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IK BROOKLIKE, K. H.,

SEPTEMBER 8, 1869.

By I, B. SATTTELLE.

FITCHBURG, MASS:
printed at the fitchburg EEVBILLB OFFICE.
1869.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1869,
By 1. B. SAWTELLE,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the District ,of
Massachusetts.

Co S L, H ©o

OF THE INCORPORATION OF THE
SEPTEMBEE 8, 1869.

The Froeession will be formed at 0 o'clock A. M., near the
Store of J. A, HaU & Brother.
ORDER OF PROCESSION.
Chief Marshal and Aids.
Brookline Band.
Committee of Arrangements.
The President of the Day, Orator, Poet, Chronicler and Chaplain,
Vice Presidents.
The Rev. Clergy, Invited Guests, Representatives of the Press, and
others.
The Choir.
Citizens of Brookline.
Citizens at Large.

The Procession will be escorted by the Town's Soldiers in the late war to the Grove
where the Order of Exercises wiU be as follows :

I.
MUSIC.
BY THE BAND.
II.
PRAYER.
III.
ODE.
BT MISS FANOTE D. PAKKEK,
TUTTE ;— Amekioa.
Hail I BrooHine, home to thee.
Thy sons with joy we see
Return to-day.
Fl-om far and near they throng.
Friends who've been parted long.
Chanting thy praise with song
And Joyful lay.
One hundred years have fled.
Since first our fathers sped
Their prayers to heaven;
Asking that light sublime
O'er their dark paths might shine ;
God heard;— the gift divme
To them was given.
Let us, their children, now
In adoration bow
To God above.
Praising His mighty power.
Whose goodness deigned to shower
O'er them, in danger's hour,
Protecting love.
And when an hundred years
Again— with hopes and fears,
Have passed away;
May our descendants here.
Our memories revere,
Who greet with joy sincere,
This festal day.
IV.
ORATION.
By 1. B. Sawtelle, Esq., a native of this town, now residing in Townsend, Maes.
V.
ODE.
By Mrs. Saeah D. Takeell.
TOTfE:— AtJTUMN.
Welcome I aU — in gladness meeting,
HaU we our Centennial day I
Friends, long absent, joyful greeting
Join in our exulting lay.
While our voices sweetly blending,
Swell the chorus loud and long.
May our hearts to heaven ascending,
Raise our Centenary song.

#

. Hoary heads, with honors laden',
Manhood in the flush of pride.
Aged matron, blooming maiden.
Meet together, side by side.
Cheerfully our footsteps fathering.
On the sod our fathers trod,
Peaceful blessings now imploring.
From our God— our father's God.
Though to-day we meet iu gladness,
Back o'er distant years to roam.
Many hearts are flUed with sadness.
Lingering near the early home.
But, though death full oft hath taken
Well known faces, we have loved,
Sweet the memories they awaken.
Sweet the thought,— they rest above. ^
VI.
POEM.
By Ed. E. PAJ!^KBK, A. B., Brookline.
'VII.
MUSIC BY THE BAND,
VIII.
CHRONICLES.
By Rev. T. P. SAWisr,-of Manchester.
IX.
HYMN.
By Mks. Saeah B. Laweenoe.
TUKD :— Antiooh.
A hundred years ago to-day I
Where wild beasts roamed at will.
The brave man's bold and fearless stroke.
As towering forests fell.
Silenced the Savage yeU,
And on the deep grand stiUness broke.
Ende homes arose, and wildness fled —
The fields with plenty smiled —
Blessings of peace distilled like dew,
WhUe every man and child
With busy hand beguiled
A life, so simple, free, and true.
So year by year, new mercies crowned
Those quiet homes and blest, i
So one by one; in silence passed
To find a sweeter rest,
Where toil, nor care molest.
And noble life is crowned at last.
Our fathers' memory honored be 1
> While' here from far and wide,
The sons and daughters willing come
To laud with honest jiride.
And view on every side
Glad scenes that cheer our natal home.

We boast a river flowing fi-ee,
In' busy service found
Of "Tanapns" so smooth and bright,
Where festive scenes abound.
And echoing sports resound.
Waking the hills to life and light I
Behold we now the bui y .streets I
Where tasteful dwellings are I
And school-rooms rich m proffered lore I
While pealing on the air, ¦
The church bells call to prayei>-
To worship God,!-the God of yore.
Down, down, wifh swift and stealing tread
The circling years have run.
And strewn fresh benefits around-
Our victories yearly won —
The conquests well begun—
We celebrate with joyful sound I

After the exercises at the grove, the Procession will reform and
proceed to the Tent to partake of the Centennial Dinner provided
for the occasion by James W. Fessenden.- After the Dinner, there
will be short speeches by citizens and natives of the town, inter
spersed with vocal and instrumental music.

OFFICERS OF IHE DAY.
AlONZO BAILET, ESQ., PRESIDENT.
VICE PEESIDBNTS:
Capt. Franklin McDonald, Maj. W. W. Corey, Andrew Rookwo«d,
Capt. Joseph HaU, Alpheus Shattuck, Esq., James H. HaU, Esq.,
Joseph Smith, N. W. Colburn, Joseph SawteUe,
Henry K. Kemp, Esq., WiUiam J. Smith, Esq., W. G. Shattuck.
J. A. HAIiL, Esq., Chxet Marshal.
AIDS:
WUliim Wright, Edward T. HaE,
David S. Fessenden, Martin Eockwood.
COMMITTEE OF RECEPTION;
Benjamin Gould, Esq., Henry B. Stiles, Esq.,
Jfeiiben Baldwin, Esq.
TOAST-MASTER : J. C. Parker. SECRETARY : Charles A. Priest.
Alonzo Eatlby, 1
JAjMES H. Hall,
W.W. Corey, VTown CommiUee.
Henry K. Kemp,
J. A. Hall. J

The foregoing was the programme for the occasion. The man
ner in which it was carried out is thus described in the " Union
Democrat" of Manchester, N. H. :
" The meeting liad organized, and our first business was to find
it. We were directed to a hill overlooking the beautiful village
Ascending this we came to one of the rarest topographical phenom
ena we have ever seen, This conical hill is merely the shell of a
circular basin set in its top, like an old fashioned mortar, for all the
world. A handsome growth of oaks shaded the inner surface, and
the Brookliners had adroitly availed themselves of this natural am-
pitheatre, as the place of their literary festivities. Here we found
upon one side a substantial and ample platform for the officers,
speakers, reporters, band, choir, etc., and circling around it, within
easy hearing, an audience of perhaps 3000 pebple. Nothing could
possibly be more convenient and attractive."
* * -it * *
" The orator was I. B. Sawtelle, Esq., a native of Brookline, but
now residing inTownsend, Mass. We have ample notes of the last
half, but any abstract which our limits will allow, would not only be
unsatisfactory to the reader but unjust to the speaker; Its topics
were necessarily of local interest, but they were treated with con
summate skill and ability. The address embodied what may be
called the domestic history of the town, political, religious and ma
terial, and must have cost a great deal of plodding research, and
patient, unflagging industry. The ci*'izens of Brookline, we are sflre,;
are greatly indebted to Mr. Sawtelle for gathering op these frag^
mentary records and traditions and putting them in convenient form
for transmission to their posterity. Of course, this address will be
puWished, and we predict that it will be accepted by the public as
one of the very best of the current series."
*****
"The Occasional Poem was by B. E. Parker, a Brooklinite just
from Dartmouth. It will be remembered that he was the Centennial
Poet ot his Alma Mater, an honor which only rare poetic genius could
hope to attain. Whatever laurels he may have won on that occa
sion — and they were many and still green — will receive a generous
accession here. We hardly know which most to admire the skill of
the poet or the wit of the humorist."

" After the Poem came the Chronicles by Rev. T. P. Sawin of
this city. This style of writing affords fine scope for quiet and ge
nial humor, and Mr.Sawin had embodied the ecclesiastical history of
the Rabians in the quaint vernacular of the Mosaic period, when the
first mishap of the occasion occurred. A cloud came up abruptly
and threatehed \o empty its contents into the little basin occupied
by the meeting. A few big pattering drops created an instant and
enormous stampede, and the jbugle essayed in vain to recall the scat
tered fugitives. So Mr. Sawin's ingenious and very acceptable pro
duction was '• parted in the middle." "
* * * * . *
" There was a spontaneous and irrepressible movement to the
big tent- " stand not on the order of your going, but only go."
Here was found one of the most elegant and appeliizing " spreads"
we ever saw. Plates were laid for soine seven or eight hundred,
and the daintiest connoisseur could scarcely have excelled the tout
ensemble of this physical entertainment. The long tables, eight in
number, were neatly covered, and loaded with the contributions of
all elements and all liititudes. The seats were clean and iafe — not
withstanding the suggestion of gun powder plots in the kegs upon
which they were based. We venture to say, no better dinner Was
ever provided for a similar occasion, whether we regard quantity,
quality, or style. Mr. James W. Fessenden of the Brookline Hotel
was the caterer ; and we cannot help saying just here, that his vi
ands were all the better for the skill with which they were served ;
for his rich bouquets, and plump and luscious fruits had rivals in the
fitting forms that moved among them."
The storm was so severe that it was impossible to hear and en
joy the sentiments read by the toast master. The rain beat on the
tent so hard that the. responses and speeches could not be heard.

