Worcester County, Massachusetts - Chapter 86: New Br.^intree by George K. Tufts, 1889

Chapter 86: New Br.^intree by George K. Tufts

Introductory. - New Braintree is nearly in shape of an isosceles triangle, with sides of six miles and base of nine, nearly in the centre of' the State, bounded by Oakham and Barre on its northeast side and Hirdwick, from which it is separated by Ware River on its northwest side, and by Brookfield and North Brookfield on its . base or south line. It contains 191 square miles. The surface is uneven and hilly. Its highest elevation is " Tufts Hill," in the eastern part, 1179 feet above sea level. It was made up of the territory of three towns - " Braintree Grant," a tract of 6000 acres, lying between Rutland and Brookfield, designated by the triangle C B A on the annexed plan ; all that part of Lambstown (Hardwick) east of Ware River marked DEB, and about 1200 acres from the north part of Brookfield, south of line O M. That part, 400 acres north of Ware River, C D X, was annexed to

Hardwick in 1814. N is the common land, in the centre of which the church stands. A, point of intersection with Spencer, Oakham, North Brookfield ; E, with Ware and Brookfield. A tract of 320 acres, lying the whole length of line AM, and omitted by error in original survey, was afterwards given to John Quincy, Speaker of the House, and assigned to New Braintree.

Before its settlement fires made in the woods had destroyed almost its entire growth of wood and timber ; so it was feared there would not be a sufficient supply for the settlers, but Whitney writes, 1796, that " through their care and prudence there had, within a few years, sprung up fine growths of wood." At that time there were two hills of note - "Mohawk," probably "Tufts" Hill, and "Rattlesnake's Rocks," in the west part, a name that has passed away with its occupants. A plain extends across the west part, at the extreme south end of which, on land of W. & E. Pepper, is the narrow pass referred to by Capt. Wheeler in his " narrative," where, on his way under Capt. Hutchinson, with twenty men, to treat with Philip, August 2, 1675, he was surprised by the Indians, and eleven killed or mortally wounded. "Meminimisset was the name given by the Indians to the low lands at the upper end of this plain, once a hideous swamp." Here w.is formerly an Indian town of considerable importance and a military stronghold, the headquarters and chief place of rendezvous of the Indians when Brookfield was destroyed. Here Mrs. Howard, taken captive at Lancaster in 1679, was brought' with two children, and one died. On the hill rising east from the plain is a small stone monument, resembling a tomahawk, which tradition affirms marks its grave. The town is well watered with springs and brooks. At the base of Tufts Hill, on its north and west sides, are the sources of the two brooks which, afterwards meeting at "Webb's" Pond and flowing snuthe.ist and west under the name of Sucker Brook> supply the water " privileges " at Wait's Corner and " Pepper's Mills," and empty inio Quaboag Pond. The first saw-mill erected in Brookfield, in 1709, was in that part of it afterward set off and forming a part of New Braintree, and located just above the bridge, east of '' Pepper's Pond." A company of nine, headed by Thomas Barnes, received a grant of forty acres for their encouragement to build the mill. This privilege was afterwards used for a malt-mill.

Pepper's Mills were used as a blacksmith forge and trip-hammer. The first mill erected by an inhabitant of "Braintree Grant" was at ivhat is now "Webb's Pond." Daniel Mathews, Jr., of Southboro', a millwright, bought the privilege in 17-19, and erected a .saw-mill soon after. His house was on site of present residence of J. T. Webb. The general appearance of the town is attractive. Whitney writes of it, " Excellent for grass and good roads. Its homes are neat and commodious." It has surely gained in these attractive features since 1795, and added, on miles of road, lines of shade trees of maple, ash and elm. It has many really fine residences, especially that of Mr. Francis Shaw. The first road built in town was in 1730, from the "Old Furnace," by Pepper's Mills to Brookfield.

Braintree Grant. - In 1666 the freeholders and other inhabitants of Braintree, in town-meeting, passed the following resolution: " Whereas, much of the best and most available arable surface is held by non-residents and citizens of Boston as a matter of speculation and by others in large farms, that it is a source of great inconvenience to the permanent inhabitants of the town, as they in their poverty are not able to pay the high rents asked, nor the necessary expenses of the town ; therefore. Resolved : To petition the General Court for an additional grant of land." In answer to this petition the court, in consideration of the reasons therein expressed, judged meet to grant 'hem "sixe thousand acres of land in some place, limited to one place, not prejudicing any plantation or particular grant." In 1670 Braintree selected a tract lying between Braintree and Plymouth, which was not confirmed by the court. No further action was taken until 1679, when Braintree again petitioned the court that "since the Lord out of his rich grace had made them lords of the heathen land" (referring to their victory over Philii)) "they might have an opportunity to have ratified the former grant." In answer to this petition, October, 1679, the court allowed the petitioners "to lay out their sixe thousand acres of land in any vacant place within the Court's jurisdiction." Here the matter rested for thirty-four years, until June, 1713, when Braintree chose a committee to ascertain if the former grant had "lapsed," and if not, to find and lay out the six thousand acres granted in 1666, and do what is needful to be done in

The treasurer was evidently never called upon to pay the money, for in June, 1714, we find Colonel Edmond Quincy, in behalf of Braintree, petitioning the court for the api)ointmeni of a surveyor to lay out the land. The petition was granted and a surveyor, Samuel Jones, Jr., appointed.

December 17, 1715, in the House of Eepresentatives it was ordered that " a Plot of six thousand acres of land, lying in angle between Brookfield and Rutland, be accepted, and land confirmed to Braintree as by plan annexed, in fulfillment of original grant." This six thousand acres was nearly in form of a rightangled triangle, with right angle B at a point just southeast of the present residence of Alfred Boyden ; the upper acute angle C included the farm recently occupied by Colonel Joseph Robinson in Hardwick. The perpendicular B C of the triangle is identical with the west line of our present common, while the base A B extended to 0 would be identical with the present boundary between lands now owned by Mr. J. B. Fobes and Mrs. S. W. Peckham. For twelve years after the "Braintree Grant" was confirmed, it was a constant source of contention in Braintree town-meetings. A vote to sell it would be passed at one meeting, only to be reconsidered and reversed at the next, and sometimes the same meeting, and vice versa. No rule of division of the land could be agreed upon. A question arose as to the ownership, whether it belonged to the town in its corporate capacity, or to its inhabitants in 1666 (the time of the original grant) and their posterity, or the inhabitants of 1715, when the grant was confirmed, and we find the town on record at difterent times as in favor of each of these views. Finally, in 1727, a vote was passed that, to promote peace, the land be divided as equally as possible between the two precincts of Brainlree, to be henceforth managed, improved and further divided or disposed of as each should decide, from henceforth and forever. Here " Braintree Grant " disappears from Braintree records, and does not again reappear until 1749, when it appeals to the General Court, to be admitted into the sisterhood of towns.

For some years portions of the " Grant " were used for pasturing of stock during the summer season by residents of Braintree, and hence came the title of " Braintree Farms." It seems reasonable to suppose that previous to 1738 it was extensively settled, as the inhabitants in Lambstown, east of Ware River, petitioned the General Court in that year to be annexed to the " Grant" without success.

March 20, 1749, George Shaw, James Robinson, John Wilson, James Thompson, Jona Cobleigh, John Blair, Jacob Nichols, Jona. Higgins, William Baxter, Edward Euggles, John Barr, Roger Sprague, Abram Joslyn and Andrew Shaw (total, fourteen), all occupants of Braintree Farms, with John Peacock, Joseph

New Braintree

Little, Eleazer Warner, Beriah Hawes, James and Edward Blair, David and James Woods, Matthew Barr, Josiah Benet, Samuel Steele, David Ayres, Phineas Warner, William Anderson, Israel Day, Samuel Ware, Hugh Barnes and Wareham Warner (total, eighteen), from Hardwick, east of Ware River, and Joseph and Jacob Pepper, and Joseph Pepper, Jr., Moses and Obed. Abbot, David and Solomon Gilbert, Joseph and Sarah Barnes, Thomas Hammond, Eben. Spooner and Roger Haskell (twelve), from the north part of Brookfield, met and chose their " wellbeloved and faithful " friend, James Thompson, to convey their petition to the proprietors of the land known as " Braintree Farms," that inasmuch as the petitioners make a body large enough to support the gospel, and were a long way off from any preaching, and for the interest of said proprietors, they would unite with them in a petition to the General Court to be set off as a separate district.

May 31, 1749, James Thompson, in behalf of said petitioners, memorialized the Governor, Council and House that, being of sufhcient ability to make a town or district, being of one mind and having obtained the full consent of the non-resident proprietors, humbly prayed their excellencies and honorables to consider the premises and order therein as they should deem best.

