Barre Town (part 1 of 2)

Barre Town

they ordered that the lot for the minister should consist of fifty acres conveniently near to the meetinghouse. A division of the land was made, and the place assigned for the meeting-house was near the dwelling now owned by Mr. D. B. Olin. It was the intention of the proprietors that the meeting-house should be built at as early a day as possible, and, in 1739 a plot of the Northwest Quarter was returned by Abner Lee, a surveyor, and June 6th accepted and placed on record. A meeting of the proprietors was called, to be held at the Liglit-House Tavern, in King Street, Boston, on the 9th day of June, 1742, the warrant being dated May 4th. After electing a moderator, the first matter under consideration was " to agree with some suitable person to prepare and raise the frame of a meeting-house within the Northwest Quarter, of such dimensions as the proprietors shall determine," and, secondly, "to give some encouragement for obtaining occasional preaching."

The prominent step taken towards erecting the meeting-house at this session was that Col. Samuel Willard was desired to purchase of the heirs of Robert Blood a portion of their farm on reasonable terms, in behalf of the proprietors, that they might erect a saw-mill. (This land lies on Prince River and is a part of the farm now owned by Nelson Loring.) This meeting was adjourned to August 25th, when they met and agreed with Jonas Clarice to build a sawmill on this land. At an adjourned meeting held on the first Wednesday of June, 1743, sixteen pounds, old tenor, was voted to be allowed and paid John Caldwell to defray the charge of a minister's preaching to the inhabitants of the Northwest Quarter one month the preceding winter. This is the first intimation that we have of religious services being held here; we have no record in what part they were held, but as John Caldwell lived some distance easterly from what is now the centre of the town, and a number of the other settlers were in his immediate vicinity, it is highly probable that the preaching was at his house, about two miles from what is now the centre of the town.

September 1, 1743, it was voted that, as some of the settlers had represented the great difficulty they labored under by reason of their distance from all places of public worship, and desired the assistance of the proprietors towards procuring preaching among themselves, eighty pounds, old tenor, be allowed them for obtaining preaching for one year, next coming, and this amount should be paid to such a committee as the settlers miglitchoose ; December 12, 1744, fortyeight pounds was allowed and paid to the inhabitants that they might have a minister for twelve weeks; the two subsequent years sixty pounds were appropriated each year for the same purpose; in .Tune, 1748, one hundred pounds was allowed ; June 7, 1750, it was voted that twelve pounds, old tenor, be allowed and paid to John Caldwell, one of a committee for erecting a meeting-house in the Northwesterly District of Rutland, and to be by him applied towards the charge of erecting the same. In 1744, seventy pounds, old tenor, had been appropriated, and it was voted that Samuel Willard should build a saw-mill in the Northwest Quarter, and that he keep it iu repair for fifteen years and furnish boards to build a meeting-house and house for the minister at three pounds, old tenor, per thousand feet, and that individuals should pay four pounds per thousand feet.

Here, then, were the forceful steps taken for the erection of a meeting-house, and for regular, in place of occasional, worship ; funds were provided for with which to purchase tlie boards, the labor and timber being presumed to follow as needed ; the determination of the inhabitants soon became manifest to erect the building at the earliest practicable moment.

From 1750, when the vote was passed to allow John Caldwell funds for building tlie house, we can see that due haste was made in prosecuting the work; notwithstanding all the difficulties they labored under, three years later the building was occupied for worship, and July 29, 1753, a church was organized, and the following October Rev. Thomas Frink was installed as pastor of " the Congregational Church and Society in Rutland District."

In those days the parish was bounded by the same geographical lines as was the town or district, and, while the church and society were at liberty to establish their rules and choose their officers, the district or town supported the minister and paid the necessary incidental or contingent charges that pertained to the care and repairs of the house, raising the funds therefor by a tax on the property and polls of all the people.

Although the meeting-house was used as a place of worship, it was not a completed building, merely sufficient work having been done to permit the people to assemble there for worship. It was evidently expected that the district would increase in population ; and it did increase, and as hiore seats or pews became necessary, additional pews were placed iu the gallery ; these places for pews and privileges of building them were generally sold to the highest bidder. In 17()5 several spots were sold, and it was" specified that the size of the pews to be made should be " 6 ft. wide, east and west, and 7 ft. long, north and south," and the floor of the pews should be a few inches above the floor of the gallery. The meeting-house w as used, also, for municipal purposes, all the town-meetings being held there. This house was not built on the lot originally assigned for it in the proprietor's plan, but was located nearly opposite, where our post-office now is. We find no definite reason for this change, but attribute it to the fact that here the ground was nearer a level, and that this location was more central, the larger part of the inhabitants living in the eastern and southerly por- tions of the district, where there were better roads, while in the westerly part the residents were less in numbers, and no roads had been constructed.

Mr. Frink was a native of Massachusetts and in the fiftieth year of his age; a man of vigorous intellect and strong opinions, both theological and otherwise, and, in addition to his imperious will, a man of great irritability. His annual salary was £53 8s. GcL, the pound being equivalent to three and one-third dollars of the present currency ; this salary was not always paid when due, at times the arrearages extending over a period of several years, but after 1763 and until his dismissal it was paid him regularly. His arrogance and infirmity of temper unfitted him for hi< sacred duties, being productive of dissensions of great bitterness, and these became so intense that a mutual council was called to decide where the fault lay in the unhappy controversy which bad arisen, and to advis-e as to the future course to be pursued. This council was an able one, consisting of well-known pastors and lay delegates fri.m the most important churches of the province, coming here from Springfield, Amherst, Watertown and Boston. It was in session six days, investigating the difficulties.

The task was a perplexing one ; the determined spirit of the people on the one hand and the equally strong course of the minister on the other had produced such a bitterness of feeling that only a calm and searching investigation could allay the excitement.

June 18, 1766, the council reported its findings, which were signed by all the members. It was a lengthy document and on nearly every point sustained the complaints of the people. It found that Mr. Frink had acted in a very arbitrary manner towards members of the church, commanding some to abstain from the communion for what he termed their perverseness, speaking of them, both publicly and privately, in hard, abusive and scurrilous language; that he had interfered in the private and domestic concerns of others; that he had claimed and had exercised the power to summarily adjourn a- church-meeting contrary to the wishes of those present; that he had denied the right and privilege of certain members either to speak or to vote in these meetings; that he had 'defamed many of the other regular ministers of the county ; and that his example had engendered pride and wrath. In view of these and other findings, the council recommended " that the pastoral relation between the Rev. Mr. Frink and the Church in Rutland District should be dissolved."

On the part of the people another step was necessary. A town-meeting was held July 16th to see whether the district would acquiesce with and accept the "result" of the council. The meeting was a stormy one. John Caldwell was the moderator, and at his request the meeting was adjourned for one hour, and the people were requested not to leave the house; private consultation was desired, and it was deemed the part of wisdom to devise some plan that would allay the excitement and anger everywhere visible, and endeavor to obtain a better outcome of their deliberations than now seemed possible. After again coming to order, the district finally voted to accept the findings and to comply with the advice of the council that the pastoral relation should be dissolved.

This vote was passed by a large majority ; in the district records is the following entry: "N. B. Some people said the meeting-house was so full of people that they desired the moderator would draw the people, that were voters, out of the meeting-house into a ring abroad, which was immediately done; and it was openly declared and desi/ed by the moderator that there might be two rings of the people drawn up, and if there were any in favor of Mr. Frink, that they would draw into a ring at the westerly end of the house, and all that were for voting Mr. Frink's dismission to make a ring towards the easterly end of said house." The record further states that the people went almost unanimously into the ring at the east end.

Mr. Frink was not disposed to accept this finding of the council and its endorsement by the people; there were a few who, in the main, approved of his course.

Dr. Thompson, in his semi-centennial sermon, recalls the story that the next Sabbath Mr. Frink attempted to enter the pulpit, but was prevented by John Caldwell, who took him by his coat-collar and led him to the door of the house.

Mr. Frink preached a short time to his partisans here, and afterwards was an attendant at the church in Petersham, but soon returned to Rutland, where he died in the seventy-third year of his age. He brought an action against the district which was decided against him in the Court of General Sessions in November, 1767. The following April he brought another for trespass, and again the district was triumphant, but Mr. Frink entered an appeal. The decision of the Superior Court of Judicature was adverse to him, and he now agreed that henceforth there should be a bar to all further legal proceedings.

