CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Cornell University Library F 72 .W9H96 V.I History of Worcester County, Massachuset 3 1924 024 249 769 \^^-^=;-i.' ^^. /fe)i ^^1 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924024249769 HISTORY OF W0KCE8TER COUNTY MASSACHUSETTS, WITH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OF MANY OF ITS Pioneers and Prominent Men. COMPILED UNDER THE SUPEKVISION OF I>. HAMILTON HURD. VOL. I. I XjLTJS T I?.^T E ID. PHILADELPHIA: J. W. LEWIS & CO. 1889. PUBLISHEES' PEEFAOE. In presenting the within History to the people of Worcester County the Publishers desire to state that when the preparation of the work had been finally decided upon, an earnest effort was made to secure the leading literary talent of this section of the Commonwealth to prepare the manuscript. The result was a gratifying success. Those most familiar with the historic litera- ture of the County were engaged, whose names appear at the head of their respective chapters. These gentlemen approached the task with a spirit of impartiality and with a determination to prepare a work which should reflect credit alike upon the County, its citizens and themselves, and the Publishers feel that no effort has been spared either by Publishers or writers to faithfully present the history of the territory embodied herein, from its Indian occupancy to the present proud position it occupies among the counties of the Commonwealth. Philadelphia, February 20, 1889. CONTKNTS OK VOL. I. GENERAL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. WoRCRSTER County I CHAPTER II. i The Bench and Bar TOWN HISTORIES. CHAPTER I. IvANCASTER ... The Nashaways and their Home — Kind's Purchase — The Naahaway Plantere—The Town Grant — The Cove- nant — Land Allotments — Death of Showanon. CHAPTER II. Lancaster — (Continued) . ... The First Minister — Arbitration — Commissioners Ap- pointed to Direct Town Affairs — The First Highways — Noyes' Survey — Disaffection of the Indians — Monoco's Raid — James Quanapang's Fidelity — The Destruction of Lancaster. CHAPTER III. Lancaster — (Continued) . The Resettlement — French and Indian Raids — The Gar- risons — New Meeting-Houee — The Additional Grant — Early Schoolmasters — Lovewell's War — Worcester County Formed — Birth of Harvard, Bolton and Leo- minster — Sieges of Carthagena and Louisbourg — Tlie Conquest of Canada, CHAPTER IV. Lancaster — (Continued) . . . The First Census — Organization for Revolution — Lex- ington Alarm — Bunker Hill and the Siege of Boston — War Annals — Separation of Chocksett — Shays' Rebel- lion—Bridge Lotteries. CHAPTER V. Lancaster — (Continued) ... ... Hon. John Sprague — Cotton and Woolen-Mills — The Academy— War of 1812— The Whitings— The Brick Meeting-House — Lafayette — The Printing Enterprise — Dr. Nathaniel Thayer — New Churches— Clinton Set Off — Bi -Centennial — Schools — Libraries — Cemeteries. CHAPTER VI. L-ANC ASTER — (Continued) The Rebellion- The Town's History Printed— The Town's Poor — Death of Nathaniel Thayer — General Statistics, Etc. CHAPTER VII. Clinton ... Prescott's Mills — Destruction of the Settlement by In- dians — The First Highways — The Garrison Census — The First Families. CHAPTER VIII. Clinton — (Continued) . . The Revolution — The "Six Nations" — Immigration— The Comb-makers— Poignand and Plant — Coming of * the Bigelows — The Clinton Company — The- Lancaster Quilt Company — The Bigelow Carpet Company — The Lancaster Mills — Clintonville, its Builders and its Enter- prises. i6 25 31 40 46 50 CHAPTER IX. Clinton — (Continued) ... The Incorporation— Favoring Auspices — New Enter- prises and Changes in the Old. CHAPTER X. Clinton — (Continued) ... Clinton in the Rebellion — Soldiers' Roater. CHAPTER XI. Clinton — (Continued) . Horatio Nelson Bigelow — Banks— Town Hall — Bigelow Free Library — Soldiers' Monument — Annals of Manu- facturing Corporations — The "Wash-out" of 1876 — Franklin Forbes — Erastus B. Bigelow. CHAPTER XII. Clinton — (Continued) . . Schools — Churches — Newspai^era — Water Supply — Sta- tistics, Etc. CHAPTER XIII. Clinton — (Continued) . . . Masonic History. CHAPTER XIV. SOUTHBOROUGH . Location and Incorporation — Soil and Suri'ace — Waters — Productions — Agriculture — Manufactures and Me- chanical Industries. CHAPTER XV. SODTHBORODGH — (Continued) CHAPTER XVI. 57 61 67 74 82 92 95 Sturbridge CHAPTER XVII. Templeton . Location — Boundary — Elevation — Streams — Ponds — Soil — Productions — Population — Valuation — Business Affairs of the Present Time. CHAPTER XVIII. Templeton — (Continued) Grant to the Township — The Proprietors — Early Settle- ments — Old Houses — Incorporation: Templeton, Phil- lipston — County Relations — State Relations — Political Parties. CHAPTER XIX. Templeton — (Continued) 124 129 Military Ajfairs: The Revolution — The Currency — Second War with England- A Militia Muster— The Civil War — The Sanitary Commission. CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. Tempi^eton — (Continued) 134 BittiineBS Affairs : ManufactureB — Early Mills— At Bald- winville — On Trout Brook — At Partridgevilla and East Templeton— At Otter Biver— Hotels — Stores— Savings Bank — Roads— Railroads. CHAPTER XXI. Tempi,eTon — (Continued) . . . 140 Post-Offices — The Common — Cemfeteries — Societies — Warning Out — Tlie Great Load of Wond — r'liaises — Bounties on Wild Animals. CHAPTER XXII. Tempi,eton — (Continued) . . 143 Edvcalional Affairs: Schools — Private Schools — Public Hi^h Schools — Teachers — Graduates — Libraries — Boyn- ton Public Library. CHAPTER XXIII. Templeton — (Continued) 147 Ecdesiustical Affairs: The First Church — The Baptist Church — The Trinitarian Church— The Universalist Church — The Methodist Church — St. Martin's Churcli — Memorial Church — Ministers. CHAPTER XXIV. Templeton — (Continued) ... . 150 Lawyers — Physicians— Hospitals — Prominent Men. CHAPTER XXV. UXBRIDGE . . • 156 Chapter xxvi. UXBRIDGE — (Continued) ... 161 CHAPTER XXVII. UXBRIDGE — (Continued) . . 165 CHAPTER XXVIII. UxBRiDGE — (Continued) . . . . . 169 CHAPTER XXIX. UxBRiDGE — (Continued). . 173 CHAPTER XXX. UXBRIDGE — (Continued). . . .... 176 CHAPTER XXXI. Auburn . . 184 CHAPTER XXXII. Auburn — (Continued) . . 186 CHAPTER XXXIII. Auburn — (Continued) . . 188 CHAPTER XXXIV. Auburn — (Continued) . 190 CHAPTER XXXV. ASHBURNHAM ..... -193 CHAPTER XXXVI. FiTCHBURG . . 208 Descriptive. CHAPTER XXXVII. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) 212 Early History (1T64-1799). CHAPTER XXXVIII. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . • ^^° History from 1800 to 1872. CHAPTER XXXIX. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . . . . 228 History of the City (1873-1888). CHAPTER XL. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) 231 History during the War of the Rebellion. CHAPTER XU. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . 246 Ecclesiastical History. CHAPTER XLII. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . ... 256 Educational History. CHAPTER XLIII. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . 269 Manufacturing. CHAPTER XLIV. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) .... - 287 Commercial Histoi-y, CHAPTER XLV. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) ... . 292 Hotels, Public Buildings and Business Blocks. CHAPTER XLVI. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . . 293 City Departments. CHAPTER XLVII. FiTCHBURG — (Coutiuvied) . . . 297 Organizations and Societies. CHAPTER XLVIII. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . 300 Professional. CHAPTER XUX. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . . . 304 Literary and Artistic. CHAPTER L. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) . 306 Journalism in Fitchburg. CHAPTER LI. FiTCHBURG — (Continued) 309 Cemeteries. CHAPTER LII. Barre . . 330 CHAPTER UII. Web.ster . . 362 CHAPTER EIV. Mendon 2,7a Pioneer Life : Mendon the Mother of Towns — Compar- ative Antiquity — Number of Towns once a Part of Mendon — The First Movement for a New Plantation — The Deed from the Indians — Division of Land— Names of Proprietors — The Fii-st Map— Incorporation— Tliy Town in 1675- The Nipmucks' Attack— The Settlers' lleturii. CONTENTS. CHAPTER LV. Mendon — (Continued) Terrilnrial and Political Changes : The Town'8 Poverty after the War — Olaims of Rhode lalaud Territory — The "North PurchaBe"— Annexation of "The Farma"— Towns Claiming to be "Children of Mendon " — Men- don To-day. CHAPTER LVI. Mendon — (Continued) . . ... Manufactures: The First Grist-Mill and Saw-Mill— The Successive Occupants of the Old Grist-Mill Site — Con- tracts with Millers and Blacksmiths — Torrey and War- field Saw-Mills — Factories, Miscellaneous and Modern. CHAPTER LVII. Mkndon — (Continued) . . ... Military Uistorij : Mendon in the French and Indian War— The Revolution— Shays' Rebellion— War of 1812 —The Rebellion. CHAPTER LVIII. Mendon — (Continued) . . Eccltsiastical History: Minister and Meeting- Houses, 1663 to 1818— The Change to Unitarian ism— The Meet- iug-House of 1820— Pastors to 1888— The North Con- gregational Church and Pastoi-s— The Methodists in Mendon— The Qnakers. CHAPTER LIX. Mendon — (Continued) Educational History and Closing RemarJcs : Early Records and Tradition Concerning Schools — Notices of the Earliest Teachers and School-Houses— School-Dames— The District System- The High School— Some Note- worthy Events in Mendon's Recent History and its I'rea- ent Status. CHAPTER LX. Individuals. 377 378 379 381 3S3 BERWN . ... ... 387 CHAPTER LXI. HOPEDAI^K . 406 CHAPTER LXII. NORTHBRIDGE ... 424 The Begi?ininge. CHAPTER LXIII. NORTHBRIDGE— (Continued) . . . 428 The New Town. CHAPTER tXIV. Northbridgb; — (Continued) . . . 432 The Later History. CHAPTER LXV. NORTHBRIDGE— (Continued) . • 434 Religious Societies. CHAPTER LXVI. NORTHBRIDGE— (Continued) . 439 Schools and Library. CHAPTER LXVII. NoRTHBRlDGE--(Contiuued) .... 441 Manufactures. CHAPTER LXVIII. NORTHBRIDGE— (Continued) . . ■ 447 CHAPTER LXIX. NORTHBOROUGH 453 chapter lxx. Petersham ... Locality — Topography — Kail way Uonnectione — Histori- cal Resources — Early Settlement — Petitionee and Pro- prietors — Services in tlie Indian War — First Meeting — Settlers — Relations with the Indiana— Alarm — Armed Worshippers. CHAPTER tXXl. Petp;rsham — (Continued) Incidents of the Revolution. CHAPTER I.XXII. Peter.sham — (Continued) . . Shays' Rebellion. CHAPTER T-.XXIII. PiCTKRSHAM — (Continued) ... ... The Churches. CHAPTER T.XXIV. Petersham — (Continued) Schools — Industries — Wealth — Population — College Graduates— Congressniou— State Senators — Representa- tives—Town Officers -Selectmen — Town Clerks— Town Treasurers— School Committee— OfRcers, 1888. CHAPTER T.XXV. Petersham — (Continued) . Biographical Nntes. CHAPTER I,XX\'I. Petersham — (Continued) The Rebellion— Public .S|iirit. CHAPTER LXXVII. Sterung . .... CHAPTER LXXVIII. Brookfiei R '.,i6ahi„tr *TttlmimJt*rbti' h'tttrnmstrr '■ FITCHBURG I LUNENBURG ." pjP K^" po ^ ' — ■iWSk--' V^^^P"''** ? » .' i^ #ESTMiNSttR .'^^ \ Y" ■'■ ^ Pa j» ^ <,»Vi. ?-5>{oa rKBof, JA"^ PETERSHAM HUB B Vr uIS T N ,i • ••' -to, »w*»,w/ ( ^^ TM0rm ' PRINCETON !,>*.fe,*^/.., '• 5TE 'mMrt > LANCASTER, I VARD/« ! ^ ;:> X\VA^r{ 'A *~.fj r-^.. iT BOLTON 'Z V.v<* rNTBN • ■Jtft U mtPi " ft 4 \'jiUinJl WORCESTER '. SPENDER '• i/Jf^/rrlfir * >H*« "'"IR, LEICEfiTER'v \ r£^ — ' SOUTHBOR /■= I [i*r ^SHREWS BURY*", ■ ItVayr, ^s A ?9TB0R0UG>y n^^Mtpo ,"^ JVM /»«» *v^*' i«^ J-" RREN '.r fc HP^ • J-V- ' / / ^ v. '"""""' ^ * '' V,l^//,mPrfH'l vyi A ^( » W*A«rr;V -^ unillSl PO GRAFTON .VUA>tryPil\ "^ '• hr* i '» . ■ — — _ .. .' .i^mtn"~ii C-^'-'M Aumw I ftttncPO »• ,1 4^ UPTON .' / \ y/olt ^•»*/J'- ,A I r PETERSHAM t \ t. DANA HUB B ARqSTON % PRINCETON I 'Ifarhmif.Vr/itn- Barrr <>rt*tr P ,1 B A R R E Sitithnll, Pi\ ih'Jli vn.il.ml P,l r ,4 V* V- STE / Vtr-Af^ I PfftV, t/.ir.hru-A CrmtrrPO HARDNMCJ fPO ^y ^ •. A K H i| M \yr*l;w/v BRAINTRLE''. \» '•■^'\: NORTH fNTSN I BOLTOH /*- E R LIN '/ 4", P^jrtaMP0 « \ 1-'- PAXT^ •. *TC:4, ^ ; BROOKFIELO ; J '. SPE N^ER -t-^^^* > > ^V—rrz-rf^ LEICESTER". i^.,rf»/ -<»\ .Ptf vV BOYLSTON : f %^^'^ ^Var\burouuV^ <.^/ : NORTHf ORO*^. MtrrUtrtPi /•: •SOUTH BOR^Jwyj:!,?' ! BROOKFIELO^ / Stfmrrrrtj •t ; ^,^J>KTBOROUG>y- I (Uu^rtii* \ GRAFTON' ^1 \ "'^.. REN..? ,«V. vlfeCSfy '/vJ::irS;^5^|^r^"-T!2:5/:'"'"r • --" .K .1 /•' «... _.. V* ^*"^T^ » IV I I ( u- .--w % \ i«^ '* CHARLTON «i ^ If '^ % .^ I sturbrioge:-. V« I SturDn^gfPO 1?^- rr:^: «'^..- rVyr/'l JFORD 4 S UTTON r.fiiawiPP * 5 1 V /s.mj^Urro^'^*^ DUO LE rA 5' f •SOUTHBRIOGEXr/Wftrr/'o IffrtmJW^ ^...-rA;»<«p.j:^ ^ : mendon Kd^ 'PO I :r*nd^tPO J fi ^'. 4 » />iUy«t />o :r\ /•<< Umoii Woodstock tM)i\ii>sou C NNECT/CUT i)«.;?«j /■/. V'^^'^'^jSiU X B R 1 V E I •^ '^ ' ^ ^ : BLACKSTON* I CD k/^ ! iKtmsUnr ^'^^O'*.^ HUh-tfl^n. RHODE /SLAA/D WORCESTER COUNTY. zances, warrants, orders, certificates, reports and processed made to, taken for, or continued, or return- able to the Court of Sessions in the several counties, except as aforesaid, shall be returnable to, and pro- ceeded in, and determined by the respective Circuit Courts of Common Pleas, vi'hich was established June 21, 1811." It was further provided " that from and after the first day of June next, the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas shall have, exercise and perform all powers, authorities and duties which the respective Courts of Se^sions have, before the passage of this act, exercised and performed, except in' the Counties of Suffolk, Nantucket and Dukes County." And it was further provided that the Governor, by and with the advice of the Council, be authorized to appoint two persons in each county who shall be session justices of the Circuit Court of Common Pleas, and sit with the justices of said Circuit Court in the administration of the afiairs of their county and of all matters within said county of which the Courts of Sessions had cognizance. The affairs of the county were thus administered until February 20, 1819, when it was enacted "that from and after the first day of June next an act to transfer the powers and duties of the Courts of Sessions to the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas, passed February 28, 1814, be hereby repealed," and it was further provided "that from and after the first day of June next the Courts of Sessions in the several counties shall be held by one chief justice and two associate justices, to be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Council, who shall have all the powers, rights and privileges, and be subject to all the duties which are now vested in the Circuit Courts of Common Pleas, relating to the erection and repair of jails and other county buildings, the allowance and settlement of county accounts, the estimate, apportionment and issuing warrants for assessing county taxes, granting licenses, laying out, altering and discontinuing highways, and appointing committees and ordering juries for that purpose." The management of county affairs remained in the hands of the Court of Sessions until March 4, 1826, when that part of its duties relating to highways was transferred to a new board of officers denominated " Commissioners of Highways." It was provided by law "that for each county in the Commonwealth, except the Counties of Suffolk and Nantucket, there shall be appointed and commissioned by His Excel- lency the Governor, by and with the advice and con- sent of the Council, to hold their offices for five years, unless removed by the Governor and Council, five commissioners of highways, except in the Coun- ties of Dukes and Barnstable, in which there shall be appointed only three, who shall be inhabitants of such county, one of whom shall be designated as Chairman by his commission." It was further pro- vided that the commissioners should report their doings to the Court of Sessions for record, and that said court should draw their warrants on the county treasurer for the expenses incurred by the crimmis- sioners in constructing roads laid out by them. On the 26th of J^ebruary, 1828, the act establishing the Courts of Sessions, passed February 20, 1819. and the act in addition thereto, passed February 21, 1820, the act increasing the numbers and extending the powers of the justices of the Courts of Sessions', passed February 6, 1822, and the act in addition to an act directing the method of laying out highways passed March 4, 1826, were repealed. The repealing act provided that " there shall be appointed and com- missioned by His Excellency, the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Council, four per- sons to be county commissioners for each of the counties of Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk and Worcester, and three persons to be county commissioners for each of the other counties of the Commonwealth, except the county of Suffolk," "that the clerks of the Courts of Common Pleas within the several counties shall be clerks of said county commissioners," and "that for each of the counties in the Commonwealth except the counties of Suffolk, Middlesex, Essex, Worce-ter, Norfolk and Nantucket, there shall be appointed and commissioned two persons to act as special county commissioners." Under this law Jared Weed, Aaron Tuft<, William Eaton and Edmund Cushing were appointed in 1828, and served until 1832, when James Draper succeeded Aaron Tufts. No further changes occurred in the board until 1835, when, on the 8th of April in that year, a law was passed providing that in every county, except Suffolk and Nantucket, the judge of Probate, the register of probate and clerk of the Court of Common Pleas, should be a board of examiners, and that on the first Monday in May, in the year 1835, and on the first Monday in April in every third year thereafter, the people should cast their votes for three county com- missioners and two special commissioners. Under this law John W. Lincoln, William Crawford and Ebenezer D. Ammidown were chosen in 1835 ; William Crawford, Samuel Taylor and Ebenezer D. Ammi- down, in 1838 ; William Crawford, David Davenport and Charles Thurber, in 1841; William Crawford, Jerome Gardner and Joseph Bruce, in 1844; the same in 1847 ; Otis Adams, Bonum Nye and Asaph Woof<, in 1850, and the same in 1853. On the llih of March, 1854, it was provided by law that the county com- missioners then in office in the several counties, except in Suffolk and Nantucket, shall be divided into three classes, those of the first class holding their offices until the day of the next annual election of Governor, those of the second class until 1855, and those of the third class until the election in 1856, the commis- sioners then in office determining by lot to which class each should belong, and that at each annual election thereafter one commissioner should be chosen for three years. Under the new law the office of commissioner has been filled by Otis Adams, Bonum HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Nye, Asaph Wood, Zadock A. Taft, James Allen, Velorus A. Taft, Amory Holman, J. W. Bigelow, William O. Brown, Henry G. Taft, H. E. Rice, George S. Duell and James H. Barker. The Superior Court of Judicature which was finally established June 26, 1699, but which had been in operation since the act of November 25, 1692, which was disallowed by the Privy Council, formed a part of the judicial system of the province until February 12, 1781. It has been found difficult by some to draw the line between the death of the Superior Court of Judicature and the birth of the Supreme Judicial Court. An act was passed February 12, 1781, fixing the salaries of the justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, and yet the law establishing that court was not passed until July 3, 1782. Sufficient light is thrown on this discrepancy to explain it by an act passed February 20, 1781, which in its preamble uses the language, " Whereas by the Constitution and Frame of Government of the Commonwealth of Massachu- setts the style and title of the Superior Court of Judicature is now the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts," and which in the body of the act uses the further language, " That the Court which hath been or shall be hereafter appointed and commissioned according to the Constitution as the Supreme Judicial Court of the Commonwealth, etc." During its existence the judges on its bench were : Commissioned William Stougtaton 1092 IliomaB Danforth 1692 Wait Winthrop 1692 John Richards 1692 Samuel Scwall 169^ Elisha Cooke 1695 John Walley 1700 John Saffln ITOl Isaac Addington 1702 John Hathorne 1702 John LcTcrett -... 1702 Jonathan Corwin 1708 Benjamin Lynde 1712 Nathaniel Thomas 1712 Addington Davenport 1715 Paul Dudley 1718 Edmund (Juincy 1718 John Cuehing 1729 Jonathan Remington 1733 Richard SaltonstaU 17.'i8 Commissioned Thomas Greaves 1737 Stephen Sewall 1739 Nathaniel Hubbard 1745 Benjamin Lynde 1745 John Gushing 1747 Chambers Russell 1762 Peter Oliver 1756 Thomas Hutchioson 1701 Edmund Trowbridge 1 767 Foster Hutchinson 1771 Nathaniel Ropes 1772 William Gushing 1772 William Browne 1774 John Adams 1775 Nathaniel P. Sargent 1775 William Keed 1776 Robert Treat Paine 1776 Jedediah Foster 1776 James Sullivan 1776 David Sewall 1777 The chief justices of the c ourt were, William Stoughton, 1692 ; Isaac Addington, 1702 ; Wait Win- throp, 1708; Samuel Sewall, 1718; Benjamin Lynde, 1718; Paul Dudley, 1745; Siephen Sewall, 1752; Thomas Hutchinson, 1761 ; Benjamin Lynde, 1769 ; Peter Oliver, 1772 ; William Cushing, 1775. The Supreme Judicial Court, which superseded the Superior Court of Judicature, was established by law February 20, 1781. It was established with one chief justice and four associate justices, which number was increased to six in 1800, and the State divided into two circuits — the East, including Essex County and Maine, and the West, including the remainder of the State except Suffiilk County. In 1805 the number of associates was reduced to four, and in 1852 increased to five. In 1873 the number of associates was increased to six, making the court as since constituted to consist of seven judges, including the chief justice. The judges of the court have been Commissioned William Gushing 1781 Nathl. Peaslee Sargent 1781 James Sullivan 1781 David Sewall 1781 Increase Sumner 1782 Francis Dana 1786 Robert Treat Paine 1790 Nathan Gushing 1790 Thomas Dawes 1792 Theophilus Bradbury 1795 Samuel Sewall 1800 Simeon Strong 1801 George Thacher 1801 Theodore Sedgwick 1802 Isaac Parker 1806 Theophilus Parsons 1806 Charles Jackson 1813 Daniel Dewey 1814 Samuel Putnam , 1814 Samuel Sumner Wilde 1815 Levi Lincoln 1824 Marcus Morton 1825 Lemuel Shaw 1830 Charles Augustus Dewey 1837 Samuel Hnbbard 1842 Charles Edward Forbes 1848 Theron Metcalf 1848 Commissioned Richard Fletcher 1848 George Tyler Bigelow 1850 Caleb Gushing 1862 Benj. Franklin Thomas 1853 Pliny Merrick 1853 Ebenezer Bockwood Hoar 1859 Reuben Atwater Chapman 1860 Horace Gray 1864 James Denison Colt 1865 Dwight Foster 1866 John Wells 1866 James Denison Colt 1868 Seth Ames 1869 Marcus Morton 1869 Wm. Growninsh ield Endicott..l873 Charles Devens 1873 Otis Phillips Lord 1875 Augustus Lord Soule 1877 Wolbridge Abner Field 1881 Charles Devens 1881 William Allen 1881 Charles Allen 1882 Waldo Colburn 1882 Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr 1882 William Sewall Gardner 1885 Marcus Perrin Knowlton 1887 The chief justices of the court have been William Cushing, 1781; Nathaniel Peaslee Sargent, 1790; Francis Dana, 1791 ; Theophilus Parsons, 1806 ; Sam- uel Sewall, 1814; Isaac Parker, 1814; Lemuel Shaw, 1830 ; George Tyler Bigelow, 1860 ; Reuben Atwater Chapman, 1868 ; Horace Gray, 1873 ; Marcus Mor- ton, 1882. The administration of probate affairs up to the accession of President Dudley, in 1685, was in the hands of the County Court ; Dudley assumed probate jurisdiction, but delegated his powers in some of the counlies to a judge, appointed by himself. Under the administration of Andros he assumed jurisdiction in the settlement of estates exceeding fifty pounds, while judges of probate had jurisdiction in estates of a lesser amount. The provincial charter gave jurisdic- tion to the Governor and Council in all probate mat- ters, who claimed and exercised the right of delegat- ing it to judges and registers of probate in the several counties. On the 12th of March, 1784, a Probate Court was established by law, of which the judge and register were to be appointed by the Governor, until, under an amendment of the Constitution, ratified by the people May 23, 1855, it was provided by law that in 1856, and every fifth year thereafter, the register should be chosen by the people for a term of five years. In 1856 a Court of Insolvency was also estab- lished for each county, with a judge and register, and in 1858 the offices of judge and register of both the Probate and Insolvency Courts were abolished, and WORCESTER COUNTY. the offices of judge and register of probate and insol- vency were established. It was also provided that the registers of probate and insolvency should be chosen by the people for a term of five years, in that year and every fifth year thereafter. In 1862 the Probate Court was made a Court of Record. The judges of probate in Worcester County have been John Chandler, of Woodstock 1731 to 17iO Joseph Wilder, of Lancaster 1740 to 1756 John Chandler, of Worcester 1765 to 17C2 John Chandler, Jr., of Worcester 1762 to 1775 Jedediah Foster, of Brookfleld 1775 to 1776 Artemas Ward, of Shrewsbury 1776 to 1778 Levi Lincoln, of Worcester 1776 to 1783 Joseph Dorr, of Ward (Aubarn) 1783 to 18ut Nathaniel Paine of Worcester 1801 to 1836 Ira M. Barton, of Worcester 1836 to 1844 Benj. F. Thomas, of Worcester 1844 to 1848 Thomas Kinnicutt, of Worcester 1848 to 1857 Dwight Foster, of Worcester 1857 to 1858 Henry Chapin, of Worcester (P. & In.) 1868 to 1878 Aden Thayer, of Worcester (P. & In.) 1878 to 1888 Wm. T. Forbes, of Weatboro (P. &ln.) 1888 During the short life of the Court of Insolvency the judges were Alexander H. Bullock and W. W. Rice, and the register was John J. Piper. The registers of Probate have been John Chandler, Jr., of Worcester; Timothy Paine, of Worcester; Clarke Chandler, of Worcester; Joseph Wheeler, of Worces- ter ; Theophilus Wheeler, Charles G. Prentice, John J. Piper (P. & In.), Charles E. Stevens (P. & In.) and Frederick W. South wick (P. & In.). During the existence of the Massachusetts Colony the executive officer of the court was called either " beadle " or " marshal," except under Dudley, when he was called " provost marshal," and under Andros, when he was called "sheriff." Since the union of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Colonies, and the estab- lishment of the province of Massachusetts Bay, in 1692, he has been called " sheriff." Under the prov- ince charter he was appointed by the Governor, and continued to be after the adoption of the Constitution until 1831. On the 17th of March in that year a law was passed providing that the Governor should appoint and commission sheriiTs for terms of five years, and giving him power to remove them from office at pleasure. Under the nineteenth article of amendments of the Constitution, ratified by the peo- ple in 1865, a law was passed in 1856 providing that in that year, and every third year thereafter, a sheriff should be chosen by the people of each county at the annual election. The sheriffs of Worcester County have been as follows : Appointed Daniel Gookin 1731 Benjamin Flagg (vice Gookin, deceased) 1743 John Chandler {vice Flagg, deceased) 1751 Gardner Chandler (uice Chandler, made .judge) 17u2 Simeon Dwight funder the new order) 1775 * William Greenleaf (wice Dwight, deceased) 1778 John Sprague 1788 Dwight Foster {vice Sprague, resigned) 1792 William Caldwell 1793 Thomas W. Ward 1805 Calvin Willard 1824 ,)ohn W. Lincoln 1844 James W. Estabrook 1851 George W. Richardson 1853 Chosen J. S. 0. Knowlton 18.56 A. B. R. Sprague 1871 In the colony of Massachusetts the clerks of the courts were appointed by the courts. Under the Province the clerks of the County Courts and of the Superior Court of Judicature, and afterwards of the Supreme Judicial Court, until 1797, were distinct, and the clerk of the two latter courts had his office in Boston. The courts continued to hold the ap- pointment of clerks until 1811, when it was trans- ferred to the Governor and Council. In 18l4 it was given to the Supreme Judicial Court, and so re- mained until 1856, when it was provided by law that in that year, and every fifth year thereafter, clerks should be chosen by the people in the several coun- ties. The clerks of the courts in Worcester County have been as follows : Appointed John Chandler (2d) 1731 Timothy Paine 1761 Levi Lincoln 1775 Joseph Allen 1776 William Stedman 1810 Francis Blake 1814 Abijah Bigelow 1817 Joseph G. Kendall 1832 Charles W. Hartshorn 1848 Joseph Mason 1852 ChoBett Joseph Mason 1860 John A. Dana 1876 Theodore S. Johnson 18S1 Timothy Paine, the second on the list of clerks, was appointed joint clerk with John Chandler, and continued sole clerk after the promotion of Mr. Chandler to the bench. The assistant clerks have been,^ William A. Smith 1847 to '64 John A.Dana 1864 to '76 Wm. T. Harlowe 1876 to — During the colonial period and up to 1715 clerks of courts were registers of deeds, but on the 26th of July, in that year, it was provided by law "that in each county some person having a freehold within said county to the value of at least ten pounds should be chosen by the people of the county register of deeds for the term of five years." This practice con- tinued until 1855, having been confirmed and re- newed by a law of 1781. In 1855 it was provided that in that year and every third year thereafter a register of deeds should be chosen for the term of three years. The registers of deeds in Worcester County have been : Chosen John Chandler (2d) 1731 Timothy Paine 1761 Nathan Baldwin 1776 Daniel Clapp 1784 Oliver Fiske 1816 HISTORY OP WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Artemas Ward 1821 Alexandev H. Wilder 1846 Harvey B. Wilder 1873 Charles A. Chaae 1876 Harvey B. Wilder 1877 On the 6th of June, 1856, an act was passed provid- ingthatthree terms of theCommon Pleas Court should be held annually in the town of Fitchburg, and thus that town became a half-shire. On the 29th of Feb- ruary, 1884, it was enacted by the General Court that Worcester County should be divided into two dis- tricts for the registry of deeds, one of which, includ- ing the city of Fitchburg and the towns of Lunen- burg, Leominster, Westminster and Ashburnham, should be called the Northern District and the other, including the remainder of the county, the Worcester District; the places of registry for the two districts being Fitchburg and Worcester. It was also provided that the register then in office should continue as the register of the Worcester District, and that the Gover- nor should appoint a register for the Northern Distriot> who should serve until a register was chosen and qualified in his place. On the 15lh of June, 1885, it was provided by law that the County Commissioners should cause copies of deeds to be made in one dis- trict belonging to the other not exceeding twenty years prior to August 1, 1884. The register at Fitch- burg, under the new law, has been and continues to be Charles F. Eockwood. It was provided by law by the Court of the Massa- chusetts Colony in 1654, that each county should an- nually choose a treasurer. After the formation of the province this provision was renewed by an act passed in 1692, and again renewed the 23d of March, 1786, and remained in force until 1855, when it was pro- vided that a treasurer should be chosen in each county in that year, and every third year thereafter, for the term of three years. The treasurers of Worctster County have been Benjamin Houghton, John Chan- dler (2d) and John Chandler (3d) from 1731 to 1775; Nathan Perry, from 1775 to 1790 ; Samuel Allen, from 1790 to 1831; Anthony Chase, from 1831 to 1865; Charles A. Chase, from 1865 to 1876, and Edward A. Brown, from 1876 to date. The only courts remaining to be mentioned are the Police and District Courts. The only Police Court is that in Fitchburg, of which Thornton K. Ware is justice, and David H. Merriam and Charles S. Hay den are the special justices. The Police Court of Worces- ter, of which \Vm. N. Green was justice, no longer exists. There are seven District Courts. The First Northern Worcester Court is held at Athol and Gard- ner, and has jurisdiction in Athol, Gardner, Peters- ham, Phillipston, Koyalston, Templeton and Hub- bardston. Its officers are Charles Field, justice; James A. Stiles and Sidney P, Smith, special justices. The First Southern is held at Southbridge and Web- ster, and has jurisdiction in Southbridge, Sturbridge, Charlton, Dudley, Oxford and Webster. Its officers are Clark Jillson, justice; Henry T. Clark andElisha M. Phillips, special justices. The Second Southern Worcester is held at Blackstone and Uxbridge and has jurisdiction in Blackstone, Uxbridge, Douglas and Northbridge. Its officers are Arthur A. Putnam, jus- tice; Zadoc A. Taft, and William J. Taft special jus- tices. The Third Southern Worcester is held at Mil- ford, and has jurisdiction in Milford, Mendon and Upton. Its officers are Charles A. Dewey, justice, and James E. Davis and Charles E. Whitney, special jus- tices. The First Eastern Worcester is held at West- borough and Grafton, and has jurisdiction in West- borough, Grafton, Norihborough and Southborough. Its officers are Dexter Newton, justice, and Benjamin B. Nourse and Luther K. Leland, special justices. The Second Eastern Worcester is held at Clinton, and has jurisdiction in Clinton, Berlin, Bolton, Harvard, Lancaster and Sterling. Its officers are Christopher C. Stone, justice, and Herbert Parker, special justice. The Central Worcester is held at Worcester, and has jurisdiction in Worcester, Millbury, Sutton, Auburn, Leicester, Paxton, West Boylston, Boylston, Holden and Shrewsbury. Its officers are Samuel Utley, jus- tice ; George M. Woodward and HoUis W. Cobb, special justices, and Edward T. Raymond, clerk. It is not pro|)osed to include in this chapter any allusion to the judges and members of the bar who have illustrated the judicial history of Worcester County. Another chapter will be specially devoted to sketches of their character and lives. Until 1836 the bar was divided into two classes, attorneys and barristers, though after 1806, under a rule of court, counselors, were substituted for barristers, and in 1836 the distinction between counselors and attor- neys was abolished. The writer will be excused if he repeats in this place substantially what he has writ- ten elsewhere concerning American barristers. The term " barrister " is derived from the Latin word barra, signifying "bar," and was applied to those only who were permitted to plead at the bar of the courts. In England, before admibsion, barristers must have resided three years in one of the Inns of Court if a graduate of either Cambridge or Oxford, and five years if not. These Inns of Court were the Inner Temple, the Middle Temple, Lincoln's Inn and Gray'.s Inn. Before the Revolution this rule seems to have so far prevailed here as to require a practice of thiee years in the Inferior Courts before admission as a barrister. John Adams says in his diary that he became a barrister in 1761, and was directed to provide himself with a gown and bands and a tie-wig, having practiced according to the rules three yeara in the Inferior Courts. At a later day the term of probation was four years, and at a still later, seven. There are known to have been twenty- five barristers in Massachusetts in 1768— eleven in Suffolk County: Richard Dana, Benjamin Kent, James Otis, Jr., Samuel Fitch, William Read, Samue Swift, Benjamin Gridley, Samuel Quincy, Robert WORCESTER COUNTY. Auchmuty and Andrew Casneau, of Boston, and John Adams, of Braintree ; five in Essex : Daniel Farn- ham and John Lowell, of Newburyport, William Pynchon, of Salem, John Chipman, of Marblehead, and Nathaniel Peaslee Sargent, of Haverhill ; one in Middlesex : Jonathan Sewell ; two in Worcester : James Putnam, of Worcester, and Abel Willard, of Lancaster; three in Bristol: Samuel While, Robert Treat Paine and Daniel Leonard ; two in Plymouth : James Hovey and Pelham Winslow, of Plymouth ; one in Hampshire : John Worthington, of Spring- field, then in that county. Fifteen others were added before the Revolution — Sampson Salter Blowers, of Boston, Moses Bliss and Jonathan Bliss, of Spring- field, Joseph Hawley, of Northannpton, Zephaniah Leonard, of Taunton, Mark Hoptins, of Great Bar- rington, Simeon Strong, of Amherst, Daniel Oliver, of Hardwick, Francis Dana, of Cambridge, Daniel Bliss, of Concord, Joshua Upham, of Brookfield, Shearjashub Bourne, of Barnstable, Samuel Porter, of Salem, Jeremiah D. Rogers, of Littleton, and Oakes Angier, of Bridgewater. How many barristers were admitted in Worcester County at later dates the writer has been unable to discover, but it is known that in 1803 Levi Lincoln had been added to the roll. The following entry in the records of the Superior Court of Judicature will throw light on the methods which prevailed concerning the admission of barris- ters: Suffolk SS. Superior Court of Judicature at Boston, third Tuesday of February, 1781 ; present— William Gushing, Nathaniel P. Sargeant, David Sewall and James Sullivan, Justices ; and now at this term the following rule is made by the court and ordered to tTe entered, viz.: whereas learning and literary accomplishniente are necessary as well to promote the happiness as to preserve the freedom of the people, and the learning of the law when duly encouraged and rightly directed, being as well peculiarly subservient to the great and good purpose aforesaid, as pro- motive of public and private justice ; and the courtbeing at all times ready to bestow peculiar marks of approbation upon the gentlemen of the bar, who, by a close application to the study of the science they profess, by a mode of conduct which gives a conviction of the rectitude of their minds and a fairness of practice that does honor to the profession of the law, shall distinguish as men of science, honor and integrity, Do order that no gentleman shall be called to the degree of barrister until he shall merit the same by his conspicuous bearing, ability and honesty ; and that the court will, of their own mere motion, call to the bar such per- sons as shall render themselves worthy as aforesaid ; and that the man- ner of calling to the bar shall be as follows : The gentleman who shall be a candidate shall stand within the bar; the Chief Justice, or in his absence the Senior Justice, shall, in the name of the court, repeat to him the qualifications necessary for a barrister at law ; shall let him know that it is a conviction in the mind of the court of his being pos- sessed of those qualifications that induces them to confer the honor upon him ; and shall solemnly charge him so to conduct himself as to he of singular service to his country by exerting his abilities for the defence of her constitutional freedom ; and so to demean himself as to do honor to the court and bar. In the act passed July 3, 1782, establishing the Su- preme Judicial Court, it was provided that the court might and should from time to time make record and estabhsh all such rules and regulations with respect to the admission of attorneys ordinarily practicing in said court and the creation of barristers at law. Under the provisions of this act the court adopted the following rule: Suffolk, SS At the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston the last Tuesday of August, 1783; present — William Cushing, Chief Justice, and Nathaniel P. Sargeant, David Sewall and Increase Summer, Justices ; ordered that barristers be called to the bar by special writ to be ordered by the Court and to be in the following form : CommonweaUh of MaBBachuBetts. To A. B., Esq., of Greeting : We, well knowing your ability, learning and integrity, command you that you appear before our Jus- tices of our Supreme Judicial Court next to be holden at in and for our County of — = — on the Tuesday of then and there in our said court, to take upon you the State and degree of a Barrister at law. Hereof fail not. Witness, , Esq., our Chief Justice at Boston, the day of in the year of oui- Lord , and in the year of our Independence . By order of the Court. , Clerk. Which writ shall be fairly engraved on parchment and delivered twenty days before the session of the same Court by the Sherifi" of the same County to the person to whom directed, and being produced in Court by the Barrister and there read by the clerk and proper certificate thereon made, shall be redelivered and kept as a voucher of his being le- gally called to the bar ; and the Barristers shall take rank according to the date of their respective writs. In 1806 the following rule was adopted by the court, which seems to have substituted counselors for barristers : Suffolk SS. At the Supreme Judicial Court at Boston for the County of Suffolk and Nantucket, the second Tuesday of March, 1806 ; present — Francis Dana, chief Justice, Theodore Sedgwick, George Thatcher and Isaac Parker, Justices ; oj-dered : First. No Attorney shall do the business of a counsellor unless he shall have been made or admitted as such by the Court. Second. All attorneys of this Court who have been admitted three years before the sitting of this Court, shall be and hereby are made Connaellors, and are entitled to all the rights and privileges of such. Third. No Attorney or Counsellor shall hereafter be admitted without a previous examination, etc. The rule of the Supreme Judicial Court, adopted in 1783, was issued under the provisions of the law of 1782 establishing that court, but the rule adopted by the Superior Court of Judicature in 1781 seems to have been made in obedience to no law, but under the general powers of the court. It is not known at precisely what period barristers were introduced into the Provincial courts, but it i3 probable that until 1781 the English custom and methods and qualifica- tions were substantially followed without any rule of court. The earliest sessions of the courts were held in the meeting-house in Worcester, which was built in 1719 on the Common. This meeting-house stood until 1763. In 1732 it was decided to built a court-house. The land for its site was given by Judge Jennison and it was erected in 1733. The county tax in that year was apportioned as follows: s d. 15 i 16 8 Eutland Westborough Shrewsbury Oxford £ 7 18 14 14 8 d. 16 2 14 1 4 Sutton 24 10 6 19 4 Uxbridge Lunenburg 12 7 8 16 Worcester 22 Lancaster 62 Mendon Sri Woodstock 32 Brookfield 27 Southborougli 17 Leicester 13 This court-house was situated near the site of the present brick court-house near Lincoln Square, and was opened February 8, 1734. It is believed that its dimensions were thirty-six feet by twenty-six. In 1751 a new building was erected, forty feet by thirty- six, on the Court Hill, corner of Green and Franklin XIV HISTORY OF WORCESTEE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Streets, and is now used as a residence. The corner- stone of the brick building, now in use, was laid Oc- tober 1, 1801, under the direction of a building com- mittee composed of Isaiah Thomas, William Caldwell and Salem Towne. The original building, since en- larged, was fifty and a half feet long and forty-eight and a half feet wide, and was opened September 27, 1803, when Chief Justice Robert Treat Paine, of the Supreme Judicial Court, delivered an address. At the February meeting of the County Commissioners in 1842 it was decided to build another court-house, and the granite structure, now chiefly in use, was erected at a cost of one hundred thousand dollars on the site of the house of Isaiah Thomas, which was re- moved to the rear and is still standing. This building, which was originally one hundred and eight feet long and fifty-seven wide, was enlarged in 1878. It was opened September 30, 1845, on which occasion an ad- dress was delivered by Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw. With regard to the erection of the first jail there seems to be some confusion as to dates. As nearly as can be ascertained, what was called a cage was built before 1732, and in that year the Court of Sessions or- dered that, "in lieu of the prison before appointed, the cage, so-called, already built be removed to the cham- ber of the house of Deacon Daniel Haywood, inn- holder, and be the jail until the chamber be suitably furnished for a jail and then the chamber be the jail for the county and the cage remain as one of the apartments." The inn of Deacon Haywood stood on the site of the present Bay State House. In 1734, no jail having been built, the Court of Sessions hired a part of the house of Judge Jennison for prisoners; very soon after this time, probably in 1734, a jail was built on the west side of Lincoln Street. In 1753 a new jail was built farther down the same street, thirty- eight feet long and twenty-eight wide. In December, 1784, the Court of Sessions provided for the erection of a stone jail, sixty-four feet by thirty-two and three stories high, on the south side of Lincoln Square, which was completed September 4, 1788. This build- ing was pronounced by Isaiah Thomas, then the edi- tor of the Spy, as in public opinion the most important stone building in the Commonwealth, next to King's Chapel in Boston. It was built of rough quarry stone from Millstone Hill by John Parks, of Groton, who gained a high reputation by his work. In 1819 a house of correction was built, fifty-three feet by twenty-seven, where the present jail stands on Sum- mer Street. In 1832 it was rebuilt with forty cells, each seven feet by three and a half, and with three rooms for close confinement. In 1835 a part of the building was arranged for a jail, and in 1873 it was altered, remodeled and enlarged to its present dimen- sions. A jail and house of correction were also built in Fitchburg when that town was made a half-shire. Under the Constitution of Massachusetts, adopted by a convention of the people at Cambridge, Sept. 1, 1779, it was provided that there should be forty districts in the State, created by the General Court for Council- ors and Senators, and until the General Court should act in the premises, the several districts, with the num- ber of Councilors and Senators, in each should be as follows: Sufiblk county with six ; Essex, six ; Middle- sex, five ; Hampshire, four ; Plymouth, three ; Barn- stable, one ; Bristol, three ; York, two ; Dukes County and Nantucket, one; Worcester, five; Cumberland, one; Lincoln, one, and Berkshire, two. On the 24th, 1794, Sufiblk was changed to four, Essex to five, Middlesex to four, Hampshire to five, Bristol to two, Plymouth was added to Dukes and Nantucket with three, Bristol was changed to two, Norfolk, which had been incorporated March 26, 1793, received three, and Lincoln was added to Hancock and Washington, which had been incorporated with two. The appor- tionment was again changed June 23, 1802, when the number for Worcester was changed to four ; again February 24, 1814, February 15, 1816, and at various other times, which it is unnecessary to recount. By the thirteenth article of amendment of the Constitu- tion, adopted by the Legislature of 1839-40, it was provided that a census of the legal voters of the State, May 1, 1840, should be taken, and that on the basis of the census the Senators should be apportioned among the counties by the Governor and Council, with not less thau one Senator in each county. By the twenty-second article of amendment adopted by the Legislature of 1856-57, and ratified by the people May 1, 1857, it was provided that a census should be taken and forty Senatorial districts created by the General Court, and that in 1865 and every tenth year thereafter a census should be taken, and a new appor- tionment made. From the time of the adoption of the Constitution up to the time of the creation of Senatorial districts the following persons were chosen Senators to represent Worcester County : Moses Gill, of Princeton, Samuel Baker, of Berlin, Joseph Dorr, of Ward, Israel Nichols, of Leominster, Jonathan Warner, Jr., of Hardwick, Seth Washburn, of Leices- ter, John Sprague, Abel Wilder, Amos Singleterry, John Fessenden, Joseph Stone, Jonathan Grout, Timothy Bigelow, Salem Towne, Josiah Stearns, Daniel Bigelow, Peter Penneman, Timothy Newell Elijah Brigham, Taft, Hale, Francis Blake, Seth Hastings, Solomon Strong, Levi Lincoln Jr., Moses Smith, Thomas H. Blood, Daniel Waldo, Salem Towne, Jr., Aaron Tufts, Benjamin Adams, Nathaniel Jones, S. P. Gardner, Silas Holman, John Spurr Oliver Crosby, James Phillips, James Humphrysj Samuel Eastman, Lewis Bigelow, John Shipley, Na- thaniel P. Denny, Joseph G. Kendall, William Eaton Nathaniel Houghton, William Crawford, Jr., Jonas Sibley, B. Taft, Jr., Joseph Bowman, John W. Lin- coln, Joseph Davis, Edward Cushing, Joseph Esta- brook, Lovell Walker, David Wilder, Samuel Mixter, William S. Hastings, James Draper, Eufus Buliock| Charles Hudson, Ira M. Barton, Samuel Lee, Rejoice George A. Tafts, Waldo Newton, Charles Russell, WORCESTEE COUNTY. XV Flint, Charles Allen, Linu3 Child, Ethan A. Green- wood, William Hancock, James G. Carter, Thomas Kinnicutt, Artemas Lee, James Allen, Charles Sibley, Samuel Wood, Jedediah Marcy, Benjamin Estabrook, Nathaniel Wood, Ch. C. P. Hastings, Emory Wash- burn, Alexander De Witt, Solomon Strong, Isaac Da- vis, Ariel Bragg, Daniel Hill, Joseph Stone, John G. Thurston, Stephen Salisbury, Calvin Willard, Jason Goulding, George Denny, Nahum F. Bryant, Alfred D. Foster, Alanson Hamilton, John Brooks, Alexander H. Bullock, Ebenezer D. Ammidown, Paul Whitin, Ebenezer Torrey, Pliny Merrick, John Eaymond, Amasa Walker, Edward B. Bigelow, Francis Howe, Giles H. Whitney, Moses Wood, Freeman Walker, Elmer Brigham, J. S. C. Knowlton, Albert Alden, Sullivan Fay, Elisha Murdock, Ivers Phillips, Charles Thurber, Anson Bugbee, Joseph W. Mansur, Joseph Whitman, H. W. Benchley, Albert A. Cook, Edward Denny, Jabez Fisher, Alvan G. Underwood, F. H. Dewey, Valorous Taft, J. F. Hitchcock, George F. Hoar, William Mixter, Ohio' Whitney, Jr. Under the new system of Senatorial districts Wor- cester County was divided into districts by itself, un- connected with other counties until the apportion- ment made on the basis of the census of 1885, and was represented by Worcester County Senators up to and inclusive of the year 1886. During this period the following gentlemen represented the various districts of the county: J. M. Earle, John G. Metcalf, Oliver C. Felton, Charles Field, Goldsmith F. Bailey, S. Allen, Dexter F. Parker, Ichabod Washburn, Hartley Williams, E. B. Stoddard, Alvah Crocker, Winslow Battles, William R. Hill, Moses B. Southwick, Wm. Upham, Nathaniel Eddy, Sylvester Dresser, Rufus B. Dodge, Asher Joslin, John D. Cogswell, Emerson Johnson, Jason Gotham, Freeman Walker, Henry Smith, George Whitney, Charles Adams, Jr., William D. Peck, T. E. Glazier, Israel C. Allen, Solon S. Has- tings, Joel Meriiam, Abraham M. Bigelaw, John E. Stone, Thomas Rice, Benjamin Boynton, Charles G. Stevens, Hosea Crane, William Russell, Milo Hildreth, Lucius W. Pond, Moses D. Southwick, Ebenezer Da- vis, George S. Ball, F. H. Dewey, George M. Rice, Adin Thayer, George F. Thompson, George F. Very, Edward L. Davis, John D. Wheeler, Charles A. Wheelock, J. H. Wood, S, M. Greggs, Jeremiah Get- chell, Aaron C. Mayhew, Luther Hill, Frederick D. Brown, Lucius J. Knowles, George W. Johnson, A. W. Bartholomew, Henry L. Bancroft, Washington Tufts, Emory L. Bates, John G. Mudge, George M. Buttrick, Baxter D. Whitney, N. L. Johnson, Moses L. Ayers, John H. Lockey, Francis B. Fay, Henry C. Greeley, George A. Torrey, Amasa Norcross, C. H. B. Snow, Elisha Brimhall, George S. Barton, Henry C. Rice, William Knowlton, Ebenezer B. Linde, James W. Stockwell, Alpheus Harding, Charles H. Merriam, Wm. Abbott, Charles T. Crocker, Thomas J. Hastings, Chester C. Corbiu, John M. Moore, Daniel B. Ingalls, George W. Johnson, Charles B. Pratt, Charles P. Bar- ton, Theodore C. Bates, Edward P. Loring, John D. Washburn, Charles E. Whitin, Charles A. Denny, Thomas P. Root, Martin V. B. Jefferson, Henry S. Nourse, Arthur F. Whitin, William T. Forbes, Charles A. Gleason, Allen L. Joslin. Under the census of 1885 anew apportionment was made, under which the Senators for 1887 were chosen in 1886. Under this apportionment there were four districts confined to the county and one other, in- cluding Athol, Barre, Dana, Gardner, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Braintree, Oakham, Petersham, Phillipston, Rutland and Templeton in Worcester County, and Amherst, Belchertown, Enfield, Granby, Greenwich, Hadley, Pelham, Prescott, South Hadley and Ware in Hampshire County, and called Worcester and Hampshire District. Under this apportionment the Senators have been Edwin T. Marble, William T. Forbes, Irving B. Sayles, Harris C. Hartwell, Charles A. Gleason, Silas M. Wheelock and George P. Ladd. The districts as formed under the census of 1885, with a ratio of 11,382 for one Senator, are as follows : First Worcester District. — Wards 1, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Worcester, with 10,786 legal voters. Second Worcester District. — Berlin, Blackstone, Bol- ton, Boylston, Clinton, Grafton, Harvard, Hopedale, Mendon, Milford, Northborough, Northbridge, Shrews- bury, Southborough, Upton, Uxbridge and West- borough, with 11,433 legal voters. Third Worcester District. — Auburn, Brookfield, Charlton, Douglas, Dudley, Leicester, Milbury, North Brookfield, Oxford, Paxton, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Sutton, Warren, Webster and West Brook- field, with 11,217 legal voters. Fourth Worcester District. — Fitchburg, Holden, Lan- caster, Leominster, Lunenburg, Princeton, Sterling, West Boylston, Westminster and Wards 2 and 3 of Worcester, with 12,099 legal voters. Worcester and Hampshire District. — Athol, Barre, Dana, Gardner, Hardwick, Hubbardston, New Brain- tree, Oakham, Petersham, Phillipston, Rutland and Templeton in Worcester County, and Amherst, Bel- chertown, Enfield, Granby, Greenwich, Hadley, Pel- ham, Prescott, South Hadley and Ware in Hamp- shire, with 11,127 legal voters. This sketch of Worcester County would be incom- plete without some allusion to the various organiza- tions which have the county as the field and boundary of their operations. The Worcester County Musical Association had its origin in a musical convention held in Worcester in 1852. Its officers are, Edward L. Davis, president; William Sumner, vice-president; A. C. Munroe, secretary, and J. E. Benchley, treasurer. The Worcester County Musical School, which has been in existence some years, was organized to furnish in- struction " in piano, organ, singing, violin, flute, guitar, harmony and elocution," with an efficient corps of instructors. Besides the Worcester Agricul- tural Society there are in the county five distinct societies — the Worcester West holding its annual HISTOEY OF WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. exhibitions at Barre ; the Worcester Northwest hold- ing its exhibitions at Athol ; the Worcester North at Fitchburg ; the Worcester Southeast at Milford, and the South Worcester. The Worcester Horticultural Society was formed in 1840. The Worcester County Homoeopathic Medical Society was organized in 1866, and its present officers are : E. A. Murdock, of Spencer president ; E. L. Melius, of Worcester, vice-president; Lamson Allen, of Southbridge, recording secretary and treasurer, and Jjhn P. Rand, of Monson, corre- sponding secretary. The Worcester County Law Library Association was organized in 1842, and is composed of the members of the county bar. The Worcester County Mechanics' Association was incorporated in 1842. Its officers are: Robert H. Chamberlain, president; Ellery B. Crane, vice-presi- dent, and William A. Smith, clerk and treasurer. The Worcester County Retail Grocers' Association was organized in 1881, and its officers are : Samuel A. Pratt, presideni; C. G. Parker, vice-president; E. E. Putnam, secretaiy, and James Early, treasurtr. The Worcester County Society of Engineers was formed in 1886. Its officers are : A. C. Buttrick, president; Charles A. Allen, vice-pre-sident ; A. .T. Marble, secretary, and E. K. Hill, treasurer. The Worcester County Stenographers' Association was organized in 1887, and its officers are : Edna L. Taylor, president; F. L. Hutchins, vice-president; George E. Vaughn, secretary, and John F. McDuffie, treasurer. The Worcester District Medical Society was organ- ized in 1804. Its officers are : George C. Webber, of Millbury, president ; J. Marcus Reed, of Worcester, vice-president ; W. C. Stevens, of Worcester, secre- tary, and S. B. Woodward, of Worcester, treasurer. Of county religious associations there are five belonging to the Orthodox Congregationalist denomi- nation. The Worcester Central Conference includes the Worcester churches and those of Auburn, Berlin, Boylston, Clinton, Holden, Leicester, Oxford, Paxton, Princeton, Rutland, Shrewsbury, Sterling and West Boylston. The Worcester North includes the churches of Ash- burnham, Athol, Gardner, Hubbardston, Petersham, Philiipston, Royalston, Templeton, Westminster and Winchendon, with two churches in Franklin County. The Worcester South includes the churches of Blackstone, Douglas, Grafton, Millbury, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton, Uxbridge, Webster and Westborough. The Brookfield Conference includes the churches of Barre, Brookfield, Charlton, Dana, Dudley, Hard- wick, New Braintree, North Brookfield, Oakham, Southbridge, Spencer, Sturbridge, Warren and West Brookfield, with four towns outside the county. The Middlesex Union Conference includes the churches of Fitchburg, Harvard, Lancaster, Leominster and Lunenburg, with eleven churches in Middlesex County. Of County Baptist Associations there are two — the Wachusett, including the churches in Barre, Bolton, Clinton, Fitchburg, Gardner, Harvard, Holden, Leo- minster, Sterling, Templeton, West Boylston, West- minster and Winchendon, and the Worcester Associa- tion, including the churches of Worcester, Brookfield Grafton, Leicester, Millbury, Northborough, Oxford, Southbridge, Sturbridge, Spencer, Uxbridge, Webster and Westborough. Of the Methodist denomination there are, strictly speaking, no county organizations. The New Eng- land Conference, extending from the seaboard to the Connecticut Valley, is divided into four districts, which include most of the Methodist Churches in the county. Of the Unitarian denomination there is the Worces- ter Conference of Congregational and other Christian societies, which was organized at Worcester Decem- ber 12, 1866. It includes the churches of Athol, Barre, Berlin, Bolton, Brookfield, Clinton, Fitchburg, Graf- ton, Harvard, Milford, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Lei- cester, Leominster, Mendon, Northborough, Peters- ham, Sterling, Sturbridge, Templeton, Upton, Ux- bridge, Westborough, Winchendon and Worcester. There is also a Ministers' Association belonging to this denomination. Of the Episcopal, Universalist and Catholic denomi- nations there are no county organizations, and sketches of their various churches will be included in the histories of the towns in which they are located. The Worcester County Bible Society was organized September 7, 1815, under the name of " The Auxili- ary Bible Society of the County of Worcester," but has been more lately known as the Bible Society of Worcester. In closing this sketch a list of the present officers of Worcester County should be added. It is as fol- lows : Judge of . Probate and Insolvency, William T. Forbes; Register of Probate and Insolvency, Frederick W. Southwick, of Worcester; Sheriff, Au- gustus B. R. Sprague, of Worcester; Clerk of the Courts, Theodore S. Johnson, of Worcester; Treas- urer, Edward O.Brown, of Worcester; Register of Deeds of Worcester District, Harvey B. Wilder, of Worcester ; Register of Deeds of Northern District, Charles F. Rockwood, of Fitchburg. County Commissioners : George S. Duell, of Brook- field, term expires December 1, 1888 ; William 0. Brown, of Fitchburg, term expires December 1, 1889; James H. Barker, of Milford, term expires Decem- ber 1, 1890. Special Commissioners : Thomas P. Root, of Barre term expires December 1, 1889 ; Charles J. Rice, of Winchendon, term expires December 1, 1889. Commissioners of Insolvency: Rufus B.Dodge Jr. of Charlton; David H. Merriam, of Fitchburg ;' An- drew J. Bartholomew, of Southbridge; Daniel B. Hubbard, of Grafton, Trial Justices: James W. Jenkins, of Barre- George S. Duell, of Brookfield ; Chauncey W. Carter THE BENCH AND BAR. xvii and Hamilton Mayo, of Leominster; Charles E. Jenks, of North Brookfield; Frank B. Spalter, of Winchendon; Luther Hill, of Spencer; Horace W. Bush, of West Brookfield ; John W. Tyler, of War- ren, and Henry A. Farwell, of Hubbardston. CHAPTEB, II. THE BENCH AND BAR. BY CHARI,BS F. AI-^^. THE BENCH AND BAR. xlvii studies with Emory Wasiiburn, and followed them at the Cambridge Law School. On admission to the bar he chose "Oxbridge for his opening career, and remained there till his removal to Worcester in 1846, when Rejoice Newton made him a junior partner. As an advocate he obtained a large and profitable prac- tice. He possessed a shrewdness, a homely, kindly method of address, and an entire absence of stiffness or formality which procured him great influence with juries. For the duties of Probate judge he was ex- ceptionally fitted. His fund of patience seemed inexhaustible. In that court no strict rules of pro- cedure are maintained; much of the business i» trans- acted without the aid of counsel, and by persons who ■come to the judge to learn what they ought to do, and how to do it. For all such he had a kindly reception, listened to their statements (generally involved, and often incoherent), and let them feel that they had found a friend as well as a help out of their difficul- ties. Towards members of the bar also, and especially the younger element, his manners were courteous, and commanded in turn respect. In the law governing the cases under his consideration he was thoroughly versed, and his decisions stood the test of appeal, with but a small proportion of adverse rulings by the higher court. Although for the last six months of his life he was unable to attend in the court-room, his courage did not permit him to surrender, and up till the very day before his death, in 1878, he con- tinued occasionally, at his house, to attend to matters of routine, hoping constantly that his usefulness was not yet to end, and determined that it should con- tinue with his life. Mr. Chapin was a public- spirited citizen, alive to the importance of the performance by every man of his political duties. He was an early member of the Free Soil party, and an effective speaker during the anti-slavery agitations. For one year he represented Uxbridge in the General Court, and in 1853 he was its delegate to the Constitutional Convention. Worcester made him its mayor in 1849 and 1850, and would have had him serve again had he not declined the honor. In 1870, when, by the sudden death of Mayor Blake, a vacancy occurred during a term, the City Council turned at once to him as the man most suitable to fill the emergency, and he consented so to do until a successor could be chosen by the usual methods of election. He was not ambitious for political oflBce, and declined to stand as a candidate ■when nominated by the Republicans for Congress in 1856. As a speaker on public occasions he was fre- quently in demand, and his quaint humor and well- told stories interested his audiences and impressed his meaning on their minds. With various business organizations he was actively connected, and, by the exercise of a sagacious judg- ment in investment, added to his accumulated prop- erty. To the religious organization with which he •was connected he gave earnest support and valuable assistance in many ways. His religious convictions were deep and sincere, though rarely brought into notice, except with intimate friends ; but their fruit was shown in his discriminating and kindly benevo- lence and readiness to further charitable organiza- tions which commended themselves to his judgment. An exemplary citizen, an upright judge and an hon- esL man. Alexandee Hamilton Bullock.' — Governor Bullock stands conspicuous in the list of Massachusetts' chief magistrates ; even in the whole list, extending through Colonial, Provincial and Constitutional times; conspicuous in respect to patriotism, ability and conscientious devotion to the public interest. And for the very reason that he occupies so promi- nent a position in our history, the writer is spared the attempt at any extended delineation in this place, where space is so limited. But with the portrait, in which his features are so faithfully and so artistically presented, it is necessary that something should appear respect- ing his various characteristics and family connections, with allusions at least to certain passages in his pub- lic career. He was born in Royalston, Worcester County, on the 2d of March, 1816, and was the son of Rufus and Sarah (Davis) Bullock. His father, who was born on the 23d of September, 1779, was a school-teacher in his early manhood, but soon became a country mer- chant. Quitting that vocation in 1825, he engaged in manufacturing, and in due time amassed a hand- some fortune. He was somewhat in public life ; was five years a Representative in the General Court, and two years a Senator ; was a member of the conven- tions of 1820 and 1853 for revising the State Consti- tution ; and was Presidential elector in 1852. Alexander H. Bullock, the subject of this sketch, entered Amherst College in 1832, was a diligent student, and on his graduation, in 1836, delivered the salutatory oration at commencement. In the cata- logue of his college contemporaries are found the names of Rev. Richard S. Storrs, Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, Bishop Huntington and others of wide reputation. After graduating he taught a school for a short period, but, partly by the urgency of his father and partly from his own inclination, he applied him- self to the study of law, entering Harvard Law School, then under the presidency of Judge Story. After leaving the Law School he spent a year in the law- office of the well-known lawyer, Emory Washburn, of Worcester, where he gained a good knowledge of the various details of legal practice. He was admitted to the bar in 1841, and soon began practice in Worcester. As a pleader he does not seem to have aimed to become conspicuous. Senator Hoar says : " He dis- liked personal controversy. While he possessed talents which would have rendered him a brilliant and persuasive advocate, the rough contests of the I By Hon. J. E. Newhall. xlviii HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. court-house could never have been congenial to him. He was associated with Judge Thomas as junior coun- sel in one important capital trial, in which he is said to have made an eloquent opening argument. He had a considerable clientage for a young man, to whom he was a safe and trustworthy adviser. But he very soon established a large business as agent of important insurance companies, and withdrew him- self altogether from the practice of law.'' In 184J Governor Bullock married Elvira, daughter of Col. A. G. Hazard, of Enfield, Ct., founder of the Hazard Gunpowder Manufacturing Company. Their children were Augustus George; Isabel, who married Nelson S. Bartlett, of Boston ; and Fanny, who married Dr. William H. Workman, of Worcester. The widow and all the children are yet living. From early manhood Governor Bullock took a de- cided interest in politics, but did not allow it to ab- sorb an undue portion of his time till the period ar- rived when he could safely make it a leading object. In constitutional law he was particularly well versed, and that fact, in connection with his decided opinions on all public questions, gave him in debate and in action very great advantage. In party affiliation he was of the old Whig school. A brief recapitulation of some of his efficient pub- lic services may here be given. He was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for eight years : first in 1845, and last in 1865. In 1862, '63, '64 and '65 he was Speaker. And what Governor Hutchinson says, in his history of Speaker Burrill, may well be said of him, namely, that the House were as fond of him " as of their eyes;" the historian adding, in a note, " I have often heard his contempo- raries applaud him for his great integrity, his ac- quaintance with parliamentary forms, the dignity and authority with which he filled the chair, and the order and decorum he maiutained in the debates of the House.'' Governor Bullock was also, in 1849, a State Sena- tor. He was judge of the Worcester County Court of Insolvency for two years, 1856-58, having, under a previous jurisdiction, served as commissioner of insolvency from 1853. He was mayor of Worcester in 1859. But the most prominent event in his public life was his election to the gubernatorial chair, which he occupied three years — 1866, '67 and '68. At the first election he received nearly fifty thousand votes more than the opposing candidate. He undoubtedly could have held prominent posi- tions in national affairs had he been so disposed ; but his ambition seems not to have run in that direction. He never held office under the general Government, and all the incidents of his political life must be looked for in the history of his native State, where a rich store is to be found. On the 5th of January, 1879, Hon. George F. Hoar was authorized by President Hayes to ask Governor Bullock if he would accept the then vacant Eng- lish mission. In answer the following letter was re- ceived : Worcester, Dec. 8, 1879. Mtj Dear Sir: I received yesterday your favor of tUe 5tli iust., in whicli you kindly inquire, in belialf of the President, whether I would undertalie tlie Mission to England. I have felt at liberty to take to myself tweuty-fuur hours to consider this question, and I now apprise you of the conclusion to which my reflection has, with much reluctance brought me. I am compelled, by the situation of my family, to reply that it would be practically impossible for me to accept this appointment. I particularly desire to express to the President my profound and grateful acknowledgment of the high distinction he has offered to confer upon me, and to assure him of my purpose in every way as a private citizen to uphold him in his wise and patriotic admioistratioa of the g(^vernnieut. Tour commuuication has been and will continue to be treated by me as confidential. I remain with great respect and esteem, Tru'y aud faitliluUy yours, Alexander H. Bullock. The Hon. Geo. F. Hoar, U.S.S. In financial, humane, and all reformatory move- ments Governor Bullock was active and efficient. He was president of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, and of the Worcester County Institution for Savings, a director in the Worcester National Bank, chairman of the Finance Committee of the Trustees of Amherst College and a life-member of the New England Historic-Genealogical Society. He was a writer of much more than ordinary ability, and while editor of the JEgis newpaper, which position he held for several years, established an enviable repu- tation as a journalist. The degree of LL.D. was con- ferred on him by Harvard and by Amherst. During the Civil War Governor Bullock was an efficient co-laborer with Governor Andrew, so appro- priately called the " War Governor of Massachusetts.'' His eloquent voice was often raised to cheer the gathering crowds of patriots in various places, and Faneuil Hall, too, resounded with his stirring ap- peals. He was a great friend of learning; and all institu- tions of instruction, from the elementary common school to the best endowed college, had his counsel and encouragement. And there was in him a vein of true democracy, often manifesting itself in anxiety to guard against any attempt by legislative, judicial or any other power to override the soverign right of the people ; and hence, as might naturally have been expected, he remained a firm friend to the principle of " Local Option," in law, so far as it could in any way be made expedient. He vetoed, to the surprise of many of his party friends, one or two enactments, considered important, for the simple reason that he viewed them an trenching on some general right of the people. In 1869 he visited Europe with his family, and on his return the following year the civic authorities and citizens of Worcester gave testimony of their appreci- ation of his character and his services by a public reception. After his retirement from the Governor- ^::5^^! cr^ t^ <^^i^>^'C'OtL >^:. THE BENCH AND BAK. Ivii Baldwin. In this, the Forty-ftvst Congress, he was a member of the Committee on Education and Labor, and his chief work was the preparation and advocacy of the bill for national education. The bill differed widely in its details from that now pending and known as the Blair Bill, but its purpose — to give national aid to education where illiteracy most pre- vails and where, through poverty or indifference, the State and local governments inadequately provide for public schools — was the same. The bill did not pass in that Congress, and Mr. Hoar reported it with some changes in the Forty-second and again in the Forty- third Congresses, when it was passed by the House, but failed in the Senate. In his first term in Congress Mr. Hoar, by a timely and convincing speech, saved the Bureau of Education when the Committee on Ap- propriations had reported it ought to be abolished. In this' Congress, too, he vindicated General Howard from the charges preferred by Fernando Wood, sup- ported Sumner in his opposition to President Grant's scheme for the annexation of Santo Domingo, and be- came known as a formidable antagonist in debate by his prompt and severe treatment of Mr. D. W. Voor- hees and Mr. S. S. Cox, of New York, who ventured to "draw" the new member. His retort upon Mr. Cox was much relished by his associates. Mr. Cox, then the triumphant wit of the House, had been carp- ing at Massachusetts and daring Mr. Dawes, already a Congressional veteran, to come to her defence, assur- ing him that her stoutest champion was needed. " Troy," said Mr. Cox, " was defended by Hector, yet Troy fell." Mr. Hoar's reply was quick and scathing. " Troy," said be, " did not need her Hector to repel an attack led by Thersites." In the Forty-second Congress Mr. Hoar, as a mem- ber of the Committee on Elections, drew the report in the case of Cessna against Myers. Many ques- tions of great interest were discussed and decided in this report, which has been an authority ever since, being frequently cited in election contests both here and in England. In this case the report assigned the seat to Myers, the Democrat. Mr. Hoar's dealing with election cases in this Congress and in the next was recognized by his associates of both parties as judicial and conscientious, and when the charge of undue partisanship was afterwards brought against him, he was defended by Mr. Giddings, a Texas Democrat. In this Congress Mr. Hoar made an elo- quent appeal for the rebuilding, at the national ex- pense, of the College of William and Mary in Vir- ginia, which was destroyed by fire while national troops were encamped in its neighborhood during the Civil War. In the Forty-third Congress Mr. Hoar, besides ob- taining the vote of the House for his Education Bill, reported and carried through the House a bill to es- tabli^ a Bureau of Labor Statistics, and was chair- man of a special committee to investigate the polit- ical disorders in Louisiana. The fairness of the in- quiry and report of this committee was conceded even by the Democratic counsel employed in the case. In this Congress Mr. Hoar delivered his eulo- gy of Senator Sumner. By the elections of 1874 the Eepublicans, who had held undisputed control of the House of Representa- tives for fifteen years, were outvoted in so many dis- tricts that in the Forty-fourth Congress the Demo- crats were a majority of the House. In this Congress Mr. Hoar made a number of notable speeches. At his suggestion the Eads' Jetty Bill, which was in danger of failure, was put into such form as to win favorable action fi'om the committee and Congress? and thus, as Captain Eads himself testified, it was through Mr. Hoar's efforts that New Orleans was opened to ocean commerce. He was one of the man- agers of the impeachment of Secretary Belknap, and as such made an argument so convincing and pow- erful that it not only changed the opinions of several Senators on the question of jurisdiction, but it awoke the conscience of the people and gave the initial im- pulse to the wave of official and political reform, which has not yet spent its force. But Mr. Hoar's most distinguished service in this Congress was that with which it closed — his work for and as a member of the Electoral Commission. He was a member of the special committee which prepared the bill establish- ing the commission, was its advocate in the House, and was chosen by the House a member of it, his associates being General Garfield, Judge Abbott, ot Massachusetts, General Hunton, of Virginia, and Mr. Payne, of Ohio. In 1872 and again in 1874 Mr. Hoar had given notice to his constituents of his wish to retire from public life, but had yielded to the gen- eral and imperative demand for his further service. In 1876 his resolve not to be a candidate for re- election to the House was announced as final, and the people, accepting it, elected his successor. But in the winter following the Legislature chose him as Mr. Boutwell's successor in the other branch of Con- gress, and he took his seat in the Senate in March, 1877, at the opening of President Hayes' administra- tion, of which he was one of the few steadfast Sena- torial supporters. In the Senate Mr. Hoar has been a member, and for some years chairman of the Com- mittee on Privileges and Elections and a member of the Committee on Claims, on the Judiciary, on the Library, and others of less importance. Besides con- ducting many inquiries, preparing many reports, in- volving large pecuniary interests or deciding weighty questions of individual right or public policy, he is the author or was the leading advocate of several measures of first-rate importance. Among them are the bill for distributing the balance of the Geneva award, the Lowell Bankruptcy Bill, the bill for counting the electoral votes for President and Vice- President, the Presidential Succession Bill, the repeal of the Tenure of Office Act and the resolution for amending the Constitution so as to make the Presi- Iviii HISTORY OF WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. dential term and the term of each Congress begin with the 30th day of April instead of the 4th day of .March. All of these measures passed the Senate, and most of them became laws. In general Mr. Hoar has occupied himself in Con- gress with matters of wide scope and of fundamental importance rather than with those measures of nar- rower range and temporary application, upon which .most of the labor of Senators and Representatives is spent. His success in gaining for so many of these larger measures the attention and favorable action of a body somewhat dilatory, apt to be engrossed with the affairs of the moment, and seldom looking farther forward than to the next Presidential campaign, is proof of his powers of convincing and persuading and of the confidence of his associates in his wisdom and the purity of his motives. Mr. Hoar was re-elected to the Senate by the Legislature in January, 1883, and again in 1889. His election for the third time by the unanimous vote of his party in the Legislature, without a note of dissent or the public suggestion of any competi- tor, was a distinction not accorded to any man in Massachusetts for many years before, and proof that the people have learned to set a value upon his ser- vices not less than that which they assigned in ear- lier days to those of Webster and Sumner. Mr. Hoar has four times been chosen to preside over Republican State Conventions. In 1880 he was president of the National Convention at Chicago by which General Garfield was made the Republican candidate for President of the United States. His dignity and courtesy, his prompt and impartial de- cisions, and the easy mastery by which he held the great convention to its work amid the enthusiasms for rival leaders and the disturbing hopes and fears and other strong excitements of the occasion, com- manded general applause, and gave to the public of the United States a better knowledge of his strength and breadth of character. Besides his political, legislative and professional activity, which has been briefly outlined above, Mr. Hoar has been and is usefully busy in other ways. He has written valuable papers for the magazines; has delivered many addresses on other than political subjects ; has been a member of the Board of Over- seers of Harvard College ; an active member and for some years the president of the American Antiqua- rian Society; a trustee of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute; a regent of the Smithsonian Institution, and was selected by Mr. Jonas G. Clark as one of the corporators of Clark University. He has re- ceived the degree of Doctor of Laws from William and Mary College, Amherst, Yale and Harvard. P. Emoey Aldrich/ of Worcester, an associate justice of the Superior Court of Massachusetts, is a native of New Salem, Mass. His family is of the 1 By tlie Editor. early New England stock, he being a lineal descend- ant of George Aldrich, who emigated from England in 1635 and settled at first in Dorchester, but after- wards became one of the original founders of the town of Mendon. Members of this family in the seventh and eighth generations from the founder are now living in nearly every State of the Union ; it has had its Representatives in both Houses of Congress and in all the learned professions ; several of the lineage have been judges in the courts of different States. Thefamily, in some of its branches, has been, and is, honorably known in literature and commerce ; but a great majority of the race have been farmers. As a race they are distinguished for longevity and vigor of physical constitution and an inflexible will in the pursuit of the objects of their choice. The subject of this notice attended the district school in his native village until he waj sixteen years old, and then became himself a teacher. He received an academical education, and thereafter taught in the schools of this State and Virginia ; pursuing at the same time a course of studies, such as were at that day usually found in the curricula of New England colleges. While teaching in Virginia he began the study of law, which he continued at the Harvard Law School in 1848-44, and graduated with the degree of LL.B. After that, returning to Virginia and resuming there for a definite period his former vocation of teaching, he was admitted to the bar upon examina- tion by the judges of the Court of Appeals at Rich- mond in 1845. He did not, however, enter upon prac- tice there, but returned the same year to his native State, and after six months' study in the then well- known office of Ashman, Chapman & Norton, of Springfield, he was admitted to the bar at the spring term of the old Common Pleas Court for Hampden County in 1846. Subsequent to his admission he passed a few months in Petersham in the office of F. A. Brooks, Esq., who had been a fellow-student of his at Cambridge ; and in December, 1846, he began practice in the town of Barre, Worcester County, and continued there during the following seven years. For about three years of the seven he was editor and publisher of the Bane Patriot. He represented the town of Barre in the Constitutional Convention of 1853. In May, 1853, he was appointed by Governor Clifford district attor- ney for the Middle District, which office he con- tinued to hold, with an interval of a few months in 1856, until 1865. In the spring of 1854 he removed to Worcester and opened an office in that city, and in January, 1855, he formed a law partnership with the Hon. P. 0. Bacon, which partnership continued until he left the bar for the bench in October, 1878. He was mayor of Worcester for the year 1862. Upon the organization of the State Board of Health, in 1870, Mr. Aldrich was appointed a member of the board by Governor Claflin, and remained a member ^< ^2, THE BENCH AND BAK. lix till his appointment to the bench of the Superior Court. While he was a, member of the Board of Health he prepared an historical paper, relating to the use of and the legislative regulation of the sale of in- toxicating liquor, which was published in one of the annual reports of the board. He was one of the Representatives from Worcester in the State Legisla- ture in the years 1866 and 1867 ; he took an active part in the debates and business of the House. In 1866 he was one of the minority dissenting from the decision of the Speaker of the House upon the question of the right of an interested member to vote. Mr. Aldrich prepared at that time an elaborate report upon the subject, which was published under the title of " The Right of Members to Vote on all Questions of Public Policy Vindicated." The principles of parliamentary law and practice contended for in that report were, at a later date, held to be correct, both in the Federal House of Representatives and in the British House of Commons. Judge Aldrich is a member of the American Antiquarian Society and one of the council of that venerable and learned body. As a member of the society and council he has pre- pared several papers on historical, legal and literary subjects, which have been published with the proceed- ings of the society. He has written and delivered addresses before other societies and associations upon various aspects of social science and education, and upon the right of the State to provide not only for the elementary education of its children, but also for their higher education in high schools, etc. For the last few years he has given much time and study to the cause of technical education. He has long been one of the trustees of that admirable institution — the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Since he left the bar he has written a work on " Equity Pleading and Practice," which was pulj- lished in 1885. In 1886 he received the honorary degree of LL.D. from Amherst College. In 1850 he married Sarah, the eldest daughter of Harding P. Wood, Esq., late of Barre. William W. Rice,^ son of Rev. Benjamin Rice, a Congregational clergyman, was born in the historical old town of Deerfield, Mass., on the 7th of March, 1826. His collegiate education was acquired at Bowdoin, whence he graduated in 1846. And it may be mentioned, in passing, that his alma mater in 1886 conferred on him the degree of LL.D. After graduating he spent four years as preceptor of the far-famed Leicester Academy, and in 1851 com- menced the study of law in the office of Emory Wash- burn, then in full practice in Worcester. After the usual course of three years' study he was admitted to the bar; and from the first year of his professional life to the present time has been a prosperous and highly-esteemed practitioner. His courtesy of man- 1 By Hon. J. E. Newhall. ner, his fairness towards opposing parties and uniform deference to the court have marked him as a gentle- man as well as advocate. The career of Mr. Rice as a lawyer, successful as it has been, by no means exhibits his whole character — perhaps not the most useful or conspicuous part. He has been almost constantly called by his fellow-citi- zens to fill positions of honor, trust and responsi- bility. In the municipal administration of Worcester he has served in various capacities, particularly in those connected with the educational interests. In 1860 he was mayor, and administered the duties of that high office with efficiency and universal satisfaction. In the capacity of special justice of the Police Court and as occupant of the bench of the County Court of Insolvency his course met with marked approval. The duties of the office of district attorney or pub- lic prosecutor for the Worcester District, to which he was elected in 1868 and which he held five years, he discharged with signal ability, with fidelity to the State and a manly regard for the rights of those whom it became his duty to prosecute. Few offices are beset by more difficulties and annoyances, the duties being always arduous, often disagreeable and sometimes of doubtful justice ; and he who success- fully discharges them is worthy of the highest praise. But perhaps it was as a member of Congress that Mr. Rice has become most widely known. He was for ten years a member of that august body, having been first elected in 1876. In the discussions there his speeches had much influence and his committee work was often of the greatest importance. There, as well as at the bar, he was courteous and forbearing, though never shrinking from the enforcement of his convictions with ardor and eloquence. By his fellow- members of all parties he was regarded with great respect, for every one recognized him as honest and patriotic. He was able in debate and not liable to be taken unawares on any current subject, was intelli- gent, earnest and persistent as a worker in the inter- est of his constituents, and exhibiting the same zeal that characterized his efforts for clients at the bar. But it would savor a little of ostentation and at the same time add nothing to the reputation of Mr. Rice to further pursue this phase of his career. Some men possess such magnetic power that they, without a particle of self-assertion, draw to them- selves the sympathy and confidence of all with whom they are brought in contact. And such have a controlling influence in the common aflfairs of life. There are others, on the contrary, who seem always surrounded by a chilling atmosphere, impene- trable to any brotherly feeling or confidential near- ness. Those who best know Mr. Rice will have no difficulty in which class to place him. Assuredly he does not belong to the latter. Politically, Mr. Rice is a member of the Republi- can party, and ranks as the first Republican mayor of Ix HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. the city. In the War of the Eebellion his voice gave no uncertain sound in urging upon every one the duty of doing their utmost to preserve the integrity of the Union ; and it was not by speech alone that he forti- fied his patriotic sentiments. In his religious senti- ments he is a Unitarian. Mr. Kice was united in marriage November 21, 1855, with Mias Cornelia A. Moen, of Stamford, Conn., by whom he had two sons, — the eldest, William W. Rice, Jr., dying in childhood, and the youngest, Charles Moen Rice, a graduate of Harvard, is now a member of Mr. Rice's law firm. His first wife died June 16, 1862. In September, 1875, he married Miss Alice M. Miller, daughter of Henry W. Miller, Esq., of Worcester. Feank Palmer Goulding.' — The subject of this sketch is descended from Peter Goulding, who lived in Boston in 1665, and afterwards in Worcester and Sudbury. Palmer Goulding, son of Peter, had a son John, who was born in Worcester, October 3, 1726, and inherited from his father the business of tanning. He removed early in life to Grafton, and died November 22, 1791. His wife, Lucy Brooks, of Concord, died at the age of thirty-eight, the mother of ten children. Ephraim Goulding, one of the children, was born September 4, 1765, and married, March 6, 1792, Susannah, daughter of William and Sarah (Prentice) Brigham. He was a prominent man in the town, serving as moderator of annual town-meetings eleven years, as selectman six, as assessor one year and as member of the School Committee six years. He died January 14, 1838. Palmer Goulding, son of Ephraim, was born October 11, 1809, and died in Grafton, March 22, 1849. He married, first, Fanny W. May- nard, who died August 9, 1839, having had three children — John C, who was born in 1832, and died in 1839 ; Susan E., born in 1835, and Frank P., the sub- iect of this sketch, who was born in Grafton, July 2, 1837. By a second wife, Ann Cutting, whom he married June 2, 1842, he had Fanny A., born May 4, 1843. Frank Palmer Goulding while a boy lived in Graf- ton, Holden and Worcester, his father having at various times occupation in those places, but on the death of his father, in 1849, returned to Grafton, and at the age of twelve years was apprenticed to learn the business of making shoes. From 1853 to 1857 he worked at his trade in Worcester, and at the latter date, at the age of twenty, entered the academy at Thetford, Vt., and prepared for college. He graduated at Dart- mouth in 1863, and at once began the study of law in the otfice of Hon. George F. Hoar, in Worcester. A year at the Harvard Law School completed his pre- liminary law studies, and in 1866 he was admitted to the Worcester County bar. In the same year he became a partner with Hon. Francis Henshaw Dewey, then in full practice, and remained with him until Mr. 1 By W. T. Davie. Dewey was appointed a justice of the Superior Court iHi 1869. Mr. Goulding then formed a partnership with Hon. Hamilton Barclay Staples, which con- tinued until Mr. Staples was appointed a Superior Court justice in 1881. Since that time he has been alone, enjoying a large and increasing practice, to which has been added the performance of the duties of city solicitor, which office since 1881 he has con- tinued to hold. It is not difficult to form an estimate of the charac- ter and intellectual powers of a man who, with slen- der educational advantages in early life, has reached the professional position enjoyed by Mr. Goulding. At a bar excelled by none in the State beyond the limits of Sufiblk County, he at an early day in his career secured a rank which he has not only sus- tained, but steadily advanced. His appointment as one of the trustees of the new Clark University at- tests both the confidence of the community in which he lives in his business methods and sound judg- ment and their respect for his mental attainments and culture. There are other evidences of the regard in which he is held. He was one of the Presidential electors chosen on the Republican ticket at the last election ; he is also one of the trustees of the Worcester County Institution for Savings, a director in the First National Fire Insurance Company, and either a present or retired member of the Worcester School Board. With the pressure of professional business, his political aspirations have been satisfied by two years of service in the House of Representatives. Mr. Goulding married, March 29, 1870, Abbie B. Miles, of Fitchburg, and has two children of fifteen and ten years of age. Hon. John D. Washburn.^ — John Davis Wash- burn is a native of Boston, where he was born March 27, 1833, being the eldest son of John Marshall Washburn, who married, in 1832, Harriet Webster, daughter of Rev. Daniel Kimball (Harvard Univer- sity, 1800). His parents removed to the grand old town of Lan- caster, in Worcester County, when he was five years old, and his early youth was passed amid those beau- tiful surroundings. At the age of twenty he graduated in 1853 from Harvard University, and entered the profession of law, studying first with Hon. Emory Washburn and George F. Hoar in 1854, and later receiving a diplo- ma from the Harvard Law School in 1 856. He practiced law in Worcester, in partnership with Hon. H. C. Rice, and, by a development of his pro- fessional business and inclinations, made a prominent place, first, as an insurance attorney, and lastly, suc- ceeding the late Hon. Alexander H. Bullock as gen- eral agent and attorney of the insurance companies, in 1866. ''By the Editor. /'-'• JA^ '7^ ,^ ■[?~yu, 'yiXqA.^i-i.,^\^ j?'/w'JyAzra''<''"' ■''<^^^^^/^'?-^ y<^:' . THE BENCH AND BAR Ixi By his friendship with Governor Bullock he became associated with his military family as the chief of his staff, from 1866 to 1869, receiving a colonel's com- mission. During the period from 1871 to 1881 he was a trus- tee of the Worcester Lunatic Hospital, and from 1875 to 1885 filled the same relation to the Massachusetts School for the Feeble-minded. He was a member of the House of Representatives from 1876 to 1879, and a ^Senator from the city of Worcester in 1884, rendering the excellent public service to be expected from his knowledge of affairs and his general sympa- thies with all matters of care and concern in the Com- monwealth. His association has always been sought in corpor- ate and financial affairs. From 1866 to 1880 he was a director of the Citizens' National Bank. He has been a member of the Board of Investment of the Worcester County Institution for Savings since 1871, and a trustee and treasurer of the Memorial Hospital since 1872. He has been a director of the Merchants' and Far- mers' Insurance Company since 1862, and succeeded the Hon. Isaac Davis as president in 1883. His large humanitarian instincts and tastes, taking hold on all matters that have to do with educational and intellectual advancement, have made for him a congenial field where associates have warmly wel- comed him in the numerous relations he has sustained to our higher institutions and learned societies. Since 1871 he has been a councilor and secretary of the American Antiquarian Society, and is a councilor of the Massachusetts Historical Society. He is also an original member of the American Historical Association, and has been, since 1884, a corresponding member of the Georgia Historical So- ciety. It is much to say of one that he stands high with his own alma mater. Colonel Washburn is a member of the ©verseers' committee on the govern- ment of Harvard University, and one of the directors ofthe Alumni Association of the same institution. He is one of the Board of Trustees and secretary of the new Clark University of Worcester. This is a good record for any man to have won in middle life, and opens a field of service worthy of the best ripened powers, such as promises to give the subject of this sketch many years of useful citizen- ship. Colonel Washburn is a man of commanding pres- ence, with a kindly dignity always open to approach. He married, in 1860, Mary F., daughter of Charles L. Putnam, Esq. (Dartmouth College, 1830), and has one daughter, Edith, who married, in 1884, Richard Ward Greene, Esq., of Worcester. Edward Livingston Davis,^ son of Isaac and Mary H.,E. Davis, was born in Worcester, April 22, 1834. He began his education in the public schools i By J. Evarts Greene. of his native town, completing his course at the High School in 1850 and was graduated at Brown University in 1854. Having studied law in the office of his father and at the Harvard Law School, he became a mem- ber of the Worcester County bar in 1857. He gave up the practice of the law the following year, and associated himself with Nathan Washburn and George W. Gill in the manufacture of railway iron, locomotive tires and car-wheels, a business es- tablished in 1857 in Worpester, which soon gave profitable employment to a large capital. In 1864 a corporation was formed, under the name of the Washburn Iron Company, for carrying on the same business. Mr. Davis was the treasurer and one of the chief stockholders in this company, and contin- ued to hold that office until 1882, when, upon the death of his associate, Mr. Gill, he sold his interest and retired from the corporation. Since that time, as indeed before, he has been much occupied with various business engagements and public and private trusts, which the care of his own property and the confidence of others in his capacity and faithfulness imposed upon him. He has been a director of the Boston and Albany, the Norwich and Worcester, and the Vermont and Mas- sachusetts Railroad Companies, president of the pro- prietors of the Rural Cemetery, president of the Wor- cester County Musical Association, member of the Council of the American Antiquarian Society, and director and trustee of many other institutions and companies in his native city, and actively and help- fully concerned in all enterprises designed to promote the welfare of the city and its people. While not ambitious of official honors or political influence, Mr. Davis has not refused to bear his part when his services were required in responsible posi- tions in the government of the city or State. He was elected a member of the Common Council for 1865 and held the office for three years, for the last year being president of the board. He was mayor of Worcester in 1874. During his administration im- portant public improvements were carried out, nota- bly the construction of a portion of Park Avenue, whose .value has since been recognized. While holding this office Mr. Davis saw the growing need of the city for additional parks and play-grounds, which he has since in another official capacity and privately, so efficiently helped to supply. While he was mayor, the Soldiers' Monument on the Common was publicly accepted by him on behalf of the city, and it was formally dedicated with ap- propriate ceremony. It is an interesting coincidence that his father, the Hon. Isaac Davis, accepted for the city the monument erected on the Common in memory of Colonel Timothy Bigelow, Worcester's most distinguished soldier of the Revolution. This dedication took place on the 19th of April, 1861, at the moment when other Worcester soldiers, among the first to be in arms in defence of the Union against Ixii HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. foes of its own household, were attacked in the streets of Baltimore, and the first blood was shed in the great Civil War, whose heroes are commemorated by the monument dedicated by the second Mayor Davis thirteen years later. These two monuments in memory of the soldiers of two wars — for independ- ence and for union — are the only memorial structures on the Common. Mr. Davis was a member of the State Senate in 1876. He has since repeatedly declined to be the candidate of his party for various positions, includ- ing that of Kepresentative in Congress, preferring private to political life. He has not, however, declined employments of a public nature other than political, and has been chairman of the commissioners of the city's sinking funds, an office of financial responsibility, and a member of the Parks Commission. In this latter ca- pacity, as well as by his gift of a portion of the Lake Park and a fund for its improvement, he has con- tributed materially to devise the present comprehen- sive scheme of public parks and play-grounds, and to secure its adoption, as well as to remove obstructions from the Common and prevent encroachments upon it, and thus to preserve it for the free use of the people, as a place of recreation and an adornment of the city. Mr. Davis is a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church and has long been senior warden of the parish of All Saints. When the present church was built, from 1874 to 1877, he was chairman of the building and finance committees, and contributed in time and money more than any other member of the parish. He has repeatedly represented the pariah in the Dio- cesan Convention, has been for several years a mem- ber of the standing committee of the diocese, and twice one of the four lay deputies of the diocese to the general convention of the church. Mr. Davis has been twice married. Hannah Gard- ner, daughter of Seth Adams, Esq., of Providence, Ehode Island, to whom he was married in 1859, died in 1861, leaving a son, who survived her but a few days. He married, in 1869, Maria Louisa, youngest daughter of the Eev. Chandler Bobbins, D.D., of Boston. They have two daughters, Eliza Fro thing- ham and Theresa, and a son, Livingston. James Edward Estabrook.' — For nearly sixty years the name and title " Colonel Eitabrook," de- scending from father to son, has been familiarly known and respected, both within and beyond the borders of this community. " Colonel " James Edward Estabrook, the subject of this sketch, may be said to have inherited the title, by courtesy, from his father. Colonel James Es- tabrook, of the State Militia, the gallant commander of the last Worcester County Regiment of Cavalry, and who had the honor of leading the escort at the reception of Lafayette in 1824. 1 By John J. Jewett. The genealogy of the family is easily and clearly traceable as far back as 1413, to the Estebroks in Wales. The American line begins with the Rev. Joseph Estabrook, born in Enfield, England, who came to Concord, Mass., in 1660, was graduated from Harvard College in 1664, and soon after was settled as a min- ister in Concofd, Mass., where he was a colleague for many years of the famous Rev. Edward Bulkeley, remaining there during a pastorate of forty-four years until his death, in 1711. Shattuck's "History of Concord " refers to him as : " A man- of great worth, and eminently fitted for his office. His appearance carried with it so much patriarchal dignity, that people were induced to love him as a friend and reverence him as a father. These distinguished traits obtained for him, in the latter part of his life, the name of The Apostle." In an obituary notice, the Boston News Letter of September 18, 1711, says : " He was eminent for his skill in the Hebrew language, a most orthodox, learned and worthy divine, of holy life and conver- sation." Three of his four sons became ministers, the eld- est, Joseph, settling in Lexington, Mass., and refer- ence is made to this branch in Hudson's "History of Lexington," as " the noted ministerial family." Ebenezer Estabrook, the father of Major James Estabrook, and grandfather of James Edward, of Worcester, removed from Lexington to the neighbor- ing town of Holden about the time of the Revolu- tion and founded the Worcester County branch of the family. Colonel James Estabrook removed from Holden, his native place, to Rutland and thence to Worcester in 1828, and, with the exception of a few years spent in Bostiou, his active business life was closely identi- fied with the rapidly developing town and city of Worcester until his death, in 1874. During the administration of Governor Boutwell he was appointed sherifi' of Worcester County, from which office he was removed, for political reasons only, oh the return of the Whig party to power. Colonel Estabrook was a devoted and distinguished member of the order of Free Masonry, and as early as 1825, on the organization of the Worcester County Commandery of Knights Templar, he was elected the first Eminent Commander of that honorable body. Always a respected citizen, he was entrusted with many local interests, was an honored and in- fluential member of the Old South, and later of the Union Church, and was among the first to take an active and leading part in the early development of the real estate and mechanical interests of the city. As one of the well-known men whose lives form an important part of the history of their times, we quote the following extract from an extended tribute in the records of that honorable and exclusive organization THE BENCH AND BAK. Ixiii known as the Worcester Fire Society, of which he was a member, being the only person Elected for this dis- tinction at the annual meeting iij 1830 : " Colonel James Estabrook was a man of marked intelligence, who accomplished more by knowledge later acquired than have many men, whose education, begun at college, seems to have been absolutely dis- continued then and there." From the same authority, the Hon. John D. Wash- burn, we also quote the following paragraph, not only as a faithful description of the founder of the Worces- ter branch of the family, but also as a remarkably terse and vivid pen-picture of his son, Colonel James E. Estabrook, the present postmaster of Worcester, in whom the type and characteristics are faithfully per- petuated : " In stature he was below middle height, but made the most of such height as he had by the erection of his figure and military bearing. His complexion was very dark, and in this, as well as his features, he re- sembled the great Democratic leader, Stephen A. Douglas. His manner was quick, his eye bright and intelligent. Opposed to the party usually dominant here, he held few oflBces, though counted a politician, but he never adopted the coarser modes of warfare in politics, was courteous to his opponents, refrained from the imputation of unworthy motives, and carried none of the bitterness of party contest into the rela- tions of private life." This latter trait is especially true of his son, James Edward, who has been a life-long Democrat and a rec- ognized leader and oracle of his party, not only in Worcester County, but also prominent in the party councils of the State and nation for a quarter of a century. He has been a delegate to every National Conven- tion of his party since the close of the war to the time of his appointment to a Federal office in 1887. He has served as chairman of the State Executive Com- mittee, and of the County, District, Congressional and City Committees through many years of his party's minority in the State, and has ever been held in high «steem as an honest and honorable politician even by his political opponents. In this connection, his life-long friendship with the late lamented Judge Adin Thayer, one of the ac- knowledged leaders of the Eepublican party in the State, will be recalled by their fellow-townsmen, among whom it had been long a matter of common remark that these two natural leaders of opposing forces only suspended their intimate social relations for a few weeks, during the active hostilities of a State or na- tional campaign. Colonel Estabrook has served his party in every capacity that choice or party exigency imposed upon him, with or without hope or prospect of reward, and his selection by President Cleveland to fill the office of postmaster, to succeed General Josiah Pickett, was received with a very general expression of approba- tion from his fellow-citizens, without regard to politi- cal affiliation, as a well-deserved recognition of his long and faithful devotion to the principles of his party. As a member of the School Board, president of the Common Council and for two years, 1874 and 1875, as a representative of the city in the General Court of Massachusetts, Colonel Estabrook rendered able and faithful service, and discharged his duties with credit to his constituents and with honor to himself. He is now one of the directors of the Free Public Library of Worcester, an honor peculiarly in harmony with his tastes and acquirements, and his long famili- arity with the good society of books. Born in Worcester October 29, 1829, he prepared for college in the Worcester High School, and was graduated from Yale in 1851. He then studied law with Judge Benjamin F. Thomas, attended the Har- vard Law School, and was admitted to the Worcester bar in the autumn of 1853, at the age of twenty-three. Later he became the law partner of Judge Dwight Foster, of the Supreme Court, and practiced his pro- fession until the breaking out of the War of the Rebellion. Early in that critical period of the nation's life Colonel Estabrook promptly tendered his services to the government, and was assigned to duty on thestaflf of General Charles Devens, and later on the staff of General Butler, in the Department of the Gulf. Compelled to resign from active service, by reason of sickness, in 1862, he returned to Worcester, and has since devoted his time to the care of his valuable estates, the duties of political life, the genial society of his chosen friends and the daily companionship of his library of classic, historical and standard authors. Few, comparatively, of his many friends and ac- quaintances know or appreciate the fact that this modest, genial and unassuming gentleman is still, at three-score years, a familiar student of the classics, and is the owner of one of the largest and choicest libraries of rare editions of both ancient and modern literature in the city. Colonel James Estabrook, the father, married Al- mira Bead, of Rutland, Mass., and to them were born five children — one daughter and four sons. Two of these children are now living — the present postmaster and his brother, Arthur Edgar Estabrook, an esteemed citizen of Worcester, who shares with his brother the care of their joint interest in the family property. Colonel James Edward Estabrook remains a ripe and genial bachelor, having never married. Hon. E. B. STODDjiED.