Class _fe£_, 
 
EARLY ROADS 
 
 ¥(.6 
 
 THE DWELLERS THEREON 
 
 IN 
 
 THE NORTHERN PORTION OF WORCESTER. 
 
 A PAPKR PREPARED BY 
 
 HENRY M. WHEELER, Esq., 
 II 
 
 FOR 
 
 The Worcester Society of Antiquity 
 From Volume XX. 
 
 Worcester 1904. 
 
25 JI 1907 
 
EARLY ROADS IN WORCESTER, 
 
 In the preparation of an article on the early roads and 
 the dwellers thereon in the northern portion of the town 
 I soon found myself in the predicament of the man, who, 
 at an advanced age, undertook to compile the genealogy 
 of his family; he said, "I think I have got hold of a bigger 
 job than I can manage." A writer has said, "An idea 
 arrives without effort: a form can only be wrought out 
 by patient labor." 
 
 When the Pilgrims came hither they found a land peopled 
 by inhabitants called Indians, who , were hospitably dis- 
 posed towards the strangers. Had Our fathers shown 
 the Christ-like spirit which they professed to hold, as 
 the actuating principle of their lives, or had the temper 
 of John Robinson prevailed over that of Myles Standish, 
 the early history of this land would have been far different 
 from what it is. But the discussion of this question would 
 be foreign to the purpose of this paper. The people found 
 here have been called aborigines usually, but in the light 
 of recent investigation and research that term seems to 
 be of doubtful significance. It is out of place to more 
 than allude to the inquiry here. 
 
 These peoples, by whatever name designated, dwelt in 
 small communities located near the sea shore or on the 
 bank of some pond or lake or stream, or in some rich valley, 
 from which their supplies of fish and maize could be obtained.- 
 Communication between these settlements was made 
 on foot by well-worn paths which came to be known as 
 Indian trails. The more numerous the communities the 
 greater the number of trails, and the more distinctly marked. 
 The paths were about one foot in width and from one 
 inch to six or more inches in depth according to the nature 
 
of the soil and their more or less frequent use. They were 
 tortuous in their course, crossing and interlacing each other 
 in all directions, yet each having its own marked destination. 
 A good illustration of these trails can be seen in a large 
 tract of land, the surface of which is covered with bushes, 
 trees, shrubs and rocks, low and wet places, elevations and 
 depressions, wherein cattle have been pastured for many 
 years. The paths made by the cattle wind about at all 
 angles, and there is not a straight one among them all. 
 The nature of the ground affects the course. Just as the 
 cattle in the pasture go round the rocks, avoid the miry 
 places, wind in and out amongst the trees and bushes to 
 reach water or the salt lick or the best feeding ground, 
 so the Indians traversed the county by avoiding the 
 highest elevations, encircling the swampy places, deflecting 
 their course to find the best fording spots, and wound 
 their way through the otherwise trackless forest to reach 
 their destination. They went in single file. The entire 
 country was covered with a network of these trails. Cer- 
 tain ones became known as great war paths, some of which 
 are identified to-day. They were more numerous in New 
 York state and in the middle west between the Alleghany 
 Mountains and the Mississippi River than in New England. 
 Some of them have become historic; the most prominent 
 being the Nemacolin, so named from a Delaware Indian 
 warrior chieftain. This ran from the Cumberland River to 
 Fort Duquesne. It was by this path that young Washing- 
 ton bore the message from the Governor of Virginia to 
 the French. On the same path he subsequently made the 
 first and only surrender to opposing forces during his life. 
 By this path the fatal expedition of Braddock trod. Later 
 it became and still is one of the great thoroughfares between 
 the east and the west. An interesting account of these 
 old trails may be found in "Historic Highways," by Archer 
 B. Hulbert. 
 
 As the colonies in the eastern part of the state increased 
 
in population, the more adventurous of the people pushed 
 out toward the west, seeking new homes and founding 
 new settlements. Waltham, Weston, Sudbury, Concord, 
 Marlborough, Lancaster, Deerfield, Worcester, Brookfield, 
 Grafton, Oxford, Brimfield and Springfield sprang into 
 existence one after the other. Communication between 
 these places and the older ones became a necessi ty . Traveled 
 ways immediately came into existence, which followed the 
 trails or paths made by the Indians. All travel was either 
 on foot or on horseback, baggage and stores were borne 
 on pack horses; there were no wheeled vehicles. The 
 paths were as primitive as the cattle trails in the pasture. 
 No attempt was made to build a road. Traveling was 
 dangerous at all seasons, especially so in the winter, from 
 wild animals, hostile Indians, falling trees, morasses, swollen 
 waters and deep snows. From these primitive ways the 
 present admirable system of roads has been slowly evolved 
 through years of difficulty and toil. First the trail was 
 widened into the rough cart path, rilled with rocks and 
 stumps and holes, that crossed the streams by fords. 
 Next came the cleared way built on the top of the natural 
 soil, with corduroy through the low places and rough plank 
 bridges over the water courses, veritable sloughs of despond 
 a part of the year. Then followed the plank road, a great 
 improvement, but of short duration. This was succeeded 
 by the turnpike, a scientific development of the axiomatic 
 truth that the shortest distance between two given points 
 is a straight line. The projectors of this system of roads 
 seem to have overlooked two facts, viz.: first, that that 
 truth is applicable only to plane surfaces; second, that 
 the bail of a bucket is no shorter in a perpendicular position 
 than in a horizontal one. The pikes ran straight over the 
 highest hills, through the lowest valleys and across swamps, 
 and were turned aside only by wide and deep ponds. The 
 Roxbury and Worcester turnpike, or the Boston and 
 Worcester, as it is commonly called, built in 180G, is a 
 
6 
 
 good illustration of this kind of a road near at hand. The 
 builders of it, undaunted by the long, steep hills, determined 
 to cross Long Pond. Their first attempt was a failure. 
 Actuated by a high resolve, however, they said, "Sink or 
 swim, survive or perish" we will carry this through; though 
 the first structure sank they finally crossed on a floating 
 bridge. Yet our fathers were wise men ; they were willing fre- 
 quently to toil up the steep and rugged mountain side to 
 obtain a sight of the King in his beauty, and felt amply 
 repaid for their struggle by the vision. Would it not be 
 well for us, their children, occasionally to leave the miasms 
 and damps of commercialism and materialism in the valley 
 and toil upwards to the mountain tops, where in a pure atmos- 
 phere we might behold with clear vision the sublime views 
 of a better life, and the true relation of man to man and 
 of man to his maker. 
 
 Instead of the straight turnpike this aesthetic generation 
 prefers the road of gentle elevation, winding with easy 
 bend through the wooded valleys, along the murmuring 
 brookside or the curving sweep of the ocean's shore. It 
 is not easy for us, borne over smooth Macadam or Telford 
 roads in carriages hung on eliptic springs rolling along 
 with rubber tired wheels behind a fast moving blooded 
 horse, to conceive of the means of locomotion one and two 
 centuries ago. 
 
 Roads are an index of civilization. The better the roads 
 the greater the advancement in knowledge. In a highly 
 civilized land one expects to find good roads. A recent 
 writer has said, "Among the most searching tests of the 
 state of civilization reached by any country are the character 
 of its roads." Rome, in its Augustan age, constructed 
 military roads which have endured to the present day. 
 As a land approaches its attainment in Christian govern- 
 ment its roads will become highways of peace. The roads 
 of two contiguous towns often mark the high degree of 
 civic pride in the one and the lack of it in the other. 
 
The principal and perhaps the oldest path in Massachu- 
 setts was that from the Bay, so called, westward to the 
 Connecticut River and beyond. It was styled the "Old 
 Connecticut Path" from 1G36 till 164G, after which it 
 received the name of the " Bay Path." Starting at Boston 
 it followed the northern bank of the Charles River to Wal- 
 tham, thence through South Framingham, Hopkinton, 
 Westborough, Grafton, Sutton, Charlton, Sturbridge to 
 Brimfield, where other paths joined it, one going to the 
 great falls, now Palmer, another southward to Agawam, 
 now Springfield. It continued to be the only path till 
 L648, when a new one was opened, which left the old path 
 at Weston and went through Lancaster, New Braintree, 
 West Brookfleld and Warren to Brimfield. Later a third 
 path went through Marlborough, Worcester and Brookfleld. 
 This was called sometimes the "Connecticut Path." J. G. 
 Holland, in his interesting story, entitled "The Bay Path," 
 has woven into it with great beauty the tale of the path of 
 true love. The Bay Path has been forced to give way to 
 other and better methods of communication; the other path 
 remains the same as it was when Mary Pynchon and John 
 Holyoke walked together in the old "Bay Path." Some 
 of these paths came to be known as "Post Roads." 
 
 When a new settlement was started the General Court 
 chose a committee to apportion the territory amongst the 
 settlers, to some of whom grants were made as compensation 
 for services rendered the state, to others as an inducement 
 to join the community; the committee received pay for 
 its services by grants. All the land may not have been 
 divided in the first allotment and subsequent divisions were 
 made as new settlers came forward. Some of those in the 
 first division may not have received the full allowance to 
 which they were entitled, and at subsequent divisions their 
 "rights," as they were called, would be allowed. Some of 
 the allotments and rights were traded for money or other 
 consideration, and it came about thai a few persons became 
 
8 
 
 holders of large tracts. Speculation in land increased with 
 the growth of the settlements. In this manner the territory 
 of Quinsigamond was apportioned in four separate divisions. 
 A rough survey of these allotments was made and a record 
 thereof was kept, which is known as the "Proprietors' 
 Records." Various causes combined to confuse these allot- 
 ments so that they frequently overlapped each other and 
 these errors were adjusted subsequently. In addition to 
 the divisions already mentioned there were others for the 
 support of the ministry, called "Ministerial Lots," and for 
 the support of schools, called "School Lots." That part 
 undivided was "Common." Thus, a person might have a 
 lot bounded on the north by A, on the east by B and every 
 other way by common. 
 
 To avoid the dry detail of fact, imagination and story 
 will be called on to enforce history, in this narration, so 
 that we shall not seem to be traveling over dusty roads, 
 on which a scorching sun pours his fervent rays unrelieved 
 by refreshing shade and cooling stream. 
 
 We will introduce ourselves to a traveler on horseback 
 just as he is passing Slocum's tavern in Shrewsbury, on 
 the Connecticut road a short distance east of Quinsigamond 
 Pond, on his way from the Bay to Agawam. He informs 
 us that the night was spent at Squire Farrar's tavern, the 
 other side of Shrewsbury, kept by Captain Levi Pease, 
 who he learned was also the proprietor (in connection with 
 Colonel Reuben Sikes of Worcester), of a line of stages 
 plying between Boston and New York. The Captain told 
 him something of his family and said he was descended 
 from Robert and Margaret of Great Braddon, Essex Co., 
 England. His son Robert 2 came to Boston from the port 
 of Ipswich, England, in April, 1634, with his brother John 
 and his oldest son Robert 3 ; his wife Marie came later; 
 Robert, 2 born in 1607, settled at Salem and died there in 
 1644. His son Robert 3 married in December, 1691, Harriet 
 Warriner and settled at Enfield, Conn. Nathaniel, the son 
 
of Robert, 3 was born at Enfield, Conn., in 1694; he married 
 in 1730 Miriam Pease, a relative, and went to Blanford, 
 Conn., where he kept a tavern winch he sold out to his son 
 Levi in 1771. Levi was born at Enfield, Conn., in 1739, and 
 died at Shrewsbury Jan. 28, 1824; his wife was Hannah 
 Sexton. He was a blacksmith. During the Revolution he 
 was bearer of despatches. After the war he began staging 
 between Somers and Hartford, Conn. In company with 
 Reuben Sikes he commenced running stages from the 
 Sign of the Lamb in Boston, Oct. 22, 1783. The first 
 night the stop was made at Martin's in Northborough ; 
 the second at Rice's in Brookficld; the third at Pease's 
 in Somers, Conn.; and the fourth at Hartford. An adver- 
 tisement in the Massachusetts Spy of Nov. 13, 1783, confirms 
 this statement. In 1786 the route was extended from 
 Portsmouth, N. H., to Savannah, Ga. They carried the 
 mails and for a long time Mr. Pease was the only contractor 
 for carrying them in New England. He received the first 
 charter for a turnpike in Massachusetts, going through 
 Palmer and Wilbraham to Springfield. He took most of 
 the stock of the road and lost it all. He kept tavern at 
 Blanford, Conn., from 1771 to 1776. From 1786 to 1789 
 he kept the New York stage house in Boston. He went 
 to Shrewsbury in 1794 and succeeded Mr. Farrar. He 
 left a good name, and was spoken of as dignified, pleasant, of 
 agreeable manners, with a remarkably majestic appearance. 
 Our traveler also learned from his host the following 
 facts about his partner's family. Reuben was of the sixth 
 generation from Richard Sikes of England, who appeared 
 in Dorchester in 1635; he was a member of the church 
 there in 1639, and was made a freeman in 1642; his wife's 
 name was Phoebe; he removed to Springfield m 1642, 
 and died there in 1675. He was highly esteemed, and he 
 and his sons held important offices in the town. His son 
 Increase was born at Springfield in 1644 and died there 
 March 24, 1712; he married Abigail Fowler. Nathaniel, 
 
