Bedford Town (part 1 of 4)

Bedford Town

church and society relaxed in vitality, he left the charge and entered the Union army from this town. The house of worship was closed for a period of twelve years. It was reopened in the autumn of 1869, and Rev. Grindall Reynolds took charge of the parish in connection with his pastorate at Concord. His call to the position of secretary of the Unitarian Association necessitated a change. Revs. Milstead and Russell acted as stated supply uutil 1S84, when Rev. George Piper assumed the pastoral care of the society in connection with that at Carlisle. During his pastorate the meeting-house has been thoroughly remodeled, the church revived, and the ordinances regularly observed. In addition to the income of the "Page and Hartwell Fund" the society is aided by the Unitarian Association.

The Trinitarian Congregational Society immediately erected a house of worship on land given by Mr. Jeremiah Fitch, of Boston, a native of Bedford. The building-lot was directly opposite the Stearns mansion, and was given in consideration of the regard of the donor for his neighbor, teacher, pastor and friend.

The relation between Rev. Mr. Stearns and the town was dissolved by a mutual ecclesiastical council, and he accepted a call from the Church of Christ and Trinitarian Congregational Society of the town, in their united capacity. Services were regularly held in the dwelling-house of Rev. Mr. Stearns until the society completed a meeting-house. Mrs. Hannah Reed presented the church with a suitable communion service. Many of the citizens, who had but tilteen years before, 1818, paid large sums for their pews in the town's meeting-house, had now freely given a tithing of their possessions for the erection of another house of worship, and, free from debt, the church and society resumed the work of proclaiming the gospel in the Evangelical faith. Rev. Mr. Stearns died in December, 1834, and the fourth and most notable pastorate was brought to a close.

The body of Rev. Mr. Stearns was interred in the family vault in the old burial-ground, and there remained until the death of his widow, Madam Abigail Stearns, in 18.58, when they were both deposited in cemented vaults on the western slope of Shawshine Cemetery.

Ofthirteen children born toRev.Sarauel Stearns and Abigail French, eleven reached maturity. No other Bedford family has exerted so great an influence in the world of letters. They all received the highest advantages for education that the schools aflbrded. The five sons were all educated at Phillips Academy, Andover, and at Harvard College, and the four who became clergymen attended Andover Theological Seminary. Of thirty one grandchildren twenty-three are living. Almost all have received a liberal education. Of the grandsons, two are professional men and one an artist of rare ability ; five granddaughters became teachers, four married professional men ; a number are authors of books or writers for leading periodicals. The

The young man who, in the flush of youth, dedicated himself to the higher interests of the people ot Bedford, had become old in their service and been gathered with the fathers. More than five hundred people of the town died and the entire membership ot his church had been gathered during his ministry. There were admitted to the church one hundred and forty-three members while worshiping in the new meeting-house, before the separation.

Rev. Jonathan Leavitt succeeded Rev. Mr. Stearns, and has been followed by Rev. S. Hopkins Emery ; Rev. Oren Sikes, who died in ofHce December 1.5, 1852 ; Rev. Henry J. Patrick, now of West Newton; Rev. W. J. Batt, now moral instructor at the Massachusetts Reformatory; Rev. George Lewis ; Rev. Edward Chase ; Rev. Otis D. Crawford ; Rev. George E. Lovejoy, now of Franklin, Mass. ; Rev. Howard A. Hanaford, now of Winchester, N. H., and Rev. Edwin Smith, who took the charge August 1, 1886.

The church has a present membership of one hundred and eighty. That element in our nature which leads us to value things in proportion to their cost was plainly evident in the careful manner with which the people of this town who formed the Trinitarian Congregational Society guarded its interests, and that healthy activity that is generally found among societies that depend entirely upon their own efforts for support has been manifest through the half-century of its existence. No ministerial fund has been established. Small legacies bequeathed to the church have been applied to the promotion of the work and memorials of the donors added to the ornaments of the house of worship. In 1886 the house was repaired, enlarged and refurnished to suit the demands of the times, about S>7000 being expended.

