary, delegates were sent to the Provincial
Congress, the committee of safety was formed, and
committees having various patriotic duties were
raised. Page after page is found whose every
brief entry is of money paid to or for the Continen¬
tal soldiers. Their families are duly cared for. This
brief history of the town might be indefinitely ex¬
tended by copying the long list of votes whicli
record the patriotic action of Tewksbury during
this trying period.
The name of Captain John Trull is a frequent
one in the records of this period. The son, for
whose services a recompense was voted, was one of
the town's quota called for by the Provincial Con¬
gress. He died of disease at New York while in
the service of his country. The circumstances of
his enlistment and the manner in which that quota
was filled, according to tradition, are very interest¬
ing to illustrate some of the customs of those stir¬
ring days.
Captain Trull was accustomed to drill and pa¬
rade bis company of minnte-men on one of the fields
of his farm, — a field situated on the cross-road
which now connects the Lawrence and the Lowell
main roads. The company numbered some sixty
men. When the call for troops came, the captain
determined to see if the town's quota could not be
raised by volunteers at one of these parades. Pive
men were required. He decided to make them a
speech. They stood in their ranks, in the elevated
field already mentioned, which commands a beauti-
TEWKSBURY.
377
ful view of Lowell with its surrounding villages, and
of some of the hills of New Hampshire, which lose
themselves in the distance. According to the uni¬
versal custom of those days, a vessel full of stimu¬
lating mixture stood before the men, at their free
disposal. Their officer had taken care to have it
well replenished, and doubtless hoped it would as¬
sist his manly eloquence in kindling their patriot¬
ism, or "nationality," as those times designated
that generous virtue. " Now," said the captain,
" if any one is thirsty, let him step forward and
drink. Eefreshment is provided free to all."
Tiiey needed no urging to accept the liberal offer.
He then reminded them of their duty to the com¬
mon cause, of the honor it would be to the com¬
pany and to the town if the requisite quota could
be filled without resort to a draft. Yet he would
have no one act hastily, but with all due considera¬
tion. After other words of shrewd wisdom, re¬
minding them of the loftiness of the great cause
which was calling them to its defence and support.
Captain Trull said, "Now let each man weigh the
matter and his duty. The music playing will
march around the company, and if any man wishes
to volunteer, let him fall in behind it." The rude
band of that time struck up an inspiriting air, and
began to parade around the little company of pa¬
triots. Before it had taken many steps a man
stepped from the ranks and fell in behind it.
Then another, and another, until before the band
was more than half round the ranks the quota was
full. It is inspiring and pathetic to see that little
assembly thus raising their volunteers to defend the
fair country lying around them in its beauty, and
the great principles so deeply engraved in their
hearts.
One of these volunteers was the son already
mentioned. The father, much affected at this
effect of his patriotic efforts, said to his first-born,
"You must decide the matter; I shall not say a
word to keep you or to urge you." The boy went,
and, as we have seen, returned no more to the home
for whose defence he went forth so willingly and
nobly.
But our forefathers suffered not only the troubles
of war, already indicated, but what is usually an ac¬
companiment, a disarrangement of the finances of
the country. So great was the depreciation of the
currency, that it took, according to our town rec¬
ords, seventy-five dollars of paper money to pay for
one silver dollar.
To give an idea of the value of the Continental
currency about this time, read these early rec¬
ords : —
"An order was passed by the town, March
y' 8, 1780, in favor of 'Thomas Kidder, Esq.,
it being for ten pound of Salt Pork which he
let Davison's wife have at five dollars pr pound
£15: 0; 0.'
"July y® 24, 1780. An order to the Eev'' Mr.
Sampson Spaulding to receive of Mr. Isaac Kit-
tredge, constable, and of Mr. David Bayley, con¬
stable, the full of his Sallary for the present year
£2666: 13:4.
" August y® 21, 1780. An order to Jesse Bald¬
win for one pound of Sugar for Susanna Eichard-
son, £ 1: 4 : 0.
" August y® 22,1780. An order to Wm Fiske,
for one horse which he let the town have for the
Continental service £750 : 0:0.
"October y® 26, 1780. An order to Thomas
Chandler for shoeing two horses for the Continen¬
tal Service £ 360 : 0 : 0.
"December y® 27, 1780. An order to Paul
Thorndike for twelve hundred weight of Beef to
supply the army which he let the town have
£1628: 0: 0. [This would be at the rate of
nearly seven dollars per pound.]
" January y® 4th 1781. An order to Thomas
Hutchins for a pair of Shoes for the Widow Hoagg
£36: 0: 0."
At several of the town-meetings held in the year
1781 there were orders adopted to pay the soldiers'
bounties in "hard silver dollars," and in one or
two instances about that time committees were
chosen by the town " to hire hard money to pay off
the soldiers with."
Towards the close of the Revolutionary War,
when the currency was greatly inflated, the town
substituted for Continental currency and hard sil¬
ver dollars, in many instances, Indian corn cur¬
rency, and gave the soldiers notes called " corn
notes."
In October, 1781, at a town-meeting held
on the 22d of that month, the town voted to
"give the soldiers 4 shillings [unquestionably in
hard dollars] per bushel for corn that are entitled
to corn."
In December, 1781, the 4th day, the town
" Voted, That the assessors give the constables or¬
ders to strain upon the inhabitance and others for
the money that dont pay in the corn in twenty days
from the time the constables revise the lists."
The first record we find of an election for goy-
378
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ernor was of the date of " September y® 4th, 1780.
Votes for John Hancock Esq. for Governor, 26 ;
votes for James Bowdoin Esq. for Governor, 5."
Such are a few of the many entries in the
town records. Could we clothe tiiese dry bones of
mere accounts with the flesh and blood of the cir¬
cumstances and details belonging to them, we
should find that Tewkshury had her thrilling and
pathetic incidents as well as her sister towns into
whose reeords more of the historian's spirit has
been breathed. Alas! little more is left us than
the monotonous but necessary catalogue of votes
taken and bills paid. Yet how suggestive many
of them are! how pathetic some like those which
record payments made to the widows of townsmen
fallen in the fight, or to men disabled by disease or
wounds ! A little imagination, assisted by the fuller
accounts of the general history of those eventful
days, can easily kindle these dry and musty records
into a glowing flame, which liglits up this old town
during the Eevolutionary period with all the lurid
glow of war, — a war not waged for conquest, but
for liberty, human rights, and mankind.
In the last war with England the town still
maintained the patriotic spirit so prominent in the
conflict for independence. Although only the fol¬
lowing extracts are found relating to this war
(1812-1815), they are sufficient to show that
Tewkshury bore her part in sustaining the govern-
nnent: —
"July 6, 1812, Voted, That if the soldiers are
called on to march that are enlisted for the Govern¬
ment's service in this town that the town will make
up their pay to them so that with what government
gives them they shall receive thirteen dollars per
month.
" Voted, To raise the sum of five hundred dol¬
lars for the purpose of carrying on the War declared
by Government.
"Sept. 13, 1814, Voted, To raise the sum of
Five hundred dollars for the, payment of .soldiers
and purchasing equipments for town stock.
" Voted, To make up the soldiers that have been
or may he called out for the defence of the country
fifteen dollars per month the present season.
" Voted, To have twenty guns bought for the
use of the town.''
No mention is made of the Mexican War in the
records ; it is presumable, therefore, that none of
the inhabitants of the town were participants.
In the Civil War which so recently desolated
our country Tewkshury maintained her reputation
for patriotism by rallying with the entire North
when it sprang to the defence of the Union,—just
as almost a century previous we find in the town
records votes to raise and pay troops, the levying
of assessments to defray the extraordinary expenses
of war, and all the unusual events which betray
the presence of a great conflict. Costly sacrifices
in the lives of fellow-townsmen were paid as the
price of liberty, and to preserve the government so
heroically founded in the days of the fathers. The
town did what it could; and thus, although no names
celebrated in martial story are hers, she contributed
her portion to achieve the peace which it is fondly
hoped will be perpetual.
In educational matters, nothing in the history
of the town calls for particular mention. The town
is too small and sparsely populated to warrant it
in sustaining a high school. There are seven dis¬
trict schools in which it is intended to furnish
instruction which shall enable pupils to enter tiie
iiigher schools and seminaries of adjoining towns
and cities. The records show that, like all New
England towns in their early history, Tewkshury
furnished schooling for its children during only a
part of the year, and like them boarded her teachers
out, as was customary in those primitive days.
Almost immediately after the incorporation of
the town in 1734 efforts were made for the estab¬
lishment and maintenance of religious worship.
Altliough there is no distinct statement to that
effect, it is to be inferred that preaching services
were regularly held at some private house previous
to the erection of the meeting-house.
March 29, 1736, a little more than a year after
incorporation, it was " Voted, Tiiat the Meeting
House shall stand upon y® Land of Nathaniel Eich-
ardson."
The original covenant of the church was signed
by thirty-four males.
We have been unable to find evidence of the
church or churches to which these persons pre¬
viously belonged, but presume that they and the
females who constituted the original membership
came from the old church in Billerica, which is
now the Unitarian Church there. Possibly some
came from the Old South Church in Andover.
The meeting-house, thus erected, stood upon the
Common, in front of tiie present house. It was
rudely constructed, covered only with boards and
shingles. No clapboards, no steeple, and no paint.
The interior, after the style of those days, had gal¬
leries upon the three sides.
TEWKSBURY.
379
About this time a vote was taken to give the
singers a part of the front gallery. "Whether the
singers were accompanied hy an orchestra, as was
the case at a subsequent period, we are unable to
state.
There are various notices of the erection of pews
by different individuals. These pews were about five
feet square, made in a row around the walls, both
on the lower floor and in the galleries. The central
part of the lower floor was occupied by pews in a
similar manner. The pulpit was perched aloft, the
floor of it being seven or eight feet above the floor
of the meeting-house. It was shut in upon all
sides, a door opening to admit the minister. Above
him was suspended the huge sounding-board, caus¬
ing much anxiety to the young children present
lest it should fall upon the minister's head. Dur¬
ing the entire period of eighty-eight years which
this edifice existed there were no means of heating
it except by foot-stoves which each family carried
for its own use.
After organizing a church and building a meet-
iiig-house, the next step was to secure a pastor.
The first pastor. Rev. Sampson (or Samson) Spauld-
ing, a native of Chelmsford, and a graduate of Har¬
vard College in 1732, was unanimously chosen by
the people of Tewksbury, on the 17th of January,
1737, and ordained on the 23d of November, of
the same year. On the 7th of February, 1737, at
a general town-meeting, the following vote was
passed : " To give Mr. Sampson Spaulding of
Chelmsford, whom they had made choice on for
their minister, yearly for his salary, one hundred and
twenty pounds, according to the valuation of grain
as it gos now here among us ; Indian com at six
shillings the bushell, Bie at eight shillings the
bushell, and Wheat at ten shillings the bushell.
Voted to give to Mr. Sampson Spaulding whom
the town had made choice on for their minister,
even for his settlement among them. Three Hun¬
dred pounds, and to pay the same at three pay¬
ments, namely, one hundred a year till the whole
sum be paid."
Tradition says of Mr. Spaulding, that when far
advanced in years he was possessed of a venerable
form and commanding stature, wearing a white wig
and carrying a long staff, and that with a weak
and tremulous voice he spoke unto his people the
words of eternal truth.
The ministry of the Eev. Mr. Spaulding contin¬
ued for nearly sixty years. It was characterized
by a general freedom from parish broils; from
ecclesiastical strife. Peace and harmony prevailed.
His influence was mild, genial, and Christian.
His character was gentle, judicious, faithful, con¬
sistent, and éxemplary. He died (after suffering
from paralysis for nearly five years) at the advanced
age of eighty-six, December 15, 1796.
In 1773-it was decided to " choose some person
or persons for to set the psalm on Sabbath days
and other times in time of public worship."
The second pastor was Eev. Titus Theodore Bar¬
ton, a graduate of Dartmouth College in 1790. He
was ordained as colleague with Eev. Mr. Spaulding,
October 11, 1792, and dismissed May 19, 1803.
He was a man of sterling character, strong physi¬
cally and mentally, an avowed enemy of the half¬
way covenant. Sometimes rash and indiscreet, he
was always bold in defence of the truth as he un¬
derstood and believed. In reference to his ordi¬
nation the following record exists : " August 23d
1792, Voted to choose a Committee to provide
a place and make entertainment for the Couricil
that shall come to ordain Mr. Titus Theodbre
Barton."
The ministry of Mr. Barton was short comparéd
with that of Mr. Spaulding, being only eleven
years. After his dismissal the church was without
a pastor for more than three years.
The third pastor was Eev. Jacob Coggin, a ila-
tive of Wobum, and a graduate of Harvard Col¬
lege in 1803. He was ordained October 22, 1806»
and died December 12, 1854. He was mild aild
pacific in spirit, always seeking to pour oil upbn
the troubled waters, wherever found, in church or
town.
About the year 1818 some of the people begab
to feel the necessity of a new church-builaing, and
to inaugurate plans to this end. The subject was
agitated at the town-meetings for four or five
years. Several matters had to be adjusted ; among
other things, the exact location. The one finally
selected was that where the present building now
stands. Arrangements were perfected, and the
new house was commenced in 1823. It was com¬
pleted, and dedicated July 6, 1824.
The meeting-house, as theu constructed, con¬
tained galleries on three sides, instead of one, as at
present. There were box-pews against the walls ;
the others were nearer the form of those now in
use.
From the incorporation of the town in 1734
down to 1841 the support of the ministry and all
the church expenses were borne by the town. At
380
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
that time (1841) a change was made. The First
Congregational Society was formed, and tiie prop¬
erty transferred from tlie town to the society, or
parish. A short time previous to this stoves were
first introduced into the meeting-house, and brought
great comfort to the woi'shippers.
In 1842 Eev. Mr. Coggin became so enfeebled
in health as to give up the chief part of the minis¬
terial and pastoral work to a colleague.
The fourth pastor. Rev. Moses Kimball, a grad¬
uate of Dartmouth College in 1826, was installed
February 24, 1847, and dismissed May 15,1849.
About this time several families living in the
northwest part of the town withdrew, and joined
the High Street Church in Lowell.
The Rev. Samuel Lawsou supplied the pulpit at
different times before and after the pastorate of
Rev. Mr. Kimball,—about five years in all.
The fifth pastor was Rev. Richard Tolman, a
native of Dorchester, a graduate of Amherst Col¬
lege in 1839 and of Andover Theological Seminary
in 1844. He was installed as colleague with Rev.
Mr. Coggin August 25, 1852, and after a ministry
of nearly eighteen years was dismissed July 11,
1870. He is characterized as a ripe scholar and
an able, and instructive preacher.
Thorough improvements and radical alterations
were made in the church edifice in 1860, and in
1872 the addition of a hall and vestry-rooms to
.the rear of it were made at a cost of about $6,000.
The fifth pastor is the present incumbent, Eev.
Samuel Franklin French, a native of Candia, New
Hampshire, a graduate of Dartmouth College in
1860, and of Andover Tlieological Seminary in
1864. He was installed over the church Novem¬
ber 1, 1871..
The Sabbath school connected with this church
and society was established about sixty years ago.
Students of Phillips Academy, Andover, and some
people boarding in town assisted in its early work.
It has proved a valuable auxiliary to the church.
The Sabba-day, or Sabbath day, or noon houses,
which existed before the introduction of stoves in
the meeting-house, were a kind of church refec¬
tory. Several of them were connected with this
church, and were located at short distances from
the meeting-house. They were owned by par¬
ishioners living at a distance from the house of
worship, a number of families associating, and
spending together the intermission between the
forenoon and afternoon services. They kept fuel
near the premises of each to make good fires in the
cold seasons, and brought with them their lunch-
baskets containing their noon repasts; and so
in a social and quite enjoyable way spent their
time, relating to each other the incidents of the
week, and discussing the merits of the sermon.
The old mansion built by the Rev. Sampson
Spaulding in 1738, and located in the centre of the
town, still stands, and is in excellent condition.
Although nearly a century and a half old, it shows
no marks of decay. It is a commodious structure,
double in width, two stories, with hipped roof.
The present occupant and owner is Benjamin F.
Spaulding, Esq., a grandson of the old minister,
and, what is quite remarkable, these three genera¬
tions have been the only occupants of the old
house. Tiie original. Rev. Sampson Spaulding,
was born in 1711, his son John was born in 1756,
and his grandson, Benjamin F., in 1811. The old
minister Mas the occupant until his death in 1796,
his son John until his death in 1843, and his
grandson, Benjamiii F., until the present time.
The site of the old house is a pleasant one, in the
northeasterly part of the centre village, and only s
few rods, in a southeasterly direction, from the
depot of the Lowell and Lawrence Railroad.
In the year 1842 a portion of the people in the
north part of the town withdrew from the old
church, and finally formed the Baptist Church.
This church M'as organized in 1843. For several
months before the organization religious services
Mere held in the toM-n-hall. Most of the original
members M-ere residents in the north part of the
town, and quite a large share of them had been
attendants at the Congregational Church, under
the pastorate of Rev. Mr. Coggin. In the year
1842, under the great revival in Lowell, a number
of the leading families of the north part of Tea ks-
bury M'ere included in the M'ork, and united with
the First Baptist Church in Loaell. Before that
time, also living in the north part of the toM'n,
were a feM' other families, members too of the First
Church in Lowell, and these, with scattered Bap¬
tist families elsewhere in Tewksbury and the west
part of Andover, made up a little church of sixty-
eight members. About the same date with the
organization of the church, September, 1843, the
Baptist meeting-house M'as completed and dedi¬
cated. The first pastor of this nea'ly formed
church and society M'as Rev. J. M. Graves. He
has been succeeded by 'Rev. D. Burroughs, Rev.
L. Tandy, Rev. John E. Wood, Rev. Clifton
Fletcher, Rev. A. De F. Palmer, Eev. E. E.
TOWNSEND.
381
Thomas, and Kev. George T. Raymond. Tlie
present minister is Rev. E. W. Pride, a graduate
of Brown University in 1865, and of Newton
Theological Institution in 1868. The number of
members is about one hundred and tliirty. Since
the building of the Baptist meeting-house in 1843
it has been enlarged and greatly improved. A
commodious vestry has been added at the rear.
When this clmrch was formed a Sabbath school
was also organized, and has been successfully con¬
ducted ever since.
TOWNSEND.
BY ITHAMAR B. SAWTELLE.
OWNSEND is situated in the
northwestern angle of the
county, on the state line ; it is
bounded on the north by Mason
and Brookline, New Hampshire,
on the east by Pepperell, Groton,
and Shirley, on the south by
Lunenburg, and on the west
by Ashby. It contains 19,271
acres. In its outlines it is per¬
haps more quadrangular than any other town in
the county.
The borders of the town, except at its southeast
comer, are occupied by prominent hills, upon some
of which are standpoints commanding views of
scenic beauty. A large portion of the land on these
hills is well adapted to the cultivation of the cereals,
and produces much fruit, — ])articularly apples and
peaches. The central part of the town is generally
quite level, and contains large areas of land con¬
sisting of a light, sandy soil. Interspersed among
these plains and near the river are many fertile
tracts, which afford excellent crops. Through this
central basin flows the Squanicook River, which is
produced by the confluence of several large brooks
in Ash Swamp, situated in the northwest part of
the town. These brooks drain parts of Mason,
Greenville, and New Ipswich, New Hampshire, and
parts of the towns of Ashby, Ashbumham, Fitch-
burg, and Lunenburg.
The Squanicook River runs through the town in
a southeasterly direction to near the Groton line,
when it takes a more southern course, and in a very
crooked channel it journeys on out of Townsend
at the northeast comer of Shirley. This river and
its tributaries have furnished many mill privileges
which have been and are still utilized in various
branches of industry. The town has three postal
centres, knovm as Townsend Harbor, Townsend,
and West Townsend, each situated about two miles
from the other and clustering on both banks of the
Squanicook. The Peterborough and Shirley Rail¬
road, a branch of the Fitchburg Railroad (com¬
pleted in 1849), passes through the town, touching
the three villages daily with regular passenger
trains. The central village is situated nine miles
from Fitchburg, twenty miles from Lowell, and
forty miles from Boston. Townsend was named
by the provincial govemor in honor of Charles
Townshend, the English statesman, who was very
pojjular in the colonies at the time it received its
charter. It appears from the town records that
for more than fifty years from the time of its in¬
corporation the correct orthography of its name¬
sake was generally preserved. Near the beginning
of the present century the " h " was dropped from
the name in the records, contrary, perhaps, to good
taste. The population of the town (census of 1875)
is 2,196.
The earliest historical trace of any claim of
ownership in the soil of Townsend has been found
among the grants of " the great and general court "
to the prominent military men, who two hundred
years ago participated in King Philip's War m
New England.
The Records of the Colony of the Massachusetts
Bay in New England, Vol. V., page 104, contain
the following grant : —
" Layd out to the Wor'pff William Hauthorn
Esq. six hundred and forty acres of land, more or
382
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
less, lying in the wilderness on the north of Groaton
river at a place called by the Indians Wistequas-
suck, on the West side of sayd hill.
" It begins at a great hemlock tree standing on
the West side of the sayd hill marked with II. and
rurms north and by east three hundred and twenty
pole to a maple tree marked w"* H ; from thence
it runns West and by north three hundred and
twenty pole to a stake and stones ; from thence it
runns south & by west three hundred and twenty
pole to a great pine in a little swamp marked w"*
H ; from thence it runns east & by south to the
• first hemlock. All the lynes are rvnne & the
trees are well marked. It contaynes a mill squar
and is lajd exactly square, as may be easily demon¬
strated by y° platform inserted vnderneath & is
on file. Jonathan Danforth, Survejo'.
" The court allows & approves of this returne so
it interferes not w'" former grants."
William Hathorn was a magistrate in Salem
when the Quakers commenced their eccentric and
indecent proceedings " against the peace and dig-
iijty " of the colony ; and a captain of Salem mili¬
tia during the Indian war, afterwaid promoted to
the rank of major. He was a deputy to the Gen¬
eral Court two or three times, speaker in 1661,
and a man of prominence.
" Hathorn's farm," so called, is situated on the
southwestern slope of what was forpierly known as
Wallace Hill, including the meadows at its base,
and was undoubtedly selected from the unbroken
wilderness on account of the spontaneous growth
of grass which it produced. The Indian name in
this grant has been found spelled quite differently.
In both the town and the proprietors' records the
word is almost invariably Nissequassick. This
word, in English, signifies " the two-pine place "
{nissi, two, coos, pines, and ick, a locative parti¬
cle) . This name has never been applied to any other
locality. There is nothing which goes to show
that the Indians ever made Townsend a permanent
place of abode, although a tomahawk and a few of
their stone instruments have been found imbedded
in the best soils along the river, where," perhaps,
they occasionally planted corn. The settlers of the
town made several garrison-houses in different
situations, but there is no record or tradition that
they were ever molested, or injured in the least
degree by the red men.
From 1676 to 1719, for nearly half a century,
nothing is known concerning Hathorn's farm or
its surrounding wilderness. Meanwhile the seasons
came and departed ; the gentle breath of spring
awakened the untrod forest verdure ; autumn
painted its crimson on the maple leaves; winter
summoned its winds to chant the requiem of the
years as they made their "exits and entrances,"
but the axe of the Puritan was not heard on Nisse-
quassitk Hill.
In 1702 the colony of Massachusetts Bay com¬
menced issuing paper' money to pay debts which
accumulated from the expense of the Indian wars,
and other causes. The inflation of the currency,
together with a strong passion and greed for landed
estates, brought to the surface a class of speculators
who were anxious to have new towns granted and
surveyed.
In 1719 a certain number of men, the most
prominent of whom belonged to Concord, petitioned
the General Court for a grant of two towns at the
"Westerly side of Groton." This was soon after
Groton had been resurveyed by Samuel Danforth
{vide Ms. Records of General Court, 1713, p. 216),
who established the northwest comer of Groton on
the easterly side of "Wistequaset Hill," at the
southwest comer of the old township of Dunstable,
thereby giving to Groton the gore of land between
the north line of that town and the south line of
Old Dunstable, having the east lines of Lunenburg
and Townsend as they now are for its western
boundary. By this survey Groton obtained large
portions of land which are now included within the
limits of the townships of Pepperell and Shirley.
On the 7th of December, 1719, the General
Court made the following grant, which is of great
importance ; for it is not only the' foundation of
the municipal rights of the town, but it is the base
upon which rest the titles to all the real estate in
Townsend except Hathorn's mile square. It is
here given entire, from an exaet copy of the colo¬
nial records : —
" Anno Regni Regis Georgii Magnae Brit-
tannae Sexto. At a great and General Court or
Assembly for his Majesty's Province of the Massa¬
chusetts Bay in New England, begun and held at
Boston, upon Wednesday, the t-H'enty-seventh of
May, 1719, and continued by Prorogation to
Wednesday, the fourth of November, 1719, and
then met ; being their second session.
"Monday, December 7,1719.
" In the house of Representatives, the vote for
granting two new towns was brought down from
the board with Amendments, which were read and
TOWNSEND.
383
agreed to And the said vote is as follows, viz :
Voted, That tvyo new Towns, each containing a
Quantity of land not exceeding six miles square, be
laid out in as regular Forms as the Land will allow ;
to be settled in a defensible manner, on the Westerly
side of Groton West line, and tliat William Tailor,
Samuel Thaxter, Francis Fullam, Esqrs., Capt.
John Shipley, and Mr. Benjamin Whittemore, be
a Committee fully impowered to allot and grant
out the land contained in each of the said towns,
(a lot not to exceed Two hundred and fifty acres)
to such persons, and only such as will effectually
settle the same within the space of three years next
ensuing the laying out and granting such by the
Committee, who are instructed to admit eighty
families or persons in each Town at least, who shall
pay to the said Committee for the use of the Prov¬
ince, the sum of Five Pounds for each allotment,
which shall be granted and allotted as aforesaid ;
and that each person to whom such lot or lots
shall be granted or laid out, shall be obliged to
build a good Dwelling House thereon and inhabit
it ; and also to break up and fence in three acres
of land at the least within the Term of three years ;
and that there be laid out and reserved for the first
settled Minister a good convenient Lotj also a
Lot for the School, and a ministerial lot, and a lot
for Harvard College, of two hundred and fifty
acres each ; and the Settlers be obliged to build a
good, convenient House for the Worship of God
in eacii of the said Towns, within the term of four
years ; and to pay the charge of the necessary sur¬
veys, and the Committee for their service in and
about the premises ; and that the Committee give
public notice of the time and place when and where
they will meet to grant allotments.
" Consented to — Sam*- Shute."
The townships of Lunenburg and Townsend, by
this order or grant of the General Court, were called
into legal existence from the " country land " of
the province and from a territory previously called
Turkey Hills. From the date of this grant till
each of these towns was surveyed and received
its respective charter Lunenburg was called Turkey
Hills, and Towijsend was called The North Town,
sometimes Turkey Hills North Town.
The committee named in this grant called their
first meeting at the inn of Jonathan Hobart, of
Concord, on the 11th of May, 1720, when seventy-
two of the eighty shares in North Town were
taken up, some subscribers paying the five pounds.
others paying only a part, and others nothing at
that time. Twenty-four of these seventy-two share-
iiolders belonged to Concord. At a subsequent
meeting the other eight shares were taken, but the
names of those who took them do not appear on
the manuscript record of Francis Fullam, clerk of
the committee. This manuscript is preserved in
Harvard College Library. It was impossible for
the original proprietors of the town to conform to
the strict letter of the grant. Tlie "convenient
house for the worship of God " was not built till
1730. It was a rude structure, and the only one
in town at that time built of sawed lumber. Only
a few of the men who met at Concord in 1719,
and subscribed for an eightieth part of the town,
ever became settlers in the North Town. Accord¬
ing to the town records, the first birth was in 1728,
during which year several families came here from
Chelmsford, Groton, and Woburn.
On the 29th of June, 1732, Townsend was
incorporated and its boundaries made ; but not till
October, 16, 1734, did the town settle " a learned
orthodox minister." Just before, and at this time,
there was a sharp controversy going on between
the land proprietors of the townships of Townsend
and Old Dunstable, the point in dispute being a
tract of land in the northeast corner of Townsend,
then in Dunstable. It appears, from all the records,
that the Townsend proprietors held unreasonable
views concerning the boundary line between these
towns. During the next decade the town advanced
considerably. The General Court made a law em¬
powering the selectmen to assess and collect a tax
of one penny on every acre of " Non-resident land,"
whicii was a great help towards the support of tiieir
minister. In 1733 a saw and grist mill was built
at the Harbor ; still, the settlers were very poor,
and subject to many privations.
In 1741 the province line between Massachu¬
setts and New Hampshire was established, by
which Townsend lost about one third of its terri¬
tory, which is now embraced within the limits of
Brookliue, Mason, and New Ipswich, in New
Hampshire. This was another source of trouble
to the land-loving proprietors of the town, who
soon petitioned the General Court for indemnifica¬
tion. Tlie subject was not acted upon till 1765,
when the assembly "granted a township some¬
where at the eastwa/rd of the Saco River, six miles
square, to the Townshend proprietors and others,
for military services and other losses and services."
Of this township Townsend was to have 10,212
384
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY-.
acres. There is, however, nothing recorded going
to show that Townsend ever complied with the
terms of the grant, or received the least benefit
from it. At this period (1765) log-houses began to
disappear, comfortable cottages took their places,
and quite a number of the two-story houses, with
their monstrous chimneys, were built by the most
wealthy people of the town. The population at
that time was 598.
By the incorporation of Ashby, in 1767, Towns-
end parted with territory enough to form about two
thirds of that town, with as little regret as is felt
by a mother at the marriage of the eldest daughter
of the family. Since the time of this excision the
limits of the town have remained undisturbed.
At the inauguration and during the progress of
the Eevolutionary War the town took a very active
part, being in constant correspondence with the
town of Boston through the Committee of Safety.
When the alarm was made on the 19th of April,
1775, seventy-five men, in two companies, under
the command of Captain James Hosley and Cap¬
tain Samuel Douglas, took up the line of march
for Concord, to resist the "ministerial troops."
Ephraim Warren left his plough in the furrow,
mounted one of the horses with which he was at
work, and calling for his gun and ammunition
started at full speed " to have a shot at the regu¬
lars." During the siege of Boston several sled-
loads of provisions were sent by this town to its
suffering inhabitants. The town records attest the
spirited manner with which its quotas for the army
were filled, and to the great interest manifested in
the cause of freedom. It, however, had more than
its share of tories, who were a souree of great
trouble and annoyance to the patriots. Several
became refugees. The most prominent among
them was Joseph Adams, a physician, wiio owned
real estate both in this town and in Pepperell, all
of which was confiscated and sold.
During the Shays Eebellion excitement many of
the citizens of the town, not discriminating between
self-government and anarchy, were in sympathy with
the insurgents. " The distressed situation of pub¬
lic affairs " are the words of the record of a town-
meeting in 1786. Some of the most prominent men
in town were ready to assist in obstructing the sit¬
ting of the courts. A company was raised by Lieu¬
tenant Peter Butterfield, largely made up of young
men and minors, which participated with Job Shat-
tuck in the attempted raid on the court at Concord.
At the commencement of the present century
the people of the town were very much divided in
opinion in regard to the location of their house of
worship. As was the custom when it was built,
it was located on a hill which afforded many
charming views of the surrounding country. The
village at Groton, with its white church-spire and
dwellings, the farm-houses in Lunenburg, and the
graceful contours of the Turkey Hills at the south¬
west and west, constituted a delightful outlook
from this standpoint. Here had been their house
of worship since the settlement of the town. The
necessity of climbing a steep hill to attend meet¬
ing, together with the difficulty in getting good
wells of water thereon, were the prominent objec¬
tions to that spot, hallowed to these worshippers
by many tender recollections. In 1798 the town
began to agitate the subject of a new meeting¬
house in another lociition, and during the next
year a committee of sixteen members was chosen
" to find the centre of the town," and to select a
suitable place for the building ; but nothing defi¬
nite was agreed upon till 1803, when, after having
from three to five town-meetings in each year, the
town voted to remove their meeting-house to the
place where it now stands, on the Common, where
it was newly set up, renovated, and dedicated in
the autumn of 1804. The selection of this spot
for the centre of the town was a very judicious act
on the part of the committee. The pitch-pine forest
soon disappeared, and the meeting-house became
the nucleus of a thriving settlement, since grown
to the proportions, of a manufacturing village,
" with the modem improvements."
The war with Great Britain in 1812 being
unpopular in Massachusetts, no very enthusiastic
response to the call for troops was made. This
town was represented by one volunteer and about
half a score of drafted men, among the Middlesex
County troops stationed at Fort Warren, under the
command of Colonel Walter Hastings of Towns-
end. For the first fifty years of the existence of
the town there is nothing to be found on record
whereby the military history of that period can be
written. That an efficient militia was here is evi¬
dent from the fact that many town officers have
military prefixes to their names. The earliest
records of the militia show that the town had two
companies, known as the North Company and the
South Company; and the records of the former,
from 1788 to 1817, and of the latter from 1782
to 1815, are still preserved. The names of the
captains of the South Company, as they succeeded
TOWNSENJD.
885
each other in office, are William Stevens, Zachariah
Hildrith, Timothy Fessenden, Eliab Going, Heze-
kiah Richardson, William Archibald, Isîiac Spauld-
ing, James Adams, and Isaac Kidder; and of the
North Company are John Campbell, Jonathan
Wallace, Samuel Brooks, Joseph Adams, Walter
Hastings, John Waugh, and George Wallace.
These were prominent townsmen in their day,
wiien it meant something to be the commander of
a military company. In 1817 Levi Warren, Wal¬
ter Hastings, and others petitioned for the charter
of an independent company, which was granted;
and soon after it was organized under the name of
the Townsend Light Infantry, which was kept alive
till 1852. . It was a well-disciplined, fine-looking
corps. It invariably appeared on parade with ex¬
cellent music, and received on muster-days many
compliments from military men during the thirty-
five years of its existence. The organization of
this company left the number of soldiers in town
liable to do military duty so small that they were
enrolled in one company. The military spirit in
Massachusetts began to wane about 1825, previous
to which time the training and muster days were
looked forward to with much interest. In 1837
the legislature passed a law making all military
duty voluntary, which resulted in the disbanding
of the entire un-uniformed militia of the common¬
wealth.
There was little interest manifested in military
affairs until 1861, when the life of the nation was
threatened by the Southern slaveholders. The
part taken by Townsend in that terrible civil war
was very creditable, both to its young men who
enlisted and entered the service, and to the tax¬
payers who poured forth their treasures without
stint in the cause of patriotism and for the. preser¬
vation of the Unioïi. The town sent to the field
three commissioned officers, and, including one
drafted man and substitutes, two hundred and
sixty-seven men, of whom one hundred and sixty-
one were voters in this town at the time when they
volunteered. Of the Townsend men included in
this number thirty-four lost their lives, — twelve in
action, and twenty-two by starvation in Rebel pris¬
ons, by disease, or other casualties of war. In
Company E, 33d Massachusetts Regiment of Vol¬
unteers, were twenty-six Townsend men, twelve
of whom were either killed in action or died in the
army. At present there is no military company in
town and, in fact, the commonwealth itself is in
about the same defenceless condition as when the
guns were pointed towards devoted Sumter in
1861. Our-legislators and the people profess the
most profound respect for the memory of Wash¬
ington, forgetting his parting advice : " In time
of peace prepare for war."
The ecclesiastical history of Townsend, like that
of most New England towns, is replete with inter¬
est. There were settlers here, in the easterly part
of the town, two or three years before a church
was gathered, who were acustomed to attend public
worship at Groton. The extreme poverty of these
men, together with the long controversy with Old
Dunstable (before mentioned), is supposed to be
the principal reason why Townsend did not receive
its charter about the same time that Lunenburg
was incorporated (1728). The meeting-house was
built in 1730, and probably there was occasional
preaching in it for some time before a church was
gathered. There is nothing left on record ex)ncern-
ing the religious status of the town previous to
1734, when a call was extended to Phineas Hemen-
way to become the town's minister. A copy of
Mr. Hemenway's acceptance of this call is in the
town records, dated July 22, 1734. He was or¬
dained on the 16th of October, at which time the
church, consisting of sixteen male members, was
gathered. The names of these members are Phineas
Hemenway, Joseph Stevens, William Clark, Nathan¬
iel Tailor, Daniel Tailor, Joseph Baldwin, John
Stevens, James McDonald, John Wallis, Samuel
Manning, Jacob Baldwin, Samuel Clark, John
Slowen, Benjamin Tailor, Isaac Spaulding, and
Jeremiah Ball. The wives of some of these men
were soon after admitted to the church. Belonging
to this body, also, were some of the negro slaves
owned by the wealthiest citizens whose names
appear above. During Mr. Hemenway's pastor¬
ate the church increased from sixteen to seventy-
nine members.
Rev. Phineas Hemenway was born at Framing-
ham, April 26, 1706. He was the son of Joshua
and Rebeckah Hemenway, of Roxbury. The father
settled in Framingham in 1691, and was one of
the founders of the Church of Christ in that town,
October 8, 1701, at which time he was chosen
deacon. He had enjoyed the advantages wliich
Roxbury afforded, and received a superior education
for the time. He was town schoolmaster in 1706.
He was a man of decided convictions and earnest
piety. In doctrinal belief he agreed with Edwards ;
in church polity he was a strict Congregationalist,
as opposed to the Presbyterian tendencies of the
386
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
day. He took a firm stand in favor of the revival
under Edwards and Whitefield, and was known to
and shared the confidence of such ministers as
Sewall and Prince of Boston. He was an acknowl¬
edged leader in tiie civil affairs of the town, was
deputy to the General Court in 1712 and in 1717,
and held many important offices of trust. Phineas,
the son, grew up under the influence of such a train¬
ing. He graduated at Harvard College in 1730.
No traditions of iiis personal appearance or charac¬
ter are preserved in tlie family. He was the first
native-born son of Framingham to graduate at
college, and was elected master of the grammar
school at the close of his senior year. He com¬
menced teaching July 27, and continued in the
service one year, for which he received the sum of
£50. On the 8th of May, 1739, he married
Sarah Stevens of Marlborough, who was born Sep¬
tember 27, 1713. She survived him, and on tiie
20th of October, 1761, married David Taylor, of
Concord.
Mr. Hemenway was a very useful citizen and a
faithful pastor. None of Iiis writings except wiiat
are in the records of the church have been found.
He died May 20, 1760, in the twenty-seventh
year of his ministry.
With commendable promptness, on the 20th of
October following the town " Voted and chose
Mr. Samuel Dix to be tlieir pastor and gospel
minister, by a unanimous vote," wliereupon the
church gave him a formal call, which he accepted
January 13, 1761. Be v. Samuel Dix was a native
of Beading, bom March 13, 1736, was graduated
at Harvard in 1758; ordained at Townsend,
March 4, 1761 ; died November 12, 1797, in the
thirty-sixth year of his pastorate, aged sixty-two.
He married Abigail Cliandler of Boston. Mr. Dix
was an excellent scholar. Everything that is left
of his writings goes to show that he possessed
strong intellectual powers, fully equal to most
of his contemporaries in the ministry. He per¬
formed more pastoral work than any other minister
ever settled in Townsend. The towns of Mason,
Brookline, Jaffrey, Hancock, and Stoddard, in New
Hampshire, and Ashby in this county, were all
favored by his visits, to offer consolation at the
bedside of the dying, to attend funerals, and to
preach the Word. Some of these towns had no set¬
tled minister at that time. Eev. Stephen Farrar,
who preached his funeral sermon, attests to his
faithfulness and ability ; that " he shone peculiarly
in the virtues of meekness, patience, humility, and
self-denial"; and that his preaching was accompanied
" with earnestness and pathos of address." There
was á large assembly at his funeral, in which were
many ministers, some coming a long distance to
express their deep sympathy with his family, the
church, and the town. During his ministry he
baptized in Townsend six hundred and sixty-seven
persons ; and one hundred and seventy-three joined
tiie church.
During tiie next three years tliere was no settled
pastor. On the 2d of December, 1799, David
Palmer received a call to become the town's minis¬
ter, which lie accepted. He was ordained on tlie
first day of January, 1800, and the occasion was
made a iioliday. The weather and travelling were
excellent. The pastor elect, his personal friends,
and the learned council marched to the meeting¬
house on the snow-crust to the music of fife and
drum. Everybody " kept ojien house," and the
multitude that came from the neighboring towns
gave special attention to the " ordination puddings,"
and other good things, both liquid and solid, tliat
were provided for their gastronomic enjoyment on
this festal day. The exercises at the meeting-house
were very imjiressive. Eev. Andrew Lee of Lis¬
bon, Connecticut, preached the sermon.
Mr. Palmer proved to be a very acceptable
preacher and a successful educator. Several
young men of this town fitted for college under
his tuition. He was a rnaii of genial manners
and social disposition; particularly useful to the
schools, where his visits were always welcome, on
account of the instruction imparted in his pecul¬
iarly agreeable manner. His ministry continued
more than thirty-one years, during which time he
performed three hundred and fifty-four marriages,
baptized two hundred and eighty-three persons,
and witnessed the admission of two hundred and
fifty into the church.
Eev. David Palmer was born at Windham, Con¬
necticut, in 1768; graduated at Dartmouth College
in 1797, was preceptor of New Ipswich Academy
in 1798, ordained in Townsend in 1800, married
Chloe Kinsley, of his native town, in 1794, and
died at Townsend in 1849, aged eighty-one years.
For the first ninety-eight years of the municipal
existence of the town it had only three settled
ministers, each of whom was animated by the same
sublime faith and hope ; whereas, since that time
the "laborers" have been many, and of "OTdely
different theological views. At the beginning of
tiie present century there were two or three Baptist
TÖWNSEND.
387
families in this town. In 1827 the number of
persons of that faith had increased so much under
the labors of Eev. Benjamin Dean, that a church
consisting of twelve members was organized at
West Townseiid. In 1834 a tasteful and com¬
modious meeting-house was built at that village.
From this commencement to tiie present time the
denomination has received aid from the Domestic
Baptist Missionary Society. The names of the
ministers who followed Mr. Dean in succession are
Rev. Caleb Brown, Eev. James Bamaby, Rev. Oren
Tracy, Rev. Charles W. Reding, Rev. W. C. Rich¬
ards, Rev. Caleb Blood, Rev. F. G. Brown, Rev.
Lester Williams, Rev. E. A. Battell, Rev. George W.
Ryan, Rev. Willard P.Upham, Rev. Oren K. Hunt,
and Rev. William R. Thompson, who is the present
pastor. The church has never been large, but there
has been much unanimity among its members.
The Unitarians, holding possession of the meet¬
ing-house in 1830, had considerable numerical
strength, but none of them made profession of
religion or belonged to any church. The desidera¬
tum with them was " liberal preaching." In 1831
they took the name of the First Parish in Towns-
end, and employed Rev. Warren Burton for their
preacher, who remained about a year. He was an
eloquent speaker, and a man of good ability. Mr.
Burton was followed by Rev. Jesse Chickering till
about 1836, when Rev. Ezekiel L. Bascom com¬
menced preaching, and during that year he gathered
a church consisting of rather more than twenty mem¬
bers. He was a plausible writer and speaker. He
graduated at Dartmouth in 1798, and died in 1841.
In the autumn of 1836 Linus H. Shaw (Har¬
vard Divinity School, 1833) received a call for a
settlement vnth the First Parish, which he ac¬
cepted, and he was installed on the 21st of De¬
cember following. The mantle of the founder of
this church did not fall on this young pastor ; for
although he was a gentleman of unsullied moral
character, a good thinker, and a writer of respect¬
able talents, he was never popular either with his
church or congregation. Unless making thorough
preparation and committing his thoughts to writ¬
ing, his efforts in public were always failures.
After a pastorate of about two years his connection
with this parish was dissolved. From that time
until 1852 the Unitarians had no settled minister,
and but little preaching. In 1769, by the legacy
of Amos Whitney, a valuable farm, located near
the meeting-house, was given to the town for a
parsonage. This farm legally came into the pos¬
session of the Unitarians, and was sold by them.
They also sold the old meeting-house, except the
bell, to the Methodists in 1852. In 1854 they
built a meeting-house at the Harbor, and employed
Rev. Stillman Barber for their minister. This
gentleman remained with them about two years, at
the end of which time no funds were raised for his
support. From 1856 to the present time "the
First Parish in Townsend" has existed only in
name.
In 1850, and for about two years after, the
Methodists were listening to the stirring appeals
of two earnest clergymen, — Rev-. Horace Moulton
and Rev. Samuel Tupper, who laid the foundation
for a Methodist church in this towm. As before
mentioned, the Methodists bought the old meeting¬
house of the Unitarians in 1852. This denomina¬
tion has supported preaching and weekly religious
meetings since its inauguration. Much interest
from time to time has been manifested by the peo¬
ple of this sect. In 1876 the church received
sixty-eight new members, — the result of a revival
conducted by I. T. Johnson, the evangelist. The
names and order of succession of the pastors of
this church are as follows : Rev. Horace Moulton,
Rev. Samuel Tupper, Rev. Pliny Wood, Rev.
Windsor Ward, Rev. J. "A. Ames, Rev. T. B.
Tread well. Rev. A. F. Bailey, Rev. W. P. Webster,
Rev. C. H. Hanaford, Rev. S. K. Bailey, Rev.
Burtis Judd, Rev. E. A. Howard, Rev. A. K.
Howard, -Rev. T. R. Tisdale, Rev. Erastus Bur-
lingham. Rev. A. W. Baird, Rev. W. E. Dwight,
and Rev. Daniel Atkins, the present pastor.
The Universalist Restorationists formed a Soci¬
ety in 1839, at West Townsend, and Rev. John
Pierce, a young man of good abilities, was em¬
ployed as their minister. In 1848 the society
built the brick meeting-house at West Townsend,
which was dedicated January 25, 1849. The
Restorationists never formed a church in Towns-
end, nor have they sustained preaching here more
than one third of the time since their church edifice
was built. The names of the ministers of this
society are John Pierce, Stillman Clark, Varnum
Lincoln, R. J. Chapman, and C. C. Clark.
For the last fifty years the Congregationalists
have been the most numerous, wealthy, and influ¬
ential religious sect in town. In 1830 they built
the brick church edifice at the east of the Park, in
the centre of the town, and selected a young man of
first-class education and talents for their pastor.
Eev. William M. Rogers, a native of England,
388
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was the first pastor of the Orthodox Congrega¬
tional Church of Christ in Townsend; Harvard,
1827 ; Andover Theological Seminary, 1830 ; or¬
dained February 16, 1831 ; dismissed at his own
request, July, 1835.
Eev. Columbus Shumway, the second pastor,
graduated at Union College; received his theo¬
logical education at Auburn ; was installed, J une,
1836; and dismissed, April, 1837.
Eev. David Stowell, tliird pastor ; Dartmouth,
1829; was installed, June, 1837; dismissed,
August, 1843. Eev. Luther H. Sheldon, fourth
pastor; Middlebury College, 1839 ; Andover Theo¬
logical Seminary, 1842; ordained, 1844; dismissed
at his own request, 1856. Eev. Elias W. Cook,
fifth pastor; Yale, 1837 ; installed, 1858; dis¬
missed, 1859. Eev. Moses Patten, sixth pastor;
Dartmoutli, 1850 ; Andover Theological Seminary,
1855 ; ordained, 1860 ; dismissed, 1863. Eev.
John C. Hutchinson, acting pastor from 1863 to
1866. Eev. George Williams, seventh pastor; in¬
stalled, 1867 ; dismissed, 1869. Eev. George H.
Morss ; Andover Theological Seminary, 1857 ;
acting pastor from 1869 to 1873. Eev. Henry C.
Fay, Amherst College, 1851; Bangor Theological
Seminary, 1857 ; acting pastor from 1873 to 1876.
Eev. Albert F. Newton, eighth pastor; Dartmouth,
1874; Andover Theological Seminary, 1877; or¬
dained, September 5, 1877 ; the present incumbent.
There is nothing particularly worthy of record
concerning the educational history of this town,
except, perhaps, a notice of the Female Seminary
and Townsend Academy, both of which were in
active operation here thirty years ago. In 1839,
on petition of Levi Warren of this town, and
certain other gentlemen of Boston and Newton,
of the Baptist faith, a cliarter of incorporation was
granted by the General Court to the Townsend
West Village Female Seminary. The grantees
erected a large and commodious building at
West Townsend, and furnished it with appara¬
tus for illustrating the sciences, together with a
library of several hundred volumes. The trustees
were fortunate in their choice of a principal at
the opening of the institution. A competent corps
of assistant teachers was employed, and it beeame
a first-class seminary, and was extensively pat¬
ronised, particularly by people of the Baptist
denomination. This large school was a great
benefit to West Townsend. It had u?iinterrupted
prosperity till about 1854, when, from several
causes, but especially from a difference among
the trustees themselves, it lost its popularity and
influence, and was discontinued.
The people at the centre of the town, in 1840,
under the lead of Eev. David Stowell, feeling that
West Townsend was becoming a rival of their
own village, assembled, and agreed to build an
academy by subscription. Through contributions
of lumber, money, and labor, a building of suita¬
ble dimensions was erected at the centre of the
town, and opened for academical purposes in
1841. For five or six years afterwards a good
number of scholars of both sexes were in attend¬
ance at this academy. After that time the income
from tuition fees was found to be inadequate to
support a principal, and the doors of the build¬
ing were closed. Both of these buildings were
afterwards purchased by the town and used for
school-houses.
Townsend has produced its full share of profes¬
sional men who have gone out from its bordeif
and made themselves homes elsewhere. Seventeen
Townsend men have graduated at New England
colleges. Their names are as follows : John
Hubbard, D. C., 1785 ; Abraham Butterfield,
D. C., 1796; Daniel Adams, D. C., 1797; Jos¬
eph Walker, B. C., 1818 ; William Farmer, H, U.,
1819 ; John Stevens, Middlebury, 1821 ; Joel
Giles, H. U., 1829 ; John Graham, Amherst,
1829 ; John Giles, H. U., 1831 ; Charles Brooks,
Y. C., 1853; Warren Brooks, H. U., 1855; Mark
Davis, D. C., 1856 ; Charles Thaddens Haynes,
Amherst, 1862 ; John Milton Proctof, D. C., 1863 ;
Eandall Spaulding, Y. C., 1870; Eliel Shumway
Ball, D. C., 1874; Wayland Spaulding, Y. C.,
1874.
Daniel Adams, the most noted man bom in
Townsend, graduated at Dartmouth College in
1797 ; took his medical degree at the same insti¬
tution in 1799 ; was associate editor of a news¬
paper at Leominster in 1801; published The
Scholar's Arilhmetic in 1808, and The Under¬
standing Reader in 1810; was a member of the
New Hampshire Historical Society in 1822, and
president of the New Hampshire Medical Society
in 1823; published Adams' New Arithmetic in
1828, and The Monitorial Reader in 1841.
He was for some time a practical physician and
surgeon at Mount Vernon, New Hampshire. He
afterward moved to Keene, where he resided
more than half a century, and where he publislwd
most of his works. His books had an extensive
circulation through the common schools and acad-
TOWNSENR
389
einies of New England, and they were a de¬
cided improvement on the text-books previously
used. He was a leading man in his profession,
as well as a prominent author. He was a dili¬
gent student during his life, investigating the
cause of thing«, and laying open their hidden
relations and alfinities. A mind like his may be
compared to the head-light of a locomotive, that
darts its rays far along the track. He married
Nancy Mulliken, August 17, 1800. They had
two sons and three daughters. Both of his sons
received a collegiate education,,. He died at Keene
in 1861, aged 91 years.
Henry Price.
For about twenty years this town contained the
residence of Henry Price, the man who laid the
corner-stone of speculative Masonry in America.
He was born in London about 1697, and came to
New England about 1723. From the record of
the proceedings in a suit commenced by him against
a debtor in 1732 it is proved that he was a shop¬
keeper and tailor in Boston as early as 1731. On
petition of several masonic brethren of Boston,
addressed to Viscount Montague, grand master of
Masons of England, he was appointed " a provin¬
cial grand master of free and accepted masons in
New England," April 30, 1733. Within a short
time after this appointment he was commissioned
cornet in governor Belcher's troop of guards, with
the rank of major. He was then thirty-six years
old. For some time his place of business was on
Comhill, very near where No. 96 Washington Street
now stands. In 1737 he married Mary Townsend,
who was superior to most of her sex both in mental
and personal endowments, and in 1738 a daughter,
Mary, was born to them. He carried on business,
sometimes with a partner, till 1751, when he retired
to take care of his real estate, of which he possessed
a large amount in ditferent towns. His wife (Mary
Townsend) died about 1750, and in 1752 he mar¬
ried Mary Tilden, of Boston, at Trinity Church,
as he was an Episcopalian. About 1760, while
looking forward to a bright future, his wife and
daughter died at nearly the same time, leaving his
home desolate and forsaken. It was probably his
sorrow at these losses that induced him to make
himself a home elsewhere. In 1761 he came to
Townsend, and-settled on land which he had owned
about twenty years. A prospect of scenic beauty
meets the eye from the hillside where he lived.
He was soon appreciated by the Townsend people,
for in 1764 and 1765 he represented them in the
provincial legislature, in which body he served on
several committees.
" September y® 17, 1771, were lawfully married
Henry Price Esq., with Lydia Eandall, both of
Townsend, by Eeverend Samuel Dix of Townsend."
By this third marriage two children were bom to
him, Mary and Eebecca. He lived quietly in this
town and enjoyed his increasing years. Tradition
says that on nearly every Sabbath morning he and
his family were driven to church by his negro slave
Scipio, and that they invariably returned home at
noon, when a good dinner awaited their arrival.
He died on the 20th of May, 1780, from the effect
of a wound in his abdomen caused by a glancing
axe held in his own hands. He performed many
journeys to Boston in connection with his masonic
duties, where in his old age he was regarded with
reverence by the order. At the age of seventy-one
years, and while installing Grand Master Kowe, he
used these impressive words : —
"It is God's decree that every one shall die.
Death is his messenger to enforce his law ; nor will
he let any of us carry from hence any mark of hu¬
man pride, treasures or honors, or any proof of our
earthly consequence but a good conscience obtained
from a well-spent life; from which reflects the
most brilliant legacy we can leave our friends in
this world, — a good name."
Through the moss on the slate head-stone at his
grave the passer-by may trace these words, which
have remained there for a century: "An Honest
Man. The Noblest Work of God."
390
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The industries of Townsend, aside from agri¬
culture, have been numerous. John Wallace and
his brother, men of Scotch-Irish origin, came here
soon after the settlement of the town, and located
on Nissequassick Hill. They were coopers in Bos¬
ton, but chose this town for a permanent residence
on account of the large quantity of white-oak tim¬
ber found here. Coopering has been the leading
mechanical pursuit in Townsend since it was in¬
troduced by these men. Until within the last half-
century no machinery was used in making barrels ;
but, since the disappearance of the original growth
of the white-oak, barrels have been made from
white-pine, and machinery has been extensively
utilized in preparing coopering stock. This busi¬
ness has brought a large amount of-money into
the town. In 1874, according to the decennial
census of the state, the capital invested in this
branch of industry was $202,700 ; amount of
goods manufactured, $344,254. The lumber-mills
of the town are, at present, almost exclusively
used in the interest of the coopering business.
There are two leather-board mills, which turn out
many tons of product annually ; and two grist¬
mills sent out, in 1874, $20,000 worth of corn,
rye, atid wheat, ground into meal and flour. The
town has had clothiers, saddlers, morocco-dressers,
wool-carders, and hatters, besides those engaged in
tiie manufacture of spinning-wheels, potash, and
cast-iron ware, all of which trades and occupations
are now extinct.
Townsend has had its full share of ingenious
mechanics, the Richardsons, Whitneys, and Ste-
venses ranking in this class. Long ago Levi Rich¬
ardson, through the influence of General Varnum,
M. C., became the patentee of a spinning-wheel,
and of a self-setting machine for sawing boards.
Samuel Whitney, a blacksmith, was the inven¬
tor of the machine known as. the Woodworth
Planer. He had the castings made, to which he
applied the knives and "feeding" part, made by
himself ; and he put the machine successfully at
work in presence of men who are still among
the living. Neglecting to apply with suflicient
promptness for letters-patent, the place where his
model was stored M'as broken into, and drawings
taken, from which another model was made.
William Stevens, an excellent machinist. M'as
the inventor of a self-setting gear for the stave-
saw, which is in constant use in the cooperitig
business, and is a great labor-saving contrivance.
Asa Whitney was a prominent mechanic, from
the same blacksmith-shop of his brother Samuel, to
M'hom reference has just been made. As a railroad
engineer he M'as at the head of the profession.
When the Erie Railway was being built, he was
consulted by the directors on the question of its
gauge, to M'hich he gave an elaborate opinion in
favor of the 4-feet 8^-inch gauge, which, had it
been then adopted (as it recently has been), would
have saved the railM'ay millions of dollars. At
the close of his life, in 1874, he M'as engaged iii
Philadelphia, at the head of the firm of A. Whit¬
ney & Sons, in the manufacture of car-M'heels.
By his M'ill he left $50,000 to found a chair of
dynamical engineering in the University of Penn¬
sylvania. He left a large fortune, and was the
only Townsend man knoM'ii to the writer who was
ever a millionnaire.
Let this synopsis of the history of an old town¬
ship be closed by a single quotation, which should
awaken everywhere a greater respect for the mem¬
ory of those great minds which, during all the
past, have been continually adding to the aggre¬
gate of human knoM'ledge and iiappiness, from
the time of Tubal Cain, the first known cunning
artificer, to that of our own ^Middlesex County
Morse, whose first message over the wires M'as,
" What hath God wrought ! "
"The people of the present owe everything to
the past ; and without the accomplishments of
those M'ho have preceded us, man would be simply
a barbarian in the wilderness, crouching in a cave,
shivering in the cold, afraid of the thunder, trem¬
bling before the lightning, shuddering at the mys¬
terious voices" of the M'inds, without even a knife
or a hatchet to defend himself against the wild
beasts."
TYNGSBOROUGH.
391
TYNGSBOROUGH.
BY REV. ELIAS NASON.
fHIS pleasant rural town, lying
in the northerly part of the
county, and intersected by the
Merrimack River, is thirty-
two miles from Boston, and
has for its boundaries New
Hampshire on the north, Dracut
on the east, Chelmsford and
Westford on the south, and
Groton and Dunstable on the
west. It contains 665 inhabitants, who are mostly
engaged in the cultivation of the soil. The town
is accommodated by the Lowell and Nashua Rail¬
road, and an iron bridge has recently been con¬
structed over the Merrimack River, by which the
easterly and westerly sections of the town are
brought into direct communication. The view of
the bridge and of the well-shaded village on the
bend of the river is remarkably fine. Two or
three affluents of the Merrimack River furnish
some motive-power, and Tyng's Pond in the east¬
ern, and Massapoag Pond in the western section
of the town serve to diversify the scenery and to
attract pleasure-parties in the summer season.
Granite is quarried to some extent near the line of
Westford, and iron ore is found on the margin of
Lawrence Brook. Scribuer's Hill, Pine Hill, and
Abraham's Hill are the principal eminences.
Wicasuck Island, in the Merrimack River, con¬
taining about sixty-five acres, is somewhat noted
in history, and upon it many Indian implements,
such as arrow-heads, gouges, and tomahawks, have
been found. The town originally formed part of
Dunstable, and the people, for a long period, at¬
tended public worship in that town ; but disagree¬
ing as to the location of the meeting-house, a
parish, called the First in Dunstable, was organized
in 1755.
A small meeting-house was erected, and public
worship to some extent maintained. The place was
incorporated as a district, June 23, 1789, and as
a town, February 23, 1809, receiving its name
from Mrs. Sarah Tyng Winslow, wiio had made
a liberal donation for the support of the church
and of an academy.
So far as known, the first white settler in what
is now the town of Tyngsborough was John Crom¬
well, a fur-trader, who, some time prior to 1661,
purchased of Captain Edward Johnson of Woburn
three hundred acres of land on the right bank of
the Merrimack River, built a house, and made
some improvements on his farm. He died in
1661, leaving a widow. Seaborne Cromwell, and
an estate valued at £608 2«. 8(7. His servants
were Thomas Williams and Walter Shepiierd, who
in 1702 testified in respect to the estate. The land
subsequently came into the possession of Henry
Farwell, and then into that of the Bancroft family.
It is said, though with but little appearance of
truth, that Cromwell was accustomed to use his
foot in weighing the peltries which he bought of
the Indians, and that they at length became so
much incensed at him for unfair dealing with
them, that they made an assault upon his house, —
he and his family having only time to escape into
the wilderness, — and then reduced it to ashes.
The cellar of the house is still visible, and a sum
of money was found buried in an iron pot near by
it. In his account of Tyngsborough (October,
1815) (he Rev. Mr. Prentice sa\'s : "Some time
after, pewter was found in the well, and an iron pot
and trammel in the sand ; the latter are preserved.
The present owner of the place was ploughing
near the spot, and found his plough moving over
a flat stone which gave a hollow sound. On re¬
moving the earth and stone, he discovered a hole
stoned, about six inches in diameter, from which
he took a sum of money." Such discoveries were
no doubt made, but there is no evidence, except
tradition, that Cromwell buried the money, or that
his house was destroyed by the savages. The in¬
ventory of his estate, as given by his widow, seems
to disprove the whole story.
The town of Dunstable, including what is now
Tyngsborough, was incorporated October 16, 1673,
and among the petitioners for the act was Jonathan
392
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Tyng, son of the Hon. Edward Tyng, born in Boston,
December 15,1642. He early came to Dunstable,
and erected a bouse on the right bank of the Merri¬
mack River, nearly opposite Wicasuck Island, where
he continued to reside until about the year 1713.
He died on the 19th of January, 1724. His father,
Edward Tyng, removed from Boston to Dunstable
about the year 1677, and died there December 27,
1681. He was buried in the old Tyng Cemetery,
and the inscription on his head-stone is :—
"Here lyetli the body of Mr. EDWARD TING Esqr.
aged 71 yeares. Died December 27 Day 1681."
At the time of Jonathan Tyng's arrival in
Dunstable it was a frontier settlement. A dreary
wilderness, occupied by savages and beasts of
prey, extended on the north as far as Canada;
the Pawtucket Indians, under Waimalancet, held
the lands upon the river below; the hostile
Pennacooks above. But few white men had
then ventured to fix their habitations in this
region. Tyng fortified his house, laid out his
farm, and resolved to stand firmly at his post.
His bravery was soon put to the test. On the
breaking out of Philip's War in 1675, as the en¬
emy was found to be approaching, the English
settlers left their homes and fied ; but Jonathan
Tyng, strengthening his garrison as best he could,
remained as the sole inhabitant of the place. For
this he may well be called the first permanent
settler of Dunstable. The following petition
clearly gives the situation : —
"The petition of Jonathan Tyng Humbly Shew-
eth : That y' Petitioner living in the uppermost
house on Merimac River, lying open to y® enemy,
yet being so seated that it is as it were a watch
house to the neighboring towns, from whence we
can easily give them notice of the approach of the
enemy, and may also be of use to the publique in
many respects ; also are near unto the place of the
Indians ffishing, from which in the season thereof
they have great supplies, which I doubt not but we
may be a great means of preventing them thereof,
there being never an inhabitant left in the town but
myself:—Wherefore your Petitioner doth humbly
request that your Honors would be pleased to order
him three or four men to help garrison his said
house, which he has been at great charge to ffortify,
and may be of service to the publique : your favour
herin shall further oblige me as in duty bound to pray
for a blessing on your Councils and remain Your
Honrables humble servant, Jonathan Tyng.
" Dc.nstable, Feb, 3d, 1675 -6. "
The soldiers sent to defend Mr. Tyng's house
were detached from the company of Captain Sam¬
uel Moseley, and for their support Mr. Tyng
presented, in 1676, this account: " 18 of Capt.
Moseley's men from Aug. 13 to Sept. 10, £16 16i.;
for 9 men from Sept. 11 to Jan. 17, £47 18«.; for
6 men from Jan. 18 to May 25, £25 3«. and for 3
men from May 26 to July 14, £88«. also for 20 lbs.
of powder at sundry times at 18 <7. per lb. and 250
bullets, 5«. delivered for scouting." Also, "for
2 horses to Pennycook out 3 days, 1 s. 6 d."
At the close of the war about sixty of the Pray¬
ing Indians were removed to Wicasuck Island, aud
placed under the care of Mr. Tyng, who had Robert
Parris, afterwards slain by the Indians, for an as¬
sistant. It was probably for this service that the
court granted to Mr. Tyng, December 5, 1683,
" the island in Merrimacke River called Weikeset."
Mr. Tyng was the largest landholder in Dun¬
stable. In consideration of £ 23 due to him by
the town, three thirty-acre rights were granted
to him, which were equal to about 1,800 acres.
" This, with large accessions, has continued iu the
Tyng and Brinley families to the present day, and
extends from the Merrimack River about six miles
westward, by one mile wide to the Massapoag
Pond, forming a large part of the town of Tyngs-
borough." ^
The Waldo farm extended northward from
Tyng's farm as far as Holden's Brook ; and Cap¬
tain Thomas Wheeler's farm extended thence into
what is now Nashua, New Hampshire. A part of
Wheeler's land subsequently became, and still is,
the Bancroft farm. Joseph Perham, Joseph But-
terfield, and others took up lands, and settled on
the easterly side of the Merrimack River as early
as 1711.
The first birth mentioned on the records of
Dunstable is that of William, son of Jonathan
and Sarah (Usher) Tyng, bom April 22, 1679.
Of Jonathan Tyng's other children, John (H. U.
1691) was born September 11, 1673, and Eleazer
(H.U. 1712), April 30, 1690.
In 1697 the garrisons in Dunstable were under
the supervision of the brave Jonathan Tyng, and
he was allowed £20 for keeping the friendly
sachem, Wannalancet, at Wicasuck Island. Early
in this year the celebrated heroine, Hannah Dus-
' "July 21, 1729, Joseph Blanchard aud his wife Reheccah
sell to Ebenezer Tyng, Esq., for £. 160 in good puhliek hills of
credit in the Province two full and whole thirty acre allot¬
ments." Deed acknowledged before Benjamin Thompson, J. P.,
April 16, 1741.
TTNGSBOROUGH.
393
tan, whoj with her assistants, Mary Neff and the
boy Leoiiardsoii, had taken the scalps of ten In¬
dians at Contoocook, New Hampshire, was kindly
entertained at the house of Colonel Tyng, as she was
on her way to her desolate home in Haverhill.
In the winter of 1703 Captain William Tyng,
commanding a company of "snow-shoe men,"
made a successful expedition to the headquarters
of " Old Harry," near Lake Winnipiseogee. They
succeeded in killing six of the enemy, among whom
was the traitor, " Old Harry himself'," who had led
the assaults on Dunstable. For this act of bravery
the General Court subsequently granted ta the
heirs of those composing this company a tract of
land, at first called " Old Harry's Town," then
Tyngstown, and afterwards Manchester.
In the winter following. Captain John Tyng, with
another company, made an expedition to Pequaw-
kett, or Pigwacket, and took five Indian scalps,
for which they received £200. In 1710 the gal¬
lant commander of this company was mortally
wounded by the Indians between Concord and
Groton, and was buried, August 18, at the former
place.^
The celebrated Joe English, grandson pf Mas-
conomo, sagamore of Ipswich, was shot by the
Indians, near Holden's Brook, in what is now
Tyngsborough, on the 27th of July, 1706. He
was acting as a guard to Captain Butterfield and
wife, who were travelling on horseback. Killing
the horse and taking Mrs. Butterfield captive, the
Indians then pursued Joe English, firing at him
and wounding him while attempting to shelter
himself behind a clump of trees. To escape the
torture of the savages, he insulted them with
taunting words, when they at once despatched iiim
with their tomahawks. His widow and his two
children received a grant of money from the gov¬
ernment, because " he died in the service of his
country."
In 1711 there were as many as seven garrison-
houses in Dunstable, and two of them. Colonel Jona¬
than Tyng's and Henry Farwell's, were within tiie
limits of the present town of Tyngsborough ; but
the Indian depredations were mostly made in other
sections of the settlement. The name of Tyng was
a terror to the enemy. There is a tradition, how¬
ever, that as John Anthony, afterwards of Dracut,
Black Tom, and Elisha, a friendly Indian, were re¬
turning with hay from Tyng's meadow, in what is
* See BíMÍtUscences ^ Old Duntiablci by John B. Hill, Esq.,
p. SO.
now Hudson, New Hampshire, Elisha, being in
advance of the other two, was shot by the hostile
savages, who were lying in ambush. His com¬
panions, coming up, found his dead body lying
in the stream since known as " Elisha's Brook."
Three guns were fired and the drum was beaten at
the garrison of Colonel Tyng on this occasion, to give
warning that the enemy was in the neighborhood.
It is said, also, that Church Hill was so named
because a Mr. Church, on seeing tlie Littlehale
family who resided there, and whose two sons had
been carried into captivity by the Indians, ex¬
claimed, "Let this place be called Church Hill
forever ! "
On the 31st of December, 1722, Ensign Joseph
Farwell, who with his son, Henry Farwell, had
settled on a part of the Waldo farm, died, and
was buried in the old cemetery at Little's Station.
His son, Henry Farwell, held a captain's commis¬
sion, and was a deacon of the church. Oliver,
another son of Joseph Farwell, was killed by the
Indians near what is now Thornton's Ferry, on the
5th of September, 1724. His uncle, Josiah Far-
well, born August 17, 1698, was the only one who
escaped from that fatal ambuscade.
On the 8th of May, 1725, occurred the famous
fight between Captain John Lovewell and the Pe-
quawkett Indians under Paugus, in what is now the
town of Fryeburg, Maine. In this fight Lieutenant
Josiah Farwell received a wound, and subsequently
perished in the wilderness. The news of the en¬
counter was brought by Benjamin Hassell, a de¬
serter, to Colonel Eleazer Tyng, who, in a letter to
Governor Dummer, dated Dunstable, May 11,
1725, says : —
" Capt. Lovewell fell at the first Volue the In¬
dians shott, & Groand : this man [Hassell] being
clost by him, & then he saw several of Capt. Love-
well's men get behind trees. Upon this, seeing
such a great number of Indians, thought it best to
return to some men they had left with a sick man
at a Fort they had made, about thirty miles back,
by Ossipee Pond, & he got to the Fort the next
morning about nine oclock.
"lour Hon" Most Humble Servant,
" Eleazer Tyng.
"And if your Honor thinks fitt, I will march up
to the place."
Colonel Tyng left Dunstable on the 17th: of May
with a company of men, and proceeded to the scene
of Lovewell's fight. Here they identified and buried
394
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the bodies of Captain John Lovewell, Ensign Jona¬
than Bobbins, Ensign John Harwood, and Eobert
Usher, of Dunstable ; Sergeant Jacob Fulhain, of
Weston ; Jacob Farrar and Josiah Davis, of Con¬
cord; Thomas Woods, Daniel Woods, and John
Jefts, of Groton ; Ichabod Johnson, of Woburn ;
and Jonathan Kittredge, of Billerica. They also
found the body of the chieftain Paugus.
The house of Colonel Eleazer Tyng seemed to be
a kind of rendezvous for the friendly Indians, as
that of his father had been before him, and it is
not without interest that we read this record in the
journals of the General Court : —
"Nov. 6, 1725, Col. Tyng presented an account
for Expences in Keeping old Christians Squaw and
young Christians Squaw from June 9 to Nov. 5,
£10, 10«. he was allowed £5, 5«. —and the next
year, he was allowed for keeping old Christians
Squaw from Nov 6 to Jan 28, 1726."
The name of " Christian " was Joseph. He was
a Mohawk Indian, and long acted as a guide to the
English in their marches through the wilderness.
He died July 10, 1725, at Dunstable.^
By the state line, established in 1741, the pres¬
ent territory of Tyngsborough was thrown into
Massachusetts, and the people for a while acted in
church affairs with those of Dunstable, Massachu¬
setts, forming, as they did, a part of this munici¬
pality. The Indians had long since ceased to
molest them, and nothing of consequence occurred
to interrupt the even tenor of their way.
In the expedition under Sir William Pepperell
to Cape Breton, in 1745, Benjamin, son of Lieu¬
tenant Joseph Butterfield, was lost.
Lieutenant Timothy Bancroft, a farmer of note,
settled in what is now Tyngsborough about the
year 1730, married for his first wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Deacon Henry Farwell, and died
November 4, 1772. Two of his sons, Ebenezer
(born April 1, 1738) and Jonathan (born Au¬
gust 11, 1750), settled in Dunstable atid became
prominent in public affairs. Ebenezer married.
May 5, 1753, Susanna, daughter of Deacon Joseph
Fletcher, of Dunstable, and in 1755 entered the
provincial army and served through five campaigns.
His brother Jonathan was a deacon of the church
and soldier in the Bevolutionary army. Soon after
the organization of the parish in 1765 a meeting
was held, the proceedings of which are thus re¬
corded : —
" August 20, 1755. At a loyal Meeting held in
' Kidder's Erpeditioni of Captain John LooeweU, p. 8.
the first Parish in Dunstable, voted that the Place
for a Meeting House for the Publick worship of
God, in this precinct be on the west of Merrimack
Eiver, near Mr. James Gordons mills, where a fraim
is erected for that Purpose. Also Voted to accept
the Fraim that is Now on the spot. Messrs. John
Tyng & Jonathan Tyng came to the meeting, and
gave the Precinct, Glass for the meeting house.
Voted to raise twenty-seven pounds to finish the
meeting house, also voted the precinct Committee
to see the work done.
"Eleazer Tyng, Moderator."
The meeting-house was erected, having two
porches and a tall steeple, near the site of the
present Unitarian Church. Of it the Hon. John
Pitts is said to have written : —
" A very small meeting-house,
A very tall steeple,
A very proud parson,
A queer sort of people."
In 1756 Eleazer Tyng, Simon Thompson, and
Oliver Farwell were appointed a committee " to
sett off the pew ground to those that have given
& Pay** most toward building Said house." In
1757 the parish raised £14 "to hire preaching";
and recent graduates of Harvard College were gen¬
erally employed to occupy the pulpit. The elders
sat upon an elevated seat in front of the pulpit,
and tithing-men were employed to keep the young
people in order.
The selectmen for 1760 were Eleazer Tyng,
Major John A. Tyng, and Joseph Danforth, all of
whom were of. the First Parish in Dunstable,—
that is, the present Tyngsborough. The members
of this parish, in 1762, were : Eleazer Tyng, Jolm
Tyng, John A. Tyng, James Tyng, William H.
Prentice, William Gordon, Eobert Fletcher, Sam¬
uel Gould, Joseph Butterfield, Eeuben Butterfield,
John Perham, Joseph Perham, James Perham,
Jacob Fletcher, Elijah Fletcher, Zaccheus Spaulding,
Samuel Gould, Thomas Jewell, Benoni Jewell,
John Ingles, Jonathan Perham, Samuel Fletcher,
John Littlehale, Abraham Littlehale, Timothy Ban¬
croft, Jonathan Butterfield, Jonathan Farwell,
Joseph Winn, Eleazer Fanvell, Benjamin Farwell,
Simon Thompson, Nathan Thompson, Ezra Thomp¬
son, Silas Thompson, Asa Thompson, John Alls,
Thomas Estabrook, Thomas Estabrook, Jr., Timo¬
thy Barron, William Barron, Eobert Scott, Jacob
Eeed, John Scott, Willard Hale, John Lewis,
Eeuben Lewis, Archibald Eobinson, Joseph French,
Esq., Lieutenant John Vamum, James Littleliale,
TYNGSBOROUGH.
395
Daniel Fletcher, John Didson, Samuel Howard,
Oliver Colburn, Ezra Colburn, Joseph Ayres,
John Haddock, John Harabletj total, 58. The
Butterfield, Fletcher, Gould, Colburn, Perham,
Haniblet, and Varnum families dwelt on the easterly
side of the Merrimack River, which they crossed by
means of a ferry-boat owned by the town. The
mill of William Gordon, on Bridge Meadow Brook,
and the tavern were the general places of resort.
Several slaves were held in easy bondage, and some
person was annually chosen to protect the deer which
were still occasionally found in the extensive forests.
It was voted in 1768 "to build a bridge with
stone over Biscake Brook," a little stream which
enters the Merrimack River near where tiie railroad
depot now stands. William Henry Prentice and
Jonathan Holden were appointed to assist John
Perham, highway surveyor, in constructing it.
In the War of the Revolution the First Parish
of Dunstable took a patriotic and active part. The
Hon. John Tyng was chosen in 1768 to represent
the town of Dunstable in the convention held in
Boston that year for the preservation of the public
peace and safety. On the 2.3d of January, 1775,
the town of Dunstable made choice of John Tyng
and James Tyng to represent it in the Provincial
Congress, and on the 1st of February following
it appointed those two gentlemen, together with
Joseph Danforth, Nathaniel Holden, William Gor¬
don, the miller, Joel Parkhurst, Reuben Butterfield,
Jacob Butterfield, and Leonard Butterfield as a
committee of inspection.
Minute-men were soon enrolled, the old mus¬
kets used in the French war put in order, and pow¬
der and ball provided. The sentiment of liberty
was deeply imbedded in the hearts of the people,
and all were agreed that British aggression must
be sternly met. Soon after the battle of Lexing¬
ton the town " voted to accept of y® Powder James
Tyng, Esq., bought for this town," and on the
12th of June Abel Spaulding, Lemuel Perham,
Elijah Fletcher, and Asa Kendall were chosen to
join the committee of correspondence.
At the battle of Bunker Hill a Dunstable com¬
pany, with Ebenezer Bancroft captain, Nathaniel
Holden lieutenant, and Samuel Brown ensign,
performed effective service. The narrative given
by John B. Hill, Esq., of the gallant Captain Ban¬
croft's part in the action is remarkably interesting.
It was taken from Captain Bancroft in 1825, and
then reduced to writing. In it that gallant officer
says ; —
"Col. Prescott came to me and said, 'If you
can do anything with the cannon, I wish you
would. I give you the charge of them.' I directed
the men to dig down the bank [of the redoubt] in
order to form an embrasure, which they were forced
to do with their hands, for the party that had car¬
ried off the intrenching tools had not left us a sin¬
gle shovel or mattock. Men never worked with
more zeal. To loosen tiie earth, I loaded the can¬
non and fired into the gap, and they dug again, and
I fired again a second time. Both these balls fell
in Boston, one near the meeting-house in Brattle
Square, the other on Cornhill, as I was afterwards
informed by Boston gentlemen. By this time the
British had landed. They learned that we had
cannon on the right or most westwardly part of
the fort, which was probably the reason they did
not attempt to fiank us on that quarter till the
close of the action. We were not able to use these
cannon in the action, because the enemy advanced
and the firing commenced before we had time to
dig down the bank far enough to use them against
the enemy. Still, as the few shots that were fired
gave the enemy notice that we had artillery, and
prevented their attempting to turn our right flank,
it must be regarded as a very important circum¬
stance j for, had they attempted it, they would
have succeeded, and we should not have had more
than a shot or two at them The British
troops had begun their march. They were steadily
and confidently advancing directly in our front.
Our men turned their heads every minute to look
on the one side for their fellow-soldiers who had
gone off with the tools, and for the reinforcements
which were expected ; and on the other to see a
sight which was to most of them new, — a veteran
army marching on firmly to the attack, directly in.
their front.
" It was an awful moment. The enemy had ad¬
vanced, perhaps, half the way from their station
toward us, and our men, seeing no reinforcements,
began by a simultaneous movement to draw off
from the east side of the redoubt. This, in my
opinion, was the very crisis of the day, the mo¬
ment on which everything depended. Col. Pres¬
cott hastened to them, and I followed him. We
represented with earnestness that they must not go
off; that if they did, all would go ; that it would
disgrace us to leave at the bare eight of the enemy
the work we had been all night throwing up ; that
we had no expectation of being able to hold our
ground, but we wanted to give them a warm
B96
HISTORY' OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
reception and retreat. It is but justice to
these men to say that they cheerfully took their
places again, and maintained them as bravely as
any that fought that day. As the enemy were ad¬
vancing within gunshot, Col. Prescott and the offi¬
cers gave orders to the men to take particular
notice of the fine coats, and to aim as low as the
waistbands, and not to fire till ordered. A firing
of eight or ten guns commenced before orders, at
the left of the redoubt, but was immediately
stopped. We wished the fire to be held till the
enemy were within six rods. Our first fire was
shockingly fatal. There was scarcely a shot but
told. The enemy were thrown into confusion, and
retreated a short distanee. Their lines were bro¬
ken, and it was some minutes before they had eon-
veyed their dead and wounded into their rear. A
scattering fire was still kept up by our men. They
formed again and advanced, and were a second
time driven back in the same confusion. They
formed a third time, and flanked us. A body of
reinforcements, which had come up in the rear of
the redoubt, gave them a fire. At this moment,
as I understood, Gen. Warren fell. Our ammuni¬
tion was now nearly expended, which the enemy
probably learned by those who had fired away all
their powder throwing stones, which were abun¬
dant in the trench. W^e were soon surrounded on
all sides. The day was over, and we had nothing
more but to retreat as well as we could.
" As I was loading my gun the last time, and
just withdrawing the ramrod, an officer sprang
over the breastworks in front of me, and presented
his piece. I threw away the rammer which was in
my hand, and instantly placed the muzzle of my
gun against his right shoulder, a little below the
collar-bone, and fired, and he fell in the trench.
This was my 27th fire that day. The wound it
gave was in the same place as that by which Pit-
cairn died, and, as near as I can recollect, the per¬
son I shot answered the description of that officer,
who was found mortally wounded in our trench.
" I had then a severe struggle to escape out of
the fort, the gateway of which was completely
filled with British soldiers. I held my gun
broadwise before my face, and rushed upon them,
and at first bore some of them down ; but I soon
lost my gun, a remarkably long one, which I had
taken from the French at Chamblée, in the old
French war. I leaped upon the heads of the
throng in the gateway, and fortunately struck my
breast upon the head of a soldier, who settled down
under n\e, so that I came with my feet to the
ground. Directly as I came to the ground, a
blow was aimed at me with the butt of a gun,
which missed my head, but gave me a severe con¬
tusion on the right shoulder. Numbers were try¬
ing to seize me by the arms, but I broke from
them, and with my elbows and knees cleared the
way, so that at length I got through the crowd.
The last man I passp.d stood alone, and the
thought struck me that he might kill me after I
had passed him. As I ran by him I struck him
a blow across the throat with the side of my hand.
I saw his mouth open, and I have not seen him
since. A shower of shot was falling all around
me as I ran down the hill. One struck off my hat,
several marked my clothes ; one struck me in the
left hand, and carried off the forefinger. Our men
were all in advance of me, and I was almost, if not
entirely alone from the time I left the fort till I
came to Charlestown Neck, on which there was not
a man to be seen. I thought it might be some pro¬
tection from the fire of the floating batteries, to go
behind the buildings By this time I grew very
faint with fatigue and loss of blood. There was
a horse tied by the side of the Common, and I
made towards him. Col. James Varnum saw me,
and came to me. He took me by the arm, and led
me to the horse. While he was with me the ball
of the last cannon I heard that day passed within a
foot or two of me, and struck the ground a short
distance before me. We found the owner of the
horse by him, and he cheerfully offered him to me
to ride to Cambridge. Our loss was principally on
the retreat ; very few were killed in the fort."
Captain Bancroft continued in the service during
the war. He was at the battle of Bennington, and
was major in the regiment of Colonel Brooks in the
Campaign at White Plains. He was commissioned
lieutenant-colonel, July 1, 1781, and served that
year in Rhode Island. He also held many civil
offices, and in 1776 reported strong resolutions,
which the town adopted, in favor of the Declara¬
tion of Independence.
Among others of the First Parish who served in
the Revolutionary War may be mentioned Sergeant
Jonathan Bancroft, Captain Reuben Butterfield,
Captain Nathaniel Holden, whose house is still stand¬
ing on tlie left bank of Holden's Brook, Captain Jon¬
athan Fletcher, Eleazer Farwell, Nathaniel Ingalls,
Lieutenant John Farwell, Levi Butterfield, Salathiel
Frost, William Perham, Robbin Skinner, John Mer¬
rill, Daniel Jaques, Benjamin Swan, Asa Emerson,
TYNGSBOBOUGH.
397
Noah M. Gould, and Sergeant Eeuben Butterfield,
Jr., who was killed in the battle of White Plains,
October 7, 1777. Jumping upon a fence, he cried,
" I '11 give them one firing more I " when a shot
from the enemy struck him, and he fell dead in the
presence of his comrade, Nathaniel Ingalls. Daniel
Jaques died September 2, 1835, and on his head¬
stone, in the cemetery near the Thompson place, in
Tyngsborough, is written, "To die is to go home";
and also, " A soldier of the Eevolution." Benja¬
min Swan was stationed at Saratoga, New York.
The Precinct Committee in 1776 were Ebeuezer
Bancroft, Captain Eeuben Butterfield, and Lieu¬
tenant Nathaniel Holden; the treasurer was Lieu¬
tenant Nathaniel Holden, the collector, Eeuben
Lewis, and the clerk, Ebenezer Bancroft.
The parish voted, June 17, 1777, "to pay the
soldiers for 8 months service in the war at Cam¬
bridge, £8. to each man that performed it belong¬
ing to the parish." It also voted " For 2 months
at Cambridge or Dorchester £2; for 12 months
at York £18; for 5 months at Ticonderoga
£12; for 2 months at Ehode Island, £5"; and
July 3, 1780, "Voted to allow Noah M. Gould
and Nathaniel Ingles 300 dollars in lieu of so
much corn at 15 dollars pr bushel." This last
vote shows not only the depreciation of money at
that period, but also that reckoning by the federal j
currency had already come into use.
Some time during this war three British prison¬
ers, while crossing the river in a boat near Wi-
casuck Island, were upset and drowned. Their
bodies were buried on land now occupied by Mr.
Solomon Spaulding.
The parish lost a valuable citizen in 1782 by the
death of Eleazer Tyng, Esq., who had served it, as
well as the state, in various civil offices. He was
buried in the Tyng cemetery, about a mile south of
the village. A horizontal tablet has been placed over
his remains, bearing the following inscription :—
"Underneatli are Entombed the Remains of Eleazer
Tyng, Esq. who died May 21, 1782, aged 92 : Mrs. Sarah
Tyng, who died May 23, 1753, aged 59 : John Alfnrd
Tyng, Esq. who died Sept. 4, 1775, aged 44; John Wins-
low, Esq. who died Nov. 3, 1788, aged 8*8 ; Mrs Sarah
Wiiislow [the last surviving child of the said Eleazer Tyng
& the truly liberal Benefactress of the church of Christ
& Grammar School in this place, in honor of whose name &
family it is called Tyngsborough], who died Oct. 29,1791,
aged 72."
The house of Eleazer Tyng, built in 1700,
standing near the cemetery is now occupied by
Mr. Jacob Drake, and is supposed to be the oldest
house in town. The so-called " haunted house "
stood near it. ^
It was deemed advisable in 1787 to consolidate
the two parishes of Dunstable into one, and erect
a meeting-house on laud of Mr. Ezra Thompson,
about a mile west of the Merrimack Eiver, and
several meetings were held to carry this proposition
into eftect; but on the 7th of January, 1789, Mrs.
Sarah (Tyng) Winslow proposed, on certain con¬
ditions, to make a donation to the town, and this
prevented the union of the parishes.
Her communication to the town is this : —
" To promote learning and piety in this town of
Dunstable, and to unite the town in peace, I will
give the income or interest of £1,333 6«. 8«?. law¬
ful money to y' said town, one half for the support
of a minister, and the other half for the support of
a Grammar School forever on y® following condi¬
tions, viz.; Provided the town will settle a minister
within one year, who shall be approved by the-
Congregational ministers in the five neighboring
towns. That y° town repair y® East meeting¬
house, and that a meeting-house be forever upheld
on the spot on which the said meeting-house now
stands. Also, that a convenient house for a gram¬
mar-school be built within one year, as near the
said meeting-house as the grounds will admit a
I house for said purpose, and on ye said ground, to
be upheld forever, and such a learned and vertuous
schoolmaster be provided, as the President of y®
University in Cambridge shall recommend. Pro¬
vided likewise that I am not held to pay parish
taxes, nor any more expenses for the support of a
school in said town. If the town accept of y®
foregoing proposals and conditions, I agree to give
them security for the performance thereof on my
part. Sarah Winslow.
" Dunstable, Jan' 7, 1789."
To the conditions of this proposed benefaction
the people in the westerly part of the town, living
as far as they did from the village of Tyngsbor¬
ough, very naturally objected; and therefore on
the 28th of April following she made the proposal
to give the sum above mentioned " to the people
that lately formed the First Parish, and to such
others as will cheerfully accept of it."
In order to secure the donation the people origi¬
nally forming the First Parish were, on the 22d
of June, 1789, incorporated into a district under
the name of Tyngsborough, and then accepted and
appropriated the liberal gift of Mrs. Winslow.
398
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
The population of the district in 1790 was 882,
of whom seventeen were colored persons. On the
6th of January of this year a churcli was formed,
and the Kev. Nathaniel Lawrence (H. C. 1787)
was ordained as pastor. He continued in the
pastorate until his death, the record of which is
thus made on Iiis headstone in the cemetery near
the Thompson place : —
" In memory of Rev. Nathaniel Lawrence who died on
Loi-d's day, Feb. 5, 1813 œt. 72^. Mr Lawrence was a
native of Wohiirn, Mass. He graduated at Harvard Col¬
lege in 1787, and on Jan' 6, ] 790, was ordained pastor of
the Congregational Society in Tyngshorough wliicli rela¬
tion continued 49 years. On the morning of Feb. 5 he
attended church as usual in apparent good health, but on
returning to his dwelling very suddenly expired. His
death was tliat of the righteous and his last end like his."
His wife, Hannah, died September 20, 1835, in
her seventy-second year, and is buried near him.
The churcli of Mr. Lawrence became Unitarian in
sentiment, and so continues.
In 1802 it was " voted that the small scholars
shall not be admitted into the Grammar School
until they obtain such a pitch of learning as the
selectmen shall think proper."
The population in 1800 had arisen to 696, and
in the year following John Pitts, Esq., who had
married Mary, daughter of Judge John Tyng, was
chosen to represent Dunstable in the General
Court. His daughter Elizabeth married Robert
Brinley, of Tyngsborough, September 10, 1803.
The district of Tyngsborough was taken from
Dunstable, and incorporated as a town Febru¬
ary 23, 1809, and by the census of the year fol¬
lowing it contained 704 inhabitants.
In the great gale, September, 1815, the tall
steeple of the meeting-house was blown down and
other damage done. The present Unitárian Church
was subsequently erected on or near the site of the
original meeting-house.
Captain Nathaniel Holden, who had served in
the Revolution and in many town offices, died,
greatly lamented, January 21, 1817, aged seventy-
six years. He was called the Peacemaker, and
Holden's Brook perpetuates his memory. In 1820
the population of the town had arisen to 808, and
peace and prosperity prevailed.
Colonel Ebenezer Bancroft, after a life long and
well spent, died here September 22, 1827, in the
ninetieth year of his age. He was buried under
arms, and on the march to the grave near what is
now Little's Station the band played the tune of
" Blue Eyed Mary," this being the only one which
all the musicians could perform. Ebenezer Ban¬
croft, grandson of Colonel Ebenezer Bancroft, and
bom December 21, 1807, now occupies " the old
Bancroft homestead."
By the opening of the Lowell and Nashua Rail¬
road, October 8, 1838, the town was largely bene¬
fited, a ready means of communication with Bos¬
ton being thus afforded, and the expense of trans¬
porting produce to market much diminished. The
number of inhabitants in 1840 was 870, and for
the year ending April 1, 1845, 14,831 bushels of
fruit were raised and 1,550 tons of hay were cut.
A large quantity of lumber, especially from the
Tyng Woods, was prepared for market, and some
brushes were manufactured. The schools were in
a good condition.
On the 27th of November, 1848, James Butter-
field, son of James, and born September 30, 1788,
was instantly killed by the cars while walking on
the railroad track. Two trains were passing at
the time. The accident occurred about half a mile
below the Tyngsborough station.
In 1860 the population had declined to 626 ; in
the war which followed the town patriotically fur¬
nished its full quota of men who did effective ser¬
vice in the Union army. In 1865 the number of
farms was 7iinety-eight, and a box manufactory had
been established, employing six persons. Robert
Brinley, into whose hands the extensive Tyng estate
had come through his marriage with a grand-daugh¬
ter of Judge John Tyng, died here March 25, 1867,
aged ninety-two years. The property came iuto
the possession of his son, Nathaniel Brinley, who
now occupies the old homestead. The Tyng family
is now extinct, and perhaps it had been better for
the town that the large territory belonging to the
Tyng estate should have been in the outset divided
into sections of moderate size and held by the
fanners in fee-simple. It certainly would have
been brought thereby into a better state of cultiva¬
tion.
An evangelical church was organized bete April 1,
1868, and a meeting-house erected about the same
time. The present pastor is the Rev. Arthur H.
Tebbets.
In 1870 the population was 629, and the num¬
ber of public schools seven. They were well in¬
structed.
A strong iron- bridge was built across the river,
uniting the east and west sections of the town,
in 1874. The cost, about $92,000, was met in
part by the towns in the vicinity. While in the
WAKEFIELD.
399
process of construction a freshet occurred in the
river by which the trestle-work and a part of one
span of the bridge were carried away. Fifteen or
twenty men were precipitated into the river, yet
all were saved. This bridge is not only of great
convenience, but also adds much to the scenic
beauty of the village.
The Centennial Record, pp. 24, containing many
particulars in respect to the town, was published
by the Young People's League in 1876. The
town officers for this year were Luther Butter-
field, Cyrus Butterfield, and Oliver Felker, select¬
men ; Howard Coburn, town-clerk ; and Jolm G.
Upton, town-treasurer.
Tyngsborough is the birthplace of John S.
Sleeper, Esq., editor of the Boston Journal from
1834 to 1854. He was born here September 21,
1794. He was mayor of Roxbury from 1856 to
1858, and author of Tales of the Ocean, 1842 ;
Salt Water Bubbles, 1854; Jach in the Fore¬
castle, 1860 ; and Mark Rowland, 1867. He
was a graceful and effective writer.
WAKEFIELD.
BY CHESTER W. EATON.
HIS town is old, though its
name is new. Its history, as
the abode of white men, runs
back to 1639, when, under a
special grant of land from the
General Court to the town of
Lynn of " four miles square,"
it was settled by families com¬
ing mostly from Lynn, and
took the name of Lynn Vil¬
lage. This grant included the
territory substantially within the limits of the pres¬
ent towns of Wakefield and Reading. The first
settlement was made in what is now Wakefield,
and in 1644, seven houses having been erected,
seven families located, and a humble church edifice
built, the village was made a town corporate,
with the name of Reading. In 1651 a second
grant of territory was made to the township of
two miles square, including substantially what is
now North Reading. In 1713 the inhabitants of
the last-named territory, " having become of suffi¬
cient and competent numbers to call, settle, and
maintain a Godly, learned, orthodox minister,"
were incorporated as a distinct parish by the name
of tlie North Precinct of Reading, the remaining
portion of the town being known as the First Par¬
ish. In 1769 the northwesterly part of the First
Parish, the part then called Woodend, was incor¬
porated by the name of the West Parish of Read¬
ing, forming the nucleus of the present town of
Reading. In 1812 the old town was divided, and
the First or Soutli Parish, then commonly known
as the Old Parish, including the present territory of
Wakefield, was incorporated as a new town under
the name of South Reading.
The causes that induced the First Parish, the
oldest and largest settlement, thus to separate from
her younger sisters, to forego in part the prestige
and charm of its time-honored name, and to sur¬
render its ancient and valued archives and records,
and other manuscript property, were principally
political ones. The town of Reading, in 1812,
consisted of three well-defined parishes, namely,
the Old Parish, now Wakefield; the North Par¬
ish, called the Precinct, now North Reading; and
the West Parish, or Woodend, now Reading. The
Old Parish was then almost unanimously of the
Democratic-Republican party, supporters of Presi¬
dent Madison and his administration, then in
power, and in favor of fighting old England for
her insults to our seamen and our fiag ; while the
other two parishes, with a similar unanimity, were
of the Federal party, unfavorable to Madison's ad¬
ministration, and violently opposed to a war with
England. The South Parish was the largest of the
three in population and voters, but not equal to
the two others. Political feeling rose to -a high
pitch, and parties were very bitter towards each
other. As a consequence, the citizens of the South
Parish were excluded from town offices, and were
without influence in mmicipal affairs. Such a
400
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
state of things had not the elements of permanence,
and, taking advantage of an opportunity when the
Eepublicans were in power in the General Court,
the Old Parish obtained a charter for a distinct
town, and Soutii Reading was born. The new
town began witii 125 dwelling-houses, a popula¬
tion of 800, and a valuation of $100,000. With
an ardent spirit of patriotism it contributed liber¬
ally in men and property to sustain the ensuing
war with Great Britain, and greatly rejoiced at its
triumphant conclusion.
The town entered at once upon a career of pros¬
perous development, though not rapid growth, un¬
til in 1844 it had nearly doubled the number of
its inhabitants and the value of its property. Dr.
John Hart, a skilful physician and wealthy citizen,
was a leading man of the town during all the last-
named period.
At this time occurred a notable episode. On
the 29th of May, 1844, the people , of the three
villages included within the limits of ancient Read¬
ing, forgetting all rivalries and animosities, united
in a glad and grand celebration of the bi-centennial
anniversary of the incorporation of the old town.
The exercises were held in the village of the West
Parish, and included a brilliant military and civic
display, with an excellent and powerful address by
Rev. Dr. James Plint, a gifted son of the North
Parish ; an appropriate poem by Hon. Lilley Eaton,
of the South Parish, replete with sparkling humor,
felicitous allusion, and historical 'reminiscence; and
concluding with a bountiful banquet in a spacious
pavilion erected for the purpose. It was a day
long to be remembered for its cloudless beauty,
the glowing and universal enthusiasm of the peo¬
ple, and the complete success of the celebration.
Ill this same year took place an important event
in its results on the future material prosperity of
the town, — the chartering and construction of the
Boston and Maine Railroad extension from Wilming¬
ton to Boston, and through the pleasant domain
of South Reading. The railroad brought a large
addition of business, wealth, and good citizens to
the town, which at this point took a new departure
in growth, enterprise, and business development.
The boot and shoe industry, for which the town
had long been noted, received a new impetus and
expansion, the old and reputable establishment of
Thomas Emerson and Sons taking the lead in the
business, a position it still easily maintains. Its
senior member, Hon. Thomas Emerson, closed his
long and honorable life in 1873.
j The Boston and Maine Foundry, built in 1854,
I soon achieved a high reputation for the excellence
of its stoves and ranges, and has given to the town
a large body of substantial and intelligent citizens.
The Rattan Works, established in 1856 by the late
Cyrus Wakefield, in a few years became, and still
continue, the leading industry of the town.
In 1861 the cloud of rebellion burst in war and
blood upon a happy land, and South Reading was
not cold or backward in proving her patriotism in
the trying crisis, but pressed to the front of the loyal
North, as her regiments and battalions rallied to the
defenqe of country and our insulted fiag.
The Richardson Light Guard, the town's own
gallant corps, under Captain John W. Locke, with
full ranks and high enthusiasm, amid " tumult of
acclaim," left town for the seat of war, April 19,
1861, and were enlisted into the United States ser¬
vice for three months as Company B, 5th Regiment
Massachusetts Volunteer Militia, and performed
valuable service in guarding and protecting the
national capital. This corps fought bravely in the
first battle of Bull Run, in which some of their
number were wounded and three taken prisoners.
As the larger scope of the terrible conflict
became rapidly foreshadowed, another company,
recruited in South Reading, under Captain Jolm
Wiley, 2d, was enlisted for three years as Company
E, 16th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers, and
left for the seat of war, August 17, 1861. This
company served in the army, of the Potomac, and
sustained a high character for courage and heroic
endurance, and is entitled to lasting gratitude and
honor. As, during the progress of the struggle,
call after call issued from the President for more
men, the town nobly and promptly responded, and
well sustained her part in the time of the nation's
exigency, and it points with glowing pride to the
record of five hundred and five men sent into the
military and naval service of the Republic, of whom
more than sixty have given up their lives in the
sacred cause. The Horace M. Warren Post
No. 12, Grand Army of the Republic, and the
Memorial Hall, in the beautiful town-house, com¬
memorate the heroic sacrifices of the living and
the dead.
The years succeeding the close of the War of the
Rebellion was a period of unexampled prosperity,
and the growth of the town was very rapid. All
its industries grew and flourished, people flocked
to the town, real estate greatly advanced in price,
graceful dwellings and business structures rose on
WAKEFIELD.
401
every hand. The population, in 1865, was 3,245 ;
in 1875, 5,349. The valuation in 1865 was
$1,778,786; in 1875, $4,706,056.
In 1868 occurred a notable change. The in¬
habitants had long felt the desire for a name more
simple and euphonious, an identity more clear and
distinctive. At this time the late Cyrus Wakefield,
a liberal citizen of the town, descended from one
of its older families, came forward and uncondi¬
tionally offered the town the prineely gift of a new
and costly town-hall. The qualified voters, in
town-meeting assembled, in aceepting this generous
and opportune donation, resolved that the «time
had come to change the name of the town, and
voted, with unanimity and acclamation, in so doing
to honor the name of their friend and benefactor.
The authority of the General Court was invoked,
and by its aid the town exchanged its long-endeared
name of South Heading, on the 1st of July, 1868,
for the new and significant name of Wakefield.
The inaugural exercises appropriate to the assump¬
tion of its new name were held on the 4th of
July, 1868. The day was an occasion of double
celebration. Bells raiig in the day ; cannon awoke
patriotic echoes ; fluttering flags, wreathed mottoes,
and decorated arehes appealed to the eye and mem¬
ory ; band concerts temjjered and refined enthusiasm
with the rhythm and melody of music; a long
procession gave nearly every one active participa¬
tion in the celebration ; an historical address elo¬
quently blended the stirring memories of the past
and present ; a sparkling poem added the blossoms
and fragrance of wit and fancy to the occasion : —
" With joyful voices join, to greet
This birthday of the free ;
Each glad return, more dear and sweet, —
The Nation's Jubilee.
" On all the winds her banner plays.
Star-gemmed, with folds of light ;
A nation's hopes are in its rays, —
The red, the blue, the white.
" Thrice blest this day, whose breath of halm
Refreshing blows, and free :
No slave-step 'neath the Southern palm.
No slave-ship on the sea ; —
"Whose peaceful breath, o'er fragrant groves.
Where battling columns met.
Only the orange blossom moves.
And lifts the violet.
" Here, on the bright, rejoicing day
Such hopeful omens crown,
We come, a pleasant word to say
For our dear native town.
" No soft Italian scenes we boast.
Our summer skies less clear ;
But prized the grandeur of our coast.
Our rocky hillsides dear.
" No notes of foreign praise we swell.
Not, • Naples view, and rest ! '
Our invitation is, ' Come, dwell
In Wakefield, and he blest 1 ' "
The grand celebration dinner, in the mammoth
tent upon the Common, made brilliant by the flash
of wit and sentiment, was a notable feature of the
occasion. The excessive heat which prevailed was
the only drawback to the full enjoyment of the fes¬
tivities of the day. Races upon the lake aflbrded
much pleasure, and the day was closed amid the
roar of artülery and the explosion of fireworks.
This town has always been conspicuous for its
patriotism and military spirit, as its record in the
French and Indian wars, in the struggles witli
mother England, and in the recent civil war amply
attest. Its first military corps, the Reading Infantry
Company, was organized in 1644, under Captain
Richard Walker, and was cherished and sustained
until 1840. The Washington Rifle Greens was or¬
ganized in 1812, became the renowned company of
tlie vicinity, and was disbanded about 1850. The
Richardson Light Guard, so named in honor of the
late Dr. Solon O. Richardson, a generous friend of
the company, and a public-spirited and liberal citi¬
zen, was organized in 1851. This company was
thrice called into the service of the United States
during the recent Rebellion, and acquitted itself
with honor. It is still flourishing as Co. A, 6th
Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia.
The town has always had regard for spiritual
privileges and the worship of God. It now con¬
tains five handsome church edifices, with active
and flourishing memberships and societies.
The Congregational Church was organized in
1644, and was the twenty-fourth founded in the
Massachusetts colony, and for many years the only
church within a circuit of six miles. As the wil¬
derness and solitary places became slowly settled
by the sturdy pioneers of the Anglo-Saxon race,
this central church became the mother of vigorous
daughters. In 1720 she sent forth colonies at
Lynnfield and North Reading, in 1729 she helped
form tlie church at Stoneham, in 1733 the church
in Wilmington, and in 1770 she parted with some
of her best blood in the establishment of what is
402
HISTORY OP MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Meeting-House, 1688.
now the Old South Church in Beading. This old
church of "Wakefield has always been a strong
tower for the right, and is still large and influ¬
ential.
Following is a list of her ministers : Eev. Henry
Green, Eev. Samuel Haugh, Eev. .John Brock,
Eev. Jonathan Pierpont, Eev. Eichard Brown, Eev.
William Hobby, Eev. Caleb Prentice, Eev. Eeuben
Emerson, Eev. Alfred Emerson, Eev. Joseph D.
Hull, Eev. Joseph B. Johnson, Eev. Charles E.
Bliss, Eev. David N. Beach.
The Baptist Society was formed in 1797, and in
1804 the church was organized, with sixty-five
members. It has been a great and growing power
for good in this community, and a large congre¬
gation now worship in their new and beautiful
sanctuary.
The succession of pastors has been as follows :
Eev. Ebeuezer Nelson, Eev. Gustavus F. Davis,
Eev. Joseph A. Warne, Eev. James Huckins, Eev.
Isaac Sawyer, Eev. Charles Miller, Eev. Larkin B.
Cole, Eev. Charles Evans, Eev. Paul S. Adams,
Eev. Daniel W. Phillips, Eev. George Bullen, Eev.
James W. Willmarth, Eev. Eichard M. Nott, Eev.
Charles Keyser, D. D., Eev. Eudolph E. Eiddell.
The Universalist Society was organized in 1813,
and has become a strong and influential church.
Its pastors have been as follows : Eev. John C.
Newell, Eev. H. W. Morse, Eev. Henry Jewell,
Eev. Henry Lyon, Eev. Stillman Barden, Eev.
John H. Willis, Eev. Alexander Hichbom, Eev.
John H. Moore, Eev. Benton Smith, Eev. Edwin
A. Eaton, Eev. William W. Hayward, Eev. Wil¬
liam F. -Potter, Eev. Quincy Whitney.
The Eoman Catholic Church (St. Joseph's) was
organized in 1856, and is the largest in the town.
Its first house of worship proving too small to
accommodate the large and increasing congrega¬
tion, a new church of ample dimensions was erected
in 1871. Its clergymen have not until recent
years resided within tiie town. The present offi¬
ciating priest is Eev. Micliael F. Flatley.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was gathered
in 1865, and by its zealous comuiuniou is doing a
good Avork in the town. Its present tasteful and
convenient church edifice was erected in 1874.
Its pastors have been as follows : Eev. Thomas
C. Potter, Eev. Andrew Gray, Eev. Daniel Atkins,
Eev. Melville B. Chapman, Eev. Convers L. Mc-
Curdy, Eev. John Peterson, Eev. Emory A. How¬
ard, Eev. Gilbert C. Osgood.
The Second Advent Society was formed in 1844,
and built a modest tabernacle on Lafayette Street.
It has at present no house of worship or settled
WAKEFIELD.
403
pastorate, but holds regular services at Perkins'
Hall, on Mechanic Street.
The Emmanuel (Episcopal) Church was organ¬
ized in 1871. Services according to the usages of
the Protestant Episcopal Church had been occa¬
sionally held in the town during a period of about
twenty-five years. Bev. Samuel E. Slack officiated
as tlie first rector ; since his resignation in 1873
services have been conducted principally by Eev.
George Walker, of Peabody. This society wor¬
ship in a convenient hall in Wakefield's Block.
A Union Society, in the village of Greenwood,
was formed in 1873, and is gradually accumulating
a fund towards building a chapel. Its pastor is
Eev. Austin S. Garver, a Congregational clergy¬
man, and its place of worship is in Lyceum Hall.
The nucleus of anotiier religious society was
formed in 1873, in the village of Montrose, by the
organization of a mission Sabbath-school under
the auspices of the Young Men's Christian Asso¬
ciation of Wakefield. Its sessions are held in the
Montrose School-house.
The cause of education has not heen neglected
in Wakefield. In its early years the school-house
was planted beside the meeting-house, and from
these two sources of New England civilization
have continued to flow rich and pure streams, re¬
freshing many generations.
Common schools have furnished about the only
means of education in this town. The South
Eeading Academy was incorporated in 1829, and
exercised an important and useful influence on the
youth of the town, and prepared the way for the
public high school, which was established in 1845,
when the town contained only about three hundred
families. It has now become one of the chiefest
glories of the town. It has for many years had a
complete and well-defined course of study. The
first diplomas were issued to graduates in 1863, the
late Cyrus Wakefield having, with his accustomed
munificence, presented to the town the elegant and
costly engravings. At a later period of his life
he contemplated the gift of a new and improved
diploma. Prevented by his sudden death from
realizing this design, his widow, Mrs. Eliza A.
Wakefield, sought to execute the purpose. Her
greatly lamented decease in 1877 left the kindly
intent still unfulfilled, but it was, in 1878, carried
into full effect by the heirs of Mr. Wakefield.
The public schools of the town are all carefully
graded, and their high rank and efficiency are a
source of pride to the people.
The town supports eighteen schools, with nine
hundred and twenty-one pupils, and twenty teachers.
Hon. Paul H. Sweetser, who died in 1872, was
an especial and earnest friend of education in the
town and commonwealth.
Libraries have been well sustained in this town.
The people of South Eeading have had the best
reading in all the region round about.
The Social Library was formed in the last cen¬
tury, and discontinued in 1836.
The Franklin Library was established in 1831,
and the Prescott Library about 1845, and were
very useful in their day. In 1856 was established
the Public Library of South Eeading, now known
as the Beebe Town Library of Wakefield, in honor
of Lucius Beehe, Esq., its generous and constant
friend, and, with its sixty-five hundred well-chosen
volumes, is a radiating centre of good and precious
influences. The number of accounts on which
books are charged is six hundred and eighty-two,
and the annual deliveries of books amount to thirty
thousand. A new alphabetical and classified cata¬
logue of the library has just been printed.
The first regular weekly newspaper of the town
was The SotUh Beading Gazette, established by
William H. Hutchinson in 1858, though for
years previously a South Beading Department had
been contained in The Middlesex Journal, printed
in Woburn.
In 1868 A. Augustus Foster commenced the
publication of The Wakefield Banner, a weekly
sheet and welcome visitor in the family circle,
which was, September 1, 1872, merged in The
Citizen, a newly established journal issued by the
Citizen Newspaper Company, and which soon at¬
tained a high character and extended influence. A
few months later, a new and struggling sheet, called
The Wakefield Advocate, appropriated the old name
of Wakefield Banner, and sought to divide the
public patronage.