10 
 
 the son of Increase, was born at Springfield July 7, 1673, 
 and died there May 13, 1727; his wife was Elizabeth Ball. 
 John, the next in the family line, was born at Springfield 
 December 30, 1697, and died there December 25, 1733; 
 his wife was Thankfull Warriner. Reuben, the father of 
 Colonel Sikes, was born at Springfield Sept. 8, 1730, and 
 died at Somers, Conn., December 24, 1804; he married 
 Thankfull Buell; he held the office of judge and was a 
 man of great influence. Col. Reuben, the second of twelve 
 children, was born at Somers, Conn., July 13, 1756, and 
 died at Worcester August 19, 1824. He married (1) in 
 1778 Mary Kibbe, by whom he had Mary, born in 1779, 
 who married August 20, 1796, Moses Grosvenor of Pomfret, 
 Conn. By this union there was born January 14, 1800, 
 a daughter Mary, who married (1) April 12, 1824, Ed- 
 ward D. Bangs of Worcester, the son of Judge Edward and 
 Hannah (Lynde); he died April 1, 1838, and she married 
 (2) Stephen Salisbury of Worcester, June 2, 1856. Mr. 
 Salisbury was born March 8, 1798, and died August 24, 
 1884. Reuben married (2) October 3, 1782, Eunice McCoy 
 of Somers, Conn., by whom he had seven children; three of 
 his daughters, who lived to advanced ages, are remembered 
 by persons still living. A son, Henry McCoy, was a mer- 
 chant in Worcester; he married in 1811 Hannah Cobb 
 Smith of Boston; they had a daughter Elizabeth, who 
 married William Pratt, the son of Nymphas and Submit 
 (Howe) (Kingsbury) of Shrewsbury. Mr. Pratt practiced 
 law in "Worcester, being associated for a time with Pliny 
 Merrick. Mr. Pratt had three children, two of whom died 
 in infancy; the third, Clara C, is living, the widow of 
 Charles S. Davis. Mrs. Pratt married (2) Ebenezer Wiswell 
 of Cincinnati, Ohio, and had by him three children, one 
 of whom married Edward T. Sprague and is living at Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio. Mr. Sikes was a blacksmith and a soldier 
 in the Revolutionary army, where he rose to the rank of 
 Colonel. Mrs. Davis has in her possession a powder-horn 
 
11 
 
 marked, " Reuben Sikos his Bora made by him in Roxbury 
 Dec ye 2 nd 1775." He kept tavern at Hartford and Suffield 
 in Connecticut, in Wilbraham in this state; and in May, 
 1S07, he came to Worcester and kept the Sikes Coffee 
 House till his death, the most popular tavern in the state 
 outside of Boston. 
 
 Our traveler spoke of the residence of Major-General 
 Artemas Ward, which he passed, and asked if the story of 
 the lack of cordiality between General Ward and General 
 Washington was true. We told him that General Ward's 
 relatives denied the existence of any such feeling. He said 
 it seemed as if there must be some foundation for the 
 statement from the fact that General Washington did not 
 call on his compatriot in arms when he passed his house 
 in 1789, but did stop at Farrar's tavern, a quarter of a 
 mile beyond. An ancient mile-stone stands by the road- 
 side opposite the Ward house, on which is lettered, Boston 
 33, Springfield 63, Albany 155. 
 
 By this time we have reached a parting of the ways, 
 in the fork of which a substantial three-cornered stone 
 guide-post is seen; on one side a hand points "To Wor. 
 4 Ms"; on the other a hand points "To Hoi 7 Ms"; and 
 on the back there is scarcely discernable "From Boston." 
 Over the right hand road, laid out in 1730 and established 
 in August, 1790, the sixth Massachusetts turnpike, extend- 
 ing to Amherst, was relaid in June, 1800. The traveler 
 was told that if he should follow that road he would soon 
 reach Harlow's Mills, where he could bait his horse under 
 the roomy shed. While the animal is eating the miller 
 would tell him of Sewall's brook just crossed, so called 
 from Judge Sewall who formerly owned a large number of 
 acres thereabouts; of the road around the north end of 
 the pond, later overflowed by reason of its sinking; of the 
 crossing at right angles the road leading to Boylston; of 
 the well conducted Jonathan Lovell farm; of the Deacon 
 David Bigelow tavern under the spreading branches of a 
 
12 
 
 large elm, where mine host would furnish a mug of his 
 best punch; and of the continuance of the pike in a straight 
 course up over the "Summit" and thence onward through 
 Holden, Rutland and other towns to its termination. 
 
 Taking the left hand road at the guide-post, the traveler, 
 a short distance north of the present bridge at the fording 
 place of the upper end of the pond, meets the four horse 
 stage-coach of Messrs. Pease and Sikes, driven by the 
 Captain himself, on its way from Hartford to Boston. The 
 coach is filled with passengers, some of whom have been three 
 days on their journey; they hope to reach their destination 
 late in the day. Mounting the steep ascent from the pond the 
 tavern stand of Captain Israel Jennison is soon reached. On 
 the way thither the sweet air from the pines which the traveler 
 inhaled was quite different from the pungent laden odors 
 that offend the nostrils of the passer-by of to-day. While 
 resting and partaking of refreshment a brief history of the 
 Captain and his hostelry will occupy the time. Israel was 
 the son of Peter, a brother of Judge William the grandson 
 of Robert who was in Watertown in 1635. William came 
 to Worcester about 1720 and purchased large tracts of 
 land in the centre of the town; he bore a conspicuous 
 part in the settlement of the place. Israel became an 
 extensive landholder on both sides of the pond. In the 
 allotment of lands William Payne, a blacksmith of Boston, 
 Stephen Minot, Thomas Haggit and others received tracts 
 lying on the north and south sides of the Connecticut road 
 and west of the pond. A considerable part of these lands 
 passed into the hands of Israel by purchase, with some on 
 the east side of the pond also. At his death in 1782 he 
 devised to his son Samuel Jennison a large portion of his es- 
 tate. After Samuel's death his widow Rebekah conveyed the 
 most of it to the inhabitants of Worcester, and it constitutes 
 the present Poor Farm. Prior to his death Israel conveyed 
 to his son Samuel, in 1775, one-half of an acre, the old 
 tavern stand. Samuel's widow sold this in 1818 to the 
 
13 
 
 inhabitants of Worcester and it was used for the Poor 
 Farm till 1858, when it was sold to Oran A. Kelley. This 
 was at the corner of the present Lincoln and Boylston 
 streets; the latter was relocated in 1804. Persons passing 
 to-day can hardly believe that this was a busy place, where 
 business was transacted for more than seventy years in 
 tavern and store by Captain Israel, his son Samuel and 
 Nathaniel Curtis, his brother-in-law. Nothing remains to 
 mark the spot except a cellar hole and an ash house of 
 brick, a perfect cube of six feet. The house was a long 
 wooden one facing the easterly corner of the lot. Captain 
 Israel's first wife was Mary Heywood, the daughter of 
 Daniel and Hannah (Ward). His second wife was Mar- 
 guerita (Olivier) Coolidge, the widow of Joseph, a prominent 
 merchant of Boston and ancestor of the eminent financier, 
 T. Jefferson Coolidge. She was the thirteenth child in a 
 family of fifteen children of Anthoine and Marie (Sigourne) 
 of Boston, Huguenots, who came here from France with 
 the Sigournes, Johonnots and others in 1686. Marguerita 
 was born at Annapolis, N. S., November 8, 1726; was 
 married first November 18, 1746, and became the mother of 
 eight children, one of whom, Margaret, married Jacob 
 Sweetser, a man of considerable wealth in Lancaster. Her 
 second marriage was to Captain Israel, December 9, 1775. 
 She was married the third time to Rev. Joseph Wheeler 
 of Worcester May 20, 1784. Last of all the woman died 
 also December 25, 1816, having survived her third husband. 
 Her remains lie in the tomb of her son Joseph Coolidge, 
 in King's Chapel burying-ground in Boston. At the death 
 of Captain Israel sixty-four acres of his estate on the south 
 side of the road were set off to his widow in her right. This 
 claim she and her husband Joseph Wheeler relinquished 
 December 3, 1702. The old Olivier Bible in French, con- 
 taining the family register, written in a clear, bold hand, 
 is in the Boston Atheneum. 
 
 Before reaching the Jennison tavern one of the old roads 
 
14 
 
 of the town, leading to Grafton over the summit of the 
 hill to the east, then called Oak Hill, was passed; the 
 north end of the road was laid out November 25, 1719; 
 a part of it north of Wigwam Hill was called Love Lane; 
 the entire street now bears the name of Plantation. Nearly- 
 opposite the end of this street there stands a pile of palatial 
 buildings half hidden by beautiful shade trees; in their 
 rear are barns comparable in size to those that the rich 
 man mentioned in the Bible would have built had his life 
 been prolonged. The front of these buildings is approached 
 through an archway of maples, flanked with massive stone 
 posts, over the entrance of which one who can discern to 
 read, may see, "Ho! all ye poor, shiftless, lazy, incompetent, 
 incapable! turn ye in hither; sumptuous lodgings are 
 provided for ye by the thrifty, industrious and diligent 
 citizens of the town." 
 
 Resuming his journey the traveler meets two men on 
 horseback coming away from a farmhouse on his right. 
 They are Captain Lewis Barnard and his son General 
 Ebenezer L., on their way into the country to purchase 
 cattle ; they are extensive traders in live stock in connection 
 with farming. Their father John was the son of Isaac, who 
 removed from Watertown to Grafton, thence to Sutton and 
 afterwards to New Worcester, where he died March 18, 
 1788. Capt. John was born in Sutton August 11, 1743, 
 and died in Worcester September 17, 1830. He bought, 
 December 4, 1792, of William Jennison two hundred and six 
 acres lying on both sides of the road, that the latter received 
 from his father Captain Israel. John deeded one-half of 
 his farm to his son Lewis, March 4, 1801,. and at his death 
 in September, 1830, the remainder was devised to him. 
 Lewis had three sons, John, Ebenezer L. and Lewis, Jr., 
 who inherited the farm at their father's death in 1853. 
 Thence it passed through numerous conveyances from John 
 and Lewis, Rejoice Newton, Guardian, Frederick J. Barnard 
 and others to Samuel Davis and William R. Hooper, and 
 
15 
 
 from them to its presenl owner, Oran A. Kelley, who pur- 
 chased parts of it May 120 and June 3, 1862, some having 
 been sold previously to others. Ebenezer L. married Caroline 
 Sweetser, the daughter of Samuel of Athol, by whom he 
 had five children, Lewis Lovell, Frederick Jones, Edward 
 Lovell, Caroline and Eliza. He built a house on State 
 street, and died of consumption July 9, 1850, soon after 
 moving into it. Of John and Lewis more will be said later. 
 The farmhouse and out buildings are situated on ground 
 sloping upwards from the road, showing every indication 
 of thrift and good management; the house was shaded 
 formerly by two elms of massive size, one of which was 
 destro) r ed by a cyclone several years since; the other 
 remains. 
 
 Passing on to higher ground there is pointed out to the 
 traveler the site of one of the earliest settlers of the town. 
 Ephraim Curtis came here from Sudbury in 1673. He 
 laid claim to a large tract of land, but was obliged to re- 
 linquish a part of it, and was granted land in another 
 section of the town. His first house was a log hut probably. 
 The second house, built on or near its site, was, like many 
 of that period, two stories in front and had a long roof 
 sloping back to one low story at the rear, with the large 
 central chimney in the upright part. It was a tavern stand 
 and a recent occupant remembered the bar in one of the 
 front rooms. While this second house was undergoing 
 repairs in 1848 it was destroyed by fire. A new house was 
 erected on its site, which was occupied till a few weeks 
 ago by the widow of Tyler P. Curtis. His son William 
 C. carries on the farm, which has never passed out of the 
 possession of the family. Two beautiful elms of great size 
 formerly added to the attractiveness of the place, but one 
 after the other yielded to the vicissitudes of storms and the 
 infirmities of age. A younger tree bids fair to take their 
 place and furnish shade for later generations. Ephraim 
 had for neighbors Hugh and William Gray, William Knight, 
 
16 
 
 Daniel Heywood and Thomas Haggit. December 10, 1735, 
 he deeded to "my Dutifull son John 140 acres a part of 
 my farm of 250 acres." 
 
 Next and contiguous to the Curtis farm we come to that 
 of Ebenezer Wellington, whose house is on the right of 
 the road several hundred feet back from it. Nearly in 
 front of it and close to the road is the small house of Jascn 
 Duncan, a relative, one of the Scotch Presbyterians who 
 attempted a settlement in the town in 1718, but whose 
 house of worship was destroyed when partially built, by 
 a mob more zealous than liberal for the service of religion. 
 Their congregation was scattered and many of them left 
 the town. Mr. Wellington purchased land from several 
 parties and his farm has come down through many con- 
 veyances to its present owner, Edward Buxton. 
 
 On the opposite side of the road there was an old house 
 in which Caleb Wall says William Stowell built carding 
 machines many years ago, but I have not been able to 
 corroborate that statement. The house gave place to the 
 beautiful modern one of Albert W. Andrews. The well 
 and sweep still remain. 
 
 Following the still ascending road there stands on the 
 right hand a brick house on land formerly owned by William 
 Gray, from whom it passed through several owners to Levi 
 Lincoln and from him to Paul Goodell, who sold it with 
 other land to George W. Rugg; from him Timothy Bancroft 
 bought it April 3, 1848. Since his death the farm has 
 been divided into house lots and is known as "Bancroft 
 Park." 
 