Adherents of the Romish Church have gradually' settled in town, constituting a very respectable class in society, among whom may be found some of the most thriving farmers. Becoming weary of a journey of five miles to attend worship (as were the first settlers of the town), they erected a chapel in 1S85, which is well furnished and adapted to their use ; they maintain religious services in connection with the church at Lexington, Rev. P. J. Kavauaugh being the priest in charge.

Chapter Vi Schools And Libraries

One of the highest of the municipal functions is education. This was incumbent upon the founders of Bedford by the act of incorporation : " Provided that the said town of Bedford do, within the space of three years from the imblicalioii of tliis act, erect, builJ and finish a suitable lioiise of worship, and procure and settle a learned orthodox minister of good conversation, and make provision for his comfortable and honourable support, and likewise provide a school to instruct their youth in writing and reading," Many of the founders of this town knew the worth of education through the want of it. Their parents had enjoyed literary advantages in the mother country, but in seeking religious liberty they had lost secular advantage, and in their struggle to establish homes in the wilderness had often failed to instruct their children in the rudiments of education. The children of the scattered settlers were by far the greater sufferers; situated four or five miles from the village, they could not attend the few weeks of school that were furnished, and doubtless some of the originators of this town never attended a school of any kind. Until 1733 the church was the only school, and during seyeral succeeding years the principal means of education. The minister was the instructor, and he was well supported. In January, 1732-33 the town raised five pounds, equal to about three dollars (according to Shattuck), for public school that year. This must have been an act of the new town to comply with the incorporation act - "space of three years"- - and have been a provision for the winter only, as appears from the following record: "Of the School Reat that was made by the assessors in 1733, there was committed to Mr. Jacob Kendall, constable, to collect £5 10s. Id., and to Mr. Richard Wheeler £5 16s. 2d.," making a tax of £11 6s. 9rf., which, according to the same authority, was equal to about seven dollars in the currency of that time. In December, 1733, it was voted "to settle a moving school and hire a master, for which purpose an appropriation of ten pounds was made.

For several years one school only was kept and moved about as justice and convenience demanded. The teachers were generally selected from the people of the town, but in one of the e«rly winters, Rev. Ebenezer Hancock, of Lexington, taught the school and boarded with his sister, wife of Rev. Nicholas Bowes. The town bought a dwelling-house of Benjamin Kidder in 1741, for £12, old tenor, and arranged it for a school-house. In 1742 the school moved into the four quarters of the town, and £10 was expended for the teacher's salary, he " boarding rour,d." In the following year the centre school was opened and £30 granted for its support. Previous to this but little attention was paid to giving instruction in any branch beyond those required by the ordinance of 1647, viz. : writing and reading. In 1744 a part of the appropriation was allowed for schools in the " quarters '' to be taught by "school dames." In the succeeding fourteen years a school was kept at the Centre a few weeks in the winter and during the remainder of the year a " moving-school " was taught by a lady. Text-books were few and rule and the rod was applied without stint. One may judge of the monetary value of professional services by the records of 1754-55, when Rev. Nicholas Bowes, the first minister of the town, dismissed in August 1754, taught the school in the following winter, five months for £9 6s. 8d., and boarded himself In 1758 a "writing-school" was kept four months in the village and a " woman's teaching-school" six months in the quarters of the town, although it was years in advance of the legal requirements. The interest in education was not abated during the Revolution, yet in two instances the teachers' services were gratuitous. Intelligent women gathered the children of the neighborhood in their dwellings and were rewarded by a vote of the town after the war ceased.

The )ieople iu the "quarters" were obliged to furnish house and fire-wood without public charge in order to have a school. The district bounds were not arbitrary as yet, and the most ambitious children would follow the school from one quarter to another, which was allowed if they furnished a share of the fire-wood. The consequent attainments and usefulness of some families is evident in succeeding years.

In 1780, when Captain John Moore was chosen the first representative to the " Great and General Court," the town voted to have three months " writing-school " and six weeks " women's school '' in each quarter of the town. The term " writiug-school " was to designate this department of education from the merely fundamental instruction of the " women's school." In the former " cyphering " was taught as well as writing, and also the principles of language and " decent behaviour." The " sums " were " set " by the teacher and the work done on unruled coarse paper and carefully saved as trophies of victory .seldom won by the gentler sex. In teaching writing, the instructor was required to prepare the copies, give advice in the formation of letters and also respond to the oft-repeated calls " Please sir, mend my pen?" In March, 1790, there was a partial awakening to the demands of systematic education. The school-tax was assessed as a distinct rate, and the town voted that " such school masters as the law required " should be employed four months in the year, and four months writing-school should be kept at the centre, "and when the master had a very full school he should attend principally to those that write and cypher."

