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HISTORY
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WORCESTER,
MASSACHUSETTS,
FROM ITS EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO SEPTEMBER, 1836:
VARIOUS NOTICES RELATING TO THE HISTORY OF WORCESTER COUNTY.
BY WILLIAM LINCOLN.
•' These local annals are full of little things ; names, dates, and facts : and rumors of every sort, which seem, at first sight, almost too trifling to be noticed : and yet, not only is it true, that the general historian must essentially depend on the local, to a very con- siderable extent, for the mass of loose seeds from which the spirit of his narrative should be laboriously distilled: but it is also true, that there is almost always a good deal of that spirit already made in such materials at his hand. Many of these little Uiings which we speak of, are little only in size and name. They are full of rich meaning. They are graphic and characteristic in a high degree. They suggest far more than they say. They illustrate classes of men, and ages of lime. They are small but brilliant lights on the walls of the past, pouring floods of splendor from their little niches on the vast abysses around them.' American Quarterly Review, June. 1S36.
WORCESTER:
MOSES D. PHILLIPS AND COMPANY'.
183 7.
H.T.
Entered according to the act of Congress, in the year 183G,
by William Lincoln,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts.
Vx42hvyo§£
PBIIfTXD Bl m.NKV J. now LAND, WORCESTER.
TO THE REV. AARON BANCROFT, D. D.
Except for your warm encouragement of the general design of this history, without knowledge of the manner of its execution, it would have perished. If there is any merit in the preservation of the facts it contains, it is yours : the errors and mistakes are those of the compiler. On the completion of the work, his highest gratification is derived, from the op- portunity of expressing veneration for the character of the beloved pastor, and gratitude for the communications, which, rightly used, would have given value to the volume now respectfully dedicated to you, who have contributed more than all others to perpetuate the memory of the events and men of Worcester in past times.
PREFACE.
There are few employments of industry more humble than in the com- pilation of local annals. It should be permitted to him who has finished his task, to explain why it was undertaken, and how it has been accom- plished.
In 1792, a memoir of four pages, by Timothy Paine, William Young, Edward Bangs, and Samuel Stearns, relating to Worcester, was commu- nicated to the Massachusetts Historical Society, and published in the volume of their collections for that year. The materials furnished by these gentlemen, were transferred by the Rev. Peter Whitney to his History of the County. The sermons of the Rev. Dr. Bancroft in 1811, 1825, and 1836, and the Address of Hon. John Davis, May 2, 1825, with their append- ed notes and documents, contain many facts illustrative of civil and eccle- siastical condition. These were the only printed narratives of the settle- ment and progress of Worcester. It seemed desirable, while it was yet possible, to gather the fast fading traditions and scattered records of the past, and preserve more full view of our local history, than was permitted by the limits of religious discourse and festival address, or accorded with the plan of former writers.
To accomplish this object, the files and records of the colonial and pro- vincial governments ; of the original proprietors ; of the town, and its par- ishes, churches, and societies ; of the county courts and registries ; and the series of newspapers from their commencement, have been examined : pri- vate journals and papers, the recollections of the aged inhabitants, the treasures of the garrets, and the knowledge of the race in active life, have been collected, with some labor. In the execution of the work the result of these examinations, there has been no effort for literary excellence, and none can be expected. The primary purpose has been accuracy. In the multitude of facts and dates there will doubtless be found many and great errors : it will be consolation when they are discovered, that they have not resulted from want of disposition or exertion to be correct. Reliance has seldom been placed on tradition, when it was not confirmed by better evidence, or corroborated by the concurrent testimony of records. Wher- ever it has been practicable, reference has been made to the authority for statements, that their truth might be tested.
PREFACE. vi
The work has been extended diffusely, and probably tediously and unprofitably. The events of the history of the town wereTclosely inter- woven with those of the county, and seemed to demand detailed notice from this connection: and at every step, matters of curious interest, which it seemed impossible to reject, arose to seduce from the direct path of narrative : until the annals of the village have become as voluminous as the records of an empire.
The language of original papers has been constantly preferred, wherever it could be used, to the words of the compiler ; lest by changing forms of expression, something of the fidelity of delineation and vividness of de- scription of the actors in the scenes of the past, should be lost. The modes of spelling, which were erroneous in the days when they were used, have not been retained: but the ancient documents transcribed, except those copied in the appendix, have been made to conform to modern orthography. Names of persons and places have been printed as they were found writ- ten in the manuscripts consulted, or books quoted : although by following this rule, the same word has been made to assume various and sometimes strange forms, on different pages.
The general plan of arrangement, affording convenience in tracing the course and connection of events, and facility of reference, has been imi- tated from Mr. Shattuck's History of Concord. It would have been greatly desirable that the excellence of this model could have been more fully copied.
The comparative length of the biographical memoirs will be found some- times to have been determined more by the means of information than the merits of the subjects of the sketches. In relation to living persons, the dates of birth have, with few exceptions, been intentionally omitted.
The pleasant duty of acknowledgment for kindness remains. Some, to whom heavy debt of gratitude was due for aid, have gone down to the grave while these sheets have been in preparation, with the rich mines of their recollections unexhausted.
There is scarcely an individual named in the succeeding pages, who has not contributed good wishes or useful information. The compiler has been under great obligations to Rev. Dr. Bancroft, Mr. Thomas Rice, Ed- ward D. Bangs, Esq. Hon. Nathaniel Paine, Samuel Jennison, Esq. Dr. John Green, Isaac Davis, Esq.; to the clerks of the town and parishes; and to Joseph Willard, Esq. Mr. Samuel G. Drake, and Rev. Joseph B. Felt of Boston, for many courtesies, communications, and valuable papers.
A notice of the errors of the pen and press which have escaped correc- tion will be found at the end of the book. Some, which will be readily detected by the reader, not affecting the meaning of the text, have been omitted in the list.
CONTENTS
GENERAL HISTORY. Pogt.
Chapter I. First Period, from 1GG4 to 1G75: first settlement. Grants to In- crease Nowcll and Thomas Noyes. Report of exploring Committee, 11 Petition of Committee of settlement, 1669. Project foi settlement. Difficulties wilhEphraim Curtis, 1674. Indian deed. Grants of lands to Beltlers, 16 View of the plantation, in 1G75. Hostilities with the Indians. Settlement abandoned. 1
Chapter II. Kino; Philip's war, 1675, 1676. The Nipmuck country. Indian Settlements. Visit of Gookin and Elliot. Attack on Quaboaer. Ephratm Curtis. Pliinehas Upliam. Henchman's expedition. Quinsigamond burnt. Henchman's second expedition. Sagamore John surrenders. Maloonus shot. Executions in Boston. Destruction of the Indians. 16
Chapter III. 1G77 to 1713. Second settlement. Indian deed, IG77. Meeting of Planters, 1G78. Henchman's agreement, 1684. Citadel. Survey. Mills built. Name of Worcester. Lots laid out. New Committees. Capt. Fitch's letter. Queen Anne's war. Town abandoned. Digory Serjent killed. Elisha Ward. Indian Hostilities. Petition for resettlement refused, 1709. 28
Chapter J'V. 1713 to 1722. Third settlement to incorporation. Petition, 1713. New Committee. Report, 1714. First Settlers. Jonas Rice. Gershom Rice. Nathaniel Moore. Garrisons. Mills, (loads. View of the town, 1718. Grants to proprietors. Scotch and Irish emigrants. Town incorporated, 1722. 40
Chapter V. 1722 to 1765. Lovell's war and French wars. Selectmen's peti- tion, 1721. Gershom Rice's letter, 1724. Uriah Ward. Col. Chandler's orders. Selectmen's petition, 1725. Capt. Wright's letters, 172.3. Benjamin I letter, 172.5. County established, 1731. Gov. Belcher's visit, 17.;.;. Soldiers. Excise, 1751. French neutrals, 17.3.). Military exertions, 1756. Col. Chan- dler's report, 1757. Men in service during French wars. Division of the Coun- ty and removal of the courts opposed. 50
Chapter VI. 1765 to 1775. American Revolution. Instructions, 17GG, 17G7. Resolutions, 17G8. Covenant. 1768. Tea. Voles. 1773. Committee of Cor- respondence, 1773. Political Society. Peter Oliver. Address of Grand Jury, 1774. Report on grievances, 1774.. Instructions. Protest of royalists. Town Meeting. Record expunged. Non-consumption covenant and oath. Manda- mus counsellors. Assembly of the people. Alarm. Minute men. Courts stopped. County Convention. Sheriff Chandler. William Campbell. Instruc- tions. Blacksmith's Convention. Depot of military stores. G7
Chapter VII. 1775 to 1783. American Revolution. Preparations for war. Instructions, 1775. Survey of British officers. Commencement of hostilities. Alarm of April 19. March of minute men. Tories disarmed. Memorial of officers. Royalist confessions. Clark Chandler. British prisoners. Poor of Boston. Military requisitions. Fourth of July, 1776. Regulation of prices. Detail of levies of troops, contributions, exertions, and proceedings, during the war. County conventions. Constitution. Excise. Peace restored. Pro- ceedings as to refugees. I'"1!
Chapter VIII. 1782 to 1787. Insurrection. Distresses of the people. County Conventions, 17S2, 1784, 178G. Court stopped, Sept. 178G. Spirited conduct of Judge Ward. Proceedings of the insurgents. Convention, Sept. 1786. Town meeting, Oct. 178G. Court of Sessions interrupted. Sheriff Greeulcaf. In-
viii CONTENTS.
surgents occupy the town, Dec. 1786. Militia of Worcester appear in arms for the government. Capt. Howe. Consultations of the insurgents. Distresses of their retreat. Gen. Lincoln's army. Affair at New Braintrce. Dispersion of the insurgents. '30
Chapter IX. Reception of Washington, 1789. Memorial on the treaty with England, 1797. Volunteers, 1798. Funeral honors to Washington, 1800. Mi- litia volunteer, 1807. Boston memorial, 1808. War of 1812. British prison- ers. Troops called into service, 1814. Visit of Lafayette, 1824. Amendments of the Constitution. Benefactions of Isaiah Thomas. Incorporation of Holden and Ward. Proposed division of the county. 151
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
Chapter X. First Parish. First meeting houses. Rev. Andrew Gardner. Difficulties on Vis dismission. Mr. Bourne. Rev. Isaac Burr. Visit of While- field. Church Covenant, 174G. Rev. Thaddeus Maccarty. Controversy about church music. Seating the meeting house. Difficulties ending in the separation of the Second Parish. Mr. Story. Rev. Samuel Austin. Church Covenant.- Rev. Charles A. Goodrich. Rev. Aretius B. Hull. Rev. Rodney A. Miller. Presbyterian Church, 1719. Rev. Edward Fitzgerald. Rev. William Johnston. 163
Chapter XI. Second Congregational Society. Separation from the first Parish. Difficulties. Church formed. Covenant. Rev. Aaron Bancroft ordained, 1786. Society incorporated, 1787. Rev. Alonzo Hill ordained, 1827. Votes of Par- ish and Church. Memoir of Rev. Dr. Bancroft. 194
Chapter XII. First Baptist Society. Formation, 1812. Rev. William Bentley. Articles of Faith. Rev. Jonathan Going. Rev. Frederic A. Willard. Rev. Jonathan Aldrich. Elm Street Society, 1836. Calvinist Society. Separation from first church, 1820. Formation of Society, 1822. Rev. Loammi I. Hoadley. House and Fund bestowed by Hon. Daniel Waldo. Rev. John S. C. Abbott. Rev. David Peabody. Catholic Society, 1834. Rev. James Fitton. Methodist Episcopal Society, 1834. Protestant Episcopal Society, 1335. Rev. Thomas H. Vail. Union Society, 1836. 205
biographical notices.
Chapter XIII. Professional Men. Biographical notices of the Practitioners, Counsellors and Attorneys at Law, and Physicians, before and since the Revo- lution. 224
Chapter XIV. Graduates of Colleges, and natives of the town who have re- ceived liberal education. Distinguished citizens. John Chandler. Capt. Jonas Hubbard. Col. Timothy Bigelow. Col. Ephraim Doolittle. David Thomas. Benjamin Heywood. Joseph Allen. Isaiah Thomas. 264
statistics and history.
Chapter XV. Education. Common Schools. Centre District Schools. Pri- vate Instruction. Manual Labor High School. Mount St. James Seminary. 296
Chapter XV. Population. Emigration. Mortality. Valuation. Taxation. Support of the Poor. Communication. Stages. Manufactures. Trade. 310
Chapter XVI. Societies and Institutions. Medical District Society. Antiqua- rian Society. Agricultural Society. Historical Society. Atheneum. Banks. Insurance Companies. Savings Institution. Various Associations. Military Companies. Newspapers and Periodicals. 323
topography and history. Chapter XVII. Situation. Boundaries. Extent. Divisions. Streets and Roads. Turnpikes. Blackstone Canal. Rail Roads. Public Buildings. Pub- lic Lands. Burial Places. Face of the Town. Ponds. Streams. Hills. Mines and Minerals. 336
miscellaneous.
Chapter XVIII. Municipal Officers. Selectmen. Clerks. Treasurers. Rep- resentatives. Fire Department. Fires and accidents by lightning. 356
Appendix, i. Petition for a Plantation, Oct. 8,1665. n. Order of the Gen- eral Court, Oct. 11, 1665. in. Ordcrof the Genera! Court, May, 15, 1667. iv. First Indian Deed, July 13, 1674. v. Order of Council to Capt. Edward Hutch- inson, July 27, 1675. vi. Order of Council, Sept. 15,1675. vn. Instructions for Capt. Joseph Sill, Nov. 2, 1675. vm. Second Indian Deed, Feb. 12, 1677. ix Order of the General Court, 1679. x. Votes for Governor since 1780. xi. Notice of Daniel Shays. xii, Statements in relation to trade, manufac- tures, and business, xiii. Executions, xiv. Festivals. Fourth of July. 363
HISTORY OF WORCESTER.
GENERAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER I.
First Period, from 1664 to 1G75 : first settlement. Grants to Increase Nowell and Thomas Noycs. Report of exploring Committee, 1668. Petition of Committee of settlement, 1669. Project for settlement. Difficulties with Ephraim Curtis, 1674. Indian deed. Grants of lands to settlers, 1675. View of the plantation, in 1675. Hostilities with the Indians. Settlement abandoned.
Few years elapsed after the first settlement of Massachusetts be- fore the outposts of cultivation were advanced far and fast into the wilderness. The stream of emigration soon began to flow westward from its fountain. Eight years after the landing of the Pilgrims, in 1628, Salem was planted. The next year, Lynn was inhabited. In 1630, Boston was founded, and Cambridge and Wa- tertown occupied. Concord was purchased of the natives and com- menced in 1635. Sudbury, begun in 1638, sent out colonies to Marlborough, incorporated in 1660. The swelling population push- ed farther onward the frontier of improvement. The fertile region around Worcester early attracted attention. When the title of the vast region, acquired from the defeated savage, vested, by undis- puted right, in the whole people, the wise policy of government encouraged settlement, while it rewarded patriotic exertions in the public service, and aided objects and institutions of general utility, by gratuities of portions of the forest. In 1657, May 6, a grant of 3200 acres of land was made to Mr. Increase Nowell, of Charlestown.1 May 6, 1662,2 1000 acres were bestowed on the church in Maiden, to be forever appropriated to the use of its minis*
I Colony Recoids, iv. 240. 2 ib. iv. 397.
1
2 GRAM'S. COMMITTEE. [1664.
try : Oct. 19, 1664, 250 acres were given to Ensign Thomas Noyes, of Sudbury, who had served under Capt. Hugh Mason.1 These were all, subsequently, located in the vicinity of Quinsigamond.2 The favorable impression from the surveys, excited enterprize to un- dertake tint plantation, which long retained the original name, bor- rowed from the beautiful sheet of water spreading in the neighbor- hood of the settlement.
John Haynes and Josiah Haynes, of Sudbury, and Nathaniel Treadaway, of Watertown, with Thomas Noyes, purchased the right of Increase Nowell, of his Executors, and, on the 18th of May, 1664, having procured the acceptance of a return, became proprietors of a wide tract, extending along the east side of Quinsigamond, inclu- ding two of its southern islands, near ' the going out of Nipnapp River.'3 They petitioned the Great and General Court for the ap- pointment of a Committee, to view the country. In compliance with their request, Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Edward Johnson, Lt. Joshua Fisher and Lt. Thomas Noyes, were commissioned, Oct. 11, 1665,4 to make survey, to determine if there be a ' meet place for a plantation, that it may be improved for that end, and not spoiled by granting of farms,' and directed to report the results of their examination to the next Court of Elections.
The death of Thomas Noyes, which occurred soon after, and the difficulties arising from the disturbed state of the country, hav- ing prevented the execution of this order, the attention of the colo- nial legislature was again directed to the contemplated settlement, in 1667. On the 15th of May5 of that year, Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Edward Johnson, Mr. Samuel Andrew, and Andrew Belchar senior, were empowered, as a Committee,6 ' to take an exact view, as soon as conveniently they can, to make true report whether the place be capable to make a village, and what number of families, they conceive, may be there accommodated. And if they find it fit for a plantation, then to offer some meet expedient how the same may be settled and improved for the public good.'
1 Colon}- Records, iv. 461.
2 The orthography of Indian names is quite uncertain. The same word is not only written in different manner by contemporary authors, but assumes various shapes in the same instrument. The ancient name of Worcester appears in these, among- other forms : Quansiggemuck, Quinsigamug, Quansicamoag, Quansitamud, Quonsiquomon, Quan- sigamon, Quansiquomog, Quanciggugug, Quonsogogoag. Quinsigamond, has been es- tablished by most general use, and is therefore adopted. The true reading was proba- bly Quonsigamcag.
3 Nipmuck, now Blackstone's River. * Colony Rec. iv. 562. * ib. iv. 587.
6 Notices of the committees of settlement, and of some of the early planters, will be found in the succeeding pages.
1668.] COMMITTEE'S REPORT. :
Gookin, Johnson, and Belchar, discharged the duty assigned them, in the autumn of the following year, and presented a report on the 20th Oct. 1GGS,1 which exhibits an interesting Outline of the views
entertained in former times, and of the general principles a<! in the formation of towns.
' The Committee's return about a new plantation near Quand.-ig- arnond Ponds. Boston, 20 Oct. 1668.
We have, according to the Court's order, bearing date 15th May, 1G67,*2 viewed the place therein mentioned, and find it to be about twelve miles westward from -Marlborough, near the road to Spring- field, and that it contains a tract of very good chesnut tree land : a large quantity : but the meadow we find not so much ; because a very considerable quantity of meadow and upland, about, five thou- sand acres, is laid out unto particular persons, and confirmed by this Court, as we are informed, which falls within this tract of land ; viz ; to Ensign Noyes deceased and his brethren, three thousand two hundred acres : unto the church of Maiden, one thousand acres : unto others, five hundred acres, bought of Ensign Xoves ; but, all this notwithstanding, we conceive, there may be enough mead- ow for a small plantation, or town, of about thirty families : and if those farms be annexed to it, it may supply about sixty families. Therefore, we conceive it expedient, that the honored Court will be pleased to reserve it for a town, being conveniently situated, and well watered with ponds and brooks, and lying near midway between Bos- ton and Springfield, about one day's journey from either : and, for the settling thereof we do offer unto the Court that which follows : \iz :
That there be a meet proportion of land granted and laid out for a town, in the best form the place will bear, about the contents of eight miles square :
That a prudent and able committee be appointed and empowered to lay it out : to admit inhabitants, and order the affairs of the place, in forming the town, granting lots, and directing and ordering all matters of a prudential nature, until the place be settled with a suf- ficient number of inhabitants and persons of discretion, able to or- der the affairs thereof, in the judgment of the Court :
That due care be taken by the said Committee, that a good Min- ister of God's word be placed there, as soon as may be : that such people as may be there planted may not live like lambs in a large place :
That there be two or three hundred acres of land, with a propor- tion of meadow, in some convenient place, at the discretion of the
1 Col. Rec. iv. G21. - Col. Rec. iv. 5
4 CLAIM OF CURTIS. [1GG9.
Committee, reserved, and laid out for the Commonwealth ; and the Committee to have power and liberty to settle inhabitants thereupon, for lives or times, upon a small rent, to be paid after the first seven years.' Daniel Gookin.
Edward Johnson.
Andrew Belchar.
This report was approved and accepted, its recommendations con- firmed, and Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Thomas Prentice, Mr. Dan- iel Henchman, and Lt. Richard Beers, appointed a Committee to carry them into execution.
At the distance of more than a century and a half, when we see the hills and vallies of the ' very good chesnut tree land ' explored by the committee, thickly dotted with the homes of the husband- man and the villages of the manufacturer, traversed by canal and railway, and supporting a dense population, their estimate of the ca- pacity of the tract, eight miles square, to maintain thirty or sixty families, furnishes strong contrast between their humble anticipa- tions and our overflowing prosperity.
At the period when the examination took place, meadow lands were esteemed of high value, and were, indeed, essential for the support of the new settlements. The low grounds, cleared of woods by the industry of the beaver, erecting dams to flood their surfaces ; by the waste of fires kindled by the hunter ; or the action of streams ; afforded the only pasturage that could be obtained, until the forest had been hewn away, and the herbage rose upon the cultivated fields.
Notwithstanding, the Great and General Court, by their order, May 15, 16G7, had prohibited the laying out of lands within the new plantation, a location had been subsequently made, in right of Ensign Noyes. His heirs had sold to Ephraim Curtis, of Sudbury, after- ward distinguished for his gallantry and good conduct in the war with the Indians. The Committee, embarrassed by the selections made by the claimants under the old grants, on the 27th of May, 16C9,1 presented the following petition for relief from the difficulties which had arisen, to retard the progress of settlement.
' We, the Committee of the General Court, whose names are sub- scribed, being appointed and empowered to lay out, settle and man- age a plantation, at or about Quansigamond Pond, twelve miles be- yond Marlborougb, in the road way to Springfield and Hadley, which place is very commodious for the situation of a town, the better to
i Col. Rec. iv. 436.
1669.] COMMITTEE'S PETITION 5
unite and strengthen the inland plantations, and, in all probability, will be advantageous for travellers, it falling near midway between Boston and Springfield, and about a day's journey from either; we, having lately been upon the place, to make an exact discovery and survey thereof, accompanied with sundry honest and able persons that are willing forthwith to settle themselves there : but finding some obstructions in the work, which, unless this Court please to re- move, and, we conceive, they may justly do it, the proceeding will be utterly hindered ; and, therefore, we shall humbly offer them un- to the honored Court, desiring help therein :
1. We find, that, though the place contains a tract of good land, yet, it is much straitened for meadow. We cannot find above three hundred acres of meadow belonging to it, within several miles : but, there are swamps and other moist lands, that, in time, with labor and industry, may make meadow.
2. We find, that there is a grant of one thousand acres to the ministry of Maiden, May the 7th, 1G62, which grant is laid out in this place. This farm contains a choice tract of land, and swallows up about one hundred acres of the aforesaid meadow; but the con- dition of the grant, as the record will declare, is, that it be improv- ed, within throe years after the grant, for the ends wherefore it was granted ; but that being not done ; for it is now above six years since, and no improvement made ; we apprehend, the grant is void : but yet, if the Court please to renew it, in any other place, we speak not to oppose it : but, if it be continued and confirmed in this place, it will utterly hinder the settling of a plantation here.
3. There is another grant of land, unto Ensign Noyes, deceas- ed, laid out in this place, containing two hundred fifty acres of choice land, with a considerable quantity of meadow, lying in the heart of this place ; and by him was sold to one Ephraim Curtis, a young man living in Sudbury. We desire that the Court will please to make void this grant ; being not laid out regularly for quantity or quality, as we conceive, and it will very much prejudice this town. The person concerned may have his land in another place, bordering upon this town, where there is sufficient to accommo- date it, and also may have a lot in this town, if he desire it.
4. Whereas, the Court, in their grant of this town, hath reserv- ed two or three hundred acres of land, with a proportion of meadow, to be laid out for the Commonwealth ; if it please the Court, because of the straitness for meadow, to abate that reservation, so far as concerns meadow, it will greatly encourage the work.
If the honored Court please to remove these obstructions, we
G I'LAN OF SETTLEMENT. [1669.
hope it will not be long before this place be settled in a good way, for the honor of God and the public good.
The Committee, in their journey, having discovered two other pla- ces beyond this to the westward, that will make two or three towns, the one place called Pamaquesset, lying upon the head of Chequa- bee River, the other place called Svvquakeag,1 upon Connecticut River nearer to Boston than Hadley, we desire the Court will please to order that these places be reserved to make towns, the better to strengthen those inland parts, and the laying out of particular grants prohibited in the said places.'
Daniel Henchman, Daniel Gookin,
Richard Beers, Thomas Prentice.
The reservation to the public in the meadow was released, but the petition, in relation to the private grants, was refused.
The progress of the Committee of settlement in the discharge of their duties was, necessarily, slow, and, for a long time, their efforts were defeated by calamitous circumstances. Their first meeting was held in Cambridge, July 6th, 1669, when a plan was formed for the projected plantation. The foundation principles and rules they matured are entered on their original book of records, in the hand writing of the venerable Gookin, and indicate the wisdom and fore- cast of their authors. It was proposed, that the territory, including the whole of Worcester and Holden, and a large part of Ward, should first be divided into ninety twenty five acre house lots, and, in the apportionment of these to the settlers, ' respect should be had to the quality, estate, usefulness, and other considerations of the per- son and family to whom they were granted:' that the most conve- nient place, nearest the middle of the town, should be set apart and improved for placing the meeting house, for the worship of God : a convenient lot of fifty acres for the first minister, should be laid out as near to it as might be : another lot, in the next convenient place, not far from thence, for the ministry that should succeed in all future times : that twenty acres should be reserved, near the cen- tre, for a training field, and to build a school house upon : that a lot, of twenty five acres, should be appropriated for the maintenance of a school and school master, to remain for that use forever : and that two hundred and fifty acres, should be for the use of the country. Provision was made for the equal apportionment of common charges upon the proprietors of lots, for erecting mills, opening and repair- ing ways, and for the equitable division of the remaining lands.-
1 iS'orthfirld. s Proprietors' Records, o.
1674. J PETITION OF PLANTERS. 1
Subsequent events prevented the practical effect! of these regula- tions from being felt in the affairs of the inhabitants, except in the example and aid they might have afforded to those who directed their prudential concerns in more prosperous da] .
The exertions of the Committee to procure settlement, seem, for a long period, to have been unavailing. At length, brighter pros- pects opened before them. In the year Ki":J, a company of thirty persons were engaged to commence the plantation, and, in the fol- lowing spring, thirty house lots were laid out, and they began to build and cultivate. Ephraim Curtis of Sudbury had, probably, previous to this time, taken possession of the rich tract of land near the centre of the present town of Worcester, and had erected a house on the ' Connecticut road ' west of the head of Quinsiga- mond. So great was the obstruction encountered from his claims, that the Committee were compelled, again, to ask the aid of the legislature, in removing the vexatious incumbrance arising from his rights and pretentions. The following petition, subscribed by those who proposed to become inhabitants, was presented by them, on the 27th of May, 1C74.1
' To the Hon'ble the Governor, Deputy Governor, Assistants and Deputies, assembled in the General Court of the Massachusetts Col- ony in New England, this 27th of May, 1674.
The humble petition of Daniel Gookin senior, Thomas Prentice, Richard Beers, and Daniel Henchman, a committee, appointed and authorized by the General Court, to order and manage a new planta- tion granted by this Court, lying and being upon the road to Spring- field, about twelve miles westward from Marlborough, together with divers other persons hereunto subscribed, who have lots granted and laid out there, humbly sheweth :
That, whereas, your petitioners have been at a very considerable expense, both of time and estate, in order to settle a plantation there ; which, they conceive, when it is effected, will more conduce to the public good of the country than their particular advantage ; and have so far advanced in that work, as to lay out about thirty house lots, and engage the people to settle them speedily : also have be- gun to build, plant, and cut hay there ; but now, meeting with an obstruction and hinderance, by a young man called Ephraim Curtis, of Sudbury, who does lay claim unto two tracts of land, containing above five hundred acres, lying in the centre of this plantation, es- pecially one of the parcels, being about 250 acres, in which place
i Colony Files, 1674.
8 COMMITTEE AND PLANTERS' PETITION. [1G74.
the Committee have laid out a minister's lot, a place for a meeting house, a mill, and ten other particular men's house lots, so that if this place be taken from us, this town is not like to proceed, to the damage of the public and your petitioners : now, although, we can- not grant that the said Curtis hath any legal right to debar our pro- ceeding, yet, for peace sake, we have offered him, a double share in the plantation, viz. two house lots, and accommodations to them, which will, in the end, amount to much more land than he pretends unto ; but all offers he declines : Therefore,
Our humble request unto the Court is, that you will be pleased to order, that the said Curtis may be sent for, and that both him, and your Committee, may be [examined] either before some Committee of the Court, thereunto to report the matter, or by the whole Court : for the substance of the case will, as we conceive, turn upon this hinge; whether an order of the General Court, dated in May 1667, prohibiting the laying out any particular grants in this place, in or- der to reserve it for a village, shall be of force and efficacy to nulli- fy the acceptance of a particular grant laid out in this place, as is pretended, a year after ; namely, at a Court held Anno 166S ; the untying of this knot, which none can do but the General Court, will resolve the matter of controversy one way or other ; so that this town will proceed or cease, and that your Committee, and others concerned, may not be wrapt up in trouble and contention about this matter, whose scope and aim is, the public good, and that the good of many may be preferred before one, wherein we have no cause to doubt of this honored Court's favor and encouragement. And so your petitioners desire in all humility to pray &c, for you. Phinehas Upham, Daniel Whittamore, Jona. Treadaway, Richard Dana, PalatiahWhittamore,Joseph Dana,
John Damond, John Richards, Thomas Brown,
Philip Atwood, Joseph Richards, William Hersy,
Thomas Tewksbury,William Reed, Jno. Provender,
Symon Meylin, Samuel Lee, Edward Wildes,
Lazarus Grover, Thomas Pratt, Jno. Wilder,
Thomas Grover, Thomas Skinner, Theophilus Thornton, Stephen Grover, Henry Swillaway, Thomas Thornton. Lyman Grover, John Starkey,
Daniel Gookin, sen. Thomas Prentice, Ric. Beers. D. Henchman,
In compliance with this petition, the parties were heard before the deputies and magistrates, their evidence and arguments considered,
1074.] CURTIS'S ci.Ai.M. «>
and the controversy determined, by the equitable decision expressed in the following order, June .">, 1674.
1 In answer to the petition of Capt. Daniel Gookin, Cnpt. Pren- tice, Lieut. Richard Beers and Mr. Henchman, and as a full issue of the case between the said petitioners and Ephraim Curtis ; The Dep- uties judge meet, that the said Curtis shall have fifty acres of the land that is already laid out to him, where he hath built, so it be in one place, with all manner of accommodation appertaining thereto as other inhabitants have. And also, that he shall have liberty to take up the '230 acres of land without the bounds of said place, pro- vided it be near adjoining thereunto : and to be in lieu of the land formerly granted to Mr. John Norton : and all this with reference to the consent of our honored Magistrates hereto.
William Torrey, Cleric'
'5. 4. 1074. x The Magistrates consent hereto, provided that the 250 acres to be laid out, without the bounds of the place, be under- stood without the bounds of the town ; and that the fifty acres where he hath built, be laid out and ordered by the Committee for said plantation as other lots there are. John Pynchon, p. order.'
' June 5, 1074. Consented to by the deputies. Win. Torrey, Cleric.'-
The adverse claim of Curtis having been thus quieted, the grant of the future town secured, and the rules for conducting the settle- ment established, the next care of the Committee was to extinguish the title of the Indians, then numerous in the vicinity, that neigh- bors so dangerous and powerful might be propitiated. A deed of
'5th month, 4th day: June 15, 1G74, new style.
By Stat. 2-1. Geo. II. Colony Laws 579, for regulating' the commencement of the year and correcting the calendar, the style was changed. It was enacted, that from the last day of December, 1751 , the year should be considered as beginning on the first day of January, and that the day following the second of September, 1752, should be called the fifteenth, omitting eleven intermediate nominal days.
Previous to this act, the year was considered as commencing on the 25th of March, the Lady day, or Annunciation of the church. According to the ancient reckoning, March was the first, and February the last month.
The correction of the calendar, made by Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582, was immedi- ately adopted in catholic countries. Although not established in England until 1752, it was customary to indicate the change by double dates, between the 1st of January and the 25th of March : thus, March 24, 1G74-5, would have been written ; the day being after the commencement of 75, new style, and before the end of 74, old style.
To adjust the difference of style, eleven days are to be added to all dates previous to Sept. 2, 1752.
- Colony Files, 1674. o
10 INDIAN DEED. [1674.
eight miles square, for the consideration of 'twelve pounds in law- ful money of New England, or the full value thereof in other specie to the content of the grantees, within three months after the date to be paid and satisfied,' was executed, with great formality, on the 18th of July, 1071, by Solomon, alias Woonaskochu, sagamore of Talaeah, and John, alias I loorrawannonit, sagamore of Packachoag.1 The receipt of part of the purchase, viz. two coats and four yards of trucking cloth, valued at twenty six shillings, as earnest, in hand, was acknowledged. The conveyance was in fee, to the Committee, and the rest of the people admitted, or to he admitted, to he inhabitants. The terms, included all and every part of the natural or civil right of the native chiefs, in all and singular, the broken up land and wood- land, woods, trees, rivers, brooks, ponds, swamps, meadows, minerals, or things whatsoever, lying and being within the eight miles square. Covenants were inserted that the lands should be held without any let, molestation, or disturbance by the grantors or their kindred, or people, or any claiming under them ; and that full and ample deeds and writings should be made according to law on finishing the pay- ment. From a marginal note, attested by the venerable Gookin, it appears, that the full consideration was discharged, August 20th, 1G7G, one half being advanced by himself, and the other moiety fur- nished by an assessment of one shilling the acre on the houselots of the proprietors.
The acknowledgement of this deed was before Gookin himself, though one of the grantees ; a circumstance not remarkable in times of purity, when the interest of the man was not considered as af- fecting the uprightness of the magistrate.
The following persons attested the instrument as subscribing wit- nesses.
Onnomog, sagamore of Occonomesset,2 now Marlborough. He is mentioned, Dec. 1G74,3 ' as lately deceased, about two months since, which is a great blow to that place. He was a pious and dis- creet man, and the very soul as it were of that town.' He was the last ruler of his tribe.
.Xtimpluur, sagamore of Wamessit, now Tewksbury, said by Goo- kin,3 to be ' of the blood of the chief sachems.' His son Samu- el, waa teacher of the praying Indians ; • A young man of good
1 Middlesex Registry of Deeds, Lib. 0, Fol. 317. " This word is written by Gookin, 1 .Mass. Hist. Col.i. 185, Okommakamesit: by Hutch- inson, quoting from Elliot, Hist. Mass. I, 15G, Ogguionikongquamesut : by Rev. Mr. Allen. Wat. .Mag, ii. Ml, Ockucangnnsctt : ami is said to have been corrupted to Ago- ganggomi-Mt.
31 Mass. Hist. Col. 1, 185.
1675.] GRANTS OF LANDS. 11
parts, and who can speak, read and write English and Indian compe- tently. He is one of those that was bred up at school at the charge of the Corporation for the Indians.'
Joseph Thatcher, of Chabanakonkomon,1 now Dudley, who was a teacher.
Nosoonowit : a christian of Pakachoag.
In 1(575, the work of settlement was prosecuted with vigor. About the middle of April, surveys were made of the lands by David Fisk of Cambridge, and John Flint of Concord."2 The lines and boun- daries of the lots were established by actual admeasurement, and grants were made, confirmed and registered. Fifty acres were laid out to Gookin and Prentice, and twenty five to Henchman, of the Committee. A lot granted to Phinehas Upham,3 July 8, 1073, was now described and located, ' and although it should contain more than fifty acres, yet the Committee have confirmed it to him for a fifty acre lot, more or less ; and this they did upon a rule of justice and equity, in consideration of the labor, travel, and activity of the said Upham, from time to time, in furthering, advancing, and en- couraging the settlement of the plantation.'4 In pursuance of the order of Court, fifty acres were assigned to Ephraim Curtis 1 where he had begun to build a small house.'5 A lot of forty acres was appropriated for the use of the ' first, learned, pious, and or- thodox minister.'0
At this time the grants to the following persons were surveyed, confirmed, and recorded. The figures express the number of acres in each lot.
In the west squadron or division on the north side of Connecticut road : Thomas Hall, 25, of Woburn : Daniel Gookin, 50 ; Samuel Gookin, 25, of Cambridge : Simon Meyling, 25 ; Ephraim Curtis, 50, of Sudbury : Daniel Henchman, 25, of Boston : Dr. Leonard Hoar, 25, of Concord.
In the west squadron or division on the south side the Country road: Phinehas Upham, 50, of Maiden : Philip Atwood, 50, of Con- cord : Trial Newbury, 25, of Woburn.
In the middle squadron or division on the north side of the Coun-
i Written Chabanakongkamun, 1 Mass. Hist. Col. I 18H. On Carleton's map of Massa- chusetts, it is called Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg. This collection of syllables is di- vided into two words, on Reach's map of Dudley, 1831, and bestowed on Slater's Pond. 2 Prop. Records, 7—12. 3 Phinehas Upham afterwards distinguished himself in the War with Philip as Lieu- tenant of Infantry. He was mortally wounded in the attack on the Narraganset Fort, Dec. 19, 1G75, and died, soon after, in Boston.
« Prop. Rec. 8. 5 ib. 7. 8 ib. 10.
12 VIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT. [1675.
try road: Thomas Brown, 50, of Sudbury : Richard Dana, 50; Jacob Dana, 25, of Watertown : Joel Jenkins, 100, of Maiden.
In the middle division, on the south side of the Country road, east side mill brook: Thomas Prentice, 50, of Woburn : Benjamin Webb, 50, of Marlborough : First Minister, 40: Benjamin Crane, 50, of Sudbury : Thomas Hall, 25, of Woburn.
In the eastern squadron, lying next to the Country road to Bos- ton : Joseph Waigh, or Wayt, 25, of Marlborough : John Provender, 25, of Maiden : Samuel Brigham, 25 ; John Fay, 50, of Marlbo- rough : Gershom Fames, 25, of Framingham : Thomas Grover, 25; John Paul, 50; John Shaw, 25, of Maiden: John Curtis, 44; Simon Meyling, 55, of Sudbury.
Another squadron in the way to Lancaster : Michael Flagg, 25 ; Joshua Bigelow, 25 ; Joseph Beamis, 25 ; all of Watertown.
Other lots granted and Indian purchase money paid but not laid out : William Taylor, 25, of Maiden : Jonathan Treadaway, 25, of Sudbury : William Adams, 25, of Concord or Sudbury.
In 1675, ' the Country road to Connecticut n as it was called, the highway of communication between Boston and the western set- tlements, entered the town near the head of the Pond, and following along the course of the present Shrewsbury road to its intersec- tion with that to Lancaster, passed westward of the route now trav- elled, and crossed the stream nearly a quarter of a mile above the Bridge. It then traversed the plain and ascended the hill west of the modern Court House, near where a private lane now exists. It was merely a path cut through the woods, practicable for passengers on foot and with horses.
1 This was the new road from Marlborough, through what is now Northborough, Shrewsbury, and Worcester to Connecticut. The Nipmuck, or old road, passed through the east part of Northborough, over rock hill, east of Great and Little Chauncey Ponds, into Westborough, and thence through Grafton. The first house built on the new road west of Marlborough, was that of Col. James Eager of Northborough. In 1G7L there was no human habitation on its route between Marlborough and Brookfield, except the wigwams on Packachoag. Wor. Mag. ii. 152.
In the agreement of the Committee with Capt. Henchman, in lG8t, it is said 'the country road is to lead up where carts have gone towards the north west corner of the citadel, and so pass into the street, next on the westerly side, where the irril/s are to stand, that carts as well as horse may pass therein.'
The way to Lancaster went northward from the town, nearly on the route followed by the present old Boston Road.
In Wor. Mag. ii. 142 it is supposed that the village of Pakachoag was on the Con- necticut road. The account of Gookin shows that it was abont three miles distant, at this time. A highway was subsequently located, south of the ancient path, which pass, ed near the foot of Pakachoag.
1675.] VIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT. 13
On this road, south of the fording place, was erected, at a very early period, one of those edifices called hlock, or garrison houses, and denominated on the records, 'the old Indian Fort.' The structures for defence against the tribes prowling in the forest, so far as specimens have survived the waste of time, or descriptions been preserved by tradition, had great uniformity in construction. They were built of timbers hewn on the sides in contact with each other, firmly interlocked at the ends, and fastened together with strong pins. They were generally square in form and two stories in height. The basement was furnished with a single thick door of plank. The walls were perforated witli narrow loop holes for the use of musket- ry against an approaching foe. A ladder, easily drawn up if the lower floor was forced, ascended to the next room, which projected two or three feet over on each side, having slits for infantry and wi- der port holes for cannon. The gentle slope of the roof afforded an elevated position to overlook the surrounding country, and was some- times crowned with a little tuiret for an observatory. These watch towers, impervious to ball or arrow, were of abundant strength to resist an enemy unprovided with artillery, and might defy any attack, except that by fire on the combustible materials. To these wooden castles, in the infancy of the country, the inhabitants repaired on the alarm of danger, and found ample protection within the rude fortresses, seldom reduced by the savage, of too fierce temperament to await the lingering progress of seige.
The lands eastward of Main Street, in the centre of the town, had been flooded by the Beavers, who had established their hamlet and built a dam across the stream near the bridge on Front Street. It is probable, the tract around the head of the Blackstone Canal then spread like a fair prairie, free from trees and covered with the herb- age of the meadows.
There were tracts which had been occupied by the Indians as planting grounds ; and their simple husbandry, if it did not improve by tillage, admitted the rays of the sun through the thick shade of the primeval woods to warm the soil enriched by the decayed veg- etation of ages. The ' Indian broken up lands ' are frequently mentioned in the proprietary records. The fires of the hunter, an- ticipating the work of the axe, had prepared fields for the plough.
These are the only vestiges of improvement which can be traced as existing when the first settlers of Worcester commenced their labors.
Most of those who had expressed intention to become planters and joined in the petition of the Committee in May, 1(>74; discour-
14 PHILIP'S WAR. [1G74.
aged by difficulties or delay, had abandoned their purpose. Of the persons who obtained grants, many did not discharge the purchase money of one shilling the acre, and but few actually removed. It required stout hearts to penetrate the depth of the wilderness and maintain residence in the immediate vicinity of the savage.
Ephraim Curtis, who had already built, Thomas Hall, Simon Meyling, Phinehas Upham, Thomas Grover, Philip Atwood, Joseph Waight, John Provender, and perhaps some others, had arrived in the month of April, 1G75. Six or seven houses were erected. Nei- ther record nor tradition, affords information of the position of the hab- itations. The neighborhood of the Fort, the convenient proximity of water and meadow, would, it may reasonably be conjectured, have induced to the selection of the northern part of the present central settlement.
To the edition of Hubbard's Narrative published in 1677, is pre- fixed a Map of New England, being as the title expresses • the first map here cut,' framed to illustrate the events of the war with Philip. The places ' assaulted by the Indians during the late awful revolu- tions of Providence' are indicated upon this rude specimen of the origin of the arts in our country. The town of Worcester is thus distinguished. In the work it is described, as ' a village called Quonsigamog, in the middle way between Marlborough and Q,uaba- og, consisting of about six or seven houses.'1
The settlement was prosperously advancing, and the inhabitants, in the language of the record, ' had built after the manner of a town,' when the war with Philip of Mount Hope broke out in Plymouth colony. The conspiracy to crush the white men by a general mas- sacre, if, as has been asserted by the early annalists, such a com- bination existed, was disclosed before it had ripened to its sanguin- ary maturity, and the Indians were driven unprepared into the con- flict ending in the extermination of their tribes. The influence of the great native warrior extended widely through the tributary nations. The confederation he planned to expel the invader, who grew stronger day by day, and like the serpent, though crushed at one point was alive at another with renovated power to injure, though defeated of its primary object, was the commencement of a series of hostilities that desolated the frontier settlements. Although remote for a time, the war soon approached the plantation of Quin- sigamond. The son of Matoonus had been executed in 1671, for the murder of an Englishman, and his head placed on a pole, where
1 Hubbard's Nar. 135. 2 ib. 31.
1075.] INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 15
it long remained, as the terrific memorial of justice. The father, a grave and sober Indian, appointed by Gookin constable of Pak- achoag, in his profession of Christianity, had not forsaken the vin- dictive principle so deeply cherished by his people. July 10, I675,s he visited Mendon, and revenged the loss of his offspring by the death of five of its inhabitants.1
This was the signal for the commencement of a desperate contest. Common danger produced that efficient union of the northern colo- nies cemented by the necessity of self preservation. The war was not of long continuance.
Energetic and rapid excursions laid waste the resources of the hostile tribes ; the allies, enticed to their support, foreseeing their fate, grew cold towards ancient friendships : their supplies were destroy- ed : their wigwams consumed : and Philip and his forces, hunted from post to post, deserted their homes and took refuge among the Nipmuck villages, where they received shelter and reinforcement. Unable to maintain open fight, they continued an unsparing preda- tory warfare upon the exposed hamlets and garrisons. Alarm pre- vailed through New England. None knew when to expect the visi- tation of the foe, lurking unseen in the solitude of the forest, until the blow fell, as sudden as the lightning, and left its effects traced with fire and blood. The husbandman went forth to cultivate the field, armed as if for battle : the musket and the sword rested by the pillow, whose slumbers were often broken, as the war whoop rose on the watches of night. The planters of Worcester, placed hard by the seat of the enemy, remote from friendly aid, with no duelling of civilized man nearer than Marlborough on the east, Lancaster towards the north, and Quabaog, now Brookfield, westward, to af- ford assistance and support, were compelled to desert their posses- sions, and dispersed among the larger towns. The silence of deso- lation succeeded to the cheerful sounds of industry, and the village was abandoned to the wild beast and the fiercer foe.
1 This event is thus noticed by Mather. ' July 14, the Nipncp, or Nipmuck Indians, began their mischief at a town called Mendam ( had we amended our ways as we should have done, this misery might have been prevented ) where they committed barbarous murders. This day deserves to have a Remark set upon it, considering that blood was never shed in Massachusetts colonij in a way of hostility before this clay. Moreover, the Providence of God herein is the more awful and tremendous, in that this very day the church in Dorchester was before the Lord humbling themselves by fasting and pray- er on account of the day of trouble now begun among us.
The news of this bloodshed came to us at Boston, the next day, in Lecture time, in the midst of the sermon : the Scripture then improved being that, Isai. 42: 24. Who gave Jacob to the spoil, and Israel to the robbers? did not the Lord? He against whom we have sinned.' Mather's Hist. 5.
16 NIPMUCK INDIANS. [1675.
CHAPTER II.
King Philip's war, 1G75, 1G7G. The Nipmuck country. Indian Settlements. Visit of Gookin and Elliot. Attack on Quabaog. Ephraim Curtis. Phinehas Uphara. Henchman's -expedition. Quinsigamond burnt. Henchman's second expedition. Sagamore John surrenders. Matoonus shot. Executions in Boston. Destruction of the Indians.
The natives of Quinsigamond were of the Nipmuck or Nipnet Indians. The territorial jurisdiction of this tribe is not accurately defined by the early historians. Gookin, high authority on such sub- jects, includes within 'the Nipmuck country,' as it was called, ten villages of Christian converts : Hassanamisset in Grafton; Manchoag now Oxford ; Chabanakongkamon now Dudley ; Maanesit, Quan- tisset and Wabquisset in Woodstock ; Packachaog in Worcester and Ward ; Waentug now Uxbridge ; Weshakim now Sterling ; and Quabaog in Brookfield.1 From the position of these places, the do- main of the nation must have extended over all the south, and part of the north, of the County of Worcester, and included a portion of Connecticut. On the south were the fierce Pequots ; the Massachu- setts, inhabiting from the bay of that name to the interior, were on the east ; north, were the Pawtuckets, dwelling along the Merri- mack and its tributary waters. The western boundary is uncertain. It is possible that it was as remote as the Connecticut River and the possessions of the warlike Maquas or Mohawks. Elliot, in 1651, speaks of Nipmuck, as ' a great country lying between Connectacot and the Massachusetts, called Nipnet, where there be many Indi- ans dispersed."2 The Nipmucks enjoyed a wide region, abounding with lakes and rivers for fishing, forests for the hunter, and soil fa- vorable for their rude tillage. Their character was more gentle and peaceful than generally belongs to savage life. Surrounded by pow- erful and ferocious tribes, they had lost national independence. The chiefs and sagamores of the scattered hamlets were subordinate and tributary to their strong neighbors. When the planters first arrived, Wattasacompanum, was nominally ruler. But his authority was controlled, and his efforts to preserve the friendly relations which had always subsisted between his people and the English, were rendered ineffectual, by the superior influence and bolder spirit of the Sa- chems, who held his subjects by paramount allegiance to their wild
1 1 Mass. Hist. Col. i. 189. » 3 Mass. Hist. Col. iv. 170.
1074. j INDIAN SETTLEMENTS. 1?
governments, and they were drawn, reluctantly and unwillingly into hostilities.
The principal settlement of the Indians in Worcester, was on the hill rising in the south part of the town, and extending into Ward, called by them Pakachoag, now known as Bogachoag. It is thus de- scribed by Gookin, in his ' Historical Collections of the Indians in New England,' l written in Dec. 1674. ' This village lyeth about three miles south from the new road way that leadeth from Boston to Connecticut; about eighteen miles, west southerly, from Marlbo- rough ; and from Boston about forty four miles. It consists of about twenty families, and hath about one hundred souls therein. This town is seated upon a fertile hill, and is denominated from a delicate spring of water that is there.'
The western hills, bearing originally the appellation of Tataesset, corrupted, in common use, into Tatnuck, were occupied by smaller hamlets.
Wigwam Hill, on the eastern shore of Quinsigamond, was prob- ably a favorite place of residence for the people who ranged along its waters for fish and game. The name given by the planters indi- cates that it was once the site of the bark tents of the aborigines.
The remains of rude workmanship frequently discovered around these eminences, and the vestiges of primitive agriculture formerly scattered over our territory, show that the tribe once roving through our forests was numerous.
The benevolent exertions of self devoted teachers in diffusing the light of Christianity, had been extended to these villages, and as early as 1672, they had been here instructed in the doctrines of reli- gion and the ceremonial of the church.
On the 17th of September, 1G74, John Eliot, well styled the apostle of the Indians, visited Pakachoag, accompanied by Gookin, who then held the office of superintendent, on his return from an excursion among the nations entrusted to his paternal guardianship. The description, left by the latter, affords a view of the condition of the population previous to the commencement of that war whose exterminating edge soon fell on their kindred.
' We took leave of the christian Indians at Chabanakongkomun, and took our journey, 17th of the seventh month,- by Manchage to Pakachoog, which lieth from Manchage, north west, about twelve miles. We arrived there about noon.'
' We repaired to the sagamore's house, called John, alias Horo*
i 1. Mass. Hist. Col. i. 192. * 28 September, 1G74. N. S.
18 GOOKIN'S AND ELIOT'S VISIT. [1674.
wanninit, who kindly entertained us. There is another sagamore belonging to this place, of kindred to the former, whose name is Solomon, alias Wooanakochu. This man was also present, who courteously welcomed us. As soon as the people could be got to- gether, Mr. Eliot preached unto them and they attended reverently. Their teacher, named James Speen, being present, read and set the tune of a psalm that was sung affectionately. Then was the whole duty concluded with prayer.'
' After some short respite, a Court was kept among them. My chief assistant was Wattasacompanum, ruler of the Nipmuck In- dians, a grave and pious man of the chief sachem's blood of the Nipmuck country. He resides at Hassanamesit : but, by former appointment calleth here, together with some others. The princi- pal matter done at this Court, was, first, to constitute John and Solomon to be rulers of this people and co-ordinate in power, cloth- ed with the authority of the English government, which they accep- ted : also to allow and approve James Speen for their minister. This man is of good parts ; and pious. He hath preached to this people almost two years, but he yet resides at Hassanamesit, about seven miles distant. Also they chose and the Court confirmed, a new constable, a grave and sober Indian, called Matoonus. Then I gave both the rulers, teacher, constable and people, their respective charges, to be diligent and faithful for God, zealous against sin, and careful in sanctifying the Sabbath.'
Having sent a grave and pious Indian to be a teacher at Nash- away, near Lancaster, with a letter of advice and exhortation, writ- ten and dated at Pakachoag, and nominated one of that tribe, who was present as constable, with power, ' to apprehend drunkards, take away their strong drink, and bring the offenders before himself for punishment;' an office which the candidate refused to accept until he could consult his friends; the exercises were concluded with singing a psalm and offering prayer, and they retired to rest. The next morning early they passed to Marlborough and thence re- turned to their homes.1
While the flame of war spread through the whole jurisdiction of Massachusetts, Quinsigamond was distinguished as the central point in a territory depopulated by hostilities, and as a post for military movements. Some of the christian Indians, during this gloomy period, repaired to Marlborough : but most of them, enticed by the persuasions and awed by the lofty spirit of Philip, united themselves
1 1. Mass. Hist. Col. i. 192.
1675.] ATTACK ON QUABOAG. 19
with him. As early as Julv, 1(>7.">, this hold and sagacious war- rior was at Pakachaog, and was accompanied westward by more John, who participated in the attack on Quabaog. When this John surrendered himself at Boston, the year after, ' lie affirm- ed' says 1 1 ul >lpanl, * that he had never intended any mischief to the English at Brookfield, but that Philip, coming over night among them, he was forced, for fear of his own life, to join with them against the English.'1 Many of our Indians went with him.
While the natives of Pakachoag were attempting the destruction of Rrookfield, Ephraim Curtis, who may he considered as the first settler of Worcester, distinguished himself as a gallant soldier in repelling their attacks. Having actively engaged in military ser- vice, he received the commission of Lieutenant. The govern- ment, desirous of reclaiming the Nipmucks to their fidelity, repeat- edly sent messengers to their chiefs. On the 24th of July, H>~<~>, Curtis held a conference with four of their sachems, and received assurances of their peaceful intentions.2 Induced by deceptive promises, Capt. Edward Hutchinson, and Capt. Thomas Wheeler, were sent into the interior ; the former, commissioned to ncgociate a treaty, and the latter, in command of a military force of '20 men, for the protection of the embassy. Commencing their march from Cambridge, July 28, and passing the forsaken wigwams of the sava- ges, who fled before them to concentrate power for a heavy blow, they arrived near Brookfield, August 2. Having been amused by delusive appointments for meetings, they were led into a narrow de- file, between a steep hill and deep swamp. Two or three hundred Indians rose suddenly from their ambuscade, and, with the first fire, killed eight and wounded five men, including both the commanders. The survivors of the ill fated company, with difficulty, effected a re- treat to the town, where they fortified one of the largest houses.
' Within two hours after our coming to the said house, or less,' says Wheeler, in his narrative,3 ' the said Capt. Hutchinson and my- self posted away Ephraim Curtis of Sudbury, and Henry Young of Concord, to go to the honored council, at Boston, to give them an
1 HubbanFs Narrative, 101. 'One eyed John accuses sagamore John to have fired the first gun at Quaboag, and killed Capt. Hutchinson.' Sewall's Journal.
2 Hub. Nar. 35.
3 See the very interesting tract, reprinted in the New Hampshire Historical Society's Collections, ii. 5, written by Captain Thomas Wheeler, entitled 'A True narrative of the Lord's providences in various dispensations towards Capt. Edward Hutchinson and my- self, and those who went with us, into the IS'ipmug country, and also to Quabaog. alias Brookfield.'
20 CURTIS. IPHAM. [1G7").
account of the Lord's dealing with us and our present condition. When they came to the further end of the town, they saw the ene- my rifling of houses, which the inhabitants had forsaken. The post fired upon them, and immediately returned to us again ; they dis- cerning no safety in going forward, and being desirous to inform us of the enemies actings, that we might the more prepare for a sudden assault by them.'
This assault followed with great violence but was bravely resisted. During the night, the attack continued, and the Indians attempted to fire the house, with combustibles. ' I ' says Wheeler, ' being de- sirous to hasten intelligence to the honored Council of our present great distress, we being so remote from any succor, it being between 60 and 70 miles from us to Boston, where the Council useth to sit, and fearing our ammunition would not last long to withstand them, if they continued so to assault us, I spake to Ephraim Cur- tis, to adventure forth again on that service and to attempt it on foot, as the way wherein there was most hope of getting away undis- covered : he readily assented, and, accordingly, went out; but there were so many Indians every where thereabouts, that he could not, pass, without apparent hazard of life ; so he came back again ; but, towards morning, the said Ephraim adventured forth the third time, and was fain to creep on his hands and knees for some space of "■round, that he might not be discerned by the enemy, who waited to prevent our sending, if they could have hindered it. But, through God's mercy, he escaped their hands, and got safely to Marlborough, though very much spent, and ready to faint, by reason of want of sleep before he went from us, and his sore travel, night and day, in that hot season, till he got thither, from whence he went to Boston.'
Intelligence had reached Marlborough before the arrival of Ephraim Curtis, and Major Simon Willard, whose memory has been unhappily slandered by tradition, had marched for the relief of the little band surrounded by more than three hundred Indians.
On the 1st of September 1G75, another of the early settlers of Worcester, Lt. Phinehas Upham, advanced, with a force of 100 men under the command of Capt. Gorham, into the Nipmuck country. The object of the expedition was to destroy the planting fields and burn the wigwams of the Indians, to deprive them of shelter and food during the winter. Gookin complains that they attacked only the villages of the praying converts, while Pakachoag, where there was abundance of corn was left untouched.1
' Gookirvs Hist. Christian Indians in American Antiquarian Society's Collections.
1675.] HENCHMAN'S EXPEDITION. 2]
In November following, the enemy's forces captured the people of Hassanamesit, while employed about their harvest. Wattasa-
companum, the chief ruler ami assistant, who had held court, with Gookin in 1674, was prevailed with to unite with Philip, and his example drew after him mosl of his subjects. When information of this movement reached the Council, Capt. Henchman and Capt. Sill were immediately despatched to range the country with two compa- nies. Having visited Grafton, and rescued some captives, ' they marched' says Gookin in his Narrative of the Bufferings of the christian Indians 1 ' to a place called Packachoage, about 10 miles distant from Hassanamessit, towards the north west, where was plenty of good indian corn, and, in this place they hoped to meet some of the enemy. Coming to the place, they saw siorns of In- dians, that had been lately there, but, it seems, were withdrawn upon the approach of the English. Here our forces took up their quarters one night, there being two wigwams, which were good shel- ter for our soldiers, the weather being wet and stormy. The next morning, our forces searched about the cornfields, to find the ene- my, but could not discover them, though, in all probability, the ene- my saw them in all their motions, and concealed themselves ; for this is their ordinary way ; to lie hid in thick swamps and other se- cret places, and to move as our men do scatter themselves, in small parties, and lie close, observing all our men's motions. The Eng- lish, in their search, found above 100 bushels of Indian corn newly gathered, and a great quantity of corn standing. About 10 o'clock in the forenoon, the English Captains and their soldiers marched back to Hassanamessit. Being gone about two miles on their way, Capt. Henchman, missing as he apprehended, his letter case, where- in his writings and orders were, he sent back two Englishmen, and the Indian Thomas, on horseback, to see at the wigwam where he lodged, to find his papers : these messengers, accordingly, going back, the Indian led them the way, and ascending up a steep hill, at the top whereof stood the wigwam, as soon as ever he discovered it, being not above six rods distant, he saw two Indian enemies, stand- ing at the wigwam door, newly come out, and four more, sitting at the fire, in the house. At which sight he bestirred himself, and, looking back, called earnestly ( as if many men were behind, com- ing up the hill ) to hasten away and encompass the enemy. One of the enemy, thereupon, presented his gun at our Indian; but, the gun missing fire, ( probably the moist rainy weather had put it out of
1 American Antiquarian Society's Collection?.
22 QUINSICJAMOND BURNED. [1675.
case ) whereupon, the rest of them, that were in the wigwam, came all out, and ran away as fast as they could, suspecting that the Eng- lish forces were at hand. And then, Thomas, with his two comrades, having thus prudently scared away the enemy, they thought it sea- sonable also to ride back again to their company as fast as they could. And, indeed, there was good reason for it ; because Thomas, the In- dian had only a pistol : one of the Englishmen, who was their chir- urgeon, a young man, had no gun : the third had a gun, but the flint was lost :~so that they were in ill case to defend themselves, or offend the enemy : but, God preserved them, by the prudence and courage of the Indian : which deliverance, one of the Englishmen directly acknowledged to me, attributing their preservation, under God, to this fellow : so they got safe to their captain, who, in the interim, searching diligently, had found his letter case, and staid for these messengers.'1
The buildings, deserted by the planters of Worcester, were des- troyed by the Indians, Dec. 2, 1675 : an event in which Mather dis- covers a special admonition of the displeasure of divine Providence. The expedition against the Narragansets was then about to march. ' But before they set out,' says the annalist, ' the churches were all upon their knees before the Lord, the God of armies, entreating his favor and gracious success in that undertaking. This day of Pray- er and Humiliation was observed December 2d : when, also, some- thing happened, intimating as if the Lord were still angry with our prayers : for, this day, all the houses in Quonsuk amuck were burnt by the Indians.'2
During the winter, the hostile Indians were scattered through the country between Marlborough and Brookfield. A large body gath- ered round Wachuset. Philip having visited Canada, they remain- ed for the most part inactive. On his return, the tomahawk was again lifted, and torture and death resumed their work. On the first of February, 1675, 3 the Nipmucks destroyed the house of Thomas Eames in Framingham. Three of the men of Pakachoag were af- terwards executed in Boston for this burning. A curious inventory of the loss sustained by the sufferer was afterwards presented to the General Court, in which a wife and five children are included among the articles of furniture and items of property for reimbursement.
The Nipmucks were engaged in the attack on Lancaster, Feb'y. 10, 1675,4 rendered memorable by the simple narrative of Mrs. Row-
1 See Hubbard's Nar. 45. 2 Increase Mather's History, 19.
3 Feb. 12, 1676, New Style. * Feb. 22, 1676, N. S.
1G76.] HENCHMAN'S EXPEDITION. J:{
landson's captivity ; and, probably, participated in the depredations on other towns. The troops of Prentice, Savage, Mosely, and the other distinguished leaders of the time, frequently traversed the ter- ritory along the Connecticut road, to seek or pursue the foe. Par- ties were sometimes stationed at Quinsigamond, to await reenforce- ments or watch the operations of the enemy.
In April, 1670, three companies of infantry under Captains Sill, Cutler and Ilolbrook, and three of cavalry, with Capts. Brattle and Prentice, and Capt. Henchman who was commander in chief, were sent out towards Hassanamessit. Having been released for a time from service, on the 30th of May, Henchman was again despatched from Boston, to meet a corps from Connecticut, to scour the forest on both sides Connecticut River, to distress the enemy and prevent their fishing in those waters. The two parties were to unite at Brookfield, but Henchman turned aside to attack a party at Wesh- akim ponds. This service successfully performed, he proceeded westward and met the troops of the neighboring colony at Hadley. The object of the campaign accomplished, the men of Massachusetts returned. The instructions of the Council, dated June 10, state that Philip, with several sachems, but with few fighting men, had then planted at Quabaog and Pakachoag. On arriving near the last named place, they found that Philip and the Narragansets were gone several days before. On the 30th of June, Henchman, having halted at Marlborough, made a report from which the following pas- sages are extracted.
' By advice, I drew out a commanded party, under the conduct of Capt. Sill, viz. sixteen files of English, all my troop, and the Indi- ans, excepting one file, being all we could make provision for ; for what, with the falling short of the bread promised us, and a great deal of that we had proving mouldy, the rest of the men had but one biscuit a man to bring them to this place. This party we order- ed towards Wachuset, and so to Nashaway, and the Weshakim Ponds, and so to return to this place. The commanded party we left at Quonsiquomon, where they intended to stay awhile for the last scout we sent out. Eleven prisoners we had in all ; two of the eld- est, by counsel, we put to death, the other nine the commissary is ordered to convey to Boston.'1
From this time the fortunes of Philip rapidly declined. The spir- it of disaffection spread among his allies, and the formidable con- federacy his genius had formed was parted. The confidence he had
i Hubbard Nar. 86.
24 SAGAMORE JOHN'S LETTER. [1070.
inspired was lost, and the dread of the English power revived, as unsparing vengeance was visited on the hostile tribes.
Sagamore John, alarmed at the dangerous condition of affairs, pru- dently sought safety by timely submission. In the early part of Ju- ly, he opened a negotiation for peace with the government in Bos- ton.
A curious letter, composed by a christian Indian who had learned to write, supplicating mercy in very imperfect language, is preserved in one of a series of tracts, first printed in London in 1G7G.1 John subscribed this paper, as a highland chieftain would have done, with the name of his clan. It was signed by other Nipmuck sagamores, and sent by a party with a white flag, July 6, 167G, from Nashaway.
' Mr. John Leveret, my Lord, Mr. Waban, and all the chief men our brethren, praying to God.~ We beseech you all to help us; my wife she is but one, but there be more prisoners, which we pray you keep well : Mattamuck his wife, we entreat you for her ; and not only that man, but it is the request of two Sachems, Sum Sachem of Wcshakim and the Pakashoag Sachem.'
' And that further you will consider about the making peace. We have spoken to the people of Nashobah ( viz. Tom Dublcr and Peter ) that we would agree with you and make a covenant of peace with you. We have been destroyed by your soldiers : but still we remember it now, to sit still ; do you consider it again : we do ear- nestly entreat you that it may be so by Jesus Christ. O ! let it be so ! Amen. Amen.'' Mattamuck, his mark N.
Sam. Sachem, his mark £5.
Simon Pottoquam, Scribe J.
Uppanippaquem, his ( mark ) C.
Pakaskoag, his mark 24 .3
Soon after this letter was written, about July 13,4 sagamore John ventured to visit Boston.to deliver himself to the Magistrates and make terms for his men. The Governor and Council, with policy equally
1 ' A true account of the most considerable occurrences that have happened in the warrc between the English and Indians in New England,' reprinted in Drake's Indian Chron- icle, 131.
2 The letter is intended to be addressed to Gov. Leveret, Mr. Waban, and the chris- tian Indians who prayed to God.
3 The name of the residence of sagamore John was spelt by different early writers thus : Pakachogc: Packachooge: Pakchoog: Pakachage: Pakachauge: Poppachaug: Poque- baug: Pakachewog: Pakashoogc : Packashoag : Pakaskoag: Pacachoog. The best authority is for Pakachoag.
* Drake's Indian Chronicle, 137. I. Mather's Hist. 43. Hub. Nar. 101.
1C70.] JOHN. MATOONUS. 25
wise and lmmanc, had issued proclamations offering pardon to the In- dians who voluntarily came in and surrendered. John expressed sin- cere sorrow for taking part against the English, engaged to he true to their interests in future, promised to give some testimonials of fi- delity, received assurances of security and protection, and was per- mitted to depart. On the 27th of July, he returned bringing with him an hundred and eighty of his followers. To propitiate favor, and purchase peace hy an acceptable offering, he had treacherously seiz- ed that Matoonus, who had shed the first hlood in Massachusetts on the beginning of the war at Mendon, with Nebemiah his son, hoth probahly natives of Pakachoag, and brought them down bound with cords, to be given up to justice. Matoonus, having been ex- amined was condemned to immediate death. Sagamore John, with the new born zeal of the traitor, to signalize his devotion to the cause he adopts by extraordinary rancor against that he deserts, en- treated for himself and his men, the office of executioners. Matoo- nus was led out, and being tied to a tree on Boston common, was shot by his own countrymen, his head cutoff, and placed upon a pole opposite to that of his son, who formerly suffered on the same spot for a real or supposed murder committed in 1671.
The historians of the period heap upon Matoonus, a load of abu- sive and uncharitable epithets. The great injury he received, the deepest the heart of savage or civilized man can suffer, affords, in their view, no apology for acts of violence, which although cruel, were according to the custom of war among his people. ' Sagamore John,' says Hubbard, ' that he might more ingratiate himself with the English, whose friendship he was now willing to seek after, did by a wile, get into his hands, one Matoonus, an old malicious villain, 'who was the first that did any mischief within the Massachusetts Colo- ny, July 14, 1675, bearing an old grudge against them as is thought, for justice that was done upon one of his sons, 1671, whose head since stands upon a pole near the gibbet where he was hanged up : the bringing in of this malicious caitife was a hopeful presage that it. would not be long before Philip himself, the grand villain, would in like manner receive a just reward of his wickedness and murders.'
Increase Mather, another minister of that gospel which incul- cates the forgiveness of injuries, adds his testimony with equal bit- terness, in a sermon preached in 1G77.1
' How often have we prayed that the Lord would remember the cruelty, treachery, and above all the blasphemy of these heathen !
1 Historical discourse on the prevalence of prayer, 6.
4
26 WATTASACOMPANUM. [1676.
This prayer hath been heard in Heaven Matoonus, who
was the first Indian that treacherously shed innocent English blood in Massachusetts colony, he some years before pretended something of religion, being a professor in general, ( though never baptised, nor of the inchurched Indians,) that so he might the more covertly manage the hellish design of revenge, that was harbored in his devil- ish heart: but at last sagamore John, with some of his Indians, un- expectedly surprised him and delivered him to justice.'1
Sagamore John, with nineteen of those who surrendered with him, were placed under the charge of Capt. Thomas Prentice, in Cam- bridge. During the succeeding winter, they escaped to the woods, and although closely followed, eluded pursuit. Three of the com- pany were executed, with some of their associates, for burning the house of Thomas Eames. Of their fate Sewall makes this brief re- cord in his journal : ' Sept. 13, eight Indians shot to death on the (Boston) common.' Thirty were sold as slaves, under the milder name of putting out to service. The residue of the captives were confined to Deer Island, where many died by famine and exposure without suitable food or shelter from cold.
The assistant Wattasacompanum, better known in the annals of the time by the appellation of Captain Tom,2 was made prisoner, June 11, 1676, with his daughter and two young children. Hench- man, announcing the capture, reports that this man was said to have left the enemy early in spring, intending to give himself up to the English, but dared not come in for fear of their scouts. The min- utes of his trial allege, that ' Capt. Tom was not only an instigator to others over whom he was made a captain, but also was actually present and an actor in the devastation of some of our plantations.' Although the company of friendly Indians, who had done good ser- vice to the colony, petitioned for his release, he was executed June 22. ' He was,' says Gookin,3 ' a prudent, and, I believe, a pious man, and had given good demonstration of it many years. I had particular acquaintance with him, and cannot, in charity, think oth- erwise concerning him in his life, or at his death : though possibly he was tempted beyond his strength ; for had he done as he ought, he should have rather suffered death than have gone among the wicked enemies of God's people.'
1 Mather states that one of the sons of Matoonus was brought in with him, which is confirmed by the following entry in SewalFs MS. Journal, 'July 27, 1676. Sagamore John brings in Matoonus and his son : shot to death the same day.'
2 Shattuck's Concord, 62. 3 Hist. Christian Indians, in Am. Ant. Soc. Col.
1G7G.] EXECUTIONS. REMOVAL OF INDIANS. 27
During the summer, military executions were frequent in Boston. Thirty Indians were shot in one day on the common. The return of troops from victorious expeditions into the interior, was often fol- lowed by judicial slaughter, only to be defended on the ground of necessity. The captives were sometimes treated as traitors, and blood profusely shed. The heads of the sufferers, exposed near the spot where they fell, were ghastly memorials of the stern character of vindictive justice.
An order of Council, August 30, 1G7.">, directed that all Indians desirous of approving their fidelity should repair 10 Natick, Pun- kapaug,1 Wamesit,0 Nashobah,3 and Ilassanameset, to be confined within a circle drawn at the distance of a mile from the centre of the dwellings. The christians of Quinsigamond, about this period went to Grafton, where they were afterwards surprised by a large force and compelled to join the enemy, as is stated, although it is not probable strong compulsion was needed to induce them to take part with their countrymen. Some were at a fort occupied by the converts of Marlborough. Measures of severity were adopted, invol- ving innocent and guilty in common suffering, scarcely admitting defence. The friendly Indians were principally transported to Deer Island. Taken away from their cornfields without being permitted to gather the harvest, without the resources of hunting, with slender provision for their support, many died for want of food and shelter from the inclemency of winter. The change of residence was some- times effected without regard to the feelings or convenience of the victims. Those of Marlborough, surrounded by a company under Capt. Mosely, who had been commander of a privateer by sea before he became captain of soldiers, were taken into custody, their hands tied behind them, and fastened to a cart rope, they were driven away.4 The act was disclaimed as unauthorised, but the officer was not pun- ished nor the captives released.
With the death of Philip, the animating spirit of the hostile confed- eracy, Aug. 12, 1G7C, the war ended. Its progress arrested the ear- liest efforts for settlement, and destroyed the little village beginning to rise in Quinsigamond : its termination left the soil almost without a relic of the aboriginal population. When the white settlers com- menced building here, there were between two and three hundred of the natives. They possessed extensive planting fields, and had set appletrees obtained from the English. The light of Christianity
' Stoughton. 2 Lowell. 3 Easterly part of Littleton.
4 Allen's Northborough, in Wor. Mag. ii. 147. Biglow's Natick, 36.
29 SECOND INDIAN DEED. [1G77.
had dawned upon them, and some advance had been made in civili- zation. By the sword, by famine, by violent removal, and by flight, they were nearly exterminated. When the second plantation was attempted, only superannuated old men, women and children, remain- ed of the red people : those able to bear arms had been slain, or dis- persed, seeking refuge in Canada among the French, or migrating far westward beyond the reach of the power they had too much pro- voked for their own safety. The whole nation perished, leaving no monuments of their existence on our lands, and no remains except little articles of ornament, rude utensils of culinary art, and rough weapons of stone, discovered in their former dominion.
CHAPTER III.
1677 to 1713. Second settlement. Indian deed, 1G77. Meeting of Planters, 1678. Henchman's agreement, 1684. Citadel. Survey. Mills built. Name of Worces- ter. Lots laid out. New Committees. Capt. Fitch's letter. Queen Anne's war. Town abandoned. Digory Serjent killed. Elisha Ward. Indian Hostilities. Pe- tition for resettlement refused, 1709.
Peace having been reestablished, the Committee earnestly endea- vored to procure the settlement of the town. The little remnant of the Indians, who survived the perils and sufferings of war, had re- turned to their homes. On the Gth of Dec. 1677, * the right of Pan- nasunet, a sagamore who had not subscribed the former instrument of conveyance, was purchased of his heirs and relatives. The deed2 was executed by Anthony, or Wannashawakum, otherwise, Wan- noshanohannawit, and Abagail, his wife, ' daughter and only heir of Pannasunet :' Nannaswane, the widow ; Sasomet, and his wife Q,uassawake, sister of the deceased proprietor ; who are described as ' all natives and inhabitants, they and their ancestors, of Q,uinsiga-
i Middlesex Registry of Deeds. Lib. 8. Page 318.
2 The subscribing witnesses to this deed were the apostolic John Eliot, Nathaniel Goo- kin of Cambridge son of Daniel Gookin, James Speen, Waban and Simon Betoghan.
James Speen was of Natick, and distinguished for fidelity to the English.
Thomas Waban was of Natick, the son of the earliest convert to Christianity, for a long time, Clerk, Justice of the Peace, and constable of the Indian town.
Simon Betoghan was probably the scribe by whom the letter of the sagamores was written.
The grantors probably lived on Wigwam Hill.
1678.] MEETING OP PLANTERS. J'. I
mond,' and who covenanted that they had good and just title, and
natural right and interest in the territory, and that they would war- rant its enjoyment. The same good faith and equity governed in this as in the former contract. The receipt of full satisfaction for
this release ofdower and inheritance, in trucking cloth and corn, is acknowledged.
Although the storm of war had passed over, the recollection of its destructive visitation was still fresh. No serious fears could be entertained of immediate disturbance of the repose of the Colony, by the dispersed and defeated enemy. In the interval of peace, the Committee, in 1(578, directed the Planters to return before the year 1680, and build together so as to defend themselves : but, in their own words, ' there was no going by any of them, or hope that they would so do : for divers of them being importuned to go, would not.' The exposed and remote situation of the place, affords sufficient ex- planation of the refusal.
A meeting of those interested in the plantation was held in Cam- bridge, March 3, 1678. x Gookin, Henchman, and Prentice of the Committee were present, with Joel Jenkins, Richard Dana, Philip Atwood, Thomas Brown, John Paul, Thomas Groves, John Fay, Thomas Hall, Thomas Skinner, John Bemis, Richard Tree, Mis- cal Flagg, John Upham, William Taylor, Benjamin Webb, and Si- mon Meylin, whose names are entered on the margin of the original record. The following paper expresses the result of their delibera- tions.
1. ' It is agreed by all the persons named in the margent, that, God willing, they intend and purpose, if God spare life and peace con- tinue, to endeavor, either in their persons, or by their relations, or by their purses, to settle the said plantation sometime the next summer, come twelve month, which shall be in the year of our Lord 1680.
2. ' They do engage to build in a way of a town, according to a model proposed by Major Gookin and Major Henchman, or some model equivalent thereunto, for the attaining these six ends ; 1st, se- curity from the enemies in case (of alarm) : 2d, for the better conve- nity of attending God's worship : 3d, for the better education of their children in society : 4th, for the better accommodation of trades peo- ple : 5th, for better helps to civility : 6th, for more convenient help in case of sickness, fire or other casualty.
3. ' That the most convenient place is to be chosen and pitched
> March 14, 1679, N. S.
30 HENCHMAN'S AGREEMENT. [1684.
upon to build the town, sometime this next summer, by the commit- tee, or the major part of such of the people as go up to view the place, which is intended this next May, if God please.
4. ' That after the place is chosen and pitched upon, others that are not present, do engage to submit and settle there.'
The resolutions of settlement unanimously adopted, like other good intentions, seem to have ended with the formation, as no evi- dence remains of any practical attempt to carry them into execution. The General Court, at their October session, 1682, gave notice to the Committee, that the grant would be considered forfeit and be lost, unless measures were taken to form a plantation.
The necessity of immediate exertion to preserve the rights of those who had procured the title of the soil, incurred much expense, and performed no inconsiderable labor, in efforts for settlement, having been thus officially presented to the Committee, after long negocia- tion, they accepted proposals offered by Capt. Henchman and his associates for accomplishing their purpose. An agreement was en- tered into, April 24, 1684, l evidenced by a formal instrument of that date. The inducements to this arrangement are stated to be ; ' that the plantation might be secured ; the first planters prevailed with to resettle ; others encouraged to plant ; public occasions provided for ; recompense made to those who have labored therein ; those re- warded that shall forward the place ; manufactures promoted ; the country advantaged ; travellers accommodated : and not any damni- fied that are concerned.' The quantity of meadow being estimated at 480 acres, it was proposed to divide the whole township into that number of lots : 200 for the planters : 80 for public uses or specific appropriations : and the remaining 200 to be laid out on the north- ern extremity, forming a division, afterwards known as North Wor- cester, and subsequently rendered permanent by the incorporation of Holden.
Among other arrangements for mutual safety and provisions for social happiness, it was stipulated, that ' land for a citadel should be laid out, on the Fort River, about half a mile square, for house lots, for those who should, at their first settling, build and dwell thereon, and make it their certain place of abode for their families : to the end the inhabitants may settle in a way of defence, as enjoined by law,2 and formerly ordered by the committee for divers reasons, and
'Proprietor's Records, 13. 3 In 1635, the General Court ordered, that ' no new building shall be built more than half a mile from the meeting house, in any new plantation.'
1084.] CITADEL. LOTS. SURVEY. 31
each one so doing, to have a house lot there, at least six rods Bquare.1
This citadel, or central station, was on the stream flowing by the present town, then called Fort River, from the ancient fortress which had been thrown up on its bank ; soon after named Mill Brook, From the works moved by its waters; and sometimes denominated IJime- lcck. From references at a subsequent period, it may be inferred its northern line was parallel with the town way north of the Court House, and that it included the greater part of the village of Wor- cester.
The contractors were required ' to build two fire rooms in the cita- del, to shelter such as shall come to settle, and travellers, until there be an ordinary : for accommodation of whom,' it is said, ' was one reason of granting the plantation.'
There is traditional evidence that a fortified house was erected a little east from Main street j1 it was surrounded with a palisade. The inhabitants resorted to its defence by night, and maintained a guard to secure their slumbers.
It was enjoined, ' that care be taken to provide a minister with all convenient speed ; and a schoolmaster in due season ; and, in the in- terim, that the Lord's day be sanctified by the inhabitants meeting together theron, to worship God as they shall be' (able).
The territory without the citadel was divided into lots of ten and twenty five acres : ample reservations were made for public uses and common benefit; for the support of teachers of religion, and the in- struction of youth, as well as for the encouragement of useful arts and trades. Lands were appropriated for building saw, corn and fulling mills. Four lots were assigned to the Commonwealth, as our ancestors loved to style the colony, in lieu of those reserved for the country by the original grant. The zealous exertions of Gookin to promote the prosperity of the infant town were acknowledged by a donation of eight lots. Each of the Committee were to be entitled, in their official capacity, to four lots, ' for their care and pains.'
The principles for conducting settlement being fixed, the work of improvement was soon commenced. A general survey was made by Samuel Andrews of Watertown, May 16, 1683; the plan, on which the boundaries were delineated, was presented, on the 7th of May, 1684, and allowed and confirmed. The township was estimated to contain 43,020 acres, an allowance of two in the hundred being made for the inaccuracy of measuring the wilderness. 2
1 This garrison was a few rods east of the head of the street now (1836) called Co- lumbian avenue, on land over which the street passes. 2 Prop. Records, 2.
32 SETTLEMENTS. [1084.
A vacancy in the committee, occasioned by the death of Lt. Rich- ard Beers of Watertovvn, killed in the defeat of the English near Northfield, in Sept. 1075, was supplied, on the application of the survivors, by the appointment of Capt. John Wing of Boston.
Many persons made contracts with Capt. Henchman, and some became residents. Com and saw mills were erected by Capt. Wing, a short distance above the bridge at the north end of Main street, where the remains of the dam are still visible in the little island that divides the stream. His house and barn were placed in their vicinity.1
Upon the motion and desire of Gookin, Prentice and Henchman, on the 10th of Sept. 1084, the Great and General Court granted their request, ' that their plantation at Quansigamond be called Worcester.'2
Partial surveys were made in May, 1085. A lot was laid out for Gookin, of 100 acres, on the east side of Pakachoag Hill, and ano- ther lot of 80 acres on Raccoon Plain. There were present at this time Gookin himself, Capt. Henchman, Nathaniel Henchman his son, David Fiske, the surveyor, Digory Serjent, Will, a mulatto, Christopher Reed, and Benjamin Eaton.
A tract of 80 acres was assigned to Capt. John Wing, around his mills, and on the west side of the brook, with the exclusive privilege of its waters.
George Danson, who was a baker, of Boston, obtained a grant of
1 On land now [1836] of Stephen Salisbury, Esq. north of Lincoln square.
2 The reasons for the selection of the name of Worcester cannot now be ascertained. It was probably adopted from the place of residence of some of the committee or plant- ers in England.
The word Worcester is said, Henry?s England, ii. 538, to have been derived from the Saxon Wegera-ceaster, meaning war castle, and descriptive of the military character of the place to which it was originally applied by the martial clans of remote antiquity.
In England, one place only bears this name. The city of Worcester, the capital of a shire, situated on the banks of the Severn, contained in 1824 a population of about 20,000, supported a flourishing trade in gloves and the manufacture of fine china ware, held three market days the week, and returned two members to Parliament. It is not- ed in history as the scene of a sanguinary battle in 1651, between Cromwell and the Pretender, afterwards Charles II. which crushed for a time the hopes of the Stuart.
In the United States, the rapid birth of new towns has multiplied the name. It had been given to the following places, in 1832 :
1. Worcester, post town, Otsego county, New York, pop. in 1330, 2093.
2. , post town, Montgomery co. Pennsylvania, " " 1135.
3. , town, Washington co. Vermont, " " 432.
4. , township, Wayne county, Ohio, 1953.
5. , town, Wayne county, Ohio, " 9T7.
6. -, county, chief town, Snow Hill, Maryland, " 18271.
HI- 1.] SETTLEMENTS. NEW COMMITTEE. 83
200 acres on the same side of the stream, north of the citadel, and extending to North Pond.
Thomas Hall occupied the meadow below the mills.
At this distance of time, without the aid of full records, ill suppli- ed by the scattered fragments of history and tradition which have descended, it is not possible to ascertain the names or number of the actual settlers of the new town which rose from the ashes of the former plantation.
In addition to those already mentioned, the following were proba- bly among the inhabitants :
Thomas Atherton, George Rosbury, James Daniel,
Peter Goulding, Isaac George, Matthew Tomlin,
Isaac Bull, Thomas Brown, Daniel Turell,
William Weeks, Jacob Leonard, Isaac Tomlin,
Enos Salter, John Cowell, James Dutton.
The Committee suffered the loss of one of its most energetic mem- bers by the death of Capt. Henchman, 1080, who had personally aided and superintended the allotment of lands.
The President and Council, administering the affairs of the Prov- ince in the stormy period of the Revolution following the abrogation of the charter, on the 10th of June, 1GSG, upon the application of the proprietors of Worcester, reappointed Gen.Gookin and Capt. Pren- tice of the old Committee, and added Mr. William Bond of Water- town, Capt. Joseph Lynde and Deacon John Haynes of Sudbury, as new members, with general powers to order and regulate all matters concerning the settlement.1
For a time we lose sight of the town and its inhabitants. From 1086 to 1713, no record is preserved on the proprietary book of any transactions. Neither history nor tradition informs us of the labors, dangers and sufferings of the earlier planters, or discloses particulars to measure the advance of population under the salutary regulation and prudential guardianship of able and discreet committees, or the difficulties interposed by public embarassments. Gen. Gookin, the early and faithful friend of the plantation, was called to the rewards of a long life, characterized by fervent piety, enlightened benevo- lence, incorruptible integrity, and the practice of every manly virtue, in March, 1087. The office he held in relation to the town was fil- led by the appointment of Capt. Adam Winthrop, who had become proprietor of extensive tracts.
Other vacancies having occurred, Dec. 23, 1091, Capt. Penn
1 Proprietors' Records, 23.
34 CAPT. FITCH'S LETTER. [1696.
Townsend,Capt. Ephraim Hunt, and Mr. John Haynes, were added to Capt. Prentice, Capt. Winthrop and Capt. Wing, for the ordering of affairs :l a circumstance rendering it certain that the number of settlers had not so increased as to prevent the necessity of relying on others for the direction of their municipal concerns.
On the 23d of August, 1696, a house in Oxford was assaulted by the Albany or Western Indians, and Goodman Levenz and three children of its inmates killed. Mr. Johnson, who was returning to the place, was shot in the road. On the intelligence of these outra- ges and of the appearance of hostile parties near Woodstock, Major James Fitch marched to that town. On the 27th a party was sent out of thirty eight Norwich, Moheagan and Nipmuck Indians, and twelve soldiers, to range the woods towards Lancaster, under Capt. Daniel Fitch. On their march they passed through Worcester, and discovered traces of the enemy in its vicinity. The following letter of their commander gives an account of their expedition.
' To the Rt. Honorable William Stoughton, Esq. Lieut. Governor and Commander in chief, &c.
' Whereas we were informed of several persons killed at Oxford on Tuesday night last past, (23d) and not knowing what danger might be near to Woodstock and several other frontiers towards the western parts of the Massachusetts Province : several persons ap- pearing volunteers, both English and Indians, to the number of about 50, (concerning which this bearer, Mr. James Corbin, may more fully inform your Honor,) all which were willing to follow the In- dian enemy, hoping to find those that had done the late mischief; in prosecution whereof we have ranged the woods to the westward of Oxford, and so to Worcester, and then to Lancaster, and are freely willing to spend some considerable time in endeavoring to find any of the enemy that may be upon Merrimack or Penicook Rivers, or any where in the western woods : to which end we humbly request your Honor would be pleased to encourage said design, by granting us some supply of provisions and ammunition, and also by strength- ening us as to anything wherein we may be short in any respect, that so we may be under no disadvantage nor discouragement.
' They may further inform your Honor, that on the sabbath day (28), coming at a place called Half Way River, betwixt Oxford and Worcester, we came upon the fresh tracks of several Indians which were gone towards Worcester, which we apprehend were the Indians
1 Province Records, vi. 210.
]<>i)G.] DIGORY SERJENT. 35
that did the late damage at Oxford; and being very desirous to do some service thai may be to the benefit of his Majesty's subjects, we humbly crave; your Honor's favorable assistance. Herein I remain your Honor's most humble servant, according to my ability. Lancaster, 31 August, 1696. Daniel Fitch.'
On the commencement of the eighteenth century the peace of the country was again disturbed by renewed outrages of the savages, always capricious in friendship, treacherous in alliance, and unre- lenting in enmity. Although Worcester suffered less in Queen An- ne's war, which began in 1702, by loss of life than many towns, it shared in the alarm and participated in the miseries of the final struggles of the red men to reclaim their possessions and avenge the wrongs indicted by our ancestors.
When the same danger which had once before pressed on the planters, became extreme, and the Indians again kindled the slum- bering llame of murderous hostility, the second attempt to build a town here was abandoned. The inhabitants lied ; the place of their residence was delivered up to decay ; the traces of cultivation were effaced ; and the silence of ruin was again over the forsaken farms and deserted homes.
Among those who attempted the settlement of Worcester af- ter the first unsuccessful enterprise, was Digory Scrjent, who had built his house on Sagatabscot Hill, south eastward of the present town. He was a native of Sudbury, and had been a carpenter by occupation before his removal. A will made by him in 1679 is pre- served on the Middlesex Records. As the list of goods and effects, strangely mingled together, presents example of the humble person- al possessions of former times, and the style affords specimen of quaint peculiarity it will not be uninteresting.
' March, the 17th day, 1G9G. The last Will and Testament of Digory Serjent.
' I Digory Serjent, being in my health and strength, and in my perfect memory, blessed be the Lord for it ; these few lines may sat- isfy whom it may concern, that I, Digory Serjent, do freely give unto my Daughter Martha Serjent, my house and land with all the rights and privileges thereunto belonging : this house and four score acre lot of land lieth within the township of Worcester : I likewise do give unto her all my goods ; one flock bed and boulster, with one rugg, and two blankets and two coverlets ; six froes ; one broad ax and one falling ax and one handsaw ; one frying pan ; one shave ; one
36 MGORY BEEJENT. [1702.
drawing knife ; one trunk and a sermon book that is at Mrs. Mary Mason's, widow, at Boston ; with one pewter pint pot ; one washing tub; one cow and calf; one mare; three iron wedges; two beetle rings : And if in case the Lord should see good to take away the said Digory Serjent by death, then I, the said Digory Serjent, do leave these things above written unto George Parmeter of Sudbury, to be disposed of as he shall see good, to bring up the said Digory Serjent's child : and if in case that this child should die likewise, then I do freely give my house and land with all the goods above mentioned unto George Parmeter forever, and to his heirs, to look after these things and to dispose of them as he shall see cause. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal, the day and year above named. There is one gun too. Digory Serjent.
Witnessed by John Keyes, John Wetherby.'
Having afterwards been married to the sister of Parmeter, (as I think,) his family became more numerous, and afforded more vic- tims to be involved in the miseries of death and captivity.
Long after the other planters had fled from the perils of the con- flict that raged around them, Serjent remained with his children, the solitary occupants of the town, resisting all importunity to seek safe- ty by desertion, and resolving with fearless intrepidity to defend from the savage the fields his industry had redeemed from the waste.
During the summer of 1702,1 his residence was unmolested. As winter approached, the committee, alarmed by his situation on the frontier of danger, sent messengers to advise his removal to a place of security. As their admonitions were disregarded, they at length dispatched an armed force of twelve men under Capt. Howe, to com- pel compliance with the order. At the close of day the party arriv- ed at a garrison near the mills. Here they halted for the night, which grew dark with storm and snow, and kindling their fires, laid down to rest, while one of the band watched the slumbers of his comrades. In the morning they went onward, and reached the house of Serjent on Sagatabscot, at the distance of nearly two miles from the post where they had halted. They found the door broken down, the owner stretched in blood on the floor, and the dwelling desolate. The prints of many mockasins leading westward, still vis- able through the snow, indicated that they had been anticipated by
'This is the date given in the brief account in 1 Mass. Hist. Col. i. 112, copied by Whitney and subsequent writers. It is probable the death of Serjent was in 1703 or 1704, at the period when Northampton, Lancaster and other towns were attacked by the French and Indians.
1702.] DIGORY SERJENT. 37
a short time only in the object of their mission. Having pursued the trail of the murderers a little way, they returned and buried Ser- jent at the foot of an oak, long since decayed. <hi retracing their course to the spot of their repose, they found the prints of feet going from the fort towards Wachuset. After the war was ended, the In- dians, when they revisited the settlers, declared that six of them had entered the building for shelter from the tempest, when the near ad- vance of the English was discovered, too late to permit escape from a force so considerable, and they secreted themselves in the cellar. The soldiers had spread their blankets and laid down over the trap door, thus securing their foes, until the morning march gave oppor- tunity for flight.
It was soon found that the children of Serjent were living in Can- ada. On the release of the eldest, she related the particulars of the fearful catastrophe they had witnessed. When the Indians, headed by sagamore John, as is said, surrounded the house, Serjent seized his gun to defend his life and was fired on. As he retreated to the stair way, a ball took effect and he fell. The savages rushed in, with their tomahawks completed the work of death, and tore off the scalp from his head, as the trophy of victory. They seized the mother and her children, John, Daniel, Thomas, Martha and Mary, and having discovered the neighborhood of the white men, commen- ced a rapid retreat westward. The wife of Serjent, fainting with grief and fear, and in feeble circumstances, faltered and impeded their progress. The apprehension of pursuit induced the Indian to forego the terrible pleasure of torturing his victim. As they ascen- ded the hills of Tataesset, a chief stept out from the file, and looking around among the leafless forests as if for game, excited no alarm in the exhausted and sinking captive, and awoke no cry of horror to betray their course. When she had passed by, one merciful blow from the strong arm of the sachem removed the obstruction of their flight. The children, they carried away, reached the northern fron- tier in safety, and were a long time in Canada. Daniel and Mary, preferring the wild freedom of their captors to the restraints of civ- ilized life, adopted the habits and manners of the Indians. They never again resided with their relatives, although they once made them a visit, when Miss Williams, taken at Deerfield, was restored.
In 1715, Thomas was at Boston. John had been liberated in 1721. Martha was probably redeemed earlier than her brothers. She married Daniel Shattuck, and returned to dwell on the spot so fatal to her family, as may be inferred from the following order, to the
38 INDIAN HOSTILITIES. [1709.
commissioners appointed in 1721, to make partition of the inherited lands in Worcester.
'If D. Shattuck's hovel, made of the stuff of the said deceased's old house, needs consideration, his brother John must allow for it, if you in your good discretion, think good : and also for any labor which the said Daniel has done on the mother lot : it proves equal that he should have for this year liberty to enjoy the fruits of his own labor : so do what is right and equal, as you must be sworn.'
' Francis Foxcraft, J. Pro. for Middlesex.'
The approach of Capt. Howe's party, whose night's rest was at the expense of lives and suffering, probably prevented the conflagration of the house and the destruction of property. A full inventory of the goods and effects collected, was returned into the Probate Office by George Parmeter, who seems to have taken administration by vir- tue of the will, although its provisions were inoperative.1
Although the power of the savage was crushed, predatory bands visited the town. In August, 1709, Elisha Ward, sent on an express from Marlborough to Hadley, having stopped to examine his deserted farm, was killed. After the permanent settlement in 1713, no lives were lost, but the quiet of the inhabitants was frequently disturbed. On one occasion, three Indians were discovered lurking near the stream below the upper canal lock. The alarm was given and the townsmen extended themselves along the meadow, then a dark and tangled swamp, and explored its thickets. One of them discharged his musket at an object he supposed to be an Indian, but as the company who gathered to the spot discerned no trace of a foe, it was concluded that he had been deceived. It was afterwards ascer- tained that the shot took effect, and that the knee of one of the war- riors was broken by the ball. Being on the margin of the brook he dropped down the bank, and crawled into an opening fortunately large enough to conceal his person. When the pursuit was over, his companions returned and carried him into the heart of a deep morass west of Pakachoag Hill, where they built a wigwam to shel- ter him until his wound healed, and renovated strength enabled them to depart forever from the land of their ancestral heritage.
Tradition tells that William Taylor, a bold and fearless man, dis- covering an Indian approaching his house, shot him to death. The
1 Relation of Thomas Rice. Rev. Dr. Bancroft's Sermon, 11. Davis's Address, 15. Whitney Hist. 26. 1 Mass. Hist. Col. i. 115. Middlesex Probate Records. Proprie- tors' Records.
1709.] PLANTERS' PETTITON. :\\)
son watched an opportunity of revenge He was observed by Tay- lor, stretched behind a log on the margin of the field he cultivated, .■Hid the same gun which had been fatal to the father sent a bullet to the heart of the descendant.
The last of the race who here died by the hand of the white man, is Baid to have fallen on the plain, north of the firsl mill place.
fortunately, none of the posterity of the Indian //</•< remain to contrast their degradation, with the lofty and in some points noble character of the ancient tribes.
The following Petition was presented to the Legislature in 170'.), by those interested in the township, ii>r aid in the resettlement.
' To his Excellency Joseph Dudley, Esq. Capt. General and Gov- ernor in chiei in and over her Majesty's province of the Massachu- setts Bay in New England, and to the Honorable the Council and Representatives in General Court assembled :
' May it please your Excellency and Honors. We, the subscribers, presuming that the resettlement of Worcester would be beneficial to the Province, have taken the boldness to trouble your Excellency and Honors with a few lines, humbly informing that if we may have a firm foundation of a settlement laid and a fort built, and needful protection, we are willing to inhabit and settle the place. We humbly intreat your Excellency and Honor's approbation and direction in the matter ; that so we may take such proper methods as are needful, and as you shall direct us unto : And that your Excel- lency and Honors would promote this business speedily, before the season be past, and so the settlement be deferred till another year. Thus, in short, we take the boldness to subscribe, your Excellency's and Honor's most humble servants. Joseph Sawyer, Thomas Barrett, Richard Wiles,
William Ward, James Caly, Benjamin Headley,
John Perry, John Wheeler, James Atherton,
Benjamin Bellows, Thomas Smith, John Sawyer,
Jonathan Whitcomb, Ebenezer Perry, Abiel Bush.'
Elias Sawyer ,-
The Council ordered, thatElisha Hutchinson, Samuel Sewall, and Nathaniel Paine, Esquires, should be a Committee to consider the expediency of granting the request, and the course to be adopted. The House refused to concur, as the disturbed condition of the times rendered the enterprise too dangerous to be sanctioned by leg- islative approbation. l
1 Province Files, 1709. Province Records, ix. 5.
40 THIRD SETTLEMENT. [1713.
CHAPTER IV.
1713 to 1722. Third settlement to incorporation. Petition, 1713. New Committee. Report, 1714. First Settlers. James Rice. Cersliom Rice. Nathaniel Moore. Garrisons. Mills. Roads. View of the town, 1718. Grants to proprietors. Scotch ami Irish emigrants. Town incorporated. 1722.
More favorable prospects having opened in 1713, the proprietors, undiscouraged by former failure, attempted to rebuild the town. On the 13th of Oct. Col. Adam Winthrop, Gershom Rice and Jonas Rice of Marlborough, addressed the General Court in behalf of them- selves and others interested j1 They represented their desire ' to endeavor and enter upon a new settlement of the place from which they had been driven by the war,' and prayed ' for the countenance and encouragement of the Court in their undertaking: for such di- rections and regulations as should be thought fit to make them de- fensible in case of a new rupture with the Indians : and for a proper Committee to direct in ordering the prudentials of the plantation till they come to a full settlement.'
The prayer of this petition was granted, and Hon. William Tay- lor, Col. Adam Winthrop, Hon. William Dudley, Lt. Col. John Bal- lantine and Capt. Thomas Howe were appointed a Committee.
On the 14th of June, 1714, a detailed report was presented by this Committee of their proceedings in adjusting the claims of the for- mer settlers and promoting the prosperity of the future plantation. After giving notice to all interested, and making a journey to Wor- cester, they had allowed thirty one rights of ancient inhabitants, and admited twenty eight persons more to take lands on condition of paying twelve pence per acre for their planting or house lots only, being the amount collected of the original planters, and of building and dwelling on each right whether acquired by purchase, grant or representation. It was recommended that the provision made for sup- port of the ministry and schools be accepted instead of the reserva- tion to the Commonwealth in 1668.
The Committee asked, as they had spent much time in receiving claims for grants of lands, made journeys to effect adjustment of con- troversies, advanced sums of money, and expected to have the care and trouble of the affairs of the town for many years, that a lot of forty acres should be assigned to each, with just proportions in future divisions, as compensation for services.
1 Prop. Records.
1713.] FIRST SETTLERS. 41
This report was accepted, ami received the approval of Gov. Dudley, June 14, 17 I 1.
Jonas Rice, who had been a planter during the second settle- ment, returned October 21, L713. From this day is dated the per* manent settlement of the town. He built on Sa ratabscot hill, and his farm included some of the lands once cultivated by Serjent. Thi lection of residence \va> probably made with reference to fertility of sod, proximity to extensive meadow-, ami i! may he, from prior oc- cupation by himself.1 He remained with his family alone in the forest, the solitary inhabitant of Worcester, until the spring ol 11 15.
The union of cool intrepidity and resolute firmness with good and integrity in the character of Mr. Rice, commanded the respect and secured the confidence of his fellow citizens when the town he had founded rose from its ashes in renovated beauty to com- mence that steady progress of prosperity which has brightened its ad- vance. He was often elected to municipal offices, was frequently representative to the General Court, and was one of the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas at the time of his decease, Sept. 22 1753, at the age of 84 years.
The first male child born in Worcester, Nov. 7, 1714, was Adon- ij ih, son of Jonas Rice. On arriving to manhood, year after year, his name is entered' on the rolls of the provincial troops during the French wars : after each summer campaign was finished, he returned to his home, and the quiet of domestic and agricultural life. He re" moved to Shoreham. Vt. where he died, Feb. 1802, aged 88.
The second settler appears from the records to have been Gershom Rice, who came in 1715, to join his brother Jonas, the hardy pion- eer of population, maintaining his post for nearly two years unsup- ported by assistance and uncheered by associates. 2
The third settler was Nathaniel Moore, of Sudbury, a man of ex-
1 Jonas Rice's house stood near that of his descendant, Mr. Sewall Rice, on the town way between the Sutlon and Grafton roads.
2These families of the Kices removed from Marlborough. Their distant ancestor Rich' ard, was one of the early proprietors of Concord in 1635. Edmund, admitted to the freeman's oath in 1640, was, in that year, representative from Sudbury and one of the petitioners for the grant of Marlborough.
These families were remarkable for longevity. The father of Gershom died at the age of 70 : his mother 81- : They had 14 children : three died in infancy : the others lived to advanced age: 1, Peter 97 : 2, Thomas 91 : 3, Mary 80 : 1, Nathaniel 70 : 5, Ephraim 71 : 6, James 72 : 7, Sarah 80: 8, Frances 96 : 9, Jonas 84 : 10, Grace. 91:11. Gershom died Dec. 29, 17G9, aged 101 : his wife died at the age of 80 : they lived together in marriage nearly 65 years and left seven children, some of whom, on the decease of their father, were upwards of 70. Boston Gazette, 1769.
6
42 GARRISONS. [1718.
emplary character, who was deacon of the first church from its foun- dation. He died Nov. 25, 1761, aged 84 years. :
Capt. Thomas Howe and Lt. David Haynes were appointed by the Committee to give certificates for such of the inhabitants as had built upon their lots and performed the conditions of their grants. On the 23d of April, 1718, they returned a list which has unfortunately perished in the lapse of time. The record of surveys, made in the same year, partially supplies the deficiency, and enables us to deter- mine the progress of settlement. Well authenticated traditions, pre- served in the memory of descendants of early planters, connected with, and confirmed by this source of information, afford materials for delineating a picture of the condition of Worcester, which though imperfect, may be considered as presenting a faithful outline of the prominent objects.
The first labor of the inhabitants had been to erect a garrison house, on the west side of the Leicester road, not far distant from the old south church. It was reared by the united labors of all, and those residing near, gathered by night to its walls, during the first year.
Another of these fortresses of logs was near the head of the street called Columbian avenue, [183G] constructed by Deac. Daniel Hey- wood. A patriarchal pear tree, planted by him, still stands, at the end of a century, on ground he once owned, a venerable example of vegetable longevity.
The third of the wooden castles, was a large building on the Con- necticut road, north of Lincoln square, affording shelter to the trav- eller and defending the mills erected on the stream.
Eastward from the intersection of the Lancaster and Boston roads, near the modern Adams square, in the north part of the town, was a structure which exhibited marks of fortification until an advanced old age.
1 His son, Nathaniel Moore, came into the town at the age of three months. He lived respected, and died July 21, 1G 11, aged 96 : The following notice of his character is from the Massachusetts Spy.
' lie was a mail of exemplary piety and benevolence. He resided in Worcester more than 95 years, being a member of the third family that began the settlement of the town. He lived in the marriage state with the same wife nearly G9 years, but left no descendants.
' lie saw this town rise from a state of uncultivated nature to its opulent improve- ment; witnessed the ordination of five ministers of the Gospel within the town, four of them over the same society in succession : saw three houses erected for public worship ; three court houses rising on the same spot, one after another, for the administration of justice, and three gaols as a terror to evil doers. Thus has ended the life of an honest man, the noblest work of God.'
1718.] VIEW OF THE TOWN. 43
A regular block house was placed north of Adams Bquare, where a long iron cannon was subsequently mounted to give the alarm o^ coming danger. During the French war, this gun was removed to the green near the meetinghouse. < >n the commencement of the
revolution, it was posted west of the Court House, and its voice call- ed our citizens to anus when the tidings of the march to Lexington
roused the land. Since, it has rested with the other artillery of the town.
Many of the scattered houses were protected by outworks, as well as guarded by the bold spirit of the inmates. Joshua Rice held his garrison a mile westward of the old mill place, where a cellar still remains to carry back the memory to days when a man's bouse was literally his castle, when the musket was laid on the plough beam, and the sword was by the side while the hand was on the sickle. From the remote position of Jonas Rice and his brother planters of Sagatabscot hill, it is probable some fortified structure there afforded them security.
On Mill brook, over the western sluice, where the stream is parted by the little island above the bridge, was a saw mill erected by Capt. John Wing, then owned by Thomas Palmer and Cornelius Waldo of Boston, and John Oulton of Marblehead, copartners of ex- tensive commercial business, and proprietors of wide tracts of land. The pond, overflowing the valley above, extended its eastern mar- gin to the present Boston road.
Obediah Ward had built a saw mill above the works long known as the Red Mills, near the upper canal lock, which he devised by his will, dated Dec. 16, 1717, to his son Richard.
The first corn mill was erected by Elijah Chase, near the Quin- sigamond Paper Mills, on the Blackstono river. For many years it was the only accommodation of the kind.
The traveller of 1718, on entering the town from the head of Quinsigamond, following the Connecticut road, first passed the houses of Benjamin Crosbee and Isaac Miller, on opposite sides of the way, where the buildings of the town farm now stand.
Westward, about half a mile, was the land granted to Ephraiin Curtis, where his son then lived, still owned by his descendants.
Next, was the house of Thomas Haggat, whose daughter was the first female born in Worcester.1
1 Haggat among other occupations, manufactured wooden shovels. Willi the me- chanical ingenuity, he possessed the trading propensity of a Yankee. Having set off on an excursion, to dispose of a stock of wooden wares, he was induced to exchange
44 VIEW OF THE TOWN. [1718.
Passing his residence, the Connecticut road followed the little way leading to the Lancaster road, by the dwelling of Ichabod and Thomas Brown, to the corner north of Adams square, where Henry Lee, Esq. then resided.
Turning south, the path went through the valley a few rods west- ward of the highway now used, to the house of Nathaniel Hench- man, a son of that distinguished officer who was one of the founders of the town.1
The Country road crossed Mill brook, by a fording place about a fourth of a mile north of the present bridge. After passing the fort and mill, it turned west and ascended the hill, to the settlement of Joshua Rice. It was continued by a circuitous route to New Worcester.
The Lancaster way, coming from the north, along the present Boston road, went through Main street, then shaded by primeval forests, to the garrison house of Deacon Daniel Heywood.2 Moses Rice had thus early opened an ordinary or tavern,3 a few rods north of the Town Hall. Daniel Ward had built nearly opposite the old southmeeting house. The house of Jonathan Hubbard, the first man who died after the resettlement, and that of James Rice, more south, completes the enumeration of edifices where population has become most crowded.
After Jonas Rice became a resident of the town, a road was made from the head of the pond, passing by the houses of James Taylor, Moses Leonard, Palmer Goulding, Richard Flagg, running along the grass grown path east of the Grafton road, and through the fields, by Deacon Nathaniel Moore's to Jonas Rice's ;4 thence it was car- horses frequently, always giving some part of his own merchandize to equalize the pre- tended difference of value. This trade was conducted with so little profit, that the shovel merchant, at the conclusion, was glad to regain his original steed by parting wit" all his remaining property in wood work. On returning with the same animal with which he had commenced his journey, without any of his stock in trade, he gravely re- marked that ' he had saved his horse though he had lost his shovels.'
1 Henchman was an eccentric man, having even stronger peculiarities of manner than are usual attributes of celibacy. He constructed his coffin and hollowed his grave with his own hands many years before his decease. Willing- to derive benefit while Jiving from the first of these tenements of mortality, the box was deposited in the garret, and annually filled with the productions of his garden, until he took personal possession. A stone long marked the spot where his remains reposed amid the fields he cultivated ; but no memorial now indicates the place of ins rest. Several aged apple trees planted by him near his dwelling, on the farm of the late Levi Lincoln, still survive. On his de- cease, the land descended to the family of the late Gov. John Hancocki
2 On the site of the Central Exchange. 3 Now United States Hotel.
* The position of these buildings is indicated on H. Stebbins's Map of Worcester, published by C. Harris, 1833, J
1713.] V1F.W OF THE TOWN. I".
ried westward, in a direct course, across Raccoon Plain to Halfway rivi r, where it joined the Connecticut path.
Those were the two greal highways of the town. A log placed over the stream where the canal bridge now stands on Fronl street, accommodated those who passed by the house of .lames Holmes, to that ofGershom 11 ice, on the south side <>t the Grafton road, w the first orchard was planted. 'I 'his way led into the old Connecti- cut road through Hassanamessel to Springfield.
A path along Summer street went to the !ir>t burial place, situa- ted north of the junction of Thomas street. A beautiful grove of oaks waved over the graves of the forefathers of the hamlet, em- blems of the sturdy characters and hardy virtues of those whose narrow beds they shaded. In the recollection of many living inhab- itants, little piles of stone and mouldering heaps of turf marked the last homes of the early settlers. The hillocks and the trees have disappeared in the progress of improvement, and the cemetery is no longer distinguishable from the green spots unhallowed by the rest of the dead.1
The house of Gershom Rice, was the place where meetings for religious worship were first held. A building was soon erected for devotional exercises on Green street, north of the union of Franklin street, where the inhabitants assembled on the Sabbath, until a more spacious meeting house was reared, in 1719, on the site of the old south church.
There were in Worcester in 1718, if the evidence of the proprie- tary records is to be credited, fifty eight dwelling houses. Tradition says they were humble edifices, principally of logs, one story high, with ample stone chimneys. Some were furnished with windows of diamond glass, where the resources of the proprietor afforded means for procuring such luxury ; the light was admitted in many, through the dim transparency of oiled paper. It is hardly necessary to add, that all have long since sunk in decay, or been removed to give place to the more splendid habitations of modern times,
Worcester, probably, contained at this period, about two hun- dred souls.
Certificates, entered by direction of the Committee, on the books of the proprietors, show that the individuals named below, had com- plied with the order of the Court, by erecting houses upon the lots granted, and occupying them three years. The figures indicate
iThis spot is enclosed [183G] within the play ground of the Brick School House, on Thomas [and Summer streets.