The names of the non-resident proprietors were, Thomas Hovey, Nathan Goodell, John Weeks, Joseph Tidd, Wm. Wheeler, Edmond Quincy, Wm. Torrey, Thomas Cutler, .Joseph and Thomas Crosby, Richard Faxon, Moses Belcher, David Rawson, Josiah Ruggles, Samuel Paine and Eben Adams.

March 6, 1749, Hardwick in town-meeting opposed this petition, and August 11th chose an agent to present their reasons for it to the General Court ; but October Sth, of the same year, voted its " willingness" to the annexation. In June, 1749, a counterpetition, signed by James Craig, Samuel Crawford, Alex. Bothel and others from the west wing of Rutland (now Oakham), and Adam Homes and Robert Hunter, from Braintree Farms, was presented to the court praying that inasmuch as the two tracts of land aforesaid laid in a commodious form for a township, being about five miles square, capable of a sufficient number of settlements to support a minister, and neither could ever be accommodated for public worship as it was or by annexation to any town, that ihey might be set off as a separate township. On both these petitions the court ordered the usual notices served on all jjarties interested to appear at its next sitting and show cause, if any existed, why they should not be granted. The proprietors of Rutland warmly favored the plan.

In August following a committee, consisting of James Minot and John Otis, with three others added by the House in December, was appointed to take the several petitions into consideration and report. December 9th this committee reported that the west wing of Rutland and Braintree Farms ought to be set off with their inhabitants into a separate district, with all powers then conferred upon towns except the right of representation in the General Court. This report the Council accepted and sent down to the House for concurrence; but that body refused to concur and ordered the several petitions and the report upon them back to. the committee for further consideration. January 3, 1750, the same committee agiin reported to the Council that after another careful review of the situation they saw no reason to change their opinion, but reaffirm.ed their former one, and further recommended that the petitioners for a union of Braintree Farms and portions of Hardwick and Brookfield be dismissed. This report was also accepted by the Council and sent to the House for concurrence, but the House again refused to concur and referred the whole matter to the next General Court To this the Council agreed. It is well to state here that the religions preferences of the petitioners had much to do with their choice of their future townsmen ; those desiring a union of the west wing with the Farms being Presbyterians, while the petitioners for a union of the Farms with portions of Brookfield and Hardwick were nearly all Congregationalists.

The latter party, defeated twice in the Council and as many times victorious in the House now went to work with renewed zeal and vigor. March 22, 1750, they again sent a petition to the Council, desiring a speedy answer by the sending of a committee to view the lands designated unless it saw fit to grant the petition without such viewing. To this the Council replied by the appointment, April 20th, of another committee of which Samuel Watts was chairman and who were instructed to repair to the land, view it and report in following May.

To this committee the inhabitants of the Farms presented the following reasons against a union with West Wing : let. The quality of the land in the West Wing was so inferior to that in the Farms it could not pay its share of the common expenses. 2d. They hoped the Court would not impose upon their consciences by forcing them to unite with a society differing so much in religious views; that the boast had already been made by some of their neighbors of the Wing that they would soon have a Presbyterian minister over them. 3d. A union with a part of Hardwick was much more desirable, because they were better able to pay common charges and were wellagreed to unite. The inhabitants of Hardwick, east of Ware River, informed the committee that, having been annexed to Hardwick for want of a better place, they were not essential to its support ; that in the location of Hardwick meeting-house no regard was paid to their interests, as it was understood they would at some future time be annexed to the Farms.

termed it, of its neighbors of the Farms to benefit themselves at the expense of Brookfield, giving as a reason fur tlie delay of its protest that it had never been officially notified of the petitions. The full protest of Brookfield, for which there is no space here, gives credit to the adroitness of its author, and was without doubt the cause of the subsequent action of the Council, to whom it was referred.

The committee, appointed April 20th, reported June 14th that the tract of land known as Braintree Farms, that part of Hardwick east of Ware Eiver, and seven families in Brookfield, with their estates, viz. : Joseph Pepper, Moses Abbott, David and Jona. Gilbert, Sarah Barnes, Eben. Spooner and Joseph Pepper, Jr., be erected into a distinct and separate precinct, and invested with all powers and privileges accorded other precincts. The same day the Council refused to accept this report, and ordered the petitioners to be dismissed and sent it to the House for concurrence. The House refused to concur and oi'dered that the report be and hereby is accepted, and then sent it back to the Council for concurrence. The Council referred it to the next General Court, but after pigeon-holing it for three months, reconsidered its action and ordered it accepted. Here the fight ended. What reasons or persons, if any, influenced the Council to decide uniformly against the popular voice, as expressed in the petition and uniform action of the House, is a matter of conjecture. It is noted in this connection that all but eight of the origin.al petitioners for a union of West Wing with the Farms their request for that union three weeks before the report of the committee, recommending that union, was made.

First Doings. - June 13, 1751, the court issued the final order constituting the precinct and appoint' ing Eleazer Warner to call the first meeting. Agreed to by Council and signed by Lieutenant-Governor. The powers conferred included all rights of towns except that of representation in General Court. Nor did the precinct become a town until 1776, when it became so by a general law of the province. The name of New Braintree was given to the precinct the next April. A space of one hundred and ten years intervened between the date of the original grant and its incorporation. There were at this time forty-five families in town. The first meeting for the choice of officers was held March 13, 1751, at the house of David Ayers (on the site of the present residence of Francis Shaw). Officers chosen : Eleazer Warner, moderator ; David Woods, town clerk ; Eleazer Warner, David Gilburt and Cornelius Cannon, selectmen and assessors ; James Woods, treasurer; James Thompson, constable; James Blair, tything-man. Two of these had already taken part in the organization of Hardwick, 1739 - Cannon as its first town clerk, and War ner as chairman of its first Board of Selectmen.

Church Buildings. - At the next meeting, March 25th, voted " to find the centre of the tract of land already laid off in this district, and that it be the prefix! spot for a meeting-house." This vote was rescinded at a later meeting, and a deed of another piece of land for the meeting-house was accepted, but no record exists of the deed or by whom given. Ten pounds were appropriated for preaching, and a committee chosen "to procure a preacher as soon as conveniently he could be had."

October 4th the town finding it difficult, by reason of smallness of its numbers and straitness of its circum- A stances, to secure sufficient support for a minister, pe- titioned the General Court for authority to lay a tax of twopence per acre on all lands, improved or otherwise, in the district. The court granted them one-half the gum asked for for three years. This tax amounted to J fifty pounds, and was the sum annually paid the min- 5 ister for twenty-five years. The next step was the erection of a meeting-house. A vote was passed in November to procure the material the coming winter. Robert Hunter was chairman of the building commit- j tee. January 1, 1752, voted " To build a house 40 by I 50 feet and 20 feet between joints," "to be enclosed and clay-boarded." The price of labor per day in winter in its erection was one shilling fourpeuce. It was not ready for occupany until July, 1753, and then but little better than a barn. For fourteen years it was minus lath and plaster. It faced the west on site of present building, and for twenty years nothing was erected to shield the worshippers, when the doors were opened, from the cold blasts that swept thirty miles in a straight line unimpeded. Our forefathers must have valued highly Gospel privileges to sit four hours each Sabbath in a room the natural temperature of which was at zero, with nothing but their own breaths and a kw foot-stoves to warm them. In 1772 porches were added at the east and west ends. It is said that one winter the cold was so intense that the snow on the south side of the meeting-house roof never melted a drop for six weeks in succession. For a long time there was no belfry, and the bell hung by itself on the Common. The house was colored a dingy yellow. The fore-doors on the south side were double. There was a single door at each end. The broad aisle led directly from the fore-doors to the pulpit on the north side and the deacons' seat in front. The main floor, for a space of ten feet in from the walls on all sides and ends, was assigned for the pew ground. This was divided into twenty-one lots, appraised at three to seven pounds each, old tenor, according to its dignity (location), and assigned by a special committee, appointed by the town, to twenty-one free- holders, according to their ability to pay, age and in- fluence in the community. James Blair had the first choice. The bounty money received from sale of pew-ground was used to build a "decent" pulpit, deacons' seat and a "suitable body of seats." In addition to the bounty, each purchaser of pew-ground must build his own pew and ceil the walls against it. The seats in the body of the house were plain benches occupied by the other members of the district, seated annually by a special committee who were governed in their duty by the same law as that which assigned the pewground, viz.: the relative standing in the community of the attendant. A feeling of uneasiness arising in the pit that the pews had got their privileges too cheap, an " indifferent committee was selected from Brookfield and Hardwick to fix the bounty."