Immediate steps were taken to secure regular preaching again. In September, 1766, eighty pounds was appropriated for defraying the charges of preaching, and a committee was chosen to supply the pulpit. A pastor was soon found in the person of Rev. Josiah Dana ; in his few sermons that he had delivered here the people recognized his worth and had become attached to him, and in April, 1767, the church gave him a call to settle over it; the district almost unanimously ratified the action of the church, and he accepted the call tlie following July. In his letter of acceptance, stating that he felt that the people would desire him to be as free from secular care as possible, he " must beg leave to desire, expect and depend upon being provided yearly with a suificient quantity of fire-wood, fit for use, at the place of my abode, if Providence should put me into a family state." The sum of £66 13«. 4rf., lawful money, was voted as his annual salary, together with a very liberal sum to defray the expenses of his settlement, but his firewood at the expense of the district was refused. He was installed the first Wednesday of the following October, his salary dating from the 9th day of July previous, that being the date of his acceptance of the call.

In the troublesome times of the Revolution Mr. Dana found his salary inadequate to his support ; he asked for an increase of compensation, and ao;ain, that his firewood might be furnished him. These requests were passed over in town-meetings on several occasions, and the feeling spread that it would be advisable to dissolve the p.astoral relation. After a time this feeling subsided, and his salary was increased and firewood furnished, and subsequently, partly on account of the depreciation in the value of the currency, and the increasing wants of his large family, his compensation was made still larger. He continued aa pastor of the church for thirty-four years, or until his death, in 1801. He is remembered by persons still living here, and they speak of him as a benevolent and kind-hearted man, dignified, yet attractive and pleasant to the young, and one who had the respect of the whole community. His remains were interred in the burial-ground near his residence. During his pastorate his dwelling-house was destroyed by fire ; it w.as soon rebuilt, partly with funds raised by subscription, and the balance by a tax laid upon the town. The town voted to have published three hundred copies of the sermon which was preached at his funeral, this being delivered by Rev. Ephraim Ward, his classmate in college. Mr. Ward says of him, " He was possessed of natural firmness of mind, of a sprightly imagination, and an easy and happy elocution ; his utterance was solemn and manly, which added dignity to his address, and his preaching was serious, instructive and practical.''

In 1783, on a petition of a number of the inhabitants a meeting was held to see if the town would enlarge the meeting-house or build a new one. A committee was appointed to investigate the question; they reported that it was advisable to build a new house, but as the news of a treaty of peace being made had spread abroad, they recommended a postponement of the subject until another meeting, as then the cessation of war would "make a very considerable alteration in the circumstances of men and things."

In April, 1785, the matter was again brought before the town, when it was voted to erect a new house ; a committee of seven men was chosen to draw a plan of the proposed building, which they did, and their report accompanying the plan was accepted. The dimensions of the house were to be sixty-eight by fifty-four feet, which size was adopted, and it was also voted to increase the size of the grounds, which were now about one and one-half acres in extent ; more land was purchased and the area was now about two and one-fourth acres. Measures were adopted towards commencing work on the new edifice. The town voted to sell the pews in the contemplated building, and if suflicient funds were not procured from their sale, a tax for the balance of the money needed for construction should be levied upon the town. Eightysix pews were sold for £1184 6s., the conditions being that each purchaser should give his note for the amount he had promised to pay for the pew, of which a third should be payable in building materials on demand, a third in cash at the time of "raising the house," and the remainder three months afterwards; and any person who should not fulfil his agreement should forfeit and pay fifteen per cent, of his bid to the town and the ownership of the pew should revert to the committee. The house was to be built in the Ionic and Doric order of architecture. The report of the committee not being satisfactory as to the price of the material, the number was increased and the estimates revised. A schedule of sizes and prices of each piece of timber and lumber, of stone and of lime was made, and this report was accepted. Some of the materials for the building bad been delivered on the ground ; but the process of construction was delayed, some of the purchasers of the pews being unable to fulfill their agreements ; in consequence there was a postponement of the work, "the great scarcity of cash, and the load of debts, both public and private," making this course indispensable.

But the people felt that a new house was a necessity and further efforts were made towards its construction. Success soon crowned their endeavors, and in October, 1790, the edifice was so far completed that the town voted to worship in the house from and after the first Sunday in November. After collecting the sums, so far as possible, for which the pews were sold and from the sale of the old house, a debt of about ten pounds stood against the committee, the cost of the house having been £1201 Is. Qd.

It was desirable that every outstanding claim should be settled before occupying the house, and strenuous efforts were made for this purpose, but it was nearly two years before they succeeded in raising the required sum.

The people had a justifiable pride in their new edifice, and, for those times, it was an imposing building ; it was located on the Common, where now is the North Park, a part of the building extending beyond the south limits ; from its height and style of architecture it attracted much attention. Whitney says of it, in 1793, in his " History of Worcester County," that it was the largest meeting-house in the county ; he gives its dimensions as fifty-six by seventy-four feet.

bering in population upwards of sixteen hundred, the minister respected and beloved, and his relations with the people harmonious. The church and town acted in unison, the town willingly supplying the pulpit during any temporary sickness of the pastor.

After the death of Mr. Dana, in 1801, the church was without a regular pastor for upwards of two years. During this time several ministers had been called to preach as candidates for the vacancy. November 28, 1803, the town voted unanimously to unite with the church and invite Rev. James Thompson to the pastoral charge, and a committee of seven members was appointed to wait upon him and inform him of the proceedings of the town and see if there was a prospect of his settling here in the ministry. December 2d this committee reported that there was a probability of Mr. Thompson settling here if agreeable offer.s should be made. The town at once voted five hundred dollars as an annual salary so long as he should continue to be their minister, and four hundred dollars for a settlement. The records state that "Mr. Thompson came into the meeting and declared his acceptance cheerfully." A committee of five was chosen to provide for his installation, and this took place January 11, 1804.

The church was pleased with its new pastor; he was young, not yet twenty-four years of age, talented, social, yet dignified, and a favorite with the young as well as with the older part of his charge. He took an active part in the various plans and schemes for improving the society of the town and for its welfare in every regard, and he not only participated in these movements, but of many of them he was the originator and leader. He was a member of the School Committee for forty years, assuming most of the burdens himself, serving most of the time without compensation, and laying down the burden only on account of the increasing cares and troubles incident to old age. As a preacher he was favorably known far beyond the limits of his own parish, and an installation of a minister in any other town for miles around was hardly thought complete without his participation. He was a man of imposing presence, yet easy of approach, a good and fluent speaker, not one who dwelt upon abstract subjects, but one whowould hold the attention of his audience and bring them into sympathy with himself; his sermons never seemed to weary his hearers, nor did they become weary of him.

Although a great reader and an original writer, it may be a question whether he was a deep thinker, but he was considered the best preacher in Worcester County. In 1813 he was afflicted with a stroke of paralysis, which, to some extent, affected his efforts of after-years, but his natural vigor and strong will-power led him on to a long and useful career. The impress of his labors in the community was great, and, to-day, although nearly forty years have elapsed since his death, he is still spoken of by the older part of our people with feelings of deep respect and love.

After preaching here for more than forty years, June 9, 1845, keenly noticing the effects of his early affliction and the encroachments of age, he desired the parish to release him from the active duties of pastor, in consideration of which he offered to relinquish his salary. The parish complied with his request, and the next January Rev. Henry F. Bond was installed as his colleague. Mr. Thompson continued as the senior pastor until his death, May 14, 1854. January 11th of that year he delivered a discourse at the end of a ministry of fifty years among our people to a house filled to overflowing, and the heartiest testimony as to his worth and influence were made manifest. Dr. Thompson was a graduate of Brown University and from his Alma Mater received the degree of Doctor of Divinity.

Early in the century the parish desired to make its meeting-house still more attractive, and in 1806 the town appropriated a sum of money to build a handsome tower and cupola, provided individuals would give sufhcient money for the purchase of a bell and clock; this money was soon raised by subscription, and, with the thousand dollars in the town treasury, the work was entered upon with much spirit and enthusiasm; this addition to the house was soon completed, but the cost was greater than had been anticipated, being more than the original edifice had cost; in September, 1807, one thousand dollars additional was appropriated to pay the expense.

From this time until 1812 the usual order of afl'airs prevailed. Under the pastorate of Dr. Thompson the church was prosperous and the number of members and attendants had increased. Nearly all the people had been united in one parish, holding to the prevailing theological (Congregational) belief of the day. In the east part of the town a few of the more prominent men had banded together to uphold and promote the Baptist scheme, and a number withdrew from the church here to unite with those of the eastern section ; in the south part, in 1820, a few had organized and formed aUniversalist society, attracting to themselves other attendants of the original church. One reason assigned by those of the Baptist persuasion for their withdrawal was the excessive taxes that were assessed for the ministerial support. As at this time the town was legally a whole and united parish, and all were liable to be assessed for the support of the one church, their method of withdrawal was somewhat unique. A committee of the church which they desired to attend certified to the town clerk this fact, the usuil form of certificate being as follows : " We certify that A. B. of the town of Barre is a member of the religious society of the town of Barre called Baptist (or Universalist, as the case might be) and doth associate with them in public worship." This, signed by the church committee and entered upon the town records, was presumed and tacitly acknowledged as a release from their obligations in aiding to support and maintain the original church.

