Piety Corner, Massachusetts

In July, 1738, the selectmen appointed two of their number to secure a schoolmaster, and in August they reported that they had agreed with Mr. Timothy Harrington to fill that position, during the ensuing quarter, for £^0. To Mr. Timothy Harrington, then, belongs the honor of having been the first ])erson to serve the town of Waltham in the capacity of schoolmaster. The school term commenced on the l^th of July. In September the town increased the salary of their pastor, appropriated £80 for educational purposes, aiid £;J5 for the support of the poor. In November (£4th) the town was divided into three squadrons; the bounds of the first being from the meeting-house by Mr. Hammond's (on what is now Beaver Street) to the town's bounds, and all north to David Mead's (Piske's) Pond ; of the second, from the meetinghouse by the town-way, by Mr. John Child's, including all north ; the third including the remainder of the town. The school was to be kept an equal time in each squadron, provided a majority of the voters of each division agreed upon a place and furnished it at their own cost, and also furnished an acceptable place for the schoolmaster to board at. This was called, in the records of the day, a " movable school." The school-house proper was located at " Piety Corner."

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

Tlie following named individuals contributed the sums annexed to hire men to serve in the army : William Brown, AVilliam Wellington, Eleazer Bradshaw, Jonas Child, Isaac Peirce, Silas Stearns, Isaac Stearns, Jr., Joshua Stearns, Samuel Fisk, and Abner Sanderson, £10 each; William Fisk, Isaac Child, Jr., and William Coolidge, Jr., £8 each; Joseph Wellington, £7; Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, Samuel Peirce, Jonas Dix, Esq., Jonas Smith, Moses Mead, Jonas Viles, Captain William Coohdge, Uriah Cutting, David Townsend, John Durant, Peter Ball, Benjamin Green, and Elijah Lawrence, £6 each; George Lawrence, Samuel Dix, Joel Dix, Josiah Hastings, Josiah Whitney, Abraham Bemis, Tiiomas Fisk, Jonathan Dix, Ephraim Peirce, Jonathan Sanderson, ."Jd, and Thomas Livermore, £5 each; Captahi John Clark, Jonathan Fisk, Josiah Sanderson, Abijah Livermore, Peter Warren, and Elisha Cutler, £ 4 each ; Abraham Bemis, Jr., Deacon Jonathan Sanderson, and Daniel Child, £3 each; Jonas Brown, Amos Brown, William Bridge, Jonas Dix, Jr., and Daniel Taylor, £:J each; and Phineas Lawrence, £1. Lieutenant Isaac Bemis, Jonas Lawrence, and Jacob Mead went to Ehode Island ; they should have £6 each. Daniel Stearns, Abraham Bemis, Jr., Ephraim Peirce, Jr., Thaddeus Bemis, and Thaddeus Goodwin were drafted to go to Bennington, and either went or sent some one ; for tiieir service they should have £30 Is. l\d. each, exclusive of what they received. The sums ainiexed to the following names were paid " at that time to Encourage those that turned out and went ": Deacon Elijah Livermore, Leonard Wilhams, Samuel Gale, and Isaac Parkhurst, £30 each; Ensign Josiah Bemis, £10 ; Phineas Lawrence and Joshua Mead, £ 6 ; Jonas Dix, Esq., Jonas Dix., Jr., Joel Dix, Jonathan Stearns, Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, William Bridge, Abraham Bemis, Jacob Bemis, Captain John Clark, Silas Stearns, Daniel Stearns, Jonathan Sanderson, 3d., Josiah Hastings, Abijah Livermore, Thomas Livermore, John Lawrence, Moses Mead, and Joshua Stearns, £5 each; Jacob Bigelow, Samuel Peirce, John Sanderson, Peter Edes, Jonathan Fisk, Amos Peirce, Jonas Smith, and Josiah Sanderson, £4 each; David Smith, Nathan Viles, William Fisk, Zachariah Smith, Jonas Viles, and Isaac Peirce, £3 each; and Peter Warren, Lieutenant Daniel Child, Elisha Livermore, Jr., and Nathan Sanderson, ££ eacli ; which should be allowed. William Peirce aiul Moses Lawrence^ served at Dorchester Hills three months; they should have £ 10 each. Lieutenant Samuel Stearns, Samuel Stearns, Jr., Abijah Bigelow, Amos Harrington, Abijah Fisk, Reuben Bemis, George