In 1789 the Legislature provided for districting the towns, and Bedford undertook the task, which proved to be a difficult one. Forsixty years the only accommodations for schools in the " quarters " were in private houses; but in 1792 a long and trying experience resulted in a vote to raise £100 with which to build a school-house in each quarter and made provision for a school to be taught in each. In 1793 the pride of the residents at the " centre " asserted itself in a vote " not to have any woman's school." The annual appropriation at the close of the century had reached the sum of $300. The closing years of the eighteenth century mark a very important epoch in the interests of education in Bedford. Kev. Samuel Stearns came, as the fourth minister to the town. He was an eminent scholar, young and energetic, and possessed of rare qualities for leadership, which lie judiciously used. For more than thirty years every progressive step in education bears the impress of his cultured mind and careful hand. The limited advantages for education were not urged upon girls, and when one of the sex manifested a desire to push beyond the fundamental principles she was subject to ridicule. The evil, not confined to this town, received early correction here. In 1797 Rev. Mr. Stearns inaugurated a female seminary, which was one of the very early institutions of the kind in New England. Young ladies from this and neigboring towns were instructed by him in the higher branches, many of whom were fitted for teachers and made most commendable records in the profession. The vote of 1790 "To employ only such masters as the law requires," cut off many ignorant aspirants for the office, but it did not reach the question of methods, and Rev. Mr. Stearns soon began to exert an influence in that direction. Rev. William F. Stearns, D.D., of Amlierst College, records the following method for teaching the alphabet in the opening years of the present century, as practiced upon himself: " The master pointed with his pen-knife to the first three letters and said : ' That's A, that's B, that's C; now take your seat and I will call you by and by, and if you can't tell them I will cut your ears right off with this knife.' " This was doubtless an extreme case, but the reform movement of the nineteeutli century was well advanced before the youth were exempt from the caprices of teacliers. In 1798 the town appropriated twenty dollars fur a singingschool.

In 180-1 the first system of bylaws for the government of the schools was adopted and put in force. Ignorance of teachers was guarded against. The winter school was regularly opened and closed with prayer. The Bible was read in all of the schools as often as once a day. The Assembly's Shorter Catechism was taught weekly, and every member under the age of fifteen years was obliged to carefully attend to such instruction. It wa< expected of all male teachers " that they frequently and carefully impress upon the minds of the youth the principles of virtue and piety, as connected with their responsibility and usefulness in life, and also highly essential to the support and wellbeing of our free Republican form of government, as required by law." For more than thirty years the Assembly's Shorter Catechism was one of the required text-books. Another text-book was Morse's Geography, the first book on the science published in America. In the scarcity of text-books the "School Fathers " required it to be used by the " first class " as a "reader." In 1806 a school-house was built at the centre, in place of the old building that had been remodeled for school purposes seventy-three years before. The annual appropriation then reached six hundred dollars and sixteen weeks of schooling were provided ; only two schools were in session at any one time, and pupils v.ere not confined to district limits. This led at length to a bitter quarrel in the East District. The master lost all authority, and the committee failed to restore order or peace. The several sections were arrayed violently against one another. The east quarter boys were on one side called by their enemies "Shaberkins and Sharks." The boys from the centre and north were united as an opposing force and named, from their locality, "Northquarter hogs and city pigs." No day wa-s without its battle. Many parents sided with their children and things grew worse and worse, until the town took it in hand and voted, April 5, 181.S, " To setoff the East part of the town as a school district, according to law, and that they draw their proportion of the school money according to the valuation of estates in that section." A town library, chartered by the General Court, was now in a flourishing condition. Each school district had a " prudential committee " to attend to the local interests of the school, and the town annually chose a committee of inspection whose duty it was to regulate the text-books, to providesupplies for poor children and adjust all difficulties. An examination of all teachers was required as to moral and literary qualifications. The by-laws were remodeled in 1819, and "master's schools" were requited to be opened and closed with prayer, and the record furl her says, " which practice also is particularly recommended to the serious consideration of female instructors, who will be permitted to use an approved written form of prayer." It was found difficult to enforce rules and secure uniformity in text-books until 1827, when an agent was appointed to furnish supplies at cost, and was paid for his services, by the towns. This custom prevailed until 1884, when the State passed the law requiring towns to furnish all school supplies and made the schools literally free.

