■■l^il ^^ii;Kfl:T^MI^^:(VK-Ve:BnMTRY •"oo^ ,«?i,,.^ , c.*^- i\' \^ s ' - / ' : ■ K^ * V N ^ ,0^^ xO^^ ^<^ .^^ /_ -c-ty^ ^"^. -,^ -:. ^''^o -tp^ •^ ^00^ •'^'r. ,. ^^' y_^^\; ,0 c ,0 ^^. * " N^^ ' %' '•>, ■> ' -V x\" ^■^ X^ -XN - >: \^ ^^. t.' ^' ' A s^'^. ^ ^ 1 •' ^ ir "^ 4> X ^ ,\ <. '\ V * 8 I V V>*sSV 'J N \' %:, vV ^, ^^ . ^ « ' ^ ^ ,\^ N\^ . ^ <:> ,0^ CU *- '^ '■^^■CiA/-^ ^ -^ ^ ^ V ^ A>^- Oo ^^ .^v^' ,^ ^^^ FOR — ^-^ sept' \ Josef THE HUGUENOTS IN THE NIPMUCK COUNTRY OR Oxford ^ Prior to 1713 BY GEORGE F. DANIELS WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES Plantations are amongst ancient, primitive, and heroical works.— Bacon -qPYR/S^;: BOSTON STES & LAURIAT ■;,> 1^2:... 1880 r /^I^^J. ^ TT COPYRIGHT : By GEORGE F. DANIELS, 1879. PRESS or NOYES, SNOW & CO., Editiox Limited. Worcester, Mass. PREFACE. Every fact relating to the Huguenots, however slight, has a notable interest. It has been well said that they gave a lustre and a glory to every place and to every thing they touched. The history, therefore, of their sojourn in the *' Nipmuck Country," while it is the first chapter in the history of the Town of Oxford, is in itself, independently, a story which will be appreciated by many in our country who have no special interest in the locality. It has been the design in this memoir to bring together all the facts referring to the Oxford Colonies, from every available source, and to arrange them, so far as possible, in such a manner as might best set forth the course of events, adding only such legitimate inferences and comments as would seem to be demanded to complete the narrative. iv. PREFACE. Special thanks are here tendered to Rev. Chas. W. Baird, D. D., of Rye, N. Y., who has given very essential aid in the preparation of this volume, by the contribution of important facts, and of original documents, both English and French in translation, these having been collected by him during his extensive researches for mate- rials for his ''History of the Huguenot Emigra- tion to America!' soon to be published. If the result of the publication of this little volume shall be to awaken in the people of Oxford a deeper interest in the history of the town, and to move them to take action for the continuance of the work of its preparation by a more competent hand, the writer will feel that his labors have not been in vain. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. The Nipmuck Country, 17. — Its native inhabitants, 18. — Efforts to Christianize them, 19. — Praying towns, 21. — Philip's influence, 23.— Destruction of towns in Worcester County, 24.— Treatment of the Indians by the English, 27. — Closing of Philip's war, 28. — Disastrous results of the war to the Nipmucks. — Indignation of the people, 29. CHAPTER II. First movement toward a settlement in the Nipmuck country. — Its failure, 31.— Intentions of Dudley and Stoughton to make a settlement. — Authorized to treat with Indians for land, 32.— Reports to General Court, 33, — Approval of Court, and grant of land for services, 34. — Deeds of purchase and confirmation of them. — Description of lands conveyed, 35. — Reservation for the Indians. — Thompson associated with Dudley and Stoughton, 38. —Grant to Thompson for services, 39.— Dudley's efficiency in public affairs. — Cox, Blackwell and Freak associated with Dud- ley and Stoughton, 40. — Prospects of the colony for success.— Obstacles to progress, 41. CHAPTER III. Grant for Oxford.— Survey by Mr. Gore, 43. — Description of the plat, 44.— Part of the grant given for a Village. — Division of VI. CONTENTS. remainder. — Village line, 46. — Dudley sole manager for the proprietors. — Deed of division, 47. — Augutteback pond, 49. CHAPTER IV. Advantages of the location for settlement, 50. — Plains. — Its early reputation as a corn growing country. — Meadows, 51. — Streams. — Fish and game, 52. — Bay Path, 54. — Connecticut path. — New Roxbury and New Oxford, 55. — Dudley's agency in both, 56. — Communication between the two colonies. — The Chandlers, 57. CHAPTER V. Extension of time for settlement of New Oxford. — The Huguenots. — Sketch of the French reformation, 59. — Massacre of St. Bar- tholomew. — Promulgation and revocation of the Edict of Nantes. — Suffering of the Protestants under Louis XIV., 61. — Their flight from the country. — Character of these people. — Skill as artisans and agriculturists, 62. — Their settlement in London, Holland, Brazil and North America. — Influence upon our insti- tutions. — This country early looked to as a place of refuge, 64. — Gabriel Bernon introduced to Thompson in London. — Contract to settle thirty families on the Oxford grant. — Grant to Du Tuffeau as agent of Bernon. — Bernon comes to Boston. — Receives an additional grant, 65. CHAPTER VL Lack of documentary evidence in reference to the Huguenots who came to New Oxford, 66. — Arrival of emigrants in Boston. — Time of the beginning of the settlement, 67. — Choice of location CONTENTS. Vll. for headquarters. -Fort.- Great house. -Church, 68.- Burying ground and small fort.- Mills, 69. - Plantations. - Beauty of the plan, 70. CHAPTER VII. Papers referring to colony. -Letter of French refugee in Boston. - Quantity of land to each family. -The two plantations, inland and on the seaboard, 72.- Vandenbosch, pastor of the Boston colony, 73. — Wagons as means of conveyance, 74. — Deed of Dudley and company to Bernon.-Deed of division. -Probable settlement of the required thirty families in the spring of 1688, 75- — Contract for building a mill, between Bernon and Church. - Mill built in 16S9. - Bondet's representations and petition in reference to the Indians, 76. -Petition of the Selectmen of Wood- stock, 77. — Daniel Allen chosen representative, 78.— Andrew Sigourney's representations and petition. -Disasters to the colony. -Desertion by prominent men, 80. - Dread of the Indians. - The colony reaches the height of its prosperity, 81. — The people garrisoned for three months. - Bondet's desertion of the settle- ment, 82. -Johnson massacre, 83. -Dismay of the people at the attack. — Desertion of the settlement in haste. -Scene at their departure, 85. CHAPTER VIII. Re-occupation. -Petition of the inhabitants by James Laborie, their minister. -Complaint against Bondet, 88.- Rum the cause of all disturbance in the colony. - Petition to have its sale prohibited. - Transportation of meat out of the plantation, 89. - Laborie's letter to the Earl of Bellomont, 90. -The Indians leaving for Pennacook.-Earl of Bellomont to the Lords of Trade. -Jesuit priests and the Indians, 91. -Petition of French Protestants in ^111- CONTENTS. Boston. — They have assisted those who returned to New Oxford, 92. — Gov. Dudley's letter to Bernon commissioning him as cap- tain, 93.— The fraternal spirit and benevolence of the Huguenots, 94.— Soldiers stationed at Oxford in 1703, 95. — Laborie called to New York. — Final abandonment. 96. CHAPTER IX. Dudley and Bernon's continued interest in the plantation. — Bernon retaining possession. — Dudley's letter to Bernon censuring his agents, 97. — Agreement between Bernon and Oliver and Nathanael CoUer, 98. — Bernon's letter to Dudley complaining of Mr. Hag- burn, 99. — Bernon's tenants remain. — His reliance upon pos- session, 100. — His inability to hold the old mill. — His presentation of the stones and irons to Daniel Elliot, loi. — Dudley's letter of thanks for the same. — Bernon's reply, 102. — Letter of Bernon to the son of Gov. Dudley asking assistance, 103.— Losses by his tenants, and drowning of his servant. — His financial difficulties, 104. — Bernon's application to Gov. Shute for reimbursement.— Certificates of his friends, 106.— Peculiar condition of Bernon's claim. — Squatters occupy his lands. — Oxford recognizes his rights. — Complication of the case, 107. — The tract occupied by him not included in his conveyance. — The "Bernon line," loS. Bernon administrator of Du Tuffeau's estate. — Sale of his land, 109. —Action of Oxford proprietors, no. — Report of a committee to settle the lines. — Mayo and Davis, 1 1 1. — Deed from Dudley to Bernon, 112. — Sale to Bowdoin, 113. CHAPTER X. Bernon papers. — His antecedents, 114. — His obituary notice. — His success as a business man, 115. — His business undertakings — Manufacture of ship stores, and petition to the king of England, CONTENTS. IX. ii6. — Removal to Newport, Narragansett and Providence. — Zeal for Episcopacy. — Daniel Bondet, 117. — Noble descent. — Letter to Increase Mather, 118. — Letter to Lord Cornbury, 120. — Labors at New Rochelle. — His death. — His memory perpetuated in Oxford. — Andrew Sigourney, 122. — His family. — Prof. Butler's sketch, 123. — Du Tuffeau. — Goes to New Rochelle, 124. — Laborie. — Goes to New York. — Will of Jean Martin, 125. CHAPTER XI. The industries of the place. — Bernon's manufacture of glove or wash leather, 127. — The wash leather mill. — Dea. Humphrey on Bourdille, 128. — Return of two members of the Sigourney family. — The Shumway family, 129. — Origin of the name. — Petition of Peter Shumway, 130. — Huguenot relics, 131. — Orchards. — Sites of Huguenot houses. — Chimney stone of the Johnson house, 132. — Ruins of the fort. — Their present appearance, 133. — Site of the upper mills. — Work of the Huguenots now standing, 136. — Names of Huguenot families settled in Oxford, 137. — Proclama- tion of the Proprietors, 138. — The coming in of the English settlers, 139. INTRODUCTORY. (OLIVER WENDELL HOLMES, To GEORGE F. DANIELS.) My f)EAR Sir : — I have read carefully, and with great interest, but not critically, the manuscript you sent me. I say not critically, because it would be a work of much labor to follow you through your long and pains-taking investigations, and this I cannot pre- tend to have done. I am sure, however, that your memoir is a true labor of love, performed conscientiously, for its own sake, and a valuable contribution to our local history. Of all my father's historical studies, none ever interested me so much as his " Memoir of the French Protestants who settled at Oxford, in Massachusetts, A. D. MDCLXXXVI." All the circumstances connected with that second Colony of Pilgrim Fathers are such as to invest it with singular attractions for the student of history, the INTRODUCTORY. XI. antiquary, the genealogist. It carries us back to the memories of the Massacre of Saint Bartholo- mew, to the generous Edict of Nantes and the gallant soldier -king who issued it; to the days of the Grand Monarque, and the cruel Act of Revocation which drove into exile hundreds of thousands of the best subjects of France — among them the little band which was planted in our Massachusetts half tamed wilderness. It leads the explorer who loves to linger around the places consecrated by human enterprise, efforts, trials, triumphs, sufferings, to localities still marked with the fading traces of the strangers who there found a refuge for a few brief years, and then wandered forth to know their homes no more. It tells the lover of family history where the un-English names which he is constantly meet- ing with — Bowdoin, Faneuil, Sigourney — found their origin, and under what skies was moulded the type of lineaments, unlike those of Anglo- Saxon parentage, which he finds among certain of his acquaintance, and it may be in his own family or himself. Xll. INTRODUCTORY. And what romance can be fuller of interest than the story of this hunted handful of Protest- ants leaving, some of them at an hour's warning, all that was dear to them, and voluntarily wrecking themselves, as it were, on this shore, where the savage and the wolf were waiting ready to dispute possession with the feeble intruders ? They came with their trained skill to a region where trees were to be felled, wild beasts to be slain, the soil to be subdued to furnish them bread, the whole fabric of social order established