Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 123: Grafton, 1889

By Willi.4M T. Davis And A Historical Address By Hon. Frank P. Goui.Ding

On either side of Quinsigamond River, which flows from the lake bearing tliat name into Blackstone River, are various ridges of land more or leas extended, rising by easy ascent from the valley, and most of them cleared and cultivated to the summits. On the slopes of some of these hills, and on the higher table lands of others, and on the banks of the stream, are located the different villages of which the town of Grafton is composed. The territory included within ihe bounds of the town extends about five miles from north to south, and four miles from east to west, and is bounded on the north by Shrewsbury, on the east by Westborough and Upton, on the south by Upton and Sutton, and on the west by Sutton and Millbury. Few towns can boast of situations more beautiful or landscapes more attractive than those, which one after another greet the eye of a stranger as he enters its domain and wanders along its hillsides and through its valleys. Sianding on the central village and looking towards the north, Brigham Hill, on whose eastern slope the hamlet of North Grafton seems to be hiding itself from the setting sun, bounds the horizon on the north and west, while along its base the river Quinsigamond is seeking its unconscious way to the sea, and in the distance Wachusett stands guard against the unwelcome blasts of a colder clime.

This was the territory known in early times as Hassanamisco, and inhabited by the Hassanamesits, a family of the Nipmuck tribe. It is memorable as having been one of the earliest fields in which John Eliot labored for the Cbristianizaiion of the aborigines. Here the second Indian church was established, and here the Indian James the Printer lived, who aided Eliot in his work on the Indian Bible.

Of the Hassanamesits there is only one survivor within the town, Sarah Maria Cisco. She occupies about two acres ami a half of the old Indian reservation, which she has inherited from lier ancestors and which has never been owned by a white man. In 1887 the Legislature passed a resolve providing for the payment of an annuity of two hundred dollars to this last representative of the old Hassanamisco tribe, to be paid by the selectmen of Grafton quarterly after January 1, 1887, during her life. It would be a fitting and interesting memorial if, after the death of the beneficiary, her land could remain ungranted and unoccupied and suitably enclosed to be preserved for all coming time as a memorial of the aborigines of our State.

Within the territory of Grafton is to be found also an interesting landmark, reminding us of one of the first, if not actually the first, schoolmaster in the Massachusetts Colony. Elijah Corlet, born in London in 1611, graduated at Lincoln College, Oxford, and came to New England while a young man. He was the first schoolmaster in Cambridge, and taught in that town from 1641 until his death, which occurred February 24, 1687. Owing to his efforts in behalf of education, the General Court granted him two hundred acres of land November 12, 1659, and October 23, 1668, five hundred acres. But these grants have no connection with Grafton. On the '22d of May, 1661, however, the Colony records state that " in answer to the petition of Mr. Elijah Corlet the Court judgeth it meet to grant the petitioner liberty to purchase of Netus, the Indian, so much land as the said Netus, said Indian, is possessed of according to law, for the satisfaction of the debt due to the petitioner from said Negus." Mr. Corlet had Indian scholars in his school, and it is thought by some that a son of Netus was one, and that the debt was owed for his tuition. On the 11th of October, 1665, Edmond Rice, of Marlboro', and Thomas Noyes, of Sudbury, reported to the court that the debt due from Netus to Mr. Corlet was seven pounds ten shillings, and that, as authorized by the court, they had laid out three hundred and twenty acres at the north end of Nepnop Hill for the benefit of Mr. Corlet. In 1685, Mr. Corlet sold the land to Alice Thomas, of Dedham, and on the 17th of October, 1716, the grandchildren of Mrs. Thomas sold it for two hundred pounds to Benjamin Willard, housewright; Joseph Willard, webster; Thomas Pratt, Jr., husbandman, all of Framingham, and Nehemiah How, of Sudbury. A description of the land may be found in the deed from these grandchildren in the Suffolk Registry of Deeds, Book 37, Folio 250. The land has been variously called Corlet's Grant, Willard's Farm and the Farms District.

But it is not proposed to include in this narrative any details concerning Hassanamisco before its settlement by the white man. They belong rather to a history of the Indian tribes than to that of a town whose birth dates only back to its incorporation and earlier occupation. When the territory forming the town of Sutton was sold to the English by John Wampus, the Sachem, he reserved four miles square for the use of the Indians, and these sixteen square miles constituted the town of Grafton at the time of its incorporation.

They were exclusively used by the Indians until 1718, when, with the approval of the General Court, Elisha Johnson, of Sutton, bought of the natives a tract wiihin their limits. Other purchases soon after followed, and in 1728, no less than nine white families were living on the land. In 1726, in accordance with the petition of Samuel Chandler and John Sherman, in behalf of themselves and other persons living in Concord, Sudbury, Marlborough and Stow, for permii-sion to purchase the territory of the Indians, a committee of the General Court, consisting of Nathaniel Byfield and Samuel Thaxter, of the Council, and John Chandler, Major Tilesston and Captain Goddard, visited the territory and reported September 27, 1727, "that they had carefully viewed the lands proposed to be sold by the natives there, containing about seven thousand five hundred acres, about one-half whereof being good soil but very stony, the other half pitch-pine and shrub-plain; are of opinion, and have accordingly valued and estimated the land at the sum of twenty-five hundred pounds," jmd recommended that the purchase be approved on certian sfiecified conditions. The result of the negotiation which followed was the execution of the following deed :

Ami Printer, Andrew Abruliani, Moses Printer anj Ami Printer, Jr., Indians of Hassimamisco, in the county of Sutfolk, witliin his majesty's Province of the Massacluisetts Bay, in New England, being owners and proprietors of oue-seveuth part each of and in the Indian native right of land in Hassanamisco aforesaid, Peter Bluckamaug and Sarah, his wife, of Hassanamisco aforesaid (owners and proprietors in the right of the Bidd Sarah), of oiie-seventli part of the said nativeright, and Christian Misco, relict widow of <!eorge Misco, late of Hassanamisco aforesaid, deceased, and Josliua Jlisco, of Hassanamisco aforesaid, son of the said deceased, being owners and pruprietoi-s of two-sevenths parts ol the said native right -

Whereas^ Tlie Great and General Court or Assembly of the aforesaid Province having been thereunto petitiimed, as well by the Indian natives and proprietors before named, as by a number of English petitioners, did in their late session, viz.: in tlie mouth of December last past, in answer to the petition of Samuel Chandler, John Sherman and others, gave liberty to tlie petitioners therein referred to to purcbHse the lands at Hassanamisco by them petitioned for, containing about seven thousmd five hundred acres, nioi'e or less, of the Indian natives and proprietors thereof for the settlement of forty English families of the petitiouei-s or their posterity and no others, exclusive of the English and Indians upon the spots already, reserving for and unto the said Indian proprietors, each of them, an equal dividend in said land with each of the purchasers, to be laid out so as to comprehend and take in their present improvements. And also one hundred acres more of laud there to be the pre.^ent Indian proprietors', their lieirs and assigns forever. And also tlie sum of twenty-five hundred pounds, to be deposited in the hands of trustees appointed, authorized and impowered by the said Great and General Court or Assembly, to receive and set out the same at interest, on good and sufficient security, and said interest to be paid to the said Indian proprietors, and the said Court shall from time to time order and direct, together with sundry immunities, privileges and enfranchisemouta, respecting the settlements and support of the ministry and school, as in and by the records of said Court (relation thereunto being had) doth and may appear.

