LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
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 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
TEWKSBURY 
 
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 A SHORT HISTORY 
 
 BY 
 
 EDWARD W. PRIDE 
 
 ISSUED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE TEWKSBURY 
 VILLAGE IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION 
 
 CAMBRIDGE 
 
 T^xinWn at tl)e Kitjerfiitie Pregs 
 1888 
 
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 rsT^ 
 
 Copyright, 1888, 
 Bt EDWARD W. PRIDE. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 This sketch was delivered last winter 
 as a lecture under the title " Our Town," 
 in the course of the Village Improvement 
 Association of Tewksbury. It was written 
 with no thought of publication. The re- 
 quest for it for that purpose brought home 
 to the writer its incompleteness. He has 
 consented to its appearance to gratify many 
 who were unable to hear it ; in hope, also, 
 that it may incite some one to give Tewks- 
 bury a more perfect history. 
 
 In the study of history to-day, no feature 
 is more marked than the attention paid 
 to the process of the making of England 
 and the United States as revealed in the 
 early life of the towns. Those of New Eng- 
 land have an origin and life peculiarly their 
 own. The smallest of them is a true repre- 
 sentative of the class. 
 
 E. W. P. 
 
 North Tewksbury, 
 
 August 31, 1888. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER PAGE 
 
 I. In Billerica 1 
 
 II, The Beginning 12 
 
 III. The Church 19 
 
 IV. In the Revolution 32 
 
 V. In the Civil War 41 
 
 VI. The Schools 46 
 
 Vll. The Poor 53 
 
 VIII. Natural History -7 
 
 IX. Slavery 61 
 
 X. Miscellaneous 64 
 
 XL Conclusion 72 
 
OUR TOWN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 IN BILLERICA. 
 
 Peevious to incorporation, Tewksbury 
 belonged to what was once the vast town 
 of Billerica. From that town, founded in 
 1654, were taken the largest part of Bed- 
 ford in 1729, the whole of Wilmington in 
 1730, of Tewksbury in 1734, and of Car- 
 lisle in 1780. Billerica received its grant 
 from the town of Cambridge, and was at 
 first some thirty-five miles in circuit, requir- 
 ing a day's journey to compass it. 
 
 As early as 1725 a movement was made, 
 by Jonathan Bowers, Samuel Hunt, and 
 others, to establish the town of Wamesit, 
 which should include the whole Wamesit 
 Purchase of 2,500 acres, some 2,000 of which 
 
2 OUR TOWN. 
 
 lay on the other side of the Concord River ; 
 but this effort, which would have retained 
 the name of Wamesit among the towns of 
 the State, was unsuccessfial. 
 
 Billerica at first included all the land east 
 of the Concord River in this region, and 
 south of the Merrimack River to the 
 Andover line, except 500 acres. These 
 formed the part of the 2,500 acres belong- 
 ing to the reservation of the Wamesit In- 
 dians, which lay between the two rivers. 
 Thus what is now Tewksbury shared the 
 history of Billerica. The most interesting 
 portion of that history is the early experi- 
 ence of Billerica with the Indians. Their 
 chief seat in this region was at the junction 
 of the Concord and Merrimack rivers. It 
 was known as Wamesit, from the name of 
 the tribe. Of the five great nations which 
 at the settlement of this continent dwelt 
 between the Penobscot and Hudson rivers, 
 one was the Pawtucket, seated on the Mer- 
 rimack and Piscataqua rivers. They were 
 known by numerous names, as Pennacooks, 
 
THE INDIANS. 3 
 
 Agawams, Naamkeeks, Piscataquas, and 
 Wamesits. Their name Pawtucket survives 
 at the falls above Lowell. Wamesit retains 
 its hold in Lowell and at Mace's Crossing. 
 It ought to have been given to this town in- 
 stead of Tewksbury. The first sagamores 
 of the Wamesits known to history are Run- 
 nawit, then Passaconaway, then Wanna- 
 lancet. 
 
 Fortunately we have a description from 
 an eye-witness of what Wamesit was in 
 1674, two hundred and fourteen years ago. 
 It is written by Daniel Gookin, who came 
 from Virginia in 1644 and was appointed by 
 the General Court superintendent of all the 
 Indians who had submitted to the govern- 
 ment of Massachusetts, — an office he re- 
 tained till his death in 1687, — a man 
 judicious, honest, godly, respected and 
 trusted by all. His " Historical Collections 
 of the Indians in New England " is very 
 interesting reading. It was published in 
 1792, and republished in 1806 by the Mas- 
 sachusetts Historical Society. His descrip- 
 tion of Wamesit follows : — 
 
4 OUR TOWN, 
 
 " Wamesit is the fifth praying town ; and this 
 place is situate upon the Merrimack river, being 
 a neck of land, where Concord river falleth into 
 Merrimack river. It is about twenty miles from 
 Boston, north northwest, and within five miles of 
 Billerica and as much from Chelmsford ; so that 
 it hath Concord river upon the west northwest, 
 and Merrimack river upon the north northeast 
 It hath about fifteen families ; and consequently, 
 as we compute, about seventy-five souls. The 
 quantity of land belonging to it is about twenty- 
 five hundred acres. The land is fertile, and 
 yieldeth plenty of corn. It is excellently accom- 
 modated with a fishing place, and there is taken 
 variety of fish in their seasons, as salmon, shads, 
 lamprey eels, sturgeon, bass, and divers others. 
 There is a great confluence of Indians, that usu- 
 ally resort to this place in the fishing seasons. 
 Of these strange Indians, divers are vitious and 
 wicked men and women ; which Satan makes use 
 of to obstruct the prosperity of religion here. 
 The ruler of this people is called Numphow. He 
 is one of the blood of their chief sachems. Their 
 teacher is called Samuel, son to the ruler, a young 
 man of good parts, and can speak, read, and write 
 
GOOKIN'S NARRATIVE. 5 
 
 English and Indian competently. He is one of 
 those that was bred up at school, at the charge 
 of the Corporation for the Indians. These In- 
 dians, if they were diligent and industrious, — 
 to which they have been frequently excited, — 
 might get much by their fish, especially fresh 
 salmon, which are of esteem and good price at 
 Boston in the season ; and the Indians being 
 stored with horses of a low price, might furnish 
 the market fully, being at so small a distance. 
 And divers other sorts of fish they might salt or 
 pickle, as sturgeon and bass; which would be 
 much to their profit. But notwithstanding divers 
 arguments used to persuade them, and some or- 
 ders made to encourage them ; yet their idleness 
 and improvidence doth hitherto prevail. 
 
 " At this place, once a year, at the beginning 
 of May, the English magistrate keeps his court, 
 accompanied with Mr. Eliot, the minister, who at 
 this time takes his opportunity to preach not 
 only to the inhabitants, but to as many of the 
 strange Indians that can be persuaded to hear 
 him ; of which sort, ueually in times of peace, 
 there are considerable numbers at that season. 
 And this place being an ancient and capital seat 
 
6 OOR TOWN. 
 
 of Indians, they come to fish ; and this good 
 roan takes this opportunity to spread the net of 
 the gospel to fish for their souls. Here it may 
 not be impertinent to give you the relation fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 "May 5th, 1674, according to our usual cus- 
 tom, Mr. Eliot and myself took our journey to 
 Wamesit, or Pawtuckett ; and arriving there that 
 evening, Mr. Eliot preached to as many of them 
 as could be got together out of Matt. xxii. 1-1 4, 
 the parable of the marriage of the king's son. 
 "We met at the wigwam of one called Wannalan- 
 cet, about two miles from the town, near Paw- 
 tuckett falls, and bordering upon Merrimack 
 river. This person, Wannalancet, is the oldest 
 son of old Pasaconoway, the chiefest sachem of 
 Pawtuckett. He is a sober and grave person, 
 and of years between fifty and sixty. He hath 
 been always loving and friendly to the English. 
 Many endeavors have been used several years 
 to gain this sachem to embrace the Christian re- 
 ligion ; but he hath stood off from time to time 
 and not yielded up himself personally, though 
 for four years past he hath been willing to hear 
 the word of God preached, and to keep the Sab- 
 
GOOKIN'S NARRATIVE 7 
 
 bath. — A great reason that hath kept him off, I 
 conceive, hath been the indisposition and averse- 
 ness of sundry of his chief men and relations to 
 pray to God ; which he foresaw would desert 
 him, in case he turned Christian. — But at this 
 time, May 6th, 1674, it pleased God so to influ- 
 ence and overcome his heart, that it being pro- 
 posed to him to give his answer concerning pray- 
 ing to God, after some deliberation and serious 
 pause, he stood up and made a speech to this 
 effect : — 
 
 " ' Sirs, you have been pleased for four years 
 past, in your abundant love, to apply yourselves 
 particularly unto me and my people, to exhort, 
 press, and persuade us to pray to God. I am 
 very thankful to you for your pains. I must ac- 
 knowledge,' said he, ' I have, all my days, used to 
 pass in an old canoe [alluding to his frequent cus- 
 tom to pass in a canoe upon the river] ; and now 
 you exhort me to change and leave my old canoe 
 and embark in a new canoe, to which I have hith- 
 erto been unwilling : but now I yield up myself 
 to your advice, and enter into a new canoe, and 
 do engage to pray to God hereafter.' 
 