¦VT^BLaOIMIE A.IDIDRESS
OF THE
PRESIDENT OP THE DAY, ALONZO BAILEY, ESQ.

• ¦ • I •

My Tovmsmen^and Friends : It becomes my pleasant duty to
welcome you to that " feast of reason and flow of soul" that may he
enjoyed on this occasion.
We meet here to-day to celebrate the 100th birth day of our
good old Mother Brookline. I call her old, but she bears her age
remarkably well and bids fair to survive the roll of time for many
centuries to come.
It is good for children and friends to assemble under the old
family roof to commemorate their parental birth day in social com
munion. '
It is with something of the same feeling that we meet here to
day to looK into familiar faces, to give one and another a cordial
shake of the hand. It does us who live on the old famjliar spot
good to welcome our friends as they return from abroad, and we
hope it does them no less good to come and unite with us in the
festivities of the day.
We have no marked natural attractions, such as Mountains,
G-rottos or Cataracts, nor any wonders of art to call our friends^
but there has been to many and now are to some, objects of great
interest. New York City, the great metropolis of America, has its one
Cooper's Institute. We can show you mawy Cooper's Institutes,
where the coopers with their implements can outvie in noise the
clamerous tongues ot the Orators of the New York Institute.
The trees of. our forests compare but feebly with their gigantic
cousins near the Pacific coast, neither does our rough, hard soil
compare with the deep, rich laden mines of the West, but it requires
the energies and perseverance of the New England men to bring
out and develop the resources of that country^ And we claim a
share of those men for Brookline. <
2

10
It is customary for Mechanics to exhibit a sign at their shops
signifying what trade is carried on within. For instance, a shoema
ker hangs out a shoe, a watchmaker a watch at the window, and
a cooper a heap of shavings at the door. And away up in Fran-
conia Notch the Almighty has hung out the Man of the Mountain,
signifying that in New Hampshire he makes men. Brookline, a sis
ter in the pleasant family of New Hampshire, claims as her most
valuable production Men and Women, and she claims as healthy
sons and as fair daughters as any sister in the State. Do you
doubt it ? Look around upon the audience before you and see if
she is not right.
One hundred years have passed since the inauguration of this
town. One hundred years, the most eventful that ever checkered
the historian's page. One hundred years ago Brookline, with all
the New England colonies acknowledged allegiance to King George
III. and proudly boasted the best government in the world. But
Old England in the majesty of her acknowledged power became
oppressive to her colonial subjects. They rebelled.
Then came the war for Independence, and when her colonial
subjects petitioned to that higher Power for aid in their struggle',
they descried in the Heavens the emblem of Liberty and Equality
for which they tlianked God and took courage. And under the
shade of the Star Spangled Banner they fought for their rights to a
successful issue.
A territory now as large as all Europe owes its allegiance to
that tri colored flag and this territory resounds throughout its vast
extent with the industries of a Great Nation.
However small her territory, however few her people, Brook
line has ever rejoiced that she did her full share in obtaining her
independence and in sustaining her Country's honor and her glori
ous institutions. On this day we are with united hearts thankful
that peace reigns throughout this vast domain and that the future is
so bright for Brookline -and for America.
Once more in the name ot my Townsmen I extend a welcome
to all the sons of Bcooklino, whether native or adopted, and to all
others assembled here to-day, I extend a hearty welcome, hoping
your anticipations will be fully realized.

ORATION.

The changes occasioned by the lapse of time are replete with
instruction. There never were any two periods, either before or
since man's creation, that even the earth itself presented the same
appearance. Continents have received new indentations ; oceaii
currents have taken new directions and islands have been thrown
to the surface of mid ocean by those " wrecking fires which wait
the archangels signal to dissolve the solid earth." The dominion
of man ends where the ocean begins. ' He can erect jio monument
on its crested wave — can leave no vestige to mark the spot where
the armaments of angry nations contended in mortal combat. The
same unbroken anthem swells onward from its deep abyss that greet
ed the morning stars " when first they sang o'er young creation's
birth." But man, the mechanic, with instrument in hand has left
his trace on the contour of the land by excavating hills, tunnelling
mountains, felling forests and building cities. What ai beautiful
prospect there must have been from the summit of Monadnock two
hundred years agb.^ Green mountain slopes— green intervales —
green forests from horizon to horizon; many beautiful lakes and
small ponds glistened in the sun. Turning westward might have
been seen flowing at intervals the placid waters of the Connecticut.
The smoke just descried through the tree tops near the banks of
the river, indicated the spot where the squaws were cultivating corn
for the red man who was far away on the revengeful war path. On
the North the unexplored spurs of the White mountains stood out
in bold relief against the sky, as though they were performing picket
duty for that mighty mountain range which has battled with the
storms and tempests of ages. Towards the ocean this boundless
prospect of green forests was unbroken till perchance the eye caught
the hazy wreath of vapor which hovered near the coast of Massa,-

12
chusetts bay. How beautiful the forests that then covered these
• hills. What a panorama might have been seen at that time. Then
all was natural save where the Indian had made his camp fires and
planted his scanty allowance of corn. Then this whole region was
the hunting grounds of the Indian. His council fires burned along
the frontier of our infant settlements and none but our fathers would
have dared to contend with these merciless savages. More than a
century ago our ancestors penetrated the then unbroken forest and
commenced a settlement in this unpromising locality. It is to com
memorate the settlement of this town and in a proper manner to
Qelebrate the 100th anniversary of our incorporation that has caus
ed this assembly. Why should we not celebrate this anniversary ?
Although there may not be in the history of our town much that we
can boast of, yet, there is as little, perhaps, as in most other places
of equal advantages, to be ashamed of. I see those in this audi
ence who honor Bbookline as their birth place that have made them
selves homes elsewhere. Some of you are the business men of
other towns. Some of you come from the bustle and excitement of
city life, and some of you have come from distant lands where you
h^ve tried your fortunes, to look once more into the faces that were
familiar to your childhood, to grasp the hands of your former play
mates. We bid you welcome to the pleasures and festivities of
this occasion. May I not be permitted to say on your behalf, that,
during all our wanderings, during the perplexities of business and
the anxieties incident to this life, that we have turned from them all
with pleasure to the sunny childhood we passed in this quiet little
town ? Our native hills were mountains to us then. Then Tana-
pus pond was superior to Lake Superior. Saint Peters church
(jould not strike us with such awful solemnity as did the old meet-
ijig house on the hill, when after the invocations, the seats fell down
tp their places with a noise " like the voice of many waters." The
district school where we struggled for the head of the class was
our Alma Mater. In those days the 4th of July was celebrated " in
ample form." Nothing could exceed the pleasures enjoyed on the
annual thanksgiving day. Beautiful are these childhood reminis-

13
cences. We come here once more to exchange our friendly greet
ings, to turn to the pleasant associations of the past, to look once
more on the natural scenery towards which we first formed an at
tachment, to notice the changes that time ha's wrought in the form
and faces of those who were once our school mates.
The township of Brookline has been constituted, at different
¦times from no less than five distinct portions of territory ; each of
which will require a description at this point. We would natural
ly suppose that there was vacant land enough in one body in this
sterile, rockbound region from which so small a town as ours might
have been carved out. But it was reserved for this place to be
made up of a part of Hollis* ; a portion of " Groton West Parish,"
now PeppereU ; the north part of Townsend, and the south end of
"The Mile Slip."
¦ When the town of Raby was incorporated it was thus iu part,
described in the Charter: " Heginningat a stake and stones, in the
south side line in the town of Hollis, which is also the province
line, which stake stands about two miles due east from the soiith
west 'course of said Hollis ; ' thence running north by the needle
across the said town to one other stake and stones, standing in the
north side line of said Hollis ; leaving the meeting house in the
middle between this side line and the east side line of Hollis."
Here we find a portion of territory from Hollis of a parallelogramic
form, the short sides of which were about two miles long and the
long sides co-extensive With the entire length of Hollis ; d^ual to
about ten square miles.
, The phraseology of the charter, entirely superfluous so far as
granting a valid title is concerned, " leaving the meeting house in the
middle between this side line and the east side line of said Hollis"
goes to show that the grantors or people who remained in the ^pa-
rent town not only had a taste for symmetry and order, but that they
appreciated their social and religious advantages. They felt per-
*HoIUs was incorporated in 1746. The Indian name of Hollis was Nissitissit, which
means in tlie Indian language " The place of two rivers." The two rivers alluded to were
probably the Nashua, which runs across the southeast comer of the town, and the,Mssitls-
sit, which ran through the southwest corner of the town. The Nissitissit river took it^
name from the town of Nissitissit.