With other forms of belief, and with a more liberal as well as with a closer construction of the doctrines set forth, bitter controversies became prevalent. The church in the centre of the town adopted the liberal scheme, but many refused to adhere to this party, and, as was to be foreseen, could not act in harmony with them. They withdrew, and Augu-it 15, 1827, were organized by an ecclesiastical council, called for that purpose, as the Evangelical Congregational Chuich in Barre. Aside from the friction of a separation, harmony between these two organizations was somewhat interrupted, but the discords were afterwards allayed and a friendly rivalry sprang up between them.

In continuing the history of the original parish, or the First Parish in Barre, as it became to be called, as early as 1818, notwithstanding the withdrawal of a number of its members at different times, and more especially those in 1827 who had formed the Evangelical Church, and of the secession of others from 1834 to 1841, the parish prospered. In 1827 a number of the inhabitants who attended its services petitioned that, as the sutferings of the people who attended public worship in the parish during the cold season of the year were very great, the parish should procure a stove, or stoves, with sufficient pipe to warm the meeting-house. This was a decided innovation, but the matter was pressed, and in November it was finally decided to raise one hundred and fifty dollars to defray the expense of stoves and pipe and ground for their location, and a committee of three was chosen to superintend the business of placing them in the house ; this was soon done, and from the year 1827 we may date the introduction of stoves into the churches of the country towns ; these may have been introduced in some other towns at an earlier date, but none of the adjoining ones preceded Barre in this respect.

In 1848-49, the meeting-house having become somewhat antiquated, and being located in a place deemed worthy of improvement, such as enlarging and beautifying the Common, a new church building was erected a short distance northerly of the old one. It is of Gothic order of architecture, neat and attractive, and with a seating capacity of about five hundred. In its tower still runs the public clock. The old church was sold to private individuals and transformed into a building for offices and shops ; from its magnitude, its pillars and general appearance it received the name of the Colonnade, it having been moved from its original site, where it continued to be an ornament to the town until its destruction by fire in 1862. A large brick structure was erected in its place, this being occupied to-day by the National and Savings Banks, store, printing-office, &c.

The various pastors of this society since its organization have been Rev. Thomas Frink, from October, 1753, to June 18, 1766 ; Kev. Josiah Dana, October 7, 1767, to October 1, 1801; Rev. James Thompson, January 11, 1804, to May 14, 1854 ; Rev. Henry F.

The membership of this church is by many considered coextensive with the members or families of the parish. It draws its worshippers from the remote parts of the town as well as from the immediate vicinity of the church edifice. The membership of its Sunday-school is about one hundred.

The Evangelical Congregational Church at the time of its organization, in 1827, consisted of thirty-two members who had withdrawn from the First Parish, then under the charge of Rev. Dr. Thompson, who had adopted the Unitarian doctrine. The Articles of Faith agreed upon were moderately Calvinistic, containing but little more than the doctrines generally assented to by the various evangelical denominations. During the sixty years of its history the church has had the following pastors : Rev. John Storrs, January 14, 1829, to April 24, 1832 ; Rev. Moses Grosvenor, November 13, 1832, to May 4, 1834 ; Rev. .Tohn F. Stone, October 26, 1834, to November 17, 1836 ; Rev. Samuel A. Fay, May 10, 1837, to July 1, 1840; Rev. Erasmus D. Moore, July 1, 1840 to October 19, 1842; Rev. Amos Bullard. October 26, 1843, until his death, August 21, 1850; Rev. C. M. Nickels, May 7, 1851, to June 17, 1856; Rev. George Denham, December 3, 1856, to May 2, 1860 ; Rev. Divid Peck, April 16, 1861, to Nov. 19, 1867; Rev. Edwin Smith, October 29, 1868, to April 24, 1879, and Rev. Joseph F. Gaylord, the present pastor, who was installed September 18, 1879.

This church has always taken a decided stand against intemperance, having, as early as 1830, declared that it would not receive to its communion any who used ardent spirits except for medicine. In 1837 it adopted a series of rules, among which is the following:

" Those who become members of this church are required not to traffic in ardent spirits, or use it as a drink, and it shall be the duty of the standing committee to inform all persons offering themselves for our communion of this rule, and to obtain from them a pledge of its observance ; and whenever any person is proposed it shall be understood that he stands thus pledged to the committee and the church."

In the conflict with slavery the church also took a strong position, declaring, in 1842, " that we cannot hereafter receive to our pulpit or communion any minister or layman who holds his fellow-men in slavery, and who encourages and upholds those who do." The church has had two church edifices, one known as the brick meeting-house, in the west part of the village, which was erected in 1828, and the other, its present place of worship, built in 1848-49, and which has a seating capacity of over five hundred. After the present church building was occupied by the society, the brick meeting-house passed into private hands and was transformed into tenements.

The church, at various periods of its history, has been favored with powerful revivals of religion, which have greatly promoted its growth, and to-day its position is .>-trong in its influence and work, and in its membership, which numbers one hundred and sixtyone, of whom twelve are non-residents of the town, the membership of its Sabbath-school being about one hundred and thirty-five.

Soon after the organization of the church the society connected with it was formed, under the name of the Evangelical Congregational Society, in the town of Barre. This society was formed November 17, 1827, and in February, 1829, was incorporated by a special act of the Legislature. The relations between the church and society have always been harmonious, the church taking the initiative in selecting a pastor, but the relation is not established without the concurrence of the society, which determines also the salary of the pastor and provides for its payment. It also has charge, under certain limitations, of the church edifice. In 1888 the society adopted a carefully-prepared set of by-laws, and in the same year rules for the concurrent action of church and society were adopted by both of these organizations, such action having previously been guided by tradition rather than by specific regulations.

The date of the introduction of the Universalist creed to this town is 1820, in which year a spot of land nearly opposite the B. & A. R' R. depot on the Plains, and now occupied by a brick dwelling-house, was purchased, and the erection of a church edifice thereon was contemplated. Ministers prominent in that denomination in other towns were obtained to preach that doctrine, and to arouse such an enthusiasm as should result in the establishment of a church and society.

Public worship was held for several years in a hall and dwelling-houses, but gradually, chiefly on account of the depression in agriculture and of the scarcity of money, the people considered it impossible to raise funds for a church building, and the project was abandoned, and soon all interest in the matter was apparently lost. In 1838, and for two or three years previously, a number of persons had become dissatisfied in the First Church, and filed certificates of withdrawal. April 9th a few of these associated themselves, and formed the First Universalist Church of Barre, and some from the south part of the town, who had been interested in the scheme of 1820, joined them. The next year they purchased a building lot at the south

This society was never a strong one, but it held together as an organization for about ten years, when their interest waned and dissensions arose among them, which soon resulted in their disintegration, and June 6, 1851, their edifice was sold to a board of trustees for the Methodist Episcopal denomination, and, after some necessary repairs and changes in construction, was dedicated the following 17th of September to worship in accordance with the usages of that faith.

Although there had been desultory Methodist services in town as early as 1823, this denomination did not obtain a foothold here until 1842, when services were held in the town-hall ; under the fostering care of various clergymen and prominent laymen of their faith their congregations increased, and in ]8j0 they took into serious consideration the matter of erecting a house for worship. A spot for a building was obtained, but when it was found that the Universalist edifice could be purchased, that was bought, and the building-lot sold to its previous owner. Since 1844, when the first pastor was assigned to this church, twenty-seven ministers have been sent by the Conference to its pulpit, but two of whom have remained for three years.

The present pastor is Rev. Charles Nicklin, who was located here in 1888. This church is in a prosperous condition, and, though not so strong as twenty years ago, is now increasing in the number of its attendants and its influence; its meriibership is about seventy-five, and of its Sabbath-school about seventy ; the building has a seating capacity of about three hundred.

The first services under the auspices of the Roman Catholic persuasion were held about 1852, private houses being first used, and afterward the townhall was occupied for this purpose. In 1856 services were held in the chu;-ch building now owned by them, located souUijOf \he~^ommon, and which was then a dwelling-hoift^,- ^l^ough it had been built for, and pre\^wusly occupied as a country store. The Catholics^aif Barre were then a component part of the Worcester Mission ; in 1860 they were constituted a parish, and connected with Templeton, and afterwards with Ware'and North Brookfield, and now with Otter River. In 1858 they purchased the brick dwelling-house, and remodeled it into a church building; about seventy-five families are connected with this parish, which is under the charge of Rev. Father Raynolds, and services are held bi-monthly. In accordance with the custom of the denomination, the church property is in the possession of Bishop O'Reilly, of Springfield, this parish being in that diocese. The house of worship is pleasantly located, and has a seating capacity of about four hundred.