Now Know Ye, That the said Ami Printer, Andrew Abraham, Moses Printer, Ami Printer, Jr., Peter and Sarah Muckamaug, Christian Misco and Joshua Misco, being the only surviving proprietors of the Indian right of land in Hassjiuamisco aforesaid, for the consideration before mentioned, have given, granted, bargained, sold, alienated, enfeoffed, conveyed and confirmed, and by these p.esents do fully, clearly and absolutely give, grant, bargain, sell, convey and confirm unto each of the persons hereinafter named, being of the proprietore to whom such liberty of purchasing was granted as aforesaid, or otherwise admitted by and wiih the approbation or allowance of the said Great and General Court, oue-fortieth part in common and undivided right of and in all that tract or parcel of land called or known by the name of Hassanamisco, situated and bounded by and wiili the township of Sutton, in the aforesaid county of Suffolk, and surrounded by said Sutton, excepting always, and reserving out of this present grant and sale, such parta and dividends thereof aad therein unto them, the said Indian proprietors, and to their heirs and assigns forever, as is expressed and mentioned in a vote of the House of Representatives on the 9th of June, 1725, and accordingly reserved by the Great and General Court as is above expressed, excepting also and reserving out of this present grant and sale, all such otlier parts and parcels of said tracts of land as hath been formerly (with the allowance of said Court) grunted urito sundry English people, to be holden of them, the said purchasers, their respective heirs and assigns forever, conformable to the votes, acts and orders of the said Great and General Court passed thereon in their aforesaid session - that is to eay, to James Watson, of Boston, in the County of Suffolk, in the Province aforesaid, mariner, Benjamin Willard, gent, and Joseph Willard, husbandman, being both of or in the County of Suffolk, in the Province aforesaid, each one-fortieth part thereof to them, their respective heirs and assigns forever.

To Joseph Rice, Jonathan Morse, David Harrington, Samuel Biglo, Samuel Stow, Zerubbabel Eager, Samuel Brigham, John Sherman, John Warren, Nathan Brigham, Sen., Charles Brigham, husbandmen, Jeremiah Barstow, trader, and Elizabeth Harrington, widow, all of Marlborough, in the County of Middlesex, in the Province aloresaid, each one-fortieth part thereof to them, and their respective heirs and assigns, forever.

To Samupl Chandler, John Hunt, Joseph Merriani, Eleazer Flagg, Jacob Taylor, Ebenezer Wheeler, Josei)h Barrett and Benjamin Barrett, husbandmen, all of Concord, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, each one-fortieth part thereof to them, their respective heirs and assigns, forever.

To Samuel Hall, Simon Gates. Jr., John Collar, liusbandmen, all of Stow, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, each one-fortieth part thereof to them, their respective heirs and assigns, forever.

To William Rogers, gent., and William Rogers, Jr., bricklayer, both of Wenham, in the County of Essex, in the Province aforesaid, each one-fortieth part thereof to them, their respective heire and assigns forever.

To Jonathan Rice and Richard Taylor, both of Sudbury, in the County of Middlesex, aforesaid, husbandmen, each one-fortieth part thereof to them and their respective heirs and assigns forever.

To John Jones, of Hopkinton, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, husbandman, one-fortieth part thereof to him, his heirs and assigns forever.

To Jonas Houghton, of Laucaster, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, husbandman, John Davis, of Ipswich, in the Covuity of Essex, in the Province aforesaid, husbandman, and Thomas of Shi'ewabury, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, husbandman, each onefortieth part to them and their heirs and assigns forever.

To Thomas Pratt, of Hassanamisco, in the aforesaid County of Suffolk, husbandman, and Nathaniel Wilder, of Lancaster, in the aforesaid County of Middlesex, husbandmen, each one-fortieth part to them and their heirs and assigns forever. Together with all the rights, members, profits, privileges, emoluments, hereditanjents and appurtenances to the said granted premises belonging or ,in any were appertaining, exceptingonly as before excepted. To have and to hold the said granted, bargained premises, with the appurtenances and every part thereof, except as before excepted, to them, the said James Watson, Benjanin Willard, Joseph Willard, Joseph Rice, Jonathan Morne, David Harrington, Samuel Biglo, Samuel Stow, Zernbbabel Eager, Samuel Brigham, John Sherman, .John Warren, Nathan Brigham, Charles Brigham. Jeremiah Barstow, Eliza Harrington, Samuel Chandler, John Hunt, Joseph Merriam, Eleazer Flagg, Jacob Taylor, Ebenezer Wheeler, Joseph Barrett, Samuel Hall, Simon Gates, Nathaniel Hapgood, Phineas Rice, Simon Gates, Jr., John Collar, William Rogers, William Rogers, Jr., Jonathan Rice, Richard Taylor, John Jones, Jonas Houghton, John Davis, Thomas Weeks, Benjamin Barrett, Thomas Pratt and Nathaniel Wilder, and to their respective heirs and assigns forever, to their and each of their own proper use and benefit and behoof in manner as aforesaid.

And they, the said Ami Prirfter, Andrew Abraham. Moses Printer, Ami Printer, Jr., Peter and Sarah (Printer) ^luckamaug. Christian Misco and Joshua Misco, for themselves, heirs, etc., respectively do, by these presents, coveDant, promise and grant to and with tbe said grantees or purchasers before named, and each and every one of them, their respective heira and assigns in manner following, that is to say, that they, the eald Ami Printer, Andrew Abraham, Moses Printer, Peter and Sanih Muckamaiig, Christian Miaco, Joshua Miaco and Ami Printer, Jr., are the true, sole and hiwful owners of all and singular the lands at Hassiinamisco aforesaid, not otherwise heretofore disposed of in manner aforesaid, and they, the said Indian proprietors, and their heirs respectively, shall and will, from time to time, and at all times forever hereafter, warrant and defend in said granted and bargained premises, with the appurtenances and every part thereof, excepting only as before excepted, unto the grantees or purchasei-s before named, severally and respectively, and their respective heirs and assigns, against themselves and their heirs, and against the lawful claims or demands of any other person whomsoever, claiming, or to claim, the Indian or native right on property thereof, or of any part thereof.

Ami Printkr (with mark). MosKS Printer (with mark). Andrew Auraham (wiih mark). Peter Muckamaug (with mark). Sarah Mickamaug (with mark). Christian Misco (with mark). Joshua Misco (with mark). Ami Printer, Je. (with mark). Signed and sealed and delivered in presence of,

IIashanamisco, March 20, 1727-28. Ami Printer, Andrew Abraham, Peter Muckamaug, Sarah Muckamaug, Christian Misco, Joshua Jlisco and Ami Printer, Jr., then severally acknowledged this instrument to be their respective act and deed, before me,

Before the deed of purchase was made the committee of the General Court, in a report made to that body December 18, 1727, recommended the imposition of certain conditions, which they expressed as follows:

The committee having concurred the several articles and conditions on which the p>-litioners for Hassjiuamisco have liberty to purchase a tract of land comnmnly known by the- name of the Indian proprietors thereof are humbly of the o|iinion that the petitioners, before the execution of their deeds, shall, each oue for himself, respectively be bound to the trustees appointed for said Indians and their successors, witli sureties for paying a - with part of the coat of building a meeting-house convenient for the public worship for themselves and nine English families already settled within the said Hassanamisco, and the Indian inhabitants of said Hassanamisco, as also for paying the same i)roportion towards building a school-house convenient for the teaching to read and write the children of tlie same inhabitants, as well Indian as Etiglish, and that they will set apart twenty acres of said land for the use of said school, to remain for said service forever, and also for paying the same proportion for and towards the settling a learned orthodox minister, and for sett'ing for the said minister a lot of land, equal to other allowances, to be his own as soon as he takes office among them, and likewise the building for bin. self (Petitioners accounts read) a dwelling-house and breaking up four acres of laud in the lot on dividend that shall be appi>rtioned and set off to him, all to be within the time and according to the limitation in the act of the Ureat and General Court relating hereunto in their present session.