 " This his professed subjection was well pleas- 
 
8 OUR TOWN. 
 
 ing to all that were present, of which there were 
 some English persons of quality ; as Mr. Richard 
 Daniel, a gentleman that lived in Billerica, about 
 six miles off; and Lieutenant Henchman, a neigh- 
 bor at Chelmsford ; besides brother Eliot and my- 
 self, with sundry others, English and Indians. 
 Mr. Daniel before named desired brother Eliot to 
 tell its sachem from him, that it may be, while 
 he went in his old canoe, he passed in a quiet 
 stream ; but the end thereof was death and de- 
 struction to soul and body : But now he went 
 into a new canoe, perhaps he would meet with 
 storms and trials; but yet he should be encour- 
 aged to persevere, for the end of his voyage 
 would be everlasting rest. Moreover he and his 
 people were exhorted by brother Eliot and my- 
 self, to go on and sanctify the Sabbath, to hear 
 the word, and use the means that God hath ap- 
 pointed, and encourage their hearts in the Lord 
 their God. Since that time, I hear this sachem 
 doth persevere, and is a constant and diligent 
 hearer of God's word, and sanctifieth the Sab- 
 bath, though he doth travel to Wamesit meeting 
 every Sabbath, which is above two miles ; and 
 though sundry of his people have deserted him 
 
INDIAN WARS. 9 
 
 since he subjected to the gospel, yet he continues 
 and persists. 
 
 " In this town they observe the same civil and 
 religious orders as in other towns, and have a 
 constable and other officers. 
 
 " This people of Wamesit suffered more in the 
 late war with the Mawhawks than any other 
 praying town of Indians : for divers of their peo- 
 ple were slain ; others, wounded ; and some, car- 
 ried into captivity ; which Providence hath much 
 hindered the prosperous estate of this place." 
 
 With Billerica this region passed through 
 all the terror and calamities of Indian war- 
 fare. But the conversion of the Wamesits 
 stood this section in good stead. They re- 
 mained, though often unjustly suspected 
 and even ill-treated, the friends of the 
 whites. From other tribes, wandering and 
 marauding, Billerica suffered. Cowley, in 
 his " Memories of the Indians and Pioneers 
 of the Region of Lowell," states that some 
 of another tribe visited that part of Billerica 
 now Tewksbury, and killed John Rogers 
 and fourteen others. Colonel Joseph Lynde, 
 
10 OUR TOWN. 
 
 of Charlestown, with 300 armed men, ranged 
 the swamps around here, but found no trace 
 of the foe. Lynde's Hill, which he fortified 
 and for some time garrisoned, preserves his 
 name. Fort Hill was first used for defence 
 by the Wamesits. 
 
 In various parts of this town the Indians 
 and earlier races have left their traces. Mr. 
 Follansbee, near the Tewksbury line in An- 
 dover, has a large collection of rude weapons 
 which he claims belonged to the rude people 
 of the Stone Age. 
 
 A hatchet used for stripping the bark 
 from trees was found on the farm of the 
 State Almshouse, and also some arrow 
 heads. A few years ago, on the farm of 
 Mr. Jesse L. Trull, was picked up a mor- 
 tar left by some careless squaw after bruis- 
 ing the family corn. 
 
 It is said that after the war the Wamesit 
 chief visited Rev. Mr. Fiske of Chelmsford. 
 To his question whether they had suffered 
 much, Mr. Fiske replied " No," and devoutly 
 thanked God. " Me next," said Wanna- 
 
INDIAN WARS. \\ 
 
 lancet. It was a truly devout correction of 
 the omission of the agents God used to save 
 this region from even more fearful suffer- 
 ings than it endured. 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 THE BEGINNING. 
 
 Tewksbury, like the great republic to 
 which it belongs, had a religious origin. 
 Not conquest, nor commerce, nor science, 
 not the passion for discovery or adventure, 
 founded the United States, or indeed dis- 
 closed this great continent, but religion. 
 Literally true of New England are the 
 words of Mrs. Hemans : 
 
 " What sought they thus afar 1 
 Bright jewels of the mine ? 
 The wealth of seas, the spoils of war ? 
 They sought a faith's pure shrine. 
 
 " Ay, call it holy ground. 
 
 The soil where first they trod ; 
 They have left unstained what there they found, — 
 Freedom to worship God." 
 
 The people in this part of ancient Bille- 
 rica found it a heavy burden on the Sabbath 
 
ORIGIN. 13 
 
 days to reach the ancient meeting-house. 
 Oxen were numerous, horses rare, carriages 
 in sections hke this almost unknown. Often 
 a woman would carry a babe five or six 
 miles to attend divine worship. Many rode 
 horseback to church, the wife or children on 
 the same animal with the husband, along 
 what the ancient records call the "bridal 
 path." The people here desired to have a 
 meeting-house of their own, or to be set 
 apart by themselves. On May 13, 1733, 
 they asked Billerica to *' erect a meeting- 
 house in the centre of the town, or so as to 
 accommodate the northerly part of the town, 
 upon the Town's cost, or set them off, so 
 that they may maintain preaching among 
 themselves." At first reluctant, Billerica 
 finally voted to grant their petition, and set 
 them off with two thirds of the land be- 
 tween the Billerica meeting-house and the 
 Andover line, by a parallel line extending 
 from Concord River to Wilmington line, if 
 the inhabitants on the southeasterly side of 
 " Shawshin " River be willing to join with 
 
14 OUR TOWN. 
 
 them. " This final condition," says Mr. 
 Hazen in his " History of Billerica," "called 
 out a petition from Samuel Hunt and oth- 
 ers to the General Court praying for the 
 grant of a town with these bounds, or a 
 committee to examine and report." The 
 latter was done, and as a result Tewhshury 
 was incorporated December 23, 1734. 
 
 The new town received some 9,000 of the 
 25,000 acres then included in Billerica. 
 The following families from Billerica were 
 taken into Tewksbury. 
 
 Brown, 
 
 2 
 
 Marshall, 1 
 
 Farmer, 
 
 2 
 
 Needham, 1 
 
 French, 
 
 2 
 
 Osgood, 1 
 
 Frost, 
 
 3 
 
 Patten, 3 
 
 Hall, 
 
 2 
 
 Peacock, 1 
 
 Haseltine, 
 
 2 
 
 Richardson, 1 
 
 Hunt, 
 
 5 
 
 Rogers, 1 
 
 Kidder, 
 
 1 
 
 Shed, 1 
 
 Kittredge, 
 
 11 
 
 Stickney, 1 
 
 Levistone, 
 
 2 
 
 Trull, 1 
 
 Manning, 
 
 2 
 
 Whiting, 1 
 
 If any one person has the honor of being 
 
INCORPORATION. 15 
 
 the father of Our Town, it is Samuel Hunt. 
 As seen above, he was the first to move for 
 the incorporation of the town of Wamesit, 
 and he leads the petition for what became 
 Tewksbury. 
 
 There is no evidence that this town was 
 named for Tewkesbury, England. No fam- 
 ily among us traces its trans-atlantic home 
 to that place. What follows gives the only 
 reason found for its name. In an account 
 of the origin of the names of New England 
 towns, read by Mr. W. H. Whitmore, A. M., 
 before the Massachusetts Historical Society, 
 he says : 
 
 *' TEWKSBURY, Dec. 23, 1734. Act.'' 
 
 This is the name of a town in Gloucester- 
 shire, England, famous for its abbey. It 
 had been, however, one of the titles of 
 George II., who was in 1706 made Baron 
 Tewkesbury, Viscount Northallerton, Earl 
 of Milford-Haven, Marquess and Duke of 
 Cambridge. In 1714 he became Prince of 
 Wales ; and on his accession in 1727 all 
 his dignities merged in the crown. Still 
 
16 OUR TOWN. 
 
 this use of the name is the most probable 
 reason for its adoption here.^ 
 
 The first town meeting was held January 
 14, 1735. Lieutenant Danl. Kittredge was 
 moderator. All its business seems to have 
 been the election of oflficers. The following 
 were chosen : 
 
 " Selectmen, Lt. Daniel Kittkedge. 
 Mk. James Hunt, Jr. 
 " Joseph Kittredge. 
 " John French. 
 " Nathan Pattin. 
 "Town Clerk, Nathan Pattin. Town 
 Treas. Nathan Shed. Wm. Kittredge, Sur- 
 veyor of Flax and Hemp." 
 