10 FIRST PROPRIETORS. [1718.
the number of acres assigned to each, on the first division of lands. Jonas Rice, 80: James Rice, 100: Gershom Rice, SO: all of Marlborough: Joshua Rice, 30 : Elisha Rice, 30: Thomas Glea- son, 30: Obediah Ward, 39 : Aaron Adams, 30 : David Haynes, 30 : Richard Ward, 30 : Ephraim Curtis, 50 : George Parmeter, 60 : Josiah Rice, 30 : Ephraim Rice, 30 : Ephraim Rice, jun. 30 : Rev. Benjamin Allen, 40 : Nathaniel Moore, 40 : all of Sudbury : John Elliot and John Smith, 180: Daniel Henchman, 150: Jonathan Tyng, 40 : Stephen Minot, 20 : William Paine, 20 : Thomas Pal- mer, Cornelius Waldo, (with John Oulton of Marblehead,) 213 : Peter Goulding, 50 : Nathaniel Jones, 40 : George Danson, 200: all of Boston : Jacob Leonard, 40 : Moses Leonard, 30 : Isaac Leonard, 40: all of Bridgewater : Isaac Wheeler, 40; of Medfield: Thomas Brown, 30 : Ichabod Brown, 30 : Thomas Prentice, 60 : of Newtown : James Taylor, 30 : Daniel Livermore, 40 : of Maiden : Thomas Haggat, 20 : of Andover : James Holmes, 40 : of Wood- stock : Leonard Hoar, 30 : Henry Lee, 30 : Daniel Heywood, 40 ; Josiah Heywood 30 ; of Concord : Thomas Binney, 40 : John Bar- ron, 50 ; James Butler, 40 : Benjamin Fletcher, 30 : Benjamin Bar- ron, 30.
Lots of 40 acres each were assigned for the use of schools, the minister and the ministry, and to Col. Adam Winthrop, Col. John Ballantine, Col. William Dudley, Col. William Taylor, and Capt. Thomas Howe, of the Committee. Other lots were granted very early to Benjamin Flagg, David Bigelow and John Stearns, of Wa- tertown : Peter King, Henry Knapp, James Knapp, of Sudbury : John Gray, Jonathan Marble, Isaac Miller, Joseph Crosbee, Martha Serjent and Andrew Mc Farland.
Such is the account which record and tradition afford of the ap- pearance of the town in its infancy : not uninteresting from the com- parison of vigorous maturity with early feebleness.1
1 When the Indian foe disappeared and the inhabitants became strong, a warfare was commenced and long continued, with the ferocious animals and poisonous reptiles in- festing the township. Large bounties were offered for their destruction . In 1728, the sum of 3 pence was voted for the death of a rattlesnake, and a draft of £1 on the treasury was accompanied with 80 rattles as vouchers. The gratuity was annual- ly increased in amount as the common enemy diminished. In 1734, Mr. Jonas Moore claimed payment for 72 in his own right. The last demand was as recent as 1758, when 16 serpents were paid for at the rate of Id. each.
The young settlements were much harrassed by the incursions of troops of wolves. In 1734, it is recorded, ' that notwithstanding the law of the Province giving encourage- ment for the destruction of wolves, they still continue very troublesome and mischievous, especially among young cattle and sheep : whereby people were discouraged from veeping sheep, so necessary for clothing/ and a reward of £A was voted for their cap-
1718] SCOTCH AND IRISH EMIGRANTS. 47
The town of Worcester shared liberally in the I to tin-
population of New England, l>y the emigration, in the early year- of the past century, of the decendants of a colon] ofScots, who re- moved from Argyleshire, in the reign of James I. and formed a plan- tation in the north of Ireland, near Londonderry, in the province of Ulster. Adhering with conscientious fidelity t<> the presbyterian te- nets, they endured the persecution which pressi d <>u I 'ants during successive reigns. The accession of William, although it lightened their burdens, did not relieve dissenting christians from galling exactions. Allowed to retain their form of worship, they were compelled to contribute from their resources, to the support of another church. Loaded with tythes of the harvests of lands held by tenancy under exhorbitant rents, they embarked for a country where religious freedom was united with civil liberty, and neither tythingman nor taxgatherer had oppressive jurisdiction. In 1718, a- bout one hundred families arrived in Boston, and twenty others lan- ded at Casco, afterwards followed by new colonies, dispersed through the country.1
A company of the Scots early settled in Worcester, and here suf- fered illiberal opposition and even active hostility. Having formed a religious society, they commenced the erection of a meeting house on the west side of the Boston road.'3 The timbers had been raised and the building was in the progress of construction, when the in- habitants gathered tumultously by night, and demolished the struc- ture. Persons of consideration and respectability aided in the riot- ous work of violence, and the defenceless foreigners were compelled to submit to the wrong. Many, unable to endure the insults and bit- ter prejudices they encountered, joined their brethren of the same
ture. In 1733, so great injury was done by these marauders, that the price of their heads was raised to £8.
The precipitous cliff still called Rattlesnake rocks, was the favorite resort of wolves, bears, wild cats and serpents, in those days, rendering the sleep dangerous to man.
The winged depredators on the husbandman's harvests were early proscribed. ^ A bounty of 3d. thinned the armies of blackbirds, jays, and other feathered plnnderers.
i The grant by Massachusetts of unappropriated lands at the East, not affording a place suited to the wishes of the emigrants, after exploring the wilderness, they selected a township in New Hampshire, then called Nuffield, from the abundance of its forest fruits, and afterwards named Londonderry from the city of their sojourning in Ireland, where sixteen families assembled beneath a venerable oak, on the llth of April, 1719, to unite in devotional exercises Belknap. Parker's Century Sermon, 1819.
The society that visited Boston under the spiritual guidance of the Rev. James Moorhead, in 1727, formed the Federal street church in that city. Dr Channing's ser- mon, on the ordination of Mr. Gannet, 1824.
8 North of the house of Frederic W. Tainc, Esq.
48 SCOTCH AND IRISH EMIGRANTS. [1718.
denomination, who, under the charge of the Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, commenced the settlement of the town of Pelham, in the county of Hampshire.
They were industrious, frugal, and peaceful, contributing to the prosperity of the province, by the example of diligence and the in- troduction of useful arts. ' They brought with them,' says the faith- ful historian of New Hampshire,1 ' the necessary materials for the manufacture of linen : and their spinning wheels, turned by the foot, were a novelty in the country. They also introduced the culture of potatos, which were first planted in the garden of Nathaniel Walker of Andover.' The characteristic of the age in which they lived was not charity. Differences of language, habits, and ceremonial, laid the foundation of unreasonable hatred, and the strangers were not treated with common decency by their English neighbors. Their settlements, in other places, were approached by bodies of armed men, and their property, in some instances, wantonly destroyed. They were every where abused and misrepresented as Irish, a people then generally but undeservedly obnoxious; a reproach peculiarly griev- ous to the emigrants. 'We are supprised,' writes the Ilev. Mr. Mc Gregoire, the pastor of Londonderry, in a letter to Gov. Shute, bear" ingdate in 1720, as quoted by Belknap, 'to hear ourselves termed Irish people, when we so frequently ventured our all for the British crown and liberties against the Irish papists, and gave ail tests of our loyalty which the government of Ireland required, and are always ready to do the same when required.' The jealousy with which they were first regarded, finally yielded to the influence of their simple virtues and sterling worth.2
1 Belknap's New Hampshire, i. 193. Farmer's edition.
2 Among those who remained in Worcester, after the removal of their countrymen were the following persons, whose names are collected from the records of the town and county.
James Mc Gregoire, William Mc Han, John Duncan, John Mc Clentick,
James Furgerson, John Bailey, Duncan Graham, James Glasford,
John Clark, Andrew Farrand, Hugh Kelso, James Hambleton,
AlexanderMcKonkey, William Caldwell, James Forbush, Robert Lorthog,
James Mc Clollan, William Young, Andrew MeFarland, James Thornington, William Gray, Robert Crawford. Patrick Peables, John Mc Konkcy,
Robert Gray. Robert Peables, John Peables, Abraham Blair.
Mathcw Gray, Robert Barbour,
Matthew Thornton, who, as delegate to the Continental Congress from New Hamp- shire, signed the declaration oflndependence, is said, by his biographer, to have resided when a child amona; the emigrants in Worcester.
17 1-.] SCOTCH AND IRISH EMIGRANTS 49
Abraham Blair, an ancestor Of Borne of our present townsmen, distinguished himself in the memorable siege of Londonderry, in I * > — ■ * * After a series of blood] battles, the besieged wore reduced to such extremity by famine 'thai a dog's head was held dog cheap at half a crown.' Blair, William < ialdwell, and a few others, as an hon- orary testimonial of their services were made free of taxation through* out the British prot nice-.
The Scotch were accompanied by a few <>f the native Irish, with whom they had contracted relationship during their long residence or been attached by community of sentiment and suffering.
Among those deriving nativity from Ireland, were the ancestors of the Young family, who first introduced and planted here the use- ful potato.1 John Young died June 30, 17:30, at the great age of 107 years : his son David, died Dec. 20, 1730, aged 94.a
The toils and dangers of original settlement being past, the plan- tation advanced with vigorous and rapid growth. The swelling pop- ulation and expanding resources required municipal powers for the management of the common interests of the inhabitants. In 1721, the freeholders and proprietors presented a petition to the General Court for incorporation, which was intrusted to John Houghton, Esq. of Lancaster, and Peter Rice of Mariborough, with the follow- ing letter from Jonas and Gershom Rice, the ' fathers of the town ' dated May 31, 1721.
* Gentlemen : Whereas sundry of the freeholders and proprietors of Worcester, having preferred a petition to the General Assembly, on several heads, as appears by said petition, have empowered us to
1 It is remarkable thai the esculent, now considered essentially necessary for table and farm, should have been introduced at a period so late. It is related, that some of our early inhabitants, after enjoying the hospitality of one of the Irish families, were each presented with a few potatos for planting-. Unwilling to give offence by refusing the present, they accepted the donation: but suspecting the poisonous quality, they carried the roots only to the next swamp, and there threw them away, as unsafe to enter their homes.
2 The following inscriptions are chiselled on the common head stone placed over their graves in the old burial place:
' Here lies interred the remains of • Here lies interred the remains of
John Young, who was born David Young, who was born in
in the Isle of Bert, near London- the parish of Tahbeyn, county of
derrv, in the kingdom of Ireland. Donegal and kingdom of Ireland.
He departed this life, June He departed this life, December
30, 1730, aged 107 years.' 26, aged 94 years.'
' The aged son and the more aged father Beneath (these) stones, Their mould'ring bones Here rest together.'
7
50 INCORPORATION. [1722.
take care that it be seasonably entered and moved ; inasmuch as it is a difficult time, by reason of a contagious distemper now raging in Boston, we know not where the session will be ; we, therefore hum- bly crave the favor of you, Gentlemen, to take the trouble upon you, to enter said petition and to move it in the court as there is opportu- nity.'
' So, craving your serious thoughtfulness for the poor, distressed town of Worcester, we subscribe ourselves your humble servants,'
Gershom Rice, Jonas Rice.'
Other petitions of similar import were subsequently presented, and, on the 14th of June, 1722, a resolve passed the Legislature, vesting the Inhabitants of Worcester with the powers and privileges of other towns within the province, and directing that the freehold- ers and inhabitant* be assembled on the last Wednesday of Septem- ber then next, to choose all town officers, as by law accustomed for towns to do at their annual meetings in March.
Under the authority of this resolve, a warrant was issued by Francis Fulham, Esq. of Weston : and on the "28th day of September 1722, the inhabitants convened in their first town meeting. Muni- cipal officers were chosen, and from that day, Worcester, then in the County of Middlesex, assumed her place among the regularly or- ganized towns of the Commonwealth.
CHAPTER V.
1722 to 1165. Lovell's war and French wars. Selectmen's petition, 1724. Gershom Rice's letter. 1724. Uriah Ward. Col. Chandler's orders. Selectmen's petition, 1725. Capt. Wright's letters, 1725. Benjamin Flagg's letter. 1725. County estab- lished, 1731. Gov. Belcher's visit, 1735. Soldiers. Excise. 1754. French neutrals, 1755. Military exertions, 1756. Col. Chandler's report, 1757. Men in service dur- ing French wars. Division of the county and removal of the courts opposed.
The peace of the country was disturbed by the renewal of hos- tilities by the eastern Indians, in 1722, when that war broke out which derives its distinctive appellation from Lovell, its hero and martyr. The native tribes of Massachusetts had long ceased to be formidable; but the incursions of the allies of the French from
17-24.] SELECTMEN'S PETITION. ".I
Canada spread alarm along the exposed frontier, and rendered mil- itarv force ne< - the security of ihe settlements. \
. in 1722, furnished fire men fbc the country's >«-r\i<<-. in the company of scoots onder Major John Chandler. Two were p at Leicester.1 Two others,9 in an independent party, commanded bj B ijainin Plagg, with the rank of Berjeant, kept garrison in t hi- town <>r ranged the wo>' -
In the autumn of 1723, - ren of the inhabitants of Worcester en- - - ildiers and served during the winter. F re posted
at Rutland under Capt. Samuel Wright : Two : were in Capt. Jo- seph Kellog's company.
In the spring of 17vJ4. the safety of the town was endangered by numerous parties of hostile Indians lurking in the woods : .May 3, lT-,'4. the selectmen presented the following petition for aid.
' To his Honor, the Lieut. Governor and Commander in chief, in and over his Majesty's Province of the Massachusetts Bay in Enjland.
' The petition of the subscribers, humbly sheweth : Whereas, the town of Worcester is very much exposed to the Indian rebels in the present war, there being a great distance between the towns of Lancaster and Rutland, in which we lie open to the enemy, we do therefore, at the desire of the principal part of our inhabitants, humbly lay our difficulties before your honor ; earnestly entreating that vou would be pleased, in your great wisdom, so far to commis- erate our distressed state, as to send us some soldiers to strengthen our front garrisons and scout our woods : otherwise we fear the sad effects which may happen : there being no scout in our woods, or soldiers to guard our defensible places, or inhabitants most exposed and very much disheartened by reason of the present danger, they apprehend themselves to be in : and if your honor will be pleased to afford us some relief, it will be a means to cause our front garrisons to keep their stations : otherwise, we humbly conceive, it is morally impossible they should : and for that great privilege to your honor's poor petitioners, as in duty bound shall ever pray.
Nathaniel Moore, Benjamin Flagg, jr. ) Selectmen o( James McLellan, James Holden, ♦ Worcester.*
The greater pressure of danger on other towns, scattered over
1 John Gray and Robert Crawford. s Ephraim Roper and James Knapp.
3 Zebediah Rice. Phineas Jones, John Crawford, Uriah W 1:
* John Serjent. Daniel Shattuck. 3 Province files. I
52 GERSHOM RICE'S LETTER. [1724.
the wide territory in the rapid advance of cultivation, prevented im- mediate relief being afforded. A letter addressed to Col. Chan- dler, June 21, 1724, exhibits vivid description of the condition of the inhabitants of Worcester.
' Honored Sir : With all due submission, these are to lay before your honor, the distressed condition of this poor place. Through God's goodness the Indians have made no attack upon us as yet, but we are constantly under surprising fears of it. We received the caution from your honor, with the late intelligence of the In- dians coming over the lake : also we hear of the late mischief done at Hatfield ; and just now we have a post from Rutland with an account of the continual discoveries of the enemy, and the last night our town was alarmed by (as one of our inhabitants says) discovering an Indian : so that this day (Sunday) we have but a thin meeting : the more because some dare not stay from home. I have been but very loth to trouble your honor, being sensi- ble of the pressure of business : but waiting so long and having no help, and being so very much exposed, your honor will excuse me. Our town is not only very much exposed, being so open to the ene- my, but we are no way capable of defending ourselves ; nor can we expect much help from one another. A small number of Indians, according to appearance, might overcome the whole place. Fur- ther, my house, though near the centre, is almost an outside. I have no fort about it : nor if I were able to build have I now sufficient strength to keep it myself. I have began to get some timber to for- tify, but am too weak handed to go through, and understanding the backwardness of the country to support us, we are very much dis- heartened. We have an expectation upon your honor to be a father to us, and we hope the country will not see us stand here waiting to be a prey to our enemies. We are informed that it is objected against our having assistance, that Brookfield, Rutland and Leicester defend us ; but let any one consider that understands the ground. It is affirmed to me by those that should be best able to know, that it is fourteen miles from Brookfield to Rutland, and that a line drawn from Brookfield to Rutland will be fifteen miles of our set tlement. As to Leicester, the people there more need help from us than are able to render us any, as likewise do Shrewsbury and Has- sanamesit. Rutland and Brookfield being well garrisoned and man- ned, what is more common than for them (the enemy) to go a little further for advantage in weaker spots ? The late instance at Hat-
1724.] COL. CHANDLER'S LETTER. ",:{
field, as well as many others formerly and lately are sufficient wit- nesses. If we cannot be supported now about our harvest, \\o must be starved out of necessity, Instead of assistance, we cannot but remind your honor, tint we now bave five of our soldiers at Rut- land in the service ; we are informed by rumor, we arc allowed ten soldiers, for which wo are thankful; but [tray, it be possible that the number might be doubled, and that they mighl be Benl as speedily as possible. I am ashamed I detain your honor so long. I sh all con- clude by wishing you all prosperity. I am your honor's to com- mand, Gershom Rice.'
' Sundry of our principal inhabitants being present, send their humble duty to your honor, and pray that your honor would take what is here written unto your serious and thoughtful consideration, and move herein unto the honored Lieut. Governor and the Council.'1
The expectation of immediate reenforcement was disappointed. Col. Chandler, then in Watertown, writes June 22, to the Gover- nor and Council : ' I am sorry that the poor people of Worcester, Leicester, and Brimtield, find themselves mistaken in having men allowed them to scout and guard said towns. I pray your honor's consideration of the distressed circumstances of the poor people of these towns, as well as other the frontiers : for the encouragement of whom 1 shall always be ready to obey such orders as your honors shall be pleased to give.'
In July, orders were issued to Col. Chandler, to impress twenty men for the frontier service. Subsequently, other detachments were made from other regiments, and nineteen soldiers were sta- tioned at Worcester, where they remained until the 29th of Octo- ber, 1724, when they were dismissed.2
On the 3d of August, 1724, Uriah Ward who enlisted in the
1 American Antiquarian Society's Manuscripts. 2 July, 1724. The company of Capt. William Chandler of Woodstock was stationed at Leicester and Rutland. The following are the numbers of men posted in the exposed towns at this time:
Shrewsbury, 10. Brookfield, 10.
Leicester, 29. Lancaster, 14.
Rutland, 38. Lunenburg, 12.
In Worcester, there were 19 : viz. Ephraim Roper, Jonathan Rugg, Samuel Rice,
Daniel Coney, Jesse Taylor, William Gibbs, Abraham Joslin, John Death, William
Harris, Ephraim Whitcomb, John Demorris, Jesse How, Joseph Woods, Samuel
Fletcher, John Holland, Robert Hunt, Samuel Cobley, Samuel Rumlymarsh, Peter
Lawrence.
Those at Worcester, Shrewsbury and Leicester, were posted as independent guards to the inhabitants, without commissioned officers.
54 INDIAN HOSTILITIES. [1724.
country's service, from Worcester, was killed at Rutland. The fol- lowing account of the transaction is given by Capt. Wright, com- manding at that post.
' About twelve o'clock, five men and a boy being in a meadow in the middle of the town making hay, a number of Indians surround- ed them, and shot first at the boy, which alarmed the men ; they run to their guns, but the Indians shot upon them, and kept them from their guns, and shot down three of the men and scalped them, woun- ded another in the arm, a flesh wound, who got home without other injury : the first got home without any damage ; the boy is not yet found. The action was hardly over before Col. Tyng came into town with thirty men, but was a little too late : but we joined him, and divided our men, one party with the Colonel to follow, the other with me to head them : but they got away.
' Since Col. Tyng went from us, we have made a more particular discovery of their number and contrivance in waylaying the mead- ow where they (the Indians) killed the people. There being in number about thirty, as near as can be thought, by their squatting places or seats when they sat to watch. By what we can learn, they might be near half the company that lay in ambush to shoot down those who come to the relief, so that if there were but a small par- ty of men had gone, they would likely have shot them down before they had seen the Indians.'
From a letter of Col. Chandler, it may be inferred, that the pres- ence of the soldiers saved Worcester from desolation. On the 7th of August, ' an Indian was discovered from a garrison house and fired on by the guard. A soldier and a boy being out near a meadow, spied an Indian nearer to the garrison than they were. The boy ran away. The soldier presented his gun and was ready to fire, when two more rose up by his side ; whereupon he did not venture to fire, but fled : and both came safe to the garrison. During the night their noises were heard crying as wolves, the people made an alarm, and the Indians beat upon a deserted house, drumming vio- lently upon the sides, and so went off.'
The season for the attempts of the enemy having passed, the for- ces were reduced, and those posted at Worcester were dismissed in the end of October.
Early in April, 1725, Col. Chandler, was directed to send orders to the officers in the several frontier towns within his regiment, in- cluding Worcester, ' to keep the soldiers and inhabitants upon a strict duty, and to see that they be not off their guard, but well prepared
1725.] SELECTMEN'S LETTER 55
to receive tire enemy, who they may expect will attack them; and
especially that no man Lr" abroad without his arms, ami in places of hazard that they do nol Lr" out except in compan
On tin- 8th of April, Gov. Dummer <■ municated information to
Col. Chandler that several parties "f Indian- were on their uav from Canada, and ordered him 'to visit the exposed towns in his regiment, and eh ur^e the people to be vigilant and careful in their duty, and not expose themselves by going abroad unarmed ami in small num- bers, lest the enemy gain some great advantage over them by such stupid neglect as many of our people have been guilty of mi such occasion- '
Parties of the Indians having made their appearance in the vicin- ity, the inhabitants petitioned the government lor succor. 'The fol- lowing letter was addressed to Gov. Dummer, April 3D, 1725.
'To his Honor the Lt. Governor : With all dutiful respect, these are to acquaint your honor, that news hath just now come unto us of two companies of Indians discovered between us and Wachuset; and whereas, we the last summer labored under great difficulties, and hardships severe to be borne, by reason of the war with the Indian enemy, not being able to raise corn so much as was needful, or to procure sufficiency of other provision, so as it was rendered very dif- ficult to subsist ourselves and families : and, we apprehend, that with- out your honors pleased to afford us some relief in our present dis- tressed state, by strengthening our hands, that the corn cannot be planted, the earth tilled, the harvests gathered, or food provided, and that the settlements in the town will be entirely broken up : where- fore we humbly entreat your honor, that if it may be, we may have some speedy assistance of soldiers, to defend us and scout the woods. Our numbers are but small, and many disheartened by reason of the exposed situation of the town. We are the more earnest in our en- treaty for the present relief, as it was so late last summer before we had soldiers that we are exceeding behind with our needful busi- ness.
'Craving your thoughtfulness of these matters, we are in all grati- tude and respect your humble petitioners,
Nathaniel Moore, Benjamin Flagg, jr. Moses Leonard, James Holden, James McLellan, Selectmen.'
The following letter from Capt. Samuel Wright to Col. Chand-
56 CAPT. WRIGHT'S LETTERS. [1725.
ler,1 May 24, 1725, shows that the request was complied with, al- though not until after some delay.
* Honored Sir : These are to inform your honor that I have receiv- ed the men from your regiment for Worcester. Though some, at least two, not so able and effective as I could be glad they were, viz: Ebenezer White and John Field, both from Capt. Thayer of Men- don, who are not able to travel. His honor's the Lt. Governor's or- der to me was, that I should put suitable officers over the men and that they should scout and guard. But inasmuch as my orders are not so clear as that I dare venture to put one of the inhabitants offi- cer over them, I have left them under the care and conduct of Capt. Pond's son at present : but inasmuch as he, nor any of the men have not any knowledge of the woods, so are not like to do much service in scouting, unless there be an inhabitant put an officer over them, I desire therefore you would get his honor's leave to put Moses Rice and Benjamin Flagg to be the officer over them alternately, when one comes in, the other to go out, to have but one man's pay : which will be likely to have the duty better performed, and is the mind of
the town Your honor's very humble and dutiful servant,
Samuel Wright.'
Another letter from Capt. Wright, sent from Worcester by Moses Rice, and dated in May, 1725, is too curious to be omitted.
' May it please your honor : I give your honor thanks for care of us in sending a new recruit of 12 men. Your honor's directions were, to scout, but at present we have business. The Indians are among us, and have discovered themselves several times, and we have had several pursuits after them, and have been very vigilant in prosecut- ing all methods to come up with them by watching and ranging the swamps and lurking places, and by watching a nights in private pla- ces without the garrisons : but they are so much like wolves that we cannot yet surprise them, but hope we shall by some means trepan them. We have now taken a method to hunt them with dogs, and have started them out of their thickets twice, and see them run out, but at such a distance we could not come at them. Having an op- portunity, thought it my duty to acquaint your honor with it : but having but a minutes time to write could but only give you an ac- count in short, and remain your honor's dutiful and obliged servant.
Samuel Wright.'
' American Antiquarian Society -s Manuscripts.
1725.] BENJAMIN FLAGG'S LETTER. 57
The names and numbers of those posted at Worcester within this year cannot now be ascertained. An incident which occurred dur- ing the period of their Bervice is related in a letter, July 17, 1725, from Benjamin Flagg.
' Honored Sir : These are to inform von that we this day went out as a guard to those that worked in the meadow to gather in their hay, of fourteen men, with those thai worked, who wrought in two or
three places near to one another, As we scouted the sw amps round the meadow, we (lid discover Indian tracks, in the morning, in the swamp by the meadow side, which made us very slrict upon our guard, but made not any more discovery until the middle of the day, we sat to eat victuals upon a knoll where we thought we might be safe; but while we were eating, a dog that was with us barked and ran out from us. I immediately sent three men to discover, who ran, and immediately we heard a running among the brush : which was Indians, who had crawled up the brush to make a shot at us. We ran so fast upon them that the grass rose up under their tracks, but could not see them, the brush being so thick. We pursued them where we heard them whistle one to another in the thicket, but they scattered and scampered so we could not find them : but found where they had sat down and just gone. We pursued on after the enemy : but it is as easy to find a needle in a wood, as find them when scattered. So we returned. This I have thought meet to ac- quaint your honor of, and so I remain, your honor's humble and obliged servant. These with care and speed. Benjamin Flagg.'
The sufferings of the frontier settlements were terminated by the treaty concluded with the Indians in the following winter, (Dec. 15,) and ratified in the spring of 1726.
Although relieved from the danger and alarm of hostile invasion, the progress of the town in population and wealth was slow during the succeeding years.1
1 In May 1724, the town had received an amount proportioned to its taxation, of the bills of credit or stock of the Public Bank, and applied the depreciating paper currency to finish the meeting house. In March, 1728, trustees were appointed to obtain the sum of £170, 15 s. granted to Worcester from the emission of £60, 000, and make loans to the inhabitants from this fund, not exceeding £10 nor less than £5 lo each.
Capt. Nathaniel Jones and Ensign Moses Leonard were trustees of the first loan : Nathaniel Moore, Daniel Heywood and John Hubbard of the second.
May, 1726, the inhabitants voted, that thanks be returned to Hon. Adam Winthrop, for his bounty in bestowing upon the town a cushion as furniture for the pulpit, and that the town clerk present his honor a copy of said vote.
8
58
COUNTY INCORPORATED. [1731.
The act erecting the County of Worcester, passed April 2, 1731, to take effect from the 10th of July following. Its provisions inclu- ded Worcester, Lancaster, Westborough, Shrewsbury, Southbor- ough, Leicester, Rutland, Lunenburg, and the south town laid out to the Narraganset soldiers,1 now Westminster, taken from Middle- sex: Mendon, Woodstock, now in Connecticut, Sutton, including Hassanameset, now Grafton, Uxbridge, the land granted to the peti- tioners of Medfield, now Sturbridge, from Suffolk : and Brookfield from the County of Hampshire.
The location of the shire town of the new county occasioned much debate and diversity of opinion. For many years, Sutton, Lancaster, Mendon, and Brookfield, stood higher in rank, graduated on population and valuation, than Worcester. The central position of the latter town, gave it advantage over its competitors for the hon- or of becoming the capital. The proposition to make Lancaster and Worcester half shires, having the sessions of courts held alter- nately in each, would have prevailed, except for the opposition of Joseph Wilder, Esq. who remonstrated against the administration of justice in Lancaster, lest the morals of its people should be cor- rupted. His influence decided a question of so much importance to its prosperity in favor of the present metropolis.
The first Court of Probate was held in the meeting house, July 13, 1731, and the Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace 10th of August following, by the Hon. John Chandler, then of Woodstock, Chief Justice of both tribunals. A sermon was preached on the occasion by the Rev. John Prentice of Lancaster. The Su- perior Court of Judicature was held on the22d of September. The centennial anniversary of its session was commemorated October
March, 1729 : voted that the constable warn town meetings in fature by going from house to house. 1735, ihe selectmen were directed to erect a suitable sign post, at the town's charge, near the meeting house, and the constables to serve notices by posting them thereon.
May 17, 1732, John Chandler, Esq., Capt. Jonas Rice and Mr. Benjamin Flagg, jr. were of a committee to return thanks to Mr. Wigglesworth .Switcher of Boston for the present (of £•> towards completing the meeting house) he lately made the town, and on the receipt of the same to dispose of it to the best advantage.
1 In 1728 and 1733, seven townships were granted by the General Court to the descen- dants of the soldiers in the Narraganset war. The grantees assembled on Boston com- mon in 1733, and formed themselves into seven societies of 120 persons entitled to one township. On the 17th of October, a committee of three from each company elected at this meeting, made an allotment of lands. A mm keag, then called Narraganset No. 4, was assigned to those from Worcester and 40 other towns. The number of grantees in each must necessarily have been very small 3 their names are not preserved.
1731.] COURTS. &J
4th, 1831, when an address was delivered by the Hon. John Davis, of Worcester.
One terra of the Superior Court was held annually in October.
The Inferior Court had its a gs in May, August, November
and February. The General Sessions of the I'eace was composed of all the justices within the county, who commonly attended and
decided the matters presented lor adjudication by vote.1
When public festivals wire few, and anniversaries unfrequent, the terms of court were the greal holidays of the county; and its population assembled in Worcester, as on a general exchange, for
the transaction of business, or pursuit of amusement in the rude sports of the period. The judicial proceedings, now forsaken, ex- cept by parties, witnesses and officers, were generally attended by
a multitude that thronged the streets. Wrestling, fighting, and horse racing were common exercises. The stocks, pillory, and whipping post crowned the summit of Court hill, then sloping with steep de- clivity to the highway, and partially covered with bushes. Frecment exhibitions of discipline attracted crowds of spectators.2
Governor Belcher with the members of the Council, on their way to Albany to hold a conference with the Six Nations, visited Worces- ter, 21st of August, lT3o. The Justices of the General Sessions3 with a delegation of citizens, waited on the executive officers of the government. Their complimentary address is preserved on the public records, and affords evidence that the controversy between the roval prerogative and the representatives of the people, then di- rected against grants for permanent salary, had not extended to a community who offered such loyal salutations.
1 Gen. Rugbies, the Chief Justice, in stern derision of the constitution of this court, on one occasion, reprimanded a dog who had taken his seat beside his master, for ap- pearing on the bench before he had been qualified as a Justice of the Peace, and direc- ted him to go and be sworn before he came to vote there.
2 The common practise of racing in Main street during the terms of the courts having become a nuisance, the following prohibitory vote was passed, September 19th, 1745. ' Whosoever shall for the future, during the space of three years from the 15th day of November next, in the times of the sittings of the superior court of judi- cature, court of assize and general jail delivery, the times of the sitting of the inferior court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace in this town, presume to run races on horseback, or pace their horses for trial in the country road, from the house of Mr. Joshua Eaton to the house where Mr. Richard Wheeler now lives, shall forfeit the sum of 20 s. lawful money to the use of the poor of the town.'
3 The Justices present, were John Chandler, Josiah Wilder, William Ward, William Jennison, John Chandler, jr. Josiah Willard, Nahum Ward, Henry Lee, Samuel Wil- lard and John Keyes.
60 GOV. BELCHER'S VISIT. [1735.
' May it please your excellency : We, his majesty's justices of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, now held in this place, for the county of Worcester, hy adjournment, humbly beg leave to congratulate your excellency's safe arrival in this part of your gov- ernment. It is with hearts full of joy that we now see your excellency's face, together with the honorable Council, in the shire town of this county, which has received its being and constitution by the favor of your excellency, under the Divine conduct and benediction, and by whose wise, mild and just administration, this whole province enjoys great quietness, which, we trust, will be continued and accepted in all places with all thankfulness. We are also sensibly affected that your excellency has condescended, and is now pursuing, a very ne- cessary, although a very difficult and tedious journey, to visit the western frontiers, and meet with the Cagnawaga Indians and such tribes as may be desirous to renew their friendship with this govern- ment, in order to preserve and perpetuate the happy peace subsisting with them. May your excellency and the honorable gentlemen of the Council, and such of the honorable House of Representatives who attend you, be encompassed with the Divine favor as with a shield, and in due time returned in safety to your respective habita- tions.'
The Hon. John Chandler having read this Address to the Gover- nor, in the language of the record, ' his excellency was pleased to return the following answer.'
' Gentlemen : I thank you very kindly for the welcome you give me, with the hon. gentlemen of his majesty's Council and the gen- tlemen of the House of Representatives, into this part of his majes- ty's province. I take this opportunity of assuring you that I shall always cheerfully join my power, with yours, that justice and judg- ment may flourish in the county of Worcester, which will greatly contribute to the happiness and welfare of the people.'
After this reply, the justices returned and immediately adjourned without day.
William Jennison, Esq. and Mr. Gershom Rice, were appointed as a committee, in March, 1737, ' to repair to the Great Falls at the head of Providence river, or where Blackstone's river falls into the salt water, to see if it be possible for the falls to be made practica- ble for fish to come up ; provided the towns lying on said river, or
1745.] FRENCH WAR. 01
near adjoining, join in Bending committees also.' It is noted that 1 these gentlemen offered to go upon free cost' Although thej re- ported that the stream could be made navigable for fish, and L"-U\ were appropriated for the purpose, no benefit resulted from the ex- amination or grant, and the fund was restored to the treasury.
The town contributed liberall] to the defence <>l' the province during the wars with the French, Ben1 it> men, and expended its means freely for the reduction of the fortresses of Nova Scotia and Canada. The voluntary exertions of the inhabitants in support of the government, and in aid of its military expeditions, would seem incredible, if they were not verified by authentic rolls, rendered on oath, by officers in command, and by the testimony of history to the ardor of the patriotic spirit pervading the community.
The quota of Worcester, in the army of Sir William Pepperell, for the conquest of Cape Breton, is not exactly ascertained. Benjamin Gleason, who enlisted in that service, died before the walls of Louis- bourg, in 1745, before its surrender. Adonijah Rice, the first born of our native citizens, was in a company of rangers in the seige.
In 1746, an alarm of a French invasion spread through the coun- try. The express sent by Governor Shirley arrived Sept. 2:3d, when the inhabitants were assembled in town meeting.1 Abandoning their municipal affairs, they immediately adjourned and took up arms. Before sunset the whole military force was mustered, and ready to march with a week's provisions, to meet the enemy. A se- cond messenger arrived seasonably to prevent their departure.
Fort Massachusetts had been erected by the province at the be- ginning of the war, in 1744, at Hoosick, now Williamstown, to guard the western frontier. After its capture by Vaudrieui,9 in August, 1746, it was strengthened and defended by a sufficient garrison, partly from Worcester. Eight of our men 3 were stationed there from Dec. 1747 to March 1748.
The depredations of the Indians were so injurious in the summer of 1748, that 200 volunteers were enlisted from Col. Chandler's regiment, with some from Hampshire, to drive them back to Can- ada. Brigadier Dwight was entrusted with the command. One company of fifty three, all from Worcester, marched on the eighth of August, and returned after a campaign of seventeen days, having
1 Town Records. " Williams's Vermont, i. 333.
3 Abraham Bass, William McLellan, Silas Pratt, Abner Roberts, John Crawford, Sam- uel Brewer, Abraham Peck and Hezekiah Ward. These were under Capt. Ehsha Hawley.
62 EXCISE. SOLDIERS. [1754.
accomplished their object without loss, the enemy retiring without giving battle. Tlie officers were D;iniel Heywood, Major comman- dant : John Steams, Captain : Tyrus Rice, Lieutenant : Richard Flagg, Ensign.
In 1754, a bill was proposed, imposing an excise on wines and spirits, containing an extraordinary provision, obliging every house- holder, when required by a collector or deputy, to render an account under oath of the quantity of such liquors consumed in his family, not purchased of a licensed person, and to make payment of the du- ty. Gov. Shirley refused his assent, and procured the printing of the bill for the consideration of the people. Sept. 2, it was unani- mously voted 'to be contrary to the mind of the town that the act relating to the excise on the private consumption of spirituous liquors be passed into a law; and that John Chandler, the representative of the town, use his utmost endeavor to prevent the same.' This is the earliest instance on our records of the instructions of the con- stituents to their representative.
Thirteen soldiers were in service this year under Capt. John Johnson, and were employed at forts Western and Halifax, near Augusta and Waterville, on the Kennebeck river.
In May, 1755, it appears from the returns of Gen. John Winslow, seventeen men from Worcester were in his majesty's service in Nova Scotia under his command : seventeen more were posted at Fort Cumberland. John Walker, after having served in a provincial reg- iment in different grades, was commissioned as a captain in the king's army.
Adonijah Rice and another soldier, engaged in the expedition against Crown Point, in August. In September, orders were issued to Col. Chandler to impress troops for the reenforcement of the army. Sept. 17, fourteen volunteers were returned from Worcester.
On the 21st of October, the inhabitants instructed Col. Doolittle, the representative, to join in no measure countenancing a stamp act.
In the autumn of 1755, that cruel measure of policy, the darkest blot on our history, the removal of the inhabitants of Nova Scotia and their dispersion through the provinces, was executed by General Winslow. About a thousand of the French Neutrals, as these un- fortunate people were called, arrived in Boston at the beginning of winter, and were distributed among the several towns designated by a committee. The proportion assigned to Worcester wasj eleven. They were received and supported by the selectmen, at the expense of
1755.] I RENCH NEUTRALS *S:{
the province. The following description ia annexed loan account rendered lor their subsistence.
• Eleven French persons ; an aged man and woman (Jo or 7() ■ old, pasl labor; the female very weak; a girl about seventeen years old, who employs her whole tunc in taking fare of the old people. They have four sons who support themselves. In this family are Jean Herbert and Monsieur Lebere. Justin White ami his wife, aged about thirty, both very feeble, the man inclining to a consump- tion and unfit for labor; they have three small children, the eldest l)nt about live years old, all chargeable; one of the children has been hum very lately, so thai the whole number now is twelve'
These families, torn from their homes, reduced from comparative affluence to desolate poverty, thrown among strangers of different language and religion, excited pity for their misfortunes. Their in- dustrious and frugal habits, and mild and simple manners, attracted regard, and they were treated here with great kindness. They cul- tivated a little tract of land, were permitted to hunt deer at all sea- sons, and aided in their own support by laboring as reapers and by manufacturing wooden implements. Although they tilled the fields, they kept no animals for labor. The young men drew their fuel and materials for fencing on the ground, with thongs of sinew, and turn- ed the earth with a spade. So deep was the feeling of their suffer- ings in their violent removal, that any allusion to their native country drew from them a flood of tears. The aged persons died broken hearted. In 1767, the remnant removed to Canada among their countrymen. The town then granted £7 to lay in stores and pay the passage of John Lehere to Quebec, and authorised the select- men to raise that sum by loan.
The year 1756 was marked by increased exertions of the inhabit- ants to fill the ranks of the army destined to act against Crown Point. Our own citizens freely volunteered in the expedition, whose success, it was confidently expected, would terminate the war which pressed so heavily on the resources and population of the province. A com- pany of 43 men was raised under Capt. Aaron Rice of Rutland ; on his death in camp, he was succeeded in the command by Lieut. Jacob Hemmenway. Forty-four other soldiers were returned by oth- er officers in Col. Ruggles' regiment, in the service of the country. Some of these troops suffered in the reverses of the campaign. Dan- iel Stearns was made prisoner near Fort Edward ; Edward Hair, at the capitulation of Oswego : and Jonathan Child in the vicinity of Fort William Henry. They were detained in captivity at Montreal
64 MILITARY SERVICES. [1757.
until the exchange in 1758. Many died of epidemic diseases at Lake George.
Regimental headquarters were established at Worcester, which was appointed the rendezvous of troops to be mustered into service. The town was often filled with military detachments waiting orders to march, and the neighboring hills whitened with tents.
A depot of munitions of war was formed for the armament of the levies as they advanced towards the scene of operations on the western frontiers. A report of the commissary shows a total of 403 arms complete, 7 boxes of guns, 403 bayonets, 212 blankets, 151 bandoliers, 80 cartouch boxes, 1 cask of powder.
Earl Loudon, successor of Gen. Shirley, in expectation of an at- tack from the enemy, ordered Col. Chandler, on the 30th of Sep- tember, to detach one hundred and fifty men (or the reenforcement of his army. The militia companiesof the town, with the former lev- ies from the regiment, promptly marched under James Putnam, the distinguished counsellor, bearing the military rank uf Major. Af- ter waiting at Westfield for the troops of Hampshire, finding the ne- cessity for their services had passed, the forces of Worcester county, amounting to 300, were dismissed and returned.
Intelligence of the siege of Fort William Henry, Aug. 4, 1757, induced the Governor to order the colonels of all the regiments to hold each man in readiness to march at a moment's warning.
The following report, July 20, 1757, shows the preparation of Wor- cester, then included in the first regiment under the command of Col. John Chandler, jr.
' Agreeably to an order of the honorable, his majesty's council, of the fifth of July last, requiring me to take effectual care that every person, both upon the alarm and train band lists, within my regiment, and the several town stocks in said regiment, be furnished with arms and ammunition according to law, if not already provided : immedi- ately on the receipt of said order, I forthwith sent out my warrant requiring a strict view into the state of the respective companies and town stocks in my regiment, and returns have since been made to me that they are well equipt.
' And agreeably to an order of the honorable, his majesty's coun- cil, of the 6th of June last,1 requiring me, in case of an alarm being made, or notice given of the approach of an enemy by sea, to cause
1 A French fleet having appeared off the coast, alarm and dismay spread through the country, in the apprehension of an invasion of New England. These orders were is- sued to meet the danger from this source.
1757.] MILITARY sr.i;\ MT.s 65
my regiment to appear complete in anus, with ammunition accor- ding to law, and each man to be furnished with seven days provision of meat. I also sent out in\ warrant, requiring the .several compa- nies, in such case, with the utmosl expedition to march to Boston, and further to act agreeably to such orders as they shall receive. Agreeably to the order aforesaid, return has been made from the respective companies that they are each ready to march at an hour's warning. John Chandler, jr. Colonel.'
Fort William Henry having surrendered, and advices having been received ol the advance of the French to attack Gen, Webb, orders were issued to Col. Chandler ' to march the regiment of militia under his command into the extreme parts of the province on the western frontier, there to receive such further orders as shall be ne- cessary for the aid and assistance of his majesty's troops.' The country, which had been resting on its arms during the whole sum- mer, roused itself at the summons. The whole militia of the town marched on the 10th of August. One company mustered 50 men, with Col. Chandler himself at the head ; James Goodwin, was Cap- tain, Noah Jones, Lieut. David Bancroft, Ensign, and Nahum Wil- lard, Surgeon. Another company, 54 strong, was under Major Gardner Chandler, with Captain John Curtis, Lieut. Luke Brown, and Ens. Asa Flagg. They reached Sheilield, 105 miles distant as the roads then were, where they were met by orders from Gen. Webb, and intelligence that the enemy remained contented with his acquisi- tion. On the 8th of August they were disbanded, except a few men detached to Stockbridge.
Eight of our men, in the troop of cavalry under Lieut. Jonathan Newhall of Leicester, reached the army at Fort Edward. Ten soldiers, regularly enlisted, served during the campaign.
On the 17th of September, Gen. Amherst halted for a day here, on his march westward, with an army of 4500 men. Capt. Samuel Clark Paine commanded a company, principally raised in Worces- ter, in this body, and served during the winter. There were nine soldiers under Gen. Abercrombie in the unfortunate attack on Ticon- deroga.
This company continued in service in the splendid campaign of Gen. Amherst, during 1759. Daniel Mc Farland was Lieutenant, and the late Samuel Ward of Lancaster, Ensign. Twenty-three non-commissioned officers and privates are returned from Worces- ter as doing duty in its ranks. Fourteen men more were in other 9
66 MILITARY SERVICES. [1760.
companies of Gen. Ruggles' regiment. William Crawford officia- ted as Chaplain of Col. Abijah Willard's regiment. Benjamin Stow- ell was Lieutenant of Capt. Johnson's company. Many returned laboring under the diseases contracted by residence in the region of fever and ague.
Capt. Paine having died in December, Lieut. Daniel McFarland was elected to the command of the company, in Feb. 1700. Wil- liam Ward is returned as Lieut. Samuel Ward, the Ensign, was promoted to be Adjutant of Col. Willard's regiment. William Crawford, the former Chaplain, became Surgeon in Gen. Ruggles' regiment. Thomas Cowden served as Lieutenant in Capt. Jefferds company, and twelve privates are borne on the rolls, as from Wor- cester.
In 1761, Thomas Cowden was commissioned as Captain : twen- ty-five men from Worcester were in the army from May to Novem- ber, principally under his command. He remained in service till the end of the following year. Nine soldiers only appear to have enlisted with him.
The peace of 1763 terminated exertions, which, in reference to the population and resources of the province, may well be deemed extraordinary. The whole number of men furnished by this town alone, during the French wars for defence and conquest, as derived from the well authenticated rolls still preserved, exceeded 450, as appears from the following summary.
1748, 69. 1758, 20.
1754, 13. 1759, 43.
1755, 34. 1700, 17.
1756, 93. 1761, 26.
1757, .... 130. 1762, 8 453 men.
In these numbers are not included those who enlisted into the regular army : nor, except in 1748 and 1757, the occasional service of the militia companies. It is probable that many names have been omitted in the examination of voluminous papers in the ar- chives of the state, and as the series is not perfect, many may have been lost.
Worcester furnished to the provincial service during this period, 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant colonel, 2 majors, 6 captains, 8 lieutenants, 7 ensigns, 27 serjeants, 2 surgeons, a chaplain, and an adjutant.
The same patriotic spirit, which was the moving spring of efforts so considerable, pervaded the province. ' Nearly one third of the effective men,' says Minot, ' were in military service in some mode
L764.] PROPOSED DIVISION OF THE COUNTY. C7
or other, and fill this zeal was manifested after the most depressing disappointments, and a burden of taxes which is Baid to have been so great in the capital, as to equal two thirds of the income of the real ''state.'
The advantages from tin- se— n>ns of courts, the erection of build- ings, and the residence of public officers, lia\iiiLr heroine apparent
in the prosperity <>i" Worcester, attempts were made to transfer these benefits to the towns who had once declined their enjoyment.
In 1764, Timothy Paine, James Putnam, John Chandler, were a committee to give reasons to the General Court, why the petition of Abel Lawrence and others, praying for a new county from the northern part of Worcester and the western part of Middlesex, should not be granted.
This project was urged during several sessions of the Legislature. Remonstrances were presented from towns in both counties against the dismemberment. After orders of notice had been issued, and several committees had taken the expediency of division into con- sideration, the petitioners abandoned their object, in 17G6
Lancaster having petitioned for the sessions of some of the courts there, it was voted, 'that by removing any of them from the town of Worcester, the shire of the county, to Lancaster, three fourths of the inhabitants of the county, will be obliged to travel farther than they now do.' Mr. Joshua Bigelow, then representative, was instruc- ted to use his utmost endeavor to prevent the removal, and procure the establishment here of another term of the Superior Court. In ihe former he was successful.
CHAPTER VI.
1765 to 1775. American Revolution. Instructions, 17G6, 1767. Resolutions, 1768. Covenant, 1763. Tea. Votes, 1773. Committee of Correspondence, 1773. Polit- ical Society. Peter Oliver. Address of Grand Jury, 1774. Report on grievances, 1771. Instructions. Protest of royalists. Town meeting. Record expunged. Non-consumption covenant and oath. Mandamus counsellors. Assembly of the people. Alarm. Minute men. Courts stopped. County Convention. Sheriff Chandler. William Campbell. Instructions. Blacksmith's Convention. Depot of military stores.
We have now reached the period of deepest interest in our histo- ry. The middle of the century had scarcely past, before the shad-
68 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [1765.
ows of oppression began to darken the land, and the first tremulous motions of the revolution, which finally upheaved the colonial gov- ernment, were felt. The collision of popular privilege with royal prerogative, maintained during successive years by the representa- tives, had prepared the people for the investigation of the principles on which their connection with the mother country rested, and wa- ked their vigilance for the protection of chartered and inherited rights. The long series of wars we have reviewed, were useful schools, diffusing military spirit, and imparting knowledge of strength, and skill and confidence for repulsing encroachments.
When the appeal to arms approached, many of the inhabitants of Worcester most distinguished for talents, influence, and honors, ad- hered with constancy to the king. In the hostility of party and the struggles of warfare, they were driven into exile and loaded with reproach. At this distance of time, when the bitterness of the con- troversy has long subsided, while we- do justice to their memories, a warmer glow of gratitude springs in our hearts for the patriots whose prophetic forecast saw, beyond the dangers and sufferings of the con- test, the prosperity and happiness that brighten over our republican institutions. The royalists here, were those who had sustained with equal fidelity and ability, the highest civil and military offices, en. joyed the confidence of their fellow citizens, and given testimony of their love of country by earnest exertions in its service.
Standing as they did, and knowing how scanty were the resour- ces for resistance, they might well entertain doubts whether the pe- riod had arrived, when it was possible to secure independence, and refuse to hazard all that was dear on the uncertain issue of a war with the most formidable nation of Europe. Educated with senti- ments of veneration for the sovereign to whom they had sworn feal- ty, indebted to his bounty for the honors and wealth they possessed, loyalty and gratitude alike influenced them to resist acts, which, to them, seemed treasonable and rebellious. However much they err- ed in judgment and feeling, we may respect the sincerity of mo- tives, attested by the sacrifice of property, the loss of home, and all the miseries of confiscation and exile. Some among them, it is known, were ardently attached to the principles of liberty : but, in their view, the opposition to the measures of government was pre- mature in its advance to extremities. The times did not admit of a middle course. The crisis had indeed arrived, although they mis- understood the progress of events, and became involved in indiscrim- inate denunciation.
1765.] IN structions. < ;(. >
It is not for the purpose of wantonly drawing from oblivion those,
whose descendants have been anions our worthiest citizens, thai the names of the royalists are mentioned in the following narrative. To
understand the transactions, it is necessary to know the persona who were engaged in them, ami to whom the) applied. By chang- ing even slighl features, the resemblance of the picture would be des- troyed. The annals would be worthless, whicli impaired confidence by the suppression of truth, even though unpleasant and unwelcome. There is no discretion entrusted to the historian toselecl among the events of the past. It is his task to relate with fidelity the incidents of the times he reviews, that he may place loyalty and patriotism in their just contrast.
The earliest expression of opinion, on the records of the town, in relation to revolutionary measures, was on the 21st of October. l?(Jo, when Capt. Ephraim Doolittle, the representative, was in- structed to join in no measure countenancing the stamp act.
Soon after the destruction of the property of Gov. Hutchinson and other officers of the crown, in August 1765, at the Superior Court, the Grand Jury expressed to the Chief Justice, in strong terms, the disapprobation of the people of the riotous proceedings in Boston.
In May following, the town refused to give instructions respect- ing restitution to those who had suffered from the disgraceful vio- lence.
The instructions to the representative1 19th of May, 1766, are, generally, marked by singular good sense and moderation.
' 1. That you use the whole of your influence and endeavor, that no person holding any fee or military office whatsoever, especially Judges of the Superior Court, Judges of the Probate, Registers of Probate, Secretary, Clerk of either of the Courts, Sheriffs, or Prov- ince Treasurer, be chosen into his majesty's Council of this prov- ince, and that you attend at the election of Counsellors, and give your vote accordingly.
' 2. That you endeavor, that, for the future, the General Court of this province be held in an open manner, that such as are so minded and behave agreeable to good order, may see and hear how affairs are conducted in said court, and if the desired end be obtained, that a
1 Ephraim Doolillle. The instructions were reported by Jonathan Stone. Benjamin Fiagg, and Nathan Baldwin.
70 INSTRUCTIONS. [1766.
proper and convenient house, both for the court and spectators, be forthwith prepared.
'3. That you endeavor, that the present fee table of this province be made null and void, and that a new fee table be made and estab- lished instead thereof, which shall be more equal and impartial ; not giving to any officer in the government, except the Governor, more nor less than you would be willing to do the same service for your- self; ami that you observe this rule in granting pay for contingencies and occasional services.
' 4. That you endeavor, that there be no monopoly of public offices in this government, and that one man be not invested with more than one office atone time, except it be compatible with the true in- terests of the people in general.
• 5. That you endeavor, that there be a law made, that when- ever any representative shall receive any office or commission from the Governor, he shall be dismissed the house, and not be al- lowed to act as a member thereof, without he should be chosen anew by his constituents; and that the said constituents be forthwith ser- ved with a new precept to call a meeting for the choice of some meet and suitable person to represent them in the Great and General Court.
' 6. That you endeavor, the excise act be repealed, and that there be no excise laid upon any commodities of trade, but that all lawful trade be encouraged, and free of duty or excise ; and that all the public charge be paid directly by a rate, except such money as shall be raised by fines for the breach of the good, wholesome laws of this province.
' 7. That the law for keeping of Latin grammar schools be re- pealed, and that we be not obliged to keep more than one grammar school in a county, and that to be at the county charge, and that each town be obliged by law to keep good and sufficient schools for the education of their youth in the art of reading, writing and arith- metic, and that the schoolmasters for the said purpose shall be such as shall be approved of by the selectmen of each respective town.
' 8. That you use your utmost endeavor, that a law be made to prevent bribery and corruption in the several towns in this province in the choice of representatives.
' 9. That you give diligent attendance at every session of the Gen- eral Court of this province this present year, and adhere to these our instructions, and the spirit of them, as you regard our friendship and would avoid our just resentment.'
17G7.] INSTR1 CTION8. " I
The instructions, reported by Ephraira Doolittle, Nathan Baldwin,
and Jonathan Stone, on the L8th of May, \'Au , breathe a similar spirit, and are, in many respects, applicable to the presenl times.
' To Mr. Joshua Bigelow : Sir : A- we have devolved upon you the important trust of representing us, at the Great ami General Court, the year ensuing, we, your constituents, therefore, think it our duty ami interest to give you the following instructions relative to some of your conduct in said trust.
' 1. That you use your influence to maintain and continue that harmony and good will between Greal Britian and this province [which] may he most conducive to the prosperity of each, by a stead] and firm attachment to English liberty and the charter rights of this province, and [that] you willingly suffer no invasions, either through pretext of precedency, or any other way whatsoever : and if you find any encroachments on our charter rights, that you use your utmost ability to obtain constitutional redress.
'2. That you use your influence to obtain a law to put an end to that unchristian and impolitic practice of making slaves of the human species in this province; and that you Lrive your vote for none to serve in his majesty's Council, who, you may have reason to think, will use their influence against such a law, or that sustain any office incompatible with such trust: and in such choice, prefer such gen- tlemen, and such only, who have distinguished themselves in the de- fence of our liberty.
' 3. That you use your influence that the fee table of this province be established more agreeable to the rules of justice. Set not to the sheriff, as fec^, double as much pay as the service may be done for, and in general is by the deputy sheriffs ; neither oblige jurymen, &c. to do service at the expense of their own private estates, or be subjected to large fines or penalties ; but subject all, or none at all, by penalties, and appoint so much fees and no more, as may be agreeable to each service ; and that you observe this rule, in grant- ing pay for occasional and contingent charges.
' 4. That you use your endeavor to relieve the people of this prov- ince, from the great burden of supporting so many Latin grammar schools, whereby they are prevented from attaining such a degree of English learning as is necessary to retain the freedom of any state.
' 5. That you make diligent inquiry into the cause of such general neglect of the Militia of this province, and endeavor a redress of
'it RESOLUTIONS. [1768.
such grievance ; without which, we apprehend, in time, we may he made an easy prey of, hy the enemies of Great Britain.
' 0. Take special care of the liberty of the press.
' And, Sir, we hope and trust, that in all matters that may come before you, you will have a single eye to the public good, have a watchful eye over those who are seeking the ruin of this province, and endeavor to make this province reciprocally happy with our mother country.'
The indignation of the people on the promulgation of the act of Parliament imposing duties on paper, tea, and other articles impor- ted into the colonies, was first manifested in Boston. In October, 17C7, a meeting was held there, and resolutions to encourage domes- tic manufactures and refrain from purchasing the taxed articles, were passed and transmitted to the selectmen of every town.
At the next session of the Legislature, resolves of similar import were adopted, whicli are recited in the papers copied below.
On the 14th of March, 1768, a town meeting was held in Wor- cester, when the subject was presented. The following extract from the record exhibits the proceedings of the inhabitants.
' The article in the warrant being read relative to promoting in- dustry and economy, Mr. Joshua Bigelow, our representative, mo- ved to the town, that before they came to a vote he might read the vote of the hon. House of Representatives of this province, passed the 26th of Feb. last, relative to the promoting industry, economy and good morals and for the discountenancing the use of foreign su- perfluities, and to encourage the manufactures of this province ; which was granted him : it was also moved and seconded, that the reasons given by the Hon. Timothy Iiuggles, the representative of Hardwick, on his dissenting answer to the vote aforesaid, might be read also : l which accordingly was done, and the question was put
1 Brigadier Ruggles alone opposed the passage of these resolutions. His reasons for dissenting were offered in writing, but it was voted that they should not be entered on the journal. His objections to the encouragement of manufactures were these :
1. Because in all countries manufactures are set up at the expense of husbandry, or other general employment of the people, and if they have not peculiar advantages over husbandry, they will by discouraging the latter, have an injurious effect.
2. That manufactures here must encounter insurmountable obstacles from the thin population and high price of labor: and would be detrimental, by taking hands away from agriculture and the fisheries.
Other objections were deduced from the colonial relation of the province and the mother country, and the injury which might result to the interests of England.
1768.] COVENANT ~<-l
whether the town would buy any British manufactures more than they could pay for, and it passed in the affirmative.'3 The sentiments of the inhabitants are more easily deduced from
Bubsequenl events, than understood from the concluding expressions
of the record. The town clerk, a gentleman of strong royalist at- tachments, was not probably desirous of correcting any ahsurdity in the motions of his political adversaries.
Soon after this meeting, the patriotic party procured the subscrip- tions of many of the inhabitants to the following paper.
' Whereas the honorable House of Representatives of this prov- ince, on the 26th day of February last, did declare, that the happiness and well being of civil communities depend upon industry, econ- omy, and good morals, and taking into serious consideration the great decay of trade, the scarcity of money, the heavy debt contrac- ted in the late war, which still remains on the people, and the great difficulties to which they are by these means reduced, did resolve, to use their utmost endeavors, and enforce their endeavors by example, in suppressing extravagance, idleness, and vice, and promoting indus- try, economv, and good morals : and in order to prevent the unneces- sary exportation of money, of which the province hath, of late, been drained, did further resolve, that they would, by all prudent means, endeavor to discountenance the use of foreign superfluities, and en- courage the manufactures of this province; and whereas, the Par- liament of Great Britain has passed an act imposing duties on sun- dry articles for the purpose of raising a revenue on America, which is unconstitutional, and an infringement of our just rights and privi- leges ; and the merchants of this province have generally come into an agreement not to import goods from Great Britain, a few articles excepted, till that act is repealed ; which in our opinion is a lawful and prudent measure : therefore, we the subscribers, do solemnly promise and engage, each with the other, to give all possible encour- agement to our own manufactures : to avoid paying the tax imposed by said act, by not buying any European commodity, but what is ab- solutely necessary ; that we will not, at funerals, use any gloves, ex-
1 One of the earliest woollen manufactories of Massachusetts is thus noticed in the Bos- ton Evening Post, October 10, 1768.
' We hear from Brookfield, that Mr. Joshua Upham of that town, a gentleman in the law, and his two brothers, with a number of other gentlemen, have lately erected a building 50 feet in length and two stories hisjh, for a manufactory house, and are collect- ing tradesmen of several sorts for the woollen manufactory, and they propose to keep a large number of looms constantly at work.'
10
74
TEA. [1763.
cept those made hero, or purchase any article of mourning, on such occasion, but what shall be absolutely necessary ; and we consent to abandon the use, so far as may be, not only of all the articles men- tioned in the Boston resolves, but of all foreign teas, which are clearly superfluous, our own fields abounding in herbs more healthful, and which we doubt not, may, by use, be found agreeable : we fur- ther promise and engage, that we will not purchase any :_r'>ods of any persons, who preferring their own interest to that of the public, shall import merchandize from Great Britain, until a general importation takes place : or of any trader who purchases his goods of such im- porter : and that we will hold no intercourse, or connexion, or cor- respondence, with any person who shall purchase goods of such im- porter or retailer ; and we will hold him dishonored, an enemy to the liberties of his country and infamous, who shall break this agree- ment.'
The execution of resolutions against tea, required the aid of those to whose care the fragrant herb was entrusted in the household. A fe- male convention assembled in Boston, and agreed to discontinue the use of the taxed leaf and substitute a native shrub,1 an inhabitant of our meadows. In imitation of this example, a meeting was held here by the patriotic ladies, who cordially concurred with the good resolu- tions of their sisters of the metropolis. The royalists, who loved their tea and their king, and were equally averse to the desertion of the social urn or the sovereign, had influence enough to convene another assembly, and procure the reconsideration of its approbation of the American plant, and a renewal of allegiance to the exotic of India.
A paragraph in the Boston Evening Post, alludes to the doings of the fair partizans.
'Worcester, Nov. 11, 1768. We hear that the ladies have dis- covered the most malignant quality in the Labrador tea, which, by vote of the daughters of liberty, within the metropolis, was substi- tuted, to be used in the room of the Indian shrub, called Bohea : that they find it to be of so debilitating a quality, and that it pro- duces such a total frigidity in their warmest friends of the other sex, that at a later convention, to deliberate on matters of the great- est consequence, it was agreed, by a majority greater than that of 92 to 17,2 to rescind their former vote in favor of the detested plant,
1 Ledum Palustre, Labrador Tea. 8 Alluding to the vote on the question of rescinding the resolutions of the House of Representatives.
1773.] RESOLUTIONS. T">
a< being clearly unconstitutional, and tending directlv to rob us of our dearest privileges and deprive us of our most sacred and invalu- able rights.1
As the nonconsumption agreement prevented the sale by the mer- chant-; of the obnoxious article, the gardens and Gelds were laid trader contributions t<> Bupply the table urn. The cup was filled with odoriferous infusions i>t' Mini and Sage, and those who ven- tured to acknowledge the abstract right of taxation, by the nae of tea, indulged in the luxury, as if they were committing crime, with the utmost secresy, drawing bolt and bar. and closing every crevice which might betray the fragrance of the proscribed beverage.
From this period to 1773, no doings of the inhabitants in their corporate capacity, mark the progress of the spirit of independence. The influence of the royalists prevented public expression of the high toned patriotism radiated from the metropolis to every village, and growing day by day more fervid and intense.
A petition of Othniel Taylor and forty others, called the attention of the town, at the annual meeting in March, 1773. to the grievan- ces under which the province labored. After debate, the celebra- ted Boston Pamphlet was read. A committee was appointed x to consider its contents, who presented an elaborate report at the ad- journment in .May following. Going back to the foundation of civil society, they deduce the principles, that mankind are by nature free, and that the end and design of forming the social compact was, that each member of the state might enjoy liberty and property, and the unrestrained exercise of civil and religious rights. Tracing the his- tory of the pilgrims, they derive illustrations of the sacredness of the charter, plighted by royal faith. Appealing to the long series of services rendered by the province as testimonials of fidelity, they declare, ' the fond affection that ever has subsisted in our hearts for Great Britain and its sovereign, has ever induced us, to esteem it above any other country, and as fond children speak of a father's house we have ever called it our home, and always [have been ready to] rejoice, when they^joiced, to weep when they have wept, and whenever required, to bleed when they have bled ; and in return, we are sorry to say, we have had our harbors filled with ships of war, in a hostile manner, and troops posted in our metropolis, in a time of profound peace : not only posted [in a manner] greatly insulting, but actually slaughtering the inhabitants : cannon levelled against our
1 William Youne, David Bancroft. Samuel Curtis, Timothy Bigelow, Stephen Salis- burv.
76 POLITICAL SOCIETY. [l~1'l.
senate house, the fortress or key of the province taken from us : and as an addition to our distress, the commander in chief of the province [has declared] he had not power to control the troops, &.c. Nev- ertheless we are ready and willing to stand forth in defence of the king of Great Britain, his crown and dignity, and our noble con- stitution, and, when called to it, risk our lives; and in that day let him that hath no sword, sell his garment and buy one.'
It was recommended ' that there be a committee of correspon- dence chosen, to correspond with the committees of correspondence in the other towns in this province, to give the earliest intelligence to the inhabitants of this town, of any designs that they shall discov- er, at any time, against our natural and constitutional rights.'
The recommendations of the report were adopted, and William Young, Timothy Bigelow, and John Smith, were elected a commit- tee of correspondence.
The spirit of discontent, repressed in public, was actively working in the minds of men, and the doctrine of resistance, branded by one party as the theory of treason, preparing the way for events the brightest of history. In the peculiar situation of the town, an efficient and firm union among the friends of freedom was necessary. On the 27th of December, 1773, the leading whigs assembled, and formed a Society, which became a powerful instrument of revolutionary ac- tion, directing the proceedings of the town, and extending a control- line influence to some of its neighbors. Its organization and doings, illustrative of the feeling of the times and the mode of political oper- ation, are worthy of extended notice.
The constitution and rules of proceeding, reported by Nathan Baldwin, Samuel Curtis and Timothy Bigelow, exhibit the purposes of the association. The former recites, ' that at the then present time the good people of the county, and with respect to some particular circumstances, the town of Worcester especially, labor under many impositions and burdens grievous to be borne, which, it is appre- hended, could never have been imposed upon us had we been united and opposed the machinations of some (^signing persons in this province, who are grasping at power and the property of their neigh- bors : for preventing these evils and better securing liberty and prop- erty, and counteracting the designs of enemies, the associates incor- porate themselves into a society, by the name of The American Polit- ical Society, to meet at some public house, at least once in every oth- er month, to advise with each other on proper methods to be pur- sued respecting common rights and liberties, civil and religious.'
1773.] I'OI.ITK AI. SOCIETY. ', ~
The members covenanted, that do discourse or transaction in any of the meetings should be communicated to any person \\ ithout common consent; thai they would avoid all lawsuits a- much as possible, and particularly with each other: and if differences Bhould arise between members, which they were unable in adjust, thej should !»■ referred to the determination of the socict) : that cadi would, as he had opportu- nity, promote the interest of the other, in all honest ways, within his power, without injury to himself; and that each member would Line information in the meetings of an] infringement of the common rights of mankind which might come to his knowledge. Penalties were established for absence, provision made for regular monthly meet- ings, the elections, admissions, and order of debate, usual in sim- ilar associations. It is expressed, 'that each particular member, reposing special trust and confidence in every Other member of the society, looks upon himself bound, and does bind himself, by the ties of lienor, virtue, truth, sincerity, and every appellation dear to him in this life, faithfully and truly to keep and perform its articles.' Thir- ty one persons were original subscribers, and thirty two others were, from time to time, admitted, making the whole number of members during the two years of its existence sixty three.
The objects of the society, as expressed in its constitution, were extensive. The associates, practically, limited their views to the cir- cle of their own corporation, and instead of proceeding in the task of reforming the world, confined their exertions to secure the rights of that portion of mankind in their own neighborhood. They erect- ed themselves into a supreme authority, not only assuming advisory superintendence of local concerns, but claiming to direct in abso- lute terms. Sessions were held previous to the meetings of the in- habitants, and votes passed, afterwards confirmed by the town. To show how important was their agency, it will be necessary to antici- pate the regular progress of the narrative, to examine their records.
The first debate, Feb. 4, 1774, was had on the impropriety of choos- ing any person to office, who was not an open and professed friend to constitutional liberty. Feb. 25, the business of the society was, to agree on a plan of proceedings for March meeting. In April, it was voted ' that the chairman of the committee of correspondence, be directed to send circular letters to the committees of correspondence in the several towns in the county, advising them that the votes for Coun- ty Treasurer had not been counted by the Court of Sessions of the Peace, as had been usual, and of the danger consequent thereon, that the whole people of the county may be on their guard against fraud
78 CHIEF JUSTICE OLIVER. [1774.
and deception.' A committee was appointed to prepare instructions for the representative to be chosen in May following.
Among the boldest of its acts, was its instruction to the Grand Jurors, to refuse being sworn if Judge Oliver was present at the Superior Court in April.
The act of parliament for raising revenues, by taxation of the colo- nies,authorized appropriations from them, for the salaries of the judges of the Superior Court, rendering the judicial officers dependants of the crown. The Governor had refused his assent to legislative grants for their support, and tin Representatives remonstrated with spirit, against the invasion of charter rights. After ineffectual ne- gociations with Mr. Hutchinson, the inflexible assertor of royal pre- rogative, at the termination of the first session of lll'i, it was resol- ved 'that any of the judges, who, while they hold their offices during pleasure, shall accept support from the crown, independent of the grants of the General Court, will discover, that he is an enemy to the constitution, and has it in his heart to promote the establishment of arbitrary government.' In Feb. 1774, four of the judges, Trowbridge, Hutchinson, Ropes, and dishing, on the appeal being made by the Assembly, replied that they had received no part of the allowance from the king; which was deemed satisfactory. Chief Justice Oli- ver alone, dared to brave popular sentiment, and answered that he had accepted his Majesty's bounty, and could not refuse it in future, without royal permission. The concentrated weight of indignation fell upon him. The House immediately voted that he had rendered himself obnoxious to the people as an enemy of the constitution. A petition was presented for his removal, and articles of impeachment for high crimes and misdemeanors exhibited, which the Governor re- fused to countenance.
Such was the relation of Peter Oliver to the people, when the term of the Superior Court for the county of Worcester drew near. The political society, as guardians of popular rights, took the subject in- to consideration. After much treasonable debate, as the expression of opinions which would have endangered life, might be termed by those who could have claimed its forfeiture, the determination was expressed in the following vote, unanimously adopted, April 4.
' This society will each one bear and pay their equal part of the fine and charges that may be laid on Messrs. Joshua Bigelow and Timothy Bigelow, for their refusal to be empanneled upon the Grand Jury at our next Superior Court of Assize, for the county of Wor- cester, if they shall be chosen into that office, and their refusal is
1774.] GRAM) JURY'S ADDRESS. 70
founded upon the principle, thai thej cannot, consistently with good conscience and order, serve, if Peter Oliver, Esq. is presenl on the bench as chief justice, or judge of said court, before h<' is lawfully tried and acquitted from the high crimes and charges for which he now stands impeached by the honorable House of Representatives, and the major pari of the grand jurors i*< > r the whole county, join them in refusing to serve for the reasons aforesaid.'
So little apprehension was entertained of the concurrence of their fellows, or of the return of the two gentlemen named, that they were provided with a remonstrance for presentation to the court. The exact circumstances, modestly de>i<riiated as contingent and condi- tional, were made certain by the influence and exertion.-- of the socie- ty. .Messrs. Joshua Bigelow and Timothy Bigelow tdere chosen, and the majority of the jurors did phi with them, at the opening of the court in offering this paper, April 19, 1774.
' To the honorable, his majesty's justices of the Superior Court of Judicature now sitting at Worcester, in and for said county.
We, the subscribers, being returned by our respective towns to serve as jurors of inquest tor this court, beg leave humbly to inform your honors, that it is agreeable to the sense of those we represent, that we should not enipannel, or be sworn into this important office, provided Peter Oliver, Esq. sits as chief justice of this court ; and we would further add, that our own sentiments coincide perfectly with those of our constituents respecting this matter ; so, to what- ever inconvenience we expose ourselves, we are firmly resolved not to empannel, unless we are first assured that the above gentleman will not act as a judge in this court, for the following reasons :
1. Because the honorable House of Commons of this province, at their last session, among other things, resolved, that Peter Oliver, Esq. hath, by his conduct, rendered himself totally disqualified any lono-er to hold and act in the office of a justice of this court, and ought, forthwith, to be removed therefrom.
2. Because the House of Commons, in their said session, did im- peach the said Peter Oliver, Esq. of high crimes and misdemeanors ; the particulars of which impeachment, we apprehend, are known to your honors, which will excuse us from reciting them at large ; to which impeachment the said Peter Oliver, Esq. hath not been yet brought to answer ; and therefore, we apprehend, that the veniri bearing test, Peter Oliver, Esq. is illegal.
But, if we should be mistaken, nevertheless, we remonstrate and
80 CHIEF JUSTICE OLIVER. [1774.
protest, against the said Peter Oliver, Esq., acting as judge on any of the bills we may find at this session, unless he is constitutionally acquitted of said impeachment : because, we apprehend it would be highly injurious, to subject a fellow countryman to trial at a bar, where one of the judges is not only disqualified as aforesaid, but, by his ow'ii confession, stands convicted, in the minds of the people, of a crime more heinous, in all probability, than any that might come before him. These, with other reasons, that might be offered, we hope your honors will esteem sufficient to justify us for presenting the foregoing remonstrance.'
Joshua Bigelow, John Fuller, William Henshaw,
Thomas Robinson, John Tyler, Nathaniel Carriel,
Phinehas Heywood, Daniel Clapp, Moses Livermore,
Nathan Walker, Silas Bayley, Timothy Bigelow,
Ephraim Doolittle, John Sherman, William Campbell.
After consultation, this paper was received by the court, and pub- licly read by the clerk. One of the judges then informed the ju- rors, that it was altogether improbable that the Chief Justice would attend to take his seat i1 and being assured that the sheriff* had, as
I Judge Oliver, in a letter to Gov. Hutchinson, May 15, 1774, published in Edes' Ga- zette, Sept. 18, 1775, expresses his anger at the conduct of his associates of the bench in strong; terms.
' As to the affair of the Grand Jury's libel at Worcester court, I did not know of their conduct until I saw it in the newspapers; and had any of my brethren been charged in so infamous a manner, I would forever have quitted the bench, rather than have suffered such indignity to them to have passed unnoticed. How it is possible to let a brother judge, a friend, or even a brute, be treated in so ignominious a manner, I have no con- ception in my ideas of humanity. But so it is: and if the Supreme Court is content with such rudeness, inferior jurisdictions are to be exculpated in suffering the common- wealth to be destroyed.'
Oliver sought consolation under popular odium, from the sympathy of the representa- tive of the king, without communicating to his associates the indignation breathing in his letter. The existence of this document seems to have remained unknown to his judicial brethren, long after the publication. Jud<;e Trowbridge, in a letter to the late Levi Lin- coln, Dec. 27, 1780, says, ' this letter was wrote Uy Chief Justice Oliver, as I suppose, to the governor, at the castle ; anil the court referred to, must be the Superior Court at Worcester, on the third Tuesday of September, 1773 ; for the chief justice was not at that court. 1 don't know that I ever saw what he calls the libel. I can't find it in Ede9 & Gill's Gazette printed that year, and therefore conclude it was published in the Spy, soon after the court. I hear Mr. Thomas lives in Worcester, and suppose he has those papers by him. If you would be kind enough to know of him, if he printed the account of the proceeding which, I suppose, the judge calls a libel, and favor me with a copy thereof, you will much oblige me.
I I was at Judge Oliver's house, on May 15, 1774, (the day of the date of his letter) : but he never said a word to me about that matter, as I remember; which I think he might have done, before he wrote that letter to the governor.'
1774.] POLITICAL BOC1ET1 81
usual, been a number of miles nut of town, iu order to inert ami
escort him to his lodgings, and had returned without him, the jnrora retired to determine wrhai course to pursue. < )u considering the personal and public inconvenience resulting from their refusal to proceed to business, and finding do sacrifice <>l* principle from com- pliance, they returned, were Bworn, and received the charge.
It is said to have been resolved by the Society, that they would rescue the jurors by force, if they should be committed lor contempt, in presenting the chief justice to the court a> a criminal. No writ- ten evidence of such purpose can be supposed to exist, and the re- moval of the difficulty, threatening interruption of the administration of justice, fortunately prevented more solemn testimony from being furnished.
At the monthly meeting in June, it was voted to sign a covenant, not to purchase any English goods, until the port of Boston was opened, and to discontinue intercourse with those declining to sub- scribe. A committee was appointed to prepare an instrument for this purpose, and obtain the signatures of the citizens, and to draft a similar agreement to be signed by the women.
In August, it was voted, ' that Nathan Perry be moderator of our next town meeting, if he should be chosen : in case he should refuse, then Josiah Pierce shall preside.'
The selectmen were directed, forthwith, to examine the town's stock of ammunition, and ascertain its quality and quantity.
A committee was chosen to present to the inhabitants an obliga- tion to be completely armed, and to enforce its execution.
Sept. 5. A committee was commissioned ' to inspect the tories going to and coming from Lancaster, or any other way,' and it was subsequently entered of record, that it was contrary to the mind of the society that the tories should vote in town meeting.
Oct. 3. The instructions to be reported at the next town meet- ing for the representatives in the Provincial Congress and General Court, were read, paragraph by paragraph, and accepted.
A respectable merchant of the town was summoned before the as- sociation, to exhibit the certificate of an oath not to purchase En- glish goods, made by Artemas Ward, Esq. afterwards General in the Continental Army. The form not being considered satisfactory, a new oath was required and taken.
We have traced the society far enough in the detail of its acts, to show the control it assumed and exercised over committees of cor- respondence, the grand jury, the town, its selectmen and citizens.
11
82 POLITICAL SOCIETY. [1774.
Its career is interesting, as indicating the spring by whose impulse the complex machinery was moved, and as illustrative of the manner in which the government of opinion acted on the people, when the authority of the established officers tottered, the tribunals of justice were silent, and self constituted magistracies took the guardianship of the general welfare, and the lead in the municipal republics.
It remains only to notice the dissolution of this remarkable body. Many of the members having been called into the military service of the country, much of its energy was lost. In I7?fi, it is stated, that unhappy differences had arisen and divisions grown up in the town. It was voted, to institute an enquiry into their origin, and en- deavor to suppress contention and reestablish harmony. Each mem- ber was desired to give intelligence of misbehavior, and answer truly and fully to any question, proposed by a committee, formed from both parties, to investigate the causes of difficulty. It was re- solved, ' that the society, in its corporate capacity, should pass no votes relative to the choice of town or public officers, or for the man- agement of town meetings, until a report was made and acted on.'
The committee, composed of discordant materials, was unable to effect a compromise. The last meetings of the Society appear to have been passed in unavailing struggles to prolong its existence, in jealous rivalship of the committees of correspondence and safety, who had wrested away its power, and in stormy discussion of the deviations from the original principles of its constitution. It linger- ed until the first Monday of June, 1776, when, bj mutual consent, it was suffered to expire, after a life of two years and a half.
The struggle between the patriotism of the people and the loyal- ty of a minority, powerful in numbers, as well as in talents, wealth and influence, arrived to its crisis in this town early in 1774, and terminated in the total defeat of the adherents of the king.
At the annual meeting, March 7, a committee l was formed, to take into consideration the acts of the British Parliament for raising revenue from the colonies, who soon presented the following report, matured by the Society, whose acts we have noticed, which was ac- cepted.
' We, the freeholders and inhabitants of Worcester, think it our du- ty, at this important time, when affairs of the greatest consequence to ourselves and posterity are hastening to a crisis, after due consid- eration, to offer our sentiments on the many grievous impositions,
1 William Young, Josiah Pierce, Timothy Bigelow.
1774.] ni'SOLUTIONS. ^:t
which are laid upon us : we would particularize some of the most intolerable ones, \ iz.
' 1. Court- of Admiralty, wherein thai mosl inestimable prii ilege, trial l>\ jury, i- destroyed : Boards of commissioners, with their nu- merous trains of dependents, which departments are generally filled with those who have proved themselves to be destitute of honor, honesty, or the common feelings ol humanity; those who are known to be the greatest enemies of the people and constitution of this country, even those \< ]„, |I;,V(. murdered its inhabitants. For a re- cent instance of their consummate insolence, and of their barbarously harassing the Bubject from port to port, at the expense of time and money, and unjustly detaining property, we would mention the case of Capt. Walker, commander of the Brigantine Brothers.
1 •-'. The Governor and Judges of the Superior Court, rendered in- dependent of the people of the province, for whose good only they were appointed, for which service they ought to depend on those they serve for pay : and, we are constrained to say, that to have these who are to determine and judge on our lives [and] property paid l>v a foreign state, immediately destrovs that natural depend- ence which ought to subsist between a people and their officers, and [is,] of course, destructive of liberty. For which reason, we are of opinion, that we [are] not in the least bound in duty to submit to the ordering and determining of such officers as are not dependent on the grants of the people for their pay, and we have the satisfac- tion to hear that four of the superior judges, to their immortal hon- or, have refused the bribe offered them.
' But, as we have had an opportunity heretofore, jointly, to express our minds respecting our many grievances, we, principally, shall confine our observations to the East India company's exporting teas to America, subject to a duty laid thereon by the British Parliament, to be paid by us, not so much as mentioned for the regulation of trade, but for the sole purpose of raising a revenue : in consequence of which, we take it upon us to say, that it is an addition to the many proofs, that the British ministry are determined, if possi- ble, to enslave us : but, we rest assured, that however attached we may have been to that truly detestable herb, we can firmly resist the charm, and thereby convince our enemies in Great Britain and America, that however artful and alluring their snares, and gilded the bait, we have wisdom to foresee and virtue to resist.
' Therefore, resolved ; that we will not buy, sell, use, or any way be concerned with India teas of any kind, dutied or undutied,
84 RESOLUTIONS. [1774.
imported from Groat Britain, Holland, or elsewhere, until the un- righteous act imposing a duty thereon be repealed ; the former on account of the aforesaid duty ; the latter, because we still maintain such a regard for Great Britain as to be unwilling to promote the interests of a rival.
'Resolved; that we will break off all commercial intercourse with those persons, if any there should be, in this or any other place, who should act counter to these, our resolutions, thus publicly made known : that the tea consignees, and all those that have been aiding or assisting in introducing the East India company's tea among us, have justly merited our indignation and contempt, and must be considered, and treated by us, as enemies and traitors to their coun- try : that we contemptuously abhor and detest, all those, whether in Great Britain or America, that are not content with their own hon- est industry, but contrary to known principles of justice and equity, attempt to take the property of others in any wise without their consent.
' Resolved ; that we have an indisputable right, at this time, and at all times, boldly to assert our rights, and make known our grievan- ces ; being sensible that the freedom of speech and security of prop- erty always go together. None but the base tyrant and his wicked tools dread this liberty. Upright measures will always defend them- selves. It is not only our indubitable right, but a requisite duty, in this legal and public manner, to make known our grievances. Amongst the many benefits that will naturally result therefrom, [will be] we hope, that important one of undeceiving our gracious sove- reign, who from the wicked measures practised against us, we have just reason to suppose, has been artfully deluded ; in defence of whose sacred person, crown and dignity, together with our natural and constitutional rights, we are ready, at all times, boldly to risk our lives and fortunes.'
Twenty-six of the royalists dissented from these resolutions, and their protest was entered of record, although rejected by the town.
Mr. Joshua Bigelow was chosen representative, with the follow- ing instructions,1 May 20, 1774.
' As English America is in a general alarm, in consequence of
1 The committee who reported these instructions, were Josiah Pierce, Timothy Bige- low, Stephen Salisbury, Samuel Curtis, Edward Crafts, John Kelso, and Joshua Whit- ney. They had been prepared by Mr. Nathan Baldwin, the ablest writer of the party here, and matured by the political society.
1774.] INSTRUCTIONS
some late unconstitutional stretches of power, we are sensible tlu> is the most difficult period t lint hath ever yet commenced since the In -1
arrival of our ancestors into this then unexplored, uncultivated and inhospitable wilderness: and being fully sensible thai the wisesl head, uprightesl heart, and the firmesl resolution, are the necessan qualifications of the person lit and suitable to represent us in the
Great and (ieneral Court of this Province the present \ear, [ we] have honored you with our suffrages for that important ollice. Notwith- standing our confidence in your virtue and abilities, we think it ne- cessary to prescribe some certain rules for your conduct And first : as there is alate act of the British Parliament, to be enforced in Amer- ica, with troops and ships of war [on] the iirst [day] of June, in order to stop the port and harbor of Boston, thereby depriving us of the winds and seas, which God and nature gave in common to mankind, we are induced to believe that [the ministers] of Great Britain, through misinformation, are led to a prostitution of that power which has heretofore made Europe tremble, to abridge us, their brethren in this province, of our natural and civil rights, notwithstanding, exclu- sive of our natural rights, we had all the privileges and immunities of Englishmen confirmed to us by our royal charter. And as we \ iew this hostile manoeuvre of Great Britain as a blow aimed, through Boston, at the whole of American liberties, being emboldened through a consciousness of the justice of our cause, we, in the most solemn manner, direct you, that whatever measure Great Britain may take to distress us, you be not in the least intimidated, and thereby in- duced, that whatever requisitions, or ministerial mandate there may be, in order to subject us to any unconstitutional acts of the British parliament, to comply therewith. But to the utmost of your power, resist the most distant approaches of slavery. But more particular- ly, should the people of this province, through their representatives, be required to compensate the East India company for the loss of their tea, we hereby lay the strictest injunction on you not to com- ply therewith. As the destruction of the tea was not a public act, we cannot see the justice of a public demand. As the civil law is open to punish the offenders, we rather think, instead of an equitable compensation, it would be the means of encouraging riots and rob- beries, and, of consequence, render the courts of justice of no use.
1 We also earnestly require that a strict union of the colonies be one of the first objects in your view, and that you carefully and im- mediately pursue every legal measure that may tend thereto ; viz. that committees of correspondence be kept up between the several
86 INSTRUCTIONS. [1774.
houses of assembly through the colonies ; and that you by no means fail to use your utmost endeavors, that there be a general Conorress formed of deputies from the same : thai so we may unite in some safe and sure plan, to secure and defend the American liberties, at this important crisis of affairs.
' Also we direct you, as soon as may be, to endeavor that Peter Oliver, Esq. be brought to answer to the impeachment against him, preferred by the Representatives of this province, in the name of the whole people.
' There are a number of other matters respecting the internal poli- cy of this province, that, in our opinion, at this season, require the attention of the legislator : but, at a time like this, when Britain in return for the blood we have, on every needful occasion, so freely shed in her cause, has reduced thousands, through a wanton exer- cise of power, in our metropolis, to the most [distressing] circumstan- ces, which, at first view, is sufficient to excite in the human breast every tender and compassionate feeling, [this] is enough to engross your whole attention. Should other matters come under your con- sideration in the course of the present year, relative to the common and ordinary exigencies of government, we make not the least doubt, you will, on your part, make the peace and prosperity of the whole province, your ultimate aim and end, and by that means, honor yourself and us, your constituents, in the choice we have made.'
Language so strong and decided, could not but be offensive to the royalists. The acceptance was strenuously opposed ; Col. Putnam, the distinguished counsellor, exerting the whole force of his eloquence to prevent the cooperation of the town in acts of rebellion, but with- out success. Thus defeated, measures were taken to procure the reconsideration of the votes. A petition, signed by 43 freeholders, was presented to the selectmen, requesting them to issue their war- rant for a meeting, in the expectation, by concentrating the whole strength of the opposition, that the early efforts of freedom could be crushed.
A meeting, called in conformity with the prayer of the petition, which is recited at length in the warrant of the selectmen, was held on the 20th of June. After long and violent debate, the whigs prevailed, and it was voted not to act, in any manner, on any of the matters contained in the petition. Nothing remained to the de- feated party but the right of protesting. A spirited and most loyal paper was offered and refused. The Town Clerk, influenced more
1774. J ROYALIST PROTEST. 87
by feeling than prudence, entered a copy on the records, afterwards si Hi in Boston for publication. This production is one of the boldest .iiitl must indignant remonstrances of the friends of royal govern- ment among the productions of the time. It is inserted in the Bos- ton Gazette, printed on the lih of July, 177 1. The entry on the record was afterwards entirely obliterated.
' At a meeting of the inhabitants of the town <>i" Worcester, beld there on the 20th day of June, A. 1). 177 1, pursuanl to an applica- tion made to the selectmen by 43 voters and freeholders of the same town, dated the 20th day of May last, therein, among other things, declaring their just apprehensions of the fatal consequences that ma] follow the many riotous and seditious actions that have of late times been done and perpetrated in divers places within this prov- ince : the votes and proceedings of which meeting are by u- defined irregular and arbitrary :
' Wherefore we, some of ns who were petitioners for the said meeting, ami others inhabitants of the town, hereunto subscribing, thinking it our indispensable duty, in these times of discord and con- fusion in too many of the towns within this province, to bear testi- mony in the most open and unreserved manner against all riotous, disorderly and seditions practices, must therefore now declare, that it is with the deepest concern for public peace and order that we behold so many, whom we used to esteem sober, peaceable men, so far deceived, deluded and led astray by the artful, crafty and in- sidious practices of some evil minded and ill disposed persons, who, under the disguise of patriotism, and falsely styling themselves the friends of liberty, some of them neglecting their own proper busi- ness and occupation, in which they ought to be employed for the sup- port of their families, spending their time in discoursing of matters they do not understand, raising and propagating falsehoods and ca- lumnies of those men they look up to with envy, and on whose fall and ruin they wish to rise, intend to reduce all things to a state of tumult, discord and confusion :
' And in pursuance of those evil purposes and practices they have imposed on the understanding of some, corrupted the principles of others, and distracted the minds of many, who, under the influence of this delusion, have been tempted to act a part that may prove, and that has already proved, extremely prejudicial to the province, and as it may be, fatal to themselves ; bringing into real danger, and in many instances, destroying that liberty and property we all hold sa-
88 ROYALIST PROTEST. [1774.
cred, and which they vainly and impiously boast of defending at the expense of their blood and treasure :
' And, as it appears to us, that many of this town seem to be led aside by strange opinions, and are prevented coming to such pru- dent votes and resolutions as might be for the general good and the advantage of this town in particular agreeably to the request of the petitioners for this meeting :
' And as the town has refused to dismiss the persons styling them- selves the committee of correspondence for the town, and has also re- fused so much as to call on them to render an account of their past dark and pernicious proceedings :
' We therefore, whose names are hereunto subscribed, do each of us declare and protest, it is our firm opinion, that the committees of correspondence in the several towns of this province, being creatures of modern invention and constituted as they be, are a legal griev- ance, having no legal foundation, contrived by a junto to serve par- ticular designs and purposes of their own, and that they, as they have been, and are now managed in this town, are a nuisance : And we fear', it is in a great measure owing to the baneful influence of such committees, that the teas of immense value, lately belonging to the East India company, were, not long since, scandalously des- troyed in Boston, and that many other enormous acts of violence and oppression have been perpetrated, whereby the lives of many honest, worthy persons, have been endangered and their property destroyed.
• It is by these committees also, that papers have been lately pub- lished and are now circulating through the province, inviting, and wickedly tempting, all persons to join them, fully implying, if not expressly denouncing the destruction of all that refuse to subscribe those unlawful combinations, tending directly to sedition, civil war, and rebellion.
' These, and all such enormities we detest, and abhor : and the au- thors of them we esteem enemies to our king and country, violators of all law and civil liberty, the malevolent disturbers of the peace of society, subverters of the established constitution, and enemies of mankind.'
The whole number of voters of the town at this time could not have exceeded two hundred and fifty. Fifty two inhabitants sub- scribed the protest.
The first intimation received by the whigs, of the existence of
1774.] ,; i. sol i rm\> go
sentiments so loyal, on the same pages with the narrative of their own patriotic declarations, was derived from the publication. Im- mediately after its appearance, a petition was presented to the select- men, describing the protest at a false and scandalous attach on the inhabitants, the committee, and their doings, charging the town clerk with a violation of liis trust, and requesting them to convene a meeting to consider the subject. The town assembled on the 2*2d of August, and referred the matter to a Committee,1 to report at the adjournment to the 24th. Before that time, many of the protesters, shrinking from the violence of the storm they had roused, and under the compulsion of force, sought safety by submission, and signed pen- itential confessions of error. When the people reassembled, the following counter statement and the accompanying resolutions were adopted.
'Whereas, the publication, in the Massachusetts Gazette of Jun< :>0, was made, as a protest of the signers of it against the proceedings of the town of Worcester, and contains in it a number of groundless reflections and aspersions against the inhabitants of the town, viz : it seems to be implied in the direction to the printer, published at the front of the protest, that the signers were the only persons in the town, that were friends to truth, peace and order, and that they only, were the persons, that had any just apprehensions of the ill consequences arising by mobs, riots, &.c. and that all the rest of the inhabitants acted irregularly and arbitrarily ; notwithstanding the matters [voted] in said meeting were fairly considered : and that they, were so destitute of understanding as to he led astray, by evil minded persons, who were endeavoring to reduce all things to a state of disorder and confusion; thereby making themselves the sole judges of what is rule and order, and what is not: and proceed to stigmatize the inhabitants as holding to such bad opinions, as to pre- vent the town's acting prudently and for the general good. It is al- so implied in the publication, that this town allows a number of per- sons in it, to assume the character of a committee of correspondence for the town, and to act darkly and perniciously with impunity, con- trary to rule and good order and in violation of the truth : after, with unparalleled arrogance, representing themselves as die only friends to it, [they] assert that the town has refused to dismiss the persons styling themselves a committee of correspondence for the town, when,
1 The committee were Joshua Bigclow. Jonas Hubbard, David Bancroft. Samuel CttT' tis, Jonathan Stone. Benjamin Flagg, Josiah Picrn-.
12
90 RESOLUTIONS. [1774.
setting aside the inconsistency of the town's dismissing persons who had arrogated the character of a committee, and consequently [were in fact] not chosen by the town, they well knew that the town had not been requested, either to dismiss persons styling themselves a committee, or those gentlemen so denominated by the town : neither was there an article in the warrant for calling said meeting, to dis- miss any persons whatever from office, nor so much as proposed in the meeting. There is also a malignity cast upon committees of correspondence in general through the continent, and in particular against the committee chosen by this town, without any reason as- signed for the same, but the opinion of the protesters, too slender a foundation to asperse the character of town officers upon, and [they] have endeavored to insinuate into the minds of the public, that the men of which committees of correspondence are composed through the province, are a parcel of unprincipled knaves, who are endeavoring to destroy the lives and property of the peaceable and well disposed, and also alleging that it is by these committees that papers have been lately published, and [that they have] wickedly tempted all persons to sign them, which they call an unlawful combination, tending di- rectly to civil war and rebellion. This town knows of no such pa- per : if it be the non-consumption agreement, entered and entering into through this and the neighboring provinces, that is pointed at, we take it upon us to say, that we much approve of the same, that if strictly adhered to, it will save our money, promote industry, fru- gality, and our own manufactures, and tend directly to prevent civil war and rebellion.
' After offering their opinions of mobs, riots, tumults, and disorder, and the proceedings of the town, so cruelly and with such temerity, as shows them to be destitute of that humanity and christian charity which we in all duty owe one to the other, they brand all that do not join with them, with the characters of enemies of the king and coun- try, violators of all law and civil liberty, the malevolent disturbers of society, subverters of the established constitution, and enemies to mankind. And as it appears by the said publication, that the same is recorded in the town book, notwithstanding the many aspersions it contains against the people of this town, and without the liberty or knowledge of the town ; therefore,
' Voted, that the town clerk do, in presence of the town, obliterate, erase, or otherwise deface the said recorded protest, and the names thereto subscribed, so that it may become utterly illegible and unin- telligible.
1774.] RESOL1 riONS '.t|
'Voted, that the method taken by the leaders, in protesting, and procuring a very considerable number to sign the protest, who are
not voters in the town, we tlnnk was ;[ piece of low cunning, to de- ceive the public, and make their party] appear more numerous and formidable than it was in reality.
' Voted, that the signers of said protest, on some of whom the town lias conferred man) favors, and consequent!] might expect their kindest and hot services, be deemed unworthy of holding any town office or honor, until they have made satisfaction for their of- fence to the acceptance of the town, Lwhich oughl to be made as public as the protesl was.
' Voted, that as it is highly needful that those of the signers who have not made satisfaction as aforesaid, should he known in future, it is therefore necessary that their names should be inserted as fol- lows, viz.
James Putnam, Isaac Moore, Joshua Johnson.
William Paine, John Walker,
'Voted, that the following admonition be given to the town clerk.
' Mr. Clark Chandler : Whereas, this town, at their annual meet- ing in March last, as well as for several years before, honored you by choosing you for their clerk, relying on your fidelity, that you would act for the honor of the town, and find themselves^much disappoint- ed, by your conduct in recording on the town hook, the scandalous protest of William Elder and others, filled with falsehood and reflec- tions against the town, we have just reason to fear von was actuated in the matter by unjustifiable motives, and, at this time, exhort von to be more circumspect in the execution of [the duties of] your office, and never give this town the like trouble, of calling a town meeting again, on such an occasion. The town wish to see your behavior such as may restore you to their former good opinion of you.
' Whereas, the committee of correspondence for this town, willing- ly laid all their proceedings before the town, when requested, and it thereby appears, notwithstanding the ungenerous abuse heaped on them by the protesters, that they have acted with care, diligence and caution, therefore, voted, that the thanks of this town be given to the committee for their circumspection, and that they be directed to go on, with their [former] vigilance, in corresponding with the other committees of the several towns in this province.'
These resolves were directed to be entered of record, and for- warded for publication in the Massachusetts Gazette and Spy. They
92 NON-CONSUMPTION COVENANT. [1774.
did not appear in the latter newsprint till Dec. 8. From an ac- knowledgement in the paper of Sept. 13, it appears that the recan- tation of forty three of the protesters had been received by the pub- lisher, the late Isaiah Thomas, but was not inserted for want of room, nor was it afterwards placed in his columns.
In pursuance of this vote, the clerk, in open town meeting, and in the presence of the inhabitants, blotted out the obnoxious record, and the' work of the pen in defacing its own traces not being satis- factory, his fingers were dipped in ink and drawn over the pro- test. The pages still remain in the town book, so utterly illegible, as to bear full testimony of the fidelity of the recording officer, in the execution of the singular and unwelcome duty of expunging, thus imposed upon him.
The selectmen were appointed as a committee, to receive any ar- ticles of provisions the inhabitants should contribute, for the poor of the town of Boston.
A committee ! was raised, to offer the following covenant, for sub- scription, to the inhabitants of the town.
' As the distresses of the people, loudly call on [all] inhabitants of this province, to use their utmost efforts to free themselves from that bondage intended for them by the late acts of the British Par- liament, and, as we apprehend, nothing will better conduce to such purpose than the following agreement : we, whose names are hereunto subscribed, promise, we will not ourselves, or any for or under us, di- rectly or indirectly, buy or cause to be bought, and as far as we are able by advice and command, will prevent our children or servants from buying, any article, except drugs and medicines, that may be im- ported into this, or any other province or colony on this continent, that was manufactured, or came from Great Britain or Ireland, or that may come from thence to the West Indies, or any where else, that may be imported into this, or any other colony or province on the continent, from and after the first day of September next, nor buy any article made or brought as aforesaid of any person whatsoever, who shall not be furnished with an oath, in writing, taken before a magistrate in the town where they dwell, or that next adjoining, that the articles shewn, were bona fide imported before the said first day of Septem- ber : and we, in the same manner as aforesaid, for ourselves, our children and servants, promise we will not buy of any chapman or
1 Aug. 22. Jonathan Stone, David Bancroft, Josiali Pierce, Jonathan Rice, David Chadwick.
1774.] COI ENANT wn oath 93
pedler any articles whatever. These promises and agreements we religiously promise to observe, in a sacred manner, until the |><>rt of Boston shall be opened as usual, the troops withdrawn, the castle restored, all revenue acts annulled, all pensions u, governors, judges,
&c. cease, and in one word, until the liberties of this people are restored and so secured, that every one may have legal security for the safety of his person and property, and again feel, and he, in the full enjoyment of those blessings which we arc entitled to as men, and those rights and privileges which the charter of this prov- ince gives us right to expect, demand and Btrive for. And to deter- mine when this is done, the majority of the signers then alive shall determine and be the judges.'
This paper was not only subscribed, but a solemn oath for its performance was taken in the following form.
' In the presence of the Great God, that Being who liveth forever and ever, who knoweth the secrets of all hearts, we acknowledge that the agreement here subscribed is our free act, and solemnly swear that we will, by His grace assisting us, strictly perform the same, in its true and literal meaning, without any equivocation or mental reservation. So help us God.'
Oct. 25, A committee of inspection l was elected, to examine, from time to time, the merchants and traders of the town, and prevent their offering for sale, any goods imported or purchased contrary to the spirit and intent of the ' solemn league and covenant,' as it was styled.
The system of coercive measures, adopted as vindictive expedients for the punishment of past misdemeanors and the suppression of fu- ture opposition, had roused the free spirit of the country into intense action. The practical operation of the celebrated bills, following each other in rapid succession, for the imposition of duties, closing the port of Boston, altering the charter, creating officers of the crown independent of the people, transporting persons accused for trial, prohibiting town meetings,2 and vesting the government of the province in the dependents of the king, aggravated the irritation
1 John Kelso, Nathan Baldwin, Ebenezer Lovell. 2 The provision was in the Regulating Bill, that no town meetings should be held without permission in writing from the governor or lieutenant governor, after August 1. 1771, except the annual meeting in March, for the election of municipal officers, and that in May, for the choice of representatives. Gordon, i. 230.
94 MANDAMUS COUNSELLORS. [1774.
and urged to acts of personal violence. The weight of public indig- nation fell on those appointed to oflices under the new acts, and they were soon compelled to lay aside their obnoxious honors.
Timothy Paine, Esq. had received a commission as one of the mandamus counsellors. High as was the personal regard and re- spect for the purity of private character of this gentleman, it was controlled by the political feeling of a period of excitement, and measures were taken to compel his resignation of a post, which was unwelcome to himself, but which he dared not refuse, when de- clining would have been construed as contempt of the authority of the king by whom it was conferred. The committee of correspon- dence summoned the friends of liberty in the neighboring towns to appear at Worcester, on the 22(1 of August. Companies, headed by their own officers, marched into the town in military order, but with- out arms, and formed in lines on the common before 7 o'clock of the morning. When reenforced by our own inhabitants the number ex- ceeded three thousand men. A committee, of two or three per- sons from each company, was delegated to wait on Mr. Paine and demand his resignation as counsellor. The representatives pro- ceeded to his residence and easily effected their object. A declar- ation was prepared and subscribed by him, expressing his sense of obligation to his fellow citizens, reluctance to oppose their wishes, regret for having been qualified for the new office, and a solemn promise that he would never exercise its powers. The committee returned to their constituents, who had moved from the common and extended their lines through Main street, from the court house to the meeting house. The acknowledgment was considered satis- factory : but the confirmation was required in the presence of the whole body. A sub-committee was commissioned to invite Mr. Paine's attendance. Requests from such a source were not to be declined, and he accompanied the gentlemen who delivered the message.
The signers of the protest, had been informed by the committee of correspondence, that apology for their opposition would be re- quired from them. Forty three of them had met the evening pre- vious to this visitation at the King's Arms tavern,1 and having sub- scribed an acknowledgement of error and repentance, and received an instrument purporting to restore them to favor, and ensuring protection, they had mixed in the crowd, unsuspicious of any act of
1 This tavern was then kept by Mrs. Sternes, with the royal arms as the sign. It stood on the site of the Worcester House.
1774.] ALARM. [).>
insult. Those who appeared, were collected bj the revolutionary magistrates, and on the arrival of Mr. Paine, were escorted through the ranks, halting at every fevt paces i<> listen to the reading of their several confessions of political transgression. Having thus passed
in review, and suffered Mime wanton outrage of feeling, in addition to the humiliation of the procession, they were dismu
The objects of assembling being accomplished, the majority of the convention disbanded and retired to their bomes. A party of about five hundred, with the Worcester committee of correspon- dence, repaired to Rutland, to ask the resignation of Col. .Murray, another of the new council. Before their arrival, the} were joined by nearly a thousand men from the western towns. A committee visited his house, and being informed of his absence from home, re- ported the fact. This was voted unsatisfactory, and a mosl strict searcli was instituted. After convincing themselves of the truth of the representation made by the family, they addressed a letter to Col. Murray, informing him that unless he published the resignation of his office in the Boston newspapers, before the 10th of September, they would wait on him again.
Some of the royalists of Worcester, alarmed at these proceedings, and fearful of danger to themselves, when those who had been most respected were treated with indignity, retired to Stone House hill, within the boundary of Holden, with their arms, and made some addi- tions to the natural defences of the situation they selected, which af- terwards received the appellation of the Tory Fort. They carried such provisions as could conveniently be collected to this retreat, and derived some supplies from friends, expecting safety from con- cealment, rather than from capacity to resist storm or seige. They remained two or three weeks in their rocky fortress; when their ap- prehensions had subsided, they returned.
A band of the king's troops having made an excursion by night up the Mystic river and carried off a quantity of gunpowder deposit- ed in the arsenal in the northwest part of Charlestown, the intelli- gence spread rapidly through the country, and was magnified as it went, into a report, that the soldiers on the neck had slain the inhab- itants, and that the fleet and army were firing on Boston. The ef- fect was electric. The bells rang out from the spires, beacon fires flamed from the hills : alarm guns echoed through the villages, and the people rose spontaneously on the summons. It is stated in the prints of the day that before the next sun went down, 6000 men from the county of Worcester were on their way to fight or fall with their
<)<> PREPARATIONS FOR WAR. [1774.
countrymen if need were, and the venerable Dr. Stiles records in his diary, that the succeeding morning would have shone on an array of 30,000 men concentrated at the point of supposed danger, had not their movements been countermanded. The alarm reached Worces- ter in the afternoon. The committee of corespondence immediately despatched messengers with warrants to the military to assemble. The early part of the night was spent in changing pewter platters and leaden window frames into musket bullets, and in preparation for immediate engagement. As soon as these arrangements could be completed, a large company marched, and reached Shrewsbury, before the return of messengers from Boston assured them their fur- ther advance was unnecessary.
It has been supposed the occasion had been seized to try the tem- per of the people and ascertain the extent and strength of the resolu- tion of resistance. The highways, thronged with citizens bearing such weapons as the enthusiasm of the hour supplied, are described as presenting scenes the counterparts to the display of the military establishment of the Dutch dynasty of New York so ingeniously delin- eated by its faithful annalist. ' There came men without officers and officers without men, long fowling pieces and short blunderbusses, muskets of all sorts and sizes, some without Jocks, others without stocks, and many without lock, stock, or barrel ; cartridge boxes, shot belts, powder horns, swords, hatchets, snickersees, crow bars, and broom sticks, all mingled together.' Yet such was the spirit animating the community, that men who had never seen the tents of an enemy, left the plough in the furrow and the sickle in the harvest, and went out, without discipline, equipments, or munitions, to en- counter the trained veterans of foreign lands. Ample evidence was afforded of stern determination to meet even the terrible appeal to war, and a pledge was given of the support every town might hope from its neighbors, in extremity.
One beneficial result from this excitement, was the admonition of the necessity of better preparation for the result which it was now ap- parent was hastening. On the 4th of July, the Political society had subscribed to purchase two pounds of gunpowder for each of its mem- bers : and, in August, had voted a covenant for the signature of each citizen, to bind him to provide arms and ammunition. The compa- ny of minute men were enrolled, under the command of Capt. Timo- thy Bigelow, and met, each evening, after the labors of the day were past, for drill and martial exercise. Muskets were procured for their armament from Boston. Four cannon were purchased by the town.
1774. J COURTS SUSPENDED. CONVENTION 'J7
secretly conveyed out of the metropolis,1 and mounted at an expense of £38. A train of artillery was organized under Capt. Edward
Crafts.
The purity of the administration of justice having been corrupted by the act of Parliament, it was resolved that its tribunals should he sus- pended. A body of about six thousand nun assembled on the invi- tation of the committee of correspondence, on the Cth of September, and blocked up the passage to the Court House. The Justices of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas were compelled to make a dec- laration in writing, that they would not attempt to exercise their au- thority, or appear officially, in opposition to the will of the people. The Court, thus interrupted, never resumed the exercise of its func- tions. A term was commenced, but immediately adjourned, with- out transacting business. No trials were had, or judgments render- ed, until July, 1770, when the courts were again opened under the new government,
A convention of all the committees of correspondence, was held, in Worcester, on the 21st day of September. This assembly as- sumed legislative powers, and in the interregnum of royal prerogative and constitutional authority, its orders were obeyed as laws.
The first object which engaged the attention of this county con- gress, in considering the situation of public affairs, and devising measures for the common safety, was the organization of the militia. It was voted and recommended, that all subordinate officers surrender up the commissions given by the royal governors, to their colonels, and those of higher rank publish their resignations in the newspa- pers. A new arrangement of the military force was directed to be made, by division into regiments : the first, to include Worcester, Leicester, Holden, Spencer and Paxton ; the primary elections of company officers to be made by the soldiers : and those who should be chosen in this manner, to meet and designate the regimental staff. One third of the men, able to do duty, between the ages of eighteen and sixty, were to be enrolled, formed into companies, and be ready to march at a minute's warning, and committees were to be elected to supply their wants should they be called to service.
A standing committee of correspondence of the convention was formed, by the union of the committees of Worcester and Leicester,
1 £2 12s. lOd. were voted to 3Ir. Jonathan Rice, for his trouble and expenses in pet- ting these cannon out of Boston ; £2 to Jonathan Stone for similar services: to Edward Knight, £ 1 6s. 3d : and to William Dana and Samuel Whitney, £ 1 13s. 4d. each, for transportation from Brookline.
13
98 COUNTY CONVENTION. [1774.
and the addition of Thomas Denny, Joseph Henshaw, and Joshua Bigelow, and authorized to call meetings, communicate with towns in the county, and persons abroad, and present subjects for considera- tion.
Civil officers holding commissions in June, were directed to con- tinue in the discharge of their duties, excepting Timothy Buggies, John Murray, and James Putnam.
It -was voted, ' as the opinion of this body, that the sheriff do adjourn the Superior Court to be held this day, and that he retain such as are or may be committed as criminals in his custody, until they have a trial.'
' Resolved : That as the ordinary courts of justice will be stayed, in consequence of the late arbitrary and oppressive acts of the Brit- ish parliament, we would earnestly recommend to every inhabitant of this county, to pay his just debts as soon as possible, without dis- pute or litigation ; and if any disputes concerning debts or trespass- es should arise, which cannot be settled by the parties, we recom- mend it to them, to submit all such causes to arbitration ; and if the parties, or either of them shall refuse to do so, they ought to be con- sidered as cooperating with the enemies of the country '
It was recommended to the several towns, to instruct their rep- resentatives, to refuse to be sworn by any officers except such as were constitutionally appointed : to decline acting with any others not conforming to the charter : and not to attend at Boston, while garrisoned with troops and invested by fleets : but should any thing prevent their acting with a governor and council, appointed accord- ing to the charter, to repair to the town of Concord, and there join in a provincial Congress.
The towns were requested to provide and mount field pieces, ob- tain proper ammunition, and put themselves in a posture of defence.
Sheriff Chandler 1 had presented an address from the Justices of the Court of Common Pleas, at its June session, congratulating Gen. Gage on his appointment as first magistrate of the province, lamenting the disturbed condition of the times, bearing testimony against all riots, combinations, and unwarrantable resolves; denoun- cing the circulation of inflammatory papers by order of certain per- sons, calling themselves a committee of correspondence for the town of Worcester, which they represent as stimulating the people to
1 The Court appointed Hon. Timothy Ruggles, Jolin Chandler, Esq., James Putnam, Ahel Willard, and Gardnci Chandler, Esq'rs. to wait upon His Excellency Gen. Gage, and present this Address. It was delivered however by the Sheriff.