On the two ends and south side were galleries, the west half occupied by men and the east half by women. Young men must receive special permission to occupy these seats. Five shillings annually were allowed the sexton, James Thompson, for sweeping the house and shutting the doors. As the town grew in numbers and wealth the pews encroached upon the pit, the pit becoming better able to build pews. Every available foot of ground on main floor and in galleries, and even in the porches, was used for pews. From 1790 to 1800 the town had the largest population of any time in its history, and the old house was not only too small, but unsuited to the improved tastes and pockets of the people. The erection of a pew house was begun in 1800 and completed in 1802. The frame is the same as that of the present structure. Henry Penniman gave three hundred dollars to buy a new bell, and his son, Henry, and son-in-law, Joseph Bowman gave two hundred dollars to buy a new town clock. In 1806 Henry Penniman, Jr., asked and obtained leave of the town to place an organ in the new church. The value of this addition in church worship seems not to have been appreciated by all, for one deacon was heard to remark that he'd " rather hear the filing of his old saw than that noise." In this building no alterations were made until 1846, when it was lowered six feet and entirely remodeled, with town-hall and vestry below ; dedicated October 26, 1846, the fiftieth anniversary of the settlement of Rev. John Flske, D.D. A new organ was bought at a cost of eleven hundred dollars. In 1877 house repaired at a cost of six hundred dollars, of which three hundred dollars was contributed by Edward Fiske, of Brooklyn, N. Y.

Although one of the first acts of the new district was the selection of a committee to provide a preacher, two years passed and none of the many candidates beard were sufiiciently acceptable to be called. Discouraged, the district appointed February 23, 1753, a day of fasting and prayer for divine help, and invited the neighboring ministers to take charge of the services. In July, voted to hear Rev. Benjamin Kuggles, of Middleton, on condition that he be dismissed from the pastorate he then held. In this they were both shrewd and honorable. Mr. Kuggles came, was liked, and invited to preach longer. Five of the neighboring ministers were consulted as to the advisability of settling him, and invited to preach a lecture to the people Jan. 23d. Feb. 4th, a call was extended to Mr. Ruggles. The settlement given him was thirty pounds, and annual salary fifty pounds.

This call Mr. Ruggles accepted, " sensible in a measure of the difficulty of the calling, but relying upon the sincerity and fidelity of the people." He was installed April 17, 1754. To the council installing him was referred by the district a petition of several of its members for the free use of the meeting-house two Sabbaths yearly that the sacrament might be administered in the Presbyterian way by one of their order. The council decided that though w^illing to promote union and communion between the sects, yet, considering the circumstances and fearing the consequences, they did not deem it wise to grant it.

Of Mr. Ruggles a successor writes that he was "a man of average ability and sincere piety, and his relations to the people were entirely harmonious and productive of great blessing." To this end he contributed more than his share. A letter from him to the town, when the matter of a colleague and his proportionate salary was under consideration, reveals some of his trials and the spirit in which he bore them. He writes "My salary has never been paid when due. Not only for one year, but for the twenty years I have been here it has been six and seven months overdue, so that I have been straightened for money to buy the necessaries of life, and often obliged to borrow so small a sum as half a dollar of the Treasurer (Dea. James Woods), who, out of his own money, would give me a dollar, or if I asked one dollar he would give me two. Every town around, altho' poorer than this town, has paid their minister more. In those days," he adds, " I kept these things much to myself, careful that neither by word or deed it might get abroad to the discredit of the town." His name heads the long roll of the Brookfield Association of Ministers, of which he was one of the original five founders when it was organized, June 22, 1757. Mr. Ruggles was sole mini.ster twenty-four years and associate senior pastor six years, until his death, January 6, 1784. The whole period of his ministry was fifty-nine years.

After a period of five months on probation, in July, 1778, Rev. Daniel Foster received a call from church and town to become associate minister with Mr. Ruggles, with one thousand pounds settlement and sixtysix pounds, thirteen shillings and four pence annual salary, and thirty cords of wood eight feet long at his door, the salary to be regulated by the following standard, i. e., rye at four shillings and Indian corn at two shillings eight pence per bushel. Mr. Foster accepted the call, " relying upon their generosity as to Temporals while he ministered to them in Spirituals." October 28th was set apart for the ordination. Seventeen churches were invited. Committees were chosen to carry the letters missive, to prop the meeting-house and to keep the doors and reserved seat^. In his examination by the council Mr. Foster differed in a measure in his theological views from the majority of its members, but it was finally voted satisfactory and the ordination proceeded. He was born September 1, 1750; ordained October 28, 1778. Januar)' 2S, 1779, married Miss Betsey Reed, of Western. February 17, 1779, bought of Eev. Benjamin Kuggles the premises now occupied by Mr. Frank Gaffney for .12350.

His ministry continued until his death, September 1, 1795. Mr. Foster was a man of much personal magnetism, especially popular with the young men, who, at his decease, out of respect wore a badge of mourning on their left arms for thirty days. He was fluent and often extravagant in speech. A good dinner appeared to be more to his liljing than spiritual penance. He was an unbeliever in creeds. Soon after his settlement some of the church-members avowed their belief in his denial of some of the fundamental truths of the Gospel and presented their grievances at a church-meeting. The church sustained its pastor. Several attempts, among them -an appeal to the Association, were made to reconcile the differences. In most cases they seem to have been successful. One or two, however, joined the Baptists, two absented themselves from church and rode every Sabbath to Rutland for conscience' sake.

Rev. John Fiske, D. D., writes that he seems to have overcome opposition and ultimately won the affections of his people. His death was the occasion for many popular expressions of grief; all the ministers in the association were invited. Tlie town paid all the bills and had printed the funeral sermon. After Mr. Foster's decease the town was without a minister more than a year. August 15, 1796, a unanimous call from church and town was given Rev. John Fiske, with a settlement of two hundred and thirty pounds, and an annual salary of ninety-five pounds. He was installed October 26th. Rev. Dr. Lyman, of Hatfield, preached the sermon, afterwards published. The installation services occupied two days and closed with a ball on the evening of the second day, in which all that could, joined.

Rev. John Fiske was born at Warwick, October 26, 1770. Fitted for college partly with his pastor and partly with his brother, Moses ; graduated at Dartmouth, 1791 ; studied theology with Dr. Lyman, of Hatfield ; licensed to preach and ordained to the ministry at Hadley, May 6, 1794; labored for a season in Northern New York ; attacked with fever and ague and returned to Massachusetts ; preached a while at Milford and North Brookfield. Overtures to settle at both places were made him, which he declined; received degree of D.D. in 1844 from Amherst College, of which he was one of the founders and long a trustee - published a spelling-book in 1807; "Fast Day Sermon," in 1812; "Dedicatory and Semi-centennial discourse," in 1846; was chosen first president of the Brookfield Auxiliary Foreign Missionary Society 1824, and held that office twenty years. During his ministry of fifty-eight years in New Braintree he was called to one hundred and twenty-one councils and attended one hundred and fifteen. As Dr. Fiske's pastorate covered a period of marked changes and great contrasts in not only the social customs, but also the moral and religious sentiments and practices of the people of this town and all New England as well, a glimpse at the state of society at the close of the eighteenth century through his eyes may be of interest: "There were really two classes of ministers as to theological doc- J trines and the methods the gospel reveals whereby " sinners are to obtain an interest in Christ, altho' no division had taken place nor had it entered into any one's heart to conceive of it. There was then no Unitarian ism in this Association, but the character of Christ was not frequently brought into view in preaching. While some of the older ministers were sound in the faith and preached the doctrines of grace with consistency and earnestness, others had become comparatively lax, and were disposed to avoid in their preaching what they esteemed doubtful points and things not well understood nor received by the people. There were great objections to metaphysical subtilties. The character of the preaching was defective as to doctrine and pungency. The great day of labor of the minister was the Sabbath. It was expected of him that he deliver two sermons on the Sabbath and administer the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper once in two months, except in winter, when it was the cause of much sufl'ering. No custom existed of holding an evening or third service. He was wont to exchange one-fourth to one-third of the time and to go and come to the place of exchange the same day - such arduous labors were generally thought to require the sujtaining power of comforting cordials and the best dinner that could be provided between services and were always furnished without grudge or measure. He was often called upon to preach a service to an aged person unable to attend church at his own home. On the records of the Association, which he was expected to attend three times yearly, no allusion was to be found to seasons of prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the churches, for no such seasons were held. Nothing was said concerning the state of religion in them. No question proposed for discussion was selected on account of its relation to the spiritual condition of the people, or aim at the conversion of sinners or edification of believers. Formalism reigned. No multiplied meetings or visitations; no efforts to publish the gospel at home or abroad or difluse knowledge by lectures, conferences, Sabbath-schools, Bible classes or anniversaries.