In 1854 another church organization was effected under the title of the Free or Independent Church. Rev. Marshall G. Kimball was their pastor, the ser- rights of the people of the Provinces. For some years preceding Wilkes liad acquired some notoriety by his writings and course of conduct, and had, at one time, been expelled from Parliament and placed under arrest, convicted and sentenced to imprisonment and heavy fine. What many of the English people considered as an act of oppression towards him had turned the current of popular opinion in his favor ; the people of America were dazzled by his public course, and their desire to honor him and his name was but natural.

By whom the name of Barre was given to the town is not known, but it is evident that, as a blank for the name was left in the act, it was inserted in the House and acceded to in the Council.

Isaac Barr(5, after whom the town was named, was at that time attracting much attention and commendation from the Americans for his efforts in their behalf in the British Parliament ; he was born in Dublin, of French parentage, in humble circumstances, in 1726 ; it was intended that he should study law, as in his career at Trinity College, which he entered at the age of fourteen, he had exhibited marked ability as a student and debater; disliking that profession, he enlisted in the British Army with the rank of ensign in 1746. He was in the service for fourteen years on the Continent fin 1 in Canada, where, under Gen. Wolfe, he rose to the rank of adjutant-general. He was severely wounded in his eyes in the same engagement where Wolfe was killed. At the surrender of Montreal in 1760, Lord Amherst sent him as bearer of despatches to the home government ; he remained in London to obtain relief from his injuries, in which he was but partially successful. The next year he was elected to a seat in Parliament, where he distinguished himself in debate and became a powerful champion of the American people, denouncing the oppression of the British government and contending for the rights of the people. His career in Parliament attracted the attention of the Americans, and they acknowledged him as a powerful friend and advocate in their behalf. The title of colonel, which was at times applied to him, is incorrect, as he arose only to the rank of lieutenant-colonel. In consequence of the wounds he received at Quebec in 1759, he became blind when about sixty years of age. He died in London, July 20, 1802. An oil painting of Barre, after one by Stuart, hangs in our Public Library.

The representative to the body sitting at Watertown, Dea. John Mason, a man specially fitted to the times, kept the people informed of the condition of affairs, and largely through his influence they were led to act in advance of some of ihe neighboring towns and to preserve and strengthen the determination against yielding to any usurpation of their rights. What wonder, then, that when they were summoned to a town-meeting to act upon a resolve emanating from the representative body of the Colony of Miissachusetts Bay, asking them to advise their representative that, if the Congress should declare them independent of Great Britain, he should pledge the inhabitants to solemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to support them in this measure, they unanimously so instructed their representative, Dea. Mason. And they went still farther: they desired every male inhabitant of the age of sixteen years and upwards to be enrolled, that each and every one might contribute his share in the struggle for liberty. They desired their representative to act his part in agreeing upon and enacting a Constitution and form of government for the State such as should conduce to the safety and happiness of its inhabitants. To a people thus pledged to independence it must have seemed a direct insult to be petitioned into a town-meeting to take into consideration a circular from the King's Commissioners, Lord Howe and his brother, Gen. Howe, proposing measures of settlement, this proposition stating that all the acts that the people complained of as grievous should be righted, that they would be repealed, and their rights and privileges established. This petition for thetiwn-meeting stated that " as all proposals must begin somewhere, we think it is time to know whether the people in this town mean to fight Great Britain only for independency, and if not, that their minds may be kn iwn thereon." The meeting was held December 30, 1776; the gilded bait of compromise was not acceptable; the meeting was of short duration ; after a spirited discu-sion they decided not to actupon the warrant and it wasdisiolved. Another result of this meeting was that much indignation was aroused against the signers of this petition, John Caldwell, Ezra Jones, JIatthew Caldwell, Noah Mandell, George Caldwell, William Caldwell and Thomas Holden, and t,heir adherent*, and so strong did this feeling become that a town-meeting was called by a warrant signed by but two of the five selectmen, and held January 20, 1777. Capt. John Black was voted " out of all office in town," and Col. Buckminster was removed from his position as town treasurer. When we consider the strength of these men in local affairs, their power in debate, their superior judgment and their valiant and valuable services on the field of battle, we can but feebly realize the force of that wrath that was visited upon them by tho.-e of their townsmen who, once having decided to contend for liberty, were unwilling to retrace a single step.

Notwithstanding this episode in their affairs, the spirit of patriotism was progressing. At succeeding town-meetings the people gladly voted to raise their quota of men for the fifteen battalions called for by the Continental Congress and appropriate a bounty of twenty pounds to each one who enlisted in the Continental Army; they also voted to consider those who acted as substitutes for such of the citizens as could not go to the war as inhabitants of Barre and placed them on the same footing, as to bounty, as were those who had previously enlisted for service at Ticonderoga or elsewhere.

Another element was now a source of discomfort; bills of credit had been issued by the State, and although its faith was pledged for their redemption, their value was constantly depreciatng. This was productive of hardship and suft'ering; these circum- Btances and the absence of many of the men had made the situation depressing; agriculture was neglected, specie had disappeared and nearly every one was unwilling to receive the currency for debts due them, and it was nearly impossible to procure with it many of the necessities of life. A meeting was held to see if the people would petition the General Court for a repeal or alteration of the act in regard to the bills of credit, and they voted against such a course, preferring hardship rather than to do aught that might weaken their hopes for independence, and preferring to co-operate with the General Court in all measures that it should consider necessary for the success of their cause. (In January, 1777, these bills of credit were about five per cent, below par, and in January, 1778, they were worth only about three and one-half per cent, of their face value.)

The people were ever in accord with the spirit of the times, town- meetings were of frequent occurrence and the condition of the colonies was demanding constant attention. At times a feeble minority would petition for an abrogation of certain measures, but the stern, unyielding sense of the majority, alter a spirited discussion, would prevail ; on some occasions, when meetings had been called on the petitions of this minority, discussion would be avoided by refusing to act on the articles, and in May, 1778, the town showed its spirit so strongly as to vote " to throw out a petition of twelve signers of the inhabitants of Barre in every part and paragraph."

This petition was for the reconsidering of a previous meeting's vote by which a bounty had been granted to those who should enlist in the Continental Army. In April of 1778 the town held a meeting to see whether it would ratify a Constitution or mode of government sent out by the General Assembly. This form was unsatisfactory, and by a strong majority they refused to ratify it as it then stood, the vote being eleven for to seventy-six against it. Realizing, however, that a stable form of government was essential, a committee was chosen to report such amendments as they thought fitting and proper, lay them before the town for its acceptance and instruct the representative iu regard to them. This Constitution was the outcome of a recommendation of the House of Representatives, September 17, 1776, that the voters of the different towns assemble and determine whether they would give their consent that the House and Council should enact such a form of government for the Slate as would seem best ; the towns generally voted unanimously to accede to this request, but when the proposed Constitution was submitted to them it was rejected.

to assemble at Cambridge to prepare another draft of a Constitution, to which Barre sent as delegates John Mason, Andrew Parker and Asa'^apgood. The work of this convention was no more favorable than before, for this draft also was rejected. When, in May of 1780, it came before the town for its consideration a committee of seven was appointed to examine and report upon this draft. Rev. Josiah Dana, the chairman, reported that it was imperfect and recommended these amendments :

1. No one, not of the Proteetaut religion, should be eligible to any ofiice from Governor to Representative ; 2. No person shall be eligible to any office in the Legislature who does not contribute to the support of the civil government iu the way of taxation, giving as a reason that he who pays a part of the charges would be more likely to spend our money frugally ; 3. That the chief officers of the State should not serve more than four years out of seven, as this might be a check on enterprising, designing men, and of consequence, a tendency to serve the liberties of the people and render the Commonwealth safe; 4. That no person should have a seat in the Congress and the State Legislature at the same time, as such a practice would give a way for some pereou to have an undue influence in government and be derogatory to the liberties of the people ; 5. That a particular day should be appointed for the choice of representatives, as it would save the trouble and expense of an annual precept; G. Each town should have the privilege of nominating one justice of the peace, it being the opinion that the towns entitled to choose a representative were under greater advantage to determine the qualifications and ability of their townsmen than the Governor of the Commonwealth could be.