 1 The Rev. W. A. Keese, whose summer home is in 
 Lunenburg, informs me that the name of that town illus- 
 trates a custom of those days. Lunenburg was founded 
 in 1728, and was named in honor of George the Second, 
 who was also Duke of Lunenburg. The king acknowl- 
 edged the honor by presenting a bell to the town which 
 lacked facilities for transporting the gift to its destina- 
 tion. It was placed in King's Chapel, Boston, where it 
 is said to remain unto this day. 
 
FIRST TOWN MEETINGS. 17 
 
 At the next meeting, January 31st, the 
 first vote was to choose a committee to settle 
 the line between Billerica and Tewksbury. 
 This business was long delayed, and only 
 settled after much deliberation and differ- 
 ence with the reluctant Billerica. "Apr. 
 1735 : " Voted and chose Mr. Enggals artis 
 to assist to find a centre of their town." 
 The second vote levied a town rate of X30 
 charges to be made by the last assessment 
 in Billerica. The third vote was to choose 
 a committee " to view Andover old meet- 
 ing-house frame," and ordered said commit- 
 tee to " report to ye town at ye adjourn- 
 ment of said meeting." This committee, 
 Mr. Peter Hunt, Mr. James Kittredge, 
 Jr., and Mr. Wm. Brown, performed their 
 work and reported the frame " sound ex- 
 cept 2 or 3 sticks." Nothing more is heard 
 of the Andover frame; but in the fourth 
 town meeting — for town meetings were 
 thicker than prayer-meetings then — came 
 the vote, February 13, 1735, Daniel Kit- 
 
18 OUR TOWN. 
 
 tredge moderator, " that they build a new 
 meeting-house." March 10th, John French, 
 Sam. Hunt, Jr., James Kittredge, Jr., Abra- 
 ham Stickney, and Peter Hunt were elected 
 a committee for that purpose. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 THE CHUECH. 
 
 Maech 10th, " Voted that tliey would 
 not act upon ye first article in the warrant 
 at this time," which was " to agree of what 
 bigness their meeting-house should be." 
 " July 9th, voted that the bigness should 
 be 48 ft. long, and 36 ft. wide, and 12 ft. 
 high between ' joynts.' " 
 
 Sept. 20th, 1735, " Voted that they would 
 have preaching in ye town, and that they 
 would meet at ye house of John French 
 Jr. upon ye Sabbath Days and worship 
 God." November 7th, Lieutenant Daniel 
 Kittredge, Samuel Hunt, Jr., and John 
 French were chosen a committee to provide 
 a preacher, and it was voted that the " stated 
 time to begin ye Public Worship in ye Sab- 
 bath Days shall be ten a Clock in ye morn- 
 ing, that ye time of intermission between 
 
20 OVR TOWN. 
 
 exercises should be one hour and a half, and 
 that they would sing that way that is now 
 called ye new." Then " Joseph Bailey and 
 Nathan Stickney were chosen to tune and 
 read ye psalms." 
 
 After much deliberation on the site, after 
 troubles and disappointments many, changes 
 of committees, etc., they appear to have 
 finished their meeting-house about the close 
 of 1737. Interesting are some of the votes 
 preceding that time : June 10th, voted that 
 they would raise their meeting-house by a 
 " teacle ; " that they would not provide for 
 the raising their meeting-house by a rate ; 
 and that they would raise a town rate of 
 X200 for the building of their meeting- 
 house. 
 
 After the completion of the meeting- 
 house, the next important question was the 
 seating of it. They had many deliberations 
 and many methods proposed. Disputes for 
 precedence seem to have been as high among 
 them as among the wives of our Washing- 
 ton officials to-day. First, in December, 
 
THE MEETING-HOUSE. 21 
 
 1737, they decided " to seat their meeting- 
 house, and to have respect both to money 
 and age in seating the meeting-house, to 
 age all above sixty years ; " "to seat the 
 meeting-house by one head, real and per- 
 sonal, going back to the first assessment that 
 was made in Tev7ksbury ; " "to leave the 
 pews room joyning to the pulpit, one on the 
 right hand and one on the left — one for 
 the minister and one for the town ; to dis- 
 pose of the room that remains left for pews 
 to the highest paj^ers, giving the highest 
 payer the first choice, and if he refuse to 
 make his choice, the next highest payer, 
 and so on till the above said pew room be 
 taken up; that such persons as shall make 
 choice of the above said pews are obliged to 
 ceil the meeting-house sides against their 
 pews up as high as the bottom of the lower 
 windows." Later the town obliged the 
 pew-owners to glaze the windows opposite 
 their respective pews, and keep such portion 
 of the meeting-house in proper repair. 
 
 The pews were not all built at once, but 
 
22 OUR TOWN. 
 
 for several years permissions appear to cer- 
 tain persons to build one or more pews. 
 The galleries were not even finished till 
 later. There appears hesitation to carry out 
 the plans of rating, etc., for we find that, the 
 committee having failed to do their dut^^, 
 another was chosen, with definite instruc- 
 tions "to see who the highest payer was 
 from their first being a town ; " and in 1742 
 the following vote falls like a crack of a 
 whip upon the dilatory : " That the select- 
 men build a pew for their minister forth- 
 with." 
 
 A plan of the pews might be constructed 
 from the locations described in the records. 
 Their prices are given, but it is not worth 
 while to quote them. 
 
 It is time to turn to the minister of whose 
 pew we hear. January 17, 1736, eleven 
 months before the completion of the meet- 
 ing-house, "Voted that Mr. Sampson 
 Spaulding of Chelmsford should be our 
 Minister upon his accepting our Choice — 
 also to chose a Committee to treat with 
 
THE FIRST CALL. 23 
 
 Mr. Sampson Spaulding whom we have 
 chosen to be our Minister, and to make 
 return." February 7, 1736, voted to give 
 Mr. Sampson Spaulding, whom they " made 
 choice on for their minister," " yearly for 
 his salary X120 sterling, according to the 
 valuation of grain now received among us 
 — Indian Corn at 6/ per bush, and wheat 
 at 10/ per bush., and Rie at 8/ per bush. ; " 
 also " to give Mr. Sampson Spaulding whom 
 the Town has made choice on for their Min- 
 ister even for his settlement among them 
 <£300, and to pay the same at three pay- 
 ments, namely <£100 a year, till the whole 
 sum be paid." 
 
 In those days the calling, the ordination, 
 and the settlement of a minister were im- 
 portant and solemn events. The bond be- 
 tween the people and their spiritual leaders, 
 like that of marriage, was not lightly tied 
 or broken. The whole town had an in- 
 terest in all that pertained to the church 
 and its clergyman. How close was that 
 intimacy is evident from the fact that the 
 
24 OUR TOWN. 
 
 first business of the town meeting after 
 organizing was usually to vote what the 
 minister's salary should be for the coming 
 year. It varied with the times and value of 
 money. How intimately town and church 
 were connected appears also from such a 
 vote as this, " that a committee of three be 
 chosen to recommend Pierce R. Red and 
 others into the religious society in said 
 town." This union of church and state, in 
 which almost all believed in those days, but 
 in which no one believes now, continued till 
 about 1840, when the votes on the minister's 
 salary, and all business of repairing tlie 
 church and paying necessary expenses, drop 
 silently from the records. 
 
 September, 1736, a fast was voted for the 
 20th day of November, " in order for calling 
 a minister;" then, in due order, it was 
 voted that the selectmen appoint the fast 
 for calling the minister, and provide minis- 
 ters for said fast. Entertainment and ex- 
 penses were also voted. October, 1737, 
 voted " that Mr. Sampson Spaulding of 
 
THE ORDINATION. 25 
 
 Chelmsford, whom ye town had made choice 
 on for their minister, should be ordained on 
 the 16th day of Nov. next, salving if the 
 Thanksgiving [another great occasion] put 
 it not by, and if it did, then two weeks fol- 
 lowing, on Wednesday ye 22nd of the same 
 month, and to have three men for a com- 
 mittee to provide ministers and messengers 
 for said ordination." Lieutenant Daniel 
 Kittredge, Mr. John French, and Mr. Sam- 
 uel Hunt, Jr., were the three. Voted also 
 *' that the house of Sergeant John French 
 should be the place of entertainment for 
 ministers and messengers at said ordina- 
 tion, and that the provision made for min- 
 isters and messengers at the ordination 
 shall^be 'provided by^the discretion of the 
 committee chosen for that purpose." All 
 passed off as desired. From that time we 
 have the guidance of Mr. Spaulding in the 
 records of the church, transcribed through 
 his long life by his own hand. In these 
 records, after giving the solemn church cov- 
 enant, — a document well worth reading, — 
 
26 OUR TOWN. 
 
 Mr. Spaulding gives the record of his call 
 and ordination. The reverend elders that 
 assisted in his ordination were : Mr. Jno. 
 Hancock, of Lexington, and his son Eben- 
 ezer ; Mr. Sampson Stoddard, of Chelms- 
 ford ; Mr. Samuel Ruggles, of Billerica ; 
 Mr. Thomas Parker, of Dracut; and Mr. 
 Nicolas Bowes, of Bedford. Mr. Parker 
 opened tbe solemnity by prayer. Mr. Rug- 
 gles preached the sermon, from 2 Cor. xii. 
 14 : " For I seek not yours^ hut you^ Mr. 
 Hancock gave the charge, and Mr. Stod- 
 dard the hand of fellowship. Thus the 
 first pastor in Tewksbury was launched on 
 his long and successful career. For three- 
 score years, in peace and war, in prosperity 
 and adversity, he shared the experiences of 
 the people of tbe entire town, when there 
 was one flock and one shepherd. 
 