1774.] SHERIFF CHANDLER. 99
break off all connexions with Greal Britain, and having a tendency to alienate the affections of the people from tin' mother country, and to create discord and confusion ; concluding with the assurance of their exertions t" discountenance such proceedings, to support the execution of the laws, and render the administration successful and prosperous. The convention voted, ' to take n<>ti<-e of .Mr. Sheriff Chandler, for carrying an address to Gov. Gage,' and appointed a committee to wait on him and require his attendance. That gentle- inan presented himself before this remarkable body, whose jurisdic- tion seemed supreme, and with some hesitation subscribed the fol- lowing declaration.
' Whereas, the convention of committees have expressed their un- easiness to the sheriff of this county, now present before them, for presenting with others, an address to Gov. Gage, he frankly declares it was precipitately done by him : that he is sorry for it, and dis- claims an intention to do any thing against the minds of the inhab- itants of this county ; and had he known it would have given offence, he would not have presented that address. Gardner Chandler.'
A copy of the resolves of the convention, certified by the clerk, Col. William Henshaw, was published in the Massachusetts Spy.1
Resolutions adopted at an earlier session were copied into the London journals, as evidence of the feelings of the people. The editors ubjoined the significant inquiries, ' doth this look like submis- sion ? doth it carry the face of acquiescence V
The royalist party had long before been prostrated in this town. Most of the protesters had been induced to make submission. Some who refused, were waylaid and cruelly beaten. A few remained obstinate, and finally retired into exile. Others, unable to separate themselves from their friends and country, and to sacrifice all they
1 From the Massachusetts Spy of Sept. 1 j. ' We have received from Worcester, the recantation of John Chandler Esq. and forty two others of the protesters against the proceedings of that town, which gave such just cause of offence to the public ; as also the acknowledgment of six justices of that county, for having aspersed the people in an address to Gen. Gage. Want of room prevents their being inserted in this paper.*
These recantations were extorted by a force too powerful to admit of refusal. Re- sistance would have been martyrdom.
Some of the confessions, published in the prints of the day, are expressed with ludi- crous energy. For example :
' Whereas, I, the subscriber, signed an address to the late Governor Hutchinson, I wish the Devil had had said address before I had seen it. Marblehead, Oct. 24, 1774.
John Prentice.'
100 ROYALIST SUBMISSIONS. [1774.
held dear, were persecuted into compliance with the public will, and at length purchased safety for person and property by soliciting for- giveness in terms more humiliating in proportion to the time it was deferred. The records of the' town afford a specimen, Oct. 5, 1774, of the self abasement of these tardy * recantations.'
' To the inhabitants of the town of Worcester : Gentlemen : Where- as, I, the subscriber, with a number of others, signed a protest, against the proceedings of the town, and the same was published in the Boston Gazette of June last, wherein the inhabitants were un- justly reflected upon in general, and also the whole body of commit- tees of correspondence throughout this whole province, for which I am heartily sorry, and ask the forgiveness of all the inhabitants of the town, and the justly offended public, and also for any other of- fence that I may have given by any means, whether in word or ac- tion. 1 heartily request your acceptance of this sincere acknowl- edgment, and that if either of the inhabitants hath any other charge against me for any particular of my conduct, that he would make it known, that I may have an opportunity of giving christian satisfac- tion, which I ever shall stand ready to afford. Witness my hand.
William Campbell.'
Joshua Bigelow was elected, Oct. 4, representative to the Gener- al Court, to be held in Salem, and Timothy Bigelow delegate to the provincial Congress, to assemble at Concord. The former was di- rected, not to recede from the most rigid virtue in recovering and defending the rights and liberties of the people ; to refuse to be sworn by any officer not appointed according to the charter, or to act with any branch of the legislature not constituted and support- ed in conformity with its provisions: to decline attending in Boston, while it should be invested with armies and fleets ; and if prevented from acting with a constitutional Governor and Council, to repair to Concord, and join the provincial Congress. The instructions to the latter, require, that he should endeavor, in the most peaceable man- ner, to obtain redress of grievances ; to procure the opening of the port of Boston ; restoration of free trade ; removal of the king's troops ; resignation of the command of the fortress at the south end of Bos- ton ; prohibition from erecting entrenchments by the royal forces ; restitution of the military stores forcibly taken from the arsenals and magazines ; the resignation of the mandamus counsellors, or their impeachment as traitors : the mission of an agent to Canada to treat
1774.] INSTRUCTIONS 101
with its inhabitants, and express grateful recognition of friendly do- nations; and the appointment of a commander in chief for the whole militia. Strict observance of the advice of the Continental Con- gress was enjoined.
It is said, ' If all infractions of our rights, by acta ol the British Parliament be not redressed, and we restored to the full enjoyment of all our privileges, contained in the charter of this province, grant- ted, by their late majesties, King William and Queen Mary, to a punctilio, before the day of your meeting, then, and in that case, you are to consider the people of this province as absolved, on their part, from the obligation therein contained, and to all intents and purposes reduced to a state of nature : and you are to exert yourself in devisino- ways and means to raise from the dissolution of the old constitution, as from the ashes of the Phenix, a new form, wherein all officers shall be dependent on the suffrages of the people for their existence as such, whatever unfavorable constructions our en- emies may put upon such procedure. The exigency of our public affairs leaves us no other alternative from a state of anarchy or sla- very.'1
A more explicit declaration of independence can scarcely be found in the splendid document, which in 177G, in more glowing words proclaimed the dissolution of all ties of colonial relation.
Gov. Gage, alarmed by the spirit of the instructions, and the stor- my aspect of the times, issued his proclamation, Sept. 28, declaring, that it was expedient, the session of the General Court summoned for the fifth of October, should not then be held ; discharging the members from attendance at that time ; and announcing his intention not to meet the assembly. The current of popular feeling was not thus to be diverted. The representatives elect, convened at Salem, resolved themselves into a provincial Congress, elected John Han- cock, President and Benjamin Lincoln, Secretary, and immediately adjourned to Concord.
The Committee of Worcester county waited on Gen. Gage, Oct. 20, and presented a well written remonstrance against the oppressive acts of the ministry, to which, they say, ' this people are determined, by the Divine favor, never to submit, but with their lives.' The military governor returned a very brief and unsatisfactory answer.
The patriotic resistance of invasions of liberty was not confined
1 These instructions were reported by David Bancroft, Jonathan Stone, Nathan Raid- win and Stephen Salisbury, They have been printed at length in the appendix to the address of the Hon. John Davis, at the dedication of the town hall, 1825.
102 BLACKSMITH'S CONVENTION. [1774-
to municipal corporations or general assemblies of citizens. The fervid enthusiasm, pervading the whole fabric of society, manifested itself in varied forms. Meetings of artisans and craftsmen, as dis- tinct bodies, were held, and spirited resolutions adopted. One spec- imen, selected from many, will afford example of their proceedings. A convention of the Blacksmiths of the County, was held at Worcester, Sept. 8, and continued by adjournment to Nov. 8, 1774. Ross Wv.man, of Shrewsbury, presided, and Timothy Bigelow, of Worcester, was clerk. The result of their session, subscribed by forty three members, was widely distributed in handbills. It was as follows :
' Whereas, at a meeting of the delegates from the counties of Wor- cester, Middlesex and Essex, with the committee of correspondence of the town of Boston, in behalf of the county of Suffolk, holden at Boston, the 20th day of August, 1774, it was resolved : That all such officers or private persons as have given sufficient proof of their en- mity to the people and constitution of this country, should be held in contempt, and that those who are connected with them ought to separate from them ; laborers to shun their vineyards, merchants, husbandmen and others to withhold their commerce and supplies :
' In compliance therefore, to a resolution of so respectable a body as aforesaid, so reasonable in its contents, and so necessary at this distressing day of trial, we, the subscribers, being deeply impressed with a sense of our duty to our country, paternal affection for our children and unborn millions, as also for our personal rights and lib- erties, solemnly covenant, agree and engage, to and with each other, that from and after the first day of December, 1774, we will not, ac- cording to the best of our knowledge, any or either of us. nor any person by our direction, order, or approbation, for or under any or either of us, do or perform, any Blacksmith's work, or business of any kind whatever, for any person or persons whom we esteem ene- mies to this country, commonly known by the name of tories, viz. all counsellors in this province appointed by mandamus who have not publicly resigned said office, also every person who addressed governor Hutchinson at his departure from this province, who has not publicly recanted, also every officer exercising authority by virtue of any commission they hold tending to carry any of the late oppressive acts of parliament into execution in America: and in par- ticular, we will not do any work for Tim. Ruggles of Hardwick, John Murray of Rutland, and James Putrnan of Worcester, Esq'rs ; nor
177 1] BLACKSMITH'S CONVENTION lu:{
for any person or persona cultivating, tilling, improving, dressing, hiring or occupying an] of their lands <>r tenements. Also we agree to refuse our work <>f every kind as aforesaid, to all and i person or persons, who shall uol have signed the non-consumption agreement, or have entered into ;i Bimil ir contract or engagement, or ih. it sh ill not Btrictlj conform i" the association or covenant agreed upon and signed bj the Continental Congress lately convened at Philadelphia.
1 We further agree that we will not do any work lor any mechan- ic, tradesman, laborer, or others, that shall work lor, or in an] ways, or by any means whatever^ aid, assist, or promote the business, or pecuniary advantage, pleasures, or profits of an] of the said enemies to this count!) .
'Resolved, That all lawful ways and means ought to be adopted by the whole body of the people of this province, to discountenance all our inveterate political enemies in manner as aforesaid. There- fore, we earnestly recommend it to all denominations of artificers, that they call meetings of their respective craftsmen in their several counties, as soon as may be, and enter into associations and agree- ments for said purposes, and that all husbandmen, laborers, &x. do the like : And that whoever shall be guilty of any breach of any or either of the articles or agreements, be held by us in contempt, as enemies to our common rights.'
A volume might be collected from the instructions, resolutions, memorials, and addresses spread on the records of the town , and scattered through the documents of its committees, Conventions, and political associations. The same decision, intelligence, and in- dependence, woven into the papers which have been copied, were continually embodied in language, always forcible and energetic, usually simple and correct, often eloquent and elegant. Many of the productions of later periods were marked by distinguished abili- ty. It is only possible to select a small portion from the great mass of materials : the omissions are less to be regretted, as action soon gave stronger illustration of feeling, than could be derived from written declarations. In the primary movements of the revolution, Worcester was the central point from which animating influences were diffused over the surrounding country. If the first impulses were derived from the metropolis of the state, the motion was com- municated and wonderfully accelerated by the vigorous exertion of the capital of the county. If the impressions made by that capital
104 DEPOSITE OF STORES. [J 774.
on her neighbors, were less distinct during the progress, than at the commencement of the struggle, it was not because the flame of pat- riotism burned less bright, but that the most ardent of her citizens laid down the pen to take up the sword, and the efforts to produce union and excite resolution in the assemblies of the people, were exchanged for demonstrations of their practical effects in the camp and on the battle field.
Towards the close of the year, efforts were made to establish a de- pot of provisions and munitions of war, at Worcester. Beef, pork, grain, and flour, were collected from the inhabitants, and probably from other sources, as subscriptions for the purpose were made by some of the patriotic leaders in Boston. A quantity of lead was obtained, and some of the committee of correspondence exhibited so much zeal, as to solicit the gift of the broad pewter platters of family use, to be converted into bullets. As compared with the col- lections which gave to Concord the glory of the visit of the British troops, on the nineteenth of April following, the deposites here were very inconsiderable.
CHAPTER VII.
1775 to 1783. American Revolution. Preparations for war. Instructions, 1775. Sur- vey of British officers. Commencement of hostilities. Alarm of April 19. March of minute men. Tories disarmed. Memorial of officers. Royalist confessions. Clark Chandler. British prisoners. Poor of Boston. Military requisitions. Fourth of July, 1776. Regulation of prices. Detail of levies of troops, contributions, exertions, and proceedings, during the war. County conventions. Constitution. Excise. Peace restored. Proceedings as to refugees.
On the commencement of the year 1775, was a period of intense interest. The difficulties between the mother country and the colo- nies were fast hastening to a decision by the appeal to battle. The whigs, who might at the outset have been contented with the redress of grievances, and by reasonable concessions, now looked forward to the accomplishment of independence. The royalists, driven by the course of events into a position from which they could not recede, were separated from their countrymen. The inflexible perseverance of the ministry left no hope of conciliation. The language of mod-
1775.] INSTRUCTS 1<)">
oration was still on the lip> of men, but Btern determination in their hearts. It was like the pause on the eve of fight, when the signal for engagement is impatiently awaited.
Preparations for the conflid were actively, though silently made [n January, 1775, it was recommended to the companj of minute men, to exercise frequently and perfect themselves in discipline, and payment was promised for their services. Efforts were strenuously
made to procure a Bupply of arms and nitions. The collectors of
taxes were instructed, as all public moneys oughttobe appropriated for the greatest benefit, and the Provincial Congress had appointed Henry Gardiner, Esq. receiver general, to pay over to him .-ill hums which might come to their hands from assi ssments, and il was voted, to indemnify them from the consequences of ohediencc to this in- junction.
A committee of inspection was elected, to carry into direct exe- cution the resolves of the Continental Congress against the con- sumption of* teas and the importation of foreign goods.
The instructions : to Timothy Bigelow, reelected delegate to the Provincial Congress, attest the reluctance which was felt to hecome aggressors. After commenting on the violations of rights, and so- liciting ' the advice of the general Congress, as to what measures are most proper for the province to adopt respecting civil govern- ment, which at this day we are deprived of,' they say, ' and we de- termine to rest quietly in this situation, however perplexing, agreea- bly to the recommendation of our late Continental Congress, until the operation of their petition to his majesty he known : excepting the commencement of hostilities against ns, should require the adopt- ing a form of civil government for the defence of our lives and prop- erty. And under such exigency, you are to conduct yourself ac- cordingly, and endeavor that the best form possible be adopted, for the support of good order and the liberties of the people, which, we think, make every servant of the public dependent upon the suffra- ges of the people for their authority.'
The severity of the winter prevented any movements of the British troops from Boston, to repress the revolutionary spirit manifesting itself in military arrangements, as well as in municipal resolutions. Preparations were, however, made for the march of the forces, in the spring, into the counties of Worcester and Middlesex, to inflict vengeance on those styled rebels. Capt. Brown of the 53d, and En-
1 Reported by Nathan Baldwin and Jonathan Stone, Jan. 24, 177.x
14
106 SURVEY BY BRITISH OFFICERS. [1775.
sign De Bcrnicrc, of the 10th regiment, were ordered by Gen. Gage, to make an expedition, examine the roads, note the distances from town to town, sketch the positions of the streams, heights, passes, and posts, and collect such topographical information as would be useful for the advance of a detachment. The report of their journey, made by the latter officer, was found after the evacua- tion of the metropolis.1 They left Boston disguised as countrymen, without uniform, and passed through Cambridge, Watertown, and by Framingham, to Shrewsbury, on the old road. The following is the account of their visit in Worcester.
* We came into a pass, about four miles from Worcester, where we were obliged to stop to sketch. We arrived at Worcester at five o'clock in the evening, very much fatigued : the people in the town did not take notice of us as we came in, so that we got safe to Mr. Jones' tavern :2 on our entrance he seemed a little sour, but it wore off by degrees, and we found him to be our friend, which made us very happy : we dined and supped without any thing happening out of the common run. The next day, being Sunday, we could not think of travelling, as it was contrary to the custom of the country : nor dare we stir out until the evening, because of meeting: and nobody is allowed to walk the streets, during divine service, without being taken up and examined: so that, thinking we could not stand the examination so well, we thought it prudent to stay at home, where we wrote and corrected our sketches. The landlord was very attentive to us, and on our asking what he could give us for breakfast, he told us, tea, or any thing else we chose ; that was an open confession what he was : but for fear he might be imprudent, we did not tell him who we were, though we were certain he knew it. In the evening, we went round the town, and on all the hills that command it, sketched every thing we desired, and returned to the town without being seen. That evening, about eight o'clock, the landlord came in and told us there were two gentlemen who wanted to speak with us. We asked him who they were ? On which he said, we would be safe in their company : we said we did not doubt that, as we hoped two gentlemen, who travelled merely to see the country and stretch our limbs, as we had lately come from sea, could not meet with any thing else but civility, when we behaved ourselves properly. He told us he would come in again in a little
1 This paper was first printed in 1779, and republished in 2 Mass. Hist. Col. iv. 204. 2 A few rods south of the Old South Church.
1775.] SURVEY BY BRITISH OFFICERS. 107
time, and perhaps we would change our minds, and lefl as. An hour after he returned, and told as the gentlemen were gone, hut
had begged him tolci us know, as the] knew us to be officers of the army, that all their friends of government at Petersham were disarmed l>\ the rebels, and thai they threatened to do the same at Worcester in a very little time : he sat and talked politics, and drank a bottlr of wine with us ; and also told us, thai none I "it a few friends to government knew we were in town : we said, it was very in- different to us whether they did or not, though we thought very di£ ferently : however, as we imagined we had staid long enough in that town, we resolved to set off at day break the next morning, and get to Framingham. Accordingly, off we Bet, after getting some roast beef and brandy from our landlord, which was very necessary on a I0112; march, and prevented us going into houses where, perhaps, they might he too inquisitive. We took a road we had not come, and that led us to the pass four miles from Worcester. We went on un- ohserved by any one, until we passed Shrewsbury, when we were overtaken by a horseman, who examined us very attentively, and es- pecially me, whom he looked at from head to foot, as if he wanted to know me again : after he had taken his observations, he rode off pretty hard, and took the Marlborough road, but, by good luck, we took the Framingham road again, to be more perfect in it, as we thought it would be the one made use of.'
The horseman was Capt. Timothy Bigelow,sent by the committee of correspondence to observe the officers, whose martial bearing, notwithstanding their caution and disguise, betrayed their military character. Having followed the Framingham road to its inter- section with the highway through Sudbury, they turned back to Marlborough. There they were in great danger of being seized and detained : but, by the aid of the friends of government, they es- caped and reached Boston in safety. Soon after, they explored the the road to Concord and the country round.
It was, unquestionably, the purpose of Gen. Gage, to have march- ed troops to Worcester, to capture the stores reported to be collected here in great quantities, although really inconsiderable in amount. A plan of the village, with the outline of military works, and notes in- dicating the position of two regiments, was seen by a citizen of the town, * among the papers left by the British after the evacuation.
1 The late Isaiah Thomas. An extensive encampment, with a fortress, was projected on Chandler hill, the eminence commanding the town on the east.
108 MARCH OF MINUTE MEN. [1775.
Possibly it might have been proposed to canton a part of the army in the interior. Whatever disposition of troops had been contempla- ted, tbe result of the April movements, prevented the execution.
In March, the company of minute men were directed to train half a day in each week : payment of one shilling was allowed to each for this service, and a penalty provided, equal in amount, for ab- sence. This company had met almost daily for mouths. When the woather permitted, they paraded on the common, or occupied the streets. In the storms of winter, they were drilled in some hall. Under the instruction of Capt. Bigelow, they had attained great pro- ficiency in military science, and when afterwards mustered at Cam- bridge, received commendations from the superior officers, for good discipline and celerity of evolution. Captain Bigelow was soon pro- moted, and was succeeded in the command by Lieutenant Hubbard. When new enlistments were made, this company was virtually dis- banded, although the men served in the new corps which were formed.
Their services were soon to be required for the defence of the ^J country. Before noon, on the 19th of April, an express came to the town, shouting as he passed through the street at full speed, ' to arms ! to arms ! the war is begun !' His white horse, bloody with spurring, and dripping with sweat, fell exhausted by the church. Another was instantly procured, and the tidings went on.1 The bell rang out the alarm, cannon were fired, and messengers sent to every part of the town to collect the soldiery. As the news spread, the imple- ments of husbandry were thrown by in the field, and the citizens left their homes with no longer delay than to seize their arms. In a short time, the minute men were paraded on the green, under Capt. Timothy Bigelow ; after fervent prayer by the Rev. Mr. Maccarty, they took up the line of march. They were soon followed by as many of the trainbands as could be gathered, under Capt. Benja- min Flagg. On that day, 110 men marched from the town of Wor- cester for Concord. Intelligence of the retreat of the enemy, met them after they advanced, and they turned towards Boston. When Capt. Bigelow reached the ancient Howe tavern, in Sudbury, he hal- ted to rest his men. Capt. Benjamin Flagg, who had commenced
1 The passage of the messenger of war, mounted on his white steed, and gathering the population to battle, made vivid impression on memory. The tradition of his ap- pearance is preserved in many of our villages. In the animated description of the aged, it seems like the representation of death on the pale horse careering through the land with his terrific summons to the grave.
1775.]
MINUTE MEN AND Mil. II I V
lO'.t
his march an hour or two later, came up, and insisting on push- ing forward without loss of time, both officers moved on t>> Cam- bridge.
The rolls of these soldiers of patriotism hare fortunately been pre- served in the office of the Secretary of State, u here they wen return- ed iii compliance with a resolution of the Provincial Congress.1
The organization of the army, which had spontaneous!) collected at Cambridge, was immediatelj made. Timothy Bigelow was ap- pointed .Major in Col. Jonathan Ward's regiment. A companj <>f fifty nine men, enlisted on the -2 It h <>i" April, under Capt Jonas Hubbard, with John Smith and William Gates lieutenants, all from Worcc-ter.
Seventeen other soldiers joined the companies of Capts. Wash-
1 'Muster Roll of a company of minulc and militia men, which marched from the town of Worcester U> < 'amli/nlge, on die alarm. Am, I l!». ]',',.'>, under I lie command of Capt. Timothy Bigelow, in the regiment of which Arlemas Ward, Esf|. was colonel.'
Timothy Bigelow, captain; Jonas Hubbard, John Smith, lieutenants; William Gates, Nathaniel Harrington, John Kannaday, William Dana, Serjeants j John Pierce, Cyprian Stevens, Joel Smith, Nathaniel Heywood, corporals ; Eli Putnam, drummer j John Hair, Joseph Pierce, fifers.
Peter Boyden, Benjamin Bennet, David Chadwick, EliChapin,
Philip Donehue,
Benjamin Estabrook, Joseph Morse,
Josiah Flasrsr. Jonas Nichols
John Hall. Arlemas Knight, John Knower,
Ephraim .Miller. William Miles,
Joseph Ball, Daniel Willington,
a Stone, William Curtis,
Samuel Wesson, William Treadwell,
Thomas Nichols, Edward Swan,
Thomas Knight, Joseph Curtis,
Joseph Miller, Samuel Cook,
Samuel Harrington, Samuel Dunham, Phincas Flags', Josiah Pierce, Thomas Lyndc, Asa Ward,
Nathaniel Flagg, Solomon Smith, Joseph Cunningham, Elisha Fuller,
Josiah Gates, Ithamar Smith, Joshua Harrington, John Totman,
Thomas Gates, Phinehas Ward, Robert Crawford, Joseph Thorp,
Jonathan Gleason, Ebenezcr Wiswall, Moses Hamilton, George Walker, James Tavlor, James Wiser, Samuel Bennett, Thomas Drury,
William Griggs, Daniel Haven, Samuel Hcmmenway,Samucl Brown,
Gideon Griggs, William Trowbridge, William Walker, Adam Hcmmenway,
Edward Hair, John Cole, Nicholas Powers, Josiah Perry.
Asa Harrington,
'Muster Roll of Capt. Benjamin Flagg's company, in the Colony service, on the alarm, April V.K 1775.'
Benjamin Flagg, captain ; William McFarland, lieutenant ; Ebenezer Lovell, ensign j Daniel Beard, Benjamin Flagg, Jr. serjeants.
Eleazer Holbrook, Isaac Gleason, Gershom Holmes, Samuel Whitney,
Isaac Morse, Robert Smith, Simon Gates, Benjamin Whitney, Jr.
Abel Holbrook, Samuel Sturtevant, Isaac Knight, Josiah Harrington, Jr.
Jacob Holmes, Jr. Daniel Stearns, Ezekiel Howe, Jr. Samuel Whitney, Jr.
Simeon Duncan, Edward Crafts, Abel Flagg, Jonathan Stone,
Samuel Clark, Samuel Gates, Levi Houghton, Oliver Pierce.
Eleazer Hawes, David Richards,
110 ROYALISTS DISARMED. [1775.
burn, Fay, and Jones, in Cols. Ward's and Doolittle's regiments of infantry.
About twenty more were enrolled in the regiment of artillery un- der Col. Thomas Crafts: Edward Crafts served with the rank of captain ; William Dana, and William Treaduell were lieutenants in his company.
While the military strength of the town was arrayed in arms against the troops of the king, the committee of correspondence were dealing with the internal enemies of the country. On the intelli- gence of the commencement of the war, many of the protesters aban- doned their families, their homes and possessions, and took refuge in Boston. Those who remained were summoned before the revolu- tionary tribunal, on the 21st of April, and were compelled to give as- surances that they would not go out of the town without permission from the selectmen. On the 8th of May, Mr. William Campbell, charged with a violation of this agreement, and Mr. Samuel Paine, accused of circulating reports injurious to the honor of the provin- cial army, were arrested, and sent under guard to the Congress, at Watertown, by order of the town. An opportunity was offered to the royalists of redeeming their character by joining the American troops, ' under penalty of being considered unworthy of the future confidence of their countrymen, and willing to join an unlawful ban- ditti to murder and ravage.' As the proposal was not complied with, the committee issued their precept to the sheriff, to notify twenty nine persons to appear before them with their muskets and ammunition. The order was obeyed, and the remains of the party thus summoned, were disarmed, and then permitted to retire.
The negroes of Bristol and Worcester having petioned the com- mittee of correspondence of the latter county, to assist them in ob- taining their freedom, it was resolved, in a convention held at Wor- cester, June 14, ' That we abhor the enslaving of any of the human race, and particularly of the negroes in this country, and that when- ever there shall be a door opened, or opportunity present for any thing to be done towards the emancipation of the negroes, we will use our influence and endeavor that such a thing may be brought about.'
In September, 1775, l the company from Worcester, stationed at Dorchester, with the officers of Col. Ward's regiment, presented to the General Assembly at Watertown, a remonstrance against indul-
1 Mass. Spy, Oct. 20, 1775.
1775.] OF] KJER8' MEMORIAL. Ill
genres to the royalists, representing, 'thai as some of these vermin, or worse, emissaries of tyranny, are crawling oul of Boston to their forfeited seats in Worcester, there is reason to Buspect, thai ei- ther their expectations fail, and therefore they would gladly return to their former Beats and profits, until ;i more favorable opportunity presents to carry their evil machinations into execution, or, the) are contrh ing, by degrees, to Blide back to their .-<• its, and tin re to a- vnil themselves of the good opinion of the people, in order to play their parts, to divide and subdivide, or bj some method weaken our union, or to Minn some diabolical plan for the ministrj to save the supremacy of parliament, under some soli, sophistical reconcilia- tory terms.
'Wherefore, we, your humble memorialists, entreat your honors
not to sutler any ofthose who return, however humble and penitent thej may appear, to go at large, or return to their forineT seats, or even to be so far favored as to be confined within the limits of Wor- cester, but treat them as they deserve, enemies in a superlative de- gree; confine them close, and render them incapable of doing harm; or return them to Boston, their favorite asylum.J
The refugees in Boston addressed Gen. Gage, on his departure from the capital, in respectful terms. Among the subscribers of the paper presented, were some who had been among the most distin- guished citizens of Worcester.1
The dealings of the committee of correspondence with those who had incurred the displeasure of the patriotic, were of no gentle char- acter. One gentleman, having expressed censure of the doings of the revolutionary bodies, was compelled to make atonement. Hav- ing been summoned to appear for an investigation of his conduct, at its conclusion, he was requested to affix his signature to a paper pre- pared for the purpose, afterwards printed in the Spy. The proposal could not be resisted, and the following humiliating ' confession/ as it was termed, was subscribed, August 21, 177o.
' Whereas I, the subscriber, have from the perverseness of my wicked heart, maliciously and scandalously abused the characters and proceedings of the Continental and Provincial Congresses, the selectmen of the town, and the committees of correspondence in general :
1 Hon. John Chandler, Col. James Putnam, William Campbell, William Chandler, Samuel Paine, James Putnam, Jr. Adam Walker, Nathaniel Chandler, were those who subscribed the address from Worcester.
112 CLARK CHANDLER. [1775.
' I do hereby declare, that at the time of my doing it, I knew the said abuses to be the most scandalous falsehoods, and that I did it for the sole purpose of abusing those bodies of men, and affronting my townsmen, and all the friends of liberty throughout the conti- nent ; being now fully sensible of my wickedness and notorious falsehoods, humbly beg pardon of those worthy characters I have so scandalously abused, and of my countrymen in general, and desire this confession of mine may be printed in the American Oracle of Liberty, for three weeks successively.'
Having read ibis declaration of political sin in public, at the meet- ing house, and in the streets, and paid the expenses for printing, the confessor was liberated, and immediately fled to seek asylum from such administration of justice.
Mr. Clark Chandler had left Worcester in June, and reached Bos- ton by way of Newport. After a voyage to Nova Scotia and a jour- ney to Canada, he returned in September, and directly surrendered himself and was committed as a prisoner to the common jail, by or- der of the committee, on suspicion of having held intercourse with the enemy. His health becoming impaired by confinement, he peti- tioned the committee, and the General Assembly for liberation, under such restrictions as should be prescribed ; but without avail. The un- wholesome air and privations of his situation, having brought on dan- gerous sickness, on the fifth of December, consent was obtained for his removal to his mother's house, sufficient bonds being filed, that he would not depart from his home, and on the recovery of health would await the orders of the municipal authority claiming power so absolute over personal freedom : on the 15th of December, an or- der of council passed, granting him permission to reside in Lancas- ter, on furnishing security that he would not go out of the limits of that town.
As an incident of the jurisdiction exercised by the committee, was the preservation of its own dignity. We find, in December, they had committed to prison ' one John Holden,' a paper maker, for insolent behavior towards its members. The punishment of this contempt was confirmed by a resolve of the General Assembly, or- dering his detention in jail, until farther directions from the Court.
These facts are curious, as indicating how unlimited was the control of the little bodies, invested by the towns with the care of the public safety, and acknowledging no superior, except the Con- gress of the state or the continent.
L775.] MILITARY EXERTIONS. I 13
Earl} in May, !~> prisoners from the I'.ritish army were Benl to Worcester. During the residue of the year, the prison was crowd- ed by the successes of the American arms. The captives were en- larged on parol, when employment could be obtained among the in- habitants, and provision was made for their support ;m<! clothing l>y the Genera] Assembly.
On the I-t of May, a resolve of the Continental Congress provi- ded ii>r the removal of the indigent inhabitants of Boston, estima- ted to number 5000, and their distribution among the towns of the interior. The proportion of Worcester county was K»:}:5 . Lancas- ter 10:5: Brookfield 99: Sutton 98: Worct ter 82. Difficulties arose about the removal to other towns, and not more than half the number assigned, were supported here.
The selectmen were required to furnish the soldiers of the town with blankets, which were promptly delivered.
June 15, a requisition was made upon the towns for lire arms and bayonets for the use of the army. The quota of Worcester county was 514 : Worcester, 30.
June :2<), all the towns in Worcester county were earnestly re- quested to deliver their powder to a commit! pt a small quan- tity left for emergency. Worcester supplied three barrels, retaining only half a cask from its stock.
Another requisition was made on the same day, for blankets, and for clothing for the men in the service.
The two largest cannon owned by the town were delivered to the Board of War, in November, for the defence of Gloucester.
In the autumn of 177"), that expedition against Quebec, alike memorable for boldness of conception, chivalrous daring of execu- tion, and melancholy failure in its result, was projected. Among the volunteers, under the command of Arnold, who engaged in the winter march through the wilderness, were Major Timothy Bigelow, Capt. Jonas Hubbard, and twelve soldiers, from Worcester. In the attack on the strongest fortress of the north, on the 31st of De- cember, Capt. Hubbard received a severe wound, beneath the ram- parts of the lower town : refusing to be removed, he perished in the snow storm which raged with unusual violence : Serjeant Silas Wes- son was slain : Timothy Rice, mortally wounded, died in the hospi- tal : Major Bigelow and our other citizens were made prisoners, and remained in captivity until November of the following year, when they were liberated on parol, and afterwards exchanged. Civil government having ceased to exist in its usual form, and
15
114 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [177G.
the operation of the judiciary being suspended, in January 17TG, two persons were elected as magistrates,1 to exercise the powers of jus- tices of the peace, for the preservation of order and the punishment of crime.
Subsequently, May 8, an officer was elected,2 to take acknowl- edgments of debt, where the amount did not exceed twenty pounds. A requisition was made on the towns, at the request of Gen. Wash- ington-, for blankets. The quota of the county was 598 : Brook- field, 30 : Sutton, 30 : Lancaster, 33 : Worcester, 27.
Men were drafted for the rcenforcement of the army investing Boston, in January, by the officers of the militia and the selectmen. Of 749 assigned to Worcester county, there were levied in Worces- ter 32 : Brookfield 49 : Lancaster 46 : Sutton 39 : Mendon 33.
On the 23d of May, ' a motion was made, to see if the town would support independence, if it should be declared ; and it was voted unanimously, that if the Continental Congress should declare the American colonies independent of Great Britain, we will support the measure with our lives and fortunes.' A copy of this vote was transmitted to the representative,3 for his direction.
A resolution of the General Court was passed June 25, in com- pliance with the request of the Continental Congress, to raise 5000 men to cooperate with the continental troops in Canada and New York. Worcester county was required to furnish 1136 men from the alarm and train band lists of the towns, to be formed into compa- nies of 59, and embodied in two battalions destined for New York. The quota of Lancaster was 72 : Brookfield 69 : Sutton 67 : Wor- cester 56. The bounty allowed to each man was £3, with 18s. more for the use of arms and equipments furnished by each.
It was voted to augment the bounty of the soldiers from this town to nine pounds, in addition to the allowance from the colony, and c£486 were assessed for that purpose.
On the 10th of July, a new order was passed by the General Court, for detaching every twenty fifth man on the train band and alarm list, exclusive of those already ordered to be raised, to form two regiments, in companies of 77 each, to support the army in the northern department.
On Saturday, the fourteenth of July, 1776, the Declaration of In- dependence was received. This instrument, the eloquent echo of sentiments as boldly expressed, in less splendid form, from almost
1 Samuel Curtis, William Young. 2 Nathan Baldwin. 3 David Bancroft.
1770.] CELEBRATION OF INDEPENDENCE. II")
every village of New England, long before they were promulgated in that paper which has been reverenced as the Magna Charta of Freedom, was hailed with enthusiasm. It was first publicly read, by the late Fsaiah Thomas, from the porch of the old south mei house, to the assembled crowd. On Sunday, after divine Bervice, it was read in the church. Measures having been adopted for ebration of the evenl which separated the colonies from the mother country, with formal solemnity, on Monday following, the earliest festive commemoration of the occasion, Bince hallowed a< the nation- al anniversary, took place. The following account of the ceremonies is from the Spy. The homely style of the sentiments, furnishes cu- rious contrast with the elaborate exercise of more modern times.
'On Monday last, a number of patriotic gentlemen of this town, an- imated with a love of their country, and to shew their approbation of the measures lately taken by the Grand Council of America, as- sembled on the green, near the liberty pole, where, after having dis- played the colors of the thirteen confederate colonies of America, the bells were set ring-in^ and the drums a beating: After which, the Declaration of Independence of the United States was read to a large and respectable body, among whom were the selectmen and committee of correspondence, assembled on the occasion, who testi- fied their approbation by repeated huzzas, firing of musketry and cannon, bonfires, and other demonstrations of joy ; When the arms of that tyrant in Britain, George the III, of execrable memory, which in former times decorated, but of late disgraced the court house in this town, were committed to the flames and consumed to ashes; after which, a select company of the sons of freedom, repaired to the tavern, lately known by the sign of the King's Arms, which odious signature of despotism was taken down by order of the people, which was cheerfully complied with by the innkeeper, where the following toasts were drank ; and the evening spent with joy, on the com- mencement of the happy era.
' 1. Prosperity and perpetuity to the United States of America. 2. The president of the Grand Council of America. 3. The Grand Council of America. 4. His excellency General Washington. 5. All the generals in the American army. 6. Commodore Hopkins. 7. The officers and soldiers of the American army. 8. The officers and seamen in the American navy. 9. The patriots of America. 10. Every friend of America. 11. George rejected and liberty pro- tected. 12. Success to the American arms. 13. Sore eves to all
116 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [177(5.
tories, and a chestnut burr for an eye stone. 14. Perpetual itching without the benefit of scratching, to the enemies of America. 15. The Council and Representatives of the State of Massachusetts Bay. 1G. The officers and soldiers in the Massachusetts service. 17. The memory of the brave General Warren. 18. The memoiy of the magnanimous General Montgomery. ID. Speedy redemption to all the officers and soldiers who are now prisoners of war among our enemies. 20. The State of Massachusetts Bay. 21. The town of Boston. 22. The selectmen and committees of correspondence for the town of Worcester. 23. May the enemies of America be laid at her feet. 24. May the freedom and independency of Amer- ica endure, till the sun grows dim with age, and this earth returns to chaos.
' The greatest decency and good order was observed, and at a suit- able time each man returned to his respective home.'1
On the 10th of September, one fifth part of the militia of the state were called out immediately to march to New York, to prevent the enemy from cutting off the communication between the American army in the city and on the island of New York, and the country. One fourth part of the residue of the military, were ordered to be equipped and ready to march at a moment's warning. Frequent calls were made for troops for the defence of Boston and other ex- posed places. Worcester answered each demand, following in quick succession, to the utmost extent of her means.
In September, it was submitted to the people to determine, whether they would consent, that the House of Representatives and Council in convention, should adopt such constitution and frame of government, as, on the most mature deliberation, they should judge would most conduce to the safety, peace, and happiness of the state in after successions and generations. The town, considering the importance of the object, and the propriety of all the freemen having opportunity to express opinion, declined acting, as so many of the citizens were absent in the public service. Opposition was made by other towns, to the assembly proposing the measure, assuming this high duty, as the representatives had not been elected with a view to such object.
The selectmen and committee of correspondence, having been authorized by an act to prevent monopoly and oppression, to fix and
» Mass. Spy, July 24, 177ti.
1776.] REGULATION OF PRICES. I I 3
establish prices, in November, reported regulations for the sale of arti- cles of common use and consumption. Thej recommended to the
good people of the town, to use their utmost endeavors, by example, precept mid legal exertions to Bupporl the law.-; <>f the country in general, ami called upon them, ' in the uame of the government and
people cl' Massachusetts Bay, in the name of the passing soldier, in
behalf of widows and orphans, as thej regarded the credit of the currency, the establishment of an army, and the Bupporl of the au- thority of government, which alone renders war successful ami gives dignity to peace, to prevent monopolies and oppression, by vindicat- ing their act against the lawless violence which should dan- to trample upon it.'1
The beneficial results of the regulations established throughout the commonwealth, wire defeated, by the fluctuations id' the currency unsustained by a metallic basis, which finally depreciated to worth- lessness.
In December, Governor Cooke, of Rbode Island, by express, for- warded tetters, addressed to 'all the brave inhabitants of New En- gland,' earnestly entreating instant assistance to repel apprehended invasion. The whole of Col. Wood's and Col. ilolman's regiments were ordered to inarch to the relief of the sister state. Many vol- unteers from Worcester, promptly entered the ranks on the alarm, and remained in service during a portion of the winter.
The company under Capt. William Gates, in Col. Ilolman's regi- ment, was principally formed of men from Worcester. Lieutenant Nathaniel Heywood and thirty-five privates, were in its ranks, and served in New York. Eight were slain in battle or died in camp.
In Col. Thomas Craft's regiment of artillery were twenty four of our citizens.
1 The following arc the prices of some articles, as fixed in November. 177G. Labor in summer, 3s. per day: Wheat, bushel, (is. 8d. : Rye, 4s. Gd.: Indian Corn, 3s.: Peas, 7s.: Beans, Gs. : Potalos, Spanish, Is. Gd.: Oats, Is. 9d. : Apples, winter. Is.: Fresh Pork, pound. Id.: Salt Pork, 7d. : Beef, grass fed, 3d. : Beef, stall fed, Id. : Cheese, Gd. : Butter, 9d.: Pork, salted, 220 lbs. barrel, £ k Gs. : Beef, salted. 210 lbs. barrel, £3. 8s. Gd. : Flour, £ 1. 3s. : Milk, quart, 2d. : Cider, at the press, barrel, 4s. : Mutton or Veal, pound, 3Jd. : Dinners at taverns, of boiled meat or equivalent, Sd. : Suppers or breakfasts, of tea, coffee or choccolate, 8d.: Lodgings, (soldiers sleeping on the floor not to be considered such,) id.: Flip or toddy, made with IVevv England rum. mug, I'd. : Cotton and linen homespun cloth, yard wide, best common sort, yard, 3s. 6d.: Tow cloth, good quality and a \ ard wide, 2s. 3d : Shoes, men's of neat's, leather, best common sort, pair, 7s. Gd. : Breeches, of best deer's leather, for men, £2. 2s. : Beaver bat quality, £ 2. 2s. : Felt hats, 7s. : Making a full suit of clothes, full trimmed, £ 1. 1-- : Wood, good oak, delivered at the door, cord, 8s. : Boards, best white pine, at the mill, per thousand, £2. 8s. : Hay, English, best quality, cwt. 3s.
118 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [1777.
The year 1777 had scarcely commenced, when a requisition was made on Worcester, for 32 blankets; followed, on the 26th of Jan- uary, by a draft of every seventh of the male inhabitants, over lt> years of age, to complete the quota of Massachusetts in the conti- nental army and to serve for eight months at least.
The act of the General Court changing the ratio of representation, had excited discontent in the community. The town of Sutton in- vited a county congress, to convene at Worcester, in February, to deliberate on existing grievances, and adopt measures for redress. The committees of correspondence, in their general meeting, about the same time, recommended petitions and instructions for the re- peal of the law. At the meeting of the inhabitants of Worcester, in March, they remonstrated against its provisions, as impolitic, un- necessary, unconstitutional, and attended with consequences injuri- ous to the inland parts of the state.
In February, each town was required to purchase and deliver shirts, stockings, and other clothing for the Massachusetts troops in the continental army, in the proportion of one set to every seven males over 16 years of age of the population. Worcester supplied sixty two sets, for which compensation was afterwards made.
A committee was directed, March 18, to ascertain how much each person had contributed towards the support of the war, and how much those deficient should pay to render the burden equal. A bounty of =£20 in addition to the grants from the state and continent, was offered to every soldier who should enter the ar- my to fill the quota of the town.
The sum of =£1656. 2s. 2d. was levied to defray the expenses of the war, and for the payment of bounties.
Upon representation of the great suffering for salt in the interior, 115 bushels were granted to Worcester, to be paid for by the select- men, at the rate of 20s. per bushel, and was distributed.
The selectmen presented to the town a list of persons, esteemed by them to be internal enemies. More were nominated and elected in town meeting, June 16, and the names of 19 were finally accepted as dangerous. A committee was appointed to collect evidence against them preparatory to prosecution. Doubts arose of the jus- tice and equity of this extemporaneous process of conviction of high crimes, without trial or opportunity for defence, and the clerk was directed to suspend his return of the accused with some excep- tions. A few months after, on the petition of the suspected, it was voted, ' to restore the majority to the town's favor,' and on payment
1777.] REQUISITIONS. CONVENTION. II!)
of the costs of the proceedings instituted : i ir a i n > t them, they were to be considered innocenl of treasonable designs against the republic.
Money was raised by loan, to purchase LOO muskets and bayonets, ami a quantity of powder : to be delivered to the militia on pay- ment of reasonable price.
The prisoners of war, long confined in the common jail, or per- mitted to labor among the inhabitants l<>r support, were removed in June, tn [pswich. The rooms of tin- prison were soon again crowded with captured refugees, suspected enemies, deserters, and criminals.
Every sixth man in Worcester county was drafted, under tin' re- solve of August 9, to join the northern army for three months.
On the alarm occasioned by the successes of Burgoyne, and the march of the British army on Bennington, a company, under Lt. Col. Benjamin Flagg, with Capt. David Chadwick, Lts. Abel Hol- brook and Jonathan Stone, and 68 non commissioned officers and privates, advanced to lladlcy, August 28, on their way to Albany. Counter orders, received there, directed their return, as the danger had ceased.
The General Court, September 22, strongly recommended to the militia of Worcester, and the western counties, that at least one half should march forthwith, to reenforce Gen. Gates, and payment was promised.
An invitation was given by Sutton, November 3, to the neigh- boring towns, to send delegates to a convention, to be held for the purpose of taking into consideration an act providing for the pay- ment of interest on state debts and securities, and restraining the cir- culation of bills of lower denomination than £10. The circular letter represents the law to be cruel, oppressive, and unjust, and re- monstrates against its operation in angry terms. Delegates were elected by Worcester. The deliberations of the body, which met on the 13th of November, resulted in a petition to the legislature for repeal of the obnoxious statute, and redress of grievances.
A committee was elected, in December, to provide for the fami- lies of the soldiers, and considerable dishursements were made in this and succeeding years for their support.
From the return of the selectmen it appears, that G8 men from Worcester were in service in the continental line, on terms of enlist- ment for 8 months, 3 years, or during the war, who received their clothing principally from the town.
From Capt. Ebenezer Lovell's company, thirty seven enlisted in
120 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [1778.
February, for three years, and from Capt. Joshua Whitney's twenty six, for the same period.
The inhabitants expressed their approbation of the articles of Confederation of the United States, in January, 1778, and their de- termination to support the government by their utmost exertions.
A requisition for clothing was made March 13, and Worcester furnished 62 sets of shirts, shoes, and stockings, for the army. A colonel. and 522 privates were detached from the brigade of the county, for service on the North river and in Rhode Island : Wor- cester furnished 15 men for this battalion, in April. At the same time, a draft was made to complete the state line in the continental army. Twelve were returned from Worcester to serve for nine months.
A constitution for the state, reported by a committee of the Gen- eral Court, in December 1777, and approved by that body in Janua- ry following, was submitted to the people, and rejected by a great majority. Of 58 votes given here, eight only were in favor of ac- ceptance.
Six of our citizens were drafted, under the resolve of June 12, for raising 180 men for an expedition to Rhode Island. On the 23d of June, four more were required, as guards for the captured troops of General Burgoyne. In November, ,£736. were granted for boun- ties to soldiers and the support of their families.
The names of six inhabitants of Worcester1 are included in the banishment act, forbidding the return of the former citizens of the state who had joined the enemy, requiring them, if they once re- visited their native country, forthwith to depart, and denouncing the penalty of death if they should be found, a second time, within the jurisdiction. One thus designated, had afterwards permission to reside in the town, regained the confidence, and long enjoyed the respect and esteem of the community.
In March, 1779, the sum of £ 2000 was assessed to support the war, and the militia officers were directed to engage men for the public service, by enlistment or draft. In April, three teams were furnished for the transportation of warlike stores to Springfield. Ten soldiers were raised, in June, to reenforce the army, and sixty- two sets of articles of dress supplied. A voluntary contribution of £ 78, was taken up, in the church, after divine service, for the
1 John Chandler, James Putnam, Rums Chandler, William Chandler, Adam Walk- er, William Paine.
1779.] REGl LAtlON OP THE CI RRENCY. I i I
distressed inhabitants of .Newport. The town obtained, on loan, £ 52(H) for the paymenl of bounties.
The anniversary of the Declaration of [ndependence was com- memorated, on the 9th of .Inly, by the ringing of bells in the morn- ing, the discharge of 13 cannon at noon, illumination and the dis- play of 13 rocket- at night.
Severe distress was experienced, from the depreciation of the cur- rency, the exorbitant price of (lie nece aries of life, and the dis- trustof |>nl)lic credit. A convention assembled at Concord, b) the invitation of Boston, on the I 1th of July, composed of delegates from all parts of the state, for the purpose ol consulting on m< asures to give effect to the recommendations of Congress for the relief of the people. Worcester was represented by David Bigelow and Jo- seph Barber. Prices were regulated by a moderate appraisal of the value of articles of produce and merchandize; loans to government, provision for the support of the clergy, and attention to schools, as the means of good education, were earnestly recommended. Ano- ther convention was proposed, in Octoher, and an address was adopt- ed.
The town, at a meeting in August, expressed cordial approbation of these proceedings, and joined a committee to the standing board of correspondence and safety to enforce their execution.
Resolutions1 were adopted at the same time, which indicate the condition and spirit of the country. Some extracts follow.
• As many of the respectable merchants and fair traders have re- tired from business, their places have been supplied by an augmen- ted number of locusts and canker worms, in human form, who have increased, and proceeded along the road of plunder, until they have become odiously formidable, and their contagious influence danger- ously prevalent : Therefore, Resolved, That such persons ought not to be admitted to bear a part in any mercantile consultation, but should be considered pestilential mushrooms of trade, which have come up in the night of public calamity, and ought to perish in the same night.
' Whereas regrators in the public markets, forestallers, engrossers of the produce of the country, and higlers, have had a great share in depreciating the public currency by their pernicious practices : Re-
' Not having been entered of record, by a singular omission, they have been preservi d by their publication in the Massachusetts Spy, August, 12, 177'J. They were reported by William Stearns, Nathan Baldwin, and Joseph Allen.
16
122 AMERICAN REVOLUTION. [1779.
solved, That all such persons are guilty of a dangerous opposition to the measures necessary to promote the well being and prosperity of this country, and ought to be subjected to the resentment and indig- nation of the public, whether their conduct proceeds from a general disaffection to public measures, and the independence of these states, or from private motives of sordid interest.
' Resolved, That whoever refuses to sell the surplus of the pro- duce o.f his farm, and retains the same to procure a higher price by means of an artificial scarcity, is very criminally accessory to the calamities of the country, and ought to be subjected to those penal- ties and disabilities which are due to an inveterate enemy.'
Delegates from Worcester attended a county convention, on the eleventh of August, when a scale of prices was fixed, and resolutions adopted to adhere to and execute the regulations. l
The same gentlemen were deputed to attend the second State Convention at Concord, Oct. 12, where a more detailed regulation of prices was made, resolutions passed, and an address framed, not essentially different from those of the former meeting.
In August, Levi Lincoln, Joseph Allen, and David Bigelow, were elected delegates to the convention for framing a constitution.
On a requisition for blankets, Sept. 14, Worcester supplied 31.
The selectmen being required to report the expenditures for rais- ing soldiers, made return of 48 persons then in service, who had received $ 1906, for bounties on enlistments of three years. The supplies furnished for nine of their families, requiring public assis- tance, during the year, amounted to £599. Os. 6d. at the current price: reduced to the stated convention price, £39. 17s. 6d. In August, £ 892 was granted to pay for clothing.
Eiffht soldiers were raised, Sept, 21, at an expense of £638, for the Rhode Island department: and thirteen under the resolve of Oct. 9, to join Gen. Washington, at Claverack, on Hudson's riv- er ; they received a bounty of £ 30 each, and were supported by the town, at a charge, in the aggregate, of £2515. 10s. These
1 The following prices stated August, 1779, on comparison with those of November, 1776, will show the depreciation of the currency in the interval.
Corn, bushel, £3. 12s.: Rye, £5. 2s. : Wheat, £8. 2s. : Oats, £1. 16s. : Cider, bar- rel, £4: Hay, cwt. £l. 10s. : Labor in husbandry, day, £2. I4s. : Women's labor, week, £2. : Beef, pound, 5s. 6d. : Mutton, Veal. 3s. 6d. : Butter, 1 Is : Cheese, 5s. 6d.: Wool, £1. 4s.: Men's shoes, pair, £6.: Stockings, £3. 12s.: Shirts, tow cloth, £4. 16s. In June, 1779, farmer's produce had advanced in the ratio of 36h to 1 : West In- dia goods as 41 1-9 to 1 : Labor as 15 to 1 of the price in March of the same year.
\
1780.] I 'INSTITUTION 123
sums were advanced by individuals, and the credit ofthe town pled- ged for payment.
The exertions of preceding yeara had almost exhausted the mon- ey, men, and means <>f the country. The difficulty of comp] with the increased requisitions lor public defence, was severely felt, and the burdens id* the war rested with heavy pressui com-
munity. Yel redoubled efforts were made to sustain the army, and meet the frequent demands of the government.
In compliance with a resolve of May 4th, 1780, Worcester fur- nished 43 sets of blankets, shirts, shoes and stockings. On the 5th of June, 3931 men were levied for the continental army, to remain in service <'> months. The quota of the county was 636: Worces- ter supplied 22 : Lancaster 40 : Sutton 36 : Brook field 35: Mendon 29. Each soldier enlisting for the town, received £27 in agricul- tural produce, at the prices of 1774. In July, 12 horses were pro- vided for transportation and cavalry service. The quota of 4726 men for three months, under the resolve of June 22, was raised with oreat labor. Worcester county was required to enlist 766 : Wor- cester 2S : Lancaster 48 : Brookfield 42 : Sutton 42 : Mendon 35. The sum of £ 30,000, of continental currency, was assessed, as a tax, for the payment of the troops of the town. A further re- quisition for men was made, on the same day, to be levied in the pro- portion of one to every four detached on the 5th of June, to march to Springfield and await Orders. Worcester raised 5 soldiers. Pro- visions being needed for the army, Worcester was called on to deliver 17,640 pounds of beef, purchased for .£529. On the 4th of De- cember, another assessment of 33,871 pounds was provided for, at the cost of £1270. 3s. 3d.
In May, the Bill of Rights and Frame of Government were sub- mitted to the people, and accepted. The town disapproved of the 3d article of the Bill of Rights, relating to the support of religious worship and instruction, and the 20th, providing that the power of suspending the execution of the laws should only be exercised by the legislature : the first was supposed to interfere with the right3 of conscience, and the latter to restrict too much the authority of the executive department. Some articles of the constitution were not accepted. The 4th article ofthe 1st section, chapter 1st, invest- ing the General Court with powrers deemed too extensive for the legislative branch : the 1st article of the 3d section of the same chapter, containing the principle of representation : the 9th article following, fixing the quorum of representatives for the transaction
124 CLASSIFICATION. [1780.
of business : the 7th article, section 1st, of the 2d chapter, defining the power of the governor : the 3d article of the 6th chapter, estab- lishing the value of money, and thereby determining the amount of salaries : and the 7th article, prohibiting the suspension of the privi- lege of the writ of habeas corpus, except upon most urgent occa- sion, and for a limited time, were all negatived. Our citizens were desirous of strengthening the executive, and giving more efficiency to government. This course, in conflict with the prevalent princi- ples before the revolution, was founded on the necessity of an en- ergetic administration, as it was made apparent by the progress of the war and the embarrassments of the times.
The first elections under this constitution, ratified by the people, took place in September. The votes of Worcester were divided : Hancock received 5G, and Bowdoin 20, for governor : James War- ren 23, and Artemas Ward 28, for Lt. Governor.
On the 2d of December, 1780, 29 men were required as the town's proportion of 4240, to be enlisted for 3 years, or during the war. The usual means of procuring the quota were employed without effect. The companies of militia furnished no volunteers : drafts had become unpopular : committees to seek recruits in other states had been unsuccessful : and, at length, a system of conscrip- tion was resorted to, as the only remaining resource for maintain- ing the army.
The citizens were divided into twenty nijje classes, according to the valuation and amount of taxes paid by the individuals. Each class was required to furnish a soldier, and provide for his wages and support. Each member contributed to this expense, in propor- tion to his property, ascertained by the returns of taxation. The delinquents were reported to the assessors, and the sums due from each to his class was included in the next tax and demanded by the collector. By this strong measure, the men were procured in Feb- ruary, and mustered into service.
The inhabitants of Sutton, who seem to have been alike discon- tented at the passing or repeal of acts, in March, addressed letters to the towns, inviting a convention, to remonstrate against the re- solve of the Legislature, suspending the tender of the depreciated paper in payment of debts at the rate of 40 for 1. Three dele- gates from this town were elected. The assembly was small, and no important consequence followed from the meeting.
Although the line of the continental army had been filled by per- manent enlistments, troops were required for occasional service.
1780.] REQUISITIONS. CURRENCY, 126
In June, ;i detachmenl of •"><•!> men was ordered to inarch to Rhode [gland, and Worcester granted £414, in hard money, lor the pay- ment of its troops in the expedition. June 22, ih<' town was re- quired to procure 13,980 pounds of beef, and appropriated 6 LOO in gold and silver for thai purpose On the same day, another re- solve lc\ ied on the town 29 blankets, and 59 sets of article- of clo- thing. <>n the :50th, 23 men, for three months service were raised. The supplying of soldiers had become so difficult, that they were only procured by exorbitant bounties, ami the most zealous exer- tions.1
In anticipation of an attack on New York, Gen. Washington asked for reenforcements, and one quarter part of the militia were ordered to hold themselves in readiness to move. The town voted to grant pay to them, should they march, in the same proportion with the regular troops.
The surrender of Cornwallis diffused general joy throughout the country, as the omen of a triumphant termination of the war. The event was commemorated here, on the 7th of November, by the usual festive observances of days of rejoicing. ' In consequence of this glorious intelligence,' says the Spy, with singular extravagance of expression, ' the morning was ushered in by ringing of bells, dis-
1 The amount of money raised by the inhabitants lor the support of the war, was real- ly very great. The depreciation of the paper currency rendered the nominal amount of taxation excessive. The true value of grants and appropriations may be estimated by reference to the subjoined scale. The figures indicate the number of dollars, in conti- nental currency, equivalent to one hundred, in gold or silver. To April, 1780, the value was fixed as slated below, by the act of Massachusetts. From that date, it has been ascertained by taking the average depreciation through the month.
1777. 1770. 1779. 1760.
January, .... 105 325 712 2034
February, .... 107 350 8G8 3322
March, 109 . ; ... 375 1000 3736
April, 112 400 1101. 4000
May, 115 .... . 400 1215 5460
June, 120 400 1342 6660
July, . . . ■. . 125 425 1477 6900
August, 150 450 1030 7000
September, ... 175 ■ 475 1S00 7100
October, .... 275 500 2030 ..... 7800
November, ... 300 545 2308 7250
December, ... 310 634 2595 7400
In 17S1, one dollar of specie, was equal to 187 cents, in new emission bills, from Feb. 27 to May 1 : 225 to May 25 : 300 to June 15 : 400 to Oct. 1. Below these dates, the depreciation approached total worthlessness.
The whole expenses of the Revolutionary war to the States were, in paper money, #359,547,027 : estimated in specie, $ 135,193,703.
12G EXCISE ACT. [1782.
charging of cannon, displaying of colors, attended with the shouts of a grateful populace, and even Aurora advanced and unlocked the ruddy gates of the morning with a sympathetic smile.'
In January, 1782, the town expressed strong disapprobation of an act imposing duties on spirituous liquors, teas, and other articles of luxury. The instructions to the representative, reported by Timo- thy Paine, Esq. Nathan Baldwin, and Cornelius Stowell, illustrate the change of principles with times. The denunciations of tea in the votes, resolutions, and solemn covenants of J 774, had been for- gotten, and opinions of the value of spirits are expressed which have been demonstrated to be entirely unsound by the philanthropists of recent days.
'Whereas, the town, at a meeting held on the 21st day of Janua- ry, 1782, dissapproved of a late act of this commonwealth, laying an excise on wine, rum, wheel carriages, &,c. and did then vote to in- struct Samuel Curtis, Esq. their representative, to use his utmost endeavors to have that act repealed :
'The town now, January 25, taking the matter again into con- sideration, do give the following reasons why said act ought to be repealed.
' 1. It is an indirect method of levying monies; as those who de- fray those duties cannot know what sum they pay; which is contra- ry to the genius of a free government, which should equalize bur- dens.
' 2. It multiplies oaths, and subjects a great number of persons to be sworn, in matters wherein they are deeply interested : and, consequently, instead of suppressing immorality, has a contrary tendency.
' 3. If it is necessary to lay duties for the support of government and the suppression of extravagance, such duties ought to be levied on such articles as are merely luxurious, and not on some of those mentioned in this act : spirituous liquors, being absolutely necessary for our seafaring brethren, coasting along our shores in boats and lighters, at all seasons of the year, to supply the markets with wood, lumber, and fish : also for the farmer, whose fatigue is almost un- supportable in haytime and harvest ; and for the beginners in bring- ing forward new townships where they have nothing to drink but water, and are, perhaps, exposed to more hardships than any other persons : nor on Bohea Tea, which, in populous towns, and in many places in the country, is substituted, by many poor persons, in the room
1782.] EXCISE ACT 127
of milk, which is not to be had, and they find it to be a cheap diel :
nor on common chaises and othei carriages, such .-is are kepi in the country, for the necessary conveyance of families to meeting, t.V <• : the use <>t" them very often saves the keeping of a horse extraordina- ry, .Hid enables the farmer to keep more cattle and sheep, which are more profitable; and all carriages being manufactured among our- selves, laying a duty upon them has a tendenc] to discourage all those mechanics who are employed in making them.
■ I. The mode pointed oul in the act, ii>r collecting duties, is much more expensive than n r small the commis-
sions allowed the collector may appeal : for if the collector can afford to ride into every town of the county for three per cent, the com- mon collector of taxes in each town can afford to collect the same in his own town for one per cent: and convey the money to the treasury with his other public money.
' ">. All consumers of spirituous liquors at taverns, will pay about eight times as much as the duties amount to: for it. is well known, that the tavern keeper sells his mixed liquors for two pence more in a mug than before the excise was laid, when, in fact, the duties on each mug do nol amount to more than a farthing.
',6. All persons living upon the borders of tin- government, will purchase liquors lor their own consumption of the neighboring gov- ernments, and thereby avoid paying any of said duties.
' ". The act laying an excise upon tea, exempts all persons from paying a duty who buy at one time fifty pounds or more of Bohea tea, or twenty live pounds or more of other India tea, which appears to be calculated to lay a tax upon the poor and exempt the rich.
' 8. The consumers of spirituous liquors are charged by the retail- er and tavern keeper with the whole of the excise, and they are obliged to pay it, when, at the same time, the seller is allowed ten per cent for leakage and waste, which, with three per cent allowed the collector, amounts to nearly thirteen per cent out of the duties in- tended to be raised by said act : as also a further allowance to be made to the seller for as much more as he shall see cause to swear that he may have lost by extraordinary leakage or other casualty.
' 9. There is no check upon the collector's accounts, nor any thing to prove that the whole money he shall collect is contained in the accounts he shall render to the Receiver General : when, by for- mer excise acts, the collector, when he received any duties, w as obliged to give two receipts of the same tenor and date, one of which was to be lodged with the clerk of the Sessions, and the clerk was
128 WAR TERMINATED. [1782.
obliged to transmit the same or copies, to the Treasurer, in order to compare with the accounts of the Collector.
' Lastly. The act is attended with many difficulties, and has a di- rect tendency to embarrass and obstruct trade, and, it is the opin- ion of this town, if continued, it will create great uneasiness among the good people of this Commonwealth, and not answer the design of government in passing the same.
'The town clerk is, therefore, hereby directed, to furnish Samuel Curtis, Esq. our representative, with a copy of our vote of the 2lst inst. and the foregoing reasons : and the said Samuel Curtis is di- rected to use his endeavors, not only to cause the said act to be re- pealed, but to prevent in future any excise or duty being laid upon the necessaries of life.'
The last requisition for men to join the army was in March, 1782, when 6 were drafted, for three years. 1
The minute recital we have followed seemed necessary, as the only means of giving adequate idea of those municipal exertions, whose merit has almost passed from remembrance, in the triumphant results they aided to accomplish.
The supplies, and expenditures of the towns, were charged to the commonwealth, and allowed by the United States. But, as they only went to discharge taxes and assessments, they were, in reality, uncompensated gratuities to the public.
Worcester furnished a large proportion of her male population to the army of the revolution. The exact numbers in service cannot be ascertained with certainty. If we include with the troops of the regular line, those called out for short periods of duty, the following may be considered as a correct statement of the numbers of men from Worcester in military service during seven years of war :
1 colonel, 2 lieutenant colonels, 2 majors, 7 captains, 10 lieuten- ants, 5 ensigns, 20 serjeants, and 389 privates.
A letter from the committee of correspondence of Boston, in rela- tion to the absentees and refugees, was received in May, and a committee ~ elected to express the sentiments of the town in reply.
1 Quota of Worcester county, 217 : Brookfield 12 : Sutton 12 : Shrewsbury 9 : Lan- caster 7, (Sterling having been taken off) : Mendon 5, (Milford being set off). This and some earlier requisitions for men, clothing, and provisions, were apportioned, not on the basis of population, but property according to valuation : which explains the difference in relative proportions.
2 Levi Lincoln. William Stearns, Joseph Allen, David Bigelow, Isaiah Thomas, Jo- seph Wheeler, Jonathan Rice.
1783.] ROYALISTS. 129
The foil- ! from many votes reported to and accept-
ed by the citizens, May I!), 1783, contains the substance of their
doings.
'Voted, That this town consider every country, in times of inva- sion, as having equally a right to the a sistance, personal services, and property of all its subjects, in opposii i sailants. That
this country, more than eight years since, was invaded, and has been scourged by a war, which, for the p i reducing it to the
servile subjection of foreign domination, has been, by sea and land, wasting, and by every species of barbarity, rig its inno
inhabitants : a war that has d and burned whole towns, and
rendered wretched and turned out thousands of virtuous Ameri- cans, destitute, despoiled, and unprovided for by the treaty of peace, which leaves them dependent on the gratitude and generosity of the country : a war promoted, encouraged, and invited by those, who, the moment the bloody banners were displayed, abandoned their native land, turned parricides, and conspired to involve their coun- try in tumult, ruin, and blood.
' Voted, That, in the opinion of this town, it would be extreme- ly dangerous to the peace, happiness, liberty, and safety of these states, to suffer persons of the above description to become the sub- jects of and reside in this government : that it would he not oidy dangerous, but inconsistent with justice, policy, our past laws, the public faith, and the principles of a free and independent state, to admit them ourselves, or have them forced upon us without our consent.
' Voted, That, in the opinion of this town, this commonwealth ought with the utmost caution, to naturalize, or in any other way admit as subjects, a common enemy, a set of people who have been by the united voice of the continent, declared outlaws, exiles, aliens, and enemies, dangerous to its political being and happiness.
' Voted, That while there are thousands of the innocent, peacea- ble and defenceless inhabitants of these states, whose property has been destroyed and taken from them in the course of the war, for whom no provision is made, to whom there is no restitution of estates, no compensation for losses, that it would be unreasonable, cruel, and unjust, to suffer those who were the wicked occasion of those losses, to obtain a restitution of the estates they refused to protect, and which they have abandoned and forfeited to their country.
' Voted, That it. is the expectation of this town, and their earnest 17
130 INSURRECTION. [1782.
request of their committee of correspondence, inspection and safety, that they, with care and diligence, will observe the movements of our only remaining enemies : that until the further order of govern- ment, they will, with decision, spirit and firmness, endeavor to en- force and carry into execution, the several laws of this commonwealth respecting these enemies to our rights, and the rights of mankind : give information should they know of any obtruding themselves in- to any part of this state, suffer none to remain in this town, but cause to be confined immediately, for the purpose of transportation, accor- ding to law, any that may presume to enter it. '
CHAPTER VIII.
1782 to 1787. Insurrection. Distresses of the people. County Conventions, 1782, 1784, 178C. Court stopped, Sept. 1786. Spirited conduct of Judge Ward. Pro- ceedings of the insurgents. Convention, Sept. 1786. Town meeting, Oct. 17C6. Court of Sessions interrupted. Sheriff Greenleaf. Insurgents occupy the town, Dec. 1786. Militia of Worcester appear in arms for the government. Capt. Howe. Con- sultations of the insurgents. Distresses of their retreat. Gen. Lincoln's army. Affair at New Braintree. Dispersion of the insurgents.
The struggles of the Revolution had scarce terminated, before dis- turbances arose among the people, which, in their progress, brought the commonwealth to the very verge of ruin.
Could the existence of insurrection and rebellion be effaced from memory, it would be wanton outrage to recall from oblivion the tale of misfortune and dishonor. But those events cannot be forgotten : they have floated down in tradition : they are recounted by the winter fire-side, in the homes of New England : they are inscribed on roll and record in the archives and annals of the state. History, the mirror of the past, reflects with painful fidelity, the dark as well as the bright objects from departed years, and although we may wish to contemplate only the glowing picture of patriotism and pros- perity, the gloomy image of civil commotion is still full in our sight, shadowing the background with its solemn admonition.
The investigation of the causes of the unhappy tumults of 1786,
1782.] DISTRESSES OF TQE PEOPLE. 131
does not belong to the narrative of their local effects on one of the principal scenes of action. Bui il would be great injustice to omit the statement, that circumstances existed, which palliate, though they do not justify, the conduct of those who took up arms againsl the governmenl of their own establishment. After eight years of war, Massachusetts Btood, with the Bplendor of triumph, in repub- lican poverty, bankrupt in resources, with do revenue but of an ex- piring currency, and no metal in her treasury more precious than the continental copper, bearing the devices of union and freedom. The country had been drained by taxation for the support of the army of independence, to the utmost limit of its means ; public credit was extinct, manners had become relaxed, tradi decayed, manufactures languishing, paper money depreciated to worthless- ness, claims on the nation accumulated by the commutation of the pay of officers for securities, and a heavy and increasing pressure of debt rested on commonwealth, corporations, and citizens. The first reviving efforts of commerce overstocked the markets with for- eign luxuries and superfluities, sold to those who trusted to the future to supply the ability of payment. The temporary act of l?>2, mak- ing property a tender in discharge of pecuniary contracts, instead of the designed remedial effect, enhanced the evils of general insolvency, by postponing collections. The outstanding demands of the royal- ists refugees, who had been driven from large estates and extensive business, enforced with no lenient forbearance, came in to increase the embarrassments of the deferred pay day. At length, a flood of suits broke out. In 1784, more than 2000 actions were entered in the county of Worcester, then having a population less than 50, (100, and in 1785, about 1700. Lands and goods were seized and sacri- ficed on sale, when the general difficulties drove away purchasers. Amid the universal distress, artful and designing persons discerned prospect for advancement, and fomented the discontent by inflamma- tory publications and seditious appeals to every excitable passion and prejudice. The constitution was misrepresented as defective, the administration as corrupt, the laws as unequal and unjust. The celebrated papers of Honestus directed jealousy towards the judi- cial tribunals, and thundered anathemas against the lawyers, un- fortunately for them, the immediate agents and ministers of cred- itors. Driven to despair by the actual evil of enormous debt, and irritated to madness by the increasing clamor about supposed griev- ances, it is scarcely surprising that a suffering and deluded people should have attempted relief, without considering that the misery
132 COUNTY CONVENTKMT. [1782.
they endured wa the necessary result from the confusion of years of warfare. l
Before the close of the revolutionary contest, whose pressure had united all by the tie of common danger, indications of discontent had
been manifested. The acts of the legislature hud excited temporary and local uneasiness in former years, as the operation of laws conflict- ed with the views of expediency or interest entertained by the village politicians. But in 1782, complaints arose of grievances, springing from the policy and administration of government, of more general character. On the 14th of April of that year, the delegates of twenty six towns of the county assembled in convention, and at- tributing the prevailing dissatisfaction of the people, to want of confidence in the disbursement of the great sums of money annual- ly assessed, recommended instructions to the representatives, to re- quire immediate settlement with all public officers entrusted with the funds of the commonwealth ; and if the adjustment was delayed or refused, to withdraw from the General Court, and return to their constituents ; to reduce the compensation of the members of the House, and the fees of lawyers ; to procure sessions of the Court of Probate in different places in the county ; the revival of confessions of debt ; enlargement of the jurisdiction of justices of the peace to £ 20 : contribution to the support of the continental army in spe- cific articles instead of money : and the settlement of accounts be- tween the Commonwealth and Congress. At an adjourned session, May 14, they further recommended, that account of the public ex- penditures should be annually rendered to the towns; the removal of the General Court from Boston ; separation of the business of the Common Pleas and Sessions, and inquiry into the grants of lands in Maine in favor of Alexander Shepherd and others. Wor- cester was represented in these assemblies, and in the instructions to Samuel Curtis, Esq., framed in accordance with their resolutions,
1 Could we roll back the tide of lime, till its retiring wave left hare the rocks on which the commonwealth was so nearly wrecked, it is not improbable, we should discov- er, that a loftier and more dangerous ambition, and wider, deeper, and more unhallowed purposes, urged on and sustained the men who were pushed into the front rank of rebel- lion, than came from the limited capacity of their own minds. We might find that the accredited leaders of ITCli, were only humble instruments of stronger spirits, waiting in their concealment the results of the tempest the}' had roused. Fortunately, the energy ofgoycrnment, gave to rising revolution the harmless character of crushed insurrection, saved to after years the inquiry for the Cat alines of the young republic, and left to us the happy privilege of receiving the coin impressed with the mark of patriotism at its stamped value, without testing its deficiency of weight, or assaying the metal to deter- mine the mixture of alloy.
1784.] CO!
on the 8th of June, the town represented as additional gi thai the Treasurer held the office of Justice of the Common I'l Middlesex, interfering with the discharge of his general duties ; i nd the proposition for the allowance of halfpay for life to th< iged on the new organization of the army, and not i Some nt" the complaints were quieted In legal pr and when
the convention was appointed to be again 1 1< I< 1 by adjournment, in August, the few discontented persons in attend rsed with-
out transacting business.1
The murmurs of the coming storm were first i rly in
I7>!. On the invitation of Sutton to each town of the county, tin- capital scut delegates to a convention, held in .March of th which Ebenezer Davis, Esq. was President. Although assembled for the professed purpose of considering the exp< diencj of an excise duty alone, the inquiries of this body were more extensive in pursuit of existing evils. When the result of its deliberations was communi- cated ti> the inhabitants of Worcester, they adopted for themselves the petition prepared Tor general acceptance, representing as grievan- ces, the grant to Congress of an impost for twenty five years to dis- charge the interest accruing on state securities ; the payment from the treasury of the expenses of festive days of rejoicin com-
pensation to officers of the continental army; neglect to redeem the paper currency ; the want of a circulating medium ; and the impair- ed state of credit. The representative of the town was instructed to endeavor to procure the removal of the General Court from Bos- ton to some country town, where it would be secure from improper influences: and to cause an account of the debts, revenues and charges of gov eminent to ,K' pnblished annually. The-" complaints, unnoticed by the Legislature, seemed to be hushed and quieted by the very neglect they experienced.
But the spirit of discontent, though stilled, was not extinct. It spread wider and deeper, and grew stronger in the minds of men, and its voice was again heard. In May, 17^(5, another invitation from Sutton, for a general meeting, was circulated, and passed over here without attention. The delegates of 17 towns, however, firm- ed a convention at Leicester, and elected Willis Hall, of Sutton, its
1 'While the ureal body of tlic people desired only escape from impending suits, without premeditated malice against the Commonwealth or its institutions, every trivial cause was magnified and perverted to increase the existing irritation, till,
under the influence of delusion, a deadly blow was struck at both.' Ms-^- Centennial Address of Hon. John Davis.
134 GRIEVANCES. [1786.
President. As the attendance was thin, letters were addressed to Worcester, and the other towns of the county unrepresented, re- questing ilioir participation, and an adjournment took place to the 15th of August following. Our inhabitants, at a meeting held on this application, determined, hy a great majority, not to comply; on the grounds, that the body from which it emanated was not recognized by the constitution, and that its session was unnecessary and ille- gal. Thirty seven towns, appeared by their representatives when the convention was reorganized at Leicester. It is not uninteres- ting to notice the gradual increase of alleged evils in its doings. In 1784, the list was brief. In 1780, without essential change in pol- icy or condition, it had swelled to voluminous extent. In addition to the grievances already stated, they enumerated among the sources of uneasiness, abuses in the practice of the law ; exorbitance of the items in the fee bill ; the existence and administration of the Courts of Common Pleas and Sessions; the number and salaries of public officers ; grants to the Attorney General ; and to Congress, while the state accounts remained unliquidated. A committee was in- structed to report a memorial, at another session, to be had, by ad- journment, in Paxton, on the last Tuesday of September.
Thus far, redress had been sought by the constitutional appeal of the citizen to the Legislature. The recorded proceedings of the convention are of pacific character, expressing disapprobation of combinations, mobs, and riots : yet, it is probable, that during the period of its consultations, the bold design was originated by the most violent of its members, of resisting the execution of the laws and suspending the operations of courts. Soon after the first meet- ing, it was stated in the paper of the town, printed by Mr. Thomas, that apprehensions existed of obstruction to the Common Pleas in June. The first open act of insurrection followed close upon the adjournment of the convention in August.
Although warning of danger had been given, confiding in the loy- alty of the people, their love of order, and respect for the laws, the officers of government had made no preparations to support the court, to be held in Worcester, in September, 1786. On Monday night, of the first week in that month, a body of eighty armed men, under Capt. Adam Wheeler of Hubbardston, entered the town, and took possession of the Court House. Early the next morning, their numbers were augmented to nearly one hundred, and as many more collected without fire arms. The Judges of the Common Pleas had assembled at the house of the Hon. Joseph Allen. At the usual
1786.] C01 RTS Bl 5PENDE0. 135
hour, with the Justices of the S< ssions and the members of the bar, attended by the clerk and sheriff, they moved toward- the Court House. Chief Justice Artemas Ward, a general of tin1 revolution, united intrepid firmness with prudent moderation. His resolute and manly bearing on thai day of difficulty and embarrassment, sustain- ed the dignit) of the office he bore, and commanded the respect ev< n of his opponents. < >u bim devolved the responsibility of an occasion affecting deeplj the future peace of the community : and it was sup- ported well and ably.
On the verge of the crowd thronging the hill, a sentinel wa cing on his round, who challenged the procession as it approached his post. Gen. Ward, sternly ordered the soldier, formerly a Bubal- tern of his own particular regiment, to recover his levelled musket. The man, awed by the voice he had been accustomed to obey, in- stantly complied, and presented his piece, in military salute, to his old commander. The Court, having received the honors of war, from him who was planted to oppose their advance', went on. The mul- titude, receding to the right and left, made way in sullen >ilence, till the judicial officers reached the Court House. On the steps was stationed a file of men with fixed bayonets : on the front, stood Captain Wheeler, with Ins drawn sword. The crier was directed to open the doors, and permitted to throw them back, displaying a party of infantry with their guns levelled, as if ready to fire. Judge Ward then advanced, and the bayonets were turned againsl his breast. He demanded, repeatedly, who commanded the people there; by what authority, and for what purpose, they had met in hos- tile array. Wheeler at length replied : alter disclaiming the rank of leader, he stated, that they had come to relieve the distresses of the country, by preventing the sittings of courts until they could obtain redress of grievances. The Chief Justice answered, that he would satisfy them their complaints were without just foundation. lie was told by Capt. Smith of Barre, that any communication he had to make must be reduced to writing. Judge Ward indignantly refused to do this: he said, he 'did not value their bayonets: they might plunge them to his heart : but while that heart beat he would do his duty : when opposed to it, his life was of little consequence : if they would take away their bayonets and give him some position where he could be heard by his fellow citizens, and not by the lead- ers alone who had deceived and deluded them, he would speak, but not otherwise.' The insurgent officers, fearful of the effect of his de- termined manner on the minds of their followers, interrupted. They
13G JUDGE WARD. [1786.
<li<l not. coin;: there, d, to listen to long speeches, but to re-
sist oppression: they had the power to compel submission: and they demanded, an adjournment without day. Judge Ward perem- torily refused to answer any proposition, unless it was accompanied by the name of him by whom it was made. They then desired him to fall back : the drum was beat, and the guard ordered to charge. The soldiers advanced, until the points of their bayonets pressed hard upon the- breast of the Chief Justice, who stood as immoveable as a statue, without stirring a limb, or yielding an inch, although the steel in the hands of desperate men penetrated his drc-<. Struck with admiration by his intrepidity, and shrinking from the sacrifice of life, the guns were removed, and Judge Ward, ascending the steps, addressed the assembly. In a style of clear and forcible argument, he examined their supposed grievances: exposed their fallacy; ex- plained the dangerous tendency of their rash measures ; admonish- ed them that they were placing in peril the liberty acquired by the efforts and sufferings of years, plunging the country in civil war, and involving themselves and their families in misery : that the measures they had taken must defeat their own wishes; for the government would never yield that to force, which would be readily accorded to respectful representations: and warned them that the majesty of the laws, would be vindicated, and their resistance of its power aven- ged. He spoke nearly two hours, not without frequent interrup- tion. But admonition and argument were unavailing : the insur- gents declared they would maintain their ground until satisfaction was obtained. Judge Ward, addressing himself to Wheeler, advis- ed him to suffer the troops to disperse : ' they were waging war, which was treason, and its end would be,' he added after a momentary pause, ' the gallows. ' The judges then retired, unmolested, through armed files. Soon after, the Court was opened at the United States Arms Tavern, ' and immediately adjourned to the next day. Orders were despatched to the colonels in the brigade to call out their regiments, and march, without a moment's delay, to sustain the judicial tribu- nals : but that right arm on which the government rests for defence was paralyzed : in this hour of its utmost need, the militia shared in the disaffection, and the officers reported, that it was out of their power to muster their companies, because they generally favored those movements of the people directed against the highest civil in- stitutions of the state, and tending to the subversion of social order. In the afternoon of Tuesday, a petition was presented from Athol,
1 On the site of the Exchange Coffee House. 1836.
1786.] COMMITTEES WAIT ON THE COURT. 1 :JT
requesting thai no judgments should be rendered in civil actions, excepl where debts would be lost by delay, and no trials had unless with the consent of the parties; a course corresponding with the views entertained by the court. Soon after, Capt. Smith of Barre, unceremoniously introduced himself to the judges, with his sword drawn, and offered a paper purporting to be the petition of the body of people now collected lor their own good and that ofthe Common- wealth,' requiring an adjournment of the court- u ithoul day. I le de- manded, in a threatening manner, an answer in halt' an hour. Judge Ward, with great dignity, replied, that no answer would lie given, and the intruder retired. An interview was solicited, during the evening, by a committee, who were informed that the officers of gov- ernment would make no promises to men in hostile array : an in- timation was given that the request of the people of Athol was con- sidered reasonable : and the conference terminated. A report ofthe result was made to the in . who voted it was unsatisfactory,
and resolved to remain until the following day.
During the night, the Court House was guarded in martial form : sentinels were posted along the front ofthe building, and along Main street : the men not on duty, bivouaced in the hall of justice, or sought shelter with their friends. In the first light of morning, the whole force paraded on the hill, and was harangued by the leaders. In the forenoon, a new deputation waited on the court, with a repe- tition of the former demand, and received similar reply. The jus- tices assured the committee, if the body dispersed, the people ofthe county would have no just cause of complaint with the course the court would adopt. The insurgents, reenforced with about two hun- dred from Holden and Ward, now mustered four hundred strong, half with fire arms, and the remainder furnished with sticks. They formed in column, and marched through Main street, with their music, inviting all who sought relief from oppression to join their ranks, but receiving no accession of recruits from our citizens, they returned to the Court House. Sprigs of evergreen had been distributed, and mounted as the distinctive badge of rebellion, and a young pine tree was elevated at their post as the standard of revolt.
The court, at length, finding that no reliance could be placed on military support, and no hope entertained of being permitted to proceed with business, adjourned, continuing all causes to the next term. Proclamation was made by the sheriff to the people, and a copy of the record communicated. After this, about two hundred men, with sticks only, paraded before the house of Mr. Allen, where 18
138 INSURGENTS RETIRE. [1786.
the justices had retired, and halted nearly an hour, as if meditating some act of violence. The main body then marched down, and pas- sing through the other party, whose open ranks closed after them, the whole moved to the common, where they displayed into line, and sent another committee to the court.
The sessions, considering their deliberations controlled by the mob, deemed it expedient to follow the example of the superior tri- bunal, by an adjournment to the 21st of November. When the in- surgent adjutant presented a paper, requiring it should be without fixed day, Judge Ward replied, the business was finished and could not be changed.
Before night closed down, the Regulators, as they styled them- selves, dispersed ; and thus terminated the first interference of the citizens in arms with the course of justice. Whatever fears might have been entertained of future disastrous consequences, their visit brought with it no terror, and no apprehension for personal safety to their opposers. Both parties, indeed, seemed more inclined to hear than strike. The conduct of Judge Ward was dignified and spirited, in a situation of great embarrassment. His own depreca- tion, that the sun might not shine on the day when the constitution was trampled on with impunity, seemed to be realized. Clouds, darkness, and storm, brooded over the meeting of the insurgents, and rested on their tumultuary assemblies in the county at subse- quent periods.
The state of feeling here, was unfavorably influenced by the suc- cess of the insurgents. At a meeting of the inhabitants, on the 25th of September, delegates were elected to the county convention at Paxton, with instructions to report their doings to the town. The list of grievances received some slight additions from this as- sembly. The delay and expense of Courts of Probate, the manner of recording deeds in one general office of registry, instead of en- tering them on the books of the town where the land was situated ; and the right of absentees to sue for the collection of debts, were the subjects of complaint in a petition, concluding with the request that precepts might be issued for meetings, to express public senti- ment in relation to a revision of the constitution, and if two thirds of the qualified voters were in favor of amendment, that a state convention might be called. The existence of this body was con- tinued by an adjournment to Worcester. The petition was imme- diately forwarded to the General Court. A copy was subsequently submitted to the town, at a meeting held, October 2, for the purpose
1786.] TOWN MEETING. PETITIONS. 139
of receiving a report from the delegates. It mu then voted, ' That
Mr. Daniel Baird be r«-<|ur-st<-ij tn inform tin- town whether thil \<> - tition was according to his mind, and he informed the town it vu but thai he did not approve of it- being -rut to the General Court before it had been laid before the town.' The petition was read para- graph by paragraph, rejected, and the delegates dismissed.
On the Hith of October, in compliance with the request of 34 freeholders, another town meeting was called : after long and warm debate, the former delegates were reelected, to attend the conven- tion, at its adjourned session. A petition had been offered, praying consideration of the measures proper in the alarming situation of the country, and for instructions to the representative to enquire into the expenditure of public money, the salaries of officers, the means of increasing manufactures, encouraging agriculture, intro- ducing economy, and removing every grievance. Directions were given to endeavor to procure the removal of the Legislature from the metropolis to the interior ; the annihilation of the Inferior Courts ; the substitution of a cheaper and more expeditious admin- istration of justice ; the immediate repeal of the supplementary fund granted to congress ; the appropriation of the revenue arising from impost and excise to the payment of the foreign debt ; and the with- holding all supplies from Congress until settlement of accounts be- tween the Commonwealth and Continent. Resolutions, introduced by the supporters of government, expressing disapprobation of uncon- stitutional assemblies, armed combinations, and riotous movements, and pointing to the Legislature as the only legitimate source of re- dress, were rejected. The convention party was triumphant by a small majority. While the discussion was urged, a considerate cit- izen enquired of one of the most zealous of the discontented, what grievances he suffered, and what were the principal evils among them? ' There are grievances enough, thank God !' was the hasty reply, ' and they, are all principal ones.'
The jurisdiction of the sessions was principally over criminal of- fences, and its powers were exercised for the preservation of social order. No opposition had been anticipated to its session, on the 21st of November, and no defensive preparations were made. On that day, about sixty armed men, under Abraham Gale of Prince- ton, entered the north part of the town. During the evening, and on Wednesday morning, about one hundred mqre arrived, from Hubbardston, Shrewsbury, and some adjacent towns. A commit- tee presented a petition to the court, at the United States Arms
140 COUNTY CONVENTION. [1786.
tavern, for their adjournment until a new choice of representatives, which was not received. The insurgents then took possession of the ground around the Court House. When the Justices approach- ed, the armed men made way, and they passed through the opening ranks to the steps. There, triple rows of bayonets presented to their breasts, opposed farther advance. The Sheriff, Col. William Green- loaf of Lancaster, addressed the assembled crowd, stating the dan- ger to themselves and the public from their lawless measures. Rea- soning and warning were ineffectual, and the proclamation in the riot act was read for their dispersion. Amid the grave solemnity of the scene, some incidents were interposed of lighter character. Col. Greenleaf remarked with great severity, on the conduct of the arm- ed party around him. One of the leaders replied, they sought re- lief from grievances : that among the most intolerable of them was the Sheriff himself: and next to his person were his fees, which were exorbitant and excessive, particularly on criminal executions. ' If you consider fees for executions oppressive,' replied the sheriff, irri- tated by the attack, ' you need not wait long for redress; for I will hang you all, Gentlemen, for nothing, with the greatest pleasure.' Some hand among the crowd, which pressed close, placed a pine branch on his hat, and the county officer retired, with the Justices, decorated with the evergreen badge of rebellion. The clerk enter- ed on his records, that the court was prevented from being held by an armed force, the only notice contained on their pages that our soil has ever been dishonored by resistance of the laws.
To this period, the indulgence of government had dealt with its revolted subjects as misguided citizens, seduced to acts of violence from misconception of the sources of their distress. Conciliatory policy had applied remedial statutes wherever practicable, and prof- fered full pardon and indemnity for past misconduct. Reasonable hopes were entertained that disaffection, quieted by lenient meas- ures, would lay down the arms assumed under strong excitement, and that reviving order would rise from the confusion. But the in- surgents, animated by temporary success, and mistaking the mild- ness of forbearance for weakness or fear, had extended their designs from present relief to permanent change. Their early movements were without further object than to stay that flood of executions which wasted their property and made their homes desolate. That portion of the community, who condemned the violence of the ac- tors in the scenes we have described, sympathized in their sufferings, and were disposed to consider the offences venial, while the profess-
1786.] PREPARATIONS OF GO\ BRNMENT. 1 II
ed purpose of their commission was merely to obtain the delay m - cessarj for ■ eking constitutional redress, All implicated, - 1< .. •< I
<iii safe ami honorable ground, until the renewal, on the 21st of No- vember, of the opposition to the administratiou of justice. D
ance of the authority of the state, could no longer he tolerated with- out the prostration of its institutions. The crisis had arrived, when government, driven to the utmost limit of concession, must appeal to the sword for preservation, even though its destroj in turn-
ed on the citizen, mighl be crimsoned with civil slaughter. Infor- mation was communicated to the executive of extensive levies of troops for the suppression of the judiciary, and the coercion of the legislature. Great exertions were making to prevent the approach- ing session of the Court of Common Pl< as, in Worcester, in the first week of December. Gov. Bowdoin and the council, resolved to adopt vigorous measures to overawe the insurgents. Orders were issued to Major General Warner, to call out the militia of his division, and five regiments were directed to hold themselves in in- stant readiness to march. Doubts, however, arose, how far reliance could be placed on the troops of an infected district. The sheriff reported, that a sufficient force could not be collected. The first instructions were therefore countermanded, a plan having been set- tled to raise an army whose power might effectually crush resistance, and the Judges were advised to adjourn to the 23d of January fol- lowing, when the contemplated arrangements could be matured to terminate the unhappy troubles.
The insurgents, unapprised of the change of operations, began to concentrate their whole strength to interrupt the courts at Worces- ter and Concord. They had fixed on Shrewsbury as the place of rendezvous. On the 29th of November, a party of forty from Barre, Spencer, and Leicester, joined Capt. Wheeler, who had established his head quarters in that town during the preceding week, and succeeded in enlisting about thirty men. Daniel Shays, the reputed commander in chief, and nominal head of the rebellion, made his first public appearance in the county soon after, with troops from Hampshire. Reenforcements came in, till the number at the post ex- ceeded four hundred. Sentinels stopped and examined tra\ellers, and patrols were sent out toward- Concord, Cambridge, and Worcester. On Thursday, November :}(), information was received, that the Light Horse, under Col. Hitchborn, had captured Shattuck, Parker and Paige, and that a detachment of cavalry was marching against themselves. This intelligence disconcerted their arrangements for
142 FORCES OF THE INSURGENTS COLLECT. [1786.
an expedition into Middlesex, and they retreated, in great alarm, to Holder). On Friday, Wheeler was in a house passed by the horse- men, and only escaped from being captured by accident. Another person, supposed to be commander, was pursued, and received a sa- bre cut in the hand. The blow was slight, but afforded sufficient foundation for raising the cry that blood had been shed, and rous- intr passion to vengeance. The wounded insurgent was exhibited and bewailed as the martyr of their cause. As the light horse retir- ed, it was discovered they did not exceed twenty. About an hun- dred of Shays's men rallied, and returned to Shrewsbury, following a foe whose celerity of movement left no cause to fear they could be brought to an encounter. Search was made for the town stock of powder, removed by the vigilance of one of the selectmen, Col. Cushing, whose house they surrounded, and whose person they en- deavored to seize, but he escaped. Consultation was held on the expediency of marching directly to "Worcester, and encamping be- fore the Court House. Without clothing to protect them from cold, without money, or food to supply the wants of hunger, it was con- sidered impracticable to maintain themselves there, and on Satur- day, they marched to Grafton, and went into quarters with their friends.
The party left at Holden, found one object of their meeting, the junction with the insurgents at Concord, frustrated. Those who belonged to the neighboring towns were therefore dismissed, with orders to assemble in Worcester on Monday following. Shays re- tired to the barracks in Rutland, and sent messengers to hasten on the parties from Berkshire and Hampshire, in anticipation of meet- ing the militia of government at Worcester.
On Sunday evening, the detachment from Grafton entered the town, under the command of Abraham Gale of Princeton, Adam Wheeler of Hubbardston, Simeon Hazeltine of Hardwick, and John Williams, reputed to be a deserter from the British army, and once a serjeant of the continental line. They halted before the Court House, and having obtained the keys, placed a strong guard around the building, and posted sentinels on all the streets and avenues of the town to prevent surprise. Those who were off duty, rolling themselves in their blankets, rested on their arms, on the floor of the Court room.
However the fidelity of Worcester might have wavered, its citi- zens had now become aware of the peril of their rights, when the mustering power of rebellion was attempting to upheave the foun-
1786.] mil rn \. CAP* iiowi:. I 13
dations of government. The whole military strength of the town rallied to it- support. Two lull companies of our militia, enrolling one liiimlred ami Beventy rank ami file, paraded <>n Monday, at the South Meeting House, under the Minor captain, Joel Howe. In the afternoon, thej formed in column, ami marched down Main street. On approaching the I nited States Arms tavern, the bead quarters of the insurgents, tin1 drums beat to arm'-, ami their Inns were formed across the road. ( 'apt . Howe, advancing in slow time,
sent forward an adjutant to demand liy what authority the highways were obstructed. A contemptuous answer was returned, that he might come and see. Another officer was detached, to order them to remove, as the militia intended to pass over tin- ground they oc- cupied : the reply was, they might pass if they could, ("apt. Howe then halted, and addressed Ins mm in an animating tone, expressing his determination to proceed, and his reliance on their intrepidity. The bayonets were fixed and the company then advanced : in a few paces they came to the position for a charge. The front rank of the insurgents stood in readiness to use their muskets, while the band of Captain Howe moved steadily down upon their line. For a moment, civil war seemed about to drench our streets in blood. Vet- erans of the revolution were arrayed on both sides, who had been too often amid the shot of battle, to shrink from danger in any form. Fortunately, the insurgents were not prepared to stain their cause by the slaughter of their brethren. Their line wavered, and break- ing, by a rapid wheel, gained a new position on the hill. The mili- tia went by their post, to the Hancock Arms,1 beyond the north square. It is doing no injustice to their gallantry to believe, their congratulations were sincere on the innocent result of appearances so menacing. After brief rest, they returned, and were dismissed, until the next morning, with merited commendations. Their spirit- ed conduct was productive of salutary effects. It ascertained, that their opponents were too apprehensive of consequences to support their demands by force, and the dread their formidable array might have inspired, was changed to contempt and derision of their pre- tensions.
As the evening closed in, one of the most furious snow storms of a severe winter commenced. One division of the insurgents occu- pied the Court House : another sought shelter at the Hancock Arms. The sentinels, chilled by the tempest, and imagining them-
1 This building was afterwards the Brown & Butman Tavern, and destroyed by fire, Dec. 24, 1824.
144 INSURGENTS OCCUPY THE TOWN. . [1786.
selves secured by its violence from attack, joined their comrades around the lire of the guard room. The young men of the town, in the spirit of sportive mischief, contrived to carry away their muskets, incautiously stacked in the entryway, and having secreted them at a distance, raised the alarm that tlie liglit horse were upon them. The party sallied out in confusion, and panic struck at the silent dis- appearance of their arms, fled through tlu; fast falling snow to the Court House, where their associates had paraded. The guns were discovered, at length, and the whole force remained, ready for ac- tion, several hours, frequently disturbed by the fresh outcries of their vexatious persecutors.
The increasing fury of the storm, and the almost impassible con- dition of the roads, did not prevent the arrival of many from IIol- den, and the vicinity, on Tuesday, swelling the numerical force of malcontents to five hundred. The Court was opened at the Sun Tavern,1 and in conformity with the instructions of the Governor, adjourned to the 23d of January, without attempting to transact business. Petitions from committees of Sutton and Douglas, that the next session might be postponed to March, were disregarded.
Worcester assumed the appearance of a garrisoned town. The citizens answered to the frequent challenges of military guards: the traveller was admonished to stay his steps by the voice and bayonet of the soldier. Sentries paced before the house of Mr. Allen, the clerk, where Judge Ward resided, and the former gentleman was threatened with violence on his own threshold. Mr. Justice Wash- burn of Leicester, was opposed on his way, and two of his friends, who seized the gun presented to his breast, were arrested and de- tained in custody. Justice Baker, on his return homeward, was apprehended in the road, and some of his captors suggested the propriety of sending him to prison, to experience the corrective dis- cipline, to which, as a magistrate, he had subjected others.
On Tuesday evening, a council of war was convened, and it was seriously determined to march to Boston, and effect the liberation of the state prisoners, as soon as sufficient strength could be collected. In anticipation of attack, the Governor gathered the means of de- fence around the metropolis. Guards were mounted at the prison, and at the entrances of the city : alarm posts were assigned ; and Ma- jor General Brooks held the militia of Middlesex contiguous to the road, in readiness for action, and watched the force at Worcester.
1 United States Hotel* 1836.
178G.] ALARM OF THE INSURGENTS. 146
During t ho evening of Tuesday, an alarm l>roke out, more ter- rific to the part) quartered at the Hancock Arms, than that winch had disturbed the repose of the preceding night. Soon alter parta- king the refreshment which was sometimes used bj the military, be- fore the institution of temperance societies, several of the men were seized with violent sickness, and a rumor spread, that poison had been mingled with the fountain which supplied their water. Dr. Samuel Stearns of Paxton, astrologer, almanac manufacturer, and quack by profession, detected in the sedimenl of the cup- they had drained, a substance, which he unhesitatingly pronounced to he a compound of ar.-enic and antimony, so deleterious, that a single grain would extinguish the lives ofa thousand. Tin' numbers of the afflicted increased with frightful rapidity, and the bj mtoms i_rrew more fearful. It was suddenly recollected that the sugar used in their bev- erage, had been purchased from a respectable merchant ol the town,1 whose attachment to government was well known, and the sick- ness around was deemed proof conclush e that it had been adulterated for their destruction. A file of soldiers seized the seller, and brought him to answer for the supposed attempt to murder the levies of rebel- lion. As he entered the house, the cry of indignation rose strong. Fortunately for his safety, Dr. Green of Ward, an intelligent prac- titioner of medicine, arrived, and the execution of vengeance was deferred until his opinion of its propriety could be obtained. After careful inspection of the suspected substance, and subjecting it to the test of different senses, he declared, that to the best of his knowl- edge, it was genuine, yellow, scotch, snuff. The reputed dying rais- ed their heads from the floor : the slightly affected recovered*: the gloom which had settled heavily on the supposed victims of mor- tal disease was dispelled, and the illness soon vanished. Strict in- quiry furnished a reasonable explanation : a clerk in the store of the merchant had opened a package of the fragrant commodity, in the vicinity of the sugar barrel, and a portion of the odoriferous leaf, had, inadvertently, been scattered from the counter into its un- covered head. A keg of spirit was accepted in full satisfaction for the panic occasioned by the decoction of tobacco so innocently ad- ministered.
Bodies of militia, anxious to testify their reviving zeal, were toil- ing through the deep snowdrifts. Gen. Warner, finding that no be- nefit could be derived from their presence, sent orders for their return
1 The late Danie! Waldo, (sen.) Esq.
19
14C CONSULTATIONS OF THE INSURGENTS. [1786.
to their homes, and the insurgents enjoyed the triumph of holding undisputed possession of the town.
On Wednesday, December 6, they went out to meet Shays, who arrived from Rutland, with 350 men. As they reentered the street, the appearance of the column of 800 was highly imposing. The com- panies included many who had learned their tactics from Steuben, and served an apprenticeship of discipline in the ranks of the revolu- tion : war worn veterans, who in a good cause, would have been in- vincible. The pine tuft supplied the place of plume in their hats. Shays, with his aid, mounted on white horses, led on the van. They displayed into line before the Court House, where they were reviewed and inspected. The men were then billeted on the inhab- itants. No compulsion was used : where admittance was peremp- torilv refused, they quietly retired, and sought food and shelter else- where. Provision having been made for the soldiers, Shays joined the other leaders in council. At night, he was attended to his quar- ters, at the house of the late Col. Samuel Flagg, by a strong guard, preceded by the music of the army, with something of the state as- sumed by a general officer. Precautions against surprise were re- doubled. Chains of sentinels were stretched along the streets, plant- ed in every avenue of approach, and on the neighboring hills, ex- amining all who passed. The cry of ' all 's well,' rose on the watch- es of the night, from those whose presence brought danger to the Commonwealth.
Committees from some of the neighboring towns, and many of the prominent members of the conventions, assembled with the mil- itary leaders, on Thursday, the 6th of December. Their delibera- tions were perplexed and discordant. The inclemency of the wea- ther had prevented the arrival of the large force expected. The impossibility of retaining the men who had assembled, without mu- nitions, subsistence, or stores, compelled them to abandon the medi- tated attack on Boston, then put in a posture of defence, and more pacific measures were finally adopted. A petition was prepared for circulation, remonstrating against the suspension of the habeas cor- pus writ ; asking for the pardon and release of the prisoners; a new act of amnesty ; the adjournment of courts until the session of the new Legislature in May ; and expressing their readiness to lay down their arms on compliance with these demands. In the afternoon, Shays's men and part of Wheeler's, to the number of 500, began their march for Paxton, on their way to the barracks in Rutland. About an hundred more retired to the north part of the town.
178G.] RETREAT OP THE INS1 RGENTS. I W
Friday was -pent in consultation. Aware thai public sentiment was setting againsl them with -i n >mlt reaction, the mere] which had been rejected was now supplicated. Letters were addressed to each town of the county, inviting the inhabitants to unite in their peti- tions. Shays himself, in a private conference with an acquaintance, made use of these expressions : ' For God's sake, have matter* jet- tied peaceably ; it was againsl my inclinations I undertook t!n^ lm-i- ness ; importunity was used which I could nol withstand; but I heartily wish it was well over.'
In the evening, the Court House was abandoned, but sentries were posted at almost every door of the outside and interior of the public house, where the leaders remained in consultation.
Another snow storm commenced on Saturday morning. Luke Day, with 150 men from Hampshire, reached Leicester, hut was una- ble to proceed in the tempest. About noon, all the insurgents in Worcester paraded before their head quarters, and were dismissed. The companies of Ward, Holden, Spencer, Rutland, Barre, and Pe- tersham, after moving slowly through Main street in distinct bodies, took up the line of inarch for their respective homes, through roads choked with drifts.
The condition of these deluded men during their stay here, was such as to excite compassion rather than fear. Destitute of almosl every necessary of life, in an inclement season, without money to purchase the food which their friends could not supply, unwelcome guests in the quarters they occupied, pride restrained the exposure of their wants. .Many must have endured the gnawings of hunger in our streets : yet, standing with arms in their hands, enduring pri- vations in the midst of plenty, they took nothing by force, and tres- passed on no man's rights by violence : some declared they had not tasted bread for twenty four hours ; all who made known their sit- uation, were relieved by our citizens with liberal charity.
The forlorn condition of the insurgents was deepened by the dis- tresses of their retreat. Their course was amid the wildest revelry of storm and wind, in a night of intense cold. Some were frozen to death by the way : others, exhausted with struggling through the deep and drifted snow, sunk down, and would have perished but for the aid of their stouter comrades: when relief was sought among the farm houses, every door was opened at the call of misery, and the wrongs done by the rebel were forgotten in the sufferings of him who claimed hospitality as a stranger.
The whole number assembled at Worcester never exceeded a
148 GEN. LINCOLN'S ARMY. [1787.
thousand. The spirit animating the first movements had grown cold, and Shays expressed to an acquaintance here, the impression that the cause had become gloomy and hopeless In conversation with an officer of government, he disclaimed being at the head of the re- bellion ; declared he had come to the resolution to have nothing more to do with stopping courts : that if he could not obtain pardon, he would gather the whole force he could command, and fight to the last extremity, rather than be hanged. When asked if he would accept pardon were it offered, and abandon the insurgents, he re- plied, ' Yes, in a moment.'1
The delay of government, while it afforded time to circulate cor- rect information among the people, left the insurgents at liberty to pursue their measures, The Court at Springfield, on the 26th of December, was resisted, and intelligence was received of active exer- tions to prevent the session of the Common Pleas, at Worcester, on the 23d of January. Longer forbearance would have been weak- ness, and vigorous measures were adopted for sustaining the judi- ciary. An army of 4400 men was raised from the counties of Suf- folk, Essex, Middlesex, Hampshire, and Worcester, for thirty days service. General Benjamin Lincoln, whose prudence, and milita- ry skill peculiarly qualified him for the important trust, received the command. Voluntary loans were made by individuals for the armament, pay, and subsistence of the troops.
On the 21st of January, the army took up the line of march from Roxbury. The inclemency of the weather, and the condition of the roads rendered a halt necessary at Marlborough. The next day, the troops reached Worcester, notwithstanding the effects of sudden thaw on the deep snow, and were quartered on the inhabi- tants, the houses being thrown open for their shelter and com- fort. Here they were joined by the regiments of the county. The town contributed its quota liberally. In the company under Capt. Joel Howe, were 27 non commissioned officers and privates. In the
1 The retreat of Shays not on]}' afforded the friends of order occasion for triumph, but sport for wit. An Epigram, from one of the prints, affords a specimen of the poe- try and jest of the time. The name of the common carriage, the chaise, and that of the insurgent leader, had then the same spelling as well as sound. ' Says sober Will, well Shays has fled, And peace returns to bless our days. Indeed! cries Ned, I always said,
He 'd prove at last a fall back Shays ; And those turned over and undone, Call him a worthless Shays to run.'
1787.] AFFAIR AT NEW BRAINTREE. I 19
artillery, under Capt. William Tread well, were enrolled 43 of out citizens. Nineteen Berved under Capt. Phinehas Jonea. Seven dra- goons were embodied in a legionary corps, Lt. Daniel Goulding was at the head of a troop of cavalry. The late judge Edward Bangs, Timothj Bigelow, afterwards Speaker of the house of Rep- resentatives of Massachusetts, and Theophilus Wheeler, Esq. serv- ed as \ olunteers.
Detachments of insurgents collected al Rutland, New Braintree, Princeton, Sterling, and Sutton, but, intimidated by the military, hovered at a distance, while the courts proceeded. < >n the 25th of January, Gen. Lincoln hastened westward for the relief of Shep- ard, and of the arsenal at Springfield, invested bj Shays and Day.
Major Genera] Warner was left in command al Worcester, with a regiment of infantry, a corps of artillery, including Capt. Tread- well's company, two field pieces, and a party from the legionary bat- talion of volunteer cavalry. Information having been given that a body of about two hundred insurgents had assembled al .New Brain- tree, intercepting travellers and insulting the friends of government, twenty horsemen, supported by about 150 infantrj in sleighs, were sent out, on the night of the 2d of February, to capture or dis- perse the disaffected. Upon approaching the place of their destina- tion, the cavalry were ordered to advance at full speed to surprise the enemy. The insurgents, apprised of the expedition, had aban- doned their quarters at the house of Micah Hamilton, and taken post behind the walls of the road side, and having fired a volley of mus- ketry upon the detachment, fled to the woods: Mr. Jonathan Rice of Worcester, a deputy sheriff, was shot through the arm and hand : Doct. David Young was severely wounded in the knee : * the bri- dle rein of Theophilus Wheeler, Esq. was cut by a ball. Without halting, the soldiers rapidly pursued their way to the deserted head quarters, where they liberated Messrs. Samuel Flagg and John Stanton of Worcester, who had been seized the day previous, while transacting private business at Leicester. Having dispersed those who occupied the barracks at Rutland, the next day, the companies returned with four prisoners.
The career of Shays was fast drawing to its close. Driven from post to post, he suddenly retired from Pelham to Petersham, where he expected to concentrate the forces of expiring rebellion, and make
1 Dr. Young afterwards recovered £ 1000, in a civil action, against those by whom he was wounded.
150 FORCES OF THE INSURGENTS ROUTED. [1787.
his final stand. Intelligence of this change of position reached Gen. Lincoln at Hadley, February 3d, and he determined, by prompt and decisive action, to terminate the warfare. When the troops took up the line of march, at 8 o'clock, the evening was bright and mild. Before morning the cold became intense : the dry and light snow, whirled before a violent north wind, filled the paths and rendered them almost impassible. The severity of the cold prevented any halt for rest or refreshment. At a distance from shelter, without defence against the inclemency of the weather, it became necessary to press on, without pausing, to the camp occupied by men possessing all martial advantages, except courage and a good cause. The heavy sufferings of the night were terminated, by the arrival of the troops in the very center of Petersham. The followers of Shays, trusting to the violence of the storm and the obstructions of the highways, rested in careless security. The first warning of danger was from the appearance of the advanced guard of the forces of government, after a journey of thirty miles, in the midst of their cantonment. Had an army dropped from the clouds upon the hill, the consterna- tion could not have been greater. Panic struck, the insurgents fled, without firing a gun, or offering resistance to soldiers exhausted by fatigue, with frozen limbs, and almost sinking under the privations and hardships of the severe service.
Thirty of the citizens of Worcester were in this expedition, and shared in the movement, called by Minot ' one of the most indefati- gable marches that ever was performed in America.' Gen. Lincoln writes from Petersham, Feb. 4, ' we arrived here about nine o'clock, exceedingly fatigued by a march of thirty miles, part of it in a deep snow, and in a most violent storm. When this abated, the cold in- creased, and a great part of our men were frozen in some part or other ; but I hope none of them dangerously so, and that most of them will be able to march again in a short time.' The insur- gents never again collected in force : independent parties appear- ed in different parts of the western counties : but they were soon compelled to seek safety by submission, or flight into the neigh- boring states. Two or three only, of our townsmen, bore arms with Shays.
The rebellion being terminated, the infliction of some punishment for the highest political crime was deemed expedient. Some of those who had been in arms against the laws, were brought to trial, convicted of treason, and sentenced to death. Henry Gale of Princeton, was the only insurgent found guilty of capital offence,
1787.] INSURGENTS PARDONED. I">l
in this county.' On the '-;!<l day of June, at the hour fixed for his execution by the warrant, he was led out to the gallows erected on the common, with all the solemn ceremony of Buch exhibitions. \ reprieve was then read to him, and afterwards full pardon wai I'M.-' Proceedings for seditious practices, pending against Beveral prisoners, were suspended. The mercy of government was finally extended to all, who had been involved in the difficulties and disor- ders of the time, upon taking the oath of allegiance to the com- monwealth, after souk; temporary civil disqualification
CHAPTER IX.
Reception of Washington, 17C9. Memorial on the treaty with England, 1797. Volun- teers, 1798. Funeral honors to Washington, 1800. Militia volunteer, 1807. Boston memorial. lf>0f>. War of 1-1 J. British prisoners. Troops i ailed into Ben ice, 181 I. Visit of Lafayette, W.1L Amendments of the Constitution. Benefactions of Isaiah
Thomas. Incorporation of Hoklen and Ward. Proposed division of the county.
In the progress of the narrative, we have arrived to that period, when the events of the past are so closely connected with the feelings of the present, as to impose painful restraint on the course of minute recital. The faithful review of the incidents of local his- tory from the adoption of the federal constitution, embracing the
1 The court assigned as his counsel, Levi Lincoln, sen. and James Sullivan. The warm support of government by the former had rendered him obnoxious to the insur- gents. During their occupation of the town, they sent parties to seize his person, who surrounded and searched his house. Seasonably informed of their intentions, he was able to disappoint them.
2 Six were convicted of treason in the county of Berkshire, six in Hampshire, one in Worcester, and one in Middlesex, all of whom received sentence of death, but were sub- sequently pardoned. The only public punishment actually inflicted, except limited disqualification from civil or military office, was on a member of the house of represen- tatives, guilty of seditious words and practices, who was sentenced to sit on the gallows with a rope about his neck, pay a fine of £50, and to be bound to keep the peace and be of good behavior for live years.