And for its much there are nine English families already settled on lands withiu Ilassanamisco that will be accommodated by the meetinghouse, scl.ool-house, minister and schoolmaster in said Hassanamisco, as above, the committee hunjbly propose that the said nine families be by special act of the Great and General Court required to pay each a fortieth part to and for erecting and finishing said meeting-house and schoolhouse, and (o and for the support of said minister and schoolmaster. And inasmuch as the maintaining a minister and a scboohuaster are to be from generation to generation, and consequently not so projier for condition in a bond, - The committee humbly conceive that in the aforesaid act of the Great and General Court the said forty petitioners, with the other nine English families, inhabitants shall be obliged, from time to time, forever hereafter to maintain a minister and schoolmaster for the Indiaus and their children without cost or charge to said Indians or their posterity.

The General Court subsequently passed the following act, entitled : *'An act to oblige and require the forty petitioners for a tract of land at Hassanamisco, together with the English proprietors of the other lands there, to pay the charge of erecting a meetinghouse and school -hou-^e, and of supporting an orthodox minister and schoolmaster in the place :''

Whereas the court, at their present session, in answer to the petition of Samuel Chandler and others to the number of forty, whose names are subscribed to the said petition, did give them liberty to purchase the lands at Hassanamisco by them petitioned for, containing about seven thousand five hundred acres, more or less, of the Indian natives and proprietors of Hassanamisco, upon condition that forty Englieh familiee shall be settled upon the land, which families are to be of the pelitionere or their posterity, and no others, and yet within tbe space of three years they build and finish a meetinghouse for the public worship of God ; and build a school honwe fur the instruction as well of the Indians as English children, and settle a learned orthodox minister to preach the gospel to them and constantly maintain and duly support a minister and schoolmaster among them. And ytrt all the above articles shall be without charge to the Indian natives :

And whereas there are sundry English jiroprietors of other lands in Hassanamisco who will be accommodated by the said meeting-house, schooMiouse, niiuister and schoolmaster, as well as the forty petitioners,

Be it therefore enacted by the Lieutenant-Governor, Council and Kepresentatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the samo, that the said forty petitioners be and are hereby required and obliticd to pay each of them an equal part of four-fifths parts of the charge of building the said meeting-house and school hoiise, and that the said English proprietors of the other lands at Hassanamisco be and are hereby required and obligei! to pay the other fifth part of the abovesaid charge to be ap|>ortioned and assessed by the trustees of the Hassanamisco Indians already appointed by this court upon the said English proprietors, according to their best judgment and discretion, they ha\'- ing regard unto the quantity of land and other estate in Hassiina misco belonging unto them, and to be collected by such meet person as they the said trnstees shall appoint lor that end. The abovesjiid proportion of charges, together with the method of assei^sing and collecting the same, to be obseived and pursued until the said petitionersaud the other proprietors be invested with the powers and privileges of a township.

On the 22d of March, 1727-2S, a warrant was issued by John Chantller, justice of the peace, on the petition of seven proprieturs, - to wit, Benjamin Willard, Jonas Houghton, Samuel Chandler, Phinehas Kice, John Sherman, John Warren and Benjamin Barrett, - and directed to Benjamin Willard, of Hassanamisco, directing him to call a meeting of the proprietors of the purchased lands on Tuesday, the 9th of the following April. The meeting was held at the house of Jonathan How, in Marlboro', and Edward Goddard, Jonathan Rico and Joseph Rice were chosen moderator, clerk and treasurer, respectively. It was voted that a committee consisting of one from Marlboro', one from Sudbury and one from Stowe or Sudbury should be appointed to take a survey of the plantation of Hassanamisco and ascertain the centre of the same, and Capt. Brigham, of Marlboro', John Hunt, of Concord, and Richard Taylor constituted the committee. It was also voted that the meeting-house should be located in the middle of the plantation " in case it be accomodable" and otherwise at the nearest " accomodable" point, the same to be decided by a majority of the proprietors.

It was further voted that four acres be set apart for the meeting-house and burial-place and trainingfield, and by a subsequent vote that the school-house also should be built on the same lot. A vote was alto passed that a committee be appointed to confer with the trustees of the Hassanamisco Indians and to determine on some plan for " the setting out" of the lands reserved for them and to lay out the same. It was further voted that the committee lay out lots for the minister and school-master. The committee was also empowered to lay out and equalize the lots of land aud meadow for the first division in eighty lots of upland, each lot containing forty acres with necessary allowance for quality, and also to equalize the lots of meadow after the same manner, so preparing the several allotments in two parcels of upland and two pieces of meadow to each proprietor for a lot on draught. Capt. Nathan Brigham, John Hunt and Richard Taylor were s^elected as members of the committee. Other votes were passed relating to assessments to defray the expenses of the proprietor, to the method of calling meetings and other less important matters and the meeting adjourned to the 19th of April. On that day the adjourned meeting was held at the house of Nehemiah How and went in a body to visit the centre of the plantation as fixed by the committee. It was not found to be convenient for a mee.ing-house and a spot was selected lying westerly on the northerly end of a hill called by the natives Assawos=achasuck. Afterwards another spot was viewed and finally chosen, and it was voted to set the meeting-house by a white oak tree, about which a heap of stones was placed. The proprietors returned to the house of Mr. How and all questions concerning the dimensions of the meeting-house and school-house and the time when it would be expedient to begin to build them were postponed for future consideration. Capt. Willard, Samuel Biglow, Jonathan Rice and Eleazer Flagg were added to the equalization committee, and that committee was authorized to " se-quester" lands for highways. The four acres thus set apart now include the Common and the street' round it in the central village of Grafton.

The plantation of Hassanamisco, managed by its proprietors, possessed many of the attributes and functions of a town. It had no formal act of incorporation and no town officers. The proprietors, however, had their clerk and treasurer and assessors, laid out highways, built bridges, erected saw-mills, settled a minister, established schools, divided the lands, raised money by taxation, set out a burial-place, and

In 1730 the meeting-house was built on the lot now constituting the Common, and in September, 1731, it was voted to invite Rev. Solomon Prentice to settle as the minister of the plantation with a salary of one hundred pounds per annum. Mr. Prentice was ordained on the 29th of December, 1731, and on the day previous the church was formed. The history of this church will be more particularly referred to later on in this narrative. The management of affairs by the proprietors continued until 1735, when the town of Grafton was incorporated. The records of the proprietors containing a full statement of their doings, with a dencription of the lands allotted to its members in various divisions, form a part of the archives of the town and are full of matter of interest and value to the historian and antiquary.