These rival newspapers were united, January 1,
1874, under the name of Wakefield Citizen and
Banner. This consolidated paper is now the only
one of the town, and under the enterprising manage¬
ment of William H. Twombly, editor and proprietor,
has become one of the necessaries of municipal life.
A free lecture association was organized about
six years ago, and, supported by the liberality of
citizens, is still in operation. The association pro¬
vides an' annual course of lectures, generally of a
popular scientific character, free, or nearly so, to
all inhabitants of the town.
4Ü4
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
An adequate history of the town was projected
in 1865.
By invitation of many prominent gentlemen, sup¬
plemented by vote of the town, Hon. ITilley Eaton,
a valued citizen, long identified with the progres¬
sive institutions and best prosperity of the town,
was intrusted with this congenial service, " to en¬
rich the Present from the gleanings of the Past."
The labor grew upon his hands as his design for
the book enlarged to embrace in its scope the
whole territory and people of ancient Beading.
His sudden death, in January, 1872, left the work
nearly but not fully completed. A committee, of
which John S. Eaton, Esq., was the efficient chair¬
man, acting under authority of the town, carried
forward the work to its proper end, and in 1874
was printed, at the town's expense, the Genealogical
History of the Town of Reading, Mass., including
the present Towns of Wakefield, Reading', and
North Reading, with Chronological and Historical
Sketches from 1639 to 187J^. This volume is oc¬
tavo in size, containing 815 pages, embellished
with fifty portraits and engravings.
The Wakefield Band has become a valued insti¬
tution of this community, and worthily sustains,
on public occasions, the musical reputation of the
town in stirring and harmonious strains.
The cemeteries of Wakefield are very interesting
in their associations and mementos.
The earliest graveyard was located in that por¬
tion of the new Park where lately stood the old
town-house and. the house of Yale Engine Com¬
pany.
Here for more than fifty years the first and sec¬
ond generations of settlers buried their dead. The
present generation can easily recall the appearance
of the antique monuments and tablets that marked
the graves of the good and true fathers and mothers
of the town ; but now, alas, no trace remains to
greet the fondly seeking antiquarian eye. The ruth¬
less hand of progress has levelled the hallowed site.
" Not even these bones from insult to protect,
Some frail memorial still erected nigh.
With uncouth rhymes and shapeless sculpture decked.
Implores the passing tribute of a sigh."
Yet a kindly solicitude and vigilance has pre¬
served in private archives most of the inscriptions
upon these ancient stones. Following is one of
them : —
" Here lyes the body of Capt. Jonathan Poole, who de¬
ceased in the 44" year of his age, 1078.
" Friends sure would prove too far unkind.
If, out of sight, they leave him out of mind ;
And now he lyes, transform'd to native dust.
In earth's cold womb, as other mortals must.
It's strange his matchless worth intomb'd should lye.
Or that his fame should in oblivion dye."
In 1688 tlic town erected its second house of
worship, and located it a few rods nortliwest of
the present Congregational Church in Wakefield;
and around this second church, soon after its erec¬
tion, in accordance with an ancient custom that
has made churchyards and graveyards synonymous
terms, the later inhabitants began to inter their
dead; and thus commenced their second burial-
yard, in recent years known as the "old burial-
ground." For more than one hundred and sixty
years it was the chief place of sepulture for the
town. Here rest the ashes of tiie greater portion
of its former inhabitants. Consequently it pos¬
sesses a most lively though mournful interest, as
the place where many a noble and revered friend,
many a loved and beautiful form, has been covered
from sight but not from memory.
Following is the epitaph inscribed upon the
tombstone of one of the most eminent among the
early lights of church and town : —
"In this Sepulchre is reposited the mortal part of the
Rev. Mr. William Hobby, A. M., late Pastor (the sixth in
the order of succession) of the first church in Ihe town of
Reading,—learned, vigilant, and faithful; he was a preacher
of the word of God, deservedly commended for his pure
evangelical doctrine, replenished with erudition and piety,
together with solid judgment and eloquence; being at
length worn out with studies and labors, and most acute
pains of long continuance, calmly resigning to the will of
his Almighty Father, and earnestly aspiring after the
Heavenly Habitation and Rest, he breathed out his soul
into the hands of his Savior, June IS, Anno Christi 1765,
.ältat. 58 years. He left, to profit his bereaved flock,
a written monument of sage advice, in which, though dead,
he speaks, in solemn strains."
In course of time the old burial-ground became
so fully occupied that the selection of eligible spots
for single interments was difficult, and for family
lots impossible; and, in consequence, there was or¬
ganized in 1846 a private corporation under the
name of Proprietors of Lakeside Cemetery, which
purchased a tract of seven acres of land on the
westerly borders of Lake Quannapowitt, and laid
out the same in avenues, paths, arbors, bowers, and
four hundred burial lots. On the 15th of October,
1846, the new Lakeside Cemetery was publicly and
solemnly consecrated by appropriate services on
the romantic grounds selected, including addresses,
prayers, and original hymns. The following is one
of the hymns sung on the occasion : —
WAKEFIELD.
405
" Together we have gathered now
Upon the fair lake-side, —
Old men and gray, with wrinkled brow.
And youthful forms of pride, —
We've eomewith pleasing thoughts, though grave,
This spot to eonseerate, —
To bid the flowers their perfumes wave
Above death's iron gate !
" And here we '11 build for those we love
A tomb beneath the trees ;
That nature's song may swell above
In sweetest melodies ; —
For friends and for ourselves a tomb.
When we are earth's no more.
When are exchanged its joys and gloom
For brighter, fadeless shore.
" And here, as oft in coming years
Our children's children tread.
Glad thoughts will rise to quell their fears.
Among the silent dead.
O hallowed spot ! A cherished grave
Beneath the flowery sod !
The/or»t sliall rest by sparkling wave.
The a/>ir¿í with its God ! "
The cemetery has since been greatly enlarged and
beautified, and is mournfully attractive by the
quiet loveliness of its natural scenery, by its mar¬
ble shrines and graceful memorials.
The Jewish Cemetery, a smaller enclosure, also
on the margin of the beautiful lake, and very near
Lakeside Cemetery, is numerously occupied with
graves and sepulchres, and is in general use by the
Israelites of Boston.
Wakefield is signally rich in traces of the
aborigines of America. They evidently found
their favorite camping-grounds in this pleasant
region, and large and valuable collections have
been made of arrow-heads, lance-heads, pestles,
knives, hatchets, bone implements, remnants of
pottery, etc., the reward of patient and careful
search on this prehistoric ground.
The public buildings of Wakefield are deserving
of notice. The town-hall is an elegant and im¬
posing structure of brick, and Wakefield's Block
and Beal's Block, in near proximity, are, metro¬
politan in size and style and finish. The Baptist
Church and high-school building are elegant and
graceful specimens of exterior architecture.
There are many private residences in the town
worthy of special mention, but the costly and
elegant mansion-house on the westerly side of
Main Street, erected by the late Mr. Wakefield,
stands pre-eminent. This beautiful homestead is
now owned and occupied, in fitting sequence, by
Cyrus Wakefield, Esq., a nephew of the late pro¬
prietor, and a gentleman of high character and
liberal instincts.
The location of Wakefield is of exceptional
beauty. From her hills scenery of rare loveliness
delights the artistic eye. This spacious Common,
with its stately waving elms, and the recent addi¬
tion of the new Park sweeping gracefully down
to the southern shores of Lake Quannapowitt, are
attractive features in a pleasing landscape. Lake
Quannapowitt, with an area of two hundred and
sixty-four acres, just north of the central village,
and Crystal Lake, with a surface of forty-eigiit
acres on the south, add much to the charms of
nature's face, and furnish the convenient means
of an ample and healthful supply of pure water for
domestic and other purposes. The water of Crys¬
tal Lake is of unusual purity, as shown by recent
analysis, which indicates only five parts of organic
and inorganic residue in one hundred thousand parts
of the water, and showing a superiority in quality
over nearly every other utilized source of water-
supply for cities and towns in the country. The
Quannapowitt Water Company has been incor¬
porated in order to secure to the inhabitants of the
town the priceless boon of a pure and abundant
water-supply.
Saugus Kiver has its source in Lake Quanna¬
powitt, and, forming the boundary between Wake¬
field and Lynnfield, pursues its serpentine course
to the sea.
Wakefield has railway facilities afforded by three
railroads passing through its centre, — the Boston
and Maine, the South Beading Branch, and the
Danvers Bailroad, providing direct and frequent
communication with Boston, Salem, Newburyport,
Lowell, Lawrence, Haverhill, Portland, Me., Man¬
chester and Concord, N. H. There are six pas¬
senger depots in the town. In 1848 the whole
number of passengers during the year, for all
points, was 45,574, or an average of 146 daily
passengers. In 1873 the number of Boston pas¬
sengers alone was 320,172, or an average of 1,025
daily passengers. In 1848 the whole amount of
passenger and freight receipts at South Bead¬
ing was $12,532. In 1873 the Boston passen¬
gers to and from Wakefield furnished the sum of
$53,186.
Wakefield is mainly a manufacturing town. First
among her industries should be named the rattan-
works of the Wakefield Battan Company. This
business originated in small beginnings by the
late Cyrus Wakefield in 1856 ; under the influence
406
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of his continuous energy and perseverance it grew
with remarkable rapidity to an industry of great
magnitude and importance. In the last days of
Mr. Wakefield the number of his employees ex¬
ceeded one thousand, and the monthly pay-roll
$25,000. He erected numerous buildings, and
introduced new and powerful machinery, and at
last, by patient ingenuity and experiment, suc¬
ceeded in utilizing every portion of the raw im¬
ported cane. Just before the death of Mr.
Wakefield, in 1873, he caused to be organized the
Wakefield Eattan Company, to which corporation
he transferred the whole of his vast rattan business
and property, and of which he became the president
and principal stockholder.
The affairs of the corporation have since been
prosperously managed by its officers.
The present rattan-works, on Water Street,
in Wakefield, include one brick machine-shop,
158x60 feet, of four stories, eight large work¬
shops and store-houses, and a number of smaller
buildings, and occupy about four acres of ground.
The works turn out, in great variety, productions
of beauty, elegance, and utility, including cane for
chair-seats, mats and matting, rugs and carpets,
tables, baskets, chairs, car-seats, cradles, cribs,
tête-à-têtes, sofas, baby-carriages, flower-stands,
window-shades, brooms, brushes, table-mats, wall-
screens, fire-screens, wall-pockets, slipper-holders,
clothes-beaters, wood-holders, etc.
The Smith and Anthony Stove Company, the
successors of the Boston and Maine Foundry Com¬
pany, lately organized on a new and strong founda¬
tion, has extensive buildings and ample appliances,
admirably situated for business and markets, by
the side of the Boston and Maine Eailroad. The
company employs many men, and manufactures
stoves, ranges, and all sorts of hollow iron-ware.
The manufacture of boots and shoes has for
two centuries been an important branch of industry
in the town. As early as 1777 the town assigned
Jonas Eaton " the privilege of wood and herbage
on a tract of land, on condition that he remained
in toAvn, and followed the trade of a shoemaker."
Tlie honorable handicraft is still largely exercised
in factories and shops numerously scattered through
the town.
The Wakefield Shuttle and Needle Company, of
recent establishment in Wakefield, carries on an
extensive business in the manufacture and sale'of
sewing-machine needles, shuttles, bobbins, and
every variety of sewing-machine attachments.
Eichardson's sherry-wine bitters, first prepared
about seventy years ago by the late Dr. Nathan
Eichardson, are still manufactured in the town
by his highly esteemed and public-spirited grand¬
son, Dr. Solon 0. Eichardson, the second of that
name.
The Citizens' Gaslight Company, organized as a
corjjoration in 1860, supplies from its extensive
works, on Eailroad Street, the towns of Wakefield,
Stoiieham, and Eeading with illuminating gas.
Many thousand tons of ice are annually cut on
Lake Quannapowitt, stored, and exported by the
Boston Ice Company.
The manufacture of McKay sewing-machine
needles, awls of all descriptions, and shoe-tools in
endless variety, is carried on by James F. Wood¬
ward and Sou at their factory on Albion Street.
Messrs. J. and W. H. Atwell still prosecute
their long-established and successful business of
razor-strop makers.
The bakery of Hosea L. Day has obtained a
wide and high reputation for the quality of its
crackers and bread.
The banking institutions of Wakefield are the
National Bank of South Eeading, with a capital
stock of $100,000, the South Eeading Meciianic
and Agricultural Institution, an old-fashioned
savings-bank with a capital stock of $ 10,000, and
the Wakefield Savings Bank, of more recent origin.
The fire protection of the town is represented by
.the Yale Engine Company, so - named for the late
Burrage Yale, Esq., Ciiemical Engine Company,
Washington Hook-and-Ladder Company, C. Wake¬
field Engine Company, and the Fountain Engine
Company, with machines and appliances.
Many descendants from the families of this old
town have become eminent in the nation and in
the world, among whom may be mentioned as
familiar names to this generation, Hon. George
Bancroft, historian of the United States j the late
General John A. Dix, ex-governor of New York;
Hon. George S. Boutwell, ex-governor and ex-
senator of Massachusetts ; and the late Eev. Dieo-
dore Parker.
Wakefield is ten miles distant from the business
centre of Boston, and includes the outlying villages
of Montrose on tiie east, Woodville on the south¬
east, and Greenwood on the south, and is bounded
nortlwtesterly by Eeading, northerly by Lynnfield;
easterly by Lynnfield and Saugus, southerly by
Melrose, and southwesterly by Stoneham.
WALTHÄM.
407
WALTHAM.
BY ALEXANDER STARBÜCK.
OE the first century after
grants were made by the
Massachusetts Bay Colony in
that part of Watertown now
known as Walthara, the latter
town was a portion of the
fgrmer, territorially and mu¬
nicipally. Numerous Indian
wars forced the colonists to
assume a semi-military state,
and in the different towns the male inhabitants
capable of bearing arms were supposed to be in a
constant state of readiness to aid in repelling the
predatory incursions of the savages on the frontier
settlements. Eor mutual protection new settlers
gathered somewhat in groups, each group forming
perliaps tlie nucleus of some prospective town. As
these groups increased in size they were each ex¬
pected to furnish their military contingent, subject
to the order of the authorities of the town. In
this manner Watertown became divided, in 1691,
into three military districts or precincts, the East
embracing substantially what is now Watertown,
the Middle, or Captain Garfield's, embracing sub¬
stantially what is now Waltham, and tlie West, or
Farmers' Precinct, known since 1712-13 as Wes¬
ton. This was the entering wedge in the dismem¬
berment of Watertown.
Another element entering into the cause of the
division of many early New England towns was
ecclesiastical differences, — differences not as re¬
gards faith, for that was practically settled by stat¬
ute, but as regards accommodation as to the
location of the meeting-house, the older portions
of the various towns evidently regarding these
buildings as fixtures, while the younger portion
judged that the site should be changed to corre¬
spond with the changing centres of population.
Attendance at divine service was as much.a por-
' Id the preparation of the following sketch, the writer
acknowledges himself under many obligations to Jonathan B.
Bright, Esq.
tion of the training of our forefathers as plough¬
ing tiieir fields, sowing tlieir seed, and gathering
their harvests. The General Court never favored
the erection of a second meeting-house where one
would answer the needs of the people," and it
sought to accommodate its location to the needs of
the worshippers, rather than to increase the bur¬
dens of taxation by multiplying the number of
churches to be supported. In due time, when the
West and Middle precincts had advanced consid¬
erably in point of numbers, the complaint of re¬
moteness from their place of worship, particularly
in tlie late fall, the winter, and the early spring,
became quite a serious one. In 1692 an attempt
was made to change tlie location of the meeting¬
house (then situated opposite the old graveyard
just southwest of Mount Auburn) to some place
" most convenient for the bulk of the iniiabitants."
The people not being able to agree upon a site, the
selectmen applied to Governor Phips and his coun¬
cil to appoint a committee to consider the subject
and make report; and December 27, the same
year, the town voted to submit their questions re¬
garding the removal of the meeting-house and tlie
settlement of a minister to such a committee. The
gentlemen appointed (William Stoughton, John
Phillips, James Eussell, Samuel Sewall, and Joseph
Lynde) made tlieir report May 18, 1693, recom¬
mending Eev. Henry Gibbs for the pastor, and
the site afterwards called Commodore's Comer
for the site for a new meeting-house, and also that
the change in location be made witiiin the next
four years. This attempt at settlement was not
entirely satisfactory, and a protest against the pro¬
posed location, signed by one hundred and eigh¬
teen persons, was presented on behalf of the
Farmers' Precinct. Francis, in his sketch of
Watertown, says (p. 60) that this protest asserts
that the town had never "requested the inter¬
ference of the magistrates in this matter, notwith¬
standing that a vote to that effect is on record."
Nevertheless, the building was erected, and on
408
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
February 4, 1696, was accepted by the town.
Rev. Henry Gibbs, who had been employed as
pastor for the town prior to the building of the
new house, declined to accept the new order of
things, and continued to preach in the old build¬
ing. All attempts at compromise proving not
only abortive, but apparently more embittering,
the new society called the Rev. Samuel Angier to
officiate for them, and being by recognition of the
local and colonial authorities the church, they en¬
deavored to secure the records which properly
became theirs. In the first measure they were
successful, and Mr. Angier was duly ordained ; in
the second they were not, and the records were still
retained by the seceding organization. Mr. Angier
was fully settled May 25, 1697.
On the 4th of November, 1712, the General
Court passed an order that " whereas ministers of
the Middle Precinct had been supported by volun¬
tary subscription," it was directed that the charges
of supporting the ministers and repairing the meet¬
ing-houses be borne by each congregation sepa¬
rately. Furthermore, that both precincts should
bear the expense of removing the Middle meeting¬
house to such a site as that precinct should deter¬
mine. This order was treated contemptuously by
the majority of the town, and the General Court,
in a burst of indignation at this act of rebellion,
passed a supplementary resolve that the town
should forfeit £50 for non-fulfilment of the order
of November 4. This resolve the council non-
concurred in, and a committee consisting of Sam¬
uel Sewall, Benjamin Lynde, and John Clark, Esq.,
Was appointed to consider the subject. What con¬
clusion they came to we do not know.
On the 13th of May, 1715, the town passed a
vote " to build a meeting-house for the accommo¬
dation of the inhabitants of the most westerly part
of the town." The former West or Farmers'
Precinct having been incorporated as Weston, that
part of the town now called Waltham had become
the most western division. The vote was not,
however, carried into effect, and in September of
the same year the Eastern Precinct petitioned the
General Court for separation.
In 1719 Mr. Angier died, and was buried in
the burial-ground set off to Waltham, and now
called Grove Hill Cemetery.
In November, 1720, Joshua Eaton and forty-
eight others of the West Precinct presented a peti¬
tion to the General Court, stating that by reason of
doubt about the division line assessments could
not be legally made in accordance with the court's
order of the 4th of November, 1712, and they prayed
that the line might be located. A similar petition
was sent by Nathaniel Priest and others of the
East Precinct. A committee was appointed, con¬
sisting of Isaac Winslow, John Cushiiig, and Sam¬
uel Thaxter, of the council; and John Clark,
William Dudley, John Chandler, and William
Throop, of the house j and the line, which was
surveyed by Thaxter, is described as starting from
the Charles River, running "on a north course
forty-nine degrees east," and ending at the south¬
western bounds of what is now Arlington (see
Francis' Historij). The report, dated Decem¬
ber 17, 1720, further recommends "that the West
Meeting-house be removed within two years to a
spot about twenty rods west of Nathaniel Liver-
more's house, and that the old, or East Meeting¬
house be moved or a new one built on School-House
Hill," the West Precinct to pay its proportion for
removing or rebuilding the eastern house. This
report was concurred in by both branches of the
General Court. On the 24th of April, 1721, the
town voted to comply with the recommendation of
the committee.
The ecclesiastical divisions between the two pre¬
cincts were now practically settled. After the
death of Mr. Angier the western meeting-house
had quite a succession of ministers before any per¬
son became permanently settled. Of these were
Rev. Hezekiàh Gold, R«v. Timothy Minuet, and,
according to Mr. Francis, Rev. Mr. Gibson and
Rev. Robert Sturgeon. It would seem, however,
that Mr. Francis must be in error in regard to
Mr. Sturgeon, for the General Court, in November,
1722, accuses Robert Sturgeon of Boston of being
privately ordained to a " pretended middle church,"
and the court appointed a committee which recom¬
mended that when the new West meeting-house
was erected, the middle one be demolished or re¬
moved, and that the eastern one be moved or a
new one built. In case the town did not remove
or demolish the Middle meeting-house, it was
recommended that the sheriff be directed to do so.
The report further says that Sturgeon had been
rebuked by two councils, and advises, that in case
he persists in his course, the attoniey-general be
ordered to prosecute him. This report was con¬
sented to.
Leaving now the quarrel of the churches, we
come to the third, the final, and on that account
perhaps the principal, cause of the complete with-
WALTHAM.
409
drawal of the West Precinct, and its formation into
a distinct town. As early as January 1720-21
the precinct in many things assumed almost com¬
plete municipal powers. On the 30th of January,
1720-21, a meeting was held, at which Isaac
Mixer was chosen clerk, Joseph Mixer treasurer,
and Lieutenant Jonathan Smith, Sergeant Jonathan
Sanderson, Ensign Samuel Garfield, Captain Sam¬
uel Harrington, John Cutting, Sergeant Joseph
Pierce, and Daniel Benjamin were chosen precinct
committee. Votes were passed to carry into effect
the order of the General Court of December 17,
1720, in regard to the meeting-house, and in Octo¬
ber, 1722, it was voted to "sell what was left of
the old meeting-house." On the 7th of April,
1729, a meeting was held to see, among other
things, about a location for a school-iiouse. Allen
Plagg agreed to give a piece of land at the north
end of his orchard for that purpose, and the pre¬
cinct agreed to accept it. On the 4th of Eebruary,
1729-30, Zachariah Smith, Allen Plagg, Thomas
Harrington, Thomas Bigelow, Jonas Smith, John
Childs, and John Cutting were appointed a com¬
mittee to wait upon the selectmen, and have in¬
serted in the warrant for the next.town-meeting an
article requesting the town to grant a sum of money
to build a school-house on the land of Mr. Plagg.
The town, however, refused to accept the site or
vote the money, and on this school question came
the tug of war, which resulted in the West Precinct
becoming Waltham. The town-meeting at which
the request of the western people was refused was
held in March. On the 1st of May, 1730, Thomas
Bigelow, Zachariah Smith, Allen Plagg, Elisha
Smith, and John Child were appointed a committee
at a meeting of the West Precinct, to take measures
to have that portion set off as a separate town,
"and take Effectual care that the same may be
Established that Learning may be Advanced
amongst us or some other proper methods whareby
to obtain the same." A petition signed by Anthony
Conady (Caverly ?) and others, representing the dif¬
ficulties in the way of schools, and the " imposi¬
tions" of the East Precinct, and praying for a
separate township, had already been prepared and
sent for the consideration of the General Court,
and the town was served with a copy of the peti¬
tion, and cited to show cause why it should not be
granted. In Pebruary, 1730-31, Deacon William
Brown, Anthony Can [v]erly. Deacon Thomas Liv-
ennore, Thomas Bigelow, and Jonas Smith were
chosen a committee to attain the coveted separa¬
tion. At a regular meeting held April 19, 1731,
the town, or practically the East Precinct, ap¬
pointed Lieutenant Samuel Steams, Joseph Nason,
and Jonas Bond a committee to appear in behalf
of the town, and probably in opposition to the
division. What action the court took is not plain,
but one of the recommendations was that the tou n
provide two school-houses, with two duly qualified
schoolmasters, — one of each for each precinct.
These recommendations the town (August 16,
1731) refused to accept. The assessors of the
West Precinct, — Nathaniel Harris and Deacon
William Brown,— acting under a sense of gross
injustice practised by the East Precinct majority,
refused to assess for the grant made by the town
for the support of schools. Something of the
spirit of opposition to taxation without representa¬
tion asserted itself here.
At a precinct meeting, March 22, 1732 - 33,
Daniel Benjamin, Jonas Smith, and Allen Plagg
were chosen a committee to address the town at
the next town-meeting, that the West Precinct
might be set off as a separate town. This attempt
evidently failed of success, and the sore probably
increased with the increasing months and years.
In June (28th), 1736, Nathaniel Harris, William
Brown, and Daniel Benjamin, in behalf of the West
Precinct, obtained permission of the General Court,
despite the opposition of the East Precinct, to set
off land from the common lands devoted to high¬
ways, — some of which were twenty or thirty rods
wide, — to raise a fund of £1,500 to be invested,
and the interest upon it used to support schools.
This act only served to intensify the growing bitter¬
ness between the two sections, and it is therefore
not surprising that at a meeting of the West Pre¬
cinct, held December 7, 1737, Deacon William
Brown being moderator, it being judged conducive
to the peace of both precincts to be separated be¬
cause an " unhappy controversy has arisen & for
some Time subsisted among the Inhabitance of s"*
Town Respecting the Publick & Priuet ways that
are in the Town to the peaceable desitioii whereof
it is thought deuiding of the Town into Two Town¬
ships may be very conducive," it was voted that
the precinct should ask the General Court to
set them off under the following conditions : 1st,
the dividing line to be tbe same as the precinct
line ; 2d, all charges already incurred or to he in¬
curred on account of the Great Bridge or because
of the town poor, to be proportioned between the
towns according to the province tax, — the surplus
410
HISTORY OF MIDBLESEX COUNTY.
money, if there was any remaining in the treasury,
to be divided in the same proportion ; 3d, the yearly
interest on Watertown's portion of the £60,000
province loan, Watertown's part of the two thou¬
sand acres of land granted by the General Court to
them and Weston, and the town's stock of ammu¬
nition to be similarly disposed of; 4th, records
and books to be delivered to a committee to be
chosen by the East Precinct ; 5th, the course and
width of the public ways to be stated by the Court
of General Sessions of the Peace agreeably to a
report of a committee already appointed. Dea¬
con William Brown, Daniel Benjamin, and Sam¬
uel Livermore were appointed a committee to
petition the General Court to that eflect. A
petition was presented to the house of repre¬
sentatives on tiie 13th of December, 1737, set¬
ting forth their differences, the approbation of the
measure by the East Precinct, and praying for a
division. The prayer was granted, and on the 4th
of January, 1737 -38, the town of Waltham was
incorporated. The bounds of the new municipality
under the act of incorporation were, south by the
Charles Eiver, west by Weston or the Farmers'
Preeinet, north or northeast by the town line which
commenced at the northwest corner of Fresh Pond
and ran west-nortliwest to the Concord line, and
east by the line beginning at the Charles Eiver,
running very nearly northeast, and meeting the line
from Fresh Pond to Concord. Its area was about
8,891 acres ; the population probably about 550.
During this period the church pastorate had passed
under the charge of the Eev. Warham Williams,
who was ordained June 11,1723. A call had been
êxtended to Eev. William Welsteed, but declined.
In accordance with the instructions of the General
Court, the meeting-house had been located very
near the present junction of Lyman and Beaver
streets.
The first entry in the town records of Waltham
reads thus ; —
"Middlesex s.s. Waltham Jan*y 13th 1737 —
These are to Notifie the Qualified Voters in the s'^
Town of Waltham to Appear at the publick meet¬
ing house in s"* Town On WednesDay the Eigh¬
teenth Day of Jan^ Currant at One of the Clock in
the after Noon for the Ends following viz' To Elect
and Appoint a Town Clerk and Other Town officers
those to stand till the Anniversary meeting of said
Town jn the month of March next.
" By Order of the Great and General Court p'
me William Bkown."
At the meeting held in pursuance of this war¬
rant Deacon Thomas Livermore was chosen mod¬
erator, and the following board of officers was
elected : —
" Selectmen : Deacon William Brown, Deacon
Thomas Livermore, Mr. Daniel Benjamin, Mr.
Joseph Pierce, and Lieutenant Thomas Bigelow;
town-clerk and treasurer, Samuel Livermore ; con¬
stable, Mr. Joseph Hastings ; assessors, George
Lawrence, John Cutting, and John Chadwick;
sealer of leather, Mr. Joseph Stratton ; fence-view¬
ers, John Ball, Jr., and Joseph Hager; highway
surveyors, John Ball y® 3d, and John Viels; tything-
men, Isaac Pierce and Theophilus Mansfield ; hog-
reeves, Josiah Harrington and Elnatlian Whit¬
ney."
At a town-meeting, held February 18, 1837-38,
Lieutenant John Cutting, Deacon Livermore, and
Thomas Hammond were appointed to carry into
effect some of the conditions of the division, and
the business arising from the arrangement of these
eonditions served as a basis for several subsequent
gatherings. At the regular meeting held, in ac¬
cordance with the statute, in March (26th) a per¬
manent board of. officers for the ensuing year was
elected. Deacon Thomas Livermore being modera¬
tor. As this was the first regular election, the
names of the persons elected are herewith given :
For seleetraen, Mr. Thomas Hammond, Mr. John
Smith, Mr. John Bemis, Ensign Thomas Harring¬
ton, Deacon Jonathan Sanderson ; town-clerk and
treasurer, Samuel Livermore ; constable, Mr. Isaac
Pierce, Jr. ("who agreed with Mr. John Fiske
and The Town accepted him in his Eoome ") ; as¬
sessors, Mr. Daniel Benjamin, Mr. Samuel Liver¬
more, Deacon Thomas Livermore ; sealer of leather,
Mr. Joseph Stratton ; fence-viewers, Samuel Hast¬
ings, John Viels ; surveyors of highway, Zachariah
Smith, John Dix, Josiah Fiske; titliingraen, Dan¬
iel Chield, John Chadwick ; hog-reeves, Samuel Gale,
Isaac Pierce, John Lawrence. At the same meet¬
ing it was voted " that the Selectmen should take
Care that the meeting-hous be landed up and the
ammunition Sequred," also that Samuel Livermore
should have the use of the first pew east of the
pulpit as long as the meeting-house stood upon
his land, in full satisfaction for the same ; and
the sum of £20 was granted to support the Eng¬
lish school.
On the 9th of May the town chose its first
representative. Mr. Daniel Benjamin was elected,
but as he declined. Lieutenant Thomas Bigelow
WALTHAM.
411
was chosen in his stead. Evidently in those days
the office sought the man, and not the man the
office. Lieutenant Bigelow seems also to have
had other duties, for on the l'2th of the same
month he was voted six shillings for " sitting up "
the town stocks.
In July, 1738, the selectmen appointed two of
their number to secure a schoolmaster, and in
August they reported that they had agreed with
Mr. Timothy Harrington to fill that position, dur¬
ing the ensuing quarter, for £¿0. To Mr. Timothy
Harrington, then, belongs the honor of liaving been
the first person to serve the town of Waltham in
the capacity of schoolmaster. The school term
commenced on the 12th of July. In September
the town increased the salary of their pastor, ap¬
propriated £80 for educational purposes, and £25
for the support of the poor. In November (24th)
the town was divided into three squadrons; the
bounds of the first being from the meeting-house
by Mr. Hammond's (on what is now Beaver Street)
to the town's bounds, and all north to David Mead's
(Fiske's) Pond ; of the second, from the méeting-
house by the town-way, by Mr. John Child's, in:,
eluding all north ; tlie third including the remainder
of the town. The school was to be kept an equ^l
time in each squadron, provided a majority of the
voters of each division agreed upon a place and
furnished it at their own cost, and also furnished
an acceptable place for the schoolmaster to board
at. This was called, in the records of the day, a
■ " movable school." The school-house proper was
located at " Piety Comer."
On the 15th of January, 1738-39, the commit¬
tees appointed by the two towns to proportion the
debt of Watertown at the time of the division met,
and agreed on the following as a just arrangement ;
total debt, £171 14«. 2r7., of which Watertown
should assume £91 5«. 3 <7. and Waltham £80 8«.
11 <7. On the 30th of March the town appointed
Lieutenant Cutting to join with the committees of
Weston and Watertown to renew the bounds of the
joint farm at Wachusett Hills. This was a tract of
two thousand acres, granted to Watertown by the
General Court " in recompense of some land taken
off by Concord."
Among the duties which seem to have devolved
upon the selectmen of the time, one was the funeral
arrangements for the town poor who died. Some
of the items seem to have the appearance of a fes¬
tive rather tiian a funereal character. Thus at a
meeting of the board, January 1, 1739-40, to take
action in regard to the demise of the Widow Wyeth,
a vote was passed to iiave the coffin made, the grave
dug, four pairs of men's and two pairs of women's
gloves provided, and " such a Quantity of Bum for
the funeral as should be found necessary." It is
not intended to imply that the use of liquors was
limited to funerals of the town poor, for they were
in those times considered essential to the majority
of such occasions. At this date Adam Boardman
was schoolmaster.
January 8, 1739-40, a committee appointed by
the town met a committee consisting of the select¬
men of Watertown, appointed by that town, to
divide the proceeds of the sale of lands sold before
the division of the town. Of this amount Wal-
tham's share was £169 15#., aiid Watertown's
£837 10«. Why there was so much discrepancy
in the receipts when the debts were so evenly di¬
vided does not appear. There seems to be, how¬
ever, no evidence of any dissatisfaction.
On the 25th of January, 1741-42, Mr. Joseph
Eoberts was engaged to teach the school at £ 5 per
month, and at the town-meeting on the 10th of
March it was voted to have a " moving school."
At the town-meeting, March 1, 1741-42, it
was voted to have the school kept in the districts
alternately, and John Cams agreed in May to keep
it for two months in Samuel Gale's house at £5
(Old Tenor) per month, and at the house of John
Dix, in the liorth part of the town, on the same
terms, he being also allowed 19«. per week to
board himself. In May the town chose Captain
John Cutting representative. In September the
"moving school" was discontinued; £10 were
appropriated to repair the school-house; and £ 80
to support the school.
In March, 1742 -43, the town voted to reseat the
meeting-liouse for tlie ensuing five years, the high¬
est tax-payer on real and personal estate to be
allowed tlie first choice, and so on for all the pews ;
other things being equal, the age of those having a
choice to be considered. The galleries and the
space under them were to be disposed of in the
same manner as the body of the house, and a com¬
mittee was chosen to attend to the entire duty. At
the May meeting Captain John Cutting was elected
representative. Some of the inhabitants of Wes¬
ton having petitioned to have a grant of land called
Phillips' Dividend allotted them, it was agreed to
allow the transfer, providing the town of Weston
would render an equivalent in land. A petition to
build two more school-houses and remove the one
412
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
then existing, so as to have one at the north,
another at the south, and the third in the westerly
section of the town, was rejected. In November
the selectmen agreed with William Lawrence to
keep the school until he had completed the term of
eight months, the term commencing July 9, of that
year ; the pay to be £6 per month (Old Tenor) and
his board. On the 23d of December the select¬
men of the three towns, Waltham, Watertown, and
Weston, met at the house of Ensign Harrington,
in Waltham, to adjust thé accounts of the Great
Bridge, amounting to £195 15«. 1 d.,0\à Tenor.
As adjusted, they were,— to Watertown, £72 6«. 8A,
to Weston, £64 2«. 4e7., to Waltham, £ 59 6«. Id.
March 2, 1743-44, Captain Samuel Livermore
represented to the selectmen that there were under
his command ninety men, and that the state law re¬
quired them to have a stock of ammunition amount¬
ing to 150 pounds of powder, 300 pounds of bul¬
lets, and 450 flints. At the town-meeting, on the
5th of the same month, the town voted not to
open the dams where the fish ran. Mr. Lawrence
was further engaged by the selectmen as school¬
master. Captain John Cutting was again chosen
representative, and at the same meeting (May 8) a
committee was appointed to join similar committees
from Weston and Watertown in applying to the
General Court for a tract of unappropriated land,
in consideration of the failure of the court to lay
out the grant of one tliousand acres of meadow
previously made. (This probably refers to the
grant of fifteen hundred acres of land made to
Watertown in 1637.)
At the annual meeting in March, 1744 - 45, Cap¬
tain Livermore, who seems to have acquired great
popularity among his fellow-townsmen, was again
elected moderator, clerk, and treasurer, and at the
meeting in May was elected representative. Septem¬
ber 9 of the same year the town voted that Captain
Livermore " should address the Great and general
Court in the name and behalfe of the Town of
Waltham that the millers might have liberty to keep
up their mill Dams as formerly." It having been
brought to the notice of the selectmen that Mr.
Lawrence had given up the school, and that the
people were dissatisfied with there being none,
Mr. Hopestill Mead was appoitited by them to find
some one to take his place, and Mr. Elisha Hard¬
ing was the person selected.
When the town engaged Mr. Williams as their
pastor, one of the stipulations in the agreement
was that he should have his firewood cut and
carted for him free of expense. Some idea of tiie
importance of that item may be gained fjom the
fact that in the year 1745 he was granted £250
salary and thirty cords of wood.
March 2, 1746-47, a committee was chosen to
consult with like committees from Watertown and
Weston in regard to selling the joint farm (proba¬
bly the one at Wachusett Hills) ; it was voted to
keep a moving school six M'eeks in the north, six
weeks in the south, six weeks in the west near
Jonas Smith's, and six weeks in the school-house.
Deacon William Brown was appointed to teach the
northerly district, and if any division neglected to
provide a convenient place for holding the school or
for the master to board, the term of that division
should be held in the school-house. On the- IStli
of May Captain Livermore was again chosen repre¬
sentative. At a meeting of the selectmen in July,
James Priest, Jr., is mentioned as absent on the
king's service. The town grants for this year,
made in October, being in New Tenor, Mr. Wil¬
liams was allowed £100 as against £250 in the
Old Tenor of the previous year.
In March, 1747-48, Samuel Livermore, Jr., was
appointed to keep the school in the westerly, cen¬
tre, and northerly parts of the town, an agreement
being entered into between his father and the
selectmen to that effect.
In January, 1748-49, the selectmen appointed
Caleb Upham a school-teacher. One of the ques¬
tions which came before the annual meeting M'as
that of removing the meeting-house to the centre
of the town, or building a new one, but no action
was taken in regard to it. In May Captain Liver¬
more was again chosen representative. The suc¬
ceeding year (1749-50) the town, however, voted
not to send a representative. At the annual meet¬
ing ill March, 1749 - 50, a committee was chosen to
meet with committees from Watertown, Newton,
and Cambridge, for consultation in regard to a
workhouse. The salaries of the toM'n officers for
the year 1750 seem, from the appropriation, to
have amounted to 13«. 4r/., and this sum was
wholly aM'arded to Captain Livermore, — 8«. as
town-clerk, and 5«. 4r7. as treasurer. The record
in September, 1751, states that Matthew Bridge,
being then present at a town-meeting, " gave the
Town £1 6«. 8r7. as a gift in Consideration of his
Congregating with them." Some discussion oc¬
curred this year in regard to whether the school
should be taught by a schoolmaster or school¬
mistress, and the question was finally decided in
WALTEAM.
413
favor of the master. In November the town
voted that the money granted for the support of
schools should be expended for the one kept in the
school-house, and that the teacher should be " a
grammar-school master."
June 22, 1751, the Eev. Warham Williams, for
so many years pastor of the church, died. In
1752 Jonas Clark, having been employed, was
schoolmaster. Samuel Livermore was chosen
representative in May. In December the select¬
men engaged Samuel Livermore, Jr., to teach the
school for three months at a salary of £45, Old
Tenor.
In February, 1753, the younger Mr. Livermore
was again engaged to teach the school. Captain
Livermore was again representative. The school
was discontinued from July 11 until October 22.
At the latter date the town voted to have the house
repaired, and to have a movable school. The tax¬
able carriages in Waltham in this year numbered
ten, namely, nine chairs and one chaise ; the polls
147, slaves 3, sheep 299, swine 188, horses 111,
Cows 455, oxen 118.
At a meeting on the 2d of September, 1754, the
excise bill was read, together with the speech of
the governor to the General Court. After some
debate the town voted " that it is the desire that
the bill may not be negatived." Samuel Liver¬
more, Jr., was again engaged to teach the school;
Samuel Livermore, Sr., was again representative.
March 3, 1755, Mr. Matthew Bridge of Cam¬
bridge was accepted as an inhabitant, and his farm
annexed to our territory. Captain Livermore was
re-elected representative in May, and at the same
meeting the town voted to sell its share of the
2,000 acres of land at Wachusett Hill owned by
Watertown, Weston, and Waltham. In Decem¬
ber, 1755, the General Court passed an order in
execution of its share in the dismemberment of the
government of Acadia, and the scattering of its
homeless and friendless people broadcast over the
country. The total number of these unfortunates
assigned to Waltham was fourteen.
In March, 1756, Thomas Sparrowhawk was en¬
gaged as schoolmaster, and in May Captain Liver¬
more was again returned representative, a position
he continued to fill until 1764. The sale of the
town's portion of the Wachusett Hill farm was
concluded in the latter part of 1756, and on the
11th of January, 1757, Captain John Cutting
made report for the committee on tlie sale, to
the selectmen, that the proceeds amounted to
£267 6«. 8¿7. (£2005 Old Tenor). Isaac Liver¬
more was schoolmaster from November, 1756, to
August, 1757. He continued in that position also
during a portion of the year 1758. In Novem¬
ber, 1758, among the disbursements made by the
selectmen, was one of $2 per week for the support
of the French Neutrals, the homeless Acadians.
This is the first mention of the term " dollars " in
the town records.
Leonard Williams was schoolmaster during the
latter part of 1758 and the early part of 1759.
The tbwn at its meeting, March 5, 1759, refused
to exempt soldiers from taxation. In March, 1760,
the town appropriated £2 to carry on a children's
reading-school in the southwest part of the town.
Deacon Isaac Stearns was appointed by the select¬
men to engage a schoolmistress for the northerly
portion of the town, and it was agreed to have a
grammar-school master teach one quarter in the
school-liouse. The wife of George Lawrence was
selected by Deacon Stearns, and we may assume
that she was the first regularly appointed female
teacher in the town. In August, 1760, the Gen¬
eral Court assigned to Waltham four more of the
French Neutrals. In 1761 grants were made to
Jonathan Livermore, Samuel Williams, and John
Wyeth for teaching school. It was voted (Sep¬
tember 14) to build a workiiouse on the land of
the town near Daniel Harrington's. As Mr. Har¬
rington, between the years 1746 and 1761, kept a
tavern near the junction of Main and South streets,
the workhouse was probably located in that im¬
mediate vicinity. At the September meeting the
town appointed the selectmen a committee to re¬
ceive subscriptions to defray the expense of build¬
ing a bridge over the Charles River, near the mouth
of Beaver Brook, and to join with a committee of
the town of Newton in seeing to its building.
Wardens were elected for the first time this year,
William Coolidge and Elijah Livermore occupying
those positions. The following year (1762) hay-
wards were elected for the first time, and Josiah
Mixer and Samuel Gale were chosen by the town
to serve in that capacity. Samuel Williams and
Mrs. Clark were, paid for teaching school, and a
committee chosen to prosecute any person who had
broken or should break any glass in the school or
meeting house.
In 1763 the instructors of youth for the town
were three females, — Mrs. Lawrence, a daughter of
William Coolidge, and a daughter of Lois Fisk ;
and one male teacher, Samuel Williams. During
414
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1763 the wars, which for so many years had been
waged between England and France, were terminated
by the treaty of Paris. It is quite worth our while
to review so far as we can the part Waltham took
in these struggles, since these conflicts proved the
training-school for the soldiers of the Eevolution,
and the expenses incident to their prosecution the
entering wedge in the division of the governments
of the two countries. The excise tax which the
town in 1754 desired might " not be negatived "
was an outgrowth of it, and the Stamp Act, against
which the whole colony a few years after vigorously
protested, was another of its fruits. But it gave
our hardy yeomen military experience and training,
and taught them that the men they had fought by
the side of in wars M'ith a foreign foe would not be
their superiors in courage, prowess, or skill when
opposed to them in the ranks of their enemies.
While the town records abound in military titles,
it is doubtful whether these were won at the an¬
nual training or on the battle-field. We find, how¬
ever, among the heroes of the Eevolution, quite a
number of the names of those who were veterans
in the old French and Indian wars.
In the state records we find better eyidence of
Waltham's share in the colonial troubles. In 1740
we find that Ebenezer Bigelow — husbandman —
was in Captain Stephen Eichard'f company. In
1744 Captain John Cutting's name appears on the
muster-rolls. In 1748 Nathan Morse and John
Barnard were in Captain John Catlin's company at
Fort Shirley. But in 1756 and 1757 the names
follow in rapid succession. In Captain Ebenezer
Learned's company was Ensign Eobert Smith, aged
twenty-eight, born in Waltham, eidisted in Worces¬
ter. In Captain Timothy Houghton's company
were the following, all volunteers, from Waltham :
Lieutenant Ebenezer Brown, Sergeant William
Cox, Clerk Jonas Cutter, Cornet Jonatlian Peirce,
Privates John Dean, Phineas Stearns, Joseph Wel¬
lington, Thomas Wellington, William Benjamin,
Daniel Fisk, Abraham Hill, Abijah Brown, Thomas
Harrington, Isaac Gleason, Josiah Whitney, and
David Fisk. In Captain Benjamin Ballard's com¬
pany was William Cumraings of Waltham. In
Captain Livermore's company, of the Crown Point
expedition, were Abraham Gregory, aged fifty-two
years, and Abijah Gregory, aged seventeen years,
both born in Weston, but credited in Waltham's
quota. Benjamin Lawrence and Thomas Hammond
also served in the army. So much for 1756. In
1757 Jonathan Peirce is a corporal in Captain
Houghton's company. In Captain William Bart-
lett's company William Livermore is ensign, Isaac
Gleason sergeant, John Dean corporal. In the
roll of Captain Cheeveris company, Elisha Hastings
of Waltham is set down as a deserter. The billet-
ing-roll of Captain Jonathan Brown's company.
Colonel William's regiment, contains the following
Waltham names : Josiah Barnard, Isaac Cory, John
Whitehead, Nicholas Lines, William Cox, David
Standley, Timothy Flagg, Abraham Sanderson,
Lowden Priest, Jonas Steward, William Graves,
John Wellington, John Wellington, Jr., and Phin¬
eas Stearns, and in the muster-roll of Captain
Brown's company, in the expedition for the reduc¬
tion of Canada, appear again the names of Priest,
Standley, Sanderson, Stearns, Steward, the two
Wellingtons, Cory, Fisk, Flagg, Barnard, Whitehead
(corporal). Cox (sergeant),Graves (sergeant), and in
addition Trueworthy Smith and Jedidiah White.
In May, 1764, the town chose Jonas Dix as its
representative, after a continuous service of four¬
teen years, and a total service of seventeen years
from Samuel Livermore. Mr. Dix held the office
for fifteen consecutive years, and altogether eigh¬
teen years, representing the town (save in 1779 and
178á), evidently to its acceptance, during the en¬
tire period when the colonies were passing through
the transition from national youth to manhood.
An account of the valuation of the town at this
time gives the following results: Houses, 94;
families, 107 ; males-under 16 years of age, 145 ;
females under 16 years of age, 162 ; males above
16, 169; females above 16, 174; negroes and
mulattoes, males 8, females 5. Total popula¬
tion, 663. The number of slaves owned is put at
14, although the annexed list fails to present so
many: Jacob Big(e)low owned 1 ; Samuel Gale,
1; Isaac Pierce, Jr., 1 ; Nathan Brown, 2; Sam¬
uel Woodburn, 1; William Goodhue, 2; Josiah
Brown, 1 ; John Clark, 1. Payment was ordered
by the selectmen for the following school-teacii-
ers : Thomas Fisk's daughter, Joseph Hagar,
Jr.'s, wife, Joseph Bemis' wife, George Lawrence's
wife, Hopestill Bent's daughter-in-law, Jonathan
Sanderson, Jr.'s, wife, John Dix's daughter,
Ebenezer Brown's son, and to Samuel Williams,—
the female teachers receiving £3 each. Whether
these were all employed during the immediately
preceding year, or whether some of the payments
are for older debts, is uncertain. In March of the
following year (1765) it was voted by the town
that the grammar school should be a moving
WALTHAM.
415
school during the remainder of the year. Leonard
Williams and Elijah Brown were school-teachers.
Qf the grant of £41 for educational purposes,
made in September, £12 was for tiie women's
schools. The whole sum appropriated for town
affairs in this year was £161 2s. 7d.
In 1766, a dispute having arisen between Wes¬
ton and Waltham in regard to the boundary line,
a committee was chosen to see the line rectified
and confirmed by the General Court. Elijah
Brown still continued to serve the town as a
schoolmaster, and held the position until Septem¬
ber, 1769. In December (28), 1767, the town
voted to adopt similar measures to those approved
by Boston, " to promote Industry, economy and
manufacturing." Numerous meetings were held
during the year 1767, to take action in regard to
building a new meeting-house, and one was finally
contracted for, to cost £642 13«. 4rf. In March,
1769, the workhouse was, by vote of the town,
sold, the sum paid for it being £100 2«. 8fl.
Jonas Dix's son Jonas was engaged to keep the
school beginning in September ; he held thé posi¬
tion of teacher of the grammar school until 1772,
when he resigned because of ill health. The town
voted at its September meeting to build a large
school-house near the old one, but took no meas¬
ures to carry out its vote. The year 1769 is
notable in the town's history for two occur¬
rences: 1st, it was the last year (save in 1784) in
which_ swine were permitted to run at large ;
2d, the practice of warning out of town persons
who came without apparent means of suj)port was
discontinued.
In March, 1770, the town granted money and
appointed a committee to carry out its vote of the
previous year in regard to the new school-house,
and also ordered the old one to be repaired.
Among the articles in the warrant for this meeting
was one " To know the mind of the town whether
they will concur with the respectable Towns of
Boston and Charlestown in refusing to purchase
any goods wliatever of tiiose persons who prefer¬
ring their own private Interest to that of the Pub¬
lic still continuing to Import Goods from Brittain
contrary to the agreement of the Patriotic mer¬
chants." No action was taken on this article. In
1771 a son of Josiali Brown was teacher of one of
the schools, of which there were four besides the
grammar school. During this year Newton-Street
bridge was rebuilt, and the committee, in rendering
its bill for services, items 113 mugs and 1 pitcher
of fiip ; 10 quarts and 40 mugs of cider ; 3 pints of
rum and 1 bowl of Toddy ; dinners, etc., — amount¬
ing to £.52 Is. Id (£6 19«. Id., lawful money).
In 1772 William Fisk was engaged to teach the
grammar school in place of Jonas Dix, Jr., re¬
signed. Miss Euth Russell and Jonathan Ham¬
mond's daughter were also of the number of
teachers.
We come now to the period when the seeds of
revolution, sowed by the framers of the Stamp Act
and its kindred impositions, are beginning to thrust
their shoots through the stratum of loyalty which
has hitherto held them in check, and from this
time the growth is rapid and fruition speedy and
complete. On the 25th of January, 1773, at a
meeting of the town, a letter was read from the
town of Boston to the selectmen complaining of the
grievances the colonists had suffered and were suf¬
fering, particularly those of the Massachusetts Bay.
The letter also set forth the natural, civil, and
religious rights of the people. The town chose
Samuel Livermore, Esq., Jonas Dix, Esq., Captain
Abijah Brown, Leonard Williams, Esq., and Dea¬
con Isaac Stearns a committee to draw up and
consider a vote in answer. At the May (10th)
meeting of the town a letter was read setting forth
tiie barbarous, unchristian, and inhuman practice
of African slavery. This matter was referred to
the representative, to act therein according to his
discretion. In March, 1774, the town voted to
build a new school-house near the meeting-house.
The committee to whom the details were intrusted
reported, in September, the work accomplished at
an expense of £81 5'«. 3 <7. Jonas Dix was elected
representative in May, and Jacob Bigelow in Sep¬
tember. The selectmen ordered four half-barrels
of powder, 450 weight of bullets, and 300 flints,
to complete the town's stock of ammunition. On
the 30th of September the town chose Captain
Abijah Brown, Leonard Williams, Esq., and Cap¬
tain Jonathan Brewer a committee to draft in¬
structions to their representative in regard to
what course he should pursue on the question of
the'General Court's resolving itself into a provin¬
cial congress. In the mean time a convention of
delegates from the towns of Middlesex County had
been held at Concord, and among other things rec¬
ommended the holding of a provincial congress at
that town, and that each town should a])i)oint a
committee of correspondence in order, as the war¬
rant for the Waltham town-meeting said, "that
other Towns when they send out on any Einer-
416
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
gency may know who to send to and that said
Committee upon any emergency may send to other
Town's Committees." Accordingly, at a meeting
on the 3d of October the town elected Mr. Jacob
Bigelow delegate to the congress, and Captain Wil¬
liam Coolidge, Deacon Elijah Livermore, Captain
Abijah Brown, Lieutenant Abijah Child, and Ensign
Abraham Peirce a committee of safety. (In the list
of delegates on file at the State House — vide Mis¬
cellaneous (1 -138) — Watertown has three dele¬
gates, Newton three, Sudbury two, Weston three,
Lincoln two, Waltham two. Waltham's two are
Mr. Jacob Bigelow and Captain Eleazer Brooks.)
On tlie 1 iith of December a town-meeting was held,
"To take into serious Consideration the Associa¬
tion of the grand American Continental C'ongress,
and according to their Eesolves to clioose a Com¬
mittee to attentively observe tliat said Association
be punctually and strictly carried into Execution."
Jonas Dix, Esq., Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, and
Deacon Elijah Lawrence were chosen a committee
for that purpose. In November, 1774, the town
voted to take down the old school-house, and build
one at the northwest part of the town.
Agreeably to a recommendation of the Provin¬
cial Congress, the voters of the town convened on
the 9th of January, 1775, to determine what
should be done in regard to enlisting minute-men,
and it was voted to be tlie mind of the town that
" they will all be prepared and stand ready equipt
as minute-men." At the same meeting Jonas Dix,
Esq., was elected delegate to the Provincial Con¬
gress to be holden at Cambridge in February. In
March the town voted to pay the money collected
for taxes to Henry Gardner, Esq., treasurer of the
provincial government. The selectmen, in the
same month, appointed a committee to take an
exact state of tlie town's ammunition, and report in
writing. Nothing appears in the town records to
indicate the struggles at Lexington and Concord,
and it is difficult to determine how many of Wal¬
tham's sons took part in those conflicts, but some
were there. David Smith, an apprentice to Phineas
Steams, was wounded by the bursting of his gun
at Lexington, and Abram Child, a native of Wal¬
tham, took part in the pursuit of the retreating
English soldiery. On the day following these
skirmishes the Central Committee of Correspond¬
ence issued a stirring appeal to the sub-committees
of the colony, which concluded in these words :
"We beg & entreat that as you will answer to
your Country to your Consciences and above all
as you will answer to God himself, that you will
hasten and encourage by all possible Means the
Enlistment of Men to form the Army." At a meet¬
ing of the selectmen. May 13, they delivered to each
of the following men a good blanket, in accordance
with the " Eecommendation of the Provincial Con¬
gress, tiiey being inlisted into the Service of the
Massachusetts, for the Defence of the Liberties of
America " : Elipiialet Hastings, Jonas Lawrence,
Elijah Cutting, Elisha Cox, William Lock, Samuel
Huberts, John Glynn, Josiah Convers, Cutting
Clark, Abraham Parkhurst, Matthew Peirce, Josiah
Bemis, Jr., Daniel Warren, Elijah Mead, Samuel
Mulliken, Amos Fiske, Zechariah Weston, Job
Priest, David Smith, Benjamin Gallop, Amos Har¬
rington, George Wellington, Micah Buinpo (negro),
Jonas Smith, Jr., John Viles, Josiah Lovett, Eli¬
sha Harrington, Habakkuk Stearns, Jesse Goodell,
Nathan Wright, Asa Gould, Bezaleel Wriglit,
Abijah Fisk, Kufus Stacey, Isaac Bemis, Elislia
Stearns, Beuben Bemis, Timothy Flagg, Eliphalet
Warren, Moses Warren, AVilliam Sprague, Thad¬
dens Child, Andrew Benjamin, John Symms, and
Edmund Lock. In May Jacob Bigelow was chosen
to the Provincial Congress, and in July and Au¬
gust Jonas Dix filled the same position. A pro¬
test against Dix being allowed his seat in the Con¬
gress, signed by twenty-six citizens, appears in tlie
state records, the complainants alleging that his
election was illegally procured, inasmuch as he
used his influence to prohibit the votes of such of
the men serving in the army as were known to
be opposed to him. In the troublous times of the
early breaking out of the Eevolution neighbor
seemed to eye neighbor somewhat askant, and
every suspicion was intensified by the fever of the
times. Of the number of the suspected was one
John Milliquet, a tavern-keeper, whose wife, having
a child in Boston, passed through the lines, and ob¬
tained it, and returned, and was thought to have fur¬
nished information to the enemy. The selectmen,
however, in their reply to the Central Committee of
Correspondence, cleared the family of the charge ;
in fact, Milliquet was licensed as an innholder the
following year as a person friendly to his country.
Ajiother suspected one — suspected by his own
neighbors — was, singularly enough, Lieutenant-
Colonel Abijah Brown. The selectmen, in a letter
to the Provincial Congress in May, accuse Brown
of slandering the Congress, threatening that the
army would rebel against its authority, etc. The
committee ai)pointed by Congress to examine into
WALTHAM.
417
the charges completely exonerate Colonel Brown,
and turn the tables on those who have denounced
him to the selectmen. In a letter to the Board of
War, dated May 19, 1775, Brown writes that he
has removed the cannon under his charge at Wal-
tham to Watertown, and delivered tliem to the
Committee of Safety, " and shall have my company
in readiness to march to Cambridge to-morrow
morning." In June the Provincial Congress recom¬
mends that Brown, who is holding the position of
lieutenant-colonel under Colonel Woodhridge, be
commissioned, and on the 23d of that month
he acknowledges the receipt of his commission.
Another unfortunate had inadvertently bought a
few pounds of tea, but was speedily made to realize
his offence. Of the part taken by the men of Wal-
tham at Bunker Hill there appears to be no rec¬
ord, save here and there an item telling of some
one wounded or some one losing a gun or accou¬
trements. Captain Jonathan Brewer was among
those wounded, and Eliphalet Hastings lost a
bayonet. It is probably safe to infer that the
entire number enumerated as enlisted were in that
battle.
At the meeting held March 18, 1776, Captain
William Coolidge, Thomas Wellington, and Lieuten¬
ant Samuel Stearns were chosen the committee of
correspondence. In the warrant this committee has
also the terms "inspection" and "safety." This
was in accordance with a resolve of the General
Court, February 13, 1776, uniting the three com¬
mittees in one, and directing the annual choice by
the several towns. Those familiar with the colo¬
nial history of this period will remember the many
difficulties that the colonists labored under through
lack of saltpetre, and its manufacture was urged
upon the people. At the March meeting the town
chose Jacob Bigelow, Samuel Harrington, and
Elisha Cutter a committee to inquire into the
feasibility of manufacturing it in private families
in Waltham. At the meeting in May (27th) Jo¬
nas Dix, Esq., was chosen representative, and at
the same meeting, " the question being put to know
the mind of the Town whether they will advise
their Eepreseiitative that if the Honorable Con¬
gress should for the Safety of the united Colonies
Declare them Independent of the Kingdom of
Great Britain they the ^said Inhabitants will Sol-
emly engage with their lives and fortunes to support
them in the measure. And it passed in the affirma¬
tive." At a meeting held June 25 the town voted
to excuse from paying a bounty tax those who had
served in the army or who should join the Canada
expedition. A bounty of £6 6«. Sr/. was voted to
each non-commissioned officer and private enlisting
for that expedition. A committee to whom the
raising and disbursing of this bounty was intrusted
reported the following names of recruits : John
Coolidge, Ezra Peirce, John Gleason, Elisha Liver-
more, William Hagar, John Hagar, Josiah Sander¬
son, Edward Brown, Elias Hastings, Eli Jones,
Abijah Brown, Jr., Benjamin Ellis, Isaiah Edes
"for my Negro," Josiah Wyer, David Stearns,
Jonathan Stearns, Abijah Fisk, John Lawrence,
Samuel Gale, Jr., Samuel Bigelow, Stephen Will-
man, Eliphalet Hastings, Nathan Sanderson, John
Eichardson.
The council of the colony having ordered a
printed copy of the Declaration of Independence
to be sent to the minister of each parish, of every
denomination, and by him to be read immediately
after the close of the service of the Sabbath follow¬
ing its receipt, the copies then to be delivered to
the town clerks, and by them entered on the town
or district records, " tliere to remain as a perpetual
Memorial thereof," we find it copied at lengtli
in the records of this period. On the 28th of Oc¬
tober the town refused to give its sanction to the
formation and enactment of a state constitution.
In December the following named men were en¬
listed for Waltham, under Captain Blaney, in Colo¬
nel Thatclier's regiment, for three months : Samuel
Lufkin, Solomon Keyes, John Glode, James Davis,
William Chambers, Timothy Brown, Samuel Luf¬
kin, Jr., Timothy Farrar, Tristram Davidson, Jere¬
miah Williams, Lemuel Wheeler, Abel Parker.
The school-teachers paid during this year were
William Fisk and Paul Litchfield.
On the 3d of March, 1777, the town re-elected
the same men for its committee of correspondence,
and a committee was chosen to devise some equita¬
ble manner of proportioning the assessments levied
on account of filling Waltham's quotas in the
army. In May Eepresentative Dix was instructed
to join with other members of the General Court
(if he should think proper) in the formation of
" such a Constitution of Government, as lie shall
Judge best Calculated to Promote the happiness of
this State ; and when compleated cause the same
to be printed in all the Boston News Papers, and
also in hand bills, one of which to be transmitted
to the selectmen of eacli Town, or the Committee
of each Plantation, to be by them laid before their
respective Towns or Plantations, at a regular meet-
418
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ing of the Inhabitants thereof, to be called for that
purpose ; in order to its being by each Town and
Plantation duly considered." Jonas Dix, Jr., and
William Fisk taught school during the year.
On the 9th of February, 1778, a meeting was
held, at wliich " the Articles of Confederation and
perpetual Union between the United States of
America was read to tlie Town and maturely con¬
sidered by them, the Town unanimously agreed
that the said plan of Confederacy is well adapted
for the securing tlie Freedom, Sovereignty, and
Independence of the United States of America,"
and the representative was instructed to vote that
the state delegates be authorized to ratify that in¬
strument in Congress. At the March meeting Mat-
thias Collins, Lieutenant Isaac Hagar, and Peter
Ball were chosen committee of correspondence, in¬
spection, and safety. In May Abner Sanderson
was chosen representative. On the vote to ratify
the state constitution tiie town stood six in favor,
twenty-two opposed. On the 28th of September
a committee was chosen " to Estimate what each
one had done in the war by Bearing Arms Person¬
ally or their paying money to Encourage others to
do the same & proportioning the same by a Tax
upon the Polls and Estates of the Town," etc. This
committee reported on the 19th of October. In
their report they give the following names of the
thirty men which Waltham sent for the eight
months' campaign : Colonel Jonathan Brewer, Col¬
onel Abijah Brown, Captain Abijah Child, Captain
Abram Child, Lieutenant Oliver Hagar, Captain
Jedediah Thayer, Josiah Convers, Elisha Wel¬
lington, Lieutenant Isaac Bemis, David Smith,
George Wellington, Eeuben Bemis, Josiah Bemis,
Jr., Amos Fisk, Abijah Fisk, Timothy Flagg,
Jonas Lawrence, William Lock, Josiah Leaverett,
Edmund Lock, Elisha Stearns, Daniel Warren,
Thaddens Wellington, Zachariah Weston, Eliphalet
Warren, Amos Harrington, Moses Warren, Charles
Warren, Moses Mead, Jr., and Francis Brewer.
These, the committee judged should have £3 12«.
each. The town sent nine two-months men to the
Cambridge lines, namely : Lieutenant Isaac Bemis,
Josiah Wier, Samuel Gale, Jr., Samuel Goodin,
Phineas Warren, Jr., John Kidder, Joel Har¬
rington, Thaddens Goodin, and Ebenezer Phillips ;
they should receive 18«. each. Captain Abijah
Child, Josiah Convers, Josiah Bemis, Jr., Captain
Jedediah Thayer, Jonas Lawrence, Thaddens Wel¬
lington, and Edmund Lock went into Canada ; they
should be allowed £15 each. Colonel Jonathan
Brewer, Captain Abraham Child, William Lock,
and Jonas Lock were in the service in the Jerseys
in 1776, losing baggage, etc. ; they should be al¬
lowed £4 each. Captain Isaac Gleason, Lieuten¬
ant John Clark, Jonas Dix, Jr., Josiah Sanderson,
Nathan Sanderson, William Bridge, Elisha Liver-
more, Jr., Joseph Hagar, Jr., William Hagar, Jona¬
than Stearns, Ephraim Hammond, John Lawrence,
Samuel Gale, John Gleason, Samuel Bigelow, and
Abijah Livermore, choosing to hire rather than give
personal service, paid £6 each above the regular
bounty ; Captain Gleason and Ephraim Hammond
refused the town's bounty, and paid £12 6«. 8d.
each. Colonel Abijah Brown, Jonathan Hagar, Jo¬
siah Wier, Stephen Wellman, Ezra Peirce, David
Stearns, Edward Brown, and John Coolidge, re¬
ceiving only the state and town bounty, should be
allowed £6 each to put them on the same terms
as the others. Deacon Elijah IJvermore, Amos
Brown, and Jonathan Fisk each paid £6 to pro¬
cure men to go to the " lines at Boston." Leon¬
ard Williams, Esq., Captain Isaac Gleason, Beza-
leel Flagg, Matthias Collins, Lieutenant Samuel
Stearns, Daniel Cutting, Deacon John Sanderson,
Ephraim Peirce, Phineas Lawrence, Nathan Viles,
and Zachariah Smith procured men to go to White
Plains, and Lieutenant Isaac Hagar and Isaac
Parkhurst go in person; each should be allowed
£10. Ensign Samuel Harrington, Jacob Bigelow,
Samuel Gale, Josiah Mixer, Captain Abraham
Peirce, Peter Ball, John Durant, David Townsend,
Captain William Coolidge, Benjamin Strattou,
Benjamin Green, and Elijah Livermore each paid
£6 ; Jonas Dix, Esq., Deacon Jonathan Sanderson,
Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, Lieutenant Daniel Child,
Jonas Smith, John Dix, Jonas Brown, Josiah M hit-
ney, Abraham Bemis, Thomas Fisk, Jonathan San¬
derson, Jr., and Moses Mead, £5 each; Elisha
Livermore, £10; Elisha Cutler, £14; and Joseph
Wellington, £3, to procure Waltham's quota
towards reinforcing the army, and should be allowed
these respective sums. Lieutenant Isaac Bemis,
Joseph Brown, Elisha Stearns, Ezra Peirce, David
Stearns, George Stearns, Thaddens Bemis, Jonathan
Smith, Elijah Smith, Timothy Flagg, Charles
Cutter, Josiah Hastings, Flagg> Jonathan
Sanderson, 3d, and Samuel Green went to the Dor¬
chester Hills and Boston lines ; that service being
easy, the committee think 20«. each should be al¬
lowed. Warham Gushing, James Priest, and Ben¬
jamin Hagar each hired a man to serve for three
years or the war; each should be allowed £30.
WALTHAM.
419
Tlie following named individuals contributed the
sums annexed to hire men to serve in the army :
William Brown, William Wellington, Eleazer
Bradshaw, Jonas Child, Isaac Feirce, Silas Stearns,
Isaac Stearns, Jr., Joshua Stearns, Samuel Fisk,
and Abner Sanderson, £10 each; William Fisk,
Isaac Child, Jr., and William Coolidge, Jr., £8
each; Joseph Wellington, £7; Cornet Nathaniel
Bridge, Samuel Feirce, Jonas Dix, Esq., Jonas
Smith, Moses Mead, Jonas Viles, Captain Wil¬
liam Coolidge, Uriah Cutting, David Townsend,
John Durant, Peter Ball, Benjamin Green, and
Elijah Lawrence, £6 each; George Lawrence,
Samuel Dix, Joel Dix, Josiah Hastings, Josiah
Whitney, Abraham Beinis, Thomas Fisk, Jonathan
Dix, Ephraim Feirce, Jonathan Sanderson, 3d, and
Thomas Livermore, £5 each; Captain John Clark,
Jonathan Fisk, Josiah Sanderson, Abijah Liver-
more, Feter Warren, and Elisha Cutler, £4 each;
Abraham Bemis, Jr., Deacon Jonathan Sanderson,
and Daniel Child, £3 each; Jonas Brown, Amos
Brown, William Bridge, Jonas Dix, Jr., and Dan¬
iel Taylor, £2 each; and Fhineas Lawrence, £1.
Lieutenant Isaac Bemis, Jonas Lawrence, and
Jacob Mead went to Rhode Island ; they should
have £6 each. Daniel Stearns, Abraham Bemis,
Jr., Ephraim Feirce, Jr., Thaddens Bemis, and
Thaddens Goodwin were drafted to go to Benning¬
ton, and either went or sent some one ; for their
service they should have £30 1«. 11 J. each, ex¬
clusive of what they received. The sums annexed
to the following names were paid " at that time to
Encourage those that turned out and went": Dea¬
con Elijah Livermore, Leonard Williams, Samuel
Gale, and Isaac Farkhurst, £ 30 each ; Ensign
Josiah Bemis, £10; Fhineas Lawrence and Joshua
Mead, £ 6 ; Jonas Dix, Esq., Jonas Dix., Jr., Joel
Dix, Jonatlian Stearns, Cornet Nathaniel Bridge,
William Bridge, Abraham Bemis, Jacob Bemis,
Captain John Clark, Silas Stearns, Daniel Stearns,
Jonathan Sanderson, 3d., Josiah Hastings, Abijah
Livermore, Thomas Livermore, John Lawrence,
Moses Mead, and Joshua Stearns, £5 each; Jacob
Bigelow'i Samuel Feirce, John Sanderson, Feter
Edes, Jonathan Fisk, Amos Feirce, Jonas Smith,
and Josiah Sanderson, £4 each; David Smith,
Nathan Viles, William Fisk, Zachariah Smith, Jonas
Viles, and Isaac Feirce, £3 each; and Feter War¬
ren, Lieutenant Daniel Child, Elisha Livermore, Jr.,
and Nathan Sanderson, £2 each; which should
be allowed. William Feirce and Moses Lawrence
served at Dorchester Hills three months; they
should have £ 10 each. Lieutenant Samuel Steams,
Samuel Stearns, Jr., Abijah Bigelow, Amos Har¬
rington, Abijah Fisk, Reuben Bemis, George Law¬
rence, and Elisha Stearns went in November, 1777,
" to guard the troops of Convention," serving until
April, 1778 ; they should receive £30 each. Cap¬
tain Abraham Feirce, William Coolidge, Jr., Ben¬
jamin Harrington, Jr., John Bright, Amos Fisk,
Moses Warren, John Ferry, Thomas Hoppens, and
Bezaleel Flagg, who went in January last to perform
the same duty, should be allowed £16 each; and
Jonas Child, Zachariah Smith, Nathan Sanderson,
Elisha Livermore, Jr., Joshua Steams, Daniel
Warren, John Lawrence, Isaac Child, Jr., Isaac
Feirce, Joseph Brown, and Josiah Hastings, Jr.,
for similar service should receive £ 12 6«., exclusive
of what they have had and are to receive. Lieu¬
tenant Isaac Hagar, John Gleason, Samuel Bigelow,
Eliphalet Warren, Alpheus Gale, Jonathan Hagar,
Eli Jones, Moses Mead, Jr., Josiah Leavitt, Jona¬
than Sanderson, 3d, Amos Feirce, Jedediah White,
Charles Cutter, and Jacob Bemis went to the Bos¬
ton and Roxbury lines last spring, for which they
are entitled to £6 each. The following named
persons paid the sums annexed to their names last
spring " to fill the Continental Battalions and to
secure the passes of the North River," namely ; Cap-
■tain William Coolidge, John Dix, Jacob Bigelow,
Ensign Samuel Harrington, Benjamin Harrington,
Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, Eleazer Bradshaw, Jonas
Dix, Esq., Elisha Livermore, Jonas Smith, and
David Smith, £20 each; William Hagar, Josiah
Mixer, Matthias Collins, Mr. Feirpont, and Deacon
Elijah Livermore, £15 each; Captain Isaac Glea¬
son, £12 5«.; Elisha Cutler and Abner Sanderson,
£11 each; Daniel Taylor, Samuel Dix, Nathaniel
Livermore, Uriah Cutting, David Townsend, John
Durant, Feter Ball, Captain Abraham Feirce, John
Gleason, Bezaleel Flagg, Daniel Cutting, Ephraim
Hammond, Benjamin Stratton, Benjamin Green,
Elijah Lawrence, Hy. Kimball, Zachariah Weston,
Ebenezer Brown, Jonas Brown, Abraham Beinis,
Captain John Clark, Lieutenant "Daniel Child, Isaac
Child, Jonas Dix, Jr., William Wellington, Jona¬
than Dix, Thomas Fisk, Jonathan Fisk, William
Fisk, Samuel Fisk, Oliver Haggett, Josiah Hastings,
Thomas Hammond, Abijah Livermore, Fhineas
Lawrence, Joshua Mead, Moses Mead, Jonathan
Sanderson, Jr., John Sanderson, Josiah Sanderson,
and Nathan Viles, £ 10 each ; Benjamin Feirce, £9 ;
and Feter Warren £6; and these suras should be
allowed them. William Adams, William Bridge,
420
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Deacon Amos Brown, Joel Dix, Thomas Livermore,
Samuel Peirce, Ezra Peirce, Silas Stearns, Daniel
Stearns, Jonas Viles, Josiah Whitney, Thomas
Wellington, Jacob Bemis, and Thaddens Beinis each
paid £10 to hire men to go to Rhode Island in the
summer of 1777, and tiiese sums should be refunded.
George Stearns, Elijah Smith, Joseph Lock, Wil¬
liam Peirce, Samuel Gooden, and Coburn
went in July, 1778, "to guard prisoners of Con¬
vention," and were gone fifteen days ; they should
be allowed £4 each. Josiah Leavitt, Ephraim
Peirce, Jr., Jonathan Smith, Peter Warren, and
John Livermore were of the guard which escorted
prisoners to Rutland, and for that service should
receive £6 each. Two men were also sent in the
summer to guard prisoners until the 1st of Jan¬
uary ; there should be allowed for them the ex¬
pense of hiring them, £70 (supposed). Four men
were sent for to guard the lines in and about
Boston until the 1st of January, 1779; two of
them are hired and sent, and are to receive £ 18 per
month, including their wages ; this will cost about
£66; the other two are drafted, and if they go or
hire substitutes are to be paid at the same rate ;
this will amount to about £54. Captain Abraham
Peirce, Lieutenant Samuel Stearns, Samuel Bigelow,
John Gleason, Joel Harrington, Elisha Harrington,
Eliphalet Warren,Williams Gushing, Bezaleel Flagg,
Samuel Green, Samuel Stearns, Jr., John Liver¬
more, Nathan Lock, AVarham Gushing, and Jona¬
than Hagar went to the lines at the alarm in Au¬
gust, 1778 ; they should be allowed £2 each. If
it should appear that there were other inhabitants
of the town who had done service either in person
or in money during the war, they should have the
allowance made in the report in similar cases. The
entire total of these sums is £3,308 6«. 4ff., which
amount should be proportioned and assessed upon
the real and personal estate ; those whose payment
as by the above list is short of their assessment to
make up the deficiency, and those whose payment
is in excess of the assessment to be reimbursed
" in case they will receive it when offered." The
sum recommended by the committee was granted,
but the vote was subsequently reconsidered. James
Barrett, county agent, acknowledges, April 8, the
receipt of twenty-five shirts, twenty-five pairs of
shoes, and twenty-five pairs of stockings from the
selectmen of Waltham for the army. This closes
the record for 1778.
At the regular annual meeting in March,
1779, Captain Abraham Peirce, Lieutenant Sam¬
uel Stearns, and Isaac Hagar were elected com¬
mittee of correspondence, and at the May meeting
Abner Sanderson was chosen representative, and
he was instructed, by a vote of twenty-four to ten,
to cast his ballot in favor of a new state constitu¬
tion under similar restrictions made under a pre¬
vious vote (see 1777). On the 18th of June a
committee was chosen to hire men for the array on
the town's credit. A week later they reported but
one man engaged, on account of the high bounties
demanded; the meeting directed them thereupon
to make the best terms they could. A convention
was held at Concord on the 14th of July to regu¬
late the prices of merchandise. On the 2d of
August the report of the convention was read at
a town-meeting in Waltham, and a committee of
eleven chosen to carry out the vote of that body.
On the 9th of August the committee reported the
following scale of prices : Innholders, for a good
meal of butcher's meat with vegetables, 12i., if
with tea, 15«.; West India flip, 12«. per mug;
bowl of toddy, 12«.; for labor, haying and stone¬
wall work, 42 «. per day and found ; mechanics,
with their own tools and found, 60«.; for black¬
smith shoeing a horse, £4; shoemakers, hest
men's shoes, £5 8«., women's £4 1«.; tailors,
making a coat, £6, breeches, £3; weavers, weav¬
ing cotton and linen shirting, 6«. per yard ; hat¬
ters, for a good beaver, £32 10«.; farmers, hay
36«. per cwt., oats 36«. per bushel, etc. Per¬
sons taking more than above rates to have their
names published in the newspapers by the commit¬
tee of correspondence, inspection, and safety, in
order that they may he dealt with according to
Resolution 2 of the Concord Convention. It must
be remembered, in considering these prices, that
they are founded on a depreciating currency. On
the 18th of August Jonas Dix, Esq., and John
Clark were chosen delegates to the constitutional
convention to be held at Cambridge, September 1.
The town granted Jonas Dix, Esq., in hehalf of
the committee appointed to raise men for the
army, £2,838. September 20, the town voted to
hire four men to serve in the army in Rhode
Islatid, and October 14, voted to hire eight men
to reinforce the army under General Washington.
In November the town granted £2,180 18«. 6J.
to defray the expense of employing these men.
In Jidy the eonimittee reported having hired Jo¬
siah Wyer, Eli Jones, Elisha Harrington, Thaddens
Goodin, and Riehard Hoppin at $ 1,540 each, and
Habakkuk Stearns and Joseph Perry at $840 each;
WALTKAM.
421
Another committee reported in November that
they had borrowed £1,714, and hired Artemas
Cox, Moses Cummins, and Aaron Cummins to go
to Ehode Island with orders to equip themselves -,
Colonel Jacob discharged the last two for not being
equipped, and they, being ordered to march again,
refused either to do so or to return part of tiie
bounty received. The committee also hired Sam¬
uel Trull for £246, Eobert Dalrymple for £171,
William Taylor, Joseph Spaulding, Joseph Dows,
and Jonathan Gray for £246 each, and John
Fletcher (who afterwards deserted) for £60. Mile¬
age was also reckoned for eight men, two hundred
miles, at 2«. per mile. Several orders are given
during the year for the first company of militia to
be ready to march at a moment's notice. In May
an order is given for one private to march to Tiver¬
ton, Ehode Island, and in September for two pri¬
vates to go to Providence to ultimately join Colonel
Jacob's regiment under General Gates. Samuel
Kendall, Mr. Morse, Nathaniel Bridge's son, and
Eunice Mixer were paid during this year for teach¬
ing school.
At the March meeting in 1780 the same com¬
mittee of correspondence was chosen, Isaac Hagar
having this time the prefix " Ensign " to his name.
A committee was chosen to examine the accounts
of money received and disbursed for bounties.
Some idea of the depreciation of the currency may
be had from the fact that in the highway account
$ 16 per day for a man and $32 per day for a man
and team were allowed. The town elected Jonas
Dix, Esq., representative in May, and in the same
month appointed a committee to examine and re¬
port upon the new state constitution. The com¬
mittee reported on the 5th of June, favoring an
amendment limiting the time of suspension of the
act of habeas corpus to six months; if, however,
this could not be done, they favored the adoption
of the constitution as it was. The report was
adopted by a vote of thirty-two to four. On the
14th of June the town appropriated £15,000
to hire twelve men to reinforce the army, and for
procuring shirts, shoes, etc., in accordance with
the reqnisition of the General Court ; money for
support of the schools was refused. Twelve days
later the town voted to raise fourteen men for the
array, and appropriated £26,660 for military mat¬
ters, and on the 29th of July the selectmen or¬
dered the treasurer to pay to Jonas Dix, Esq.,
£1,000, Abner Sanderson £700, and Peter Ball
£1,200, in paymeiit for a horse which eacli of
these men had sold the town for use in the army ;
£55 were also appropriated for expenses in pro¬
curing the horses. On the 4th of September the
election of state officers under the new constitution
was held. The result, for governor and lieutenant-
governor, in Walthara, was : for governor, John
Hancock, Esq., fifty-four votes ; James Bowdoin,
Esq., three ; for lieutenant-governor, Älajor-Gen-
eral Benjamin Lincoln, forty; James Bowdoin,
Esq., eight. October 11, the town re-elected Jo¬
nas Dix, Esq., representative, and again refused to
appropriate money for schools. To such an extent
had the currency depreciated, that the minister's
salary was now £5,600, and the total appropria¬
tions at this meeting £23,941. Seventy-two
hundred pounds of beef for the army were ordered,
to fill a requisition from the General Court, and
£12,000 were appropriated for that purpose. On
a petition from 'limothy Flagg for additional pay
for service in the army, he was voted leave to with¬
draw. On the 29th of November the town granted
£3,360 for the support of schools. At a meeting,
December 20, the town chose a committee to pro¬
cure twelve men for the army, under a requisition
of the General Court; £21,000 were voted, to
procure 13,824 pounds of beef for tiie army.
Abijah Fiske petitioned for relief from the town,
under the following circumstances : he was one of
the sixteen men furnished by Waltham to fill a
requisition of the General Court. By order of
Lieutenant Hastings he went with soldiers to
search the house of Edward Garfield for Felix Cuff
(negro), one of the enlisted men. Cuff was, how¬
ever, claimed by Garfield as a servant, and Fiske
was sued and fined. The town, taking into consid¬
eration the facts, granted his request by giving him
his note for £7, which the town held, with interest.
Elisha Brewer also presented a petition represent¬
ing that he had served in the Continental array
from the beginning of hostilities until July 3,
1779; that in the meantime his pay had depre¬
ciated until it was nearly worthless, rendaring him
unable to provide for himself and family. He
prays for remission of his tax-bill, a portion of
which is on real estate, of which he owns none, and
which is more than he ought or is able to pay.
The town refused to grant his petition. Tlie com¬
mittee appointed in 1779 to procure men for
the armies in Ehode Island and on the Hudson
Eiver reported tlie following names of men en¬
gaged, and the bounties paid to each : William
Taylor, £2,180; Loudey Harris and John Mixer,
422
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
£1,800 each; Elias Hastings, Moses Livermore,
and George Stearns, £2,270 each; Thaddens
Gooding, Jonathan Coburn, and Nathaniel Flagg,
£1,100 and sixty bushels of corn each ; Eli Jones,
paid by Captain Gleason ; Lieutenant Eliphalet
Hastings, Joel Harrington, Abijah Fisk, and
Moses Gearfield, £1,770 each; Timothy Flagg
and John Robinson, £1,500 each; Habakkuk
Stearns, Joel Wellington, Asa Peirce, and Asahel
Stearns, £ 600 and sixty bushels of corn each ; and
Felix Cuff, £1,500 and sixty bushels of corn.
Eunice Mixer, Samuel Kendall, Mr. Boardman,
Ruhamah AVellington, and Nathaniel Bridge's sou
were paid for teaching school.
On the 8th of January, 1781, the town voted to
hire twelve men for the army for three years or the
war, and appropriated £50,i00 for that end. The
men who were the committee of correspondence,
etc., had been chosen to attend to hiring men to
fill the requisitions on the town, but for some rea¬
son they seemed to lack success. They reported
in December, 1780, and in January and February,
1781, that they could not find a man at any price
in town. That this report was unsatisfactory, is
evident from the fact that at a meeting on the
12th of February the town voted to discharge this
committee, and appointed Captain Isaac Gleason,
Peter Ball, and Abner Sanderson, in their stead ;
but this did not prevent their being re-elected
Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and
Safety at the March meeting. At the regular an¬
nual meeting it was unanimously voted to accept
Joshua Kendall for an inhabitant, provided he
could be set off with his estate from the town of
Cambridge. There seemed to be unusual trouble
in electing town officers for this year. On several
previous occasions one or two electees had declined
to serve, and others had either been elected in their
stead, and induced to accept, or the aid of the law
invoked to compel those elected to serve ; but on
this occasion William Hagar and Nathan Viles,
chosen a« constables, and William Fisk, Abraham
Peirce, and Lieutenant Samuel Stearns (three of
the four), chosen as assessors, refused to serve. In
the case of the assessors three others were elected
at a subsequent meeting in their stead ; William
Fisk was chosen constable in place of Nathan Viles,
and Williams Cushing in place of William Hagar.
Hagar was to pay £ 6, or, failing to do so, the
selectmen were to apply to the Court of Sessions
to compel him to pay the penalty in such cases
proviiled. At this same meeting (March 12) the
town appropriated £ 25,000 (old issue) to hire sol¬
diers. In obedience to a resolve of the General
Court the tax-payers were divided into as many
classes as there were soldiers to be raised. Each
section furnishing its man was relieved from further
charge and responsibility. On the 26th of March
John Smith, Lowdie Harris, and John Myre were
returned as having been secured as soldiers in
behalf of the whole town. A receipt, signed by
John Potimia, dated April 12, certifies that Cap¬
tain Abraham Peirce paid him two hundred Span¬
ish-milled dollars to serve the town as a three-
years recruit for the army, — this sum to be in
full of all hire or bounty. On the 18th of June
the selectmen reported having paid the following
bounties in silver : to John Smith £.90, to Lowdie
Harris £60, to John Myre £60, to William Ben¬
jamin £78, and to John Robinson £76. William
Peirce, Habakkuk Stearns, and Nahum Smith each
furnished sixteen heifers, and were each allowed
£1,200 (currency). General Brooks writes to the
commander of the "second militia company in
Waltham," under date of June 19, that two men
were to be detached from that company. As men¬
tion was made of the first company in 1779, the
natural inference is that there were two. Jonathan
Hammond and George Stearns were enlisted for the
army in Rhode Island, for three months, and Jona¬
than Weston, Abijah Fisk, Moses Livermore, Jede-
diah White, Jr., Alpheus Bigelow, Joseph Perry,
John Collins, and William Taylor for the army at
West Point, for the same time. The West Point
men were all mustered into the service by the 23d
of August, except John Collins. In May Jonas
Dix, Esq., was chosen representative. On the 16th
of July the town voted unanimously to procure
men to fill another call, and granted £ 180 in silver.
to defray the expense ; £ 300 (new emission) were
also voted to purchase beef. The committee for
raising recruits reported on the 30th of July that
they had secured the men for seven hundred and
eighty " hard dollars," and the town granted £ 60
in silver additional for that service. Felix Cuff
must have given considerable trouble, for an article
was in the warrant for a town-meeting held Sep¬
tember 10, to grant money to defend Eliphalet
Hastings and others indicted for riot while en¬
deavoring to arrest said Cuff as an enlisted man
last year. £45 were granted at the September
meeting for the schools. On the 17th of Decem¬
ber the town ordered the remaining taxes to be
collected in silver, at the rate of one dollar in silver
WALTHAM.
423
for seventy-five in paper of the old emission. It
was also voted to instruct Eepresentative Dix to
use his endeavors to have the voting qualifications
of 1763 restored. The school-teachers who were
paid by the town this year were Jonas Dix, Jr.,
and Nathaniel Bridge's son. In December the
selectmen engaged Ebenezer Bowman to keep the
school " near the meeting-house."
Early in 1782 the selectmen licensed David
Townsend to retail tea. At the March meeting
the town elected Captain Isaac Hagar, Lieutenant
Samuel Bigelow, and Lieutenant Elisha Liver-
more committee of correspondence, inspection, and
safety. It was voted to remove the school-house,
and a committee was chosen to select a proper site.
In accordance with a resolve of the General Court,
Waltham was called upon to raise five men to¬
wards the contingent of fifteen hundred to be
raised by Massachusetts for the army. Ebenezer
Bowman was the school-teaclier. No representa¬
tive was chosen in 1782, but in 1783 Jonas Dix
was again returned for that position. The first
business of importance occurring in 1783 was the
adjustment of the accounts of Waltham, Water-
town, and Weston for repairs on the Great Bridge.
The method of calculation being on the basis of the
state tax, the amounts paid by each will be per¬
haps some indication of the relative valuation : the
share of Watertown was £4 11«. 9 <7., Weston
£4 2«. Id., and Waltham £4 1«. 2<7. Nathan¬
iel Bridge, Jr., was paid for teaching school.
At the March meeting the committee of cor¬
respondence of 1782 were re-elected. The se¬
lectmen ordered that a four-penny loaf of white
bread should weigh 1 pound 7 ounces; a bis¬
cuit for two coppers, 7 ounces ; hard biscuit in
the same proportion, allowing for drying. The
following persons were licensed innholders : Isaac
Gleason, Stephen Wellman, Isaac Bemis, Zacha-
riah Weston, Jonathan Brown, Benjamin Hagar,
Samuel Bigelow, Zachariah Smith, Widow Mary
Hagar,— nine in all. At this time the population
was only 689 persons, so that the proportion of
taverns to the population was as 1 to 76|. It
must be remembered, however, that Waltham was
on a great highway, and a very large amount
of travel was a necessary consequence. The ap¬
proaches to Boston, and the avenues from that and
all the large towns in the state, were few, and
their importance was immensely greater than now.
Towns were few, and the majority of houses none
too large to accommodate tiie rapidly growing
families of their occupants, and hence the way¬
farers needed a larger number of inns.
There were other men who belonged in Wal¬
tham who were in the Continental armies, besides
those mentioned in the town records, — how many,
of course, it is impossible to say. The names of
some of them, however, are to be met with among
the state archives. Isaac Crosby, of Waltham, en¬
listed at Hingham, about 1780, for three years or
the war; Isaac Parkes (fifer), Samuel Fuller, Ed¬
ward Bird, and Joseph Brown were in Captain
Puller's company (Colonel Brooks) ; William Tay¬
lor, Nathaniel Flagg, and John Colbum were
among the six-months men in 1780 ; Prince Collins
enlisted in Newton; John Bennett, John Bemis,
Jr., Abijah Child, Jr., Pei-rce Dewyer, Thomas
Field, David Holland, Azel Hooker, Minhano (?)
Mitchell, John Eyan, David Stoel (Stowell?),
James Twinas, are names on the rolls credited to
Waltham; John Bettis and Jonathan Wellington
served from 1776 to 1780; Kera Chappie, Harvey
Bezen, and John Kidder were among those drafted
into Colonel Thatcher's regiment in 1778; John
Potoma (aged 25, — black), Samuel Dale (37),
John Eobertson (35), William Benjamin (17),
Nahum Stearns (22), John Wellington (49), and
Francis Parker (21), enlisted in 1781 for three
years or the war; William Glasscock served 37
months, 18 days; Hugh Hiues (deserter) served
28 days; Ariel (Azel?—probably same as previous)
Hooker, after serving 30 months and 7 days, de¬
serted ; Michael Minnehan died in the service after
serving48 months; John Owins (deserter) served
12 months and 20 days; John Colburn and Abijah
Fiske were in Captain Gage's company (Colonel
Webb) ; Thaddens Bemis and Joel Bemis were on
board armed sloop Winthrop, Captain George Lit¬
tle; John Greenleaf, Josiah Barnard, and Thomas
Wilbur were also credited to Waltham in the army
rolls.
The population of the town, instead of preserv¬
ing its rate of increase, which would have increased
it, in all probability, to nearly 1,000 souls in 1783,
under the terrible pressure of the Eevolution upo7i
its vitality lost ground. In 1763 the population was
663; in 1783, under favorable circumstances, it
should have been about 980, but instead it was
689, while in 1776 it was 870. On the 29th of
September Jolm Eemingtou was engaged to keep
the school near the meeting-house, and Joseph
Jackson the one at the foot of the hill.
In 1784 Benjamin Green, Jr., was paid for
424
HISTORY OF MIDBLESEX COUNTY.
teaching school. For the first time for a long
series of years the town, at the March meeting,
voted the freedom of the highways to swine. Ab-
ner Sanderson was elected representative in May.
A letter to the selectmen from Timothy Tufts and
others in behalf of Charlestown appears in the
records for this year, desiring them to request the
corporation of Harvard College to reduce the rates
of ferriage between Charlestown and Boston, which
had been advanced during the war, — that body
having authority to regulate the matter. Benja¬
min Green, Jr., was again engaged, in 1785, to
teach the grammar school. On the 5th of Sep¬
tember, 1785, the town was divided into four
school-districts, — Pond End, Trapelow, the south¬
west part of the town above MixePs Lane (Bacon
Street), and the remaining portion belonging to
the middle district. On the 14th of February,
1786, the selectmen engaged Jonas Dix to teach
the grammar school for one year, and authorized
the engagement of an usher for that scliool. In
March John Remington was paid for services as a
teacher. Abijah Bigelow was engaged in Mardi
to teach at the new school-house at the west end of
the Plain, until the appropriation was expended ;
he was to keep " two schools a day " after
the 1st of April. In May Leonard Williams was
unanimously elected representative. In August
the board of Mr. Jackson, and the salaries of
Nathan Underwood and Abijah Bigelow, all school¬
masters, were paid ; and in October the selectmen
engaged John Ciiild to teach the school near the
meeting-house, and Jonas Dix to teach the one at
the foot of the hills. In the latter part of 1786
occurred the outbreak known as Shays' Insurrec¬
tion, causing quite an excitement throughout cen¬
tral Massachusetts. That Waltham's sons were
prompt to lend the state their aid is evident from
the fact that, early in January, 1787, the selectmen
directed Colonel Isaac Hagar to be paid for beef
supplied to the militia at Cambridge in November,
and on the 14th of that month the town voted
forty-«ight sliillings per month to the thirty-days
volunteers in the service of the government, the
town, however, to receive any allowance made for
such services by the state. At the March meeting
the town voted to each private soldier who marched
from the town in the 2d Division to join Gen¬
eral Lincoln in the service of the government, six
shillings, exclusive of his public pay, and to each
officer a like sum in propórtion. Finally, in April
the town voted the volunteers under General Lin¬
coln the three dollars paid to each in advance, pro¬
vided they would release the town from further
demands, and trust to getting their pay from the
state. In April Captain Samuel Bigelow was paid
for keeping the school at the Upper Plain, and in
May Abner Sanderson was unanimously chosen
representative. In October teachers were to be
engaged for the four schools. A town-meeting
was held, December 17, to choose a delegate to the
convention to meet at Boston in January, to con¬
sider the Federal Constitution reported at Phila¬
delphia; Leonard Williams was elected for that
purpose.
The tax upon the town for the support of the
Great Bridge was probably beginning to be onerous,
and the people evidently began to be a little restive
under it, for in March, 1788, a committee reported
verbally that they were unable to find any grant of
land-made for its support in which Waltham or
Weston had any interest. Abner Sanderson was,
in May, again elected representative, a position
which he continued to fill until 1802. In 1790,
according to the adjustment of accounts for repairs
on the Great Bridge, Waltham had outstripped
Weston in valuation, and was rapidly overtaking
Watertown, the proportions being: Watertown,
£2 15«. Qd.-, Waltham, £2 13«.; Weston, £2
7«. hd. Bridge, Dix, and Mead were paid for
teaching, and the school grant, appropriated De¬
cember 6, was divided as follows, among five
school-houses; Upper end of Plain, £25 6«. 8J.;
Foot of Hills, £22 2«.; near the meeting-house,
£30 5«. 3<7.; Trapelow, £18 3«. 10J.; proprie¬
tors of new school-house (probably at Lower Plain),
£4 2«. 3<7. In the records for this and the suc¬
ceeding year there appears an oath of allegiance to
the state and general government, signed by a
majority of the town officers. In 1791 it was voted
by the town to buy the school-houses at the Upper
Plain and at the Trapelow district, a committee
appointed for the purpose having pronounced them
suitable for the purpose and the proprietors willing
to sell. £77 11«. were appropriated for the one
at the Upper Plain, the amount heing divided
among twenty-one proprietors, all of them residing
on upper Main and South streets; £56 18«. 10J.
were appropriated for the one at Trapelow, proprie¬
tors not named. The house near the Widow
Barnard's was reported upon adversely by the
committee. The schools were called at this time
Pond End, Phiin, Trapelow, and Southeast Cor¬
ner, An order appears among the selectmen s
WALTHAM.
425
records in 1791 appropriating 3«. 6 <7. to pay for a
horse and chaise " to bring tlie schoolmistress from
Framingham," hence we may conclude that at least
one of the teachers was imported. In April, 1792,
the town voted to remove the school-house which
was near the meeting-house to a point as nearly
central as possible, — between Jonas Dix's and
Phineas Warren's; this would have located it just
below the cemetery, on the north side of Main
Street. In April, 1793, the town voted unani¬
mously to grant the request of Christopher Gore
(afterwards governor of the state) to become an
inhabitant. In September, 1795, on an article in
the warrant in regard to the purchase of stoves and
shutters for the schools, and the building of porches
on two of them, the town appropriated. £50, and
chose a special committee of three to each school
to attend to the expenditure of money devoted to
educational purposes. This was probably, to all
intents and purposes, a school committee who
attended to all the minor details, for we lose sight
for a time of the payments to teachers which indi¬
cated who the teachers were. Prior to 1796 grants
were almost wholly made in pounds, shillings, and
pence ; after that date dollars and cents were the
rule. In 1797 the town chose a committee to de¬
fend it against a presentment for not assisting in
repairs on the Watertowii Bridge. In September,
1798, the town granted $ 533.33 for men's and
$100 for women's schools. In the direct tax
levied by the general government we find that
Waltham was assessed for 109 dwellings, and for
83 acres of lots which they stood on, $70,574.
The house of Eev. Jacob Gushing and one belong¬
ing to Harvard College, with one acre of land to
each, were exempted, making a total of 111 dwell¬
ings in the town. The number of house-owners
was 119; the number of occupants, 130. The
number of acres of land assessed was 7,666, ex¬
empt (16 acres of Eev. Jacob Gushing's and 159
owned by Harvard College), 175; total, 7,926
acres. Valuation of land, $258,634.80; total
valuation, $329,208.80. In June, 1799, the town
appointed a committee with full powers to act upon
a proposition of Watertown parties to widen and
support the expense of the Great Bridge forever if
the towns would yield their fishery rights. The
schools respectively taught by masters and mis¬
tresses are distinguished in the records as " men's
and women's" schools. During this year the
town appropriated $25 to establish a singing-
school, and $15 to purchase a bass-viol (prob¬
ably for the meeting-house). In 1801 the Great
Bridge question was finally disposed of accord¬
ing to the Watertown proposition ; a school com¬
mittee of ten was elected, and the same school
grants made as for the last year. In 1802 Jona¬
than Goolidge was elected representative; it was
voted to plant shade trees on the meeting-house
common ; to pay for sixty caps for the militia
company under Captain Stephen Mead ; and a
school committee of four was elected. The school
committee, then as now, had charge of the details of
the expenditure of the school fund, employing of
teachers, etc., and this method of disposing of the
subject seems to have given so much satisfaction
that it was voluntarily continued to the time when
the statute made it obligatory. In 1803 the town
voted to send no representative, and iu the same
year appropriated $120 to hire a teacher of music.
Musical instruction at this time was undoubtedly
encouraged as a religious rather than a secular
accomplishment, and an appropriation was made —
with occasional intervals — for several years. In
1804 Jonathan Goolidge, Esq., was elected represent¬
ative ; the town voted also to purchase three bath¬
ing-machines, similar to those in Watertown, to be
used under direction of a physician. In the follow¬
ing year the town was divided into four school dis¬
tricts, and the appropriation was divided according
to the proportion of children in the districts, the
males between the ages of seven and twenty-one,
the females between the ages of four and eighteen.
In 1806, 1807, and 1808 Abner Sanderson, Esq.,
was chosen to represent the town in the General
Court. In 1809 he was succeeded by David Towns-
end, Jr., Esq., who was continued iu the office until
the year 1821, except in 1818 and 1819, when the
town voted to send no delegate. The Eev. Jacob
Gushing having died in 1809, the church took means
to secure a successor, and voted to call Eev. Sam¬
uel Eipley to the position. In August, 1809, the
town passed a vote concurring unanimously with
the church in its choice, and also voted him, in case
of his acceptance, a salary of $700 per year. Mr.
Eipley accepted the invitation, and was ordained
November 22, 1809. In the same year there were
petitions from several parties praying to be set off
with their estates from Waltham, but the petitions
were not granted.
It is amusing at this present period to watch
the conservatism of the voters of the olden time
in regard to those innovations for increased com¬
fort which we have come to look upon as necessi-
426
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ties. The subject of a bell for the meeting-house
agitated the public mind of Waltham for several
years, but finally the revolutionists triumphed, and
ill 1815 an appropriation was voted to have one.
Again, in 1814 it was voted not to have any
blinds put upon the meeting-house, nor " to pay
for the one Mr. Kipley put on " ; however, the suc¬
ceeding year the town voted to pay for the " pulpit
blind." In 1818 the stove came in as a disturb¬
ing element. It would appear by the record that
some person or persons, not having the trancpiillity
and sanctity of the church before their minds, had
jilaced a stove in tlie meeting-house, and asked
the town to sanction an act already committed.
That was enough. The town in its dignity rose
equal to the occasion, and voted, first, not to .pur¬
chase the stove in the meeting-house, and, second,
to order it out of the meeting-house. A spirit of
concession, however, prevailed ; the last vote was
reconsidered, and at the next meeting (in April)
the sovereigns voted to accept the stove as a pres¬
ent from the ladies of Waltham, said stove to
remain town property. The threatened revolution
was averted by female diplomacy.
In 1812 the town voted to pay those soldiers
who should be drafted as the quota of Waltham
$15 per month (including the pay of the govern¬
ment), and $1.25 per day for each day they should
be under military discipline. To those familiar
with the extent to which party spirit was carried
prior to and during the War of 1812, it will not
be a matter of surprise to learn that Pastor Eipley
preached a sermon to which some of his parishion¬
ers took exception. This dissatisfaction finally
culminated in the insertion of an article in the
warrant of a town-meeting, the purport of which
was to know the mind of the town in regard to
ascertaining from Mr. Eipley upon what conditions
he would resign his pastorate. On this the town,
by a vote of sixty-six to fifty-six, decided to take
no action. The subject was brought up twice in
1813 with a very similar result, and in 1814 the
malcontents, who in the mean time had discontinued
attendance at the regular meeting and employed
Eev. Elisha Williams, a Baptist from Boston, to
preach more acceptable sermons (first in the school-
house, afterwards in the hall of a tavern where the
Central House now stands), returned to the original
flock. In 1813 the Factory Village (Lower Place)
was set off as a separate school-district.
At the town-meeting in March, 1815, a commit¬
tee appointed in December of the previous year to
ascertain who had been in the service of the gov¬
ernment during the war with Great Britain, and
what sums the town should iu justice pay them,
submitted the following list of names, with sums
annexed ; Joseph Hoar, Jonas Lawrence, Elijah
Lawrence, Nathaniel Stearns, Eichard Wellington,
Jacob Lawrence, Amasa Harrington, John Sander¬
son, 2d, Alexander H. Piper, John Simonds,
Henry Fisk, Eichard Cutter, Isaac Farwell, Wil¬
liam Goss, Darius Wellington, Jacob Eyan, Timo¬
thy Morris, Daniel Emerson, William Trask,
Thomas Barnes, Abel Hubbard, and William
Clark, $4.68 each ; and James Jones, Noah Hardy,
John Cole, William B. Winch, and Otis Putfer,
$17.80 each. Among those serving the goveni-
ment during the war may he mentioned David
Stearns, who was purser on board the Wasp at the
time of her battle with the Frolic.
In 1815 an affair occurred which deserves
mention from the rarity of such incidents : The
legal number of voters petitioned the selectmen to
call a town-meeting to act on the enforcement of
the collection of certain highway taxes and the
reconsideration of certain abatements; the select¬
men neglected to issue the warrant, whereupon the
interference of a justice of the peace was solicited
and obtained, and the meeting ordered by him in
accordance with the law in such cases. In 1817 the
town voted to set off the Boston Manufacturing
Company^s estates for a school-district, and discon¬
tinue that of the Cotton and Woollen Company.
In 1818—19 the town voted to send uo representa¬
tive.
Certain acts of the Eev. Mr. Eipley, such as
teaching a school, etc., appear to have either
stirred up a new feeling against him, or to have
afforded a pretext for further opposition, for at a
town-meeting in January, 1820, four articles ap¬
pear in the warrant, charging him with neglect of
duty and causing dissension, and calling for his
dismissal. These articles the town, by a vote of
sixty-four to twenty-six, refused to consider. At
the same meeting it was voted to allow the Boston
Manufacturing Company to enlarge the meeting¬
house at their own expense, iu a manner agreed
upon by the town and corporation, the company
to have all profits arising from the sale or rental
of the extra pews. At the March meeting an
effort was made to see if the town would appoint
a committee of fifteen — three from each district—
to interview Mr. Eipley and try to induce him
to give up his school, but the project was dis-
WALTHAM.
427
missed. lu May, 1820, the town voted to receive
the " manifesto " of the Second Eeligious Society,
and not to oppose their petition for an act of
incorporation. This Second Eeligious Society
erected a meeting-house, and established itself as
a distinct body. Efforts made to reunite the two
factions were of no avail, but from some cause the
Second Society failed of success, and they finally
split, the society retaining the house and charter
with Eev. Bernard Whitman as pastor, and the
church forming a new organization under Eev.
Sewall Harding. In 1821, 1822, and 1823
Luke Eiske represented the town in the General
Court, the last year in connection with Charles
Lyman. In March, 1823, the town voted to pro¬
cure fire-ladders, hooks, etc., and in 1829 appro¬
priated $ 350 to purchase a fire-engine ; this was
the germ of our present fire department. In 1824
Isaac Berais, Jr., and David Townsend, Esq., were
representatives ; in 1825, Luke Eiske, Esq.; in
1826, David Townsend; in 1827, David Towns-
end and Isaac Bemis, Esq.; in 1828, 1829, and
1830, Jonas Clark. In 1829 the town voted to
exclude needlework from the summer schools in
the morning, and to allow it in the afternoon, and
in 1830 a small sum of money was appropriated
by the town to procure medals to be given to those
scliolars deemed most deserving. On the 30th of
July, 1830, the meeting-house erected by tlie Sec¬
ond Society was struck by lightning and burned.
In 1831 Amos Harrington and David Townsend,
Esq., were elected representatives. As early as in
1820 the project of a grammar school had been
agitated, an act passed by the General Court in
June, 1789 (according to an item in the warrant,
but a law passed not far from 1700 was very simi¬
lar), making such a school incumbent on every
town containing two hundred families ; but it was
dismissed one year, only to come up the next. In
1821 the town was sued for not complying with
the provisions of the act of 1789; but our town
fathers were apparently but little concerned, and it
was not until 1832 that the progressionists gath¬
ered strength enough to overcome the opposition.
In that year the town appropriated $ 1,200 to
build a grammar-school house and town-house on
the old meeting-house common. Subsequently it
was voted to change the location to a "gore of
land " owned by Mr. Lyman, he offering to give
the land and $200 in furtherance of the plan.
But this was not satisfactory, and after so many
meetings and so many votes that it seemed as
though the project would finally be smothered in
motions and amendments, the town purchased
of Mr. T. E. Plympton the piece of ground now
occupied by the North Grammar-School House,
increased the appropriation somewhat, and erected
the building there. The following year the town
appropriated $300 to enable the general school
committee to hire a schoolmaster and establish a
high school, and the committee were instructed to
commence such a school at as early a day as possi¬
ble. Pollowing out the history of this school to
the present time, we find that tiie first principal was
Franklin Hardy, the second Josiah Eutter (1835),
the third William H. Eopes (1838), the fourth
E. A. W. Harlow (1841), the fifth Charles F. Sim¬
mons (1842), the-sixth Daniel French (1842), the
seventh William H. Eopes (1844, second time),
the eighth Leonard P. Frost (1847). During
Mr. Frost's term of service, in 1849, the interior
of the building was altered, the town giving up the
use of the upper story for public purposes, and es¬
tablishing a high school there distinct from the
grammar department, Mr. Frost taking charge of
the former, and being succeeded in the latter by
his brother, George W. Frost. In 1859 L. P.
Frost again took charge, and he was succeeded in
1869 by William E. Sheldon, in January, 1871,
by Alonzo Meserve, in September, 1871, by
John T. Prince, in 1877 by John S. Hayes, in
1879 by J. T. Prince (second time), who is now
teaching.
In 1868 the town established a grammar school
upon the south side of the river, of which Arthur
P. Smith was appointed principal, a position held
by him at present. The principals of the high
school succeeding Mr. Frost have been Timothy
W. Bancroft (1859), A. J. Lathrop (1864), James
C. Parsons (1865), Min ton Warren (1874), W. E.
Bunten (1876), and Euel B. Clark (1877). Mr.
Parsons resigned his situation in 1873, the school
being in charge of sub-masters James L. Fowle
and Frederick T. Farnsworth until his successor
was appointed. Mr. Clark resigned in 1878,
C. W. Parmenter, sub-master, becoming acting
principal. The number of schools at present
(April, 1879) is thirty-seven, exclusive of evening
schools (established in 1874), and the appropria¬
tion has increased correspondingly, about $32,000
being now required for the annual expenses.
Between the years 1831 and 1879 the town was
represented in the General Court by the following
persons (except 1833 - 35, when the town did not
428
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
elect) : 1836, David Kendall and Robert Sander¬
son; 1837, Luke Riske ; 1838-39, Elislia Cre-
hore; 1840, Jonas Clark; 1841, John Abbott;
1842-43, John M. Peck; 1844-47, no repre¬
sentative sent; 1848 — 50, Nathaniel P. Banks, Jr.;
1851 -53, Horatio Moore; 1854, Samuel 0.
Upham; 1855, William P.Childs; 1856, Horatio
Moore; 1857, James G. Moore (in this year Wal-
tham sent a governor, N. P. Banks, Jr., and a state
senator, Gideon Haynes) ; 1858 - 59, Josiah Rut-
ter; 1860, Daniel French; 1861, Frederick M.
Stone and Josiah Beard (from 1857 to 1866 Wal-
tham and Watertown, including Belmont when
incorporated, formed one district with two repre¬
sentatives, this year Waltham seems to have
secured them both); 1862, James G. Moore;
1863-64, Frederick M. Stone; 1865-66, Emory
W. Lane; 1867-68. Royal S. Warren; 1869,
Horatio Moore ; 1870, Thomas Hill; 1871, Wil-
lard A. Adams; 1872, William Roberts; 1873,
Willard A. Adams; 1874, William E. Bright;
1875, Frederick M. Stone; 1876-78, David
Randall.
In December, 1826, a number of gentlemen,
having in mind the formation of a society for
mutual improvement, met to take some action to
that end. The result was that on Saturday even¬
ing, December 30, of the same year, an associa¬
tion was organized under the name of the Rumford
Institute for Mutual Instruction. Courses of lec¬
tures were instituted, which have been continued
with but a single interruption for. each succeeding
year. A library was founded, which by the year
1865 had acquired 3,700 volumes. In that year
it was, by a vote of the Institute, transferred to the
town, forming the nucleus of the present public
library.