under new conditions. They came from the sunny skies of France to the capricious climate where the summers were fierce and the winters terrible with winds and snows. They left the polished amenities of an old civiliza- tion, for the homely ways of rude settlers of another race and language. Their lips, which had shaped themselves to the harmonies of a refined language, — which had been used to speak- ing such names as Rochefort and Beauvoir and Angouleme, — had to distort themselves into the utterance of words like Manchaug and Wabquasset INTRODUCTORY. Xlll. and Chaubunagimgamaug. The short and simple annals of this brave and gentle company of emigrants are full of trials and troubles, and ended with a bloody catastrophe. The Indians to whom '' rorne was sold without order and measure" were complained of as getting *' so furious with drunkness that they fought like bears." They fell upon, and dangerously if not fatally wounded one of the preachers sent among them. At length the massacre of four of a family of five persons by the savages, broke up the settlement, and though some few of the original colonists returned for a season, the iDlace was soon finally deserted. My father visited the site of the little colony in 1819 and 1825. He traced the lines of the fort, and was " regaled with the perfumes of the shrub- bery and the grapes then hanging in clusters on the vines planted by the Huguenots above a century before." I visited the place between twenty and thirty years ago, and found many traces of the old settlement. After Plymouth ; I do not think there is any locality in New Eng- XIV. INTRODUCTORY. land more interesting. This little band of French families, transported from the shore of the Bay of Biscay to the wilds of our New England interior, reminds me of the isolated group of magnolias which we find surrounded by the ordi- nary forest trees in our Massachusetts town of Manchester. It is a surprise to meet with them, and we wonder how they came there, but they glorify the scenery with their tropical flowers, and sweeten it with their fragrance. Such a pleasing surprise is the effect of coming upon this small and transitory abiding- place of the men and women who left their beloved and beautiful land for the sake of their religion. The lines of their fort may become obliterated, ''the perfumes of the shrubbery" may no longer be perceived, but the ground they hallowed by their footsteps is sacred, and the air around their old Oxford home is sweet with their memory. Boston, June, 1879. "The savage arrow scathed them, and dark clouds Involv'd their infant Zion, yet they bore Toil and affliction with unwavering eye Fixed on the heavens, and firm in hope sublime Sank to their last repose. Full many a son Among the noblest of our land looks back Through Time's long vista, and exulting claims These as his Sires." — L. H. S., Holmes' Mem. 83. ly CHAPTER I. THE NIPMUCKS. THEIR COURSE IN PHILIP'S WAR. DISASTROUS RESULTS. The Town of Oxford has its site near the middle of a large territory lying mainly in the southern central part of Massachusetts, known at the time of the settlement of Boston, in 1630, as the " Nipmuck Country." Its bounds were very indefinite, but it extended from the vicinity of Natick, westerly to the Connecticut river, and from the vicinity of Worcester, southerly some twenty-five or thirty miles, down the Quinebaug valley, into what is now Connecticut. The first mention we have in history of this locality, occurs in the record of an excursion of John Win- throp and a few friends, in 1632. Wishing to spy out this region, then almost unknown, they ascended the Charles river so far, that from a high position they overlooked, as they reported, the whole Nip- muck Country, and " saw a very high hill, due west." Three years later a company of sixty settlers from 1 8 THE NIPMUCKS UNDER THE POKANOKETS. Watertown, being desirous of possessing more land than that place could afford them, took their way over the Indian trails westward, bound for the rich inter- vals of the Connecticut valley, and *' seized a brave piece of meadow " at Wethersfield. Doubtless they passed near the site of this village, and probably were the first white men who trod the soil of this region. At that time the westerly part of this tract was wild hunting ground, and the eastern portion was quite thinly inhabited by the Nipmuck Indians in scattered villages, their numbers having been greatly reduced by recent wars with western tribes, and by fatal disease.! • The name ** Nipmuck," or " Nipnet," which signi- fies ''fresh water," was given to all the dwellers upon this large inland tract, to distinguish them from the more numerous and powerful tribes which lived upon the sea coast.^ They were an inferior people, who appear to have owed some fealty to the Pokanokets.^ Miss Larned, in her History of 1 Brigham's Centennial Add., Grafton, 1835. 2 This name, in its original signification, was applied to other tribes in New En^^land, but it came to have a special application to the inhabitants of this central Massachusetts region. Dif- ferent branches of this tribe assumed the names of the particu- lar localities in which they lived. 3 Palfrey Hist. New Kng., 1. 24. FIRST EFFORTS TO CHRISTIANIZE THEM. 1 9 Windham County, well describes them thus : ''They were subject clans, of little spirit or distinc- tive character. Their number was small. A few families occupied the favorable localities, while large sections were left vacant and desolate. Their dwell- ings were poor, their weapons and utensils rude and scanty. They raised corn and beans, and wove mats and baskets. Their lives were chiefly spent in hunting, fishing and idling." They did not exhibit the enterprise and intelli- gence of the neighboring tribes, but seemed more peaceful and inclined to assimilate with the whites as they came to have intercourse with them ; and, as did other tribes in the Colony, early showed a disposition to become civilized and to have the institutions of religion established among them. The General Court of Massachusetts, wishing to meet these wants, passed an order Nov. 19th, 1644, inaugurating measures looking toward their Christ- ianization and improvement, • thus becoming, as Palfrey says, "the first missionary society in the history of Protestant Christendom."- In 1646, John Eliot, known as the ''Apostle to the Indians," having been for fourteen years teacher of the Roxbury Church, and through the instrumentality of a native ' Palfrey, II. 188. ^ ibid., 189. 20 THE LABORS OF ELIOT. servant, having learned the rudiments of the Indian language, began his labors in Nonantum, a part of Newton. I In 165 1 he removed the headquarters of his operations to Natick, and while still retaining his pastorate at Roxbury, for nearly twenty-five years, until interrupted by Philip's war, he and his co-laborers traveled, preached, taught and advised in matters civil and religious, establishing schools, founding churches, and installing native teachers and pastors among many tribes in the province, including this far off and humble people of the Nipmuck Country.^ ' Palfrey, II. 190. 2 " The " Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England," whose headquarters were in London, entered upon its work with considerable efficiency. So far as practicable it co-operated with Eliot, who was encouraged in his labors by an annual "honorarium" paid by the society, he receiving at first fifteen pounds, then twenty, [Gookin.] and afterward fifty. [Hazard, II. 378.] He did not, however, always act harmo- niously with the commissioners of the Society, but differed with them as to ways and means, and thus incurred the censure of its managers, who characterized his proceedings as "turbulent and clamorous," but still retained his services and ordered his salary to be increased. [Hazard, II. 332.] These commissioners selected native young men to be educated at Cambridge as teachers, and had authority from the Society to erect there a building "thirty feet in length and twenty feet in width," for THE ''PRAYING TOWNS.' 21 To a considerable extent success attended their labors, especially in those villages which were near the English settlements on the eastern coast. Seven communities were established from Hassanamesit — now Grafton — eastward, and were called ''praying towns," and later, from that place to Wabquasset, now Woodstock, were established five others, which were called "new praying towns." ' native pupils. They encouraged education by giving bounties, they printed catechisms in the native language, and furnished books for teachers. [Palfrey, II. 333-] In 1658 Eliot's native teachers were paid ten pounds each, and he received two pounds for Bibles, spectacles and primers for the natives. The outlay of the Society in this, the eighth year of its operations, was five hundred and twenty pounds, chiefly in salaries to teachers, and the sustaining of pupils in the schools at Cam- bridge. [Ibid.] Mr. Eliofs efforts were put forth for the civilization as well as the Christianization of the people. He encouraged the building of frame houses, and the making of homes for separate families, the planting of gardens and orchards, the raising and utilizing of flax and hemp, and at Natick, under his direction, a bridge eighty feet long was built across the river, and a hall fifty by twenty-five feet was erected for public worship. [Ibid. II. 33^, 337-] I The seven "old praying towns" were these : — Natick, Pakemitt, now Stoughton, — Ockoocangansett, now Marl- borough, — Wamesitt, now Lowell, — Hassanamesit, now Graf- ton,— Nashobah, now Litdeton, — Magunkook, now Hopkin- 22 ELIOT AND GOOKIN HOPEFUL, Hassanamesit became the centre of influence in this circle of praying communities. It was the dwelling place of Wattascompanum, chief ruler of the tribe, a professed convert to Christianity, who was an effi- cient aid to the English magistrate in managing the civil affairs of the Indians, and who exerted a controlling influence among his own people. A flourishing school was established there, from which native teachers went out to neighboring villages, ^ the forms of civil government were to some extent adopted, the Bible in their native language was within reach of all, and was taught them by native teachers in every village, and notwithstanding many things which remained unpromising, Eliot and his companion in labor, Daniel Gookin, 2 who from 1656 had been **betrusted and employed for the civil government and conduct of the Indians in Massa- chusetts Colony," were encouraged to believe that ton. Gookin, in his account of a visit with Ehot to the Nipmucks in 1674, gives the names of the "new praying towns," begin- ning with Manchaug, now Oxford, twelve famihes, — Chau- bunagungamaug, now Webster, five miles southerly, nine families, — Maanexit on the Quinebaug river, four or five miles further south, — Quantisset, now Thompson Hill and Wab- quasset, now Woodstock. ' Brigham's Add. 2 Palfrey, II. 338. THEIR HOPES DISAPPOINTED. 23 these people were to become Christianized, and thus made the friends and helpers of the settlers who were to come among them. Yet, underneath all this fair and promising exterior there lay the peculiar Indian character. The test came when ''Philip of Pokanoket" rallied all his allies to make his grand assault upon the English colonies in 1675. Then those instincts which have shown themselves in most of the native tribes of our country, appeared in the Nipmucks in all their malignity, and when once aroused, these appar- ently quiet and inoffensive men did not shrink from the commission of deeds most shocking and barbarous. There were, indeed, exceptions, for in the new praying towns a few, and in the old pray- ing towns many, adhered to their alliance with the English ; but the more remote branches of the tribe from Hassanamesit westward, to use the language of Gookin, ''being raw, and lately initiated in the Christian profession, most of them fell off from the English and joined the enemy." ^ Apparently their alliance with the settlers had been founded on a basis of justice, and their better judgment doubtless I "The Wabquassets did not join Philip, but fled south- ward and placed themselves under the protection of Uncas, at Mohegan." Miss Larned, Hist. Wind. Co., I. 10. 