On the ISth of April, 173-5, the following act of incorporation was passed by the General Court, in response to the petition of a committee of the proprietors chosen to present it to the court in January, 1733-34 :

Whereas, the plantation commonly called Hassanamisco in theCoUDty of Worcester is competently filled with iuhabitajita who have built and finished a convenient meeting-huuso for the piihlick worship of God, and have settled a learned orthodox minister amongst them and have addressed this court to be erected into a separate aud distinct township tu hold and enjoy equal powers and privileges with the other towns in the province;

Be it enacted by His Excellency, the Governor, Council and Representatives in the General Courc assembled and by the authority of the ekime :

Sect. 1. That the plantation at Hassanamisco in the county of Worcester, as the saniR is hereafter bounded and described, be and hereby is set off and constituted a separate and distinct township by the name of Grafton.

Sect. 2. The bounds of said township being as follows : viz., beginning at a pine tree on a rocky hill at the southeast corner and from thence extending north four miles with thirty six perch allowance for loss of measure bounding easterly on Sutton to a heap of stones on a rock ; from thence west by the needle four miles with thirty rods allowance to a heap of stones ; from thence south four miles to a heap of stones ninety rods south of the river and a little southward of a small pine swamp northward of a little brook; and from thence to the corner first mentioned.

Sect. :i. And that the inhabitants thereof bo and hereby are vested and endowed with equal powers, privileges and immunities that the inhabitants uf any of the other towns within this province are or ought by law to he vested or endowed with.

Sect. 4. That such of the grantees as have not fully complied with the conditions of settlement be and hereby are subjected each one to pay a fiftieth part of all rates and taxes that shall hereafter be laid on the inhabitants of tlie said town as well as for the support of the ministry among them and other town charges until they have fully complied with the conditions of settlement. Passed and published April 18, 1735.

In the House of Representatives, April 17, 1735, ordered that Mr. Thomas Pratt, one of the prisable inhabitants of the new town lately made at the plantation called Hassanamisco, in the County of Worcester, be and hereby is fully authorized and empowered to assemble the

The name of Grafton was probably suggested by Governor Belcher in honor of Charles Fitz Roy, Duke of Grafton, a member of the Privy Council and a grandson of Charles the Second.

At the first meeting of the town Thomas Pratt was chosen moderator and Nehemiah How, clerk. The names of succeeding moderators and clerks up to 1879, as well as those of selectmen and treasurers, may be found in the history of Gralton, prepared by Frederick Clifton Pierce, and need not be repeated in this narrative. The names of Representatives to the General Courts, both from the town and from the various Representative districts of which Grafton has formed a part, are here given as perhaps more clearly illustrating the prominent men in the various generations of the town. From the years 1735 to 1755, inclusive, none were chosen. The following persons were Representatives in the years placed against their names :

Under the operation of the twenty-first article of amendments of ihe Coiistituiion Grafton became in 1857 the Seventeenth Representative District of Worcester, and was represented until the next apportionment as follows:

Under the apportionment based on the census of 1865, Grafton and Shrewsbury constituted the Twelfth Worcester Representative District, and were represented as follows :

Under the apportionment based on the census of 1875, Grafton and Northbridge constituted the Third Worcester Representative District, and were represented as follows:

Under the apportionment based on the census of 1885, Grafton, Westborough, Norihborough, Southborough, Berlin and Shrewsbury constitute the Twelfth Worcester Representative District, and have been represented as follows : preeeut Majesty's reign, are obliged to erect a meeting-house and school house and to support a minister and schoolmaster there; and four-fiftJis of the charge thereby arising was by said act ordered to be defrayed by forty persons, to whom liberty was granted to purchase said lands ; the other one-fifth part by nine families before that time settled there, and that the aforesaid proportion of charges, together with the method there assigned for raising and collecting monies to defray the same, should continue to be observed until these lands should be made a townsliip ; and whereas said lands have since been erected into a township and that before the whole of the charges so incurred were collected in pursuance of Baid act ; therefore, to enable said proprietors to collect the same.

Be it enacted by the Governor, Council and House of Reitresentjitivea, That the assessors of the propriety of Grafton, alios Hassanamisco, be, and hereby are, enabled to assess the several proprie'ors of the said ti'act of laud purchased by said forty persons and settled or possessed by said nine families for all charges which may still be behinil and unpaid and wbifh arose or were occasioned by the compliance of said proprietor with the duties required of them by the aforesaid act ; four-fifths thereof to be apportioned upon the present proprietors of the lands petitioned for and purchaseil by the aforesaid forty persons ; the other one-fifth on the present proprietors of the lands which were possessed by said nine English persons or families before the said act. And the Collector on Collectoi's of the said proprietor of Grafton, aUas Hassanamisco, are hereby enabled and impowered to gather and collect such taxes as shall he committed to him or them by the assessors as aforesaid, and upon the refusal of any of the proprietors who shall be assessed as aforesaid to pay such sum or sums as shall be set upon or required of them, the collector or collectors, to whom the said tax is committed, are hereby imi)owered and directed to make sale to the liighest bidder of so much of the said proprietor's land w ho shall so refuse to pay as shall satisfy his part of said assessment, the overplus, i( any there be, to he set to the said proprietor ; and the said collector or collectors shall put up a notification in some public place in said Hassanamisco and also give notice of the intended sale in one or more of the public newspapers at least thirty days before the time appointed for said sale.

It has been stated that Rev. Solomon Prentice was invited by the proprietors of Hassanamisco to settle as the pal- tor of the plantation, and was ordained on the 29th of December, 1731. At the ordination the sermon was preached by Rev. Nathaniel Appleton, of Cambridge, and the church was organized the day preceding. The first meinbeis of the church were: Rev. Solomon Prentice, Samuel Cooper, Benjamin Goddard, Benjamin Willard, James Whipple, James Whipple, Jr., Thomas Pratt, Thomas Drury, James Leland, Joseph Willard, Simeon Willard, Nehemiah Howe, John Collar, Jonathan Hall, Jason Whitney, Abner Stow, Ephraim Brigham, Jamirs Cutler, Eleazer Flagg and Samuel Warren. The ministry of Mr. Prentice was disturbed by a controver.«y, having its rise in the excitement attending the prtaching of Whitefield, and he was dismissed July 10, 1747. Mr. Prentice was born in Cambridge May 11, 1705, and graduated at Harvard in 1727. After his dismissal he was settled in Easton, but finally returned to Grafton, where he died May 22, 1773.

The second pastor of the church was Rev. Aaron Hutchinson, a native of Hebron, Conn., and a graduate of Yale, in the class of 1747. At his ordination, which occurred June 6, 1750, Rev. Mr. Pomroy, of Hebron, preached the sermon. His ministry continued until November 18, 1772, after which he retired to a farm in Pomfret, Vt., where he lived until his death in September, 1800.

After au interval of four years. Rev. Daniel Grosvenor wai ordained October 19, 1774, and the Rev. Ebenezer Gro venor, of Scituate, preached the sermon. Mr. Grosvenor continued in the ministry until 1787, when lie was dismissed. He died at Shrewsbury March 20, 1849. Mr. Grosvenor was followed by Rev. John Miles, a native of Westminster, and a graduate of Brown University in the class of 1794. He was ordained October 12, 1796, and continued in the pastorate until October 12, 1826. He was born in Westminster November 3, 1765, and studied for the ministry with Rev. Dr. Sanger, of Bridgewater. He died in Shrewsbury March 20, 1849. His ordination sermon was preached by Rev. Asaph Rice, of Westminster.