The town, by a vote of one hundred yeas to four nays, accepted the draft with these amendments, and ordered their delegates to attend the convention at its adjourned meeting in June, to present them for consideration and to agree upon a time when the instrument should take effect, if accepted by a twothirds vote of the people. Nothing resulted from these proposed amendments ; but during this sitting a revised draft was brought before the convention and adopted, and, on being submitted to the inhabitants, was ratified; on the declaration of the convention that more than two-thirds of the voters of this Province had signified that they were in favor of it, the Constitution was declared accepted.

Barre was still contributing its proper portion of men and supplies for the army. Attempts were made to equalize the compensation of those who had labored for, and who were still in, the Continental army. As each member of the militia was, to a considerable extent, a judge of the value of his eflbrts, these attempts were not always productive of the best results ; local jealousies and personal piques were as prominent as before or since that time, and when endeavors were made to liave each free-holder pay a proportionate amount of the expense incurred, they would vigorously protest ; but in the end their sense of right and justice would prevail.

The depreciation of the currency was a source of much trouble in this matter. Hours were spent in discussion, votes were passed and reconsidered, and at length the matter would be left to adjust itself. One proposition made at this time was to settle with the men for their services by paying them with bills of credit at "ninety for one," that is - that ninety

In this year, 1780, the town was called upon for a supply of beef for the army, the amount required being nine thousand nine hundred and sixty pounds; the town voted to raise £20,100, with which to purchase this beef. Additional men for the army were also called for, and committees were chosen to supply these calls. For the purpose of more easily and readily obtaining the men the town was divided into classes or districts; one man was taken from each district, either by his enlisting or, in some few cases, by hiring a substitute; sometimes one would be drawn by lot, when, if he retused to serve, the district in which he lived was assessed in a sufficient sum to procure a substitute. Twenty men marched from Barre, June 5, 1780, having enlisted for a term of six months' service. More men and more beef were still called for. In 1781 seven thousand eight hundred and ninety-three pounds of beef were called for for the army ; the town voted to give John Caldwell forty-two shillings, currency, per one hundred pounds, or £165, "hard money," for the whole amount, and which he furnished.

After this time we have but little evidence that the State was still calling for aid, although in August of 1782 the town voted to use their best endeavors to collect a sum of money in compliance with a "pressing requisition " from the Geueral Court. The last requisition for men had been made in March, but this and some of the preceding calls had not been based upon population, but on property according to the valuation.

There is no complete record of the names or number of men from this town who served in the Revolutionary struggle, but it has been asserted that about one-sixth of the inhabitants did military duly during the war ; if this be so, then our town should be credited with sending out more than two hundred men to contend for their liberties.

The war was approaching its close ; the campaigns of this year were destined to virtually decide the issues in favor of a long-suffering and much-enduring people. Amid deprivations and some internal dissensions they had worked steadily in answering calls for men and supplies for the force in the field, and now they could devote their time and attention to peaceful pursuits; town-meetings were less frequent, the business to be transacted relating more generally to the proper functions of a town. The church and schools and highways now received the attention they needed, and much time and care was bestowed upon them. One subject connected with the war was a source of much difficulty: some of the men considered that they had done more than their part in aiding to prosecute the war, and charged others with having shirked their duties. This was a subject of constant controversy, and so great was the excitement that the town endeavored at different times to equal- ize the value of the services of each one. Committees were appointed for this purpose, reports made and rejected; finally a committee reported that they had examined into the past services done in the war with Great Britain by individuals, and desiring to use their best endeavors to have every man's money made good that he had advanced for the support of the war, and also taking into view their personal services, they submitted a statement showing what each man had advanced and done by way of credit, and another statement showing by the valuation what each one's proportion should be ; this report was accepted. Two hundred and sixty five names appear upon this schedule, about one-half of whom were credited with having done more than their part ; the delinquents were expected to pay the balance against them into the town treasury, but as this balance varied from a few pounds to several hundred, it was very evident that some would he unable to pay such sums, and others flatly refused to do so ; numerous devices were resorted to to effect a settlement, and threats were made of invoking legislative interference ; in the end a few settled the balance against them and the matter was allowed to drop.

In 1782 the people were so engrossed in their home affairs that they neglected to send a Representative to the General Court. The Legislature called the town to account for this neglect of their duty, but it declined to assign any reason for its course. So imperative were the demands of the State that the town should do its duty, the next year Colonel Nathan Sparhawk was chosen Representative. Matters of great importance to the condition and welfare of the country, in a civil rather than a military line, were coming forward and demanding settlement. A treaty of peace between the colonies and Great Britain had been arranged and preliminary articles signed. The town, to some extent, realized how great might be the benefits that would accrue to it from independence, and they eagerly desired that time to come when they might enjoy the fruits of their struggles and sacrifices. Nearly impoverished in helping to maintain an army scattered over a large territory by sending forward men and supplies, their farms sufl^ering for want of proper care, in some instances having been carried on by the boys and girls of the household, the dawn of peace was gladly hailed. Resolved that nothing should be wanting on their part, they chose a strong committee, who should obtain the general sentiment of all the people, and from this formulate instructions by which their Representative in the General Court should be guided.

These instructions were drawn up ; they expressed confidence in the integrity and good understanding of their representative to conduct public affairs in such a way as to promote the intere-ts of the Commonwealth and this town in particular; they desired him to bear in mind that the State was free and independent, and retained every power, jurisdiction and right that had not been specially delegated to the Congress, and that the foundation of good government rested on piety, religion and morality ; that these, with moderation, justice, temperance, industry and frugality, were necessary to preserve our liberty, and that all laws must be based upon them ; that the Constitution and Declaration of Rights were worthy of his frequent perusal, and that iu public doings he should be he largely guided thereby. In regard to the treaty of peace, they say "our iadependeuce is confirmed, a blessing for which patriots have long toiled and heroes fought aud bled. Posterity can never justly charge us with surrendering their rights. We and they shall be free so long as we deserve freedom It will depend upon our virtue."

The fifch article of the treaty of peace was unsatisfactory and distasteful. This article provided that the Congress should recommend to the Legislatures of the several States that they provide for the restitution of all the estates, rights and properties that had beeo confiscated from British subjects during the war, and likewise for the restoralioa of the estates and rights of persons resident here or el-ewhere who had not borne arms .against the country, but preferred to retain their loyalty to the King. The instructions on this point said, " we cannot help feeling anxious for the event of the fifth article, which respects those men who fled from their country when its liberties were invaded, and took refuge in the dominions of the invader. Congress can only recommend. It will not obtrude citizens in any of the States, much less declared traitors. Agreeable to the treaty of peace, the town wishes for no recollection of past dispute with Great Britain, no repetition of past injuries, but the seeds of discord being excluded, that a beneficial intercourse may be established between the two countries, so as to promote and serve to perpetuate peace and harmony, which would be extremely difficult were these persons to reside among us whom this country regards as the occasion of interrupting that intercourse formerly, and the cause of this suffering ; especially as these wretched beings have already begun (piarrelswith that peace and those who made it, which terminates a long, bloody, unnatural war. Therefore, in the opinion of this town, the happiness, the liberties, interest and safety of these States forbid us to suffer persons of the above description to become the subjects of, and to reside in, this government;'' they further instructed him that it would be dangerous to admit them, or to have them forced upon us. They enjoined upon him unremitting attention to business, and stated that it was their right to communicate to him their sentiments whenever they should judge it necessary or convenient, and they 'expected him to hold himself bound at all times to attend to and observe them.

Here is exhibited the spirit of our town in the struggle for its liberties. By their inflexible determination as a body corporate, by their material and moral support, they had conquered a peace, and no act or surrender of any principle should now put in jeopardy their rights. For neglecting to send a representative to the General Cuurl in 1782, the Legislature had imposed upon the town a fine of fortj'-nine pounds, ten shillings. In May of 1783 a town-meeting was held to petition for a remission of this fine ; a committee was chosen to prepare the petition, which is as follows :

Commonwealth of Maasachusetts : To the Honorable, the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled. The petition of the town of Barre humbly showeth that whereas said town is fined £49 10s. for not sending some person to represent them in the Great and General Court the last year, pray that the same may be Uiken off ; and they flatter themselves that honorable Court will be convinced of the reasonableness of the petition when they consider this is the only instance of the like kind that they have failed in since they have been a town, and even in this, when it was tried to know whether they should send or not, there appeared but two or three votes majority in the negative, so that near one-half of the inhabitants are punished for what they must call their misfortune, not their crime ; and it wiy appear further reasonable if the honorable Court will please to consider that the town of Barre, as they humbly conceive, has stood for some years past, and now stiinds as high on the State valuation according to its interest, than perhaps any town in the County, so that they feel, in a peculiar manner, the weight of their taxes. They have hitherto stifled every groan, that they might not seem to discourage the common cause in which they considered themselves so nnich interested, but for the future must beg leave to complain unless the proportion is altered between some towns with which they think they are well qualified to compare themselves. There is another reason which is of singular force with the town, and they hope it will have its due weight with the honorable Court, viz.; that besides the last Continental tax, the whole of which remains unpaid, they find themselves in debt between one hundred and two hundred pounds more than the town's proportion in the present State tax, all which, with the addition of fine upon fine, makes it appear to them a burden almost insupportable.