24 THE NIPMUCKS JOIN PHILIP. would have held them firmly to the whites as their true friends, but Philip plied them with argument and solicitation, possibly also urging his claims to their support as subjects, until they yielded. In the words of Palfrey, — '' A taste for havoc was established between heathen Wampanoag and half converted Nipmuck. Without provocation, and without warning, they gave full sway to the inhuman passions of their savage nature, and broke into a wild riot of pillage, arson and massacre." During that disastrous time, the summer, autumn and winter of 1675, they pursued their deadly work among the colonists, not only of this region but also of the Connecticut valley, and throughout the interior of the state, ruin and disaster prevailed. Mendon, Lancaster, Brookfield and Worcester, the only settle- ments in this county, were burned, and more or less of savage cruelty attended their destruction. Capt. Wheeler, with twenty men sent from headquarters as an escort to Mr. Edward Hutchinson, who came on a peaceful errand to the Nipmucks, was drawn by them into an ambush near Brookfield, on the 2d of August 1675, and he and three others were wounded, and eight men killed. ^ One day previous to this attack, Philip being hard pressed by his pursuers, Palfrey, III. 159. WATTASCOMPANUM AND MATOONAS. 25 came up from his refuge near the coast, and with his forty attendants was received and sheltered here, i Wattascompanum became one of Philip's most pliant aids, and was very efficient in seducing the praying Indians from their fidelity.- Gookin says, he was "a prudent, and I believe a pious man, and had given good demonstration of it for many years. This man yielded to the enemy's arguments, and by his example drew most of the rest." Matoonas, another chief, also gave the English much trouble. He made some pretence to religion, and in 1674 was appointed constable at Pakachoag.3 But he had a grudge against the whites because of the execution of his son for murder in 1671, and when the war broke out he was ripe for revenge. He became one of the foremost of the assailants, led in their dances, and in the attack on Mendon was at their head, and killed four or five persons himself. A writer of the time called him ''an old, malicious villain."^ Increase Mather says; "Matoonas was the first Indian that treacherously shed Eng- lish blood in the Massachusetts colony. He some years before pretended to something of religion, being a professor in general • Palfrey, III. 1 59- ' Ibid. III. 220. 3 Gookin speaks of him as "that grave and sober Indian. 4 Drake, Am. Ind. 26 "JAMES THE PRINTER." (though never baptized nor of the in-churched Indians) that he might more covertly manage the hellish designs of revenge that were harbored in his devilish heart," ' "James the printer," a promising young man of Hassanamesit, joined Philip, and led a company of warriors against the colonists. ~ " Frequently the marauders in the Nipmuck Coun- 1 Drake, App. 2 "James the Printer" seems to have been one of the most interesting Indian characters mentioned in the accounts of those early times. When a child he was taken into the Indian school at Cambridge, and was afterward apprenticed — probably to Mr. Green — for sixteen years, to learn the art of printing, but ran away before his time expired. He was Eliot's most valuable assistant in printing the Indian Bible. In 1683 this worthy man wrote thus to a friend in London, in reference to a revised edition of this book, — "I desire to see it done before I die, and I am so deep in years that I cannot expect to live long; besides, we have but one man, viz., the Indian printer, that is able to compose the sheets and correct the press with understanding." James was sometime teacher, both at Hassanamesit and Chaubunagungamaug, and worked at printing after the war, and, in company with Mr. Green, printed the Indian Psalter in 1709. "Printer" became the surname of the family, and his reputed descendants have lived in Grafton, until within a very few years past. Pierce, Hist. Grafton. ORDERS FOR THE RESTRAINT OF THE TRIBE. 2/ try were recognized as professors of Christianity, nor in that region was it found that any community, or any considerable number of natives could be relied on as allies." ^ Yet, though the Nipmucks acted a prominent part in this tragedy, they did not receive the retribution which their deeds would have seemed to demand. We find recorded no war-like movement against them as a tribe, except the occasional coming among them of small foraging parties for corn and swine, and the expedition of Capt. Gorham, with one hundred men, from Plymouth, in October, 1675, who burned their corn-fields and a few wigwams and mats, - In June, 1676, Maj. Talcott and four hundred and fifty men, English and Indians, were marching from Norwich to join the Massachusetts troops at Brookfield, on their way to the Connecticut valley. At Wabquasset they destroyed a deserted fort and the growing corn, and at Chaubunagungamaug killed and captured fifty-two Indians.^ But rigid civil restraint was resorted to. The authorities issued special orders, requiring the tribe to come together in five places which were named, and there build wigwams in compact settle- ments, and not to go more than a mile away from ' Palfrey, III. 199. 2 Gookin. 3 Conn. Rec, II. 453. -2J! TEAT^ iS^ ?T^ . — ■^^3L ^^ n: ?f7f :^i^ ring cc r^r— ^ sssr: Loit -2rcr - Cm lie irsr m Jmv. ~^^^ III ^;»;i;>?^^ It TcrrriTiT? smrsiia^rsn Jlr ICS : ^iT. vxx :nia: THE XIPMUCK5 ALMOST DESTROYED. 29 of his captain, Annawon, which occurred August 28th, \'irtually ended the contest. ' To the Nipmucks the results of this war were disastrous in the extreme. The execution of so many of their prominent men, added to other losses inci- dent to such a struggle, had the effect completely to prostrate them, and only a feeble and spiritless rem- nant was found here when the English commenced negotiations with them preparatory- to a settlement - ^ This war was very disastrous to the libors of Mr. E'lioz. izc almost entirely suspended them. The irritation against the Indians was verv great, and iealoosy and distrust of his converts were everywhere rife, and the rage of the people was violent and alarming. Mr. Gookin and Mr. Eliot incurred much abuse." 3 The indignation against the natives, on account of their faithlessness, was general and deep-seated among the Ensrlish. Eliot, Gookin, and Thomas Danforth pleaded alone in their behalf before the government, and the last two were threatened with death on this ' Palfrey, III. 206. - -The Nipmucks found themselves ahnost anwfhibtrd.^ Miss Lamed, I. 11. 3 Mortons N. E. Mem., 391. — "Six years after the dose of the war. Eliot could claim but four towns in the state." One of these was Chaubunagimgamaug. — Drake, 179L 30 WATTASCOMPAXUM S FATE. account. I But it would seem that in the excitement, in the case of Wattascompanum at least, great injus- tice was done. Drake says, " Some of the proceedings against this man have of late been brought to light. His case is one of most melancholy interest, and his fate will be deeply regretted ; inasmuch as the proof against him, so far as we can discover, would not at any other time be deemed worthy of a moment's consideration. The younger Eliot pleaded earnestly for him that he might even have a new trial, but without avail." I Mass. Arch., XXX. 193. CHAPTER 11. MOVEMENTS FOR SETTLEMENT. PURCHASE OF INDIAN LANDS BY STOUGHTON AND DUDLEY. The first movement toward a settlement in the Nipmuck Country after the close of the war, was the petition of Mr. Hugh Campbell, a Scotch mer- chant of Boston, in February, 1680, for land for a colony. The General Court granted his petition, but we have nothins: to show that a settlement was begun. The answer of the Court to Mr. Campbell's petition is as follows : — "This Court judgeth it meete to allow to the petitioner, on behalfe of such as may on that account transport themselues hither, such accomodation to their number in the Nepmug country as it will affoord, prouided they come w'thin two yeares next after this grant." ' From the index to this record we learn that this grant was made in behalf of a company of Scotch emigrants who were purposing to settle in ^lassa- chusetts. At about the same, time two leading men in the 1 Mass. Col. Rec, V. 263. 32 DESIGNS OF STOUGHTON AND DUDLEY. Province, William Stoughton and Joseph Dudley, were also contemplating a settlement in this region. The venerable Eliot — Dudley's pastor — who by his repeated visits here had become familiar with its resources, and his co-laborer and friend Gookin, who also knew both people and country well, doubtless encouraged the plan, as their strong desire was that the institutions of civilization and religion might be re-established among the Indians, who were in a sense their wards, and whose welfare would be largely affected by such influences as a colony of settlers might bring. In proceeding with their plan, the first point with these gentlemen was to inquire into the matter of the ownership of the lands they proposed to occupy, and the rights of the Indians in them. On this sub- ject they petitioned the General Court. In answer to this motion and petition the Court replied. May nth, 1681, as follows: " The Court judgeth it meete to grant this motion, and doe further desire & impower the wor'pffl Wm. Stoughton & Joseph Dudley, Esqs, to take particcular care & inspection into the matter of the land in the Nipmug Country, what titles are pretended to by Indeans or others, and the validity of them, and make returne of what they find therein to this Court as scone as may be." ' ' Mass. Col. Rec, V. 315. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS. 33 This commission reported October i6th, 1681, that in June they had had a general meeting at Cambridge of all the claimants, but finding them at variance as to their several claims, they dismissed them until they could agree among themselves. They further reported, "Since which time, in September last, perceiving a better vnderstanding amongst them, wee warned seuerall of the prin- cipal! claymers to attend vsinto the country, & travajle the same in company with us as farr & as much as one weeke would allow us, & find that the southerne part, clajmed by Black James and company is capable of good setlement, if not too scant of meadow, though vncerteine what will fall w'thin bounds if our lyne be to be quaestioned." ^ They reported also upon lands in other quarters, but the action of the Court appears to have been taken only upon the Nipmuck lands. Stoughton and Dud- ley were empowered to treat with the owners thereof, and *'to agree w'th them vpon the easiest termes that may be obtejned." - On the i8th of February, 1681-2, another report was made by the agents to the Court, stating that ' Mass. Col. Rec, V. 328.-The boundary hne between the Mas- sachusetts and Connecticut colonies was at this time unsettled. 2 Ibid. 329. 