 Toucbing is the record of the doings of 
 the church, the baptisms administered, the 
 marriages performed, and the deaths solem- 
 nized, during those sixty years. It is inter- 
 esting and pathetic to read his own life in the 
 
MR. BARTON AND MR. COGGIN. 27 
 
 long record, and even by the handwriting. 
 At first somewhat stiff in youth, it grows 
 ductile with years, and then with age be- 
 comes unsteady and stiff again, until at 
 last in the letters appear the dim eye, and 
 unsteady nerves, till finally the pen drops 
 from the aged hand. Then, in different 
 writing, probably his widow's, comes this 
 entry under the list of deaths : " The Rev. 
 Sampson Spaulding Died Dec. ye 15th 
 1796," a month and two days short of sixty 
 years from the time he was " the choice of 
 the Town to be their Minister." 
 
 The same formalities marked the installa- 
 tion of Mr. Barton in 1792, and the ordina- 
 tion of Mr. Coggin in 1806, with this addi- 
 tion, which shows the growth of the town. 
 At the two soleum councils held on these 
 occasions we note the presence of ministers, 
 messengers, and scholars ; that a committee 
 was chosen to aid in preserving order and 
 legally empowered ; and that the crowd was 
 too great for the usual strength of the gal- 
 leries, which were ordered to be propped, 
 
28 OUR TOWN. 
 
 and a "scaffold" for the ministers was 
 voted to be built, so that the services might 
 be held out of doors if the weather per- 
 mitted. 
 
 Before passing from the church it may 
 be well to notice that the town voted |50 
 for several years from 1790 to Lieutenant 
 Thomas Wood for meeting with and in- 
 structing the singers. In 1798, " It was 
 voted that the town will have the Bass Viol 
 or some other instrument of musick to be 
 introduced into the meeting-house for the 
 help of the vocal part of the musick to per- 
 form the divine part of worship in the Sab- 
 bath and other days of public worship." 
 1788, " Voted and accepted the singers plan 
 for the use singing." 
 
 In 1822 they voted to build a new meet- 
 ing-house, which was finally done in the 
 most satisfactory manner, the town passing 
 a unanimous vote of thanks to their com- 
 mittee, Josiah Brown, Jos. Brown, Jr., 
 Jesse Trull, Wm. Rogers, and Dudley Mar- 
 tin. Their report on the records is a model 
 
NE W MEE TING-E OUSE DEDICA TED. 2 9 
 
 in cTiirography and contents. The building 
 cost $4,590.31. The pews sold for $5,399, 
 leaving a balance of $808.69. 
 
 In 1825 the bell was exchanged for one 
 weighing 1,850 lbs., which still calls us to- 
 gether, and now through the new clock 
 strikes the passing hours. The one ex- 
 changed had been added the year previous 
 from some surplus money. 
 
 The sixth of July, 1824, was the day ap- 
 pointed for dedicating the new meeting- 
 house. Fifteen prominent men were chosen 
 a committee of arrangements, which were 
 carried out with due style and solemnity. 
 They voted to sell the pews, except one on 
 each side, and one to be selected by the sell- 
 ing committee and Mr. Coggin " for the 
 minister's pew, and to sell in the same order 
 as in the former house, if they will pay," 
 and also with pews to give rights to build 
 horse-sheds. The thanks of the town for a 
 clock were voted to Mr. Jesse Trull, — a 
 gentleman quite prominent in town affairs 
 in the first quarter of this century. From 
 
30 OUR TOWN. 
 
 1811 to 1822 he represented the town in 
 the legislature nine times. His name is the 
 only one which appears on the records as 
 representative during that period. 
 
 It was not till 1737 that liberty was 
 granted "for individuals to warm the meet- 
 ing-house." It appears to have been an 
 appreciated effort, for next year pay was 
 voted for pews to make room for stoves for 
 that purpose. We can hardly conceive of 
 any use for the pews without the stoves. 
 
 The time between the services was so brief 
 that the people had no opportunity of going 
 home. Groups would club together and 
 build and warm small houses, called S ab- 
 ba-day houses. There a pleasant season was 
 spent in eating lunch, exchanging the news, 
 and also discussing the sermon. A descend- 
 ant of one of the earliest families in Tewks- 
 bury, writing to a friend, thus speaks of 
 them from memory : " In those times there 
 was no fire in the church and intermission 
 was short, not sufficient time to go home so 
 far, as the old house was opposite that of Mr. 
 
• THE BAPTIST CHURCH. 31 
 
 David Rogers. Therefore his great-grand- 
 father built him what was called a Sabba- 
 day house on his own land, where they could 
 go and warm by a fire, and in the oven was 
 their dinner. Others were often invited 
 with the family. Some think lightly of those 
 houses, but I have a great reverence and 
 respect for them. The cellar-hole is on my 
 land in Tewksbury, although fires have 
 several times burnt around and in it. There 
 has an oak-tree come up years ago, and 
 lives through it all. Probably there the 
 sermon and services were discussed, and I 
 have no doubt that good arose from that 
 place." 
 
 Through the conversion of a number of 
 families in the northern part of the town 
 in the great revival in Lowell under the 
 well-known Elder Jacob Knapp, the Baptist 
 sentiment crystallized into a Church and 
 Society in 1843. Their meeting-house was 
 built the same year and stands in one of 
 the finest situations in North Tewksbury. 
 It has been lately much improved. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 IN THE REVOLUTION. 
 
 The civil history of Tewksbury, as well 
 as her religious, gives her a place among the 
 honored list of New England towns which 
 helped to found and then to defend the re- 
 public. Her men served in the French and 
 Indian wars in the various places and times 
 in the history of the Province and State 
 where troops were required. 
 
 A vote was tried May 16, 1737, to see 
 if the town would send a representative to 
 the General Court, and it passed in the neg- 
 ative. Only once before the time of the 
 Revolution, in 1751, and then no choice ap- 
 pears, was it decided to send a representative. 
 They voted to trust to the mercies of the 
 Court. But as soon as danger to the Prov- 
 inces appeared, no convention or political 
 assembly lacked a delegate from Tewks- 
 
PREPARATIONS. 33 
 
 bury. Many of these were attended when 
 life might be forfeited for taking part in the 
 proceedings. Time prevents us from follow- 
 ing in detail the long list of conventions, 
 etc., to draft forms of government, adopt 
 constitutions, or regulate prices in time of 
 war. The town meetings also, at times 
 held every few days, were occupied often in 
 this same essential business. Thus were 
 the constitutions of our States and of the 
 United States hammered out article by ar- 
 ticle until they were fitted to endure the 
 test of use and time. 
 
 February 8, 1773, the first note of the 
 coming strife sounds in the town records. 
 Then Tewksbury voted to choose a commit- 
 tee of correspondence with the town of Bos- 
 ton, and Mr. Ezra Kindall, Aaron Beard, 
 John Needham, Nathaniel Hey wood, and 
 David Trull were chosen ; and then it was 
 voted to adjourn to March to hear their draft, 
 which was accepted. The warrant of Sep- 
 tember, 1774, contains an article " to see if 
 the town will appoint one or more delegates 
 
34 OUR TOWN. 
 
 to attend a Provincial meeting at Concord ; " 
 and another article *' to see if the town will 
 provide some fire armes and more ammuni- 
 tion and chose a committee to provide for 
 the same." September 21, 1774, seven 
 months before the battle of Lexington, they 
 voted to buy more powder for a town stock, 
 and to buy two more barrels of powder in 
 addition to the town stock, and to " leave it 
 with ye committee to provide bullets and 
 flints as they shall think proper." Six days 
 after they met according to adjournment, 
 and chose Mr. Jonathan Brown as " Dele- 
 gate for the Provincial meeting to be holden 
 at Concord on ye second Tuesday of October 
 next." In November was considered the ar- 
 ticle in the warrant " whether the constables 
 be directed by a vote of the town to pay 
 the money that they shall have or shall col- 
 lect of the Province tax to Henry Gardiner, 
 Esq., of Stow, according to the directions of 
 the Provincial Congress." March, 1775, 
 they voted to indemnify the assessors for 
 not making returns to Harrison Gray, Esq. 
 