3 The facts stated in the foregoing chapter have been derived, from the Won . -t. r Magazine, published by Isaiah Thomas, 171111. 17117, Independent Chronicle, Columbian Centincl, Minot's History of the Insurrection, Files in the office of the Secretary of State, Correspondence of Levi Lincoln, sen. American Antiquarian Society's MSS. Some notice of Dauiei Shays will be found in the appendix.
152 VISIT OF WASHINGTON. [1789.
struggles of the great parties dividing the community, executed in the spirit of independence and impartiality, would be alike useful and interesting. But the time has not yet come when the details of the contest agitating every village of the country, and kindling strife in the relations of social life, can be recorded with freedom and frank- ness. The embers of political controversy, long covered over, have not been so extinguished, that the annalist may tread with safety over the spot where they once glowed. The sons may not hope to render unbiassed judgment of the measures of the sires, in scenes of intense excitement. When another generation shall have passed away, and the passions and irritation of the actors shall exist in memory alone, the story may be told faithfully, without fear that in- herited partiality or prejudice may lend undue coloring to the pic- ture delineated.
Some particulars of the history of the last half century, insulated from those dissentions which have long been quieted and which it is not desirable now to recall to recollection, are scattered through the space remaining to be traversed.
In 1789, President Washington visited New England, and was received with those demonstrations of gratitude ; nd respect due to his eminent services and exalted virtues. The notice of his arrival at Worcester, in the Spy, is characteristic of the style of the times.
' Information being received on Thursday evening, [October 22] that his Highness would be in town the next morning, a number of respectable citizens, about forty, paraded before sunrise, on horse- back, and went as far as Leicester line to welcome him, and escort- ed him into town. The Worcester company of artillery, command- ed by Major Tread well, were already assembled ; on notice beino- given that his Highness was approaching, five cannon were fired, for the five New England States ; three for the three in the union ; one for Vermont, which will speedily be admitted ; and one as a call to Rhode Island to be ready before it be too late. When the Pres- ident General arrived in sight of the meeting-house, eleven cannon were fired : he viewed with attention the artillery company as he passed, and expressed to the inhabitants his sense of the honor done him. He stopped at the United States Arms, and breakfasted, and then proceeded on his journey. To gratify the inhabitants, he po- litely passed through the town on horseback, dressed in a brown suit, and pleasure glowed in every countenance ; eleven cannon were again fired. The gentlemen of the town escorted him a lew miles, when they took their leave.'
IT'.Mi.j BRITISH TREATY. VOLUNTEERS 153
Acceptable as the testimonials of the enthusiastic joy of his fellow citizens musi have been to the greal patriot, the extravagant epithets of description comported little with the simplicity and unostentatious plainness of his character.
( >n the request of a number of the principal inhabitants, a meeting was convened, May ~l, I"'.h>, for the expression of Bentimenta in re- lation to the commercial treat] with England; a memorial, reported b) a committee,1 was adopted and transmitted to the Hon. Dwight i\»t('r, representative of thedistrict in Con i ntation.
' To the honorable House of Representatives of the I nited States . The inhabitants of the town of Worcester, in the count] of Worces- ter, and state of Massachusetts, sensible thai it is not wise in thepeo* pie in their primary assemblies, to decide confidently on important and difficult political questions, or even to use their righl of petition- ing with design to impose their particular opinions, yet, on the pres- ent occasion, when the voice of the people appears to be called for, and is going forth to your honorable bodj from all parts of the union, leaving all questions concerning the merits of the treaty with Great Britain, take the liberty to suggest, as our opinion, that, considering the present state of the treaty already ratified by the Presidenl and Senate, we believe from a serious impression of duty, and considering the happy advantages of peace and neutrality now enjoyed by this country, and the alarms, the anxieties, and interruptions to business, if not war, that may be the consequences of delaying to carry the treaty into effect, it would be best, and we, therefore, beg leave to ex- press our wishes, that your honorable house would not delay to make appropriations to carry the same into effect.'
The hostile attitude of France, in 17IH, required energetic pre- parations for defence. Congress authorized the President, to raise troops for the war establishment, and to organize volunteer corps in a provisional army, to be called out in case of apprehended invasion, or on pressing emergency, but not to receive pay unless in actual service. A company of sixty, rank and file, was formed here, un- der Capt. Thomas Chandler, called the Worcester Volunteer Cadet Infantry, holding themselves in readiness to march on the reception of orders. A standard was wrought, and presented to this corps by the ladies, with the usual complimentary and patriotic address, and received with the accustomed chivalrous expressions of grati-
1 Edward Bangs, Isaiah Thomas, Samuel Chandler, Benjamin I ley wood, and Wil- liam Caldwell.
20
154 WASHINGTON. LIGHT INFANTRY. [1807.
tude. The company of artillery joined the forces collected in the south part of the county, and was in the bloodless campaign of ' the Oxford Army.' A rendezvous was opened here, during the differ- ences with the French republic. Some of our citizens enlisted, and encamped with the 14th regiment, commanded by Lieut. Col. Rice. No opportunity of distinction was afforded by land ; the laurels were exclusively gathered from the ocean.
The town joined in the national honors paid to the memory of Washington, on the 22d of February, 1800, the anniversary of the birth of the father of his country. The company of cavalry, the artillery, cadets, militia, the youth of the schools, and a great con- course of citizens, moved with solemn music to the old south church, which was hung with black and with emblems of mourning. An eloquent eulogy was pronounced, by the Rev. Doct. Bancroft, on the virtues of the departed soldier, statesman, and patriot.
During the political controversies, which, for nearly thirty years, divided public opinion in the United States, a decided majority of the inhabitants of Worcester, were of the democratic party, when the name marked well defined distinction of principles. The leading men of the times were ardent politicians, and there were periods of excitement, when diversity of sentiment impaired the harmony of so- cial intercourse, separated those closely allied by the ties of kindred, and dissolved the bonds of ancient friendship. When the feuds and animosities of the past have subsided, it excites surprise, that the sur- face, now so tranquil, should ever have been agitated by commotions as angry as were those which once disturbed its repose.1
Conventions of the antagonist parties constantly assembled here, and embodied, in their resolutions, the feelings of the times.
In 1807, after the attack on the Chesapeake, when it was appre- hended that hostilities with England would immediately ensue, the Worcester Light Infantry, then commanded by Capt. Enoch Flagg, tendered their services in defence of the union. At a meeting of that military corps, August 4, 1807, it was resolved, unanimously, 'That in the present exigency of our country, the characters of the citizen and the soldier are inseparable ;' and with the same unanim- ity, it was voted, 'that we are ready, at a moment's warning, to march wherever the executive authority may direct, in defence of the independence and integrity of our country, in repelling and chastising insult or invasion ; and that, for this purpose, we will
1 The state of political sentiment will be sufficiently indicated by the list of votes for executive officers, in successive years, in the appendix.
1808.] EMBARGO. I"'"»
constantly hold ourselves in a state of preparation.' Soon after, the company of artillery under Capt. Curtis, two companies of infan- try under Capts. Harrington and Johnson, and 1 1 1 « - company of cav- alry of Worcester and the adjacent towns, under Capt. Goulding, volunteered to serve as occasion might require.
The selectmen of Boston, on the Kith of August, 1808, transmit" ted a petition, adopted by the citizens of thai place, addressed to President Jefferson, praying the suspension of the embargo laws; or, if doubt existed of the competency of the executive for affording relief from measures thai pressed heavily on commerce, requesting thai congress might he convened for tin' purpose of taking the bud- ject into consideration. The communication \\ as accompanied with an invitation to call a meeting of the inhabitants of the town t<> ob- tain their concurrence in the » ntiments expressed by the capital. The municipal officers declined compliance with the proposition. In their reply they say : ' we deferred returning an answer, because we thought we had reason to believe, that there would be found ten of our own freeholders, knowing our sentiments and differing from us, who, by signifying their de-ire in writing, would make it our du- ty to call such meeting. We can delay no longer a civility due to our fellow citizens of the respectable town of Boston. We will, therefore, with that friendly freedom which becomes citizens whose interests arc the same, expose the reasons and sentiments, which for- bid us to act, in our official capacity, according to your prop< Assenting to the constitutional right of the citizens to assemble and consult for the common good, cordially concurring in respect for the constituted authorities of the country, they depart widely from the views of policy entertained by the petitioners, and conclude by de- claring, that, ' fully persuaded we have expressed the sentiments of a large majority of the inhabitants of this town, in expressing our own, we cannot believe it would be satisfactory to them, on this oc- casion, at this season of the vear, to be called together in town meet- ing.' i
In the same year, the town voted bounties to the soldiers, detached in conformity with the act of Congress, March, 30, 1808, as a part of the state's quota of 100,000 men, and the Light Infantry again tendered their services.
On the declaration of war with England, in 1812, an act of Con-
1 The letter is subscribed by Ephraim Mower, Edward Bangs, Nathaniel Harrington,
Nathan White, Thomas Nichols, Selectmen, and was published in the National Aug. 24, 1 808.
156 BRITISH PRISONERS. [1813.
gress authorized the President to require of the governors of the sev- eral states and territories, to take effectual measures to arm, organize, and hold in readiness to march on the shortest notice, their respec- tive proportionsof 1 00, 000 militia. Massachusetts was called on to furnish men for the fortresses on the maritime frontier. The execu- tive declined compliance with the requisitions, on the ground of con- stitutional objections, and the troops of the state were not called to the field. The town voted, Nov. 9th, 1812, to allow each soldier detach- ed, when mustered and ready to march, ten dollars bounty, in addition to the wages. Recruiting officers were stationed here, and some of the citizens enlisted in the regular army, or entered the navy, and served with various fortune.
In the summer of 1813, several British officers, captured on the northern frontier, were quartered here, on parole. Sir George Pre- vost, commanding in Canada, with the sanction of his government, selected from the American prisoners of war, and sent to Great Bri- tain, for trial as criminals, a number of individuals, who had emi- grated from the king's dominions long previous to the war between the two nations, become naturalized, and were taken fighting under the banners of their adopted country. For the protection of these citizens, charged with violation of their duties of allegiance to the land of their nativity, an equal number of English subjects were or- dered into confinement, to endure the same fate which might befall those for whom they were hostages. The effect of this stern meas- ure of retaliation was, to induce the enemy to commit to prison two American officers, for every one of the British soldiers confined by the President, to suffer death if vindictive punishment should be in- flicted on the latter. Forty-six British officers, prisoners of war, were immediately placed in the prisons, and the Prince Regent was informed of the determination of the government to deal with his subjects in the same manner in which our citizens in captivity should be treated. On the 2d of December, ten of those who had resided here,1 on parole, were committed by the marshal of the district, to the jail in Worcester, to abide the issue of this deplorable contest. On the 12th of January, nine of these persons succeeded in mak- ing their escape, by overpowering and binding the attendant, who had entered their room between 10 and 11 o'clock of the evening, to secure them for the night. The turnkey was so loosely confined,
1 Lt. Col. William Grant, of the Bcauharnois militia: Maj. Charles Villette, Capt. Francis Deeenta, Lt. David Duvall, Lt. Albert Manuel, of the Waterville regiment: Lt. William A. Steel, Adjutant, Lt. Joseph F. Green, Commissary, 69th regiment: Lt. Ar- thur Carter, of the Royal Artillery: Lt. Charles Morris, of the Halifax Volunteers.
1814.] MARCH OF LIGHT TEOOPS. |.",;
tliat ho extricated himself in about fifteen minutes, and communi- cated information of the flight of the prisoners. Actual invasion could scarcely have produced greater commotion : the bells were rung and cannon fired at midnight. Vigorous search was prosecu- ted in the vicinity, and hoi pursuit extended in all directions. In the excitemenl of the time, houses were entered without the formal- ity of warrants, and domiciliary visits paid without the justification of judicial process to deteel the supposed concealment of the fugi- tives. About two o'clock the next morning, one ,,i the prisoners was apprehended in Holden, nearly exhausted by the labor of trav- elling on foot, in an inclement season, after long confinement : lour more were apprehended the succeeding evening in Barre: and four succeeded in eluding capture, ami reached Quebec in safety. After this event, the prisoners were removed. The returning Bense of justice of their own government, permitted the liberation of gallant hut unfortunate enemies, from the gloomy prospect of execution, in accordance with that necessary, but cruel policy, which holds the innocent subject to expiate the sins of the sovereign, and would have forfeited life to a contested point of international law.
In the summer of 1814, two companies of militia were drafted from the county, and served on the forts in the vicinity of Boston.
The capture of Washington, the violations of our territory In the British forces, the menace of destruction to the cities and villages of the sea board, by the naval commander on the American station, while they spread alarm, roused the patriotic spirit of the people to vigorous action. Governor Strong, by general orders, September C, 1814, directed the whole of the militia of the state to hold them- selves in readiness to march at a moment's warning, and called the flank companies of the seventh division into immediate service for the defence of the coast. The Worcester Light Infantry and AVor- cester Artillery, commenced their march for the metropolis, on Sun- day, September 14th.1 They were stationed at South Boston, and remained in camp until the 31st of October following, when they were discharged and returned. On the Sabbath following their ar- rival at their homes, the members of both corps attended divine ser-
1 The Officers of tlic Light Infantry were John W. Lincoln, Captain; Sewall Hamil- ton, Lieutenant ; John Coolidge, Ensign: Of the Artillery, Samuel Graves, Captain ; Simeon Hastings, 1st Lieutenant, Nathan Heard, 2d Lieutenant. The forces at South Boston were under the command of Major General Joseph Whiton, of Lee. Light companies were detached from the 1st, 2d, 3d, 4lh, 5th, 7th and Dili divisions, and the artillery of the 3d, lih.oth, 7lh and 8th divisions, to form the army for the defence of Boston. The troops of the seventh division, including Worcester county, now in the sixth division, were in the regiment under Col. Salem Towne, jr. of Charlton.
158 VISIT OF LAFAYETTE. [1824.
vice, in full dress, agreeably to the recommendation of the General in command, and offered public acknowledgments for restoration to their friends.
The (own voted to procure complete camp equipage for the militia, to be kept in readiness for use in actual service, to provide lor the families of soldiers where assistance was needed, and to furnish any inhabitant detached, with arms and equipments, if unable to procure them himself.
As the sound of war went through the land, the veterans of the revolution, persons exempted from military duty by age or office, and the youth, formed themselves, in many towns of the county, into volunteer corps, and prepared to strike for their homes and their rights. The step of an invader on the New England soil, would have found her yeomanry as prompt to answer the summons to battle, as in the glorious days of old.
The ratification of the treaty of peace was celebrated with fes- tive rejoicing.
Gen. Lafayette, during his visit to America, in the journey which resembled a triumphal progress through the land, arrived at Wor- cester, September 2d, 1824. He was received on the northern boundary of the town by a deputation from the committee of the citizens, and escorted by two companies of cavalry, a regiment of the light troops of the division, and a great concourse of the people of the county. From hoary age to lisping childhood, all were ea- ger to manifest affection and respect for the guest of the nation. He passed through crowded streets ; between lines of the children of the schools, ranged under the care of their teachers, who scat- tered laurels in his path; beneath arches inscribed with his own memorable words and with the names of the scenes of his signal services; amidst companions who had borne arms with him in the army of independence ; and through the multitudes who had gath- ered from the vicinage to greet the return of the friend of their fa- thers.
Abraham Lincoln, Levi Lincoln, and Edward D. Bangs, were elected delegates to the convention which was convened in 1820, for the amendment of the state constitution. Of the articles adopted by this body, November 15, 1820, and submitted to the people, nine were approved and adopted, April 9, 1821. The inhabitants of Worcester refused to ratify the 5th article, relating to the organiza- tion of the council and senate, providing that every town, having a population of 1200, should be entitled to one representative, and
1831.] CONSTITUTION. DOCT. THOMAS. 159
establishing 1200 as the ratio of increased representation: and the 10th, concerning the rights and privileges of Harvard < iollege. '
The amendment numbered as the 10th in the Revised Statutes! changing the commencement of the political year from the last Wednesday of May, to the first Wednesday of January, adopted by the legislatures of 1829-30, and 1830-31, was accepted b) the peo- ple, May II, 1831. The votes here were, 146 for, II against.
The amendment numbered as I I in the volume refern d to, mod* ifying and altering t ho third article of the lull of rights, having passed the legislatures of 1832, 1833, was accepted by the citizens, Nov. 11, ls:{:{. Two hundred and forty Bis votes were given by the inhabitants of Worcester in the affirmative; fifty five in the negative.
By his last will, Doct. Isaiah Thomas, devised to the town ofWor- r, a lot of land on Thomas street, on the conditions, ' that the town should erect, within three years from the testator's decease, a Charit) House, and pay annually to the overseers of the poor, twen- ty dollars, to he appropriated toward- providing for poor persons who might he there maintained, on thanksgiving days, a good and liber- al dinner suitable for the occasion, and to furnish on that day, half a pint of common but good wine for each person, or a reasonable quantity of such other liquors as an) of them might prefer, that they might have the means of participating with their more affluent neighbors in some of the essential good things of life bestowed by a bountiful Providence, and he enabled to unite in grateful orisons for the peace and felicity of our country.' If the w hole Mini should not be required for the kind purpose indicated by the donor, the residue was to be expended in the purchase of books for the chil- dren of poor parents, or otherwise appropriated at the discretion of the trustees. The inhabitants, having already provided, at great ex- pense, ample accommodations for the indigent, although duly ap- preciating the benevolent intentions of the testator, were compelled to decline the acceptance of the benefaction, Nov. 14, 1831, on the condition imposed of erecting new buildings.
1 The votes of the town on the several amendments were as follows :
Art. Yeas. Nays. Art. Yeas. Nay*.
1 .... 10G ... 99 C 191 ... 1-
2 . . • . 161 ... 41 9 1G1 . . . II
3 .... 177 ... 31 10 61 . • . 11"
4 .... -155 ..* 46 11 161 ... 41
6 .... 64 ... 139 12 • ■ • • • 166 . . . 37
6 . . . . 148 ... 39 13 . . : . . 166 . • . 37
7 .... 133 ... 70 11 156 .. •
100 SEPARATION OF HOLDEN. [1722.
The donation by the same liberal individual, of a lot, extending 172 feet on the north side of Thomas street, and 169 feet on Sum- mer street, including the ancient burial place, for the erection of a large school house, was accepted, and the condition of the bequest complied with, by the completion of a suitable edifice.
The sum of $2500 was granted by the town, April 21, 1830, to be appropriated for the purchase of the site of the Lunatic Hospital, and given to the Commonwealth.
In the narrative of events in the civil and municipal history of the town, notice of the divisions made during the period we have passed, has been reserved for the purpose of collecting the territo- rial changes into a connected view.
The plantation of Quinsigamond, as originally granted and sur- veyed, extended nearly twelve miles from north to south, and six miles from east to west.1 It was designed to include within the boundaries established, the same quantity of land which would have been comprehended in a tract eight miles square. Extreme liberality of admeasurement greatly enlarged the proposed area. In 1684, it was directed, that the whole township should be divided into 480 lots, 200 to be set off adjoining the northern boundary. A line was drawn corresponding with this arrangement, separating the town. The north part of the lots long remained unoccupied. In 1722, a meeting of the owners, holding as tenants in common, was conven- ed by the warrant of Stephen Minot, Esq. and a distinct proprietary erected, called North Worcester. It was determined to make parti- tion of the lands: surveys were commenced in 1724 : tracts were re- served for public uses: and grants to settlers registered. It was provided, that Col. Adam Winthrop, ' for his good services done the town, shall have the first pitch.' The planters, in 1730, were ex-
1 As stated on the original plan, the north and south lines were 1920 rods each : the east line 3815 : the west 3760. The Rev. Mr. Whitney, History of Worcester County, 25, says, ' Worcester is part of a tract of land called by the aborigines, Quinsigamond : which territory was esteemed by them to bound, easterly partly on Quinsigamond pond and partly on Hassanamisco, now Grafton : southerly , on the Nipnet or Nipmu0' country, where Oxford and some adjacent towns now are: westerly on Quaboag, now Brookfield, and lands in that vicinity ; and northerly on Nashawogg, now Lancaster, Sterling, &c.' No evidence now remains to verify the assertion that Worcester waspart of this territory. On the contrary, all the memorials which exist at this day, show that the aboriginal name was applied to the waters of the lake and the country immediately adjacent, and that it was borrowed by the committee of settlement, and bestowed upon the plantation, after- wards Worcester. The venerable father of county history was mistaken in Indian geog- raphy, when he limited the Nipmug country to the southern towns. The best authori- ties declare that its boundaries were much wider.
1778.] COUTH R1 GORE VI \KI>. 161
ciniiicd from town rates in the south part, for seven years, on con- dition of making and maintaining their own highways. The town voted, in 17 li(, to consent to the incorporation,'* if it be the pleas* ure of the Great and General Court, in consideration of the great distance from the place of public worship.'
An acl of the Legislature, gh ing corporate powers, passed Novem- ber ".. I" Hi, and North Worcester became a town, l>\ the name of II olden, in honor of i ho Hon. Samuel Eiolden, a director of the Bank of England, whose elevated character and beneficenl exertions to promote the interests of literature ami religion, well merited the to- ken of respectful and grateful recollection. The firsl town meeting
Was held, May !, 17 I I.
Between Worcester, and that part of Sutton now Grafton, a tract of land intervened, called the Country Gore, beyond the jurisdic- tion of either municipality. The owners and inhabitants of this ter- ritory petitioned to be annexed to Worcester. It was rated, March 3, 1743, ' that the town cheerfully accept of this oiler, and pray they be joined to, and for the future be accounted as a part of the town of Worcester, to do duty and enjoy equal priv ileges with us, if it may be consistent with the wisdom of the Great and General Court to grant their request.1 A resolve of Massachusetts, April 5, 1743, united the petitioners and their estates to this town.1
Another accession of inhabitants was gained, June 2, 175S, when James Hart. Thomas Beard, James "Wall is, and Jonathan Stone were set off from Leicester.
The slight additions to population were more than balanced by another dismemberment. June 23, 1773, a precinct was erected, ex- tending three miles into Worcester, three into Oxford, three into Lei- cester, and one mile and a half into Sutton, measured from the place designated for the new meeting house, along the roads then trav- elled. This district, which was denominated the South Parish of Worcester, was incorporated, April 10, 1778, as the town of Ward, receiving its name from Artemas Ward, Esq. a brave general of the revolution, member of the Council of the Provincial Congress, judge of the County Courts, and representative in Congress. About thirty families were thus separated from Worcester. The boun- daries of the parish and new town were nearly, though not precisely coincident. The act provided, that certain individuals, included by the latter, but not within the limits of the former, might retain
1 The petitioners were. John Barber, Thomas Richardson, Daniel Bovden, Jonas Woodsrd, Ephraim Curtis, JabezTotman, Matthias Rice. Timothy Green.
21
1G2 PROPOSED DIVISION OF THE COUNTY. [1785.
their relations to the towns of their original settlement, until it was their pleasure to express, in writing, intention to unite; with the new corporation. Ten persons1 hy this exception, were permitted to con- tinue their former connections. In 1826, Thaddeus Chapin and ten others petitioned the Legislature to reannex tlie territory in which their estates were situated to Worcester; their request was refused . and this town still Ins citizens exercising rights and subject to du- ties within the lines of Ward.
The erection of a precinct, and the incorporation of a town, were strenuously resisted. Long and earnest remonstrances opposed the proceedings in each stage, and the separation was effected by per- severing efforts, renewed and pressed in successive yours.
In 1785, a petition of James Ball and others was presented to the General Court, praying for the erection of a new county, of which Petersham should be the shire town. Hardwick, Barre, Hubbard- ston, Petersham, Templeton, Winchendon, Athol, and Royalston, were to be separated from the county of Worcester, and Warwick, Wendell, New Salem, Shutesbury, the district of Orange, and Green- wich, from Hampshire. Orders of notice were issued, but the prop- osition shared the fate of similar projects to diminish the integrity of our territory.
A memorial of the delegates of Templeton, Barre, Petersham, Athol, Winchendon, Hubbardston, Oakham, Gerry, Gardner, Roy- alston, and Warwick, at the January session of the Legislature in 1798, prayed for the incorporation of those towns into a new county. The people, in April, voted that it was inexpedient to divide Wor- cester into two distinct counties.
At the annual meetings in April, 1828, the question was submit- ted, by the Legislature, to the people of Worcester and Middlesex, shall a new county be formed of the towns of Royalston, Winchen- don, Athol, Templeton, Gardner, Westminster, Ashburnham, Fitch- burg, Leominster, Lunenburg, Princeton, Hubbardston, Philipston, Lancaster, Bolton, and Harvard, from the county of Worcester; Groton, Shirley, Pepperell, Ashby, and Townsend, from the county of Middlesex, as was prayed for in a petition bearing the name of Ivers Jewett at the head ? The decision was in the negative, by a great majority of the voters.
1 Samuel Curtis, Mary Bigelow, William Elder, Daniel Bigelow, John Elder, Jon- athan Fiske, Benjamin Chapin, Eli Chapin, Joseph Clark, Moses Bancroft.
1G3
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
CHAPTER X
First Parish. First meeting houses. Rev. Andrew Gardner. Difficulties on I. mission. Mr. Bourne. Rev. Isaac Burr. Visit of Whitefield. Church Covenant, ]7Hi. Rev. Thaddeus Maccany. Controversy about church music Seating the meeting house. Difficulties ending in the separation of the Second Parish. Mr. Story. Rev. Samuel Austin. Church Covenant. Rev. Charles A. Goodrich. Rev. Aretius B. Hull. Rev. Rodney A. Miller. Presbyterian Church, 1719. Rev. Edward Fitzgerald. Rev. William Johnston.
No records of the early days of the church in Worcester have descended to our times. The knowledge possessed in relation to its organization and proceedings, previous to 1?'2"2, is derived from tra- dition. Subsequent to that period, some information of the promi- nent events in our ecclesiastical history, may be collected from the votes of the inhabitants concurrent with the acts of the church : for it was the ancient usage of all our towns, before they had been di- vided into parishes, to manage their parochial concerns in the gen- eral meetings.
The committee of grantees, in their covenant with the first plan- ters, provided, that care should be taken to procure a teacher of morality and religion, as soon as might be ; and until regular in- struction should be obtained, directed, that the Lord's day should be sanctified, by assembling together for devotional exercises. Liberal grants of land were made for the support of the ministry, and a lot appropriated for the first learned, pious, and orthodox teacher of religion.
Meetings for worship were held at the dwelling houses most con- venient in regard to central situation. Each man repaired to the as- sembly with his gun, and joined in the peaceful exercises as com- pletely armed as if prepared for instant military service.1 Sentinels
1 In 1G75, the colony court ordered, ' that every man that comes to meeting on the Lord's day, bring with him his arms, with at least six charges of powder and shot : also, that whosoever shall shoot off a gun, at any game whatsoever, except at an Indian or a wolf, shall forfeit 5s. on such default until further order. '
164 FIRST PARISH. [1719.
were stationed around to give warning of approaching danger. The well known custom of the Indians, whose prowling bands selected the rest of the Sabbath, in many instances, for their murderous inva- sions, rendered vigilance and precaution necessary for safety. Tra- dition relates, that the devotions of the planters were sometimes dis- turbed by alarms of the coming foe. On one occasion, an arrow, directed against the dwelling where they had assembled, entered the loop hole which served for window. The protecting Providence of God averted its point from his servants, and gliding over the congre- gation, it struck deep in the timbers of the opposite wall.
Soon after the last permanent settlement, a church was gathered, and Deacons Daniel Heywood, and Nathaniel Moore, elected its officers.
A plain and rude structure of logs was erected for the public meetings of the inhabitants, in 1717, eastward from the Baptist meet- ing house, at the junction of Franklin and Green streets, and was occupied during a few years for worship.
In 1719, a more spacious and commodious house was commenced, on the common, near the site of the present edifice.
In the autumn of the same year, the Rev. Andrew Gardner, ordain- ed as the first settled minister of the Gospel, formed that connection with the town, terminating in acrimonious controversy, and embit- tering the harmony of the people of his charge. On his settlement a gratuity of .£60 was voted. The amount of salary can only be in- ferred from the fact, that in 1722, taxes of £40, of the then curren- cy, were levied, for the support of public worship in that year. Dif- ficulties between the church and pastor soon arose. Complaints, probably reasonable, were made by him of neglect in the payment of his annual stipend, and of refusal to discharge the grant made on his acceptance of the office. He was accused of remissness in the per- formance of duty, and of too ardent love for the chase of the deer, and the sports of the hunter. The dissatisfaction so much increas- ed, that some, who had united in the invitation to Mr. Gardner, with- drew from attendance on his preaching, and declined contributing to his maintenance. Petitions were presented to the Legislature for direction and relief, but without effect. In September, 1721, an ec- clesiastical council was convened from seven churches : but its result was ineffectual for the settlement of the unhappy differences which existed. Recourse was afterwards had to other advisers, with as lit- tle beneficial influence. New petitions having been presented, a re- solve was passed by the General Court, June 14th, 1722, ' that it be
1722.] REV. ANDREW GARDNEB It;.",
earnestly reco tended to thai council only of the seven churches
which <li«l mill .it Worcester, in September, 1 7 • J 1 . i > . whom the contending parties submitted their differences, relating to the Rev. Andrew Gardner, thai the said council proceed and go to W orcester, on or before the 1 1 r - 1 Wednesday of September next, to finish what is further necessary to be done for the procuring and establishing of peace in the said town, according to the submission of the parti< -.'
<>n the Kith of August following, the inhabitants represented, 'that the elders and messengers of the several churches, appointed to meet at Worcester, tor deciding the differences in thai church, decline going thither by reason of the rupture with the Indian-, it being ;i frontier place : it was therefore recommended that the min- isters meet at Dedhain, for the affair aforesaid.'
The council met, pursuant to this direction, and after mature de- liberation, advised that the relations of Mr. Gardner be dissolved, ' his temporal interest being secured,' and on the :5l-i of October, 1722, lie was dismissed from the ministerial office m Worcester. Soon after, a suit at law was instituted by Mr. Gardner, for the arrears of salary. The irritation occasioned by the long controversy was in- creased by this unfriendly act at parting, and a vote was passed, against the remonstrance and protest of many of the elder inhabit- ants, not to allow the grant of sixty pounds formerly bestowed as a gratuity, which he had ' left to the generosity of the town.' An ac- commodation was at length effected by mutual arbitrators.
The Rev. Andrew Gardner was a native of Brookline, Mass, and graduated at Harvard University, 17 10. His name is last on the list of the class, in the period when the pupils of the venerable iusti- tution at Cambridge were entered on its catalogue according to the honors and station in society of the parents. After his removal from Worcester, he was installed as the first minister of Lunenburg, Mass. May 15, 1728. This connection was as unfortunate in its termina- tion as his earlier engagement. He was dismissed, February 7, 1731-2, 'because.' says the Rev. Mr. Adams, 'he was unworthy.' Mr. Gardner then retired to one of the towns on Connecticut river, where he died at an advanced age. x
The errors of Mr. Gardner seem to have been more of the head than heart. Eccentricities, resulting from secluded habits, and igno- rance of the ways of the world, united with that independence of spirit regardless of its opinions, diminished his usefulness. Less mindful of clerical dignity than of the exhibition of wit in its practical sports,
1 Whitney's History of Worcester County, 144. 150.
166 FIRST PARISH. [1724.
the strict sense of propriety was sometimes shocked by acts in them- selves innocent. Tradition relates, as illustrative of manner, that he once secretly substituted a large stone for the bettor food in the pot of a friend who had invited him to dine, and consoled himself for the loss of his dinner, by the gratification of witnessing the aston- ishment created by the appearance of the unusual dish of boiled granite. Whatever imperfections marred his reputation, his benev- olence and charity should be permitted to spread their mantle over his errors. Pecuniary embarrassment sometimes arose from gener- osity that would not hesitate to count cost. An instance of its ex- tent is preserved : A poor parishioner having solicited aid in circum- stances of distress, the clergyman gave away his only pair of shoes for his relief, and as this was done on Saturday, appeared the next day in his stockings, at the desk, to perform the morning service, and, in the evening, officiated in borrowed slippers, a world too wide for his slender members.1
January 6, 1724, an invitation was given to the Rev. Shearjashub Bourne to become the minister of the town, with a settlement of £ 100, and a salary of =£75 for five years, afterwards to be raised to <=£ 80. Although the offer was declined, he continued to preach for a k\v months.
This gentleman was the son of Hon. Melatiah Bourne, of Sand- wich, and descended from the first emigrant to that town. He graduated at Harvard College in 1720, and was married to Abigail, the daughter of Rev. Richard Cotton of Sandwich. He was or- dained in Scituate, Mass. Dec. 1724. His health becoming impair- ed by paralytic affections, he was dismissed in 1761. From an in- scription on the head stone over a grave in the east burial place in Roxbury, it appears that he died there, Aug. 14, 1768, aged 69. ~ His character is briefly delineated in the following lines on the time worn monument.
' Cautious himself, he others ne'er deceived, Lived as he taught, and taught as he believed.'
Between the dismission of Mr. Gardner and the settlement of his successor, the Rev. Samuel JennisOn, son of Hon. William Jenni- son of Worcester, who died in that part of Sudbury now Wayland, October 14, 1729, aged 29, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Richardson,
1 Relation of I\Ir. Daniel Goulding. J MSS. of Samuel Jennison, Esq. Town Records. 2 Hist. Col. iv. 234.
1725.] REV. ISAAC BURR 161
were employed to preach occasional!] The sum o was
paid to them for the services of the Babbath.
On the -2 f 1 1 1 of August, 1724, the church elected the Eiev. Tho- mas White to be their pastor : the town, however, did no! concur in the choice, but appoint) d a committee, ' to address Mr. Winn- lor liis further assistance in the »<>rk of the gospel.1 He was afterwards or- dained minister of the first church in Bolton, Conn. Oct. 25, 1725, where he died, Feb. 22, \~i\-\.
Soon after, the Rev. Isaac Burr was engaged to supplj 1 1 1 « - pul- pit, and on the 10th of February, 1725, was invited to assume thi cred oflice, with a settlement of 2!)<» pounds in money, <>r the value in land, and the annual salary of 80 pounds. The call having been accepted, he was ordained on the 13th of October following. The churches in Hartford, Framingham, Marlborough, Lancaster, Lei- cester, Sudbury, Weston, and Shrewsbury, were requested to render their assistance at the ceremony ; and the sum of ten pounds was ap- propriated for the entertainment of the elders, messengers, and dele- gates attending.
The ministry of Mr. Burr was long, and peaceful, until near its close. The votes in relation to pecuniary supplies, evince the cor- dial regard of his parishioners. The taxes not being regularly pud, it was voted, September 25, IT l~ , 'That the inhabitants contribute, once a month, on the Lord's day, after divine service, for the .-up- port of the minister, until a rate can properly he made; each person to paper up his money, and subscribe his name on the paper ; bo that an account may be taken of each person's money, to be allowed on his rate, when made.' The paper currency of the province, having depreciated in the fluctuations which diversify its history, frequent voluntary contributions were made for the minister. In answer to the petition of Mr. Burr, it was voted, October 24, 1732, ' that the town cheerfully grant him =£'20, and earnestly desire he would lay the same out in purchasing an addition to his library.' Successive grants of money were made, as is expressed, ' to encourage him.' The salary had been raised to £ 140, in bills of credit. The insta- bility and depreciation of this medium, rendered a more certain standard of compensation necessary. In 1741, the inhabitants voted, 'to make the salary equal to what money was at the time of his set- tlement, having regard to the difference between silver and paper:' 29 shillings of the latter being estimated as equivalent to an ounce of the former.
The celebrated Whitefield, whose splendid eloquence seemed al-
1C8 VISIT OF WHITEFIELD. [1740.
most the gift of inspiration, controlling the judgment, and swaying the feelings of men at pleasure, went through New England, during his second visit, preaching to congregations gathering, by the acre, beneath the open sky. in numbers no house could contain. On his way to New York, this powerful exhorter arrived in Worcester, Oct. 14 1740, accompanied by Gov. Belcher, whose mind had been deep- ly impressed by the glowing elocution which had roused thousands. The account of their reception is in Whitefield's continuation of the journal of his evangelical labors.
' 1740. Tuesday, Oct. 14. Got to Marlborough, eight miles from Sudbury, about 4: preached in the meeting house, to a large con- gregation. At first, my heart was dead, and 1 had little freedom ; but before I had finished, the word came, with such a demonstration of the spirit, that great numbers were much melted down. When I came into the meeting house, I turned about, and, to my surprise, found Gov. Belcher there. He was affected, and though it rained, and he was much advanced in years, yet he went with us as far as Worcester, 15 miles from Marlborough, whither we got about 8, at night. Here we were kindly entertained, at the house of Col. Chan- dler. We spent the remainder of the evening very agreeably, with the governor, and after prayer, retired to rest. Oh, that 1 may ap- prove myself a disciple of that master, who, while tabernacling here on earth, had not where to lay his head.
' Wednesday, Oct. 15. Perceived the governor to be more affection- ate than ever. After morning prayer, he took me by myself, kissed me, wept, and exhorted me to go on stirring up the ministers ; ' for,' said he, ' reformation must begin at the house of God.' As we were going to meeting, says he, ' Mr, Whitefield, do not spare me any more than the ministers : no, not the chief of them.' I preached in the open air, on the common, to some thousands; the word fell with weight indeed ; it carried all before it. After sermon, the governor said to me, ' I pray God I may apply what has been said to my own heart. Pray Mr. Whitefield, that I may hunger and thirst after right- eousness.' Dinner being ended, with tears in his eyes he kissed, and took leave of me. Oh, that we may meet in heaven. I have obser- ved that I have had greater power than ordinary whenever the gov- ernor has been at public worship. A sign, I hope, that the Most High intends effectually to bring him home and place him at his right hand.
.... Was enabled much to rejoice in spirit Preached at
Leicester, in the afternoon, 6 miles from Worcester, with some, though not so much power as in the morning.'
1744.] REV. ISAAC HI KK 160
The health of .Mr. Burr having become impaired, and differences having arisen, he was desirous of r<'lim|uishing the office be had held during twenty years. Jn Nov. L744, a mutual council was conven- ed. The result, advising separation, met with the almost onanimoos acquiescence of church and pariah, and .Mr. P>urr was dismissed, in
March, IT 16.
The Rev. David Hall, of Sutton, Beems to have been instrumen- tal in originating the difficulties winch led to the dismission of Mr.
Burr. The following passages from his diary,1 throw much liirlit on the subject. Dr. Hall was a follower of Wlutefiehl.
■ Jan. v!-J, 1712, O. S. Preached this week tui.e at Worcester,
in private houses. Mr. Burr gave his consent before I went : hut seemed not pleased at my coming, as I was informed. I am griev- ed at my heart, to observe the violent opposition made against the work of God in the land, by those that are called his servants. But this I know, that wherein they deal proudly, the Lord is above them. I i'md much deadness of heart, for the most part : but when preach- ing the blessed gospel, my soul hath, of late, by times, felt all on fire : and I humbly trust the fire is from God's altar. ' Feb. 7. I am in great concern about religious matters, Mr. Burr of Worcester, re- fusing the urgent request of some people of Worcester, to hear me preach again with them. God seems to have blessed my poor labors lately among them, for the awakening of some of them. But oh! the prejudice of Mr. B. who is, I fear, too much a stranger to the power of godliness, or otherwise, surely, he would rejoice in having his people in concern about their souls, and in the help of such min- isters as wish their salvation. Oh that the Lord would forgive him and open his eyes, and strengthen me, his poor unworthy worm, to be valiant in following the rules of my dear Redeemer.
' Nov. 30, 1744. This week Mr. Burr and the church part, under the direction of a council. The Lord stir up ministers to faithful- ness by such providences. '
Mr. Bliss of Concord, one of the most distinguished of the clergy, who, in that day, were denominated new lights, occasionally preached to the separatists at Worcester, ' where he had been requested by a multitude of souls,' in the bold, zealous, and impassioned style he had adopted.'2
The Rev. Isaac Burr, a graduate of Yale College, in 1717, was born in Fairfield, Conn, in 1698, and descended from an ancient family. His father, Hon. Peter Burr, of Harvard College, 1690, was
1 American Antiquarian Society's MSS. * Shattuck's Hist, of Concord, 175.
22
170 FIRST PARISH. [1744.
in the magistracy from 1703, twenty one years; judge of Probate for Fairfield county; judge of the Superior Court of Connecticut, from the first establishment in 1711, to 1717, and from 1722 to his death, Dec. 25, 1724.1 After his dismission, Mr. Burr removed from Wor- cester to Windsor in Vermont.
The difficulty experienced in procuring a successor to Air. Burr is apparent from the instructions of the town to the committee appoint- ed to supply the pulpit. Dec. 1744, they were directed ' to inter- cede with the reverend Elders of the late council to preach, each one day.' March, 1745, they were charged ' to use their utmost endeav- or that the town be not destitute of preaching on the Lord's day ; to procure Mr Townsend if to be had ; if not, to consult with the Rev. President Holyoke, of Harvard College, Professor Appleton, and Dr. Wigglesworth, who to engage in a probationary way.' In May, they were desired to procure two more gentlemen for the same purpose, with the advice of the Rev. President and Professors ; and it was vot- ed, ' that when they had been heard, the church should proceed to the choice from them and the three gentlemen who had already preach- ed, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Marsh, and Mr. Phillips, and that the town will hear no more persons before a choice is made.'
On the 29th of August, 1745, Mr. Nathaniel Gardner of Harvard College, 1739, received an invitation to settle on a salary of £ 00 in bills of credit, and with a gratuity of £ 100 of the same currency, which was declined.
In the state of uncertainty and doubt which prevailed, it was vot- ed, to request the Rev. Mr. Peabody, and Mr. Rogers of Littleton, to assist ' in carrying on a day of fasting and prayer, Feb. 28, 1746, to implore the divine direction in the church's leading in the choice of a person to be ordained.' On the 9th of May following, unani- mous and earnest desire was expressed, that the Rev. Mr. Appleton of Cambridge, Mr. Williams of Waltham, and Mr. Turell of Med- ford, give their best advice, ' who they may judge proper to hear in order for a gentleman's being called to settle among us in case he can be obtained ; and to advise whether all those male persons who are in full communion with other churches, and have removed hither should be permitted to vote in the choice, provided there
1 The Rev. Aaron Burr, born in Fairfield, 1714, of Yale College 1735, the learned President of the College at Princeton in New Jersey, was son of Judge Peter Burr. He died 1757, aged 43, leaving one daughter, who married the Hon. Tappan Reeves, a distinguished jurist, and one son, the celebrated Aaron Burr, late Vice President of the United States. MSS. Letter of Rev. Dr. Harris.
1740.] CHURCH COVENANT 171
be no just objection.' A committee was delegated to wait on the selected advisers, ' and desire they would condescend to serve us herein.' In the interval between asking and obtaining counsel, hav- ing arrived to conclusions of their own, the opinions they had form- ed were adopted instead of those they obtained : ou the 17th of October, ' the vote was put, \\ hether the church would adhere to the advice of the Rev. Mr. Appleton, Mr. Williams, and .Mr. Tim II, and it passed in the negative.'1
The following covenant, prepared by the Rev. .Mr. Campbell of Oxford, and the Rev. Mr. Stone of Southborough, was adopted, Sept. £2, \'i 16, and afterwards subscribed by fifty members of the church.9
'We, whose names are hereunto subscribed, being inhabitants of
the town of Worcester, in New England, knowing that we arc very prone to offend and provoke God, Most High, hoth in heart and lite, through the prevalently of sin that dwellelh in us, and the manifold temptations from without us, for which we have great reason to be unfeignedly humble before him, from day to day, do, in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, with dependence upon the Gra- cious assistance of his Holy Spirit, solemnly enter into covenant with God, and with one another, according to his holy direction, as follows .
' First : That having chosen and taken the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to be our God, we will fear him, cleave to him in love, and serve him in truth, with all our heart-, giving up ourselves to him, to he his people, in all tilings to he at his direction and sovereign disposal, that we may have and hold communion witli him, as members of Christ's mystical body, according to his reveal- ed will, to our lives' end.
'Secondly : We bind ourselves to bring up our children and ser- vants, in the knowledge and fear of God, by his instructions, accor- ding to our best abilities, and, in special, by orthodox catechisms, viz. the Assembly's at Westminster larger and shorter catechisms, that the true religion may be maintained in our families while we live ; yea, and among such as shall survive us, when we are dead and gone.
'Thirdly : We furthermore promise, to keep close to the truth of Christ, endeavoring with lively affections of it in our hearts, to de-
1 Sept. 22, 1746. It was voted, ' that the church will esteem it an offence, if any member thereof, shall hereafter countenance itinerant preachers.' - Church Records of Rev. Mr. Maccarty.
172 FIRST PARISH. [1746.
fend it against all opposers thereof, as God shall call us at any time thereunto ; which, that we may do, we resolve to use the Holy Scrip- tures as our directory, whereby we may discern the mind and will of Christ, and not the new found inventions of men.
' Fourthly : We also engage ourselves, to have a careful inspection over our hearts, so as to endeavour, by virtue of the death of Christ, the mortification of our sinful passions, worldly frames, and disorder- ly affections, whereby we may be withdrawn from the living God.
' Fifthly : We furthermore oblige ourselves, in the faithful improve- ment of all our abilities and opportunities, to worship God, according to the particular institutions of Christ for his church, under gospel administrations; to give a reverend attention to the word of God ; to pray unto him ; to sing his praises ; and to hold communion with one another, in the use of both the sacraments of the New Testament, viz. Baptism and the Lord's supper.
' Sixthly : We likewise promise, that we will peaceably submit our- selves, unto the holy discipline appointed by Christ in his church, for offenders, obeying, according to the will of God, them that rule over us in the Lord.
' Seventhly : We also bind ourselves, to walk in love, one towards another, endeavoring our mutual edification, visiting, exhorting, com- forting, as occasion serveth, any brother or sister which offends ; not divulging private offences irregularly, but needfully following the several precepts laid down by Christ for church discipline, in xviii. of Matthew, 15, 16, 17; willingly forgiving all that manifest, unto the judgment of charity, that they truly repent of all their miscarriages.
' Now, the God of peace, which brought again from the dead our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us all perfect in every good word and work, to do his will, working in us that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.
* Worcester, Sept. 22, 1746. This church this day, renewed cov- enant with God and with one another, and unanimously signified their assent to the above written instrument, declaring, at the same time, their readiness to subscribe the same, at the next meeting of the church. Present, at their desire, John Prentice, Pastor of Lancas- ter, John Campbell, Pastor of Oxford.'
In the period of nearly two years, subsequent to the dismission of Mr. Burr, many candidates were heard. Among them, the son of
1747.] REV. THADDEUS MACCARTY. 173
Rev. Mr. Williams of Lebanon, the son of Her. Mr. Williams of Springfield, Mr. Brown, Mr. Emerson, Mr. Marsh, Mr. Benjamin Stevens, Mr. Walley, Mr. Lawrence of Groton, were invited to offi- ciate. On the l*th of October, L746, the committee were instruct- ed, to request the Rev. Thaddens Maccartj of Boston, and the Rev. Jonathan Mayhew of Martha's Vineyard, afterwards pastor of the West Church in Boston, and distinguished as one of the most intre- pid champions of civil and religious liberty, and ablest divines oi New England, to preach four Babbaths each.
On the 2?th of Novemher, I" 16, Mr. Maccartj preached hi- first sermon, on the public annual thanksgiving, and continued to officiate very acceptably, until the day was fixed for the election of a minis- ter, on the 19th of January, 1747.
The sabbath preceding the determination between the candidates, Mr. Mayhew, who had previously bei n heard by the people, officia- ted in the forenoon, and Mr. Maccarty performed the afternoon ser- vice. The latter was elected, by 42 of the 44 votes given by the church: three only dissented, in town meeting, on the question of concurrence. On the 10th of June, L747, he was installed as pa- tor of the religious society. The introductory prayer at the ordina- tion was offered by Rev. John Campbell of Oxford : the Bermon was preached by Mr. Maccarty himself ; from 1 Thess. ii. 13. and afterwards published. Rev. Mr. Williams of Weston, delivered the charge, and Rev. Mr. Cotton of Newton, gave the right hand of fel- lowship. The concluding prayer was by Rev. Mr. Appleton of ( Sam- bridge. After singing Psalm lxxviii. 2 to 7 verses, the benediction was pronounced by Mr. Maccarty.1
The town voted a salary of =£100 in last emission money, ' having special regard to the small value of bills of credit, but if the future circumstances of Mr. Maccarty's family should call for it, they would cheerfully and willingly make him such further addition as may be judged proper from time to time.' From 1750 to 1?.">!», the annual stipend was 80 pounds, in lawful money. After the latter year, the sum of 20 pounds was bestowed by the name of gratuity.
On the 23d of March, 1747, the inhabitants voted to raise the sum of £300, and appointed a committee to make sale of 100 acres of the ministerial lands in the town, for the purpose of purchasing a parsonage. A resolve of the General Court, passed June 3, 1T47, authorized the sale, provided the proceeds were invested in real es- tate for the use of the ministry. The house of Dr. Samuel Breck,
1 First Church's Records, i. 1.
174 FIRST PARISH. . [1787.
situated on the common, south east from the meeting house, was purchased for £ 187. 10s. and conveyed, hy deed dated Sept. 25, 1747, with about two acres of land adjoining, to John Chandler, treasurer, to and for the use of the town. This property was grant- ed to Mr. Maccarty, on his release of all expenses for repairs, and conveyed March 4th, 1 7 < >-">.
The history of these transactions, has, unfortunately, become mat- ter of judicial record ; 1 a suit having been instituted, April 30th, 1814, by Rev. Samuel Austin, to recover, in right of the parish, the tract of land from the tenant, claiming under the conveyance of the executors of Mr. Maccarty, in which it was finally determined that the deed of the town, in its parochial capacity, passed no title, and a judgment was rendered for the demandant, afterwards releas- ed by the Parish.
On the commencement of the revolution, which Mr. Maccarty had promoted by his influence, although feeling the pressure of declin- ing years, and having a numerous family dependent upon him, he relinquished a portion of his allowance.
The feebleness of Mr. Maccarty prevented his regular performance of clerical duties during the last years of his life. His long and use- ful ministry of 37 years was closed by death, July 20, 1784.
The Rev. Thaddeus Maccarty, son of Capt. Thaddeus Maccarty, an experienced commander and skilful navigator in the merchant service, was born in Boston, 1721. Early destined to a seafaring life, he accompanied his father in several voyages,2 but the delicate- ness of his constitution, rendered him unable to endure the hardships and exposure of the ocean, and his attention was directed to the more quiet pursuits of a profession. His preparatory studies were in the town school of Boston, and he graduated at Harvard College, in 1739.
Soon after completing his theological education, he received and ac- cepted an invitation to settle in Kingston, in Plymouth county, where he was ordained as the pastor of that town, Nov. 3, 1742. At the ex- piration of three years, the connection was dissolved, under peculiar circumstances. The enthusiastic eloquence of Whitefield, had stirred up the slumbering spirit of piety, and his bold attacks on the regular clergy, alarmed the friends of the church. The unguarded bitterness of expressions, and the neglect of conciliatory policy on the part of that celebrated itinerant, changed mere disapprobation of his mea-
1 14 Mass. Reports, 333. Austin vs. Thomas. 2 MS. note on a sermon, in hand writing of Rev. Mr. Maccarty.
1784.] CHARACTER OF MB. MACCARTY 175
sures into determined hostility. The inhabitants of Kingston, ;i|>- prehensive of the disturbance of their peace by his visit, and fearful of liis power i" excite commotion, appointed .1 committee, Jan. -J'.:, 1* 1">, to prevenl the intrusion of roving 1 shorten. An unfounded report was circulated that .Mr. Maccarty, who was supposed to be attached to Whitefield, then in Plymouth, had invited him to preach the Bacramental lecture. .Much excitement arose, and effectual care was taken in prevenl the exercises of the obnoxious individual, by closing and fastening the meeting house, nailing the doors, and < or- ering the window- with boards. .Mr. Maccarty, indignant at the personal insult and violation of his rights, omitted attending at the
time appointed for the lecture, and ii ediately asked dismission. A
council was convened, and, although, it 1- said, he had become de- sirous of withdrawing his request, it was granted, against In- wishes, and the result, advising separation, accepted by the town. On the 3d of November, 17-15, three years t<> a day from his ordination, lie preached a farewell sermon, from the appropriate text, Act- w. 31. ' Therefore watch, and remember that by the space of £Are< years, I ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tear<. And now , brethren, I commend yon to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified.' A copy of the discourse was left in Kingston, and sixty years after the delivery, and long after the de- cease of the author, it was published, with a preface, containing a brief statement of the transaction, and remarks reproachful to tip- people of Kingston.1
His character is faithfully delineated in the following inscription on the monument erected to his memory.
'Beneath this stone are deposited tin; remains of the Rev. Thad- deus Maccarty, for thirty seven years pastor of the church in Wor- cester. Through the course of hi- mini-try, he uniformly exhibited an example of the peaceable and amiable virtues of Christianity. Under a slow and painful decline, he discovered an ardent love to his master, by a cheerful attention to his service, and at the approach of death, he patiently submitted, in the full hope of a glorious resur- rection from the grave. In testimony of his fidelity, the people of his charge erect this monument. Obiit, July 20, 17^4, JStatis <>;5.'
Mr. Maccarty was tall in stature : in person slender and thin, with a dark and penetrating eye : a distinct and sonorous, though some- what harsh toned voice. His address was impressive and solemn.
» 2 Mass. Hist. Coll. Hi. 209,
17G FIRST PARISH. [1740.
In sentiment lie was strictly calvinistic : l in politics decided and firm, ranking however with the moderate whigs. His printed ser- mons are more characterized by judicious thought, good sense, and piety, than elegance or eloquence. After preaching a convention sermon, a contemporary clergyman remarked, that he had never heard him preach either a very low, or a very brilliant discourse. 2
1 President John Adams, in a letter to tlie Rev. Dr. Bancroft, says ;' when I removed to Worcester, in 1733, 1 found that county hot with controversy between the parties of Mr. Ihickminster and Mr. Mellen. I became acquainted with Dyer, Doolitlle, and Bald- win, three notable disputants. Mr. Maccarty, though a calvinist, was not a bigot, but the town was a scene of disputes all the time I lived there.' Mass. Spy, April 23, 1823.
Joseph Dyer, attorney and merchant, Ephraim Doolittle, merchant and afterward colonel of a regiment, Nathan Baldwin, Register of Deeds, were all deists. Of the two former, some notice will be found in succeeding pages. The latter was an ardent politician, and the author of many of the addresses and documents of our revolutionary annals. He died at Worcester, July 21, 1784.
2 The following list contains all the publications of Mr. Maccarty. 1. Farewell ser- mon, preached at Kingston, Nov. 3, 1745, printed, Boston, 1804. 2. The success of the preached gospel matter to faithful ministers of continual thankfulness to God : sermon at the author's installation to the pastoral office in Worcester, June 10, 1747. 1 Thes. xi. 13. 3. The advice of Joab to the Host of Israel going forth to war, considered and ur- ged: in two discourses delivered in Worcester, April 5, 1759, being the day of the annual fast, and the day preceding the general muster of the militia throughout the province for the enlisting soldiers for the intended expedition against Canada. 4. The power and grace of Christ displayed to a dying malefactor: sermon, Oct. 20, 1768, the day of the execution of Arthur, a negro, at Worcester. 5. The most henious sinners capable of the saving blessings of the gospel : sermon, Oct. 25. 1770, on the execution of William Lindsey for burglary, at Worcester. 6. Praise to God, a duty of continual obligation: sermon, Nov. 23, 1775, public thanksgiving. 7. The guilt of innocent blood put awav: sermon, July 2, 1778, on the execution of Buchannan, Brooks, Ross, and Mrs. Spooner, for murder, at Worcester. Most of the manuscripts of Mr. Maccarty were destroyed at his decease, in compliance with his wishes. Among them, was the historical discourse, of whose contents the following memorandum was entered by him on the church records:
' Thursday, Dec. 8, 1763. This day, being the public thanksgiving throughout the province, and the day also of this congregation's assembling in their new meeting house, which began to be erected on June 21st preceding, exactly 16 years from the time of my installment to the pastoral office, I preached a sermon from 1 Chr. xxix. 16, 17, in which some brief account was given of the original settlement of this town, the gathering of this church, its pastors, admissions, baptisms, dec. and some proper notice taken of the so- lemnity of thanksgiving.'
Rev. Thaddeus Maccarty married Mary Gatcomb, Sept. 8, 1743. Their children were : 1. Thaddeus, b. July 29, 1744. 2. John, b. Aug. 16, 1745: both died in King- ston. 3. Thaddeus, b. Dec. 19. 1747, graduated at Yale College, 1766: married Ex- perience, d. of Thomas Cowdin, Esq. of Fitchburg, Jan. 16, 1775: physician, practised sometime in Worcester, then in Keene, N. H. where he died Nov. 21, 1802. 4. Tho- mas, b. Sept. 24, 1749: d. March 14, 1750. 5. Mary. b. Oct. 30, 1750: married Hon. Benjamin West, of Charlestown, N H. in 1781: d. Aug. 1803. 6. John. b. Jan. 10, 1752: d. June 19, 1752. 7. Elizabeth, I.. Jan. 7, 1753: d. March 25, 1823. 8. Wil- liam Greenough. b. Dec. 20, 1753 : quarter master in Col. Bigelow's, 15th Mass. regi- ment, died at Billerica, Aug. 13, 1791 : he married Hannah Soley of Charlestown. Mass. who after his decease married Nathan Adams of the same town, aad is now his widow.
1T2C3.J CHUKLH MUSIC 17?
A singular controversy in relation to the form of conducting the musical portion of public worship in our churches, growing out of attachment to ancient customs and resistance of innovations, arose at an early period. In its progress, n converted the harmony of christians in the bouse of prayer into discord, and though trifling in its origin, became of so much importance, as t<» require the frequent directory interference ol town meetings, and only armed at it- con- clusion when the great revolutionary struggle Bwallowed up all mi- nor objects.
Anciently, those who joined in singing the devotional poetry of re- ligious exercises, were dispersed through the congregation, having no place assigned them as a distinct body, and no privileges sepa- rate from their fellow worshippers. After the clergyman had read the whole psalm, he repeated the first line, which was sung by those who were able to aid in the pious melody : the eldest deacon then pronounced the next line, which was sung in similar manner, and
9. Samuel, b. March 23, 17.55 : d. July 21, 1735. 10. Thomas, b. and d. Dec. 5, 1755. 11. Francis, b. Sept. 28, 175(5 : d. June 7, 1757. 12. Nathaniel, b. July 10, 1758 : learn- ed the trade of a printer, with Isaiah Thomas, afterwards merchant in Petersham, died in Worcester, Oct. 14, 1831. 13. Lucy, b. June 25, 17G0 : d. June 23, 1813. 14. Lu- cretia, b. July 15, 17G2 : d. Jan. 1810. 15. Francis, b. Aug. 8, 1763 : d. Sept. 9, 17G4. The mother died. Dec. 28, 1783, at Worcester.
Mary Gatcomb was daughter of Francis Gatcomb, an emigrant from Wales, who be- came a wealthy merchant of Boston, where he died, July 90, 1744, aged 51 ; his wife, Rachel, died, Nov. 20, 1752, aged 51. The marriage of one of their four daughters with one Winter, was full of the romance of real life. He had worked as a wood saw- yer at her father's door, and it was not known to the family that she had even spoken to him. One afternoon, she put on her bonnet and shawl, and said she was about to visit a place she named. Her sister, observed. ' stop a few miuutes, and I will go with you.' ' No,' she replied, ' I am in a hurry ;' and immediately went out. Night coming on, the family became greatly alarmed by her absence, and made ineffectual search in all di- rections. The next morning revealed the mystery of her disappearance ; she had be- come the lawful wife of Winter. Her parents were much incensed, and forbade her the house; but afterwards, on his death bed, her father became reconciled, received her again to favor, and in the division of his estate, which was large for those days, made her share equal to that of his other children. Winter proved a kind, but thriftless hus- band. They embarked for Halifax, were shipwrecked, lost all their effects, and narrow. ]y escaped with life. Finding nothing but poverty and distress at Halifax, they return- ed to Boston. Winter did the best he could to support his family by day labor, and was ever kind and affectionate to the woman he had led from the affluence of her former home to the penury of his own lot. Misfortune followed him, and his exertions were unsuccessful. His wife, at length, fell into consumption. The Rev. Mr. Maccarty, who married her sister, went to Boston to visit her in distress, and found her in a bare hovel, on a straw bed, destitute of every thing. He administered all the consolation in his power, gave to her a guinea, a large present for him to make at that time, knelt down by her and prayed, and, commending her to the protection of heaven, departed. She died, in about six weeks after, without issue. MS. Letter of John W. Stiles, Esq.
23
178 FIRST PARISH. [1726.
the exercises of singing and reading went on alternately. When the advantages of education were less generally diffused than at pres- ent, the custom was established, to avoid the embarrassment result- ing from the ignorance of those who were mote skilful in giving sound to notes than deciphering letters. The barbarous effect pro- duced by each individual repeating the words to such tune as was agreeable to his own taste, became apparent. The first attempt at the reformation of this ' usual way,' as it was termed, was made March, 172G, when a meeting of the inhabitants was called, for the purpose of considering ' in which way the congregation shall sing in future, in public, whether in the ruleable way, or in the usual way,' and the former was adopted, though not without strong opposition at the time and great discontent after.1 Ineffectual application hav- ing been made to the selectmen, to convene the people, for the pur- pose of again discussing the subject, a warrant was procured from John Minzies, Esq. of Leicester, calling a meeting, ' to see if the town will reconsider their vote concerning singing, it being of an ecclesiastical nature, which ought not to stand on our town records ;' but the article was dismissed.
The next step was, the attempt to procure the aid of some suita- ble person to lead and direct in the performances. It was voted, May., 1769, ' that the elder's seat be used for some persons to lead the congregation in singing.' The adherents of old usage posses- sed sufficient influence to negative a proposition for raising a com- mittee to invite a qualified individual to perform this office. In March, 1770, ' it was voted, that Messrs. James McFarland, Jona- than Stone, and Ebenezer Flagg, sit in the elder's seat to lead, and on a motion made and seconded, voted unanimously, that Mr. Wil- liam Swan sit in the same seat, to assist the aforesaid gentlemen in singing.' It remained, to gather the musicians to one choir, where their talents in psalmody could be better exerted than in their dis- persion, and in 1773, ' the two hind body seats, on the men's side, on the lower floor of the meeting house,' were assigned to those who sat together and conducted singing on the Lord's day,
The final blow was struck on the old system, by the resolution of the town, Aug. 5, 1779. ' Voted, That the singers sit in the front seats in the front gallery, and those gentlemen who have heretofore sat in the front seats in said gallery, have a right to sit in the front
1 Its execution was defeated by 'be resistance of the deacons, who, on the ensuing- Lord's day, read line by line as usual, without regard to the vote. Respectful regard 10 the feelings of these venerable men prevented the contemplated change.
1779.] ( ill nc If MUSIC. 179
scat and second scat below, ami that said lingeri nave said Beets ap- propriated to said use. Voted, Thai Baid singers be requested to take said seats and cany on Binging in public worship. Voted, That the mode of singing in the congregation here, be without reading the psalm-, line by line, to be sung.1
The sabbath succeeding the adoption of these rotes, after the hymn had been read by the minister, the aged and venerable Deacon Chamberlain, unwilling to desert the custom of his fathers, rose, and read the first line according to his usual practice. The singers, pre- pared to carry the alteration into effect, proceeded, without pausing at its conclusion: the white haired offioer of the church, with the lull power of his voice, read on, until the louder notes of the collected body overpowered the attempt to resist the progress of improvement, and the deacon, deeply mortified at the triumph of musical reforma- tion, seized his hat, and retired from the meeting house, in tear- His conduct was censured by the church, and he was, for a time, de- prived of its communion, for absenting himself from the public ser- vices of the sabbath.
The mode of reading prevailed in Boston, and throughout New England, until a W'W }ears prior to the last mentioned date, and in some places beyond it. A relic of the old custom probably still sur- vives, in the repetition of the first line of the hymn by clergymen of the present day.
The improved version, by President Dunster, of the translation attempted by Rev. Mr. Weld, Rev. Mr. Eliot of Roxbury, and Rev. Richard Mather of Dorchester, according to the agreement of the ministers in 10:30, was used in the church here until 1761, when it was voted, ' that it would be agreeable to change the version of the Psalms, and to sing the version composed by Tate and Brady, with an appendix of scriptural hymns of Dr. Watts,' and this was begun to be used Nov. 29, of that year, The hymns of Dr. Watts were substituted for the book before used, Jan. 20, 1790.
The public reading of a lesson from the Scriptures, as a stated portion of the service, was not introduced into New England until near the middle of the last century. The following extract from the church records shows the period when it was first commenced here. 1 1749. Sept. 3. Voted, that thanks be given, by the pastor, public- ly, to the Hon. John Chandler, Esq. for his present of a handsome folio Bible for the public reading of the Scriptures, which laudable custom was very unanimously come into, by the church, at one of their meetings some time before.'
180 FIRST PARISH. [1783.
The assignment of places in church was formerly matter of grave consideration, and frequently claimed the attention of the town. In 1724, a large committee was instructed to seat the meeting house, ' ta- king as the general rule the two last invoices of ratable estate, sav- ing liberty to have due regard to principal builders as they shall see cause.' After long lapse of time, they were directed in 1733, 'to pro- ceed and finish the meeting house, and that the rule they principal- ly guide themselves by, be a person's usefulness, or the station he holds in age and pay, not having regard to plurality of polls, but to real and personal estate.' In 1748, it was directed, ' that the men's seats in the body of the house be enlarged to the women's seats, that a man and woman be placed in each of the pews to be con- structed, and a seat for the children be made in the body before the seats.' An article was inserted in the warrant of April, 1750, ' to give directions that people may sit in the seats assigned to them, to prevent discord, and that they do not put themselves too forward,' and at the meeting it was voted, ' that the selectmen give tickets to such people as have not taken their seats properly, according to the last seating, directing them to sit where they ought, so as to prevent disorder, and that they fill up properly any pews lately built.' In the house erected in 1763, the right of selection of pews was given ' in the order of amounts paid for building.'
The declining health of Mr. Maccarty, during the last years of his life, had prevented his constant ministration, and rendered aid neces- sary for the pulpit. In March, 1781, a committee was instructed to engage the temporary assistance of clergymen.
In July, 1783, the increasing infirmities of the pastor, made it ap- parent that the days of his usefulness were drawing near their close. With the view to provide an assistant, or successor, it was voted, to settle a colleague, and to invite candidates to officiate on probation. Gentlemen, whose labors in other towns were afterwards crowned with distinguished success, were heard, but failed to produce such impression as to unite the members of the parish in the selection from the number. Among others, the Rev. Aaron Bancroft preached eight sabbaths in the autumn of 1783. On the termination of his en- gagement, Mr. Maccarty was so far restored to health, as to be able to resume the discharge of his duties for a short period.
In July, 1784, the pulpit was left vacant by his decease. In Oc- tober following, Mr. Bancroft again preached five or six times. Dif- ferences of opinion on religious doctrine had sprung up, which, in their progress, produced division in the parent parish, and are stated
1785.] SEPARATION OF SECOND SOCIETY. 1-1
on the record, to have disturbed the peace of 1 1 1 « - ton n and the inter- course of societ] .
In November, 17- 1, n day was set apart by the town, lor humilia- tion, prayer, ami supplication of the divine assistance for the r< • - tablishmcnt of the Gospel ministry.
Mr. Bancroft returned to Worcester, under a third engagement to
preach, in January, [',>■'». A meeting was convened in .March of that year, on the request of 4* petitioner*. A motion was made to settle Mr. Bancroft as the minister. The opposition of the majority arose from diversity of religious sentiment ;' and not from objection to the character or ability of the candidate. It was proposed, as a means of compromise, that he should be called to settle; that those opposed should be at liberty to settle a colleague of their own choice : and that the salaries of both be paid from the common treasury : but this was rejected. The friends of Mr. Bancroft, next requested the assent of the town to the formation of another society, which was re- fused. They then withdrew, voluntarily associated themselves to- gether, and although the legal connexion was not dissolved until an act of incorporation was obtained long afterwards, they maintained public worship separate from the parish.
The division springing from this source, and extending its distract- ing influence over civil, municipal, social, and private affairs, continu- ed to impair harmony. Those who seceded, still remained liable to taxation, and while charged with the support of their own minister, were compelled to contribute their proportion of the parochial expen- ses of their opponents. The members of the new society claimed a share in the funds arising from the sale of lands appropriated for re. licious purposes, and of the property which had been held in com- mon for ministerial use. During two years, continual but ineffectual attempts were made to secure equitable adjustment. Meeting after meetino- was held. Propositions to exonerate the new society from taxation in the parish from which they had separated ; to distribute the ministerial funds and property ; to submit the determination of the whole matter to the arbitration of the Justices of the Supreme
1 'On application for an incorporating act, a committeeof the legislature was appoin- ted to report on the prayer of the petition, of which the venerable Charles Turner, once a distinguished clergyman, was chairman. He was liberal in his opinions, but much opposed to the ecclesiastical division of towns and parishes; and he demanded the reasons, which rendered it expedient, that the town of Worcester should thus be divided. Judge Lincoln, chairman of the parish committee, replied, 'The majority of our inhabi- tants are rigid Calvinists, the petitioners are rank Arminians.' Dr. Bancroft's Half Century Sermon, 42.
182 FIRST PARISH. [1786.
Judicial Court, or of referees mutually chosen ; with all varieties of modifications, were successively rejected. The petitions for incor- poration were opposed ; all terms of accommodation denied ; and the meetings were disturhed by the conflict of the contending parties, un- til the act of the Legislature defined the rights of the minority, and the controversy subsided.
While this warfare of brethren was going on, attempts were made to settle a minister in the elder society.
May 15, 1786, an invitation was given to Rev. Daniel Story for this purpose, with an offer of £ 300 settlement, and £ 120 annual sal- ary, and accepted by him. His ordination was postponed, with the hope that an amicable settlement of the controversies of the societies could be effected. October 15, 1787, the last Wednesday of Novem- ber was fixed for the ceremony, and a committee charged with the proper preparations. Before the time appointed for his installation arrived, another meeting was held, and the former vote reconsidered. Adjournments took place from month to month, without final action on the subject, until March 10th, 1788, when the invitation was re- called, and the relation which had commenced between pastor and people was dissolved, after Mr. Story had preached about two years. This measure was adopted, probably in compliance with his wishes, and was induced by his reluctance to remain permanently, where his means of usefulness would be limited, and restrained by the ex- isting divisions.
Rev. Daniel Story, son of William Story of Boston, who held the office of Commissioner of Stamps, was a graduate of Dartmouth Col- lege, in the class of 1780. After his removal from Worcester, he preached as a candidate for the ministry in Concord, New Hampshire. Although an acceptable preacher, the Arminian sentiments he was said to entertain, prevented his settlement. He removed to Ohio, and was settled as the first minister of Marietta, where he died in 1813. l Nov. 13, 1787, the New Society was incorporated by the Legisla- ture. From this time, the first parish commenced its legal existence distinct from the municipal corporation, and the support of worship ceased to be provided for by the inhabitants in their general meetings. The Rev. Abiel Flint, Israel Evans, Elijah Kellog, Enoch Pond, Joshua Cushman, William F. Rowland, and Ebenezer Fitch, sup- plied the desk, after the retirement of Mr. Story.
On the 22d of March, 1790, the Rev. Samuel Austin of New Ha- ven, was invited to settle on a salary of <£130. After the acceptance
1 J Farmer in New Hampshire Hist. Coll. iii. 248.
1790.] CHI RCH OOVENANT. 188
of tin; call by thai gentleman, disapprobation was expressed bj an individual. For 1 1 1 « - purpose of ascertaining the precise extent of "|>- position, and to avoid the painful consequences of discontent, ond meeting was held, when there were found to be seventy three for, and only two againsl the candidate.
Mr. Austin was installed, Sept. 30, 1790. The Rev. Samuel Spring of New bury port, introduced the solemnitiea \\ nh prayer Rev. Samuel Hopkins of Hadley, delivered the sermon : Rev. Bbenezer Chaplin of Sutton, made the ordaining prayer : Re\ Joseph Sumnex of Shrewsbury, gave the charge ; Ret . Nehemiah \\ Miami of Brim- field, bestowed the right hand offellowship : Rev. Nathaniel Emmons of franklin, offered the concluding prayer.
As a substitute for the old articles of faith and covenant, the fol- lowing were unanimously adopted by the church, to be used in the admission of members. l
1 1. I believe that there is one, only, living, and true God, a Being independent and eternal in his existence and glory, unchangeable in his purposes, possessed of infinite power, wisdom, and justice, good- ness and truth, and who i< the Creator, Benefactor, Preserver, and sovereign righteous Governor of the universe.
'2. I believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were given by inspiration of God, are clothed with divine authority, and are a perfect rule of faith and manners.
'3. I believe that the Scriptures teach, that God exists, in a man- ner incomprehensible to us, under a threefold distinction or Trini- ty of persons, as the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that to these three persons, as the one God, all divine perfections are to he equal- ly ascribed.
1 4. I believe that every individual of the human race, is, by con- nection with the first man, and in consequence of his apostasy, native- ly dead in trespasses and sins, at enmity with God, and must be re- generate in heart, and sanctified by the agency of the Holy Ghost, in order to final salvation.
'5. 1 believe that God hath, from the foundation of the world, or- dained some, by an election purely of grace, unto everlasting life, who, and who only, will be finally gathered into the kingdom of the Re- deemer.
' C. The only Redeemer of sinners, I believe, is the Lord Jesus
1 These articles were not entered on the church records until May 23, 1815. They were then revised, but it stated, were varied in phraseology only, and not in sentiment.
184 FIRST PARISH. [1790.
Christ, who is strictly and properly a divine person, who, by the as- sumption of the human nature in union with the divine, became ca- pable of making a meritorious and effectual sacrifice for sin, by giving himself up to the death of the cross; that by this sacrifice he became the propitiation of the sins of men ; that, as risen from the dead, ascended and glorified, he is the Head of the Church, and the final Judge of the world, and that all who are saved, will be entirely indebted to the sovereign Grace of God, through his atone- ment.
' 7. I believe that those who are once regenerated and united to Christ by a true faith, will never finally fall away, but will be preser- ved by divine power, and in fulfillment of God's eternal purpose of Grace, unto final salvation.
' 8. I believe that those who die in a state of impenitency and un- belief are irrevocably lost.
' 9. I believe in the resurection of the dead and a general judg- ment, in the issue of which the righteous will be received to the per- fect and endless enjoyment of God in heaven, and the wicked will be sentenced to be everlastingly punished in that fire which was pre- pared for the devil and his angels, which sentence I believe will be fully' executed.
' 10. I believe in the sacraments of the Gospel dispensation, bap- tism and the Lord's Supper, as the two ordinances instituted by Christ, for the edification of his body the Church : that visible believ- ers only, who appear to receive the truth in the love of it, and to maintain a conversation becoming the Gospel, have a right of admis- sion to the Lord's Supper, and that they, with their households, are the only proper subjects to whom baptism is to be administered.'
The following Covenant was subscribed.
' You do now, in the presence, of God, angels, and men, avouch the Lord Jehovah, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, to be your God, the object of your supreme love and your portion : You receive, trust in, and desire to obey, the Lord Jesus Christ as your only Re- deemer; You choose the Holy Spirit as your Sanctifier: You give up yourself and all that you have to God, to be his, desiring above all things to be an instrument of his glory in that way which he shall see best ; and promising, through the help of divine grace, with- out which you can do nothing, that you will deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and that you will live soberly, righteously, and godly, even unto death, you cordially join yourself, as a brother, to this
1815.] ki:\ B LM1 EL 41 -1 1 in 181
church as a true church of our Lord Jesus Christ, anil engage to be subject to its discipline, so faj at it 1- conformable to the rules
which Christ ha- given in the Gospel, anil that vou will walk with
tin- members thereof, in all memberlike lore, watchfulness, and
purity.'
Upon assent to this covenant, on occasion of admission, the church respond, ' Then doth this church receive you into its bosom, prom- ising you our prayers and christian love amine severally engage, with the help of divine grace, that we will walk with vou in all brotherly watchfulness and kindness, hoping thai you and we shall become more and more conformed to the example of our divine Master, till we at last come to the perfection of holiness in the king- dom of his glory. Amen.'
During the war, and amid the violence of party contention, Dr. Austin expressed his political sentiments strongly, in sermons preach- ed on the special lasts.1 Many took offence at this course. A meet- ing was called, to ascertain the views of the parish in relation to these discourses, and to consider the expediency of dissolving the existing connection. The minister was sustained by a great majority, and the meeting dissolved without action. The disaffected withdrew from his congregation, and many united in forming the Baptist Society.
In 1815, Mr. Austin accepted the presidency of the University of Vermont, and solicited dismission ; but, on the request of the church and parish, assented to their concurrent votes, June 12, giving him leave of absence until the first of September then following, that he might have time and opportunity to obtain the information necessary for final decision, and that candidates might be invited to supply the pulpit, with a view to the settlement of colleague or successor. Having determined to remain in Burlington, it was considered desirable that his pastoral relations should still be retained, on account of the civil process instituted in his name by the parish against the town, for the recovery of ministerial lands. An adjudication was had in the legal controversy, at the distance of about two years from his change of residence. Regard for the wishes of a minority, influenced him in longer preserving the original connection, which was finally termina- ted by the result of a mutual council, Dec. 23, 1818.
1 The sermon preached on occasion of the special fast, July 23, 1812, was published, with the following characteristic imprint on the tille page : < Published from the press, by the desire of some who heard it, and liked it ; by ihe desire of some who heard it, and did not like it ; and by the desire of others, who did not hear it, but imagine they should not have liked it, if they had.'
24
186 FIRST PARISH. [1813.
Dr. Samuel Austin was born in New Haven, Nov. 7, 1760.1 When the revolutionary war commenced, he entered the army, and served in New York when the British took possession of the city, and, occa- sionally, for short periods, in other campaigns. After having devo- ted some time to the instruction of youth, he applied himself to the study of law with Judge Chauncy of Connecticut. Feeling the ne- cessity of higher classical attainments, he fitted himself, and was ad- mitted to the Sophomore class of Yale College, in 1781, where he was distinguished as an accomplished linguist, and received the first appointment in the commencement exercises of 1T84. Under the theoloo-ical tuition of Dr. Edwards, he was prepared for the ministry. For four succeeding years, while a candidate, he was at the head of an academy in Norwich. During the period of this employment, one unanimous invitation to settle in Hampton, Connecticut, and an- other, to become colleague with Dr. Livingston, in the pastoral care of the Middle Dutch Church in the city of New York, were declined. The religious sentiments of Dr. Austin were decidedly calvinistic, of the school of the Edwardses, and he required a stricter creed than that of either society. In 1787, he accepted the call of the church of Fair Haven, in the city of New Haven. During the next year, he was married to Jerusha, daughter of Dr. Samuel Hopkins of Hadley : Strong disapprobation of the halfway covenant, as it was called, induced him to seek the dissolution of the connection with the soci- ety of his settlement, which had continued two years. Before the ceremony of dismission, as soon as his intentions to leave New Ha- ven became known, he was earnestly solicited to hecome minister of the first parish in Worcester. Yielding personal wishes to sense of du- ty, he was installed, Sept. 30, 1*90, and retained the relation, thus commenced, twenty five years. Having been elected President of the University of Vermont, in 1815, he removed to Burlington. The operations of that institution had been suspended for three vears by the war, and its buildings occupied as barracks for troops. The whole permanent income little exceeding one thousand dollars annu- ally, its prosperity suffered by the derangement and depression of the times. Feeling that his expectations of usefulness and happiness could not be realized, after discharging the duties of his appointment six years, with fidelity, Dr. Austin resigned. The labors of his sta- tion had impaired his health, and its anxieties probably, pressed heav- ily on his mind. He resumed occupations more congenial to his
1 His father, Samuel Austin, married Lydia Wolcot : they had two sons and a daugh- ter, of whom Dr. Austin was the eldest.
1830.] ur.v sa.vu:i. aistin. I1*:
tastes and habits, than were the government and support of the col- lege, and selecting a people at Newport, in Rhode Island, unable to afford full support, went among them as on a missionary charity, and was installed in 1822. Increasing infirmity of body and depression of Bpirits, compelled him ton tin-, m 1826, and he returned to Wore lie afterwards preached at Mill bury, and was solicited to resume ministry by a new society in ili:i! place, but decliued, The death ol a nephew and adopt! ,\ son, John YV. 1 [ubbard, Esq. and the Bepai of a family, where he might have expected to make a peaceful home, cheered by the kindness which soothes the heavy hours of sicki and despondency, involved him in affliction and engaged him in en- tangled affairs of business. Under the perplexities and beneath the oppressive burden of unaccustomed transactions, his mental en. gave way, and were, at length prostrated. Occasional aberrations of reason terminated in deep religious melancholy, and sometimes, paroxysms of hopeless despair clouded his declining days with gloom. After passing a year in the family of his brother in law, .Mr. Hopkins of Northampton, he removed to that of a nephew, the Rev. Mr. Rid- del of Glastenbury, Connecticut, where he died, in an apoplectic fit, Dec. 4, 1830, aged 71.
He was one of the founders, with Drs. Emmons and Spring, of the Massachusetts Missionary Society ; active in originating the General Association of Massachusetts ; member of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions; one of the projectors and a con- tributor of the Panoplist, an able religious periodical ; and promoted with energy and zeal the objects of many public charitable institu- tions. In 1808, he collected and published the works of the elder President Edwards, the first and only complete and accurate edition of the writings of that celebrated theologian. He received the de- gree of Doctor of Divinity from Williams College. During his whole life he was an industrious and voluminous author.1
> The printed works of Dr. Austin are the following: 1. Funeral oration in the chapel at Yale College, on the death of David Ripley, a classmate, July II, 1782. 1 Sermon on disinterested love, New York. 3. Funeral sermon, Exeter, N. H. April 10. 1790. 4. Sermon on the sabbath following the author's installation, Worcester. Sept- 1790. 5. Sermon on the sabbalh following the death of Miss Hannah Blair, 1792. 6. Thanksgiving Sermon. Worcester, Dec. 15, 1796. 7. Sermon on the Ordination of Rev. Samuel Worcester, at Fitchburg, Mass. Sept. 27, 1797, and again preached at the Ordination of Rev. Nathaniel Hale, Oct. 4, 1797, at Granville, N. Y. 8. Oration, July 4, 179S, at Worcester. 9. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Leonard Worcester, Oct. 30, 1799, at Peachham, Vt. 10. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Samuel Worcester, April 20, 1803, at Salem. 11. Sermon in a volume, ' Sermons Collected,' published at Hartford, 1803. 12. Sermon before Massachusetts Missionary Society, May 24. 1803,
188 FIRST PARISH. [1816.
A funeral discourse was pronounced at the interment of Dr. Aus- tin, by his friend, the Rev. Dr. Caleb J. Tenney of Wethersfield : from which many of these particulars have been abstracted. 'His in- tellect,' says that biographer, ' was superior. Its operations were marked by rapidity, vigor and general accuracy .... His classical attainments and extensive general knowledge, secured him a respect- able standing among the learned in our country .... As a writer for the pulpit, his mind was original and fertile ; his style at once copious and discriminating .... In delivery he was animated and vehement .... while, occasionally, he rose to high and powerful eloquence.'
Dr. Austin was of commanding stature. An austere air and se- vere countenance, were united with ardent feelings, and constitution- al susceptibility to external incidents and influences. In appear- ance, he might be supposed to resemble, as in fearless spirit and firmness he would have imitated, had occasion called to the trial, one of the reformers and martyrs of old.
On the 15th of July, 1S16, the Rev. Charles A. Goodrich was in- vited to settle, as colleague with Dr. Austin until the latter should be regularly dismissed from office, and thenceforward as sole pastor, by 64 of 66 members of the parish, and this was confirmed, August
Boston. 13, 14. Two Sermons in the Columbian Preacher, published at Catskill, N. Y. 1808. 15. Examination of the representations and reasonings contained in seven ser- mons by Rev. Daniel Merrill. 12mo. pp. 108. 1805. 16. Mr. Merrill's defensive armor taken from him, a reply to his twelve letters to the author, on the mode and subjects of Baptism. 12mo. pp. 58. 1806. 17. View of the economy of the church of God, as it existed under the Abrahamic Dispensation and the Sinai Law, and as it is perpetua- ted under the more luminous Dispensation of the Gospel, particularly in regard to the Covenants. 8vo. pp. 328. 1807. 18. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. John M. Whiton, Sept. 28, 1808, at Antrim, N. H. 19. Sermon at the dedication of a new mee- ting house, Nov. 3, 1808, at Hadley, Mass. 20. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Warren Fay, Nov. 1808, at Brimfield Mass. 21. Fast Sermon, April 11, 1811. Wor- cester. 22. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. John Nelson, March 14, 1812, at Leices- ter. 23. Sermon on the Special Fast, July 23, 1812. Worcester. 24. The apology of patriots ; or the heresy of Washington and peace policy defended : Sermon on the National Fast, Aug. 20, 1812. Worcester. 25. Sermon at the ordination of Rev, Ga- maliel S. Olds, Nov. 13, 1813, at Greenfield. 26. Inaugural Address on induction into office as President of the University in Vermont, July 26, 1816, Burlington, Vt. 27. Election Sermon, Oct. 10, 1816, at Montpelier, Vt. 28. Protest against proceedings of first church in Worcester, June, 1821. 29. Oration, July 4, 1822, at Newport, R. I.
30. Sermon on the dedication of the Calvinist Church, Oct. 13, 1823, at Worcester.
31. Discourse at the 15th annual Meeting of the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, Sept. 15, 1824, at Hartford. 32. Address, July 4, 1825, at Worces- ter. 33. Dissertations upon several fundamental articles of Christian Theology. 8vo. pp. 260. Worcester. 1826.
1820.] REV. CHARLES A. GOODRICH l-'.t
26, S8 to 2. A salary of 9900 iru offered. The ordination took place, Oct. 9. The prayer was by 1 1 1 « - Rev. Benjamin Wood of I p- ton : sermon by Key. Samuel Goodrich <>f Berlin, Conn, father <>r the pastor: consecrating prayer by Rev. Edmund Mills <>|' Sutton : charge by Rev. .Mr. Smith of Durham, Conn : exhortation to church and people by Rev. Joseph Goffe of Millburj : address and right hand of fellowship by Rev. John Nelson of Leicester: concluding prayer by Rev. .Mr. Whittlesey of Washington, Conn.
The opposition manifested to the call of Mr. Goodrichagrew stron- ger after his ordination, and was much increased by the dismission of his colleague. Twenty eight members of the church protested before the ecclesiastical council convened l>\ the assent of Dr. Aua* tin, Nov. 18, 1818, against the dissolution of the then existing rela- tions. That body, on the 23d of December, separated the connec- tion of the senior pastor. Objections of a personal nature to the ministration of Mr. Goodrich, and to the discipline and proceedings of the church, led to long and acrimonious controversy. The dis- affected, and those who considered themselves aggrieved, withdrew, or were dismissed, and joined the Baptist Society, or united them- selves to other religious associations, and were finally formed into the Calvinist Church. The troubles of this period have too recently- been laid before the public in voluminous tracts, to require repetition of the narrative. x
Mr. Goodrich asked and received dismission, Nov. 14, 1820.
The Rev. Charles A. Goodrich, was a native of Berlin in Connec- ticut, son of the clergyman of the parish of Worthington, in that town, and graduated at Yale College, in 1815. After his removal from Worcester, he returned to his native place, and has since been engaged in literary labors.
The Rev. Aretius B. Hull, invited to settle as the successor of Mr. Goodrich, by a vote of 101 to 3, was ordained May 23, 1821. Rev. Dr. Reuben Puffer of Berlin, made the introductory prayer: the sermon was preached by Rev. Nathaniel W. Taylor of New ila-
* The full history of these difficulties, and discussions of their leading points arc con- tained in a series of publications : 1. Origin and Progress of the late difficulties in (he First Church in Worcester, containing all the documents relating to the subject. 2. Remarks on the late publication of the First Church in Worcester, relating to the origin and progress of the late difficulties in that church. 3. Result of a Mutual Ecclesiastical Council, Nov. 14, 1820, to consider the expediency of granting the request of Rev. Charles A. Goodrich to be dismissed. 4. Protest against the proceedings of the I'irst Church in Worcester, by Samuel Austin, D. D. 5. Communication from the Prook- field association, to the Ecclesiastical Council who ordained Rev. Loammi Ives Iload- ly, over the Calvinist Church, in Worcester.
190 FIRST PARISH. [1821.
ven : the consecrating prayer offered by Rev. Daniel Tomlinson of Oakham: the charge given by Rev, Joseph Avery of Holden : right hand of fellowship extended by Rev. John Nelson of Leicester: ad- dress to the church delivered by Rev. Thomas Snell of North Brook- field : and the concluding prayer pronounced by Rev. Micah Stone of Brookfield. The venerable Dr. Sumner of Shrewsbury, presided in the Council.
The Rev. Aretius B. Hull, descended from a respectable family emigrating from the vicinity of Liverpool, in England, to New Ha- ven, at an early period, was born at Woodbridge, in Connecticut, October 12, 1788. Having been fitted by the Rev. Dr. Eli, he grad- uated at Yale, in 1807. Adopting the usual resource of young men indigent in circumstances, to acquire the pecuniary means of profes- sional education, he taught the academy at Wethersfield, for a short space after completing his collegiate course. The seeds of consump- tion were implanted in his constitution, and he sought relief from the genial climate of the Southern states. Returning with improved health, he accepted the appointment of tutor in his own college, in 1810, and remained in that station until the autumn of 1816, when he was licensed to preach. Although still suffering from the lurking complaint he officiated in Brookfield, Connecticut, and in other plac- es, until his ordination in Worcester, in 1821. The disease, which medical skill has not been yet able to arrest, in May 1825, interrup- ted his labors, and, on the 17th of May, 1826, terminated his exis- tence, at the age of 38.
' He possessed,' says the Rev. Mr. Nelson,1 'a mind of a very high order, and that mind was enriched with uncommon attainments of general as well as professional knowledge. His conceptions were clear, just, and discriminating. At the same time, a highly cultiva- ted taste, a refinement of thought and feeling, as pleasing as it was genuine, pervaded all his writings and all his conversation.5
After the death of Mr. Hull, Mr. Joseph Whiting was invited to settle as his successor, Nov. 16, 1826, but as there was apparent want of unanimity in the election, the call was declined.
The Rev. Rodney A. Miller, the present clergyman, received an
1 Sermon delivered at his funeral, May, 1826, by Rev. John Nelson, Pastor of the Church in Leicester. Mr. Nelson, was a native of Hopkinton, whence he removed with his father, Deacon John Nelson, sometime resident in Mi I ford, to Worcester. He graduated at Williams College, 1307, was subsequently tutor there, afterwards pursued theological studies with the Rev. Dr. Austin, was ordained in Leicester, March 4, 1812, and still remains in that town, having the praise in the churches of an able and faithful minister, and enjoying the resdect and affection of his people.
1719.] REV. RODNEY \ MILLER. 19]
imitation, with a single dissenting voice only, to become Pa tor of the First Parish, Feb. 19, 1827.
Mr. Miller, descended from a puritan family emigrating from !»■ onshire, in England, and settling near II impton, on the east end of Long [sland, son of Mr. I riah Millet of Troy, New York, graduat- ed at Union College, 1821, pursued the usual course of professional studies at the Theological Seminary in Princeton, \. .1. and was or- dained at Worcester, June '> , 1827. The exercises were tin-.. : in- troductory prayer by Rev. Edward Beechcr of Park Street Church, Boston: sermon by the Rev. Warren Fay of Charlestown : conse- crating prayer by Rev. Micah Stone of Brook field : charge bj I Thomas Snell of North Brookfield : right hand of fellowship b\ R . George Allen of Shrewsbury: address to the people by Rev. John Fiske of New Braintree : concluding prayei by Rev. Dr. Codman of Dorchester. y
i
PRESBYTERIAN C H U R C H; ' •
A church was gathered of thev^cotclnemiirrnnts, soon after their arrival in this town in 1719. They were accompanied, it is said, by the Rev. Edward Fitzgerald, from Londonderry, in Ireland, who preached to the society during some months. They assembled lor religious worship in the old garrison bouse, near the intersection of the Boston and Lancaster roads As the meeting house they at- tempted to rear was destroyed, it is probable, they continued to occupy this humble edifice.
Little care was taken to preserve the memorials of this unoffen- ding but persecuted people, whose history discloses only the injus. tice and intolerance of our ancestors. Few facts can now be ascer- tained of their struggle with prejudices and hostility, which finally drove them away to seek asylum in other states.
The number of Presbyterian communicants is said to have been nearly equal to those of the Congregational church. .Mr. Fitzger- ald, being unable to procure proper maintenance, removed, before the settlement of Mr. Burr. The members of the lir-t parish had proposed an union, and the Presbyterian clergyman had once been invited to occupy the pulpit vacated by the dismission of Mr. Gard- ner, for a single sabbath, when no candidate could be procured. The request was not repeated, and no encouragement was held out to him to remain.
1 Rev. Mr. Miller has published a thanksgiving srrinon, nt Worcester, Nov. 10, 1C32, on the importance of religious influence to national pro>pcritiy.
192 PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. [173G.
On the settlement of Mr. Burr, it was understood, that if the Pres- byterians would aid in his support, they should be permitted to place in the pulpit, occasionally, teachers of their own denomination, and the foreigners united with the other inhabitants. After some time, finding their expectations would not be realized, they withdrew, and the Rev. William Johnston, was installed as their minister.
It has been already stated, that they commenced the erection of a meeting house on the Boston road ; after the materials had been pro- cured, the frame raised, and the building was fast rising, a body of the inhabitants, assembled by night, hewed down and demolished the structure. The riotous act was sustained by the intolerant spirit of the day, and the injured foreigners were compelled to mourn in si- lence over the ruins of the altar, profaned by the hand of violence.
Being compelled to contribute to the support of the Rev. Mr. Burr, an appeal was made to the justice of their fellow townsmen, in 1736, for relief from a tax inconsistent with their religious privileges, but without avail. The recorded answer to their application, furnishes a curious specimen of mingled subtlety and illiberality.
1 In answer to the petition of John Clark and others, praying to be [released] from paying towards the support of the Rev. Isaac Burr, pastor of the church in this town, or any other except Mr. Johnston, (or the ministry carried on after the Congregational way by the said minister of the church, according to the establishment of the Prov- ince, in this town) &c. the town, upon mature consideration, think that the request is unreasonable, and that they ought not to comply with it, upon many considerations :
' 1. That it doth not appear in the petition, who they are that de- sire to be set off, only from the names of the subscribers ; [therefore] it would be for the town to act too much at random, to set them ofF on such a general request :
' 2. That it doth not appear, that the petitioners, or others joining with them, have been actuated by just reasons, or any such princi- ples of conscience as should at all necessitate their forsaking the as- sembling themselves with us : for, as to the Westminister confession of faith, which they say they promised their adherence to at their baptism, it is the same which we hold, maintain, and desire to ad- here to. And as to the worship, discipline, and government of the church, as set forth by the assembly of divines at Westminster, they are not substantially differing from our own professed principles : As they themselves well know, they may enjoy the same worship, ordi-
I'r.iCt.] PRESBYTER] \.\ CHURCH [98
nances, and christian |>ri\ ileges, and means "f their spiritual edifica- tion, with n>, as in the way which they call Presbyterian, and their consciences not be imposed on in anv thing:
' '<). Inasmuch, also, as a number of those HOW Withdrawing from
ns, were jointly concerned in the settlement of the Etev. I laac linrr, our present minister, and joined with as in church fellowship and communion, and we know not u!i\ it should be contrary to their con- sciences to continue with us in communion and worship, but have rather reason to suppose that their separation from us i- from some irregular views and motives, which it would be unworthy of us to countenance :
'4. We look upon the petitioners and others breaking off from us as they have done, [as] being full of irregularity and di order; not to mention, that the ordination of their minister was disorderly, even with respect to the principles which they themselves pretend to act by, as well as with respect to as, to whom they stand related, and with whom they cohabit, and enjoy with us in common all proper social, civil, and christian rights and privileges: their separating from us heing contrary to the public establishment and laws of this province, contrary to their own covenant with us, and unreasonably weakening to the town, whose cumbers and dimensions, the north part being excepted hy the vote from paying to Air. Burr, will not ad- mit of the honorable support of two mi. listers of the gospel, and tend- ing to cause and cherish divisions and parties, greatly destructive to our civil and religious interests, and the peace, tranquillity and hap- piness of the town :
'Upon all which, and other accounts, the town refuse to comply with the request;' and it was voted, hy a great majority of the inhab- itants, that the petition be dismissed.
All efforts to obtain justice, and protection for religious freedom, having proved unavailing, many of the Presbyterian planters remov- ed. Some joined their brethren of the same denomination, who un- der the pastoral charge of the Rev. Mr. Abercrombie, founded the town of Pelham, in Hampshire county, others united themselves with the society in Londonderry, IV If. and many emigrated to tfie colony on the banks of the Unadilla, in New York.
The Rev. Mr. Johnston was settled in Londonderry in 1747. His connection was dissolved in July, \~<~rt,] not on account of impro- priety of conduct or disaffection of the people : but because pover- ty prevented thefn from affording proper support.
•Rev. Mr. Parker's Century Sermon. Londonderry, April .'.'. 1819. 25
194 SECOND SOCIETY. |1?85'
By the persuasion of the Rev. Mr. Dunlop, about thirty persons had been induced to remove from Londonderry, in 1741, to Cherry Valley, in Otsego county, New York. After the dismission of Mr. Johnston, he emigrated, with a little colony, to Unadilla, on the east side of the Susquehannah, in what was then called the Old England district. The unfortunate foreigners were destined to endure suffer- ino- every where. Escaping from persecution, they encountered the horrors of Indian warfare. The celebrated Brant, visited the plan- tation, in 1777, and having called together the military officers, with Mr. Johnston, demanded supplies of provisions. The power of the red warrior enforced compliance. The inhabitants, plundered of their cattle, soon after, abandoned the town, and with their fami- lies took refuge in places of greater security. Some of them were involved in the massacres which desolated the ancient county of Tryon.1
It is probable, Mr. Johnston was accompanied by some of his for- mer parishioners, and that the town of Worcester, at the south east corner of Otsego county, derives its name from their recollections of the place of their first American settlement.
CHAPTER XI.
Second Congregational Society. Separation from the first Parish. Difficulties. Church formed. Covenant. Rev. Aaron Bancroft ordained, 178G. Society incorporated, 1787. Rev. Alonzo Hill ordained, 1827. Votes of Parish and Church. Memoir of Rev. Dr. Bancroft.
The history of the second congregational society is more remark- able for strong principles than striking incidents.2 It was formed by the secession of members of the first parish. Difficulties, spring- ing from efforts to settle a colleague with the Rev. Mr. Maccarty, multiplied and increased in the selection of a successor after his de- cease. Fixed differences of sentiment, diversity of taste, and dis- cordant and conflicting opinions, interposed insuperable obstacles to
' Campbell's Annals of Tryon, 21. 27. G3. 2 Free use has been made of two historical sermons of Doct. Bancroft, April 8, 1827, and January 31, 1836, in the notice of the second society.
1785.] SEPARATION FROM FIRST PARISH. 196
union. Those embracing the doctrinal views of .Mr. Bancroft, and desirous of attending bis ministrations, after ineffectual attempts at reconciliation, withdrew from the religions community where the law had bound them. In a memorial to the legislature, they repre- sented, that ' town meeting after town meeting was productive 01 heat, contention, ami unchristian Btruggles tor a major rote : tin; di- vision reached in its influence to private affairs, and to the civil and prudential concerns of the town. Thi- l>eiiiLr matter of notoriety, respectable persons in the neighborhood, urged, from the largeni sa of the town, the number of its inhabitants, their ability, and th< tensive duties of a minister, the expediency and necee lit] of S( ttling two [clergymen.] Your petitioners readily agreed to, and pn tssi d the proposal, in the March meeting of 1785, which was then reject- ed by a majority of votes, as was, also, a request for the libert] of forming into a separate religious society by themselves. I fader these circumstances, seeing no prospect of union, desirous of a minister whose sentiments they approved, wishing the same indulgence to those who differed from them, weary of unprofitable contention, and fmdincr every thing was to be carried by a major vote, without any attention to the wishes or feelings of the minor part, your petition- ers, judging it for the peace and happiness of the town, by a separa- tion to put an end to disputes that might embroil lor years, withdrew.' A voluntary association was formed, in March, 1785, lor the sup- port of public worship. Sixty seven individuals, by a written instru- ment, agreed to form a religious society, under a proper covenant ; to endeavor to procure an act of incorporation ; to apply to Mr. Ban- croft to settle with them, as their minister ; and severally, to pay their respective proportions of the sum of 1' 150 annually, each accord- ing to the assessment of town rates, as -alary.
To this period, the inland parishes of Massachusetts had been marked out by geographical boundaries. The inhabitants within prescribed territorial limits, were united by the existing laws, with the society established within the precinct of their residence. Con- science was circumscribed by lines drawn on the map, and its exer- cise restrained by the monumental stakes and stones of civil jurisdic- tion. Voluntary association for religious worship, unsanctioned by the authority of government, was bold innovation, conflicting with the prejudices, as it violated the usages of the times.1 The erection
1 In 1757, a few families left the old parish in Leominster, and formed a society un- der Mr. John Rogers. The seceders were incorporated, as individuals, into a poll par- ish, without succession as a corporation. This body was dissolved on the death of the minister in 1789.
109 SECOND SOCIETY. [1785.
of a poll parish, bringing together those of similar opinions, with- out regard to local habitation, almost, if not entirely unprecedented, except in the metropolis, was strenuously resisted. The founders of the second society went forward, by one long stride, years in ad- vance of public opinion. They grasped firmly, and wrested from opposition, those rights, which, after the lapse of time, have been accorded as common privileges.1 It is to their honor, to have taken the first step in establishing those principles of religious freedom, of which their venerable pastor, from youth to age, has been the fearless assertor.
Meetings commenced on the third Sunday of March, 1785, in the Court House, and were held in that place until Jan. 1, 1792. The Rev. Mr. Bancroft was invited, and consented to become the min- ister, June 7, 1785. Of the associates, two men, and three or four females only, had been communicants. It became necessary to or- ganize a church. For this purpose, the following covenant was pre- pared by the pastor elect, which has been retained, unchanged, for half a century.
1 In the first place, we humbly renew the dedication of ourselves and offspring to the great God, who is over all, blessed forever :
And we do hereby profess our firm belief of the Holy Scriptures contained in the Old and New Testaments. And taking them as our sole and sufficient rule of faith and practice, we do covenant to and with each other, that we will walk together as a Christian Soci- ety, in the faith and order of the Gospel. And we do hereby en- gage, as far as in our power, for all under our care, that we will live as true disciples of Jesus Christ, in all good carriage and behavior, both towards God and towards man. Professing ourselves to be in charity with all men who love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity and truth. All this, we engage faithfully to perform, by divine assistance, for which we are encouraged to hope, relying on the mediation of Jesus Christ for the pardon of our manifold sins, and praying the God of all grace, through him, to strengthen and enable us to keep this, our covenant, inviolate and to establish and settle us, that at the second coming of Jesus, we may appear before his presence with exceeding joy.'
Such was the instrument circulated among the families, deliber-
1 Among those most influential in the formation of the new society, were Levi Lin- coln, sen. Joseph Allen, Edward Bangs, Timothy Paine, Timothy Bigelow, and Isaiah Thomas.
1780.] REV. I IRON BANCROFT 107
ately considered, and fully approved. A public lecture was appoint- ed for the formal and Milium expression of assent. Two nun: from neighboring towns, were invited to participate in the devotional exercises, but neither thoughl proper to attend. Such was the state of feeling existing in that period, that countenance or aid could not be expected or obtained, from the clergj or congregations of the vi- cinity. Standing thus isolated amid Bociety, ii a religioua commu- nity was thru fqrmed, it musl be founded, like the social compact of the May Flower, framed by the pilgrim fathers of New II 1 1 _r- land, on the basis of original rights underived from human authority. At the time appointed, Mr. Bancroft preached on the constitution of the christian church and the nature and ends of gospel rites. The covenant was read to the people, and subscribed, in the presence of all who had assembled, by twenty-seven of those disposed I sume its obligations.
On the first day of February, 1786, the Rev. Aaron B&ncrof) ordained. So general was the opposition to a mode of organization then unprecedented, and, in the view of many, irregular and disor- derly, now authorised by liberalized legislation, that two churches only, in the county of Worcester, could be requested to assist in the solemnities, without strong probability of refusal. A council was formed with difficulty. The introductory prayer was offered by Rev. Dr. Simeon ! low aid. of the west church in Boston : the sermon preached by the Rev. Thomas Barnard of the north church in Sa- lem: the charge given by Rev. Timothy Harrington of Lancaster: the right hand of fellowship presented by Rev. Zabdiel Adams of Lu- nenburg : the concluding prayer made by the Rev. Dr. John La- throp, of the north church in Boston : and the benediction of Heaven implored, by the Rev. Timothy Milliard of Cambridge.1
Great difficulties were overcome by the formation of the church and society, but formidable; obstacles remained to impede its pro- gress. So deep was the feeling of hostility to both, that the mem- bers were subjected to unpleasant and injurious effects in the con- cerns of social and civil life.
The constitutional provisions, as then applied by the statutes, fail- ed to afford perfect protection to the exercise of private judgment.
1 ' The members of the old church who joined the new society, had applied to that bo- dy for dismission, and their request had been denied : their ease was, therefore, presen- ted to the consideration of the ordaining council. The council advised the new tj ized church, not formally to admit the members of the old church into tlieir body, but, by a special vote, to grant them all the privileges of members in regular standing. This was done.' Dr. Bancroft's Discourse, April 8, 1827.
198 SECOND SOCIETY. [1787.
The boundaries of the first parish, coextensive with those of the town, embraced the estates of the associates, and while they contrib- uted to the support of their own teacher, tbey were compelled to pay ministerial rates in the same manner as before tbe separation. At tbe period when pecuniary distress, decayed currency, and the pressure of public burdens and private debts, bad driven the people into rebellion, the double taxation was peculiarly onerous. To as- sess the annual salary, or enforce the collection, in the usual man- ner, was impracticable. Monthly contributions were made, and the sums thus advanced, by individuals, credited in the final settlement of proportional payments. On the 13th of November, 1787, an act of incorporation was obtained, providing that any inhabitant might change his relations from one parish to the other, by leaving his name with the town clerk for the purpose. The first meeting of the par- ish was convened, on the warrant of Levi Lincoln, sen. March 9, 1789. The associates, from the commencement, by a written agree- ment, had bound themselves to pay the sum of five hundred dollars as salary. After the incorporation, it was still deemed inexpedient to at- tempt the assessment of taxes. The amount due from each subscri- ber, for three years salary, was apportioned, and the pastor request- ed to settle personally with each individual. A mode of compensa- tion so troublesome and painful to the clergyman, was resorted to from necessity alone.
In 1789, for the purpose of aiding in the erection of a meeting house, the Rev. Mr. Bancroft relinquished one third part of his an- nual salary, not, in the language of his letter, from a supposition that the whole was more than adequate to decent support, but from readi- ness to bear full proportion of all burdens.1 It was voted, to erect a house for worship, provided it could be done without expense to the corporation. Subscriptions were obtained, the site fixed south of Antiquarian Hall, and the work commenced. On the first day of January, 1792, the edifice was completed and dedicated. A ser- mon was preached on the occasion, by the Rev. Zabdiel Adams of Lunenburg. The pews were sold, subject to an annual tax of four dollars each, to be appropriated towards the salary.
Until this period, the expenses of the support of worship had been defrayed by voluntary payments. In 1797, for the first time, and af- terwards, in successive years, a tax of $ 232 was levied, making, with the amount derived from the owners of pews, the salary of $ 500. In 1800, in consequence of the enhanced prices of commod-
1 Records of 2d Parish, i. t.
1827.] REV. AI.uV/.n HILL 190
ities, .in additional grant of 1200 arai made to Mr. Bancroft. In 1810, s:{i)u W;IS 7oted, and for five yean after, t M»<i annnalljf ap- propriated for the same purpose. Prom 1816, t<> 1827, the salary was 1 800 : subsequently I 500, according to the original contract1
On tin; firsl day of January, 1827, the K< \. Alonzo Hill, vras invi- ted to become colleague writh Dr. Bancroft, and a salary of I 900 was voted. His ordination took place, on the 28th of March following. The exercises were the following: Introductory prayer and reading of the Scriptures, by Rev. Alexander Young of the New Sooth church, Boston: prayer by Rev. Dr. Thaddeus M. Harris of Dorchester : ser- mon, by Rev. JohnBrazer of Salem: ordaining prayer, l>\ Rev. I>r. John T. Kirkland, President of Harvard I Diversity: charge, !>y Rev Dr. Bancroft : right hand of fellowship, by Rev. George Rip- ley, of the Purchase Street church, Boston: address to the people by Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Thayer of Lancaster : concluding prayer, by Rev. Isaac Allen of Bolton.
Mr. Hill, the present junior pastor, a native of Harvard, in the county of Worcester, is the son of Mr. Oliver Hill, a respectable far- mer of that town. He graduated at Harvard College, was assistant instructer at Leicester Academy from 1822, to the spring of 1824, and then pursued his studies in the theological institution at Cam- bridge.2
The new brick church, erected by the society on Main street, south from the Court House, was dedicated August 20, 1829, when an appropriate discourse was preached by the senior pastor.
After the election of the Rev. Mr. Hill, Dr. Bancroft relinquish- ed, in future years, the sum of three hundred dollars, which he had, for a long time previous, statedly received. The parish, Jan. 29, 1827, unanimously resolved, ' that while we deem superfluous any
1 The uninterrupted harmony of llic society, and its peaceful relations with its neigh- bors after the troubles of organization had subsided, baa been the occasion of great sat- isfaction to its members. The following pleasant anecdote, related in one of the notes appended to Dr. Bancroft's Half Century Sermon, has the merit of wit if not of truth.
A stranger of distinction, having occasion to pass some weeks in W orcestt r. became acquainted with the internal stale of the two societies, then existing in this town; and lie observed to a member of the first parish, ' How does it happen that you, who profess to bein possession of the true faith, and claim anexi ! Q piety, are frequently in
contention, while the second society, whom you denominate hen lies, live in peace and harmony V The reply was, 'the members of the second society have not religion enough to quarrel about it.' '
2Rev. Mr. Hill married Frances .Mary Clark, dai ghterofHugh Hamilton Clark for- merly merchant of Boston. Doc. 29, 1830. Mr. I> lias published : sermon at the ordi- nation of Rev. Josiah Moore, at Athol, Dec. 8. 1830: Reports of the Worcester Sun- day School Society for 1835, 133G: sermon in Liberal Preacher, Aug. IWo'.
200 SECOND SOCIETY. [1836.
encomiums upon the character and standing of him, whose praise has long hcen in all the churches, where Christianity, freed from human inventions, is inculcated in its purity, we cannot forbear to express the deep sense which this society entertains, of the watch- ful care over its welfare, and readiness, at all times, to sacrifice personal interest to its advancement, which, in all past years of the history of the society, have distinguished the ministry of its pastor, and which, as the present act of unsolicited liberality affords evi- dence, are still exhibited, in all his ministerial relations, with force unabated by time.' x
The church, at a meeting, March 5, 1S36, expressed their sense of the fidelity of the senior pastor.
' Resolved, that this church, in reviewing its history from its first organization, feel deep cause of gratitude to God for its long contin- uance as a church of Christ, for its harmony, unanimity, and unin- terrupted prosperity.
' Resolved, that this church is much indebted, under God, to the prudence, zeal, fidelity, and untiring labors of its senior pastor, the Rev. Dr. Bancroft, under whose influence it was first gathered, and by whom it has been ever watched over, guided, and instructed, with the tenderness of a father, and the earnestness and solicitude of a devoted christian minister : Therefore,
' Resolved, That the church tender to their rev. senior pastor their grateful acknowledgments of his past labors, and their christian sympathies under the growing infirmities of a weight of years spent in their service, and the assurance of their prayers for his continued life and usefulness.