^ — Elijah Brigham Stod- dard, the son of Col. Elijah Stoddard, a worthy and esteemed citizen of Upton, Mass., was born in that town on June 5, 1826. At the age of twenty-one he was graduated from Brown University, and soon after came to Worcester, 1 By J. H. Jewett. Ixiv HISTORY OF WOECESTBR COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. where he studied law with Hon. John C. B. Davis, and was admitted to the Worcester County bar in June, 1849. For nearly forty years he has been a widely- recognized factor in the professional, political and social life of Worcester, and has filled many public trusts with distinction. "Colonel" Stoddard, as the subject of this sketch is familiarly known, was the first commander of the Third Battalion of Worcester County Rifies, organized in 1858, and was later a member of the military staff of Governor N. P. Banks, in 1860, and on the occa- sion of the reception to the Prince of Wales, during that year, Colonel Stoddard was one of the officers assigned to duty as personal escort to the prince. On his admission to the bar in 1849 he began the practice of law in partnership with Hon. John C. B. Davis, under the firm of Davis & Stoddard, which continued until 1852. He then became the law-partner of his father-in- law, Hon. Isaac Davis, a man of great prominence and large estates in the community, which association continued until 1857, «fhen Colonel Stoddard was appointed district attorney for Worcester County, succeeding John H. Matthews, Esq., deceased in office. This position he held for about six months, until the expiration of the term. For nearly twenty years he was engaged in the regular practice of his profession, withdrawing somewhat from active prac- tice in the courts in 1866, to accept the responsible duties of secretary and business manager of the Mer- chants' and Farmers' Fire Insurance Company, a position which he has ably and faithfully filled for the past twenty-two years and which he still holds. Colonel Stoddard has, in fact, always been a man of affairs, prominent and helpful in the public con- cerns of the city, dealing with the affairs of men and property on a large and varied scale, and intrusted by his fellow-citizens with the care of large corporate and individual interests. Beginning his public duties as the Representative of the city of Worcester in the Legislature of 1856, he has since ably served the city and State in many capacities. He was president of the Common Council in 1858 ; later, a member of the Board of Aldermen for two years; twice elected to the Massachusetts Senate (1863-64), and served two terms as State Councilor of this district (1871-72). Elected mayor of Worcester in 1882, his adminis- tration was able and dignified, and his judgment in matters of grave importance to the city has been t;onfirmed by subsequent events as both broad and judicious. Always actively interested in the progress of popu- lar education, he has been a member of the School Board for nine years, and for the past ten years has been a member of the State Board of Education, where he has rendered zealous and lasting service. His native tact and business discretion has been recognized by thirty years of continuous service as a director of the Providence & Wortiester Railroad, as a solicitor and trustee for many years of the State Mutual Life In- surance Company, and as the trusted counselor of various public and private enterprises. In addition to his other duties, he is now the presi- dent of 'the Quinsigamond National Bank, and also president of the Worcester Five Cent Savings Bank. Personally Colonel Stoddard is a gentleman of pure and upright life, uniting a kindly disposition with a natural dignity of manner. He has been a life-long Republican, an earnest worker and a faithful friend and ally of moral and political progress. He married, in 1852, Mary E., the eldest daughter of Hon. Isaac Davis, by whom he has three children now living — two daughters and a son. Edwin Conant. ^ — One of the earliest European lodgments in Massachusetts, as distinguished from Plymouth, was made in the year 1625, at Cape Ann. It was a little planting and fishing station, under the superintendence of the sturdy Roger Conant, who had previously been at Plymouth and Nantasket. He was a native of Budleigh, in Devonshire, England, born in 1593, and came to America in 1623, soon be- coming a prominent character among the settlers. He was a remarkable man — remarkable for firmness, for self-reliance, and, it may be added, for utter contempt of the common and smaller hardships and annoyances of life, that so distress some and trouble most of us. The fishing and planting were not successful, and the station was broken up in the autumn of 1626, and Conant, with most of the company, removed to > the territory now forming Salem, and settled on the tongue of land through which Bridge Street now runs. This settlement was permanent, and made before Endicott or Winthrop came.'' 1 By J. B. Newhall. « 2 The severity of the winter, added to the privations they endured, so discouraged the little hand that some of them proposed abandoning thfr enterprise. Not so with Conant. Hia mind was fixed, and go he would not. He had suffered hardships in other places and surmounted many difficulties, but here he had set his foot, and was determined to make in this vicinage a permanent stand. He says in a petition to the court, May, 1671 : " I was .... one of the first, if not the very first, that re- solved and made good my settlement in matter of plantation with my family in this colony of Massachusetts Bay, and have bin instrumental both for the founding and carrying on of the same, and when, in the in- fancy thereof, it was in great hazard of being deserted, I was a means, through grace assisting me, to stop the tlight of those few that there were heire with me, and that by my utter deniall to goe away with them who would have gon either for England or mostly for Virginia, but thereupon staid to the hazard of our lives." It is stated, on very good authority, that his son Boger was the first white child born in Salem ; but an ancient record says that at a church-meeting, in 17u3, the old church Bible was presented to John Massey, a son of Jeffrey Massey, a companion of Conant, as the " first town-born child.'* Conant was likewise among the first settlers of Beverly, which is jnat on the other side of Bass Biver — Beverly, whose beautiful shores have now for years been the summer resort of tbe wealthy and refined from far and near, and whicb, during the last year or two, has so agitated our Legislature on the question of territorial division. Beverly was set- tled as a part of Salem about 1630, and by 1649 the settlers were suffi- ciently numerous to ask of the Salem Church '* that some course be ■■Jtu art o ^V-2^- r,wim, AKM-'-^''^' THE BENCH AND BAR. Ixv It is interesting to dwell upon the life of Roger Conant, so grand a type of the primitive and true New England character ; to trace along the line of descent from him, the headof one of our largest and best New England families. Edwin Conant, the subject of this sketch, and many other well-known individuals can trace their lineage directly to him, and well may they be proud of their descent, though better, perhaps, that they should endeavor to emulate his virtues. Edwin Conant, whose portrait appears in connec- tion with this sketch, was born in Sterling, Worcester , County, on the 20th of August, 1810. After pursuing the usual course of preliminary academic training, he entered Harvard College, where he graduated in 1829. Proposing to make the law his life business, he prepared himself for the duties of that honorable though often perplexing profession, under the direc- tion of well-qualified instructors, and in 1832 com- menced practice. After continuing in that calling for some ten years, his attention was directed to other pursuits, and he did not return to the law. In his religious views Mr. Conant has been a con- sistent Unitarian, thus swerving from the rigid Cal- vinistic faith of his early ancestors. Politically he was an adherent of the old Whig party, but on the taken for the means of grace among themselves, because of the tedious- ness and difficulties over the water, and other inconveniences." The town was incorporated in 1G68 by its present name — a name, however, which was not satisfactory to several of the principal settlers, especially to Conant, who, in the petition above referred to,saj's : " Now my umble suite and request is unto this honourable Court onlie that the name of our town or plantation may be altered or changed from Beverly, and be called Budligb. I have two reasons that have moved me unto this re- quest, — the first is the great dislike and discontent of many of our peo- ple for this name of Beverly, because (wee being but a small place) it bath caused on us a constant nickname of beggarly being in the mouths of many, and no order was given, or consent by the people to their agent, for any name until they were shure of being a town granted ju the first place. Secondly, I being the first that had house in Salem (and neither had any hand in naming either that or any other towne), and myself, with those that were then with me, being all from the west- ern part of England, desire this western name of Budligb, a market town in Devonshire, and neere unto the sea, as we are heere in this place, and where myself was borne." Roger Conant appears by every one to have been regarded as a very upright man ; and the Rev. Mr. White, who took so active an interest in the settlement of MiUiSachusettB, styles him " a pious, sober and pru- dent gentleman." That he was deeply pious, no one can doubt on re- viewing his courae. The petition for the change of name from Beverly to Budjeigh ends in this strain : " It this, my sute, may find acceptation with your worships I shall rest umbly thankfull, and my praiers shall not cease unto the throne of grace fo.- God's guidance and his blessing to be on all your weightie proceedings, and that iustice and righteousness may he overie where administered, and sound doctrine, truth and holi- ness everie where taught and practised throughout this wilderness to all posterity, which God grant. Amen." The court, however, did not grant the " umble petition," and Beverly the name is to this day. It has been claimed that, strictly speaking, Roger Conant was the first colonial Governor of Massachusetts. Probably the Bndicotts and Win- throps would not concede that. Yet there is no doubt that he was Gov- ernor of the little colony that first made a permanent settlement within our borders. The picturesque little island in the bay, now generally known as Gov- ernor's Mand-sometimes as Winthrop's— was first named Conant's Island in honor of the worthy old Roger. In 1632 it was granted to Governor Wiuthrop for a garden. Thence it was called Winthrop's or Governor's Island. E disruption of that he joined the Democratic ranks and still maintains his JefTersonian principles. He has not been much in public qffice, though always interested in public affairs ; has been something of a military man, though not exposed to the " shocks of war,'' as he served in peaceful times; has held brigade and staff offices, and been a judge advocate. Sterling, Mr. Conant's native place, is much in- debted to, him in various ways, especially for the generous gift of the funds for the erection of the brick edifice for the Free Public Library, and offices for the town authorities. The building was dedicated to the memory of his eldest daughter, Elizabeth Ann Conant. Mr. Conant has been twice married. His first wife was Maria Estabrook, daughter of Hon. Joseph Esta- brook, of Royalston, whom he married in October, 1833, and by whom he had two daughters, neither of whom are living. His second wife was Elizabeth S. Wheeler, granddaughter of Rev. Joseph Wheeler, Unitarian minister and register of probate. She was also a granddaughter of Rev. Dr. Sumner, so long the able minister of the First Church of Shrewsbury. A genealogy of the Conant family has been pub- lished, by which the lines may be traced to the gogd old settler Roger, and wherein the notable achieve- ments of some of the later members may be found recorded. Hon. Charles Augustus Dewey.' — Judge Dewey is deservedly pre-eminent among Milfjrd's most dis- tinguished, honored and trusted citizens. His pedi- gree, heredity and education gave him an auspicious introduction to public life, which he has worthily justified by his own exertions. He was born in Northampton, Mass., December 29, 1830. His father was Hon. Charles Augustus Dewey, for nearly thirty years judge of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts, and his mother a sister of Governor De Witt Clin- ton, the pride of New York's executive chair. He was fitted for college at Williston Seminary, East- hampton, and graduated from Williams College in 1851. He first studied law with his brother, the late Hon. Francis H. Dewey, of Worcester; then a year at the Harvard Law School, and afterward in the city of New York, where he was admitted to the bar in 1854. Having practiced law there till the fall of 1856, he went to Davenport, Iowa, and pursued his practice for two years. He came to Milford in March, 1859, and for the next two years was a pro- fessional partner of Hon. Hamilton B. Staples. In 1861 he was appointed trial justice. In 1864 the Police Court of Milford was established, and he was appointed judge. He held this office till the Third District Court of Southern Worcester was or- ganized, in 1872, when he was appointed judge of said court, and has since discharged the duties, of that office down to the present time. Meanwhile he » By Rev. Adin Ballon. Ixvi HISTOEY OF WOECESTEK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. has served seven years on the School Committee of Milford, and for some time as its chairman. For nearly twenty years he has heen a trustee of the town library and of late chairman of the board. In all these professional and ofScial positions Judge Dewey has discharged his responsible duties not only with admirable ability, fidelity and prompt- itude, but to such complete satisfaction of all parties concerned as rarely falls to the lot of one obliged to deal with so much conflicting mentality and interest. He has won for himself a remarkable amount of approbation and very little censure even from those whose passions and prejudices he has crossed. He is learned in legal lore, wears an inherited mantle of judicial rectitude, and holds the scales of legal equity with a firm hand of clemency. At his bar the inno- cent and guilty are alike sure of both justice and kindness. In public and private intercourse he is intelligent, candid, qonscientious and courteous, and therefore universally respected. In social life he is urbane, genial, modest and dignified, and so welcome to every reputable circle. In politics he is a stanch Republican, in religion an exemplary Congregation- alist, and in literature an amateur of the best. He is simple in his personal habits, temperate, physiologi- cally circumspect and averse to all forms of extrava- gance. In social and domestic affairs he is unosten- tatious, prudent and economical, without stinginess, and puts intellectual entertainments far above sensu- ous luxuries. His health is delicate rather than robust, and he watches over it so as to make the best of it, thereby managing to execute a large amount of business on a small capital of physical strength. He is' a man of strong convictions on subjects he deems important, and pronounces his opinions without equivocation when properly necessary, but is not a controversialist from choice, and never puts on airs of dogmatic assumption or offensive severity towards opponents. He evidently desires to be the friend and well-wisher of his race, and, so far as compatible with true moral integrity, to live peaceably with all men. Of the many commendable ways in which he is practically exemplifying this laudable desire, it will hardly be expected that a brief biographical sketch should make detailed mention. Perhaps the few already indicated may sufiice. Judge Dewey was married to Miss Marietta N. Thayer, daughter of Alexander W. and Marietta (Dustan) Thayer, born in Worcester, June 22, 1847 ; ceremony in Milford, March 12, 1867, by Rev. George G. Jones. She has the ancestral honor of being a descendant of the celebrated Hannah Dustan, of Indian captivity renown. This marriagfe was one of mutual, intelligent affection, and has been a happy one. Mrs. Dewey has proved herself worthy of her husband, and their connubial house has been a plea- sant one. They have one promising daughter, — Maria Thayer Dewey, born in Milford, August 8, 1872. May many divine benedictions rest on this family group. Thomas H. Dodge' was born September 27, 1828, in the town of Eden, county of Lamoille, State of Vermont, being the fourth son of Malachi F. Dodge and his wife, Jane Hutchins, who were married in Belvidere, Vt., Jan. 9, 1812. His father, Malachi F., was born in New Boston, N. H., Aug. 20, 1789; his grandfather, Enoch Dodge, was born in Beverly, Mass., 1762, and where his great-grand- father, Elisha Dodge, was born May 19, 1723, and who was the fifth and last child of Elisha Dodge, of Beverly, and his wife, Mary Kimball, of Wenham, Mass., who were published Oct. 8, 1709. Young Dodge had the advantages of good district schools, his father being a well-to-do farmer. The family subsequently moved to the town of Lowell, Vt., and resided on a farm there until Thomas was about four- teen years old, when his eldest brother, Malachi F., Jr., having secured a desirable position with the Nashua Manufacturing Co., of Nashua, N. H., a change of residence was made by the family to that place. At Nashua, Thomas H. attended for a time the public schools, and then entered Gymnasium Insti- tute, at Pembroke, N. H. At this institution he made rapid progress, and ranked among the first in his class. Returning to Nashua, he secured a position in the spinning and weaving departments of the Nashua Manufacturing Co., which gave him an opportunity to become familiar with those departments, in the art he was desirous of fully understanding. In this po- sition he remained until he gained a full knowledge of the processes while at the same time earning money sufficient to permit him to take a course of study in the Nashua Literary Institute, then under the charge of Prof. David Crosby. In the meantime he had been pursuing a course of study in elementary law, the books being obtained from one of the leading law firms of the place, who encouraged him in his studies. He also continued his studies in Latiu un- der a private tutor. Diligent and careful investigations and study into the early rise and progress of cotton manufactures in the United States had also engrossed his attention, as being intimately connected with the business in which he was engaged, — he was, in fact, an enthusiast in those early years upon the great good and national prosperity that would result from mechanical and manufacturing industries if properly encouraged, and in the year 1850, he published his " Review of the Rise, Progress and Present Importance of Cotton Man- ufactures of the United States ; together with Statis- tistics, showingthe Comparative and Relative Remun- eration of English and American Operatives." When he first became a resident of Nashua, the Nashua Gazette was printed in a rear room in which the post-office was located, and young Dodge would 1 Extracts from extended biography. ^rr^^a THE BENCH AND BAR. Ixvii go in and watch the operation of the hand-press used for printing the paper, and his quick mind at once ran to devising some way to print on a plane surface and yet use a rotary motion, so as to print from a roll of blank paper. The Nashua and Lowell Eailroad was something new, and he took an interest in look- ing at trains as they came in, and one day he noticed that the parallel-rod, which connected the driving- wheels, had the very motion which he wanted, and he drew the plan of a press, and later made one which worked perfectly and attracted much notice. One day, shortly after a description of the press had appeared in the public journals, a gentleman called to see Mr. Dodge, who found him to be a Boston manufacturer by the name of John Bachelder. Mr. Bachelder frankly made known his business and the object of his visit. He was largely engaged in the manufacture of cotton bags for salt, flour and similar materials. He said he had seen the notice of the press and came to see it, since he thought it was just what he wanted. Said he wanted to print the cloth direct from the bale, and should like to see it work. The press worked perfectly, was bought by Mr. Bachelder and patented, and came into very general use. The publicity of this invention was the beginning of a new era in machinery for printing paper, which resulted in the production of the lightning presses of the present day. Being now in the possession of suf- ficient funds, he decided to study law. In 1851 he entered the office of Hon. George Y. Sawyer and Colonel A. F. Stevens, of Nashua, N. H. As an illustration of the quick appreciation and util- ization by Mr. Dodge of favorable opportunities, he, while a law student, saw that the prospective city of Nashua must necessarily extend in a short time to the south, and with two other gentlemen purchased a large part of the Jesse Bowers farm, lying on the west of South Main Street, and had it surveyed and platted as an addition to Nashua. The lots were in demand as soon as offered, and this investment proved very profitable, while, at the same time, adding much to the prosperity of the new city, which was soon after chartered, Mr. Dodge being elected a member of the first City Council. He was admitted to the bar December 5, 1864, and com- menced practice in Nashua. Aside from his position as a lawyer, he was extensively and publicly known as a skilled manufacturer, a meritorious inventor and a man of science, and which attainments having at- tracted the attention of Hon. Charles Mason, then com- missioner of patents, he was, in March, 1855, appointed to a position in the examining corps of the United States Patent Office, Washington, D.C. At first he held the position of an assistant examiner, but was soon promoted to the position of examiner-in-chief. When the famous Hussey Guard patent for mowing and reaping-machines came up for an extension, many of the ablest lawyers in the United States were engaged as counsel, either for or in opposition to the extension. Judge Mason referred the application to Mr. Dodge, who reported the invention both new and novel at the date of the patent, and that, under the law, Hussey was entitled to the extension. This re- port and decision was confirmed by Judge Mason, and the extension granted. Litigation in the Fed- eral Courts soon followed, to test the validity of such action and the patent, and both were fully confirmed in the Circuit Courts of the United States, and which decisions of the Circuit Courts were subsequently sustained, on appeal, by the Supreme Court of the United States. While Judge Mason remained at the head of the Patent Office the assistance of Mr. Dodge was con- stantly required in appeal cases, and upon the ap- pointment of Judge Holt his services were still relied upon by the new commissioner of patents. Judge Holt, in the administration of the office, reached the conclusion that a permanent court or board of appeals ought to be established to meet the public wants, and he appointed the three chief ex- aminers, viz. : Thomas H. Dodge, DeWitt C. Law- rence and A. B. Little. The establishment of this board was a movement of great importance. The decisions of the Board of Appeals, under the direction of Mr. Dodge, changed the entire aspect of the business before the Patent Office ; order, justice and promptness in its official actions were recognized by applicants throughout the country, while a stimu- lus was given to the inventive skill and ingenuity of the nation' that resulted largely, no doubt, in the production of many of the great and valuable inven- tions of the past thirty years. He resigned Novem- ber 2, 1858. Mr. Dodge was admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of the United States, and for twenty-five years and more, thereafter, he had a very large and profita- ble law practice in patent causes, and was, during that time, actively engaged in the great suits relating to the sewing machine, mowing and reaping machine, corset, horse hay-rake, wrench, loom, barbed wire, machines for making the same, and numerous other valuable patented inventions involving millions of dollars. In the early part of 1864, Mr. Dodge located in Worcester, where he had previously had a law-office in the city, and besides was one of the active man- agers of the Union Mowing Machine Company. It was while residing in Washington that Mr. Dodge devised the present plan of returning letters uncalled for to the writers thereof, and on the 8th of August, 1856, submitted in writing a detailed state- ment of his plan to the Postmaster-General, Hon. James Campbell, and in due time it received the sanction of law, and the present generation receives and enjoys advantages resulting from the change. Mr. Dodge was a strong supporter of the Union cause during the Rebellion, and while he remained Ixviii HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. in Washington his house was open to those engaged in relieving the sick, wounded and dying soldiers ; Mrs. Dodge, too, also joining with others in visiting the hospitals to distribute food and delicacies sent from the Norlh to Mrs. Harris and Miss Dix, for the sick and wounded. His youngest brother, Capt. Elit-ha E. Dodge, of the Thirteenth New Hampshire Eegiment, fell mortally wounded in the assault on Petersburg, Va., in June, 1864, and died at Fortress Monroe, June 22, 1864. In 1881 he, in connection with Mr. Charles G. Washburn, organized the Worcester Barb Fence Company, he being president and Mr. Washburn sec- retary and manager, and for which company the late Stephen Salisbury, Esq., built the large factory at the corner of Market and Union Streets. The plant and patents were subsequently sold to the Washburn & Moen Company. Mr. Dodge was married, June 29, 1843, to Miss Eliza Daniels, of Brookline, N. H. In the grounds of Mr. Dodge is the "Ancient Willow." (See illustration and poem by Harriett Prescott Spofford, elsewhere in thi^ work.) Augustus George Bullock.' — Mr. Bullock is a son of the late Governor Alexander H. Bullock, whose portrait, with a biographical sketch, appears elsewhere in this work. He was born in En- field, Conn., on the 2d of June, 1847, and was edu- cated in private schools, being fitted for college by the late E. G. Cutler, who was afterwards professor of modern languages in Harvard College. He en- tered Harvard in 1864 and graduated in 1868. After traveling a year in Europe he commenced the study of law, pursued the usual course, and in due time was admitted to the bar in Worcester. He soon went into practice, occupying offices with Sena- tor Hoar. In 1882 his father. Governor Bullock, who had then recently been elected president of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company, died ; and during the year it was determined to change the policy of the company, which had been of a somewhat limited character, and make it one of the leading institutions of the kind in the country. It was in January, 1883, that the affairs and inter- ests of this now widely-known and popular a-surance company were submitted to the management of the subject of this sketch, he being elected president and treasurer. He accepted the responsible position, en- gaged earnestly in the work, arduous as it promised to be, and has been eminently succe.-sful. The sug- gestions for extended usefulness were efficiently and rapidly carried forward, and new life and healthful growth became visible in every department. Since his instalment, which was but about six years ago, the business of the company has been more than quadrupled, and is adding to its assets accumulations 1 By James R. Newhall. of nearly half a million dollars annually. Its opera- tions and reputation are not now by any means lim- ited to Massachusetts or New England, it having attained a large business, especially in the Middle and Western States. But it is not alone as president and treasurer of the State Mutual Life Assurance Company that Mr. Bul- lock is well and widely known. He is a director in the Worcester National Bank, in the Worcester Gas Light Company, in the Norwich and Worcester Rail- road, in the Worcester County Institution for Sav- ings, and president of the State Safe Deposit Com- pany. He is also a trustee of the State Lunatic Hospital and of the Free Public Library, and a mem- ber of the American Antiquarian Society. For an intelligent appreciation of literary and social observances of the higher order Mr. Bullock is well fitted by education and taste. And few places affisrd better opportunities for the development of refined sentiment than cultured Worcester. He has many of the genial traits of his honored father, many of his common-sense views and approachable amenities — trails and habits that never fail, of leading to high social position. So then we find him, now in middle life, sustaining in" the business world a high reputation for financial skill and ability, and in so- cial life a position well worthy of aspiration. In religious sentiment Mr. Bullock ranks with the Unitarians, having departed somewhat from the chosen faith of his fathers. His grandfather was of the rigid old New England " orthodox " type ; but his father, after reaching manhood, embraced the faith of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and to the end of his life delighted in its charming liturgical form of worship. In political sentiment he ranks with the Democratic party. Mr. Bullock was united in marriage, October 4, 1871, with Mary Chandler, daughter of Dr. George and Josephine Rose Chandler, and four male chil- dren have been born to them, one of whom died in infancy. Francis Almon Gaskill ^ was born in Black- stone, Worcester County, on the 3d day of January, 1846. Until the year 1860 he lived in that town. In 1860 he moved to Woonsocket, R. I., and in the High School of that town, under the instruction of Howard M. Rice, Esq. (now one of the proprietors of the well- known Mowry and Goff School in Providence), he fitted for college. In the autumn of 1862 he en- tered Brown University, and was graduated in 1866. He was occupied as private tutor to the sons of Mr. Clement B. Barclay, of Newport, R. I., from October, 1866, till June, 1867, and thus had the advantage of that most excellent mental instruction which comes from teaching others. In September, 1867, he entered the Law School of Harvard University, and remained there, a close 2 By HeiUrt Paikur. THE BENCH AND BAE. Ixix student, till October, 1868, when, at the request of the late Hon. George F. Verry, he entered his ofBce as clerli, and was duly admitted to the bar of this county March 3, 1869. Later he was associated with Mr. Verry as his partner, and so continued till Mr. Verry's death, in 1883. Mr. Gaskill was married, October 20, 1869, to Miss Katherine Mortimer Whitaker, of Providence. For a considerable time Mrs. Gaskill was an invalid, and for the last few years of her life suffered almost con- stantly from a painful illness, which she bore with a truly beautiful fortitude and cheerfulness. She died January 25, 1889, leaving two children. In 1875-76 Mr. Gaskill served as a member of the Common Council of the city of Worcester. In 1876 he was chosen one of the trustees of the Worcester Academy, and has served in that capacity contin- uously till the present time. He was elected a trustee of the Free Public Library of Worcester for six years from 1878 to 1884, and in 1886 was elected to fill a vacancy in that board, of which he was presi- dent in the year 1888. In 1884 he was elected one of the trustees of the People's Savings Bank, and still serves on that board. In 1888 he was elected one of the trustees of Brown University. He is also a director of the State Mu- tual Life Assurance Company of Worcester, an insti- tution whose standing and reputation in the financial world is such as to make a position in its directorate one of great honor and importance. In 1883, during the illness of the district attorney, Hon. Frank T. Blackmer, Mr. Gaskill filled that office by appointment. In 1886 he was elected dis- trict attorney, to serve from January, 1887, to January, 1890, succeeding Col. W. S. B. Hopkins, whose bril- liant and distinguished abilities and character had made his administration memorable. It will thus be seen, from the preceding recital of some of the various positions of importance and responsibility to which Mr. Gaskill has been called, that he has possessed in a large measure the confi- dence and esteem of those to whom he has been known. In the discharge of the duties of educa- tional, charitable, financial and professional trusts, it is obvious that he has had a training and experience that has fitted him to deal judiciously with the mul- titudinous interests which may be involved in the discharge of his existing official duties. He has had personal and continuous acquaintance with and has shared in the direct management of affairs which make up and are essential elements in our complex industrial, social and governmental sys- tem. He has had an active and successful pro- fessional life. Mr. Verry, with whom he was long associated, was one 9f the acknowledged leaders of the bar : his cool judgment, marvelous readiness in the crisis of a case and his brilliant powers as an advocate rendered him almost invincible, in the trial of causes. Mr. Gaskill was far too apt and able a pupil to fail to profit from his close professional and personal intimacy with Mr. Verry. The opportunity for study thus given him in the practice of the law has abundantly equipped him for his arduous and responsible duties as prose- cuting officer. While Mr. Gaskill was acting dis- trict attorney the now famous case of Commonwealth vs. Pierce came before our Criminal Court. The de- fendant was a so-called physician, and, by reason of treating a patient with baths and poultices of kero- sene oil, finally produced her death. He was in- dicted for manslaughter. It was extremely doubtful whether the defendant Pierce could be convicted, by reason of a much questioned decision of the Supreme Court in an early case. It was, however, of grave moment to bring this vexed question again to the bar of the Supreme Court for revision. The indictment, a remarkably skillful piece of criminal pleading, was drawn by Mr. Gaskill, with the able assistance of C. F. Baker, Esq., then assistant district attorney. Later > after a closely contested trial. Col. Hopkins, then dis- trict attorney, managing the government's case, a ver- dict of guilty was rendered ; and after exhaustive argu- ments of the law questions before the Supreme Court the conviction of the defendant was sustained, largely through the courage and confidence which Mr. Gaskill had in the righteousaess of this cause, the original prosecution of which was instituted by him. We now have the decision of the Supreme Court that homicidal medical pretenders shall not escape responsibility for the fatal results of their incompe- tency on the plea that ignorance and not malice caused the death of their victim. In a large number of the important legal contro- versies in our county Mr. Gaskill has been of coun- sel. His clients, no less than his opponents, know the zeal, the energy and the learning which he dis- plays in the preparation and trial of his cases. To the discharge of the duties of the office of district attorney he has brought all the fidelity and ability which have given him success and honorable reputa- tion at the bar, on the civil side of the court. With unflagging constancy and integrity he has conducted the affairs of the people entrusted to his hands. In the two years now expired of his current term of office, prosecutions of great interest have been con- ducted by him, one among many being that of a no- torious mal-practitioner, whose victim had made a dying declaration charging the crime upon the ac- cused ; but, by reason of the inapt phraseology of the statute, it was held by the court upon the trial that the dying declaration could not be used in evidence upon atrial for abortion; the case was given to the jury without this evidence, and a verdict of guilty followed, which, for insufficiency of evidence, was set aside. Thereupon an indictment was found for manslaughter by negligence, which was a sagacious, but by many lawyers thought a futile, effort to pre- vent the escape of a guilty person, by reason of an h HISTORY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. inefficient statute. Mr. Gaskill brought the accused to trial on the charge of manslaughter, and, though defended with great zeal and ability, the prisoner was convicted ; for in this case the dying declaration was unquestionably admissible, and was admitted. After mature consideration by the counsel for the de- fense, the exceptions were waived, and sentence was imposed upon the defendant. This successful prosecution is adverted to as dem- onstrating the vigilance and energy of Mr. Gaskill's methods, manifested as well in his prompt and sys- tematic management at each term of the Criminal Court, where everything upon the docket which can be tried is brought forward and disposed of. In this district at least, there exists no complaint of an ac- cumulation of untried cases. Sureties, who have pledged themselves to secure the attendance of an accused person for his trial, iave learned that a bail bond is a stern and inex- orable compact, which they cannot evade ; no less have persons who appeal from sentences in the lower courts learned that they must speedily answer on trial in the Superior Court. It is a noteworthy fact, and one upon which Mr. Gaskill may well look with legitimate pride, that in the two years of his term of office as district attorney no indictment drawn by him has been quashed for any insufficiency in form. Happily, the time has not yet come for writing a completed biography of the subject of this sketch ; his life-work is not yet done, and it may be confidently hoped that many years of usefulness are yet before him ; here only brief mention can be made of some of the events (and those chiefly professional) of his past life. The biographer of one still in active life must carefully observe a due consideration for him whose life and character is under discussion, and so scrupu- lously avoid anything by way of seeming eulogy, however well deserved and just such eulogy may be. The mfire recital of the events of Mr. Gaskill's life, the positions of honor £tnd trust to which he has been called, the distinguished reputation he has gained in his profession, the respect and esteem in which he is held by his cotemporaries, all make up a more eloquent eulogy than the pen of any biographer could frame. It is fitting to add, however, what no one can or would wish to gainsay, that Mr. Ga.skill has fully maintained the high moral and professional standard established by his most distinguished predecessors in the office. In him the county and the people may see the realization of those rare qualities of mind and character which are required of him, who is at once prosecuting officer of the Commonwealth, but no less in accordance with the merciful and just considera- tion of our criminal jurisprudence, " the prisoner's attorney." Theodoee S. Johnson.^ — Worcester County has been exceptionally fortunate during its history in securing for clerk of the courts men of high character and pronounced ability. It is an office of dignity and of great responsibility, requiring exact legal knowledge, and a ready fund of fertility upon which instant drafts must frequently be made. It is en- riched with ample compensation, only slighly below that established for a justice of the Superior Court. Some of the incumbents of the office have yielded to its attractions after distinguished service in Con- gress, others after effective labors in other capacities, while still others have relinquished it for a seat in Congress. The term of service of most has been long. Since the incorporation of the county, in 1731, a period of nearly one hundred and sixty years, there have been but eleven different persons holding the office. No fairer test than this can be applied to determine the measure of satisfaction with which the affairs of the office have been administered. The incumbent is judged by two standards — one adopted by the judges and lawyers, with whom he is brought into closest relations ; the other, proceeding from parties in Causes, jurors and the public at large. The former is applied more particularly to his legal capacity and general administration of the office; the latter to his characteristics. The combination of qualities to satisfy both tests is not often found. The eleventh clerk of the courts for Worcester County is the subject of this sketch. Theodore S. Johnson was born in Dana, in this county, in 1843. After attendance in the common schools of his native town and at the High School and Wilbraham Academy, he came to Worcester in 1864, and entered as a student the law-office of Dewey & Williams. He was admitted to the bar in 1866, and immediately began the practice of his profession in Blackstone. In 1867 he was appointed trial justice by Governor Bullock, and held the office till 1871. In the latter year Hon. Hartley Williams, in whose office Mr. Johnson had studied law, was judge of the Municipal Court of Worcester, and a vacancy occur- ring in the office of clerk of that court, he quickly turned to Mr. Johnson as admirably qualified to fill the position ,- he was at once appointed and continued as such and as clerk of the Central District Court of Worcester till 1881. The sagacious treatment of the great volume and variety of business in those courts re- quiring the action and attention of the clerk during those years certainly justified the judgment of his friend and instructor, Judge Williams. In 1881 Mr. Johnson was elected to his present office as clerk of the courts for • Worcester County for the term of five years, and in 1886 was re-elected for a similar term. Mr. Johnson's activities have not been confined ' By F. A. Gaskill. 33' THE BENCH AND BAE. Ixxi solely to these duties, though never for an instant neglecting them. He was captain and judge advocate on the staff of the Third Brigade Massachusetts Volunteer Militia from 1874 to 1876, inclusive. He was selected in 1878 by Governor Talbot as colonel and aide-de-camp up- on his Gubernatorial staff. Mr. Johnson's discriminating political judgment, as well as his prominence as a citizen of Wor- cester and his earnest belief in the Eepublican party, led naturally to his selection as Worcester's represen- tative on the Republican State Central Committee from 1881 to 1884, inclusive. In 1888 he was elected a director of the Quinsiga- mond National Bank, and has retained the position ever since. In 1873 he married Miss Amanda M. Allen, of Blackstone. Valuable as his other services have been, honorable as the other positions are which he has held, identified as he has been with other material and social inter- ests of Worcester and Worcester County, yet his ad- ministration of the office of clerk of the courts has been by far his most significant and successful service. The writer of this sketch can best apply the legal test hitherto spoken of, and Mr. Johnson can securely rest in the confidence and approbation of the bar when that is invoked. His generous courtesy and ready service to his brethren of the bar and to others, and his unimpeachable character never fail to satisfy the other test. JUDGES or THE HIGHER COURTS RESIDENT IN WORCESTER COUNTY. Superior Court. — Jedediah Foster, on the bench 1776-79. Supreme Judicial Court. — Levi Lincoln, on the bench 1824-25; Benjamin F. Thomas, 1853-59; Pliny Merrick, 1853-64; Dwight Foster, 1866-69; Charles Devens, 1873-77, 1881-. County Court of Common Pleas. — Artemas Ward, on the bench 1775-99 (C. J.); Jedediah Foster, 1775- 76 ; Moses Gill, 1775-94 ; Samuel Baker, 1775-95 ; Joseph Dorr, 1776-1801 ; Michael Gill, 1794-98 ; Eli- jah Brigham, 1795-1811 ; John Sprague, 1799-1801 (C. J.) ; Dwight Foster, 1801-11 (C. J.) ; Benjamin Hey wood, 1801-11. Court of Common Pleas for the Western Circuit. — Edward Bangs, on the bench 1811-18; Solomon Strong, 1818-20. Court of Common Pleas for Commonwealth.— Solo- mon Strong, on the bench 1820-42 ; Charles Allen, 1842-44; Pliny Merrick, 1843-48, '50-53; Emory Washburn, 1844-47; Edward Mellen, 1854-59. Superior Court for the Commonwealth. — Charles Allen, on the bench 1859-69 (C. J.); Charles Devens, 1867-73; Francis H. Dewey, 1869-81; P. Emory Aldrich, 1873- ; Hamilton B. Stapler, 1881-. Probate Court. — John Chandler, on the bench 1731-40; Joseph Wilder, 1740-56; John Chandler (2d), 1756-62; John Chandler (3d), 1762-75 ; Jede- diah Foster, 1775-76 ; Artemas Ward, 1776 ; Levi Lincoln, 1776-82 ; Joseph Dorr, 1782-1801 ; Nathan- iel Paine, 1801-36; Ira M. Barton, 1836-44; Benja- min F. Thomas, 1844-48 ; Thomas Kinnicutt, 1848- 57 ; Dwight Foster, 1857-58. Court of Probate and Insolvency. — Henry Chapin, on the bench 1858-78 ; Adia Thayer, 1878-88 ; W. Trowbridge Forbes, 1888-. List of Members of the Bar. — In the follow- ing list it is intended to give the names of all persons who were members of the Worcester County bar Jan- uary 1, 1889, and of those who had been members of it at any time since the establishment of the county, with the date and place of the birth and graduation of each (if graduated), the date of admission to the bar, and the place or places where they have prac- tised, so far as ic has been practicable to obtain the facts. Explanations. — The ' indicates that the person was dead January 1, 1889 ; r., removal from the county. The colleges at which persons named were graduated or attended are indicated by initial letters, thus : H. C, Harvard College ; B. U., Brown University ; A. C, Amherst College ; Y. C, Yale College ; W. C, Williams College ; D. C, Dartmouth College ; M. U., Michigan University ; W. U., Wesleyan University ; U. v., University of Vermont ; U. C, Union Col- lege ; B. C, Bowdoin College ; N. U., Norwich Uni- versity; U. of C, University of Cal.; H. Cr., Holy Cross College; McG., McGill University; C. U., Colby. University ; T. C, Tuft's College ; St. M., St. Michael's College ; N. D., University of Notre Dame. Thomas Abbott, r., born in Canada; admitted 1849 ; practised in Millbury and Blackstone. Benjamin Adams,' born in Mendon, 1764; gradu- ated at B. U., 1788; admitted 1792 ; practised in Ux- bridge. Charles L. Adams, born in Westboro', 1861 ; ad- mitted 1887 ; practised in Westboro'. Henry Adams,' graduated at H. C, 1802 ; practised in Ashburnham. Zabdiel B. Adams,' graduated at H. C, 1791 ; prac- tised in Lunenburg. Henry W. Aiken, born in Millbury, 1857 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1880; admitted 1884; practised in Millbury. Charles F. Aldrich, born in Worcester, 1858 ; grad- uated at Y. C, 1879; admitted 1881; practised in Worcester. P. Emory Aldrich, born in New Salem, 1813 ; ad- mitted 1846 ; practised in Barre and Worcester. Charles Allen,' born in Worcester, 1797 ; admitted 1818 ; practised in New Braintree and Worcester. Frederic H. Allen,' graduated U. V., 1823 ; ad- mitted 1818 ; practised in Athol. Ixxii HISTOKY OF WORCESTEK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Samuel H. Allen,' born in Mendon, 1790; gradu- ated at U. C, 1814 ; practised in Mendon and Graf- ton. Joseph Alien,' born in Leicester, 1773 ; graduated at H. C, 1792 ; admitted 1795 ; practised in Worces- ter, Warren and Charlestown, N. H. Albert H. Andrews, born in Waltham, 1829 ; ad- mitted 1856 ; practised in Nebraska, Minnesota, Ash- burnham and Fitchburg. William S. Andrews,' r., bom in Boston; graduated at H. C, 1812; admitted 1817; practised in Spencer and Worcester. Joshua Atherton,' bom in Harvard, 1737 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1762 ; admitted 1765 ; practised in Petersham. Edward Avery, r., born in Marblehead, 1827 ; ad- mitted 1849 ; practised in Barre, Worcester and Bos- ton. Erasmus Babbitt,' born in Sturbridge, 1765 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1790 ; practised in Charlton, Grafton, Oxford, Sturbridge and Westboro'. Henry Bacon, bom in Oxford, 1835; admitted 1859 ; practised in Worcester. Peter C. Bacon,' born in Dudley, 1804 ; graduated at B. U., 1827 ; admitted 1880; practised in Oxford, Dudley and Worcester. Goldsmith F. Bailey,' born in Westmoreland, Vt., 1823 ; admitted 1848 ; practised in Fitchburg. Harrison Bailey, born in Fitchburg, 1849 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1872; admitted 1874; practised in Fitchburg. Charles F. Baker, born in Lunenburg, 1850 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1872; admitted 1875; practised in Fitchburg. Christopher C. Baldwin,' born in Templeton, 1800; admitted 1826 ; practised in Sutton, Barre and AVor- cester. George W. Baldwin, r., born in New Haven ; grad- uated at Y. C, 1853; admitted 1858; practised in Worcester and Boston. Isaac Baldwin, admitted 1853 ; practised in Clin- ton. George H. Ball, r., born in Milford, 1848 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1869; admitted 1871; practised in Worcester. George F. Bancroft/ admitted 1874 ; practised in Brookfield. James H. Bancroft, born in Ashburnham, 1829; admitted 1868 ; practised in Worcester. Allen Bangs,' r., born in Springfield ; graduated at H. C, 1827; practised in Springfield and Worcester. Edward Bangs,' born in Hardwick, 1756 ; gradu- ated H. C, 1777; admitted 1780; practised in Wor- cester. Edward D. Bangs,' born in Worcester, 1790 ; ad- mitted 1813 ; practised in Worcester. William B. Banister,' r., born in Brookfield, 1773 ; graduated at D. C, 1797; practised in Brookfield and Newburyport. Forrest B. Barker, born in Exeter, N. H., 1853 ; graduated at W. U., 1874; admitted 1876; practised in AVorcester. Merrill Barlow, r., admitted 1848; practised in Southbridge and Columbus, O. Frederick J. Barnard, born in Worcester 1842 ; graduated at Y. C, 1863; admitted 1867; practised in Worcester. L. Emerson Barnes, born in Hardwick, 1843; grad- uated at A. C, 1871; admitted 1873; practised in North Brookfield. Andrew J. Bartholomew, born in Hardwick, 1833 ; graduated at Y. C, 1856; admitted 1858; practised in Southbridge. Nelson Bartholomew,' born in Hardwick, 1834; graduated at Y. C, 1856 ; admitted 1858 ; practised in Oxford. William O. Bartlett, r., born in Smithfield, E. I.; admitted 1843 ; practised in Worcester and New York. Ira M. Barton,' born in Oxford, 1796; graduated at B. U., 1819 ; admitted 1822 ; practised in Oxford and Worcester. William S. Barton, born in Oxford, 1824 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1844 ; admitted 1846 ; practised in Worcester. Ezra Bassett, practised in New Brain tree. Sumner Bastow,' born in Uxbridge; graduated at B. U., 1802; admitted 1811; practised in Sutton and Oxford. Liberty Bates,' graduated at B. U., 1797 ; practised in Grafton. Robert E. Beecher, r., born in Zanesville, O., 1839; graduated at W. C, I860; admitted 1868; practised in North Brookfield. Joshua E. Beeman, born in Westboro', 1844; ad- mitted 1879 ; practised in Westboro'. Felix A. Belisle, born in St. Marcelle, P. Q., 1857; admitted 1888; practised in Worcester. Daniel H. Bemis, born in Billerica, 1831 ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Clinton. Abijah Bigelow,' born in Westminster, 1775 ; grad- uated at D. C, 1795 ; admitted 1817 ; practised in Worcester and Leominster. Daniel Bigelow,' born in Worcester, 1752 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1775 ; admitted 1780 ; practised in Pe- tersham. George P. Bigelow, admitted 1881. Lewis Bigelow,' born in Petersham ; graduated at W. C, 1803; practised in Petersham and Peoria, 111. Tyler Bigelow,' graduated at H. C, 1801 ; practised in Leominster and Waltham. Arthur G. Biscoe,' born in Grafton ; graduated at A. C, 1862; admitted 1864; practised in Westbor- ough. J. Foster Biscoe, r., born in Grafton ; graduated at A. C, 1874 ; admitted 1877. Jason B. Blackington, r., graduated at B. U., 1826; practised in Holden. THE BENCH AND BAR. Ixxiii Francis T. Blackmer,' born in Worcester, 1844; admitted 1867 ; practised in Worcester. Fred. W. Blackmer, born in Hardwick, 1858 ; ad- mitted 1883 ; practised in Worcester. Francis Blake,' born in Eutland, 1774 ; graduated at H. C, 1789; admitted 1794; practised in Eutland and Worcester. Jesse Bliss,' born in Brimfield ; graduated at D. C, 1808; admitted 1812; practised in W. Brookfield. Daniel Bliss,' born in Concord, 1740; graduated at H. C, 1760; admitted 1765; practised in Rutland and Concord. William Bliss,' graduated at H. C, 1818 ; practised in Athol. Jerome B. Bolster,' born in Uxbridge ; admitted 1865 ; practised in Blackstone. Frederick W. Botham,' born in Charlton, 1811 ; admitted 1835 ; practised in Southbridge and Douglas. Frederick W. Bottom,' born in Plainfield, Conn., 1785; graduated at B. U., 1802; practised in Charl- ton, Southbridge and Sturbridge. Lewis H. Boutelle, r., practised in Westborough. Charles D. Bowman,' born in New Braintree, 1816; graduated at H. C, 1838; admitted 1845; practised in Oxford. Lucian C. Boynton,' admitted 1847 ; practised in Worcester. Albert E. Bragg, r., admitted 1884 ; practised in Worcester and Boston. Samuel Brazer,' born in Worcester, 1785 ; practised in Worcester. Benjamin Bridge, practised in Uxbridge and Win- chendon. O. L. Bridges,' r., born in Calais, Me. ; practised in Boston and Worcester. William H. Briggs, born in Andover, 1855 ; ad- mitted 1876 ; practised in Worcester. David Brigham,' r., born in Shrewsbury, 1786; graduated at H. C, 1810 ; practised in Pitchburg, Leicester, New Braintree and Shrewsbury. David T. Brigham, r., born in Shrewsbury, 1808 ; graduated at U. C, 1828 ; admitted 1831 ; practised in Worcester. Charles Brimblecom, born in Sharon, 1825; ad- mitted 1848 ; practised in Barre. Aaron Brooks,' born in Petersham ; graduated at B. U., 1817 ; practised in Petersham. Calvin M. Brooks, r., graduated at Y. C, 1847 ; ad- mitted 1848 ; practised in Worcester, Boston and N. Ashland, Conn. Francis A. Brooks, r., born in Petersham, 1826 ; attended H. C. ; admitted 1845 ; practised in Peter- sham and Boston. Bartholomew Brown,' graduated at H. C, 1799; practised in Sterling. Jotin F. Brown, admitted 1880. Luke Brown,' graduated at H. C, 1794 ; practised in Hardwick. William E. Brown,' born in Sidney, Me., 1831 ; ad- mitted 1868 ; practised in Fitchburg. Nahum F. Bryant, r., born in New Salem, 1810; admitted 1835 ; practised at Barre and Bangor, Me. Walter A. Bryant,' born in New Salem, 1817 ; ad- mitted 1839 ; practised in Barre and Worcester. Alexander H. Bullock,' born in Eoyalston, 1816 ; graduated atA. C, 1836; admitted 1841; practised in Worcester. Augustus George Bullock, born in Enfield, Conn., 1847; graduated at H. C, 1868; admitted 1875; practised in Worcester. Gardner Burbank, graduated at B. U., 1809; prac- tised in Worcester. Silas A. Burgess, born in Goshen, 1826 ; admitted 1852; practised in Blackstone and Worcester. Henry M. Burleigh, r., practised in Athol. Samuel M. Burnside,' born in Northumberland, N. H., 1783 ; graduated at D. C, 1805 ; admitted 1810 ; practised in Westborough and Worcester. Albert C. Burrage, r., born in Ashburnham, 1859; graduated at H. C, 1883; admitted 1884; practised in Boston. Charles D. Burrage, born in Ashburnham, 1857; graduated at U. of C, 1 878 ; admitted 1882 ; prac- tised in Baldwinville and Gardner. Stillman Cady,' practised in Templeton. Joseph B. Caldwell,' born in Eutland ; graduated at H. C, 1802 ; practised in Grafton, Rutland and Worcester. William Caldwell,' graduated at H. C, 1802 ; prac- tised in Rutland. George W. Cann, born in Easton, Pa.' 1849; at- tended Pa. C, 1869; admitted 1872; practised in Fitchburg. James B. Carroll, r., born in Lowell, 1856 ; grad- uated at H. Cr., 1878 ; admitted 1880 ; practised in Springfield. Peter T. Carroll, born in Hopkinton, 1857 ; attend- ed H. Cr. ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worces- ter. Chauncey W. Car ter, born in Leominster, 1827 ; admitted 1857 ; practised in Leominster and Gardner. Frederick H. Chamberlain, born in Worcester, 1861 ; admitted 1886 ; practised in Worcester. Leon F. Chamecin,' born in Philadelphia, 1861 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Boston and Templeton. Nathaniel Chandler,' born in Worcester, 1750; graduated at H. C, 1768 ; admitted 1771 ; practised in Petersham and Worcester. Eufus Chandler,' born in Worcester, 1747 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1766 ; admitted 1768 ; practised in Worcester. Charles 8. Chapin, r., born in Westfield, 1859; graduated at W. U., 1880; admitted 1884; practised in Worcester. Henry Chapin,' born in Upton, 1811 ; graduated at B. U., 1835; admitted 1838; practised at Uxbridge and Worcester. Ixxiv HISTOEY OF WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Jvinus Child,^ born in Woodstock, Conn., 1802; graduated at Y. C, 1824; admitted 1826; practised in Southbridge and Boston. F. Linus Childs, born in Millbury, 1849 ; graduated at B. U., 1870 ; admitted 1873 ; practised in Wor- cester. Ambrose Choquet, born in Varennes, P. Q., 1840 ; graduated at McG., 1865; admitted 1865; practised in Montreal, Rochester and Worcester. Charles W. Clark, r., born in Worcester, 1851 ; graduated at Y. 0. ; admitted 1876 ; practised in Worcester. Edward Clark,^ born in Charlton ; practised in Sut- ton and Worcester. Henry J. Clarke, born in Southbridge, 1845 ; grad- uated at Boston U., 1875 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Webster. Samuel Clark, born in Dedham, 1809 ; graduated at B. U., 1836 ; admitted 1841 ; practised in North- borough. Peter Clarke,^ graduated at H. C, 1777 ; practised in Southborough. Hollis W. Cobb, born in Boylston, 1856 ; graduated atY. C, 1878; admitted 1881; practised in Wor- cester. John M. Cochran, born in Pembroke, N. H., 1849 ; admitted 1870 ; practised in Palmer and Southbridge. John B. D. Cogswell, r., born in Yarmouth, 1829 ; graduated at D. C, 1850; admitted 1853; practised in Worcester, Milwaukee, Wis., and Yarmouth. James D. Colt, r., born in Pittsfield, 1862; grad- uited at W. C, 1884 ; admitted 1887; practised in Boston. Joseph B. Cook, r., born in Cumberland, R. I., 1837 ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Blackstone. Edwin Conant, born in Sterling, 1810 ; graduated at H. C, 1829; admitted 1832; practised in Sterling and Worcester. John W. Corcoran, born in New York, 1853 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1875; admitted 1875; practised in Clinton. Oliver S. Cormier, r. ; admitted 1884; practised in Worcester and Manchester, N. H. Mirick H. Cowden, born in Rutland, 1846 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Worcester. John G. Crawford, born in Oakham, 1834; admitted 1865; practised in Michigan, New Hampshire and Clinton. Austin P. Cristy, born in Morristown, Vt., 1850 ; graduated at D. C, 1873; admitted 1874; practised in Worcester. Samuel M. Crocker,^ graduated at H. C, 1801 ; practised in Douglas and Uxbridge. Amos Crosby,^ born in Brookfield, 1761 ; graduated at H. C, 1786 ; admitted 1804 ; practised in Brook- field. Eph. M. Cunningham,^ graduated at H. C, 1814; practised in Ashburnham, Lunenburg and Sterling. Albert W. Curtis, born in Worcester, 1849 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1871; admitted 1873; practised in Worcester and Spencer. Wolfred F. Curtis, admitted 1878. Elisha P. Cutler, graduated at W. C, 1798 ; prac- tised in Hardwick. Louis Cutting,' born in West Boylston, 1849; admitted 1888 ; practised in West Boylston and Wor- cester. Samuel Cutting,' graduated at D. C, 1805 ; practised in Templeton. Appleton Dadmun,' born in Marlborough, 1828 ; graduated at A. C, 1854 ; admitted 1857 ; practised in Worcester. John T. Dame, born in Orford, N. H., 1817 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1840 ; practised in Clinton and Marl- borough. Richard H. Dana,' born in Cambridge, 1787 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1808 ; admitted 1811 ; practised in Sutton. I. C. Bates Dana, born in Northampton, 1848 ; admitted 1872 ; practised in Worcester. John A. Dana, born in Princeton, 1823 ; graduated at Y. C, 1844; admitted 1848; practised in Wor- cester. William S. Dana, admitted in 1878. Mat. (Jas.) Davenport, graduated at H. C, 1802; practised in Boylston. Andrew J. Davis,' r., born in Northborough, 1815 ; admitted 1834 ; practised in Worcester and St. Louis, Mo. Andrew McF. Davis, born in Worcester, 1833 ; admitted 1859; practised in Worcester, New York and San Francisco. Charles T. Davis, r., born in Concord, N. H., 1863 ; graduated at H. C, 1884 ; admitted 1886 ; practised in Boston. Edward L. Davis, born in Worcester, 1834; gradu- ated at B. U., 1854 ; admitted 1857 ; practised in Wor- cester. George Davis,' practised in Sturbridge. Isaac Davis,' born in Northborough, 1799 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1822; admitted 1825; practised in Worcester. James R. Davis, born in Boston, 1816 ; admitted 1869 ; practised in Milford. John Davis, Jr.,' born in Shirley; practised in Lancaster and Charlton. John Davis,' born in Northborough, 1788 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1812; admitted 1815; practised in Northboro', Spencer and Worcester. John C. B. Davis, r., born in Worcester, 1822; graduated at H. C, 1840; admitted 1844; practised in Worcester and New York. William S. Davis,' born in Northborough, 1832; graduated at H. C, 1853 ; admitted 1855 ; practised in Worcester. John E. Day, born in Killingly, Ot., 1851 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1871; admitted 1874; practised in Worcester. THE BENCH AND BAR. Ixxv Francis Dean e, born in Shrewsbury, 1804; gradu- ated at B. U., 1826 ; admitted 1830 ; practised in Southboro', Uxbridge and Worcester. Frederick B. Deane, r., born in Uxbridge, 1840; admitted 1860 ; practised in Worcester. Louis E. Denfield, born in Westboro', 1854 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1878 ; admitted 1881 ; practised in Web- ster and Westboro'. Robert E. Denfield, r., born in Westboro', 1853 ; graduated at A. C, 1876 ; admitted 1882. Austin Denny ,^ born in Worcester, 1795 ; graduated at Y. C, 1814; admitted 1817; practised in Harvard and Worcester. Nathaniel P. Denny," r., born in Leicester, 1771 ; graduated at H. C, 1797 ; practised in Leicester. Charles Devens, born in Charlestown, 1820; gradu- ated at H. C, 1838; admitted 1840; practised in Greenfield and Worcester. Charles A. Dewey, Jr., born in Northampton, 1830 ; admitted 1859; practised in Milford. Francis H. Dewey," born in Williamstown, 1821 ; graduated at W. C, 1840 ; admitted 1843 ; practised in Worcester. Francis H. Dewey, born in Worcester, 1856 ; grad- uated at W. C, 1876; admitted 1879; practised in Worcester. George T. Dewey, born in Worcester, 1858; gradu- ated at W. C, 1879; admitted 1882; practised in Worcester. John C. Dewey, born in Worcester, 1857 ; gradu- ated at W. C, 1878 ; admitted 1881 ; practised in Worcester. Samuel Dexter,' graduated at H. C, 1781 ; admitted 1784; practised in Lunenburg. Charles S. Dodge, born in Charlton, 1859; admitted 1885; practised in Connecticut and Worcester. Rufus B. Dodge, Jr., born in Charlton, 1861 ; ad- mitted 1885 ; practised in Worcester. Thomas H. Dodge, born in Eden, Vt.. 1823 ; ad- mitted 1852 ; practised in Nashua, N. H., Waahington and Worcester. Samuel W. Dougherty, r., born in Worcester, 1848; admitted 1876 ; practised in Worcester. Nathan T. Dow, r., graduated at D. C, 1826 ; prac- tised in Grafton. James J. Dowd, born in Worcester ; graduated at St. M., 1880 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester, Brockton and Boston. J. W. Draper, r., admitted 1851 ; practised in Wor- cester. John Danforth Dunbar," graduated at H. C, 1789 practised in Charlton. Thatcher B. Dunn, born in Ludlow, Vt., 1844 admitted 1873 ; practised in Gardner. Alexander Dustin," born in N. Boston, N. H., 1776 gradi^ted at D. C, 1799; admitted 1804; practised in Harvard, Westminster and Sterling. Joseph bwight," born in Hatfield, 1703 ; graduated at H. C, 1722 ; admitted 1731 ; practised in Brookfield. Luke Eastman," graduated at D. C, 1812; practised in Barre and Sterling. Samuel Eastman," graduated at D. C, 1802 ; prac- tised in Hardwick. Joshua Eaton," born in Waltham, 1714; graduated at H. C, 1735 ; admitted 173t ; practised in Worcester and Leicester. James Eliot, practised in Worcester. John E. Ensign, r., born in Cleveland, 1852 ; gradu- ated at M. U., 1874; admitted 1876; practised in Cleveland and Worcester. James E. Estabrook, born in Worcester, 1829 ; graduated at Y. C, 1851 ; admitted 1853 ; practised in Worcester. Constantine C. Eity, r., born in Newton, 1824; graduated at Y. C, 1845 ; practised in Milford and Framingham. Henry E. Fales, born in Walpole, 1837 ; admitted 1864; practised in Milford. Lowell E. Fales, born in Milford, 1858 ; admitted 1881 ; practised in Milford. Farwell F. Fay," born in Athol, 1835 ; admitted 1859 ; practised in Athol and Boston. Daniel H. Feloh, admitted 1881. Cornelius C. Felton, born in Thurlow, Pa., 1863 ; graduated at H. C, 1886 ; admitted 1888 ; practised in Philadelphia and Clinton. Frank G. Fessenden, r., born in Fitchburg, 1849 ■; admitted 1872 ; practised in Fitchburg and Greenfield. Stephen Fessenden," born in Cambridge; graduated at H. C, 1787; admitted 1742; practised in Worcester. Charles Field, born in Athol, 1815 ; admitted 1843; practised in Athol. Charles Field, Jr., born in Cambridge, 1857 ; gradu- ated at W. C, 1881 ; admitted 1886 ; practised in Athol. Maturin L. Fisher, r., born in Danville, Vt. ; ad- mitted 1831 ; practised in Worcester and Iowa. Joel W. Fletcher," born in Northbridge, 1817; graduated at A. C, 1838 ; admitted 1840 ; prs^tised in Leominster and Northboro'. Waldo Flint, r., born in Leicester, 1794 ; graduated at H. C, 1814 ; practised in Leicester and Boston. George Folsom," r., born in Kennebunk, Me., 1802; graduated at H. C, 1822; practised in Worcester. W. Trowbridge Forbes, born in Westborough, 1850 ; graduate^ at A. C. 1871 ; admitted 1878 ; practised in Westborough. Alfred D. Foster," born in Brookfield, 1800 ; grad- ated at H. C, 1819; admitted 1822; practised in Worcester. Dwight Foster," born in Brookfield, 1757; gradu- uated at B. U., 1774; admitted 1780; practised in Brookfield and Rutland. Dwight Foster," born in Worcester, 1828 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1848; admitted 1849; practised in Wor- cester and Boston. John M. Foster, practised in Warren. Barlow Freeman," r., practised in Charlton and Southbridge. Ixxvi HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Elisha Fuller,^ born in Princeton, 1795 ; graduated at H. C, 1815 ; practised in Concord, Lowell and Worcester. Frederick W. Gale,^ born in Northborough ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1836 ; admitted 1839 ; practised in St. Louis, Mo., and Worcester. Thomas F. Gallagher, born in Lynn, 1855 ; gradu- ated at N. D., 1876 ; admitted 1878 ; practised in Lynn and Fitchburg. George E. Gardner, born in East Brookfield, 1864; graduated atA. C, 1885; admitted 1887; practised in Worcester. Francis A. Gaskill, born in Blackstone, 1846 ; grad- uated at B. U., 1866 ; admitted 1869 ; practised in Worcester. Charles B. Gates, born in Worcester, 1851 ; gradu- ated at M. U. ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Wor- cester. William H. Gates, born in Worcester, 1857 ; grad- uated at W. C. ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Wor- cester. Frederick A. Gauren,' born in Grafton, 1854 ; grad- uated at H. Cr., 1875 ; admitted 1879 ; practised in Worcester and New York. Eichard George,^ practised in West Brookfield. George A. Gibbs, admitted 1887. Arad Gilbert, r., graduated at B. U., 1797 ; prac- tised in Hanover, N. H., Lebanon, N. H., and North Brookfleld. Daniel Gilbert,' born in Brookfield, 1773 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1796 ; admitted 1805 ; practised in North Brookfield. William A. Gile, born in Franklin, N. H., 1843 ; admitted 1869; practised in Greenfield and Wor- cester. Moses Gill,' graduated af H. C, 1784 ; practised in Mendon. Samuel B. I. Goddard, born in Shrewsbury, 1821 ; graduated at A. C, 1840 ; admitted 1843 ; practised in Worcester. Samuel W. E. Goddard, born in Berlin, 1832 ; ad- mitted 1852 ; practised in Belchertown, Boston and Hubbardston. Jesse W. Goodrich,' born in Pittsfield, 1808 ; grad- uated at U. C, 1829 ; admitted 1833 ; practised in Worcester. Isaac Goodwin, r., born in Plymouth, 1786 ; admitted 1808 ; practised in Boston, Sterling and Worcester. J. Martin Gorham,' born in Barre, 1830 ; graduated at H. C, 1851 ; admitted 1854 ; practised in Barre. John S. Gould, born in Webster, 1856 ; admitted 1884 ; practised in Webster. Francis P. Goulding, born in Grafton, 1837 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1863 ; admitted 1866 ; practised in Wor- cester. Isaac D. Goulding,' born in Worcester, 1841; ad- mitted 1877 ; practised in Worcester. Samuel L. Graves, bom in Groton, 1847 ; graduated at A. C, 1870 ; admitted 1872 ; practised in Fitchburg. James Green, Jr., born in Worcester, 1841 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1862 ; admitted 1866 ; practised in Worcester. William E. Green,' born in Worcester, 1777 ; grad- uated at B. U., 1798 ; admitted 1801 ; practised in Grafton and Worcester. William N. Green,' born in Milford, 1804 ; admit- ted 1827 ; practised in Worcester. Timothy Green,' graduated at B. U., 1786 ; prac- tised in Worcester. J. Evarts Greene, born in Boston, 1834 ; graduated at Y. C, 1853 ; admitted 1859 ; practised in North Brookfield. Joseph K. Greene, born in Otisfield, Me., 1852 ; graduated at B. C, 1877; admitted 1879; practised in Worcester. Jonathan Grout,' practised in Petersham. William Grout,' born in Spencer ; admitted 1850 ; practised in Worcester. Franklin Hall, r., born in Sutton, 1820 ; admitted 1846 ; practised in Worcester. Alexander (Edward) Hamilton,' born in Worcester, 1812 ; admitted 1835 ; practised in Barre and Wor- cester. Elisha Hammond,' born in 1781; graduated at Y. C, 1802 ; admitted 1806 ; practised in West Brookfield. William B. Harding, born in Tilton, N. H., 1844 ; admitted 1867 ; practised in Worcester. Frederick B. Harlow, born in Worcester, 1864; graduated at AC, 1885; admitted 1888; practised in Worcester. William T. Harlow, born in Shrewsbury, 1828 ; graduated at Y. C, 1851 ; admitted 1853 ; practised in Spencer, Red Bluflis, Cal., and Worcester. Jubal Harrington, r.,' born in Shrewsbury, 1803 ; graduated at B. U. ; admitted 1825 ; practised in Worcester. Nahum Harrington,' born in Westborough, 1778 ; graduated at B. U., 1807 ; admitted 1811 ; practised in Westborough. Henry F. Harris, born in West Boylston, 1849 ; graduated at T. C, 1871 ; admitted 1873 ; practised in Worcester. Joel Harris,' graduated at D. C, 1804 ; practised in Harvard. Charles W. Hartshorn, r., born in Taunton, 1814; graduated at H. C, 1833 ; admitted 1837 ; practised in Worcester. Harris C. Hartwell, born in Groton, 1847 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1869; admitted 1872; practised in Fitchburg. H. Spencer Haskell, born in Petersham, 1863; ad- mitted 1886 ; practised in Worcester. Daniel W. Haskins, born in Hard wick, 1829; grad- uated at A. C, 1858 ; admitted 1862 ; practised in Worcester. Charles C. P. Hastings,' born in Mendon, 1804; graduated at B. U., 1825 ; admitted 1828 ; practised in Mendon. THE BENCH AND BAR. Ixxvii Seth Hastings,^ born in Cambridge, 1762 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1782 ; admitted 1786 ; practised in Mendon. William S. Hastings,' born in Mendon, 1798 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1817 ; admitted 1820 ; practised in Mendon. Samuel F. Haven,' born in Dedham, 1806 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1826 ; practised in Worcester. Charles S. Hayden, born in Harvard, 1848 ; admit- ted 1871 ; practised in Fitchburg. Stillman Haynes, born in Townsend, 1833 ; admit- ted 1861 ; practised in Townsend and Fitchburg. Daniel Henshaw, r.,'born in Leicester, 1872; grad- uated at H. C, 1807 ; practised in Winchendon, Wor- cester, Boston and Lynn. Levi Hey wood,' graduated at D. C, 1808; prac- tised in Worcester. Charles B. Hibbard, admitted 1879. James H. Hill,' admitted 1852 ; practised in North Brookfield and New York. Henry E. Hill, born in Worcester, 1850 ; graduated atH. C, 1872; admitted 1875; practised in Wor- cester. J. Henry Hill, born in Petersham ; admitted 1844 ; practised in Worcester. Samuel Hinckley,' graduated at Y. C, 1781 ; prac- tised in Brookfield. Ephraim Hinds,' r., graduated at H. C, 1805 practised in Athol, Barre and Harvard. Benjamin A. Hitchborn,' graduated at H. C, 1802 practised in Worcester. Pelatiah Hitchcock,' graduated at H. C, 1785 practised in Brookfield and Hardwick. George F. Hoar, born in Concord, 1826 ; graduated at H. C, 1846 ; admitted 1849 ; practised in Wor- cester. Rockwood Hoar, born in Worcester, 1855 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1876 ; admitted 1879 ; practised in Worcester. George W. Hobbs, born in Worcester, 1839 ; grad- uated at N. U., 1857 ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Uxbridge. Henry Hogan, born in Pembroke, Me., 1864 ; ad- mitted 1888; practised in Athol. Charles A. Holbrook,' born in Grafton, 1821 ; ad- mitted 1857 ; practised in Worcester. Leander Holbrook, born in Croydon, N. H., 1815 ; admitted 1847 ; practised in Milford. Leander Holbrook, Jr., born in Milford, 1849; graduated at H. C, 1872 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Milford. S. Holman, r., admitted 1850 ; practised in Fitch- burg. George B. N. Holmes, practised in Oakham. William E. Hooper, r., born in Marblehead, 1819; admitted 1849; practised in Worcester. John Hopkins, born in Gloucester, Eng., 1840; graduated at D. C, 1862; admitted 1864; practised in Worcester and Millbury. William S. B. Hopkins, born in Charleston, S. C, 1836; graduated at W. C., 1855; admitted 1858; practised in Ware, New Orleans, Greenfield and Wor- cester. George W. Horr, born in New Salem, 1830 ; ad- mitted 1860 ; practised in New Salem and Athol. Nathaniel Houghton,' born in Sterling ; admitted 1810 ; practised in Barre. Ephraim D. Howe, born in Marlborough, 1842; graduated at Y. C, 1867; admitted 1870 ; practised in Gardner. Elmer P. Howe, born in Westboro', 1851 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1876; admitted 1878; practised in Boston. Estes Howe,' graduated at D. C, 1800 ; practised in Sutton. Frederic Howes, practised in Sutton and Temple- ton. William H. Howe,' graduated at Y. C, 1847 ; ad- mitted 1849 ; practised in Worcester. George H. Hoyt,' born in Athol, 1839 ; admitted 1859 ; practised in Athol. Daniel B. Hubbard, born in Hiram, Me., 1835 ; graduated C. U., 1858 ; admitted 1879 ; practised in Grafton and Worcester. John W. Hubbard,' graduated at D. C.,1814; prac- tised in Worcester. Henry S. Hudson, r., admitted 1852 ; practised in Worcester. Joseph W. Huntington,' born in Middlebury, Vt., 1807; graduated at H. C, 1832; admitted 1837; practised in Lancaster. Benjamin D. Hyde,' born in Sturbridge, 1803; ad- mitted 1831; practised in Sturbridge and South- bridge. Albert S. Ingalls,' born in Eindge, N. H., 1830 ; admitted 1858 ; practised in Fitchburg and Arlington. Eleazer James,' born in Cohasset, 1754 ; graduated at H. C, 1778 ; practised in Barre. John F. Jandron, born in Hudson, 1863; attended H. Cr. ; admitted 1887 ; practised in Marlboro' and Worcester. Samuel Jennison,' graduated at H. C, 1774 ; prac- tised in Oxford. William H. Jewell, admitted 1883. Asa Johnson,' born in Bolton ; graduated at H. C, 1787 ; practised in Fitchburg and Leominster. Charles E. Johnson, born in Dana, 1852 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1875 ; admitted 1878 ; practised in Worcester. George W. Johnson, born in Boston, 1827 ; admit- ted 1863 ; practised in Brookfield. Theodore S. Johnson, born in Dana, 1843 ; admit- ted 1866 ; practised in Worcester and Blackstone. Silas Jones, r., practised in Leicester. Jeremiah E. Kane, born in North Brookfield, 1855 ; admitted 1883 ; practised in Spencer. James P. Kelly, r., born in Boston, 1848 ; admitted 1876 ; practised in Worcester. Ixxviii HISTORY OF WORCESTEE COUNTF, MASSACHUSETTS. William H. Kelley, born in Liberty, Me., 1855; graduated at C. U., 1874; admitted 1882; practised in Warren. Joseph G. Kendall,' born in Leominster, 1786; graduated at H. C, 1810; practised in Leominster and Worcester. Charles B. Kendrick, r., admitted 1885. Thomas G. Kent, born in Framingham, 1829; graduated at Y. C, 1851 ; admitted 1853 ; practised in Milford. Francis L. King, r., born in Charlton, 1834; ad- mitted 1859; practised in Boston and Worcester. Henry W. King, born in North Brooktield, 1856; admitted 1880; practised in North Brookfield and Worcester. Thomas Kinnicutt,' born in Warren, R. I., 1800 ; graduated at B. U., 1822 ; admitted 1825 ; practised in Worcester. Edward M. Kingsbury, admitted 1879. Edward Kirkland,' r., admitted 1834 ; practised in Templeten and Brattleboro', Vt. Daniel Knight,' graduated at B.U., 1813 ; practised in Leicester and Spencer. Robert A. Knight, r., born in North Brookfield, 1860; admitted 1887; practised in Worcester and Springfield. Lincoln B. Knowlton, r., practised in Millbury. Joseph Knox, i., practised in Hardwick. Thomas F. Larkin, born in Lreland, 1864 ; admit- ted 1888; practised in Clinton. Christopher J. Lawton,' admitted 1726 ; practised in Leicester. Frank D. Leary, r., born in Worcester, 1852 ; at- tended at H. Cr.; admitted 1879 ; practised in Wor- cester and Peoria, 111. Seth Lee, born in Barre ; admitted 1810 ; practised in Barre. Benjamin Lincoln,' graduated at H. C, 1777 ; prac- tised in Mendon. D. Waldo Lincoln,' born in Worcester, 1813 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1831; admitted 1834; practised in Worcester. Edward W. Lincoln, born in Worcester, 1820; graduated at H. C, 1839 ; admitted 1843 ; practised in Worcester. Enoch Lincoln,' born in Worcester, 1788 ; gradu- ated B. C, 1811 ; admitted 1811 ; practised in Wor- cester. Levi Lincoln,' born in Hingham, 1749 ; graduated at H. C, 1772 ; admitted 1775 ; practised in Wor- cester. Levi Lincoln,' born in Worcester, 1782 ; graduated atH. C, 1802 ; admitted 1805 ; practised in Worcester. William Lincoln,' born in Worcester, 1801 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1822 ; admitted 1825 ; practised in Worcester. William S. Lincoln, born in Worcester, 1811 ; graduated at B. C, 1830 ; admitted 1838 ; practised in Millbury and Worcester. George W. Livermore, r., graduated at H. C, 1823; practised in Millbury. Edward P. Loring, born in Norridgewock, Me., 1837 ; graduated at B. C, 1861 ; admitted 1868; prac- tised in Fitchburg. Aaron Lyon,' born in Southbridge, 1824 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1849 ; admitted 1851 ; practised in Sturbridge. Peter S. Maher, r., born in Boston, 1848 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester and Boston. Charles F. Mann, born in Worcester, 1849 ; admit- ted 1873 ; practised in New York and Worcester. David Manning, Jr., born in Paxton, 1846 ; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1869; admitted 1872; practised in Worcester. Jerome F. Manning, r., born in Merrimack, N. H., 1838 ; admitted 1862 ; practised in Worcester. Jacob Mansfield,' r., born at Lynn ; practised in Warren and New York. Charles Mason, born in Dublin, N. H., 1810; grad- uated at H. C; admitted 1839 ; practised in Fitchburg. Joseph Mason, bom in Northfield, 1813 ; admitted 1837 ; practised in Templeton and Worcester. John H. Mathews,' bom in Worcester, 1826 ; ad- mitted 1848 ; practised in Worcester. Wm. B. Maxwell, r., born in Biddeford, Me.; prac- tised in Lowell and Worcester. Lewis A. Maynard, born in Shrewsbury, 1810; practised in Worcester. James J. McCaflferty, r., born in Lowell, 1852; admitted 1873 ; practised in Worcester and Lowell. Mathew J. McCafferty,' born in Ireland, 1829; admitted 1857 ; practised in Lowell and Worcester. Andrew D. McFarland,' born in Worcester, 1811 ; graduated at U. C, 1832; admitted 1835; practised in Worcester. John Mcllvene, r., bom in Scotland, 1850; ad- mitted 1876 ; practised in Grafton. Herbert Mcintosh, born in Doyles'.own, Pa., 1857 ; graduated at B. TJ., 1882; admitted 1888; practised in Worcester. Edward J. McMahon, bom in Fitchburg, 1861; admitted 1885 ; practised in Worcester. James H. McMahon, born in Ireland, 1850 ; ad- mitted 1877 ; practised in Fitchburg. Prentice Mellen,' graduated at H. C, 1784; prac- tised in Sterling. Edward Mellen,' bora in Westborough, 1802 ; grad- uated at B. U., 1823; admitted 1828; practised iu Wayland and Worcester. George H. Mellen, born in Brookfield, 1850 ; grad- uated at A. C, 1874; admitted 1882; practised in Worcester. Charles H. Merriam,' born in Westport, N. Y., 1822; admitted 1852 ; practised in Leominster. David H. Merriam,' born in Essex, X. Y., 1820; admitted 1850 ; practised in Fitchburg. Lincoln A. Merriam,' admitted 1851; practised in Fitchburg. THE BENCH AND BAK. Ixxix Pliny Merrick,' born in Wilbraham, 1756 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1776; admitted 1787; practised in Wilbraham and Brookfield. Pliny Merrick,' born in Brookfield, 1794 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1814 ; admitted 1817 ; practised in Worcester, Charlton, Swansey, Taunton and Boston. Henry K. Merrifield, born in Worcester, 1840 ; admitted 1862 ; practised in Blackstone. Charles A. Merrill, born in Boston, 1843 ; gradu- ated at W. U., 1864 ; practised in Minneapolis and Worcester. Clough E. Miles,' born in Westminster, 1796 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1817; admitted 1820; practised in Townsend, Millbury and Athol. Jonathan Morgan,' graduated at U. C, 1803; prac- tised in Shrewsbury. David L. Morril, r., born in Goffstown, N. H., 1827; graduated at D. C, 1847; admitted 1850; practised in Winchendou, West Brookfield and Wor- cester. Francis M. Morrison, born in Worcester, 1850 ; admitted 1880 ; practised in Worcester. Adolphus Morse,' r., admitted 1849; practised in Worcester. Andrew Morton,' graduated at B. U., 1795 ; prac- tised in Worcester. Daniel Murray,' graduated at H. C, 1771 ; prac- tised in Rutland. T. Edward Murray,' born in Worcester, 1842 ; ad- mitted 1872 ; practised in Worcester. Daniel Nason, r., admitted 1884. Harry L. Nelson, born in Mendon, 1858 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1881 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester. Thomas L. Nelson, born in Haverhill, N. H., 1827 ; graduated at U. V., 1846; admitted 1855; practised in Worcester. Joseph W. Newcomb,' r., born in Greenfield ; grad- uated at W. C, 1825 ; practised in Templeton, Salis- bury, Worcester and New Orleans. Horatio G. Newcomb,' admitted 1850; practised in Templeton. Benjamin F. Newton,' born in Worcester, 1821 ; admitted 1850; practised in Worcester. Rejoice Newton,' born in Greenfield, 1782 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1807; admitted 1810; practised in Worcester. Amasa Norcross, born in Rindge, N. H., 1824; admitted 1848 ; practised in Fitchburg. David F. O'Oonnell, born in Ireland, 1857 ; ad- mitted 1879 ; practised in Worcester. John F. O'Connor, born in Worcester, 1859 ; grad- uated at H. Cr., 1882 ; admitted 1888 ; practised in Worcester. Charles J. O'Hara, born in Ireland, 1861 ; gradu- ated at H. Cr., 1884; admitted 1887; practised in Worcester. Daniel Oliver,^ born in Middleborough ; graduated at H, C, 1762 ; admitted 1781 ; practised in Hardwick. Henry Paine,' born in Worcester, 1804; admitted 1827 ; practised in Worcester. Nathaniel Paine,' born in Worcester, 1759 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1775; admitted 1781; practised in Groton and Worcester. John Paine,' born in Sturbridge ; graduated at H. C, 1799. Timothy Paige. George G. Parker,' born in Ashburnham, 1800; graduated at Y. C. ; practised in Ashburnham. George G. Parker, born in Acton, 1826 ; graduated at U. C, 1852 ; admitted 1857 ; practised in Milford. Grenville Parker, r., born in Chelmsford ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Lowell and Worcester. Henry L. Parker, born in Acton, 1833; graduated atD. C, 1856; admitted 1859; practised in Milford and Worcester. Herbert Parker, born in Charlestown, 1856 ; attend- ed H. C. ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester and Clinton. Frank Parsons, admitted 1881. George W. Parsons, born in Rochester, N. Y., 1857; attended B. U. ; admitted 1880; practised in Worcester. G. Willis Paterson, admitted 1885. Isaac Patrick. Silas Paul,' graduated at D. C, 1793 ; practised in Leominster. H. B. Pearson,' admitted 1844 ; practised in Har- vard. Lucius D. Pierce,' born in Chesterfield, N. H., 1819; graduated at N. U., 1846; admitted 1854; practised in Nashua, N. H., and Winchendon. Edward P. Pierce, born in Templeton, 1852; at- tended H. C. ; admitted 1878; practised in Fitchburg. Lafayette W. Pierce, born in Chesterfield, N. H., 1826; graduated at N. U., 1846; admitted 1854; practised in Oxford, Westborough and Winchendon. Charles B. Perry, born in Leicester, 1858 ; admitted 1884; practised in Worcester. William Perry,' born in Leominster, 1786 ; admitted 1828 ; practised in Leominster. Luther Perry,' practised in Barre. Onslow Peters, r., born in Westborough, 1803 ; graduated at B. U., 1825 ; practised in Westborough. Alfred S. Pinkerton, born in Lancaster, Pa., 1866 ; admitted 1881 ; practised in Worcester. Francis Plunkett, born in Ireland, 1840 ; admitted 1874 ; practised in Worcester. Thomas Pope,' born in Dudley, 1788; graduated at B. U., 1809 ; practised in Dudley. Burton W. Potter, born in Colesville, N. Y., 1843 ; admitted 1868 ; practised in Worcester. Wilbur H. Powers, admitted 1878. Calvin E. Pratt, r., born in Shrewsbury, 1827 ; ad- mitted 1853 ; practised in Worcester and New York. William Pratt,' born in Shrewsbury, 1806 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1826; practised in Shrewsbury and Worcester. Ixxx HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Joseph Prentice, r., admitted 1838 ; practised in Douglas. Addison Prentiss, boru in Paris, Me., 1814; prac- tised in Lee, Me., and Worcester. Cliarles G. Prentiss,^ born in Leominster, 1778 ; practised in Oxford and Worcester. Joseph Proctor,' graduated at D. C, 1791 ; prac- tised in Athol. James F. Purcell,' born in Weymouth, 1852 ; ad- mitted 1876 ; practised in Worcester. Arthur A. Putman, born in Dan vers, 1832; admit- ted 1875 ; practised in Danvers, Blackstone and Ux- bridge. George E. Putman, born in Pitchburg, 1853; grad- uated at M. U., 1875 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Fitchburg. James Putman,' born in Salem, 1725; graduated at H. C, 1746 ; admitted 1748 ; practised in Wor- cester. Eufus Putnam,' born in Warren, 1783 ; graduated at W. C, 1804 ; practised in Rutland. Abraham G. Randall,' born in Manchester, 1804 ; graduated at H. C, 1826 ; admitted 1831 ; practised in Millbury and Worcester. Richard K. Randolph, Jr., admitted 1879. John B. Ratigan, born in Worcester, 1859 ; gradu- ated at H. Cr., 1879; admitted 1883; practised in Worcester. Warren Rawson,' born in Mendon, 1777 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1802; practised in Mendon. Louis W. Raymenton', r., born in Chester, Vt., 1853; admitted 1879 ; practised in Minneapolis and Worcester. Edward T. Raymond, born in Worcester, 1844; admitted 1880; practised in Worcester. Charles M. Rice, born in Worcester, 1860 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1882; admitted 1886; practised in Worcester. Henry C. Rice, born in Millbury, 1827 ; graduated at B. U., 1850 ; admitted 1852 ; practised in Wor- cester. Merrick Rice,' graduated at H. C, 1785 ; practised in Harvard and Lancaster. William W. Rice, born in Deerfield, 1826; gradu- ated at B. C, 1846 ; admitted 1854 ; practised in Wor- cester. Jairus Rich,' practised in Charlton. George W. Richardson,' born in Boston, 1808 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1829; admitted 1834; practised in Worcester. Artemas Rogers, r., practised in Fitchburg. Edward Rogers, r., practised in Webster and Chi- cago, 111. Henry M. Rogers, born in Ware, 1837; attended A. C. ; admitted 1883; practised in Worcester. Clarence B. Roote, born in Francestown, N. H. 1853; graduated at W. C, 1876; admitted 1884; practised in Barre and Ware. Arthur P. Rugg, born in Sterling, 1862 ; graduated atA. C.,1883; admitted 1886; practised in Worces- ter. Charles M. Ruggles, born in Providence, R.I., 1836 ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Worcester. Timothy Ruggles,' born in Rochester, 1711 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1782; admitted 1735; practised in Rochester, Sandwich and Hardwick. Stephen Salisbury,' born in Worcester, 1798 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1817 ; practised in Worcester. Stephen Salisbury, Jr., born in Worcester, 1835 ; graduated at H. C, 1856 ; admitted 1863 ; practised in Worcester. Simeon Saunderson,' admitted 1820 ; practised in Westminster and Athol. Edward B. Sawtell, born in Fitchburg, 1840 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1862 ; admitted 1871 ; practised in Fitchburg. Emory C. Sawyer, admitted 1875; practised in Warren. John S. Scammell, born in Bellingham, 1816 ; grad- uated at B. U. ; admitted 1840 ; practised in Milford. Livingston Scott, admitted 1886. William Sever,' graduated at H. C, 1778 ; practised in Rutland. John W. Sheehan, born in Millbury, 1866 ; attend- ed H. Cr. ; admitted 1888 ; practised in Worcester. John Shepley,' practised in Worcester. Jonas L. Sibley,' born in Sutton, 1791; graduated at B. U., 1813 ; practised in Sutton. Willis E. Sibley,' born in New Salem, 1857 ; admit- ted 1888 ; practised in Worcester. William F. Slocum, r., born in Tolland, 1822 ; ad- mitted 1846 ; practised in Grafton and Boston. Henry O. Smith, born in Leicester, 1839 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1863; admitted 1866; practised in Worcester. Jonathan Smith,' born in Peterboro', N. H., 1842 • graduated at D. C, 1871 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Clinton. Jonathan Smith, born in Peterboro", N. H., 1842 ; graduated at D. C, 1871; admitted 1875; practised in Manchester, N. H., and Clinton. Moses Smith,' born in Rutland, 1777; admitted 1802 ; practised in Lancaster. N. J. Smith, r., practised in Blackstone, Spencer and Aurora, 111. Sidney P. Smith, born in Princeton, 111., 1850; graduated at A. C, 1874; admitted 1883; practised in Chicago and Athol. William A. Smith, born in Leicester, 1824 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1843 ; admitted 1846 ; practised in Wor- cester." Charles H. B. Snow,' born in Fitchburg, 1822; graduated at H, C, 1844 ; admitted 1847 ; practised in Fitchburg. Frederick W. Southwick, born in Blackstone, 1843; admitted 1868 ; practised in Worcester. William L. Southwick,' born in Mendon, 1827; ad- mitted 1849 ; practised in Hopkinton and Blackstone. THE BENCH AND BAR. Frank B. Spalter, born in Groton, 1845 ; admitted 1871 ; practised in Wichendon. Clarence Spooner, r., admitted 1883. Edmund B. Sprague, r., attended H. C. ; admitted 1880 ; practised in Worcester and Denver, Col. Franklin M. Sprague, r., born in East Douglas, 1841 ; admitted 1870 ; practised in Worcester. John Sprague,' born in Rochester, 1740 ; graduated at H. C, 1765 ; admitted 1768 ; practised in Newport, R. I., Keene, N. H., and Lancaster. Samuel J. Sprague,' graduated at H. C, 1799 ; prac- tised in Lancaster. Peleg Sprague,' born in Rochester ; graduated at D. C, 1783 ; admitted 1784 ; practised in Lancaster, Winchendon, Fitchburg, and Keene, N. H. Homer B. Sprague, r., born in Sutton, 1829 ; grad- uated at Y. C, 1852 ; admitted 1854 ; practised in Worcester and New Haven. William B. Sprout, born in Enfield, 1859 ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1883 ; admitted 1885 ; practised in Worcester. Hamilton B. Staples, born in Mendon, 1829 ; grad- uated at B. U., 1851 ; admitted 1854 ; practised in Milford and Worcester. William Stearns,' born in Lunenburg ; graduated at H. C, 1770 ; admitted 1776 ; practised in Wor- cester. Daniel Stearns,' born in Fitchburg, 1831 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1855 ; admitted 1859 ; practised in Fitchburg. Heman Stebbins,' born in W. Springfield ; gradu- ated at Y, C, 1814 ; practised in Brookfield. William Stedman,' born in Cambridge, 1765 ; grad- uated at H. C, 1784; admitted 1787; practised in Lancaster, Charlton and Newburyport. Charles F. Stevens, born in Worcester, 1855; grad- uated at H. C, 1876; admitted 1878; practised in Worcester. Charles G. Stevens, born in Claremont, N. H., 1821 ; graduated at D. C, 1840 ; admitted 1845 ; practised in Clinton. Isaac Stevens,' born in Wareham, 1792 ; admitted 1821 ; practised in Middleboro' and Athol. James A. Stiles, born in Fitchburg, 1855 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1877 ; admitted 1880 ; practised in Fitchburg and Gardner. Amos W. Stockwell',' r., born in Sutton ; graduated atA. C, 1833; admitted 1837 ; practised in Worcester and Chicopee. John H. Stockwell,' born in Webster, 1838 ; admit- ted 1859 ; practised in Webster. Elijah B. Stoddard, born in Upton, 1826 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1847; admitted 1849; practised in Worcester. Henry D. Stone,' born in Southbridge, 1820 ; grad- uated ^t A. C, 1844; admitted 1847 ; practised in Worcester and New Orleans. Isaac Story,' graduated at H. C, 1793 ; practised in Rutland and Sterling. Martin L. Stowe,' practised in Southboro' and Northboro'. Asa E. Stratton, born in Grafton, 1853 ; graduated at B. U., 1873 ; admitted 1875 ; practised in Fitch- burg. Ashbel Strong,' practised in Fitchburg. Simeon Strong,' graduated at Y. C, 1786 ; practised in Barre. Solomon Strong,' born in Amherst, 1780 ; gradu- ated at W. C, 1798 ; practised in Athol, Lancaster and Westminster. John Stuart.' John E. Sullivan, born in Worcester, 1857 ; gradu- ated at H. Cr., 1877; admitted 1879; practised in Worcester. Bradford Sumner,' graduated at B. U., 1808 ; prac- tised in Brookfield, Leicester and Spencer. George Swan, born in Hubbardston, 1826 ; ad- mitted 1848 ; practised in Hubbardston and Wor- cester. Samuel Swan,' born in Leicester, 1778 ; graduated at H. C, 1799; practised in Hubbardston and Oak- ham. Arthur M. Taft, born in Uxbridge, 1856 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester. Bezaleel Taft, Jr.,' born in Uxbridge, 1780 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1804 ; practised at Uxbridge. George S. Taft,' born in Uxbridge, 1826 ; gradu- ated at B. U., 1848 ; admitted 1851 ; practised in Ux- bridge. George S. Taft, born in Uxbridge, 1859 ; graduated at B. U., 1882 ; admitted 1887 ; practised in Wor- cester. Jesse A. Taft, born in Mendon, 1857; admitted 1883 ; pi'actised in Milford. William E. Tatum, admitted 1887. Ezra Taylor,' born in Southborough ; practised in Southborough. Marvin M. Taylor, born in Jefierson, N. Y., 1860; admitted 1885 ; practised in Worcester. Adin Thayer,' born in Blackstone, 1828; admitted 1854 ; practised in Worcester. Amasa Thayer,' graduated at H. C, 1810 ; prac- tised in Brookfield. Francis N. Thayer, born in Blackstone ; admitted 1876 ; practised in Blackstone. John R. Thayer, born in Douglas, 1 845 ; graduated at Y. C, 1869 ; admitted 1871 ; practised in Worces- tei-. Joseph Thayer,' born in Douglas, 1792 ; graduated at B. U., 1815 ; admitted 1818 ; practised in Ux- bridge. Webster Thayer, born in Blackstone, 1857 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1880 ; admitted 1882 ; practised in Worcester. Levi Thaxter, practised in Worcester. Benjamin F. Thomas,' born in Boston, 1813; grad- uated at B. U., 1830 ; admitted 1833 ; practised in Worcester and Boston. Ixxxii HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHTTSETTS. E. Francis Thompson, born in Worcester, 1859 ; admitted 1884 ; practised in Worcester. Henry F. Thompson, born in Webster, 1859 ; at- tended W. C; admitted 1887 ; practised in Webster. Oliver H. Tillotson,' born in Ortord, X. H.; ad- mitted 1855 ; practised in Worcester. Seymour A. Tingier,' born in Tolland ; graduated at W. C, 1855; admitted 1857; practised in Webster. Joseph A. Titus, born in Leicester, 1842; gradu- ated at A. C, 1863 ; admitted 1868 ; practised in Worcester. Paul P. Todd, r., born in Atkiuson, N. H., 1819 ; graduated at D. C, 1842 ; admitted 1847 ; practised in Blackstone, Boston, St. Louis and New York. John Todd, r., practised in Westminster and Fitch- burg. Ebenezer Torrey,' born in Franklin, 1801 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1822 ; admitted 1825 ; practised in Fitchburg. George A. Torrey, r., born in Fitchburg, 1838 ; graduated at H. C, 1859 ; admitted 1861 ; practised in Fitchburg and Boston. Newton Tourtelot, r., admitted 1853 ; practised in Webster. William M. Towne,' r., born in Charlton ; gradu- ated at A. C, 1825; admitted 1828; practised in Wor- cester. Louis K. Travis, r., born in Holliston, 1852 ; ad- mitted 1875; practised in Westborough. Joseph Trumbull, r., born in Worcester, 1828 ; ad- mitted 1849 ; practised in Worcester. George A. Tufts,' born in Dudley, 1797 ; graduated at H. C, 1818 ; admitted 1821 ; practised in Dudley. Stephen P. Twiss, r., born in Charlton, 1830; ad- mitted 1853 ; practised in Worcester and Kansas City. Benjamin O. Tyler, r., practised in Winchendon. Nathan Tyler,' graduated at H. C, 1779 ; practised in Uxbridge. Nathan Tyler, Sr.,' practised in Uxbridge. Adin B. Underwood,' born in Milford, 1828 ; grad- ated at B. U., 1849 ; admitted 1858 ; piactised in Mil- ford and Boston. F. H. Underwood, r., practised in Webster. Jabez Upbam,' born in Brookfield ; graduated at H. C, 1785 ; admitted 1788 ; practised in Sturbridge, Claremont, N. H., and Brookfield. Joshua Upham,' born in Brookfield, 1741 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1763 ; admitted 1765 ; practised in Brookfield, Boston and New York. John L. Utley, r., born in Brimfield, 1837 ; ad- mitted 1874; practised in Blackstone and Worcester. Samuel Utley, born in Chesterfield, 1843 ; admitted 1867 ; practised in Worcester. Ernest H. Vaughn, born in Greenwich, 1858 ; ad- mitted 1884 ; practised in Worcester. George F. Verry,' born in Mendon, 1826 ; admitted 1851 ; practised in Worcester. Horace B. Verry, born in Saco, Me., 1843; admitted 1864 ; practised in Worcester. Edward J. Vose,' born in Augusta, Me., 1806 ; grad- uated at B. C, 1825; admitted 1828; practised in Worcester. Kichard H. Yose,' graduated at B. C, 1822 ; prac- tised in Worcester. Charles Wadsworth, r., practised in Barre and Wor- cester. Lovell Walker,' born in Brookfield, 1768 ; gradu- ated at D. C, 1794; admitted 1801 ; practised in Tem- pleton and Leominster. Andrew H. Ward,' graduated at H. C, 1808 ; prac- tised in Shrewsbury. Nahum Ward, born in Shrewsbury; admitted 1731 ; practised in Shrewsbury. J. C. B. Ward, r., practised in Athol. Charles E. Ware, born in Fitchburg, 1853 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1876; admitted 1879; practised in Fitchburg. Thornton K. Ware, born in Cambridge, 1823; grad- uated at H. C, 1842; admitted 1846; practised in Fitchburg. Emory Washburn,' born in Leicester, 1800 ; gradu- ated at W. C, 1817 ; admitted 1821 ; practised in Charlemont, Leicester, Worcester and Cambridge. John D. Washburn, born in Boston, 1833 ; gradu- ated at H. C, 1853; admitted 1856; practised iu Worcester. Asa H. Waters,' born in Millbury, 1808 ; practised in Millbury. Paul B. Watson, r., born in Morristown,N. J., 1861 ; graduated at H. C, 1881 ; admitted 1885 ; practised in Boston. Francis Wayland, Jr., r., born in Providence, E. I., graduated at B. U., 1846 ; practised in Worcester and New Haven, Conn. Jared Weed,' born in New York, 1783 ; graduated at H. C, 1807 ; admitted 1810 ; practised in Peters- ham. Charles K. Wetherell,' born in Petersham, 1822 ; admitted 1844; practised in Petersham, Barre and Worcester. George A. Wetherell,' born in Oxford, 1825 ; grad- uated at Y. C, 1848 ; admitted 1851 ; practised in Worcester. John W. Wetherell, born in Oxford, 1820; gradu- ated at Y. C, 1844; admitted 1846; practised in Worcester. J. Allyn Weston, ' r., born in Duxbury ; graduated at H. C, 1846 ; admitted 1849 ; practised in Worcester and Milford. Charles Wheaton,' r, born in Rhode Island, 1828; admitted 1851 ; practised in Worcester. George Wheaton,' graduated at H. C, 1814; prac- tised in Uxbridge. Henry S. Wheaton,' r., graduated at B. U., 1841 ; admitted 1844 ; practised iu Dudley. Otis C. Wheeler,' born in Worcester, 1808 ; admitted 1830 ; practised in Worcester. J. C. Fremont Wheelock, born in Mendon, 1856; THE BENCH AND BAR. attended Y. C. ; admitted 1883 ; practised in South- bridge. Peter Wheelock,' graduated at B. U., 1811 ; prac- tised in Mendon. William J. Whipple,^ graduated at H. C, 1805 ; practised in Dudley. William C. White,' practised in Grafton, Eutland, Sutton and Worcester. William E. White, bora in Worcester, 1863 ; ad- mitted 1887 ; practised in Worcester and Leominster. Solon Whiting, practised in Lancaster. Abel Whitney,' graduated at W. C, 1810; practised in Harvard. Giles H.Whitney,' born in Boston, 1818 ; graduated at H. C, 1837; admitted 1842; practised in West- minster, Templeton and Winchendon. Milton Whitney,' r., born in Ashburnham, 1823 ; admitted 1846 ; practised in Fitchburg and Balti- more, Md. Abel Willard,' born in Lancaster, 1732 ; graduated at H. C, 1752 ; practised in Lancaster. Calvin Willard,' born in Harvard, 1784 ; graduated at H. C. ; admitted 1809 ; practised in Barnstable, Pe- tersham and Fitchburg. Jacob Willard,' graduated at B. U., 1805 ; practised in Fitchburg. Joseph Willard,' r., born in Cambridge, 1798 ; graduated at H. C, 1816 ; admitted 1819 ; practised in Waltham and Lancaster. Levi Willard,' graduated at H. C, 1775 ; practised in Lancaster. Elijah Williams,' graduated at H. C, 1764; prac- tised in Deerfield and Mendon. Hartley Williams,' born in Somerset, Me., 1820 ; admitted 1850 ; practised in Worcester. James O. Williams,' born in New Bedford, 1827 ; graduated at H. C, 1849 ; admitted 1X53 ; practised in Worcester and St. Louis, Mo. Lemuel Williams,' born in Dartmouth, 1782 ; grad- uated at B. U., 1804 ; admitted 1808 ; practised in New Bedford and Worcester. Lemuel S. Williams,' born in New Bedford, 1812 ; graduated at H. C, 1836 ; practised in Dedham and Westborough. William A. Williams, born in Hubbardston, 1820 ; admitted 1848 ; practisied in Worcester. John Winslow,' graduated at B. U., 1795 ; practised in Northborough. G. R. M. Withington, born in Boston ; graduated at U. v., 1825 ; admitted 1829; practised in Boston and Lancaster. Charles W. Wood, born in Worcester, 1844 ; admitted 1883 ; practised in Worcester. Harry Wood,' born in Graflon, 1838 ; practised in Grafton. Cortland Wood, r., born in Plainfield, Ct., 1850; graduated at Y. C, 1871 ; admitted 1873 ; practised in Oxford. Joseph H. Wood, born in Mondon, 1853 ; admitted 1877 ; practised in Milford. Nathaniel Wood,' born in Holden, 1797 ; graduated at H. C, 1821 ; practised in Fitchburg. Samuel F. Woods,' born in Barre, 1837 ; graduated at Y. C, 1856 ; admitted 1858 ; practised in Barre. George M. Woodward, born in Worcester, 1838 ; admitted 1860 ; practised in Worcester. James M. Woodbury, born in Templeton, 1819; admitted 1862 ; practised in Fitchburg. HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. TOWN HISTORIKS. CHAPTER I. LANCASTER. BY HON. HENRY S. NOURSE. The Nmhaways and their Home—Eimfs Purchase— The Nashaioay Plrudcis — Tlie Town Grant — The Covenant — Land AUobneiits— Death of Showa- non. Ax the time the Massachusetts Company were lay- ing the foundations of their settlements on the river Charles, there dwelt in the northeastern part of what is now Worcester County a small tribe of red men, generally known as the Nashaways. They were an independent clan, though evidently of the same origin and speaking the same tongue with the natives of the coast, and the Nipmucks, Quabaugs and River In- dians south and west of them. A close defensive al- liance bound together these Massachusetts tribes, and this bond was their only safeguard against the mur- derous incursions of the Mohegans and Mohawks, their traditional foes. Of the Nashaways there were three groups or vil- lages, — one at the eastern base of Mt. Wachusett, another at the Washacum ponds, and a third about the meeting of the two branches of the river which the pioneers called "Penecook," but which is now known as the Nashua. By the custom of the period the location of a native village or planting-field gave name to those there resident, and we find these Indians called, indiscriminately, by the English, Washacums and Wachusetts, as well as Nashaways. They proudly cherished traditions of great former prowess and pros- 1 perity, but war and pestilence had greatly reduced their numbers before the coming of the white man, and in 1633 the small-pox swept away hundreds more, leaving but a comparatively enfeebled remnant be- hind; although they were even yet numerous enough to be styled "a great people" by Daniel Gookin. The sachem holding mild sway over the Nashaways was Showanon or Nashowanon, also called Sholan, Shaumauw, Shoniow and Nashacowam — for an Indian chief of repute always had sundry aliases, each, per- haps, indicative of some specially memorable deed or personal experience. His home was upon a plateau between the little lakes of Washacum, about which were clustered the wigwams of his central and largest village. He appears not infrequently in early colonial history and always greeting the white man with wel- coming words and generous hospitality. Finally the saintly Eliot joyfully proclaims that his personal min- istrations have won Sholan and many of his followers to the Christian fold. Before this the chieftain had made many English acquaintances in his visits to the Bay, and among them Thomas King, of Watertown, gained his special favor. He persuaded King to visit his domain, and made him generous offers of a land grant, desiring him to establish a trucking-house, where his people could exchange their peltry for much-coveted iron weapons, kettles, cloths, and the various novelties brought by the strangers from over the seas. The country of the Nashaways lay among lofty, smoothly-rounded hills, sloping gently down to broad meadows, through which coursed rivulets of pure, cool 1 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. water; while numerous little lakes slept in conceal- ment of the forest. It was a famous hunting-ground, prolific of deer, beaver, wild turkeys and small game. Occasionally the swan wandered hither from the Mer- rimack, and moose, elk, bears, wolves and wild-cats were sometimes met with. Samuel Maverick tells us also that the waters were noted for excellent salmon and trout. For the capture of the migratory shad and salmon on their return towards the ocean, the Indians had built a weir at the shallows in the main river, while the frequent falls and rapids in the branches afforded convenient spots for the successful plying of spear and net, when the fish were ascending in spawn- ing time. The hunters or traders of Concord and Sudbury, adventurous enough to push fifteen miles westward into the wilderness, found a feeble band of the Natick Indians living at Okommakameset (now Marlborough) and a little beyond could look over the summit of the lofty Wataquadock hills into the paradise of the Nashaways. The widely-extended view with its deli- cate hues varying with sun and season, which there met their gaze, is the same that attracts so many ad- mirers to-day; for even two hundred and fifty years of civilization cannot avail to mar, or add to, the grand features of so broad and varied a landscape. To the north the horizon is bounded by the picturesque mountain peaks of New Hampshire, blue or violet with distance. The shapely dome of Wachusett at the west dominates the scene, and, near at hand, little valleys creeping out from the shadows of the George and Wataquadock ranges of hills, join to form the broad, fertile intervales, dotted with hickory, syca- more and stately elms, which sweep northward, bear- ing the rivers towards the sea. All is gentle undula- tion, charming, restful — nothing awe-inspiring or grand, perhaps, certainly nothing precipitous or even abrupt — nothing suggestive of the ferocities of nature, save the sharp cone of Monadnock, dimly to be seen in the middle distance. Nor was the landscape then a " howling wilderness," gloomy with primeval forest and impassable coppice, as so generally it has been depicted in story; for in the vicinity of the Indian plantations, twice in the year the woods were purposely fired to free them of the brushwood that could hide a stealthy foe, or ob- struct pursuit of game. Therefore, in time, extensive areas came to wear a park-like appearance, resembling the similarly formed "oak-openings" of the West, everywhere passable, even for horsemen. The more fertile meadows, where not too wet, were swept bare of tree and underwood and clad in summer with a rank growth of coarse grasses, "some as high as the should- ers, BO that a good mower may cut three loads in a day," as William Wood testified in 1634. At how early a date the pioneer pale-face first looked down from its southern barrier of hills upon Sholan's beautiful domain is not known. John Win- throp relates that the Watertown people began a set- tlement at Nashaway in 1643. Before that Thomas King had accepted the invitation of the sachem, and selected a location for a trading post on the sunny slope of George Hill, near the parting of two trails which led from the " wading-place" of Nashaway, westward to Wachusett, and southwesterly by Washa- cum to the land of the Quabaugs. King was a young man of limited means, and had formed a partnership with Henry Symonds, a freeman, a capitalist, and an enterprising contractor, living near the head of what is now North Street, in Boston. By a little brook that came brawling down the divide over which the west- ern trail ran, the trucking-house was built, probably in 1642, certainly before the summer of 1643. Sy- monds, the moneyed partner, died in September of 1643, and King survived him little more than a year. In the inventory of King's property there is no hint of any estate at Lancaster. This is confirmation of the statement made by Rev. Timothy Harrington in 1753 — doubtless recording a tradition — that a company bought such proprietary rights at Nashaway as King had obtained by his bargain with Sholan. No deed of a sale is found, but the price of the grant, as agreed upon with the Indians, was twelve pounds. The ter- ritory acquired was nominally ten miles long from south to north, by eight miles wide. It included a few families of Indians, dwelling about the rivers and ponds, though these, perhaps, joined the Washacum village, when, in 1663 and 1669, the warriors of the tribe were decimated in contest with the bloodthirsty Mohawks. A provision in Sholan's deed, however, restricted the purchasers and their successors from " molesting the Indians in their hunting, fishing, or usual planting places." Joint occupancy was the evi- dent intent of the conveyance. The Nashaway Company, having signed a compact, at once began the assignment of home lots among themselves, and sought from the authorities legal sanction of their enterprise. Favorable response was made to their petition. May 29, 1644, and the names of the foremost undertakers thereafter appear from time to time in various records. They were chiefly from Boston and Watertown. At the head of the first list of the proposed planters found, stand the names of two graduates of Cambridge Uniyersity, England- Nathaniel Norcross and Robert Childe. The former had been promised adequate settlement as pastor of the plantation, but growing impatient of delays in the gathering of his parish he soon departed for England, bearing the manuscript of the broken contract with him. Robert Childe was a scholar of varied learning. He had traveled in many lands, was a close observer, pretended to considerable knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy, was ambitious and restlessly energetic. He gave books to the infant college of Harvard, in- vested largely in the iron works at Lynn and Brain- tree, shipped from England vines, grafts of plums, and various seeds and plants to his intimate friend John Winthrop, Jr., and to all appearances wholly merited LANCASTEE. the commendation of that Puritan unimpeachable, Hugh Peters, who wrote of him in June, 1645 : " that honest man who will bee of exceeding great vac if the Country know how to improue him, indeed he is very very vsefull. I pray let us not play tricks with such men by our jelousyes." But in that age toleration had no home on earth ; and why should Massachusetts be specially reproached because she offered no asylum for original thinkers upon religious or political subjects? Jesuits and Quakers, rhapsodists and philosophers, bedlamites and seers were alike crushed by the despotism of dogmas, — a despotism which now seems the more strange be- cause wearing the cloak of liberty. Vane, Vassal and later William Pynchon fled the country in disgust at the intolerance of the majority in power; Coggeshall and Coddington were spurned, to be esteemed a great gain in the colony of Khode Island, and Childe, de- spite the warning afforded by the fate of such able but unseasonable reformers, and overestimating his own strength, began a crusade against the theocratic re- striction of suffrage to a select few. England was then shaken by the fierce contest for supremacy between Presbyterian and Independent. Childe and his fellow- agitators were probably feared, and perhaps justly, as being secret emissaries of Presbyterianism, and Puri- tanism rudely and speedily thrust them out of the Commonwealth. Thus the Nashaway Company lost its master of arts. The third co-partner upon the list was also a noted personage in colonial history. Steven Day, a lock- smith by profession, had in 1639 set up at Harvard College the first English printing-press in America, and on it had printed the Book of Psalms in 1640. He was a man of worthy aims and rare energy, but so lavish or improvident that his earnings and the sales of lands granted him by the General Court, in reward for his art, could not keep him out of debt. He was an ardent promoter of the company's interests, often traveling to Nashaway, and entertaining Indians and proposed planters at his Cambridge home. His neces- sities forced him to sell the lets first assigned to him, but a few years later he acquired another with a dwelling upon it — yet never resided there, and died in January, 1668, a journeyman at the press he had founded. He had long before forfeited his proprietary rights at Nashaway by his inability to improve, or pay tithe for, his allotments. Besides Day, four other workers in iron were prom- inent in the company : John Prescott, Harmon Gar- rett, John Hill and Joseph Jenkes. This fact, joined to the leadership of Childe, whose letters to Winthrop show him to have been enthusiastic in his estimate of the mineral wealth concealed In the New England hills, warrants the supposition that the inspiration of this pijoposed settlement, so far from tidal waters, was not alone the profitable trade in furs, but the expecta- tion of discovering valuable ores, and especially iron. Prescott was obviously from the first the soul of the undertaking, and ultimately, after one by one his original associates yielded to discouragements and abandoned him or died, he alone, undismayed and equal to any emergency, with unbending will, hard common sense, and marvelous practical ability, fought the long battle with obstructive men and re- luctant nature, and won. Prescott was the founder of Lancaster, and there existed no rival claimant to that honor. Garrett, the blacksmith of Charlestown, though he expended some time and means in the earliest days of the plantation, and clung to his land- title for several years with the avowed intention of becoming a resident, finally drops out of sight. Hill, a Boston smith and a freeman of influence, business associate and neighbor of Henry Symonds, died July 27, 1646. Joseph Jenkes was a prototype of the Yankee mechanical genius. A smith employed at the Lynn Iron Works, he was granted the first patent in America for a water-mill. May 16, 1646, and thence- forward proved himself a bold, ingenious and success- ful experimenter in the mechanic arts, being selected by the Assistant in 1652 to make dies for the pine- tree coinage of Massachusetts. He became too busy and prosperous to keep up his interest in the Nash- away scheme. The other co-partners disclosed by various petitions and records were : John Fiiher, of Medfield ; Ser- geant John Davis, a joiner of Boston ; John Chand- ler, of Boston ; Isaac Walker, a trader of Boston, who married the widow of Henry Symonds ; Thomas Skid more, of Cambridge; John Cowdall, a trader of Boston, who is found possessing the Symonds and King trucking-house after the death of the original owners; James Cutler, of Watertown, who married the widow of King ; Samuel Bitfield, a cooper of Boston ; Matthew Barnes, a miller and influential citizen of Braintree ; John Shawe, a Boston butcher ; Samuel Eayner, of Cambridge ; George Adams, a glover of Watertown. With the exception, perhaps, of Cowdall, Adams and Eayner, we have no proof that one of these men ever became actual residents at Nashaway, or took active steps to further its settle- ment after 1645. Chandler, Walker and Davis for some reason became actively hostile to the company's interests in 1647, as shown by the records of court, and Cowdall sold his land and improvements to Prescott the same year. Adams had his home-lot assigned him upon George Hill, but occupied it briefly, if at all. The first two years after the General Court's sanc- tion of the plantation saw little advance in the pre- parations for settlement. The first step taken by the associates was to send out fit pioneers to build houses, store provender for wintering cattle, enclose with paling a " night pasture," and prepare fields for grain. Richard Linton and his son-in-law, Lawrence Waters, a carpenter, and John Ball, all of Watertown, were employed and given house-lots. Linton and Waters built themselves houses upon lands assigned them HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. near the wading-place in the North River, which were the first erected after the trucking-house. The covenant entered into by the proprietors with their minister contemplated the occupation of the valley during the summer of 1645. Prescott, who had a considerable estate in Water- town, sold it, and packing his household goods upon horses, set out with his family through the woods for their new home. At the very outset of the journey he met with serious misfortune. " He lost a horse and his lading in Sudbury River, and a week after, his wife and children being upon another horse, were hardly saved from drowning." This sad experience Governor Winthrop seriously records as a special prov- idence — divine punishment of the brave pioneer for his sympathy with that dangerous schismatic, Robert Childe ! The other proprietors seem to ,have been completely dismayed by this disaster to their leader, and forthwith — June 12, 1645 — petitioned the author- ities to order this yawning chasm in their path to be bridged. There is no reason to think that they ex- aggerated the formidable nature of the crossing, for more than one hundred years later the bridge and causeway at the same place were complained of as dangerous and in time of freshets impassable, and lotteries were granted, the proceeds of which, amount- ing to over twelve hundred pounds, were expended upon them. The petitioners in 1645 declared it "an vtter Impossibilitye to prgceede forwards to plante at the place aboue sayd [Nashaway] except we haue a conuenient way made for the transportation of our cattell and goods oner Sudbery River and Marsh." Two years before, a cart-bridge had been begun by the town's people, but left incomplete, and the swamp remained unimproved. The court contributed twenty pounds towards finishing the bridge and causeway, stipulating that they should be completed within a year. Whatever was done to render the way less perilous was done too late or too ineffectually to encourage Norcross or his parishioners, other than the indomit- able Prescott, to venture across it with their cattle and household goods, during either 1645 or 1646 ; and by that time their patience or pluck was exhausted, the surviving Boston members of the company were trying to have the grant rescinded to relieve them- selves of any responsibility incurred by their cove- nant, and the minister had abandoned his parish. To the difiicult task of obtaining planters to make good so wholesale a defection, Prescott and Day seem to have devoted much time and energy with very mode- rate success. The plan of settlement contemplated two groups or double ranges of house-lots, in sight of each other, but about a mile apart, the North River and its inter- vales lying between. The trucking-house formed the starting-point of the western range ; the eastern lay along the plateau, then (as now) called the Neck, be- tween the main or Penecook River and the North Branch. Prescott, who had chosen his first home-lot in the eastern range, covering the site of the present Lancaster House, sold it to Ralph Houghton and made his home at the trucking-house. Philip Knight, of Charlestown, built a house on the lot which he bought of Steven Day, adjoining Prescott's on the north, and upon the next two lots were John and Solomon Johnson, of Sudbury, a roadway separating their dwellings. Upon the south corner of Solomon Johnson's lot now stands the George Hill School- house. Thomas Sawyer, a blacksmith of Rowley, married Mary, the daughter of Prescott, in 1647 or 1648, and set up a home near his father-in-law, in a range .of lots parallel to and south of those above named. Mrs. Sally Case's residence is nearly upon the site of the Sawyer house. These were probably the first five dwellings south of the North River. Wil- liam Kerley perhaps moved upon his house-lot in the upper range not much later, and Daniel Hudson, a brickmaker from Watertown, occupied John Moore's lot certainly as early as the spring of 1651. On the Neck side, Lawrence Waters sold his house to John Hall, whose wife Elizabeth occupied it, her husband going to England. Waters built himself a second house nearer the shallows in the river, a few rods west of the one sold. Ralph Houghton soon came up from Watertown and set up his roof-tree on the Neck. A petition of the inhabitants to the Gene- ral Court of May, 1652, asking township rights, states that there were already living at Nashaway " about nine familyes.'' They must be selected from those already named. Before this date there had probably been ten white children born in the settlement : two to Prescott, five to Lawrence Waters, two to Sawyer, and one to Daniel Hudson. The answer to the peti- tion is the so-called Act of Incorporation of the Town of Lancaster. The first draft of the answer was passed upon by the deputies in May, 1652, and in this the name given to the town was Prescott, as had been requested by the petitioners, paying deserved honor to their generous, spirited and able leader. The naming of a town for its founder had then no precedent in New England. Not even a magistrate or Governor had been so greatly honored. Probably the assistants or executive refused thus to exalt a blacksmith who was no freeman, and had but recently taken the oath of fidelity. They may have recalled also his sympathy with the agitation by Childe. The name Prescott was promptly refused, and after further consideration the name West Towne was inserted in the answer. This title, entirely wanting appropriate- ness and euphony, satisfied no one, and further dis- cussion carried the matter over another year. Pres- cott's force of character and liberality had won not only the admiration of his neighbors, but friendly interest in many and high quarters. He had proved very useful to Rev. John Eliot in his visits to the Indian tribes about and west of Nashaway. He had in 1648 been the pioneer of a " new way to Connecti- LANCASTER. cut by Nashaway, which avoided much of the hilly way," and which Governor Hopkins, of Connecticut, as well as the leading ministers interested in the work of converting the Indians, esteemed a public benefac- tion. When, therefore, the inhabitants, disappointed of their first choice, petitioned asking to borrow a title for the new town from the English shire in which Prescott was born, the suggestion was adopted, and Lancaster began its legal existence May 18, 1653. It was the forty-fourth town chartered in the Common- wealth, and the tenth in Middlesex County. Three copies of the " Court's Grant " exist — one forming the first page of the town records, one an official copy by Secretary Rawson in Massachusetts Archives cxii. 54-55, and the original record of the court. They differ somewhat in orthography. That of the town records is as follows : COPPIE OF THE COURT'S GRANT. At a Gen'H Court of Election held at Boston the 18t>> of May 1G53. 