Bringing now the ecclesiastical history of the
town down to the present time, we find that from
the first permanent secession from the parent
church sprung what was known at its organiza¬
tion as the Second Religious Society. A meeting¬
house was built for them on Church Street, which
was dedicated January 17, 1821, and on the same
day Rev. Sewall Harding was ordained and in¬
stalled pastor. But a few years elapsed before
they, too, experienced secession, doctrinal points
forming the basis of the trouble, the members of
the society desiring a change in the theology, while
the members of the church were unanimously con¬
tent with that expounded by their pastor. The
church, with Mr. Harding, withdrew (April, 1825),
changed the name (July 25,1826) to Trinitarian
Congregational Church, and built a meeting-house
at the comer of Main and what is now Heard
Street, dedicating the new building October 11,
1826, the old society continuing worship under
Rev. Bernard Whitman. Mr. Harding was suc¬
ceeded in 1837 by Rev. John Whitney. In 1853
fresh trouble arose, and another division occurred,
a new organization being formed under the name
of Orthodox Congregational Church, with Rev.
Rosswell Foster for pastor ; but in Apiil, 1858,
this latter oflshoot returned to the parent organi¬
zation. In May, 1858, Rev. Richard B. Thurston
succeeded Mr. Whitney, and he in turn was suc¬
ceeded, in 1865, by Rev. Elnathan E. Strong. In
1878 Mr. Strong resigned, and at the present time
the church is without a settled minister. In 1870
the old church was sold and the present one
erected, and dedicated March 2, 1871.
Not far from the year 1820 the doctrines of
Emanuel Swedenborg found adherents in Wal¬
tham. Meetings were at first held in the house of
Captain John Clark, and were continued in private
residences until 1860, when a stone chapel was built
on Lexington Street, at what is commonly known
as Piety Corner. Mr. Benjamin Worcester has from
the beginning been leader in the devotional exercises.
In December, 1869, the interior of the chapel was
destroyed by fire, but in the following year it was
restored, and the edifice enlarged. On Sunday,
July 4, 1869, a church society was formally organ¬
ized. There is also connected with the society a
private school, which gathers its pupils from nearly
every state in the Union.
About the year 1820 the nucleus of the Meth¬
odist Episcopal Church began to form, in the
shape of class-meetings, a class of twenty-four
being gathered, with Charles Barnes as leader.
Regular meetings of the class were held for about
five years. A majority of the members leaving
town for Lowell, about 1825, the class was discon¬
tinued. Circuit preaching was occasionally had,
and small appropriations from time to time were
allowed for its support. Between the years 1828
and 1830 class-meetings were revived, Marshall
Livermore being leader, succeeded in 1833 by Dr.
Theodore Kittredge. Occasional preaching was
had, the places where the service was held being
the factory school-house on Elm Street, Smith's
Academy on School Street, and the Masonic Hall
on Main Street. In March, 1837, regular services
were commenced at Masonic Hall, with Rev. Ziba
WALTHAM.
429
B. Dunham as pastor. Early in the following
year the worshippers purchased the meeting-house
then standing on the Common, and owned by the
Second Unitarian Society, and in J une of the same
year a regular church organization was fonned,
with about forty members. Waltham and Water-
town were now made a distinct circuit, with Kev.
Thomas Pickering in charge (residing in Waltham),
and Eev. Otis H. Howard as junior. In 1839
Rev. Franklin Pisk and Edward A. Lyon were ap¬
pointed to the circuit (the latter residing here),
succeeded in 18-10 by Rev. Daniel Webb and
Horace G. Barrus (Mr. Barrus being resident
here) ; in 1811 Rev. Mr. Barrus was placed in
charge, with Rev. G. W. Frost assistant ; in 181á
Rev. B. K. Pierce was stationed at Waltham ; after
this (in 1813) the relations of the two towns as a
circuit ceased. Since then the Waltliara church
has had for pastors the following: 1813-14,
Rev. David Kilburn ; 1845, Rev. John Paulson ;
1846-47, Rev. Moses Webster; 1848-49, Rev.
Jacob Sanborn; 1850-51, Rev. George W.
Bates (Mr. Bates dying while in charge was suc¬
ceeded in 1851 by Rev. N. J. Merrill, who was
reappointed iu 1852); 1853-54, Rev. Luman
Boyden (Mr. Boy den, about the middle of his
second year, was appointed to mission work, and
Rev. J. S. Barrows completed his term) ; 1855,
Rev. J. S. Barrows; 1856-57, Rev. T. W.
Lewis; 1858-60, Rev. E. A. Manning (in
1859 the meeting-house was removed from the
Common to the corner of Main and Moody
streets, where, four months after its dedication,
which took place January 25, 1860, it was de¬
stroyed by fire ; a new edifice was erected on
the same site, and dedicated March 13, 1861,
services having been held continuously, except
from January to May, 1860, in Rumford Hall) ;
1861— 62, Rev. Samuel Kelley; 1863-64, Rev.
D. K. Merrill; 1865-67, Rev. C. L.Eastman;
1868-69, Rev. D. E. Chapin ; 1870-71, Rev.
L. J. Hall; 1872-74, Rev. J. Wagner; 1875,
Rev. W. A. Braman; 1875- 78, Rev. W. W.
Colburn; 1879, Rev. George H. Mansfield.
In the year 1830 the Catholic Society was insti¬
tuted in Waltham. When the building which had
been occupied by the Second Society, on Church
Street, was burned in 1829, a portion of the sheds
were saved. These, with the lot, were purchased
by the Catholics, and a section of the sheds fitted
into a temporary church. Shortly after this a
wooden building was erected, which was occupied
as a place of worship until June, 1848, when it
was destroyed by fire. Up to the year 1839 there
was no settled pastor, the services being conducted
from time to time by clergymen from Boston. In
1839 Rev. T. Fitzsimmons was appointed pastor.
He was followed by Rev. Mr. Lyncii and Rev. Mr.
Strain. Mr. Strain continued pastor until 1847.
Certain acts of his administration caused consider¬
able discontent among a few of the unruly ones
of his parish, which in June, 1846, assumed so far
the proportions of a riot as to oblige the select¬
men to order the artillery company, under arms.
The trouble was settled, however, without the
necessity of further action by the military. In
1847 Rev. Patrick Flood took charge of the soci¬
ety. During Mr. Flood's pastorate, which con¬
tinued until his death in December, 1863, the
large brick church on School Street was erected.
This building was occupied in 1860, and dedicated
in 1877. Upon the death of Rev. Patrick Flood,
a nephew. Rev. Bernard Flood, was appointed pas¬
tor. He also died, as it were, in the harness,
in December, 1876, from sickness induced by
his labors in superintending the remodelling of
the church, and Rev. T. Brosnahan, the present
pastor, was appointed early in 1877 to the va¬
cancy.
The Universalist Society was started in the spring
of 1837, and regular public services were held in
the hall in the bank building on Main Street, Rev.
William C. Hanscom being pastor; in 1838, Mr.
Hanscom having fallen a victim to consumption.
Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, D. D., succeeded him ; from
the bank hall the worshippers removed into the
then town-hall, in the grammar-school building,
and from thence into the meeting-house of the old
First Parish. On the 6th of March, 1839, they
organized and took measures to be incorporated
under the name of First Universalist Society of
Waltham, and built a church on a lot of land
presented them by Theodore Lyman, Esq., on the
corner of Lyman and Summer streets. In 1840
Mr. Cobb was succeeded by Rev. Edwin A. Eaton,
and in. 1844 Rev. T. G. Farnsworth succeeded him.
From 1848 to 1855 the pulpit was occupied only
temporarily, though quite regularly. In 1854 the
society sold the lot on Lyman Street, and removed
the meeting-house to the corner of Main and Spring
streets. From 1855 to 1857 Rev. Massena Good¬
rich was pastor, succeeded in 1857 by Rev. Henry
A. Eaton. During his pastorate a dissension oc¬
curred in the society which in the end cost them
430
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
their church and organization. A new society was
organized in 1865 under the name of the Uni¬
versalist Society of Waltham. Services were held
in Kumford Hall (where they have ever since been
continued), Eev. Benton Smith being pastor. In
1870 Eev. Phebe A. Hanaford succeeded Mr.
Smith, resigning in 1871, and was succeeded in
turn by Eev. M. E. Leonard, the present pastor.
Next in order of organization was the society
called the First Parish. The old meeting-house of
the original First Parish not proving central enough
to please the people of the growing town, Mr. Eip-
ley having developed opposition to himself among
a few energetic ones of his society, and the Second
Eeligious Society having sjdit, measures were taken
to erect a new building. This was built on the
site of the present Unitarian Church, and was dedi¬
cated February 6, 1839. The society was formed
under the title of the Independent Congregational
Society, and was composed largely of the three
classes just cited. The membership of the elder
church dwindled to a mere handful, the new society
proving the more attractive, and in 1841 the old
First Parish, sacred by a century and a half of use¬
fulness, ceased to exist. Eev. George F. Simmons
had been formally installed as pastor in October,
1841. Mr. Eipley was invited, on the dissolution
of his own society, to become an associate, with the
understanding that he was to have no salary and
no parochial duties, and tlie society took to itself
the old name. In 1843 Mr. Simmons resigned,
and in 1845 Eev. Dr. Thomas Hill was ordained ;
in April, 1846, Mr. Eipley, removing from town,
resigned his pastorate ; Mr. Hill continued as pas¬
tor until 1860, when he was succeeded by Eev.
James C. Parsons ; in 1865 Eev. 8. B. Flagg be¬
came pastor; in 1869, Eev. Clay McCauley; in
1873, Eev. Edward C. Guild, the present pastor.
The old building was thoroughly repaired and re¬
modelled in 1867.
Tlie Episcopal Society was organized, under Eev.
A. C. Patterson, in 1848, services being held for
about a year in Eumford Hall. In the mean time
the present church was erected, and Eev. Thomas
F. Fales called to the rectorship, entering upon
those duties in November, 1849. He still con¬
tinues pastor, after nearly thirty years of continuous
service. The building has been enlarged once and
a vestry added.
The Baptist Society was organized November 4,
1852, holding its earlier services in Eumford Hall.
The first pastor was Eev. M. L. Bickford, ordained
in August, 1853. During the early part of his
pastorate the present meeting-house was erected,
and on the 14th of February, 1856, was dedicated.
Mr. Bickford remained as pastor until June, 1863,
and was succeeded by Eev. E. B. Eddy, Eev. A.
M. Bacon, and Eev. W. H. Shedd, each of them
remaining two or three years. In January, 1872,
Eev. "W. C. Barrows became pastor, and he was
succeeded in 1875 by Eev. F. D. Bland, D. D.,
who resigned in 1879. The church is at present
without a settled pastor.
It would not be possible to give in any detail
the history of Waltham and Waltham's sons and
daughters during' the late War of the Eebellion
without exceeding the limits to which this sketch
has been restricted. It is therefore only practica¬
ble to give a slight outline. Wlien the booming of
the first gun in Cliarleston harbor in 1861 roused
the loyal North, Waltham was among the foremost
to rally to the call to arms. A citizens' meeting
was held and resolutions passed demanding imme¬
diate action by the town in its corporate capacity.
On the 26th of April a town-meeting was held at
which it was voted to furnish each soldier with a
uniform, to pay him $ 10 per month for five months'
service, and to provide for the support of his family
during his absence. For this purpose the sum of
$ 6,000 was appropriated. A resolution was also
passed authorizing the town-treasurer to disregard
any trustee process which might be instituted to
divert any of this money from the purpose for whicli
it was intended. The stirring sounds of the fife
and drum were heard, and our streets and »Com¬
mon were the scenes of frequent military parades
and manœuvres. In July the town appropriated
$ 5,000 to pay state aid to the families of volun¬
teers, in accordance with the law. This sum prov¬
ing insufficient, an additional grant of $2,000 was
made in January, 1862. In July, 1862, the select¬
men were authorized to pay a bounty of $100 to
each volunteer for three years who was credited to
the town, and in August this bounty was extended
to the nine-months men. In August, 1863, it
was voted to pay state aid to the families of those
men who might be, or had been drafted info the
service. In July, 1864, the bounty to three-years
men was increased to $125. The total number of
men required from tlie town during the war was
693 ; the total number sent was 700 ; and in rank
tliey ranged from the drummer-boy to the major-
general, there being twenty commissioned officers.
Of the entire number sent less than a dozen were
WALTEAM.
431
conscripted. Fifty-three men were killed in battle
or died from disease contracted in the service. The
entire amount of money raised by the town for
military purposes was $94,892.29, of which
$42,318.29, beiug for state aid, was reimbursed
by the commonwealth, leaving the,sum expended
by the town $ 52,574.
The population of the town, according to the
census of 1875, was 9,967. Its territory is nearly
the same in area as when incorporated. In 1849
a portion of Newton, forming what is now called
the South Side, of about five hundred acres in
area, was set off to Waltham, and in 1859 four
hundred and twenty-nine acres ofWaltham's terri¬
tory were taken to help form the new township of
Belmont. Water was first let on from the water¬
works in 1873.
Of the military history it is difficult to keep
track. Of those companies mentioned in the
town records it is quite impossible to learn of the
dates of their beginning or end. The Waltham
Artillery Company was transferred from Watertown
in 1841, and after a few years of service was
changed into an infantry company. For some
time prior to 1861 its existence was merely nomi¬
nal, and in that year the accoutrements were taken
by the state. The Waltham Dragoons were or¬
ganized in 1853, and in 1861 formed a part of the
3d Battalion, First Massachusetts Cavalry, most of
the members serving during the Rebellion. In
1874 the present infantry company was organized.
Although some attention is paid to agriculture
in the suburbs of the town, Waltham is pre¬
eminently a manufacturing community, and proba¬
bly at least three fourths of the population derive
support directly from the manufactories. The
earliest mill of which we have any account was one
erected at or near the site known as KendalFs
Mill, on Beaver Brook, and was formerly used for
fulling cloth. On the 30th of May, 1662, Timo¬
thy Hawkins sold to Thomas Agar, of Eoxhury,
fuller, three quarters of au acre of land at this
place " with all the accommodation of water, for
the erecting and maintenance of a fulling-mill in
the said place, and on the river that passeth
through the same ; also the right of way." De¬
cember 18, 1663, Agar sold this land " with the
fulling-mill thereon erected to Thomas Loveran,
late of Dedham, Co. Essex, Old England, cloth-
worker." January 3, 1669 - 70, Loveran sold to
Timothy Hawkins and Benjamin Garfield. Some
time prior to 1690 the mill was used as a corn-
mill, and in 1700 the mills in whole or in part be¬
longed to Samuel Stearns, a son-in-law of Hawkins.
There was also a corn-mill on Stony Brook,
built about the year 1684, and owned by John
Bright and others, and about 1714 there was prob¬
ably a mill on the brook passing just east of Lex¬
ington Street, and across Beaver Street, a branch
of Beaver Brook. At the time of the incorpora¬
tion of the Boston Manufacturing Company a
paper-mill, known as Boies' paper-mill, was stand¬
ing on the land afterwards bought by that corpora¬
tion, and was used for the manufacture of brown
and white paper. A similar mill, built by Gov¬
ernor Gore prior to 1800, at what is now called
the Bleachery, was sold to the Waltham Cotton
and Woollen Company in 1810. In 1810 a com¬
pany was formed for the manufacture of cloth.
Land was purchased, and a mill for the manufac¬
turing of cotton cloth was built and in operation
in the same year. In 1812 the proprietors were
incorporated under the name of the Waltham Cot¬
ton and Woollen Manufacturing Company. In
1815, according to " M. U.," in the Massachu¬
setts Historical Society's Collections for that year,
the cotton-mill contained 2,000 spindles, and
worked 300 pounds of cotton per day ; in the
woollen mill were run 380 spindles, four jennies,
and two jacks, and, with the 14 looms in opera¬
tion, 60 pounds of wool were used per day. A
probable average of 10,000 yards of cloth, made
under the direction of the factory, was attained, a
portion of the weaving being done in neighboring
and some in distant towns. The Boston Manufac¬
turing Company was incorporated in 1813, and in
1814 had built and put in operation a mill of
brick, five stories high,- ninety feet long and forty-
five feet wide, running 3,000 spindles, and doing
the weaving by a " loom of peculiar construction
run by water." This is claimed to have been the
first mill in the country where all the operations
were performed under one roof. The character of
the work performed at the lower mill has very
much changed, it having passed into the control of
the Boston Company, and being used now almost
exclusively as a bleachery and dyeing establish¬
ment. The manufacture of hosiery was introduced
here in 1868, but was afterwards removed to the
upper mill, to a building erected more particularly
for it. At the upper mill cotton cloth manufacture
is still the principal business. The number of
hands employed in both factories is about 1,200,
the present capital $800,000, the number of spin-
432
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
dies 40,000, and the number of looms 700. Up¬
wards of 5,000 dozen stockings per week are made.
In 1819 the manufacture of sulphuric acid was
commenced in Waltham by Patrick Jackson, the
site of the first establishment being on the banks
of Charles Eiver and Beaver Brook, at their junc¬
tion. About 1825 the location was changed to
the lot of land partially enclosed by High, Pine,
and Newton streets, and for many years the manu¬
facture of this acid was very extensively carried on
by a corporation under the name of the Newton
Chemical Company, the district adjoining its lands
being called the Chemistry. Up to within a few
years of the time of the abandonment of its manu¬
facture (in 1872) this company was without a rival
in its special business, but the land once occupied
by its buildings is now cut up into streets and
house-lots, and a large portion of it has been sold.
In 1802 a small wooden building was erected
on Stony Brook by Nathan Upham, and used by
him as a mill for the manufacture of coarse wrap¬
ping papers until the year 1820, when it became
the property of John M. Gibbs. In 1835 it again
changed hands, and was purchased by John and
Stephen Eoberts, still retaining its identity as a
paper-mill. In 1845 John Eoberts became sole
owner, and at his death, in 1871, his son William
took charge. A commodious building of stone
occupies the place of the old building, and a large
steam-engine is used to increase the power. The
paper now made is mostly of the kind used for
sheathing and similar purposes, and the annual
product is about 1,900 tons.
In the year 1835 Dr. Francis F. Field invented
a proeess for the manufacture of crayons for the
use of schools, tailors, carpenters, etc. This was
the beginning of a business which for several
years was carried on in a small way, but wiiich
now, under the management of Parmenter and
Walker, requires quite an extensive factory, and
extends all over the civilized world.
Of all Waltham's industries there is none the
fame of which is so wide-spread as tiiat of tiie
manufacture of watches. A small establishment,
commenced under the charge of E. Howard and
A. L. Dennison, in Eoxbury, in 1850, was in 1854
removed to Waltham, and with the Waltham Im¬
provement Company formed a corporation under
the title of Boston Watch Company. A factory
was erected, two stories iiigh, in the form of a hol¬
low square, about one hundred feet on each side.
In 1857 the cdmpany failed, and at an assignees*
sale Eoyal E. Bobbins, the present treasurer of the
corporation, purchased the property in the name of
Appleton, Tracy, & Co. A few months afterwards
ownership again changed to the firm of Bobbins
and Appleton, and in September, 1858, a new
association was formed with the Waltham Improve¬
ment Company, under the present name of the
American Watch Company. When incorporated
the capital stock was $200,000, but increasing
business and the need of increased facilities caused
a corresponding increase of capital, until at the
present time it has reached $ 1,500,000. The
small factory of 1854, with its seventy-five em¬
ployees, has grown to the large establishment of the
present day, employing about one thousand hands,
and turning out four hundred and fifty finished
watches per day. Even the present factory is not
considered of sufficient capacity for the business,
however, and an eidargement is at present in prog¬
ress. Growing out of and an accompaniment to
this business is the manufacture of watchmakers'
tools, particularly lathes and lathe fixtures. In
1861 Messrs. Kidder and Adams, machinists in the
employ of the American Watch Company, left that
employment, and commenced the manufacture of
lathes made after the style of those used by the
Watch Company. The business was first started
in Weston, but was soon removed to Waltham. In
its early struggles the business often changed hands,
passing successively under the control of Kidder
and Adams, Stark, Adams, and Lloyd, Stark & Co.,
John Stark, and John Stark and Son, Mr. Stark,
the present head of this firm, having been con¬
nected with the business since about the year 1862.
In 1872 Messrs. Whitcomb and Ballou, also grad¬
uates of the machine-shop of the American Watch
Company, entered into the same field. They contin¬
ued in it until 1876, when Mr. Ballou retired, and
Mr. Whitcomb joined with Mr. Ambrose Webster,
a former master mechanic in the Watch Company's
employ, and formed the present firm, under the style
of the American Watch Tool Company. Mr. C. E.
Hopkins commenced the business which he now
carries on under the name of the Hopkins Watch
Tool Company. The tools made by these differ¬
ent eompanies are known all over the country, and
the American Watch Tool Company has exported
many of its tools to England, Switzerland, etc.
There have been numerous other minor manu¬
factures, but as most of them have been of merely
local interest, and transient in their existence, they
are not mentioned.
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WATERTOWN.
433
One of the earliest prominent men of Waltliam,
who achieved a reputation not purely local, was
Uriah Gotting (Cutting), born in Waltham in
1766. At the age of fifteen lie went to work in
Marlborough, and four years later he went to
Boston. When he arrived at the latter town his
possessions consisted of his bundle of clothes and
twenty-five cents in money, and his experience was
begun as an errand-boy in a West India goods
store at the South End. He developed in later
years much talent as a civil engineer, obtained
charters for and was mainly instrumental in open¬
ing Broad, Cornhill, Brattle, and other streets, and
building Central and India wharves. He projected
the Mill-Dara, which he did not live to see finished,
and also planned a canal from Boston Harbor to
the Back Bay basin, which should accommodate
vessels of several hundred tons. He died in 1819.
The most prominent native of Waltham of our
time is Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, who was born
here in 1816. His boyhood was passed in the
employment of the Boston Manufacturing Com¬
pany. He was elected to represent Waltham in
the General Court for the years 1848, 1849, 1850,
and 1851. In 1852 he was elected to represent
Massachusetts in the National Congress, in 1853
was president of the State Constitutional Conven¬
tion, and in 1854 and 1856 was re-elected to the
national House of Representatives, in the latter
year of which he was chosen Speaker, after a pro¬
tracted contest of over two months' duration. In
1857, 1858, and 1859 he was chosen governor of
Massachusetts ; in 1860 he was elected president
of the Illinois Central Railroad ; in 1861 he re¬
signed his position on the railroad corporation, and
was appointed a major-general of volunteers. He
served as major-general in the army until 1864,
when he was relieved of his command. Returning
to Massachusetts, he was elected to Congress in
1864, 1866, 1868, and 1870; was chosen state
senator in 1872; and in 1874 and 1876 again re¬
turned to the national House. In 1879 he was
appointed United States Marshal for Massachu¬
setts, which position he at present holds.
WATERTOWN.
BY FRANCIS S. DRAKE.
.TERTOWN, one of the old¬
est towns in Massachusetts, is
pleasantly situated on the left
bank of the Charles River, in
the southeastern part of Mid¬
dlesex County, seven miles
from Boston, and is three
miles in length, with an aver¬
age width of about one mile.
It has Belmont on the north,
Cambridge on the east, Boston and Newton (from
both of which it is separated by Charles River) on
the south, and Waltham on the west. One hun¬
dred and fifty acres of its territory lying opposite
the bridge, on the south side of the river, adjoin
the town of Newton. It is traversed by a branch
of the Fitchburg Railroad opened in 1846, while
a horse-railroad unites it with Cambridge and
Boston.
Before Belmont was taken from it, this town.
whose manufacturing interests now predominate,
was essentially agricultural, and was second, in
productiveness and fertility among the towns of
the county, to West Cambridge alone. These two
towns were the market-gardens pf Boston. The
soil, with the exception of a portion at its south¬
eastern extremity, is remarkably good. It consists
principally of black loam, having a substratum of
hard earth, so that it suffers little from summer
droughts. Few New England towns have so large
a proportion of land well adapted to tillage, or so
little broken or waste land. In consequence of the
scarcity of woodland, strict orders were very early
passed for the preservation of trees, one or more of
which were sometimes taken as compensation for
debt or service. The Indian name of the town was
long perpetuated in deeds describmg Pequusset
common or meadow, a tract of land on the north
border of the town, a little east of Lexington Street,
for many years used as a cow common.
434
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
There are few hills of any magnitude. Straw¬
berry Hill and Whitney's Hill are mentioned in
the old records. The former is the highest land
in the town, and is identical with School-house Hill,
afterwards called Meeting-house Hill. Whitney's
Hill is supposed to be that latterly known as
White's Hill. Near this hill, at the comer of Lex¬
ington and Belmont streets, stood the pound, con¬
structed about 1687. Prospect Hill, four hundred
and eighty-two feet in height, now in Waltham, the
higliest elevation in old Watertown, commands a
very wide, diversified, and beautiful prospect. Bear
Hill, west of it, and bordering on Weston, has about
the same height. Mackerel Hill, near the northeast
corner of the town, has borne that name from a
very early date. Mount Peake, the first hill spoken
of in the early records of the town, named for
Eobert Peake, is insignificant in magnitude, and
has been nearly obliterated for the grading of a
railroad.
None of the very early towns could compare
with this in respect to its ponds and water-courses.
Presh Pond, the largest in the town, with an area
of one hundred and seventy-five acres, now within
the limits of Belmont, is the source of numerous
underground streams. It has long been a famous
resort for summer recreation, and its attractive bor¬
ders have furnished sites for many beautiful country-
seats. The water of this pond is remarkably pure,
and its ice is shipped in large quantities to all parts
of the world. The public-house then on the mar¬
gin of the pond was a place of refuge for the panic-
stricken women and children of the neighborhood
on the memorable 19th of April, 1775. Porest
Pond, probably the ancient Shallow Pond, is in
Mount Auburn Cemetery. Sherman's Pond, of
about one hundred acres, more recently known as
Piske's Pond and Mead's Pond, is within the high
grounds of Waltham, and is the source of the an¬
cient Chester Brook, or West Branch of Beaver
Brook. In the summer of 1670 a remarkable
mortality occurred among the fish in this pond,
immense numbers of which were found lying dead
on its shores. A pond and an extensive bog called
Beaver Meadow, through which Chester Brook
passes, is about half a mile west of the site of the old
Waltham meeting-house. It is supposed that this
bog was formerly covered with water, and was the
pond where, as Winthrop tells us, "the beavers
had shorn down divers great trees, and made divers
dams across the brook." A little south of this
is Lily Pond, of about four acres, with its outlet
through Beaver Meadow into Chester Brook. The
town originally contained a part if not the wiiole
of Waiden Pond, now in Concord, a part of Sandy
Pond and the whole of Beaver Pond, now in Lincoln,
and a part of Nonesuch Pond, much of which is
now in Natick.
Most of the southern border of the town is
watered by the Charles, originally called the Massa¬
chusetts Eiver. Its average width is eight rods;
tide-water extends above the east border of the
town, and it is navigable for small vessels as far
as the dam where the manufactories stand. At this
point a fall furnished water-power for the first mill
built in the town. Other falls above furnish power for
the Etna Mills and for thé upper and lower Wal¬
tham factories. Smelt Brook, one of the brandies
of the Charles, enters it on the soutii side, its source
being in Newton. Beaver Brook, its first consid-.
erable tributary, is made up of two main branches
which unite about two hundred and fifty yards
from the river, entering it at the lower end of
Waltham Plain. The West Branch, two miles long,
originating in Sherman's Pond and passing througli
Beaver Pond, had upon it a mill, built probably
by Deacon Thomas Livermore in the early part of
the last century. The eastern and larger branch
begins in Lexington, and runs through the eastern
border of Waltham. This branch in early times
was always called Beaver Brook,' and the other,
which watered Chester Meadow, was the ancient
Chester Brook, named for Leonard Chester, who
was here in 16.33. Stony Brook, the largest
tributary to Charles Eiver, originates in Sandy
Pond, runs south-southeast, and passing through
Beaver Pond unites with the Charles about two
miles above Beaver Brook. There are several
mills upon it. Its principal branch, the ancient
Stower's Brook, or Hobbs' Brook, originates in
Lincoln, and after a course of four miles due
south unites with Stony Brook about two miles
from its junction with Charles Eiver. This is
supposed to be the streatn formerly called Pour-
Mile Brook. Above and west of it is another
small branch, called Cherry Brook.
Distinctive names marked the several localities
of the original town. The Small Lots, as the house-
lots and homestalls were called, were scattered over
its eastern portion, which embraces the present
territory of the town. They also included the meet¬
ing-house common of forty acres, Pequusset or
King's Common, and 'Pequusset Meadow. The
Great Dividends were four tracts of land, sometimes
WATERTOWN.
435
called squadrons, running westward, each one hun¬
dred and sixty rods in breadth, and lay next to the
Cambridge line on the north, beginning not far
from the present boundary of Watertown and Wal-
tham. Beaver Brook Ploughlands, partly meadow
and partly upland, lay between the Great Dividends
and Charles Eiver. They began " next the small
lots beyond the wear," and included Hither Plain
or Little Plain, east of the brook, and Further Plain
or the Great Plain, and later Waltham Plain, on
the west. These two divisions are included in the
present limits of Waltham. Between the Hither
Plain and the Small Lots ran the Driftway, the
present Gore Street. The Lien of Township Lots
were west of Waltham Plain, south of the Great
Dividends, and extended beyond Stony Brook.
The Farms, or Farm Lands, now Weston, included
what remained as far as the Sudbury and Dedham
bounds.
Of the early roads, most of which remain, the
most important were Mill Street and Sudbury
Bead, the one terminating and the other beginning
at the mill, near the weir. Mount Auburn Street,
as Mill Street is now called, began below Mount
Auburn, and passing by the old graveyard, termi¬
nated at the mill at the lowest falls on Charles
Eiver. It was also known as the Cambridge Eoad,
or the Eoad to the College. The Sudbury Eoad, ex¬
tending westward from the mill, is now Main Street,
retaining this name through Waltham. It was the
great thoroughfare from Boston, passing over the
hfeck, through Eoxbury, Brookline, Newton, and
over Mill Bridge, thence westward to New York,
and then to the southward, and was for a long time
the principal road in the colonies. The very an¬
cient road from Cambridge to Waltham, long known
as the Back Eoad, is now Belmont Street. Lex¬
ington Street, beginning at Belmont Street and
extending north by Elbow Hill, was anciently
called the Concord Eoad.
Prior to the settlement of Concord and Dedham,
in 1635, the only definite boundary of tiie town
was that between it and Newtown (Cambridge),
the line running from Fresh Pond west-northwest
straight into the country. March 2,1636, its west¬
ern limit was fixed by an order of the court that " the
bounds of Watertown shall run 8 miles into the coun¬
try from their meeting-house." June 8, 1638, the
court ordered " for the final end of all difference
between Watertown, Concord, and Dedham, that
Watertown eight miles shall be extended upon the
line between them and Cambridge as far as Concord
bounds give leave; and that their bounds by the
river shall run eight mile.s into the country in a
straight line, as also the river doth for the most part
run." Her original eastern boundary is supposed
to correspond very nearly with the present Yassal
Lane and Sparks Street, Cambridge, beginning at
the southeast side of the East Bay of Fresh Pond,
and running to the most northerly point of the
bend in the river. The division line between
Watertown and Sudbury was settled by commis¬
sioners in May, 1651.
Within her origiiwl limits were embraced the
present towns of Watertown, YValtham, Weston,
the greater part of Lincoln, a part of Belmont, and
that portion of Cambridge lying east of Mount
Auburn Cemetery between Fresh Pond and Charles
Eiver. Watertown is now one of the smallest
towns in the state. A strip was cut off for New¬
town in 1631; thirty acres on the south side of
Charles Eiver were also relinquished to her in
1634; a third excision was made in 1635 in favor
of Concord, and one half of its territory was taken
off and incorporated as the town of Weston, Jan¬
uary 1, 1713. This tract had been commonly
known as Watertown Farms ; afterwards as the
Farmers' Precinct, sometimes as the Third Military
Precinct, and sometimes as the Western Precinct.
Lincoln, incorporated April 19, 1754, was made
from the northern part of Weston, the southern
part of Concord, and the western part of Lexington.
The incorporation of Waltham, January 4, 1738,
took off about three fifths of Watertown's already
much diminished territory. After the incorpora¬
tion of Weston the Middle Precinct (Waltham)
became the West Precinct of Watertown. In
April, 1754, a strip of land about half a mile wide
was taken from the eastern border of the town and
annexed to Cambridge. Belmont, incorporated
March 18, 1859, took off the northern part of the
town, including Fresh Pond and more than one
third of its remaining territory. The boundary
between it and Watertown begins near the entrance
of Mount Auburn, and runs northwesterly on the
south side of Belmont Street, seven hundred and
thirteen rods to the " four corners," thence north¬
erly one hundred and eighty-six rods to Beaver
Brook.
These successive amputations have diminished
the area of the town from about 29,000 to 2,887^
acres, from which if the river, the arsenal, and the
cemeteries be deducted the actual acreage is reduced
to 2,041. Although thus repeatedly shorn of her
436
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
territory, Watertown has nevertlieless continued to
increase in population, business, and wealth, the
enterprise of her citizens proving equal to every
emergency.
Tiie first printed description of Watertown is
found in Wood's New England's Prospect, written
in 1633. He says: "Half a mile westward of
this plantation [Newtown] is Watertown, a place
notliing inferior for land, wood, meadow and water
to Newtowne. Within half a mile of this town is a
great pond which is divided between these two towns,
which divides their bounds northward. A mile
and a half from this town is a fall of fresh waters
which convey themselves into the ocean through
Charles River. A little below this fall of waters
the inhabitants of Watertowne have built a wear to
catch fish wherein they take great store of shads
and alewives. In two tides they have gotten
100,000 of those fishes. This is no small benefit
to the plantation. Ships of small burthen may
come up to these two towns, but the oyster banks
do bar out the bigger ships."
Edward Johnson's description,.twenty years later,
begins with a singular misstatement. "Water-
town is situate," so he writes, " upon one of the
branches of Charles River ; a fruitful plot and of
large extent, watered with many pleasant springs
and small rivulets running like veins throughout
her body ; which hath caused her inhabitants to
scatter in such manner that their Sabbath assem¬
blies prove very thin if the season favor not, and
hath made this great town consisting of 160 fami¬
lies to shew nothing delightful to the eye in any
place. This town begun by occasion of Sir Richard
Saltonstall who, at his arrival having some store
of cattle and servants they wintered in these parts.
This town abounds in several sorts of fish at their
seasons, bass, shad, alewives, frost-fish, and smelts.
Their herd of kine and cattle of that kind are about
450, with some store of sheep and goats. Their
land in tillage is near upon 1,800 acres. Their
church is increased to near about 250 souls in
church fellowship."
On the 12th of June, 1630, the Arbella, one
of the fleet of seventeen ships that left England
in that year, bearing Governor Winthrop, Deputy-
Governor Dudley, Sir Richard Saltonstall, Rev.
George Phillips, Rev. John Wilson, and others
afterward prominent in the settlement of the col¬
ony of Massachusetts Bay, cast anchor in the har¬
bor of Salem, whither, in 1628, a colony had
preceded them, with Captain John Endicott as its
governor. In her came, it is believed, no less than
fifteen of the first planters of Watertown. Some
of these emigrants were from the west of England,
but the greater number came from London and its
vicinity. They were Puritan Nonconformists who,
self-exiled from their native land, sought on an un¬
known shore that liberty of religious worship which
had been denied them at home. They came to
stay, and their familiarity with husbandry or some
useful handicraft insured the permanence of their
settlement. A nobler body of men, or one better
equipped physically and morally for the conquest
of a wilderness and the founding of a great state,
the world has never seen.
After reconnoitring the country about the bay for
a more desirable place of settlement, the peninsula of
Charlestown was selected, and thither the emigrants
at once proceeded. Owing, however, to the want
of good water, a portion of them, with Saltonstall
as their leader, accompanied by Mr. Phillips as
their pastor, soon began a settlement about four
miles up Charles River, at first called Sir Richard
Saltonstall's Plantation, but, September 7, by the
court named Watertown, doubtless because it was
so well watered. Watertown was the first of the
inland towns to be settled.
The tract of land lying east, north, and south
of Mount Auburn is undoubtedly the site of the
beginning of the plantation in 1630, and it was
called " the town " at a very early day. It is con¬
jectured that the lot of Rev. Mr. Phillips, opposite
the Old Burying-Ground, a mile from the site of
the colleges, was its centre ; that here the first
house of worship was built, and that here the first
burials were made, if any occurred before the ap¬
propriation of the old graveyard for the purpose.
On the 30th of May preceding its settlement ten
of tlie Dorchester emigrants, who had just arrived,
proceeded up the river and landed where the United
States Arsenal now stands. It is supposed that
they planted crops here, and hence the name of
Dorchester Fields, by which it was long afterwards
known. Roger Clap, one of the party, says : "We
went up Charles River until the river grew nar¬
row and shallow, and there we landed our goods
with much labor and toil, the bank being steep;
and night coming on we were informed that there
were hard by us 300 Indians. One Englishman
that could speak their language (an old planter)
went to them and advised them not to come near
us in the night, and they hearkened to Iiis counsel
and came not In the morning some of the
WATERTOWN.
437
Indians came and stood at a distance off looking
at us but came not near us. But when they had
been a while in view some of them came and held
out a great bass towards us, so we sent a man with
a biscuit and changed the cake for a bass. After¬
wards they supplied us with bass, exchanging a
bass for a biscuit cake and were very friendly unto
us We bad not been there many days
(although by our dilligence we had got up a kind
of shelter to save our goods in) but we had orders
to come away from that place which was about
Watertown, unto a place called Mattapan near
Dorchester. So we removed and came to Matta¬
pan."
The uneventful annals of the town record the
peaceful progress of an agricultural community
occupied in drawing its needful supplies of food
from the soil and from the river, and occasionally
sending its little colonies to the Connecticut valley,
the "far west" of that day. Undisturbed by jthe
terrible Indian war that in 1675 devastated so
many thriving New England villages, and un¬
troubled by the whirlwind of superstition that
culminated in the Salem tragedy of 1692, singu¬
larly free from these and other calamities that
bel'ell less favored localities, Watertown yet bore
her full share in the efforts and in the burdens of
the colony in its struggles, first for existence, and
subsequently for independence. For more than
half a century she was preserved from mental stag¬
nation by an acrimonious dispute over the question
of the proper location of a new meeting-house.
A striking contrast to the simple lives of these
Puritan emigrants is afforded by those of their de¬
scendants of to-day. Eeligion furnished not only
their spiritual food, but intellectual recreation as
well. The two Sunday services, the weekly lec¬
ture, and the family devotions, filled the place now
occupied by the newspaper, the public library, the
lyceura, public amusements, and the other manifold
methods of employing spare time. Books were
scarce and highly prized, and — the Bible ex¬
cepted — consisted principally of treatises by the
Puritan divines. Without being superstitious, they
saw a providential significance in the most trivial
occurrences. Thus at Watertown, one day (so |
Governor Winthrop tells us), "many persons saw
a great contest between a mouse and a snake.
After a long fight the mouse prevailed, and killed
the snake. The Eev. Mr. Wilson of Boston, a
very sincere and holy man, gave this, interpretation
of it : the snake was the devil ; the mouse was a
poor contemptible people which God had brought
hither, who should overcome Satan here, and dis¬
possess him of his Kingdom."
There was much sickness during the first winter,
which was one of great severity, and also much
suffering from scarcity of food, many being com¬
pelled to subsist solely upon shell-fish, ground¬
nuts, and acorns. Several of the settlers lost their
houses and wigwams by fire, and Rev. Mr. Phillips
and others had their hay burnt. The settlers were
also greatly annoyed by wolves, and one night, the
report of a musket discharged at them in Water-
town having been heard at Pioxbury, the people
there, apprehending an InJian attack, were greatly
excited, and were called to arms by beat of drum.
The alarm was communicated to the people of Bos¬
ton, who also turned out, but who, on learning the
cause, were greatly relieved, and " went merrily to
breakfast," says the narrator of the incident.
A site for a fortified town and for a capital of
the colony having been selected by Governor Win¬
throp and the assistants in December, 1630, the
settlement of Newtown (now Cambridge) was begun
between Charlestown and Watertown. The terri¬
tory of these towns, then undefined, was contigu¬
ous, and embraced all that is now included in
Cambridge, Arlington, Belmont, Lexington, and
Somerville. That between Charles River and
Roxbury, and extending from the Back Bay to the
southwest, belonged to Boston and Watertown.
Between the line of Newtown and Sir R. Salton-
stall's homestead there was only one small inter¬
vening lot, and it is probable that a number of his
companions found themselves included in the limits
of the new settlement. The boundary between Wa¬
tertown and Newtown was established by the Gen¬
eral Court April 7, 1635.
The town, as well as the colony, suffered a great
loss in the spring of 1631, when Sir Richard Sal-
tonstall returned to England, leaving his two eldest
sons to manage his affairs. His is one of the first
among the great names on the roll of the founders
of New England, conspicuous alike for sound
judgment, public spirit, bumane and liberal views,
and for social and personal worth. He was the
son of Samuel, and nephew of Sir Richard Salton-
stall. Lord Mayor of London in 1597, and was
bom at Huntwicke, in the West Riding of York,
England, in 1586. He was a justice of the peace
and lord of the manor of Ledsham, near Leeds,
when, in 1628, he became one of the Massachusetts
Bay Company, in whose charter he was the first
438
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
named of the eighteen assistants. He was a prom¬
inent advocate of the transfer of the government
of the company from England to the colony, and
took a leading part in its transactions prior to the
emigration. After his return he became one of the
patentees of Connecticut, and was active in pro¬
moting its settlement. He continued to manifest
his interest in both colonies by befriending them
on various occasions, thwarting the machinations
against them by his influence at court. In 1644
he was ambassador to Holland, where his portrait
was painted by Eembrandt. In 1649 he was one
of the High Court of Justice appointed to try the
Duke of Hamilton, Lord Capel, the Earl of Hol¬
land, and Sir John Owen for high treason. His
deatii occurred in 1658. A long line of distin-
guished descendants has illustrated the name of
Saltonstall in New England down to the present
day.
Saltonstall's letter of rebuke to the ministers of
Boston has been well cliaraeterized as " a noble tes¬
timony to his charitable and Christian feelings,"
which were in advance of tiie age. In it he says,
" It doth not a little grieve my spirit to liear what
sadd things are reported daily of your tyranny and
persecutions in New England as that you fyne,
whip and imprison men for tlieir consciences."
He goes on to say, that to compel such men to
come into their assemblies as tliey know will not
join in their worship, and then to punish them for
showing their dislike of it, is to make them hypo¬
crites and sinners, " conforming in their outward
man for fear of punishment. These rigid ways,"
he adds, " have laid you very low in the hearts of
the saynts. We pray for you and wish you pros-
peritie every way and not to practice those courses
in a wilderness wiiich you went so far to prevent.
.... I hope you doe not assume to yourselves
infallibilitie of judgment when the most learned
of the apostles confessed lie knew but in part and
saw but darkly, as through a glass. Oh that all
those who are brethren though yet they cannot
speak and think the same things might be of one
accord in the Lord! .... The Lord give you
meeke and humble spirits, and not to strive so
much for uniformitie as to keepe the unity of the
spirit in the bond of peace I "
Watertown was probably one of the Indian set¬
tlements of the bay depopulated by the terrible
pestilence of 1617. Its advantages for planting,
beaver-hunting, and especially for fishing, could
not have been overlooked by the natives, and at
Nonauturn, on the other side of the river, they were
quite numerous. March 6, 1630-31, upon a
complaint made by sagamores John and Peter for
the burning of two wigwams which, upon examina¬
tion, appeared to have been occasioned by James
Woodward, servant of Sir Eichard Saltonstall, it
was therefore ordered " that Sir Eichard should"
satisfie the Indians for the wrong doue to them,
which accordingly he did by giving them seven
yards of cloth." September 4, 1632, the Court
ordered a severe penalty to be inflicted on Eichard
Hopkins for selling guns, powder, and shot to the
Indians. At a General Court, September 6, 1638,
" It was agreed that the Court of Assistants should
take order for the Indians that they may have satis¬
faction for their right at Lynn and Watertown."
In March following the Court desired Mr. Gibbens
" to agree with the Indians for the land within the
bounds of Watertown, Cambridge, and Boston,"
for which £23 8i. Qd. was paid them in May,
1640, by the two former towns; Cambridge also
" to give Squa Sachem a coat every winter while
she liveth." This Indian queen was the widow of
Nanepashemit. The Massacliusetts settlers were
scrupulously careful to pay the Indians for their
lands, and to deal justly with them on all occa¬
sions.
The earliest existing records of tlie town bear
date in 1634, four years after its settlement, and
in the same year that the creation of a house of
deputies, or representatives, wrought a most im¬
portant, change in the government of the colony.
At the same time that the people began to be
represented in the colonial government they also,
" for the ordering of the civil affairs of the town,"
intrusted them to that peculiarly New England
institution, a board of selectmen, annually chosen
by the freemen. The three Watertown men first
chosen to this board, one of whom was to serve as
town-clerk, were William Jennison, Brian Pendleton,
and John Eddie.
What led to this'improved method of adminis¬
tration was an order of the court, dated February 3,
1631 -32, "tliat £60 be levied out of the several
plantations towards making a palisade about the
New town." When the warrant for £8, its propor-
tio7i of that tax, reached Watertown, " the pastor
(Mr. Phillips) and elder (Mr. Eichard Browne) as¬
sembled the people and delivered their opinions
tliat it was not safe to pay moneys after that sort,
for fear of bringing themselves and their posterity
into bondage." Their opposition was lawful aud
WATEBTOWN.
439
proper, as the charter, so far from authorizing the
assistants to tax all persons living on the company's
lands, did not even empower them to assess the
freemen. Summoned before the governor and as¬
sistants on the 17th of the same month, there was
" much debate," but being " the weaker party,"
they were compelled, says Winthrop, " to make a
retraction and submission." In view of the result
of this contention it seems altogether unlikely that
any retraction was made; at any rate, Watertown
has reason to be proud of her defence of the great
principle of no taxation without representation, for,
only three months afterward, at the very next meet¬
ing of the court, a committee of two was appointed
from each town to confer with the court about
raising "a public stock [treasury]," and thus the
popular representative body of the colony originated,
and thus the trading corporation unconscioudy
became a representative democracy. The names of
John Oldham and John Masters stand first on this
committee ; while those of Kobert Feake, Richard
Browne, and John Oldham appear as the delegates
from Watertown to the first General Court, held
May 14, 1634.
At a court of assistants, April 12,1631, a watch
to begin at sunset was ordered at Dorchester and
at Watertown, and " if any person shall shoot off
a piece after the watch is set he shall forfeit 40«.
or be whipped." In May, 1634, this watch was re¬
duced from four to two, aud on March 9, 1636-37,
wards were also to be kept on the "Lords Days"
and every person above the age of eighteen
(except inagisti-ates aud elders of churches) " shall
be compellable to this service." Every town was
at the same time ordered to have a watch-house.
The meeting-house was sometimes used as a watcii-
house, and also as the depositary of the ammuni¬
tion of the town. In 1711 the old school-house
ou School-house Hill was ordered to be repaired
for a watch-house. In 1639 the town was fined
for not having a pair of stocks, and ordered to
procure one.
In the early days great importance was attached
to the performance of the duties of citizensliip. In
1639 it was ordered that any duly warned freeman
absent from a town-meeting should be fined 2«. ßd.,
a penalty afterwards increased to 5«. A selectman
absent from the place of meeting " past 9 of the
clock in the forenoon " also forfeited 2«. 6(7. to the
town. One of the duties of the selectmen was
to take turns, "every man his day to site upon the
gallery to look to the youths that they may prevent
miscarriages in the time of public services on the
Lord's Day." They were also to take notice of
"sundry persons in this towne who are in their
habits contrary to tlie law concerning the excess of
appareil," and to see that none "except such as
the law doth allow, do either wear silke goods or
silke scarfes, gould or silver lace, or buttons, rib¬
bons at knees or trassed handkerchiefs, upon the
forfeiture of what penalty the law doth apoynt
which is, that they shall he rated in the country
rate after £200 in the same." Among the early
enactments of the town was one offering a reward of
5«. for each wolf killed in the town ; anotlier affix¬
ing a penalty upon whoever " should suffer his dog
to come to the meeting upon the Lord's Day
and that ordering that the two fairs at Watertown,
" the one upon the first Friday of the 4th month ;
the other upon the first Friday of the 7th month
shall be kept upon the trayning place."
At the second meeting of the governor and
assistants September 7, 1630, precautions were
taken in anticipation of Indian attacks, and pro¬
vision was made for the support of Captain Daniel
Patrick of Watertown, aud Captain John Under¬
bill of Boston, both of whom had served in the
Low Countries, as instructors in the military art.
The latter had the training of the soldiers on the
south side of Charles River, while Patrick had
charge of those on the north side, at Charlestown,
Watertown, Newtown, and Medford, the men of
the two former towns training together until
1635.
It seems probable that the settlers of Watertown
were more numerous than those of the other towns
planted in 1630, and that this superiority of num¬
bers was maintained for twenty years. The ap¬
portionment of the early tax levies indicates this.
Her people, like those of Roxbury, soon began
to be overcrowded, and to disperse either to form
new plantations, or to go to other towns already
settled. In August, 1635, it was "agreed by the
consent of the freemen (in consideration there be
too many inhabitants in the town, and the town
thereby in danger to be ruinated) that no forrainer
coming into the town, or any family among our¬
selves shall have any benefit of commonage or
land undivided, but what they shall purchase, ex¬
cept that they buy a man's right wholly in the
town." It was further agreed, " that, whosoever
being an inhabitant in the town shall receive any
person or family upon their propriety that may
prove chargeable to the town shall maintain the
440
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
said person at their own charges or to see the town
harmless."
Wethersfield, the oldest town in Connecticut,
received from Watertown its first considerable
emigration in 1634. Pyquag, its Indian name,
was changed in 1635 to Watertown, and later to
Wethersfield. Some of this colony were afterwards
among the first settlers of Stamford, Milford, and
Branford. May 29, 1635, the following Water-
town men went to Wethersfield ; Kev. Richard
Denton, Robert Reynolds, John Strickland, Jonas
Weede, Rev. John Sherman, Robert Coe, and An¬
drew Ward. The two latter afterwards settled in
Stamford. Leonard Chester, John Finch, Nathan¬
iel Foote, John Oldham, Edward Pierce, John
Reynolds, and Robert Rose went before 1642.
In 1636 Dedham was largely settled from Wa¬
tertown, and in the same year some of her people
were among the settlers of Concord. Sudbury was
the next town planted by Watertown, the court, in
November, 1637, "in regard of their straitness of
accommodation and want of meadow," giving them
leave upon their petition " to remove and settle a
plantation upon the river which runs to Concord."
Martha's Vineyard was first planted by a Water-
town colony led by Thomas Mayhew in 1642,
and her sons were the pioneers in the settlement
of Lancaster, Groton, Framingham, Shrewsbury,
Worcester, Rutland, and Spencer, as also of many
of the towns in southern and eastern Connecticut,
and on Long Island. Emigrants from Watertown
are found among the early settlers of nearly all of
the towns in Middlesex County.
The earliest list of the inhabitants of Watertown
is dated July 25, 1636. It is "a grant of the
Great Dividends [allotted] to the freemen [and]
to all the townsmen then inhabiting, being 120 in
number."
Sir R. Saltonstall, ICQ (acres); Robert Feake,
John Loveran, Thomas Mayhew, George Phillips,"'
each 80 ; William Paine, Brian Pendleton, Simon
Stone, Edward How, Abraham Shaw, each 70;
William Jennison, Simon Eire, Leonard Chester,
John Warren, John Barnard, Henry Goldstone,
John Cutting, Edward Gofle, Ephraim Child, Sam¬
uel (Wm.) Swayne, John Firmin, each 60 ; John
Page, John Eddy, Isaac Sterne, Richard Kimball,
Thomas Cakehread, Edmund Sherman, John Hay-
ward, Ahraham Bipwne, Richard Browne, John
Whitney, each 50 ; William Hammond, Edmund
James, Gregory Stone, John Kingsbury, John
Eaton, William Swift, each 40 ; Isaac Cummins,
Robert Abbot, Thomas Philbrick, Barnabas Winds,
John Gosse, John Smith, Sr., Robert Daniel,
Charles Chadwick, Samuel Hosier, Robert Lock-
wood, John Batchelor, William Bridges, Gregory
Taylor, John Gay, Henry Kimball, Nathaniel
Bowman, John Spring, Richard Woodward, each
35; John Finch, William Palmer, Philip Taber,
John Doggett, John Lawrence, Francis Onge,
Henry Bright, Hugh Mason, John Coolidge, Isaac
Mixer, John Stowers, John Simpson, John Browne,
John Dwight, William Knapp, Robert Tucke, Ed¬
ward Garfield, Edmund Lewis, Nicholas Knapp,
William Barshaw, George Munnings, Thomas
Arnold, Thomas Rogers, Edward Dix, Thomas
Bartlett,-each 30; Joseph Morse, William Baker,
Esther Pickeran, Richard Sawtel, John Livermore,
John Tomson, Christopher Grant, Thomas Wincoll,
John [Win.] Gutteridge, John Tucker, Richard
Beers, Thomas Hastings, Daniel Pierce, Geoi^e
Richardson, James Cutler, John Griggs, Lawrence
Waters, Edward Lamb, Martin Underwood, Ed¬
mund White, John Eilet, John Winter, Miles
Nutt, each 25 ; Robert Veazy, John Varhan, Rob¬
ert Jennison, Robert Betts, Henry Dengaiiie,
John Rose, Thomas Mason, Henry Cuttris, Thomas
Brooks, Daniel Morse, Mathew Hitchcock, Thomas
Smith, Benjamin Crispe, Thomas Parish, Roger
Wellington, Garret Church, 20 acres each.
Freemen of Watertown prior to 1640. The
first fourteen named applied in October, 1630.
Admitted May, 1631, Mr. George Phillips, Mr.
Richard Brown, Sergeant John Strickland, Ed¬
mund Lockwood, John Page, John Doggett,
Ephraim Child, Robert Seeley, Mr. William
Clarke, Mr. Robert Feake, Samuel Hosier, Charles
Chadwick, Mr. William Jennison, Daniel Abbott,
Jonas Weede, Captain Daniel Patrick, Mr. John
Oldham, John Gasse, Mr. Richard Saltonstall
(Jr.), Mr. John Masters, John Warren, Daniel
Finch, Isaac Sterne, John Firmin, Francis Smith ;
March, 1632, Abraham Browne ; November, 1632,
John Benjamin ; March, 1633, John White, John
Smith; May, 1634, Thomas Cakehread, Mr.
Thomas Mayhew, Edward How, John Hayward,
Andrew Ward ; September, 1634, Bryan Pendle¬
ton, Martin Underwood, Anthony Pierce, John
Bernard, John Eddy, Samuel Smith, John Browne,
Robert Reynolds, Nathaniel Foote, Robert Abbott,
Robert Coe; March, 1635, Hugh Mason, Thomas
Bartlett, George Munning, Edward Dix, John
Priiice, John Wolcott; May, 1635, Barnabas
Wines, John Reynolds, Henry Bright, Thomas
John Gallop's Eaplolt*
WATERTOWN.
443
Hastings, John Liverraore, John Batchelor, John
Gay, John Tompsou, Eichard Keraball, Daniel
Morse, Edward Garfield ; September, 1635, Eich¬
ard Woodward; March, 1636, Nicholas Jacob,
Michael Barstow, John Whitney, William Swain,
John Kingsbury; May, 1636, John Knight,
Mathias (? Miles) Ives, William Hammond, Ed¬
ward Goffe, Edmund Lewis, John Stowers, John
Smith (?Jr.), John Eaton, Edmund Sherman,
Joiiii Coolidge, Simon Stone, Gregory Stone, John
Loveran, William Wilcocks, Edward White,
Thomas Brooks; March, 1637, Abraham Shaw,
Eobert Lockwood, William Barsham, Eichard
Beers, Thomas Carter, Eichard Waite; April,
1637, Thomas Brigham, John Lawrence, Simon
Eire; May, 1637, John Eogers, Miles Nutt,
Thomas Smith, Thomas Eogers, John Sherman;
March, 1638, John Peirce, Nicholas Busby, David
Fiske; May, 1638, Isaac Mixer, Henry Kemball,
Henry Dow, Daniel Peirce; March, 1639, John
Dwight, Henry Phillips, Eobert Daniel; May,
1639, Samuel Freeman, Nicholas Gay, Edmund
Blois, Eoger Porter; September, 1639, John
Cross, Eobert Tucke, Eobert Sanderson.
The war ending in the extinction of the warlike
Pequot tribe in 1637 was caused by the murder
of John Oldham, a highly respected citizen of
Watertown, its deputy to the first General Court,
and a member of its church, while trading at Block
Island, July 20, 1636. Immediately afterward
Joliu Gallup, in a larger vessel, with a crew con¬
sisting of one man and two boys, seeing Oldham's
pinnace in the possession of Indians, ran into her
with such force as nearly to overset her. Six of
the Indians jumped overboard and were drowned.
Eepeating the manœuvre a second and a third time,
the remaining Indians were either drowned or
taken, aud two boys who had accompanied Oldham
were rescued uninjured. This is the first American
sea-fight on record.
Ensign William Jennison, one of the four offi¬
cers in command of the expedition to Block Island
in the following autumn, "to dp justice to the
Indians for the murder of Mr. Oldham," was, in
March, 1637, chosen first captain of the train-band of
Watertown. He was a man of capacity and integ¬
rity, and was almost constantly in the public service.
All the able-bodied men of the colony were, in De¬
cember, 1636, arranged in three regiments, those of
the districts now included in the counties of Suf¬
folk, Essex, and Middlesex. Of the latter, which
then included Charlegtown, Newtown, Watertown,
Concord, and Dedham, John Haines was colonel,
Eoger Harlakenden lieutenant-colonel, and Captain
Patrick muster-master. Watertown raised fourteen
of the one hundred aud sixty men levied for the
Pequot War, in April, 1637, and the first forty Mas-
sachusetts levies marched under Captain Patrick.
Lieutenant Eobert Seeley, a Watertown man who
had removed to Connecticut, was second in com¬
mand to Captain John Mason in the famous fight
and destruction of the Pequot stronghold.
From November 28, 1643, to November 9,
1647, the records of the town are lost. Eecords
of marriages, births, and deaths were ordered by the
court in September, 1639, to be kept, and June 14,
1642, they appointed a "clerk of the writs" to
perform the service. The first of these officers in
Watertown was Simon Eire. The earliest mar¬
riage on the record is that of John Bigelow and
Mary Warren, in 1642, "before Mr. Nowell."
Marriage, then regarded as a civil contract, was for
a long time performed only by magistrates or spe¬
cially authorized persons. The earliest record of a
marriage here by a clergyman was that by Eev.
John Bailey, August 10, 1686. For fifteen years
after John Saltonstall's departure, and until Mr.
Eiciiard Browne was authorized to perform the
ceremony, the people of the town, being without a
magistrate, were obliged to apply to magistrates of
other towns to be married.
The apostle Eliot began his missionary labors
among the Indians " near Watertown Mill, upon
the south side of Charles Eiver," in October, 1646.
This is not the place in which to enlarge upon tliis
subject, nor can we know how much interest the
people of Watertown took in this pious but futile
effort to Christianize the heathen around them, but
to us it seems one of the most picturesque and
memorable incidents in our early history. Five
years later the Indian church and village of Natiek
were founded by Eliot.
One of the earliest of the executions in New
England for witchcraft took place about 1650,
when a Mrs. Kendall of Cambridge was judicially
murdered for bewitching to death a child of Good¬
man Gennings (Jennison) of Watertown. The
principal evidence was that of a Watertown nurse,
who testified that the said Kendall did make much
of the child, and then the child was well, but
quickly changed in color and died a few hours
after. After the execution the parents denied that
their child was bewitched, and stated that it died
from imprudent exposure to cold by the nurse the
444
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
night before. The nurse was soon after put in
prison for adultery, and there died, " and so the
matter was not further enquired into."
In the formidable Indian outbreak of 1675-76,
known as Philip's War, which threatened tlie de¬
struction of tlie New England colonies, thirteen
towns were destroyed and more than six hundred
men, chiefly young men, the flower of the country,
perished in the field. Watertown escaped, but her
citizens were repeatedly called out to repel the
onslaught of the savages upon neighboring towns.
The following names of twenty " souldiers," im¬
pressed from Watertown in November, 1675, for
the defence of the colony, were returned by Cap¬
tain Hugh Mason as " rationaly most fit to goe
upon the servis": "Daniell Warrin, Sr., John
Bigulah, Sr., Nathaniel Hely, Joseph Tayntor, John
Whitney, Sr., George Harrington, William Hagar,
Jr., John Parkhurst, Michael Plagg, Jacob Bul-
lard, Isaac Learned, Joseph Waight, George Dill,
William Pierce, Nathaniel Sanger, Moses Whitney,
John Windam, Joseph Smith, Nathaniel Barsham,
John Barnard."
The brave Captain Beers, of Watertown, while
marching from Hadley to bring off the garrison at
Squakheag (Northfield), was, on the morning of
September 4, 1675, waylaid by the Indians and
slain, together with about twenty of his men. The
scene of the conflict is to this day called Beers'
Plain, and the eminence to which he withdrew his
men and where he fell is still known as Beers'
Mountain. Eichard Beers came to Watertown in
1630. He was a soldier in the Pequot War, par¬
ticipating, as he himself says, " in two several de¬
signs when the Lord delivered them into our
hands." Soon after, or, as he says, " Uppon his
return, such a weakness fell uppon his body that
for 8 years space he was much disinabled to labor
for his famyly, spending a great part of that little
he had upon phesitions." He was a sergeant in
1642, when the court ordered him to superintend
"the breeding of saltpetre." His homestead,
where in 1654 he was licensed to keep an ordi¬
nary, was on the southwest border of Fresh Pond.
In 1664 he petitioned for a grant of land from the
colony " where he can find it in this wilderness,
seeing he hath many children to share in the
same and hath been an inhabitant in this jurisdic¬
tion ever since the first beginning thereof, and
according to his weake abilities served the same."
He was a representative from 1663, and had been
a lieutenant many years, but was styled captain
when, at the age of sixty, he went upon his last fatal
expedition.
Captain Hugh Mason, who at the head of forty
Watertown men marched to the relief of Grotoii,
was, March 15, 1676, appointed one of a committee
of four to provide for the defence of the frontier
towns of Middlesex County. April 20, his men
assisted the inhabitants of Sudbury to repulse the
attack of two hundred Indians, whom they drove
across the river. Next day they followed them
and renewed the attack in the hope of affording
relief to Captain Wadsworth, but there being " too
many " of them, our men, who were almost sur¬
rounded, retreated to Captain Goodnow's garrison.
Some of Wadsworth's men who had taken refuge
in Noyes' Mill were rescued by Mason, who, join¬
ing Captain Hunting's company, went over the
river, gathered the slain of Wadsworth's and
Brocklebank's companies, and buried them. This
was Philip's last success, and he was soon after¬
wards hunted down and killed. Captain Mason
was seventy-six years of age at this time. He was
one of the original settlers of the town, and had
been a representative and selectman for many years.
He was chosen captain in 1652. It is conjectured
that he was the brother of the distinguished Cap¬
tain John Mason bf Connecticut.
Some of the Watertown men who fell in the wars
with the Indians were : William Flagg, at Lan¬
caster, August 22, 1675; John Chinery, at North-
field, September 4, 1675 ; John Ball, at Lancaster,
September 10, 1675; John Sherman, Jr., son of
Captain John, at the Narragansett Fight; George
Harrington of Wadsworth's company, at Lancaster,
February, 1676 ; Lieutenant Gershom Flagg, at
Lamprey Eiver, July 6, 1690, and Sergeant Jacob
Fulham, at Lovewell's Pond, May 8, 1725.
Watertown's proportion of the tax for the carrj'-
ing on the war against Philip was £45. January
22, 1677, the government made allowance to the
people distressed by the war, and allotted to the
selectmen of the several towns their proportion
out of the " Irish Charity " in meal, oatmeal,
wheat, malt at 18«., butter per ball Qd., and
cheese 4r7. per pound. Nineteen Watertown fami¬
lies, consisting of seventy-six persons, were thus
aided, Boston and Charlestown being alone entitled
to a larger measure of relief.
In 1727 the soldiers who were in the Narragan¬
sett expedition in 1675, or their lawful representa¬
tives, petitioned the General Court for the laud
¡)romised them when they enlisted. Their petition
WATERTOWN.
445
was granted, and to the Watertown men named
below was assigned a portion of Township No.
2, now Westminster, Massachusetts. They were
John Sawin for his father Thomas, Ephraim Cut¬
ter, James Cutting for his father James, John
Bernard, Joshua Bigelow, William Shattuek,
Joseph Grant for his father Joseph, Zaehariah
Smith for his father Jonathan, Samuel Hagar for
his father John, George Harrington's heirs, Johiu
Harrington, Joseph Priest for his father Joseph,
Zaehariah Cutting, John Bright for his uncle John,
George Parmeter for his father William, Joseph
Ball for his uncle Jacob Bullard, Thomas Harring¬
ton for his wife's father Timothy Kice, John Sher¬
man for his uncle John, Captain Josepli Bowman
for his wife's uncle James Barnard, Joseph Smith
for his father Joseph, Eichard Beers for his father
Ehiatlian, Michael Flagg's heirs, John Cutting for
his father John, the heirs of Dr. Wellington and of
Benjamin Wellington.
When, upon the news of the landing of the
Prince of Orange in England, the people of Boston
and vicinity overthrew the hated government of
Andros, representatives from all the towns in the
colony met at Boston, May 22, 1689, to consult as
to the propriety of resuming the old charter. Wil¬
liam Bond and Benjamin Garfield, on behalf of the
people of Watertown, were instructed to maintain
" the charter rights," that is, the old charter, and
to agree to the declaration set forth at a previous
meeting of representatives until further orders from
the English government. This course was recom¬
mended by a large majority of the towns, but the
old charter was never restored, and a new one, less
liberal in some respects, was granted by King Wil¬
liam III. in 1691.
After the decease of Captain John Sherman in
1691 the town was divided into three military
precincts. The first was under Captain William
Bond, who was made a magistrate in 1686 ; the sec¬
ond (Waltham) was Lieutenant Garfield's ; and the
third (Weston) was that of Lieutenant Josiah Jones.
The ineffectual attempt to establish three regular
market-places in Boston in 1734 gave great offence
to the neighboring towns, who regarded this re¬
striction as an infringement of their rights. In
retaliation, the people of Watertown voted to sus¬
pend all intercourse with the Bostonians at their
markets under a heavy penalty, but it is probable
that a measure so absurd as tiiat of prohibiting
people from selling vegetables where it was for
their interest to sell, soon became a dead letter.
In 1758 a company from Watertown and vicinity,
commanded by Captain Jonathan Brown, was in
service in Canada, in tlie regiment of Colonel Wil¬
liam Williams. Captain Brown was afterwards a
member of the Provincial Congress, serving on
important committees, and was for many years a
selectman.
Watertown, in common with the other towns in
' the colony, heartily co-operated with Boston in the
various measures of the patriot leaders in opposi¬
tion to the arbitrary acts of the British gov¬
ernment. That imposing duties on tea, paper,
glass, etc., aroused universal indignation. .\t the
meeting held in Boston towards the close of the
year 1767, for the encouragement of home produc¬
tions and to lessen foreign importations, the other
towns were appealed to for sympathy and support
in this policy. Watertown, January 18, 1768,
responded by voting to dispense with iinported
goods, at the same time declaring all foreign teas
expensive and pernicious, as well as unnecessary.
" This continent," she said, " abounds with many
herbs of a more salubrious quality, which, if we
were as much used to as tiie poisonous Bohea,
would no doubt in time be as agreeable, perhaps
much more so ; and whilst by a maidy infiuence
we expect our women to make this sacrifice to the
good of their country, we hereby declare we shall
highly honor and esteem the encouragers of our
own manufactures and tiie general use of the pro¬
ductions of this continent, this being in our judg¬
ment at this time a necessary means, under God, of
rendering us a happy and free people."
Thus it appears that almost six years before the
tea was thrown into Boston Harbor it had been
thrown overboard, metaphorically, by Watertown,
which took the lead in denouncing this " expensive,
pernicious, and poisonous " herb.
At the same meeting her representative was in¬
structed, while resisting all encroacliments upon
her rights and joining in all vigorous but legal
and peaceable measures for obtaining relief, " not
to be drawn into any rash or disorderly measures,
either disrespectful to the best of sovereigns, or
undutiful to our mother country," thus indicating
how far they then were from any thought of re¬
nouncing allegiance to Great Britain. The circular
of tlie Boston Committee of Correspondence, issued
in November, 1772, enumerating the wrongs and
grievances infiicted by the British Parliament,
and calling upon the people to be watchful, was an¬
swered by the Watertown committee, February 5,
446
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
1773, in terms that strongly and solemnly ex¬
pressed its conviction of the dangers and duties of
the " momentous crisis " at hand.
The sentiments of the inhabitants upon the
destruction of the tea in Boston Harbor found
expression in the spirited resolves and preamble of
the town-meeting of January 3, 1774. "We are
fully of opinion," say they, " that the people had
no design or desire that the tea on board the ves¬
sels should be destroyed or any way damaged but,
on the contrary, were very desirous and used their
utmost eudeavors that said tea might be safely re¬
turned to the owners thereof." The accompanying
resolves proscribe with all possible strength of
expression the use of tea iu any mode or quan¬
tity.
As early as May, 1774, just before the closing
of the port of Boston, the selectmen — Samuel
White, David Bemis, Josiah Capen, David Sanger,
and Elijah Bond — bought four half-barrels of
powder, and proposed to the town the purciiase of
balls and flints. The committee of correspond¬
ence were Samuel Piske, Moses Stone, Richard
Clarke, Jedediah Leathe, and Nathaniel Stone.
The town was represented in the Middlesex County
Convention, lield August 30, 1774, at Concord,
which declared its intention to "nullify the late
acts of parliament in violation of our rights."
The Revolution was now making rapid progress,
and early in September the town ordered that its
militia should be exercised two hours every week,
and that its stock of arms and ammunition should
be inspected. This was followed up by votes in¬
structing its tax-collectors to pay their money into
the treasury of the town instead of that of the
province ; directing their representative. Captain
Jonathan Brown, to unite with those of the other
towns in forming a provincial congress ; and au¬
thorizing the mounting and equipping of tiie
two pieces of cannon in the town. November 21,
1774, a committee of nine was appointed to carry
into effect the association and resolves of the Gen¬
eral Congress at Philadelphia, and likewise those
of the Provincial Congress. A minute-company
was formed January 2, 1775, "four coppers" (to
be laid out for refreshment) being allowed each
man for his attendance once a week to learn mili¬
tary exercises. Its officers were: Samuel Barnard,
captain; John Stratton, first lieutenant ; Phinelias
Stearns, secotid lieutenant; Edward Harrington, Jr.,
ensign ; Samuel Sanger, Abner Craft, Christopher
Grant, Jr., and Josiah Capen, Jr., sergeants; Ste¬
phen Whitney, Moses Stone, Jr., Isaac Sanderson,
Jr., and Nathaniel Bright, corporals.
On the morning of the memorable 19th of
April, 1775, the Middlesex regiment, under Colo¬
nel Thomas Gardner, assembled at the Watertown
meeting-house. Michael Jackson, who commanded
the Newton company that day, and afterwards, as
colonel of the 8th Massachusetts Regiment, served
through the Revolutionary War, found, on his ar¬
rival at the ûieetiug-hoiise, that the officers were in
council in the adjacent school-house. Obtaining
the floor, he told them that the time for talking
had passed and the time for fighting had come;
that if they meant to oppose the march of the Brit¬
ish troops they must forthwith leave the school-
house and take up their march for Lexington, and
that he intended that his company should take the
shortest route to get a shot at the British. His
blunt, vigorous speech broke up the council, each
company being left to take its own course. Those
of Newton and Watertown, joining near Lexington,
encountered Lord Percy's retreating column, ex¬
changing shots with it, and hanging upon its flank
and rear, until, at nightfall, it reached Charlestown,
completely exhausted and demoralized. They re¬
ceived upon the field the thanks of Dr. Warren,
president of the Provincial Congress, for their
bravery. The Watertown men were led that day
by Captain, afterwards Major, Samuel Barnard, one
of the Boston Tea-Party, losing only one of their
number, Joseph Coolidge, in the action.
Three days after the battle the second Provin¬
cial Congress adjourned from Concord to Water-
town, its sessions and those of the third and last,
as well as those of the General Court, its successor,
being held in the old meeting-house until the
adjournmeilt of the latter body to the state-bouse
iu Boston, November 9, 1776. President Laiig-
don, of Harvard College, preached the Election
Sermon before the Congress that assembled here
May 31. After the departure of President Han¬
cock, who was a delegate to the congress at Phila¬
delphia, Joseph Warren, the early martyr in the
cause of'American freedom, presided over its delib¬
erations until the memorable 17th of June. Be¬
fore his departure for the scene of action that day
he entreated the ladies of the house in wliich he
boarded to prepare lint and bandages, observing,
" The poor fellows will want them all before
night."
In 1775-76 the Council met in an adjacent
house on Mount Auburn Street. When Marshall
WATERTOWN.
447
Street was opened this building had to be re-
moved, and it now stands nearly opposite the
high school. These two bodies were kept in a
state of great activity by the extraordinary exi¬
gency that had arisen, having in charge not only
the re-establishment upon an entirely new basis of
the civil authority, but also the raising, equipping,
and supplying of an army, as well as the general
oversight and direction of the military operations
of the province. Arms and military stores had
been deposited under guard, early in the siege, at
the house of Edward Richardson, who kept an inn
at the intersection of Belmont and Mount Auburn
streets. Tiie old house is yet standing, and was
the residence of the late Mr. Joseph Bird. At the
end of April sixteen pieces of cannon belonging to
the colony were stored in Watertown.
Even the clergy were carried away by the war¬
like spirit that pervaded the people. The annual
convention of ministers, held in the Watertown
church, June 1, 1775, of which Rev. Amos Adams,
of Roxbury, was the scribe, recommended to the
people to take up arms, and offered their services,
with the consent of their several congregations, to
officiate by rotation as chaplains in the army.
Before the final assault of the British at Bunker
Hill Gardner's Middlesex regiment, in which was
Abner Crafts' Watertown company, was ordered
to the field. Its brave commander received his
death-wound while leading on his men. Under its
major, Michael Jackson, it pressed forward, and
pouring a well-directed fire upon the advancing
Britons, gallantly covered the retreat. Lieutenant-
Colonel William Bond, of Watertown, succeeded
to the command, and led his regiment during the
siege of Boston and the invasion of Canada.
In an old dilapidated building that stood until
recently within the foundry-yard of Miles Pratt &
Co., near the bridge. The Boston Gazette and Coun¬
try Journal, the leading organ of the patriots, was
published from June 5, 1775, to October 28,
1776, when it was removed to Boston, its original
place of issue. Edes, its proprietor, had escaped
from Boston in a boat by night, taking w'ith him a
press and a few types, with which the Gazette was
continued, and was made printer to congress and
to the assembly. His paper was distinguished by
its spirited and fearless advocacy of the American
cause, and obtained a wide popularity.
Washington, then on his way to Cambridge to
take command of the army, was met at Springfield
by a deputation from the Provincial Congress, who
attended him, escorted by volunteer companies and
cavalcades of gentlemen. July 2, he arrived at
Watertown, where he was greeted by congress
with a congratulatory address.
The inhabitants of Boston who had taken refuge
in Watertown held here several meetings for the
transaction of their public business. The anniver¬
sary of the 5th of March was duly celebrated by
them in 1776, and an oration was delivered by
Rev. Peter Thatcher, of Milton.
Captain Edward Harrington died in the service
at Ticonderoga, in September, 1776, and during
the war many other Watertown men, among whom
was Colonel William Bond, died either from dis¬
ease in camp, or on the field of battle. Soldiers
were raised, to whom liberal bounties were paid,
and i?i general the town co-operated heartily in
measures for the common defence. Her citizens,
May 20, 1776, unanimously approved the Dec¬
laration of Independence, declaring they would
" stand by and defend the same with their lives
and estates"; and on January 17, 1778, her rep¬
resentative was instructed to signify her concur¬
rence in the Articles of Confederation. On ac¬
count of the prevalence of small-pox in Boston,
the legislative session of 1778 was held in Water-
town. At a town-meeting, held May 24, 1779, a
large majority voted against the proposed form
of state government ; but it had a majority of the
votes of the state, and the convention that met in
September following framed the present state con¬
stitution.
A depreciated currency, the inevitable result of
the over-issue of irredeemable paper, caused gen¬
eral alarm and embarrassment, and was errone¬
ously attributed to monopolists. A town-meeting,
held July 7, 1779, to remedy the evil, adopted
fixed prices for labor and all the important articles
of traffic. This was also done in other towns, thus ag¬
gravating an evil already sufficiently alarming. Tiie
price of labor was fixed at 60«. per day ; shoes, £6
per pair ; a coat, £8; candles, 8«. per pound ; milk,
2«, per quart; barley, £4 10«. per bushel; shav¬
ing, 3«.; soap, 10«. per pound. Those who sold
at higher rates were deemed enemies to the coun¬
try, and were to be " cryed " as such by the town-
clerk for six months, at every public meeting of
the town. In 1781 a poor-house was first estab¬
lished, upon the south bank of the river, above the
bridge.
The completion of the second century of the
town was celebrated by the inhabitants, September
448
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
17,1830. The address delivered by Rev. Con vers
Francis on this occasion was embodied in his his¬
tory of the town, published soon afterward. A
centennial celebration was held, July 4, 1876, at
White's Hill Grove, and an address was delivered
by William H. Ingraham, Esq., president of the day.
The oration by Rev. J. F. Lovering contained
many interesting passages from the early records of
the town.
Between the hours of one and two in the after¬
noon of July 21, 1841, occurred the most destruc¬
tive fire ever known in Watertown. Originating
in the stable of the Spring Hotel, a strong south¬
west wind communicated the flames to nearly every
building in its range to leeward for nearly a mile.
The new and beautiful meeting-house, erected by
the First Parish in 1836, the interior of whieh was
elegantly fitted up, took fire from some sparks that
lodged in the upper part of the building, and,
together with its valuablé organ, was entirely con¬
sumed. Besides injuring tlie hotel (whieh was of
brick), the fire destroyed the grocery store of John
Clark, the bakery and dwelling of Francis Leathe,
John Lenox's barber-shop, and the dwellings of
Messrs. Loud, Dana, StrattOn, William Sherwin,
and Colonel Livermore.
At the first town-meeting in Watertovm to act
upon matters relating to the War of the Rebellion,
held April 22, 1861, several patriotic speeches were
made by thé clergymen of the town and others,
and $5,000 were appropriated to aid in forming a
new military organization. The company thus ini¬
tiated had its full complement of men in one week's
time, went into camp at Cambridge July 2, and
served through the war as Company K, 16th Regi¬
ment Massachusetts Volunteers. It left camp
August 17, 1861, under Colonel Powell T. Wy-
man; it was in the campaign before Richmond
(losing its colonel at Glendale), Second Bull Run,
Fredericksburg, Chaneellorsville, Gettysburg, the
Wilderness, Spottsylvania, and Petersburg, and
has inscribed upon its banner the names of twenty-
nine battle-fields.
Watertown furnished three hundred and ninety-
two men for the war, fifteen of whom were com¬
missioned officers, — a surplus over and above all
demands. Its appropriations for the war amounted
to $41,200. Her women were not behind their
sisters in other towns in working for the benefit of
the soldiers. They held weekly meetings during
the continuance of the contest, and furnished great
quantities of garments and useful hospital stores.
A copy of an autograph letter from President
Lincoln, acknowledging their receipt and assuring
them of his grateful appreciation of their efforts for
the health and comfort of the soldiers, was in¬
scribed upon the records of the town.
Ecclesiastical. — The first work of the settlers
after providing for themselves a temporary shelter
was to combine into church fellowship. On ac¬
count of the great sickness and mortality prevail¬
ing in Charlestown, July 30, 1630, was observed
throughout the colony as a day of fasting and
prayer. After the close of these exercises at Water-
town, as we are told by Rev. Cotton Mather, "about
forty men, whereof tiie first was that excellent
Knight, Sir Richard Saltonstall, then subscribed
this instrument (a church covenant), in order unto
their coalescence into a church estate," and its date,
coeval with that of the organization of the Boston
church at Charlestown, entitles the Watertown
ehurch to rank next after those of Salem and
Dorchester.
At the first Court of Assistants, held at Charles¬
town, priority was given to the question of pro¬
viding for the ministers. Sir Richard Saltonstall
undertook to have a house built at his plantation
for Mr. Phillips, and the governor at the other
plantation for Mr. Wilson, and a stipend of £30
a year was assigned to each. '
A house of worship was probably constructed
very soon after the settlement of the toam, certainly
before 1634. It is supposed to have stood east of
Mount Auburn, where Saltonstall, Rev. Mr. Phil¬
lips, Elder Richard Browne, and most of the free¬
men of that date resided. August 7, 1635, a rate
of £80 was ordered to be levied for the charges
of the new meeting-house, which, it is conjectured,
was on meeting-house common, near the old grave¬
yard. Dr. Francis says, " It stood on rising ground
between the houses of Deacon Coolidge and Daniel
Sawin, on the north side of the road to Cambridge.
There was a common before it which was used
as a training-field." It had a bell as early as
1648^49, and in the following September a levy
was made to provide it with a gallery. Another,
built on or near the same spot in 1656, after the
pattern of the Cambridge meeting-house, continued
in use for the whole town, including Waltham and
Weston, until after the resignation of Mr. Bailey,
when a controversy as to the inconvenience of its
location resulted in a division of the church and the
building of a meeting-house at the southeast comer
of what are now Belmont and Lexington streets.
WATERTOWN.
449
In 1720, soon after the decease of Bev. Mr.
Angier, the town, which before the incorporation
of Weston had been divided into three precincts,
was re-divided into two, witli independent ecclesias¬
tical organizations, each society building its own
house. The West Precinct (Mr. AngiePs) purchased
tiie old Newton meeting-house in 1721, which they
set up a little north of Waltham Plain, near the
old Livermore homestead, since known as the Ly¬
man Place. The Eastern Precinct (Mr. Gibbs's)
in 1723 built their house on School-house Hill,
afterwards known as Meeting-house Hill, the an¬
cient Strawberry Hill. This structure gave place
to that built at the corner of Mount Auburn and
Common streets. In May, 1754, before its com¬
pletion, the new house was burned to the ground.
The historic edifice in which were held the sessions
of the Provincial Congress of Massachusetts, built
on the same spot, was completed in Pebruary, 1755.
Until 1827 this was the only meeting-house in
Watertown. It was enlarged in 1819, but was
taken down in 1837, a new edifice having been
completed and dedicated September 7, 1836. This
was destroyed by the great fire of 1841. The
present house, erected on the site of the latter, was
dedicated August 3, 1842.
The first church of Watertown, organized July 30,
1630, was the only one in the town for sixty-six
years. It was the first to adopt independency, to
wliich it adhered for a long time more strictly than
did either of the other churches, standing alone, in
this respect at least, until after the arrival of Eev.
John Cotton. For more than ten years, and until
the ordination as his colleague of Mr. John Knowles,
December 9, 1640, Eev. George Phillips was its
sole pastor.
Trouble soon arose in the congregation. In
1631 Elder Kichard Browne, the same who after¬
wards opposed arbitrary taxation, avowed and
defended the opinion that the churches of Kome
were true churches, a view in which Pastor Phillips
concurred. An idea more repugnant to the zealous
Puritan could hardly be imagined, although it seems
entirely consistent with the enlarged and liberal
mind of Mr. Browne. Governor Winthrop, Deputy-
Governor Dudley, and Elder Nowell visited Water-
town on two different occasions, to discuss the
startling proposition, and it was declared to be an
error. A temporary reconciliation was effected, but
Browne was dismissed from office in 1632. Eich-
ard Browne had been an officer in a church of
Separatists in London. He was one of the first
settlers, and was the first ruh'ng elder in the
Watertown church. After his dismission his fellow-
citizens manifested their esteem by sending him
as a commissioner to Wethersfield to heal the dis¬
traction in that colony. He was their representa¬
tive in the first court in 1634, and in most of the
subsequent ones until 1657, when he removed to
Charlestown, where he died in 1659. He was a
man of mure than ordinary ability and of marked
independence of character. It was Browne's com¬
plaint to the assistants that caused them to write
to England in disap¡)roval of Endicott's act in
cutting the cross from the king's colors, which he
argued would be regarded in England as an act of
rebellion that would draw down the royal displeas¬
ure upon the colony.
In 1642 Nathaniel Briscoe, a rich tanner of
Watertown, wrote and privately circulated a pam¬
phlet against supporting the ministry by taxation.
For this grave offence he was summoned before the
court, and, acknowledging his fault, was fined £10.
A letter of Briscoe, who had returned in disgust
to England, dated London, September 7, 1652, in
which he says, " I am partly promised a place in
the Tower of £50 per annum, but had we liberty
of conscience with you I had rather be there with
£20 per annum," fell into the hands of the colo¬
nial government. As this letter freely censured
the course of parliament, and as it was at once sent
to the speaker of that hody with an indorsement
by Secretary Bawson and Bev. Jobn Wilson, it is
not unlikely that Briscoe's " place in the Tower "
was promptly provided. Another example of the
means then supposed to be efficacious in the sup¬
pression of heresy was afforded in the case of John
Stowers, of Watertown, who in 1643 was fined for
reading an Anabaptist book. From all these
facts — from the independence of its church, from
its opposition to arbitrary taxation, from Salton-
stall's manly rebuke of the Boston ministers, and
from the outspoken criticisms of Bev. Mr. Phillips,
Elder Browne, and others, upon the course of the
Puritan government — it is evident that an un¬
usually catholic spirit, as well as just ideas of civil
and religious liberty, prevailed among the first
settlers of Watertown.
Rev. George Phillips, " a godly man, especially
gifted, and very peaceful in his place," was a native
of Rainham, in Norfolk, England, and was edu¬
cated at Cambridge, where he received the degree
of A. M. in 1617. At the university he was dis¬
tinguished for piety, talent, and remarkable pro-
450
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ficiency in his studies. He was settled in the
ministry at Boxted, in Essex, when persecution
drove him to New England, where his wife died
soon after their arrival. Mr. Phillips was an able
controversialist, and was familiar with the original
languages of the Scriptures, which he is said to
have read through six times every year. Johnson
says, " He was mighty in the Scriptures, and very
diligent to search out the mind of Christ therein
contained." His views of the Congregational or¬
der and discipline, soon universally adopted by that
church, were for a time regarded as novel and ex¬
treme, and met with much opposition. Possessing
great independence and firmness, he was conscien¬
tious in forming and fearless in maintaining his
opinions. His opposition, with that of Richard
Browne, to a tax levied by the governor and assist¬
ants, produced a result no less important than the
institution of a representative body in the govern¬
ment of the colony. He died July 1, 1644, at the
age of fifty-one. There is a tradition that he lived
in the house, yet standing, opposite the old bury-
ing-ground. This old house, whose solid oaken
frame is said to have been brought over by Sir
R. Saltonstall, has a projecting second story, partly
concealed by a modern piazza, and stands well back
from the street. Externally there is nothing to in¬
dicate great age, but its interior retains many marks
of antiquity. It formerly had three porticos, which
have been removed from its front, and a steep roof,
which has given place to one of much less altitude.
Mr. Phillips' first residence was burnt in 1630,
and this was perhaps the second house built on the
parsonage lot. Mr. Phillips's son Samuel was the
minister of Rowley. Most of the name in New
England are believed to have descended from
the minister of Watertowu; among them William
Phillips, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts,
Samuel and John, founders of the academies of
Andover and Exeter, John, the first mayor of
Boston, and Wendell Phillips, the philanthropist
and orator.
Rev. John Knowles, who was a native of Lin¬
colnshire, became a student at Magdalen College,
Cambridge, and was chosen a fellow of Katharine
Hall in 1625. He had here at one time forty
pupils, many of whom were subsequently distin¬
guished as members of parliament or as preachers.
Afterwards, when a lecturer at Colchester, he
incurred the enmity of Archbishop Laud, who
revoked his license, and in 1639 he came to New
England. Governor Wintlirop, speaking of his
ordination, and referring to the strict independency
of the Watertown church, says : " The church of
Watertown ordained Mr. Knowles, a good man
and a prime scholar pastor, and so they had now
two pastors and no teacher, differing from the
practice of the other churches, as also they did in
their privacy, not giving notice thereof to the neigh¬
boring churches, nor to the magistrates, as the com¬
mon practice was." After a pastorate of about ten
years Mr, Knowles returned to England, and
preached in the cathedral at Bristol until silenced
in 1662 by the Act of Uniformity. From Octo¬
ber, 1642, to June, 1643, he had performed mis¬
sionary labor in Virginia. He was privately
preaching in London when the plague broke out
in 1665, and rendered great service in that terrible
exigency. In 1672 he became colleague to Rev.
Thomas Kentish, at St. Katharine's, and died
April 10, 1685, at an advanced age.
Few of our early divines were so eminently dis¬
tinguished for intellectual gifts and Christian graces
as the Rev. John Sherman, born in Dedham, Essex,
England, December 26, 1613. His deep religious
impressions were derived from the ministry of
Rev. John Rogers. Educated at Trinity College,
Cambridge, he came, in 1634, to New England,
where he acquired a very high reputation, his elo¬
quence earning for him the title of "the golden-
mouthed preacher." Mather says that on a
Thanksgiving day, in Watertown, Mr. Sherman
preached his first sermon as an assistant to Mr.
Phillips, in the presence of many other divines,
who " wondered exceedingly " at this early display
of his ability. After two or three years' service
as a magistrate of New Haven colony, he became
Mr. Knowles' colleague in 1647, and was sole
pastor from 1650 until his death, August 8, 1685.
After his settlement he was chosen a fellow of Har¬
vard College, and for thirty years gave lectures
once a fortnight, which were attended by the stu¬
dents, who walked from Cambridge to hear him.
His favorite studies were astronomy and mathe¬
matics, in which he was the foremost man of his
time in this country. For many years he pub¬
lished an almanac, to which he added pious reflec¬
tions. He was one of the moderators of the
Reforming" Synod at Boston, in September, 1679,
and in 1682 preached before the convention of
ministers in Massachusetts. Mr. Sherman is said
to have had twenty-six children, twenty of whom
were by his second wife, a granddaughter of the
Earl of Rivers.
WATERTOWN.
451
Perhaps the first instance of an installation in
the colony was that of Eev. John Bailey, at Water-
town, October 6, 1686, the usual method of in¬
duction to clerical office being by ordination. He
was so popular that people flocked to the com¬
munion in such numbers that " the neighborhood
could not supply elements enough." Bom near
Blackboume, Lancashire, England, in 1643, he had
been for fourteen years a preacher in Limerick,
Ireland, but, having been silenced and thrown into
prison for non-conformity, came to Boston in 1684.
Ill health and melancholy caused his return to that
place in 1692, where hé was assistant minister
of the First Chnrch from 1693 until his death,
December 12, 1697. His brother, Eev. Thomas
Bailey, " a painful preacher," was his colleague in
Watertown from November 2, 1687, until his
death, January 21, 1689 j to whom Mr. Henry
Gibbs succeeded November 3, 1690. Mather,
alluding to the success of Mr. Bailey's ministry,
says, " He seemed rather to fish with a net than
with an hook for the Kingdom of God " ; and
John Dunton, who visited the brothers, thus refers
to them : " These are two popular preachers, and
are very generous to strangers. I heard Mr. John
upon these words, ' Looking unto Jesus,' and I
thought he spake like an angel."
Ever since Mr. Phillips' time there had been " an
earnest contending " about the place of meeting,
which was remote from the centre of the territory
and population of the town. The controversy cul¬
minated when Mr. Bailey removed to Boston in
1692, and the erection of a new house was pro¬
posed. The matter was referred to the governor
and council, who. May 18, 1693, advised the
building of a meeting-house for the whole town on
the knoll, between the house of Widow Stearns
and Whitney's Hill. The opposition to this plan
by the east part of the town was so fierce that a
town-meeting, held October 2, 1694, was obliged
to be adjourned, " to prevent such inconvenience
as might justly be feared by reason of the heat of
spirit that then seemed to prevail." Notwith¬
standing the strong opposition, eighty-two resi¬
dents of the eastern and thirty-three of the western
portions of the town uniting in a protest against it,
a levy was made and a house built on the south¬
east comer of Lexington and Belmont streets, in
which a town-meeting was held December 20,
1695, and February 4, 1696, it was accepted by
the town as the place of public worship. In March
the town voted that town-meetings should in future
be held in it. Mr. Samuel Angier, son of Edmund
Angier, of Cambridge, where he was bom March
17, 1655, was called to preach in the new house
August 28, 1696, and ordained May 25, 1697.
Descended maternally from the famous Dr. Wil¬
liam Ames, he was graduated at Harvard Col¬
lege in 1673, was ordained at Rehoboth, October
19, 1679, and died in Watertown, January 21,
1719. When the town was divided, Mr. Angier's
society built their meeting-house in the West Pre¬
cinct, and it became the church of Waltham. Mr.
Angier's successor (1723 -1751) wasBev. Warham
Williams, son of Rev. John, of Deerfield, who with
his family was carried away into captivity by the
Indians in 1704.
Mr. Gibbs, who had declined the offers of the
western party, and who was fully in sympathy with
the people at the east end of the town, to whom
he had preached in the old house for nearly seven
years, was ordained over the new society, organ¬
ized here October 6, 1697. So much ill-feeling
had grown out of this quarrel that, though the day
was cold, the ceremony, which took place in the,
afternoon, was obliged to be performed in the open
air. The western party, having the selectmen on
their side, got possession of the meeting-house,
and would not suffer the assembly to enter there.
Henry, son of Robert Gibbs, a wealthy and promi¬
nent merchant of Boston, graduated at Harvard
College in 1685, and died October 21, 1723, aged
fifty-five. His sound sense and discretion is seen
in the fact that, in the difficult position in which
he was placed, and amid the angry discussion and
strife that prevailed in the town during his min¬
istry, he was held in the highest respect, and re¬
ceived no word of censure from either faction. He
possessed warm piety, real kindness, and a well-
directed zeal in doing good. Though his habit
was to write his sermons on the bellows in the
chimney-corner, it should not be inferred that they
were at all inflated thereby, his pulpit ministrations
being highly esteemed both by his own and neigh¬
boring parishes. His society, embracing the whole
of the Easterq Precinct, continued to occupy the
old meeting-house.
A Mr. Robert Sturgeon, having, " without due
advice and direction, gone on to the public actions
of a pastour " to a small number of brethren, who
had attempted the formation of a third church,
soon found himself in troubled waters. A council
of fourteen churches, convened at Watertown, May
1, 1722, with Rev. Cotton Mather for moderator.
452
EISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
declared that he had no right to the office of pastor
among them ; that he ought no longer to preach
nor exercise any part of the ministry there ; and
judged him unworthy to be employed until he
made "a public satisfaction." The brethren were
at the same time admonished " to repent of and
depart from their disorderly and schismaticall pro¬
ceedings, as they would avoid a further and more
awful censure upon their offences." Mr. Sturgeon
was also indicted by the grand jury for " continu¬
ing his wicked and malicious inclinations to over¬
throw, ruin, and subvert, as well the churches of
said Watertown as the other churches of this prov¬
ince," and was found guilty and fined £20 and
costs. All this terrible outcry was owing to the
fact that those best accommodated by the Angier
meeting-house where it was were not disposed to
comply with the advice of the committee, and de¬
termined to maintain worship where for twenty-
five years they had gathered for that purpose,
and had employed Mr. Sturgeon as their pastor.
Though the persons principally complained of
declined to attend the council, they heeded its
admonitions. Mr. Sturgeon's friends gradually
withdrew, and the meeting-house, which for thirty
years had been a bone of contention, was closed,
and has long since disappeared.
Mr. Gibbs' successors in the First Church were :
Seth Storer, from 1724 to 1774; Daniel Adams,
from April to August, 1778 ; Richard E. Elliott,
a descendant of the Apostle to the Indians, from
1780 to 1818; Convers Francis, from 1819 to
1842; John Weiss, from, 1843 to 1847; Has-
brouck Davis, from 1849 to 1853; George Brad¬
ford, from 1856 to 1859 ; Arthur B. Fuller, from
1860 to 1862; John Weiss, from 1862 to 1869;
James T. Bixby, from 1870 to 1873; Joseph F.
Lovering, from 1875 to July 30, 1878. During
the period in which his functions in the Brattle-
Street Church, Boston, were suspended by British
occupancy, the eminently patriotic Dr. Samuel
Cooper ministered to the Watertown church.
Many of the early settlers of the Farms were
from five to eight miles distant from_ the meeting¬
house, and attended the meeting in Sudbury, but
were taxed for the support of the ministry in
Watertown. At a town-meeting held January 6,
1701-1702, it was voted that " the bounds of the
Farmers' Precinct for the ministry is from Charles
River along the brook called Stony Brook, that
Cometh out of a pond called Beaver Pond, said
precinct being on the westerly side of said brook."
Already, in Màrch, 1700, the farmers had built and
occupied a small house of worship, thirty feet square,
on the land of Nathaniel Coolidge, a little in front
of the present house. A church having been gath¬
ered and organized here, Mr. William Williams
was ordained pastor, November 2,1709, some three
years before the Farms were incorporated as the
town of Weston.
A Universalist church, erected by the Watertown
and Newton societies, was dedicated August 15,
1827, and Rev. Russell Streeter installed pastor.
He was succeeded by Rev. W. S. Balch, May 15,
1830. Services were discontinued in November,
1865, and the building, which is on Galen Street,
is now the South Grammar School.
The Baptist Meeting-house, built in 1858, is on
the site of the first edifice, dedicated August 19,
1830, at which time Rev. Peter Chase was installed
pastor. The society was organized, with forty-six
members, July 18, 1830, at the house of Jesse
Wheeler. Its pastors since Mr. Chase have been :
Nicholas Medbury, from October 19, 1832, to
August 15, 1843; Edward D. Very, from Decem¬
ber 19, 1843, to January 28, 1845; Charles H.
Colver, from January 28, 1846, to 1850; B. A.
Edwards, from September 17, 1850, to 1855 ;
William L. Brown, from February 2, 1855, to
February 1,1861 ; Alfred S. Patton, from June 11,
1861, to 1866 ; William F. Stubbert, from Feb¬
ruary 13, 1866, to 1869; G. S. Abbott, from
December 14, 1869, to November, 1876; Edward
A. Capen, November 21,1877. The present mem¬
bership is two hundred and eighty-four.
The Methodist Society originated at the house of
Leonard Whitney, where its meetings continued to
be held until, in the autumn of 1837, they bought
the academy building on the hill. This estate was
sold in June, 1847, and has since been in the pos¬
session of the Roman Catholics. The present church,
on Main Street, was consecrated October 20, 1847.
The weathercock that surmounted its steeple, for¬
merly belonging to the First Church, was blown
down in February, 1879, but is carefully preserved.
The society, consisting at first of four persons, —
Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Whitney, John Devall, and
Joshua Rhoades, — now numbers one hundred and
twenty. Its first class was established and a Sun¬
day school formed October 4, 1836, and at nearly
the same period Charles S. Macreading officiated
as pastor. Father Pickering was appointed their
first conference brother, June 17, 1837. The pres¬
ent pastor is T. W. Bishop.
WATERTOWN.
453
The Phillips Congregational Church was organized
April 17, 1855, with twenty-six members, Eev.
Dr. Lyman Beecher acting pastor. Until its first
edifice was ready for occupancy in April, 1857,
services were held in the town-hall, where Dr.
Beecher, the champion of Orthodoxy, preached once
each Sunday, another discourse of a decidedly un¬
orthodox complexion being given by Rev. Theodore
Parker in the same place, on the same day, to se-
ceders from the First Church. The present house,
first occupied January 12, 1862, is on the site of
the first, which M'as burned down on the night of
January 13, 1861. Its successive pastors have
been : S. R. Dennen, D. D., from July 11, 1855,
to August 1,1862 ; James M. Bell, from April 23,
1865, to May 23, 1871 ; Edwin P. Wilson, July 5,
1872. In the interim between the pastorates of
Messrs. Dennen and Bell, W^illiam L. Gage, now of
Hartford, preached one year, but was not settled.
Besides the religious organizations above named,
there is St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, of
which Rev. Robert P. Stack is rector.
Education. — Public instruction had before 1649
been made compulsory, each town of fifty house¬
holders being required to have a school for reading
and writing, while each town of one hundred house¬
holders must have a grammar school, with a teacher
competent to fit youths for the university. In
that year the first school-house in the town m'as
erected, probably on School-house Hill, and David
Mitchell was requested to teach. The first known
teacher, Richard Norcross, was hired January 6,
1650 - 51, one year for £30, he being also allowed
2«. a head for keeping the dry herd. Norcross
continued to teach until 1701, when he was seventy-
nine years of age.
In 1667 the school was to be free to the inhabi¬
tants, others to pay as before, " their pay to go
toM'ards the teacher's salary." In 1667 the school
hours were eight, between 7 a. m. and 5 p. m., from
Mi^ to September, six hours from September to
November, and in winter from 10 to 2. In 1679
the selectmen agreed that " they would go two and
two through the town to see that all the childrefl
be taught to read the English tongue, and some
orthodox catechism, and to take the names of all
youths from ten years' old unto twenty years' old,
that they may be publicly catechised by the pastor
in the meeting-house." In 1683 those west of
Stony Brook were freed from the school tax, that
they might provide their own teaching. In 1694
schooling was to be paid by the parents, " for Eng¬
lish Sd. per week, writing 4rf. a week, Latin 6d.
a week. The teacher also to. catechise scholars
and all other persons that are sent to him." In
1709 a school-house was built near Mr. Angler's
meeting-house, 25 x 20 feet.
In accordance with the recommendation of the
legislature in 1733, the town in that year resolved
to have two school-houses, and to employ two
schoolmasters. In 1771 it was agreed that there
should be five women's schools, three on the north
side of the town and two on the south side, and to
allow 5i. and 4a!. per week to each of the mistresses
" they finding houses to keep in. Said schools to
be kept twelve weeks each." In 1830 there were
four public schools, two of which were kept through¬
out the year, the other two being taught by masters
in the winter and by female teachers in the summer,
average attendance about 240. There are now six
public schools, including a high school established
in 1853, with an average attendance of 876.
On the southeast corner of Arlington and Mount
Auburn streets is one of the oldest graveyards in
New England. The first mention of it in the town
records occurs July 5, 1645, when a "sufficient"
fence was ordered to be set up about it. There
is a tradition that on the opposite side of Mount
Auburn Street, on the southerly corner of Joseph
Bird's estate, there was an earlier burial-place, soon
abandoned. Among the oldest stones remaining
are those of Sarah Hammond, 1674, Captain Hugh
Mason, 1678, and Hannah Coolidge, 1680. Here
are the tombs of Rev. Thomas Bailey and his wife,
" Pious Lydia," m'ith their quaint inscriptions ;
and here also a plain granite shaft, erected by his
descendants, April 19, 1875, commemorates the
patriot Joseph Coolidge, m'ho fell at Lexington
just a century before. The two next graveyards
originated in a vote of the town January 1, 1702
-1703. That of Mr. Angier's society on Grove
Street, near Beaver Brook, was the only one in
Waltham for more than a hundred years. The
Weston burying-ground was near the meeting¬
house. The Yillage Burying-Ground, in Water-
town, at the intersection of Mount Auburn and
Common streets, dating from 1754, has been re¬
cently enlarged upon its northern border. Since
its opening few interments have been made in the
old yard. ,
Mount Auburn Cemetery, the first of the rural
cemeteries of America, renowned for its extent, its
natural beauty, and its artificial embellishments, is
the burial-place of many of the wealthy and dis-
454
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
tinguished of the metropolis of New England, and
of a wide region around it. Situated in the midst
of the small lots of the first planters of tlie town,
its area of one hundred acres doubtless includes
some of their old homestalls. Owing to the
roughness of its surface, its thick, growth of forest
trees, its ravines and rocky eminences, little of its
area was adapted to tillage. Much of Deacon
Simon Stone's estate of fifty acres is probably em-
braeed in it, hence its old name, — Stone's Woods.
A number of Deacon Stone's descendants yet reside
on portions of the ancestral estate, while on the
very spot where he first pitched his tent Mr. Win¬
chester, thirty years ago, erected what was at that
time the finest mansion on Charles Eiver. Mount
Auburn had for many years been the resort of
parties of pleasure, when it came into the posses¬
sion of Mr. George W. Brimmer, who sold it for
$6,000 to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society
for a cemetery, the idea of which originated with
Dr. Jacob Bigelow. It was formally dedicated
September 24,1831. Its beautiful chapel contains
statues of John Winthrop by Greenough, John
Adams by Sogers, Joseph Story by his son, Wil¬
liam W. Story, and James Otis by Crawford.
A little to the east of Mount Auburn Mr. Eich-
ard Browne was allowed by the court, November 5,
1633, "to keep a Ferry over Charles Eiver against
his house, to have 2 J. for every single person he
so transports and \d. apiece if there be two or
more."
The earliest bridge in Watertown was the foot¬
bridge over Charles Eiver at the head of tide-water,
very near the first mill, usually called Mill Bridge,
or the Great Bridge. In June, 1641, the court or¬
dered that " the toll of Mr. Mayhew's bridge is
referred to the Governor and two magistrates to
settle for 7 years." In 1643 the court granted
Mayhew 300 acres of land in regard of his charges
about the bridge at Watertown mill, and the bridge
to belong to the country. The first horse-bridge
was built here in 1648. Its frequent repairs or re¬
building in the first hundred years was a heavy bur¬
den to the town, and aid was several times asked of
the county, but without success. The first bridge
for wheel-carriages was built about 1720, where the
present bridge is, a few rods above the site of the
original structure.
The fishery of Charles Eiver was formerly let
out by the town, and produced an annual income
of some $700, there being "great store" of bass,
shad, and alewives. Latterly this sum had been
divided between Watertown and Brighton, the lat¬
ter receiving three tenths. Owing to the impuri¬
ties discharged from the gas-works, the dye-house,
and the factories, the fish ceased to come up the
river, and since 1860 no income has been derived
from this source. The weir was built just below
the fall, in the spring of 1632, probably by the
enterprising John Oldham, whose house, burned
in August following, stood near it. Governor
Winthrop's assent to its erection, without an order
of the court, was brought up against him by Dep¬
uty-Governor Dudley when, not long afterward,
these two worthies had their famous quarrel.
Owned at first by the town, the weir afterwards
became private property, and was held in shares.
In 1634 fishing near it with nets was prohibited.
In 1635 " four rods in breadth on each side of tlie
Eiver and in length as far as need shall require, so
as not to prejudice the water mill," was granted jt,
also in 1636 a tract of one hundred and fifty acres
on the south side of the river opposite the bridge,
confirmed by the court to Thomas Mayhew in
1641. In 1671 the Indians, being " like to buy
tlie privilege," and " being like to be bad neigh¬
bors," the town voted, " all as one man," to pur¬
chase the weir for the use of the town. After
Waltham and Weston were incorporated they re¬
tained a joint proprietorship in the weir, which
continued until cancelled in 1802, on condition of
their exoneration from contributing to the main¬
tenance of the Great Bridge over Charles Eiver.
Complaints were made of the Watertown people
to the General Court as early as in 1738, and fre¬
quently thereafter, by Newton, Natick, and other
towns, for stopping the course of the fish in the
river.
It is probable that the first mill in Watertown
was built in 1634 by Edward How. It was
a grist-mill, on Mill Creek, a canal partly or
wholly artificial, leaving the river at the head of
the falls, where a stone dam was afterward made
across the river. During Philip's War the mill
was intrusted to the guard of Eichard Sanger,
his two sons, and three others. In 1789 Daniel
Jackson had a saw-mill here. In 1795 Messrs.
G. and F. Williams had a paper-mill here, the
same afterwards known as Annis', and latterly as
Hollingsworth and Whitney's. A fulling-mill on
Beaver Brook, supposed to have been where Ken¬
dall's Mills now are, was the next mill built here.
In 1679 a corn-mill was set up on Stony Brook.
About 1760 David Bemis built a mill about a mile
United States Arsenal.
WATERTOWN.
457
above the old one, and another was built by John
Boies where the Waltham factories have since been
built. Since the opening of the century a number
have been erected, absorbing a large amount of
capital, and giving employment to numerous fami¬
lies.
In 1778 the dam at Bemis' Station, where the
Etna Mills now are, about one mile above the old
mill, was built by David Bemis and Dr. Enos
Sumner. Bemis owned two thirds of a paper-mill
on the Newton side, built in 1779, and before 1790
also carried on a grist-mill and snuff-mill on the
Watertown side, — the first mill at that point.
His son Seth became sole proprietor about 1796,
and in 1803 began to spin cotton by machinery,
a business that proved exceedingly profitable.
Cotton sail-duck, for which a twisting-machine of
forty-eight spindles was constructed, was first made
here in 1809. In 1816 the introduction of the
power-loom and other improvements reduced the
price of duck one half. Afterwards, in connection
with his son, Seth, Jr., and until he gave up busi¬
ness in 1836, he made mis the leading factory in
the country for grinding and preparing dyestuffs.
Having in 1821 become sole owner of the water-
power, Mr. Bemis built the j)resent stone rolling
dam in front of the old one. The Bemis Manufac¬
turing Company, incorporated in 1827, transferred
its property and rights in 1860 to the Etna Mill
Company, which enlarged the works, and which
manufactures woollen fabrics by both water and
steam power. Between 1790 and 1796 Bemis
constructed a bridge over the river, which in 1807
was swept away by a freshet. A foot-bridge,
built soon after, was also swept away in 1818.
The present bridge was built not long after.
In September, 1635, John Masters was licensed
by the court to keep an ordinary. June 6, 1637,
George Mümlings was fined 20«. for selling-beer,
and keeping a house of entertainment without a
license. Captain Eichard Beers was licensed in
1654, and Captain Abner Crafts in 1772. South
of tlie bridge, on the east side of the way, is an old
building of the Eevolutionary era kept as a tavern
from 1764 to 1770 by Nathaniel Coolidge, and
afterwards by his widow. It was in 1770 known
as the "sign of Mr. Wilkes near Nonantum
Bridge," and was the appointed rendezvous for the
Committee of Safety in May, 1775. Here Wash¬
ington tarried while on his way to Cambridge to
take command of the army, in order to pay his
respects to Congress, then in session, and here too
he lodged while making his presidential tour in
1789. Opposite the entrance to California Street,
near by, is the old John Cook house, where Henry
Knox, afterwards General Knox, resided for a while
in 1775. In one of its chambers Paul Eevere en¬
graved and printed the colony notes issued by the
Provincial Congress.
The Spring Hotel, built of brick in 1824 by a
son of Dr. Spring, was partly burned in the great
fire of 1841. On its site Caleb Church kept an
ordinary from 1686 to 1711. His successor was
Thomas Learned, licensed in 1712. Mary, his
widow, and Iiis sons, Abijah and Bezaleel, kept it
successively until 1771.