34 STOUGHTON AND DUDLEY REWARDED. with the Hassanamesit and Natick Indians they had agreed for all their land "lying fower miles northward of the present S])ringfeild road, & southward to that, haue agreed betweene Blacke James Sl them, of which wee aduised in our late returne, wee haue pur- chased at thirty pounds money & a coate." " The southern halfe of sajd countrey wee haue purchased of Blacke James & company, for twenty pounds." ' The doings of Stoughton and Dudley were ap- proved by the Court, and one thousand acres of land were voted to each for their "great care & pajnes," - These grants were surveyed by John Gore, at Man- chaug, in one plat, and confirmed to them June 4th, 1685.3 In the act of General Court confirming this grant, it is described as '^ conteyning 1800 acres, with allowance of addition of two hundred more next adjoyning, to compleat the same to 2000 acres, * * * in the Nipmug Country, at a place called Marichouge [Manchaug] the lyne being marked w'th rainging markes in the corners with S. D.," [the initials of grantees.] According to the earliest plan in the Oxford Records, " Manchaug Farm " measured 674 rods on its east and west lines and 434 rods on its north and south lines. This included both Stoughton's and Dudley's shares. A later plan, made after the incorporation of the town of Dudley, in 1731, gives "Manchaug Farm" as 11 00 acres, the property of the I Mass. Col. Rec, V. 342. - Ibid. 343. 3 Ibid. 488. DEEDS OF THE INDIAN LANDS. 35 "heirs of Mr. Dudley" and "belonging to Oxford." A still later plan made in 1756 shows 1020 acres as in Oxford, and belonging to Thomas Dudley — and adjoining it on the east, in Sutton, is shown the balance of the plat as " now Richard Waters', and others'." The deeds of purchase dated Feb. loth, i68 1-2, were presented to the Court May 27th, 1682, and received its confirmation, i The descriptions of the land con- veyed are somewhat indefinite, but a careful study of the deeds leads to the conclusion that with Waban and company, Natick men, the bargain was for all the lands they claimed west of the Blackstone river, between the southern line of Massachusetts and an imaginary line commencing with the Blackstone river at a point four miles northerly of the Springfield road, and run- ning south-westerly till it joined said Massachusetts southern line, and thus enclosing a triangle. - ' Mass. Col. Rec, V. 361. 2 The description in the first deed is as follows : — " all that part of the Nipmug Country * * * lying, and being beyond the great ryuer called Kuttatuck, or Nipmug [Blackstone] Ryver, and betweene a rainge of marked trees, beginning at sajd riuer and runing south east till it fall vpon the south lyne of the sajd Massachusets colony on the south, and a certaine imaginary lyne fowre miles on the north side of the road, as it now Ijeth, to Springfeild on the north, the sajd great riuer * * * on the eastward, and the sajd patent lyne on the westward." In the 36 WABAN, CHIEF NEGOTIATOR. With " Black James," the bargain was for the south- ern part of the same territory, designing also to include lands which extended into what is now Connecticut. These deeds were delivered at Natick, May 19th, 1682, and on the 27th the commissioners reported that they had effected a purchase "from the principall men of Naticke * * * of a parcel! of remote & wast land belonging 10 said Indians, lying at the vtmost westerly bounds of Naticke, and, as wee are informed, — is for quantity about — acres, more or lesse, being mean land." ' The consideration in the first deed was thirty pounds, and the first signature was that of Waban, who was chief at Natick. Twenty-two names were second deed it is as follows ; — " all that part of the sajd Nipmug country * * * lying, & being on the south part of the sajd colony of the Mattachusets, beyond the great riuer * * * bounded with the Mattachusets patent line * * * on the south, and certeine marked trees, beginning at sajd riuer and runing south east, till it strike vpon the bounds the of sajd patent line ; on the north, the sajd great riuer; on the east, and coming to a point on the west. " Mass. Col. Rec, V. 362 — 365. The commissioners say in their report Feb. i68r-2, "The whole tract in both deeds conteyned is in a forme of a trjangle & reduced to a square, conteyneth a tract about fifty miles long & twenty miles wide." Ibid. 342. " Ibid. 361. SECOND DEED, FROM " BLACK JAMES. 3/ attached, probably representing the chief men of the tribe living east of the Blackstone river, i In the second deed the amount acknowledged was twenty pounds. The first signature was that of Black James of Chaubunagungamaug,^ and the twenty-nine other signers were doubtless inhabitants of the tract conveyed. The black coat was given to Black James as a mark of honor.'' ' Waban was the first Indian chief who professed Christi- anity, and he entertained Mr. Ehot in his wigwam at his first going among the Nipmucks. [Gookin.] He maintained a char- acter for integrity and reliability which was recognized by the state authorities, and was appointed a justice of the peace, or "ruler of fifty," and was somewhat noted as a magistrate. The following is a copy of one of his warrants : — "You, you big constable, quick you catch uip, Jeremiah Offscow, strong you hold um, safe you bring um afore me. — Waban, Justice of the Peace.'' A young justice asked him what he should do when Indians got drunk and quarreled. He replied, "tie um all up, and whip um plaintiff, whip um 'fendant, and whip um witness.'' Allen, Biog. Dictionary. 2 This name signifies the " fishing place of the boundary," and was given to the large pond in the vicinity, which was the boundary between the lands of the Narragansetts and the Nipmucks. 3 Gookin says, (1674,) of Chaubunagungamaug, "in this place dwells Black James, who about a year ago was constituted 38 ROBERT THOMPSON. In the latter deed was a reservation to the amount of five miles square, for the exclusive use of this branch of the tribe, which might be chosen in two localities. The first was on the Ouinebaug river at Maanexit, three or four miles southerly of Chaubunagungamaug, and the other, four or five miles southeasterly of Maanexit, in the present town of Thompson, i Most of the first named reservation was sold subsequently to Dudley or his heirs, and a part, at least, incorporated in the town which now bears liis name. - Associated with Stoughton and Dudley in public matters, and especially in efforts of a philanthropic nature, was another man of marked ability, and of great influence, not only here but in England — Robert Thompson, merchant, of London. This noble man became warmly interested in the success constable of all the praying towns. He is a person that hath approved himself diligent and courageous, faithful and zealous to suppress sin." — A sale of land in the Quinebaug valley, Conn., was made by one " Hyems " or James, to the English, in 1653, and a coat was a part of the price paid. — Miss Larned, 1.5. ' Mass. Col. Rec, V. 488. ~ " Five thousand acres at Quinnatisset and a large tract at Mayanexet, being a moiety or full half of the whole reservation, were immediately conveyed for the sum of ten pounds, to Stoughton and Dudley." — Miss Larned, I. 14. GO\'ERXMENT GRATUITY TO THOMPSOX. 39 of the New England colonies as early as 1630, and in 1670 was chosen president of the "Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in New England." ' He had largely the confidence of the colonial authorities, and ably served the public interests both here and in England, and as a token of esteem a grant of land was made to him, as follows : ** This Court being informed by our agents, now in Kngfand, of the good win &; freindsliip ai Major Robert Thooqisoii, of London, & his readiness Tpon all occasions to be asastants to them in the service of diis cc^onj, wherein they are, accoi ding doe, by way of gratuity, give ¥nto die said ^lajor Thooqisoii & bis heires, fine hondred acres of land in the Nipmng counliey, to be lajd out to him w'tfa all reasoviable convenience.'^ Dated May i6di, 1683. ^ After his death the l^islature of Connecticut granted two thousand acres to his grandson in London, as a tribute to his memory.- Stoughton was also a man of wealth and high ' Hutchinson, I. 324. 2 Mass. CoL Rec, V. 409. 3 An old plan in the Oxford records shows, amoi^ odier lots of land in the territory lying soatheriy of die town and nord»- easteiiy of Chanbonagangamang pond, one designated as "Thom{>son's five hundred acres.'' Connecticot's grant was located in North IGlUng^y, which {dace was afterwards chartered as a town, and named ^ Thompson,'' in honor of the grantee. 40 Dudley's public services. standing, and was in 1694 and 1700, acting governor of the province. He was a liberal patron of Harvard College, and his memory is perpetuated there in the hall which bears his name. Dudley was a leading spirit of his time. However unfortunate he may have been in the direction he gave to his influence, his eminent talents and efficiency in public affairs cannot be questioned. For many years his name appears in the records as that of a man prominent in the management of Colo- nial matters, and especially in affairs pertaining to the new settlements, where disputes were continually arising on both civil and religious matters, his services were often called into requisition by the authorities. He held numerous high positions under the government, and was governor of the Province from 1702 to 171 5. Stoughton and Dudley were warm friends, and their names often appear together in the Colonial records. Associated with these gentlemen were Dr. Daniel Cox, and John Blackwell, of London, i and Thomas • John Blackwell was a member of parliament under Crom- well, and a treasurer in his army. He was intimate with Dudley while in this country, was made a justice of the peace by him, and was often his adviser in public affairs. — Miss Larned, I. 183. GOOD PROSPECTS OF THE COLONY. 4I Freak, of Hannington, Wiltshire, who were all men of influence, and were in sympathy with them in the plan of a settlement in Oxford, and intended to become themselves settlers in Massachusetts. It is safe to afflrm that hardly another colony, of the many which were then being projected, had such prospects of success, or so able and efficient guardians to watch over and aid it in its early struggles for existence and growth. It would seem that under the fostering care of such patrons, any enterprise which they might undertake would be sure to prosper. But in this case progress was very slow, and influences beyond the control of any set of men hindered the initiation of the scheme. Mr. Blackwell came over from England, and after re- maining here several years, abandoned the idea of a permanent settlement in America, and returned. Dr. Cox and Mr. Freak gave up their intention of coming to this country, probably because of political changes which had taken place in Massachusetts, and also in England. For two years after the date of the grant, no progress towards a settlement seems to have been made. The scarcity of men who met the demands of the grantees as settlers, and of such as had sufficient courage, zeal and ability to cope with the 42 PROGRESS OBSTRUCTED. real difficulties in the way of establishing a colony in this frontier region, was doubtless a great obstacle in the way of progress. The demand for men in the older settlements was great, and especially in those which had been destroyed by the war, the proprietors were anxious to re-establish and re-build as fast as possible. The grant for Woodstock had been made November 7th, 1683, and so great were the obstacles, that in the spring of 1686, only thirteen men could be mustered who were ready to go.