 At the summit of the road there is the farm of Joseph 
 Bond, where Thomas Knight formerly lived and kept a 
 tavern. This was a part of the land originally laid out 
 to Thomas Haggit, one portion of which, March 19, 1733-4, 
 he deeded to "my Dutifull Daughter Johanna Knight wife 
 of Edward Knight"; another portion he gave to "my 
 Dutifull Daughter Lydia Flagg, wife of Ebenezer Flagg 
 
17 
 
 January 9, 1739." Mr. Bond purchased of John Glcason, 
 Tyler P. Curtis, Josiah Brittan, Jr., and others. 
 
 As the traveler proceeds, he is told that his way into 
 the town will be descending from this point. His attention 
 is directed to the long line of hills on his left, the most 
 prominent of which is the highest land in the town, it 
 being 777 feet above sea level. Beyond, but not in sight, 
 is Millstone Hill, from which by a vote of the proprietors 
 in September, 1773, one hundred acres were set apart as 
 a quarry for the free use of the citizens. On the north 
 side of the hill William Crawford, Daniel Heywood and 
 Charles Adams were given land that passed later to John 
 Green. Thomas Green of Leicester in June, 1757, gave to 
 his son John one hundred acres that he bought of Thomas 
 Adams. Additions were made from time to time till it 
 became one of the, largest estates in the town. A brief 
 account of the Green family appeared in an article entitled, 
 "A typical New England house a hundred years ago." 
 
 On the traveler's right there is spread out a broad ex- 
 panse of rich intervale, gradually rising towards the north, 
 where it meets Indian Hill, the highest point of which is 
 crowned with farm buildings that will be referred to later. 
 In front is swampy ground; around the north side of it 
 the road winds and at a short distance meets another at 
 right angles to it. Before reaching this point an old brick 
 house is passed on the right, on land once in the possession 
 of John Curtis, a son of Ephraim, from whom it passed 
 to Alfred Smith and afterward to Benjamin Flagg, who 
 sold one hundred acres to Samuel Brooks April 30, 1766. 
 His son George came into possession, by will and he sold 
 it to Alfred Dwight Foster April 12, 1826. His heirs sold 
 an undivided half of it to Moore M. Chaffin, and from 
 that estate came the present North Park. 
 
 We have reached the tavern of Leonard Clark, where 
 the traveler will be left. We go to meet a person approach- 
 ing the town from the north. At the place now called the 
 2 
 
18 
 
 "Summit," so named by the railroad that passes it by a 
 deep cut, because it is the highest point of the road between 
 the town and West Boylston, or "Five Points" by reason of 
 five roads that converge here, we see a gentleman mounted 
 on a fine horse coming up the steep ascent, who meets us 
 at the intersection at right angles of the road he is on with 
 the sixth Massachusetts turnpike. He politely inquires if 
 he is on the right road to Worcester, and is told that he 
 is and that it will be a pleasure to accompany him and 
 point out the places of interest. He says that he left 
 Lancaster early in the morning and passed across Boylston 
 common, and he speaks of a beautiful avenue of maples 
 about two miles back. He is informed that they are on 
 the farm of Rev. William Nash, whose house stood near 
 one end of the maples, but afterwards was moved towards 
 the common. The trees were set out by Charles Nash, 
 his son, who erected the brick house standing on the site 
 of the old one after his father's death. Mr. Charles Nash 
 taught school in a house not far from his ancestral home. 
 A notice of Mr. Nash appeared in a paper on the " Thomas 
 Street School House." Rev. Mr. Nash preached in the 
 meeting house on the common several years. The year 
 before he resigned his office the house was destroyed by 
 fire; another was erected in its place immediately. Finally 
 the denomination abandoned preaching services and the 
 house was closed many years. Recently the property was 
 sold to the Congregational Society, which was driven from 
 its location in the valley by the encroachment of the Metro- 
 politan Reservoir, and the old house has given place to 
 a modern structure. Rev. Mr. Nash possessed some oddities 
 that cropped out occasionally. This story is told of him. 
 He was in the habit of taking a dram at a certain hour 
 and was much disturbed if interrupted at that time. A 
 neighbor called one day for a friendly chat. As the hour 
 for his accustomed indulgence drew near Mr. Nash became 
 fidgety, squirmed about in his chair and, when he could 
 
19 
 
 refrain no longer, said, "Neighbor A, tills is the hour at 
 which I usually shirt myself and I shall have to be excused." 
 Neighbor A quickly replied, "Well, Parson Nash, I am 
 reminded that this is my usual time for shirting myself 
 and I will bid you good morning. If you ever should be 
 at my house at shirting time I should be glad to have 
 you join me." 
 
 We congratulate the gentleman on his entrance to the 
 town over one of its most sightly and beautiful eminences. 
 We ask him to turn back for a view of Mount Wachusett, 
 ten miles distant as the bird flies, the highest point of 
 land in the eastern part of the state, it being 2,018 feet 
 above the level of the sea, distinctly outlined through the 
 clear atmosphere, with the white houses of the village of 
 Princeton snuggled on its southern slope. Far beyond the 
 outline of Monadnock is dimly seen. A little to the left 
 is Rutland, where recently the state has established a 
 sanatarium for consumptives, on a commanding elevation 
 1,250 feet above sea level. Mount Ararat is pointed out 
 in the foreground, where some one wildly conjectured that 
 a portion of Noah's ark had been discovered. Beyond and 
 not far distant rises the long crest of Winter Hill, on which 
 can be seen the ancient house of Benjamin Whitney. A 
 little to the south of that lies Hancock Hill, once the property 
 of Governor Hancock. The high hill on the horizon further 
 to the right is Asnebumskit, behind which, just concealed 
 from view, is the town of Paxton, 1,135 feet above sea 
 level. In the valley at his feet the silver thread of Weasel 
 Brook winds its way east of Danson's or North Pond, whose 
 waters shimmer in the afternoon sun. Following southward 
 Tetasset, latterly called Tatnuck, where Benjamin Flagg 
 has a tavern, meets the eye. On the horizon beyond, the 
 town of Leicester, 1,007 feet above the sea, can be seen 
 six miles away. Turning backwards towards the left the 
 point of the spire of the meeting house in Boylston rises 
 solitary out of the encompassing forest. Beyond, just over 
 
20 
 
 the horizon in the northeast, are the towns of Berlin and 
 Bolton; in the latter place there is a meeting house over 
 one hundred years old whose roof is still covered with the 
 shingles originally placed thereon. Running the eye along 
 the eastern horizon the white spire of the meeting house 
 in Shrewsbury arrests the attention. There Parson Sumner 
 dispensed the gospel sixty-three years. Midway in the 
 valley Wigwam Hill, where Sagamore Pennasanet had his 
 seat, is pointed out. At its base are the placid waters of 
 Long Pond, with its winding, indented shores clothed with 
 verdure, stretching away towards the southeast till it ends 
 in the town of Grafton, which can be seen on a distant 
 hill. Nearer and more to the south are lesser elevations, 
 Oak, Sagatabscot, where Digory Sargent, an early settler, 
 was slain by the Indians, his wife carried off and tomahawked 
 on Tetasset Hill because of her inability to keep up with 
 the retreating savages, and Pakachoag or Boggachoag, the 
 seat of a tribe of Nipmuck Indians to whom Eliot the 
 Apostle preached. The gentleman gazes with delight at 
 the panorama of valley, hills, mountains and waters spread 
 out before him and reverently exclaims, "How wonderful 
 are thy works. In wisdom hast thou made them all." 
 He asks whither the straight road leads that can be seen for 
 a long distance, and is told that it is the sixth Massachusetts 
 turnpike between Shrewsbury and Amherst. He is re- 
 minded that over this road that part of Burgoyne's prisoners 
 who were confined in barracks at Rutland, marched in 
 1777. A dim tradition is that two large chestnut trees at 
 the corner of the roads on this spot were called Burgoyne's 
 chestnuts. It goes on to say that the soldiers rested here 
 and dropped some chestnuts that sprang up and produced 
 the trees. "That is an interesting statement, if true," said 
 the gentleman. A schoolhouse at the intersection of the 
 roads is pointed out. In a deed dated September 9, 1772, 
 Isaac Knight gave to the town a piece of land in these 
 words: "In Consideration of the Regard I have for the 
 
21 
 
 Inhabitants of the Northerly Part of the Town of Worcester 
 in the County of Worcester which Were in the Month of 
 March last by the said Town of Worcester Set off as a 
 Squadron for keeping a School and to Encourage them to 
 Build a School House," etc. A short distance westward 
 on the turnpike is the tavern and farm of Colonel George 
 Moore. This was a part of the tract laid out to William 
 Taylor, that descended to Isaac Witherbee, who in 1745 
 deeded sixty acres to Josiah Peirce. In 1792 Josiah deeded 
 one-half of his farm of two hundred acres to his son Abijah, 
 and from him it came down to George Moore in 1823; his 
 heirs deeded it to Luther G. Moore. It is now owned by 
 Josiah B. Shattuck, and others. 
 
 Proceeding towards the town the gentleman inquires the 
 name of the road he is on and is told that it is called the 
 "Lancaster Road" and is one of the oldest, and was laid 
 out Nov. 6, 1752, from Worcester to Lancaster, "through 
 Thomas Cowden's land as the road is trod over a place 
 called Burnt Coat Plain to the County road by Mr. John 
 Fisk's." He asks the significance of the name of the plain 
 and is told that we must fall back on tradition. As early 
 as 1714 the description in one deed reads, "near Burnt 
 Coat Plain"; another reads, " joyning to Burnt Coat Plain." 
 The tradition is that an early settler, in clearing up his 
 land, set fire to a brush heap and accidentally burned up 
 his coat. "That does not seem to be sufficient to give a 
 name to this great plain, embracing hundreds of acres," 
 said the gentleman. "I should suppose that a tragedy, 
 rather than a comedy, had been enacted here." "You 
 have given me a clue to a supposable transaction," I replied. 
 It is not improbable that some of the early settlers were 
 surprised by the Indians, tomahawked, scalped and their 
 coats burned. One of these settlers may have escaped and 
 fled towards the northeast; was apprehended by other 
 Indians and deprived of his breeches, for it is of record 
 that John Hancock sold his Breeches Meadow in that 
 
22 
 
 section to Benjamin Child October 6, 1783. Escaping a 
 second time the harassed fugitive fled in a nearly opposite 
 direction to the town of Hubbardston, where he was again 
 waylaid by Indians, in ascending a hill and stripped of 
 his shirt that they burned; thereafter the place was known 
 as "Burnt Shirt Hill." Like the Wandering Jew the 
 settler may be fleeing on still, though, unlike him, clad 
 either in fig leaves or the skins of wild animals. 
 
 While engaged in conversation one of those little red 
 schoolhouses is passed that our ancestors planted about 
 as soon as they did the meeting house, both of which became 
 such mighty factors in the formation of a nation of freemen. 
 Although the house has disappeared persons are living who 
 received all their early instruction therein. A short dis- 
 tance beyond is an old brick house painted white, formerly 
 belonging to Jonathan Knight; it came to him through 
 several purchases from Edward Knight, an early settler 
 and large landholder on the plain; the present owner is 
 Anton Gross. 
 
 The tavern stand of Edward Knight, at the corner of 
 a road running down past Isaac Gleason's to the sixth 
 Massachusetts turnpike near the Jonathan Lovell place, 
 already spoken of, soon appears ; at sight of it the gentleman 
 decides to stop and remain over night. After a bountiful 
 supper to which all the guests do full justice, the company 
 gathers round the wide open fireplace and conversation 
 becomes general. In reply to an inquiry about the estate 
 connected with the tavern the landlord says, "that in 
 1715 a committee of five, consisting of Thomas How, John 
 Ballantine, William Dudley, William Taylor and Adam 
 Winthrop, was appointed by the General Court to parti- 
 tion the lands included in the place called Quansikomon 
 among the settlers. The committee set off to themselves 
 for their services four hundred acres apiece, embracing the 
 whole of this plain, making in all 2,143 acres that included 
 143 acres additional set off to Adam Winthrop." This 
 
23 
 
 tract extended from the Shrewsbury line on the east nearly 
 to Brooks street on the west, and from the present Holden 
 line on the north nearly to Lincoln street on the south. 
 On the southern border of this tract they laid out a road 
 one hundred feet wide, that was discontinued in 1733, 
 restored to common land and afterwards, in 1747, sold to 
 Captain Israel Jennison. Visions of a future city hall, 
 post-office, art museum, high school, technical school and 
 colleges must have floated before the eyes of the committee. 
 Yet it was no chimera, for there is no finer elevation in 
 Worcester than the old Burnt Coat Plain or Indian Hill. 
 "The committee did not hold their divisions long. John 
 Ballantine's was sold in 1735 to an ancestor of mine whose 
 name I bear, the first one of the numerous Knights who 
 inhabited this plain. William Dudley sold his to Estes 
 Hatch, who afterwards transferred it to John Murray. 
 Adam Winthrop sold his 514 acres to Thomas Green, who 
 called it "my^ Harvest Hill Farm." William Taylor sold 
 his to Joseph Heath and from him it came to me April 
 1, 1785, after two prior transfers of 191 acres to other 
 persons." Subsequently this farm was sold to John Flavel 
 Clark in 1827 and 1830. At and before this time Mr. 
 Clark held the office of jailer from 1819 to 1837; he was 
 succeeded in that position by Asa Mathews, who occupied 
 the place from 1837 to 1849. Rufus Carter became his 
 successor and retained the position till 1872. If reports 
 are true Mr. Clark was not as successful in farming as he 
 was in guarding criminals. Instead of taking time by the 
 forelock he allowed the old man to seize his. It used to 
 be said that he dug his potatoes with a crowbar, so late 
 in the season did he begin to harvest his crops. However 
 it must have been a malicious slander. Mr. Clark had 
 a son Flavel, one of those unfortunate ones who call out 
 our sympathy and pity. He was harmless and the spark 
 of intellect burned very dimly. He died September, 1902, 
 over eighty years old. His' case is one of those ntysteries 
 
24 
 
 that are unrevealed to us. It served, however, to bring 
 out in clear light the Christlike love and tender solicitude 
 of his sister, Mrs. Mary J. Wadley, of Augusta, Ga., who, 
 notwithstanding her own family cares and deep sorrows, 
 supplied her brother's wants for more than forty years. 
 