Early in 1816 Captain Talcott, an oflficer of the
army, selected the site for the United States Arse¬
nal at Watertown, on the margin of the Charles
River, wliere the first landing of white men in that
town had been made, the state ceding to the United
States the jurisdiction of an area not to exceed
sixty acres. To the original purchase of forty
acres subsequent additions were made, the last of
which, September 25, 1867, of forty-four acres,
brought its total area up to one hundred acres.
An encampment of about fifty friendly Indians,
of the Stockbridge tribe, nestled here during
the investment of Boston by the patriot army, in
1775-76.
The buildings, completed in 1820 under the
superintendence of Captain Talcott, were two maga¬
zines of stone, erected several hundred feet from
the other buildings, which are of brick, upon the
four sides of a parallelogram, which faces the four
cardinal points, the spaces between being filled by
a wall fifteen feet in height. There have since
been constructed a number of other buildings,
some of them made necessary by the exigencies of
the great civil war, rendering it an arsenal of con¬
struction as well as of deposit. These include two
large timber store-houses, a carriage and machine
shop, and a smith's shop ; also a laboratory, gas¬
works, brass and iron foundry, and new quarters
for the commanding oflficer, built in 1865.
During the War of the Rebellion Captain, after¬
wards Brevet Brigadier-General, T. J. Rodman, the
inventor of the famous Rodman gun, was in com¬
mand, the working force at that time being up¬
wards of one thousand persons, including men,
women, boys, and girls. The operations were
confined principally to the manufacture of wood¬
en field-carriages, iron carriages for heavy sea-
coast guns, artillery implements and equipments,
458
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ammuiiition for small arms and for field, siege,
and sea-coast service. The enlisted force dur¬
ing the war was one hundred and ten men j the
present number is twenty-two.
Colonel Theodore T. S. Laidley, of Virginia, a
graduate from West Point in 1842, has been in
command since April 11,1871. The former com¬
manders have been : Captain George Talcott, 1816
— 1820 ; Major Abraham R. Woolley, 1820-1821;
Lieutenant David T. Welch, 1821 -1823 ; Lieuten¬
ant John W. Thompson, 1823-1824; Lieutenant
D. Van Ness, 1825 ; Major H. K. Craig, 1825 -
1838; Major M. P. Lomax, 1838-1842; J. A.
Webber, military store-keeper, 1842-1849; Cap¬
tain W. A. Thornton, 1849 -1851 ; Major E.
Harding, 1851-1854; Lieutenant-Colonel J. W.
Ripley, 1854-1855; Captain R. A. Wainwright,
1855-1859; Captain T. J. Rodman, 1859-1865;
Lieutenant-Colonel C. P. Kingsbury, 1865-1870.
The town-hall was dedicated November 6,1846.
The free public library, established in 1868 and
opened for the delivery of books in March follow¬
ing, occupies' a portion of the builfiiog- It con¬
tains 12,000 volumes, nearly as many pamphlets,
and has a well-furnished reading-room. Water-
town has a National Bank, opened in 1873, and a
Saviiigs-Bank.
Pequossette Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons,
constituted in January, received its charter Decem¬
ber 23, 1857, having thirty-three members. Its
place of meeting until 1870 was in Dana's Block;
its present hall is in Noyes' Block, opposite the
town-hall. Most of the charter members of
Belmont Lodge, and many of Dalhousie Lodge,
Newton, received their degrees in Pequossette
Lodge. Its present membership is one hundred
and twenty-two.
In the early days property was very evenly dis¬
tributed. For eighty years after the first settle¬
ment there were not more than one or two inven¬
tories that exceeded £700. Taxation,as in all new
countries, was necessarily heavy. The annual ex¬
pense of supporting the ministry alone in the time
of Rev. Mr. Sherman was about two per cent of
the whole assessed value of the town. The num¬
ber of taxable persons between 1658 and 1685
fluctuated from 153 to 192. A tax of 4^. in the
pound for the building of a new meeting-house in
1695 amounted to £320 4«., showing a total
valuation of £19,212. In 1879 the total valua¬
tion was $7,027,500; number of polls, 1,266;
school-children between the ages of five and fifteen
years, 834 ; the number of dwelling-houses^ 905 ;
acres of land taxed, 2,048.
For a time the population of Watertown, as
shown by the tax-levy, equalled that of Boston,
but it was soon outstripped by the superior advan¬
tages of the seaport town. In the first two hun¬
dred years it increased very slowly. Beginning in
1630 with forty heads of families — about 250
persons — in 1840 it had increased only to 1,810
souls, owing in part to amputations of its territory,
and in part to successive migrations. These causes
were especially active between the years 1651, when
there were 160 families, and 1790, when they num¬
bered but 164. The largest increase, that of the
decennial period ending in 1875, when the census
showed a. population of 5,599, 1,456 of whom were
of foreign birth, was mainly due to building enter¬
prises.
Out of a population of 1,518 in 1820, 179 were
engaged in manufacturing and 145 in agricultural
pursuits. At present the occupations of the peo¬
ple are greatly diversified. According to the state
census of 1875 there were engaged in manufactur¬
ing and mechanical occupations, 851 ; trade and
transportation, 387 ; agriculture, 191. There were
twenty-six manufacturing establishments ; capital,
$1,033,075 ; value of product, $1,875,455 ; and
thirty-six other occupations, with a capital of
$272,292, producing $835,336. Value of hay
and other agricultural produce, $ 101,500. The
principal establishments are the Etna Woollen
Mill, a paper-mill, a manufactory of bronze goods,
and another for stoves. The Union Market, whose
extensive buildings make one of the stations of the
Fitchburg Railroad, now shares with Brighton the
large cattle-trade once exclusively belonging to the
latter.
Dr. Marshall Spring, a distinguished physician
of Watertown, descended from John, an early set¬
tler, and his wife, Elinor, was born February 19,
1741-42, and died January 7, 1818. Graduat¬
ing at Harvard College in 1762, he was aided in
obtaining his medical education by his maternal
uncle. Dr. Josiah Converse, who bequeathed to him
the larger part of his estate. With the exception
of a brief sojourn in the island of St. Eustatia, he
always resided in his native town, sustaining a
wide-spread professional repute, and attracting pa¬
tients from a great distance. In pleasant weather
his house, especially on Sunday mornings, was
thronged with persons seeking medical advice. He
was an acute observer, possessed great sagacity,
WATERTOWN.
459
and was one of the few who could successfully meet
Chief Justice Parsons in the keen encounter of wit.
Though a tory in the Revolution, fully and firmly
"convinced of the entire inexpediency of resist¬
ance," he was yet early in the field at Lexington,
on the 19th of April, 1775, devoting his skill to
his wounded fellow-citizens. So highly appre¬
ciated and so necessary to the people were his pro¬
fessional services, and so winniiigand benevolent were
his manners, that,odious to them as were his political
sentiments, he rarely suffered any serious annoyance
on that account, lie taught the school in Water-
town in 1763, was a representative in 1787, and
was frequently a member of the Executive Council
of Massachusetts. Dr. Spring was rather short in
stature, but was compact and well-proportioned,
and was one of the handsomest men of his time.
At his decease he left one of the largest estates
ever bequeathed by a professional man in the state.
Colonel William Bond, fourth in descent from
William, one of the early settlers of the town, was
born February 17,1733- 34. He was lieutenant-
colonel of the Middlesex regiment of Colonel Gardi¬
ner, M'ho fell mortally wounded at Bunker Hill,
and, succeeding to the command, led it in the disas¬
trous expedition to Canada. Retreating with the
enfeebled remains of the army to Mount Indepen¬
dence, opposite Ticonderoga, he died there of small¬
pox, August 31, 1776. The family residence for
one hundred and seventy years (1655 - 1825), now
in Belmont, and originally the homestead of Cap¬
tain William Jennison, was latterly the elegant seat
of Mr. John P. Cashing.
Dr. Henry Bond, a distinguished physician,
grandson of Colonel William, was born in Water-
town, March 21, 1790. Graduating at Dartmouth
College in 1813, he studied medicine, and settled in
Concord, New Hampshire, in 1816, but iii 1819
removed to Philadelphia, where he became eminent
in his profession, and died there. May 4,1859. In
1855 he published his History and Genealogies of
Waieriown, one of the most valuable contributions
to this department of research ever made. Dr.
Bond was also the author of many important papers
upon subjects connected with his profession.
John P. Cushing, a wealthy and benevolent citi¬
zen of Watertown, died in Belmont, April 12,1862,
aged seventy-six. Having in early life amassed
a fortune in China, his subsequent career was
marked by active participation in public enter^
prises, and by liberal but unostentatious charities.
Ill his beautiful grounds, now belonging to Sam¬
uel R. Payson, he established a magnificent conser¬
vatory, wbich he liberally threw open to the public.
His garden, now included in the town of Belmont,
was a place of great attractiveness, to which thou¬
sands of admiring visitors flocked every season.
Convers Francis, D. D., a distinguished cler¬
gyman and scholar, was born in Arlington, No¬
vember 9, 1795 J died April 7, 1863. He grad¬
uated at Harvard College in 1815, and was
ordained over the First Parish of Watertown, June
23,1819. After a useful and successful service of
twenty-three years, he preached his farewell sermon
to his parish, August 21, 1842, when he entered
upon the duties of Professor of Pulpit Eloquence
and Pastoral Care at the Divinity School, Cam¬
bridge. Besides a historical sketch of Watertown,
he was the author of a life of the Apostle Eliot
in Sparks' series of American Biographies. He
was an industrious student, a ripe scholar, and a
genial and instructive companion. Dr. Francis,
who was the brother of Lydia Maria Child, resided
on the homestall formerly of Thomas Mayhew, on
the corner of Market Street and Riverside Place.
Harriet G. Hosmer, a distinguished sculptor,
was born in Watertown, in the house now the resi¬
dence of her cousin, Dr. Alfred Hosmer, October 9,
1830. At an early age she began modelling in
clay, and on her return home from a course of
anatomical study in the medical college of St. Louis
in 1851, she commenced her bust of Hesper, which
attracted great attention on its completion in 1852.
Her father then placed her under the instruction
of Gibson, the eminent English sculptor in Rome,
and there she has since resided, having won a high
reputation in her chosen profession.
Benjamin Robbins Curtis, one of the ablest of
American jurists, was born in Watertown, Novem¬
ber 4, 1809, and died in Newport, Rhode Island,
September 15, 1874. He was the son of Captain
Benjamin and Lois Robbins Curtis, and graduated
with distinction at Harvard College in 1829. He
then studied law, was admitted to practice in Bos¬
ton in 1834, attaining eminence in the profession,
was a member of the Massachusetts House of Rep¬
resentatives in 1851, and from 1851 to 1857 was
an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme
Court. In the famous Dred Scott Case Judge
Curtis dissented from the decision of the majority
of the court. In 1868 he was one of the counsel
of President Andrew Johnson when impeached by
the House of Representatives. His success in this
case greatly enhanced his reputation.
460
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
George Tyler Bigelow, Cliief Justice of the Su¬
preme Court of Massachusetts, bom in Watertown,
October 6, 1810, died in Boston, April 12, 1878.
He was the son of Tyler Bigelow, an eminent lawyer
of Watertown, graduated at Harvard College in
1829, and was admitted to the bar in 1834. From
1840 to 1848 he served in the state legislature;
was appointed a judge of the Court of Common
Pleas in 1848; was transferred to tiie Supreme
Bench, November 21, 1850 ; and was chief justice
from November 7, 1861, to January 1, 1868. As
a judge he possessed great administrative ability,
facility in the despatch of business, and patience,
willingness, and capacity to labor, performing his
duties with universal acceptance.
WAYLAND.
BY REV. JOSIAH H. TEMPLE.
NDEK its present name. Way-
land is one of the new towns
of the commonwealth. Under
former names, and by date of
grant and settlement, it is one
of our oldest plantations. Its
territory embraces about two
thirds of the lands originally
granted by the General Court
in the year 1637 as the town-
- the name now applied to that
part of the grant and subsequent additions which
lie on the west side of the river. The village of
Sudbury was laid out on the east side ; the meet¬
ing-house was built on this side, the corn-mill was
here, the graveyard was here, and all the religious,
civil, and educational interests centred here for a
period of about ninety years. In 1780 the town
was divided ; the new part retained the old name,
and the old part took the name of East Sudbury.
In 1835 tiie name was changed to Wayland. It
contains 10,051 acres. The Sudbury Eiver, which
is the leading natural feature of the place, forms the
westerly boundary for a distance of five miles and
two hundred and fifty-one rods ; runs within the
town four miles and two hundred and thirty-one
rods, making its total length between the south
and north bounds ten miles and one iiundred and
sixty-two rods. The town is bounded on the north
by Lincoln, east by Weston, south by Natick.'
It is a matter of interest to know how, at that
early date, the planters proceeded to organize a new
settlement in the wilderness.
' Vor act of incorporation, land grants, etc., see Sudbury.
The first step was to get leave of the General
Court to take up land for a plantation. A petition
was presented in the fall of 1637 ; and Novem¬
ber 20, a committee was appointed to " set out a
place for them by marks and bounds sufficient for
fifty or sixty families, upon the river that runs to
Concord.^' The township was laid out five miles
square.
The next step was to purchase the land of the
Indian proprietors. The first purchase appears to
have been made in the spring of 1638, by George
Munnings, as agent for the planters. The deed
was in existence among the town papers as late as
1693, but cannot now be found. The money was
advanced by Munnings and Brian Pendleton, and
repaid by the settlers. On making a survey, ten
years later, it was found that this deed did not
cover the five miles square, as actually laid out;
and in 1648 two strips of land additional were
bought of the Indian owner for five pounds. This
land lay to the southward and westward of the
original purchase. The last deed is preserved.
The third step was to lay out the village plot.
This was done in the fall of 1638. Tlie original
plan, which was in existence in 1693, is lost. The
following description is compiled from the boun¬
daries and dimensions of lots recorded in the town
book, aided by certain well-known natural marks
at prominent points, and the record of early high¬
ways.
The plot took in an irregular tract of land, whose
extreme length was about one and one half miles ;
the average breadth was less than half a mile ; tiie
area was about 400 acres. The home-lots were
sliip of Sudbury,
WAYL AND.
461
staked out on two streets, known as tlie North
Street and the South Street, corresponding in the
main to highways now in existence. The number
of house-lots provided for was fifty-four, each con¬
taining nominally four acres, but varying consid¬
erably to conform to the lay of the land.
Coming from Watertown, the travelled way at
that date ran from the Alpheus Bigelow estate,
over Pine Plain, as at present. The home-lots
began at the middle of the plain, near the fork of
the roads, twenty rods west of the house of James
S. Draper. From this point the North Street ran,
as now, by Clay-pit Hill and to the Training-Field,
turning near the house of Abel Gleason, and thence
bearing southwesterly as near tiie south margin of
the ponds as the ground would admit, and so
towards the town bridge. The South Street ran
from the before-mentioned fork on Pine Plain,
bearing southerly so as to strike the old mill-dam ;
then turning northerly on the margin of the pond,
crossing Mill Brook at Whale's Bridge ; then turn¬
ing southerly and southwesterly, leading by the
Parmenter estates and tlie house now owned by
Alden Wellington,formerly the Bridge Parsonage;
then following nearly the present street by the
cemetery, and uniting with the North Street some
distance to the west of the residence of Charles A.
Cutting. From a point near the old Parmenter
tavern the South Street parted into two, the south¬
erly branch running towards Bridle Point.
The majority of house-lots appear to have beeft
located ou the northerly side of the North Street
and on the southerly side of the South Street. The
space enclosed between the two streets was laid out
into the meeting-house lot, the ox-pasture, the
sheep-pasture, general planting-fields, and the
training-place ; the latter, however, extended a
considerable distance on the north side of the
street.
All the original planters had lots assigned them in
the village plot. And it is believed that all of them
who came in 1638, 1639, and 1640, with families,
built on' their lots. But within three years indi¬
viduals began to sell their homesteads to new-comers,
and to build on the newly granted uplands at vari¬
ous desirable points. The reasons for selecting
this as the village site were, conveniency of way to
Watertpwn, the general lay of the land and the
only available mill-seat, as well as proximity to
the choicest river meadow. And it was the laying
out of a new highway from the Alpheus Bigelow
corner to Mr. Dunster's farm in 1643, and the
simultaneous extension of the Bridle Point road
southward to connect with this new highway, that
attracted Edmund Rice (who first built on the
North Street in 1639) and a few others to locate
that year near "the spring"; and induced Parson
Browne, two years later, to erect his dwelling-house
on the peninsula south of Mill Brook.
The ■ next step was to provide a corn-mill. It
was set up in the spring of 1639 by Thomas Cake-
bread, and the stream on which it was placed was
called Mill Brook, according to the custom of the
times. Among the first public grants there was
" given to Thomas Cakebread, for and in consid¬
eration of building a mill, 40 acres of upland now
adjoining to the mill, and a little piece of meadow
downwards and a piece of meadow upwards, which
may be 16 or 20 acres. Also there is given, in
addition, for his accommodation of his estate, 30
acres of meadow and 40 acres of upland." Mr.
Cakebread died January 4,1642 - 43, and the mill
was purchased or leased by John Grout, who sub¬
sequently married the widow, and came in possession
of the entire mill property. It was held in the
Grout family for two or three generations.
The next step was to apportion the meadows to
the settlers. The home-lots, being of equal size,
without regard to the pecuniary ability of the
grantee, represented the common venture of the
planters, and their civil and political equality, and
were not taxed for ordinary town charges. The
meadows represented individual estates, and were
the basis of taxation, as they were the main source of
income. In the act of November 20, 1637, it was
provided that " the said persons appointed to set
out the said plantation are directed so to set out
the same as there may be 1,500 acres of meadow
allowed to it, if it be there to be had with any con¬
veniency, for the use of the town." And Septem¬
ber 4, 1639, it is ordered, "that Peter Noyes,
Edmund Browne, Edmund Rice ef aU. have com¬
mission to lay out lands to the present inhabitants,
according to their estates and persons, and their
abilities to improve their land."
The following rule of division of the meadows
was adopted : " To every Mr. of a ffamilie, 6 akers ;
to every wifle, 6 J akers ; to every child, 1J akers ;
to every mare, cow, ox, or any other cattle that
may amount to £ 20, or so much money, 3 akers."
Under this order the meadows were allotted in
three divisions, — the first under date of Septem¬
ber 4,1639 ; the second, April 20,1640; the third,
November 18, 1640. The following will indicate
462
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the comparative taxable estates of some of the lead¬
ing planters : " To Mr. Edmund Browne, 75 acres
of meadow ; to Mr. Peter Noyes, 72 acres ; Walter
Haynes, 63J acres; Edmund Rice, 42f acres;
Thomas Brown, 34^ acres ; John Bent, 30 acres;
John Parmenter, 26J acres ; Edmund Goodnow,
24 acres ; Henry Loker, 13 acres ; Hugh Griffin,
10J acres; William Brown, 8¿ acres ; JohnRutter,
3 acres."
In connection with the allotment of the meadows
to the inhabitants, the town set apart certain lands,
which were to be held sacred " for the use of the
ministry." Two meadow-lots on the west and two
on the east side of the river were thus " seques¬
tered," and later two or more lots of upland on
each side were added. These lots, both meadow
and upland, M'ere let out to individuals, and the
income used for the support of the pastor. The
west-side ministerial lands were sold in 1817 for
$3,200.96. The uplands on the east side have
been disposed of, but the two meadow-lots are still
held by the First Parish.
Instead of each man cultivating his own sepa¬
rate ffeld, the custom was adopted at the outset,
and continued for two generations, to assign gen¬
eral planting-fields. These were located at con¬
venient points, and the inhabitants living next to
these points were required to break up and utilize
each his proper share, and each was required to
make and keep in repair a part of the fence cor¬
responding to his part of the field. At first four
cornfields were laid out, soon after six, and in 1654
the number had increased to ten.
The earliest records name only " the highway."
This was the road from the village over Pine Plain
to Watertown. Every man in town was required
"to come forth to the mending of the highway
upon such time as they shall have lawful summons
by the surveyors, or forfeit for each default 5 shil¬
lings." The rules for working the highway were :
" 1. The poorest man shall work one day ; 2. for
every 6 acres of meadow a man hath, he shall work
one day." A road for the town's use, four rods
wide, was established at the outset, " between the
meadows and the uplands," from Bridle Point to
Concord line, and on the west side of the river
there was a similar road six rods wide. In 1643
the records name a way from Watertown to Mr.
Dunster's farm, which was laid out as a highway
in 1649. As already stated, the South Street was
extended across Mill Brook, just below the junction
of Pine Brook, and so on the east side, of the river
to Edmund Rice's farm and the new highway. A
foot and horse bridge across the river, at the point
where is now the Town Bridge, was built in 1640 ;
the first cart-bridge was built in the fall of 1643.
Where a town-way was laid across a man's home-
lot he was allowed to put in and maintain gates at
both his bound-lines, and travellers were required
to open and shut them as they passed.
Formation of the Chnrch.—No record of the
first gathering of the church in this town can he
found. But from the fact that Mr. Brown and
the leading planters were made freemen May 13,
1640, it is certain that a church had been organ¬
ized before that date. There are reasons for fix¬
ing the date March 1, 1640. The next February
Mr. Browne is named as " our pastor," and tradi¬
tion fixes his installation in August, 1640. His
salary in 1643 was £30 ; in 1646, £40; in 1647,
£50, "one half of which shall be paid either in
money, wheat, peas, butter, cheese, pork, beef, or
hemp and flax ; and he shall be paid at every quar¬
ter's end."
The clay-pit and brick-kiln are named in the
earliest town records. They were situated on tlie
North Street, and on the east side of Mill Brook.
In April, 1640, a considerable tract, lying be¬
tween the streets, towards Mill Brook, was laid out
as " a common pasture for working oxen."
At this date it was ordered " that aU hogs and
pigs kept in this town, from the 24th of April to
the 6th of Oct. that shall go about the town with¬
out yokes and rings, for every hog so found the
owner shall forfeit 10 shillings, the complainant to
have one-lialf the money, and the town the other
half."
March 29, 1641. " It is agreed that every cart
with 4 sufficient oxen & a man shall have for a
day's work 5 shillings; that men shall take for
mowing by the acre 14 pence for every acre, or one
& twenty pence per day : that all carpenters, brick¬
layers, and thatchers shall have nne & twenty pence
for a day's work, and common labourers 18 pence
a day : that all sawyers shall take for sawing of
board 3i. 4«?. the hundred, and for slit work they
shall take 4«. 8^. the hundred : that a yearly cov¬
enanted servant, the best of them shall take but 5
pounds for a year's service, and maid-servants, the
best of them shall take but 50 shillings : that none
shall take above 6 if. a bushel for the bringing up
of corn from Watertown to Sudbury, and 20 shil¬
lings a tunn for any other goods."
January 13, 1643, a large tract of land was
WAYLÂND.
463
laid out and established " to be a cow common
forever." This tract embraced the whole south¬
easterly comer of the original township. The
north Une ran from Mill Brook, near the present
centre, to Weston; the west line ran from Mill
Brook, on a south-by-west line, to the south bounds
of the five-miles grant, whieh it followed to Wes¬
ton, " which land so granted for a cow common
shall never be ceded or laid down without the con¬
sent of every inhabitant and townsman tliat hath
right in commonage." " The inhabitants are to be
limited or sized in the putting in of cattle upon the
said common, according to the quantity of meadow
the said inhabitants are stated in upon the division
of the Meadows." This rule of sizing seems to be
a simple and equitable one. But an attempt to
define and enforce it ten years later came near
breaking up the town and the church. These
commons were (not without opposition) lotted out
and distributed to the inhabitants, at three divis¬
ions, between the years 1705 and 1710.
Meeting-Home, — February 17, 1642-43, "It
is agreed between the townsmen on the onç part,
and John Butter on the other part, that the said
John shall fell, saw, hew & frame a house for a
meeting-house, 30 foot long, 20 foot wide, 8 ft.
between joints, 3 ft. between studs : Two cross
dorments in the house, six clear story windows,
2 with 4 lights apiece and four with 3 lights
apiece, and to intertie between the studs." The
town agreed to draw all the tiniber to place, and
help raise the house, and to pay said John for his
work £6. Baising-day was set for May 16, and
it was " ordered that every man who did not attend
the raising of the meeting house should forfeit
2i. 6^. for his default." This contract included
only the frame. The roof was covered with thatch,
put on by the thatehers ; the body of the house
was covered with oak cleft-boards or clapboards,
6 feet long, as indicated by the studding. The
cost of the roof and clapboarding was £10. The
floor was not laid till 1645. This house stood in
the old cemetery.
Cemetery. — The custom of the times was to
bury the dead close by the meeting-house. But
the site of the meeting-house was not chosen till
four years after the town was built ; and in the
mean time eight of the settlers had died. The tra¬
dition is — and it corresponds with known facts —
that these first dead were interred in the " old In¬
dian burying-ground," now connected with the
main part of the cemetery. The existence of grave¬
stones there favors the tradition. The three flat
stones lying near the centre of this old part proba¬
bly mark the spot where Thomas King, his wife,
and infant son were laid in the winter of 1642 - 43.
The finding of skeletons at the southeasterly end,
buried but a few feet below the surface, according
to Indian custom, confirms the belief that this place
was used by the natives for sepulture.
The pay of representative is given by the follow¬
ing extract : " Granted to Edmund Goodnow, for
his service done at the Court as deputy, 6 acres of
upland and 5 acres of meadow." In 1654 Edmund
Bice was paid " £ 6 in wheat, delivered at John Par- ,
meters, at 5 s. per bushel, for his service and charge
as deputy this past year."
Ill 1651 a contract was made with Edmund
Goodnow, that his son "should beat the drum
twice every Lecture day, and twice every forenoon
and twice every afternoon upon the Lord's day, to
give notice what time to come to meeting ; for
whieh the town agree to pay him 20 shillings a
year."
January 26, 1645 - 46, the town granted to
Bichard Sanger one half acre of land to set his
shop on; timber to build him a house; and six
acres of meadow, upon the condition that he stay
amongst us and do our smith's work for four years.
In 1654 the town agreed that John Parmenter,
Jr., "shall keep a house of entertainment." His
license was renewed for a series of years.
Indian Owners. — The owner of the lands com¬
prising the main part of the first five-miles grant
was Caato, sometimes written, as it was pronounced,
Carto. His English name was Goodmans. He is
mentioned in the colony records of 1637 ; and is
then associated with the squaw sachem of Medford
in the sale of "the weire at Concord, and all the
planting ground which hath been formerly planted
by the Indians there." This indicates that his
tribal relations were with the Misticks rather than
with the Nipnets. In our town records his name is
uniformily written Goodmans. The larger purchase
of lands of him in 1638, and the smaller one in
1648, have already been described. In relation to
the latter the records designate it " the last pur¬
chase of lands of Goodmans."
The subsequent fate of Caato is unknown. His
brother Jojenny was one of the Indians gathered
at Natick by the Apostle Eliot.
Another Indian who lived in the southerly part
of Wayland was Nataous, commonly called Wil¬
liam of Sudbury. He was a Nipnet, whose origi-
464
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
nal home was near Grafton. The historian Hub¬
bard speaks of him as " very familiar with the
whites." He was an attendant on the ministry of
Mr. Browne, and was converted to a belief in the
Christian religion by his preaching. He joined the
Christian Indians at Natick, and became a promi¬
nent leader there. When the Society for Propagat¬
ing the Gospel in New England made arrangements
with schoolmaster Corlett of Cambridge to educate
Indian youths in preparation for college, a son of
Nataous was sent there for instruction. It appears
that there were charges connected with the tuition
of this boy which the English society failed to pay ;
and Mr. Corlett obtained leave of the General Court
" to purchase of Netus the Indian so much land
as the said Netus is possessed of according to law
for the satisfaction of the debt." The original
amount due was £4 10«.; interest and charges raised
it to £ 7 10«. Under the court's order Edmund
Rice, Sr., and Thomas Noyes laid out to said Cor¬
lett, from the lands of said Netus, a farm of 320
acres.
In 1674 Netus is described by Gookin as
"among the good men and prudent, who were
rulers at Natick." But a year after, on the break¬
ing out of Philip's War, the Praying Indians were
treated by the provincial authorities as " treacher¬
ous heathen " ; and some of them proved their
inheritance in our common human nature by re¬
turning to heathen customs. February 1,.1676,
Netus headed a party of savages who attacked and
destroyed the family of Thomas Eames of Framing-
ham. He was killed the 27th of March following,
at Marlborough, and soon after his squaw was sold
into slavery.
The third Indian proprietorship was situated in
the southwesterly part of the town, mostly on the
"New Grants." It was held by Tantamous, alias
Jethro, Jehojakell, the Speene family, and others,
and was purchased by the town in 1684 for £12.
The noted Indian Bridge, a landmark often re¬
ferred to in the early records, was situated at an
angle in West Brook, northerly from Pelham's
Pond. There is now at the point a gravel bar,
which affords a crossing-place for teams. No de¬
scription of the bridge is extant.
The first grant of lands, adjacent to Sudbury, to
persons of distinction, was made June 6, 1639, to
Mrs. Elizabeth Glover, widow of Rev. Josse Glover.
This comprised a farm of six hundred acres, lying
" without the bounds " of the town on the south ;
but by the adjustment of lines with Framingham
in 1700 the northeasterly part of the farm fell
within the bounds of Way land.
Pelham's farm comprised " the Island," and was
wholly within our town bounds. It was granted,
September 4, 1639, to Herbert Pelham, Esq., who
put £100 into the common stock of the colony,
and was one of the assistants to the governor.
The farm was leased to tenants, and November 11,
1711, was sold by his heirs to Isaac Hunt and
Samuel Stone, Jr.
Dunster's farm — granted in 1640 to Henry
Dunster, president of Harvard College — lay to
the south and east of Mrs. Glover's, and was wholly
within the present bounds of Wayland. June 24,
1659, Edmund Rice and his son Benjamin bought
this farm of the executors of Mr. Du,nster's will.
Jennison's farm, of two hundred acres, lay on
the south bounds of the town, extending from the
Dunster farm to Weston line. This was granted
in 1638 (laid out in 1646) to Captain William
Jennison of Watertown, for service in the Pequot
War. It was sold, April 8, 1657, to Edmund
Rice.
Second Meeting-House. — In the summer of
1653 a new meeting-house was built on the old
spot. In size it was 40 X 25 feet, and 12 feet
high. It had gable-ends, two pinnacles, two
doors, four transom windows 6x5 feet, and a clear-
. story window in each gable-end 4x3 feet. The
outside was covered with clapboards four feet long.
The roof was covered with thatch. Inside it had
dorments across the house sufficient for galleries
if needed, " the two middle beams to be smoothed
on three sides, and the lower corners to be run
with a bowkell." The walls were cased with
smooth cedar boards up to the bottom of the win¬
dows, and from here to the beams were plastered
with tempered clay. The seats were of white oak,
" both posts and rails and benches."
Military. — May 13,1640, " Mr. Brian Pendle¬
ton is desired to train the company at Sudbury,
and Mr. Peter Noyes is appointed surveyor of arms
there." The town's proportion of powder, " which
they are to buy and pay for, is one barrel." Sep¬
tember 27, 1642, Ancient (Ensign) Cakebread is
appointed to lead the company. In 1648, and
again in 1652, it is ordered that the meeting-house
be used as a wmtch-house. In 1668 the town sold
a piece of meadow near the brick-kiln, and six
acres of upland to Kathom Read for £6 in money,
" to buy silk for a suitable flight of colours for the
use of the military company."
A Brare Woman.
IFA YLAND.
467
Oll the breaking out of Philip's War, in 1675,
the only preparations for defence were the three
west-side garrison-houses, and the meeting-house
on the east side. The latter was not fortified, but
its position was strong. Early in the summer
Parson Browne, who lived on the southerly side of
Mill Brook, began to build a stockade around his
premises. In a letter dated September 26, 1675,
addressed to the governor, he says : " I have been
at a round charge to fortify my house, and except¬
ing finishing the two flankers and my gate, have
finished : Now without four hands I cannot well
secure it, and if for want of hands I be beaten out,
it will be very advantageous to the enemy, and a
thorn to the town." The governor and council
granted him the four men as guards, and he main¬
tained them at his own expense. By order of the
selectmen, all the families living in the south part
of the town, and above Mill Brook, fled to this
stockade in case of imminent danger.
Alarms were frequent. The woods were pes¬
tered with Indians. Smokes were seen on the
hills, indicating the camps of the savages. Men
were fired upon when passing from one place to
another. The able-bodied men were pressed into
the country's service, or were required for watch¬
ing, warding, and scouting near home. " At the
request of Ensign Grout, Left. Epb"" Curtis was
ordered, with such volunteers as would join him,
to march into the woods, and endeavour to surprise,
kill, and destroy any of our Indian enemy." No¬
vember 22,1675, Sudbury was ordered " to impress
nine able-bodied men for the service of the country."
The next February an order was issued dismissing
all the garrison soldiers at Sudbury. March 22,
this town was ordered to furnish six men and three
horses "to garrison Brookfield." April 8, the
selectmen petitioned the governor, " by reason of
the approach of the Indian enemy near our town,
that 20 men may be sent to be under the conduct
of Lieut. Ephraim Curtis, to be improved as a
scout, to range the woods, and be in readiness
upou any occasion, if the enemy should set upon
us. And we shall add unto the said scout so many
men more out of our town, altho' we can hardly
spare them and secure our garrisons."
But the Indian assault of April 21 came unex¬
pectedly. The pastor's stockade and the west-side
garrisons were well manned, and afforded protection
to the inhabitants. The high water alone saved
the village, as the savages could cross only at the
town bridge. As soon, however, as Captain Wads-
worth's force was defeated, a large body of Indians
rushed across the river, and began the work of
destruction near the bridge. At this juncture Cap¬
tain Mason's Watertown company arrived ; and
being joined by our townsmen made an attack and
" drove near 200 Indians over the river and followeci
them, and went to see if we could relieve Capt.
Wadsworth upon the Hill"; but they were driven
back. When it was dark this company crossed
the river again, and went to Mr. Noyes' mill, where
they " found 145 or 14 of Capt. W.'s men who bad
escaped, some of them wounded, and brought them
to the village On the next day in the morn¬
ing, so soon as it was light, we went to look for
Concord men who were slain in the river meadow,
and there we went in the cold water up to our
knees, where we found 5, and brought them in
canoes to the bridge-foot, and buried tbem there."
These Concord men were buried on the east side
of the river. A considerable number of the houses
situated in the westerly part of the village were
burnt.
Immediately after this affair the town bestirred
itself and built a heavy stockade, with flankers,
around the meeting-house. This fort stood till
1681, when it was taken down and the logs used
to repair the old pound.
Schools. — The first mention of schools in the
town records is under date of February 20, 1664
- 65, when Mr. Thomas Walker petitioned for a
grant of land " for his encouragement to keep a
free school in Town."
In an official return made March 30, 1680, the
selectmen say : " As for schools, though there be
no stated school in this town, for that the inhabi¬
tants are so scattered in their dwellings that it
cannot well be, yet such is the case by having two
school dames on each side of the river that teacheth
small children to spell and read, which is so man¬
aged by their parents and governours at home and
prosecuted after such a sort as that the selectmen
who distributed themselves did within three months
last past so examine families children and youth,
both as to good manners, orderly living, catechising
and reading as that they returned from all parts a
comfortable and good account of all those matters,
and render them growing in several families beyond
expectation, rarely reprovable anywhere, encourag¬
ing in most places and in others very commendable,
so as that the end is accomplished hitherto. And
for teaching to write and cypher, here is Mr. Thomas
Walker and two or three others about this town
4G8
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
that do teach therein, and are ready to teach all
others that need, if people will come or send them.
And touching persons who live from under family
government, or after a dissolute or disorderly
manner to the dishonour of God and corrupting of
youth, the selectmen do return their answer that
they find none such amongst us."
In 1690 the town was presented for want of a
school. October 2, 1692, John Long was chosen
by the town as " a.wrighteiug schoolmaster to teach
children to wright and cast acounte." Mr. Long
continued in the service of the town till 1700, when
Mr. Joseph Noyes was chosen grammar school
master.
Up to 1714 no school-house had been built in
town. Schools were kept in private houses ; and
the records intimate that the meeting-house was
sometimes used for school purposes. Near this
date the west-side inhabitants, having been granted
the privilege of forming a new precinct, built a
school-house at the Gravel Pits at their own charge.
This was used by the people living on both sides
of the river, for about ten years.
November 24, 1725, the town voted "that each
Precinct be empowered to build each of them a
school-house, out of the interest of the Bank money
that is or should be in the Trustees' hands."
In 1729 the East Precinct voted "to build a
scbool-house 18 ft. wide by 22 ft. long and 8ft.
between joints, with a good brick chimney and
fire-place at one end, and. a place to hang a bell at
the other end." For several years but one school¬
master was employed, teaching six months in one
house and six in the other.
In 1734 the town instructed their representative
to move the General Court in behalf of the town,
for a school farm in some of the unappropriated
lands.
In 1735 two schoolmasters were employed, one
in each precinct, at an annual salary of £ 60 each.
In May, 1740, the town granted £72, Old Tenor,
for the support of grammar schools ; and voted
that the schools should be kept in the four different
quarters of the town. This was the origin of the
district system, the districts being known as the
Northwest, Lanham, the Centre, and the Farm
School. Within a few years school-houses were
erected in the four quarters.
Mr. Edmund Brown, the first minister, died
June 22, 1678. He married, about 1645, Anne,
widow of John Loveran of Watertown. They left
no children. According to Mather, "he was of
those who were in the actual exercise of the ministry
when he left England." Johnson speaks of him as
"a godly and able minister of the word." He was
much honored in social life, being on terms of in¬
timacy with the family of Governor Leverett. He
was a member of the Synod that established the
Cambridge Platform, 1646 -1648 ; and was on the
council that met, October, 1657, to settle the diffi¬
culties in Eev. Mr. Stone's church at Hartford.
Besides large grants as an original proprietor of
Sudbury, he received from the General Court sev¬
eral valuable meadows in Framingham. His landed
estates, acquired by gift and purchase, could not
have been less than three hundred acres. His
house, called in his will Brunswick, that is, " man¬
sion by the stream," was of ample dimensions, two
stories high, and well furnished. His library com¬
prised one hundred and eighty volumes. He left
the sum of £50 for establishing a grammar school
in Sudbury, but by vote of the town in 1724 it
was diverted to another purpose.
Eev. James Sherman succeeded Mr. Browne as
pastor. He was settled in the winter of 1678-79;
was dismissed May 22,1705 ; died March 3,1718.
He was son of Eev. John Sherman of Watertown ;
married Mary, daughter of Thomas Walker of
Sudbury, and had two sons, John and Thomas.
After leaving the ministry he practised medicine at
Elizabethtown, New Jersey, and Salem, Massachu¬
setts.
Third Meeting-house. — In 1686 the town
"voted, ordered and agreed to erect a meeting¬
house, just like the new one in Dedham," at a cost
of £200.
July 1, 1695, Edward Wright and John Good-
now were appointed a committee, and bought a
bell of Mr. Caleb Hubbard, of Braintree, for £27
in silver money ; and the selectmen were ordered
to procure half a hundred of good Spanish iron for
bolts and keys necessary for hanging the bell, and
a wheel-rope.
The Eev. Israel Loring, born at Hingham (H. U.
1701), was ordained November 20, 1706. At this
date tlie number of church-members was : males
forty-one, females seventy-nine ; total one hundred
and twenty.
Immediately after the settlement of Mr. Loring
a movement began, to divide the town into two
precincts, for the purpose of supporting two
churches. October 21, 1707, the inhabitants on
the west side of the river sent a petition to the
General Court, to be set off into a separate pre-
WAYL AND.
469
einet; not granted. In 1713 the east-side inhabi¬
tants proposed to move the meeting-house " as near
as possible to the centre of the town " ; not ac¬
cepted by the west-siders. In 1714 the west-side
people petitioned the legislature "to be erected
into a new township." This was not granted; but
October 28, it was ordered " tiiat there be a dis¬
tinct Precinct and a meeting-house, erected for tlie
public worsiiip of God, on the west side of Sud¬
bury Eiver." The formal organization of the
West Precinct took place December 18, 1721,
when it was voted " to have the preaching of the
word of God amongst us"; and Mr. Minott was
chosen to preach for six weeks. The East Pre¬
cinct was organized June 25, 1722, and at once
proceeded to make the necessary provision for
"their now settled minister Mr. Israel Loring."
But they had been anticipated by the West Pre¬
cinct, which on the 6th-of June had voted "to give
the Kev. Mr. Loring an invitation to cotne over
and settle and be their minister," ofl'ering him
£.100 for his "settlement," etc. July 10, Mr.
Loring writes : " To the inhabitants of the West
Precinct in Sudbury : I accept of the kind invita¬
tion you have given me to come over and settle
with you and be the minister of the Westerly Pre¬
cinct." The next day, July 11, Mr. Loring an¬
nounces by letter to the East Precinct his decision
to leave them and settle on the west side. " Feb. 11,
1723. The church met at-my house, where, after
the brethren on the east side had manifested their
desire that the church might be divided into two
churches, it was so voted by a majority." [Church
Records, by J. Loring.)
Eev. William Cook was ordained as the suc¬
cessor of Mr. Loring, March 20, 1723. He was a
native of Hadley ; a graduate of Harvard in 1716,
and librarian of that institution for a time. He
was a fine scholar, and a man of ardent piety.
He died November 12,1760, aged sixty-six.
In 1725-26 a new meeting-house — the fourth
— was built. It was located at what is now the
Centre. The committee was instructed " to make it
as near as they can like the new house in the West
Precinct," — only the " steps " were to be " hand¬
somer,"— with the same number-of pews.
Eev. Josiah Bridge, born at Lexington (H. U.
1758), was ordained November 4, 1761; died
June 19, 1801, in the sixty-second year of his
age and fortieth of his ministry. " He was a great
and good minister."
Indian Wars. — This town had sent its sons and
their families as pioneers into most of the fron¬
tier settlements in Worcester and old Hampshire
counties, and consequently felt a personal interest
in the welfare and perils of these exposed towns.
Many of our men did service in the so-called
Father Ealle's War, 1723-26. Sergeant Danirl
How and ten men joined Captain Samuel Wright's
Eutland scout, and were out from November 10,
1723, to April 10,1724. Sergeant William Brint-
nall, with seven men, was in service from August 17
to October 27, 1725. Four of our men joined the
expedition to the West Indies in 1640.
On the breaking out of the French and Indian
War of 1744 the Sudbury Troop, — forty-four
men, — commanded by Captain Josiah Brown, con¬
tained representatives of most of our families, and
was ordered in 1746 to the defence of Number
Four. Our men were drafted for garrison duty at
the forts in Hampshire County, and volunteered
for service in the numerous expeditions of this war.
A similar record can be made of service in the
last French and Indian war, 1754 -1763. Twen¬
ty-five men were out in the Crown Point expeditions
of 1755. A larger number served in the cam¬
paigns of 1756. By a return dated April, 1757,
it appears that there were on the Alarm List forty-
seven men, and on the Active List seventy-four
men, living on the east .side of the river. To this
is to be added the Troopers. Most of these men
turned out on the "Alarm about Fort William
Henry" in August. Lieutenant Samuel Curtis
and eighteen men joined Captain Samuel Dakin's
company, which marched on the Canada expedi¬
tion May 24, 1758. Both these officers were
killed at Half-way Brook, July 20 ; William Grout,
Jonathan Patterson, and Nathaniel Moulton were
reported missing ; Samuel Abbot died October 2.
Nine of our men were with Captain John Nixoii
in the invasion of Canada, under General Amherst,
in 1759.
The Revolution. — In March, 1775, the active
militia of Sudbury was organized into the North
Company, Captain Aaron Haynes, sixty men (west
side); the East Company, Captain Joseph Smith,
seventy-five men (east side); the Lanham Com¬
pany, Captain Moses Stone, ninety-two men (both
sides of the river); the Troop, Captain Isaac Loker,
twenty-one men .(both sides); the East Company of
minute-men, Caj)tain Nathaniel Cudworth, forty
men ; the West Company of Minute-men, Captain
John Nixon, fifty-four men. All these companies
marched to Concord on the memorable 19th of
470
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
April, and all took part in the stirring events of
that day. The Troop and Captain Smith's com¬
pany were out three days ; Captain Stone's and
Captain Haynes' companies were out four days ;
the two minute companies were out five days.
Many of the officers and men immediately enlisted
into the Continental service. Captain Nixon at
once took out beating papers, and raised a regi¬
ment. Captain Nathaniel Cudworth was promoted
to be major in Colonel Jonathan Brewer's regiment,
his commission bearing date April 24. Lieutenant
Thaddens Russell, of Cudworth's company, secured
the re-enlistment of almost the entire East Sudbury
company, was chosen captain, and reported for
duty April 24, with forty-nine men ; his lieutenant
was Nathaniel Maynard, his ensign was Nathaniel
Reeves. Captain Aaron Haynes raised a company
of forty-four men, and went into service May 3.
Lieutenant David Moore, of Nixon's company,
enlisted a company of fifty-two men, and was
chosen captain. He was attached to Colonel
Nixon's regiment. All of these companies enlisted
for the eight months' service of 1775 ; all of them
took part in the battle of Bunker Hill, June 17;
most of them remained in service, either continu¬
ously or with brief respites, through the various
campaigns of the war.
July 15, 1776, a bounty of £7 sterling was
voted to each man who should enlist as a soldier
for active service.
March 3, 1777, the town voted " to give to each
man that will enlist into the Continental army for
three years, or during the war a bounty of £20."
In 1778 four companies were in the service :
Captain Jonathan Rice's and Captain Asahel
Wheeler's west-side men, and Captain Nathaniel
Maynard's and Captain Isaac Cutting's east-side
men, aggregating in all three hundred and twenty-
seven men.
Under the first call of December, 1776, for
troops to serve for three years, or during tlie war,
fifteen men enlisted during the war, and fifty-seven
for three years. Thirty of these were from the
east side of the river. Under the second call for
three years' men, in 1780, thirty men enlisted, of
whom eleven hailed from the east side.
The difficulty of raising men at this lale date
in the war is seen from the following paper : " In
obedience to the resolve of the General Court of
Dec. 2 last, for supplying the deficiency of the
state's quota for the Continental army, we the
subscribers do certify that the following persons
have been enlisted and marched, and they have
been paid as follows : To John Dalrymple, Wra.
Dunn, John Ruck, Nahum Haynes, Zachariah
Robinson, and Oliver Robinson, each 900 pounds
in money ; also a note signed by the Treasurer
for 18 head of horned cattle which are to be calves
this spring, and to be kept for and delivered to
each of the above-named at the time of their being
regularly discharged, or a sum of money equal to
said cattle : Also there has been paid to Isaac
Underwood and Jonas Underwood each the sum
of 30 pounds hard money, and an obligation signed
by the Treasurer for 60 pounds in hard money, one-
half to be paid in one year, the other half in two
years from date." June 18, 1781. Signed by
the selectmen.
The total population of the tovm was 2,160,
which would give about five hundred ratable polls.
The number of different men in actual service at
some time during the war was not less than four
hundred.
At the first town-meeting held in East Sudbury,
April 24, 1780, the following officers were elected ;
Joseph Curtis, town clerk and treasurer; Captain
Richard Heard, Joseph Curtis, Phinehas Glezen,
Jacob Reeves, Captain Isaac Loker, selectmen ;
Joseph Curtis, William Baldwin, Lieutenant Thomas
Brintnall, assessors; Captain John Noyes, Mr. Isaac
Damon, collectors; William Baldwin, Lieutenant
John Whitney, Captain Isaac Loker, Lieutenant
Jonathan Hoar, highway surveyors ; Phinehas
Glezen, Lieutenant Joseph Dudley, tithiug-men;
William Barker, William Dudley, fence-viewers;
Ezekiel Rice, fish-reeve ; Samuel Griffin, Nathaniel
Reeves, field-drivers ; William Revis, hog-reeve ;
Lieutenant Samuel Russell, sealer of leather. Cap¬
tain Richard Heard was chosen representative.
" Voted, To pay Rev. Mr. Bridge for six months'
salary 37 pounds in silver money, or in common
necessaries, 1,774 pounds. Granted 1,500 pounds
for support of the poor ; 1,500 pounds for the sup-
])ort of the Grammar school for the year ensuing ;
1,000 pounds for the sujjport of ß reading and writ¬
ing school the present year."
In 1785, the town ordered a new pair of stocks
to be built for the punishment of criminals. These
were placed near the meeting-house. (The last
stocks, on the west side of the river, stood in the
meeting-house porch.)
In 1797, on petition of William Bracket and
others, leave was given by the town to have "a bass-
violin played in the meeting-house to assist in
WAYLAND.
471
church music." The town appropriations are for
the first time recorded in dollars and cents instead
of pounds, shillings, and pence.
In 1799 the town was fined $55 for neglecting
to send a representative to the General Court.
In 1800 the old burying-ground was enlarged
hy the purchase of land of Nathan and Luther
Glezen ; and in 1835 laud was bought of William
Noyes' heirs, "to unite the cemetery with the
old Indian Burying-Ground." Also, on the same
date, land was purchased of Joseph Bullard for a
cemetery, south of the meeting-house. In 1871
the cemetery at Cochituate Village was laid out.
In 1800 a school committee was chosen, con¬
sisting of Nathaniel Beeves, Othniel Tyler, William
Bracket, Simeon Pratt, Israel Stone.
The road from the centre to the Zachariah Heard
house was laid out. It was built by the residents
on the farm, and was to he kept in good repair by
them for ten years, they being exempted from high¬
way taxes levied by the town during that time.
A " bridle-way " from Nathaniel Beeves' barn
to Bridle Point was this year established. This
had heretofore been the travelled way from the
Centre to the farm, diverging to the left nearly
opposite the Bussell house, and passing thence to
the Old Parm Bridge.
Bev. Joel Poster, the sixth pastor, was installed
September 7, 1803. He was born at Stafford, Con¬
necticut, April 8, 1755; graduated at Dartmouth
College, 1777 ; ordained at New Salem, Massachu¬
setts, June 9, 1779; dismissed January 21,1802;
died September 24, 1812.
In 1804 the old training-field, established in
1640, was sold to Nathan Glezen. It comprised
about nine acres, now in the central part of Ahel
Glezen's farm.
The fifth meeting-house, now standing, was
raised June 1, 1814, completed January 19, and
dedicated January 24, 1815. And on the same
day the Bev. John B. Wight, seventh pastor, was
ordained. He was born at Bristol, Bhode Island,
May 7, 1790; graduated at Brown University,
1808, at the age of eighteen, with the highest honors
of his class ; studied theology with Dr. Emmons of
Pranklin, and after a successful ministry of twenty-
three years, resigned in 1835. He now resides in
town, honored and beloved by all, blessing by his
cheerful presence and words of pious hope the
prese?it, as he has the two preceding generations.
Mr. Wight's successors have been : Rev. Rich¬
ard T. Austin, Bowdoin College, 1831 ; ordained
September 28, 1836; dismissed September, 1838;
died 1847. Rev. Edmund H. Sears, born at San-
disfield, 1810; graduated at Union College, 1834,
Harvard Divinity School, 1837 ; ordained Pebru-
ary 20,1839 ; installed at Lancaster, December 23,
1840; returned to Wayland in 1847, preaching
until 1865 ; died at Weston, January 16, 1876.
Rev. George A. Williams, May, 1844, to May,
1847.
Rev. Samuel D. Robbins, Harvard Divinity
School, 1833 ; ordained at Lynn, November 13,
1833; dismissed. May, 1839 ; installed at Chelsea,
1839; dismissed, 1848; installed at Pramiiigham,
1854, dismissed Pebruary, 1867 ; at Wayland from
May, 1867, to May, 1873.
Rev. James H. Collins, supplied from June,
1873, to June, 1874.
Rev. William M. Salter, graduated at Knox
College, Illinois, 1871, supplied from August,
1874, to July, 1875.
Rev. Edward J. Young, Harvard, 1848; Pro¬
fessor of Hebrew and Oriental Languages, 1869 ;
began to preach at Wayland in August, 1875.
The Evangelical Congregational Church was
organized May 21, 1828, and the chapel dedicated
at the same time. The number of members at the
start was eighteen ; two hundred and ninety-seven
have since been added ; present number, ninety-
nine. The meeting-house was dedicated July 22,
1835. The pastors have been Rev. Levi Smith,
Yale, 1818 ; ordainad> January 21, 1829 ; dis¬
missed, November 26, 1832 ; died at East Wind¬
sor, Connecticut, January 15, 1854, aged sixty-
four. Rev. Lavius Hyde, Williams College, 1813;
installed, July 22, 1835 ; dismissed, April 15,
1841 ; died at Vernon, Connecticut, April 2, 1865.
Rev. John W. Allen, Bowdoin, 1834; installed,
December 29, 1841 ; dismissed, April 16, 1849.
Rev. Henry Allen, Dartmouth, 1849 ; ordained,
September 30, 1852 ; dismissed, September 14,
1857. Bev. Adin H. Fletcher, installed, Pebru¬
ary 2, 1860 ; dismissed, January 21, 1862. Rev.
Henry Bullard, Amherst, 1860 ; ordained, Octo¬
ber 1, 1863 ; dismissed, September 1, 1868. Rev.
Ellis R. Drake, Bowdoin, l862 ; ordained, Novem¬
ber 10, 1868; dismissed, July, 1871. Rev. Tru¬
man A. Merrill, Bangor Theological Semhiary,
1855; installed, July 80, 1873.
Cochituate. — The first starting of this now
flourishing village, which lies at the extreme south¬
ern border of the town, was about the year 1830,
when Messrs. William and J. M. Bent commenced
472
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in a small way the manufacture of shoes. This
firm have continued to the present time, and are
the leading business house. Messrs. Thomas Bry¬
ant, and T. A. and H. C. Dean, are extensive manu¬
facturers. Tlie steady growth of business is indi¬
cated by the following statistics : In 1837 the
number of pairs of shoes manufactured was 29,660;
value, $22,419 ; males employed, 31 ; females, 15.
In 1865, capital invested, $17,850; value of manu¬
factured goods, $282,760; males employed, 182;
females, 29. In 1875 the number of establish¬
ments was nine ; capital invested, $51,500 ; value
of manufactured goods, $1,799,175; males em¬
ployed, 431 ; females, 60.
A Wesleyan Methodist Church was erected here
in 1850. A Methodist Episcopal society has since
been organized. A new grammar-school house
was built in 1773; attendance in 1878, forty-five.
A system of water-supply, from Eice's Pond, has
just been completed at an expense of $25,000.
In 1841 the Way land Academy, a private in¬
stitution, was opened, with Eev. Leonard P.
Frost, principal; Josiah Eutter, A. B., teacher of
ancient languages ; Miss Anna P. Frost, precep¬
tress; Lewis Smith, teacher of vocal music; F. F.
Heard, teacher of instrumental music. Number
of pupils in the fall term : girls, thirty-six ; boys,
seventy-one; total, one hundred and seven.
In 1854 a town high school was established,
and a new school-house erected at the Centre.
Town Library. — This town has the honor of
establishing the first free public library in Massa¬
chusetts. Francis Wayland, D. D., president of
Brown University, for whom the town was named,
proposed to give $500 to his namesake, on condi¬
tion that the town should appropriate an equal sum,
the whole to be expended in founding a library,
which should be free for the use and benefit of ail
the inhabitants. At a meeting in 1848 the town
accepted the gift on the terms proposed, and voted
to raise the required amount. But as there was
doubt about the right of the town to raise money
by tax for such a purpose, a larger sum was raised
by citizen subscriptions, and presented to the town
for that object. In 1851 the town instructed its
representative, Eev. John B. Wight, to ask for
a special law to meet their case. But his active
mind took a wider and, as the result has shown,
more beneficent view ; and he secured the enact¬
ment of a general law, under which free libraries
have been largely established through the state.
The Wayland Library was founded in 1848, and
was opened for the delivery of books August 7,
1850. In 1863 Deacon James Draper gave $500
"to the town as a permanent fund for the benefit
of the library. The number of -volumes now in
the library is 7,485. A social library was estab¬
lished here soon after the Eevolution, through the
influence of Eev. Mr. Bridge. It contained over
one hundred volumes of the be.st books then pub¬
lished, and for many years diffused useful informa¬
tion and mental cultivation among the proprietors.
The remains of this library were transferred to the
new free library.
War o/" 1812. — Yolunteers who served three
months in Boston Harbor: Abel Heard, James
Draper, Eufus Goodnow. Drafted men : Eeuben
Sherman, Daniel Hoven, John Palmer; the last
two procured substitutes, namely, Cephas Moore
and Jonas Abbot.
War of the Rebellion. — Total number of men
furnished to fill the town's quotas, one liundred
and twenty-nine. Of this number seventy were
residents, most of them natives, of the town. Of
the above, twelve were killed in battle or died in
the service. Two natives of the town enlisted
from other places. Total amount raised by the
town in its corporate capacity for recruiting pur¬
poses, $18,000. The Soldiers' Aid Society and
the Soldiers' Eelief Society contributed largely of
clothing, medicines, etc.
The Massachusetts Central Eailroad was char¬
tered in 1869. This town subscribed for three
hundred and twenty-five shares of the stock. This
road, soon to be completed, passes through the
centre village, and will place within easy reach of
business men in Boston new and extensive terri¬
tory for country residences, of surpassing scenic
beauty.
The following table shows the population to the
latest census : —•
Population. Valuation of Raal Estate.
1781 8149,328
1791 801 147,936
1801 835 150,862
1811 824 166,182
1821 962 197,316
1831 944 289,560
1840 998 316,496
1850 1,115 434,023
1860 1,188 426,616
1870 1,148 703,298
1875 1,766 1,065,630
Between 1761 and 1801 forty-seven persons
died in town aged ninety and upwards ; the oldest
was one hundred and three.
WAYLAND.
473
No mention is made of any resident physician
in the early records. Dr. Alcock of Eoxbury,
and Surgeon Avery of Dedliam, were sent for i«
difficult cases, the latter as late as 1673. The
wife of John Loker, who was here in 1640, acted
as midwife, and prescribed for common complaints j
and the wife of Matthew Gibbs performed the same
offices after 1655. It is believed that Eev. James
Sherman had pursued medical studies and pre¬
scribed for bodily diseases.
Ebenezer Eobie (now written Eoby), M. D.,
born at Boston in 1701, graduated at Harvard in
1719, commenced practice here in 1725, and con¬
tinued till his death in 1772. He studied with the
celebrated Dr. Boerhaave, and was eminent in his
profession, as well as in general scholarship and
Biblical criticism.
Dr. Ebenezer Eoby, Jr., practised with his
father, and till his death in 1786. Dr. Joseph
Eoby (son of Ebenezer, Jr.) was in practice here
till 1801. Dr. Nathan Eice, born at Framingham,
settled in town in 1800, and continued in practice
till his death in 1814. Dr. Ebenezer Ames, born
at Marlborough, came to town in 1814, and was in
practice till his death in 1861. Dr. Edward Frost,
born at Framingham, graduated at Harvard in
1822, was in practice here from 1830 till his
death in 1838. Dr. Charles W. Barnes, born
at Marlborough, was in practice here from 1860
to 1864. Dr. John McL. Hay ward, born at Bos¬
ton, graduated at Harvard Medical School in 1858,
settled in town in 1874. Dr. Charles H. Boodey
settled at Cochituate Village in 1876.
In the early times of the province men were ap¬
pointed by the General Court, in the several towns,
to perform specific duties combining the powers of
counsel, judge, and jury. October 7, 1640, Mr.
Peter Noyes, Walter Hayne, and John Parmenter
were appointed to end small causes at Sudbury, un¬
der twenty shillings. Mr. Noyes was reappointed
in 1641, 1643, and 1645, and in 1646 he was
authorized to join people in marriage. Edmund
Goodnow and Edmund Eice were appointed to end
small causes in 1641, 1646, and 1648. Hugh
Griffin was chosen clerk of the writs in 1645.
Among the early justices of the peace were Wil¬
liam Jennison, from 1700 to 1731, afterwards judge
of the court of common pleas, John Noyes, William
Baldwin, John Maynard, Jacob Eeeves.
Of professional lawyers there have been : —
Othniel Tyler (B.U. 1783), in practice from 1795
to 1827 ; died in 1846.
Samuel H. Mann, a native of New Hampshire,
in practice from 1824 to 1830.
Edward Mellen (B. U. 1823), from 1830 to his
death. May 31, 1875. Esquire Mellen was born
at Westborough, September 26, 1802, and came
to Wayland, November, 1830. As a man he was
distinguished for his geniality and public spirit.
He took a leading interest in the public schools of
the town, and in the public library. As a lawyer
he was distinguished for his thorough knowledge
of the principles of law, and familiarity with the
decisions of the courts. In 1847 he was made
justice of the court of common pleas, and in 1855
was raised to the office of chief justice of the same
court. In 1854 he received from his Alma Mater
the degree of LL. D. After retiring from the
judgeship he opened ah office in Worcester, but
retained his home in Wayland.
David Lee Child settled in town in 1853, and
remained till his death in 1874. He was born at
Boylston in 1794 ; graduated at Harvard in 1817 j
was distinguished in his profession, and as an
earnest, consistent advocate of the cause of anti-
slavery.
Eichard F. Fuller, bom at Cambridge (H. U.
1844), was in town from 1860 to 1869.
Franklin F. Heard, born in Wayland (H. U.
1848), had an office here for a short time. He is
the author of several works on law.
Gustavus A. Somerby was born at Exeter, New
Hampshire, November 2, 1821. His parents re¬
moved to Boston when he was two years old. He
attended school for a time at the academy in Hol-
liston. Becoming an inmate of the home of Lnther
Glezen of Wayland, he was encouraged and assisted
by Mr. Glezen to enter on the study of law with
Esquire Mellen. An indefatigable student and
reader of general literature, he early gave promise
of the brilliant future that awaited him. On the
appointment of Mr. Mellen as judge he occupied
his office in this town for a few years, when he re¬
moved to Waltham, and was as'sociated with Josiah
Eutter, Esq. Subsequently he opened an office in
Boston, where he continued till his death, July 24,
1879. He fell a victim to overwork in his much-
loved profession.
Eiehard T. Lombard, bom at Truro, settled in
town in 1875.
College Graduates. — Samuel Jennison (H. U.
1720), teacher; died unmarried in 1729. Jude
Damon (H. U. 1776), clergyman; died in 1828.
Aaron Smith (H. U. 1777), teacher. Ephraim
474
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Smith (H. TJ. 1777), merchant; died in 1795.
Phinehas Johnson (B. U. 1799) studied theology,
and was ordained; studied law; died in 1870;
Joseph Adams (H. U. 1805), lawyer in Maine;
died in 1850. Gardner Eice (Wesleyan Uni¬
versity, 1834), Methodist clergyman; teacher of
Holliston Academy ten years, Shrewsbury Acad¬
emy eight years, New Salem Academy four
years. Pred M. Stone ("W'esley'an University),
left at close of Junior year; lawyer. David Da¬
mon (H. U. 1811), clergyman; settled in 1843,
died in 1843. Seth Damon (H. U. 1811), clergy¬
man. Josiah Eutter (H. U. 1833), lawyer at Wal-
tham ; died in 1877. Norwood Damon (H. U.
1833), clergyman. Elhridge Smith (B. U. 1841),
teaciier; resides in Dorchester. Abner Eice
(Y. C. 1844), teacher; resides in Lee, Massachu¬
setts. Franklin F. Heard (H. U. 1848), lawyer;
resides in Boston. Benjamin D. Frost (Coll. of
N. J. ), civil engineer; distinguished as chief
in the construction of the Hoosac Tuniiel. Ed¬
ward Frost (H. U. 1850), civil engineer in charge
of building the Massachusetts Central Eailroad,
etc. Edwin H. Heard (B. U. 1851), died while
studying law. Joseph E. Draper (W. C. 1851),
physician; resides at South Boston. Jared M.
Heard (B. U. 1853), clergyman ; ordained at Clin¬
ton, Massachusetts, August 25, 1858 ; settled at
Fitchburg in 1863 ; died March 22, 1864. Ed¬
ward T. Damon (H. U. 1857), died in 1859
while a student at the Harvard Medical School.
Frank W. Draper (B. U. 1862),physician; resides
in Boston ; medical examiner for Suffolk County.
Joshua Mellen (B. U. 1862), merchant ; resides in
Boston. Arthur G. Bennett (W. C. 1869), mer¬
chant ; resides in Boston. Among the natives of
this town not included in the foregoing lists, who
deserve honorable mention, are Captain Ephraim
Curtis and General Micah M. Eutter.
Captain Curtis was the son of Henry, an original
grantee. He was by trade a carpenter, but devel¬
oped early a taste for military pursuits, and skill
in following Indian trails. On the breaking out
of King Philip's War he was employed by the
colonial authorities to lead some perilous expedi¬
tions which required coolness, courage, knowledge
of tiie country, and knowledge of tlie Indian char¬
acter. Early in July, 1675, he commanded a
squad of men sent "to conduct Uncas, the Mohe-
gan Sachem, and his six men homewards as far as
Wabaquasscc; and also to make a perfect discov¬
ery of the motions of the Nipmug or Western In¬
dians." His relation of this adventure, which
was successfully performed, is preserved in the
state archives. The next week he was sent by the
governor and council " to the Indians at Memini-
messet with letters and a message." His rela¬
tion of this adventure is preserved. The follow¬
ing week he was employed as a guide to Captain
Hutchinson's and Wheeler's expedition to treat with
the Nipnets at Quaboag, and took part in the
tragic events which make this expedition memora¬
ble. From this time till the close of the war he
was in command of various scouting parties nearer
home. There are at hand materials for an inter¬
esting biography.
General Eutter was a descendant of John, who
came over in the ship Confidence in the spring
of 1638. This ancestor belonged to Penton, in
County Hants, England; was a carpenter; built
the first meeting-house in town, and received three
acres of meadow as an acknowledgment of some
public service rendered the town.
Micah M. was born in 1779, and died in 1837.
He was a man of great energy of character and
public spirit, and was identified with all move¬
ments to promote the social, educational, and re¬
ligious interests of his native place. He was
sheriff for many years, passed through the various
grades of military promotion, and was commis¬
sioned as major-general by Governor Lincoln. Yet
with all the distracting responsibilities of public
life he maintained a private character of great
simplicity and devoutness of purpose. A short
time before his death he remarked to the writer, at
his own fireside, " My mother taught me the cradle
hymn, ' Now I lay me,' when I was a child, and I
have never failed, throughout a somewhat busy life,
to repeat it on retiring to rest at night."
Aaron Smith Willington learned the trade of
a printer; settled in Charleston, South Carolina,
where he became publisher and editor of The
Courier, a newspaper which, under his management,
became the leading news journal of the South, as
it was the leading organ of conservative sentiment
in politics and civil affairs. In his early life James
Gordon Bennet was an employee in Mr. Willing-
ton's office, and here learned the methods of gath¬
ering foreign and domestic news, and those secrets
of management, in the use of which he afterwards
made The New York Herald the leading newspaper
of the country.
WESTFOBD.
473
WESTFORD.
by edwin r. hodgman, assisted by judian abbott.
HIS town was originally the
western part of Chelmsford,
which was settled by persons
from Woburn and Concord in
16.j3. The General Court, in
17á4, gave the people leave
to be a separate religious so¬
ciety ; and in 1727 they were
recognized as a precinct. The
struggle for separation from
the old town began in 1713, and lasted fourteen
years. The act of incorporation was granted Sep¬
tember 23, 1729, and was signed by Lieutenant-
Governor William Dummer, then acting governor.
This was seventy-four years after the incorporation
of Chelmsford. The old town gave to the new one
its proportion of the ministerial land and of the stock
of ammunition. The act of incorporation defines its
boundaries in general terms, but the area was en¬
larged in 1730 on petition of Jonas Prescott, Eben-
ezer Prescott, Abner Kent, and Ebenezer Townsend,
inhabitants of Groton, whose estates were, in Sep¬
tember of that year, annexed to Westford.
By this addition the valuable water-power in
Forge Village fell within the limits of this town.
According to a survey made in 1855, the township
contains 19,937 acres, or thirty-one square miles.
Its extreme length from north to south is eight
miles, and its average width about four miles. Its
shape is irregular -, its boundary line on the east
side is nearly straight, but other lines are more or
less divergent.
The first town-meeting was held March 2, 1730,
at which time Deacon John Comings was chosen
moderator; Joshua Fletcher, town-clerk; Joshua
Fletcher, John Comings, Samuel Chamberlin,
Joseph Keyes, and Thomas Head, selectmen; and
Samuel Fassett, town-treasurer. Of these, Fletcher,
Chamberlin, and Keyes had held the same office in
Chelmsford in 1726.
The first tax-list bears date October 16, 1730,
and contains the names of eighty-nine men, who
were assessed in the aggregate £125. The num¬
ber of the names shows that there were nearly
one hundred families in town at the date of
incorporation. The tax-list was made in two parts,
one including the south and the other the north
part, and was given to two constables for collection.
The assessment of the south part was £59 13i. 11<7.;
that of the north part was £65 6s. 1 d. The names
of a few men are given, which represent families of
long standing in the town. These are Chamberlin,
Fletcher, Cummings, Parker, Hildreth, Read, Pres¬
cott, and Keyes. Of these the Fletchers were from
Concord, the Parkers from Woburn, and the Pres¬
cott s from Groton.
Westford is bounded north by Tyngsborough,
east by Chelmsford, south by Carlisle and Acton,
and west by Littleton and Groton. It is distant
twenty-six miles from Boston, and eight miles from
Lowell.
The surface of the town is broken by numerous
hills, the highest of which is Prospect Hill, about
three hundred feet above the level of Stony Brook.
Others are known as Francis, Providence, Tadmuck,
Bear, Sparks, Rattlesnake, Kissacook, Snake-
Meadow, Conscience, Flushing, Oak, and Blake's,
none of them of any considerable prominence. The
pretty little stream that meanders though the
town is worthy of a more characteristic name than
Stony Brook. Its charming valley below West-
ford Station appeals to the sense of beauty in every
beholder. Several ponds in the north part sparkle
in the sunlight of the long summer day. The
largest, Nebunnussuck, half a mile from Brookside,
has an area of 123 acres. It is much frequented
by excursion parties from Lowell and elsewhere.
Long-sought-for Pond comes next, with an area
of 107 acres; then Keyes, 40 acres; Purge's, 25
acres; Flushing, 20 acres. That part of Forge
Pond which lies in Westford comprises an area of
104 acres. The soil in the south and east parts
of the town is good ; in the north part it is sandy.
The granite quarries on Snake-Meadow Hill
476
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
have been worked for many years. They yield a
fine quality of stone, which is sent long distances
on the railway.
The central village is beautifully situated on a
commanding eminence, from which in clear weather
a fine view can be had of the distant mountains,
Wachusett, "Watatic, Monadnock, and Kearsarge.
The White Hills of New Hampshire may be seen
in favorable times. Its geographical position and
picturesque scenery entitle this to rank among the
loveliest towns of northern Middlesex. Por more
than one hundred and fifty years it has been the
home of a frugal, industrious J)eople.
The original families, bearing the name of Adams,
Barret, Bates, Bixby, Boyntou, Bürge, Butterfield,
Chandler, Cleaveland, Craft, Dutton, Fasset, Heald,
Proctor, Spaulding, Temple, Townsend, Underwood,
and others, have entirely disappeared.
Little can be learned from the records of the
civil or political history of the town for the first
forty years. The people were almost exclusively
occupied in tilling the ground, and there were few
startling events in their history. How much they
were disturbed by the French and Indian war, which
made so heavy a draft upon the resources of the
New England colonies, and how much, if anything,
they contributed to the defence of the colonies dur¬
ing that conflict, it is not easy to determine. But
as they were ready to resist the usurpations of the
mother country at a later period, it is fair to pre¬
sume that they were not indifferent or inactive in
the struggle with the savage foe.
The attitude of the town when the Eevolutionary
struggle was impending showed a patriotism and
love of liberty of which no son, born within its
borders, ever need be ashamed. As early as 1765
the people gave utterance to their sentiments on
the obnoxious -Stamp Act in terms so explicit that
they could not be misunderstood.
Again, in 1770, they express sympathy with
the merchants of Boston and Charlestown in
their purpose not to import goods from Great
Britain, and declare they will not procure goods
of any persons who have sought to counter¬
act that agreement. In 1773, soon after the
Boston pamphlet was issued, the people declared
their sympathy with their " Boston brethren,"
and voted to choose a committee " to corre¬
spond with Boston, or any other town, as occa¬
sion may require." This committee consisted of
the five following gentlemen : Mr. Samuel Gard¬
ner, Captain Jonatlian Minot, Deacon John Ab¬
bot, Dr. Asaph Fletcher, and Mr. Nathaniel Boyn-
ton.
This was the first committee of correspondence
appointed by the town. Some of the best citi¬
zens were members of it from time to time, and
it was the medium of communication with other
patriotic men in the province for several years.
In March, 1774, the town adopted a stirring pa¬
triotic paper, drawn up by Dr. Fletcher, in which
they say : " In faithfulness to our country, our¬
selves, and posterity, we hold ourselves obligated
according to the utmost of our abilities to make
repeated oppositions against repeated attempts to
extinguish the just rights and liberties of this peo¬
ple, or every attempt to annihilate our freedom, the
price of which was no less than the price of blood,
everi the precious blood of our worthy ancestors."
When the struggle came, in 1775, the people of
this town were among the first to leave their homes
to drive back the British troops from Concord. In
the fight at the North Bridge, April 19, Colonel
•John Robinson, of this town, stood by the side of
Davis and Buttrick when the British advanced upon
the Americans, and the first shot sent a ball under
Colonel Robinson's arm. Dr. Ripley says that a
company from Westford had just entered the
bounds of Concord when the fight took'place.
The state archives in Boston show that two com¬
panies left Westford that morning for Concord,
and although not present at the first skirmish,
they joined in pursuit of the retreating foe, and
did good service. The first company consisted of
fifty-eight men, and was led by Captain Timothy
'Underwood. The other consisted of thirty-six men
under Captain Oliver Bates. It is stated on good
authority that Captain Bates received a wound
that day from which he did not recover, but
died July 4, 1775. In Colonel Swett's list of
companies in Colonel Prescott's regiment at the
battle of Bunker Hill are the names of Joshua
Parker, captain ; Amaziah Fassett, first lieutenant ;
Thomas Rogers, second lieutenant. These were
Westford men. This shows that the town partici¬
pated in the first battle of the Revolution. One of
her citizens, Joseph Minot, gave up his life in that
battle.
In 1780, when the bill of rights and the consti¬
tution of this state were presented to the people,
this town, at a meeting held May 25, voted to
accept the first article of the bill, and also the sec¬
ond, with the exception of the last clause. At an
adjourned meeting, five days later, the town, " hav-
WESTFORD.
477
ing taken under consideration the several articles
of the constitution, article by article, the whole of
which was accepted, voted the following amend¬
ment: Tiiat the former clause of the sixteenth
article of the Declaration of Eights be amended
as follows : the Liberty of the press and of
speech are essential to the security of Freedom in
a State." Their most emphatic objection was lev¬
elled against the third article of the Bill of Rights,
which has since been amended so as to release the
state from the obligation to require the people
to support public worship. In this matter they
showed a degree of wisdom not everywhere appar¬
ent among the men of those times.
The first election of state officers under the new
constitution was held September 8, 1780. This is
the record : —
"Voted for the Hon. John Hancock Esq. to be
Governor by 60 votes.
" For John Perkins to be Lieut. Governor by 43
votes."
Voted for councillors and senators as follows :
Josiah Stone, of Framingham, 32 votes ; Abraham
Fuller, of Newton, 32 votes; Nathaniel Gorham,
of Charlestown, 31 votes; James Prescott, of Gro-
ton, 28 votes; Eleazer Brooks, of Lincoln, 28
votes; Loammi Baldwin, of Wobum, 4 votes.
March 5, 1781, the committee of correspond¬
ence and safety consisted of Francis Leighton,
Captain Zaccheus Wright, Joshua Read, Captain
Pelatiah Fletcher, and Dr. Asaph Fletcher, all new
men except Dr. Fletcher. Dr. Fletcher was one of
the most ardent patriots in the town during the
period of the Revolution. He was a man of vigor¬
ous purpose, large intelligence, and strict integrity.
After the war was over he removed, and settled in
Cavendish, Vermont, in 1787. He was the father
of Hon. Richard Fletcher, late of Boston, and of
ex-Governor Ryland Fletcher, of Vermont.
Captain Joseph Read was the first representative
from Westford in the General Court under the new
constitution. He was often elected to this office,
having held it, in all, twenty-one times. He was
called to serve the town in other capacities, and
was a distinguished public man.
The second election for state officers was held
April 2, 1781, when John Hancock received fifty-
seven votes for governor.
April 7,1783, Mr. Francis Leighton was chosen
representative, and a committee chosen for the pur¬
pose gave him the following instructions in behalf
of the town : " That our said representative be in¬
structed to exert his utmost influence in the Gen¬
eral Assembly to oppose and exclude the declared
enemies and traitors of this country, who have at or
since the commencement of the late war, from an
inimical disposition to the rights and liberties of
their native country, taken shelter and protection
under the British government, from returning
among us."
In 1787 Deacon Samuel Fletcher was chosen
representative. His instructions contain these
words : " That you use your influence that the
General Court be removed out of Boston to some
convenient place in the country ; that agriculture,
manufactures, and exportation of our own manu¬
factures be encouraged as much as possible, and
the importation of foreign superfluities be discour¬
aged by an earnest recommendation to omit the
use of such of them as are not necessary. That
the tender act be continued until there be sufficient
currency for the commerce of the people. That
peace and harmony may be restored to the people
of this commonwealth, you are directed to use your
influence that the disqualifying act be repealed and
that the peaceable citizens be restored to their for¬
mer privileges. That you use your influence that
all pensions and gratuities be curtailed as far as
justice will allow."
These instructions were given only a few months
after the breaking out of the Shays Rebellion, so
called, and they doubtless reflect the sentiment of
the people at that time. After the Revolutionary
War and the establishment of the state and national
governments, there are few materials for history to
be gleaned from the town records. The people
were a quiet, hard-working class, earning their
living by steady industry. The accumulation of
wealth was difficult, and only a few obtained it.
Yet the majority had enough for present wants,
and the degree of poverty was small. Not till
the present century was well advanced did the
people begin to be interested in manufactures or
railroads. Here, as in very many New England
towns, agriculture has declined within the last fifty
years. Wood is growing on large tracts once culti¬
vated. In the business of market-gardening, how¬
ever, and in the raising of small fruits, there has
been a marked increase within ten years. Large
orchards yield abundance of apples, and there are sev¬
eral mills for the manufacture of cider. The raising
of breadstuff's has almost wholly gone by ; and the
supply of grain now comes from the broad prairies
of the West.
478
HISTORY OF MIBDLESEX COUNTY.
In the War of the Rebellion the men of Westford
were prompt and determined in their efforts to re¬
pel the enemies of the nation. The town sent one
hundred and thirty-five men to the battle-field,
many of whom gave up their lives for their country.
Li the town-hall is a marble tablet, bearing the
names of thirty-two men who died on the field or
from wounds or disease contracted in the war. Many
members of Company F, Massachusetts Volunteer
Cavalry, belong here ; indeed, this company is in
part a Westford institution, and deserves notice as
a band of soldierly men to whom, when liberty is
imperilled, war is no pastime, but a stern duty.
In the management of its internal affairs tlie
town is generally harmonious. .The debt, which is
only $20,000, is funded at a low rate of interest,
with the privilege of paying $2,000 each year; at
this rate it will soon he extinguished.
The virtue and intelligence of the people, their
culture and social refinement, and their regard
for education and all humanizing infiuences, will
insure for them the praise of every honorable
mind and the esteem of the good. Rising every
year to a higher grade of morality and piety, they
will take the sure road to a genuine prosperity ; and,
making the closing century a happy introduction
to the achievements of the next, they will gain for
themselves the gratitude of the coming generations.
Ecclesiastical.—The first church in Westford
was formed November 15, 17-27. It was then
called the Second Church in Chelmsford, being in
the West Precinct of that town. It was composed
of " members of several of the neighboring churches,
but chiefly of the First Church in this place." The
covenant was signed by Willard Hall, John Com¬
ings, William Fletcher, Joseph Underwood, Joshua
Fletcher, Jonas Prescott, Jonathan Hildreth, An¬
drew Spaulding, Jacob Wright, Samuel Chamberlin,
Samuel Fletcher, Aaron Parker, John Proctor,
Jonas Fletcher, Nathaniel Boynton, Benjamin Rob-
bins, and Josiah Whitney.
These seventeen are the names of men, and it
does not appear on the records that any women
were among the original members of the church.
It may be fair to presume that they were, however,
members, although they did not sign the covenant.
The account of the organization of the church
is very brief. It simply recites, that " as the cus¬
tom is, where a number of persons in full commun¬
ion, desire, for allowable reasons, to separate from
their respective churches, and become a distinct
organized church by themselves, for them explicitly
to enter into covenant with God and another ; so
here, a covenant being drawn, they who had gotten
their dismissions from the churches they belonged
to, set their hands to it." " They, uniting together,
after the proper preliminaries to settling a gosj)el
minister, unanimously called Rev. Willard Hall to
take the pastoral care of them ; and he accepting
the call was accordingly ordained their pastor and
teacher by the reverend elders following, namely:
Samson Stoddard, who preached and gave the
charge ; Benjamin Shattuck, who made the ordain¬
ing prayer after sermon; Nathaniel Prentice, who
made the first prayer, and gave the right hand of
fellowship ; and Thomas Parker, who gathered and
formed the church. This first ordination was
solemnized November 15, 1727."
Of the members of the council, Rev. Bamson
Stoddard was of Chelmsford, Rev. Benjamin Shat¬
tuck of Littleton, Rev. Nathaniel Prentice of Dun¬
stable, and Rev. Thomas Parker of Dracut.
The first pastor. Rev. Willard Hall, was born in
Medford, Massachusetts, March 11, 1703. He
was the son of Stephen and Grace (Willis) Hall,
and grandson of John Hall, who was of Concord in
1658. He graduated at Harvard College in 1722,
in the class of Richard Saltonstall and William
Ellery. He married Abigail Cotton, of Ports¬
mouth, New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Hall
were the parents of eleven children, four sons
and seven daughters. One of the daughters died
young; the other children lived to mature age.
The oldest son, Willard, was born in Portsmouth,
June 12, 1730. All the others were born hi
Westford.
Mr. Hall, who belonged to a distinguished family
in Medford, was regarded as a truly pious and use¬
ful minister. Dr. Payson, pastor in Chelsea, spoke
in strong terms of the pleasure of having an ac¬
quaintance with him, and mentioned as remarkable
the clearness and strength of his mind. He united
the offices of pastor and physician, thus, in the
condition of society at the time, greatly extending
his influence and usefulness. He was a strenuous
supporter of education for all. The town, on one
occasion, considering itself excused by special
emergency from levying the required school-tax, he
complained to the General Court, and arraigned his
own charge before that tribunal. In this he of¬
fended, as he knew he would, many of his people ;
but he would make no compromise with delin¬
quency in this matter. He was devoted to agri¬
culture, had a good farm, cultivated fruit-trees.
WESTFORD.
479
bearing plums, apricots, peaches, pears, and apples;'
and his garden, orchards, and fields, years after his
death, bore witness to his skill and industry. Tra¬
dition says he lived on the place now (1879) owned
by Eev. W. F. Wheeler.
When the Revolutionary War broke out he
remained firm iu his allegiance to George III., say¬
ing that as he had once sworn fidelity to the king as
a justice of the peace, he could not and would not
break his oath. In consequence of this his people
would not suffer him to preach, and he was shut
up or kept in surveillance in his own house during
the last two years of his life. He died March 19,
1779, at the age of seventy-six, and in the fifty-
second year of his ministry. His widow died
October 20, 1789, at the age of eighty-four years.
Rev. Matthew Scribner was the second pastor.
He was the second son of Matthew and Martha
(Smith) Scrihner, and was horn in Norwalk, Con¬
necticut, February 7, 1746. He graduated at
Yale College in 1775, and received the degree of
A. M. in 1783. His call by the town or parish
was given May 21, 1779, and he was ordained
September 23, 1778. His wife was Sarah Porter,
of Topsfield, Massachusetts, born March 21, 1742.
They were married in Topsfield, December 16,
1779. Their children were ten in number, six
sons and four daughters.
It is said that Mr. Scribner was never very pop¬
ular in his parish ; that his pastorate was tumult¬
uous and stormy; and that for these reasons it
was brief, lasting only ten years, while that of his
predecessor continued more than half a century.
He was dismissed November 10, 1789. At the
close of his ministry here he removed to Tyngs-
borough, where heJ;ook up a lot of wild land, just
over the line from Westford. This he began to
clear up and cultivate ; and there he tried an ex¬
periment in raising Merino sheep, having imported
a few animals at almost fabulous prices. The ex¬
periment failed, but he continued to reside on the
farm until his death, which occurred in 1813, at
the age of sixty-seven years.
Rev. Caleb Blake, the third pastor, was born
iu Wrentham, Massachusetts, May .l, 1762, and
graduated at Harvard College in 1784. He was
ordained February 29, 1792. He continued in
office thirty-four years, and was dismissed Feb¬
ruary 28, 1826. He belonged to that class of
theologians called Hopkinsians, and when the
Unitarian controversy waxed warm he took a de¬
cided stand in opposition to the Unitarians. But
being ill fitted and less disposed for controversy, he
resigned, and betook himself to a farm. Afterwards
he removed to Bedford, Massachusetts, where he re¬
sided several years, and then returned to Westford,
and purchased what was formerly known as the Bixby
farm, on which he spent the remainder of his days.
After his return he was chosen to represent the
town one term in the legislature. He was not a
close student, a fluent speaker, or an easy writer.
He published only one sermon, delivered before the
Ladies' Charitable Association in the year 1812 or
1813. He was fond of farming, and attributed
his good health in a great measure to that occupa¬
tion ; but his chief pleasure was in reading. He
married Martha Mosely, of Hampton, Connecticut,
who was born in 1775, and was a sister of the
Hon. Ebenezer Mosely, lately of Newburyport.
They had five children who lived to adult age,
two sons and three daughters. He died May 11,
1847, aged eighty-five years.
Rev. Ephraim Randall, the fourth pastor, was
born in Easton, Massachusetts, November 29,
1785. He graduated at Harvard University in
1812, and was ordained in New Bedford, Massa¬
chusetts, August 26, 1814. He was afterwards
installed at Saugus, Massachusetts, October 3,
1826, and dismissed August 7, 1827. April 30,
1829, he was installed in Westford, and after two
years his connection with the church ceased. May 1,
1831.
During his ministry, namely, June 1,1830, " the
church, by unanimous vote, adopted a new profes¬
sion of faith and covenant."
After Mr. Randall's dismission Rev. Ephraim
Abbot was acting pastor, and continued to act as
such until April 3, 1834. In the summer of 1835
Rev. Jonathan Farr preached for the society, and
after him Rev. Ephraim Abbot " supplied the
desk until April, 1836." Rev. Luther Wilson
then preached until April, 1839, assisted for several
months, on account of Mr. Wilson's ill health, by
Rev. Ephraim Abbot.
Rev. Claudius Bradford preached awhile in
1840, and Mr. Abbot again in 1841 till the month
of April. Mr. Thurston, Mr. Coolidge, and Mr.
Buckingham preached as candidates between April
and October, 1841, when Rev. Ephraim Abbot
took charge, and served the church and society
until April, 1845.
In July, 1845, Rev. Edward Capen came and
preached for about one year, declining a call to set¬
tle at the close of his service. From July, 1846, to
480
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
January, 1847, the society was engaged in repair¬
ing its house of worship, which was re-dedicated
January 7, 1847. Then came Eev. Herman Snow,
and preached for the society one year, ending Feb¬
ruary 7, 1848. From th^t time to March 19,
1848, different persons occupied the pulpit. Soon
after this Eev. John B. Willard was chosen pastor,
and ordained May 24, 1848. Mr. Willard was
born in New York City, April 1, 1822. His
parents, Luther and Mary (Davis) Willard, were
born in Harvard, Massachusetts. He graduated
at Brown University in 1842, then studied law
three years, partly in Syracuse, New York, and
partly in Boston, but never entered the legal pro¬
fession. He studied theology with Eev. Washing¬
ton Gilbert, then of Harvard. He dissolved his
connection with the church here December 1, 1850.
After leaving Westford he was employed by the
Unitarian Society of Windsor, Vermont, which
society he served at intervals until 1856, when ill
health obliged him to relinquish his charge. He
has since preached for short periods in Lowell,
Barnstable, Lunenburg, Warwick, and Norton,
Massachusetts. He now resides in the village of
Still Eiver, Harvard, Massachusetts.
After the retirement of Mr. Willard various
persons, namely, Eev. Mr. Maynard, Eev. Jacob
Caldwell, Eev. J. B. Willard, Eev. E. Abbot, and
Eev. Timothy Elliot, supplied the pulpit until
1853, when Eev. Stillman Clark came and
preached until March 29, 1857.
In June, 1858, Eev. George M. Eice was in¬
vited to preach one year. He continued his min¬
istry for nearly eight years. George Matthias
Eice was born in Danvers, Massachusetts, June 28,
1814. His parents were residents of Salem, but
as war then existed, and Salem was threatened with
an attack from the British fleet, they retired to
Danvers for the summer. Mr. Eice was fitted for
college in the schools of Salem, especially in the
grammar schools under the tuition of those re¬
nowned masters, Ames and H. K. Oliver. He was
intended for Cambridge, but his father having re¬
moved to Geneva, New York, he entered Geneva
(now Hobart) College in 1829, and graduated in
1832. He then pursued his studies in the Cam¬
bridge Divinity School, from which he graduated
in 1835. He was ordained as an evangelist at
Watertown, Massachusetts, in 1840, being at that
time the acting pastor of the First Congregational
Church in Lexington. Afterwards he had pastoral
charge of the Unitarian churches in Lunenburg,
North Chelsea, and Mendon, Mass., Eastport, Me.,
and Lancaster, N. H.
On the 7tli of August, 1866, the church "voted
unanimously that Mr. George H. Young be in¬
vited to become the pastor of the first church of
Christ in Westford." Mr. Young was ordained
October 17, 1866. He continued in office nearly
six years, and resigned in April, 1872. He was
afterward pastor of the Unitarian Church in Troy,
New York, and of a church in Santa Barbara,
California.
Mr. Young was succeeded by Eev. William A.
Cram, who came in April, 1872, and was acting
pastor until April, 1877, a period of five years.
The present pastor is Eev. Joseph Sidney Moulton
(D. C. 1873), who began his labors in 1876.
The Union Congregational Church was organized
December 25, 1828. It was composed of mem¬
bers of the First Church, who withdrew on account
of doctrinal differences, and a few others who were
members of churches in other towns, but residents
here. The number at the organization was fifty-
nine. Two persons were received by profession
of their faith, the others by letter. The first pas¬
tor was Eev. Leonard Luce, born May 14, 1799,
in that part of Eochester now Marion, Massachu¬
setts. He graduated at Brown University in 1824,
and at Ando ver Theological Seminary in 1828.
He was ordained April 8, 1829. The church and
society having no house of worship, the exercises
of ordination were held at the house of Mr. John
Davis, in the south part of the town. Mr. Luce
continued to be the pastor for more than twenty-
three years, and was dismissed July 8,1852. Eev.
Thomas Wilson was the second pastor. He was
installed over this church May 4, 1853, and
was dismissed February 13, 1856. The church
was then supplied by Eev. David 0. Allen and
Eev. John Whitney until- May 1, 1859. Eev.
Edwin E. Hodgman became acting pastor June 26,
1859, and continued five years, closing his term of
service July 3,1864. Eev. George F. Stanton then
succeeded him for three months, and Eev. E. A.
Spence for two years. The latter was ordained
here as an evangelist in 1866.
Eev. Henry D. Woodworth was installed ijastor
October 2, 1867. The ministry of Mr. Wood-
worth was brief, lasting only two years, and clos¬
ing by his dismission, July 18, 1869. After Mr.
Woodworth left Eev. Nathan E. Nichols sup¬
plied the pulpit about two years. May 7, 1872,
Eev. Henry H. Hamilton received a call from the
WESTFORD.
481
church to become its pastor, and he was ordained
September 11, 1872. He graduated at Amherst
College in 1868, and at Union Theological Semi¬
nary, New York City, in 1871. He remained pastor
almost five years, and was dismissed June 25,1877.
In November, 1877, Eev. ßufus C. Flagg began
his labors here, and he is now the acting pastor of
the church.
Preliminary steps were taken for the organi¬
zation of the Methodist Episcopal Society in
1869. Subscriptions for the purpose of erecting
a church edifice were started July 5. The paper
was headed by Mr. Charles G. Sargent, who sub¬
scribed two thousand dollars, and gave the site for
the proposed building.- This sum was increased by
smaller subscriptions to three thousand dollars on
the same day. A class was formed, July 20, and
Arthur Wright appointed class-leader.
The site given by Mr. Sargent was conveyed by
deed ; a design by S. S. Woodcock, architect, was
adopted, and a contract for building tlie house was
formed with Messrs. Mead, Mason & Co., of Con¬
cord, New Hampshire, to erect the edifice above
the foundation for S8,900. The church edifice
was finished, and dedicated March 23, 1871. The
sermon on that occasion was preached by Eev. J.
M. Buckley, of Stamford, Connecticut. The total
cost of the house and its furnishings was $10,786,
of which $6,583 were paid or pledged, and a debt
incurred of $4,202. It is of wood, one hundred
feet long and forty-three feet wide. The audito¬
rium is fifty-two feet long and forty-two feet wide,
with sittings for three hundred and forty-two per¬
sons. The chapel in the rear is forty-two feet
long and twenty-nine wide. It is in the form of a
transept, with a neat tower and spire intersecting
with the main building. The style is Gothic.
Eev. Miner H. A. Evans was the first pastor, and
remained two years. Eev. Nathaniel B. Fisk be¬
gan his labors April 9, 1871, and continued three
full years. Mr. Fisk's ministry was very success¬
ful, and at its close " the official members passed a
■resolution highly complimentary to the pastor."
Eev. James F. Mears was the next pastor. His
ministry began April 14, 1874, and lasted two
years. Eev. M. H. A. Evans was again pastor,
from April 4, 1876, to April, 1879, when Eev. A.
Wood was sent to the field.
The death of Charles G. Sargent, in 1878, took
from the society its originator and chief financial
patron. The official board passed the following
preamble and resolution : —
" Whereas, Divine Providence Las removed from tiiis
fife Charles G. Sargent, Chairman of our Board of Trus¬
tees, —
"Resolved, That the official hoard expresses, its profound
esteem for the life and character of Mr. Sargent, and its
sympathy with the family and the society, which have lost
a devoted friend and faithful counsellor."
Educational History.—The people of Westford
have always supported the cause of popular educa¬
tion with commendable liberality. Schools were
first kept in private houses, and for only one term
in the year. At a later date there were two terms
each year, but these were short. The town was
early divided into school squadrons, of which there
were four, — the Centre ; the South, corresponding
to Parkerville ; the West, corresponding to Forge
Village; and the North, including the region about
Long-sought-for Pond. For a long time the
selectmen seem to have had the entire control of
the schools. They made all the contracts with
the teachers, and gave the orders to the town-
treasurer for the payment of their wages. In
those halcyon days that long-suffering body of
men, now known as the school-committee, had no
existence.
The first school-teacher in town, so far as can
be ascertained from the records, was Joseph Under¬
wood, Jr., who was employed in 1734. "May
28, 1735, the selectmen voted to pay to Mr.
Joseph Underwood, Jr., for his keeping school in
this town in 1734, the sum of £13, to be in full
for said service."
Of those who taught in our schools in the
last century we notice a few who were prominent
or who taught for a long period. In 1739 Wil¬
liam Bowen appears. This man had more or less
to do with our schools from 1740 to 1775, a
period of thirty-five years. He was a retired
clergyman, and lived on Francis' Hill, in the east
part of the town.
Penuel Bowen, who was a teacher here in 1762,
is supposed to be his son. The following persons,
who were probably graduates of Harvard, were
teachers in this town during the last century. The
date of their teaching is given : —
Joseph Perry, 1753; Amos Moody, 1759;
John Treadwell, 1759; William Eussell, 1762;
Penuel. Bowen, 1762 ; Jeremiah Dummer" Hogers,
1762; Stephen Hall, 1764; NathanielCooper,1764;
Jonathan Crane, M. D., 1767; William Hobart,
1768 ; Elijah Fletcher, 1769; Ebenezer Allen,
1772 ; Amos Crosby, 1785 ; Ebenezer Hill, 1787.
The first woman employed to teach in this town
482
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was Mrs. Edward Bates, in the years 1740-1743.
Deacon Andrew Spaulding was a teacher in 1739,
174¿, and 1754. John Abbot first appears in this
vocation in 1747, and continued in it for many
years.
In 1741 the town voted to raise £100, Old
Tenor, — £ 40 for schools, and the remainder for
town debts and charges. This was a very liberal
proportion for schools. Under the law of 1647
every town having one hundred families was re¬
quired to maintain a grammar school in which the
teacher should be competent to fit young men for
the university. On the first tax-list of 1730 are
the names of eighty-seven tax-payers ; hence there
were less than one hundred families at that time.
But this number was soon reached, for in 1748 the
number of tax-])ayers was one hundred and forty,
and the town was under obligation to have a gram¬
mar school. December 25, 1750, the town paid
Tilomas Read, Esq. " for what money he expended
in going to court to answer to the presentment
against the town for not having a grammar school
last summer." It does not appear from the
records, however, that any grammar school was
maintained until 1752, when Mr. Azariah Faxon
was employed. Mr. Faxon taught in the first
part, or centre, and in the fourth part, or squad¬
ron. He was a graduate of Harvard College in
1752, and was probably the first grammar-school
teacher in Westford.
From this time forward the records occasionally
mention the grammar-school master, and it is fair
to infer that the school was sustained according to
law. It appears also that the town gave a hearty
and generous support to all the public schools.
In 1787 the town voted to build school-houses.
Previous to this time the schools were kept in pri¬
vate rooms. One was taught in the old garrison-
house in Forge Village, occupied not very long
since by Jonathan Prescott. It was burned in
1876, being the last of its class to disappear.
The school-district system in Massachusetts went
into operation in 1789, and was abolished in 1869,
after a trial of eighty years. The several squadrons
were then converted into districts with numbers
attached. The sum appropriated for schools in
those early days will not suffer in point of liberal¬
ity when compared with the amount now granted
for that purpose. When we recall the fact that
wealth had not then accumulated, and that to
many of the people it was a hard struggle to live
at all, we wonder at the measure of their interest
in the subject of education, and are ready to
applaud their generosity and wisdom. But not
.merely in the support of common schools did the
people show their appreciation of sound learning.
Some of them, near the close of the last centuiy,
began to see the need of a schooj of higlier grade,
and by their efforts and liberality Westford Acad¬
emy was called into existence.
"In 1792 several gentlemen of Westford met
together, and agreed to form themselves into a
society by the name of the Westford Academy.
Articles of subscription and agreement were then
drawn up, and sigtied by fifty-four individuals.
At the head of the list stand the names of Zaccheus
W^right, John Abbot, and Abel Boynton, each of
whom subscribed £30, and at its close comes
the subscription of the town of W^estford by its
committee — Joseph Keyes, Franeis Leighton,.and
Joshua Read — for £120. In addition to the
above, Zaccheus Wright gave the sum of £300 in
real estate, the conveyance of which was to be
made to the trustees of the academy as soon as an
act of incorporation should be obtained. These
several subscriptions amounted to £978. It
should be added that the money subscribed by
individuals was raised by a subscription of shares,
each share being valued at $20.
On the 30th of April, 1792, the subscribers
met, and organized by the choice of Zaccheus
Wright as president, James Prescott as vice-presi¬
dent, and Rev. Caleb Blake, Hon. Ebeuezer Bridge,
Rev. Ezra Ripley, Rev. Moses Adams, Hon. Joseph
Bradley Varnum, Sampson Tuttle, Esq., James
Prescott, Jr., Mr. John Abbot, Dr. Charles Proc¬
tor, and Mr. Jonathan Carver, trustees.
The subscribers, or proprietors, as they were
afterwards styled in the records of the academy,
held meetings from time to time to urge on
the work they had undertaken. Measures were
adopted for purchasing a site and erecting thereon
a building for the use of the school. A committee
was also appointed to procure an aet of incorpora¬
tion. August 3, 1792, the proprietors adopted a
body of rules and by-laws for the regulation and
governance of the school j in which, among other
things, it was provided, " that the English, Latin,
and Greek languages, together with writing, arith-
raetie, and the art of speaking, should be taught,
and, if desired, practical geometry, logic, geogra¬
phy, and music ; that the said school should be
free to any nation, age, or sex, provided that no
one should be admitted a member of the school
WESTFORD.
483
unless able to read in the Bible readily without
spelling."
The act of incorporation was passed Septem¬
ber 28, 1793. It recites that over £1,000 had
been given by various parties for the establishment
of the academy, but the records of the early meet¬
ings of the subscribers specify only the gifts above
mentioned. In May, 1797, a committee of the
trustees was appointed to attend to and investigate
the interest of the corporation in a late grant of
land in the district of Maine. This grant con¬
sisted of half a township of land, which was sold
not long after for $5,810, as appears by the report
of the committee. It contained, as stated in their
report, 11,520 acres, and was sold for fifty cents
per acre.
The first meeting of the trustees under the act
of incorporation was held on the 2d of April, 1794,
at the house of Mr. Joel Abbot. At this meeting
the arrangements appeared to have been completed,
or nearly so, for the orderly working of the insti¬
tution. James Prescott, Jr., was chosen secretary
of the board, and was re-elected for several succes¬
sive years. The Kev. Moses Adams of Acton was
chosen president pro tern, and the Rev. Edmund
Foster of Littleton and the Rev. Hezekiah Packard
of Chelmsford were chosen trustees in addition to
those before named. John Abbot, Sr., was chosen
treasurer, and served one year, being succeeded in
that office by Jonathan Carver. At this meeting
Mr. Levi Hedge was requested to have a public
exhibition on the 4th of July. Tliis is the first
notice or intimation on record of his connection
with the school as teacher or preceptor. Such
public exhibitions seem to have continued many
years, and tradition says that they were attended
with great éclat. Academies "and high schools
being rare, the attendance of scholars from other
towns and from long distances was much larger
than it is now.
In tracing the history of the academy the names
of several gentlemen occur who were more or less
prominent in public life, and especially in their
connection with this school, and a brief notice of
their lives and characters very justly forms a part
of this history. First among the early friends
and promoters of this institution stands the name
of Zaceheus Wright, Esq. His interest in it is
evinced by the liberality of his gifts ; and the esti¬
mation in which he was held is apparent from the
fact that he was elected the first president of the
board of trustees, and was annually re-elected to
that office till 1808, when he declined further ser¬
vice. He was the son of Ebenezer and Deliverance
(Stevens) Wright, and was born in Westford, Octo¬
ber 27, 1738. He died in 1811, at the age of
. seventy-two years, highly respected by his fellow-
citizens, whom he long and often served in various
capacities. Long after his decease his name con¬
tinued to be mentioned with respect as one of the
best and most public-spirited men that Westford
had produced.
Next, perhaps, in prominence stands the name
of James Prescott, Jr. He was the youngest son
of Colonel James Prescott, of Groton, and was born
there, April 19, 1766. He was a graduate of
Harvard College in the class of 1788; read law
and commenced the practice of his profession in
Westford, where he was residing at the time the
academy was started, and where he spent about
ten years. He filled the office of secretary of the
board of trustees for many years, and was succeeded
by Rev. Caleb Blake. He was the president of the
board from 1815 to 1827.
Levi Hedge, the first preceptor of the academy,
graduated at Cambridge in 1792. It appears from
the records that he had previously been a teacher
in W^estford ; for, February 6, 1792, he was paid
£6 15Ä. "for keeping school nine weeks in the
middle school squadron." Probably he taught the
grammar school then required by law. He was a
distinguished member in a distinguished class. He
came to Westford with a high reputation as a
scliolar, and left after two years with an equally
high reputation as a teacher. He returned to
Cambridge to take the place of a tutor in the col¬
lege, and after several years was promoted to a pto-
fessorship of Logic and Metaphysics. His interest
in the academy never waned. He was chosen a
trustee in 1802, and resigned in 1844 in consequence
of growing infirmities. He died the same year.
John Abbot, eldest son of John Abbot, one of
the original corporators of the academy, was bom
in Westford, January 27, 1777, and died here,
April 30, 1854. He graduated at Harvard Uni¬
versity in 1798, in a class distinguished for talent,
in which he took a high collegiate rank. He imme¬
diately became preceptor of this academy, and held
that place for two years. He then studied law,
and opened an office in Westford ; and about the
same time was chosen a trustee, and, on the de¬
cease of JonathaTi Carver, in 1805, he was chosen
treasurer, which office he held by successive annual
elections until his death, a period of nearly fifty
484
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
years. To his careful management and foresight
the institution is chiefly indebted for its present
funds. During his long administration they
increased nearly or quite threefold. The acad¬
emy had no wealthy patrons like its neighbor
and rival institution at Groton, but depended
for the increase of its means on small but care¬
fully husbanded accumulations. It was the aim
of the treasurer to save something from the annual
interest of the funds to be added to the principal,
and almost every year's report showed some in¬
crease in their amount. The trustees had implicit
confidence in his integrity, fidelity and skill, and
rarely, if ever, interfered witii his plans. During
this long period his services were rendered gratui¬
tously to the institution, whose welfare he had so
much at heart, and he will always be remembered
as one of its stanchest friends.
He was succeeded in the ofiice of treasurer by
his son, Hon. John W. P. Abbot, who held it till
his death, in 1872. The latter, like his father,
gave his services gratuitously, being animated by
the same desire to further its prosperity. He was
born, April 27, 1806, in Hampton, Connecticut,
was chiefly fitted for college at this academy, and
graduated at Cambridge in 1827. After studying
law he entered his father's ofiice, the business of
which was not long after transferred to him. He
was a member of the House of Kepresentatives in
1862, and of the State Senate in 1866; was often
chosen to town ofiices, and was particularly inter¬
ested in and intrusted with the management of the
First Parish in Westford. In all these relations
he was trusted as an able and faitliful counsellor
and public servant; and he was universally re¬
garded with esteem and affection for his urbanity,
benevolence, and generosity.
We must not overlook, in passing, that precep¬
tor whose term of service was longest in the whole
line of teachers ; we mean Nahum H. Groce. He
was born in Sterling, Massachusetts, in 1781, but
early removed with the family to Salem. He grad¬
uated at Cambridge in 1808, and came immedi¬
ately to Westford as principal of the academy (the
eleventh in succession), and remained in ofiice till
1822, when he resigned, and became a farmer in
Westford, where he died in 1856. He had a high
and well-deserved reputation as an instructor, and
his school was almost always full. It was not
until 1818 or 1819 that Mr. Groce had any regu¬
lar assistant. About that time Miss Susan Prescott,
daughter of Hon. James Prescott, president of the
trustees, was employed, her instructions being con¬
fined solely to the female classes. She was justly
regarded as an accomplished teacher, but she held
that position in the school only two successive
summer seasons.
John Wright, Esq., was a native of Westford, a
son of Mr. Nathan Wright, born in 1797. He
fitted for college at Phillips' Academy, Andover,
and graduated at Cambridge in 1823. He came
to Westford, and took the place of the late Judge
Charles P. Huntington, who had been preceptor
for 1822-23. After two years' service he went
to Groton, studied law, and practised a few years,
then became agent of the Sufiblk Mills, in Lowell.
He died in 1869.
We can only allude to one more of the past
teachers,Hon. John D. Long of Hingham, now
governor of this state. After graduating from
Harvard University, in 1857, he came at once to
Westford, where he remained two years. Quitting
this vocation, he studied law in Boston, and com¬
menced its practice there. He is now president of
the board of trustees.
Among the female teachers Miss Harriet B.
Rogers, born in Billerica, deserves special notice.
Her term of service was the longest, and she was
always regarded ns a teacher of remarkable tact and
energy. Since leaving Westford she has won a
far wider and a well-merited reputation as the head
of a school for deaf mutes at Northampton, Mas¬
sachusetts, where, by a system first introduced in
this country by her, she is teaching the employ¬
ment of spoken language, instead of signs as here¬
tofore. Nor should Miss Margaret F. Foley be
passed unnoticed. She was a resident of Lowell
while employed as a teacher, and all the while her
thoughts and her spare time were given to the study
and practice of the art of sculpture. After leaving
Westford she went abroad, and spent much time at
Rome. Her death occurred not long since, and
she will be remembered as one who fell a prema¬
ture sacrifice in the pursuit of her favorite vocation.
Her early death was lamented by numerous friends
who had hoped for a long and prosperous career.
She was an exhibitor in our Centennial Exhibition,
and her work received high encomium.
The place of preceptor is now filled by William
E. Frost, A. M., a graduate of Bowdoin in 1870.
He is the thirty-sixth in the line of preceptors, and
is a very successful disciplinarian and most excel¬
lent teacher. He began his work in 1872, and under
his care the school has been uniformly prosperous.
WESTFORD.
485
At the present time (1879) there are eleven
public schools in the town, and ten school-houses.
These, with one exception, have been built since
the repeal in 1869 of the law rèlating to school-
districts.
The schools are kept for eight months in the
year. The number of scholars between five and
fifteen years of age. May 1, 1878, was three hun¬
dred and nine. The amount of money raised for
the support of schools, March, 1879, was $3,000.
Manufactures.—The leading industry from the
beginning has been agriculture. In the early-years
little else was done ; but gradually, as the people
made progress, they gave attention to the manufac¬
turing of such articles as they needed. The abun¬
dant water-power in the town gave them facilities
which they carefully used. The chief stream is the
Stony Brook, the outlet of Forge Pond, which runs
through the town from the southwest to the north¬
east. The descent from the mouth of the pond to
the point where it empties into the Merrimack is
nearly one hundred feet. At Forge Village the
fall is fourteen feet, at Graniteville twenty, at
Westford Station eight feet, and at Brookside it
is about ten feet. In Allen's History of Chelms¬
ford there is no mention of any mill on Stony Brook
except at its mouth. It is probable, however, that
the water-power at Brookside was improved at an
early date. In the first fax-list, 1730, the name
of William Chandler appears, who, it is probable,
was the first to establish the business of dressing
cloth. His mill stood at Brookside, and the Work
was carried on by successive proprietors until 1863,
when the building was used for the manufacture of
woollen yarn.
Hon. Caleb Butler, in his History of Grofon,
says : " After King Philip's War and the re-settle¬
ment of the town, Jonas Prescott built a mill at
Stony Brook near its issue from Forge Pond, now
in Westford." This is the first account we have
of the improvement of the water-power at that
place. " Previous to the erection of Prescott's
mills," continues Mr. Butler, " an Indian by the
name of Andrew sold his weir at Stony Brook, as
appears by the following record : ' The twenty shil¬
lings due to Andrew, the Indian, from the town
for his warre at Stony Brook, assigned by said
Indian to Eichard Blood, the said Eichard Blood
assigns it over to Lieutenant James Parker.' " The
date of the grant to Jonas Prescott by the town of
Groton was June 15, 1680. The territory which
then belonged to Groton was annexed to Westford in
1730. But prior to the last date Jonas Prescott
had " greatly enlarged and improved the works on
Stony Brook, by erecting forges for manufacturing
iron from the ore, as well as other purposes."