"Of the church it might be said 'Like people, like priest.' If the minister did little, the church would do less, and be less concerned for its own or others' salvation. In some of the churches there had been revivals of religion, but in most of them there never had been any, nor were they expected, and in some not desired. No efforts were made to obtain them, - no weekly prayer-meeting. There were no young people in the church by profession of faith. Their membership was neither expected nor sought after. It was held in the estimation of sober people that when persons entered into family relations and became parents, they should join the church and have their children baptized, but in one-third of the churcires the latter was performed and the former neglc'ited. Religion among professors and others alike was seldom a topic of conversation. There were many social gatherings and festivities and much storytelling, but little said or done to promote godliness. There were some godly persons in church who were waiting and praying for better times, but their number was so few that they found their cross too great to venture forth against the strong current of public sentiment. The people at large were apparently (but only apparently) more religious than now. Every person, except a few obstinate Baptists and occasionally an emigrant from Rhode Island, all of whom were looked upon as pestilent fellows, paid a tax in proportion to his worth in support of the Congregational ministry ; exemption from this tax was no more thought of than exemption from support of Government. Both were paid on same principle, viz. : from necessity laid on them by the strong arm of the law. There was one advantage in this custom. Every inhabitant had a right to such services of his minister as he might need. ' There was no stealing of preaching or begging of prayers.' There was much ignorance of the nature of personal religion. Infidelity prevailed. Paine's ' Age of Reason ' was widely circulated and had many believers. The Bible was almost a proscribed book, but little read in families by youth. Morals were much vitiated. There was much lewdness in language and action ; much Sabbath-breaking. The great roads were filled with teams on their way to and from market, and with droves of cattle, sheep and swine.

''AH classes of persons. Christians and sinners, high and low, rich and poor, could meet on same platform solar as drinking rum and brandy was concerned; almost all men would drink, and multitudes to repletion, on such occasions as town-meetings, raisings, huskings, auctions and trainings. Especially was indulgence thought to be not only allowable, but praiseworthy, on the glorious Fourth of July. It would have been looked upon as a most indecorous thing in the year 1800 had a Christian funeral been attended at which the mourners, bearers and other friends were not comforted together in well-filled tumblers of grog. It was a dark day for New England churches. But at the beginning of the 19th century light began to dawn out of darkness. Ministers began to talk and pray and preach dilFerently. They appointed church-meetings for conference and prayer, instituted Bible-classes and Sabbath-schools for the young, preached the Gospel to the poor, and interpreted literally the last command of Christ. They found many supporters in the church, and the result was not one, but repeated visitations of the Holy Spirit upon pastors, churches and congregations, that recalled the day of Pentecost.'' Dr. Fiske was, from the first, fully in spirit and action with these movements. As a result, from 1800 to 1821, with one exception, the church received yearly accessions to its membership by profession of faith. From 1809 to 1811, forty-five ; 1819 to 1821, one hundred. In 1810 it was formally and publicly re-organized with articles of faith essentially the same as in 1850. The later largest accessions during Dr. Fiske's ministry were in 1826, thirty; 1831, twentyfive ; 1845, forty-three.

The church was first gathered and formed (as by memorandum of Deacon Jonathan Woods), April 18, 1754, date of the installation of Mr. Ruggles. No records exist for forty-two years, except in 1778 and 1779. Since 1800 there has been from it a constant emigration. Its membership, in 1800, was fifty-eight ; 1888, seventy-three ; and teaching as high as two hundred in the interval. Its deacons have been William Witt, Samuel Ware, James Woods, Jonathan Woods and Jonathan Gould chosen previous to 1775 ; George Barr, between 1775 and 1800; Abijah Bigelow, 1805; James Woods, 1808; Jacob Pepper and Samuel Warner, 1815 ; Phinehas Warner, 1817 ; Francis Adams, 1828 ; Amasa Bigelow, 1830 ; Welcome Newell, 18.30 ; Henry M. Daniels, 1855; Elbridge Gleason and Moses Pollard, 1802; Dwight G. Barr, 1871. In 1819 a legacy of one hundred dollars was left by Lieutenant Jonas Newell to the church for the purchase of furniture for the communion table.

It was especially true of him that he was youug when he was old and lived until he died. In person, tali and well-proportioned, with large and regular features and but slightly bended form, with eye still liright and voice Btill strong and clear, with slow but solid footstep ; generally reading, writing, singing or talking when he was not Tisiting or sleeping, he seemed, when I firet knew him, at 83 years of age, to be about as vigorous as he was venerable, - with a serene and intelligent countenance, with mild and dignified manners, with an active and well-balanced mind, - discriminating in .Judgment, skillful in management, cautious and yet determined in action, in conversation at once inquisitive and iustructive, deeply interested in the practical aflaire of men aud with as deep an insight into their character and motives, he made his presence to be felt by all around him, without ever attempting to exert an influence or make an impression. Fixed in his opinions and ways, but seldom arbitrary, strict in his principles, severe in his sense of propriety without being sanctimonious, equable in temperament and yet playful in feeling, generous in sympathy and uncommonly companionable to those who really knew him, siding always with a noble impulse and a steady faith in favor of whatever seemed right or useful, nervously sensitive to suflFering, timid and sometimes impatient, but always submissive aud trustful, thoroughly republican in simplicity, truly patriarchal in hospitality, he presented to my eye a rounded completeness of character seldom found, except in those who have grown old with a silent and natural growth without any special excitement or constraint, but in the quiet service of the Gospel. In the pulpit he spoke not with enticing words nor impassionate appeal, but with sterling good sense and with great appropriateness, particularly in prayer. In all the councils of the Church, especially in diflicult cases, he was emiuently wise and eflicieut.

May, 1853, a call was extended to Rev. James T. H3'de to become associate pastor with Dr. Fiske ; salary, eight hundred dollars. The call was unanimous by the church aud three to one in the society. The call was accepted, and Mr. Hyde ordained June 22d following. Mr. Hyde was a graduate of Yale College, ranking second in his class. He was a varied and accurate scholar, an able writer and preacher of refined tastes. His natural gifts were of a high order. Most of those opposed to calling Mr. Hyde were men of extremely liberal views - two or three Unitarian, or with Unitarian views, prominent in society, to whom Mr. Hyde's strong orthodoxy and forcible expression of it were distasteful. During the two years following his settlement twenty withdrew from the society, many of them large property-owners, part from dislike of Mr. Hyde, part on account of the greatly increased rate of taxation, and part through fear of a still higher rate. The breach widened. That spirit of bitterness which Dr. Fiske, in his communication to the society on the eve of settling a colleague, deprecated, had already sprung up. A few determined that Mr. Hyde must go and a few determined that he should stay. Finally, the good sense of the majority triumphed. The votes on the two following resolutions, taken in June, 1855, indicate the true state of affairs. The first resolution wan, " That we, personally, without reference to the feelings or acts of others, are satisfied with the ability and faithfulness of our Pastor." Yeas, 26 ; nays, 2 ; silent, 5. The 2d, " That it is expedient under existing circumstances that the pastoral relation be dissolved." Yeas, 19; Nays, 6.' August 13th the dissolution was effected. Notwithstanding his comparatively unsuccessful pastorate, which he attributed in a measure to his own inexperience, he always retained a strong affection for his first parish, remarking to the writer that he would have been content to have lived and died among this people. He died while Professor of Pastoral Theology in Chicago Seminary. It was said of him that "no man in all the West would be more missed. Another might fill his chair in the seminary, but no man in all the land could be found to touch the seminary at so many points or be so conspicuously useful in all that concerns the welfare of the Churches." Rev. John H. Gurney received a unanimous call to succeed Mr. Hyde, and was installed April 23,1856; salary, nine hundred dollars. A resolution, "That the Church for a third service in the Sabbath be free to other denominations when unoccupied by the pastor," was lost by a majority of one. Mr. Gurney possessed, in addition to other ministerial qualifications, a strong mind, good common sense, a fondness for agriculture and the highest capacities of a citizen. His pastorate lasted thirteen years, during which there was one extensive revival. May 3, 1871, Rev. John Djdge was installed. His pastorate was terminated by his death, in June, 1872. He was much esteemed and beloved. He was succeeded by Rev. William B. Bond October 30th of same year, whose pastorate continued seven years. Of him it could be said, " he never preached a poor sermon." He was the last settled pastor. Since then the church has been supplied successively by Rev. William Barrows, D.D., Rev. T. A. Merrill and Rev. U. W. Small.

Education. - The support of schools has always been liberal and hearty. In 1796 Whitney writes : " The people in New Braintree are particularly attentive to the education of their children and youth. They have eight reputable school-houses, and in the winter season as many in.structors ; two Latin grammar masters, and in the summer they have generally two or three masters and as many mistresses, and they expend more annually in supporting schools than in supporting their public teacher of piety, religion and morality, though he is honorably maintained." This interest was fostered and increased by Dr. Fiske, who for fifty-five years held the active superintendence of the schools, who exercised a sort of parental care over them, and whose constant aim was to raise the standard of qualifications among teachers. In 1845 and for several years previous, the amount rais^ed per scholar exceeded that of any town or city in the State, excepting Boston and six adjoining towns. In the published address at the semi-centennial of the Brcokfield Association, New Braintree is accredited with having furnished to that date eighteen ministers to the Congregational denomination, - two more than any other town in the association. There have been thirty-two liberally educated and professional men from this town, of which the following is a list:

New Brainteee

James Tufls, born 1764, completed his theological studies with Dr. Emmons, of Franklin, and ordained November 4, 1794, over the Congregational Church at Wardsboro', Vermont. His pastorate continued forty -seven years, until his death. He was a minister highly resjjected and venerated in the circles in which he moved.