1. In answer to the Peticon of the Inhabitants of Nashaway the Court finds according to a former order of the Gen""'^ Court in Anno 1G47 no 6 : 95 : That the ordering and disposeiog of the Plantation at Nashaway is wholly in the Courts power. 2. Considering that there is allredy at Nashaway about nine ffarailies and that several! both freemen and others intend to goe and setle ther^ some whereof are named in this Petition the Court doth Grant them the libertie of a Towneshipp and others that hensforth it shall be called Lan- caster. 3. That the Bounds thereof sliall be sett out according to a deede of the Indian Sagamore, viz. Nashaway Riuer at the passing ouer to be the Center, flue miles North flue miles south flue miles east and three miles west by such Comissionei's as the Courte shall appoint to see their Lines extended and their bounds limitted. 4. That Edward Breck, Nathaniell Hadlocte, William Kerley, Thomas Sayer, John Prescot and Ralph Houghton, or any foure of them, whereof the maior Parte to be freemen to be for present the prudentiall men of the said Towne both to see all allottments to be laid out to the Planters in due proportion to theire estates and allgo to order other Prudentiall afairea vntill it shall Appeare to this Court that the Place be bo farr seated with able men as the Court may Judg meet, to give them full liberties of a Townshipp according to Lawe. 5. That all such Persons whoe haue possessed and Continued Inhabi- tants of Nashaway shall haue their Lotte formerly Laid out coufirmed to them provided they take the oath of fidellitie 6. That Sudbery and Lancaster Layout highwaies betwixt Towne and Towne according to order of Court for the Countries vse and then re- paire them as neede shalbe 7. The Court Orders That Lancaster shall berated w^hin the County of Midlesex and the Towne hath Liberty to choose a Constable. S. That the Inhabitants of Lancaster doe take care that a godly min- ester may be maintained amongst them and that no evill persons Ene- mies to the Lawes of this Comonwealth in Judgment or Practize be Ad- mitted as Inhabitants amongst them and none to haue Lotts Confirmed but such as take the oathe of fidellitie 9, That allthough the first Undertakers and partners in the Plantacon of Nashaway are wholy Evacuated of theire Claimes in Lotts there by order of this Courte yet that such persons of them whoe haue Expended either Charge or Labor for the Benefitt of the place and haue helpped on the Publike workes there from time to time either in Contributing to the minestrie or in the Purchase from the Indians or any other Publike worke, that such persona are to be Considered by the Towne either in proportion of Land or some other way of satisfaction as may be Just and meets. Provided such Persons do make such theire expences Cleerly Appeare within Twelue monethes after the end of this Sessions for such demandes and that the Interest of Harmon Garrett and such others as were first vndertakers or haue bin at Great Charges there shalbe made good to him them his or theire heires in all Allottments aa to other the Inhabitants i-n proportion to the Charges expended by him and such others aforesaid. Provided they make Improuem^ of such Allotmta by building and Planting W-in three yearee after they are or shalbe Laid out to them, otherwise theire Interest hereby Provided for to bee voyde, And all such Lands soe hereby Reserved to bethenclorth at the Towues Dispose : In further Answer to this Peticon the Court Judgeth it meete to Confirm the ahoue mentioned Nine perticulers to the Inhabitants of Lancaster, and order that the bounds thereof be Laid out in proportion to eight miles square. Of the six prudential men, the first three only were freemen, and the death of Hadlocke, in Charlestown, very soon deprived them of a legal quorum, according to strict construction of the fifth article. In October, 1653, however, they agreed upon a " covenant of laws and orders," which all who were accepted as citizens of the town were required to sign. As of the signa- tures to this, ten were dated a year before, it was un- doubtedly an obligation entered into by the earlier comers adopted by the new officials. This covenant served as a Constitution by which the internal econo- mies of the town were administered for very many years, and is therefore worthy to be given here in full, with the signatures, as found in the town records : 165:5 18: 8 m^. The bond to hinde all coiners. Memorandum, That wee whose Names are subscribed, vppon the Receiuoing and acceptanc of our severall Lands, and Allottments wt^" all Appurtinances thereof, from those men who are Chosen by the Generall Court to Lay out and dispose of the Lands within the Towne of Lanchaster heertofore Called by the name of Nashaway doe hereby Covenant & binde ourselues our heires Execut"^ & Assignes to the observing and keopeing of these orders and Agreements hereafter mentioned and Expressed. Cliurch Lands, ffirst ffor the maintainanc of the ministree of Gods holy word wee doe AUowe Covenant and Agree that there be laid out Stated and established, and we doe hereby estate and establish as Church Land with all the priuilledgea and Appurtinances therevnto belonging for ever, thirty acors of vppland and fortie acora of Entervale Land and twelue acora of meddowe with free Libertie of Commons for Pasture and fire wood. The said Lands to be improved by the riantation or otherwise in such order as shalbe best Advised and Concluded by the Plantation without Rent paying for the same, vntil the Labours of the Planters or those that doe improue the same, be ffnlly sattisfled. And wee doe agree that the Plantation or Sellect men shall determine the time, buw Longe every man shall hold and Improue the said Lands for the prolfit thereof. And then to be Rented according to the yearly vallue thereof and paid in to such persona as the Plantation or Sellectmen shall Appoynt to and for the vse of and towards the niaintainanc of the mines- ter Pastor or Teacher for the time being, or whomesoever may bee stated to preach the word of God among vs : or it may be in the Choyce of the minester to improue the said Lands himselfe. Meetinghouse. And ffurther weedoe Covenant and Agree to build a Convenient meeting house for the Publique Assembling of the Church and People of God, to worsbipp God according to his holy ordinances in the most eaquall and Convenient place that may be Advized and Con- cluded by the Plantation. Ministers house. And to Build a house tor the Minester vppon the said Church Land. Jiouse lotts lo pay IDs p ann to the minester. And ffurther wo doe Engage and Covenant every one for himselfe his heires Executors & Assignes to pay to and for the vse of the minestree abouesaid the sume of ten shillings a yeare as for and in Consideracon of o^ home Lotts yearly for ever, our home Lotts to stand Engaged for the payment thereof, and what all this shall fall short of a Competent maintainanc we Covenant to make vpp by an equal! Rate vppon o^ Good^, and other improved Lands (not home lots) in such way and order as the Country rate is Raised. And in case of vacansy of a minester the niaintainanc Ariseing from the Church Land and home Lotts abouenientioned, shalbe paid to such as shalbe Appoynted for the use of a scoole to be as a stock ; or as stock towards the maintainanc of the minester, as the Plantation or Sellect men shall think meetest. To build Inhabit &e in a year or loose all and pay 5 : '^ And for the bet- ter Promoteing and seting forward of the Plantation wee Covenant and Agree, That such person or persons of vs who haue not inhabited this Plantation heretofore and are yett to come to build Improue and In- habitt That we will (by the will of God) come vpp to build to Plant laud and Inhabit at or before one whole yeare be passed next after o^ accejit- HISTOKY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ance of o' Allottments, or elc to Loose all our Charges about it, and our Lott8 to Beturu to the Plantation, aad to pay fiue pounds for the vse of the Plantation. WTiat InhabUantsnot to be Admited. And for the Better preserveing of the puritie of Religion and ourselues from infection of Error we Cove- nant not to distribute Allottments and to Reeeiue into the Plantation as Inhabitants any exconiinicat or otherwise propbane and scandalus (known so to bee) nor any notoriously erring against the Docktrin and Discipline of the Churches and the state and Governm* of this Com onweale. to end all difrenc bij Arhitracon. And for the better preserveing of peace and love, and yet to keepe the Rules of Justice and Equitie amonge ourselues, we Covenant not to goe to Lawe one with an other in Actions of Bebt or Damages one towards an other either in name or state but to end all such Controversies among ourselues by arbitration or otherwise except in cases Cappitall or Criminall that sinn may not goe vnpunished or that the mater be aboue our abillitiea to Judge of, and that it bee with the Consent of the Plantation or Sellect men thereof. 'JbpaylOsp Lotl. And for the Laying out measureing and bounding of our Allottments of this first Diuision and for and towards the Satisfieing of our Engagem*" to the Gencrall Court, to make payment for purchase of the Indians we Covenant to pay ten shillings every one of vs for our severall Allottm^^, to the Sellect men or whome they may Appoynt to Re- ceive it. Eguall LolU first Bvidtion^ in 2nd DhdUons acord to Estates : And. whereas Lotts are Now Laid out for the the most part Equally to Rich and poore, Partly to keepe the Towne from Scatering to farr. and partly out of Charitie and Respect to men of meaner estate, yet that Equallitie (which is the Rule of God) may be observed, we Covenant and Agree, That in a second Devition and so through all other Devitions of Land the mater shall be drawne as neere to equallitie according to mens estates as wee are able to doe, That be which hath now more then his estate Deserveth in home Lotts and entervale Lotts shall haue so much Less: and he that hath now Less then his estate Deserveth shall baue so much more. And that wee may the better keepe due proportion we Covenant and agree thus to account of mens estates (viz) ten pounds a head for every person and all other goods by due valine, and to proportion to every ten pounds three acors of Land two of vpland and one of Entervale and we giue a years Libertieto Euery man to bringe in his estate. Gifts free. Yet Nevertheless it is to be vnderstood That we doe not heereby preiudice or Barr the Plantation from Accomodateing any man by Gifft of Land (which proply are not AUottm^a;) but wee doe reserve that in the free Power of the Plantation as occation may hereafter be offered : And in Case The Plantei-s estate be Lowe that he can claime Nothing in other diuitions yet it is to be vnderstood that he shall enioy all the Land of the first Devition. in -Znd Deuition. And further we Covenant That if any Planter do desire to haue his proportion in the second devition it shalbe Granted. Rules for Proporcon of Meddows. And flfurther wee Covenant to lay out Meddow Lands according to the preasent estates of the Planters, with respect to be bad to Remoteness or Neereness, of that which is remote to giue the more and of that wch is neere to giue the Less. And Concerning the 30 acors of vppland and 40 acors of Entervale aboue Granted as Church Land. It is agreed and concluded to Lye bounded by John Prescotts Ditch vppon the South and the North Riuei- over an ends [anenst\ Lawrenc Waters vppon the North and so Raugeing allong westward. And for the Preventing of Inconveniences and the more peaceable Isuing of the business about building of a meeting house it is Considered and Concluded as the most equall place that the meeting house be builded as neere to the Church Land and to the Neck of Land as It can bee without any notable inconveniencie. And it is allso agreed That in all paites and Quarters of the Towne where Sundry Lotts do Lie together they shalbe ffenced by a Common ffenc according to proportion of acors by every planter, And yett not to barr any man from perticuler and priuat Inclosure at his pleasure. This is a true Coppie of the Lawes and orders fBrst Enacted and made by those Appoynted and Impowered by the Genrall Court as it is found in the old book. Those Names yt haue subscribed to these orders: I subscribe to this for my selfe and for my sonn Robert saue that it is agreed that we are not bound to come vpp to inhabit w^hin a years time in our owne persons: This is a true Coppie : Edwaird Brek Robrt Brek: Jn<» Prescott. William Kerly Thomas Sayer Ralph Haugbton Jn" Whitcomb Seni' Jno Whitcomb Juni' Richard Linton. ') Jno Johnson. i gui^scribed Jeremiah Rogers j ■ These subscribed together the first I Subscribed tO : day: 9 m**: 1652 4t'> : 9 m" : 1654 llrt : first TOP : 1653 Subscribed : IS*!" : 1 m^ : 1653 Jn" Moore : Subscribed William Lewes : 1 Jn" Lewes. C Tho : James : mark Edmund Purker. Beniamine Twitchell Anthony Newton. Steephen Day 1 Subscribed James Aderton jboth of y™. Henry Kerly : Richard Smith. William Kerly Jun' Jno Smith. Lawrenc Waters Jno White ; Subscribed : 1^^ May 1653 Jnoffarrer: Subscribed: 24 : Septemb' 1653 Jacob fTarrer : Same date John Haughtoi Samuel Deane 21''' 3 mo : 1653 Subscribed : It^ ; 8 mo : 1652 15th ; 1 mo : 1653 Subscribed 15 : 1 m" : 1653 •} SuW : same 24 : 7 m° : 1653 :}..: Aprill 2 mo : 1654 Subscribed 3 : 1654 1654 Subscribed 18 : 2 m* : 1654 James Draper. I „ , ., , ^ „ > Subscribed Steephen Gates : Sen' : J James Whiting or Witton : Subscri : Ap'" 7*i» Jno. Moore and Edward Kibble Jno Mansfield : 13 : 2 mo : 1654 Jno Towers ; } Richard Dwelly Henry Ward. Jno Peirce. 1 „ . -i j ^*». - „ i/.-^ .„.,.. ^.,,. y Subscribed 4*" : 7 mo : 16..4. William BillingJ^ Richard Sutton : ap'" 1653. 1 Subscribed tbe 12ti> : 9 mo ; 1654. and therd is Thomas Joslin granted to them both 50 acres of vpland & Swamp Nathaniell Joslin | tog^tl^er for theire home lotts and allso forty acors of Entervale. John Rugg: Subscribed, 12ti>: 12 mo; 1654 Joseph Rowlandson : Subscribed 12tl» : 12 mo; 1654: and it is agreed by the Towne that he shall haue 20 accors of vpland & 40 acors of Entervale in the Night Pasture : Jno Riggby : Subscribed 12ti» : 12*'' mo : 1654 and he is to haue 20 acors of vpland & ten acors of Entervale Jno Roper: Subscribed 22 : Ith moo; 1656 All these before mentioned are subscribed & theire names Entered ac- cording to theire Severall Dates in the old Book & Coppied per Jn" Tinker Clerk Jno Tinker Subscribed ye first of ffebb' : 1657. Mordica Maclode his X mark set 1 march i64|. Jonas ffairbaiiks : Subscribed the T*!* : 2 mo : i-fi4& Jonas ffaiibanks Roger Sumner subscribed the : llt>> of April! : 16:.y. Roger Sumner Gamaliell Remand Subscribed : the 31 th : of may 1659 Gamaliell tt Bemand his marke Titomas Wyelder : Subscribed the 1"> July 1659 Thomas Wyellder hamell Gaities Subscribed the tenth day of march 1.6 5 9 Daniel Gaiens Twelve of these fifty-five signers — Twitchell, New- ton, Deane, Draper, Whiting, Mansfield, Towers, LANCASTER. Dwelly, Ward, Peirce, Billings and Sutton — never became residents, and were not recognized in land allotments. Steven Day and Robert Brack re- ceived house-lots, but never occupied them. Kibbie was probably a resident for a brief time, but re- ceived no lands. Philip Knight, though one of the earliest householders, seems not to have signed, and removed. Elizabeth Hall went to her husband in England, selling his house and lot to Richard Smith. Cowdall and Solomon Johnson had sold out to Prescott and Day, and Ball returned to Water- town. The organization of the corporation being thus complete, the townsmen diligently applied them- selves to securing the most obvious necessities for comfortable living as a Christian community. Cow- dall's deed of 1647 informs us that Linton and Waters had raised corn upon the fifty-acre intervale lot lying southerly from the present Atherton Bridge before that year, and the deep, rich soil guaranteed a sufficient yield of grain for the plant- ers and their cattle; but there was no mill nearer than that at Sudbury. Prescott had already been taking some steps to supply this prime need of the town. He had at least chosen the site and bar- gained with a millwright, as is shown by the formal contract made between him and the town November 20, 1653. Six months later his grist-mill was at work. The assignment of home and intervale lots also engaged the attention of the prudential men in No- vember. The allotments which had been made by Prescott, Day and others in the infancy of the plantation, and subsequent purchases based upon them, were confirmed. Actual settlers were given in the established ranges of lots twenty acres each of upland for a dwelling-place and twenty acres of intervale for planting. Lancaster has often been called a Watertown colony because John Winthrop so styled it in 1643. But of the fifty-five who signed the covenant, twelve were from Dorchester, six were of Sudbury, six of Hingham and five each from Roxbury and Watertown. The others came from eight or ten dif- ferent localities. The most prominent of the Dor- chester colonists was the first prudential man named in the incorporating act, Edward Breck. He had been one of the selectmen of Dorchester for several years, and upon his ability and experience great de- pendence was placed by the Lancaster men. He built a house near the wading-place of Penecook, and retained his land, but lived here only for a brief period. His continued absence and the death of Hadlocke seriously obstructed the conduct of the town's prudential afiairs, and early in 1654, there be- ing about twenty families in the town, the majority petitioned that they might be relieved from their probationary condition, and allowed full liberties of a town according to law, electing their officers and transacting business by legal town-meetings. There were then but four resident freemen : William Kerly, Thomas Rowlandson, Thomas Sawyer and William Lewis ; but the petition was granted, and Lieutenant Edward Goodnow, of Sudbury, and Thomas Danforth, of Cambridge, were at the same time deputed to lay out the bounds of the town's grant, a duty they never found time to perform. For the needs of the pioneer the meadows, as nat- ural grass lands were called, came next in value to the house-lot and planting-field, and a first division of these open tracts wherever found in the town limits was agreed upon — four acres to be set to each one hundred pounds of estate. During the year 1654 the first legal town-meetings were held. At the earliest "the plantacion upon legall warning as- sembled;" formally confirmed the recorded acts of the prudential men appointed by the General Court the year before, some of these, as has been noted, not be- ing strictly in conformity with requirements of law. At another town-meeting it was voted " that there should not be taken into the Towne above the num- ber of thirty-five families." The greed of land was strong, but this short-sighted restriction had but a brief life. In the same territory over three thou- sand families now find " ample room and verge enough." During the autumn of this year the Christian Sagamore Showanon died. Reverends John Eliot and Increase Nowell were at once sent to Washacum by the court, to prevail if possible, with the Indians, to elect Matthew, nephew of the dead sachem, as his successor. They were successful. There seems to have been some reason to fear that the choice might fall upon another chief, also in the line of succession, whose drunken habits and dislike of the colonists made his accession to power much dreaded. Thus far the friendly relations between the English- men and the Nashaways seem to have been in no way strained. The very rare mention of the tribe in the town annals goes to prove that no quarrels or grave jealousies interrupted friendly feeling. More- over, Eliot gratefully records Showanon's loving hos- pitality, and the generous care he showed in protect- ing him with a body-guard on his journeying to the interior. He once complains that the Indian wizards or " powows " had not been wholly silenced ; but all Christendom then believed in the reality of demo- niacal possession, and little more than a year had passed since Margaret Jones, the witch, had been si- lenced by hanging in Charlestown. The unregener- ate, credulous children of the forest feared sorcery, just as did their enlightened neighbors, only they had not learned the refinements of the English methods of dealing with sorcerers. When they found that drugs were far more efficacious to relieve pain and sickness than charms and juggling tricks, powowing lost its hold upon their credulity. Standing off' at this historic distance, the position HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. of Sholan and his people living on terms of friendly intimacy with the adventurous pioneers whom they had invited to share the beautiful land of their in- heritance, glows with only pleasing and romantic hues. CHAPTER II. LANCASTER— ( Continued). The First Minwt£r — Arbilration — Commissioners Appointed to Direct Toion Affairs— The First Highways — Noyes* Survey — Disaffection of the In- diums — Monoco^sRaid — James Quanapaug's FidelUy^-The Destruction of Lancaster, The years 1653 and 1654 saw the addition of seven families to the town, those of Thomas and Nathaniel Joslin, John Eugg, John Rigby, John Moore, Sr., Stephen Gates and Thomas Rowlandson. The year 1654 was also graced by the coming of their chosen pastor, Master Joseph Rowlandson, of Ipswich. His signature to the covenant is dated February 12, 1654, and he, perhaps, did not begin preaching be- fore that time, although he had been listed among the townsmen the March previous. Other ministers had doubtless been solicited to the charge after the disappearance of Norcross, but a church in the wil- derness, with its little group of poor immigrants, had small attractions for men of education, unless they were largely endowed with the missionary spirit. We find, therefore, the first clergyman called to Lancaster a youth of twenty-two years, fresh from Harvard College, the lone graduate of 1652; one, moreover, but recently escaped from a whipping- post and penance for a collegiate prank — the pen- ning and posting upon Ipswich Meeting-House of a doggerel satire, which the civil authorities dignified as a " scandalous libell.'' Master Rowlandson seems at once to have won the respect and love of those among whom he had cast his lot, and to have as- serted his own dignity and that of the church; for the saucy maiden, Mary Gates, who contradicted him in public assembly, and the aged reprobate, Edmund Parker, who wouldn't sit under the droppings of the sanctuary, were alike speedily humbled and subjected to ecclesiastical and civil discipline. His father and mother came to Lancaster with him, but before two years had passed he was married to Mary, the daughter of John White, then the richest of his parishioners. A parsonage had been built in a cen- tral position between the two villages. The meeting- house was not yet raised, but the site had been already chosen, about twenty rods southeast of the parsonage, on the highest ground in the present Mid- dle Cemetery. A long narrow knoll, a little to the east of the meeting-house site, was set apart for a burial-place. The prudential men elect soon found the ordering of the town's affairs to be neither an easy nor a pleasant task. Although the divisions of land were governed so far as possible by casting lots, they gave rise to some bickering, and various questions arose about which the managers themselves seriously differed. The Kerly family began to display their characteristic firmness in their own opinions. The salary of Master Rowlandson became a knotty subject of debate. Plainly there was occasion to make trial of the arbitration provided for in the covenant. Major Simon Willard, of Concord, Captain Edward Johnson, of Woburn, and Edmund Rice, of Sudbury, being summoned as arbitrators in April, 1656, by their " determinacions " settled twenty-four mooted points. The minister's salary was fixed at fifty pounds a year, and as in a rural community without money, church tithes must be paid chiefly in products of the land, wheat as a commercial standard was to be reckoned at sixpence per bushel less than the price at the Bay, and other grain in the same proportion. Stephen GrStes had been chosen the first constable, an office of larger dignity and morfe varied duties than now appertain to it. He neglected to notify the four freemen at the proper time to send in their votes for nomination of the magistrates, was fined, and his black staff of office passed to Prescott. Ralph Houghton was nominated the first clerk of the writs, and confirmed by the County Court in October, 1656. He was an able penman, and thence- forward methodical records of the town's transactions were faithfully kept by him during twenty years. John Roper, a much esteemed addition, was accepted a townsman this year, and given the home-lot origin- ally Solomon Johnson's. In 1656 also the first county road, that to Concord, was laid out. Another petition from Lancaster this year demanded the attention of the court. Out of the thirty heads of families there were but five freemen in all, and two of these were disabled by years. The law requiring that in any action by selectmen the " major part" should be freemen, it followed that Kerly, Lewis and Sawyer by necessity could control all such action. Two of these, at least, being men of stubborn character, their opinions doubtless sometimes traversed those of more able and wiser citizens, or denied the just demands of the majority. The only remedies were, to transact all business details by formal town-meetings— which, "by reason of many inconveniences and incumbrances,'' was not to be thought of — to obtain more freemen, or to petition to be relegated to the care of commissioners. The town " by a general vote " petitioned for the last, and May 6, 1657, Major Simon Willard, Captain Edward Johnson and Thomas Danforth, three of the ablest men in the commonwealth, were appointed commissioners, and empowered " to order the afaires of the said Lancaster, and to heare and determine their seurall diffrences and grieuances which obstruct the present and future good of the towne, standing in power till they bee able to make returne to the Genrall LANCASTER. Court that the towne is sufisiantly able to order its owne affaires according to Law." The first meeting of this august board of advisers Was held at the house of John Prescott, in September, and found abundant matter requiring their adjudica- tion. By this date Lancaster had won a valuable accession in the person of Master John Tinker, who had purchased of Richard Smith the house originally built by Waters, and also the Knight house upon George Hill. Tinker, who had been a resident of Groton for a short time before coming to Lancaster, was a freeman of education and clerkly ability. He had bought the monopoly of the fur trade of Lancaster and Groton for the year 1657, paying eight pounds for it, A gift of land called Gibson's Hill — upon the east end of which now stands the mansion of the late Nathaniel Thayer — was made to Master Tinker by the town at this time, and indicates that there was mate- rial reason for his change of residence. The com- missioners appointed John Tinker, William Kerly, John Prescott, Ralph Houghton and Thomas Sawyer selectmen, and instructed them in part as follows : 2. Encuragt master Rowlandson. That the said Selecttmen take Care, for the due encuragment of master Rowlandson who now Laboureth amongst them in the miuistrie of gods holy word, And alsoe that they take care for erecting a meeting house, pound and stokes. And that they see to the Laying out of towne and Countrie high waies and the towne bounds, and the making and executing of all such orders and by Lawes as may be for the Coraon good of the plac (i e) respecting Corne feilds, medowes, Comon pastiirag Land, fences, herding of Cutell and restraint of damage by swine and for the recouring of thos fines and forfitures that are due to the towne from such psones as bane taken vp land and not fullfiUed the Condicions of theire respectiue grants wherby the Comon good of the Plantacion hath beene and yett is much obstructed. 3. Paymt. of towne debts. That they take Care for the payment of all towne debts and for that end they are herby impowred to make such Levies or rats from time to time, as they shall see needful! for the dis- charge of the Comon Charges of the towne, And in Case any of the inhabitance shall refuse or neglect to mak due payment both for quality and qnantitie upon resonable demand, they may then Levie the same by distresse. And areimpowered alsoe to take 2^ mor and aboue such fine or Bate as is due to bee paid for the satisfacion vnto your oficer that taketh the distress for his paines theirin. 4. manor of asesments. That in all their asesmonts, all Lands apro- priated, (Land giuen for addittions excepted) shall bee valued in manor following (i e) home Lotts the vnbroken att 20^ p accor and the broken vp at thirtie shillings by the accor the entervaile the broken at fowertie shillings the accor and the vnbroken at thirtie shillings the accor, and medow Land att thirtie shillings, and in all rates to the mtnistrie The home Lotts to pay tenn shillings p ann. according to the towne order. And this order to Continue for fine yeares next ensuing. Alsoe that the selectmen tak spesiall Care for the preseruing and safe keepingthe townes Records. And if they see it need full, that they pcure the same to bee writen out fairly into a new booke, to he keept for the good of posterity, the charge wherof to bee borne by the pprietors of the said Lands respectiuely. ^ 5. none freed from Bats vnlesa they relinquish vnder hand. That noe man be freed from the Rates of any Land granted him in pprietie eccept h« mak a release and full resignatioa theirof vnder his hand, And doe alsoe relinquish and surender vp to the vse of the towne, his home Lott Intervaile and medow, all or none. 6. accomodacons for 5 or 6 : be Left before 2 diuision. That their be accomodacions of Land reserued for the meet encuragment of fine or six able men to com and inhabit in the said place (i e) as may bee helpfull to the encuragment of the worke of god their, and the Comon good of the plaoe. And that no second deuision be Laid out vnto any man vntil those Lotts bee sett apte for that vse ; by the selectmen, that is to say home Lotte entei-vaile and medow. 7. master Bowlandsons deed of gift. The Comisioners doe Judg meet H to Confirme the deed of gift made by the towne vnto master Rowlandson (i e) of a house and Laud which was sett a part for the vse of the minis- trie boring date V^ ^^ nion 1657 vpon Condicion that master Rowlandson remoue not his habitacioQ from the said place for the space of three yeare next ensuing, vnlesRe the said inhabitance shall consent theirto, And the Comisioners aproue theirof, ********** finally agat inmates. That none be entertained into the towne as in- mates, tenants, or otherwise to inhabit within the bounds of the said towne, without the Consent of the selectmen or the maior pte of them, firet had and obtained, and entered in the record of the towne as their act, vpon penalty of twenty shillings p month both to the pson that shall soe offend by intruding himselfe. And alsoe to the pson that shall ofend in receiuing or entertaining such pson into the towne. P}-iualedge3 & voats. And that noe other pson or psones wbatsoeuer shalbe admited to the Inioyment of the priualodges of the place and towneshipp, Either in accomodaccions vots elections or disposalles of any of the Comon priualedges and interests theirof, saue only such as haue beene first orderly admited and accepted (as aforesaid) to the enioy- ment theirof. The order against entertaining strangers is, of course, an echo of Governor Winthrop's order of court passed in ] 637, which was so unpopular at the time that its author felt called upon to publish an elaborate defence of so obvious an infringement of the people's rights. John Tinker inaugurated a more systematic method of recording the town's business, first copying into a new book the contents of the " Old Town Book." The selectmen during 1657 and 1658 ordered that all high- ways, whether town or county, should be amply re- corded for the information of posterity, and the way- marks be annually repaired. All lands granted with butts or bounds were ordered recorded by the town clerk, for which special fees were to be paid him. The valuable registry of lands in four large volumes, be- ginning in 1657 and ending with the last division of common land in 1836, is the fruit of this order. Mor- decai McLeod, a Scotchman, was admitted to citizen- ship. A letter was sent to Major Willard inviting him to make his residence in Lancaster, with certain proposals " concerning accomodacions," which proved sufiBciently attractive to be promptly accepted. The selectmen ordered that the inhabitants on the Neck should build a cart-bridge over the North Eiver near Goodman Waters' house, and that those living south of that river should build a similar bridge over the Nashaway at the wading-place. These bridges were completed that year, and stood, the first a few rods above the present Sprague bridge, the other at or near the site of the present Atherton bridge. The existing highways were duly recorded as follows : Cmlrie way. One way for the Cuntrie Lyeth : from the entranc in to the towne on the east pte from Wataquadocke hill, downe to the Swann Swampe, and ouer the wading place through Penicooke riuer : that is by the Indian warre [weir] and soe along by master Rowlandsons ground and the riuer and againe vp to goodman Waters his barne be- tweene old goodman Breckes lott and that which was Richard Smithes now in the poseflsion of John Tinker. To bee as it is staked out, att the Least flue Rods wide, on the neck, and to be as wide as can be on the east aide of the riuer vnder tenn Rods and aboue flue, and soe from good- man Waterses ouer the north riuer, vp by master Rowlandsons the breadth as is Laid out and fenced and marked and staked up to goodman Prescotts Ry feild and soe betweene that and John mores lott and Crosse the brook and vpp betweene John Johnsons and John Ropers Lotts flue Rods wide ; And soe beyond all the Lotts into the woods. Way to guasaipomkin medow. one way: from goodman Wateraes barne 10 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. to quasaponikiD medowes before the houses of goodman gates and both goodman Josllins &c : as it is laid out and marked ; flue rods wide and in the enteruaille 2 rods wide. To quasaponiJein hill, one way : from goodman Breckes house through the end of his ground, and Ralph Houghtons James Athertons goodman Whites and goodman Leweises &c, to quasaponikin hill flue Bods wide. To the mill, one way to the mill att the heads of the Lotts of John Prescott Thomas Sawyer Jacob ffarer &c flue Rods wide from the Cnntrie highway to the mill. Street in ye south end of y^ towne. one way Called the Street or Cross way : from goodman Kerleyes entervaile and the rest of the entervaile Lotto : And soe south beetweene the double rang of Letts : flue Bods wide and soetowards washacome when it is past Jacob ffarera Lett : And alsoe Itt runes the samewidness betweene the house Lotto and entervaile lotto northward to the wallnut swampe : from the Ountrie highway to ye entsrvaile of Jo : PrescoU aoe to WcUa- quadoke. one way from the mill way att the end of goodman Prescotts fey feeild, to the Entrance of his entervaile fine Bods wide, And through the entervailes oner Nashaway Kiuer and the Still riuers, to the outeid fenc, of Jacob ffarers Lott, two Bods and half wide. Way to theplumtreeg & groten. Oneway: from that entervaile way downe along all the entervailes to the Still riuer and towards groten on the east side of the riuer two rods wide. With the exception of the last, which was removed to higher land, these ways are all in use to-day, with a few local alterations of line and a general contrac- tion in width. The minister's maintenance was no small burden upon his little flock, so few and so poor, and there was evidently much dilatoriness and uncertainty in the payment of the stipend. Suddenly, in 1658, it was noised about through the settlement that Master Rowlandson was about to accept an invitation to the church in Billerica. The selectmen at once visited him to learn if the report were true, and became con- vinced of his determination to go. Twelve days later the messengers from Billerica came " to fetch Master Rowlandson away." The people assembled, and unan- imously voted to invite him " to abide and settle amongst them in the worke of the ministrie," and to allow him " flftie pounds a yeare, one halfe in wheat, sixpence in the bushell vnder the Curant prises at Boston and Charlstowne, and the rest in other good curant pay in like proporcion, or otherwise flftie and flue pounds a yeare, taking his pay att such rats as the prises of Corne are sett eurie yeare by the Court." The meeting also confirmed the deed of house and land which had been made in his favor the preceding August. Mr. Rowlandson accepted the invitation upon the terms proposed. The first house for public worship was completed this year, if not earlier. All previous meetings of the selectmen had been at pri- vate dwellings, but that of June 22, 1658, was " at the meeting-house." Thus far in the town's history houses must have been constructed of logs or hewn timber, stone and clay. Prescott's saw-mill was in operation early in 1659, after which more commodious framed structures doubtless began to appear. It having been found im- possible to obtain the services of either of the sur- veyors designated by the court to lay out the bounds of the town, consent was given for the employment of Ensign Thomas Noyes, of Sudbury, a return of whose survey is as follows : April 71, 1659 In obedience to the order of the honoured generall Court to the now inhabitanto of lancaster layd out y« bounds of lancaeter accordinge to the sayd gran to, wee begane at the wading place of nassua riuer and rune a lline three mille vpon a west north w«8t poynt one degree westerly, and from the end of y« three mill we rune two perpen- dicular lines beinge flue mills in length each line, the one line runing north north est one degree northerly, the other line running south south west one degi-ee southerly wee made right angle at the ends of the ten mille line, runing two perpendiculai- lines, runninge both of them vpon an east south east poynt on degree esterly, one of the sayd lines beinge the north line wee did rune it eight mill in length the other being the south line, wee did rune it six mill and a halfe in length and ther meet- ing v/^ the midell of the line, which is the line of the plantation granted to the petition" of Sudbury whos plantation is called Whipsuffrage and so runinge their line four mill wanting thre score percheei to the end of their line at the nor west Angle of Whipsuffrage plantation and from the sayd angle of Whipsufrage runing six mille and three quarters ther meeting with y« fore sayd east end of the eight mile line and soe period all the sayd lines and bounds of lancaster which sayd grants rune eighty square milles of land this by me Thomas Noyes The deputyes approue of this returne. our Hono"' Magist' consenting hereto. 14 October 1672. WiLLiiM Tobbet, Cleric. The magist" consent thereto prouided a farme of a mile square 640 acres, be layd out v/^in this bounds for the countrys vse in such place as is not already Appropriated to any — their brethren the deputyes hereto consent- ing. And that Major WiUard, Balph Houghton & Jno Presoot see it donne. Consented to by y" deputies Enwn Rawson Secretary 18 , 8 . 72 WilHAM ToBBEY, Cleric. Why the report was not approved until thirteen years after the actual survey, and six years after the death of the surveyor, does not appear in records. Neither is there further allusion anywhere found to the mile appropriated for the State, and the provision was perhaps disregarded at first and finally overlooked. The measurements of the survey were made with the liberal allowance usual at that time in laying out town grants, and can hardly be explained by the allowance for swag of chain and irregularity of ground, that being customarily only about one rod in thirty. The ten-mile line of Noyes was, by modern methods of survey, over eleven miles in length, and the other di- mensions were proportionably generous. The method of defining the limits of a purchase from the Indians, by distances and courses from a central point, was not unique. Major Simon Willard, in bargaining for Concord in 1636, " poynting to the four quarters of the world, declared that they had bought three miles from that place east, west, north and south, and the s* Indians manifested their free consent thereto." So Sholan and the white men probably stood, in 1642, at the wading-place of the Nashaway, which was very near the bridge known as Atherton's, and agreed upon the transfer of a tract of land five miles north- erly, five miles southerly, five miles easterly and three miles to the westward. John Prescott, who was per- haps present at the time of purchase, and certainly the only one of the flrst proprietors now resident in the town, and acquainted with the exact terms of the compact, accompanied Noyes to see that the mutual intention of grantor and grantees was satisfied. It is to be presumed that the three-mile base-line was run twenty-three and one-half degrees north of a true east I and west course, to accord with Prescott's knowledge LANCASTER. 11 of that intent. In running tlie southern boundary Noyes came upon the north line of the Whipsufferage plantation, which had been settled by court grant and laid out the year before. He could not therefore com- plete the rectangle called for by Sholan's deed, but added a sufficient triangle on the east to make up for that cut off by this Marlborough grant. The original O" 276i. I 1 AIOYES'SUI\VEy, /6SS. "THE M/LE"' "NEW GF^ANT" SURVEY, /7f/.—- TOWN i^/M/TS /S6e. tVAD/NS Pi. ACES X territory of. Lancaster was therefore an irregular pen- tagon containing, by Noyes' record of survey, eighty and two-tenths square miles, but actually embracing not far from one hundred. The extent of their magnificent realm and its ca- pacity for human support seems to have dawned upon the town after the viewing of their boundaries, for this year the restriction of families to thirty-five was re- scinded, and a new policy declared that "soe many in- habitants bee admitted as may be meetly accommo- dated, provided they are such as are acceptable." From his letters it may fairly be inferred that Master Tinker was neither by physical constitution nor tastes well adapted to the rough life of the pioneers, and this, added to the fact that his ambition and abilities natur- ally demanded a larger sphere for their exercise, de- prived Lancaster of his services. In June, 1659, he had removed to New London, Ct., and died three years later, when on the high road to wealth and political preferment. There were accepted as citizens during the year before, Major Simon Willard, Jonas Fair- banks, Roger Sumner, Gamaliel Beman, Thomas Wil- der and Daniel Gaiens. Wilder was at once appointed selectman in place of John Tinker, bought the lot next north of the trucking-house and there resided for the rest of his life. He came from Charlestown. Roger Sumner was of Dorchester, and was, like Wilder, a freeman. He had, in 1656, married Mary, the daugh- ter of Thomas Joslin. He seems to have been the first deacon in the Lancaster Church, although but twenty-eight years of age ; being dismissed from the Dorchester congregation August 26, 1660, "that with other Christians at Lancaster a Church might be begun there." At this date doubtless Mr. Rowlandson was ordained — though no record of such fact is found— and the church thus formally organized. Beman also came from Dorchester, bringing a large family. Both he and Sumner were assigned home-lots upon the Neck. Jonas Fairbanks, of Dedham, and Lydia Pres- cott, the youngest daughter of John, were the first couple whose marriage was solemnized within the limits of Lancaster, the ceremony being performed by John Tinker by authority of special license. They set up their roof-tree upon the next lot south of Pres- cott's on George Hill, now owned by Jonas Goss. Daniel Gaiens, so far as is known, brought no family with him. He was assigned a house-lot between Rugg and Kerly in the George Hill range. Major Willard succeeded to the greater portion of Tinker's Lancaster land rights, and occupied the house before often mentioned as the first built in the town. Its site is in the garden of Caleb T. Symmes. Whether the major rebuilt or enlarged the dwelling which had been occupied successively by Waters, Hall, Smith and Tinker is not told, but the Willard home must have been of ample proportions to fill the needs of his natural and enforced hospitality as a magistrate, and also furnish the suitable accommodations for a garri- son and military headquarters. That it was a substan- tial structure, largely of brick or stone, we know from the fact that at its abandonment in 1676 it was partially blown up, which means would not have been used if fire alone could have effected its destruction. It was probably surrounded by a stockade, being the chief garrison. Here Major Willard lived for about thir- teen years, often called from home for public duty, now in Council, now in "Keeping County Courts," now in exercise of his military office. The three commissioners continued to appoint select- men until, in March, 1664, the town legally assembled confirmed all that had been done and recorded in past years, and elected Major Willard, John Prescott, Thomas Wilder, John Roper and Ralph Houghton selectmen, empowering them "to order all the pru- dencial afairs of the towne only they are not to dispose of lands." This action of the people was accompanied with a request to the commissioners to ratify their doings and allow them thereafter the full liberty of a town, to which they gladly consented. The General Court did not formally discharge the commissioners, however, until May 7, 1672. 12 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. For several years the town's affairs apparently moved on in very quiet fashion. Lancaster had become a vigorous, healthful community, with as much indi- viduality as the jealously paternal nature of the colo- nial government would permit. The few scant records of town-meetings tell only of the harmonious and com- monplace, for under the discreet leadership of Major Willard and Prescott the contentious and the busy- bodies were soon silenced. That a minority existed who led unedifying lives in the midst of the children of grace is now and then disclosed by the Middlesex County Court records, but seldom were the sins of these such as would call for any court's attention now- A sermon-scorner, Edmund Parker, who lived squalidly in a hovel, was arraigned, convicted and ad- monished "for neglect of God's public worship;" Daniel James was presented before the grand jury "for living from under family government;'' John Adams was summoned to answer " for lying and false dealing;" William Lincorne "for forcing of himselfe into the towne as an Inhabitant," contrary to law, was warned out and had his goods attached to secure the fine. Nothing more criminal than these examples ap- pears. It may be deemed rather complimentary than otherwise that the town was once presented for not having stocks; it had no use for them. January 2, 1671, Cyprian Stevens married Mary, the daughter of Simon Willard, and the next year is found in possession of the " Houseings, Barns, Sta- bles, Orchards, Lands, Entervales, meadow lying and being in Lancaster," lately the property of his father- in-law, who had removed to his Nonaicoiacus Farm, then within the bounds of Groton. No record of the town's doings between 1671 and 1717 are found, save in the register of the proprietors' divisions of common land. This lamentable gap in the manuscript annals of the town is by tradition attributed to the loss of a volume of records by fire. Whatever church records may have existed prior to the pastorate of Kev. John Prentice, in 1708, have likewise disappeared. The facts of the town's history for this period of forty-six years must be chiefly gleaned from county and State archives. Daniel Gookin, writing the year previous to the breaking out of war with the Wampanoags, says the Nashaways had become reduced by disease and battle with the Mohawks to fifteen or sixteen families ; that is, to less than two hundred men, women and children. Matthew, the Englishmen's friend, was dead, and his nephew, the treacherous Sam, alias Shoshanim, alias TJpchattuck, reigned in his place. The tribe was not only few in numbers, but sadly degenerate. In fact, the average savage was always a dirty loafer, often besotted, who would not work so long as he could beg or live upon the toil of the women of his wigwam. The tidy English housewife shuddered whenever she saw one entering her kitchen. His habits were repulsive, his presence unsavory, his appetite insa- tiate. He was quick to take offence, and never forgot an injury or slight. The Nashaways at first stood in great awe of the white men as superior beings ; feared their far-reach- ing muskets ; hoped for their protection against the predatory Mohawks, and craved the hatchets, knives and other skilled handiwork of the smiths, and the cloths, kettles, fish-hooks and gewgaws of their traders- In Sholan's day the strangers were few and gracious, brought with them valued arts, and were much to be desired as neighbors. But familiarity cast out awe and was fatal to mutual respect. The younger war- riors, after a time, began to look askance at the increasing power, encroachments and meddlesome- ness of the English, and the planters made little con- cealment of their contempt for the communists of the forest. When, in 1663, the Mohawks made a san- guinary raid into Central Massachusetts, the white men stood aloof, offering no aid to the children of the soil against the marauders. When again, in 1669, the Nashaways, Nipmucks and other Massachusetts tribes combined in an expedition to wreak vengeance upon their life-long foes, the English proffered no assist- ance. This species of neighborliness was not likely to be forgotten by the defeated warriors. Most of the braves now possessed guns and had learned to use them with more or less skill. So early as 1653, George Adams, who lived at Wa- tertown, but claimed proprietorship in Lancaster, was convicted of selling guns and strong waters to Indians, and, having nothing to satisfy the law, was ordered to be severely whipped the next lecture day at Boston. When a valuable otter or beaver skin could be got in exchange for two or three quarts of cheap rum, the temptation was too great for Adams, and he was per- haps neither poorer nor less honest than other traders. Even John Tinker broke the law, by his own confes- sion. The red men had not learned the white man's art of transmuting grain into intoxicating drink, but they had quickly acquired the taste for rum, and like wilful children indulged their appetites without restraint when opportunity offered. Then, as now, there were stringent laws restrictive and prohibitory respecting the sale of strong drink. Then, as now, these laws were evaded everywhere and constantly. Then two sure roads to financial pros- perity were the keeping of a dram-shop and buying furs of Indians. What with the refusal to aid against the Mohawks, the peddling of rum, the greed of the peltry -buyers, and the nagging of proselyting preach- ers and laymen — very few of whom possessed a tithe of the prudence and willingness to make haste slowly which characterized the Apostle Eliot — it is hardly to be accounted strange that degenerate sagamores, succeeding the generous Sholan and Matthew, fol- lowed their savage instincts ; and that a harvest of blood followed where folly had planted. Early in June, 1675, before the actual breaking out of hostilities between the colonists and the Wampa- LANCASTER. 13 noags, it was suspected that Philip had solicited the assistance of the Nipmucks, and agents were sent to discover their intentions. The Nashaways were ap- parently not distrusted. The agents were deceived, ajid returned with renewed pledges of friendship from the older chiefs. A shrewder messenger, Ephraim Curtis, familiar with Indian wiles, in July came from a similar mission, bringing news that startled the Governor and Council from their fancied security. The inland clans were already mustering for war, and with them were Shoshanim and Monoco, leading the Nashaways. The Council promptly sent a mounted troop to treat with the savages, or if needful to " en- deavor to reduce them by force of arms." Counting, in their foolish self-confidence, one trooper equal to ten Indians, this platoon, which should have been a battalion, invited ambush and met disastrous defeat at Menameset, August 2d. Major Willard, at the head of less than fifty men, set out from Lancaster on the morning of August 4th, under instructions from the Council " to look after some Indians to the westward of Lancaster," probably the Nashaways. While on the march, news came to him that Brookfield was beleaguered, and he hastened to the rescue, re-enforc- ing the besieged garrison the same night. In that quarter he remained until September 8th, five or six companies arriving from the Bay to join his command. Lancaster and Groton were thus stripped of their natural defenders, and wily foes recognized the opportunity. The Nashaways, led by their two bloodthirsty and cunning sachems, Sam and One-eyed John — who was also known as Monoco and Apequinash — had been conspicuous in the Brookfield fight. On the 15th of August, in the evening. Captain Mosley with a company of sixty dragoons arrived at Lancaster, having been sent thither by Major Willard to pursue a band of savages, reported to be skulking in the woods about the frontier settlements. On the 16th Mosley started out in search of the enemy, but their chief, Monoco, intimately acquainted with all the region around, warily avoided the troopers, got into their rear, and on August 22d made a bloody raid upon Lancaster. Daniel Gookin says that twenty of Philip's warriors were with Monoco, and this is plausible, for Philip, who came into the camp of the Quabaugs with the small remnant of his tribe the day after the siege of Brookfield was raised by Major Willard, there met the one-eyed sachem and gave him a generous present of wampum. From that time Philip seems to have been no more seen in battle, and if his men fought at all, it must have been under other leaders. Monoco gave no quarter. The foray was made in the afternoon of Sunday. The house of Mordecai McLeod, which was the northernmost in the town situated somewhere near the North Village Cemetery, was Burned, and McLeod with his wife and two children were murdered. The same day three other men were slain, and a day or two after a fourth, all of whom were mangled in a barbarous manner. Two of these victims, George Bennett and Jacob Farrar, Jr., were heads of Lancaster families; the others, William Flagg and Joseph Wheeler, were probably soldiers detailed for service here from Watertown and Concord. This massacre was but the prelude to a more terrible tragedy, the most sanguinary episode in Lancaster history. Over thirty years had passed since the building of the first dwelling in the Nashua Valley. There had been one hundred and eighty-one recorded births in the town, and, including the recent murders by the savages, there had been but fifty-eight deaths. Ten of the oldest planters had died in Lancaster and five elsewhere: Thomas Rowlandson, Thomas James, Thomas Joslin, John Whitcomb, Stephen Gates, John Tinker, Edward Breck, Eichard Linton, Thomas Wilder, Steven Day, Philip Knight, John Smith, William Kerly, William Lewis, John White. The sons, as they reached manhood, had usually sought wives among their neighbors' daughters, built homes on the paternal acres, and their families grew apace. John Prescott could number thirty-five grandchil- dren, nearly all living in sight of the old trucking, house. With its two mills, its skilled mechanics, its spinning-wheels buzzing in every cottage, the town was independent of the world. Its nearest neighbors were Groton and Marlborough, ten miles away. Numerous barns and granaries attested the farmers' prosperity. Cattle, horses, sheep, swine and poultry had multiplied exceedingly. Time and thrift had increased domestic comforts. Frame houses, in which the windows, though small, were glazed, had succeeded the gloomy log-cabins. Orchards had come into bearing and yielded bountifully. All kinds of grain flourished. Wheat was received for taxes at six shillings the bushel, corn at three shil- lings six pence, and apples were sold at a shilling per bushel. Potatoes were unknown until fifty years later, but of most other vegetables, and especially of peas, beans and turnips, large crops were raised. The dwellings, as at first, were mainly in two scat- tered groups of about equal numbers, one occupying the Neck, the other extending along the slope of George Hill. But Prescott with two of his sons now lived near his grist and saw-mills, a mile to the south, the " mill-path '' leading thither. John Moore and James Butler had built upon Wataquadock. Several of the houses were more or less fortified, being fur- nished with flankers or surrounded with a stockade. Of those known were : Prescott's, at the mills ; Eich- ard Wheeler's, in South Lancaster ; Thomas Saw- yer's, not far north from the house of Sally Case, his descendant; Eev. Joseph Rowlaudson's and Cyprian Stevens'. It is supposed that a few soldiers from the older towns were distributed among these garri- sons. The Christian Indians, despite the flagrant abuse with which they were treated after the breaking out 14 HISTOKY OP WOKOESTEE COUNTY, MAS8ACHUSETT8. of war, generally proved faithful to the English, and their services as scouts were invaluable. Among these none deserves better to be honored in Lancas- ter story than James Wiser, alias Quanapaug or Quanapohit, whose courage and fidelity would have saved the town from the massacre of 1676, had not his timely warning been unwisely discredited by the apparently lethargic Governor and his slumberous Council. Quanapaug was a Nashaway, for be owned lands at Washacum in 1670. He was so noted for his brave conduct in the contests between the English and the Wampanoags, when he served aa captain of the Chris- tian Indians, that Philip had given orders to his lieu- tenants that he must be shown no mercy if captured. Governor Leveret having ordered that scouts should be sent out to ascertain something of the numbers, condition and plans of the foe. Major Gookin selected James Quanapaug and Job Kattenanit for this peril- ous enterprise, and these two men, carrying a little " parcht meal " for sustenance and armed only with knives and hatchets, made the terrible journey of eighty miles upon snow-shoes to the Indians' camp at Menameset, setting out from Cambridge December 30th. They were greatly mistrusted and their lives threatened by some of the Indians ; but fortunately James found a powerful friend in Monoco, who re- spected him as a brave comrade in the Mohawk War, and took him into his own wigwam. But James knew that his every motion was watched by suspi- cious enemies, and that even Monoco's protection might be powerless in the presence of Philip, who was expected soon. Finding that a meeting with that dangerous personage was inevitable if he de- layed longer, and having effected the main purpose of his errand, he escaped by stratagem, and on the 24th of January, 1676, brought to the Massachusetts au- thorities full information respecting the hostile camp, and especially the intentions of the sagamores ; Mo- noco declaring that "they would fall upon Lancaster, Groton, Marlborough, Sudbury and Medfield, and that the first thing they would do should be to cut down Lancaster bridge, so to hinder their flight and assistance coming to them, and that they intended to fall upon them in about twenty days from Wednesday last." It can scarcely be believed, but the result proves that no heed was paid to this seasonable warning ; no steps were taken to ward off the coming blow. A body of troops, who had been in pursuit of the flee- ing Narragansetts not far from Marlborough, had, -less than a week before, because of a lack of provi- sions, been withdrawn to Boston instead of being used to garrison the threatened towns. Even the chief military ofiicer of the State, Daniel Gookin, afterwards confessed that the report of Quanapaug " was not then credited as it should have been, and consequently no so good means used to prevent it, or at least to have lain in ambushments for the enemy." The fact is, little energy or skill of generalship was shown then or afterwards, and the savages wreaked their vengeance in due time upon all the towns named according to Monoco's programme. Meanwhile some premonition of the approaching tempest reached the valley of the Nashua, and in fear and discouragement the people wrought at such defences as were possible. The outlying houses were abandoned or visited only by day. The chief mili- tary ofBcer, Henry Kerly, the minister and perhaps some of the other prominent citizens finally went to Boston to beg for additional soldiers. In their ab- sence the storm burst upon the devoted town. About ten o'clock at night of the 9th of February, Job Kattenanit reached the door of Major Gookin in Cambridge, half dead with fatigue, He had left his wife and children in the hostile camp at New Brain- tree, and traveled night and day to notify his Eng- lish friends of their imminent peril. He confirmed every word that his fellow-spy, Quanapaug, had told. On the morrow Lancaster was to be assaulted, and Job had seen the war-party of " about 400 " start out upon their bloody errand. Shortly after the attack upon the Nairagansett fort, December 19th, the remnant of that tribe, of which about five hundred were reputed " stout war- riors," abandoned their homes. Late in January they joined the Quabaugs and Nashaways in their winter-quarters. The snow lay deep in the woods and the weather had been of unwonted severity, but before the close of the month a thaw suddenly swept away the snow, and the country became again passa- ble. Philip, with his feeble following, seems to have lost that importance as a military leader which tradition has persisted in attributing to him, and had become at best only an artful political general ; mali- ciously instigating animosities, but never appearing in the fight, and often overruled in council. Quana- paug reported the fighting men at Menameset to be "the Nipmuk Indians, the Quabaug Indians, the Pacachooge Indians, the Weshakum and Nashaway Indians.'' The accession of the Narragansetts more than doubled the force, and a part of them partici- pated in the raid upon Lancaster, which was led by Shoshanim and Monoco, of Nashaway, Muttaump, of Quabaug, Quinnapin, a Narragansett sachem, bro- ther-in-law of Philip, and probably Pakashoag and Matoonas, of the Nipmueks. The unqualified state- ment made by Eev. Timothy Harrington, in his Century Sermon, that Philip was present at the burning of Lancaster with fifteen hundred men, it must be said, wholly lacks the support of any con- temporary authority. Sewall in his diary speaks of Maliompe (alias of Muttaump) as "the general at Lancaster;" and some slight deference may have been paid to that sachem by the others to ensure concert of action; but Sagamore Sam and Monoco doubtless planned the attack. From his prominence in the subsequent correspondence with the authorities LANCASTER. 15 and the price set upon his head, it is evident that in popular estimation, Shoshanim was at least second devil, Philip being first. Awakened to the emergency, Major Gookin has- tened to consult with his neighbor, Thomas Danforth, a member of the Council, and a post-rider was at once despatched to order what soldiers there were stationed at Concord and Marlborough to the aid of Lancaster. About forty men, the company of Cap- tain Wads worth, were on duty at the latter place. Upon the arrival of the messenger at break of day, Thursday, February 10th, this little force, under their gallant commander, marched immediately for Lancaster Bridge, ten miles distant. They reached it to find the planks removed so as effectually to prevent the passage of horsemen — the river being unfordable at that season ; but the troopers did not arrive to be of assistance. Captain Wadsworth forced his way over, and, avoiding an ambush laid on the main road, safely marched by another route to the garri- son-house of Cyprian Stevens, near the North Bridge, and only a rifle-shot distant from the minister's. The assault of the savages was made at sunrise, and simultaneously in five places. The people were nearly all in shelter of the feebly fortified garrison- houses. John Ball, who had for some reason re- mained in his own dwelling, was butchered together with his wife and an infant; and two older children were carried away captive. Though the position of Ball's house is not exactly known, it was probably on the George Hill range. At John Prescott's, his grandson, Ephraim Sawyer, was killed. Of the gar- rison of Richard Wheeler, which was in South Lan- caster, five were slain : Richard Wheeler, Jonas Fair- banks, Joshua Fairbanks, Henry Farrar and another unknown. The first three were shot by Indians, who climbed upon the roof of the barn and could thence fire down over the palisades. The other two were waylaid while out of the garrison upon some errand. But the chief slaughter was at the central garrison, that of the minister. For about two hours the sav- ages beset this house in overwhelming numbers, pouring bullets upon it " like hail," and wounding several of its defenders, among whom was the com- mander. Ensign John Divoll. Unfortunately there was no stockade about the house and its rear flanker was unfinished and useless. The besiegers were therefore able, without much exposure, to push a cart loaded with flax and hemp from the barn, up against a lean-to in the rear, and fire it. One heroic man rushed out and extinguished the kindling flames ; but a renewal of the attempt succeeded, and soon the inmates of the burning house had to choose between death by fire and the merciless rage of the yelling demons that stood in wait for them without. There .were forty-two persons in the dwelling accord- ing to the best contemporary authorities, of whom twelve were men. By some marvel of daring or speed or strategy, Ephraim Eoper burst through the horde of savages and escaped. Eleven men were killed, and the women and children that survived this day of horrors were dragged away captive. We gather our knowledge of the incidents of the massacre and captivity mostly from the pious narra- tive of Mrs. Rowlandson, first printed in 1682. No literary work of its period in America can boast equal evidence of enduring popular favor with this of a comparatively uneducated Lancaster woman; and very few books in any age or tongue have been hon- ored with more editions, if we except the imagina- tive masterpieces of inspired genius. Mrs. Rowland- son states that there were thirty-seven in the house, and that twenty-four were carried captive, twelve were slain and one escaped. It is probable that she omits five soldiers casually stationed in the garrison. She gives no names and a full list of the victims can- not now be made. The following includes all that are known : Killed in Rowlandson Garrison. Knsign John Divoll. JoBiah Divoll, son of John, aged 7. Daniel Gains. Abraham Joslin, aged 26. John MacLoud.' Thomae Rowlandson, nephew of the minister, aged 19. John Kettle, aged 36. John Kettle, Jr. Joseph Kettle, son of John, aged 10. Mrs Elizabeth Kerley, wife of Lieut. Henry. William Kerley, son of Lieut. Henry, aged 17. Joseph Kerley, do,, aged 7. Mrs Priscilla Roper, wife of Ephraim. Priscilla, child of Ephraim, aged 3. U Carried Captive from Rowlandson Garrison. Mrs Mary Rowlandson, wife of the minister, ransomed. Mary Rowlandson, daughter of the minister, aged 10, ransomed. Sarah Rowlandson, do., aged 6, wounded A died Feb. 18. Joseph Rowlandson, son of the minister, aged 13, ransomed. Mrs Hannah Divoll, wife of Ensign John, ransomed. John Divoll, son of Ensign John, aged 12, died captive ? William Divoll, do., aged 4, ransomed. Hannah Divoll, daughter of do., aged 9, died captive ? Mrs Ann JoBlin, wife of Abraham, killed in captivity. Beatrice Joslin, daughter of Abraham, do. Joseph Joslin, brother of Abraham, aged 16. Henry Kerley, son of Lieut. Henry, aged 18. Hannah Kerley, daughter of do., aged 13. Mary Kerley, do., aged 10. Martha Kerley, do., aged 4. A child Kerley, name & age unknown. Mrs Elizabeth Kettle, wife of John, ransomed. Sarah Kettle, daughter of John, aged 14, escaped. Jonathan Kettle, son of John, aged 5. A child Kettle, daughter do. 20 Ephraim Eoper alone escaped during the assault. 1 One of Wadworth's soldiers, George Harrington, was slain near Prescott's Mills, a few days later, and John Roper fell on the day the town was abandoned. As the total casualties by reliable authorities were fifty-five, the names of seven sufferers remain un- known. The other garrisons made successful resis- tance, and the Indians, after plundering and burn- ing most of the abandoned houses, withdrew with their terror-stricken prisoners to the summit of 16 HISTORY OF WOKCBSTBR COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. George Hill, and passed that night in triumphal orgies, cooking and feasting on the spoils of the farm-yards and storehouses. "This," writes Mrs. Rowlandson, " was the dolefullest night that ever my eyes saw. Oh, the roaring and singing, and dancing and yelling of those black creatures in the night, which made the place a lively resemblance of hell.'' By Saturday afternoon most of the blood-stained crew were again in their camps at Menameaet. The mounted companies arrived the next day, and drove away the sliulkers engaged in plunder. The minister and Captaia Kerly returned in time to as- sist in burying the mangled and charred relics of their dead relatives and neighbors. Those of the in- habitants who had a place of retreat in the seaward towns and means to remove, soon fled, and those who were forced to remain behind crowded into the strong garrisons of Thomas Sawyer and Cyprian Stevens. With them were eighteen soldiers. Thence they sent forth, March 11th, an eloquently pitiful ap- peal to the Governor and Council for help to re- move to a place of safety. On March 26th, Major Willard sent a troop of forty horsemen, with carts, who carried the sur- vivors and some portion of their goods and provi- sions to Concord. The buildings not before de- stroyed were soon after burned by the Indians, two only being left standing in the town — presumably those of Butler and Moore, upon Wataquadock. The valley of the Nashua, blood-stained and dis- figured by fire-blackened ruins, lay desolate, and so remained during four years. The quick succeeding raids of the stealthy foe spread dismay even to the sea-coast throughout the English plantations. No outlying town but experienced their barbarity, and several were abandoned. The contest, one of racial antipathy, was now mutually recognized as for ex- istence. In the knowledge of the horrors of defeat, the white men fought with the courage of despera- tion, and soon learned to meet the cunning tactics of the savages with superior wiles. The Indians, un- able to procure a regular supply of food, and often nearly starved, were gathered into villages on both sides of the Connecticut a few miles above North- field. Early in April the head sachem of the Nar- ragansetts, Canonchet, whose controlling genius held together the incongruous alliance of rival tribes, was fortunately captured and put to death. Distrust and jealousy soon began their work, and a few days later Philip was on his way with the Nashaways to their hunting-grounds about Wachusett. Quinnapin ac- companied him, with a portion of the Narragansetts, and with him was Mrs. Rowlandson, his prisoner, the servant of Weetamoo, one of his three wives. A ma- jority of the Nipmucks and Quabaugs soon joined them. Messengers were sent to Wachusett by the authori- ties at Boston to negotiate for the redemption of the captives and especially Mrs. Rowlandson. Philip fiercely opposed any bargaining with the English, but his blood-thirsty counsels no longer found listening earn. Some of the prisoners had fallen under the tomahawk, and others had succumbed to exposure and starvation. Most of the survivors were freed during May, for a stipulated ransom. The Nashaway sagamore, though yet far from humble, was evidently tired of hostilities. If we may believe his own letter to the Governor, he even journeyed to the villages of the river Indians to recover certain captives there, [n his absence. Captain Henchman, under the guid- ance of Tom Dublet, an Indian scout, surprised a party of thirty-six Indians fishing at Washacum, of whom he killed seven and captured the others. The prisoners were mostly women and children, and among them were the wives and sons of Shoshanim and Muttaump. After this stroke of ill fortune, the proud boasting of the sagamores was turned to ser- vile supplication. Philip and Quinnapin, fearing treachery, fled to their own land. Early in September, the harassed and repentant chiefs, Shoshanim, Monoco and Muttaump, worn out with privation and trusting to some alleged promise of pardon from the Council, surrendered themselves and their men at Cocheco. September 26th, the three sagamores with others were hanged at Boston. Their wives and children, with other undistinguished captives, were sold as slaves and shipped to the Ber- mudas. The score or two of the Nashaways that may have escaped or were allowed to go free joined the Pennacooks. The Indian who captured Hannah Dustin, in 1697, and was killed by her, was one who had lived in Lancaster. A few who had embraced Christianity, like Quanapaug and George Tahanto, probably dwelt at Natick. The tribal history of the Nashaways had reached its finis. CHAPTER III. liANCASrnR—iConiinued.) The ReselUement — French and Indian RaidB — The Garrisons — Neic Meeting- hfmte^The Additional Grant — Early School-masters — LovcwelVs War — Worcester County Fanned — Birth of Harvard^ Bolton and Leominster —Sieges of Carthagena and Louishourg—The Conquest of Canada. The Lancaster exiles were widely scattered as they sought refuge with relatives and iriends in the Bay towns. Many of them, so soon as bullet and gallows had avenged their slain kindred and made return possible, looked with longing towards their farms, or- chards and gardens, purchased so dearly with years of toil and anxiety, and final blood sacrifice. But first shelter had to be built and leave of court ob- tained ; for the re-occupation of a deserted town, by an order of General Court, was placed in the same class with new plantations, requiring preliminary petition and the appointment of a fatherly committee LANCASTER. It to view, and hear, and consider, and order, and enjoin obedience to, a form and manner of resettlement. Probably some buildings were erected and some of the proprietors were upon their lands when John Prescott, with two of his sons, his two sons-in-law, Thomas Sawyer and John Eugg, his grandson, Thomas Sawyer, Jr., and Thomas Wilder, John Moore and Josiah White, sent to the court their pe- tition, in 1679, asking for a committee that they might, together with others, speedily "proceed to set- tle the place with comfort and encouragement." The committee were appointed and, although no record of their conclusions is known to exist, births in Lancas- ter were recorded during 1679 and 1680. In 1681 seventeen or eighteen families had returned and peti- tioned for exemption from " country rates " success- fully. Their minister was not with them. In April, 1677, Mr. Eowlandson had accepted, liberal oft'ers from Wethersfield, and was settled as colleague to Eev. Gershom Bulkeley. In that office he died, aged forty- seven years, November 24, 1678, " much lamented." In December, 1681, John Prescott, the founder and the oldest inhabitant of the town, died. The meet- ing-house having been burned during or after the destruction of the town, a new one was built upon the same site, probably in 1684. Among the new- comers was Samuel Carter, a graduate of Harvard College in 1660, who bought the Kerly homestead on George Hill, and probably served the people as teacher and minister for a time, but accepted a call to Groton in 1692. His sons continued in Lancaster, and the family so multiplied that the Carters soon rivaled the Wilders and Willards in the town census. William Woodrop and Edward Cakes also temporarily preached here, but there was no regular pastor until December 3, 1690, when John Whiting, a Harvard graduate of 1685, was ordained, after preaching on probation for nine months. Upon the revolutionary deposition of Andros by the people, in 1689, the magistrates and other prominent gentlemen of the colony recommended the towns to send instructed delegates to form an Assembly and assume the responsibility of reorganizing the govern- ment until orders should be received from England. Lancaster's action in response was the election of Ealph Houghton as representative, instructed to favor the re-assumption of government by the Governor and assistants elected in 1686. This seems to have been the last public service of Ealph Houghton for the town. He spent the declining years of life with a son in Milton, where he died in 1705. At his departure the most able man of affairs . in the town was John Houghton, second of the name, and upon him the duties of town clerk devolved. Soon the horrors of Indian warfare again menaced the frontier, and a general retreat of the inhabitants was imminent, when a special act was passed forbid- ding removal from outlying towns under severe pen- 2 alty. One of the towns named in the act was Lan- caster. Some hunters, in April, 1692, reported seeing about three hundred Indians in the neighborhood of Wachusett, and they were suspected of hostile designs. By day or night mothers grew pale at every half-heard cry of bird or beast, imagining it the death-shriek of a dear one, or the dread war-whoop of the savage. The able-bodied men and boys had to delve all day in the planting season, or expect to starve the next winter, and their unintermitting toil ill fitted them to watch every second night, as they were obliged to do in garrison. If they remained in their unfortified houses they were exposed to worse than death in case of an attack. But they could hope for little help from the Bay towns. There were now eight garrisons in Lancaster : — Josiah White's, of ten men, upon the east side of the Neck; Philip Goss', nine men, near the North Eiver bridge; Thomas Sawyer's, eleven men, in central South Lancaster; Nathaniel Wilder's, eight men, at the old trucking-house site on George Hill ; Ephraim Eoper's, seven men, a little to the north of Wilder's; Lieut. Thomas Wilder's, thirteen men, on the Old Common; Ensign John Moore's, eight men, on Wata- quadock; Henry Willard's, eight men, at Still Eiver. These embraced fifty families, and indicate a popula- tion of about two hundred and seventy-five. July 18, 1692, a small band of Indians surprised the family of Peter Joslin, on the west side of the Neck, while he was absent in the field, killed Mrs. Sarah Joslin, Mrs. Hannah Whitcomb and three young children, and took away as prisoners Elizabeth Howe, the sister of Mrs. Joslin, and Peter Joslin, aged about six years. The boy was butchered in the wilder- ness. Elizabeth, a girl of sixteen years, when the Indians approached the house, was singing at the spinning-wheel, and tradition says escaped the fate of her sister because of her captors' admiration for her song. She was ransomed from Canada after four years of captivity. For several years the townspeople lived in a state of continual "watch and ward," plowing, sowing and reaping in fear of the skulking, relentless foe. There were occasional alarms, the garrisons were strength- ened at great expense of labor, and in them the whole community huddled together for defence at every rumor of danger. The town became very much im- poverished, and the General Court allowed them twenty pounds "for encouragement," October 20, 1694. One Sabbath, in the autumn of 1695, Abraham Wheeler, when on his way from Sawyer's garrison to his own house near the river, was mortally wounded by an Indian lying in wait for him. September 11, 1697, in the forenoon, when the men were many of them in their fields or at their own houses, and the garrison gates were open, a band of savages who had been lurking in the woodland watching for a favorable opportunity, made a sudden dash upon the western portion of the settlement. Their plan had been to 18 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. first carry by assault the garrison of Thomas Sawyer, but as they were preparing to rush upon it, Jabez Fairbank galloped at full speed into the gate coming from his own house, and the Indians, supposing that they were discovered — though such was not the fact — turned their attack upon those in the fields and defenceless houses. They surprised the families of Ephraim Eoper, the widow John Eugg, Jonathan Fairbank, John Scateand Daniel Hudson, murdering capturing or wounding nearly every member of them, and burning their houses and barns. Meeting the minister, Rev. John Whiting, at a distance from the garrison, they attempted to take him captive, but "he chose rather to fight to the last,'' and was slain and scalped. Ephraim Roper's was a strongly garrisoned house, and that of Daniel Hudson was lortified. The killed numbered nineteen, the captives eight, five of whom ultimately returned ; two others wounded, re- covered. Capt. Thomas Brown with fifty men pursued the enemy for two days, during which they came upon the mangled corpse of one of the captured women, probably Joanna or Elizabeth Hudsen, whom the retreating savages had slain. Utterly disheartened, the people in their new dis- tress appealed for exemption from taxes, aid to pro- cure a minister and the help of soldiers in their gar- risons. They were given only twenty pounds. As temporary preachers, John Robinson, Samuel Whit- man and John Jones served them in the pulpit, and in May, 1701, Mr. Andrew Gardner, a Harvard grad- uate of 1696, was invited to preach. The following September he accepted an invitation to become their settled pastor. Before this the minister's salary had been in part paid by an annual assessment of ten shillings upon each original home-lot. As these lots were many of them abandoned, and the rule in other respects bore unequally upon the proprietors, the Leg- islature, upon petition, ordered the levying of their church rate upon all inhabitants in the same way as other taxes. The regular garrisons in 1704 were eleven in num- ber, and their location and the number of their fam- ilies mark a very important change in the growth of the town. As one bloody raid after another strewed the slope of George Hill with ruins, the fact that in a military sense the east side of the rivers was much the more secure from surprise, and the most defensible, became obvious ;, and thither the increase in popula- tion tended. The garrisons on the Neck were : Ser- geant Josiah White's, seven men ; Ensign Peter Jos- lin's, nine men. Those on the west side were : Rev. Andrew Gardner's, nine men ; Lieut. Nathaniel Wil- der's, on George Hill, seven men ; and John Pres- cott's, four men, at the corn-mill. East of the rivers were : At Bride Cake Plain (now the Old Common), Capt. Thomas Wilder's, fifteen men. Upon Wataqua- dock and eastward: John Moore's, nine men ; Josiah Whetcomb's, eight men ; Gamaliel Beman's, eight men. At Still River: Simon Willard's, twelve men. At Bare Hill': John Priest's, ten men. There were seventy-six families, indicating a population of about four hundred and twenty-five, of which two-thirds lived on the east side of the rivers. The only inn- keeper was Nathaniel Wilder, who had for twenty years been "licensed to sell beer, ale, cider, rum, etc." In the summer of 1704 a large force of French and Indians, under "Monsieur Boocore," who had de- signed the destruction of Northampton, finding that place prepared, became disorganized. A portion re- turned to Canada, but about four hundred determined upon a raid eastward. On Monday, July 31st, early in the morning, this force made a furious onslaught upon Lancaster, and first, as usual, upontheGeorgeHill garrisons. The brave Lieutenant Nathaniel Wilder was here mortally wounded. Re-inforcements from Marlborough and other towns, under Captains William Tyng and Thomas Howe, promptly came, and the enemy were finally driven oflT with considerable loss. Besides Lieut. Wilder, three soldiers — Abraham Howe, Benjamin Hutchins and John Spaulding — were killed. A French officer of note among the assailants was also slain, "which so exasperated their spirits that in revenge they fired the Meeting-house, killed several cattle and burned many out-houses." Four dwellings at least were destroyed — those of Ephraim Wilder, Samuel Carter and Thomas Ross upon George Hill, and that of Philip Goss near the meeting-house and upon the same site as the Rowlandson garrison de- stroyed in 1676. Hostile bands continued to prowl about the frontier towns during the summer and autumn, occasionally scalping some unfortunate victim. During the alarm after one of these murders a pitiful accident deprived Lancaster of her third minister. On Thursday, Octo- ber 26lh, in the night, Samuel Prescotfr— being the sentinel on duty at the garrisoned house of Rev. An- drew Gardner, walking his beat within the stockade — suddenly saw a man " coming down out of the upper flanker," and having challenged him twice and re- ceiving no reply, he fired upon him, in his surprise supposing him to be " an Indian enemy." To his own grief and horror, as well as that of the whole community, it was found that he had mortally wounded the minister, who had gone up into the watch-tower over the flanker to keep guard by himself, probably in distrust of the wakefulness of the sentinels, who had been scouting in the woods all day. The following May, Rev. John Prentice began his ministry in Lancaster, and on December 4, 1705, married the widow of his predecessor. He was not ordained until March 29, 1708. For nearly two years the Sabbath exercises were held at the parsonage, there being no meeting-house. October 15, 1705, the savages again invaded the town. There were at this date two saw-mills in Lan- caster, Thomas Sawyer, Jr., having, in 1698 or 1699, built one upon Dean's— now called Goodridge's— Brook, at the existing dam near the Deer's-horn's LANCASTEK. 19 School-house. At this mill the Indiana captured Thomas Sawyer, Jr., his son Elias, a youth of sixteen, and John Bigelow, a carpenter of Marlborough. The three were taken to Canada, where Sawyer was res- cued from torture and death at the hands of his cap- tors by the intervention of the Governor, on condition that he and his companions would build a saw-mill upon Chambly Eiver. The mill was built, being the first in all Canada, and the captives returned in safety. Forty pounds had been granted by the General Court, after the burning of the meeting-house in 1704, towards the building of a new one, to be paid upon the erection of the frame. A large majority of the inhabitants now living upon the east side of the rivers, it was voted in town-meeting to place the building upon Bride Cake Plain, a mile eastward of the old site, and there a frame was set up in 1706. The new location roused a tempest in the community. A com- mittee of four from other towns was appointed to settle thedispute, and being equally divided in opinion made the quarrel worse. Then the Council and the Deputies took opposite sides. Finally, as winter drew near, the majority were given their way. John Houghton donated the land for the building site, Thomas Wilder gave a lot for the burial-ground on the opposite side of the highway, Robert Houghton with his assistants covered in the summer-seasoned frame, and peace reigned once more in the parish. In 1707 Jonathan White, a youth of fifteen years, was killed by Indians, and August 16th a band killed a woman and captured two men near Marlborough, one of whom escaped. The other, Jonathan Wilder — whose father, Lieut. Nathaniel, had fallen three years before — was murdered when his captors were overtaken by a force which hastily pursued them. In the fight that ensued, Ephraim Wilder, brother of the captive, was severely wounded, Ensign John Farrar, a native of Lancaster, but resident of Marlborough, was killed. Two others of Marlborough suffered; Richard Singletary losing his life and Samuel Stevens being badly wounded. The fight took place in the • northwest corner of the "Additional Grant" of Lan- caster. For a year or two soldiers were quartered in the town to aid in its protection. The last to be killed by the enemy was an Indian servant of the Wilders, August 5, 1710. He was at work in the field upon George Hill with Nathaniel Wilder, who was wounded at the same time. In 1711 there were eighty-three families and four hundred and fifty-eight inhabitants in Lancaster, divided among twenty-seven garrisons; and twenty- one soldiers were stationed in the town. Ten years before the proprietors had purchased of George Tahan- to, "in consideration of what money, namely, twelve pounds, was formerly paid to Sholan (my uncle), some- time sagamore of Nashuah, for the purchase of said Township, and also six shillings formerly paid by Insigne John Moore and John Houghton of said Nashuah to James Wiser, alias Quenepenett (Quana- paug), now deceased, but especially for and in con- sideration of eighteen pounds, paid part and the rest secured to be paid by John Houghton and Nathaniel Wilder, their heirs, executors and assigns forever, a certain tract of land on the west side of the westward line of Nashuah Township. . . ." At that time pe- tition was made to the Legislature for sanction of the purchase, which was given, and a committee appointed to view and report. The matter lay dormant until February 15, 1711, when a new committee was au- thorized and the land surveyed. June 8, 1713, the grant was duly confirmed to the town. Certain parties laying out new townships to the westward in 1720, alleged that the committee surveying this grant had given more generous measure than the terms of pur- chase warranted, but after a year's wrangling the bounds were again confirmed as conforming to the marks by which the Indian grantors had designated them. Out of this added territory have since been shaped the two towns of Leominster and Sterling, be- sides a considerable tract given to the Boylstons. During 1713 and 1714 the growth of enterprise in the town was marked by the erection of two saw- mills — one by Samuel Bennett up the North Branch, and the other by Jonathan Moore on Wataquadock Brook by the Marlborough road. The town was ad- vancing more rapidly than ever before. In December, 1715, the selectmen appeared before the County Court to answer for not having a grammar school according to law. This proves that there were one hundred families within the town limits. For several years the versatil e John Houghton , con veyan cer, inn-keeper, justice, selectman, representative to General Court, etc. — who served the town as clerk from 1684 to 1724 — had also acted as schoolmaster, and is the first named, although the ministers, during earlier days, served in that capacity. Now the town procured the services of a college graduate, Mr. Pierpont, of Rox- bury, as master of their grammar school, and no no- tice of another is found until 1718, when Samuel Stow, probably of Marlborough, a Harvard graduate of 1715, was elected master at a salary of forty pounds per annum. The minister's salary was then raised from seventy to eighty-five pounds per year. In 1717 Lancaster was presented "for neglecting to repair ye great bridge,'' and a special town-meeting, March 10, 1718, considered the rebuilding of the "neck bridge.'' This is the first mention found of any crossing of the Penecook save by wading-place or canoes. The accounts of the destruction of the town in 1676 point plainly to the existence of two bridges only, one upon each branch. In the discus- sion of 1705 relative to the location of a new meeting- house, the wording of a petition implies the same condition as existing. Some cheap structure, within the means of the impoverished town, probably was thrown across the main river after the building of the church upon the east side. The bridge of 1718 was ordered to have five trestles and to be thirteen feet 20 HISTORY OP WOEOESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. wide. Thirty-five pounds were appropriated for its erection ; the townspeople were all, however, expected to assist at the raising, which doubtless was a season of extraordinary jollification. During Lovewell's War, as it is called, from 1722 to 1726, Lancaster was at no time entered by any con- siderable force of Indians, but her young men were forward in carrying the war into the enemy's country. An act of 1722 offered one hundred pounds for the scalp of a male Indian over twelve years of age, and half that sum for a woman or child, dead or alive. This proved a sufficient inducement to enlist in the terrible perils and hardships of the scouting parties many bold spirits under popular leaders. Of these, Capt. John White, an associate of Lovewell, won great repute as a successful Indian fighter. Dying in the service, he was eulogized by a contemporary as "a man of religion, probity, courage and conduct, and hearty in the service of his country against the Indian enemy." Capt. Samuel Willard here began a military career that reflected honor upon the town, leading what he dignified in his journals as an '' army " — two companies of about ninety men each — to and from the head-waters of the Saco and Pemigewasset, a march of five hundred miles through a pathless wilderness. The numerous bands of rangers not only carried deso- lation into the strongholds of the savage, but discov- ered the fertile, sheltered valleys beside the beautiful rivers and lakes of New Hampshire, and the log-cabins of venturesome pioneers soon rising here and there proved that the partisans had well noted the advant- ages of the land. Lancaster was no longer a border town, but the mother of new frontier settlements. In a single de- cade its population had doubled. In 1726 the meet- ing-house had to be greatly enlarged, and two years later the minister's salary was raised to one hundred pounds. There were now four licensed inn-holders: Capt. Samuel Willard, who had moved to the Neck and probably built the house still standing near the railway crossing; John Wright, at Still River; Oliver Wilder, upon George Hill, and Thomas Carter, where H. B. Stratton until lately resided. Among the chat- tels of the latter was " one old Indian slave," valued at twenty-five pounds, who liveduntil 1737. The orchards of the town had become famous, and much of the fruit was converted into cider. What was not " drunk upon the premises" had a ready sale both at Boston and in the new towns. Even theministerin 1728 was credited with a product of sixty-one barrels at the cider- mill of Judge Joseph Wilder. About the more important garrisons little villages had grown, where the cottagers, with their household industries and simple wants, were almost independent of other communities, except that all gathered at one common mepting-house on the Sabbath to listen to the fervid exhortation of Rev. John Prentice, and all sought Prescott's mill with their grist. In cases of a broken limb or alarming illness, Jonathan Prescott with his saddle-bags full of drastic drugs, galloped up from Concord when summoned, and for an astonish- ingly small fee. If the need of medical skill was less pressing, the local herbalist, Doctress Mary Whitcomb, sufficed. Edward Broughton was school-master, graduating the length of his terms according to the taxes contributed, now teaching on the Neck, now at Still River or Bare Hill, or on Wataquadock, until 1727, after which, apparently, the custom came into vogue of employing young Harvard graduates as teachers for short terms. From fifty to sixty pounds per annum were appropriated for the town's schools. In 1728 a movement began looking to the formation of a new county from certain towns of Suffolk and Middlesex. The town was deeply interested in this project and voted to favor it, provided the superior courts should be held at Marlborough and two infe- rior courts at Lancaster annually. The next year, on February 3d, the vote was reconsidered, a new plan being then under consideration, " for erecting a new county in ye westerly part of ye County of Middle- sex." The meeting favored petitioning for the new county and chose James Wilder and Jonathan Hough- ton to act for the town in the matter. It is traditional that the Lancaster people fully expected that two shire-towns would be designated, and that Lancaster would be one. No hint of this, however, appears in the recorded action of the town-meetings. Lancaster was not only the oldest, but the wealthiest and the most populous of the fourteen towns set off April 2, 1731, to form the county of Worcester. It remained so until the Revolution was over, save that Sutton for a brief time had a few more inhabitants. Jonathan Houghton, of Lancaster, was chosen the first county treasurer and Joseph Wilder was made judge of the Court of Common Pleas. In 1731 the first public library of Lancaster was established. It comprised but a single volume, though that was a bulky quarto of nine hundred pages. Rev. Samuel Willard's "Complete Body of Divinity," by vote of the town, was purchased and kept " in the meeting-house for the town's use so that* any person may come there and read therein, as often as they shall see cause, and said Book is not to he carried out of the meeting-house at any time by any person except by order of the selectmen." A petition from a majority of those living in the northerly part of the town in May, 1630, engaged the attention of a special town-meeting. The proposi- tion at first was to cut off about one-third of the original township on the north, which, with addi- tions from Groton and Stowe, should form the new town. After two years' discussion at town-meetings and in the Legislature, the, town of Harvard was created by an act published July 1, 1732. This took from Lancaster an area of about eighteen square miles, and included the villages which had sprung up about Bare Hill and Still River. About ten years before this some of the proprietors LANCASTER. 21 of the " Additional Grant," Gamaliel Beman heading the movement, had set up new homes among the hills of Woonksechocksett, as the Indians called the re- gion north of Washacum. Emboldened by the suc- cessful secession of the people in the northeast cor- ner, these residents of the- southwest corner of Lan- caster, to the number of about a dozen householders, petitioned for separate town organization in May, 1733. The same day there appeared a demand for another precinct or township from some of the resi- dents of Wataquadock and vicinity, proposing to di- vorce from the old town all the territory east of the rivers not taken by Harvard. Both requests received repulse, and attempts were made to appease disaffec- tion by the introduction of proposals to build three new meeting-houses, so situated as better to accom- modate the scattered population. For several years discussion and precinct strategy made town-meetings frequent and lively, and annually some plan for the dismemberment of the town went before the Legisla- ture. The act erecting the new town of Bolton was published June 27, 1788, its western boundary being parallel with the western boundary of the original township and four miles from it. Out of the area thus taken, — about thirty-five square miles, — Berlin and a part of Hudson have since been carved. Meanwhile the attractions of the valley of the North Nashua in the Additional Grant had drawn ■thither many Houghtons, Wilders, Carters, Sawyers and others, chiefly the grandsons of the early propri- etors. Being more incommoded because of their greater distance from the meeting-house, and soon becoming more numerous than those living at Woonksechocksett, they had a better reason for seek- ing independence, and complicated the situation by presenting, in February, 1787, their petition for sepa- ration. They moreover shrewdly joined with the old town to defeat the aims of other petitioners, in order to gain consent to their own scheme, and July 16, 1740, the act was published which severed about twenty-six square miles more from Lancaster under the title of Leominster. This area was wholly from the Additional Grant, excepting the farm of Thomas Houghton, exsected from the northwest corner of the old township. The Chocksett people were not dis- heartened. They grew more numerous year by year, and Gamaliel Beman did not recognize defeat. The town finally consented to allow them their wish, provided they would assume perpetual support of the river bridge, now known as Atherton's. This propo- sition did not please, and, after another year's wran- gle, in January, 1742, the " Chocksett War " was in- terrupted by a truce, the town voting to build two meeting-houses. The house of worship for the Second or Chocksett Precinct, "near Eidge Hill," was completed so that the first service was held in it November 28,1742. That for the First Precinct was delayed by the diflB- culty of agreeing upon its location. The aid of a legislative committee had at last to be invoked for the settlement of the question, and School-house Hill was selected as the most central site. Two hundred pounds were appropriated to build the Second Pre- cinct house, and four hundred for that of the First Precinct, which stood nearly in front of the present residence of Solon Wilder. The meeting-house upon the Old Common was torn down, and the materials divided between the two parishes to aid in the build- ing of school-houses. These, three in number, were placed : one on the Neck, not far from the meeting- house, but on the opposite side of the road ; one nearly opposite the present Deershorn's School-house, and the third near the Chocksett meeting-house. Each of them was twenty-four by eighteen feet, with seven foot studding. The new First Church building was nearly square in plan, being about fifty-five by forty-five feet, with entrance doors in the middle of the north, east and south sides. Across the same three sides were gal- leries to which stairs led from the side-aisles. One of these was assigned to men exclusively, the oppo- site one to women. Special seats apart were for " negroes." Directly before, and forming a part of the pulpit, was a deacon's seat. On a part of the floor the wealthier families were permitted to build family pews at their own cost. These were square, mostly about six feet by five, ranged along the walls from the pulpit, while in the centre of the floor, on either side of a central aisle were long seats, the fe- male part of the congregation occupying one side, the male the other. The pews were " dignified," the size and position of each marking pretty well the wealth and social rank of its owner in the com- munity. The sequence of the first families in 1644 appears nearly this: Eev. John Prentice, Deacon Josiah White, Colonel Samuel Willard, Captain John Bennett, Hon. Joseph Wilder, John Carter, Thomas Wilder, etc. In 1742 the north part of Shrewsbury was set off as a precinct, and Lancaster surrendered to it about five square miles from the most southerly part of its do- main. This was the foreshadowing of a new town, which, with slightly altered bounds, was created in 1786, under the name of Boylston. Although three towns and two precincts had been peopled from the Lancaster hive, attempts at further swarming were not over. In December, 1747, four- teen residents of Lancaster, under leadership of Henry Haskell, covenanted with citizens of Harvard, Groton and Stow, with the intent to be incorporated into a township. This attempt, which signally failed, proposed taking two or three square miles from the northeast corner of the town. When the district of Shirley was finally authorized, in 1753, Lancaster's bounds were not disturbed. The avocations of peace had been unharassed by war alarms for fifteen years, when, in 1740, a recruit- ing ofiicer drummed for volunteers in Lancaster, and 22 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. succeeded in persuading eigliteen or nineteen of her young men to wear the cockade. Captain John Prescott, of Concord, a lineal descendant of the father of Lancaster, was the senior officer of a battalion of five hundred men raised by Massachusetts to join the expedition of Vice-Admiral Vernon against Cartha- gena, and Jonathan Houghton, of Lancaster, was one of his lieutenants. Those who enlisted with Hough- ton from this town, so far as known, were: Daniel Albert, David Farrar, Nathan Farrar, Ephraim Fletcher, Benjamin Fry, John Hastings, Thaddeus Houghton, Ezekiel Kendall, Peter Kendall, Joshua Pierce, Benjamin Pollard, Gideon Powers, Timothy Powers, Oliver Spaulding, Darius Wheeler, William Whitcomb, Jacob Wilder. Few, if any of them, ever saw their homes again, giving their lives for the King in a quarrel of doubtful justice, not in the front of victorious battle, but slain by virulent disease after defeat. Upon the breaking out of the war for the Austrian Succession it was not to be hoped that the New Eng- land colonies could remain at peace with their French neighbors. Governor Shirley was gifted with suffi- cient sagacity to see that only by the capture of Louisbourg could Massachusetts retain her valuable cod fisheries, or expect exemption from invasion. Against that fortress, upon which had been lavished all the resources of military art, he skilfully organ- ized an expedition, which accomplished his desperate behest by sheer audacity, the sublime pluck of the New England rank and file and happy fortune, rather than by any prescience or rare judgment of plan. February 17, 1745, Colonel Samuel Willard re- ceived orders to take command of the Fourth Massa- chusetts Infantry, enlisted for this expedition. The regiment numbered about five hundred men in ten companies, and, as the fleet sailed from Boston, March 24th, was recruited within thirty days. This speaks well for the popularity and energy of its leader, but the enterprise itself took on much of the nature of a crusade. Thomas Chandler, of Worcester, was lieutenant-colonel and Seth Pomeroy major of the regiment. Colonel Willard's own company had for its officers: Captain-lieutenant, Joshua Pierce; Lieutenant, Abijah Willard ; Ensign, John Trum- bull. Abijah Willard, the colonel's second son, was soon promoted a step, and another son, Levi, became ensign. In this company doubtless were many men of Lancaster and vicinity, but the majority of Lan- caster soldiers were probably in the Fourth Company, the officers of which were: Captain, John Warner; Lieutenant, Joseph Whetcomb ; and Ensign, William Hutching. Unfortunately, the muster-rolls of this expedition are not known to exist, and the names of the soldiers are mostly unknown. Captain Warner died in hospital and Thomas Littlejohn fell in action. Many of their townsmen probably succumbed to the rigors of the climate and the toils of the siege, for the victims of disease were counted by hundreds. January 6, 1748, Rev. John Prentice died. For forty-three years he had preached, and during forty was the ordained pastor of the town. He was the son of Thomas and Sarah (Stanton) Prentice, born in Newton, 1682, and a graduate of Harvard in the class of 1700. By his two wives— Mrs. Mary Gardner and Mrs. Prudence (Foster) Swan — he had ten chil- dren. His contemporaries prized Mm for his learn- ing, his humility and his steadfastness. His juniors tell of his sturdy dignity and Puritan manners. His four printed sermons suggest that as a preacher he was orthodox, clear in his convictions, earnest and explicit in his exhortations. He was selected to de- liver the Election Sermon at Boston, May 28, 1735. Reverends Benjamin Stevens, William Lawrence, Stephen Frost and Cotton Brown temporarily sup- plied the vacant pulpit, but in February the last named was invited to become pastor of the parish. He declined, and August 8th the church made choice of Timothy Harrington to be their minister. November 16th of that year he was installed. He had been pastor of a church at Lower Ashuelot, a town abandoned during the Indian raids of 1747. November 19, 1752, Colonel Samuel Willard was seized with apoplexy and died the next day. He was the wealthiest citizen oi Lancaster, and, Judge Joseph Wilder perhaps excepted, the most promi- nent socially and politically. For twenty-five years he had been the highest military officer of the dis- trict, and for nearly ten judge of the Court of Com- mon Pleas. He was a grandson of Major Simon and son of Henry Willard, born in Lancaster, 1690. Judge Joseph Wilder died March 27, 1757, aged seventy-four. His contemporaries unite in lavish praise of his virtues and abilities. Rev. Timothy Harrington in a funeral sermon speaks of him as fur- nished " with a penetrating judgment, strong rea.son and a tenacious memory, and all, so far as we can judge, were consecrated to the honour of the Most High." Appointed judge at the organization of Worcester County, he was chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas at his death. He was a son of the second Thomas Wilder. The one hundredth birthday of Lancaster, May 28, 1753, was appropriately celebrated by a " century sermon " in the First Parish meeting-house. This discourse was printed, forming a pamphlet of twenty- nine pages, and contains the early annals of the town in sadly condensed form. Unfortunately, the author. Rev. Timothy Harrington, bound by the mode of his times, was more anxious to preserve the pulpit dig- nity of his rhetoric than to gather and embalm for posterity the reminiscences of the gray-headed vet- erans among whom he daily walked. He devotes half his pages to the history of the Jews and primi- tive Christians, and accords but half a dozen lines to the hospitable Sholan and the Nashaways. He gives details of the various sieges of Jerusalem, but omits all mention of the deeds of Colonel Willard's regi- LANCASTER. 