^ Confidence in the peaceful professions of the natives had nearly vanished. The horrors of the recent war were still fresh in mind, and those who lived in the safer places near the coast were slow to go out and face the hardships of a pioneer life in a wilderness where roving bands of hostile Indians were scout- ing, and the resident tribes had proved themselves untrustworthy, I Woodstock Rec. CHAPTER III. GRANT FOR OXFORD. LINES OF THE TRACT. — PART GIVEN FOR A VILLAGE. The grant for Oxford is as follows : — "This court hauing information that some gentlemen in England are desirous to remoove themselues into this colony, & (if it may be) to setle themselues vnder the Massachusets ; for the incouragement of such persons, & that they may haue some from among themselues, according to their motion, to assist & direct them in such a designe, this Court doth grant to Major Robert Thompson, Willjam Stoughton and Joseph Dud- ley, Esq., and such others as they shall associate to them, a tract of land, in any free place, conteyning eight miles square, for a touneship, they setling in the sajd place w'thin fewer yeares, thirty familjes, & an able orthodox minister, and doe allow to the sajd touneship freedom from country rates for fewer yeares from the time aboue Ijmitted." Dated May 1 6th, 1683.' The survey of this grant was made by John Gore of Roxbury, and accepted by the General Court May 1 6th, 1683, and the place was named Oxford, after the city of that name in England. 2 The plan, a copy ' Mass. Col. Rec, V. 408. 2 This fact does not appear clearly from the record, but receives 44 PK^CRTPTIOX OF THF i^RAXT. of which is now in the town clerk's office, compre- hendeii forty-one thousand two hundred and fifty acres, or a little less than sixty-five square miles, and \ras two thousand one hundred and fourteen rods, or six and two-thirds miles on the easterly side ; three thousand three hundred and forty rods, or about ten and a half miles on the southerly ; one thousand nine hundred and sixty-eight rods, or about six miles on the westerly ; and three thousand two hundred and sixteen rods, or about ten miles on the northerly. The description in the deed of division — hereafter described — begins at the southwest corner of Wor- cester, which was near the present village of Auburn, and from thence the line ran nearly south, to the northwest corner of Mr. Dudlev's grant of one thousand acres before alluded to.^ and thence south fifteen degrees east, by the west line of said farm to confirmation from the memorandum of Judge Sevrall, of Boston, who in his diary wrote, ** I gave Xew Roxbun* the name of Woodstock, because of its nearness to Oxford, for the sake of Oueen Elizabeth .and the notable meetings that hare been held at that place bearing the name in England." [Holmes' Annals. II. 24a] The5e phice^ are about eight miles distant from each other, and are places of note in English history. At the University in Oxford many of the leading men of the early cokmial times received their education. ^See maqpw " THE COMMON WAY. 45 a point abrjut one and a quarter miles southwesterly of the village of West Sutton, and a mile and a half west of Manchaug pond, known as " Manchaug Cor- ner"— thence west fifteen degrees south, to a point a little north of Peter pond in the easterly part of Dudley, and thence continuing westerly, crossing the Ouinebaug river to a point in the vicinity of San- dersdale, in the easterly part of Southbridge, thence northerly to a point about two miles westerly of Charlton city, on the Sturbridge line, thence easterly, bearing northerly, to the southwest comer of Wor- cester. These lines enclosed, besides the present town of Oxford, nearly the whole of Charlton, about one fourth of Auburn, one fifth of Dudley, and three or four square miles of the northeastern portion of Southbridge, Through this tract there ran, due north and south, a ''way," twenty rods in width, called *' the common way." The design of this unusual provision can only be conjectured, but as it is called on an old plan the "proprietors' common way," it probably was a reser\'e for the purpose of access to the several allotments of the lands west of the village. We find no subsequent allusion to it in the records, and later, it is believed, it became a part of the village 46 ALLOTMENT OF THE WESTERN PORTION. territory, and its western line, the boundary. This dividing line cut off from the main grant eleven thousand two hundred and fifty acres of the eastern portion, a tract six and two-thirds miles long, and two and one-half miles wide, which was given to the settlers for a ''Village," or "General Plantation." The remaining thirty thousand acres was divided into five equal parts, the division lines running easterly and westerly. These parts were allotted as follows : the northernmost to Robert Thompson, the second to Daniel Cox, the third to William Stough- ton, the fourth to John Blackwell, and the southern- most to Joseph Dudley. Mr. Cox's portion is sub- divided on the plan between Blackwell, Freak and Cox. All the bounds mentioned in this deed were of a transient nature — marked trees, a heap of stones, or a stake, constituting them all — except one, which is permanent, and this was at the northeast corner of the natural pond at the present Hodges' village. This bound marked the ''Village line," as it was called. Mr. Blackwell's north line joined the Village line at this point, so that the pond was in the north- eastern angle of his portion, and is called on the plan referred to, " l^lackwell's pond." On another plan of early date his share is designated as " now Papillon's," and on another, later, as " Wolcut's and THE DEED OF DIVISION. 4/ "Williams'." I We have no record of the latter gentleman, but Josiah Wolcott, Esq., was prominent in the early history of the town, and was a grand- son of Peter Papillon. Thus it appears that Dudley, who became pos- sessed of a considerable amount of landed property in this region, Stoughton, and Thompson — who had other lands in the vicinity — were the only three of the six original proprietors who had a permanent interest in the settlement of the place. The last two gentlemen seem — from the entire absence of their names in the records — to have given to Dudley the whole control of their interests, and down to the time of the permanent settlement by the Eng- lish, he appears as the sole manager. The deed of division referred to, is a document of much historical interest and value. It was found among old papers in London in 1872, and is now I Blackwell, it appears, early disposed of his interest in the Oxford scheme and transferred his patronage to a new grant, which he obtained for himself and his English friends, January 28, 1685, located in the valley of the Ouinebaug, near the pres- ent town of Pomfret, Conn. — Mass. Col. Rec, V. 467. Stoughton's share is designated on this later plan as "now Brown's." But as his heirs signed the proprietors' proclamation in 171 2, in reference to re-settlement, he must have retained his interest at the time of his death. 48 "THE FRENCH HOUSES." in the possession of the New York Historical Society. 1 It is dated July 3d, 1688. A point of peculiar interest in it, is in the description of Mr. Dudley's portion, where it gives his northeastern bound as a " white oak stake, square, driven in the meadow, by the river which runs by and from the French houses." This bound was about one-third of a mile down this stream from where the road to Webster now crosses it, and of course due south from the northeast corner of the above named pond. This is the only record we have touching the existence of the houses of the French settlers at that time, and it confirms what tradition says of ' This deed is on parchment, and is in good condition. It is executed in a plain hand, with the prominent words and phrases in Old Enghsh. Its size is two feet three inches, from top to bottom, and two feet five inches in width, and it is closely written to the margin. At the bottom is a fold inward of an inch and a half, on which are placed at equal intervals five loops of parchment, originally bearing seals in wax, now nearly gone. The left hand seal bears the name Joseph Dudley, and the second William Stoughton, the third and fourth are blank, and the fifth has John Blackwell's signature. It is witnessed on the back by Samuel Witty, Edward Thomas, Daniel Bondet, I. B. Du Tuffeau, and William Blackwell. Du Tuffeau's signature is excellent in style, and would do credit to a modern business man. This deed is printed in full in Amidown's Historical Collections, I. 128. "augutteback pond. 49 their location. Another fact of interest which we learn from this document, is the Indian name of the beautiful pond referred to, which was *' Augut- teback." i • ^ We cannot claim that this name is as charming as the lalce which it represents, but as it was the name by which it was known by the aborigines, it is desirable that it should be retained. Mr. Whitney gives it as "Augootsback," but there is evidence that the name in the deed is the one used by the early settlers. While on the subject of names we would note that there is an obvious impropriety in calling the river running west of the village, the " French river." The tradition alluded to by Dr. Holmes, that part of the settlers located near that stream, is evidently erroneous, as it was outside the village line, and therefore not included in the grant, and if this were not the case it is altogether improbable that the small and comparatively defenceless body of men who came here, would scatter them- selves over so large a territory as they must have done, had they settled there. The proper name of this stream is that given to it by the natives — " Maanexit." The large, round topped hill, lying south-east of the village, called Mayo Hill, should be known by the name given to it in one of the first records made in the history of Oxford — " Bondet Hill." 4 CHAPTER IV. ATTRACTIONS OF THE LOCALITY. " NEW ROXBURY " ANEk "new OXFORD." At this point it is an interesting inquiry to raise, what were the natural characteristics of this locality which made it in Dudley's estimation, '' capable of good settlement ? " It is well known that no part of southern central Massachusetts can boast of special fertility of soil. Its best lands are those of the hills which were originally covered with heavy growths of wood. The Oxford grant had in its western part, embracing most of the present town of Charlton, a large share of hilly country. I But its eastern portion, which was set apart for a village, was more level and capable of settlement, because of its meadows and plains. These plains extend about two and a half miles north and south, I Mashamoquet or Mashamuckit Hill, near Charlton centre, is the most prominent point of land in the southern part of Worcester county, and is the highest in the range of hills running north and south, constituting the " height of land " between Boston and Springfield. THE PLAINS AND MEADOWS. 5 1 and embrace some five or six hundred acres, which have a warm soil of sandy loam, peculiarly adapted to the production of the chief crop of those early times, Indian corn. The country was not an unbroken forest, but here and there, especially on the plains, were open areas on which the Indians raised corn and other vegetables, and the Nipmuck region — espe- cially its southern part — was early famous as a corn growing country. i Gookin said of Manchaug, ** it is situated in a fertile country for good land," and further, he states that he had seen corn-fields in this region, yielding forty bushels to the acre. In the estimation of the settlers its value was decided by its ability to produce readily the means of subsistence ; therefore the mellow and tractable soil of the plains was preferred to the more rugged land of the hills. The natural meadows skirting the streams which ran on either side the plains, were considered the most valuable of all the lands, on account of the crops of hay they yielded. 