CONCORD. 35 
 
 They then voted to raise minute-men^ — it 
 was high time after passing such votes, — 
 and to give their minute-men five shillings 
 apiece " for every half day in the week that 
 they train till further notice." 
 
 March 9, 1775, voted to choose a commit- 
 tee to suppress disorders in town. A large 
 committee of their best men was chosen. It 
 was none too soon, for in a little over six 
 weeks their minute-men must march to 
 face the veterans of Great Britain at Con- 
 cord, and it would never do to leave Tory 
 sympathizers in the town to aid the enemy. 
 That there were Tories then in Tewksbury 
 is clear, for afterward, March, 1779, they 
 chose Mr. Ezra Kindall as agent to care for 
 the Tory farms in Tewksbury. This meet- 
 ing, at which men and money were voted, 
 was held March 9th. April 19, the embat- 
 tled farmers at Concord and Lexington, as 
 Emerson says, " fired the shot heard round 
 the world." 
 
 Tewksbury was roused that famous night, 
 or rather morning, by one of the men started 
 
36 OUR TOWN. 
 
 by Paul Revere on his famous ride through 
 the Middlesex farms. The messenger passed 
 through this village and roused its sleeping 
 inhabitants. Then riding on, he stopped on 
 that spring morning on Stickney Hill, at 
 the house of Captain John Trull, near the 
 training-ground often used by the captain 
 for drilling the men, and enlisting them in 
 their country's service. Hearing the cry, 
 " The British are marching on Concord ! " 
 Captain Trull sprang from bed, and after 
 firing his gun as the signal previously agreed 
 upon to arouse General Varnum across the 
 Merrimac in Dracut, threw himself upon 
 his horse and rode rapidly to the village. 
 Here he found the minute-men drawn up, 
 ready at the word to march. Placing him- 
 self at their head, they were soon on their 
 way by the Billerica road to Concord, and 
 joined at Merriam's Corner with those from 
 Billerica and other towns in hot pursuit of 
 the retreating British. There, all accounts 
 agree that the sharp conflict changed the 
 retreat into a rout. 
 
IN TEE FIELD. 37 
 
 One of the Tewksbury men was Eliphalet 
 Manning. One of Captain Trull's grandsons, 
 Mr. Herbert Trull, often related that when 
 a boy, on his way to Salem, he used to pass 
 Manning's door. Eliphalet would call out : 
 " I fought with your grandfather from Con- 
 cord to Charlestown. He would cry out to 
 us as we sheltered ourselves behind the 
 trees : ' Stand trim, men ; or the rascals 
 will shoot your elbows off.' " 
 
 Tewksbury was also represented at 
 Charlestown, Boston, Cambridge, Roxbury, 
 " the Lines," Rhode Island, New York, 
 Ticonderoga, " the westward," and at the 
 taking of Burgoyne. The history and course 
 of the war may be read in the records and 
 money-orders of the town, or in the votes 
 for distinguished men and measures. While 
 her sons stood in the high places of the 
 field, the work to keep them there and sus- 
 tain the government went bravely on here. 
 It is a record of which the town may forever 
 be proud. 
 
 " May 23, 1775. Chose Mr. Ezra Kindell 
 
38 OUR TOWN. 
 
 to be a representative to the Provincial Con- 
 gress at Watertown, May 31." Such an 
 election might cost him his life. A Com- 
 mittee of Correspondence also was chosen. 
 July 15, 1775, Mr. Ezra Kindell again 
 chosen. In the March meeting of 1776, 
 Nathaniel Clark, Jr., Nathaniel Heywood, 
 Deacon Jacob Shed, and William Brown 
 were chosen a Committee of Correspondence, 
 Inspection, and Safety ; and May 20th Lieu- 
 tenant John Flint, John French, Jr., and 
 Benjamin Burtt were added to their num- 
 ber. Then for the years of the war the rec- 
 ords teem with money paid to the soldiers 
 and their families, for provisions, clothing, 
 transportation, bounties, and whatever was 
 needed to wage war long, grim, and terrible. 
 Thus this town, with the country, was 
 launched on the terrible struggle which 
 ended in complete triumph when George 
 III., entering the houses of parliament with 
 pale countenance, read with faltering voice 
 the recognition by Great Britain of the inde- 
 pendence of the United States of America. 
 
THE STRUGGLE. 39 
 
 The long, weary years of that great strug- 
 gle are traced upon our town records in 
 votes to raise reinforcements of men for the 
 Continental army; to furnish it with pro- 
 visions and clothing ; to raise committees for 
 all needful purposes, and also in the orders 
 to pay the troops or their families ; indeed, 
 in all the multifarious and oppressive busi- 
 ness of war. Most pathetic are the orders to 
 some widow or relative to receive the pay 
 due to one who went forth to fight for all 
 man holds dear, but who never returned to 
 enjoy the fruits of victory. Such are these : 
 "To Widow Rebecca French X3, 5, 10, 2. 
 To Widow Rebecca Gray 7/9." In short, 
 men and money were lavished like water. 
 Meetings often occurred within four or five 
 days of each other. As one reads the rec- 
 ords, it is brought home to him what the 
 founding of the republic cost : he sees the 
 making of the United States ; he learns the 
 whole process as he remembers that our 
 town stands a representative of what was oc- 
 curring in a multitude of other towns doing 
 
40 OUR TOWN. 
 
 the same great work. It is this that makes 
 the early history of every New England 
 town, especially in the revolutionary period, 
 so instructive and fascinating. Could the 
 dumb and scanty records of our town 
 speak, could they give us a verbal report 
 of but one of their town meetings, of even 
 one of their debates on arms or the consti- 
 tution of state or nation, what an absorb- 
 ing tale would be unfolded ! 
 
 As time passed, indications of the events 
 prominent in the continued history of the 
 country also appear in the records. This 
 shows the year of what is called Shays' 
 Rebellion : October 8, 1789, " An order to 
 David Rogers for his services being drafted 
 to go into the Shais Affair.'* Action upon 
 the various changes and additions to the 
 Constitution appears in due course. Rip- 
 ples of the second war with England reached 
 even here. July, 1812, they voted $13 per 
 month to each soldier, and to raise money 
 to carry on the war. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 IN THE CIVIL WAR. 
 
 The far-off sound of the coming Civil War 
 is heard in the vote of March, 1861, to have 
 the school committee cause the Constitu- 
 tion of the United States to be read at least 
 once a term in each of the public schools. 
 
 May 6th, the same notable year, began the 
 long list of liberal provisions by the town to 
 furnish men and money to defend the repub- 
 lic. The records seem to repeat themselves, 
 as essentially the same votes, orders, and 
 the very names, reappear that were found 
 in the time of the Revolution. The boun- 
 ties keep rising to secure the needful troops ; 
 the quotas increase in number ; the patriotic 
 efforts become more and more strenuous ; 
 state and town aid are furnished the fami- 
 lies of the absent soldiers. Again the prom- 
 inent men in town step to the front to aid 
 
42 OUR TOWN. 
 
 and inspire the citizens. Voluntary efforts 
 supplement those of the legal meetings. In 
 addition to the names familiar through all 
 our history, the new name of Leonard Hunt- 
 ress appears. With many others he helped 
 to guide affairs in this trying period of the 
 country's history. The records are fuller 
 than in the early years, and contain many 
 interesting documents. Beside the famous 
 proclamations of Governor Andrew and of 
 President Lincoln, there is the record of 
 some remarks by Mr. Huntress, then first 
 selectman. As chairman he appended these 
 remarks to the report of the selectmen of 
 March, 1865. They carry us back to those 
 days of trial, and to the spirit which ani- 
 mated the great North. 
 
 " The selectmen in addition to the fore- 
 going report of receipts and expenditures, 
 desire to call the attention of their fellow- 
 citizens, in a few brief words, to matters 
 showing more especially the town's relation 
 to the country. 
 
 " The war has existed four years. Every 
 
THE HUNTRESS REPORT. 43 
 
 call made upon us for men to put down the 
 rebellion has been honored. Our quotas are 
 all full. We have also a surplus to our 
 credit of two men. 
 
 " The end now appears to be so plainly 
 drawing nigh that we are in hopes no ad- 
 ditional calls will be made. In fact, the 
 spirit of liberty and of patriotism seems to 
 be doing for the army in these last days so 
 good a work, that we believe our ranks will 
 be kept full. 
 
 " Since April 1, 1864, this town has fur- 
 nished twenty-four men. The last one who 
 went was our fellow-townsman, Anson B. 
 Clark. 
 