Luke B. Foster, born 1789, son of Rev. Daniel Foster, second pastor of this church, had but oue pastorate, at Rutland, commencing 1813, and continuing four yeais till his death, 1817.

Edwards Whipple, born 1778, was one of the three most distinguished scholars in his class. He studied theology and was installed at Charlton, January 25, 1804 ; remained there seventeen years ; dismissed March, 1821 ; was then installed colleague pastor at Shrewsbury, where he remained one year, until his death, September 17, 1822. He was an able and faithful piistor, a man of decided talents and undoubted piety.

Luther Wilson, born 1783, son of Joseph and Sarah Mathews Wilson, fitted for college at Leicester Academy, entered Yale 1804, and Williams 1805 ; became English preceptor at Leicester Academy 180G ; received his degree 1807. Made principal of Leicester Academy a few years later, and filled that position three and one-half years ; studied theology with Rev. Zephauiah Swift Moore, D.D. ; settled over First Congregational Church, Brooklyn, Connecticut as colleague pastor with Rev. Josiah Whiting, D.D. , June "9, 1813. During this ministry he changed his theological views and became Unitarian ; resigned his charge September, 1S17; in.^talled pastor First Congregational Church, Petersham, June 23, 1819; resigned his pastorate October 18, 1834 ; died November 20, 1864 ; married November, 30, 1806, Sally, daughter of Abijah Bigelow, of New Braintree.

Frederic Matthews, son of Elisha Matthews, graduated at Harvard Law School ; commenced practice of Ills profession at Albany, N. Y. ; remained until his death, about 1820.

Uustavus F. Davis, born in 1797, in Boston. At three years of age his fiither died, and mother married Adiu Ayres, who removed to New Braintree in 1812. Young Davis went to Worcester to learn a trade ; was converted, and became a Baptist, under the preaching if Elder William Bently ; began to preach at the age . of seventeen in .Hampton, Conn.; at nineteen was settled over the Baptist.Church at Preston, Conn.; -at twenty-one became pastor of the church at South Reading (now Wakefield), Mass.; removed to Hartford in 1829, as pastor of the church there ; died in Boston, while on a visit there, September, 1836. He was never a graduate of any college or other institution; a self-educated man, but largely interested in the cause of education ; a trustee of Trinity College, and of the Connecticut Literary Institution ; received the degree of D.D. from Wesleyan University, 1835.

Waldo F. Converse began study of law in 1840 ; commenced practice in Sandusky, Ohio, 1842; continued in practice until 1S50, afterwards engaged in business ; is now president of Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works.

Simon Barrows, born 1811, studied theology at Union Seminary, N. Y., engaged in various ways in cause of education, then entered into the active and hard duties of home missionary life beyond the Mississippi. Sometimes pastor of four churches, he has carried the New England church and school system into our border land.

William Barrows, born 1815, completed his theological studies at Union Seminary, N. Y., 1843, and since that has been variously in the Gospel ministry. There is space for a few quotations from a sketch of him in the " History of Reading,'' where he has resided since 1856: " Dr. Barrows comes of a type of family slowly disappearing from New England. His early home was a family of twelve; a farm of sixty acres and obstinate for boy's culture; parental common sense; a spindle; a loom; annual barrels of home beef and pork; a few books well chosen; a district school well attended without regard to weather and the Sabbath uniformly divided between home and the Lord's house 3 miles away. The old-fashioned virtues, ideas and knowledge ruled the home more than a dinner, new jacket, or 2-story house. No winter snows were too lively or deep for the ox-sled and aioad of neighborhood children on the way to school, where the firewood was 4 feet long and many of the boys 6. Naturally, from such a home the boys entered college, yet with pecuniary struggles. Garden roots were cultivated by day and Greek roots by night by the youngest of the three in Phillips Academy. In theseminary private teaching by the hour, theological polemics in the seminary, classics in Brooklyn and five minute lunches in Fulton Ferry were sandwiched together. So every bill was paid and every borrowed dollar returned. Ill health has hardly cost him a day from the pulpit, perhaps because he has kindled so many vacation camp-fires all the way from New Brunswick to the head-waters of the Missouri and Columbia. Dr Barrows has had tlii-ee pastorates and was for some years secretary of the Congregational & Publishing

Society and the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. He has taken deep interest in western civilization and Christianization, and with tliis in view has made eleven tours over the border and published 'The General, or Twelve Nights in the Hunter's Camp,' a true narrative of his brother William's life ; 'Oregon : The Struggle for Possession ;'' The United States of Yesterday and To-morrow ;' also 'The Church and Tier Children;' 'Purgatory, Doctrinally, Practically and Historically Considered;' 'The Indian Side of the Indian Question.' "

David Burt, born 1822, graduated at Andover Theological Seminary 1851 ; preached at Raymond, N. H., 1851-55, at Rutland 1856-58, and acting pastor at Winona, Minn., 1858-66; engaged in work of Freedmen's Bureau 1866-68; State Superintendent of Schools in Minnesota (1875) until his death, 1881.

Eli W. Harrington, born 1804, graduated at Andoyer Theological Seminary 1836; pastor at Lunenburg 1836-47 ; Marion, N. H., 1848-50 ; Rochester, Mass., 1850-59; North Beverly 1860-67. Since that time impaired health has interfered with continuous pastoral service.

Charles Delano, born 1820, called at his death, 1882, the most distinguished member of the Hampshire County bar. Member of Congress 1859-63, resident of Northampton, a close student, a man of broad culture, social, public-spirited, liberal, whose integrity and conscientiousness were never questioned.

George H. Gould, born 1827, graduated Union Seminary, 1853. For eleven years his impaired health seriously interfered with the continuity of his public ministry. Traveled in Europe four years with John B. Gough;1862 and 1863 with Olivet Church, Springfield ; 1864-70 with Centre Church, Hartford, Conn. ; has since resided in Worcester and been acting-pastor of both Piedmont and Union Churches. What a few churches have lost by his inability for continued pastoral service, the general public has gained.

Henry M. Daniels, graduated Chicago Theological Seminary, 1861 ; pastor First Congregational Church, Winnebago, 111., 1861-75 ; home missionary at Dallas, Texas, 1875-79; at Lebanon, Md., 1880-83 ; De Luz, Cal., 1883-88.

Nathan Thompson, born 1837, graduated Andover Theological Seminary, 1865 ; home missionary, at Boulder, Col., 1865-75; acting-pastor at Roxborough and South Acton, 1876-81 ; president of Board of Trustees of Colorado University ; principal Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass., 1881-86; principal Elgin

Willard Barrows, born in 1800, early in life left the East for the Mississippi Valley, and was for many years deputy-surveyor for Government of wild lands in Missouri, Arkansas, and the territory comprising the present States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The first map of the latter he published from his own field-notes, which, with his brief historical outline, was afterwards published by the State in 1845. Afterwards he wrote out the history of a part of Iowa, published io " Annals of Iowa." In 1850 he led a company of sixty men and one hundred and twenty-five horses over the plains to California, in the wild rush for gold, when he gained the title of " General.'' In 1864, he made up a private party for adventure into Montana and Idaho, 1600 miles and 160 days; and another the next year to the same region, via the Missouri River, 3000 miles. Died 1868 - ending the career of a stirring frontier man, honored, beloved and lamented.

Revolutionary Period. - On the first Monday in June, 1773, in reply to a letter from " ye Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston," the town voted, "That the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston hereby receive the hearty thanks of this district for the vigilance, firmness and wisdom which they have discovered at all times in support of ye rights and liberties of the colony, and so heartily concur with them in all their constitutional determinations.'' March 7, 1774, a committee was chosen to draw up something in reply to "ye Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston" relative to the difliculties the Province labors under. April 4th the following resolves were reported, which being twice read and considered, were passed unanimously :

Ist. That we will, in conjunction with our Brethren in America, Risk our Fortunes & even our Lives in defence of his Majesty Kinp George the third, His Person, Crown and Dignity, and will also with j» 'same Resolution as his free-born subjects in this country, to the utmost of our Powei And Ability, Defend our Charter Rights that they may transmitted Inviolate to the Latest Posterity.

2. Retohed that every British Subject in America has by our happy constitution as well as by Nature, the sole Eight to dispose of his own Property either by himself or by his Representative.

3. Resoheil that y° net of y« British Parliament Laying a Duty on Tea Laniled in America payable here is a Tax whereby the Property of Americans is taken from them without their consent.