14
haps that if th^se toils were unremitting, their taxes were burden
some, if they had "no goodly heritage" that certainly their "lines
had fallen in pleasant places." Freedom of conscience and freedom
of speech was the priceless boon sought by the settlers of our pleas
ant New England, A few years after the landing of the Plymouth
settlers, men of a more venturesome and avaricious spirit explored
the country around, and founded new plantations. The rich lands
in the valley of the Meri^imack then occupied by the Indians were
much coyeted by the English settlers soon after its discovery by
Champlain. Its head lake to the Red Man was as beautiful as " the
smile of the Great Spirit." The aborigines were dependant on their
numerous fisheries on this river for much of their living. Their
cornfields dotted the -^alleys of the Merrimack — the Nashua — the
Souhegan, meanwhile the march of civilization pointed towards their
pleasant valleys, In 1655, Chelmsford and Groton had settlements.
On the 26th of October, 1673, in compliance with the petition of
Thomas Brattle, Jonathan Tyng, Joseph Wheeler and twenty-three
others, " The General Court held in Boston" granted, a charter to
the town of Dunstable- of which Brookline was once the extreme
western part. It may be pertinent to remark that Thomas Brattle,
first grantee above, was a large land holder in what is now Dunsta
ble, Mass., and ever from the settlement of the boundary line be
tween New Hampshire and Massachusetts in 1741 up to 1837, the
time the town of Dunstable was changed to Nashua, Dunstable,
Mass.,%as commonly called "Brattles End, Dunstable." Jonathan
Tyng also furnished a name for his part of Dunstable wliich is now
Tyngsboro. The Township of Dunstable contained about two hun
dred' square miles ; it was in the County of Middlesex. It included
the towns of Nashua, Hudson, Hollis, Dunstable and Tyngsboro, be
sides parts of the towns of Amherst, Miliord, Merrimac, Litchfield
Londondery, Pelham, PeppereU, Townsend and Brookline. Its'
lines were perambulated iu 1734. The northwest corner was a
great pine near the Souhegan river on " Dram Cup Hill " in the
northwest part of Milford. Its westerly line ran "due south" and
passed "near the west end of Muscatanapus pond" in Brookline.

15
Muscatanapus signifies in the Indian " The pond of the bears." The
corner of Methuen and Dracut was its southeast corner. The south.
west coj-ner may be found in our town in a due south direction
from "Dram Cup Hill" by the west end of Muscatanapus pond to a
point about one mile distant from the state line. Its northeast cor
ner was at a great rock easterly of the mouth, of the Souhegan river
in the town of Londonderry. The east line of Mason granted by
the Masonian proprietors in 1749 was parallel with the west line
of Hollis, which line was the west line of " Old Dunstable" and one
mile distant from the same. There was then a tract of land one
mile wide, between these towns, running from the state line to the
Souhegan river which had never been embraced within the limits
of aay town. This narrow belt of land was known by the name of
the "Mile slip" a part of which was merged in this town by the
act of incorporation in 1769. The north end of "The Mile Slip"
thus " left out in the cold," contained some brave and hardy settlers
' who furnished their quota of men for the revolutionary war. From
the north end pf the " Mile Slip," " Charlestown School Farm,"
" Duxbury Farm," a part of Amherst, a portion of Hollis, and a
square mile from the northwest corner of Raby, Milford was made
up and incorporated in 1794. From the beginning of the last cen
tury to 1740 there were many bitter controversies concerning the
Province line between New Hampshire and Massachusetts. There
was at this time in the Colony a clique of land speculators and po
litical intriguers. They were enemies both of Governor Belcher
and the settlers ; their whole aim being personal aggrandisement.
About 1738 John T. Mason, a relative of Capt. John Mason, ar
rived at majority. Owners of lands both in the province of New
Hampshire and Massachusetts were exceedingly anxious about the
fixing of this boundary line. The validity of the titles to these lands
was the exciting topic, some claiming under Mason's grant and
some from the " General Court' at Boston. Thus "great interests
were at stake and strong passions excited." Mason's grant from
Plymouth Council in 1621 had for its northern boundary " The
River Merrimack to the head waters thereof." In 1652 Massachu-

16
setts sent Commissioners who had a retinue of Indian guides, to
gether with two surveyors, one of which was a student at Harvai'd
College, to find the head waters of this river. They made a report
to their government that the outlet of Winnepesaukie Lake in Lati
tude 43deg. 40min. 12sec. was the "northermost part" of Merri
mack river. The Colony of Massachusetts Bay by their General
Court decided in 1652 that the extent of their northern line was
'' from the northermost part of the river Merrimack, and three miles
more north, where it may be found, and thence upon a straight line,
east and west to either sea." This was a line more liberal than the
descendants of the settlers of Massachusetts colony were able to
maintain. The impression was probably of those who made this
boundary that the Merrimack river ran nearly east. Finally ou the
5th of March, 1740, this whole matter was settled by His Majesty '
in council. It was decided that "the northern boundary line of the
province of Massachusetts be a line pursuing the course of the Mer-
mack river at fhree miles distant on the north side thereof, begin
ning at the Atlantic ocean and ending at a point due north of Paw-
tucket Falls ; and a straight line drawn from thence due west, till
it meets with His Majesty's other governments. ¦ This boundary
thus settled on the principles of good sense and sound judgment
was very satisfactory to the province of New Hampshire. It gave
about seven hundred and fifty square miles of land more to New
Hampshire than was ever claimed by this province in which were'
twenty-eight townships already chartered and settled. In 1741
when this line was run it passed just south of their meeting house in
Dunstable, leaving the meeting house in New Hampshire and the
grave yard in Massachusetts. This' was a source of much grief -to
its inhabitants and retarded the progress of the town considerably.
Groton and Townsend both received grants of land, in considera-
,tion for their dismemberment by the running of this new line. Hol
lis then acquired from Groton and Townsend a tract of land about
a mile wide, running the whole^ength of the town on its south side,
the west end of which is now Brookline. In 1786 a portion of
land three-fourths of a mile wide was taken from the town of Hoi

17
lis and added to the territorial limits of the town of BFookline.
The civil history of Brookline is as variegated as the topo
graphical character of the town. The earliest trace of any claim
of ownership in the territory and soil of the township of Brookline
is found in connection with that part of its territoryacquired from
Townsend by the running of the province line in 1741. Townsend
was incorporated in 1732. The petitioners for their charter in
form the General Court at Boston that the "town is completely fill
ed with inhabitants."
The grantees and proprietors of that t,own with much shrewd
ness had the town accurately surveyed and plotted, public points
delineated, roads laid out on paper,, and everything progressing so
far as sales of land were concerned, soon after they came in pos
session. This accounts for ttie sporadical character of its settle
ments and explains the language of the petitioners for an act of
iijicorporation ; the words " completely filled with inhabitanta, *'
meaning that there were settlements in most parts of the town.
Prom the Townsend proprietor's records the facts are learned that
in 1734 a man by the name of Jashee Wyman purchased of the
above proprietors a tract of land then in Townsend, and settled
near where the old house stands on the hill, easterly of Ball «J;
Smith's mill. This old house stands near the northeast corner of
the land bought by this settler which is described in the titles to
the land adjoining, bought soon after, as "Jftsher Wyman's mill lot."
The travelled road now at the easterly side of the lot was laid oat
about five years before Wyman settled here. Jasher Wyman was
the clerk of the proprietojrs of Townsend for many years. His
chirography in the records indicates both taste and 8cholar8hip.-T-f
The record of deaths in Townsend shows that he had five childiren,
one of which probably was the first child of European descent born
in the town of Brookline. He held the most important offices of
Townsend, and even after the running of the province line left him
out of his favorite town, he still continued to hold the office of clerk
for the Townsend proprietors. In the latter part of his life ha
3

18
disposed of his land and mill then in Hollis, now in Brookline, and
moved back to Townsend where both he and his wife departed this
life at about the same time in 1757. Thus the pioneer settler of
the northern part of Townsend, unintentionally became the first
settler of the township of Brookline. A man by the name of Far-
rer and Thomas Austin soon after bought and settled the lands
near this place where Wyman lived, and when this part of Towns-
end became apart of Hollis, in 1741 it contained probably three
or four families clustered around in thpir log heuses. The next
settlement in this town was made in 1 740 by three brothers by the
name of McDonald who were Scotch Irish people. About the time
the pilgrims emigrated to Plymouth, considerable numbers of Scotch
Presbyterians, influenced by similar reasons, crossed the Irish sea
and planted themselves in the northern part of Ireland in the
counties of Londonderry and Antrim. Hence the name '^Scotch Irish."
Two of these brothers had families. Their christian names were
Randall, Joseph and James. They were men of real masculine
type, tall, well proportioned and capable of great physical endur
ance. Randall McDonald settled on the east road lea,ding from
Brookline village to Milford, where the Hollis road forms a connec
tion. His brothers owned and occupied the lands at the north and
northeast of his farm. They came here ten years after the first set
tlement in Hollis. The prospects of these pioneers of civilization
in this part of the town must have been discouraging in the extreme.
Surrounded by an unbroken, howling wilderness ; remote from their
neighbors at the eastward, who had settled on more genial soils
and eligible localities ; deprived of all that we consider the luxu
ries and almost the necessities of life ; we behold them leaving
their log cabins on a sabbath morning and pursuing their path des
ignated by marked trees, to the little "meeting house" in Hollis. —
They periled all in order to enjoy freedom of conscience by their
own hearth stones. They exemplified the fact that there are no
discouragements so dep'ressing, no difficulties so perplexing, no ob
stacle so great but that may all be overcome by the clear head and
determined will of man.