 After this narration our gentleman said that he noticed 
 a well by the road with a carefully constructed curb near 
 the entrance of the tavern, and asked if there was any 
 special interest attached to it. The landlord said he dug 
 it and gave it to the public to be free forever. This caused 
 one of the company to speak of the wells of ancient time, 
 of that one over the possession of which the servants of 
 Abimelech quarrelled with Abraham; of those that Abra- 
 ham dug and the Philistines filled up and Isaac afterward 
 opened. Another called attention to the well around which 
 clustered the beautiful pastoral story of Abraham's servant 
 in his search for a wife for Isaac. A third told of the well 
 of Jacob at Samaria on which our Saviour sat and revealed 
 himself to the woman as the well of living water. Another 
 spoke of the well at Bahurim, down into which the spies 
 of David went and were concealed by a woman, who spread 
 a cloth over its mouth and strewed ground corn thereon. 
 Another brought to our recollection Sir Walter Scott's 
 story of St. Ronans Well in the town of Inverleithen upon 
 Trent. Another alluded to Mauls' well, told of in the 
 "House of Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, into 
 which if one looked or in the waters of which, if one bathed, 
 he would be seized with forgetfulness. The gentleman 
 spoke of the importance attached to wells in hot and dry 
 climates, of village wells and town pumps, places of meeting 
 for friendly chat and gossip. He also called to remembrance 
 the well dug in 1690 in the garrison compound at Deerfield 
 that furnished water to the imprisoned inhabitants when 
 beseiged by Indians. One of the company said he had 
 been puzzled with the story narrated by that veracious 
 traveler Mark Twain, who tells of the well in the citadel 
 
25 
 
 at Cairo that Joseph dug with his own hands through the 
 solid rock ninety feet deep, and of the same donkeys he 
 employed to raise the water still at work, and how tired 
 they seemed to be. The landlord said he was led to dig 
 the well at the road side and make it free by reading the 
 story of the Captain's well, beautifully told by Mrs. Harriet 
 Prescott Spofford and rendered into verse by Whittier. 
 He said he would read the poem if agreeable to the company. 
 Before commencing he related the circumstances connected 
 with it, as follows: "Captain Valentine Bagley was wrecked 
 on the coast of Arabia and nearly perished -with thirst. 
 He made a vow to dig a well that should be free to every 
 one if he should again reach his home." Two or three 
 
 stanzas of the poem are here given: 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "And if ever I reach my home again, 
 Where earth has springs and the sky has rain, 
 I will dig a well for the passers by, 
 
 And none shall suffer from thirst as I." 
 
 * * * * 
 
 "But when the morning came he called for his spade, 
 'I must pay my debt to the Lord,' he said, 
 'And the well I promised by Osman's Sea, 
 
 I am digging for him in Amesbury.' 
 
 * * * * 
 
 'Why dig you here,' asked the passer by. 
 'Is there gold or silver the road so nigh?' 
 'No friend,' he answered, 'but under this sod 
 Is the blessed water, the wine of God.' " 
 
 A member of the company who had been a quiet listener, 
 but had taken no part in the conversation, asked if there 
 was time for the story of another well. A ready response 
 being given, he said that many years ago Captain Nathaniel 
 Perley of Rowley built a vessel of ninety tons burden on 
 Rowley common near his house. No water being near his 
 neighbors quizzed him frequently during the building, 
 probably much as old Captain Noah's townspeople did him 
 while he was constructing the ark, saying, "What are you 
 thinking of?" "How are you going to launch her?" 
 "Aren't you a little beside yourself?" "Will a heavy dew 
 
26 
 
 float her?" But the Captain kept his own counsel and 
 worked on till the vessel was completed. Then he collected 
 more than one hundred yoke of oxen from all parts of the 
 county and hauled it a distance of one and a half miles 
 to the water, where it was launched successfully. On the 
 way there was a well at which a stop was made for rest. 
 The Captain had provided a barrel of rum for the occasion; 
 the head was knocked in; the contents were poured into 
 the well and the people told to help themselves. For a 
 long time thereafter it was a common saying that the 
 Captain launched his vessel with the help of a hundred 
 yoke of oxen and a barrel of rum. 
 
 One of the company who was impressed with the ludicrous 
 side of the story, said that all present could recall the 
 lines told them in childhood as follows: 
 
 Ding, dong, bell. The cat's in the well ! Who put her in? 
 Little Billy Green. Who pulled her out? Great Johnny Stout. 
 "O, what a naughty boy was that, 
 Thus to maltreat poor pussy cat, 
 Who never did him any harm, 
 But caught the mice in grandpa's barn." 
 
 Before retiring it was proposed that all should join in 
 singing "The Old Oaken Bucket." The gentleman traveler 
 said that the well that occasioned the writing of the poem 
 by Samuel Woodworth is in Greenbush, a village of Scituate ; 
 he had drank water from the well and carried away with 
 him a bottle of it. The well is within three or four feet 
 of the house and the old fashioned sweep still hangs over 
 it. A verse of the poem is given: 
 
 "How sweet from the green mossy brim to receive it, 
 
 As, poised on the curb, it inclined to my lips, 
 Not a full blushing goblet could tempt me to leave it, 
 
 Though filled with the nectar that Jupiter sips. 
 And now, far removed from the loved situation, 
 
 The tear of regret will intrusively swell, 
 As fancy reverts to my father's plantation, 
 
 And sighs for the bucket which hangs in the well. 
 The old oaken bucket, the iron bound bucket, 
 
 The moss-covered bucket which hangs in the well." 
 
27 
 
 In the morning after a refreshing rest and a substan- 
 tial breakfast the gentleman and his guide resumed their 
 journey. On the opposite side of the road is the farm that 
 in later years became the property of William C. Clark, 
 who was landlord of the old United States Hotel at the 
 corner of Main and Mechanic streets; the hotel was subse- 
 quently moved back on to Mechanic street and a building 
 erected on its site, for many years known as Clark's block. 
 Presently the farm of Jonathan A. White is reached, with 
 its one-story house and barns adjoining. In reply to an 
 inquiry the gentleman is told that Mr. White was born in 
 Heath, N. H., December 18, 1801, the son of David, of 
 Charlemont, and Abigail the daughter of Jonathan and 
 Tirzah (Field) Ashley. He came to Worcester when of age, 
 with a companion, seeking work. They called at the farm 
 of Joel Gleason on the west side of the road leading to 
 Barber's, at what is now called Northville, asking for 
 employment. Mr. Gleason hired them, though his family 
 objected to Mr. White on account of his small size. He 
 disappointed them by doing as much work as any of the 
 men and by his diligence and faithfulness. Mr. Gleason 
 was the son of Jonathan, who owned a large farm lying 
 on both sides of Weasel Brook, which he divided amongst 
 his several children as they married. He used to say that 
 he could see some part of each of his children's farms from 
 his own dooryard. One child, Betsey, born October 16, 
 1793, married Amos Flagg March 31, 1816, and settled on 
 this farm of which we are speaking. Mr. White accom- 
 panied the new couple to their home, as the hired man. 
 Mr. Flagg died at the end of eight years and Betsey gave 
 her hand to Jonathan April 6, 1825. Three months before 
 their marriage she deeded her farm to him. Some of her 
 friends spoke of the risk she was running by this act. She 
 replied, "If I am willing to trust my life to him I am sure 
 I can my acres." Her confidence was not misplaced; they 
 lived together happily fifty-three years. He survived her 
 
28 
 
 ten years and died at the age of eighty-seven. After their 
 marriage he added to his farm by the purchase of land 
 on the opposite side of the road. Mr. White said that 
 when he came to Worcester there were only three houses 
 on Summer, or Back, street. One was at or near Lincoln 
 square; the second was Daniel G. Wheeler's, that was 
 standing within a few years at the corner of Exchange 
 street, where his daughters Frances M., Nancy C. and 
 Elizabeth L. lived so many years. Mr. Wheeler's land 
 extended westerly to Mill Brook and southerly as far as 
 Bridge street. The third house was at Washington square, 
 occupied by a negro family of the name of Hemenway. 
 A daughter, Hannah, was a well known person in town. 
 She died a few years ago at the age of ninety. She was 
 a famous cook, as was also her mother Hannah, and many 
 a girl thought she could not be well married without one 
 of Hannah's wedding cakes. She was cook at my grand- 
 father's. My grandmother was an invalid during the last 
 years of her life, and a housekeeper, a relative of the family, 
 was employed. There was frequent friction between the 
 two servants, which my grandfather, a man of peace, often 
 mollified in a quiet way. That condition of things could 
 not continue and at last the cook left, much to my grand- 
 father's regret. Neither time nor membership in the First 
 Baptist Church removed the recollection of her grievances. 
 Riding near her house on May street, a short time before 
 her death, with my wife, my cousin and the housekeeper 
 alluded to, my cousin suggested that we should stop and 
 drink some of Hannah's root beer, as an excuse to see her 
 and add a few pennies to her meagre income. After par- 
 taking of the beverage my cousin said, "Hannah, you 
 remember me, don't you." "0, yes, Mrs. Damon, I allers 
 
 member you." "This is Mrs. C ," my cousin said, 
 
 "you have not forgotten her." Straightening up herself 
 
 she instantly said, "I don't member Mrs. C . Nevah 
 
 knew her." To relieve the embarrassment my cousin said, 
 
29 
 
 turning to mo, "This is Henry Martyn, of course you 
 remember him." "Laws yes," she said, "I member him, 
 but I don't member nuthin good of him." The horse 
 becoming uneasy at that point, we bade her goodby and 
 drove on, indulging in a hearty laugh. 
 
 During this narration the travelers had reached the end 
 of the elevated plateau over which the road took them. 
 The gentleman could not withhold expressions of pleasure 
 at the beauties spread around. He thought the view from 
 this point superior to any he had seen. The valley at the 
 west was nearer and objects were more distinctly seen. 
 The waters of North Pond seemed to be within a stone's 
 throw. The town lay nestled among the hills. He was 
 reminded of the Psalmist's words, "As the mountains are 
 round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his 
 people henceforth even forever." A cluster of farm build- 
 ings in the valley below east of the pond is the home of 
 Robert Barber, one of the Presb3^terians spoken of early 
 in this narrative. He obtained his broad acres in part from 
 Samuel Waldo, a son of Cornelius, an extensive land-owner, 
 and brother of the first Daniel, by deed dated February 
 1, 1744; a part from James Whitney; a part from Thomas 
 Stearns; and still another from John Box and Benjamin 
 Austin of Boston, attorneys for Sarah Brooke, executrix 
 of John Brooke of London, England. Robert by deed 
 dated April 8, 1767, gave to his son Joseph 110 acres "where 
 I now live, all my farming tools, my pew in the Meeting 
 House, reserving the privilege of a seat for me and my 
 wife Sarah during our lives. I also reserve my corn mill." 
 April 8, 1807, Joseph deeded the farm to his sons William 
 and Silas, "including all my live stock of creatures, except 
 four cows during my life and the use of two of them to 
 my wife during her life if she survives me, reserving the 
 privilege of seats in my pew in the Meeting House." The 
 farm is still in possession of their descendants at a place 
 called "Barber's Crossing." Near neighbors to the Barbers 
 
30 
 
 were the Stowells, Cornelius being the first one of the 
 family to settle there. Robert Barber sold to his son 
 Matthew land which came to him by purchase from William 
 Gray and John Kelso; a portion of it was laid out to 
 Stephen Minot. Matthew sold to Cornelius Stowell land 
 including "my fulling mill, clothier's shop, house," etc., 
 situated on Mill Brook. Cornelius sold the same property 
 to his son Thomas, who continued the business of weaving 
 cloths. Joseph Barber sold to Thomas Stowell land border- 
 ing on a channel cut from North Pond to convey water 
 to the fulling mill. There was a bridge over the brook, 
 probably in about the same position as the present one; 
 it is spoken of as between Barber's and Sto well's. Samuel 
 succeeded Thomas in the clothier's business and from him 
 the property came into the possession of Frederick T. 
 Stowell. It remained in the family one hundred years or 
 more, when it was divided amongst several parties. In 
 1825 Samuel Stowell sold land at the outlet of North Pond 
 to the Blackstone Canal Company for the purpose of erecting 
 a dam on its east side, with liberty to take gravel from 
 his land. The pond was the storage feeder for the canal. 
 South of and bordering on the Stowells was the farm 
 of Jonathan Gleason, which embraced land on both sides 
 of the road. This passed to his descendants, and that on 
 the east side of the road, from them to George T. Rice 
 and Horace Chenery, manufacturers of cloths. A pond had 
 been created by the erection of a dam, giving them power 
 for their factory. The Stowells and Barbers sold them 
 flowage rights. A portion of this purchase by Mr. Rice 
 was sold to Benjamin Goddard, 2d, and Lyman Bellows. 
 Mr. Ichabod Washburn was associated with Mr. Goddard in 
 a factory below that of Messrs. Rice and Chenery. Messrs. 
 Pliny A. and John M. Daniels bought out Messrs. Rice 
 and Chenery and carried on the business a few years, when 
 they sold to Harrison Bliss. The factory was destroyed 
 by fire and has not been rebuilt. A portion of Mr. Gleason's 
 
31 
 
 farm lying on the west side of the road extending west 
 to North Pond was purchased by Mr. Chenery, who erected 
 thereon a house, in which he lived till his death, after which 
 it passed into the hands of John and George W. Mann. 
 The Chadick or Chaddick or Chadok or Chaddok or Chad- 
 wick farm bordered that of Jonathan Gleason on the south, 
 and, like that of the others north of it, was a part of Corne- 
 lius Waldo's tract of seven hundred acres. The farmhouse 
 stood on the site of a modern house erected a few years 
 since by George A. Brigham, south of Chadwick square. 
 The land extended westerly to Forest street and lay largely 
 on the south side of the old Joblin road. John H. Brooks, 
 Jr., purchased a part of this farm and carried on the black- 
 smithing business in the old shop at Chadwick square. 
 John M. Brigham and his brother Calvin and Francis P. 
 Stowell bought another part of the estate, which is still 
 owned by the descendants of the Brighams. 
 