Therefore Hemhuil, That we will not, either by ourselves or any for or under us, b>iy or sell or use any of y East India Company Tea Imported from Groat Brittain, or any other Tea with a Duty for raising a Revenue thereon in America, which is affixed by acts of Parliament on the same. Neither will we suffer any such Tea to be made up in our Families.

liesotut'd, that all such persons as shall purchase, sell or use such Tea shall be for the future deemed unfriendly & Enemies to the happy Constitution of this Country,

August 25th Deacons James Woods and Samuel Ware were appointed a committee to meet like committees from other towns in the county, "to consider what measures they ought to come into at tliis critical, difficult day," and a Committee of Correspondence was chosen. September 2d Deacon James Woods chosen a delegate to a Provincial Congres? to be held in October; the town then chose officers for a standing miUtia. November 7th a committee of seven, chosen to inspect all tea-drinkers and post their names. January 9, 1775, the town accepted the proposal of the minute-men to serve without pay, on condition that the other members of the district provide themselves with arms and ammunition. Same date a committee chosen to receive and forward the donations to the poor of Boston, and a committee chosen to see that the Provincial and Continental resolves be strictly adhered to.

May 22, 177(3, "the Question being put whether y" Town would willingly support y' General Congress if it shall declare Independence. Passed unanimously in the affirmative."

February 17, 1777, Ephraim Woods chosen delegate to a County Congress, to obtain a more equal and just representation in the General Court for smaller towns.

February 24th the Committee of Safety, to prevent monopoly ajid oppression, fixed a uniform j.rice of all produce and merchandise and all kinds of labor. Following are a few of these prices :

" For men's labor in haying or reaping, 3 shillings per day, & the same for Carpenters ; Blacksmiths for plain shoeing, all round, 4 shillings ; with steel corkings, 5 shillings. To Cordwainers, for making good men or women's shoes Strong, 2 shillings 8 pence pr., exclusive of thread.

" Doctor's Fea for riding, 6 pence per mile & Business in proportion. Good wheat, 6 sh. per bu.; Rye, 4 sh. ; Ind. corn, 8 sh. ; Oats, 1 sh. 8 Pence ; Fresh Pork, 4 Pence lb. ; Grass-fed Beef, 2} Pence ; Stallfed do. 3J pence; N. B. Rum, 5 sh. per gall. ; Good W. I. Flip, 10 pence per mug ; Horsekeeping at Farmers, 1 sh. pr. night by hay, & 6 Pence bv grass. One meal of victuals of the best, ten pence, other victuals accordingly ; new-milk cheese, six pence per lb. ; firkin butter, 8 pence lb. ; Beans, six shillings bu. ; Potatoes, one shilling per bu. in fall, one & six pence in spring; good yarn, men's stockings, 5 shillings 4 Pence pair; mutton, four pence; veal, two pence per lb. ; Home-made flour, twenty shillings per cwt. ; Eng. Hay, 2 shillings cwt. ; hire of a horse, 2 Pence pr. mile ; maid labor in spring, 3 shillings per week. Mch. 31 a bounty of 20 pounds w.as offered soldiers who should enlist in the Continental Army for 3 years, & a com. chosen to collect evidence against all persons appearing enemical to this country. June 5, 1778, Voted that the town has no objection to articles of Confederation & perpetual Union between the United States of America. But the town refused, 54 to 4, May 19, & again May 31, 1780, to adopt the Constitution of the state of Massachusetts Bay, except on certain conditions, one of which was a provision for a Judge of Probate & Register of Deeds in each town in the county.''

The total cost to the town of the war is unknown, but the records from 1778 to '82 are replete with votes for filling quota of men and horses, paying bounties, monthly wages and furnishing clothing and provisions to soldiers and their families. A complete list of the members of the company of minutemen from New Braintree that marched to Boston April 19, 1775, may be found on the town records.

The town furnished sixty-seven men for three years, nineteen men for six months, seventeen men for nine months; thirty-eight men for three months, and fifty men for a less period of service in the Revolutionary War.

May, 1786, the town gave instructions to its Representative to the General Court, Captain Artemas Howe, setting forth the great extortion and oppression practiced by the lawyers of the Commonwealth ; their growing importance as a class in numbers, wealth and grandeur, and the danger to civil liberty thereby; the tardiness in obtaining justice in the courts and the high fees of certain court officers; that instead of the courts and juries being enlightened and assisted in searching after and doing justice in the cases that came before them by the gentlemen of the bar, they were left by them more perplexed and embarrassed ; and expressing the belief that our only hope of existence as a nation rested in the frugality, economy and industry of the people.

Shays' Rebellion. - The views embodied in these resolutions seem to have been held by the large mass of the people of the State. Many were embittered by the feeling that adequate compensation had never been made the soldiers for their sacrifice in saving the country, nor the widows and orphans of those who were killed. That many in office who had remained at home had enriched themselves at the expense of those who had gone to the war. The debtor class was large. The war had demoralized the people. The majority hoped for a remedy for many of the existing evils through the constituted authorities and the General Court, peacefully ; but a great many were in favor of resorting to force for a redress of their wrongs. Conventions were held in several counties. September 25th a committee chosen by the town recommended that for the peace of the town no representative should be sent to the General Court that year. This was the act of the minority, who had no faith in legislation to attain their ends. At ^ subsequent meeting the conservatives rallifd and voted to send its representative as usual and seek redress in a lawful way. The trouble culminated in what is known as " Shays' Rebellion." Twenty-three from New Braintree joined Captain Shays, some of them soldiers in the late war. A large body of insurgents collected at New Braintree. Their chief acts were to obstruct the courts and prevent their assembling.

Jan. 30, 1787, the town characterized the proceedings of the " Regulators," as they termed themselves, as illegal and irregular, and chose Rev. David Foster, Benjamin Joslyn and Percival Hallf Esq., a committee to confer with General Lincoln and officers, and Captain Shays and officers, for the purpose of effecting a leconciliation. February 3d, voted to petition the General Court for a general pardon of the insurgents, provided they laid down their arms and returned to their allejiiance, and issue circular letters to a number of towns in this and other counties to do the same. February 5th, met and heard the report of the conference with General Lincoln, including a letter to the town, in which he advised them " to call home, without delay, all the men then with Captain Shays belonging to the town, and not to aflbrd any aid, support or comfort to any of y insergents." When this letter was received, after being several times read and considered, such a disagreement appeared concerning the adoption of the course advised, that the meeting adjourned without action. Captain Artemas Howe was appointed major and commissioned as aid-de-camp of General Warner, August 28, 1886, in the campaign against the insurgents. The other men from New Braintree, who were in the service of the State and endured the sufferings and dangers of the night-march from Hadley to Petersham, which Minot styles " one of the most indefatigable marches ever performed in America," which resulted in the rout of the rebels, were: Sampson Whitherley, First Lieutenant ; Wyman Hoit, Second Lieutenant: Elisha Mathews, Sergeant ; John Doty, Corporal ; John Thompson, Corporal; James Woods, Corporal; Elijah Barnes, Robert Voaks, William Tidd, Percival Hall, Isaac Denni, George Whetherell, James Weston, Privates: John Stevenson, Drummer; Samuel Shaw, Sergeant ; Lemuel Kenned}-.

March 17, 1787, twenty-two took the oath of allegiance. Some of the insurgents fled from the State, and among them Capt. Francis Stone, who, if not a citizen of the town at the time, was closely connected with some of its families. Hence we find the town, May 21st, instructing its representative to use his utmost exertions for a general pardon of the insurgents, that the banished might return home. The town further instructed him that " In all free governments that idea ought ever be kept in view that the rulers and ministers of state are the honorable servants and not the haughty masters of the people ;" tlfat he should use his influence to restrict the number of lawyers in the commonwealth to a small number of approved and upright character, to dismiss the Courts of Common Pleas, sheriffs and deputy-sheriffs of the county, empower the selectmen to do the business of judge of probate and have the General Court removed from Boston.

Miscellaneous. - June, 1790, the town adopted an act to discourage unnecessary lawsuits, providing for a committee of three discreet freeholders, to whom should be submitted for settlement all demands whatsoever held by one citizen against another. The fees of the committee were two shillings each for each case. Any person refusing to submit his claim to the committee for settlement should be deemed unfriendly to the peace of the town and bad members of society, and treated by the inhabitants with contempt and neglect as to dealings and intercourse, save in the bare offices of humanity, and should have no votes for any town office for three years.

March 20, 1702, the town became security to Maj. Joseph Bowman, Elias Hall, Moses Hamilton and John Joslyn in a contract to support the entire poor of the State for ten years. They in turn agreed to collect all taxes during that time free of expense, to take all kinds of produce in payment of taxes at a generous price, and to purchase at a generous price from said town all produce needed besides for the support of said poor. They were authorized to i>rocure immediately materials for and proceed to erect suitable buildings for their accommodation. The present residence of Wm. A. Felton was one of these buildings. The town was opposed to the War of 1812.

July 2, 1812, voted to co-operate with the town of Boston in using all constitutional means to avert it. July 24th memorialized the President of the United States disapproving of the war and abhorring an alliance with France.