The people were now beginning to receive the benefit of the " Page and Hartwell Fund." A certain proportion of the income was required to be expended for teaching sacred music. A singing-school was inaugurated in 1827, and held annual sessions at the centre for the benefit of the whole town. In 1829 a two-story brick school-house was built at the cost of .f2216.43. This furnished ample accommodation for the schools and for town business. The annual session of the singing-school for the benefit of the whole town was held in the " commodious " building until 1887, when the income for teaching sacred music became a denominational benefit. The apparatus of the school-room was meagre, indeed, until 1811. The open fire-place had given way to a close stove which necessitated the cutting of cord-wood sticks once in two, but this, with the " master's desk " and " battered seats " constituted the entire furnishings. A primitive volume called "The School-Book" was furnished each town by the State in 1806, in numbers equal to the districts. This town sold the volumes at " vendue." In 18-10 the School Committee filed the first school report. In 1841 the sum of one hundred dollars was appropriated for maps and philosophical apparatus. Eftbrts were made in 1841 and 1850 to establish a High School, but without success. The first printed report of the School Committee was circulated in 1847, and in the following year each district was furnished with " Webster's Dictionary." The annual appropriation for schools reached $800 in 1847, and $1000 in 1856. This amount had been annually increased by the income of the " surplus revenue fund." An unsuccessful effort was made about 1850 to establish a free public library, but an association was formed and a library started, by which superior advantages were furnished for a small compensation.

In 1850 the town received an unexpected benefit through the will of Zadock Howe, of liillerica, by which a seminary was founded and endowed for the benefit of this as we'd as other towns. The public gratitude was manifested by spreading a copy of the will upon the town records, and individual appreciation was manifested by turning to the Howe School for higher instruction.

In 1852 the demand for a high school was gratified, and of $885, the school appropriation for that year, S285 was apportioned for the trial of the experiment. Il was abandoned after a trial of two years. The school-house in each ''quarter" of the town stood as " a ragged beggar sunning" after sixty years of hard service, and in 1854 new houses were built at the east and north, and the west was thoroughly repaired, and a new one was soon erected at Ihe south. In 185(3 the brick house at the Centre was torn down and the present building, combining two school -rooms with a town hall, was erected at a cost of $8524. Mr. Charles Lane, of Boston, presented a valuable clock to the town for its use in the new hall. He was the same person who fell some years later, at his own threshold in Dorchester, by the assassin's bullet.

The dedication of the new building was an event of much importance, as the principal parts in the exerci.ses were taken by sons of the town. Mr. Josiah A. Stearns gave the dedicatory address and Jlr. John F. Gleason a poem ; among other speakers was Mr. Charles Lane, the donor of the clock.

The efforts put forth in the erection of the new town building had a stimulating effect upon education among all classes of society. The youth were inspired with commendable ambition in school work and their elders sought improvement through the lyceum. The town appropriation now reached i'lOOO. This was increased to about $1200 by the income of the surplus revenue, and the State School Fund, which was established in 1834. The town expended the " surplus revenue," and increased the annual appropriations to $1100 in 1861. The half-day session of Saturday was discontinued by the vote of the town in 1863. In 1872 an attempt was made to concentrate the directing power and to employ a superintendent, but this unfortunately resulted in an increase of the board of committee from three to six members. The results were not satisfactory, and a return was made to the original number as soon as the State law would admit. Women were first elected as School Committee in 1872, and have proved wise and eflicient workers in the department of education.

At the annual meeting of the town, in 1885, it was voted that the schools should be graded, that an English high school course of two years should be adopted, and that the school year should begin with the opening of the fall term. This plan, put in operation September, 1885, had a most stimulating eft'ect upon the students in the several departments, and led the parents to indorse a growing sentiment for consolidation.