 " We mention his case particularly be- 
 cause he was the first man who enlisted as 
 a private, and by his soldierly qualities 
 and good conduct was promoted to a ser- 
 geancy. Soon after his promotion he was 
 taken prisoner, and suffered in the ' Libby ' 
 and on Belle Isle until nearly used up, 
 when he was exchanged. He now considers 
 himself again fit for duty, has been examined 
 
44 OUR TOWN. 
 
 and mustered in as a veteran for Hancock's 
 Corps. 
 
 "Of those that went in the winter of 
 1863-64, four are known to have died. 
 Their names are J. Wells Merriam, Alexan- 
 der McDonald, Hugh McDonald, and Hugh 
 McQuarrie. Young Merriam was clerk of 
 the Fifteenth Massachusetts Battery, sta- 
 tioned then at Memphis, a good soldier, a 
 correct officer, and an exemplary and up- 
 right man. He died after a brief sickness, 
 beloved, we believe, by the whole command. 
 
 " The two McDonalds and McQuarrie 
 were not citizens of this town. Their home 
 was Prince Edward's Island. Temporarily 
 at work here, they enlisted in the Seventh 
 Battery, and during the last warm season 
 they all died near the mouth of the Missis- 
 sippi River. For all of these brave ones, 
 and for those who have fallen before them, 
 the town does most tenderly cherish the 
 memory of their gallant and heroic deeds. 
 
 " While this war lasts, the selectmen 
 would recommend that our expenses be 
 
THE HUNTRESS REPORT. 45 
 
 kept as light as practicable. If men are 
 wanted, they must be furnished. If we 
 have them not, we must find them else- 
 where ; and if they cost money, we must 
 pay for them. But as to our affairs at 
 home, we recommend a rigid economy." 
 
 Enough has been said to show that 
 " Tewksbury in the Civil War 'Ms a suffi- 
 ciently large and interesting subject for 
 treatment by itself. Is it not time to pre- 
 serve more fully this honorable part of our 
 history, before those who remember it pass 
 beyond ? Is it not time to honor, as many 
 other towns have done, those who fell in 
 our defence ? 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE SCHOOLS. 
 
 The town has always shown a generous 
 and vital interest in the public schools. 
 " These," says Mr. Lowell, " before the rev- 
 olutionary period, were the defence of the 
 land." " What," he says, " made our Revo- 
 lution a foregone conclusion was that act 
 of the General Court passed in May, 1647, 
 which established the system of schools : 
 * To the end that learning may not be 
 buried in the graves of our forefathers in 
 Church and Commonwealth, the Lord as- 
 sisting our endeavors, it is therefore ordered 
 by this Court and authority thereof, that 
 every township in this jurisdiction, after 
 the Lord hath increased them to fifty house- 
 holders, shall then forthwith appoint one 
 within their towns to teach all such children 
 as shall resort to him to write and read.' " 
 
EARLY EFFORTS FOR SCHOOLS. 47 
 
 An example of piety and interest in educa- 
 tion for all future legislatures ! 
 
 As at first Tewksbury did not number 
 fifty householders, for some years the pro- 
 gress of education received a repeated shock 
 by refusals to employ a schoolmaster. The 
 wonder is that so constantly, out of their 
 poverty, they did so much and so well. Here 
 is seen the source of the liberal support of 
 the public schools continued to this day. It 
 is in harmony with all our traditions to do 
 even more than the law strictly requires us, 
 as in the present year. 
 
 The history of the public schools in 
 Tewksbury begins December 10, 1740, when 
 it was voted in town meeting " that Stephen 
 Osgood of Tewksbury should serve the 
 town of Tewksbury for a schoolmaster for 
 ye remainder of this year." December 6, 
 1743, " Voted to have a writing and read- 
 ing school in the town, and that said town 
 be provided with a school as above men- 
 tioned for the space of three months from 
 he time he is made choice on." Mr. Fran- 
 
48 OUR TOWN. 
 
 cis Kittredge and Captain Peter Hunt were 
 chosen to provide a schoolmaster for the 
 town as above mentioned. They were our 
 first school committee. They were allowed 
 fifteen shillings per week for keeping the 
 schoolmaster. The next vote was in 1744, 
 and was about the same. They rebelled 
 against imported talent, for " a vote was 
 tryed by the Moderator to see if ye town 
 would have Mr. Bridges of Andover for 
 their schoolmaster, and said vote passed in 
 the negative." They strove to equalize 
 privileges; for March, 1744, they voted a 
 consideration of " ten pounds (old tenor) 
 to ye westwardly part of ye town for their 
 not having any benefit of ye town school- 
 master." Then old-tenor money was about 
 one quarter the value of the new. For some 
 twenty years from 1744 money for the 
 schoolmaster was voted only occasionally, 
 but the usual three months school appears 
 to have been kept regularly notwithstand- 
 ing. In 1768 the names of five different 
 schoolmasters on the accounts suggest diffi- 
 
EARLY EFFORTS FOR SCHOOLS. 49 
 
 culties not entirely obsolete in discipline or 
 capacity. 
 
 In 1769 they voted to divide the town in 
 "squadrons for the benefits of schooling." 
 After much deliberation, this was done 
 finally in 1771, when the committee's report 
 was accepted to squadron out " ye town for 
 the benefits of schooling, and it was voted 
 to have a woman's school kept this present 
 year." A brighter day begins. In 1772 
 appears the name of the first female teacher 
 in town in an order to Lucy Needham for 
 sixteen shillings for keeping school one 
 month. The other teachers that year in 
 town were — 
 
 " Maby Beown, paid £2.8. 
 
 " Molly Meretll, paid <£2.12. 
 
 " Elizabeth Bailey, paid <£2.8." 
 All honor to these pioneers of a noble 
 band! 
 
 In 1772 it was " voted that each squad- 
 ron draw their equal rata of the money 
 voted for schooling." February, 1776, an 
 order for sixteen shillings to Molly Brown 
 
60 OUR TOWN, 
 
 " for keeping school four weeks in ye year." 
 Thus four shillings a week was the rate for 
 teaching, one hundred years ago. 
 
 In March, 1793, they voted to build school- 
 houses in the several squadrons, and chose 
 two persons in each squadron to visit the 
 schools, but it was not till next year that 
 the money was voted for this purpose. 
 
 In 1795 five men were chosen to inspect 
 the schools. Sometimes they raised the 
 number to ten, two from each squadron. 
 
 Private schools were once known in town. 
 It was voted, March, 1830, that Doctor 
 Henry Kittredge and others have liberty to 
 keep a private school in the town hall, they 
 making good the damages and paying rent 
 if requested. 
 
 About the year 1830, the districts had 
 about 180 each, except the Centre, which 
 had about $100. Afterwards the appro- 
 priations rose gradually. 
 
 In 1838 it was voted to print the school 
 reports for the first time, one hundred 
 copies being ordered. 
 
VARIOUS REGULATIONlS. 51 
 
 In 1852 and 1853, text-books were fur- 
 nished the different schools in town, so that 
 free text-books were known quite early. 
 
 Intemperance was found, with them as 
 with us, a difficult subject to deal with. 
 As early as 1746 it was voted not to give 
 back to a certain person the £6 which he 
 had forfeited for selling strong drink with- 
 out a license; and in 1749 the same per- 
 son paid £5.10 for selling strong drink. 
 The same year fines amounting to £11 
 were received for breaking the Sabbath. 
 The town paid regularly for entertaining 
 the selectmen. One order was for drink 
 which the receiver let the selectmen have. 
 When the meeting-house was built, one bill 
 was for beer furnished the workmen. 
 
 Slowly arises a better spirit, for May 19, 
 1819, they voted that "the selectmen see 
 that all Tipsters and Drunkards be posted 
 in the licensed houses ; " five years later, 
 " that there be guardians put over such as 
 are spending their time and property for 
 ardent spirits, and that there be a tipster 
 
62 OUR TOWN. 
 
 list posted up." They were by no means 
 prohibitionists, for in 1835 an article in 
 the warrant was dismissed, " To see if the 
 town will vote not to have any distilled 
 spirits sold in town and set on the same." 
 
 In 1854 the selectmen were requested 
 and instructed to prosecute all known viola- 
 tions of the liquor law in town. From 1855 
 till about 1865 the town had a regularly 
 appointed liquor agent. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 THE POOR. 
 
 Tewksbury from the first has found 
 true the words, " The poor ye have with you 
 always, and whensoever ye will ye may do 
 them good." The town supervised the in- 
 terests of widows and orphans when re- 
 quired, and often adjudicated cases of diffi- 
 culty which now are carried into the courts, 
 — perhaps not a more excellent way. 
 Sometimes the children of the poor were 
 bound out by the selectmen. 
 