The depreciation of the currency and the unsettled condition of the country were still weighing heavily upon the inhabitants, and were productive of deep and wide-spread suffering. Credit was extinct, the temporary act of 1782 making property a legal tender for debts due had proved a failure, as it still further postponed collections. Suits-in-law between neighbors and between individuals and the town were numerons ; the town annually apjwinted an agent to defend such suits as were brought against it, trusting that a judicial hearing might be beneficial, both in the way of bringing the matter forward for a general discussion, aud by the decision of the court, reducing the amount which had been claimed as due ; the administration of the State government was arraigned, and the town was requested by petition to take measures that would result in changing the state of aft'airs for the better ; this petition had no further effect than to elicit the reply that time would eventually make the matter right; other towns taking a similar stand, a convention was called to sit in Worcester in April to consider the grievances the people labored under, and to petition the General Court for redress. Barre and twenty-five other towns of the county were represented in this convention ; the difficulties of the peo- pie were freely and fully discussed, and the outcome of the meeting was, that the various representatives to the General Court should be instructed to procure a change in certain laws and customs, prominent among which were that there should be immediate settlements with all officers having charge of the State funds, a reduction of lawyers' fees and a settlement of accounts between the State and the Congress. Here was the entering wedge for what proved afterwards a blot on our escutcheon. The difficulties increased daily.

In 178i a town-meeting was held on the 1st day of March to see if the town would choose a committee to sit in convention at Worcester on the third Tuesday, in conformance with the request of a circular letter, signed by Willis Hall, of Sutton, by the order of nine towns in the southeast part of the county. The substance of this letter was to have a discussion and consideration of their grievances, in regard to an impost being granted for twenty-five years. Nathaniel Jennison was the delegate from Barre ; thi-t convention being productive of no more satisfactory results than that of two years previous, another convention assembled in Leicester in June of 1786, to which this town sent William Henry as its delegate. Thirtyseven towns were represented ; the distress of the people, and how to relieve it, were the chief topics for consideration ; these deliberations were productive of no good result. The following September some of our citizens united with bodies from other towns in revolt against the laws and courts. On the evening of the 4th they entered Worcester and took possession of the court-house; amongst these was Lieutenant Moses Smith, of Barre, now claiming the rank of captain.

Chief Justice Ward, a man of much dignity, firmness and courage, and who had been a general in the Revolution, demanded an explanation of the proceedings ; one of the leaders of the mob replying that they had come for a redress of grievances. Judge Ward informed them that their complaints were without any substantial foundation. Captain Smith replied that any communication from him to them must be in writing.

The judge refused to so communicate with them, and soon afterwards was allowed to address them, when he spoke for about two hours with good effect. The next day Captain Smith unceremoniously introduced himself to the judge, and with his sword drawn, ofiered him a paper purporting to be a petition of the body of people "now collected for their own good and that of the commonwealth,'' requiring an adjournment of the courts without day, and demanded an answer within half an hour.

The judge at once replied, telling him that no answer would be given, when Smith retired. In this condition of affairs it was found impossible to hold sessions of the courts, and they were adjourned until November, in hopes that the mob would see its uselessness and disperse. But the infection was too extensive ; on the 29th of November, Captain Smith and others from this town were still taking a prominent part in what was now known as the Shays' Rebellion. How this rebellion ended is a matter of history. Smith, with his company of Barre men, after parading through the main street of Worcester, marched home on Saturday, the 9lh of December.

The feeling in Barre was intense. The community was divided in opinion in regard to this affair, a large minority upholding the insurgent course and many bitter feelings were engendered. Even the church was disturbed, and one of the more offending members was the subject of a number of meetings, the result of which was his suspension ; but, finally apologizing for his indiscretions, he was reinstated in his church membership.

In town affairs the excitement was of long-continued duration. About this time it was discovered that the town's ammunition had been stolen. A committee of nine was chosen to make immediate search for it. Lieut, (or Capt.) Moses Smith and Richard Mills (both of whom had been officers with the insurgents and were suspected of knowing considerable about it) were placed on this committee. After much labor and anxiety on the part of the committee, and by virtue of several search-warrants, the ammunition was found' in the barn of a well-known citizen, Joseph Smith. The excitement increased, and Smith was prosecuted for the theft. He presented his case in a long petition to the town, stoutly affirming his innocence and declaring that he had no knowledge, directly or indirectly, how the powder came to his barn. He appealed for clemency and asked that the suit might be withdrawn. A number of town-meetings were held in regard to his case and the matter was finally allowed to drop, he being compelled to pay all the expenses that had accrued. Subsequent developments pointed strongly to Mills as the parly who stole the ammunition, he having been encouraged in the theft by Lieut. Smith, and to throw any suspicion from himself, when the insurgents had no use for the powder, he concealed it in Josiah Smith's barn.

January 1, 1787, the town decided to petition Governor Bowdoin for relief from the causes that were generally assumed to be the cause of the revolt and that this outbreak might be condoned. In this petition the inhabitants represented that application having been made to the town by a number of its disaffected citizens, called insurgents, and desiring the town to take up the matter as mediator between government and the disaffected citizens of said town, they, the petitioners, deplored the situation and deprecated the horrors of bloodshed, " more especially town and neighbor against each other, and, to close all with accumulating horror, an armed force, ready to march from the town at the call of government, while a party is ready to march in opposition," and besought His Excellency to desist from prosecuting the affair with rigor until every conciliatory measure had been used that was consistent with the good, the safety and the dignity of the Commonwealth; and if His Excellency would desist they pledged themselves that the insurgents among our people would promise that the Courts of Common Pleas and of General Sessions of the Peace should not be obstructed in their business until after the next session of the Legislature, provided their lives and property should be safe from seizure in consequence of their hitherto illegal acts.

One of the conventions that had previously been called had never dissolved, but had held numerous sessions from time to time, discussing the condition of the Commonwealth and endeavoring to devise means for a settlement of the difficulties. This convention was now in session, and notwithstanding that the majority of our people professed penitence for the course that had been pursued here, and had petitioned the Governor to desist from measures which would subdue the insurgents, they would not recall theirdelegate from Worcester. The insurgent minority had considerable power in town, and were not yet disposed to abandon their course in regard tothe results that they hoped might be obtained from the deliberations of the convention, considering that by so doing they would be deprived of the right of petition, which they believed to be one of their inherent rights. They expected, too, thata continual agitation of the grievances would tend to bring an early relief to their sufferings. The whole town was considerably excited, but after the defeat of Shays the feeling gradually subsided.

The climax came at a town-meeting held July 6, 1787. The subject of the amount of costs incurred in regard to the procedures and search for the stolen ammunition was under discussion. Lieut. Moses Smith had been chosen moderator and a part of the business had been transacted. The debate over the ammunition was heated, and an attempt was made to suppress it, Lieut. Smith and his followers being in the majority. To offset their strength, a protest, signed by fourteen voters, all prominent men, was presented to the meeting. This protest was as follows: We, whose names are underwritten, protest against the proceedings of the town, in town-meeting now assembled, and declare that we will not pay one farthing of any cost or any charges that may arise to the town, either directly or indirectly, in consequence of the illegality of the same. The reason that we assign for this protest is that Lieut. Moses Smith, the moderator, has acted as an officer in the army of Captain Shays, in the rebellion against government in Massachusetts, and has not made it manifest that he has taken the oath of allegiance agreeable to the act of court.

Smith then resigned the office of moderator, which resignation was accepted. The record further states : " Then, after considerable altercation among the inhabitants of the town then assembled, the inhabitants dismissed without passing any further vote upon the articles contained in the warrant, leaving the selectmen and town clerk in the meeting-house without one inhabitant of the town with them, and said selectmen and town clerk, after waiting till the dusk of evening, retired."

Lieut. Smith was an iunholder. His first location was easterly of where Mr. W. E. Hemenway now lives, and on the opposite side of the highway. This was not a tavern, but a house of entertainment. He gave this to his son, and soon afterwards, in 1801, erected a tavern, of which he had the charge for about twelve years. This house is now used as a dwelling-house> and is opposite the school-house in old District No. 9.