' Resolved, That the treasurer of the church, be, and he hereby is directed, to present to the Rev. Dr. Bancroft, two hundred dol- lars, out of any monies in the treasury not otherwise disposed of, in testimony of their affectionate regard for his person, his character, and ministerial labors.'
In a letter to the church, March 10, 1836, Dr. Bancroft writes, in answer to a communication of these votes, ' With you, I join in re- turns of gratitude to God, for the peace and prosperity which have attended us to the present time. Your approbation of my services is grateful to my heart ; your pecuniary donation has intrinsic value ; but its highest estimation in my mind, is, the evidence it bears of the feelings you cherish towards me.'
1 Second Parish Records, ii. 46.
1/80.] REV. AARON BANCROFT. 201
The Rev. Aaron Bancroft, I). 1). born at Reading, Mass., Nor, 10, 1T.V), was boo of Samuel Bancroft, formerly an extensive land- holder, deacon of the weal church of that town, tic-Id officer of militia, magistrate, and a useful and respected citizen Engaged in the cultivation of the Gelds acquired l>y successful industry, the la- ther considered agriculture as the best employment for his children, in times of political commotion, but yielded bis own preference to the desire of the son for collegiate education. .Mr. Bancroft com- menced the study of the languages, in the moving grammar school of his native place, and followed an incompetent instructor in his migrations through the districts. During the year, while the school was temporarily suspended, he labored, at intervals, on the paternal farm. The settlement of a new minister afforded a more capable teacher than the former. But during the few months of bis tuition, the engagements of courtship and of building occupied so much of the attention of the master, that the pupil, after the daily walk of a mile, was left with the half recited or postponed recitation, to ex- plore his way unaided through the elementary difficulties of litera- ture. Mr. Bancroft entered Harvard College in 1774. The revo- lutionary movements of April, 1775, dispersed the students, and he went to his home, and worked steadily on the farm until the next October, when the scholars wore called together at Concord, and in March of the following year, reassembled at Cambridge. The din of arms rose around the halls of the university. The great affairs of the country and the events of war, had deep interest for the gov- ernment of the institution, and the student was compelled to rely more on his own exertions fur improvement than on the information imparted by the professors. Having graduated, in 1778, Mr. Ban- croft taught the town school of Cambridge for a few months, and then commenced his theological course with Mr. Haven, minister of his father's parish, a gentleman of fine intellect. In the autumn of 1770, he first preached, for three or four sabbaths, for the occasion- al assistance of clerical friends. The severity of the succeeding win- ter, and the excessive depth of snow, almost suspended travelling, and he remained in the family of Mr. Haven, sometimes supplying his desk. A proposal from Mr. Barnard, of Yarmouth, Nova Sco- tia, to visit that province, was accepted in the spring- of 1780. Mr. Bancroft obtained permission from the executive council of Massa- chusetts, to leave the state, and resided in Yarmouth, Horton, Corn, wallis, Annapolis, and for a few weeks in Halifax, during an absence of three years. Peace having been restored, he returned from the
26
202 REV. AARON BANCROFT. [1785.
British dominions in 1783, landed at Salem in July, and the next week was invited to Worcester, to supply the pulpit during the illness of Mr. Maccarty. Here, where his labors have been so long contin- ued, Mr. Bancroft first appeared as a candidate for settlement. Af- ter eight sabbaths, the temporary restoration of declining health, en- abled the minister to resume his duties. Mr. Bancroft was immedi- ately engaged in vacant parishes. In the spring of 1784, he was so- licited to become pastor of the church in that part of Stoughton now Canton, but felt constrained to decline. In the same year, he offi- ciated in East Windsor, Connecticut. In October, 17^4, he again visited Worcester, and after conducting the religious services of five or six sabbaths, went to Sandwich, in the county of Barnstable, where the desire of the most influential members of the society to secure his permanent residence, was prevented from public and for- mal expression, by his own reluctance to receive a call. On a third invitation, he returned to Worcester, in Jan. 1785, and in March following, that connection was formed with the second congrega- tional society which has continued for more than fifty years.
Unitarian sentiments, explicitly avowed, separated Mr. Bancroft from that friendly communication with professional neighbors, which lightens and cheers the labors of the clergyman, and for seven years, he stood almost alone. Within this period, he exchanged once a year with the Rev. Messrs. Harrington and Adams, occasionally with some ministers in Boston, and with one in Salem, and twice on- ly with others of the vicinity. Efforts of some liberal members of the clerical association of the county, to procure his admission, opposed by those who were unwilling to hold intercourse with one entertain- ing opinions they deemed heretical, drove the more tolerant from that body, and led to its temporary dissolution. It was afterwards rees- tablished on foundation less exclusive. In some years, when the enhanced prices of the necessaries of life, rendered a moderate sal- ary inadequate for comfortable maintenance, the deficiency of in- come was partially supplied by the emolument of instruction to young men, and to the daughters of parishioners, the reception of boarders, and literary labors. Most men would have yielded to depression of spirits under circumstances so disheartening, and sought easier task, and more peaceful position. The society, in its early days, embar- rassed by difficulties, and pressed by angry opposition, would, in all probability, have been dissolved, if unsustained by his perseverance and firmness. Much of the prosperity of later years was derived
1821.] REV. AARON BANCROFT. 209
from his pecuniary sacrifices, and unwearied exertions, or resulted from the independence and prudence of his course.1
The Life of Washington, in one volume octavo, came from the press in 1807. The popular and familiar style and faithful narrative of this work, gave it extensive Bale. A stereotype edition in two volumes, l2mo, was published m Boston, in i — — * * , as one of the se- ries of Bedlington's Cabinel Library.
In 18*21, Dr. Bancroft delivered a series of doctrinal discoui which were printed on the request of the hearers. In relation to these sermons, the late President John Adams, thus expresses him- self, Jan. 21, 1823. 'I thank you for your kind letter of Dec. 30th, and above all, for the gift of a precious volume. It i- a chain of diamonds set in links of gold. I have never read, nor heard read, a volume of sermons better calculated and adapted to the age and country in which it was written. How different from the sermons I heard and read in the town of Worcester from the year I7.">"> to 175S.' .... ' You may well suppose, that I have heard controver- sies enough : but, after all, I declare to you, that your twenty nine sermons have expressed the result of all my reading, experience, and reflections, in a manner more satisfactory to me, than I could have done in the best days of my strength. '-
1 One of his parishioners addressed the minister thus: 'Well. Mr. Bancroft, what do you think, the people of the old society say of you now V ' Somi thing good I hope,1 was the reply. ' Why, they Bay, it is lime to let you alone, for if they find fault with you, you do not regard it, and if they praise you, you do not mind it, but keep steadily on in your own way.'
2 The publications of Dr. Bancroft arc the following: 1. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Samuel Shuttlcsworth, June 23, 1790, at Windsor, Vt. 2. Sermon before the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, June 11, 1793. at Worcester. 3. Sermon on the ex- ecution of Samuel Frost, for murder, July li"., 1793, at Worcester. 1. Sermon at the installation of Rev. Clark Brown, June 20, 1798, at Brimfield. 5. Eulogy on General Washington, Feb. 22, 1S0O, at Worcester. 6. Election Sermon, May 27, 1801. 7. Address, on the importance of education, at the opening of a new building at Leicester Academy, July I. 1806. 8. Life of Gen. Washington, Worcester, lu07. 8vo. pp. 552. Stereotype, Boston, 1826. ~ vols. 12mo. 9. Sermon at the ordination of Rev. Nathan Parker, Sept 14, 1803, at Portsmouth, N. H. 10. Sermon before Society for promotion of christian knowledge, piety and charity, .May E>, 1810, Bl Boston. 11. New Year's Sermon, Jan. G, 1811. 12. Nature and worth of Christian Liberty, ser- mon, June 28, 1816, at Worcester, with an appendix, containing the history of Consoci- ation ; 2 editions. 13. Duties of the Fourth Commandment, sermon, Jan. 1317, at Wor- cester ; 2 editions. 14 Vindication of the result of a mutual council at Princeton, March, 1817. 15. Discourse on Conversion, April, 1018. 16. The Leaf an emblem of Human Life, sermon on the death of Mrs. Mary Thomas, Nov. 22, 1818. 17. The Doc- trine of Immortality, Christmas sermon, 1818. 18. Sermon at the installation of Rev. Luther Wilson, June 23, 1819, at Petersham. 19. Sermon before the Convention of Congregational Ministers, June 1, 1820. 20. Sermons on the Doctrines of the Gospel,
204 REV. AARON BANCROFT. [183G.
On the 31st of January, 183G, Dr. Bancroft delivered a discourse on the termination of fifty years of his ministry, afterwards printed in compliance with the request of the society, with interesting and valuable historical notes. ' If the question of improvement has re- spect to the members of the Society,' he says, ' who are the individ- uals to whom I can appeal ? They, who with me began their course of Christian improvement are removed from life ; but one man re- mains, of those who invited me to settle with them as their minister ; and but two women now live, who at that time were heads of fami- lies. I am the oldest man in the parish, with one exception, and his connection with us was but of yesterday. I have been longer in a married state with one wife, than any other living member of our community. I have outlived my generation ; and in the midst of society may be considered a solitary man.'
Doct. Bancroft, was member of the Board of Trustees of Leices- ter Academy for thirty years, and long its President ; President of the Worcester County Bible Society ; of the American Unitarian Association, from its organization in 1825 to 1836 ; and of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, Piety, and Charity ; Vice President of the Worcester and Middlesex Missionary Soci- ety, afterward merged in the Evangelical Missionary Society ; and
Worcester, 1822, 8vo. pp. 429. 21. Mediation and ministry of Jesus Christ, sermon, Aug. 15, 1819, at Keene, N. H. 22. Moral purpose of Ancient Sacrifices, of the Mo- saic Ritual, and of Christian Observances, sermon, Aug. 15, 1819, at Keene, N. H. 23. Sermon at the installation of Rev. Andrew Bigelow, July 9, 1823, at Medford. 24. Du- ties of Parents, sermon, Aug. 10. 1823, at Worcester. 25. Sermon before the Auxilia- ry Society for meliorating the condition of the Jews, April 23, 1824, at Worcester. 26. Sermon at the funeral of Rev. Dr. Joseph Sumner, Dec. 30, 1824. 27. Sermon on the death of Prest. John Adams, July 19, 1826. 28. Sermon on the Sabbath following the ordination of Rev. Alonzo Hill, April 8, 1827. 29. Sermon at the dedication of the New Unitarian Meeting House, Aug. 20, 1829-. 30-1-2. Sermons in Liberal Preacher : Office of Reason in the Concerns of Religion, July, 1827. Female Duties and Trials, August, 1828. Importance of Salvation, August, 1830. 33. End of the command- ments, sermon in Christian Monitor. 34. A Glance at the past and present state of ecclesiastical affairs in Massachusetts, in Unitarian Advocate, Jan. 1831. 35. Moral Power of Christianity, in Western Messenger, i. 350. 36. Sermon on the termination of fifty years of his ministry, Jan. 31, 1836. Dr. Bancroft was married to Lucretia, daughter of Judge John Chandler, Oct. 1786.
1797. A clock for the tower was presented by Isaiah Thomas, Esq. to the Second Society, and an elegant folio Bible in two volumes, for the pulpit, by his lady. In 1817, the same liberal individual made a donation of two cups for the communion service: the old furniture of the table was given by the church to the Evangelical Missionary So- ciety, to be by them bestowed on some new church gathered under their auspices. 1829. A donation of a baptismal basin was made by F. W. Paine, Esq. 1832. Na- thaniel Maccartv, Esq. bequeathed to the church $ 75.
1812.] FIRST BAP1 1ST BOCIETY
ijn:
of the American Antiquarian Society, from L816to 1832: Fellow
of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and member of other societies. IIi> long continued and persevering exertions in the cause of education, contrihutcd greatly to the introduction and establishment of the improved school system of the town. In L810
he received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard I Di- versity.
The oldest clergyman in the county of Worcester, and one of the most aged ministers of Massachusetts, Dr. Bancroft continues to of- ficiate in the pulpit. May that period be yet far distant, when biog- raphy shall speak fully of the merits of his works, the worth of Ins character, and the virtues of his life.
CHAPTER XII.
First Baptist Society. Formation 1812. Rev. William Bentley. Articles of Faith. Rev. Jonathan Going. Rev. Frederic A. Willard. Rev. Jonathan Aldrich. Elm Street Society, 1836. Calvinist Society. Separation from first church, 1820. For- mation of Society, 1822. Rev. Loammi I. Hoadley. House and Fund bestowed bv Hon. Daniel Waldo. Rev. John S. C. Abbott. Rev. David Peabody. Catholic Society, 1834. Rev. James Fitlon. Methodist Episcopal Society, 1831. Protestant Episcopal Society, 1835. Rev. Thomas II. Vail. Union Society, 1836.
Previous to 179."), there were three persons, only, of the Baptist denomination in Worcester.1 In the spring of that year, James Wilson, Esq.,2 emigrating from Newcastle, upon Tyne, in England, took up his residence here. During the long period intervening be- tween 1795 and 1812, meetings for religious worship were sometimes held in his own house, when the casual visits of teachers offered op- portunity of obtaining the ministration of instructors of the order. Those of similar sentiments were successively removed by death ; their places were not filled : and for a time he remained the solitary advocate and supporter of those views of Christian ordinances as- serted by the church with which he was united. But, although alone,
1 Dr. John Green, son of Thomas Green, founder of the Baptist church in Leicester. Mr. Amos Putnam, an aged member of the church in Charlton, and Mrs. Dolly Flagg, a female advanced in years, connected with the first Baptist church in Boston.
2 James Wilson, Esq. Postmaster of Worcester from 1801 to 1833, deacon of the first Baptist church here from its foundation, removed, with his family, to Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1833.
20G FIRST BAPTIST SOCIETY. [1812.
he cherished the leading purpose of his life, and became the founder of the Baptist society. By his zealous and persevering exertions, an association was formed under favorable circumstances. Some discourses of Dr. Austin, on national and state fasts, gave offence to many of the eldest parish. The facilities for procuring ministers had increased. Accessions of numbers were derived from the swelling population. In 1812, lectures and devotional exercises were had, regularly on the Sabbath, and on other days of the week, in different places of the town. The Hall in the School House of the Centre District, was rented, and opened for stated worship on the Lord's Day, July 30, 1812. Opposition gave that excitement desirable to strengthen and cement union, even if higher feelings had not rendered the connection of the associates permanent. On the 28th of September, Elder William Bentley, on the unanimous re- quest of the members of the association, entered into an engage- ment to preach for them on a salary of 8300 per annum, and an al- lowance of four Sundays of the year for visits. The sum appointed for his compensation was defrayed by the contribution of individu- als, parties to an agreement to pay the amount in proportions fixed by the terms of their subscriptions. On the 5th of November, a a meeting of those who held church membership was had, and it was voted, ' to form a church, by the name of ' the Baptist Church in Worcester,' and the following confession of faith was adopted.'1
' As the church of Christ is made up of a number of persons, who are renewed by divine grace, and united in the fellowship of the Gos- pel ; and as that fellowship consists in a unison of sentiments, inter- est and affection ; and as two cannot walk together, except they be agreed, we think it our duty to make the following declaration of our views of divine truth : for the satisfaction of any who may wish to unite with us in church fellowship; which declaration is as fol- lows :
' We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament were written by men divinely inspired, and that God requires of us, to be- lieve in, and embrace them as our only rule of faith and practice, and that among others they contain the following all important truths.
' 1. The existence of one only, living, and true God, infinite in all excellence, immutable, eternal, self sufficient, and independent, who created all things, and who upholds, governs, and disposes of them for his own glory.
1 The same articles had been adopted by the First Baptist Church, in Portland. Maine.
1812.] ARTICLES OF I'M I II 207
' 2. That in one God there are three persons, the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; the same in essence, and equal in every divine perfec- tion.
1 3. That all God's worksof creation, providence, and grace, ever have been, still arc, and ever will be accomplished, according to bis own will; which he purposed in himself before the world began.
'1. That man was created holy, Imt, by wilfully violating the law of his Maker, he fell from Ins fust rectitude: and as Adam was the father, and representative of all his posterity, we, in him, became wholly defiled and dead in trespasses and sins: so thai by nature we are indisposed to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil: and are children of wrath, and subjects of death, and of all other miseries, temporal, spiritual, and eternal.
' 5. That the only way of salvation from this state of guilt and con- demnation, is, through the righteousness, and atonement of Jesus Christ, who as the good shepherd, laid down his life for his sheep ; that he might redeem them from all iniquity, and purify to himself a peculiar people zealous of good works: and those only who receive the gift of repentance and faith in him, will he finally saved by the atonement.
'G. That all, whoever have been or will he brought to repenl and faith in the gospel, were chosen in Christ to salvation, before the foundation of the world ; and that, in consequence of the eternal love of God to them, through the atonement, the Holy Ghost is sent to effect the work of regeneration in their hearts, without which re- generating influence, none would ever repent or believe.
' 7. That the perfect righteousness of Christ, which he wrought out by his obedience and death, is reckoned or imputed to those who be- lieve, as the alone matter of their justification.
1 8. That nothing can separate true believers from the love of God, but they will be kept by his power, through faith unto salvation.
' 9. That the only proper subjects of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper, are professed believers in Christ ; and that baptism is properly administered, only by immersing the whole body in water, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost : and is by Scripture example, a prerequisite to communion at the Lord's table.
' 10. That the true church of Christ on earth, is made up of those, who are renewed by grace, partake of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, united in the fellowship of the truth, and arc as lively Btonefl built up in a spiritual house, to offer spiritual sacrifice, holy and ac-
208 PlftST BAPTIST SOCIETY. [1812.
ceptable to God by Jesus Christ. That the only officers to be or- dained in the church, are Bishops or teaching Elders, and Deacons. That those officers have no more power to decide matters for the church, than any other members. Yet we believe, so far as their gifts and graces may enable them to lead the church to a right judg- ment according to the Scriptures, we are to submit to them, for they watch for our souls, as they that must give an account in the day of judgment.
'11. That God hath appointed a day, in which he will judge the world in righteousness, by Christ Jesus, and that the bodies of both the righteous and the wicked, will then be raised from their graves and again united to their souls, and appear before God to be judged according to the deeds done in the body ; at which time the wicked will be sentenced to endless punishment, and the righteous be re- ceived into eternal glory and happiness, where they will be ever with the Lord.'
The 9th of December was fixed for the constitution of the church, the reception of fellowship from others, and the installation of the pastor elect. The use of the old south meeting house was formally solicited, and obtained from the selectmen and assessors. The cler- gymen of the first and second societies were courteously invited to attend on the occasion. On the evening previous to the ceremonies, a note was sent by Dr. Austin, refusing to be present ; declining to countenance proceedings which, in his view, indicated hostility to union, and interference with endeavors to promote the kingdom of Christ in the world ; declaring that Mr. Bentley, 'originally exci- ted by some, seconded by others, whose sectarian zeal carried them beyond a regard to several of the primary precepts of the Gospel, had commenced, and was prosecuting a partizan warfare against the har- mony and prosperity of the church and congregation under his care ;' complaining that the occupation of his pulpit would be 'against full expression of personal feeling, the rights of the christian ministry, the order of Christ's house, and the laws of the land :' and expressing ' determination not officiously to interrupt,' and ' wish not to be inter- rupted, in the prosecution of a work, consigned to him, as he hoped, by the Redeemer of Zion.' This communication rendered a change of place necessary. Application was made to Dr. Bancroft for leave to occupy his desk, which was freely given, and the exercises of in- stallation were in the meeting house of the second parish. The first church in Providence, and the churches in Leicester, Charlton, Graf-
1812.] REV. WILLIAM BENTLEY. 909
ton, and Sutton, by their elders or delegates were represented in council. Discourses were preached, in the forenoon, by the Rev. Joseph Cornell, and in the afternoon, bj Rev. Stephen Gano of Prov- idence. The righl hand of Fellowship was tendered !>y the latter1 rider. The church, at this time, numbered fourteen males, and fourteen females, among its members,
The erection of a meeting house was commenced, May 29, 1813. It was placed on the Blight eminence, eastvi ard from the burial place, adjoining the common. The Bite was purchased for the considera- tion of * 1(U>, by subscription of the church, and conveyed to their committee, in trust tor the society. The building was completed, Dec. 13. of the same year, at an expense of $2459, principally de- frayed by the sale of pews. It was dedicated, Dec. 28, 1813, when a sermon was preached by Elder Bentley.
Elder William Bentley fust followed the business of a baker in Bos- ton. He received ordination, and settled in the ministry, at Tiv- erton, R. I. Well fitted to be the pioneer of a religious enterprise, he was called thence by the society founded in Worcester, in its in- fancy. He removed to Wethersfield, in Connecticut, after a few months : was pastor of the church there: and has since been much employed in missionary exertions.
On the 30th of June, 1815, Mr. Bentley asked and received dis- mission. On the third of November following, the Rev. Jonathan Goincr accepted a call to settle as successor, on a Salary off 100 an- nually. Having been previously ordained as a minister of the Gos- pel, there were no public ceremonies on assuming the office in Wor- cester. The stipend was increased by occasional grants. In 1819, it was 8500 : in 1820, $600: the next year, | 550 : from 1823 to 1S26, the original compensation of >' 400 was paid : afterwards v 500.
An act of incorporation was obtained, June 8, 1819, and the first meetincr of the parish held, August 10, under the warrant of Hon. Daniel Waldo.
In April, 1831, the Rev. Mr. Going had leave of absence from parochial and pastoral duties, to enable him to prosecute a journey to the West, for the restoration of health, and for missionary labors. In January, 1832, he requested dismission. During a ministry of sixteen years, the society had increased from a handful to a large congregation. The connection of pastor and parish had been one of uninterrupted harmony. The intimation of his intention to remove, was received with ' an expression of regret by words and tears, that circumstances had led to this result.' ■ Do you then,' he says, in a
27
210 FIRST BAPTIST SOCIETY. [1831.
communication to the church, ' ask me, why leave us? My answer is ; not that I love the Baptist church and society in Worcester less ; but that I love the body of Baptists, and the multitudes who are des- titute in the United States, more. During my whole ministry, I have felt constrained by a sense of duty, to devote much attention to works of religious charity, and, especially, for several years past, more time than is consistent with the highest advantages of a partic- ular church. Besides, I have felt a deep solicitude, for some years, in the moral condition of the West. And my late tour has settled that solicitude, in full conviction of my duty to devote myself to the interests of home missions, particularly, in the Valley of the Missis- sippi. Plainly, a mighty effort must be made ; and by the body of evangelical christians in the Atlantic States ; and made soon ; or ignorance and popery, heresy and infidelity, will entrench them- selves too strongly to be repulsed. And, in that case, it is morally certain, that our republic will be overturned, and our institutions, civil and religious, will be demolished.' .... ' To the existence and success of the projected Baptist Home Mission Society, it is indis- pensable, that the whole time and energies of some man should be de- voted ; and our friends, whose opinions ought to determine questions of this sort, have said this work belonged to me.'
In complying with the request of Mr. Going, and dissolving his connection, church and parish strongly expressed affection for his person, respect for his character, and gratitude for his services.
The Rev. Jonathan Going, was born at Reading, in Windsor county, Vt. March 7, 1786. After brief attendance on the common schools of a country then recently planted, he commenced prepara- tions for college, in 1803, at the academy of New Salem, Mass ; en- tered Brown University in 1805 ; graduated in 1809 ; and read di- vinity with the late president of that institution, the Rev. Dr. Asa Messer. In May, 1S13, he received ordination, as the first settled minister of Cavendish, in his native county, where he resided until December, 1815. He then assumed the pastoral charge of the Bap- tist church in Worcester, which was retained for sixteen years. In January, 1832, it was resigned, for the purpose of accepting the of- fice of Corresponding Secretary of the American Baptist Home Mis- sion Society. He has since resided in the city of New York, in the discharge of its duties.
In the early part of his ministry here, Mr. Going instructed the Latin Grammar school during one year. In the arduous labors which matured the improved system of education, and superintend-
1832.] REV. J. GOING. REV. F. A. WILLARD -II
ed its operations in ele\ : 1 1 i 1 1 ir the common Bohoolfl of 1 1 1 • - to* a i" high excellence, lie bore active and efficienl part. The registers, indica- ting the decree of fidelity in the teacher and assiduity of the pupils, were introduced bj him. One of the first Sabbath schools of the county was established, under his direction, in the Baptist societj in Worcester.
Mr. Going received the degree of Master of Arts, at Brown I oi-
versity and the University of Ver it, in 1818; and thai of Doctor
of Divinity from Waterville College, Me. in L832*i In addition to the preparation of reports, addressee, and papers l'< > r periodicals, lie has been, two years, editor of the American Baptist, a religious news- paper published weekly in New York.
The paternal ancestors of Mr. Going, were firom Scotland: tin- maternal, from England. Robert Going, <<r Gowing, came from Edinburgh, settled in Lynn, Mass. at an early period, and was admit- ted freeman, in Dedhain, Mass. in 1644. The father of the subject of this notice, Capt. Jonathan Going, born in Lunenburgh, Mass. 1701, and still living in the state of New York, married Sarah Ken- dall of Dunstable, Mass. in 1785.]
The Rev. Frederic A. Willard, who had supplied the pulpit three months previously, was elected pastor, without dissenting voice, Jan- uary 2, 1832, and a salary of $ 500, was rated. The first Baptist church in Boston, the churches of Leicester, Spencer, Weal Boylston, Grafton, Sutton, Northampton, and the Newton Theological Sem- inary, attended in council at the ordination, on the 18th of the Bame month. The Scriptures were read by Rev. John Green, of Leices- ter; the introductory prayer offered by Rev. Otis Converse of Graf- ton : the sermon preached by Professor Henry J. Ripley of the Sem- inary in Newton : the church and people addressed by Rev. Jona- than Going: the right hand of fellowship offered by Rev. William Hague of Boston : and the concluding prayer made by Rev. John Walker of Sutton.
Regarding the evils of intemperance, and its desolating effects on the happiness of individuals, public and private virtue, and the welfare of the community, it was declared, May 22, 1834, to be the strong and deliberate conviction of the church, that the time had ar- rived, when no professed disciple of Christ, could manufacture, buy, sell, or use, ardent spirit, as a drink, without being guilty of immor- ality, and violating his profession as a christian: and it was resot
• Rev. Jonathan Going married Lucy Tliorndike, of Dunstable, Mass. August I'll.
212 FIRST BAPTIST SOCIETY. [1835.
ved, that entire abstinence from the manufacture, use, and sale of this article, should be an invariable condition for membership and good standing. *
The father of Rev. Frederic A. Willard, Benjamin Willard, former- ly of Lancaster, an elder of the Baptist Church, now resident in Northampton, personally conducted the early literary education of the son : the closing portion of studies preparatory to entering col- lege, was pursued under the direction of Rev. Abiel Fisher, then of Bellingham, Mass. He graduated at Amherst college, 1826. During the year following, Mr. Willard was connected with the Clin- ical School of Medicine, at Woodstock, Vt : in 1827, was matricu- lated as member of the Newton Theological Institution, and receiv- ed professional diploma in 1830. In 1831, an appointment by the trustees of Waterville College in Maine, to the Professorship of Chem- istry was declined. After leaving his official station in AVorces- ter, he accepted an invitation to become pastor of the first Baptist church, in Newton, Mass. where he now resides.2
On the 30th of July, 1835, Mr. Willard resigned his office. On the 17th of October following, the Rev. Jonathan Aldrich was elect- ed his successor. The annual salary has been 8 700.
The services at the public recognition of this gentleman, Oct. 27, 1835, were : reading of Scripture by Rev. George Waters of Holden : prayer by Rev. Charles O. Kimball of Methuen : sermon by Rev. Baron Stow of Boston : charge by Rev. Abisha Sampson of Southborough : hand of fellowship by Rev. Frederic A. Willard : address to the church and society by Rev. Charles Train of Framing- ham : prayer by Rev. John Walker of Sutton : benediction by Rev. Mr. Aldrich.
Rev. Jonathan Aldrich, son of Asquire Aldrich, a worthy farm- er of St. Johnsbury, Vt. prepared for college in the Academy of Peacham, Vt. and under the tuition of Rev. Mr. Fisher of Belling- ham : received his degree from Brown University, 1826 : pursued theological studies in the Newton Seminary : was ordained at Ded- ham, Mass. in December, 1827, where he remained nearly three years : installed at Beverly, Mass. May 1830 : and at East Cambridge in June 1833.3
1 Oct. 2, 1827. A bequest of $1000 was made to the society by the last will and tes- tament of Mr. John Goodale, who died May 2, 1827, aged 82, and it was voted to erect a monument to his memor}', with a suitable inscription.
2 Mr. Willard married Mary, daughter of Seth Davis, Esq. of Newton, May 1, 1835.
3 Mr. Aldrich married Catherine P. daughter of Mr. Asa Lewis, formerly ol Boston, since of Worcester, April 2, 1828.
1819.] CALVTNIST SOCIETY. 218
it bad been considered expedient to form a second society. .Mr. John Flagg, Isaac Davis, Esq, and Deacon Daniel Goddard, were incorporated, April <>, L836, w ith their associates and successors, as proprietors of the ElmStreel Baptist meetinghouse. A Bite was pur- chased for the building, westward from the Worcester House. Al- ter the destruction of the place of worship of the tir-t Baptisl church by fire, the members of tin- uew association reunited with the origin- al parish, in rearing another edifice on the spot I" fore occupied \\ Ufa that which had been burned.
« •, i. \ i \ i - X SOCIETY.
About the period of the settlement of the Rev. Mr. Goodrich, dii- ficulties arose in the first parish, increased and extended upon the sep- aration of Rev. Dr. Austin, and by the disciplinary measures institut- ed against the disaffected. Deacon David Richards, and four other members, retired from the watch of the church, and from the sup- port of the society, and on the lGth of January, 1819, asked to be dismissed and recommended to other churches. The request was granted, so far only as related to dismission, but recommendation was refused. Five applicants, at the same time, for similar purposes, had leave to withdraw their petitions. Nine individuals more, soon after, united with the former, in soliciting the dissolution of their relations, and the customary credentials of good standing, with the expressed intention of forming a new society. The reason as- signed, by all, in substance, was, that they could not experience edifi- cation and improvement from the ministrations of the pastor. The church declined compliance with the request. Those who consid- ered themselves aggrieved by its decision, immediately invited an ecclesiastical council, to consider their situation, determine the pro- priety of establishing a separate and distinct church, and effect its organization if deemed expedient. By their ministers and delegates, the Old South Church in Boston, and the churches of Charlestown, Northbridge, Millbury, Upton, Ward, and Sutton, met, on the 17th of February, 1819. The Rev. Jedediah Morse was elected moder- ator. Their result recommended those who had already been dis- missed, to the fellowship of churches, to which they were afterwards united. The council paused here, and awaiting further light from future events of Providence, adjourned their session, but were not again called to assemble. On the 18th of March succeeding, enteen persons asked dismission and recommendation. The first church proposed to submit the regularity of their anterior proceed-
214 CALVINIST SOCIETY. [1822.
ings, and the propriety of granting the pending application, to the decision of a mutual council, which was declined. It was subse- quently voted, that the church did not feel able to comply with the request, nor willing to reject it, but were in doubt, and wished for advice. A final answer was waived ; the members did not renew their petition, but joined the Baptist Society in April, although they continued to commune with the first church. On the 2d of June, 1820, acting on the principle, that uniting and worshiping with ano- ther denomination, and withholding pecuniary support, was virtual separation, it was declared, that the individuals not dismissed, had, by their own acts, cut themselves off from the privileges of the first church. Thus parted from all relations with any religious associa- tion, they invited an ecclesiastical council, which convened, Aug. 16, 1820, from the churches in Franklin, Northbridge, Sutton, Upton, Wrentham, Ward, and Park Street in Boston. Rev. Nathaniel Em- mons of Franklin, was elected moderator. The result, expressed approval of constituting a regular church from the applicants, and it was accordingly organized. l
Subsequently, proposals were made by the first church, on condi- tions which were considered exceptionable, to submit to a mutual council the whole subject of the subsisting difficulties. Conferen- ces were held by committees of the two bodies, terminating, after long negotiation, in the conclusion, that it was possible only to agree to remain separate.
On the 8th of February, 1822, a meeting of the Calvinist church, and of those associating with them for religious purposes, was held, for the organization of a society, according to the laws of the Com- monwealth. Daniel Waldo, David Richards, William McFarland, John W. Hubbard, Moses N. Child, Samuel Taylor, Benjamin God- dard, and Jonas Parker, bound themselves, to defray, out of their private property, the expenses of supporting public worship for five years, deducting such sums as might be voluntarily contributed by others.
Regular worship was commenced, on the first Sabbath of April, 1822, in the Court House. The pulpit was supplied by Rev. Thom- as J. Murdock, then late of Portland ; Mr. Washington Smith of Hadley, since ordained in St. Albans, Vt; Mr. Elam Clark, after-
1 Full narrative of the proceedings, elaborate discussion of their regularity, and am- ple exposition of the views of the contending parties, are contained in the series of pub- lications enumerated on page 139. The whole are contained in an octavo volume in the Library of the American Antiquarian Society.
1822.] REV. LOAMMJ IVES HOAOLET. 316
wards settled in Providence, I! . 1 ; Mr. .lo~rj.li Taney of Salem, sub- sequently minister of tloyalston, Vt. and thence called to be Pi sor of Languages in the University of Vermont.
The Rev. Loammi Ives Hoadle) preached bis first sermon to the congregation, Oct. 20, 1822, under an engagement for two or three sabbaths. He was afterwards induced to remain, reserving liberty to retire al pleasure. In March, \>l-l, he was invited i" Taunton. The church immediately requested bis permanent settlement as their pastor. The concurrence of the society was given to this call, on the 14th of April follow ing. The stated salary was | 800 : and pro- vision was made, that pastor or parish might dissolve the contract, af- ter one year's previous notice of desire to separate. The ordination services took place October !•">, 1823. The introductory prayer waa offered by Rev. Joel Hawes of Hartford, Conn : the sermon preach- ed hy Rev. Lyman Beecher of Litchfield, Conn : ordaining prayer made hy Rev. Edmund Mills of Sutton, moderator of the council : the charge delivered hy Rev. Elisha Fiske of Wrentham : the riiiht hand of fellowship presented hy Rev. Baxter Dickinson of Long Mea- dow : the address to the people was by Rev. William B. Sprague of West Springfield : and the concluding prayer hy Rev. Benjamin Wood of Upton.
A committee of the first church had appeared before the council, instructed to object to proceedings conforming to the request of ' those persons styling themselves the Calvinist Church.' Most of them, it was stated, in a protest offered by the chairman, held such attitude, that they could not, with propriety, be recognized as a reg- ular church of Christ : they were considered as under censure : having rejected proposals of settling controversy by the intervention of mutual council, they could not, consistently with the objects of discipline, be held in fellowship, collectively or individually, until proofs of penitence for the fault of separation, or the judgment by which they had been sent forth should be overruled by a competent tribunal. The council determined, that the official result constitut- ing the Calvinist church, was evidence of its regular existence ; disclaimed authority to reverse the acts of the ecclesiastical body for its organization ; and declined receiving the remonstrance.
A meeting house had been erected by the Hon. Daniel Waldo, at the cost of about § 14,000, on Main street. The dedication was had on the same day with the ordination, and the society removed from the Court House, to their permanent place of worship. Selec- tions from the Scriptures were read by Rev. Benjamin B. Wisner of
2IG CALVINIST SOCIETY. [1825.
the Old South church in Boston ; prayer offered hy Rev. Samuel Green of the Essex street church in Boston ; and the sermon deliv- ered by Rev. Dr. Samuel Austin, then of Newport, R. I.
The house, and the land upon which it was built, were conveyed, July 9, 1825, by Mr. Waldo, for the use and benefit of the church and society. A donation of five thousand dollars was added to this great benefaction. The income and interest were secured to be ap- propriated towards the payment of the salary of such pastor as should have been elected, ordained, and settled, conformably to the rules and usages of congregational calvinistic churches and societies in this Commonwealth. ' The Trustees of the Parochial Funds of the Calvinist society in Worcester,' were incorporated, Feb. 2, 1827, by an act of the legislature, to hold the property upon the trusts declar- ed in the instruments of conveyance. Vacancies in the corporation are filled by the votes of owners of pews.
On the 28th of June, 1828, several of the most' honored among the calvinistic clergymen of Massachusetts, visitants of the town on oc- casion of special devotional exercises, in view of the difficulties so long existing, and of their unhappy consequences to the parties and the cause of religion, by letter of advice, expressed the opinion, that the controversies should, without delay, be adjusted. Although they considered the doings of the First church, in the discipline of the persons organized as the Calvinist church, and those of the latter association, in rejecting proposals for a mutual council, as errone- ous, and not, in all respects, in accordance with strict ecclesiastical rule, yet, they considered, that each might, consistently with duty, acknowledge the other as a church of Christ. In compliance with their earnest recommendation, on the following day, the members of both churches united in participating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, as a public testimonial of intention to reestablish and main- tain christian fellowship.
The illness of Mr. Hoadley, requiring temporary relinquishment of labor, his request for dismission was granted, June 5, 1829, and the sum of 8 500 voted, to aid him in defraying unavoidable expenses while seeking means of support in some mode less detrimental to health than ministerial duties.
The Rev. Mr. Hoadley, a native of Northford, New Haven coun- ty, Conn, graduated at Yale College in 1818, and studied at the The- ological Seminary, in Andover, with which he was connected after his removal from Worcester. He now resides in Charlestown, Mass.
On the 9th of December, 1829, the Rev. J. S. C. Abbott accept-
1812.] REV. JOHN S. C. AHBOTT. 217
cd the unanimous imitation to become successor to Mr. Hoadley, with a salary of $ 900. The churches of Millbury, Paxton, !.• ter, Hartford, Shrewsbury, Holden, Wesl Boylston, Sutton, Boyls- ton, Ward, Cambridge, Cambridgeport, Graflon, the churcb in the
Theological Seminary at A.ndover, the < >I<1 South and I'uion church- es in Boston, the Presbyterian church in Millbury, and the Firsl church in Worcester, were represented In the ordaining council, January 28, L830. These wen: the exercises : prayer by Rev. John Nelson of Leicester; sermon by Rev. Joel Hawes, of Hartford, Conn.; ordaining prayer hy Rev. Samuel Green, of the Union church, Boston; right hand of fellowship by Rev. Nehemiah Ad- ams, of Cambridge ; concluding prayer by Rev. John Boardman, of West Boylston.
The articles of faith, originally adopted in 1820, were copied from those of the first church. In 1831, a confession, more brief in form and simpler in language, expressing, substantially, the same views of Christian doctrine, was adopted.
' 1. We believe that there is one God, the Creator, and rightful disposer of all things, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that to these three persons, as the one God, all divine perfections are to be equally ascribed.
' 2. That the Bible was given by inspiration of God, as the only unerring rule of faith and practise.
' 3: That mankind are fallen from their original rectitude and are, while in a state of nature, wholly destitute of that holiness which ia required by the divine law.
'4. That Jesus Christ, the Eternal Word, became man, and by his obedience, sufferings, and death, made an atonement for the sins of the world.
' 5. That they, and they only, will be saved in consequence of the merits of Christ, who repent of sin and believe in him.
' 6. That although the invitations of the gospel are such that all who will may come, and take of the waters of life freely: yet the wickedness of the human heart is such, that none will come, unless drawn by the special influence of the Holy Spirit.
' 7. That the sacraments of the New Testament are Baptism and the Lord's Supper : baptism to be administered only to believers and their households, and the supper only to believers in regular church standing.
' 8. That God has appointed a day in which he will judge the
28
218 CALVIN1ST SOCIETY. [1835.
world, when there will be a resurrection of the dead, and when the righteous will enter on eternal happiness and the wicked will be sen- tenced to eternal misery.'
In consequence of the earnest exertions of philanthropists to pro- mote temperance, the church, Feb. 28, 1833, by resolutions, de- clared, that dealing in ardent spirits was considered an immorality ; and that it was the duty of the members to abstain totally from the use and traffic, except in case of necessity and as medicine.
The health of Mr. Abbott declined, and he was compelled to so- licit dismission, January 17, 1835. The records bear testimony of the reluctance with which both church and parish acquiesced in the dissolution of a connection of uninterrupted harmony, and to their deep sense of the merits of their pastor.
The Rev. John Stevens Cabot Abbott, second son of Mr. Jacob Abbott, was born in Brunswick, Maine. Having resided with his father's family in Hallowell, he entered Bowdoin College 1821, and they returned to dwell in the place of his nativity. He graduated in 1825, and was assistant teacher in the Academy at Amherst, Mass. during the succeeding year. The regular course of studies was pursued at the Theological Seminary in Andover, and soon af- ter leaving that institution, he was invited, in 1830, to Worcester. His fidelity, social, moral, and religious worth, talents, and use- fulness, secured affection as they commanded respect. Impaired health rendered it necessary to ask dismission, to the great regret of his people. Having partially recovered, he was installed pastor of the Eliot church, in Roxbury, Nov. 25, 1835, where he now resides.
In the spring of 1833, Mr. Abbott published ' The Mother at Home,' and in November of the same year, ' The Child at Home.' Both these works have been republished in England, and have pas- sed through numerous editions here. In September, 183G, ' The Path of Peace ' was issued from the press. He has also printed two or three smaller works without his name.1
In May 1835, Rev. David Peabody, the present clergyman, was elected pastor, and a salary of 8 1000 annually granted. At the installation, July 15, the exercises were these : record of the proceed- ings of the council read by the scribe, Rev. William P. Paine of Hol- den ; introductory prayer by Rev. David Perry of Hollis, N. H ;
1 Mr. Abbott married Jane Williams Bourne, daughter of Abner Bourne, Esq. of Bos- ton, Aug. 17, 1830. Four of the brothers of Mr. Abbott are in the ministry, or nearly closing their preparatory studies.
1834.] CATHOLIC BOC1E1 I 519
sermon by Rev. Dr. Thomas II. Skinner, <>f the Theological Insti- tution at Andover ; installation prayer l>\ Etev. John Nelson of Lei- cester; fellowship of the churches by Rev. William P. Paine of Hol- den ; charge by (lev. Osgood Elerrick <>i' Millbury; address to the j ^oplc by Rev. John Wilde of Grafton : concluding prayer by Rev. h ij.ih Paine of West Boylston.
Rev. David Peabody, born in Topsfield, Essei county, M graduated at Dartmouth College, 1828: commenced his theological studies in the institution at Andover, Mass. which were completed at the Union Seminary, Va: and was first settled over the First Con- gregational church in Lynn, Mass. Nov. 1">, 1832.1
Nineteen members of the church, considering the rapid increase of the population of the town and the necessity of providing greater facilities for public worship, asked to he dismissed, for the purpose of forming a third orthodox congregational society. Consent to their request, Jan. 8, 1836, was accompanied w ith the expression of chris- tian sympathies, and of an earnest desire that the Great Head of the Church would bless and prosper them, and the enterprise in which they were engaged.
R O M A N CATHOLIC SOCI E T Y.
When the Blackstone Canal was commenced, many catholic. en> iorants were brought into the vicinity. Religious exercises were oc- casionally held during the construction of that work. In 1^:'>1, the Rev. James Fitton commenced visiting the town, oner each month. In April of that year, the catholics in Worcester, were four families and about twenty unmarried persons. To afford them the means of assembling for divine worship, he laid the foundations of a Miiall church on Temple Street, July 7, 1S:U. The execution of great undertakings of public improvement, and other causes, have since greatly increased the number. Accessions of individuals, uniting themselves to the society, and coming from other places, rendered it necessary to enlarge the church. Those who attend its services from Worcester and its vicinity are nearly three hundred.
The Rev. James Fitton, is a native of Boston. His early studies were pursued in that city until 1812, when he visited Canada,to ac-
1 Mr. Peabody married Maria Brigham of Cambridgeport, Sept. 11, 1884 His father John Peabody, descended in the fourth generation from Francis Peabody, who
derived family ancestry from Wales, emigrated about 1G80 from England, and became a land holder in Topsfield. The name was anciently written Pabodie.
220 METHODIST SOCIETY. [1834.
quire the languages and other branches of education, under private tuition. Returning to Boston, he studied theology with the Rt. Rev. Bishop Fenvvick. In December 1827, he was ordained, and appoint- ed to official duty in the church of the Holy Cross. In 1828, he held the twofold office of pastor and teacher to the Indians of Maine. He was, in 1830, designated as pastor of Trinity Church in Hart- ford, Conn, and employed in that city, and on missionary circuits through the neighboring country for the distance of an hundred miles, till a church and resident minister were obtained in New Ha- ven, and an assistant in Hartford. Soon after, his monthly visits to Worcester began, and, in May 1830, he removed to this town.
Since his residence here, Mr. Fitton has established two schools, one in the basement of the church for children, the other for high- er branches of education, for boys exclusively, called Mount Saint James Seminary, on the ancient Pakachoag hill.1
METHODIST EPISCOPAL SOCIETY.
The Methodist Episcopal church in Worcester was commenced in the winter of 1834. Eight or ten persons who had become inhab- itants of the town, attached to the Methodist institutions, formed a class, according to the regulations of that denomination. In the spring of the same year, with their associates, they organized a re- ligious society for the purpose of supporting public worship.
The use of the Town Hall was obtained for meetings. The Rev. J. A. Merrill preached for the first three months. At the June ses- sion of the New England Conference of the Methodist Episcopal church for 1834, Rev. George Pickering was stationed in Worcester, and continued in the pastoral charge of the society for one year. He was succeeded by Rev. John T. Burrill, who still continues to officiate as the regular minister.2
1 The works translated and compiled by Rev. Mr. Fitton, beside a number of pam- phlets, are: Youths directory: Boston. ISmo. pp. 250: Triumph of religion : Bal- timore. 2 vols : 18mo: History of Palestine : Baltimore. 2 vols. ISmo: Compan- ion to the Sanctuary : Hartford. 18mo. pp. 220.
2 The Catholic, Methodist, and Episcopal Societies, embracing the distinctive gener- al tenets of the denominations to which they severally belong, have no articles of faith peculiar to the individual local churches.
A summary of the doctrines and discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States, will be found in the appendix to Kay's edition of Buck's Theological Dic- tionary.
As the Methodist ministers cannot retain the particular stations assigned, for a longer period than two years, the connection of those gentlemen who have visited the society here, has not been considered sufficiently permanent to justify biographical notice.
1835.] EPISCOPAL SOCIETY. 931
During thia period, the society has increased \\ itfa rapidity. They have now aboul one hundred church members, and a numerous con- gregation. In September, L836, ahottse tor worship was erected
on the street called Columbian Avenue.
PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL SOCIltT.
The establishment of an Episcopal Society in Worcester, had been frequently subject of consideration with those directing the domestic missionary organization of the church, in Massachusetts. No dis- tinct effort for its accomplishment was made, until the close <>f 1835. The first regular services according to the liturgy of the Protestant Episcopal church, were performed by Rev. Thomas II. vail, on the 13th of Decemher of that year. Since that time, they have been continued in the South Hull of the Town House. At the commence- ment, only two families were known to he attached to the society. Twelve were connected with it, in September 1836 : the communi- cants were about sixteen. The rite of baptism had been adminis- tered, once privately, twice publicly, and there had been one confir- mation.
Wardens and vestry, officers corresponding to the deacons and trustees of congregational societies, have not yet been elected. A subscription of $ (5000 was raised in Worcester for the erection of a church, in March and April, I -:'>(>. The execution <>!' the work was suspended, on account of disappointment in obtaining aid from abroad, but measures are in progress to procure the chum ruction of an edifice for worship during 1837.
The Rev. Mr. Vail was born in Richmond, Va. where he resided until 18-22. Subsequently, his home was in Norwich, Conn, until his removal to Worcester. He graduated at Washington College Hartford, Conn, in 1831 : was afterwards connected with the Gener- al Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in the city of New York, four years: was ordained deacon by Bishop Brownell, in New Canaan, Conn, in July 1835 : and officiated a short time, in Phila- delphia and Boston, under temporary arrangements.
UNION SOCIETY.
In the Autumn of 1834, meetings were held, preparatory to the formation of a third orthodox society. In December, it was resolved to take measures to erect a building for worship, and subscriptions for that purpose were obtained. On the llth of March, 1835, the
222 UNION SOCIETY. [1835.
Proprietors of the Union Meeting House were incorporated. Pro- ceedings for the organization of a church, commenced, Dec. 25,
1835. Members of the First and Calvinist Churches united in ad- opting the following confession of faith.
' 1. We believe in one God, who possesses in an infinite degree, all natural and moral perfections : who is the creator, upholder, and governor of the universe, who is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.
' 2. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa- ments, were written under the inspiration of God, and clothed with divine authority, and are a perfect rule of faith and practice.
' 3. We believe that mankind are fallen from a state of rectitude, and are, while in a state of nature, wholly destitute of that holiness, which is required by the divine law.
'4. We believe that all who are saved, will be saved by the sov- ereign mercy of God, through the atonement, which was effected by the obedience, sufferings, and death of Christ.
' 5. We believe in the necessity of regeneration, through the Holy Spirit.
' G. We believe there are properly belonging to the Christian re- ligion two, and only two, sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Sup- per.
' 7. We believe that God has appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, when the dead shall arise from their graves, and, together with the living, shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and be adjudged, the righteous to everlast- ing life, and the wicked to shame and everlasting contempt.'
An ecclesiastical council convened, agreeably to the letters missive of Alfred D. Foster and others, a committee of invitation, Feb. 3,
1836, from the churches in Hubbardston, Leicester, Rutland, Shrewsbury, East Douglas, Holden, Paxton, Boylston, West Boyl- ston, Oxford, Eliot church in Roxbury, and the First and Calvin- ist churches in Worcester.
Twenty seven individuals had been dismissed and recommended from the First church, and nineteen from the Calvinist Church. Sixty three persons in all, were constituted the Union Church. The public exercises were thus assigned : introductory prayer by Rev. John Boardman of East Douglas: sermon by Rev Josiah Clark of Rutland : constituting of the church by Rev. Samuel Gay of Hub-
1836.]
I \l«).N S0CIE1 V
i-S.i
bardston : consecrating prayer l»\ R»ev. John B. t". Abbott of I! bury: right hand of fellowship by Rev. John Nelson of Leicester: the Rev, Rodney A. Miller of Worcester, and Rev. George Allen of Shrewsbury, administered tin- Lord's Supper.
The first meeting of the I nion Society, in its parochial capacity, was convened, mi the warrant of Emory Washburn, Esq. .March ~t, 1836.
The dedication of the meeting house took place .Inly <>, 1836 : the invocation of the Divine Presence was bj Rev. Jonathan Aldrlcfa <»t' the first Baptist church : lessons from the Scriptures wire read by Rev. David Peabody, of the Calvinist chureli : the dedicatory pray- er was offered by Rev. George Allen of Shrewsbury : a sermon preached by Rev. John Nelson of Leicester; and tin- exercises con- cluded with prayer by Rev. John T. Uurrill oft he Method isl church.
The Rev. Jonathan Edwards Woodbridge was invited to Bettle as pastor, August, ISM.
The following- list shows the succession of Deacons of the Churches. The dates pre- fixed indicate the time of election to office.
FIRST < III R( II.
1716. . . . 171G. . . . 1748. Jan. 1 1. 1748. " " 1751. Dec. 1G. 1751. " " 1783. Nov. 5. 1783. " "
1801. .\
.line. 18.
1812. April 16 1833. Jan. .'•<».
Daniel I ley wood. Nathaniel Moore. Jonas lticc,jun. Thomas Wheeler, Ja< ifa ( Ihamberlain. Samuel Miller. Nathan Perry. Thomas W heeler.
SECOND CHURCH.
1786. May 17. Samuel Bridge. 1817. Oct Si
1786. '• " David Bigelow. 1827. Oct. 29.
1799. Sept. 7. Nathan Heard. 1817. - •• 1807. June '29. William Trowbridge.
l: LPT13T CHOBt II.
James Wilson. 1822. March.
Nathaniel Stowcll. 1836. May.
i w vinist (HUKi ii.
1824. June 11. Samuel Taylor. 1830. Nov. 10
PRIOR CHURCH.
183G. Feb. 23. Moses Perry. 1836. Feb. 23,
1836. " " Alfred D. Foster.
1791. Nov. 15. John Chamberlain. 1797. "ii. 19. Leonard Worcester.
Da\ id Richards.
Moses Perry.
.1. hn Nelson.
Lewis < lhapin. Brigham.
1812. Dec. 1, 1822. March.
J. remiah Robinson. Benjamin Butman.
Alpheus Merrilield.
Daniel Goddard. Zebina E. Berry.
John Coe.
Ichabod Washburn.
The numbers of communicants, September, 1836, as they are stated by the Clerks, are as follows :
First church, about 350 Baptist church, 131- Methodist church, about 100
Second church, about 150 Calvinist church, about 200 Union church, 63
224
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES.
CHAPTER XIII.
Professional Men.1 Biographical notices of the Practitioners, Counsellors and Attor- neys at Law, and Physicians, before and since the Revolution.
The professional gentlemen who have been or are resident in Worcester, have been arranged, in the following pages, as nearly as possible, in the order in which they commenced business here, with- out regard to age, standing, or other principle of priority. Those in practise in September, 1836, are distinguished by italics.
The capital letters following the names, are the initials of Har- vard and Brown Universities, Yale, Dartmouth, Williams, Union, Bowdoin, and Amherst Colleges.
LAWYERS.2
Joshua Eaton was the first lawyer of Worcester, in point of time. He was born in that part of Watertown, now Waltham, Dec. 15, 1714. The only son of honest and well respected parents, who be- stowed upon him a liberal education, with the sole view to prepara- tion for the ministry, after graduating at Harvard University, in 1735, he disappointed their hopes and wishes, by preference of the legal to the clerical profession. The novicate was short in early times. Hav- ing spent two years with Judge Trowbridge, in the study of the law, Mr. Eaton commenced the practise in Worcester, in 1737, not long after the establishment of the county. Simplicity and sincerity uni- ted in his character with ardor and zeal : at the foundation was a
i Notices of the clergymen of the town should properly be inserted in the division of biography. The connection of the lives of the pastors with the history of their parishes is so intimate, that it has been deemed most convenient to place the brief memoirs of the ministers with those of the societies of their settlement.
2 In compiling the sketches of lawyers, much has been derived from the excellent address to the Bar of Worcester County, Oct. 2, 1829, by Joseph Willard, Esq. some- time of Lancaster, now of Boston. Higher authority could not be desired, than the antiquarian accuracy and fidelity of the author of that production. The reader will find occasion to regret, that the classic elegance of his composition could not be adopted, as easily as the materials gathered by his diligence have been appropriated.
josiiua EATON. 226
substratum of pious devotion pervading bia whole life, lie acquir- ed the reputation of a faithful and booeal practitioner. Although his talents could not entitle him to eminence, be obtained extensive em- ployment. While bis worldlj prospects grew brighter, bia attention was awakened to his spiritual condition, and prospects of higher use- ful ue-- opened. The captivating and energetic eloquence of White- field diffused a contagious enthusiasm on religious subjects. The spirit was imbibed by Eaton, and cooperated with his own inclina- tions and the recollections of the earnest desires <>i bis parents, to induce him to abandon the profession he bad adopted, and to seek the service of the altar. After live years practise at the Inr, he com- menced the study of theology. The fervor of his exercises was deem- ed fanatical, and he incurred the censure of the church in Worces- ter. Feeling aggrieved by their disciplinary measures, redresi sought by appeal to an ecclesiastical council. In a private diary is entered, under date Oct. 23, 174:3, ' This day detained from the house of God, and I think to forbear preaching any more, until after the council. I hope I even long again to go up to the house of God, and to tread his courts.' Three days were dedicated by him to fast- ing, humiliation, and prayer, on account of the difficulties. The troubles of his spirit were at length removed, by bis restoration to christian communion. It was noted, Nov. 25, ' The church was pleas- ed to restore me to christian privileges without any acknowledg- ment, and gave as a reason for what they had done in censuring me, that they looked upon me, as being actuated by an overheated brain.' The next Sabbath he resumed his clerical occupation, and preached so acceptably in the South Precinct of Leicester, now the town of Spencer, that he was soon after invited to settle there, and ordain- ed, Nov. 7, 1744. Zeal in the performance of duty overcame infir- mity of body, and habitual depression of mind. The enjoyments and honors of his former situation never elicited regret for deser- tion. He writes, Feb. 7, 1744, ' Attended court at Worcester upon business : but, oh ! the tumult, and dissipation, and snares, that attend the courts. I think, I would not return to the practise of the law on any consideration.' A faithful ministry was finished by death, April, 1772. The fragments of his diary are replete with indications of deep humility, ardent piety, and conscientious regard to duty. The successive decease of his children and consort, the sufferings of long sickness, and the afflictions of his lot, exemplified his resigna- tion and patience. After his death, a volume of plain and judicious discourses, not remarkable either for brilliancy or force, were pub- 29
22G LAWYERS.
lished by his friend, Rev. Eli Forbes of Brookfield, who pronounced his funeral discourse, and received the custody of his papers.1
Stephen Fessenden, a native of Cambridge, was graduated at Harvard University in 1737, studied with Judge Trowbiidge, and probably succeeded Eaton in the practise of the law in Worcester. Specimens of instruments drafted by him, exhibit remarkable neat- ness and accuracy. A crowd of irregular practitioners, pressing into business, seem to have cut off his supplies, and finally driven him away. 2
JosErn Dyer was a person of another description. Not bred to the profession, he came here in 173G, and commenced business as office and shopkeeper. Law and merchandise he treated as equal- ly matters of trade. With some ingenuity and acuteness, he fell, at length, victim to the litigious spirit he encouraged in others. Having worked himself into the belief of the validity of a peculiar view of the qualifications of voters, the opposition of others to his own con- struction, produced a degree of monomania. It was his pleasure to interpose exceptions to all municipal proceedings until he became the common nuisance of the inhabitants. For more than twenty years he protested either verbally or in writing, against acts specially or doings generally of the town. No taxes could be collected from him, unless by levy of warrants of distress on his chattels. Year after year, the people resolved to sustain their officers in the execution of coer- cive process for payment of his share of common charges. At length, it seems to have been determined to silence the voice of continual re- monstrance, and subdue resistance to legal assessments, by depriva- tion of liberty. In 1759, Dyer was committed to the common jail, for neglect to discharge a fine incurred by absence from a military mus- ter, nominally of £ 1G in the depreciated currency, really of small amount in specie. The remedy was ineffectual. He entered his cell protesting against the law, its process, and the prison. Protest- ing he would never come out by submission to the payment of a far- thing, he settled himself down in the house of the government as a home. His beard, permitted to grow unshorn, gave him the aspect « of an ancient philosopher in retirement. The little emolument of professional business, and the income of the shop managed by his family, gave food for his subsistence. Two years went by, and the citizens, alarmed lest his obstinacy should bring upon them the sup-
1 The biographical sketch prefixed to this volume, and Willard's Address,bave furnish- ed materials for this notice.
1 Willard's Address, 51.
JAMES PUTNAM
port of himself and his children, held a meeting to consider his situa- tion, and proposed to release tin two thirds of the fine given by the statute to the corporation, if the residue was paid. The offer was re- jected. Three years longer, Dyer persisted in remaining under con- finement, probably sweetening the solitude by the compilation of a dictionary of the English language, afterwards published. A sub- scription was raised, againsl his will, by the charitable ; the sum ne- cessary for liberation was advanced, and he was told that he was free. The habit of resisting was so inveterate, thai he objected to this be- nevolence, refused to remove from his room-, and was, at length, only ejected by force. Dyer left the jail, as he entered it, protesting against the right to put him in or out. The tir-t use of liberty, was to commence a suit against the keeper for false imprisonment : the failure of the action contributed to the recovery of mental saint v. impaired on a single point only. He afterwards removed to New- fane, Vt.1
In the same low class of pettifoggers, was Nathaniel Greene, a shopkeeper, who attended courts, made writs, drew wills and deeds, and did business in the humbler walks of the profession, from 174G, to 17G0.
James Putnam, II. U. 174G, attained and deserved the highest rank of professional distinction. He was born in that part of Salem, now Danvers, in 17-25, studied with Judge Trowbridge, and com- menced the practise of the law in Worcester in 1740. Strong na- tive power was increased by extensive acquirement and unwearied cultivation. His ability and learning soon gave him a flood of clients, and enabled him not only to contest, but to hold, posses- sion of the best business, while Trowbridge, Hawlev, Gridlev, Pratt, and the other celebrated counsellors who attended^he terms of our courts, were competitors. The highest encomium which can be be- stowed upon professional qualification, was pronounced, in after life, by an associate, who well knew his worth :'- 'Judge Putnam was an unerring lawyer ; he was never astray in his law. He was, I am in- clined to think, the best lawyer of North America.' His argu- ments were marked by strong and clear reasoning, logical precis- ion and arrangement, and that sound judgment whose conclusions were presented so forcibly as to command assent. A well read law- yer, skilful pleader, safe adviser, and successful advocate, his exten-
1 Ebenezer Dyer is mentioned in Thomson's Gazetecr of Vermont, as one of tlie first settlers of Newfane in 1166. He was probably son of Joseph. s Cited in Willard's Address, Gl.
228 LAWYERS.
ding fame gave him wide sphere for action and usefulness. Retain- ed in Middlesex and Hampshire, he attended the courts of those counties constantly, and, in important cases, assisted in those of Suf- folk, where then, as now, the best talents of the state were gathered. At a time when military rank was given as the real distinction of merit, and had not become worse than an empty title, he was Col- onel of a regiment. When Jonathan Sewall was raised to the bench of the Court of Admiralty, James Putman was appointed his suc- cessor, as Attorney General of the province. When the revolution commenced, having given the whole weight of his high character and great influence, to sustain the royal government, he was com- pelled to take refuge in Boston.
He accompanied the British army to New York ; thence he went to Halifax, and embarked for England in 17*6, where he remained until the peace of 1733. In 1784, he was appointed member of the Council of New Brunswick, and Judge of the Supreme Court of that province. In the discharge of the duties of his judicial office, he obtained the highest praise which human ambition should desire, that of inflexible justice. The sternness and austerity of official demeanor, and the reserved habits of social life were relieved by flashes of wit which are described as irresistible. He resided in the city of St. John, and retained the office of Judge till his death, Oct. 23, 1789.
Among those who received legal education from him, were Pres- ident John Adams, Joshua Atherton of Lancaster, Rufus Chand- ler, and Nathaniel Chandler of Worcester.
Rufus Chandler, H. U. 1766, son of the second judge John Chandler, was born at Worcester, May, 18, 1747, and died in Lon- don, Oct. 11, 1823. He studied with James Putnam, was admitted to the bar in 1768, and practised in Worcester until the Courts were closed, in June, 1774. Inheriting the loyalty of the family which shared so freely in the bounty of the king, he left the country on the commencement of hostilities, and resided in England as a private gentleman.
He was more remarkable for accuracy and method, than for high mental endowments. Fidelity in business, and purity of life, secur- ed the confidence of his clients. He was economical in his habits from principle, and most punctiliously neat in personal appearance.
Levi Lincoln, born May 5, 1749, was third son of Enoch Lin- coln, a strong minded and substantial farmer of Hingham, member of the revolutionary committees, and frequently representative of that
LEVI LINCOLN.
town, limbic to afford liberal »'(lucation to all liis children, and unwilling to bestow peculiar advantages on one, the son was bound apprentice to an ironsmitb l Indications of talent, and of strong in- clination for literary pursuits, were early exhibited. While he yel wrought at the anvil, he indulged tin- taste for reading in the hours allotted for sleep, ami devoted a p« > r t k >n of the nighl to the study of the Latin and Greek languages. Sedate and thoughtful manner, and diligence and capacity in the acquisition of knowledge, interested others in his welfare. Assistance and encouragement \\ < r< derived, from Mr. Lewis, long master of the Grammar School, and from the Rev. Dr. Gay, for whom his pupil cherished enthusiastic veneration. As the love of literature increased, he abandoned the forge, and after six months preparation, entered Harvard University, where he was graduated in 1772. Originally intending to adopt the clerical pro- fession, his purpose was changed by an accidental \ isit to the courts, when the eloquence of the elder Adams threw its power over the pending cause. He commenced the study of law with Daniel Farn- ham, Esq. in Nevvburyport, where he staid a year, and then complet- ed his noviciate in the office of Joseph Hawley of Northampton, dis- tinguished as jurist, statesman, and patriot. In April, 1*7 >, he marched as volunteer with the minute men to Cambridge : as the emergency of danger which called for the service had passed, and the army settled down in their entrenchments for protracted siege, he returned; was admitted to practise in regular course in Hamp- shire, and immediately established himself in Worcester. A wide and clear field for the exertion of talent was presented. The prin- cipal men of the county had espoused the cause of the royal gov- ernment, and been driven from their homes, or deserted their coun- try. Two lawyers only remained at the bar when the temples of justice were reopened, in 1775, after having been closed by the tu- mult of arms for a year.2 Decision of character and energy of pur- pose, capacity to lead and popular address, soon gave him prominent station. Introduced into extensive business, he still devoted his tal- ents to the cause of independence, and immediately became an ac- tive member of the committees of the revolution. Animated appeals to patriotism in written addresses, and printed communications to
1 Jeremiah Lincoln of Hingham, who had been a soldier in the French wars, and esca- ped from the massacre of Fort William Henry. He died at Lunenburg, Mass. Anoth- er of his apprentices, Dr. Peter Hobart of Hanover, left his work shop for the Universi- ty. Solomon Lincoln's History of Hingham, 90. 127. " The late Judge John Spra?ue of Lancaster and Joshua Tint".-" *f n^l-field.
230 LAWYERS.
the newspaper of the town, attest the ardor of his devotion and the powerful expression of his pen. When the courts commenced, after their suspension, in Dec. 1775, he was appointed Clerk. In Jan. 1777, on resigning, he was commissioned by the executive council, Judge of Probate, and held the office till 1781, when it was relin- quished, in consequence of interference with professional engage- ments.
In 1779, he was specially designated to prosecute the claims of gov- ernment to the large estates of the refugees, confiscated under the Ab- sentee Act : and was Commissioner to expedite the payment of the Continental tax. He was delegate of the town to the convention in Cambridge for framing a state constitution. In Feb. 1781, he was elected by the Legislature, under the Confederation, representative in the Continental Congress, but the honor was declined. In 1783, he was called by the Supreme Court to the degree of Barrister at law, a judicial distinction only conferred on himself and Judge Sprague in the county, after the revolution.1 In 179G, he was representative in the General Court: in 1797, member of the Senate of the Common- wealth ; and exerted strong influence in the legislative action, par- ticularly in the modification of the judicial and school systems. In the autumn of 1800, although his democratic principles were known to be opposed to those of a majority of the electors, he was returned representative to the seventh Congress, and was chosen to supply the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Hon. Dwight Foster at the then next session. He was selected, soon after taking his seat, by President Jefferson to form one of his cabinet. On the 5th March, 1801, he was appointed Attorney General of the United States, and was provisional Secretary of the State, until the arrival of Mr. Madison at the Federal city, in May following. The duties of the former charge separating him from his family, it was resigned, after nearly four years service. ' I received last night,' writes Mr Jefferson, Dec. 28, 1804, ' your letter, proposing to resign your office ; and I received it with real affliction. It would have been my greatest happiness, to have
1 The following precept is an example of the form in which the honorary legal distinc- tion, now obsolete, was conferred.
To Levi Lincoln, of Worcester, Esquire, Greeting. We, well knowing your ability, learning, and integrity, command you, that you appear before our Justices of our Su- preme Judicial Court next to be holden at Boston, in and for our county of Suffolk, on the third Tuesday of February next, then and there, in our said Court, to take upon you the slate and degree of Barrister at Law. Hereof fail not. Witness William Cushing Esq. our Chief Justice at Boston, this 25th day of December, A. D. 1783, and in the eighth year of our independence. By order of Court. Charles Cushing, Clerk.
LEVI LINCOLN. 2 II
kept together to the cud of my term our executive familv ; for our harmony and cordialty have realty made us but at one family. Yet, I am a father, and have been a husband. I know the sacred duties which these relations impose; the feelings the j inspire; and that they are not to be resisted I • \ a warm heart. 1 yield, therefore, to your wishes. You carry with you, my entire approbation of your official conduct, my thanks lor your services, mj regrets on losing them, ami m\ affectionate friendship.' In the spring of 1806, be was elected member of the Council of Massachusetts. In 1807, and 1808, he was Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth. On the decease of Gov. Sullivan, in Dec. 1-.)-. he discharged the duties of Chief Magistrate for the remainder of the term of office. He was nominated for election as Governor, in ISO'J, |)Ut, in the revolution of party, his competitor, Gov. Gore, prevailed. He afterwards d< - dined heing candidate, when the ascendancy of the political princi- ples to which he adhered, would have rendered success more sure. In 1810 and 1811, he was again councillor. In 1811, lie was ap- pointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. ' You will see,' writes President Madison, ' by the commission which will he forwarded from the Department of State, that I have taken the liberty of nominating you to the Senate as successor to Judge Cushing, notwithstanding your remonstrances against a recall in- to the national service. I was induced to this step, not only by my personal wishes, but by those of others, between whom ami yourself exists all the reciprocal respect that can add weight to them, and par- ticularly by their persuading themselves, that your patriotism would acquiesce in an appointment, however contrary it might be to your pre- vious inclinations. I venture to flatter myself that in this we may not be disappointed : and that, in every event, you will regard the liberty I have taken in imposing the dilemma upon you, with the indulgence due to my motives, and to the great esteem and sincere friendship of which I pray you to accept my renewed assurances.' Weakness of sight, terminating in almost total blindness, rendered it necessary to decline even such solicitation, and to retire from public life.1 Par- tial restoration of vision, enabled him to resume the cultivation of the farm and the classical studies, both objects of passionate attach- ment, and among the fields and with the pages of his favorite Latin
1 Mr. Jefferson writes ; ' be assured your place is high among those whose remem- brance I have brought with me into reliremenl and cherish with warmth. I was over- joyed when I heard you were appointed to the supreme bench of national justice, and as much mortified when I heard vou had declined.'
232 LAWYERS
authors, to alleviate the infirmities of decaying health and pressing age. He died, April 14, 1820, aged 71.
'For a period of nearly forty years,' says Mr. Willard, 'he was in active life, and bore leading part amid vast and important chan- ges in our community, such as none of the present generation can be called on to witness. He was, without question, at the head of the bar, from the close of the Revolution till he left our courts at the commencement of the present century. His professional business far exceeded that of any other member of the bar. He was retained in every case of importance, and for many years, constantly attend- ed the courts in Hampshire and Middlesex, [and frequently those of the neighboring states.] His great command of language, his pow- er in searching out the truth from unwilling witnesses, in analysing, arranging, and presenting to the mind the evidence of the case, ren- dered him a highly popular advocate, and gave him great success in jury trials. Wide reading and extensive practise constituted him a learned jurist.' The arbitrary encroachments of the royalist clergy- men, claiming the sovereign right of veto, were successfully resisted by him. His love of religious freedom, broke through the ecclesias- tical usurpations of early time, and contributed to establish the con- flicting interests of church, parish, and minister on sure distinctions. The fetters of negro bondage were broken in Massachusetts, by the decision, in a case, in which his whole energies were exerted, that the relation of master and slave could not justify assault. The ' Far- mer's Letters,' published in 1800, and 1801, were widely circulated, produced powerful sensation in the political world, and busied the press, for a long time, with efforts to answer their arguments, and personal attack on their author.
He was one of the original members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Trustee of Leicester Academy, first President of the Worcester Agricultural Society, and associate of many useful institutions.
It is not for the partiality of filial reverence to attempt to deline- ate the private character of a venerated sire. All that is permitted by the plan of this work, is to indicate the public and professional standing of our citizens, where neither space nor ability afford hope of doing justice to their merits.
William Stearns, H. U. 1770, was born in Lunenburg, Mass. He first commenced the study of divinity, and preached for a short time, but was not settled as a clergyman. He then devoted himself to the law, was admitted to practise, Dec. 1776, and established
EDWARD BANGS. 1-M
himself in Worcester. During one jreai he » ;is Bonnected with Daniel Bigelow, Esq. in the publication of the Massachusetts Spy.
His professional business was considerable until his <-;i rl v death, in 1784. He possessed good sense, respectable learning, lively mt, and much kindness of feeling. Edward Bangs was born in Harwich in the county of Barnstable,
Sept. 5, 17."i(). He prepared for college at Duinmer Academy, in Newbury, under the instruction of the celebrated Master Moody,
and entered Harvard University, in \",~,'.i. lie remained in Cam- bridge during the spring vacation of l".">, when the British troops marched to Concord. On the 19th of April, as soon as intelligence of the hostile movement was received, he hastily equipped himself from the armory of the college company, repaired to the scene of action, and fought gallantly during the day. He saved the life of a British soldier, severely wounded, who had been overtaken in flight, and was about to be sacrificed to the vengeance of his captors. The events of the war dispersed the students, and interrupted, for a time, the course of instruction. Mr. Bangs continued his studies at home, until the halls were again opened. He graduated in 1777, in the same class with the late Rufus King, James Freeman, William Bent- ley, Thomas Dawes, and others, who became eminent as learned divines, or able civilians. He immediately entered the office of Chief Justice Parsons at Newburyport, and was admitted to the bar, in Essex, in 1780. The same year, he removed to Worcester, and commenced business in partnership with William Stearns. This con- nection continued about two years. After its dissolution, he pursu- ed the profession alone, and with good success. When the insurrec- tion broke out, he engaged with great ardor in defence of the con- stitution. His pen was exerted in the cause of order with ability. In January, 1787, he joined the army of Gen. Lincoln, as a volunteer. In that brief campaign, be suffered so much from exposure and hard- ship, that his health was impaired, and the foundation of disorders laid, from which he never, recovered. In 1805, he formed a part- nership with William E. Green, who had just removed from Grafton to Worcester, which subsisted until 1811. He was appointed Attor- ney of the Commonwealth for the County of Worcester, on the resig- nation of Hon. Nathaniel Paine, by the Court, and soon after reap- pointed by the Govenor and Council, Oct. 21, 1807. He was re- moved to the bench, as Associate Justice of the Court of Common Pleas for the western circuit, Oct. 8, 1811, on the first organization of that court. This office he retained till his death, June "28, 1818 at the age of 62.
234 LAWYERS.
He was representative of Worcester, in the General Court, from 1802 to 1811 inclusive : for many years one of the board of select- men ; was on many important committees ; and sustained various town offices. Without seriously interrupting his professional avo- cations he took a prominent part in political transactions. In 1801, he was nominated for member of Congress from Worcester south dis- trict, but declined the honor. During the stormy period of party controversy, he was induced to become a candidate for the same sta- tion, but his competitor was elected.
He practised successfully, as a lawyer, for thirty years. He was a good classical and general scholar, and possessed taste for mathe- matical science. Deep and conscientious regard to sincerity and truth was manifested in his whole transactions. However errone- ous he might have been considered, by those who differed from him, none doubted his honesty. He was of ardent temperament, and warm in attachment to friends, and the opinions or party he adopted. His love of nature was enthusiastic, and he contemplated her works with intense admiration. His leisure was devoted to the cultivation of a garden, ornamented with singular elegance, and filled, by his care, with rare exotics, beautiful native plants, and choice fruits.
He possessed taste for poetry. Although he did not distinguish himself for that talent, some of his compositions were extensively circulated in the journals of the day. A humorous song, called ' the Somerset on shore, ' attained considerable degree of popularity. His odes for public festive occasions were of respectable merit.1
William Sever, H. U. 1778, son of Hon. William Sever, was born
i Edward Bangs m. Hannah Lynde, d. of Joseph Lynde, Esq., sometime of Charles- town, afterwards of Worcester, Sept. 18, 1788. He left two children. 1. Edward Dillingham. 2. Anna L. b. 1800 : d. Feb. 14, 1823.
The ancestor of the family was Edward Bangs, a native of Chichester in England, who arrived in Plymouth in July, 1623, by the Ann, the third ship which brought the pilgrim emigrants, having been preceded by the May flower and the Fortune. In the division of the live stock, to 12 companies, that to which Edward Bangs belonged re- ceived ' the great white barked cow, which was brought over with the first in the Ann; also two she goats.' In 1627, he was member of a commission with Gov. Bradford, to make a new division of lands. He was a shipwright, and is said to have superintended the construction of the first vessel built at Plymouth. He removed with Gov. Prince, and others to Eastham, in 1644, where he died in 1678, a. 86. 2. His son Jonathan, born at Plymouth, 1610; m. Mary .Mayo, July 16, 1661; d. at Harwich, now Brews- ter, 1728. 3. Edward, son of Jonathan, b. at Easiliam, Sept. 30, 1666: d. May 22, 1746. 4. Edward, son of Edward, b. 1694; d. June 3, 1755. 5. Benjamin, son of Edward, b. 1721 ; m. Desire Dillingham, d. 1769. He was father of Judge Edward Bangs. Farmer's Genealogical Register Willard's Address, 90. MS. of Edward D. Bangs, Esq.
LAWYERS. vi:to
in Kingston, in Plymouth county. He studied with Levi Lincoln,
sen. was called to the bar in 17-1 : practised two jrears in Kings- Ion: in 1785, removed to Worcester : where he died, October 31, 1798, leaving the reputation <>t" fine talents, which with greater as- siduity, tnighl have given high professional distinction.
Nathaniel Paine, II 0. 1775, son of Hon. Timothy Paine of Worcester, studied with Hon. John Sprague of Lancaster Imme- diately upon admission, Aug. 1781, he commenced practise in Gro- ton, Mass. and after four years residence there, returned to Worces- ter. He succeeded Daniel Bigelow, Esq. as Count} Attorney. In 1798, 1799 and L800, he represented the town in the Legislature. He was appointed Judge of Probate, .Fan. 24, 1801, and held that office thirty five years. His resignation was accepted Jan. L8, I 836.
Timothy Green, B. U. 178C>, a native of Worcester, was son of the first Dr. John Green, and grandson of Hon. Timothy Etuggles. He studied with Levi Lincoln, sen. and practised two years in Wor- cester. He then removed to the city of New York, where lie enga- ged successfully in land trade. After a visit to the South, his pre- parations had been completed for an overland journey home, when he was prevailed on to take passage by sea. I Fe embarked, in 1812, on hoard a privateer built vessel at Charleston, in company with Mrs. Alston, the accomplished lady ofthe governor of South Caroli- na, and daughter of the celebrated Aaron Burr. The ship sailed, and no tidings of her fate were ever afterwards heard.
Joseph Alle\,.H.U. 179*2, eldest son of lion. Joseph Allen, horn in Leicester, commenced practise in Worcester, removed to Wes- tern, Mass. now Warren, where he remained to 1805. He after- wards went to CharlestoWn, N. H. and Hied in that town.
Samuel A. Fxagg, H tJ. 1794, was horn in Mendon, Mass: studied with Hon. Nathaniel Paine : established himself in Worces- ter, 1797, and died here, March 5, 1825, aged 50.
Andrew Morton, B. U. 1795, of Freetown, Mass. studied with Levi Lincoln, sen: practised in Worcester from 1802 to 1804: then settled in Hampden, Maine, where he died, Oct. 2G, 180-j.
Francis Blake, H. U. 1789, fifth son of Joseph Blake, was born October 14, 1774. His father, a native and eminent merchant of Boston, for several years anterior and subsequent to the commence- ment of the revolution, was engaged in extensive trade in Rutland, Mass. and removed to Hingham, in 1779 His son, was in the prin- cipal school of the town, then under the tuition of Rev. Joseph Thaxter, afterwards clergyman of Martha's Vineyard, and di-tin-
236 LAWYERS.
cmished for the eloquence of his address in prayer on the semi-cen- tennial anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill. Under the instruc- tion of this gentleman, of his successor, Mr. Howard, and of Dr. Barker, he was fitted for college. Although prepared for admission to the freshman class at the age of eleven, he did not enter the Uni- versity until 1787. After having graduated, he read law with the Hon. John Sprague, and was twenty years of age when called to the bar in 1794. He commenced practise in his native town of Rut- land, and his fine genius soon raised him to high professional stand- ing. In 1802, he removed to Worcester. In 1810, 1811, he was in the Senate of Massachusetts. In 1816, he was appointed Clerk of the courts, and held that office until his death, Feb. 23, 1817.
The highest efforts of the great advocate rear no enduring monu- ment to his name. The reputation of his eloquence is entrusted to the generation that witnesses its display. Few memorials of the splendid talents of Mr. Blake survive, except in the admiration of his cotemporaries. An Oration at Worcester, July 4, 1796; an examination of the constitutionality of the embargo laws ; and an oration at Worcester, July 4, 1812, are the only publications which preserve permanent testimonials of magnificent intellectual action.
His character is thus delineated by the elegant writer so often quo- ted. ' Mr. Blake possessed all the constituent properties of a great or- ator. He was of an ardent temperament, the usual companion of fine intellect, and of a character that dwelt with satisfaction and de- lio-ht upon whatever was lofty and honorable. His was the nicely mod- ulated voice, all whose cadences were musical ; and though like the harp of Memnon, in unrestrained inspiration, they sometimes breath- ed wildly, they breathed eloquently. His was the classic elegance of language, poured out in rich profusion from a never failing source. His was the vivid imagination, that threw over all, the crimson flush of light, and dazzled by its brilliancy. He brought to his aid the advantages of wide reading, and commendable scholarship, that ser- ved to increase his power of expression. He was often vehement and impassioned, and that, probably, was the prevailing tone of his elo- quence, especially when he detected and brought to light the hidden things of chicanery and deceit ; but his vehemence and his warmth never caused him to forget himself, nor to lose that harmony and measure of expression that were peculiarly his own.' 1
Levi Thaxter, of Hingham, son of Jonathan Thaxter, studied with Levi Lincoln, sen. commenced practice in Worcester in 1803.
1 Willard's Address. 98.
LEVI LINCOLN J:;:
lie was the first cashier of the Worcester Bank, which oilier be re- signed in 1805, and removed to Watertown, where li" now resides. He was Senator of Massachusetts from 1822 to 1826.
Levi Lincoln, II. 0, 1802, son of Levi Lincoln, sen. of Wor- cester, read law in the office of his father, then Attorney General of the United States, and necessarily absent in the discharge of official duty. He was admitted to the bar in 1805, and commenced prac- tice here. In 181*2, he was member of the Senate of Massachusetts, and drew, and with Hon. Benjamin Crowninshield, presented, the answer of that body to the speech of Gov. Strong. In 181 1, be was elected to the House of Representatives, and prepared and offered the protest of the minority against the act authorizing the famous Hartford Convention. In succeeding years, from 1814 to 1822, he represented the town, with the exception of three intervals, when he declined being candidate. In 1820, he was in the convention to revise the state constitution, and afterwards one of the Commission- ers, under the act for the separation of Maine, to make partition and apportionment of the public property. In 1822, he was chosen Speaker of the House of Representatives, when a majority of that assembly differed from his political sentiments. He was Lieutenant Governor, in 1823, and, in February, 1824, appointed Associate Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court. In April, 1825, upon the nomination of the two great parties, he was Governor of the Common- wealth, and continued in this office by nine successive reelections, until, having declined being candidate, he retired upon the induction of his successor, in January, 1835. In February of that year, he was elected to supply the vacancy in the representation of the dis- trict, occasioned by the transfer of Hon. John Davis to the Execu- tive Chair, and, in November following, was chosen member of the twenty fourth Congress.
The degree of LL. D. was conferred upon him by Williams Col- lege and by Harvard University. He was for several years mem- ber of the Board of Trustees of Leicester Academy, some time its Treasurer, and afterwards President : President of the Worcester Agricultural Society from 1823, Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, member of the Board of Overseers of Har- vard College, and Councillor of the American Antiquarian Society.
William E. Green, B. U. 1798, son of the first Dr. John Green, studied with Judge Edward Bangs, was admitted in 1801, and practic- ed in Grafton to 1805. He then returned to Worcester, and was in partnership with Mr. Bangs until the appointment of that gentleman
238 LAWYERS.
to the bench in 1811, and afterwards, until 1817, connected with Edward D. Bangs, Esq.
Joseph B. Caldwell, H. U. 1802; son of William Caldwell, Esq. sheriff of Worcester County from 1793 to 1805, was born in Rutland ; studied with Hon. Nathaniel Paine ; practiced in Grafton to 1809; Worcester in 1810; Rutland to 1812. He returned to Worcester in 1813, and died here in that year.
Samuel 31. Burnside, D. C. 1805, son of Thomas Burnside, was born at Northumberland, Coos co. N. H. His early education was in the common schools of a new planted country, except nine months at an academy preparatory to admission at college. After having graduated, he passed two years in superintending a female academy at Andover, Mass. In October, 1807, he commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. Artemas Ward, the present Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. No one was more able or willing to afford aid to his students. Familiar acquaintance with the prin- ciples of the common, merchant, and statute law, unsurpassed skill as conveyancer and special pleader, with uniform kindness and liberality, justified their affectionate reverence for the character of that able jurist and excellent man. His business was immense. He was, consequently, much from home at this period, and his pupils were left to follow principally the dictates of their own judg- ment in regard to their course of reading. Mr. Burnside was admit- ted to practise in March, 1810, and was first sworn at the bar of the Supreme Judicial Court upon examination, being one of the few persons who have been suffered to pass to that court without having previously been admitted at the lower tribunal. He commenced business in Westborough in the spring of 1810. In the autumn of that year, he removed to Worcester, and has since resided here.1
1 His father, Thomas Burnside, was a descendant of that colony of Scots, settling in the north of Ireland about 1650, many of whom emigrated to New England in 1719. Among them, was Rev. James McGregoire, his maternal grandfather, ordained first min- ister of Londonderry, 1719, who died March 5, 1729, leaving three sons; 1. David, succeeding in the ministry in 1737; 2. James, who became merchant in Londonderry; and 3. Alexander, who settled in Warwick, R. I. Susannah, only daughter of Alexan- der, on the death of her father, was adopted and educated by her uncle James, himself childless ; inherited with her brother his considerable estate ; and married Thomas Burnside.
Thomas Burnside was brought up in Londonderry as a merchant; took active part in the French wars from 1755 to 1763 ; was in many bloody battles on the frontier ; and fought by the side of Wolfe on the plains of Abraham. On the restoration of peace, he was engaged several years in mercantile pursuits. He yielded to the flattering over- tures of Gov. Wentworth, to establish settlements in the northern parts of New Hamp- shire, within the valley of the Connecticut, whose fertile intervals had been traversed in
NEWTON. ELIOT. HEYWOOD. 2W)
Rejoice Newton, 1). C. 1807, a native of Greenfield, Mass. son of Isaac Newton, commenced his studies with Hon. Richard E. New- comb at Greenfield, which, were concluded with Hon. Elijah Mills, at Northampton. He was admitted attorney in Hampshire county, in 1810: immediately formed connection in professional business with Hon. Francis Blake of \\ orcester, v. Inch continued until April, 181 I. On the decease of William ('. White, he was appointed Coun- ty Attorney, having discharged the duties a year prei ions. This of- fice he resigned in 1824. He represented the town in the General Court in 1829, 1830 and 1831, and was elected Senator of M chusetts in 1834. Since ls\>(i, he has been connected in business with William Lincoln.
James Eliot. lie was Representative in Congress from Ver- mont from 1803 to 1809. He was invited to Worcester to assume the editorial management of the Spy, in October, 1810, which he relinquished in February following, and soon after removed. He has since been Clerk of the Courts of Windham County, Vt. and resides at Newfane.
Levi Hevvvood, D. C. 1808, son of Seth Heywood, was born in Gardner, Mass. June, 1?S4. The study of law, commenced with Hon. Nathaniel Paine of Worcester, was finished with Hon. Elijah Milis of Northampton. Admitted to the bar in 1811, he began prac- tise here in that year. In October. 1818, he removed to Pinckney- ville, Louisiana, where he engaged in teaching school. Having kept an office in New York for a short period, he became Principal of the Academy in Ilackensack, N. J. He again resumed practise in the city of New York, where he died, Nov. ~",J, L832.
his military campaigns. Animated by a bold spirit of enterprise, lie left lucrative busi- ness and devoted friends, removed sixty miles above Haverhill, then the most northern settlement, into the wilderness, inhabited only by the red man its ancient proprietor, and became the first planter of Northumberland, then called Stonington. For two or three years, he had no neighbor within sixty miles, and no direction to an English village but the line of spotted trees. In 1775, while busied in the labors of harvest, a friendly Indian came running into the field in urgent haste, to warn him to tlee for life, assuring him that a body ol hostile savages were within two or three hours march. Immediately, he and his family were on horseback, hastening to a place of safety. The mother, then unaccustomed to hardship, rode with her infant in her ann>. swam her horse across the Connecticut in the flight, and after extreme difficulties reached Haverhill in safety. Within the short time mentioned by his savage friend, the house, buildings, and crops of Mr.Burnside were destroyed b\ the enemy. Ondiscouraged by such perilous escape, with the courage of a soldier, la- soon returned to his desolated farm, and until the close of the war, divided his time between the peaceful avocations of the husbandman, and the martial enterprises required for the defence of the country-. He died Nov. 3, 1798. MS. of S. M. Burnside, Esq.
240 LAWYERS.
William Charles White, player, poet, advocate, and author, pos- sessed versatility of talents, which gave some distinction in each of his various occupations. His father, William White of Boston, ex- tensively engaged in commerce and trade, destined his eldest son to mercantile pursuits. His education for business was commenced, as the clerk of Mr. Joseph Cooledge, and diligently followed for a few years. At length, avocations more congenial to the taste of the young man, seduced his attention from the employments of the coun- ting house, and the journal and ledger gave place to books of light- er literature. In 1796, at the age of nineteen, he had written ' Or- lando', a tragedy, subsequently printed with the head of the author. The father, a formal and correct person, devoted to practical mat- ters, seems to have contemplated the intellectual acquisitions of his son with little satisfaction. 1 Of the theatre, he entertained pro- found horror, regarding its pretensions to be the school of virtue as the mask of profligacy, and its occupations as the lowest degradation. His mortification was extreme, on finding the attachment of young White for the drama, growing into a passion, too strong to be con- trolled by reason, and when excited by opposition, becoming so in- tense as to affect the sanity of mind and health of body. In the winter of 1796, the elder White found it necessary to make a long visit in the city of New York. He writes to a friend at home, ' Wil- liam had, for some time, discovered his propensity for theatric exhi- bitions, and by all opportunities, I discountenanced in him this in- ordinate passion. During my absence from Boston last summer, he wrote a play, which, on my return, some of the family mentioned to me. Although I was not pleased with his study and writings in this style, yet I supposed it a good opportunity to turn his attention, and destroy gradually his predilection for the stage. About a month previous to my leaving Boston, he grew sick, and was, apparently, in a decline. I was very anxious, and postponed my journey for some time. A few days before I left home, he seemed to be in better spir- its, and declared himself to feel essentially better than he had been, and when I came away, opened himself, in a very dutiful and respect- ful manner, by observing, that his illness arose from his insatiable thirst for the stage, but that his resolution had gained the ascendan- cy of his desires, and entreated me not to have the least uneasiness respecting him in that particular, for he had determined not to give way to that inclination.' However sincere was the promise, it was
1 ' A son his father's spirit doomed to cross, By penning stanzas while he should engross. '
WILLIAM C. Will TE. 2 11
soon broken. The conflict of filial duty with passionate desire was so violent, as to bring its victim t<> tin' verge of distraction. Unable to resist his dramatic love, he made bia first appearance al the Fed- eral Street Theatre, Dec. II, !7(.»<'», m the charaoter ofNorval, in
the tragedy of Douglas, and was received with great applause, by an audience of indulgent friends. In a letter of apology, written the next day, to his father, be Bays, ' I am boit] I was compelled by vi- olence of inclination, to deviate from my promises to you J but life was one series of vexation, disappointment and wretchedness. Pray let this consideration have some weight with vou. But, for Heaven's sake, for your own sake, and for my sake, do not tear me from a pro- fession, which, if I am deprived of, will be attended with fatal con- sequences.' Never did parent mourn more inconsolably for the worst follies or darkest crimes of his offspring, than did the father of the ac- tor, over this example of perversity in his family. His epistles are filled with expressions of distress, so extravagant, that they are only redeemed from being ludicrous, by the deep sorrow they breathe. He thus addresses the tragedian : ' Dear William ! for so I will still call you : my beloved son ! stain not the memory of your amiable and ten- der mother by your folly : break not the heart of your father : bring not down bis gray hairs with sorrow to the grave : but rouse your- self, from this seeming state of insanity. . . . Your youth will ex- cuse you for once But, for God's sake, and every thing you
hold dear, I pray you to refrain , and be not again seen on a common stage.' The temporary success of the aspirant for theatric fame, al- leviated the sufferings of the distressed parent, and he reluctantly yielded to the advice of friends, and consented that Charles might occasionally tread the boards, but oidy in the elevated walks of tra- gedy. ' Let me enjoin it upon you,' he writes, ' never to appear, no, not for once, in any comic act, where the mimic tricks of a monkey are better fitted to excite laughter, and where dancing, singing and kissing, may be thought amusement enough for a dollar. No, Will- iam, I had, much as I love you, rather follow you to the grave, than to see you, and myself, and my family, so disgraced.'
Mr. White appeared as Orlando, in his own tragedy, Dec. 20 ; Tancred, in Thompson's Tancred and Sigismunda, Jan. 2, 1797. Romeo, in Romeo and Juliet, Feb. 6 : and Octavian, in the Moun- taineers, April 7, on the Boston stage. The ebb of popular favor ef. fected, what parental admonition and entreaty (ailed to accomplish. Controversy with the manager arose ; the applause which followed his first efforts grew fainter : the fit of romantic enthusiasm exhausted
31
242 LAWYERS.
itself: and the earliest exertion of reflection, resulted in the determi- nation to adopt the profession of the law. In July, 1797, he enter- ed the office of Levi Lincoln, sen. in Worcester, as a student. In July, 1800, he removed to Providence, where he completed his pro- fessional noviciate, under the instruction of Judge Howell. When admitted to practise, in Rhode Island, in September following, a partnership was proposed by that gentleman, on terms which were declined. Mr, White opened an office in Providence, but did not obtain employment or fees.
The want of business led directly to the want of money. The pressure of pecuniary embarrassment drove him again to the stage, in New York. « On the 19th of January, 1801/ says Dunlap,1 'Mr. White, a young man from Worcester, Massachusetts, was brought out with some promise of success, in Young Norval. Curiosity was excited, and a house of 8 614 obtained. He had performed in Bos- ton, when quite a boy, with that applause so freely, and often so in- judiciously bestowed on such efforts : had since studied law, and was at this time a tall, handsome youth ; but not destined by nature to shine He attempted Romeo, and gave hopes of improve- ment, but much improvement was wanting to constitute him an ar- tist.' He played Alonzo in Columbus ; Aimwell in the Beaux Strat- agem : Theodore in the Court of Narbonne ; Elvirus in the Chris- tian Suitor : and Altamont in the Fair Penitent. In the play of ' the Abbe de l'Epee,' he failed altogether in the part of St. Alme, was hissed, and withdrawn by his own consent, as it was announced to the public, on ' finding the character too difficult.' About this time, was begun and nearly completed, a drama, with the title, ' the Con- flict of Love and Patriotism, or the Afflicted Queen,' still preserved in manuscript, and never finished. A visit to Richmond, Va. where he played a few nights, was crowned with such success, that he con- templated devoting life to the theatre. The reverse of fortune in some of his efforts, again cured the dramatic mania. In the summer of 1801, he returned to the bar, and established himself in Rutland, in Worcester county, where some of his relatives then resided, and where his father, who had been unfortunate in business, soon after re- moved. He was married toTamar Smith, daughter of a respectable farmer of that town. The degree of eminence and emolument he attained as counsellor, did not content his ambition, and he sought wider field. In May 1809, he had contracted to compile ' a Com-
1 History of the American Theatre, 281, 286.
WILLIAM C, WHITE. 1\',
pendium of the Laws of Massachusetts,' printed in the same and the next following year; a work useful at the day of its publication, but
soon rendered useless by revisions of the statutes. More industry than talent was required for the compilation. ' To superintend the
execution of this work, .Mr. White removed to Boston in 1810, and formed a professional connection with David Everett, Esq. of brief continuance. On the resignation of Judge Bangs, In 1811, be was
appointed County Attorney which office he retained till his death. He established himself in Grafton, in L812: the next year, he resid- ed in Worcester. In 1814, he removed to Sutton, where he married Susan Johannot, daughter of Dr. Stephen Monroe, August 13, 1-1.7 He returned to Worcester, in 1816, and died May 2, 1818. He had been long in declining health. An organic disease, the dropsy, during the last years of his life, spread ' mortal paleness' over his countenance.
Through his whole career, the suppressed love of the drama was working on his mind. The Clergyman's Daughter, a play founded on McKensie's Man of the World, was first presented on the Bos- ton stage, Jan. 1, 1810, and obtained remarkable success. In De- cember of that year, ho produced the Poor Lodger, a comedy, adopt- ing the incidents of Miss Burney's novel of Evelina. Mr. White was a frequent correspondent of the National /Ecris, while that pa- per was under the direction of the late Francis Blake, and afterwards became editor. In 1813, he published a pamphlet in vindication against the charge of apostasy from democratic principles. His odes and poetical productions obtained some celebrity.2
He possessed that high grade of talent, which is called genius. In his addresses at the bar there were passages of splendid eloquence : but they were unequal : although parts were strong, they were not connected with logical method and clearness. His taste was refined and correct. Greater constancy and perseverance might have raised
1 The severe but witty comment of a distinguished jurist on this work was, that it re- sembled the tessellated pavement in Burke's description, ' here a little black-stone; there a little ichite.'
2 MS. of Samuel Jennison, Esq. White MSS. in Am. Antiq. Society's Collections. The publications of William Charles White are these : 1. Orlando, or Parental
Persecution : tragedy : Boston, 1797, 12mo : 2. The Clergyman's Daughter: tragedy : Boston, 1810, 12mo: 3. The Poor Lodger : comedy: Boston, 1311, 12mo: 4. Compen- dium and Digest of the Laws of Massachusetts: Boston, 1809-10, 2 vols, 8vo: 5. Avowals of a Republican: Worcester, 1813, 3vo: G. Oration: Rutland: July 4, 1802 : 7. Oration : Worcester, July 4, 1804 ■ 8. Oration before the Bunker Hill As- sociation : Boston, July 4, 1809 : 9. Oration : Hubbardston, July 4, 1810.
244 LAWYERS.
him to hio-h rank in any of the departments of forensic exertion, lit- erary effort, or dramatic exhibition.
Samuel Brazer, son of Samuel Brazer, was born at Worcester, in 1785. His early education was received in the common schools. He was placed in a store in Boston, preparatory to engaging in mercantile business. Discovering no aptitude for the employment, and a decided inclination for literation avocations, he was sent to Leicester Academy to be prepared for college. There he remained long enough to be fitted for the junior class of Harvard University ; but owing to some difficulty with the instructor, who often felt the lash of his playful satire, he failed of being presented for admission. Although overfond of amusement, apparently idle in habits of study, and foremost in schemes of frolic, he easily took and maintained the highest place of his class in the academy. Disappointed in o-oing to college, he entered the office of Hon. Francis Blake. The tone of party politics, was, at that time, high and angry. With characteristic impetuosity he rushed into the midst of the conflict, and became one of the most distinguished contributors to the Na- tional ^Egis, established in support of Mr. Jefferson's administra- tion. The literary department of that print derived aid, in verse and prose, from his pen, in many essays and poetical papers distin- guished for facility, point, and caustic vein of humor. He was fre- quently called on to deliver political orations on public anniversa- ries, and acquitted himself with great reputation. The first effort of this kind, was an Address in commemoration of the purchase of Louisiana, in 1804, at the age of eighteen, which was extremely popular with his party friends. He entered into the practise of the profession in New Salem, Mass. But he did not love the law, and the enjoyments of festivity seduced him from the pursuit of that distinction his talents would have won. In 1812, he was resident in Worcester. Subsequently he removed to Baltimore, Md. where he conducted the newspaper called the Baltimore Patriot. Its edi- torial articles, during his connection, indicate his industry and con- sistency, and are marked by the vigor of his nervous style. He died in that city, Feb. 24, 1823.
Enoch Lincoln, [B. C. 1821, A. M.] son of Levi Lincoln, sen. was born at Worcester, Dec. 28, 1788. He entered the Sophomore class of Harvard College in 1806. One of those unhappy commo- tions, which have disturbed the repose of the ancient seat of learn- ing in Cambridge, occurred in 1808, and he voluntarily withdrew
L.NOCH LINCOLN. 2 10
from the University during his senior year. His professional -Ind- ies were pursued in the office of his brother, Lei i Lincoln. 1 1<- w as admitted attornej in LSU,and commenced business in Salem, M In 1812, he returned to Worcester, and practised here until the spring of lsi:l, when he settled in Fryeburg, Maine. While resident there, he published ' The Village,1 a poem descriptive ol tli<- beauti- ful scenery of the fairest town on the stream of the Saco, of the wild and romantic region around, and of the social condition of the pop- ulation of the youthful state. In lsl.~>, he was appointed deputj by Hon. William P. Preble, then Districl Attorney ofthe United Stairs. In 1819, he was elected to Congress, and removed to Paris, the cap- ital of the county. He continued to represent the district of < Oxford, in the national legislature until 1826. 1 te was elected Governor of Maine for three years succeeding that date, with the approbation of the two political parties, and with uninamity almost unprecedented in times of feverish excitement. In the spring of 1829, he declined being again candidate, intending, in retirement, amid the pursuits of agriculture dear to him from education, in the cultivation of the natural sciences, with the flowers and fields he loved, and the litera- ry avocations he delighted to follow, to seek means ,,f usefulness and happiness. In the autumn, induced by ardent desire to promote the cause of education, he visited Augusta, to address the Female Acad- emy, founded there by a philanthropic citizen. Suffering from se- vere sickness, the performance of the task exhausted his strength* and he became a martyr to the effort. He retired from the exer- cises to the house of a friend, where he died, three days after, Oct. 11, 1829, at the age of forty years.
His proclamations were marked with purity and expansive liberali- ty of sentiment, and terse felicity of expression. Official correspon- dence, vindicating, with decision and dignity, the rights of the state, was published among the documents of the contested north eastern boundary. His contributions to the press were characterized by sin- gular elegance of style, masculine energy of thought, and compre- hensive views. An extended work, illustrative of the history and resources of Maine, was left unfinished, in manuscript.
In his moral constitution there were elements brighter than gifts of genius. Overflowing kindness of disposition, ready to do good to every human being, was associated with rectitude of judgment, and united to qualities giving to benevolence its highest value. The stedfast sense of justice was never debased by personal interest or feeling, or darkened by sectarian or party prejudice. Manly intre-
246 LAWYERS.
pidity, fearing nothing but the consciousness of doing wrong, was unshaken by the dread of undeserved censure or popular excitement.
Edward D. Bangs, [H. U. 1827, A. M.] son of Hon. Edward Bangs of Worcester, studied with his father, and, on being admit- ted to practise in 1813, entered into partnership with William E. Green, which continued four years. In 1816, 1817, 1820, and 1824, he was representative of the town. In 1824, he was appointed suc- cessor to Rejoice Newton, as County Attorney, and soon after, was elected Secretary of the Commonwealth. The duties of this office were discharged for twelve years with fidelity and ability which com- manded the respect, and courtesy and urbanity securing the good will of all. Mr. Bangs declined reelection, in January, 1836, on ac- count of the impaired state of his health.1
John Davis, Y. C. 1812, son of Isaac Davis, of Northborough, Mass. (a respectable farmer, and for more than forty years deacon of the church of that town,) studied with Hon. Francis Blake, came to the bar in Dec. 1815, and established himself in Spencer, in the county of Worcester, a place then of small business, and affording narrow sphere for the exertion of talent. In May 1816, he remo- ved to Worcester, and soon attained high professional eminence. From 1824 to the time of the appointment of Levi Lincoln to the bench of the Supreme Court in 1825, he was partner of that gentle- man ; afterwards connected with Charles Allen, Esq. from 1825, to 1831 ; and subsequently with Emory Washburn, Esq. to 1834.
In the autumn of 1824, he was chosen Representative of the south district of Worcester county in the Congress of the United States, and held his seat by successive reelections until January 1834. He was distinguished as the advocate of the ' American System ' of pro- tection to home industry : his speeches on the bill to increase the du- ties on wool and woolens of 1827; on the Tariff bill of 1828; upon the bill for the more effectual collection of imposts of 1830 ; and in answer to Mr. McDuffie of South Carolina in 1832 ; were widely cir- culated in newspapers and pamphlets. In 1830, he was appointed by the Executive, special Agent, to attend at Washington, the ad- justment of the claim of Massachusetts for services, rendered by her troops during the war with England. He was elected Governor of the Commonwealth, for the year beginning January 1, 1834, and re-
1 The unwearied kindness of Mr. Bangs, in full and frequent communications, and in permitting free access to the rolls and files among the precious treasures of the past, heretofore iu his official custody, has essentially aided in the preparation of this work, and deserves the most grateful acknowledgment.
lawyers. :\:
elected for the succeeding political term. In L835 he VU chosen by the Legislature, Senator of the United States for the period ex- piring in 1841 He received the degree of LL. I), from Harvard University, in 1834. Be was elected President of the Worcester
County Historical Society in 1826, and Vice President of the Amer- ican Antiquarian Society in 1832.
John W. Hubbard, D. C. 1814, son of Roswell Hubbard, was
born at Brookfield, Vt. and adopted and educated by Rev. Samuel Austin, his relative by marriage. His professional Btudies were pur- sued partly with Gov. Van Ness, at Burlington Vt. and partly with Samuel M. Burnside, Esq. From his admission to the bar in 1817, until his death, September 17, 1825, he practised here. He possess- ed a strong and well cultivated mind, and had given evidence of tal- ents and acquirements, which, with health and longer life, would have ensured distinction.
Plini/ Merrick, II. U. 1814, son of Hon. Pliny Merrick, of Brook- field ; studied with Levi Lincoln ; opened an office in Worcester, after admission to the bar in 1817 ; practised here to May 1818 ; in Charlton, Mass. for three months following ; in Swansey, Bristol county, to Aug. 1820; and in Taunton, where he was partner of Hon. Marcus Morton, during one year, to 1824. In June of the lat- ter year, he removed to Worcester; on the 6th of July, 1824, was appointed County Attorney, by Gov. Brooks, succeeding Edward D. Bangs, Esq. ; and Attorney for the Middle District, by Gov. Lincoln, May 24, 1832, upon the organization of the criminal courts distinct from the civil tribunals. He represented the town in the Legisla- ture in 1827; and in 1827, 1828, 1829, 1835, was one of the board of Selectmen.
Austin Denny, son of Daniel Denny, was born in Worcester, Dec. 31, 1795. Although possessing a vigorous constitution, an accident at early age, occasioned a painful disease, which followed him to a premature grave. He graduated at Yale College in 1814, and commenced the study of law in the office of Hon. Nathaniel Paine. The malady preying on his system, deprived him of the use of his right arm, and so debilitated another member, that the exercise of walking was attended with difficulty. Fortitude and per- severance mitigated the pressure of misfortunes so severe. In De- cember, 1817, he was admitted to the bar of the Court of Common Pleas, and commenced practise in Harvard, in this county. In 1819 he returned to Worcester. For several years he was editor of the Massachusetts Spy, and in 1823, established the Massachusetts Yeo-
248 LAWYERS.
man, and continued proprietor and conductor of that print until his decease, July 1, 1830.
He was a well read lawyer, industrious and faithful in the trans- action of business, and a vigorous and able writer. ' Of his intel- lectual powers,' says one who knew him well, ' the distinguishing feature was clearness and strength of comprehension. His views were distinct, his knowledge exact, his reasonings just and candid, his expressions forcible and pertinent. Of his mind, the moral char- acteristic was purity. He was not one of the few, who could aston- ish by the vastness of the efforts, or the splendor of their achieve- ments. He belonged to a larger, and not less useful class, who give life and health and vigor to society, by bringing to its service prac- tical talents, useful knowledge, and blameless morals.' *
Charles Allen, [Y. C. 183G, A. M.] son of Hon. Joseph Allen, born in Worcester, Aug. 9, 1797, entered Yale College, but soon withdrew from that institution. He studied with Samuel M. Burn- side, Esq. ; was admitted in August, 1818; and practised in New Braintree to July, 1824. In that year, he removed to Worcester, and was partner of Hon. John Davis to 1831. He was elected representative of the town in 1829, 1833, and 1834; of the Board of Selectmen in 1832 ; and Senator of the Commonwealth, in 1835, 1836.
Alfred Dwight Foster, H. U. 1819, son of Hon. Dwight Foster, born in Brookfield, studied in the office of Samuel M. Burnside, Esq. was admitted in 1822, and resided in his native town to 1824. He settled in Worcester in 1825, was professional partner of Mr. Burn- side, until 1827, and has since retired from practise. He was rep- resentative in 1831, 1832, 1833, and selectman in 1832. He has been one of the Trustees and Treasurer of the State Lunatic Hos- pital from 1833.
William S. Andrews, H. U. 1812, son of William Andrews, born in Boston, studied at the Law School in Litchfield Conn., and with Hon. Francis Blake. He was in business in Spencer, Mass. in 1817; afterwards practised in Maine ; and in Worcester in 1824 and 1834. He is now resident in Boston, and has been author of several theolog- ical treatises.
Isaac Davis, B. U. 1822, son of Phinehas Davis, was born in North- borough, Mass ; studied with Hon. John Davis ; and settled in Wor- cester, upon being admitted in 1825. He was one of the Visitors
1 Massachusetts Spy. July 7, 1830.
LAWYERS. 340
of the Military Academy at Wes1 Point m 1833: Vice President of the Massachusetts Sabbath School Union from 1832; of the Mas- sachusetts Baptist Con?ent!bn from 1633: of the New England Sabbath School Inion from its organization in 1836: and President of the Board of Trustees of the Worcester Manual Labor High School from 1834.
T7iomas Kinnicutt, B. U. 1822, Mm of Thomas Kinnicutt, was born in Warren, R. I; studied with Hon. Francis Baylies at Taun- ton, Mass; at the Law School in Litchfield, Conn; ami with Hon. John Davis; and practised in Worcester from 1825. He was in the House of Representatives of- Massachusetts in 1835 ; Trustee of the State Lunatic Hospital in 1835, 1836; and Selectman in 1836.
William Lincoln, i.1. V. 1822, son of Levi Lincoln, sen.
Richard H. Vosf,, B. C. 1822, born at Augusta, Maine, son of Solomon Vose, Esq. grandson of Rufus Chandler, studied with Levi Lincoln and Hon. John Davis, practised lure about a year in part- nership witli Pliny Merrick, Esq. and removed to Augusta in 1824.
Christopher Coli/mhis Baldwin, son of Eden Baldwin, was born in Templeton, Mass. August I, 1800; entered Harvard Uni- versity in 1810; and withdrew from that institution, with many of his classmates. May 1823. He entered the office of Levi Lincoln and Hon. John Davis, and on the retirement of the former from the bar completed his legal studies with the latter gentleman; was admitted in June 1826, and commenced practise in Worcester. In May 1830, he removed to Barre, Mass. and in November following, to Sutton, Mass. where he formed a connection with Jonas L. Sibley, afterwards Marshal of Massachusetts. In the autumn of 1831, he was elect- ed Librarian of the American Antiquarian Society, and relinquish- ed a profession he never loved. The duties of this office were dis- charged with singular zeal and fidelity. While on a journey for the recovering of impaired health, and with the purpose of exploring the mounds and memorials of the perished nations of the Wrest, he was killed, in Norwich, Ohio, by the overturn of a stage coach, August 20, 1S35, at the age of twenty five years.
He possessed lively wit, antiquarian taste and knowledge, kind- ness of disposition and benevolence of feeling, and remarkable sin- cerity and simplicity of character.
In the autumn of 1825, Mr. Baldwin became one of the editors and proprietors of the Worcester Magazine and Historical Journal, published by himself and William Lincoln, in monthly numbers, du- ring a year, forming two octavo volumes. He furnished the history
32
250 LAWYERS.
of Templeton, many essays, biographical sketches, and selections of revolutionary papers, for that work.