 It was the custom to warn out of town 
 persons likely to become paupers before 
 they could establish a claim for support. 
 A fee was paid for this, which sometimes 
 such persons would obtain for warning out 
 themselves and families. Thus, " to Daniel 
 Pry or 18/, it being for warning himself 
 
54 OUR TOWN. ' 
 
 and family and Mrs. Mahoney and her child 
 out of town." Then no one could become 
 a regular and recognized inhabitant without 
 permission. Towns gave worthless and dis- 
 orderly persons orders to march, and often 
 assisted them to do so. When, however, 
 a person or family had a right to town aid, 
 they were fortunate poor people, because 
 they would be well cared for. 
 
 There were in the early times a Nicholas 
 Striker and family, whose names appear 
 frequently in the town accounts. Orders 
 were paid for beef, milk, wood, sugar, pork, 
 provisions of all kinds ; for rum and mo- 
 lasses ; for doctoring Striker's wife ; for 
 repairing his house ; for a cow to lend 
 Striker ; and at last for his coffin and fu- 
 neral expenses. There was a French fam- 
 ily, probably one of the Acadian exiles, 
 equally prominent in the same way, of 
 which it seemed the town would never hear 
 the last. With a sigh of relief, even at 
 this distant day, is read an order for pay- 
 ment for carrying them to Canada. Alas ! 
 
THE POOR. 55 
 
 they are soon back from an uncongenial 
 and inhospitable clime to tarry till the in- 
 evitable end. 
 
 In 1786 was considered how the town 
 should support their poor, and it was voted 
 *' that the poor be set up to the highest 
 bidder, and that the selectmen give public 
 notice of the time and place where they are 
 to be set up." Again, " that the selectmen 
 are to vendee the poor that are supported 
 by the town to the lowest bidder." Hence 
 for years was added to the warrant an 
 N. B. " The Poor that are supported by 
 the Town are to be put out to them that 
 will do it cheapest, in the evening of the 
 above said day, and also the Widow Stick- 
 ney's thirds for the season." 
 
 In 1787 overseers of the poor were 
 chosen. It was not till 1826 that the pres- 
 ent poor-farm was purchased, with whose 
 working all are familiar. In May, 1826, it 
 was voted to use it also as a house of correc- 
 tion. 
 
 The State almshouse was located in 
 
56 OUR TOWN. 
 
 Tewksbury, May 1, 1854, upon a farm of 
 two hundred and fifty acres. Mr. Isaac H. 
 Meserve was the first superintendent. The 
 Honorable Thomas J. Marsh succeeded 
 him in 1858, and he held the office for over 
 twenty-five years. Mr. Marsh, in 1883, 
 was followed by Dr. C. Irving Fisher, the 
 present superintendent. The number of 
 inmates varies from about eight hundred in 
 summer to twelve hundred in winter. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 The early descriptions of New England 
 reveal an unusual beauty. The number 
 and varieties of the trees of the forests 
 primeval impressed the writers. The same 
 impression of admiration arose from the 
 multitude and variety of the animals, birds, 
 and fish which Tewksbury had in common 
 with other towns. Some of the quadrupeds 
 are now extinct. 
 
 The abundance of fish made Wamesit 
 the capital at one time of the tribe after 
 which it was named. The Merrimac is 
 " the Sturgeon river." In this river, the 
 Concord, and the Shawsheen, and in their 
 numerous tributaries, abounded all the kinds 
 of fish known to New England waters. In 
 former days the northwestern part of the 
 
58 OUR TOWN. 
 
 town was known as *' Shad-town," and ap- 
 prentices stipulated that they should be fed 
 only so often upon the royal salmon or upon 
 shad. The southern portion was for years 
 called " Pigeon-town," from the numerous 
 pigeons which frequented those parts. At 
 every town-meeting from 1743 till 1830, 
 fish reeves, wardens, or " fish cares " were 
 appointed. The following is the first 
 vote ; Stephen Osgood and Samuel Hunt 
 were chosen a committee " to see that the 
 fish have free passage up and down those 
 streams where they usually pass to spawn." 
 Soon after the founding of Lowell, the man- 
 ufacturing interests, by polluting the wa- 
 ters, left them without occupation, and they 
 ceased to be elected. 
 
 As late as August, 1760, about which 
 time the savage beasts disappeared, was 
 killed in Wilmington the last wild bear in 
 that vicinity. " It was shot by Ephraim 
 Buck, from beneath the branches of an an- 
 cient oak now standing, near the road lead, 
 ing from Wilmington Centre to the east 
 
SMALL GAME. 59 
 
 part of the town." (Drake's Middlesex, 
 Wil. by L. C. Eames.) 
 
 Interesting is this vote passed December, 
 1739 : " Voted to chose two men to take 
 care that the deer in this town be not de- 
 stroyed contrary to the last law made in 
 their behalf." Josiah Baldwin and Samuel 
 Trull had the honor of being elected the 
 first of a long list of deer reeves which ends 
 about 1777. 
 
 The following vote shows the abundance 
 of small game compared with its scarceness 
 to-day: 1742, ''voted a town rate of <£25 
 old tenor to pay the bounty laid on grey 
 and ground squirrels and blackbirds which 
 are caught in the town." Bounties for fiercer 
 animals were not unknown, for in 1757 an 
 order of six shillings was paid John Ball 
 for killing one wildcat ; and in 1758 Jon- 
 athan Kittredge was paid ten shillings for 
 one killed, — the last of which there is his- 
 torical record. There was a bounty on 
 crows also, whose rate rose and fell with 
 the times. In 1791, "Voted a bounty for 
 
60 OUR TOWN. 
 
 killing crows, 9c?. per head for old ones, 
 and four pence ha'penny for young ones 
 killed by the inhabitants of this town in 
 the town : Voted also that the heads be 
 brought to the selectmen or town treasurer 
 to be examined, and if they suspect their 
 being killed in the town, then the person 
 bringing them shall go to a justice of the 
 peace and sware that the crows were killed 
 in the town and bring a certificate that he 
 thus swore." 
 
 In 1814 it was voted to let fishing priv- 
 ileges to the highest bidder : $50 was paid 
 for the privilege formerly owned by Dr. 
 Worcester at the northwest part. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SLAVERY. 
 
 Many fail to remember, perhaps never 
 dreamed, that slavery once existed in Mas- 
 sachusetts, the leading State in the great 
 antislavery movement. Traces of the " pe- 
 culiar institution " may be found in all the 
 early New England towns. Tewksbury is 
 no exception. The town records contain 
 frequent references to negroes belonging to 
 one and another of the names familiar in 
 our history. It seems strange to hear of 
 the Kittredge, the Trull, the Hunt, and the 
 Rogers families as among the slavholders. 
 Stranger still is what Mr. Aaron Frost re- 
 lates, that when slavery was abolished in 
 Massachusetts there were three slaves in 
 this town : a man owned by Dr. Kittredge, 
 from whom the poor-farm was bought ; a 
 
62 OUR TOWN. 
 
 girl named Rose, owned by Mrs. Rogers, 
 and one named Phyllis, the property of the 
 Rev. Sampson Spaulding. It speaks well 
 for their treatment that when freedom came 
 the two maid-servants preferred to remain 
 with their former owners. 
 
 In those days they not only voted what 
 seats the singers should have, and adjusted 
 all difficulties With them, but passed the fol- 
 lowing, September, 1786 : " that the ne- 
 groes have the seat next to the long pew 
 for their seat to set in." 
 
 In this connection the following docu- 
 ment is interesting : — 
 
 " Know all men by these presents that 
 I, John Kittreclge of Tewksbury, in the 
 County of Middlesex, in his Majestie's 
 Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New 
 England, Chirurgeon, Know ye that I, 
 said John Kittredge, for ye love, good will 
 and affection that I have and do bear to- 
 ward my servant Negroe man Reuben, and 
 also for ye Good Service that the said 
 Reuben hath done and performed for me, 
 
DR. KITTREDGE'S SLAVE. 63 
 
 Do by these presents Declear, Order and 
 Establish that my said Servant Reuben, if 
 he lives and survives me, his said Master 
 John Kittredge, that after my Decease the 
 said Reuben shall be Intirely free and at 
 his own free Liberty for his life time after 
 my Decease, so that my Heirs, Executors, 
 or Administrators, or Either of them, shall 
 not have any Command or Business to 
 order or Dispose of said Reuben. Dated at 
 Tewksbury the Sixteenth day of Janury, 
 in the Twenty Eight year of his Majestie's 
 Reign Anquo Domini 175/5 
 
 " Signed, Sealed and delivered 
 in presence of us John Kittredge 
 
 *' Jonathan Kittredge 
 
 *' Joseph Kittredge 
 
 " John Chapjvian 
 " The above written Instrument of ye 
 Cleronance of Doctr. John Kittredge's Ne- 
 groe Man Reuben was entered November 
 ye 16, 1756 
 
 " Per me Stephen Osgood, 
 
 " Town Clerk " 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS. 
 