 The travelers turn into a lane leading to a house elevated 
 above the road, from which a still wider prospect is obtained ; 
 this house belongs to Walter Bigelow, the son of Deacon 
 David, who is a son of Daniel, an early settler on Pakachoag 
 Hill, in the south part of the town. David was born in 
 1731 and his home was on the sixth Massachusetts turn- 
 pike, already spoken of, where he and his son Silas kept 
 a hotel for half a century. Preceding and during the 
 Revolution he was active in promoting measures for the 
 public safety and providing for the army, which caused 
 him many cold rides through the wintry snows to meet 
 with the committee in the centre of the town. It was 
 his brother Colonel Timothy who raised a company of 
 minutemen to answer the summons from Concord and 
 Lexington. David had ten children, of whom Walter, the 
 youngest but one, was born November 15, 1775, at the 
 old homestead. He learned the carpenter's trade and 
 followed it for several years. He married November 18, 
 1799, Judith, a daughter of Deacon William Trowbridge, 
 
32 
 
 who lived in that part of the town now called Trowbridge- 
 ville. They began housekeeping on the west side of the 
 Lancaster road on the site of the house built by William 
 I. Brown, where Mrs. Ephraim Whitman now lives; this 
 house he hired of his sister Mrs. Dolly Chadwick, the widow 
 of Joseph, who owned a large farm lying on both sides 
 of the road. In this house two of his children were born, 
 Sarah and Andrew. April 23, 1806, he bought of his sister 
 Dolly and Benjamin Heywood, administrators of the estate 
 of Joseph Chadwick, two acres on the south side of the 
 farm on the west side of the road, where he built a house, 
 still standing, in which Professor E. H. Russell lived fourteen 
 years, now owned by Edwin P. Curtis. Here a son, Walter, 
 Jr., and daughter, who died early, were born. During his 
 stay in this house he worked at his trade and superintended 
 the care of his sister's farm. March 12, 1814, he bought 
 of Jonathan Knight seventy-six acres on the east side of 
 the road where we are now; this farm he leased on shares 
 till 1819, but the arrangement not proving satisfactory, he 
 carried it on himself thenceforward. February 1, 1816, he 
 purchased of John Simonds seventy-six acres additional. 
 In the summer of that year a daughter was born, Mary 
 E., now Mrs. Davis of Staten Island, N. J., from whom 
 many of these facts were obtained. In 1829 a brick house 
 replaced the old wooden one and in 1832 the long barn 
 was built. The erection of it caused many remarks, for 
 Mr. Bigelow said that if it could not be raised without 
 the use of rum it would never be. At that time raisings 
 were festive occasions and often ended in drunken scenes. 
 Several years prior to this Mr. Bigelow had taken a decided 
 stand on the temperance question and would not allow 
 liquor to be kept or used on his premises. All honor to 
 Mr. Walter Bigelow, Senr. We may hear about the work 
 of intemperance in that neighborhood later. The barn 
 was raised without accident and a generous dinner for 
 seventy persons provided. Mr. Bigelow died in May, 1857; 
 
33 
 
 his son Walter, born August 22, 1811, spent his boyhood 
 and early youth on the farm. He gradually assumed con- 
 trol of it and took affectionate care of his parents in their 
 advanced age. In 1840 he married Mary K. Hyde of 
 Newton, by whom he had five children, one of whom, 
 Harriet A., married Edwin P. Curtis, who retains the farm; 
 and another, Sarah H., married Charles H. Davis, M.D., 
 son of John and Harriet (Gates), who served in the War 
 of the Rebellion as an army surgeon; at its close he followed 
 his profession in Worcester till his death September 16, 
 1897. Mr. Bigelow died February 17, 1870. 
 
 Returning to the road, after thanking Mr. Bigelow for 
 his kindness, the travelers descend the south end of the 
 elevated plain and soon arrive at John Fisk's or Fisk's 
 Corner, where now stands a handsome brick house shaded 
 by beautiful drooping elms and surrounded by every com- 
 fort. The passer-by can hardly resist the temptation to 
 covet such an attractive place. It is on the corner of 
 Burncoat and Millbrook streets, and has been known as 
 the Barnard farm for many years. To-day if any one 
 should ask for the location of Fisk's Corner, no satisfactory 
 reply could be obtained. Let us delay a short time over 
 the history of tins spot. Soon after the third settlement 
 of the town a large part of the territory surrounding this 
 corner came into the possession of Henry Lee from Ephraim 
 Curtis, John Stearns and John Hubbard. Lee sold to 
 John Fisk of Watertown two hundred acres and a pew in 
 the meeting house March 20, 1743. Sarah Fisk, the sister 
 of John, joint owner with him, sold one-half of this to 
 her nephews James and Samuel, and the other half to John 
 Gleason; and he sold the same, Feb. 12, 1822, to Lewis 
 Barnard, son of the John whose farm was described early 
 in this narrative. Lewis deeded one-half of his farm to 
 his son Captain John, and at his death he devised the 
 remainder to him. Captain John by his will filed in 1873, 
 
 gave all his real estate to his son George A., the present 
 3 
 
34 
 
 owner. Captain John married in 1826 Sarah, the eldest 
 child of Walter Bigelow, Senr. She was born December 
 23, 1800, and died in April, 1900, nearly one hundred 
 years old. 
 
 A short distance north of this farm on the same side 
 of the road on the northerly slope of the hill Isaac Gleason 
 owned land in which was a mine, in the possession of said 
 Gleason, Daniel McFarland and others, that was worked 
 for silver. Had this mine been as productive as those of 
 Mexico and Arizona the ratio of silver to gold might have 
 antedated the present ratio. Like many other ventures 
 the mine proved worthless. March 5, 1786, Isaac Gleason 
 sold to Jonathan Gleason the land, but reserved as not 
 alienated or sold so much of said mine and other privileges 
 as belonged to him and the other owners. This was twenty 
 and more years after the mine was opened. It was on 
 the spot where Walton L. Wood made bricks not many 
 years ago. 
 
 A few rods further on our way Clark's tavern is reached, 
 where our traveler from Shrewsbury was left. Many 
 persons can recall the small one-story brick house on the 
 west side of Adams square, a short distance north of the 
 present Congregational Meeting House. Formerly this was 
 a store; beside it was the tavern and attached to that 
 was a bowling alley. Liquor flowed freely over the bar 
 and the seeds of intemperance were sown in many families, 
 to be handed down from father to son. It can hardly be 
 believed that this beautiful place, adorned with a noble 
 schoolhouse, expensive dwellings, neat churches, all in- 
 dicative of prosperity and refinement, could have been 
 notoriously the worst place in the town. It was known 
 as Sodom and Jug Corner. Will the time ever come when 
 we shall see eye to eye and banish this great curse of intem- 
 perance from our midst! No wonder that Walter Bigelow, 
 Senior, battled for temperance; again we say all honor 
 to him and to those like him, who, in a time of nearly 
 
35 
 
 universal indulgence in the use of intoxicating liquors, 
 placed themselves squarely against it! Before leaving this 
 spot, let it be said that the recent foisting of a local name 
 on this square in the place of one transcendently glorious 
 in our country's history, reveals either a great ignorance 
 of the history of this spot, or a lamentable lack of civic 
 pride. 
 
 On the occasion of the second visit of the Marquis de 
 Lafayette to the United States, in his journey from Boston 
 he spent the night of September 3, 1824, at the residence 
 of Sampson Vreeland Stoddard Wilder in Bolton, he having 
 become acquainted with Mr. Wilder during his residence 
 in France. On his way from Bolton the next day Lafayette 
 was met at this tavern by the committee of Worcester to 
 escort him to the town. 
 
 There is an old oak standing in the lot on the east side 
 of the road, whose top is deformed. It is said that at 
 the election of John Adams to the Presidency the event 
 was celebrated by placing a tar barrel in the upper part 
 of the tree and setting fire to it. 
 
 The ancient Connecticut Road, over which we passed 
 in the first part of this article, was left at this junction of 
 the two ways. On account of the wide morass the road 
 wound around its northern edge. The town in 1808 laid 
 out the road from the old Chadwick house across the morass 
 to meet the old road at the eastern end of the present 
 Melrose street. Some conjecture that from this place it 
 followed nearly the course of the present Paine street, 
 crossed Bimelech Brook at Garden street, thence to Joe 
 Bill road and so on by a circuitous southerly route to New 
 Worcester. Others suggest that it coincided with Millbrook 
 street over the "foarding" place as described in one deed, 
 past Barber's, northerly and westerly of the swamp and 
 westerly of New Worcester. Probably the precise location 
 will never be determined. 
 
 March, 1748-9, there was laid out a "Town way three 
 
36 
 
 rods wide commonly known and called ye new Road, land 
 being left by ye Proprietors for ye same begining at ye 
 Corner of Lieut John Fisks fence by his Sider mill So by 
 said Fisks fence until it Extends to Danson's Brook and 
 ouer s d Brook in ye old foardway by land of John Fisk 
 Jun r till it Extends to ye Road Leading to Robert Barbers 
 then turning Southerly by Barbers Road till it Extends 
 over a Small Slough then turning westerly through the 
 land of Cornelius Waldo Esq 1 " till it Extends to ye land 
 belonging to ye heirs of major Daniel Henchman Deceast 
 till it Extends to land of Joseph Heath Esq through said 
 Heaths by the Dwelling house where Jasper Moore now 
 Dwells untill it Extends to ye Lane Leading to the Dwelling 
 house of Stephen Sawing." This is the present Millbrook 
 street to its intersection with West Boylston street, which 
 it may have followed to Chadwick square; thence westerly 
 by a way that has disappeared to the west side of Hancock 
 Hill. Stephen Sawing appears to have lived on land which 
 afterwards was included in the Chamberlain farm. 
 
 Proceeding towards the town a large house is seen on 
 the left, opposite Mr. Bigelow's first heme. It belongs to 
 the extensive farm of Joseph Chadwick already noticed. 
 Mr. Chadwick and his widow Dolly kept a tavern here 
 many years. This farm came from John Gray, and at the 
 time of Joseph's death it comprised one hundred and forty 
 acres, lying on both sides of the road. Through several 
 transfers it came into the possession of George W. Brooks, 
 who sold it to Alfred D. Foster and he deeded it to Josiah 
 Brittan June 27, 1833. Several years since the house was 
 moved a few rods to the northeast of its original location 
 and is still owned and occupied by Mr. Brittan's descendants. 
 A large part of the farm has been covered with fine houses, 
 built on well shaded streets, and the region has become 
 one of the most attractive sections of the town. Between 
 this farmhouse and Green lane on the east side of the road 
 there were no houses. In the valley where are now hun- 
 
37 
 
 dreds of buildings, there was an extensive brickyard, worked 
 for many years by Josiah Brittan and afterwards by George 
 Hobbs. Much of the building material of the town came 
 out of this valley. On the opposite side of the road, a 
 short distance south of the Walter Bigelow, Senr., house, 
 there stood, and still stands, an old brick house on the 
 Paine estate, which passed into the possession of Howard 
 Holden, later, who raised and otherwise improved it. This 
 and the Bigelow house were the only houses on that side 
 of the road between the Clark tavern and the Timothy 
 Paine house. In the valley west of the road and east of 
 Mill Brook there was the house of John Kelso; to allow 
 him to pass out from his land, the town laid out a road 
 through Timothy Paine's to the county road, February 25, 
 1765, a part of the way being a bridle path; this was dis- 
 continued and the entire length made a bridle path March 
 7, 1785. 
 