23 ment at Loiiisbourg, and the pitiful sacrifice of Lan- caster youth at Carthagena. The town entered upon its second century pros- perous and free from internal dissension. The Second Precinct, temporarily content with its gain of semi- autonomy, had, December 19, 1744, secured Rev. John Mellen for their pastor, a Harvard graduate of 1741. He had married Rebecca, the daughter of Rev. John Prentice, the year after her father's de- cease, and had given token of abilities that soon placed him in the very front rank of the ablest clergymen of his day. The repayment by England to Massachusetts, in 1749, of its expenditures in the late war, made possible the redemption of the paper currency, which had greatly depreciated, and specie again appeared in the channels of trade. But life in Lancaster was with most a struggle for shelter, food and raiment. The only measure of wealth was the ownership of acres and cattle. Few things better illustrate the simplicity or luxury of a community than its conveniences for travel. In 1753 Lancaster paid tax to the Province upon three chaises ; in 1754 upon one chaise ; in 1755 upon two chaises and three chairs; in 1756 upon two chaises and two chairs — while most of the younger towns, until recently Lan- caster soil, had neither chair nor chaise. The heavy carts and wagons of the farm were the only wheeled vehicles. No census of the town was taken until ten years later, but the population of its centennial year can be fairly estimated from an existing tax-list of 1751, jiractically a census of the heads of families at that time. Although by the dowering of Harvard, Bolton, Berlin and Leominster it had lost more than half its area, its gain by births, and by immigration from other towns, had fully made up the loss of inhabit- ants. The rate list of 1751 contains two hundred and eighty-five names, representing three hundred and fifty-five polls. The population at that date did not, therefore, fall far short of fifteen hundred souls. That of the towns excised from Lancaster amounted to nearly as many. Provision, generous for the times, was annually made for educating the young. Rev. Josiah Swan was generally the teacher of the Neck School from 1747 to 1760, and Rev. Josiah Brown was schoolmaster at Chocksett for as many years. For the third school the teachers were successively : Ste- phen Frost, Edward Bass, Joseph Palmer, Moses Hemmenway and Samuel Locke — all Harvard grad- uates — the last named a resident of the town, after- wards president of Harvard College. Seven years of pretended peace between Canadian Jesuit and New England Puritan passed, and again the British colonies were hurrying preparations for a decisive struggle with their alert and aggressive foes. During the autumn of 1754 several mechanics of Lancaster, under Capt. Gershom Flagg, were engaged in the construction of Fort Halifax. Others of her citizens were serving on the eastern frontier in the regiment of Col. John Winslow, and Ensign John May led thirteen soldiers to join Col. Israel Williams at the western frontier. Of the four great expeditions planned in 1755 to break through the cordon of French occupation that extended from the Ohio to the mouth of the St. Lawrence, Lancaster was represented in two — that against Crown Point, and the Acadian campaign. In the former Samuel Willard, the eldest son of the deceased colonel of the same name, was commissioned to raise a regiment of eight hundred men. John Whitcomb, of Bolton, was second in command; but Col. Willard died at Lake Georgeshortly after joining the army, and Whitcomb was promoted to the va- cancy. In the regiment were seven men of Lancas- ter, including two lieutenants, Hezekiah Whitcomb and William Richardson, Jr. Lieut. Benjamin Wil- der led a mounted troop of thirty-three volunteers from Lancaster and its neighborhood, serving in the regiment of Col. Josiah Brown. But the majority of the Lancaster men, fifty-one in number, fought in the regiment of Col. Timothy Ruggles, under three Lan- caster captains — twenty-four with Capt. Joseph Whit- comb, sixteen with Capt. Asa Whitcomb, and eleven with Capt. Benjamin Ballard. All three companies were in the bloody melee of August 8th, known as "the morning fight,'' when the valor of the New England rustics snatched victory from what at first seemed defeat. On that day ten of the fifty-one were killed or mortally wounded: Ithamar Bennett, Samuel Fair- banks, William Fairbanks, Isaac Kendall, Peter Kendall, Oliver Osgood, Josiah Pratt, Jr., Phineas Randall, Joseph Robbins, Jr., John Rugg. Others, enfeebled by camp fevers, in the late autumn dragged themselves homeward, or were brought thither by short stages through the wilderness upon horseback. The campaign, a barren one save for the experience and confidence in themselves gained by the colonial officers and soldiers, ended with the year. The Acadian expedition, though even more in- glorious than that against Crown Point, is far more famous in story, and Lancaster's part in it was a more prominent one than has ever been given it in history. Of the force of two thousand men embarking from Boston May 20, 1755, under Col. John Winslow, for the purpose of dislodging the French from the regions bordering on the Bay of Fundy, one company of one hundred and five men, allotted to the Second Battal- ion, was organized at Lancaster and officered by men of that town. These were : Capt. Abijah Willard, Lieut. Joshua Willard, Second Lieut. Moses Haskell, Ensign Caleb Willard. Thirty-six of the rank and file were credited to Lancaster, of whom William Hudson was killed in the attack made by the Aca- dians upon the force engaged in burning the " Mass House" at Peticodiac. The company took part in the capture of Beau Scjour. Capt. Willard was se- lected by Lieut.-Col. Monkton, the King's officer in command, to lead a detachment to Tatmagouche. 24: HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. There, opening his sealed orders, to his great surprise and pain he found assigned to him the ungracious task of laying waste that whole fair district to the Bay of Verts, and removing the residents to Fort Cum- berland. Amid the wailing of women and children, and the smoke of blazing cottages, barns and store- houses, Capt. Willard marched from hamlet to ham- let,^ leaving desolation behind, in accordance with the letter of his orders, but tempering them with such mercy as he could ; his kindly heart, as his journal testifies, bleeding for the distress he was compelled to inflict. Leaving their families among the smoking ruins of their homes, the Acadian men were marched to Fort Cumberland, and Capt. Willard received the gracious commendation of the British officer. During the rigors of a Canadian winter the Lancaster men, ill provided with food and clothing, remained in bar- racks at the fort, but were allowed to return home the following April. Massachusetts was ordered to care for one thousand of the " French neutrals," and ap- portioned three families — twenty persons — to Lan- caster. There these exiles lived in the wretchedness of squalid poverty, disease and homesickness for ten years, housed, fed and cared for by the town author- ities. The last of them were finally shipped to France. The general plan of the campaign of 1756 was almost identical with that of the previous year, but Shirley was superseded by pompous and loitering officers of high rank in the British army. Their con- ceit and inactivity gave the daring Montcalm an opportunity to win some glory, and neutralized the enthusiasm and costly preparations of New England. The Lancaster soldiers were in the field as early as the opening of spring would permit military opera- tions, building roads and bridges and transporting stores up the Hudson to Fort Edward, and thence to Fort William Henry. Col. John Whitcomb was one of the Committee of War for Massachusetts. William B,ichardson and Hezekiah Gates were efficient agents of the committee for procuring and forwarding mili- tary supplies. Twenty soldiers from Lancaster were in the regiment of Col. Jonathan Bagley, mustered in the company of Capt. Benjamin Ballard, and eight or ten others are found serving in other regiments and among the artillerymen of Fort William Henry. The year 1757 saw a new plan of operations, but the campaign under the same haughty and inefficient gen- erals ended as before in discomfiture. Several Lan- caster men served in the regiment of Col. Fry, who, with most of his command, were in the massacre which followed the surrender of Ft. William Henry to Mont- calm, and escaped with the loss of everything but life. Nine others were in the regiment of Col. Israel Wil- liams. The fall of Ft. William Henry spread conster- nation through the colonies, for it was expected that the French would follow up their success by an inva- sion of the English settlements. The militia were hurriedly sent towards Albany. Capt. John Carter with a mounted troop, and Capt. Nathaniel Sawyer with an infantry company — one hundred men in all- marched as far as Springfield whence they were re- called, Montcalm having returned to Canada with his easily-won spoils. With the year 1758 the inspiration of a new war policy, that of William Pitt, was felt throughout the colonies. They obtained payment for their military expenses and were promised relief from the extortion and insolence they had constantly experienced from Crown officials. The impetuous Wolfe and the chiv- alrous Lord Howe were sent with some of the best troops in England, to infuse energy into the campaign, and the slothful Loudoun retired. The ministerial orders required vigorous assault along the whole fron- tier. The enthusiasm awakened in Massachusetts is apparent in the zeal which Lancaster evinced in the contest. Col. Jonathan Bagley's regiment in Abercrombie's advance upon Ticonderoga was in the van of the right division, and charged upon the French at the time Lord Howe lost his life. It was also engaged in the assault upon Ticonderoga and met with some loss. Of this regiment John Whitcomb was lieutenant-colonel, and his brother, Capt. Asa Whitcomb, served in it with forty of his Lancaster neighbors. Six of them laid down their lives in the service: William Brabrook, Eben Bigelow, Jonathan Geary, Philip Geno, John Larkin, Jacob Smith. In Colonel Timothy Ruggles' regiment, under Capt. Joseph Whitcomb, of Lancaster, and Capt. James Heed, of Lunenburg, were twenty- one more Lancaster men, of whom one, Simon Ken- dall, lost his life; eleven others served in other organi- zations, making at least seventy-three known to have enlisted in the campaign. Capt. Aaron Willard, who led a light infantry company in the regiment of Col. Oliver Partridge, was shot through the body in the murderous assault upon Ticonderoga, but survived to take part in the war for independence. After the un- timely death of Lord Howe the imbecility of Aber- crombie had again nullified the sacrifice and bravery of the provincials. The veterans who had fought at Louisbourg in 1745 under Pepperell, and conquered under Lyman at Lake George in 1755 were fast learn- ing to despise as well as hate the supercilious British regular officers, who contemptuously spurned the coun- sels of soldiers like Pomeroy, and always were defeated by inferior forces of the enemy. The campaign of 1759, under Amherst, directed towards the same strategic points as those of two years before, brought to the front once more Capts. Aaron Willard and James Eeed, and with them were forty- five Lancaster men, three of whom — George Bush, Stephen Kendall and Reuben Walker — died during the campaign. These two officers' companies served in Col. Timothy Ruggles' regiment. Abijah Willard also appears again, now as colonel of a regiment of eigh- teen companies; Cyrus Fairbanks was his adjutant LANCASTER. 25 and Manasseh Divol his quartermaster. Capt. Thomas Beman, with twenty-two other men of Lancaster, served in Willard'a command, and five more were in other companies. Amherst did nothing to add to his own reputation, and, in disregard of Pitt's positive orders, displayed no energy in the movement to assist Wolfe. The younger general's fame shone the brighter, and all New Eng- land mourned him as their preserver. Col. Willard and his fellow-townsmen marched home before the snows fell and rested by their own firesides through the win- ter, preparing for the final struggle. With the spring Col. Willard again led his regiment to the frontier. In his staflT were most of the old mem- bers, but Samuel Ward, of Worcester, afterwards to become one of Lancaster's most valued citizens, was made his adjutant. Capt. Beman again accompanied him, with Sherebiah Hunt for his lieutenant, and thirty enlisted men of Lancaster formed a part of his com- pany. Eufus Putnam, who in Revolutionary days became chief engineer and brigadier-general in the patriot army, was his ensign. Six Lancaster volun- teers served in other companies of Willard's regiment. In Col. Ruggles' regiment were Captains Aaron Wil- lard and James Reed, with eighteen Lancaster soldiers. Col. John Whitcomb also served in the campaign of 1760, and with him were Lieuts. Ephraim Sawyer and Henry Haskell, with eighteen others of Lancaster. Sergt. Josiah Prentice died and Joseph Stewart was drowned during the year. Under Col. William Havi- land, these two regiments leisurely rowed down Lake Champlain in batteaux about the middle of August. Arriving at Isle an Noix, Col. Whitcomb was ordered to throw up defences while the rest of the army moved to attack the fortified post; but the enemy did not await assiult, and Haviland moved on towards Mon- treal. September 8th, orders were read announcing to the troops the closing act in the conquest of Canada, the capitulation of the Marquis Vaudreuil. On the 10th the Massachusetts regiments began the march back to Crown Point, where for two months they were engaged in the construction of earthworks and bar- racks. In November CoLs. Whitcomb and Willard led their commands through the wilderness across Vermont to Charlestown, N. H., and by the forest paths to Lancaster, where they were disbanded about December 1st. For six years the town had, with the coming of each spring, sent forth to the blood-stained frontiers scores of her stalwart sons under their chosen leaders. About seventy-five of her citizens annually were, for at least eight or nine months, in the army. At least thirty- three of these are known to have perished by bullet, tomahawk or disease while on duty. Of the wounded no record was kept. CHAPTER IV. LANCASTER— ( Continued) . The First Census — Oi-gmi Ization for lievolution — Lexington Aktrm — BtmJier Hill and tlte Siege of Boston — War Annals — Separation of Chocksetl — Sluiys^ EebellioH — Bridge Lotteries. The long war between alien races and religions was hardly ended before the domestic " Chocksett War " again broke out. But the town-meeting vote of 1762 proved that the Second Precinct was not yet strong enough to carry its point. It persisted in its endeavors year after year, but whenever tbe proposition to divide thetown gained a favoring vote, it was always upon con- dition that the support of some bridge of vagrant habits should be perpetually borne by the seceders. To this they refused consent, and the contest was pro- longed until all local questions were forgotten in the turmoil of the struggle for national existence. The two parishes were nearly equal in population. The town-meetings were sometimes held in the Second Precinct meeting-house, and the grammar-school was kept alternately at Ridge Hill and on the Neck — the proportion of the two terms being decided in town- meeting. The first colonial census, that of 1764, gives Lan- caster 1999 inhabitants, living in three hundred and twenty-eight families and three hundred and one houses, classified as follows : Males. Females. Under 16 years of age . . .... 614 421 Over 16 years of age 506 632 Colored 12 14 ladiaas .... 1 How many of the twenty-six colored were slaves is not told. Ten years before this there were but five " servants for life " in the town. Seven years later than this five slaves were reported between the ages of fourteen and forty-five. At least ten slaves are known to have died between the two dates. The total population of the four towns included in the original Lancaster grants was four thousand eight hundred and one. Notwithstanding the great waste of human life in the war, the town's growth had been steady and healthy, and so continued. It will be seen that the average family then numbered over six indi- viduals. In the latest census, omitting the State school, the average family is less than four and four- tenths persons. The direct descendants of the first proprietors were yet largely in the majority, gave character to the town, and almost monopolized the management of its affairs. But into the procession of the town's life had come several prolific families, and some men of politi- cal weight and large social influence. John Warner, of Woburn, appeared about 1700 ; the Osgood family, always prominent in the church, first came in 1710, Hooker Osgood, a saddler from Andover, purchasing the Rowlandson estate of Philip Goss. About the same date, and from the Sime source, came Edward 2J 26 HISTOKY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Phelps, the weaver, and bought lands not far from Lane's Crossing. Soon followed John Fletcher, from Chelmsford, progenitor of a sturdy race that peopled a portion of George Hill. Thomas Whitney, of Stow, and his sons John and Jonathan, about 1720 built upon Wataquadock Brook. From Woburn, William Richardson came in 1721, found a wife in Captain Ephraim Wilder's daughter, became a prominent jus- tice and represented the town several years in the Legislature. Samuel Locke, al«o of Woburn, and connected by marriage with the Richardsons, came to Lancaster in 1742, and kept a famous tavern where Wm. A. Kilbourn now lives. Nathaniel and Abijah Wyman, from Woburn also, about the same tin.e bought homes upon the Neck. Benjamin Ballard, from Andover, a little earlier founded a new home upon the northern portion of the George Hill range and gave his family name to that section of the town. The Dunsmoors appeared first about 1740 and fur- nished the town two physicians, father and son. The last. Dr. William Duiismoor, in whose veins flowed mingled Sawyer and Prescott blood, developed politi- cal abilities that soon placed him in leadership of the revolutionary spirits of the neighborhood, and gave him prominence even in colonial councils. The Thurstons, Peter and Samuel, second cousins (the first from Exeter, the second from Rowley), appeared about the middle of the century. In 1768 Lancaster received an addition to its terri- tory — a tract of land at its southwestern corner about three miles long by one and one-half wide, known a-< " Shrewsbury Leg." It included the site of the present village of Oakdale, but then contained less than a dozen families. The same year a trader came from Groton to form a mercantile partnership with Levi Willard. The store of the firm was at the cross-roads of South Lancaster, and became the widest known and best patronized of any in the region. The senior partner sometimes made a journey to England to buy goods. He lived in a house which stood near the well on the lawn of E. V. R. Thayer's residence. The junior partner, Captain Samuel Ward, already men- tioned as holding a commission in the French and Indian War, purchased an ancient house and lot upon the opposite corner, being a part of the Locke farm, and the eastern end of the original home-lot assigned to John Moore in 1653. Captain Ward was not only a man of unusual business ability, but his rare intel- lectual powers, quick and accurate judgment of character, prudence and shrewd management of men would have given him exalted political place had he not resolutely shunned all official position. He soon became a conservative leader in the town. It was apparently a season of calm and prosperity. War had left few visible scars. The British govern- ment had re-imbursed to the colony the sums con- tributed in aid of the expulsion of the Bourbons from America, and plenteous harvests had gladdened the farmers. But a jealousy of all authority not delegated by popular suffrage everywhere began to appear, per- vading church as well as state politics. The pulpits about Lancaster were all jarred, and some severely shaken, by a revolt against clerical councils ; and the orators proclaimed the divine right of an anointed king subject to the divine right of the majority. The veteran soldiers had not forgotten the insults they had borne, year after year, from the King's officers, nor the needless campaigning and bloodshed chargeable to the incompetency of the generals set over them. The nagging encroachments of the British ministry upon charter rights found the majority of the colonists already on the verge of rebellion, for which seven years of war had been a practical school of arms. The first town-meeting record in Lancaster for 1773 anticipates by three and one-half years the lib- erty-breathing sentiments of the Declaration of Na- tional Independence. The action of that meeting took form in written instructions lor the guidance of the town's representative, Capt. Asa Whitcomb, and a series of resolutions drawn up by a " Committee for Grievances,'' as follows : ****** ***♦ 1. Baolced, That this and every Town in this Province have an undoubted Right to meet together and consult upon all Hatters inter- esting to them when and so often as they shall judge fit : and it is more especially their Duty so to do when any Infringement is made upon their Civil orBeligious Liberties. 2. Sesohed^ That the raising a Beveoue in the Colonies withoot their Consent, either by themselves or their Kepresentiitives, is an In- fringement of that Bight which every Freeman has to dispose of his own Property. 3. BesoJved, That the gmnting a Salary to his Excellency, the Governor of this Province, out of the Revenue nnconstitutioually raised from us, is an Innovation of a very alarming Tendancy. 4. Besolved, That it is of the highest Importaoce to the security Of Liberty, Life and Property, that the publick Administration of Justice should be pure and impartial, and that the judge should be free from every Bias, either in Favour of the Crown or the Subject. 5. Resolved, That the absolute Dependency of the Judges of the Superior Court of this Province upon the Crown for their Support would, if it should ever take Place, have the strongest Tendancy to bias the Minds of the Judges, and wonld weaken our Confidence in them. 6. Besolved, That the Extension of the Power of the Court of Vice- Admiralty to its present enormous Degree is a great Grievance, and de- prives the Subject in many Instances of that noble Privilege of Eng. lishmen. Trials by Juries. 7. Resolved, That the Proceedings of this Town be transmitted to the Town of Boston. These resolutions were signed by the committee : Dr. William Dunsmoor, John Prescott, Josiah Ken- dall, Ebenezer Allen, Nathaniel Wyman, Joseph White and Aaron Sawyer. The instructions to the town's delegate breathe the same spirit, and enjoin him to use his " utmost effijrts ... to obtain a Radical Redress of our Grievances.'' The organization of revolution began the next year, with the plan of establishing permanent Com- mittees of Correspondence in the towns throughout Massachusetts. The members of the first Lancaster Committee, chosen September 5, 1774, were Dr. William Dunsmoor, Dea. David Wilder, Aaron Sawyer, Capt. Asa Whitcomb, Capt. Hezekiah Gates, John Prescott, Ephraim Sawyer. The chairman LANCASTER. 27 was the youngest of the number. The next day the patriots of the town marched to Worcester, where an armed convention of the people gathered on the green, prepared to give a warm reception to the force of British troops which Governor Gage had pro- posed to send for the protection of the court. As the regulars did not appear, attention was turned to- wards the royalists. The justices, who recently had sent a loyal address to the Governor, were compelled to sign a recantation, and appear before the assem- blage to acknowledge it. Of these justices were Joseph Wilder, Abel Willard and Ezra Houghton of Lancaster. During the same month the town voted " That there be one hundred men raised as Volunteers, to be ready at a minute's warning to turn out upon any Emergency, and that they be formed into two Com- panies, and choose their own officers," and that these volunteers should be " reasonably paid by the Town for any services they may do us in defending our Liberties and Privileges." One company was enlisted in each precinct. The Committee of Cor- .respondence was also authorized to purchase two field-pieces, and two four-pounders were at once ob- tained from Brookline, for which eight pounds were paid. One of these was stationed in each parish, with a supply of powder, ball and grape-shot. Capt. Asa Whitcomb and Dr. William Dunsmoor were chosen to represent the town in the First Pro- vincial Convention. The constables were instrueted to pay over the taxes, when collected, to a special committee — Aaron Sawyer, Ephraim Sawyer and Dr. Josiah Wilder — who were to account for the same to the patriot receiver-general. The same committee were ordered "to Post up all such Persons as con- tinue to buy, sell or consume any East India Teas, in some Public Place in Town.'' In the town-meet- ing of January 2, 1776, a committee was chosen to receive donations '' for the sufi'ering poor of the Town of Boston, occationed by the late Boston Port Bill." It was also then voted " to adopt and abide by the spirit and sense of the Association of the late Continental Congress, held at Philadelphia,'' and a committee of fifteen were selected " to see that the said Association be kept and observed by all." The whole male population was now training for the conflict seen to be inevitable. The re-organiza- tion of the militia began in 1774, by a popular de- mand for the resignation of all military commissions. The Second Worcester was known as the Lancaster Regiment, and consisted of ten companies and a mounted troop, four companies and the troop being of Lancaster, including all the able-bodied males be- tween sixteen and fifty years of age, save a few by law exempts. With the division of the training- bands into minute-men and militia, new company officers were chosen, young men aglow" with the hot temper of the times. These line officers elected the brothers John and Asa Whitcomb, two veterans of the French War, as their colonels — the former of the minute-men, the latter of the militia. Abijah Wil- lard was perhaps the most gifted and experienced of- ficer in the town, but unfortunately favored the side of the King. Dr. William Dunsmoor and Ephraim Sawyer were the majors of the minute-men, and David Osgood the quartermaster. Col. John Whit- comb WHS chosen a major-general in February, by the Second Provincial Congress. Every soldier was expected to furnish himself with arms and equipments, and if too poor to do so, he was supplied by the town, or by contributions from the more wealthy. No attempt was made to secure uniformity in dress ; each wore his own home garb, and as there was a much greater variety in the color and form of men's wear then than now, the ranks always presented a motley appearance. There were at this period but seventeen towns in Massachusetts which could boast a larger population than Lancaster. It had a greater proportion of me- chanics and traders than other inland towns — fulling- mills, tanneries, potash boilers, a slate quarry and even a little furnace for casting hollow-ware. But its farmers raised nearly ten bushels of grain for every man, woman and child in the town, and four times as many cattle, sheep and swine per inhabitant as were credited to the town in the census of 1885. There was, therefore, a large surplus above the needs for home consumption. Pork was sold at six pence, salt beef at three pence, mutton at two pence, cheese at four pence and butter at eight pence, per pound; corn meal at three shillings, beans at six shillings, potatoes at one shilling four pence per bushel ; cider at seven shillings eight pence per barrel. There was no public conveyance for travelers, no post-office nearer than Cambridge. Silent Wilde, the news- carrier, rode out from Boston on Mondays, with the papers for regular subscribers, and jogged through Lancaster on his way to the Connecticut River towns and back once a week. His trips were soon to cease, and the day fast approached which was to test anew Lancaster's patriotism. On the morning of April 19, 1775, a post-rider came galloping in hot haste through the town shout- ing to every one he saw that the " red coats " had come out from Boston. The tidings, long expected, were spread by mounted messengers and the firing of cannon ; the minute-men were soon hurrying down the Bay road, and the militia followed not far behind. Two hundred and fifty-seven men marched from the town to Cambridge that day. General John Whit- comb reached the scene of action before the running fight ended and took part in directing it ; but it is hardly probable that any great number of his regi- ment, save the mounted troop, perhaps, kept pace with him. The six Lancaster companies were : two troops of thirty-two men each under Captains John Prescott, Jr., and Thomas Gates ; two com- panies of minute-men, with Captains Samuel Sawyer 28 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. and Benjamin Houghton; and two companies of militia led by Captains Joseph White and Daniel Eobbins. They remained at Cambridge about two weeks. The ProTJncial Congress immediately resolved upon the enlistment of an army of thirteen thousand men for eight months. Col. Asa Whitcomb was one of those authorized to raise a regiment, and, on May 25th, reported his command containing eleven com- panies, five hundred and sixty men — one company above the complement. Ephraim Sawyer was major, and Dr. William Dunsmoor surgeon of the regiment. The Lancaster men were mostly in the companies of Captains Andrew Haskell and Ephraim Richardson. There is a tradition in old families that on the day of the battle of Bunker Hill the Lancaster regiment was stationed at Cambridge, but was ordered to furnish re- inforcements to Prescott, and some of its companies reached the hill and fought in the final struggle, while others were coming up when the retreat began. The historian Bancroft says : " From the regiment of Whitcomb, of Lancaster, there appeared at least fifty privates, but with no higher officers than cap- tains."' If he had written thrice fifty he would have been more nearly just. By official returns the regi- ment lost five killed, eight wounded and two missing, which was a larger list of casualties than was credited to eight others of the sixteen regiments in which casualties of battle occurred. Daniel Eobbins was killed upon the hill and Sergt. Robert Phelps was mortally wounded and died a prisoner in Boston. Both were in Haskell's com- pany. Sergt. Israel Willard and Joseph Wilder were probably wounded, the former mortally, as special allowance was made for them by the Legislature at the same time as to the heirs of Eobbins and Phelps. Evidence is found in petitions for aid, showing that Burt's Harvard and Hastings' Bolton company were also in the fight, and the historian Frothingbam supposes Wilder's Leominster company to have been engaged. Capt. Andrew Haskell so commended him- self by his conduct at Bunker Hill, that he would have been promoted but for certain unoflicer-like traits which he seemed unable to overcome. During the siege of Boston the Lancaster regiment was brigaded with the Rhode Island troops under Gen. Greene and stationed on Prospect Hill. Col. Whitcomb was one of the wealthiest farmers of the town, a deacon in the Second Parish, a sterling patriot, and evidently, from his enduring popularity, gifted with noble qualities of heart. He was also a brave and experienced soldier, but too amiable to preserve proper discipline in his command. Upon the consolidation of the Provincial regiments to bring them to the Continental niodel, sundry super- numerary officers were discharged, and Washington, with the concurrence of Greene, selected Whitcomb as one whose services should be spared. His men re- sented this, and refused to re-enlist under another commander, when Col. Whitcomb reproached them for their lack of patriotism, and oflfered to enlist as a private with them. Washington, hearing of this, re- instated him and complimented him in special orders for his unselfish zeal. The worthy colonel's military service ended April 1, 1777, however, and he returned to his farm. Impoverished by his sacrifices for coun- try, he was compelled to part with his lands, removed to Princeton, and there died, March 16, 1804, aged eighty-four years. In the closing scenes of the siege, March 9, 1776, Dr. Enoch Dole, of Lancaster, was killed on Dor- chester Heights by a cannon-ball. The town had several soldiers with Arnold and Montgomery at the gates of Quebec, and t vo or three were there wounded and captured. About five thousand refugees from Boston during the siege were scattered through the inland towns, and to these were added the people of Charlestown after the burning of that place. One hundred and thirty of the homeless were assigned by the Provin- cial Congress to the charity of Lancaster, but the actual number seeking refuge here was much greater, . for the proposed formal distribution of the exiles had speedily to be abandoned as impossible. Many sought Lancaster who added to its social force ; such were Daniel Waldo, Edmund Quincy, Esq., and Na- thaniel Balch. A few became permanent residents of the town ; for example, Josiah Flagg and John New- man. In August, 1776, the Court of General Sessions, in authorizing five hospitals for inoculation for small- pox, appointed Doctors William Dunsmoor and Josiah Wilder directors of one at Lancaster. There is no record of the location of this hospital, but fourteen years later, when this scourge of humanity became again virulent, Dr. Israel Atherton established one for the same purpose upon Pine Hill, where it was kept during four years. After the departure of the American army for New York, the defences of Boston Harbor were entrusted to the militia, and during 1776 about fifty men of Lancaster served in two regiments stationed at Hull, with Capt. Andrew Haskell and Lieuts. John Hewitt and Jonathan Sawyer for their officers. A requisition upon the State for five thousand militia to tempora- rily re-enforce the army at New York came from Congress in June, and Lancaster's quota for four months' service was seventy-two men. They served under Capt. Samuel Sawyer and Lieuts. Salmon God- frey and Nathaniel Sawyer, in the regiment of Col. Jonathan Smith. The whole command was a hurried levy of rustic youth, wholly undisciplined. Septem- ber 15th, at Kip's Bay, they met the splendidly- drilled Hessian corps, and came off with scant honor. Four Lancaster men were then missing — probably killed — and several were wounded. Capt. Aaron Willard, who still suffered from his terrible wound received at Ticonderoga in 1758, un- LANCASTEK. 29 like his more noted cousins and neighbors — Abijah, Abel and Levi Willard — was earnest in the patriot cause. He was one of the two commissioners ap- pointed by Washington to visit the Acadians, in order to ascertain the strength of their alleged sympathy with the revolutionists. The mission was found so hazardous that the commissioners made their report from information gained without entering the prov- ince. Willard received a commission as colonel of a regiment drafled to strengthen the northern army under Schuyler, but was prevented from service by a painful accident. Capt. Manasseh Sawyer, August 18th, marched to join the regiment of Col. Nicholas Dike at Dorchester, with a company of ninety-two men, enlisted for eight months. Thirty-two of these were of Lancaster. Henry Haskell, who had distin- guished himself in the battle of Bunker Hill as cap- tain of a Shirley company, was lieutenant-colonel of the regiment. Capt. Daniel Goss and Lieut. Jabez Fairbank, with a company of militia, chiefly Lancaster men, served at Dobbs' Ferry, in a regiment of which their townsman, Ephraim Sawyer, was lieutenant- colonel. October 7, 1776, the town voted to empower the House of Eepresentatives " to draw up a Form of Government" for the State, stipulating that it should be sent to the people for ratification. Dr. William Dunsmoor was at the same date elected representa- tive. The popular colonial system of short enlistments forbade the growth of a well-disciplined national army and menaced the success of any complex campaign. A complete re-organization was resolved upon by the formation of eighty-eight three-years' regiments of six hundred and eighty men each. Fifteen of these were demanded from Massachusetts, and it required one man in every seven to fill the call. A bounty o^ twenty dollars and one hundred acres of land was promised volunteers, and the monthly pay of privates was fixed at six and two-thirds dollars. December 9, 1776, the male inhabitants of Lancaster over sixteen years of age numbered six hundred and seventy-two^ including thirteen negroes. Her quota was, therefore, ninety-six men, and that number volunteered in due time. Three more levies for three years were made during the war. Ten soldiers were sent by the town to the Continental army in the spring of 1780, thirty- five in the spring of 1781, and seven in March, 1782, the sum of the quotas being one hundred and forty- eight. These men were all volunteers, the draft being resorted to only for short-service calls. Large bounties had to be paid at last, and a few non-resident substi- tutes were hired. The men were scattered through the Massachusetts regiments, the town being repre- sented in every one but the First and Ninth. The largest numbers were in the Tenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth. Most of them participated in the battles which compelled the surrender of Burgoyne. Those holding commissions were : Henry Hasliell, He«t.-coI. 16th. John Whiting, liout. ISth. Ephraim Sawyer, capt. 16th. Philip Corey, lieut. 10th. William Harris, paymaster 16tb. Joseph House, lieut. 2d. Jonathan Sawyer, lieut. 14th, killed. Winslow Phelps, ensign 13th. John Hewitt, lieut, 10th. Jonathan Wheelock, drum-major 14th. The year 1777 was marked in Lancaster for a perse- cution of suspected loyalists by the extremists of the patriot party. A resolve of the Legislature concerning " the danger from internal enemies " gave reason for the creation of a committee to search for and obtain evidence against such suspects, and Col. Asa Whit- comb was selected. A black-list was presented by him in September, bearing the names of Moses Ger- rish, Daniel Allen, Ezra Houghton, Joseph Moore, Solomon Houghton, Thomas Grant, James Carter and Rev. Timothy Harrington. Abijah and Abel Willard and Joseph House had fled with the British upon the evacuation of Boston, and their estates had been confiscated. Levi Willard and Joseph Wilder were dead. Of those in Whitcomb's black-list, Ger- rish, Moore and Ezra Houghton were imprisoned, Solomon Houghton escaped from the country. Car- ter's and Allen's names were stricken from the list in town-meeting, and Grant is found serving in the patriot ranks. The attempted proscription of Har- rington was apparently the more bitter because of his connection with the troubles in the Bolton parish. He made a shrewd and spirited defence, when called into town-meeting to face his accusers, signally triumphed over them, and was held in increased respect thence- forward. The loss of Ticonderoga and the victorious ad- vance of Burgoyne southward spread dismay through- out New England. One-half of the alarm list were hurriedly marched from Lancaster to Bennington in August, mostly embraced in companies led by Cap- tains John White and Solomon Stuart. During the autumn months of 1777 about thirty men of the town participated in the Rhode Island expedition of Gen- eral Spencer. February 5, 1778, it was voted "to accept the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union be- tween the United States of America," and May 18th the town voted upon the acceptance of the new State Constitution, when one hundred and eleven were found in favor of and forty-one against it. It was, however, rejected by the people. Four thousand and forty-nine pounds were appropriated to pay the soldiers hired to serve for eight and nine months' service in the Continental Army. These men were thirty-two in number and joined the forces stationed along the Hudson. Captain Manasseh Sawyer and over fifty Lancaster men were engaged iii the unsuc- cessful attempt to drive the British from Newport and fought at Quaker's Hill under General Sullivan. There were also constant details for guard duty. Frequently twenty or more of the town's youth were at Cambridge or Rutland in charge of prisoners. The paper currency had steadily depreciated and 30 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. counterfeit money was so abundant that the most reputable persons innocently received and paid it out. Trade was fast becoming a system of barter. Foolish attempts were made to fix the prices of common necessities by law, and annually committees were chosen by the town to make up a schedule of these prices. June 28, 1779, the town solemnly voted " that the price of the Comodityes of the farmer and any other article do not rise any higher than at this time." Eighteen men of the town were mustered June 25, 1779, for nine months, to re-enforce the Continental Army, and a company of militia were serving at Claverack with Captain Luke Wilder, Andrew Has- kell being his lieutenant. The State Constitution was voted upon May 13th, and one hundred and three favored it, while only seven declared against it. Dr. William Dunsmoor, Captain Ephraim Wilder and Captain William Put- nam were Lancaster's delegates in the convention which formed it. In June, 1780, the town was called upon to furnish forty men for six months' service. Certain of the radical leaders, and especially Josiah Kendall, who had been vociferously patriotic in the earlier days of the war, avowed their belief that the men could not be obtained, and counseled non-com- pliance with the demand of the government. Cap- tain Samuel Ward, who had narrowly escaped pro- scription for his conservative views, saw his oppor- tunity and promptly advocated in an eloquent harangue immediate obedience to the requisition, at whatever cost. He was made chairman of a com- mittee of twelve empowered to hire the soldiers " on any terms they think proper." The forty men with- in twelve days were on their way to the camps, each having been promised " £1400 lawful money, or £13 6s. 8d. in Corn, Beef and Live Stock or any Produce as it formerly used to be sold." From this the silver dollar would seem to have been worth one hundred and five paper dollars at that date. During both 1780 and 1781 a full company of mili- tia served in Rhode Island for from three to five months, and others were stationed for similar terms of service on the Hudson. The rolls found indicate that fully one-quarter of the whole male population of Lancaster above the age of sixteen, were kept constantly in the army during the most eventful years of the struggle for freedom. Over six hundred names of Lancaster soldiers in the Revolution are already listed. Almost no records of casualties are discovered in muster-rolls, but they disclose the names of thirty men of Lancaster who died of wounds or disease be- tween the battle of Lexington and 1779. Those who for any cause were exempted from military service lived lives of toil and sacrifice. Money was annually appropriated for the care of soldiers' families, and the widows and orphans received systematic aid after the war, the town's expenditure being finally re- funded by the State. Lancaster is credited with having paid for such purposes from 1781 to 1785 the sum of £1852 1«. id. Twenty-three residents of the extreme southerly portion of the town, May 15, 1780, presented a peti- tion to be set ofi' to Shrewsbury. To this public con- sent was given in June, and an act of Legislature consummated the division February 2, 1781. The area thus parted with was about six square miles, and was incorporated with Boylston in 1786. TheSecond Precinct had by 1780 so grown as to outvote the older portion of Lancaster, and the autonomy it had long sought could no longer be denied. April 25, 1781, Chocksett was incorporated under the name of Sterling, in honor of General William Alexander, Earl of Sterling. By this change Lancaster lost over half of its population and but thirty-six and one-half square miles of its territory remained. The noise and smoke of rejoicing over honorable victory and independence won soon passed, and there was time for the town to reckon up its sacrifices and take account of domestic resources and necessities. The outlook was not encouraging. The paper cur- rency had become worthless and disappeared. Farmers and mechanics were crushed with debt, and half maddened by burdensome taxation, while lawyers and merchants were reaping a golden harvest. Bankrupt sales were advertised on every hand. Soon a spirit of anarchy was born of the general discontent, which culminated in Shays' Insurrection. No citizen of Lancaster is known to have joined the armed force of malcontents, and very few sympathized with the appeal to violence. The town sent delegates to the county conventions, voted in favor of enactment of laws to alleviate the distress of the people, and re- commended relieving the farming interest by excise and import duties. But when, January 16, 1787, the two militia compa- nies were called out by Col. William Greenleaf, the sheriff, the men were found almost unanimously in favor of supporting the law, and upon his calling for twenty-eight volunteers to march to the defence of the courts at Worcester on January 23d, thirty-one offered themselves. Lancaster was the rendezvous of the troops from the eastern part of the county, and Captains Nathaniel Beaman and John Whiting led companies in the regiments which, under General Benjamin Lincoln, pursued Shays and scattered his " regulators." The service was not long nor attended with bloodshed, but it was arduous in the extreme. Those who participated in it often grew eloquent in reminiscence of the terrible night march from Hadley to Petersham, February 3, 1787, facing a furious snow- storm in a temperature far below zero. Among those serving as privates was Captain Andrew Haskell. Three years later this veteran soldier was slain in battle with the Indians at the defeat of General Arthur St. Clair. Hon. John Sprague accompanied the expedition against Shays upon the staff of General Lincoln, as his legal adviser. LANCASTER. 31 Authority had been obtained by an act dated Feb- ruary 15, 1783, for lotteries to meet the extraordinary cost of rebuildine and repairing bridges and cause- ways. Twelve classes of the Lancaster Bridge Lottery were drawn — the net proceeds of which amounted to only £3286; and the results in other respects did not encourage the continuance of the scheme. By this time there were ten bridges over the Nashua rivers, and eight of them were a public charge. They were all built with one or more trestles in the bed of the stream, and an ice jam or unusually high freshet often tore several of these from their anchorage. A September flood in 1787 swept away the Ponikin 8aw-mill_ and damaged or demolished half the bridges in town. The Sprague, Ponikin and Atherton bridges were rebuilt in 1788. The Sawyer bridge, so-called, on the site of the present Carter's Mills bridge — whither it had been moved from the discontinued Scar road in 1742 — was rebuilt in 1789. The majority in Lancaster were opposed to the ratification of the National Constitution, and elected Hon. John Sprague their delegate to the State con- vention of January, 1788, with the usual instructions as to their wishes. Mr. Sprague, however, floally favored the ratification, although but six of his Wor- cester County associates voted with him. This use of his discretion did not seriously offend his constituency for at the first meeting for choice of a Presidential elector, December 18, 1788, he received thirty-one of the sixty-two votes cast in Lancaster. Rev. Timothy Harrington became physically unable to attend to the duties of his pastorate in 1790, and on October 9, 1793, Rev. Nathaniel Thayer was ordained as his colleague, receiving as a settlement two hundred pounds, with a yearly salary of ninety pounds. Mr. Harrington was born at Waltham, Feb- ruary 10, 1716, was graduated at Harvard College in 1737, and died at Lancaster, December 18, 1795, having been pastor over the church here forty-seven years. By a first wife, Anna Harrington, he had two sons and four daughters. He married Ann, the widow of Rev. Matthew Bridge, April 11, 1780. He was a lovable man, attracting young and old by his gentleness, affability and simplicity of manners. He wa-< espe- cially remarkable for his day, because of his liberality of sentiment, shown in speech and conduct — a broad charity toward all humanity. Three of his sermons were published, and his century discourse was re- printed in 1806 and 1853. In 1791, February 7th, the proprietors voted " to re- linquish to the several towns in the bounds of Old Lancaster all their right to roads in the respective towns." An increased interest in the subject of education began to be visible in 1788. Some of the leading citizen^ organized a central grammar school, and Timothy Whiting and Jonathan Wilder were elected a town visiting committee — the first recorded — to serve with the minister and two others chosen by the supporters of the school. The following year, under a new State law, the town was divided into districts, thirteen in number. In 1790 a new building for the grammar school was erected on common ground "opposite General Greenleaf's garden." The next year one hundred and fifty pounds were appropriated for education, one-third of which was devoted to the grammar school, one hundred being divided among the districts. Prom 1792 Rev. Nathaniel Thayer be- came chairman of the school committee, annually elected by the town, which at first consisted of seven, but was increased to eleven in 1796. Numerous landed estates passed from the owner- ship of the older families shortly after the Revolu- tion, in all sections of the town, and many new names began to appear in the tax-lists. The ruling spirits in the town management were Hon. John Sprague, Capt. Samuel Ward, General Joh^ and Judge Timo- thy Whiting, Sheriff William Greenleaf, Michael Newhall, Col. Edmund Heard, Ebenezer Torrey, Joseph Wales, Merrick Rice, William Stedman, Jonas Lane, John Maynard, Jacob Fisher, Eli Stearns and John Thurston, not one of whom was a lineal descendant of the early settlers. At the north part of the town many of the old residents became converts of Mother Ann Lee, and joined the Shaker commu- nity. A little colony of Reading families succeeded to their farms. At the south end, as the nineteenth century opened, the Burditts, Lowes, Rices and Har- rises, mostly from Leominster and Boylston, came, bringing with them the horn-comb industry. For a few years, besides the saw and grist-mills of Col. Greenleaf, at Ponikin, a trip-hammer and nail-cutting machine were in operation. The quarry in the northern end of the town sent annually to Boston a large quantity of roofing-slate ; but these industries were short-lived. The first post-office was established in Lancaster, April 1, 1795, with Joseph Wales as postmaster. Jonathan Whitcomb carried the mails and passengers daily to and from the city, by the " Boston, Concord and Lancaster mail line'' stages, when the century closed. CHAPTER V. lyANCASTER— (Cb«/«»«sar). Hon. John Sprague — Cotton and Woollen Mills — The Academy — War of 1812 — The Whitings — The Brick Meeting-house— Lafayette — The Printing Enterprise — Dr, Nathaniel Tltayer — New Churches — Clinton Set Ojf — Bi-Centennial — Schools— Libraries — Cemeteries. September 21, 1800, Lancaster lost her leading citizen by the death of Hon. John Sprague. He had been for thirty years resident of the town, coming from Keene, N. H., in 1770, to form a law partnership with Abel Willard. He was a son of Noah and Sarah Sprague, of Rochester, Mas*., born June 21, 1740, and was graduated at Harvard College in 1765. He served the town ten years as Representative and 32 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. two as Senator, was sheriff for three years, and for two years was chief justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was widely respected as a peacemaker, a safe adviser, a learned lawyer and an impartial judge. In 1805, Moses Sawyer and Abel Wilder built the dam and first mill, at the bridge over the Nashua in the village then called New Boston. This water- power soon came into possession of Elias Bennett, and a fulling-mill was started in addition to the saw and grist-mills. The clothiers and wool-carders succes- sively here were Ezekiel Knowlton, Asa Buttrick and Ephraim Fuller. Asahel Tower, Jr., also operated a nail-cutting machine in connection with the saw-mill. Samuel Carter purchased the property, and, about 1844, built a. cotton factory, which was leased to the Pitts Brothers and others. This was burned July 7, 1856, and the present factory built upon the same site. In 1809 Poignand & Plant founded the first cot- ton factory in Lancaster on the site of Prescott's mills, and James Pitts, in 1815, built the second, upon the Nashua. The details of these important en- terprises will be found in the history of Clinton. Burrill Carnes, Sir Francis Searles and Capt. Ben- jamin Lee, three Englishmen of wealth, during about ten years successively owned and lived upon the AVilder farm, on the Old Common, now occupied by the State Industrial School, and by lavish expendi- ture gav« it the semblance of an old-world baronial estate. In 1804 the place was bought by Maj. Joseph Hiller, of Salem, who resided here until his death, in 1814. He was an officer of the Revolution, had been appointed by Washington the first collector of Salem, and was an ardent Federalist, a Christian gentleman and a very valuable accession to Lancaster. His two highly accomplished daughters became the wives of their cousins, Capt. Richard J. and William Cleve- land, who also came to reside here, and won promi- nence in town councils. As children came and grew to boyhood Capt. Cleveland and his wife felt the need of a higher education for them than the town's gram- mar school could give, and persuaded several gentle- men to join in establishing the Lancaster Latin Grammar School in 1815. This classical school was kept for about eleven years upon the Old Common. The teachers' names best tell the quality of the education there afforded : Silas Holman, 1815; Jared Sparks, 1816; John W. Proctor, 1817; George B. Emerson, 1818-19; Solomon P. Miles. 1820-21 ; Nathaniel Wood, 1822-23 ; Levi Fletcher, 1824; Nathaniel Kingsbury, 1825. These scholarly young men, together with Warren Colburn and James G. Carter, at the most enthusiastic period of life's work, sitting at the hospitable board of the Clevelands, discussed with the cultured host and brilliant hostess the need of a new education which should develop the reasoning powers of youth ; and here they formed the opinions upon which some of them, as the most influential factors, remodeled the common-school system of the State. September 15, 1808, Maj. Hiller, Hon. William Stedman and Capt. Samuel Ward were chosen by the town to draft a petition to President Jefferson for a suspension of the embargo, which it was alleged had closed the chief sources of the nation's wealth and destroyed the customary incentives to enterprise and virtuous industry. The friends of the French party, as the Jeffersonians were nicknamed, were but few in Lancaster. At a special town-meeting, June 24, 1812, resolutions remonstrating against declaring war with England as suicidal and unnecessary were passed by a vote of one hundred and fifteen to fifteen. August 20th, Rev. Nathaniel Thayer, it being a fast day, preached a sermon denouncing what he termed the iniquitous policy of the President. But when, in Sep- tember, 1814, the British fleet appeared off the coast, and Boston was fearing an attack, there was no lack of belligerency. Among the first military companies to report to the Governor, in answer to his summons, were the light artillery and an infantry company of Lancaster, who, after a service at the meeting-house, on Sunday, September 14th, proceeded to Cambridge. Capt. Ezra Sawyer marched his infantry command back the same week, having been ordered out by mis- take. The artillery, forty men all told, remained on duty until November 5, 1814. Capt. John Lyon, who led the company from Lancaster, was superseded by Capt. Silas Parker. Henry, Levi and Fabius Whiting served with distinction in the regular army, attaining the rank of first lieutenant during the war. Henry Moore was killed at Brownstown, JosiahEugg died in the army, and Nathan Puffer served in the United States artillery. September 3, 1810, John Whiting died at Wash- ington, aged fifty years. He had been commissioned lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth United States In- fantry in 1808. Both he and his brother Timothy, Jr., served throughout the War of the Revolution, during which their father came from Billerica to Lancaster; Both became associate justices of the Court of Sessions, and were more than once candidates of the Jeffersonian party for Congress. An indication of John Whiting's ability, probity and lovable char- acter is found in the fact that when two Lancaster men were candidates for Congressional honor, in 1804, he received eighty-four votes, while William Stedman, the regular Federalist nominee, had but seventy-six, although it was a fevered period in par- tisan politics and the town's voters were usually more than three-fourths Federalists. Tradition still recalls Whiting's suave dignity when presiding over a town- meeting and his courtly grace in social assemblies. He was deacon in the church and brigadier-general in the militia. His daughter, Caroline Lee, as Mrs. Hentz.becamea very popular writerofverseandflction. His son, Henry, Brevet Brigadier-General, U. S. A., published two volumes of poetry, and contributed ar- ticles to the North American Reniew. The corner-stone of the brick meeting-house was LANCASTEK. 33 laid with appropriate ceremony July 9, 1816. Two acres for the site were purchased for $633.33, being part of a farm belonging to Capt. Benjamin Lee. The de- signer of the building was Charles Bulfinch, the earliest professional architect in New England, who also designed the State House in Boston and that at Augusta. Thomas Hersey was the master-builder. The cupola has been pronounced by competent critics to be almost faultless in its proportions. On Wednesday, January 1, 1817, the building was dedi- cated. The final cost of the structure complete was $20,428.99, and it was proposed to pay for it by sale oi the pews. They were accordingly appraised, eighteen being given the highest valuation, $230, the lowest being priced at $."0. At the auction sale Capt. Ward paid the highest sum, $275, for pew No. 4 ; Capt. Cleve- land paid $255 for pew No. 57. A bell weighing thirteen hundred pounds was presented to the parish by several gentlemen. It was cracked within a few years, had to be recast, and now weighs eleven hun- dred pounds. The old meeting-house stood until 1823, and was used as a town-house. In that year a new town-house was built largely from the material obtained in tearing down the old one. In the year 1823 the town dared a temporary de- parture from the old style of bridge construction. For twenty years the subject had been anxiously dis- cussed by special committees and town-meetings. One committee had presented and advocated a plan for a double arch stone bridge, but the cost was great and there was a well-founded fear that the central pier would seriously obstruct the passage of ice. The town also seriously considered a curiously un- scientific wooden structure, in which the planking was to.be laid upon the top of seven timber arches, unbraced and without chords. Almost yearly one or more of the trestle bridges yielded to ice or freshet, and was whirled down stream. Daniel Farnham Plummer, a wheelwright of South Lancaster, exhib- ited for several years a model of a wooden arch bridge, which he claimed to have invented. This model, three or four feet in length, made of hickory sticks about as thick as one's finger, readily bore the weight of a man ; and the town, when the Atherton and Centre bridges next went seaward, voted to adopt Hummer's principle. The new bridge was out of the reach of flood, but had in itself sufficient ele- ments of instability, and the wonder is that it stood ten years. The town returned to the stereotype tres- tle form again, except at the Centre, Ponikin and North Village, where covered lattice girders were built, which did good service for from thirty-five to forty years. The river bridges were all finally re- placed between 1870 and 1875 with iron structures, for which, including the thorough rebuilding of most of the stone abutments, the total expenditure was thirty-five thousand eight hundred and fifty dol- lars. Friday, September 3, 1824, is a date famous in the 3 annals of Lancaster, because of the visit of Lafay- ette, the nation's guest. The general had passed the night at the mansion of S. V. S. Wilder in Bolton, and at half-past six in the morning, escorted by cav- alry, proceeded to Lancaster by the turnpike. He was received at the toll-gate with a national salute from the artillery, and upon arrival near the meeting- house was met under an elaborately decorated arch by the town's committee and conducted to a platform upon the green. There, in the presence of an im- mense concourse from all the country around, he was welcomed in an address by Dr. Thayer, to which he made brief response, evidently deeply affected by the eloquent words to which he had listened, and by the spontaneous homage of a grateful people. After a- brief stay, during which the surviving soldiers of the Revolution were presented to him, amid the booming of cannon and the tearful acclamations of the multitude, the cavalcade moved on towards Wor- cestej. To this time and for a decade later the martial spirit of the people was kept bright by the militia laws. At least once a year the peaceful highways of the town were wont to bristle with bayonets; and the rattle of drum, the squeak of fife and the odor of burnt cartridges overpowered all the sweet sounds and smells of Nature. This was the " May training." The " muster-fields " are historic, and old citizens continue to recount the humors of the parades and sham-fights. The original territory of Lancaster had sixteen military companies, which, with half a dozen from adjoining towns, made up the Lancaster regi- ment. The town kept up a mounted troop until 1825, and also had a light artillery company and one of light infantry, besides the ununiformed militia. The one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the destruction of the town by the Indians was cele- brated February 21, 1826, when an oration was de- livered by Isaac Goodwin and a poem read by Wil- liam Lincoln. The former was printed. So early as 1792 public attention was called to the desirability of a canal from the seaboard to the Con- necticut, through Lancaster and Worcester, and pre- liminary examination of a route was made. This project was again brought forward in 1826, and Lan- caster was earnest in its promotion. Loammi Bald- win made a survey through Bolton and Lancaster, his line crossing the Nashua at Carter's Mills ; but capi- tal failed to forward the enterprise. The traffic, as before, continued to be conducted by heavy wagons drawn by teams of horses. Forty such wagons daily passed through the town to and from Boston, bearing as many tons of merchandise or farm products. At intervals of a mile or two stood taverns, which enter- tained many wayfarers, and nightly attracted to their sanded-floored bar-rooms a jovial company, which grew hilarious as the hours sped, under the inspira- tion of unlimited flip. The most direct route for the Boston and Fitchburg Railway lay through Lancas- 3-t HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ter and Bolton, but the blind selfishness of inn-keep- ers and stage proprietors was able to create suflScient hostility to the road to carry it by a more tortuous line through towns then less populous. Repentance soon followed, and upon the inception of the Worces- ter and Nashua road its projectors were met in liberal spirit. Hopes of a more direct connection with Bos- ton have been often raised, and, finally, April 30, 1870, the Lancaster Railroad Company was incorpo- rated. Its road was built by George A. Parker, who became president of the company, but has never been used owing to a controversy between the Fitchburg and Worcester and Nashua Railway corporations. Capt. Samuel Ward died August 14, 1826, aged eighty-seven. He had for fifty-nine years been resi- dent in Lancaster, an active and liberal citizen. Born in Worcester, September 25, 1739, he was for a time a pupil of John Adams, but entered the army when a boy of sixteen. His career to the date of his coming to Lancaster has been outlined in a previous page. He was devoted to mercantile pursuits until the last twenty years of his life, which he spent in the care of his ample landed estate. His generous hospitality brought many guests to his board, and the charm of his bright presence and richly-fraught speech glows for us in the grateful reminiscences of those who were blessed by his friendly interest. He left a legacy of five hundred dollars, the income of which he desired should be annually distributed " to those who are unfortunate and in indigent circum- stances " in Lancaster. This sum has been increased by sundry similar legacies, and forms the Lancaster Charitable Fund, Capt. Ward had outlived wife and children many years, and willed his estate to his niece, Mrs. Dolly Greene, wife of Nathan- iel Chandler. Squire Chandler, as he was always called, thenceforward resided in Lancaster. He was a man of culture, bright wit and quaint individuality ; born in Petersham, October 6, 1773, graduate at Har- vard College in 1792, died June 4, 1852. Madame Chandler survived her husband seventeen years, liv- ing to the age of eighty-five. Their daughter, Mrs. Mary G. Ware, remains in possession of the home- stead. During 1826 a brick, two-storied structure was built a little south of the meeting-house, and the Latin Grammar School was removed thither from the Old Common. Hitherto a school for boys only, from this time both sexes were admitted. The building was paid for by subscription, and the ground for it was the gift of George and Horatio Carter. An act of incorporation was obtained February 11, 1828, by the subscribers, under the title of the Lancaster Academy. April 7, 1847, a second corporation with the same title took possession of the building by pur- chase, and, in 1879, the town having bought it, tore it down to make room for the present grammar-school house. The first teacher of the academy in this lo- cality was Nathaniel Kingsbury. He had numerous successors j among those who served for several years were Isaac F. Woods, Henry C. Kimball, A.M., and William A. Kilbourn, A.M. The year 1826 was also memorable for the publica- tion of the first systematic history of the town, under the title of " Topographical and Historical Sketches of the Town of Lancaster,'' occupying ninety pages of the Worcester Magazine. Its able and painstaking author, Joseph Willard, Esq., was descended from a Lancaster family, and practiced law here from 1821 to 1831. He proposed publishing a more comprehen- sive history of Lancaster, and made valuable col- lections of material for it, but it was postponed for other literary work, and at his death, in 1865, was found too incomplete for print. During 1827 the brothers, Joseph and Ferdinand Andrews, wood and copper engravers, came to Lan- caster from Hingham. The latter had been editor of the Salem Oazetle. George and Horatio Carter built the brick house nearly opposite the hotel, in Lancas- ter Centre, for a book-store and printing office, and thence, March 4, 1828, the first number of the Lan- caster Gazette was issued. It was a sheet of five columns to the page, edited by Ferdinand Andrews, and printed every Tuesday. One of its standing advertisements was : " Wood, corn and oats re- ceived in pay for the Lancaster Gazette.'' The last number was printed April 18, 1830, and Lancas- ter had no newspaper again until the birth of the Lancaster Courant, in 1846. Maps had been printed and colored here as early as 1825 by the Carters, who were copper-plate printers. Although the newspaper enterprise did not prosper, the firm of Carter & Andrews did an extensive busi- ness in book publishing, engraving on wood, copper and steel, map printing and coloring, book-binding, etc., employing nearly one hundred persons. A type foundry was established by Charles Carter, and a lithographic press was set up by Henry Wilder in connection with the firm. In 1834 the business passed under control of Andrews, Shephard & Has- tings, and, in 1835, Marsh, Capen, Lyon & Webb took possession, using for their publication title " The Education Press." The enterprise was abandoned in 1840. Among many books printed in Lancaster were: "Peter Parley's Works," "Farmer's General Register of the First Letters of New England," "The Comprehensive Commentary," "The Common School Journal," various standard school books, "The Girl's Own Book," by Lydia M. Child, a series called " The School Library," etc. The wood engraving was superior to any work of the kind before that date in the United States. The Lancaster Bank was incorporated in the name of Davis Whitman, Jacob Fisher, Jr., Stephen P. Gardner and associates, April 9, 1836, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. This was increased by twenty-five thousand dollars in 1847, again by twenty-five thousand in 1851, and by fifty thousand in . /I lijS.uciv.f- LANCASTER. 35 1854. In 1876 the capital was reduced to the original amount, and in 1881 the bank was removed to Clinton. The first president was James G. Carter, who was suc- ceeded in 1840 by Jacob Fisher, Jr. He resigned in 1874 and George W. Howe was chosen president. Caleb T. Symmes, who had been cashier for thirty years, retired in 1874 to be succeeded by Wm. H. McNeil. Closely connected with this was the Lancas- ter Savings Bank, incorporated in 1845, which, after an exceptionally prosperous career, was ruined by a series of unfortunate investments and placed in the hands of receivers. The deposits amounted to about one million dollars, of which the depositors have received fifty-three and one-third per cent., and a small balance awaits the settlement of the Lancaster Bank affairs. The dam and mills at Ponikin, from the first saw- mill built there in 1713 to the existing cotton factory have seen many changes in ownership, location and pro- duction. The chief proprietors have been Samuel Ben- nett, Joseph Sawyer, Col. Joseph Wilder, Col. William Greenleaf, Major Gardner Wilder, Charles E. Knight, Charles L. Wilder, etc. When the last-named built the present dam, only traces of the older ones, lower upon the stream, were visible, but about a mile up the river stood a prosperous saw and grist-mill, owned by the Shakers, but built by Sewall Carter about 1828 near the site of a saw-mill founded by David Whit- comb as early as 1721. This mill was bought by the American Shoe Shank Company, and for several years leather board, patent shanks, etc., were manufactured there. The works were burned in December, 188.3. While journeying for health and recreation Nathan- iel Thayer, D.D., died very suddenly at Rochester, N. Y., June 23, 1840. There had been for nearly two centuries but one meeting-house, one religious society in Lancaster. Sectarian differences there were, but they seldom disturbed the harmony of social relations. The revered pastor was always the prominent central figure of the community, the father of the parish. Nathaniel Thayer was twenty-four years of age when he began his ministerial labors as the colleague of Rev. Timothy Harrington, having been born at Hamp- ton, N. H., July 11, 1769. He was the son of Rev. Ebenezer and Martha (Cotton) Thayer. His mother was a lineal descendant of John Cotton, the first minis- ter of Boston, and through her he is said to have inher- ited certain mental and moral features which had dis- tinguished her ancestors, — " an uninterrupted succes- sion of clergymen for nearly two hundred and thirty years." He was fitted for college in the first class atPhil- lips Exeter Academy and graduated at Harvard in 1789. Two years after his coming to Lancaster, on October 22, 1795, he was married to Sarah Toppan, of Hampton, and made his home at first in the old house now generally known as Mrs. Nancy Carleton's, remov- ing, after the death of his venerable colleague, to the parsonage which stood a few feet south of the well in front of Mrs. Nathaniel Thayer's present residence. He received the degree of S.T.D. in 1817. Dr. Thayer was in person not over medium height, nor was he otherwise of rare mould, but his dignified mien and a melodious voice of great compass and flexibility gave impressiveness to his oratory. Twenty-three oc- casional sermons of his have been printed. Though always appropriate and sometimes rich in thought happily expressed, the effectiveness traditional of his discourses was largely due to the thrilling tones and skilful emphasis of the orator. He was conscientiously averse to repeating an old sermon even when his time was overtasked. Because of his power in the pulpit and wisdom in church polity he was frequently sum- moned even from great distances to aid in ordination and council. But not alone nor chiefly for his public teachings was he prized by his people. His benignant presence was sought as a blessing in times of joy, a comfort in great sorrow. The prayer from his lips was the never- omitted prelude to business at the town-meeting. The young bashfully, the old unreservedly confided their hopes, soul experiences and troubles to him, assured of hearty sympathy and wise counsel. He was the depositary of family secrets ; the composer of neighborhood disputes; the ultimate referee in mooted points of opinion or taste. To a gravity which might have graced the Puritan clergymen, his maternal ancestors, he joined an affability that showed no discrimination in persons, and made him beloved of children. The day was never too long for his activity. In the summer mornings by five o'clock the early travellers saw him tilling his garden by the roadside. In the alter part of the day he rode about his extended parish, stopping to greet every one he met with kindly inquiry, carrying consolation to the sick and sorrow- ful, help to the destitute, the refreshment of hope to the despondent, cheerfulness and peace to all. The charm of his fireside, with its hearty hospitality, freely and unostentatiously open to every chance guest, its frugal comforts made sweeter by abounding Christian graces,was never forgotten by those who came under its influence. The wife and mother, who presided with simple dignity over the household, survived her hus- band exactly seventeen years, falling asleep at the ripe age of eighty-two. In 1881-82 an apse was added ' to the brick meeting-house, called the Thayer Memo- rial Chapel, in honor of Dr. Thayer and his wife. In it, besides the spacious chapel, are an elegantly appointed church parlor, a kitchen with closets, etc., a Sunday-school library room, basement and entrance hall. Its cost, amounting to about fifteen thousand dollars, was defrayed by a popular subscription among the friends of the church, and its memorial character is indicated by portraits and a suitably inscribed wall- tablet. Rev. Edmund Hamilton Sears, of Sandisfield, grad- uate of Union •College, 1834, was installed as Dr. Thayer's successor December 23, 1840. Failing health compelled him to obtain rest from the cares of so 36 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. large a parish, and his pastoral connection with the First Church closed April 1, 1847, to the great grief of his people, and the regret of all citizens of the town ; for his presence had ever been a quickening influence to true and earnest living. His subsequent life was largely devoted to literary labors, and of his writings, both prose and poetry, some have won a wide reputation, and that not confined to the so-called religious circles. In 1871 Mr. Sears was honored by Harvard College with the degree of S.T.D. He died at Weston, January 16, 1876. Before him no minister of the First Church had asked or received dismission. It is now two hundred and thirty-five years since Master Joseph Eowlandson began his ministrations in the Nashua Valley, and there have been but eight in- cumbents of the pulpit in the church he founded, two of whom were slain when their joint service amounted to but twelve years. The present pastor, George Murillo Bartol, was unanimously called to his ofiice a few months after the loss of Mr. Sears, and the fortieth anniversary of his ordination was feelingly celebrated by his parishioners on August 4, 1887. He was born at Freeport, Me., September, 18, 1820, fitted for col- lege at Phillips Exeter Academy, was graduated at Brown University in 1842, and from the Cambridge Divinity School in 1845. His power for good has not been limited by parish confines, nor restricted to the stated religious teachings of his order. The clergy in Lancaster had ever been held the proper super- visors of the schools, and upon his coming Mr. Bar- tol was at once placed in the School Board, and was annually rechosen, until, having given faithful service, usually as chairman of the board, during twenty-one years, he felt constrained to ask relief from this oner- ous duty. From the establishment of the public library he has always stood at the head of the town's committee, entrusted with its management, and in its inception and increase his refined taste, rare knowl- edge of books and sound literary judgment have been invaluable. With talents and scholarship that in- vited him to a much wider field of service, he has clung lovingly to his quiet country parish, making it the centre of his efforts and aspirations. He is an en- thusiastic lover of Nature in all her moods, a discrimi- nating admirer of beauty in art, earnest in his soul convictions, although averse to sectarian controversy — and so tender of heart as to seem charitable to all human weakness, save that he is intolerant of intol- erance. The Universaliot Society was organized April 3, 1838, and held its meetings for several years in the academy building. Eufus S. Pope, James S. Palmer, Lucius R. Paige, S.T.D., and John Harriman succes- sively supplied the pulpit until 1843. A meeting- house was built in South Lancaster, and dedicated April 26, 1848, but seven years later was closed, in 1858 was sold to the State, and now stands in the grounds of the Industrial School. Rev. Benjamin Whittemore, born in Lancaster, May 8, 1801, son of Nathaniel, was pastor of the society from 1843 to 1854. He received the degree of S.T.D. from Tufts' College in 1867, and died in Boston, April 26, 1881, having been totally blind for the last ten years of his life. The First Evangelical Congregational Church was organized at the house of Rev. Asa Packard, a retired clergyman resident in Lancaster, February 22, 1839. Mr. Packard was a fifer in the Continental Army, was seriously wounded at Haerlem Heights, entered Har- vard College and was graduated in 1783. He was for many years a noteworthy figure in the town, by reason of his old-school mannas and dress. He wore knee-breeches and silver buckles, the last seen in Lancaster. March 20, 1843, he was found dead in his chair, being then eighty-five years of age. He preached here but a few times. Rev. Charles Packard was ordained January 1, 1840, resigned his pastorate here in 1854, and died at Biddeford, Me., February 17, 1864. He was the son of Rev. Hezekiah Packard, born in Chelmsford, April 12, 1801, and was graduated at Bowdoin College, 1817. During his valuable min- istry in Lancaster, Mr. Packard was familiarly known and greatly esteemed by all classes. Firm in opinion, outspoken where a principle was involved, he was, nevertheless, genial, respectful to the convictions of others, and always a preserver of peace. The meet- ing-house was dedicated December 1, 1841, was en- larged in 1868, and its accommodations increased in 1852 and 1884, by the addition of a chapel, church parlor, etc. The successors of Mr. Packard have been : Franklin B. Doe, graduate of Amherst, 1851, ordained October 19, 1854, resigned September 4, 1858; Amos E. Law- rence, graduate of Yale, 1840, installed October 10, 1860, resigned March 6, 1864; George R. Leavitt, graduate of Williams, 1860, ordained March 29, 1865, resigned 1870 ; Abijah P. Marvin, graduate of Trin- ity, 1839, begun preaching here 1870, was installed May 1, 1872, and asked dismission September 12, 1875, but remains a resident of Lancaster, and an actively useful factor in its affairs ; Henry C. Fay, graduate of Amherst, employed 1876 ; Marcus Ames, acting pastor, 1877 ; William De Loss Love, Jr., graduate of Hamilton, 1873, ordained September 18, 1878, dismissed July, 1881 ; Darius A. Newton, graduate of Amherst, 1879, ordained September 21, 1882, dismissed 1885 ; Lewis W. Morey, graduate of Dartmouth, 1876, is now acting pastor. The New Jerusalem Church of Lancaster was not legally organized until January 29, 1876, but neigh- berhood meetings had been held by believers of Swedenborg's doctrines so early as 1830, and for many years Reverends James Reed, Abiel Silver and Joseph Pettee at intervals visited the town and held services, usually in an ante-room of the town hall. Richard Ward was called as the first pastor in 1880, and was installed on the same day with the dedication of the LANCASTEE. 37 chapel, December 1, 1880. Besides the tasteful chapel, the society owns the parsonage and a small fund, due to the beneficence of Henry Wilder, who was for about twenty years the reader at meetings of the New Church believers. At his death his prop- erty was found to be willefl for the establishment of this church. The Catholic chapel was consecrated July 12, 1873. The parish is in charge of Rev. Richard J. Patterson, of Clinton. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church in South Lan- caster was organized in 1864, and its meeting-house was dedicated May 5, 1878. Stephen N. Haskell was ordained its elder in August, 1870. The old town-house being inadequate to the public needs, in April, 1847, it was voted to erect a new one of brick " between the Academy and the brick meet- ing-house,'' if land could be obtained, in accordance with plans furnished by John C. Hoadley, a noted civil engineer then living in Lancaster. The building was completed in 1848, costing about seven thousand dollars. It had only a single story at first, but the hall proved almost useless as an auditorium because of echoes, and in 1852 a second story was added at an expense of twenty-five hundred dollars. This has been used ever since as a school-room. The annex at the rear was built in 1881. Under the stimulus of the comb manufacture and the temporary prosperity of the cotton factories of Poignand & Plant and James* Pitts, the southerly portion of Lancaster had slowly grown in population to nearly fifty families by 1830, and became known as the Factory Village. The valuable water-power of the locality was not half developed for lack of enter- prise and capital. In due time these came, and com- bined with them came rare inventive genius. The Clinton Company began its prosperous career in the manufacture of the Bigelow coach-lace in 1838. In 1841 the Bigelow quilt-looms were started. In 1844 the foundations of the great gingham-mills on the Nashua were laid. Soon after the Bigelow power- looms revolutionized the making of Brussels carpet- ing. Lancaster suddenly awoke to find, built upon Prescott's mill-site, the bustling, ambitious village of Clintonville, embracing within a single square mile more people than dwelt in all its borders elsewhere. Another division of the old town was seen to be in- evitable, and Lancaster, on the 15th of February, 1850, granted to her daughter, Clinton, 4907 acres of land and independence, which grant the Governor and Legislature confirmed on March 14th. June 15, 1853, a great multitude from near and afar assembled in Lancaster to commemorate the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of the town. After exercises at the meeting-house, which included an oration by Joseph Willard, the historian, a procession was formed and marched to the elm- shaded lawn at South Lancaster, where three of the town's ministers, Whiting, Gardner and Prentice, had lived and died. There hosts and guests found tables loaded with food, and the usual social exercises ended the festivities. The proceedings of the day were published, forming a volume of two hundred and thirty octavo pages, containing much local history. The eminent educator, Professor William Russell, established the New England Normal Institute in Lancaster, May 11, 1853. It had but a brief life, though a very useful one, ceasing to be in the autumn of 1855. Dependent for support upon the fees received of students, it could not longer compete with the free normal schools of the State. Professor Rus- sell thenceforward made Lancaster his home, and here died August 16, 1873, "universally beloved and respected for his many virtues. Christian graces and scholarly attainments." He was a native of Glasgow, Scotland, born April 28, 1798, and a graduate of Glasgow University. Lancaster began the printing of its annual school reports with that of Rev. Edmund H. Sears for the school year 1842-43. The first free high school was es- tablished in 1849, but was discontinued after the sepa- ration of Clinton in 1850, although the town from lime to time voted to pay the tuition at the academy of scholars qualified for a high school course. In 1873 the free high school was re-established andlocated in the upper rooms of the town hall, and the academy ceased to exist. In 1851 the town, by authority of a recent enactment, abolished the school districts, since which year four of the original eleven district schools have been abandoned, and all schools of suitable size have been graded into primary and grammar depart- ments. New school buildings, with modern furniture .ind appointments, also have replaced the time-worn structures owned by the districts. The town has nearly always stood first in rank in the county, and among the first twenty-five of the State in its expen- diture for education. The appropriation for 1888 is six thousand eight hundred dollars, the children of school age numbering three hundred and twenty- four. It is now one hundred years since the first recorded election in Lancaster of a school visiting committee. Dr. Thayer became chairman of the board in place of Rev. Timothy Harrington in 1794, and held the position forty-six years, until his decease. Silas Thurston, a veteran schoolmaster, was first elected in 1820 and served for thirty-seven years. He also died in office, October 25, 1868. Capt. Samuel Ward served about twenty-five years between 1788 and 1816. Rev. George M. Bartol was of the school com. mittee during twenty-one years between 1848 and 1872. Solon Whiting served sixteen years between 1820 and 1843. Fifteen others have been members of the School Board ten years or more each. After the destruction of Lancaster in 1676, Master Rowlandson's books are spoken of by Mather as though a considerable part of his loss. Mention is often found in early inventories and elsewhere of 38 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. respectable literary collections ia "the possession of Lancaster scholars. But the first considerable library of a public character here was established by an asso elation of citizens in 1790, and known as the Lancaster Library. This society was reorganized in 1800 as the Social Library Association. In 1850 the books were sold at auction to the number of a little over a thou- sand. The Library Club was organized the next year, and in 1862 its collection, numbering over six hundred volumes, together with one hundred and thirty volumes of the Agricultural Library Associa- tion, were offered in aid of a free public library, pro- vided the town would assume its support and increase as authorized by statute. The town accepted the gift, added the little school libraries which had been purchased in 1844, and opened the collection to the public October 4, 1 862, in an upper room of the town hall. January 22, 1866, Mr. Nathaniel Thayer proffered the town a permanent fund of eight thousand dollars, the income of five thousand to be expended in the purchase of books for the library, and that of the remainder for the care of the public burial-grounds. The trust was accepted at the next town-meeting with grateful acknowledgments. At this date there had been some discussion about the erection of a monu- ment to those men of Lancaster who had given their lives for their country during the Rebellion. It was wisely decided at the town-meeting of April, 1866, that the memorial should take the form of a useful public building, with suitable tablets and inscriptions upon its inner walls. The town voted the sum of five thousand dollars for the erection of a library room, to be known as Memorial Hall, provided an equal amount should be obtained by private subscription The building was completed and dedicated June 17, 1868, Rev. Christopher T. Thayer being the orator of the day, and Nathaniel Thayer presiding. The cost of this memorial was nearly thirty thousand dollars, of which Nathaniel Thayer defrayed nearly two- thirds. Hon. Francis B. Fay subscribed one thousand dol- lars, and afterwards gave one hundred dollars more for a clock. Colonel Fay had been a resident of the town for about ten years, having built a mansion in 1859 upon the site now covered by the country-house of E. V. R. Thayer. He was born in Southborough June 12, 1793, had served in both branches of the Legislature for Chelsea, of which city he was the first mayor, and for a brief time was Representative in Congress, being appointed by Governor Boutwell to fill the unexpired term of Hon. Robert Rantoul, deceased. He died in 1876. George A. Parker presented the library with a large collection of costly works relating to the fine arts, selected by himself and valued at over five hun- dred dollars, and gave seven hundred dollars for the purchase of books of similar character. This en- lightened benefaction of Mr. Parker claims' the gratitude of the community not only, nor chiefly, for its munificence, but because it richly endowed a de- partment which must otherwise have been meagrely furnished,— affords the means for gratifying the love of beauty, innate in all humanity, — combats utilita- rianism and teaches refinement — exerts a humanizing and exalting influence by appeals to hope and imagi- nation from beyond the dry line of knowledge. The nature of the gift discloses something of the charac- ter of the donor, who was a man of broad intellect, keen powers of observation and comprehensive views upon measures of public utility. Extensive travel had developed in him cosmopolitan tastes, he had acquired a wide acquaintance with English literature, and his private collection of books was of choice selection and the largest in the town. , George Alanson Parker was born May 9, 1822, at Concord, N. H., one of thirteen children. Being early thrown upon his own resources, he was forced reluctantly to abandon cherished hopes of a classical education, although fitted for entrance to Harvard College, and began his life's work in the oflSce of the noted civil engineer, Loammi Baldwin. In 1842 he opened an engineering office in Charlestown, Mass., associated with Samuel M. Felton, whose youngest sister became his wife. Among other public works in which he was engaged during this part of his career were the surveys of the Fitchburg, Peterboro' and Shirley and Sullivan roads, and the building of the Sugar River and Bellows Falls bridges. In the spring of 1857 he came to Lancaster to reside. He became the chief engineer for the Philadelphia, Wil- mington and Baltimore Railway, and during a long illnPss of President Felton was acting president of the corporation. The building of the Susquehanna Bridge at Havre de Grace, Md., was his most cele- brated professional success, and one which gave him a national reputation. In the earlier stages of its construction he patiently overcame almost insuper- able natural difficulties, and when the superstructure was well advanced a tornado destroyed, in a few moments, the labors of months. This terrible mis- fortune he bore with cheerful fortitude, displaying great fertility of expedient and fresh energy in the reconstruction. During the Rebellion he was agent of the government for supplying rolling-stock to the roads used by the War Department. His latest work was the building of the Zanesville and Ohio River Railway. He was for many years consulting engineer of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad corporation. He freely gave his townsmen the benefit of his large ex- perience and skill for the permanent improvement of the public ways and bridges, and served them faith- fully for three years in the Legislature. Throughout a life of unusual activity and grave responsibility never did his home in Lancaster fail to give him peace, rest and inspiration for new work. For Lancaster he always had a devoted affection, and for her people a sincere regard, which displayed LANCASTER. 39 itself in earnest and ready sympathy in time of need. Though too busy a man to be greatly given to social recreation, his hospitality was unbounded, and he was one of the most entertaining and genial of hosts, the most kindly and helpful of neighbors. He lived in closest sympathy with Nature, having the tenderest appreciation of every beauty in her realms of field, forest and stream. In the marvelous order of the seasons, in the development of animate and inani- mate creation, he recognized the law and beneficence of the Almighty and found confirmation of his strong and abiding religious faith. By the roadsides and within the borders of his own estate remain the ever- growing evidence of his love for trees and his thought for his children's children and the townspeople. Is the graceful outline and the grateful shade of a stately tree he felt truly that to them who should live after him he had left a kindly memory. He died very suddenly April 20, 1887, before any waning of bodily or mental vigor was discernible in him, and before he had reached the span of life allotted to man ; but he had done a full life-time's work. Death came as he would have had it — in his own home and when his earthly labors had found successful conclusion. Hon. George Bancroft, September 20, 1878, in memory of kindness received in boyhood of Capt. Samuel Ward, asked the town to receive one thousand dollars in trust, the income " to be expended year by year for the purchase of books in the department of history, leaving the word to be interpreted in the very largest sense." The trust was accepted with proper expression of thanks, and is entitled the Bancroft Library Fund, in memory of Capt. Samuel Ward. The income of two thousand dollars, the bequest of Rev. Christopher T. Thayer, who died in 1880, is also available for the purchase of books. Special bequests have been received from Mary Whitney, Deborah Stearns, Sally Flagg, Mrs. Catherine (Stearna) Bal- lard and Martha R. Whitney. Henry Wilder and Dr. J. L. S. Thompson, by their intelligent interest and zeal, secured valuable archaeological and natural history collections, which are constantly increasing by donations. The library is more generously endowed with ex- pensive and beautiful works on the natural sciences and art than most public libraries of twice its size and age. It is also rich in local history and bibliog- raphy, as such a collection should be. The town appropriates for its care and increase one thousand dollars annually, besides the dog-tax, fines and sales of duplicates — amounting to four or five hundred dollars more. The memorial hall, occupying the larger part of the edifice, serves as a reading-room, contains shelving for twenty thousand volumes, and a tablet upon which are cut the names of the town's soldiers who died in the war. A fire-proof room is used by town oflScers, and contains the town records. The natural history collections are displayed in an upper hall. The num- ber of bound books is now twenty thousand ; of pam- phlets, over ten thousand. About thirteen thousand volumes were loaned during 1887 for home use, or an average of twenty-nine for each family in town. The management of the library and cemeteries is vested in a committee of seven. Rev. George M. Bartol has been chairman of this board from the first. Dr. J. L. S. Thompson served as librarian, with the exception of one year, until 1878, and Miss Alice G. Chandler has held the ofiice since that date. The original building being already crowded by the growth of the collections, extensive additions are in progress which will more than quadruple the shelf capacity. The cost of these improvements is assumed by the four sons of Nathaniel Thayer, honoring their father's generous interest in this noble institution, the pride of the town. There are six public burial-grounds in Lancaster, all save one thickly set with the narrow homes of the town's majority. The oldest is mentioned in 1658 as " burying-place hill," and probably was set apart for its purpose in 1653, being close by the site of the first meeting-house. The oldest date legible is that upon a stone marking the grave of the first John Houghton — April 29, 1684. There are older memorial stones, however, but undated. Among them are that of ihe first John Prescott, 1683, and that of Dorothy, the first wife of Jonathan Prescott, who died a year or two before the massacre. The earliest stones are rude slabs of slate, and the brief inscriptions, now almost illegible, seem to have been incised by an ordinary blacksmith's chisel in unskilled hands. The graves of four of the earlier ministers — Whiting, Gardner, Prentice and Harrington — are grouped together in chis yard. The second burying-ground is that upon the Old Common, opposite the site of the third church. The land for this was given by the second Thomas Wilder, probably in 1705. The third, called the North Ceme- tery, as a town institution dates from 1800, but the field had been used for burial purposes several years earlier. The Middle Cemetery contains about two acres, and was purchased of Dr. Thayer and Hon. John Sprague in 1798. The North Village Cemetery covers about four acres, and was bought in 1865. Eastwood em- braces forty-six acres, was purchased in 1871, accepted as a cemetery in April, 1874, and dedicated October 12, 1876. The grounds are forest-clad and naturally beautiful, the highest elevations commanding exten- sive views. They are laid out with winding drives according to a plan made by H. W. S. Cleveland, landscape architect, a native of Lancaster. All the public burial-places are cared for by a special com- mittee. The town's appropriation for this purpose is usually three hundred dollars, and the income of seven special funds amounts to two hundred dollars more. 40 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. CHAPTER VI. LANCASTER— (ro»/z««srf). The nchdlion—The Town's Hislori/ Printed— The Tomi's Poor— Death of Xathaniel Thayer— General Statistics^ Etc. At the Presidential election of 1856 the vote of Lancaster was : For John C. Fremont, 232 ; James Buchanan, 35; Millard Fillmore, 10. The vote of 186D stood : For Abraham Lincoln, 183 ; Stephen A. Douglas, 42 ; John Bell, 41. The men who thus voted, when traitors appealed from the ballot-box to the sword, were not tardy in defence of their convic- tions. One of Lancaster's sons served in the Sixth Regiment, in which was shed the first blood of the Rebellion, in 1861, on the anniversary of the battle of Lexington. The news of that bloodshed told every village of the North that the bitterness of civil war had begun. Monday evening, April 22d, a mass- meeting of the citizens in Lancaster town-hall. Dr. J. L. S. Thompson chairman, deliberated upon the grave dangers threatening the republic. Enthusias- tic patriotism ruled the assembly; nor was it con- tent with flamboyant resolutions only, but began then and there the organization of a company for the defence of the government. This company, seventy-eight men, chiefly of Lan- caster and Bolton, was called the Fay Light Guard, in honor of Hon. Francis B. Fay, of Lancaster. It was soon drilling under command of Thomas Sher- win, captain-elect, and three weeks later joined the Fifteenth Regiment, in camp at Worcester. With- out any sufficient reason, alleged or apparent, the Governor arbitrarily refused to commission the com pany's chosen commander as captain, and the men, in response, encouraged by the sympathy of the whole camp, refused to be sworn in under the stranger from another county set over them. The company was therefore disbanded, when the rank and file, almost without exception, enlisted in other companies of the Fifteenth and Twenty-first Regi- ments. They had received an outfit, and been paid one dollar per day for all time spent in drill, at an expense to the town of nearly one thousand dol- lars. Before the end of August, 1861, forty volun- teers represented Lancaster in the Union Army, and before October closed, four of these slept their last sleep on the banks of the Potomac, victims in the defeat at Ball's Bluff". Meetings for drill were held in the town-hall on Monday evenings, in which many a volunteer who afterwards did good service in the field received his first lessons in the school of the soldier. Donations of money, underclothing, etc., were solicited by a citizens' committee, and, during the first winter of the war, forwarded for distribution among the town's soldiers. In July, 18G2, systematic measures were adopted for affording relief to the sick and wounded. Frequent public meetings kept enthusi- asm from flagging. Seventeen three-years' men were demanded of the town, and were soon march- ing with the Thirty-fourth Regiment. It was voted, July 23d, to pay each recruit sworn in the sum of one hundred dollars. Twenty-one nine-months' men were called for in August, and entered the camp of the Fifty-third, under Lieut. Edward R. Washburn. The Soldiers' Relief Association was formed Au- gust 27, 1862, with Mrs. Harriet W. Washburn, presi- dent, and Miss Elizabeth P. Russell, secretary and treasurer. It soon became a branch of the Sanitary Commission, held weekly meetings, which were uni- formly well attended, and quietly accomplished a vast amount of beneficent work. In the calls of 1863 the town again ofiered one hundred dollars bounty in addition to that promised by State and national government, and her quota was quickly filled, most of the recruits being as- signed to the Thirty-fourth and Thirty-sixth Regi- ments. In 1864 the premium was raised to one hun- dred and twenty-five dollars, the maximum allowed by law, and sundry substitutes were hired. As news came from the great battle-fields one by one, Lancaster learned that her sons were doing their duty everywhere, and family after family mourned their unreturning brave. Capt. George L. Thurston came from the battle-ground of Shiloh, his constitu- tion undermined by fatigue and exposure, to die among his kindred. Capt. Edward R. Washburn was brought from the bloody charge at Port Hudson with a shattered thigh, to die at home within a year. In the very last days of the struggle Col. Frank Washburn fell mortally wounded, while leading a desperate cavalry charge against an overwhelming force of the enemy at High Bridge. The following is a complete roster of those who served for Lancaster : Albee, John G., 53d (nine months), I ; 18 ; Oct. 18, '62 j taken prisoner at Thibodeaux, La. ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Alexander, Nathaniel, 15th, ; 40 ; Dec. 17, '61 ; discharged for di«- ability Oct. 15, '62. Atcblnson, William, 28th, A ; 22 ; Aug. 10, "63 ; mustered onl June 30, '65 ; a substitute for C L. Wilder, Jr. Ayers, John Curtis, 5Sd (nine months), I ; 25 ; Oct. 18, '62, as sergeant ; 2d lieut. May 22, '63 ; 1st lieut. July 2, '63 ; mustered out Sept. 2, 1863. Balcom, Charles H., 15th, C; 33; Dec. 14, '61 ; transferred to V. E. C. April 15, '64 ; re-enlisted ; mustered out Nov. 14, '65. Ball, Henry F., 4th Cav:, (; ; 24 ; Dec. 31, '63 ; hospital steward Sept., '64 ; mustered out Nov. 14, '65 ; credited to Clinton. Bancroft, Frank Carter, alias Henry T. Colter, 8th New Hampshire, A ; 17 ; Oct. 25, '61 ; drummer ; wounded in ankle at Maryville, La., May, "63; re-enlisted ; mustered out Oct. 28, '65. Barnes, Frank W., U. S. Navy ; enlisted Sept. 15, '62, ou frigate " Min- nesota ; " discharged Sept., '63. Barnes, George A., 18th, C ; 18 ; corporal July 2, '61 ; shot throngh foot and taken prisoner at second battle of Bull's Kun, Va., Aug. 20, '62 ; discharged for wound Oct. 10, '62. Beard, Jonas H., 25th, ; 25; Sept. 28, '61; re enlisted; wounded in hip at Cold Harbor, Va., June 3, '64 ; mustered ont July 13, '66. Bell, John, 2d OaT. ; 26 ; May 7, '64 ; unassigned recruit ; a non-real- dent substitute. Blgelow, William W., 26tb, D ; 21 ; Sept. 27, '61; taken prisoner in N. C. ; discharged for disability March 18, '63. LANCASTEE. 41 Bergman, Albert, 3d Cay. ; 26 ; July 2, '64 ; a nou-resident substitute. Blood, Cliarles E., 34th, H ; 21 ; Dec. 19, '63 ; transferred June 14, '65, to 21th, G; sergeant ; mustered out Jan. 20, '66. Bridge, James A., 34th, H ; Dec. 19, '63 ; shot in forehead at Newmarket, Va., May l.s, '64, and died of wound. Brooks, Walter A., 63d (nine months), I ; 25 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; corporal ; died at Memphis, Tenn., Aug. 22, '63. Brown, Jonas H., a4th, H ; 41 ; July 31, '62 ; mustered out Juno 16, '65. Burbank, Levi B., 34th, H ; 43 ; July 31, '62 ; discharged for disability Feb. 27, '64. Burditt, Charles F., 36th ; 43 ; Dec. 26, '63 ; iraassigned and rejected \ e- cruit ; a veteran of the Florida war. Burditt, Thomas E., 20th, D ; 22 ; Sept. 4, '61 ; mustered out Sept. 14, 1864. Burke, James K., 21st, E ; 26 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; killed at Chantilly, Sept. 1, 1862. Carr, William D., 13th New Hampshire, G ; 40 ; Sept. 19, '62 ; corporal ; wounded by shell May 13, '64, and died of wound June 20, '64. Chafee, George E., 53d (nine months), I ; 35 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; taken pris- oner at Braehear City, La , June 20, '63 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Chandler, Frank ^\'., 53d (nine months), I ; 18 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Chaplin, Solou W., 34th, H ; 38 ; Jflly 31, '62 ; color corporal; killedat Piedmont, Va., June 5, '64, by shell. Clinton, Joseph, 2d, I ; 22 ; May 7, '64 ; mustered out July 14, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Cobb, William L., 34th, H ; 22 ; 2d lieut. July 18, '62 ; 1st lient. Aug. 23, '62 ; wounded in forehead at Bipon, Va., Oct. 18, '63 ; taken prisoner at Cedar Creek, Va , Oct. 13, '64 ; capt. Feb. 18, '65 ; mus- tered out May 15, '65, as 1st lieut. Coburn, George B., 34th, H ; 18 ; July 31, '62 ; shot through foot, acci- dentally, before Petersburg, and discharged therefor May 16, '65. Coburn, Cyrus E., 5th (one hundred days), I ; 21 ; July 19, '64 ; mus- tered out Nov. 16, '64. Copelanil, Joseph, 15th, D ; 21 ; April 29, '64 ; transferred to 20th, E, July 27, '64; died a prisoner at Salisbury, N. C, Dec. 21, '64; a substitute. Ooyle, John, 2d Cav., H ; 22 ; May 7, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. Cutler, George W., 15th, C ; 22 ; July 12, '61 ; shot through head at Bail's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, '61. Cutler, Isaac N., 15th, C ; 20 ; July 12, '61 ; severely wounded in left ankle at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, '62, and discharged therefor March 20, '63. Cntler, Henry A., 53d (nine months), I ; 18 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; died at Baton Kouge, La., July 9, '63. Dailey, James, 31th, H ; 18 ; July 31 , '62 ; mustered out June 16, '65. Damon, Daniel M., 34th, H ; 25 ; July 31, '62 ; 1st sergt. ; taken pris- oner at Winchester Sept. 19, '64 ; 2d lieut. May 15, '6j ; mustered out June 16, '65, as 1st sergt. 3)avidson, Thomas H., 1 5th, A ; 25 ; July 12, '61 ; discharged for dis- ability April 25. '62. Davis, George W., 13th Battery L. A. ; 23 ; April 6, '64 ; mustered out July 28, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Day, Joseph N., S-tth, H ; 22 ; Jan. 4, '64 ; wounded in head at Win- chester, Va., Sept. 10, '64 ; transferred to 24th, G, June 14, '65, and to V. B. C. May 2, '66 ; discharged July 25, '65. Dillon, James, 34th, H ; 26 ; July 31, '62 ; discharged for disability April 7, '63, and died at home May 10, '63, of consumption. DivoU, George W., 7th Battery L. A. ; 37 ; Jan. 5, '64 ; died at New Orleans, La., Sept. 21, '64 ; credited to Leominster. Dupee, John, 33d, E ; 36 ; July 2, '64 ; transferred to 2d, A, June 1, '65 ; mustered out July 14, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Elden, Henry H., U. S. Signal Corps ; 23 ; Dec. 2, '64; a non-resident substitute. Ellis, Warren, 16th, F ; 20 ; July 12, '61 ; wounded at Antietam, Md., Sept. 17, '62 ; transferred to U. S. Signal Corps Oct. 27, '63. Fahay, Bartholet, 15th Unattached Co. (one hundred days) ; 21 ; July 29, '64 ; mustered out Nov .-15, '64, Fairbanks, Francis H., 15th, C ; 25 ; July 12, '61 ; discharged for dis ability April 10, '62; rc-enlisted in 34th, H, July 31, '62 ; taken prisoner at Cedar Creek, Va., Oct., '64,. and died at Salisbury, N. C, Jan. 4, '65. Fairbanks,^ Charles T., 1st New Hampshire Inf. (three months), F ; . 23; May 2, '61; mustered out Aug. 9, '61 ; re-enliated in N. H. Batt. of N. E. Cav. Sept. 16, '62 ; shot through body Juns 18, '63, and died the next day. Farnaworth, John A., 34th, H ;' 18 ; July 31, '62 ; corporal; wounded 3i in arm at Piedmont June 5, '64 ; discharged for disability May 18, 1865. Farnsworth, Franklin H., 15th, C; 19; July 12, '61 ; killed at Fair Oaks, Va., May 31, '62. Farnaworth, George W., 34th, H ; 18 ; Jan. 4, '62 ; wounded in head at Piedmont, June 5, '64 ; discharged fur disability June 8, '65. Farnsworth, John E., 34th, H ; 18 ; July 31, '62.; corporal ; wounded in leg at Newmarket Jlay 15, '64 ; in arm and hip at Winchester Sept. 19, '64 ; mustered out June Iti, '65. Farnsworth, William H., 7th, B; June 15, '61. Field, Edwin P., 21st, E ; 29 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; sergt. ; 2d lieut. Deo. 18, '62 ; resigned May 8, '63. Finnesey, James, 42d New York, K ; 21 ; corporal ; Aug. 9, '61 ; sergt., transferred to 59th N. Y. ; mustered out August 5, '64 ; died at In- dianapolis Oct. 10, '64. Fisher, William H., 53d (uiue months), I ; 18 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Flagg, Albert, 53d, K ; 18 ; Oct. 17, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Flagg, Charles B., 34th, A ; 23 ; June 23, '62 ; mustered out June 16, 1865. Fox, William L., 21st, E ; ly ; August 23, '61 ; corporal; wounded in arm at Chantilly Sept. 1, '62 ; re-enlisted Jan, 2, '64 ; sergt. ; dis- charged as supernumerary Sept. 24, '64. Fox, Thomas, 11th Battery L. A. ; 18 ; Dec. 23, '64 ; mustered out June 16, '65 ; asubstitute. Frary, Oscar, 53d (nine months), I ; 30 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; died at Baton- Rouge, La., July 28 ; '63. Fuller, Edward M., 34th, F ; 20; corporal; Aug. 9, '62; appointed uapt. in 39th U. S. C. T. March 21, '64 ; maj. U. S. C. T. June 1, '65; mustered out Di c, '65; wounded in head at Petersburg July 30, '64. Fury, Michael, 34th, II ; 26 ; July 31, '62 ; wounded in leg at Piedmont June 6, '64 ; mustered out August 6, '65. Goodwin, John, 2d Cavalry, L ; 18; Stipt. 