After the excitement of the rebellion had subsided, Lieut. Smith held various town offices for a number of years, being treasurer in 1792. His wife died about 1800, and at her grave he placed a head-stone. He afterwards placed his property in the hands of some friends, on the guaranty to support and care for him for the remainder of his life. He died in 1815, seventysix years of age, and was buried by the side of his wife, but no stone ever marked his last resting-place.

At one time in our history there were nine public places in town, some of which were taverns, the others houses of entertainment, the distinction between the two being that a tavern was obliged to be licensed, and intoxicating liquors were sold there, while for a house of entertainment no license was required, and no liquors were supposed to be obtainable. The most noted tavern of the day in the last century was that of Jonathan Nourse, which stood where now is the Methodist Church. Another tavern was located where now is Smith block, and was maintained as such for some years in the present century. Still another was near the residence of Lemuel P. Rice. It is on record in the proceedings of our town-meetings of the last century that frequently the town would vote for an adjournment of five or ten or twenty minutes, then to reassemble at Landlord Nourse's.

Peace at home was now thoroughly established, and, although various primitive business enterprises had been established, farming was still the chief occupation ; still struggling under many difficulties, the political condition of the town and nation was an object of much solicitude ; altera few years of quiet, another war with Great Britain was believed to be imminent. When, in 1807, the Congress had passed the "Embargo law," the people were much concerned, and, as its effects gradually developed, the stringency in the scanty markets of the day was everywhere manifest; the distress that first appeared at the shipping centres soon extended to the interior towns. So marked was this here, a town-meeting was held in September, 1808, to take the matter into consideration, and an address or petition to President Jefferson was adopted, praying for a repeal of the law, after reciting tlie distress tliat had fallen upon the people through its enforcement. It is highly probable that this law and the war rumors of this and two or three succeeding years had much to do in arousing a feeling of opposition to the War of 1812. The sympathies of the town were rather in consonance with the Peace Convention of Hartford ; from Hartford and from Boston many circulars and posters were sent here, addressed mostly to the Federalists, showing, in various partisan ways, the attitude of the national administration. These aroused much discontent, and this trouble, with the increased scarcity of currency, added to the hardships of the people.

Our records in regard to this war are very scanty, but two allusions to it appearing. When a call for troops was made we have no records of any volunteers for the ranks, but it is evident that one draft for men was made. In August, 1814, a number of the people petitioned the town to grant such men as were or might be drafted into the service a compensation in addition to that allowed by the government, but the town refused to do this; in May, 1815, the town voted " to grant four dollars per month to those persons who, being inhabitants of the town, were drafted from the militia the last summer, and marched into the service of the State, or who hired substitutes."

The war with Mexico received but little sympathy here ; it was fully realized that the idea of the extension of slave territory was the cause of this conflict, and to this extension our people were much opposed. The anti-slavery feeling had been growing for a number of years and was increasing, a few brave men standing by their convictions and aiding in forming that party which, twenty years afterwards, saved and perpetuated that Union for which their ancestors had 80 nobly contended in the last century. In 1840 the Presidential electors of the so-called Free-Soil party received but one vote in the fall election ; iu 1844 the number had increased to thirteen, and, in 1848, to forty-one. The only resident or native of Barre, of whom we have any record, who enlisted for service in this war, was George Field, who was a member of Company E, First Regiment Massachusetts Infantry.

Another terrible struggle was to come ; the encroachment of slavery had been increasing, and, when a change in the national administration had come, in 1861, the conilict was precipitated. The firing upon Sumter was the tocsin that aroused the whole Northern people; united as never before, all petty jealousies dropped for the time, men of all shades of political belief and of various nationalities gallantly and promptly responded to their country's call; the old spirit which animated our Revolutionary sires burned anew. The young man, and the middle-aged, left his studies, his mercantile pursuits, the bench and the farm, and, cheered on by father and mother and sister, enlisted to do battle and to die, if need be, that his country might live. During that four years' struggle three hundred and nineteen men were enlisted as our quota, and engaged in the stern duties of the period, and saw many a bloody battle-field. At their enlistment the town and individuals pledged themselves to protect and guard the interests of their families or dependent relatives, and well did they perform that duty. The names of those three hundred and nineteen noble and brave men are cherished as one of our sacred records, and, though nearly a quarter of a century has elapsed since they proved their heroism, yet, to-day, their patriotism and their determination to guard the heritage entrusted to us to care for and perpetuate are held in high esteem by those for whom their efforts accomplished so much in preserving and maintaining this Union. Many of these men never returned to their homes, - the deadly rifleball, or disease contracted in the discharge of their duty, filling a grave near many a battle-field. The town was generous to its nation's defenders, and still recalls with pride, and will forever cherish, their brave deeds.

In 1866 the town erected a monument in honor of those who gave their lives for their country ; this granite base and marble shaft stands as a grand memento in the north park, with Gettysburg, Newbern, Port Hudson and Antietam inscribed thereon, and there are the names of fifty-nine true men wjio died for their country, but who "still live" in the affections of a grateful people.

In the year following the adoption of the State Constitution the " Barre Slave Case" attracted much attention. James Caldwell had bought in 1754, at Rutland, a negro man, named Mingo, about twenty years of age, a woman, named Dinah, about nineteen years old, and their child, named Quako or Quork, about nine months old, for £108. By the death of Caldwell in 1763 a settlement of his estate became necessary ; Quork, as a part of the personal property, was assigned to Mrs. Caldwell. She married Nathaniel Jennison in 1769 and died in 1774; at her death Jennison assumed the ownership of Quork, and Quork continued to live and work for Jennison. In April, 1781, Quork was enticed from Jennison 's service by John Caldwell, a brother of James, who told him that he was a free man and not subject to Jennison's authority; the negro at first refused to leave his supposed master, but on Caldwell's representations that he would furnish work for him, pay him for his services and protect him, he left Jennison for Caldwell, who set him at work in his fields. Jennison missed his slave and, suspecting where he might be, went to Caldwell's and found Quork harrowing; he commanded the negro to return to his own house ; Quork refused and was then attacked and beaten by Jennison and others who had gone with him, and was shut up for about two hours. By Caldwell's eflbrts the man in whose charge Quork had been placed was induced to release him, and through his influence, too, the case came before the

County Court, which was really a three-fold one. May 1, 1781, Quork, or Quork Walker, as he was now called, brought an action against Jennison for trespass, which was tried at the June term. The defense was that Quork was the proper slave of Jennison, and as such he had the control and possession of his body, and no action for trespass could hold, to which Quork joined issue, denying that he was his proper slave.

The case was tried in the Court of Common Pleas, and a verdict for plaintiff with damages in the sum of fifty dollars was awarded him. An appeal was was taken to the Superior Court, but was there defaulted. In the same month of May Jennison brought suit against John and Seth Caldwell for enticing his negro man from his service and business ; he obtained judgment in the sum of twenty-five dollars ; this case, too, was appealed to the higher court, and at the September term they were declared not guilty and recovered judgment and costs against the plaintiff. At this term of court Jennison was indicted for assault and battery and illegal imprisonmentand on trial was found guilty and ordered to pay a fine and the costs of prosecution.

The que-tion of slavery was not yet settled ; this was sent up to the Supreme Judicial Court, but did not come to trial until the April term of 1783, when it had its hearing before the full bench. The case was ably argued and the decision of the court was pronounced by Chief Justice Cushing. This was the first and only trial of the question of slavery under our State Constitution, and it was then established that slavery in this Commonwealth was abolished by the Declaration of Rights, which prefaced the Constitution. Cushing, after rehearsing the case and explaining the previous situation, and remarking that the defendant in this case relied upon some former law of the Province which would tend to uphold the claim that Quork was the slave of Jennison, says, " as to the doctrine of slavery and the rights of Christians to hold Africans in perpetual servitude, and sell and treat them as we do our horses and cattle, that (it is true) has been herefore countenanced by the Province laws formerly, but nowhere is it expressly enacted or established. It has been a usage which took its origin from the practice of some of the European nations and in the regulations of the British government respecting the then Colonies for the benefit of trade and wealth. But whatever sentiments have formerly prevailed in this particular, or slid in upon us by the example of others, a dift'erent idea has taken place with the people of America, more favorable t^) the natural rights of mankind and to the natural innate dfsire of liberty with which Heaven, without regard to color, complexion or shape of noses (features), has impressed all the human race, and upon this ground our Constituiion of Government, by which the people of this Commonwealth have solemnly bound themselves, sets out with declaring that all men are born free and equal, and that every subject is entitled to liberty and to have it guarded by the laws, as well as life and property - in short, is wholly repugnant to the idea of being born slaves. This being the case, I think the idea of slavery is inconbistent with our own conduct and Constitution, and there can be no such thing as perpetual servitude of a rational creature, unless his liberty is foifeited by some criminal conduct or given up by personal consent or contract." '

Slavery, then, in this State, no longer existed. Some families had previously given their slaves their liberty, or tacitly acknowledged that they were free. After their freedom the negroes, in some cases, remained in the houses of their former masters, but worked wherever they desired or could find employment. Others formed homes in a little colony by themselves, and a number took up their abodes in the west part of the town, whence aro^e the name of Guinea, or Guinea Corner, which name is even now sometimes applied to old School District No. 10. Quork remained in town, and died here at an advanced age.