 Green lane was laid out in 1763 through land of John 
 Ball, to accommodate John Green. John Ball bought of 
 John Chandler 127 acres on both sides of the road April 
 24, 1746. John Chandler had it from Thomas Dick, who 
 bought of John Oulton in 1734. John Ball died in 1756, 
 leaving his farm to his widow Lydia, who sold to Timothy 
 Paine in 1759. There is pointed out to the travelers the 
 site of the Scotch Presbyterian Meeting House, the story 
 of which has been told. The Ball farm was bounded on 
 the south by the extensive tract granted to Daniel Hench- 
 man in 1716 and 1718. It embraced 254 acres and extended 
 from near Perkins street on the north to Arch street on 
 the south and from Mill Brook on the west to Millstone 
 Hill on the east, including Bladder Pond. This was subse- 
 quently divided, in 1763, the most southerly part going 
 to Rev. Isaac Burr, the most northerly to James Varney 
 and his son and Mary Sigourne" and the remainder to John 
 Hancock. James Varney sold his part to Timothy Paine 
 and Mary Sigourne's part went to John Knowcr. On the 
 
38 
 
 latter lot was a very old and poor house, that was occupied 
 many years by Ephraim Wesson. The property was finally 
 sold for taxes by the city and bought by James H. Wall 
 and Edward H. Hemenway, who sold it to Charles M. Miles. 
 This lot was about 115 feet wide and extended eastward 
 to Millstone Hill, comprising six acres and ninety-five rods. 
 This John Knower was not an immediate descendant of 
 the ancient navigator, though one deed might lead to 
 that inference; his name was spelled Knower. 
 
 Opposite to this place was the Paine mansion situated 
 on the southern edge of the very large Paine estate. This 
 is so well known from repeated descriptions that I will 
 not detract from what has been written alreadj r , through 
 any ignorance of mine. Latterly it has been known as 
 "The Oaks." At the time of Timothy Paine's death the 
 home estate comprised two hundred and thirty acres. 
 
 A brick house on the south corner of Paine street was 
 occupied at one time by Rev. John S. C. Abbott, pastor 
 of the Calvinist Church, one of a family of noted writers, 
 he being the author of many histories. After he left, 
 Draper Ruggles, at the head of the well known establish- 
 ment of Ruggles, Nourse and Mason, manufactures of 
 agricultural implements at Court Mills, occupied the house. 
 Subsequently Joseph F. Loring, a stove dealer on Main 
 street dwelt there. 
 
 From the old Knower house to the Geer place there 
 were no houses and no streets had been opened eastward. 
 All to the east of the road was open land. The Lincoln 
 farm barn stood about where Westminster street runs 
 between Harrington avenue and Catharine street. The well 
 connected with the barn contained excellent water, and 
 was within six feet of the north line of the lot once owned 
 by me. When Draper Ruggles built on Catharine street 
 he bought the right to carry water to his house from this 
 well. Subsequently the lot containing this well was sold 
 and the purchaser built a barn and located the horse stall 
 
39 
 
 over the well. Trouble speedily arose at Mr. Ruggles' 
 house and an energetic remonstrance was made. The 
 matter was settled satisfactorily by the advice of a lawyer. 
 
 John Hancock sold 152 acres, his portion of the Hench- 
 man grant, to Levi Lincoln April 26, 1782, who, at his 
 death May 29, 1868, devised the estate to his son William. 
 John W. Lincoln, assignee of William, sold a part of the 
 property to Edward Lamb of Boston, who sold the portion 
 on the west side of the road to David S. Messinger, including 
 the farmhouse, which Mr. Messinger moved to the corner 
 of Grove and Lexington streets, where it remains; he sold 
 the larger part of his purchase to William A. W'heeler 
 May 29, 1848, who erected thereon the house which he 
 occupied till 1867, when he deeded it to the wife of Philip 
 L. Moen. In the rear of the farmhouse there was a small 
 but beautiful body of water, shaded by willows and other 
 trees, called Lincoln's Pond. It became a frequent resort 
 for picnics. The main entrance to it was through a double 
 row of pines from Lincoln street along the north line of 
 the estate of Edwin Conant. This row of trees met the fate 
 of most trees a few years since. The pond was filled up 
 and has become a part of the freight yard of the 
 Worcester and Nashua Railroad Company. Three scrawny 
 willows are sole survivors of many that hung over the quiet 
 waters, on whose surface happy children were rowed a 
 long time ago. Mr. Lamb sold that portion of his purchase 
 on the east side of the road to Ebenezer Harrington, who, 
 with his brother Charles A., kept a drug and paint store 
 on Main street immediately south of the Calvinistic Meeting 
 House. Over their store door was a sign, "The Good 
 Samaritan," which depicted a man in the act of pouring 
 oil and wine into the wounds of another who had fallen 
 into the hands of robbers. Mr. Harrington opened streets 
 and cut up his purchase into lots; the vacant hillside is 
 now adorned with many dwellings. 
 
 William Lincoln sold, on the east side of the road, to 
 
40 
 
 Benjamin F. Thomas, a distinguished lawyer and judge, 
 the place now owned by the heirs of Lewis Barnard, son of 
 the Captain Lewis heretofore mentioned; to John Davis, 
 prominent in the affairs of the state and nation as Represen- 
 tative in Congress, Governor and United States Senator — the 
 house in which he was born was standing in Northborough 
 a few years since; to Rev. Alonzo Hill, the colleague 
 and successor of Rev. Aaron Bancroft; to Joseph G. Ken- 
 dall, Clerk of the Courts for many years. Mr. Kendall 
 opened Kendall street; he sold a part of his land to Benjamin 
 F. Thomas, who conveyed it to William R. Hooper and 
 William C. Thompson; they sold to Archibald M. Morrison, 
 an Episcopal rector, who deeded it to Philip L. Moen, and 
 he sold to William A. Wheeler. A short distance further 
 on our way we find the Geer place, that came down from 
 John Chandler, through several conveyances. One of the 
 owners was Deacon Samuel Bridge, a wig, or peruke maker, 
 as he is described in one deed. In front of this house 
 there were three very large and shapely elms that were 
 cut down in 1903. Adjoining the Geer place was that 
 of Artemas Ward, for a long time Register of Deeds; a 
 daughter, Sarah, taught school and afterwards became the 
 wife of William M. Bickford. Mr. Ward's sons sold the 
 property to David S. Messinger, who built the wooden 
 block on its site. Polly Whitney owned the next place; 
 it was a part of the Chandler property which he had from 
 Rev. Isaac Burr in the division of the Henchman grant. 
 Polly was a weaver of carpets and rugs on a roughly built 
 loom in one of her rooms. In my early days it was a treat 
 to watch- the operation of the machine. Her parents were 
 Ebenezer and Martha, who lived in a low one-story house 
 on the west side of Main street at the beginning of the 
 descent into New Worcester. The house was pulled down 
 a few years since to make way for a more modern one. 
 Riding past there with my father he told me of a negro 
 who lived in the house who said that he would be willing 
 
41 
 
 to be flayed alive if thereby he could obtain the rights 
 and privileges of a white man. The Whitney property on 
 Lincoln street passed to the Worcester Gas Light Company 
 and thence to Charles H. Morgan. Next south was the 
 Samuel Chandler property, a part of the Henchman grant. 
 The mansion house now stands at the corner of Belmont 
 street. As far back as I can remember it was put to bad 
 uses; it has been a liquor hole and it seems in a fair way 
 to continue so. The house stood north of its present 
 location, about where the office of the Gas Light Company 
 was, and it faced the south, at an angle with the road. 
 In 1782 and for a few years thereafter Daniel Waldo, Senr., 
 occupied this house, and afterwards Levi Lincoln, Jr. 
 There was a large elm in front of it. In the rear was a 
 long barn; the place was known as Stearns tavern and 
 it bore a bad reputation. One night the cry of Fire! was 
 heard. In common with boys at that time I was soon 
 on the spot and helping at the brakes of the fire engine. 
 The barn was totally destroyed, with the contents, includ- 
 ing several horses and cows. Many persons wished the house 
 had been burned instead of the barn and the dumb beasts. 
 After Mr. Chandler's death in 1813 or '14, twenty-five acres 
 of the estate were sold to Carey and William H. Howard; 
 this extended easterly and included what was afterward 
 the Samuel Davis property, now owned by the Memorial 
 Hospital. This Howard farm, as it was called, passed 
 through several hands, a portion of it being bought by the 
 Gas Light Company. South of this estate and a part of 
 the Chandler property thirty-one and one-fourth acres were 
 sold to Francis Blake, and from him it descended through 
 William Eaton, Nathan Heard and John F. Clarke to 
 Edward Earle, who sold a large part to various persons. 
 Some ruins on the south side of the square called forth 
 an inquiry from the travelers, who were told that a stone 
 jail was built there in 1788, and it was then supposed that 
 it would last for two or three centuries. But in less than 
 
42 
 
 fifty years its demolition took place, a better one having 
 been built. In the stone jail persons were confined who 
 could not or would not pay their debts; they were 
 allowed to transact business during the day and return 
 to the jail at night, their families supplying them with 
 food and clothing. 
 
 Opposite the jail stood the building of the American 
 Antiquarian Society, which was organized in 1812. Isaiah 
 Thomas erected the house in 1820 and gave the Society 
 the use of it. 
 
 On the west side of the road that we have been over 
 there were no streets running west from it south of Adams 
 square. Below the Lincoln farmhouse William Lincoln 
 sold a- lot to Isaac Goodwin, who sold to Edwin Conant. 
 Mr. Goodwin had a daughter Jane, who married Loring 
 H. Austen and was distinguished as an authoress. Mr. 
 Conant was a lawyer, the son of Jacob and Relief (Burpee) 
 of Sterling; he was born August 20, 1810, and died March 
 2, 1891; he married first Maria E. Estabrook, daughter of 
 Joseph and Ruth (Greenwood) of Royalston; he married 
 second Elizabeth Sumner Wheeler, daughter of Joseph and 
 Lucy (Sumner) of Dixfield, Me.; he was the ninth gen- 
 eration in descent from Roger of England. Mr. Conant 
 changed his residence to the corner of Harvard and State 
 streets in 1872; this property he gave to the Natural 
 History Society, and that on Lincoln street to the inhabi- 
 tants of Sterling, at his death. Next south of Mr. Conant's 
 came additional land of Isaac Goodwin, which Oliver H. 
 Blood, a dentist, occupied for a few years, and afterward 
 George G. Burbank, a druggist, owned it; William H. 
 Sawyer is its present possessor. An open space, now the 
 yard of the railroad company, was formerly the mill pond 
 of Captain John Wing, and afterwards of Cornelius Waldo, 
 who continued the use of the mill. South of the pond 
 was the house of Timothy Keith, a watchmaker and jeweler, 
 whose store was on the east side of Main street a little 
 
43 
 
 south of School street. This property now belongs to the 
 railroad company. Then come the two old brick blocks, 
 which were designated as the Drury estate; the northern 
 one has been raised and modernized and is owned by Julius 
 E. Bacon; the other was owned by Eri Saunders for thirty 
 years and has passed into the possession of Frederick W. 
 Southwick. In the basement of the north end of this 
 block Miss Sarah Ward kept an infant school nearly seventy 
 years ago. Standing in the sidewalk near by is a mile- 
 stone, one of the only two remaining in Worcester of those 
 which marked the distances on the great post road. On 
 it is the following inscription: 
 
 44 
 
 Miles From 
 
 Boston 50 to 
 
 Springfield 
 
 The other one stood near Austin street and is among 
 this Society's antiquities; it bears this direction: 
 
 48 
 
 Mil From 
 
 Boston. 
 
 An old wooden building next appears and is one of the 
 few in the town that have any interest attached to them. 
 This property was bought by Timothy Paine in 1751, out 
 of the purchase made by John Chandler through Rev. 
 Isaac Burr from the grant to Daniel Henchman. It is said 
 that, when John Adams was teaching school in Worcester 
 during the years 1755-58, he called at this house frequently. 
 Adjoining was the " Hancock Arms," a resort of the patriots 
 during Revolutionary times. Both of these properties 
 belong to the heirs of Harrison Bliss, who purchased the 
 "Arms" of William M. Bickford, a manufacturer. 
 
 Mill Brook, or Bimelech, as it was sometimes called, 
 ran on southward from this point through the great meadow, 
 which extended nearly to Front street. The road crossed 
 the brook by a ford. After a time a wooden bridge was 
 
44 
 
 thrown over the stream, that served its purpose till it became 
 dangerous, when an arch of stone was built in 1810. A 
 sustaining wall at the upper end of the arch supported 
 the roadway, which was raised several feet. On this wall 
 was an iron railing, and near each end of it were large 
 ash trees in the edge of the road. North of the wall the 
 brook widened into a basin, walled on the east and west 
 sides, extending to the dam, a small part of which remained 
 till the entire stream was arched over; on this small island, 
 as it was called, a large tree and some bushes were growing. 
 A driveway at each end of the wall led down into the water; 
 in warm weather a great many teams were driven through 
 the stream, which was two feet deep and thirty or forty 
 feet wide; the boys, peering through the railing, watched 
 the wading horses with delight. One day a number of 
 elephants in the train of a circus were driven into the 
 basin by their keepers; it was a pleasing sight to witness 
 the evident enjoyment of the animals as they spouted the 
 water over their hugh bodies. Occasionally persons were 
 baptised in this basin; the ceremony always drew a crowd 
 of the curious to the place. Madam Salisbury's grounds 
 on the east side, bordering on the water, were supported 
 by a strong and high wall, which was surmounted by a 
 fence just about in the position of the present fence. The 
 stable was in the rear of the house; the same building is 
 used as a tin shop. The entrance to her grounds was on 
 the west side; the street has been widened so as to include 
 the driveway. The same long, low woodshed on that side 
 of the house still remaining, was on the line of the street. 
 Two butternut trees stood in the sidewalk close to the 
 shed. Mrs. Salisbury had a coach and a pair of black 
 horses, which I well remember often to have seen driven 
 out of the yard to the front gate. To prevent the horses, 
 which were headed towards the basin, from plunging into 
 it, a single-rail fence was built. 
 