Rev. Mr. Searle succeeded Mr. Miles, and was dismissed December 3, 1831. At his ordination Rev. Samuel Green, of Boston, preached the sermon. In consequence of the dismissal of Mr. Searle, the church in a body, with a large minority of the parish, " withdrew and made provision for the preaching of the gospel in its purity, finding that theie was no probability of their continuing to enjoy the labors of an Evangelical pastor while connected with the parish." The church having withdrawn from the parish, the latter having adopted the Unitarian creed, a new church was formed out of the parish August 5, 1832, and a meeting was held April 2, 1832, at which Pardon Aldrich was chosen moderator ; Harry Wood was chosen clerk ; Isaac Wood, Charles M. Pratt and Charles Brigham, Jr., were chosen assessors; and Henry Wood, Joseph Bruce, Royal Keith, Charles Brigham, Henry Parker, Samuel Wood and Leonard Wheelock were chosen a committee to report what disposition should be made of the old meeting-house. At a subsequent meeting the committee on the meeting-house reported that, " it is expedient to dispose of the old meeting-house, and cause the same to be removed from ofi' the Common, and for the purpose to choose a committee to cause the pews in the old meeting-house to be appraised by three disinterested and discreet men and freeholders within the county of Worcester, afterwards to sell the same at jjublic auction, giving suitable notice of the intended sale, to the highest bidder, on condition that the purchaser cause the said old meeting-house to be removed irom the Common within such reasonable time as said committee shall direct, and to apportion the proceeds of the sale among the owners of the pews in said house according to the appraisement."

A new meeting-house was built, and a new church, now the Unitarian, called the First Congregational, was formed. The old meeting-house was sold and removed to the westerly side of the street, on the west side of the Common, where, in a remodeled state, it still stands, one of the oldest relics of religious edifices to be found in the State, and the present Unitarian meeting-house was built. The new church, organized in the Unitarian Society, consisted of Joseph C. Luther, Isaac W. Wood, Joseph Bruce, Harriet Bruce, Charles Brigham, Jr., Hannah R Batchelier, Charles L. Heywood, Asahel Fairbanks

This church and society were formed under the care and direction of Rev. Edward Brooks Hall, who after a i'eve months received a call from the First Congregational Society of Providence, and was there installed November 14, 1832. Mr. Hall was born in Medford.on the 2d of September, 1800, and {sraduated at Harvard in 1829. In 1826 he was .-ettled in Northhampton and afterward in Cincinnati. Mr. Hall wa.s the father of Rev. Edward H. Hall, now settled over the Unitarian Society in Old Cambridge.

Rev. Rufus A. Johnson followed Mr. Hall, and was installed October 16, 1833. His pastorate continued until March 12, 1838, and he died in Upton in 1860. Rev. Cazneau Palfrey succeeded Mr. Johnson, and was installed April 2-5, 1838. His pastorate continued until April 2.5, 1843. Mr. Palfrey was born in Boston August 11, 180.5, and graduated at Harvard in 1826. Previous to his ministry at Grafton he was settled over the Unitarian Society in Washington, where he remained six years.

Rev. Edward B. Willson followed Mr. Palfrey, and was ordained January 3, 1844. His pastorate continued until July 1, 1852, when, at his own request, he was dismissed. Mr. Willson was a native of Petersham, and born August 15, 1820. During "his pastorate the question was raised, and probably not for tlie first time, as to who were the rightful owners of the records of the First Church. As has been already stated, in 1832, at the time of the settlement of Mr. Hall, the parish became Unitarian, and the church seceded in a body, carrying the records with them. The seceding church, being unanimous in its action, claimed still to be the First Church, while the old parish claimed that the church emanating from and attached to the First Parish was the First Church, and owned the records. Soon after the secession of the church an application for the records was made by the Unitarian Society, but refused. Now a new application was made in the form of a compromise, which was granted in the same friendly and Christian spirit in which it was made. The controversy was settled by the loan of the first two volumes of the records for the purpose of having copies made by the Unitarian Parish, and by the gift of a copy of that part of the third volume which contained the records of the old church previous to the secession. In the present resting-place of the controversy, the seceding church holds the original records and the First Parish holds the co|)ies. It is of little consequence which is called the First Church and which the Second, provided each adheres to the spirit in which the old church was founded, and performs faithfully the Cnristian work for which it was

Alter the resignation of Mr. Willson the church was without a pastor until 1858, and during a large part of the interval its pulpit was supplied by Rev. Farrington Mclntire, a native of Fitchburg, and a graduate of Harvard in 1843. In 1858 Rev. William G. Scandlin, a native of Portsmouth, England, and a graduate of the Meadville School in 1854, was called. He was installed June 23, J 858, and his pastorate continued until his death, March 17, 1871. In the early days of the War of the Rebellion, in response to his offer of service, he was appointed chaplain of the Fifteenth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and received a leave of absence from his people. During a subsequent service as a member of the Sanitary Commission he was taken prisoner and confined for a time in Libby prison. His services, both as chaplain and dispenser of the bounties of the Commission, were widely known and gratefully acknowledged. During his pastorate his meeting-house was burned, in 1862, and immediately rebuilt. His death was universally lamented both by his own society and his fellow-citizens of all denominations, and the day of his funeral was observed in Grafton as a day of mourning.

Rev. Charles H. Tindall, a native of New Brunswick, N. J., where he was born October 17, 1841, succeeded Mr. Scandlin. At first a Methodist, he finally entered the Harvard Divinity School, from wh'ch institution he graduated in 1872. He was ordained at Grafton on the 5th of the following September, on which occasion the sermon was preached by Rev. Charles Carroll Everett, of Cambridge. After three years of service Mr. Tindall resigned, and in August, 1875, was settled over the Unitarian Society in Fall River.

Rev. William Smith Burton, a native of Norwich, Vt., succeeded Mr. Tindall. He was born September 29, 1832, and graduated at the Norwich University. He had seen service in the war as a cavalry major, had engaged in the business of farming, and had been settled over the Unitarian Societies of Athol and Clinton. He was installed at Grafton in January, 1876. The present pastor of the society, settled in 1887, is Rev. Edmund Quincy Sewall Osgood, a native of Cohasset and a graduate of Harvard, who had previously been settled for several years over the old First Parish in Plymouth.

After the dismissal of Rev. Mr. Searle in 1831, to which reference has already been made, the seceding church and some of the members of the Old Parish formed a new parish, and built the meeting-house now .standing on the west side of the Common. The first pastor of this society was Rev. John Wilde, a native of Dorchester and a graduate of Jliddlebury College in 1827. He was installed over "The Evangelical Congregational Society," as the new society is called, June 20, 1832. His pastorate continued until

1839, after which time he resided in Conway, N. H., West Falmouth and Topshain, Me., Stamford, Conn., and Alexandria, Va., in which latter place he died, February 10, 1868.

Mr. Wilde was followed by Rev. Thomas Curtis Biscoe, born in Cambridge, July, 1810, and a graduate of Amherst in 1831. He was ordained July 18, 1838, and dismissed July 26, 1868. Rev. John H. Windsor succeeded Mr. Biscoe, and was in.stalled September 29, 1868. The present pastor of the society, whose pastorate has now been extended four years, is the Rev. B. A. Robie, and under his as well as jjreceding pastorates the condition of the society is one of union and prosperity.