2 I Boston News Letter, Miss Larned, I. 2. ~ Sudbury, Concord, Lancaster, and Brookfield were among the earliest inland settlements, and were chosen for their pro- ductive meadows. — The artificial pond in the eastern part of Oxford, called " Robinson's pond," covers what was one of the finest meadows in the vicinity, which has been known from the 52 WILD GAME, AND FISH. Water power, an indispensible requisite, was here in a convenient location, and easily available. Wild game, important as a means of living in those days, was plentiful in these forests, and fish were abundant in the ponds and rivers. We have it on good authority that the hills south-easterly of the village abounded in deer, and it is a matter of record that deer reeves were chosen annually in town meetings, in the early history of the town.i Another favorable consideration was that this loca- tion was comparatively easy of access. The road earliest history of the town, as " Mendon meadow," from the fact that Mendon people came there yearly to cut hay, before the settlement of Oxford. — See Addenda, B. As late as the year 1828, it was the custom every spring, at a fixed time, to open the waste gates at the mill near the south end of the plain, and draw the water from the meadows above, that the crops of hay might grow and be harvested. I Mr. Stephen Davis, recently deceased, at the age of eighty- seven years, said, on the authority of his father, that at the time of the settlement of his ancestors in the extreme south-east part of Oxford, a young man with a dog and gun could go into the woods near by, and bring home a fawn as certainly and almost as quickly as a farmer could go to his sheep-fold and prepare a lamb for use. There were also here wild animals whose existence was not altogether desirable. Bears and wolves were not uncommon. "• The Wabquassets paid to Uncas, Chief of the Mohegans, THE GRANT EASY OF ACCESS. 53 from Boston to Springfield crossed the grant in its northern section, and the old roadway to Connecticut ran through its southern part, i ' yearly tribute of white deer-skins, bear-skins and black wolf- skins.' " — Miss Larned, I. 3. One condition of a certain treaty between Plymouth colony and Philip was that he should deliver to the authorities annually five wolves' heads. — Palfrey. Mrs. Lee, in her " History of the Huguenots in France and America,'' quoting from the manuscript of Mr. John Mayo, says, " I heard Joseph Rockwood who served in the fort, tell of having got lost in the woods when out for the cows. He heard at a distance the cries of wild beasts, and ascended a tree for safety. He was surrounded during the night by half famished, howling wolves." Tradition gives us the circumstances of the killing of two large black bears in the vicinity of "Bug Swamp," in the easterly part of the town, some twenty years after the settle- ment by the English. I Gookin, in 1674, speaking of Hassanamesit, [Grafton,] says ; "It is near unto the old roadway to Connecticut." A glance at the map shows that the most direct route from Grafton to Woodstock is through Oxford, and we have further evidence in this direction, in the fact that on a plan, dated 171 1, of land of Maj. Fitch, in the northern part of Windham County, the " Connecticut path "" is laid down as entering Thompson near the middle of its northern boundary line, and near to where the " Frenchtown river," as it is there called, enters it. The large extent of Chaubunagungamaug pond renders this impossible, 54 THE "bay path." The former way, called the *' Bay path," had been traveled for nearly fifty years, and was the thorough- fare between the east and the west, as they then existed." i Dr. Holland says of it : — "It was a path marked by trees a portion of the distance, and by slight clearings of brush and thicket for the remainder. No stream was bridged, no hill graded, and no marsh drained. The path led through woods which bore the marks of centuries, unless the path came down on its westerly side, and this would indicate that its course was througfh Oxford. The fact that this "way" was called in the records the "great trail," leads to the belief that it was originally the Indian path. The probable reason for its bearing so far to the northward of a straight line, was that the difficulties of crossing the " Medfield river," might be avoided. There is a record of a petition, very early, for a bridge across this river. The following is the action of the Court : — " Whereas, the way to Kenecticut now used, being very haz- ardous to travellers, by reason of one deep river that is passed fower or five times over, which may be avoided as is conceived, by a better and nearer way, it is refferd to Major Pynchon to order the said way to be laid out and well marked." — March 30, 1683, Mass. Col. Rec, V. 391. I Distinct remains of the old " Bay road," for a third of a mile or more, may be seen now in the "great valley" directly west of Charlton Centre. This fact is stated on the authority of the late Gen. Salem Towne. NEW OXFORD AND NEW ROXBURY. 55 over barren hills that had been licked by the Indians' hounds of fire, and along the banks of streams that the seine had never dragged. * * * It is wonderful what a powerful interest was attached to the Bay path. That rough thread of soil, chopped by the blades of a hundred streams, was the one way left open, through which the sweet tide of sympathy might flow. Every rod had been prayed over by friends on the journey and friends at home. If every traveler had raised his Ebenezer as the morning dawned upon his trusting sleep, the monuments would have risen and stood like mile stones. " ^ Miss Larned says of the " Connecticut path," " This rude track became the main thoroughfare between the two colonies, [Massachusetts and Connecticut.] Hundreds of families toiled over it to new homes in the wilderness. The fathers of Hart- ford and New Haven, ministers and governors, captains and commissioners, government officials and land speculators, crossed and re-crossed it." The facts in the history of the beginning of the sister colonies, New Oxford and New Roxbury, are worthy of notice. Dudley had explored the sites of both, and we have his opinion as to their promise for settlement. The grant for Oxford had been made in I This description applies to the " Bay path " as it existed very early in the history of the colonies. At the time of the settlement of Oxford it might have attained the dignity of a wagon road. But Huntington, in his Centennial address at Hadley, says that in 1675 the produce of the towns on the Connecticut, was still sent down the river on its way to Boston. 56 . Dudley's aid given to each. May, 1683, and in November of the same year, through the petition of thirty-six of Eliot's parish- oners, townsmen of Dudley, the selectmen of Roxbury received a grant in the same neighborhood, i with a proviso that Thompson and company should have the first choice of a location. 2 While Mr. Dudley's pecu- niary interests were mainly in New Oxford, his interest, also, in the sister colony, was shown in the fact that in town meeting at Roxbury he was chosen chairman of a committee "to draft propositions that may be most equal and prudent for the settlement of New Roxbury."3 He was also instrumental in obtaining for the New Roxbury settlers a deed of their lands from the proprietor, Capt. James Fitch. 4 Evidently his valuable knowledge and experience served both colonies, and no doubt his advice as to the manage- ment of the affairs of each was such as to insure mutual sympathy and helpfulness. More than two years elapsed after the New Rox- bury grant was made, before settlers occupied either place, and it is probable that the fact of the settle- ^ Mass. Col. Rec, V. 422. 2 Oxford's meadows, and the certainty of its being within the bounds of Massachusetts colony, probably decided Stoiighton and Dudley in its favor. 3 Roxbury Rec. 4 Miss Lamed, I. 19. INTERCOURSE BETWEEN THE COLONIES. 57 ment of the two tovvTis in the same year was not accidental, and further it would seem not improbable that the receipt of the news of the agreement be- tween Thompson and Beraon, in London, in the spring of 1686, concerning the settlement of Oxford, was the signal for the on\s-ard movement of the pioneers of Woodstock. We know that later, com- munication was free and constant between the two places. I The Chandlers, father and son. were leaders at Woodstock, and the records show that in all the region around, they were active in public matters, especially in the sur^-eying and di\-iding of lands, and John Chandler, Jr., was in the list of the thirty English settlers of Oxford in i;i5. - » These places are about ten miles apart. Woodstock Hill is plainly visible from the site of the Oxford fort and it is believed that intelligence passed between them bv means of sig:nals, at these points. ^^ John Chandler, Jr., although one of the thirt\- grantees of the Oxford \*illage, proKably never settled here. He took a share in the enterprise, it seems, as a speculation; he, and also his father, being extensive operators in land in all the towns adjacent to Woodstock. He disposed of his interest here in the latter part of 1714. He \v.\s chosen colonel of the militi.i, and in public affairs he became the most intluenti;U m;in in this region. It was through his instrumentality chiefly, that Wor- cester County was established in 1731. At its org;uiization he 58 WOODSTOCK FURNISHES SOLDIERS. In the course of events it became necessary for the people of Oxford to garrison themselves for pro- tection against the Indians. Woodstock then fur- nished soldiers to assist as guards.^ took the post of honor, and was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and also Judge of Probate. He con- tinued to live in Woodstock until his death in 1743. Dea. John Chandler, Sen., died in 1703. Oxford had the offer of being made the county seat of the new county, but declined the honor, on the ground, it is said, that the influences of a shire town would endangrer the ffood morals of the young people. I Humphrey to Holmes. "Memoir of French Protestants who settled in Oxford, Mass., 1686," by A. Holmes, D. D. —Mass. His. Soc. Col, Vol. II. 3d Series, p. 80. This most interesting memoir, the first and only account of the Oxford Huguenots heretofore published, is now out of print, and very rare outside of the libraries. CHAPTER V. THE HUGUENOTS. — FRENCH REFORMATION. — BERNON AS CONTRACTOR. In the spring of 1685, no progress appears to have been made towards occupying the Oxford grant, and on the petition of the grantees, the stipulated time for making the settlement was extended three years. i Before the expiration of this time the problem was solved, and the requisite number of settlers from a people of a strange coun- try and language, and a most remarkable history, were here as colonists. We cannot enter at length into their record before their emigration. It is a long, dark and bloody history, a story of conflict and intolerance, of suffering and heroic endurance. An imperfect outline must suffice. The Reformation in France had its beginning among the young men of the University at Paris, under the lead of Jacques Lefevre, about the year I Mass. Col. Rec, V. 469- 60 THE REFORMATION IN FRANCE. 1493- ' The work had made considerable progress before John Calvin came upon the stage, and when, in 1530, he appeared as a champion of the truth, large numbers hailed him as a leader, and enlisted under his banner. Under him the progress of the cause was rapid, and many of the noblest men of the nation, including some very near the throne, became its adherents.^ In 1550 the balance was so nearly poised that it was doubtful whether the Huguenots would not gain control of the government. Three bloody civil wars ensued in quick succession, in which the Protestants suffered great losses. In 1570 the noble Henry of Navarre, afterward King Henry IV., was their principal hope as a political protector. In 1572 he married the sister of the king, and from all parts of France the leading Protestants were invited to Paris to attend the ' " The father of the French Reformation, or the one more than any other entitled to this distinction, is Jacques Lefevre, born in Picardy about i455."