Previous to 1826 the support of the poor had been put up at auction to the lowest bidder. In 1833 the town i)urchased the Little farm and supported its poor thereon. In 1835 rules were adopted for the regulation of its pauper establishment.

March 20, 1843, Congregational parish organized with a membership of seventy-nine. Until then religious institutions had been supported by a town tax.

War OF Rebellion, 1861. - The first town-meeting to act upon matters relating to the War of the Rebellion was held May 7th, at which the selectmen were authorized to pay each volunteer belonging to the town five dollars per month while in service, in addition to regular pay, and four dollars per month to his wife and two dollars to each child under twelve years of age.

New Bkaintkee

August 2(ith, the bounty for three years' volunteers was raised to two hundred dollars and the bounty tor volunteers for nine months fixed at one hundred and fifty dollars, which, November 4th, was raised to two hundred dollars.

April 11, 18G4, voted a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars to volunteers for three years' service, and this bounty was continued to be paid until the end of the war. The town raised .$9000.55 for the war and seventy-eight men - four beyond her quota - two-thirds of the men subject to military duty and one-tenth of her population. One only, Lieutenant George Davis, was a commissioned ofiicer. The following are the names of the volunteers on town records :

For Nine Months.- - Rufus Boyden, Loring S. B.irlow, Frank D. Brigham, Alfred D. Barr, Michael Bowen, Benjamin Fagan, Theodore S. Pierce, Brigham Pierce, Elijah T. Randall, Albert A. Thresher, George Woods. The rest of the seventy-eight were furnished from the surplus in other towns, this town paying the bounties.

Business. - In 1791 Joseph Bowman, Jr., entered into trade in foreign goods in a small one-storied building, situated at the north end of the present line of horse-sheds. In 1793 Henry Penniman, Jr., became a partner with him and for twenty years the firm of Bowman & Penniman was a household word in many homes in towns in the west part of Worcester and east part of Hampshire Counties. Mr. Penniman retired in 1813 and was succeeded by John Wetherell. In 1824 Mr. Wetherell removed to Petersham and Amory H. Bowman assumed the management of the business, his father furnishing the capital. In 1835 he was succeeded by Benj. F. Hamilton, who remained till 1840, when Edwin A. Read (who had had charge of the currying business of Hiram Wadsworlh, at Barre Plains), in coinpauy with Samuel Wadsworth, took the place until 1850. The firm was successively Read & Wadsworth, Read & Smith and Read & Anderson. In 1850 Wm. Bowdoin commenced business and sold out in 1855 to Charles B. Frost. In 1858 Abijah Eddy succeeded Mr. Frost and remained until the spring of 1863, when a protective union store was opened with Mr. Frost as agent. In 1865 Mr. Frost bought out the stockholders and

In 1812 Elisha Mathews, in company with Deacon James Woods, induced by the high price of wooleu goods incident upon the war, purchased a water privilege and erected a mill one-fourth mile below the saw-mill built by his father, Daniel, on the same stream, and commenced the manufacture of woolen cloths. Mr. Mathews was on his way to market with his first load of cloths when peace was declared and prices dropped. Deacon Woods soon sold out his interest, and Mr. Mathews continued for some years, but at a constant pecuniary loss. The enterprise ruined him financially. In 1839 Isaac Hunter, Jr., James Hunter and T. P. Anderson commenced the manufacture of shoes under contract with Clark Bates, of South Carolina, to furnish two thousand pairs per month. In March, 1840, Anderson withdrew and David Wetherell took his place. The enterprise was a failure through the rascality and irresponsibility of the parties to whom the goods were sold. The business, which was carried on in a part of the store, closed in 1841. In 1848 a steam mill was erected by a stock company. This was sold to Joel Garfield, and then to Jos. P. Cheney, and finally to James Penniman, and burned in 1853 ; rebuilt in 1854 by a stock company and sold to Jos. M. Green, Wm. A. Mixter, Moses Pollard, Henry A. Hoyt and Hollis Tidd ; burnt in 1863. Henry A. Delano made carriages and wagons from 1820-60, and later Wm. T. Felton carried on the same kind of business.

The pursuits of the inhabitants have been almost wholly agricultural. Whitney writes of New Braintree, 1796 : " For its bigness it exceeds any other town in the county in fine grazing land, as is evinced by the annual product of the dairy & Beef." Then the product of beef far exceeded that of the dairy. An inventory of that time shows that one man was taxed for twenty-eight oxen ; several years after the same farm maintained thirty cows. The increased profits of the dairy over those of beef changed the business from fatting cattle to making cheese, j\nd the labor also from out-doors to in-doors. New Braintree cheese had acquired an enviable reputation in Boston as early as 1800, and many a dairy of cheese from other towns passed through the hands of Bowman & Penniman to be sold as New Braintree make. Previous to 1865 cheese was made in private dairies ; during that year the New Braintree Cheese Manufacturing Company w.as organized, with a capital of §4000, and erected and furnished a factory at a cost of $11,000. The greatest quantity of milk received for eight months was 3,021,000 lbs. The cheese factory in 1886 became a creamery, and was then abandoned. Making milk supplanted making cheese for Boston market. In 1888 not one dairy in town made cheese through the season, a thing that had not been before for a century.

Besides the mills already referred to, there was a grist-mill built by Solomon Mathews on the site of the present residence of Mrs. li. F. Hamilton, on the stream north of the road.

Physicians - Dr. Percival Hall was probably the first physician in town and almost the only one for thirty years. He commenced practice about 1760 ; married a daughter of Deacon Samuel Ware, 1764; removed to Boston 1793. One of his children, Betsey, born February 29, 1780, died at the age of one hundred and four years. He was a very popular man, holding many town offices, and especially in demand as chairman of committees to draw up instructions to Eepresentatives. His productions are models in their clear, concise and comprehensive statements of the points at issue, and would do credit to any statesman of to-day. Dr. John Frink practiced in 1786-87. In 1794 Dr. Benjamin Severance succeeded Dr. Hall, and continued until his death, in 1832. During that time there were usually two physicians. Dr. Thomas Fletcher, 1789-91 ; Dr. John Blair, Jr., 1793-98; Dr. Increase Ma.- thews, 1799; Dr. March, 1803; Dr. Fairfield, 1805; Dr. John Field, 1810-15 ; Dr. Luther Spaulding. 1816-20; Dr. Thomas Boutelle, 1820-24; Dr. Daniel McGregor, 1825-33; Dr. Oramel Martin, 1833-45; Dr. Julius Miner, 1847-52; Dr. A. A. Kendall, 1852- 65 ; Dr. Saxton Martin, 1857-66. Since that time there has been no resident physician.

" Dr. Martin was a Democrat in politics. When he came, that party in town numbered four ; during his stay it increased to thirty-five. He was thoroughly Democratic (as that word was used then) in town, as well as in State and national afi'airs, and believed that the ability to govern existed in the many, not the few ; accordingly, he labored in all town elections for a more equal distribution of town offices."

The only resident lawyer there has ever been was Hon. Charles Allen, who came here from Worcester after being admitted to the bar in 1818; practiced six years and then returned to Worcester.

Building. - A prominent feature of the Centre is the long row of horse-sheds. Previous to 1816 there were but three sheds to shelter the horses from heat, cold and storm on the Sabbath, owned by Eli-sba Mathews, Lieutenant Jonas Newell and Captain Abijah Bigelow. These, with the old school-house, built in 1774, that replaced the first, built in 1760, " twenty feet square with chimney in the middle,'' occupied the present site of the store. In 1816 Joseph Bowman exchanged the land on which the sheds now stand with the town for a portion of the land on which the store is, and Bowman & Wetherell erected the brick store, sixty by thirty feet and thirty feet high, at a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars. The same year a woodeu building, tweuty-seven by fortythree feet, and two storied, was built five hundred and fifty feet farther north, the lower part of which was used for a school-room and the upper for a hall. In 1865 the building was enlarged, the lower part converted into a cheese factory and the hall retained. In 1861, five school-houses were built; cost, $;5,000.

In 1837 the New Braintree Temperance House was erected by a stock company (co.st, six thousand dollars) to furnish a place of entertainment free from the sale of intoxicating liquors, and for thirty years it remained true to its name. It chauged owners twice, and was burned in 1880. Much of the stock, with a par value of one hundred dollars, sold at eight dollars.

Miscellaneous. - In 1810 the town was visited with the spotted fever, and two hundred and forty dollars paid for attendance of physicians. In 1860 pleuro-pneumonia appeared among cattle ; two whole herds were slaughtered and five hundred dollars paid for relief of the owners. The greatest loss to the town, and one which badly defaced the looks of the Centre, was by fire, in 1880 - one-third of an acre covered with buildings being burned. The cheese factory. Temperance House and Bigelow House were destroyed, and but for the timely assistance of fire companies from North and West Brookfield, the church and other buildings must have shared the same fate. Loss, fifteen thousand dollars. A new cheese factory is on site of the old one. A reward of one thousand dollars offered failed to find the incendiary.