It is difficult to fix the precise date of the build¬
ing of the forges, but it was probably as early as
1700 ; for the language of Butler implies that the
works were set up before Captain Prescott enlarged
them. He was born in 1678, and was "of age"
in 1699. It is just, therefore, to suppose that his
active business life began as early as 1710. This
enterprise of working iron was the third or fourth
of the kind established in this country. The busi¬
ness was carried on until the year 1865, when the
Forge Company ceased to exist. During this long
period of one liundred and sixty or seventy years
the Prescotts, descendants of Jonas, of Groton, held
a controlling interest in the company, and managed
its affairs, except during the last few years of its
existence. Jonas, who died in 1870, five years after
the forging ceased, was the owner of forty shares
in 1863, and was the last of the name who worked
at the business.
January 5, 1865, the Forge Village Horse Nail
Company was formed. It succeeded to the fran¬
chise of the forge company, used the water-
power and the buildings of that company, and
put in machinery for making nails. The capital
stock was $30,000, with the right to increase it
to $100,000. The officers were: John T.Daly,
president ; John F. Haskins, secretary ; and Alex¬
ander H. Caryl, treasurer. The capital was increased
to $100,000 in 1868. For a few years the busi¬
ness was prosperous, but it gradually declined
until 1877, when it came to an end.
In 1854 Charles G. Sargent came to Granite¬
ville and entered into partnership with Francis A.
Calvert, under the firm name of Calvert and Sar¬
gent. They bought of Solomon Eichardson his
farm, and his saw and grist mill. These buildings
were converted into shops for the manufacture of
woollen machinery. They were burned in Decem¬
ber, 1855, and then what is now Mill No. 1 —
a two-story building, 185 x 52 feet, with a con¬
necting L, 32 X 40 feet — was erected. Two years
later they built Mill No. 2, of the same dimen¬
sions. A partnership was formed in 1857, with
John W. P. Abbot, for the manufacture of worsted
yarns; but being unable to attend to so much
business, Mr. Sargent sold his interest to Allan
Cameron in 1857. In 1862 Mr. Sargent bought
his partner's interest, and continued the business
486
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in his own name. He invented a number of
important machines pertaining to his branch of
manufacture. Among them are a burr-picker, a
wool-drying machine, a patent atomizer for oiling
wool, and a metallic waste-card for reducing yarn,
thread-waste, and soft flannels to wool.
In 1877 he built a new and larger shop on the
opposite side of the stream. This was finished,
and the machinery moved into it, in 1878.
In the census of 1875 Sargent's mill is said
to have one establishment for the manufacture of
woollen machinery: capital, $37,522; value of
goods manufactured in that year, $46,011. To
Mr. Sargent belongs the credit of building up the
village of Graniteville. When he came there in
1854 there were only five or six houses, and only a
saw and grist mill upon the stream. In 1875 there
were eighty-nine families, and these have since
increased to a hundred at least. There are now in
that village a machipe-shop, a worsted-mill, ho¬
siery, two stores, milliner's shop, post-olfice, and
the Methodist Church, all of which have come into
existence since 1854; and all the leading enter¬
prises have sprung up under Mr. Sargent's fos¬
tering care. The growth of that village is an
illustration of New England thrift and industry.
Mr. Sargent was born in Hillsborough, New Hamp¬
shire, July 17, 1818, and died July 16, 1878.
The business is now conducted by his sons.
The Chauncy Mills were established in Granite¬
ville, August, 1874. There is one set of maciiinery
for the making of Shaker socks. One hundred
pounds of wool are used, and fifty or sixty dozen
pairs of socks are made each day. Thirty persons
are employed in the mill, and work is given to
many more out of it. M. H. A. Evans is proprietor,
John Murphy superintendent, and Jerry Murphy
foreman.
The Abbot Worsted Mills began business in
1855, with John W. Abbot as managing partner,
and John W. P. Abbot and Charles G. Sargent as
special partners. At first they manufactured fine
worsted yarns for the making of braids and uphol¬
stery goods, employing about twenty hands. In
1857 Mr. Sargent retired from the firm, and Mr.
Allan Cameron became an active partner. In Jan¬
uary, 1858, their works, as well as those of Mr.
Sargent, were entirely destroyed by fire; but in
January, 1859, they again began business in one
half of a large stone mill, built by Mr. Sargent,
about one eighth of a mile helow the former
site. These premises they have continued to
occupy to the present time, with frequent ád-
ditions to give increased facilities of production.
When they started anew they hegan the manu¬
facture of carded yarns, used in making carpets.
In 1878 Abbot and Company leased the part of the
mill formerly occupied by Sargent and Sons, and
also built a stone addition to the mill occupied by
themselves, sixty feet long and two stories high,
and proceeded to fill it with machinery, thus nearly
doubling their former productive capacity. Eind-
ing this still insufficient to meet the growing M-ants
of their customers, they purchased, in October,
1879, the ' buildings and water-power at Forge
Village, formerly occupied by the Forge Village
Horse Nail Company, and filled the buildings with
improved machinery. Abbot and Company employ
in their different mills one hundred and eighty-
five hands, using each week about thirty thousand
pounds of clean wool, and producing twenty-four
thousand pounds of yarn per week.
In 1875 the valuation of the town was;
real estate, $897,232 ; personal, $212,532; total,
$1,109,764. Rate of taxation, $1.48 per hun¬
dred dollars ; number of polls, 529. Total value
of manufactured products, $491,561 ; products of
agriculture and quarrying, $190,120 ; total prod¬
ucts, $681,681.
May 1, 1879, tlie valuation was; real estate,
$817,901; personal estate, $132,830; total,
$950,731.- Tax per hundred dollars, $1.18;
number of polls, 488.
The population of the town in 1776 — forty-
seven years after its incorporation — was 1,193;
in 1790 it was 1,229 ; in 1800, 1,267; in 1810,
1,330; in 1820, 1,409; in 1830, 1,329; in 1840,
1,436 ; in 1850, 1,473 ; in 1860,1,624 ; in 1870,
1,803; in 1875, 1,933. There was a decrease of
80 from 1820 to 1830, — the only decade in which
a loss occurred.
There are four principal villages, — the Centre,
Forge Village, Graniteville, and Brookside; the
three last named being on the line of the Stony
Brook Railroad.
At the Centre, one mile from the railroad, stands
the large town-hall on Main Street,—a building
two stories high, with two large audience-rooms,
library, selectmen's room with safety-vault attached,
and all the conveniences belonging to modern struc¬
tures of its kind. Its cost, with the land, was
about $10,000. It was dedicated in March, 1871.
Abbot Park, at the Centre, is a gem in a brilliant
setting. In 1840 this was an unfenced common,
WESTFORD.
487
bat in that year the town voted that " John Abbot
and others may build a fence around the common,
provided the town be put to no expense on account
of the same." The next year (1841) the fence was
built, and the trees planted ; and the expense in¬
curred was met by voluntary contributions. These
trees have grown rapidly, and the Park is now one
of the loveliest features of the village. On the
northwest side of it stands the church edifice of the
First Parish (Unitarian) Society, built in 1794, and
remodelled in 1868. It is built after the style
which prevailed a century ago. The church edifice
of the Union Congregational Society stands on the
east side of the Park. It is an unpretending struc¬
ture, built in 1829, and dedicated October 8. On
the south side of the Park is the academy, a small
building embowered among trees. The residences
of John W. Abbot, Allan Cameron, and J. Henry
Read are the finest on Main Street. The West-
ford Ornamental Tree Association was formed in
1871. Its name has been changed to the Village
Improvement Association. It has done a good
work by constructing sidewalks and planting
trees. ' It has an annual work-day in the spring,
when the members work, dine together, and listen
to an address.
Public Library. — In 1797 a respectable num¬
ber of the citizens of Westford agreed to form a
shareholders' library, the number of shares not
being less than fifty ; the price of each share was
two dollars. With commendable spirit they took
from one to four shares each, and with the money
resulting therefrom the first purchase of books was
made. In 1859 the shareholders surrendered their
interest to the town, which consented to pay all
expenses connected with the library, and appro¬
priate not less than thirty dollars a year for the
purchase of new books. In this way Westford was
one of the earliest towns to establish a free public
library. The number of volumes in the library
(June, 1879) is 3,427.
The establishment of the academy here eighty-
six years ago has fostered a taste for literary pur¬
suits among the people. When the Hon. John D.
Long was preceptor of the academy, in 1858-59, a
literary society was formed wliich lived several years.
Hon. Willard Hall was born in Westford, De¬
cember 24, 1780. He was the son of Willis and
Mehitable (Pool) Hall, and grandson of Rev. Wil¬
lard Hall, the first minister of the town. He was
fitted for college in 1794, at Westford Academy,
entered Harvard in 1795, and graduated in 1799.
He studied law at Groton, in Judge Dana's
office, was admitted to the bar in 1803, and the
same year settled in Dover, Delaware. In 1811
he was appointed secretary of state for Delaware,
and held the office for three years. In 1816 he was
chosen representative in Congress from that state,
and was re-elected in 1818. In 1821 he was again
secretary of state, and May 6, 1823, he was ap¬
pointed district judge of the United States for the
Delaware district. In 1828 he revised the statu¬
tory laws of Delaware. In 1825 he removed from
Dover to Wilmington, and in 1831 was chosen a
delegate from his county to a convention called for
revising the eonstitution of that state, " having
been placed on the ticket of both parties." Judge
Hall published at various times several essays, ad¬
dresses, and reports, most of them relating to com¬
mon schools and education. He married, first,
Junia Killen, daughter of William Killen, chan¬
cellor of Delaware, and secondly, Harriet Hillyard,
of Kent County, Delaware. He died May 10,
1875, aged ninety-four years.
Railroads. — The Stony Brook Railroad was
opened to public travel July 4, 1848. Passing
across the town in a southwest direction, it cuts it
into two nearly equal portions. It has been the
means of developing business; especially in Granite-
ville, a village that sprung into existence after the
road was built, and is now a thriving manufac¬
turing place. On this road there are four stations,
— Brookside, Westford, Graniteville, and Forge
Village, — all within the limits of Westford.
The Framingham and Lowell Railroad enters the
town on the easterly side, a little south of Hart's
Pond in Chelmsford, and passing what is known as
"the Dupee place," furnislies good accommoda¬
tions to all who live in that section of the town.
There is but one station in Westford, — that called
by the company the Carlisle Station.
The Nashua, Acton, and Boston Railroad was
opened to the public in July, 1873. Striking the
town near its northwest angle, it passes longitudi¬
nally and leaves it at the southwest corner. It
has three stations in town,—Graniteville, West-
ford, and East Littleton, so called.
The town will complete one hundred and fifty
years of its corporate existence in September, 1879.
It is probable that the event will be commemo¬
rated in some fitting way. With its abundant
resources, and its nearness to the markets of
Lowell and Boston, there is every reason to ex¬
pect growth and prosperity for it in years to come.
488
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
WESTON.
BY C. A. NELSON.
E town of Weston was incorpo¬
rated January 1, 1712-13, by
an act of the General Court
cutting off from the west end
of AVatertown about one half of
its territory.
For nearly six years after its
settlement in 1630, the western
limits of Watertown remained
.undefined, the town extending
indefinitely westward into the country and up the
north or left side of Charles Kiver. The first defi¬
nite boundaries were arranged with the people of
Newtown in April, 1635 ; September 3, of the
same year, orders passed the General Court for the
settlement of the towns of Concord and Dedham,
adjoining Watertown upon the northwest and south¬
west respectively. March 2, 1635 - 36, the western
limit was fixed by an order of the court declaring
that " the bounds of Watertown shall run eight
miles into the country from their meeting-house."
The grants to Concord and to Dedham were found
to overlap the grant to Watertown, and "for the
final end of all differences between Watertown,
Concord, and Dedham," the court ordered, on the
8th of June, 1638, "that Watertown eight miles
shall be extended upon the line between them
[Watertown] and Cambridge, so far as Concord
bounds give leave ; and that their hounds by the
river shall run eight miles into the country in a
straight line, as also the river doth for the most
part run, and so to take in all the land of that
[north] side of the river, which will not fall into
the square five miles granted to Dedham ; and that
the neck on the same [north or left] side of the
river near to Dedham town, shall be cast into the
said square of five miles to make up the same, so
as the said square is to be accounted by quantity
and not by situation, because the place will not
admit of it; and that their eight miles from
Watertown meeting-house shall be by a line be¬
tween both the other lines."
The extreme southwestern portion of the terri¬
tory, that lying beyond Stony Brook, appears to
have been from the beginning the favorite portion
with the farmers. Only a fortnight after the first
landing at Dorchester-field, Watertown, by Captain
Eoger Clap and his nine companions. May 30,
1630, and less than a week after his own arrival at
Salem, Governor John Winthrop, with a small
party, " went to Mattachusetts to find out a place
for our sitting down, .... for Salem, where
wee landed, pleased vs not. And to that purpose
some were sent to the Bay to search vpp the riuers
for a conuenient place, who vppon their retume
reported to have found a good place vppon Mistick;
but some other of vs seconding theis to approue
or dislike of their judgement ; wee found a place
liked vs better three leagues vpp Charles riuer." ^
" This," says Dr. John G. Palfrey, in his His¬
tory of New England, " would correspond to what
is now Waltham or Weston, and I think it very
likely to have been near the mouth of Stony Brook,
which divides those two towns."
Winthrop's party liked this locality so well that
it was resolved to make this the place of settlement
for the whole company, and to name it Boston.
"And there vppon," says Dudley, "unshipped
our goods into other vessels and with much cost and
labour brought them in July to Charles Towne; but
(many of our people brought with vs beeing
sick of fea ver and the scurvy and wee thereby unable
to carry vpp our ordnance and baggage see farr)
wee were forced to change our counsaile and for
our present shelter to plant dispersedly, some at
Charles Towne which standeth on the north Side
of mouth of Charles Riuer ; some on the South
Side, which place wee named Boston (as wee in¬
tended to have done the place wee first resolved on)
some of vs vppon Mistick, which place wee named
Meadford ; some of vs westwards on Charles Riuer,
four miles from Charles Towne, which place wee
named Watertoune."
More than half a century later John Dunton, a
^ Deputy-Governor Dudley's Letter to the Countess of Lin¬
coln, March 28, 1631.
WESTON.
489
careful observer, gave the following description
of this section in a letter written in 1686 to his
father-in-law, giving an account of a ramble made
by a party from Boston to attend the annual sermon
preached to the Indians at Natick. The men rode
upon horseback, each having a lady companion
upon the pillion of his saddle as " luggage." Dun-
ton was fortunate in escorting the Widow Brick,
a fair lady whom he calls " the flower of Boston."
They started early, and arriving at Watertown, " we
alighted," he says, " and refresh't our Luggage, and
while others were Engaged in Frothy Discourses, the
Widow Brick and I took a View of the Town, which
is built upon one of the branches of Charles Eiver,
very fruitful, and of large extent; watered with
many pleasant Springs, and small Rivulets : The
Inhabitants live scatteringly Having well
refresh't our selyes at Water-Town, we mounted
again, and from thence we rambled thro' severall
Tall Woods between the Mountains, over many
rich and pregnant Vallies as ever eye- beheld, beset
on each side with variety of goodly Trees : So that
had the most Skilful Gardner design'd a shady
walk in a fine Valley, it would have fallen short of
that which nature here had done without him."
This description is understood to apply to the road
through Waltham and Weston, and is nearly as
applicable to-day as when written, when it is re¬
membered diat the " pregnant vallies " have swal¬
lowed up the " tall woods."
The territory of the original town of Watertown
was so extensive that its several parts were very
early known by distinct and peculiar names. The
lands next west of Beaver Brook were called " the
lots in the Further Plain," or the Great Plain (and
later Waltham Plain). The Remote or West Pine
Meadows were probably in the southern or south¬
eastern parts of Weston. The Lieu of Township
Lots, or lots beyond the Further Plain, were west
of Waltham Plain, south of the Great Dividends,
and extended beyond Stony Brook. The Farms,
or Farm Lands, included what remained as far as
the Sudbury and Dedham bounds, comprising the
main portion of Weston.
These names, applied in general terms to divis¬
ions of the territory of the original town of Water-
town, are used in the early grants to the freemen ;
the names of the grantees, and the number of acres
allotted to each, are given by Dr. Bond in the first
appendix to his Hislory of Watertown.
From the Watertown records we take the follow¬
ing : " 1637, June, 26. A grant of the Remote
or West Pine Meadow, divided and lotted out to
all the Townsmen then inhabiting, being 114 in
number, allowing one acre for a person, and like¬
wise for cattle, valued at 20 lb. the head, beginning
next the Playne Meadow, and to go on until the
lots are ended." These meadows. Dr. Bond, who
gave the matter careful and thorough investigation,
thinks were probably in the southern and south¬
eastern part of Weston.
July 17, 1638, it was "Ordered, that all the
Land lying beyond the Plowland [lots in the Fur¬
ther Plain] and the lots granted in liew of v* Towne-
ship [extending west of Stony Brook], having y'
great dividents on the one [north] side, Charles
River and Dedham bounds on the other [south]
side, and the Farme lands at the further end [west
side] of it, shalbe for a Common for Cattle, to the
use of the freemen of the Towne and their heirs
forever, & not to be alienated without the Consent
of every freeman and their heirs forever." This
order is particularly noticeable as being the first
instance upon the records where the term " Farm
lands" is applied to the territory now Weston.
Three months later, October 14, 1638, it was
" Ordered, that the Farmes granted shall begin at
the nearest meadow to Dedham line, beyond the
line that runneth at the end of y® great dividents
parralell to the line at the end of the Towne bounds,
and so to go on successively from Dedham Bounds
in order as they are given out, as they w®** are
deputed to lay them out shall see good & appoint,
the proportion of meddow being twenty Acres to
One Hundred & fifty Acres of upland."
November 27, 1639, the Freemen's Common
was disposed of to the Farms by the order " y' if
the Land in View for Farmes shall not suffice to
accommodate the rest of the Townsmen that are
behind, that then they shall have their Farmes out
of the Freemen's Common upon the same condition
that the rest have theirs."
At the meeting held October 14, 1638, it was
" Ordered, y* Daniel Pattrick, Abram Browne,
John Stowers, Edmund Lewis, and Simon Eire, or
the maior part of them, shall lay out these Farms
as they are ordered."
In the files of the County Court is a schedule
dated May 10, 1642, containing a list of names of
persons to whom ninety-two farms, containing 7,674
acres, were allotted, and mention is made of " farms
laid out formerly." The names of the committee
do not appear on this schedule, but they do appear,
I with some half-dozen others, in connection with a
490
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
range of lots on the south side of the highway. " The
first lot in the range, adjoining the Sudbury Line,
was that of Bryan Pendleton, by him sold to Peter
Noyes, and very early purchased by George Mun-
ning." Adjoining this on the east were the lots
of Daniel Pattrick, Simon Eire, John Stowers,
Abraham Browne, John Whitney, Edward How,
Jerenriah Norcross, and Thomas Mayhew, who
thus appear to have been the earliest proprietors
of lands in Weston. The allotment committee
seem to have provided farms for themselves and
a few friends in advance of the general allotment
of May, 1643.
From 1647 to 166-3 there was much dissatisfac¬
tion and contention about the early allotments of
the Eemote Meadows, the lands in lieu of township
and of the farm lands, and in the latter year this
portion of the town was re-surveyed and plotted
by Captain John Sherman for a new allotment.
It contained 1,102 acres, bounded on the south by
Dedham, west by Natick aiid Sudbury, and on
other sides by tiie farm lands. This district is
frequently referred to in early deeds as " the land
of contention."
■ The westward growth of the town — particularly
the taking up of the farm lands (in Weston) — re¬
moved the farmers so far from the meeting-house
(from five to eight miles), that it was inconvenient
for them to attend service there, and a considerable
number of them united with the church in Sudbury,
which was much nearer to them, but they were
taxed for the support of the ministry in Water-
town.
The earliest mention in the records of a boun¬
dary between the Farms and the rest of Watertown
is March 13, 1682 - 83, when it was voted that
" those that dwell on west of Stony Brook be freed
from school tax in 1683."
The Farms were afterward known for a few years
as the Farmers' Precinct, sometimes as the Third
Military Precinct, or the precinct of Lieutenant
Jones's company, sometimes as the Westernmost
Precinct.
November 10, 1685, the town "voted that the
farmers' petition should be suspended, as to an
answer to it, until it pleaseth God to settle a min¬
ister amongst us," from which, perhaps, it may be
inferred that they had asked to be exempted from
the tax for the support of a church which they
could not attend.
In 1692 a town-meeting was held to decide
upon a site for a new meeting-house, but the free¬
men were too much divided in sentiment to come
to an agreement. An exciting controversy fol¬
lowed, and the governor and council were called
upon to settle the matter.
Their decision did not please all, and at a town-
meeting held May 9, 1694, an earnest protest,
signed by eighty-two men aud women residing in
the eastern part of the town, and by thirty-lSiree
men and women residing at the western part, in
the Farms, was presented against following the ad¬
vice of the governor and council. At an irregular
town-meeting held October 2, 1694, Beaver Brook
was made the eastern boundary of the Farmers'
Precinct ; but the General Court, at their May ses¬
sion, 1699, fixed it at Stony Brook. At this meet¬
ing it was stated that the farmers were " upon
endeavors to have a meeting-house among them¬
selves."
January 9, 1694-95 the farmers met, and
agreed to build a meeting-house thirty feet square,
and to place it on the land of Nathaniel Cooledge,
Sr., by the side of the road, at the head of Park-
hurst's meadow, a little to the west of the present
flag-pole. The next year agents were chosen to
contract with workmen to build the house, wiiich
was to be called the Farmers' Meeting-house.
The work was begun by subscription, money being
contributed " Some time in August, 1695," by sun¬
dry persons for the purpose of presenting a petition
to the General Court, praying for leave "to set up
the public worship of God amongst the inhabitants
of the west end of said town " (Watertown). This
petition was granted at the May session of 1698.
In February, 1697, the farmers were exempted
from ministerial rates in the town. Votés were
passed at precinct meetings in November, 1698,
August, September, and November, 1699, making
provision for completing the meeting-house. Feb¬
ruary 14, 1700, the precinct voted to have a min¬
ister to preach in the meeting-house, to begin the
second Sabbath of the ensuing March, so that it
was five years from the time the farmers voted to
build a meeting-house before it was so far com¬
pleted as to be usable; and from a vote passed
March 30, 1710, granting money to finish the
meeting-house, it appears not to have been fully
finished until ten years later, fifteen years heing
thus consumed in erecting a building thirty feet
square.
March 5, 1700, money was granted to support
preaching, and grants continued to be made at
successive periods for the same purpose, but it was
WESTON.
491
not till 1710 that a minister was finally satisfac¬
torily settled, and a churcli duly organized.
Mr. Thomas Symmes, graduated at Harvard
College in 1698, was chosen minister October 8,
1700, but he did not accept. March 10 and Sep¬
tember 12,1701, the committee of the precinct was
directed to provide a man to preach with them.
December 19, 1701, they voted that Mr. Joseph
Mors (H. C. 1695) should continue in order for
settlement, and July 6, 1702, they gave him a call
by a vote of thirty to twelve. September 28, they
renewed their call, granting an annual salary, and
promising to build him a house 40 x 20 feet.
November 23, he accepted the call, conditionally,
and the precinct accepted bis answer January 8,
1702-3, and voted to begin the promised house,
which was raised October 4, following, and put into
Mr. Mors's possession the year after. Difficulties
arose, and he was not settled. Perplexing delays
followed, and the precinct finally decided to pur¬
chase Mr. Mors's "housing and lands," indem¬
nifying him against pecuniary loss, and that he
should leave them in the spring of 1706. An
agreement was not easily reached, as Mr. Mors
did not convey the premises to the committee until
December 31, 1707. Ineffectual efforts were.ear¬
nestly made to bring about a reconciliation between
Mr. Mors and his opposers.
In 1706 the precinct was presented at the Court
of Sessions for not having a settled minister. Feb¬
ruary 11, 1707, the precinct chose Mr. Nathaniel
Gookin to be their minister, but he declined the
call, preferring the position of librarian at Harvard
College, which he held from 1707 to 1709. The
presentment still lay before the court, and they had
to make two returns in April and June, 1707.
July 16, 1707, they called Mr. Thomas Tufts, of
the class of 1701 at Harvard; he declined. Jan¬
uary 14, 1708, was observed as a day of fasting
and prayer. February 4, 1708, they gave a call
to Mr. William Williams (H. C. 1705), who,
after the adjustment of preliminaries, accepted,
August 23, 1709. A church was gathered and
organized, and Mr. Williams was ordained Novem¬
ber 2, 1709, "about eleven years and a half after
the Farms had become a distinct precinct."
"The church consisted at first," says Dr. Sam¬
uel Kendal, "of eighteen male members, — nine
from other churches, and nine who had not been
communicants." He gives their names as fol¬
lows : " Nathaniel Cooledge, Thomas Flagg, Jo¬
seph Lovell, John Parkhurst, John Livermore,
Francis Fullam, Abel Allen, Ebenezer Allen, Fran¬
cis Pierce, Josiah Jones, Thomas Wright, Joseph
Allen, Josiah Jones, Jr., Joseph Livermore,
Joseph Allen, Jr., Samuel Seaverns, Joseph Wool-
son, and George Robinson." Josiah Jones and
John Parkhurst were chosen the first deacons.
May 7, 1708, the freemen of Watertown ap¬
pointed a committee " to run a line between the
town and the Fanners' Precinct, referring to the
ministry." This was done May 28, and the line
began at Charles River, followed up Stony Brook
to Beaver Pond, " and from said pond to a black
pine, at the bounds where Cambridge and Water-
town and Concord meet ; said Farmers' Precinct
being on the west side of said brook."
Having obtained their own church, the farmers
soon gave their attention to procuring their own
incorporation as a town.
A committee, consisting of Captain Francis
Fulham, Lieutenant Josiah Jones, and Daniel
Estabrook, presented a petition at the towm-meet-
ing held May 12, 1712, and, December 2, follow¬
ing, the town " did by a free vote manifest their
willingness that the said farmers should be a town¬
ship by themselves, according to their former
bounds," with the proviso and conditions : 1. That
the farmers continue to pay a due share of the ex¬
pense of maintaining the Great Bridge over Charles
River; 2. That they pay their full and due share
of the debts now due by the town ; 3. That they
do not in any way infringe the rights of proprietors
having land, but not residing among the farmers.
The petition was immediately presented to the
General Court, and the act incorporating the town
of Weston was passed January 1, 1712-13.
When the Indians began their attacks upon the
settlements in 1675, the men of the Farmers' Pre¬
cinct were ready not only to defend their own homes,
but to assist in the defence of the colony. In De¬
cember, 1675, a warrant was issued to the militia
of Watertown to furnish "twenty soldiers, with
provisions, arms, ammunition, and good clothing,"
for the defence of the colony. Upon Captain Hugh
Mason's return to this warrant appear the names
of thirty persons (including himself) who appeared
in answer to the summons convening the company,
the names of seven who did not appear, and a list
of twenty names of persons " rationly most fitt to
goe upon the servis." Mr. C. H. Fiske, in his
oration, July 4, 1876, gives the names of the fol¬
lowing seven persons " who lived in the Farmers'
Precinct and who are included in the above list "
492
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
of twenty who fought under Captain Mason : "John
Parkliurst, Michael Flegg [Flagg], John Whettny,
Jr., George Herrington, Jacob Bullard, Nathanell
Hely, John Bigulah [Bigelow]."
It the attack upon Sudbury, April 18, 1676,
Captain Hugh Mason and his band from Water-
town, in which were doubtless included the farmers
just named, " aided by citizens of Sudbury, were
the first who engaged the assailants, on the east
side of the river ; but after a severe contest they
were obliged to retreat.'' Tradition relates that,
at the time of this attack, in order to carry out
their threat to burn Watertown as well as the other
settlements, the Indians "penetrated the western
part of the town and burned a barn, standing on
the farm now owned and occupied by Mr. Nahum
Smith, on the back road, leading to Wayland, but
it is not known that any one was killed."
At the famous Lovewell's Fight with the Pig-
wacket tribe of Indians, which took place at
Prgwacket (Fryeburg), May 8, 1725, Jacob Ful-
ham, who was a sergeant in Captain Lovewell's
company, was killed. " A sergeant named Fulham,
and an Indian, distinguished by his dress and
activity, singled out each the other, and both fell,
mutually slain by their antagonist's weapon." This
Jacob Fulham was the eldest son of Major Francis
Fulham, who was justice of the peace of Watertown
Farms; one of the selectmen of Watertown from
1710 to 1711; and one of the committee chosen
to secure the incorporation of the town of Weston,
in which town he afterwards held numerous respon¬
sible offices, and was for a long time the most
influential man, owning numerous parcels of land
in the southwest part of the town. He lived to
an advanced age, and as "Colonel Francis Fulham "
was moderator of a town-meeting, March 25, 1751.
In 1719 the records of Natick were in his keeping,
and March 30, 17 52, he resigned his agency for
collecting rents for the proprietors of that town.
He was for fourteen years, between 1713 and
1737, the representative of Weston in the General
Court. June 19, 1721, he, with Jonas Bond of
Watertown, and Francis Bowman of Lexington,
were appointed " to be Commissioners of Sewers,"
and tbe immediate object of their appointment was
"the cleansing and removing all such banks and
other obstructions " in the Sudbury and Concord
river, " which do occasion the overflowing thereof,
and of drowning the meadows and other low lands
adjoining or lying on said river." The extent of
the work was " from the mill-pond of Christopher
Osgood, in Belerica bounds, to the cart-bridge in
Sudbury." He was a chief justice of the Court
of Common Pleas of Middlesex County from 1719
to 1755, when he resigned his place upon the
bench.
Rev. William Williams ordained, as already
stated, November 2, 1709, remained pastor of the
church nearly forty-one years, until October 24,
1750, when he was dismissed by a mutual council,
but the cause of his dismissal does not appear.
He is briefly described by Dr. Kendal as a "scholar
and a good preacher." A printed sermon of his,
preached after the death of his wife, is deeply im¬
bued with the spirit of piety and resignation. He
was a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1705,
being a classmate of President Edward Holyoke.
He was twice married, and was the father of eight
children. William Williams, his eldest son, born
May 14,1711, graduated at Harvard College, 1729,
was one of the first settlers of Pittsfleld, a judge
in Berkshire County, and a colonel distinguished
in tiie French and Indian wars. After his dismis¬
sal, Mr. Williams continued to reside in the town
until his death, March 6, 1760, at the age of
seventy-two years. He was buried in the old
bnrying-ground.
There is a vote of the town, recorded March 3,
1755, excusing " Mr. William Williams from pay¬
ing rates to be made so long as he remains in the
town of Weston, provided he discharge said town
in full of all demands upon said town of any arrears
upon the account of deficiency of their grants to
him, or getting his fire wood, etc., while said Wil¬
liams was in the work of the ministry in said
town"; and Mr. Williams accepted this settlement
of the arrears of his salary overdue nearly five
years, and entered his receipt in full upon the town
record.
The first congregation assembled in their little
thirty-feet-square church, which stood within a few
rods of the geographical centre of the town, for
about thirteen years, gathering not at the sound of
the bell, — "no such music in that earlier time
broke the stillness of Sabbath morning," — but
" at the beat of drum," as was becoming the sol¬
diers of Christ. Inside the church there were no
pews, only forms or benches, the men ranged on
one side, the women on the other, and the boys
by themselves, with a tithing-man, or constable, in
their midst to keep them in order.
"Each of these constables," says Higginson,
" had a wand, with a hare's foot on one end and
WESTON.
493
a hare's tail on the other. These were to keep
the people awake. If any woman went to sleep, the
constable touched her on the forehead with the
hare's tail ; but if a small boy nodded, lie was
rapped with the other end not quite so gently."
The church at Weston, at a meeting held April 27,
1726, voted that " turning y® back towards y® min¬
ister to gaze abroad, and laying down y® Iiead
upon y® arms (in a sleepy posture) in y' time of
public worsliip (extraordinary cases excepted) are
postures, irreverent and indecent, and which ought
to be reformed, where any are faulty therein, and
carefully avoided."
In March, 1718, a motion was made in town-
meeting to build a new meeting-house, but the
matter was deferred. October 23,1721, a vote was
passed by the towu to build a new meeting-house,
and to appropriate their proportion of the bills of
credit issued by the General Coúrt to this object.
In the summer of the following year the new house
was raised. It stood a little to the rear of the
first one, and was more commodious, with square
pews and galleries, and seats on hinges, to which
the name "slam-seats" was sometimes given. This
house was repaired in 1800, a steeple and two
porches erected, and a bell procured. About
fifteen years later the pews were altered from the
square to the modern long form. It remained in
constant use until 1840, reaching the good old age
of one hundred and eighteen years, and every pas¬
tor of the society had ministered at its altar, " when
it was pulled down, and the present Unitarian house
erected still farther back and across the county
road, which intersects our common." It is said
that when the din and clatter of the " slam-seats,"
at the " amen " of the devotional service, was loud
and universal, it was specially pleasing to the min¬
isters of those days, as indicating a full and earnest
congregation.
The Eev. Samuel Woodward succeeded Mr.
Williams as pastor of the church. He was ordained
September 25, 1751, and held the position until
his death, October 5, 1782. Allowing eleven days
for the change from Old Style to New Style be¬
tween his ordination and death, his pastorate con¬
tinued thirty-one years less one day. Dr. Samuel
Kendal, his successor and son-in-law, says of him,
" He died greatly beloved and lamented by the
people of his charge, by his brethren in office, and
by an extensive circle of acquaintance. He was a
serious, sensible, practical preacher; cheerful and
facetious without lessening his dignity as a minis¬
ter, or Christian. No man could more happily
blend the cheerful with the grave in conversation,
and yet preserve their exact bounds Few
men seem to have inspired a profounder respect or
a warmer love." He was born February 1, 1727,
and graduated at Harvard College in 1748. He
was the sOn of Deacon Ebenezer Woodward, of
Newton, who occupied the original homestead near
the Upper Falls, grandson of John Woodward, an
early settler of that town, and great-great-grandson
of Eichard Woodward, a freeman, and one of the
earliest proprietors of Watertown and a grantee of
one hundred and twenty-five acres in the distribu¬
tion of the " Farine Lands."
Eev. Samuel Kendal, D. D., was ordained suc¬
cessor to Mr. Woodward, November 5, 1783, just
thirteen months after the death of his predecessor.
In his century sermon, delivered at Weston, Janu¬
ary 12, 1813 (to which the writer of this sketch is
greatly indebted for important material), he says
of himself that he had " not been kept from the
house of worship but one Sabbath, either by sick¬
ness or inclemency of weather, for thirty years ;
nor had he left the pulpit without a supply, on his
own privàte business, but two Sabbaths within the
term."
Dr. Kendal was greatly respected and loved, not
only in his own parish, but in all the neighboring
churches. "He was," says Eev. Edmund H. Sears,
"the friend and associate of the elder Ware, at
a time of unparalleled religious activity in Mas¬
sachusetts, and when the spirit of sect was begin¬
ning to divide the churches asunder. Dr. Kendal
preached the great truths of Christ, free of scholas¬
tic dogmas and the spirit of sect and party, and he
enforced them with a power and fervency which
met the deeper wants of the spiritual nature. No
schism took place. The pews were filled full, both
on the floors and in the galleries, and persons still
living speak of the stillness that pervaded them
under the fervent appeals of the pulpit. His style
of composition was easy and flowing, his person
large and manly and expressive of the vigor of
his mind, and his voice, of unusual compass and
power, searched every corner of the bouse and com¬
manded audience. He lived through times of the
hottest political strife, had very decided opinions
on questions which agitated the country, and
preached them without reserve. His influence ex¬
tended much beyond his parish. His century ser¬
mon, preached near the close of his life, re-echoes
and prolongs the strain of Phillips at Watertown,
494
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
near two hundred years before." He graduated from
Harvard College in the class of 1782, and the honor¬
ary degree of Doctor of Divinity was conferred upon
him by Yale in 1806. He died February 16,1814.
After the death of Dr. Kendal, Isaac Fiske,
then chairman of the parish committee, invited
Joseph Allen, who had not completed his course
of studies at Cambridge under the elder Ware, to
supply their vacant pulpit as a candidate for settle¬
ment. Shortly after Mr. Allen's health broke down,
and he took a long journey on horseback to the
medicinal springs at Ballston, New York, return¬
ing late in the summer with health still impaired.
Finding, as winter set in, that he could not fulfil his
engagement, he requested and obtained a release
from it. Accordingly, the committee sent for young
Joseph Field, a graduate of Harvard in 1809,
still pursuing his studies in theology, and after
hearing him a few Sundays gave him a call, which
he accepted. He was ordained February 1, 1815,
President Kiakland, of Harvard College, preaching
his ordination sermon. Mr. Allen and other fel¬
low-students rode over from Cambridge, though
the mercury was eight degrees below zero, to wit¬
ness the ceremony and to congratulate him on what
they considered, and what proved to be, his good
fortune. The same day Professor Henry Ware, Sr.,
rode from Cambridge to Lunenburg in an open
sleigh, setting out, accompanied by his son and
eldest daughter, that bitter cold morning before
daylight, reaching Lexington before sunrise, driv¬
ing a distance of some forty miles, and preached
the sermon at the ordination of David Damon at
Lunenburg, returning to Cambridge the same day.
Allen and Damon were college classmates of
Edward Everett, all being members of the class of
1811 at Harvard.
Dr. Joseph Field was born in Boston, December
8, 1788, fitted for college under Dr. Gardner, and
pursued his theological studies under Dr. Kirk-
land. He served as chaplain in the army in 1812,
in the 8d regiment of infantry. He was the
first distinctly Unitarian minister in Weston, and
remained at this post for fifty years, till 1865,
when he resigned as active pastor, but, at the ear¬
nest request of his people, continued to be their
senior pastor till his death, November 9, 1869.
He received the honorary degree of Doctor of Di¬
vinity from his Alma Mater in 1840. He was at
one time a member of the Board of Overseers of
Harvard College. He was greatly honored and loved
by his people, " and by a wide circle of friends, j
for his genial spirit and amiable social qualities.
He wrote with ease ; ' his sermons were terse, clear,
and compact ; and in the day of his highest intel¬
lectual vigor he was regarded in his own vicinity
as among the favorite preachers of his denomination.
.... He was not a man to be ever forgotten by
those who knew him in his best days." The semi¬
centennial of his settlement was celebrated with
appropriate ceremonies, and the proceedings, in¬
cluding his sermon on the occasion, were pub¬
lished.
Eev. Dr. Edmund H. Sears, bom April 6,1810,
graduated at Union College in 1834, and at Cam¬
bridge Theological School in 1837, was the suc¬
cessor of Dr. Field. He was settled in Wayland,
February 20, 1838, removed to Lancaster, Decem¬
ber 23, 1840, and returned to Wayland in 1848.
In May, 1865, he was installed as colleague pastor
with Dr. Field in Weston, where he remained until
his death, January 16, 1876. His last sickness
began with a fall, October 19, 1874, while work¬
ing in his garden, by which he received injurie.s
from which he never recovered. He was " a most
fascinating writer," and is widely known by his
books, of which The, Fourth Gospel the Heart of
Christ, is perhaps the most popular. The exqui¬
site poems, beginning, " Calm on the listening ear
of night," and "It came upon the midnight clear,"
will be held as classics of our language, and are
"enough to make a poet's reputation." No
stronger eulogy could be pronounced over any
man than is given by Dr. Chandler Bobbins in his
commemoration sermon, in which he says he yet
speaks " by the memory of his lessons, by the
force of his example, by the total impression of
his life, by the concentrated influence of his char¬
acter."
From the settlement of Mr. Williams in 1709,
to the death of Dr. Sears, a period of one hun¬
dred and sixty-seven years, there have been only
five ministers settled over this ancient church,
all of whom died here, where they so faithfully
toiled and lived, and now lie buried in our grave¬
yards, almost within a stone's throw of each other.
The first Baptists in Weston began to gather
together in a small company about 1776, meeting
at each other's houses, mutually encouraging and
exhorting each other, when no preadier could be
had, under the lead of Deacon Oliver Hastings,
who was baptized in Framingham in 1772. March
29, 1784, four young men — Justin Harrington,
Samuel Train, Jr., James Hastings, and Joseph
WESTON.
495
Sea veras — contracted to ereet and cover a frame
building thirty-one feet square. The building,
though unfinished, was first used October 1,1784,
and was finished in 1788. July 14, 1789, a
church of sixteen members was recognized by an
ecclesiastical council. They had no settled min¬
ister till January 30, 1811, when they united
with the church in Framinghain, and Eev. Charles
Train was ordained as pastor of the Baptist
Church of Christ in Weston and Framingham.
They separated. May 3, 1826, Mr. Train re¬
maining with the Framingham church, the Wes¬
ton church numbering at this time about forty
members. The present church-building was ded¬
icated October 8, 1828. June 30, 1830, Eev.
Timothy P. Ropes, a graduate of Waterville Col¬
lege in 1827, was ordained as pastor, and remained
three years. The parsonage was erected from the
material of the old church-building during the latter
part of his stay. From small beginnings the church
has grown to be the largest in the town. Since
Mr. Ropes the successive pastors have been : Rev.
Joseph Hodges, Jr., a graduate of Waterville Col¬
lege, 1830, settled in 1835, resigned in 1839;
Rev. Origen Crane, educated at Newton Theologi¬
cal Seminary, settled in 1840, resigned in 1854;
Rev. Calvin H. Topliff, graduated at Brown Uni¬
versity, 1846, settled in 1854, resigned in 1866;
Rev. Luther G. Barrett, graduated at Harvard Col¬
lege, 1862, settled in 1867, resigned in 1870 ; Rev.
Alonzo F. Benson, settled in 1870, died July 15,
1874; and Rev. Amos Harris, the present pastor,
settled January 1, 1875.
In 1798 a Methodist meeting-house — simply
a boarded enclosure, with a platform for the
preacher, and rough board seats — was put up in
the north part of the town, "about sixty rods
northeast of the present Methodist Church, on the
Lexington road The circuit to which this
chapel belonged comprised, besides the town of
Weston, the towns of Needham, Marlborough,
Framingham, and Hopkinton ; the whole at first
under the charge of one preacher. Rev. John L.
Hill. The number of preachers was afterwards
increased to three. The first trustees of the Meth¬
odist Church of Weston were Abraham Bemis,
Habakkuk Stearns, Jonas Bemis, John Viles, and
Daniel Stratton. Their present church-building
was erected in 1828, and dedicated in 1829." By
an act of the General Court, approved by Governor
Lincoln, February 28, 1829, the trustees of the
First Methodist Episcopal Society in Weston were
incorporated. In 1833 this church was consti¬
tuted a station, with a regularly appointed
preacher, Waltham and Lincoln being included
in the station for a few years. Waltham became
an independent station in 1839, and took away
some sixty members of the church, reducing the
number of members to about eighty.
A century ago there was tliought to be more
travel over the "great road" from Waltham
through the middle of Weston,—it being the
post-road from Boston to New York,—than on
any other, of equal distance from any capital city,
in the Union. For many years this was the great
thoroughfare over which passed the supplies and
manufactures sent in from the northern and west¬
ern sections of New England to Boston. By the
old meeting-honse passed large droves of cattle on
their way to Monday's market at Brighton. Large
teams transported several hundred thousand chairs
annually to the city, and thousands of loads of all
kinds of country produce. The number of inns is
an index to the amount of travel through the town,
and of these there were four in the group of houses
that, straggling along both sides of the road,
constituted the " Road Town " of early times. It
was not until after the opening of the West Boston
Bridge to Cambridge, and the Mill-dam Road, and
the establishment of railroads, that this stream of
travel was diverted to other channels, and with
the change the business of the taverns ceased to
be profitable, and they were closed.
When Washington visited the Eastern States in
October, 1789, he lodged and breakfasted at the
tavern of Captain John Flagg, where he was called
upon by several prominent citizens. Here Captain
Fuller's company of horse met him, and escorted
him through Waltham and Watertown to Cam¬
bridge.
October 25, 1765, the town voted not to give
any instructions to its representative to do any¬
thing concerning the Stamp Act, but later the
people became fully aroused. " At a Meeting of
the People of Boston, and the neighboring Towns,
at the Old South Meeting-House in Boston, on
Tuesday, December 14, 1773, and continued by
adjournment to Thursday, 16th of said Month,
occasioned by the perfidious Arts of our restless
enemies, to render ineffectual the late Resolutions
of the Body of the People, Mr. Samuel Phillips
Savage, a Gentleman of the Town of Weston, was
chosen Moderator." Samuel Hobbs, of Weston, a
farmer, and also a tanner and currier by trade, while
496
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
working as a journeyman in the employ of Simeon
Pratt, of Eoxbury, joined the famous party whicli,
in disguise, threw overboard the tea in Boston
Harbor.
Samuel Phillips Savage owned and occupied at
this time " the house standing on the Deacon Bige-
low farm, so called, in the north part of Weston,
near Daggett's corner." He was commissioned
a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Middle¬
sex County, November &, 1775. He and Josiah
Smith represented the town in the Provincial Con¬
gress held at Concord, October 2, 1774. He was
the president and an active member of the Massa¬
chusetts board of war during the Eevolution.
His father, Arthur Savage, married a daughter
of Samuel Phillips, distinguished among book¬
sellers in Boston one hundred and eighty years
ago. Thomas, the father of Arthur, was born in
1640, the second child of Thomas Savage who
emigrated from England, and his wife. Faith,
daughter of William and the famous Ann Hutch¬
inson. He married Elizabeth, daughter of Joshua
Scottow, a merchant of Boston, and the author of
two curious tracts in the latter part of the seven¬
teenth century.
The growth of the town in population after its
incorporation was very slow, but the farmers in¬
creased in wealth and prosperity. It has always
been a farming town, and retains its primitive
condition to a more marked degree than any other
within the same distance from Boston. A chair
manufactory and a machine-shop are the only in¬
dustrial establishments within its borders. Many
of the farms, in whole or in part, remain in the
possession of the original settlers. The schools
have always been good, and a new high-school
house has been erected, within two years, at a cost
of $15,000. There has been but one store in the
town for a portion of the last century. Two or three
blacksmith-shops have been in tlie Uphani family for
a hundred years. Excepting the old tavern bars
there has never been a dram-shop in the town, nor
an apothecary shop, the physicians carrying their
drugs and potions in their saddle-hags.
In September, 1735, Francis Fulham, James
Jones, and Josiah Brewer, "in the names and
behalf of the town of Weston," made answer to
the petition from John Flint and others, of the
north part of the town, for a separate township, and
claimed : " 1. That the said Town of Weston is
but small, Tho' about Seven Miles in Length from
North to South, yet scarce Three Miles wide in
the Centre & in considerable parts not above half
so much, & great part of the land very poor, rocky
and barren not capable to be inhabited. That
there are but about a hundred families in all, &
many of them in Low Circumstances. 2. That
the Said Town hath lately been at great Cost and
Charges to build & finish a Decent Meeting house
for the publick worship of God not only of suffi¬
cient Dimensions for the whole town, but it is not
near fil'' when assembled together and this Meet¬
ing-house stands by the great Eoad & as Survey¬
ors find by the Piatt within a few Eods of the
Centre of the Town. So that the Petitioners have
little more Eeason to complain of the Distance or
Difficulty than their Neighbors who live at the
South End of the town. That the Petition afore¬
said Takes from Weston near Twenty families
(tho' severall of them do not subscribe) & Some
of the best livings in the town." The remon¬
strants carried their point at this time, but nine¬
teen years later, by the incorporation of Lincoln,
April 19, 1754, Weston lost a good slice of its
territory.
" A large part of the farm of Mr. Alonzo S.
Fiske, in the north part of the town, was conveyed,
October 1, 1673, to Lieutenant Nathan Fiske, his
direct ancestor, in whose family it has since then
remained."
"The house of Mr. Oliver E. Eohbins, in the
south part of the town, is supposed tb be from one
hundred and fifty to two hundred years old, and
is probably the oldest house in Weston."
The residence of Mrs. A. H. Fiske was built in
1753 by Mr. Woodward, the minister, and occu¬
pied by him and his family. Two houses near the
Weston station of the Fitchburg Eailroad have
been in the possession of the Hobbs family for
many years. Next to one of these — the house of
Mrs. Samuel Hobbs — was the old tan-yard, car¬
ried on by members of this family for a century
and a quarter. The business was given up, and
the tannery removed in 1862.
Ah ram Hews, in 1765, started a pottery on
the site of the house apposite the present black-
smith-shop, and for three generations his descend¬
ants carried on the manufacture of earthenware
at or near this place. His great-grandson, a few
years ago, removed the business to Cambridge.
In the southern part of the town is an old
house, built probably in 1787, or earlier, standing
upon the farm formerly owned by Lieutenant-
Governor Moses Gill, that has belonged succès-
WESTON.
497
sively to Joseph Curtis of Koxbury, Ward Nicholas
Boylston, and John Quincy Adams, and is now
owned by some of Mr. Adams's great-grand¬
children.
In the southeastern part of the town, near the
present residence of Mr. Frederick T. Bush, are
still to be seen the remains of the foundation and
cellar of one of the first houses built in the town.
It was without doubt built by Samuel Seaverns, who
was baptized in Watertown, November 28, 1686,
and who married, December 20, 1699, Kebecca
Stratton. His son Samuel, born July, 1706, used
to tell his grandchildren that when he was a boy,
and was sent by his father to get the cows at night,
he was accustomed to climb tlie trees and stumps
and cautiously watch for Indians, before ventur¬
ing into the clearing. His great-grandson, Mr.
William Seaverns, narrates this incident to the
writer as he has heard it frequently told by his
grandfather, Joseph, sitting in whose old rush-
bottomed chair the writer pens this account. One
corner of the residence of Mr. Bush can be traced
back more than one hundred and fifty years, having
been built probably by Samuel Seaverns. Dr.
Josiah Starr, of Weston, was born in this house,
and married (published October 6, 1762) to Abi¬
gail Upham. In 1773 he was the owner of two
slaves. This house was remodelled in 1856 and
in the walls was found a copper coin of the reign
of George II.
Samuel Seaverns, born October 30, 1779, was so
bitterly opposed to the passage of the Boston and
Albany Eailroad through his farm, that for nearly
forty years after the road was built he could not
be persuaded to enter the cars, and as they passed
through his farm would turn his head to avoid
seeing them. Mr. Hale, superintendent of the
road, once attempted in vain to put him aboard a
train.
In 1753 one Prince Jonah, a slave of Abraham
Biglow, of Weston, found in Waltham a leather
pocket-case, with tickets of land lying in Gardner,
Canada, east of Northfield, belonging to Joe Wil¬
liams; also one dollar, one pistareen, and two cop¬
pers, and an empty money-bag. This was so
extraordinary an occurrence that it was entered
upon the town records, and there stands a wit¬
ness to the sterling honesty and integrity of the
fathers.
In 1773 sixteen slaves were owned in the town,
and the number of polls was two hundred and
eighteen.
In response to the alarm, "The British are com¬
ing ! " sounded from town to town and from house
to house, on the morning of April 19, 1775,
" Capt. Samuel Lamson hastily forms his company
from those who offer themselves for this emer¬
gency, among whom is Mr. Woodward, who shows
by this act that he means to put his preaching into
practice." They started for Concord and joined in
pursuing the retreating regulars as far as West Cam¬
bridge. The muster-roll of this company is given
in Lexington Alarms, No\. XII. p. 170, headed by
Samuel Lamson as captain, Jonathan Fiske and
Matthew Hobbs, lieutenants, four sergeants, two
corporals, a drummer, and ninety-three privates,—
a total of one hundred and three, nearly one half of
the number of polls in the town. The majority
served at this time for three days, some for two,
and a few joined their comrades for one day.
Captain Lamson became major of the Middlesex
regiment, under the command of Colonel Eleazer
Brooks, of Lincoln. The Weston company was
attached to this regiment, with Jonathan Fiske
promoted to the captaincy, and was in the service
at Dorchester Heights, White Plains, Ticonderoga,
Crown Point, and other places, and " was probably
in the service till the close of the war." Matthew
Hobbs was captain for a while, with two Liver-
mores as lieutenants. Tlie muster-roll shows that
Captain Fiske and fifty men served five days in the
public service " at y® Heights of Dorchester."
General Burgoyne and his army, while on their
way to Cambridge as prisoners of war after their
surrender, are said to have encamped one night
along the old stage road in Weston. These Con¬
vention troops, five thousand strong on the day of
their surrender at Saratoga, October 17, 1777,
worn out by their long march, shoeless, footsore,
and decimated by desertions along the route, must
have been a motley array when they reached their
destination.
That the town had no sympathy for those of
its citizens who were of Royalist proclivities, is
shown by their vote of October 15, 1778, instruct¬
ing Mr. Joseph Roberts, their representative, to
use his best endeavors in the Great and General
Court to have such laws made as may " prevent
y® return of any of those persons into this Town
or State who have sought and received protection
from the British army."
"In 1787 a military organization in Weston,
was chartered under the name of the Company of
Light Infantry in Weston, which, under this and
498
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
the successive names of Independent Weston Com¬
pany and Weston Independent Light Infantry, con¬
tinued till May 13, 1831, a period of almost half a
century, when it was disbanded. It was attached
to no regiment, reporting only to the commander
of the brigade." , Its successive captains were
Abraham Biglow, Artemas Ward, Jr., William
Hobbs, Alpheus Bigelow, Nathan Tiske, Josiah
Hastings, Isaac Hobbs, Thomas Bigelow, Nathan
Upham, Isaac Childs, Isaac Train, Charles Strat-
tonj Henry Hobbs, Luther Herrington, Marshall
Jones, Sewall Fiske, and Elmore Russell. The
company attended the reception given to General
Lafayette at Concord, September 2,1824, and was
especially noticed by him.
In the Constitutional Convention of 1788 the
votes of a majority of the delegates from Middle¬
sex County were given against the adoption of the
Federal Constitution, seventeen delegates voting
in favor of the adoption and twenty-five against.
The delegates from Weston were among those
voting in the affirmative.
In the War of 1812 Weston was equally as
ready as in the Revolution, and furnished her pro¬
portion of men and means for the national defence.
Cooper GaiReld, one of her soldiers in this war,
lived to be over one hundred years old, and died
the last day of the year 1875, in the poor-house,
where he had spent the last thirty-six years of his
life in old age and infirmity.
With a population of but 1,243 in 1860, the
town furnished for the War of the Rebellion one
hundred and thirty-one men, a little above ten per
cent of the whole population, which was a surplus
of fifteen over and above all demands. Six were
commissioned officers. The total amount of money
appropriated and expended by the town on account
of the war, exclusive of state aid, was $12,528.90.
In addition to this the citizens raised by subscrip¬
tion for encouraging recruiting and the payment of
bounties, $5,104.95. The amount of-state aid to
soldiers' families, raised and expended in the town
and repaid by the state, was $2,358.66, making a
total of $19,992.51, nearly twenty per cent of the
valuation of the town in 1860.
Twelve men died in the service, and the bod¬
ies of those who could be found were brought
home, and buried at the expense of the town. A
memorial tablet, bearing their names, has been
placed in the public library of the town.
The name of the town seems to have had its
origin from its being the most westerly precinct of
the parent town, after the analogy of its neighbor,
Newton.
Weston lies about thirteen miles west of Bos¬
ton, upon the eastern side of the range of hills that
slope towards the Charles River and form its basin.
The affluents of the Charles drew the first settlers
along its fertile margin and up through its valleys,
and the same love of " pleasant springs running
like rivers through its body " drew them to Weston,
along the meadows of Cherry Brook, and the gen¬
tle slopes that rise from the two brooks that flow
each side of the village and main street, and fonn
the swell along which they built their early dwell¬
ings.
The present size of the town is 10,967 acres,
including 80 acres in roads and 155 acres in
ponds, leaving 10,732 acres of land by actual sur¬
vey. It measures about five miles in length,
north and south, by four east and west. It is in
.general an uneven, and in some parts a broken
tract of land, and high ledges of rock are found
within its limits. A considerable portion of the
territory rises above the level of the surrounding
country, and from White's Hill, in the south¬
westerly part, an extensive view may be had.
The soil in the elevated and rocky parts of the
town is in general a deep red, strong loam, very
favorable to the growth of fruit trees. There are
some small tracts of level land, but of no consid¬
erable extent. The hills are full of springs, and
are very .little subject to frost or drought. There
are no stagnant waters, but several tracts of
meadow that abound with excellent peat. Not¬
withstanding its rocky appearance, it contains a
large amount of good land.
To this day foxes are often seen jjj the town ;
raccoons have been killed within two miles of Charles
River; mink still inhabit the brooks, and the
whippoorwill whistles his shrill note within sound
of the city bells.
Statistics show Weston " to be as healthy a spot
as any in the known world. Perhaps no place in
New England could present fairer proof of the
salubrity of its air and situation," said Dr. Ken¬
dal, a generation ago. The proportion of in¬
habitants reaching fourscore, and even ninety to
one hundred years of age, is unusually large. The
peaceful quiet of life within its borders conduces to
longevity.
Nonesuch Pond, on the line between Weston
and Natick, is one of the most beautiful ponds in
the county, and, according to tradition, was named
WESTON.
499
by Governor Winthrop, The scenery around it is
very picturesque. Opposite the Stony Brook depot
is a hill called Snake Rock, from the rattlesnakes
which used to abound at the foot of its precipitous
western side. In the face of this high rock is a
horizontal cave, some twenty feet in depth, called
the Devil's Den. In this cave negro slaves con¬
cealed themselves in the summer of 1780, to avoid
tlie draft.
Some of the prominent citizens of the town deserve
more tlian a passing notice, from positions held by
them, from individual peculiarities, and for other
reasons.
Captain Josiah Jones, admitted a freeman April
18, 1690, was one of the original members and one
of the first deacons of Weston church. He died
October 9, 1714. From his commanding the
Farmers' company, the Farms received the name of
" the precinct of Lieutenant Jones's Company."
His sou Josiah,-also a captain, was elected dea¬
con, February 13, 1714-15, as successor to his
father, but he refused to accept. Abigail, the only
daughter of this son, became the second wife of
Colonel Ephraim Williams, of Newton (father by
his first wife of' Ephraim Williams, the founder of
Williams College), to whom she bore five chil¬
dren. Her daughter Abigail married as her
second husband General Joseph Dwight, of Great
Barrington, by whom she had two children, the
elder, Mary, marrying Hon. Tiieodore Sedgwick,
and becoming the mother of Theodore, Henry, and
Charles Sedgwick, all distinguished lawyers, and of
Catherine M. Sedgwick, the eminently distinguished
authoress.
Isaac Jones, son of Captain James Jones, born
September 29,1728, kept a tavern and store, but was
such a loyalist as to bring down upon himself the
following denunciation from the Whig Convention
of Worcester County, held in 1775 : —
"Resolved, That it be earnestly reconnnended to all the
inhabitants of this eounty, not to have any eoinmercial
transactions with Isaac Jones, but to shun his house and
ersou, and to treat him with the contempt he deserves."
He died in 1813. His tavern was probably the
one called the Golden Ball, mentioned by Charles
H. Fiske, Esq., in his oration delivered in Weston,
July 4, 1876.1
Josiah Jones, seventh son of Colonel Elisha
Jones, was bom November 9, 1744. He studied
^ One of the best centennial addresses delivered on that mem¬
orable day. The writer aehnowledges his deep indebtedness to
it in preparing this sketch, and returns thanks to Mr. Fiske for
hb courtesy in allowing its tree use.
medicine, and became a physician. He joined the
British army at Boston soon after the battle of
Lexington, and was sent by General Gage to Nova
Scotia for supplies for the troops. He was cap¬
tured on the passage, and committed by the Pro¬
vincial Congress to jail at Colj^ord. After a few
months he was released. He again joined the
British, and was appointed to a position in the
commissary department. In 1782 he settled at
Sissibo, Nova Scotia, as a lawyer. He obtained
half-pay from the British goveriunent. He was
first judge of the Court of Common Pleas of An¬
napolis County for several years. He died at
Annapolis in 1825. He was a man of education
and ability. His property in Massachusetts was.
confiscated.
His brothers Elisha and Simon also settled at
Sissibo, Nova Scotia. The latter was a half-pay
British officer.
It will be acknowledged that Rev. Dr. Samuel
Kendal's estimate of the people of the town must
be a correct one ; he says : " The inhabitants of
the town are mostly industrious farmers, a class of
men which, in a country like ours, merits the high
consideration and esteem of every other class.
The character of its inhabitants would not snfler
by a comparison with those of almost any other
town in the commonwealth, of no greater advan¬
tages." They have had some of the ablest men in
New England as pastors of their churches, and the
following list of college graduates, natives or resi¬
dents of the town, unfortunately almost exclu¬
sively limited, by the means of information at
hand, to those from Harvard College only, includes
many names of which the commonwealth is justly
proud.
Colonel William Williams, one of the first set¬
tlers of Pittsfield, was the eldest son of Rev. Wil¬
liam Williams, born in Weston, May 14, 1711,
graduated at Harvard College in 1729. "He
was a jovial military man, and was very much
distinguished in the French and Indian wars. He
held the office of colonel in 1758, and was in the
memorable attack on Ticonderoga," on the 5th of
.July of that year, of which he gave a thrilling
account in a letter to Dr. Thomas Williams of
Deerfield, dated July 11, 1758. He was an emi¬
nent man, much beloved, and was chief justice of
the Court of Common Pleas in Berkshire County.
In 1771 he was a member of the General Court,
among those friendly to the king, "who," says
Hutchinson, " in common times- would have had
500
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
great weight on the other side ; but now, the great
superiority in number against them caused them to
despair of success from their exertions, and in most
cases they were inactive." He was afterwards a
captain in the military service of the crown. He
was chosen chairman of the delegates from Pitts-
field to the Constitutional Convention of 1779.
He was the earliest recorded preserver of the old
elm of Pittsfield Common, saving it when a " stad-
dle " from the axe of one of his laborers when his
workmen were clearing his land.
He was married three times; first to Miss
Miriam Tyler, second to Miss Wells, and third to
Hannah Dickinson. He died April 5, 1784, aged
eighty-three years, and a monument to his memory
stands in the new eemetery of Pittsfield.
Nathan Fiske, born September 9, 1733, gradu¬
ated at Harvard College in 1754, in the same class
with John Hancock. He received the honorary
degree of D. D. in 1792. He was settled as the
pastor of the Third Church in Brookfield, May 28,
1758. He died November 24, 1799. His deatli
was very sudden. He preached on the Sabbath
from Proverbs iv. 18, "The path of the right¬
eous is as the shining light," and died that night
in his bed. " He was a critical and learned
scholar, though not a popular preacher." He
wrote a number of papers for the Massachusetts
Spy, Massachusetts Magazine, and The Philan¬
thropist. He published in 1775 a sermon on the
Settlement and Growth of BrooJcfield ; in 1781, an
oration on the capture of Cornwallis; a volume
of sermons in 1794; a Dudleian lecture in 1796;
and the Moral Monitor appeared in 1801 as a
posthumous work.
Daniel Jones, born July 25, 1740, fifth son of
Colonel Elisha Jones, graduated at Harvard College
in 1759. He was a lawyer and judge of the Court
of Common Pleas at Hinsdale, New Hampshire,
where he died February 14, 1786. From his obit¬
uary in the Columbian Sentinel we learn that the
attendants at his " funeral-solemnity " were " enter¬
tained with those consolations which the best
religion affords, in a pathetick prayer by the Eev.
Mr. Hubbard of Northfield, and an ingenious as,
well as affectionate discourse by the Rev. Mr. Gay
of Hinsdale, from these words : ' 0 Daniel, a man
greatly beloved.' He was liberally educated, and
to the profession of the law, in which he practised
many years with fidelity, humanity, and reputation.
He afterwards presided, with honor to himself and
the county of Cheshire, in the Court of Common
Pleas, remarkable for his impartiality and regular
despatch of business."
Phineas Whitney, born April 23, 1740, was
graduated at Harvard College in 1759, was or¬
dained June 23, 1762, the first settled minister at
Shirley, and continued in oifiee more than fifty
years.- His ministry was peaceful, harmonious,
and prosperous. His only controversy with his
people was on the question of salary, which at his
ordination was £66 13«. 4<f. Owing to the de¬
preciation of currency after the Revolutionary War
began, this sum in paper currency was insufficient
for his support. His request for more was .an¬
swered by temporary additional grants, "and a
method of equalizing the salary by the price of
grain." He managed his scanty income so care¬
fully, that he was able to give his children a good
education and leave them some property. For
the last eight or nine years of his life he was
troubled with paralysis, and unable to fulfil the
duties of his office. He died, December 13,1819,
in his eightieth year. He was a trustee of Groton
Academy from its foundation till his death. He
was highly esteemed by the clergymen of his time,
and, like most of them, was liberal in his views.
Daniel Stimpson,born February 2,1731 -32, was
graduated at Harvard College in 1759; he died
July 20, 1768.
Ephraim Woolson, bom in Lexington, April 11,
1740, was graduated at Harvard College in 1760;
he became a physician, and after a successful prac¬
tice of forty years in Hanover, New Hampshire,
died in January, 1802.
Samuel Savage, son of Samuel Phillips Savage,
born in Boston, August 22, 1748, was graduated
at Harvard College in 1766, received the degree
of Master of Arts in 1777, that of Doctor of Medi¬
cine in 1808, and was a fellow of the Massachusetts
Medical Society. He died at Barnstable, June 28,
1831.
Isaac Biglow, born May 2, 1750, graduated at
Harvard College in 1769; became a preacher;
died May 2, 1777.
Stephen Jones, born March 5,1754, graduated at
Harvard College, 1775, was a half-pay British offi¬
cer in the King's American Dragoons. He went
to Nova Scotia at the close of the war, and at his
decease was the oldest magistrate of the county
of Annapolis. He died at Weymouth, Nova
Scotia, in 1830, aged seventy-six, and was the last
survivor of fourteen sons. His youngest brother,
Charles, entered Harvard CoUege during the Revo-
WESTON.
501
lutionary War, but did not graduate. His father,
Colonel Elisha Jones, was for many years a magis¬
trate, colonel of a regiment of militia, and member
of the General Assembly. He died in Boston, Feb¬
ruary 13, 1775, aged sixty-six. "In the many
departments in which be acted, he eminently showed
the man of principle, virtue, etc."
He was the grandson of Deacon Josiah Jones,
and occupied the old homestead of his father and
grandfather. He married, January 24, 1733-34,
Mary Allen, by whom he had fifteen children,—
fourteen sons and one daughter. He was repre¬
sentative in 1754, 1756-1758, 1760-1763, 1773,
1774. He was a Eoyalist, and several of his
descendants imbibed his principles.
Samuel Woodward, eldest son of the Eev. Sam¬
uel Woodward, second pastor of the church in
Weston as already stated, born July 11, 1756,
graduated at Harvard College in 1776 ; was a
surgeon in the army in the Eevolutionary War;
afterwards settled at Newburgh,New York, as a phy¬
sician ; married in February, 1784; died March 29,
1785, leaving an only son who died in infancy.
Cyrus Woodward, sixth child of Eev. Samuel
Woodward, was born May 12, 1764; died Sep¬
tember 10, 1782, while a Sophomore in Harvard
College.
Abraham Biglow, brother of Isaac (H. C. 1769),
was bom September 18, 1762; graduated at Har¬
vard College in 1782, in the same class with Eev.
Samuel Kendal; married. May 22, 1785, Hepzibah
Jones, and settled in Cambridge, living in the house
occupied, until recently, by Mr. John Owen. He
was the clerk of the court of Middlesex County.
During the Eevolutionary War he let his servants
live as usual, but pinched himself and family aa
closely as possible, avoiding the use of all luxuries
of the table.
Hon. Artemas Ward, born at Shrewsbury, Jan¬
uary 9, 1762, son of Major-General Artemas Ward,
tiie first major-general in the army of the Eevolu-
tion, graduated at Harvard College in 1783, set¬
tled at Weston in the practice of the law, where he
married Catharine Maria Dexter, December 18,
1788. He represented the town in the General
Court from 1797 to 1801. He removed to Charles-
town, and subsequently to Boston, where he prac¬
tised law, and was several years a member of the
executive council and of the legislature. He was
elected and re-elected to Congress. From 1820 to
1839 he M'as chief justice of the Court of Common
Pleas throughout the state. He received, in 1842,
the honorary degree of LL. D. from his Alma Mater,
of which he was one of the overseers thirty-four years.
He was eminent as a lawyer, distinguished for his
learning and courtesy, respected on the bench, and
esteemed in domestic and social life. He died at
Boston, October 7, 1847, in his eighty-sixth year.
Thaddens Fiske, second son of Jonathan and
Abigail Fiske, was born June 22, 1762 ; was fitted
for college by Eev. Samuel Wooda'ard ; graduated
at Harvard College in 1785, in the same class with
Henry Ware, Sr. He taught school for a short
time in Lexington, returned to Cambridge, and
studied theology under Dr. Wigglesworth, then
professor of divinity in the college. He was or¬
dained pastor of the church in West Cambridge,
April 23, 1788, M'hich position he held for forty
years, resigning April 23, 1828. His ordination
sermon was preached by his uncle, Eev. Dr. Nathan
Fiske, of Brookfield. In 1821 he received the
honorary degree of D. D. from Columbia College,
New York. He lived to see five successors or¬
dained over the society which he faithfully served
for so many years, three of M'hom died before him.
He reached the ripe age of ninety-three, spending
the last few months of his life in Charlestown,
M'here he died, November 14, 1855. He was, at
the time of his death, the oldest clergyman in Mas¬
sachusetts. He occupied a seat on the board of
overseers of Harvard College for a period equal in
length to that of his ministry. He married Lucy
Clark, daughter of Eev. Jonas Clark, of Lexington,
and lived like other country ministers till his son
died, in 1829, and left him a fortune. He published
a Thanksgiving discourse in 1795 ; a discourse on
the twenty-first anniversary of his settlement, 1809 ;
and his sermon at the close of his ministry, 1828.
Ebenezer Starr, born August 24,1768, graduated
at Harvard College in 1789, in the same class with
President John Thornton Kirkland ; received the
degree of M. D. in 1825 ; settled in Newton Lower
Falls in 1790, as a physician, where he died Au¬
gust 24, 1830. He was a member of the legisla¬
ture from 1815 to 1817, and a justice of the peace.
His father,Dr. Josiah Starr,bornNovember 3,1740,
at Dedham, was educated for the medical profession,
and settled in Weston; occupied the house and
place now belonging to Frederick T. Bush, Esq., in
the southeast part of the town, and known ag
"Brookside Farm." He married Abigail Upham,
November 25, 1762; died in 1782.
Silas Warren, born May 11, 1767, graduated at
Harvard College in 1795, and engaged in teaching
502
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
for several years. He was ordained pastor of a
church at Jackson, Waldo Co., Maine, September
16,1812, but owing to dissatisfaction with his views
on the part of a portion of his people, he being a
liberal of the old scliool, Iiis pastoral relation con¬
tinued only about ten years. He continued to re¬
side in the town teaching and farming, while a strong
constitution prolonged his days and a cheerful tem¬
perament " sustained him under the privations of
straitened circumstances." He died January 7,
1856, aged eighty-eight.
Isaac Allen, born October 31, 1771, was the
youngest of his father's family. Two of his broth¬
ers served during the Eevolutionary War, and one
of them was engaged in the battle of Bunker Hill.
At the age of thirteen he received an injury from a
fall on the ice which crippled him for life. He in¬
tended to learn the trade of a carpenter, but finding
himself unable to endure bodily fatigue and labor,
he turned his attention to study. He entered Har¬
vard College after coming of age, and graduated
ill the class of 1798, having as classmates Judge
Story, Eev. Dr. Channing, and Eev. Dr. Tuck-
errnan. He studied theology with Eev. Samuel
Kendal. In 1803 he received a unanimous call
from the church in Bolton, indorsed by an almost
unanimous vote of the town, to become minister of
that town. He accepted, and was ordained March 14,
1804, Mr. Kendal preaching his ordination sermon.
He remained in this charge forty years, being the
sole pastor for thirty-nine years ; and during this
period he was prevented from preaching, on account
of indisposition, but one Sunday.
During the last year of his life he had as col¬
league Eev. Eichard S. Edes. He died March 18,
1844, four days after the fortieth anniversary of
his settlement, in his seventy-third year. He never
married. Throughout his ministry he was chair¬
man of the school committee of the town. He was
one of the most honest and conscientious of men,
naturally a humorist, and "would have been a
favorite of the Spectator." Being present on one
occasion when a number of clergymen were dis¬
cussing the question how sin came into the world,
he tersely remarked, " When I find a herd of cattle
in my corn, I never stop to find out how they got
in, I go to work and drive them out." His earlier
preaching was in East Sudbury, and he enjoyed
telling his experience there as a candidate. "I
came very near being settled there," he said, " and
there was only one thing that prevented." " Well,
what was that, Mr. Allen ? " " Why, the people
did n't want me." He left his property, amounting
to over twenty thousand dollars, to the church he
had served so long and loved so well.
Isaac Eiske, born December 4, 1778, was the
youngest brother of Eev. Thaddens Eiske, by whom
he was fitted for Harvard College, where he gradu¬
ated in 1798, in the same class with Judge Pay,
who was his chum and intimate friend, Joseph
Story, William Ellery Channing, and Sidney Wil-
lard. He studied law in the office of Hon. Arte-
mas Ward, then a prominent lawyer of Weston,
and was admitted to the bar in I80I. Upon the
removal of Mr. Ward to Charlestown he succeeded
to his large and lucrative'business. In 1817 he
was appointed by Governor Brooks register of pro¬
bate for Middlesex County, which office he success¬
fully filled for thirty-four years, transacting all its
varied business with great accuracy and despatch.
He was removed from his position in 1851, in con¬
sequence of a political change in the administration
of the government of the state. He represented
the town in the state legislature in 1808, 1812,
1813, and I8I4, and in 1820 was a member of the
State Constitutional Convention. He was a justice
of the Court of Sessions until that court was super¬
seded by the appointment of county commissioners.
He died in Cambridge, March 11,1861, at the age
of eighty-two. His ancestors and brothers were
remarkable for their longevity.
Charles Train, bom January 7, 1783, was
graduated at Harvard College in 1805. He was
the preceptor of Framingham Academy in 1808,
and afterwards a trustee. January 30, 1811, he
was ordained pastor of the Baptist Church in Wes¬
ton and Framingham, which office he held until the
churches separated in 1826, after which he re¬
mained in Framingham till 1839. He was a rep¬
resentative to the state legislature in 1822, and the
seven following years, except 1827, " when by way
of rebuke, as he understood it, he was allowed to
stay at home, for having preached two sermons on
the subject of Temperance of a more stringent
character than at that time suited the taste of the
people." He was afterward a state senator. He
was the first to move in the plan of forming a legis¬
lative library, as well as in the more important
matter of a revision of the laws relating to common
schools. He was active in procuring the charter
for Amherst College. In 1833 he was injured by
a fall, and for sixteen years following, till his de¬
cease, was never for a moment without pain. He
died September 17, 1849, aged sixty-six yea^
WESTON.
503
He was keen, witty, courteous, and social ; a good
guest aud a genial host ; easy of speech, with a good
fund of thought and anecdote; on all practical
subjects eminently judicious ; and he devoted his
life "to the adva.ncement, first of religion, next
of learning." His son, Charles R. Train (Brown
University, 1837), has been district attorney for
Middlesex County, a member of the governor's
council, and attorney-general of. the common¬
wealth.
Benjamin Rand, bom April 18, 1785, gradu¬
ated at Harvard College in 1808, in the same class
with Richard H. Dana. He was a gentleman of
the highest eminence in legal attainment, and one
of the most distinguished members of the Suffolk
bar. He died in Boston, April 26, 1852, aged
sixty-seven. Charles Sumner entered his office as
a student, January 8, 1834. In the autumn of
the same year Mr. Rand visited England, where he
was well received by lawyers and judges. His
partner, Mr. A. H. Fiske, remained in.charge of
their office. He was " a lawyer having a large prac¬
tice, but was distinguished rather for his great
learning and faithful attention to the business of
his clients, than for any attractive forensic quali¬
ties."
Alpheus Bigelow, born September 28, 1784,
graduated at Harvard College iii 1810. He fitted
for college under Dr. Kendal ; studied law with
Hon. Isaac Fiske, of Weston, and Tyler Bigelow,
of Watertown; was admitted to the bar of the
Court of Common Pleas at the December term of
1815, and to that of the Supreme Court at the
March term of 1817. He was a member of the
House of Representatives in 1827-28, aud was
for several years chairman of the selectmen of
Weston, and held other town offices. He was
a thorough musician, and the founder of the
Pierian Sodality, of Harvard College. Under the
rule of the college requiring the music arranged
for Commencement to be first submitted to the
president for approval, he, on one occasion, handed
in several pieces of music, which were duly ap¬
proved, with one or two exceptions, and returned
to him. The pieces were taken in haste by him
from the miscellaneous pile lying on his piano, and
tossed back to their place after the approval, while
he went on with his preparation of the Commence¬
ment music as he had planned it.
Abraham Harrington, born November 16,1790,
graduated at Harvard in 1812. He died at Hop-
kinton, in August, 1828.
Ebenezer Hobbs, Jr., bom April 17, 1794,
graduated at Harvard College in 1814, having
as classmates William H. Prescott, Benjamin A.
Gould, Gamaliel Bradford, James Walker, and
other notable alumni. He took the degree of
M. D. in 1817, and immediately settled in Wal-
tham. He married,in 1819, Mary Derby, of Weston.
He was the chief agent of the Boston Manufactur¬
ing Company for nearly forty years, and an honored
resident of the town. In the latter years of his
life he contributed to the Sentinel and Free Frees
several interesting papers concerning the local his¬
tory of Waltham, valuable and reliable by reason
of the fund of information at his command, accu¬
mulated during a residence of forty-five years in
the town. He died, December 11, 1863, from an
epileptic shock in the autumn of 1862. Two of
his sons died young, while in college.
Frederick Hobbs, son of Isaac Hobbs, Jr., was
born February 28, 1797, graduated at Harvard
College in the class of 1817, having George Ban¬
croft, Caleb Cashing, and other distinguished men
as classmates. On his mother's side he was a
lineal descendant of Rev. John Cotton, minister of
the First Church in Boston, and as such descendant
was entitled to and received, while an undergraduate,
benefits accruing from bequests to the institution
from the Cotton family. After graduating he read
law in the office of Daniel Webster, in Boston.
In 1820 he went to Eastport, Maine, opened an
office, and soon entered upon an extensive practice,
gaining a high position at the bar of Washington
County. He was elected to various municipal
offices in Eastport, and was sent to the legislature
one year. He once received the Whig nomination
for representative to Congress from the Eastern Con¬
gressional District, and received the solid vote of
his party ; but, it being in the minority in that
district, he failed of an election. He removed to
Bangor in 1836, and became eminently successful in
his profession, having up to the time of his last ill¬
ness more business in the United States Court than
any practitioner east of the Kennebec River. He
was equally prominent in the municipal affairs of
his adopted city, was president of the Musical As¬
sociation, and a great friend to horticulture, being
among the founders of the Bangor Horticultural
Society, and for some time its president. " He
was a good and useful citizen, of stern integrity,
of strict honesty, and highly exemplary in all his
habits." In February, 1849, while engaged in an
important case before the Supreme Court pf Mas-
504
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
sachusetts, he was stricken down with a sudden
attack of blindness and dizziness. Eallying from
this, he continued his labors for three years, nntil
February, 1852, when he was attacked by paralysis
■as he was finishing a written argument to be deliv¬
ered before the United States Court at Washing¬
ton. During his last illness he presented a rich
silver communion service to the Unitarian Church
where he worshipped, in Bangor. He died Octo¬
ber 10, 1854, aged fifty-seven.
May Newell, of Weston, entered Harvard Col¬
lege in 1814, and remained two years, but did not
graduate.
Nathan Welby Fiske, bom April 17, 1798,
graduated at Dartmouth College in 1817, and
was a tutor there from 1818 to 1820; studied at
Andover Theological Seminary, and in 1823-24
spent a winter in Savannah, Georgia, in missionary
labors ; was Professor of the Greek Language and
Literature at Amherst College from 1824 to 1836,
when he was transferred to the chair of Intellectual
and Moral Philosophy. He was "a man justly
esteemed for his eminent talents as well as his vir¬
tues." Speaking of him and his associates. Dr. H.
B. Hackett, at the semi-centennial of Amherst
College (1871), made use of these words: "The
age is heroic that produces heroic men ; and it was
these early trials of courage, faith, and disinterest¬
edness, which gave us such characters as those of-
Heman Humphrey, Edward Hitchcock, Nathan
W. Fiske, and others. I account it one of my
greatest obligations to the college that it gave me
the benefit of the example and teachings of such
men. I can truthfully say that my remembrance
of their disinterestedness, fidelity, and self-denial
has ever been among the best inspirations of my
life." He died in Jerusalem, May 27, 1847,
while on a journey in Palestine for the recovery of
his health, and his body was buried in a small
cemetery on Mount Zion, near the tomb of the
Psalmist David. Five years later Dr. Hackett, on
his visit to Jerusalem, made arrangements for the
planting of two cypresses over the grave of his
honored teacher and well-beloved friend. A
Latin epitaph, setting forth his character in just
terms, is inscribed upon his tombstone. He pub¬
lished a Manual of Classical Literature, based
upon the German work of J. J. Eschenburg, with
large additions and a supplementary volume of
plates, Philadelphia, 1836 (fourth edition 1843) ;
also Young Peter's Tour around the World, and
Story of Aleck; or. History of Pitcairn's Island.
Bradford Eussell, bom November 17, 1796,
was graduated at Harvard College in 1818. He
studied law with Hon. James Prescott, of Groton,
three years ; was admitted to the bar, and estab¬
lished himself in the practice of his profession in
Groton. He died Jidy 8,1864, in Clinton, Massa¬
chusetts.
Elijah Bigelow, bom November 3,1799, brother
of Alpheus, graduated at Harvard College in 1819.
He died May 31, 1830.
Henry Payson Kendal, youngest son of Eev.
Samuel Kendal by his second wife, was bom Jan¬
uary 31,1800 ; baptized as Payson, and afterwards
had Henry prefixed to his name. He graduated at
Harvard College in 1820, and died in Weston, at the
house of his mother, February 4, 1832.
Charles Flagg, born April 25, 1799, graduated
at Harvard College in 1820. He became insane, and
was placed in the McLean Asylum, December 3,
1825, where he died August 26, 1832.
Augustus Henry Fiske, bom in Weston, Sep¬
tember 19,1805, was fitted for college at Framing-
ham Academy, and graduated at Harvard in 1825.
He studied law at the Law School in Cambridge,
and with his father, and established himself in
Boston, where he met with remarkable success.
He entered into a partnership with Benjamin
Eand, which continued until the death of the lat¬
ter. Charles Sumner was a student at their office.
" He was a most thoroughly read lawyer, and bis
practice was extensive, almost without a parallel in
Boston." He married Miss Hannah E. Bradford,
daughter of Gamaliel Bradford, by whom he had ten
children. He died in Boston, March 22, 1865.
Francis Gourgas, of Weston, was a member of
the Freshman class at Harvard CoUege in 1826.
Samuel Warren, of Weston, took the degree of
M. D. at the Harvard Medical School in 1829.
Josiah Quincy Loring, born in Boston, April 10,
1811, was fitted for college at the Boston Latin
School ; entered Harvard College in 1825 ; left at
the end of his Sophomore year, but rejoined his
class at the beginning of the Senior year, and grad¬
uated Avith them in 1829. He spent one year in
the Law School ; tried teaching and the mercantile
business, but finally removed to Weston, where he
purchased a farm, and engaged in agriculture the
remainder of his life. He married Miss Chris¬
tian W. Eenton, daughter of Dr. Peter Eenton, of
Boston. He died April 6, 1862. He donated a
fine set of the ancient classics and several rare
volumes to Harvard College Library.
WESTON.
505
Andrew Fiske was a student at Harvard College
from 1832 to 1834, but did not graduate.
Alpheus Hubbard Bigelow, of Weston, was a
member of the Freshman class at Harvard College
in 1834.
James Melledge Flagg, born April 18, 1817,
graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1839.
He received the degree of M. A. in 1858. He was
the inventor of a remarkable loom by which weav¬
ing could be done in an entirely diiferent manner
from .that now in use. He had exhibited his loom
to the leading cotton and woolleii manufacturers,
and it had received much attention. He was un¬
successful in completing negotiations for its manu¬
facture, and becoming despondent at his failure,
he committed suicide at Providence, December 18,
1879.
Frank Winthrop Bigelow, son of Alpheus Bigelow,
graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1854 ;
received the degrees of M. A. and LL. B. in 1857.
He is now living in Weston.
John Lawrence Slack was a member of the
Freshman and Sophomore classes at Harvard Col¬
lege from 1852 to 1854, but did not graduate.
Charles Henry Fiske, son of A. H. Fiske, Esq.,
born in Boston, October 26, 1840, graduated at
Harvard College in the class of 1860. He then
studied law in his father's office, and was admitted
to the bar, December 6, 1864, and began practice
in Boston. After his father's death, in March,
1865, he formed a partnership with John A.
Loring, which continued two years. He is now
practising in Boston.
Henry Slade Milton graduated at Harvard Col¬
lege in 1875; studied law at the Boston Univer¬
sity Law School, taking the degree of LL. B. in
1876. He married at Weston, November 7, 1877,
and is now practising law in Boston.
John Luke Parkhurst, great-grandson of Deacon
Jolm Parkhurst, born September 7, 1789, gradu¬
ated at Brown University in 1812 ; studied the¬
ology at Andover Theological Seminary, and was
licensed to preach by the Mendon Association, but
devoted his life to teaching. He died at Gorham,
Maine, May 30, 1850.
Alfred Wellington Cooke, bom in Cambridge,
August 25, 1830, graduated at Harvard in 1852,
and died August 3, of the same year. He was an
earnest student, and gave great promise of emi¬
nence as an artist and musician.
Daniel S. Larason, bom in Boston, June 2,1828,
was educated in France, and graduated from the
Royal College Bourbon in Paris, in 1846 ; passed
one year in Harvard Law School in 1852, two
years in ofBce of Sohier and Welch, and was ad¬
mitted to the bar in 1854, but never practised law.
He was appointed major of the 16th Regiment
Massaciiusetts Volunteer Infantry in 1860, and
was promoted in 1862 to lieutenant-colonel, com¬
manding regiment; was discharged for disability
in 1864, and has since resided in Weston.
Edward Fiske, son of Augustus H. Fiske, born
in Concord, Massachusetts, September 2, 1832,
graduated at Harvard in 1853 ; studied law with
his father, and practised in Boston a few years ;
died in Weston, January 31, 1870.
George Fiske, brother of Edward, born Decem¬
ber 28, 1850, graduated at Harvard in 1872, and
lives in Weston.
Andrew Fiske, another brother, born June 4,
1854, graduated at Harvard m 1875, and at the
Dane Law School in 1878. He married, June 22,
1878, Gertrude, daughter of Professor E. N. Hors-
ford, of Cambridge. He studied law in the office
of E. R. Hoar, Esq., in Boston, and was admitted
to the bar, February 16, 1880.
Edmund Hamilton Sears, son of Rev. Dr. E.
H. Sears, was born April 20, 1852 ; graduated
at Harvard in 1874, and is now teaching in Cali¬
fornia.
506
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
WILMINGTON.
BY LEMUEL C. EAMES.
ILMINGTON is situated in the
northeast part of Middlesex
County, and is bounded south
by "Woburn and Burlington,
west by Billerica and Tewks-
bury, nortb by Andover, and
east by Reading and North
Reading. It is sixteen miles
north from Boston, and the
same distance west from Salem.
The population in 1875 was eight hundred and
seventy-nine.
The surface of Wilmington is not remarkably
level, but presents several level plains which pleas¬
antly contrast with some hills of prominence and
beauty. And the placid Silver Lake should not
be passed by. Tiie stranger who visits it in sum¬
mer cannot fail to admire its natural beauty. It
is situated in the northwest part of the town, and
contains some thirty-five acres. Tlie character of
the soil is not very generally celebrated for its
productions ; yet a large portion will well reward
judicious cultivation.
The territory of Wilmington was nearly all origi¬
nally included in the grant by the General Court
to Charlestown, and was called "Charlestown "Vil¬
lage."
The purpose seemed to be to encourage agricul¬
tural pursuits J and thus be the better able to in¬
duce settlers of like faith and courage with the
Massachusetts Colony to establish liere a home
for themselves and children. And it is interest¬
ing to notice how soon this enterprise took such
form as to induce the people in two .years to
apply to the General Court for a change of name
from Charlestown Village to that of a township
called Woburn, which change was successfully
accomplished in 1642. Thus there was a town
government and a churcli organized to the satisfac¬
tion of those directly interested. We cannot fail
to comprehend something of the advantages, in
tliose early times, of a speedy increase of settlers
whose common purpose was to subdue the howling
wilderness, and to plant and uphold the principles
of the heroic little colony. Each new addition to
tlieir number must have been hailed with peculiar
joy, as affording strength and material protection
to the settlement in all perils and dangers which
surrounded tiiem. The wild and unexplored con¬
dition of the country called for work and activ¬
ity; the great obstacles to be met with were so
constantly menacing in their nature as to give
scope to the exercise of both courage and pru¬
dence.
To this territory was added a narrow strip of
land lying on the westerly side of Reading, which
was also early open to settlement. The names
given to particular localities as early as 1658 are
still retained, — as Goshen, Nod, Maple-meadow
Brook, Lebanon, and Ladder-Pole. The two last are
extensive cedar swamps which still maintain their
early signification and value. Maple-meadow Brook
is the main branch of Ipswich River, which takes
its rise in Burlington, and after enterhig Wilming¬
ton takes a northeasterly course for about five
miles, when it enters North Reading. There are
also five brooks whose waters flow into this one
from tiie west side ; four of which each operate a
mill for a portion of the year.
The town, from its earliest settlement, has been
a farming community. Indian com, rye, and oats
were the staple crops, and were raised for the mar¬
ket and home consumption. These continued the
farm products, year after year, from 1660, the date
of some of the earliest permanent settlers, for nearly
a century.
In the year 1706 five Indians from a party who
had attacked Dunstable ventured down to this
town and attacked the family of John Hamden,
who occupied a small cottage in the northwesterly
part of Reading, now in the limits of Wilmington.
The house stood in a pasture some sixty rods south
of the road from Samuel Gowing's to the centre of
Wilmington. The land is now owned by William
Beard, and the old cellar and well may be still
seen.
WILMINGTON.
507
The attack was made in the nightj Mr. Hamden
himself being absent, having left his wife and eight
children at home. The Indians forced an entrance
into the house, and killed Mrs. Harnden and three
of the children. The others hid behind a large
rock near by, which is now known as Indian Rock.
It is said these children were found and carried
away, but were recovered by a pursuing party of
whites.
It is claimed that the provocation for the above
brutal massacre was as follows : A man with his
team was coming up the-main road from Woburn,
which winds its way between two high hills, when,
in tlie darkness of the evening, he drove over a
drunken squaw, who was in the road. In the
morning she was found dead. The Indians then
attempted to pursue the track for some distance,
and finally, through a mistake, made the assault
upon an innocent and unsuspecting family, —
hence the name of Squaw Pond.
In these and numerous other hardships during
the period we are considering, it is refreshing to
notice the courage and heroism which enabled the
people to surmount obstacles, and secure that de¬
gree of prosperity which induced them to put forth
efforts in an orderly manner for securing to tiiem-
selves and posterity invaluable privileges.
In like manner the tyranny of the mother coun¬
try, which brought on the Revolutionary War, was
met and resisted with patriotic ardor and deter¬
mination. Wilmington in that struggle was up
to the exigency of the hour, and honorably took
her share of the burden. A company of men was
here enlisted, under the command of Captain John
Harnden, whose name was a guaranty of valor and
success. Colonel Henry Harnden, a descendant
from a branch of the captain's family, and a native
of Wilmington, rendered distinguished service at
the head of a Wisconsin regiment in the War of tiie
Rebellion.
The people living in the northerly part of Wo¬
burn, feeling the great inconvenience in attending
public worship, especially in winter, they being
situated nearly or quite seven miles from the meet¬
ing-house, in 1725 began to seek a remedy, and
after repeated efforts and defeats succeeded in
attaining their object.
November 26, 1729, was presented to the Gen¬
eral Court the petition of Daniel Peirce, Benjamin
Hamden, and Samuel Walker, — a committee ap¬
pointed by sundry inhabitants of the north part of
Woburn and the westerly part of Reading, — set¬
ting forth the difficulties they were under by reason
of their remoteness from the places of public wor¬
ship in their respective towns, and praying that
they might be set off and constituted a distinct
township.
This petition met with a favorable reception, and
after previous notice to all parties in interest, the
committee personally viewed the lands described,
and reported, " Tiiat it is highly reasonable that
the Prayer of the. petitioners be granted."
The act of incorporation, passed September 17,
1730, defines the boundaries, and declares the
lands described to be a separate town by the name
of Wilmington. It also contains the following
requirement: "And the Inhabitants of.the said
Town of Wilmington are hereby required within
the space of three years from the publication of
this act, to procure & settle a Learned Orthodox
Minister of good conversation, and make provision
for his conafortable & honorable support, & also
with convenient speed erect & furnish a suitable &
convenient house for the Publick Worship of God
in said Town ; and the said Town of Wilmington
is hereby accordingly endowed & vested with all
the Powers, Privileges, Immunities & Advantages
which other Towus in the Province by Law have
& enjoy."
In compliance with the foregoing, the inhabi¬
tants of the new town erected their first meeting-
house in 1732. The church was organized with
seventeen male members, October 24, 1733, and
Mr. James Varney was ordained its pastor on the
same day. Mr. Varney was born at Boston, Au¬
gust 8, 1706, graduated at Harvard College in
1725, and was dismissed April 5,1739, on account
of infirm health. The next minister. Rev. Isaac
Morrill, was ordained May 20,1741, and continued
here in the relation of pastor until his death, which
occurred August 17, 1793, at the age of seventy-
six years. It is evident that he was a man devoted
to his high calling, and labored to promote the
spiritual and temporal good of his people. There
was scarcely a year during his long ministry that
did not bring in additions to the church. He ac¬
tively identified himself with the interests of the
people, in times of war and peace. In the Frencii
War of 1758 he served as chaplain with such
patriotic devotion as to make his example strongly
felt, frequently preaching two sermons on the Sab¬
bath, as we learn from the diary of a soldier in
that expedition. There were several men from
AVilmingtou who served in that war, but the num-
503
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ber is not known. In the same diary it is stated
that Captain Ebenezer Jones, from Wilmington,
with fourteen other soldiers, was killed in an en-
.gagement ; and the writer adds, " They were all
hurried in one grave and Mr. Marrill made a
prayer, and it was a solmii funeral." Mr. Mor¬
rill, having heen paid in silver dollars on his return,
caused a sufficient number of them to be wrought
into a tankard, which was used at the communion
service of his church for many years.
This ministry of more than half a century was
marked with great changes to the town and country.
The savage beasts disappeared. The last wild bear
killed in this vicinity was shot by Ephraim Buck
in August, 1760, from beneath the branches of an
ancient oak, now standing near the road leading from
Wilmington Centre to the east part of the town,
at the edge of the meadow. This event took place
on an estate which has been held in the Buck family
since 1685, and is now owned by Mr. Benjamin
Buck, a grandson of Ephraim, who still has the
identical gun that did so good execution in the
hand of his grandfather.
The next minister was Eev. Ereegrace Eaynolds,
who came to Wilmington when a young man, rep¬
resenting the " Emmons school of theology." The
first council called to examine and, if deemed ex¬
pedient, to ordain him, was equally divided, six
voting in favor and six against it. It was then
dissolved, but he was ordained by a second council,
October 29, 1795. His ministry was marked by
an earnest faith which endeared him to the church
and secured the general respect of the people. The
next year there were nine members added to the
church. In 1813 a new meeting-house was erected,
after the style of architecture of that day. Mr.
Eaynolds was greatly interested in the education
of the young, and in favor of progressive move¬
ments. It may be stated that he was one of the
few clergymen who were present at the preliminary
meetings held in Andover for deliberation on what
afterward developed into the American Board of
Commissioners for Foreign Missions. His pastoral
relation with his church terminated June 9, 1830.
He continued to preach for several years, his last
field of service being in Leverett, Massachusetts.
At the close of his ministry there he returned to
Wilmington, and remained here to the time of his
death, which occurred December 6, 1855, at the
age of eighty-eight years.
The fourth minister, Eev. Francis Norwood, was
installed May 18, 1831, and was dismissed Octo¬
ber 25, 1842. His ministry tended greatly to the
enlargement of the church.
In 1840 a new religious interest was commenced
under the direction of the Free-will Baptist denomi¬
nation, with such encouragement as led to the
organization of a church and the building of a
meeting-house in 1841. This church for several
years was principally under the care of Elder John
M. Durgin. He was a genial man, and earnestly
engaged in his work, and was instrumental in
doing much good to his people ; but removals,
deaths, and other causes so diminished their num¬
ber that the organization was given up, and the
meeting-house sold to the town. It is now used
for town purposes.
The fifth minister, Eev. Barnabas M. Fay, was
installed April 23,1845, and was dismissed July 30,
1850. The sixth, Eev. Joseph E. Swallow, was
installed March 26, 1851, and was dismissed Janu¬
ary 1, 1856.
In 1854 a convenient and approved parsonage-
was bought by private subscription and donated
to the society for the use of the pastor. Mr. Swal¬
low was succeeded by Eev. Samuel H. Tolmaii,
who was ordained August 14, 1856, and was dis¬
missed June 7, 1870. The burning of the meet¬
ing-house occurred during his temporary absence
in February, 1864. His labors, incident to the re¬
building and furnishing of the present house of
worship, when considered in connection with the
purpose and spirit of his ministry, will keep his
memory in grateful remembrance. The eighth min¬
ister was Eev. Benjamin A. Eobie, who was installed
April 13,1871, dismissed April 9,1874, and is now
at Groton. Eev. S. S. Mathews was ordained Octo¬
ber 23, 1874, dismissed October 29, 1875, and
is now settled at Jamaica Plain.
The present and tenth pastor, Eev. Daniel P.
Noyes, was installed October 11, 1-877. The part
that Wilmington was permitted to take in the hour
of the country's peril, in 1861, shows the same
spirit that characterized the cities and towns of
Massachusetts, especially those of old Middlesex
County. The number of men furnished from all
sources was ninety. From the number of her own
honored citizens, eight met a soldier's death.
In the early times a tan-yard was established in
the north part of the town, where the farmers were
accustomed to take the skins of their slaughtered ani¬
mals to be converted into leather for their own use.
And when this was done, the shoemaker was in¬
vited to make his annual visit, and bring his tools
WILMINGTON.
509
for the purpose of " shoeing the family." If an
exact " fit " was not obtained^ it was compensated
for by a durability that might instruct the present
age. From the hand-looms were furnished the
articles of clothing.
In 1764 a mill was owned and used by Samuel
Jaques for the purpose of crushing cornstalks and
pressing out the juice, which was converted into
sugar. How far this was successful we have no
means of knowing. This early enterprise is charac¬
teristic of Jaques' numerous descendants, among
whom may be mentioned the late Samuel Jaques,
of Somerville, who was a native of Wilmington.
He was for many years an inspector of hops, also
a distinguished breeder of horses and cattle. He
owned and lived during the latter part of his life
on the well-known Ten Hills Farm, in Somer¬
ville.
During the last fifty years of the past century
the cultivation of hops began to engage the atten¬
tion of the people here, and was soon so perfected
as to demonstrate that, with requisite care, they
could be successfully grown in Wilmington. As the
demand for this production increased, the growers
prospered to such an extent that there was scarcely a
farmer in the town who had not a hop-yard, to which
he gave attention as being his principal source of
income and ultimate wealth.
The high prices and ready money received for
hops soon attracted general notice, and the hop-
fever became epidemic. The people of the neigh¬
boring towns were soon applying here for hop-
roots, which for a time was another source of
profit to the producers. The business was con¬
tinued, and carried on to such an extent here that
the place was long called Hoptown. At length the
culture became so extensively introduced into
the New England States and New York that the
production greatly exceeded the demand, and the
price went down from twenty-five to four cents per
pound, so that for the last fifty years this business
has been almost entirely given up.
We have alluded to the extensive meadows in
Wilmington. Some of them have long been cele¬
brated for their spontaneous production of cran¬
berries, which had little or no market value previous
to 1790, as we learn by an article from the pen of
James Walker, of Fryeburg, Maine, who was born
in Wilmingtiin, January 3, 1772. He speaks of
some experienced màrketmen of North Woburn,
who in 1785 carried some six bushels of the tempt¬
ing fruit to Boston, but could find no one to buy.
After trying in vain until sundown the berry mer¬
chants went quietly down to the dock, threw their
berries into the water, and went home. He also
relates that when a lad he took half a bushel with
him to Boston, and offered the berries for sale, but
no one would buy, until at length he went into a
shop kept by a woman, who offered eightpence in
barter.
Mr. Walker's article continues : " In 1790 I had
two brothers living in Duxbury who were interested
in Navigation ; they owned a sloop of some sixty
tons burden, and chartered her for Baltimore. The
Captain was from some town on Cape Cod, a middle-
aged man who seemed to understand his business,
and learning that there were cranberries in Wil¬
mington, applied to us to buy the fruit. Having
a brother older than myself at home, we gave out
word that we would buy cranberries at twenty
cents per bushel. The people thought it rather
low, but they gathered and brought them in at that
price, until we were obliged to stop buying. And
when they were ready to take them on board, we
had two four-ox teams fully loaded with cranber¬
ries. The vessel went, and made a good voyage of
it. And from this single shipment grew the im¬
mense trade and culture of cranberries."
The planting and rearing of apple-trees of the
native kind received attention during the last cen¬
tury, for the purpose mainly of making cider. If
we can rely on the testimony that comes down to
us, the trees of that period were not only greater
bearers, but vastly more hardy and long-lived than
any we have known for the last fifty years. It is
also well known that in this natural fruit there was
found a great variety in respect to flavor, size, and
quality. The celebrated Baldwin apple furnishes
an instance. The original tree was found and
stood on land owned by James Butters, in the
south part of Wilmington, and early attracted
some attention, — so much so that it was given the
distinct name of Woodpecker, by reason of its
being much visited by birds of that species. Colo¬
nel Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, who owned land
near this tree, fortunately became interested in the
propagation of this variety of fruit, for which pur¬
pose he frequently cut scions from this tree, with
such success as to prefix his name to the Baldwin
apple.
In 1798 Captain Joseph Bond, a practical baker,
came to Wilmington and established a bakery. All
the surrounding towns and country were open to
him for a market. The business was successfully
510
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
pursued, in a way that secured public favor and
patronage. After some time his son, Joseph Bond,
Jr., took the business, the father still continuing
to oversee the bakery. This largely extended the
business, and made lively work for teams and
bread-drivers. When Mr. Bond was ready to re¬
tire from business, it must have been gratifying to
him to know that his sons were able to carry it
forward, and take a personal interest in maintain¬
ing the high reputation that "Bond's crackers" had
attained through the exertions of their father and
grandfather. The business, thus descended to the
third generation, was carried on and greatly ex¬
tended by the introduction of improved machinery,
so that the magnitude of the establishment in all
business relations made its destruction by fire, in
February, 1864, and the removal of the business
to Boston, a heavy blow to Wilmington.
Messrs. Perry, Cutler, and Company erected at
North Wilmington a spacious tannery, which went
into operation in July, 1872. Both tanning and
currying are successfully carried on. The estab¬
lishment employs forty-five men.
Within a few years the Boston Union Ice Com¬
pany have utilized Silver Lake by erecting spacious
houses for the storage of ice, which enables them
to transport annually large quantities to Boston by
the Boston and Lowell Railroad.
The old Middlesex Canal, completed in 1803,
was the great public enterprise of its day. It was
favorably located as respects Wilmington, entering
the western border of the town and passing one
mile west of the Centre, to where it entered Wo-
burn, a distance of about five miles. It had two
locks in the town, about one mile apart. Each
had a commodious house for the entertainment of
boatmen. It was of much advantage to the people
in transporting wood and lumber to Boston, and
gave to the town a business-like appearance. Its
greatest drawback was its leakage, whereby a large
area of meadow and swamp lands were greatly in¬
jured by excess of fio wage.
The Boston and Lowell Railroad went into opera¬
tion in 1835. Pour and a half miles of its line
are within the limits of the town. The station is
one mile south from the centre of the town. The
Lawrence branch railroad runs for two and one
half miles in Wilmington, connecting with the
Lowell line at the above-named station.
The Boston and Maine Railroad has four miles
of track in Wilmington, its station being one mile
north of the Centre.
The Salem and Lowell Railroad traverses the
north part of the town.
The people of Wilmington enjoy the benefit of
a well-selected library of one thousand volumes.
In 1874 there was formed a Farmers' and Mechan¬
ics' Club, which now more than maintains its origi¬
nal vigor and interest. The town has two jjost-
offices, one near the station of the Boston and
Lowell Railroad, and one at the Boston and Maine
Railroad station.
Wilmington, in the outset of her career as a town,
had the school-house, the schoolmaster, and such
books and appliances as those early times demanded
and supplied, in use.
Whilst the too meagre records of that day do
not give those details which grow more and more
valuable, it is evident that in the earlier days of
Wilmington she had four schools. The north,
called Nod, the east, called City, the south, known
as Butters Row, the west, as Goshen, are names
retained to this day.
Not till 1840 did the Centre have a school-house,
her children being quite cosmopolitan as regarded
school.
In the summer the mistress bore rule in these
schools ; in winter the master, " born to rule,"
held sway. Here the undergraduate of Harvard
was glad to teach, and later the teachers' depart¬
ment of Phillips Academy sent from its ranks
several " to pour fresh instruction " o'er the minds
of the youth of Wilmington. Of those native to
the town we find the Blanchards, the Bucks, the
Burnaps, the Carters, the Eameses, the Jaqueses,
the Thompsons, the Walkers, and others.
If the amount raised for education has been less,
pro rata, in this town, than in some others in Old
Middlesex, it is at least safe to say that in none
of them has the expenditure yielded better returns
than in Wilmington.
Though never having had academic advantages,
Wilmington has done that which, in some respects,
brings broader culture ; she has sent out her sons
and daughters freely (means and numbers consid¬
ered) to other places where these privileges ex¬
isted.
On the first catalogue of Phillips are the names
of Wilmington boys, and so on,-through the years,
even till now.
The " Old Bradford " shows the names of a
goodly number of Wilmington's sons and daugh¬
ters on her lists.
Wilmington supports a high school by her own
WINCHESTER.
511
free choice. This act is the more to be praised,
as it was not demanded by the law of the common¬
wealth, the population never having exceeded the
requisite number. Although acted on each year,
the vote establishing the school is still sustained,
and a good high-school is in successful operation.
Besides the high school, which is accommodated
in the town-house, there are five other schools in
the town.
The eminent men bom in Wilmington are Timo¬
thy Walker, LL. D., celebrated as a jurist, who
settled at Cincinnati, Ohio, and his brother. Sears
Cook Walker, the distinguished nrathematician and
astronomer.
WINCHESTER.
BY EDWIN A. WADLEIGH.
IE town of Winchester is in the
easterly section of Middlesex
County, eight miles northwest
of Boston by the Boston and
Lowell Railroad, which here
sends off branches to Woburn
and Stoneham. Its form is tri¬
angular, and it is bounded on
the north and northwest by
Wohurn, on the east by Stone-
ham and Medford, on the south by Medford and
Arlington, and southwest by Lexington.
All of this territory was a part of a grant of land
made to Charlestown in the year 1640 by the Gen¬
eral Court of Massachusetts. The portion for¬
merly called South Wohurn was ceded to Wobum
with the remainder of that town in 1642. It was
in this quarter probably that the first dwelling-
house in the town of Woburn was erected by Dea¬
con Edward Convers. He came over from England
to this country in 1630, settled in Charlestown, and
removed to Wohurn in 1642. His place of busi¬
ness was at the mill called by his name (near Whit¬
ney's), and there and in that vicinity several of his
numerous posterity continued to dwell for many
years. He was quite a prominent man in public
affairs, and deacon of the First Congregational
Church in Wobum until his death, August 10,
1663, at the age of seventy-three years. Among
his descendants there have been and still are in¬
dividuals highly honored and respected.
Rev. Zechariah Symmes, the progenitor of those
who write their names in the manner indicated,
came over to this country with his wife and seven
children in September, 1634, from Bedfordshire,
fourteen miles northwest from London. He set¬
tled in Charlestown, and was the minister there
from 1634 until his death in 1671. During his
lifetime the town of Charlestown voted to give to
him a tract of three hundred acres of land extend¬
ing from the north end of Medford Pond to the
borders of Woburn.
Captain William Symmes, a son of Zechariah,
occupied a portion of this land at an early period.
On a plan of his land which was drawn up in
1705 appears his house, which is there designated
as the old house, indicating that it must have been
built some time prior to that date. The old house
was located not far from the present Centre railroad
station in this town, about opposite the railroad
freight-yard, and the railroad now passes over the
spot where the cellar of the house then stood.
This Captain Symmes was a clothier, or em¬
ployed in fulling cloth, and had a small dye-house
near his residence, which he used principally in
connection with his business. He afterwards built
a house in what is now termed Baconville, between
the two houses now located there. This house was
long since taken down, and other structures put up
near by. The original grant of land to Zechariah
Symmes was ceded to Medford with the rest of the
town at an early date, and afterwards became a
part of this town. Durable memorials of the oc¬
cupancy of a large portion of this territory by
Indians have been shown in numerous implements,
tools, etc., used by them, which have been occasion¬
ally dug up from the ground.
The river running through the town was named
by the Indians Aba-jona,from two Indian lovers who
are said to have sacrificed their lives in its waters.
512
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Before the building of the Boston and Lowell
Eailroad, in 1835, the centre part of the village was
about where the Gifford School-house now stands,
where a country store was located and much fre¬
quented. For a succession of years the settlement
here was quite slow, and the inhabitants few and
scattering. But from the operation of various
causes, especially the location of the railroad to
Lowell, through the centre, thè population and
business rapidly increased between the years 1833
and 1839.
Black Horse Tavern, as it was termed, on Main
Street (now occupied by J. F. Stone, Esq.), was
a noted resort for stage-coaehes and teams passing
through the village, and the yard at night was gen¬
erally full of vehicles, while the spacious rooms
were occupied by the drivers. On the same street,
on the corner of the house formerly occupied by
Deacon Lamson, stood the original Baldwin apple-
tree from wliich numerous scions were taken at
various times. It was taken down several years
ago, at a good old age. At Symmes' Corner is a
house (now occupied by Marshall Symmes) which
is over one hundred and fifty years old, and was
the birthplace and early home of Governor Brooks.