 John Wing's heirs sold to Cornelius Waldo a large tract 
 
45 
 
 of land on both sides of Mill Brook. At Mr. Waldo's 
 death Joseph "Waldo, one of his heirs, sold one hundred 
 and fifty acres to John Hancock, April 22, 1771; this was 
 on the west side of the brook. Six months later John 
 Hancock sold the same to Stephen Salisbury the elder. 
 Mr. Salisbury and his brother Samuel also bought one 
 hundred and thirty acres on Burnt Coat Plain of Ezekiel 
 How. This they sold to Daniel Heywood April 2, 1792. 
 Mr. Salisbury erected his house about 1770 and kept a 
 store in the eastern part of it. East of the basin that 
 has been described, in front of the present railroad station, 
 on a knoll, there was a long, low wooden building in which 
 Mr. Salisbury began keeping store; later the place was 
 used for a paint shop. It is possible that Daniel Waldo 
 and son occupied this building subsequently for their 
 store. 
 
 On the south side of the square was located Timothy 
 Bigelow's blacksmith shop, iron works and trip-hammer; 
 he or his father-in-law, Samuel Andrews, built a dam across 
 the brook, thereby forming a pond that extended back to 
 the south end of the arch, which went under and across 
 the square. Afterwards this property, once a part of the 
 Ministerial land, was purchased by Stephen Salisbury, 2d, 
 in 1S24, who erected the ''Court Mills," in which agricul- 
 tural implements were manufactured for many years. A 
 part of this property came to Mr. Bigelow through his 
 wife Anna, daughter of Samuel Andrews. Abraham Lincoln 
 succeeded to the iron business. Timothy Bigelow dug 
 a canal to convey away the water from his null, through 
 land south of his; the right to this was confirmed to Abra- 
 ham Lincoln in 1791 by Mary Lynde, the widow of Joseph; 
 one consideration of the agreement between Mary and 
 Abraham was that she might take water from his flume 
 to her fountain through an inch pipe. 
 
 The estates immediately south of Timothy Bigelow's 
 are the Lyndes', Joseph and Thomas, from whom they 
 
46 
 
 descended to Judge Edward Bangs by marriage, and thence 
 through Elizabeth Grosvenor, widow of Rev. Ebenezer, 
 Isaiah Thomas, Isaac Davis and William Pratt to David 
 S. Messinger, who erected the present block thereon; the 
 estates of Rev. Joseph Wheeler and Nathan Patch, all of 
 which have been described in another article. In the con- 
 veyance of three and one-half acres from Daniel Heywood 
 to Nathan Patch the land is described as opposite Andrew 
 Duncan's store, which was on the homestead of Judge 
 William Jennison. Andrew Duncan married Sarah Lynde, 
 the daughter of Joseph. 
 
 Our journey with the travelers ends here, we bid them 
 goodbye and they pursue their way through the town. We 
 betake ourselves northward to the Holden line, on the 
 road that is described as leading to Holden by Elisha 
 Smith's. About one mile beyond the line the road crosses 
 the sixth Massachusetts turnpike, nearly four miles from 
 the place where we first met it. It was a circuitous and 
 hilly way to reach Holden, and in 1825 a new road was 
 opened from Thaxter's to Rudman's Mills, which crossed 
 the sixth Massachusetts turnpike still further west, a little 
 east of Chafrm's, so called. This became the stage route 
 to Holden, Rutland, Barre, Princeton, etc. Many a time 
 have I seen the stages drawn by four horses whirl down 
 the hill past my grandfather's on their way to town, leav- 
 ing a great cloud of dust behind them. After staging 
 ceased and the new road to Holden was built in 1851 this 
 road was almost entirely disused for many years, except 
 by pleasure seekers, who found it a delightful drive through 
 the woods. Within a year an electric road has been built 
 and travel that way is greater than ever. The old road 
 of which we first spoke, has been rising continuously from 
 the level of the waters of North Pond, and it reaches its 
 highest altitude a short distance beyond the Holden line. 
 This hill commands an extensive sweep of country in all 
 directions. It is higher than Burnt Coat Plain, and the 
 
47 
 
 view is similar to the one already described from that 
 place, though seen at a different angle. Mount Wachusett 
 seems nearer; the western side of Mount Ararat is presented. 
 Asnebumskit is more prominent. The entire valley south- 
 ward, embracing North Pond, is terminated by the smaller 
 hills immediately encircling the town of Worcester. Farm- 
 houses dot the hills and hill sides wherever the eye turns. 
 
 Before 1725 James Knap, who had land granted to him 
 around the north end of North Pond, sold 250 acres to 
 Richard Temple, who built the house now owned by Alfred 
 S. Lowell and gave it to his son Joseph, with 65 acres of 
 land. This passed through many transfers to Joseph 
 Daniels in 1804, and was known as the Daniels' farm; 
 when he purchased, the number of acres had increased to 
 94^. He added to the amount of his land so that his widow 
 sold 150 acres in 1839 to Ezekiel and Charles Newton, and 
 thenceforward for thirty years it was called the Newton 
 farm. Mr. Ezekiel Newton died a few years since at an 
 advanced age. Mr. Lowell became the owner in 1887 and 
 calls it "The Poplars." 
 
 Richard Temple built another house, a counterpart of 
 the first, and gave it, with 60 acres, to his son William; 
 it is now owned by the widow of James S. Libby. This 
 farm passed by many transfers to John Child, who sold 
 165 acres and a pew in the meeting house to Benjamin 
 Thaxter of Abington, November 27, 1792. Benjamin, my 
 grandfather, was the sixth in descent from Thomas of 
 Hingham, England. He was born in Hingham, Mass., 
 March 21, 1758, and married January 10, 1783, Sarah, 
 daughter of Joshua and Hannah (Reed) Howe of Abington. 
 When asked by one of his relatives why he went to Worcester 
 he laughingly replied, "To escape taxes and orthodoxy." 
 I have never heard that he escaped either. He was a 
 successful farmer, a good man, beloved and respected. He 
 was treasurer of the Second Parish in Worcester. After 
 his death, which occurred, April 21, 1821, a committee of 
 
48 
 
 the Parish, consisting of Judge Bangs, William Jennison 
 and William Eaton, at a meeting held by adjournment 
 August 13, 1821, reported, •" that it appears that there is 
 a balance of $12.61 due to the estate of said Thaxter, and 
 they recommend that said sum together with the sum of 
 five dollars for services as such Treasurer for the year 1820 
 be allowed," which report was accepted. Mr. Thaxter 
 joined to his business of farming that of surveying. Several 
 plots of farms made by him are on file in the Registry of 
 Deeds. A daughter Sarah, who married a son of Rev. 
 Joseph Avery of Holden, lived to the age of eighty-seven. 
 A son, Benjamin, a successful merchant in Boston, died 
 September 6, 1886, at the age of ninety-eight. When the 
 Boston, Barre and Gardner Railroad was built, he said 
 that at the time he left home at the age of twenty-one, he 
 should have thought of a road to the moon as soon as one 
 through his father's farm. Now an electric road passes on the 
 opposite side of the house. Who will deny that a hundred 
 years hence tourists will not be conveyed by a subway 
 under the farm, or by air ships over it to Mount Wachusett? 
 Mr. Thaxter's farm took in the west side of Mount Ararat 
 and at one time was considered to be one of the best farms 
 in Worcester. It sloped to the south and had a warm 
 and rich soil. It remained in the family nearly fifty years. 
 In 1837 valuable water rights were purchased from the 
 Newton Farm and from that time water flowed constantly 
 to supply the house and barn. A great many incidents 
 connected with this farm are among the recollections of 
 my youthful days. My mother drove to the farm one 
 summer day in company with a friend, taking me, a mere 
 babe, also. On the return when going down a slight de- 
 scent, within sight of the house, the horse fell and pitched 
 me out of my mother's arms astride of his back. Mr. 
 Osgood Bradley, happening along at that moment, soon put 
 things to rights and we went on our way. That was my 
 first lesson in horseback riding. 
 
49 
 
 On the opposite side of the road was the farm of Elisha 
 Smith, who had purchased land from James Knap, Robert 
 Peibles, William Temple and others. It was retained by 
 Mr. Smith and his descendants for about seventy years, 
 when a portion of it came into the possession of Walter 
 H. Davis, in whose family it was held for forty years; 
 since then many persons have become its owners. 
 
 On the eastern slope of the hills at the west lay the farm 
 of Benjamin Whitney. This was a part of the original 
 grant to Palmer Goulding, who sold to William Jennison 
 in 1732; ten years later he sold one-half of ten acre rights 
 to Elicksandie McConkey, from whom it soon passed to 
 Benjamin Whitney, in whose family it remained more than 
 eighty years, thence it went to Ezra Goddard, whose son 
 Josiah lives in the house built nearly one hundred and 
 seventy-five years ago. 
 
 In the valley on the west side of the road was the little 
 red schoolhouse of the neighborhood, in which the young 
 people received all the schooling they ever had. I remember 
 it distinctly and never pass the spot without thinking of 
 it. 
 
 Not far beyond was the farm of Benjamin Reed, of 200 
 acres, which he bought of Lemuel Saunders; in 1809 he 
 deeded 100 acres each to his sons Samuel T. and Benjamin; 
 the former lived at the foot of the hill, the latter at the top. 
 Samuel T. sold his farm to Nathan Rogers, whose heirs 
 sold to Granger Peirce. Benjamin sold his farm to Ebe- 
 nezer Jewett in 1845 and it has remained in the family up 
 to this time. Mr. Reed, Senr., in 1799, bought of Benjamin 
 Whitney springs on the hill and the right to convey the 
 water therefrom to his house. 
 
 Benjamin Reed was descended from John of Dorchester, 
 who was freeman in 1640; he removed to Braintree about 
 that time. His son Samuel went to Mendon and in 1668 
 married Hopestile Holbrook. His son Deacon Ebenezer 
 married, February 23, 1764, Mary, daughter of Ebenezer 
 4 
 
50 
 
 and Abigail (Whiting) Chapin. Ebenezer moved from 
 Milford to Worcester in 1796. • 
 
 Southerly of the Reed farm was that of John Nelson, 
 on the hill west of the road. It belonged to Richard Barnes 
 in 1734 and from him it passed down to John Walker, and 
 for some time it bore the name of the "Walker" farm. 
 John became a refugee and his farm was sold, and in 1799 
 100 acres were deeded to John Nelson of Hopkinton. John 
 sold subsequently to his daughters Peedy and Betsey, who 
 sold a part to Jonathan; after that it was divided and 
 sold to various parties. A son of John was Rev. Jonathan, 
 the distinguished pastor at Leicester for more than fifty 
 years, and President of the Board of Trustees of Leicester 
 Academy. In one deed connected with the transfers of 
 this farm a right to pass to the goat pasture is reserved. 
 Also a bridle way was laid out from the south end of the 
 place to Salisbury street, coming out nearly opposite the 
 Chamberlain farmhouse. 
 
 North Pond originally comprised about 30 acres; now 
 it covers seven or eight times as much. The land which 
 is now flowed by its waters was meadow. Much of it 
 was embraced in the large tract of Cornelius Waldo. A 
 part of the hill at the west of the pond was owned by James 
 and Samuel Fisk. Mr. Waldo sold in 1747, 470 acres, a part 
 of my great farm of 700 acres, to John Brooke of London, 
 England. Mr. Brooke's heirs sold to various persons, the 
 Chadicks, Samuel Brooks and others. Much later a way, 
 called the "Joblin" road, existed between the road to 
 Barber's and that to Holden by Robert Smith's; this was 
 discontinued in 1834, when the present road across the 
 south end of the pond was laid out. On the west side of 
 the Holden road near the north end of Forest street, Thomas 
 Mills bought land of Daniel Chaclwick; this remained in 
 the Mills family till recently, when it was bought by Frank 
 L. Allen. The Mills place was bounded on the southwest 
 by the large Henchman grant of 279 acres, that extended 
 
51 
 
 south of Salisbury street and embraced the whole of Han- 
 cock Hill. The northern part of this grant descended to 
 John Hancock, the southern to James Varney. The heirs 
 of John Hancock sold 144 acres and 120 rods to Nathan 
 Patch, February 4, 1802. Mr. Patch's executors sold to 
 several persons; some of it was bought by my grandfather 
 Theophilus Wheeler, who also bought other land adjacent, 
 that constitutes the farm owned by Edwin W. Wheeler. 
 This brings us nearly to the junction of Salisbury and 
 Forest streets. Before proceeding further towards the town 
 let us go to the northern end of Salisbury street near Ranks 
 lane or Moreland street. Isaac Gardner, of whom there is 
 no record here, sold in 1767, 177 acres to John Heath. 
 60 acres of this he sold to Thomas Nichols, who purchased 
 other land of the heirs of Joseph Wiley. This property 
 was on both sides of the road, and is the farm on which 
 William I. Allen now lives. A large elm by the roadside 
 near the house enhances the beauty of the surroundings. 
 To the west of this place on the high hill James Butler 
 received a grant of land in 1721. From this he sold in 
 April, 1737, to Joseph Wiley 105| acres. John Heath sold 
 to Mr. Wiley 60 acres. The heirs of Mr. Wiley deeded the 
 farm to various persons until, in 1788, nearly 100 acres 
 were sold to Christopher Ranks, who came from Charles- 
 town, where he was born, to Worcester in 1775; he married 
 three times and had five children, one of whom, John, was 
 the executor of his estate. Christopher died in 1815; he 
 had a brother John. The estate passed through several 
 owners to William T. Merrifield, and is now owned by 
 Walter A. Brigham, who has erected a spacious house on 
 a spot from which an extensive view towards the east is 
 obtained, including a portion of the city. The old Ranks 
 house, a one-story structure, has been torn down recently. 
 The next farm on the south and adjoining was that of 
 Andrew McFarland. Peter Goulding had 125 acres set off 
 to him, which he sold to William Jennison, who sold the 
 