13, '64; a non-resident sub- stitute. Gould, John, U. S. Navy ; enlisted August, '62, on supply steamer " Rhode Island." Gray, Stephen W,, 34th, H ; 30 ; July 31, '62 ; died at Martinsburg, Va., April 2, '64. ^ Gray, James M., 15th, C; 23; July 12, '61 ; discharged for disability Feb. 16, '63. Hardy, George H. ,21st, D ; 21 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; corporal ; wounded in leg at Roanoke Island Feb. 7, '62 ; re-enlisted Jan. 2, '64, and trans- feiTed to 36th, I ; wounded in body at Petersburg, Va., June 1, '04 ; transferred to 56th June H, '65; mustered out July 12, '65; credited to Harvard and Leominster. Harriman, Harris C, 53d (nine months), I ; 33 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; wounded by shell in leg at Port Hudson, La., June 14, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Haynes, John C, 36th, G ; 29 ; Jan. 2, '64 ; died at Camp Nelson, Ky., March 19, '64. Hills, Thomas Augustus, 53d (nine months), C ; 21 ; Nov, 6, '62 ; mus- tered out Sept. 2, '63 ; enlisted in 5th (one hundred days) July 22, '64 ; mustered out Nuv. 16, '64, as sergt ; credited to Leominster . Hodgman, Oren, 34th, C; 19; July 31, '62 ; taken prisoner at New- market, Va., May 15, '64, and died at Charleston, S. C, Sept. 30, 1864. Horan, Fordyce, 15th, A ; 20 ; Dec. '24, '6L ; transferred to Ist U. S. Artillery, Co. I, Nov. 17, '62 ; died at Washington Nov. 3, '64. Hosley, Henry H., 15th, C ; 18 ; July 12, '61 ; transferred Nov. 12, '62, to 1st t J. S. Artillery, I;* mustered out July 12, '64; credited to Townsend. Hunting, Albert G., 16th, B ; 19 ; July 2, '61 ; killed at Fair Oaks Juno 25, '64 ; credited to Holliston. Hunting, Joseph W., 16th, B ; 22 ; July 2, '61 ; mustered out July 27) '64 ; credited to Holliston. Hunting, Thomas A. G., 34lh, H ; 45 ; July 31, '62 ; shot through the body and taken prisontir at Piedmont, Va., June 5, '64 ; discharged for disability May 23, '65. Jackson, David W., 53d (nine months), I ; 33 ; Qct 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. James, John, 53d (nine months), I ; 21 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Johnson, Adelbert W., 15th, C ; 23; July 12, '61; discharged for dis- ability May, *62 ; enlisted in 53d, Nov. 6, '62, from Leominster ; wounded in knee at Port Hudson, La., and died at Baton Rouge July 11, '63. 42 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Jofllyn, Edward K., 13th Illinois, B ; 21 ; enlisted at Sterling, III., May 24, '61 ;'talifln prisoner May;17, '64, and died at St. Louis, Mo., April 13, '65. Kelly, Martin, 60th New York, H; 20; enlisted at Ogdensbiirg, N. Y., Oct. 17, '61 ; corporal ; re-enliated Dec. 14, '63 ; mustered out July 17, '65. Kern, John, 2d Heavy Artillery ; 22; July 2, '64 ; a non-resident suh- etitute. Keyes, Sumner W., 5th (one hundred days), I ; 21 ; July 19, '64 ; mus- tered out Nov. 16, '64. Keyes, Stephen A., 53d (nine months), K; 18; Oct. 17, '62 ; died and buried at sea off Florida Aug. 10, '63. Kilburn, Sumner E., 15th, ; 18 ; July 12, '61 ; re-onlisted Feb. IS, '64 ; wounded in Wilderness, Va., May 6, '64, and died at Fredericksburg May 16, '64. Kingsbury, Joseph W., 15th, A ; 18 ; Aug. 1, '61 ; taken prisoner and discharged for disability Nov. 27, '62. Kittredge, Solomon, 16th, C ; 42 ; Dec. 17, '61 ; transferred May 1, '62, to V. R. C. ; re-enlisted July 1, '64; mustered out Nov. 14, '65. Krum, John, 35th, K ; 24 ; June 29, '64 ; transferred to 29th, K, June 9, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Langley, James, 2d Cavalry ; 22 ; May 7, '64 ; a non-resident sub- stitute. Lawrence, Sewell T., 23d, H ; 31 ; Oct. 6, '61 ; discharged for disability Aug. 11, '62 ; credited to Clinton. Lawrence, Willard K., 15th, ; 28 ; July 12, '61 ; shot through body and killed at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, '61. Leroy, Frank B., 57th, C ; 18 ;;Feb.l8, '64; mustered out Juno 22, '65; a non-resident substitute. McCarron, William, 3d Heavy Artillery, L ; 23 ; May 30, '64 ; discharged for disability Sept. 30, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. McKay, William S., 3d Cavalry, A ; 24 ; April 8, '64 ; sergt. ; sorgt.- niajor July 26, '65 ; mustered out Sept. 28, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. McQuillan, Charles E., 21st, E; 20; Aug. 23, '61 ; corporal ; wounded at Antietam, Sept., '62 ; transferred to 2d U. S. Cavalry, K, Oct. 30, '62 re-enlisted in Hancock's U. S. Vet. Vols. Dec. 9, '64; mus- tered out Dec. 9, '65. McKell, Ephi-aim, U. S. Navy ; 18 ; enlisted Aug. 26, '63 ; served one year, chiefly on gunboat "Nipsic" in Charleston blockade. McEell, William J., U. S. Navy ; 21 ; enlisted Aug. 12, '62 ; wounded by concussion of shell I'eb, 1, '63, at Stone Inlet, S. C. ; taken prisoner. Mahar, Dennis, 21st, B ; 21 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; discharged for disability Jan. 16, '63 ; claimed also by Clinton. Mann, George C, 15th, F ; 21 ; July 12, '61 ; taken prisoner at Ball's Bluif, Va., Oct. 21, '61 ; wounded in right leg at Gettysburg, July 2, '63 ; mustered out July 28, '64. Matthews, David W., 34th, H ; 20 ; Sept. 19, '63 ; transferred to 24th June 14, '65 ; mustered out to date from Jan. 20, '66. Matthews, George W., 34th, H ; 18; Sept. 19, '03 ; wounded in leg at Newmarket, Va., May 16, '64 ; taken prisoner at Liberty, W. Va., June 17, '64, and in Andersonville prison ; discharged for disability June 1, '65. Mayo, John, 2d, G ; 24 ; July 2, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. Mellor, William H., 34th, H ; 18 ; July 31, '62 ; transferred to V. K. C. Jan. 19, '65. Miller, Frank, 2d Heavy Artillery, A ; 27 ; July 2, '64 ; died at New Berne, N. C, May 12, '65; a non-resident substitute. Moeglen, John Louis, 20th, A ; over 50 ; discharged for disability April 29, '62 ; enlisted in 2d Cavalrj', M, Feb. 2, '64 ; died Sept. 28, '64 of a bullet wound in Shenandoah Valley. Monyer, John, 2d Cavalry ; 35 ; Dec. 27, '64 ; a non-resident sub- stitute. Moore, Joseph B., 63d (nine months), I ; 38 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; wounded in head May 27, '63, at Port Hudson, La. ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Moore, Oliver W., V. K. C. ; 20 ; July 21, '64, on re-enlistment ; mus- tered out Nov. 17, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Moses, Kobert E., 16th, C ; 24 ; Dec. 17, '61 ; shot through lungs at An- tietam Sept. 17, and died Oct. 3, '62. Murphy, William F., 32d, D ; Sept. 7, '63 ; transferred to U. S. Navy May 3, '64 ; a non-resident substitute for E. W. Hosmer. Neu, Louis, 2d Heavy Artillery, A ; 22 ; July 2, '64 ; died Nov. 22 '64 at Plymouth, N. C. ; a non-resident substitute. Nonrse, Byron H., 53d (nine months), I ; 24 ; Oct. 18, '62, as aergt • Ist sergt. Jan. 22, '63 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Nourse, Koscoe H., 53d (nine months), I; 22 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; drummer; mustered out Sept. 2, '63 ; enlisted in iith (one hundred days), E, July 22, '64 ; mustered out Nov. 16, '64. Nourse, Henry S., 55th Illinois ; 30 ; enlisted in Chicago Oct. 2:i, '61 ; commissioned adjutant March 1, '62 ; capt. Co. H, Dec. 19, '62 ; commissary of musters 17th A. C. Oct. 24, '64 ; mustered out March 29, '65. Nourse, Frank E., 51st (nine months), C ; 21; Sept. 25, '62; mustered out July 27, '63. Nonrse, Fred. F., 6th (one hundred days), K ; 21 ; July 22, '64, died at New Brunswick, N. J., Sept. 13, '64. O'Brien, Michael, 28th, 23 ; May 7, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. Ollis, John, 1st Heavy Artillery ; 18; corporal; Dec. 3, '63 ; wounded in foot by shell at Petersburg, Va., June 22, '64 ; mustered out July 31, '65. Ollis, Luke, 21st, E ; 19 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; transferred to 2d U. S. Cav,, Co. K, Oct. 23, '62 ; re-enlisted and died of wound in Shenandoah Valley Oct. 13, '64. Otis, Edwin A., 51at (nine months), C ; 19 ; Sept. 25, '62 ; mustered out July 27, '63. Parker, Leonard H., 30th ; 21 ; Dec. 29, '63 ; mustered out June 8, '66. Parker, Henry J., 6th (three months), B; 25 ; June 19, '61 ; enlisted in 33d, B, August 5, '62 ; 1st sergt. ; sergt.-maj'. Feb. 18, '63 ; 2d lieut. March 29, '63 ; 1st lieut. July 16, '63 ; killed at Eesaca, Ga., May 15, '64 ; credited to Townsend. Patrick, George H., 53d (nine months), I; 19; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63 ; enlisted in 36th, G, Oct. 14, '64 ; transferred to 56th, E, Junes, '65 ; mustered out Aug. 7, '65. Plaisted, Simon M., 5l8t (nine months), E ; 24 ; Sept. 25, '62 ; mustered out July 27, '63; enlisted in let Heavy Artillery, F, Aug. 15, '64, corporal ; mustered out June 28, '65. Pierce, William D. , 5th (nine months), I ; 23 ; Sept. 16, '62 ; mustered out July 2, '63 ; credited to Bolton. Pierce, Frank E., 21st, E ; 20 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; transferred to 2d U. S. Cavalry, K, Oct. 23, '62 ; re-enlisted Feb. 29, '64. Pierce, Edward, 35tb, B ; 21 ; June 29, '64 ; transferred to 29th, B, June 9, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Priest, Heury S., 7th Battery L. A. ; 25 ; Jan. 4, '64 ; discharged. Puffer, Charles, 26th, E ; 41 ; Aug. 9, '64 ; mustered out Aug. 26, '66. Putney, Henry M., 45th (nine months), F; Sept. 26, '62; shot through head at Dover Cross-Eoads, N. C, April 28, '63. Rice, Walter C, 53d (nine months), I ; 46 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Eichards, Ebenezer W., 21st, B ; 35 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; killed at Freder- icksburg, Va., Dec. 13, '62, by a shell. Richards, George K., 16th, C ; 39 ; Nov. 25, '61 ; transferred to V. R. C. Aug. 11, '63; re-enlisted Nov. 30, '04; mustered out Nov. 14, '65. Bobbins, William H., 21st, A ; 39; in band and mustered out Aug. 11, 1862. Ross, William, 2d Cavalry, H ; 27 ; May 7, '64; a non-resident substi- tute. Eugg, James, 63d (nine months), K ; 42 ; Oct. 17, '62; mustered out Sept. 2, '03. Kugg, Henry H., 16th, C ; 21 ; July 12, '61; wounded in shoulder at Ball's Bluff, Ya., Oct. 21, '61, and discharged therefor May 1, '62; enlisted in 53d (nine months) Oct. 17, "62, and in 42d (one hundred days) July 22, '64 ; mustered out June 16, '65. Sawtelle, Edwin, 53d (nine months), I ; 24 ; Oct. 18, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Sawyer, Oliver B., 21st, E ; 21 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; discharged for disabilily June 30, '62; enlisted in 40th, B, Aug. 22, '62; mustered out June 16, 1866. Schumaker, William, 4th Cavalry, E ; 21; Jan. 27, '64; died a prisoner at Andersonville, Ga., Sept. 13, '64. Sheary, Patrick, 34th, H ; 28 ; Jan. 5, '64; transferred to 24th, Co. G, June 14, '65 ; mustered out Jan. 20, '66. Sinclair, Charles H., 21st, E ; 21 ; Aug. 23, '61 ; Killed at New Berne, N. C, March 14, '62 ; credited to Leominster. Smith, John, 28th, D ; 23; May 7, '64 ; mustered out Juno 15, '66; a non-resident substitute. Smith, William, 28th ; 26 ; May 7, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. Smith, William, 13th Battery L. A. ; 22 ; April 8, '64 ; mustered out July 28, '65. Sweet, Caleb W., 23d, H ; 23 ; Sept. 28, '61; re-enlisted Dec. 3, '63; wounded and taken prisoner at Drewry's Bluff, Va., May 10, '64, and died at Richmond Aug. 3, '64. LANCASTER. 42a FRANCIS WASHBURN. In the month of April, 1838, John M. Washburn, then a merchant on the eve of retiring from business, removed from Boston to Lancaster, and in the July following his third son, Francis, was born. Bringing into his life and character, as an inheritance from his Puritan ancestors, an integrity of purpose and an in- domitable will, it seemed from his childhood that he was born to be a leader of men. Of a nature somewhat reserved, though deeply imbued with the spirit of tenderness for a few, his boyhood was not one of numerous friendships, nor was he in manhood a seeker for popular favor. From the academy of his native town he went, at the age of sixteen years, to serve a regular term in the Lawrence Machine Shop, that he might know his work from the beginning and become a master of the details of practical en-, gineering. From Lawrence he went to the Scientific School at Cambridge, and in 1859 to the famous school of mining and engineering at Freiburg, in Saxony. He became an accomplished student in these subjects, determined to fully equip himself for the important positions which were already awaiting his acceptance on his return. Jesse Boult, of San Fran- cisco, who was one of his fellow-students at Freiburg, says of him that he was regarded then as a young man of the highest intellectual powers, and sure of a very brilliant future. When, in 1860-61, the storm that now seems so far from us, began to blacken in our civil sky, he wrote " I must hasten my return. If the war comes I shall sail at once." When the storm broke upon the country he said, " I will take a commission if it is offered ; I will go as a private soldier at all events." He came home to find a commission already promised, but also to find that his father was languishing in fatal dis- ease, which was rapidly hastening towards its termina- tion. Restrained, therefore, by filial solicitude and duty, from immediately proceeding to the field, he now studied the arts of war with the same fidelity with which he had devoted himself to those of peace. In December, 1861, his commission came, and with it orders to proceed at once to duty. His only regret in receiving it was that it came one day too late to receive his father's sanction. Waiting only to pay the last tribute of honor and affection, he reported for duty and was mustered as a second lieutenant in the First Regiment of Massachusetts Cavalry, then in camp at Reedville. The history of this distin- guished regiment is part of that of the war and need not be dwelt upon here. He was successively captain in the Second, and lieutenant-colonel in the Fourth Cavalry, and, on the resignation of Colonel Rand, was, in February, 1865, commissioned as colonel, which position he held until and at the time of his death. Though constantly ill the service, and often em- ployed in difiieult and dangerous cavalry service, Colonel Washburn escaped any injury till his last engagement, and was seldom, if ever, off duty by reason of sickness. After the death of his brother, Captain Edward Richmond Washburn, who died of wounds received at the first assault on Port Hudson, La., he made two brief visits to his home. He was always considerate in asking leave of absence, feeling that such privileges were more valuable and more due to brother ofiicers who had left wives and chil- dren behind them. Nor was he less considerate of the men under his command. At the time of his last visit he said earnestly and wilh a strong sense of justice: "If I die on the field, you must leave me there. The men in my regiment have just as much to live for as I have: their death will bring equal sorrow to their homes; the oflScer is no more than his men. Buried where they fell, so let it be with me.'' He was mortally wounded in the brilliant and chivalrous engagement at High Bridge, Va., the last in the war, on April 6, 1865. This was one of those forlorn hopes, in which it became the duty of a small, well-disciplined and gallant band to make a stand against the flower of the Confederate Army, in its retreat from Richmond. The orders were not wholly clear ; but the purport of them was to hold back the retreating army to the last possible mo- ment. Whether these orders were wisely and judiciously given may not now properly be inquired; but history tells that they were executed with a firmness and valor unsurpassed in the annals of ancient or modern times. The odds were too great to be computed. Colonel Washburn charged the enemy with an intre- pidity and effectiveness which called out their ex- pressed admiration on the field and in their subse- quent accounts of the engagement. The orders were literally and fearlessly obeyed, and the enemy was held back till every oflicer of the command had been killed, wounded or made a prisoner. The courage and gallantry displayed in this action were noted by the highest ofiicers of the army, and Colonel Wash- burn was, at the request of Lieutenant-General Grant, commissioned as a brevet brigadier-general for gallant and meritorious services. The actual hand-to-hand encounters of sabre with sabre, as well as the actual crossing of hostile bayo- nets, were rare in our Civil War, as in most of the wars of history. But in this action men fought hand-to-hand. An accomplished swordsman, this brave oflicer had already disarmed one antagonist, and was engaged with another, when he received a pistol-shot from the first. After this he received the blow of the sabre which proved fatal, fracturing the skull. And thus, by bullet and sabre-stroke, his magnificent physique, but not his dauntless spirit, was conquered. 42b HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. The untiring devotion of one ' who had with equal faithfulness performed the same loving service for his brother Edward, brought Col. Washburn from the field of battle to the house of his brother, Hon. John D. AVashburn, of Worcester. He had hoped to reach the home of his childhood, and this was all the hope that could be counted as reasonable, since from the first the complication of his wounds rendered recov- ery almost impossible. His strength proved, however, unequal to the full journey. Not on the field, nor in the hospital and among strangers, but in the presence of those he loved, and in his brother's home, he died at the early age of twenty-six, on the 22d of April, 1865. So gave himself a willing sacrifice in his country's cause, this youug and noble citizen, whose name has been and will ever be honored at home, and to whom, for his known purity of character and brave and chivalrous deeds, has been accorded from abroad the well-merited appellation, "The White Knight of Modern Chivalry." The following tribute to that heroic battalion of the Fourth Massachusetts Cavalry and their gallant leader appeared in the J\ei« York Evening Post fif- teen years after their desperate charge on the memor- able 6th of April, 1865. Its repetition here may serve as a fitting close to this sketch of one of many modest heroes, who bravely dared, patiently endured and nobly died in defense of their country's life and honor. God give iis aDd our cbildron's children grace Tu owu the debt, and prize the heritage Tlius nobly sealed in blood. THE CHAEGE 01' "THE FOURTH CAVALRY." DEDICATBI) TO THOSE WHO FELL ON THE SIXTH OF APRIL, 1865. [The fourth Massachusetts Cavalry, or rather a small portion of its rank and file, but with most ol its field and staff oflicers, and led by its Colonel, Francis Washburn, formed part of the advance which, to use General Grant's words in his last gen- eral report of the war, " heroically attacked and de- tained the head of Lee's column near Farmville, Va., until its commanding general was killed and his small force overpowered." Less than a thousand men, all told, without any artillery, held in check for a considerable time, when every moment almost was worth an empire, a rebel force outnumbering them ten to one. Of the twelve Fourth Cavalry officers who went into the fight eight were killed and wounded, including their gallent leader. He lived to reach his home, and died in his mother's arms.] ' The late Dr. Henry H. Fuller. Onward they dash : It mattered not the toilsome march. The foeman's cannon crash ; Their souls were in their swords. Their steed beneath one throb : Onward they charge, The grave's disdain to rob ! Many or few ? "Six hundred ? " nay ; that were a host Besides this band so true. Four score of trusty arms Against an army lined. Ah ! weep with us The comrades left behind ! I see them still : Down deep ravine, then up " to form ' On battle-shaken hill ; One word is all enough, One waving blade their light Into the hordes Of rebel-raging fight. He at their head A knight, a paladin of old, A hero — honor led, And fibered with the faith Of ages won to God — O what to him The soaked and waiting sod ! O sweet is it For love of land to do and die ; The heart-strings heaven-knit. Relaxed from tensest strain Upon his arm to rest In whom alone Is earthly conflict blest ! And shall not we — Survivors of the martyred brave, By tears and blood made free — Give what they gladly gave ? Yes ! by the loved and lost. Most sacred hold Our country's priceless cost. A. z. G. GKlN"- FPuCn'GIS W'ASIiBL'RN. LANOASTEK. 43 Souveur, Charles L., 26th, 21 ; May 7, '04 ; a non-resident suhstitute. Sykes, Edwin, 57th, C ; 29 ; Feb. 18, '64; a non-resident substitute. Taylor, Henry T., 15th, A ; 27 ; July 12, '61 ; discharged for disability April 25, '62. Thompson, William, 16th, B; 18 ; July 2, '61 ; wounded in head Slay, '64, at Spottsylvania, Va. ; mustered out July 27, '64. Thompson, George, 63d (nine months), C ; 21 ; Nov. 6, '62 ; died at Brashear CSty, La., Stay 30, '03 ; credited to Leominster. Thnraton, George Lee, 65th Illinois ; 30 ; enlisted in Chicago Oct. 23, '61; commissioned adjt. Oct. 31, '61 ; capt. B March 1, '62; died Dec. 15, '62, at Lancaster. Tisdale, Charles E, 34th, H ; 20 ; July 31, '02 ; corpoi-al ; discharged for disability .Tau. 8, 'S3. Toole, John, nth Battery L. A. ; 18; Deo. 23, '64: mustered out June 16, '65 ; a non-resident substitute. Tracy, David H., 2d ; 29 ; July 2, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. True, George II., 28th, A ; 21 ; band Oct 8, '61 ; discharged Aug. 17, '62. True, James G., 28th, A; 25; band Oct. 8, '61 ; discharged Aug. 17, '02. Turner, Luther G., 15th, C; 23; July 12, '61 ; wounded in arm at Ball's BlulT, Va., Oct. 21, '61, and died Nov. 1, '61. Turner, Horatio B., 34th, F ; 18 ; Aug. 2, '62 ; died a prisoner at An- dersonville, Ga.,Sept. 8, '64. Turner, Walter S. H., 53d (nine months), Ij 18; Oct. 18, '62; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Valdez, Joseph, 11th Battery L. A. ; 30; Dec. 23, '64 ; mustered out Junel6, '65; a non-resident substitute. Veret, John, 4th Cavalry, F ; 28 ; Jan. 5, '04 ; mustered out Nov. 14, '65. Warner, James G., 16th, C; 31; July 12, '61; killed by bullet or drowned at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, '61. Washburn, Edward E., 63d (nine months), I ; 26 ; 1st lieut. Oct. 18, '02. capt. Nov. 8, '62 ; thigh shattered at Port Hudson, La., June 14, *63 ; died of wound Sept. 5, '64. Washburn, Francie,lBt Cavalry; 24; 2d lieut. Dec. 26, '61; 1st lieut. March 7, '02 ; capt. 2d Cavalry Jan. 26, '03 ; lieut.-col. 4th Cavalry Feb. 1, '64 ; col. Feb. 4, '05 ; wounded in head April 6, '05, at High Bridge, Va., and died at AVorcester April 22, '05 ; brevet brig. -gen. Watson, George, 2d ; 32 ; July 2, '64 ; a non-resident substitute. Weld, George D. ,47th (nine months), K; 44; Oct. 31, '02; mustered out Sept. 1, '63. Wheeler, Abner, 11th, C ; 25 ; June 13, '61. Whitney, Edmund C, 53d (nine months), I ; 20 ; as Corp. Oct, 18, '62 ; wounded in arm June 14, '63 ; sergt. July 14, '03 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '63. Whittemore, Woodbury, 21st, E ; 33 ; 2d lieut. Aug. 21, '61 ; 1st lieut. March 3, '62 ; capt. July 27, '62 ; resigned Oct. 29, '02, Wilder, Charles H., 53d (nine months), I ; 42 ; Oct. IS, '62 ; mustered out Sept. 2, '03. Wilder, J. Px-escott, 7th Battery L. A. ; 31 ; Jan. 4, '04 ; mustered out June 8, '65, Wilder, Sanford B., 2d Heavy Artillery, M ; 24 ; Dec. 24, '63 ; mustered out Sept, 3, '65; credited to Clinton. Wiley, Charles T., 11th Ehode Island (nine months), D ; Oct. 1, '62 ; mustered out July 13, '63. Wiley, George K., 34th, H ; 22 ; Jan.l, '04; transferred to 24tli, G, June 14, '66 ; wounded in arm at Fisher's Hill, Va., Sept. 22, '64; discharged for disability June 26, '05. Wilkinson, Charles, 20th ; 30 ; July 18, '63 ; mustered out June, '05 ; a non-resident substitute for George E. P. Dodge. Willard, Edwin H., 16th, C ; 23 ; July 12, '01 ; mustered out July 28, 1864. Willard, Henry W., 34th, C; 21; Aug. 2, '62; discharged for disability Feb. 20, '63 ; credited to Leominster. Wise, John Patrick, 34th, A ; 21 ; July 31, '62; died at home March 16, '64. Worcester, Horace, 42d (one hundred days), K ; 20 ; July 18, '64 ; mus- tered out Nov. 11, '64. Wyman, Benjamin F., 5th (nine months), E; 23; Sept. 16, '02; mus- tered out July 2, '63. Zahn, Peter, 2d ; 24 ; May 7, '04 ; a non-resident substitute. The following were born and lived until manhood in Lancaster, but were resident elsewhere when the war began : Atherton, Koswell, 33d, E ; 30 ; served for Groton ; discharged for dis- ability Nov. 30, '02. Bancroft, Charles L., 11th Illinois Cavalry, B; 34; 2d Heut. Dec. 20, '61; Ist lieut. July 6, '62 ; mustered out Dec. 19, '64; wcunded at Meridian, Miss. Bowman, Henry, colonel. (See Clinton.) Bowman, Samuel M., lieutenant. (See Clinton.) Bradley, Jerome, 3d Iowa Battery L. A., etc. ; 28 ; 2d lieut. Sept., '61 ; 1st lieut. and q.m. 9th Iowa Infantry March 10, '02 ; capt. and a.-q.m. U. S. Vols. Feb. 19, '03; resigned Jan. 9, '65. Cleveland, Richard J., 9th Iowa. B ; 40 : Oct. 9, '61 ; discharged April 1, '03. Cutler, Francis B., 35th New York, A ; 25; killed at Fredericksburg Dec. 13, ' 62. Dudley, John Edwin, Ist. Cal. and 30th Mass. ; 35 ; 1st sergt. ; 2d lieut. Deo. 7, '64 ; 1st lieut. Dec. 8, '04 ; capt. April 21, '05. Fletcher, James T., 11th Rhode Island, G; Oct. 1, '02; mustered out July 13, '03. Fuller, Andrew L., lieut. 15th. (See Clinton.) Green, Asa W., 19th, F ; 22 ; enlisted in Haverhill ; wounded at Fred- ericksburg, Va., in leg Dec. 13, '62, and transferred to V. R. C. Green, Franklin W., 19th, F. (See Clinton.) Jones, David W., 20th Connecticut, F ; 46 ; killed at Chancellorsville May 3, '66. Newman, James Homer, 1st Connecticut H. A., F ; 27 ; served May 23, '61, to Sept. 26, '66. Robinson, Charles A., 1st Cavalry, G ; 21 ; Oct. 6, '01 ; discharged for disability, Feb. 0, '63 ; credited to Lowell. Bugg, Daniel W., 21st, D ; 32 ; served for Fitchburg July 19, '01, to Dec. 20, '62. Sawyer, Frank 0., 9th Vermont ; 30 ; Ist lieut. and q.m. June 10, '02 ; capt. and a.-q.m. U. S. Vols. Aug. 15, '64 ; mustered out May 31, '00. Warren, Thomas H., 12th Vermont, C ; 36 ; served Oct. 4, '62, to July 14, '03. Lancaster's quota under all calls was one hundred and seventy-one men for three years, and there were credited to her one hundred and eighty-one. The preceding list proves this to be an underestimate of the town's contribution of men for the suppression of the great treason. The veteran re-enlistments num- bered fifteen. Ten citizens were drafted and paid each three hundred dollars commutation. Thirty- seven non-resident substitutes were hired. Twenty of Lancaster's sons won commissions; twenty-seven were killed or mortally wounded in action, and twenty-three died of disease during the war. On In- dependence Day, 1865, the town celebrated the vic- tory of free institutions in the grove at the " Meeting of the Waters ;" Kev. George M. Bartol delivered a thoughtful addrens to the great throng of people there assembled, and Professor William Russell read the Emancipation Proclamation. Early in 1879 a comprehensive, illustrated history of Lancaster was published, forming an octavo vol- ume of seven hundred and ninety-eight pages. For several years previous the desirability of such a pub- lication had been privately and publicly discussed, it being supposed that among the papers of Joseph Wil- lard, Esq., deceased in 1866, would be found a history of the town partially prepared for the press. Disappointed in this hope, at a town-meeting in April, 1876, the subject was referred to a committee, consisting of Rev. George M. Bartol, Rev. Abijah P. Marvin, Jonas M. Damon, Charles T. Fletcher and Charles L. Wilder, with power to take such action as they might deem expedient. Mr. Marvin was employed to write the history, and in March, 1877, the town sanctioned the doings of the committee and appropriated fifteen ^i:i>^ LANCASTER. 45 The college graduates known are : Samuel Willard, 1659, Harvard, acting president; Josiah Swan, 1733, Harvard ; Abel Willard, 1752, Harvard ; Samuel Locke, 1755, Harvard, S.T.D. and president ; Peter Green, 1766, Harvard, M.M.S.S. ; Josiah Wilder, 1767, Yale; Israel Houghton, 1767, Yale; Samuel Stearns, M.D., LL.D., probably in Scotland ; John Mellen, 1770, Harvard, A.A. et S.H.S. ; Levi Willard, 1775, Harvard; Timothy Harrington, 1776, Harvard; Joseph Kilburn, 1777, Harvard; Isaac Bayley, 1781, Harvard ; Henry Mellen, 1784, Harvard ; Prentiss Mellen, 1784, Harvard, LL.D., U. S. Senator; John Wilder, 1784, Dartmouth; Pearson Thurston, 1787, Dartmouth ; Artemas Sawyer, 1798, Harvard ; Samuel J. Sprague, 1799, Harvard ; Benjamin Apthorp Gould, 1814, Harvard, A.A.S. ; Hasket Derby Pickman, 1815, Harvard ; Sewall Carter, 1817, Harvard ; Moses K. Emerson, 1817, Harvard; Paul Willard, 1817, Har- vard ; Leonard Pletcher, , Columbia; Jonas Henry Lane, 1821, Harvard, M.M.S.S. ; Samuel Man- ning, 1822, Harvard ; Ebenezer Torrey, 1822, Har- vard ; Levi Fletcher, 1823, Harvard ; Christopher T. Thayer, 1824, Harvard; Frederick Wilder, 1825 Harvard; Stephen Minot Weld, 1826, Harvard Richard J. Cleveland, 1827, Harvard ; Henry Russell Cleveland, 1827, Harvard ; Nathaniel B. Shaler, 1827 Harvard ; William Hunt White, 1827, Brown ; George Ide Chace, 1830, Brown, LL.D., acting president Christopher Minot Weld, 1833, Harvard, M.M.S.S. Francis Minot Weld, 1835, Harvard ; George Harris, 1837, Brown; Richard C. S. Stilwell, 1839, Harvard' M.M.S.S. ; Frederick Warren Harris, 1845, Harvard Alfred Plant, 1847, Yale ; James Coolidge Carter 1850, Harvard, LL.B. ; Sidney Willard, 1852, Har- vard; John Davis Washburn, 1853, Harvard, LL.B. Henry Stedman Nourse, 1853, Harvard ; Sylvanus Chickering Priest, 1858, Amherst ; Enos Wilder, 1865 Harvard ; Stephen Van Rensselaer Thayer, 1870 Harvard ; Albert Mallard Barnes, 1871, Harvard Francis Newhall Lincoln, 1871, Harvard ; Nathaniel Thayer, 1871, Harvard; .John Emory Wilder, 1882, Agricultural ; Samuel Chester Damon, 1882, Agricul tural; Edward E. Bancroft, 1883, Amherst, M.D. Josiah H. Quincy, 1884, Dartmouth, LL.B.; John Eliot Thayer, 1885, Harvard ; William J. Sullivan M.D., 1886, Bellevue; John M. W. Bartol, 1887, Har- vard; Azuba Julia Latham, 1888, Boston University. The physicians have been : Mary Whitcomb ; Daniel Greenleaf, died 1785, aged 82 ; John Dunsmoor, died 1747, aged 45 ; Stanton Prentice, died 1769, aged 58 ; Phinehas Phelps, died 1770, aged 37; Enoch Dole, killed 1776, aged 27 ; William Dunsmoor, died 1784, aged 50 ; Josiah Wilder, died 1788, aged 45 ; Josiah Leavitt, ; Israel Atherton, M.M.S.S., died 1822, aged 82; Cephas Prentice, died 1798; James Carter, died 1817, aged 63 ; Samuel Manning, M.M.S.S., died 1S22, aged 42; Nathaniel Peabody, M.M.S.S.; Calvin Carter, died 1859, aged 75; George Baker, M.M.S.S.; Right Cummings, died 1881, aged 94 ; Ed- ward T. Tremaine, M.M.S.S. ; Henry Lincoln, M.M. S.S., died 1860, aged 65 ; J. L. S. Thompson, M.M.S.S., died 1885, aged 75 ; George W. Symonds, M.M.S.S., died 1873, aged 62; George W. Burdett, M.M.S.S. ; George M. Morse, M.M.S.S.; S. S. Lyon; Reuben Barron ; Henry H. Fuller, M.M.S.S. ; Joseph C. Ste- vens, died 1871, aged 39; Frederick H.Thompson, M.M.S.S. ; A. D. Edgecomb, died 1883 ; Horace M. Nash ; Walter P. Bowers, M.M.S.S. ; George L. To- bey, M.M.S.S. The lawyers have been : Abel Willard, John Sprague, Levi Willard, Peleg Sprague, William Sted- man, Merrick Rice, Solomon Strong, Moses Smith, Samuel J. Sprague, John Stuart, John Davis, Jr., Joseph Willard, Solon Whiting, George R. M. With- ington, Joseph W. Huntington, Charles Mason, John T. Dame, Charles G. Stevens, Daniel H. Bemis, Her- bert Parker. The following have served as represeutati.ves for the town:— Thomas Brattle, 1671-72; Ralph Houghton, 1673-89; John Moore, Jr., 1689; John Moore, Sr., 1690-92; John Houghton, 1690,'92,'93,'97,1705-06,'08, 'n,'12, '15-17,'21, '24; Thomas Sawyer, 1707; Jo.siah Whetoomb, 1710; Jabez Fairbank, 1714, ■21-23,37- 38; John Houghton, Jr., 1718-19; Joseph Wilder, 1720, '25-20; Col. Samuel Willard, 1727, '40, '42-43, '49; Dea. Josiah White, 1728-30; James Wilder, 1731 ; Jonathan Houghton, 1732; James Keyes, 1733; Capt. Ephraim Wilder, 1734-36, '44 ; Ebenezer Wilder, 1739 ; Capt. William Richardson, 1741, '45, '50, '54, '56, '58- 61; JosephWilder.Jr., 1746-47, '51-53; David Wilder, 1765, '57, '62-65, '67 ; Col. Asa Whitcomb, 1766, '68- 74; Ebenezer Allen, 1775; Hezekiah Gates, 1776; Dr. William Dunsmoor, 1776-78, '81; Samuel Thurston, 1778; Joseph Reed, 1779; Capt. William Putnam, 1780; John Sprague, 1782-86, '94-99; Capt. Ephraim Carter, Jr., 1786, '90-92; Michael Newhall, 1787-89; John Whiting, 1793 ; Samuel Ward, 1800-01 ; William Stedman, 1802 ; Jonathan Wilder, 1803-06 ; Eli Stearns, 1806-10; Col. Jonas Lane, 1808-12; Major Jacob Fisher, 1811-13, '21, '23; Capt. William Cleveland, 1813-16; Capt. John Thurston, 1814-17, '26; Capt. Edward Goodwin, 1816; Capt. Benjamin Wyman, 1817-19; Maj. Solomon Carter, 1818; Joseph Willard, 1827-28; Davis Whitman, 1827, '31; Solon Whiting, 1829-30; John G. Thurston, 1832, '38, '52-63, '65 ; Ferdinand Andrews, 1832 ; Dr. George Baker, 1833 ; Levi Lewis, 1833 ; James G. Carter, ] 834-36 ; Dea. Joel Wilder, 1834-35; Silas Thurston, Jr., 1837-39; John Thurston, 1839-40 ; Jacob Fisher, Jr., 1841, '44, '68; John M. Washburn, 1842-43, '58; Joel Wilder (2d), 1845-46; Ezra Sawyer, 1847-48; Anthony Lane, 1850-51; Francis F. Hussey, 1864 ; James Childs, 1856; Dr. J. L. S. Thompson, 1860, '62 ; George A. Parker, 1869-71 ; Sam'l R. Damon , 1878 ; Henry S. Nourse, 1882. The following have been State Senators: — John Sprague, 1785-86; Moses Smith, 1814-15; James G. Carter, 1837-38; John G. Thurston, 1844-46; Francis B. Fay, 1868 ; Henry S. Nourse, 1885-86. 46 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. The following have heen executive councilors: — Maj. Simon AVillard, IBS't-Te; Joseph Wilder, 1735- 52; Abijah Willard, 1775. William Stedman was Representative to Congress, 1803-10, and Prentiss Mellen, a native of Lancaster, was United States Senator, 1818-20. The population of Lancaster, at various periods, has been as follows: — 1652, 9 families; 1675, 50 or 60 families; 1692, 50 families; 1704, 76 families; 1711, 83 families, 458 souls; 1715, 100 families; 1751, 285 families, 355 polls; 1764, 1999; 1776, 2746; 1790, 1460; 1800, 1584; 1810, 1694; 1820, 1862; 1830, 2014; 1840, 2019; 1850, 1688; 1855, 1728; 1860, 1732; 1865, 1752; 1870, 1845; 1875, 1957; 1880, 2008; 1885, 2050. The population of the whole territory once belong- ing to Lancaster is about twenty-two thousand. The United States Coast Survey locates "Lancaster Church" in 42° 27' 19.98'' north latitude, and 71° 40' 24.27" longitude west of Greenwich. The elevation above the sea level of the grounds about this church is about three hundred and eight feet. CHAPTER VII. CLINTON. BY HON. HENRY S. NOURSE. PrescoWs MUls — Deitructioti of the Settliinent hy Indians — The Fir$t High- ways — The Garrison Census — The First Families. Although Clinton received its name and began its corporate existence so recently as March, 1850, it being the youngest town save one in Worcester County, nearly two hundred years before that date white men were tilling its soil, and had impressed into their service some part of its valuable water- power. Its territory, in area only four thousand nine hundred and seven acres, was included in the eighty square miles purchased from Sagamore Sholan by Thomas King, of AVatertown, in 1642, and confirmed to the Nashaway Company as a township, under the name of Lancaster, in 1653. The earliest settlers in this river valley were at first clustered along the eastern slope of George Hill and upon the Neck north of the meeting of the two streams which form the Nashua. But for the exist- ence of the falls on the South Meadow Brook, proba- bly neither the pioneers nor their successors would, for many years, have sought homes in that more southerly portion of the town's grant, which now is traversed by numerous streets thickly lined with the residences and marts of ten thousand busy people ; for most of this region, now Clinton, was clad with pine forest ; its numerous hills, from their steepness or the shallowness of the soil, were not well adapted for tillage ; and along the river were no extensive in- tervales, no broad meadows of natural grass, such as existed on the North Branch and main river, to invite the husbandmen. But the sagacious and enterpris- ing leader of the Nashaway planters, John Prescott, had noted the little cascade where the brook leaped down over the ledge, and recognized it as the most easily available site in the township for a mill. There was no English settlement nearer than those east of the Sudbury River, and even the carrying of a grist to be ground involved a tedious horseback ride of about twenty miles and back over the devious Indian trail and the crossing of the always treacher- ous Sudbury marsh. The rude processes of the sav- ages or the laborious use of a hand-quern were often resorted to in preparing grain for bread in preference to so dreary a day's journey. A mill was a prime necessity to the settlers, and scarcely had the Colo- nial Government given formal recognition to the town which Prescott had founded, than, with his usual restless energy, he entered upon the task of compelling the wild South Meadow Brook to aid in the work of civilization. Mills run by water-power were yet rare in New England. The first built was hardly twenty years old, and the skilled mill-wright of Charlestown had scarcely a competitor in his art. Prescott's mill-dam was the prophecy of the prosper- ous manufacturing town whose special products have in recent years won a world-wide repute, and with his plucky enterprise the history of Clinton appro- priately begins. By November 20, 16-53, Prescott's plans for the mill were so far perfected that he was ready to enter into an agreement with his fellow-townsmen for its erec- tion. This agreement is found duly recorded in the third volume of the Middlesex County registry as follows : Know all men by these presents that I John Prescott blafkesmitfa, hath Covenanted and bargained with Jno- ffoanell of Charlestowne for the building of a Come mill, within the said Towne of Lancbaster. This witnessetb that wee the Inhabitants of Lanchaster for his enconr- agement in so good a worlce for the behoofe of our Towne, vpon condi- tion that the said intended worlse by him or his assigues be iinlshed, do freely and fully gine grant, enfeoffe, & conflrme vnto the said John Prescott, thirty acres of intervale Land lying on the north riner, lying north west of Henry Kerly and ten acres of Land adjoyneing to the mill : and forty acres of Land on the South east of the mill brooke, lying between the mill brooke and Nashaway Bluer in snch place as the said John Prescett shall choose with all the priniledges and appurte- nances thereto apperteyning. To haue and to hold the said land and eurie iiarcell thereof to the said John Prescott his heyeres and assignee for euer, to his and their only propper vse and behoofe. Also wee do couenant & promise to lend the said John Prescott fine pound, in cur- rent money one yeare for the buying of Irons for the mill. And also wee do couenant and grant to and with the said John Prescott his heyres and assignee that the said mill, with all the aboue named Land thereto apperteyneing shall be freed from all common charges for seauen yeares next ensneing, after the first finishing and setting the said mill to worke. In witnes whereof wee hane herovnto put our hands this ao* day of the O™ In the yeare of our Lord God one thou- sand six hundred fifty and three. Subscribed names WllL«t Kerlt Sexk., Richaed Liktov, Jno. Pbescmtt, Kichaed Smith, J.vo White, Will" KEELYjtJUt Ralph Houghton, Thoxas Jaues, Laweence Watebs, Jho Lewis, Edmund Pabkeb, Jaxes Atheeion, Jacob ffaerer. ' CLINTON. 47 Joseph Willard, Esq., upon the authority of a di- rect descendant of John Prescott, states that the first mill-stone was brought from England. Some doubt is thrown upon this assertion by the fact that tlie alleged pieces of it, which have lain not far from the dam until modern times, are of a sienitic rock not found in England, but abundant enough in Massa- chusetts. The first grist was ground in the mill May 23, 1654. Prescott probably at once removed from his home upon George Hill to a new house built on the slope overlooking the mill. This was the first dwelling above the grade of an Indian wigwam within the present bounds of Clinton. Its exact location was plainly marked less than fifty years ago by a consid- erable depression, showing where the cellar had been, and by a flowing spring near, water from which was conveyed in a conduit of bored logs to the residence of a later generation of the Prescotts, standing lower upon the hillside. The Lancaster historian, before named, in 1826 noted the site as " about tWrty rods southeast from Poignand and Plant's factory." It is better defined now as south from the intersection of High and Water Streets, upon the northerly half of the Otterson lot, Number 71 High Street, and about one hundred and fifty feet from the front line of the lot. The original building must have been of logs or squared timber, and was fortified doubtless with flank- ers and palisades; for it appears in early records as " Prescott's garrison " and, although having never more than five or six adult defenders, it successfully resisted fierce assaults made upon it by a large body of Indians. Prescott's will, written in 1673, proves that it was then commodious enough to accommodate two families, and had adjacent out-housing for cattle and an apple orchard. The dam probably occupied precisely the same position as that of Frost & How- ard's, and the little grist mill stood somewhat lower on the brook than the extensive manufactory now utilizing its water-power. Four years went by, years in which Prescott was busied not only at mill and anvil, but in various offices for the town. His skill and judgment, moreover, had gained such repute that he was chosen by the colonial authorities to serve on committees to lay out county roads and build important bridges, and even to survey special land grants. Emboldened by the success of his corn-mill and by growing prosperity, he deter- mined upon another enterprise of the greatest interest to the community— the building of a saw-mill. His neighbors were again called upon to further the ac- complishment of his purpose by substantial gift of land and temporary exemption from taxation. Know all men by these presents that for as much as the Inhabitants of Lancbaster, or the most part of them being gathered together on n trayneing day, the 15«> of the 9«i> mo, 1658, a motion was made by Jno. Prescott blaoliesniith of the same towne, about the setting vp of a saw mill for the good of the Towne, and y' he the said Jno. Prescott, would by the help of God set ?p the saw mill, and to supply the said Inhab- itants with boords and other sawne worke, as is afforded at other saw mills in the contrey. In case the Towne would giue, grant and con- firme vnto the said John Prescott a certeine tract of Land, lying I'jast- ward of his water mill, be it more or less, bounded by the riuer east, the mill west, the stake of the mill land and the east end of a ledge of Iron Stone Rocks southards, and forty acres of his owne land north, the said land to be to him his heyres and assignes for ener, and all tlie said land and ourio part thereof to be rate free vntill it be im- proued, or any p' of it, and that his saws and saw mill should be free from any rates by the Towne, therefore know ye that the ptyes abouesaid did mutually agree and consent each with the other con- cerning the aforementioned propositions as followeth : The Towne on their part did giue, grant and confirme vnto the said John Prescott his beyi'es and assignee for euer, all the aforementioned tract of land butted and bounded as aforesaid, to be to him his heyres and assignos for ener witli all the priuiledgcs and appurtenances there- on, and thereunto belonging to be to his and their owne propper vse and behoofe as aforesaid, and the laml and euric part of it to be free from all rates vntil it or any part of it be improued, and also his saw, sawes and saw-mill to be free from all towne rates, or minister's rates, pro- uided the aforementioned worke be finished and compleated as aboue- said for the good of the towne in some convenient time after this pres- ent contract, covenant and agieeinent. And the said John Prescott did and doth by these presents bynd him- self, his heyres and assignes to set vp a saw-mill as aforesaid within the bounds of the aforesaid Towne, and to supply the Towne with boords and other sawne worke as aforesaid and truly and faithfully to performs, fufiU, and accomplish, all the aforementioned premisses for the good of the Towne as aforesaid. Therefore the Selectmen concieving this saw-mill to be of great vse to the Towne, and the after good of the place, Haue and do hereby act to rattifie and confirme all the aforementioned acts, covenants, gifts, grants and immuniiyes, in respect of rates, and what euer is aforementioned, on their owns part, and in behalfe of the Towne, and to the true performance hereof, both partyes haue and do bynd themselves by subscribing their liands, this twenty-fifth day of February, one thousand six hundred and fifty-nine. John Piiescott. The worke aboue menccoued was finished according to this covenant as witnessetb Ualph Houghton. Signed and Delivred In presence of. Thomas Wilder, Thomas Sawyer, Ralph Houghton. The township proprietors also granted Prescott leave to cut pines upon any common land to supply his saw-mill. In his will the corn-mill is described as " the lower mill," and a second house and barn are bequeathed to his son John as appertaining to the saw-mill. It seems certain, therefore, that the first saw-mill had a dam of its own, and that it was prob- ably situated near where a dam existed early in the present century, a short distance below that of the Bigelow Carpet Company. Somewhere near stood the second house built in this region. It is possible that about this time Prescott also made some attempt to manufacture iron from bog ore. In 1657 certain inhabitants of Lancaster and Concord, John Prescott being one, upon petition, obtained colo- nial license to erect iron works in those towns. The forge at Concord was soon after established and for many years had a meagre success. No mention is found in any records of similar works at Lancaster earlier than 1748, when John Prescott, third of the name, in deeds to his son John, speaks of the " forge " and an " iron mine." The former was upon South Meadow Brook, just below the dam of the Bigelow 48 HISTOEY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Carpet Company. Mine Swamp Brook was so named because of the ore dug in its neighborhood for use at this forge. Whether this experimental bloomery was an adventure of the first, second or third John Pres- cott, the supply of ore was neither sufficient in quantity, rich enough in metal, nor free enough from sulphur to give encouragement for iron manufacture. Although Indian names remain attached to numer- ous localities in all the adjacent towns, not one sur- vives in Clinton. Her three great ponds were very early given their present names, — "Clamshell" ap- pearing in records of 1697, " Moss," or " Mossy," in 1702, and " Sandy " not much later. Not a word is found in the annals of the first proprietors that sug- gests the existence of Indian dwelling-places or plant- ing-fields anywhere near Prescott's Mills. Perhaps there were none permanently occupied after the coming thither of white men, nearer than Washa- cum, where the once powerful Nashaway tribe had then gathered its feeble remnant spared by small-pox and the relentless Mohawk warriors. In accordance with their nomadic habits, doubtless, families con- tinued to pitch their wigwams at the fa'ls in the Nashua during the season when the salmon and other migratory fish were making their annual jour- ney up that stream ; and to camp on the shores of the ponds at other seasons for the abundant food supply therein. The considerable quantity and variety of stone implements found from time to time on the east side of Clamshell Pond indicates the location of an Indian settlement there at some remote period of the past, or of a much frequented camping-ground. Soon after his coming into the hunting-grounds of the Nashaway tribe, in 1643, we find that Prescott had won the respect of the Indians. This was doubt- less largely owing to their need of his valuable craft as a maker of knives, arrow-heads, tomahawks and steel traps. But tradition ascribes it to his stature, giant strength, contempt of danger, skill with the gun, and other heroic attributes ; and especially to his possession of a corselet and helmet, supposed to render its owner invulnerable. Various stories of his prowess and adventure are extant, wherein proba- bly there lie germs of truth, but wrapped about with anachronistic or imaginative details supplied by the successive narrators. That he was upon terms of familiar intimacy with the Sachem Sholan is told by the records, and that his relations with Sachem JMat- thew and his warriors Were also friendly is evinced by his possession of a house and farm at Washacum and his purchase of land adjoining the Indian fort there. When the machinations of Philip aroused a pitiless war of races throughout New England, how- ever, Prescott's property was not spared. On February 10, 1676, a picked force of warriors, at least four hundred in number, — Nashaways, Quabaug8,Nipnets and Narragansets, — under thelead- ership of Shoshanim, Muttaump, Monoco and Quani- pun, fell upon Lancaster. Prescott's garrison was one of the five resolutely assaulted at daylight. It was heroically defended by the stalwart owner and his sons, aided, perhaps, by two or three soldiers, and the savages were finally repelled. Ephraim Sawyer, one of Prescott's grandsons, aged twenty-five years, was slain here in the fight. A young soldier, Jrom Watertown, of Captain Wadsworth's company, named George Harrington, was killed by the enemy a few days later in the same locality. Seventy-five yeara ago two graves were discernible in the grounds belonging to, and a little to the east of, the mill. These, perhaps, held the ashes of Sawyer and Harrington, though then called Indian graves. With the protection of the troops sent to the rescue, Prescott and his little band withdrew from their perilous situation to join the larger garrison of his son-in-law, Thomas Sawyer. The carnage at the Eowlandson garrison, and the de- struction by fire of all the barns and unfortified houses in town, left the survivors so weak in numbers, so disheartened, and so effectually stripped of all means of subsistence, that, even if there had been no reason to fear a renewal of attack by the bloodthirsty foe, the temporary abandonment of the place was unavoidable. Major Simon Willard, on March 26th, sent a troop of horsemen with carts to remove the inhabitants who had not already fled to the Bay towns, and for about three years only the milUtone and the rusting irons by the dams on South Meadow Brook marked the site of Prescott's Mills. in 1679, after the red warriors had perished in the flame of the wrath they had kindled, among the first to move to the re-settlement of the town were the Prescotts. The mills were rebuilt on the spot where the corn-mill had stood, and the eldest son, John, as- sumed their management, Jonas having a mill at Nonacoicus, and Jonathan becoming a resident of Concord. In December, 1681, John Prescott, Sr., died, being about seventy-eight years of age. His eldest son became possessor of all the estate connected with the mills. The lands granted by the Lancaster proprietors to the founder of the town for his public benefactions embraced much of the now densely inhabited part of Clinton, extending from a bound forty rods above the first dam down both sides of the brook to the river, while the eastern boundary of the tract was formed by the Nashua, from the brook's mouth to the ledge near the Lancaster Mills, formerly known as Rattle- snake Hill. This domain was largely extended west- wardby thesecond John Prescott. Athird andfourth John succeeded him in its ownership, and a fifth held the homestead, dying childless. The first town way to Prescott's Mills was com- monly known as the " mill-path," and was recorded in 1658 as " five rods wide from the Cuntrie highway to the mill." This is the main thoroughfare of the present day, between South Lancaster and Water Street. The original record of its location being lost, it was laid out anew in 1811, together with ita extea- CLINTON. 49 sion to Sandy Pond, varying in width frnm two and one-half to three rods wide. The people of Stow, Marlborough, and even Sudbury, for many years had no mills more conveniently accessible than Prescott's, and the population of Lancaster, after the resettle- ment, grew most rapidly to the eastward of the Nashua. For all these patrons, the old mill-path was a round- about road, and at a town -meeting in Lancaster, August 26, 1686, a proposition was entertained for another, the second town road laid out within Clinton lines. The petition was " for a way to Goodman Prescott's Corne-mill, to ly over the River at the Scar." Goodman Prescott "told the Town that if they would grant him about twenty acres of Land upon the Mill Brook lying above his own Land, for hisconvaniancy of preserveing water against a time of drought, he was willing the town should have a way to the mill threw his Land." A committee was ap- pointed " to lay out a highway from the Scar to the mill, threw John Prescott's land," and he was recom- pensed by the grant desired, which is recorded as lying " on the Mill Brook, near to the South Meadow, bounded north and east by his own land, and south and southeast by common land." In April, 1717, a town-meeting, upon petition of John Goss and the report of a viewing committee, voted to change the location of the westerly end of this highway, so that it should " lye by the River, — Provided said way be kept four Rods wide from y° Scar bridge till it com to y° Hill from y' top of y° River bank, and after it amount said Hill to lye where it shall be most conveniant to y° Town, till it com to said Mill, said Goss to cleer said Rode when that Committy shall stake it out." April 24, 1733, John Goss conveyed to John Prescott eighty acres east of the Mill Brook, " a highway lying through said Land from the bridge that is over the River, a little above the place called the Scarr." The mills had now many rivals, and the current of travel flowed in other directions. In May, 1742, the town voted to move the Scar bridge down the river "to the road that leads from Lieut. Sawyer's to Doctor Dunsmoor's'' — that is, to the crossing of the Nashua, now known as Carter's Mills bridge, where before this there was a fording-place only. Few traces of the Scar road, though a noted public convenience for more than fifty years, can now be discerned. Close scrutiny reveals signs of the bridge abutments a few rods below the northern end of High Street, and of the raised roadway on the' eastern bank of the river. Some time in the eighteenth century there were five or more dwellings located along this highway, of which two or three cellars on the part east of the Nashua are not yet obliterated ; and other similar relics of human habitation upon the west side have disappeared within the memory of the living. But many years before the abandonment of this route by the Scar, another had probably come into use from the eastward. This, now known as Water 4 Street, was wholly in the land of the Prescotts and remained their private way until 1782, on April Ist of which year Lancaster accepted it as laid out two rods wide, "on condition that sd Town is not Burdened with the cost of a Bridge." No record is found to prove how long the bridge had then stood at this crossing of the Nashua, but mention is made of a "slab-bridge " in this vicinity about 1718, belongingto the second John Prescott. It was then, doubtless, like many of the bridges of that era, a narrow structure made of puncheons resting upon log abutments and trestles, and perhaps only passable for foot and horse- men. By the surveyors of Lancaster in 1795 the bridge is called " Prescott's," and noted as ninety-nine feet in length. It was not until December 4, 1815, that the town assumed the ownership of it and of the approaches to it from the county road to Boylston, although eight years earlier assistance was voted for its reconstruction. A tew years later it appears in the town records as the Harris bridge. A by-path very early connected Prescott's Mills with the county highway leading to Washacum and westward. Widened and otherwise altered at various dates, this is yet in use and known as the Rigby road. This name does not appear attached to it in old records, but the brooklet which it crosses in Clinton was called Rigby's Brook before 1718. What connec- tion the cross-road or the stream had with John Rigby, who was one of the pioneer settlers of Lan- caster, or with his heirs, has not been discovered. No family of the name is mentioned in the town lists since 1700, but a very old house which stood upon this road in the early years of this century was commonly known as the Rigby place. In the surprise and massacre by the Indians, Sep- tember 22, 1697, and in the attack by the French and Indians of July 31, 1704, no loss of life or property at Prescott's Mills was reported, though this, it would seem, must have been one of the six fortified posts said to have been assailed. The men belonging to this garrison in 1704 were John Prescott, his two sons, John and Ebenezer, and John Keyes, the weaver, three of whom were married men with little families. By a report of an inspection of garrisons ordered by Governor Dudley, in November, 1711, we learn that there were at that time but three families at the Mills, including four males of military age, besides two soldiers billeted there — fifteen souls in all. This may be called the earliest census of Clinton. For half a century the householders in this neighborhood had numbered no more, and no less ; for half a century more the accessions hardly trebled this population. Along the roads leading westward, to Leominster, to Woonksechocksett, (now Sterling,) to Boylston, and to "Shrewsbury Leg," farms were cleared, humble dwellings arose, children were born, grew to manhood, migrated, and themselves set up roof-trees farther west ; but at Prescott's Mills all remained apparently as when the fathers fell asleep. 50 HISTOKY OF WORCESTEK COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Daniel and Beniamin Allen, of Watertown, were among the very early settlers in Lancaster, but aban- doned their lands when the Indian raids of 1675 and 1676 desolated the frontier towns, and never re-occu- pied them. About 1746, however, Ebenezer Allen, of Weston, a son of Daniel, came to Lancaster, accom- panied by his son Ebenezer, and the two made their homes upon a tract of land containing one hundred and eighty acres, the northerly portion of which is now in possession of Ethan Allen Currier. This had been the homestead of John Goss, who bought the property of John Prescott and John Keyes in 1717. Upon the brook which runs through the farm Goss built a mill at the site of the existing dam, and his dwelling and farm buildings stood on the uplands near. The deed to John Allen, dated February, 1746, and that of John to Ebenezer, in 1751, speak of the road- way in use through the farm " from Prescott's Mills to a Fordway, where there was a Bridge called the Scar Bridge." The elder Allen sold his whole estate to Ebenezer, Jr., in 1756, including some lands bought on the west side of the mill -path where prob- ably about that date the mansion was built, which was torn down in 1879, to make room for Mr. Currier's present residence. Ebenezer Allen, St., died in 1770, at the age of ninety-four, and Ebenezer, Jr., in 1812, aged eighty-eight years. The farm passed out of the Aliens' hands in 1811, and Moses Emerson became its owner shortly after. The bluff upon the east bank of the Nashua, so often mentioned in town records as the Scar, from the time of his purchase began to be called Emerson's Bank. Mr. Emerson dying in 1822, the estate was sold at auction by the guardian of his children, and in 1825, George Howard, fromPembroke, bought it. At that time no trace of the Goss Mill or the other buildings once standing in the vicinity of the brook remained, but a cart-path led up over the plain to Harris Hill, perhaps the last trace of the long-disused Scar Road. Along the old county highway which leads from Bolton to Boylston, where it winds about among the rocky hills east of the Nashua in Clinton, a few farms were tilled many years before the Revolution. Here lived Lieutenant Thomas Tucker; Thomas Wilder, the son of John, and his son Jonathan ; Simon But- ler, and the late John Pollard. Philip Larkin and his soldier sons had homes to the southeast from Clamshell Pond. Thomas Tucker acquired his lands through Capt. Thomas Wilder in 1716, and probably built his house here about the date of his marriage, in 1719. He transferred his farm to his son William in 1757. In 1788 James Fuller bought the southerly portion of the tract, and in 1798 the homestead came into possession of Charles Chace, from Bellingham, whose descendants have prominent place in the annals of Clinton. The Tucker family had then wholly disappeared from Lancaster. Upon the other farms named, sons built near the fathers, and family names clung to the estates far into the present cen- tury. Now, however, but one lineal descendant of any of these old families — the venerable Frederick Wilder — dwells in this section of the town. CHAPTER Aail. ChlNTO'N— (Continued). The Bevolution — The "Six Nationa" — Immifft-ation — The Comb.makers— Poignand & Plant — Coming of the Bigelows~The Clinton Company — The Lancaster QuUi Comparty — The Bigelow Carpet Company—The Lancaster MUU — CUntonv%lie, its Builders and its Enterprises. When the rallying cry, " taxation without repre- sentation is tyranny," rang through the land, and patriots began the organization of rebellion, John Prescott, fourth of the name, was chosen one of the town's Committee of Correspondence and Safety. Like his grandfather, he seems to have been a radical republican In politics, and was especially active in the prosecution of those who sold tea, and all sus- pected of a leaning towards Toryism. When tlie Lexington alarm-courier summoned the yeomanry to arms on the morning of April 19, 1775, John Prescott, fifth of the name, led as captain one of the six companies from Lancaster which made a forced marcli to Cambridge. As his command of thirty-two men was mustered neither with Colonel Asa Whitcomb's regiment of militia nor Colonel John Whitcomb's regiment of minute-men, they were probably a mounted troop of volunteers. They served twelve days. Two of his sergeants, Elisha Allen and James Fuller, were residents within the bounds of Clinton ; Moses Sawyer was second-lieutenant in Captain Joseph White's militia company ; Ebenezer Allen, Jr., and Jotham Wilder were in Captain An- drew Haskell's company, which fought in the battle of Bunker Hill ; James Fuller and Jotham, Stephen, Titus and Reuben Wilder served for short terms later in the contest, most of them being at Saratoga. Sev- eral of the Prescott family did patriotic service for national independence, but at that date the Prescotts mostly lived upon ancestral lands in Chocksett or elsewhere than in the south part of Lancaster. The region round about the boundary stone where the lines of Berlin, Boylston and Clinton meet, in- cluding sundry farms of each town, was, in the years following the Revolution, known as the "Six Nations," that name attaching to it because families represent- ing half a dozen or more different nationalities were therein resident. The Wilders, Carters and others were English by descent ; Andrew McWain, Scotch ; the sons and grandsons of Philip Larkin, Irish ; the families of Louis Conqueret and Hitty, French; Daniel and Frederick Albert, Dutch; and John Canouse was a Hessian, a deserter from the captive army of Burgeyne. Other names and nationalities are sometimes added to the list. CLINTON. 51 Beyond the mills to the southward, towards Sandy Pond, for a long distance all the lands desirable for tillage or timber had fallen, by original proprietary division of commons or by inheritance, to the Pres- cotts and their kinsfolk, the Sawyers. The third John Prescott, in 1748, the year before his death, " for love and good-will," gave his grandchildren, Aaron, Moses, Joseph, Sarah and Tabitha Sawyer, about ninety-seven acres of land lying on both sides of a stated highway and" of the brook "aboue the forge." These grantees were the children of John Prescott's only daughter Tabitha, wife of Joseph Sawyer. It has often been asserted that Aaron was the founder of Sawyer's mills in Boylston, but the credit of building the first saw and grist-mills in that locality probably belongs to his father, Joseph. Moses Sawyer was the first to reside upon the lands thus deeded to him and his brethren by their grandfather, and his son Moses was the second. Their houses yet remain upon what is now called Burditt'Hill, and the latest has long outlived its hundredth year. From the death of the fourth John Prescott, in 1791, began a subdivision of his landed estate into many lots, and its rapid alienation from the family. He had five sons and four daughters. To the two youngest, Joseph and Jabez, he deeded in 1786 the two mills, upon condition that each should deliver to him or his wife, annually so long as either should live, " five bushels of Indian corn, three of rye, three of wheat, and one thousand feet of boards." Within two years after the death of their father, the sons, with the exception of John, had parted with their patrimony and removed from Lancaster. Captain John, the fifth and last of his name in the town, clung to thirty or forty acres of land and the old homestead, where he died, childless, August 18, 1811, aged sixty-two, his wife, Mary (Ballard), surviving him. In the closing years of the eighteenth century the people were weighed down by debt and taxation — legacies of the long years of the war for independ- ence. Shays' Insurrection had been summarily quelled, for New England common sense recognized the fact that anarchy could aflFord no relief from the general distress. The yeomanry, however full their barns, held mortgaged lands and empty purses. Everywhere the sheriff was busy with executions, foreclosures and forced sales. The merchants and lawyers mercilessly devoured the debtors ; large es- tates were broken up and homes changed owners on every hand. Thus Prescott's Mills and some of the lands around them in 1793 fell into the possession of John Sprague, the Lancaster lawyer and sheriff, and until his death, in 1800, they are sometimes mentioned in records as Sprague's Mills. Several heads of families during this decade fixed their habitations upon land in the vicinity bought for prices that now seem ludicrously small. They were : Jacob Stone, a noted framer of bridges and buildings, whose house, burnt many years ago, was west of Sandy Pond, a mile from any other dwelling, save one at a saw-mill on Mine Swamp Brook, owned by Jonathan Sampson, of Boylston ; Joseph Rice, a basket-maker from Boylston, who married a daughter of Moses Sawyer and lived near him ; Nathaniel Lowe, Jr., from Leo- minster, who in 1795 bought of Moses Sawyer a farm lying between the mills and the river, which North High Street now bisects ; Lieut. Amos Allen, who bought lands of Jonathan Prescott in 1792 and built the first house on the west side of the highway be- tween the mills and Ebenezer Allen's; Benjamin Gould, father of the poetess, Hannah Flagg Gould and the scholar, Benjamin Apthorp Gould, who began a dwelling probably about the same date, which he never found means to finish, on the spot where Deputy Sheriff Enoch K. Gibbs lives ; GoflSn Chapin, Eichard Sargent and his sons, and John Hunt, who lived at the summit of the hill on Water Street, about half-way between the mills and the bridge over the Nashua ; John Goss, who bought a farm upon the east of the riverj near the Bolton and Berlin corner ; Elias Sawyer, who built on the river bank near his dam already mentioned. James Elder lived just outside Clinton bounds. During the first ten years of this century accessions became more numerous, and among them were some whose descendants have been honorably identified with every phase of Clinton's material progress. Ezekiel Eice purchased the house and farm of Moses Sawyer, Jr., in 1802. John Lowe, a comb-maker of Leominster, in 1800 bought of John Fry fifty acres of land, and in 1804 another lot adjoining, which in- cluded the cellar of Benjamin Gould's house and a shop of Asahel Tower's on the brook. Here he built, a few years later, and deeded a moiety of land and house to his father, Nathaniel. Nathan Burditt came from Leominster in 1808 and succeeded Mr. Eice in, possession of the house built by Moses Sawyer, Jr. John Severy, a Eevolutionary pensioner, came to re- side on Mine Swamp Brook the same year, buying of Sampson his house, brick -yard and saw-mill. John Goldthwaite, the splint-broom maker, occupied a dilapidated building, the only one on the Eigby Eoad. Daniel Harris, a Revolutionary pensioner from Boyls- ton, in 1804 and 1 805 bought of John Hunt's numer- ous creditors his substantial house and large farm, which he in later times shared with his sons — Emory, Asahel and Sidney — who, by their industry, thrift and business ability, became leading men in the com- munity. Next to the saw and grist-mills, the first manufac- turing industry to employ any considerable number of workmen was the making of horn-combs, intro- duced about the beginning of the present century from Leominster, where it had been a profitable em- ployment from the days of the Eevolution. John Lowe and Nathan Burditt were the earliest to ply this trade in the town, but they soon taught it to many 52 HISTORY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. others, who gradually brought improved tools and machinery into service to increase the quantity and improve the quality of their products. At first the comb-makers exercised their handicraft in diminutive shops or rooms in their own dwellings, and the women and children helped in the lighter parts of the work. The horns were sawn into proper lengths by hand, split, soaked, heated over charcoal, dipped into hot grease, pressed into required form between iron clamps by driven wedges, stiffened by cold water, marked by a pattern for the teeth, which were sawn one by one. The combs were then smoothed, polished and tied in packages for sale. The earliest makers carried their own goods to market, and it is told of John Lowe that he often journeyed as far as Albany on horseback, with his whole stock in trade in his saddle-bags. The use of water-power in the manufacture was not adopted until 1823. Through Lowe's land ran a little brook, which was finally utilized for comb- making by his son Henry, with whom was associated his cousin, Thomas Lowe. The stream had been dammed at least twenty years earlier, and a small shop thereon had been occupied by Asahel Tower for nail-cutting, and Arnold Rugg for wire-drawing. The Lowes were succeeded several years later by Henry Lewis, and he, in 1836, by Haskell McCollum, who built a second shop and greatly increased the business, having as a partner his brother-in-law, Anson Tjowe. E. K. Gibbs built a third shop about 1840. The age was one when a man was fortunate whose personal peculiarity of form, feature, dress or habit, were not salient enough whereupon to hang some nickname — when many a worthy citizen walked among his fellow-men almost unknown by his baptis- mal name. The same fashion obtained respecting neighborhoods, every little section of the town gaining some quaint designation fancied to be descriptive of the district or its people. The region about these comb-shops on Rigby Brook became in popular par- lance. Scrabble Hollow. The water privilege on South Meadow Brook in the possession of George Howard was soon turned to use in the horn industry ; at first by lessees Lewis Pollard and Joel Sawtell, later by the owner, who was enter- prising and prosperous. But the most extensive makers of horn goods were the sons of Daniel Harris, who learned the trade of Nathan Burditt. Asahel Harris at first conducted the business at his house east of the river, still standing. This dwelling he had bought from Samuel Dorrison, who built it upon a lot severed from the Pollard farm. Mr. Harris built later the brick house upon the height of the hill west of the Nashua, where he introduced horse-power and improved machinery "in his work-shop. In 1831 Asahel and Sidney Harris built a dam and shop upon the liver just above the bridge, securing a fall of about six feet. Sidney Harris, in 1835, bought his brother's interest in the water-power and the house above, and here began a career of great prosperity. Upon the sale of the Pitts mills, in 1843, the grist-mill machinery was brought thither. In 1805 Samuel John Sprague sold the Prescott saw and grist-mill, with a house and land, to Benaiah Brigham, of Boston. Thomas W. Lyon soon after bought them of Brigham and acquired other estate in the neighborhood. In August, 1809, Lancaster was stirred with the news that two wealthy foreigners, residents of Boston, had bought the Prescott Mills and were about to erect a factory for the weaving of cotton cloth by power looms. Soon workmen began laying the foundation of the new structure, and the enterprising owners for twenty-five years thereafter were notable citizens of the town. The elder of the two, the capitalist of the firm and president of the corporation afterwards organized, was David Poig- nand, a dapper, urbane gentleman of French Hugue- not descent, born in the island of Jersey. He wore a queue, and carried a gold-headed cane, was both a jeweller and a cabinet-maker by trade, and an excep- tionally good workman. He also had made and lost a fortune in the hardware trade in Tremont Street » Boston. His partner was his son-in-law, Samuel Plant, an Englishman who had been in America about twenty years as factor for a great cloth manu- facturer of Leeds. Mr. Plant had made himself thor- oughly acquainted with the manufacture of cotton in England, and secretly brought thence drawings of the machinery necessary for a mill, and perhaps some of the more important parts of certain machines. From these, with the aid of the ingenious machinist, Capt. Thomas W. Lyon, he was able to completely equip the factory and put it into running order. Under the methodical management of Mr. Plant, aided by the skill of the machinist, the difficulties which always attend a novel undertaking of such magnitude were soon overcome, and the success of the enterprise was assured. This factory was one of the earliest of its kind successfully run in America. The town granted the firm partial exemption from taxation temporarily. The embargo and war with England served all the purposes of a high protective tariff for the infant industry. Common cotton cloth which at the build- ing of the factory cost about thirty cents a yard, before the close of hostilities commanded double that price. A little above the factory, upon the same stream, stood a saw-mill built, probably before 1800, by Moses Sawyer, or his son Peter, but at that time owned by Joseph Rice. It commanded a fall of ten to twelve feet, but had a very limited reservoir. This mill was often, and necessarily, a grave source of inconveni- ence to Poignand & Plant by causing an intermit- tent flow of water to their wheel. Mr. Rice's land and water-rights were purchased in 1814, his log dam was replaced by one of stone somewhat higher, and a second factory was built a little below the saw-mill site, to which the looms were moved from the old mill. CLINTON. 53 The business had grown until it called for more capital than the firm possessed. February 12, 1821, David Poignand, Samuel Plant, Benjamin Rich, Isaac Bangs and Seth Knowles were incorporated with the title of the Lancaster Cotton Company, representing a capital of $100,000; Benjamin Pickman, Benjamin T. Pickman and Lewis Tappan also became stock- holders in the company, and the two last named were in succession made treasurers. The old Prescott dam having been broken through by a freshet in 1826, was rebuilt and made one or two feet higher, giving a fall of twenty-nine feet. The square, brick mansion near the lower mill upon Main Street was also built by the company as a residence for the superintendent, Mr. Plant, twenty-five hundred dollars being appropriated for the purpose. The treasurer was accustomed to drive up from Boston in his own chaise once a month to attend to his special duties, and it was usual for a four-horse team to be sent to the city once a fortnight with the sheetings manufactured. The wagon for its return trip was loaded with cotton bales and goods for the store which Mr. Plant established a short distance from the factory. For several years most of the teaming for the company was done by Nathan Bur- ditt, Sr. In case of any repairs which required a new casting to be obtained, there was no foundry suitably equipped to furnish it nearer than South Boston. August 28, 1830, while casually at the house of his friend, John G. Thurston, in South Lancaster, David Poignand died suddenly. In 1835 the company, find- ing their business unprofitable because of changes in the tariff and the superannuated machinery, advertised their property for sale, described as fol- lows: "one hundred and seventy-seven acres of land, one brick factory with nine hundred spindles, one wooden factory with thirty-two looms and other machinery; blacksmith shop, machine shop, eleven dwelling houses and other buildings.'' The mills with such land and structures as were essential to their operation were finally sold at auction July 26, 1836, and bought by Nathaniel Band, Samuel C. Damon, John Hews and Edward A. Eaymond, for $13,974. Their successors in 1837 leased the mills to the brothers Horatio N. and Erastus B. Bigelow, who came from Shirley, where the elder had been manager of a cotton-mill. Mr. Plant removed to Northhampton, and there died in 1847. The Bigelows had selected this location preparatory to the organization of capital for the developing of some inventions of the younger brother. H. N. Bige- low occupied the Plant mansion, and from this time became a resident of the village and an indefatigable and wise promoter of its best interests, moral, social and material. March 8, 1838, the Clinton Company was dufy incorporated with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars, and the right to hold real estate to the amount of thirty thousand dollars. The incorpo- rators whose names appeared in the legislative act were: John Wright, H. N. Bigelow and Israel Long- ley. The most notable inventions of Erastus B. Bige- low, at that date perfected, were two power looms : one for weaving figured quilts, the other for the weav- ing of coach-lace. The upper, then styled the yellow factory, was leased by the Clinton Company for the latter manufacture, and the brick factory was devoted to the making of quilts. Before this time coach-lace had always been woven by hand looms, and any attempt to supplant human fingers in the complicated manipulation required was scouted at by the weavers as presumptuous. But the lace made by the ingenious mechanism invented by Mr. Bigelow in 1836 and patented in 1837 proved of a very superior quality, while the cost of weaving was reduced from twenty-two to three cents a yard. The manufacturers were rewarded with immediate and ample financial success, which continued for about ten years, when stage-coaches began everywhere to be superseded by the railway train, and coach-lace found no place in the new fashion of vehicles. The company was fortunate in the time of entering upon its work as well as in the genius of its inventor and the ability of its management. The period was one of great and general prosperity. August 17, 1842, the real estate, hitherto leased, was bought of Samuel Damon, and extensive improvements were begun. In 1845 the capital of the company was increased to three hundred thousand, and in 1848 to half a million dol- lars. Meanwhile the working plant was re-enforced by the purchase of Sawyer's Mills, in Boylston, where the water-power was utilized for the making of yarn. Additions were annually made to the original build- ings, and new ones were erected. When the demand for their special product began rapidly to decrease, machinery for the making of pantaloon checks, tweeds and cassiraeres was gradually introduced. A large machine shop was connected with the works which, under charge of Joseph B. Parker, turned out nearly all the machinery required in the factory. Horatio N. Bigelow was general manager from the outset, being, however, relieved for three years, 1849 to 1851, by C. W. Blanchard. About four hundred hands were engaged when all the looms were running ; twelve hundred yards of coach-lace and four thousand yards of pantaloon stuffs were finished per day. Although the brick factory was bought ii} 1838 for the introduction of the Bigelow quilt looms, owing to financial difficulties the weaving of counterpanes did not begin until 1841. The successive transfers of the property are of interest, as giving the names of those who began the quilt manufacture and as showing the sudden rise in real estate values at that date. Band & Damon, by purchase of their associates' shares, became sole owners of the cotton-mills in 1837, and in 1838, Rand, having acquired his partner's rights in the brick factory, sold it to E. G. Roberts, who the same day transferred it to W. R. Kelley for six thou- 54 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. satid dollars consideration. In September, 1839, it was deeded to Thomas Kendall, the price named being twenty-five thousand dollars. The property, with, of course, additions and improvements, next passed into possession of Hugh E. Kendall in 1842, the alleged consideration being thirty thousand dol- lars, and in 1845 it was sold to John Lamson for forty thousand dollars. October 1, 1851, Lamson disposed of the property to the Lancaster Quilt Company for one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. The quilts that came from the new looms were from ten to thirteen quarters in width and of a high grade in quality, equal to those of foreign make for which the importers demanded six to ten dollars each. The Bigelow quilts were soon in the market at less than half those prices. In the quilt loom, as in all his inventions and improvements in weaving machinery, the design and mechanical construction of each ma- chine were carefully perfected under Mr. Bigelow's own oversight, and not more with a view to the saving in cost of production than to attaining the highest stand- ard of excellence in the fabric produced. February 11, 1848, John Lamson, William P. Barn- ard, George Seaver and associates were incorporated by the name of the Lancaster Quilt Company, for the purpose of manufacturing petticoat robes, toilet cov- ers, and the various descriptions of counterpanes, quilts and bed-covers, with an authorized capital of two hundred thousand dollars. Thirty-six looms and about one hundred hands were employed and the annual output was over seventy-five thousand quilts. Charles W. Worcester was the managing agent of the works. The devices harmoniously combined in the coach- lace loom were seen by the inventor to be equally applicable to the weaving of any pile fabric. With suitable enlargement and modification of parts the product would become Brussels carpet, or, by the addition of a cutting edge to the end of the pile wire, be given a velvet pile. The adaptation to the carpet loom of the chief novel feature of the lace loom — the automatic attachments to draw out, carry forward and re insert the wires — was an easy problem for one who " thought in wheels and pinions." The carpet loom, as a conception in the inventor's brain, was soon com- plete in all its details. The machinists under Mr. Bigelow's eye shaped the conception in wood and metal, and at Lowell in 1845 Jacquard Brussels car- peting was woven upon the power loom. The inven- tion was patented in England March 11, 1846, and in the great London Industrial Exhibition of 1851 speci- mens of Bigelow's carpeting were exhibited which won from a jury of experts the highest encomium. It was declared in their official report that the Bigelow fabrics were " better and more perfectly woven than any hand-woven goods that have come under notice of the jury.'' The Bigelow brothers, the success of the new carpet loom thus made certain, bought a building at the south end of High Street, in which Oilman B. Par- ker's foundry and other mechanical industries had been carried on, raised it and built a brick basement beneath, thereby obtaining a room two hundred feet long by forty-two in width. In this they set up twenty-eight looms run by a thirty horse-power steam- engine, and in the autumn of 1849 began the making of Brussels carpet by power. The requisite spinning was done at other mills. About one hundred hands were employed and five hundred yards of carpeting made daily. The day's labor of a skilled weaver on the hand loom rarely brought five yards, while the power loom, managed by a girl, readily produced four or five times as much and ensured superior finish. The works weje under the management of H. N. Bigelow. H. P. Fairbanks became a partner with the Bigelow Brothers in 1850, and with added capital, larger and more substantial buildings, year by year crowded the little valley site. A map of Lancaster, dated 1795, notes the ex- istence of a "falls of about seven feet" in the river aL the place where now stands the dam of the Lan- caster Mills Company. At that time this great water-power was owned by Elias Sawyer, who built a dam across the stream and began a sawmill, which, from lack of means, he was never able to complete, although he sawed considerable lumber here. For a time he lived near by, but the property passed from his hands, and in 1810 was acquired by Jamis Pitts, a millwright of Taunton, who cnme to reside upon and improve his purchase in December, 1815. The narrow, rock-walled valley, and the hills that hem it in, were densely covered with forest, and no public road led thither. A few acres of the bot- tom lands were .'ioon cleared, and during 1H16 Mr. Pitts erected upon the mud-sill of the old Sawyer Dam a new one, thirteen feet in height, and tlio same year completed a saw and tjrist-mill. Possess- ing some spinning machinery at a factory in West Bridgewater, he brought it to Lancaster, and began the manufacture of cotton yarn in 1820, gradually enlarging his buildings and increasing his production as success warranted. A small part of his power was leased in 1818 and for a few yeais later to Charles Chace & Sons, who built a small tannery near the mills. Comb-making was also carried on here at a later day, with power leased of Mr. Pitts. James Pitts, Sr., died in January, 1835, and his sons, James, Hiram W. and Seth G., continued the manufacture of satinet warps. The saw and grist- mill was burned in 1836, but immediately rebuilt. November 12, 1838, the town accepted a highway laid out from the " red factory '' of Poignand & Plant — which stood where the Bigelow Carpet Com- pany's spinning department now is — to Pitts' Mills. This was the first public road to that locality, and marks the origin of Mechanic Street. In 1842 the Pitts Brothers sold their entire estate, including about eighty acres of land, to Erastus B. Bigelow, for ten thousand dollars. CLINTON. 55 February 5, 1844, E. B. Bigelow, Stephen Fair- banks, Henry Timmins and associates were incor- porated as the Lancaster Mills Company, with a capital of five hundred thousand dollars, and at once laid the foundations of the manufactory now famous as one of the largest gingham-mills in the world. It was at first proposed to begin with the manufacture of blue and white cotton checks only, but in view of the liberal pecuniary returns at that time rewarding manufacturing enterprise, and the deserved confidence of the capitalists in the inven- tive genius of the younger Bigelow, and the rare organizing ability of the elder, it was determined to build a gingham-mill of twenty thousand spindles. Up to this time ginghams had been chiefly made upon hand looms. The processes which this fabric passes through before it is ready for market are in number more than double those required in the mak- ing of plain cloth, and hence the design of the ma- chinery and buildings was correspondingly complex in character. To this novel problem E. B. Bigelow devoted his energy and marvellous constructive skill for more than two years, when his health gave way, under the intense strain of the mental toil and anxiety he had undergone, and he sought rest and found cure in foreign travel. He had, however, perfected all plans and contracts for the essentially new elements of the plant, and his brother, being thoroughly familiar with them, carried the works on- ward to completion, and put them into successful operation. H. N. Bigelow continued in management of manu- facture until 1849, when he was succeeded as agent by Franklin Forbes, under whose long and very able Ci)ntrol the company attained great financial success and an honorable name for the unvarying superiority of its products. The various purchases of real estate, — two hundred and thirteen acres in all, — and the construction of dam, mills and machinery ready for operation, cost about eight hundred thousand dollars, and the stock was divided into two thousand shares. Beth buildings and machinery were of the highest excellence in design and workmanship. The dam was built chiefly of stone quarried in the immediate neighborhood, and the town of Lancaster at the time of Its construction joined the banks of the river just above with a wooden trestle bridge, and laid out a roadway from it to the county highway. The water- power was at first developed by three breast-wheels upod a single line of shafting, each twenty-six feet in diameter with fourteen buckets. These were supple- mented by a Tufts' engine of two hundred and fifty horse-power. The mills were admirably lighted and ventilated, and neat, convenient tenements of wood were built near them, accommodating seventy fami- lies. About eight hundred operatives were required when the works were in complete running order, two- thirds of whom were females. Girls earned about three dollars per week above their board. The head dyer, Angus Cameron, was reputed the most skilful of his craft in America. The weaving-room, contain- ing six hundred looms, was the largest in the United States, having a floor-area of one and one-third acres. Thirteen thousand yards of gingham were finished in a single day — the estimated annual product being four million yards — and the price, which had been sixteen or eighteen cents per yard, dropped at once to less than twelve. In 1849 the capital of the company was increased to one million two hundred thousand dollars. The prosperity of the Clinton Company and the starting of the Lancaster Mills speedily worked great changes in their vicinity by the constantly-increasing demand for intelligent labor, and the consequent en- couragement offered to skill and traffic. The growth of the village was very rapid, yet systematic and sub- stantial. Streets were laid out according to a well- digested plan, reserving prominent sites for public buildings. In this and other work calling for the art of an engineer, the judgment and foresight of H. N. Bigelow were ably seconded by the taste and scien- tific attainments of the famous civil engineer John 0. Ho?,dley, then resident in the Prescott house, at the corner of High and Water Streets. The town of Lancaster in 1848 accepted Church, Union, Chestnut, Walnut, High, Nelson and Prospect Streets as town, roads, the expenditure for land and construction having been wholly defrayed by the villagers. Hun- dreds of shade-trees were planted, of which the town is now justly proud. Stores and dwellings soon rose in every direction, and owners or lessees hastened to occupy them before the hammer and saw of the builders had ceased work upon them. The final location of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad through the town in ,1846 gave new energy to enterprise, again to receive fresh impetus when the road was formally opened to Groton on July 24, 1848, and on November 5th of the same year to Worcester. Before this the travelling public were dependent upon Stiles' stage-coaches for conveyance to Worcester, and reached Boston by patronizing Mclntire and Day's coaches, which at 6.30 and 10 A.M. and 3.45 P.M. started for Shirley Village, there connecting with the Fitch- burg Railway trains. A. J. Gibson's rival line also carried passengers to Sou.h Acton, where the same trains were met. The Lancaster Oourant, a weekly newspaper, was established by Eliphas Ballard, Jr., and F. C. Messen- ger, in connection with a job printing-office located on the east side of High Street, in the building of C. W Field. Mr. Messenger was editor of the paper, the first number of which was published Saturday, July 4, 1846. In July, 1850, it was enlarged by the addi- tion of one column to each page and its name changed to Saturday Oourant. Ttie professions of medicine, law and engineering soon had gifted and public-spiriied representatives here, whose honorable careers adorn the town's an- 56 HISTOEY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. nals and whose wisely-directed influence made its mark upon the town's institutions. Other wide- awake young men coming hither to seek fortune and huild themselves permanent homes, engaged in trade or plied various handicrafts, and by their worthy am- bitions and energy gave a tone to the community notably superior to that which generally character- izes a new manufacturing town. Postxnaster Kand authorized the establishment of a branch of the Lancaster post-oflSce at the store of Lorey F. Bancroft, which stood on the corner of High and Union Streets until removed for the building of Greeley's block in 1875. Regular postal privileges were petitioned for and obtained in July, 1846. H. N. Bigelow was the first postmaster commissioned, and located the office in the north end of the Kendall building, placing it in charge of George H. Kendall. By popular usage the title of the corporation which had been most influential in creating this thriving village gradually became attached to it. It was called Clintonville ; and therefore the reason for the selection of its name by the company in 1838 obtains some historic interest. It must be said that the name Clinton was not adopted for any specially apt signifi- cance or with intent to honor any person or family, but simply because it satisfied the eye and ear better than other names that may have been proposed. It was doubtless chosen by Erastus B. Bigelow's desire, and was suggested to him by the Clinton Hotel of New York, which he had found a very comfortable resting-place in his business journeys to Washing- ton. The Bigelow Mechanics' Institute was founded in 1846. It was an association formed by several of the more intelligent ciiizens, who proposed to benefit themselves and the community by the support of courses of lectures upon scientific and literary sub- jects, the collection of a library, the establishing a reading-room and perhaps an industrial sch jol. A reading-room was opened to members and subscribers June 5, 1847, in the second story of the Kendall building, then on High Street, where the Clinton Bank block now stands. A fee of three dollars annually entitled any resident to its privileges. The book fund and expenses of lectures exceeding membership fees and sale of tickets were met by subscription. The introductory lecture was delivered in October, 1846, by Hon. James G. Carter. He was followed by John C. Hoadley, Dr. George M. Morse, Charles G. Stevens, Esq., Rev. Hubbard Winslow, and other edu- cated gentlemen of the vicinity. In later years, through the instrumentality of the Institute, noted lecturers like Horace Greeley, Henry D. Thoreau, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Josiah Quincy, Jr., etc., were brought to delight and instruct Clinton audi- ences. Regular monthly meetings of the members were held for conference and the discussion of ques- tions relating to the mechanic arts and manufactures. The finances of the society were never quite commen- surate with its ambitious aims, but in its six years' life it was an efficient public teacher and accumulated a valuable library of nearly seven hundred volumes. The first tavern in Clintonville was kept by Horace Faulkner in the old Plant farm-house, which in later years served as a boarding-honse for the Lancaster Quilt Company. In 1847 H. N. Bigelow built the hotel known as the Clinton House, Oliver Stone being the contractor for its construction. Horace Faulkner and his son-in-law, Jerome S. Burditt, opened it to the public in Christmas week of that year, and the " house-warming " was a notable occasion in the vil- lage. The hall was added in 1850, its completion being celebrated by an " opening ball " October 2d. In the autumn of 1839 Ephraim Puller's cloth- dressing and wool-carding works at Carter's Mills having been destroyed by fire, he purchased of George Howard his water-power on South Meadow Brook, and lands adjacent, where he erected a fulling-mill and carried on a thriving business for many years. His son, Andrew L. Fuller, soon became associated with him, and, as the times favored, machinery for the manufacture of every variety of woolen knitting- yarn, satinets and fancy cassimeres was introduced. For a time the business employed thirty hands, and sixty thousand yards of cloth were put upon the mar- ket yearly, the mill sometimes being operated by night as well as day. In the winter of 1846 Ephraim Fuller dammed Goodridge Brook where it crosses the h'ghway in Clinton and built a shop with a -trip-hammer and forge conveniences in the basement. Here Luther Gaylord — who for several years had been engaged in the manufacture by hand of cast-steel tools for farm use — made all kinds of hay and manure forks, garden rakes, hoes and agricultural implements of similar character, employing from six to ten men. His work was unrivaled in excellence. There being more than sufficient power for his limited needs, the upper story of the building was fitted with a line of shafting and leased to W. F. Conant, a builder of water-wheels, Isaac Taylor, sash and blind manufacturer, and others. Shortly after the starting of the Bigelow carpet- mill, Albert S. Carleton began the making of carpet- bags of a superior quality, using Bigelow carpeting made in patterns expressly for his purpose. His work-rooms were in the brick building now the residence of Dr. Charles A. Brooks. The business later came into the hands of James S. Caldwell.' October 16, 1847, Oilman M. Palmer started an iron foundry on land now covered by the weaving depart- ment of the Bigelow Carpet Company, at the southerly end of High Street. In 1849 he transferred this property to the Bigelows, and built upon the site of the present foundry, near the railway station. Deacon James Patterson introduced in 1848 the manufacture of belting and loom harnesses and the covering of rolls, over the carpenter-shop of Samuel CLINTON. 57 Belyea, the two occupying one end of Mr. Palmer's foundry. When the building was taken by the car- pet company, Mr. Patterson built a shop in rear of his own residence, but sold his business in July, 1853, to George H. Foster, who was located near the railway. Of any Massachusetts community it needs not to be told that the foundations of school and meeting- house were among those earliest laid and most promptly built upon ; and that generous provision was always made for the intellectual, moral and religious culture of young and old, rich and poor alike. In 1849 there were already three churches in Clintonville, each with its settled clergyman and commodious house of worship. Though forming two districts in the Lanca-ter school system, the village, under laws of that day, was permitted to manage its schools according to special by-laws of its own, and its prudential committee printed elabo- rate annual reports. A more complete autonomy was soon acquired. CHAPTER IX. CUNTON— ( Continued. ) Tlhe Inooiyoraiion — Favoring Auspices — New Enterprises and Changes In the Old. The fourth article of a warrant calling a town- meeting in Lancaster, Nov. 7, 1848, was, "To see if the Town will consent to a division thereof and allow that part called Clintonville to form a separate town- ship, or act in any manner relating thereto." The subject was referred to a committee, with instructions to report at a future meeting. This committee in- cluded Elias M. Stilwell, James G. Carter, John H. Shaw and Jacob Fisher, of the old town ; . Horatio N. Bigelow, Ezra Sawyer, Sidney Harris, Chas. G.Stevens and Jotham T. Otterson, of Clintonville. A citizens' meeting was called in the latter village, Monday, Oc- tober 29, 1849, to discuss the question of separation, at which H. N. Bigelow was chairman and Dr. George M. Morse, secretary. Those present, with almost en- tire unanimity, declared in favor of petitioning for township rights, and a committee was chosen, con- sisting of Charles G. Stevens, Sidney Harris, Joseph B. Parker, Horatio N. Bigelow and Alanson Chace, " to carry forward to accomplishment the views of the meeting, leaving the terms and the line of division to the judgment and discretion of the committee." November 12, 1849, at a town-meeting, majority and minority reports were presented by the committee chosen the year before. They contained such obvious arguments, pro and con, as are usual in the debates preceding town division, and both were tabled, the tone of a brief discus.'iion indicating that no com- promise could be readily effected at that time. The citizens' committee of Clintonville, in obedience to their instructions, proceeded to prepare a petition to the Legislature. The majority report, favoring the division, had gone so far as to propose a straight line of separation, to begin "at the town bound between Lancaster and Sterling on the Redstone Road . . . and run thence S. 75° 42' East to the easterly line of the town, strik- ing the Bolton line at a point 289.56 rods from the town bound which is a corner of Bolton, Berlin and Lancaster."' This severed from the old town nearly the whole of the Deershorns School District, and vig- orous remonstrance was made by almost every resident therein. Therefore, on February 9, 1850, a meeting was called at the vestry of the Congregational So- ciety's meeting-house, to consider a proposed line of division, so run as to include little more than the old Districts Ten and Eleven in the new town. February 15th, at a special town-meeting, the chief article in the warrant was, "To see what action the Town will take in reference to the petition of Charles G. Stevens and others to the legislature of the Com- monwealth, for a division or the town of Lancaster." After some friendly discussion of the matter the as- semblage voted that the citizens of the old town should select a committee to confer with a like committee re- presenting the petitioners, and that they should "re- port as soon as may be what terms, in their opinion, ought to satisfy the town of Lancaster, to consent not to oppose a division of the town.'' The meeting ad- journed for forty minutes, having chosen John G. Thurston, Jacob Fisher, Silas Thurston, Dr. Henry Lincoln and Nathaniel Warner to consult with the Clintonville committee already named. Upon re-as- sembling the unanimous report of the joint committee was adopted, as follows : 1. That all the property, both real and personal, owned by the town of Lancaster at the present time, shall belong to and be owned by the town of Lancaster after the diTision shall take place. 2. That the inhabitants of Clintonville shall support and forever maintain those persons who now receive relief and support from the town of Lancaster as paupern, who originated from the territory proposed to be set off ; and also forever support all persona who may hereafter be- come paupers who derive their settlement from this territory. 3. That fUintonville, or the town of Clinton, if so incorporated, shall pay to the town of Lancaster the sum of ten thousand dollars in consid- eration of the large number of river bridges and paupers that will re- main within the limits of the old town ; the same to be paid in ten equal payments of one thousand dollars, with interest semi-annually on the sum due, the first payment of one thousand dollars to be made in one year after the separation shall take place. And the amount shall be in full for all the town debt which Lancaster owes. 4. That the line of division shall be the snme as this day proposed by Charles G.Stevens, Esq., as follows: Beginning at a monument on the east line of the Town, 289.50 rods northerly from a town bound, a cor- ner of Bolton, Berlin and Lancaster; thence north 65° 30' west 488.11 rods to a monument near the railroad bridge at Goodridge Hill ; thence south 48° 30' west 783 rods to a town bound near the Elder farm, so called ; thence by the old lines of the Town to the place of beginning. 5. If a division of the Town is effected, the substance of the foregoing articles having been put in legal form, shall be inserted in the act of incorporation. J. G. Thuesto'n, 1 „, . . _, _ > Chairman or Town ComrniUee, 0. G. Stevens, / "^ 58 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. The act incorporating the town of Clinton in ac- cordance with this agreement was signed by Governor Briggs, March 14, 1850. The main eastern boundary of the new town had been fixed by the formation of Bolton out of Lancaster territory by an act passed June 27, 1738. The southern boundary had been determined by the act of February 1, 1781, which an- nexed about six square miles of the southerly part of Lancaster's original grant to Shrewsbury, The west- ern boundary was defined in the act of April 26, 1781, incorporating the Second Precinct of Lancaster as the town of Sterling. The irregular intrusion of Berlin at the southeast corner was created by an act of Feb- ruary 8, 1791, setting off Peter Larkin with his family and estate from Lancaster to Berlin, then a district of Bolton. The new town took from the old very n«arly two- thirds of her population, although but one-fifth of her acreage, and a similarly small proportion of the pub- lic roads and pauper liabilities. Of the ten bridges crossing the Nashua, eight were left to Lancaster, all being of wood and mostly old, demanding large an- nual expenditures for repairs, even when spared se- rious damage by the spring freshets, and sure to require rebuilding within twenty years. The debt of the town was about three thousand dollars. It was in view of these facts that the pecuniary consideration paid the mother town was by the fair-minded men of both sections held to be, perhaps, no more than justice demanded. The liberal concession at least silenced the loud-voiced opposition which at first met the pro- posal for division, and so confirmed the bond of friendly feeling between the two communiticis that nothing has since been able seriously to weaken it. Clinton began its corporate life with a population of thirty-one hundred and eighteen, according to the United States census of that year; although but twenty-seven hundred and seventy-eight by an enu- meration made for the assessors in June, 1850. It had a debt ofabout four and a half dollars and a valuation of over four hundred dollars per head of its inhabitants. It could, with good reason, boast itself in many re- spects a model manufacturing town. Its territory and population were compact, nine-tenths of the citizens dwelling within a single square mile. It was bur- dened with few and short roads and bridges. Though not blessed with a productive soil, it was surrounded by towns p jssessing rich farming lands and chiefly devoted to agriculture. Its industries were widely diversified, there being already well established man- ufactories of ginghams, Brussels carpets, coach-lace, counterpanes, tweeds, cassimerej, combs, carpet-bags, agricultural tools, sish and blinds, castings, ma- chinery. At the head of its chief corporations stood man- agers who were not only generous and public-spirited, but gifted with qualities more rare and valuable— taste and foresight. While studying the true economy of machinery and manufactures, they looked less to penny-wise saving than to enduring reputation. They and their successors built comfortable, detached homes for their employes, instead of huddling them in cheap blocks, and thoughtfully planned for ample light, fresh air, convenience and safety in the work- rooms, believing that health and contentment in the workmen largely conduce to the employer's profit. Without undue expense they made the architecture and surroundings of th«ir works attractive. The in- fluence of this policy, which has been permanent and followed very generally by private enterprise of the townspeople, is not only to be seen in its exter- nal and aesthetic results, but felt in the social life, the atmosphere of content that pervades the place. The first town-meeting was held in the vestry of the Congregational meeting-house on Monday, the 1st day of April, 1850, at 9 o'clock a.m. A citizens' caucus had previously nominated a list of town offi- cers, which the voters did not fully endorse. Albert 8. Carleton was chosen town clerk, and Sidney Harris, treasurer and collector. The selectmen elected were Ezra Sawyer, Samuel Belyea and Edmund Harris ; the assessors, Alfred Knight, Joseph B. Parker and Ira Coolidge ; the overseers of the poor, James Ingalls, Alanson Chace and Nathan Burditt. The school committee, who were elected at an adjourned meet- ing April 15th, were Rev. William H. Corning, Rev. Charles M. Bowers, C. W. Blanchard, Dr. George W. Burditt, Dr. George M. Morse, F. C. Messenger and James Patterson. The three last named declining fo serve, Augustus J. Sawyer, William W. Parker and CJiarles L.-Swan were chosen in their places. The siim of eight thousand two hundred dollars was voted for the year's expenses, including two thonsapd dollars for schools, andfive hundred for aFire Depart- ment. Certain pressing wants called for early public aor tion. There was no place for the burial of the dead within the town limit's, although a cemetery associa- tion had been organized October 3, 1849. About ten acres of land, admirably suited in position and char- acter for a public cemetery, were soon purchased, laid out with taste and judgment, and named Wood- lawn. Near by a small farm was bought of Sumner Thompson for an almshouse. Upon it were a small house and barn ; to this were added three acres ob- tained of Joseph Rice, and a dwelling of eleveo rooms was at once built. The twelve acres and im- provements cost $3869.71. A volunteer fire company, called Torrent, No. 1, was organized September 18, 1850, its members being the chief business men of the town. A Hunneman fire- engine was procured, for which one thousand dollars had been appropriated, and on March 10, 1851. a Fire Department was established by legislative enactment. Franklin Forbes was chosen chief engineer. A sec- ond company, the Cataract, No. 2, was formed June 17, 1853, and a third, the Franklin Hook-and-Ladder Company, July 7, 1858. Organizations bearing the CLINTON. 59 same titles yet exist, but the engine companies were disbanded and re-organized ^s hose companies after the introduction of water for fire purposes, each having in charge six hundred feet of hose. A fourth company, formed in 1870, has care of a steam fire- engine, one of Cole Brothers' manufacture, and twelve hundred feet of hose. The firemen have always re- ceived liberal support from the town, are supplied with every modern appliance for use in the extin- guishment of fires, and provided with comfortable and attractively furnished halls, in the upper stories of the neat structures in which the apparatus is stored. The Gamewell electric fire-alarm system was adopted in July, 1885. May 15, 1851, Franklin Forbes, Albert S. Carleton, Charles G. Stevens and associates obtained incorpora- tion as the Clinton Savings Bank, and were author- ized to hold real estate not to exceed ten thousand dollars in value. H. N. Bigelow was elected the first president of the bank. In this office he was succeeded by Franklin Forbes. The first treasurer, Charles Ij. Swan, is now president, and C. L. S. Hammond has been treasurer since 1864. For several years deposits were received by the treasurer at the office of the Lancaster Mills and by the president at his office in the Bigelow Library building ; later, by the treasurer at the office of the Bigelow Carpet Company. Since 1864 the business of the bank had been conducted in the rooms of the First National Bank. Its deposits now amount to $1,123,109, the number of depositors being about four thousand. The total deposits since organization have been over five million dollars, and the total number of accounts over fourteen thousand. At the woolen-mill upon South Meadow Brook, Andrew L. Fuller succeeded his father, who retired from the business in 1850, just as their special manu- factures of yarns and cloths began to be unremunera- tive. Mr. Fuller was a man of great business capacity and energy, shrewdly watchful of the market, and he gradually introduced new machinery for the produc- tion of goods for which there was a better demand. When fashion decreed that hoop-skirts should be an essential article of female apparel, he filled his work- rooms with tape-looms and braiders for covering hoop-skirt wire, and soon developed a very successful business. In 1865 he more than doubled the capacity of his main building, added two hundred braiders to the two hundred and fifty he had previously run, and increased the number of his tape-looms to forty. Nearly one hundred hands were given employment. September 10, 1867, Mr. Fuller died, but the manu- facture was continued by his partner, Everett W. Bigelow, until change in fickle fashion destroyed the sale for such goods, and bankruptcy followed in 1870. N. 0. Munson, of Shirley,'under mortgagee rights, took possession of and sold the property to Boyce Brothers, of Boston, iu whose ownership the mills were when destroyed in 1876, as narrated hereafter. The industry has never been resumed. The water- power is now in possession of George P. Taylor, who, in 1885, built a neat, one-story brick mill here, which was for a time leased to the Ridgway Stove and Fur- nace Company, but is now unoccupied. In 1852 the Bigelow Library Association, a joint stock company, assumed the functions and received the assets of the Bigelow Mechanics' Institute. It began its career under far more favoring auspices than its predecessor, having, beside the capital re- rived from its stock subscription, generous donations from various citizens, including the sum of one thou- sand dollitrs given by Erastus B. B'gelow. A Substan- tial brick building was erected upon Union Street, giving ample accommodations for the use of the society and several rooms for rent. Here a choice library was gradually gathered, and the association became a prominent factor in the literary life of the town. When, in 1873, the town resolved to maintain a free public library, the association placed in its charge the four thousand four hundred volumes which it had accumulated. It thfen sold its remaining effects and real estate, and its twenty years' career of usefulne.