Isaac Goodwin, son of William Goodwin, long postmaster, and cashier of a bank in Plymouth, was born in that ancient town, June 28, 1780. Educated in the common schools, he early entered the office of Hon. Joshua Thomas, a counsellor of good reputation, and was admitted to practise in 1808. He opened an office in Boston, but removed, August 16, 1809, to Sterling, in Worcester county. There he remained to April, 1826; then he became resident in Worcester, where he died, of dropsy of the heart, Sept. 17, 1832.
One nurtured fast by the pilgrim's rock, on the soil they first trod, could not fail to imbibe the antiquarian's love of old times. Such taste, combined with studious habits and facility in the acquisition of knowledge, led him to familiar acquaintance with the traditionary lore and recorded narratives of New England's history. Diligent inquiry into the origin and progress of our social and beneficent institutions, with lively interest in their objects, enabled him to extend their usefulness. Readiness in assuming and transacting business of a public character, made him a valuable member of the community. Writing with ease and grace, he was frequent con- tributor to the periodical press. The general view of the county, and the detailed account of Sterling, in the Worcester Magazine of 1826, were from his pen. He published * The Town Officer,' in 1826, which has been through three editions ; and ' The New Eng- land Sheriff' in 1830; useful compilations of the duties of munici- pal and civil officers. Of the many occasional addresses delivered by him, the following were printed : address before the American Antiquarian Society, Aug. 24, 1820 : address before the Worcester Agricultural Society, Oct. 13, 1S24 : Oration on the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the destruction of Lancaster by the In- dians, Feb. 21, 1826.
Emory Washburn, W. C. 1817, son of Joseph Washburn of Leic- ester ; studied with Nathaniel P. Denny, Esq. and Bradford Sumner, Esq. in his native town; in the Law school of Harvard University; and with Charles Dewey, Esq. then of Williamstown : and was admit- ted attorney at Lenox, in March, 1821. He practised at Charlemont, in Franklin county, for six months; in Leicester, to March, 1828; and since in Worcester.
In 1826, he was representative of Leicester, Master in Chancery from 1830, and Trustee of the State Lunatic Hospital in 1836.
Edward J. Vose, B. C. 1825, brother of Richard, studied with
LAWYERS. J.I
Hon. John Davis and Charles Allen, Esq. was admitted in 1828, opened an office here in 1829, and died June 1881.
Henry Paine, son of Hon. Nathaniel Paine of Worcester, entered Yale College in 1820, but soon left thai institution on account of ill health; studied with Samuel !\I. Burnside, Esq ; and was admitted, and began practise here, in Juno 1^2".
M'il/iain N. (t'reen, son of William E. Green, a native of Wor- cester, pursued his professional studies with Samuel M. Burnside Esq. and commenced practise here in 1838.
William M. Towne, A. C. 1825, son of Hon. Salem Towne, born in Charlton, Mass. studied with Hon. John Davis and Charles Allen, Esq : and commenced practise here in 1828. In 1834, he formed a partnership with Joseph W. Ncwcomb ; and in the autumn of L835, relinquished the profession, and engaged in manufactures.
Jubal Harrington, B. U. 1825, son of Fortunatus Harrington, born in Shrewsbury, Mass. studied in the Law School at Northampton, Mass. under the instruction of the late Hon. Samuel Howe and Elijah H. Mills, and with Pliny Merrick, Esq. He commenced practise here in 1828; was editor of the ' Worcester Republican' from the establishment of that print, March 4, 1829; representative in 1831, 1832, and 1830 ; and postmaster from Nov. 9, 1833.
Charles G. Prentiss, born in Leominster, Mass. was son of Charles Prentiss. He studied with Rejoice Newton, and practised in Ox- ford, Worcester county, from his admission in 1821 to 1829. He then removed to Worcester, and has been town treasurer from 1832.
Otis C. Wheeler, son of Daniel G. Wheeler, born in Worces- ter, studied with Hon. John Davis and Charles Allen, Esq. and was admitted to the bar in 1830. Consumption had fastened upon him, and he died, of that disease, while on a journey, at St. Augustine, Florida, Feb. 6, 1831, aged 23.
Daniel Henshaw, H. U. 1807, son of Col. William Henshaw, born in Leicester, Mass. studied with Hon. Nathaniel Paine ; prac- tised at Winchendon, in Worcester county, to 1830 , in Worcester, during the succeeding year ; removed to Boston in 1832 ; and after- wards to Lynn, Mass.
David T. Brigham, U. C. 1828, son of Edmund Brigham ; born in Shrewsbury, Mass ; studied with E. C. Southerland of Or- ange county, N. Y ; and Pliny Merrick, Esq; was admitted and be- gan business here in 1831.
Maturin L. Fisher, B. U. 1828, son of Rev. Lewis Fisher, born at Danville, Vt. studied with Isaac Davis, Esq ; was admitted 1831 ;
252 LAWYERS.
and entered into practise here. Since the decease of Mr. Baldwin he has been acting Librarian of the American Antiquarian Society.
George Folsom, H. U. 1822, of Saco, Maine, studied with Ether Shepley, Esq. and commenced practise here in 1832.
Benjamin F. Thomas, B. U. 1830, son of Isaiah Thomas, jun. and o-randson of Dr. Isaiah Thomas ; studied in the Law School of Harvard University, and with Pliny Merrick, Esq. and was admitted to practise in 1833.
Edwin Conant, H. U. 1829, son of Jacob Conant, born in Ster- ling, Mass. studied with Rejoice Newton and William Lincoln, and at the Law School in Cambridge ; practised in Sterling to 1833 ; and since in "Worcester.
Jesse W. Goodrich, U. C. 1829, son of Jesse Goodrich, born inPittsfield, Mass ; studied with Jonathan Jenkins of Rensselaerville N. Y ; and R. M. Blatchford in the city of New York. In 1833, he was admitted at the bar of Worcester county, and formed a co- partnership with David T. Brigham, which continued to June, 1836.
Abijah Bigelow, D. C. 1795, son of Elisha Bigelow, born in West- minster, Mass ; studied with Hon. Samuel Dana in Groton ; and for a short time with Hon. Samuel Dexter in Charlestown : and practis- ed in Leominster to 1817. On the decease of Hon. Francis Blake, he was appointed Clerk of the Courts, which he resigned in the spring of 1834, and opened an office in Worcester,in connection with George Folsom, Esq. This partnership continued about a year.
Mr. Bigelow was member of the House of Representatives in the 11th and 12th Congress, from 1810 to 1813.
Ira Barton, B. U. 1819, born in Oxford, Mass ; studied with Sam- uel W. Bridgham, Esq. in Providence, R. I ; Sumner Bastow, Esq ; in Sutton ; Levi Lincoln in Worcester ; and in the Law School at Cambridge ; and practised in Oxford to 1834. He represented that town in the Legislature of the Commonwealth, in 1830, 1831, 1832; and was Senator of Massachusetts in 1833, 1834. In 1834, he re- moved to Worcester, and, in Jan. 1S36, was appointed Judge of Pro- bate for the county of Worcester, on the resignation of Hon. Nathan- iel Paine.
George W. Richardson, H. U 1829, son of John Richardson, now of Newton, born in Boston ; studied with John H. Richardson, Esq. and Pliny Merrick, Esq: was admitted, and began practise here, in 1834.
Andreio Jackson Davis, son of Phinehas Davis, born in North- borough, Mass; studied with his brother, Isaac Davis, Esq. and af-
LAWYERS. 253
ter admission to practise, in September, 1834, was connected in business with him for a year.
Daniel Waldo Lincoln, II. I 1831, son of Levi Lincoln, born in Worcester, studied with Rejoice Newton and William Lincoln, and was admitted t<> practise in 1834.
Joseph W. Newcomb, W. C. L825, son of Richard E. Newcomb, born in Greenfield, Mass. studied with Ins father and with Rejoice Newton and William Lincoln, practised in Templeton to L830; Salisbury, Mass. to 1831; and since in Worcester, lie removed to New Orleans in the autumn of 1836.
William Pratt, B. U. 1825, son of Col. Nymphas Pratt, horn m Shrewsbury, Mass ; studied with Pliny Merrick, Esq ; and practised in his native town, until April, 1835; when he came to Worcester, and formed professional connection with Mr. Merrick.
Andrew D. McFarland, U. C. 1832, son of William McFar- land, born in Worcester, in 1811, studied with Hon. John Davis and Emory Washburn, Esq. ; commenced practise here in 1835 ; and died in Worcester, June 23, 1836.
John JL Rieharclson, H. U. 1825, brother of George W. Rich- ardson, born at Concord, Mass. studied with Hon. Levi Thaxter of Watertown, Hon. William Prescott and Franklin Dexter, Esq. of Boston; and commenced practise in Newton, Mass. He removed to Worcester, April, 1836, and entered into partnership with his brother.
George Tiehior Curtis, II. U. 1832, son of Benjamin Curtis of Boston, born in Watertown ; studied in the Law School at Cam- bridge ; in the offices of Wells and Alvord at Greenfield ; and of Charles P. Curtis in Boston ; was admitted in Suffolk, August, 1836, and established himself in Worcester soon after.
PHYSICIANS.
It is not now practicable to trace with exactness the succession of physicians of the town. Of the professional life of the early med- ical men. no public record remains: of their personal history, little has been preserved. The few memorials of their useful labors which can be gathered, are derived principally from tradition. The following list, accurate so far as it extends, cannot be considered full or complete.
Robert Crawford, was probably the first practitioner of medi- cine in Worcester. He emigrated from Ireland with the colony of Scottish extraction, planting here in 1718. From his employment
254 PHYSICIANS.
in the military expeditions of the period, in the capacity of surgeon, it may be inferred that he sustained respectable professional stand- ing.
William Crawford, united the clerical and medical offices, and served in the French Wars, sometimes as chaplain and sometimes as surgeon. He was in the campaigns in Nova Scotia and on the northern frontier. x
Samuel Breck, son of Rev. Robert Breck, second minister of Marlborough, who married Elizabeth Wainwright of Haverhill, in 1707, was probably here in 1730. He too was surgeon in the prov- incial army. He removed to Windsor, Conn, about 1747, and died in Springfield, Mass. in 1764.
Nahum Willard, son of Col. Abijah Willard, of Lancaster, was born, April 22, 1733, and probably settled here about 1755, He was surgeon of Capt. Goodwin's company, marching with Col. Chandler's Regiment for the relief of Fort William Henry in 1757: and was in extensive practise. He removed to Uxbridge, Mass. af- ter the revolution, and died there, April 26, 1792, aged 59.
John Green, (sen.) son of Dr. Thomas Green,2 was born at Lei-
1 A branch of the Crawford family, was early settled in that part of Rutland called Dublin: several brought testimonials of tneir church fellowship in Ireland. Hon. Wil- liam H. Crawford, formerly Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, and Judge of the Supreme Court of Georgia, is said to have descended from the planters of Rut- land. Reed's Rutland, 155.
2 Thomas Green, ancestor of a family distinguished through successive generations for medical skill, was a native of Maiden, Mass. The surgeon of a British ship, a cas- ual visitor of his father, probably gave direction to the taste of the son, by the donation of a volume on medicine. Active, energetic, and enterprising, he set forth into the wil- derness to seek fortune, with the outfit of an axe, a gun, a cow, and his whole library of one book, and became an early settler of the plantation, called by the natives Towtaid, by the English Strawberry-bank, now Leicester. His first dwelling was formed under a shelving rock, which stretched a natural roof over his cabin. The severe labor of hewing away the forest brought on a fever, Feeling the premonitory symptoms of the disease, he provided for subsistence during impending sickness in the solitude, by tying the calf of the single animal he owned, near his primitive habitation, and when the mother returned to feed her offspring, he was enabled to obtain the nourishment feeble condition prevented him from seeking abroad, and thus, alone, and unassisted, he pre- served a valuable life through severe illness,
The Indians were near neighbors of the white settler. From their communicated know- ledge of roots and herbs, from the science drawn from a few books, and, more than all, from the action of a vigorous mind, he soon became skilful as a physician. While he exercised the cure of bodies, he assumed the care of souls, as clergyman, an union of professions not remarkable in early times. His success as a preacher, was scarcely less considerable than his reputation as doctor. A respectable Baptist society was gathered, and a meeting house built, through his agency. A life of persevering industry and ex- tensive usefulness, terminated, October 25, 1778, at the age of 73 years. Thatcher's Medical Biography, 274. Washburn's Leicester in Wor. Hist. Mag. ii. 92.
WILLIAM palm:. 255
cester, Aug. 14, 173(5. Educated by his father, and inheriting pe- culiar talents, he came into the profession early, and settled in Wor- cester, about 1757. Tradition bears ample, thodgfa very general, tes- timony of his worth. Fortunate adaptation of natural capacity to pro- fessional pursuits, gave an extensive circuit of employment and high reputation. Habits of accurate observation, the action of vigorous intellect, and the results of experience, seem to have supplied the place of that learning, deriving its acquirements from the deductions of others, through the medium of books. Enjoying great esteem for skill and fidelity, hospitality and benevolence secured personal re- gard. He was a leading and influential whig, member of the revo- lutionary committees, representative in 1777, and selectman in 1780. He died Oct. 29, 1799, aged 63 years.1
Elijah Dix, son of James Dix of Waltham, studied with the elder Dr. Green, and commenced practise about 1770. Managing exten- sive concerns, and having much employment as physician and drug- gist, he was in active business more than thirty years. He died at Dixmont, Me. June 7, 1809.
William Paine, H. U. 1768, eldest son of Hon. Timothy Paine, was born in Worcester, June 5, 1750. One of his early instructors was President John Adams, who taught a school while reading law in the office of James Putnam. His medical studies were under the direction of the late venerable Dr. Edward A. Holyoke, at Salem. After the usual period of novitiate, he commenced practise here, in 1771. A partnership was formed with Drs. Levi Shepherd and Ebenezer Hunt of Northampton, for the sale of drugs and medicines, and the first apothecary's shop of the county opened here, about 1 7 ~2. For the purpose of facilitating the negotiations of this business abroad, and of perfecting his medical education, Dr. Paine visited Europe, long previous to the commencement of hostilities. Sail- ing from England, in the spring of 1775, he found, on his arrival at Salem, that war had broken out. The proceedings of the revolu- tionary tribunals, were summary. On the evidence that he was an absentee, he was denounced as loyalist. Return to his family and home being precluded, he took passage back to Liverpool, designing to avail himself of the advantages and means of improvement af- forded by foreign institutions, until the conflict should terminate. His property, thus abandoned, suffered confiscation, and his name was inserted on the list of those designated as enemies of their country.
« Dr. Green married Mary Osgood, and afterwards Mary, daughter of Brigadier Timothy Ruggles, who died June 16, 1814, aged 74 years.
250 PHYSICIANS.
After a year's attendance on the hospitals, having received the diploma of Doctor of Medicine from Marischal College, Aberdeen, Nov. 1, 1775, as the contest still continued, he accepted the commis- sion of Apothecary to the forces in America, entered the army in that capacity, and served in Rhode Island and at New York. In January, 1781, in attendance on his patient, Lord Winchelsea, he again crossed the Atlantic. Driven from her course by storms, the ship entered the port of Lisbon. After some stay there, he went to England, and in October, was admitted licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, and, for a long time, his name was enrolled among those of the practitioners of London. Returning to New York, in March, 1782, he was appointed by Sir Guy Carlton, in October following, Physician to the army, and soon was ordered to Halifax, where he remained on duty, until the troops were reduced, in 1783, when he was disbanded on half pay. In June, 1784, he took possession of Le Tete Island, in the Bay of Passamaquoddy, granted by the government for services, and erected a house, with a view to permanent residence. The solitude of the wild situation not proving agreeable to his family, he removed, and entered into practise in the city of St. Johns. In 1785, he was elected member of the assembly of New Brunswick, from the County of Charlotte ; and appointed Clerk pf that body. The office of deputy, was con- ferred by his friend, Gov. Wentworth, Surveyor General of the King's Forests, and retained until the summer of 1787, when, by permission from the War Office, he went to Salem. With good professional business, and occasionally writing marine policies there, after the death of his father, July 17, 1793, he returned to his native place, and occupied the paternal estate until his decease, April 19, 1833, at the age of 83 years.
Dr. Paine was fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sci- ences, and member of the Medical, Agricultural, Linnean, Essex Historical, and American Antiquarian, Societies. He possessed extensive professional learning and refined literary taste, and was equally respected as a physician and citizen.
Joseph Lynde, son of Joseph Lynde,1 born at Charlestown, Mass. Feb. 8, 1749, commenced practise about 1774, and was for a time
i Joseph Lynde, H.U. 1723, born at Charlestown, Mass. Jan. 7, 1703, married Mary Lemmon, Feb. 24, 173G. After the destruction of Charlestown by the British troops in 1775, he lesidcd in Worcester till his death. Four of his daughters married here: 1. Sarah, b. Feb. 21, 1743, m. Andrew Duncan : 2. Dorothy, b. May 23, 1746, in. Dr. Elijah Dix : 3. Elizabeth, b. Oct. 1, 1756, m. Theophilus Wheeler, Esq. d. March 7, 1833: 4. Hannah, b. July 4, 1760, married Hon. Edward Bangs, d. Sept. 10. 1806.
THADOEUS MACCARTT. 357
connected with Dr. l)i\ ; superintended the Hospital for the raull pox in I77">, and had the reputation of a first rate physician and an excellent man. lie removed about 1783, and established himself as druggist in Hartford, Conn, and dud m thai city, Jan. 15, 1829, aged 80.
Among other physicians in practise her.' before the revolution were these: Ebenezeb Whitney, in the inventory of whose estate,
.March 7, 1744, the library is appraised at l<. <>d. and the drugs at
c£G. 18s.: Zachariaq Harvey, whose medical title is preserved on
the records, with the fact that he slew sixty seven rattlesnakes in 1740 : JoHK FlSKE, who died here in I7(il : TflOMAS Nil BOLfl of
Danvers, who came from Sutton about 17<i.">, and died !> ■ 17, 1794, at the age of82 years : William and George Walker, sons of that Capt. John Walker, who commanded a company of foot in the provincial service during the French wars.
Thaddeus Maccarty, Y. C. 176G, son of Rev. Thaddeus Mac- carty, was horn in Worcester, Dec. 19, 1747. Under the instruc- tion of Dr. John Frink of Rutland, an eminent physician of the county, he received his medical education, and commenced practise in Dudley, in 1770, entering into partnership and extensive business with Dr. Ebene/.er Lillie. On the termination of three years, this connection was dissolved. Removing to Fitchburg, Mass. he found there full and laborious employment. The small pox made fearful ravages in the country about this period. Dr. James Latham, man- aged this terrible disease, once the scourge of the race, with great safety in the Suttonian method.1 To acquire the art of resisting the prevalent malady, in 1775, Dr. Maccarty left his family, repaired to a hospital in Great Barringtou under the superintendence of this practitioner, and learned the mode of cure bv suffering its operation. In the following year, having obtained the right to extend the rem- edy, and the license required by law from the Court of Sessions, with
1 The remedy was kept secret by the inventor, Dr. William Sutton, of Surry, in Eng- land, except t'rom those "ho purchased knowledge. It is hinted in a publication of the time, that, in obtaining his patent, lie veiled bis discovery by a false specification. Dr. Latham, surgeon in his majesty's 8th regiment of foot, partner and ncreni of Sutton, who introduced the system in America, resided at Livingston Manor, in New York. He licensed physicians to administer the medicines prepared and furnished by himself within certain towns and limits, they contracting to pa) over to him one half of all mon- ies received, until his portion should amount to three hundred pounds, and afterwards, one third of all further sums obtained in the business; and covenanting not to attempt, by analysis or otherwise, to discover the composition of the medicines. Different inno- cent drugs were mixed in the preparation, to defeat any examination which might be made. MS. of John W. Stiles, Esq.
33
258 PHYSICIANS.
Dr. Israel Atherton of Lancaster, he conducted a hospital in Fitch- burg, with such success, that of eight hundred patients, five only were lost by death. The earnest solicitations of his father, the venerable clergyman of Worcester, then fast declining to the grave, induced the son, at great sacrifice, to return to his native town, in June, 1781. In June, 1785, he was elected Fellow of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society. Not receiving adequate patronage here, and his own health being much impaired, he took up his permanent residence in Keene, N. H. in June, 1789, and engaged in mercan- tile business, practising physic occasionally. In the spring of 1793, he again made use of Dr. Sutton's medicine, in a small pox hospital at Charlestown, N. H. In 179G, he applied Dr. Perkins' once famous Metallic Tractors, with singular efficacy. For some time, wonder- ful cures were wrought, and these fanciful agents, in his hands, en- joyed signal reputation. But the warm faith so essential to their usefulness subsided, and the Tractors sunk beneath the merciless satire of Fessenden. In February, 1797, Dr. Maccarty was com- missioned Justice of the Peace for the County of Cheshire, and in February, 1802, of the Quorum, and officiated extensively in the capacity of magistrate. He was Chairman of the Selectmen of Keene for many years. He died in that town, Nov. 21, 1802.1
John Green, the second of like name and fame, born in Wor- cester, March 18, 1763, came to the practise of medicine at the early age of eighteen years. 'From his childhood,' writes his biogra- pher,2 'the natural bias of his mind led him to that profession, which, through life, was the sole object of his ardent pursuit. To be distinguished as a physician, was not his chief incentive. To assuage the sufferings of humanity by his skill, was the higher mo- tive of his benevolent mind. Every duty was performed with deli- cacy and tenderness. With these propensities, aided by a strong, inquisitive, and discriminating mind, he attained to a preeminent rank among the physicians and surgeons of our country.' It has been the high privilege of few of our community to enjoy so much of con- fidence and respect ; to be so loved while living, and so mourned when dead. A life whose events were acts of usefulness, skill, and
1 Dr. Maccarty married Experience, daughter of Thomas Cowdin,Esq. of Fitchburgh, Jan. 1775: she died at Worcester, Jan. 29. 1789. His only daughter married, Nov. 1801, John W. Stiles, Esq. sometime of Tcmpleton, who died at Worcester, Sept. 1836.
Although the Rev. Thaddeus Maccarty had a numerous family of fifteen children, there now survive of his posterity only one grand child, two great-grandchildren, and three great -great-grandchildren
* Hon. Oliver Fiske in Thatcher's Medical Biography,
OLIVER FISKI 360
charity, affords few incidents for narrative : it was terminated Aug. 11, 180S.
Samuel Prentice, a man of talents and eminent u surgeon, came from Stouington, Conn, in January. \',>.\. A .Medical Soci- ety was formed in the County in 1785, but not sustained. Of tins association he was Secretary. He removed to Ket ue, N Jl. about 1786; and afterwards settled in Saratoga, N. V.
Oliver Fiske, II. U. 1787, boo ..i Rev. Nathan Fiske, was born in Brookfield, Mass. Sept. -1. 1762. Hi- early education was superin- tended by his father, whoso productive farm, during most of the revolutionary war, was, from necessity, principally confided t<p Ins management. In the summer of 1780, a requisition lor recruit- was made. The quotas of men, had, thus far, been furnished without compulsory process; but levies had been so frequent, that none would etdist freely, at a season so busy. The company, then com- manded by the late Major General John Cutler, was ordered to meet for a draft. Exempted, by the courtesy extended to clergymen, from military duty, and never having been enrolled, Dr. Fiske offered himself as volunteer, with the approbation of his father, who ap- plauded the patriotic spirit, while the personal sacrifice it involved was severely felt. Animated by the example, the requisite number came from the ranks on the parade. The regiment, in which they were embodied, was ordered to West Point, and was stationed in the vicinity of that post, at the defection of Arnold and the capture and execution of Andre. On being discharged, he returned to the farm, and was employed in its cultivation until the close of the war, in 1783, when he entered Harvard College. At the breaking out of Shay's Insurrection, he was instrumental in reorganizing the Marti- Mercurian Band of the University, in obtaining an order from Gov. Bowdoin for sixty stands of arms at Castle William, and was second officer of the company. When the Court commenced at Concord, he was the organ of a petition from this corps, to march in support of government, which was properly declined by the authorities of the institution. In the winter vacation of 178G-7, he took a school at Lincoln, but hearing of the threatened movements of the malcontents to stop the judicial tribunals at Worcester, he procured a substitute to assume his engagement, exchanged the ferule for appropriate weapon, and hastened to this place. Finding the enemy dispersed, and the troops on their way to Springfield, he set out to visit his father. On the heights of Leicester, the report of Gen. Shepherd's Artillery diverted him from his course. Uniting himself to a body
260 PHYSICIANS.
of light horsemen, then on their route, he joined Gen. Lincoln's army. When the rebellion was suppressed, he resumed his studies, without censure for the long absence, and graduated in 1787. After the usual preparation, under the tuition of Dr. Atherton, of Lan- caster, he commenced business in this town, in October, 1790. He was active in forming a County Medical Association, and in obtain- ing the establishment of the present district organization of the Mass. Medical Society. Soon after the formation of the last named body in the second medical district, he was elected President, and held the offices of Councillor and Censor until he retired from the pro- fession. In February, 1803, he was appointed special Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. During five years succeeding 1809, he was member of the Executive Council. The commissions of Jus- tice of the Peace, of the Quorum, and throughout the Common- wealth, were successively received, and the latter has been renewed to the present time. Dr. Fiske was Corresponding Secretary of the Linnean Society of New England in 1815 ; of the Worcester Agri- cultural Society from 1824 ; and Councillor of the American Anti- quarian Society. He was Register of Deeds during the triennial term from 1816 to 1S21. From this period, an increasing defect in the sense of hearing, induced him to retire from busy life, and devote himself to the pursuits of horticulture and agriculture, those employ- ments, in his own graceful language, ' the best substitute to our progenitors for their loss of Paradise, and the best solace to their posterity for the evils they entailed.' The results of that taste and skill in his favorite occupations, early imbibed, ardently cherished, and successfully cultivated, have been freely and frequently commu- nicated to the public in many essays, useful and practical in matter, and singularly elegant in manner.
John Green, B. U. 1804, son of the second Dr. Green, born in Worcester, studied with his father, and succeeded to his practise in 1807. He has received the degree of M. D. from Harvard and Brown Universities, and been Councillor and Censor of the Mas- sachusetts Medical Society, President of the Worcester District Medical Society, and Councillor of the American Antiquarian Society.
Benjamin Chapin, son of Thaddeus Chapin, was born at Wor- cester, May 29, 1781. He studied with the second Dr. John Green, and first entered into practise in Marlborough, Mass. In 1808, he returned, was elected town clerk from 1818 to 1833, and died here Jan. 15, 1835, aged 54 years.
PHYSICIANS
Benjamin /■'. Heywood, D. C. 1812, son of ll"ii. Benjamin i' wood, a native of Worcester, attended the lectures of l»r Nathan Smith in the medical schools of Dartmouth and Yale < Colleges, receiv- ed the degree of M. D. at the latter institution in 1815, and formed partnership in practise with Dr. John Green, which continued twent] years. He is Councillor and Censor of the Massachusetts Medical Society.
OHver Hunt,,- Mood, II. I. 1821, son of Gen. Thomas II Blood of Sterling, was born at Bolton, Mass, His studies were pur- sued with Dr. Lemuel Capen in Sterling, and in the Medical Insti- tution of Harvard University, where he received his degree in regular course. He practised in Worcester from 1825 t<> 1828 r< sided in Brookfiold, Mass. from April, 1829, to Feb. 1831, when be returned to Worcester.
John Simpkins "Butler, Y. C. 1825, son of Daniel Butler, born in Northampton, Mass.; pursued his professional studies in the Medi- cal College in Boston, and the Jefferson .Medical School in Philadel- phia, and received the degree of M. D. at the latter institution, in 1828. He commenced practise in Worcester in 1829.
George Chandler, son of Maj. John Wilkes Chandler, horn in Pomfret, Conn., pursued his preparatory studies in Brown Univer- sity and Union College, read medicine with Dr. H. Holt, and received the degree of M. D. at Yale College, March 1, 1831 : commenced practise in Worcester, Nov. 3, 1831 : and Bmce March 28, 1833, has resided in the State Lunatic Hospital, in the capacity of Assistant Physician and Apothecary.
Samuel Bayard Woodward, [Y. C. 1822, M. !>.] son of Dr. Samuel Woodward,1 an eminent physician of Torringford, Conn, is a native of that town. Having received good academic education, he pursued medical studies, and entered into practice, with his father, in his birth place. Removing to Wethersfield, Conn, in No- vember, 181G, extensive engagements of business attended his high professional reputation. During his residence there, he was elected Secretary of the Connecticut Medical Society, Vice President of the Hopkins Medical Association, and one of the Medical Examin- ers of Yale College. In 1827, he was appointed Physician of the
1 Dr. Samuel Woodward. born at WatertOWD, Conn. 17.Mt.ua5 nol only distinguished in his profession, but in political life. From 1800 to 1810, he wu die candidate of the democratic party, then a minority, for member of Congress ; was long member of the Legislature of Connecticut ; and, for many years, as the oldest representative, ' father of the house.' He died, Jan. 26, 1835, aged 84.
262 PHYSICIANS.
State's Prison in Wethersfield, and held the office six years. In the spring of 18:32, he was chosen Senator in the Legislature of Con- necticut from the first district. In the foundation of the Retreat for the Insane, at Hartford, he bore leading part. One of the first by whom the project of that noble charity was presented to the public, by his efforts, the funds of the Medical Society of the State were bestowed for this most worthy purpose. Of the committees to ob- tain subscriptions, to assist in the foundation of the institution, determine its location, and superintend the erection of buildings, and one of the Visitors, the great weight of his personal exertions and influence were devoted to its prosperity.
By a selection most fortunate for Massachusetts, Dr. Woodward was appointed Superintendent of the State Lunatic Hospital, and became resident in Worcester in January, 1833,1 bringing to that establishment, on its commencement, those high qualifications de- sirable for its success.
Since his residence here he has become member of the Massa- chusetts Medical Society, of the Ohio Historical, Philosophical and Medical Society, President of a Temperance Society, and connect- ed with other literary, medical, and useful associations.
The heavy and increasing labors of his official situation, preclude him from exercising, beyond the walls of the hospital, except in con- sultation, the skill and experience acquired by wide practice. Yet the relation he holds, justifies, while his high character renders desira- ble, the claim, to number among our pbysicians, one of whose name any community might be proud.
Aaron Gardner Babcock, son of Amos Babcock, born at Prince- ton, Mass ; studied with Dr. Chandler Smith in that town ; attended the lectures, and received medical degree at Bowdoin College, in 1830; commenced and continued business in Holden for three suc- ceeding years ; and began practise here, in May ,^1834.
William Workman, son of Daniel T. Workman, born in Col- raine, Mass. studied with Dr. Seth Washburn at Greenfield, and Dr. Flint at Northampton, and received the degree of M. D. at the Medical College of Harvard University in 1825. He practised in Shrewsbury from 1825 to 1835, and in April of the latter year, re- moved to Worcester.
i On the removal of Dr. Woodward from Wethersfield, a card was transmitted to him, subscribed by 670 persons, expressing warm personal regard, high respect for his tal- ents, worth and usefulness, and the sincere^regret, which would tbe understood by all who enjoy his acquaintance, for his departure. Mass. Spy, Jan. 16, 1833.
PHYSICIANS 268
Chandler Smith, son of Calvin Smith, born in Peru, Berkshire county, studied with Dr. John M. Smith of Weal Boy Is ton, received his professional diploma from the Berkshire Medical Institution in 1825: and practised in Princeton, Mass. from Nov. 1826, until bia removal to Worcester in June, I-:!ii.
Among the physicians since the revolution, not included in the foregoing list, were: George Holmes Hall, a native of Medford who practised here nearly three years from 1788, man nil g daugh- ter of Gardner Chandler, and removed to Brattleborough, Vt. where he remained in his profession and in the business of apothecary : Samuel Willard, of Harvard, who was resident of this town about two years after 1790: and John Homans, afterwards ofBrookfield now of the city of Boston, who was of Worcester a few months in 1815.
1 The kindness of that accurate antiquarian, the Rev. Dr. T. M. Harris, l>v a com- munication since the last sheet went through the press, has furnished materials for cor- recting and extending the very brief notice of Dr. Dix, on page
Doct. Elijah Dix, was horn at \\ atertoivji, Aug. 24, 1717. Enjoying few advantages of early education, such was his desire to become qualified for respectable station in so- ciety, that, when a young man, he went to live with the Rev. Aaron Hutchinson of Graf- ton, engaging to do sufficient work for him to pay for board and instruction. With this execntric man, who was a thorough scholar, he made good proficiency in the ele- ments of literature and science. His circumstances in life precluding the attainment of collegiate education, he entered himself as medical student with Dr. John Green, On commencing the practise of the profession in Worcester, he connected with it an Apoth- ecary's store, having been qualified for this business by being some time with Dr. Wil- liam Greenleaf of Boston, and by careful ailention to the most approved Dispensato- ries. In the spring of 1781, having unsettled accounts with Dr. Sylvester Gardner who went, at the commencement of the revolution, from Boston to England as a loyal- ist, Dr. Dix, with an honorable sense of responsibility, made a voyage thither, with the means to liquidate the outstanding claims. An adjustment was effected to the mutual satisfaction of the old friends. The visit afforded opportunity, not only of enlarging his knowledge of mankind, but establishing correspondence, for trade, with the houses of eminent chemists and druggists in London. Besides a choice assortment of medicines, he brought back some valuable books and philosophical and chemical apparatus. Ke turning to Worcester, he formed the plan of an Academy here, and uniting with him a number of gentlemen, the institution was commenced, and for some lime flourished. At- tentive to public improvement, he was the first to set trees himself, and induce others to plant them, on the borders of Main Street. He was one of the most efficient and zeal- ous promoters of the Worcester and Boston Turnpike, a work affording, at the period of its establishment, great facilities to travel. Having built a house in Boston, and a store for wholesale druggist's trade, he removed there in 1795. After that part of Dor- chester, now South Boston, was set off from the metropolis, and connected with it by a bridge, he erected there an edifice, with furnaces and ovens, for refining Sulphur, and a laboratory for clarifying camphor, and other preparations, proofs alike of chemical sci- ence and energetic spirit.
He was of strong natural powers of mind, of active industry and ardent enterprise. As a physician, skill, improved by study, observation, and experience, rendered his ser- vices useful and successful. MS. of Rev, T. M. Harris.
264 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES.
CHAPTER XIV.
Graduates of Colleges, am! natives of the town who have received libera] education. Distinguished citizens. John Chandler. Capt. Jonas Hubbard. Col. Timothy Big- elow. Col. Ephraim Doolittle. David Thomas. Benjamin Ileywood. Joseph Allen. Isaiah Thomas.
Joseph Allen is the first person borne on the records of Harvard College from Worcester. His father was the Rev. Benjamin Allen, an early settler, to whom land was granted at the south east corner of the town. He was born Feb. 14, 1720, entered the University, but was not graduated, and, it seems, died early.
Timothy Paine, H. U. 174S, son of Hon. Nathaniel Paine of Bristol, R. I. removed to Worcester at the age of eight years, and was long one of our most respected and useful citizens. Soon after leaving college he was engaged in the public service. The number and variety of offices he held, exhibit the estimation in which he stood. He was Clerk of the Courts from 1750 to 1774 : Register of Pro- bate from 1756 to 1767: Register of Deeds from 1761 to 1778: Member of the Executive Council of the Province from 1766 to 1773; in 1774, was appointed one of this Majesty's Mandamus Coun- cillors, a station which was declined in compliance with public will expressed in the manner related in preceding pages : Selectman from 1753 to 1763, and from 1765 to 1774: Town Clerk for ten years from 1753: and Representative in 1788 and 1789.
Solid talents, practical sense, candor, sincerity, affability, and mildness, were the characteristics of his life, which closed July 17, 1793, at the age of 63 years.
Rufus Chandler, H. U. 1766. See Lawyers.
Samuel Willard, H. U. 1767, son of Dr. Nahum Willard, born April 13, 174S, studied medicine with Dr. Israel Atherton of Lan- caster, and established himself in Uxbridge in 1770. He was par- ticularly distinguished for his treatment of the insane. 1
1 He married Olive, daughter of Rev. Amariah Frost, of Milford, by whom he had two sons : I. Abijah, born Feb. 16, 1782, practised medicine in Uxbridge, and died April 12, 1816. 2. George, physician in Uxbridge, and representative of that town in the Legislature. Levi Willard, brother of Samuel, son of Nahum, born in Worcester, Nov. 24, 1749, studied with his father, and went into the practise of medicine and sur- gery in Mendon ; acquired good reputation in both departments j and died there Dec. II, 1809.
Dl ATl'.s 01 COLLEGES 265
William Paine, II. I . 1768. See Physicians.
Nathaniel Chandler, H. U. 1768, son oi Hon. John Chandler,
bora Nov. (J, 1750, ;i student of James Putnam, was called to the bar in 1771, and commenced business in Petersham, which he con- tinued until the courts were closed.. AImos1 necessarily a royalist, he became a refugee, and, for a time, commanded a corps of volunteers in the British service. From New York he went to England. Returning, in 1784, he engaged in trade in Petersham. Sickness compelled him to relinquish the .-hop. He removed to Worcester, where he died, March 7, 1801.1
Samuel Paine, II. U. IT"} I, son of Hon. Timothy Panic, horn Aug. 23, 1754; was associated with his father as Clerk of the Courts and Register of Probate, before the revolution. He left the country, and visited New York, Nova Scotia, and England, lie received a pension of £S4 per annum, from the British government, as an American Loyalist. After the war he returned home, and died in Worcester, June 21, 1807.
William Chandler, H. U. 1772, son of Hon. John Chandler, born Dec. 5, 1752, left the country at the commencement of the revolution, and remained with the British during that contest. He returned, and died in Worcester.
James Putnam, H. U. 1774, son of James Putnam, Esq. horn Nov. 16, 1750, retired to Nova Scotia immediately after leaving the University; became a favorite with the Duke of Kent; accompanied him to England, obtained the office of Marshal ; was member of the household of his patron, and one of the executors of his will.
Daniel Bigelow, H. U. 1775, son of Daniel Bigelow, was horn April 27, 1752. After leaving college, he instructed the town school to the spring of 1770. Then he formed connection with William Stearns, Esq. in the publication of the Spy. On the return of Mr. Thomas from Salem, in 1777, the newspaper was surrender- ed to its original proprietor. He then entered the office of Mr Stearns, as student at law, was admitted June, 1780, and opened an office in Petersham, where he died Nov. 5, 1806. He was repre- sentative of that town from 1790 to 1795; senator of the county from 1794 to 1799; member of the executive council in 1801 ; and was successor to Judge Sprague and predecessor of Judge Paine, as county attorney.2
Nathaniel Paine, H. U. 1775. Sec Lawyers.
Samuel Chandler, son of John Chandler, born Feb. 25, 17-57,
i Willard's Address, 77. 2 Willard's Address 88.
34
266 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES.
was merchant, for some time connected with his brother Charles in Worcester, afterwards engaged in trade in Putney, Vt. and was in extensive business. He died Oct. 26, 1813, in Woodstock, Vt. He entered Harvard College in 1771, but soon left the University.
Timothy Bigelow, H. U. 1786, was born in Worcester, April 30, 1767. His father, Col. Timothy Bigelow, engaging in the pri- mary movements of the revolution, was soon called into military service. The early education of the son, necessarily devolving on maternal care, was commenced in the public schools of his native place. This then imperfect source of instruction was soon disturbed by the troubles of the times, and he entered the printing office of Isaiah Thomas, where he was occupied during two years.1 The passion for books and the strong love of literature, were manifested amid the employments of the press, by the devotion of leisure hours to the acquisition of the elementary branches of English, and the rudiments of Latin. In 1778, he was placed, as pupil, under the charge of the Rev. Joseph Pope of Spencer. The spring of 1779 found him in the quarters of the Continental Army, posted to watch the British forces on Rhode Island, gaining the manly accomplish- ments a camp affords, and enjoying the frank courtesies of military life. When the regiment of Col. Bigelow marched south, he re- turned to his home, and pursued his studies for two years under the kind superintendence of Benjamin Lincoln, son of the revolutionary general, then student at law ; and when this gentleman left Worces- ter, they were continued, under the direction of another law student, of great eminence in after life, the late Hon. Samuel Dexter, who accompanied his scholar, and presented him for admission at the University, in 1782. In college, Mr. Bigelow took prominent rank in a distinguished class,2 excelling in the exact sciences, and par- ticularly in mathematics. Leaving Cambridge, he adopted the pro- fession of the law, and entered the office of Levi Lincoln, sen. When the insurrection broke out, in 1787, he joined the army and aided in sustaining the government against the wild designs of its
1 Hon. Benjamin Russell, long editor of the Columbian Centinel, and Senator and Councillor of Massachusetts, was apprentice of Mr. Thomas, while Mr. Bigelow was in the printing office. Warm friendship arose, and was cherished, between these gentle- men, until the death of the latter.
2 Among his classmates, were the late lamented Chief Justice Parker, Christopher G. Champlin, U. S. Senator from Rhode Island, Thomas W.Thompson, U. S. Senator from New Hampshire, Alden Bradford, Secretary of Massachusetts, John Lowell of Roxbury, and William Harris, President of Columbia College. With such competitors, excellence was high merit.
TIMOTHY DIGELOW. 'Jlw
internal enemies. When a company of colonists was formed, by Gen. Rufus Putnam, from the inhabitant! of Worcester and E for the first settlement of Ohio, he entered into the plan of emi
tion, but was reluctantly induced to relinquish the execution by domestic considerations. Admitted to the bar in 1789, be com- menced, in Groton, Mass. the practise of a profession, whose duties
and labors were sustained, for more than thirty years, by a constitu- tion never robust, against the pressure of bodily infirmity. In Ihh;, he removed to Medford, and while resident there had an oilier in Boston. His business was widely extended. Attending the courts of Middlesex and Worcester, and those of Hillsborough and .Merri- mack, N. H. he became one of the prominent counsellors at the bar of Suffolk, and, in the latter years of his life, was retained in many of the important causes in Essex and Norfolk. Among able competitors and eloquent advocates, tlie broad range and multipli- city of his engagements, are indications of standing not to be mis- taken. A fluent speaker, well versed in his profession, enjoying the reputation of a good general scholar, he possessed the nobler merit of high moral and religious principles.
Mr. Bigelow early entered the Legislature of the Commonwealth. From 1792 to May, 1797, he was representative from Groton : dur. ing the four succeeding years, Senator: in 1802, Councillor : in 1804, he was again elected representative : for eighteen ensuing years was returned member of the House; in 1805, he was chosen its Speaker ; and in 1808 and 1809, and subsequently, from 1812 to 1819 inclusive, presided over this branch of the legislative depart- ment with signal ability and popularity. Entering warmly into the politics of the times, and entertaining the views of the opponents of the policy and measures of the General Administration, he was a prominent member of the Federal party ; and in December 1814, as delegate from Massachusetts, attended the Hartford Convention, with his colleagues, Hon. George Cabot, Hon. Harrison G. Otis, and Hon. William Prescott, of Boston.1 In 1820 he was at the Council board ; but, before the term had expired, he had ceased from earthly cares and laid down the burden of mortality. He died at Medford, May 18, 1821, aged 54 years.
Endowed with ready apprehension, of active and inquisitive mind, gathering knowledge with remarkable facility, exact method and system enabled him, under the pressure of a load of labors, to com- pass a vast amount of reading. Exploring almost every branch of
'Of this famous political assembly, Hon. Daniel Waldo of Worcester, was a member.
268 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES.
liberal science, he was peculiarly conversant with Theology. Resting on scripture truth as the basis of faith and the guide of practise, the better to resolve the dubious texts of the Bible, in his latter years, he added to familiar acquaintance with Greek, sufficient proficiency in Hebrew, to enable him to read the Old and New Testaments in their original languages. With rare colloquial talents, he freely poured forth the stores of diversified information, and the treasures of re- tentive memory, enlivened by illustrative anecdote, and a vein of sparkling humor. He was member of the American Academy, and Vice President of the American Antiquarian Society.1 He was active in establishing and conducting, the association of the ' Mid- dlesex Husbandmen.' Taste for Horticulture, led him to execute a systematic plan of ornamental gardening around his home, which his liberal spirit made the seat of hospitality, and where were exer- cised the social and domestic virtues, rendering his private life as excellent, as his public course was eminent.2
Thomas Chandler, H. U. 1787, son of the third Hon. John Chandler, born Jan. 11, 17G8, was merchant, and died here.
Gardner L. Chandler, H. U. 1787, son of Col. Gardner Chand- ler, born Nov. 29, 17G8, studied law with Levi Lincoln, sen. and dis- covered distinguished talent and capacity for a profession, which he soon abandoned, and devoted himself to merchandise, in Boston.
Joseph Allen, H. U. 1792. See Lawyers.
William Dxx, H. U. 1792, soil of Dr. Elijah Dix, born July 25, 1772, studied medicine with Dr. Waterhouse in Cambridge, and
1 While Free Masonry was in its palmy state in New England, Mr. Bigelow presided, for two triennial terms, over the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, and, in that capacity, with a spendid cortege of craftsmen, in 1808, made a journey to Portland, to instal the pfficers of the Grand Lodge of Maine.
2 Hon. Timothy Bigelow married, Sept. 1791, Lucy, daughter of Judge Oliver Prescott of Groton, one of the founders of the American Academy and of the Mass. Medical Society. His children were: 1. Katherine, m. Hon. Abbott Lawrence of Bos- ton. 2. Andrew, settled in the ministry, first inMcdford, afterwards over the first Congre- gational Church, in Taunton. 3. John Prescott, Secretary of the Commonwealth. 4. Edward, residing at Medford: 5. Helen: 6. Francis, merchant in Boston. 7. Eliza- beth Prescott, living at Medford.
The publications of Hon. Timothy Bigelow, were: 1. Oration before the Phi Beta Kappa, July 21, 1796, at Cambridge : 2. Funeral Oration on Hon. Samuel Dana, April 4, 1798, at Amherst, N. H. : 3. Eulogy on Washington, Feb. 11, 1800, at Boston: 4. Ad- dress before the Washington Benevolent Society, April 30, 1814, at Boston.
The materials for this sketch have been derived from a Memoir, kindly furnished by the Rev. Andrew Bigelow. Could the pen of that ripe scholar and elegant writer have been borrowed, ample justice might have been rendered to the worth of his father. In the Ccntinel of May 19, 1821, is a tribute to the memory of Mr. Bigelow, traced by his early associate, Maj. Russell, with the glowing pen of friendship.
GRAD1 ITES OF COLLEG1 S 360
took his medical degree in l*!>">, when be delivered an inaugural dissertation on dropsy, v. Inch was printed. I [e dud at the island of Dominica, in the West [ndii i, April 1, l"'.i!>.
Elijah Dix Green, B. I . I <'■'■'>. boh of the second Dr. John Green, born July 4, n<>'.>, was physician in Charleston, s. ('. where lie died, Sept. 21, 1795.
Samuel Brown, H. U. IT'.):), horn Dec. 9, 1768, wa son of Luke Brown, commenced the study of physic with the elder John Green, winch was completed with Dr. John J< Sries, to whose daughter he was united in marriage, and established himself in Boston. \n inaugural dissertation on the bilious malignant fever, July 10, L797, of extraordinary merit, gave him, at once, distinguished reputation, well sustained by rare skill and science. As a testimonial of appro* bation of the high merit of his essay, a silver plate was bestowed by the Massachusetts Medical Society, of which he was member. A disease of the knee so impaired his constitution, that he submitted to the amputation of the limb. The result did not restore health. He died, at Bolton, Aug. 4, 1800, while on a visit to his mother, who had married William Osborne, an innkeeper of thai town.1
Asa McFarland, D. C. 179:3, son of James McFarland, was born April 19, 1709. He was rater in Dartmouth College two years; and appointed Trustee of that institution; which offic he resigned in 18*21. He was ordained minister of Concord, N. H. March 7, 1798, officiated twenty seven years, and died, Feb. 18, 1827. He was President of the N. H. Domestic Missionary Society, and connected with many other charitable associations. The Doctorate of Divinity was conferred upon him by Yale College, under the idency of the venerable Dr. Dwight, in
'Luke Brown, grandfather of Dr. Samuel, removed from Sudbury about 1750, opened, and long kept, a public house, north of Lincoln square, near the site of the ancient jail, and acquired wealth by speculation in wild lands. While on a journey to New York. undertaken for negociating the purchase of a township in Vermont, now Newfane, be contracted the small pox, and died, soon after his return, April 1 t. 177-'. aged 53. He was succeeded in the business of innkeeper, by his son Luke, who died Nov. <">, 1 Wo, a<*ed 31, leaving four sons, Luke, Arad, John, and Samuel.
*The ancestor of this family here, w ho emigrated from Ulster^
in Ireland in 1718. His son Andrew, grandfather of Asa, left three sons ; William and James, both dying- at Worcester ; and Daniel, who removed to Pennsylvania, i!>out the commencement of the revolution, and settled on the "donongahela, where nil deacen* ants remain. Duncan, brother of the first Daniel, planted in Rutland. By bi« I**1 ■ 'U> Aug. 14, 1746, he devised ' to Daniel, my well beloved son, whom I likewise const) tttBj make, and ordain my sole executor, the one half of all my lands that I enjoy at pi on the strict condition that he will never marry Betty Harper.'
270 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES.
John Curtis Chamberlain, H. U. 1793, son of John Chamber- lain, born, June 5, 1773, read law with Hon. Benjamin West of Charlestown, N. H. was admitted to practise in 179G, opened an office in Alstead, and held prominent place at the bar of Cheshire county. He was representative in Congress from 1809 to 1811. In 1820, he removed to the Western part of the state of New-York, and died at Utica, Nov. 15, 1834, at the age of 02.
Luke Brown, H. U. 1794, son of Luke Brown, jun. born Nov. 29, 1772, read law and entered into its practise in Hardwick, Mass. where he married a daughter of Gen. Jonathan Warner, and for a time pursued the profession with indifferent success, but he soon abandoned his office.
Henry Vassall Chamberlain, son of John Chamberlain, born Jan. 11, 1777, entered Harvard College in 1794. He withdrew from the University, studied law with Hon. Nathaniel Paine, and with his brother, John C. Chamberlain, was admitted in 1801 at the bar of Cheshire, N. H. practised in Farmington, Me. a few years; about 1810, removed to the South, and has resided for twenty years in Mobile, Ala. where he has acquired wealth and reputation. He has there held the offices of Port Warden, Alderman, Sheriff of the County of Mobile, Judge of the Orphan's Court, and Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas.1
William E. Green, B. U. 1798. See Lawyers.
Moses Miller, B. U. 1800, son of Moses Miller who married Sarah Gray, born Nov. 23, 1776 ; was fitted for college, principally in the town school, under the instruction of Mr. Andrew Morton. He was tutor in Brown University three years, while acquiring the- ological education, and was ordained minister of Heath, Mass. Dec. 26, 1S04, where he has since remained sole pastor of the Congregational Society. 2
Tyler Bigelow, H. U. 1801, son of David Bigelow, studied law with Hon. Timothy Bigelow, in Groton, opened an office in
1 His only child, Henry Chamberlain, a lawyer of good standing, has been member of '.he legislature of Alabama.
2Tht Rev. Mr. Miller, married Bethiah, daughter of Dr. Samuel Ware, of Conway, and has had nine children, of whom six are living. The oldest son was member of Amherst College in Sept. 1836. His grandfather, Moses, was for many years, deacon of the olo South Church in Worcester, held many civil offices in the town during the revolution, was a man of firm patriotism, unusual soundness of judgment, strict integrity, ana liberal benevolence. His great grandfather, was a soldier of Capt. Church in the Indian wars, was wounded severely, and carried a musket ball received, in fight, to his grave.
GRADUATES <>I rm.l.l «j: 1
Leominster, and removed to Watertown, Oct. ■!. 1804, where 1 since resided, having received ample Bhare of the confidence of cli- ents and the emolument of the profession. '
William Fit/. Pains, boh of Dr. William Paine, born No 1783, entered Harvard College in !"'.•<, but withdrew ; engaged in commerce ; went abroad, and resided during several rears al Port Louis, in the island of Mauritius, and since 1821, at Batavia in Java.
Levi Lincoln, II. I'. 1 802. See Law
Daniel Waldo Lincoln, II. U. 1803, son of Levi Lincoln, sen. born March % 1784, read law with his lather, established himself in Portland, Me. was appointed by Gov. Sullivan. Count) Attorney of Cumberland ; was in practise in Boston from April 1810, to .Inly 1813; resumed business in Portland ; and died April I". 1815, at the age of 31 years. An Oration delivered at Worcester, July 4, 1805, and one before the Bunker Hill Association, July 4, 1810, arc the only printed memorials of the splendid genius he possessed.
Levi Chamberlain, son of John Chamberlain, entered William's College in 1804, but after two years, took up hi< connections with that institution, and became student at law, fir>t in the office of his brother John, and afterwards in that of Levi Lincoln : came to the bar in Worcester, Dec. IS 13: practised in I'it/.w illiam and Keene, N. H. : was Clerk of the Courts, and County Attorney of Cheshire : and from 1821 to 1833, member of the Legislature of New Hamp- shire, as representative and senator.
John Green, B. U. 1804. See Physicians.
FredericW. Paine, [H. U. 1819, A.M. j Bon of Dr. William Paine, entered Harvard College in 1803, but soon left the University for commerce. He was Representative in 1829 : chairman of the Board of Selectmen in 1831, and President of the Worcester County Mu- tual Insurance Company from 1832.
John Nelson, W. C. 1807, son of Deac. John Nelson, born in Hopkinton, Mass. became resident here at an early age. He studi- ed with Rev. Dr. Austin, and was settled in Leicester, March 4, 1812.2
1 The ancestors of this family of Bigelow, came to Worcester from Watertown. David Bigelow, father of Tyler, an ardent whig, was member of the revolutionary com- mittees, and delegate to each of the Conventions, at Concord, Cambridge, Boston, and within the county, in which the, town was represented, from 17' I to 1789. In the con- vention of 1787, to consider the Federal Constitution, he voted with the minority from jealousy of delegated power. He died May, 1810, aged 80.
2 Of this gentleman a notice was inserted in the note to page 190.
272 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES.
Alexander Reed, D. C. 1808, son of Deac. Ebenezer Reed, born at Milford, Mass. July 10, 1786, became an inhabitant of Wor- cester with his father, (who died here May 21, 1823, aged 82,) in 1794. Under the tuition of the celebrated Dr. Nathan Smith, he studied medicine, received medical diploma in 1811, and has since practised in New Bedford, Mass. The degree of Doctor of Medi- cine was conferred by Yale College, in 181G. Dr. Reed has been, for several years, the oldest councillor of the Mass. Medical Society for the Bristol county district.
Gardner Burbank, B. U. 1809, a native of that part of Sutton, now Millbury, was son of Elijah Burbank, who came to Worcester about 1798 : he studied law with Hon. Francis Blake : was admitted to the bar : but immediately engaged in the manufacture of paper, and in 1835 removed to Sharon, Vt.
Thomas Gardner Mower, H. U. 1810, son of Thomas Mower, studied medicine with Dr. Thomas Babbet of Brookfield ; received the degree of M. D. from the University of New York ; entered the karmy as surgeon in 1813 : served in the campaigns on the Canadian frontier during the war with England : and has since resided in the city of New York.
Benjamin Franklin Heywood, D. C. 1812. See Physicians.
John Brazer, H. U. 1813, son of Samuel Brazer, succeeded Gov. Edward Everett as Latin Tutor in Harvard University, in 1815 ; was Professor of the Latin language in that institution, from 1817 to 1820: and was ordained Pastor of the North Church, in Salem, Nov. 14, 1820. He was elected Fellow of the American Academy, in 1823 : one of the Overseers of Harvard University, in 1829 : and received the degree of Doctor of Divinity from that college, in 1836.
Daniel Knight, B. U. 1813, son of Edward Knight, studied law with Levi Lincoln, practised in Spencer, and afterwards in Lei- cester, where he died, Aug. 16, 1826.
George Allen, Y. C. 1813, son of Hon. Joseph Allen, studied theology with the Rev. Dr. Andrew Yates, Professor in Union Col- lege, and was ordained minister of Shrewsbury, Nov. 19, 1823.
Henry Elijah Dix, H. U. 1813, son of Dr. Elijah Dix, born Feb. 6, 1793, studied medicine with Dr. John Warren of Boston, entered the United States Navy, and died in the Hospital atf Nor- folk, Va. Jan. 21, 1822.
Austin Denny, Y. C. 1814. See Lawyers.
Stephen Salisbury, H. U. 1817, son of Stephen Salisbury, studied law with Samuel M. Burnside, Esq. and was admitted to the bar, but did not enter into the practise of the profession.
GRADUATES OF COLLEGES. 373
Francis Arthur Blake, III'. 1814, son of Hon. Francis Blake, bom in Rutland, April 4, 1794, but early resident bere, adopted the profession and entered the office of his lather. Admitted to the bar in 1817, be settled in Cincinnati, Ohio, removed to the city of New York in 1823, where lie died Marofa 22, 1824, immediately after a favorable exhibition of talent as counsel in the trial of a capi- tal case.
George Bancroft, II. U. 1317, eon of Rev. Dr. Aaron Ban- croft, visited Europe in the autumn of ISIS ; was two years in the University ofGottingen in Germany, where he was admitted Doctor of Philosophy: spent lo or IS months in a tour on the continent ; was tutor in Harvard College from 1822 to 1823; afterwards open- ed a high school at Northampton : and has resided for some years past in Springfield. In 1834, he published the first volume of the History of the United States: and has been greatly distinguished as a fine scholar and elegant writer.
Baxter Perry, H. U. 1817, son of Deac. Moses Perry ; born April 1G, 1792 : studied theology in the Andover Seminary ; settled in the ministry at Lyme, N. H. ; where he died, Jan. 18, 1833.
Robert Treat Paine Fiske, II. U. 1818, son of Dr. Oliver Fiske, is now practising physician in Hingham, Mass.
William Lincoln, II. U. 1822. See Lawyers.
Clark Perry, H. U. 1823, son of Deac. Moses Perry, studied the- ology at Andover, and was ordained at Newbury, Mass. Oct. 1823.
David Perry, D. C. 1824, son of Deac. Moses Perry, of the Andover Theological seminary, was settled as clergyman, in Cam- bridgeport, in 1829.
Isaiah Thomas, II. U. 1S25, son of Isaiah Thomas, jun. has been proprietor and editor of the 'American,' a newspaper in Cincin- nati, Ohio, and merchant of that city; and is now resident in New York.
Andrew Bigei.ow, son of Walter Bijelow, entered Harvard College in 1825, but was compelled to leave his class by ill health. He became assistant instructor at Garri.-on Forest Academy, and died, at Worcester, April 1, 1^20, aged 24.
Bf.njamin F. Thomas, B U. 1830. See Lawyers.
William S. Lincoln, B C. 1830, -":i of Levi Lincoln, read law with Rejoice Newton and Willi mi Lincoln, was admitted At- torney in 1833, and has since been in the profession in Mdlbury, Mass.
Daniel Waldo Lincoln, H. U. 1831. See Lawyers. 35
274 GRADUATES OF COLLEGES,
Harrison Gray Otis Blake, H. U. 1835, son of Hon. Francis Blake, is student of theology in the Divinity School at Cambridge.
Henry Bigelow, H. U. 1836, son of Lewis Bigelow, is student of medicine.
John Healy Heywood, H. U. 1836, son of Levi Hey wood, is engaged in instruction.
Henry Smith, B. U. 1836, was licenced to preach, and is minister of the Baptist persuasion.1
DISTINGUISHED CITIZENS.
John Chandler. The ancestor of that branch of the Chandler family furnishing so many men of distinction in the ante revolu- tionary history of the county, was William Chandler, admitted freeman in 1640, who died at Roxbury, June 19, 1641. His son John, inherited the patrimonial estate, and resided in that town until 1686, when, with a company of neighbors, he emigrated, and founded a plantation at Woodstock, which was included in the gov- ernment of Massachusetts, until its inhabitants revolted to Connec- ticut in 1748, depriving our Commonwealth in after time, by their rebellion, of jurisdiction over a fair territory, and of citizens, except for this disloyal act, of most excellent character. He was deacon of the first church gathered there.
1 The following young- men from Worcester, are under graduates of the several Col- leges, September, 1836.
In Harvard University} John Weiss, son of John Weiss; Senior: Pliny Earle Chase, son of Anthony Chase ; Samuel Jennison, son of Samuel Jennison ; John Waldo Lincoln, son of Levi Lincoln ; Levi Lincoln Newton, son of Rejoice Newton : Sophomores: John Chandler Bancroft Davis, son of John Davis; Benjamin Hey- wood, son of Dr. Benjamin F. Heywood; Freshmen.
In Yale College. Edwin Osgood Carter, son of Elias Carter; of the Junior class.
In Amherst College. Samuel Austin Taylor, son of Samuel Taylor: Nahum Gale, son of Nahum Gale; Seniors : Horace T. Blake, son of Jason Blake: Thomas Allen Gale, son of Nahum Gale; Juniors: Charles Gleason, son of Jonathan Gleason; Sophomore: Sumner Clark, son of Isaac Clark, Samuel lngersoll Goddard, son of Perley Goddard ; Harrison Otis Howland, son of Sonthworth Howland : Freshmen.
In Western Reserve College : Elias E. Carter, son cf Elias Carter, Fresh- man.
Among the names of those registered on the Records of Harvard University as of Worcester, arc Josiah Salisbury, 1798 : James Putnam, 180S : Charles S. Putnam, 1814 and Francis E. Putnam, 1815: They weie not natives of the town, nor long resident here. Among others from Worcester, who entered that College, but scon withdrew to Other pursuits, or by reason of ill health, not noticed in the text, are these : John Patch, 1791 . Joseph Dix, 1794 : Nathaniel A. Paine, 1809 : William J. Seaver, 1810 : Gard- ner Paine, 1815 : George Lincoln, 1832 : and James F. Gleason, who died, Aug. 17, 1834.
JOHN < I! WM.l i:
John Chandler, son of Deacon John Chandler, and Elizabeth
;las his h ife, the firs! known m any public capacity In out annals, was born in Woodstock. He d strong natural powers, and
with slight advantages of education, rose t<» distinction in the civil, military, and judicial departments of government. On the erection of the Countj of \\ orcester, he was appointed first Jndgeof Probate, first Justice of the ( Sourts of ( !ommon Pleas and General Sessions, and Colonel of the regiment of militia ; offices, which be retained till hi* death, in 1743. He was Representative in the General Court from Woodstock, where he resided, and member of his Majesty's Council.
John Chandler, named on our records the firsl, son of Johl Chandler and Mary Raymond of New London, Conn. In- wile, born at Woodstock, Oct. 10, 1093, removed to Worcester in 1731, and was Clerk of the Judicial Courts from that date to 1754 ; Re- gister of Probate to 1754; Register of Deeds to 17G2 ; Sheriff from 1751 to 1702; Selectman from 1732 to 1730 and from 1741 to 1754; and Representative from 1735 to 1740. On the decease of his father, he succeeded to the higher offices of Judge, Colonel, and Councillor. His talents were rather brilliant and showy than solid or profound. With manners highly popular, he possessed cheerful and joyous disposition, indulging in jest and hilarity, and exercised liberal hospitality. While Judge of Probate, he kept open table, on court days, for the widows and orphans who were brought to his tri- bunal by concerns of business. He died at Worcester in 1 7 1 i- J.
John Chandler, son of the last mentioned John, and of Hannah Gardner, described as 'daughter of John Gardner, Lord of the Isle of Wight, in the Province of New York,' born, Feb. 20, 1720, as he succeeded to the military, municipal, and some of the judicial offices of his father, inherited the characteristic traits of his ances- tors. He was cheerful in temperament, engaging in manner, hos- pitable as a citizen, friendly and kind as a neighbor, industrious and enterprising as a merchant, and successful as a man of business. Leaving the country at the commencement of the revolution, he sacrificed large possessions to a chivalrous sense of loyalty. In the schedule exhibited to the British Commissioners appointed to adjust the compensation to the Americans, who adhered to the royal gov- ernment, the amount of his real and personal estate which was con- fiscated, is estimated at £ 11,007, and the losses, of the income of offices, from the destruction of business, and by other causes, at near- ly ^0,000 more. So just and moderate was this computation ascer-
27(5 CAPT. JONAS HUBBARD.
tained to be, at a time when extravagant claims were presented by others, that he was denominated in England, ' the honest refugee.' He died in London in the autumn of 1780.
Captain Jonas Hubbard. The son of an early settler, he was born in Worcester. Previous to the revolution, he was engaged in the cultivation of his patrimonial estate, and in the management of extensive concerns of business. The first sounds of coming war found him an Ensign in one of the three militia companies of the town. A few months before hostilities commenced, Captain Rufus Chandler, a decided royalist, afterwards a refugee, and an active and influential man, paraded his troops before some British officers who had visited him from Boston, and boasted to his guests of that loyalty among his men, which the king vainly expected would sus- tain his assumptions of power amidst a bold and intelligent yeoman- ry, knowing their rights and willing to defend them.
When the volunteer company of minute men was raised, Hubbard was elected Lieutenant, and actively participated in the evening drills, after the labors of the day were over, and in the preparations made by the busy industry of the martial spirit of the times, for immediate action.
Soon after this gallant corps marched to Cambridge, he was ap- pointed Captain. When the expedition through the Kennebeck wilderness, against Quebec, was planned, volunteers were enlisted from the army at large. The object of the service, or the destina- tination of the troops, was known only to the superior officers. It was understood that it would be attended with danger, labor, and Buffering. Hubbard, brave and energetic, did not shrink from peril or hardship in the cause to which he had devoted himself, and, at his own request, was appointed to the command of a company, in the detachment of Arnold. While the troops halted at Fort Wes- tern, on the Kennebeck, he wrote to his wife, in terms worthy of a patriot martyr : ' I know not if I shall ever see you again. The weather grows severe cold, and the woods, they say, are terrible to pass. But I do not value life or property, if I can secure liberty for my children.' Captain Hubbard shared in the extreme sufferings of the march, and probably more than his proportion, as acting under a commission, among those who had no reverence for artificial distinctions, beyond that yielded to the legitimate authority of cour- age and wisdom.
On the arrival of Arnold before Quebec, the golden opportunity when he might have entered its gates triumphantly was lost. The
COL. TIMOTHY BIGELOW. 2Ti
attack was made by the way of the lower town, at midnight of tin" last day of December, 177.">, in a fierce tempest In storming a barrier, Capt. Hubbard fell, at the head of hia company, severely wounded. Respected for his fearless intrepidity and loved for hi-* personal worth, his men wished to remove him i<> a place of shelter from the fast falling snow, and of safety from the vollies of balls poured down from the ramparts. But he peremptorily refused. ' I came here to serve with you, I will stay here to die with \'>u.' were his last words to a comrade who survived. Bleeding and stretched on a bed of ice, exposed to the bitter influence of a winter storm, life soon departed. It was a glorious time and place for the gallant soldier to yield up his breath, beneath the massive walla of the im- pregnable citadel, with the death shot flashing fast, and the thunder of battle swelling round him.
The history of many families of New England is told in thai of Capt. Hubbard. The ancestor, hardy and enterprising, went out from the cultivated country to redeem new tracts from the v. The father, animated by a noble patriotism, exchanged the sickle for the sword, the peaceful pursuits of agriculture for the privations of military life. The sons, inheriting his adventurous and manly spirit, emigrated to Maine, where the eldest ranks among the foun- ders of towns.1
Col. Timothy Bigelow, was born in Worcester, August 12, 1739. His father, Daniel Bigelow, was of that class of substantial farmers who have been distinguished here for independence, jjood sense, industry and probity.2 The youngest son, the subject of this sketch, was first apprenticed to a mechanic trade, and afterwards prosecuted the business, of a blacksmith with diligence3 He was
i Gen. Levi Hubbard, the first senior of Paris, in Maine, Ins borne many ofl"ros with honor. He was representative of Oxford District, in Congress, from 181? to 1815.
2 Daniel Bi"-elow married Elizabeth Whitney, and with his wife moved from Water- town to Worcester, and resided in that pail of the town then called Bogaehoag, now Ward, where he died at the great age of 92 years. He had five children, David, Na- thaniel Daniel, Timothy, and Silence : the latter, was for many years a school mis- tress ■ the former, with a single exception, have been before mentioned. His paternal ancestors early emigaled from England. The first recorded notice of any of the familvin this country, is of John Bigelow, an inhabitant of Waterlown. who in 1636 served as Grand Juror, at a term of the Court held at Newtown, now ('.un- bridle. He was possessed of extensive tracts of land, cultivated alarm, and -v.
to live.' The name was formerly written Biglo, by corruption from Dcdlue, the inure ancient orthography.
3 He built a forge before the war on the south side of Lincoln Square. After return- in"- from the army, lie erected a triphammer and other iron works, on the site of the Court Mills, now owned by Stephen Salisbury, Esq.
278 COL. TIMOTHY BIGELOW.
«oon ranked among the most energetic and prosperous of the young men of the village. With strong native power, and shrewd ob- servation of men and things, he labored to supply the want of the advantages of education : he collected a small but well selected li- brary, became acquainted with some of the best English authors, and gained the art of speaking with directness and force, and of writing with point and accuracy. These acquisitions were soon called into full exercise. As the clouds of the revolution gathered, he was placed in prominent position among the whigs of the town. Our best educated and most influential men were decided tories. Mr. Bigelow, espousing with ardor the opposite party, as early as March 1773, was elected of the local Committee of Correspondence, and, in December, organized the Political Society.1 Meetings of these bodies were often held at his dwelling, and measures were there concerted in secret, which broke the control of the adherents of the king. The recital of his exertions would be but repetition of the narrative of that struggle between the patriots and royalists, with which he was identified, already spread through former pages. The bold and then treasonable resolutions of the town, in 1774, were re- sisted in the public meeting of the inhabitants by Col. Putnam, who remonstrated against the adoption, in an appeal of solemn and lofty eloquence : they were sustained vigorously, by Mr. Bigelow, and carried triumphantly. From that day the ' sons of liberty' were victorious, where toryism had possessed its strongest hold in the in- terior. Member of the famous 'Whig Club' assembling in Boston, he was associated with Warren, Otis, and other eminent movers of the springs of 'rebellion.' He was delegate in the Provincial Con- gress during its first and second sessions.2 When the company of Minute Men was formed, he was chosen, by unanimous vote, to be its commander. Under his unwearied instruction, this corps attained such excellence in military exercises, as to draw from Washington, on the first review, the expression ' this is discipline indeed.' On the day preceding the Concord fight, he had been engaged in prep- arations for the removal of the military stores to a place of safety, and returned, in good time to place himself at the head of his men, when they took up the line of march, on th: 19th of April, 1775. Ar-
1 An account of this society and of the political exertions of Col. Bigelow will be found in the sixth and seventh chapters of this work.
2 Col. Bigelow, with other leading whigs, desirous of the establishment of a press in Worcester, had made proposals to Isaiah Thomas to issue a newspaper here. An ar- rangement was effected for this purpose at the commencement of 1775. The removal of the Spy from Boston, took place immediately after the battle of Lexington.
COL. TIMOTHY BIGELOW.
riving at Cambridge, on the following day, he joined the an
Captain, and soon alter, by commission from Con pro-
moted to the rank of Major. In September I77'>, he engaged, as volunteer, in the expedition against Quebec. Had thai wintei march through the wilderness been the «\j»l<>it of a Grecian phalanx, or
Roman legion, the narrative of sufferings and dan re as
wefe ever endured or encountered, would have been celebrated in song and story. One of the three divisions penetrating through the forest, by the route of the Kennebeck, was commanded by Major Bigelow.1 In the attack on Quebec, during the night of the31 t of December, in the assault on the fortress, exposed to a ehower of balls from the barriers and ramparts, he was made prisoner, and re- mained in captivity until the summer of 177<i. An exchange hav- ing been negociated, he returned, and was soon after called into service with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. The commission of Colonel was received, Feb. 8, 1777, and he was appointed to the com- mand of the loth Regiment of the Massachusetts line in the Con- tinental Army, then forming, principally of the men of Worcester county. Remaining in Worcester, until the ranks were filled and the new troops drilled, he marched to join the Northern Army under Gen. Gates, and arrived on the scene of action in season to assist in the capture of Burgoyne. With his regiment, we afterwards trace him, at Saratoga, in Rhode Island, at Verplank's Point, Robinson's Farms, N. J. Peekskill, Valley Forge, and West Point. A braver band never took the field or mustered to battle. High character for intrepidity and discipline, early acquired, was maintained unsullied to the close of their service.
After the army was disbanded, Col. Bigelow was stationed for a time at West Point, and afterwards assigned to the command of the national arsenal at Springfield. When he left military life, it was with the reputation of a meritorious officer, but with straightened purse. The pay of the soldiers of freedom had been irregularly
1 During a day's halt of the troops, on this memorable march. Major Bigelow as- cended a sleep and ragged height, about 40 miles northwestward from Norridg in Somerset County, Maine, lor the purpose of observation. This eminence still bears the nnme of Mount Bigelow.
A faithful and most interesting narrative of the campaign against I fished by John Joseph Henry, a soldier in the expedition, aflerwan I I of the
Second Judicial District of Pennsylvania: the journal of Major Return J. M printed in - Mass. Hist. Coil. ii. 221 : .'-nine original letters of Arnold, are inserted in the Maine Historical Society's Collections, i. 341. From these sources may be derived full detail of the memorable expedition.
280 COL. TIMOTHY DIGELOW.
advanced, in depreciated currency,1 and large arrears tvere with- held. With a frame physically impaired by long hardship, toil, and exposure, with blighted worldly prospects, with the remains of pri- vate property considerable at the outset, but seriously diminished by the many sacrifices of his martial career, he returned to his home. With resolute spirit he set to work to repair his shattered fortunes, and resumed the old occupations of the forge and work shop. But times had changed since the fires of the furnace had been last kind- led. If the products of his skill were in as quick demand as in former days, responsible customers were diminished. Hard money had ceased to circulate; credit existed only in name; and public confidence was destroyed- Change too had come over the war worn veteran himself. The stirring occupations of the field, the habits formed by eight years of active service, the tastes acquired by residence in the camp, and action in the exciting events of the revo- lution, and disuse of old avocations, had produced inaptitude for a course of business so long discontinued. Still, he bore up against circumstances of discouragement, and contrived to maintain his family in comfort and in respectable position. With others, he obtained a grant of a township of land in Vermont, containing 23940 acres, Oct. 21, 17S0, upon which he founded a town and be- stowed the name of Montpelier, now the capital of the State. A severe domestic affliction, in 1787, the loss of his second son, Andrew, who fell a victim to rapid consumption, uniting with other disap- pointments, depressed his energy, and cast over his mind a gloom presaging the approaching night of premature old age. He died March 31, 1790, in the 51st year of his age.2
1 The following extracts of a letter from Mrs. Bigelow to her husband, Feb. 26, 1780, show the depreciaied state of the currency.
'On account of the heavy fall of snow, there is not a possibility of getting wood from the farm at present, no one who does not live on the great road can bring any with a sltd. The common price is fifty dollars, and it has been sold for fifty six dollars the load.' . . 'The money 3'ou sent me was very acceptable, for I was in debt for Andrew's pair of shoes, forty dollars ; and also for some mending in the family, which made the account almost seventy dollars. I paid the servant, fifty eight dollars for what money he had expended on the road [in a journey of about GO miles.] A bushel of malt now sells for thirty dollars, and a pound of hops for six dollars.'
2 Col. Bigelow married Anna Andrews, a 3'oung orphan lady of Worcester, born April 11, 171-7, and at the time of her marriage, July 7, 1762, heiress of a fortune consid" erable in those days. The union was a love match, and was contracted at Hampton' N. H. the Gretna Green of the Old Bay Slate. She died at Groton, July, 1809. She was the only child of a connection formed under somewhat romantic circumstances. Her father, Samuel Andrews, at a late period of youth, having fitted himself for college, and passed the customary examination, was admitted to Harvard University. Return-
COL. KPHIUIM doolittli: >|
Col. Bigelow was of fine personal tppearaneo. His figure wee tall and commanding. In stature he was more than six feet in height. His bearing was erect and martial, and Ins itep was itid
to have been one of the most graceful of the army. With taste for
military life, he was deeply skilled in the science of war, and the troops under his command and instruction, exhibited the highest condition of discipline. He possessed vigorous intellect, srdenl temperament, and a warm and generous heart.
Col. Ephraim Doolittle. Although Worcester was not the place of the birth or decease of this gentleman, bis long residence here entitles us to claim him among our citizens. From 1760 to 1772, he was an inhabitant, and during that period was engaged in business as a merchant. In 1763, he was selectman : in 1700, rep. resentative. Taking active part in the political transaction^ of the times, he was placed on important municipal committees. From the commencement of the difficulties preceding the revolution, he was a decided and ardent whig. In 1772, he removed to Petersham ; in December of that year, he reported a spirited answer to the circular from Boston, distributed through the country. In 1773, he was se- lectman, and representative in the General Court. The year follow- ing, he was delegate to the Provincial Congress convened at Concord. He was elected captain of a company of militia by the town, in the autumn of 1774, and soon after was colonel of the regiment of mi- nute men in the county. The troops under his command marched on the 19th of April, were mustered into service, and stationed in
ing to visit his friends, before commencing his classes, he saw and became enamored of Anna, youngest daughter of James Rankin and Hachel Irving, his wife, emigrants from Ireland with the Scotch Presbyterians of 1718. His suit, prosecuted with ardor and as- siduity, was successful, and the bridal was soon solemnized. Abandoning the plan of obtaining a liberal education, he purchased and cultivated a small farm on the western shore of Quinsigamond. Diligence, prudence, and sobriety, brought the reward of prosperity. He removed to the village, erected a house on the site of the jail, lately pulled down, established a tannery north of the bridge on Lincoln square, and in 1749, built the old Bigelow mansion, opposite to the Court House, on the spot where the large brick dwellings of Stephen Salisbury, Esq. now stand, where he died. On his decease, the estate descended to his only daughter Anna.
Col. Bigelow had six children, 1. Nancy: born Jan. 2, 1766, married Hon. Abraham Lincoln, long Selectman and Representative of the town, and .Member of the Council at the time of his death, July 2, 1821. 2. Timothy : b. April 30, 1767, (See page 266.) 3. Andrew, b. March 30, 1769, d. Nov. 1787. 4. Lucy: b. May IS, 1771: m. Hon Luther Lawrence, formerly of Groton, now of Lowell. 5. Rufus: b. July 7, 1772 lie was merchant in Baltimore, and died unmarried in that city, Dec. 21, 1813. 6. Clara: b Dec. 29, 1781, m. Tyler Bigelow, Esq. of Watertown.
The materials for this sketch have been derived from an excellent memoir of Col. Bigelow, kindly communicated by the Rev. Andrew Bigelow of Taunton.
36
282 HON. DAVID THOMAS
Cambridge. On the organization of the army, he retained his rank in the Massachusetts line. His regiment was engaged in the battle of the 17th of June. Col. Doolittle being confined to his bed by an accidental injury, they were led by Major Moore of Paxton, who found a soldier's honorable grave on Bunker Hill.
For many years he was chairman of the committee of correspond- ence of Petersham : in 1778, of the committee reporting against the form of constitution proposed by the general court, and almost una- nimously rejected by the people : in 1779, delegate in the convention at Cambridge, to frame a new consitution. He participated in al- most every act of a public character in Worcester and Petersham, during his residence in cither town.
Soon after the close of the war, he removed to Shoreham in Ver- mont, where he remained until the period of his decease, in 1802, at an advanced old age.
He was more distinguished for sound judgment and accuracy, than brilliancy or extent of talent ; for the scrupulous practise of com- mon virtues, rather than the exercise of extraordinary powers.
A curious implement was invented by him, to supply the defi- ciency of muskets in the armament of his regiment. When the long shaft, of heavy material, was held levelled towards an advancing ene- my, two stout blades, eight inches long, united to a strong head, pro- jected forward like the prongs of the hay fork : two other blades of equal length extended laterally, and another was turned downwards, to give a descending blow. Five little swords, whetted on both edges, were thus provided, to attack an assailant on any exposed point. The handle was lined, for two or three feet from the end, with sharp steel plates set in the wood, to defend it from sabre cuts, and to lacerate the hand which should grasp the weapon to wrest it from the owner. The lower extremity terminated in a rounded iron point, to be fixed in or against rampart or masonry. The formidable instrument of warfare, after short trial, was laid aside.
Hon. David Thomas. About 1718. David Thomas, an emigrant from Wales, arrived in Worcester, purchased, cleared, and after- wards cultivated, a tract of woodland on the summit of Tatnuck hill, in the western part of the town, where he lived to a good old age. Land and name were inherited by his son David, born in 1740, who bestowed the latter on his son, David, the subject of this notice, born in Worcester, June 11, 1762. From the early age at which the chil- dren of New England begin their lessons of industry until fifteen, he labored on the farm, attending in winter the common school of
HON. BENJ \MI\ HE! Wl
the district. In L 777, he served a a volunteer, with the tro ed for the relief of Rhode Island ; at one time for the term of tl montlis ; at another for two. Soon after, he waa bound appreotii the shoemaker's trade. In 1781 the town was required to furnish twen- ty nine Boldiera for the army of the revolution, and the inhabit were divided into the same number of cl i ch to furnish, i
and maintain one man during thr< ■ Mr. Thomaa entered into
an agreement with Capt. Palmer Goulding, with whom he lived, and who was head of a class, to cancel tin- indentun -, and < nlisted in the service as a soldier tor that class. He joined the fifth M chusetts Regiment, under Col. Rufus Putnam, at West Point, and was appointed to be corporal: on the preliminary articles ofl being signed, lie was transferred to the third regiment of the line, and promoted to be serjeant When the army was disband- ed, he returned to Worcester. His residence in liis native was short. In the spring of 1784, he emigrated to Salem, in V. ington county, New York, and engaged in agriculture, as a day la- borer. Industry, frugality, and capacity, earned their just rewards. lie was enabled to become the owner of the farm upon which he had hired. Military offices were showered fast upon him. He by step, through the gradations of captain, major, colonel, and adier, to the rank of Major General of a division of militia. Cnd honors flowed scarcely less rapidly, lie was magistrate, county judge, and representative in the state legislature many years In 1S00, he was elected representative in Congress, when New York was entitled to ten members only, from a district composed of the counties of Washington, Saratoga, Warren, Essex, Clinton, and Franklin. This office he held until 1808, when he was appointed Treasurer of the State of New York, and, ex officio, Comnn er of the Land Office, and trustee of Union College. To discharge these duties, it became necessary for him to remove to the city of Albany. There he resided until 1813, when he resigned all public trusts, in consequence of domestic troubles. After his retirement to private life, he removed to Providence, where he remained till his decease, in 1831, at the age of 72.
Hon. Bexjamix IIf.vwood was son of Phinehas Heywood, a respectable farmer of Shrewsbury. At the common age, ho was bound apprentice to a housewright. Having completed the term pre- scribed by his indentures, he began business as carpenter, and work- ed at that trade one or two years. Love of letters, and confidence of capacity for usefulness, induced him to throw aside the hammer and
284 HON. BENJAMIN HEYWOOD.
chisel, and devote himself assiduously to preparations for collegiate education. He entered Harvard College in 1771. There is cotem- porary evidence of his sobriety of conduct, diligent application, and proficiency in mathematical science.
The martial spirit pervading the country, penetrated even the seats of learning. The young men of the institution, formed a military company, under the designation of the Marti-mercurian Band, a name descriptive of the union of the soldier and scholar in its ranks. Mr. Heywood was ensign of this corps, on the nineteenth of April, 1775, and, with some of his comrades, participated in the perils of that memorable day. Amid the tumult of arms, the quiet pursuits of literature were suspended ; the students were dismissed, and the halls occupied by troops. The senior class, of which Mr. Heywood was member, did not again return to the seminary, although their degrees were conferred in course.
Mr. Heywood immediately entered the service of his country, and received the commission of Lieutenant, in May, 1775. In 1776, he was promoted to the rank of Captain, which he retained through the whole war. His habits of order and accuracy qualified him for the office of paymaster, to which he was soon appointed and attached to Col. Nixon's regiment.1 He was at the capture of Burgoyne, par- took of the sufferings, and shared in the victories of the army, during the long period of its service. When the soldiers were about to be disbanded, a dangerous state of feeling arose. The tedious post- ponement of payments meritoriously earned, the pressure of want, and the anticipation of future poverty, excited discontents, artfully fomented by inflammatory publications. Gen. Washington, apprehen- sive of serious violence from exasperated troops feeling the injustice of the country and conscious of the power of numbers, discipline and arms, to avenge, if not redress, the real or supposed wrongs, con- vened an assembly of the officers, addressed them on the disastrous consequences of the course to which they had been directed, and left them to their deliberations. Gen. Knox, Col. Brooks, and Capt. Heywood, were appointed a committee, to consider and recommend proper measures to be adopted in the impending crisis. By their prudence and energy, the rising disorders were quieted.
Another proof of the confidence of his companions in arms in the honor and capacity of Capt. Heywood, was his election on a commit-
1 The entire series of rolls and accounts of his office, preserved in the Am. Ant. Soci- ety's Collections, afford proof of his fidelity in this trust.
HON. JOSEPH \i i.i:n
tee to adjust the acounts of the officers and soldiers of the Massachu- setts line. 11(3 was associated with Major l'< maid, ( 'apt. Hull, and Capt. Learned. The duty of the committee led t<> long negociation with the Legislature of the state, resulted in provision l"r equitable settlement, and was concluded by voluminous reports, prepared by Capt. Heywood.
When the army was disbanded, he was r< taini d, for some moi in the office of the General Superintendent, and afforded raluable aid in arranging the complicated concerns of the department char- ged with the settlement of the afTairs of the war.
After the restoration of peace, he returned to hifl home, and mar- ried an adopted daughter of Mr. Nathaniel Moore, an early settler and respectable farmer of Worcester. Activity of disposition, and facility in business, enabled him, in addition to the management of a farm, to devote much time to the concerns of \n> neighbors, and to public afTairs. The reliance on his integrity and good judgment, was testified by frequent selection as arbitrator, executor, and guar- dian. In 1802, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, and held that office until Sept. 1811, when, by a new ar- rangement of the judicial system, the seats of all the judges of that tribunal were vacated. For many years he was an acting magistrate of the county, and member of the Board of Trustees of Leicester Academy. He was twice chosen an elector of President and Vice President of the United States. By the General Court, he was ap- pointed Trustee of the Hassanameset Indians: and was an officer of many charitable and religious associations.
He died Dec. 6, 181G, aged 71, leaving the reputation of unstain- ed integrity and extensive usefulness.1
Hon. Joseph Allen, a native of Boston, was born Sept. 2, 1749. 3 Attending through the regular term of seven years, from the age of seven to that of fourteen, on the Grammar School, he
1 These facts have been derived from the venerable Dr. Bancroft, to whom the men of Worcester have been indebted for many an obituary memorial of their fathers. The no- tices of our distinguished citizens from his pen, have been remarkable for felicitous expressions, fidelity, accurate discrimination, and all the excellences of biography.
Benjamin Heywood married Mehitable Goddard, d. of Elisha Goddard of Button, Their children were, 1. Mehitable : 2. Nathaniel .Moore, merchant, b. July, 1788 : m. ( 'pr- oline Sumner of Boston, Sept. 16, 181G ; died at Richmond, Va: 3. Elizabeth: 4. Ben- jamin Franklin, physician in Worcester; m. Nancy Green, d. of Doct. John Green of Worcester : 5. Joseph : 6. Lucy; b. April, 1796 ; d. Nov. 1796 : 7 Nancy; b. Feb 7,1798; d. Aug. 30, 1814.
*His father, James Allen, a merchant of Boston, married the sister of Samuel Adams
286 HON. JOSEPH ALLEN.
was a favorite pupil of the celebrated master Lovell. About 1770, after regular mercantile apprenticeship, he entered into business in Leicester. A firm whig, he was active in the preliminary move- ments of the revolution, and with Col. William Henshaw, Col. Thomas Denny, and other patriotic citizens of the place of his res- idence, drafted, circulated, and supported, the spirited resolutions, memorials, and addresses of the citizens in their primary meetings, and conventions.1 Soon after the change of the government he was appointed, in 1776, to succeed Levi Lincoln, sen. as Clerk of the Courts, and removed to Worcester. The duties of this office he discharged for thirty three years with singular accuracy and fidelity. It was relinquished in 1810, against the wishes of the judicial offi- cers. He occasionally accepted those public honors conferred as testimonials of esteem and confidence. On the death of Mr. Up- ham, he was chosen Representative to the 11th Congress, and at the expiration of the term declined reelection. From 1815 to 1818, he was of the Executive Council : and twice of the College of Electors of President. One of the founders and patrons of Lei- cester Academy, he was long Treasurer of the corporation, and was first President of the Worcester County Bible Society. ' His mind and manners,' writes one of the best of our portrait painters of character, ' were alike formed on the best models ; in addition to his classical attainments he was distinguished for that politeness and gracefulness of deportment, which was, in some degree, peculiar to the men of his generation. Through his whole course, strict integ- rity,2 unblemished honor, and undisguised detestation of whatever
1 A little circumstance, illustrative of the influence of the unsettled condition of the times on the relations of private life, is related. At one lime, Mr. Allen had his knap- sack packed with the soldier's blanket, and his trunk with his nuptial suit, uncertain whether he should be earliest called to the bridal or the battle.
2 The following example may serve as illustration of his honorable sense of integrity, more scupulous than is usually found among men. In the negociation of business, Mr. Allen had become indebted to John Smith, 2d Lieutenant of Capt. Bigelow's company of Minute men. The account was deliberately adjusted, the balance carefully ascer- tained to the mutual satisfaction of both parties, payment made, and full and ample discharges given. Some years after, when Smith was passing through town, he was met by Mr. Allen, who informed him that he had then recentl}' discovered an error in the settlement favorable to himself, which he desired to correct by a further payment. The creditor, declaring his entire satisfaction with the former computation, and his conviction that no mistake could have occurred, declined an examination. With reluctance he was induced to review the accounts, and on revision, still expressed content. Mr. Allen then explained to him, by reference to the scale of depreciation, that he had received a less amount than he was entitled to have, and delivered to him the sum of money, which he long refused to believe he had lost on the original liquidation.
IS \! All THOM
was base and unworthy, were predominant trait- in his i A native generositj of disposition prompted him t<> deeds of benefi- cence. He was familiar with the best English writers, and had stored his mind with their beauties, which hia refined and dUcrim> inating taste taughl him ti> appreciate with Bingolar accuracy and apply with the happiest effect.1 He died Sept. 2, 1821 78
[saiah Thomas,1 a native of Boston, was the descendant of an- cestors of good repute, emigrating from England, soon aftei foundation of the town, and engaging in mercantile busim father, .Moses Thomas,2 Boldier, mariner, trader, and farmer, at dif- ferent periods, after sharing and escaping the perils of the unfortu- nate expedition against Cuba, in I'll), when pestilence destri most of the provincial forces spared bj the Bword, liTed a few i on Loie,r [aland. Revisiting his early home, reverses of fortune wasted his share of a good inheritance. Driven abroad, he died in North Carolina, about 17-V2, leaving a widow in destitute condition, with five small children. The energy and fertility of invention, so often manifested by female- in similar circumstances, soon provided resources for the support of her family. The profits of a little -hop, added to the other gains of industry and ingenuity, and the savings of frugal thrift, afforded comparative comfort ami independt She Was, at length, able to purchase a .-mall estate in Cambridge, afterwards lost, on sale, by the depreciation of the continental cur- rency. 3
The youngest son, Isaiah, was born Jan. 19, 1741); at the age of
1 In the History of Printing, i. 368, is a narrative of the life of Mr. Thomas fir own pen. In the Massachusetts Spy, April 13, 1831, Bre published portions of an ad- dress, containing beautiful delineation of his character, delivered bj I luin,
■ lore the American Antiquarian Society, ami transferred to the 2d volume of their Transactions. The first writer was Under the restraints imposed on the aulobiog- rapher ; the last, felt those resting on the public speaker. Neither space nor ability permit the attempt here, to do justice to the servicesof one of our most eminent citizens. The duty of rasing worthy memorial, remains for more fortunate hand-. The materials of the notice of JMr. Thomas in these pages, are taken from the memoirs before mentioned. The few facts which have been a >n the authority of his personal relation,
were obtained from the diaries of interleaved almanac-, <>r arc derived Irom official papers.
* The earliest df the name, mentioned by John Fanner, the most faithful and accu- rate of the antiquarians of the age, in bis Register ol the Fii it 8< tilers, is Evan Thorn- iter, of Boston, admitted freeman in 1641, who died Aug 25,11 I. Get ge Thom- as, and Rebecca his wife, had three sons: 1. Peter, b. Feb. 6, 1 March 16, 1685j 3. Maveric, b. March 19, 1 I. P< I r, the i a merchant in
Boston, and acquired good estate : his children were ; <!■ oige, Pet* r. Elias, \i tioncd in the text, Mary, Mercy. El *lh, and William, who lived to mature ;>
3 She married a person named Blackmail, and died Jan. 17, 1798;
288 ISAIAH THOMAS.
less than six years, lie was bound apprentice to Zechariah Fowle, a printer of single sheets, small tracts, and pamphlets, described in the History of Printing, as honest, but eccentric, irritable, effemi- nate, and better skilled in domestic cares than the mysteries of the printing house. It reflects no credit on the sense or taste of the master, that the first essay of his almost infant workman, who re- quired the elevation of a high bench to reach the case, should have been directed to the composition of a licentious ballad.1 The pu- pil, deprived of the usual advantages of schools and of good instruc- tion in the art, was compelled to rely on his own resources to supply the deficiencies of education. Earnest desire of improvement found or made the way. A tattered dictionary and ink stained bible were the whole library of the office. Two or three books, purchased with the savings of trifling perquisites, and a few more borrowed from friends, were added to this slender collection of literature. Diligent study and persevering assiduity, enabled him, unassisted, to possess himself of the elementary branches of learning, and to acquire such facility of expression as to be able to put his thoughts in type with- out the aid of writing, and the expertness in printing which made him principal manager of a business extended under his supervis- ion. After eleven years of apprenticeship and employment with Fowle, Mr. Thomas went to Nova Scotia and entered the office of Anthony Henry, proprietor of the Halifax Gazette, the government paper, a good humored and indolent man. The willing assistant was allowed to assume the management. Although Henry's labors were diminished, his responsibilities directly increased. It was the period of the Stamp Act, and the Boston boy brought with him the spirit kindled in his birth place. The appearance of an article in opposition to the obnoxious measure which roused the colonies to resistance, was followed by citation before the authorities, and Hen- ry escaped punishment, only on the ground that the paragraph had been inserted by his journeyman without his knowledge. On the repetition of the offence, the young man himself was called before the Secretary of the Province, and received reprimand, admonition, and threats, alike ineffectual. Not long after this interview, the whole year's stock of paper arrived from England, stamped accor- ding to the act : by night, the brand of oppression was cut off from
1 The composing stick first used by Mr. Thomas, an impression of ' The Lawyer's Pedigree,' and the very press upon which it was worked, which afterwards sent out the glowing words of the patriots of the Revolution, were given to the Antiquarian Socie- ty by its founder, and have been scrupulously preserved, in accordance with his wishes.
ISAIAH l HOMAfl
the sheets : the effigy of the commissioner appointed to oolleet the impost, was found suspended from the Lr'ill"\\ -■ The rerj correct opinion prevailed, that Mr. Thomas was principal iii these and oth- er acts of defiance of government. The sheriff, sent for the purpose of intimidating the young printer by threats or extorting confes- sions, was met with so much firmness and intrepidity, that the fruit- less mission was abandoned. '
In March, 17<>7, .Mr. Thomas went from .Nova Scoti i I I mouth in New Hampshire, and lour months afterwards, returned to the employment of Fowle in Boston. Active and enterprising spirit led him to accept the invitation of a Bhip master to trv the fortune of a voyage to Wilmington in North Carolina. Negotiations for an establishment there were frustrated, and be embarked for the W( -t Indies, intendingto seek passage thence to London. Again h pectations were defeated, and he repaired to Charleston inlSouth Carolina. After a residence of two years, with impaired health, he retraced his steps, and came again to the home of his fit hers. En- tering into partnership with Zechariab Fowle, they published a little newspaper, discontinued in December of the same war. The con- nection was of brief duration. In was dissolved in three months, and Mr. Thomas, having purchased the printing apparatus, issued another paper, bearing the name of its predecessor, ' The Massachu- setts Spy,' March 7, 1771. The early professions of neutrality in the great contest then impending, could not loner be maintained against the decided inclination of the conductor to the popular cause and the print soon became the leading advocate of wiii^ principles. Managed with great ability, in some departments, by Mr. Thomas himself, the strongest of the patriot writers gave the power of their pens to its support, and the Spy became the favorite channel for the diffusion of high toned sentiment. Its influence was felt and feared by the royalists, and they endeavored to avert the danger of a free press. Overtures to the editor, with promises of honors, office,
1 The Philadelphia Journal arrived, dressed wiih mourning pages; decorated with death's heads, crossed bones, and other emblems of mortality ; and announcing its own decease, by a complaint called the Stamp Act. To imitate this patriotic typography re- quired no little boldness. It was done by Mr. Thomas, with equal courage and adroit- ness. The columns of the Halifax Gazette were surrounded with heavy black lines ; the title was surmounted by the skull ; a death's head placed as substitute for stamp . and a large figure of a coffin laid at the end of the last page ; accompanied by the fol- lowing notice: ' We are desired, by a number of our readers, to give a description of the extraordinary appearance of the Pennsylvania Journal of the 30th of October ( I We can in no belter way comply with this request, than by the exemplification we have given of that Journal in this day's Gazette.'
37
290 ISAIAH THOMAS.
patronage, and reward, on espousing the cause of government, were rejected, and threats of vengeance for resistance, disregarded. A man too independent to he bought by gain or controlled by power, must be crushed. The debt contracted for the purchase of the es- tablishment was suddenly and sternly demanded : the aid of friends discharged the sum and defeated the attempt to ruin by pecuniary pressure. The publication of a bold essay, written by Joseph Green- leaf, with the signature of Mucius Scaevola, afforded pretext for fresh persecution. Mr. Thomas was summoned to appear before the Governor and Council. Obedience to the executive mandate, three times repeated, was as often fearlessly refused. Hutchinson was too good lawyer to issue process for compulsion, where no au- thority existed for its execution. The punishment of the offender, was entrusted to the judical arm, and the Attorney General direc- ted to institute prosecution for libel. Indictment and information, though pushed forward by the united efforts of the officers of the crown, alike failed. The Spy held on its way, vindicating the lib- erty of the press and of the citizen, against ministerial usurpation. Renewed attempts at coertion, only served to call forth testimonials of the ardent interest felt by the leading men of the times for the welfare of the establishment, and pledges of protection and defence. x Such course, rendered Mr. Thomas obnoxious to the administra- tion. His name was placed on the list of the suspected : his prin- ting house received the honorary appellation of 'sedition factory,' and threats of personal violence were frequent in the mouths of the soldiery. Having been solicited by the whigs of Worcester, to establish a newspaper, he made contracts and sent out proposals for subscriptions in February, 1775 ; and with the assistance of Col. Big- elow, under the care of Gen. Warren, he privately conveyed a press and cases of types, over the river to Charlestown, thence transported to this town, a short time previous to the Lexington Fight. The movements of the British troops for an expedition into the country, being discovered, Mr. Thomas was active in spreading the alarm, and at day break of the memorable 19th of April, joined the militia in arms against the ' regulars.' Laying aside the musket after the fight, to put in action a more powerful engine of freedom, and journeying almost all the next night, he reached Worcester the following day. The first printing done in any inland town of New England, was
1 It is stated, by Mr. Goodwin, that the celebrated James Otis, ' then withdrawn from active life in consequence of the malady which prostrated the energies of his mighty mind/ proffered his professional services to Mr. Thomas.
I -AIM! '! HOMAI 9W
performed in Worcester. The Spy reappeared, after a susp< n ion of three weeks, Ma) 3, 1775, and was distributed by j><»-ts nM<3 i
is. The publications <>f the Provincial Congress w< re i ted here, until presses were put in operation in ( lambridge and < Son* cord, the places of n- Bession.
Although the acquisitions of five years toil had been abandoned to be plundered, with the exception <>(' tin- little remnant saved bj fortunate arrangements of early removal, tin- better capita] of indue* try, capacity, and enterprise, was undiminished, and was brought in- to full exertion. He was appointed Postmaster, bj Benjamin frank- lin, Sept. 25, 1775; and the commission was renewed for triennial terms, by Ebenezer Hazard, Samuel Osgood, Timothy Pickering, and Joseph Habersham, the heads of the department in succeeding years. In 1776, having leased his property i'> .M<- — 1>. Bigt low and Stearns, and afterwards to Anthony Haswell, he went to Salem, While on a visit here, the declaration of independence was received, and first read to the citizens, by .Mr. Thomas, July 14, 1776, from the porch of the Old South Church. Returning for permani idence, in 1778, he resumed the management of the Spy. At that period, trade was disordered ; in the fluctuating currency, the repre- sentative paper had no constituent specie ; manufactures were in infancy; materials were deficient : difficulties Bprang up on all side,; and the print was only sustained through the war, h\ the unyielding resolution of the proprietor.1 The restoration of peace opened the channels of commerce; new types and apparatus were obtained, ami his business expanded itself on a great scale. Uniting tin- employ- ments of printer, publisher, and bookseller, establishing the first bindery and building the second paper mill in the county, the re- lations of a business which may well be called vast, as they extend- ed to almost every part of the union, were conducted with that sys- tematic and methodical arrangement which gave successful action to the complex machinery. At one period, under his own personal direction and that of his partners, sixteen presses were in constant motion, seven of them working here; three weekly newspapers and
i ' In the indulgence of a peculiar poetical fancy his papers were generally ornament- ed with curiously significant devices and appropriate molti -. In 1'Tt. they bore a dra- gon and a snake, the former representing Great Britain, and the serpent this country. The latter was separated into parts to represent the different colonies. The head and tail were furnished with stings for defence against the dragon, which was placed in the posture of making attack. The device extended the whole width of the paper, with the motto over the serpent, in large capitals, Join or die.' Goodwin's Memoir in Mass. Spy, April 13, 1831.
292 ISAIAH THOMAS.
one monthly magazine, issued : and five bookstores in Massachu- setts, one in New Hampshire, one in New York, and one in Mary- land, almost supplied the literary sustenance of the community. One of the most liberal publishers of the age, he produced and distribut- ed works, whose titles formed a voluminous annual catalogue. The great folio edition of the bible in 1791, illustrated with the copper- plates of native artists, was unrivalled, at the period, for neatness, ac- curacy, and general elegance and excellence of execution ; the whole types for smaller copies of the Holy Scriptures were kept standing and often used.
Previous to the revolution, Mr. Thomas commenced the Essex Gazette, at Newburyport, in 1773; in January of the next year, he began the Royal American Magazine, the last of the periodicals of Boston under the provincial governors. After the war, in 1793, he founded the Farmer's Museum, enlivened with the spirit of Prentiss, Dennie, Fessenden and the coterie of wits gathered at Walpole, N. H. ; established the Farmer's Journal in Brookfield, Mass. in 1799 ; in connection with Ebenezer T. Andrews, junior partner of a house existing thirty one years, he printed the Massachusetts Mag- azine, in Boston, from 17S3 to 1795. The Spy was suspended, in consequence of the resemblance of an Excise Act to the Stamp du- ty, for two years. The Worcester Magazine, in 1787, and 1788, supplied the place of that paper. Mr. Thomas was partner of Dr. Joseph Trumbull, in the business of druggist in this town for some time after Aug. 31, 1780.
In 1802, Mr. Thomas relinquished a prosperous business at Wor- cester, to his son Isaiah, and retired from the pressing cares of wide concerns to the enjoyment of fortune honorably won and liberally used.
The evening twilight of a day of intense activity was not given to the repose of idleness. Enjoying personal acquaintance with some of the early conductors of the press in this country, familiar by their narrations with their predecessors, himself a prominent actor through an important period, greater advantages could not have been desired for the undertaking, on which he entered, of com- piling the annals of American typography. ' The History of Print- ing,' published in 1810, in two octavo volumes, bears internal evi- dence, in the fulness and fidelity of its narrative, that neither toil, research, nor money was spared for its preparation. Containing notices of the antiquities and progress of the art, the biography of printers and newspapers, the work received the approbation of criti-
[BAIAfi THOM kl
cism, and the rank of Btandard authority. While tl • nter-
prise advanced, Air. Tbomu had gathered rare trei DT( ol turc and rich relics of the past Collected, thej were "I ini ttiraa- hie value : each fragment, ii dispersed, would have b ible,
but less preeioua than if fixed in us plao mnecting link of the
chain of events. With an elevated benevolence, contemplating in expanded view, all the good the present may bestow on the future, he associated others with himself, and became the founder of the American Antiquarian Society. The gill of hie great collections and library, the donation of land, and of a n un-
ceasing (low of bounty in continuous succession of benefactions, and ample bequests for the perpetuation and extension of the bene- fits he designed to confer on the public and posterity, are enduring testimonials of enlightened liberality. The institution will remain, an imperishable monument to his memory, when the very materials of the hall reared by his generosity shall have crumbled.
While his private charity relieved the distresses, his public muni- ficence promoted the improvements of tho town. The site of the County Court House was bestowed by him ; and the building and avenues on the front constructed under his uncompensated direction. No inconsiderable share of the cost of enlarging the Bquare at the north end of Main Street, and erecting the stone bridge, was given by him. The street bearing bis own name, and the spot where the brick school house has been built, were his benefaction to the mu- nicipal corporation. In the location and execution of the Boston and Worcester Turnpike, an enterprise of much utility at the pe- riod, he assisted by personal exertion and pecuniary contribution, and few local works for the common good were accomplished with- out the aid of his purse or efforts.
In 1814, he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Darmouth College : that of Doctor of Laws was conferred by Al- leMiany College in 1S18. He was member of the Historical So- cieties of Massachusetts and New York, and of numerous Philoso- phical, Humane, Charitable, and Typographic associations. The appointment of Justice of the Court of Sessions was made by Gov. Gerry, Feb. 21, 1812: the office was held until June 7, 1H 1, when it was resigned. He was President of the Antiquarian So- ciety from its foundation to his decease, April 4, 1831, at the age of 82 years.
While the institution of Freemasonry was prosperous, Dr. Thom- as attained its highest honors and degrees, and was long presiding
294 PUBLIC OFFICERS.
officer of the Grand Lodge and Chapter of Massachusetts. He at- tended and bore part in most of the consecrations, installations, and high festivals of the association in the state, during his active years. The incidents of the life of Dr. Thomas have occupied broad space in these poor annals. His memory will be kept green when the re- collection of our other eminent citizens shall have faded in oblivion. His reputation in future time will rest, as a patriot, on the manly in- dependence which gave, through the initiatory stages and progress of the revolution, the strong influence of the press he directed to the cause of freedom, when royal flattery and favor would have seduc- ed, and the power of government subdued its action ; as an antiqua- rian, on the minuteness and fidelity of research in the History of Printing ; as a philanthropist, on the foundation and support of a great national society, whose usefulness, with the blessing of Provi- dence, will increase through distant centuries.1
There have resided in Worcester, eighteen settled Clergymen : two Barristers : sixty four Counsellors and Attorneys at Law : and thirty one Physicians. Fifty-nine of the natives of the town have received education in the colleges. Of those born here, fifteen Physicians, twelve lawyers, and ten Clergymen, have gone out to other places of settlement and professional employment.
1 Moses Thomas, father of Dr. Isaiah Thomas, married Fidelity Grant of Rhode- Island : Their children were: 1. Elizabeth, born on Long Island, who manied and went to the West Indies : 2. Peter, who resided at Hampstead, L. I. 3. Joshua, b. at Boston, 3Iarch 3, 1745 ; m. Mary Twing of Brighton, and resided in Lancaster: 4. Susannah, married four times: last to Capt. Hugh McCullough, of Philadelphia: surviving him, she died Feb. 28, 1815, a. G9: 5. Isaiah, b. Jan. 19, 1749.
Dr. Isaiah Thomas, married Mary, d. of Joseph Dill, of the Isle of Bermuda, Dec. 25, 1769 : Their children were, Mary Anne, b. March 27, 1772: was three times mar- ried ; last to Dr. Levi Simmons: 2. Isaiah, b. at Boston, Sept. 5, 1773; in. Mary d. of Edward Weld of Boston: he was educated as a printer, and succeeded his father in business; he removed to Boston, where he died, June 25, 1819 His chil- dren were : 1. Mary Rebecca, m. Pliny Merrick, Esq. of Worcester : 2. Frances Church, b. Aug. 12, 1800; m. William A. Crocker of Taunton. 3. Augusta Weld, b. Aug. 1, 1801 ; d. Aug. 19, 1822, at Taunton: 4. Caroline, b. Sept. 26, 1802; m. to Samuel L. Crocker of Taunton. 5. Hannah Weld, m. June 14, 1825, to Samuel L. Crocker of Taunton ; d. November 22,1827; 6. Isaiah, b, Dec. 11, 1804; d. Oct. 14,1805: 7. Isaiah, merchant in New York : 8. William, merchant in Boston: 9. Edward Weld, b. Feb. 15, 1810: d. Oct. 5, 1810 : 10. Edward Isaiah, merchant in New York : 11. Benjamin Franklin, lawyer in Worcester.
Dr. Thomas was married a second time to Mrs. Mary Fowle, d. of William Thomas of Boston, b. June 9, 1751 ; d. Nov. 16, 1818, aged 67 : and again married, Aug. 10, 1819, to Miss Rebecca Armstrong of Roxbury.
PUB1 [COFFK
Worcester Ins furnished good proportion of th who hire held
civil and judicial offices.
Of the natives or citizens of the town, previous t'» the war of in- dependence, were : one Attorney General of the Province : three members of IIi> Majesty's Council : one Mandamus Councillor: three Judges of the Court of Common Pleas: two Judges of Pro- bate : three Clerks of the ( lourts : four Treasurers and four Sheriffs of the County: one Judge of the Supreme Court of Men Bruns- wick : one Councillor, and one Clerk of the Assembly <>f thai Pro- vince.
Since the Revolution there have been; two Governor sachusetts and one Governor of Maine : two Lieutenanl Governors : two Speakers of the House of Etepresentativi - : -i\ < louncillors and eleven Senators of Massachusetts : two Senator- of New Hamp- shire : one Secretary of the Commonwealth : one Treasurer of N York : one Attorney General of the United State- : one actin cretary of State : one Senator and eleven Representatives in Con- gress: one elected member of Con_riv-< under the Confederation: one appointed Judge of the Supreme Court of the United States who declined the commission : one Judge of the Supr ; rt of Mas- sachusetts: three Justices of the Court of Common Pleas of this
state and one of Alabama : three Judges of Probate and ■ Judge
of the Orphan's Court of Alabama : two Justices of the Court of Sessions: two County Commissioners : eighl Clerks of the Courts and eight County Attorneys: one District Attorney: two Sh< and three Treasurers of the County : five Justices throughout the Commonwealth; thirty-eight Justices of the Quorum ; and eighty- one Justices of the Peace.1
i This estimate of ihe offices of the worthies of Worcester, accurate so far . tends, is necessarily imperfect. Many emigrants from this town, who have held honor- able stations in other states, have not been included in the enumeration.
Of those natives of the town, not educated in the colleges, who emigrated, and practised as Physicians, before unmentioned, were : Samiel Ricf. of Athol, son of Samuel Rice: William Y/OOHG of Ipswicb,Son of William Young: Ja< of Leicester, son of Jacob Holmes: Win mm Babb*B of Mason, N. H. son of Jamci Barber: and James McFarland of Rutland, son of James McFarland.
296
STATISTICS AND HISTORY.
CHAPTER XV.
Education. Common Schools. Centre District Schools. Private Instruction. Man- ual Labor High School. Mount St. James Seminary.
When the original committee of settlement secured the support of the worship of God, they made provision for the education of youth. At their first meeting, in 10(59, when the untrodden wilder- ness spread over the territory of Worcester, it was agreed that a lot of land should be ' appropriated for the maintenance of a school and school master, to remain for that use for ever.' In the contract with Daniel Henchman, in 1684, this determination was affirmed; and it was enjoined, ' that care be taken to provide a schoolmaster in due season.' When surveys were made, after the permanent set- tlement, a tract of forty acres was granted for the promotion of this object.