_Fisher's Hist. Ref. 277. ' " Coligni greeted him as a leader of the Reformation. * * * His system of doctrine and polity * * * gave comfort to the Huguenots, shaped the theology of the Palatinate * * * controls Scotland to the present hour, founded the Puritanism of England, and has been the basis of New England character."— Appleton's Cycl. EDICT OF NANTES. PERSECUTIONS. 6 1 nuptial ceremonies. Then occurred the massacre of St. Bartholomew, that dark blot in the world's history, in which two thousand persons in Paris, and twenty thousand in the kingdom, were killed in eight days. Terrible as was this blow, its effect was only to arouse and bring together more closely these people, and under their favorite, Henry, the conflict was renewed, and carried on with varied results till 1589, when he came to the throne. Upon assuming its responsibilities, as a measure of policy and conciliation he joined the Catholic church, and nine years after, he issued the famous Edict of Nantes, which gave religious liberty throughout the land. In 1610 Henry died, leaving the Protestants politically defenceless. Persecution began again soon after his death, and the Edict was practically annulled. Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, par- ticularly the latter, — until his death in 165 1 — were influential in partially restraining the persecutions. But on the accession of Louis XIV., in the same year, the clouds quickly gathered, and all the ener- gies of the government were directed toward the extermination of the heretics. By means of bribery and dragooning, in which the Protestants suffered untold atrocities, many were forced to abjure their religion, and in form, the Reformed church was -^2 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HUGUENOTS. amiost destroyed before the revocation of the Edict in 1685. But when that blow fell, a proof was given of the power of the Faith to hold its adherents. When the choice came between conformity to the State religion and expatriation, hundreds of thou- sands accepted the latter, and bade a last farewell to their native land.i These refugees are said by historians to have been among the very best people of France. As men of character and moral worth they were eminent. In comparison with the Puritans they were as firm and well-established in their religious opinions, as devout, less bigoted, yet more cultivated and refined. They were intelligent in religious matters, pro- found Bible students, and also excelled in music, having a metrical translation of the Psalms, and the hymns of Beza, and of Marot, — who was called the French Watts, — set to the sweet harmonies of Goudimel, an early French composer. As artisans in silks, glass, rich jewelry and pot- tery, they have never been excelled, and to this day ' The number of French refugees who left within a few years after the Revocation, has been very differently estimated at from two hundred and fifty thousand to eight hundred thous- and, but most authors agree in stating it at about five hundred thousand. FRENCH PROTESTANTS IN LONDON. 6$ the best workers in these materials in London are their descendants. " Spittlefields and the parts adjoining," says Stowe, "became a great harbor for poor Protestant strangers, Walloons and French, who, as in former days, so of late, have been found to become exiles from their own country for their religion, and for avoiding the cruel persecution. Here they found quiet and security, and settled themselves in their several trades and occupations, weavers, especially ; whereby God's blessing is surely not only brought upon the parish, by receiving poor strangers, but also a great advantage hath accrued to the whole nation, by the rich manufacture of wearing silks, and stuffs, and camlets, which art they brought along with them. And this benefit also to the neighborhood, that these strangers may serve for pattern of thrifty honesty, industry and sobriety." Near Leicester Square is a house of worship called "the Orange Street Chapel," built in 1684 by subscription, for the French Protestants. "Within its walls they prayed for the Prince by whom they had been forbidden to follow their trades and professions, for- bidden Christian burial, and exiled, and whom yet they re- spected as the Almighty's scourge." ' Smiles, in his History of the Huguenots, says : " They were acknowledged to be the best agriculturists, wine-growers, merchants and manufacturers in France. No heavier crops were grown in France than on the Huguenot farms in Beam, and the south-western provinces. The slopes of the Aigoul and I Hare. Walks in London, IL 12S. ^4 THEIR BENEFIT TO AMERICA. the Epernon were covered with their floclcs and herds. The valley of the Vaunage was celebrated for its richness of vegeta- tion, and was called by its inhabitants the "Little Canatn." * * * The diligence, skill and labor with which they subdued the stubborn soil and made it yield its increase of flowers and fruils, and corn and wine, b<,re witness in all quarters to the toil and energy of the men of the Religion." Of these refugees, fifty thousand went to London others to Holland, to Brazil and other parts of the' western continent. They settled in Florida. New York. Massachusetts. Rhode Island and Virginia, but more than in any other State, in South Carolina! In all these places they assisted in laying firmly the foundations of our noble institutions, and to use the language of a recent writer. " They have contributed m proportion to their numbers, a vast share to the culture and prosperity of the United States." He adds, "they were noted for severe morality, great charity, and politeness and elegance of manners." i We learn from the records that America was early held m high esteem by these people, and that for a number of years before the crisis came, their eyes were directed to this country as a place of refuge and inquiries were sent as to the prospects for emigrants, especially for those who tilled the soil. 2 ' Appleton's Cycl. » Holmes, 28. . BERNON AND DU TUFFEAU. 65 The chief agent in their removal hither was Gabriel Bernon, a merchant of Rochelle,' who hav- ing- fled to London after the Revocation, was there introduced to Mr. Robert Thompson, by an eminent French gentleman then in that city. The result was an agreement on the part of Mr. Bernon to make the settlement on the Oxford grant, of the thirty French Protestant families.- He did not manage the affairs of the colony in person, but employed as his agent, Isaac Bertrand Du Tuffeau, to whom, on his arrival in this country, as a matter of encouragement, was given as the representative and co-partner of Mr. Bernon, a tract of seven hundred and fifty acres of land in New Oxford. Subsequently, at the solicitation of Du Tuffeau, Mr. Bernon came to Boston, when a further grant was made to him in his own right, of seventeen hundred and fifty acres, making twenty-five hundred acres in all, the whole lying within the village plat, and embracing more than one-fifth of its whole extent. 3 r La Rochelle was for many years the stronghold of the Protestants in France. It is situated on the sea coast, and is the port of a fertile region which produces largely, grain, wine, cattle and horses. Most of the company which came to Oxford are beheved to have been natives of this place or its vicinity. 2 Holmes, 69. 3 Ibid. 5 CHAPTER VI. ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. LOCATION IN OXFORD. FORT, CHURCH, MILLS, AND PLANTATIONS. The history of this enterprise, from the time when the emigrants left France to the breaking up and extinction of the settlement, is difficult to trace, for want of documentary evidence. Diligent search among the records of England and this country, has failed to bring to light much which is satisfactory as to its detail. The few facts we have, are drawn from isolated papers, letters, petitions and documents of various purport, gathered from many different sources, which give us only glimpses, from time to time, of the progress of events in the settlement. The "books, papers, and acts of the village," which M. Bondet, their minister, is charged with having taken away when he left, although they have been diligently sought for, have never been recovered. Tradition gives us but few facts. Enough, however, of the enterprise is known to throw around the subject a romantic interest, which is rare in New England history. DATE OF THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY 6/ Dr. Snow, in his history of Boston, says that during the summer of 1686 a number of vessels having on board French refugees, arrived at that port. Among these are believed to have been many of the company who afterward came to New Ox- ford, i As the requisite number of emigrants did not occupy the grant at the beginning, 2 we infer that the company was not organized until their arrival in Boston, although as Bernon certifies that he " paid the passage for over forty persons to America," ^ it is probable that a part, at least, left Europe with direct reference to the settlement here. The colony was founded in 1686.4 Arrived on ' It is extremely probable that some of the first men in New England aided these proscribed Rochellese in their emigration. — Holmes, 29. - See letter Fr. Prot. Refugee in Boston, 1687, page 72. 3 Letter to Gov. Shute. Holmes, 69. ■^ It has been claimed by some that the settlement was made in the spring of 1687, but we see no reason for doubting the statement of Whitney and of Holmes that it was in 1686. Bondet, in his letter to Cornbury, 1702, says that he had then been in America about fifteen years. This is indefinite. When he par- ticularizes and says he was nine years in Oxford, two years waiting in Boston, and five years in New Rochelle, we have sixteen years, which gives 1686 as the time of settlement. The fact that collections in behalf of the French refugees in Boston were 68 "BONDET hill"— THE ''GREAT HOUSE, ?> the location of the proposed settlement, they fixed upon the eminence a mile and a half south-east of the present centre of the village, as their head- quarters. At this point, for many years afterward, the highway from Boston entered the town. At a short distance to the south-east from this spot, upon higher ground, overlooking all this region, was the site of the large fort. The large round-top hill lying just below the fort, is called in the records ^'Bondet hill." From this we conclude it was owned by him while living here. On its eastern slope, just at the entrance of the Boston road, stood what is called in the records the ''Great House." This is believed to have been Bondet's residence. Of their church building no relic or mark remains, but its location is fixed with certainty by tradition. taken up in Salem and other places in the fall of 1686, proves nothing on this point, as there were those who remained per- manently in Boston, (see letter Fr. Ref., page 72,) and others went to colonize other parts of our country.— Snow. These people were in straitened circumstances and could not consult convenience, and considering that the Woodstock settle- ment had been begun, it seems more probable that the pioneers, at least, went at once to their destination, than that they remained in Boston, living on charity through the autumn and winter of 1686-7. CHURCH — BURYING GROUND — MILLS. 