The next religious society to be mentioned in the order of its birth, assuming that the Unitarian Society and the Evangelical Congregational have a common date of origin, is the First Baptist Society, which, with the two societies already mentioned, is planted at the central village. It was formed in 1767, and in 1773 had for the first time a minister of its own. From that year until 1775 Rev. Mr. Winchester served, and in 1779 Rev. Mr. Eustick began a three years' ministry. In 1784 Rev. Mr. Ingalls became connected with the society ; but at the end of three years his ministry terminated, and the society gradually faded away. After the dissolution of the society, those holding to the Baptist faith held meetings at private houses until the year 1800, when, on the 20th of June, the present church was organized with the names of sixty persons signed to the Articles of Faith and Covenant. Early in the next year a meeting-house was built which gave place in 1830 to the edifice now used by the society. After various temporary supplies. Rev. Thomas Barrett was ordained June 12, 1816, and remained until 1821, and, after an interval of two years. Rev. Otis Converse was ordained June 25, 1823, and resigned March 31, 1836.

Rev. John Jennings was installed August 10, 1836, and resigned in 1842 to take charge of a church in Worcester. In the year of the resignation of Mr. Jennings, Rev. Calvin Newton assumed the pastorate, and in the next year he also resigned. Mr. Newton was followed by Rev. Benjamin A. Edwards, who was ordained March 19, 1845. After a pastorate of four years, he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. McCiear, who remained only a short time, and was followed by Rev. Joseph Smith in May, 1851. In 1857 the pastorate of Mr. Smith terminated, and in the same year Rev. J. M. Chick began a three years' ministry. In 1861 Rev. Gilbert Robbins became pastor, and remained until 1868. In the following year Rev. De Forest Safford was installed, but remained only a few months. In August, 1872, Rev. A. C. Huzzey was ordained, and was followed by Rev. Frank J. Bartlett, the present pastor.

churches of the central village and of Shrewsbury and Boylston. In 1838 Rev. Minor G. Clarke was settled over the church, and in the next year a meeting-house was built. Mr. Clarke was followed by Rev. William C. Richards in 1841, Rev. Alfred Pinuey in 1844, Rev. William C. Richards in 1846, Rev. William Leverett in 1849, and at later dates by Rev. Joseph M. Rockwood, Rev. J. D. E. Jones and Rev. L. M. Sargent.

The Free-Will Baptist Church, in that part of Grafton called Farnumsville, began to hold meetings in Saundersville in 1838. In 1839 the church was organized with thirteen members, and in 1840 Rev. Benjamin D. Peck was installed as pastor. He was dismissed in 1846, and followed by Rev. George T. Day, who was installed in December, 1846. Rev. Joseph Whittemore was installed April 1, 1851, and dismissed April 5, 1852. During his pastorate the church changed its location to Farnumsville, where it now holds its services. Rev. Joseph Thayer was installed in 1852, and, after a season of languishment, followed by a reorganization, the society settled Rev. B. F. Pritchard in 1862, who remained until 1864. Rev. M. W. Burlingame was installed March 21, 1865, and dismissed the next year. Rev. G. W. Wallace followed in 1867, Rev. Daniel C. Wheeler in 1870, Rev. A. M. Freeman in 1871, Rev. Francis Read in 1876, and Rev. Andrew J. Eastman in 1878. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Sherw^ood, who succeeded Rev. W. H. Ward.

St. Philip's Church was established in 1848, in which year a small chapel was built in the central village. Until 1858 it was a mission church, and attended by Father Sheridan and other pastors from Blackstone. In 1858 it was annexed to St. Ann's Church of Worcester, and attended by Father Powers of that church until 1869. In July, 1869, it was joined with the Millbury Mission, and made a parish, under the pastorate of Rev. M. J. Doherty. In October, 1869, the (irafton Mission was made a parish, to which that of Upton was joined. Rev. A. M. Barrett was appointed, in 1869, resident pastor, and was succeeded by the present pastor. Rev. James Boyle. There are also Catholic societies, more recently formed, at North Grafton and Fishersville.

The Saundersville Congregational Church was formed in 1860, with sixteen members. Its first pastor was Rev. William Miller, who continued his service from that ye!^r until April 6, 1862. He was succeeded by Rev. Simeon Waters in 1863, who remained about three years. Rev. James E. Hall followed in 1867, and remained one year. His successor was Rev. Alvan J. Bates, who was installed June 22, 1869, and who was followed by Rev. Harvey M. Stone, whose installation took place December 18, 1878. The present pastor is Rev. B. F. Perkins.

The town of Grafton was not destined to a career of peace when its act of incorporation was secured. After a few 3'ears the French and Indian War broke out, and in Grafton and vicinity a company was formed to aid in the relief of Fort William Henry. Of this company thirty-six belonged to Grafton, and the commander of the company was Captain James Whipple, and its march began August 16,1757. In 1758 twenty-three more enlisted for the service, and in 1759 nineteen additional. A list of the soldiers engaged in this war belonging to Grafton may be found in " Pierce's History," already referred to.

In the War of the Revolution Grafton was not behind her sister towns in patriotic efforts to establish the American Union. At a town-meeting held February 1. 1773, in answer to a letter from the Committee of Correspondence in Boston, the town voted, " that they would defend their rights at all hazards ; that they would not suffer their property to be taken from them in an unconstitutional manner, and that they were ready to co-operate with their brethren in Boston and other places in any measures to obtain a redress of grievances." With regard to the importation of tea, the town resolved, "as the people of this town, that any one individual, or any body of men, that shall encourage, aid or as^iist in importing or receiving any such tea, or any other article, while subject to a duty, the sole purpose whereof is to raise money to appropriate to any sordid measure, or any use whatever, contrary to our just rights of distributing our own property, wherewith God and nature hath made us free, can but be viewed as criminal to our country, as well as to the mother-State, and must be so viewed by us." On the occurrence of the battle of Lexington, on the 19th of April, 1775, messengers were sent throughout the State of Massachusetts, and on the same day two companies marched for Boston. These companies were followed by continued enlistments during the war, and the names of those engaged in the war may be found in the history of Mr. Pierce, who has made an exhaustive search of the archives at the State-House, in order to make the lists complete. It is not necessary to repeat these lists in this narrative. It is sufficient to say that Grafton bore her full share of the burdens of the war, and furnished her full quota of the soldiers necessary to bring it to a favorable conclusion.

Neither the French War with England at the close of the last century, in which the maritime towns severely suffered, nor the War of 1812, materially affected the interests and welfare of Grafton. Her interests were at that time chiefly agricultural, and the annoyances of war failed to reach her borders. Her people were at that time also initiating manufacturing enterprises, and the home market they sought was the more thoroughly secured by the distracting influences of the war on foreign trade. It is by no means certain that the foreign complications, which began with the French Revolution and closed with oil the peace of 1815, did not serve to establish on a firmer foundation the manufacturing enterprises of our country, than could have been secured with the channels of trade clear and unobstructed.