 Feom the earliest times the highways 
 absorbed much of the attention of the town. 
 The records contain the description of 
 each as they were laid out, the amounts 
 voted to repair them, and the money al- 
 lowed for a man, for a yoke of oxen, and for 
 a cart in their service. One might learn 
 the change in the times from the different 
 prices paid. Here the subject can be only 
 mentioned. The following vote shows 
 the prices allowed September 29, 1735 : 
 " That a man should have 2/ per day, for 
 his oxen a yoak Sd per day and 4:d for cart, 
 and this is to be the stated price for all sea- 
 sons excepting that after ye 10th Mar. a 
 man 3/6 for himself." 
 
 As matters of interest and relics of old 
 
MISCELLANE OUS. 65 
 
 customs, some votes and orders are taken 
 from the records, chiefly in chronological 
 order. 
 
 For a long time, sixteen shillings a year 
 was paid for sweeping the meeting-house. 
 
 Till comparatively recent years, they ad- 
 journed the town meetings one hour by 
 holding up hands. Places of refreshment 
 then were more numerous. 
 
 1752. To fourteen petitioners voted 
 "liberty to build two pews in meeting- 
 house, one in ye west gallery and against 
 three of ye windows for men to sit in — 
 the other in ye east gallery against three of 
 ye windows for women to sit in, and said 
 petitioners are obliged to maintain ye glass 
 windows against said pews, and to fill ye 
 said pews as full as comfortable to sit in." 
 The older people in town recall when many 
 rode to church on horseback, and the male 
 portion of the congregation sat in one part 
 of the meeting-house, the female opposite. 
 
 In 1759, " To choose a committee to 
 proceed with those persons whom they shall 
 
66 OUR TOWN. 
 
 suppose were aiding or abetting or assisting 
 
 in destroying the Town Book of Records." 
 
 May 23, 1775, " Voted and chose Mr. 
 Ezra Kindell to be a member of the Provin- 
 cial Congress at Watertown in the 31st day 
 of May next." 
 
 July 15, 1775, "Voted and chose Mr. 
 Ezra Kindell to be representative.*' 
 
 July 24, 1776, "That the selectmen 
 shall provide ammunition and shovels, 
 spades, pickaxes, &c., according to their dis- 
 cretion, and that the selectmen shall pro- 
 vide fire-armes for those persons that they 
 shall think proper and other accoutre- 
 ments." 
 
 That same year, voted " that the assessors 
 give the constables orders to strain upon the 
 inhabitants and others that Dont pay in the 
 corn in 20 days from the time ye constables 
 receive ye lists." 
 
 In 1761 much money was sjDent in nurs- 
 ing the sick, especially in smallpox. The 
 town was at times afflicted with severe epi- 
 demics of this and other diseases, such as 
 
MIS CELL AN E OUS. 67 
 
 " throat distemper," "dysentery," etc., and 
 made spasmodic efforts to have an efficient 
 board of health, etc. The board afterwards 
 was merged in the selectmen, where it re- 
 mains. 
 
 For years there were elected surveyors of 
 staves, shingles, clapboards, and hoops, as 
 well as timber. 
 
 February, 1773, warrant " to choose some 
 person or persons for to set the Psalm on 
 Sabbath Days and other times of Public 
 Worship," and at the meeting David Mer- 
 rill, Abrm. Bailey, and Peter Hardy were 
 chosen " for to set the Psalm." 
 
 Voted also the meeting-house windows 
 " to be repaired with Diamond glace." 
 
 Frequent payments are recorded " for 
 numbering the people." 
 
 An order, 1780, " to Wm. Symonds for 
 £12 for $3,000 which he let the town have 
 and 6/ interest," shows the great difference 
 in the value of Continental and hard money. 
 
 May 7, 1781, was granted an order to 
 " Neh. Hardy for his service and being the 
 
68 OUR TOWN. 
 
 remainder of what the town voted him for 
 thirty days at the westward taking Bur- 
 goyne. X4, 10, 4." 
 
 In 1781, £30,000 Continental currency 
 was voted for town expenses but found too 
 little, and the town was called to reduce it 
 to hard money. Then $75 Continental cur- 
 rency == one silver dollar. Corn worth 
 four shillings per bushel. 
 
 The town ammunition for years was kept 
 in the meeting-house, which, till the town 
 hall was built, was the place for the town 
 meetings. 
 
 At the close of the first volume of records 
 are given several pages of " Marks for 
 Creeters." 
 
 In 1791 voted to repaint the meeting- 
 house, and to inquire of the painter what 
 "collor is the most durable to paint the 
 meeting-house." This proved to be stone 
 color. 
 
 March, 1793, "the vote was tryed to 
 see if the town would give liberty for the 
 Nokerlation of the small pox and it was 
 passed in the negative." 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 69 
 
 1798 would have been a poor year for 
 the Town Library, for they "voted that 
 those persons that are taxed for dogs draw 
 an order on the Town Treasurer for ^1." 
 
 October 23, 1777, " Voted that the salt 
 be delte to the poor sort of people, not to 
 the whole town at 15/ per bushel, they pay- 
 ing the money down for it." 
 
 June 24, 1776, " Voted that the select- 
 men shall provide bayonetts for the training 
 band in town." 
 
 One of the most interesting votes was 
 passed April, 1792, when the weight of years 
 had somewhat incapacitated the aged pastor. 
 It reads: '^ Voted .£30 during his Natural 
 Life to Rev. Mr. Sampson Spaulding yearly 
 in case he shall resign so much of his charge 
 as will not be a hindrance to the town call- 
 ing another gentleman in the ministry if the 
 town shall think proper." A committee was 
 chosen and waited upon him and reported 
 that the Rev. Mr. Spaulding acknowledged 
 himself satisfied and contented with the 
 vote of the town. In his active years, 
 
70 OUR TOWN. 
 
 according to custom, whatever salary was 
 voted, he rose in town meeting and ex- 
 pressed himself satisfied with his stipend. 
 
 This manifests the same judiciousness and 
 Christian resignation which may be traced 
 in the beginning as well as the end of his 
 ministry. December 10, 1740, the Rev. 
 Sampson Spaulding signified that he should 
 not be inclined to take less than <£200 for 
 his salary. Voted not to pay it. March, 
 1741, *' Voted to give Rev. Sampson 
 Spaulding, their minister, £150 if said 
 minister being at ye meeting signified to 
 ye people that what they would freely give 
 him he would be satisfied with." 1742 
 they voted X160, and he appeared and de- 
 clared himself satisfied with what the town 
 had granted him. 
 
 In this connection this entry is interest- 
 ing: "Died March 20th, 1807, Madam 
 Mehitibal Spaulding, 91 years, of old age." 
 
 The two following forms are of interest. 
 The first shows the customary way of ob- 
 jecting to the reception of a member ; the 
 
MISCELLANEOUS. 71 
 
 second, the usual vote of receiving or re- 
 storing one to communion. 
 
 " By this I do declare to the church in 
 
 Tewksbury that I do place a bar to 
 
 against his admission to the said Church." 
 
 " The Church met and after seeking the 
 Divine presence and Blessing they voted 
 that they were in Charity with Thos. Kid- 
 der Esq. as also his admission to our Com- 
 munion." 
 
 In 1829 agitation for the annexation of 
 Belvidere to Lowell begins. Very reluc- 
 tantly the town had to part with that beau- 
 tiful village in 1834. Before that, the town 
 meetings sometimes were held in the school- 
 house of that district, but were usually im- 
 mediately adjourned to Thompson's Tavern. 
 The town supported a fire-engine and com- 
 pany there for some time. In 1873, Tewks- 
 bury lost over six hundred acres more of 
 her territory to Lowell. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 After all that one can gather from the 
 records of town and church, from tradition 
 or other sources, it is impossible to bring 
 before us the living men, the scenes, and the 
 life of those olden times. What has re- 
 sulted from their lives and labors is trans- 
 figured by the great republic, the result of 
 those early histories. The future will ac- 
 complish this still more as the United States 
 grows in power and influence. Imagina- 
 tion will clothe those distant days with a 
 light almost supernatural. Even now these 
 words of Mr. Froude on the Old English 
 are true of the old New England life as 
 seen in towns such as Tewksbury : — 
 
 " And now it is all gone, — like an un- 
 substantial pageant faded; and between us 
 
CONCLUSION. 73 
 
 and the Old English there lies a gulf of 
 mystery which the prose of the historian 
 will never adequately bridge. They cannot 
 come to us, and our imagination can but 
 feebly penetrate to them. Only among the 
 aisles of the cathedral, only as we gaze 
 upon their silent figures sleeping on their 
 tombs, some faint conceptions float before 
 us of what these men were when they were 
 alive ; and perhaps in the sound of church- 
 bells, that peculiar creation of medijeval 
 age, which falls upon the ear like the echo 
 of a vanished world." ^ 
 
 1 Froude's Hiatory of Emjland, vol. i. p. 66. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
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