69 Within the memory of persons now living, there were to be seen large stones, said to have been part of the foundation of the building, upon the first rise of ground on the left, after crosifing the stream, on the road from the village to the fort, about sixty rods south-easterly of the Humphrey homestead. ^ Near the church, easterly from it, was their burying ground, and a small fort or palisade was built in the imme- diate vicinity, for protection in case of an attack in time of religious service. - Among the first things to be provided, were mills to furnish lumber, and for grinding grain. These were located upon the stream east of the "Plain," the principal stream within the village bounds ; one near the south end of the present Main street, called in the records the "old mill place," and the other a short distance below what is now Rich's mill, known as the upper site. From the little light we get from ' This homestead was the first residence of Ebenezer Hum- phrey, who came from Woodstock to Oxford while the French were here, to keep garrison, (see Hohnes, 80.) and is the place referred to in a vote in town meeting, Jan. 25, 171 4. — See Ad- denda E. — It has remained in the family since the settlement in 1 713, and is now owned and occupied by Ebenezer Humphrey, of the fourth generation from the first of the name. It is the only homestead in the town, which remains in the possession of the family of the original owner. 2 Addenda F. 70 HOUSES AND PLANTATIONS. the records, we conclude that the first mill built was a saw-mill, at the lower site or ''old mill place." In the Village Proprietors' records the lower site w^as called in 1714, ''the old mill," and also "the old mill place," which indicates that the first attempt to locate a mill was at this place. This was nearly in the centre of the population. Later, as it would seem, the grist-mill was built, at the upper site. The plantations wqvq chosen chiefly upon the plains ; and upon their eastern borders, near the meadows and running stream, they built their houses. These were placed with no regard to order or regularity, but each on a spot best suited to the taste of the owner. That there was real beauty in the plan on which the settlement was built, is readily seen. Above the whole, overlooking the valley for miles, was the main fort. Just below was Bondet hill, which, in its turn looked down on the church and lower fort, which stood at its foot. Still lower were the meadows, with the picturesque river winding through them, and beyond, on the higher banks, scattered up and down were the dwellings, and stretching behind these were the level plantations, and the receding forest hills made up the background. SKILL OF THE SETTLERS AS AGRICULTURISTS. 7 1 Disosway in his " Huguenots in America," says, " The dif- ferent parts of the country to which they came were greatly benefited by the introduction of their superior modes of cultivation of the soil, and of different valuable fruits which they brought from France. * * * When Charles II. in 1680, sent the first band of French Protestants to South Carolina, his principal object was to introduce into that colony the excellent modes of cultivation which they had followed in their own country." Lawson — an early traveler in the south — says "Their lands presented the aspects of the most cultivated portion of France and England." From these, and other evidences of their skill in cultivation, it is easy to believe that during their residence here, these people wrought a great change in the aspect of the place, and that by their well directed labor, wide and fertile fields, and fruitful gardens were made to flourish, where before existed only the unprofitable growths of the original forests. CHAPTER VII. DOCUMENTS REFERRING TO THE COLONY. ITS GROWTH. MISFORTUNES AND DISCOURAGEMENTS. ATTACK OF THE INDIANS. THE DESERTION. To trace its progress as far as possible, we now take up in order of time, the documents we have referring to the colony after its establishment. The earliest date is that of a letter of a French Protestant refugee in Boston, published by the French Protestant Historical Society, i dated Nov. 1687. \^Translation.'\ " The Nicmok Country belongs to the President, himself, (referring to Bernon, probably,) and the land costs nothing. I do not know as yet the precise quantity that is given to each family ; some have told me it is from fifty to a hundred acres, according to the size of a family. * * * It Hes with those who wish to take up lands whether to take them in the one or the other of the plantations — on the sea-board or in the in- terior. The Nicmok plantation is inland, at a distance of twenty leagues from Boston, and equally distant from the sea ; so that when the settlers wish to send anything to Boston, or I Bulletin, XVI. 73. QUANTITY OF LAND TO EACH FAMILY. '] ^ to obtain anything from thence, they are obliged to transport it in wasfons. In the neighborhood of this settlement there are small rivers and ponds abounding in fish, and woods full of game. M. Bondet is their minister. The inhabitants as yet number only fifty-two persons." In this remarkable letter we find mention of some of the prominent facts in the early history of this enterprise, — that land was furnished free to the settlers, and that their support was to come from this land by their own skill and hard toil, and that no better inducement could be offered them to choose a home here, than " woods full of game, and ponds and rivers abounding in fish," and "fifty to a himdred acres" to a family, chiefly of rude and unsubdued forest land, twenty leagues away from civilization. There was, however, an alternative. As early as 1685, a band of refugees had gathered at Boston, over which Laurent Vandenbosch officiated as pastor, i and it lay with the emigrants to choose to remain there or to go to settle the Nipmuck lands. We know but little of the sea-board colony, as its ' Rev. Charles W. Baird, D. D., sketch of Pierre Daillc^ in Magazine of American History, Vol. I. p. 94. 74 NUMBER OF COLONISTS IN 1 687. distinctive history was early merged in that of the growing town of Boston, but it is probable that the quantity of land they might occupy there was comparatively very small. i But the brave hearts and the strong arms which were needed to meet the stern realities of the case were not wanting. In the second year, in spite of all discouragements, fifty-two persons had made a home in the wilds of the Nipmuck country, and the pastor, Bondet, was with them to counsel and cheer them in their new and trying experiences. The allusion to carrying in wagons, is the earliest intimation we have of any means of conveyance other than by horseback. If a wagon road existed, it could have been little more than a broad bay path. 2 ^ Tradition informs us that the Huguenot settlers in Boston made the most of their grounds, and to a considerable extent gratified their taste in the cultivation of rare and beautiful fruits and flowers. The will of Andrew Johonnot, dated 1759, gave to Mrs. Johonnot a part of his estate, comprising rich gardens and finely cultivated grounds, filled with the choicest fruits, shrubs and flowers, natives of France. "A friend, now no more, Daniel Sargent, Esq., told me he perfectly recollected fine gardens pointed out to him when a boy, as having belonged to the Huguenots. " — Mrs. Lee, II. 68. 2 On a plan dated April i, 1713, in the Massachusetts THIRTY FAMILIES SETTLED IN 1 688. 75 Our second date is that of the deed of Dudley and the other proprietors, to Bernon, which is May 24th, 1688.^ This document, with the deed of division which was executed forty days afterward, — July 3d, 168S,— we take as evidence that the full quota of thirty families was settled on the planta- tion in the spring of this year. The stipulated time in which this was to be done, had expired in the Janu- ary previous. We have no intimation that a request for a further extension of time was made, and the simple fact of the deed to Bernon being drawn, would indicate that he had fulfilled his part of the contract. We also find in the deed itself evidence in the same direction, as in the consideration, no allusion is made to the completion of the contract to settle the thirty families, but it simply requires that he should build a mill for the use of the in- habitants. We find, also, strong confirmation of this fact in the doings of the proprietors, in dividing their lands, a thing they would not be likely to do while the main condition on which they held their grant was uncomplied with. Archives, of a grant of land to Jethro Coffin, located in North- bridge, there is laid down, easterly and westerly, a line designated as "the French road."— Plans and Grants, I. 240. 2 For this Deed, see Addenda K. j6 A MILX BUILT REV. M. BOXDET. Xext, in order of time. :s the "contract of Mr. Church, for the mill for New Oxford," i From this it appears that in the third summer of the colony's existence the much needed mill was erected, although from the date of the latter receipt :: seezis probable that it was not completed until :he winter of 16S9-90. Frczi the agreement on Bemon's part to furnish boards, we have ample e\'idence that the saw-mill had been built, and furthermore, his agreement to make, erect and finish the dam, is proof that the projected grist-mill was to occupy a new location, which the records indicate was the upper site. The r.rx: riirer is dated Jul}- 6th, 1691. This d : : .. : . . z : ^ esjing upon matters pertaining to the I: rather than the colony, is interesting IS ir.trh^: _ h^ev. Daniel Bondet, and showins: s _ ._ : >hs spirit and work. He heing at that tizie their rehgi:.:s teacher, was exceedingly tried by the results of th. . .. :riht:.- He savs ; T-e r.zie IS a.ws.Ts =:.i :: :f.t~ : : : rier ir.f ir.eas- --^-ci L. - M. B£EX OF WOOI>STOCK- '7 ore. * * * The 26di of last ■«»& there vas about tvoiti Indians so fnrioas br dnmkness fliat Aey lo«^^ Hke bears, and fen upon one remes * * * ^Tk> is apftoisted for preadiing the gospel a- — - "^ been so mndi disfigured br h:s tt— -: at his recovery. If it was voor ,-:iifie to die instmniens of that evil the jalosie of 7 I - woo-tchong and others who hare been resident in Ais town for a long time who are often times very drunken ; to the great dishonor of God, the grief of good men, the prejudice of them- selves and other Indians who are often beaten and braised and almost brought to deaths door, a sad example where ~ - - - :5 • - - y Ma~t:s- F'^snzh FZE:rf:zi::zirrr^ " J-, rrr. bty sievszi uni::' Xouzr iExzelssiLrT 2Zii t: : :~~ Manors. ~7-.ai i-iiir ■ps:±±33isr rsir^rref Er Driisr frim: ^^Ir r ; 3a3m3fs £:f:i_ si ""^-^^rr iX mrr - - nr-,' i-^gr: of iET ehh kch l5s£ ir.i^i ♦ DCZJST I _. 1 - "^ ^^ SI •""?* "Vr: ilZT£ ^romf- 1^ rrr ^'^ Bimft^ i. . itr pi»ar^st ce oiff TiP£ GffilKJSi HI ITUSI "V""!^ Vr I _ HZH I - ~.2IjiDSS. H jier^itDir!: irmniLT r;!!'_'^=':T?~ • •:— i^ _- _ ±^ Cirzucil ID rmwatW- -orr unserifs Hnf inii^sadrTr of zs^yjiig zV-j-- jtdL. znf. 2£ ir fmj DDinii "Wr siaZl tt^^t iirz~^- ililL 21. ari ln'i-f-T -^ a-gr-T'r — ^rr • •TTtg ' hhi r_£^ lEX^S ±ram tak p'ary lO -^e sr^ ' v- - - "'- -iiz-z. _. . ._l5 2Zit six COLOXIST5 DREAD OF THE IXDIA?f5 >I This paper has no date upon its iace^ bat is endorsed, ** Read Oct. 16, 1694. " The period from the founding of the crlony in 1686 to the spring oi 169Q. may appn^xiat^ be called the planting time. From 1690 t: the - _ 1694. there seems to have been gni^i^l _ prosp>erir. — :his was the season oi its ^. In this ; v.n we have the p' .e coming end. In the declaration e speared," is revealed the cause final extinction of the settlement. I:- with the disasters set forth in diis seem that the Huguenots had an insane tive the natives. The stories of their :y and cruelt\' in the late war were ess cujrenr among them, and it needed only to be Indians were lurking: in the vicinitv, to send le^ trembling through the communitA\» ' The sensitiveness of the people to die approach of the savages was doabdess increased br an inod^L the ■oon facts of which form the basis ol (Mae of the stories vhicfa Mrs. L. H. Sigoumey has given, widi mm^ daboratioa. in her '^Le^^cnd of Oxford.^ Two children cf M. Alani whose dwdfing stood near the old mill site, were in the woods gatbeni^ nuts or ber- ries, when a company of In