19
Randall McDonald died in 1752, leaving a widow, and was
buried on his own land about half a mile at the southeast of his
house, where, with four or five other graves marked by the pres
ence of rough granit^ stones, the spot may still be seen. Joseph
McDonald, never fully satisfied with frontier life, and grieved at
the loss of his brother, sold out his estate a few years after and
returned to the land of his birth. James McDonald, the progeni
tor of those bearing' his name here in Brookline, remained. The
names of the chjildren. of James McDonald and Susanna his wife are
Rosanna McDonald, born July 19, 1752 ; Randall McDonald, April
14, 1T54; Susanna McDonald, February 18, 1756; Lucy McDon-
a,ld, February 8, 1758; Mary McDonald, April 5, 1760; Elizabeth
McDonald, November 20, 1762; James McDonald, January 19,
1764, and John McDonald, June 5, 1766. James McDonald, the
father of this family of eight children, the earliest settler, died
April 11, 1801, aged 84 years.
In reviewing the times to which the events just described be
long, we are forcibly reminded of the worth there was in the char
acter of the people. The interest of one was an interest common
to all, The surface of society was free from the scourge of dogmas,
sects and creeds, which do always "engender strife." When Mr.
Emerson was ordained in 1743, the entire population of Hollis
was aroused to the greatest degree of excitement and interest.
The religious, social, aiid moral nature of the whole people went
out to grasp the heartstrings of this enthusiastic young student who
was about to ^ecome their pastor ; and he too seemed to compre
hend the situation, as will be seen by the following, which is a part
of his answer to the call trxtended to him. "I have taken that im
portant matter into the most close consideration, and have asked
the best advice, and am, after many and great difficulties in the
way, come to this conclusion, viz : If you will fulfill your projnise as
to the four hundred pound settlement, in old tenor, only that the
one part of it be in forty acres of good land near and convenient to
the meeting house, firmly and forever coAv^eyed, tp me, the other

20
part to be paid in bills of public credit, within one year from the
date of this answer; and that for my yearly salary you give me
such a certain sum of bills of creditj yearly, as shall be equal to
one httndred and fifty ounces of coined silver, which is the sum you
propose, together with thirty cords of wood,- cord wood length, de-
litered at my door, and after your parish town or district shall, by
the providence of God be increased to the number of one hundred
families, (and not desired or expected by me until then,) you make
addition to my yearly salary of five ounces of .silver per year, until
the same shall be equal to tlvo hundred ounces of coined silver,
there to abide ahd be nO more, which is equal to seventy pounds of the
Massachusetts last emission, always expecting the tlrirty cords of.
wodd, and that these several sums or sum be continued to me so
long as I remain a gospel minister over you, always and in an espec
ial manner expeqting that you will be helpers together with me, by
prayer. Now if these before mentioned conditions be freely and vol
untarily acted upon and secured to me as you promised in the call,
tl^en I aa freely and fully accept of the call and subscribe myself
yours to use in the gospel ministry during life."
(Signed) DANIEL EMERSON-
Dunstable, West Precinct, Mar. 4, 1 743. '
There Vel-e thirty-seven of the voters and ta±-payers of the prfe-
cinict, who bound themselves in the penal sum of one hundred pounds
each, that the terms inentioned in this answer to the call should be
faithfully cPlfipliied with, ¦ Aniong the names of the signers of this
bond are found those of James McDonald ahd .Joseph McDonald.
Tlie pteliiriindries of the settlement Pf this man show that both par
ties intefaded to haVe a pet-f^et understanding. Nothing was to
coihe in and disturb the harniony of theii- undertaking. Besides
he #as to beconle theirs "to use in the gospel ministry for life."
Ff dm this answer Pf Mi*. Emerson much tflay be learned. It shows
that he not only intended to enter upon the discharge of his duties
a^ spiritual adviser of this people in good faith, that he was Tiot
pniy to be theil- gospel minister during his life ; but it also proves

21
thathe was possessed of a good share of Common sense and " world
ly wisdom." The first public building erected in this town was a
pound. It was built of logs twenty-five feet square and it stood
near where the post office now 'stands. This was in 1770. In
1783 another pound, thirty feet square, was built near the same
place. One of the greatest public trials the town had, was the
building of the. bridges acnossthe Nissitissit River, especially the one
at the mouth of Tanapns pond. As early as 1 760 the town of Hol
lis "voted to let out the road to be done, beginning at the north
side of PoNit pond* brook on the McDonald road to the Mile Slip
and a bridge to be built over Douglas brookt so called, and a
bridge over the mouth of the pond." Take notice that this was
twenty years after the McDonalds settled over on yonder hill. But
notwithstanding this vote the bridge was not built at that time. In
1771 the town of Raby "voted to build a bridge over the river at
the pond and chose Isaac Shattuck, Alexander Mcintosh, and James
Campbell a committee to see the . work done." Also voted at the
same time " to have the bridge completed by the last day of June
next." > This looked like business. The object was then accom
plished. It will be seen that there were settlements in this town
about thirty years before the town was able to build this bridge.
Owing to the scanty means of the people the two Pther bridges be
low this on the river were not made till several years later. The
town of Hollis. voted in 1760 "to give forty shillings, , sterling
money, to any Hollis nian for every wolf he shall kill the present
year." This shows that this disagreeable quadruped had sometime
been very annoying to the settlers, but was then almost extinct.
Let us consider further the condition of the people during this pe
riod. Their simple food consisted of the produce of the farm and
garden. .Salt beef and pork with the few vegetables they had, con
stituted the usual dinner. Potatoes}, bean porridge, or brown bread
 '¦  ^  4 —
* Now Eocky Pond.
t The broofcthat runs near the Post Office.
i The Potatoe was brought to this country in 1719 by the settlers of Londonderry, N. H, ¦
Hence the name Irish Potatoe. The same settlers also brought the first spinning wheels
used in New England. ¦

22
and milk formed their morning and evening meals. Fresh meat they
had occasionally; Sometimes it was with great difficulty that they
could get salt to preserve and season their meat. The music at
their surprise parties was the music of the spinning wheel to which
both mothers and daughters kept time with their hand cards. —
There were no drones in this society, no hired help, no consump
tive young ladies who expected that their fathers' wealth would be
a passport to speedy matrimony. Their looms and their needles fur
nished the fabric from which the clothing of both sexes was made.
Wool and flax were converted by hand into garments for the old
and the young. " The Bible, the Psalter and a few religious books
made up their entire reading matter. Their ' means of locomPtion
were the ox cart, or the back of a horse furnished with saddle and
pillion, and calculated to carry at a slowpace three or four persons."
Limited in their pecuniary means, with heavy, awkward tools, with
out machinery, with no prospect of an improvement in their condi
tion, the wrathful war-cloud of the revolution hanging over their
heads, they conformed to their condition with an unwavering faith
in the God of their fathers. One hundred years ago there were in
the territory rtow called Brookline about thirty-five voters, some ¦
eight or nine of which belonged in the *" Mile Slip." The subject
of forming a new town was agitated, and after a friendly understand
ing by Hollis aud all parties interested, on the thirtieth day of
March, 1769, the town of Raby was incorporated. The town was
called Raby from its fancied resemblance to Raby in Durham coun
ty, England. "The river Tees takes a southeastern direction, sim
ilar to the, Nissitissit, running at the base of prominent hills and
emptying into the North sea. " The magnificent Baronial Castle of
Raby covers an acre of ground. It was one of the earliest seats of
the Neville, family. In one of its great halls seven hundred Knights,
all retainers of that powerful family, are_saidto have feasted at one
time." The town is now the seat of the Duke of Cleveland, or his
* "January 18, r763, were lawfuUy mafeed, Alexander Mcintosh of the MUe Strin nnri
Mary Grah^ of Townsend by the Kev. Samuel Dix.-[TownsendEecords. ^

23 '
heirs. The next year after the incorporation of Raby, the town
voted to raise money for the "support of the gospel." For several
years the sums raised for preaching and schooling were the same.
In 1775 the town record shows, that James Campbell and J.ames
Badger were chosen " as a committee to agree with the priest."
This particular language is noticed because one of the conditions of
the charters for the towns at that time was that the grantees of
townships should each " settle a learned orthodox minister." In
1781 the town voted to hire the Rev. Mr. Houston to preach. This
is the first instance where the name of the minister is found in the
town Records. The following language we find in the Record of
1791. " Yoted and chose Esq. Shannon, Capt. James Campbell,
and Benjamin Farley, a committee to hire some suitable person to
preach outrthe money that was voted for preaching, and it is the
mind of this town that said committee give the Rev. John Wyeth
offer of preaching out said money ; and further, that said committee
be empowered to agree with some suitable person to board said
preacher and his horse, during the time that he shall be preaching
here." Here we find the word preacher. For the next year or
two, a reverend gentleman by the name of Hall acted here in the
double capacity of minister and school hiaster. There are now
those among the living, who enjoyed the moral, intellectural and
spiritual teachings of this man. It is to be regretted that so little
is known of the clergymen who ministered here from 1769 to 1791
a period of twenty-two years. They taught and superintended the
sehiols. They joined in wedlock the rustic yeomanry from which
we are descended. They suggested consolations at the bed side of
the sick and dying. They ofl'ered the last said prayer at the "house
of mourning" and pointed the way to that celestial Redeemer who
i* brought life and immortality to light," and although their names do
not appear in your records, their hopes were undoubtedly that they
would be written in the "_great Book of Life." On the 7th of De
cember, 1796, the town voted unanimously to give the Rev. Lemuel
Wadswoeth a call "to settle as a gospel minister." He had preach-