Lawrence, and Elisha Stearns went in November, 1777, " to guard the troops of Convention," serving until April, 1778 ; they should receive £30 each. Captain Abraham Peirce, William Coolidge, Jr., Benjamin Harrington, Jr., John Bright, Amos Fisk, ]\Ioses Warren, John Perry, Thomas Hoppens, and Bezaleel Flagg,who went in January last to perform the same duty, should be allowed £16 each; and Jonas Child, Zachariah Smith, Nathan Sanderson, Elisha Livermore, Jr., Joshua Stearns, Daniel Warren, John Lawrence, Isaac Child, Jr., Isaac Peirce, Joseph Brown, and Josiah Hastings, Jr., for similar service should receive £ 12 6«., exclusive of what they have had and are to receive. Lieutenant Isaac Hagar, John Gleason, Samuel Bigelow, Eliphalet Warren, Alpheus Gale, Jonathan Hagar, Eli Jones, Moses Mead, Jr., Josiah Leavitt, Jonathan Sanderson, 3d, Amos Peirce, Jedediah White, Charles Cutter, and Jacob Bemis went to the Boston and Eoxbury lines last spring, for which they are entitled to £6 each. The following named persons paid the sums annexed to their names last spring " to fill the Continental Battalions and to secure the passes of the North River," namely ; Caplain William Coolidge, John Dix, Jacob Bigelow, Ensign Samuel Harrington, Benjamin Harrington, Cornet Nathaniel Bridge, Eleazer Bradshaw, Jonas Dix, Esq., Elisha Livermore, Jonas Smith, and David Smith, £ 20 each ; William Hagar, Josiah Mixer, Matthias Collins, Mr. Peirpont, and Deacon Elijah Livermore, £15 each; Captain Isaac Gleason, £12 5*.; Elisha Cutler and Abner Sanderson, £ 1 1 each ; Daniel Taylor, Samuel Dix, Nathaniel Livermore, Uriah Cutting, David Townsend, John Durant, Peter Ball, Ca])tain Abraham Peirce, John Gleason, Bezaleel Flagg, Daniel Cutting, Ephraim HanuBond, Benjamin Stratton, Benjamin Green, Elijah Lawrence, Hy. Kimball, Zachariah Weston, Ebenezer Brown, Jonas Brown, Abraham Bemis, Captain John Clark, Lieutenant Daniel Child, Isaac Child, Jonas Dix, Jr., William Wellington, Jonathan Dix, Thomas Fisk, Jonathan Fisk, William Fisk, Samuel Fisk, Oliver Haggett, Josiah Hastings, Thomas Hammond, Abijah Livermore, Phineas Lawrence, Joshua Mead, Moses Mead, Jonathan Sanderson, Jr., John Sanderson, Josiah Sandei-son, and Nathan Viles, £ 10 each ; Benjamin Peirce, £9 ; and Peter Warren £6; and these sums should be allowed them. William Adams, William Bridge,

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

It is amusing at this present period to watch the conservatism of the voters of the olden time in regard to those innovations for increased comfort which we have come to look upon as necessi- ties. The subject of a bell for the meeting-house agitated the public mind of Wiiltluim for several years, but finally the revolutionists triumphed, and in 1815 an appropriation was voted to have one. Again, in 1814. it was voted not to have any bliuds put upon the uieeting-house, nor " to pay for the one Mr. Ripley put on " ; however, the succeeding year the town voted to pay for the " pulpit blind." In ISIS the stove came in as a disturbing element. It would appear by the record that some person or persons, not having the traufpiillity and sanctity of the church before their minds, had placed a stove in the meeting-house, and asked the town to sanction an act already committed. That was enough. The town in its dignity rose equal to the occasion, and voted, first, not to purchase the stove in the meeting-house, and, second, to order it out of the meeting-house. A spirit of concession, however, prevailed ; the last vote was reconsidered, and at the next meeting (in April) the sovereigns voted to accept the stove as a present from the ladies of "Waltham, said stove to remain town property. Tlie threatened revolution was averted by female diplomacy.

Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts : Containing Carefully Prepared Histories of Every City and Town in the County, published 1880.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Waltham City - it names this place 6 more 6 times.