-^s and beneficence closed. A lot of about four acres in the heart of the village, bounded by Walnut, Chestnut, Church and Union Streets, was, in 1852, given to Clinton by H. N. Big- elow, with the stipulation that it should be laid out according to plans of J. C. Hoadley, that no perma- nent structure of any kind should ever be built upon it, and that it should be suitably embellished and cared for forever as a public square. The town accepted the gift April 5, 1852, and at once appropri- ated one thousand dollars for its improvement. This has now berome a tree-shaded park, and is the most ureful of Mr. Bigelow's many and wise benefactions to the town which he did so much to found, and was ever striving to improve and adorn. Joseph B. Parker, who for twelve years had been superintendent of the Clinton Company's machine- shop, built, in the summer of 1852, near the railway staiion, a shop fitted with steam-power and tools for the manufacture of machinery. Having associated with him Gilman M. Palmer, he began work here on the 1st of January, 1853. The firm of Parker & Pal- mer was dissolved October 31, 1857, and two years later A. C. Dakin was taken into partnership. September 7, 1858, John T. Dame, E.e Public Library was opened De- cember 6, 1873, Andrew E. Ford being the first libra- rian. It began its life of usefulness with four thou- sand four hundred and eight books upon its shelves, which had been donated by the Bigelow Library As-_ sociation. This nucleus has grown iu fourteen years to fourteen thousand one hundred and eighty-seven volumes, showing an average annual addition of about seven hundred volumes. The association's bequest was made conditional upon the yearly expenditure by the town of at least five hundred dollars for the pur- chase of books. The annual appropriation, from fif- teen hundred dollars in 1874, has increased to twenty- three hundred in 1888, besides the amount received from the dog tax and sale of catalogues, usually about six hundred dollars additional. The circulation from eleven thousand eight hundred and forty-two in 1874, has grown to thirty-five thousand seven hundred and twenty-two in 1886-87. The management of the library is vested in six trustees, whose term of service is three years, two being elected annually. Miss Charlotte L. Greene is librarian, succeeding her sister. Miss Fannie M. Greene, in 1886. A catalogue was printed in 1887. An appropriate monument to the memory of the fifty-eight Clinton men who died in the Union service during the Civil War was erected in the summer of TO HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. 1875, the dedicatory services taking place August 28th. It stands in the southwest corner of the town-hall enclosure, and consists of an architectural base of Con- cord granite eleven feet in height, surmounted by a bronze figure of an infantry volunteer standing at rest, copying a design by M. J. Powers. The exer- cises of its dedication were a procession with music, the formal transfer of the memorial to the town by Franklin Forbes for the committee of construction, and patriotic addresses by Hon. Charles G. Stevens, John T. Dame, Esq., and the Reverends V. M. Sim- mons and W. S. Burton. The cost of the monument was about four thousand dollars, of which sum eight hundred and forty dollars was collected by the women of Clinton in various ways for such a memorial, and the remainder was paid from the town treasury. During the closing year of the Civil War there began for the Lancaster Mills, as for most manufac- turers, a period of great prosperity, during which ex- tensive improvements and additions of buildings and machinery were made year by year. In 1867 the dam was entirely rebuilt, with an extreme length of one hundred and seventy feet, securing a fall of twenty- seven feet. At the same time the old breast-wheels were replaced by two turbines of three hundred and fifty horse-power each. In April, 1875, a branch of the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg, now a division of the Old Colony Railway was built to the mills, giving transportation facilities much needed. In 1877 Frank- lin Forbes, for twenty-eight years manager, died, and George W. Weeks, then superintendent, upon whom very many of Mr. Forbes' original duties had before this devolved, was appointed manufacturing agent. During the administration of Mr. Weeks, the years 1880, 1881, 1887 and 1888 have been marked by very important extensions of the working plant, the ca- pacity for production having been increased at least seventy-five per cent. The weaving-room, supposed to be the largest of the kind in the United States, if not in the world, has a floor area of one hundred and thirty-seven thousand feet, or three and one-seventh acres, atfording space for twenty-eight hundred looms. The carding and spinning departments occupy two brick mills of huge dimensions, one three, the other four stories in height. The whole floor area of the works, including basements, etc., used for storage, and the Sawyer's Mills in Boylston, is about sixteen acres, twelve of which are devoted to manufacture. The company has also about two hundred tenements, nearly all of a class superior to those usually found in manufacturing towns, and three large boarding- houses, each accommodating one hundred persons. An unusually large proportion of the employes have dwellings of their own. When the recently completed extension receives its machinery, the corporation will require the labor of nearly twenty-two hundred operatives, about equally divided between the two sexes, and its yearly product is expected to reach twenty-eight million yards of twenty-seven inch ginghams; last year it was nearly twenty-five million yards. Three large steam-engines of Corliss pattern, developing fourteen hundred horse-power, are employed to aid the tur- bines, while six small engines are in constant use for various purposes. Among the army of workers are skilled mechanics of various crafts, and corps of chemists and designers perform important duties. But a single quality of goods is here made, a high grade of gingham everywhere known for its always reliable colors and exceptional durability. Allhough combinations of color are restricted to stripes and checks, already about two hundred thousand distinct patterns have been designed. It will be noticed that the enormous increase of production over that of the earliest years of the cor- poration's life is far in excess of the numerical in- crease of looms and operatives. In every department new processes and improvements in mechanism have been introduced from time to time, and greater speed of movement attained, until the product per operative is two and four-tenths times what it was in 1850. The average wages have during the same period been increased eighty per cent., and this although the hours of labor per day are now two hours less than in 1850. The present officers of the company are : S. G. Snelling, president ; Harcourt Amory, treasurer ; George W. Weeks, agent ; George P. Taylor, superin- tendent. February 18, 1864, the corporation which gave name to the town ceased to exist, its charter being annulled by legislative enactment. The coach-lace looms had been sent to Philadelphia, it had the year before sold its real estate in Boylston, known as Sawyer's Mills, and certain of its looms for weaving checks, to the Lancaster Mills Company ; and its water-rights, fac- tory buildings, tenant-houses and lands in Clinton to the Bigelow Carpet Company. The latter corpo- ration had already made preparations to do its own wool-cleansing and spinning, — for which preliminary processes of its manufacture it had previously been dependent upon other parties, — and to the extensive plant required for these the grounds and buildings of the coach-lace mills were devoted. A large worsted- mill was completed in 1866, and the dam was rebuilt and raised to control a flowage of two hundred and thirty-six acres, including Mossy and Sandy, two of the three great natural ponds of Clinton. Upon the death of Horatio N. Bigelow, in 1865, his eldest son, Henry N. Bigelow, was made superin- tendent of the new department, and Charles L. Swan held the same position in the weaving-mill. In De- cember, 1871, Mr. Bigelow became managing agent of the company. Under his supervision extensive additions were made in both departments during 1872. A new worsted-mill, three stories in height, two hundred feet long by sixty-five feet wide, was built in 1875, and great improvements were made in CLINTON. VI the machinery. Upon his retirement, March 26, 1881, he was succeeded in the management by his brother, Charles B. Bigelow. During 1885 the weav- ing department was very greatly enlarged, and in 1886 and 1887 an extension, two hundred feet in length, was added upon the west, reaching to School Street. In this have been placed newly-invented looms for the weaving of Ax minster carpeting. The president of the company is James H. Beal, and C. F. Fairbanks is treasurer. The capital, which was two hundred thousand dollars at the incorpora- tion of the company in 1854, has been increased to one million. The number of looms is two hundred and forty, and when the works are run to their full capacity, twelve hundred persons are employed, whose pay amounts to fifteen hundred dollars each day, and the production is at the rate of one million eight hundred yards per year. About six million pounds of wool are used annually. The company is complete within itself, importing the grade of wool which it requires, and conducting all the operations of its fabrication, — cleansing, spinning, dyeing, weaving, — on its own premises. The floor space occupied amounts to ten and three-fourths acres. Its various buildings are of brick, aad very attractive in appearance. The com- pany also owns houses accommodating sixty-three families, and has three boarding-houses. Three grades of carpeting are manufactured by the Bigelow Company, — Wilton, Axminsterand Brussels. The first power-loom, invented by E. B. Bigelow, thirty years ago won admiration, because with it a single girl wove as much Brussels carpeting in a given time as four men and four boys could do with four hand looms. The perfected loom of to-day has fourfold the capacity of the first Bigelow loom. C. M. Bailey & Son, a few months after the de- struction by fire of their property at Sterling in Feb- ruary, 1868, purchased the low-lying land between Sterling Street and the Boston, Clinton and Fitch- burg Railway in Clinton, and established thereon an extensive tannery with sixty-one vats, a large currier shop, engine and boiler-house, and other accessories of their business. The capacity of the yard was about twenty thousand hides, and required the at- tendance of forty men and boys. The junior member of the firm, George E. Bailey, died in 1873, when Bryant & King, by purchase, succeeded to the busi- ness. They at once enlarged the works to more than double their original capacity, employed about one hundred hands, and were apparently in full tide of prosperity when the breaking of the Mossy Pond reservoir dam in 1876 swept away their large stock of material, demolished their buildings and left them weighed down by too heavy discouragements for re- newal of the enterprise. Two years later C. M. Bailey and William J. Stewart rebuilt some portions of the buildings, gave work to twenty-five or thirty men, and continued the tanning business until August 28, 1880, when a fire laid the property again in ruins, in which condition it remains. Deacon Joseph B. Parker, the veteran machinist of Clinton, died September 1, 1874, at the age of seventy years. He was a native of Princeton, but came here from Providence, R. I., where he had a shop, to or- ganize and manage the machine-^hop connected with the Clinton Company's works. His practical ability and judgment were of great value to E. B. Bigelow in the adjustment and construction of his inventions. He was a pillar of strength in the Congregational Church, a man of thorough independence and originality. A joint stock company was formed to continue the business of which he was the founder and had been for nearly twenty-five years the manager, which took the title of the J. B. Parker Machine Company. The capital is forty-five thousand dollars, and the yearly manufacture is estimated as fifty thousand dollars in value. A. C. Dakin is president, C. C. Murdock, treasurer, and N. E. Stowell, foreman. From seventy- five to one hundred men are required when the machinery of the shops is fully employed. The special line of work done is the construction of carpet- looms, the Bancroft mule, the Clinton yarn-twister, and other mechanism for wool manufacturers. The buildings of the company are commodious, well equipped with power and tools, and conveniently located beside the tracks of the Worcester and Nashua Division of the Boston and Maine Railway. Closely allied with and adjoining the machine- shops are the new and admirably appointed works of the Clinton Foundry Company, recently completed in place of the old foundry, built by Gilman N. Palmer, in 1849, which was crushed in during the great snow-storm of March 12, 1888. Major Christo- pher C. Stone, for many years associated with Colonel Palmer, bought the foundry in October, 1881, and, forming a partnership with the J. B. Parker Company, under the corporate title above named, became general manager of the business. Twenty-six men are regularly employed here, chiefly upon machine and railroad work, casting daily from a three-ton cupola furnace. The value of castings sold annually is about thirty-six thousand dollars. Colonel Gilman M. Palmer came to Clintonville from Dover, N. H., in 1847, but was born in Gardner, Maine, December 4, 1812. He was foreman of the first engine company, the first captain of the Clinton Light Guards, lieutenant-colonel of the Ninth Mili- tia, vice-president of the Savings Bank, and director of the First National Bank. He served the town as selectman for four years ; was one of the founders of the Unitarian Church, and a member of Trinity Masonic Lodge. He died May 27, 1885. By his will nearly fifteen thousand dollars were left in public bequests. Upon Sterling Street, near the station of the rail- way, stand the neat brick workshops of the Gibbs Loom, Harness and Reed Company, which was incor- 72 HISTOEY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. porated April 1, 1874, with a capital of fifty thousand dollars. William H. Gibbs, the president of the company, became in 1865 associated with George H. Foster in the manufacture of belting, loom-harness and roll-covering, and later began making reeds — in which business they had been preceded by Eobert Turner. In the autumn of 1868 the partnership was dissolved, and in a division of the assets Mr. Gibbs retained the loom-harness and reed manufacture, and Mr. Foster that of belting and roll-covering. Hear- ing of an improved heddle machine of English in- vention, Mr. Gibbs imported one, the first brought into the United States. A rapid increase of orders rewarded his enterprise, requiring more machinery and capital, and the formation of a company followed. It now has in operation thirteen heddle — or heald — machines, giving work to forty operatives, male and female. The ebonized loom-harness is a specialty for which the company have a patent, granted February 1, 1881. The reed manufacture was begun in Novem- ber, 1884, and has met with such encouragement that but one reed maker in America now rivals this com- pany in yearly production. This success has been attained by superior workmanship. Charles L. Swan is treasurer of the corporation. About half-past three o'clock of Sunday, March 26, 1876, the people of Clinton and villages adjoining, were startled by loud and long-continued alarm signals from the steam gong of the wire-mill, giving wide warning of an unforeseen and grievous disaster, dne that, because of the fortunate hour of its happening, was not attended with loss of human life, but which forever ruined several useful industries, seriously interrupted others, and utterly destroyed three hun- dred thousand dollars' worth of capital, buildings, machinery and goods. A snow-storm, quickly followed by copious rains, had filled the great reservoir of the Bigelow Carpet Company to overflowing. In the Mossy Pond portion of it the water stood higher than in the Clinton basin, the culvert under the Worcester and Nashua Railway, which joined them, proving insufficient to take away the unprecedented flow poured in by the South Meadow Brook. Before danger was suspected, the waters rose so high as to wash over or through an embankment at the northerly side of Mossy Pond, just above the sources of the little brook formerly known as Eigby's. This dam of earth was about forty feet long and ten feet in height, and the ground at either end of and beneath it was porous gravel and sand. The trickling overflow soon grew to a resistless torrent and tore this obstacle from its path, opening a broad gap between the hills down to the level of the marshy ground below. About sixty rods away the Boston, Clinton and Fitchburg Railway crosses the valley upon a gravel embankment nearly forty feet in height, which dammed the flood for a while, affording time for the residents of houses upon the meadow below to escape. In less than half an hour, however, a river nearly one hundred feet in width was rushing through the rail- road bank over the vats of Bryant & King's tannery, bearing along the dibris of falling buildings and thousands of hides from the extensive yards. Cross- ing Sterling Street, it spread over the wide, level tract below, undermining several dwellings, the occupants of which barely escaped with such valuables as they could hastily snatch and carry away in their arms. The next impediment met was the embankment of the Worcester and Nashua Railway. This, being a much lower and older earthwork than that previously burst through, held firm for a time until a great lake had formed behind it, and the water began to pour over the track ; but at length it gave way at the little brook culvert, when the mad flood poured across Main Street, whirled the old dams and shops built by the early comb-makers, and a house which it had brought from the meadows above, crashing down the ledges into the valley of the South Meadow Brook. On this stream a factory, then the property of the Boyce Brothers, of Boston, a three-story wooden building, over one hundred and fifty feet in length, stood upon the dam directly in the path of the waters. It was quickly lifted from its foundations and borne away upright over the Currier farm into the Nashua, to bring up with a loud crash against the first island. Nearly half of the structure, caught in a swirl, again floated on at terrific speed towards the iron bridge and the mills at South Lancaster. Luckily, the depth of the flood was so great that the main flow poured outside the river banks, and the wreck following it passed down between the cotton- factory and the grist-mill, struck the Lancaster Rail- road Bridge a sounding blow as it went under it, toppled over and was torn into fragments. Meadow farms along the river for many miles were deeply inundated, strewn with wreckage of buildings, ma- chinery, furniture, hides, horn goods and great masses of peat from Mossy Pond, and covered with a deposit of sandy mud. The gaps in the railroads had to be bridged, and remained serious interrup- tions to travel for several days. The Carpet Company, during the summer, filled the crevasse through which the reservoir had drained itself so disastrously with a solid structure. Tedious lawsuits for damages followed, and the sites of the manufactories demolished are even now marked by ruins and desolation. No citizen of Clinton ever stood nearer the popular heart than Franklin Forbes, the manager of the Lan- caster Mills, In 1866 some warning from overtaxed brain impelled him to seek much-needed rest, by a vacation in Europe; but although he soon returned to ^his wonted labors much invigorated, he began to delegate more and more of his duties to the assistant whom he had trained from youth to be his succes- sor — George W. Weeks, then holding the office of superintendent. After a year or two of visibly fad- CLINTON. 73 ing strength, he died, December 24, 1877, at the age of sixty-six, mourned as an irreparable loss by young and old, in all classes of society, and wherever his genial presence had been known. Mr. Forbes was born in West Cambridge, Mass., March 8, 1811, but his parents removed to Boston in his early childhood. He was prepared for college at the Latin School, being a schoolmate of Charles Sumner, and was graduated at Amherst in 1833. Thrown upon his own resources, he decided to adopt the profession of teaching for a livelihood, and ac- cepted the position of usher in a Boston school. Scholarly in his tastes and a diligent student, he also po.-'Sessed the gift of inspiring others with his own enthusiasm for knowledge, and his success as an instructor was correspondingly marked. He became master of the school, and was called thence to Lowell, to become principal of the High School in that city. In 1837 he was married to Martha A. S. Gushing, of Lunenburg. He continued to teach for several years after his marriage, but finding this field of occupation somewhat narrow for his abilities and aspirations, he began to employ his leisure in legal studies. He was not, however, destined to practice at the bar. The avocation for which his natural powers pre- eminently fitted him, and in which he subsequently won so honorable repute, was pointed out to him and others during his short period of service for the Locks and Canals Company of Lowell. His peculiar ability in the conduct of large business affairs attracted notice and brought him the offer of the agency of the Lancaster Mills, which he accepted, and on December 1, 1849, assumed his new duties. From that day, for twenty-eight years, Mr. Forbes stood prominent among the foremost citizens of Clinton, a respected leader in municipal and church affairs and social cir- cles, whose breadth of culture, genial an"d sympathetic nature, unselfishness and strong practical sunse, made him not only an intelligent adviser in matters of public concern, but one to whom all were glad to listen. He believed the true interests of capital and labor to be identical, and his management of the great man- ufactory placed in his charge was consonant with his theory. His services were invaluable to the corpora- tion, whose annual product increased during his administration from four million to fifteen million yards ; but he never forgot the workman's rights or welfare while he successfully labored to secure for the stockholders their proper yearly harvest of profit. Once, in a period of great depression in businesss circles, his innate kindliness of heart prompted him to keep the mills running half-time for several weeks at a probable loss, to save the wage-earners from the priv%tions that would inevitably have followed the entire stoppage of the works. He was ever thinking of his operatives' needs and planning for their eleva- tion. To this end he established evening schools and popular lectures, to which he contributed much per- sonal labor. His long experience as a teacher and his warm interest in the education of the young made him a valuable member of the town's School Board, of which he was chairman thirteen years, a service exceeded in length only by that of John T. Dame, Esq. He was for many years president of the Savings Bank, of the Clinton Gas-light Company, and of the Bigelow Library Association. He was the first chief en- gineer of the Fire Department, director in the First National Bank, and his counsel was sought on all questions of grave interest to the town. The esteem and respect in which he was universally held were never, perhaps, more conspicuously shown than when, in 1864, he was persuaded to allow himself to be a candidate for Kepresentative of the Eighth Worcester District, then comprising the towns of Clinton and Lancaster. He received every vote cast, save one in Clinton. The Unitarian Society, which he was active in organizing, found in him a generous benefactor and an indefatigable Christian worker. His patriot- ism was not only fervent and inspiriting, but self- sacrificing. He was president of the Soldiers' Aid Society during the Rebellion, and the volunteers and their families knew no more loyal, no more tender- hearted and cheery friend and adviser than he. Mr. Forbes left t\vo sons and three daughters, and his wife still survives him. December 2, 1879, Erastus Brigham Bigelow died at his residence on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston. His body was, in accordance with his expressed wish, brought for burial to the town which his genius had created, and was there received with public demon- strations of genuine respect and sorrow. Mr. Bigelow was phenomenal even among inventors for his power of analysis and mental concentration. Some of his inventions consist of very numerous ele- ments in harmonious conjunction, forming the most complex mechanism used in manufacture. But these were all complete mental conceptions, as the author of them himself assures us, fully fashioned and adjusted in his mathematical imagination before draughtsmen attempted to delineate, or workmen wrought a single cam or lever of them. Singularly enough, he was no mechanic, handled no tool well, made only rough pencil sketches, and entrusted to others the draughting of his ideas to working scale for the machinists. His extraordinary power was shown very early in life, for he was but fourteen years of age when his little machine for the making of piping-cord was perfected. During the fifty years of his subsequent career he was granted in the United ■ States more than fifty patents, the larger number of them for improvements in textile machinery. He was a native of West Boylston, Massachusetts, born April 2, 1814. He was obliged to contribute to his own support when a mere boy by daily labor upon the farm, and at the age of thirteen years began work 74 HISTORY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. in a cotton-mill. The fortunate earning of one hun- dred dollars by the sale of the pipiag-cord machine enabled him to pay for a few terms' tuition at a neigh- boring academy. He earnestly desired a higher education, but means were wanting, and for a few years, apparently unconscious of his special talent, he wandered from one place and occupation to another with youthful instability — displaying, however, great energy not wholly wasted, inasmuch as varied exper- ience was a part of the preparation for his life's work. At sixteen years of age he is found a clerk in a Boston dry-goods store. Next he became a zealous student of stenography; even published upon that subject his first book, and earned a little money by teaching the art, travelling with a partner through New England and the Middle States. For a time he then became overseer of a cotton factory at Wareham, and later he taught a writing-school and began the study of medicine. Suddenly he conceived the idea of weaving Marseilles quilts by power, and abandoned his intention of becoming a physician to build the counterpane loom, having induced a firm of Boston importers to undertake the cost of the experiment. The financial troubles of 1837 interfering with the expected support by the firm, he came to Lancaster with his brother ; Horatio bringing to the partnership his moderate savings, Erastus contributing an auto- matic device for weaving coach-lace by power which the experts declared would not work, but which the brothers were confident would. Prosperity rewarded pluck, and did not come with its usual coyness and at laggard pace ; fame followed closely after. Mr. Bigelow had at last evidently found his appointed place in the world's army of workers. He was henceforth to take rank among the creators and organizers of human industry ; a fellow- laborer for human progress with Watts, Arkwright and Eli Whitney. The Lowell Companies employed him at appropriate salary to act as their advising agent, to suggest special improvements in machinery and methods of manufacture. Invention after inven- tion speedily followed. The gingham, the various carpet, the wire and the brocatel looms successively won their victories and extended his reputation. The great English carpet manufacturers acknowledged themselves outdone by American ingenuity, and pur- chased the new machinery. It is noteworthy that Mr. Bigelow's aim, both as an inventor and a manufacturer, was ever towards greater perfection in the product. No prospective profit could induce him to cheapen manufacture by allowing the quality to fall below his ideal of excel- lence. His object was to produce by machinery a fabric every way better than that wrought by hand— the decreased cost of production inevitably following and the consumers enjoying a double gain. He always perfected his ideas, resolutely laboring until the object sought was consummated, never abandon- ing .the half-wrought for some promising afierthought. Mr. Bigelow first married Miss Susan W. King. She died in 1841, leaving an infant son, Charles, who survived his mother but six years. He found a second wife in Miss Eliza Means, of Amherst, N. H., by whom he had one daughter, Helen, now the wife of Rev. Daniel Merriman. His stay in Clinton was but brief, though he was a frequent visitor here. His regular residence for most of his life was in Boston, but he owned an estate of two hundred acres at North Conway, N. H., which he named Stonehurst, and there he spent the summers of his later years. The degree of Master of Arts was bestowed upon him in 1845 by Williams College; in 1852, by Yale; in 1854, by Dartmouth, and in 1861 by Harvard. Amherst conferred upon him, in 1867, the degree of Doctor of Laws. He was a member of the American Academy of Sciences, the Massachusetts Historical Society, and the London Society for the Encourage- ment of the Arts, Manufactures and Commerce. He was one of the founders of the Massachusetts Insti- tute of Technology. In politics he was generally a conservative, never an active partisan, and in later life proclaimed his independence of party. He was, in 1860, nominated by the Democracy of the Fourth District as their candidate for Representative to Congress, but his opponent, Alexander H. Rice, afterwards Governor of the State, secured the election by a small plurality. Mr. Bigelow's published writings mostly treat of political economy, and are characteristic of the man, exhibiting his analytical skill, and remarkable rather for precision of statement and lucidity than for rhetorical graces. He sent to the press in 1858, " Remarks on the Depressed Condition of Manufac- tures in Massachusetts, with Suggestions as to its Cause and Remedy;" in 1862, a large quarto entitled, " The Tariff" Question Considered in Regard to the Policy of England and the Interest of the United States ;" in 1869, an address, " The Wool Industry of the United States ;" in 1877, " The Tariff Policy of England and the United States Contrasted ;" in 1878, " The Relations of Labor and Capital," an article in the Atlantic Monthly. CHAPTER XII. CLn notary public, and has been justice of the First Dis- trict Court of Eastern Worcester since June, 1879 ; has dealt largely in real estate, has built nine houses and has settled and helped to settle over two hundred estates of deceased persons. He has zealously advo- cated the principal reforms of his time. Jonas Fay, Esq., a native of Southborough, was twice married. He was selectman, assessor ■ and member of School Committee for many years. Was a school teacher when young ; represented the town in General Court ; deacon of the Pilgrim Evangelical Church ; settled many estates of deceased persons and was active in town affairs. Deacon Francis Fisher was twice married; held the office of selectman ; represented the district in General Court ; in his younger days was a seafaring man , and for a number of years a sea captain. Ezekiel D. Eockwood was twice married ; was a very prominent man ; served as selectman, overseer of poor for many years, and represented the district in the General Court. He was very liberal in his donations for the cause of freedom and temperance. Harvey Newton, Esq., son of Hezekiah Newton, was born September 26, 1819, married Ann S. Gamage, July 30, 1844 ; served as selectman one year. Was once chosen to represent the district in the General Court, but declined to serve — a very remarkable case. He manufactured boots and shoes with .John Hartt, in Southville, some seventeen years, and afterwards carried on the business alone about eight years. He built and now owns the shoe factories in that village, and has contributed largely towards building up said village. He was never blessed with children, but has been highly blessed in many things. James Henry Eobinson, M.D., born February 9, 1831, married Charlotte K. Ri' e, November 9, 1857. He graduated from Albany Medical College in 1856, and commenced practice as physician at Deer Island the same year. He practiced also in Kan>as, and while there was the family physician of the famous John Brown. Since that time he has practiced in Southborough and vicinity. He has represented the district in the General Court. William H. Buck, Esq., born August 26, 1813. He married Sally Maria Brigham, June 20, 1850. He was in the meat business some four years, and for many years has been a cattle broker. He served as selectman eight years, and has held various other im- portant offices in town. He represented the district in the General Court one year. Benjamin F. Prentiss, Esq., born July 25, 1820 ; married, July, 1850, to Susan S. Johnson, of whom he had five children. He has held the office of selectman eight years, overseer of the poor eleven years ; is a master-builder by trade, and has erected nearly three hundred buildings. Sylvester C. Fay was born May 23, 1825. He mar- ried Eliza Bell Burnett, daughter of Dr. Joel Bur- nett, February 16, 1858. He kept store in Fayville with his father and brothers many years. Lately he has been engaged in the manufacture of corsets. He is a man of much energy ; has served as selectman. He has long been engaged in the temperance cause and oiher reforms. His wife and her sister, Harriet Burnett, have caused to be erected a large school- house, in which is kept by them a school for about thirty-five small boys, who are here prepared for entrance to the St. Mark's and other classical schools. Leander W. Newton was born in Southborough November 26, 1838. He married Emma M. Muzzy February 27, 1861. He has served as over=eer of the poor ten years, and as collector nine years. He has represented the district in General Court. He is an active business man. Horace F. Webster was born January 22, 1829. He married Ann M. Fox February 13, 1852. He has been town treasurer six years, He also repre- sented the district in General Court one year. CHAPTER XVI. STURBRIDGE. BY I,EVI B. CHASE. Stuebridge is located in the southwest corner of Worcester County, bordering south upon the Con- necticut line, and west upon the county of Hampden. The surface is made up of long parallel ridges, more rounded hills, and corresponding valleys. The upheaval of rock is mostly of the gneiss forma- tion, the dip of the strata in some instances, as at the lead-mine, being almost perpendicular. Laterally, the trend of the strata is invariably northeasterly and southwesterly. The ridgts have their uniformity broken up by differences in height, and the rounding and excoriating action of the glacial period. Right across these formidable barrieris, and from its entrance at the west to its outgo at the east line of the original town, nearly— if it held a direct course— at right angles with the rock system, the Quinebaug has its way, dividing the territory into two nearly equal portions. STURBRIDGE. 103 The streams affluent to the Quinebaug take the water-shed from both directions, their general course being governed by the same rule as the rock forma- tion. In the present town we have Breakneck Brook and Hamant Brook from the south, the former discharging at the south bend of the river, the other higher up, near the centre of the valley. On the north side is Hobbs, or Sugar Brook, which takes the flow from Walker Pond, passes near the Common, and with its long series of meadows forms a large portion and the lowest level of the Central Valley. Cedar Pond Brook, near the Fair Grounds, and Long Pond Brook, near the western border, discharge the water of the respective reservoirs of the same name into the Quinebnug. Allum Pond is a notable natural body of water sit- uated about two miles northerly of Fiskdale Village. It is about one mile long and half a mile wide. It has Mount Toby upon the west of it, and is bordered by elevated land. The water is held in a rocky basin above the surrounding country. Fed by springs, its clear water abounding in fish, the salubrity of the air and the romantic scenery has given the shores of this pond a local reputation as a camping-ground. Walker Pond, in old times called Salstonstal'sPond, is noted as a pleasure resort Here the country road skirts the eastern border beneath tall trees, while upon the opposite side of the pond rises the abrupt precipices of Walker Mountain, over which winds the "mountain road," making up a drive which is highly appreciated by the people in the vicinity. Lead-mine, Lrmg and Cedar Ponds, have each their peculiar attractions. Shumway Hill throws out its northern point as if to stop the Quinebaug about two miles from the west- ern border of the town. The river is forced to turn and go around the hill close under the northern slope. Along the northern bank of the river, just where it curves, are situated the factories and the village of Fiskdale. From the opposite slope of Shumway Hill the view of thi-i village is enchanting. From the pin- nacle of the hill very fine views of rural scenery are obtained in every direction except the southward, where lie the wooded hills and rocky ridges that envi- ron the lead-mine region. To the eastward lies the central valley of the town, and beyond the noted Fisk Hill. From Fisk Hill one has an extensive and delightful view in every direction. Looking westward across the valley, the Quinebaug is seen emerging from Fiskdale along the base of Shumway Hill, and seems to loiter idly along by grassy meadows and cultivated fields, winding about in many a romantic nook and charming retreat— a blending of water, meadow and forest scenery seldom surpassed. All along tlie valley it is the quiet Quinebaug. Turned aside at Fisk Hill, it takes a southerly course, going a little more hurriedly until it turns and plunges eastward between high, rooky hills, and then turns again to the northward, washing the opposite side of the hill which turned it from its former course. The river is again turned eastward by a high, rocky precipice and by this time charged with power, which is utilized for the purposes of man along the villages of Southbridge. The quiet central valley is seen to the best advan- tage from Fisk Hill, presenting many points of rural beauty. To the inhabitants of this town this valley has the additional charm of ancestral and historic associations — of being where are clustered the re- ligious and secular institutions of civilization which gives value to life, and of being the re.«ting-place of departed and loved ones. To those who have their home here it is the Very centre of the world. Tajttousque in Nipnet. — In September, 1638, John Oldham, with three companions, passed through Nipnet to the Connecticut River, " lodging at Indian towns all the way." While being entertained by the Indians at Tan- tousque, he was shown some specimens of what proved to be plumbago, or black-lead, and was shown, or told, where the substance was to be found in large quantities, near apond called by the Indians Quassink. That this took place in the valley of the Quinebaug, in Sturbridge, is probable from following circum- stances. A path to the Connecticut River passed through here, and there could have been none siuth of it until beyond the abrupt ridges of the Breakneck region ; the extent of which tract would carry any southern rou'e nearer, and probably south of the de- posit of plumbago at the hill of Orquebituque, "near the cornfield where one Namaswhat lives." Tlie last-mentioned lead-mine was known to John Pynchon some ten years later, but appears not to have been discovered by John Oldham in 1633. The hill of Ocquebituque is situated near the south line of Union, Connecticut, six miles or more from the Sturbridge mine. Hence, clearly John Oldham went by the Quinebaug Valley path through this town, about two miles north of the Sturbridge lead-mine, and about len miles from the cornfield where Namas- what lived. William Pynchon established a trading-post for furs at Agawam (Springfield) in 1635.^ He had a monopoly of the trade over a large territory, and for a number of years the profits were considerable. One of his first enterprises was opening a road to the Bay settlements. Preserved in the archives of Sturbridge are records of roads which were used before the setilement, and afterwards until the town was incorporated. By plot- ting the town accordin:? to the original survey and * Hon. George Sheldon. 104 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. distribution of lots, these isolated items of record about the old paths have become available, and their location known. The one that will be described was called, upon the records, " The road from Brimfield to Oxford." Prom the west line of the town to Fiskdale there is no record ; from a point back of Bacon & Bates' store to No. 2 School-house ; from there to the lower crossing over Cedar Brook, near the residence of Mr. Geo. Wight, it was identical in location with the present road ; passed the south side of Mr. Wight's house, and a small pond-hole near Mrs. Ransom's, then across the present highway, and to where Mr. C. D. Russell now resides ; then across to near Mr. W. T. Lamb's, and along there with the present road to Mrs. H. Plimpton's ; then crossed Sugar Brook, where N. D. Ladd & Son's mill-dam now is, on over a field ; then through pasture and woodland (where the tracks are still to be seen) to the north- west mowing lot, on Mr. J. H. Lyon's farm ; thence through the north part of his farm, passing Mr. N. Eggleston's, to the souiheast corner of Mrs. McGil- pin's farm, to where there was a fordway over Mc- Kinstry Brook by old Oxford line, and may be traced in the direction of Dudley. It was the road used by the first settlers of Sturbridge when they moved from Medfield, Watertown and other places. It is here suggested that this may be the exact location of a section of the road opened by William Pynchon, about 1635-38, and that it then followed the general course of a previous Indian trail, which, in its course westward, doubtless passed a little north of Fiskdale, near the wigwams of the Putikookup- pogg Indians, and on to Ashquoash, in the north part of Brimfield. Ten years later, 1648, Gov. John Winthrop writes in his journal (ii. 325) : " This year a new way was found out to Connecticut, by Nashaway (Lancaster), which avoids much of the hill way." This new way is described by Mr. Temple (" Hist. North Brookfleld ") as passing down the valley of the Quaboag, and " struck the south trail east of Steerage Rock," in Brimfield. Other evidences of record furnish satis- factory proof that we have here the " Bay-Path " of Dr. J. G. Holland's admirable historical novel with that title. Two important Indian paths, one from Providence and another from Norwich, united at Woodstock, and continued as one path through Sturbridge to Brookfleld. The course was quite direct from Leba- non Hill to Fisk Hill, thence over Walker Moun- tain, south of the pond and onward to South Pond, a branch passing up the east shore to the ancient village of Quobagud, while the more important route skirted the west side of the pond, going on to Wickaboag (now West Brookfleld). It will be again noticed farther along, when opened for an Englishman's road, about 1680-90. Gov. Winthrop sent Stephen Day, a printer, to Tantousque, in Nipnet, in 1644, to examine the de- posits of black lead, and also to search for other minerals. The 13th of November, the same year, the General Court granted to John Winthrop, Jr., '"y* hill at Tantousque, about sixty miles westward, in which the black lead is, and liberty to purchase some land of the Indians." (Winthrop by Savage, vol. ii. p. 213.) He purchased some land of the Indians, as it appears. A plot of land containing ten thousand two hun- dred and forty acres was surveyed for Major-General Waitstill Winthrop in 1715. Its east line ran across Saltonstal's two thousand acres, which had been surveyed the previous year, taking off nearly one-third. A reasonable inference is, that there was a prior claim, based upon a bargain between the an- cestor, John Winthrop, Jr., and the Indians. In this town the. bounds were by natural features, In- dian style : from a rock in a meadow south of Lead- mine Pond, to an angle in Quinebaug River, north of Geo. Wight's mills ; then northward on the west side of Cedar Pond to a point against the north end of the original pond ; then west and onward, cover- ing the site of Brimfield Centre ; then southeastward to the rock in the meadow. The bounds of the tract were located with the evident design of taking in the valuable lands along the " Old Springfield Road," and, if fixed in 1644, or in the days of John Winthrop, Jr., may be taken as evidence of the antiquity of said road. The lead-mine was being operated in March, 1658, by employes of William Paine and Thomas Clark, of Boston. The gentleman last named, it is sup- posed, was the Captain Thomas Clark who, the latter part of the same year, obtained a grant of the south- ern mine of plumbago, or the hill of Acquebituque. It appears that the Boston merchants carried on the works at Tantousque for a share of the products, it being included in the bargain that they should have the owners' share at a stated price. A path was opened from the lead-mine, passing a little south of the house formerly owned by the late Otis Davis, through Holland and Brimfield to the Springfield road. Richard Fellows kept a tavern, the site of which is in the northeast part of Monson, and he was " very willing to undertake to haul the lead to the water- side," past his own door, to Connecticut River, In the great war of 1675-76, known as "King Philip's War," the Quabaugs were among the first to take arms against the English. The Quinebaug flowed between the land of the Wabbaquassets and that owned by the Quabaugs. No notable historical event occurred in Tantousque;.; its paths, however, were used by parties of both Eng- lish and Indians. Philip and his warriors were driven from Mount Hope, and about the last of July, 1675, forced to flee STURBRIDGE. 105 from Pocasset Neck, passed through Woodstock and Tantousque to Quabaug Old Fort. They were at that time pursued by Captain Henchman, aided by Oneko, son of Uncas, with fifty Mohegan warriors. The fugitives crossed the Quinebaug and skurried up the forest-covered slope of what is now known as risk Hill, in the land of their allies, the, Quabaugs. Their English pursuers, looking up the broad expanse stretching away to the northward, knew that beyond were the Quabaug Ponds, and that somewhere about there were collected, in large numbers, their savage foes. Captain Henchman here ordered the pursuit to cease, and turned toward Boston. Philip being reduced to a feeble following of forty men, and "women and children many more," wan un- willing to advance in the direction of the English forces at Brookfield, and at Tantousque passed on to^ the Old Springfield Road, and arrived at Quabaug Old Fort on the 6th of August. Quabaug Old Fort, called by the Indians Ashquoach, was situated just north of Sherman's Pond in Brimfield. A few days later another party of Wampanoags, endeavoring to get on the Nipmuck path to follow their chief, was intercepted before it reached the Quinebaug Eiver, and one hundred and eleven men, women and chil- dren were taken and delivered over to the English. The same path was used by the fugitives who escaped from the great battle of Narragansett Fort, December 19, 1775. The spring of 1676 came on with smiling sunshine, awakening vegetation and the song of birds ; but among the colonists was a feeling of gloom and dis- couragement. The Indians had been successful at every point. A change, however, was approaching. About the middle of March the Indians were repulsed at West- field, Northampton and Hatfield —a grievous disap- pointment. Many of them became tired of the war, and returned to their fishing-places and hunting- grounds. Admonished by recent suffering from scarcity of food, many a sunny slope was being planted with corn, beans and other crops. The old wigwam was patched up, and their desire was for peace. But that was not to be ; they had carried the torch, the tomahawk and the scalping-knife to many a home of the white man, had commenced a war of extermina- tion, had sown the wind, — the whirlwind was upon them. Into the valley of the Quinebaug, beneath the green foliage, in the first week in June, 1676, came Major John Talcott, of Connecticut, with two hundred and fifty mounted Englishmen, accompanied by Oneko, son of Uncas, with two hundred Mohegan warriors. They crossed the river in Dudley and coming up the Springfield Eoad, rushed in every direction upon the surprised inhabitants. Along the Quinebaug, by the shores of our ponds, or wherever the dwelling of a Quabaug might be, the Mobegans hunted them out^ pursued upon the track of those who attempted to escape, and killed or captured them. When the war was over some of the hostile Indians who had escaped drifted away in small parties and became absorbed into other tribes. Some went to- wards Maine, some to Canada, and some to the west- ward, near Albany. Their corn-fields, whether on the hillside or upon the plain by the river, were quickly seeded to pines, and thereon were standing when the settlers came here forests of fifty years' growth. Their wigwams entirely disappeared. Stone implements alone speak of former inhabitants. Depopulated Tantousque was included in a tract of the Nipmuck country, which a remnant of the In- dians, the former owners, made over to the Massa- chusetts government, February 10, 1681, for the sum of fifty pounds and a reservation of land five miles square, which is now in Dudley and Webster. After the settlement of Woodstock, in 1656, and the second settlement of Brookfield, about the same time, a road from one place to the other, in their isolated and feeble condition, became a necessity, and was doubtless opened between these nearest neighbors at an early period. The Brookfield and Woodstock path came down on the west side of South Pond, and was essentially the " New Boston Eoad," so called, as far as Mr. C. D. Eussell's, where it united with the Old Springfield Eoad, and followed that about a mile and a half to the old camping-grounds, now the northwest mowing lot on Mr. J. H. Lyon's farm. Turning southward past where stands the Levins Fisk house, then by Hosea Cutting's house and into the present road west of Mrs. Emmon's house ; then down the hill and across by Mr. P. Bond's house, over by Mrs. Malcom Ammidown's residence, and down the slope by the brick-yard to the river, where a bridge was built of logs. This was also near the fording-place of the old Indian trail. The path is traced by record southward from the river to near the residence of Mr. Lewis Morse. The present Woodstock road by the " Brown brick- yard,'" so called, was laid across this old path, not far from where Mr. Henry H. Wells' lane intersects it, and may have passed from there over Lebanon Hill. This Brookfield and Woodstock path followed in a genera] way the previous Indian trail. Massachu- setts acquired the title to these lands, with power to grant the same, in 1681, as has been stated. Tracts of land, of whatever size, granted to an in- dividual were called farms, — a name distinguishing such lands from grants made for towns. Individual ownership of land in Tantousque was established for the first time by lines and bounds November 24, 1714, the date of the survey of the Saltonstal farm. At an early date in the history of the colony the province of Massachusetts Bay gave to Sir Eichard Salstonstal, Knight, one of the patentees named in the old charter, a tract of two thousand acres on the 106 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. banks of Connecticut Eiver. This property was handed down among his descendants, and was owned in 1713 by his great-grandson, Rev. Gurdon Salston- stal, of Norwich, Connecticut. An agreement entered into by the province of Massachusetts and the colony of Connecticut in the year 1713 established a new division line, south of which was found to be Mr. Saltonstal's two thousand acres, as well as many other grants of Massachusetts along this border. In accordance with the terms of the agreement, Massachusetts paid to Connecticut, for these former grants, an equal number of acres of land by other grants within her now undisputed ter- ritory ; and these new grants took the name, and for many years were known as, " equivalent lands." The following year Rev. Gurdon Salstonstal, then Governor of Connecticut, agreed and accepted of the General Assembly of the colony the right to " take up to his own use the said quantity of acres, among the equivalents allowed to this Colony, where it shall best suit him, provided that the tract be taken up in one entire piece," May, a.d. 1714. It suited His Excellency to select the tract now called the central Valley of Sturbridge. He obtained his first view of the valley upon his arrival at the camp, ing-ground, where the Woodstock road united with the Old Springfield. He made that point the eastern limit of his farm, the top of Shumway Hill the west- ern extreme ; the bend of the river near Mr. A. J. Morse's was made a southern angle, and the north line of the old Bullock place, Mrs. Luther Hamant's and J. J. Shepard's, defines the northern bounds. It was called by his children Pineland. The Demick Farm was west of and adjoined Sal- stonstal's farm. The origin of this grant is unknown. The most part of the village of Fiskdale is built up- on this tract. The Eliot Farm. — In "Ancient Plans,'' i. 285, is found a plot of John Eliot's one thousand acres, en- dorsed : "Purchased by Rev. John Eliot the 27th of September, 1655, of Waltaloowekin and Nakin, In- dians — said 1000 acres of land lies Southward of, and contiguous to the township of Brookfield alias Quabaug, at a place called Pookookappog Ponds." December 5, 1715, the title to this land was con- firmed to the heirs of Mr. Eliot by the General Court. About eight hundred acres of the tract lie within the bounds of Sturbridge, owned by the following parties, viz. : Heirs of Mr. Austin Allen, Mr. G. H. Adams, Mr. Monahan, Mr. Grifiin and Mr. S. F. Bemis. Mr. Eliot petitioned the General Court in 1664, in ". . .. behalf of the Indians of Putikookuppogg, . ." and was granted "... a plant tion to the Indians not to exceed fower thousand acres . . ." It was not to interfere with any former grant, and the Indians were not to convey it away, or any part of it, without the consent of the General Court. This gr but even for the largest cities in the colonies. At about the time of the American Revolution mails were despatched between Boston and New York three times in a week during the summer, and two times a week during the winter, taking from six to nine days in the passage from one city to the other. The bulk and weight of the mails did not exceed the capacity of a pair of saddle-bags. The mail between New York and Philadelphia was carried five times a week, usually by boys on horseback. Benjamin Franklin had been Postmaster-General for the colonies from 1753 to 1774, and had greatly increased the efficiency of the mail service. But Massachusetts had, at her own charge, established a postal system with fourteen post-oflBces within her own boundaries. The mail routes which were established radiated from Cambridge, running north to Haverhill and Georgetown, in Maine; south to Providence and Falmouth; westerly to Great Barrington, through "Worcester and Springfield. From Worcester mails were carried to Woodstock, Vt., and, ^very likely, this route passed through this town. Soon after the government went into operation, in 1789, a general postal system was established for all the colonies. The rates established at the organiza- tion of the department, and continued until 1816, were: For a letter composed of a single piece of paper, under 40 miles, 8 cents ; under 90 miles, 10 cents; under 150 miles, 12^ cents; under 300 miles, 17 cents ; under 600 miles, 20 cents ; over 500 miles, 25 cents. The rates of postage have several times been re- duced since 1816. In the first years of this century probably the town of Templeton did net receive a mail oftener than two or three times a week. The records of the United States Post-Office Department, at Washing- ton, do not show when a postmaster was first ap- pointed for this town. The earliest records, how- ever, show that Thomas Wilder was the postmaster on July 1, 1802. The following list contains the names of all the postmasters, and the date of their appointment, from 1802 to the present time : Lovell Walker, appointed October 1, 1803 ; Caleb Leland, appointed July 1, 1809; Lipha French, appointed September 28, 1810; Artemas Lee, appointed Sep- tember 28, 1829; John Boy nton, appointed October 14, 1843; George H. Jones, appointed April 20, 1848 ; Dexter Gilbert, appointed January 27, 1849 ; Addi- son J. Lincoln, appointed July 14, 1849; Dexter Gilbert, appointed May 3, 1853 ; Henry Smith, ap- pointed March 19, 1861; Artemas Lee, appointed November 6, 1863 ; Henry Smith, appointed March 24, 1865; Julius A. Jones, appointed March 20, 1867 ; Percival Blodgett, appointed March 22, 1869 ; Delia Damon, appointed July 13, 1885. The post-oflice at Templeton Centre was the only one within the limits of the town until the year 1830, when a post-office was established at Baldwinville, and that village has since then been known by that name. The names of the postmasters, with the date of their apjfointment, follows: Joseph Davis, ap- pointed in 1830 ; James H. Clapp, appointed Au- gust 5, 1853; Edwin Sawyer, appointed June 24, 1861; Otis D. Sawin, appointed December 9, 1870; Ezra A. Lamb, appointed June 16, 1874 ; George E. Bryant, appointed August 27, ] 885. The post-office was established at Otter River Village in 1860, and the following persons have served as postmasters: Samuel M. Osgood, appointed 1860; Francis Leland, appointed 1867; Frederick Warner, appointed 1885. The post-office at East Templeton was established in 1866, with Fitch L. Sargeant as postmaster, in which office he still continues to serve. The CoMMOisr. — Templeton was one of those for- tunate towns whose early inhabitants exercised a wise foresight in providing ample grounds for public use. The beauty of many New England villages is very much enhanced by such thoughtful foresight on the part of some persons. In this town a piece of ground was set apart for " Publick use'' some years before the incorporation of the town. In 1754 the proprietors chose committees "to pitch upon burying places," and one site was selected near the meeting-hou'e,the other in the west part of the town. On March 21, 1759, Charles Baker presented to the proprietors the plan of a piece of ground which he had surveyed for a Common and a burying-ground, containing eight acres and seventy rods, This survey was accepted by the proprietors on that date and the land devoted to the public use. The old meeting-house then stood on the southwesterly part of this Common. At a meeting of the proprietors held at the meeting- house on May 3, 1786, they granted and appropriated the burying-place and Common to the a^e of the town forever. The plan of the two pieces of ground is contained in the " Proprietors' Records,'' Book II., Page 81, and embraces somewhat less than the area laid out in 1759 — six acres and one hundred and nineteen rods. This Common extended on the north only to a line running irregularly across from the present residence of Dr. Tobien to the brick houi-e owned by Charles W. Stone. At the southwest corner it included an area which has since been sold by the town to individuals for the sites of the two houses nearest the present Common. In 1791 the town purchased of Isaac Jones, for ten pounds and ten shillings, a triangular-shaped piece of ground lying between the house of Miss Twichell and the hotel, " to enlarge and extend the Common." In 1814 the town purchased of Joshua W. Whitcomb a long strip of ground containing about one acre, lying on the westerly side of the highway and extending from the Common to a point near the residence of J. Pres- 142 HISTORY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. cott Cutting. In 1816 another similar pieee of ground, lying on the easterly side of the road and extending from the Common to the corner of the roads near the residence of Colonel George P. Havvkes, was purchased of James F. Robbins and wife, for the sum of three hundred dollars. That made up the area of the Common to its present limits. At a somewhat recent date the Common was adorned with trees by the generosity of Colonel Artemas Lee. In the olden time the Common was much used for military trainings and musters. It furnishes an excellent play-ground for the school-children in modern times. Cemeteries. — The first ground set apart for a burying-place in this town was that adjoining the Common. The proprietors passed a vote devoting this lot to that purpose in 1754, caused it to be sur- veyed by Charles Baker in 1759, and granted it the town by a vote passed May 3, 1786. Very few burials have been made here since the laying out of the new cemetery. There is a burial-place at the " Baptist Common," lying close to the former site of the Baptist Church. No burials are now made here. In 1850 the Down purchased ground for two new burial- places — the one at Baldwinville, the other in the valley lying westerly of the village at the Centre. The improvement and adornment of these places is going on from year to year, partly by individual effort and expenditure, and partly by appropriations made by the town. Cemeteries are no longer the dreary, neglected places which they once were. The town has made special provision for the safe keeping of money bestowed by individuals for the future care of their lots. Societies.— There was formerly a lodge of Free and Accepted Masons in this towu. It was dissolved in 1843, and its funds were given in trust to the town. This constitutes what is known as the Masonic Fund, the income of which is distributed, charitably, by trustees chosen annually by the town. A large number of persons were connected with the Know- Nothing Lodge in 1854. A post of the Grand Army of the Republic, Ericsson Post, No. 109, was organ- ized in 1869, and holds its meetings at its hall in East Templeton. A lodge of Knights of Honor was formed in 1879. It has a place of meeting at its hall in the Centre Village. The same hall is also the place of meeting for Templeton Grange, No. 122, Patrons of Husbandry. This grange was organized in 1885. There have formerly been organizations of Good Templars in one or another of the villages of the town; one has been recently formed in Baldwin- ville. There are several organizations for literary and intellectual improvement, combined with more or less of entertainment and social enjoyment. Thpse are more especially intended for young per- sons and are mostly conducted under the auspices of some one of the religious societies, as the Young People's Union in connection with the Unitarian Society; the Willing Workers in connection with the Trinitarian, both of the Centre. At Baldwin- ville there is the Social Temple in connection with the Baptist Society, and the Memorial Union in connection with the Memorial Society. There is also at East Templeton an association for literary im- provement known by the name of the Round Table. Warning Out. — A statute of the province existed before the American Revolution which provided that if persons were legally warned to depart frpm a town, they could not at once gain a legal residence there, and so the town would not be chargeable for their support in case they came to want. So the selectmen and con- stables were diligent in serving this notice upon new- comers, "warning out" all persons soon after their ar- rival. It was not a warm reception, but it was deemed a wise precautionary measure. When any inhabitants of the town received any persons from another town to dwell in their families, they immediately sent a writ- ten notice to the selectmen, informing them of the fact, and slating the age and circumstances of the persons and the town in which they last dwelt. The select- men issued a warrant to the constable requiring him, "in his majesty's name," to warn these people to de- part from th^e town forthwith. The early records of the town abound in copies of these documents. The Great Load of Wood.— The history of the town would not be complete without some mention of the "great load of wood." It was no uncommon thing for the minister of the olden time to receive gifts of firewood from his parishioners. In the month of January, 1822, Colonel Leonard Stone, who lived in the northerly part of the town and had a saw-mill on Otter River, was drawing a load of hard wood to the parsonage for his minister, Dr. Wellington. As the load passed across th6 Common, Colonel Ephraim Stone saluted his brother with the question, " Why don't you take your minister a load of wood while you're about it?" Colonel Leonard replies, "I've been sawing out lumber down't the mill, and there's any quantity of slabs. I will give the minister as big a load as you can draw." Colonel Ephraim stirred up the people to make a full acceptance of the offer. A sled was improvised with runners thirty or more feet long and placed eight feet apart, with a tongue for the attachment of oxen in front of each runner. The sled was taken to the mill. The slabs were eagerly piled on. Eighty pairs of oxen were attached and the load was easily drawn around through Bald- winville, up well upon the more level ground. Then with common sleds they brought and piled on more slabs until there were no more slabs at the mill. Night came on, but the morning brought the oxen and men to the load once more, and soon it was brought to the minister's door. It was a more huge wooden structure than that which came to ancient Troy, but yet, in this case, with no menace to the safety of the town. Many people came to see the immense load, as it remained for some days upon the sled in the minis- ter's door-yard. TEMPLETON. 143 It is probably known to all tiiat our ancestors were wholly ignorant of the luxury of a modern carriage with its cushioned seats and easy springs. It is not much more than half a century back to the time of riding on horseback. There came a time when a man of means might have a chaise. And the possession of one set a mark of distinction upon its owner. It was esteemed so much of a luxury that the United States imposed a special tax upon them. I subjoin a certi- ficate from the tax collector. This is to certify that A B , of the town of TempletoD, in the 6tti Collection District of Massachusetts, has paid the duty of two dollars for the year, to end on the 31st day of December, for and upon a two- wheel carriage, for the conveyance of persons, hung on wooden springs, and called a chaise. This Certificate to be of noavail no longerthan the aforesaid carriage shall be used by the said A B , unless said certificate shall be produced to the Collector by whom it was granted and an entry made thereon, specifying the name of the then owner of said carriage and of the time when he became possessed thereof. Given in conformity with an Act of the Congress of the United States the 24th of July, 1814. Worcester, Jan. 21, 1814. Wm. Eustis, Collector of Eevenue^ GUi Collection District of Mass. Bounties on Wild Animals. — In the earlier times the town sometimes offered a bounty for kill- ing destructive animals. A bounty of thirty-four cents for each old crow and seventeen cents for a young one was offered in 1797 and on several other years, the last of which was in 1834. A bounty of twenty-five cents for old hen-hawks and twelve and a half cents for young ones was offered in 1801 and 1802. In 1783 and the three following years the town offered a bounty of forty shillings for each full- grown wolf's head, and it is known that at least one person actually received such a bounty. There is found no record of any bounty for bears, although it is believed that they existed here in the early times. CHAPTER XXII. TEMPLETON— (Cb«/'z««^rf. ) EDUCATI0NAI< AFFAIRS. Schools — Private Schools — FuNic High Schools — Teachers — Graduates — Libraries — Boyiiton Public Library. The first settlers of a town whose farms are not fully cleared and dwellings not completed are not in a condition to give much thought to schools. There were no schools supported by grants of public money until after the incorporation of the town. There was a grant of a small sum for schools, by the town, for the first time, in the year 1763. Two "squadrons'' for schools were formed in 1764, one in the easterly, the other in the westerly part of the town. In 1769 it was voted that each " squadron " should receive the same proportion of money for schooling that they had paid in taxes. In 1776 the school money was divided according to the number of children in each division between four and sixteen years of age. In 1779 it was changed so as to divide according to the number between four and twenty-one years of age. In 1835 the method was adopted of dividing one-half of the school money equally among the districts and the other half in proportion to the number of children therein. The town voted in 1805 to use the word "district" to designate the school divisions. Pre- viously, the word " class " had been used, and earlier, the word "squadron." By a law enacted by the Legislature in 1789, towns were permitted to divide their territory into school districts. The districts were made corporations in fact in 1799, but not in name until 1817 ; and not until 1827 were the dis- tricts authorized to choose prudential committees. That was previously done in town-meeting. The dis- trict system prevailed in this town until 1869, when it was given up in accordance with a law of the State, and the town system was substituted. In 1787 the town apportioned its territory into seven " classes " or districts, for school purposes. District No. 8, Baldwinville, was formed from No. 6, in 1831. Dis- trict No. 3 was divided in 1834, making District No. 9 at East Templeton. These nine districts formed the divisions for school purposes until the district system was given up. From 1815 to 1822 District No. 1 formed two districts, with two school -houses, the one standing on the site of the present one, the other standing near the present residence of Mr. P. M. Mirick. Afterwards, for a lime, the two houses stood side by side on the present location. Both were moved away to make room for the present structure, and each is now made into a dwelling-house of the village. In the early times the town did not build or own the school-houses. In some districts they were built by the voluntary contributions of the people. In some cases the schools were kept in private houses. There is no indication that the town appropriated any money for school-houses until 1787. A committee was chosen in that year to appraise the value of the school-houses then existing, and to purchase them of their owners. The appraised value of all was fifty-one pounds, or about one hundred and seventy dollars. The town then granted the sum of four hundred dollars for building and repairing the school-houses throughout the town, and a committee was chosen to determine their location. It was voted by the town in 1801 to allow each district which might build a school-house one hundred dollars, the town to own the house and keep it in repair. From 1814 to 1869 the school-houses were owned and kept in repair by the several school districts, each district raising money by taxation for the building and repairing of its own house. In 1869 the town again became the owner of all the school-houses, the appraised value of which was $11,846.88 ; and the school districts were num- bered with the things of the past. A school-house for the north part of the town, and standing between the two villages, was built in 1801. A school-house 144 HISTOEY OF WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. was built in Baldwinville by the district in 1850, and another one by the town in 1883. The Otter Eiver School-house was built by the district in 1860, with an addition made by the town in 1877. A public hall was also secured over the school-room by contributions from the people of the neighborhood. The older school-house in East Templeton was built by the dis- trict about 1834 ; the newer one by the town in 1874. The town hall and school-house, in one building at the Centre, were built by the combined action of the town and district, in 1844. Until the year 1826 the superintendence of the schools, in a legal point of view, seems to have been vested in the selectmen ; but practically, the work was done chiefly by the minister. At the special request of Dr. Wellington, the town, in 1811, chose a com- mittee to assist him in examining school-teachers. A committee consisting of one person for each district was chosen, in 1815, to assist in examining the srchools, and to recommend " certain useful classical books." Similar committees were afterwards chosen at different times. But still the chief, pari; of the work devolved upon the minister. In 1826 towns were required by law to choose three, five or seven School Committee- men ; and ever since that time the superintendence of schools has by law devolved upon that body. In 1857 the number of School Committee was fixed at three, or some multiple of three, and the term of oflSce ex- tended from one year to three years, one-third of the number being chosen each year. In this town there have been several persons who have served the town for a long period in the care of the schools. Rev. Charles Wellington, D.D., partly by virtue ef his ^ duties as minister, and partly by special election of the town, gave fully thirty years of service. Rev. Lewis Sabin, D.D., was elected for thirty-two con- secutive years. Rev. Edwin G. Adams had twenty- two years of service, and Rev. Gerard Bushnell six- teen years. Dr. J. W. D. Osgood served ten years ; Captain Samuel Lee, eight years ; Colonel Leonard Stone, Joseph Mason, Esq., and Gilraan Day, Esq., each served six years, and Charles Church, five years. In times nearer the present, E. C. Farnsworth, Esq., has served five years, V. P. Parkhurst, Esq., seven years, and Francis Leland nine years. Of the present Board of School Committee, Mr. Ingalls has com- pleted five years of service, Mr. Hosmer six years, and Mr. Blodgett nineteen years. Several other persons have served on the School Committee from time to time, for short periods of less than five years each. The appropriations for schools were of necessity small in the first years of the existence of the town. There has been a somewhat steady increase in the amount from the earlier to the later periods. The first sum granted for schools was in 1763. A sum a little more than the equivalent of thirty dollars was granted in 1764. The amount of the grant had been increased to three hundred dollars at the end of the century and to one thour^and dollars in 1841. It reached two thousand dollars in 1856, three thousand dollars in 1866, and for the last six years the sum has been four thousand and seven hundred dollars. It should be borne in mind that in the earlier times the school money was supplemented by gratuitous sup- plies of fuel and sometimes by the teachers boarding successively with different families in the district. In the original division of lands in the township one lot was reserved for schools. This school lot, which was No. 36, lying in the southerly part of the town and containing Cook's Pond, was sold at auction, by vote of the town, in 1769, for about one hundred and eighty-seven dollars. This, with some money to be obtained from the sale of " pew-ground " in the meet- ing-house, was to be kept as a school fund ; but the money seems to have been used for other purposes. The town also received $3,337.74 as its share of the surplus revenue distributed by the United States in 1837, and it was voted to keep it as a fund, the income of which was to be applied to the support of schools. For some three years the income was so used, but the town had pressing need of money and even the prin- cipal of the fund was applied to other uses. PfiiVATE SciTOOLS.^Some public-spirited citizens of this town, impressed with the feeling that there was need of more ample provisions for higher educa- tion, formed an association and established a private high school in Templeton. The school met a public want and was largely attended. Many persona still live in the town who retain pleasant recollections of their connection with this school. The school was so fortunate as to begin its course under the instruction of an earnest, enthusiastic teacher, who had great skill in arousing the attention and compelling the pupil to think — the important aim of all true teaching. Jacob Bachelder was principal of the school from the time of his graduation from Dartmouth College, in 1830, to the year 1835. He was afterward principal of the Lynn and the Salem High Schools. He was for some years librarian of the Lynn Public Library. He was a man of unusual vigor of intellect and per- fect integrity. Mr. Martin Snow Newton and Mr. Daniel B. Park- hurat were successively principals of the school for a brief time. Mr. Sylvester Judd was the last principal of the school, coming here in 1836. He was afterward, for thirteen years, a Unitarian minister in Augusta, Maine, and the author of a well-known story of New England life, entitled "Margaret." The school was suspended in 1837. In the twenty years next following there was no High School continuously kept ; but some enterpris- ing teacher, on his own responsibility, would keep a private High School for one or two terms in the town hall, or the school-room next the Common. Such a school was kept at one time by William Barrows, and at another time by William H. Earle. Public High Schools. — The Templeton High School was the first public High School in this town. TEMPLETON. 145 and was established in 1856. The first term was kept in the autumn of that year in the grammar school- room, at the Centre Village, with fifty-one pupils. The present principal of the school, H. F. Lane, began his long period of service with that first term, and has been the principal of the school, with the exception of one term, to the present time. The second term of the High School was kept at Baldwin- ville, in the spring of 1857, under the instruction of Mr. L. W. Russell, who has been for many years past the principal of a grammar school in Providence, E. I. An assistant teacher has been employed in terms when the attendance was largest, and thirteen young ladies have served in that capacity from one to three terms each ; another, in these latest years, has ren- dered such assistance during twenty-one terms. Until 1866 there were only two terms of the school each year ; from that time to 1873 there were three terms each year; afterward there were four terms yearly. These terms were kept alternately in the different villages of the town. It has been the aim of the High School, during all the years of its existence, to have its studies and train- ing so arranged and administered as to promote activity of mind, self-control, self-direction, and a conscien- tious regard for duty. The persons who have been members of this school are scattered widely over the country. The country towns perform a service of great value to the community in preparing persons for lives of intelligent activity in the larger towns and cities to which they soon depart. About one thou- sand persons have received instruction in the Tem- pleton High School. In 1886 a High School was established at Baldwin- ville for the greater convenience of those living in the northerly part of the town. Mr. E. B. Vining has been the only principal of that school. Teachers and Graduates. — Some of our teach- ers have had long periodsofserviceinourschools. Mrs. Lucy Eichardson spent nearly her whole active life in teaching, earlier in the public schools, and later in a private school which she had established at her own home near the Common. Miss Maria Cutting has completed thirty-nine years of service as teacher in the public schools of this town. Miss Margaret Leland has had many years of expe- rience in the public schools in different parts of the town. Miss Henrietta Sawyer, whose earlier years of service were in the schools of her native town, is a veteran teacher in Washington University, at St. Louis. The present teacher of the Templeton High School has just completed his thirty-second year of service in that school. Many other teachers have had quite long periods of service, and it would be a suit- able tribute if their names could be included in this enumeration. Manjs of the youth of this town, having sipped at the fountains of knowledge opened for them here, have taken deeper draughts elsewhere. In the later 10 years a score of young ladies have completed courses of study at our normal schools. Several have availed themselves of the advantages offered by the Mount Holyoke Female Seminary. The Worcester Polytechnic Institute was founded by a citizen of this town. George I. Alden, who was a graduate of the Lawrence Scientific School, has been a professor in this institution from its founda- tion in 1868. Charles Parkhurst, Samuel S. Jennison, Fred. L. Dudley, Charles H. Wright, William H. Kirschner and Fred. S. Hunting have pursued courses of study in this institution. George S. Stone is a graduate of the State Agricultural College at Am- herst. George S. Gates received instruction at the United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Md., and entered the navy. Charles Wellington Stone graduated from Harvard College in 1874. He has a private school for boys in the city of Boston, and also conducts a summer school at his Templetonresidence. Edward W. Chase is a graduate of Amherst College. He has been principal of High Schools in Ohio, and at present is teaching near Chicago. George I. Jones graduated from Harvard College in 1871, and has been engaged in the book publishing business in St. Louis and at present is employed in Chicago. George M. Bartlett is a graduate of Washington University, St. Louis, and is now secretary and treasurer of that institution. Lucas Lee Baker is a graduate of Har- vard College of the class of 1883. He has ever since been engaged in teaching, and is at present principal of the High School in Holliston, Mass. His brother, Byron E. Baker, entered college in the same class, but died before the completion of his course. Journalism has not olten been chosen as a life-work by our young men. Bat Edmund Hudson has gone from the quiet life of his native village to mingle in the stirring scenes of the national capital, and make a daily record of the doings of law-makers and Presi- dents. In those days of stirring excitement, preced- ing the first election of Lincoln, he was just entering upon his studies in the High School. Too eager to begin life's work to wait for an over-long course of study, with much energy he set about learning the stenographer's art. He was for a time a reporter of news for different Boston papers. For several years he has led a very busy life as Washington corre- spondent of the Boston Herald, and editor and pub- lisher of the Army and Navy Beguter. He also pub^ lished a weekly paper at Washington called The Capital. Most of these young men whose names have been enumerated as having obtained a higher education do not now count in the census lists for Templeton. The historian, however, rightly classes them among the products of the town, knowing, as he does, that these country towns are the perennial fountains whence come the supplies of physical energy and mental vigor for our cities. In the earlier part of the century there were several U6 HISTORY OF "WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. young men who were successful in obtaining a higher education. Oliver Baker was a graduate of Yale Col- lege, and engaged in teaching in some Southern State. His brother, Otis Baker, died before the completion of his course in the same college. Amos J. Cook was a graduate of Dartmouth College about the year 1801. He was an intimate college friend of Daniel Webster, and succeeded him as principal of the academy in Fryeburg, Maine, in which position he remained for more than thirty years. Charles Goodnow was a graduate of Amherst College, and was for a time principal of a school in Concord, Mass., and after- wards a lawyer there. Christopher C. Baldwin was the son of Capt. Eden Baldwin. He pursued his studies at Leicester Academy and Harvard College, and then studied law as his profession. He practiced law in Worcester, Sutton and Barre. But his mind was more satisfied with scientific and antiquarian re- search than with legal contests, and he gave much time to such investigations. In 1831 he was chosen librarian of Antiquarian Library at Worcester. Noth- ing could have been better suited to his tastes, and he was admirably fitted to perform the duties devolving upon him. In 1835, when on a journey for antiqua- rian research in the State of Ohio, he lost his life by the overturning of the stage on which he was travel- ing. He was only thirty-five years of age. His friend, William Lincoln, of Worcester, son of Gov. Levi Lincoln, delivered a very interesting public ad- dress, which was printed, commemorative of the life and work of Mr. Baldwin. Charles W. W. Welling- ton, son of Rev. Charles Wellington, graduated from Harvard College in 1846, and was a book-keeper iu the city of Boston. He died in 1880. This town has not been wholly wanting in those who have been skilled in the use of the pencil and the brush ; artists have found at least a temporary abode among these hills. Lucas Baker had a natural apti- tude for drawing and painting, and by careful and diligent cultivation has become highly skilled in the practice of those arts himself and in teaching them to others. He was for ten years instructor in drawing in the public schools of Boston. For the last few years he has been one of the instructors in the Art Schoo' of the Metropolitan Museum in New York City, but still keeps a home in Templeton. Miss Adelaide R. Sawyer was for some years a resi- dent of Baldwinville, She drew portraits in crayon. Afterwards she gave attention to the production of ideal designs in figure. Some of these productions became very popular and met with a large sale. "The Better Land," "Our Hope," "Our Joy," "The Empty Sleeve," " Myrtle Hazard," were titles of some of the most-widely known of these representations. For a time she was teacher of crayon drawing in the Boston Academy of Art. Sarah Goodridge had natural gifts and tendencies leading her to the work of an artist. She became noted as a painter of miniature portraits, had an oflSce in Boston, and some of the most dis- tinguished people of New England were her patrons. Elizabeth Goodridge (Stone), sister of the preceding, was also skilled in the same kind of work. Their early home was at the house now occupied by Mr. Briggs, near the Ware River Railroad station. Libraries. — Successful efforts have been made at various times to furnish a supply of reading matter through the agency of libraries. Quite early in the history of the town a private library was established by the Templeton Union Library Association, the books of which were distributed among the share- holders half a century ago. In the early part of this century there was a private library known as the Social Library. The Ladies' Social Circle, an organ- ization connected with the First Parish, began to gather a library in the year 1885. This has gradually increased by yearly additions until it now numbers about twenty-four hundred volumes. Books are de- livered only on Sunday to annual shareholders, who pay a yearly fee of fifty cents. For many years this has been a prosperous library, and it still continues to be such. The books are kept in a room specially de- voted to that purpose in the chapel which adjoins the church edifice. A library society was organized in East Templeton in 1854, which has gathered a library numbering upwards of one thousand volumes. The several religious societies of the town have Sunday- school libraries containing books more especially adapted to the younger people. The books are generally carefully selected and diligently read. The State Board of Education, in accordance with an act of the Legislature of 1843, furnished each school dis- trict throughout the State with a school library. These contained many valuable books, but they soon ceased to be used, as there was no provision lor keep- ing up a lively interest by the addition of new books. A fund was given by Miss Abigail Locke for the establishment of a ministerial library for the use of the minister of the First Parish, and to be kept at the parsonage. This library already contains books of much value. The income of the fund permits annual additions to be made. In 1854, Dr. George C. Shattuck, of Boston, gave five shares in the Boston Athenseum to the town of Templeton, as a token of regard and affiection for his native town. The terms of the gift as expressed by the donor are: " That the Selectmen of the town, for the time being, shall permit the use of the five shares, from year to year, by any five persons resident in said town, to be selected by them from the classes of clergymen, physicians, lawyers, and scientific farmers and mechanics; it being understood that the said shares themselves are to be forever inalienable." And further, Dr. Shattuck anticipated the annual assess- ment of five dollars a share, by paying a sufficient sum in advance to provide for that, and thus securing to inhabitants of Templeton the perpetual privilege of taking out books, on the shares, from the extensive and valuable library of that institution. For so val- TEMPLBTON. 147 uable and lasting a gift, the town passed a vote of thanka in acknowledgment of "their grateful appre- ciation of his munificence in conferring this franchise upon the town, which has the lionor of numbering him among her most distinguished and useful sons." This proves to be a very valuable supplement to the other reading facilities enjoyed by the town. Rare and costly books can thus be consulted which it might not be easy to reach in other ways. The Boynton Public Library was first opened to the public in September, 1873. The fund for its support was the gift of David Whitcomb, Esq., late of Wor- cester, but formerly engaged in active business in this town. In 1868 he gave to the town of Templeton, in the name of John Boynton, who was his former part- ner in business here, the sum of four thousand dollars, to establish and maintain a Free Public Library, for the use of the inhabitants of the town, to be known and called the Boynton Library. In 1885, Mr. Whit- comb gave an additional sum of four thousand dol- lars for the same purpose. In the case of both sums, one-half of the annual income is to be applied to the increase of the principal, until each sum shall have reached the sum of five thousand dollars. The library fund will thus ultimately become ten thousand dol- lars. The income is to be wholly applied to the pur- chase of books and periodicals. By a provision in the deed of gift, the trustees of the library are the chair- man of the Board of Selectmen, the town clerk, the School Committee, and three other persons elected annually by the town. H. F. Lane has been the li- brarian from the opening of the library. For twelve years the library was kept in some upper rooms con- nected with Mr. Blodgett's store. In 1885 the town appropriated two thousand dollars for the erection of a library building, which was completed and occupied in September of that same year. The library now contains thirty-three hundred volumes, and is in- creased by yearly additions. Moire than twelve thou- sand issues of books are annually made to six or seven hundred persons, scattered over the whole town. The Templeton Historical Society, in an upper room of the library building, has begun to gather a collec- tion of books, papers and articles which would throw light upon the history of the town and community. CHAPTER XXIII. T'EM.VliKtO^— {Continued.) ECCLESIASTICAI, AFFAIRS. The First Ohitrch-The Baptist Okurch-The Trinitarian Ohurch^TJis Vn.i«ersali!l Olmrch-Tlie MethodUt Churcli-St. Martin's Church- Memorial anrch— Ministers. It should be borne in mind that in the towns of New England, in early times, the affairs of town and church were united. The church was one of the in- stitutions of the town. The meeting-house was built and owned by the town. The minister was paid from the town treasury, the amount being voted annually in town-meeting. The meeting-house also was made to serve as a place for holding the ^town-meetings. The tithingmen were chosen at the annual town meet- ing with the other town oificers. When there were about twenty families in this township they deter- mined to build a meeting-house which should be fifty feet long and forty feet wide. It was placed on what is now the Common, a little southeasterly of the pres- ent church edifice, and was the first house of worship in the township, which then included Phillipston as well as what is now Templeton. This edifice was used for about fifty years, until the year 1811, when the present church edifice was built. This first meeting-house was raised July 3, 1758, in the presence of a large number of people, some of whom had come from towns so far distant as Sterling. The frame of this house was of chestnut, and the trees of which it was made are said to have grown wholly on the spot of ground now known as the Common. At the time of building this house the region imme- diately about was a forest. The building of the meeting-house was performed by Mr. John Brooks, of Sterling. The timber was furnished by the proprie- tors, and also the glazing and pulpit. A few years later the town made an appropriation toward finishing it, and the whole cost of the structure to proprietors and town was about two hundred and twenty-five pounds— equivalent to seven hundred and fifty dollars. The first church in this town was organized Decem- ber 10, 1755, and on that day Rev. Daniel Pond was ordained as the first minister. He was a graduate of Harvard College of the class of 1745. Generous pro- vision was made by the proprietors and people for the ordination. People came in large numbers from the neighboring settlements to attend the exercises. The newly-erected meeting-house was completely filled. It was a day of festivity and enjoyment for the people and their visiting friends. But the ministry of Mr. Pond was of short duration. Difficulties arose be- tween him and the people. A council was called which, after two days' deliberation, recommended his dismission. In 1759 he removed to West Medway and engaged in teaching, receiving pupils at his house. Several persons preached as candidates, and among them the Rev. Ebenezer Sparhawk, who preached for the first time Nov. 29, 1760. After preaching a year both minister and people were so well satisfied with each other that his ordination took place Nov. 18, 1761. In 1764 he built and ever after lived in the house which in later years has been known as the "Wellington" house. He had a long and useful ministry of forty years, dying of apoplexy, November 25, 1805. He is reputed to have been a person of superior mental ability and exact scholarship, cour- teous and dignified in his manners and warm in his friendships. His funeral sermon was preached by the 148 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Eev. Dr. PaysoD, of Rindge. During Mr. Sparhawk's ministry about twenty members of the First Church withdrew to form the Baptist Church. Rev. Charles Wellington was ordained February 25, 1807. The old and first meeting-house was still in use, but efforts were now made to build a new one, and the work was entered upon in 1810. The new church edifice was dedicated September 18, 1811, Dr. Wellington preaching the sermon. And now for the first time a bell was obtained and placed in the belfry. Three new ones have been successively procured as the former ones became defective. The old meeting- house was then moved to the southwesterly corner of the Common, and for about thirty years was used as a town house and place for public meetings. In these early times the minister was expected to have some oversight of the schools, visiting them and examining teachers, and Dr. Wellington attended to these duties for jnany years, sometimes with the help of a committee chosen by the town for such purpose. The fiftieth anniversary of Dr. Wellington's settle- ment here was pleasantly and appropriately celebrated in 1857. He remained the minister of this church, respected and beloved by all, until his death, which occurred August 3, 1861. The health of Dr. Wellington was somewhat im- paired in his later years, and Rev. Norwood Damon was settled as his colleague, February 21, 1844. He remained only until November 1, 1845. Rev. Edwin G. Adams was a man of marked ability, who possessed some unusual traits of character which rendered his life one of much usefulness to the community in which he lived. He was born in the town of Ashby, Mass., December 24, 1821, and died in Templeton, May 10, 1877, after an illness of several months' duration. In boyhood he worked in his father's store and attended the schools and academy of his native town. In early life he formed the resolution to become a minister, and worked diligently to that end, graduating from the Divinity School, at Cambridge, in 1846. The First Congregational Church in Templeton invited him to become the colleague of Rev. Charles Wellington, and he was ordained January 13, 1847. On the death of the latter, in 1861, he became sole pastor, in which relation he remained to the day of his death. In 1855 the honorary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Harvard College. In December, 1855, he preached an historical dis- course, commemorative of the hundredth anniversary of the formation of the church. This was published wiDh an appendix, forming a very valuable treasury of information concerning the earlier and later his- tory of the town. The twenty-fifth anniversary of his settlement was pleasantly observed in 1872. He was married, November 14, 1848, to Sarah L. Priest, of Littleton, and when, during his ministry, the people spoke or thought of their minister, they always felt that in some way Mrs. Adams was in- cluded in that designation. They labored together for the good of the society and the community, and the service of each rendered that of the other more effective. They were prudent advisers, wi-e counsel- ors, highly valued friends. Their presence in a household brought sunshine and dispelled darkness. As a minister and pastor, Mr. Adams possessed the esteem and affection of the members of his own society to an unusual degree. He was not content with rendering merely the usual professional services of a minister ; every force was utilized, nothing was done at random, or without a settled purpose. The art of making social intercourse an elevating in- fluence was understood by him. The sewing society and the social gathering were to be means for the improvement of character. His was a deeply reli- gious nature; nothing less than a conscientious regard for duty, at all times, and in all positions, would satisfy him. He was glad always to find reasons for agreeing with other people and sects, rather than for disagreeing with them. For twenty-two years he served on the School Committee, and rendered valuable service to the schools and the cause of education by his unwearied and painstaking labor, combined with prudence, good judgment and a wise foresight. Mr. Adams had a natural aptitude for the mastery of legal and financial affairs, and came to have such a knowledge of their underlying principles and their application to practical affairs as to make his opinion and advice very valuable, even to those whose lives were spent in the management of such affairs. Few lawyers could excel him in unraveling a knotty legal question. To thread his way through these investi- gations was among his recreations. A keen discernment, a well-balanced judgment, great prudence, far-reaching foresight, combined with the most perfect conscientiousness and integrity, made a combination of qualities which rendered hij life a highly useful one. His successor in the ministry was the Rev. Alfred C. Nickerson, whose pastorate was from 1878 to 1886. Rev. Nathaniel Seaver, Jr., was installed January 11, 1887, and is the pastor at the present time. The Baptist Church. — The Baptist Church in this town was organized August 22, 1782, with twenty- one members, seventeen of whom — ten men and seven women — ^had withdrawn from the First Church for this purpose. These twenty-one persons met at a private dwelling, and, in the presence and by the ad- vice of the council which they had called, formed " The Baptist Church of Christ in Templeton." The council consisted of the pastor and six delegates from the church in RoyaUton and the pastor of the church in Harvard. This church has had seventeen settled pastors ; and there have been several intervalj in which there was a stated supply. Rev. John Sellon, the first pastor, was ordained Nov. 19, 1783, and re- mained a year and a half. Rev. Joel Butler became TEMPLETON. 149 pastor in 1787, and remained about four years. There was then a period of about ten years without any settled minister. Eev. Elisha Andrews became the pastor in 1800 and remained until 1813, when he was dismissed. He also had a second pastorate, extending over the period from 1827 to 1832, making eighteen years in all. Mr. Andrews is spoken of as a man of strong in- dividuality and commanding natural powers, as well as earnest religious zeal. The church enjoyed a time of comparative encouragement and strength. In the interval of Mr. Andrews' absence there seems to have been two pastors, whose terms of service, how- ever, filled only a portion of the period, — Rev. George Phippen and Rev. James Parsons. Next after the final dismission of Mr. Andrews in 1832, Rev. Win- throp Morse was installed aspastor, and remained about two years. Rev. Isaiah 0. Carpenter was ordained as pastor in 1837, and resigned in 1843. Rev. John Woodbury became pastor in 1844, and resigned in 1848, making four years of service. Rev. Sandford Leach was pastor from 1848 to 1851, followed soon in the same year by Rev. A. V. Dimock, who remained until 1857, nearly seven years, and the longest pas- torate but one in the history of this church. Rev. John F. Ashley was ordained pastor in 1858, and re- mained about two years. Rev. A. H. Ball was pastor for six months, beginning in 1869. Rev. H. V. Dexter became pastor in 1871, and continued in that relation four years. Rev. Miles N. Reed became pastor in 1878, and Rev. N. B. Wilson in 1881. Rev. George Shepard is the present pastor. The centennialanniversary of the formation of this church was celebrated at Baldwinville, August 22, 1882, with interesting and appropriate exercises. A sermon was preached by Rev. Heman Lincoln, D.D., of the Newton Theological Institution. Over five hundred people were in attendance, many coming from the neighboring towns and more distant places. Several former pastors ofthe church v^ere present and took part in the exercises. During the early years of the existence of this church the only place of meeting for religious services was at private houses. The dwelling-houses of Samuel Byam and Silas Cutler were most often used for this purpose, being larger or more centrally located. About 1796 there began to be a movement made to see about building a meeting-house, and one was finally erected and dedicated in the autumn of 1799, the Rev. Dr. Baldwin, of Boston, preaching the dedication sermon. This house was located at the "Baptist Common," thus giving a name to this neighborhood. It stood at the southerly end of the small cemetery now seen there. Near to the meeting- house, on the easterly side of the Common, was a tavern and a store. In 1840 the meeting-house was taken down, and removed to a site presented by Capt. Eden Baldwin, just out of the village of Baldwinville, on the road to Otter River. Here the house was again erected, its length increased and a steeple added. It was re-dedicated February 3, 1841. But the location between the two villages did not prove to be a permanently convenient one, and so once more it was removed, and placed on its present location. This time it was removed without being taken to pieces. A new and graceful spire was built, and the whole interior and exterior was refinished. It was dedicated for a third time in Sep- tember, 1869. A chapel, containing a kitchen and conveniences for social meetings, was added in 1879- 80. A few years after the removal to the present location a clock was placed in the tower, by the voluntary contributions of the people ofthe village. The Trinitariast Church. — The Trinitarian Congregational Church was organized April 11, 1832, having at first twenty-four members. Its first pastor was Rev. Lemuel P. Bates, who was installed Janu- ary 16, 1833, and dismissed April 19, 1837. Then came the long and highly useful pastorate of Rev. Lewis Sabin, D.D., who was installed September 21, 1837, and resigned September 24, 1872. Rev. Charles A. White was pastor from June, 1873, to June, 1«76 ; Rev. C. M. Temple, November, 1876, to June, 1878 ; Rev. R. W. Haskins, December, 1878, to June, 1879 ; Rev. F. H. Kasson, October, 1879, to June, 1880 ; Rev. George Sterling, June, 1880, to June, 1881 ; Rev. Thomas O. Rice, December, 1881, to June, 1885 ; Rev. Roswell C. Foster, from 1885 to the present time. Rev. Lewis Sabin, D.D., had a long pastorate over this church, and his other services are closely inter- woven with the history of the town. He graduated from Amherst College with the highest honors of his class, in 1831 ; was installed over this church in 1837 ; received the honorary degree of Doctor of Di- vinity in 1857 ; was elected one of the trustees of Amherst College in 1862, and resigned his ministry in 1872. He died June 8, 1873. Dr. Sabin was not only a faithful minister, but also a public-spirited and highly-esteemed citizen, interested and earnest in all measures that were deemed conducive to the public welfare. He was active in the temperance cause and earnest in the anti- slavery movement. For thirty-two years he served the town as a member of the School Committee, a longer service than that rendered by any other per- son. Here he rendered an intelligent, painstaking and conscientious service, highly beneficial to the schools. The Universallsts. — A Universalist Society was organized in 1842. Its first meetings were held in the old Town House, and afterwards the meetings were held in the present Town Hall. No meeting-house was ever erected. Services were held on alternate Sundays, or at other stated intervals. Rev. Gerard Bushnell was the only pastor of this society. The Methodists. — The Methodist Episcopal Church of this town dates from 1843, although a 150 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. " class " had been maintained for about three years previously, and included in the charge of the preachers at Hubbardston. In 1843 a church of twenty-four members was formed. A meeting-house was erected in 1844, in the southerly part of the vil- lage atTempleton Centre, on what is now a vacant lot near the "Hudson" house. The ministers here were Rev. Willard Smith, 1843; Rev. Joseph T. Pettee, 1844; Rev. Simon Putnam, 1845, 1846; Rev. T. G. Brown, 1847. Rev. C. Perry supplied in 1849. Preaching in this meeting-house was discontinued in 1848, and the building was sold. The members of the society attended services at Hubbardston mostly from 1850 to 1859. A church edifice was erected in 1860 at East Templeton, in which the services of this soci- ety have since been constantly held, under the fol- lowing succession of ministers: Rev. C. H. Harding, 1860 ; Rev. N. H. Martin, 1861 ; Rev. H. Satchwell, 1862, 1863; Rev. C. F. Newell, 1864, 1865; Revs. A. F. Mowry and A. B. Waters, 1866; Rev. W. B. Blackmer, 1868; Rev. D. K. Banister, 1869, 1870; Rev. J. M. Avann, 1871, 1872; Rev. J. W. Fenn, 1873, 1874 ; Rev. R. W. Harlow, 1875, 1876 ; JBev. F. M. Miller, 1877, 1878; Rev. W. H. Marble, 1879, 1880, 1881; Rev. E. Higgins, 1882, 1883; Rev. L. White, 1884, 1885, 1886 ; Rev. D. Atkins, 1887, 1888. St. Martin's.— Saint Martin's Church is of the Roman Catholic faith and has its place of worship at the village of Otter River. The church edifice was erected in 1853 and consecrated in 1854. The priest who officiates at this church also has charge of one or more parishes elsewhere. The Memorial Chuech. — The Goodell Memorial Church was organized at Baldwinville in 1874. Ser- vices were held in Union Hall for about nine years In 1882 the work of erecting a church edifice was entered upon. This was dedicated June 28, 1883. The ministers of this church have been Rev. L. Pay- son Broad, Rev. C. M. Temple, Rev. R. S. Haskins, Rev. J. F. Crumrin, R_ev. M. A. Doherty and Rev. Roswell C. Foster. Ministers. — The ministers of the churches in Templeton have none of them been natives of the town; but this town has furnished some miuisters for other regions. Quite far in the southeast part of the town is , the "Turner'' farm, now owned by Mr. Lucien Gove. This was the birthplace and early home of Rev. Jonathan B. Turner, for years a pro- fesssor in the college at Jacksonville, 111., and Rev. Asa Turner, both of whom were men of vigorous thought and earnest lives. The " Barrows '' place is now the residence of Leonard M. Baker. This was the birthplace of Rev. William Barrows, of Reading, Mass., and Rev. Lewis Barrows. Rev. Emmons Partridge and Rev. Lyman Maynard were natives of this town and relatives of persons still living here. And at least one life-long missionary, Mr. Goodell, of almost world-wide fame, received his first inspiration from these hills and vales. Rev. William Goodell, D.D., was born in this town February 14, 1792 and died in Philadelphia February 18, 1867. His studies were pursued at Phillips Academy, Andover, Dartmouth College and Andover Theological Seminary. The greater part of his life was spent as a missionary in the Turkish Empire, and an interesting volume has been published giving an account of his labors. He was of feeble bodily constitution, yet he was full of cheerfulness and even mirthfulness, which even his stern Puritan theology could not fully repress. He was an earnest man, thoroughly devoted to the performance of duty and entirely absorbed in his chosen work of being a faithful missionary. CHAPTER XXIV. TEMPLETON— ( Continued. ) Lawyers — Pliysiciana — HospitaU — Prominent Men. Templeton was manifestly a better field for the exercise of the lawyer's profession in former times than in later years. In the earlier part of the cen- tury two lawyers had their ofiBces near the Common, and seem to have found abundant employment. Hon. Lovell Walker was one of these lawyers. He seems to have enjoyed the public eonfidencfe in a very large degree. He was for two years Representa- tive to the General Court, and for some years Senator for Worcester County. He was born in Brandon, Vt., and was a graduate of Dartmouth College. He died in 1839. His place of residence was the house now owned by Miss Tvvichell. His office was in a small building, re- cently standing near the " Brick store." Joseph W. Newcomb, Esq., was engaged in the practice of law here for a brief period of time just after Mr. Walker. The office of Samuel Cutting, Esq., was in a small building not very long ago stand- ing on the corner where now is the residence of Mrs. Batchelder. He was a native of this town, a son of Jonathan Cutting, and a life-long resident here. Edward Kirkland was a lawyer here, removing after- wards to Louisville, Ky. Joseph Mason, Esq., now of Worcester, was an active, public-spirited lawyer of this town from 1837 to '47. He was town clerk for two year.<, served on the School Committee six years, and took a very active pan in the affairs of the town and the religious society with which he was connected. He was afterwards for many years clerk of courts for the county of Worcester. In 1842 he was appointed one of the standing commissioners of bankruptcy for the Massachusetts District, and has held the office of master in Chancery. Giles H. Whitney, Esq., a native of Boston, a graduate of Harvard University and its Law School, practiced law in Templeton Centre and Baldwinville from 1846 to '55. In the latter year he removed to TEMPLETON. 151 Winchendon, where he died January 12, 1888. He had been a member of both branches of the State Legislature, and was esteemed as an upright laWyer and trusted citizen. Stillman Cady, Esq., was engaged in the practice of law at Baldwinville from 1858 to the time of his death, in 1884. In the last years of Mr. Oady's life Charles D. Barrage, Esq., now of Gardner, was asso- ciated with hiin. If it be true that Templeton has irhported nearly all of her lawyers, it is equally true that she has ex- ported some of her own product for the benefit of other places. Leonard A. Jones, who has acquired a well-deserved reputation as the author of several valuable legal works, is a son of Templeton. He graduated from Harvard College in 1855, and the Harvard Law School in 1858, in which year he was admitted to the Suffolk bar, and has ever since been in the practice of law in the city of Boston. Mr. Jones is the author of the following legal works : "A Treatise on Mortgages of Real Property," two vol- umes ; " A Treatise on Mortgages of Personal Prop- erty," one volume; "A Treatise on Pledges, includ- ing Collateral Securities,'' one volume ; " A Treatise on Liens," two volumes ; " Forms in Conveyancing,'' one volume ; and " Index to Legal Periodical Litera- ture." Josiah Howe, son of Dr. Josiah Howe, was a lawyer in New York City. Thomas Greenwood, who^""^ '1g / m UXBRIDGE. 