H
ed here quite a number of time^, and his services were very accept
able to the church and people. A committee was appointed to ar
range his settlement which was mutually agreed upon between him
and them without any written correspondence. The conditions of
his settlement were that he should receive one hundred and fifdy
pounds as a settlement to be paid in three installments, sixty pounds
as an annual salary for three years, and seventy pounds after that
time. The meeting house which had been in process of erection
for a period of two years was then about completed. When we
consider the poverty of these men who erected this meeting house,
many of whoni lived in log houses themselves ; scarcely able to sup
port their lamilies, we are. forcibly reminded of the sacrifices they
were ready to make that they might be able to enjoy the preaching of
the gospel. On the 11th of Oct., 1797, Mr. Wadsworth was ordain
ed. Tlie town voted on the 28th of August previous "that Mr. Asher
Spaulding provide for the council at the ordination in the following
manner, that is for the supper sixteen cents each on said ordination
day, and for all other meals seventeen cents each, and for horses
eleven cents each, and for all the liquprs, lemons and sugar at the
common retail price." By this vote we learn that the good people
of the town and also the ecclesiastical council were not only men
who looked forward to good society, but that they were men also
fond of good cheer. They could afibrd to conform to this old Eng
lish custom for this time. They were about to enjoy a new meet
ing house and an ordained minister. Besides some of them re
membered that at Mr. Emerson's ordination in Dunstable West
Precinct, nyw Hollis, that the council at that time was entertained
at the expense to the parish of thirty-five pounds, eighteen shillings.
From this amount it is fairly to be presumed that this council wa&
also quite " spiritually minded." Mr. Wadsworth was a native of
Stoughton, Mass., born in 1769, graduated at Brown University in
1793, and died November 25th, 1817, aged forty-eight. On the
10th of March, 1818, the town, "voted to erect a tombstone over
the grave of the Rev. Lemuel Wadsworth" and chose Eli Sawtelle

2i^
Eleaser Gilson, and Benjamin Shattuck a committee to aCCPmplish
the object. The committee performed this duty in a vpry credita
ble manner. Agreeably to the very letter and spirit of the vote of
the town, they laid a finished oblong, square block of granite over
his grave, resting upon which they placed a simple slab of slate,
on, which is engraved the pkce and date of his birth and the time
of his ordination and death. Fit monument for an honest man whose
integrity of character and exemplary virtues will outlive this gran
itic structure erected to his memory. Their grief wtis too deep to
attempt anything like an epitaph. He was not the minister of a
sect or a favored few. Tlie whole town wept at his grave, and in
justice let it be recorded, that he sustained a piety unalloyed With fa
naticism, a religion withoui bigotry and a chai'actcr above reproach,
Since that time the Orthodox Society have had several ministers,
four of whom were regularly ordained. The orthodox church had
at its organization in 1795, 15 members. The names ot theSe
church members were, Benjamin Farley, Ezekiel Proctor, Joshua
Seayer, Clark Brown, Ephraim Sawtelle, Eleazur Gilson, Joshua;
Smith, Joseph Emerson, Samuel Farley, Hannah Shattuck, Abit;ail
Sawtelle, Hannah Gilson, and Lydia Emerson. This church now
has sixty members. The Methodist Episcopal Church was estab
lished in 1852, with eleven members. It now has forty, communi
cants. At the commencement of the Revolutionary war Raby had'
forty-six ratable polls and about one hundred and seventy-five in
habitants. Raby was classed with Mason in forming a constituency
for representation and consequently furnished soldiers for the waf
in a quota connected with that town. Raby chose its committee of
safety in 1775 and "voted to act according to the advice of Con
gress." The state committee of safety reported eighty-six males
between sixteen and sixty years of age in Mason and Raby. This
town shared the usual excitement of those times. In 1777, the toW-n
"chose William Spaulding, Sw,allow Tucker and Isaac Shattuck a
committee to settle and see what every man has done in the tO«-n
of Raby since Concord fight." Thus it seems that every man Waff
4

26
looked after during this great struggle for constitutional liberty.
The records of Mason and Raby, and the state records show that
these towns furnished one hundred and fifty-three men for the land
and naval service of the government, during the Revolution, fifty-
seven of which were from Raby. These men went at different times
and in numbers not sufficient to constitute a company. Some of
these soldiers were under the gallant Col. Scammel. Some of .them
were vfith Washington at Cambridge and in New York. Three of
them were with Stark at Bennington, and seven of them were at
Ticonderoga. The patriotism of this soldiery, scantily fed and bad
ly clothed, like all others who helped to gain our independence,
is almost without , a parallel in history, and it may be said with
commendable pride that Baby did its whole duty in the consumma
tion of that great result which sent a thrill of pleasure to the heart
of every lover of freedom throughout the world. The nations of
Europe were struck with amazement when the doctrine of "the di
vine right of kings" was pro'ved to be a fallacy. Monarchs trem
bled in their capitals and despotism read its doom in our success,
like Belshazzar in the hand- writing on the wall. Liberty under the
restraint of law, the idea of Samuel Adams, of Jefferson, Otis,
Franklin and La Fayette was forever to be enjoyed by this great
continent. The first mill in town, as before stated, was built by
Jasher Wyman, near where Ball & Smith's mill now stands. The
next mill, erected and owned by Benjamin Brooks, stood on the north
side of the river, on land now flow'ed by the Bailey mill-pond.. The
ruins of the old dam and one of the walls on which the building-
, stood are still plainly to be seen. What might have been mill num
ber three, occupied a position Acar where the Bailey new mill now
stands. It was the intention of the proprietor to drive this mill by '
water drawn in- a canal from'Tanapus pond. The engineering how
ever was bad. The mill was placed too high. The water would not
run up hill to accommodate any man. The Civil engineer who lo
cated this mill undoubtedly understood pyrotechnics better than hy
draulics. How much it is to be regretted that he could not have

2T
been a cotemporary with the great General who sent the powder
ship against "Fort Fisher!" What the result of talent thus com
bined might have been, we shall never know. It was afterwards
iPwered down and operated successfully by Samuel Brown and his
"successors. In 1781, Benjamin Shattuck, grand-father of Alpheus
Shattuck of this town, came from Groton and located where J. H.
Hall's mills now are. He bought the land of " Esq. Blanchard," of
Amherst. The trade was made in the spring when the streams
were full and the travelling bad. Blanchard and Shattuck trotted
out their steeds on a reconnoisance for the purpose of establishing
.boundaries. The bargain was that Shattuck should have one hun
dred and sixty acres of land for w^iich he was to pay three hundred
dollars in silver, all in Spanish Pistareens. They went northerly
over about the same ground now used for the road from the school-
house in that district to Milford. Blanchard for fear of getting his
" black kids " soiled and his knee-buckles tarnished, kept a good
distance from the stream. They rode on about a mile up the hill
to a place where they established the northeast corner of the prem
ises. They then agreed on a certain land mark which they could
see on the opposite side of the stream for the northwest corner of
this 160 acre lot. The corners were all agreed upon without any
measurement of lines. After Shattuck paid his coined silver and
obtained his title he had a survey of the lot made and found that
he had bought some more than five hundred acres. Thus it will
be seen that the Plebian rather outwitted the PatriMan. Shattuck
erected a. mill on this lot on the same site where the ihill now
stands, and built a bridge in the highway below the same. The
records of the town show that he was exempted from taxation for
a number of years in consideration of his building and keeping this
bridge in repair. These were the first mills built here. This
place had been settled more than thirty years before there was any
grist mill in town. The people here carried what corn they had
to PeppereU or sometimes to Townsend, on their shoulders, to be
ground. The mills in those days were more liable to be out of

order than they are at present. It is said that at that time a man
by the name of Russell took a bushel of g-rain on his shoulder to
Peppeioli to be ground. On arriving at the mill he found that it
was being repaired and that he could not get his corn ground. He
then started for Townsend where he had no better success. Should'
ering his bag and quickening his step he arrived home near night
fall, when he went to the house of Isaac Shattuck, who lived on
what was lately the town farm, where he borrowed a large cannon
ball with which he ground a part of his grist which soon constitut
ed the healthy supper both for himself and his hungry children. —
Lumber mills have been made in twelye different places in this town.'
A sash and blind shop and quite an extensive tannery were once
ppej^ed and operated by the Baileys. Considerable lumber has
been sold and carried out of the place for building purposes. Coop
ering, which has been carried on here for more than eighty years
was at first confined to hard wood split staves and heads. All the
work was done by hand. Lately the pine forests have disappeared
frpm our hill sides and that timber is now extensively used in this"
lucrative business. Machinery does most Of the work. To this
source of thrift and wealth, we may trace much of the prosperity
of the town. In the history of our schools there is nothing remark
able. It is a noticeable fact that the town records from our incorpo
ration up to 1 800, are well written and. generally the words are
spelled correctly. The penmanship of some pf the earliest town
qlerks, of James Badger, Alexander Mcintosh, Randall McDonald
and others, will compare favorably with that of more recent dates.
Thus we find men who in their youth attended school only three or
four weeks in a year, and some .of them none at all, competent to
§erve as selectmen and town clerks. We must not infer from this
however, that they were not diligent scholars. Their hours of
study were out ot school, during the winter evenings in the cliiih-
ney corner, where, like Benjamin Franklin, by their pine knot light,
they solved their own problems and formed their own conclusions.
T-e/fclt^that prominent among the forces "which help a man to