The circumstances of the first planters long prevented the com- mencement of public instruction. The earliest municipal action on the subject, was April 4, 1726. In pursuance of a vote of the town, ' the selectmen agreed with Mr. Jonas Rice to be schoolmas- ter, and to teach such children and youth as any of the inhabitants shall send to him to read and write, as the law directs,'1 until the 15th of December. On the expiration of this term, it was pe- remptorily voted ' that the town will not have a school.' The pe- riod succeeding the commencement of the last century has been well
1 The Great and General Court of the Colony, in May 1647, stating as inducement, that, ' It being one chief project of Satan to keep men from the knowledge of the Scriptures, as in former times keeping them in unknown tongues, so, in these latter times, by persuading from the use of tongues, that so at least the true sense and meaning of the original might be clouded and corrupted with false glosses of deceivers : to the end that learning may not be buried in the graves of our forefathers, in church and com- monwealth, the Lord assisting our endeavors,' ordered that every township within the jurisdiction ' after the Lord hath increased them to the number of fifty householders' should maintain a common school, and each town of 100 families should keep a gram- mar school. A penalty for neglect of these wholesome provisions, for quaint reasons, was established in 1671, increased by the statute of October, 1683.
SCHOOLS. '."J 7
described by one of the most discriminating of our local antiquari- ans,1 as the 'darkagt ' of Massachusetts. Every band was in converting the forest into farms. A fluctuating curreno] served for the Bupply of the necessities of life. The planters of Worcester, feeling the burden of sustaining elementary education without immediately realising the resulting benefits, faUed to practical operation to the enlightened views of the founders, In tfaia respect they could have shown the example of elder and more weal- thy neighbors in extenuation of the negligence. Pen towns about
that time,- escaped fine for contempt of wholes daws. The grand
jury admonished Worcester of its issions of dutj by present- ment, and the sum of i'v! S<. (id. was raised m 1728, to defray the charges of a prosecution, for want of schools, suspend* d on promises of amendment. Benjamin Flagg, directly after, was employ* schoolmaster. tmd£l4 granted for the annual stipend. In April, 1731, considering ' that many small children cannot attend in the cen- tre of the town by reason of the remoteness of their dwelling pi and to the intent that all may have the benefit of education,' districts were formed. Division lines, drawn from the middle of each exte- rior boundary, separated the town into north, south, east and west quarters, surrounding the central territory. The mild Bway and cheap services of females were sought, and the selectmen instructed, 'to procure a suitable number of school dames, not exceeding five, for the teaching of small children to read, to be placed in the sever- al parts, as may be most convenient, and these gentlewomen to be paid such sum, by the head, as they may agree.' The terror of tin- law, in September following, produced a vote, ' to maintain a free school for a year, and to be a moving school into the several quar- ters.' In August, 1732, Mr. Richard Rogers was engaged as teach- er, and continued in that relation about eight years. The instruc- tor of those days was migratory, revolving in his circuit round a cen- tre not then fixed to a particular location. Directions similar to this of 173.5, abound; ' Voted,, that Mr. Richard Rogers repair to the house of Mr. Palmer Goulding, there to keep school till further or- ders ' The inconvenience of temporary arrangements, induced the inhabitants, after long consideration and debate, and great doubt of the expediency of the measure, to resolve, May 15, 1*35, ' that a school house be built at the charge of the town, and placed in the centre of the south half, or as near as may be with oonvenieney, having regard to suitable ground for such a house to stand on, where 1 I^mue! Shaltuck, Esq. in the History of Concord.
38
298 SCHOOLS.
land may be purchased, in case it falls on any particular property, provided the purchase may be made on reasonable terms.' The sur- veys of Col. John Chandler, commissioned to,measure under these instructions, and afterwards employed with new directions to find the intersection of a central line with the country road, not having indicated acceptable points, after five years of deliberation, it was de- termined to ' set up' the first school house of Worcester ' between the Court House and bridge, below the fulling mill.' An humble edifice was reared at the north end of Main street, and nearly in the middle of the present travelled way, 24 feet long, 16 feet wide, and with posts 7 feet high, which remained beyond the close of the rev- olutionary war. In 1740, <£100 was granted for the support of schools, one half to be appropriated for the centre, and the other half divided among the quarters, ' provided the body of the town keep a grammar school the whole year, and save the town from present- ment, and the skirts do in the whole have twelve months schooling of a writing master.'
It had been well and wisely ordered by the fathers of New Eng- land, that each municipal community of sufficient ability, should af- ford to youth the means of acquiring the languages. The salutary effect of this regulation was little appreciated, and was even regard- ed as oppressive, in times less enlightened than the present. In 1766, the representative was instructed to endeavor, ' that the law requiring a Latin Grammar School, be repealed, and that not more than one such school should be kept in a county,' and, in 1767, to use his exertion to relieve the people from the great burden of sup- porting so many schools of this description, ' whereby they are pre- vented from attaining such degree of English learning as is necessa- ry to retain the freedom of any state.'
The lower schools seem to have been sustained by liberal appro- priations. In 1769, there were eight districts; the apportionment of the tax of =£79 17s. in that year throws some light on the popu- lation and resources of the divisions.
Old Names. Sums.
Centre, £ \9 Is.
Tatnick, 10 10
Bogachoag, 8 8
Smith's, 9 8
The sums raised by taxation for schools in different years, varied with the fluctuations of the currency to such extent that it is difficult to estimate accurately the real amount of expenditure. In 1727, the
|
Old Names. |
Sums. |
|
Stone's, |
£8 5s. |
|
Stowell's, |
8 3 |
|
Curtis's, |
7 11 |
|
Flagg's, |
7 11 |
SCHOOLS. Ml
tax was € 16 10s.: in 1780, P25: in i: 10, ' 100 currency : in 11 i I £4G 10s; in 1760, rJ75: in 1780, ' 76 Hi- in 1770 f 3000 in
continental bills.
It is not possible now to colled b pi rfecl list of the school mas" ters previous to the revolution. The figures prefixed to the names of the gentlemen mentioned below, Bhow the time when their in- struction commenced. 1725, Jonas Rice. 1729, Benjamin F
1732, .lanws Wyman, Richard Rogers. 17:{:t, Ba el Bout el le,
Nathaniel Williams. 1738, Samuel Marsh. 17:!'.». James Durant 17 II, James Varney. 1752, Henry Gardner. 1755, John Adams.1 ]7.">7, John Xoung. 17.~>-\ William Crawford. 1760, Micah I rence.
After the revolution, in 179 •"> and 1788, the town was pn sented by the grand jury for the neglect of its grammar school, and when it was maintained, it appears to have travelled around the centre, in the circle of districts, until 1808, when it became stationary.
In 1800, school houses were built in the several districts under the direction of a committee. The following table shows the di- mensions, position, and cost of each.
Old names. New names. Feet square. I ■ dm.
Tatnick Quarter, 2, 25, 1 270 21
Jones's, 3, 24, 270 21
Burbank's, 5, 22, 247 75
Baird's, C, 22, 847 75
Gates's, 7, 20,
Fisk's Corner, 8, 22, 241 75
Burntcoat Plain, 9, 22, 243 75
Thaxter's, 10, 18, 202 70
Provision was made for the erection of two houses, not less than 22 feet square, in the centre, then containing one third of all the minors: one was built at the corner of the old burial place, and the other opposite to the building then the Unitarian Church, now tho Franklin House.
Prudent and able committees have been elected annually by the town, who have had the supervision and visitation of the common schools in the manner directed by the Btatutes.
The following statements illustrative of the condition of the schools, and the expenses of education, are derived principally from th< re- turns in the office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
1 Afterwards President of the United States. He was certain); rmplo\H a M J Mr, and probably more, while student at law with Jnmes Putnam.
300 SCHOOLS.
1834. 1335. 1836.
Number of School Districts, 12, 12. 12,
Number of minors in all the districts, 2509, 2666, 3041, Males from 4 to 16 attending schools, 675, 622, 570,
Females, 494, 501, 636,
Average attendance in days, 924, 859, 1010,
Number attending private schools, 111, 100, —
Winter Schools, months, 96, 100, 83,
Summer schools, months, 111, 103, 87,
Instructors, Males, 12, 14, 11,
Females, instructing, 20, 21, 19,
Wages, average by months, Winter, 8 17, 821, —
Summer, 8 9 J, 8 16 J, —
Board per week, males, 8 2 £, 82*, 82 ,
Amount raised for schools by tax, 8 5535, 8 5500, 8 6270,
Expenses for furniture, 8 590, 8 550, 8550,
Tuition in private schools, 82028, 8 1500, 8 1500.
The monies granted by the town for the support of schools are dis- tributed thus : from the whole tax is first deducted the amount as- signed for the grammar school : as an equivalent for the school being kept within the centre, the other districts receive two hundred and fifty dollars, equally divided : the residue of the whole sum is then apportioned according to the minors. The mode of distribution will be seen from the following table : six columns, after the first, show the number of persons under twenty one years of age ; the six last the sum given to each district, in the year marked at the top of the column.
|
Minors. |
Mc |
)NIES. |
||||||||||
|
No |
.1831. |
1832. |
1833. |
1834. |
1835. |
1836. |
1831. |
1332. |
1833. |
1834. |
1835. |
1836. |
|
1 |
1058 |
1164 |
1256 |
1360 |
1524 |
1316 |
£973, |
BJ1012 |
SI 039 |
51299 |
§1402 |
51670 |
|
2 |
151 |
146 |
135 |
146 |
133 |
144 |
' 166 |
149 |
134 |
162 |
149 |
155 |
|
3 |
200 |
227 |
221 |
225 |
232 |
293 |
210 |
220 |
205 |
237 |
231 |
292 |
|
4 |
98 |
112 |
96 |
103 |
83 |
104 |
113 |
120 |
102 |
121 |
98 |
118 |
|
r> |
106 |
103 |
108 |
111 |
106 |
99 |
123 |
112 |
112 |
128 |
120 |
113 |
|
6 |
81 |
'72 |
66 |
70 |
73 |
71 |
99 |
85 |
77 |
89 |
89 |
88 |
|
7 |
6G |
78 |
73 |
84 |
112 |
101 |
86 |
83 |
83 |
1C2 |
125 |
115 |
|
8 |
138 |
83 |
102 |
104 |
98 |
93 |
133 |
09 |
107 |
121 |
112 |
10S |
|
9 |
95 |
75 |
81 |
75 |
72 |
90 |
95 |
88 |
89 |
94 |
88 |
105 |
|
10 |
62 |
59 |
59 |
55 |
65 |
42 |
62 |
74 |
71 |
79 |
82 |
61 |
|
11 |
54 |
61 |
55 |
59 |
55 |
59 |
50 |
76 |
68 |
79 |
73 |
77 |
|
12 |
— |
59 |
104 |
117 |
108 |
129 |
— |
74 |
103 |
134 |
122 |
141 |
|
2108 |
2244 |
2356 |
2509 |
2666 3041 |
2125 |
2197 |
2195 |
2645 |
2697 |
3043 |
CENTRE SCHOOL DISTBIl I :{"l
The following gentlemen, amoie_r others, have been employed in instruction here since the revolution, most of them in the Grammu School.
Dr. Araasa Dingley, who died in New fork: ReT. Thaddeui M Harris, long clergyman of Doroheater ; Thomas Pay eon, afti r« teaclier in Boston, and now of Peter borough, V II K' counsellor at law in Walpole, N. II.: Silaa Paul, sometime in the practice of the law in Fitchburg: Andrew Morton, lawyer, who died at Hampden, Me: Calvin Park, Professor in Brown I niversit) : Isaac Gates, afterwards of the United States army: Samuel Swan, practising law in Hubbardston: Rev. Nathan Parker, late ol Porte- mouth, N. II.: Dr. Jacob Bigelow, physician of Boston R< John Nelson, of Leicester; Nathan Guilford, of Lexing Ken- tucky : Ebenezer D. Washburn, of Mobile, Alabama : Levi Hey- wood: Rev. Jonathan Going, now of the city of New York: Jona- than Smith, now ol* Bath, N. II. : John Reed, son of John Ri of Worcester: Thomas Fiske, who died at Charleston, S. C. : !'.• 0- son C. Baldwin, who died at Milford: Leonard Worcester, late teacher in Newark, N. J. : George Folsom, now of New York.
Charles Thurber, B. U. 1827, son of Rev. Laban Thurber, bora in Brook field, the present mastec of the Latin School, wae elect- ed to that office, March. 27, 1822, The English School of th< D • trict, is under the charge of Warren Lazell, son of Deacon D Lazell, of Mcndon, who was chosen as instructor, Feb 23, 1828. Albion P. Peck, son of Dr. Gustavus D. Peck, ofMilford, was elect- ed master of the second English School, June 22, 1835. '
CENTRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
One of the earliest steps in the progress of the improvement of education in the Centre District, was in 1752, when the town, by their votes, consented, 'that the inhabitants of the centre, extend- ing one mile and a half around the school house, Bhould have allow- ed them their proportion of money for the support of schooling, pro- vided they do, bona fide, keecp a grammar school the whole year : and if their proportion of money will procure a master more than twelve weeks, the usual time they have of late had schooling, then any person may have liberty to send children afterwards.' About
> The compensation paid to the instructor of the Grammar school, is 5900 :of lb< lisfa school 5700 : of the second school 5 W0, annually : of the Apprentices school 532 monthly: of"the Female High school 55, 50 : of the Primary, Infant, and African, schools 53,50. by the week : the assistants are paid at the rale of 51 »he week.
302 CENTRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
this period, a school house, with two rooms on the floor, was erect- ed by James Putman, John Chandler, and other public spirited in- dividuals, ' and the deficiency of the grants for the support of in- struction was supplied by subscriptions. In 17(ii), the town gave to the proprietors of the grammar school, £6, ' they engaging that the school shall be free, for all persons in the town desirous of learning the languages.'
All minor objects gave way to the intense interest and exhausting necessities of the revolutionary contest; its stern excitement divert- ed attention, and its exigencies absorbed the whole available resourc- es of the people: all improvements were neglected; and education sunk low amid political commotion. When peace revisited the land, an effort was made for the establishment of a system, perfected in after years, which might afford to the children of each citizen good and thorough education in their own homes. An association was formed for erecting a school of high grade, with the real merits, though without the ostentatious name of academy. In 1784, Eli- jah Dix, Joseph Allen, Levi Lincoln, Nathan Patch, John Green, John Nazro, Palmer Goulding, and others, uniting in a joint stock company, procured a lease of the land on the west side of Main street on which the Centre School House now stands, and that buil- ding was erected in front of the position it now occupies. A con- veyance of the lot was obtained, Sept. 29, 1787. The property had been divided into 100 shares, and each proprietor, by the terms of the deed, was to hold an amount of interest in the estate proportion- ate to his contribution for the purchase, under limitations securing the appropriation to the purposes of the fund.
Two schools were opened in the new house by the proprietors ; one for the common elementary studies, under Mr. Brown ; the oth- er for the highest branches of academic education, called ' The Sem- inary,' under the tuition of Mr. Thomas Payson. For a time they were sustained with great spirit. The quarterly examinations, with the attraction of dramatic exhibitions, were attended by a numerous audience. In Aug. 1787, the tragedy of Cato was played by Mr. Brown's scholars, with brilliant success ; rivalled by the pupils of the seminary, in October following, by the recitation of original orations, forensic discussions, poems, and dialogues in Greek and Latin.
1 This humble one story edifice was placed near the east side of Main street, south of the termination nf the Boston Rail Road, and surrounded with trees. During the revolution, it was converted into a dwelling, and remained, uutil modern improvement swept away the ancient house and the venerable elms that embowered its lowly roof.
CENTRE SCHOOL DISTJ
As the children of the subscriber* were r< moved to tl i col or the preparation fur professiona or active busi u .inn in-
terest of the parents in the institutions declined, and with it schools gradually sunk from the high ground on which they had placed. In May I7!>!>, the building was advertised i I pub-
lic auction, and in July I>()!, purchased b) the inhabitan Centre District from its own< . iocludii
expense of repairs.
tn the summer of 1823, a vigorous effort wo made forth tion of the decayed system. Dr. Bam
word and work, Jonathan Going, i romo-
tion of improvement, Samoel M. Burt ithor ol the school
law of ls-27, Levi Lincoln, Otis Corbett, aud Samuel were the framers of that plan, whose successful operation occasion for just pride in the excellence of the schools of tin' district These gentlemen, from a committee 'to consider the inter' questions regarding the good of our children in the acquisition of knowledge,' submitted a report, Aug 22, 1823, published and dis- tributed to all the families. They declare their opinion, that tor several years, the schools hud generally fallen below the common standard, and would not hear comparison with man} of the immedi- ate neighborhood. The evils so long endured, they attribute.! to false economy, in the employment (dill paid and incompetent teach- ers. The remedy was suggested, in the arrangemi ter adopt- ed, and since continued, with the slight modifications pointed out by experience or required by the alteration of social condition. It was urged on the inhabitants, ' as they regarded parental obligatioi they loved their offspring, as they estimated their responsibility to God and their country, to cooperate unitedly aud individually in the attainment of the great object.' The appeal was not in vain. The recommendations were confirmed, and liberal grants made for their execution. On the 31st of Dec. 18:23, the first Board of Ovei was elected. They were Aaron Bancroft, Jonathan Going, Aretius B.Hull, Loammi Ives Hoadley, Levi Lincoln, John Davis, Theoph- ilus Wheeler, Otis Corbett, Enoch FlaLrLf, Benjamin Chapin, Sam- uel M. Bumside, and Frederic W. Paine : the heavy duty of carry- ing into operation the measures proposed, and -auctioned by the votes of the district, was devolved upon and faithfully discharged by them. The statement of the present condition will show the extent of their arduous and meritorious exertions, and the amount <>! resulting [
Resort to the contingent aid of voluntary contribution. ha\ m;_r hern
304 CENTRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
found ineffectual and feeble, authority was obtained from the Legis- lature, Jan. 27, 1824, to bring the steady support of taxation for the support of schools. An additional act, Feb. 1826, authorized the notification of meetings, by an advertisement, signed by a majority of the overseers, posted on the meeting houses seven days previous.
A board of twelve persons, annually elected, have the duty of as- certaining the qualifications of teachers and the attainments of schol- ars ; prescribing the course of instruction ; establishing proper reg- ulations; investigating all complaints of parents, pupils, or instruc- tors; of the disbursement of monies; the examination and supervis- ion of the schools ; and of reporting in writing on the progress made during their term of office.
Ten permanent schools are arranged in regular gradation, and kept through the year, with such vacations only as the convenience of the teachers may require, or the discretion of the board permit.
Of the lowest o-rade are, the Infant Schools, first opened in 1830, receiving children at the earliest age at which they can derive bene- fit from public instruction.
Next are the North and South Primary Schools, receiving their pupils by promotion from the infant schools.
The pupils, when qualified, are advanced to the two Boy's English Schools, and to the Second Female School.
Highest in rank, is the Female High School, corresponding with the Latin Grammar School, to which promotions are made from the Primary schools.
There is an African School, for children of color, established in 1828, where all the useful branches of education are taught.
A school, first opened in 1828, has since been annually kept during the winter months, for apprentices and clerks, and such other boys as can attend only through a part of the year.
The instructors are required to keep a register, exhibiting an ac- count of the conduct and proficiency of every pupil during each day. Monthly visitations are made by the overseers, and each scholar is then subjected to examination, and report of the result made to the board, at their stated meetings on the first Monday of every month.
It was originally proposed, that all the schools subject to the vis- itorial direction of the overseers, should be under the superinten- dence of the Grammar master, with the view, that some competent person, professionally devoted to education, should bestow that con- stant attention on the execution of the details of the system, which men engaged in the cares and occupations of life, could not give
CENTRE SCHOOL DISTRICT.
hour by hour. Dr. Bancroft, the enlightened friend of youth, repor- ting for the committee of 1823, writes, ' the whole will form but one school, under the general superintendence of the board of over- seers, and children will be advanced from cla till they reach the highest. And in order to give strength and unity to the system, your committee are convinced, thai the grammar master ought to have the superintendence of all the Bchoola in the < lentre House, and that the pupils should be classed under \n> direction in such manner as to make the most economical use of time without reference to the particular school to which they belong. ' Difficul- ties resulting from the separate policy of the town and district, pre- vented the eifect of an arrangement so judicious in its principle.
The following table exhibits the condition of the schools of the district in the month of Sept. 1^30.
Schools. Teachers. ^Jole Boys. Girls, to to to".
r,°- 5. 10. 16. l0-
Latin Grammar, Charles Thurber, 40 10 0 0 0 -JO 11 Female High, Eliz. B. Hamilton, 38 0 3S 0 1 32 5 Second Female, Jerusha Knight, 49 0 40 0 8 41 0 Boy's English, Warren Lazell, 50 SO 0 0 9 39 2 Second Boy's, Albion P. Peck, 53 53 0 0 21 29 0 North Primary, Lois W. Harrington,63 0 63 0 40 33 0 South Primary, Caroline M. Corbett,">"> ">•") 0 0 45 10 0 North Infant, Mary S. Ward, 75 :)[) 36 :)■', \> <> <>
Central Infant, Abigail Pratt, 80 40 34 :!'.) 11 0 0
South Infant, Martha S. Hamilton, 53 2!) 24 J3 30 0 0 New South Inft. Rebecca S. Coes, 34 10 18 8 2-> 1 0 African, Hannah C. Perrin, 22 9 13 5 16 10
A recommendation made by Dr. Bancroft, was adopted, Feb 1825, and it was ordered ' that at two o'clock of the afternoon of the Saturday which closes the scholastic year, a public address be annual- ly delivered in one of the houses for public worship, by some person appointed by the board ; the prominent objects of which shall be, to illustrate the importance of good education and the best method of acquiring and extending such an education ; and give to the district assembled a just view of the manner in which their schools are and should be conducted. Let this address be followed by prayer. Let proper measures be taken to insure a full audience from the District, and let the pupils of each school be seated together, with their teach- er at their head. Further pageantry, the committee think, would be unnecessary and useless.' The beautiful thought of its benevolent 39
|
1825. |
Aaron Bancroft, |
1831. |
|
1826. |
Samuel M. Burnside, |
1832. |
|
1827. |
Jonathan Going, |
1833. |
|
1823, |
Isaac Goodwin, |
1834. |
|
1829. |
Alonzo Hill, |
1835. |
|
1830. |
Isaac Davis, |
1836. |
306 PRIVATE INSTRUCTION.
author has had that observance which its origin deserved. Amono- the most interesting of festivals, lias been the long procession of chil- dren, going up to the church, each April, with the plain and un- ostentatious simplicity, the founder of the ceremony designed, to hear the words of good counsel or admonition.
Those named below have made addresses on these occasions.
Alfred D. Foster, John S. C. Abbot, Frederic A. Willard, Stephen Salisbury, Ira Barton, William Lincoln. Such are the brief outlines of the plan, affording instruction from its lowest elements to its highest branches, beginning at the alpha- bet, advancing by regular gradations to the more elevated depart- ments of learning, and affording to every citizen of the district the means of giving to his children all the education necessary for ad- mission to the Universities, or desirable for the commencement of the engagements of business.
PRIVATE INSTRUCTION.
Although munificent grants sustained the great system of the com- mon schools, instruction alike of lower and higher grade than they afforded, was required and has been supported at private charge, or undertaken by individual enterprise.
On the last day of March, 1791, Mr. Thomas Payson advertised his intentions to open a seminary for young ladies, • as soon as the roads were more settled.' His experiment was brief, and probably unsatisfactory to himself.
Miss Hannah Spofford commenced a school on the same plan, in May, 1804. Her proposals afford data for estimating the extent of female accomplishments deemed desirable at that period, and the cost of their attainment. Reading, plain sewing and marking, were taught, for the compensation of two dollars the quarter : embroidery, ornamental work on muslin, writing, arithmetic, grammar, rhetoric, and the art of composition, could be gained for three dollars : paint- ing in water colors and crayon, and filagree work, were charged at four dollars for the same period.
Mrs. Nugent, succeeded this lady, adding in the Academy she opened in 1805, the exercises of geography, tambour work, land- scape painting, and music.
SI \i>\Y Bl II"
Other instructors were here in later years. In 1893, in V my for the instruction of youth in the bighesl branohea of education, was commenced by the 1 vi \ Benjamin F. Farnsworth, and contin- ued al t a year. A building waa purchased, bj an association,
incorporated March 10, 1832, as the Proprietors of the Wore* Female Academy, and a Bchool was kepi l>\ Mrs. A M. Weill, dur- ing a year, and Bubsequentl] by Mr. John Wright The corporatioa was afterwards dissolved and the < difice sold.
Instruction of the most excellent cast baa been given to young la- dies, by Dr. .lohn Park, for twenty years a teacher of distinguished reputation in Boston, who removed from that city to ihis place, in 1831. lli^ classes have been so limited, as to admit of that oral com- munication which best imparts knowledge, and of the direct influ- ence of a gifted mind, rich in learning and experience, to form pure moral and strong intellectual character.
In the spring of 1836, a school of high grade for young ladit commenced by .Mr. Robert Phipps, which hasbe< d successfully con- tinued. In September, the pupils were '■'•■'>
s r N D \ V s C ll 0 OLS. Before 1816, beside the public religious instruction, there were recitations in a catechism prepared by Dr. Bancroft, after the Stated lectures, by the children of the second parish. In May, of that year, a class of ~.5, soon increasing to (il), was formed by the Rev. Jona- than Going, in the Baptist society, and one of the first of the E bath Schools within the county of Worcester was established. Al- most simultaneously the system which is exerting a happy influence on moral condition, was adopted by the first parish, and has been ex- tended to the other societies.
The number of scholars connected with the several churches, is stated in the latest published reports, as follows:
First Parish, 300, Calvinist Society, 236,
Second Parish, 1T0, Union Society, 16%
Baptist Society, 250, The schools are generally under the direction of societies formed for their support, and are furnished with useful libraries collected by voluntary contributions.
WORCESTER MANUAL LABOI1 II I G II BCHOOL.
At a meeting of a few individuals desirous of founding an insti- tution for education in the interior, under the patronage of the l> ip- tist denomination, in March, 1832, it was determined to rai>e $5000,
308 MANUAL LABOR HIGH SCHOOL.
as a foundation fund. This sum was obtained, by subscriptions, principally within the county, and it was resolved, that the school should be placed in Worcester. A committee was elected to effect the design, consisting of Isaac Davis and Otis Corbett of Worces- ter, Edward Phillips of Sturbridge, and Otis Converse, of Grafton. The details of the plan were wisely left to their discretion, under the general direction that the instruction should be of the first order ; that strict moral and religious character should be attained ; and that every facility should be afforded for productive labor, to the end that education should be good, but not expensive.
Among the most influential and zealous in the formation, devel- opment, and execution of this project, was Isaac Davis, Esq. who has been the President, and one of the most devoted in personal and pecuniary exertions, to the promotion of the prosperity of the Insti- tution.
In November, 1832, a tract of twenty nine acres of land was pur- chased at the price of 875 the acre, and another lot of thirty one acres for $65 the acre, about half a mile south of the village. The academic buildings were erected in 1833, at the expense of about $10,000. The trustees were incorporated Feb. 28, 1834, with full powers of visitation and government.
On the dedication of the seminary, June 4, 1834, an address was delivered by Rev. Frederic A. Willard, and religious exercises per- formed by Rev. Abiel Fisher. The school went into operation with about 30 scholars, under the superintendence of Silas Bailey, B. U. 1834. The second term, Amos W. Stockwell, A. C. 1834, was em- ployed as assistant, succeeded the third term by Mr. Rhodes B. Chap- man, who resigned in the fall of 1836, and Hervey S. Dale, B. U. 1834, was appointed teacher.
The institution has a library of about 500 volumes, and a philo- sophical and mathematical apparatus, was presented by Stephen Sal- isbury, Esq. one of the trustees.
The studies pursued, are grammar, geography, rhetoric, book- keeping, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, surveying, the languages, in- tellectual and natural philosophy, and chemistry. The academic year is divided into four terms, of eleven weeks each, commencing on the first Wednesday in September, December, March, and June ; and each followed by two weeks of vacation. The charge of each term, for tuition in English studies, is $5, and in the languages, $1 : for rent of room and furniture, $2. Board in commons is furnished at the actual cost : the aggregate expenditure for provisions, ser-
MOl N r 8T. IAM1 9 81 MINARY.
(rants, and other necessary payments, being divided proportion among the scholars.
It was the original design, nol >>nl\ to afford the meant ofthi quisition of knowledge by teachers, library, and app it to
furnish Bach employment as would promote the health of lh( dents, while it enabled them to defray some j > i r t of their i During the period of agricultural operation, i ln-< has been proi The thriii and garden are cultivated by the Btudenta : if the full I of a mini is performed, eight cents the hour 1- allowed for t M • vice, and the same ratio of compensation 1- adopted for less work. A report of the principal, in the autumn of 1835 I tat many
of the students have been enabled to pay their tuition, and some, by industry, had discharged the bill for hoard: and add-, that those who had given evidence of the greatest improvement, on a then p examination, had spent a portion of almost every day in active labor. The want of funds has yet prevented the erection of buildings and accumulation of capital, necess try for establishing branches of man- ufactures and mechanics, affording useful occupation during the in- clement season.
The number of students in 1836, was 135: among them, I- from Worcester. The officers are : [saac Davis, President : Otis Cor- bett, Secretary : Ichabod Washburn, Treasurer: Silas Bailey,Pr»»- cipal: Hervey S. Dale, Teacher : Joel Marble, Steward: H el Fisher, Joseph White, Rev. Otis Converse, Rev. Prederii \ Willard, Stephen Salisbury, On- Corbett, I vard Phil-
lips, Samuel D. Spurr, Pearley Goddard, Daniel Goddard, Ichabod Washburn, Joseph Converse, Joseph T. Everett, 1
M 0 f N T ? T. J A M E B s E M I \ \ B !
This institution, of very recent origin, was founded by Re*. James Fitton. Its buildings are situated on the northern slope of Pakachoag Hill, and are connected with a farm of about Bixty acres of land. The government is vested in a President, Principal, and Prefects, of the Catholic denomination. The course of instruction comprises the branches of practical education which qualify youth for usefulness in the business of life. Pupils of the age of 1 years are admitted. From the elementary studies of reading, writ- ing, and grammar, they may proceed through courses of arithn bookkeeping, geography, astronomy, history, and composition. There are two scholastic terms in the year ; one from Septembi t to March, the other from March to the middle of August : the first
310 POPULATION.
followed by one week, and the second by two weeks, of vacation. In the published statement, the expenses of support and tuition are estimated at eighty dollars per annum.
The present officers are Rev. James Fitton, President, and Jo- seph Brigden, Principal.
CHAPTER XV.
Population. Emigration. Mortality. Valuation. Taxation. Support of the Poor. Communication. Stages. Manufactures. Trade.
Population. Until within a few years, the inhabitants of Wor- cester have been principally employed in agriculture, and the pop- ulation has increased slowly but gradually, until the commencement of works of internal improvement and the establishment of manu- factures, which have given great and rapid accessions of numbers.
The tables below show the numbers in the different years ex- pressed.
|
; |
1790. |
1800. |
1810. |
1820. |
||
|
Age. |
Male. Fern |
Male. Fern. |
Male. Fern. |
Male. |
Fem. |
|
|
Under 10 years. |
i |
— |
350 428 |
337 355 |
479 |
344 |
|
From 10 to 16, |
494 |
178 162 |
186 182 |
171 |
188 |
|
|
From 16 to 26, |
60] |
1 — |
277 230 |
262 283 |
403 |
312 |
|
From 26 to 45, |
— |
949 |
213 245 |
242 234 |
319 |
325 |
|
45 and upwards |
j |
— |
175 170 |
207 531 |
218 |
270 |
|
Total, |
1095 949 |
1193 1135 |
1234 1343 |
1490 |
1439 |
|
|
1830. |
||||||
|
Age. |
Male. |
Fern. |
Tot. |
Age. Male. |
Fern. |
Tot. |
|
Under 5 years, |
300 |
280 |
580 From 40 to 50, 155 |
156 |
311 |
|
|
From 5 to 10, |
218 |
218 |
436 |
50 to 60, 83 |
95 |
178 |
|
10 to 15, |
188 |
209 |
397 |
60 to 70, 44 |
71 |
115 |
|
15 to 20, |
258 |
229 |
487 |
70 to 80, 43 |
38 |
81 |
|
20 to 30, |
537 |
428 |
965 |
80 to 90, 8 |
10 |
18 |
|
30 to 40, |
260 |
251 |
511 |
90 to 100, 0 |
3 |
3 |
2094 1978 4072 The number of free blacks in 1777, were 10 : in 1790, 51 : in 1800, 83 : in 1810, 88 : in 1820, 95 : in 1830, 90.
EMIGRATION. Ill
In 1820, there are returned in commerc I
culture, 218: manufacture . 126 . 19.
The whole population in different years irai aa follows:
Years, L7I t. IT76 1790. 1800. 1810. 1890. 1815. 1890. 1836 Pop. I 17- L925 2095 '.'in •.-:,;;
Emigration. The enterprise «»t" the citizens of Worcester, and the want of profitable employmem of industrj at borne, has, al di£
ferent periods, led her natives to Beek fortune in n med more propitious. About \~,:)M, a colony of the presbyterian planters went out to Worcester in New fork. Soon after tin' war of the revolu- tion, the town of Paris, in .Maine, was founded bj l.« \ i Hubbard, ami the brothers of the Stowell family, joining with him, have been among the useful and honored of the inhabitants of thai town M m. oth- er of the young plantations of that Btate derived accessions of num- bers and worth from our community. Col. Josiah Brewer was the first settler of Cummington in Hampshire Co. Ma--. Col. Timothy Bigelow, in 1780, became grantee of Montpelier: Col. Bphraim Doolittle, long resident liere, commenced the cultivation of Shore- ham ; and Windsor, Chester, and Woodstock, all in Ven if
ceived additions from our citizens. Some were in Col. Potman's expedition of 1787, to build cities in the then far West, and many went, after the war of 1812, to new lands. The county of Wor- cester has been like a hive of population, sending out -warm- in all directions. The town ha- boi ne full share in this contribution to the good of others. The biographical notices of I low a
portion of the talent thus bestowed.
Mortality. The favorable local situation of the town, the salu- brity of the climate and healthful occupations of the people, have rendered the visitations of epidemic disease unfrequent.
Before the small pox had been disarmed of its fearful power of destruction, during the period when it spread over the country, hos- pitals were established in the town, to which whole families resorted for inoculation, in preference to awaiting the danger of taking the disease the natural way. This malady prevailed generally in l"ii, when the deaths here were 7»i.
In 179G, the dysentery prevailed, and between July ami Novem- ber, 44 children under live years, and 15 persons over that age, died here of that complaint. The number of deaths in that year, w the average of five preceding years had been 24
In 1810 and in 1813, a very malignant fever raged and created
312 MORTALITY.
great terror in the county. Its destroying effect, though severe, was less f;ital here than in other towns.
The bills of mortality have been imperfectly kept until recently. The following tables, collected with great labor, exhibit accurate re- sults through the period they comprehend.
|
Years. |
Under |
1 to |
5 to |
10 to |
20 to |
30 to |
•to to |
50 to |
GO to |
70 to |
80 to |
90 to |
Un knov |
' Tot. |
|
|
1. |
5. |
10. |
20. |
30. |
40. |
50. |
GO. |
70. |
GO. |
'JO. |
100. |
||||
|
3816 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
23 |
|
|
1817 |
3 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
49 |
|
|
1818 |
1 |
G |
0 |
o |
7 |
3 |
4 |
3 |
G |
2 |
0 |
2 |
7 |
43 |
|
|
1819 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
2 |
8 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
14 |
51 |
|
|
1820 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
7 |
39 |
|
|
1821 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
4 |
2 |
3 |
1 |
8 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
7 |
35 |
|
|
1822 |
2 |
5 |
1 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
G |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
39 |
|
|
1823 |
3 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
20 |
57 |
|
|
1824 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
3 |
5 |
10 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
38 |
|
|
1825 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
18 |
43 |
|
|
1826 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
5 |
5 |
6 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
22 |
60 |
|
|
1827 |
3 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
4 |
G |
1 |
14 |
46 |
|
|
1828 |
7 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
6 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
0 |
15 |
55 |
|
|
1829 |
5 |
11 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
0 |
5 |
49 |
|
|
1830 |
8 |
5 |
2 |
4 |
12 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
5 |
G |
2 |
2 |
68 |
|
|
1S31 |
9 |
6 |
10 |
3 |
10 |
5 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
10 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
74 |
|
|
1832 |
10 |
10 |
7 |
5 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
3 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
71 |
|
|
1833 |
14 |
13 |
1 |
3 |
8 |
1 |
11 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
7 |
0 |
0 |
68 |
|
|
1834 |
21 |
15 |
4 |
1 |
4 |
9 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
10 |
87 |
|
|
1835 |
20 |
10 |
5 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
4 |
5 |
G |
2 |
3 |
1 |
17 |
105 |
|
|
Jan. |
Feb. |
Mar. |
Apr |
. Ma} |
•. June. July. Au |
g. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Total |
|||||||||
|
1807 |
10 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
48 |
||
|
1810 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
5 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
39 |
||
|
1815 |
2 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
5 |
3 |
G |
32 |
||
|
1820 |
6 |
5 |
2 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
5 |
5 |
2 |
3 |
39 |
||
|
1825 |
2 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
3 |
6 |
G |
1 |
8 |
43 |
||
|
1830 |
5 |
7 |
9 |
4 |
4 |
4 |
8 |
8 |
7 |
8 |
1 |
3 |
68 |
||
|
1831 |
8 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
3 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
6 |
14 |
70 |
||
|
1832 |
4 |
6 |
7 |
7 |
G |
4 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
2 |
10 |
3 |
71 |
||
|
1833 |
7 |
8 |
7 |
1 |
4 |
5 |
3 |
8 |
12 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
69 |
||
|
1834 |
8 |
8 |
4 |
7 |
3 |
5 |
9 |
11 |
5 |
10 |
7 |
10 |
87 |
||
|
1835 |
10 |
9 |
12 |
8 |
7 |
3 |
G |
10 |
11 |
15 |
5 |
9 |
105 |
The deaths in other years, so far as the means of ascertaining the numbers arc preserved, were : in 1775, 22 : in 177G, 76 : in 177S, 39 : in 1779, 21 : in 1780, 17 : in 1781, 24 : in 1782, 31 : in 1783, 28: in 1784,38: in 1791, 22: in 1792,26: in 1793,23: in 1794, 18 : in 1795, 33 : in 1796, 80 : in 1797, 2S : in 1808, 39 : in 1809, 29: in 1811, 32: in 1812, 21 : in 1813, 70: in 1814, 42.
\ Alt k i [ON 313
The ratio of deaths to population in 1830 vraa 1 ia <",| i-.;i | jn 6J 1832, 1 in i in 70 1834, I in 80 1835 i
There have I>«'mi a few install Jolm Young died June 30, 1730 10" I
male, Ma) 22, 1804, a, 106 : Kesina H
Valuai [on. The toll »w in the print i
property i piled from the returns ol
;r< tarj of the ( lommonweahh. < >u il the v aluation of the state in succ< though the results cam: sidered pi
proximate near to accui
|
l 01. |
I it |
||||||
|
Buildings, Barns, |
218 |
371 |
|||||
|
Houses, |
216 |
244 |
384 |
||||
|
Shops, |
11 |
16 |
18 |
71 |
|||
|
Other Buildin |
49 |
no |
Hi! |
• / 1 |
|||
|
Cider, |
No. of barrels, |
21 14 |
— |
||||
|
Grain, |
Barley, bushels, |
— |
— |
||||
|
Corn, |
— |
— |
1 |
I 1112 |
|||
|
Oats, |
— |
— |
6 165 |
117-1 |
17645 |
||
|
— |
— |
4164 |
|||||
|
Whi |
— |
— |
|||||
|
Hay, |
— |
— |
1464 |
||||
|
Meadow, |
— |
— |
1 117 |
1431 |
|||
|
Land, |
Tillage, acres, |
1745 |
|||||
|
Mo* |
1074 |
1754 |
. |
||||
|
Meadow, |
1574 |
l-i I |
1856 |
1844 |
17.-.1 |
||
|
Pasture, |
U99 |
7469 |
7794 |
||||
|
Wood,2 |
14912 |
1 |
r.Ill |
||||
|
Unimproved, |
— |
— |
|||||
|
Unimprovable, |
— |
; |
316 |
||||
|
Covered by water, |
— |
— |
II- |
||||
|
roads, |
— |
— |
B0 |
150 |
|||
|
Live Stock, Cows and steers |
; 778 |
1101 |
|||||
|
Horses, |
319 |
321 |
314 |
||||
|
Oxen, |
:; ;:, |
■in? |
513 |
391 |
188 |
614 |
|
|
Swine, |
2 1 2 |
671 |
I S3 |
717 |
|||
|
Ratable Polls, |
389 |
520 |
519 |
643 |
1109 |
1 Josiah Pierce, who died in 1306, a. 8.5, left 14 children, 77 grand children, nnd 35 great grand children. Kesiah Nichols died 1807, lea\
children, 62 grand children, CG great grand children, 7 gi grand children I
Benjamin Flag?, died Nov. 1819, aged 95, leaving 4 children 42 grand children, BS great grand children.
2 In 1781, 1791, the woodland and unimproved land are not distinguished.
40
314 TAXATION.
The ratable polls have numbered as follows, in years not includ- ed in the tables.
Years, 1777. 1778. 1780. 1793. 1803. 1813. 1823. 1833. 133-1. 183G.
Polls, 438 440 400 490 508 599 715 1300 1312 1083 The aggregate value of the property of the town is inserted in a column below.
Taxation. The following statement will furnish a comparative view of the sums raised for public expenses in different periods. In addition to the town taxes for the support of schools, large sums are assessed in the Centre District.
|
Years. 1800. 1805. |
Total Total High- School Valuation. Taxes. ways. Tax. $296542 $3017 $1500 $1628 443760 2130 2000 1300 |
Public Worship. $808 875 |
County Tax. $151 238 |
State : Tax. $962 1171 |
Ratable Polls. 530 540 |
|||
|
1810. |
1476383 |
3213 |
2000 |
1500 |
1195 |
297 |
1049 |
518 |
|
1815. |
1776635 |
4580 |
2000 |
1500 |
1443 |
219 |
1325 |
641 |
|
1820. |
2015750 |
4715 |
2000 |
1700 |
2604 |
983 |
1181 |
626 |
|
1825. |
2437550 |
6215 |
2000 |
2000 |
2458 |
485 |
— |
881 |
|
1830. |
2747800 |
8073 |
2000 |
2700 |
4868 |
1295 |
619 |
1018 |
|
1835. |
3667250 |
15986 |
2500 |
3600 |
5480 |
1564 |
— |
1570 |
|
1836. |
3990950 |
24047 |
6700 |
5200 |
6435 |
1564 |
— |
1683 |
The expenditures of the town during the year ending in March, 1836, were, as stated in a report : for highways, $2445 : repairs of bridges, $104: new roads, $965: schools, $3472: fire department, $800: new engine house, $1200 : principal and interest of town debt, $3379: lighting streets, $341 : poor establishment, $1404: poor not at the poor house, $453 : compensation to assessors, $170 : burials, $216 : amounting, with some contingent expenses, to $15698. Of this sum, $ 527 has been repaid by allowance for support of state paupers : and $341 from other towns, from individuals, or from pensions.
Support or the Poor. In the early years of the town, the charges for supporting those who by infirmity or misfortune were destitute of the means of subsistence, were inconsiderable. There was a general equality of pecuniary condition, and that common prosperity and independence resulting from industry, frugality and temperance, which either prevented indigence or relieved its wants. Those who needed aid, were sustained by the charity of neighbors, more blessed with worldly goods, freely contributing for their com- fort. The first tax assessed for the support of the poor, seems to have been as late as 1757, when £5 4s. were appropriated for that use.
■-i ITOKT or I I;
In 1763, it was voted, ' that n suitable WOrkhoOBC he lunh f,,r pll
therein all persona that are, or may !»•, to be supported by tbe lown to be under the direction of tin' selectmen.1 In 1772, a build for the same purpose was erected on Front street, 40 by 18 feet in dimensions, at an expense of £70. Little charities were often be- stowed on the meritorious, -■> small as t<> be memorials of tbe com- passion, rather than the munificence of the public. In \~t<< were raised, to be disposed <>t' in transporting a sick ferns ford, and supporting her there while using the medicinal wati r - ..t the spring, ' Bhe being one of the poor of the place, ami laboring under great infirmity.' In 1784, the selectmen were empow c to procure an anvil for Cato Walker, and hud it t<» him, or lei him it during their pleasure.' In 1807, it was determined t<> build an Alms House of brick, but after land hid been purchased lor the site, and materials for the structure, the plan was abandoned. I .- til 1817, the poor were supported by contracts with the highest bid- der at public auction, in the manner usual in the country towns. In that year, the Jennison farm, situated on the great road to Bos- ton, bordering on the upper end of Quinsigamond Pond, was pur- chased, with its comfortable mansion, tin- 05500, ami a permanent home provided for the aged and infirm of our indigent citi; This establishment, under the supervision of the selectmen, i^ con- fided to the charge of a Superintendent, constantly residing with his family in the house, upon a salary of $350 annually, with hoard and rent, conducting the cultivation of the land, and ministering to the comfort of the numerous dependents placed by the swelling popu- lation and peculiar local situation of the town under bis charge, as well as exercising good discipline over those committed by public authority to this institution, as a workhouse.
A building has been erected, affording suitable accommodations for the insane, and a hospital is to be established for relief from the occasional visitation of contagious disorders.
The following statement exhibits the condition of those supported by the charity of the town for two years.
1834. IS:?:.
Males, 42,
Females, 27, 23
Whites, «3, 75
Blacks, 6, 6
From 80 to 00 years of age, 6, 6
Above 00 vears of age, 6, fi
|
Intemperate, |
25, |
|
Married, |
24, |
|
Born in Worcester, |
31, |
|
Foreigners, |
9, |
|
Unable to read or write, |
5, |
|
Blind, |
o |
|
Idiotic, |
5, |
|
Insane, |
4, |
|
Whole number, |
69, |
316 COMMUNICATION.
23
31
33
24
4
2
5
2
81
The annual taxes for the support of the poor from 1762 to thr> revolution, would average £30.
Communication. Prior to 1755, there was a mail between Bos- ton and Philadelphia. A letter sent from one city to the other, was then three weeks on its way, and the writer could not have obtained an answer in less than about seven weeks. A great reform took place in that year, and the speed was so accelerated, that the mails were delivered in fifteen days, so that the reply to the letter could he received in a month from its date. The first stage on the route from Boston to New York, set up by J. and N. Brown, started June 24, 1772, and was intended to run once a fortnight. In the Boston Evening Post, July 6, 1772, patronage is solicited, and it is promised • that gentlemen and ladies who choose to encourage this new, useful, and expensive undertaking, may depend upon good usage, and that the coach will always put up at houses on the road where the best entertainment is provided.' Notice was given, that ' the coaches will leave New York and Boston, on their next trip, on Monday, July 13, and arrive at each of those places on Saturday the 25th,' occupying thirteen days in going from one place to the other. The mail stage now goes from Boston to New York in 34 hours, and to Philadelphia in 44 hours. A person might reach the former city in 24 hours by public conveyance.
The sta<re was not continued to the revolution. In 1774, the only regular communication of the town, was by a post, going once a week between Hartford and Boston, and occupying six days in the journey. At that time, the mails were carried on horseback in sad- dlebags. James Adams, who died at Charlemont, at advanced age, and a Mr. Hyde, were long employed on this route, and went through Shrewsbury, Worcester, Leicester, and Springfield.
Soon after the removal of the Spy to Worcester, Mr. Thomas made extensive arrangements for its distribution. In June, 1775, a post rider setoff each Wednesday at noon, who, by hard traveling
: [ON
arrived at Cambridge the next forenoon, IB :t.
Returning, he left Waterlown I Gill's
was published on T W
On Wednesday, a post started for !'
Saturday.
The firsl f the town was establish)
under the ch.ir^.- of 1-n :
m;iil from th ning, and
Friday morning. Nathaniel Mace irtv, who had I • Mr. Thomas, carried papers and letl day. thence distributed through the north ;
The condition of tiie roads rendered ti and
dangerous, and intercourse was laborious The mails were transmitted, a* almost all passing w horseback. A journey of an hundred mi
preparation, apprehension, and toil, than 01 f a tho dd
be now. There wore few vehicles of any description. The lir-t pleasure car in-the town, 1- -aid to have been a
chaise, owned b\-Tfr^it'J->3Juil»Ii£ sen., a merchant of Boston, w after residing some time in Lancaster, removed to Worcester in 178
The first effort to establish irs, from an adverl
ment,June L3, L 782, stating, that ' a gentleman in Boston, having genteel coach and a span of horses, would be willil 'ti-
ed with some trusty person capable of drivin_- B --
ton and Worcester.' The pro;> ject of making a regular communication did not loi vi Pease, then of Somers, Conn, and Reuben Sikes, then ol 8uf-
'Lrvi Pease, sometime of Somers, Conn, mu- tant of Shrewsbury, where he died Jan. h« served under Gen. Thomas, in the Northern department, am! i •'">"
was often i [
fidelity recommended him to Gen. Wadsworth. ami . connected with the operations lib. He kept tavern for*
afterwards in Poston. and finally went to S
II ■ was the original projector, for some t:.: owner, of the stages betw< not onlv a
ary and ruinous ; and the most judicious, regarded it as being at least a ccnturv in vance of the public wants.
Kf.l ben Si KE-, born in Somers. Conn. July 1 after about two W Abraham, •
vears : was sometime of SuriVkl. Conn, and in M
long proprietor of the hotel, now the Exchange Coffee House. Although mu< ti^n Capt. Pease, the industry, perseverance and enterprise, which marked til
318 COMMUNICATION.
field, ' having furnished themselves with two convenient waggons,' began a business, Oct. 20, 1783, which became most extensive. One waggon started from the sign of the Lamb in Boston, every Monday morning, at G o'clock, and stopped for the night at Martin's, in North- borough : on Tuesday, going through Worcester, it rested at Rice's in Brook field : on Wednesday, it advanced to Pease's, in Somers : and on Thursday reached Hartford. The other leaving Hartford at the same time, and stopping at the same houses, arrived in Boston in four days. Passengers were carried for 4d. the mile. Mr. Thom- as remarks, in the Spy of Oct. 30, ' Should these waggons be en- couraged, it will be of much advantage to the public, as persons who have occasion to travel between, or to, or from, either of the places, may be accommodated on very reasonable terms, and will not have the trouble and expense of furnishing themselves with horses.' They were encouraged, and the enterprising proprietors, personally acting as drivers and conductors, set about improvements of their accommodations and arrangements. In May, 1784, they purchased new carriages : Pease, going from the Lion, in Marlborough street, Boston, lodged at Farrar's in Shrewsbury, and the next day exchang- ed passengers at Spencer with Sikes, who returned by the route of Springfield to Hartford. The customers found their way to New Haven, and thence took sloop navigation to New York. Industry, frugality, devotion to business, and sagacious management, soon made the waggoners and stage drivers, wealthy proprietors and great mail contractors. They entered into an arrangement with Talmage Hall and Jacob Brown, of Hartford, to extend the stage communi- cation to New Haven, in Nov. 1784. 2
ter, rendered him fit assistant in the execution of a plan, in its origin bold and hazar- dous. He was extensively engaged in the establishment and management of stages, and after the retirement of his partner, was one of the largest proprietors of that prop- erty in New England. He died August 19, 182 1, aged G9, not long after his associate.
2 The following interesting memoranda, transcribed from the New York Daily Adver- tiser, of 1833, differ somewhat from the account in the text.
'In the year 1786, the first stage carriage that ever was established on the great post road between New York and Hartford, was set up by Jacob Brown, then a resi- dent of Hartford, in the state of Connecticut, and commenced running between Hart- ford and New Haven. It was a carriage somewhat resembling the coaches of later times, but far inferior to most of them in workmanship and appearance, and was drawn by one pair of horses, which performed the whole journey through from one town to the other. The route was upon what is called the middle road, that is by Berlin, Wal- lingford, &c. and the journey occupied the day. At that time, for a large part of the year, a great proportion of travelers from the Eastward to the city of New York, took passage at New Haven, on board the sloops which plied between the two ports, and thus finished their journey by water. The passages varied according to wind and
i oMBfi m< \ i ion 319
In Jan. 1786, the energetic fbundei lied a lint
stages from Portsmouth i<> Savannah, tnnsportin From Boston to Hartford, coaches left the inn <>t Levi P positc the Mall, everj Monday and Thursday mornin i ock:
went to Worcester on the first da) : on the next daj to P on the third to Hartford : and in three days more arrived at York. This was the winter arrangement : in Bummer, I run with the mail three tiroes a week, ' by which n owners, ' those who take passage al Boston in the stage whi< I off on Mondaj morning, may arrive at Nevi N ork on the Thin evening following, and ;ill the mails during the season will be but four days from Boston to New York ,' and s letter adds, ' bj tins unparalleled speed, a merchant may go from Boston Jfork,
and return again in less than ten days ; which i- truly wonderful.1 The advertisement proceeds to remark, that ' n i> the most conve- nient and expeditious way of travelling that can be bad in America, and in order to render it the cheapest, the proprietors had low< their price from M. to :5d. the mile, with liberty to era to
carry II pounds weight of baggage.' In July, 1788, notice WIS given by Levi Pease, that after great expense and fatigue, be had completed the line of stages from Boston to Nevi York: that the carriages which before were heavy and uneasy, bad been hung upon springs, and would not fatigue more than a common coach and that to Nov. 1, there would be three -tains a uok, and from that date to May 1, two the week.
From this time onward, the speed of traveling and it-> facilities were increased almost beyond measure.1
weather, from twelve liours to three days. A considerable part of the road between New Haven and New York, along Ihesbore of the Sound, was extremely rough, rnrky, and uncomfortable, and in fact in some places almost impassable for wheel cai After Brown's carriage had run for a year or two. or perhaps more, a man <>t ti • of Hall petitioned the legislature of Connecticut for the exclusive privilege of running sta^e carriages on the road from New Haven through thai state, to Byram rw. which was granted, and the stages were established, and run for a mm. when they passed into other hands. Not far from the same time an exclo
of running stage carriages fiom Hartford to the Massacfa Us lm<-. between Buffieldia
Connecticut and West Springfield in Massachusetts, on the great post road to Boston. which then passed in that direction, was granted by the legislature I I <ut to
Reuben Sikes, who for many years, in connection with Levi l - urj in
Massachusetts, and probably with other-, kepi Dp tin' line through «> P.
» The improvement in the rate of motion in England, has been as grrai as in the United States. An advertisement of stage coaches in the Newcastle l I I"'-.
says, ' All thai desire to pass from Edinbro' to London, or from Loudon to E or any place on that road, let them repair to .Mr. John Bailie's at the Coach and Horse*,
320
COMMUNICATION.
It would not be useful to detail further the steps in the progress of a branch of improvement, whose course may be so easily traced by inspection of the newspapers.
Stages were placed on almost every road. The lines which cen- tred at Worcester, and went out and returned here in 1825, before canal or rail road affected this mode of conveyance, are thus enu- merated : there were stages, daily to Boston, Hartford, and New York, and to Oxford : three times a week, 5 lines to Boston; 1 to Providence ; 1 through Hardwick to Northampton ; 1 through Brook- field to the same town ; I to Springfield ; 1 to Keene ; 1 to East Chelmsford; 1 to Southbridge ; 1 to Dudley; twice a week, there was a line to Providence ; and there were weekly lines to Athol, to Richmond, N. H. and to Ashburnham. Post riders carried mails twice a week to Pomfret, Conn, and weekly to Thompson, Conn. : others without mails went to Concord, Charlton, and Oxford.
In 1831, it was estimated that the average amount of traveling in stages between Boston and Worcester, was equal to 22360 pas- sages per annum, for which the lowest price of fare was two dol- lars, and the shortest time six hours.
The subjoined list exhibits an account of the different lines of stages in September, 1836, and the number of times each arrives and departs weekly.
|
Stage |
to |
Weekly. |
Stage to Weekty. |
|
Boston, |
Mail, |
7 |
Springfield, 6 |
|
(< |
Accommodation. |
, 3 |
Northampton, 6 |
|
<( |
Springfield Mail, |
3 |
Amherst, 6 |
|
Hartford, |
Southern Mail, |
7 |
Keene, 6 |
|
(i |
Tremont Line, |
6 |
Brattleborough, G |
|
<( |
Citizens, |
6 |
North Brookfield, 3 |
|
<< |
Telegraph, |
6 |
Barre, 3 |
|
Providence, |
6 |
Greenfield, 6 |
|
|
Lowell, |
6 |
Mill bury, 12 |
|
|
Norwich, |
6 |
Leicester, 12 |
The stage books gave the total receipts of three lines for the year ending April 1, 1835, thus : from Worcester to Springfield S8,699 : to Northampton 813,086: by the way of Amherst §3,131 : amount-
at the head of Cannongate, Edinbro', every other Saturday, or to the Black Swan, in Holborn, every other Monday : at both of which places, they may be received in a stage coach, which performs the whole journey in thirteen days, without any stoppage, if God permits, having 80 able horses to perform the whole stage.' A late English paper states that the Mail coach from Edinburgh to London has been through in 40 hours.
U \M FACT! 1:1 -
ing in the whole to $24,915 1; was estimated that the numb passengers annually curritil between v. and Hartford
30,000.
Mam r.\' i\ res Before the revolution, and for a long pi nod af- ter its conclusion, the manufactures of the town were very incon« Biderahle.
Works lor making potash were first established in the north part of the town, about 1760: buildings for similar purposes were ; ed on Lincoln Btreet, by John Nazro, about tea years after : four more were erected at much later | U have I
been destro] ed.
The distillation of rye, to an extent not only sufficient lor home consumption, but affording some surplus for exportation, commenced, but was not successful.
In 1780, an association was formed, for the purpose of spinning and weaving cotton. In February, it was stated in the Spy, that a subscription was making for defraying the expense of a jenny. Air. Thomas announces, under date April:])), that 'on Tuesdaj last, tin- first piece of corduroy made at the manufactory in this town was taken from the loom. Good judges speak highly of it, as superior to English. The carding machine, which is a great curiosity, as well as is the spinning machine, has been completed some time. In a little time it is hoped, the corduroy.-, jean-, & c. made' in this tOWU will be sufficient to supply the country.' The proprietors, il i- .- lid, in December, ' had lately erected buildings, and taken other meas- ures to carry on business extensively. A lar_re quantity of fustian, jean, and corduroy are for sale now, lasting longer, and retaining color and beauty better, than the foreign.1 These article- with the addition of federal rib and cotton,' were advertised by Samuel Bra- zer, in May, 1790. The site of the establishment was on the stream a short distance below the Court Mills. Want of profit or persever- ance, induced the owners to forego their brilliant anticipations, and the manufactory edifice, removed to Main street, was lou_r after known as the ' Green store.'
Paper was made by Mr. Thomas in 1704, on the Blackstone Riv- er. The mill then erected was afterwards leased and finally sold to Elijah Burbank, and the business, continued by him until [834, has since been extended by the Quinsigamond Paper Company.
A card manufactory was commenced by Daniel Denny in IT'.»-
Pcter and Ebcnezer Stowell, in Oct. 1804, commenced weai 41
322 TRADE.
carpets and plaids, and at one time, had six looms of their own in- vention and construction in operation. They pursued, at the same time, the business of printing calicos, and built shearing machines, superseded in use, in later days, by those of more perfect operation.
Abel Stowell, carried on a very extensive manufacture of tower and church clocks, and many now remain to attest the value of his han- diwork, and mark the hours of the present generation.
In 1803, Joshua Hale began the carding of wool in the south part of the town, and in 1810, erected a cotton factory, which, though of humble extent in comparison with the immense structures of the mill owners of the valley of the Blackstone, was considered a great enterprise a quarter of a century ago.
During the last ten years the water power of the town has been made to have more than double the former capacity, by the establish- ment of reservoirs, and is susceptible of being increased to great ex- tent by the same means.
There are now 2 mills manufacturing broadcloths : 6 making sat- inets : 1 for cotton sheeting and shirting : 2 for satinet warps : I for pelisse wadding : 2 for paper. There are 7 extensive establish- ments for building machinery : one wire factory : an iron foundry: and manufactories, of sashes, doors and blinds ; of lead aqueduct pipe : of paper hangings : of cabinet furniture : of chairs : of brush- es : of trunks and harnesses : of ploughs : of hats : of shoes : of watches : of umbrellas: of cutlery : of piano fortes; and many other articles of utility or ornament. The amount of production in the different branches of manufacturing industry is very great, and con- stantly increasing.1
Trade. Where almost every hand and head is busy in some branch of industry, and employments are multiplied and various, it has been found impossible to state in figures the amount of capital employed, or the precise results on general wealth.
Some aid is afforded in estimating the amount of business by the annual receipts of the Post Office. They are returned as follows :
Years. 1825. 1826. 1827. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 1835. 1S36. Receipts. #713 844 961 1008 1141 1332 1338 1469 1743 2053 £294 £827
The number of dwelling houses, stores, and factories, erected in the town, within the two last years, has been estimated to exceed
1 An effort has been made to ascertain the amount of manufactures of the town : but sufficient information has not been obtained to make an estimate with accuracy. Some details in relation to manufactures, trade, and business, will be found in the appendix.
MEDIC i\ -"' M i I
three hundred: il tnd warehouse actually occupied
upwards of ninetj
The principal articles of import are grain, flour, lumber, coal, salt, lime, gypsum, oil, iron, had, hardware, di paints, dye stuffs, cotton, and wool : of exports, ship timber, bri machinery, wooden ware, castings, cotton and woolen goods, paper,
Shoes, chairs.
CH LPT K R X \ I
Societies and Institutions, Medical I1 > Antiquarian Society. As
lural Society. Historical Society. Atheaeum. Banki I I
Savings Institution. Variou lions. .Military < '. and Periodicals.
Many of the societies meeting, acting, and having a kind of n -i- dence here, belong to the county or country, rather than the town : yet, they are so closely connected with Worcester, that they could not properly be passed by in its history.
Worcester Medical Society. A medical association was tir-t formed in the county of Worcester, August, 1784, of which Dr. Samuel Prentice was Secretary, but it soon dud, leaving DO n ■ for the historian.
The Mass. Medical Society, intended to produce that harmony and mutual efTort necessary to elevate the profession to the standing and usefulness which the interests of the community required, failed of its object, by the limitation of its members to eighty in M chusetts and Maine, and the restriction on their consultations with any, except those who obtained the qualifications they required. By the exertions of Dr. Oliver Fiske, the most respectable and influ- ential physicians of the county assembled, and formed the Wore. -- ter Medical Society, Dec. IS, 1794. Dr. John Prink of Rutland, was elected President, and Dr. Fiske of Worcester, Secretarj At an early meeting, a petition was pr< ferred to the Legislature for incorporation, referred to a joint committee of physician-, and re- sulted in an arrangement to enlarge the numbers of the general society, and a proposal to create district associations. Thissystem,
321 ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY.
removing the evils which had been felt, and mutually satisfactory, was carried into effect, and on the 20th of Sept. 1804, the Worces- ter District Society was organized. The succession of Presidents has been as follows : 1794, John Frink : 1804, Israel Atherton : 1800, Oliver Fiske: 1807, Thomas Babbitt: 1813, Abraham Has- kell : 1814, Jonathan Osgood : 1820, Abraham Haskell : 1825, Ste- phen Bacheller : 1830, John Green.
The Society have a very valuable library of about 400 volumes of works of professional use.
The American Antiquarian Society. This institution, having for its object, the collection and preservation of materials for the history of the western continent, was founded by Isaiah Thomas, LL. D. In the preparation of his work on printing, he had gathered the relics of the departed centuries, with curious illustra- tions of the literature of former times, at an expense few antiqua- rians could have bestowed, and with diligence and care none other would have devoted. Feeling the good the experience of the past may convey to the future, it was his design to save the seeds of knowledge gathered in successive centuries, to yield their increase in those which may succeed : and by perpetuating the memorials of the present, to enable other generations to become wiser and happier by the experiments of their predecessors. Connecting with himself many friends of improvement and lovers of history, an association was formed by his exertions, incorporated by the Legislature of Massachusetts, Oct. 12, 1812. The centre building of Antiquarian Hall, erected at his expense, in 1820, with the land on which it stands, was presented by him to the society. The first volume of transactions, relating principally to the fortifications, mounds, and antiquities of the extinct nations of the west, was published, in 1820, at his charge. On his decease, by munificent bequests, he provided for the support of the institution he had established, and for the promotion of its great purposes. In the second volume of transac- tions, published in Sept. 1830, are inserted, an extended and pro- found dissertation on Indian history and languages, by Hon. Albert Gallatin, and the Memoir of the Christian Indians, by Daniel Goo- kin, so frequently referred to in former pages. The Library, esti- mated to contain 12,000 volumes, includes the collections of Mr. Thomas, a large portion of the books of the Mathers, many in the German language bequeathed by Dr. Bentley of Salem, a vast mass of tracts and manuscripts, and the best series of American newspa-
&GRICI I. n KM. SO ,i i I
papers preserved in the country. There i- a valuable cabint i . trative of antiquities and natural history T • stated rn the society arc held annuallj ; one in Boston, on the old t lection in May ; the other ii>r the election of officers, in W or U r, i tober, on tin; anniversary of the landing of Columbus. The num- ber of American members is limited to 140; man. shed
foreigners are enrolled on the catalogue bj honorary elections. The funds, amounting to about 122,000, arc appropriated t<> the support of a librarian, the purchase of books, the exploration of antiqu and the other specific purposes designated by the munificent donor. The institution has been managed on the most liberal plan ; its col- lections have been kept open to the public freely, ami have been much frequented by strangers ami scholars.1
Worcester Agricultural So< inv. This most excellenl in- stitution was incorporated, Feb. 23, 1818.9 At the first meeting, -March 11. 1818, for the purpose of forming a fund to be Bacredly
appropriated for the promotion of agriculture, the contribution of five dollars was required from each member on admission. In December following, Levi Lincoln, Daniel Waldo, and Edward D. Bangs, were appointed a committee, to ask for legislative bounty, who presented a petition at the nex( session, [n consequem this application, and other similar memorials, the Act of Feb. 20, 1819, granted from the state treasury, to each agricultural society, 8200 annually for six years, for every thousand dollars of funds they had raised ; with the limitation, that the sum thus drawn, should not exceed SGOO the year. The full amount of the munificent appro- priation of the government, since extended for a longer period, In- been received by the association, and an amount nearly equal dis- tributed in premiums, or applied to the paymc nt of n< barg- es. The exhibitions of cattle and manufactures, in the month of
1 These ofliccrs have been elected; /' I 12, Isaiah Thomas: 1 I I L.Winlhrop. Vice Presidents ; 1812, William D. P
Aaron Bancroft, Timothy Bigelow : 1821, DeWil I I I '■
1831, John Davis, Joseph Story. I I III
Thomas, jr. : 1819, Nathaniel Maccartyi 1829, Samuel Jenn cretaries; 1812, Thaddeus M.Harris : 1814, Samuel M. Burnt 1816, Abi. i; 1826, William Lincoln, for domestic correspondcnci- 1 J, Edward ] foreign correspondence.
The late C. C. Baldwin, was librarian from April 1832, to bis death ill I Maturin L. Fisher, has been acting librarian since thai dale.
2 Before the revolution, cattle fairs were held annually at Hard wick. 1 bury Agricultural Society, aud the Brookfield Association of Husbandmen, pr the society of the county.
326 HISTORICAL SOCIET5
October, beginning in 1819, have been since continued witb increas- ing interest. The festival has given one quiet spot among the con- flicts of excited times, where all sects and parties have met to unite their efforts for the common good. Addresses on these occasions have been delivered by the following gentlemen : Years. Years.
1819. Levi Lincoln, 1828. William S. Hastings,
1820. Lewis Bigelow, 1829. William Lincoln,
1821. Jonathan Russell, 1830. Ira Barton,
1822. Nathaniel P. Denny, 1831. Oliver Fiske,
1823. Oliver Fiske, 1832. Waldo Flint,
1824. Isaac Goodwin, 1833. Solomon Strong,
1825. George A. Tufts, 1834. Charles Allen,
1826. Emory Washburn, 1835. Stephen Salisbury,
1827. Pliny Merrick, 1836. James G. Carter.
The amount of funds and of monies paid as premiums, in years
ending with the annual meeting in April, are as follows :
Years, 1820. 1826. 1827. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1831. 1832. 1833. 1834. 1835. 18SG. Funds', ,?2955 4636 4880 5100 5378 5739 6036 6645 6942 7352 7683 7938 Premiums' #434 492 687 536 414 417 391 464 476 476 480 494
The following officers have been elected ; Presidents, 1818, Levi Lincoln, sen : 1820, Daniel Waldo : 1824, Levi Lincoln : Treas- urer, 1818, Theophilus Wheeler : Cor. Secretaries, 1818, Levi Lin- coln : 1824, Oliver Fiske : Recording Secretaries, 1818, Abraham Lincoln : 1819, Edward D. Bangs : 1S23, William D. Wheeler ; 1834, Charles G. Prentiss : 1836, Edwin Conant.
The Worcester Historical Society, incorporated Feb. 19, 1831, was formed for the purpose of collecting and preserving all materials necessary for compiling a full account of the history, sta- tistics, and geography of the county. It requires, as evidence of qualification for membership, the publication of some work, or some practical exertion in aid of these objects. Hon. John Davis has been president since the organization.1
1 The Centennial anniversary of the erection of Worcester count}', was celebra- ted by this society Oct. 4, 1831. The first Court of Common Pleas was opened Aug.10, 1731 : and the Supreme Court of Judicature was held Sept. 22, 1731. It was deemed equally proper to commemorate either of the leading events of the first year of the century. Having regard to the attendance of the citizens, and from other considera- tions, the first day of the session of the Supreme Judicial Court in 1831 was selected, and the centennial anniversary of the sitting of that tribunal was commemorated, on Tuesday, Oct. 4, although the date was not precisely coincident with the return of the judicial term. The Address was delivered by Hon. John Davis, and, with a particular account of the ceremonies, is deposited in the Am. Antiquarian Society's Collections.
BANKS
The V. ori esteh Counti Aiiiimi m, h !. March
12, 1830, with the intention of forming a full librarj use. Thirty four proprietors purcl ittheprict
ty five dollars each, subject to an aunu A limit 3000 volumes "t work i il literature !•
ered, making a foundation for an extensive collection in ful
The library i> now kept in one <•!" th( \ II
appropriated for the purp The Rev. George Allen has been Pn I I Paine,
Treasurer: and Willi. un Lincoln, Secretary, from the organization.
Tim Worcesti R Bank, was originally incorporated with a i ital of $200 000, .March "i , 1804, and its charter h \t been r< n< in 1811 and lv:H. The first President was Daniel Waldo chosen 1804, who declined the office in October following, when Daniel Waldo was elected his successor, and has Bince been ai the head of the institution. The Cashiers have been : 1804, Levi Thax- tcr : 1806, Robert Breck Brigham : 1812, Samuel Jennison.
The Central Bank, was incorporated March 12, 1828, with a capital of $100 000. Benjamin Butman was President to the an- tumn of 1836, when Thomas Kinnicutt was elected. The < !ashiers have been; 1828, Otis Corbett: 1829, G L Trumbull : i-
William Dickinson.
The Quinsigamono Bank, chartered March J">, 1833, has a cap- ital of $100 000. Its Presidents have b en I-:*.:'.. Alfred 1> ter : 1836, Isaac Davis. Charles A. Hamilton baa 1" en I
The Citizens Bank was incorporated, April 9, 1836, with $500 000 capital, and went into operation in October following. Benjamin Butman is President, George A. Trumbull, Cashier, and
Rhodes B. Chapman, Accountant.
The Worcester Mutual Fire Insubaj I . \\. , was in- corporated, Feb. II. 1823. It- powers are vested in a president, treasurer, secretary, and eight director tl the annual i
ing on the second Wednesdaj of December. The following been the succession of the principal officers: Presidents; 1824, Rejoice Newton: 1831, Frederic W. Paine: Seeretar 1824, Henry K. Ncwcomb, William D Wheeler: 1827, tsaac Goodwin : 1832, Anthony Chase.
323
MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANIES.
|
Anil, each year. |
Total amt. insured. |
Premiums received. |
Expenses. |
Losses. |
Cash Funds. |
|
$153815 |
$153815 |
S21G9 8G |
$610 79 |
— |
— |
|
175)786 |
333G01 |
2G75 56 |
392 65 |
— |
— |
|
190304 |
52390G |
2845 00 |
295 90 |
— |
— |
|
135800 |
65970G |
2159 34 |
394 60 |
— |
— |
|
157043 |
817350 |
2374 71 |
317 27 |
$1800 |
— |
|
188009 |
1005359 |
3190 28 |
414 83 |
415 |
— |
|
180353 |
1185712 |
2880 86 |
499 80 |
2414 |
— |
|
372352 |
1404249 |
4653 90 |
637 49 |
1000 $15885 11 |
|
|
478482 |
1702994 |
5973 43 |
80S 00 |
325 |
21991 80 |
|
701933 |
2214G23 |
9343 75 |
935 35 |
4850 |
26400 24 |
|
583449 |
26G2272 |
8403 90 |
838 80 |
430 |
34904 31 |
|
778642 |
3283270 |
10750 62 |
1132 40 |
374 |
46603 50 |
The table below shows the extension and progress of its business.
Years.
1824. 1825. 1820. 1827. 1828. 1829. 1830. 1S31. 1832. 1833. 1834. 1835.
As the association is formed for mutual security, and not for prof- it, there are strictly speaking no dividends. The average of amounts returned to the insurers on the expiration of policies, have been ; in 1831, 77i cents of each dollar paid as premium : in 1832, 82£ : in 1833, 8U: in 1834, 83£ : in 1835, 90k.
The Manufacturers Mutual Fire Insurance Company, founded on that principle of giving mutual security expressed by its name, was incorporated Feb. 25, 1834. Two millions of dollars were subscribed and are held as a fund, liable to assessment for loss- es. The company commenced business, Aug. 5, 1834, by issuing policies on the property of manufacturing establishments. By an act additional to the charter, the corporation were authorized to ef- fect insurance on buildings, public and private, except dwelling hous- es not connected with manufactories, within the United States.
The statements below include the business of years ending Oct. 1.
|
Years. |
Insured. |
Premiums. |
Expenses. |
Losses. |
Cash funds. |
|
1834. |
$331222 |
$3318 |
— |
— |
— |
|
1835. |
20G3301 |
22352 |
$3140 |
$6712 |
$16160 |
|
183G. |
5000000 |
48126 |
3016 |
19100 |
30686 |
The dividends of returned premiums in 1835, were 55k : in 1S36, 65k. The concerns are managed by a president, twelve directors, and a secretary. The former and latter have been these : Presi- dents ; 1834, David T. Brigham : 1835, Harvey Blashfield : Secreta- ries; 1834, Edward H. Hemenway : 1835, Samuel Allen.
There is an agency of the Springfield Insurance Company in Worcester.
[NSTITI I
The Worci noN roR Sati in-
corporated Februarj 8, and d April I", I---- A
•lent, Becretar] . treasurer, twelvi . four
trustees, chosen al the annual meetings, have tl the institution, and make examination of its concerns by monthly committei I unds are loaned and invested by aboard sel< by the trustees. The statement anm this most useful institution in years terminating io April.
i i • Depositors, 105 25] 678 1449 I860
Depositor,
It appears from the annual return- 0 r) of the
Commonwealth, that the whole expenses of the institution, during the current year, when the funds have incn ased to nearly $300< 00, were $641, only. From the commencement, not a dollar fit the investments have been lost.
Daniel Waldo has heen President, and Samuel Jennison, Treas- urer, from the organization. Isaac Goodwin was Secretary to Au- gust, 1632, and William Lincoln has held that office since.
The multitude of unchartered associations is too great for sepa- rate enumeration. There are societies for the promotion of sabbath schools; of temperance ; of missionary purposes; of moral reform; of education; of charity ; of science: there are others for, mutual protection against the calamity of fire; for punishing depredations on orchards and gardens; for the prevention and detection of theft; for improvement in music, and for many other henevolent or useful purposes. Among these, the Bible Society and the Lyceum are probably the only ones requiring particular notice.
The Auxiliary Bible Society was organized Sept. 7, 1815. The settled ministers of the gospel in the county, of every denom- ination, are entitled to membership ex officio. The payment of one dollar annually constitutes a member while the contribution i< con- tinued, and often dollars gives the privilegi a for life. So well have the people of the county been supplied with the -acred bi that during the first ten years of il furnishing
the indigent in a population of about ituitiously, and
inn for those who were destitute, had distributed only * I and 77 testaments. During this period, about $2000 had been col- lected. In 1822, the association having become a branch <>f the 42
330 WORCESTER LYCEUM.
American Bible Society, paid over $500 in one sum, and subse- quently transferred to that noble institution a fund of §1000, which had been invested on interest. Within the last period of ten years, increased population and accessions of foreigners have rendered the distribution of the scriptures greater, and the better means and deeper interest of the charitable in the objects of the society swell- ed the donations. From the latest annual report which has been published it appears, that, for the year ending Oct. 1, 1834, the re- ceipts were $2353 : the amount paid to the national society for the purchase of books $334 : and as free gift $1722 : the number of bibles issued were 267, of testaments 683. l
Worcester Lyceum. This society was formed Nov. 4, 1829, for mutual instruction and improvement. The management of the common concerns is confided to a president, treasurer, secretary, and an executive committee of eight members, elected by ballot, at the annual meeting, first held in November, and recently on the last Thursday in March. Lectures are delivered on each Thurs- day evening during the months from October to March. Occasional courses on the sciences, have been given by distinguished teachers. During the first years of the association, classes were formed among the members for acquiring practical knowledge, and their exercises were pursued with pleasure and benefit.
Membership is gained by any person of good moral character, on the payment of one dollar, at the commencement of the year ; by those from eighteen to twenty one, on the annual contribution of seventy-five cents ; and any one between the ages of twelve and eigh- teen years, on the deposit of fifty cents, becomes entitled to all the advantages and means of improvement of the institution.
The Lyceum is possessed of a good chemical apparatus, and a well selected library of about 500 volumes, beneficially and exten- sively used by the young artizans and operatives of the village. By a provision of the constitution, no alienation of the property is to be made: to secure its preservation during any suspension of the society, the selectmen are authorized to deposit the collections with some incorporated literary institution of the town, to be held in trust, and transferred to some new association for similar purposes.
>The Presidents have been; 1815, Joseph Allen: 1822, Aaron Bancroft: 1824, Jonas Kendall: 1827, Levi Lincoln: 1834, John Davis. Treasurers, 1815, Benjamin Heywood: 1817, Samuel Allen : 1820, William Jennison : 1824, Charles Allen: 1830, Benjamin Bulman. Secretaries, 1815, Nathaniel Thayer : 1818, Lemuel Capen ■ 1819, Joseph Allen, of Northborough: 1829, George Allen : 1832, Alfred D. Foster.
MILITARY COMPANIES. 331
The number of members in 1830, was 27G : in 1831, 126 ; in 1832, 191 : 1833, 171 : in 1834, 181 ; in 1835, 190. But these numbers do not indicate the attendance; the great hall of the Town House has been thronged with a continually increasing crowd : and the institution, sustained by popular favor, has been an example of the successful diffusion of learning by the cheapest possible medium of communication.
The officers have been these : Presidents ; 1829, Jonathan Go- ing ; 1832, John Park ; 183G, Alfred Dwight Foster. Secretaries; 1829, Anthony Chase ; 1832, Horatio L. Carter ; 1833, Warren Lazell.
Military Companies. Soon after the garrisons of the first plan- ters, formed from the neighborhood, ceased to be kept, a military company was formed to act against the Indian enemies, who had united themselves with the French, and retiring to a distance, made frequent invasions. Daniel Heywood was elected and long remain- ed captain. There are some slight traces of its existence, in 1725, but it cannot be certainly stated that it began so early. In 1760, there were two bodies of militia, one numbering 59, and the other 48, under Capt. John Johnson and Capt. James Goodwin.
About 1783, the Worcester Artillery was formed, of volunteers, and William Treadwell 1 elected Captain. This corps, the oldest of the martial associations of the town, is now commanded by Capt. Josiah G. Perry, and has two six pounders granted by the state for its use.
The Independent Cadets, under Capt. Thomas Chandler, was formed during the war with France in 1798, and on its conclusion, was disbanded.
The Worcester Light Infantry paraded for the first time, in May 1804, under Captain Levi Thaxter. The commanding officers have been, Levi Thaxter, Enoch Flagg, William E. Green, Isaac Sturtevant, John W. Lincoln, Sevvall Hamilton, John Coolidge,
1 Major William Treadwell, one of the most gallant of the officers of the army of the revolution, entered the service at an early age, and was distinguished for lion hearted courage. He had an enthusiastic love of danger. Twice, when his own division was at rest he obtained leave of absence and joined another corps on the eve of battle. While the shot of the enemy strnck around him, the testimony of a cotemporary states, he would consider with the most deliberate coolness the direction of his own guns, look over the sights to give the best aim, and after the discharge, spring upon the cannon to see the effect. He retired, with honorable scars and rank, to a condition of poverty, that drove him to despair, and died, broken hearted, April 14, 1795, aged 46.
332 NEWSPAPERS.
Samuel Ward, Artemas Ward, John Whittemore, Charles A. Ham- ilton, William S Lincoln, Charles H. Geer.
The Worcester Rifle Corps, established in 1S23, was disbanded in 1835.
The numbers doing duty in volunteer companies during 1?35 and 1836, has been about 50 : there are two large companies of militia with a force of more than 200 men.
NEWSPAPERS AND PERIODICALS.
The Massachusetts Spy, established in Boston by Isaiah Thom- as, in July, 1770, was first issued in Worcester, May 3, 1775, and has preserved the series of its numbers unbroken to the sixty fifth volume and year of its existence, having long since reached the venerable rank of the oldest paper in Massachusetts, where the prin- ting of newspapers began. Daniel Bigelow and William Stearns, two gentlemen of the legal profession, became lessees, June 27, 1776 : finding the labors inconsistent with their appropriate business, they transferred the right of publication to Anthony Haswell, afterwards conductor of the Vermont Gazette, Aug. 14, 1777. The press was resumed by Mr. Thomas in June, 1778, and retained until 1802, when it was resigned to Isaiah Thomas, Jr. After some changes of ownership, in 1819, it was purchased by William Manning and Georo-e A. Trumbull, and in 1823, John Milton Earle became ed- itor, and has since continued the principal or sole proprietor.
The Massachusetts Herald or Worcester Journal, a small paper of four quarto pages, was issued by Isaiah Thomas, Sept. 6, 1783, and intended by the publisher, as a Saturday abridgment of his larger sheet. The advertisement states 'that if it should fail of being properly nurtured by the public, it will, as it is a rib taken from the Spy, he again replaced, without murmur or complaint.' Public patronage did not sustain the undertaking, and it was aban- doned after the fourth number.
American Herald and Worcester Recorder. The Herald, which had been published in Boston during seven preceding years, was removed to Worcester, Aug. 21, 1788, and issued on Thursdays, by Edward Eveleth Powers, who united the trade of a bookseller with that of printer. The paper was decorated with an agricultural de- vice, and bore the motto, ' venerate the plough '; professed perfect impartiality in politics ; promised intelligence in rural economy ;
NEWSPAPERS. 333
and was marked by do distinct character : aftei two years and two months, it was discontinued.
The [ndependent Gazetteer, the fourth newspaper of Wor- r, was commenced Jan. , and published by Nahum
Mower, and Daniel Greenleaf, until the 7th of < October succeeding, when the partnership of the proprietors was dissolved, and the pub- lication was continued by the latter, through two years. When tin- period was completed, the list of subscribers was transferred to th< conductor of the Spy.
TheNationai 43Gis,was established in support of the policyof Mr. Jefferson, amid the fiercest warfare of the great panics organized at the commencement of the present century. Subscriptions were
obtained among the ardent politicians in the vicinity and in Boston, amounting to about $1200, for the purchase of a press and printing materials.1 Proposals, hearing internal evidence of the authorship of Hon. Francis Blake, were sent out Sept. 8, 1801, detailing the plan afterwards executed in spirited manner by himself and others; the paper was to be devoted to the defence of the national administra- tion, and unceasing opposition to its enemies ; the last page, called ' the Olio,' was assigned as a separate department for literary essays, and selections. The first number appeared Dec. 2, 1S01. Deriving its name from the arms of Minerva, the front exhibited the figure of the mythologic goddess of wisdom, grasping the spear in one hand, and resting the other on the shield, bearing the device of the gorgon's head, wreathed with olive branches. Mr. Blake, as editor, gave high character to the print, and many of the ablest writers of the county cooperated with its gifted conductor, to influence and di- rect public sentiment. This arrangement continued until 1804, when Mr. Blake retired. In December, 1805, the whole property was attached under a claim growing out of debts of the printer, Samuel Cotting, and the publication suspended. The democratic citizens, roused to exertion, procured new apparatus, which they vested in trustees, and the ^Egis again appeared, Feb. 19, 1806, in deplorable dishabille for a time, but soon regained neatness and beau- ty. A new calamity occurred to interrupt its prosperity. On Sun- day the Gth of July, during the hours of worship, a part of the types were removed, and the sheets, impressed on one side, carried away by
1 Among the.subscriptions were these : Benjamin Austin, ,$150 .James Sullivan, g 100: James Prince, #100: Jonathan L. Austin, S100 : Levi Lincoln, sen. £100: William Eustis, $45 : William Jarvis . % 15.
334 NEWSPAPERS.
Cotting, who, on the next Wednesday, in his individual capacity, sent out the paper in handsome form, while the trustees of the subscription fund were scarcely able to communicate their misfor- tune. A curious state followed, realizing the confusion of external identity, imagined in the Comedy of Errors. Two papers were published in the same town, on the same day, claiming to be ' the true ^Egis.' A contest painful to retrace ensued, disturbing the re- pose of the village, proceeding almost from words to blows in private discussion, and furnishing subjects for judicial investigation. The good sense of the community, for a time amused by the bitter feel- ing of the combatants, and the personal insult degrading pages which should have been devoted to common improvement, at length, acted on the source of the commotion, and after a few months of infamous existence, the false print disappeared.
After some changes, the vEgis, in 1807, went into the hands of Henry Rogers, then late of Hartford, who was publisher until the close of 1924, when Charles Griffin became partner with him. In July, 1833, it was united with the Yeoman, and became merged with that print not long after. x
The Massachusetts Yeoman was commenced Sept. 3, 1823, by Austin Denny, Esq. who continued to be sole or principal editor, proprietor, and publisher, until his decease. It was issued on Satur- day. In July, 1833, it was united with the JEg\s, and in January fol- lowing, the title was changed and the existence of the paper ceased.
The Worcester Republican was established in 1829, by Jubal Harrington, and has been under the management of that gentleman, except during short intervals.
The Worcester Palladium succeeded to the yEgis and Yeo- man. It was commenced in January, 1834, and has continued un- der the editorial care of Mr. J. S. C. Knowlton.
1 Among the editors of the ^Egis, at different periods, were Francis Blake, Edward Bangs, Levi Lincoln, Samuel Brazer, William Charles White, Enoch Lincoln, Edward D. Bangs, Pliny Merrick, William Lincoln, Christopher C. Baldwin. William N. Green.
A paper borrowing its descriptive appellation from the worst of reptiles, the Scorpi- on, came out July 26, 1809, and on successive Wednesdays, without the name of printer or publisher, resembling those abusive periodicals serving as safety valves to convey away the fermenting malignity of base hearts. Its existence was evidence of the un- limited freedom of the press, and its speedy suppression, an instance of the power of public opinion to restrain its licentiousness, and of the healthy tone of moral sentiment amid the violence of party hostility, crushing the slanderer under the weight of general contempt.
PERIODICALS.
The Worcester Weeklv Magazine. An act of Massachusetts, March, 17K>, imposing a duty of two thirds of a penny on newspa- pers, and a penny on almanacs, which were to be Stamped, was so unpopular from its very name, that it was repealed before it went into operation, and as a substitute, for the purposes of revenue, a tax was levied on all advertisements inserted in the public journals. This was regarded hy Mr. Thomas as an undue restraint on the press. He suspended the publication of the Spy during the two years the act was in force, and printed a periodical in octavo form, with the name at the head of this article, beginning in the first week of April, 1786, and ending the fourth volume on the last of March 1788.
The Worcester Magazine and Historical Journal, was
published by William Lincoln and Christopher C. Baldwin, in 1825 and 1826: the numbers of the first volume were issued twice a month, and those of the second once a month : It was intended to contain a particular history of each town of the county. Notices of Templeton, Sterling, Shrewsbury, Leicester, Northborough, West Boylston, Paxton, and Lancaster, and a general view of Wor- cester county, were furnished by different writers. At the expira- tion of a year the work was discontinued.
The Worcester Talisman, a literary and miscellaneous journal, consisting principally of selections, was published on Saturday, du- ring the year after April 5, 1828, on an octavo sheet, forming one volume, by Messrs. Dorr and Ilowland, and was continued to Oct. 15, 1829, in quarto form, by John Milton Earle.
The Family Visitor, a religious quarto, was published weekly by Moses W. Grout during a few months of 1832; but was soon dis- continued. 1
1 Printing was formerly carried on by Isaiah Thomas to an extent, which, relatively to the general state of business at the period, was immense, and would be considered as great, even in comparison with the rapid publication of recent years. Seven of his presses were worked under his immediate direction, and the number of persons employ- ed by him, in paper making, printing, binding, and the branches of bookmaking and sel- ling, was about 150. There are in 183G, four printing offices.
The books belonging to the societies and associations, number about 20,000 volumes : probably those in private libraries would exceed 50,000 volumes.
The number of newspapers and periodicals circulated in the town, is greater than the whole amount printed in the state before the revolution. In no community are the fa- cilities of instruction and information greater ; and there can be few where they are bet- ter improved.
836
TOPOGRAPHY AND HISTORY.
CHAPTER XVII.
Situation. Boundaries. Extent. Divisions. Streets and Roads. Turnpikes. Blackstone Canal. Rail Roads. Public Building's. Public Lands. Burial Places. Face of the Town. Ponds. Streams. Hills. Mines and Minerals.
Situation. Worcester, the shire town of the county, is situated 40 miles westward from Boston, 40 N. N. W. from Providence, 60 miles E. N. E. from Hartford, about 50 miles from Northampton, the nearest point on Connecticut river, and 394 from Washington. From the boundary of New Hampshire, in the shortest direction, the town is distant about 30 miles ; from that of New York, about TO ; from Rhode Island, about 20 ; from the tide waters of Boston Har- bor, about 40 miles. Lines drawn on the map, intersecting each other at Worcester, Boston, and Providence, would form a triangle almost equilateral. The north latitude of Antiquarian Hall, ascer- tained by Robert Treat Paine, Esq. is 42° 10' 9": the west longitude, computed from observation on the annular eclipse of the sun in Feb- ruary, 1831, by that gentleman, in degrees, is 71°, 49', in time, 4h. 47m. lGs.
The elevation above the ocean, as estimated by the engineer of the Blackstone Canal, at Thomas street, near the centre of the vil- lage, is 451 feet : the elevation of Main street above Charles street in Boston, is stated by Mr. Fessenden at 456 feet.
Boundaries and Extent. The town is bounded, on the North principally by Holden, touching at the northwest corner on Paxton, and at the northeast extremity of the line, on West Boylston ; East by West Boylston and Shrewsbury, and for a short distance at the southeast corner by Grafton : South, by Millbury and Ward : West, by Leicester, and at the southwest corner borders on Ward.
The area contained within these lines, is about thirty six square miles ; or more exactly, 22842 acres : about 600 acres are covered with water ; 700 used for roads ; 1925 are estimated to be occu-
DIVISIONS. 337
pied as tillage; 5683 as mowing; L 0262 as pasture ; 3730 with wood ; and about 1000 are unimproved.
Divisions. The town is separated into twelve; school districts, having permanent boundaries: the centre is marked I: directly west is' that designated •- : tfexl south of this is 3: the others are numbered in regular succession, circling around the centre district, with the exception of 12, which was formed by partition of an orig- inal district, and lies between those distinguished as 0 and 10, dis- turbing the symmetry of the arrangement.
The principal village, so surrounded by hills that it is scarcely seen by the stranger until he enters its streets, lias extended but lit- tle south of the territorial centre on which the founders seem to have designed it should be planted. The description of Dr. Dwight, l about 1812, has not ceased to be correct: ' the houses are- general- ly well built: frequently handsome : and very rarely small, old, or unrepaired. Few towns in New England exhibit so uniform an ap- pearance of neatness and taste, or contain so great a proportion of good buildings, and so small a proportion of those which are indif- ferent, as Worcester.'
Villages have grown up around the manufacturing establishments. Xnr Worcester is situated on the road to Leicester : JVotobridgeville, on the road to Oxford : Sunt ft Worci ster on that leading to Ward : the Quinsigamond Village on the Millbury road : Adams Square upon the old road to Lancaster : NorthviUe on the road to West Boylston,
Streets. The most ancient passage way through the town is Main street, used in 1074, and constantly travelled over since 1713. It is still the principal avenue of the town, extending about a mile from north to south. It is broad and planted with fine shade trees. ~
Nearly cotemporary with the permanent settlement, was the es- tablishment by use, of a road from the Meeting House to Pine mead- ow, now Front street; of a path to the first burial place, over a
1 Dwight's Travels, i. 366. Lellcr xxxvi. '-' The time when these beautiful ornaments of the village were first set, appears from an ordinance for their protection, April 7, 1783 : ' Whereas, a number of persons have manifested a disposition to set out trees for shade, near the meeting- house, and else- where about the centre of the town, and the town, being very desirous of encouraging such amcasure, which will lie beneficial as well as ornamental, Voted, that aiiv person being an inhabitant of this town, who shall injure or desiiov such trees so set out, shall pay a fine not exceeding 20s. for every offence to the use of the poor.' Other and more strict municipal regulations have from time to time been adopted for their preservation.
43
338 STREETS. TURNPIKES.
part of Summer street ; and the Lancaster way, through Lincoln street. The roads now Salisbury, Pleasant, Green, and Grafton streets, existed at a very early period.
Mechanic street was laid out in 1787. In 180G, Isaiah Thomas made and gave to the inhabitants the street called by his name. It was planted through its whole length with poplars, perhaps fortunate- ly destroyed, soon after, by some malicious person.1
Most of the other streets have been opened within the last five or six years by individuals at their private expense, as the increasing population has rendered it desirable to occupy their lands for buil- dings.
The length of roads within the town in 1826, was equal to 82 miles and 88 rods. At present the extent would exceed 100 miles.
Turnpikes. At the beginning of the century, great improve- ments were made in internal communication by the establishment of these highways. A corporation was chartered for building a turnpike to Stafford, in Connecticut, Feb. 15, 180G : and March 17, 1806, the Worcester turnpike was incorporated. It was a fa- vorite principle with the engineers of that time, that roads must be carried on a straight line between the points to be connected, with- out any deviation from the direct course to conform to the undula- tion of the surface. On this plan, the turnpike to Boston, going out from the north end of the village, went through a considerable em- inence by a deep cutting, passed a deep valley on a lofty embank- ment, ascended the steep slope of Millstone hill, crossed Quinsig- amond by a floating bridge, and climbed to some of the highest el- evations of the country it traversed, when inconsiderable circuit would have furnished better and less costly route. These under- takings, of great convenience and utility in the period of their con- struction, have been more beneficial to the public than the proprie- tors.
The Worcester and Fitzwilliam Turnpike, incorporated June
1 The following memoranda from the interleaved almanacs of Isaiah Thomas, Esq. show something of the customs of the time. ' 1S06. October 6. Finished work on the new street. The selectmen came and surveyed it and laid it out in form. The Light Infantry company, under arms, commanded by Capt. Flagg, marched through it, halt- ed on the bridge, and discharged three vollics. The gentlemen of the street prepared a large tub and two pails full of. excellent punch, and the selectmen, at the request of those present, and in conformity to their own proposal, named the street Thomas street. The Infantry company had as much punch as they chose to drink, aud all present. Three cheers were given, and the company marched off.'
BLACKSTOM" CANAL
339
15, 1305, was not completed: the Worcester and Sutton, March :',, l-l!>, and Worcester and Leicester, Feb. 29, 1812, were not com- menced.
Blackstone Canal. The project of opening a navigable com- munication from the waters of Narragansett bay in Rhode Island, to the centre of Massachusetts, through the valley ol the Blackstone, first engaged public attention in 1796. The author and patron of one of the earliest attempts to connect the interior with the seaboard, by a water highway, was the late John Brown, of Providence. The whole weight of his wealth, intelligence- and zeal, were lent to the enterprise. Public meetings were held, and warm interest in the undertaking excited. In Rhode Island, a charter was obtained. The petition of inhabitants of Worcester county, praying for incor- poration for the opening of ' inland navigation from the navigable waters near Providence, to the interior parts of Worcester county, and if feasible, to Connecticut river,' was presented at the May ses- sion of the General Court of the Commonwealth, in 1796. At the same time, a counter plan, which had the effect, if not the intent, of defeating the former, was started, of constructing a canal from Bos- ton to the Connecticut river ; the application for the Providence ca- nal was refused, and the projectors, left without power to execute the work, were compelled to abandon the undertaking. Surveys were soon after made for the Massachusetts Canal, under the direc- tion of Gen. Henry Knox, and with their conclusion terminated the exertions of the subscribers.
In 1822, by a general movement, the plan was revived and sub- scriptions opened for a survey, completed in October, of the same year. Acts of incorporation were obtained for distinct companies in each state, subseqently united, July 5, 1825, under the name of the Blackstone Canal Company. In 1824, the excavation was com- menced in Rhode Island ; in 1820, the first earth was removed in Massachusetts, near Thomas street. The first boat which passed through the whole extent, arrived at the upper basin, Oct. 7, 1828.
Three Commissioners had been elected in each state, acting in cooperation during the construction : on the union, the same gen- tlemen were elected on one board : they were Edward Carrington, Moses B. Ives, and Stephen H. Smith of Providence, John Davis, John W. Lincoln, and Sylvanus Holbrook of Massachusetts. For some time past, Thomas Burgess has had the sole direction. The ex- pense of the work was about 8750,000. Of this amount more than
340 KAIL ROADS.
half a million of dollars was paid by the citizens of Rhode Island, and the work, projected by the intelligence was principally executed by the capital of our sister state.
The canal has been more useful to the public, than to the owners : the amount of transportation, however, has increased.
The Boston and Worcester Rail Road was incorporated, June 2.3, 1831. The road, extending 44 miles eastward, is laid with a single track of edge rails, on cast iron chairs, resting on wooden sleepers, bedded in trenches fdled with stone. The cost of construction has been $1500000, including land, labor, cars, engines, and buildings. Passenger cars, go in each direction, three times daily during the warm months, and twice in the cold season, except on Sundays. The time is from 2i to 3 hours, inclu- ding stops at ten places : the fare has been $1 50, but in the autumn of 183G, was raised to 82. The freight of merchandize from Bos- ton to Worcester, by the ton, is $3 50 : from Worcester to Boston $3. A branch rail road is soon to be laid to Millbury.
About a mile from the depot on Main street, the road passes through a deep cutting of the slate rock about 30 feet in its greatest depth, and extending about 30 rods. The strata are almost per- pendicular, and were removed from their beds by a laborious pro- cess of blasting.
The Norwich and Worcester Rail Road Company was incorporated March 26, 1833. A charter had been previously ob- tained in Connecticut, for the route within her jurisdiction, at the May session, 1S32. By an act of this Commonwealth, April 10, and of that state, May 1830, the two companies were united. From Norwich to Worcester is 58 miles : to Boston 102. The work of construction is now advancing. The capital stock is 81500000.
The Western Rail Road Corporation was established, March 15, 1833, for the purpose of building a rail road from the western termination of the Boston and Worcester Rail Road to Connecti- cut River in Springfield, and thence across the stream to the wes- tern boundary of the state, where it will connect with rail roads in progress, one to Albany, one to Troy, and one to Hudson. The stock of $3000000 has been subscribed, two thirds by individu- als, and one third by the state, and a portion of the road located.
' A statement of the amount of transportation by the Canal and Rail Road, will be found in the appendix.
PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 341
Public Buildings. Ii is a curious circumstance that the earli- est provision for the erection <>i" any county building, in a commu- nity of moral, orderly, and religious habits, should relate to the con- finement of malefactors.
At the first meeting of the Court of General Sessions of the Peace, Sept. 2, 17:11, it was ordered, that a prison should be built, and that, with bis consent, the house of William Jennison,1 Bhould be used as a temporary gaol ; a suitable cage was to be built in the back part, and the liberties of the yard were to extend 20 feet on the south side and east end.
In February following, the court ordered, ' that in lieu of the pris- on before appointed, the cage so called, already built, be removed to the chamber of the house of Daniel Ileywood,2 and he the gaol until the chamber be suitably finished for a gaol, and then the cham- ber be the gaol for the county, and the cage remain as one of the apartments.' Here the prisoners were confined until they wen- placed in the building, erected in 1733,3 41 feet long, 18 feet wide, with 8 feet studs : the prison part was 18 feet square, made of white oak timber, set with studs, 4 inches thick and 5 inches broad, and floored, roofed and ceiled with two inch plank spiked together. A dungeon was stoned under : the other end, finished as a dwelling house, became part of the Butman tavern, and was destroyed by fire Dec. 23, 1834.
In 1753, a new gaol was built a few rods south of the former pris- on, 38 feet long, 28 feet wide, with 7 feet posts. The south end was studded with joist six inches square, set five inches apart, and filled between with stone and mortar. The top, sides, and floor, were covered inside and out, with oak plank, fastened with a pro- fuse use of iron spikes, and doors, windows, and partitions were heav- ily grated.
Notwithstanding these precautions for security, many effected escape, and the wooden gaol becoming too infirm for the confinement of dangerous persons, a structure of massive granite, 64 by 32 feet, three stories in height, was ordered to he erected in Dec. 1784, on land granted by the Commonwealth, and <£o00 were appropriated for the expense. This was completed Sept. 4, 1788, and Mr. Thom- as remarks, ' this is judged to be at least the second stone building of consequence in the Commonwealth ; none being thought superior
1 Occupied by Dr. Oliver Fiske in 183G. 2 Part of the buildings of the Central Hotel. 3 On land of Stephen Salisbury, Esq. east of the south extremity of Lincoln street.
342 COURT HOUSE.
except the Stone Chapel in Boston : that is built of hewn stone ; the stones of this arc mostly as they were taken from the quarry. The master workman, Mr. John Parks of Groton, has acquired great credit for the: ingenuity and fidelity with which he has executed the work. A great saving must he experienced from the new building, as, without some convulsion of nature, it is not probable that it will need any repairs, excepting the roof, for two or three centuries.' And he adds ' that the capaciousness of the building will make it answer for a work house, and save the county the expense of erect- ing one.'
The course of nature went on undisturbed, but the increase of crime and the improvements of discipline, prevented the permanen- cy which was expected by the founders. The ' capaciousness ' was insufficient for modern use, and in April 1835, the gaol was transfer- red to the House of Correction : the land and buildings were sold, and the prison demolished.
Court Houses. It was ordered, August 8, 1732, that a suitable and convenient court house be built on land given by William Jen- nison, Esq. and a committee was instructed to inform those ' who had an interest in lands in the county, and especially in the town of Worcester, which, by that town's being made the shire town, are greatly advanced, of the court's intention ; and to know what any of them will be pleased to give towards building and adorning the house.' This building, placed very near the site of the present edifice, was of wood, 36 feet long, 26 feet wide, with 13 feet posts. Until its completion, courts were held in the meeting house. The address of Chief Justice John Chandler, of Woodstock, delivered Feb. S, 1734, at the opening of the Courts of General Sessions and Common Pleas, published in the Boston Weekly Reheasal, Feb. 18, 1734, shows the ideas of beauty and magnificence entertained in that pe- riod.
Taking occasion to speak from ' some instances of the Divine Providence remarkably favorable to us,' he says, ' It demands our observation and acknowledgment, .... that we are now entered into a new and beautiful house, erected purposely for the reception and entertainment of the courts, which for the future are to be held within the same, at the occurring seasons thereof: an article that I know not the like in any county within this province, so soon af- ter the constitution thereof, it being but about thirty months since we held our first court.' .... ' It is our duty on this occasion,
COI i;t HOI - 848
.... very thankfully to acknowledge the good hand of God's Prov- idence upon us, who baa stirred up and opened the hearts of sundry worthy gentlemen, some of whom live mother parts of the province, to be benefactors to us, by assisting us in our infant state to erect and beautify bo agreeable a house as we are in the possession of, and winch exceeds so many others in the proi ince built for the [ike ser- vice, in the capaciousness, regularity, and workmanship thereof: so that those who have business to be transacted here, may now- and henceforth, be suitably and conveniently accommodated with room,
while they attend the courts, without intruding on that which we have been necessitated to use hitherto, though designedly built for anoth- er purpose. To God, he the glory ascribed, as the unmerited effects of the Divine Favor to us: notwithstanding which, our benefactors and their benefactions, should be very gratefully remembered by us.J
After a few years, the edifice thus commemorated, was found to be too small for the purposes of its erection, and a new court house was ordered to be built March 16, 1751, of greater dimensions. It was 3G feet by 40 in size, and after being the temple of justice forty years, was converted into a dwelling house, and still stands at the in- tersection of Franklin and Green streets.
The increasing business of the county requiring larger accommo- dations, the present court house was commenced in 1801 and open- ed Sept. 27, 1803. 1 The lower story is appropriated for county of- fices : the next contains the court room and lobbies for jurors.
The following inscription on a silver plate inclosed in a leaden
1 In the charge of Chief Justice Robert Treat Paine, Sept. 27, 1803, to the grand ju- ry, he Says, ' We meet you with great pleasure at this first opportunity of ourassembling with you to attend the administration of justice within the walls of this magnificent building. On this occasion, we can but recollect what has been said, that u hen the pro- posal, in 1731, was made, in General Court, for erecting this County, some great politician of that day, [Gov. Hutchinson,] objected to it, because, from the then ap- pearance of the country, it must be a great length of time before it would be an object for county jurisdiction ; and that there are some now, who well remember when the territory which composes this county, was, in many parts, but thinly inhabited, and but just emerging from a wilderness state of uncultivated roughness ; and until our happy revolution took place, its appearance was but small in comparison of what we now be- hold. The grandeur of this budding is a striking proof of that prosperity of the inhab- itants, which flowed from the fruitful fountain, the revolution, and the good government and wholesome laws consequent upon it. And we also, can but consider it as strong evidence of the good disposition of die inhabitants, respecting social and political regu- lations ; of their determination to support the constitution and government of this Com- monwealth ami the due administration of justice among them; seeing they have made such ample provision therefor. May these walls remain consecrated to the pure admin- istration of Justice; here may the injured always find redress, the oppressed be reliev- ed, and the disturbers of public peace and welfare be brought to condign punishment.'
344 HOUSE OF CORRECTION.
box, with several ancient silver coins of Massachusetts, (shillings and sixpences,) and some modern money, was deposited in a cavity cut for the purpose in the lower corner stone of the hewn under- pinning on the south east.
' The corner stone was laid Oct. 1, 1801, by Isaiah Thomas, Esq. who with William Caldwell, Esq. Sheriff of the County, and Hon. Salem Towne, were appointed a committee for building and com- pleting this (now intended) Court House. The old Court House now stands two feet southeast from this spot, 1801.'
William Lancaster of Boston, was employed as master workman of the exterior, and Mr. Baxter, of the interior.
The cost of the court house, furniture for the public offices, and brick walls of the yard, with a part of the stone walls, iron railings, and embankments in front, was $17^30 : an additional allow- ance was made to Mr. Baxter, and the whole charges when com- pleted were about 820000.
The County House of Correction, first occupied in November 1819, is situated east of the village, and not far from the Hospital. The front of the building, a large and handsome structure 53 by 27 feet, is occupied by the keeper's family, except the north side of the basement, where 3 cells are appropriated for solitary imprisonment, and the punishment of the refractory, fortunately but little used. The part used for confinement is in the rear of the keeper's apart- ments. The plan of construction first adopted was found to be bad : the rooms were large, and several convicts were, from neces- sity, placed together: so that sometimes, novices in crime were as- sociated with veteran offenders, and the establishment, with all vigi- lance and fidelity of supervision, was more the nursery of vice than the school of reformation. Impressed with the evils of this arrange- ment, the County Commissioners, in 1832, directed an alteration in conformity with a plan submitted by the Overseers, resembling that of the State's Prison in Charlestown. The whole interior was taken down, and another building erected within the exterior walls, divided into 40 cells, each 7 feet by 3 1-2 feet in size, 7 feet high, receiving light through iron doors properly made for the purpose, opening into the area around, which is warmed by stoves. In the basement are three other rooms for confinement, and on the same floor with the kitchen is the sleeping apartment of the assistant keep- er, placed so as to afford him inspection of the area in front of the cells, and security from injury by the prisoners in case of revolt.
LUNATIC HOSPITAL. 845
In April 1835, a part of the building was appropriated for the county gaol ; and the two upper Btoi rith the rooms
above aud b< low the kitchen, were occupied for that purpose. A brick building, 40 feel by 16, in the \ ard, connected with the ho furnishes work -Imps in the two lov : the third story, having
(i rooms , is used for the lenl of feraa There is,
ii building, which has been used for working stone. By a recent order of the County Comm onfined in
th( House of Correction, able to labor, are to be constantly < 'in ploy- ed according to their ability : if not acquainted with any mechanic trade, they work at the shoe business. Under this system, it is i able, tin; convicts will not only be able to remunerate th< of their support, but may form habits of industry and derive moral improvement.
The following statement shows the condition of the House of Correction during years, each ending in November.
|
1833. |
1836 |
|||
|
Committed for crime, |
5 |
15 |
11 |
14 |
|
for correction, |
53 |
57 |
62 |
53 |
|
Discharged in the year, |
43 |
54 |
5G |
G3 |
|
Remaining Nov. 1 , |
15 |
18 |
17 |
21 |
Among those now in the establishment, are 3 lunatics sent from the hospital, and 5 insane persons supported there by their friends with the consent of the Commissioners.
John F. Clark has been keeper from the commencement : Nathan Heard and John W, Lincoln, are overseers.
Lunatic Hospital. This monument of the enlightened chari- ty of the government of the state, is situated on a beautiful eminence eastward of the town. The buildings of the west front, erected ia 1831, consist of a centre, '6 feet long, 40 feet wide, and four stories high, projecting 22 feet forward of the wings which extend to the north and south ninety feet.each on the front and 103 feet in the rear, are 36 feet wide, and three stories high. This arrangement was adopted, so as to secure free communication with the central struc- ture, occup.ed by the superintendent, steward, attendants, and do- mestics, and to permit the ventilation and lighting of the long halls reaching through the wings. The ranges of apartments for the in- sane, 8 feet by 10, have each a window, with the upper sash of cast iron and lower sash of wood, both glazed; on the exterior of the wooden sash is a false sash of iron, corresponding in its appearance 44
346 CHURCHES.
and dimensions, but firmly set into the frame, giving the reality of a grate without its gloomy aspect. In 1835, a building 134 feet in length and 34 feet in width was attached to the southern extrem- ity of the hospital, of equal height, and extending eastward at right angles with the front ; in 183(5, another edifice of the same magnitude, was placed at the north end. Three sides of a great square are now enclosed by these immense structures of brick. Pro- vision is made for the diffusion of heat, the circulation of air, the supply of water ; and the most judicious regulations promote the health and comfort of the inmates.
In this hospital, those are placed under restraint by public authority, who are so furiously mad, that their liberty would en- danger the safety of the community. To feel its value, one must have heard the chained maniacs howling in the dungeons of the common gaols, in frantic excitement and hopeless misery, and seen the quiet of the great establishment where the insane receive every alleviation of their mental diseases, which fit accommodations, re- medial treatment, and high skill can bestow.
The institution has been under the superintendence of Dr. Sam- uel B. Woodward since its commencement. Its statistics are fully detailed in the reports annually made by the Trusteees to the Legis- lature.
Churches. The first house appropriated for public worship, was built like the log huts of the planters, and placed near the intersec- tion of Green street by Franklin street, about 1717.