A portion of the land was sold to defray his college
expenses. The elm-tree which overhangs the street
in front of the house is over one hundred years old.
By the year 1840 quite a village had been gath¬
ered within what are now the limits of the town.
The Congregational Church was built in that year.
Main, Washington, Church, and Bacon streets
were then laid out as town highways. Where now
is Pleasant Street was only a foot-bridge.
Quite a large manufacturing business was carried
on at or near Convers Mill, by S. S. Kichardson,
of doors, sashes, blinds, etc. Whittemore's dye-
house was also located there. B. F. Thompson's
tannery was carried on in the same locality (now
Waldmyer's) ; also Cutter and Clark's Mill for
sawing mahogany and fancy woods, a little way
towards Woburn Centre ; and the locality has ever
since been designated as Cutter Village on account
of the families of that name residing there. Further
towards Woburn Centre was Church and Lane's
piano-forte factory, now carried on by Covvdry,
Cobb, & Co. Carriage-building in all its branches
was carried oil at Symmes Corner by John
Symmes. Quite an extensive business was carried
on by Mr. Kobert Bacon in the vicinity of his resi¬
dence (now Baconville), in the manufacture of hat
bodies, etc. He purchased a large portion of land
in the vicinity, on which he erected from time to
time buildings for manufacturing purposes, and
dwellhig-houses.
Such is a brief description of the village as it
appeared before and at the time it became a dis¬
tinct municipality. The declaration of indepen¬
dence as a town, the acceptance of the town charter,
bears date May 7, 1850. The territory which it
embraces was so compact and well defined, so singu¬
larly picturesque and beautiful, that it seemed to
have been marked out and set apart for individual
corporate existence by the hand of Nature her¬
self.
The first public movement in regard to the town
was made November 26, 1848, when a meeting
of the inhabitants of South Woburn and vicin¬
ity was held in the vestry of the Congregational
Church, " to take into consideration the subject of
petitioning the, legislature for an act of incorpora¬
tion into a separate town, or do anything in rela¬
tion to the same." At that meeting John A.
Bolles, Esq., was the moderator, and a committee
was chosen, representing the different sections of the
proposed town to investigate the propriety and prac¬
ticability of a separate town organization.
December 3, 1849, the committee reported
favorably upon the plan, their report was accepted,
and a committee chosen to draft a petition to the
legislature. December 7, 1849, the committee
reported the draft of a petition, which was ac¬
cepted, and another committee chosen to obtain
signers thereto. Samuel S. Eichardson, Oliver E.
Clark, and John A. Bolles were chosen a commit¬
tee to take the necessary steps to secure a town
charter, and they employed Hon. Albert H. Nelson,
of Woburn, as their counsel. December 24, 1849,
a committee, of which Hon. F. O. Prince was
chairman, was chosen to select a name for the town
and insert the same in the petition, which had
received one hundred and seventy-six names. A
great deal of difficulty was experienced in settling
upon the name to be given to the new child, but
finally it was decided to christen it Winchester, in
honor of Colonel William P. Winchester, a well-
known and public-spirited citizen of Boston, who
thus became its godfather. The petition was pre¬
sented to the legislature, January 19, 1850, and
referred to the committee on towns. While it was
pending in the committee, remonstrances were pre¬
sented and referred to said committee from Luke
Wyman and eighty-nine others, of West Cam¬
bridge (now Arlington), and the selectmen and one
WINCHESTER
513
hundred and three others, of Medford. At a town-
meeting, held inWoburn, February 7, 1850, it was
" Voted, That the town is willing that the prayer of
the petition should be granted on just and equitable
terms, to be agreed upon by a committee from each
part of the town/'
There was a long and protracted hearing before the
committee of the legislature, and the committee went
out and viewed the site of the proposed town from
the hill in the rear of J. F. Stone's present residence
on Main Street. The hill was then crowned with
a summer-house, owned by and on the premises of
Charles Mclntier. It required but one visit to
satisfy the committee that the town ought to be
incorporated, and it soon after reported a bill
to that eifect. Additional petitions and remon¬
strances in regard to the matter were introduced
and laid on the table after the bill was re¬
ported to the house, and the town records say,
" There probably never has been a case of the kind
accompanied by such constant, earnest, and whole¬
sale lobbying " in opposition to the measure. The
bill was vigorously opposed in the house by rep¬
resentatives Hoar of Concord, Hopkins of North¬
ampton, and Gray of Boston. The town records
further say : " The town should never forget the
services of S. N. Gilford, the chairman of the
committee on towns on the part of the house,
or Mr. Plimpton, of the same committee, in
support of the bill." The bill finally passed both
brandies, and was signed by the governor, April
80, 1850.
One remarkable feature of this act of incorpora¬
tion was that not a dollar was s^ent to infiuence
legislation, except the employment of eminent coun¬
sel to argue the cause.
May 7, 1850, the first town-meeting was held,
and Nathan B. Johnson, Loring Emerson, and
John Symmes were chosen selectmen. Mr. Symmes
declined, and Charles Mclntier was chosen in his
place; David Youngman was chosen town-clerk;
Samuel B. White, treasurer; John M. Steele,
Charles Goddard, and Frederick O. Prince, school
committee.
At a town-meeting, May 27, 1850, a letter was
received from Colonel W. P. Winchester, enclosing
his check for three thousand dollars, in token of his
appreciation of the honor conferred upon his family
name, which sum was to be appropriated towards
the erection of a town-hall, or any other proper
object of municipal expenditure. The gift was
accepted, and placed in the hands of trustees for in¬
vestment until some disposition of it should be
determined upon.
The death of Colonel Winchester occurred Au¬
gust 6, 1850, at the age of forty-nine years, and
appropriate resolutions in relation to it were after¬
wards adopted by the town and entered upon its
records. From the numerous tributes which the
decease of Colonel Winchester called forth, the
following extracts from one written by a well-known
literary gentleman is selected, to show somewhat
of the character of the man whose name the town
bears : —
" Seldom are the same rare qualities united in
any one person which shone so conspicuously in
every feature of his character and in every act of
his widely extended career. With large means
of usefulness, the first and most constant thought
of his life was to make others happy.
" As a husband and father he was the idol of the
domestic circle, where the genial and affectionate
qualities of his disposition were manifested in the
most striking manner. Kind and indulgent to
the utmost degree, he was the centre around which
the sweetest and most tender ties of home were all
united.
"In his business relations he was, of course,
more widely known. Gifted with a foresight and
sagacity which never failed to see results in their
causes, his opinions were always sought with in¬
terest, and received with deference and respect.
Barely did he fail to anticipate the more important
fluctuations of mercantile affairs, and to predict
not only the cause of the crisis, but its continuance
and its cure. And the untiring industry which he
brought to the conduct of his own widely extended
affairs, added to the firmness and self-reliance of
his character, enabled him through many years
to conduct with perfect success a business second
in importance to none of those which have so ex¬
tended the wealth and elevated the social influence
of Boston.
" As a friend he was most widely known and
most universally beloved. Warm in his attach¬
ments, unremitting in his kindness, and thoughtful
even in the smallest acts of attention, none were
ever admitted to his intimacy without placing him
first on the list of those who were felt to be most
valued and cherished from their own intrinsic
worth and virtue. In his own house his hospitality
was unbounded, and not less cordial and graceful
than constant and profuse. At all times he ap¬
peared not to think of his own accommodation, or
514
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
to value his own repose, in comparison with the
welfare and comfort of his friends. This uniform
benevolence of disposition shone through the small¬
est acts of his daily life, — and especially in his
constant liberality to the poor who had any claims,
however slight, to his consideration.
" He was an accomplished scholar in the French,
Spanish, and Italian languages, — two of which he
spoke with ease and fluency. He was a discrimi¬
nating judge, no less than a liberal patron of the
fine arts, and delighted to surround himself at all
times with the elegances of art, and to enjoy that
approbation of his refined taste which those per¬
sons who were best qualified to judge rarely failed
to express to him. As he lived universally beloved,
so he died universally lamented."
Statistics. — The assessors for the first year re¬
ported the valuation of real and personal estates
to be $874,259 J 195 houses, of which 18 were
owned by non-residents ; 366 poll taxes; 202 chil¬
dren between five and fifteen years of age ; rate of
taxation that year, $2.88 per $1,000 ; amoun^-of
tax levied, $3,001.96. The valuation of real and
personal estates was the highest in 1874, when it
was $4,758,890. The last valuation (in 1879) was:
personal, $801,407 ; real, $2,746,635 ; or a total
of $3,548,042. The rate of taxation increased
after the first year up to $17.30 per $1,000 in
the year 1865, when it reached its highest point;
in 1875 it was $16; in 1876, $15.50; in 1877,
$13; in 1878, $12.50; in 1879, $12.30 per
$1,000. The expenditures for the first year, or to
March 1,1851, were : for schools, $1,253.20 ; for
building and repairing schoolrhouses, $1,540.91;
supportof poor, $112.98; town officers, $636.50;
incidental expenses, $572.95 ; total expendi¬
tures, $4,116.63. The expenditures for the
year ending February 28,1880, were: for schools,
$10,959.28; repairs of school-houses and improve¬
ment of grounds, $929.34; highways and bridges,
$6,416.99; fire department, $3,232.83; support
of poor, $2,361.50; library, $1,201.85 ; cemetery,
$721.27; miscellaneous, $4,699.37; construction
of water-works, $2,799.18; maintenance of water¬
works, $1,505.12 ; interest, $14,590.72 ; state and
county tax, $3,068.13 ; total, $52,485.58. The
total indebtedness of the town, February 28, 1880,
is $215,850. The percentage of the whole debt
to the valuation is six and eight hundredths ; the
water debt only is four and fifty-one hundredths,
and the other municipal debt is one and fifty-seven
hundredths.
Population.—When the town was incorporated
the population numbered 1,353. The growth of
the town has not been as rapid as some others, yet
its progress in this direction has been a healthy
one. In the year 1855 the population had in¬
creased to 1,801 ; in 1860, to 1,937 ; in 1865, to
1,968; in 1870, to 2,645; in 1875, to 3,099; of
the latter, 1,476 were males and 1,623 females.
In the same year there were 506 native voters and
125 naturalized voters.
The inhabitants are actively engaged in agricul¬
tural, mercantile, and mechanical pursuits. Large
quantities of fruit and vegetables are produced for
thé Boston market. A great many of the citizens
transact business in Boston.
At the present time there are 606 houses in the
town, of which 72 belong to non-residents; 245
citizens liable to do military duty; 283 horses,
244 carriages, 4 oxen, 173 cows, 11 heifers, 379
swine, 165 dogs.
The following manufacturing business is carried
on at the present time in the town; three tan¬
neries, four currier-shops, one shoe-stiflfener (inner
soles and heels), one machine-shop for making
machinery of all kinds, one shop for making knives
for splitting leather, two shops for making piano¬
forte actions, one shop for making gold rings, one
shop for making piano-forte cases, one saw-mill for
mahogany and fancy woods, one watch-hand fac¬
tory, one felting and wool-wadding factory, — hav¬
ing in all a capital invested of some $100,000.
As but a few streets were laid out at the incor-,
poration of the town, and those were in an imper¬
fect condition, the growth of the population has
necessitated the laying out of many new highways,
and the repairing and altering of old ones. The
present number of accepted streets is forty-four,
many of which are fine avenues and are frequent
resorts for walks and rides.
The town is partially surrounded by several hiUs,
or wooded eminences, which are named Mount
Pisgah, Horn Pond Mountain, and Zion's Hill,
located on the north and west, and Taylor's Moun¬
tain in the eastern section near the reservoir. The
underlying rock is sienite and dolerite, in which
occurs a bed of copper ore. Through the centre
of the town flows in a devious current the Aba-jona
River, which, starting from Wilmington, empties
into the Medford Pond, one quarter of the latter
being located in this town. Cutter's Brook is one
of its branches, and th^ outlet to Wedge Pond.
Wedge Pond, in the centre, is noted for the abuii-
WINCHESTER.
515
dance of water-lilies, whose white blossoms cover
its surface in the summer season. It is said that
the swallow makes its earliest appearance on the
borders of this lake. An attempt was made in
1860 to change the name of Wedge Pond, and
after much deliberation it was christened Echo
Lake in September of that year, with appropriate
ceremonies. The new name was short-lived, as it
was not generally satisfactory. It is now known
by its original name, and is quite a noted place of
resort for boating and sailing during the summer
season, and for skating in the winter. Several of
the prominent citizens have their residences on its
borders, among whom is Admiral Henry Knox
Thacher, a distinguished officer in the naval service,
now upon the retired list.
When the town was incorporated Alvin Taylor
was the postmaster for South Wobum, and he was
continued in the office under the new town. He
was followed by Horace Holt, Josiah Hovey,
J. A. Coolidge, and the present incumbent, George
P. Brown. The business of the office has greatly
increased, having nearly doubled within the last
six years, so that the number of mails now sent
and received daily is thirteen.
Lyceum Building was erected soon after the m-
corporation of the town, by private enterprise, and
the large hall has been used for religious services,
lectures, concerts, and entertainments of all kinds,
it being the only large hall suitable for such pur¬
poses. The lower part of the building is occupied
by stores ; the upper stories are used for various
purposes.
Masonic Hall is in the upper story of Brown
ajid Stanton's building, on the corner of Main
and Pleasant streets, and is very handsomely fur¬
nished.
Livingstone Hall, opposite Lyceum Building,
was formerly called Union Hall, and is now oc¬
cupied by the Grand Army Post and the Eeform
Club as their regular place of meeting.
The Knights of Honor Hall is in the upper
story of Kichardson and Tyler's building on Main
Street, and is appropriately fitted up for their
uses.
At the opening of the Boston and Lowell Rail¬
road, in 1835, a depot was established opposite
Lyceum Building (then in South Woburn). The
depot remained in that location until 1872, when
the present one was erected some distance further
south. The location of the station in this place
gave rise to long and earnest discussions, protests
in town-meetings and otherwise. It is neat in
design and finish, and an ornament to the town.
Convenient station-houses on the line of the rail¬
road are established in tiie southerly and northerly
sections of the town, — the former being named
Mystic, and the latter the Highlands.
The railroad facilities have kept pace with the
progress of the town, and now some thirty-six pas¬
senger trains stop daily at the centre station, and
a less number at the branch stations. There are
two hundred and thirty-eight season-ticket passen¬
gers to and from the several depots.
A branch railroad, to connect with the Boston
and Maine Railroad at Medford and run through
this town to Stoneham, was laid out several years
ago, but after being partially built was abandoned,
and the land given by the owners for this purpose
was taken back by them. It made an ugly scar
upon the land, without accomplishing any good
results. Since then a branch has been built which
extends to Stoneham, and connects with the Bos¬
ton ajid Lowell Railroad at the Highlands.
The Mystic Valley Railroad is partially con¬
structed, and passes through the westerly section
of the town. It will give additional facilities for
transportation of freight and passengers, and bring
within easy reach of the city quite an area of de¬
sirable land for dwellings and farms.
In May, 1855, the town received five hundred
dollars in an anonymous letter, to purchase a town
clock to be placed on the Congregational Church
edifice, and to be the property of the town. It has
recently transpired that the gift was from Ebenezer
Smith, then a resident of the town, but since de¬
ceased.
In March, 1860, ground was broken for the
laying of pipes by the West Cambridge (now Ar¬
lington) Gaslight Company, and the principal
streets were piped, and gas introduced about Sep¬
tember of that year.
A savings-bank was opened August 28, 1871,
and has continued in successful operation to the
present time. It has about five hundred and fifty
depositors, and is carefully and prudently managed.
At a town-meeting, April 7, 1851, a committee
of ten was appointed to purchase a lot of land for
a cemetery, not exceeding ten acres, to make out
a plan of the same, with the estimated cost, and
report to the town. At a town-meeting, Septem¬
ber 15, 1851, the committee reported that they
had purchased a lot of land containing about ten
acres, situated west of the canal, and over against
516
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Wedge Pond, at an expense of two thousand dol¬
lars, and that to fence the same and prepare it so
far as needed for use would require an additional
thousand dollars. The committee further recom¬
mended that the money presented to the town by
Colonel Winchester be appropriated to the pur¬
chase and laying out of the land described for the
cemetery ; that the town sell its interest in the old
cemetery, and apply the proceeds to the improve¬
ment of the new cemetery, the repayment of the
Winchester fund, and for such other use as the
town may dictate. The report and recommenda¬
tions were adopted, and the committee authorized
to carry out the same.
The cemetery was designed, and laid out in lots,
under the direction of the committee, by Amasa
Farrier, of Stoneham. The spot selected contains
ten and a half acres, and is well adapted to the
purpose, being thickly covered with pine and forest
trees, interspersed with hill and dale. At the con¬
secration an address was delivered by Eev. ß. H.
Neale, D. D., with other appropriate services.
Four hundred and sixty-nine lots have been laid
out, of which two hundred and ninety-seven lots
have been sold, leaving one hundred and seventy-
two unsold. The cemetery is under the charge
of a committee of five, chosen by the town, and
an appropriation is annually made, of a sufficient
amount to keep the grounds in proper condition,
which amount has averaged $382.77 per year. The
cemetery fund, February 28, 1880, amounted to
$5,286.56.
Fire Department. — In the year 1850 the town
bought a hand fire-engine and apparatus at a eost
of some fourteen hundred dollars. It was located
in a house near the Congregational Church, and
was manned by volunteers for several years ; after¬
wards the company received a small compensation
for their services. At the town-meeting in March,
1870, it was voted, on motion of C. 0. Billings,
Esq., to purchase a ehemical engine called the
Babcock "Village Machine. Its cost was seven
hundred dollars, and it was named the J.F. Dwinell,
in honor of a well-known and prominent townsman.
This town was almost, if not the first, to bring this
machine into use, and although at first it was ridi¬
culed by many, and looked upon with little favor,
yet it steadily gained in the public estimation after
its introduction, and no city or town can now well
afford to be without it. In 1873 the town bought
a steam fire-engine and fixtures at a cost of some
$ 5,400. It was named Alex. Mosely, in honor of a
prominent gentleman. At the same time there was
purchased a horse hose-carriage at a cost of $1,000,
which was named in honor of P. Waldmyer.
July 10, 1874, the following vote was passed
by the town : " That the selectmen and engineers
be and are hereby instructed to supply on the
present steam fire-engine lot such additional ac¬
commodations as will house the town horses and
all the fire apparatus in a style in keeping with the
present building, and that the horses be there
stabled." In pursuance with the foregoing vote
an excellent house was erected, containing all the
accommodations necessary to a large fire depart¬
ment, at a cost of $5,400. The old building
which the steamer had occupied was altered into
a commodious stable, at a cost of $375. In 1874
the town sold the hand-engine, purchased four
hose-carriages, which, with the hose and the houses
for them, located in different parts of the town,
cost some $4,000. In 1875 a hook-and-ladder
truck was bought, at a cost of $650, and named
J. "W. Huse, in honor of a worthy townsman who
died in November, 1878. The number of men
connected with the department is sixty-seven ; an¬
nual expense, about $3,000, $1,000 of which
is for the use of water. The expense of the fire
department for the past thirty years has" been
$52,453.62. The value of the fire apparatus, in¬
cluding houses, is $21,847.
The first public action taken in regard to the
introduction of water for domestic purposes into
the town is in the record of the town-meeting held
November 8, 1870, when a eommittee of nine was
appointed to consider the subject, consisting of the
selectmen and six others. This committee made
a partial report at the town-meeting held Novem¬
ber 27,1871, and asked to be, and was, discharged.
At the same meeting 0. ß. Clark, D. N. Skillings,
M. A. Herrick, T. P. Ayer, and J. F. Dwinell were
appointed a committee to investigate and report as
soon as practicable the question of supplying the
town with water, and were empowered to employ
assistance, and make examinations at the expense
of the town.
After further consideration of several projects
for water-supply, at a town-meeting, August 2,
1872, D. N. Skillings, M. A. Herrick, J. F.
Dwinell, T. P. Ayer, and Asa Fletcher were ap¬
pointed a committee to further investigate the
whole subject and cost of construction, and report
to the town ; and said committee was authorized
to procure the necessary surveys.
WINCHESTER.
517
At a town-meeting, held April 21, 1873, the
committee made a partial report; and at an¬
other, held June 20, 1873, the committee made
a supplemental report, which was accepted. It
was then decided to accept Chapter 277 of the
Acts of the Legislature of 1873 by a vote of one hun¬
dred and twenty in the affirmative to none in the neg¬
ative. This act allowed the town " to collect the
water of and on the territory lying along the easterly
side of the town of Winchester, being in the towns
of Winchester, Medford, and Stoneham, extending
eighty rods south of the north line of said town of
Medford and including all the natural water-shed
of that territory, by means of dams, aqueducts, pipes,
pumps, reservoirs, or such other structures as may
be necessary and convenient for the preservation
and purity of said water, and may convey the said
water from said territory by any convenient route,
and distribute the same in the manner and upon
the condition and terms set forth in said act; pro¬
vided, that none of the water tributary to Spot
Pond be taken by virtue hereof."
This act embraced the plan recommended by the
committee for the supply of water, and at a town-
meeting, held July 7, 1873, it was accepted and
adopted by the town as the most feasible and
proper method of supplying the town with pure
water. It appeared in the report of the committee
that the North Meadow gathering-ground, where
the reservoir is located, has an area of four hun¬
dred and fifty-two acres, which will give a daily
supply of 676,050 gallons of water, or forty gallons
a day to more than 16,000 people, or more than
four times the present number of inhabitants. The
territory includes the westerly slope of the- Bear
Hill range, and the whole of Dike's Meadow, so
called. If the time should arrive that more water
would be required, a dam can be built at the outlet
of the Soutli Meadow, which has an area nearly the
same as the North Meadow, and the water added
to that of the North Meadow. The two basins,
when united, would give a supply of 1,363,650
gallons per day, or forty gallons per day to 34,000
people.
At the town-meetingj^ July 10, 1875, David N.
Shillings, Moses A. Herrick, and James F. Dwinell
were chosen water commissioners.
The first work at the reservoir was done July 15,
1873, by N. Fitzgerald; C. Linehan became the con¬
tractor, September 6, 1873 ; work began, Septem¬
ber 8, 1873 ; began storing water, December 5,
1873. Water was let into the pipes, September 20,
1874. Total length of the dam, 675 feet, including
overfiow; length of overfiow, 34 feet; greatest
height of dam, 30|^ feet ; area of full reservoir, 60
acres; length, 4,400 feet; greatest width, 1,450
feet ; greatest depth, 23 feet ; total capacity,
259,000,000 gallons. Total length of street mains
laid to March 1, 1878, 74,679 feet.
Walter H. Sears was the constructing engineer,
and George H. Norman the contractor for furnish¬
ing and putting in place all the necessary pipes, hy¬
drants, gates, and other appurtenances constituting
the system of distribution. The pipe laid is what
is known as the wrought-iron and cement-lined
water-pipe. The total cost of construction of works,
pipes, etc., necessary to the introduction of water
to March 1, 1880, is $168,800.72; for the main-
tenanee of the water-works to the same date,
$8,785.33. The debt incurred on account of the
introduction of water is in water bonds to the
amount of $160,000, held mostly by the state of
Massachusetts, and payable in different sums and
at intervals, from the year 1884 to 1895 inclusive.
The whole number of services, March 1, 1880, is
463; the whole number of water-takers is 571;
amount of water-rates for the year ending March 1,
1880, $7,700.66.
Since its introduction the inhabitants have con¬
tinued to receive an abundant supply of water of
an excellent quality, and the system of distribu¬
tion has continued to answer its design.
Military.—The town, under the calls of the
president, in 1861 and 1862, furnished for three
years sixty-two men, at an average cost of $43 per
man, town bounty ; in 1862, sixty men for nine
months, at an average cost of $82 per man as town
bounty, and an average subseription bounty of $12
per man; in 1863, 1864, and 1865 the town fur¬
nished one hundred and ten men for three years
and twelve men for one year, at an average town
bounty of $115.70, and an average subscription
bounty of $58 per man, — the two hundred and
forty-four men costing, in all, $29,497.40, or an
average cost of $120.90 per man.
This sum was raised as follows : by money hired
for a term of years, $ 7,810.05 ; by taxation,
$13,891.35; by subscription, $7,796. All was
raised and expended, and the men obtained without
any expense to the town, no town officer or other
person having received any pay for the time and
expense incurred in raising the men or performing
any of the work incidental to raising voluuteers,
neither did any subscriber ask to have his subscrip-
518
HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
tion refunded; and so promptly was the money
forthcoming that the town always filled its quota
promptly, and was never at any time behindhand.
The war expenses for five years amounted to the
sum of $42,771.39.
Out of the two hundred and forty-four men,
fourteen viere substitutes, three from the state en¬
listments for the South, twenty-two nine-months
men were from Beading, fifteen from the state at
large, twelve re-enlistments, and one hundred
and seventy-eight from this town. Of these, last
named, ten died in the service of their coun¬
try. The roll of honor is as follows ; George
W. L. Sanborn, Aaron D. Weld, Josiah Stratton,
Francis A. Hatch, John Fitzgerald, Josiiua T.
Lawrence, Francis B. Bedell, John Gordon, Jeffer¬
son Ford, and Ira Johonnott.
Educational.—No school-house appears to have
been built in wliat are now the limits of the town
before the year 17 90, and though a public school was
some years appointed to be kept, it could be accom¬
modated only in some private house, and then only
for a few weeks in the course of the season. Other
years the children who attended school had to be
provided with a private one at the cost of the
parents, or travel to the centre of Woburn and
Medford, soipe two miles distant. At the incor¬
poration of the town there were only two school-
houses within its limits, — one in the Centre
(formerly South Woburn), and the other on the
Medford road, near Symmes Corner (formerly
Medford).
The town at its first meeting ciiose 0. R. Clark,
Charles Kimball, and William A. Dodge a commit¬
tee to build five school-houses. These houses were
built during the ensuing year, and were respec¬
tively called : the Hill, from its location; tlie Wy-
man, from an honored townsman of that name ; the
Rumford, from Count Rumford, a native of Wo¬
burn; the Washington, from the street of that
name ; and the Gifford, from S. N. Gilford, who
was so active in securing the incorporation of the
town. The whole cost of these houses, exclusive
of furniture, was about $6,500. These five houses,
together with the two first mentioned, comprised
all the school accommodations of that day. A high
school was established at the outset in the old
school-house in the Centre, altiiough the number
of inhabitants did not then and has not since re¬
quired it.
The school system was also inaugurated upon
the most liberal footing and upon the wisest
scheme, including every grade, and managed not
by districts and district committees, but by tiie
whole town. In 1853 the Mystic School-house,
on Bacon Street, was built to take the place of the
old one in that locality, at an expense of some
$1,800. In 1854 a primary school-room was fitted
up in the Giff'ord School-house, at an expense of
$800. In 1857 the Adams School-honse was
erected, at an expense of $2,000. In 1863 this
school-house was enlarged by the addition of an
upper room, at an expense of $700.
In 1865 a new higii-school house was erected
on Dix Street, near the old one, which had become
unsuitable for the purpose. The total cost of tiie
building, land, furniture, etc., was about $17,000.
This house was dedicated November 4, 1865. In
the same year a new grammar-school house was
erected on Washington Street, on the site of the
Gifford School-house, which had been removed to
a locality on Main Street. This house, with the
land and furnishing, cost about $16,000. The
house was dedicated November 5, 1865. In 1875
the Adams School-house, being found insufficient
for the accommodation of the children in that
section of the town, was sold, and a new one
erected on Swanton Street, at an expense of about
$12,000. It was named the Chapin, in honor of
Dr. Chapin, who for eleven years served upon the
school board.
In 1878 a new school-house was built upon
land belonging to the town, on Highland Avenue,
to accommodate the children living in that neigh¬
borhood. It cost, complete, about $ 1,500. There
are fourteen schools, all keeping ten months in the
year, and nineteen teachers. The number of chil¬
dren in the town between five and fifteen years of
age. May I, 1879, was 580. The average number
of scholars in all the schools for the year ending
March 1, 1880, was 530. The ten school-iiouses
now in use are valued at $57,500. The amount
expended upon the schools for the past thirty
years, or to March I, 1880, is $208,672.20 ; and
for new school-houses, $66,272.20, or a total of
$274,944.40, — nearly three quarters of a milliou
dollars. Up to the year 1867 the committee re¬
ceived no pay for their senses, but since then they
have received a small stipend. Of those who have
rendered valuable service upon the school board,
special allusion should be made to Dr. Alonzo
Chapin, whose term of service exceeded that of any
other, and who was also a trustee of the town
library for several years, and took an active interest
WINCHESTER.
519,
in all town affairs. Dr. Chapin was bom in Spring¬
field, Massachusetts, in February, 1805, and grad¬
uated at Amherst. He was mission physician to
the Sandwich Islands from 1834 to 1837. Ee-
turning to America, he continued in the practice
of his profession, and settled in this town in 1850.
It was while upon the school board, in Decem¬
ber, 1876, at the age of nearly seventy-two years,
that he was suddenly stricken down, and called
from the work he so much enjoyed, and in which
he had so many cheering words for teachers and
children and for his co-workers, to another and
better sphere of usefulness. He devoted to the
interests of the schools all the knowledge and ex¬
perience of his ripened years, and the memory of
his good words and works will long linger in the
history of the town.
Public Library. — The Winchester Library As¬
sociation was organized March 20, 1848. It was
formed with a view " to increase the general moral¬
ity, intelligence, and happines.s," by the establish¬
ment of a public library. It was first located in
the store of Dr. Youngman, and supported by the
voluntary contributions of its members. The As¬
sociation voted, February 19, 1859, to offer the
library, containing one thousand volumes, to the
town, as the nucleus of a public town library,
upon certain conditions. At the annual town-
meeting, March 28, 1859, the town voted to
accept the offer on the conditions specified.
The Winchester Agricultural Library Associa¬
tion was formed March 26, 1857, "for the pur¬
pose of procuring and maintaining a library of
agricultural papers and such other works as may
tend to the improvement of agriculture." No
meeting of the association was held after April 9,
1857, and nearly all the shareholders signed a
paper relinquishing their right to the library, and
presenting the same to the town to be incorporated
into the public town library. A board of trustees
was chosen in March, 1859, consisting of three
gentlemen, who at once caused the books to be
examined, arranged in proper order, catalogued,
and under proper restrictions thrown open to
the use of the residents of the town. An appro¬
priation of two hundred dollars was made for its
expenses the first year. At the end of the first
year it appeared there were 396 borrowers, who
had taken out 4,400 books. Since then the town
has from year to year made liberal appropriations
for the expense of carrying on the library and for
file purchase of new books. For the year ending
February 28, 1880, there were 1,029 borrowers
and 21,445 books taken out. The library now
numbers 4,532 volumes, and is located in the sec¬
ond story of the brick building on Main Street,
near the Centre, owned by Eichardson and Tyler.
The amount expended upon the library since its
establishment in 1859 is f 10,469.24. •
The following named citizens of the town have
served as senators in the state senate from the dis¬
trict of which this town was a part : Frederick 0.
Prince in the year 1854 ; Oliver R. Clark in 1861
and 1864; Abraham B. Coffin, in 1877 and 1878 ;
and as representatives to the General Court, Fred¬
erick O. Prince in the years 1851, 1852 ; Zacha-
riah Eichardson, 1853; Joseph Stone, 1854;
Cephas Church, 1855 ; Aaron D. Weld, 1856 ;
Alvin Taylor, 1857.
In 1857 a change was made in the basis of
representation, and this town was joined with
Arlington as a representative district. Since then
the district has been represented as follows :
Moses Proctor of West Cambridge in 1858 ; Oli¬
ver R. Clark of Winchester in 1859; Joseph
Burrage of West Cambridge in 1860; Charles
Hey wood of Winchester in 1861 ; Albert Winn
of West Cambridge in 1862 ; Frederick O. Prince
of Winchester in 1863; Samuel Butterfield ôf
West Cambridge in 1864 ; Charles Goddard of
Winchester in 1865; Joseph S. Potter of Arling¬
ton in 1866, 1867, 1868 ; Salem Wilder of Win¬
chester in 1869 ; Jesse Bacon of Arlington in
1870 ; Samuel W. Twombly of Winchester in
1871 ; David N. Shillings of Winchester in 1872 ;
J. W. Pierdfe of Arlington in 1873; John T.
Manny of Winchester in 1874; A. B. Coffin of
Winchester in 1875 ; S. D. Hicks of Arlington
in 1876; William H. Kinsman of Winchester in
1877; William G. Peck of Arlington in 1878 and
1880 ; Josiah F. Stone of Winchester in 1879.
Religion». — After frequent meetings between
March, 1839, and May, 1840, and much discus¬
sion, a general meeting of prominent citizens resid¬
ing in what was then South Wobum was held
May 12,1840, at which it was decided to organ¬
ize the South Woburn Congregational Society.
June 1, 1840, a society bearing this name was
organized under due form of law, and a building
committee consisting of Benjamin F. Thompson,
Harrison Parker, Stephen Swan, Henry Cutter,
Marshall Wyman, Nathan B. Johnson, and Sum¬
ner Richardson were chosen to purchase a site, and,
erect a house of worship. The site selected was the
520
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
one now occupied by it. The corner-stone was laid
July 27, 1840. The church edifice was com¬
pleted, and dedicated December 30, 1840 ; the
sermon on the occasion being preached by the
Rev. Daniel Crosby, of Charlestown. One hundred
members of the present church in Woburn with¬
drew from that church November 2, 1840, and
formed a church here. During the summer of
1849 the church edifice was eularged and thor¬
oughly repaired, but on the morning of the 20th
of March, 1853, the building, with a new and
valuable organ just placed iu it, and other furni¬
ture, was entirely destroyed by fire.
The corner-stone of the present edifice, which
occupies a commanding position fronting on Church
Street, the Common, and the railroad depot, was
laid September 5, 1853, and the house was dedi¬
cated October 11, 1854. The corporate name of
the society was changed, March 11, 1856, to the
First Congregational Society. The pastors who
have been settled over this society are as follows :
Rev. George P. Smith, ordained June 17, 1841,
and dismissed March 11, 1845 ; Rev. William T.
Eustis, Jr., installed April 8, 1846, dismissed Jan¬
uary 27, 1848 ; Rev. John M. Steele, ordained
August 10, 1848, dismissed February 11, 1852;
Reuben T. Robinson, ordained October 27, 1852,
died in the service August 24, 1871 ; Rev. Edwin
C. Bissell, installed November 1, 1871, dismissed
September 2, 1873; Rev. Alfred B. Dascomb, in¬
stalled March 4, 1874, resigned, and resignation
took eifect July 15, 1878 ; Rev. Charles R. Sey¬
mour, installed October 30, 1879, is the present
pastor. The Sunday school was organized Jan¬
uary 3, 1841, with Deacon B. F. Thompson as its
superintendent. The school has been, from the
first, prosperous and progressive, its membership,
as well as its charitable contributions, increasing
from year to year by a steady growth. Deacon
0. R. Clark was its superintendent for fifteen years.
The present membership is about three hundred and
fifty. Benjamin F. Thompson, Nathan B. Johnson,
and Marshall Wyman were the first deacons, and
served twelve years in that capacity. After these,
Zebediah Abbott served twenty-two years ; Joseph
Huse, eighteen years ; Luther Richardson, nineteen
years ; Oliver R. Clark, eighteen years. On the 5th
of July, 1872, a by-law was adopted, limiting thé
term of service of the deacons to four years. The
present number of church-members is about four
hundred.
In connection with the history of the Congrega¬
tional Society, a sketch of one who was intimately
connected with its early history will not be out of
place here.
Benjamin Franklin Thompson was born in Wo¬
burn, January 18,1799. He was brought up in a
plain New England home, and enjoyed to a limited
extent the advantages of the town schools. Early
called upon to carve out his own fortune, he became
an apprentice to his elder brother, with whom he
afterwards became associated in business. On en¬
tering upon business for himself he was very suc¬
cessful, and continued so for many years, and thus
was enabled to lay aside a handsome competence.
He was a model business man, and preferred the
aetivity which a business life required. He was a
true friend, neighbor, and citizen, and to the sick,
suifering, and needy cheerfully contributed the
means at his command. He lent himself to every
good word and work. The cause of temperauce
and antislavery found iu him an earnest supporter.
In the last national struggle he was deeply inter¬
ested, and was ready in all ways to aid in the sup¬
pression of the Rebellion.
He held the office of superintendent of the Sun¬
day school connected with the Woburn church for
several years, and in April, 1836, was chosen deacon,
which latter office he resigned in December, 1840.
He removed to this place, then South Woburn, in
1839. Shortly after his removal here he agitated
the subject of another church in this locality, and
may be said to be the father and founder of this
church and society. He was the chairman of the
committee of the petitioners for the purpose of
forming a new church. He was the chairmau of
the sub-committee to obtain the first minister, and
also of that to draw up the church covenant, and
the first church meeting was held at his house.
He was the first clerk and treasurer, and one of the
deacons in 1850. He was chairman of the com¬
mittee on the building of the first church here, and
of that for selling and letting pews. He was a
member of the committee for building the pres¬
ent church edifice. He resigned the office of dea¬
con, February, 1852. As a Christian he was
faithful to all his religious engagements, and re¬
mained connected with the Sunday school to the
time of his death, which occurred in July, 1863.
First Baptist Church. — Some time during the
year 1849 a few individuals connected with the
Baptist denomination assembled for worship in
Union Hall, in what was then South Woburn, and
continued to meet in that place until the erec-
WINCHESTER.
521
tion of Lyceum Hall. During this time Rev. N. A.
Reed acted as their pastor. For three years they
thus maintained the sepices of the sanctuary, sus¬
taining a Sabbath school and social meetings with¬
out any church organization.
The First Baptist Church of Winchester was
constituted August 11, 1852, with eighteen mem¬
bers, and recognized ' by council September 2,
1852. ■ The successive pastorates have been : Rev.
N. A. Reed, from August 18, 1852, to August 1,
1854 ; Rev. Edwin B. Eddy, from December 1,
1855, to June 1, 1860; Rev. J. D. Meeson, from
May, 1861, to February, 1862; Rev. Henry
Hinckley, from September 1, 1862, to November,
1866 ; Rev. Samuel J. Bronson, from February
19, 1867, to May, 1869 ; Rev. L. G. Barrett, from
January, 1870, to January, 1874; Rev. H. F.
Barnes, the present pastor, from March 15, 1874.
In 1864 a meeting-house was completed by the
society at the corner of Washington and Mount
Vernon streets. It is built of wood, and is of the
Gothic style of architecture. The main house is
75x45 feet, with an addition 58x31 feet, con¬
taining two vestries. The house contains seventy-
eight pews, and will seat about four hundred per¬
sons. The cost of the house, land, and furnishing
was about $10,000. The present membership of
the church is one hundred and sixty-four. The
Sunday school numbers about one hundred and
forty.
Aaron D. Weld, who was active among the early
efforts put forth by the exponents of Baptist views,
was bom in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, in the year
1821, and bred a farmer. By his own exertions
he secured an education, and was fitted for college ;
but the want of funds turned him aside into busi¬
ness, which he prosecuted jointly in Boston and
St. Louis with success and untarnished honor. In
1850 he removed to this town, and with a few
others, and for years before a Baptist church could
be formed, sustained a Sunday school and regular
preaching. The cost was considerable, often sev¬
eral hundred dollars a year ; but having the means,
and believing that he was a steward, the opportu¬
nity of honoring his Lord was eagerly improved.
Of studious habits and tastes, and with a large and
increasing fund of doctrinal and biblical knowledge,
he was eminently useful in the Sunday school and
church. He was brought up in the religious belief
of the Congregationalists, but was afterwards led
by study and research to embrace Baptist senti¬
ments. In his business he was enterprising and
shrewd, and withal eminent for his straightforward¬
ness and honesty. As a citizen he was universally
esteemed, and frequently honored by his townsmen
with the charge of their public affairs. As a friend
he was warm-hearted, generous, and noble. He
entered into the service of his country in January,
1862, as acting paymaster attached to the United
States steamer J. P. Jackson, and was in the naval
engagement at New Orleans, and in several other
conflicts with the enemy. June 3 he was taken
sick with remittent fever, and died, June 11,
1862, on board the Ocean Queen, while on her
way to New York, about one hundred miles below
New Orleans.
Unitarian Society. — About the year 1853 a
Sunday school was organized by the friends of
liberal Christianity, and met in the Mystic Sciiool-
house and other places ; but after four years' con¬
tinuance it was disbanded for want of a suitable
place for its meetings, and of sufficient interest.
In connection with the school during that period
quite a number of the parents and friends had
church services at which clergymen from the neigh¬
boring towns officiated. Eight years elapsed, when
Rev. S. R. Galthrop came to spend a Sunday with
his friends in this town. About twenty-five peo¬
ple who heard of his coming met in the parlors of
Dr. F. "Winsor's house, and there, on November 19,
1865, listened to a sermon on inspiration, which
inspired them with a determination to hear more
of the same gospel. Another service was held in
the lower Lyceum Hall on the following Sunday,
at which some eighty people were present. As the
interest increased, a meeting was held on Novem¬
ber 29, 1865, to secure a permanent organization.
Lyceum Hall was engaged, and the Unitarian So¬
ciety had its first religious service December 3,
1865, some one hundred persons being present.
A Sunday school was formed in the afternoon of
that day, with some fifty scholars, and Charles J.
Bishop, Esq., as its superintendent.
The pulpit for the first six months was occu¬
pied by different clergymen. May 18, 1866, Rev.
Richard Metcalf, the present pastor, was called,
and on June 14, 1866, was duly installed. After
occupying Lyceum Hall for several years, it was
found to be insufficient for the purposes of the
society, and in 1869 the incipient steps were taken
towards the purchase of land and the erection of
a house of worship. Thomas P. Ayer and Frank¬
lin W. Perry were the building committee. A lot
of land, pleasantly located near the centre of the
522
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
town, fronting on Main Street, the rear overlook¬
ing Winchester Park, was purchased of Prancis
Johnson and others in May, 1869. August 25,
1869, the corner-stone of the present cliurch edifice
was laid, with appropriate ceremonies, and the
building completed, and dedicated March 17, 1870.
The architect was Thomas W. Silloway of Boston.
The house is forty-six feet wide in front, and forty-
two in the rear, the extreme length being eighty-
one feet. A tower on the front right-hand corner
is one hundred and ten feet high. The auditorium
contains seventy-two pews, with seats for three
hundred and eighty persons, and room in the gal¬
lery for fourteen pews. The cost of the building
and furniture was about $23,000. The Sunday
services have been continued without interruption
ever since the first meeting, November 19, 1855.
The Sunday school numbers about one hundred
and fifty, and since the settlement of the pastor it
has been under his superintendence. Outside of
the Sunday services the operations of the society
are chiefiy carried on by the Ladies' Friendly Soci¬
ety and the Good-Will Club. The Ladies' Friendly
Society has contributed largely to the finances of
the parent society. The Good-Will Club has been
in existence eight years.. Its object is " to do
good and get good." Through its literary, musi¬
cal, and dramatic committees it has from time to
time afforded iiistruction and entertainment, and
contributed over one thousand dollars towards the
society, the Sunday school, and the charitable
work of the club. It continued for a while a
free evening-school for instruction in the elementary
branches of study, and also, from its formation to the
present time, has supported and carried on a school
every winter for the poor children in the town,
who are taught to sew, and are afterwards pre¬
sented with the garments manufactured by them.
Roman Catholic. — At the formation of the
town and for several years after there were but few
Eoman Catholics here; but with the increase in
the number of houses there began to be more
people desiring church privileges. At first they
were obliged to go to Woburn or Medford to at¬
tend church, — a distance of two or three miles.
Some five or six years ago, feeling themselves to
be sufficient in numbers and ability to have services
of their own faith in the town, they, with the as¬
sistance of friends in the other denominations,
raised the necessary money, and erected and fur¬
nished the present neat and commodious church
edifice on Washington Street, now occupied by
them. Bev. Mr. O'Connor is the present pas¬
tor.
Methodist Episcopal Society. — Up to Febru¬
ary, 1872, no attempt had been made to organize
a Methodist society in this town, but during that
month a meeting was called for this purpose, and
held at the residence of John C. Mason. On the
morning of March 3, 1872, the first regular ser¬
vice was entered upon, the Eev. C. W. Drees, of
the seminary, taking charge of the service, the
number of worshippers then being about sixty, —
membership six. For two years the society was
supplied with preachers from the seminary. The
first regular pastor appointed by the Annual Con¬
ference was the Eev. D. S. Coles, who began his
labors April 19,1874, and continued for two years.
On the morning of October 20, 1875, ground
was broken for a church edifice by Cyrus Hough¬
ton, the oldest man in the society, and for more
than forty years a member of the Methodist
Church, removing the first shovelful of earth.
The church edifice is built on Pleasant Street,
near the centre of the town, and is a neat wooden
structure in the Eomanesque style of architecture,
from designs of T. W. Silloway of Boston. It is
sixty-three feet long and forty feet wide, and is
finished with a neat campanile, or bell-tower, at
the front right corner. A basement, making the
first story, contains the large lecture-room, with
other modern conveniences, such as class-rooms,
kitchen, etc. Although not of large dimensions,
having a seating capacity for but three hundred
persons, yet it is a very tasteful edifice, and well
adapted to the needs of this young and prosperous
society. The church edifice was dedicated June 1,
1876, and up to the present time two pastors have
served, namely, Eev. J. E. Jubb one year, and
Eev. George H. Cheney, the present pastor. The
present number of worshippers is about one hun¬
dred, with a church membership of seventy-five.
Average attendance at the Sunday school, sixty-
eight.
Eising Star Division, No. 52, Sons of Temper¬
ance, was instituted September 9,1858, and after
flourishing for a little more than two years, during
which time it had numbered some seventy mem¬
bers, and as many lady visitors, and done much
good in the community, surrendered its charter in
1860. It numbered some twenty at its decease,
and its property, including a handsome banner,
was sold to a division in Somerville, which assumed
the same name.
WINCHESTER.
523
Another division was instituted several years
after, and continued in,existence for a while, and
then shared the fate of its predecessor.
A lodge of Good Templars was instituted Jan¬
uary 12, 1867, which survived several years, and
then followed the example of the divisions.
The Eeform Club was organized May 6, 1876,
and is now in the field, having supplemented all
the other temperance organizations in carrying on
the tèmperance reform. The present membership
is three hundred and twenty, and the club meets
in Livingstone Hall on Sunday afternoons and at
other times.
As auxiliary to the Reform Club, the Women's
Christian Temperance Union was formed May 26,
1876, with a membership of eighty-one. It now
numbers eighty-five.
Societies, etc. — During the existence of the town
there have been several literary associations organ¬
ized, which flourished for several years. Among
them were the Young Men's Literary Association
and ,the Winchester Lyceum, botli of which had
lectures, debates, and entertainments, and were
very successful in this way.
At the présent time some of the religious socie¬
ties have organizations within their bodies which
give more or less attention to literary matters and
outside of these are the Young Men's Association,
the Adelphian Club, and the Back-Log Club.
The Young Men's Association has been in exist¬
ence for several years, and has a room in Lyceum
Building neatly furnished. It is composed of a
number of the prominent young men, who make
this room their headquarters for social intercourse,
literary improvement, and recreation. The clubs
mentioned have members from both sexes, and
have literary and dramatic entertainments at .stated
intervals. The Back-Log Club meets in the Kin¬
dergarten School-house, in Rangley Place, and the
Adelphians meet in Lyceum Hall.
Masonie. —In the month of January, 1864, at
the invitation of Abijah Thompson, 3d, several
masons residing in this town, among whom were
Dr. William Ingalls, A. K. P. Joy, D. N. Skill-
ings, and J. P. Stone, met at his house on Walnut
Street, to consider what action could betaken to pro¬
mote the cause of masonry. After an interchange
of opinions, it was decided to call a meeting of the
brethren living in the town at No. 4 Lyceum Hall,
which was held; and at a subsequent meeting,
held on March 4, 1864, it was voted to apply for a
dispensation.
A dispensation was duly granted. May 9,1864,
by William Parkman, then grand master, and the
lodge duly organized as William Parkman Lodge,
May 10,1864, in Masonic Hall, in the upper part of
Lyceum Building, which had been fitted up for these
purposes. A. K. P. Joy was the master, Josiah F.
Stone, senior warden, and Abijah Thompson, 3d,
junior warden, of the new lodge under the dispen¬
sation. At the expiration of a year a charter was
granted, June 16, 1865, and a lodge under the
same organized in due and ancient form, J une 22,
1865. A complete set of officer's jewels was pre¬
sented to the lodge by Mr. Parkman, in recogni¬
tion of the honor conferred upon him in taking
his name for that of the lodge. The ladies of the
Masonic brethren united in the presentation, on
June 17, 1867, of an elegant banner. The lodge
numbers eighty-three members.
Winchester Lodge, No. 556, Knights of Honor,
was instituted March 31, 1877, with eleven char¬
ter members, and has fifty-eight members. The
order of the Knights of Honor is organized for
mutual assistance, both moral and pecuniary. It
also pays an insurance of two thousand dollars to
the widow or orphan of any deceased member. It
has contributed for that purpose since its institu¬
tion in 1874 over $725,000 to the families of
members, and Winchester Lodge has contributed
$ 766 as its share of that amount.
The Winchester Union was organized August 1,
1871, and is a union of ladies from the different re¬
ligious societies in the town. Its object is concisely
stated in its constitution to be, "to aid poor, sick,
or suffering persons by work, instruction, advice, or
sympathy, as the case may require." It holds its
meetings once a month, in one of the rooms in the
high-school house.
A. D. Weld Post, Grand Army of the Republic,
was organized May 22, 1872. Its present mem¬
bership is twenty-nine.
Prominent Citizens. — John Symmes, a de¬
scendant in the sixth generation from the Rev.
Zechariah Symmes, was born in 1781, in the old
house at Baconville built by Captain William
Symmes, and afterwards built and lived in a house
at the locality termed Symmes' Comer, now occu¬
pied by his son, Luther R.. Symmes. He was a
good man, just and upright, and useful in his day.
In addition to the cultivation of a valuable farm,
part of which he inherited from his early ancestors,
he carried on during many years the business of
a wheelwright, as his father had done before him.
524
HISTOBY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
He settled many estates of deceased persons, and
held at différent times most of the offices of trust
in the town and parish. He attended public wor¬
ship in Medford, and was a stanch supporter of
civil and religious order. He was deacon of the
Congregational Church in that town from about
the year 1818 until his death, February 15, 1860,
at the age of seventy-nine years.
Among the earliest settlers in the town was
Eobert Bacon, who in the year 1846 settled in
that part of the town afterwards termed Baconville.
The site where he located was possessed of excel¬
lent water privileges, which he and his sons im¬
proved for many years in carrying on their business.
He also owned a large quantity of meadow-land
adjoming, which afforded quite a revenue. The
taking of a large portion of. tliis meadow-land as a
part of the water-shed of the Mystic Water-Works
destroyed the water privileges which he had so long
enjoyed, and compelled him to use steam-power in
carrying on his business. After several years of suc¬
cess he gave up tlie business to his sons, by some
of whom it was continued for many years. The
business is now carried on by a grandson (C. N.
Bacon), near the same locality. Mr. Bacon was
prominently identified witli the early hislory of the
town, and contributed materially to its advance¬
ment and prosperity. He took a deep interest in
town affairs, and was nearly always present at
the town-meetings, encouraging by his presence
and vote whatever was best calculated to promote
the prosperity of the town. He was one of the
oldest members of tbe Universalist denomination,
and took an active interest in it. He died June 4,
1861, at the age of eighty-three years. His
daughter occupies the old homestead.
John A. Bolles was one of those prominent in
the early history of the town, and took an active
interest in its affairs during the many years that he
was a resident therein. He was a lawyer by pro¬
fession, and secretary of the commonwealth under
the administration of Governor Marcus Morton.
During the War of the Rebellion he was upon the
staff of General John A. Dix, and afterwards he
was appointed naval solicitor, connected with the
Navy Department at Washington. He lield this
office for several years, and died while holding the
same, about two years ago.
Samuel B. White died November 9, 1878, at
the age of seventy-five years. He was born in
Boston in 1803, and removed to that part of Wo-
bum now Winchester in 1823. He was the first
treasurer of the town after its incorporation, and
was the station-agent here for several years. He
also held many other offices of trust, and was highly
esteemed in the community. In early life he was
connected with the militia of Middlesex County,
and at one time commanded the old 4th regiment.
He was also one of the original members of the
once celebrated Woburn Phalanx, and its first cap¬
tain.
Among those resident in the town at its incor¬
poration was the Hon. Frederick O. Prince, the
present mayor of Boston. He purchased, in 1848,
a residence on the borders of Wedge Pond, on the
brow of a commanding oak knoll overlooking this
beautiful sheet of water. He continued a resident
of the town for many years, and took an active
part in its early history. He served for three years
upon the first school board, which gave such excel¬
lent shape and direction to the educational interests
of the town. He was also a representative to the
General Court for the years 1851,1852, and 1863,
and a senator for tbe year 1854. He removed, sev¬
eral years since, to Boston, but still continues to
make this his summer residence.
In alluding to some of the prominent citizens,
mention should be made of one who, although
a private individual, was, in a certain sense, a pub¬
lic character for the last thirty years of his life.
Solomon Lawrence Fletcher died February 28,
1880, at the age of seventy-nine years and two
months. At his funeral the following, among
other tributes, were paid to his memory : " Mr.
Fletcher had two traits of character to which I,
who have known him for nearly fourteen years,
wish to bear testimony. First, he had a love for
music, poetry, flowers, and everything beautiful.
This love entered into his life so deeply that it re¬
fined his whole nature. It added to that fine cour¬
tesy of his, with which he was ready to meet friend
and stranger, young and old Secondly, he
devoted himself to the happiness of others. How
full of sympathy he was for the sick and suffering I
How much he planned for the children's enjoy¬
ment ! We call a man of wealth a man of means,
and it is a good use of words ; but tbis man, with¬
out any wealth, found means enough to carry sun¬
shine and joy wherever he went. How many in
our community have made more hearts happy than
he ?.... Let us lay this tribute upon his bier as we
meet here to-day. With a kind, loving, generous
heart, he lived more for others than himself, and
in all our endeavors to make the community hap-
Mctrojiolitdii flil'isliiug ScEngrjiiji; Co.lí™í.'it
WINCHESTER.
525
pier and better, he did his part. He hath done
what he could."
This history of the town would be incomplete
without a brief record of one of its most honored
and prominent citizens, who passed away from
earth while these pages were being revised for
publication.
David Nelson Shillings died March 10, 1880,
at the age of sixty-two years. Mr. Shillings was
born in Portland, Maine, March 7, 1818, coming
to Boston at the age of twenty, with only his hands
and personal shill to depend upon. He worhed as
a journeyman carpenter for four or five years, after
which he set up for himself, having attracted the
attention of the late Eben Francis, who employed
him to build some houses on Beacon Street. A
few years afterward he formed a partnership with
the late Albert Vinal, and the firm carried on the
wood and coal business in Cambridgeport and
Boston, having a wharf at the foot of Poplar Street,
since filled up. He subsequently formed a business
connection with Mr. C. F. Jones in the same busi¬
ness, at Bartlett's wharf, at the North End. After
some time Mr. Shillings withdrew from this firm,
and devoted his attention to the lumber business,
associating himself with Messrs. Lawrence Barnes
of Burlington, Vermont, Charles Whitney of Bos¬
ton, and David Whitney, Jr., of Detroit, Michigan,
under the firm name of Shillings and Whitney
Brothers. Two years ago a corporation was
formed, under the name of the Shillings, Whitney,
and Barnes Lumber Company, which is probably
the largest lumber concern in New England.
Mr. Shillings was a very prominent man among
the mercantile community of Boston, where his
business capacity was thoroughly appreciated. He
had twice been chosen by the legislature as a state
director in the Boston and Albany Eailroad, and'
his last term of service would have expired in
1881 ; and he had also ably represented the town
of Winchester in the lower branch of the legisla¬
ture. He was a director in the Eliot Banh and in
the Eliot Insurance Company of Boston, as also a
director of the Lowell and Nashua Eailroad.
Mr. Shillings was always an active temperance
worher, having been for several years a member of
the executive committee of the Massachusetts Tem-
perauce Alliance, to which organization he was a
liberal giver, and was the Prohibition candidate for
state treasurer for four years consecutively, begin¬
ning with 1876. He was a resident of Winchester
for almost the entire period of its history, and
always tooh a leading part in all public matters,
having been largely instrumental in the introduc¬
tion of water into the town. He has been upon the
board of selectmen, chairman of the water board
for several years, and at the time of his death was
president of the savings-banh. He was a promi¬
nent member of the First Congregational Church,
in which he held the office of deacon. He was a
liberal but unostentatious giver to all worthy
objects, and many a poor person has been cheered
and comforted through his private benefactions.
No one has done as much as Mr. Skillings to
beautify and adorn the town with elegant resi¬
dences and grounds to correspond, and make it
a desirable home for persons of culture. He was
one whose words and works proclaimed him a val¬
uable citizen and an honest man. His death, after
a brief illness, called forth a universal feeling of
sorrow and regret, and on the day of his funeral
the business of the town was entirely suspended,
and the community gathered in the church to pay
their last tribute of respect to one who had so
honored them, and to look for the last time upon
his familiar face.
At the annual town-meetiug, March 22, 1880,
resolutions were presented, from a committee pre¬
viously appointed for that purpose, setting forth
in fitting terms the estimation in which the de¬
ceased was held by his townsmen, which were
unanimously adopted) and ordered to be placed
upon the records.
526
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
WOBURN.
BY GEORGE M. CHAMPNEY.
- Governor Wintlirop and
a majority of Iiis colony left
Charlestown for the new ven¬
ture in Boston, the remaining
part of the company, although
much weakened for the time,
grew to very considerable num¬
bers in the course of a few years,
and new territory was called
for. .On the application of sev¬
eral persons the court granted an extension of four
miles in a north and westerly direction, the main
purpose of which was, undoubtedly, to secure in¬
creased land for cultivation. This grant was
called Charlestown Village. The settlers who
pushed out in the quarter indicated soon found
themselves in need of, or their ambitious craved,
a precinct or government of their own. Accord¬
ingly, on the 5th of November, 1640, seven men
were chosen from the church at Charlestown :
namely, Edward Converse, Edward Johnson, Eze-
kiel Kichardson, John Mousall, Thomas Graves,
Samuel Eichardson, and Thomas Richardson, to
proceed with the formation of a church and town¬
ship. The numbers, however, who seemed desir¬
ous of following the new lead were so great, that
the parent church began to consider whether it
would not be seriously weakened by this spirit of
emigration. At the end of a long discussion it was
decided to be a prudent measure to let the enterprise
go on. As in like attempts to colonize or open new
settlements in a country that had known no civili¬
zation, whose forests were unbroken, meadows un-
drained, and rivers unbridged, these commissioners
found many serious obstacles to overcome, and
many hardships to encounter. But the spirit that
led them across the Atlantic to find that religious
freedom denied them at home, supported them in
these trials, and nerved them to the accomplish¬
ment of their work. Although so late in the
season, the survey of the new territory was begun
at once. On the fourth day after their appoint¬
ment, November 9, while exploring near the Shaw-
shine River, a heavy snow-storm overtook them,
in which they lost their way, and were obliged to
pass the night under the shelter of some friendly
rocks. During the winter the explorations were
from time to time carried on. The 22d of Decem¬
ber was observed as a day of special fasting and
prayer for the blessing of God upon their arduous
work. About this time a series of meetings was
held at tlie dwellings of the several commissioners
at Charlestown, to adopt such measures with re¬
gard to the new settlement as their united judg¬
ments might approve. Arrangements were made
during the winter (1640-41) for the immediate
occupation of the new territory. In February,
1641, a bridge was built over the Aberjona ^ River,
within the present limits of Winchester, and tiie
first dwelling-house was erected " over against it "
by Edward Converse, and occupied by himself and
family successors for many years. The location of
the township by the commissioners took place at
tiie same time. The site selected was on the bank
of the Aberjona, on the " east side " of the present
town. The Boston and Lowell Railroad runs
through nearly the centre of the proposed village.
Considerable opposition was at once developed to
the site chosen, and mpon consultation with promi¬
nent men of Charlestown who were not of the
emigrating party, the location was abandoned, and
one fixed upon something over a mile to the west¬
ward. This became the centre of the town, and
■embraced, then as now, the site of the present
Common and its immediate surroundings. In the
course of the following spring house-lots were
laid out, and several dwellings were built during
the season. Having carried out their plans thus
far, the colonists, in conformity with their religious
convictions, began immediately to cast about for
a suitable minister. Two persons were applied
to,—Rev. Jonathan Burr and Rev. J. Miller,—
both of whom, after much negotiation, declined to
^ This word has do settled oi-tliogi-aphy.
WOBUBN.
527
accept the call. Mr. Thomas Carter was then
urgently requested to become their pastor, amid
much discouragement caused by the previous un¬
successful calls, and the faint-heartedness of several
who felt that tlie new enterprise would have to be
abandoned ; all of which difficulties are set down in
the quaint manner of Edward Johnson in the town
record, and in his notable book entitled Wonder¬
working Brovidence of Zion's Saviour in New
England. To the great joy of the colonists, Mr.
Carter at length fell in with their desires, and was
ordained as the first minister of "Woburn, De¬
cember 2, 1642. In anticipation of this event
those persons who were connected with the church
at Charlestown had asked for a dismission from
that body, with authority to found a new one.
With some reluctance this was acceded to, and the
new church was organized in the previous August.
Through the more than two centuries which
have followed it has had vital and permanent in¬
fluence ill the town and vicinity, and is still known
as the First Congregational Church of Woburn.
In the interim between the founding of the church
and the settlement of the pastor,.a petition had
been presented to the General Court for the incor¬
poration of the town. The court received the
petition favorably, and an act was passed at the
September session, 1642, couched in the following
brief words, which gave to Woburn its corporate
existence: "Charlestown village is called Woo-
burne." Neither Edward Johnson, who is es¬
pecially the early ehronicler of the town, nor any
other person, has given a reason for the adoption
of the name. The suggestion of it is probably
due to Eichard Eussell, of Cliarlestown, who, it is
believed, was a relative of the distinguished Eussell
family in England, to whom had been given the
abbey and park at Woburn, in Bedfordshire, as
a place of residence. The desire on the part of
Mr. Eussell to perpetuate the name of a town so
honorably associated with his noble kinsman was
a very natural one, and the disposition of the
people to accept it from so prominent and popular
a person is an equally plausible one. The town
thus authorized was situated seven miles • north
and west from Charlestown, and ten miles from
Boston. Although the grant specifies a plot " four
miles square," without definite bounds, it must
have been practically much larger than that. Con¬
taining within its limits the present towns of
Wilmington, Burlington, and Winchester (or the
greater portion of them), the area of the town must
have been nearer ten miles square than four. Its
surface was pleasantly varied j the greatest eleva¬
tions were Horn Pond Mountain, Bag Eock, and
Locke Hill. Its principal streams, or rivers, were
the Aberjona and the Shawshine; and its water
basins were Horn Pond, Wedge Pond, Sandy
Pond, etc. In the curtailment of the town by
setting off portions to other municipalities, Locke
Hill and part of Horn Pond Mountain, Wedge and
Sandy ponds, and tlie Shawshine Eiver were taken
from Woburn. The remaining sheet of viater,
Horn Pond, while supplying facilities for boating,
furnishes many thousand tons of ice for shipping
and local use, and is a charming feature in its
present landscape. It was something more than
a year after the town received its title to corporate
existence before a meeting of the inhabitants was
held. This occurred in November, 1643. Com¬
mittees were chosen for various purposes, but the
first town officers were not elected until the follow¬
ing April. April 13, 1644, seven persons were
chosen as selectmen, and as they were the leaders
in the town, their names are given : namely, Ed¬
ward Johnson, Edward Converse, John Mousall,
William Learned, Ezekiel Eichardson, Samuel
Eichardson, and James Thompson. It was not
requisite to choose a town-clerk annually, hence
Edward Johnson, who had been originally chosen
as clerk of the commissioners, was retained in that
office until his death in 1672, without re-election.
The town treasury was managed by the selectmen,
with the exception of one year (1695), until 1719.
The duties of assessors and school committee were
also discharged by the selectmen. The town
having now an organization, there were many
things to be done to make the situation of the
people as comfortable as possible. House-lots
were to be laid out and streets opened, and the
" common lands " (of which there were four hun¬
dred acres) were to be divided among the inhabi¬
tants. A house for the minister was also to be
provided, as well as a meeting-house for public
worship.
Another matter of much interest required early
attention, namely, the settlement of the boundary
between Charlestown and Woburn. This had never
been defined. Negotiations were opened from time
to time, the initiative always being taken by Wobum
until 1650, when the lines were finally established
and entered upon the records of Cliarlestown.
Nearly coeval with the settlement of Eev. T. Carter
as minister, the first meeting-house was built. Of
528
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
this structure little or nothing is known. John¬
son, in his history, alludes to it as standing in a
" small plain where four streets meet." The loca¬
tion is with good reason believed to have been at
the easterly end of the Common, near where the
soldiers' monument now stands. The house could
not have been otherwise' than a very plain affair,
without tower or steeple. Humble as it was, it
served the purpose of a place of public worship for
about thirty years. A new one was voted by the
town in 1671 and completed in 1672. It stood
on the sharp spur east of the Common wiiich is
still known as Meeting-house Hill. It was never
dedicated, as the Puritan methods were in opposi¬
tion to all rites and ceremonies in religious matters.
This meeting-house was not divided into pews, as
became the fashion in after years, — only the min¬
ister's and the deacons' wives having the privilege
of pews allowed them. Thirty or forty years sub¬
sequently special permission was given to a new¬
comer from Boston to build a pew at his own cost.
This led to requests of the same sort from other per¬
sons aristocratically inclined, which being granted,
caused such an outbreak of feeling as to induce the
town authorities to revoke the order. A committee
was appointed to " seat the people," and each per¬
son was assigned a regular place. In doing this,
reference was to be had to " estate, office, and age."
Privilege was, therefore, recognized in the matter of
position, if not in the form of pews. This meeting¬
house, with one or two enlargements, served the
religious uses of the town for eighty years, or
until 1752. Eev. Thomas Carter occupied its pul¬
pit for a few years, though for the larger part of
his ministry he had preàchèd in the one built about
the time of his ordination. In 1678 his growing
age and infirmities led the town to consider the
matter of providing him a colleague. An invita¬
tion was given to the Eev. Jabez Pox to become
his associate. This was accepted, and the two
clergymen labored together harmoniously and satis¬
factorily to their people for six years, when Eev. Mr.
Carter died, in the seventy-fourth year of his age
and the forty-second of his ministry. Mr. Carter
was born in England, and received his degree at
St. John's College, Cambridge. He was eminently
a good pastor, sound in doctrine, and ready with
tender consolation and sympathizing words to meet
the spiritual needs of his people. In illustration of
one of the customs of the town, now happily re¬
mitted to the darkest corners of society, the follow¬
ing bill, found on the town records, relating to the
funeral ceremonies of Mr. Carter, may be properly
introduced : —
" Charges at Mr. Thomas Carter'sßtneral in 1684.
fourteen gallons of wine at 3 Í. 0 rf. per gallon £ 2 9i. Orf.
For tarr 0 2 0
For gloves 1 16 0
For Ills coffin money 0 6 0
For Lis grave 0 5 0
For Maneliester, 6 yds, and a jarr 0 16
£4 10 6"
Eev. Jabez Pox, associate pastor, now became
the sole minister of the church. He continued in
his position for twenty-four years, laboring success¬
fully to promote the general interests of the parish.
During the ministry of Eev. Mr. Carter, or from
1642 to 1675, Woburn had steadily increased in
population, the land had been partially subdued,
good crops were gathered, a better class of houses
than those built at first had been erected, and some
of those industries started which have since made
the town so well known. The number of inhabi¬
tants cannot be given with accuracy, as no recorded
census was taken till nearly a century later; but
from the rates levied by the county, and the laws
respecting the establishment of grammar schools,
it is probable that the population was not far from
500. But this general prosperity was soon to re¬
ceive a serious check ou account of the outbreak of
the Indian wars. King Philip, who had heretofore
been in accord with the colonists, and had agreed
by solemn treaty to live with theni on amicable
terms, now became restive under the restraints im¬
posed by the compact, as well as moved by an ambi¬
tion to rid the land of an alien race which seemed
likely soon to become its sole possessors. He
brought into combination his own and two or three
other powerful tribes, and began a murderous as¬
sault upon all the exposed frontiers. Woburn was
too near the central towns of the colony to receive
much harm by the direct invasion of the wily enemy.
Small raiding parties appeared in two or three in¬
stances in the town or its immediate vicinity, and
although little loss was incurred by the burning of
dwellings or destruction of crops, four persons were
killed. This, however, was but a small portion of
the suffering and hardship that befell Woburn iu
common with all the towns of New England. To
carry on a vigorous and successful war, the taxes
of the people were enormously increased.
The year before the war broke out Woburn's
share of the coloiiial tax was but £50; before its
close it had grown to the large amount of £633.
These heavy drains upon the people caused much
WOBURN.
529
uneasiness and suffering, and the spirits of many
sunk under the trial.
The first order from the court for service re¬
quired thirteen men and five horses to be provided
for the forces being raised. Fifteen horses and
three men were shortly after added to the require¬
ment. These, however, were no more than a third
of the men who became soldiers in the war. From
various sources it has been ascertained that forty-
five others were subsequently engaged in the ser¬
vice. The number of men from Wobum who took
part in tlie fight at Narragansett, in December,
1675, is not certainly known, but it may be safely
estimated at from forty to fifty. The whole num¬
ber from Massachusetts was five hundred and
twenty-seven. Of the Woburn soldiers engaged
in the action, eiglit were either killed or wounded.
On the deatli of Philip, in the August following,
the war, so far as active hostilities were concerned,
was closed ; but the depredations of the Indians in
small parties and against isolated settlements were
continued with much loss and cruelty to the peo¬
ple exposed.
But another adversity followed in the wake of
the Indian war. Small-pox was introduced into
the town from Boston, which caused very general
alarm. Great efforts were made to prevent the
spread of the disease, but the cases were numerous
and many of them fatal. Stringent orders were
issued by the selectmen forbidding persons who
had been sick to appear in the meeting-house for
several weeks, or, if there, to be seated in a place
apart from the others, and to return home without
speaking to or mingling with the people. The
distress and alarm from this source continued for
more than a year, when the scourge abated.
The people of Woburn, as well as those of the
colony in general, had enjoyed from the beginning
all the freedom under their original eharter which
they desired. They managed their affairs in their
own way, elected their own officers, from the gov¬
ernor downward to the most unimportant posi¬
tions in each town; They held a firm allegiance
to the king, and considered themselves bound to
further the interests of the crown as against all other
nations. They had that strong feeling of loyalty
which has ever been characteristic of Englishmen,
and which took many years of indignities and
oppressions to cancel in the colonies. After the
Restoration in England, and when Charles II. had
become firmly seated on the throne, there was a
growing disposition on th'. part of the defenders of
the king's prerogatives to withdraw the charters
under which the New England colonies were
planted, and substitute others shorn of many
privileges they enjoyed. These attempts to inter¬
fere with the people of New England were met with
a bold and resolute spirit, and it was not till the
accession of James II. that the charter of Massa¬
chusetts was declared vacated. Then Sir Edmund
Andros appeared in Boston as governor appointed
by the king. This act caused great commotion
throughout New England. There was not for some
time any open resistance to the power of the new
magistrate, but many obstructions M'ere made to the
arbitrary laws passed by the council, and a general
spirit of insubordination everywhere prevailed.
•Woburn felt the indignity cast upon the people
as keenly as Boston. The order passed forbidding
town-meetings to be held but once in a year, and
then to be called by justices of the county rather
than the selectmen, was treated with rude con¬
tempt.
In 1687 the people assembled in town-meeting,
as was customary, and chose the usual officers.
This election was declared void by the governor,
and a new meeting was ordered. The order was
obeyed, but the inhabitants displayed their inde¬
pendent spirit by electing the same men to office
who had been previously chosen. In 1688 the
same proceedings were repeated. The town, in de¬
fiance of the king's creatures, met and elected its
officers ; again its acts were annulled. Andros was
growing desperate, and fines or imprisonment were
expected soon to follow these contumacious doings.
It appears that Woburn at length yielded some¬
what to the threatening attitude of the authorities.
Mr. Johnson, who had been first selectman for
several years, now declined to serve, and another
person was chosen in his place. This is supposed
to have been to this extent a reversal of the bold
position the town had taken. The following year
(1689) there is no record of a town-meeting being
held, and it is probable that the old officers held
over.
But the tyrannous proceedings of Sir Edmund
Andros were suddenly closed. News came that
James II. was dethroned, whereupon the people of
Boston and neighboring towns rose in arms, cap¬
tured and imprisoned Andros and some of his most
obnoxious adherents, and replaced the old magis¬
trates in office. There is no known account or rec¬
ord of the part Woburn played in this revolution,
but its near vicinity to Boston, and its spirited en-
530
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
counters with the odious tool of despotism, war¬
rants the belief that some of the people were ac¬
tively engaged in it.
Soon after this a new charter was granted by
William and Mary to Massachusetts, which com¬
bined the two colonies of Plymouth and Massachu¬
setts, and was generally acceptable.
One of the matters that excited much interest
in the early days of the town was the support of
Mystic Bridge, on Mystic Eiver, in Medford. This
bridge, which was an important one in connection
with the main avenue from Charlestown, was main¬
tained for a long time by the towns of Medford,
Charlestown, Woburn, Maiden, and Reading. Wo-
burn was restive under the cost of her portion of
the repairs, and inclined if possible to throw it
off. In 1691 the town voted "to withstand allow¬
ing anything more to the repairing of Mystic
Bridge," and paid nothing for more than two
years. But the court interfered, and indicted the
town for neglect of duty. Great excitement fol¬
lowed. The town appeared in defence, and denied
its liability; but the court ordered the towns
named, including Woburn, to continue to support
the bridge upon " paine and penalty of five pounds
fine." Woburn reluctantly complied with the de¬
cision of the court, but always with a protest, until
1761, when the town was released from further tax¬
ation on account of the bridge, for the present pay¬
ment of $200 Old Tenor ; and the controversy was
thus permanently settled.
As the end of the century approached, Woburn,
in common with other towns of the colonies, was
growing poorer rather than richer. Much difficulty
was found in collecting and paying the salary of
the Rev. Jabez Box, which was £80 per year.
The most severe measures were adopted for the pur¬
pose, even to "collecting it by distress." During
the ministry of Rev. Mr. Carter, and the earlier
years of that of Mr. Box, the ministerial salary
had been easily and promptly raised, and many
gratuities in addition to the legal amount were
annually bestowed. But now there was an ab¬
solute want, on the part of a great many, of
the means to pay. Tlie depressing effects of
the troubles and disasters of the last twenty-five
years were now more fully realized than ever.
Before the renewal of prosperous times Rev. Mr.
Box died suddenly, in Boston, of small-pox. Like
his predecessor, he was not widely known as a
preacher, but he seems to have been a faithful
and acceptable minister, who received from his
people a full share of their confidence and affec¬
tion.
In looking back over the years that had now
elapsed since the settlement of the town, it may
be well to recall some of the men who had been
prominent in its affairs. The committee of tliir-
teen appointed by the town of Charlestown in
1640 to explore the new territory, as well as the
seven commissioners selected by the church for
a similar purpose, had all performed the work
allotted to them : they had laid out the town,
begun its settlement, formed a church, organized
a municipal body to administer civil affairs, and
had continued to aid, foster, and support the com¬
munity that had grown up around them, with
energy, prudence, and industry. These were now
all dead: Edward Converse, Edward Johnson,
John Mousall, Thomas Graves, Ezekiel Richard¬
son, Samuel Richardson, Thomas Richardson, and
John Russell. Each of these men had marked
and solid traits of character. Edward Converse
was a deacon of the church, and for many years
one of the local justices, or " commissioner to end
small causes," giving evidence through his life
of integrity, fairness, and self-control. Edward
Johnson was one of the striking characters of that
period. With an education suited to the calibre
of his mind, he would have left a record in the
early annals of New England second to none of its
chief scholars. His Wonder-Working Providence
of Zion's Saviour in New England bears evidence
of strong intellectual power and a fertile imagina¬
tion. Its structure may be faulty, but the book
has much originality and quaintness, and sufficient
force and vitality to give it a permanent and hon¬
ored place among the early literature of Massachu¬
setts. Mr. Johnson was also an excellent man of
business, and had great perseverance and fortitude.
To him, more than any other one of the original
settlers, is Woburn indebted for its early and suc¬
cessful planting. Thomas Graves had a strong
and ardent nature. He resided in the town only
for a short time. He returned to his former
occupation as a ship-master, and commanded the
first ship built at Boston, named the Trial. He is
next heard of as capturing in the English Channel
a Dutch privateer, under circumstances that called
for great resolution and bravery. Bor this act he
received a silver cup from his owners, and was
raised to the rank of rear-admiral by Cromwell.
He died in Charlestown. The Richardsons, of whom
there were three brothers, were all men of probity
WOBURN.
531
and' judgment. Their residences were near to each
other in the southerly part of the towiij and for
two hundred years the road on which they stood
has been called Richardson's Row. John Russell
was a connection of Richard Russell of Charlestown,
from whom the town is supposed to have received
its name. Resolute in will and decided in his con¬
victions, he seceded from his connection with the
cliurch in Woburn, and adopted the views of the
Anabaptists, who had about 1665 made their ap¬
pearance in Boston. For this act of heresy he, with
several other persons of the church, was summoned
before the Court of Assistants for reprimand and
indictment. This course intimidated many, but
John Russell and his son, John, Jr., both united
with the Baptist Church in Boston. The former
soon became a leader and an elder among them,
and for his obstinacy in adhering to the obnoxious
tenets was imprisoned in Boston for several months.
His son John entered the Baptist ministry, and
was highly esteemed among them as a preacher of
unusual gifts.
For three or four years the church in "Wobuni
Was much troubled by these defections from the
standards of the Puritans, or Congregationalists.
But after the Russells left Woburn, and the other
members of the church tainted with the Baptist
heresy had returned again to its fellowship, the
schism was healed, and no further mention is made
of religious dissensions until the reappearance of
the Baptists in 1790.
Of the second generation of men that followed
the settlement of Woburn there are two or three
who deserve mention for their administrative abil¬
ity, integrity of character, and the good influence
they exerted in the town and colony. Prominent
among these was Mr. Johnson's son. Captain E.
Johnson. He succeeded his father in the offlce
of town-clerk, which position was held by the
two for the unusually long term of forty-eight
years. Besides occupying this post, he was cho¬
sen to the General Court for several years, and
was a member of the Assistants, which was not
only a legislative body, but the highest court in
the colony. His zeal for the preservation of the
old charter was so ardent that he was appointed
on the " Council for the safety of the people," at
the time when Andros appeared in Boston.
Samuel Walker was another of the leading men
of the second period. Like Mr. Johnson, he was
warmly attached to the old Massachusetts charter,
and was a member of the colonial convention held
to reconstruct the government after the deposition
of Andros, and under tire new charter represented
the town in the General Court.
There were several other men of note in the
town at this time, but two only of these will be
mentioned here, namely, James Converse and his
son, J. Converse, Jr. The first was the son of
Edward Converse, one of the first proprietors.
Without having attained the higher honors of
colonial office, he was thoroughly fitted for the
duties that he was called upon to perform by his
fellow-citizens ; and he served the town honorably
and faithfully in all the stations it had in its power
to confer. The son, James Converse, Jr., was bom
in Woburn, soon after its incorporation. He be¬
came prominent in town aflairs at an early age,
succeeding to the trusts reposed in his father, and
as worthily filling them. His reputation is, how¬
ever, chiefly founded on his military services. He
was captain of a company in the troops sent into
Maine during the war with the French and Indians,
which continued with more or less fighting for tlie
ten years from 1688 to 1698. In 1691 he was
placed in command of the garrison at Wells,
Maine, in the house of Lieutenant Storer, which
was fortified for the protection of the settlers.
The number of men in the garrison did not ex¬
ceed thirty-five. The meagre force thus left to de¬
fend an important post induced the Indians under
Moxas to attempt its capture. He appeared before
the house with two hundred Indians, and opened a
fierce assault ; but Captain Converse gave them
such a warm reception that Moxas retreated.
This repulse led another sachem to boast, " My
brother Moxas has missed it, but I will go myself
and have the dog Converse out of his hole."
Shortly after, the chief appeared before the little
garrison with a force of three hundred to five hun¬
dred men. He made a fierce attack upon it, but
was met with such a hot fire that he quickly drew
off his forces. But the next morning the assault
was renewed with increased vigor, which led one
or two of Captain Converse's men to suggest a
surrender, to which Converse replied " that he
would lay the man dead who should utter that
M'ord again." The charge was met with perfect
coolness, the garrison waiting until the enemy
was in close range before delivering their fire;
The execution was so great that the Indians were
thrown into disorder. Rallying again, they re¬
turned to the fight, but another destructive fire
checked their ardor, and, finding the garrison still
532
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
undaunted, they at length drew off. A flag of truce
was then sent demanding a surrender, under the
threat, if this was not complied with, " We '11 cut
you as small as tobacco before to-morrow morn¬
ing." Captain Converse's answer was to come on,
for he wanted work. The invitation was not ac¬
cepted, and in a few hours the baffled chief retired
from the contest, leaving the brave garrison vic¬
tors in the unequal fight. For this act of courage
and intrepidity Captain Converse was promoted by
Governor Phips to the rank of major, and made
commander of all the Massachusetts forces in that
quarter.
Twenty-five years later Woburn was again in¬
volved in the struggles with the Eastern Indians. It
took a prominent part in the celebrated Lovewell's
Fight. Of the thirty-four men engaged in that
conflict six. were from Woburn, one of whom was
killed early in the action, and three were wounded.
Seth Wyman, of Woburn, was ensign of the com¬
pany, and its command fell upon him after the
death of Captain Love well and the disabling of
Lieutenants Wyman and Farwell. He restored
the flagging spirits of the company, and kept up
the fight till near night. The Indians first left the
field, but the number of dead being great, and the
wounded requiring medical treatment, a retreat
was begun early in the night for the fort near
Ossipee Pond, which had been built as a place of
rendezvous in case of need. This retreat was a
sad and suffering One. The fort was found aban¬
doned, those left in charge having received a
false report of the fight. The men divided them¬
selves into three parties, and after several days of ex¬
treme hardship arrived at the frontier settlements.
Isaac Johnson, the grandson of Captain Edward
Johnson, was the Woburn soldier who was killed.
Three others were severely wounded. The conduct
of Ensign Wyman was greatly commended by the
colonial authorities. He was promoted to the
rank of captain, and presented with a sword as
a mark of public esteem for his steadiness and
bravery.
The death of Eev. Jabez Fox has been previ¬
ously mentioned as having occurred in 1702. His
son, Mr. John Fox, was then keeping the grammar
school in Woburn. His position and attainments
gave him favor among his townsmen, and he was
invited to preach three months on probation. His
efforts were so satisfactory that he was chosen as
permanent pastor, and ordained in November,
1703. The salary voted him was £40 in money
and £40 in provisions, at money price. "A piece
of land " was also given to him adjoining his own
estate. At the opening of his ministry Mr. Fox
appears to have desired a restatement of the belief
of the church. About this time some heresies
were creeping into the established doctrines which
greatly alarmed those who held steadfastly to the
faith of the fathers. These were the adoption of
the practice of admitting persons to the communion
who had not given evidence of full regeneration,
and the adhesion of some (at least secretly) to the
views of the Anabaptists, who had been crushed
out in Woburn thirty years before. Mr. Fox was
anxious to clear up these points by a restatement
of doctrines. Accordingly a paper was drawn up
which heartily reaffirmed the confession of faith
adopted at Cambridge in 1648, which was sub¬
stantially that of the Westminster Assembly of
1652. Mr. Fox, being thus sustained in his
views of evangelical truth, went on with his
ministry successfully and happily for many years.
There were, however, other causes for disagree¬
ment and wrangling in the town, or pansh (they
being for a long period substantially one), besides
those arising from differing theological sentiments.
One of these was the disposition of certain lands
which had been granted to the town in 1664. This-
grant consisted of 2,000 acres, which the town had
the right to select from any unappropriated lands
within the colony. But it was fifty years before
the selection was made. A committee was then
chosen to take up the land, who pitched upon a
tract called Turkey Hill, lying within the limits
of the present town of Lunenburg. The land was
surveyed, and the town took possession. Nothing
was done with it for several years. At length it
was voted to sell it in one lot to the highest bid¬
der. The purchaser was Israel Eeed, of Woburn,
who paid for it £3,000 iu provincial bonds, which
was then equivalent to $3,666. The interest of
this sum was used by the town for some time in its
annual expenditures or in discharge of the province
tax. In a few years, however, "the fund proved
to be more of a curse than a blessing, for it led
to serious contention as to its custody, perpetual
wrangling at town-meetings, and finally to its utter
extinction through bad management.
Contemporary with this period, troubles and
embarrassments fell upon the people through the
loans granted to the towns by the General Court.
Money was scarce, and poverty laid its hand upon
nearly all the colonists. To remedy this evil a
WOBUBN.
533
demand was made upon the government to issue
bills of credit. Tiie clamor was gratified, and
£50,000 were issued; Woburn's share under this
rule was £6¿4. This sura was received in instal¬
ments, and placed in the hands of three persons
nominated by the town, with authority to re-loan
it to such citizens as could give security for its
payment. This was in 1721. The scheme was
apparently successful, for it is believed that all the
money was returned, on call of the government,
from the citizens to the town, and from tiiat to
the state treasury. Having felt the use of this
money in its stimulus to a supposed prosperity,
a demand sprung up for a new loan of a like char¬
acter, but larger in amount. Again the General
Court fell in with the popular call, and in 1728
authorized the issue of £60,000, to be distributed
in like manner as the first. The allotment to
Woburn was about £750, though the exact sum
is not given in the records. This amount was
treated in the same way as the former loan, and
placed in the hands of trustees, to be let to citizens
on the same terms. The matter ran along for half
a dozen years in a quiet way, when the people
began to think of tlie town's responsibility, and
required the trustees to report on the condition
and safety of the funds. Nothing seems to have
come of this, for two years'later, in 1738, a com¬
mittee was appointed to proceed and collect the
money in the hands of the trustees, and report at
the general town-meeting to be held a few months
hence. In the mean time the colonial authorities
called for a portion of the loan (about one third) to
be refunded. The money was, however, distrib¬
uted about, and could not be summarily collected,
and the treasurer of the province being imperative,
the town was obliged to resort to a special tax to
meet the emergency. Accordingly a rate was laid
for the sum of £250 Is. Qd. This was a severe
burden for the general inhabitants to bear, as only
a small number had realized any benefit from the
loan. But the money was not easily collected from
the trustees or their constituents, for in 1739, in
1741, and again in 1742, new and increased efforts
were made by the town to reeover the amount ; for
the debtors were to be " prosecuted in law to the
final judgment if need be." Presumably the whole
sum was eventually paid by those who held it, al-
tliough the town récords do not anywhere state the
fact. But the uneasiness produced by the town's
responsibility, the uncertainty of receiving the whole
amount from the parties wlio had borrowed it, and
the strain of extra taxation to make good the de¬
mand of the province, were a combination of evils
quite as hard to bear as were those induced by the
poverty tlie loan was made to alleviate.
Schools. — Among the varied interests to which
the early attention of the colonists was called, was
that of education. The leaders were for the most
part graduates of English colleges, and they saw
the imj)ortance, in a state such as they proposed
to establish, of providing for the general education
of children at the public expense. The people of
Woburn do not appear to have taken this view
very earnestly, for it is not until 1673 that any
record is found for the payment of money for
school purposes. In that year and the few follow¬
ing ones small sums were paid to different persons
for this service. Ten sliilliiigs was the common
annual amount given to the teacher. From this it
is very apparent that the advantages of common
schools were not held in high estimation. But
that education in its higher forms for a select
number of persons was regarded of great impor¬
tance, is shown by the liberal donations made to
Harvard College. On two several occasions, 165.")
and 1669, the contributions of Woburn — one for
its general support, and the other to build a new
college — were greater than those of any other
town in the colony but five. The necessity of an
educated ministry was the stimulant to this liberal¬
ity. The instruction of youth for the common
walks of life was deemed of much less importance.
It was fortunate that the ministers and the cul¬
tured people generally were in favor of universal
and compulsory schooling. Hence laws were early
passed, requiring schools of the lower grades to be
kept in all the towns, and when a population
reached to one hundred families a grammar-school
was to be maintained, for neglect of which a heavy
penalty was to be exacted. One point in vindica¬
tion of the people may be made from the fairly
presumed fact that in many families the children
were taught by the parents, and in others the min¬
ister or some educated person was employed. In
1685 Woburn had gained the number of families
(one hundred) required to support a grammar
school. Mr. Samuel Carter, a son of the minister,
was appointed as its first teacher, but not a scholar
came forward to receive his instructions. His £ 5
salary was easily earned. The town, however, felt
its superfluous payment, and reduced the salary to
30«. if no pupils appeared, though £5 were to be
paid if the school was kept up. Matters went on
534
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
in tins way for several years. Tiie primary school
was partially successful, but the grammar school
was almost a total failure. At length tiie town
neglected to provide a teacher. This was brought
to the attention of the court, and an indictment
was threatened. To avoid tliis, a new teacher was
chosen. The person selected was John Fox, a son
of the minister. His salary at first was £9 per
year, but was soon raised to £18, with the expec¬
tation that a portion of it was to be paid by private
subscriptions; but these never came.
Mr. Fox being called to succeed his father in the
ministry, Mr. Dudley Bradstreet of Andover was
appointed to fill his place, and was required to be
in Woburn " during the term of Charlestown
court." The reason for requiring a teacher to
keep school especially at "Court time" was to
avoid being indicted for a breach of the law. At
all other periods of the year the town authorities
were quite indiffèrent " whether school kept or not,"
or in fact preferred to save their money to main¬
taining the school. Numerous teachers followed
Mr. Bradstreet as grammar masters, who were
hired on the principle of evading the law as far
as possible. The town pretended to have a gram¬
mar school in conformity to the statute, but in all
engagements with its teachers took care to signify
that he was to be at his post at " Court time," even
if he shut the school-house door as soon as it ad¬
journed. There is no period in the history of New
England when the feeling for general education
was at so low an ebb as during the later years of
the seventeenth and the first thirty years of the
eighteenth century. Woburn was not alone in its
disregard of this important matter. Many other
towns were implicated in similar neglect, and re¬
sorted to the same shuffling proceedings to escape
prosecution. The scarcity of teachers had some¬
thing to do with the neglect in providing them.
For many years previous to the Revolution the
grammar school was supported regularly. One of
the most noted teachers during the period was
John Fowle, who held the post for twelve years.
He had the honor of giving instruction in their
youth to Benjamin Thompson (Count Rumford) and
Colonel Loainmi Baldwin. The first house especially
fitted up for the use of the grammar school was in
1700; and the first building erected exclusively
for that purpose was in 1712. Previous to that
time a room in some private dwelling was the
place for teaching. About 1760, primary schools
were opened in the outlying parts of the town.
Thereafter it was regularly voted that a portion of
the school money should be expended in the " ex¬
treme parts " of the town. The grammar school,
which had been to some extent an itinerant institu¬
tion, was now established in the Centre, and was
continued, with some irregularities, until 1792,
when a new departure in the school system was
taken. In that year a strong committee was ap¬
pointed, with Colonel Baldwin at its head, who
reported an entire change in the school government
and the method of instruction. To effect this, in
the course of the next two years nine new school-
houses were built in as many newly arranged school-
districts, and £300 was appropriated to pay for
their cost. This sum proving insufficient, the next
year (1795) another £300 was voted to complete
the payment. Unfortunately for the town, its en¬
thusiasm had expended itself entirely in school-
houses, and left the schools unprovided for. This'
brought a presentment from the grand jury, which
was probably disposed of without penalty, as the
records make no mention of the town being de¬
faulted. The following year £150 was raised for
the support of schools, and from that time until
1830 there was no marked change in the school
methods, and but slight yearly additions to the
appropriations. In the year last named, $800
was raised, which in 1837 was enlarged to $1,000;
with the addition of interest on the town's share
of the " surplus revenue." This sum was doubled
in 1839, when $2,000 was appropriated, and even
then the complaint was made that the money was
insufficient, and the school season was too short.
For the next few years the appropriations were but
slightly increased. At this point of time Wobnrn
stood low in the tables comparing the appropria¬
tions made for schooling in the different towns in
the state. In a list of three hundred and seven
towns made in 1840 the position occupied by
"Woburn was Number 253. This was radically
changed by 1848, when on a similar list of towns
Woburn had risen to the rank of 43. By the re¬
vised statutes high schools were required to be
supported in towns having 4,000 inhabitants.
Although containing the requisite population,
Woburn took no steps towards establishing one
till 1852, when a high school was organized and
began its sessions. For the first four years it
occupied rooms leased for the purpose. Then a
commodious wooden house was built, at a cost of
nearly $12,000. In 1873-74 the house was
materially eidarged, and fitted up with laboratories
wo BURN.
535
íi'iJ cabinets to render it an efficient agent in the
instruction of the pupils attending it. The expense
of the alterations was $ 31,563. This school, under
the superintendence of three successive principals,
Messrs. W. A. Stone, Thomas Emerson, and James
I. Hanson, has enjoyed a high reputation for the
thoroughness of its teaching, and the excellent
moral influence exerted upon the scholars. At the
opening of the school in 1852 the number of pupils
was thirty-one. These had increased in 1879 to
143. The whole number of graduates to 1879
was 358. In 1866 the increasing number and
work of the scliools led to the appointment of a
general superintendent. The value of such an
official in bringing uniformity and method into the
school system was very soon apparent, and the
town has annually elected a person to fill that posi¬
tion to the present time. Several new grammar-
school houses, with rooms for intermediate and
lower grades, were built between 1860 and 1875.
By far the most elaborate and costly of these was
the Cummings School-house, situated on the south¬
erly slope of Academy Hill. It was erected in
1874- 75, at a cost (including furnishing) of nearly
$60,000. It was named for the Hon. John Cum¬
mings of Woburn,'as a compliment to his zeal and
activity in the cause of education. In 1800 the
number of teachers employed in the schools was
five, the number of pupils estimated at two hun¬
dred, and the appropriation $350. In 1879 tiie
teachers had increased to 48j the pupils to 2,238,
and the appropriation to $28,000. Among the
educational influences and advantages with which
Woburn has been favored, those wiiich have pro¬
ceeded from Warren Academy should receive
honorable mention. This institution was founded
and endowed in 1827, by Isaac Warren, Esq., of
Charjestown, who gave $5,000 for that purpose,
on condition that $5,000 more should be raised
by other persons. This last sum was principally
contributed by citizens of Woburn. A building
was erected on an eminence near the centre of tiie
town in 1828, which was then a wood-lot, but has
since been known as Academy Hill. In its earlier
years the academy was widely known for its excel¬
lent teachers and the scholarly standing of its gradu¬
ates. The improvement in the grammar schools
of the town, and especially the founding of the high
school, wherein the higher branches of education
were introduced, had an unfavorable influence upon
the academy for several years, and at length entirely
superseded it. In 1873 the building was remod¬
elled, and arranged with apparatus suitable to the
pursuit of studies in natural science, and was made
an adjunct of the Boston School of Technology.
The Town Library was organized in 1856.
Efforts to create a public opinion in favor of such
an institution had been made by several citizens
since 1850. In 1854 Hon. J. B. Winn offered to
give $ 300 to found a library, provided the town
would raise as much more. The proposal was ac¬
cepted, and with subsequent subscriptions by many
citizens a sufficient amount was furnished to open
a library of 1,700 volumes, which event took place
in August, 1856. In 1865 the volumes numbered
3,298, and the yearly circulation was 12,266.
From that time the library grew more rapidly.
The appropriations for its support were increased,
and when the tax on dogs was laid, the money
from that source was added to its income. By the
will of Charles B. Winn, son of the Hon. J. B.
Winn, who died in 1875, there was devised to the
town $140,000 for library purposes. The town
was also made one of the residuary legatees, whicii
added to the donation more than $ 60,000, making
the gift upwards of $ 200,000. This munificent
bequest was accepted by the town, and placed in
the hands of three trustees to carry out the gener¬
ous wishes of Mr. Winn. These gentlemen, John
Johnson, Edward D. Hayden, and Parker L. Con¬
verse, proceeded to purchase a site and erect a
building, in conformity with the wishes of the
donor. The situation selected for the library
building was the family estate which had been
occupied by Hon. J. B. Winn for twenty-five
years. An adjoining lot was also purchased, to
give ample room for the contemplated structure.
Several architects contributed designs for the
new building, from among which that offered by
Gambrill and Ilichardson was chosen. Work was
immediately commenced (1877), and the building
completed in the winter of 1878—79. The design
is a composition from medieval architecture, and is
as exquisite as it is unique, as w-ell in its general
outlines as in its details. Tlie material of the build¬
ing is a mixture of Longmeadow and Ohio stone,
the former predominating. The dimensions of the
ground-floor are 70 X 165 feet. The west wing is
tlie book-room of the library. Its length is 68 feet,
and breadth 30 feet. It is divided into fwenty-four
spacious alcoves, of which twelve are on the main
floor and twelve form a balcony above them. These
are readied by fliglits of steps from either side.
The centre of the building is occupied by the read-
536
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
ing-room, a spncious apartment 22 X 60 feet, and
finished in a rich and tasteful manner. Adjoining
this is the art-gallery, or picture-room, wiiicli is
entered immediately from the vestibule. The east¬
erly portion of the building is octagonal in -form,
with a conical roof. It is intended for a museum,
or depository of specimens in natural history, and
otiier objects of local or historic interest. The
building was opened to the public May 1. On the
shelves of the alcoves and in the reading-room are
placed and classified nearly 17,000 volumes ; a
portion of these were bought from tlie Winn fund.
On tlie walls of the picture-gallery are hung fifty-
five oil-paintings of varying size and quality (which
were also the gift of Mr. Winn), but all of them at¬
tractive in subject and of more than average merit.
Division of the Town. —The original territory of
Woburn, as has before been stated, comprised not
only its present limits, but the towns of Burlington
and Winchester, and a large portion of Wilmington.
During the first fifty or sixty years of its exist¬
ence the population was largely centred about the
meeting-house, which was located on the bluff or
iiill east of the present Common, or public square.
In 1700 the number of persons taxed by the prov¬
ince was 187, but in 1725 the number had in¬
creased to 305, showing a gain of more than one
third in twenty-five years. This increase was quite
largely in the northerly direction, and new centres
were formed, which received the names of Shaw-
shine and Goshen. The latter place had become
of so much importance, and its distance from the
centre so inconvenient for many purposes, that in
1724 the tow4i was petitioned either to remove
the meeting-house farther to the north or allow that
section to be set off as a new town. The petition
was decidedly refused. But the people of Goshen
were in earnest, and one or two rebuffs could not
silence them. They continued their petitions for
several years before their end was attained. The
repeated denials of the town led them to seek a
separation by authority of the General Court. The
prayer of the first petition was to be made into a
precinct only. This was rejected by the court in
1729. It was renewed, however, shortly after,
with the request that Goshen be made into a sepa¬
rate town. The burden of the petition was " the
difficulties they are under by reason of their re¬
moteness from the place of public worship."
While the court was considering the petition in
behalf of Goshen, the people of Shawshine were
making similar efforts to secure a separation or be
made into a legal precinct. At the first hearing
the petition of Shawshine was joined to that of
Goshen. A court committee was appointed to meet
the agents of the town, which took place in the
summer of 1730. The committee reported in
favor of granting the petitions of both Goshen and
Shawshine; the first to be created into an inde¬
pendent township by the name of Wilmington, and
the latter to be made a preeinct, or second parish.
In thus dividing the town the court's commit¬
tee say " they are of opinion that the charge
of supporting a minister in the First Parish at
Woburn will still be a very easy matter to the
inhabitants of that parish." The truth is, how¬
ever, that this extended clipping of the town was a
great disadvantage to its prosperity for many years.
The number of taxable persons was reduced from
three hundred and twelve to one hundred and
eighty-seven. Such a reduction of taxable forcé
could not fail to make the support of preaching
in the old parish a severe burden. The ministers
were settled for life, their salaries fixed on a scale
commensurate with the taxable resources of the.
parish, and there was no escape from the respon¬
sibility of the situation. Increased taxation for
the remaining members was the only alternative.
Rev. Mr. Fox was now declining in health. As¬
sistant preachers had been employed to relieve
him ; but, his infirmities increasing, it was consid¬
ered necessary to supply him with a permanent
colleague. The candidate for the position was Mr.
Edward Jackson, of Newton, a graduate of Har¬
vard College in 1719. He preached for some
time oil probation, and was ordained as colleague
August 1, 1729. But Mr. Fox was never recon¬
ciled to the choice. Mr. Jackson was to receive
£250 settlement and £120 salary per year in bills
of credit, " as the money now is." The ordina¬
tion was accompanied with a most sumptuous en¬
tertainment, of which the principal report left is a
bill of Jonathan Poole for supplying it. Of what
neighboring ministers or others the council and
officiating ministers consisted no record is pre¬
served ; but that the visiting pastors and their
retinue were numerous, and that the citizens of
the town very generally partook of the ordi¬
nation repast, may be fairly inferred when it is
stated that said Poole provided for four hundred
and thirty-three dinners and one hundred and
seventy-eight breakfasts and suppers, which, with
horse-keeping, cider, wine, brandy, rum, sugar,
and pipes, amounted to £83 9i. Qd. From this
WOBURN.
537
free expenditure of money for a single day's re¬
ligious celebration no one would draw the conclu¬
sion that money was scarce, or that the parish and
town taxes were hard to meet. It sliould he re¬
membered, however, that in those days holidays
were not in every month in the calendar, and that
in these religious gatherings (few and far between)
were found the best opportunities for displaying the
natural love of the people for excitement and feast¬
ing : for, while the elders were attending divine
service and its gastronomic perorations, the youth
were engaged in the " manly exercise " of sqnare-
hall, quoits, and fisticuffs to so noisy a degree that
the " outsiders " gave tone and character to the day.
The dissensions between Mr. Fox and his col¬
league increased with time, and it is reported they
did not recognize each other when in the same pul¬
pit. The division between the pastors naturally led
to parties among the people. Mr. Jackson, being
the younger man, gathered the larger number to his
standard. Difficulties now arose respecting their
salaries. Mr. Fox, being the unpopular invalid,
was indifferently provided for. He received noth¬
ing in 1731-32. Besides, his £80 salary, voted
to him on settlement, was now worth no more than
£40, owing to the depreciation of the currency.
Mr. Fox at length took legal measures to secure
his rights. He sued the town, not only for the sal¬
ary unpaid, hut for the difference between the cur¬
rencies at the time of his settlement in 1702 and
the depreciated value of 1732. Judgment was
finally obtained in his favor. It was at this time
that the divorce took place between the parish and
the town. Heretofore every action in relation
to the settlement and support of the minister had
devolved upon the town equally with the church
or parish. This relation was now dissolved, and
parish and municipal affairs were conducted on
a separate basis. The salary problems connected
with the First Parish were not, however, wholly
solved. For several years they continued to exert
their troublesome and depressing influences. At
length the feuds and alienations led to the establisli-
ment of a third parish in 1746. Mr. Fox and
his friends first moved for a separation, and asked
to be set off as a distinct society, and relieved from
paying taxes for the support of Mr. Jackson. The
petition was denied, but a vote was passed " to build
a new meeting-house." This, it was believed, would
effectually check the desire for a division ; but the
friends of Mr. Fox were not to be thus silenced.
They applied to the General Court for redress.
That body reported favorably upon their petition,
and gave permission for a new precinct, or third
parish, to be formed. The seceders numbered
about two fifths of the whole 2)arish. Eev. Mr.
Fox being too old and feeble to take charge of the
new church, the Kev. Josiah Cotton was called to
be the pastor, and was installed July 15, 1747.
The Third Parish never had a meeting-house of its
own, but used for its place of worship a large room
in a then unfinished building on Main Street, not
far from ojjposite the present high-school house.
The First Parish did not forget its vote to build a
new meeting-house, but appointed a committee to
present plans and estimates. A division of opin¬
ion was at once revealed as to its site. Many were
ill favor of placing the new house on the level
ground west of Meeting-house Hill, where the
one then in use was situated, and that site was
finally selected. It was a part of the present Com¬
mon, near the soldiers' monument. The raising
of the meeting-house (the third built since the set¬
tlement of the town) took place in December, 1748.
To support the impulses which led to the under¬
taking, twenty gallons of rum, twenty-five pounds
of sugar, and two barrels of cider were provided
by the parish. The house was completed in 1752,
but never dedicated.
Two years after this Eev. Mr. Jackson, the pas¬
tor, died, at the age of fifty-five, and in the twenty-
sixth year of his ministry. His senior. Rev. Mr.
Fox, was still living at an advanced age, but blind,
and entirely incapacitated for labor. The pastor¬
ate of Mr. Jackson, however earnest and sincere
might have been his efforts, was only partially suc¬
cessful. The disaffection between himself and his
colleague must have produced great personal dis¬
comfort, and the long struggle with the parish
for the maintenance of his rights was no doubt the
cause of much uneasiness and vexation. With the
friends who sustained him he was popular, and
highly esteemed as a graceful puljiit orator and as
a man of good culture and capacity.
A successor to Rev. Mr. Jackson was soon
found in the person of Mr. Josiah Sherman. He
was ordained in 1756. Just at this time the deatii
of Rev. John Fox took place. He was ordained
in 1703, and consequently had been at the head of
the parish fifty-three years. His supporters being
now without a leader, and Rev. Mr. Sherman hav¬
ing many attractive qualities both in the pulpit and
out, an effort was made to recall the Third Parish
back to a union with the First. An agreement
538
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
was soon come to, and Eev. Mr. Cotton, the minis¬
ter of the Third Parish, asked a dismission, which
was readily granted, and thus the two bodies were
again merged in one, which has continued in¬
tact ever since. The new meeting-house was now
too small for the large accession of numbers, and
its enlargement was at once undertaken. Twenty
new pews were added, which, with the purchase of
a " new bell for the tower," caused a general good
feeling among the people, and peace and prosperity
for a time prevailed.
The next great public event with which Woburn
became associated — as did all New England —was
tlie old French War. This war, which was so
costly in men and money to the colonists, began
in 1755. The contest was confined for the most
part to the Canadian borders and to Nova Scotia,
but it absorbed a large number of the able-bodied
men of New England. It also increased the taxa¬
tion to a burdensome degree. The taxes of Wo¬
burn were raised from £139 9i. bel. in 1755 to
£518 9i. 9(7. in 1763, the year in which peace
was declared. The number of men sent from
Woburn to the front in course of the struggle was
not far from one hundred and fifty, the population
at tliat time being estimated at about 1,500. In
the first year alone fifty-four-men were enlisted
and attached to the expeditions against Nova Sco¬
tia and Crown Point. The war developed no
military leader from Woburn. Lieutenant Thomp¬
son was the most prominent of its soldiers. He left
a journal of the campaign in which he was engaged,
wliich is an interesting memorial of the period.
Eev. Mr. Sherman had not been many years
over the parish before new troubles arose, similar
to those which had been a source of vexation in
previous pastorates. Their foundation was the
money question. Mr. Sherman was not apparently
a close financier, and became embarrassed in many
ways. His salary was too small, as he believed,
though he made no jmblic complaint for several
years. In 1774 he asked for " proper relief." The
parish debated the matter for a year without doing
anything, when, in June, 1775, he asked to be
dismissed from his pastoral relations. This was
granted in March of the same year, at the close of
many altercations and stormy discussions. Mr.
Siierman was undoubtedly one of the ablest minis¬
ters that had occupied the pulpit of the First Par¬
ish. He was a brother of Roger Siierman, a signer
of the Declaration of Independence, and had the
reputation of being an unusually fervid and elo¬
quent preaclier. After leaving Wobum he settled
in Connecticut, and died at Woodbridge, in that
state, in November, 1789.
Woburn is now brought to the advent of the
American Revolution. She had done noble ser¬
vice in the many and exhausting wars with the
Indians, and had been ardent and loyal in the con¬
test that gave to England the supremacy in Canada
and along the lakes and rivers of the West. She
was now to show her love of liberty to be a supe¬
rior motive to her devotion to king and crown.
The excitement caused by the aggressive move¬
ments of the British government was as fully shared
by the people of Wobum as those of the neighbor¬
ing towns. They instructed their representative to
the General Court to allow no damages to Governor
Hutchinson for his loss in the Stamp Act, and sent
delegates to the convention in Boston in 1768
to consider the state of public affairs. The most
decided movement in favor of the stand taken by
the people of New England against the arbitrary
enactments of parliament was made in 1773, when
a town-meeting was held, and a series of vigorous
resolutions were passed. Wiiile these resolutions
still maintained the authority of the crown, and
expressed the prevailing loyalty to the king, they
asserted in the most positive manner their rights
under the British Constitution, and specified in
strong language the grievances of which they had
so much reason to complain. At the same meet¬
ing a committee of correspondence was chosen to
maintain communication with Boston and other
towns in the colony. A powder-house was built,
and stored with such ammunition as could be pro¬
cured. A delegate, Samuel Wyman, was chosen
to the Provincial Congress in January, 1775, and
the province tax of that year was paid to the agent
of the congress instead of the regularly constituted
treasurer. A large committee was also appointed
to enforce the decrees of the Continental Congress
with regard to the use of imported articles. Two
days before the opening of the struggle (April 17,
1775) a company of fifty minute-men was raised, to
be organized and disciplined for whatever service the
Provincial or Continental Congress might require.
This rally of fighting men was none too soon. On
the morning of the 19th the alarm reached the
town, which was started from the tower of the old
North Church, and accomplished by the midnight
ride of Paul Revere. A large number of men
caught up their arras, and h.sstened to Lexington
to meet the invaders. Mr. Sylvanus Wood was in
WOBURN.
539
season to be enrolled in Captain Parker's company
on Lexington Common, and stood with it to receive
the charge of the British column, and with others,
in return,
" Fired the shot heard round the world."