29
help himself," "which pervading the body politic like leaven, uplift
whole masses of men and women, giving them that divine courage,
\which makes each in his or her own confidence the peer of every
body else, is education 1" This truly and essentially popular force
comes to all alik-e, to the poor as well as the rich and says to each,
."you too are an equal child of this great republic." Education
alone, of the most thorough character, extended by a full equip
ment of intellectual armor to every youth in our broad land, can
makathe trial of self government a complete success. This is the
secret influence gaining a foothold in the Old World, which rend
ers insecure the permanence, of thrones and dynasties. " The last
refuge of despotism is with that people whose faculties are dor
mant and untrained, and upon whom Ignorance settles her inheri
tance. To the careless observer, the history of a year in the life of
our schools would seem only a repetition of previous years. It would
seem the same steady current bearing on its surface lisping child
hood, blooming into manhood or womanhood. It is more than all
this. It is the accumulation of all the past, the combined forces of
intellect traineid by untiring discipline, silently and faithfully work
ing out the mission of civilization for the oncoming generations !"
But with all our boasted privileges of schools, reading rooms, lee-
'«
ture rooms, libraries, academies, collegies and churches, the stand
ard of morality is no higher than it was in the days of the fathers.
There is a great disparity between the advancement of the intellectu-
' al and the moral. The intellect has been trained at the expense of
the moral principle. A proper balance of these two principles,
cannot be found either in our business or professional men. The
corruption of the politicians proves this proposition. The great
struggle for wealth is the one interest to which all others submit;
and riches grasping the long arm of the lever which moves fashion
able society, thrusts aside both truth and justice. Wealth is made
a substitute for integrity of character, and honesty seems to be the
exception instead of the rule, among those subject to great tempta
tion. When Andre was captured as a spy by three soldiers during
the Revolutionary war, he tried to buy his liberty with gold. Ac-

30
complished, eloquent in the extreme, prepossessing above most men,
he offered them his gold watch .and his purse filled with guineas,
only for his liberty. Yet the honesty of these men would not air
low them to be tempted, and they spurned the glittering bribe.
Tlie brave resistance made by Major Anderson against fearful
odds, when the first gun in the Rebellion was aimed at the devoted
Fort Sumpter, will excite the admiration of mankind in ail coming
time. Patriotism ! Honesty 1 Truth 1 who can measure their
"worth ? A good character I who can estimate Its value ? Charac
ter ! Let the young man.be aroused by the thought that there is
no rock so firm,. no fortress so strong, -no panoply so impregnable
as an honest man's honor. At the close of the Revolutionary war
everything like business was prostrated. The currency was al
most worthless. Most of the New England pebple laying aside
the implements of war returned to their pursuits in civil life in
gogd earnest. Not so with five or six wicked men in this vicinity
three of whom belonged to Raby. They were thieves. One of
them by the name of McDonald, the le^ader of the gang, was a per
fect terror to most every one. He belonged here, so that Raby re
ceived the maledictions for the crimes of the entire party. It was
almost considered a disgrace for a man to own that he came from
Raby. This was all owing to these-" three ruffians." The other
men of the place were of good reputation, worthy and honest;.
The dishonor which was brought upon' the place by these three
men was keenly felt by the good people of the town. About the
time the excitement was at its height, McDonald died in prison,and
another of the party left unexpectedly.
The name of the town was altered by the state legislature from
Raby to Brookline, in 1798, on petition of the prominent men of
the town, who seemed to forget that " a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet." Out of respect for the Browns, the Mcln-
toahes, the Austins and others who came from the neighborhood of
Raby in England, and named this place, which reminded them ot
the scenery' they had left in the father land, the name of the town
should not have been changed.

31
The passion for fun and amusement with our fathers showed it
self at the apple parings, the huskings, the log rollings and the'
raisings. Thep the new cider was passed around. Here were the
wrestling matches, the trials in ruijning and jumping. Then the
smoking Indian puddings, the great loaves of brown bread, the
pork and beans, the roast lamb from the same spacious oven, fol
lowed by the golden pumpkin pies, made a feast, mingled with the
jokes, the plays, the merriment and pealing laughter, which gave a
zest to every enjoyment. The aged people of this audience re
member all this. Aye more ! The father and mother, the brother
and sister long since gone, come before you, and what would you
not give to renew but for once, these olden times ? But these
scenes cannot be renewed and we must all soon follow them far
beyond this mortal life, " into the dim and shadowy past, and be
known here airiOng our native hills only as a memory, more and
more indistinct until it shall vanish clean out." The first painted
building in town was the school house near the pond. This build
ing was finally burned. With three exceptions the dwelling houses
in town were all unpainted till after the temperance movement
in New England in 1826. This, reformation did much for Brook
line. A large portion of the surplus money of our citizen^ previ
ous to this was expended for afdent spirits. The same is true in
regard to the towns around us. The use of alcoholic drinks was
common. It was at this time that men began to see the foolishness
of tippling, that the daily use of liquor was- not only injurious but
wicked, and one by one they laid aside their kegs, decanters and
drinking cups. The people read more and thought more than usu
al. The change was soon apparent in the neat and tidy appear
ance of the farm houses. Comfort and good taste seemed to take
the place of negligence and carelessness. In 1839 when the or
thodox meeting house* was built, the names of five persons who
* The dedication of this house and the ordination of Eev. Daniel Good-win. occurred
the same day. ' The bell on this edifice was once used on a Spanish convent. ¦ Afterwards
it was hung on the third meeting house erected in Dunstable, N. H., in 1812. This house
stood about half' a mile northerly from the site of the first meeting house in "Old Dunsta
ble," near the state line. This, church building was taken down in 1845, when money was
Raised by subscription and the beU was bought.

32
assisted in building that church edifice might be mentioned, who
had as much available wealth as was possessed by the entire
town, when the old meeting house was erected on the hill. The
events of the late rebellion are so recent that they are undoubtedly
indelibly impressed upon the minds of most persons within the
hearing of my voice. The eyes of those who lost their dear friends
during this struggle for -our very national existence, are scarcely"
yet dry. Brookline met the responsibility presented by this crisis
in the spirit of commendable patriotism. Sixty-seven men exposing
themselves to the trials and dangers of war, went forth at the call
of their country, to assist in stemming back the tide of a rebellioPf ¦
rampant in fifteen states, which threatened at one time to wrest
from us the. capitol of the nation. Most of these were young men;
some with families, some just married, and all filled with the
strength and vigor of resolute manhood. Going forth to the con
flict with a firm reliance in the justice of their cause, they endured
the hardships anli sufferings incident to their duties, and they met
the enemy on the battle fields with a bravery worthy of the highest
praise. And although our town did not give to the country any
army or naval officers of distinction, yet had it not been for our
townsmen and hundreds' of thousands of others like them from other
places, who offered their bosoms to the shafts of battle in many en-
gagenients, no officer or general would have been victorious;
Thanks to the sol.diery of the nation. Of these sixty-seven men.
fourteen lost their lives, either by the bullet, by disease or by starva
tion in rebel prisons. Only one man* survived the treatment of
prison life at Andersonville. He furnishes the information that he
and as many more prisoners as could stand up in a common freight
box car, were put on board at Petersburg, Virginia, and remained
iu that position eight days ; meanwhile they only had water and a
little nourishment at four different times during that awful railroad
journey to Andersonville, that great human or rather inhuman
slaughter house. What sufferings were experienced iu this dismal

* Perley A. Smith.