Between the War of 1812 and the War of the Rebellion little occurred to demand the services of the pen of the historian. The town enjoyed a peaceful country life, gradually enlarging its population, steadily increasing and perfecting the means of educating its people, constantly extending its manufactures, and the better sustaining its people by honest labor in their search for a more thorough enjoyment of life, by the cultivation of their social and intellectual powers. While in a condition of prosperity never before experienced, the War of 181)1 came on. Though the premonitions had been unfavorable, yet on the whole the war was a surprise, and consequently the news of the attack on Massachusetts troops in Baltimore on the 19th of April, 1861, took the people by surprise. On the 20th of April, the day of the reception of the news, the selectmen called an informal meeting of the town to be held on the afternoon of that day. The selectmen at that time were, Jonathan D. Wheeler, H. S. Warren, George W. Estabrook and John McClellan. Charles Brigham was chosen moderator, and James W. White, secretary. Prayer was offered by Rev. Wm. G. Scandlin, and a committee, consisting of Esek Saunders, Wra. F. Slocum, W. D. Wheeler, J. S. Nelson and Thomas C. Briscoe, was chosen to prepare business for the meeting. Benjamin Smith, an old Revolutionary soldier, ninety-eight years of age, was seated on the platform. At this meeting it was resolved that " we, citizens of the United States residing in Grafton, do pledge to our country in this hour of trial and need, our property, our lives and our unconditional support, and that we will do all in our power to defend our country against the dangers which threaten its existence." It was also resolved that " we will encourage the organization of a company of volunteer militia in the town of Grafton, to be equipped, drilled and ready for service at their country's call, and that it is incumbent on us to see that the families of those who may be called into service are supplied during their absence." It was further resolved that "we recommend the holding of a legal town-meeting as soon as may be, and that it is the sense of this meeting that the town should appropriate the sum of four thnusand dollars, or so much as may be needed to defray the expenses of organizing such company of volunteer militia, and to render such aid to the families of those who enlist as may be needed." A committee of seven was appointed, consisting of Rufus E. Warren, Esek Saunders, Alfred Morse, C. M. Pratt, W. D. Wheeler, L. M. Sargent and Wra. F. Slocum, to procure the enlistment and charter of a volunteer company. At the close of the meeting the selectmen at once issued their warrant for a town-meeting to be held on the 29th of April, and on that occasion S. D. Hall was chosen moderator.

Rev. J. M. Rockwood offered a prayer, and a committee of fourteen was chosen to have a general oversight of military affiiirs. The committee consisted of A. M. Bigelow, Winthrop Faulkner, Rufus E. Warren, Chandler M. Pratt, .Tas])er S. Nelson, Alfred Morse, Levi Rawsou, Esek Saunders, S. P. Champney, J. B. Adams, Charles Brigham, Lawson ]\runyan, S. J. Axtell and A. M. Bigelow. At this meeting it was voted to appropriate four thousand dollars for the purpose of organizing a company, and to pay one dollar per day to each volunteer who engaged in drilling. It is not necessary, however, to repeat here the different votes of the town passed at various times. The town furnished three hundred and ninety-three men for the war, ten of whom were commissioned officers. The whole amount of money expended during the war was .'?(38,001.09, of which the sum of $28,650.86, expended in State aid, was repaid by the Commonwealth.

The following list of persons who enlisted or were drafted into the service during the war is taken from the "Report of the Selectmen of Grafton" for the year ending March 5, 1S(J6 :

It has been stated in the early part of this narrative that the original Indian reservation of Hassanamisco ; was four miles square. This territory of four miles square was what was purchased of the Indians by the Hassanamisco proprietors, and the town of Grafton when incorporated was limited to the same. At some time after the incorporation of the town, and before 1793, a strip of land a half-mile in width was set off from Shiew&bury on the north and the same amouut of laud set otl' from Suttou on the south and both were annexed to Grafton, making that town five miles long instead of four, as it originally was. The dates of these annexations the writer has not been able to learn and he only knows that they were before 1793, because they are mentioned in the "History of Worcester County," written by Peter Whitney, and published in that year. The original boundaries of the town have experienced three other changes besides those referred to. By an .ict of the General Court passed .Tune 14, 1823, it was provided -

That Abel Willard and Juhu Willarti, witli tlie fuUowiug described gore of land, be annexed to the town of Graftun, to wit; beginning at the northwest corner of the town of Gmfton on Mitlbury line; thence on Baid Millbnry line to the northeast corner of said town; thence on the .same course north two degrees west to Flint's pond {so called); thence bounding down said pond to the outlet thereof; thence down the thread of said outlet until it meets little Blackstone river; thence down the centre of said river until it intersects the line of said Grafton; thence on said Grafton line to the first bounds; and that in future the said Abel and John shall be entitled to all the privileges and sut'ject to all the duties incident to the inhabitants of said town of Graftou,

That Tarrant Merriaui and his family, together with a certain tract of land situated in the town of Slirewsbury, containing about oue hundred and eighty-six acres more or less, chiefly owned by said Merriaru, and bounded as follows, to wit ; On three sides by the town of Grafton, and on the fourth side by a line beginning at a point on the boundary line of said Gmfton, where the corners of one Jasper Rand's land and of the said Merriam's land meet, and on the east side of one Elijah Brooks' land, and thence running east ten degrees south thirty-seven rods to the road leading from said Grafton to said Shrewsbury, thence easterly on said road until it conies to said Alerriam's land on the norfli Bide, thence east twenty-seven degrees north one hundred and twentyfive rods, thence east eight degrees north to a corner of the north boundary line of said Grafton, be and the same are hereby set off from said Shrewsbury and annexed to said Grafton, and they shall forever hereafter be subject to all the duties and entitled to all the privileges of inhabitants of said Graftou ; provided, however, that said Ulerriam and the other owners of said tract of land shall be holden to l)ay all taxes that have been lawfully assessed upon them by said Shrewsbury previous to the passing of this act.

So iiiHch of Sutton aa lies northerly and easterly of the following boundary lines, to wit: Beginning at the northwest corner of Northbridge, thence south eighty-two degrees west two hundred and twelve and one-half rods to the northeast corner of the school-house number ten in Sutton, thence north four degrees and nine minutes west to Grafton line, two hundred and eighty-seven and one-half rods to tJraffon line, is hereby annexed to Graftou ; provided, however, that all persons so annexed shall be holden to pay all taxes now due in the same manner as if this act had not passed.

It has been stated that four acres of land were set apart in 1828 for a meeting-house, a school-house and a training-field. A school-house was built in 1731 on what is now the Common, and there remained until 1832, when it was removed. It was twenty-one feet long and sixteen feet wide. Up to 1737 it continued the only school in the town, Imt in a very few years after that date the schotil became, a-s it was called, a " moving school," and was taught in five different districts in different parts of the year. It is not necessary, however, to follow the development of the school system along its devious way to its present useful condition. A high school was established in the town by means* of the incorporation i>f a Hisfh

School Association in 1850, by whom a building was erected and leased to the town under an arrangement which continued until 1867, when the town bought the building for three thousand five hundred dollars and the association was dissolved. In 1869 the old school district system was abolished, and under a central management the schools have become more vigorous and useful. According to the report of the School Committee for the year ending January 31, 1888, there were at that time in the town a high school and twenty-one schools of higher grades. Of the twenty-one schools, five were located at the central village, four at North Grafton, two at Saundersville, four at Farnumsville and Fisherville, and the remaining six were the Waterville, Brigham Hill, Farms Precinct, George Hill, Keith Hill and Merriam Precinct. The High School enrollment numbered 69, and that of the common schools 994. The school appropriations for the year covered by the report were: For the High School, $1600 ; common schools, $7000 ; fuel and janitors. $1350 ; books and stationery, $800 ; School Committee, $1350 ; and repairs and fixtures, $300 - making a total of $12,400. The other appropriations, which it may be well to mention here, were : For town debt, .$6600 ; Fire Department, $850 ; highways, .$3000 ; support of poor, $5000; Town-House Sinking Fund, $1360; Memorial Day, $100 ; Common, $50 ; library at the Centre, in addition to the dog fund, $250 ; library at North Grafton, $50; library at Farnumsville, $25; library at Saundersville, $25 ; water works, $2500 ; street lights, $300 ; town officers, $1740 ; town-house expenses, $750; State aid, $150; miscellaneous, $450; road damages, $100 ; and liquor cases, $300 - making a total, including school appropriations, of $36,000.