Mr. Wood always claimed that later in the day
he captured a straggler of the enemy and had the
honor of taking the first prisoner of war. This
claim was recognized by Congress in 1824, and a
pension granted for the act. Of the minute-men
from Woburn who followed and harassed the
British troops two men were killed, Asahel Porter
and Daniel Thompson, both of whom were young
men of enterprise and reputation. The evening
before the march to Lexington, John Hancock
and Samuel Adams had left Concord for a place of
greater safety. They came to Woburn Precinct
(now Burlington), early the next morning, and took
shelter in the house of Madam Jones. While din¬
ner was preparing a new alarm was given, and the
distinguished guests were hurried off to a retired
residence in Bedford, with the loss of the dinner of
fresh salmon which good Mrs. Jones was preparing
for them. The war for independence, or for the
constitutional rights of the colonists, being now
begun, Woburn engaged in it with all the zeal
and patriotism that inspired New England in that
day of trial. Her soldiers flocked to the places of
rendezvous, and were employed in guarding the lines
at Cambridge, Boston, and Roxbury. No doubt,
many of them were present at the battle of Bunker
Hill. During the years 1775 and 1776 one hun¬
dred and eighty of the citizens were engaged in
the service in tlie neigliborhood of Boston, or were
sent to New York, New Jersey, Canada, or Ticon-
deroga. In 1775 the number of persons subject
to the provincial tax was but 311. The proportion
of those who served in some military capacity must
consequently have heen very large. The first con¬
siderable sum of money raised for the war was in
December, 1776, when £1,500 was voted to pay
existing bills and such charges as might arise in
enlisting men " for the defence of the American
colonies." The amount voted for such purpose
during the war was nearly £50,000 in currency,
or £5,283 in coin, — which Avas a large sum for
the times, and drew upon the resources of the town
with a heavy hand. But money and men were not
the only things wanted. There were no stores of
grain, meat, and other commissary requirements,
to be found in the markets of that day. Hence
Wobum was assessed for beef and clothing to a
large amount. The first item exceeded $8,000 ;
and the shirts, blankets, and shoes swelled that
sum fully one half more. The whole amount of
taxes — town, province, and continental — assessed
between 1775 and 1783 exceeded £28,000, lauful
money, or more than $90,000. This was drawn
from a population of 1,500 or 1,600 persons. The
same ratio of tax to-day would produce more than
a half-million dollars. The evils of depreciation
became so desperate that an attempt was made to
remedy them by public action. A convention was
held at Concord in 1779 for-this purpose. The
delegate from Woburn was Samuel Thompson.
This convention established prices for the leading
articles used in the community. The list included
in its necessities of life " flip or toddy " at 12«. per
bowl, and New England rum at 10«. per mug.
The people of Woburn accepted the prices voted
by the convention, and appointed a committee to
see that there was no violation of its behests.
Experience, however, soon proved that the natural
laws of currency and trade were too strong to be
defied or changed by resolutions and conventions.
The attempt at regulation was soon given up. The
first enlistments for the war were made by draft
from the three military companies then existing in
the town. At a later period men were " hired into
the war " by bounties, and at last by a resort to
classes, each class being responsible for its man or
number of men. The whole number of men who
were for a longer or shorter period engaged in the
war was three hundred and seventy-six, which
number does not include forty-six other persons
who were enlisted by the town from other localities.
This shows that the number of enlisted men during
the seven years of the war Avas greater than the
actual male population liable to military duty in
any one year during that time. In the midst of
the trying CA'ents of the war the state of Massachu¬
setts had formed a new constitution, embracing
features more in conformity with its position as a
leader in the movement for independence and re¬
form. In 1778 the legislature sent the new instru¬
ment for the a])proval of the town, but it was
unanimously rejected. The great objection to it
appears to have been that it was framed by the
legislature, and not by a convention of delegates
elected for the purpose.
In 1779 a convention was held at Cambridge,
and a new constitution vi-as adopted. This was
presented to the people of Woburn in 1780, and
accepted, though not unanimously. The property
540
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
qunlifícation for votes was disapproved, and a
resolution passed excluding ordained ministers and
attorne)'s-at-law from membership to tlie legisla¬
ture. A few years later, when the Federal Consti¬
tution was before the people of Massachusetts for
consideration, the delegates to the state convention
from "Wohurn were Timothy Winn and James
Fowle, Jr. Deacon Winn opposed the adoption
of the Constitution without amendments. The
speech prepared in defence of his views was lost to
the convention in consequence of his absence at the
time certain amendments were under debate, though
subsequently printed in the Boston Independent
Chronicle. It is well known that the Constitution
was adopted oidy by a small majority in the con¬
vention of about 350 delegates.
Soon after the war there was considerable public
excitement on the question of what should he done
with the tories and refugees who had played a
hostile part against the Revolution. At a town-
meeting held m May, 1783, very severe resolu¬
tions were passed against all such persons, and an
act prohibiting their return to the town or state
urged upon the legislature. It was said, " Our
Canaan will enjoy no rest while the Philistines are
suffered to dwell among us." These hitter feel¬
ings survived for many years. But many who had
continued their allegiance to the British crown
during the war, at its close accepted the situation,
and became earnest and patriotic citizens of the
new republic.
The only person from Wohurn who held any
considerable position in the Continental Army was
Colonel Loammi Baldwin. He enlisted as a pri¬
vate in April, 1775, hut was soon advanced to
superior positions, and in August following was
appointed colonel of the 38th regiment. He was
stationed about Boston until the beginning of
1776, wiien his regiment was ordered to New
York, where he remained until its evacuation by
Washington in September. With him he crossed
the Delaware December 8, and recrossed Decem¬
ber 25, and participated in the gallant fight at
Trenton. Colonel Baldwin had many qualifica¬
tions as a military leader ; hut, his health failing
a few months later, he was honorably discharged
from the army, and never again returned to it.
His long and useful life was spent in Wohurn,
and he was in many respects the most able and
trusted of all her public men. He was the first
high sheriff of Middlesex County after the organi¬
zation of the new government, an office which he
filled with great acceptance for many years. He
was elected several times as a delegate to the Gen¬
eral Court, and exercised through his life a large
and healthy influence in public affairs. To him is
the community indebted if not for originating, cer¬
tainly for making known and propagating, the cele¬
brated Baldwin apple. He was one of the principal
projectors as well as one of the most active superin¬
tendents of the construction of the Middlesex Canal.
This much noted and valuable water-course from the
Merrimack to the Charles was a principal feature in
Woburn for about forty years, and added much to
its business facilities and prosperity. It was wholly
superseded by the building of the Lowell Railroad,
and the site of it through the town is no longer
easily, traced.
At the close of the Revolutionary War Woburn
was left in an impoverished state. Besides the
constant drain upon its purse, annually paid out, it
had borrowed $4,000 to $5,000, for which it was
still in debt. The depression caused by this state
of things led the town into the declaration of
unpatriotic sentiments when the Shays Rebellion
took place, in 1786-87. Being called upon to
raise a force to aid in its suppression, it voted
" not to give any encouragement to the expedi¬
tion," and similar votes were passed respecting the
payment of those persons who enlisted for that
purpose. Still, a strong protest was at the
time entered against those votes, and they were
afterward reconsidered. They could never have
been sanctioned at all but for the great evils that
followed the war, and the excitement growing out
of them.
The next important epoch in the annals of Wo¬
burn was the separation from it of the precinct of
Shawshine, or the Second Parish. It has already
been stated that this parish was formed in 1730,
at the time Goshen was made a distinct town by
the name of Wilmington. Attempts were made
by the people, in 1733 - 34, in 1774, and in 1782,
to form a separate township, but were unsuccess¬
ful. In 1797 the subject was again renewed. A
petition was presented to the General Court asking
for the division. A town committee was chosen to
oppose it, but the project was actively pushed by
the Second Parish before the legislature, and in
spite of the formidable opposition and the appar¬
ently small reason for the division, the court de¬
cided to grant the petition, and the Second Parisii
became a distinct township under the name of
Burlington. This took place February 28, 1799.
WOBURN.
541
The dismemberment caused a heavy loss to the
old town in population and wealth. By the first
United States census, 1790, Wobnrn contained
1,727 inhabitants; at the second census, in 1800,
it had only 1,228. The territorial loss was 7,418
acres, and of the taxable property more than one
fourth. For the next ten years the growth of
Woburn was scarcely perceptible in any respect,
and in population there was a decrease of nipe, the
census of 1810 giving but 1,219 persons. During
this period there was little or no manufacturing
business in the town. The community was made
up almost exclusively of agriculturists, the only
exceptions ■ being the tanner, the blacksmith, the
miller, the shoemaker, and trader, who supplied
the people with the necessities belonging to their
respective vocations. The establishment of a tan¬
nery on a more extensive scale did not take place
until the next decade, of which more will be said in
noticing the manufacturing interests of the town.
For twenty-five years, including and following
the Eevolution, the schools were continued in a
rather desultory manner. The war disorganized
every other interest to a greater or less extent, to
which the education of children was no exception.
In 1790 a new feeling was aroused on the subject,
which in 1792 assumed definite form, and a com¬
mittee was appointed to revise the school system,
and establish one more comprehensive and uniform.
The report of this committee, of which Loammi
Baldwin was chairman, was a carefully written and
dignified document, in which the needs and m^hods
of education were.clearly set forth. The town was
divided into convenient districts for local schools,
while the grammar school was to be retained near
the centre of each parish. Within the next three
years £600 were raised for school-houses, each
of the new districts having one built for its use.
Under this new system, and the stimulus derived
from it, the schools of the town were greatly im¬
proved, and no important change took place for
more than fifty years.
After the dismissal of Mr. Sherman as pastor of
the first church, in 1775, there was no one settled
in his place for nearly ten years. In December,
1784, Mr. Samuel Sargent was invited to the
parish. The call was accepted, and Mr. Sargent
was ordained in March, 1785. But he was scarcely
warm in his pulpit before dissension and opposition
began to manifest themselves, and these continued
through the entire period of his ministry, about
fourteen years. His original settlement money had
not been paid in 1790, and the parish was sued
for the amount. It had no defence, and was de¬
faulted. The parish was also sued about this time
by the Baptist Society at West Cambridge for the
taxes of those persons who had withdrawn from it.
This suit was successful after a protracted litiga¬
tion. Several years more of contention in the
parish followed, when, in 1798, an agreement was
made to call a mutual council to dispose of the
quarrel if possible. The council unanimously
recommended the dissolution of the relations be¬
tween pastor and people, which took place in April,
1799. Eev. Mr. Sargent removed from Wobuni
to Chester, Vermont, where he preached on agree¬
ment from time to time, but was never again a set¬
tled pastor. His death took place at Chester in
1818, at the age of sixty-three. From the dismis¬
sal of Mr. Sargent to the settlement of his successor
there was an interval of four years. In Decem¬
ber, 1803, Mr. Joseph Chickering was invited by
both church and parish to become their pastor,
which was accepted. The terms of settlement
agreed upon were $800 to be paid within a year,
and an annual salary of $ 650 and fifteen cords of
wood. The ordination took place in March, 1804.
For several years the ministry of Kev. Mr. Chicker¬
ing was marked with unusual success. The people
were united, and the accessions to the church were
large. In 1820 he asked for a dismissal, which
was approved by council. Mr. Chickering was
graduated at Harvard College in 1799. From
Woburn he removed to Phillipston, Massachusetts,
where he preached until 1835, when he retired
from the ministry on account of infirm health, and
died in that town in 1844. In 1808, during the
pastorate of Eev. Mr. Chickering, the third meeting¬
house, which was built in 1752, on the easterly side
of the Common, was burnt to the ground. Before
the fire the question of repairing the house or build¬
ing a new one had been discussed in the parish.
The decision had now been made. Two days after
the fire a town-meeting was held, and it was voted
to rebuild the meeting-house at once. The site
selected was on the northerly side of the Common,
and nearly identical with that now occupied by the
First Unitarian Church. It was dedicated June 28,
1809. The pews were appraised, and the choice
sold by auction. The proceeds of the sale amounted
to more than $3,000 over the cost of the building.
This sum was funded for the support of the minis¬
try of the society, and remained thus invested until
1861, when the amount was merged in the con-
542
HISTOEY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
struction fund of tlie present meeting-house. Mr.
Joseph Bennett became tlie next pastor of the soci¬
ety, and his ordination took jdace January 1, 1822.
Eev. Mr. Bennett proved to be an active, energetic
minister. The accessions to the church were larger
than under any previous pastorate.
In 1832 the Lowell Railroad was built, which
ran through the south and east portions of the
town. A village sprung up not far from the spot
where the first house was built. In 1840 the
people of this village, called South Woburn, formed
a church and society, and asked to be set off. A
new meeting-house was built, and in December of
that year the house was dedicated, and the new
church and society was formed. A few months
))revious to the organization of the South Woburn
church, the fourth meeting-house, built in 1809,
was found to be in such bad condition as to re¬
quire extension and repairs or entire reconstruction.
The latter course was determined on, and the fifth
meeting-house was erected on the same site. The
dedication took place December 31, 1840. Mr.
Bennett continued as pastor of the society until
1847, when, during a period of mental depression
to which he was subject, he took his own life.
This unexpected event caused much sorrow and
excitement, as he was held in high esteem by the
l)eople to whom he ministered, as well as by the
congregational body to which he was attached.
In the spring of 1848 the parish made choice of
Mr. Jonathan Edwards as its pastor. He contin¬
ued his connection with the society for eight years,
giving entire satisfaction to his people and render¬
ing many important services to the educational and
social interests of the town. He was dismissed
at his own request in 1856. In August of the
same year Eev. Daniel March was called to the pul¬
pit of the parish, and installed in October. The
many gifts of Eev. Mr. March as a speaker, writer,
and educator made him one of the most popular and
useful pastors the society had ever enjoyed. He re¬
signed in 1862, much to the regret of the citizens of
the town at large as well as his own people.
The successor of Rev. Mr. March was Eev. J. C.
Bodwell, D. D., who was installed as pastor in
October, 1862. Dr. Bodwell was a preacher of
unusual power. His sermons were models of con¬
struction and sustained force, clothed in language
and rhetoric of the purest types. Receiving an
invitation to become the head of a theological in¬
stitute at Hartford, Connecticut, he asked and
received a dismission from the pastorate in August,
1866. The meeting-house on the north side of the
Common, built in 1840, was so far outgrown in
1860 by the increase of the society, that an en¬
largement or a new building became necessary.
As the land for enlargement could not be easily
obtained, it was voted to erect a new house of very
much larger dimensions, and ou the opposite side
of the Common. The building was completed,
and dedicated in October, 1861. The church is
one of the largest and best-appointed houses of
worship in the country. Its total cost was about
§62,000. The audience-room is capable of seating
fifteen hundred persons, and is beautiful both in
form and decoration. After the resignation of Eev.
Mr. Bodwell an invitation to the pastorate was ex¬
tended to Eev. S. E. Dennen, who accepted, and
was installed in 1868. Mr. Dennen was noted for
his pulpit services, his sermons having those logical
and compact qualities which are always attractive
to the thinking part of every congregation. Mr.
Dennen resigned in 1872. Eev. H. S. Kelsey
was installed in his place. Occupying the pulpit
three years, he retired from the position, and the
pastorate was again offered to Eev. Daniel March,
who had so acceptably ministered to the congre¬
gation some fifteen years before. Eev. Mr. March
still retains his connection with the parish. In
1846 the people of North Wobnrn felt the need
of a church and society in that locality. At first
the Sunday services were held in the school-house,
under charge of Eev. Samuel Sewall. The society
increasing, a meeting-house was built in 1849, and
a church formed, consisting mostly of persons who
transferred their membership from the First Par¬
ish. Eev. Samuel Sewall continued as pastor till
1852, when he resigned. His successor was Eev.
George T. Dole, who remained three years. Rev.
Swift Byington and Eev. M. G. Wheeler followed.
The present pastor. Rev. W. C. Anderson, was
settled in 1873.
Baptist Society. — It has been previously stated
that several leading men of the First Parish had
become converts to the Baptist faith about 1670.
The two Eussells, John and John, Jr., maintained
their connection with that sect to the end of life,
and were prominent in their efforts to spread its
doctrines. Of the others, who for a time sympa¬
thized with them, it is not known that any of them
continued to support the obnoxious tenets, as they
soon returned to their connection with the First
Parish. For more than a century there was little
or no indication of the prevalence of Baptist senti-
WOBURN.
543
lïieuts among the people, although one or two fami¬
lies had associated themselves with the Baptists of
West Cambridge (now Arlington), where, in 1781,
a society had been organized. Tlie difficulties in
tiie First Parish respecting Eev. Mr. Sargent led
many persons to withdraw from it. Most of these
attached themselves to the West Cambridge church,
which was under the pastoral care of Rev. Mr.
Green. Their numbers increasing, Mr. Green was
invited to preach a part of the time in Woburn.
These persons were regularly taxed for the support
of the First Parish. This was resisted, and a suit
was brought to recover taxes already paid. The
suit was gained, and the money refunded- Not
long after Rev. Mr. Green divided his time between
the two societies, giving one half to each. Mr.
Green left this vicinity in 1793, when the society
was successfully established. In its early history
tile pastorates of the society were short. Over it
were settled Elder Snow, Elder Peak, Rev. Elias
Smith, Elder Nelson, Elder Stone, Elder Wydown,
Rev. T. Waterman, Rev. H. Marshall, Rev. G. Phip-
pen. Rev. A. Judson, Rev. J. N. Seaman, Rev. S.
Mallory, Rev. B. C. Wade, Rev. T B. Ripley, Rev.
N. Hooper, Rev. S. B. Randall, Rev. J. C. Stock-
bridge, Rev. J. Ricker, Rev. B. F. Bronson, Rev.
• J. S. Keunard, Rev. H. C. Townley, Rev. William
Young. The present minister (1879), Rev. E. C.
Mills, has occupied the place for about four years.
The first meetings of the society were held in private
houses. A meeting-house was built in 1794, which
was situated on the Main Street, near where tlie pres¬
ent Episcopal Chapel is located. The growth of the
society requiring more room, a new house was built
in 1827. The same house continues in use by the
society, although it has undergone two considera¬
ble changes and embellishments since that period.
The last of these (including a partial removal of
the building) added greatly to the beauty of the
structure and to the convenience of the society in
its manifold religious and social life.
Unitarian Society. — The first Unitarian Society
in Woburn was preceded by two organizations of
Universalists. The first of these was begun in
1828. The society built a meeting-house on the
southwest side of the Common. Rev. 0. A. Skin¬
ner was the first pastor. Three others succeeded
him, when preaching was suspended, and the house
was sold to the town for use as a town-hall. In
1841 a new society was formed, which built, in 1845,
a new. meeting-house on Main Street, and occu¬
pied it, with Rev. W. B. Randolph as pastor, until
1847, when it passed into the hands of the Unita¬
rian Society, which for the last two or three years
had been forming, and holding meetings in the town-
hall. Rev. Henry F. Edes was installed as pastor
in 1848. Resigning in 1850, the society was with¬
out a settled minister till 1853, when Rev. J. M.
Marsters was installed. Ill health obliging him to
retire in 1856, Rev. R. P. Stebbins, D. D., was set¬
tled as his successor in 1857. He resigned after a
successful ministry of nearly seven years. Rev. Eli
Fay succeeded him in 1864. In that year it was
decided to purchase the meeting-house which had
been vacated two years before by the First Congre¬
gational Parish, and remodel it. This was effected
in the course of the year, and the present fine
church edifice was the result. The improvement
to the public square by removing the house thirty
feet from the street, and presenting to it the hand¬
some façade of the new building, was one of the
most signal and satisfactory that has occurred in its
history. Rev. Mr. Fay terminated his pastorate
in 1868, on account of impaired health. Rev.
W. S. Barnes was called to the parish in 1869.
He resigned in April, 1879. His ministry was the
most active and successful, as well as the longest,
with which the society has been favored. Rev.
George H. Young is now pastor, having been in¬
stalled in October, 1879.
Methodist Society.—No special efforts were made
to found a Methodist church in Woburn until 1850.
An organization was effected in 1851, and preach¬
ers have been regularly assigned to the church from
that period. Its growth has been rapid, and its
congregation is now one of the largest in the town.
The first meeting-house was a small building of
very slight cost. In 1864 the society purchased
of the Unitarian Parish the meeting-house which
it had recently vacated, and made several important
changes in the interior. This house was com¬
pletely destroyed by fire in 1872. A new and
commodious edifice was erected on tlie same site,
in the basement story of which are the Woburn post-
office and two stores occupied for trade. The soci¬
ety is an energetic and fiourishing one, and has a
wide influence in its sphere of activity.
Episcopal Church. — Adherents of the Church
of England first appeared in Woburn in the Sec¬
ond Parish (Shawshine), about 1750. Some twelve
or fifteen persons withdrew from it at that time,
and adopted in their religious worship the English
liturgy, which was read to them by one of their
number in a private house. Occasionally a rector
544
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
from Cambridge or Boston was present. The soci¬
ety gained but slowly in numbers, and at the break¬
ing out of the Eevolution was quite overborne by
the feeling against English ecclesiasticism, which
was considered as a part of the system of royalty.
Several persons, however, continued their syinpatliy
with the church, but were too few in number to
sustain an organization. In 1865 a successful at¬
tempt was made to revive the Episcopal service.
Meetings of those interested were at first held in
Lyceum Hall. Increasing numbers led to the
building of a small church, or chapel, in 1867.
Since that time the growth of the parish has been
steady, and, with the band of earnest workers it
contains, it seems likely to gain a permanent posi¬
tion among the religious societies of the town. It
has had several rectors, among whom have been
Kev. J. W. Porter, Eev. S. U. Shearman, and Eev.
J. Prank Winckley, wiio is the present incumbent.
Roman Catholic Church. — There were many
members of the Romish communion in town some
time before an attempt was made to gather them
in charge of one of the prieltly fathers of the
church. In 1847 the accessions had become suffi¬
cient to establish regular meetings, which were
held in tlie town-hall. This continued to be the
place, of worship until 1852, when a plain but com¬
modious church edifice was built. The society
rapidly increased from year to year, and in 1865
the house had become much too small for the ac¬
commodation of the large congregation. In the
following year the present stately church was pro¬
jected, and, through the untiring efforts of Father
Quealy and a few leading members of the society,
was completed and dedicated in 1869. The build¬
ing is conveniently located on the corner of Main
and Summer streets, and is one of the finest struc¬
tures in town. Pather Quealy still continues to be
the presiding priest of the parish, but has been ably
sustained by assistants, noteworthy among whom
was Pather McClure, who left a few months ago
as a mission worker in Essex County. His present
aids are Fathers Murphy and McDonald.
Woburn in the Civil War. — In the great upris¬
ing which followed the attack on Port Sumter,
Woburn was as prompt to exhibit her spirit and
patriotism as any town in the State. She bore her
part in the long struggle which followed with well-
sustained zeal, and contributed her full share in
men and money to bring about its successful issue.
On the evening of April 18, 1861, a public meet¬
ing was held in Lyceum Hall, which was large in
numbers and enthusiastic in its expression of resist¬
ance to rebellion and loyalty to the Union. Ad¬
journed meetings were held on the 20th and 21st
of the same month, where the same spirit prevailed
as at the first. As the result of tiiese meetings,
more than one hundred men offered themselves
for their country's service, and nearly $8,000
were pledged by individuals, in sums from $ 1 to
$ 500, to aid in their outfit and to furnish assist¬
ance to their families in their absence. These
events took place while as yet no systematic meas¬
ures had been taken for enlistments either by the
state or national governments.
The Middlesex Journal and The Woburn Budget,
both local papers, spoke wise and brave words for
tiie cause. Their editorials were vigorous and
patriotic, and did much to concentrate popular feel¬
ing upon the duties of the hour. The Woburn
Phalanx, an old military organization of mnch re¬
pute, was revived, and its ranks recruited to the
maximum number. Securing a new and full equip¬
ment, it marched to Boston, under Captain Timothy
Winn,and offered itself tothegovernorforimmediate
service. Several causes led to adelay of itsacceptance
as a body, whereupon many of its members hastened
to join other organizations ; and it was not until the
next year that the Phalanx, under new enlistments,
went to the front in its proper place in the
5th regiment. In its municipal capacity the town
acted with decision and liberality. At a meeting
held on the 6th of May, after stating the desire of
the town to do its duty to the country in that
perilous hour, it was voted to pay to single men en¬
listed from Woburn $12, to married men without
children $16, and to married men with children
$ 20 per montli, in addition to the pay received
from the United States government, and the treas¬
urer was authorized to borrow $ 5,000 for military
purposes. On April 14, 1862, the town treasurer
was authorized to borrow all the money required to
pay state aid to the families of soldiers. Septem¬
ber 2 of the same year $ 17,000 were appropriated
for the payment of a bounty of $ 100 to each person,
to the number of one hundred and seventy, who
should enlist for nine months and be mustered to
the credit of the town. March 9, 1863, $500
were appropriated to aid the women of Woburn in
purchasing material to be made into garments for
the soldiers in service. November 3, 1863, the
subjoined paper was read and agreed to : " If the
town of W^oburn agrees to pay the fifty-two men
now called for to make up its quota $ 300 each.
WOBURN.
545
we the undersigned agree to place in the hands
of the selectmen the sum of $ 15,000 for that
purpose until the same can be legally paid by
the town. Eli Jones, J. B. Winn, Charles Tidd,
Bowen Buckman, Joseph Kelley, M. F. Winn, S.
O. Pollard, L. Thompson, W. T. Grammer, Horace
Conn, M. C. Bean, A. E. Thompson, Cyrus Cum-
mings, E. N. Blake, John Johnson."
April 4, 1864, the town treasurer was again
authorized to borrow the sum of $15,000, "and
more if necessary," to pay to the families of sol¬
diers in the service of the country. $8,000 were
also voted to refund money voluntarily paid by
citizens to persons enlisting to fill the quotas of
tile town for the two previous years, provided the
sum should not exceed $125 to each recruit. In
August of the same year it was voted to pay to
each volunteer for three years' service one hundred
and twenty-five dollars in gold, if such payment
should be found to be legal. At the April meet¬
ing (1865) the sum of $15,000 was again appro¬
priated in aid of the families and dependants of
men engaged in the war, and $500 to purchase
material to be made into useful garments by the
patriotic women of the town for the soldiers at the
front. In the following month (May) $23,500
were appropriated to reimburse citizens for money
contributed to fill the quota of the town for 1864.
The whole amount of money expended by the town
on account of the war, exclusive of state aid, was
$89,066.68. The amount raised and expended
for state aid to soldiers' families, and reimbursed
by the commonwealth, was $51,456.22.
After the dispersion of the members of the Pha¬
lanx into various regiments in the spring of 1861,
enlistments went on in Woburn, and in July more
than one hundred men were in the field at various
points. When the 22d regiment was formed,
under the colonelship of Henry Wilson, in the
summer of that year, a company was organized
under the name of the Woburn Union Guard.
Before its ranks were completed it was filled up
from other towns, and ordered to the field with
its regiment. The number of Woburn men in its
ranks was forty-seven, including its officers,—
Captain Samuel I. Thompson, First Lieutenant
John P. Crane, and Second Lieutenant William K.
Bennett. In 1862 two full companies were sent
into the field, besides enlistments into several
others. The first of these companies was called
the National Hangers, and was attached to the
39th regiment as Company K. Its officers were : I
John I. Kichardson, captain; Luke R. Tidd, first
lieutenant ; L. F. Wyman, second lieutenant. The
other company was made up largely of the old
Phalanx and young men who were that year of
suitable age to enlist. Its term of service was for
nine months, and was attached to the 5 th regi¬
ment, and went on the expedition to North Caro¬
lina. It was officered as follows : William T.
Grammer, captain ; Charles C. Converse, first lieu¬
tenant; William A. Colgate, second lieutenant.
These were the only companies that were organ¬
ized, as well as made up wholly or in greater j)art
and officered, by Woburn men. During the years
1863 and 1864 the work of enlistment was carried
on with energy and success. Although the demand
for labor was great among the manufacturers in
town, yet the pay and bounties offered to men
were always equal to the occasion, and the govern¬
ment quotas were promptly filled. These recruits
went to fill up the gaps in broken companies of
infantry, or into the artillery, cavalry, or naval
service. The whole number of men (as nearly as
can be ascertained) enlisted in Woburn or made
part of her quota, was seven hundred and forty-
nine, divided among the different arms of the
service, and for different periods, as follows : —
Infantry, 3 months, 40 Cavalry ... 25
" 100 days, 89 Artillery .... 46
" 9 months, 102 Navy . . .58
" 1 year, 61 Regular Army . . 14
" 3 years, 388
Many of the above were re-enlistments. The
number of men killed in battle, or dying from
wounds, sickness, and the infamous treatment of
rebel prisons, was eighty-two (for details see the in¬
scription on the soldiers' monument). No com¬
mander of a regiment, brigade, or other general
officer was furnished by Woburn, but the following
were commissioned officers : —
E. M. Burbank, major, 12th regiment; J. W.
Macdonald, major, 12th regiment; John J. Rich¬
ardson, captain, 39th regiment ; S. I. Thompson,
captain, 22d regiment ; J. P. Crane, captain, 22d
regiment ; William T. Grammer, captain, 5th regi¬
ment ; C. S. Converse, captain, 5th regiment ; Luke
R. Tidd, captain, 39th regiment; Cyrus Tay, cap¬
tain, 32d regiment ; James Wyman, captain, 32d
regiment ; John E. Tidd, captain, 32d regiment ;
Luther Wyman, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment ;
C. K. Conn, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment ; Wil¬
liam McDavitt, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment;
George E. Fowle, 1st lieutenant, 39th regiment;
o4G
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
W. R. Bennett, 1st lieutenant, 22d regiment; T.
R. Page, 1st lieutenant, 28th regiment ; E. P.
Wyer, 1st lieutenant, 5tli regiment ; C. S. Con¬
verse, 1st lieutenant, 5tli regiment; N. A. Col¬
gate, 1st lieutenant, 5th regiment; George S.
Morse, 1st lieutenant, 59th regiment ; Oscar Per¬
sons, 2d lieutenant, 39th regiment; George H.
Dennett, 2d lieutenant, 39th regiment; C. E. Ful¬
ler, 2d lieutenant, 5th regiment ; M. S. Seeley, 2d
lieutenant, 5th regiment; T. T. Fergusson, commis¬
sary sergeant ; S. W. Drew, surgeon, 9th regiment;
S. W. Abbott, surgeon, 7th cavalry regiment; R.
E. Jameson, assistant surgeon, 29th regiment ;
E. D. Hayden, assistant paymaster, navy.
Among the patriotic activities created by the war
were the societies auxiliary to the sanitary and Chris¬
tian commissions. These were generally conducted
by women. Those of Woburn contributed tiieir full
sliare to tlie success of these benevolent agencies,
besides furnishing directly to the soldiers of their
own town comforts and luxuries in generous sup¬
ply, both for field and hospital. The work done
by the several organizations previous to Janu¬
ary, 1863, is without public record, but it was
large and effective. At that time the several so¬
cieties banded togetlier under one general head,
although still working in distinct bodies. The
receipts from festivals, concerts, and general con¬
tributions, from tlience to the end of the war, were
$2,322.59, which sum was expended for mate¬
rials, made chiefly into garments and bedclothing,
but to some extent into small articles of prime con¬
venience. No labors or sacrifices (except those of
the loss of limb and life) to sustain the cause of the
Union and freedom were undertaken more ear¬
nestly, or submitted to more cheerfully, than those
which characterized the noble women of this town,
as well as of the North generally.
Soldiers' Monument.—This fine memorial in
honor of the Woburn men who gave their lives
to their country's service was dedicated with im¬
pressive ceremonies, October 14, 1869. Governor
Claflin and staff, and many prominent men in mili¬
tary and civil life, were present at the exercises.
General William Cogswell, of Salem, the orator
selected for the occasion, delivered an eloquent and
patriotic address. The monument stands in the
central square of the town, on the spot nearly iden¬
tical with that of the first meeting-house. Its prin¬
cipal feature is the bronze figure of a soldier eight
feet in height, standing in easy posture, indicative
of quiet but earnest observation. His musket rests
upon the ground, and passing upward, between
the arm and the body, is firmly grasped by the right
hand, while the left arm falls naturally by the side.
The countenance of the figure is strikingly firm
and intelligent, and gives assurance that the volun¬
teer soldier is fully conscious of his rights and
duties as a freeman. The costume is tiiat of the
common soldier of the period, surmounted by tiie
historic overcoat which serves as a foil to the still¬
ness of the close-fitting uniform. The figure
stands upon a granite pedestal twelve feet in height,
composed of a base, plinth, die, frieze, and cornice.
Set into the die (which is four feet square), on each
of its sides, is a bronze tablet, on three of which
are inscribed the names of the dead heroes of the
war, as follows : killed in battle, twenty-two ; died
of wounds, seventeen ; died of disease, twenty-
seven ; died in rebel prisons, sixteen ; in all,
eighty-two. On the fourth side is the following
legend : —
Woburn honors the memory of her sons wlio fell in the
war for the Union and Freedom, 1861 -1865.
The spirit of liberty lives in the ashes of its defenders.
The sculptor, Mr. Martin Millmore, who de¬
signed the monument, both the figure and base,
is the well-known artist of Boston, whose more
recent work in the same line for that city has
greatly enhanced his reputation. The cost of the
monument, with its surrounding bronze and gran¬
ite fence, was not far from $11,000, for which
the first appropriation made by the town was
$10,000.
Manufactures. —The present large manufactur¬
ing interests, of Woburn are the outcome of small
beginnings, developed without special facilities and
without combinations of capital. For the first one
hundred and fifty years or more the only manufac¬
tures known were those for supplyitig the local
wants of the inhabitants. Tanners were among
them, as they were among those of every consid¬
erable town in the commonwealth. During the
war of 1812, or a little earlier. Deacon John Cum-
mings and General Abijah Thompson began the
tanning of leather in a small way, as their prede¬
cessors had done before them. For a number of
years they continued to supply merely the usual
local needs. But as both these men had thrifty
and enterprising natures, they soon began to extend
their business by finding customers among the
neighboring towns. In a few years a good market
was opened for all the leather they could make,
among the shoe manufacturers, as well as among
wo BURN.
547
the carriage-mnkers, whose business was then rising
into importance in Essex County. For a long time
the dealing with these parties was direct, that is,
without the intervention of Boston counting-rooms
or agents. The product of the vats and the curry-
ing-shops was taken in wagons and delivered di¬
rectly to the purchasers. It was not until about
1833 that places were hired in Boston for facilitat¬
ing tlie transactions between the different classes of
manufacturers. It is said that in brisk times,
before the introduction of railroads, the teams tak¬
ing leather into Boston were intercepted in Charles-
town, or even farther out, by enterprising purchasers,
and the contents bargained for in advance of reach¬
ing the market. The enlarging business of Dea¬
con Cummings and General Thompson, Jonathan
Tidd, etc., led to the adoption of numerous ap¬
prentices, to whom a good knowledge of the art of
tanning and currying was given. Among these ap¬
prentices are the names of those more recent manu¬
facturers who have given to Woburii its high place
among the leather-producing towns of the state,
namely, Hon. John Cummings, Hon. J. B. Winn,
Ca'ptain Timothy Winn, Hon. Horace Conn, E. L.
Shaw, Charles G. Lund, Joseph Kelley, Stephen
Dow, Henry Taylor, and others less conspicuous.
It was from 1840 to 1850 that these younger men
began business for themselves, and they were not
long in establishing a reputation for tlieir excellent
manufactures. Under their management the busi¬
ness increased steadily and prosperously. New
markets were opened for the sale of their goods,
and with the enlargement of the wants of tlie coun¬
try, Woburn became known as the leading town
for the production of leather in Middlesex County.
There are no statistics of the amount of capital
invested, the number of men employed, and the
annual value of the manufactures, until 1865.
Tlien there were twenty-one tanning and currying
sliops, and four for the manufacture of patent
leather, employing together six hundred and twelve
men. The value of these productions was a little
rising $2,000,000. In 1875 the number of shops
was 18, hands employed, 808; 11,275 sides, and
4,000 skins manufactured weekly. In January,
1879, the number of shops was 24, hands cm-
ployed, 1,288 ; and the weekly production was
14,800 sides of grain and buff leather, 14 tons of
split leather, and 10,180 calf-skins, at a total yearly
valuation of about $3,500,000.
The shoe-business of Woburn has always been
of some importance, and from 1835 to 1845 quite
rivalled that of the leather manufacture. But
since 1850 its increase has been slight. The ear¬
lier manufacturers were Edmund Parker, Deacon
John Tidd, Deacon Thomas Richardson, William
and Charles Choate, Simon Holden, and others.
In 1875 the amount of capital invested in tlie
business was about $75,000, and the production
more than $260,000; number of hands employed,
two hundred and eight. Since that time the capi¬
tal and production is much tlie same.
The manufacture of shoe stock from refuse
leather has grown to be a considerable and profit¬
able business. N. J. Simonds has the largest
establishment of this kind. The number of hands
employed in the eight workshops engaged in tlie
business in January, 1879, was four hundred and
sixty-two; capital invested, about $25,000; and
the annual value of production, $350,000.
Newspapers. — The first paper printed in Wo¬
burn was called The Sentinel. It was founded in
1839, at the opening of the great Harrison cam¬
paign, and was quite active in its support. It
survived, however, but a few months. In 1842
William White began the publication of The
Woburn Gazette. The paper was a small one, and
sold at two cents a copy. It did not pay, how¬
ever, and was discontinued at the end of two years.
The New England Famili/ followed it; but as it
was not a strictly local paper, it was soon sus¬
pended. In the spring of 1846 Mr. White had
the courage to revive The Gazette, and continued
its publication, with fair success, for a year and
a half, when he sold out to Smith, Kelley, & Co.,
who changed the name to The Weeklg Advertiser,
and in a few weeks again altered the title to The
Guide-Post. In 1847 Mr. H. N. Hastings bought
the establishment, and published the paper for
about a year, when it was discontinued. The next
venture in the newspaper enterprise was by Fowle
and Brother. In October, 1851, they commenced
The Woburn Journal, with John A. Fowle as
editor. The paper was larger than any of its prede¬
cessors, and immediately took firm root among
the peojde. It has since been under tlie proprie¬
torship of John J. Pippy, E. T. Moody, Edgar
Marchant, H. C. Gray, and John L. Parker, who
assumed its management in 1869 and has con¬
tinued its publication to the present time (1879).
For a few years the title was changed to Middlese.r
County Journal, and its circulation was extended
to the neighboring towns, but iu 1873 the original
title of Woburn Journal was resumed. In 1857
548
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Mr. H. N. Hastings started-a small sheet, in con¬
nection with his printing-office, which he called The
Wohirn Budget. It was enlarged in 1858, and
again ia 1859, when John L. Parker .became asso¬
ciated with Mr. Hastings, and The Budget continued
an active and spirited paper until December, 1863.
It was then suspended by the second entrance of
Mr. Parker upon service in the army. Being dis¬
abled from such duty, he returned to Woburn, and
started The JFoburn Tow««»««« in February, 1864;
but enlisting again in the following September,
the paper was merged in The Woburn Journal,
then conducted by E. Marchant. In January,
1871, Mark Allen began the publicatiou of The
Woburn Advertiser, which has continued in his
hands to the present time. All of the above
papers were, or are, issued weekly. In addition.
The Weekly Independent was published by P. L.
Eichardson from January to August, 1878. In
1872 two young men, H. B. and E. A. Dow,
started an "amateur paper called The Young Inde¬
pendent, printed monthly. At the close of the
tenth issue it was suspended. Our Paper was the
title of a monthly publication begun by Eev. Mr.
Barnes, pastor of the Unitarian Parish, in the in¬
terest of tliat society, and was continued for two
years (1875 to 1877). A paper of similar char¬
acter was issued for a short time by the Baptist
Society in 1875.
The business of Woburn naturally connects
itself with the Branch Eailroad. It may seem
scarcely credible to the present generation to be
told that when the directors of the Boston and
Lowell Eailroad established their line of road be¬
tween these terminal points, in 1833, they made
a special effort to avoid all the villages lying on
the route. Hence Medford, Woburn, Wilmington,
Billerica, and Tewksbury were passed by on one or
tiie other side. But the increasing travel between
Woburn and Boston, and especially the heavy
freights from the bark regions of the north, led to
negotiations for a branch to this town. A charter
was obtained by citizens of Woburn, which was
transferred to the Boston and Lowell Corporation,
and the road was built by that company. It was
opened for travel in December, 1844. For the
first few months only one passenger train each M'ay
l)er day was placed upon the road. They were in¬
creased to three in the course of 1845. To these,
additions have been made from year to year, as the
development of travel required, until the number
of daily trains in 1879 was twenty-seven, carrying
to and from Woburn nearly sixty thousand pas¬
sengers.
Banks, Public Works, etc. — The first institu¬
tion for loaning money in Woburn was the Agricul¬
tural and Mechanic Association. It was a private
enterprise, formed in 1830 by several of our lead¬
ing manufacturers and capitalists. An office was
opened, and deposits were solicited on the basis of
a small fixed capital and the individual respon¬
sibility of its stockholders. It soon attracted to
itself the surplus money of the town, which M'as
re-loaned to parties in need of funds on notes and
mortgages. It still continues its business, which
has alM'ays been carefully managed, and has paid
liberal returns to its stockholders. In 1855 its
average deposits were about $100,000, since which
time they have increased to more than $400,000.
The rate of interest to depositors has averaged five
per cent.
In 1853 a state bank was organized, with a capi¬
tal of $100,000, with General A. Thompson as
president, and E. J. Jenks, cashier. In 1865 the
bank was reorganized as a national institution, and
its capital increased to $300,000. It has always
maintained an excellent reputation for its skilful
management and good dividends. Its present offi¬
cers (1879) are E. D. Hayden, president, and J. E.
Green, cashier.
The Woburn Gaslight Company was incorpo¬
rated in 1854, with a capital of $20,000. For
several years the return to the stockholders M'as
small, but by prudent management, the gradual
extension of service-pipes, and the adoption of
street ligliting by the town, it noM' pays a fair divi¬
dend. The increase of construction account caused
the enlargement of the capital in 1874 to $40,000.
J. M. Harlow president ; Aaron Thompson, treas¬
urer and general manager.
The Five Cent Savings-Bank was incorporated in
1854. Its first operations M'ere small. The de¬
posits gradually increased from year to year. In
1865 they amounted to $90,000. In 1877 they
had risen to more than $500,000, which was the
highest point attained. Hon. John Cummings
M'as elected president in 1879. James N. Dow has
held the office of treasurer from its incorporation.
Any notice of Woburn M'ould be incomplete
M'ithout reference to her excellent supply of M'ater.
The town is less abundantly supplied with M-ater
from natural sources than many of its neighbors.
It has no large stream. Its principal one, the
Aberjona, floMS through its easterly border, at a
WOBURN.
549
considerable distance from its centre of business
and population. Horn Pond is the only sheet of
water of any magnitude within its limits. As the
town increased in its manufacturing industries and
the number of its dwellings, the need of an ample
supply of water for domestic and fire purposes was
felt more and more every year. In 1871 the town
appointed a committee on water-supply, with power
to secure an act of incorporation for that purpose.
The act was obtained which allowed the use of the
Water of Horn Pond and authorized the issue of
water bonds not exceeding $200,000. Water
commissioners were chosen, and the work was
immediately begun. A reservoir was constructed
on Horn Pond Mountain, capable of holding
600,000 gallons, which at high water would be
222 feet above the level of the pond, and sup¬
ply the highest points of the town. Pipes were
laid at first through the central part of the
town only, but the outer villages (Cummings-
ville. North and East Woburn) demanding the
same rights and privileges acquired by the Cen¬
tre, the' town voted the extension of the pipes to
those sections. To do this, involved the issue of
$200,000 more of water bonds, which the town
voted and the legislature approved. In digging
for the foundation of the engine-house a few rods
from the pond an unexpected and remarkable flow
of water rushed to the excavation from the land
side. To dispose of this flow, one, another, and
then another of the most powerful pumps were used
without checking its force. As the water was of
the purest quality (issuing directly from the gravel
bed on the southerly part of the pond), and its
supply apparently inexhaustible, it was determined
by the commissioners to appropriate it for the use
of the town in preference to drawing directly from
the pond. Connection was made with the pond, as
originally proposed, to secure a supply in case the
flow from the land side should at any time collapse.
To this period (1879) there is no sign of exhaus¬
tion, and Woburn is furnished in abundance with
purer water than could be obtained from Horn
Pond or any other source within many miles. The
whole cost of the water-works to 1879 is about
$450,000.
Some notice should be taken of two men who
have made Woburn conspicuous as being the place
of their birth,—Benjamin Thompson (Count Rum-
ford) and Colonel Baldwin. Loammi Baldwin was
bom in the north part of the town, January 21,
1745. In his youth he disclosed those qualities
of character for which he afterward became emi¬
nent. The natural bent of his mind was toward
mathematies and physical science. In this he
resembled his friend and boyish neighbor, the future
count. In his early school-days he was a pupil
of Master Eowle, the noted teacher in Woburn at
that period. Not having the opportunities of
securing a collegiate education, he took advantage
of all chances to add to his positive knowledge.
In company with young Thompson he walked to
Cambridge to hear the lectures of Professor Win¬
throp on astronomy and other sciences at Harvard
College. To show the interest these young men
felt for their studies, it is said that upon returning
home from these lectures they made various rude
instraments for their own use, with which to verify
the experiments and problems of the professor.
At the opening of the Revolutionary War, in
1775, Baldwin enlisted as a private in the regiment
commanded by Colonel Gerrish. His promotion
was rapid, as in the course of a few months he was
advanced from post to post till he was made com¬
mander of the regiment. This was stationed about
Boston as a part of the investing forces of Wash¬
ington. After the evacuation of that city by the
British, Colonel Baldwin followed his chief to New
York. There he was placed in command of the
main guard at the Battery. Upon the retreat of
the army from New York to a position behind the
Delaware, his regiment made part of the forces.
When Washington recrossed the river and per¬
formed that brilliant action at Trenton, Colonel
Baldwin and his men were an important element
in its success. During the following year, and
before any other leading event in the war had
occurred, he asked and received an honorable dis¬
charge from service, on account of seriously im¬
paired health. Returning to his native town, he
continued to exercise his talents and influence in
support of the independence of his country. In
1780 he was appointed high sheriff of Middlesex
County, and was the first who held that responsible
office under the new state constitution. He was
several times elected as representative to the Gen¬
eral Court, and became a candidate for the offices
of senator, lieutenant-governor, and elector of
president. Being of tbe minority party, he was
unsuccessful in his candidacy, but had the satisfac¬
tion of receiving, with one or two exceptions, the
solid vote of his fellow-townsmen. At the time of
Shays' Rebellion, 1786—87, when Woburn in a
fit of despondency over the state of affairs voted
550
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
not to assist with men or money in its suppression,
Colonel Baldwin and a few others made such an
earnest protest against this action of the town that
the vote was in a very few days rescinded.
In 1793 the construction of the Middlesex Canal
was authorized by the legislature. Colonel Bald¬
win was an active promoter of this enterprise, and
one of the persons named in its charter. Although
an English engineer was employed to survey the
route from Chelmsford to Charlestown, Colonel
Baldwin attended the survey throughout, and
tiioroughly supervised the location. The canal was
not completed until 1803, when it became a matter
of extensive notoriety, and was visited by hundreds
of persons from different parts of the country. The
canal traversed the town of Woburn through its
central part, and during the time of its most active
business (a period of about thirty years) it presented
a picturesque and animated scene. After the con¬
struction of the Boston and Lowell Railroad the
canal fell into disuse, and its bed is at the present
time nearly obliterated. To Colonel Baldwin the
public is indebted for the introduction of the fa¬
mous Baldwin apple. He did not " invent " it, or
grow it out of wild stock, but he discovered it on
a tree on the farm of J. Butters, in Wilmington,
and being attracted by its fine flavor and free bear¬
ing, secured scions from it for his own use, and
afterward freely distributed them to all the neigh¬
borhood. Colonel Baldwin died on the 20th of
October, 1807, at the age of sixty-three.
Benjamin Thompson, afterward widely and hon¬
orably known as Count Rumford, was born in
the north village of Woburn, in March, 1753.
His ancestor, James Thompson, was one of the
original settlers of the town, and one of its first
selectmen. The father of young Thompson, who
was also named Benjamin, died when his afterward
famous son was but one and a half years old. The
early boyhood of the son was spent on his father's
farm, but at the age of eleven he was sent to school
at Medford ; he was also a pupil of Master Fowle,
of the Woburn grammar school, and in attending
it was the intimate friend of Colonel Loammi Bald¬
win. Not having the qualities of character that
suited the vocation of farming, he was sent to
Salem at the age of thirteen, as an apprentice to an
importer of English goods. This employment was
as unsuited to his nature as that of farming, as he
was continually busy with tools and instruments,
with drawing and music. He continued at Salem
for three years, at tiie end of which time he had
matured greatly more in philosophy and machinery
than ill the mysteries of trade. But he was sent
again in a few months to the dry-goods trade
in Boston. While there the historical Massacre
took place, in which it was said Thompson was
conspicuous among the excited populace. The
business of the city being now nearly suspended,
he returned to Woburn, and began the study of
medicine with a Dr. Hay.
It was at this period that he attended the scientific
lectures at Harvard College, given by Professor Win¬
throp, in company with young Baldwin. He after¬
ward took up the occupation of teaching, and was
invited to take charge of a school in Concord, New
Hampshire, then called Rumford, in 1770. While
thus engaged he became acquainted with Mrs. Sarah
Rolfe, widow of Benjamin Rolfe, to whom he was
married in 1772. By this union he came into
possession of considerable property. The new
social position acquired brought him in contact
with Governor Wentworth, of that state, who, rec¬
ognizing his talents, gave him a commission as
major in the 2d New Hampshire Regiment. This
promotion over the heads of officers already in the
service caused the bitterest feelings on their part
towards him, while the attitude of loyalty to Great
Britain held by the governor caused his friends,
Thompson among them, to be held as " unfriendly
to the cause of liberty." Major Thompson had
also about this time given shelter to two deserters
from the British army in Boston ; but, on learning
that they wished to return, he interceded with Gen¬
eral Gage for this purpose, and asked, as a precau¬
tion, that he (Thompson) might not be known in
the matter. The transaction leaked out, however,
and Thompson was brought before the " sons of
liberty " to answer to the charge of toryism. The
charge was not sustained, but he was the object
of constant suspicion, and at length his house was
mobbed by a party of excited patriots, and he fled
in haste to Woburn. Just before this his daughter,
afterwards the Countess Sarah, was born. Thomp¬
son found, on his arrival at his native place, that he
had reached no harbor of safety. The suspicions
against him had travelled to the town before him.
An arrest and examination before a committee of
his townsmen resulted in his discharge, and a rec¬
ommendation to public confidence. But, feeling
insecure, he went for a time to Charlestown. At
this time the war had opened, and no evidence is
offered from any quarter to show his hostility to
the patriot cause. He applied to Washington for
Birthplace of Count Bomford.
WOBURN.
553
a commission in the army, which was not given.
The refusal is believed to have been founded on
the animosity of the officers of the New Hampshire
regiments. This rebuff touched him deeply, and
the feeling was intensified when, on his return to
Woburn, a company was sent to arrest liira. His
persecutors were foiled by the presence of mind of
his friend Baldwin. Thompson wrote to his father-
in-law at Concord that he " had done nothing to
merit such cruel usage, and he could not bear any
longer the insults that had been offered him."
He determined, therefore, to leave the vicinity, if
not the country. He left Woburn quietly for
Newport, Khode Island, where he was taken on
board a British frigate, which soon after came to
Boston. Here he remained through the winter.
Upon the evacuation of the town, in March, he
was despatched to England as bearer of the news.
He was immediately taken into favor, and a place
was made for him in the office of Lord George
Germaine, one of the English ministers. In four
years from the time of his arriving in England he
was appointed an under secretary of state. Toward
the close of the war he was commissioned as a colo¬
nel of dragoons, and came to America in the ser¬
vice of Jlngland. For a little time he was in
South Carolina, and acted as a partisan commander
against General Marion, and was afterwards sta¬
tioned on Long Island, at the head of a regiment of
refugee dragoons. He saw but little active service,
and on the declaration of peace returned to Eng¬
land. Obtaining leave of absence for the conti¬
nent of Europe, he visited Austria with a view of
obtaining military service against the Turks. He
was warmly received by the emperor ; but the war
soon closing he came to Munich, where he entered
the service of the elector of Bavaria, whom he had
previously met at Strasburg, and who had been
favorably impressed by his talents and accomplish¬
ments. As grand chamberlain of the prince he at
once set about important reforms in the government.
He thoroughly reorganized the military department,
not only introducing a better standard of discipline
and economy, but founded army workshops and
military gardens, where the soldiers could employ
their time and talents in mechanical and agricul¬
tural pursuits, to their own personal advantage as
well as the benefit of the state. These things being
accomplished, he set about reforming the system of
beggary pervading Munich and its suburbs. This
mendicancy was of the most shameless and extor¬
tionate character, and needed a wise and firm hand
to control it. Thompson was fully equal to the
emergency. He made such careful preparations
for the execution of his projects, that the whole
body of beggars was arrested on a certain day, and
consigned to a large and well-arranged workhouse,
and the lazy and troublesome vagabonds set to
useful employment. Sir Benjamin (he had been
knighted by George III. on leaving England) also
instituted other social reforms, greatly improved
the breed of horses and of horned cattle, and con¬
verted an old hunting-ground near Munich into an
attractive park. This spot, nearly six miles in cir¬
cumference, is still known as the English Garden,
and is a favorite resort of the people of the city.
Within it is a monument to the memory of its
founder, on which are inscribed the sentiments of
affection and gratitude he inspired in all classes in
Bavaria. As other evidence of the esteem in which
he was held, he was invested by the elector with
many titles of honor. Hè was made major-general
of cavalry, a privy councillor of state, and first min¬
ister of war. A little later, in 1791, he received the
rank of a count of the Holy Eoman Empire. In
selecting the title to accompany it he chose that
of Rumford, the town in New Hampshire where
he had once resided. In carrying out the plans
in which he had been so laboriously engaged, the
health of Count Eumford was much enfeebled. He
went to Italy for relief, but not improving as rap¬
idly as he wished, he returned to England. There he
received great attention. His advice and opinions
on many scientific and other matters were much
sought for, and he published a series of essays em¬
bodying his views on social and sanitary reforms.
During the time Count Eumford was engaged
in these public labors he gave much attention to
philosophical subjects. Heat was one of those
to which he applied his investigations with great
boldness and success. Modern scientists are tar¬
dily awarding to him the honor of first announcing
the modern doctrine of heat, and the great law of
the correlation and the conservation of the physical
forces. He also experimented on fireplaces and
cooking ranges, and to him, as the original inves¬
tigator, is due nearly all the modern improvements
in these matters of domestic comfort and economy.
In the war that followed the French Eevolution
Austria was involved. The Bavarians wishing to
hold a neutral position. Count Eumford was sent
for to act as head of the Council of Regency. His
skilful management resulted in maintaining the de¬
sired neutrality. New honors were conferred upon
554
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
him for this important service. The heavy labors
of the count again brought him into an enfeebled
condition, and he determined to once more revisit
England. The elector acceded to his wishes, and
appointed him as Minister Plenipotentiary to the
Court of St. James. The English government de¬
clined to receive him, as, in its views of the matter,
no British-born subject could divest himself of his
perpetual allegiance. Count Eumford solicited an
audience, but his request was unnoticed. He was
greatly chagrined, and did not soon forget this
rebutf. During the administration of Washing¬
ton he was publicly solicited to return to the United
States, and a correspondence was opened to bring
about such a result, but it failed of its purpose.
In 1799 Count Eumford suggested the establish¬
ment of a public institution for the diffusion of
knowledge, and the application of the mechanical
arts and the discoveries in natural philosophy to
the common purposes of life. His clear presenta¬
tion of the subject, and his enthusiasm in advocat¬
ing it, led to its formation. Tliis institution was
tile Eoyal Society of London, which has done so
much in the direction indicated.
Leaving England again in 1803, he went to the
continent, where he resided for the rest of his life.
In 1804 (his first wife never leaving America, and
having been dead some years) he married the widow
of the celebrated Erench chemist,. Lavoisier, and
went to live with her at Auteuil, a suburb of Paris.
Here he pursued with his usual zeal and penetration
his philosophical studies, and in tlie companionship
of Cuvier, — the distinguished naturalist, — and a
few other intimate friends, passed the remaining
years of Iiis life. He carried his scientific prin¬
ciples into Iiis dress and diet,Jbr even in winter
he wore white clotiiing, and always regulated his
meals by a strict regimen. Believing that broad
wheels to carriages were of easier motion and
draught than those in ordinary use, he had them
constructed for his own vehicles, and whenever he
rode through the boulevards of Paris attracted
special attention. Count Eumford died at Au¬
teuil in August, 1814, after a very short illness.
The career of this man was more remarkable
than that of any other American, unless we except
Franklin. Like Franklin, his genius was essen¬
tially scientific, and practical, but in addition he
had intellectual traits which the former did not
possess. As a diplomatist and organizer he was
certainly his equal, as witness his successful man¬
agement, amidst much opposition, at Munich.
What he might have accomplished on the field
cannot be known, as circumstances did not give
him the opportunity of demonstrating this attribute
of his mind. It is to be regretted that the genius of
so eminent an American should not have displayed
itself more fully on its native soil. If such had
been the case, his claims to the gratitude and es¬
teem of his countrymen, if not more certainly due
to him, would have been more surely awarded.
The house in which Benjamin Thompson was
bom is still standing, in the north village of Wo-
burn. From the period of his leaving the country
his name and reputation were both held in light
esteem among his townsmen, as the old prejudice
against toryism did not easily wear away. Of
late, however, his fame has revived, and a success¬
ful effort was made a year or two ago to secure
the Thompson estate to posterity as a memorial of
one of New England's foremost sons. It was pur¬
chased by a subscription from collateral desceiid-
ants and persons interested in the project, and is
held by them under the title of the Eumford His¬
torical Association. A few necessary repairs have
been made on the building, which will be carefully
preserved, and within which will be gathered such
memorials of Count Eumford as are to be secured.
Thus after many years of unmerited neglect he
will receive in some measure the honor due to
such an illustrious son.
APPENDIX.
JUDICIAL HISTORY AND CIVIL LIST.
[E first step looking to tlie establishment
of courts in the colony was taken by the
Court of Assistants of August 33, 1630,
wliich constituted those persons holding
the ofiices of governor and deputy-gov¬
ernor, justices of the peace. Saltonstall,
Johnson, Endicott, and Ludlow were also appointed jus¬
tices, with the same jurisdiction as the law conferred on
such officers in England.
Except in those cases where justices had jurisdiction,
the judicial authority, in both civil and criminal causes,
was exercised by the Court of Assistants. Juries of inquest,
and also for the trial of persons presented by such juries,
were impauelled by the governor. In November, 1633,
the court ordered the secretary to issue his process to the
beadle for summoning twenty-four jurors, who were to be
named by the secretary. In 1631 an order was made that
no trial affecting life should be held without a jury regu¬
larly chosen by the freemen. Graud juries were first
established in September, 1635.
After the division of the colony into shires county
courts were established,' which were held by the magis¬
trates who lived in the county, or any others whotvould
attend, together with such other persons as the freemen of
the county should from time to time nominate and the
General Court approve; making the whole number five,
of whom three were competent to hold a court. The
county courts had jurisdiction in testamentary matters,
but without any well-settled form of procedure, the
judges, in most cases, exercising discretionary power
in the distribution of estates. When they established a
general nile they nearly conformed to the rules governing
personal estate in England, except that the eldest son was
given a double portion. In the distribution of real prop¬
erty the widow usually received only her dower ; but the
circumstances of the family were taken into consideration.
The conveyance by an inhabitant of one town or plantation
of lands allotted to him to tiie inhabitant of another town
was at first strictly prohibited.
The courts thus established had power to determine all
civil causes, and all criminal the penalty of which did not
' See Vol. I. p. 73, for times and places of holding county
courts.
extend to life, member, or banishment. Grand and petit
juries were summoned to attend them. Appeals from them
lay to the Court of Assistants, and then to the General
Court. According to Hutchinson, from whose digest of
the laws our account is chiefly derived, " the higher
offences against law were cognizable by the assistants only,
except upon application, by appeal or petition, to the
General Court. In all actions, civil or criminal, in which
any stranger was a party, or interested, who could not
stay without damage to attend the ordinary courts of jus¬
tice, the governor or deputy-governor, with any two magis¬
trates, had power to call a special court to hear and
determine the cause if triable in a county court." The
record was to be made on the records of the Court of As¬
sistants. " In divers towns a petty court was established
for small debts and trespasses under twenty shillings ; and
in every town the selectmen, who were annually chosen by
the town, had power to hear and determine all offences
against the by-laws of the town."
For more than ten years after the settlement the parties
to a suit spoke for themselves. When the importance of
the cause required it they were sometimes assisted by a
" patron, or man of superior abilities," who received neither
fee nor reward. Thomas Lechford adds to this (1641), that
the parties were warned to challenge any juryman before
he was sworn. Jurors were returned by the marshal,
who was first called a beadle, the title being changed in
1634. James Fenn was the first beadle. His successor
was Edward Michelson, of Cambridge, appointed Novem¬
ber, 1637.
Lechford complains that as none but church-members
were eligible to any office or to serve upon juries, great
injustice was felt by the majority of persons in the colony
who were not ciiiirch-members, but who were liable to be
tried for offences touching life or limb by those whom they
regarded in the light of adversaries. Oaths were admin¬
istered, as now, by holding up the hand.
In 1640 provision was made for a public registry, aud
no mortgage, bargain, sale, or grant of any realty was good
where the grantor remained in possession, against any per¬
sons, except the grantor and his heirs, unless the same was
acknowledged before a magistrate and recorded. All grants
made before that time were to be acknowledged and re-
556
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
corded before tbe end of November, otherwise to be void.
Every marriage, birth, or death was also xegistered, first in
the town, and at the end of the year the record was to be
taken by the town-clerk, or clerk of the writs, as he was
then called, to the county register. Neglect was punisha¬
ble by a fine of twenty shillings for each offence.
By the province charter power to appoint all officers of
courts of justice was conferred upon the governor, subject
to the consent of the council. The first General Court
held under it assembled in June, 1693, when an act passed
declaring those laws of Massachusetts and Plymouth colo¬
nies, not repugnant to the laws of England, to be con¬
tinued in force until November. All justices of the peace
had the same powers given to them as magistrates formerly
had. Under this law justices of the peace sat with the
regular judges in Middlesex County.
Charlestown continued to be one of the places for hold¬
ing courts until 1775. Regular terms were held at Con¬
cord from 1692 till 1867 ; and at Groton from 1778 to
1796. Lowell became one of the regular seats of justice
in 1837. The first county court-house in Cambridge was
burned in 1671, with a volume of the court records from
1663 to 1671. In 1816 the county buildings which had
stood in Harvard Square, were abandoned for the preseut
location at East Cambridge.
Following is a list of judges for Middlesex under the
new or province charter : —
Court of Common Pleas.
John Phillips, December 7, 1692, to 1715.
James Russell, December 7, 1692, to 1709.
Joseph Lyude, December 7, 1692, to 1719.
Samuel Hayman, December 7, 1693, to 1702.
Jonathan Tyng, July, 1702, to 1719.
Francis Foxcroft, June, 1709, to 1719.
Jonathan Remington, December, 1715, to 1733.
Jonathan Dowse, June, 1719, to 1741.
Charles Chambers, June, 1719, to 1739.
Francis Fulham, June, 1719, to 1755.
Thomas Greaves, 1733 to 1738, and from 1739 to 1747.
Francis Foxcroft, March, 1737, to 1764.
Samuel Danforth, July, 1741, to Revolution.
Cliambers Russell, August, 1747, to 1752.
Andrew Boardman, April, 1752, to 1769.
William Lawrence, June, 1755, to 1763.
John Tyng, September, 1763, to Revolution.
Richard Foster, March, 1764, to 1771.
Joseph Lee, May, 1769, to Revolution.
James Russell, May, 1771, to Revolution.
The Middlesex Convention, held in August, 1774, passed
a resolve to the effect that no obedience ought to be paid
to processes issuing from the Courts of Sessions or of Com¬
mon Pleas, and declared two of the justices of the Court
of Common Pleas — Danforth and Lee — incapable of
holding any office whatever. These two judges were soon
compelled to resign,' and the functions of the court virtu¬
ally ceased until November 2, 1775, when the council ap¬
pointed John Tyng, Henry Gardner, and Samuel Phillips
Savage justices, and David Cheever special justice of the
Court of Common Pleas. Abraham Fuller was appointed
Mardi 4, 1779.
1 See Vol. I. p. 108.
A reorganization of the judicial system closely followed
the adoption of the stale constitution, but many changes
took place both in the construction and jurisdiction of the
inferior courts before the present efficient organization was
reached. Upon assuming office. Governor Hancock, by
proclamation, directed all officers, civil and military, to
continue iu the exercise of their functions until otherwise
ordered. An act establishing County Courts of Common
Pleas passed July 3, 1783. It provided for four justices,
who should be inhabitants of the county, three to consti¬
tute a quorum. The justices of the old Court of Common
Pleas were then : —
John Tyng, reappointed March 27, I78I.
Henry Gardner, reappointed March 27, 1781.
Samuel Phillips Savage, reappointed March 27, 1781.
Abraham Fuller, reappointed March 27, 1781.
The following appointments were made from time to
time : —
James Prescott, of Groton, December 21, 1782 ; appointed
chief justice June 3, 1805.
Nathaniel Gorham, of Charlestown, July 1, 1785.
Special Justices.^
Josiah Stone, of Framiugham, 1780.
Ebenezer Bridge, of Chelmsford, June 28, 1785.
John Pitts, of Dunstable, July 1, 1785.
Eleazer Brooks, of Lincoln, March 13, 1786.
James Winthrop, of Cambridge, October 14, 1789.
William Hull, of Newton, May 14, 1792.
Ephraim Wood, of Concord, March 12, 1795.
Joseph B. Varnum, of Dracut, March 13, 1795.
Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, March 14, 1795.
Abiel Haywood, of Concord, February 25, 1801.
Benjamin Gorham, of Charlestown, February 20, 1810.
Asahel Stearns, of Chelmsford, May 18, 1810.
Joseph Locke, of Billerica, May 18, 1810.
In 1811 the old Courts of Common Pleas were abol¬
ished, and the Circuit Court of Common Pleas established,
Suffolk, Middlesex, and Essex counties constituting the
Middle Circuit. The judges were ; —
Samuel Dana, Chief Justice.
William Wetmore, First Associate.
Stephen Miuot, Second Associate.
Court of General Sessions of the Peace.
A court with this title was constituted as early as 1692.
July 3,1782, an act passed constituting a Court of General
Sessions of the Peace, to consist of the justices of the county
and to have jurisdiction in cases cognizable by justices of
the peace at common law, or under acts of the legislature.
June 19, 1807, an additional act reorganized the court
by the appointment (for Middlesex county) of one chief
and six associate justices, who were to hold the courts for¬
merly held by justices of the peace. The court, as newly
constituted in Middlesex, was as follows ; —
Joseph B. Varnum, of Dracut (chief justice), appointed
July 10, 1807.
Aaron Hill, of Cambridge (associate), appointed July 10,
1807.
' Special justices were appointed under a law of 1784 to sit
when tbe I'egular justices were interested parties or absent.
APPENDIX.
557
Amos Bond, of Watertown (associate), appointed July 10,
1807.
Joseph Cordis, of Reading (associate), appointed August
28,1807.
Joseph Heald, of Pepperell (associate), appointed August
28,-1807.
John Kitteil, of Charlestown (associate), appointed Sep¬
tember 3, 1811.
John Hurd, of Reading (associate), appointed September
30, 1811.
Ebenezer Hobbs, of Weston (associate), appointed May
25, 1812.
In 1814 the Courts of Sessions were abolished, and
their powers transferred to the Circuit Court of Common
Pleas. Two justices, called " Sessions Justices of the
C. C. C. P.," were appointed in each county to sit with the
regular justices of that court, which was to hear and de¬
termine all matters of which Courts of Sessions had for¬
merly jurisdiction.'
Sessions Justices County Court of Common Pleas.
John Walker, of Birrlington, appointed May 24, 1814.
Abiel Heywood, of Coneord, appointed May 24, 1814.
Joseph Loeke, of Billerica, appointed July 2, 1814.
Loammi Baldwin, of Woburn, appointed May 10, 1815.
The Circuit Court of Common Pleas was superseded in
1821 by the Court of Common Pleas, whieh gave way iii
1859 to tlie Superior Court of the Commonwealth. The
judges of this court are ; —
Chief Justice, — Lincoln F. Brigliam, of Salem. Associate
Justices, — Julius Rockwell, of Lenox ; Francis H. Dewey,
of Worcester ; Ezra Wilkinson, of Dedliam ; John P. Put¬
nam, of Boston; Robert C. Pitman, of Newton; John W.
Bacon, of Natick ; P. Emery Aldrich, of Worcester ; Wil¬
liam Allen, of Northampton ; Waldo Colburn, of Dedham ;
William S. Gardner, of Newton.
Civil terms of this court are held at Lowell, second Mon¬
day in March and first Monday in September; at Cam¬
bridge, first Monday of June and second Monday of
December. Criminal terms at Cambridge, second Monday
in February and first Monday in June ; at Lowell, third
Monday in October.
In 1867 the courts which had been held at Concord were
removed to Cambridge, the county buildings at Concord
becoming, subsequently, the property of that town.'
Timothy Phillips,
Samuel Gookin,
Edmund Goffe,
Samuel Gookin,
Samuel Dummer,
Richard Foster,
Richard Foster,
David Phips,
Sheriffs.
appointed May 27, 1692.
October 23, 1702.
" December 9, 1715.
" December 12, 1728.
" September 27, 1729.
July 9, 1731.
" November 20, 1761.
March 7, 1764.
' The Court of Sessions for Middlesex was re-established in
1819, with Joseph Locke as chief justice, Abiel Haywood and
Isaac Fiske associates.
® In compiling the civil list of the county I have been mate¬
rially aided by Charles Cowley's Middlesex County Manual and
by Whitmore's Massachusetts Civil List. — En.
James Preseott, appointed
Loammi Baldwin,
Joseph Hosmer,
Wilham Hildreth
Joseph Hosmer
William Hildreth,
Nathaniel Austin,
Benjamin F. Varuum,
Samuel Chandler,
Fisher A. Hildreth,
John S. Keyes,
Charles Kimball,
Eben W. Fiske,
September 6, 1775.
1780.
1794.
1808.
October 11, 1811.
October 11, 1811.
1813.
1831.
1841.
1852.
1854.
1860.
1879
James Russell,
John Levereft,
Francis Foxeroi't,
Jonathan Remington,
Samuel Danfortli,
John Winthrop,
Oliver Preseott,
James Preseott,
Samuel P. P. Fay,
W. A. Richardson,
Judges of Probate.
appointed June 18, 1692, O.S.
October 23, 1702, O.S.
July 8, 1708, O.S.
September 30, 1725, O S.
December 20, 1745, O.S.
September 6, 1775.
February
May
April
1779.
1, 1805.
9, 1821.
7, 1856.
The office of Judge of Probate was superseded in 1858
by that of Judge of Probate and Insolvency. William A.
Richardson was appointed to the latter office July 1, 1858,
and upon his resignation was succeeded by George M.
Brooks, the present incumbent. May 13, 1872.
Sessions of the Probate Court are held at Cambridge,
first, second, and fourth Tuesday of each month except
August; at Lowell, third Tuesday- of January, March,
May, July, September, and November.
Registers of Probate.
Samuel Phipps, appointed June
Thomas Swan,
Nicholas Fessenden,
Daniel Foxcroft,
Thomas Foxcroft,
Francis Foxcroft,
Samuel Danforth,
Andrew Boardman,
William Kneeland,
James Winthrop,
James Foster,
Isaac Fiske,
Alonzo V. Lynde,
Alfred A. Preseott,
October
September
December
December
July
July
December
May
September
May
October
July
March
18, 1692.
23, 1702.
15, 1705.
28, 1709.
9, 1715.
3, 1729.
9, 1731.
20, 1745.
29, 1709.
6, 1775.
26, 1817.
29, 1817.
1, 1851.
10, 1853.
Joseph H. Tyler was elected Register of Probate and
Insolvency, November 10, 1858, and continues, by re-elec¬
tion, to hold the same office.
Registers of Deeds.
Thomas Danforth, May 26, 1652.
Lawrence Hammond, July 27, 1686.
Samuel Phipps, April 10, 1693.
Francis Foxcroft, March 22, 1766.
Ebenezer Bridge, April 3, 1776.
Thaddeus Mason, March 31, 1781.
William Winthrop, December 28, 1784.
558
HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
Samuel Bartlett, June 12, 1795.
"William F. Stoue, September 13, 1821.
Caleb llajdeii, April 1, 1846.
Charles B. Stevens, April, 1865.
In 1855 a special registry was establisiied for the city
of Lowell and tiie towns of Northern Middlesex. The
registers for the new district have been : A. B. Wright,
1855 ; Ithamar A. Beard, 1868; aud Joseph P. Thompson,
1874.
Treasurers.
Ebeiiezer Bridge, appointed 1787.
John L. Tattle, , " 1808.
Johu Keyes, " 1814.
Stedman Buttrick, " 1838.
Amos Stone, " 1855.
Clerks of Courts.
In 1790, when Thaddens Mason held the office of Clerk
of tlie Court of Common Pleas and Quarter Sessions, the
offices were separated. The'succeeding incumbents are as
follows : —
Abraham Biglow 1790.
Elias Phinney 1832.
Seth Ames 1850.
John Q. A. Griffin 1859.
James Dana 1859.
Benjamin F. Ham 1860.
Theodore C. Hurd 1872.
District Ättornet/s.
Samuel Dana 1807.
Timothy Fuller 1811.
Asahel Stearns 1813.
Asahel Huntington 1830.
Albert H. Nelson ; 1845.
Charles R. Train 1845.
Asa W. Farr 1851.
Charles R. Train 1853.
Isaac S. Morse 1855.
John B. Goodrich 1872.
George Stevens 1874.
John W. Hammond 1879.
William B. Stevens 1880.
District Courts are established for Middlesex County
as follows : —
First Northern Middlesex (court held at Ayer ; jurisdic¬
tion in Ayer, Groton, Pepperell, Townsend, Ashby, Shirley,
Westford, Littleton, and Boxborough). —• Justice, Levi
Wallace. Special Justices, Warren H. Atwood, John
Spaulding. Clerk, George W. Sanderson.
First Southern Middlesex (court at South Framingham :
jurisdiction in Ashland, Framingham, HoUiston, Hopkin-
ton, Natick, Sherbom, Sudbury, and Wayland). — Justine,
Constantine C. Esty. Special Justices, Lucius H. Wake¬
field, Edwin C. Morse. Clerk, Ira B. Forbes.
First Eastern Middlesex (court at Maiden and Wake¬
field : jurisdiction in Wilmington, North Reading, Read¬
ing, Stoneham, Wakefield, Melrose, Maiden, Everett, aud
Medford). — Justice, John W. Pettengill. Special Justices,
Thomas S. Harlow, Solon Bancroft. C/er/i:,William N Tyler.
Central Middlesex (court held at Concord: jurisdiction
in Acton, Bedford, Carlisle, Concord, Lincoln, Maynard,
Stow, and Lexington). — Justice, John S. Keyes. Special
Justices, Augustus E. Scott, Charles Thompson.
Police and Municipal Courts. Cambridge. — Jus¬
tice, John S. Ladd; Special Justices, Woodward Emery,
H. W. Muzzey ; Clerk, Thomas Mclntire, Jr.
Lowell. —Justice, Nathan Crosby ; Special Justices, John
Davis, Frederick T. Greeiihalge ; Clerk, Samuel P. Hadley.
Newton. — Justice, William W. Carruth ; Special Jus¬
tices, Henry H. Mather, Edward H. Mason ; Clerk, Ed¬
ward W. Cate.
Somerville. —Justice, Isaac Story ; Special Justices,
A. R. Brown, Charles G. Pope; Clerk, Lebbens Stetson.
Board of County Commissioners.
The County Commissioners succeeded, in 1828, to what
was left of the functions of the Court of General Sessions.
Tiie act of 1827, constituting this board, provided for the
appointment by the governor of four commissioners for
Middlesex, to serve three years. The statute of 1835 pro¬
vides for three instead of four. In 1836 the manner of
electing was changed, one commissioner being chosen in
each year thereafter. The first meeting of the Board of
County Commissioners was held at Concord, the second
Tuesday of May, 1828.'
1828 to 1842, Caleb Butler, Groton.
1828 to 1835, Augustus Tower, Stow.
1828 to 1831, Benjamin F. Varnum, Dracut.
1828 to 1837, David Townsend, Waltham.
1831 to 1842, Abner Wheeler, Framingham.
1837 to 1846, Timothy Fletcher, Charlestown.
1842 to 1845, Leonard M. Parker, Shirley.
1842 to 1845, Seth Davis, Newton.
1845 to 1850, Josiab Adams, Framingham.
1845 to 1848, Josiah B. French, Lowell
1846 to 1854, Ebenezer Barker, Charlestown.
1848 to 1850, Joshua Swan, Lowell.
1850 to 1857, Daniel S. Richardson, Lowell.
1850 to 1876, Leonard Huntress, Tewksbury.
1854 to 1861, John K. Going, Shirley.
1857 to 1862, Paul H. Sweetser, South Reading.
1861 to 1872, Edward J. Collins, Newton.
1862 to 1874, Joseph H. Waite, Maiden.
1872 Ç , Harrison Harwood, Natick.
1874 \ . P ® ) Daniel G.Walton,Wakefield.
1876 (.wcumbeuts 3 j. Henry Reed, Westford.
The terms of the present incumbents respectively expire
in 1880, 1881, and 1882.
Municipalities of the County.
The following tabular statement, compiled from official
sources, presents, in a form convenient for-reference, the
dates of incorporation of the several towns of the county,
with the names of the towns of which they originally formed
a part.
Acton, June 27, 1735, part of Concord.
Arlington, Feb. 27, 1807, " Cambridge (first incor¬
porated as West Cam¬
bridge : name changed in
April, 1867).
' The list of County Commissioners is kindly furnished by
Theodore C. Hurd, Clerk of the Courts and also of the Board.
APPENDIX.
559
Asliby, March 5, 1767, parts of Townsend, Fitcliburg,
and Asliburnham.
Ashland, March 16, 1846, " Framingham, Hopkin-
ton, and Holliston.
Ayer, Feb. 15, 1871, " Groton and Shirley.
Bedford, Sept. 23, 1729, " Billerica and Concord.
Belmont, March 18, 1059, W. Cambridge (Arling¬
ton), Watertown, and
Waltham.
Billerica, May 29, 1655, part of Cambridge.
Boxborough, Feb. 24, 1783, as a district, from Stow, Har¬
vard, and Littleton ; as a
town. May 1, 1836.
Brighton, Feb. 24,1807 ; annexed to Boston, May 21,1873.
Burlington, Feb. 28, 1799, part of Wobura.
Cambridge, Sept. 8,1633, parts of Charlestown, annexed in
1802, 1818, 1820.
Carlisle, Feb. 18, 1805, " Concord, Acton, Chelms¬
ford, and Billerica. In-
corpoi'ated as a district,
1780.
Charlestown, June 24, 1629; annexed to Boston, 1873.
Chelmsford, May 29, 1655 ; part annexed to Lowell, May,
1874.
Concord, Sept. 2, 1635, See Acton, Bedford, Lin¬
coln, and Carlisle.
Dracut, Feb. 26,1701, parts annexed to Lowell, 1851,1874.
Dunstable, Oct. 16,1673, parts of Groton annexed, 1793,
1796, 1803.
Everett, March 9, 1870, part of Maiden : portion of, an¬
nexed toMedford, 1875.
Framingham, June 25,1700, " Holliston and Natick,
annexed 1833 and 1871.
Groton, May 29, 1655, " Pepperell, annexed in
1803.
Holliston, Deo. 3, 1724, " Sherborn.
Hopkiriton, Dec. 13, 1715.
Hudson, May 19, 1866, " Marlborough and Stow ;
part of Bolton annexed,
1868.
Lexington, March 20, 1712, " Cambridge ; part of Bur¬
lington annexed, 1810.
Lincoln, April 19, 1754, " Concord, Lexington, and
Weston.
Littleton Township, incorp. Nov. 2, 1714 ; named Little¬
ton, Deo. 3, 1715.
Lowell, March 1, 1826 ; part of Chelmsford ; part of
Tewksbury annexed,
1834; of Dracut, 1851 ;
parts of Dracut, Chelms¬
ford, and Tewksbury,
1874 ; part of Dracut,
1879. Incorporated as
a city, April 1, 1836.
Maiden, May 2, 1649, " Charlestown.
Marlborough, May 31, 1660, " Framingham, annexed
1791 ; of Southborough,
1843.
Maynard, April 19,1871, parts of Stow and Sudbury.
Medford, Sept. 28, 1630 ; part of Maldeu annexed, 1817 ;
part of Medford annexed
to Charlestown, 1811 ;
part of Everett annexed
to Medford, 1875.
Melrose, May 3, 1850, " Maiden.
Natick, Feb. 1781; as a district, 1762; part of Sherborn
annexed, 1820; part of
Natick annexed to Fram¬
ingham, 1871.
Newton, Jan. 11, 1687, as Cambridge Village; named
Newton, Dec. 15, 1691;
parts of Waltham an¬
nexed, 1849 ; and of Bos¬
ton, 1875.
N. Reading, March 22,1853, " Reading.
Pepperell, April 12,1753, part annexed to Groton, 1803.
Reading, May 29, 1644, part of Lynn ; part set off as S.
Reading, now Wakefield,
1812.
Sherborn, October 21, 1674, name changed from Sher¬
burne to Sherborn, 1852.
Shirley, Jan. 5, 1753, " Groton ; part of Groton
annexed, 1798 ; part of
Shirley set off to Ayer,
1871.
Somerville, March 3, 1842, " Charlestown. See Cam¬
bridge. Incorporated as
a city, 1872.
Stoneham, Dec. 17, 1725, " Charlestown.
Stow, May 16, 1683, " Set off to Maynard,
1871.
Sudbury, Sept. 4, 1639, " set off to Maynard,
1871.
Tewksbury, Dec. 23, 1734, " Billerica. See Lowell.
Townsend, June 29, 1732, See Ashby.
Tyngsborough, Feb. 23, 1809, " Dunstable ; incorp. as a
district, 1789.
Wakefield, Feb. 25, 1812, as South Reading ; part of
Stoneham annexed, 1856;
named changed, 1868.
Waltham, Jan. 4, 1737, part of Watertown.
Watertown, Sept. 7, 1630. See Belmont, Weston,
and Cambridge.
Wayland, April 10, 1780, as East Sudbux-y ; name
changed, 1835.
Westford, Sept. 23, 1729, part of Chelmsford.
Weston, Jan. 1, 1712, " Watertown.
Wilmington, Sept. 25, 1730, " Woburn and Reading.
Winchester, April 30, 1850, " Woburn, Medford, aud
Arlington ; part annexed
to Woburn, 1873.
Woburn, May 18, 1642, " Charlestown. See Bur¬
lington, Wilmington, aud
Winchester.
INDEX,
Arercromrik, Colonel, killed at Bunker Hill, i. 153.
Aber^^inians, Indians at Charlestown called, i. 39.
Abigail, ship, voyage of, to New England, i. 18
Academy, Groton, established, i. 465 ; Newton Centre, founded,
ii. 232; and Seminary in Townsend, ii. 388: Wayland, no¬
ticed, ii. 472; Westford, organized, ii. 482; patrons of, ii. 483;
teachei*s of, ii. 484.
Acadians, harbored in Dracut, i. 412; quartered in Reading,
ii. 275; Waltliam, ii. 413.
Acton, history of town of, i. 196.
Adams, Daniel, notice of, ii. 388; James, settler in Carlisle, i. 359;
Samuel, warned by Revere, i. 118; statue of, in Lexington,
ii. 30.
*'Adams Circular," reply of Lexington to, ii. 16.
Aged people, notable, in Arlington, i. 212.
Agriculture, peculiar, of Belmont, i. 252; in Carlisle, statistics of,
i.366.
Alarm, false, disturbance by, in Bedford, i. 248; caused by Bur-
goyne's expedition, i. 168; before Lexington, received in
Tewksbury, ii. 376.
Allerton, Isaac, boards the Arbella, i. 42.
Alliance formed between Colonies, i. 72.
Allotment of lands, ñrst made, i. 20.
Almanacs, different, printed at Cambridge, i. 318.
Almshouse, State, in Tewksbur^', described, ii. 374.
Ambrose, ship, sails for New England, i. 21.
American army, condition of, i. 136; flag, first raised at Prospect
Hill, i. 163; refugees seek to leave Boston, i. 131.
Amnest}', counter, proclamation of, i. 134.
Anabaptists, difficulties with, i. 76.
Andros, Sir Edmund, appointed Viceroy, i. 90; sent to England,
i. 94; difficulty of, with Woburn, ii. 529.
Ansart, Colonel Lewis, notice of, i. 415.
Antinomian controversy, prevalence of, i. 68.
Antislaver}' Society, Ladies\ in Reading, ii. 281.
Anville, Duke d', sails against Boston, i. 102.
Apple, Baldwin, first found in Wilmington, ii. 509; first tree of,
in Winchester, ii. 512.
Appleton, Major Samuel, sent against Indians, i. 81.
Apthorp, Rev. East, founds Christ Church, Cambridge, i. 335.
Arbella, ship, sails for New England, i. 21; voyage and arrival
of, i. 42
Arlington, history of town of, i. 208.
Army and fleet from England to Quebec, i. 98; American, condi¬
tion of, i. 136; efforts to recruit, ii. 420
Arnold, Captain Benedict, at Cambridge, i. 129 ; marches for Que¬
bec, i. 160.
Arsenal built at Watertown, ii. 457.
Artists resident in Melrose, ii. 183.
Ashby, history of town of, i. 218.
Ashland, histoiy of towti of, i. 227.
Assistance, writs of, debate on, i. 104.
Association, High School, in Soinerville, ii. 323; Historical, in
Lowell, ii. 96; J.ibrary, at Newton Corner, li. 2.50; Rumford
Historical, at Woburn, ii. 554 ; Sherborn Musical, noticed,
Ú. 296.
Asylum, McLean, founded in Somerville, ii. 330; superintendents
of, ii. 332-34.
Auburndule, village of, origin stated, ii. 238.
Authors, various, at Medford, ii. 168; resident at Melrose, ii. 182.
Ayer, historj' of town of, 1.235; Dr. James C., correspondence of,
i. 239.
Badger, Rev. Stephen, minister at Natick, ii. 192.
Bailey, Rev. John, first minister installed, ii. 451.
Baker}' first opened in Wilmington, ii. 509.
Baldwin, Captain, leads Woburn men at Concord, i. 125; Colo¬
nel Loammi, notice of, ii. 540-49.
Ballou, Rev. Hosea, 2d, president Tufts College, ii. 174.
Bancroft, Captain Ebenezer, histoiy of Bunker Hill, ii. 395;
Colonel, anecdote of his funeral, ii. 398.
Bank Scheme, Land, undertaken, i. 101; Savings, founded in
Framingham, i. 449; first founded in Lowell, 11. 65.
Banks, General Nathaniel P., In Southern War, 1.181.
Banquet, political, in Reading, described, il. 287.
Barker, Lieutenant John, diary of Concord fight, i. 386.
Barnes, Henry, Tory at Marlborough, ii. 147.
Barrett, Colonel James, at Concord, i. 121.
Bass (fish), formerh' plenty at Watertown, ii. 437.
Battle-ground at Lexington, map of, ii. 10.
Battle of Lexington, incidents of, within Lincoln, ii. 41; of Me-
notomy, incidents in, ii. 210.
Beacon Hill fortified by British, i. 132.
Bears killed at Cambridge, i. 332; at Wilmington, ii. 508.
Bedford, history of town of, i. 241; men of, at Lexington and
Bunker Hill, i. 244.
Belcher, Jonathan, becomes governor, i. 100.
Belknap, remarks of, as to colony, i. 30.
Bell, Dr. Luther V., sketch of, ii. 333.
Bell, first hung in Chelmsford, i. 372; at Maiden, ii. 118; at Way-
land, ii. 468; provided at Stoneham, ii. 346; given to town of
Pepperell, ii. 262.
Bells, chime of, set up in Newton, ii. 244.
Bellingiiam chosen governor, ¡. 71.
Bellomont, Earl of, service as governor, i. 97.
Belmont, history of town of, i. 251.
Bemis, David, improvement made by, ii. 246; Seth, uses first gas¬
light m America, il. 247: spins first cotton in country, i. 184.
Bernard, Francis, appointed governor, i. 104.
Bernlcre, Ensign, with British at (Joiicord, i. 121.
Bible, Indian, printed at Cambridge, i. 70, ii. 187; notice of,
i. 319.
'Biglow, William, historian of Natick, ii. 196.
Billerica, history of town of, 1. 254; attacked by Indians, i 96;
first settled, i. 76.
Blackstone, William, settles at Shawmut, i. 45.
Blanchard, Luther, wounded at Concord, i. 123, 274.
" Blessing of the Bay," vessel, built at Mystic, i. 53.
" Blockade of Boston," played in Faneuil Hall, i. 163.
Body of Laws, compilation of, ordered, i. 63.
" Body of Liberties" adopted as laws, i. 71.
Boinbardiuent of Boston begun, i. 164.
562
INDEX.
Boon, Mr., early settler at Stow, ii. 350.
Bootsand shoes, account of nianiifactiire of, i. 187; business of
making at Hudson, 1. 503; at Hollistoa, i. 481; pegged, first
made at Hopkinton, 1. 494.
Boott, Kirk, doings of, at Lowell, ii. 02; death of, 11. 74.
Boston, name of, fírst given to Shawmut, 1. 46; Charlestown
settlers mostly brought to, i. 46; Massacre, occurrence of,
1.105; siege of, entered upon by people, 1. HO; evacuation
of, decided upon, 1. 166; royalists allowed to leave, 1.166;
ravaged bj' British before evacuation, 1. 166 ; defensive works
about, 1. 167.
Boston Gazette " removed to Watertown, 11. 447.
Boundaries, singular, of Concord and Carlisle, 1. 361; of Water-
town with adjacent towns, 11. 435.
Boutwell, Hon. George S., resident of Groton, 1. 468.
Bowdoln, James, succeeds as governor, 1. 169.
Bowes, Rev. Nicholas, first minister in Bedford, 1. 243.
Bowman, Thaddeus, service of, at Lexington, ii. 20.
Boxborough, history of town of, i. 271.
Bradstreet, Simon, character of, 1.26; chosen governor, i. 89;
sent agent to England, i. 79; president Council of Safetv,
1. 93.
Brastow, Hon. George 0., notice of, ii. 337.
Brattle, Thomas, writer against witchcraft trials, i. 95.
Brazil, Emperor of, visits Lowell, ii. 08.
Breed's Hill, situation of, stated, i. 141 ; fortification begun on,
i. 140.
Brereton, Sir William, movements of, i. 19; assignee of Gorges'
Patent, i. 39.
Bricks early made in Maiden, ii. 122; large manufacture of, at
Medford, Ii. 172.
Bridge, dismantled at Cambridge, 1. 343; West Boston, fii'st
built, i. 351; Cralgie's, first built, 1. 352; North, In Concord,
collision at, 1. 389; gift to repair, i. 402; Maiden, opened with
rejoicing, ii. 130; Brighton, first built, ii. 2.39; Cook's, at
Newton Upper Falls, ii. 239; new and splendid, near same,
ii. 252; Mystic, Reading refuses to mend, ii. 274; and ferry,
set up at Sudbury, ii. 360; iron, built at Tyngsborough, li.
398; Great, in Waltham, action on, 11. 424; earliest, in
Watertown, ii.454; Indian, In Wayland, ii. 464; Mystic, re¬
lation of, to Woburn, ii. 530.
Bridges in Newton, various, noticed, ii. 240.
Brigham^ John, surveyor at Marlborough, ii. 142.
Bright, , early minister in colony, i. 29.
Brighton, history of town of. i. 278; made a separate parish, i.
282.
Briscoe, Nathaniel, fined for pamphlet, li. 449.
British, prisoners, taken at Lexington, ii. 23.
Brook, Cheesecake, origin of name of, ii. 246; Mulpus, in Shir¬
ley, de.scribed, ii. 298.
Brooks, Major, leads Reading men at Concord, i. 123; John, of
Medford, sketch of, ii. 167; Maria G., poetess, at Medford,
ii. 168; family of, at Medford, ii. 168; Captain John, mili¬
tary movements of, 11. 227.
Brooks Tavern, at Concord, fighting at, i. 125.
Brown, Captain Roger, Shays defeated by, i. 394; Benjamin calls
first meeting at Lincoln, ii. 35; Solomon, service of, at Lex¬
ington, ii. 18; Rev. Edmund, first pastor of Wayland, ii. 468.
Browne, John and Samuel, expelled by Endicott, i. 21.
Buckminster, Colonel, claims land in Framingham, i. 441.
Bulkely, Rev. Peter, settler at Concord, 1. 63.
Bunker Hill, entrenchments attempted on, i. 145; redoubt at,
described, i. 143; plan of battle-ground at, 1. 142; situation
stated, 1. 141; military situation before battle, 1. 139; Percy
intrenches upon, i. 127; losses at, i. 153; men of Dracut en¬
gaged at, i. 413; of Concord, 1. 390; of Framingham, 1. 444.
Burbcek, William, provincial militaryengiiieer, i. 129.
Burgoyne, General, arrives from England in Cerberus, i. 132; sets
Charlestown on tire, i. 149; returns to England, i. 160; cap¬
tive army of, at Cambridge, 1.169, 348 ; army of, prisoners in
Somerville, ii. 313.
Burial-place, ancient Indian, ii. 202.
Burlington, history of town of, i. 296: incorporation of, 1. 173.
Burnet, Governor, succeeds to office, i. 100.
Butler, General Benjamin F., with Massachusetts regiments, i.
179; notice of, ii. 94; service.s of, ii. 94.
Buttrick, Major, tires on British at Concord, i. 12*3.
Cakebread, Thomas, builds mill in Wayland, ii. 461.
Callender, Captain, deserts at Bunker Hill, i. 121.
Cambridge, settlement begun at, i. 50; first called Newtown, i.
60 ; towns since formed out of, i. 53 ; history of the town
of, 1. 305; English agreement made at, i. 30; incorporation
of, explained,!. 354; people of, aroused by battle of Bunker
Hill, i. 345.
Cambridge Farms," Lexington called, ii. 13.
"Cambridge Platform," adoption of, i. 76.
Canal, Middlesex, Proprietors of, incorporated, i. 189 ; projects
for, to cross Hoosac Mountain, i. 189; early constructed in
Cambridge, i. 307 ; North, opened at Lowell, ii. 80; bursting
of, at Lowell, ii. 54; Middlesex, projected, ii. 54; location ot^
in Somerville, ii. 314.
Canals, Locks and, Proprietors of, incorporated, i. 190; company
formed at Lowell, ii. 53; about the Merrimack, chartered,
i. 376.
Cannon, seized by British at Cambridge, i. 109; placed in redoubt
at Breed's Hill, 1. 145; withdrawn from same, i. 147; and
stores brought from New York by Knox, i. 347; deposited in
Watertown, il. 447; and powder seized in Cambridge, i. 341;
given for monumental statue, i. 402; position of Percy's, at
Lexington, ii. 11; given to Newton by John Pigeon, ii. 227;
concealed at Maiden, ii. 127; captured at Noddle's Island, ii.
127.
Capen, Rev. Elmer H., president Tufts College, ii. 174.
Carlisle, history of town of, 1. 359; final incorporation of, i. 361;
early progress in, i. 362.
Carter, Rev. Thomas, first pastor at Woburn, ii. 527.
Cato. Goodman, sells Sudbur}' to whites, ii. 358.
Celebration, Centennial, Burlington joins, i. 304; in Holliston,
i. 480; at Lexington, ii. 33: Bi-centennial, at Natick, ii. 201;
Semi-centennial, at Xjowell, ii. 98; of Concord fight, 3825,
i. 397; of Concord fight, 1850, i. 398; of founding of Con¬
cord, 1835, i. 397; at change of name in Arlington, i. 214;
of Reading Villages, ii. 400.
Celebrations, different, had in Acton, i. 207.
Cemetery, old, in Burlington, i. 301; Mount Auburn, account
of, i. 357; Wildwood, laid out at Ashland, i. 232; f)v-
ergreen, laid out in Brighton, 1. 292; Old, laid out in
Billerlca, i. 239; first laid out in Bedford, i. 242; Mount
Pleasant, laid out in Arlington, i. 212 ; Lake Grove, laid out
in Holliston, i. 478; first laid out in Newton, ii. 222; in Low¬
ell, first laying out of, ii. 76; old, in Marlborough, ii. 353; in
Reading, first laid out, ii. 282; laid out in Stonebam, il. 348;
first laid out iu Tewksbury, ii. 374; in Wayland, notice of,
ii. 463.
Cemeteries, different, in Framingham, 1. 448; various, in Natick,
ii. 202; in Melrose, ii. 183; remaining in Littleton, ii. 52; iu
Sherborn, laid out, ii. 294; in Wakefield, account of, ii. 404;
in Watertown, described, ii. 453.
Census first taken in Cambridge, i. 322.
Centennial, observances of, at Concord, i. 402.
Cerberus, ship, arrival of, at Boston, i. 332.
Chapel, free, in Lowell, history of, ii. 111.
Charles II., action of, towards colony, i. 79 ; threatens to annul
charter, i. 90.
Charles, Josias, sachem, deed of, to whites, ii. 359.
Charles River, named by Smith, i, 38; earlv exploration up,
i. 41.
Charlestown, history of settlement at, i. 38; first place in county
with English name, i. 38 ; settlement forwarded at, i. 43 ; set¬
tlers at, dispersed, i. 44; settlement removed to Boston, i. 46;
names left in after transfer to Boston, 1. 47; towns since
formed from, i. 53; deserted by inhabitants, i. 131; topog¬
raphy of, sketched, i. 141; navy-yard and dry dock at, i. 173;
part of, set off as Somerville, ii. 309.
Charter, colonial, royal demand for, i. 59; granted by William
and Mary, i. 95; abrogated, i. 90.
Chauncy, Rev. Charle.«, president of Harvard, i. 323.
INDEX.
563
Chelmsford, history of town of, i. 367; first made a town, i. 76;
separation of Lowell from, i. 377; incorporation of, i. 870;
first settled by whites, 1. 368; part of, annexed to Lowell,
ii. 97.
Chester, Captain, bravery of his men at Bunker Hill, i. 151.
Chicataubut, sachem, at Neponset, i. 56.
Child, Mrs. Lydia Maria, at Medford, ii. 168.
Cholera, appearance of, at Lowell, ii. 84.
Church (name), Captain Benjamin, sent against Indians; i. 98;
Dr. Benjamin, disgraced for treason, i. 160.
Church (religious), history of, in Everett, i. 429 ; first gathered in
Brighton, i. 283 ; old, in Boxborough, divided, i. 277 ; rec¬
ords of, i. 276; first foiTned in Lincoln, ii. 36; difficulties
with, at Maiden, ii. 116; first gathered at Natick, ii. 186; at
Pepperell, ii. 261; music in, vote upon, in Newton, ii. 225;
history, in Newton, ii. 232; in Watertown, notes of, ii. 452;
in Somerville, notes of, ii. 316 ; in Sudbury, sketch of, ii. 371;
in Waltham, notes of, ii. 408; in Marlborough, notes of, ii.
143; first gathered in Keading, ii. 270; notés of, in Tewks-
bury, ii. 379; first formed in Wayland, ii. 462; in Townsend,
list of members of, ii. 385; first gathered in Westford, ii. 478;
history of, in Westford, ii. 480; first gathered in Weston,
ii. 491; history of, in Winchester, ii. 520; history of, in Wo-
burn, continued, ii. 541-43; Congregational, in Acton, i. 201;
in Ashby, i. 226; at Ashland, i. 229; Baptist, formed in Ev¬
erett, i. 432; in Maiden, ii. 132; in Acton, i. 202; pastors of,
at North Reading, ii. 259; at Ashland, i. 229; in Weston, ii.
494; Universalist, in Acton, i. 202; in North Reading, ii.
259; Unitarian, formed in Ashby, i. 226; Methodist, formed
in Ashland, i. 230; in Weston, ii. 495; Catholic, founded in
Ashland, i. 231; Episcopal, planted in Cambridge, i. 334.
Church affairs, notes of, in Dracut, i. 414; history of, in Pepper¬
ell, ii. 264; history of, in Stow, ii. 351.
Churches, in Cambridge, account of, i. 353; different, formed in
Brightiin, i. 289; in Framingham, account of, i. 448; at Low¬
ell Falls, histor}' of, ii. 237 ; in Medford, history of, ii. 170;
in Lowell, same, ii. 102, 107-12; in Maynard, various, ii. 157;
ill Newton, sketches of, ii 242; statistics of, ii. 248; at
Natick, history of, ii. 195 ; in Reading, same, ii. 286 ; in Shir¬
ley. same, ii. 306; in Townsend, various, ii. 387; in Wake¬
field, history of, ii. 401; in Waltham, notes of, ii. 428; in
Watertown, history of, ii. 448 ; later, formed in Winchester,
ii. 522.
City, efforts of Lowell to become, ii. 72; Ayer's new, laid out near
Lowell, ii. 83.
Civil organization of Middlesex, 1774, i. 106.
Clap, Captain Roger, account of Charlestown, i. 40; Rev. Supply,
first minister in Burlington, i. 298.
Clarke, Rev. Jonas, minister at Lexington, ir. 14.
Clinton, General, arrives from England in Cerberus, i. 132 ; plan
of, at Bunker Hill, overruled, i. 144.
Clock given to church at Newton, ii. 234.
*Cloth, quick making of, at Natick, ii. 193.
Cobble Hill, fortified by Putnam and Heath, i. 161.
Coburn, Captain Peter, letter of, after Bunker Hill, i. 414.
Coddington, William, character of, i. 27; founder of Rhode Isl¬
and, i. 27 ; abandons colony, i. 68.
Coggeshall abandons colony, i. 68.
College, buildings for, fii*st at Cambridge, i. 317; Tufts, founded
in Medford, ii. 173; Harvard, committee to establish, i. 68;
list of presidents of, i. 356; buildings of, i. 357; temporary
removal of, i. 391; rules of, offensive clauses in, i. 349; pro¬
gress and growth of, i. 350.
Collegians and graduates of Framingham, i. 449; of Reading, ii.
283; in Wayland, ii. 473; in Weston, ii. 503; in Chelmsford,
i. 380.
Colonial officers, questionable election of, i. 44; alliance consum¬
mated, i. 72.
Commission, military, names of member.«?, i, 60.
Commissioners, royal, visit the colon v, 1. 79.
Committee, Recruiting, list of, in Middlesex, i. 112; of Corre¬
spondence formed,'!. 105; Subscribing, for meeting-house in
Brighton, i. 280.
Common, Boston, partly claimed by Randolph, i. 93; soldiers
camped upon, i. 103; laid out at Newton, ii. 234; laid out at
Sudbury, li. 361.
Commons, two, laid out in Lowell, ii. 79.
Company, Dwight Print, stoppage of, i. 234.
Onant, Colonel, arranges signals with Revere, i. 113; Roger, no¬
tice of, i. 18.
Concord, history of town of, i. 380; battle-ground at, described,
i. 121; notes of progress in, i. 403; incidents of fight at, i.
388; share of, in Shays^s Rebellion, i. 391; reason for Indians
not burning, ii. 351.
Confidence, ship, list of passengers in, ii. 359.
Congress, Second Provincial, meets at Cambridge, i. Ill; Conti¬
nental, action of, toward Massachusetts, i. 134.
Constable, office of, sold at auction in Ashby, i. 225.
Constitution adopted in Acton, i. 199.
Controversy, Antinomian, prevalence of, i. 68.
Convent, Ursuline, destroyed, i. 174; account of, ii. 335; citizens
enraged against, ii. 336 ; burned by mob, ii. 337.
Conventions, delegate, held in Middlesex and Suffolk, i. 107.
CJonverse, Captain James, Jr., bravery of, ii. 531.
Cooke, Rev. Samuel, first minister in Arlington, i. 209.
Cooperage, chief business of Ti>wnsend, ii. 390.
Copp's Hill, fortified by British, i. 132.
Copper, ore-bed of, in Winchester, ii. 514.
Corlett, Elijah, grammar master at Cambridge, i. 70.
Corporation and charter transferred to New England, i. 20.
Gotting, Hon. Uriah, native of Waltham, i. 433.
Cotton (name), Hooker, and Stone escape from colony, i. 31; Rev.
Mr., arrives at Boston, i.55; to frame code of laws, i. 71.
Cotton (product) first manufacture of, i. 183.
Council of Safety provisionally formed, i. 93; order of, incorpor¬
ating Newton, ii. 216.
Counties, peculiar origin of some, 1. 17.
County, general statistics of, i. 182.
Court, Great and General," first so called, i. 19; General, last
held in England, i. 21; third session of, i. 48; powers of,de¬
fined, i. 58; manner of sessions fixed, i. 73; divided into two
bodies, i. 74; adjourned to Salem, i. 106; at Salem, becomes
a Congress, i. 109; removed to Cambridge, i. 105.
Court suppressed at Concord by insurgents, i. 393; house burned
at Concord, i. 399; police, established in Somerville, ii. 324.
Courts removed from Concord, i. 401.
Covenant, first, of church at Charlestown, i. 37 ; Solemn League
and, agreed to, i. 106.
Coytemore, Thomas, mill of, at Maiden, ii. 115- 134.
Cradock and Goif, choice of, i. 18; Governor, proposition of, i. 20;
Matthew, character of, i. 22; influence of, i. 48; founder of
Medford, ii. 159.
Craigie, Andrew, enterprise of, in Cambridge, i. 352.
Cranberries, history of trade in, in Wilmington, !i. 509.
Cresap, Colonel, joins American camp, i. 159.
Crispe, Benjamin, affidavit of, ii. 162.
Crockett, David, visits Lowell, ii. 70.
Cromwell. John, settler at Tyngsborough, ii. 391.
Crown, Hon. William, grant to, at Ashland, i. 227.
Oudworth, Captain, with Sudbury men at Concord, i. 125.
Cummings, Rev. Henry, character of, i. 267.
Curtis, Captain Ephraim, sketch of, ii. 474.
Danforth, Thomas, appointed recorder, i. 73; made president of
Maine, i 89.
Danvcrs. militia from, killed at Menotomy, i. 126.
Dark day of 1780, account of, ii. 176; noticed in Reading, ii. 279.
Davies, Rev. Nathan, minister in Dracut, i. 413.
Davis, Captain, killed at Concord, i. 123.
Dawes, William, rides from Boston for alarm, i. 114.
Daye, Samuel, first printer at Cambridge, i. 70; Stephen, first
printer at (Cambridge, i. 318 ; Matthew, second printer in Oun-
bridge, i. 319.
Debates of Cambridge ministers with Whitefield, i. 331.
Dedham, settlement of, begun, i. 63.
Deeds, Indian, of Sudbury lands, ii. 358; of lands now in Way-
land. ii. 460.
Delegates to Congress appointed, i. 106.
564
INDEX.
Desert, singular, found in Tewksbury, ii. 374.
Dickens, Charles, visits Lowell, ii. 78.
Dike, Captain John H., wounded at Baltimore, i. 180; ii. 348.
Distinguished people dwelling at Concord, i. 404.
District of Carlisle reannexed to Concord, i. 360.
Disturbance at Concord by insurgents, i. 392.
Disturbances, political, in beginning of peace, i. 170.
Ditson, Thomas, outrage on, by British, i. 264..
Dogs, vote respecting, in Reading, ii. 272.
Dorchester Company, i. 18; Mattapan lirst called, i. 46; reason
for settlement of, i. 41 ; Lord, influence of, for colony, i. 19.
Dorchester Heights, plan for Americans to occupy, i. 130; Gage
tries to occupy, i. 136; attempt of Gage toward, i. 155;
Americans decline to occupy, i. 159 ; fortified by Washing¬
ton, i. 165.
Dorrell, Oldham and, claim important lands, i. 39.
Dowse, Thomas, bequest of, to Sherborn, ii. 295.
Dracut, history of town of, i. 406 ; town of, incorporated, i. 407.
Drake, Samuel A., resident of Melrose, ii. 181.
Dudley, Joseph, made president of colony, i. 90; becomes gov¬
ernor, i. 97; Governor, his account of Cambridge, i. 306.
Dudley, Thomas, character of, i. 25; signs first covenant, i. 37;
letter of, to-Countess of Lincoln, i. 38; his account of first
settlement, i. 43 ; quarrels with Winthrop, i. 50.
Dunstable, history of town of, i. 416; town of; incorporated,
i. 417; made a town, i. 79; annals of, for sundry years,
i. 426.
Dunster, Henrj', president Harvard College, i. 69; difißculty
with, at Cambridge, i. 323.
Dunton, John, visits New England, i. 96 ; visits Medford, ii. 160;
his account of Natick, ii. 189.
Dwight, Joseph, goes against Louisburg, i. 101.
Eames, Thomas, attacked by Indians at Framingham, i. 81; fam¬
ily ravaged by Indians, i. 439.
Earthquake felt at Reading, ii. 275.
Eaton, Theophilus, character of, i. 26; a founder of New Haven,
i. 26; Nathaniel, first master. Harvard College, 1. 69; misde¬
meanors of, i. 69.
Ecclesiastical matters in Lowell, ii. 106.
Edes, Rev. Richard S., anecdotes of, ii. 502.
Editors and authors noticed in Reading, ¡i. 285.
Edmands, Hon. J. Wile}', founds institution in Newton, ii. 250.
Edson, Rev. Theodore, minister at Lowell, ii. 102.
Education, history of, in Acton, i. 203; in Framingham, i. 447;
in Lexington, ii. 27; in Pepperell, ii. 267; in Shirley, ii. 301;
in Westford, ii. 481.
Eldridge, Mrs. E. T., gives bells to Newton, ii.244.
Eliot, Rev. John, arrives from England, i. 54; mission of, to In¬
dians, begun, i. 75, 321; early improvement by, at Natick,
ii. 185; makes Indian grammar, ii. 187; movements of,
among Indians, 11. 219; begins to preach in Watertown, ¡i.
443.
Eliot, Rev. John, Jr., first pastor at Newton, ii. 221.
Eliot, Hon. Samuel, donation of, to asylum, ii. 330.
Elm, old, of Pittsfield, saved by a Weston man, ii. 500.
Emereon, Rev. Joseph, first pastor at Pepperell. ii. 262.
Emerson, Rev. William, in Concord fight, i. 122; journal of same,
i. 387; account of Cambridge camp, i. 346.
Emigration, great, history of, i. 42; earl}', religious character of,
1. 32; numbers ofthe, 1629-30 (note), i. 22.
Eminent men of Framingham, i. 450; of Groton, i. 467; of Hop-
kinton, i. 495; of Holliston, i. 481; of Melrose, ii. 183; of
Newton, ii. 254; of North Reading, ii. 260; of Reading, ii.
284; of Watertown, ii. 459.
Eminent persons at Concord after Revolution, i. 395.
Endicolt, Jolin, sails for New England, i. 18; character of, Î. 25;
reprimanded as to church, i. 36; warned as to religion, 1. 28;
arraigned for defacing flag, i.59; reprimanded Ibr same, i.
60; sent against Indians, i. 64.
England, interference with colony feared, i. 59.
Evacuation of Boston decided on, i. 166.
Everett, history of town of, i. 428; final incorporation of, 1. 431;
rapid growth of, i. 433.
Exchange of prisoners effected with British, i. 134.
Exhibition, agricultural, set up in Brighton, i. 286.
Factories, mills and, in Lowell, ii. 55.
Factory, first complete, at Waltham, ii. 431.
Families, prominent, formerly of Cambridge, i. 338; in Melrose,
historically noticed, ii. 177.
Fast Day first appointed by Endicott, i. 35; public, early kept,
i.46.