33 I
enclosure, within which were about forty thousand of our soldiers
on thirty acres of land ! Our informant has seen one hundred and
twenty-eight dead soldiers piled up at one time near the gates
ready to be removed as soon as two mule teams could do the work.
We turn from this heart sickening spectacle hopeful that in all fu
ture time there will never be a repetition of this cruel and fiendish
rebellion. The bodies of some of our fallen sons have been re
turned to us, and buried with their ancestors. Others rest far
away, never to mingle with kindred dust. We carefully treasure
their memories, and when decoration day comes around, and those
of their comrades, who survived the conflict, march on to the strains
, of softened music, with solemn tread, to decorate the graves of our
fallen heroes, who are buried in their own dear native land, our
hearts go forth to the far off,' lonely sepulchres, in the mournful
wilderness, on the bleak hill sides, to the surroundings of Salis
bury prison, to New Orleans and Port Hudson, and there in imag
ination we decorate with our affections the graves of our husbands
and brothers, our sons and nephews. Happily for those they leave
behind, many winters and summers will succeed each other, and
the flowers that grow spontaneously upon their graves will bloom
' and wither for many seasons, before either their persons or their
patriotism will be forgotten.
The abstract of the history of Brookline thus imperfe(itly pre
sented would be incomplete should we not for a moment consider
our present condition. Striking is the contrast between the pov
erty of our ancestors and the comfortable condition of our citizens
at present. The early settlers and their immediate successors
.have already been described. In 1821 ( forty-eight years ago, )
there were only two or three men in town who were worth as
mu.ch as five thousand dollars. Now we have over forty tax
payers who are worth five thousand dollars and upwards. We
have no rich men, yet the tax of one of our citizens assessed this
current year is more than was the whole amount of tax assessed on
all the inhabitants- of the town in 1821. Our business men and
5

34
our people generally are prosperous. The domestic animals of a
town afford a good criterion whereby to judge of its wealth. Brook
line can muster as many good pairs of oxen and horses as any town
of its size in the State. One peculiarity of this town is the great
interest which all its voters take in the success of their political
parties. For several weeks before the election politics is the only
business. Each party "thinks of nothing but victory at the polls,
and sometimes in the heat and zeal of a campaign, money has been
used by both parties to insure suc^cess. This is wrong. It can be
said with pleasure that Brookline has never sent out any greait men
in the character of politicians who are often ready to receive bribes,
sign the bail bond of traitors and gather up anything that may fall
fi:om the public crib. Benjamin Shattuck, collector for this district
fi-om 1812 to 1815, was the only United States officer, except the
post-masters, we ever had. Brookline has reserved for itself and
given to other places men who are real producers, ftigenious me
chanics, competent engineers, and successful business men who are
an honor to any community. Such are the men whom we see here
to-day. In celebrating this day let us commemorate the fathers.
We should be mindful of their laborious poverty. Their toils
have resulted in , our comforts. On all sides are the proofs
of their wisdom, their foresight, their self sacrificing exertions
and cares for . their children. Here are the civil and relig
ious institutions which they founded. Here are the roads
they made. Here are the cultivated fields rich with grain and
fruits, where once stood the forests removed by their industry.
Here are the foundations of their houses, and here too are their
humble graves. May the places ever remain sacred where they
repose I
It must be the duty of your historian to describe more
fully their virtues, to trace their genealogies, and give you
the characteristics of the prominent families which have
lived and loved, hoped and died, during these hundred years

35
that have just closed. He must tell you of the Parleys,* the Doug
lasses, the Seavers, the Halls, the Tuckers, the Shattucks and others
once prominent in our native town.
And now standing here on the horizon between the two centu
ries, one of which, with all its great events has been added
to the mighty past, the other pressing on ready to receive
our first uplifted footstep, the thoughts presented are almost
bewildering. Looking back through the vista of years we
behold incidents which are equally interesting either to the citi
zen or the scholar. This year is the centennary of the steam en
gine. This is also the hundredth year since a patent was granted
to the 'spinning jenny. Dartmouth college celebrated her centenni
al this year. Wellmgton, Humboldt and Cuvier were born just one
hundred years ago. In 1769 Samuel Adams and his compatriots
made their celebrated appeal to the world. The same year Fred
erick the Great was laying the foundation of the Prussian Kingdom,
the nations of Europe having combined to crush hinj. In 1769
Warren Hastings, the most remarkable man of his time, made his
second voyage to Bengal, in the interest of that Bast India Company,
where nearly one hundred millions of people acknowledged him as
the Governor General of British India. At the same time that
the sword of Washington was drawn to ward off British oppression
in this western world, Hastings with all the cunning of a Jesuit was
remorselessly robbing the Sepoys, of the rich spoils of the east.
1769 also gave to Prance the first Napoleon who was emphatically
and "par excellance" the great man of modern history. One hun-
* The Parleys are of English descent. Samuel Farley married Hannah Brown, ( both of
Dunstable,) in 1744. He was a man of culture andinfiuence. He settled on the place where
Isaac Sawtelle died. The people selected him an agent to procure the charter for the
town of Baby at the time of its incorporation. He died Nov. 33, 1797, in the eightieth year
of his age.
Benjamin Farley, son of the aforesaid Samuel and Hannah, was born March JOth, 1756.
He Inherited the good sense and sound judgment of his father. He was the representative
of the town in the legistature when the name of the town was changed. He opened the
first store ever in town, in the building now a dwelling house, on the same spot where his.
father settled. Two of his sons,Benjamin M. Farley, a graduate of Harvard in 1804, and
George F. Farley a graduate of Harvard in 1816, became distinguished in the legal pvofe-s-
sion. His daughter, Mrs. Eaton, of HoUis, is (he only one of that geueratioji inAV 1. > ,.,.
Two of his grandsons, one a substantial farmer in Lunenburg, Mass., another a busi»ieo.3
man now residing in Peabody, Mass., and, their sons, ii any, are aH the male descendants
that remain of this influential family.

36
dred years ago all the textile fabrics in use were spun by human
hands. Te:-day the spinning jenny performs the same work with
the greatest exactness. In 1 769 the fartherest western outpost of
civilization was that of Daniel Boone of Kentucky. No white man
had then ever crossed the continent in this latitude. To-day the
steam engine wafts the commerce and refinement of New England
from the port of Boston onward through the grain region of North
America and o-ver the mountain passes, in one continuous flight to
the fartherest verge of the Pacific slope. How mighty the influence
of these inventions ! of these men !
The events of the past are before us. They arc historic.
A hundred years have gone. It is in vain for us to enquire
what may be the events that shall rise in the great wheel of
human life before the coming century will close. Of the
discoveries, the inventions, the great minds that will exist we
can know nothing. And when a far distant generation shall
next come to this elegant grotto to celebrate this day not one of us
will be found among the living. Then as now the morning sun will
kiss the foliage on these hill tops ; the evening wind will ripple the
waters of the beautiful Muscatanapus ; the Nisaitisset will journey on
to the sea ; but not the least relic of all that our hands have made
or our hearts have loved will remain as we now behold it.
These solemn thoughts suggest the necessity of performing the
remaining duties of life in a continued spirit of love and kindness to
each other ; that we may exercise all .the noble faculties which God
has given us to transmit to our children unimpaired the great inher
itance of truth, intelligence, justice, faith and liberty.

37
TOAVN OF BROOKLINE.

STATISTICS FOR 1869.

Tcwn Clerk,
HENRY B. STILES.
Selectmen,
JAMES C. PARKER,
PHILEMON FRENCH,
RUFUS G. RUSSELL.
Representative to State Legislature,
JAMES H..HALL.
Superintendent of Schools,
EDWARD E, PARKER,
Justices of the Peace.
REUBEN BALDWIN,
BENJAMIN GOULD,
WILLIAM G, SHATTUCK.
Valuation of the town in making the State Tax, $316,000.
Population of the town in 1860, 725. •

,. i T]ie following tables were prepared by Rev. T. P. Sawin, and appended to a printed discourse delivered in Brook
line m 1865.}
T-A-BLE 3SrO. I.
Showing the names of Brookline men who enlisted as soldiers in New Hampshire regiments to put down the great
KebeUion of 1861. Also the date they were mustered into serrice, the number of regiment, the company, their rank the
bounties they receired, time of discharge, and the length of time they were in the service. ^ " >

NAMES.

tBennett Thomas D.
Bennett, John C.
Bohonon, Moses
Bohonon, Charles
Bohonon, Clinton
Bohonon, John
tBrown, George P.
jBurge, DaTid H.
Burgess, Benjamin D.
Burgess, Asa S.
*tBoutweU,Wmiam 0,
?JColbum, Irvin
Cochran, David H.
tEmery, Lewis L.
'' drafted.
*trrench, Jonas C.
IFrench, Albert M.
Green, Lorenzo
Griffin Cyrus N.
*Han, Harvey M.
!HiII, David A.
Hobson, Edgar J.
Kendall, Daniel
Kingj Asa J.
Merrill, James A.
Messer, W ard
Pierce. George W.
Eicker, Oliver P.
tBusseU, Charles H.

20

Mustered into
Service.

Sept. 18, 1861
Aug. 9, 1862
Aug. 23, 1864
Dec. 15, 1863
Oct. 18, 1862
(I «
Sept. 18, 1861
i( 11
Mar. 27, 1862
Oct. 18, 1862
It 11
Sept .18,1861
Nov. 25,1864
Sept. 18, 1862
Sept. 1, 1863
Sept. 18,1861

Oct. 25, 1861
Nov. 4, 1863
Sept. 18, 1862
Sept. 1, 1863
Oct. 18, 1862
Sept. 18, 1861
Oct. 18, 1862
" 1861
Sept. 6, 1864
Aug. 18, 186S
Sept. 19, "

13 9
16 4
16 4
Iha 4
13

Bank.