181 At a suitable age he learned the trade of a "Set workman," a trade now made entirely obsolete by the large factories that by power machines turn out hun- dreds of cedar palls and tubs dally. He next took up the trade of turner, and made bobbins and spools for John Slater. Afterwards he took up the business of chair-making, which he fol- lowed for several years. In 1810 Daniel Day built the first woolen-mill in this vicinity. The first machinery was put into the mill in 1811. Jerry Wheelock having married the eldest daugh- ter of Mr. Day, became a member of the manufac- turing firm of Daniel Day & Co. Having natural taste for mechanics and tact in the management of machinery, after a few years he left the company and went into the employment of Artemas Dryden, Jr., of Holden, Mass., who was then, and for many years after, noted as a builder of woolen-carding machines, and was engaged, principally, in setting up and put- ting into operation machines of his make in various places ; and was setting up machinery in Falmouth, Mass., in 1814, during its bombardment by the British ship-of-war " Nimrod." In 1814 the association — afterwards incorporated — known as the " Kivulet Manufacturing Company " was formed. Jerry Wheelock became a member of the association, and was the mechanical manager and superintendent of the mill till the spring of 1819, when he gave up the place and returned to his old home and immediately commenced the building of woolen machinery. This business he continued till 1834. He was well known, not only in this immediate vicinity, but in parts of Connecticut, New Hampshire and the east- ern part of New York, as a thorough workman and as making great Improvement in the machinery he built, both in its workmanship and in the ease and perfection of its operation. In 1834 he abandoned the building of machin- ery and went into manufacturing in company with his sons, which he continued till 1846, when he retired from active business. Strict integrity and the most perfect workman- ship possible with the means possessed for doing work, it is believed, are the characteristics that would be ascribed to him by those best acquainted with him. Of the former, when advised by his sons that, considering the risks of business and his age, it was best for him to withdraw from business, after considering the matter with regard to reflections that might fall on him in case of failure of his successors, he said to the writer: "Charles, I am not going to shirk any responsibility or have it said I left the business to escape from it; and I want you to remember all my interest in this property must be considered as much at stake as if my name stood as a member of the firm." Fortunately, by good luck or good management, no risk was incurred and no call was made upon his property to make good the failure of his successors. Of his workmanship, the greatest fault ever found with it, was that the unimportant with him, was just as important as the most Important in the eyes of others ; and at times many careless per- sons would consider time thus spent to be spent to a useless purpose. Whether, in view of the great inclination to slight work without regard to consequences that may fol- low, this should be written down against him as a grievous fault is left for others to judge. As a citizen he was honored by his townsmen with the various municipal offices of the town, the duties of which he discharged with the same faith- fulness as he did all other works. As a neighbor he was trusted, respected and loved. As a husband and father he was not only beloved, but was deserving of all the love and honor they could give him. He died October 10, 1861, after a distressing sick- ness of more than five years, lamented by all who knew him. SILAS MANDEVILLE WHEELOCK. Mr. Wheelock, well known as a manufacturer and business man for some fifty years, was born In Ux- bridge, Mass., November 11, 1817, at the time his father, Jerry Wheelock, was superintendent and mechanical agent of " The Rivulet Manufacturing Company." He has always been a resident of the town of his nativity, and never lived without the limits of the school district of his early boyhood. He early manifested an ability for the management of afiairs, and whatever work he was called upon to perform, he was always able to find playmates ready to assist him in his work while he did the planning and superintending ; and it may safely be said, and, as his life will show, this faculty has never been lost. His opportunity for obtaining an education was very limited. The district school of about ten weeks of a male teacher in winter, and about the same length of time of a female teacher in summer, to which was added three or four terms to a select school in this town, taught by young college graduates, among whom were Mr. E. Porter Dyer, afterward Congregational minister in Shrewsbury, in this county, alnd Mr. C. C. Jewett, afterward Prof. Jewett, librarian of "Smithsonian Institute" and of the " Boston Public Library.'' Early in life, in his ninth year, he began work in a woolen-mill at almost the only work that children of that age could be employed, — piecing rolls. From that time he has been constantly connected with woolen manufacturing in some form, — as work- man in its various branches, as superintending in some of its departments, and as manager and financier of private companies and corporations, and in having 182 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. charge of the woolen department in a commission house In Boston and New York. In 1846 the business firm of C. A. & S. M. Wheelock was formed, the business being the manufacture of satinets, plaid linseys and tweeds. This business was continued till 1855, when, after making a very consid- erable enlargement of its factory and putting in steam- power, it entered upon the manufacture of fancy cas simeres, giving up its other manufactures. This busi- ness has been continued to the present time, now nearly forty-three years, during which time S. M. Wheelock has been the general business manager and financier. In 1870 he bought the Harrias Woolen Company's property in Putnam, Conn., consisting of a factory, twelve sets of woolen machinery, water-power, one- fourth of the Quinnebaug River at this point, together with dwelling-houses and other property. This purchase, in connection with business men, was organized under an act of incorporation by the Legislature of the State of Connecticut as " The Putnam Woolen Company.'' After an increase of the capital stock in 1880, a second factory with ma- chinery power, one-fourth of the Quinnebaug houses and other property, was bought and added to the previous purchase. S. M. Wheelock was chosen treasurer of the company and business manager, which position he maintained till the fall of 1887, when other business occupied so much of his atten- tion as to make it expedient for him to resign the treasurership of this company. In 1883 he purchased the Central Mill property in this town, consisting of factory, machinery, power, the whole of the Blackstone River at this point, houses and other property. A company of business men being formed and incorporated under the general corporation laws of Massachusetts as the " Calumet Woolen Company," took the property, and after making extensive repairs and changes and additions, began the manufacture of fancy cassimeres, S. M. Wheelock being the treasurer and principal manager of the company. In 1886 he purchased the property known as the Uxbridge Woolen Factory, which included buildings, machinery, power, the whole of the Blackstone River at this point, dwelling-houses and other property. The Calumet Woolen Company, after an increase of its capital stock, took this property, and after making very great alterations and additions, have put it into operation as " The Hecla Mill." Since this last purchase and putting into operation of the Hecla Mill, he has continued, as before, the management of the Calumet Mills, and also the Wacautuck Mills, by which name the mills of C. A. & S. M. Wheelock are known. S. M. Wheelock has manifested but little ambition for political life, although he has discharged the duties of one of the Board of Selectmen of this town for some three or four years, and served on various committees appointed for temporary purposes. In 1887 his friends thought his age and practical ability fitted him for the discharge of the duties ap- propriate to a member of the Massachusetts Legis- lature. At a Republican convention held for the purpose of nominating a, candidate to represent the Second Wor- cester Senatorial District in the then next General Court he received the nomination for that position, which was duly confirmed by his election in Novem- ber following to the Senate of Massachusetts by a majoritv that showed him and his immediate friends that it was not merely as a partisan he owed his elec- tion, but for his qualities as a man of practical ability. He has this year — in accordance with the general rule of the political parties in relation to Senators — been again elected to the same position by a gratify- ing majority. It is not as a politician on which the reputation of S. M. Wheelock is to stand, but as a thorough, prac- tical business man, for which he early in life mani- fested a striking ability ; for stern integrity in busi- ness matters, worth more than millions obtained by fraud and chicanery. For more than fifty years of business life, during which time revulsions in business have been encountered that have swamped those ap- parently the most strongly prepared to endure the storm, he has been able to fulfill all his engagements, never paying less than one hundred per cent. But in doing this it has sometimes been felt as ahardship to be obliged to compete with those who, after settling their obligations for fifty per cent, or less, still con- tinued to meet him in the busine=3 mart. KICHARD SAYLES. Richard Sayles was born September 13, 1819, at Gloucester, R. I., situated in the northwestern part of the State, in Providence County. Here he lived with his parents, attending school until eleven years old ; he then went to live with a farmer a few miles distant from his home, receiving for the first year a compen- sation of eleven dollars and board, and during the winter months a few weeks of schooling. Out of this sum he clothed himself and saved nearly one-third of it. He was well liked by his employer and continued with him on the farm until sixteen years of age, each year receiving an advance in wages and saving a large part. At sixteen he left the farm and entered a grocery-store in Providence, R. I., as clerk, retaining the position about five years. In 1840 he came to Uxbridge and attended school in the Old Academy building for one year, having earned and saved the money to pay his tuition while a clerk at Providence. He was a diligent student, and, with characteristic energy and industry, employed his time in a profitable manner outside of school hours: in company with a fellow-student of his own age, he hired a piece of land, from which they raised a large crop and dis- posed of it at a profit, all the work of cultivation t^tyi-^ ^/ /'/ ^-^ /, ^ y'^r .«^-i-? ^ i / V ^^ UXBRIDGB. 183 being performed out of school hours. At the end of his year's schooling at the Old Academy he entered the employ of the Uxbridge Woolen Company, and remained with them about three years. He then returned to Providence and bought out his former employer in the grocery business, at the corner of Charles and Randall Streets. The business proved successful, and he continued in it three years, and then returned to Uxbridge again and entered the employ of the Uxbridge Woolen Company as book- keeper, filling the position some six years with great credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the company^ who offered him an interest in their busi- ness to remain with them. January 1, 1846, while in the grocery business, in Providence, he was married to Sarah Eddy McBride, who was born at Bolton, Mass., October 14, 1822, at the time of her marriage residing at Northbridge, Mass. Her paren)^ were members of the Society of Friends. April 1, 1853, Mr. Sayles entered the employ of Mr. Moses Taft, of Uxbridge, and superintended the building and equip- ment of the Centreville Woolen-Mill, now known as the Calumet Mill, on the completion of which, in the summer of 1853, he, in company with his brother-in- law, Mr. Israel M. Southwick, ^ired the mill, and, under the firm-name of Southwick & Sayles, com- menced the manufacture of a fine grade of fancy cassimeres, which they continued successfully until July 1, 1859. They then sold out to Messrs. Brad- ford, Taft & Co., of Providence, R. I., Mr. Sayles remaining with the new firm in the capacity of agent and superintendent, and Mr. Southwick as master- mechanic. Messrs. Bradford, Taft & Co. were suc- ceeded by Messrs. Taft, Weeden & Co. Mr. Sayles remained with them until January 1, 1864. During a part of the time, from July 1, 1859, to January 1, 1864,— that is, from the breaking out of the War of Rebellion, — the mill was engaged in the manufacture of a fine grade of indigo blue goods for officers' over- coats and suitings, all of the product being contracted direct to the United States Government, and receiving the highest commendation. The mill for a time w.is run day and night upon this line of goods, requiring sixteen blue vats for the coloring of the wool. During this period of manufacture for the army the duties devolving upon Mr. Sayles were excessive, often re- quiring his presence at the mill until late at night ; this close application to business proved too severe a strain upon him and resulted, January 1, 1864, in a severe shock of paralysis, from which he did not fully recover for several months. After a partial recovery, having severed Jiis connection with Messrs. Taft, Weeden & Co., he leased, about April 1, 1864, the Laurel Ridge Woolen-Mill, in the town of Burrill- ville, R. I., and village of Pascoag, operating it for one year in the manufacture of satinets, residing during the time with his family in Uxbridge. May 28, 1864, in company with David A. McBride, a brother-in-law, he bought of Mr. Chandler Taft the old Rivulet Mill property, situated in the north part of the town. After moderate improvements and re- pairs, they commenced the manufacture of shoddy, supplying Mr. Sayles' mill, in Pascoag, and also manufacturing for the market. They continued this business successfully for about two years. On Febru- ary 9, 1866, Mr. Sayles purchased Mr. McBride's interest in the property and sold the same to Mr. Israel M. Southwick, his former partner at the Cen- treville Mill. Immediately they commenced exten- sive additions to the property with the intention of manufacturing fancy cassimeres ; but owing to the great depression in the business, which soon followed, the project was given up, and the property remained unoccupied for several months. November 13, 1866, Mr. Sayles purchased Mr. Southwick's interest, and soon after sold it to Mr. Zadock A. Taft, of Uxbridge, a copartnership was formed under the firm-name of Sayles & Taft, and the manufacture of shoddy was commenced on an ex- tensive scale, and was continued with success until July, 1869. They then leased the property to Messrs. E. S. Bradford & Co., of Providence, R. I., who com- menced the manufacture of fine and medium grades of woolen yarns ; this firm was succeeded by Messrs. Pierce & Paine, of Providence, and they continued the business until October, 1872, when the mill was burned to the ground, making a total loss. The fol- lowing year Messrs. Sayles & Taft commenced the rebuilding of the property on an enlarged scale, and when completed began the manufacture of cotton warps and yarns, and continued the business for about one year, and then sold the cotton machinery and replaced it with machinery for the manufacture of satinets, which business they commenced and con- tinued under the firm-name of Sayles & Taft, until October 1, 1878, when they associated with them Mr. Henry S. Morse, of Uxbridge, the firm-name becom- ing Sayles, Taft & Co., the manufacture of satinets being continued. January 1, 1882, Mr. Taft retired from the firm, and Mr. Sayles and Mr. Morse con- tinued under the firm-name of Richard Sayles & Co. The various business interests of Mr. Sayles in his connection with the Rivulet Mills property have proved successful, as is reflected in the appear- ance of the village, its improved streets and lands, substantial mill buildings, neat and comfortable houses, all of which point to the enterprise, industry and integrity of Mr. Sayles, its projector, who, in every respect, was a self-made man ; broad and progressive in his views, his aim was to have his village and its people surrounded by the best influences, and to that end contributed liberally of his means and efibrt. Largely to his influence was due the erection of the handsome Baptist Church near his village, he being elected and serving as chairman of its building com- mittee, and contributing generously to its fund and also to its support. In his religious views he com- bined those of the Universalists and Unitarians; in 184 HISTOKY OF WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. politics a stanch Republican and strong advocate of protection to American labor and American industries. He several times refused public office, devoting all his time to his business and improvements in his village. He was a strictly temperate man, and a man of very decided opinions, always expressing them in a straightforward and honest manner. As an em- ployer, he was kind and generous, doing all in his power for the comfort and welfare of his employes, always kind-hearted and genial, ever ready to lend a helping hand and speak a word of encouragement. It was a pleasure to meet and converse with him. He was a man in every sense of the word, a man of the strictest integrity and sterling honesty. May 23, 1887, after several weeks of extremely painful illness, he passed away in the sixty-eighth year of his age, although in appearance a much younger man. He leaves a wife, three sons and a large circle of friends. He was a lineal descendant from John Sayles and Mary Williams, daughter ol Roger Williams. John Sayles was a native of Eng- land, and Mary Williams was born at Plymouth, Mass., in August, 1633. Esek Sayles, the grandfather of Richard Sayles, was born at Gloucester, R. I., November 26, 1753, and was married, January 9, 1788, to Mary Harris, hi.- second wife, who was born at Gloucester, R. I., Octo- ber 16, 1763, by whom he had eight children, — six sons and two daughters, — all born at Gloucester. Amasa Sayles, the oldest child, was born November 18, 1788. and was married November 22, 1811, to Mary Keach, who was born at Gloucester, R. I., January 10, 1794, and were the parents of Richard Sayles, he being the fifth of seven children, — six sons and one daughter, — all born at Gloucester. But two of the family survive — Mrs. Israel M. Southwick and Rensselaer Sayles, both residents of Uxbridge. DANIEL TAENUM. Daniel Farnum was of the fifth generation in de- scent from John Farnum, an early settler at the ancient town-seat in Mendon, and a little later in the southerly part of Uxbridge. The lineage is John, Moses, Moses, David, Daniel. His grandfather Moses was an eminent minister in the Society of Friends, whose memory is still fragrant in many bosoms. Mr. Farnum lived through all the mature part of his life in Northbridge, near the border of Uxbridge. He was the oldest son of a large family, and is survived only by his youngest brother, Samuel J., now a resident in or near Poughkeepsie. Daniel Farnum was born with a good constitution, which he preserved well by regular and temperate habits, experiencing but little sickness, and retaining his faculties in remarkable vigor till within the last year of his life. His was emphatically a sound mind in a sound body; he was characterized for sound common sense, a strong sentiment of justice and honesty, insistence on his own rights, and respect for those of others ; economy, simplicity and hospitality in domestic affairs ; was provident, faithful and kind in the family circle; a serviceable, judicious and trustworthy townsman, honored with the principal municipal offices, including those of selectman and Representative in the Legislature ; a reliable counselor in financial matters ; a lover of his country and its liberties ; a firm opposer of slavery and oppression ; sparing in religious professions, of broad tolerance toward all denominations ; liberal in theology, and a steadfast hoper in the final triumph of good over evil. These were qualities and characteristics which in Mr. Farnum overshadowed the incidental imperfections common to human nature. He was warmly attached to the interests of the town, and was a constant at- tendant on town-meetings, the last one he attended being in 1878, when in his ninety-fourth year. Among the positions of public financial trust he occupied was that of director in the Blackstone Bank, of Uxbridge, over twenty years. He had been expecting his de- parture for three years, expressed his entire resignation to the Divine disposal, and passed away in the con- fident assurance of the life everlasting, December 10, 1879, aged ninety-five years and eighteen days. CHAPTER XXXI. AUBURN. BY REV. S. D. HOSMER. TOPOGKAEHICAL. — Aubum lies on the map an ir- regular pentagon in form, ite eastern boundary and base line touching Millbury, with Worcester on the north, Leicester on the west and Oxford on the south. Its area covers about 10,000 acres, with a diameter of five miles in its extreme length. The centre, or the Congregational Church, lies five miles distant south by west from Worcester City Hall. The Norwich and Worcester Railroad threads the eastern side of the town, with depots at Auburn and Stone's Crossing ; the Boston and Albany Railroad runs through the western part. It has no station, but Jamesville and Rochdale depots are respectively within a half-mile and a mile of the town line. In 1885 the Webster Branch was opened, whose junction with the Albany road is in Auburn. This branch has a station at West Auburn. Thus railroad facilities are good. The surface is hilly, though without very high summits. The water-courses, trending northerly and easterly, join their channels to make the southern branch of the Blackstone River. These brooks and ponds are frequented by anglers, and three water privileges serve manufacturing uses and have for nearly a century. Pakachoag Hill extends two miles in the easterly part of Auburn, passing into Worces- ter, where it is crowned by the College of the Holy AUBUKN. 185 Cross. From its broad plateau one gets a fine view of Stoneville, Leicester steeples on the western horizon, Millbury, Grafton and Shrewsbury, Mt. Asnebum- skitand blue Wachusett. Grassy Hill borders on West Millbury, Prospect Hill stretches from West Auburn across the Oxford line, Crowl and Beer's Hills rise in the northwest corner. We find our Auburn not the " loveliest village of the plain." The population is fairly distributed, the factory precinct of Stoneville being the more thickly built up. Pondville lies east of the centre. The inhabitants generally are farmers whose great barns show the tons of hay produced and the quantity of stock raised. Towns adjacent have a larger territory and population, and, with the exception of Millbury, a more ancient record. Our history narrates the origin, the doings and the present condition of an average New England rural commu- nity. civil. HISTORY. In Council, June 19, 1773, ordered that Gerahom Eice, Israel SteTens, David Bancroft, Jonathan Stone, Baniel Boyden, Jacob Stevens, Thomas Drury, Thos. Drury, Jr., Henry Gale, Wm. Bancroft, Jas. Nichols, Darius Boyden, Jas. Hart, Thos. Baird, Jas. Hart, Jr., Thos. Baird, Jr., Oliver Curtis, Comfort Kice, Elizabeth Boyden, Phebe Bancroft, Jno. Boyden, Daniel Bancroft, Chas. Hart, Jas. Nichols, Peter Boyden, of Worcester j Benjamin Carter, Chas. Richardson, Timothy Carter, Pbineas Kice, Ben jamin Carter, Jr., Rachel Buck, Daniel Roper, Gerahom Bigelow, Ger- shom Bigelow, Jr., Peter Hardy, Daniel Cumminga, Charles Richardson, i Jr., of Sutton ; Samuel Eddy, Levi Eddy, Peter Jenison, Buth Stone, Jesae Stone, Isaac Pratt, Abraham Fitts, Alexander Nichols, David Gleaaon, of Oxford ; John Crowl, Jr., Andrew Crowl, Jonathan Phillips' John Hart, Thomas Scott, William Yong, Jonathan Stone, of Leicester ; be'and hereby are, with their Families and Estates, erected into a Pre- cinct, and shall' enjoy all the powers and privileges which other Pre- cincts in this province by Law enjoy ; and it is further ordered that all other persons (with their Families and Estates) living in the towns of Worcester, Leicester and Oxford, not further than three miles (as the roads are now trod) from the Place hereinafter fixed for building the meeting-house upon, together with all such others in Sutton that live not further than one mile and a half from said place, who shall signify their desire to belong to said Precinct by lodging their names in the Secretary's ofQce within nine months from this date, be and hereby are Incorporated and made a part of the Precinct aforesaid — ordered that the spot for erecting the meeting-house upon be at the following place (viz)., at an Oak stump with stones upon it, Standing on the Westerly side of the County road leading from Worcester to Oxford, near the centre of two acres of Land which Thomas Drury conveyed to Jonathan Stone, Daniel Boyden and David Bancroft; the said two acres of land lieth on the gore of land that was annexed to the town of Worcester. The gore of land above named lay originally in Leicester, and had been annexed to Worcester in 1758. These persons expressed their wish to join the new precinct, and did accordingly: Samuel Holman, Gershom Eice, Jr., Israel Stone, Wm. Parker, Joseph Phillips, Samuel Learnard, Israel Phillips, Jacob Work, Jonathan Cutler, David Stone, John Harwood, Thomas Gleason, William Phips, Isaac Putnam, Jo- seph Gleason, Jonas Bancroft, Elisha Livermore, Gardner Chandler (for my land within the limits), Na- thaniel Scot, David Bates, Nathan Patch, David Richards. July 27, 1773, the precinct was organized and chose its officers ; among others, Jacob Stevens, clerk, and Jonathan Stone, treasurer. The freeholders met at the tavern of Thomas Drury, Jr., inn-holder. The principal doings of the South Parish of Worcester, as it was called, will come in review under matters ecclesiastical, which mainly occupied attention dur- ing the five years of precinct municipality. One fact, however, deserves notice. On the proprietors' book stands, in the clear hand-writing of William Phips, the Declaration of Independence, with the subjoined order from the Council of Massachusetts: That the Declaration be printed and a copy sent to the ministei-s of each parish of every denomination within thia State, and that they sever- ally be required to read the same to their respective congregations, as soon as Divine Service is ended in the afternoon, on the first Lord's Day, after they shall have received it, and the town ordistrict clerks are then required to record the same in their books, to remain as a perpetual memorial thereof. April 10, 1778, the precinct became an incorporated town, named Ward, in compliment to Major-General Ward, the commander of the colonial forces, at Cam- bridge, till Washington arrived. Heath, Gardner and Warren similarly commemorate other Revolu- tionary officers. Road-making, parish affairs, with the patriotic furnishing soldiers and supplies for the army, occupied our townsmen. In 1780 a committee reported on the adoption of the proposed State Con- stitution, favorably on the whole, yet suggesting their decided preference for legislative representation as towns, rather than based on the number of polls, and emphatically disapproving the proviso that the Constitution should not be amended for fifteen yearn. In 1795 the town voted thirteen to seven in favor of a revision of that instrument. September, 1786, " Voted not to take any notice of the petition or address of the town of Boston ;" but what the metrop- olis desired of the country cousins, to be treated so curtly, is not apparent. Ward, like other towns, was considerably impli- cated in the uprising of Shays' Rebellion. Taxation was oppressive ; Middle and Western Massachusetts was in a ferment. A company of armed men from Ward, under Captain Goulding, joined other insur- gents, gathered at Worcester to prevent the sitting of the court. Some days later, after a chilling snow- storm, the insurrectionary soldiers indulged quite freely in stimulants from merchant Waldo's stock of liquors, but detected a queer taste that suggested to some the thought of poison. Fortunately, Dr. Green, of Ward, being at hand, relieved their fears and imag- inary pains in the discovery that the favorite fluid had been plentifully seasoned with snujf. The town addressed several petitions to the General Court, Governor and Council, and Major-General Lincoln, in behalf of their misguided brethren, who became amenable to justice, particularly craving pardon for Henry Gale, under sentence of death as a rebel. He finally obtained life and liberty through the pardon granted by the executive to the condemned insurgents. The town expressly affirmed "that the hostile measures adopted and pur- sued by sundry persons to oppose known laws were unjustifiable in their nature and tendency.'' These 186 HI8T0KY OP WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. petitions were able papers and proved to be in the line of governmental policy. Captain Samuel Eddy was chosen representative to the General Court in 1787, and in a long docu- ment received the explicit instructions of his con- stituents. I quote some of them : " The setting of the General Court, in the town of Boston, is a matter which the citizens of this Commonwealth are not gen- erally satisfied with, as in transacting the business of an Infant Nation, imbarassed with debts, it is highly incumbent to study economy and dispatch, for which great purposes the town of Boston is by no means adapted." The next section demanded the abolition of the Court of Common Pleas ; they also asked for a convention to revise the Constitution, and that inn-holders and retailers be licensed by the selectmen of their respective towns. Article thirteen complains " of the pernicious practice of the Law, as tending to the imbarassment, perplexity and expense of the people. If the general prosperity and happiness of the people can be effected by proper checks and re- straints on the practitioners of the law, we do not insist upon the total annihilation of the order, but if upon investigation it should appear conducive to the happiness of the people, that the order be annihi- lated, you will act conformably, for it is better that a few suffer than a People to sink beneath oppression." Sometimes the town voted not to send a Representa- tive to the Legislature. Two of its ablest men, at the same town-meeting elected representatives, each in turn refused the honor. In 1794 Joseph Stone, sur- veyor, was empowered to take a map or plan of the town, agreeable to a resolve of the Legislature. Next year the town agreed to help Joseph Stone against a loyalist's claim to certain property. In May, 1796, "Voted unanimously that, alarmed by the reports current, that ye Treaty lately concluded between the United States of America and the Government of Great Britain, and duly ratified by the Constituted Authorities, meets with impediments and delays in carrying into effect, on the part of these States by the Majority of the Hon. House of Representatives of the Federal Congress; it is the wish and desire of this town, that the said Treaty be fully carried into effect without further delay." This vote was sent to the Hon. Dwight Foster, Representative in Congress. During Jefferson's administration Ward by vote sustained the government in ordering the embargo, so unpopular in New England. John Clark, Esq., was the delegate to the convention for the revision of the State Constitution in 1820. Fifteen years later manu- facturing was starting on a larger scale than the smithies, saw and grist-mills, home-looms and spin- ning-wheels of earlier times. That fact, with the con- struction of the two railroads, brought in a foreign element of population which is now mainly Canadian French. Church records chronicle with refreshing simplicity sixty years ago the death of an Irishman, a black woman, a foreigner from Sweden, the merely naming the race or nationality affording sufficient per- sonal identification. Tythingmen were chosen as late as 1839. The name of our town. Ward, because of confusion with Ware, was changed in 1837 to Auburn, proposed, we think, by Joseph Stone, Esq., who served as town clerk twenty-four years. Indeed, the recording the town's doings fitly belongs to the clan of Stones, the most frequent family name from the first; the present capable town clerk, Emory Stone, having filled that ofiice thirty-two years. In 1850 the Legislature an- nexed to Auburn certain estates, which, by their own- ers' choice, in virtue of the act of incorporation of Ward, had paid taxes and exercised suffrage in the towns adjoining. Our growth has been slow but sure, without the rush, inflation, depression and crash that have scathed some communities. Probably more build- ing went on from 1865 to 1875 than in any other dec- ade. The population was in 1790, 473; 1810, 540; 1830, 690; 1850, 879; 1880, 1317. State census of 1885, 1268; the number of polls, 316; and the valua- tion, $487,421. CHAPTER XXXIL AUBURN— ( Continued. ) Ecclesiastical. — The first settlers took prompt action in church affairs ; for in August, 1773, they voted " to begin Preching as soon as may be," and planned to build the meeting-house. The pews were dignified, and taken by families in 1775, though the church was not finished until ten years were gone. It was a nearly square structure, standing more on the Common than at present. The proprie- tors' book shows the plan of the floor with large square pews against the wall, gives the pew-ownera' names and prices paid. Various ministers were heard, and three unsuccessfully called. The church was formed with the presence and sanction of Rev. David Hall, of Sutton, Rev. Mr. Maccarty, of Wor- cester, and Rev. Mr. Chaplin, of Sutton Second Church (which is now the first of Millbury), Thurs- day, January 25, 1776. Eleven men and as many women made up its original membership. Rev. Mr. Hall officiated at their first communion observance, June 9th. The first pastor. Rev. Isaac Bailey, a native of Sterling, graduated at Harvard College in 1781, and was ordained here November 4, 1784. He had studied divinity with Rev. Daniel Emerson, of Hollis, N. H., whose daughter, Elizabeth, he married. His was a useful pastorate of thirty years. He died April 10, 1814, and sleeps with his deacons and congregation in the old church-yard. March 1, 1815, Rev. Enoch Pond (Brown Univer- sity, 1818) was ordained pastor, who labored dili- gently and successfully till 1828. He then became editor in Boston of the periodical Spirit of the Fil- AUBURN. 187 grims ; and somewhat later began his life-work, at Bangor Theological Seminary, where he died, full of years, service and honor, in 1881. This church greatly flourished during his ministry, more than doubling its membership in two extensive revivals. He published sermons, reviews, lectures, beside preparing young men for college. Anecdotes are told by those who remember him showing his pleas- ant and, at times, jocose disposition and ready wit. His dwelling looks to-day very much as when he abode there, and the long school-room and study, now two chambers, is our veneration, as is Luther's home and study to the residents of Wittenberg. Rev. Miner G. Pratt preached twenty years. He married Caroline, daughter of Maj. Thos. Drury, afterward resided at Andover, and died at Rochester, N. Y., 1884, aged eighty-four years. He organized a parish library, and was also postmaster. In 1887 the church building was moved back fifty feet, and the belfry and spire added. Several clergymen came with shorter terms of stay, among whom was Rev. L. Ives Hoadley, a relative by marriage of Dr. Pond. Rev. Elnathan Davis, from Fitchburg, a graduate of Williams College in 1834, began labor in November, 1869. He did noble work as a citizen as well as preacher. The church was raised up, galleries removed and the interior quite remodeled. The church's centennial was joyfully celebrated in January, 1876; but the only printed record is the newspaper column. Mr. Davis' minis- try of ten years greatly strengthened the church. Sincere was the sorrow at his funeral, April, 1881. Rev. N. A. Prince preached two years; and the present incumbent, Rev. S. D. Hosmer, of Harvard, 1850, began his labors January 1, 1883. The chapel near to the church has served at times as a school- room. In it hang three portraits of former pastors — Rev. Dr. Pond, Rev. Charles Kendall and Rev. Elnathan Davis. On the town records we catch glimpses of persons not in accord with the standing order ecclesiastically. In 1779 provision was made to supply the deficiency caused by " taxes sunk by being laid on several of the Baptist persuasion in a late Ministerial Rate." Ten years after the selectmen were empowered " to abate Minister's taxes set to those who bring Certifi- cates of their Congregating otherwheres besides in this town, as they may think proper." Liberty was given Elder Rathborn (at the desire of Jas. Hart) "to preach in the meeting-house at any time when they may not have occasion to make use of it them- selves." March, 1812, the town "allowed the Dis- senters from the Congregational Society the Privi- lege of occupying the Meeting-House on Week Days for Lectures; when the aforesaid Congregationals do not want to occupy the said house themselves." A church was erected through the efforts of Colonel Goulding and Samuel Warren in West Auburn, next the burial-ground, in 1814. This was the Baptist house of worship. When that society migrated to North Oxford, this building, bought by the War- ren Brothers, and moved to the site of their tan- nery, was used for business purposes till it was burned, about 1868. The Baptist Church in Sutton called a council of elders and delegates, who met April 9, 1815, and constituted the First Baptist Church of Ward, with eleven male and seventeen female members. Elder Pearson Crosby, of Thompson, Conn., preached the sermon text (Matt. 16 : 18), and Elder Thomas L. Leonard, of Sturbridge, gave the right hand of fellow- ship to the new church.* Deacon Jonah Goulding, Samuel Warren, David Hosmer and several persons of the Jennison and Gleason families were original members. Elder Dwinel seems to have been the first pastor, afterward Elias McGregory, and Rev. John Paine was the preacher from 1830 till 1837, when the larger part of the church, which counted near one hundred members, were transferred to become the Baptist Church in North Oxford. Also in 1837 Rev. Jonah G. Warren was chosen to prepare the history of this church. The Oxford Church and congregation to-day are largely com- posed of Auburn families. The Roman Catholic Church at Stoneville began as a mission in 1870. It is now under the pas- toral supervision of Father Boylen, who lives in Oxford. They have a neat sanctuary on the hill, with a fine view of the Holy Cross College in Worcester, distant less than two miles. Educational. — In 1779 two hundred pounds were given for schooling, and the town divided into five squadrons or districts, "Each squadron to draw their money, and it to be a free school for the Town." The first committee chosen in 1780 were Jonathan Stone, Darius Boyden, Jesse Stone, John Prentice and Andrew Crowl. In November three thousand pounds were added to the sum granted last year for schooling. It must have been the depreciated currency of the day, for soon after thirty pounds became the annual appropria- tion. Who were the school-dames or masters then, we know not. Joseph Stone may have been one. In 1784 Ward refused to allot any part of the school-money "to be held in the Center for the sole purpose of teaching Large Scholars." Two years later the committee were seven in number, viz., James Hart, Jr., Joseph Dorr, Esq., Lieu- tenant Thomas Drury, Jonah Goulding, Levi Eddy, Deacon Ezra Cary and Abel Holman. The ap- portionment of the school-tax on the lands of non- residents in 1789 names the Sutton Squadron, Leicester Squadron, North and South Squadrons on Prospect Hill, Bogachoge and Deacon Stone's Squad- ron. November, 1790, Lieutenant Thomas Drury was annexed to the southeast squadron, provided said squadron shall erect their school-house on the height of land south of Messrs. Cary & Green's 188 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Potash ; and a new squadron was formed; the families of Abel Holman, Bichard Bartlett, Eliph- alet Holman and Paul Thurston set off' from the southeast district. In June of the next year the three western districts were consolidated, and prep- arations made to build a school-house. A little later forty pounds was the usual annual appro- priation. Like other towns fifty years since, a prudential committee looked after the school finances and a visiting committee attended to the literary attainments of teachers and pupils. The pastors have generally served with others on the School Committee, and the town kas a few times recognized their merit by placing ladies on the educational board. A report of the School Committee was accepted at town-meeting in 1843 ; but the earliest printed school report I have seen came out in 1851. A school of a higher grade was held in the fall of 1875, whose pupils enjoyed the thorough instruction in High School studies of a Yale graduate, resident still in town. We have two hundred and forty children between five and fifteen years old, six school- districts, with seven schools ; the Stoneville building, erected in 1872, housing two schools, with an annual appropriation of $1,300, added to which is the State school fund and the dog-tax. Rev. Mr. Pond taught a private school some seven years in his own house. He fitted many young men for college, took rusticated collegians into his fam- ily, and, with wonderful diligence and versatility, heard lessons, directed his scholars, wrote sermons and articles for the press at the same time. He pre- pared a new arrangement of Murray's English Grammar. At times there were thirty or forty pupils. Hon. Albert G. Wakefield, of Bangor, Maine ; Rev. Artemas Ballard, D.D., of St. Louis ; Virgil Gar- diner, from the South ; Mr. Burrill, of Providence, R. I. ; and Rev. Gideon Dana were of those who studied here. Since Mr. Pond's departure select schools have at different times been kept in the chapel. Some of the elders here in their youth attended Leicester Academy, whose centennial was kept ia 1884. At present our young people take advantage of the nearness and excellence of Worcester's varied institutions of learning. A paper-covered little book is still preserved with Jonathan Stone's autograph as owner in 1760. His son, Joseph Stone, Esq., who died in 1835, had a good library for the time. Among his varied capabilities he exercised the craft of a bookbinder. Traces exist of a social library about 1830 ; Joseph Stone, Abijah Craig, Oliver Baker and others being share-holders. There was, too, a parish library in Rev. Mr. Pratt's day, of which he was custodian. Mr. William Craig willed to the town one thousand dollars, provided the town added another thousand to establish and main- tain a free public library, only the interest to be expended. He was a man eccentric in dress, economical in his habits, of bright faculties, quick at repartee, an active Whig. He died in 1871. The library was opened in October, 1872, with two hundred volumes, and was for several years in charge of Miss Hannah Green, at her residence; thence moved to an ante-room of the town hall. It has outgrown its present quarters. A portion of the library, mostly theological works, of the style read by our devout grandfathers, once belonged to Joseph Stone. The residue (fifteen hundred volumes) are a well-selected collection, diligently conned by the young people of Auburn. Miss Lucy P. Merriam is the trusty libra- rian. A catalogue was printed in 1885. We need for our library a copy of every book and pamphlet written in or about this town or its vicinity.; and then a commodious hall for their use, preservation and increase. The town also owns a large case, filled with law works and the public documents of the State. CHAPTER XXXIII. AVBVKN— {Continued.) Manufactures. — In the last century every house- wife was skilled, like Solomon's virtuous woman, in seeking wool and flax, and deftly handled the spindle and distaff. The whirr of the spinning-wheel and jar of the loom made the home music. On early rec- ords the potash of Dr. Green and Recompense Gary is named as the starting-point of a new road. An official document in 1794 mentions two grist-mills, four saw-mills and one fulling-mill. A wind-mill, too, caught the breezes upon Prospect Hill. Charles Richardson's mill utilized the water privilege, now called Pondville, known as Rice's mills fifty years ago. From Mr. Rice the property passed through several owners to Otis Pond, who changed the busi- ness from a saw and grist-mill to the making of yarn. Then, with his brother as partner, it became a sat- inet-mill. At this time, 1862, Mr. B. F. Lamed took an interest in the business, which, at first with others, and then alone, he sustained till 1883. The Auburn Mill was widely known for its woolen goods, sold through Boston and New York commission houses. By a freshet causing the reservoir to give way, the mill was damaged in 1873. Mr. A. Henry Alden was drowned in the flume by the bursting in of the bulkhead gates June 18, 1879. A six-families tenement-house, office and store-house were built, and a set of cards put in, making five sets in the mill, in the spring and summer of 1880. Three times has the plant been wholly burned, — in 1865; August 25, 1870 ; and August 21, 1880. Each rebuilding was a marked improvement. A very pleasant festival and charitable gathering of towns-folk and friends from abroad, with a bright speech by Hon. John D. Washburn and a poem by Rev. E. Davis, celebrated AUBURN. 189 the completion of the new mill in the month of Feb- ruary, 1881. Mr. Larned sold the property in 1883 to L. J. Knowles & Brother. The mill is now managed under the firm of Kirk, Hutchins & Stoddard as the Auburn Woolen Mill. The Drury family, for three generations, owned a grist and saw-mill at the outlet of the pond near the Southbridge and Stoneville roads. Colonel Alvah Drury built the house now Mr. Hilton's residence, and prospered in his business. The site afterward be- came known as Dunn's Mill. Albert Curtis and B. F. Larned bought the water privilege, and Dunn's shod- dy mill, owned by B. F. Larned, was burned, with a loss of over four thousand dollars, May 2, 1877. Mr. James Hilton carried on the same business, and his premises were burned in 1887, but immediately re- built and enlarged. Dark Brook, the outflow of Eddy's Pond, at two points has turned the wheels of manufacturing in- dustry. Plows, scythes, wooden-ware for farmers' tools and shoes were made here from 1820 to '40. Ichabod Washburn, the wealthy and liberal wire-maker of Worcester, served his apprenticeship with Nathan Muzzy, whose blacksmith-shop stood behind the church. He received his freedom suit of clothes, made by Mrs. Muzzy, at the expiration of his ser- vice. In 1837 Auburn could show one woolen mill, a pa- per mill, a card factory, three shingle mills, a lath mill and a sash and blind factory. Daniel Haywood's paper mill, a four-story structure on the stream above Stoneville, was swept away by a flood in 1856. John Warren & Sons carry on the tannery in West Au- burn. This industry has been successfully prose- cuted on the same spot, and kept in the family since Jonah Goulding started that business nearly a cen- tury ago. In 1834 Jeremy Stone began to improve the water- power on Young's Brook by erecting a brick mill and houses for the operatives. He died at the South be- fore his plans were completed, but the village at Stoneville marks his business foresight. Edward Denny, of Barre, next owned the property. About 1850 Mr. A. L. Ackley bought him out, changing the woolen to a cotton mill. John Smith, of Barre, took it in 1858, whose sons, C. W. and J. E. Smith, coined money by shrewd business operations in the war-pe- riod, from 1861 to '65. At 0. W. Smith's death, a few years since, the mill lay idle awhile. Mr. George H. Ladd acted as superintendent till the last sale of the property and his removal to Clinton. Mr. Hogg, the carpet manufacturer at South Worcester, is present owner, the business-name being the Stone- ville Worsted Company, making yarn for the Worces- ter Carpet Mill. When the Lynde Brook reservoir broke loose, the damage at the Stoneville dam and bridge cost the town alone three thousand dollars. The dwellings of the operatives under the maple's shade, the neatly- kept pine grove on the near hillside, its height crowned by the Catholic Church and the public school, form as attractive a New England factory village as you may find. The Darling Bros. (Messrs. D. W. & J. T.), con- tractors, reside on the Eochdale road in Auburn. Specimens of their skill, fidelity and success as builders are seen at the Polytechnic, Worcester, and public edifices at Ware and Springfield. Through the influence of James Alger, a veteran engineer on ihe Boston and Albany Railroad, some twenty of our young men are firemen and engineers on several rail- roads. Ageicultuee. — Rev. Peter Whitney writes of this town in 1793 : " The soil in general is fertile, rich and strong, suitable for orcharding and all kinds of fruit; well adapted to pasturage and mowing, and produces large crops of rye, oats, wheat, barley, Indian corn and flax. It is not very rocky, but affords stone sufficient for fencing in the farms.'' And Major Gookin, a century before, noted the famous crops of Fndian corn at Pakachoag, the Indian civil planta- tion, and translated the significance of the aboriginal word, the village named from " a delicate spring of water there." I suppose wool-raising in the olden time was profit- ably pursued. Different ear-marks of the stock- owners are recorded by the town clerk. The minister's glebe counted its acres by the scores, and the good parson, like his congregation, was expert in using the plough, scythe and sickle. There must have been double the amount of woodland. In recent times the supply of railroad ties, and hundreds of trees cut down for fuel, explains the lesser area of the forest. For a mile one rode along a shaded avenue a few years since on the Southbridge road ; alas ! that the fact should be but a pleasant memory now. Some farms itill belong to descendants of their first owners. Our yeomen quite generally are busied in supplying milk to the neighboring city. Mr. A. S. Wolf conducts a well-managed market produce farm, and finds a ready disposal for all he raises. He employs, winter and summer, a number of men, and his fruitful acres remihd one of the Arlington and Belmont market- gardens. Other persons cultivate the small fruits and realize, we hope, the pecuniary profits a well-known novelist gave as his experience on the banks of the Hudson. The yearly harvest exhibition shows an attractive display of flowers, vegetables and fruit. The Auburn Grange, No. 60, P. of H., was organized July 2, 1874, with twenty-three charter members. It now numbers over one hundred, and is in a flourish- ing condition. A few years since the grange spent a bright May-day, before Arbor Day was recognized, in the adornment of the public green by setting out thrifty young maples to grow beside the half a dozen lofty elms, the bequest to us of our thoughtful prede- cessors a century ago. 190 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. We note some of the chief agricultural results in Auburn, found in the tables of the State census in 1885 for the year previous : Milk, gallons 250, Y16 Value of dairy products 547,164: Hay, straw and fodder 30,927 Vegetables 19,391 Animal products 9,152 Wood products 7,368 Poultry products 6,874 Aggregate of agricultural products $132,032 There were ninety-one farmers, with eighty-five ad- ditional farm laborers. A sentence from the town's instructions to its rep- resentative, in 1787, might serve well as a grange motto: "The industrious husbandman, on whom this commonwealth will probably ever depend for its greatest strength.'' True of the United States to-day, though not as applicable to Massachusetts as when originally penned. CHAPTEK XXXIV. AUBURN— ( Continued. ) Military Affairs.— Military titles abound in the names of the first residents. Some had seen service in the French and Indian Wars. The commission of Comfort Rice as first lieutenant in the Third Com- pany of Foot, Micah Johnson, captain, in the regiment of militia in Worcester County, whereof John Chand- ler is colonel, signed by Governor Hutchinson, June, 1773, is yet preserved. Two companies marched from Worcester on the Lexington alarm, April, 1775. Cap- tain Timothy Bigelow led the minute-men. A few in his company and one certainly in Captain Flagg's were from this South Parish. The State archives con- tain the muster-roll of Captain John Crowl's com- pany from this place, twenty-six men in all. They were attached to Colonel Larned's regiment, and marched to Roxbury in the alarm of April, 1775. They were paid for a hundred miles' travel and from six to twelve days' service. Total amount allowed for this company and receipted for by their captain January 24, 1776, £28 2s. n\d. When the parish became a town its records attest its earnest loyalty to freedom, in ofiering good bounties for army recruits, in for- warding beef, grain and clothing to the soldiers in service. The following document is a sample: To Capt Jobn waight, Agent for Solder clothing for the county of Worcester, we the Selectmen of Ward have apprised and sent the follow- ing artikels, viz. ; 28 shirts at 48s per shirt £67 4 14 pair of shoes 48« per pair 33 12 14 pair of Stockings 36e per pair 25 4 Total £126 Ward, Nov. 30, 1778. Chas Richaroson] Nathan Patch \ Jonathan Cutler J ^^ The town also purchased five guns and ammunition. There must have been a home company, as its officers were associated in 1780 with the town's Committee of Correspondence. The part Ward took in Shays' Rebellion has been already told. October, 1796, a quarter of a pound of powder was allowed each soldier for the muster at Ox- ford that shall bear arms on said day. Next year the records state, " Voted to give One Dollar to each of the men called for from the military Company in this town, who shall be Volunteers to fill the Levy; also to such of the Cavalry and Artillery, who are inhab- itants of this Town, who may be detached from their respective Corps, in proportion to the Levy on the Infantry ; also that the town will make up the pay to each and every of said Soldiers, including whatsoever they shall be entitled to receive from the public equal to $10 per month they may serve, after they shall be called into actual service, consequent to said Levy.'' The town's powder was stored in the attic of the church until a powder-house was built on the hill-top south of the old burying-place. Men still living, in their younger days trained with their townsmen on the Common, or went through the military evolutions in a field near Major Drury's house ; marched to Lei- cester, Oxford or Worcester, joining other companies for regimental review. Gradually the military spirit died out in the piping times of peace, till the black war-cloud looming up on the Southern horizon sum- moned the citizen soldiery of the North. Auburn enlisted seventy-seven men ; three of these entered the navy. The Twenty-fifth Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Militia received the most of these of any one regiment, but Auburn had soldiers also in the Fifteenth, Twenty-first, Thirty-fourth and Fifty-first, and scattered individuals in yet others. A few joined the Heavy Artillery. Three were killed ; four more died of wounds or sickness in the hospitals. On the soldiers' monument, raised in 1870, are inscribed the names of fifteen soldiers, deceased. The little flutter- ing flags mark the resting-places of these and others since mustered out from life's march and bivouac. John A. Logan Post, No. 97, G. A. R., was organized with thirty-six comrades and was largely efficient toward the erection of the soldiers' monument. But so many of its members left town that after three years the post disbanded. No uniformed soldier is met on our quiet streets ; the nearest approach to the stormy times of '63 is the distant boom of the holiday salutes of Bat- tery B in Worcester or the crack of the sportsman's rifle intent on shooting sly Reynard or a harmlesi rabbit. The grandson of the first pastor became dis- tinguished as Prof. Jacob Whitman Bailey at West Point. Would that one of our tall forest trees might stand as a flag-staflTon the Common to display on fit occasions the Stars and Stripes above the greenery of those towering elms. Cemeteries. — In January, 1775, a committee was chosen " to pick upon a burning yeard." They re- ported "upon a Diligent and faithful tryal of y" AUBUKN. 191 Ground near the Senter of the parish, the most Suta- ble place on the Kode from the meeting-house to ox- ford, OQ the Southerly Corner of Mr. Thomas Drury's Cleared Land," eleven rods each way, containing three-quarters of an acre. This old burying-ground joins the Common and is thickly planted with the memorial stones of our predecessors. The oldest bears the date April 13, 1777 — the stone of Mrs. Deborah Thurston, aged nineteen years. The epitaphs chroni- cle the family genealogies of the town to a large extent, as for forty years here was the only burial spot, and till 1846 the principal one. Our forefathers' tomb-stone poetry was usually alarming in its address to the living ; but these lines on the stone of a four- years-old child answer darkly the mooted question, Is life worth living ? When the archangel's trump shall blow. And souls to bodies join, What crowds shall wish their lives below Had been as short as mine. An ancient graveyard beside the thronged city's street seems terribly out of place, only interesting to some Old Mortality of an antiquarian ; but in the country the open fields around, singing birds loving its tree-tops, wild flowers and creeping vines border- ing its stone walls, the sunset glow of a summer even- ing lighting up its glades, give a tranquil beauty and serenity better felt than told. The poet's matchless elegy could have been written only of a country church-yard. For seventy years the graveyard near School-House Number Four has been the burial-place for the west part of Auburn. The first interment was that of Mr. Gleason in 1814. Colonel Goulding's tomb is here. A small enclosure on Prospect Hill near the Oxford line has one monument and several graves. It be- longed to the Cudworth family. The Burnap field, on land of Thomas S. Eaton, is where that family buried their dead, but the stones have been all removed. The new cemetery, laid out in 1846, occupies about six acres midway from the church to the depot. A simple plinth and marble shaft, resting on a granite base, the soldiers' monument, crowns the crest of the slope opposite the gateway. For forty years this garden of the dead received the faithful care of, and nearly every grave was dug by, the sexton, John G. Stone, from whose broad acres this land was pur- chased. Our town name recalls the designation of that first extensive garden-cemetery. Mount Auburn^ near Boston. As our necropolis has never been named, from its fair prospect over the near water to the dis- tant hills, let us designate this beautiful spot our Mt. Pisgah. The Old Tavern. — The residence of Otis Pond, at the Common, is perhaps as old and as little changed as to the interior, as any house in town. This was the tavern, with swinging sign-board between the two supporting timbers, suggesting accommodation for man and beast. It was kept by mine hosts Drury, Sturtevant, Gary and Wiser, and not on a temperance platform, as stories of the older inhabitants assure us. Eere reined up the stages from Worcester to Norwich, which, in 1881, left Worcester every Wednesday and Saturday at 3 A.M., the passengers reaching Norwich the same afternoon, and, by the steam packet "Fanny," New York the next morning. The summer arrange- ments for 1 838 read : Monday, Wednesday and Friday ihe stage leaves for the Norwich boat at 6.30 A.M., but on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday on the arrival of the first train from Boston. The Southbridge stage also passed through this town. A town-meeting, awaiting a committee's report, would take a recess at the inn so accessible. The first parish-meeting convened there, and its best room, I fancy, witnessed Sabbath worship, till the church was ready for use. Dr. Pond speaks of a memorable ball at the tavern, which was the precur- sor of a great revival. The post-office and store were at the Common, but years since left the geographical centre of the town for its travel centre — the depot. But the sign " Groceries " remains, — an epitaph on business departed, perhaps capital buried -beyond resurrection. Like an old palimpsest, too, it carries an older inscription of the store-keeper's name, easily decipherable beneath the last-painted word. Peesonal Sketches. — ^We glance at a brief out- line of some whose lives have shaped our local his- tory. All that occurred before 1773 belongs to Wor- cester's chronicles or the other mother towns. Yet a word of some then active where now lie our farms may not prove amiss. September 17, 1674, Rev. John Eliot and his coad- jutor, Major Daniel Gookin, visited Pakachoag (Lin- coln's "History of Worcester" gives thirteen ways of spelling that name), preached and appointed civil ofiicers among the Indians. John Speen, a Natick convert, had already preached and taught here two years. Gookin locates this Indian village seven miles from Hasaanamesit, — i. e., Grafton, — and three miles from the Connecticut Path, which led west- ward. That way ran just north of Lincoln Square, in Worcester. Wattasacompanum, as ruler among the Nipmucks, aided Eliot and Gookin. But next year the wily Philip seduced the natives from their loyalty to the English, when they burned deserted Quinsiga- mond, and were present at the Brookfield disaster. Wattasacompanum, or Captain Tom, as he is called, paid the penalty of his weakness at his execution on Boston Common. Matoonas, who had been chosen constable at Packachoag, met a similar fate. Col. Timothy Bigelow, who served in the French and Indian Wart and led Worcester's company of minute-men on the Lexington alarm, was born in what was Worcester, but soon became included in Ward. His beautiful memorial column on Worces- ter Common records his soldierly service. Eev. Wm. Phips, of the colonial Governor Sir Wm. Phips line, lived near the Oxford bound- 192 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ary, east of Prospect Hill. Born at Sherborn and a graduate of Harvard College in 1746, he preached at Douglas till dismissed in 1765. We find no trace of him as a minister here, but he was active in church, precinct and town matters, a capable man and a firm patriot. His daughter Sukey married Wm. Craig and was the mother of Abijah and William Craig and their as peculiar sister. Miss Patty. Mr. Phips died in reduced circumstancns at Oxford in 1798. A resolution passed at town-meeting in 1787 rings out its sweeping; " Woe unto you lawyers !" Never- theless, even in those troublous days, one of the most useful and honored citizens was the Hon. Joseph Dorr, born in Mendon, graduated at Har- vard, 1752. Leicester and Broolcfleld also claim him as a resident. His services are conspicuous on our annals from 1786 to 1795. Having assisted in fram- ing the State Constitution and filled already the posi- tion of State Senator, he was exceedingly valuable here in drafting petitions for clemency to those en- gaged in Shays' Insurrection, and was sent as the town's intercessor to lay their appeal before the Gov- ernor and Council. His youngest son, Edward, born in Ward, was a large land-owner in Louisiana and died there. Two older sons became eminent in mer- cantile and financial circles in Boston, Joseph Dorr held the office of justice of the Court of Common Pleas twenty -five years and was judge of Probate for Worcester County eighteen years. He died at Brook- field in 1808. Deacon Jonathan Stone, of the third generation from Deacon Simon Stone, of Watertown, the immi- grant ancestor and the third successively named Jon- athan, came from Watertown about 1753, and settled on lands then in Leicester. In 1757 he and others asked to be joined to Worcester, which took place next year. Still later his acres fell into the new parish, soon becoming the township of Ward. His descendant, Emory Stone, Esq., owns the ancestral possessions, the venerable homestead standing till within forty years. Jonathan Stone's name occurs as owner of pew No. 47 in the Old South Church, Worcester, in 1763. He marched with Captain Bige- low to Cambridge, April, 1776, his son. Lieutenant Jonathan, going with Captain Flagg. Most of the family name here now are descended from Deacon Jonathan. He was active in the organization of the church and served as its first deacon. As appears in the original plan of the edifice, he bought pew No. 15, on the right of the pulpit, and paid the best price (sixty pounds) of any proprietor. The school District where he lived is named as Deacon Stone's District. After his day that section was known at one time as New Boston. Old family Bibles record his three marriages and the goodly array of his nine sons and daughters. He lived to be over eighty years and his stone stands near the cemetery wall close by the chapel. His son, Joseph Stone, Esq., has been already spoken of. As teacher, surveyor, bookbinder, and even occasional printer, he was variously and largely useful. Fond of reading and study, he gathered quite a library, and the annotations in his pamphlets and al- manacs afford many a desired fact to the antiquary. Spec- imens of hymns and tunes he composed are preserved. In 1793, with Abraham Wood, he published a singing- book, which circulated widely. The town records, in his clear chirography are a feast to the eye and a de- light to the investigator. Some of our elders remem- ber the cloaked figure of this aged worshipper at church. He had been often chosen to public office, and faithtully discharged every trust. He outlived his wife sixteen years, and died childless, at the age of seventy-nine, February 22, 1835. He gave some of his property to Bangor Seminary, and a memoir of him was written by Dr. Enoch Pond. Jonah Goulding settled in the west part of the town, coming thither from Grafton. He became noted as the captain of the Ward company, that joined Shays' forces. One Boyden was the lieutenant. After the rebellion collapsed he was arrested at his home and confined forty days in Boston Jail. His business was that of a tanner, and he built the mansion occupied by his grandsons, the Messrs. Elbridge and John Warren. He filled the place of school committee- man and selectman. Naturally firm in purpose, keen in judgment and outspoken in speech, he acted with emphatic earnestness. He was the principal mover in the formation of the Baptist Church, and its life- long strong pillar. He died in 1826. Rev. J. G. Warren, D.D., his grandson, and son of Samuel and Sally Goulding Warren, born September 11, 1812, fitted for college at Leicester Academy and graduated at Brown University, 1835, Newton Theol- ogical Institute, 1838. He was ordained at North Oxford, September, 1838, and had pastorates at Chicopee and North Troy, N. Y. ; but his chief ser- vice was done as a secretary of the American Baptist Missionary Union from 1855 to 1872. At a critical period he filled this position with marked capachy and success. He retired in enfeebled health, and died in Newton, February 27, 1884. He was a trustee of Brown University and Newton Theological Institute. For seventy years and four generations the Drury family were important persons ; but none of the name are now resident. They owned a large estate, at one time two hundred and fifty acres, reaching from the church site well up on Pakachoag. Thomas Drury, the elder, probably came from Framingham. His name appears, in 1772, on the Worcester records among those eligible for jury duty. His grave-stone dates his death November 3, 1778, in the fifty-ninth year of his age. His. son, Lieut. Thomas, had gone forth with Captain Bigelow's minute-men on the Lex- ington alarm. He deeded to the town, in 1781, the land around the church, two and one-half acres ; im- proved the water-power, long known as Drury's Mills, and died, aged ninety-one, in 1836. His daughter. ASHBURNHAM. 193 Phebe, married, in 1799, Rev. Z. S. Moore, then pas- tor in Leicester. Soon he became a professor at Dartmouth College, then the second president at Wil- liams, and died while first president of Amherst Col- lege. She is well remembered as a lady of fine char- acter and dignity, a widow many years, and at her death her property was left to Amherst College. Major Drury, often named as Thomas, Jr., well sustained the family reputation. His residence, from its high location, commands fine views to the north and east, from Cherry Valley across the southern part of Worcester. Rev. Mr. Davis owned the place re- cently, and the old-time hospitable mansion is now owned and occupied by Mr. John J. Holmes. The worthy major's twin daughters, Almira and Caroline, greatly resembled each other, occasioning amusing mistakes of personal identity. Miss Caroline married Rev. M. G. Pratt, for twenty years pastor of the Con- gregational Church. Colonel Alvali Drury (each generation has a sepa- rate military title) showed remarkable business enterprise. He built the house just above his mills, now Mr. Hilton's, and was much relied on by his townsmen for his capability and public spirit. He died in his prime, the result of an accident in his mill, and with the removal of his family that well known and oft-spoken name passed out of Auburn annals. For so small a town. Ward, in its early days, was favored with skilled physicians. Dr. Thomas Green, from Leicester, settled here, probably at the time of Dr. Campbell's removal. Dr. Green had served as surgeon's assistant during the Revolution. He was town clerk in 1784-85. This branch of the Green family, for a century and a half, have manifested aptitude for the study and practice of the healing art, which Dr. Thomas followed in Ward for twenty-five years. He died in 1812, and was succeeded in his profession by his half-brother. Dr. Daniel Green, also of Leicester, was born November 9, 1778, a son of Thomas Green, and grandson of Rev. Thomas Green, a noted physician and surgeon, as well as pastor of the Baptist Church in Leicester. Dr. Green was of the sixth generation of those who came to Massachusetts from England in 1630. About 1811 he established himself in Ward, and for over fifty years was the esteemed and suc- cessful physician, with a practice extending into all the neighboring towns. A man of excellent j udgment, with keen powers of observation, and integrity of purpose, he was the trusted practitioner till over eighty years of age. He was an active worker in the anti-slavery cause in its earlier days, as well as an earnest ad vocate of temperance. He married, January 13, 1814, Elizabeth, daughter of Ralph Emerson, of Hollis,,N. H. June 1, 1861, be died, aged eighty- three years. " He was closely identified with the best interests of the town through all these years, and is remembered accordingly." 13 John Mellish, Esq., was born at Dorchester in 1801, came to Auburn in 1839, was a justice of the peace thirty-five years, held the office of school com- mittee-man until advanced in years, having held the same position in Oxford and Millbury, and was em- ployed as school-teacher, generally in the winter season, for many years. He took the census of Auburn in 1840 and 1850. His son, John H., graduated at Amherst College in 1851 ; Andover Seminary, 1854; was ordained at Kingston, N. H., February 14, 1855; is now preaching at North Scituate, R. I. Another son, David B., learned the printers' trade ; became an expert reporter and sten- ographer, in New York City ; had an ofiice in the Custom House, was elected Representative in Congress and died while filling that post in 1874 at Washing- ton, D. C. A daughter, Mary Louisa, married Rev. Franklin C. Flint, of Shrewsbury, and died in 1881. The Eddy family have held a prominent place in town for a hundred years. A recent death removes this landmark, and the widow and children have migrated. A boy, Samuel, is the ninth in successive generations bearing that name. These then form the annals of our quiet neighbor- hood. Less in area and population than places ad- jacent, less of the factory element and more of the yeoman's toil. Auburn follows the even tenor of her way. Its century and a decade of municipal life have been in general uneventful years, aloof from the swirl and roar of the city's whirlpool, yet growing, though slowly. In other States the name Auburn marks thriving cities ; here it best comports with rural scenes. Still-life one might disdainfully count this, if restless and ambitious as most Americans are. But a town so accessible to Worcester will some day share its growth, and number residents by thousands. Upon the creditable past may our citizens plan for and attain future thrift, growth and the common weal. CHAPTER XXXV. ASHBURNHAM. BY EZRA S. STEARNS, A.M. Originally the town of Ashburnham included about one-third of each of the adjoining towns, Ashby and Gardner. It is situated in the northeast corner of Worcester County, and is bounded on the north by New Ipswich and Rindge in New Hampshire ; on the east by Ashby, in Middlesex County, and by Fitch- burg ; on the south by Westminster and Gardner, and on the west by Winchendon. Since 1792, except the addition of two farms, the gift of Westminster, the boundaries and area of the township have remained unchanged. The present area is about twenty-four thousand five hundred acres, including about one 194 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. thousand five hundred acres of ponds and reservoirs. Situated in the line of the water-shed between the Connecticut and Merrimack Valleys, the course of numerous streams is outward ; the only waters flowing into the town are a few small brooks which have their source in Rindge and New Ipswich on the north. There are eight natural ponds in the town ; four are tributary to the Connecticut and four to the Merri- mack River. Here the Souhegan and Squannacook and important branches of the Nashua and Miller's Rivers have their source. The altitude exceeds that of the surrounding country on the east, south and west. The summit on the line of the Ohesline Rail- road, one and one-half miles northwest of station at South Ashburnham, is one thousand and eighty-four feet above tide water, while the old burial-ground on Meeting- House Hill exceeds the summit by two hun- dred feet. The rounded form of Great Watatic on the dividing line between Ashburnham and Ashby, towers to the height of one thousand eight hundred and forty- seven feet. In the north part of the town are several lenticular hills with rounded outlines and arable to the summit. These remarkable accumulations of hill are also found in Rindge, Ashby and Gardner, but only a small proportion of Ashburnham falls within the area of this glacial drift. The soil is that common to the hill towns of Worcester County. When placed in comparison it is stubborn and rocky, yet generally arable and productive. The subsoil is clay retentive of moisture, and numerous springs gushing from the hill-sides are the perennial source of brooks and rivu- lets winding through the valleys, and supporting the crystal lakes nestled among the surrounding hills. The fauna and flora of the locality are topics discussed in the general history of the county. Lunenburg, including Fitchburg and a part of Ashby, and Townsend, including a more considerable part of Ashby, were originally granted 1719, and within those grants numerous settlements were made in rapid succession. For several years the territory at the west of the new settlements was unbroken, and the future town of Ashburnham remained the border of the wilderness on the line of the settlements. In 1735 six grants of land, containing three thousand eight hundred and fifty acres, were located within the present township, and are minutely described in the "History of Ashburnham," recently published. Also in 1735, and while these individual grants were being located and surveyed, the General Court made grants of several townships to the surviving soldiers or the heirs of those deceased who served in the expedition to Canada in 1690. The companies from Dorchester Ipswich, Rowley and other towns each received the grant of a township, and preserving at once the names of the towns in which the soldiers resided and the military service in which they had engaged, the new grants which were located in this vicinity were called Dorchester Canada (now Ashburnham), Ipswich Canada (now Winchendon^, and Rowley Canada (now Rindge). The township of Dorchester Canada wai surveyed in January, and the grant confirmed by thi General Court June 1, 1736. For nearly twenty yean and until the date of incorporation, the governmeni of the township was proprietary. In accordance with the conditions imposed by' the General Court, three sixty-thirds were reserved in equal shares for the first settled minister, for the ministry and for the support of public schools. The remainder was divided from time to time equally among the sixty proprietors, who individually made sale of their land to speculators and to settlers. The early roads and mills and the first meeting- house were ordered and controlled by the proprietors, and by them the call was extended to the first settled minister. Between 1736 and 1744 considerable pro- gress was made in the settlement. A saw-mill was built in 1738, and in 1739 or 1740 the first meeting- house was erected. The number of families residing in the township during these years is not known, and the names of only a few of the settlers have been preserved in the records. At the outbreak of the French and Indian War two houses were fortified, but before the close of the year 1744 the settlement was deserted. During the ensuing five years there were no meetings of the proprietors, and no family re- mained within the township. In 1748 active hostilities between England and France were suspended, but during that and the following year parties of Indians, accompanied by French soldiers, continued to menace the exposed and poorly-defended line of the tettlements. The northern part of Worcester County was wholly deserted, or continually in a state of alarm and anxiety. Not until 1750 did a feeling of security invite an occupancy of the frontiers. One by one the hardy pioneers founded homes in the town, and through the efibrls and encouragement of the proprietors, the settlement of this town slowly increased until the return of peace opened the door to an increasing tide of immigration to the towns in this vicinity. It appears that during the first twenty years of efibrt and danger, dating from 1735, there were a considerable number of tem- porary residents in this town, and that among these, on account of the insecurity of the times, there were not over a half-dozen families who settled here pre- vious to 1755 and became permanent inhabitants of the town. Deacon Moses Foster, of Chelmsford, and James Colman, of Ipswich, cleared land and built houses in the northeast part of Dorchester Canada previous to the permanent renewal of the settlement. The sites of these early homes are now in Ashby, having been included within the limits of that town when incorporated in 1767. In times of expected danger they removed their families to Lunenburg, and prose- cuted their labor in this town with many interruptions. About 1750 Deacon Foster removed to the centre of the town, and subsequently was an inn-holder many ASHBURNHAM. 195 years. He died October 17, 1785, aged ninety-four years. Mr. Colman was a prominent citizen, and was a member of the first Board of Selectmen. He con- tinued to reside at the scene of his early labor in this town, but, after 1767, he was a citizen of Ashby, where he died August 15, 1773. Elisha Coolidge removed from Cambridge, 1752, and settled at Lane Village. He was a mill-wright, and a useful citizen. He died August 29, 1807, aged eighty-seven years. Jeremiah Foster, from Harvard, and a native of Ipswich, removed to this town with his family in 1753, and settled on the Gamaliel Hadley farm. He was a man of character, and influential in the new settlement. He died December 12, 1788, aged seventy-eight years. Next in order appear John Bates, Zimri Heywood and Benjamin Spaulding, an enterprising trio in the northeast part of the town, who were subsequently included in Ashby. Enos Jones, from Lunenburg, at the age of nineteen years, settled on a farm in the north part of the town, on the Rindge road, which still perpetuates a name that remains prominent in the annals of Ashburnham. Omitting mention of several families that removed from town after a few years' residence, to the settlement was added Jona- than Samson, a native of Middleborough, who removed from Harvard in 1762, and settled on the Merrick Whitney farm. He was a useful citizen, and late in life he removed to New Hampshire, where he died at an advanced age. Ebenezer Conant and Lieuten- ant Ebenezer Conant, Jr., from Concord, settled near Rice Pond in 1763. Both died in this town. Their descendants have won a merited distinction in several scholastic callings. In the midst of these arrivals several German families settled in the eastern part of the town, in a locality which still bears the familiar appellation of' " Dutch Farms." Soon after their arrival in the colony, and while temporarily living near Boston, Henry Hole, Christian William White- man, Jacob Schoffe, Simon Rodamel, Peter Perry, John Rich and John Kiberling, in 1757, purchased one thousand acres of land, and early the following year removed hither, except Peter Perry, whose name does not again appear. At the same time, purchasing land of them and locating among them, came other Germans, Jacob Constantine, Jacob Selham, Andrew Windrow, Henry Stack and Jacob Barkhardst, while John Oberlock and Philip Vorback settled near the site of Cushing Academy. A few years later Jacob Wilker settled on the farm still owned by his descend- ants. These were born in Germany, and nearly all of them were married in their native land. They were educated, intelligent people, and in full sympathy with the settlement in religion and in hatred of tyranny. By assimilation and intermarriage, in lan- guage and manner of living they quickly became equal and common factors in the body politic, and in social relations. No traces of caste, or prejudice of race appear in the records or the traditions of the town. In the second and subsequent generations the name of Hole was written Hall; Kiberling or Kib- linger became Kibling ; the Oberlocka assumed the name of Locke; Rodamel was changed to Rodimon, and later to Dimond, while Windrow was Anglicized in Winter. After the Revolution, in which they manifested a conspicuous patriotism, members of the second generation of several of these families removed to Northern New Hampshire. Among the non-resident proprietors, who were most active in forwarding the settlement, appear many names familiar in the annals of a former century. Timothy Tilestone, of Dorchester, was the first peti- tioner for the township and for several years a rul- ing spirit of the organization. He was ably sup- ported by Judge Joseph Wilder, of Lancaster, the Sumners, of Milton, and by Benjamin Bellows and Edward Hartwell, of Lunenburg. The fortunes of the second or permanent settlement of the town were supported and encouraged by Richard and Caleb Dana and Henry Coolidge, of Cambridge, Colonel Oliver Wilder and the brothers, Joseph Jr., and Captain Caleb Wilder, of Lancaster, Jona- than Dwight and Hezekiah Barber, of Boston, Rev. John Swift, of Framingham, Hon. Isaac Stearns, of Billerica, and many others whose association with these primitive affairs of the town adorn the early pages of its history. Ashburnham, hitherto known as Dorchester Canada, was incorporated February 22, 1765. The proprietors and inhabitants in a joint petition for incorporation, expressed a desire that the town be called Ashfield, but the General Court, with an accommodating regard for an assumed prerogative of the royal Governor in the act of incorporation, left a blank, in which Gov- ernor Bernard caused to be written the euphonious name of Ashburnham in honor of an English earl. At the first town-meeting, holden March 25, 1765, William Whitcomb was chosen town clerk, and Dea- con Samuel Fellows, Tristram Cheney, James Cole- man, John Rich and Jonathan Gates selectmen. A long list of minor town offices were selected with unanimity, and certainly with a rare measure of im- partiality, which bestowed an office upon nearly every citizen. From this date to the Revolution the town was prospered in its internal affairs and made considerable advance in population. The more prominent settlers who arrived immediately preced- ing and subsequent to the date of incorporation were: Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Gates, Nathan Melvin, Stephen Ames, David Clark, John Conn, Samuel Salter, John Adams, William Benjamin, Joshua Bil- lings, Amos Dickinson, Jacob Harris, Joseph Met- calf, Abijah Joslin, Samuel Nichols, Ephraim Stone, Oliver Stone, Caleb Ward, Samuel Wilder, John Willard, Jacob Willard, Oliver Weatherbee and Phinehas Weatherbee. Ecclesiastical. — Very early in the proceedings of the proprietors a committee was selected to locate a tract of land for a burial-ground and the site of the 196 HISTORY OF WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. future meeting-house. The committee promptly re- ported November 10, 1736, that the meeting-house lot, containing ten acres, had been located "on a hill 180 rods south of a great pond (Upper Naukeag), and has a very fair prospect." To the present time the original boundaries on the southwest and north sides have suffered no change, while on the east side a nar- row strip has been severed from the public grounds and added to the farm now of Benjamin Gushing. The first meeting-house, erected 1739 or 1740, was not injured during the years the settlement was aban- doned, and it silently invited occupancy twenty years before the organization of a church and the settle- ment of a minister. During the later years of this period several sums of money were appropriated for the support of preaching, but the amount raised for this purpose clearly indicates that the meeting-house was occupied only a small part of the time. A con- siderable number of the settlers were members of the church in Lunenburg, and there many of the children bom in Dorchester Canada previous to 1760 were baptized. In 1759 a more liberal appropriation was made, and Mr. Jonathan Winchester was here during a considerable part of the year. A call was extended November 27, 1759, and he was ordained April 23, 1760. The same day a church was organized. The covenant bears the signature of Mr. Winchester and of twelve male residents of the settlement, six of whom were Germans. The membership during the first eight years was above fifty. The peaceful and successful ministry of Mr. Winchester was abruptly ended by his death, after a brief illness, November 26, 1767. Rev. Jonathan Winchester was of the fourth generation of his family in this country. He was born in Brookline, April 21, 1717, and was graduated at Harvard University, 1737. He was a son of Henry and Frances (White) Winchester, grandson of John and great-grandson of John, the emigrant ancestor. He was a teacher in his native town twenty years, and entering the ministry late in life, his first and only settlement was at Ashburnham. The superior merit and character of the man are clearly reflected in the records and traditions of the town. In him firmness was softened with mercy, and the ministerial austerity of his time was tempered with mildness of manner and gentleness of heart. With these quali- ties of mind and of heart he secured the willing love and confidence of his parish. He married. May 6, 1748, Sarah Crofts, of Brookline, where six of their ten childreD were born. Mrs. Winchester died in this town July 27, 1794. The second minister was Rev. John Cashing, D.D. who was ordained November 2, 1768, and who con- ducted a successful ministry until his death, April 27 1823. These many years of service were crowned with the rewards of faithful labor and a peaceful ad- ministration of parochial affairs. From the " History of Ashburnham " the following lines are borrowed : In stature, Mr. OoBhing was tall and portly ; in bearing dignified and erect. He moved with precision and with the incisive mark of strength and vigor. As the infirmity of age grew upon him, his step was slower but never faltering ; his form became slightly bowed but lost none of its original dignity and commanding presence. His mild blue eye and the serenity of his countenance were undimmed even when bis whitened and flowing locks were counting the increasing furrows of age in his face. As a preacher he adhered to the fundamental doctrines of his creed and supported them with frequent quotation from the Scriptures. The plan of his discouiee was lucid and his methods of reasoning direct and logical. If he was tenacious in the use of set terms and forms of speech, he invariably applied them with aptness and precision. He did not rely on the abundance of words or the exhibition of emotion, but upon the weight and sequence of the central truths which formed the theme of his discourse. His voice was clear, strong and pleasing. He read his sermons closely and without gesture. In delivery he was moderate, earnest and impressive. He was pre-eminently a minister of the olden time. His parish was his field of labor and no one was neglected. His charge was his con- stant thought and duty, and while he watched for the fniit of his labor, he toiled on with unfailing hope and courage. Even in the decline of life and under the weight of nearly eighty years bis service was accept- able and his parish united in their love and respect for their venerable teacher. At every fireside the serenity of his countenance, the wisdom of his speech and the purity of his life and example were continually deepening the impression and enforcing the influences of bis public ministrations. It seems that the affection of his parish increased as he paled and grew feeble in their service. And when death came and stilled tbe pulsations of his warm and generous heart, his people paid a fitting tribute in the lines of sorrow engraved on every countenance. From that hour the voice of tradition began to assert that his genius was solid ; his under- standing clear; his judgment strong; bis memory faithful; big emo- tions cool and restrained, yet bis sympathies tender and his afTections warm ; that his resolution and perseverance were unusual, that he was faithful to every trust and that his heart was so honest, his friendship so sincere and his tongue under such control, that his smile was a benedic- tion and his speech a sermon. Rev. John Gushing, D.D. (Harvard University, 1764), was born in Shrewsbiiry, August 22, 1744. He was the son of Rev. Job and Mary (Prentice) Gush- ing, and a lineal descendent of the Gushing fami- ly of Hingham. He received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard University, 1822. He mar- ried, September 28, 1769, Sarah Parkman, daughter of Rev. Ebenezer and Hannah (Breck) Parkman, of Westborough, who died in this town March 12, 1825. Until near the close of the pastorate of Rev. Dr. Gushing the churches, not only in this vicinity, but in a more extended circle, were closely allied in doc- trinal views and declarations of covenant. In many places there were dissenters and here and there inde- pendent churches, but a large majority assented to the doctrines of the "standing order." In the midst of more diversity of creed duringthe past half-century or more, the first church in Ashburnham has remained in full relations with the orthodox or Trinitarian Congregationalists. Since the death of Mr. Gashing nine ministers have been installed over the church, and six have supplied about thirty years. The ministry has been continuous, and no serious contention has arisen between the pastor and the people. In present- ing the names of these many pastors the limits of this sketch will preclude extended notices. The third minister was Rev. George Perkins, son of Dr. Elisha and Sarah (Douglas) Perkins, born in Plainfield, Conn., October 19, 1783; ordained at Ashburnham, February 25, 1824 ; dismissed at his re- ASHBURNHAM. 197 quest July 3, 1832 ; died at Norwich, Conn., Septem- ber 15, 1852. Rev. George Goodyear, born in Ham- den, Conn., December 9, 1801, son of Simeon and Hannah (Beadsley) Goodyear; installed October 10, 1832; dismissed November 16, 1841; died at Temple, N. H., November 18, 1884. Rev. Edward Jennison, son of William and Phebe (Field) Jennison, born in Walpole, N. H., August 26, 1805 ; installed May 12, 1842 ; dismissed May 12, 1846 ; died in Conway, Mass. Rev. Elnathan Davis, son of Ethan and Sarah (Hubbard) Davis, born in Holden, Mass., Au- gust 19, 1807 ; installed September 16, 1846 ; dis- missed May 21, 1851 ; died April 9, 1881. Rev. Frederick A. Fjske, son of Rev. Elisha and Margaret (Shepard) Fiske, born in Wrentham, Mass., April 15, 1816 ; installed December 30, 1851 ; dismissed April 17, 1854; died at North Attleborough, Mass., Decem- ber 15, 1878. Rev. Elbridge G. Little, son of Joseph and Rebecca (Webster) Little, born in Hampstead, N. H., November 11, 1817 ; installed August 22, 1855 ; dismissed May 13, 1857 ; died at Wesley, Mass., De- cember 29, 1869. Rev. Thomas Boutelle, son of James and Abigail (Fairbanks) Boutelle, born in Leominster, Mass., February 1, 1805 ; supplied from the spring of 1857 to January, 1863 ; died in Fitch- burg, Mass., November 28, 1866. Rev. George E. Fisher, son of Rev. George and Mary (Fiske) Fisher, born in Harvard, Mass., January 22, 1823 ; installed May 21, 1863 ; dismissed September 2, 1867. Rev. Moody A. Stevens, son of David and Elizabeth (Ryder) Stevens, born in Bedford, N. H., February 7, 1828 ; supplied from 1867 to 1870. Rev. Leonard S. Parker, son of William and Martha (Tenney) Parker, born in Dunbarton, N. H., December 6, 1812 ; supplied 1870 to 1876. Rev. Daniel E. Adams, son of Rev. Darwin and Catherine (Smith) Adams, born in HoUis, N. H., June 22, 1832 ; supplied from July 16, 1876, to July 5, 1885. The past three years has been an era of temporary supplies. At intervals between the pastorates. Rev. Josiah D. Crosby has supplied a longer time than several of the pastors named. During the last forty years of a useful life, with brief interruptions, he resided in this town. He was a son of Fitch and Rebecca (Davis) Crosby, and was born in Ashburnham, March 1, 1807. He died June 8, 1888. The second meeting-house, built 1791, was located on the Old Common, and near the site of its primitive prede- cessor. The third and present church edifice was erected in Central Village, 1833, and dedicated Feb- ruary 19, 1834. In the autumn of 1793 Rev. Jonathan Hill preached the first Methodist sermon in this town, and a society was gathered the following year. Rev. Lorenzo Dow, Rev. John Broadhead, a presiding elder, and Bishops Whatcoat and Asbury are in- cluded among the early preachers at the house of Silas Willard, Esq. In 1831 the Ashburnham and Westminster Societies were united, and constituted a station. A meeting-house was built on Main Street, and dedicated July 4, 1832. This building is now owned and occupied by the Catholic Society. The present commodious edifice was built 1870. Previous to 1832 sixty-five preachers were assigned to the sta- tion to which the Methodist Church in Ashburnham belonged, and since that date thirty-six appoinments have been made by the Conference. From the first the organization has been perpetual, and a vigorous society has been maintained. To accommodate families in that portion of the town, a meeting-house was erected at North Ashburnhan, 1842, and a church with Evangelical proclivities was embodied February 21, 1843. At no time has the membership been large, and public ministrations have not been continuously sustained. In 1860 the church was disbanded, and the "Second Congregational Church of Ashburnham,'' with an amended creed, was organized. The Catholics of Ashburnham held services in the town hall several years, and since 1871 have owned and occupied the edifice erected by the Methodists in 1832. The chflrch is under the spiritual direction of Father John Conway, who is also in charge of the church in Winchendon. Military History. — That the inhabitants of a typical New England town were patriotic during the Revolution can safely be assumed ; that they met the trials of the times with heroism and uncomplainingly assented to the severest exactions of their country can be asserted without fear of contradiction. The Revo- lutionary sketches of towns which crowd the pages of the (razei^eer laboriously demonstrate that which never has been denied. Many of these local histories of the Revolution written upon the suggested plan are inter- changeable. Each possesses so many features common, to them all that the conventional sketch, with a change of local terms, with equal truth would apply to any other town. The repeated requisition of the govern- ment for men, for money, for food and for clothing were demands alike upon all the towns of the infant Commonwealth, and quotas were distributed with equal impartiality. The volume varied with the population of the several towns, yet the demand was applicable to them all. The scene and the players were new in every town, yet the drama was universal and every- where the same. The population of Ashburnham in 1776 was five hundred and fifty-one. On account of the immigra- tion from the older and more exposed towns near the seaboard, there was a considerable increase in popu- lation in this and other towns in this vicinity during the war, yet probably the number of inhabitants did not exceed eight hundred during the years of the Revo- lution. The records of Ashburnham do not contain the names of any who were in the army. The record of service presented in the following paragraphs has been compiled from the archives of the State, from papers filed in the Department of Pensions and from 198 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. papers in the possession of societies and individuals. As early as 1773 the under-current of public sentiment found expression in a warrant for a town-meeting, " To see if the town will consider the general griev- ances that are laid upon us by acts of Parliament, and disposing of our monies without our consent." What- ever debate ensued, there is no record of a vote at this time ; but in July, 1774, the town was again assembled, and it was then voted, " that the Covenant sent from Boston be read, and accordingly it was read ; then a motion was made for an alteration and that Doctor Senter, George Dana, Elisha Coolidge, Samuel Nichols and Jonathan Samson be a committee to alter said Covenant, and adjourned said meeting for half an hour, and then said Covenant was altered to the acceptance of the town. Voted that Elisha Coolidge and Samuel Nichols be a committee to keep the Cove- nant after it is signed." The covenant which was sent to all the towns for signature was a solemn pledge that those who subscribed would abstain from the purchase and use of specified articles of British mer- chandise, and that at the risk of life and fortune they would resist the officers holding commissions under the oppressive acts of Parliament. About this time the town was represented by Jonathan Taylor at the memorable Worcester Convention, which recom- mended the several towns within its influence to im- mediately appoint military officers, to organize minute- men, to procure arms and ammunition, and to provide for any emergency that may arise. In September of this year, and in harmony with the vote of the sur- rounding towns, it was voted to indemnify the officers in the event they were harmed for not returning a list of jurors, as required by Parliament. At the same meeting Jonathan Taylor was chosen a representative to the Provincial Congress, which assembled October 11th, at Concord. Following the recommendations of the Worcester Convention the town, September 3, 1774, voted "to buy half a hundred of powder, one hundred of lead " and ten dozen of flints as a town stock." At this meeting Abijah Joslin was chosen captain. Deliverance Davis lieutenant and Ebenezer Conant, Jr., ensign, of the minute-men. A committee of Safety and Corre- spondence was also chosen ; they were Samuel Nichols, Jonathan Samson, Deliverance Davis, Abijah Joslin and Jonathan Taylor. With these preparations for the future, the town awaits the events of another and a more eventful year. Early the following spring Deliverance Davis and Jonathan Gates were captains of the companies in this town, but there is no record of their election or appointment. A prominent, and subsequently an honored, citizen is not named in these initial proceedings, and there is a tradition that Samuel Wilder was a little tardy in espousing the cause of American independence, and that he was waited upon by a self-constituted committee. His hesitation, if any existed, was of brief duration, and his subsequent opinions and conduct were approved by his townsmen, who frequently elected him to office during the war and many succeeding years. Swiftly following these measures ot preparation, the sudden intelligence that a detachment of British troops had left Boston and were marching inland, was brought to Ashburnham in the afternoon of April 19th, and an alarm was immediately sounded. A company of thirty-eight men quickly assembled, and marched that afternoon under the command of Captain Jonathan Gates. Other men from the remoter parts of the town continued to assemble on the old Common, and with hasty preparations awaited the dawn of another day. In the gray of the morning a second company, con- taining thirty-three men, and commanded by Captain Deliverance Davis, hastened forward to scenes of anticipated danger. These companies, in connection with many others simultaneously summoned to the field, marched to Cambridge and remained there with the gathering army about two weeks, and until they were discharged. When these companies were dis- banded, nineteen by re-enlistment continued with the army and the remainder returned to their homes. The rolls of the two companies contain the following names: Jonathan Gates, captain ; Amos Dickinson, lieutenant ; Ezra Atherton, lieutenant ; George Dana, William Wilder, Joseph Metcalf and Ebenezer Burgeas, sergeants ; Daniel Hobart, Peter Joslin and Francis Lane, cor- porals ; Joseph Stone, drummer ; Amos Lawrence, Phinehas Wetherbeei Mosea RuBsell, Nathaniel Parker, Henry Gates, Samuel Joslin, Jonathan W. Smith, David Robinson, Jacob Kiblinger, Henry Hall, Amos Kendall, Henry Winchester, Samuel Willard, Philip Locke, Aaron Samson, Samuel Salter, John Gates, Jonathan Winchester, Daniel Edson, .Joseph Wilder, Kathaniel Harris, John Whitney, Joshua Holt, Ebenezer Wood, Philip Winter, David Clark, Jr. Deliverance Davis, captain ; Ebenezer Conant, Jr., lieutenant ; John Conn, lieutenant ; Oliver Stone, John Adams and Samuel Cutting, sergeants ; Sbubael Hobart, Timothy Wood and Oliver Whitcomb, corporals ; El^'ah Edson, drummer ; Isaac Mer- riam, Oliver Willard, Uriah Holt, William Whitcomb, William Benja- min, Jacob Constiintine, Caleb Ward, Enos Jones, Nathan Melvin, Na- thaniel Hastings, Samuel Mason, Ephraim Wetherbee, David Clark, Isaac Blodgett, Joshua Hemenway, John Hall, John Kiblinger, John Putnam, Jacob Willard, Joshua Holden, Jonathan Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, Jr., Joseph Perry. In the organization of an army from the companies at Cambridge, a company was recruited fram the men from this vicinity. They were under the command of Capt. David Wilder in Col. Whitcomb's regiment. In this company Jonathan Gates was lieutenant, Francis Lane and Peter Joslin were sergeants. The other men from Ashburnham were : Joshua Holt, Jacob Kiblinger, Philip Locke, David Eobinson, Samuel Salter, Aaron Samson, Henry Hall, Henry Winchester, Samuel Willard, John Whitney, Ebenezer Wood, Philip Winter, David Clark, Jr., Joshua Hemenway, John Farmer, Joseph Smith, Jr., Jonathan Gates, Jr., Isaac Blodgett, John Locke, Jacob Winter, Daniel Edson. Other Ashburnham men who enlisted at this time were David Clark, Uriah Holt and Thomas Dulton. These men participated in the siege of Boston, and remained in the service until the close of the year. It is probable that the whole of Colonel Whitcomb's regiment was not called into action at the battle of Bunker Hill, but it is certain that Captain Wilder'* company of that regiment was warmly engaged on ASHBUKNHAM. 199 that memorable day. Clark, Holt and Button were also in the battle, and several others who subsequently- removed to Ashburnham, but at the time were resi- dents of other towns, shared the danger and glory of the engagement. Upon the discharge of Captain Wilder's company, after a service of eight months, there was a call for men to serve a short term, while recruits for a longer term of service were being en- listed. Among these recruits appear the names of Jonathan Gates, Jr., Jonathan Samson, Jr., Joseph Metcalf, his son, Ezekiel Shattuck Metcalf, and David Merriam. At the annual March meeting, 1776, Jona- than Taylor, John Willard, Jonathan Samson, Abijah Joslin and Ebenezer Conant, Jr., were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, The selectmen who were active agents in the prosecution of the war were William Whitcomb, John Kiblinger and Oliver Wil- lard. In May, 1776, the General Court adopted an order calling upon the people to express an opinion concerning a formal separation from Great Britain. The citizens of this town were promptly assembled in town-meeting. The article in the warrant and the vote of the town are transcribed from the records : Article 2. To see if tlie Inhabitants of said Town are willing to stand by the Honorable Congress in declaring the Colonies Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain with their lives and fortunes to Support them in the measure. .Tune 28, 1776. Pursuant to the above warrant the town being met made choice of Mr. Elisha Coolidge, moderator. Voted. We the Inhabitants of the Town of Ashburnham, in Town meeting assembled being sensible of the disadvantage of having any further connections with the Kingdom of Great Britain and are will- ing to break off all connections with them and it is our Besolution that if the Honorable Congress shall declare the Colonies Independent of the Kingdom of Great Britain that we the said Inhabitants will stand by them with our lives and fortunes to support them in the measure. The foregoing motion being put was voted unanimously. In due course of time the Declaration of Indepen- dence, which was foreshabowed by similar votes in other towns, was received in printed form by the patriots of this town. It was formally read from the pulpit by Rev. Dr. Gushing, and subsequently tran- scribed upon the records of the town. Other men who were called into the service during the year 1776 were Ebenezer Bennett Davis, Daniel Putnam, Uriah Holt, Thomas Eoss, David Taylor, .John Kiblinger, Jacob Kiblinger, John Hall, William Ward, Jacob Rodiman, David Stedman, Nicholas Whiteman, Peter Joslin, Philip Winter, Daniel Ho- bart. Of these, Peter Joslin died while returning from the army, Philip Winter died in the service, and Daniel Hobart was killed at the battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776. For the year 1777, the selectmen were Samuel Wilder, John Willard, Jona- than Samson, Jonathan Taylor and Abijah Joslin ; and the Committee of Safety and Correspondence were Samuel Foster, William Wilder, Enos Jones, Joseph Metcalf and Francis Lane. In the rolls of the Massachusetts Regiment, raised for the defence of Rhode Island, appear the names of John Kiblin- ger, Jacob Rodiman, Samuel Metcalf, Jonathan Coolidge and William Ward. To avoid the inconvenience experienced during the preceding two years, on account of the short term of enlistment, and to create a more stable and a better disciplined army, orders were given early in 1777 to establish the regiments on the Continental plan, and recruit their decimated ranks with men, enlisted for three years, or during the war. For this purpose the quota of Ashburnham was sixteen, and an earnest effort was made to supply the required number. Thirteen men enlisted and were mustered into service May 26, 1777, for three years, as follows : Ebenezer Bennett Davis, David Clark, David Clark, Jr., John Winter, Thomas Pratt, Samuel Mason, John White, Paul Sawyer, Jacob Lock, Thomas Ross, Joshua Holden, Timothy Johnson and Adam Rodi- man. The town hired Francis Lee, of Pepperell, Andrew Foster, of Andover, and Josiah Fessenden, of Boston, to complete the quota. The summer of this year was a season of unusual excitement and alarm. The intelligence of the loss of Crown Point and Ticonderoga, and the uninterrupted advance of General Burgoyne created a widespread sentiment of the most painful apprehension. There was an im- perative call for troops, and immediately followed the startling tidings that the enemy were invading Vermont and threatening the western . counties of Massachusetts. The town was promptly in arms, and Captain Jonathan Gates with a company of men marched to Charlemont. Other companies from the neighboring towns had manifested equal diligence and were in the immediate vicinity. In the mean time the American army opposing Burgoyne had retreated into New York, and the theatre of war had been removed. These hastily-formed companies were then dismissed, and returned home after an absence of three weeks. It was an unorganized expedition, and no rolls of the companies are found. Scarcely had these men returned to their homes and the laborof their fields, before a renewed and equally imperative call was heard. An engagement was imminent, and the militia was ordered to the support of the American army. Again Captain Gates called out his company, and, hurriedly equipped, they marched again to Charlemont and to Williamstown, and thence to Bennington, Vt., arriving there the second day after the victory of General Stark. Thence they marched to Fort Edward, N. Y. ; here a part of them remained until discharged, while others were engaged in the battles of Stillwater and Sara- toga. The Ashburnham company and the Fitchburg company, and possibly others from this vicinity in this service, had no regimental organization, and were attached to a New Hampshire regiment, commanded by Col. Bellows, of Walpole; but the rolls of the companies do not appear in the roster of that regi- 200 HISTORY OP WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ment. Only the names of a few of the Aahburnham soldiers of this company, found in miscellaneous papers and records, can be stated. They are — John Adams, David Merriam, William Ward, Jonathan Samson, Jr., and in all about thirty. In August of this year there was a draft, and David Chaffin being drawn, was assigned to Col. Cushing's regiment, in the army of Gen. Gates. He was discharged on account of sickness, three months later ; and of the soldiers in the Continental Army, Jacob Locke and Samuel Mason died in the autumn of this year. In the year 1778 William Ward, Jonathan Benja- min and Benjamin Clark were among the nine months' levies for the Continental Army, and in the service at Boston appear the familiar names of Jona- than Samson, Jr., John Hall, Nicholas Whiteman, David Stedman and William Ward, while Ezekiel Shuttuck Metcalf, John Chamberlain, David Chaffin and Simon Eodiman were among the recruits for the expedition to Rhode Island. The theatre of the war having been transferred to the Middle and Southern States, there were no subsequent calls upon the militia or minute-men to meet sudden emergen- gencies, but the demand for men to recruit the deci- mated ranks of the Continental Army was often renewed. In this service the subsequent enlistments were: Ebenezer Conant, Jr., Jacob Constantine, John Kiblinger, David Bond, William Ward, Samuel Metcalf, David Chaffin, Edward Whitmore, Elijah Mason, Simeon Kodiman, Jacob Rodiman, Isaac Merriam, Reuben Rice, Andrew Winter, Jr., Phine- has Hemenway, Jonathan Merriam, David Clark, Jr., Jonas Benjamin, John Coolidge, James Legget, Peter Rodiman and William Ward. This was the seventh enlistment of William Ward. An increas- ing burden of taxation attended the progress of the war, and requisitions for money for beef and for clothing were often renewfed, making heavy drafts upon the impoverished resources of the people of Ashburnham. Long before the close of the war they were compelled to meet their pressing liabilities with pledges of future labor and the ungarnered fruits of their toil. In a season of financial extrem- ity, in 1781, the town gave a vivid expression of failing resources in the following entreaty for re- cruits : Voted that each man that will engage to serve in the army for three years ehall have eighteen head of three years' old cattle given him when his time is out, and if he he discharged in two years then said cattle are to be but two years old, or if he serve but one year they are to be but one year old, all to be of middling size. In other words, the soldier was to receive a bounty of eighteen calves, and the town was to keep them of middling size as long as the soldier remained in the service. Another vote about this time also reflects the poverty and distress of the time. In the dignified expression of a town-meeting, the citizens of Ash- burnham declared their inability to compensate "Jonathan Samson and Mrs. Hemenway for send- ing two small deer to the army." The vote was negative, but in the record of a generous deed the town, perhaps unconsciously, extended to the gener- ous donors a more liberal reward. Often during the Revolution the soldier in the distant army was cheered by the presence of a father, a brother or a son, bearing from the scanty store of his home some articles of food or clothing. All were patriots, and whether at home or in the army, they labored for and served their country. Equally meritorious and con- tributary to the achievements of the Revolution were the arduous service of the soldier in the field and the self-denial and accumulating burden of the patriot citizen in his home experience. For the information and profit of the present and future generations, a large majority of towns, follow- ing the commendable example of a few, will eventu- ally give a full and authentic account of the names and the service of its patriotic citizens who were enrolled in the War of the Rebellion. It is a labor due to the surviving comrades and to the memory of the heroic dead. The limits of a chapter of local history will admit little more than a summary of numbers, or at best the lists of names and the dura- tion of service. These skeletons, however accurate in outline form, are without the flesh and blood of per- sonal exploit and the breath of individual experience and suflfering. That the inhabitants of Ashburnham nobly performed their part in crushing the Rebellion and in preserving the Union is seen in the following aggregates : The whole number of enlistments credited to the quota of the town, including thirty re- enlistments of veterans, is two hundred and forty- three. In addition to this patriotic record, about thirty residents of Ashburnham enlisted on the quota and are counted among the soldiers of other towns. In the spring of 1861 the Ashburnham Light In- fantry, under the command of Capt. Addison^ A. Walker, was a well-organized company and in a good state of discipline. Amidst the echoes of falling Sumter came to the loyal North the proclamation of President Lincoln for seventy-five thousand men. The service of the company was promptly tendered. But it was the policy of Governor Andrew to reserve many of the disciplined companies to be distributed among the regiments subsequently recruited. This reservation of the Ashburnham company, complimen- tary to its discipline, produced a considerable measure of discontent and embarrassment, and several of the men, impatient of delay, enlisted into organizations that were already under orders. The ranks of the company, however, were promptly filled, and an ex- cellent discipline was maintained. With the organi- zation of the Twenty-first Regiment the expected summons was received. This company, subsequently known as Company G, containing forty men from this town, entered Camp Lincoln, at Worcester, July 19th, and with the regiment was ordered to the front ASHBUKNHAM. 