Ferrit, Caesar, soldier from Natick, ii. 194.
Ferr}*, first, from Boston to Charlestowo, 1- 53; at Charlestown,
granted to Harvard College, i. 69.
Ferry, Penny," in Maiden, skirmish at, ii. 127.
Fight, Indian, of Agawams and Tairatines, i. 56; Wadsworth's,
description of, ii. 361.
*'Fight, Swamp," particulars of, i. 81.
Fire, disastrous, in town of Ayer, i. 240; destructive, in Water-
town, ii. 448.
Firing at Lexington, by whom first done (note), i. 120.
First charter, names of grantees, i. 19; when annulled, i. 19.
Fish, early abundance of, in Concord River, i. 373,
Fisheries, early, in Merrimack River, ii. 56.
Fish-weir, early, built at Watertown, ii. 454.
Fiske, Rev. John, first pastor at Chelmsford, 1. 76, 369; Dr. Na¬
than W , sketch of, ii. 504.
Fitch, John, petition of, as to Indians, i. 219.
Flag, new, adopted by colony, i. 60; American, first raised at
Prospect Hill, i. 163, raised at Cambridge, i. 347.
Flagg, Captain John, tavern of, in Weston, il. 495.
Fleet and army against Quebec leave Boston, i. 98.
Fletcher, and Forbush, survivors of 1812, i. 206; Hon. John, Jr.,
letter of, from Acton, i. 207 ; Deacon Samuel, instructed as
representative, ii. 477 ; Solomon, L., notice of, ii. 524.
Fly, destruction by, in Sudbury, ii 362.
Food, scarcity of, in early settlements, i. 49.
Ford, Captain John, bravery of, i. 127, 375; has encounter with
Indian, ii. 55.
Forges at Westford, early built, li. 485.
Fort, early, on Town Hill, Charlestown, i. 40.
Forts in Somerville, in siege of Boston, ii. 313.
Fortifications ordered built, i. 59 ; around Boston, plan for, i. 130;
of Cambridge, described by Drake, i. 346.
Foster, Rev. John, first pastor at Brighton, i. 283; Rev. Mr., cen¬
tury seniion of, ii. 49.
Fox, Captain Gustavus V., notice of, ii. 93; Rev. Jabez, minister
at Wobuni, ii. 628; John, first teacher at Woburn, ii. 534.
Framingham, history of town of, i. 435; physicians in, i. 451.
Frankland, Sir Charles Henry, at Hopkinton, i. 488.
Franklin, Benjamin, dispatches seut to, J. 129; his electrical ex¬
periments, i. 103.
Freemasonry founded in America by Henry Price, ii. 389.
French threaten to invade colonies, i. 44.
French, Daniel C., artist of monument, i. 402.
Freshet, great, at Lowell, ii. 84.
Frost, Benjamin D., engineer of Hoosac Tunnel, ii 52.
Fuller, Dr. Samuel, early physician, i. 35; John, remarkable
family of, ii. 206; Judge, owns last slave in Newton, ii. 223.
Gage, General, becomes governor, i. 105; sets patrols on Concord
Road, i. 113; outlawed by Provincial Congress, i. 133; de¬
clares martial law, i. 134 ; moves against Dorchester Heights,
i. 136; superseded at Boston by Howe, i. 160.
Gardner, Colonel Thomas, notice of, i. 285; covers retreat at
Bunker Hill, i. 152.
Gardner. John, gift of, for library, ii. 136; Rev. John, ordained
at Stow, ii. 352; Hon. Henry, native of Stow, il. 356.
Gas Companies in Somerville, ii. 319.
Gas-lighting, first success of, at Newton, ii-247.
" Gates House," at Marlborough, noticed, ii. 152,
" Gazette, Boston," first published, i. 103.
General Court sits at Cambridge, i. 333.
Gerrish. Colonel, retires at Bunker Hill, i. 150.
Gerry, Orne and Lec escape British, i. 119; Thomas, his terrible
fight with wolves, ii. 340.
INDEX.
565
Gibbon» Edward, letter of, to Holdroyd, î. 112.
Goífe, William, regicide, at Boston, i. 79; and Whalley, regi¬
cides, at Cambridge, i. 324.
Gookin, Major Daniel, assistant of Eliot, 1. 75; pastor at Sher-
boiii, ii. 291.
Gorges, Robert, patent granted to, i. 38 ; patent bought by Mas¬
sachusetts, i. 89.
Gould, Jacob, killed at Stoneham, ii. 346.
Government, colonial, tirst established, i. 20; new choice of, i. 21 ;
of 1686, resumed, i. 93; of Massachusetts, reorganized, i. 169.
Graduates of Groton Academy, i. 466; and collegians of Acton,
i. 204; of Townsend, ii. 388.
Grammar, Indian, made by Eliot, ii. 187.
Grant, Turkey Hill," history of, ii. 532.
Grape Island, skirmish at, i. 133.
Graves, Thomas, early engineer, i. 19 ; sent to found Charlestown,
i. 40.
Green, Samuel, printer at Cambridge, i. 70, 319; Rev. Henry,
first pastor at Reading, ii. 271.
Greene, John, early resident of Stow, ii. 356; General, remarks
on militar}' situation, i. 162.
Greenough, Rev. William, ordained at Newton, ii. 226 ; Horatio,
designer of monument, i. 176.
Gndley, Richard, provincial military engineer, i. 129; engineer
at Dorchester Heights, i. 165 ; Captain, disobedience at Bun¬
ker Hill, i. 147.
Griffin, ship, arrives with ministers, i. 55.
Groton, history of town of, i. 454; grant and settlement of, i. 79;
desolating attack on, i. 82; attacked by Indians, i. 96; fur¬
ther attacked by Indians, i. 457 ; changes in boundaries of,
i. 463; part of, annexed to Littleton, ii. 47.
Guild, Charles H., hi^tor}*^ supervised by (note), ii. 338.
" Gulf," in Dunstable, history of, i. 418.
Habeas Corpus^ denied by Andros, i. 93.
Hadley, Anthony, his strange arrival in Stoneham, ii. 341.
Hall, Flint Memorial, in North Reading, ii. 260.
Hall, Memorial, in Lexington, ii. 27.
Hall, Rev. Willard, first pastor, in Westford, ii. 478.
Hallowell, Hon. Benjamin, pursued in Cambridge, i. 342.
Hammond, Samuel, in Boston Tea Party," ii. 226.
Hancock, John, first American governor, i. 169; president first
Provincial Congress, i. 109; warned at Lexington by Revere,
i. 118; and Adams flee from Lexington, i. 302: statue of, at
Lexington, ii. 31.
Hancock family, account of, ii. 13.
Hardy's Hill, Concord, fighting at, i. 125.
Harnden, William F., notice of, ii. 281.
Harrington, Timothy, first teacher in Waltham, ii. 411.
Harris, Captain, commands British roar at Menotomy, i. 126 ; Brit¬
ish captain killed at Bunker Hill, i. 152.
Harrison, Miss, escapes from Ursuline Convent, ii. 336.
Harvard, Rev. John, college named for, i. 68; monument of, at
Charlestown, i. 177.
Harvard College, first founding of, i. 68 ; first commencement at,
i. 69; first buildings for, i. 70; strict former method of,
i. 323; founding of, i. 316; Whitefield's preaching in, i. 330.
Harvard Hall at Cambridge burned, i. 333.
Hastings, Jonathan, headquarters at house of, i. 129.
Hatfiel 1 surprised b}' Indians, i. 93.
Hathome, Hon. William, gi'ant, ii. 382.
Hay, Patrick, early at Stoneham, ii. 340; or Peter, dies very old,
* ii. 343.
Haynes, John, chosen governor, i. 60; garrison of, attacked by
Indians, ii. 366.
Health, Board of, formed in Somen-ille, ii. 326.
Heath, General, serves at Menotomy, i. 126.
Heather, Scotch, found gt Tewksbuiy', ii. 374.
Hemenway, Rev. Phineas, minister at Townsend, ii. 385.
Heywood, James, dies at Lexington, ii. 25.
Higginson, , statement as to prayer-book, i. 34; Rev. Francis,
application to, i. 19.
Highlands, Newton, village of, begun, ii. 244.
Highway called '* Connecticut Path," ¡. 228.
Highways, old, in Brighton, i. 290; early, in Ash by, i. 224; in
Arlington, i. 209 ; in Dracut, i. 410; in Acton, i. 197; in Som-
erville, ii. 310; in Wayland, ii. 461; and roads in Tewks-
bury, ii. 374; in Watertown, notice of, ii. 435; different, in
Boxborough, i. 273.
Hill, Copp's, fortified by British, i. 132; Beacon, fortified by
British, 1.132 ; noted, in Lexington, called Hancock Height,
ii. 12.
Hill, Governor Isaac, native of Belmont, i. 2.33.
Hills in Charlestown, situation described, i. 141; and streams in
Ashby, noticed, i. 218.
Hills, Joseph, early settler at Maiden, ii. 115.
History of Reading, by Hon. Lilley Eaton, ii. 404.
Holden, Richard, early, in Stoneham, ii. 339.
Holliston, history of town of, i. 470; early customs in, i. 475;
local notes in, i. 480.
'Home, Orphan Girls', history of, ii. 253.
Hooker, Cotton, and Stone, escape of, i. 31 ; Rev. Mr., arrives at
Boston, i. 55; removal of, to Connecticut, i. 53, 59, 313.
Hopkinton, history of town of, i. 483; sends men against Cartha-
gena, i. 487.
Hops, cultivation of. in Wilmington, ii. 509.
Horse railroads in county, i. 195.
Hosmer, Abner, killed at Concord, i. 123.
Hostilities with France begun, i. 94.
Hotels in Littleton noticed, ii. 52.
House, old brick, in Medford, ii. 162; Royall, in Medford, ii. 165.
Houses for ministers ordered built, i. 45; old, in Brighton, no¬
ticed, i. 293 ; in Somerville, account of, ii. 311.
Howe, General, arrives from England, i. 132; ordered to attack
Bunker Hill, i. 144; his plan for attack, i. 146; supersedes
Gage, 1. 160; Rev. Mr., remarkable sermon of, i. 493; Dr.
Zadock, notice of, 1. 268.
Hubbard, remarks of, on Puritans, i. 35; Ebenezer, bequest of, i.
402.
Hudson, history of town of, i. 496 ; settlement with Bolton, i. 501 ;
local statistics of, i. 502; topography of, i. 504; scenery and
advantages of, 1. 505; Hon. Charles, gift of, i. 500.
Hull, General William, notice of, ii. 253.
Humphrey, John, character of. i. 26.
Hunting, Captain Samuel, with Indian allies, i. 83.
Hurricane, damage by, in Burlington, i. 298.
Hutchinson, Governor, succeeds Bernard, i. 105; Mrs. Anne, re¬
ligious movements of, i. 68; dealt with by synod, i. 315.
Hyde, Jonathan, large family of, ii. 207.
Ice harvest, historical sketch of, i. 188.
Improvements, municipal, in Cambridge, i. 355; later, in Con¬
cord, i. 394; scarcely encouraged in Waltham, ii. 426.
Incorporation of Acton, i. 197; of Arlington as West Cambridge,
i. 211; of Aver, i. 238; of Bedford, i. 242; of Boxborough, i.
272; of Brigliton, i. 287; of Burlington, i. 296 ; of Framing-
ham, i. 440; of Holliston, i. 470; of Hopkinton, i. 485; of
Hudson, 1. 500; of Lexington, ii. 15: of Lincoln, H. 34; of
Lowell (city), ii. 73; of Melrose, ii. 175, of Nashobah, ii. 45;
of Natick (parish), ii. 191; ofNatick (town), ii. 194; of New¬
ton (city), ii. 254; of North Reading, ii. 259; of Pepperell
(parish), ii. 261 ; of Sherbom, ii. 289; of Shirley, ii. 298; of
Somerville (town), ii. 315; of Somerville (city), ii. 324; o
South Reading, ii. 400; of Stoneham, ii. 315; of Stow, ii. 351;
of Sudbury, ii. 357; of Townsend. ii. 383; of Tyngsborough,
ii. 308; of Waltham, ii. 410; of Westford, ii. 475; of Weston,
491 ; of Wilmington, ii. 507; of Winchester, ii. 513; of Wo-
biim, ii. 527.
Independence, effect of Declaration of, i. 169.
Indian invasion feared, i. 56 ; plantation at Hudson, i. 497 ; dis¬
turbances at Chelmsford, i. 371 ; affairs in Hopkinton. i. 484;
minister, first ordained at Natick, ii. 190; burying-ground at
Natick, ii. 202 ; skeletons found at Newton, ii. 243 ; deeds of
Sudbury, ii. 358-
Indians, at Block Island, colonists invade, i. 64; praying, alliance
proposed with, i. 83; disturbed by settlers, i. 83 ; employed
against Philip, i. 83; murder by, in Burlington, i. 301;
troubles by, in Groton, i. 456; early dwelling in Framing-
566
INDEX.
ham, i, 436; attack Earaes family, i. 439; formerly at
Chelmsford, i. 368: attacks of, upon Uillerica, 1. 260; garri¬
sons against, at Hudson, i. 498; depredations of, at Dunstable,
i. 418; attack garrison at Dunstable, i. 419; last raid of,
upon Billerica, i. 261; noted lighters of, in Billerica, i. 262;
dwelling at Marlborough, ii. 138; in Medford, history of, 11.
160; Nonantum, extinction of, ii. 220; boat-light with, ii.
443; formerly owners of Wnyland, ii. 463; attack of, on
Wayland, ii. 467; early troubles with, in Wilmington, ii.
507; praying, movements of, at Natick, ii. 186; removed to
Deer Island, ii. 188; villages of, described, ii. 189.
Industrial affairs of Billerica, i. 266.
Industries, various, in Holiiston, i. 482; found in Everett, i. 435;
in Cambridge, noticed, i. 356 ; in Chelmslbrd. i. 377 ; encour¬
aged in Ciielmsford, i. 370; rise and progress of, in Framing-
ham, i. 446; in Hudson, notes of, i. 503; in Marlborough,
noticed, ii. 151 ; great Increase of, at Upper Fails, ii. 236;
slow growth of, at Lower Falls, ii. 237; in Pepperell, noticed,
il. 268; in Reading, mentioned, ii. 283; progress of, in Shir¬
ley, ii. 299; early, in Somerville, ii. 310; in Tewksbury,
noted, ii. 373; in Townsend, notice of, ii. 390; in Wakeheld,
statistics of, ii. 406; in "Waltham, noticed, ii. 432.
Inhabitants, early, atWatertown, list of, ii. 440.
Inn, Wayside," in Sudbury, noticed, ii. 372.
Innhoiders licensed in Waltham, ii. 423.
Inns formerly kept in Watertown, ii. 457.
Inscription on monument at Lexington, ii. 33.
Installation first held in Watertown, ii. 451.
Institute, Rumford, formed in Waltham, ii. 428.
Insurgents, convention of, at Concord, i. 392.
Insurrection under Shays and others, i. 171 ; broken up in Mid¬
dlesex, i. 393.
Invasion, French, threatened, i. 44.
Ipswich, Cradock's trading-post at, i. 22; settlement commenced,
i. 63.
Ironworks first established in county, i. 186.
Jack Straw, Indian, formerly in England, i. 56.
Jackson, President, visits Lowell, ii. 69; Patrick T., death of, ii.
83; Deacon John, settler at Newton, ii. 205; Captain Michael,
bravery at Lexington, ii. 227; Hon. William, sketch of,
ii. 256.
Jacobs, Lieutenant Richard, surprises Indians, i. 82.
James, Rev. Thomas, settled at Charlestown, i. 54.
Jenkins. Nathaniel, teacher at Maiden, ii. 120.
Jewel, ship, sails for New England, i. 21.
Jewett, Captain Aquiia, goes to Lexington, ii. 48.
Joe Engli.sh, Indian, killed at Tyngsborough, ii. 393.
Johnson, Isaac, character of, i. 25; signs first covenant, i. 37;
founder of church at Charlestown, i. 25; Marniaduke^ printer
at Cambridge, i. 320.
Jones, Rev. John, pastor at Concord, i. 63: Margaret, executed
for witch, i. 76 ; Ephraim, guns destroyed at house of, i. 123.
Judson, Rev. Adoniram, pastor at Maiden, il. 131.
Jury, Grand, first created, i. 63.
Kendall, Hon. Amos, born at Dunstable, i. 427; Mrs., executed
for witch, !i. 443.
Kettle. John, early settler at Stow, ii. .350.
King Philip, origin of his war, i. 80 ; death of, at Mount Hope,
i. 84.
Knowlton, men under, build breastwork, i. 147.
Knox, Colonel, brings guns from Ticonderoga, i. 161.
Kossuth, Louis, visits Concord, 1852, i. 398.
Kyanizing process begun at Lowell, ii. 84.
Lafayette, General, lays corner-stone, i. 176; visits Concord,
i. 397.
Lakes and 8tream.s in Watertown, ii. 434.
Lambert, Plato, soldier from Natick, ii. 194.
Lancaster destroyed by Indians, i. 82; again attacked by Indians,
i. 96; ravaged athirdtime,i.98.
Land, questions about, at Newtown, i. 59; colonial titles to, de¬
clared invalid, i. 93; near Spy Pond, claimed by Randolpli,
i. 93; now of Lowell, granted to Cambridge, ii. 53; for two
towns, grant of, forms Townsend, ii. 382.
Landmarks in Cambridge, notice of, i. 337.
Lands, first allotment of, i. 20; in Hopkinton, leases of, i. 485; in
Fraiiiingham, early grants of, i. 436 ; early granted in Bille¬
rica, i. 255 ; granted to Crown at Ashland, i. 227 ; first allotled
in Cambridge, i. 310; in Dracut, town action la^dng out, i
409; early grants of, in Maiden, ii. 114; granted to Maiden
in Worcester County, ii. 119 ; early grants of, at Maynard, li
154; first purchase of, for Lowell factories, ii. 59; of Read-
iug, first granted to Lynn, ii. 270.; in Sudbury, early de¬
scribed, ii. 357 ; and ways, how disposed in Wayland, ii. 462.
Langdon, President, chaplain to Provincial army, i. 129.
Laurie, Captain, breaks up Concord Bridge, i. 123.
Lawrence, Abbott, remarks on Western Railroad, i. 193; Rev.
William, first pa.stor in Lincolu, i. 37; Hon. Luther, death
of, i. 75.
Laws, Ward's Code of, adopted, i. 71; Body of, ordered made,
i. 63.
Lead pencils, early made in Concord, i. 396.
Leaders of first colonial enterprise, i. 22.
League, Patriotic, in Dunstable, i. 424.
Learnard, Henry H., honors shown to, i. 288.
Lechford, author of " Plain Dealing," i. 71.
Lechmere's Point fortified by Americans, i. 162.
Lee. Orne, and Gerry escape British, i. 119 ; General, commands
American left wing, i. 56 ; Ann, preaches in Harvard and
Shirley, ii. 307.
Leighton, ^^Irs. Hannah, deposition of, i. 205.
Leiand family, gathering of, in Sherbom, ii. 294.
Letter of Winthrop's Company to Church of England, i. 38.
Leverett, John, president Harvard College, i. 327.
Leyden, service of congregation at, i. 33.
Lexington, history of town of. ii. 9; topographical notes of, ii.
12; loss of, in first battle, ii. 23; action of, in different wars,
ii. 26; local notes of, ii. 30; movements of Maiden men at,
ii. 126; battle-ground at, described, i. 120; first firing at,
(note), i. 120; and Concord, list of losses at, i. 127; an<l Hun¬
ker Hill, Chéimsford men at, i. 375; battle of, incidents
within Somerville, il. 312.
"Liberties, Body of," framed by Ward, i. 71.
Libraries, public, founded in Newton, il. 249 ; in Wakefield, no¬
ticed, ii. 403.
Library formed in Arlington, i. 217 ; town, established in Bel¬
mont, i. 253; social, first formed in Brighton,!. 292; public,
formed in Burlington, i. 296; town, established in Bedford, i.
249; building for, given to Concord, i. 401; instituted in Ev¬
erett, i. 434; Franiingham town, established, 1.448; public, es¬
tablished in Hudson, i. 500 ; public, founded in Maiden, ii. 136 ;
Ladies' Social, formed in Natick, ii. 196; Citizens*, in Natick,
ii. 197; law case respecting, decided, ii. 198; public, estab¬
lished in Sherborn, ii. 294; formed in Somerville, ii. 325; in
Westford, ii. 487; in Winchester, account of, ii. 519; town,
formed in Wayland, ii. 472; in Woburn, history of, ii. 535;
formed in Reading, ii. 282; free public, iu Watertown, ii. 458;
Goodnow, notice of, ii. 371.
Lincoln, history of town of, ii. 34; response of, to Revolutionary
call, ii. 42.
Lincoln, President, grief at death cf. i. 182.
Lion, ship, found at Cape Ann, i. 42; sent home for supplies, i.
46; returns with provisions, i. 49, arrival of, with Mrs.
Winthrop, i. 64 ; return to England with chief settlers, i. 54.
List of losses at Cambridge by Lexington fight, i. 344.
Litchfield, Rev. Paul, first pastor in Carlisle, i. 365.
Littleton, history of town of, ii, 44; name of, given to Nashobah,
ii. 46.
Livermore, Captain Samuel, useful at Waltham, ii. 412.
Looms, power, first building of, ii. 57.
Loring, Rev. Israel, anecdote of, ii. 371.
Losses at Bunker Hill, account of, i. 153.
Loulsburg, expedition against, i. 101.
Lovewell, Captain John, fight with Indians, i. 99.
INDEX.
567
^'Lovewell'a fight," Dunstable men in, i. 420; Bedford men in,
i 243; Chelmsford men in, i. 373.
Lowell, history of town of, ii. 53; manufactures begun at, ii. 54;
cotton business brought to, ii. 58; town receives name of, ii.
64; first town-meeting in, ii. 64; various annals of, ii. 66-68-
85; described by Basil Hull, i. 185; foundation of, for cot¬
ton manufacture, i. 184.
Lowell, Francis C., sketch of, ii. 56.
Lower Falls, Newton, first improvement at, ii. 237.
Lunenburg and Leominster, petition from, as to Indians, i. 220.
Lyceum organized in Littleton, ii. 50.
Lyford, Rev. John, notice of, i. 18; and Oldham, disturbance by,
i. 34. •
Magus, Pomp, colored veteran of Maiden, ii. 128.
Maiden, history of town of, ii. 113 ; settlement at, made « town,
i. 76.
Manly, Captain, takes British ship Nancy, i. 161.
Mann, Hon. Horace, resident of Newton, !i. 257.
Manners, early, in Billerica, i. 262 ; and discipline in Harvard
College, i. 328.
Manufactures, notice of, in county, i. 183; at Lowell, progress of,
ii. 63; in Wobum, growth of, ii. 546.
Map, Danforth^s, of Nashobah Plantation, ii. 45.
Marblehead, Cradock's trading-post at, i. 22.
" Maria del Occidente," or Mrs. Brooks, ii. 168.
Market, cattle, established in Brighton, i. 286.
Markets, dispute of Boston and Watertown about, ii. 445.
Marlborough, history of town of, ii. 137 ; Indian attack upon, ii.
141; raid upon by savages, i. 82.
Marrett, Rev. John, notes of as to Lexington fight, i. 302.
Mary and John, ship, expedition brought by, i. 41.
Masconomo, sachem, boards Arbella, i. 42.
Massachusetts Company, history of, i. 17; formed, i. 18; char¬
tered, i. 19; line noHh of Merriraac fixed, i. 89; northern
boundary rectified, i. 101.
"Massacre, Boston," occurrence of, i. 105; letter respecting,
i. 472.
Mather, Rev. Richard, arrival of, i. 64; Rev. Increase, president
Harvard College, i. 326.
Matthews, Rev. Marmaduke, at Maiden, ii. 116.
Maverick, settler at Noddle's Island, i. 41.
Maxwell, Thompson, in "Boston Tea Party," i. 244; his account
of Bunker Hill, i. 245.
Mayflower, ship, and consorts, i. 22.
Mayhew, Rev. Jonathan, against Episcopalians, i. 336.
Maynard, history of town of, ii. 153.
Meadow, remarkable, in Belmont, i. 252.
Medfield ravaged by King Philip, i. 82.
Medford, history of town of, ii. 158; origin of name of, ii. 158;
settlement begun at, i. 48; Cradock's trading-post at, i. 22;
ship built at, in 1632, i. 49.
Meeting-house, first built in Arlington, i. 209; in Ashby, 221 ;
raising of, in Bedford, i. 249 ; first built in Billerica, i. 256 ; in
Brighton, i. 279; in Burlington, i. 297; built at Cambridge,
1^57, i. 332 ; strife about, in Carlisle, i. 360 ; in Carlisle,
described, i. 364; first located in Dracut, i. 408; conten¬
tion about, in Dunstable, i. 432; first, in Framingham,
i. 441; old, in Lincoln, ii. 38; first raised in Natick, ii. 181;
in Newton, ii. 217; in North Reading, ii. 259; in Pepperell,
ii. 261; in Heading, ii. 270; built in Reading, ii. 276; very
early vote for stove in, ii. 280 ; in Sherborn, enlarged, ii. 292 ;
first built in Shirley, ii. 305; in Stow, ii. 354; in Tewksbury,
ii. 378; in Townsend, ii. 384; in Tyngsborough, ii. 391,394 ;
in Waltbam, ii. 407; in Watertown, ii. 448; in Watertown,
place disputed, ii. 451; first built in Wayland, ii. 463; in
Weston, ii. 490; in Weston, matters concerning, ii. 493; first
built in Wilmington, ii. 507.
Meeting-houses, trouble about, in Maiden, ii. 123.
Melrose, history of town of, ii. 175.
Melvin, David and Eleazer, service of, i. 384.
Mendon joined to Middlesex, i. 81.
Menotomy, severe fighting at, i. 126.
Merriam's Corner, hard fighting at, i. 125.
Miantinomah, sachem, at Narragansett, i. 56; treaty made with,
i. 64.
Mlddlesei^ County, erection of, i. 72; minute-men on Punkatas-
set, i. 123.
Military Commission, members of, i. 60; stores taken in ship
Nancy, i. 161; situation of camp at Cambridge, i. 131; offi¬
cers, list of, i. 107; situation before Bunker Hill, i. 139; of
Boston, after Lexington, i. 129; affairs, early, in Dracut, i.
411; history of, in Acton, i. 204; stores deposited in Con¬
cord, i. 386; matters in Hopkinton, i. 491; movements at
Lowell, ii. 87; history of Marlborough, ii. 146; characters of
Newton, ii. 255; company formed at Reading, ii. 271 ; move¬
ments in Stow, in Revolution, ii. 355; condition of Wal-
tham, ii.« 414; history of Townsend, ii. 383; early, in
Wayland, ii. 464.
Militia, general organization of, i. 73.
Milk, large product of, in Lexington, ii. 9.
Milk Row, Percy's retreat by way of, i. 127; Somervilie, houses
located on, ii. 311.
Mill, old, on Assabet River, i. 499; first built in Natick, ii. 190;
grist, first at Newton, ii. 235; at Shirley, ii. 299; first built
in Reading, ii. 270; in Stoneham, ii. 345; in Sudbury, 361;
in Townsend, ii. 383; in Watertown by How, ii. 454; in
Waltbam, ii. 431; in Wayland, ii. 461.
Miller, James, only Somervilie man killed by British, ii. 312.
Millmore, Martin, sculptor Wobum monument, ii. 546.
Miner, Rev, A. A., president Tufts College, ii. 174.
Minerals found in Lexington, ii. 10.
Mines, attention given to, in Billerica, i. 265.
Minister, first in Burlington, i. 299; in Bedford, shut out of
church, i. 246; first settled in Holliston, i. 471 ; first resident
in Aver, i. 237; first, at Reading, ii. 271; difficulty of set¬
tling in Stow, ii. 352; first in Wayland, ii. 468 ; first in Wo¬
bum, ii. 527.
Ministers, earliest, in Acton, i. 200; early, in Brighton, i. 282;
of different churches in Concord, i. 405; Orthodox, in North
Reading, ii. 259; earliest, in Lincoln, ii. 37; in Marlborough,
ii. 144; in Pepperell, ii. 265; in Watertown, ii. 449; succes¬
sive, in Watertown, ii. 450; in Townsend, ii. 386; In Wake¬
field, ii. 402; in Wayland, ii. 471; in Westford, ii. 479: in
Weston, ii. 493; in Winchester, ii. 520; in Wobum, ii. 537;
of Waltbam, list of, ii. 429.
Mint established for colonial coinage, i. 76.
Minute-man, statue of, at Lexington, ii. 28.
Minute-men march from Reading to Concord, ii. 277.
Missionaries and translators, eminent, ii. 241.
Mitchell, Rev. Jonathan, arrival of, i. 64; settled at Cambridge,
i. 322.
Moncrief, Major, exchange officer for British, i. 134.
Money, paper, first issue of, i. 94 ; issue of, by Provincial Con¬
gress, i. 133; Continental, depression of, ii. 377.
Monohaquaham, sachem, at Charlestown, i. 55.
Monument, Bunker Hill, finished, i. 175 ; Battle, on Lexington
Green, ii. 32; Eliot's, at Natick, ii. 201; Settlers', erected at
Newton, ii. 222; for Rev. Mr. Grafton, ii. 234; Wadsworth's,
erected in Sudbury, ii. 365; in Groton, for Longley Family,
i. 458; for old church in Groton, i. 464; for Colonel William
Prescott, i. 467; to Revolutionary men of Arlington, i. 213;
at North Bridge, Concord, i. 402; to John Fitch and others,
in Ashby, 1. 225; to Captain Davis, of Acton, i. 205.
Monument, soldiers', erected in Acton, i. 207; in Billerica, i. 266;
in Cambridge, i. 355; in Concord, i. 400; in Holliston, i. 479;
in Medford, ii. 169; in Natick, ii. 200; in Nevrton, ii. 254;
in Somervilie, ii. 322; in Stoneham, ii. 348; in Wobum,
ii. 546.
Moody, Paul, assists cotton manufacture, ii. 57.
Morgan, Colonel, joins American camp, i. 159.
Morse, Samuel F. B., inventor of telegi'aph, i. 174; Miss Mary A.,
founds library, ii. 197; Captain Joseph, serves at Lexington,
ii. 193.
Morton, Thomas, noticed by General Court, i. 45; sent prisoner
to England, i. 46.
Moxas, Indian, attacks white garrison, ii.531.
568
INDEX.
Munroe^ William, gives building to Concord, i. 401; Sei^eant
William, serves at Lexington, ii. 20.
Music, church, encouraged at ¡átoneham, ii. 345.
Nahant, claimed by Randolph, i. 93.
Nails first made at Maiden, ii. 134.
Name of tovn of Ayer, why given, i. 238.
Nanapashemet, sachem at Mystic, ii. 113.
Nancy, ship, taken by Captain Manly, i. 161.
Nautasket first settled by Conaiit, i. 34; emigrants landed at, i.
41 ; troops sent from, to Quebec, i. 94 ; British fleet v.'aits at,
i. 167.
Narragansetts declared enemies, i. 81.
Nashobah, Indian name of Littleton, ii. 44.
Natick, history of town of, ii. 184; made an Indian town, i. 75.
Naumkeag settled, 1626, i. 18.
Navy-yard, placed at Charlestown, i. 173; dry dock built at,
i. 173.
Ncal, opinions of, as to rise of colony, i. 29; in "History of Puri¬
tans,*' i. 32.
Needham, Hon. Daniel, resident in Groton, i. 469.
Negroes, good service of, in army, ii. 194; formerly held in Read¬
ing, ii. 279; seats of, in meeting-house, allotted, ii. 343.
Nelson, Captain John, takes Andros prisoner, i. 93.
Nesiitan, Job, Eliot's Indian teacher, ii. 218.
New England, men of, serve Cromwell, i. 74.
"New England's Prospect," published by Wood, i. 56.
New Hampshire, boundary adjusted with, i. 412.
" New Light " Society formed in Newton, ii. 225.
Newman, Robert, signals to Paul Revere (note), i. 117.
Newspaper, "Boston Gazette," first issued, i. 98, 103; earliest,
published in Ayer, i. 237.
Newspapers established in Natick, ii. 199; in W*'akefield, notice
of, ii. 403; local, in Woburn, ii. 544; in Woburn, notice of,
ii. 547.
Newton, history of town of, ii. 203; set off as a parish, ii. 214;
effort for incorporation of, ii. 214; (or Newtown) incorporated,
L 97; present name, how obtained, ii. 216; early relations of,
with Cambridge, ii. 217 ; Upper Falls in, first improved, ii.
235; movement to divide town of, ii. 240; North Village in,
how begun, ii. 246.
Newtonville, village, how begun, ii. 238.
" New Town," Hooker emigrates from, to Connecticut, i. 53.
Nichols, Thomas, sells slaves in Melrose, ii. 181.
Nipmucks join Narragansetts, ahd burn Mendon, i. 81.
Nixon, General John, sketch of, ii. 368; Captain, recruits in
Wayland, ii. 470.
Noddle's Island, skirmish at, i. 133.
Nook's Hill fortified by Americans, i. 166.
Noon-houses, several, at Newton, ii. 224; formerly in Tewks-
bury, ii. 380.
Norfolk County formerly north of Merrimac, i. 72.
North Reading, history of town of, ii. 259; statistics of town of,
ii. 260.
Norton, Rev. John, agent to England, i. 79.
Norton and Davison claim part of Medford, ii. 161.
Noted men of Lincoln, ii. 43.
Nowell, Increase, character of, i. 27.
Noyes, Thomas and Peter, mill of, at Sudbury, ii. 361; John,
Esq., instructed by town, ii. 368.
Nurseries, business of, in Brighton, i. 278.
Nutting, Dame, teacher in Shirley, ii. 301.
Oak, ancient, formerly in Brighton, i. 293; old, cut at Natick, ii.
201; Eliot's, sonnet to, by Longfellow, ii. 201.
Cakes, Hon. Urian, president Harvard College, i. 325.
Odiorne Brothers make nails at Maiden, ii. 134.
"Offering, Lowell," publication of, ii. 77.
Officers, civil, compelled to resign, i. 109; of plantation, first
chosen, i. 20.
Oldham and Lyford, disturbance made by, i. 34 ; and Dorrell,
claim important lands, i. 39.
Oldham, John, killed by Indians, i. 64; ii. 443.
Old house of Adams family taken down, i. 213.
Old houses remaining in Ayer, i. 236.
Oliver, Lieutenant-Governor, and others, overawed at Cambridge,
i. 341.
Ordination of Rev. Mr. Wilson, i. 46.
Orne, Lee, and Gerry escape British, i. 119.
Osgood, Rev. James, first pastor in Stoneham, ii. 342.
Palisade ordered built around Cambridge, i. 307.
Palmer, Walter, early at Charlestown, i. 40.
Paper, notes of manufacture of, in Shirley, ii. 300.
Paper money, first issue of, i. 94; Provincial Congress issues,
i. 133.
Parish, new, in Brighton, petition for, i. 281; movement for new,
at Newton, ii. 213; second, in Sherborn, organized, ii. 293.
Parishes formerly in Reading, ii. 399.
Park, public, laid out in Somerville, ii. 326.
Parker, Captain John, commands at Lexington, i. 118: Rev.
Thomas, first minister in Dracut, i. 408; epitaph of, 1.413;
Jonas, patriotic death of, ii. 22.
Parris, Rev. Samuel, resident at Stow, ii. 351.
Parry, John, land of, taken for cemetery, ii. 142.
Parsonage, built at Cambridge, i. 324; burned at Maiden, ii. 118.
Parsons, Captain, with British at Concord, i. 122.
Patrick, Captain Daniel, sent against Pequots, i. 67; services at
Watertown, ii. 439.
"Peck's Folly," anecdote of, ii. 241.
Peirce, Captain William, boards Arbella, i. 42.
Pensioners, Revolutionär}', in Framinghain, i. 445.
Pepperell, history of town of, ii. 261.
Pepperell, Sir William, town named for, ii. 262; sent against
Louisburg, i. 101.
Pequots, messengers from, ask alliance, i. 60; Mason marches
against, i. 67 : slaughter of, at Mystic, i. 67.
Percy, Lord, supports British, i. 126.
Perry, Major Abner, instructed by town, i. 474.
Phips, Sir William, made Governor, i. 95; discharges witchcraft
prisoners, i. 96; takes Port Roval, i 94; fails at Quebec,
i. 94.
Pidge, slave woman called, sold in Melrose, ii. 181.
Pigeon, John, gives cannon to Newton, ii. 227.
Pigot, General, forms British line at Bunker Hill, i. 149.
Pirates, tradition at Maynard about, ii. 156.
Pitcairn, Major John, with British at Lexington, i. 114; killed at
Bunker Hill, i. 150; pistols of, given to Lexington, ii. 25.
" Planter's Plea," issued by Rev. John White, i. 28.
Plough, vessel, arrival of, i. 54.
Pole, Captain, with British at Concord, i. 122.
Polk, President, visits Lowell, ii. 80.
Pollard, Asa, killed at Bunker Hill, i. 264.
Pomeroy, General, volunteers at Bunker Hill, i. 148.
Pomeroy, Rebecca B., teacher at Newton, ii. 232.
Pond, Spot, visited by Winthrop, il. 160; water-supply secui^
from, ii. 181.
Ponds in Melrose, account of, ii. 175.
Poole, John, builds first mill in Reading, ii. 270.
Population of Medford, reckoning of, ii. 171.
Port Royal, taken by Sir William Phips, i. 94.
Post-office first established in Brighton, i. 288; in Newton, ii.
248; in Reading, ii. 289.
Powder in the Somerville wind-mill seized by Gage, i. 109.
Powder-house, old, in Somerville, described, ii. 329.
Pownal, Thomas, made Governor, i. 104.
Pratt, Ephraim, centenarian, sketch of, ii. 155.
Preble, General, declines supreme command, i. 128.
Prentice, Captain Thomas, at Wadsworth's fight, ii. 209.
Prescott, Samuel, rides with Revere, i. 118; Colonel William, ser¬
vices of, ii. 263.
Press, started in Cambridge by Rev. James Glover, i. 317; Cam¬
bridge, list of works issued from, i. 318.
Price, Henry, resident in Townsend, li. 389.
Printing office set up at Cambridge, i. 70.
Prisoners, exchange of, effected with British, i. 134; British,
quartered in Reading, ii. 278; drowned in Tyngsborough,
ii. 397.
INDEX.
569
Prospect Hill« American birouac upon« i. 15$; American flag first
raised on« 1.163.
Psalm-Book« Bay, first book printed in Xorth America (note)«
i. 70.
Psalm, Hundredth, sung in Indian at Natick, ii. 200.
Psalms, Indian version of, ii. 201.
Pulling, Captain John, signals to Paul Revere (note), i. 117.
Punkatasset Hill, provincials posted on, i. 122.
Putnam, General Israel, arrives.at Concord, i. 128; reconnoitres
Charlestown, i. 133; fortifies Prospect Hill, i. 154; commands
American centre, i. 156; enters into command of Boston,
i. 167.
Putnam, Rufus, engineer at Dorchester Heights, i. 165,
Fynchon, William, character of, i. 26.
Quakers, persecution of, at Böston, i. 76; continued oppression
of, i. 83.
Quonapowitt, Lake, why so named, ii. 274.
Railroad,Western, remarks of Abbott i^wrence on, i. 193 ; Fitch-
burg, beginnings of, i. 193; Boston and Maine, account of, 1.
194; opened in Reading, ii.281; Boston and Albany, stage-ride
over route, i. 192; beginning and progress of, i. 191; Lowell,
first projection of, i. 190; general description of, i. 191;
begun, ii. 67; Saugus Branch, opened in Everett, i. 430;
station, in Boxborough, i. 273; first, in Holliston, i. 478;
location of, in South Reading, i. 400.
Railroad, Horse, Middlesex, noticed, i. 430; begun at Lowell, ii.
92; in Somerville, ii. 319.
Railroads, opening of, in Cambridge, i. 355; beginning of, in
Concord, i. 398; first built through Somerville, ii. 314; con¬
nection of, with Westford, ii. 487.
Rale, Jesuit, killed at Norridgewock, i. 99.
Randolph, Edward, arrives L'om England, i. 89; sent back for
trial, i. 94.
Reading, history of town of, ii. 270; original grant of, i. 71; ac¬
tion of, during siege of Boston, ii. 278 ; various anoals of, ii.
280; action of, in Rebellion, ii. 282; South, incorporated as
a to^vn, ii. 400.
Rebellion, Shays's, effect of, upon Ashby, i. 224; action of Con¬
cord in, i. 391 ; action of Bedford upon, i. 246 ; Shirley men
engaged in, ii. 302; Townsendmen in, ii. 384; War of, action
of Bedford concerning, i. 250.
Records of First Church in Newton, burned, ii. 225; oldest, of
Maiden, lost, ii. 116 ; earl}', of Watertown, lost, ii. 443 ; pov¬
erty of early, ii. 270.
Redoubt at Bunker Hill, described, i. 143.
Reed, Captain James, his story of Lexington fight, i. 302.
Reed, Rebecca T., at Ursuline Convent, ii. 335; writes "Six
Months in a Convent;" ii. 336
Reforms made in Germany by Count Rumford, ii. 553.
Refugees, American, leave Boston, i. 131.
Regiment, Sixth Massachusetts, attacked in Baltimore, i. 89.
Rejoicings, made on arrival of Mrs Winthrop, i. 54.
Religious history of Holliston, notes of, i. 447; Hopkinton, notes
of, i. 486; Carlisle, sketch of, i. 366; Chelmsford, sketch of,
i. 378; Littleton, notes of, il. 50; Lowell, further, ii. 105;
Maiden, pursued, ii. 133: Melrose, notes of, ii. 178; churches
at Upper Falls, Newton, ii. 236; Pepperell, continued, ii. 266;
Waltham, sketch of, ii. 428.
Representatives, House of, first constituted, i. 58; names of, in
General Court, 1634, i. 58.
Reservoir, situation of, at Chestnut Hill, ii. 251.
Residents, notable and eminent, of Brighton, 1. 295.
Resolves adopted by Middlesex Onvention, i. 107.
Revere, Paul, sent to Lexington by Warren, i. 113; rides at night
to Concord, i. 114 ; and others, British officers take, 1. 118.
** Revere's Alarm." story of, ii. 19.
Revolution, men of Ashby in, i. 223: action concerning, in Acton,
i. 199; movement toward, in Billerica, Í. 263; events in Cam¬
bridge preceding, i. 339; action before, in Chelmsford, i. 374;
relation of Concord to opening of, i. 385; preparation for, in
Watertown, ii. 445.
Richardson, Rev. Joseph, notice of, i 208.
Ripley, Rev. Samuel, dissatisfaction with, ii. 426.
River, Assabet, mills upon, ii. 156; chief stream in Stow, ii. 351;
Sudbury and other streams described, 11. 372; Squamcook
and others, in Townsend, ii. 381.
Rivers, Connecticut and Merrimac, hinder commerce, i. 188.
Roads, early, in Melrose, ii. 178.
Robinson, Rev. John, pastor Leyden congregation, i. 33.
Robinson, , commands right flank on Bunker Hill, i. 149.
Rockbottom, manufactures at, ii. 356.
"Rogers' Rangers," Lexington men with, ii. 15.
Rogers, Rev. Mr., forced to declaration, ii. 49.
Rosewell, Sir Heniy, and his patentees, i. 18.
Rowson, Mrs. Susanna, at Medford, ii. 168; at Newton, ii. 231.
Roxbury, first settlement of, i. 46; ordered fortified, i. 50; alarm
at, i. 54.
Royalists, allowed to leave Boston, i. 166 ; how affected by Revo¬
lution, i. 351.
"Rumford, Count," native of Woburn, ii. 549.
Rumford Institute, in Waltham, ii. 428.
Kutter, General Micah M., notice of, ii. 474.
Salaries of ministers first fixed, i. 45.
Salem, Peter, colored soldier at Bunker Hill, i. 444.
Salem, General Court at, becomes Congress, i. 109; Naumkeag,
first so called, i. 20; witchcraft breaks out at, i. 95.
Saltonstall, Sir Richard, at Watertown, ii. 437; character of, t.
25; settles Watertown, f. 44.
Saltpetre, ordered made at Hopkinton, i. 490.
Sanborn, Frank B., attempt to kidnap, i. 399.
Sargeant, William, early at Maiden, ii. 115.
Sargent, Paul Dudley, with provincial troops, i. 129.
Sausamon, Indian, warns whites, ii. 187.
Sawin, Mrs. Martha, bequest to Sherborn, ii. 196, 296.
Sawyer. Phineas, founds church in Marlborough, ii. 145.
Scarborough, ship, disabled by Americans, i. 162.
School, High, established in Reading, ii. 282; in Stow, ii. 355.
School, Indian, set up at Cambridge, i. 70.
School-house, first, in Arlington, i. 216; in Ayer, i. 2*36; in Brigh¬
ton, i. 290; in Shirley, ii. 301.
School, Pine Farm, notice of, ii. 252; first opened in Dracut, i.
411; in Groton, i. 464.
School affairs, history of, in Boxborough, i. 275; old-time, in
Bedford, i. 248.
Schools in Ashland, notes as to, i. 231; in Chelmsford, statistics
of, i. 379; in Cambridge, statistic.s of, i. 358; in Carlisle, ac¬
count of, i. 367 ; in Dunstable, early care of, i. 425 ; in Everett,
statistics of, i. 432: in Holliston, first established, i. 476; in
Hopkinton, first established, i. 487; in Lincoln, history of, ii.
39 ; in Littleton, first established, ii. 51; in Lowell, first es¬
tablished, ii: 65; in Lowell, history of, ii. 99; in Lowell, vari¬
ous, described, ii. 100; in Lowell, teachers in, ii. 101; in
Maiden, earliest, ii. 119; in Marlborough, history of, ii. 149;
in Melrose, history of, ii. 179; in Natick. first kept, ii. 192; in
Newton, history of, ii. 228-229; in North Reading, statistics
of, ii. 260; ill Sherborn, established, ii. 295; in Stow, rise
and progress of, ii. 354; in Tewksbiiry, history of, ii. 378;
ill Wakefield, progress of, ii. 403; in Waltham, questions as
to, ii. 409; in Waltham, establishment of, ii. 412; in Wal¬
tham, progress of, ii. 424-427; in Watertown, history of, ii.
453; in'Wayland, first established, ii. 467; in Winche-ter,
history of, ii. 518; In Woburn, history of, ii. 533; in Som¬
erville, first condition, ii. 315.
Scoresby, Rev. William, visits Lowell, ii. 77.
Scout.s, American, captured near Concord,ii. 18.
Seal of Brighton, i. 278; of Somerville, described, ii. 324.
Sears. Rev. Edmund H., minister in Weston, ii. 494.
Seats in meeting-house, how allotted, i. 281.
Seecomb, the Brothers, of Medford, ii. 167.
Sedgwick, Captain Robert, character of (note), i. 72.
Seminary, Lasell Female, origin of, ii. 232.
Settlement of 1630, where begun, i. 17; at Charlestown, history
of, i. 38; early, at Cambridge, i. 308.
Settlements on Saugus and Mystic rivers, i. 45; in New Eng¬
land, effect at home, i. 47.
570
INDEX.
Settlers, early hardships of, at Concord, i. 381; first, at Dunstable,
i. 417; original, in Framingham, i. 436; in Newton, early
names of, ii. 203; first, at Newton, list of, ii.204; early, at
Newton, noticed, ii. 208-212' earliest in Reading, names of,
ii. 270; early, in Sherborn, ii. 289.
Sewall, Rev. Samuel, notice of, i. 299.
Sewerage of Somerville described, ii. 323.
Shadrach, colored, arrested for fugitive slave, i.399.
Shakers, society of, in Shirley, ii. 300; planted by Ann Lee, ii.
307; outraged by mob, ii. 308.
Shattuck, Rev. Benjamin, pastor in Littleton, il. 46.
Shattuck, Job, leader in Shays's Rebellion, i. 392; desperation
and capture of, i. 394.
Shays's Rebellion, relation of Hopkinton to, i. 492.
Shays, forces of, dispersed at Petersham, ii. 304.
Shed, Samuel. British soldier killed in house of, ii. 312.
Shedd, Rev. Marshall, settled in Acton, 1.201.
Shepherd, Rev. Thomas, assists Eliot, i. 75; Rev. Mr., pastor at
Newtown, i. 64; his company made First Church, i. 314;
Samuel, master at Harvard College, i. 69; General, checks
rebels near Springfield, i. 172.
Sherborn, first made a town, i. 79; history of town of, ii. 288;
origin of name, ii. 288.
Sherman, Hon. Roger, born in Newton, ii. 228, 257.
Siiingles and clapboards made by Indians, i. 483.
Sliip, early built at Medford, i. 49.
Shipbuilding, followed at Medford, ii. 172.
Ships, names of, bringing colonists in 1630, i. 21.
Shirley, history of town of, ii. 296; named iu honor of Governor
Shirley, ii. 298.
Shirlev, William, made governor, i. 101; obtains Stamp Act,
i.*103.
Shoemaking business at Natick, ii. 199.
Shot lodged in Brattle-Street Church, i. 347.
Shute, Samuel, made governor, 1. 99.
Sibley, Rev. John L., minister at Stow, ii. 353.
Sickness, fatal, at Charlestown, i. 45; numerous victims of, I. 46;
among Indians by small-pox, i. 56.
''Sickness, Great," in Holliston, i. 471; fatality of, in Sherborn,
ii. 292.
Simonds, Joshua and others, at Lexington, ii. 22.
Situation, military, after Lexington, i. 129; of camp at Cam¬
bridge, i. 131.
Skilllngs, David N., notice of, ii. 525.
Skilton, , early minister in colony, i, 29.
Skirmishes at Grape and Noddle's islands, i. 133.
Slave, sold in Dunstable, i. 423; first freed in Billerica, i. 263;
called Plato freed at Natick, ii. 192.
Slaves, quarters of, in Medford, ii. 165; formerlysold in Melrcf^e,
ii. 180; formerh' owned in Newton, ii. 223; large nuniber
held in Reading, ii. 272; formerly church members in Towns-
end, ii. 385; list of, owned in Waltham, ii. 414; formerly
owned in Weston, ii. 497.
Slavery, relics of, in -Maiden, ii. 125; agitation about, at Lowell,
ii. 72.
Small-pox appears among Indians, i. 56; first treated by inocu¬
lation, 1.99; breaks out among British, i. 164; drives General
Court to Cambridge, i. 333.
Smith, Colonel Francis, leads British to liCxington, 1. 114 ; Prof.
A. D., teacher at Acton, i. 203; Ebenezer, bequest of, to
Brighton, i. 294; Nathan, leader in Shays's Rebellion, i. 392;
Colonel, report of Lexington fight, ii. 21; attacked on re¬
turn from Concord, ii. 24.
Snake, fight between mouse and, ii. 437.
Societies, religious, sundry', in Billerica, i. 265; newly formed in
Woburn, ii. 542; various, in Winchester, ii. 523.
Soldier, Union, statue of, at Lexington, ii. 29.
Soldiers, British, landed in Boston, i. 105; ordered for Southern
duty, i. 179; Sixth Massachusetts Regiment, departure of,
i. 179; attacked in Baltimore, 1.180; Eighth Massachusetts
Regiment, movements in Maryland, i. 180; statistics of Mid¬
dlesex, in Southern war, i. 181 ; of Revolution, from Brighton,
i. 285; from Burlington, i. 303; fnm Dunstable, i. -424; from
Tyngsborough, ii, 396; from Waltham, ii. 416-422; from Hop¬
kinton, in French war, i. 489; Sixth Regiment of, departure
from Lowell, ii. 88; killed at Baltimore, funeral of, ii. 90; of
Lowell, monument for, ii. 91 ; of Maiden, against Indians, ii.
124; of Marlborough, in Rebellion, ii. 149; recruiting of, in
Tewksbury, ii. 377 ; trained in Watertown by Captain Pat¬
rick, ii. 439; from Westford in Revolution, ii. 476; enlisted at
Woburn, ii, 539-545.
" Solemn League and Covenant," agreed to, i. 106 ; action on, in
Asliby, i. 222.
Somerville, history of town of, ii. 309; movement for separate
town of, ii. 314; reason for name of, ii 315; how fortified in
siege of Boston, ii. 313; fire department in, ii. 317; various
annals of, ii. 318; action of, in Rebellion, ii. 320.
Spaulding, Rev. Sampson, pastor at Tewksbury, ii. 379.
Spies, Indian, visit Nipmucks, ii. 188.
Spot Pond first reached by explorers, i. 54.
Sprague, Brothers, at Charlestown, i. 39.
Sprague, Phiiieas, his account of Dark Day, ii. 176.
Square, Central, Stoneham, monument removed from, ii. 349.
Squaw sachem sells Concord, i. 63; governs at Medford, ii. 161.
Stamp Act, first, procured by Shirley, i. 103; second, passed and
repealed, i. 104.
Stark, John, arrives at Cambridge, i. 129; commands fiank at
Bunker Hill, i. 148; Colonel, reinforces redoubt, i. 146; Gen¬
eral, tradition about, 11^260.
Statistics, various, of Framingham. i. 453.
Stearns, Rev. Samuel, iu BedTord, i. 247 ; Hon. Onslow, sketch
of, i. 269.
Stevens, W. B., remarks on minute-men, ii. 349.
Stone, Rev. Mr., arrives at Boston, i. 55; Cotton, and Hooker, es¬
cape of, i. 31 ; Rev. James, pastor at Holliston, I. 471; Dea¬
con Reuben, gives clock to church, ii. 234.
Stoneham, history of town of, ii. 339 ; men of, at Lexington,
ii. 344.
Storm scatters British transports, i. 166.
Stougliton, Captain Isaac, sent against Pequots, i. 67; becomes
acting governor, i. 96.
Stow, history of town of, ii. 350; incorporated as a town, i. 97.
Students of Harvard at Lexington, i. 343.
Sturgeon, Rev. Robert, assumes to preach, ii. 451.
Style, Old, changed for New, i. 103.
Sudbury, history of town of, ii. 357; settlement begun at, i. 70;
action of, in Revolution, ii. 367.
Sugar, early making of, in Wilmington, ii. 509.
Sullivan, General, fortifies Ploughed Hill, i. 160.
Sumner, Hon. Charles, remarks at Arlington, i. 215.
Swayne, Jeremiah, military officer, ii. 273.
Swift, Rev. John, pastor in Acton, i. 200.
Symmes, Rev. Mr., pastor at Charlestown, i. 58.
Synod of 1648 sits at Cambridge, i. 322.
Talbot, ship, .sails for New England, i. 21.
Talbot, Hon. Thomas, notice of, i. 270.
Tanyard set up in Wilmington, ii. 508.
Tavern, Wriglit's, men mustered at, i. 122 ; Brook's, fighting
near, i. 125; old "Red Horse," in Sudbury, ¡1. 372; "Black
Horse," in Winchester, ii. 512.
Taxation, right of General Court as to, questioned, i. 55.
Tax-list, early, in Medford, ii. 171.
Tea, destroyed in Boston^ i. 105; sale of, licensed in Waltham, ii.
423 ; denounced in Watertown, ii. 445 ; Tax, Cambridge acts
against, 1. 340.
Teachers, notice of many, in Brighton, 1. 291; notable, resident m
Newton, ii. 231; various, in Pepperell, ii. 268.
Telegraph, magnetic, invention of, i. 174.
Temperance Society, first, in Concord, i. 399.
"Ten Hills," water battery built at, i. 160.
Tewksbury, history of town of, ii. 373; topography, ii. 373; men
of, at Lexington, ii. 376.
Thanksgiving Day fii-st observed, i. 49; for victory over Pequots,
i. 67.
Theological Institution in Newton, ii. 241.
Thomas, General, commands at Roxbury, 128; fortifies Boston
Neck, 1. 155.
INDEX.
571
Thompson, Colonel, with Billerica men at Concord, i. 125; George,
speaks on slavery at Lowell, ii. 70; second visit of, to Lowell,
Ü. 71; Benjamin, sketch of, ii. 550; Benjamin F., noticed,
ii. 520.
Thompson, , hermit, near Newton, ii. 245.
Thorn, ship, her action with brig Tryon, ii. 129.
Thorp, Thomas, veteran soldier of Acton, i. 206.
Tidd, John and William, acts of, at Lexington, ii. 21.
Tin-Horn Village," in Newton, so called, ii. 247.
Topography of Ayer, i. 240; of Marlborough, li. 150; of Water-
town, ii. 464.
Tories, estates of, confiscated, i. 351.
Tornado, destruction in Arlington by, i. 214.
Touro, Judah, gift for monument, i. 176.
Town action, patriotic, of Lexington, ii. 17 ; of Littleton, as to
Revolution, ii. 48; first, in Watertown, ii. 438; for setting
off Maynard, ii. 154.
Town affairs, in Marlborough, ii. 150; in Westford, ii. 486.
Town business in Waltham, ii. 425.
Town-clerk, office of, how substituted, ii. 271.
Town-hall, first, in Brighton, i. 284; and court-house in Concord,
i. 399 ; in Watertown, ii. 458 ; provided in Newton, ii. 226 ; in
Sherborn, ii. 294,
Town-meeting, votes in, at Acton, i. 198; first, in Dunstable, i.
422; in Ashby, 1. 221; in Everett, i. 431; in Framingham,
i. 440; in Lowell, ii. 64; in Newton, ii. 215; in Reading, ii.
271; in Shirley, ii. 298; in Stoneham, ii. 342; in Sudbuiy^,
ii. 371; in Waltham, ii. 410; in Wayland, ii. 470; in HoUis-
ton,-opposes importation, i. 472.
Town-meetings, forbidden by Andros, i. 93; early, at Boxbor-
ough, i. 272; at Groton, i. 455; begun in Cambridge, i. 309 ;
touching history of Everett, i. 429.
Towns, list of, represented in 1634, i. 58; of Middlesex in 1643,
i 72; more recently formed inMiddlesex, i. 178; new, added
to county by 1730, i. 102; in New Hampshire, taken from
Dunstable, i. 421; successivel}'taken from Stow, ii. 356.
Townsend, history of town of, ii. 381; reason for name of, ii. 381.
Training-days first established, i. 56.
Training-field laid out at Newtonville, ii. 235.
Trees, in Burlington, hurt by stonn, i. 300; noted, at Lexington,
ii. 11; protected, in Reading, ii. 272.
Trevett, Captain, bravery at Bunker Hill, i. 151.
Trull, Captain John, leads Tewksbury men, ii. 375.
Tudor, William, proposes monument, i. 175.
Tufts, Charles, gives land for college, ii. 173.
Tunnels at Pleasant and Beacon streets, ii. 252.
Turell, Mrs., ootice of her works, ii. 166.
Tyler, President, visits Lowell, ii. 78.
Tyng, Edward, commands fleet against Louisburg, 1.101; Jona¬
than, calls for garrison, ii. 392.
Tyn^borough, history of town of, ii- 391; incorporated, i. 173;
men of, in LovewelTs fight, ii. 393; members of parish of,
li. 394.
Underbill, Captain, sent against Pequots, i. 67.
Undertakers for first colonial voyage, i. 21.
Underwood, Joseph, teacher in Westford, il. 481.
Ursuline Convent destroyed, i. 174.
Usher, Hezekiah, garrison of, at Ayer, i. 235; John, sketch of,
ii. 165.
Vane and Winthrop, arrival of. i. 63.
Vane, Sir Henry, chosen governor, i. 64.
Varney, Rev. James, pastor in Wilmington, ii. 507.
Vamum, Samuel, attacked by Indians, i. 406; General Joseph B.,
notice of, i. 416.
Vassal!, John, house of, occupied by Washington, i. 156; William,
character of, i. 27.
Village, Babitasset, beginning of, ii. 69; Stow, ordered to be, ii.
350; Cocbituate, begun in Wayland. ii. 471.
Villages in town of Acton, i. 196; formed in Framingham, i. 447 ;
in Melrose, noticed, ii. 175; within limits of Townsend,
ii. 381.
Virginian riflemen arrive at Cambridge, i. 159.
Votes, in town-meeting at Acton, i. 198; variously given at West-
ford, ii. 477.
Wabun, Thomas, Indian justice at Natick, ii. 190; Indian, friend
of Eliot, ii. 218.
Wachusett, Mountain, first seen by explorers, i. 54.
Wadsworth, Captain Samuel, sent against Indians, i. 84; de¬
feated at Sudbury, i. 84.
" Wadsworth's Defeat," vexed question of date of, 1. 87.
Wadsworth, , President Harvard College, i. 327.
Wahginnicut, Sachem from Connecticut River, i. 56.
Wakefield, Cyrus, South Reading newly named for, ii. 401;
history of town of, ii. 399 ; topography and scenery' of, ii.
405.
Waldo, Samuel, goes against Louisburg, i. 101.
Walford, Thomas, settler at Charlestown, i. 39.
Walker, Rev. James, notice of, i. 304; garrison-house of, de¬
scribed, ii. 367.
Waltham, history of town of, ii. 407; action of, as to Indepen¬
dence, ii. 417; contributes to provincial fund, it. 419; recruit¬
ing in for Revolution, ii. 421; described by Bernhard, i. 185.
War, French and Indian, ravages in, i. 95 ; renewed afresh, i. 99 ;
outrages in, i. 383; effect in Framingham, i. 442; Hopkintoii
men in, 1. 489; Pepperell men in, ii. 262; Newton men in, ii.
221; Maiden men in, ii. 124, 125; Watertown men in, ii.
444; effect of, in Wayland, ii. 469; share of Woburn in, ii. 538.
War, King Philipps, inception of, i. 80 ; share of Concord in, i.
382; hardships of at Billerica, i. 259; Reading takes part in,
ii. 273; sufferings by in Sherborn, ii. 290; troubles in at
Wayland, ii. 467.
War, Mexican, notice of, i. 178.
War of Rebellion, events inMiddlesex before, i. 179; rejoicings
at close of, i. 182; first company offered by Middlesex, i. 178;
incidents of, in Arlington, i. 214; in Ashland, i. 234; action
of Boxborougb, i. 274; of Carlisle, i. 363 ; of Chelmsford,
i. 379; of Concord,]. 400; of Framingham, i. 452; of Hollistnn,
i. 478; of Lincoln, ü. 42; of Littleton, ii. 51; of Lowell, ii. 86;
of Maiden, ii. 135; Marlborough men in, ii. 148; record of
Melrose as to, ii. 180; action of Newton in, ii. 253; of North
Reading, ii. 2.59; of Pepperell, ii. 264; of Stow, ii. 356; of
^ herborn, ii. 295; of Stoneham, ii. 348; of Somerville, ii.
320; of Sudbury, ii. 370; of Shirley, ii. 304; of South Read¬
ing, ii. 400; of Townsend, ii. 385; of Waltham, ii. 430; of
Watertown, ii. 458; of Westford, ii. 478; of Weston, ii. 498;
of Woburn, ii. 544.
War of Revolution, action of Framingham in, i. 443 ; of Groton,
i.461; of Holliston, preceding, i. 473; of Hopkinton, i. 490;
of Lincoln, preceding, ii. 40; of Marlborough in, ii. 147; of
Newton, ii. 226; of Wayland, ii. 469; of Westford, ii. 476;
of We.ston, ii. 497 ; of Woburn, ii. 538 ; men raised for, iu
Natick, ii. 193; preceding, action of Reading, ii. 276; of
Sherborn, ii. 292; of Shirley, ii. 302; of Stqneham, ii. 344;
of Tewksbury, ii. 375; of Townsend, ii. 384; of Tyngs-
borough, ii. 395; of Waltham, ii. 415: Melrose men in, ii.
179; Newton men in, ii. 228; Sudbiiiy men in, ii. 369.
War of 1812, noticed, i. 174; effect of, in Concord, i. 396; sol¬
diers in, from Dunstable, i. 425; action of Reading upon,
ii. 281; of Waltham, ii 426; feeling of Tewksburv in,
¡1. 378.
War Record of Somerville, detailed, 11. 321.
Wars, earh',- share of Dunstable in, i. 423; Indian, doings of
Marlborough in, ii. 146; Weston men in, ii. 492; Woburn
men in, ii- 529; different. Medford men in, ii. 169; various,
action of Way'and in, ii. 472.
Wanl, Gen., made Commander-in-Chief, i. 128: enters Boston
from Roxbury, i. 167; commands American Right, i. 156.
Ward, Rev. Nathaniel, to frame laws, i. 71.
Ward, Colonel Joseph, sketch of, ii. 258.
Warner, John, joins Shirley Shakers, ii. 307.
Warrant, curious, by Indian justice, ii. 190.
Warren. General Joseph, president Provincial Congress, i. 128;
sends Revere to Lexington, I. 113; bravery of, at Menotoiny,
i. 1^6: chosen major-general, i. 135; killed at Bunker Uiil,
i. 152; monument erected to, i. 177.
572
INDEX.
W&rren, Adm!ra1, sails against Loulsburg, i. 101.
Warren, George W., remarks on monument, i. 175.
Warren, Dr. John C., buys land for monument, i. 176.
Warren, Ephraim, in Lexington fight, ii. 384.
Washington, General George, made commander-in-chief,!. 134;
arrives at Cambridge, i. 156; visits Middlesex County, i.
172 ; takes command at Cambridge, i. 345 ; revisits Cam¬
bridge, i. 348.
Watch and Watch Houses at Watertown, ii. 439.
Watches, manufacture of in Waltham, ii. 432.
Water, difficulty of getting, at Charlestown, i. 45; introduced
into Concord, i. 401; movement for in Everett, i. 432; Mai¬
den supplied with, ii. 135; system at Carlisle, noticed, i. 367;
taken at Ashland for Boston, i. 233.
Water Power, on Charles River, improved, i. 186; improved in
Arlington, i. 216; at Ashland, described, i. 232; early im¬
proved there, i. 228; improved at Ma3'nard, ii. 157; at New¬
ton, ii. 235; at Westford, ii. 485.
Water Supph', obtained for Lowell, ii. 97; forNatick, ii. 202;
for Newton, ii. 250; for Somerville, ii. 322; for Winchester,
ii. 516; for Woburn, ü. 548.
Waterworks, built at Arlington, i. 215; Cochituate, pass through
Newton, ii.25l; for suppi}' from Sudbury River, ii. 252;
built at Winchester, ii. 517.
Waters, Captain Daniel', serves at Maiden, ii. 128.
Watertown, history of town of, ii. 433; notes of first settlement
of, ii. 436; settled b}*^ Saltonstall, i. 44; named b^' court, i.
46; ordered to be fortified, i. 50; people dispute taxes, i. 55;
towns formed from, i. 53; part of, becomes Waltham, it. 407;
men of, at Lexington fight, ii. 446; town hall and library' in,
ii. 458.
Wayland, history of town of, ii. 460.
Wayte, early settler at Maiden, ii. 115.
Webster, Daniel, speech at founding monument, Bunker Hill, i.
176 ; speech at consecration of same, i. 177.
Weld, Aaron D., notice of ii. 521; Rev. Thomas, pastor at Dun¬
stable, i. 417.
Welles Familv', at Natick noticed, ii. 194.
Wellington Hill, former name of Belmont, i. 251.
Westford, histoiy of town of, ii. 475; situation and topography
of, ii. 475.
West Newton, village of, described, ii. 2-37.
Weston, histor}' of town of, ii. 488; notes of early plantation at,
ii. 489; local notes of, ii. 496; topographical notes of, ii. 498;
eminent citizens of, ii. 499, 501, 505.
Wethersfield, settled from Watertown, ii. 440.
We^miouth, settlement recognized at, i. 63.
Whalley, Edward, regicide, arrived at Boston, i. 79; Goffe and,
regicides, at Cambridge, 1. 329.
Wheeler, Timotly, s ^ves flour at Concord, i. 123; William, builds
water works in Concord, i. 401.
Wheelwright, Rev. John, religious doings of, i. 68.
Whitcomb, John, made major-general, i. 135.
White, Rev. John, notice of, i. 18; declaration of, i. 27.
Whitefield, Rev. George, preaches at Cambridge, i. 329; debates
with ministers, i. 331 ; preaches at Natick, ii. 191 ; at New¬
ton, ii. 233; at Reading, ii. 275.
Whiting, Colonel, toiy, taken b}'women, i. 462; Rev. Samuel,
character of, 1. 267 ; pastor in Billerica, i. 256.
Whitmore, Rachel, petition of, ii. 169.
Whitney, Rev. Phinehos, pastor in Shirley, ii. 305 ; Asa, 6f Town-
send, notice of, ii. 390.
Whittemore, Samuel, bravery at Menotomj*, i. 344.
Wigglcsworth, Rev. Michael, at Maiden, ii 117; death of, ii 121.
Wilds, Elijah and Ivory, first Shakers in Shirley, ii. 307; house
of, mobbed, ii. 308.
"Will, Father Abbey's," notice of, ii. 167.
Willard, Nathan, joins Shakers in Shirle\', ii. 307.
Wiliard, Rev. Samuel, president of Harvard College, i. 326.
Willard, Solomon, architect of monument, i. 176.
Williams, Colonel, joins American camp, i. 159; Colonel Ephra¬
im, college named for, ii. 222; Rev. Roger, mediates with
Indians, i. 64; Rev. William, pastor in Weston, ii. 491.
Willington, Aaron S., notice of, ii. 474.
Wilmington, histof}' of town of, ii. 506; topographical notes of,
ii. 506; local notes of, ii. 510.
Wilson, Rev. Mr., ordained, i 46; Rev. John, signs first cov¬
enant, i. 37; Hon. Henr}", sketch of, Ii. 200; burial of, ii. 202.
Winchester, history of town of, ii. 511; statistics of, ii. 514;
local notes of, ii. 515; prominent citizens of, ii. 523.
Winchester, Colonel William P., gift of, ii. 513.
Windmill, at Cambridge, removed, i. 309.
Winslow, Josiah, marches against Indians, i. 81; Mrs. Sarah,
bequest of, ii. 397.
Winter Hill, General Ward fortifies, i. 155.
Winthrop, Dudley and Johnson, associates, i. 20; quarrels with
Dudley, i. 50; John, character of, i. 22; farm of, on Mystic
River, i. 53 ; lost on his own farm, i. 53 ; signs first covenant,
i. 37; explores Mystic River, i. 43; wife arrives from Eng¬
land, i. 54; chosen Governor over Vane, i. 68; Governor, old
place of, in Bedford, i. 241 ; lost at Mystic, ii. 159 ; first notes
of Weston, by, ii. 488.
Wiswall, Noah, wounded at Lexington, ii. 227.
Witchcraft, delusion of, begun in colony, i. 75; breaks out at Sa¬
lem, i. 95; troubles by, in Billerica, i. 261; felt in Reading,
ii. 274; persecution for, in Maiden, ii. 120; early execution
for, in Watertown, ii. 443.
Woburn, history of town of, ii. 526; called Charlestown Village,
il. 526; topography of, ii. 527; division of, into new towns,
ii. 536; firat grant and sale of, i. 72; attacked by Indians,
i. 83.
Wolcot, Roger, goes against Loulsburg, i. 101.
Women, money raised by, for monument, i. 176; company of,
guard bridge in Groton, i. 462; of Pepperell, guard bridge,
ii. 263.
Wood, William, account of settlements, i. 57.
Woollen Manufacture, in county, i. 187; in Westford, notes of,
ii. 486.
Works issued from Cambridge Press, i. 318.
Wright's Tavern, men mustered at, i. 122.
Writs of Assistance, contention about, i. 104.
Wyeth, Widow, vote for funeral of, ii. 411.
Wyman, , commands right flank at Bunker Hill, i. 149; Dr.
Rufus, sketches of, ii. 331.
"Zophiel," poem of, noticed, ii. 168.
University Press: John Wilson & Son, Cambridge.
A LIST
OF
SUBSCRIBERS TO THE HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY.
By S. a. drake.
His Excellency ALEXANDER H. RICE, Governor op Massachusetts.
His Honor HENRY L. PIERCE, Mayor of Boston.
boston.
Hon. CHARLES FRANCIS ADAMS.
Hon. ROBERT C. WINTHROP.
Hon. FREDERIC O. PRINCE.
Hon. WILLIAM A. SIMMONS.
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" " " " Boston Pub. Lib.
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CHARLES FAULKNER.
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WILLIAM W. WARREN.
M. H. SIMPSON.
JONAS FITCH.
HENRY S ALTONSTALL.
HENRY AUSTIN WHITNEY.
ARTHUR W. AUSTIN.
JAMES L. LITTLE.
JAMES L. LITTLE, Jk.
FRANCIS S. DRAKE.
EZRA FARNSWORTH.
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J. COLLINS WARREN, M. D.
H. C. LODGE.
ALEXANDER COCHRANE.
HENRY M. DEXTER.
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J. H. RAMSDELL.
J. G. SHILLABER.
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J. P. C. WINSHIP.
P. R. JOHNSON.
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DAILY GLOBE.
CHARLES S. KENDALL.
WILLIAM T. FOSTER.
A. D. FIELD.
W. E. FIELD.
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E. SHATTUCK.
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J. S. H. FOGG, M. D.
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J. HENRY SYMONDS.
EDWIN A. WADLEIGH.
CHARLES WHITNEY.
W. H. & J. S. MUNROE.
FRANCIS B. HAYES.
JOHN BREWSTER.
JOHN B. HARRIS.
G. 0. SHELDON.
FRANCIS A. NICHOLS.
WILLIAM B. GALE.
RICHARD D. CHILD.
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ARTHUR W. TUFTS.
WILLIAM S. EDMANDS.
WILLIAM F. GARY.
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NATHAN ROBBINS.
J. O. CARTER.
J. W. PEIRCE.
E. F. KENRICK.
M. R. HARDY.
J- H. HARDY.
WILLIAM STOWE.
FRANCIS V. B. KEEN.
THOMAS PERRY.
R. LIVERMORE.
R. V. C. FLETCHER.
ASHBY.
FRANCIS TINKER.
ASHLAND.
WARREN MORSE.
ELIAS GROUT.
WILLIAM F. ELLIS.
C. H. TILTON.
AYBR.
Hon. LEVI WALLACE.
L. A. BUCK.
F. A. WORCESTER,
Rev. GEORGE H. ALLEN.
JOHN SPAULDING.
BENJAMIN H. HARTWELL, M. D.
AYER PUBLIC LIBRARY.
CHARLES BROWN.
JOHN H. TURNER.
GEORGE V. BARRETT.
E. DANA BANCROFT.
WILLIAM M. SARGENT.
C. A. BATCHELDER.
W. H. H. HINDS.
BEDFORD.
J. A. BACON.
CHARLES A. COREY.
BELMONT.
W. H, LOCKE.
SAMUEL R. PAYSON.
C. W. WINN.
GEORGE W. WARE, Jr.
GEORGE F. BLAKE.
VARNUM FROST.
TOWN LIBRARY.
J. W. HILL.
J. O. WELLINGTON.
T. S. HITTINGER.
J. L. ALEXANDER.
JOSEPH L. FROST.
BILLERICA.
Hon. THOMAS TALBOT, 3 copies.
Rev. ELIAS NASON.
JAMES STOTT.
CHARLES K. TALBOT.
Rev. HENRY A. HAZEN.
Rev. NATHANIEL L. COLBY.
Rev. C. C. HUSSEY.
FREDERICK P. HILL.
S. L. PILLSBURY.
4
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
BOXBOROUGH.
NATHAN THOMPSON.
SIMON HARTWELL.
BRIGHTON.
CHARLES DANA.
N. JACKSON.
ISAAC PRATT, Jr.
L. BALDWIN.
HENRY BALDWIN.
J. F. TAYLOR.
GEORGE W. WARREN.
CHARLES H. B. BRECK.
E, C. SPARHAWK.
J. S. LEARNARD.
W. JACKSON.
MARKET NAT. BANK, by E. P. WRIGHT.
BENJAMIN WORMELLE.
Miss SARAH WAUGH.
JOHN H. PIERCE.
HIRAM CUSHMAN.
GEORGE H. BROOKS.
GEORGE B. LIVERMORE.
C. H. LEARNARD.
HORACE BAXTER.
HIRAM BARKER.
JOHN ZOLLER.
MICHAEL COYLE.
NATIONAL BANK op BRIGHTON.
B. F. RICKER.
H. E. MARION, M. D.
GRANVILLE A. FULLER.
WILLIAM SCALLANS.
JOSEPH BENNETT.
E. H. HAMMOND.
LOUIS H. ADAMS.
N. H. BURTON, M. D.
SAMUEL E. DAVENPORT.
CHARLES H. CHAMPNEY.
CHARLES W. PIERCE.
BENJAMIN M. FISKE.
CYRUS E. MARSHALL.
JOHN L. B. PRATT.
Rev. FREDERIC A. WHITNEY.
F. LYMAN WINSHIP.
G. W. HOLLIS.
JOHN W. HOLLIS.
G. P. BROWN.
W. P. GEDDINGS, M. D.
WILLIAM H. RICE.
W. D. BICKFORD.
C. M. COOK.
GEORGE H. SCOTT.
C. N. HOLLIS.
STEPHEN HILL.
A. D. ROGERS.
NATHAN SAUNDERS.
WARREN S. DAME.
J. F. H ART WELL.
JOHN H. WALSH.
H. W. JORDAN.
E. A. HOLLIS.
HIRAM H. HOLLIS.
CHARLES NORTON.
S. A. CAMBRIDGE, M. D.
BURLINGTON.
SAMUEL SEWALL.
JOHN WINN.
CAMBRIDGE.
Hon. SAMUEL L. MONTAGUE, Mayor.
HENRY W. LONGFELLOW.
Hon. C. T. RUSSELL.
Rev. A. P. PEABODY.
RICHARD H. DANA, Jk.
Hon. JAMES RUSSELL LOWELL.
CHARLES DEANE.
E. N. HORS FORD.
,T. S. MARCH, for Dana Library.
MORRILL WYMAN, M. D.
H. W. PAINE.
JUSTIN WINSOR,/or Harv. Coll. Library.
MARSHALL T. BIGELOW.
Rev. JOHN S. STONE.
Hon. CHARLES H. SAUNDERS.
Hon. J. WARREN MERRILL.
Hon. H. R. HARDING.
Hon. FRANK A. ALLEN.
Hon. GEORGE STEVENS.
Hon. H. O. HOUGHTON.
CHARLES F. CHOATE.
WILLIAM H. MARTIN.
H. P. WALCOTT, M. D.
CHARLES E. VAUGHAN, M. D.
THOMAS DANA.
AMOS STONE.
Rev. ALEXANDER MoKENZIE.
EZRA ABBOT.
BENJAMIN PEIRCE.
HENRY L. EUSTIS.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
5
josiah d. whitney.
asa gray.
charles b. stevens.
james r. osgood.
george h. miflin.
edward abbott.
alfred l. barbour.
j. h. tyler.
theodore c. hurd.
john w. hammond.
w. w. wellington, m. d.
isaac s. morse.
thomas l. smith.
john l. hayes.
thomas g. gary.
w. b. hastings.
lewis hall.
hiram w. brooks.
joseph g. holt.
w. s. barbour.
edwin h. jose.
john wilson & son.
henry endicott.
horatio g. parker.
cyrus cobb.
darius cobb.
s. s. sleeper.
e. w. hooper.
joset'h cutler-
charles e. raymond.
edwin b. hale.
j. a. sawyer.
w. brandt storer.
henry r. glover.
william b. durant.
sanford h. dudley.
george l. foote.
sumner albee.
james w. brooks.
thomas g. kice.
rev. richard m. hodges.
rev. william orr.
william w. dallinger.
daniel u. chamberlin.
augustus r. bayley.
john l. hildreth, m. d.
william l. whitney.
j. t. g. nichols, m. d.
rev. francis g. pea body.
jonas c. wellington.
henry w. muzzey.
james a. woolson.
samuel batchelder, jb.
rev. william newell.
cyrus woodman.
e. p. whitman.
herbert a. chase, m. d.
f. h. jones.
james a. fox.
j. warren cotton.
e. h. stevens, m. d
f. a. kennedy.
b. o. peirce.
charles w. munroe.
henry w. holland.
edward r. cogswell, m. d.
d. h. thurston.
a. f. luke.
henry e. jones.
john j. sawyer.
l. marrett.
charles h. farnsworth, m. d.
john b. taylor, m. d.
rev. john o'brien.
josiah burrage.
rufus lamson.
.loseph a. holmes.
j. a. wellington.
cyrus danforth.
charles g. green.
george a. alden.
g. w. c. noble.
arthur e. jones.
mbs. .tared sparks.
charles tufts.
george dexter.
rev. george z. gray.
j. p. hopkinson.
george h. towne.
c. j. peters.
henry a. doherty.
edward young white.
curtis davis.
phebe m. kendall.
j. d. nutting.
george h. bent.
george b. roberts.
samuel noyes, jr.
thomas stearns.
w. t. richardson.
george e. lincoln.
james cox.
w. h. dodge.
francis cogswell.
philip r. ammidon.
p. h. raymond.
6
LIST OF SUBSCRIBEES.
FREDERICK T. STEVENS.
FRANK FOXCROFT.
GEORGE R. BRINE.
LYMAN F. SANBORN.
J. DANA HOVEY.
BENJAMIN R. RAND.
W. H. ORCUTT.
J. P. LAWRENCE
FREDERICK W. HAGAR.
JOHN H. LEIGHTON.
RÜFUS R. WADE.
BENJAMIN F. DAVIES.
EMMONS HAMLIN.
CARLISLE.
B. F. HEALD.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
CHARLESTOWN.
Hon. RICHARD FROTHINGHAM.
Hon. TIMOTHY T. SAWYER.
Hon. JAMES ADAMS.
Hon. MARCELLUS DAY.
Hon. JAMES M. STONE.
EDWARD LAWRENCE.
Hon. EUGENE L. NORTON.
GEORGE HYDE.
J. B. THOMAS.
L. A. LELAND.
THOMAS B. HARRIS.
,1. ADAMS, Jr.
RICHARD WILLIAMS.
NAHUM CHAPIN.
THOMAS R. B. EDMANDS.
ISAAC P. T. EDMANDS.
HENRY H. FULLER, M. D.
E. N. COBURN.
RHODES LOCKWOOD.
J. H. SWEETSER.
H. H. EDES.
GEORGE D. EDMANDS.
HENRY W. BRAGG.
GEORGE E. McKAY.
CHARLES A. STEARNS.
ELIAS CRAFTS.
ARTHUR HARRINGTON.
HORATIO WELLINGTON.
WILLIAM E. CARLETON.
FRANCIS THOMPSON.
JOHN MULLETT.
CHARLES H. BIGELOW.
A. R. THOMPSON.
LYMAN H. BIGELOW.
C. F. NEWELL.
Rev. M. J. SUPPLE.
SOLOMON G. PHIPPS.
WILLIAM HOVEY.
EDWARD T. RAND.
HUBERT DALY.
C. B. GOODRICH.
EDWIN THOMPSON.
GEORGE S. HOLT.
SAMUEL BRADSTREET.
Ret. WILLIAM BYRNE.
Col. JAMES H. JONES, U. S. A.
GEORGE F. TUFTS.
WILLIAM PEIRCE.
J. A. McDonald, m. d.
LYMAN STICKNEY.
ABRAHAM B. SHEDD.
F. B. AUSTIN.
B. F. TEEL.
WILLIAM T. RAND.
CALEB RAND.
JOHN STOWELL.
P. J. STONE, Jk.
WILLIAM H. KENT.
GEORGE O. LEVERETT.
SAMPSON WARREN.
EDWARD HARDING.
LIVERUS HULL.
ANDREW SAWTELL.
JOHN B. WILSON.
FRANCIS RAYMOND.
E. EDES BRADSHAW.
DANIEL JOHNSON.
THADDEUS RICHARDSON.
CHARLES R. BY RAM.
FRANK J. BARTLETT.
CHARLES F. FAIRBANKS.
Miss M. W. FROTHINGHAM.
DAVID M. BALFOUR.
JOHN READE.
ANDREW J. BAILEY.
JOHN BOYLE O'REILLY.
L. M. WILLIS, M. D.
WILLIAM T. VAN NOSTRAND.
H. A. HOUGHTON, M. D.
EDWARD T. BARKER.
CHARLES A. PAGE.
JOHN H. STUDLEY, Jr.
JOHN BRYANT.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
7.
CHELMSFORD.
n. p. edwards, m. d.
charles d. balmer.
l. m. henry.
william manning.
luther h. sargent.
henry s. perham.
rev. j. j. twiss.
george a. parkhurst.
ziba gay.
e. a. bearce.
CHELSEA.
benjamin phipps.
hon. mellen chamberlin.
hon. rufus s. frost.
j. f. pratt, m. d.
CONCORD.
r. w. emerson, for Public Library.
a. bronson alcott.
rev. grindall reynolds.
f. b. sanborn.
george m. brooks.
benjamin a. g. fuller.
john s. keyes.
henry j. walcott.
edwin s. barrett.
alfred munroe.
charles thompson.
rev. h. m. grout.
arthur g. fuller.
rev. m. j. mccall.
george keyes.
charles h. walcott.
jonathan f. barrett.
henry j. hosmer.
edward c. damon.
r. n. rice.
EVERETT.
robert m. barnard.
thomas leavitt.
a- h. evans.
george d. otis.
n. j. mead.
c. s. hapgood.
h. at wood.
george s. marshall.
h. w. van vorhees.
samuel r. knox.
nathaniel e. plumer.
dudley p. bailey.
j. f. wakefield, m. d.
joseph h. whitman.
FRAMINGHAM.
hon. alexander r. esty.
e. f. bowditch.
james w. clark.
g. b. brown.
walter adams.
willard howe.
william h. mellen.
j. f. m acombe r.
fred w. clapp.
abiel s. lewis.
charles f. cutler.
willis m. ranney.
f. e. hemenway.
george c. travis.
w. frank kurd.
j. van praag.
j. r. entwistle.-
george d. puffer.
sidney a. phillips.
curtis h. barbor.
rev. josiah h. temple.
george p. metcalf.
charles uphaíi.
william v. lloyd.
c. r. attwood.
GRANTVILLE
william reed, 1st.
GROTON.
hon. george s. boutwell.
james lawrence.
t. lawrence motley.
w. h. giles.
miles spaulding, m. d.
e. s. ball.
george s. gates.
rkv. joshua young.
8
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
holliston.
JOSEPH H. LADD.
ALDEN LELAND.
C. E. SPRING, M. D.
Rev. G. M. ADAMS.
Rev. A. H. BENNETT.
Rev. R. Z. QUINLAN.
CHARLES S. WILDER.
D. K. STETSON.
Z. TALBOT.
E. T. WHITNEY.
D. C. MOWRY.
JAMES F. FISIŒ.
A. POND.
Rev. GEORGE F. WALKER.
hopkinton.
L. H. WAKEFIELD.
A. COBURN.
D. T. BRIDGES.
W. F. CLAFLIN.
hudson.
JAMES L. HARRIMAN, M. D.
A. S. TROWBRIDGE.
SOLON AVOOD.
lexington
Hon. CHARLES HUDSON.
HENRY B. BRIGHAM
WILLIAM R. CUTTER.
CARY LIBRARY.
H. WESCOTT.
lincoln.
WILLIAM F. WHEELER.
GEORGE G. TARBELL.
GEORGE J. BEMIS.
littleton.
Hon. J. A. HARWOOD.
H. J. HARWOOD.
GARDNER PROUTY
G. W. SANDERSON.
JOHN A. KIMBALL.
E. E. KIMBALL.
A. W. SAWYER.
Rev. J. W. WINKLEY.
Mrs. S. B. HOAR.
H. P. DODGE.
lowell.
PROPRIETORS LOCKS AND CANALS.
HAMILTON MANUFACTURING CO.
MIDDLESEX MECHANICS* ASSOCIA¬
TION LIBRARY.
Hon. J. A. G. RICHARDSON, Mayor.
Hon. C. a. STOTT, for Public Library
Hon. N. CROSBY.
Hon. B. F. BUTLER.
Hon. JEFFERSON BANCROFT.
Hon. J. G. PEABODY.
Hon. S. G. MACK.
J. H. SAWYER.
O. H. MOULTON.
HENRY BURROWS.
FRANK F. BATTLES.
C. P. TALBOT.
GEORGE STEVENS.
AUGUSTUS LOWELL.
RICHARD S. FAY.
Col. E. T. ROWELL.
GEORGE M. ELLIOTT.
JOHN F. KIMBALL.
ALFRED OILMAN,
Se¿y Old Residents' Historical Association.
THOMAS NESMITH.
PAUL BUTLER.
C. C. HUTCHINSON.
Gen. W. O. FISKE.
JOSIAH GATES.
SNYDER & COE.
E. M. TÜRKE.
JOHN J. PEEKMAN.
AMOS B. FRENCH.
H. R. BARKER.
H. H. WILDER.
ARTEMAS S TYLER.
CHARLES MORRILL.
F. A. BUTTRICK.
FREDERICK F. AYER.
SAMUEL KIDDER.
PRENTISS WEBSTER.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
9
FREDERIC K. LOVE.TOY.
J. F. HASKELL.
0. L. KNAPP.
CHARLES F. HOWE.
E. W. HOYT.
W. E. LIVINGSTON.
J. N. MARSHALL.
FRANK P. PUTNAM.
JEREMIAH CROWLEY.
GEORGE A. MARDEN.
G. W. KNOWLTON.
JAMES C. ABBOTT.
JULIAN ABBOT.
OLIVER PERRY.
JOSEPH A. SMITH, M. D.
WALTER BURNHAM, M. D.
ALBERT L. HERRICK, M. D.
L. J. FOX, M. D.
F. C. PLUNKETT, M. D.
G. E. PINKHAM, M. D.
H. M. HUNTER, M. D.
W. M. HOAR, M. D.
DANIEL PARKER, M. D.
JOHN C. IRISH, M. D.
GEORGE H. PILLSBURY, M. D.
JOHN H. OILMAN, M. D.
AUGUSTINE THOMPSON, M. D.
O. E. CUSHING.
ANDREW F. SWAPP.
A. D. PUFFER.
WILLIAM F. DOWNING.
SAMUEL FAY.
JOHN C. WOODWARD.
CHARLES KIMBALL.
JONATHAN HOPE.
ABNER L. KITTREDGE.
F. J. FULLER.
JARED P. MAXFIELD.
REV. C. D. BARROWS.
REV. SMITH BAKER.
REV. JOHN M. GREENE.
REV. MICHAEL O'BRIEN.
Rev. MERRITT HULBURD.
REV. J. L. SEWARD.
REV. G. T. FLANDERS.
REV. L. C. MANCHESTER.
REV. H. C. DUG'ANNE.
THOMAS E. MORAN.
GEORGE F. WILLEY.
A. W. BUTCHER.
GEORGE W. HUNTOON.
SAMUEL N. WOOD.
GEORGE HOBSON.
C. T. CLIFFORD.
R. DEMPSEY.
P. KEYES.
C. H. ANDREWS.
F. W. PUFFER.
H. A. RUGG.
WILLIAM NICHOLS.
ELA & PAGE.
ABEL T. ATHERTON.
FRENCH & OSGOOD.
ROBERT SIMPSON.
JOHN J. DONOVAN.
D. S. GRAY.
JOHN LENNON.
THOMAS S. SHAW.
ELIHU S. HUNT.
L. R. J. VARNUM.
G. F. PENNIMAN.
C. W. DREW.
N. J. WIER.
J. JI. LANMON.
WILLIAM H. WIGGIN.
N. J. N. BACHELLER.
OTIS A. MERRILL.
E. S. CARDELL.
R. H. BUTCHER.
J. B. RICHARDSON.
G. F. SCRIBNER.
JONA KENDALL.
G. A. GERRY.
JAMES M INTER.
J. S. CARTER.
ALDEN D. GIFFORD.
A. E. CONANT.
A. F. WRIGHT.
E. A. SMITH.
N. W. NORCROSS.
C. K. RUSSELL.
PATRICK MORAN.
PATRICK LYNCH.
C. W. W. RICHARDSON.
HENRY RUNELS.
E. W. HALL.
ZIBA ABBOTT.
GEORGE H. BARTLETT.
CHARLES S. LILLEY.
LEVI DUMAS.
E. A. THISSELL.
P. F. LITCHFIELD.
CHARLES ABBOTT.
G. W. WRIGHT.
C. C. CHASE.
CHARLES HOVEY.
10
LIST OF SUBSORÍBEBS.
FREDERIC T. GREENHALGE.
HENRY W. GUSHING.
LUCIAN P. STACY.
F. L. MORRILL.
GEORGE W. COBURN.
JOHN F. McEVOY.
J. JOHNSON.
A. F. NICHOLS.
CHARLES H. ALLEN.
ARTHUR G. POLLARD.
H. C. CHURCH.
W. H. McDANIELS.
WOODS, SHERWOOD, & CO.
STONE, HUSE, & CO.
RICHARD BAKER.
CALVIN W. BURBANK.
DAVID WHEELER.
EDWARD F. COBURN.
ELIJAH M. READ.
GEORGE E. SCRIPTURE.
N. C. SANBORN.
CHARLES H. COBURN.
J. W. BENNETT.
W. F. SALMON.
T. R. GARITY.
JONATHAN LADD.
L. P. WADLEY.
CHARLES W. CHENEY.
CHARLES H. BURBANK.
J. P. THOMPSON.
C. A. R. DIMON.
A. A. HAGGETT.
Dr. C. M. FISKE.
HENRY P. WEBBER.
D. C. BROWN.
SAMUEL BEMENT.
IRVING K. GOODALL.
DAVID NEAL.
ROBERT WOOD.
ALBERT L. BACHELLER.
D. T. GALLOUP.
G. G. COOK.
WILLIAM MANNING.
Rev. ROBERT COURT.
JAMES B. FRANCIS.
ROBERT E. COWLEY.
NATHAN EMERSON.
Z. E. STONE.
W. HEARN.
G. SPAULDING.
MALDEN.
G. P. COX.
BENJAMIN FAULKNER.
J. A. BURPEE, M. D.
DAVID AYERS.
CALEB WAITE.
E. S. CONVERSE.
HENRY BARRETT.
PHINEAS SPRAGUE.
OTIS E. WAITT.
JOHN COCHRANE, Jr.
FRANK S. COLLINS.
ALFRED E. COX.
HENRY BROWN.
M. W. PRAY.
CHARLES A. STILES.
RICHARD RICH, Jr.
G. A. EBERLE.
C. A. DANIELS.
W. L. GREENE.
CHARLES B. SHUTE, M. D.
GEORGE A. LITTLEFIELD.
AUGUSTUS TUFTS.
T. F. WADE.
HENRY G. CAREY.
ABRAHAM G. HILL.
J. K. C. SLEEPER.
JOHN W. PETTINGILL, 2 sets.
JAMES P. MAGEE.
GEORGE W. WALKER.
FREEMAN A. SMITH.
D. P. COREY.
GEORGE T. COVERLY.
J. H. WHITAKER.
JAMES PIERCE.
WILLIAM HARDY.
F. J. FOSS.
A. B. VANNEVAR.
F. H. ODIORNE.
CHARLES H. SHAPLEIGH.
ANDREW PIERCE.
J. M. RUSSELL.
P. MORANDI.
ALBERT H. DAVENPORT.
A. R. TURNER, Jr.
GEORGE S. SCAMMON.
JAMES A. EATON.
MARLBOROUGH.
Hon. S. N. ALDRICH.
EDWARD F. JOHNSON.
S. H. HOWE.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
N. S. CHAMBERLAIN, M. D.
C. F. MORSE.
J. S. FAY.
E. L. BIGELOW.
CYRUS FELTON.
STILLMAN B. PRATT.
L. L. TARBELL.
JOHN F. COTTING.
LEVI BRIGHAM.
E. L. FAY.
W. H. FAY.
Rev. JAMES DONEGAN.
GEORGE N. CATE.
ABEL HOWE.
EDMUND C. WHITNEY.
RUFUS HOWE.
Mrs. E. J. CORY.
JOHN A. FRYE.
Rev. R. A. GRIFFIN.
D. S. MOONEY.
MAYNARD.
a. maynard.
john hillis.
ashael balcolm.
MEDFORD.
FRANCIS BROOKS, 2 copies.
PETER C. BROOKS, Jr.
SHEPHERD BROOKS.
Miss LUCY A. BROOKS.
dudley c. hall.
horace d. hall.
h. h. bradlee.
dudley h. bradlee.
b. F. hayes.
e. h. capen, d. d., Pres. Tufts.Coll
daniel w. lawrence.
FRANK P. STEARNS.
JOHN H. HOOPER.
george s. delano.
pearl' martin, M. D.
william p. clark.
Mrs. M. T. HASKINS.
FRANCIS E. FOSTER.
E. T. HASTINGS.
DAVID A. WASSON.
H. C. DeLONG.
P. R. LITCHFIELD.
G. W. W. SAVELLE.
SAMUEL LAPHAM.
J. HENRY NORCROSS.
BAXTER E. PERRY.
DANIEL A. GLEASON.
W. C. HASKINS.
J. W. HASTINGS.
HERBERT MAGOUN.
A. E. TAINTER.
MELROSE.
Hon. D. W. GOOCH.
FREDERIC KIDDER.
J. HEBER SMITH.
THOMAS B. PECK.
J. W. FARWELL.
J. O. NORRIS.
STEPHEN SHELTON.
HORATIO N. PERKINS.
W. IRVING ELLIS.
WILLIAM L. WILLIAMS.
DANIEL RUSSELL.
CHARLES PORTER.
S. E. SEWALL.
S. A. RANLETT.
C. H. ISBURGH.
CHARLES A. MESSENGER.
N. P. JONES.
E. H. GOSS.
GEORGE H. DEARBORN.
NATHAN D. BLAKE.
AVALTER LITTLEFIELD.
JOSEPH D. WILDE.
WILLIAM D. FISKE.
M. S. PAGE.
GEORGE M. DENNIS.
GEORGE E. CARR.
EVERETT AV. BURDETT.
MRNDON.
Rev. G. F. CL.ARK.
12
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
NATICK.
H. H. HUNNEWELL.
E. P. CliEENY.
JOSIAH F. LEACH.
AUSTIN BACON.
E. C. MORSE.
Rev. JOHN WALSH.
Rev. S. D. HOSMER.
Rev. F. N. PE LOU BET.
OLIVER N. BACON.
J. O. WILSON.
J. A. AMBLER.
ELIJAH PERRY.
J. B. FAIRBANKS.
L. V. N. PECK.
HORACE MANN.
M. V. B. BARTLETT.
ROYAL E. FAREWELL.
JOHN N. SHATTUCK.
CHARLES A. POOK.
JOSEPH WILDE.
J. B. NUTT.
JOHN KIMBALL.
JOHN E. FISKE.
H. HARWOOD.
HENRY GOODNOW.
O. A. FELCH.
JAMES M. BENT.
D. E. WHEELER.
GEORGE L. SLEEPER.
W. EDWARDS.
Rev. SAMUEL HUNT.
Rev. DANIEL WIGHT.
A. H. BRYANT.
CHARLES DEAN.
GEORGE ATWELL.
C. C. ATWOOD.
E. F. DEWING.
B. Y. CHEENY.
FREDERIC O. BASTON.
MILES WRAY.
FRANCIS BIGELOW.
W. H. WRIGHT.
S. 0. DANIELS.
WILLIAM CUMMINGS.
GEORGE O. WOOD.
WILLIAM WRIGHT.
WILLIAM DOWNES.
WILLIAM BLANEY.
WILLIAM HOWE.
DANIEL BIGELOW.
HENRY WARE.
THOMAS F. HAMMOND.
NATHANIEL CLARK.
GEORGE J. WHITNEY.
S. A. SWKETLAND.
CHARLES DUNMORE.
WILLIAM NUTT.
A. H. PARLIN.
W. A. BIRD.
J. K. FELCH.
C. M. FELCH.
CHARLES BIGELOW.
EDWARD MESSINGER.
A. W. RUSSELL.
NEWTON.
Hon. WILLIAM CLAFLIN.
ARTHUR C. LAWRENCE.
Hon. W. B. FOWLE, Mayor.
Hon. W. S. GARDNER.
Hon. JULIUS L. CLARK.
Hon. ALDEN SPEARE.
Hon. R. R. BISHOP.
Hon. ROBERT C. PITMAN.
Hon. JOHN LOWELL.
Hon. LEVE RETT S ALTONSTALL.
Rev. S. F. SMITH.
Rev. WASHINGTON GILBERT.
HORACE BACON.
B. J. HAUGHTON.
Hon. GEORGE WHITE.
J. S. FARLOW.
J. S. FARLOW, for Free Library.
GEORGE H. JONES.
J. WESLEY KIMBALL.
EDWIN O. CHILDS.
Rev. GEORGE W. HOSMER, D. D.
Rev. THOMAS S. SAMSON.
Rev. H. I. PATRICK.
Rev. FRANCIS TIFFANY.
HENRY M. FIELD, M. D.
EDWARD J. COLLINS.
J. S. POTTER.
GEORGE E. ALLEN.
NATHANIEL T. ALLEN.
ISAAC L. KIDDER.
JAMES F. EDMANDS.
E. W. CONVERSE.
J. Q. HENRY.
J. WILLARD RICE.
ISAAC F. KINGSBURY.
R. M. PULSIFER.
E. F. WATERS.
A. LAWRENCE EDMANDS.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
13
john c. potter.
c. f. crehore.
andrew s. march.
f. m. johnson.
w. w. carruth.
charles robinson, jr.
a. i. benyon.
charles b. lancaster.
william i. goodrich.
george f. kimball.
mrs. mary e. roberts.
joel h. hills.
horace e. walker.
levi f. warren.
seth davis.
f. a. wateriiouse.
edwin fleming.
f. g. barnes.
george c. lord.
charles f. pulsifer.
charles c. barton.
edward k. wilson.
the newton republican.
the newton journal.
a. w. whitney, m. d.
lyman p. gerould.
john c. chaffin.
p. c. bridgham.
daniel b. claflin.
isaac hagar.
john b. goodrich.
e. b. haskell.
s. r. kate.
henry lemon.
henry e. waite.
william r. dupee.
william fleming.
harrison ellery.
w. w. keith.
thomas weston, jr.
n. w. farley.
w. g. brackett.
channing lilly.
henry a. barker.
n. p. coburn.
l. g. pratt.
c. h. lord.
s. w. holmes.
charles h. johnson.
george w. morse.
a. b. wetherell.
w. J. goodrich.
seth bemis.
PEPPERELL.
w. f. heald.
samuel pepperell shattuck.
rev. charles babbidge.
hon. a. j. saunders.
s. p. lawrence.
l. p. blood.
public library.
READING.
rev. w. barrows.
avilliam carter.
hiram barrus.
carroll d. wright.
nathan p. pratt.
jacob w. manning.
reading news.
public library.
j. b. leathe.
cyrus a. cole.
rev. james k. ewer.
gardner french.
avilliam proctor.
a. p. damon.
solon bancroft.
SHERBORN.
a. h. blanchard, m. d.
j. holbrook & sons.
nathaniel doavse.
joseph dowse.
a. r. leland.
jonathan holbrook.
nathan hunt.
public library.
SHIRLEY.
jerome gardner.
n. c. munson.
seth chandler.
SOMERVILLE.
hon. george a. bruce.
hon. george o. brastow.
hon. wm. h. furber.
john haskell butler.
u
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
S. Z. BOWMAN.
OLIVER TUFTS.
JOHN C. MAGOUN.
ROBERT A. VINAL.
HENRY H. BARBER.
RICHARD E. NICKERSON.
JOHN F. NICKERSON.
NATHAN TUFTS.
JOHN W. BROOKS.
LEBBEUS STETSON.
CHAUNCEY HOLT.
GEORGE SKILTON.
W. W. DOW, M. D.
CHARLES H. GUILD.
JOHN L. LOTHROP, M. D.
HORACE P. HEMENWAY, M. D.
G. A. SOUTHWORTH.
E. FRANK CUTTER.
CHARLES E. GILMAN.
THOMAS CUNNINGHAM.
ISAAC PITMAN.
SAMUEL T. FROST.
FRANCIS TUFTS.
JONATHAN BROWN.
HORACE C. WHITE, M. D.
Mrs. J. S. EDGERLY.
H. B. RUNEY.
C. H. CRANE.
J. H. DAVIS.
JNO. F. COLE.
WM. H. HODGKINS.
H. M. MOORE.
0. J. DAVIS.
SAMUEL C. DARLING.
GEORGE F. JELLY, M. D.
McLEAN ASYLUM.
FRANK G. WILLIAMS.
CLARK BENNETT.
GP:0RGE A. KIMBALL.
Rev. C. T. McGRATH.
W. T. PLAISTED.
A. E. WINSHIP.
GEORGE L. BAXTER.
HENRY F. WOODS.
CHARLES E. POWERS.
TIMOTHY TUFTS.
LEVI RUSSELL.
SILAS H. HOLLAND.
E. C. BOOTH, M. D.
SAMUEL TEELE.
D. F. CRANE.
JOHN C. TENNEY.
C. G. ROWELL.
BENJAMIN P. LOVEJOY.
M. J. CANA VAN.
A. M. KIDDER.
W. C. TALLMAN.
HORACE HASKINS.
EDGAR PAINE.
CHARLES A. DOLE.
WILLIAM F. HALL.
CHARLES G. POPE.
EDWARD T. FLANAGAN.
PERCY A. BRIDGHAM.
GEORGE W. McCONNELL.
A. H. SKILTON,
STONEHAM.
W. B. STEVENS.
LYMAN DIKE.
WILLIAM TIDD.
SILAS DEAN.
STOW.
B. W. GLEASON.
EDWIN WHITNEY.
ABEL C. LIVERMORE, M. D.
SUDBURY.
JONAS S. HUNT, 2 copies.
JAMES MOORE.
NATHAN L. PRATT.
J. P. HURLBUT.
GEORGE EARL.
Rev. G. A. OVIATT.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
TEWKSBURY.
LEONARD HUNTRESS.
J. C. KITTREDGE.
THOMAS J. MARSH.
GEORGE A. KITTRIDGE.
WILLIAM H. LEE.
TOWNSEND.
ITHAMAR B. SAWTELL.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBEBS.
WAKEFIELD.
AZEL AMES, Jr.
S. K. HAMILTON.
CYRUS WAKEFIELD.
THOMAS EMERSON.
J. F. EMERSON.
G. W. EATON.
LUCIUS BEEBE.
WALTHAM.
FRANCIS BUTTRICK.
DANIEL F. VILES.
M. U. ADAMS.
F. J. DAVIS.
NATHAN WARREN.
AMERICAN WATCH COMPANY.
WILLIAM ROBERTS.
C. H. HOUGHTON.
WILLIAM GIBBS.
C. H. EMERSON.
WILLIAM A. HUNNEWELL.
RUFUS WARREN.
B. F. D. ADAMS, M. D.
ALEXANDER STARBUCK.
DAVID RANDALL.
CHARLES SMITH.
CHARLES W. FOGG.
J. B. BRIGHT.
WILLIAM E. BRIGHT.
G. W. HOWE.
W. W. CLARK.
GEORGE PHINNEY.
E. L. BARRY.
R. S. WARREN, M. D.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
WATERTOWN.
WALDO ADAMS.
MILES PRATT.
A. HOSMER, M. D.
R. L. DAVIS.
CHARLES J. BARRY.
FRANCIS KENDALL.
TILDEN G. ABBOTT.
WILLIAM PERKINS.
A. O. DAVIDSON.
SAM.UEL L. BATCHELDER.
OLIVER SHAW.
J. L. CASSIDY.
CHARLES W. STONE.
CHARLES F. FITZ.
GEORGE H. LONG.
WILLIAM H. INGRAHAM.
JOHN H. CONANT.
JOHN K. STICKNEY.
Riiv. J. F. LOVERING.
WAYLAND.
LYDIA MARIA CHILD.
JAMES S. DRAPER.
HORACE HEARD.
S. M. THOMAS.
THOMAS P. DAMOND.
R. I. LOMBARD.
ROYAL FLINT.
JUDE DAMON.
WILLIAM SIMPSON.
PUBLIC LIBRARY.
WESTPORD.
SHERMAN D. FLETCHER.
S. H. FLETCHER.
J. AV. ABBOT.
EDWARD PRESCOTT.
A. J. ABBOT.
GEORGE T. DAY.
WILLIAM E. FROST.
Rev. E. R. HODGMAN.
ALLAN CAMERON, 2 copies,
J. A. ROBA'.
J. HENRY READ.
F. G. SARGENT.
WESTON.
C. H. FISKE.
WILMINGTON.
LEMUEL G. EAMS.
WINCHESTER.
D. N. SKILLINGS.
HENRY R. THATCHER.
THOMAS P. AYER.
ig
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
henry f. johnson.
samuel j. elder.
edwin a. wadleigii.
john t. wilson.
james a. dupee.
j. f. dwinell.
j. c. mason.
g. w. t. riley.
stephen h. cutter.
stephen a. holt.
d. n. skillings, jk.
l. s. quimby.
avilliam h. kinsman.
c. h. dunham.
town library.
c. l. harrington.
harrison parker, 2d.
henry c. miller.
c. o. billings.
a. b. coffin.
george s. littlefield.
emmons hamlin.
f. a. loring.
e. d. bangs.
john parsons.
f. h. nourse.
WOBURN.
john cummings.
j. g. pollard.
^y. t. grammfir.
nathan wyman.
john johnson.
e. e. thompson.
g. r. gage.
e. d. hayden.
l. thompson, jk.
e. w. hudson.
charles choate.
alpha e. thompson.
john t. trull.
david d. hart.
charles a. smith.
avilliam ellard.
mks. george j. pindar.
rev. john quealy.
sewell taylor, 2d.
charles h. buss.
f. c. parker.
cyrus cummings.
james maguire.
stephen dow.
leonard fowle.
george h. conn.
granville parks.
william f. davis.
s. frank trull.
l. b. norris.
alexander ellis.
stephen nichols.
c. s. converse.
h. b. hayes.
j. p. crane.
n. j. simonds.
g. m. champney.
w. r. putnam.
s. henry doav.
alfred a. dow.
frederic a. flint
edavard simonds.
thomas h. hill.
jos. Mcdonald.
edavin f. avyer.
griffin place.
e. h. davis.
john e. tidd.
j. s. true.
h. eustis smith.
NEW YORK.
mercantile library.
state library.
samuel osgood, d. d.
john pomeroy townsend.
astor library.
society library.
historical library.
josiah m. fiske.
albert coggswell.
h. a. holmes.
BROOKLYN.
long island historical society.
benjamin t. frothingham.
brooklyn library.
WASHINGTON, D. C.
hon. william a. richardson.
hon. charles devens.
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS.
ST. locris.
edward wyman.
ST. PAUL.
henry p. upiiam.
WORCESTER.
rev. w. r. huntington.
george e. francis, m. d.
stephen salisbury.
public library.
SALEM.
henry wheatland.
PROVIDENCE.
joseph j. cooke.
BROCKTON.
public library.
MUNICH, GERMANY.
w. r. phelfer.
david neal.
LEICESTER.
rev. samuel may.
AUBURN, N. Y.
seymour free library.
GRAFTON.
f. c. pierce.
NORTH ADAMS.
c. f. luther.
BROOKLINR
mary e. hall.
LAWRENCE.
f. h. hedge, jr.