52 
 
 east half of it January 4, 1729, to Andrew McFarling, who 
 deeded it in 1743 to his son William; he bought additional 
 land of Daniel Gookin's heirs, Joseph Wiley and others; 
 in 1787 he gave his son William, Jr., one-half his farm and 
 at his death in 1805 he left to William, Jr., one-half of 
 what he then owned. When he, William, Jr., died in 1839 
 he gave all his lands, 125 acres, to his daughter Sarah, 
 the wife of Cyrus Gale of Northborough, who sold 80 acres 
 of it to George T. Foster, the present owner. In the easterly 
 side of the road a short distance north of Mr. Foster's house 
 there is growing a Tupelo tree, the only one of two in the 
 town, the other being on Chestnut street in the city. Near 
 this tree in a corner of the pasture stood a schoolhouse 
 in which Oliver B. Green, a wealthy citizen of Chicago, 
 and a brother of Martin of this town, taught one winter. 
 Miss Mary J. Mack, a teacher in one of the public schools, 
 also taught there. The road originally went west of the 
 present location, close to the house, and entered the road 
 now used further south, possibly just north of Flagg street. 
 Next to the McFarland farm came that of Thaddeus Cham- 
 berlain, at the corner of Flagg street, of late years owned 
 by Phylander and Sylvanus Sears; this came down by 
 several conveyances from John Heath and Isaac Gardner. 
 A portion of the farm on the easterly side of the road con- 
 stituted the western side of the Henchman grant, which 
 extended eastward nearly to Forest street. A short distance 
 south of the farm buildings a stream of water, Beaver 
 Brook, crosses the road; tradition says that a grist mill 
 was erected on this stream on the right of the road, the 
 pond being on the left or upper side. The farm of Deacon 
 Jacob Chamberlain was closely joined to that of Thaddeus. 
 Deacon Nathaniel Moore had a grant of land in the valley, 
 which embraced a portion of the Marshall Flagg farm. 
 In 1733 he gave 100 acres to his Deautiful daughter Grace, 
 spinster. She married Richard Flagg, who deeded to 
 Jacob Chamberlain 72 acres, 108 rods in 1742. Jacob died 
 
53 
 
 in 1700; Ins sons John and Thaddeus were appointed 
 
 administrators of his estate; they sold 120 acres to John 
 in 1702, who in 1806 gave to his son Thomas one-half of 
 "my home farm." John died intestate in 1813 and Benja- 
 min Heywood, his administrator, set off a portion of the 
 farm then remaining to Thomas, who died in 1855, leaving 
 the farm of 75 acres. A part of this farm came from the 
 Henchman grant. Deacon Jacob was born in Newton and 
 came to Worcester in 1742; he was fourth in the line of 
 descent from William of England, who was born in 1620 
 and died at Billerica May 31, 1706. There were three 
 heads of families in the line by the name of Jacob. The 
 last Jacob was deacon of the First Parish as was his son 
 John also. John was an extensive speculator in land, his 
 purchases being made in various parts of the town. His 
 son Thomas is remembered as crier of the courts for many 
 years. The farm remains in the family, principally repre- 
 sented by Robert H., the Sheriff of the County. 
 
 A modern brick dwelling has taken the place of the 
 ancient farmhouse, which is used for storage. When I was 
 a boy studying surveying in the high school under that 
 excellent teacher, William E. Starr, lately deceased at the 
 age of ninety-one, Mr. Thomas Chamberlain invited Mr. 
 Starr to test his scholars' knowledge in the measurement 
 of his farm, and promised to give them a dinner. The 
 farm was surveyed, accurately too, for no poor work ever 
 passed from under our teacher's hands; not the least 
 pleasant part of the holiday was the bountiful farmer's 
 dinner, to which we did full justice. 
 
 The southern portion of the Henchman grant, comprising 
 135 acres, which James Varney inherited, was sold to 
 Tarrant Putnam, who subsequently sold it to John Cham- 
 berlain; he sold 60 acres to Moses N. Child in 1805 on 
 both sides of the road west of Timothy Paine "where I 
 now live." The executor of Mr. Child sold 85 acres to 
 Nathaniel C. Moore in 1826. This is the place where Pliny 
 
54 
 
 Moore and his sister live, in the house supposed to have 
 been built in 17G3 by John Chamberlain. 
 
 East of Mr. Moore's, on the south side of the road, was 
 the farm of Benjamin N. Child. This was a part of the 
 450 acres which Cornelius Waldo sold to John Brooke of 
 London, England, from his great farm of 700 acres. The 
 attorneys of the widow of John Brooke, his executrix, sold 
 to Timothy Paine 66^ acres, a parallelogram in shape, at 
 the southwest corner of the tract. Timothy's heirs sold 
 28 acres 114 rods on the south side of the road to William 
 Chamberlain, and from him it went, with additional pur- 
 chases, to Warren Williams and others. 37 acres 110 rods 
 were purchased Oct. 22, 1881, by J. Lewis Ellsworth, the 
 present owner. 
 
 Another part of the 66£ acres bought by Timothy Paine 
 was devised to Hannah Bradish, his daughter, from whom 
 it descended to Theophilus Wheeler and, with another 
 small lot, constituted the "Cow Tavern" farm, now owned 
 by the heirs of Francis P. Stowell. 
 
 At the intersection of Forest street with Salisbury we 
 have reached the western boundary of the great Walker 
 farm, a part of the Cornelius Waldo tract. Samuel Waldo, 
 executor of the estate of Jonathan Waldo, sold to Cornelius 
 Waldo 700 acres September 11, 1735. This tract extended 
 from the south end of the original North Pond to Joe 
 Bill road, and from Mill Brook on the east to Forest street 
 and a little beyond. As has been stated 450 acres were 
 sold to John Brooke, 150 acres to Stephen Salisbury; the 
 balance, with enough purchased later to make up 200 acres, 
 was sold to William Walker May 5, 1745; this embraced 
 the territory from West street on the east to Forest street 
 on the west. At his death in 1760 he gave to his wife 
 Mary the house which he built and in which he lived, 
 together with 55 acres of land. The rest of his farm was 
 divided amongst his children; a daughter Isabella married 
 James Quigley, and received 23£ acres on both sides of 
 
55 
 
 the Quigley road, or later Pratt street, now Park avenue. 
 Another daughter, Nancy, married Joseph Brooks, and 18f 
 acres south of the road and east of her mother's portion 
 were given to her. Still another daughter Mary married 
 Robert Oliver and received 18f acres, lying east of her 
 sister Nancy's lot. William, prior to his death, sold to 
 Timothy Paine 21f acres from the southeast corner of his 
 farm, which descended to Gov. John Davis and from him 
 to Harrison Bliss. John Chamberlain purchased of the 
 heirs 100 acres, which afterwards were sold to Rev. Aaron 
 Bancroft, who sold to Nymphas Pratt, who conveyed it 
 to John and Jotham B. Pratt. From that time the farm 
 has been greatly divided, and in place of corn and potato 
 fields, mowing and pasture lands, there are now velvety 
 lawns, parterres of flowering shrubs and handsome resi- 
 dences. Those portions of Mr. Walker's farm which were 
 given to his children finally were purchased by Mr. Salisbury, 
 second. Latterly the present representative of the Salisbury 
 family has come into possession of a part of the Bancroft 
 farm, including Bancroft Hill. The Walker, or Bancroft 
 house, as usually designated, in which George Bancroft 
 the historian was born, ceased to command the respect 
 due it, and was recently destroyed. When Mr. Walker 
 owned this farm Salisbury's Pond was not in existence; 
 the land now covered by its waters was a meadow through 
 which Mill Brook flowed; the pond was created in 1834. 
 Salisbury street was one of the early roads of the town; 
 it was altered in June, 1777, and again in June, 1793, when 
 it was described as the road from Holden by Reuben Pad- 
 dock, Samuel Chaffin, Thomas Nichols, between McFarland's 
 house and barn, Thaddeus Chamberlain, Timothy Paine to 
 the old road leading from Elisha Smith's to Worcester. 
 May 3, 1824, the town voted, "that the street from Abraham 
 Lincoln's store to Broken-up-Hill untill it comes to Robert 
 Barber's at the Guide post be called Salisbury street." 
 Broken-up Hill is so designated in a deed of December 5, 
 
56 
 
 1754. When a boy I used to hear it called Breakneck 
 Hill, a corruption of the other probably. It was the hill 
 at the summit of which was the old Bancroft house. The 
 name had its application on one occasion at least. When 
 a mere infant I had been at my grandfather's house for 
 several days away from my parents. When the Sabbath 
 came my uncle and aunt drove to town in a chaise, the 
 usual vehicle of that time. Descending this hill the horse 
 fell and broke some part of the carriage or harness or both. 
 Rain was falling fast and the road was quite muddy. My 
 uncle placed us by the side of the road under the shelter 
 of an umbrella while he repaired the damage. The horse 
 presented a sorry sight bedaubed with mud, and hardly 
 presentable at the door of the meeting house. Therefore 
 my uncle turned homewards and my grief for my mother 
 was quieted in slumber before the old homestead was 
 reached. Broken-up Hill and the one this side of it were 
 both steeper than now; the summits having been cut off 
 and the valley between them filled up several feet. In 
 this valley there was a bridge across a brook that carried 
 the water from a spring on the south side of the road into 
 the brook that flowed through the meadow. The pond 
 touched the road on both sides of the lower hill. There 
 was a spring on the south side of the road where the Bliss 
 house has been erected recently, under the elms on the 
 lot; the water from this spring ran into a ditch on the 
 south side of the road and crossed the road by a culvert 
 and thence into the pond. Riding past there one day my 
 father told me of a drunken man who was drowned in 
 that ditch; he stumbled into it face downward and was 
 suffocated in two or three inches of water. Speaking of 
 this to a gentleman not long since he said he had seen 
 the finding of the inquest which took place, but could not 
 recall the date. The road was narrow and bounded on 
 both sides by stone walls, that on the north side extending 
 to the farmhouse, and on the south side to the Joe Bill 
 
57 
 
 road. The ground on the sides was higher than the road. 
 At the corner of Joe Bill road there was a small building on 
 the line of the road used for storing farm tools, and another 
 a short distance north of it. Several large button-ball 
 trees were on the sides of both roads near their intersection. 
 Joe Bill road was laid out in March, 1748, to accommodate 
 Joseph Bill, though there had been a pathway probably 
 over the same ground prior to that. Joshua Rice received 
 a grant of land on the south and east of Prospect Hill, 
 a part of which he sold to John Stearns, who sold 85 acres 
 to Joseph Bill in 1738; he lived there thirty-two years, 
 and then sold to John Baird, who sold to Timothy Bigelow; 
 this afterwards became a part of the John Hammond 
 farm, which is now covered with valuable residences. Joe 
 Bill road in my boyhood and till within a few years was 
 a pretty, rustic lane almost entirely overgrown with trees, 
 shrubs and bushes. On the south side, a little west of 
 Lancaster street, Isaac Lamb lived in a very small and 
 poor house. He was a hard working man, who afterwards 
 bought a farm at Greendale and died there many years 
 ago; his sons, William M., a farmer and Thomas M., a watch- 
 maker, both deceased, are well remembered. It seems to 
 tne that it was unfortunate to change the name of this 
 old road. 
 
 Grove street, from Salisbury street to its intersection 
 at Chadwick square with the road from Mr. Salisbury's 
 to Barber's and Colonel George Moore's, was laid out in 
 December, 1832; this road crossed the dam at the Wire 
 Mills, built about the same time, and Salisbury's Pond 
 was formed. In 1840 at the "Tippecanoe and Tyler too" 
 campaign there were two small wooden houses on the 
 east side of Grove street near the mill; one of these \v:is 
 moved to Forest street many years afterward and remains 
 there. Between these houses and Madam Salisbury's there 
 were no other houses, but the whole tract east to Mill 
 Brook was open land, and on it was erected the great 
 
58 
 
 log cabin where thousands congregated to listen to political 
 speeches and drink hard cider. At the fork of the roads 
 where the Armory stands there was a large wooden house 
 quite a distance back from the streets, in which Sheriff 
 John S. C. Knowlton, also editor and proprietor of the 
 Palladium,, Anthony Chase, County Treasurer for many 
 years, General George Hobbs and others lived; this house 
 has been moved to the west side of Lancaster street and 
 stands there considerably altered. Highland street was 
 laid out in September, 1832; it was one mile and 109 rods 
 in length. The central road in front of the Court House 
 was removed in March, 1832. 
 
JUN 13 1907 
 
 LBFe 10 
 
EARLY ROADS 
 
 THE DWELLERS THEREON 
 
 THE NORTHERN PORTION OF WORCESTER.