The Free Library mentioned in the above list was established in 1866, when' Joseph Leiaiid, a native and citizen of the town, gave the sum of one thousand dollars for the purpose, on the condition that the town would appropriate an equal amount. The gift was accepted with its condition and the library is kept in the town-house and receives the benefit of the Dog Fund and an annual appropriation of money. At the date of the last report of the trustees the library contained five thousand seven hundred and fifty-three volumes, of which two hundred and sixtyseven, including nineteen bound magazines, had been added during the previous year.

The industries of Grafton arc distributed among the various villages of which the town is composed. A mill at the Central Village ; another at Saundersville, on the Blackstone River; another at Farnumsville, also on the Blackstone River ; a mill at North Grafton, formerly called the Grafton Mills; the Fisher Mills, at the junction of theQuinsigamondand Blackstone Rivers, and the lower mill at North Grafton, are eng.aged in the manufacture of cotton and fancy cloths and emery, and furnish nccupation for a numoious and busy po|iulation. Hesiihs thcsf in- dustries the manufacture of shoes is carried on at the North Village by J. S. Nelson & Co., and gives employment to nearly two hundred hands. The business of currying is also largel}' carried on and is an important feature in the industry of the town. A full description of all these industries is given in Pierce's " History of Grafton," and to that valuable work the reader is referred.

Among the institutions in the town are the Grafton National Bank, incorporated in 1865, as the succes sor of the Grafton Bank, established in 1854, with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars ; the FirsI National Bank, incorporated in 1864, also with a capital of one hundred thousand dollars; the Grafton Savings Bank, incorporated in 1869; the Franklin Lodge of Masons, established in 1852 ; the Sprague Post of the Grand Army, organized in 1866 ; and the Good Templars, established also in 1866. The town has a Fire Department, established by law in 1853, and an abundance of good water supplied by the Grafton Water Company. The population of the town does not largely increase. In 1875 it was 4442 and in 1885 had only increased to 4498. Such a sluggishness of increase cannot long continue. Its proximity to Worcester, which is fast becoming a populous city, in connection with its own admirable situation and desirable locations for residence easily accessible from that city and yet away from many o( the annoyances which necessarilv attend a bustling and noisy place of business, must in time attract to it a wave of immigration and give to it a healthy and prosperous growth.

Among the men who have been prominent in Grafton at various periods since its incorporation may be mentioned : Thomas Pratt, tb.e moderator of the first town-meeting and of nine other town-meetings before 1750, and a selectman several years ; Joseph Willard, a selectman eight years before 1748 ; Joseph Merriam, a selectman fourteen years before 1764; Nathaniel Sherman, a selectman nine years before 1752; Samuel Warren, John Goulding, Joseph Wood, Royal Keith, Joseph Bruce, Jonathan Wheeler, Charles Brigham, Phillip Wing, Edward Bigelow, A. M. Bigelow, James W. White, Jonathan D. Wheeler, John W. Slocomb, Jonathan Warren, and others, both dead and living, too numerous to mention. 01 those natives of Grafton who have distinguished themselves outside of its borders in wider fields of labor may be mentioned William Brigham, Frank P. Goulding, Henry A. Miles, Samuel D. Warren, Sherman Leland, Phineas W. Leland and John Leland.

William Brigham was the son of Captain Charles Brigham, and was born in Grafton, September 26, 1806. He graduated at Harvard in the class of 1829, which was probably the most distinguished class of which the alumni of the college can boast. A list of its eminent men is almost a catalogue of the class. Among them were Rev. Joseph Angler, Chief Justice George Tyler Bigelow, Hon. William Brigham,

Rev. William Henry Channing, Rev. James Freeman Clarke, Hon. Francis B. Crowninshield, Hon. Benjamin R. Curtis, justice of the United States Supreme Court ; Hon. George T. Davis, member of Congress; General George H. Devereux, Hon. William Gray, Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Rev. Samuel May, Professor Benjamin Peirce, Rev. Chandler Rubbins, Hon. Edward D. Sohier and Judge Joshua H. Ward. In such a class as this Mr. Brigham found no difficulty in taking a good rank. After admission to the bar he opened an office in Boston, which he retained until his death, which occurred July 9, 1869. His occupation as a sound and successful lawyer was diversified by antiquarian study, and the various historical works of which he was either the author or editor attest the accuracy of his mind and the diligence of his research.

Rev. Henry Adolphus Miles is a descendant from John Miles, an early settler of Concord, where he was living as early as 1637. He was born in Grafton, May 30, 1809, and graduated at Brown University in 1829, receiving an honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from his alma mater in 1850. After graduating at the Harvard Divinity School in 1832 he was was settled for a time in Hallowell, Me., and from there went to Boston to assume the duties of secretary of the American Unitarian Association. At later dates he was settled in Lowell and Hingham, at which latter place he is now living, though not in the service of his profession. Dr. Miles is a man of large intellectual capacity, of original thought and deep and earnest convictions. As a public speaker he has always commanded the earnest attention of his hearers, and in social intercourse his genial disposition and warm heart and rare conversational powers win to his side all who come within their influence. If the writer may be permitted to introduce personal feeling into an historical narrative, he cannot refrain from saying that there are few men whom he holds in such affection and respect as the subject of this imperfect sketch.

John Leland, the son of James and Lucy (Warren) Leland, was born in Grafton, May 4, 1754. From 1775 to 1791 he was a Baptist preacher in Virginia of considerable note. From 1792 until his death, which occurred at North Adams, January 14, 1841, he was settled in Cheshire, Mass. His autobiography was published in 1845.

Phineas W. Leland was the son of David W. Leland, and with all the Lelands of Grafton was descended from Henry Leland, who died in Sherburne in 1680. He was born in Grafton, October 4, 1798, and after leaving Brown University without graduating, studied medicine in Boston and settled at Medfield. In 1834 he removed to Fall River, where he held the office of collector of the port for nearly twenty years. He was a prominent and active mem- ber of the Democratic party, and when that party came into power in the State in 184S he was that year a member of the Senate and chosen its president.

Sherman Leland was the son of Eleazer and Elizabeth (Sherman) Leland, and born in Grafton, March 29, 1783. He was admitted to the Worcester County bar in 1809 and settled in Eastport, Me. In 1814 he took up his residence in Roxbury and opened an office in Boston. From 1817 to 1822 he represented Roxbury in the House of Representatives and was a member of the Senate four years, two of which he was its president. He was also for many years judge of probate for Norfolk County, and in this position, as in all others, he won and retained the confidence and respect of the community.

With these few sketches and with an acknowledgment of the aid which the writer has received from tlie " History of Grafton " by Mr. Pierce, to which reference has several limes been made, this narrative must close.