In 1719, a meeting house was built, under a contract with Mr. Constable, as architect, on the site of the present South Church. It was of respectable dimensions, but had no tower. At first, the area of the interior, floored, but otherwise unfinished, was occupied by benches. In 1*23, a pulpit was set up, and the space divided into long seats ; and soon after, galleries were provided. In 1733, it was voted ' that the front of the gallery, the pulpit, and pillars, be colored and varnished, and the outside of the doors and windows ; and the town thankfully accepts the £8 offered by Col. Chandler, towards the same ; and being informed that Daniel Gookin, Esq. has been pleased to say, he would give something to said work, vo- ted, that a committee be desired to know of him what he will give towards said coloring and varnishing.' In 1743 a spire was erected.
In 1763 the Old South Meeting House, was built, 70 feet long, 55 feet wide, with 28 feet posts, at the expense of <£1542. There
CHURCHES. 317
were 01 square pews on the lower floor. That esteemed the best, on the west side of the pulpit, and directly under it, valued at ".>, was assigned to 1 l<m. John Chandler, as an acknowledgmepl of lus donation of .£40 towards erecting the church- The highest price paid for pews was €9, the lowest €4 10s. In front of the pulpit, were two long pews, one for the, deacons, the other for aged per- sons : and along the head of the central aisle, were seven slips, for the free seats of men and women, placed on opposite Bides. There were three porches, at the south, east, and west entrances, and a tower on the north surmounted by a spire, L30 feet high.
In the day of small things, the purchase; of a lull was an impor- tant matter. After many conferences, the town and county united their funds for the purpose, and in May 1*:J!), it was agreed, that the town would pay £(')[) towards procuring a bell weighing not less than 300 pounds, and half the expense of a frame for hanging it near a small tree, a little north of Capt. Daniel Heywood's, about midway between the meeting house and court house, 'to serve the town as well as the county.' In 1740, difficulties arose in completing the arrangements : the partnership was dissolved : the town paid c£140 pounds for the whole bell, and it was placed in the steeple.
The bell now used, cast by Revere and Sons, in Boston, in 1802, weighing 1975 pounds, bears this inscription 'The living to the church I call, And to the grave I summon all.'
The tower clock was made by Abel Stowell, in 1800.
The Old South Church has been enlarged, and is now 90 feet lone, and 55 wide, having a vestry at the south end.
Unitarian Church. The first Meeting House of the Second Congregational Society, near Antiquarian Hall, on Summer street, was built by Ignatius Goulding and Elias Blake, on land given to the parish, June 16, 1791, by Charles and Samuel Chandler. It was a plain and neat edifice of wood. A bell was purchased, and a tower clock presented by Isaiah Thomas, Esq. both removed, and still used on the new church.
The new brick meeting house on Main street, was erected at an expense of about $13,000, on land purchased of Isaiah Thomas, Esq. at the cost of 84000.1 The foundation was laid August 11, 1828,
1 The following inscription was deposited under the corner stone of its foundation. ' This house was erected by the Unitarian Congregational Society, Worcester, for the worship of the one God, through the mediation of Jesus Christ. Foundation laid August 11, 1828. John Quincy Adams, President of the United States. Levi Lincoln,
348 PUBLIC BUILDINGS.
when an address was delivered by the Rev. Mr. Hi]],1 and religions services performed by the Rev. Dr. Bancroft.
This building is 75 feet from east to west, and G8 feet from north to south : the walls 31 feet in height, and the tower, sur- mounted by a cupola, 125 feet high. The floor is divided into 1G4 pews. It was dedicated Aug. 20, 1S29. The highest price paid for pews was 8337, the lowest 880. This church has an organ purchased for 82000.
The Calvinist Church, on Main street, built in 1S23, and en- larged in 1S34, is 93 feet by 57 : the height of the spire 130 feet. There are 94 pews on the floor, which have been sold from $116 to 8200 each. An organ has lately been purchased fur 81700.
The Union Church, on Front street, built in 1S3G, is 90 by 54 feet in size, including a vestry, with a spire 130 feet high. The or- gan cost 81200.
The Baptist Clivrck, east of the common, rebuilt in 1836, is 79 feet long, 50 wide, and has a spire 13S feet in height.
Christ Church, on Temple street, built in 1836, the Catholic place of worship, is a neat structure of the Grecian Doric order, 64 feet by 32, fronting to the south.
The Methodist Church, on Columbian avenue, built in 1836, is 66 feet long and 48 feet wide, with a spire about 100 feet high.
The Centre School House, on Main street, built in 1792, is about 60 by 30 feet, and its four apartments are occupied by the primary and female school, of the district.
The Brick School House, on Thomas street, built in 1S32, 67 by 30 feet, is appropriated for the Latin grammar school, and high- er boys schools*
The Town Hall, a neat brick building of fine architectural pro- portions, built in 1825, at an expense of about 810,000, is 54 by 64 feet. The basement is occupied for keeping fire apparatus, and for stores. A large hall on the first floor is used for town meetings, re- ligious exercises, and public lectures. There are two spacious and neat halls on the second floor. An address was delivered at the dedication, May 2, 1825, by Hon. John Davis.
Governor of Massachusetts. Rev. Aaron Bancroft, D. D. and Rev. Alonzo Hill, Pastors. Frederick \V. Paine, Esq. Rejoice Newton, Esq., Deac. Alphcus .Merrifield, Col. Samuel Ward, Capt. George T Rice, Capt. Lewis Barnard, Pliny Merrick, Esq. Building Committee. Elias Carter, Peter Kendall, Master Builders. i Published in tl.e National yGgis, August 13, 132S.
BUR] U. PLACES.
Antiquarian Hall. The centre building erected by Isaiah Thomas, in 1819, is 1<> Peel \<<wj; and 36 feel wide, with a cu] W 1 1 1 __ - v. h 28 feel long and 2] feet wide.
Worcester Count's Manual Labor High School. The Academy building is of brick, two stories in height,, with a base- ment, and i- !•"> feel bj 60 in exterior dimensions. The first story affords a convenient recitation room, and a chapel which may eontain two hundred persons. The upper floor is divided into twelve rooms; one for the instructors; one for library and appara- tus; and ten, neatly furnished, for the accommodation of students. A mansion with proper out buildings has been erected in the vi- cinity of the Academy for the residence of the superintendent and students.
Purlic Lands. The lands granted for the support of schools and the ministry by the proprietors, were sold, from time to time ; the proceeds invested : and the interest, and finally the principal, applied to the purposes of the original appropriation.
The land near the meeting house was early reserved for a train- ing field, and has remained open for military exercise and public ex- hibitions. The location of the Norwich Rail Road across this tract, will impair its use as a square, and leave no spot of the com- mon territory susceptible of being converted into an ornamented ground for the use of the crowded population.
August 27, 173:3, the proprietors voted 'that 100 acres of the poor- est land of Millstone Hill, be left common for the use of the town for building stones. ' A subsequent grant was made of the territory to Daniel Heywood. The Supreme Court have determined, that a perpetual interest in the land for the limited use of taking stone, passed to the town by the first grant ; and the fee of the soil, subject to this use, to the grantee, by the second.1
Burial Places. The most ancient burial place of Worcester was north of the intersection of Thomas street with Summer street. It is now included in the enclosure around the brick school house, and the children of the present generation frolic over the remains of those whose graves were earliest made. Rachael, daughter of John and Jean Kellough, was the first person who died in the town, Dec. 15, IT 17. The number of deaths which occurred from that
' Inhabitants of Worcester vs. William E. Green. Pickering's Reports, ii. 425,
350 FACE OF THE TOWN.
date to the time when another cemetery was occupied, were 28. A mono- them were some of the founders and first settlers. They were laid beneath old oaks, which long shadowed their place of rest. The burying place bordering on the common, was opened in 1730, when Ephraim Roper, accidentally killed in hunting, was interred there. When this became too populous for new occupation, anoth- er place of sepulture was provided in 1705, on Mechanic street, and now adjoining the Boston Hail Road. In 1823, a tract of eight acres was purchased on the plain, east of Washington square, which has since been divided by the rail road. A tract of about 20 acres, half a mile westward of the village, was purchased in 183.3, laid out as a cemetery, and is to be ornamented with a belt of shade trees. There is a grave yaid between South Worcester and New Worcester. l
Face of the town. The whole surface is undulating, swelling into hills of moderate acclivity, with gentle slope and beautifully rounded outline. From the eminences, the prospect is of the wide spread and highly improved fields of a fertile soil. Better descrip- tion cannot be given of the valley of Worcester, than by adopting the words of a writer of high authority. ' Apart from human culture,' says Prof. Hitchcock, 'this geographical centre of Massachusetts would present no very striking attractions to the lover of natural scenery. But this valley possesses precisely those features which art is capa- ble of rendering extremely fascinating. And there is scarcely to be met with, in this or any other country, a more charming landscape than Worcester presents, from almost any of the moderately elevat- ed hills that surround it. The high state of agriculture in every part of the valley, and the fine taste and neatness exhibited in all the buildings of this flourishing town, with the great elegance of many edifices, and the intermingling of so many and fine shade and fruit trees, spread over the prospect beauty of a high order, on which the eye delights to linger. I have never seen in a community of equal extent, so few marks of poverty and human degradation, as in this valley : and it is this aspect of comfort and independence among all classes, that enhances greatly the pleasure with which every true
1 The burial places have been heretofore enclosed with rude fences, and overgrown with wild grass and briars. That strange taste, which disgraces the living, by placing senseless or inappropriate inscriptions on the monumental stones of the dead, has rare- ly left examples of its perversity here. Nor are there epitaphs distinguished by any singular merit, worthy of being transcribed.
PONDS AM) STREAMS. :&"»I
American heart contemplates thi< scene : since "' v| be consider- ed as exhibiting the happy influence of our free institutions.' '
Ponds lnd Streams. Along the eastern boundary of Wor< ter, and partly within it- territory, lies Quinsigamond Pond, some- times called Long Pond, a beautiful sheet of wain-, winch, in any other country, would be dignified with the name of lake. Ii extends from north to south, in crescent form, about four miles in length, pre- senting, by reason <>f disproportionate breadth, the appearance "i a poble river, with bold hank-, covered with wood, or swelling into green hills. There arc twelve islands, varying in extent from a leu- square rods of surface to many acres. Some of them, of Miiimlar beauty, are still clothed with their original forests. At the south end, the waters, with those of Half .Moon, Round, and Flint's Pond, which are connected with Quinsigamond, flow out in a southeaster- ly direction into the town of Grafton, forming the stream anciently called ' Nipnapp River,' now the Little Blackstone, a principal trib- utary to the main stream. When the Blackstone Canal was con- structed, the ponds were raised by a dam, and made a reservoir for that work. -
The southern part of (iuin^iiramond and most of its fair islands, lie within the limits of Shrewsbury. The northern part is princi- pally in Worcester. 3
North Pond, situated in that part of the town indicated by its
1 Uiport on the Geology of Massachusetts, 100. 2 An estimate of the quantity of water contained in this reservoir, between high and low watermark, exhibiliiig tie extent of surface, has been kindly furnished by Henrj Snow, Esq. of Shrewsbury, made from actual admeasurement by that accurate surveyor. Low water is estimated at 2 feet 10 inches above the bottom of the floom at the Irish Dam, for all waters below the neck of Quinsigamond, and 1 foot 5 inches above the bottom of the lloom at that point, for all above.
Surface.
acres, rods.
120
06
31
155
00
13
50
117
125
Making 99579135 cubic feet, rejecting minute fractions. About 21 millions of cubic feet cannot be drawn down by reason of the back water from the pond of the New England Village Factory.
3 A full description of this Pond will be found in Ward's History of Shrewsbury, in Worcester Magazine, ii. S.
|
Above the old Road, |
28 |
|
Quinsigamond, |
437 |
|
" |
17 |
|
Half Moon Pond, |
14 o |
|
Flooded Meadow and River, |
202 |
|
Round Pond, |
6 |
|
Flint's Pond, |
45 |
|
" |
36 |
|
Depth. |
Cubic feet. |
|
feci, inches. |
|
|
2 0 |
2504700 |
|
3 3 |
61871398 |
|
2 3 |
1746415 |
|
3 3 |
2119126 |
|
2 3 |
196020 |
|
2 4 |
205 i r. 1 t |
|
3 3 |
893660 |
|
3 3 |
6500717 |
|
2 0 |
3204382 |
352 PONDS AND STREAMS.
name, lies principally in district No. 12, and is the reservoir of the summit level of the Blackstone Canal. It is the source of the stream culled in the old records, Danson's, Mill, and Bimelick Brook, which passes through the village on its way to join the Blackstone River. The original suiface has been estimated at 3!) acres : the dams and embankment raised around, now extend it to about 2 )0 acres.
Bladder Pond has the shape described by its appellation. It is situated on the northeast part of Chandler hill, and contains live or six acres. The surface has been gradually diminishing, as the roots of vegetation have stretched themselves over its waters, form- ing a floating belt around, on which it would be dangerous to tread.
These are all the natural ponds within the territory of Worcester. Many have been created, by artificial means, for manufacturing pur- poses.
The valley of Worcester is drained through the channel of the Blackstone River, which is divided into branches, themselves subdi- vided, intersecting the whole territory with veins of water, so that there is scarcely a farm which has not rill, rivulet, or brook, within its boundaries. Beginning at the southwest corner of Worcester, we meet the Kettle Brook, flowing southwardly into Ward, and af- ter a little progress further, we strike the main stream into which this brook empties, returning to the north, and called on the ancient re- cords French River, till it reaches New Worcester ; there it receives the waters of Tatnuck Brook and of Beaver Brook, both coming from Holden, and joining together before they unite to the river. After their junction the liver flows eastward about a mile and a half, and was called Halfway Hirer, to the point were it receives the stream named on the proprietary records, usually Mill Brook, some- times Damon's Brook, and very rarely Bimc'dck- This tributary, receiving Wcasle Brook soon after it flows out from its source in North Pond, goes in a southerly direction through the village, from the junction, the main stream swelled to a considerable volume, some- times having the appellation of Nipmuck River, but usually called Blackstone, flows by a southeasterly course into Mill bury.
Among the tributaries of Mill Brook, near the town, Pine Meadow Brook, bringing water from Bladder Pond, a minute stream, falls in near the Brewery ; and Bear Brook, scarcely larger, flows back of the brick school house on Thomas street.
Hills. Along the western boundary of the town, extends a chain of rounded highlands, the seat of Indian villages cf yore,
MINES. UJ>3
called by the natives Tataesset, and now known as Tatnfick. In tin: north part of the town is Winter HiU m district No. 10 : Mount Ararat beyond North Pond in district No. 12, and the ridge form- ing the northern wall of the valley, named «>n the records Indian JIM. Millstone Hill, northeasl from the town, is an immense quarry of granite, presenting a remarkable geological structure of layers spread over each other in circular ii>rin like the coats of an onion. Chandler Hill, lies east of the town, and Oak Hill, south- cast. Nearly south, and forming one margin of the valley of the Blackstone, is Sagatabscot, where Jonas Rice first built. Opposite, and across the river, is the huge mound of Pakachoag Hill, ex- tending far into Ward. Wigwam Hill, is a rounded eminence on the western shore and near the head of dainsigamond.
Mines and Minerals. About the middle of the last century, a mania for mining prevailed, almost as ruinous as that for speculation an hundred years later. Tired of the slow process of acquiring wealth by cultivating the surface of the earth, its possessors were enticed to dig into its bosom for treasures. The precious metals were the ob- jects of the search, and mining operations, began almost simultaneous- ly in Worcester, Sterling, Templeton, and many other towns of the county, terminated, from want of science and skill, in total failure.
In 1754, a vein of metal which was supposed to be silver, was dis- covered near the head of the valley, about a mile north of the town. A company for exploring the spot was formed by some of the most substantial inhabitants. Furnaces and smelting houses were erect- ed, and a cunning German employed as superintendent. Under his direction, a shaft was sunk SO feet perpendicularly, and a horizon- tal gallery extended about as far through the rock, which was to be intersected by another shaft, commenced about six rods north of the first opening. Among the masses, which within a few years laid around the scene of operation, were specimens of the ores con- taining a minute portion of silver, specks of copper and lead, much iron, and an extraordinary quantity of arsenic. When struck against steel, a profusion of vivid sparks are thrown out, and the strong and peculiarly disagreeable odor of the latter mineral emitted. On the application of heat, this perfume increases to an overpowering ex- tent. The company expended great sums in blasting the rock, rais- ing its fragments, and erecting buildings and machinery. WThile the pile of stones increased, the money of the partners diminished. The furnaces in full blast, produced nothing but suffocating vapors, curling 45
354 MINES AM) MINERALS.
over the flames in those beautiful coronets of smoke which still at- tend the attempt to melt the ore. The shrewd foreigner, in whose promises the associates seem to have placed that confidence which honest men often repose on the declarations of knaves, became satis- fied that the crisis was approaching when it would be ascertained that the funds were exhausted, and that stone and iron could not be transmuted to gold. Some papers which exist, indicate, that he pre- tended to knowledge in the occult sciences as well as skill in the art of deception. However this may be, he assured the company, that the great enemy of man had been busy in defeating their exer- tions, making his presence redolent in the perfumes of sulphur and arsenic. He obtained the sum of 6100 and made a journey to Phil- adelphia, to consult with a person experienced in mines and their daemons, for the purpose of exorcising the unsavory spirit of the crucible. He departed with a barrel full of the productions of the mine, but never returned to state the results of his conference. The proprietors abandoned the work, when they were waked by the re- ality of the loss from the dream of fortune, and afterwards destroy- ed the records of their credulity.
A much more valuable source of wealth is in the Anthracite Coal. A deposit of this mineral exists about two miles northeast from the town. It was long converted into a paint, under the name of Black Lead, and furnished a cheap and durable covering for roofs and for the exterior of buildings exposed to the weather. In 182G, it wa& partially explored and began to be worked by Col. Amos Binney. It was found to be a valuable combustible, suitable, even in the im- pure state presented by the upper strata, for furnaces and places where intense heat and great fires were required. Engagements of business, and local circumstances, induced him to suspend the prosecution of the undertaking. Since his decease, the mineral, which might be made to give motion to the wheels of manufacturing and mechanic industry to unlimited extent, has been permitted to rest undisturbed in its bed.
The rock in which the Worcester Anthracite occurs, is termed by Prof. Hitchcock, an imperfect kind of mica slate, and called by Humboldt, transition mica slate, having a moderate dip to the north east. Although the coal is considered by him, as inferior to that of Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, its specific gravity is greater than that from those states. He expresses the opinion that * it will be considered by posterity, if not by the present generation, as a treas- ure of great value,' and adds, ' I can hardly believe, that a coal,
MINERALS. :io,>
which contains probably not lesa than 90 per centum of carbon, Bhould doI be employed, in some waj <»r other, as valuable fuel.' '
Beds of clay are abundant. In the north and west part- of the town about four millions of bricks have been made from this material during the year.
Soapstom of good quality has been discovered, and a narrow vein was worked, in the south east part of Worcester, thoughjnot with success. Pots of this material, used by the Indians tor cool, an- sometimes turned up by the plough.
Peat is found in many meadows, ami as the supply of wood is diminished, may be advantageously used as fuel.
Among the minerals of scientific interest arc ; Idocrase, accompa- nied by small, pale, green crystals of Pyoxene, Epidote, and Garnets of a wine yellow color : Asbestus, Amianthoid, Plumbago, and veins of Pyritous Iron were found in working the coal mine : Carbon- ate of Iron, Arsenical Sulphuret of Iron, massive and crystalized, and Sulphuret of Lead, were once abundant around the old silver mine. Made sometimes occurs in argillaceous slate.
The quarry of granite on Millstone hill, has furnished building material for a century, and the excavation now extends over two or three acres. The rock is composed almost entirely of gray quart/. and white foliated feldspar, with very little mica, and differs only from the sienite of Quincy in the absence of hornblende. The only distinct example of apparent stratification of granite found in the state, by Prof. Hitchcock,"2 was in this locality, and from the strata conforming on all sides to the slope of the land, being horizontal at the apex, and extending over the sides in concentric flakes, he infers that the hill is an enormous concretion. The rock is cross- ed by natural seams, dividing it into layers nearly parallel at the quarry, from one foot to two feet in thickness, and easily split by wedges. The surfaces are blackened with iron, which forms a crust on the exterior, called by the workmen ' the bark ' : from the ad- mixture of the same metal in the composition, the faces of the blocks when cut, become discolored on exposure to the weather.
A quarry is extensively worked on the south end of Sagatabscot hill, called the ' South Ledge.' The rock is of light color, of the geological character of Granitic Gneiss, entirely free from iron, wrought with facility, and often beautifully veined. The hewn fronts of buildings of this material on Main street, would advantageously compare in elegance with the marble edifices of the cities.
1 Report on the Geology of Massachusetts, bo. * ib. 462.
356
MISCELLANEOUS.
CHAPTER X V 1 1 L
Municipal Officers. Selectmen. Clerks. Treasurers. Representatives. Fire De- partment. Fires and accidents by lightning.
Selectmen chosen since 1722.1 1722,25—30, Joshua Child
Nathaniel Moore
[32—35, 40 Nathaniel Jones 1722, 23
Benjamin Flagg 1722, 23, 26, 28, [34, 35, 37—40, 43—51 Jonas Rice 1722, 24, 28, 30, 32, [34, 35, 38, 40 John Gray 1722, 24
Henry Lee 1723
John Huhhard 1723
Benjamin Flagg, jr. 1723,25, 30—
[32 Gershom Rice 1724, 27, 31, 33, 36, [39, 46 James Taylor 1724, 26, 35, 39 Daniel Heywood 1724, 26, 27, 29, [31, 34, 35, 38, 40, 42—46, 48—53 Moses Leonard 1725, 26
James McLellan 1725
James Holden 1725, 29, 30, 33, 36
William Jennison
James Rice Zephaniah Rice Palmer Goulding James Moore John Stearns John Chandler 1733—35, 37—40, [42—53 Gershom Rice, jr. 1736
1727—31, 33, [35, 37, 38, 41 1728 1729
1731, 37, 41, 43
1732, 36, 39, 41 1732,36,41
1737
Solomon Johnson 1742
Elijah Cook 1742
Joshua Eaton 1742
Thomas Wheeler 1743—45, 49— [51,53,73,74,79 1744, 45
John Chadwick Daniel Ward Joshua Bigelow
1746—47 1747, 67—73, 75,
[78 James Boyd 1747
Thomas Stearns 1748
John Chandler, jr. 1748—59,61—
[73 Daniel Ward 1752, 53
Elisha Smith 1752
John Curtis 1754, 55, 60
Nathaniel Moore, jr. 1754
Jonathan Lynds 17 b4
Timothy Paine 1754—63, 66—74
John Boyden Gardner Chandler Tyrus Rice Israel Jennison Josiah Brewer William Young Asa Moore Daniel Boyden James Goodwin James Putnam
1754,65
1754—56
1755
1756—58, 61
1756, 62, 63
1 757. 71 — 77
] 757— 62
1759,62
1759
1760
1 When this mark — is placed between the dates, it indicates that the person was elected in the successive years between one and the other.
MUNICIPAL OFFICERS
Jonathan Stone 1760, 67,68,72, i -77 Jacob Chamberlain 1761
Ephraim Doolittle Samuel Miller 1763—65,75, - 1, 32 Jacob Hemenway I7<i I
Palmer Goulding 1764, 65, ' I
|
Samuel Mower |
i ; 1 15 |
|
Josiab Pierce |
1 765,7 : |
|
Samuel ( 'mi is |
1766,75,90—94 |
|
Benjamin i' |
1766—77 |
|
Micali Johnson |
1769 |
|
in Baldwin |
1770 |
|
David Bigelow |
1776,77,7! |
|
NathanPerry 177 |
7,81— 83,85— S9 |
|
Benjamin Stowcll |
1777 |
|
John Kelso |
1777 |
|
Ebenezer Lovcll |
1778,79,84 |
|
Robert Smith |
1778, 7'.' |
|
William Stearns |
177,-, 79 |
|
Nathaniel Brooks |
1778, 70, 84 |
|
John Green |
1780 |
|
Jonathan Rice |
1780 |
|
Joseph Barber |
1780 |
|
Edward Crafts |
1780 |
|
William McFarla |
nd 1781, 82 |
|
Samuel Brown |
1781,82 |
|
John Gleason |
1781, 82 |
|
Joseph Allen |
1783 |
|
Joseph Wheeler |
1783, 87—91 |
|
Samuel Brooks |
1784—93 |
|
Daniel Goulding |
1784, 95, 9G, 98 |
John Chamberlain 1785 — 95, !»7, [98, 1801, 02 Jesse Taft 1785, 86
Daniel Baird 1785—89
Samuel Flagg 1790—1605, 1807 Benjamin Heywood 1792 — 97, 99, [1800 Nathaniel Paine 1794—1802
Phineas Jones 179G, !»7
David Andrews 1798—1802
Ephraim Mower 1799—1810,15—
[17
Edward B 1803 I
Joseph Holt 1803 i-
laniel Harrington 1803 1809 Nathan White 1806—1819
Thomas Nichole 1808 - 1815
Abraham Liti.-c.lu 1809- -1 William Eaton 1810- 1813,20—
John Gleason 181 1 — M5
William Chamberlain 1814,22—
[24 Nathaniel Stowell 1816- U John : 1816 -1820, 24, 27,
28,
Peter Sinter 1818—1821
George Moore 1 g 2 1 —23
John Gleason, jr. 1822—25
Edward D. Bangs 1823, 24
Joel Gleason 1824
Otis Corbett 1825, 2G, 30
John W. Lincoln 1825, 26, 33—
[35 Daniel Stone 1825,26
Pliny Merrick 1827—29, 35
Thomas Chamberlain 1827 — 29 Frederic W. Paine 1827, 31
Benjamin Butman 1828, 29, 34, 35 Alpheus Merrifield 1829—32
Lewis Chapin 1829, 35, 36
Asahel Bellows 1830
Lewis Barnard !.-."!0
Henry Heywood 1831, 32
Benjamin Flagg 1 83 1
Luther Burnett, jr. 1831
Charles Allen 1832
Guy S. Newton 1832—35
Jonathan Harrington 1832, 33
Alfred D. Foster 1833
Samuel B. Thomas L834
Simon S. Gates 1835, 36
Ebenezer L. Barnard 1835, 36
Thomas Kinnicutt 1836
Artemas Ward 1836
E. H. Hemenway 1836
Thomas Harback 1336
358
M UN CI PAL OFFICERS.
Town Clerks since 1722.
|
1722 |
Jonas Rice. |
1781 |
Daniel Goulding. |
|
17Q3 |
Benjamin Flagg. |
1783 |
William G. Maccarty. |
|
1724 |
Jonas Rice. |
1783 |
Daniel Goulding. |
|
1729 |
Zephaniah Rice. |
1787 |
Theophilus Wheeler. |
|
1730 |
Benjamin Flagg. |
1792 |
Daniel Goulding. |
|
1731 |
Jonas Rice. |
1796 |
Leonard Worcester, protein. |
|
1753 |
Daniel Heywood |
1797 |
Daniel Goulding. |
|
1754 |
Timothy Paine. |
1800 |
Oliver Fiske. |
|
1764 |
John Chandler. |
1803 |
Daniel Goulding. |
|
1768 |
Clark Chandler. |
1808 |
Enoch Flagg. |
|
1775 |
Nathan Baldwin. |
1816 |
Levi Heywood. |
|
1778 |
William Stearns. |
1818 |
Benjamin Chapin. |
|
1780 |
Nathaniel Hey wood. |
1833 |
Samuel Jennison. |
|
1780 |
Joseph Allen. |
1836 |
Charles A. Hamilton. |
|
Town |
Treasurers since 1722. |
||
|
1722 |
Daniel Heywood. |
1775 |
Nathan Perry. |
|
1723 |
Henry Lee. |
1778 |
John Green. |
|
1724 |
Daniel Heywood. |
1780 |
William Gates. |
|
1725 |
Nathaniel Moore. |
1781 |
Nathan Perry. |
|
1726 |
James Taylor. |
1790 |
Samuel Flagg. |
|
1727 |
Henry Lee. |
1791 |
Benjamin Heywood. |
|
1729 |
Nathaniel Moore. |
1795 |
Samuel Chandler. |
|
1731 |
William Jennison. |
1798 |
Oliver Fiske. |
|
1732 |
Daniel Heywood. |
1799 |
Theophilus Wheeler. |
|
1736 |
Gershom Rice, jr. |
1803 |
Samuel Flagg. |
|
1737 |
Palmer Goulding. |
1808 |
Levi Lincoln, jr. |
|
1739 |
Benjamin Flagg. |
1815 |
James Wilson. |
|
1741 |
John Chandler. |
1S29 |
Samuel Jennison. |
|
1752 |
John Chandler, jr. |
1830 |
Asa Hamilton. |
|
1760 |
John Curtis. |
1832 |
Charles A. Hamilton. |
|
1761 |
John Chandler, jr. |
1833 |
Charles G. Prentiss. |
Representatives chosen since 1727.
Nathaniel Jones 1727
William Jennison 1728 — 30
Benjamin Flagg 1731,43, 44, 46—
[51
John Chandler, jr. 1732—35, 38,
[39, 52, 53
John Chandler 1736, 37, 40, 42,
[63— (55
Timothy Paine 1755—57, 59—62, [68, 89 Palmer Goulding 1741
Ephraim Doolittle 1766, 67
Joshua Bigelow 1768 — 74
Ebenezer Lovell 1777
David Bigelow 1777
John Green 1777
FIRE DEPARTMENT,
369
Ezekiel Ho* 17 77
Samuel Curtis 177- 35, 1802
! 1804, 1806 Samuel Brooks 17-
Samuel Flagg 1790 98, 1805, 07
1796
1 7'.'! i 1801
[803 — 11
-1810
181 3, 1812—15
1809—1823
1811—1813
Levi Lincoln, sm
Nathaniel Paine
Edward Bangs
Ephraim Mom er
Nathan White
Abraham Lincoln
William Eaton
Levi Lincoln, jr. 181 1—17, 20, 22
Edward I). Bangs 1810, 17. 20, 24
William Katun 1822—25,27—30
Samuel Harrington 1823
Otis Corbetl 1824,26—28,30,31,
[35 John W. Lincoln 1824—26, 32—
[34 Samuel M. Burnside 1826
Pliny Merrick L827
Rejoice Newton 1828—30
B< Djamin Chap:!) Charles Allen Frederic W. Paine Alfred D. Poster Jubal I [arrington l,ru is ( !hapib W ins. ii- I latch Silas Brooks John Flagg Thomas K innicutt Thomas < !hamberlain David T. Brigham Samuel 15. Thomas Thomas Harback Benjamin I foddard, 2d. Benjamin Flagg William Lincoln Guy S. Newton John Coe Da\ id Wadsworth Ebenezer L. Barnard Edward JJ. Hemenway
1829
1829 ' 34
1831, 35 1832,33
1832, 33 1832
1833,34
1834,36
is; i 36
1834
1834
I-:::,
1835,36 1835
1885,36 1835 1830 1836 1836 1836
Fire Department. By the Act of Feb. 26, 1835, accepted by the town, a fire department was established in Worcester. Engi- neers are appointed by the selectmen, who are authorised to exercise the same duties in relation to engine men as the selectmen before possessed, and the same power as to the extinguishment of fires be- fore belonging to firewards.
The Department was organized in May, 1S35 : nine engineers, and three assistants were appointed. There are six fire companies, attached to as many engines, with these numbers, names, and sta- tions : 1. Hero, at Quinsigamond Village : 2. Rapid, at New Wor- cester: 3. Despatch, at Lincoln Square : 4. Torrent, at the Town Hall : 5. Extinguisher, in Goddard's Row : G. Lafayette, on Colum- bian Avenue. The Hook and Ladder company, have their appara- tus on the common. Isaac Davis, Esq. is chief engineer.
IIRF.S, AND INJURIES BY LIGHTNING.
1767, May 25. The dwelling house of Mr. James Barber, and all his goods were consumed. The fire was occasioned by a defect of the oven.
300 FIRES.
1773, Feb. 21. A fire broke out in the house of Francis Cut- ting, but being timely discovered, was extinguished.
1782, Nov. 2. The Blacksmith's shop of Ebenezer Chapin, was burnt.
1784, July 10. The house of Bezaleel Stearns, in the Gore, was entirely destroyed. The owner was at work in the fields at a distance; his wife, having put fire in the oven, went out on a visit to a neighbor. On her return, dwelling, furniture, clothing, and every article of property had disappeared, and nothing but ashes remained.
1786, Jan. 2G. The house of Capt. Samuel Flagg, on the site of that owned, Sept. 1836, by Hon. Charles Allen, was burnt to the ground in the night : the furniture was saved, but many articles of wearing apparel consumed. At this time there was no fire engine in town.
1791, July 4. The Pearlash works of Messrs. Chandlers, on the farm, in 1836, of Abiel Jacques, Esq. took fire by reason of the excessive heat in the furnace the day preceding, but the progress of the flames was arrested without great injury.
1793, Jan. 4. The weaver's shop of Cornelius and Peter Stow- ell, with more than 2000 yards of cloth, and the stock for 700 yards more, were consumed. The loss was estimated at <£300.
179S, March 19. The Hatter's shop of Jacob Harrington was discovered to be on fire. A brand had been left standing; being separated by burning, it fell on the floor, and communicated flames to the roof, which were subdued by great exertions.
1799, June 26. During a severe tempest, resembling in violence the hurricanes of the West Indies, the lightning struck a building directly back of the Court House, then occupied by Isaiah Thomas, in which were stored the types for the 12mo. edition of the Bible. The electric fluid, in four distinct veins, pervaded the whole struc- ture, splintering spar and stud, scattering bricks and mortar, and bursting away boards, laths, and plastering.1
1801, May 22. In the immediate vicinity of the former injury, the lightning struck a large elm tree, close by the residence of Judge Edward Bangs, on Main street, owned- in 1836, by Isaac Da- vis and William Pratt. One stream, descending from the tree, en- tered the house, broke two looking glasses, and the furniture, and passed through an apartment in which were seven persons, without doing them hurt. Another branch went to the adjoining house, and
1 A detailed account of the effects of this accident will be found in the Mass. Spy, July 3 and July 10, 1799.
FIR] 361
a female nvas rendered apparentl) lifelese i« > r some time l>_v its ell The third vein went down the trunk of the tree and expended its force in the earth.
1805, Aug. II. The Courl flouse, of loftier elevation than eith- er of the buildings in the near neighborhood which had been struck, at length experienced a visitation of the same calamity. The light- ning touched the front pediment, threw off the shingles, Bhivered the diamond glass of the tern window, shattered the Vene-
tian blind, and splintered the style of the great door.
1805, Nov. (i. The hatter's shop <>f Nathaniel Mower, on the site occupied in 1836, by the: block of. -tores of Hon. Daniel Waldo, was destroyed by tire.
181 1, May 20. A dwelling house of Silas Bigelow was burnt.
1815, Jan. 12. The loss occasioned by the burning of the car- ding factory of Earle and Williams, on the site of the Court Mills,
isti mated at * 1000. 1 8 1 -"> , Feb. 18. The most destructive conflagration experienced in this town, broke out on the west side of Main street, amid the violence of a severe storm, when the depth of snow, strength of wind, and intensity of cold, cooperated to render the efforts to arrest its progress unavailing. The house, store, and merchandize of Sam- uel Brazer, and the dwelling house, bake house, and out buildings of Enoch and Elisha Flagg, were consumed. The aggregate loss exceeded 810000. The inhabitants subscribed 82700, and 81800 were contributed in other places for the relief of the principal suf- ferers.
1816, Feb. 15. A house, wheelwright's shop and barn of Na- thaniel Flagg, 2d, and the store of Jonathan Knight, at Adams square, were burnt. Loss, 82000.
1821 , May 2. The house of Daniel Chadwick, about three quar- ters of a mile north from the court house, was struck by lightning. The fluid descending by the chimney, killed a dog on the hearth, but the inmates of the dwelling escaped uninjured.
1824, Dec. 24. The old Brown & Butman tavern house, north of Lincoln square, which had been unoccupied for three or four years, and then belonging to Stephen Salisbury, Fsq. was set on fire by an incendiary, in the night, and destroyed.
1825, May 7 A large blacksmith's shop of Levi Howe, was burnt, and a loss of 8800 occasioned.
1825, July 1. The new two story dwelling house of Moses Whip- ple on Grafton street was struck by lightning and consumed, with
in
362 FIRES.
part of the furniture and the joiner's tools of its owner. An appren- tice who was working in a room occupied as a carpenter's shop, was stunned by the shock, and on recovering, found the apartment en* veloped in flames. Loss $ 1500.
1827, Feb. 28. The lower paper mill of Elijah Burbank, about 50 feet in length, was set on fire by the spontaneous combustion of cotton waste, and the upper story, with a large quantity of stock des- troyed. Loss S 500.
1827, April 11. The joiner's shop of Zenas Studley on Prospect street, was burnt on Sunday afternoon. A barn adjoining was des- troyed, and the dwelling house of Mr. Stowell, near by, injured. Loss 8 1500.
1829, July 30. A barn of John and Abel Flagg, in District No. 6, was set on fire by lightning, and consumed, with the whole crop of hay and a valuable horse.
1830, Feb. 6. On Saturday evening, the dwelling house and store of Oliver Harrington in New Worcester were burned.
1830, Sept. 5. On Sunday morning, about 3 o'clock, a fire broke out in the store in Goddard's block, occupied by George M. Rice &, Co. The interior, and the goods, insured for §6000, were burned. The damage to the building was about $ 600.
1831, Jan. 7. The hatter's shop of J. P. Kettell & Co. was set on fire : loss 8 200.
1831, Aug. 19. The two story house and barn of William Stowell in' New Worcester were burned.
1832, March 11. A dwelling house on Mechanic street, owned by Luther Burnett, was set on fire, and destroyed. Loss 8700.
1834, Jan. 27. The dry house of the woolen factory of W. B. Fox &- Co. took fire, but was extinguished. Loss about 8500.
1834, Sept. 11. The house, bake house, and barn, of Andrew March, at the corner of Main and School streets, took fire about midnight, and were destroyed. Loss 8 3500.
1835, Feb. 5. A small Factory in the southwest part of the town, belonging to Ira Byrant, was burnt. Loss 8 1500.
1836, May 21. About 1 o'clock of the morning, flames broke out in the Baptist Meetinghouse, and spread so rapidly, that in lit- tle more than half an hour not a stick of timber of the church was left standing. The origin was attributed to an incendiary.
Other inconsiderable fires, and accidents by lightning, have oc- curred : but the principal are enumerated.
3Gy
A V I' E N D I X.
[See page 2.]
I. PETITION FOR A PLANTATION- AT 0,ri.N>lliAMO.ND.
October 8, 1665.
To the right worshipful] Governor, the deputy Governor, together with the worshipful] Magistrates, and the Deputies, assembled in Genera] Court at Boston, 11th Oct. 1665. The petition of Thomas Noyse, John Haynes, Josiah Haynes, of Sudbury, and Nathaniel Treadaway, of Watcrtown, Humbly Sheweth, That your Petitioners, having purchased several par- cels of land without the limits of any Plantation, in the Wilderness, lying to the Westward of the Plantation called Maurlborrow, and the sayd lands being to the quantity of about five Thousand acres, by reason of distance from any plantation, is not so profitable to your petitioners as it might bee, and whereas, the sayd lands do ly in a very convenient place for a planta- tion, and other lands lying adjoining thereto, sufficient to make a planta- tion, which will be very beneficiall to the countrey, lying in the new and most direct way to Connectequot, neare unto Q,uansigamugPon<l, and will be a meanes to advance the worth and benefitt of your Petitioner's lands, and make them more usefull to themselves, and more beneficiall to their posterity, which are many, the lands being very good, were they in a way of improvement, and divers friendes and neighbors being very desirous to enter upon the same, to whom it will probably be very beneficiall :
Your Petitioners, from these and equivalent consideracons, are ani- mated and incouraged to petition this honored Court, seriously to weigh the premises, and doe humbly intreat and desire, if in your wisdomes you shall see meet, a grant of a plantation, there to be sett up, and for that end, to appoint a committee to view the same, and lay out the bounds thereof, and for the settlement of it, which wee hope will bee both accept- able and beneficiall to the whole ; and your Petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray, &c.
Thomas Noyse. Josiah Haynes.
John Haynes. Nathaniel Treadaway.
[See page 2.]
!i. order of the great and general court.
October 11, 1665.
This Court, understanding by the Petition of Thomas Noyes, John Haynes, Josiah Haynes of Sudbury, and Nathaniel Treadaway, of Water- town, hereunto affixed, that there is a meete place for a Plantation, about ten miles from Marlborow, westward, at or neer Quansetamug Pond, which, that it may be improved for that end, and not spoiled by grantinge
364 APPENDIX.
of farms, in answer to the forsaid petition, This Court doth order, that there should be a quantitic of eight miles square layd out and reserved thereabout, in the Court's dispose, for a plantation, for the encouragement of such persons as shall appear, any time within three years from the date hereof, beeing men approved of by this Court; and thai Capt Edward Johnson, Lieutenant Joshua ffishcr, and Lieut. Thomas Noyes, shall, and hereby are appointed and empowered to lay out the same, and to be payd by such persons as shall appear within the terme above expressed. The Deputies have past this with refference to the consent of our honored Magistrates hereto. William Torrev, Clerk.
11. 8. 1GG5.
The Magistrates consent to a survey of the place petitioned for, and that Captaine Gookin doe joine with those mentioned of our brethren the deputies, and make return of their survey to the next General Court of Elections, who may take order therein as they shall see meete, their bre- thren the deputys hereto consenting. Edw'd Rawson, Sect'y.
Consented to by the deputies. William Torrey, Cleric.
[See page 2.]
III. ORDER OF THE GREAT AINU GENERAL COURT.
May 15, 1GG7.
Whereas, this Court, upon the petition of Ensigne Thoma3 Noyes and others, did nominate and appoint Capt. Gookin and some other Gentlemen, to view a place about tenn miles westward from Marlborough, at or about a place called Quansigamon Ponds, and to make report to this Court whether the place was capable of making a plantation, (as it is informed to be), M'hich work hitherto hath been neglected, through the death of Thomas Noyes and other impediments : It is therefore ordered by this Court, that Capt. Daniel Gookin, Capt. Edward Johnson, Mr. Samuel Andrew, Mr. Andrew Belchar, senr. or any three of them, be desired and impowered as a committee, to take an exact view of the said place, as soone as conveniently they cann, and to make a true report to this Court, whether it be capable to make a village, and what number of familyes (they conceive) may be there accommodated. And if they finde it fitt for a plantation, then to offer unto this Court some meete expedient how the same may be settled and improved for the public good ; and this Court doth prohibit the laying out of any grants in the sayd place until the Comittee have made returne, which the Court would have donne by ye next session of this Court if it mav be.
[See page 10.]
IV. FIRST INDIAN DEED.
Iily 13, 1G7-1.
Bee it known to all men by this present writing, that Wee, John, alias liorrawannonit, or Quiquonassett, Sagamore of Pakachoge, and Solomon, alias Woonaskochu, Sagamore of Tataessit, together with the consent of our kindred and people, and for and in consideration of twelve pounds of lawful money of New England, or the full value thereof, in other specie, to our content) within three mouths after the date hereof, well and truely to
WCII. NT I'M .
be paid, and satisfied, and pt whereof, vi ts and foui
trading cloth, valewed at twenty six shill.
received in nan ;. I Daniel < rookin ■. and
of Di I Hinchman, of Boston, Brewer, in beh If of 1 and
Capt 1 I Lt Richard B the Genii,
•pointed for the management of a new plantation granted by the said Court, conti ntents
thereof, being to the westward of Marl I imond
de of the R lecticotl ;
Now know yee, yl wee, ye sd. Jno. and Solomon, Sagamon l,and
upon the terms aforesaid, have bargained, sold, aliened, enfeeoffed, and confirmed, unto the ye sd Daniel Gookin, Thomas Prentice, Daniel Hinch-
Etichard Beers, and ye rest of the people admitted, or to be adm by yc sd comitteeto be inhabitants of yt new plantation, and i<> their heirs, executors, admrs, and assigns for ever, in fee simple, all and every pi of our civil] or natural] right, in all and singular the broken up land and woodlands, woods, trees, rivers, brooks ponds, swamps, meadows, miner- alls, or any other thing, or things whatsoever, lying and being within that tracl of land, conteyning eighl miles square or the contents thereof, to be layd out by ye sd persons or their order in tune convenient. To have and to hold the premises, and every pt thereof, unto them the sd Daniel
O, Thomas Prentice, Daniel Hinchman. and Richard Beers, and all
ist of ye sd Inhabitants admitted or to be admitted planters I and unto ym and yr heirs forever, freely and absolutely, without any lett, molestation, or disturbance, of us, or any of our kindred or people, or any claiming by, from, or under us, for evermore, as our heyrs or assigns ; and wee do promise, upon the finishing ye payment to make full and ample deeds and writings for the same, according to law. In witness of the truth hereof, wee ye sd John and Solomon, alias Horrowanonitt and Wo- oannaskochn, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this thirteenth day of July 1" Signed, Sealed and ) Solomon? alias Woonnasakochu, seal and mark.
. red in the > JohnaliasHoorrawanwit, mark and .- ,
presence of us, )
Onnamog, his mark, Sagamore of Occonomesett Namphow, his mark, sagamore of Warn'
eph Thatcher, of Chabanakonchoie, his mark. Nosannowitt, his mark. Noah Wiswall, present.
Full payment ree'd August 20, 167(1. D. Gookin. This Deed acknowledged by the Sagamores, before Daniel Gookin, Sen. Assist July 13.
Entered, !>. 2. 83 by Thomas Danforth, R.
[See page 19.] v. ordkr of council '!'<> capt. edward hutchinson. Jum 27, 1675.
The Council, beeing informed that the Narraeanset Indians arc- down with about 100 armed men into the Nipmuck Country, Do order you. Edward Hutchinson, to take with you Capt Thomas Wheeler, and his party of horse, with Ephraim Curtis tor a guide, and a sufficient inter- preter, and forthwith to repaire into those parts, and there labour to gel a right understanding of the motions of the Narraganset Indians and of the Indians of Nipmuck, and for that end to demand of the leaders of the
366 APPENDIX.
Narraganset Indians an account of the grounds of their marching in that country, and require to understand the orders of their Sachems : And al- so, to demand an account of the Nipmuck Indians, why they have not sent down their Sagamore, according to their promise unto our Messenger, Ephraim Curtis. And further, let them know that we are informed, that there are some among them, that have actually joyned with our enemies in the murder and spoile made upon the English by Philip. And that Ma- toonus and his complices, who have robbed and murdered our people about Mendon are now among them, And that we require them to deliver up to you, or forthwith bring into us, those our enemies, otherwise we must look at them to bee no friends to us, but ayders and abbetors ; and unto all these things you shall require their expresse answer ; and as soon as you have dispatched this affayre, you are to return home and give us an account. So desiring the Lord's presence with you, and in the prosecution of this affair, if you should meet with any Indians, that stande in opposition to you, or declare themselves to be your enemy, then you are ordered to in- gage with them, if you see reason for it, and endeavour to reduce them by force of arms.
[See page 19.]
vi. order of council.
Sept. 15, 1675.
At a meeting of the Council, Sept. the 15, 1(175, It is ordered by the Council, that Ephraim Curtis, hath hereby liberty, together with such other English men as he shall procure, provided they be not less in num- ber than thirty men well armed, the said Curtis with his company aforesaid, are allowed to gather and improve for their own use all the Indian Corn of the Indian Plantations of Pakchooge, Maanexit, Senexit, Noobsquesit, Quanaticke, and Quatoositt, belonging to our enemies the Indians that are fled, provided allwais, they do not disturbe the praying Indians of Has- sanamesit, Chabannokonkon, Manchage, Quantisit, and Magunkoog, that now are at Naticke, to gather and improve the Indian Corne growing upon those places, or any other Indian Plantations belonging to our Enemies, that are not above mentioned, alotted, and appointed for the sd. Curtis and the English with him to improve, which the Council granted to the sd. In- dians by a former order.
By the Council, Edw. Rawson, Sect'y.
[See page 21.]
vii. orders and instructions for capt. joseph sill.
November 2, 1675.
1. You are to take charge of the Souldiers raised from Charlestown, Wa- tertown, and Cambridge, which are about sixty men, and being fitted and furnished with Armes, Amunition, and Provision for a week, you are to march away forthwith to Naticke, and there take such trusty Indians guides, with you, as Corporal Whatson hath prepared for that purpose, and then march away, with all convenient speed, to Hassanamesit, an Indian Plantation, near Nipmuck river, from whence you are to send intelligence unto Capt. Daniel Henchman, who with his Company is to march to Men- don, informing him that you are ordered to join with him tojpursue the
ANCIENT PAPERS
Enemy, whom wp hear is come down to a place called Pakacfa about 7 miles from Efassanamesil Northwest, and bath killed and sur- prised some of oar neighboring Indians that were gathering Corn there, and as we have ground to fear hath Latelj attacked Marlborow.
•.'. Being joined with Captain Henchman, you areto be under his order, and jointly to seek oul i"< » r the Enemy al the said place, or an] other place where you can understand he is ; and ifyoumeel the Enemy you are to use your best skill and force to Bupprise, Beize, kill, and destroy the Ene- my, and to rescueand relieve any of our friends, either English or Indians. that are taken or injured by him.
3. You are to be very carefull to send forth Scouts before you, to discovi t Uie Enemy's quarters, and if ii may be, i" come upon him iii the Night.
4. You are carefully so to march the men in the woods, thai it' it be pos- sible to avoid, or shun, or search Well before you go too near, all such places as Swamps or Thickets, where the Enemy use, u ith siiblih-ty to lurk in Ambushment
5. You are in all your attempts and enterprise, to have your eyes and
hearts lifted up to God in Christ Jesus, who is the Lord of Hosts and God
of Annies, that he will give his presence with you, and assistance unto you, and your Company, in all your undertakings: not trusting or relying uuon the arm of flesh, but upon the living Lord alone, from whose gra- cious blessings and presence all good comes.
6. And you are carefully so to demean yourself, in your consultation, that you may give your Souldiers a good example in piety and virtue, and so govern the Souldiers under your command, that your Camp may be holi- ness to the Lord: and to this end, you have the Military laws printed and published, which are for your rule and direction in that matter.
7. If you find a considerable quantity of Corn at Pakachooge, if you can save it, we give it you and your Souldiers, together with ('apt. Hench- man and his Souldiers, for Plunder; so desireing the ever living Lord God to accompany you and your Company, with his gracious conduct and pre- sence, And that He will, for Christ's sake, appear in all the mounts of difficulty, and cover all your heads in the day of Battle, and deliver the blood thirsty and cruel Enemy of God and his People into your hands, and make you executioner of his just indignation upon them, and return you victorious unto us who commit you and your Company unto God, and re- main.
These orders and instructions by the Council.
E. R. [Edward Rawson.] November the 2d— 1G75.
[See page 28.]
VIII. SECOND INDIAN DEED.
February 12, 1G77.
Bee it known to all men by these presents, yt we, Anthony, alias Wun- aweshawakum; and Abagail his wife, only Daughter and Heyr of Pannasu- net, late of Quansicamund, deceased ; also Nannnswane, widdow and relict of the said Pannasuned ; also Sasomett, and Quassawake his wife, sister to the said Pannasunitt, for and in consideration of full satisfaction in trucking cloth and corn, paid to and received by us, from Daniel Gookin, Esq. Capt Thos. Prentice of Cambr, and Capt Daniel Henchman of Bos- ton, pd unto us and each of us, have bargained and sold, aliened, enfe- offed, and confirmed, and by these presents do bargaine, sell, alien, enfe- offs, and confirm, unto the said Daniel Gookin, Thomas Prentice, Daniel
368 \ri'i;.\m\
Henchman, for yc use of themselves, and all oilier their partners and as- sociates yt arc and shall be admitted Inhabitants and planters, upon a township granted unto yc sd Daniel Gookin,Tho. Prentice, Daniel 1 1 inch- man, by a General Court of Massachusetts, at a place between Marlborough and Brookfield, called by the Indian Name (luansicamond Ponds, content- ing ye contents of eight miles square, with all the lands, woods, meadows, watercourses, mineralls, or any other matter or thing, within the said tract which in naturall right belonged to us, or any of us, and posses'd of, by the said Pannasunet, Sagamore, or his heirs or kindred wtsoever: To Have and To Hold all the lands, both woodland and brokenup lands, and all ye ap- purtenances, as aforesaid, to ym the said Daniel Gookin, Thomas Pren- tice, Daniel Henchman their heirs and associates, yt shall and mayduely and legally possess and sett down upon their lands and plantation, and to their heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, for evermore, and the Anthony, alias Wannoshanuhannitt, and Abagail his wife, daughter and only heir to Panasunet, and her mother Nannaswane, and Sasuet and his wife, Sister of Panasunet, being all Indians, and Natives, and Inhabitants, they and their ancestors, of that place and tract of land at Quansicamond Ponds, have good and just naturall right and interest in the said land, and do freely and absolutely sell and alien all the premises aforesaid, unto the said persons and their heirs forever, warranting ye lawful sale herein made, for us our heirs, executors and administrators, or from or by any per- son wtsoever. In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and seals, this sixth day of the 12th Mo. 1677. Signed, Sealed and delivered in presence of us,
John Elliott.
Nathaniel Gookin. Q,uasonoit,Signed and Sealed.
Waban, his mark. James Speen. Simon Betoghom.
This deed acknowledged by all yc subscribers, and sealed this 6. of Febr. 1677, before me, Daniel Gookin, Senr. Assist.
Entered, 9. 2. 83. by Tho. Danforth R.
[See page 29.]
IX. ORDER. OF THE GREAT AND GENERAL COIRT. 1(179.
For the greater comfort and safety of all people who are intending to resettle the villages deserted in the late war, or the planting any new plantation within this jurisdiction, It is ordered by this Court and the authority thereof, that no deserted town or new plantation shall be inhabi- ted, till the people first make application unto the Governor and Council, or to the County Courts within whose jurisdiction such plantation is, and the Council or County Court are hereby ordered and empowered, to ap- point an able and discreet committee, at the charge of the people intending to plant, which Com. are ordered and empowered to view and consider the place or places to be settled, and give directions and orders in writing, under their hands in what form, way, and manner, such town shall be set- tled and erected ; wherein they are required to have a principal respect to nearness and conveniency of habitation for security against enemies, and more comfort for christian communion and enjoyment of God's worship,
Anthony, Signed and Sealed. Abagail, Signed and Sealed. Nanswan, Signed and Sealed. Sasomet, Signed and Sealed.
VOTES. DANIEL SHAYS
and education of children in Bchools,and civility, with others and .-ill such Planters are hereby enjoyned to attend and put in pi such orders and directions as Bhall be given by Bucfa e, upon the
penalty of one hundred pounds One to the Country, dieted upon
them fa C acil, or County Court, for th tor refusal
•!'T.
\. eOTES IJH WORCE9TEB FOB QOVERIfOR SINCE 1780.
|
/' |
Candidates |
( ' |
' |
i .. |
|||||
|
[780 |
1 lancock |
Bowdoin |
1 |
117 |
|||||
|
1781 |
1 [ancock |
18 |
Bowdoin |
04 |
Gerry |
i |
142 |
||
|
i |
1 lancock |
Bowdoin |
14 |
[811 |
• |
210 |
i ;.,r.- |
1.17 |
|
|
1783 |
1 [an :k |
li |
Bowdoin |
08 |
1 :l : |
1 |
2*1 |
Strong |
165 |
|
l ,::l |
1 1 |
50 |
Bowdoin |
12 |
1813 |
Varnum |
Strong |
I7fi |
|
|
Howdoill |
35 |
Dana |
181 1 |
1 |
Strong |
194 |
|||
|
1786 |
1 |
15 |
( lushing |
02 |
1815 |
Dextei |
Strong |
201 |
|
|
1787 |
Hancock |
111 |
1 1 iwdoin |
67 |
1816 |
Dex' r |
249 |
Brooka |
202 |
|
1788 |
Hancock |
92 |
< Jem |
1817 |
[warborn |
1 Iplnks |
191 |
||
|
1789 |
Hancock |
78 |
Bowdoin |
37 |
1818 |
Crowninsnii |
Brooka |
n i |
|
|
1790 |
Hancock |
51 |
Bowdoin |
20 |
I :'.".! |
< Irow ninshield 230 |
Brooks |
184 |
|
|
n:/i |
II : |
68 |
Dana |
01 |
1820 |
Bustia |
Brooka |
158 |
|
|
Hancock |
Jt |
Phillips |
i : |
1821 |
191 |
Brooks |
166 |
||
|
1793 |
Hancock |
31 |
Gerry |
0\ |
1822 |
1 |
191 |
Otia |
182 |
|
1794 |
AiIhiis |
55 |
Cusliim; |
38 |
1823 |
Bustis |
Otis |
182 |
|
|
1795 |
Adams |
70 |
( terry |
04 |
Bustis |
Lathrop |
|||
|
1796 |
Stunner |
102 |
Aj&uns |
Lincoln |
Morton |
09 |
|||
|
17H7 |
Sumner |
88 |
.-•tillivan |
37 |
1 26 |
Lincoln |
201 |
Lloyd |
40 |
|
1798 |
Sumner |
81 |
Gill |
01 |
1827 |
• |
Jar vis |
06 |
|
|
1799 |
Sumner |
If9 |
— |
— i |
Lincoln |
K1 |
Morton |
12 |
|
|
1800 |
Gerry Gerry Gerry |
(40 |
Strong |
35 |
I 129 |
1 |
203 |
.Morton |
15 |
|
1801 |
127 |
Strong |
59 |
1830 |
Lincoln |
Morton |
1-12 |
||
|
I80S |
114 |
Strong |
88 |
1831 |
Lincoln |
299 |
Morton |
107 |
|
|
1803 |
Gerry |
151 |
Strong |
101 |
1832 |
Lincoln |
36 1 |
Morion |
148 |
|
1804 |
Sullivan |
150 |
Strong |
86 |
l .. |
Davis |
478 |
Morton |
152 |
|
1805 |
Sullivan |
194 |
Strt. |
109 |
I ■■! |
Davii |
Morton |
160 |
|
|
1806 |
Sullivan |
219 |
Strong |
135 |
1835 |
Rverett |
Morion |
291 |
|
|
180? |
Sullivan |
no j |
Strong |
134 |
1836 |
Everett |
577 |
Morton |
317 |
|
1808 |
Sullivan |
213 |
Gore |
132 |
[See page 151.]
XI. NOTICE OF DANIEL SIIATS.
[It was accidentally staled in the note to pn^o 151 that a sketch of the- life of this indi- vidual would be found in the Appendix. The necessity of p promise in- advertently made, is the only reason for its appearance hero.]
This individual acquired an unenviable notoriety which imparts some degree of interest to the incidents of his life. II" was bom in Hopkin- ton, in 1747; the son of parents not in affluent circumstances, he worked with Mr. Brinley, a respectable farmer of Framingham. The activity and energy of his youth promised at maturity more desirable elevation than he attained. That, his education was neglected, is apparent from Ins offi- cial letters, bidding defiance alike to government, grammar, and good spell- ing. Just before the revolution, he removed to one of the towns beyond Connecticut river, and afterwards resided in Pelham. When the war com- menced he entered the army at the a<re of twenty eight, with the rank of Ensign, in Capt. Dickinson's company, in Col. Benjamin Ruggles Wood- bridge's regiment His ambition, activity, and the plausible manners 47
370 APPENDIX.
covering the want of acquirements, joined with personal intrepidity, ob- tained promotion, and in l?7<i, he wa3 appointed lieutenant in Col. Var- num's regiment At a time when the line peculiarly needed reenforce- mcnt, he was detached on the recruiting service,. with the promise of some suitable reward for the enlistment of twenty men. For this purpose he visited his native .state, and his unwearied exi I with
ample success. When the complement assigned to him was filled, a plan suggested itself for grasping honor and pay at once. Finding the pulse of patriotism beat high, and the young men of New England were ready to devote themselves Ibrtheir country, he continued his i nlistments. Insinu- ating address and bold representations, produced impressions of his ability and influence, easily turned to his own advant ige, and by holding out expec- tations of indulgence to those who should serve under his command, a com- pany was raised, on the condition that he should be their captain. With these men he returned to the camp, where they were mustered. When the inspector w?.s about to distribute them to different corps, Shays pro- duced the enlistment papers; pointed to the condition which held them to serve under himsell alone; and requested the appointment of Captain. The necessity of the times prevented the sacrifice of so many recruits, and after indignant remonstrances, it was deemed expedient to yield to his de- mands. The commission was promised, and issued after long delay, in Sept. 1771), to relate back to Jan. 1, 1777. Such is the account tradition gives of his military rank. The honors, ill u on, were not long worn. He was discharged Oct. 14, 1780, at Newark in New Jersey, from Col. Rufus Putnam's regiment.
The deficiency of honorable sentiment in h.'sjnental constitution, may be inferred from a characteristic incident. Latkyette had presented, in 1780, to each of the American officers under his immediate command, an elegant sword. Such pledge of regard from the patriot chief, a soldier with a spark of generous feeling, Avould have cherished as Jus dearest pos- session, and transmitted to his posterity as an heirloom of inestimable value. Shays sold the gift of his commander for a few dollars.
After being disbanded, he retired to Pelham, and lived in obscurity. Bankrupt in fortune and in fame, Shays was ready to embark on the liPod of any desperate adventure. Without the energetic decision or enlarge J conceptions, the strong spirit or the bold daring, which befit a leader, bv some accident, he was elevated to the command of the insurgents. Of capacity too humble to direct the movements of an army in those moments when the force of talent makes itself felt by triumphant results, and turns even obstructions into encouragements, he was weak, vacillating, and ir- resolute. It was providential that the physical power of the arm of rebel- lion had so feeble a head to direct its blow.
With the first shade of adversity, he made indirect overtures to the agents of government, to abandon his comrades to their fate, on assurance of personal safety: and when his base propositions were rejected, and promises of indemnity and pardon were offered to his followers, his per- suasions induced them to reject the proffered mercy and retain the arms of " hopeless controversy, to purchase by their sacrifice security for himself. When the insurrection was crushed, he retired to Vermont. After the lapse of a few years, the general of the rebellion, passed through the streets of Worcester, which he once entered at the head of an army, and received assistance from those whose homes he had threatened with deso- lation.
At length he removed to Sparta, in New York. As a pensioner of the United States, he derived his daily bread from the government, whose forces he had encountered in arms. Declarations filed in the department
DANIEL Ml LI ;J71
of war by him that bis family i of an aged wife, and
le poverty. He died, Sepl However much the honor and of Daniel Shayc ed,hi disputed. He was in 1 of Bunker's Hill,
' Burgoyne, and ming of Stony Point; was under . and <liil '_T"<»1 service in many bloody encoui wound, received during the revi is h rar d of intre-
pidity. When Shepard and himself me1 rfield, the former ad-
. mded an expla- ; he claime ! no r ink but I I mi, and added, i
bis hand on his sword, thai if different designation was given, he should consider it insult, and would exact im tion on thi
An aged inhabitant of Hopkinton, who was Bchoolmate of the rebel
captain, states that he w as limn on the farm in thai tow n, still called tlic 'Shaysplac .' d on Saddle Hill, about two mil the meeting
hous ■ : thai he made his home there principally, until he removed \\ itfa his .'Mil Connecticut river, which, as is supposed, waa ngton. The estate where his early youth waa passed, has long been deserted as a human habitation, and the fo frown
the forsaken orchard is interspersed at regular intervals, with aged apple trees.
An estimable and respected clergyman relates, that Boon after he began to preach as a candidate, he was employed al I on the first Sun-
day of bis visit there, he observed a very wi 1] d -eased g< utleman, with a military air, enter the meeting house: immediately, every pew door from the bottom to the top of the aisle was thrown open, and he was received with the mosl respectful salutations : this d led person h 1 1
Shays, who had just returned to thai town, with the pardon of the govern- ment, and lived upon the wesl side of the easl hill. The next day. Shays called on the clergyman, and held long discourse about bis labors and sufferings, He said he had been entirely deceived in respect to the feel- ings of the people: that he received assurances if he would collect an hundred men, and march in any direction, multitudes would flock to his standard. Relying on these representations, he began bis inarch with a small force, but found he produced little sensation and that few joined him : at night, he thought it necessary to preserve the appearance of military organization and to mount guard, and ordered a tand sentry; 'no
1 won't,' was the reply to the commander, ' let that man, he is not so sick as I be' : the second man refused, desiring him to take another whi stronger, and the chief of the insurrection found himself without authority at the head of a tumultuary army.
A soldier of the rebellion, who had fled from Springfield to Pclham with- out stopping and hid his gun under the barn floor, asked Shays why he did not stand his ground ? the reply was 'yoc know, if I had, I must have stood alone.'
The clergyman describes Shays as an agreeable and intelligent per- son, and the day he spent with him as one of the most interesting of his life.
These particulars have been obligingly communicated by Samuel B. Walcott, Esq. of Hopkinton.
1 He married Nancy Haven, a widow. The schedule of his property in l"-0, filed in the pension office, exhibits a condition of almost nttrr destitution. Il is as follows :
1 marc, #25: I old saddle, J2 501: bridle,50 1 old cutter. $5: 1 old iu cents; 1 hoe.tij h cents : 1 table $3 : 3 chairs, $\ 1- k : 1 okl scythe and snaih, 1 12 ^ : 1 old pail, 12 .J cents : 1 large bible §1 : amounting to $40 62,
372
BLACKSTONE CANAL.
XII. STATEMENTS IN RELATION TO THE TRADE, MANUFACTURES, EMPLOY- MENT AND BUSINESS OF WORCESTER.
Trade. The following excellent abstract of the transportation on the Blackstone Canal, st;i ted in tons, has been prepared by Mr. Eddy, the col- lector, and was politely furnished by Thomas Burgess, Esq. of Providence.
To
1831.
j:;.;j
1833.
1834.
1835.
|
Worcester |
4300 |
4400 |
4663 |
533( ; |
4694 |
|
Milllmry |
876 |
1140 |
1316 |
1533 |
1375 |
|
Grafton |
968 |
1019 |
1174 |
909 |
736 |
|
Northbridge |
1026 |
920 |
1280 |
428 |
534 |
|
Uxbridge |
964 |
1184 |
1069 |
1497 |
1534 |
|
Millville |
601 |
555 |
610 |
252 |
295 |
|
Blackstone |
its:; |
844 |
540 |
538 |
£39 |
|
Waterford |
386 |
660 |
540 |
469 |
120 |
|
Woonsoket |
3139 |
3304 |
2564 |
1168 |
1965 |
|
Manville |
377 |
193 |
366 |
71 |
417 |
|
Albion |
225 |
156 |
149 |
12 |
291 |
|
Kelly's |
275 |
37 |
— |
— |
35 |
|
Lonsdale |
462 |
1800 |
1274 |
558 |
807 |
|
From |
|||||
|
Worcester |
808 |
890 |
848 |
826 |
739 |
|
Millbury |
360 |
223 |
171 |
187 |
183 |
|
Grafton |
28!.) |
158 |
236 |
110 |
158 |
|
Northbridge |
1621 |
1821 |
1208 |
542 |
233 |
|
Uxbridge |
1755 |
3276 |
1500 |
2617 |
1470 |
|
Millville |
94 |
52 |
221 |
5 |
15 |
|
Blackstone |
279 |
195 |
245 |
226 |
127 |
|
Waterford |
11 |
59 |
60 |
64 |
5 |
|
Woonsoket |
291 |
259 |
135 |
86 |
303 |
|
Manville |
10 |
63 |
— |
— |
61 |
|
Albion |
23 |
20 |
1 |
1 |
41 |
|
Kelly's |
99 |
298 |
191 |
— |
255 |
|
Lonsdale |
— |
6 |
134 |
79 |
51 |
|
The amount of tolls collected |
on the I31acl |
cslone Canal has been as follows : |
|||
|
In 1828 |
$1000,00 |
In 1833 |
817545,10 |
||
|
In 1829 |
8600,00 |
In 1834 |
16464,45 |
||
|
In 1830 |
12016,82 |
In 1835 |
14433,08 |
||
|
In 1831 |
14944,( |
17 |
In 1836 |
11500,00 |
|
|
In 1832 |
18907,45 |
||||
|
The following |
are the principal article |
s transported |
on the Canal. |
||
|
Years. Coal. |
Iron. |
Cotton. |
Wool. |
Com. |
Salt. |
|
Tons. |
Tons. |
Bales. |
Hales. |
Bushels. Bushels. |
|
|
1834 2759 |
635 |
3829 |
2100 |
24098 |
19631 |
|
1835 3148 |
840 |
3590 |
3151 |
8618 |
18223 |
|
183G 3044 |
567 |
3494 |
2048 |
25174 |
11095 |
|
Flour. |
Molasses. |
Oil. |
Gypsum. |
Leather. |
Wood. |
|
Barrels, |
Gallons. |
Gallons. |
Tons. |
'/ons. |
Cords. |
|
1834 21158 |
68549 |
49957 |
— |
364 |
1500 |
|
1835 .10278 |
58323 |
43137 |
— |
292 |
825 |
|
1836 10025 |
22389 |
39024 |
582 |
220 |
1185 |
RAIL ROAD. 373
Boston urn Worcestzb Railkoad. The following statement of
the bus -- of tin- road hae I n communicated by Nathan Hale, I
From .Inly 1 to Dec. 31, L835, the receipt - follows:
For Transportation of p 12,12
r i_rlit 1882
Nel income 51272,67
The whole number of pi conveyed on the road within 1 1 j * - bu
months, was 72558, making the average oi I < *' > the day: of these, 37700 travelled over the whole road, and the remainder were taken up< down at one ofthe Btopping places between Worcester and Boston. The number of trips w as ; with passengers 7."»7, in the average time of 2h. ."><> in.; ami with freighl cars, 533. Tiic whole amount received from Dec. 1, I.*- '..">, to !><■,•. I. 1836, was For conveyance of passes >l L8233, 1 1
Freight 59836,93 $17807,37
The frciiflit carried out from Boston, iras "'77 1 tons: brought in, 11!»0 tons.
The passengers to and from the places mentioned below, in the same period, were,
Brighton and Angier's corner : 12 1 ! I
Newton 40:}
Neeilliain and Natick 1061
Framingham and llopk-inton '.\\>\
Southborough and Westborough 2807
(irafton '27 7 1
Worcester Hli;i_24847
A large amount of fare was taken in the cars where the places were not entered.
The number of stores in Worcester, in 1836, was as follows : For gro- ceries lti: dry <_roods 16; crockery 2: hardware 3: iron ] : wool. '5: flour and grain 4: coal 2: provisions 4: fruit and confectionary*): drugs and medicines 4: dye stufFs2: books and stationery 3: music and umbreU 1 : hats and furs 5: shoes and leather 6: drosses and millinery 5: jewelry and watches 1 : cabinet furniture 2: carpet warehouses 2; drapers and tailor's shops 5.
There are 4 banks : 3 insurance offices : an insurance agency: and 4 printing offices.
A statement of the condition of the manufactures and mechanic indus- try of any town, exhibiting the aggregate amount of capital invested, the number of hands employed, the sums paid for labor, and the annual quantity and value of production in each department, would be alike interesting ami useful. For the purpose of presenting this view ofthe prosperity of Worcester, circular letters were distributed among those en- gaged in different branches of business, soliciting information. Acknow- ledgments are due to several gentlemen, who kindly furnished full an- swers to the inquiries : but, unfortunately, some have felt reluctant, even for such general purpose, to communicate facts : and many, under the pressure of their engagements, have not found time for any reply. The results obtained were so incomplete, that in forming an estimate of the whole, it would have been necessary to substitute conjecture for certainty, in filling up many intervals. As the whole value of such statistics de- pends on that degree of accuracy which it was impracticable to attain, after much labor and trouble bestowed by others, the compiler has been re- luctantly compelled to leave the accomplishment of an object so desirable, to those who maybe more fortunate in their efforts for obtaining materials.
374
EXECUTIONS. FESTIVALS.
xnr. EXECUTIONS.
As Worcester has been the seat of the Courts of justice, these drend- ful exhibitions have taken place lier'e. The following are all the execu- tions which have occurred within the county since its foundation: 17'-',7. Nov. 20, Hugh Henderson, alius John Hamilton, for Burglary: 1768, Oct. 20, Arthur, a negro, for Rape : 1770, Oct. 25. William Lindsay, for Burglary: 1778, July 2, William Brooks, James Buchannan, Ezra Ross, and Bathsheba Spooner, for the murder of Joshua Spooner of Brook- field: 1779, Nov. 11,' Robert Young, for Rape: 1783, June 19, William Huggins and John Mansfield, for Burglary: 178G, Aug. 17, Jobnson Green, for Burglary: 1793, Oct. 31, ►Samuel Frost, for the murder of Elisha Allen of Princeton: 1825, Dec. 7, Horace Carter, for Rape. No one of these criminals were natives of Worcester, and but three were born within the county.
XIV. FESTIVALS. FOURTH OF JULY.
The anniversary of national independence in this town. The gentlemen named below addresses of those designated by a star, have
|
1791 |
*Edward Bangs. |
I81G |
|
1795 |
*Joseph Allen. |
1817 |
|
1796 |
*Francis Blake. |
1818 |
|
1797 |
^Oliver Fiske. |
1819 |
|
1798 |
*Samuel Austin. |
1820 |
|
1799 |
Pelatiah Hitchcock. |
1822 |
|
1800 |
*Edward Bangs. |
1823 |
|
1801 |
*Isaac Story. |
1824 |
|
1802 |
*Zephaniah S. Moore. |
1825 |
|
1803 |
John W. Caldwell. |
1826 |
|
1804 |
*William Charles White. |
1827 |
|
1805 |
*Daniel Waldo Lincoln. |
1829 |
|
1808 |
*Estes Howe. |
1830 |
|
1810 |
*Levi Heywood. |
1831 |
|
1811 |
* Samuel Brazer. |
|
|
*John W. Hubbard. |
1832 |
|
|
1812 |
*Francis Blake. |
1833 |
|
*Enoch Lincoln. |
1834 |
|
|
1813 |
Thomas Snell. |
1835 |
|
1814 |
*Rejoice Newton. |
|
|
Edwin A. White. |
1836 |
|
|
1815 |
*Peleg Sprague. |
has usually been celebrated have delivered orations : the been printed. *John Davis. *Pliny Merrick. ♦Austin Denny. *Edward D. Bangs. Charles H. Warren. Jonathan Going. Francis B. Stebbins. William Lincoln. Richard H. Vose. Charles Allen. Thomas Kinnicutt. John Davis. Peter C. Bacon. Samuel M. Burnside. Edwin Conant George Folsom. *Edward Everett Franklin Dexter. [Boston & Worcester Rail
Road opened.] Benjamin F. Thomas.
l N I) i: x.
[As the labfe of contents indicates the principal lubjeets, il. the names "i persons mentioned in the «,>rk. 'I ninute men ■
ami li.sts of municipal offii
\ B Ll Col. John, 10, 16.
/; , J mi
fl , D : I ll . \nrnn,
203
. '. 1 : ' . ', 1 62
fl Ju i ward, I 19, I
I, 334, 360, 374 Edward D
Ba Jose ph, 1 J! .1. :,.,. 161 . Wil- liam, Ban
'■' nas, 107 : I.'
.amin, 1G. I Law . 230.
B
B p, .Mi. 344.
/.' I
!l, 1 J.
. .' I.\ m. ji, .1.'/ Edward, 101. /: . I.i. Richan B \ ... - -* i 1 : Gov. i>'.>, 168.
I ■• i ■
Bends, John , -".'.
. Elder William. 206. SOS D/ William, [Salem,] -• B ■ ■ . Simon, 28, 3 B . .1 ishua, l -' : .l"-i.'i
i;i». 84, 98 H tvid. 16, 121, 122 I
Col. Ti ihy,76, 78, 80, 102, I'1::. I"'1.
II • II, .n. Timothy, I 19, i I, i<;j.:.;.; i * jah, ::>:. Tyl< r Lndrew,
Dr.. >,301 Si- las, l Mary, 162 : Andrew, I Lewis, . :•■ . Silas, 3GG : fam- ily. J- I Bimelick Mrook, ;;i
::!■•-, I'i.
free, 310. Abraham, 18, I'.'.
"I Joseph, I i,i is Arthur, 273: Harrison Graj I ,347.
II : , . •
/: . i Hii ei I [unti r Boardman, Rev. John. :: .
I igail, Indian
l ,Re\ .1 >. C. 216, 218, JJ.!, 306.
i , Rev. Mr. 47, 1
I . banishmi at. I 20.
I Pres .1 ., I'
Willi, mi I J: Aaron. I , I;. ■ •, .V-hrini-
ah, .'17 : J
■ .. J, i.". :;.'.. J 1 1. .:.;.'., 3-15.
ph, 122, I... Rev. Benjamin, 16, J<il Re
. 374, I .'I. 1-":, . I'M. .'j.;. 272, .;:?.
Joseph, - Sam-
uel, jr. ->J7 Rei . .'
I M
s
umy, Wannashawakum, . Applt ton, Professor, 1 70, 17.1, Army, last requisition for men,128 : Orga- nization, 109 : Oxford, I.') 1. I Expedition, 1 1-!. Artillery, Regiment, 110, 117 : Company,
l : l ,7 31. Asset
i ■. van, ■•-'7.
i I '.■ James, 39 : Is-
rael,
. petition, 136, Atmood, Philip, 8, 11,14
Rev. Samuel, 17 1. 182
mill,
i . ( lolumbian, 31, I--', 221 ,
I K'.\ . Joseph, l'.1".
B
. ThomaV-'1; .; i, Aaron u^^ner, BachelUr, Stephen, •■ 5»
,-i, 109, 139: Thomas, 1GI, Baker, Justice, ill. ,„
Baldwin, Nathan,
r Columbuj, 219, 325, <&*,
i Benson C.
37G
INDEX.
Bogachoag. 17. Bond, Willi;,.!., 33.
Boston, 1, 113, 133: Executions in, 27: Pamphlet, 75.
Boundaries, :'i.;u.
Bounties, 111, 118,121, 122.
Bourne. Rev. Staearjashub, 1GG: Hon. Melatiah, 166.
Boutelle, Samuel, 299.
Botjdeu, Daniel, 161.
-Bra«<, 194.
Brattle, Capt. 23.
Brazer, Rev. John, 199, 272: Samuel, 321, 3G1 : Samuel, Jr. 214, 334, 374.
Breck, Dr. Samuel, 173, 251.
Brewer, Col. Josiah, 311.
Brigden, Joseph, 310.
Britrham, Samuel, 12: David T. 251, 328. Robert Breck, 327.
Brookjield, 15, 1G, 19, 22, 23.
Brook, Mill, 31, 43, 352.
Brooks, Major General, 144.
Brook, Kettle, 352 : Tatnick, 352 : Bea- ver, 352 : Weasle, 352 : Pine Meadow, 352 : Bear, 352 : Mill, 352.
Brown, Thomas, 8, 12, 29, 33, 44, 46 : Lieut. Luke, G5 : Luke, 270 : Ichabod, 44, 46 : Capt. 105 : Samuel, 2G9 : Ja- cob, 318 : J. & N. 31G : John, 339.
Bryant, Ira, 362.
Buildings, Public, 341.
Bull, Isaac, 33.
Burbank, Gardner, 272 : Elijah, 321,362.
Burnside, Samuel M. 238. 303, 30G, 325, 374.
Burgess, Thomas, 339, 372.
Burnett, Luther, 362.
Burr, lion. Peter, 169 : Rev. Isaac, 167, 192 : Rev. Aaron, 170.
Burrill, Rev. John T. 220, 223.
Bush, Ahiel, 39.
Butler, James, 46 : John Simpkins, 261.
Butman, Benjamin, 327, 330.
Cabot, George, 267.
Cadets, Independent, 331.
Caldwell, William, 48, 49 : William,
Sheriff, 153, 238, 344 : Joseph B. 238:
John W. 374. Calicos, printing, 322. Caly, James, 39. Cambridge, 1. Campbell, Rev. Mr. 171 : William, 80,
100, 110 : John, 172, 173. Canada, Philip visits, 22. Canal, Blackstone, 339, 372. Cannon, 113,331 : long iron, 42. Capen. Rev. Lemuel, 330. Carriel, Nathaniel, 80. Carrington, Edward, 339. Carter, Elias, 348 : Horatio L. 331 :
James G. 326. Carpets, Weaving, 321. Catholic Society, 219. Chabanakonkomon, Dudley, 11, 16, 17,
367. Chadwick, Capt. David, 119: Daniel, 361.
Chamberlain, Dea. John, 179 : John Cur tis,27G: Henry Vassall, 270: Levi, 271
Chandler, John, 271: .Major Gardner, 6fi 93, 99: Clark, 91, 111 : Col. John, 51 53, 54, 275, 3IG, 347 : Hon. John, 58 179, 275 : Capt. Thomas, 153, 331: Na thaniel, 111, 228, 2G5 : Thomas, 268 Gardner I.. 268: Rufus, 120, > 276: George, 261: William, 111, 191 265: Samuel, 153, 347, 2G5 : Hon. John 275, 342 • Charles, 266, 347.
Cliapin, Thaddeus, 1G2 : Benjamin, 162, 260, 303 : Ebenezer, 3G0 : Eli, 1G2.
Chaplin, Rev. Ebenezer, 183.
Chapman, Rhodes B. 308, 327.
Chase, Elijah, 43 : Anthonv, 327, 331.
Child, Jonathan, 63: Moses N. 21 1.
Chinch, Indian, 17: Covenant, 171, 1C3, 196, 206, 217, 222.
Churches, 346 : Deacons, 223: Communi- cants, 223.
Citadel, 30, 31.
Clapp, Daniel. 80.
Clark, John, 18, 192: Rev. Josiah, 222 : Elam, 214 : Joseph, 162 : John F. 345.
Clerks, Town, 358.
Clothing, requisition, 120.
Clocks', tower and church, 322, 347.
Codman, Rev. Dr. 191,
Coes, Rebecca S. 305.
Communication, 316.
Conant, Edwin, 252, 32G, 374.
Concord, 1, 19.
Congress, Provincial, 93, 100, 101: Coun- ty, 118.
Connecticut River, 23 : Road, 7, 12, 23-
Constitution, 122, 123, 158.
Convention, 132, 138: County, 119, 133.
Converse, Rev. Otis, 211, 308, 309: Jo- seph, 309.
Cooke, Gov. 117.
Cooledse, John. 157, 331.
Corbett, Otis, 303, 308. 309, 327 : Caro- line M. 305.
Corbin, James, 34.
Corduroy, manufactured, 321.
Cornell, Rev. Joseph, 209.
Corn, 21, 27.
Corps, Rifle, 332.
Correction, County House, 344.
Cotting, Samuel , 333.
Council, order, 3G5,367.
Counsellors, Mandamus, 94.
Country, Nipmuck, 16, 20, 365.
County, 101, 102, 133: incorporated, 58.
Court, Indian, 18 : order, 363, 364, 368.
Courts, First, 58.
Cowden, Thomas, 66.
Cornell, John, 33.
Covenant, solemn league, 92.
Crawford, John, 51 : Robert, 48, 51, 253 : William. 66,254,299.
Crafts, Edward, 97, 110:Tbomas, 110.
Crane, Benjamin, 12.
Crosbee, Benjamin, 43 : Joseph, 46.
Curtis, John, 12, 65: Samuel, 76, 126, 132, 162: Ephraim, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11. 14, 19, 20, 43, 45, 161, 365, 367: Capt. 155: George Ticknor, 255.
INDEX
377
Ctuhing, Judge, 7r! ■ C,
I . in, Joshua
Cull- i I
Cult,.. i .iCO.
D /' ll. • - i ' J fiu, ;;.
Dana, Ricbai 12,29 Joseph, fl Ja-
110.
I ' i, ( leorge, .'■..'. 46.
D i 133: J 16,303,
.1 i
. Tl as,
Day,]
I' /■'• . Ensign, K 6.
D I 1 . 307.
D i \ n, 247, 272,
■'■ 1 Daniel, 321: Nathaniel 1*.
D
Dich '. Baxler, 215: William,
D \ . r.i 1 1 , D S hoo), 297, 298, 299: Centre
S /'
' J, • I Wiiliam,268:
Henn El jah, 272.
. GO, 71, 80, 17G, 281,311;
j- Rowland, 333.
D . \. Iliam, 40, 4G : Gov. 41.
i l.'J. Dunlop, Rev. .Mr 194. /)«/•" 299,
I
61. Dyer, Joseph, 17
Barnes, nrrlmm, 12 : Thomas, £2, 2G. John M 32, 335.
■ H
■ mill , 32 : Joshua, 22k
/,Vf/f ■
/ William, 91, 1<;2: Join.. 162.
John, 16, 17. 18, 28, 179
Join
I >i. Mr. 173.
Emigrants, Scotch, 17. 191. 238.
311. Emma 214.
Encam] merit, . 107.
Eurft*. William, • Evans, [sra< I J e«, Joseph T. 309: Edward, 323,
374. Excise, 62, 335. Executions, 374, Military, -7. ExporU
of the town, 336.
4*
Factory, Coti
/ 171, 183, 19C, 20«.
/ bam, Daniel
/ \
i inn P. 307.
J i J. 29 : Capt 1!0: Rev,
Warren, I .' ReW Johi
/
..;■ J : Maturin I.. 251 . .'.23. Fuk, Da* d, I I 32
Rev John, 191 I
VI: in. 16
I i D I i
I
Thomas, 301. Fitch, James, 34 : Daniel, 34: Ebeno-
zer, 182, Fitfon, Rev. James, 319
MiW. R< v. Edward, 166, 191.
15 Miscal, 29 Rich- anl. ■! I, (12 : ifenj imin, In. .'>7. CI), 89, 108, i , Be jamiojr.
51, O.V 68, 109, 1 19 313 i . G3 : John, 213, 362 : Al •
A. B36: Sa i I, 1 16, I r
Knoch 154
178 .Mrs. Dolly, . Nathaniel, 2d 361 Fletcher, Benjamin, 46 Samuel, 53. FKnt, John, 11 : Rey. Abiel, 182: Wal- do, 3 Folsom i 2,301,374
J'urbush . James I J '•>■ 'a t, Rey. Eli, - Fort, old Indian, 13 : Tory 95. l'miii ues, ancient, 31 .
Hon. Dwighl, 133 230 : Alfred 27,330, 331.
W , ;:, l; ■tl . I- ' r : 1 1 if: i *= . 33.
Zechariah Freeman, James, ! Frink, Dr. Jol Fulham . Francis, 50.
J. din, 80. Furgerson, James, 43.
Ga«e, Gov. 98. 101. 107: Aililrrn* to.
101 Gale, \br I im, 139 l 12 i Henry, 151.
■in Albert, Gano, Ri \ i
100 G 170 : Rev, Andrew,
Garri 43.
(,ut<s. Willi..
378
INDEX.
Gazetteer, Independent, 333.
Geer, Charles H. 332.
George, Isaac, 33.
Glasford, James, 48.
Gleason, Thomas, 45 : Benjamin, CI.
Goddard, Benjamin, 214 : Porlcy, 309 : Daniel, 213,309.
Gojfe. Rev. Joseph, 1S9.
Goodale, John, 212.
Goodwin, lsaac,250, 306, 326, 327, 329 : James, 65, 331.
Goodrich, Rev. Charles A. 183, 189, 213 : Rev. Samuel, 139 : Jesse VV.252.
Gdokin, Daniel, 2, 3, 6, 7, C, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16,17, 20, 21, 26, 29, 31, 32, 33, 324, 364, 365, 367 : Sheriff Daniel, 346 : Samuel, 11 : Nathaniel, 20, 363.
Going, Rev. Jonathan, 209, 210, 301, 303,306,307,331,374.
Gowing, Robert, (see Going,)211.
Gorham, Capt. 20.
Gore, country, 161.
Goulding, Peter, 33,46: Daniel, 149, 155,166: Palmer, 44, 297, 302: Ig- natius, 347.
Graham, Duncan, 43.
Graves, Samuel, 157.
Gray, John, 46, 5 1: William, 43 : Rob- ert, 43 : Matthew, 48.
Green, Thomas, 254 : John. 205, 254 John, 258 : John, 260, 271, 302, 324 Elijah Dix, 269: Timothv, 161, 235 William E. 233, 237, 270, 331 : Doct [Ward,] 145: William N. 251, 334 Rev. John, 211 : Rev. Samuel, 216, 217.
Greene, Nathaniel, 227,
Greenleaf, William, 140: Joseph, 290. Grievances, complaints, 132, 134.
Griffin, Charles, 334.
Grout, Moses W. 335.
Grover, Lyman, 8 : Stephen, 8 : Thom- as, 8, 12", 14 : Lazarus, 8.
Groves, Thomas, 29.
Guilford, Nathan, 301.
H Hadley, 23,38.
Haq-gatt, Thomas, 43, 46.
Hague, Rev. William, 211.
Hair, Edward, 63.
//ale, Joshua, 322 : Nathan. 373.
Hall, Willis, 133: Rev. David. 169:
Thomas, 11, 12, 14, 29, 33: George
Holmes, 263 : Talmage, 318. Hall, Town, 44, 348 : Antiquarian, 336,
319 Ilainldcton, James, 48. Hamilton, Micah, [Moses] 149: Sewall,
157,331: Elizabeth B.305 : Martha S.
305 :CharlesA. 327, 332. Hancock, John, 101. Harris, Rev. Thaddeus, M. 199, 263,
301,325: Clarendon, 44: William,
53. Kesinah, 313. Harvey, Zacliariah, 257. Harrington, Capt. Nathaniel, 155 : Rev.
Timothy, 197, 202: Jubal,251, 33. : Lois W. 305: Jacob, 360: Oliver, 362.
//art, James, 161.
Haskell, Abraham, 324.
/lassanamisset, [Grafton] 16, 18, 21, 23, 27, 48, 366, 367.
Hastings, Simeen, 157 : William, 326.
HatWeU, Anthony, 332.
Houses, Rev. Joel, 215, 217.
llawlcy, Joseph, 229 : Capt. Elisha, 61.
llaynes, John, 2, 33, 34, 363: Josiah, 2,363: David, 42.
Hazeltine, Simeon, 142.
//eadlij, Benjamin, 39.
//card, Nathan, 157, 345.
Hemenioay, Jacob, 63 t Edward H. 328.
Henchman, Daniel, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 21, 23, 26, 29, 30, 32,33,46, 296,365, 366, 367 : Nathaniel, 32, 44.
//easy, Anthony, 233.
Hens/taw, Daniel, 251 : William, 80, 99 : Joseph. 93.
Herald, Mass. 332 : American, 332.
Hcrrick, Rev. Osgood, 219.
Herbert, .lean, 63.
Hersey, William, 8.
Hcyioood, Daniel. 42, 46, 57, 62, 164, 331, 341, 349 : Josiah, 46 : Phinehas, SO: Nathaniel, 117 : Levi, 239, 301, 374: Benjamin F. 261, 272: Hon. Benjamin, 283, 284, 330 : John Healy, 274: Phinehas, 233: Benjamin, 153.
Hilliurd, Rev. Timothy, 197.
Hill, Rev. Alonzo, 199, 306,348.
//Uls, 352, 353 : Pakachoag, 32, 38 353 : Wigwam, 1 7, 28, 353: Sagatabscot, 35, 41, 13, 353 : Stone House, 95 : Mill- stone, 319, 353 : Indian, 353.
Hitchborn, Col, 141.
Hitchcock. Pelatiah, 374.
Hoadley, Rev. Loammi Ives, 215, 216, 303.
Hour, Dr. Leonard, 11, 46.
Holbrook. Capt. 23 : Abel, 119 : Sylva- nus,339.
Holden, Samuel, 161 : John, 112 : James 51, 55.
Holden, [town,] 6, 30, 161.
Holland, John, 53.
/folman, Col. 117.
Holmes, James. 44, 46 , Jacob, 295 : Rev. Abiel, 325.
Holyoke Dr. Edward A. 255: Rev. Ed- ward, 170.
//omuns, John, 263.
Honcslus, celebrated papers, 131.
//oorruwunnonilt. Sagamore, 10, 17, 364.
Hopkins, Rev. Samuel, 183.
Hospital. Lunatic, 160, 315.
//ousts ,43 : Court,342, 361 : School, 343.
//oughton, John, 49.
Howard, Rev. Simeon, 197.
Howe, Thomas, 36, 38, 40, 42, 46 : Es- ten, 374 : Joel, 143, 148 : Levi, 361.
INDEX.
379
Hubbard, John; 57 : Jonathan, 4 1 Jo- du, 103, 109, 113,876 John W. 1ST, 21 i i 111.
Hull, Rev. Aretioa B
I In,,'. Ephrarm,34 : Dr. Ebeneii
IJlltclllI: , I ill. I'.ll-
ward, 19, ->o5 : Eliaba Hyde, Mr. 316.
I Import* . Jndian, War, I i Tribi
\'i lloslililics, 1 ■ i , .'>" [64 Indians. 13, I muck tribe, 18,
82: Narragansetts, 322,365: Maasa- chusetis, 16: Pawteckel . 16 Mo- hawks, Ifi Pequota, 16 : Norwi Destroyed, 27. / 114,121, 891,374.
Infantry, Light, 331 : Ivesoluiions, 151 :
\l iron to Boston, 157. Buuranci < . Mutual, 321 M i-
nulVicturcrs, 328 ; Springfield, insurrection, 130. Ives, Moses 13. 339.
Jacques, Abiel, 360. William, 333. Jeffrie*, Dr. John Jenkins, Joel. 1 ! Jennison, William, GO, ICG, 341, 312:
William, 330 Rev. Samuel, 166:
Samuel, 9 /< wett, hers. loJ. Jo// ;j. Sagamore, 10, 17, 19,24,26, 21 Johnson, Edward 1: John, 62,
155, 331 : Joshua, 91. Johnston. Ilev. William. 192, 193. Jones, Nathaniel. 46, 57 : Noah, G5 :
Phineas, 51 . 1 19.
K. Kellogg, Joseph, 51 : Elijah, 1 - ,\ Rachael, 34S
II John. 31,93.
.1 las, 330 Peter, 3-18. J P J I . Charles O. 212. I\ - tes, John. 36, ft . Rufus, 233 : Peter, 16, ft : .71.
Kirkland, Re J I
Kn ipp, I [enry, hi : James, U
i : Jo- nathan, 361 : Edward Knowllon, J. S. C. Knox, Gen. Henrj
Lafayette, 370: visit, 158,
Lancaster, William. .HI.
/
/ I
Latham. Dr. Jam.
Lathrop, Rev. John, 197.
Lawrence, Micah. 299; Abel, 61 M
17.1?, / Wai
I rl
/ Samuel, 8 Henn . 14, 16. / removal, l
/ hi/, Jacob, \! • v II, 16,
i / I
/ Goo Iman, 34
/ \l
/
/ .Dr. Ebenezer, -'57. / B- ujamiu, 101, I 18, 149, 150
Levi 128. 161, 1 198,
:
134 John
W.l Waldo,
[S f Lex i. sen. | 271
i liam, 249, -
ham I Daniel M
William 8. 273, 331. Lwennore, Daniel, I .80.
/ 1 19.
/ • vity. 313. / Robert, 18.
Novell's war. 50. Lovell, Eben< zer,93, 109, 119
I. Hi. inn. 330.
I 25G.
/ inhabited, 1.
. M 367.
Maccarty, Capt. Thaddeus, 171 : I
l li 173.174, 176, «
v ihaniel, 31" D L Thad-
I [istorical Journal, 335 : Worceslei Week! i I 51.
Manning, William. tun s, ■'-! . ManuJ '. 321.
Map, first, 1 1. Maquas, ot Mohawks, 16. Marble, Jonathan, 16 : Joel, 309.
1/ h, Audrew, 362,
Marlborout h. I. 3, 7. 10, 14, 15, ft
I, 10. Marsh, Sa I. 170, 173
i/ i i
i/ ii \i Mary, 36.
'. I .
i, l, i hard, 179. i' l
1/ w, Rev. Jonathan, I '■ I. 1/ imuck, J I. 1/ C ertfial . John, 18. V / •. William. -II James, 178,
Andrew, 16, 18 : Daniel, ■
Vndrew D. - Mi '. R( M -. 43.
1/ II i, \\ .11, ,,m. 18. \fcK I J< in. i Uexandi If in, at, James, kfi to, I'ine, 4,30,33,
380
INDEX.
Meeting first Town, 50.
Meeting Houaea,6,46, 164, 198,209, 213. 215,219,221, 346, 362: presbyterian, 191, seating, 180.
Mendon, 15,, 525.
Merrick, Pliny, 217, 32G, 334, 348, 374.
Merrill, Rev. J. A. 220.
Merrifield, Alpheus, 348.
Meyling, Simon, 8, 11, 12. 14, 29.
Miller, Isaac, 43, 46 : Rev. Rodney A. 190, 223 : Moses, 270.
Mills, 31,32,43.
Mills, Rev. Edmund, 189, 215.
Mines and Minerals, 353.
Minute Men, roll, 109.
Minot, Stephen, 46, 160.
Minzies, John, 178.
Moody, Master, 233.
Moore, Deacon Nathaniel, 41, 44, 51, \ 55, 57. 164, 223 : Nathaniel, 42 : Isaac, 91 : Maj. William, 282.
Morse, Rev. Jedediah, 213.
Morton. Andrew, 235,301.
Mortality, 311.
Mount oigelow, 279.
Mosely, ('apt. 23, 27.
Mower, Thomas Gardner, 272 : Nathan- iel, 361 : Ephraim, 1.55 : Nahum, 333.
Murdoch, Rev. Thomas J. 214.
Murray, John; 98, 102.
N Nannaswane, 28, 367. Nashaway, 18, 23, 24. Nashobah,U. 27. Natick, 27, 367. Nazro, John, 302. Nehe.miah, son of Matoonus, 25. Nelson, Rev. John, 189,190,217, 219,
223,271.301. Neutrals, French, 62. Newbury, Trial, 11.
Newcomb, Joseph W.253 : Henry K. 327 Newhall, Jonathan, 65. Newport, contribution, 120. Newton, Rejoice, 239, 327, 348, 374. Nichols, Thomas, 155, 257. Nipmucks, 16, 19, 22. Norton, John, 9. NorthmUe, 337. Nosoonowit, 11,365. Noivell, Increase. 1, 2. Noyes, Thomas, 2, 3, 4, 5, 363, 364. Nugent, Mrs. Academy, 306. Numphow, Sagamore, 10, 365.
O
Occonomesset, Marlborongh, 10 : Orthog
raphy, 10. Officers, Public, 294, 295. Oliver, Judge Peter, 78, 86. Onnomog, Sagamore. 10, 365. Orchard, first ^ 45: Apple Trees, 27. Osgood, Jonathan, 324. Otis, Harrison Gray, 267 : James. 290. Oulton, John, 43, 46. Oxford, 34, 35.
Page, insurgent 141.
Paine, Timothy, 67, 94, 126, 196,235 264- Nathaniel, of Bristol, 39, 264 ■' Dr William, 91, 120, 256, 266,825 : Samu-' el Clark- 65: William, of Boston 46 Samuel, 110, Ul,265:Henn . 261 :W thanit j, ... . \\ itliam Fits
271: Frederic W. 204, 271 303 :,-q' 343: Rev. William P. 218,219 jud°-e Robert Treat, 313: Rev. Elijah, 2]
Pakachoag, 10, 11, 15, 16. 17 18 19 20 21 , 22, 23, 24, 25, 38, 353,367 : Orthog- raphy, 24,
Palmer, Thomas 43, 46.
Pamaquesset. 6,
Panasunet, Sagamore, 28, 367.
Paper, manufacture, 43, 301.
Park, Dr. John 307, 331 : Calvin 301
Parks, John, 342.
Parker, insurgent. 111.
Parker, Jonas ,214 : Rev. Nathan, 301
Parishes, 163, 194, 205,213, 221.
Parmeter, George 36, 38, 45.
Patch, Nathan 302.
Paul, John 12,27: Silas 301.
Pawtucket, Tribe, 16.
Payson, Thomas, 301, 302, 306.
Peables, John 48: Robert, 48- Patrick- 48. "'
Peabody, Rev. David, 218, 219, 223- Mr 170.
Pease, Levi, 317, 319.
Peck, Albion P. 301, 305 : Abraham, 61 William D. 325. ' '
Pequols, 16.
Perrin, Hannah C. 305.
Perry, David, 218, 273: John, 39 : Bax- ter, 273 : Clark, 273 : Ebenezer. 39 : Jo- siah G 331. '
Peter, Indian, 24.
Phillips, Edward, 308, 309 : Mr 170
Phipps, Robert, 307.
Pickering, Rev. George, 220.
Pierce, Josiah, 82. 84, 89, 92, 313
Places, Burial, 45, 349.
Plain. Raccoon, 32.
Polls, ratable 313, 314.
Ponds and Streams, 351.
Pond, Enoch, 182,
Poor, 311.
Pope, Rev. Joseph, 266.
Population, 45, 310.
Post-office, 205, 317, 322.
Potatos introduced, 48
Potash works,
Potloquam. Simon, 24.
Powers, Edward, Evelelh, 332.
Pratt, Thomas, 8 : Silas, 61 : William 253: Abigail, 305.
Prentice, Capl. Thomas, 4, 6 7 8 9 11 12, 23. 26, 29, 32, 33, 34, 46, 365. 367 John, 58, 172 : John, [Marbleheadl 99 Samuel, 259, 323.
Prentiss, Charles G. 251, 326.
Prescott, William, 267.
Prices of articles, 117, 122.
INDEX
Prisoners, British, 1)3. I
/ ' J
/' II.
/'
l;. l: en, 1119.
/' I ]
Ml. 11] linos,
Q
Quanti >
Q
i lilion, 113.
Quint , I 1. I". 17, I
Orili'
i: i and Worcester,
.vi. h and \\ on i Wcsti i i: \ 1
67. !. 13, 16, \9,L
I phn I u Ger-
shom, W, II. I."). 19, 50, 5& 60 '
raim, junr. 16 : .1 ss, 1 1. 15: Adooi-
jah,
113 Jona .; ,. 15: Matthias, 161 :
■\ \: . 1. 1 Col. lot:
1 1 . irtfs.Joseph,8:John,8: David, 213, 214.
Richardson. Thomas, 161 : Mr.
■ II. nrj J. -II. Nipnapp, 2, Blacks Niprouck,
French, 352 : Halfway, 34
Leices-
U: Nipmuck, 12: Country, 12, 14.
Mmcr, 61.
'- sni l e, 17. Mr. of Littleton, 170 : Richard, Henry, 33L /.' J
. Ephraim, .31.53,350.
R, . W am T. 1S2.
Hon. Timothy, 59, G3. '.
- Sagatabscot, 35, 36, 353. Salem planted, I.
49
i i r, 10,
S
1 1 J
• II -. ■ 1,-10.
: 61.
150,
.
\ 12 : Dr. Levi, 255:
I 19
Rev. Thomas II.
I Henri
Lev.
Mr. ;
I S
' r.cul-
lura
205, I His-
rev- olutionary .
.
William B. 215: Hon. John,
. Rev. Samuel, I Spi i
l
\ 5,337.1
S first i -■ to establish, ■
!
. John, I 19, n. 8. 1 1 63 John,
l ■. \\ i liam, l.'l. I I 1
jamin, 170 ' ■ V>
' i 103, 119,17 !;• •. Micab, 11 191.
38*
INDEX.
Slonj, Rev, Daniel, 182: Joseph, 325:
Isaac, 374. Stoiv, Rev. Baron, 212, Stowell, Kbeuezer, 321 . Peter, 321, 360:
Abel, 322. 3+7: Cornelius, 126, 3G0 :
William, 362: Benjamin, 66: Leonard
W. 362.' Streets, 337. Strong, Solomon, 326. Studley, Zenas, 362. Sturlevant, Isaac, 331. Sumner, Rev. Joseph, 133, 190. Sullivan, James, 151, 333. Sutton, Dr. William, 257. Swan, William. 178: Samuel, 301. Swil/away, Henry. 8. Switcher, Wigglesworth, 58. Swqueakeug. [Norlhfield,] 6. Sylvia, African, 313.
Talisman, WorceslrT, 335. Tataesset, 10, 17,37, 353. Tat mink, 17.
Tavern, First, 44 : Sun, 144, U. S. Arms, 136 139, 143, 152: King's Arms, 94,115: Jones'. 106: Hancock arms, 143, 145 : Brown and Butman, 341, 361.
Taxation, 314.
Taylor, Othuiel, 75 ; Samuel, 214 : Rev. Nath. W. 189: William, 12, 29, 38: Hon. William, 40, 46: James, 44, 46.
Tea, 74. 126.
Tenney, Rev. Caleb J. 188.
Tewksbury, Thomas, 8.
Thaxter, Levi, 236, 327, 331.
Thatcher, Joseph, 11.
Thayer, Rev. Dr. Nathaniel. 199,330.
Thomas, Isaiah, 92. 107, 115, 123, 153 159, 196, 204. 287.291.294,316,321. 325. 332, 335, 333, 344, 347. 349. 360 Moses. 237. 294: Isaiah, jr. 273.292 325, 332 : Benjamin F. 252, 273, 374 David, 282.
T/tomo.s(ln(lian,)21,22.
Thornington, James. 48,
Thornton, Thomas. 8 : Theophilus, 8 : Matthew. 48.
Thurber, Charles, 301,305.
Toasts, 4th of July, 115.
Tomlin. Matthew, 33 : Isaac 33.
Tom, Capt 26.
Tomlinson, Rev. Daniel. 190.
Torrey, Joseph, 215 : William, 9.
Totman, Jabez, 161.
Towne, William M. 251 : Salem, 157, 344.
Townsend. Penn, 33.
Trade. 322.
Train, Rev. Charles, 212.
Travelling. 320.
Treadaway, Nathaniel, 2, 363: Jonathan, 8, 12.
Treadwell, William, 110, 149, 152, 331.
Treasurers, Town, 358.
Trees, apple, 27.
Tree, Richard. 29.
Trowbridge, (Judge) 78, 80, 224, 226,
227. Troubndgeville, 337. Trumbull, Dr. Joseph, 292: George A
327, 332 5
Tufts. George A. 326. Turell, Daniel 33 : Mr. of Medford, 170. Turnpikes, 338. Tyler, John. 80. Tyng, Jonathan, 46, 54.
U
Unadilla. Colony, 193.
Upham, Pbineas, 8, 1 1, 14, 20: John, 29 :
Joshua, 73. Upjjauippaquem, 24.
Vail, Rev. Thomas H. 221.
Valuation. 313.
Varney. James, 299.
Village, Quinsigamonri, 337.
Villages, Nipmuck, 15 : Manufacturing,
337. Visitor. Familv, 335. Vose. Richard H. 249 : Edward J. 250 :
Roger, 301. Votes, for Governor, 154, 3G9.
W
V.'ahan. Thomas, 24, 28, 368. 11 abSkwset, 16. Wackuaet,n, 23,37. II '(until g , 16. Waight, Joseph, 12, 14. Waldo. Cornelius. 43, 46: Daniel, 209, 214, 215, 267. 325. 326, 327, 329 : Dan- iel, sen. 145,317, 327. Walker, Nathan, 80: Adam, 111, 120 John, 62: William, 257: George, 257 Nathaniel, 48: Rev. John, 2ll, 212 Cato, 315. Wttlcott, Samuel B. 371. Walley, Mr. 173. Wallis, James, 161. Watnessit, 10. 27. Wan nashaii- ahum, 28, 367. Wann ishannohannuwit, 28. War, Queen Anne's, 35: French, 51:
Prisoners, 156. Ward, town. 6, 16, 17. 161- Ward, Gen. Artemas, 81, 135, 138: Ar- lemas 2nd, 332: Samuel, 65: Ohadiah, 43,45: Richard, 43. 15: Hezekiah, 61 : Daniel, 44: Klisha, 38: William. 39, 59: Nahum,59: Uriah, 51.53: Jona- than, 109: Mary S.305: Samuel, 332, 348. Warner, Gen. 141, 145, 149. Washington, visit, 152: funeral honors,
154. Washburn. Capt. Selh, 109, 144. Dr. Seth.262: lehabod, 309: Emory, 223, 250,326: Ebenezer I). 301. Waters, Rev. George, 212. Watertown, 31 , 32, 33 : occupied, 1. Wattasacompanum, 16, 18, 21, 26. Way, Lancaster, 44.
INDEX.
:js:j
Webb, Benjamin, 12,29,
II William, 33
11 Mrs. A M. 307.
II ! I, 84.
II Silas, 1 13
Wetherby,!
II tier, Thomas, I I : Idem, 184, l 16, 111 142 Isaai 16 John, 39: William D l philus, 149.
(26 . Joseph, 128 : On, C. 151,
\\ pie, Moses, 361.
While, Rev Thomas, 161 Wm. Charles, 270, 334, 31 1 Joseph, 309 : Ehenezer, 5ti : Juslio, Go: Nathan, 155: Edwin A. 371
n i ,/,/, 167, 168
WhUeomb, Jouaih 1 ibraim, 53.
Whiting, Joseph, 190
Whitnt u, Ebeuezer, 257 9 unuel Joshua, 84, 120.
Whittamore, Pelaliah,8: Darnel, 8: John,
M Ri Mr. 189.
n i, Dr. 170.
r, Re\ Jnhn, 219.
Wilder, John, 8: Joseph, 58: Josiah,
Wildes, Edward, 8. ii R ; rd,39.
M Mu
WUlard, Nahum, 65, 254. Willard, Samuel, 59, 263, 264: Rev. Frederii A. 211, 212,306, 308, 309:
Jonah, 09 i Abel 98: Josepi
M Sin Willtatiu, Rev Mr. 170, 173, 183: Na-
thaniel, 299 John, I l£. ii Jami
ii .1 i 13
li Adam. 33, 34, I". In, 57, ICO:
I Inn. Thorn i n Gen J«.lm. liJ.
Wittier, Rev I!' njamin H
I I 'ril, Jun.ls. 161. II
ii Jons l
ii (ward, Sam I 16.
I I 3 re, 1". 18, 3G4.
Workman, \\ ill am
ii (, Rev Benjamin, 189, 215. li J : 1, 117.
ii i ■ mai tl, •'•' 1 .
M 160 «' .iv. £0, 58:
Norlh, 30, 160 .\. w, 14,337 : South,
Wris hi, Samuel, 51,54, 55, 5C: John,
307. Wyman, Rosi 11 I .1 mi . 299.
) M ssarhus< its. JIT. S34.
Young, Henry, 19 : William, I
82. II I. 295: John, 49, 299, 31 ■ Da.
vid, 19: Rev. Alexander, 199: Dr.
David, 149.
CORRECTIONS.
' Reader, Carthagena was of the mind that unlo those three tilings which the ancients held impossible, there should be added this fourth, to find a hook printed without erra- ta. It seems, the hands of Briareus, and the eyes of Argus, will not prevent them.'
JMathkr's Magnalia.
Paj
|
1 |
Lino 10 for |
' region,' |
read |
country. |
|
4 |
29 |
< had sold, ' |
had sold their la |
|
|
17 |
17 |
' Eastern/ |
1 1 i ttei n. |
|
|
99 |
23 |
' unjoined,' |
subjoined. |
|
|
149 |
24 |
< Mi call,' |
Moses. |
|
|
191 |
6 |
'1821,' |
1819. |
|
|
219 |
35 |
' 1812,' |
||
|
230 |
28 |
[ secretary i |
:>f the,' |
secrelanj of. |
|
237 |
26 |
' 1835,' |
1834. |
|
|
238 |
1 |
' 1817,' |
October 9, 1816. |
|
|
244 |
7 |
''iteration,' |
literary. |
|
|
246 |
21 |
< 1824,' |
1823. |
|
|
22 |
' 1825,' |
1824. |
||
|
23 |
' 1825,' |
1824. |
||
|
247 |
23 |
' Gov. Brooks,' |
Gov. Eustis. |
|
|
249 |
17 |
' 1824,' |
1826. |
|
|
34 • |
' twenty,' |
thirty. |
||
|
251 |
21 |
' 1832 and 1836,' |
1836. |
|
|
261 |
32 |
'1816,' |
1810. |
|
|
300 |
13 |
' 2,' |
2L /, ominster. |
|
|
301 |
8 |
• Fitchburg |
' |
|
|
13 |
' Lexington |
|Ky.' |
Cincinnati, Ohio. |
lands.
The words Pakachoag, and Hassanamisset, sometimes erroneously appear with slight variations from this orthography.
Some errata too obvious to escape attention, or too slight to deserve notice, are not indicated in the above list.
%
1 1 I 1 1 1\ . \ I \
I'niurnt't (olli'i-h Ptmrhttetd tit 18,11