March 7, 1832, the New Braintree Thief Detecting Society was formed, with a membership of fortyeight. It has been chiefly a social organization, having observed for the last forty years, on the first Wednesday in Junuary, nearly every anniversary of its formation by a hot turkey supper. Sometimes the attendance reaches one hundred-. For many years a characteristic feature of society was the annual temperance supper, instituted for the encouragement of the Temperance House. It was thoroughly democratic. Everybody was expected to attend and respond to a toast. It was the occasion for much badinage, wit and some eloquence.

The Free Public Library was founded in 1878 on a gift of one hundred dollars by F. W. Delano, of Boston, and was sustained for a few years by private contributions and the exertions of the Young Ladies' Literary Society. In 1884 it became the property of the town. It numbers eight hundred volumes, well selected.

The Third Regiment State Militia, including, with others, one company of militia from this town and one comjmuy of grenadiers from New Braintree and Oakham jointly, mustered every alternate year on the parade-ground granted by Henry Penniman. The commissioned colonels of the Third Regiment from New Braintree were Samuel Mixter, Louis Blackmer, Henry Penniman, Stejjheu Fay, Asa Barr, Koswell Converse and Amory H. Bowman.

In politics the Federalists, Wbigs and Republicans have in succession usually been in a majority. Notable exceptions occurred in the reign of the Knownothing party and in the Presidential election in 1884, when Blaine and Cleveland polled the same number of votes. The greater inequality was in 1803, when Gerry, the Democratic candidate for Governor, received only one vote against eighty for Strong, his opponent. There has been but little disposition for frequent changes in office. Men once chosen to office, and proving themselves capable and faithful therein, have received the continued support of the people.

In 17% Whitney wrote of the people of New Braintree, " They have the reputation of being good husbandmen, frugal and industrious, and they live much independent." This frugality and industry brought most of them a competence and many wealth. But this wealth was held in no miserly spirit. They could beautify their own homes and the Lord's house, erect and sustain a public house of entertainment in the interests of temperance, give liberally to promote education at home and abroad, and in support of all benevolent objects. They were liberal in appropriations for musical education. The " independent " spirit referred to increased with the increase of wealth and intelligence. There was a just pride in the relative position the town held among other towns and in the character of its men.

IxDiviDUALS. - Of the early settlers, Capt. Eleazer Warner was already a veteran soldier. He was born in 1686, and early entered the military service of his country during the French and Indian Wars. At twenty-seven, was an attendant of a commission sent by Governor Dudley to Canada to redeem prisoners in the hands of the French ; is on record, at forty, as teacher of the first school taught in Brookfield. In 1822 he married Prudence, sister of Comfort Barnes, who built the first house on Brookfield soil, that afterward became New Braintree, and located on the south bank of Sucker Brook, opposite to the house of .Tonathan Nye ; removed 1730 to the place known afterwards as the " Perez Cobb " place, near the North Cemetery, a portion of which house he built. In the " History of Hardwick" he is referred to as probably the first settler in Hardwick, and his son, Wareham, as the first white child born on New Braintree soil ; his nephew, Joseph Barnes, was the second. His farm included a part of the Indian fort before referred to.

Three brothers, active in the town's early history, were David, James and Jonathan Woods, who came from Marlboro' respectively in 1744, 1746 and 1752. David was town clerk (1750-78) and assessor ; Jonathan, second representative to General Court ; James, moderator, treasurer, delegate to Provincial Congress and first representative to General Court. Jacob Pepper was at least fifty times moderator of townmeetings. John Barr, who came from Ireland about 1730, became the owner of five hundred acres of land in the southwestern part of the town, including a large part of present School District No. 5. Cornelius Cannon came from Dartmouth in 1737, and settled on present residence of Mr. Graves. John Peacock, a native of Ireland, was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and his son, John, Jr., an adjutant in Col. Timothy Ruggles' regiment, 1757. Oliver Cobleigh was also a soldier in that war. The Abbots, Barneses, Gilberts and Cannons were all connected by marriage, as well as the Peppers, Woods and Barrs. Abraham Hunter, the father of all the Hunters except Robert, came in 1753, having purchased a large tract of land in the east part of Braintree grant, which he divided among his sons and daughters. Daniel Matthews, who erected the saw-mill in 1749 at Webb's Pond, married Huldah, sister of Gen. Rufus Putnam. To him the general was apprenticed at fifteen years of age. Mr. Matthews was a member of Committee of Correspondence and an inspector of tea-drinkers, 1774. Wm. Tufts came from Brookfield in 1758, purchased land of Richard Faxon, an original proprietor, and was for many years a member of the School Committee.

Joseph Bowman came from Lexington about 1765. He was an ensign of a company of fifty men from this town who marched to Boston on the report of the attack upon the company at Lexington on the 19th of April, 1775. He soon after joined the army, and commanded a battalion at the battle of Bennington and other battles, which resulted in the capture of Burgoyne. He was not only a leading man in New Braintree, but his family, uniting the blood of the Bowmans and Munroes of Lexington, became one of the most influential in this part of Worcester County. His daughters intermarried with the Delanos, Woods, Matthews, Fields, Hoyts, &c., in the town. His son, Hon. Joseph Boivman, born September 11, 1771, entered mercantile business in his minority in New Br lintree without capital or expectation of any. His marriage with the sister of his partner, Col. Henry Penniman, materially aided him, but he was mainly indebted for his success to his untiring energy, industry and perseverance, his sagacity, judgment and unyielding integrity. He remained in trade thirty-five years, and accumulated a large fortune. He became the leading merchant in the region, and his store the principal place of resort for surrounding towns. For twenty-one years he was president of the Hampshire Manufacturers' Bank at Ware. In politics a Whig, but always reserving the right of individual action, independent of party. Office sought him, not he the office. He was elected representative to the General Court in 1806 and thirteen times thereafter ; Senator, 1828-29 ; member of Governor Lincoln's Council in 1832-34. He was a liberal supporter of religious and educational institutions. In private life most agreeable, hospitable, courteous and eventempered. Few retain the confidence of the public as long as he. He died January 30, 1852.

Henry Penniman came from Mendon, 1785, and was for many years the largest landholder in value, if not in acreage. His gifts to the town were, in 1795, six acres of land for a training-field (value, $333.33), east of Centre, and $300 for a new bell in 1800. His son, Colonel Henry Penniman, and Joseph Bowman gave a new town clock in 1802; was partner in trade with Mr. Bowman 1793-1813; also gave an organ for the church, and his family supplied it with players for more than thirty years, one daughter commencing at nine years of age. Colonel Penniman was a trustee and a liberal donor to the funds of Amherst College; was much in town affairs and twice Representative, but declined more honors.

Lieutenant Samuel Mister came from Brookfield, 1775, and reared a large family, who became connected by marriage with the Tidds, Popes and Greens. His son, Honorable Samuel Mister, was in nearly every town office, and settled estates, etc. ; Representative, 1818-19; Senator, 1833-35; Councillor, 1837-38. A man of great native sagacity and influence.

The three brothers Tidd came from Lesington (Ebenezer and Joseph, 1768), the former receiving by his father a large portion of the farm formerly occupied by Hollia Tidd, the latter the farm now occupied by Mr. Mahan. Benjamin came in 1790, and located where Frank Roch now lives. He was a member of the company under Parker that took part in the struggle at Lexington, April 19th, at Cambridge, June 17th, and served Dorchester the following year. Ebenezer, as well as his sou Hollis, were prominent men ; the latter was an aid to General Crawford, School Committee over thirty years ; Representative, and filled other offices. The limited space allotted to New Braintree in this history of the county forbids mention, as they deserve, of many others equally prominent and influential, such as Captain Benjamin Joslyn, Gideon and Philip Delano (the latter a model town clerk for thirty-four years), Elisha Mathews, Colonel Roswell Converse (who, in compliance with Dr. Fiske's wish, bought and fitted a parsonage, running the risk of returns for the investment), Josiah Gleason, Amasa Bigelovv, James Bowdoin and scores of others (not omitting the women), some of whose names are on record and more not, all of whom contributed equally, by private virtues as well as public services, to make the town in a peculiar sense a representative New England town.

f John Hunter. 1 Mary Hunter. r Hon. Washington Tufts, who, a life- I long Democrat, was sent, 1875, to , the State Senate from a Republican

Location. - So far as known, the original settlers located themselves as follows, the second column indicating present occupants of their farms, with due allowance for additions and subtractions incidental to a century and a half:

The cemetery in District No. 3 was given, in 1756, to the town by Edward Blair. For many facts and dates the writer is indebted to Mr. George D. Woods; for some facts relative to that portion of ihe town formerly in Haidwick, to the " History of Hardwick" to C. B. Tillingbast, acting State librarian, for his uniform courtesy and assistance in furnishing access to original documents.