CorporalMusicianPrivate 11
Corporal
Private

Corporal, Musician
Private It
Sergeant
Private

MusicianPrivate
MusicianPrivate

550
100 j
660

150

Discharged.

s«ap

Sept 27, 1864
June 16, 1865
June 22, 1865
July 17, 1865
Aug. 20, 1863
11 11
Sept. 2, 1865
Apr. 25, 1865
Aug. 20, 1863
tJune 21, 1863
tFeb. 21, 1865
Oct. 10, 1865
JFeb. 7. 1863
May 30, 1865
tNov. 18, 1864
Sept. 26, 1864
Oct. 18, 1861
Jan. 17, 1865
¦ Sept. 1, 1864
une 30, 1865
Sept. 6, 1865
Aug. 20, 1863
Jan. 12, 1862
Aug. 20, 1863
May 20, 1865
Jan. 26, 1865

150 June 30, 1865

Time in
S'rvice

11

EEMAEKS.

Enlisted for Nashua.
Enlisted for Cornish.
Afterwards enlisted in Ms. See Table No. II
Ee-enlisted February 28, 1864.
Ee-enlisted rebruary 24, 1864.
Died of disease in Marine Hos'l, New Orleans.
j Taken pris. at Dmry Bluff, May 16, 1864,
) died m Florence prison, S. C.
Discharged for disability.
Wounded with baU Sept. 29, 1864.
' Ee-en. Feb. 17, 1864. Taken pris. at Beam's
Station, Aug.18,'64. Died in Sanls.pris.,S.G.
_, , „ [Washington, D. C.
En, for HoUis, Died of disease Carver hos'l.
Transferred to Penn. IstEeg't, Co. A.
Previously in Mass. Eegts. See Table No. n.
Discharged for disability.
Ee-en Feb.48,1864. W'd with ball May 20,1864.
Enlisted for Nashua.
See Adj't Gen's Eeport 1865.

CO
00

*SawteUe, Augustus 1. 43 Oct. 18. 1862
Shattuck, Warren 68 Nov. 6. 1861
*Smith Daniel W. 22 Oct. 18, 1863
Smith Perley A. 19 Aug. 18,1862
*Spaulding,Stephen A. 20 " "
fSpaulding, Albert " "
Spaulding, Amos F. Sept. 18, 1861
Stiles, Charles H. 18 " "
Stiles, John A. 18 Aug. 20, 1862
StoweU, David P. 25 Jan. 21, 1863
" re-enlisted. Nov. 25. 1863
tWetherbee, John F. Sept. 20,1862
Wright, Ezra S. 30 Dec. 14, 1861
Wright, WiUiam M. 20 Dec. 14, 1863

leiC 7jD
16' C

4|C

4'c4' C
-4 C
4 C
4 C

13 I
7H4 C

Sergeant
Private

As't Surg'n
Private

t July 6, 1863
Jan. 7, 1863
May 5, 1863
May 30, 1865
Oct. 26, 1863
Oct. 6, 1863
Sept. 2, 1865
May 3, 1862
June 15, 1865
April 21, 1863
June 24, 1864
Feb. 26, 1863
Dec. 22, 1864
July 22, 1865

0

8

18

1

2

1

0

6

23

2

9

12

1

2

8

1

1

17

3

n

14

(1

7

15

2

9

25

0

3

0

0

7

0

(1

5

6

3

0

H

1

7

8

Died of disease at Algiers, La. i disease at sea.
„ _ _ onald.Died of
( Taken pris. iitDrury'B Bluff, May 16, 1864.
i Paroled Nov.19,1864. Wounded with baU.
Died of dis. Nov.12,'63, atHUton Head, S.C.
Died of dis. Oct. 16, '63, at Hilton Head, S.C.
Ee-enlisted Feb. 25, 1864.
Wounded with baU Sept 29, 1864.

Previously in Mass. Eeg'ts. See Table No. n.

*Died in service or soon after discharged. tDied at this date. fThis mark denotes that families received State Aid.
lies on Table No. H, received State Aid from New Hampshire. Whole amount thus received $3460.01.

Two fami-

S'EII^TT'Er) iisr THE nST-A.'V^S'.

CO

NAMES.

Enlistment.

Ship sailed in

Capt. of Ship.

Discharged.

Time in service.

IjBryant W. WaUace
Edward E. Parker
§Charles Currier
George Little

Aug. 12, 1862
A.ug. 20, 1863
Aug. 29, 1865

DaylightU. S. Brig PeiTy
U. S. Store Supply

Capt. Warren Aug. 14, 1863, fi-om U.S. st. Morse.
" Durand Oct. 11, 1864.
" McEitche Aug. 12, 1865.

1 yr. 0 ms. 2 dys.
1 " 1 " 20 "
0 "11 " 13 "

IIEeceived bounty from Brookline, $150.00.
§EnIisted for Ashby, Mass.

TA.B3L.B IsTO. II-

Showing the names of Brookline men who enlisted as soldiers in iVIassachusetts Regiments to put down the great Re
bellion of 1861. Also the date they were mustered into service, the regiment and company, their rank, discharge, and
the length of time they were in service.

NAMES.

<12029252121 19
21 16821744
2721272144
2420 17
2122 18
19
2124

Mustered into
Service.

1

ao

Eank.

Discharged.

Time in
s'rvice

 1
EEMAEKS.

0 1 110
2 2 022 22 31110
4 1
20 10
20

CO
s; 1 87
« 7
111010 03
11 2 1
170 9
2 1
6 19
11 2

0
20 0
27 011
24 5 800
15 1214
20 7
1019 82
1814
2722

Bohonen, John
Burgess,Charles H.
Burgess, James L.
Burgess, John C.
»Dunphee, Eli S.
Foster, George W.
French, John A.
?French, Orrui A.
tGardner, Chas H.
Gilson, Charles
Gillis, James
Gould, Peter W.
*Hardy, Warren C.
JHobson, Edgar J.
*Jefts, Albert N.
Jefts, Ed. Pai-weU
Jefts, George H.
Mann, Oliver J.
Shattuck, Jos, C.
Nelson, Eugene L.
-Wetherbee, Chas.
Wright, Wm. M.
" re-enlisted
Wright, William H.
*Wright, Lewis T.

July 7, 1864
Nov. 23, 1863
Nov. 8, 1863
Sept. 2, 1862
Nov. 6, 1861
July 23, 1862
July 28, 1862
Mar. IS, 1864
July 2, 1861
Mar. 31,1863
July 23, 1862
July 3, 1861
Oct. 15, 1861
July 1, 1861
Nov. 13, 1861
July 19, 1861
Nov. 18, 1864
Nov. 7, 1861
Mar. 15, 1863
Aug. 7, 1863
July 26, 1862
Aug. 7. 1861
Nov. 18, 1862
July 22, 1862
July 22, 1862

6
66 565326363615 16
26 36 16
25 1415
46
ir97
2L.C. 15
3H.A. 33 1447
3333

B
K B
D
A A C
C
B
A CC C
B
IFF
EBS CF
EEE

Private 11u
0. Serg't
Private 11 ti
Sergeant
Corporal Musician
Private 1111 It11
MusicianPrivate

Oct. 27, 1864
.luly 22, 1865
July 5, 1865
Sept. 2, 1863
fJune 5, 1863
June 24, 1865
June 20, 1865
tJan.20,1865?
July 11, 1863
June 22,1865
Sept. 18, 1863
Nov. 27, 1864
Aug. 14, 1862
June 4, 1863
July 26, 1862
Aug. 28, 1865
June 3, 1865
Sept. 18, 1863
fDec. 28, 1862
Sept. 25, 1862
Sept. 2. 1863
July 19, 1865
tOct. 14, 1854

Previously served in N.H. 16th Eegt. See Table No. 1.
Butler's bodyg'd, in command of his Co. Wd. mor.
[by ball June 3, died June 5, near Pt. Hudson in hosp.
Wounded with baU May 12, 1864, at Spottsylvauia.
Taken prisoner at Beam's Station, Ta. Aug. 20, 1864.
Died in Saulsbury, S. C.
Wd. by a M. ball near Fair Oaks, Ta., and lost leg.
Came home July 4, 1865.
Wounded by baU at ChancellorsvUle, Va.
Ee-en. Dec. 17, 1863, died of disease at Newbeme, N. C.
Trans, to Ms. 1 H.A. Ee-en. in N.H. See Table No. I.
Previously served in another Eeg. Died at home of
[disease, Sept. 15, 1863.
Enlisted in Ms. 2d L. C, Co. E. B. S. Trans, to Ms.
3d Cav. Co.C. StUl in service.
Died of disease at Fredericksburg, Va.
Ee-enlisted in N. H. See Table No. I.
Wounded by a baU.
Taken pris. March, 1864. Died in pris., Charleston,S.O.

*Died in service or soon after discharge . tDied at this date. ^
^Families received State Aidfrom New Hampshire. ITPennsylvania Eegiment.
In addition to the aforenamed, the town of Brookline and individuals of the town sent thirty-three substitutes to the
War of the Rebellion ; making, all told, one hundred men.

o