201 August 23, 1861. In the mean time there had been fourteen enlistments from this town into the regi- ments previously organized. Immediately after, twenty men joined the Twenty-fifth Regiment, and nine men, who served in miscellaneous organizations, completed the patriotic record of the year. In 1862 the number of enlistments was fifty-seven. Of these, five were assigned to the Thirty-fourth Regiment ; twenty-three to the Thirty-sixth Regi- ment, twenty-seven to the Fifty-third Regiment, and two recruits joined the Twenty -first Regiment. To this date every call for men had been promptly met, and at times the town was credited with several men in excess of its quota. These repeated calls had borne hardly upon the community, and the number of men of suitable age was greatly depleted. Every- where the quota of 1863 remained unfilled, and the government, to fill the decimated ranks of the regi- ments in the field, resorted to conscription. Sixty- four men from this town were drafted. Of these, some were exempted on account of disability, others fur- nished substitutes or paid commutation, while a small minority — fourteen, including substitutes and five recruits hired by the town — entered the service and were assigned to the regiments already in the field. From January 1, 1864, to the close of the war, fifty- three enlistments and thirty re-enlistments of veterans were credited to the quota of the town. About one- fourth of these were strangers to the town, who were ready and willing to accept the proffered bounty, and with an equal alacrity they deserted at the first oppor- tunity. In this constant stream of men to the front, and in the gallant service of her sons, the loyal im- pulse and the firm patriotism of the town are clearly revealed. By the voice of the town, all needed sums of money were promptly raised and a generous pro- vision was made for the families of the soldier. The Aid Society, sustained by the women of Ashburnham, and the comprehensive liberality of the citizens, are apparent features of a noble record. In addition to several natives of the town who, at the time, were residing elsewhere, eleven residents of Ashburnham were commissioned officers in the service. Lieutenant- Colonel Joseph P. Rice was commissioned a captain at the organization of the Twenty-first Regiment and assigned to the command of Company H. In Febru- ary following he was promoted major, and, in May, lieutenant-colonel. He was killed at the battle of Chantilly September 1, 1862. At the organization of the Fifty-third Regiment, Lieutenant-Colonel George H. Barrett was commissioned captain of Company I, and promoted lieutenant-colonel. He was in command of the regiment on its departure from the State, and, with the regiment, was mustered out September 3, 1863. Captain Addison A. Walker, commissioned captain at the organization of the Twenty-first Regiment and assigned to the command of Company Q; resigned May 13, 1862. Captain Samuel A. Tay- lor was promoted from lieutenant to captain May 28, 1862 ; resigned January 13, 1863. He was subse- quently a lieutenant in the Fourth Heavy Artillery. Captain Asahel Wheeler, promoted from lieutenant to captain January 14, 1863 ; resigned April 25, 1863. Subsequently he was commissioned captain in the Sixty-first Regiment. Lieutenant Alonzo P. Davis, commissioned first lieutenant at the organization of the Twenty-first Regiment; resigned in January, 1862. Lieutenant Charles H. Parker, commissioned lieutenant May 28, 1862; resigned March 2,1863. Lieutenant George E. Davis, commissioned first lieutenant April 26, 1863; honorably discharged August 30, 1864. Lieutenant Joseph H. Whitney, commissioned lieutenant October 30,1862; resigned February 23, 1863. The seven last named were assigned to Company G, Twenty-first Regiment. Lieutenant Charles H. Heald was commissioned lieutenant July 3, 1865, and was honorably discharged with the Second Regiment July 14, 1865. Lieutenant Charles W. Whitney, commissioned lieutenant No- vember 13, 1864; honorably discharged with the Thirty-sixth Regiment June 8, 1865. Beginning with the close of the Revolution and continuing a little more than fifty years, a company of militia, ordered and maintained by the laws of the Commonwealth, regularly appeared at the annual trainings and musters. Until a general revision of the militia laws, about 1835, this service of able- bodied citizens of suitable age was compulsory. At a very early date the citizens of Ashburnham gave evidence of dissatisfaction with this feeble expression of a military spirit. In response to an earnest peti- tion, in June, 1791, the General Court adopted the following resolve: Resolved, That HiB Excellency the Governor be and he is hereby em- powered and requested to issue orders for forming a Company of Light Infantry in the town of Ashburnham, provided they do not reduce the standing company of militia in said town to a less number than sixty privates of the train band ; the ofBcers of said Light Infantry company to be appointed and commissioned in the same way and manner as is provided by law for the appointing and commissioning other military officers. Said company when so formed to be under the command of the Colonel or commanding officer of the fourth regiment of the second brigade in said division. The organization of the Ashburnham Light In- fantry immediately ensued, and the first officers — Jo- seph Jewett, captain ; Caleb Kendall, lieutenant; and Charles Hastings, ensign — were commissioned July 13, 1791. From this date the company was vigor- ously maintained with full ranks and manifested a genuine military enthusiasm, until the War of the Rebellion, with the exception of five or six years, about 1850. In 1866 the organization was revived, and, complying, with the general militia laws of the Commonwealth, it constitutes a company of Massa- chusetts Volunteer Militia, and at present forms a part of the Sixth Regiment. In the War of 1812 the Ashburnham Light Infantry was ordered into the service and was stationed at South Boston and Dor- chester fifty-one days. They were discharged Octo- 202 HISTOEY OF WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ber 30, 1814. At this time the officers were Ivera Jewett, captain ; Timothy Crehore, lieutenant ; and Walter E. Adams, ensign. There were forty-eight non-commissioned officers and priviates. Educational.— " Voted to Keep a School and voted Eight Pounds for y" School and Voted for y' y' School Should be a moveing School, voted to leave it to y° Selectmen to make y' Quarters where y'' school shall be Cept and voted it bee a free School." These votes, adopted in 1767, are the beginning of the educational history of Ashbum- ham. From this date public schools have been maintained, the orthography of the town clerk has been improved and general results have kept pace with the progress of the age. Seen in the light of the present, the sums raised for school purposes in the early history of the town were limited, but they were not less than the appropriations made in other towns of equal ability. With the exception of the years 1768, 1769 and 1776, in which no appropriation was made for this purpose, the town raised twelve pounds annually until and including 1777. During the later yearsof theEevolution alargenominalsumin depreci- ated currency was appropriated, and for several suc- ceeding years the annual appropriation was fifty pounds. The substantial and increasing sums raised for school purposes in this town are given in each de- cade: 1800, $300; 1810,1400; 1820, $500; 1830, $500; 1840, $900; 1850, $1400; 1860, $1700; 1870, $3000; 1880 and to 1888, $3000. From 1872 to 1875, $3500 was appropriated. For a considerable number of years the town was divided into three school districts, and while under this arrangement, a school was main- tained at the centre of the town, another at the Dutch Farms, in the east part, and the third in the south part of the town ; there were no school-houses until immediately after the Revolution. At the close of the past century there were nine districts, and in each a comfortable school-house. In 1829 the Tenth District, including Lane Village, was organized mainly from the old Seventh District, and in 1850, by a division of the First District, the Eleventh Dis- trict was created. In other respects the boundaries of the several school districts, with a few temporary and minor changes, have been preserved to the present time. The early settlers of this town divided themselves in- to communities of convenient proportions many years before the State vested school districts with corporate powers, and a committee " to visit and in- spect the schools " was annually chosen by the town several years before a committee of supervision was authorized by the laws of the State. Beyond the slen- der support of the town the public schools in their infancy were spontaneous in the several neighbor- hoods, and were not the creation of public legisla- tion. The school system originated with the people, and the perfection of our school system rests in the fact that it has not been creative, but has seized and solid- ified with the authority of law the established meth- ods created and approved by the people. From the first the schools have been in advance of the statutes. It is true that law has given uniformity and symme- try to our school system, but all its features origi- nated with and were first approved by the communities which make up the people of the Commonwealth. In 1878, after considerable discussion, the school district organization was abolished, and the pruden- tial affairs of the schools were referred to the Com- mittee of Supervision. During the past twenty years the town has main- tained a high school. The early terms were held in the basement of the armory and in the school-houses in the central village. Commencing with the in- auguration of Cushing Academy in 1875, a depart- ment of that well-ordered institution has given the town a permanent and excellent high school, and for its support an annual appropriation is made. Gushing Academy bears the name of its founder. Thomas Parkman Cushing, a native of Ashburnham and a son of Rev. Dr. John Cushing, through the active and later years of his life was a merchant and resident of Boston, where he died November 23, 1854. Immediately after his decease, and in accord- ance with the provisions of his will, the Cushing Academy Fund was safely invested. At the time of the organization of the academy corporation, in 1865, the sum of ninety-six thousand dollars was transferred to the corporation, which was left at interest until the accumulation was sufficient to meet the cost of a school edifice, and leave the principal unimpaired. In the mean time George C. Winchester presented the corporation an ample and eligible lot for the site of the academy. Mr. Winchester is a great-grand- son of Rev. Jonathan Winchester, the first minister of this town. The grounds accommodating the in- stitution received the name of "Winchester Square," perpetuating at once, through the liberality of their descendants, the memory and names of the first and second ministers of Ashburnham. The present commodious and attractive building was promptly erected, and dedicated September 7, 1875. The cost of the building, including furniture, was $92,611.75, and the permanent fund in round numbers is one hundred and twenty thousand dol- lars, of which the income is annually appropriated for the support of the school. A spacious dwelling, known as " Jewett Hall," and occupied by teachers and pupils, was presented to the corporation by Charles Hastings, and the Crosby house, on Central Street, was presented by Rev. Jo- siah D. Crosby, who was the first clerk of the board of trustees, and who manifested an unwearied inter- est in the work and mission of the school. From the first this institution has been eminently successful, and under its present able management it commands ASHBURNHAM. 203 confidence at home and a liberal support from the surrounding towns. Edwin Pierce, A.M., was the first principal. He remained in| charge four years, 1875-79. He was a son of Dana and Diedema (Paul) Pierce, and was born at Barnard, Vt., June 25, 1826; graduated at Dartmouth College, 1852. He was formerly professor of Latin and Greek at Yellow-Stone Spring College, Iowa, and principal of other educational institu- tions. Professor James E. Vose succeeded Mr. Pierce, and remained in charge until his death, May 30, 1887. He was a son of Edward L. and Aurelia (Wilson) Vose, and was born at Antrim, N. H., July 18, 1836. Previous to his labor here he had secured a merited reputation, and had been in charge of several acade- mies of New Hampshire. H. S. Cowell, A.M., was appointed principal in June, 1887. He is a son of Rev. David B. and Chris- tiana B. (Coffin) Cowell, and was born at West Leb- anon, Me., October 10, 1855; graduated at Bates College, 1875. He was principal of Clinton Grove Seminary, Weare, N. H., 1875-76 ; of Francestown (N. H.) Academy, 1876-83 ; of Arms Academy, Shel- burne Falls, Mass., 1883-87. The first president of the board of trustees was Rev. Francis Wayland, D.D., who died 1865, and was succeeded by Hon. Alexander H. Bullock, who resigned 1876, when Abraham T. Lowe, M.D., was appointed. He died July 4, 1888, and his successor has not been chosen. Hon. Amasa Norcross, the only remaining original member of the board, is vice- president. Hon. Ebenezer Torrey, Hon. Ohio Whitney and George F. Stevens, Esq., have filled the office of treasurer. Mr. Stevens died November 15, 1887, and his successor, George W. Eddy, was appointed No- vember 30, 1887. Rev. Josiah D. Crosby was clerk of the board from 1865 to '76 ; upon his resignation he was succeeded by Colonel George H. Barrett, who has been continued in office to the present time. Mechanical Industries. — There are fifty mill- sites in this town where at some time the water-power has been utilized for mechanical purposes. This un- usual number of mill privileges found in a single town have invited the farmers of Ashburnham from the cultivation of a rugged soil to engage in a variety of manufactures. Succeeding the primitive saw-mills, which were numerous in this town and whose only product was boards and other coarse lumber, there have been in times past a large number of small shops in which has been manufactured a great variety of wares. Thread spools, friction matches, knife trays and many other articles of wood-ware have been made here. Tubs and pails were formerly manufactured at several mills and still are made in considerable quan- tities by George G. Rockwood at the centre of the town. *rrom the first, and independent of the manu- factures named, the leading industry of this town, both past and present, is the manufacture of chairs. In this respect it is the second town in New England. This business, either in the production of chair stock or finished chairs, has been conducted in all parts of the town ; but experiencing the fortunes of the times the industry has become centralized in a few large establishments. Beginning with 1842, when Charles Winchester purchased the mill and business of Philip R. Merriam, the growth of the business in this town was rapid. In 1848 the firm of Charles & George C. Winchester was formed. They conducted an exten- sive business and erected new mills and many dwell- ing-houses. In 1870, when the firm was dissolved by the retirement of the senior brother, they were giving employment to two hundred men. George C. Win- chester was succeeded in 1880 by the Boston Chair Manufacturing Company with a capital stock of $150,- 000. The company own and occupy for manufactur- ing purposes thirty-four buildings, presenting a total flooring of 300,000 feet, or about seven acres. The number of men employed is about 200, beside afford- ing employment to an equal number of persons in filling the cane chairs. The number of chairs annually made and sold approaches one-half a million. There have been many firms and individuals en- gaged in this manufacture in South Ashburnham. The more familiar names are Burgess, Glazier, May, Matthews, Flint, Merriam, Allen, and at present Or- ange Whitney, Benjamin E. Wetherbee, Irving E. Platts and Luther B. Adams. An extensive plant is owned and conducted by Wilbur F. Whitney, who has been engaged in the manufacture in this town since 1865. His factory was burned six years ago, and immediately he purchased land at Ashburnham Depot and erected the capacious buildings now occu- pied by him in the business. The two main factories are respectively 172 by 40 and 150 by 40 feet. This manufacture includes rattan and over 600 patterns of modern styles of cane-seat chairs. Mr. Whitney gives employment to 250 hands, demanding a monthly pay- roll of $9,000. The annual product is $350,000. The number of cane-seat chairs annually produced is nearly 400,000. Cotton-spinning by power, and the manufacture of cloth completed in hand-looms, was begun in this town in 1811 or 1812. This industry was established at Factory Village. The mill was burned in 1846, and a larger mill was built on the same site, which was also burned in 1877. It has not been rebuilt. The cotton factory on Water Street in the central village was built by a home corporation in 1849. It has been continuously operated, and has contributed to the ma- terial interests of the town. The property is now owned and conducted by George Blackburn & Co. BoUNDAElES.^According to the surveys when the original township was severed from the wilderness, there were included in the boundaries then estab- lished twenty-seven thousand one hundred and ninety acres. The early measurements were ex- tremely liberal, and the actual area of Dorchester 204 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. Canada at this time was about thirty-one thousand acres. Encroachments upon these fair proportions has been a favorite occupation of the surrounding towns. Four considerable tracts of land have been taken from the original area, and other attempts have been successfully resisted. By the adjustment of the province line in 1741, eight hundred and seventy-seven acres now included in Rindge and New Ipswich were severed from the town. Both the original and amended boundaries of the town on the north were right lines, but they were not parallel. The course of the original line was north 78° west, while the amended province line was established north 80° west, with the intention of run- ning a line due west with an allowance often degrees for variation of the needle. The area taken from this town in form was a trapezium extending across the northern border, and about ten rods in width at the eastern, and one hundred and ten rods at the western extremity. The incorporation of Ashby in 1767 sev- ered about one thousand five hundred acres from the northeast part of the township. Ashby was not an original grant, but was composed of parts of Town- send, Ashburnham and Fitchburg. In the same man- ner Gardner in 1785 was taken from the towns of Ash- burnham, Templeton, Westminster and Winchendon. The area severed from this town was nearly three thousand acres. Again in 1792 another tract of land in the northeast part of the town, containing about one thousand and four hundred acres, was severed from Ashburnham and added to Ashby. The town, still containing an ample area, could afford the land, but the loss of several valued and useful citizens by each of the last three dismemberments was a more serious consideration. Again the spectre of disinte- gration appeared in the southeast part of the town. Beginning with the close of the Revolution and con- tinued for twenty years, the adjoining portions of Westminster, Fitchburg and Ashburnham made an earnest effort to become incorporated as an inde- pendent town. At times the measure was prosecuted with considerable energy, and at all times it was strenuously opposed, and finally defeated by the re- mainder of the towns at interest. With the exception of slight changes to correspond with the line of a few farms, no subsequent curtailment of the area of Ash- burnham has occurred. Ashburnham became a post-town in 1811, and from that date a post-offlce has been continuously main- tained at the central village. Since ISfJO there has been a post-office at or near the depot for the accom- modation of South Ashburnham. The post-office at North Ashburnham was established iu 1854. The First National Bank of Ashburnham was organized in 1873. Under conservative and ju- dicious management, it has been successful. The population of the town in 1885 was two thousand and fifty-eight; in 1855 the population was two thousand two hundred and eleven, and this number has not been exceeded 'by any enumeration of the inhabitants. In May, 1887, the number of ratable polls was five hundred and fifty-five, the assessed value of real estate was eight hundred and eighteen thousand eight hundred and ninety-four dollars, and of personal estate one hundred and seventy-four thousand eight hundred and ninety-eight dollars. The rate of taxation was sixteen dollars per one thousand dollars. Personal Notices.— Many useful citizens who have been prominent in municipal affairs, and whose lives refresh and enliven the annals of Ashburnham, the greater number of natives of the town who have won an honorable measure of fame in other fields of labor and the descendants of many of the Ashburn- ham families distinguished in many callings will receive notice, and their good works will constitute a part of any present or future review of the town. Samuel Wilder, Esq., was a resident of the town at the date of incorporation. Until his death his career was coeval with the town. A man of good judgment and of marked ability, he received a continuous measure of honor from his townsmen, to whose ser- vice a great part of his life was devoted. Mr. Wilder was a captain of the militia, a magistrate many years, a deacon of the church, and several years a member of the Legislature. He was town clerk twenty-two years, a selectman fifteen years, an assessor twenty years and frequently was chosen on important commit- tees. The current records during the years of his useful life assert the merited esteem of his associates and an appreciation of superior mental endowment. He was the son of Colonel Caleb Wilder, a prominent proprietor of Dorchester Canada. He was born in Lancaster, May 7, 1729, and died in this town. May 9, 1798. Among his children were Caleb Wilder, a noted school-teacher in this town ; Thomas Wilder, a respected citizen of Ware ; Dr. Abel Wilder, a dis- tinguished physician of Blackstone. Hon. A. Car- ter Wilder, son of Dr. Abel Wilder and grandson of our Samuel Wilder, was a member of the Thirty- eighth Congress from Kansas, and subsequently mayor of the city of Rochester, N. Y. Hon. D. Webster Wilder, another son of Dr. Abel Wilder, is an accomplished journalist and many years State auditor of Kansas. Dr. Charles Woodward Wilder, an esteemed citizen and physician of Templeton and Leominster, was a son of Caleb Wilder, Jr., and a nephew of Samuel Wilder. Colonel Joseph Jewett, son of Edward Jewett, was born in Stow, May 10, 1761. He was a soldier in the Revolution, and at the close of the war he removed to Ashburnham. Like many of the active men of his time, his energies were enlisted in a variety of pur- suits. Colonel Jewett was prominent in military af- fairs, was a merchant, a farmer, a dealer in cattle and lands, and succeeding Mr. Wilder, he was the squire or magistrate. He represented the town in the Leg- islature eight years, was a selectman fifteen years, an ASHBURNHAM. 205 assessor fifteen years, and was ten times chosen to preside over the annual March meeting. He died May 3, 1846. His son, General Ivers Jewett, born in this town May 7, 1788, was a gentleman of ability, of attractive personal appearance, tall and commanding in presence and popular and esteemed by his associ- ates. At the age of thirty-four years he had been promoted step by step from the command of the Ash- burnham Light Infantry to the rank of general of the State Militia. Few men in a rural community have been equally honored or more widely known. In 1827 he removed to Fitchburg and was there interested in several business enterprises, some of which were not wholly fortunate for him and his business associates. Subsequently he removed to the South and died at Mobile, Ala., April 26, 1871. Rev. Merrick Augustus Jewett, another son of Colonel Joseph Jewett, was born in this town August 26, 1798, was a graduate of Dartmouth College, 1823, and subsequently an able Congregational minister at Terre Haute, Ind. He died April 3, 1874. Jacob Willard, Esq., was a prominent citizen in this town many years.. He was cotemporaneous with Deacon Wilder and Colonel Jewett and divided hon- ors with tiem. He was bold and aggressive, and his loyalty during the Revolution and the troubles attend- ing the open revolt of Daniel Shays was conspicuous. He was the first Representative to the State Legisla- ture under the Constitution, and four subsequent terms. He was frequently elected to town office and other positions of trust, and exercised at all times a com- manding influence. He was a son of Henry Willard, and was born in Harvard July 20, 1734, and removed to this town about 1768, where he died February 22, 1808. His daughter Emma, born December 18, 1777, married Rev. Thomas Skelton, and died November 3, 1881, aged nearly one hundred and four years. Silas Willard, Esq., son of Deacon John Willard, and a nephew of Jacob Willard, Esq., was born in this town October 8, 1768, where he died June 14, 1855. He was a selectman and an assessor twenty years; delegate to the Constitutional Convention, 1820; a magistrate twenty-eight years and promi- nently associated with the affairs of his time. Rev. Elijah Willard, a brother of Silas Willard, Esq., was born in this town April 19, 1782, was a Methodist clergyman and died at Saugus September 5, 1852. John Adams was born in Cambridge (now Arling- ton), January 22, 1745. He was a son of Captain Thomas Adams, who removed to this town late in life. The son, John Adams, settled in the east part of the town, 1766. He was a soldier in the Rev- olution and subsequently was considerably employed in municipal affairs. He was an intelligent, active man and was held in high esteem by his townsmen. He died with faculties unimpaired February 26, 1849, aged one hundred and four years, one month and four days. His descendants are numerous in this town and elsewhere, and are an industrious, active race. Amos Adams, a son of Jonas R. Adams, and a grandson of John Adams, was a successful lawyer in Chicago, 111., and subsequently was a judge in Cali- fornia. Samuel G. Adams, the popular and able superintendent of police of the city of Boston ; Ivers W. Adams, formerly a successful merchant of Boston and now general manager of the American Net and Twine Company ; and Melvin O. Adams, a successful lawyer of Boston and several years assistant district attorney for the district of Suffolk, through different lines of descent are great-grandsons of John Adams, the centenarian. Dr. Abraham Lowe, son of Jonathan Lowe, was born in Ipswich (now Essex), February 11, 1765. In his infancy the family removed to Lunenburg. He read for his profession under the tuition of Dr. Abra- ham Haskell, of Luuenburg, and came to this town, 1786. He was a skillful physician and a useful and honored citizen. He died October 23, 1824. Dr. Abraham Thompson Lowe, son of Dr. Abraham Lowe, was born in this town August 15, 1796 ; grad- uated at Dartmouth Medical College, and after a few years of professional labor in this town he removed to Boston, 1825, where he was engaged in the whole- sale drug trade many years. He was prominently connected with several railroad corporations and monetary institutions. He was the author of several school-books of good repute. He died July 4, 1888. William J., George and Edward W. Cutler, of the firm of Cutler Brothers, wholesale druggists of Bos- ton ; Abraham L. Cutler, of the firm of A. L. Cutler & Co., paints and oils, Boston; and Charles H. Cutler, of Chicago, 111., are sons of Dr. William H. Cutler, an esteemed physician and citizen of this town, and maternal grandsons of Dr. Abraham Lowe. John Conn, son of a Scotch-Irish immigrant, was born in Harvard, 1740, and removed in early life to this town. He was a lieutenant in the Revolution and was a prominent citizen of the town. His son, John, and grandson, John Conn, Jr., were men of character and ability in this town. Susannah, a daughter of John Conn, Sr., married David Wallace. They are the grandparents of Hon. Rodney Wallace, of Fitchburg. Deacon Jacob Harris, a native of Ipswich and a former resident of Harvard, removed to Ashburnham, 1767. He was a selectman, and for fifteen years an assessor, a deacon of the church and a conservative, useful citizen. He died September 26, 1826. His son. Rev. Samuel Harris, was a Congregational min- ister and labored in Alstead, New Boston and Wind- ham, N. H., where he died September 5, 1848. Jacob Constantino, a son of German immigrants, born 1752, was a good citizen and a Revolutionary soldier. He died March 8, 1814. Lieutenant-Gov- ernor Fuller, of Vermont, is a great-grandson. Capt. David Gushing and his brother, George R. Gushing, Esq., were natives of Hingham, were prom- 206 HISTORY OP WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. inent factors in the business and municipal affairs of this town. The former died May 3, 1827, and the latter February 2, 1851. Joseph Gushing, son of Capt. David, established the Farmers' Cabinet of Amherst, N. H., and with him Hon. Isaac Hill learned the art of printing. In 1809 he removed to Baltimore, Md. He was a member of the city government many years and member of the Legislature. Joseph Gushing, a prominent business man of Fitchburg, is a grandson of Gapt. David Gushing. Stephen Gushing, remotely related to the preced- ing family, removed to Ashburnham, 1830. He was a man of exalted character, and in many capacities faithfully served his townsmen. Rev. Stephen Gush- ing, his son, born March 13, 1813, has been a success- ful preacher and officer of the Methodist Conference. Gol. Enoch Whitmore, son of Isaac Whitmore, was born in this town September 8, 1796. He was a farmer and manufacturer. He was a man of clear con- victions and decided opinions, a radical, but not a fanatic. In politics he was an Abolitionist, and for many years his well-known opinions were a bar to political preferment, and yet, while in a minority, his worth and recognized ability secured a frequent elec- tion to office. Living until his views were endorsed and accepted by a large majority of his townsmen, he died September 13, 1860. Jerome W. Foster, son of Joel Foster, and a de- scendant in the fourth generation of Jeremiah Foster, an early settler in this town, was born September 15, 1810. He was a civil engineer, a justice of the peace, and often employed in the conduct of town affairs. He was town clerk eighteen years, and in all his faithful service to the town he was aided by good judgment and ability. Gapt. Silas Whitney, son of Samuel Whitney, was born in Westminster October 20, 1752. He removed to this town, 1778, and became the most extensive land-holder in the town. He was an active citizen and influential in town affairs. He died November 14, 1798. His descendants are numerous. Ohio Whit- ney, son of Gapt. Silas Whitney, born March 22, 1789, was a man of abiliiy and great force of character. Af- fable in manner, upright in character and honorable in all his relations with his townsmen, he commanded the respect and esteem of all. He died March 3, 1870. Hon. Ohio Whitney, son of Ohio Whitney, born June 9, 1813, was much employed in municipal and State affairs. He was a selectman and an assessor many years and a moderator of the annual March meeting eighteen years. He was a trustee of several monetary institutions and a director of the First National Bank of Ashburnham. In 1856 he represented this district in the Legislature, and the following year he was a member of the State Senate. He died February 6, 1879. Francis A. Whitney, Esq., a brother of Hon. Ohio Whitney, born in this town August 2, 1823, died April 28th, 1887. He was a successful school-teacher many years a member of the School Committee, "elect- man and assessor. He was a public-spirited, useful citizen. Milton Whitney, Esq., son of Gapt. Silas Whitney, Jr., and a grandson of Gapt. Silas Whitney, was born in this town October 9, 1823. He was an eminent lawyer and several years a county attorney of Baltimore, Md. He was a brilliant advocate, and won many laurels in his profession. He died Septem- ber 3, 1875. Eev. William Whitney, son of William Whitney and grandson of Gapt. Silas Whitney, was born in this town July 22, 1829. He resides at Gran- ville, Ohio, and for many years was financial agent of Dennison University and treasurer of the Baptist Educational Society. Eev. Quincy Whitney, of Cam- bridge, is a son of Samuel Whitney and a grandson of Capt. Silas Whitney. Hon. Isaac Hill, a distinguished journalist. Gov- ernor of New Hampshire, Comptroller of the Treas- ury and United States Senator, was a well-rtmembered youth of this town, being nine years of age when the family removed hither. His younger brothers, George W. and Horatio Hill, were born in this town. Hon. Phinehas Randall was born in Ashburnham, June 5, 1787, and resided here, until he began his col- legiate study. He was a lawyer, and for several years a presiding judge of Common Pleas of Montgomery County, N. Y. Hon. Alexander W. Randall, Gov- ernor of Wisconsin, member of President Grant's cabinet and Minister to Rome, and Hon. Edwin M. Randall, chief justice of Florida, are sons of Hon. Phinehas Randall. General Harrison G. Hobart, an eminent lawyer of Wisconsin, was born in this town January 31, 1815. He won a brilliant record in the War of the Rebel- lion, and has exercised a commanding influence in civil and political affairs. BIOGRAPHICAL. JOHN AND ELINOE WHITNEY. John and Elinor Whitney, the emigrant ancestors of a numerous family, sailed from England in the " Elizabeth and Ann,'' Roger Cooper, master, in April, 1635. At this date he was aged thirty-five, and his wife thirty years. He settled in Watertown, where he became a considerable landholder, and was admitted freeman March 3, 1635-6. He was a select- man eighteen successive years, and his name is con- spicuous in the records of his time. He died June 1, 1673; his wife, Elinor, died May 11, 1659. John, eldest son of John and Elinor Whitney, was born in England, 1624 ; admitted freeman, 1647. He married Ruth Reynolds, daughter of Robert Reynolds, of Boston, and resided in Watertown. He was a selectman several years, and a prominent citizen. He died October 12, 1692, leaving five sons and five daughters. Nathaniel, son of John and Ruth (Reynolds) Whitney, was born in Watertown, February 1, 1646-7. « > 7/^^. V/V- aoi y^<0. ASHBURNHAM. 207 He married, March 12, 1673-4, Sarah Hagar, born September 3, 1751, daughter of William and Mary (Bemis) Hagar, of Watertown. His homestead was included in Weston, where he died January 7, 1732-3 ; his widow died May 7, 1746. William, third of the seven children of Nathaniel and Sarah (Hagar) Whitney, was born May 6, 1683, and resided in Weston. He married, May 17, 1706, Martha Peirce, born December 24, 1681, daughter of Joseph and Martha Peirce, of Watertown. He died January 24, 1720-1. Samuel Whitney, son of William andMartha (Peirce) Whitney, was born in Weston May 23, 1719. He married, October 20, 1741, Abigail Fletcher, and was one of the early settlers of Westminster, and is a prominent character in the annals of that town. He died January 1, 1782. Capt. Silas Whitney, of Ash- burnham, wa.s a son of these parents. Abner, son of Samuel and Abigail (Fletcher) Whit- ney, was born in Westminster May 18, 1748. He married. May 14, 1770, Elizabeth Glazier, daughter of Jonas and Eunice (Newton) Glazier, of Shrewsbury, who died April 3, 1778 ; he married (2d), April 22, 1779, her sister, Levina (Glazier) Ward, widow of Jonas Ward. He died in Westminster, 1811. Joseph G., son of Abner and Levina Whitney, was born June 22, 1783. He married, 1805, Levina Dunn, and resided in Westminster and in Ashburnham, where he died July 31, 1868. John, son of Joseph G. and Levina (Dunn) Whitney, was born in Westminster September 12, 1806. He was a pioneer manufacturer of chairs in Westminster and in Ashburnham. He was a man of ability and character, commanding the respect and confidence of his associates. He died May 4, 1873. His wife, whom he married May 9, 1832, was Eliza Gushing, daughter of Stephen Gushing, Esq., a prominent citizen of Ashburnham. She died September 1, 1882. WILBUR F. WHITKEY. Wilbur Fisk Whitney, son of John and Eliza (Gushing) Whitney, and of the ninth generation in America, was born December 9, 1889, and from early manhood has been closely identified with the material interests of this town. From an industrial standpoint the town of Ashburnham occupies a prominent position among the manufacturing towns of the State. Here the manufacture of chairs was an early, and through later years remains an impor- tant industry. While the Winchesters and their successors have been conducting an extensive busi- ness at the centre of the town, Mr. Whitney, in his chosen field at South Ashburnham, from a humble beginning, has enlarged his facilities from year to year, and at present is at the head of a more exten- sive blisiness than is owned and conducted by any single individual in this line of manufacture. His monthly p.iy-roll, distributed among 250 employes, is $9000, and the annual product of the manufacture includes 380,000 chairs, valued at wholesale at $350,000. Much of the labor-saving machinery is special, and is covered by patents. The chairs made by Mr. Whitney are the modern styles of cane-seat and a great variety of rattan chairs. The designs and styles are original, and frequently change to meet the demands of the trade. In mechanical skill, in ability to personally supervise all the minute details of an extensive business, and in a prompt and clear comprehension of the growing demands of the trade, Mr. Whitney has . advanced to a prominent position among the manufacturers of the present time. While his success in business has been founded on industry, perseverance and the fortui- tous issue of well-matured plans, his honesty and ready appreciation of the rights ot others have been important factors. He has continually maintained fraternal relations with his employes, and has had no experience with strikes nor contests with labor or- ganizations. With the spirit of a good citizen, his success has been reflected in the growth and pros- perity of the town, and he has ever manifested a lively interest in local and in municipal affairs. In this direction his efibrt has been the fruit of principle and the thoughtful act of method and wisdom rather than the sudden and fitful offering of a gen- erous impulse. For many years, with system and exactness, ten per cent, of his annual income has been given to religious and charitable objects, and, with a liberality of sentiment characteristic of the donor, no one sect or class has been the sole recip- ient. With the experience of years Mr. Whitney has joined the fruit of an attentive study of the social and political problems of the times. His conclusions are intelligently formed, and his judgment of men and of measures is free from partiality and preju- dice. In debate he is apt and logical, and if he is decided in his opinions, he is tolerant in judging of the faith and charitable in weighing the conduct of others. His political opinions have been pronounced but conservative. He has not been closely allied with any party, but his political faith has embraced the purposes of good government, and has been un- restrained by the school of politics. In his daily life he has seldom wounded or disappointed his friends, and he has cultivated no enmities. His sympathies, quick and steadfast, lead him to the presence of the wronged and the suffering, and guide ed by principle, -his ministrations to his fellow-men are ever kind and substantial. In business and in social affairs he has challenged the respect and good opinion of all who know him. His merit has won, and his future will enjoy, the friendship and confi- dence of his associates. In the personal supervision of an important industry, Mr. Whitney has found full employment, yet he has been an efficient mem- ber of the School Gommittee many years, and has 208 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. labored in this work with unfailing interest. He is a director of the Ashburnham National Bank and of the Nashua Eeservoir Company. In 1875 he repre- sented this district in the Legislature. In 1878 he was nominated for Congress by the Greenback party and by a convention of Independents. In the can- vass he received seven thousand votes. He was renominated in 1882 and 1884. In 1876 and 1877 he was nominated for State treasurer, and in several instances his candidacy was endorsed by the Prohi- bitionists. Mr. Whitney is still in the prime of life, and this brief sketch is but the beginning of a completed chapter. Men of his temperament and character summon energy and wisdom with advancing years. In his domestic relations Mr. Whitney has been fortunate and happy. He was united in marriage, July 17, 1866, to Miss Emeline S. Jewell, daughter of Dexter and Sarah (Mower) Jewell, of Kindge, N. H. Their eldest child, and only son, a lad of great promise and universally beloved, died at the age of fifteen years. Four bright and sunny daugh- ters, from five to fifteen years of age, bring light and gladness to a happy fireside. DR. NATHANIEL JEWETT. Dr. Nathaniel Jewett, the subject of this sketch, was born in Boston, March 10, 1841, and was edu- cated in the public schools of that city. He afterwards pursued a course of professional studies under pri- vate tutors. He graduated with honors from the Boston Dental School in 1869, and from the New York Eclectic Col- lege in 1871, having attended also, lectures in Har- vard Medical College, and at the College of Physi- cians and Surgeons, New York. He has been president of the Worcester North Eclectic Medical Society, and for many years secre- tary and treasurer ; also president and counsellor of the Massachusetts Eclectic Medical Society, and a member of the National Medical Association. Through his mother's active interest and sympathy in charitable organizations and reforms during the early years of his life in Boston, his naturally sym- pathetic and generous qualities were early enlisted in efibrts to aid the unfortunate. Dr. Jewett came to Ashburnham and commenced the practice of medicine in 1871. Of the eighteen physicians who have practiced here, none have been more constantly or successfully employed. Many serious cases have been under his treatment calling for surgical skill and patient care. With much me- chanical ability, and quick to feel for all who suffer, he has been very successful and ingenious in devising mechanical appliances and aids, and inventing means for the comfort and convenience of his patients. He also possesses the qualities of a good nurse, and with much magnetic power, his presence is always welcome in the sick-room, where so much depends on gentleness and encouraging words. Many a family have looked to him as a support in the hour of sor- row, and found him ever ready to aid when the last rites of affection are needed for the dead. Dr. Jewett is social in his nature, ardent, generous and loyal in his friendships, and keenly sensitive to disloyalty or broken faith in those he has trusted. In his tastes he is very artistic, and music is one of his greatest pleasures. Fond of books and study, he has accumulated a large library of medical, scientific and other works. When contributions or personal efforts are called for in aid of town, church or social movements, he is always generous in response. With a large share of the trials, discouragements and constant requisitions upon a physician's life, he has always been faithful in filial duties. To his mother, who was long an invalid, he gave the best of his care and life, freely relinquishing all that would prevent him from ministering to her needs, and faith- fully attending her until her death here, in 1887. The doctor has long been connected with Masonic orders, active and enthusiastic in interest for all that concerned the fraternity. He has held various posi- tions, and is one of the Past Commanders of Jeru- salem Commandery, Fitchburg ; also a member of the Grand Commandery of Massachusetts and Ehode Island, and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He has also held offices in various other secret orders. CHAPTER XXXVI. FITCHBURG. BY ATHERTON P. MASON, A.B. (hARV.), M.D. (HARV.). [Latitude, 42° 35' N. ; longilude, 71° 47' W. ; direction and difiance from Boston, W. N. W., 47 milez ; altitude of top etep of City HaU above tea letd, HOfeeL] DESCRIPTIVE. Fitchburg, the smaller of the two cities of Wor- cester County, and, after Worcester, the most import- ant place in the county, is pleasantly situated among hills and valleys, and is about twenty-four miles north of its sister city. The township is of average size, being about. six and a half miles from north to south, and about four and a half miles from east to west. A small stream, the north branch of the Nashua River, formed by the confluence of several brooks in the southwesterly part of the town, curves to the north and emerges near the southeast corner ; and along its course most of the population and all the business interests of the city are located. The thickly populated and business centre— the city proper — lies a little southeast of the centre of the township. West and south of the city proper are the FITCHBURG. 209 villages of West Fitchburg, Rockville and Crocker- ville, and east and south are Traskvilje, East Fitch- burg and South Fitchburg. The outlying portions of the township are but sparsely inhabited, being mainly utilized for farming purposes, though considerable areas are covered with woods or used simply for pas- turage. The township is bounded on the north by Ashby, on the east by Lunenburg and Leominster, on the south by Leominster and Westminster, and on the west by Westminster and a small part of Ash- burnham. Any detailed description of the city and its outlying villages would, of course, be beyond the scope of this sketch. As has been stated, the city lits in a valley along the stream. The territory on the south side of the stream, or, " across the river," as it is called, is occupied almost entirely by dwelling-houses, while the business portion is on the north side close to the river bank ; and the hills a little farther north and the more level land to the east are thickly covered with dwellings, many of which are beautiful and costly. Main Street, the principal business street in the city, follows for the most part the course of the stream, its general direction being east and west. On this street are a number of important manufacturing establishments, many substantial business blocks, several public buildings, hotels, handsome churches, and towards the upper end a few fine private resi- dences. From its beginning it is paved with stone as far as the City Hall ; and a horse railroad track runs through almost its entire length. There are three parks on this street — the " Lower Common," or Rail- road Park, Monument Park and the '' Upper Com- mon," — situated nearly equidistant from one another- The first of these is at the junction of Main and Water Streets, opposite the handsome and commodious Union Passenger Station, and is a small enclosure provided with a band-stand. Monument Park is directly in front of the County Court-House and nearly opposite the Wallace Library and Art Building, while flank- ing it on the east is Christ Church, a beautiful and picturesque stone building. Taken in connection with these three fine edifices, this park is a most in- viting spot and much frequented. In its centre is an expensive and massive soldiers' monument of granite surmounted by three bronze statues. Four brass field- pieces, secured from the government through the eflforts of the late Hon. Alvah Crocker, and mounted in regulation style, are placed one at each corner, and the whole park is enclosed by a substantial iron fence upon a base of hammered granite. The "Upper Common " is located towards the upper or western end of Main Street, and is larger than either of the other parks. It has recently been laid out and beauti- fied, and bids fair to rival Monument Park in the favor of the citizens. It is a parallelogram in shape and entirely surrounded by shade-trees. Near the lower end is a very ornamental band-stand, from which the Fitchburg Military Band often gives even- 14 ing concerts during the summer. The band also gives concerts from the band-stand in the Lower Common, and the music furnished by this justly- celebrated organization always calls together a large concourse of citizens. Opposite the head of the Up- per Common is the old First Parish (Unitarian) Church, a structure interesting from an historical point of view ; and flanking the Common on its northerly side are several handsome residences. At the easterly terminus of the horse railroad, near the Lunenburg line, are the fair-grounds and trotting park, formerly the property of the Worcester North Agricultural Society. In 1887 this property was purchased by a number of gentlemen, forming an organization known as the Fitchburg Park Company, for the purpose of improving and beautifying it for use as a park. The upper portion of Main Street is considerably wider than the lower part, and is abundantly supplied with shade-trees. From Putnam Street to the Amer- ican House, Main Street is altogether too narrow for the tide of business which daily passes through it, and without doubt it will be absolutely necessary for the city to construct a new street before long to relieve the pressure on Main Street. This portion of the street is entirely without shade-trees, or even room for them to grow, and it is becoming more and more evident every year that a great mistake was made in not reserving a more generous width for the street. Fitchburg is pre-eminently a busy and thriving city, and probably no other place of its size can boast of a greater diversity of industries. The little stream running through the town was a source of great annoy- ance to the early settlers. The spring floods carried away their bridges, and the river was considered a nuisance and probable bar to the growth of the town. But coming years showed the folly of these fears. Dams were constructed, the water controlled, and manufacturers on a small scale began to locate on the banks of the formerly detested stream. Thus was a seeming curse turned into an evident blessing, for from those few mills have sprung the present great manufacturing concerns located here. Now the stream, whether swollen by the floods of spring, or diminished to a mere rivulet by the drought of summer, is allowed to pursue its way for the most part unheeded by the busy manufacturer. Water-power is still used to some extent, but steam is now the chief motor that propels the machinery, looms and spindles that daily pour forth products which go to the markets, not of this country alone, but of the world. A description of these large manufacturing establishments, of which our citizens are justly proud, must be deferred to a subsequent portion of this sketch. It is evident that ample transportation facilities are necessary in order to distribute all these varied pro- ducts, and Fitchburg certainly possesses such facilities to a marked degree. When, about half a century ago, the Hon. Alvah Crocker proposed and advocated a railroad direct from Boston to Fitchburg, the idea met 210 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. with great opposition and ridicule. Mr. Crocker per- severed in spite of all obstacles, the railroad became an accomplished fact, and the immense benefits arising from its construction are realized by the citizens of to-day. It has grown into the great Hoosac Tunnel Line and aifords direct communication, not with Boston alone, but with the great cities of the West. Other railroads have since been built which give direct communication with all important points. An elegant and commodious passenger-station, built about ten years ago, is shared by all these roads in common, and there are large freight depots, car-shops, engine- houses, etc., which will be described further on. Fitchburg is by no means behind the times as re- gards the adoption of all methods and means by which the wealth, prosperity and enlightenment of her citizens may be advanced, their business facilitated, and their lives and property protected from danger or destruction. The streets of the city are kept clean and in good condition, and are, for the most part, well lined with shade-trees ; a pure and very abundant water supply has been provided at large expense ; school-houses are numerous and, as a rule, commodious and well-ventilated; a thoroughly organized and well- equipped Fire Department, in connection with the fire- alarm telegraph and numerous hydrants, affords the best possible protection against serious loss by fire; the efficient police force keeps the city singularly free from theft and murder. All these departments are under the direct control of the city, and their effective work reflects great credit on the authorities, both in past and present time. In addition to these advan- tages of a strictly municipal character, there are others no less important to the welfare of the city. There are numerous churches, substantial and invit- ing, both externally and internally, whose pulpits are occupied by good pastors ; there is an efficient tele- phone service with many subscribers ; the streets are well lighted with electricity, furnished by the Wachu- Bett Electric Light Company, and in some portions with gas, furnished by the Fitchburg Gas Company ; the Fitchburg Street Railway Company provides con- venient means of transit from one end of the city to the other, and the government has established the letter-carrier system here. Having seen, in a general way, what man has ac- complished towards making Fitchburg an attractive and desirable place of residence, let us devote a little space to the investigation of what nature has done to beautify and make pleasant this city among the hills. The north branch of the Nashua, which has been previously mentioned as traversing the southerly portion of the township, is formed by the confluence of several brooks having their origin in ponds in Westminster and Ashburnham. These brooks, uniting in the southwesterly part of the township, form the only stream of any size in Fitch- burg. There is nothing particularly beautiful or romantic about it at the present time, except in a few spots where the hand of man has not encroachec too ruthlessly upon its original condition. Mani bridges, both for railroad and public use, have beer built across it, and numerous dams have beei erected along its course, which form small ponds that lack the element of natural beauty. It ii rather singular that, while almost every one of the towns in this vicinity possesses at least one large natural sheet of water, there is nothing of the surl in Fitchburg. So the citizens have to content them- selves with brooks, of which there are several in town that are very picturesque and well worth visit- ing. One of these is Falulah Brook, in the north- erly part of the town, towards Ashby. Its course is through wooded country, and in many places it has worn for itself a channel through the solid rock. In spots it has hollowed out deep basins in the rock, forming quiet, transparent pools ; and again it dashes down some rocky incline, producing fascinating cas- cades. This brook crosses the township diagonally, and that part of it in the southeasterly corner has received the name of Baker's Brook. It receives several tributaries, prominent among which are Scott and Shattuck Brooks, whence is obtained the water supply of the city, and Pearl Hill Brook. In the southerly part of Fitchburg is another brook, quite as interesting and picturesque as Falulah, and certainly better appreciated, from the fac-t of its be- ing easy of access. The name of it is Wanoosnac Brook. During the past century the spelling of its name has undergone considerable change. Rev. Peter Whitney, in his "History of Worcester County," published in 1793, speaks of it as " Wauh- noosnok Brook." In Torrey's "History of Fitch- burg," published in 1836, it is spelled Wanoosnock. By some, at the present time, it is called Monoos- noc. However much the nomenclature may have changed, it is certain that its natural beauty has not followed suit. For some distance it flows along be- side the Old Turnpike Road, unmolested by the hand of man, at times hidden among the trees and again appearing in open spaces, tumbling and splash- ing along its rocky bed. It is especially well worth visiting in the early summer, when it is full of water. At one point, where it flows in a deep and pre- cipitous gully, a massive stone dam was built many years ago. From some imperfection in its construc- tion, the dam never could be made to hold water, and the brook, which, as well as the dam itself, is almost entirely concealed by trees that have grown up since man's futile attempt to obstruct it, flows noisily beneath the heavy stone-work as if filled with defiant joy at its retained fieedom. A little farther above is another dam, built with better skill, which has, for over half a century, been occupied as the site of a saw-mill. The most marked topographical features in Fitch- burg are RoUstone Hill, southwest of the city, and Pearl Hill, to the northeast. The former is a rounded FITCHBURG. 211 mass of solid gneiss, attaining an elevation of about four hundred feet above the river. Whitney thus al- ludes to it in his history : " A little southwest of the meeting-house is a high, rocky hill, covered princi- pally with pine, called BolUtone Hill." At the present time the pines have disappeared. Until a few years ago two old and weather-beaten specimens, the sole sur- vivors of former times, were standing like ancient sentinels upon the summit of the hill ; but age, com- bined with the poor quality and small amount of soil and the fierce winds of winter, caused them to succumb, and they fell some years ago, one soon after the other. The writer well remembers 'the feeling of sadness that arose within him when these aged land- marks were prostrated. The lower portion of their trunks bore a vast collection of autographs, for prob- ably almost every boy who climbed to the top of the hill, for years previous to their fall, and was lucky enough to own a knife, carved his initials on one or the other of them. The top of the hill is now practically bare rock, though the thin soil in spots supports a scanty and stunted growth of bushes. The sides of the hill have a tolerably thick layer of soil, and are covered with a growth of small trees, mostly chestnut, oak and maple. Excellent building stone is obtained from this hill, and the supply seems to be practically inexhaustible. Extensive quarries have been worked for a great many years without any very appreciable diminution in the size of the hill, unless it be on the southwesterly side. The use of Rollstone granite is by no means confined to Fitchburg alone. It is shipped to various places, and there are several buildings in Boston constructed entirely of it. Some portions of the rock contain extraneous minerals, and fine specimens of beryl and tourmaline have been ob- tained here in times past. On the very summit of the hill is " the Boulder," a rounded mass of rock, forty- five feet in circumference, and probably weighing one hundred tons. Its composition is totally unlike that of any rock formation within thirty miles, and it is cei-tain that this boulder was conveyed to its present position by ice. Glacial strice are plainly visible be- neath it where the surface of the bed-rock has not weathered. The fine view of the city and surrounding country that is obtainable from the summit of Roll- stone is well worth the slight trouble necessary to climb the hill by some of the stone roads and paths. At the feet, so to speak, of the observer perched upon the top of the boulder, are the numerous tracks of the Hoosac Tunnel Line, with trains moving upon them almost constantly; just beyond is the river, with the city stretching along its course and forming almost a complete semi-circle ; behind the city rise the hills, culminating in the beetling brow of Pearl Hill to the northeast. Big Watatic, in Ashburnham, overtops his brethren in the northwest. In clear weather the sharp summit of grand Monadnock can also be seen in that direction. The rounded outline of Wachusett, about twelve miles distant, fills the soulhern horizon, and to the east and southeast are the towns of Lunenburg and Leomin'iter, a few miles away. Portions of other towns can also be seen, and the undulating character of the country in all directions presents a pleasing spectacle to the eye. Pearl Hill is somewhat higher than Rollstone, and on one side rises abruptly in the form of a precipice. It is compo-ed of a micaceous rock of rather pecu- liar appearance, which, a century ago, encouraged the hope that there were " valuable mines, either of gold or silver, or both, imbosomed there." The Rev. Peter Whitney goes on to say that " attempts have hereto- fore been made to possess them ; but for want of wealth or perseverance in the undertakers, they have not obtained the desiderata." It is exceedingly im- probable that capitalists will care to expend money in searching after gold or silver in the bowels of Pearl Hill. Rollstone is a much more profitable invest- ment. A fine view can be obtained from the summit of Pearl Hill, and a drive on the Pearl Hill Road is much in vogue with citizens and visitors. West of Pearl Hill and north of Rollstone is the high land where the water supply of the city is stored. There are four reservoirs located at different levels, the highest being Overlook, about four hundred feet above the river, whose embankment and gate-house are quite conspicuous. There are many pleasant drives in and about the city. The suburban roads are, for the most part, well made and kept in good condition, though the hilly character of the entire surface of the township renders very considerable washouts inevitable during the spring months, and causes more or less expense an- nually for repairs. The soil is generally quite fertile, and there are many valuable farms in the town. Woods are abundant in many parts of the town and consist of all the varieties of trees indigenous to this section. Fruit-trees flourish and there are many fine orchards in and around Fitchburg. Small fruits and garden produce are raised in great abundance with ordinary care. Much more might be said descriptive of Fitchburg and its environs. In the foregoing the writer has intended simply to speak of facts that will not appear elsewhere, or to touch on matters that will be further elaborated in subsequent portions of this sketch. We will conclude this section by giving a few statistics in regard to population and agricultural interests. Ac- cording to the census of 1885, the population at that time was 15,375. Since then there has been a very considerable increase in the number of inhabitants, and probably 19,000 would not be far from the correct figures at the present time (1888). A few of the agricultural statistics gleaned from the census of 1885 are as follows: there were then 209 farms in town, 3676 acres of cultivated land, 5850 acres of pasturage and 5134 acres of woodland. The aggregate value of agricultural products was $294,558, the largest items 212 HISTOKY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. being, — dairy products, $97,414 ; hay, straw and fod- der, $70,696; vegetables, $25,990; apples and small fruits, §19,280, and poultry and wood products about $18,000 each. There were about 40,000 fruit-trees and grape-vines, valued at $76,473. There were 741 cows and about 8000 fowls. From these few statistics one can see that, though Filchburg is not given very much to agricultural pursuits, she makes a very respectable showing in that line. CHAPTER XXXVII. VnCUBVRG—(ConHnued). EARLY HISTORY (1764-I799). FiTCHBTJEG was Originally a part of Lunenburg, and its history prior to 1764 is identical with that of Lunenburg and may be found in the history of that town. Previous to 1764 several attempts had been made by the people living in the westerly part of Lunenburg to be set oif as a separate town, but were unsuccessful. On January 25, 1764, another attempt was made and the consent of Lunenburg obtained, the town voting "to let the people go." The request was granted on condition that "the inhabitants should pay their minister's tax, as heretofore they had done, until they should be formed into a district.'' As soon as the consent of Lunenburg was obtained, a com- mittee, consisting of John Fitch, Amos Kimball, Samuel Hunt, Ephraim Whitney and Jonathan Wood, was chosen to procure an act of incorporation. So zealously did this committee work that in just nine days after the granting of the request the act passed the General Court and was signed by the Gov- ernor. The following is a copy of the act of incorpo- ration in full : Anno Begni Regis Georgii Tertii Quarto. An act for Betting off the iDbabitantH, as also the estates, of the west- erly part of Lunenburg into a separate town by the name of Fitchburgh. Be it enacted hy the Govemoi\ Council and House of Representatives, that the inhabitants, with their lauds, on the westerly part of Lunenburg, beginning at such a place on Leominster line as that a straight line therefrom way run between the lands of Messrs. Paul Wetherbee and Jonathan Wood to a stake and stone a email distance to the westward of Mary Holt's bouse, then turning and running north, ten degrees and a half east, to the southeast corner of Ephraim "Whitney's land, then to keep the easterly line of said Whitney's land to the northeast corner thereof, and from that corner to run northwardly on the eastwardly line of John White's land to the norwesterly corner thereof, and from that corner to run north, four degrees east, to Townsend line ; then run- ning west, thirty one degrees and a half north, on Townsend line to Dor- chester Canada line, then turning south, nine degrees west, eight miles and a hundred and forty rods on Dorchester Canada line, to Westmin- ster lino ; then turning east, eleven degrees thirty minutes south, three miles and thirty one rods to a heap of stones on Leominster line; then turning and running to the bound first mentioned, be and hereby is set off and erected into a separate town by the name of Fitchburgh, and that the said town be Invested with all the powers, privileges and immunities that other towns in this Province do or may by law enjoy, that of send- ing a Representative to the General Assembly only excepted ; and that the inhabitants of said town shall have full power and right from time to time, to join with said town of Lunenburg in the choice of a Eepro- sentative, or Representatives, and be subject to pay their proportionab part of the charges, who may be chosen either in the town of Lunei burg or town of Fitchburgh, in which choice they shall enjoy all the priv leges, which by law they would have been entitled to if this act had m been made ; and the Selectmen of the town of Lunenburg shall issu their warrant to one or more of the constables of Fitchburgh, requirin tbem to notify the inhabitants of the to>vn of Fitchburgh of the tim and place of their meeting for such a choice. Provided, nevertheless, and he it further enacted, that the said town o Fitchburgh shall pay their proportion of all town, county and Provinc taxes, already set on, or granted to be raised, by said town of Luntn burg, as if this act bad not been made. And he it further enacted, that Edward Hartwell, Esq., be and herebj is empowered to issue his warrant to some principal inhabitant in sai( town of Fitchburgh, requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitant) of said town, quajified by law to vote in town affairs, to meet at sucl time and place as shall be therein set forth, to choose all such ofBcen as shall be necessary to manage the affairs of said town. February 2d, 1764. This bill having been read three several times in the House of Representatives, passed to be enacted. Timothy Euggles, Speaier. February 3d, 1764. This bill having been read three several times in Gouncll, passed to be enacted. A. Oliver, Secretary February 3d, 1764. By the Governor : I consent to the enacting of this bill. Feancis Beksabd. The history of Fitchburg begins therefore on the 3d day of February, 1764. About forty families were then living within the limits of the new town, mak- ing the probable number of inhabitants something over two hundred. There was one mill in the town, —the saw and grist-mill erected about 1750 by Amos and Ephraim Kimball, — near the location of the present " Stone Mill," now occupied by J. Gushing & Co. To the Kimballs also belongs the honor of building the first dam across the North Branch of the Nashua. It consisted of a log laid across the stream with spikes driven in above it, and was generally swept away every spring by freshets. It was located a few feet above the present granite dam, near the Laurel Street bridge. Rufus C. Torrey, in his " History of Fitchburg," gives a complete list of the heads of families living in the town at the time of its incorporation, and also the place of residence of each of them. It contains forty-three names. After this list is the following, which gives an idea of what Fitchburg was a century and a quarter ago: "The above-mentioned individ- uals and their families composed the population of Fitchburg. Their dwellings, in almost every in- stance, were far apart,— here and there a house scat- tered over a large territory. A single dwelling-house stood in the ' Old City,' and in the village, where the population is now so thickly clustered together, not a single house was erected. The winds, which swept down the valley of the Nashua, sighed through the pines which have formed a dense forest." He also adds that "the pitch-pine trees afforded an excellent shelter for deer, partridges and wild turkeys." It is somewhat singular that uncertainty should have so long existed as to the origin of the name of the town. Mr. Torrey, writing in 1836, wavers be- tween the claims of John Fitch (the chairman of the committee chosen to procure the act of incorporation) FITCH BURG. 213 and a Colonel Timothy Fitch, of Boston, " who owned extensive tracts of land in the town, and was consid- ered, in those days, as a man of note and distinction." John Fitch also owned much land in town, and Mr. Torrey very frankly states that to which of these gentlemen belongs the honor of furnishing the name of the town " is a point which will probably remain forever in obscurity." Now in 1831 Nathaniel Wood, Esq., delivered be- fore the Fitchburg Philosophical Society a series of five lectures on the early history of this town. The manuscript is now in the public library, and in the second lecture occurs the following unqualified state- ment in regard to the matter : "The town was named after John Fitch, the same person taken by the In- dians, as mentioned in my last lecture. It appears he was an extensive land-owner, a man of influence, and probably was the principal agent in procuring the act of incorporation. All these cipcumstances combined induced the petitioners to request that the new town should be incorporated by the name of Fitchburg." Mr. Torrey, in the preface to his history of the town, says, in reference to these lectures, " Unre stricted use of Mr. Wood's papers has been gener- ously granted me." How he happened to over- look the explicit statement above quoted is a mys- tery. Now a few words about the " Col. Timothy Fitch," of whom Mr. Torrey speaks, before we conclude this subject. A thorough investigation in regard to this claimant was made a few years ago by Mr. Henry A. Willis, a prominent citizen of Fitchburg, and much interested in historical matters, with the following result : after a careful search through the histories of Boston, all available genealogical records and the Worcester County registry of deeds, he was unable to find any man of that name who ever owned a foot of land in Fitchburg. He did find, however, in the Worcester County registry of deeds a Zachariah Fitch, who died some twenty years before Fitchburg was incorporated. It appears that he owned " one- half part of about 300 acres " in what is now the southerly portion of the township of Fitchburg. So the claim that this Colonel Fitch "owned extensive tracts of land in that town " is reduced to very small proportions. To sum up the whole matter, it seems that half a century ago, or more, there was an idea prevalent that the town was named for some Fitch other than John Fitch ; but so vague was the impression that Mr. Torrey did not even have his first name correct, for the statement in the " History of Fitchburg " evidently refers to Zachariah Fitch. It may then be regarded as settled that the town was named in honor of that sturdy early settler, John Fitch. ' He lived in the northerly part of the town, which, in 1767, became a portion of the new town of Ashby, in Middlesex County. He was prominent in the early town affairs of Ashby, and died there April 8, 1795, aged eighty-seven years. A monument, com- memorating some of the events of his rather more than ordinarily eventful life, was afterwards erected over his grave. In accordance with the provision in the act of in- corporation, Edward Hartwell, Esq., of Lunenburg, on the 15th of February, 1764, issued his warrant directed to Amos Kimball, requiring him to notify the qualified voters " to assemble at Captain Hunt's new dwelling-house in said town, on Monday, the fifth day of March, at ten of the clock in the fore- noon, to choose town officers and fix the day for the annual meeting and the mode of warning at town-meetings." Fitchburg's first town-meeting was accordingly held March 5, 1764, at Captain Samuel Hunt's tavern. The following town officers were chosen : Amos Kimball, moderator ; Ephraim Whitney, town clerk ; Amos Kimball, David Goodridge, Samuel Hunt, Ephraim Whitney and Reuben Gibson, selectmen. Underthe guidance of these gentlemen the infant town entered upon its career, which was destined to far exceed the fondest hopes of its founders. The town fixed the first Monday in March as the day for the annual town-meeting, and voted that in future the constable or constables of the town warn all town- meetings. Three weeks later the second town-meeting was held to consider various articles, one of which was " to see if the Hoggs shall run at large for the present year." The " Hoggs " were fortunate enough to secure their liberty for the year. The next town- meeting was held at the tavern, September 12, 1764. Captain Thomas Cowdin was then proprietor of this house, having bought out Captain Hunt during the summer. At this meetiog the following vote was passed : " that two miles on the westerly Line, begin- ning at the north westerdly corner, and Half a mile on theeasterdly Line, beginning at the northeasterdly corner, on Townsend Line, thence running a straite Line from corner to corner be Sott off' to Mr John fitch and others, in order for them to Joyne a part of Townshend and a part of Dorchester Canady, in order to make a Town or parish among themselves, and that the said John fitch and others be freed from paying anything to the settlement of a minister or for building a meeting-house in said town of Fitch- burgh." This certainly shows great liberality on the part of Fitchburg's early settlers, and such a large concession would seem to indicate that John Fitch was highly esteemed among his fellow-citizens. The several tracts mentioned above were, in 1767, incorporated as the town of Ashby. In those early days the territory comprising Fitch- burg seems to have been largely owned by a few in- dividuals, and it may be of interest to note some of the most extensive landholders. In July, 1764, Cap- 214 HISTORY OF WOECESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. tain Thomas Cowdin moved into the town, and soon became a leading citizen. As above stated, he pur- chased the Hunt tavern, which stood some thirty rods or more east of the present junction of Blossom and Pearl Streets. He also purchased the farm going with the tavern. This farm, which is now the busiest and most thickly populated portion of the city, extended from about the present location of Mount Vernon Street on the west to East and Boutelle Streets on the east, and from Pearl Street on the north to Main and Winter Streets on the south. He also owned the land comprised between Baker's Brook and the two roads to Lunenburg. Captain Cowdin kept the Hunt tavern for about ten years, and then removed to what was later called the Boutelle hous^, near the present location of the American House, which he enlarged and opened as a tavern. Until his death, in 1792, he was a very prominent man in town affairs. A few years ago a handsomely polished, massive granite monument was erected to his memory, in Laurel Hill Cemetery, by his grandson, Hon. John Cowdin, of Boston. Amos Kimball and his cousin Ephraim, who settled here some fifteen or twenty years before the incorpo- ration of the town, also owned a large tract of land. They lived on what is now known as Hale's Hill, at the upper end of South Street, and owned from that point down to the river and a considerable distance to the west along the river, probably including Roll- stone Hill. Another large landholder was a Judge Oliver, of Salem, who owned from Cowdin's westerly boundary along the north side of the river as far as the junction of Phillips' Brook with the Nashua, comprising what is now the upper portion of the city and all of West Fitchburg. He also owned a tract of land a mile square on Dean Hill, in the northwesterly part of the township. Colonel William Brown and Burnett Brown, both non-residents, owned an extensive tract in the southern part of the town, probably the land between Mount Elam and Rollstone roads, and also a tract southwest of Dean Hill, near the Westminster line, and a piece of land somewhere in the north part of the town. As yet there had been no preaching in Fitchburg, the nearest meeting-house being in Lunenburg. Accordingly, in November, 1764, the town voted to have six weeks' preaching on their own territory. Rev. Peter Whitney, the future historian of Worces- ter County, was asked to furnish preaching for this length of time. He accepted the invitation, and the services were held in Cowdin's tavern. At this same November meeting it was also voted to build a house of worship, and a sum equivalent to about $166 was appropriated to begin the erection of it. Captain Cowdin very generously donated a portion of his wheat-field as a site for the building. The location corresponds closely to the present upper corner of Blossom and Crescent Streets. The people very wisely adopted the old-fashioned, honest plan in erecting their meeting-house, and built only as fast as they could afford to pay for it; consequently it was nearly two years before it was completed. The first town-meeting was held in it on September 22, 1766, and from that time until September 17, 1798, town- meetings were held in it. On the latter date, and for nearly forty years thereafter, town-meetings were held. in the new meeting-house completed about two years previously. Services for public worship were held in the old house until the dedication of the new one, on January 19, 1797. No mention will here be made of the early minis- ters of Fitchburg. A brief account of them will be given in the ecclesiastical history of the town. Neither shall we, in this place, speak at any length concerning the schools, which will be reserved until the portion of this sketch relating to education is reached. Sufiice it for the present to say, that in the autumn of 1764 the town voted a very small sum for " 2 scools " during the following winter. The next year, and for several succeeding years, a somewhat larger sum was voted for schools. By far ihe greater portion of the education obtained by the children in those days was acquired by means of private instruc- tion. Fitchburg began to increase in numbers and valua- tion very soon after its incorporation. Energetic and thrifty young men came from towns to the eastward and settled here with their families ; and in 1771 there were in town some eighty families, and the valuation was equal to about $8000. New roads were opened, and considerable money was expended on bridges. It is evident, however, that the inhabitants were not skilled in bridge-building. In 1770 the bridges were nearly all carried away by the spring freshets, and were rebuilt before the next winter, only to be carried off again in the following spring. The town records for 1771 state that the town voted " to rebuild the bridges carried away and damnified by the floods," and also " to pay for the rum expended at the bridges.'' "Torrey's History" affirms that " the good people of Fitchburg, being vexed at the intrusion of ' cattel ' belonging to persons having no 'interest' in the town, they promptly forbade the entrance of all such 'cattel,' and proceeded ' to build a pound with logs.' It was enjoined ' that every person in town come and work at said pound, or pay his proportion.' It was a common practice for them, however, to vote that their own ' Hoaggs Go att Large lawfully Yokt and Eingd,' — as the erudite Town Clerk has recorded it." It will be remembered that, in the descriptive por- tion of this sketch, mention was made of unsuccessful attempts to obtain gold and silver from Pearl Hill. These attempts were probably made some ten years after the incorporation of the town. In September, 1769, deeds of John Putnam, Reuben Gibson and Isaac Gibson were recorded in the Registry of Deeds, leasing to Edmund Quincy, of Stoughton, their lands FITCHBURG. 215 and farms (about two hundred acres in all, probably,) on Pearl Hill, for the purpose of opening mines. The consideration was five shillings in each case. The mines were to be opened within a specified time and the lessors were to have one-sixteenth part of the "hid- den treasures" obtained therefrom. At the same time deeds were recorded by which Edmund Quincy conveyed to " Charles Gleditsch, of Boston, Jeweller," one-half interest in the proposed mines. Mr. Quincy's absence in England rendered it impossible for him to open the mines within the required time, and May 14, 1774, a new lease, made jointly by Mr. Putnam and the Messrs. Gibson, was recorded, granting Mr. Quincy further time. After • a recital of the former leases of mines, etc., " in our lands and farms in sd Fitchburg, at a Place called Pearl Hill," the document goes on to say : " In consideration that the said Edmund Quincy has been at Considerable Charges, from time to time, to Comply with the Terms of the leases aforementioned by Reason of his going for England and thereby was not in his power to comply in Opening any Mines that may be in our lands aforesaid, we prolong and give him a further term of three years from the Date hereof to comply with the true intent of said Leases." It was further set forth that Mr. Quincy was to " pay and allow " the said lessors " one-sixteenth part of all Mines, Mine Ores, Minerals, or other hidden Treas- ures of the Earth, free and Clear of all Cost and Charges, Delivered at the Pits Mouth wheresoev.er the same may be Dug, had, gotten or obtained by any Means whatsoever." This was dated May 5, 1774. The unsuccessful result of this venture was no more than could reasonably be expected. Nor was this the only gold-mining scheme that Mr. Quincy had on hand in this town. He laid his plans to attack the bowels of Hale's Hill also ; for Septem- ber 13, 1769, Amos Kimball gave a deed, which was duly recorded October 10, 1769, the substance of which was as follows: "Know all men by these presents that I, Amos Kimball of Fitchburg in the County of Worcester in the Province of the Massa- chusetts Bay in New England, Gentleman, for and in Consideration of Five Shillings Lawfull Money to me in hand paid by Edmund Quincy of Stoughtonham in the County of Suffolk and Province Aforesaid, Gentleman, the Receipt whereof I do hereby acknowl- edge and am fully Satisfied and Contented and for divers other good Considerations me hereunto Moving Have given granted Bargained and Sold and by these presents Give grant Bargain and Sell convey and Confirm unto the said Edmund Quincy " etc., " All and Singular Mines Mine Ores Minerals and other hidden Treasures " that existed on his farm which was "Butted and Bounded as follows Southerly on Ephraim Kimball Easterly on Said Ephraim Kimball Northerly on Nashaway River and westerly on Rolestone hill." He further granted to Mr. Quincy and his heirs, " Liberty right and privilege of Ingress Regress and Egress " and to have " Workmen and Laborers Pitts and Shafts to Sink Levells and Drift- ways to make and drive up and all other Necessarys and Convenients " that might be needed, together with the right of using any streams on the said land for the purpose of " Cleaning the oar got in upon or within said Tract of land." Mr. Kimball further agreed to defend Mr. Quincy's rights to this property against all persons, " excepting the Demands of our Sovereign Lord the King his heirs or Successors." In conclusion, was the following provision, breach of which would make the contract null and void : " Provided Nevertheless it is the true Intent and Meaning of this deed that the said Edmund Quincy his heirs Executors Administrators or Assigns shall commence and Begin to work upon the premises afore granted within the space of three years from the date hereof." As we have already seen, Mr. Quincy's absence in England prevented his beginning mining operations within the three years, and, as in the other cases, the contract was renewed for three years from May 5, 1774; but the "mines" were probably never opened. As regards trading interests, there seems to have been no regular " store " in town until 1772, when Deacon Ephraim Kimball opened one in his dwelling- house, located near the Kimball saw and grist-mill previously mentioned. Soon afterwards, however, two more stores were opened, one by Joseph Fox, who came here from Littleton, and the other by Wil- liam Hitchborn, who came from Boston. Both these stores were located near the meeting-house. About this time, also, David Gibson built a bakery on the spot now occupied by the residence of Eben- ezer Torrey, Esq., and he also built his dwelling- house directly across the road from the bakery. These were probably the first buildings erected in this portion of the town, which, fifty years later, was the most thickly settled and prosperous part of Fitch- burg, and rejoiced in the title of " The Village," while the earlier settled portion, a half-mile or so to the eastward, had stagnated and lost its prestige, and had the nickname of " Old City" applied to it. Although the early years of Fitohburg's existence were prosperous, yet there were events preparing which checked, for a time, the wheels of progress. A fire was smouldering which, a few years later, burst out in the ruddy glare of the Revolutionary War. Fitchburg, of course, did not, like Boston and many other towns in the Province, suffer from actual invasion, but she unflinchingly and patriotically bore her full share of the hardships of the seven years' struggle for freedom, and was ever ready, and, among the inland towns, was one of the first, to con- tribute both men and money to the extent of her ability, to aid in the re-iistauce of the colonies against the inroads of the British. FiTOHBUEG IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAE. — In September, 1768, the authorities of Boston sent to the 216 HISTOEY OF WOKCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. selectmen of Fitchburg, as they did likewise to the selectmen of the other towns in the Province, desir- ing them to call a town-meeting, to consider what was best to be done in view of the critical condi- tion of affairs between the colonies and Great Britain, and also to choose an agent to meet with them in Bos- ton, and set forth the " views, wishes and determina- tions of the people of Fitchburg upon the subject.' A town-meeting was soon called, and Hon. Edward Hartwell of Lunenburg was chosen to act as agent for both Fitchburg and Lunenburg. The records do not state what course he was instructed to pursue as the representative of the two towns. For the next five years nothing special, of a political nature, seems to have disturbed the citizens of Fitchburg. Of course, they felt the same uneasi- ness and dissatisfaction that was experienced throughout the colonies, and most intensely in and about the town of Boston. At last, when forbearance ceased to be a virtue, the selectmen of Boston sent letters to the various towns, desiring them " to pass such resolves concerning their rights and privileges, as free members of society, as they were willing to die in maintaining, and to send them, in the form of a report, to the Committee of Correspondence in Boston.'' Fitchburg took early notice of this letter, a town- meeting being held December 1, 1773, a few days after its receipt, for the purpose of considering it and expressing the sentiment of the citizens. The com- munication was read and the record of the meeting states that " after the town had deliberated thereon with zeal and candor, unanimously agreed to choose a committee of seven men, and chose Mr. Isaac Gib- son, Capt. Reuben Gibson, Messrs. Phineas Hartwell, Ebenezer Woods, Ebenezer Bridge, Kendall Bou- tell and Solomon Steward as a committee to consider of our rights and privileges in common with other towns in this province, together with the many flagrant infringements that have been made thereon, and to report at the adjournment." The arljourued meeting was held December 15th, and the report of the committee was read. It clearly and vigorously set forth the fact that the people of Fitchburg were in full accord with all efforts to op- pose, and, if need be, strenuously resist any encroach- ments on the rights of the colonists. The report closed with the following : "And with respect to the East India tea — forasmuch as we are now informed that the town of Boston and the neighboring towns have made such noble opposition to said tea's being brought into Boston, subject to a duty so directly tend- ing to the enslaving of America — it is our opinion that your opposition is just and equitable ; and the people of this town are ready to afford all the assist- ance in their power to keep off all such infringe- ments." The stand taken by Fitchburg showed that the citizens were determined and courageous, and yet at the same time exercised a commendable discretion. That they wholly disapproved of the perpetration of any outrage is shown by the " instructions " given to Dr. John Taylor, of Lunenburg, who, in May, 1774, was elected jointly by Lunenburg and Fitchburg to represent the two towns in the Great and General Court. He was instructed to "bear testimony against all riotous practices and all other unconstitutional proceedings," and also not to give up any charter rights and privileges, and to use his influence to have rights that had been taken away restored ; and fur- ther, " to move in the General Assembly that there might be a Congress and union with all the provinces." Whether he moved for such a congress, or not, does not appear, but the deputies of a Congress of that description met in Philadelphia in the following September. In October of the same year the town sent Capt. David Goodridge as their delegate to the Provincial Congress which convened at Concord and soon after adjourned to Cambridge. This Congress prepared plans for the defence of the province, and passed the resolve relative to the " minute-men," so called. Fitchburg was now wide awake. Forty men were enlisted as minute-men and the selectmen expended about fifty dollars for "powder, lead and flints." The armory of the minute-men was in Ephraim Kimball's store. These men were regularly drilled and ready to start at a moment's notice. The winter passed away and the memorable 19th of April, 1775, was at hand. It found the little town on the alert. At seven o'clock on the morning of that day the British reached Concord, and at nine o'clock, just two hours later, the alarm gun was fired in front of Kimball's store. In a very short time about fifty men, under the command of Captain Ebenezer Bridge, started for Concord, and immediately after their departure a large wagon, filled with provisions, was despatched to follow them. The company pro- ceeded as rapidly as possible, but did not reach Con- cord until evening — too late to take any part in the events of that historic day. Quite a number of the men returned home in a few days, as there was no immediate need of their services ; but shortly afl;er- ward a company was regularly enlisted composed of Fitchburg and Lunenburg men. Other men from this town joined the Continental army at various times, and there were some thirty Fitchburg men constantly in the field until Boston was evacuated. There were probably a dozen men from this town engaged at Bunker Hill, and at least one of them (John Gibson) is supposed to have been killed. The last seen of him was in the hottest of the battle, beating down the enemy with the butt of his musket. " Independence Day " was now drawing near. Be- fore taking the decisive step of declaring the American colonies frefe and independent, the Continental Con- gress submitted the matter to the legislative bodies of FITCHBURG. 217 the several colonies to ascertain if their support could be relied upon after the die was oast. The General Court of Massachusetts had already assured the Congress that the people of the Old Baj' Colony would undoubtedly support them ; but to make the matter doubly sure, a resolve was passed that each town in the colony should take individual action on the matter. In accordance with this resolve, the people of Fitch- burg assembled in town-meeting, July 1, 1776, just three days before the Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Continental Congress. And this is the answer that little Fitchburg returned to the General Court at this alarming crisis : " Voted, that if the Honorable Continental Congress should, for the safety of these United Colonies, declare them inde- pendent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, that we, the inhabitants of the town of Fitchburg, will, with ourselves and fortunes, support them in the measure." In October, 1776, the town voted adversely in regard to the question submitted to it, in common with the other towns of the Province, as to whether the " then Representative House, together with the Council, should make a form of government for the State of the Massachusetts Bay.'' The objections of the people of Fitchburg to this project took the form of a report and were based on the following well-taken points: that the members of the present House were not elected with a view to any such action, and that many of the inhabitants, who ought to have a voice in the matter, were absent in the army. In other words, they thought it best not to be in too much of a hurry. Two and a half years later, in May, 1779, the town voted unanimously (forty-five votes) in favor of a new State Constitution. Just a year previous their vote on the same matter was twenty-two in favor and four against. In August, 1779, Capt. Thomas Cowdin was elected delegate from this town to attend the conven- tion held at Cambridge, September 1st, for the pur- pose of framing the new State Constitution. This Constitution, as prepared by the convention, was sub- mitted to the people for their ratification in May, 3780, and Fitchburg voted unanimously (65 votes) in favor of its adoption. During this period the inhabitants of Fitchburg who remained at home were by no means reclining on beds of roses. It was " hard times '' with them. Money was scarce, prices were high and the soldiers and their families had to be provided for. In 1777 the town began to get tired of the heavy burden. There was much gloom and not a little grumbling; but through it all no word refiecting on the justice of the American cause would be tolerated by the mass of the citizens. Patriotism was put above everything else and persons who did not come up to the mark in this respect were closely watched. ' More than one inhabitant of this town was threatened with a coat of tar and feather.', and even with the destruc- tion of his house," says Torrey. Everybody was called upon to contribute to the good cause, to the utmost of his ability, and the sus- picion and wrath of the citizens fell upon those who did not seem disposed to do their full share. The people were divided into classes, according to their wealth, and each class furnished soldiers in turn, as they were called for by the government, and had to provide for the bounty money. In addition to all the money furnished by these classes, the town also expended what amounted to quite a sum in those days. It is difficult to estimate how much the town actually expended during the last five years of the war, because the currency fluc- tuated so much, but it was probably between $7000 and 18000. It is very easy to see that all these war expenses, combined with the ordinary running expenses of the town, must have taxed the resources of the inhabit- ants of Fitchburg to the utmost. To cap the climax, the Continental currency, issued by the Congress, was counterfeited by the British, and the country was flooded with this spurious paper. In 1777 the currency began to depreciate and con- tinued to do so in a most alarming and ruinous manner. The government, for some inexplicable reason, made them legal tender for debts due, and the result was that many, who were previously in com- paratively affluent circumstances, were reduced to almost absolute poverty. On the 1st of January, 1780, this currency had depreciated to such an extent that $1.00 specie was worth $32.50 Continental. The records at that period show that sums of money were voted by the town that would appear fabulous, did we not understand about the deprecia- tion. Thus, in February, 1780, it was voted that the inhabitants should be allowed three dollars (i e., about nine cents "hard money") per hour for their labors on the highways. Eight thousand dollars was voted to be raised to assist in supporting soldiers' families. "In July, it was voted to raise $1666.66 to hire soldiers with. In the October following, a com- mittee of the town contracted for four thousand eight hundred pounds of beef, and agreed to pay $26,000 for it, or at a rate of over $5.00 per pound.'' In 1781 Continental money took a still greater drop, and in March of that year two men who had been elected collectorc of taxes in Fitchburg for the ensuing year, and refused to serve, were each fined $900, equal to about $10 specie, the usual fine in such cases. At the same time the town voted $20,000 for repairs of high- ways and allowed each person $5 per hour for his labor. The last, but not perhaps the least, of the troubles with which the town had to contend during this period was that dreaded disease, small-pox, which broke out here in 1776. A hospital for the purpose of inoculation was established in town by Dr. Thaddseus McCarty^ of Fitchburg, and Dr. Israel Atherton, a noted phy- sician of Lancaster. It does not appear that there 218 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. were many deaths from the disease. Notwithstanding all these trials and hardships, Fitchburg increased considerably in size during the war, and at the time of the declaration of peace, in 1783, the town had about one thousand inhabitants. But another trouble was soon to come upon them in the form of Shays's Insubkection.— At the close of the war, trade was stagnant, and there was very little money. The State government, in order to keep up its credit, imposed very heavy taxes on the people. At first the people had recourse to petitions ; but finding that no amelioration resulted from their numerous statements of grievances, they broke out into open rebellion against the State authorities. The leading character in the short-lived disturbance was a man named Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental army; hence the name Shays's Insurrection was ap- plied to it. The discretion that had previously characterized the people of Fitchburg, fortunately prevented Ihem from breaking out into open rebellion ; but their threats were loud and deep, and not all the taxes ordered by the government were collected. In June, 1786, Elijah Willard was appointed a dele- gate from this town to a convention, held in Worces- ter, to consider the best means of extricating the people from their burdensome difficulties. The town voted to defend his property if he should be arrested for attending the convention, " provided he behaves himself in an orderly and peaceable manner ; otherwise he is to risk it himself.'' By all means in their power, short of force of arms, did the people of Fitchburg resist all effiarts to collect the taxes, and the consequence was that a large com- pany of soldiers was sent here in the fall of 1786, to enforce obedience. This made the citizens exceed- ingly indignant, and there were several occasions when serious strife was imminent. The company was prudently withdrawn to Townsend in the winter of 1786-87. During all their stay in Fitchburg, the sol- diers exhibited great insolence towards the citizens, and when they were ordered to Townsend they put a finishing touch to their impudence by impressing men, horses and conveyances to take them there. A num- ber of the soldiers were taken by Asa Perry, who hated them most cordially, and he managed to tip his load into the snow-drifts several times in the course of the journey. During 1787 the trouble gradually subsided and matters went on with tolerable smooth- ness. It may be of interest to give a short description of the appearance of the town as it was about a century ago. In his " History of Fitchburg," Mr. Torrey has given as good and accurate a description as could be written, which is as follows: "A traveler, approach- ing from the east or south, would first behold the tavern of Thomas Cowdin, Esq. Upon the hill to the northwest might be seen a small, yellow and rather mean-looking meeting-house. In front would appear the 'red store ' of Joseph Fox, Esq., and in the rear of that his dwelling-house, with large projecting eaves. The mills and meeting-house of Deacon Ephraim Kimball were just below, and over the ' bridge were two houses more. Casting his eyes up the hill, he would see the house of Rev. Mr. Fayson, where C. Marshall now lives. This was all that could be seen, and all that then constituted the middle of Fitchburg. Thence proceeding westward, over a crooked and rough road, the traveler would next see the house already mentioned as having been built by David Gibson, and opposite to that, on the right, the baker's shop. He would then come on to the present Common. Here his eyes would be greeted by small, stunted pine trees, and such bushes as grow upon the poorest land. A straggling log fence here and there might serve to diversify the scene. Nothing more was to be seen, unless William Brown had commenced building Captain Z. Sheldon's present dwelling-house, till, passing the swell of ground at Dr. Abel Fox's house, the modest, unassuming house of Benjamin Danforth would be visible on the right, and his black- smith's shop on the left. Continuing his course onward, over one of the most wretched roads that ev«r bore that name, and passing over the high bridge — and a crazy one it was — near the bellows-shop of Messrs. Thurston & Battis, no marks of human habi- tation were to be seen till, passing around the hill, he might discern in the distance the solitary cottage of Benjamin Kemp. The river, which is now crowded, so to speak, with mills and factories, then appeared like a useless profusion of water, flowing noisily along over its rocky bed to the parent ocean, unob- structed by a single dam save the one in the Old City. Such, fifty years ago, was the forbidding aspect of what is now the busy and pleasant village of Fitchburg." The reader will bear in mind that the foregoing was written by Mr. Torrey in 1835 or 1836. In addition to the middle of the town above de- scribed there was, a century ago, a flourishing settle- ment in the westerly part of the township. Theland there was elevated, the soil good and there was no river to cause trouble every spring. This region, now known as Dean Hill, was settled early and became quite prosperous. This locality boasted of two tav- erns, kept by Jacob Upton and Jedediah Cooper respectively, a blacksmith's shop and a doctor, be- sides the houses of many thrifty farmers. The people living in this region had to pay their proportion of the taxes for the annual repairs of bridges and highways in the middle of the town. To free themselves from these heavy and, in their opinion, unjust taxes, they determined to be set off as a sepa- rate town; and in the warrant for the annual town- meeting March 7, 1785, was an article " to see if the town will take into consideration the request of Mr. Jacob Upton and others, to see if the town will set off the inhabitants of the northwesterdly part of FITCHBUEG. 219 Fitchburg, with their lands and privileges, free and clear from said Fitchburg, to join the extreme part of Westminster with the norlheasterdly part of Ashburnham, to be incorporated into a town, to have town privileges as other towns." The people in all other parts of the town were unanimously opposed to this project, doubtless fear- ing that, in case this prosperous and growing portion were set off and ceased to contribute to Fitchburg's town expenses, they would be utterly swamped by the taxes necessary to repair the damage done by that grievous nuisance, the north branch of the Nashua. So the article was promptly voted down. The people in the west, by no means discouraged by this defeat, went to work immediately to gain their point and contrived a very shrewd scheme worthy of " Yankee ingenuity.'' The time had come when all were agreed that there was need of a new meeting-house in a more central locality. This commonly acknowledged fact was made the basis of a petition brought before the town by the people of the west in May, 1785. The substance of this petition was that a mile or more in width of the northerly part of Westminster, with the inhabitants thereon, be annexed to Fitchburg, these proposed new inhabitants " to be convened with others of the inhabitants of said town, for the public worship of God and to be vested with all other privileges with said town in public mat- ters, to join with the inhabitants of said Fitchburg to build a meeting-house on Ezra Upton's land," etc. This, at first glance, seemed like a perfectly fair proposition. If adopted, territory would be added to the township and the location of the proposed meet- ing-house would be quite near the centre of the town. But the men of the east were Yankees, too, and dust could not be thrown into their eyes. They saw the point so speciously concealed by the meeting- house scheme. They saw that if the petition were granted and the new territory annexed, the inhabit- ants of the new acquisition, combined with the people in the west, would then be strong enough to control the town-meeting, would vote to be set off as a separate town and thus leave the remainder of the town of Fitchburg in the lurch. So the petition was negatived, doubtless much to the cha- grin of those who had hoped to pull the wool over their neighbors' eyes. Nothing more (except complaining of the distance they had to travel to go to meeting) was done by the people of the west until March, 1786, when they very modestly requested of the town, "that Rev. Mr. Payson have liberty to preach some part of the time in the^ year in the westerly part of the town." This privilege' was also denied them, " the town thinking that by yielding an inch they would open a door through which they might unwillingly be thrust a mile," as Mr. Torrey aptly expresses it. The wrath of the west was now fully aroused. They were bound to have their rights recognized, and to have a new meeting-house as near them as they could get it. At this time began a controversy concerning the location of the meeting-house, which lasted over ten years, and required ninety-nine town- meetings to settle. An account of this controversy will be given in the ecclesiastical history. The town records during this period (1786-96) contain but little that does not refer to the contro- versy. Two events, however, occurred in the course of these years that are worth noting in this section. One was the census of 1791, from which it appears that Fitchburg's population at that time was one thousand one hundred and fifty-one, showing that the town had grown very slowly during the previous eight or ten years. The other event was the appearance of Kev. Peter Whitney's "History of Worcester County,'' pub- lished in 1793. It may be of interest to give a few of his impressions about Fitchburg as it was then. After a very brief account of the incorporation of the town and a description of the character of its surface and soil, he says : " Most of the people live in comfortable and easy circumstances, possessing all the necessaries and many of the conveniences of life. They are industrious, and, having a good soil to la- bor upon, live independent, and, for an inland town, several families among them may justly be deemed rich. The people near the meeting-house are settled pretty thick, and there much business of various kinds is performed ; for here runs, a few rods south of the meeting-house, the north branch of Nashaway River. One part of this river comes from Ashburn- ham, the other part from Watchusett Pond; these unite a little west of Fitchburg Meeting-House. After this junction, and just below the meeting- house, there is one corn-mill, one saw-mill, one fulling-mill, one clothier's works, one trip-hammer and works for grinding scythes. These occasion a great resort of people there to transact their various concerns." Further on he states that it is a flourish- ing place, and thinks that "if they continue in peace and unity they will still greatly increase in numbers and wealth.'' He adds: "They subsist chiefly by husbandry; there are, however, the usual mechanicks and a few dealers in European, East and West India goods.'' The town records contain very little of interest during the last few years of the century. February 12, 1796, a small part of the south westerly portion of the township was annexed to Westminster. In 1798 the town laid a tax on " Doggs," and the next year voted to abate it. The tax appears to have amounted to fifty-three dollars. In the fall of 1797 it was voted " to build a pound with stone two rods square within the walls." The contract was given to Thomas Cow- din (son of Captain Thomas Cowdin, who died in 1792), for thirty-three dollars and fifty cents, with the privilege of taking stone off the town's land. The old stone pound still stands in the woods, close 220 HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. by the Ashburnham hill road, and looks desolate and forsaken. Whether it has been rebuilt or not since 1796 the writer cannot state; but its appearance would indicate that it had not. CHAPTER XXXVIII. VirCH.BV'R.G—iConitnued.) HISTORY FROM 180O TO 1872. The year 1800 found the town in a tolerably flour- ishing condition. The population had increased to one thousand three hundred and ninety. The people had recovered their equanimity on the meeting-house question, and the new house of worship was much appreciated on Sundays, and often called into use on week-days for town-meetings, its first use for this pur- pose being on September 17, 1798. A clock had been put into it, for which the town, for some reason un- known, seems to have been rather unwilling to pay. In 1801 .there appears to have been a revival of the desire of the people in the west to be set off; for, at a town-meeting February 23, 1801, there was an article in the warrant " to see if the town will vote to set off all the inhabitants in the northwestern part of the town of Fitchburg, who wish to be setoff as a town, agreeable to a plan formerly drawn by some of the inhabitants of the towns of Fitchburg, West- minster, Ashburnham and Ashby." It was voted to pass over this article. During the following five years there seems to be nothing of special interest entered upon the town records. In September, 1806, the town voted to choose a committee to provide plana for a powder- house, select a location for it and ascertain, " as near as they can,'' the expense. The committee made a favorable report, and the town voted March 7, 1808, to build the powder-house, and chose a committee of three to attend to it. This powder-house was located near the bend in the pres