It is related that Jennison took the younger portion of his slaves to Connecticut and sold them there, and that one of them. Prince Walker, a brother of Quork, escaped and returned here ; by some means he obtained some land in the east part of the town, where he lived and died. He married here and reared a large family. He died April 21, 1858, aged eighty-four years, as is supposed ; a stone with his name and supposed age inscribed thereon marks his grave, by the side of which are five other graves of members of his family ; the land, which passed out of his possession before his death, now belongs to the heirs of the late Larned Kice. " Stip," another slave, died here about 1845, supposed to be nearly ninety years of age. Annis Ring, another former slave in this town, died in Boston early in the present century. She married Pompey, who had been a slave inthefamily of Jonathan Allen; Pompey died in 1812, a decrepit, broken-down old man, breathing his last in a field in the north part of the town, from which circumstance the field is still known as the " Pomp lot."

In accordance with the laws of the Province, early attention was paid to education. These laws provided that this education should include the ability to read the English language and a knowledge of the principal laws, and that religious instruction should be joined therewith. Here was a three-fold system - intellectual, political and moral or religious - any one branch of which was within the power of the early settlers to cherish and promote. As the district or town was large or small, so far as relates to the number of its inhabitants, so were the requirements for schooling graded ; a town of fifty families was required to fur- nish instruction in the elementary branches only, while one of a greater number of inhabitants was required to maintain a grammar school, or one of a high grade. That the proprietors were aware of these laws, and were disposed to observe them, is evidenced when, at their meeting in 1733, they voted to assign a lot for a school. What was done in the matter of instruction from that time until 1749 is not on record, and after 1749, when the district passed out of the proprietors' possession, until 1763 there are no record.s, they having been destroyed in a fire which consumed the house of John Caldwell, the clerk of this Rutland District. But that schools had been established and supported previous to 1763, is manifest from the following vote of the district, passed April 11th of that year : " Voted that £26-13-4 be assessed on said District for the present year, and that the school be kept at the same places and in the same manner that it was the last year."

Here is evidence of the early establishment of methods of instruction, and that at least one building had been erected and used as a school-house is shown by the proceedings of the district the following year, as they voted " that school be kept in ten places this present year," and specified the places where the school or schools should be held, all but oiie being located in or near certain dwellings, that one to be " at the school-house," and forty pounds was raised by tax for their support.

It is not on record how long a term of instruction was given; the schools were not always held at oi near the same dwellings, each year the district deciding on the number there should be, and where they should be held, and thus the various sections of the district were accommodated from year to year.

Individuals in certain localities had erected or arranged small buildings on their premises as temporary school-houses, for, in the vote above quoted, one school was to be held at or near John Fessenden's house; in 1766 forty pounds were raised for the support of the school, which was to be kept at .six places, as in the preceding year, one place at the Centre schoolhouse, one at John Caldwell's school-house, so-ca/led, one at Asa Hapgood's school-house, one at Joseph Robinson's house. There were not as many different teachers as there were schools authorized, so that it would appear that a teacher, after holding a school a certain number of weeks in one locality, was then transferred to another place, the length of the terms depending somewhat upon the valuation of the particular locality in which they were held.

The first record we have of the town proposing to build a school-house is in May of 1783, when it was voted "to sell the school-house that stands on the Common near the meeting-house and that the center quarter have liberty to set up a new school-house on the [same] ground." This school-house stood where the town-hall now stands.

The town had increased in population, and in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth, better facilities for instruction must be provided.

In November, 1784, two articles appeared in the warrant for town-meeting, - one to see if the town would provide and maintain a grammar-school, the other to see if it would build one or more houses for a grammar-school or schools, and make any alterations in the school districts by enlarging or forming anew; the matter of establishing a grammar-school was passed over, but a committee was appointed to consider in regard to erecting school-houses; this committee reported that eight buildings should be erected, the dimensions of eacli of which were specified and their locations named. The usual term applied to each district was "squadron."

The war was now over, and the need of a return to a peace basis was weighing heavily upon the inhabitants and the distracted and uncertain condition of the country claimed their attention. With these weights upon them the matter of building the houses was postponed to a time in the future. Nothing more was done in regard to the houses until 1790, when it was voted to divide the town into eight squadrons and to build a house in each and their locations were again assigned, but if the residents of any of these districts were dissatisfied with the site, and they could agree upon any definite place, permission was given to locate the building on the spot agreed upon ; otherwise a committee should locate the house wherever, in their judgment, would best serve the interests of the people. After the town had been divided into districts and the building spots assigned, complaints were numerous ; after these had been discussed in townmeeting the voters ordered that the house in the Centre should be erected immediately and should be thirty feet square. This was done, but its dimensions were changed to twenty-nine feet by thirty -two feet; house No. 2 was built at or near where the corresponding one now is ; No. 3 was in the east part of the town on an old road leading to Hubbardston, from where the Sil.is Harding farm-house now stands; No. 4 was "about twelve rods southerly of David Underwood's dwelling house" (this dwelling was afterward known as the Marcus Spooner place, and has lately disappeared) ; No. 5 was nearly opposite where the present No. 5 house stands ; No. 6 was where the present No. 6 stands ; No. 7 was located on an old road leading to what is now known as the Williams place, and about midway between there and the present residence of Mr. Franklin Babbitt ; No. 8 was located about fifteen rods easterly of the bridge over the Ware River at Barre Plains and on the north side of the present highway. The inhabitants of District 7 objected in vigorous language to the location of their house. After much talk a vote was passed in town-meeting to notify them to agree by a majority where the house should stand. This building was at length erected southerly of the place assigned ; but this location was not satisfactory and afterward the town gave the inhabitants permission to move it. In 1791 the town raised four hundred pounds to erect these houses and notified eacli taxpayer in the varions districts to bring on to the grounds their proportion of the building material, they being credited in the tax-list for the value of the material furnished. The houses were soon erected, but the cost had been more than was anticipated. In 1792 the selectmen were requested to employ " a grammar-school master and direct him to the several districts in rotation " and to hold a school in each district so long as the proportion. of the school funds should be sufficient to pay the expense. In 1796, the population of the town having increased, additional schools were needed and another district was established, being what is now known as No. 9. In after years other districts were formed, in some instances by dividing the former districts and in other cases by establishing new ones in the remoter parts of the town, and houses were erected in some central location. These buildings were small and of one story, usually about twenty-five feet square, built plainly and without regard to any rules of architecture, and not a great protection from storms or cold. They answered the purpose for which they were intended and were probably in keeping with the quality and quantity of information imparted. From 1763, which is as far back as our records of Rutland District extend, annual appropriations were made for the support of the schools, usually forty pounds, until 1775, when the energies of the people were otherwise concentrated and the schools were passed by. After that year the appropriations were resumed and increased each year until in 1781 the amount appropriated was three thousand pounds. Large as this seems, it w:is but little larger than some of the preceding grants, as the currency had so depreciated in value that it was equivalent to not more than seventy-five pounds when we compare its value with that of the Spanish milled dollar. In 1782 the amount appropriated was sixty pounds, and from then until 1803 the amount varied from sixty to two hundred pounds. In 1804 the grant was seven hundred dollars, this being the first year that our national word, or character for, dollars was used in our official capacity as a town.

The schools were held in different parts of the town in terms of various lengths, each year a committee being chosen to lay before the assessors a list of all the ratable polls in each district, the valuation and number of polls being used as a basis for determining the number of weeks of school that should be held in each district. Instruction was not limited to ages ; in the same room would be found scholars varying in age from five or six years to, in some instances, twenty-five years ; the older ones appreciated the value of the meagre instruction of the day, and efforts were made to extend the school facilities.

finally postponed, it had the effect of placing before the people the situation of educational matters and the unsatisfactory condition in which the schools were, exhibiting the autocratic form of government and the lack of uniformity in the methods of teaching.

The laws of the Commonwealth were defective ; there was no supervision of schools, parents seldom visited them, and each was conducted according to the plans or fancies of the teacher, who, in many instances, had obtained the position for other reasons than for proper qualifications. The defects of this system were soon made apparent, and the necessity of uniformity in instruction and proper qualifications on the part of the teacher began to be realized.