In June, 1886, the first graduates were presented with diplomas. The course of study was altered and amended in 1889, so as to include three years of High School study, in which is the Latin language. The appropriation gradually increased until it reached $2800, for ordinary expenses, to which is added the town's portion of the income of the " State School Fund." An annual appropriation is made for schoolbooks and supplies.

After thirty-three years of service, the combined town hall and school building was declared inadequate to the pressing demands of the evening of the nineteenth ceatury, and preliminary steps have been taken, 18'.)0, towards the erection of a modern structure. In the schools of Bedford, thus briefly described, have been laid the foundations of some grand literary structures.

As the date is comparatively recent when progress has unbolted the doors of colleges to women, the list of those who have received a public education is confined to men.

The property of the Bedford Library Association was donated and became the nucleus of a valuable collection of books and other publications. Every resident of the town having reached the age of twelve years has the right to draw books from the library without payment of fee. Appropriations by the town and private contributions have enabled the trustees to make frequent additions until in 1890 there are nearly 3000 volumes for circulation, besides many v.aluable works for reference, and a collection of antiquities, relics and articles of historic interest. The town has an annually increasing fund for the erection of a library building, much needed at present.

A local weekly paper, Bedford Bulletin, is published in connection with other towns, under the editorial care of Abram E. Brown. It is now in its thirty- third volume. It has an extensive circulation in the town and in various sections of the United States where natives of Bedford are located.

Chapter Vii Military History

The war cry was not an unfamiliar sound to the settlers of this territory. They were accustomed to hardships, many of them had done service in the early campaigns, and sacrificed blood and treasure long before the Revolutionary struggle burst upon the Colonies. Of the garrison-houses ordered by the " Honorable Council " in 1675, during the invasion of King Philip, four were within the present limits of Bedford. As the Bedford of to-day represents outlying sections of Billerica and Concord, the homes of these scattered settlers did not suffer from any general invasion in the Indian Wars. Many of the men were away in the service, and the women were compelled to do double duty at home.

It is impossible to make up a complete list of those who served in the early campaigns. Job Lane was " impressed," but doubtless allowed to return and aid in the protection of his own garrison, agreeable to the order of the "Honorable Council" of l(;75-76. Sec. 4. " The said towns have their own men returned that are abroad and freed from impressment during their present state." Lieutenant John Wilson, who had a "corne mill " on Vine Brook, did good service " to the Eastward " in 1692-93. Lieutenant John Lane received the following order in August, 1693 : " These are in his Majesty's name to require you forthwith to Impress eight Troopers with arms and ammunition for his Majesty's service, four of which are to be daily Imployed as a scout about yo' town, especially towards the great swamp."

In 1693 Lieutenant Lane received similar orders from the Lieutenant-Governor, and in 1702 he received the following order from Governor Joseph Dudley :

" Cambridge, 5 Nov., 1702. " Sir ; I desire you with two of your troops to repayr to the towns of Marlboro', Lancaster, Groton, Chfliiisford and Dunstable, and there de liver severally the letters given you and encourage the officers in their duty, agreeable to the several directions, etc."

It is evident that the Governor of the Colony was personally acquainted with Major Lane, he having attained that military title at that time, and knew him to he a trustworthy man. In the Lane papers filed in this town is the following: the fourth, seventeen hundred and six." Six of the twenty-nine were from Bedford side of ancient Billerica, viz. : Samuel Fitch, Josiah Bacon, Nathaniel Page, Nathaniel Bacon, Benj. Bacon, Josiah Fassett. In the succeeding August, under the same command, Josiah Bacon served as " Trumpetter " and Josiah Fassett with Benjamin Baeoa were privates. The following anecdote was related by Leander Hosmer, a descendant of the heroine of the Lane family: " Mary, daughter of Colonel John Lane, was left during a season of alarm in the garrison with but one soldier on guard. Something behind a stump excited the suspicion of Mary, as she looked from a window in the roof. The soldier declined to open fire, and she took the gnu and discharged it and .saw a dead Indian foil into sight." The Lanes had an inherent love for military life. Gne writes from York, April 21, 1721 : "Lt. John Lane has been so im|)ru(lent as to suffer his men to kill sundry creatures belonging to the people of the County of York.'' He afterwards made satisfaction for the r:ish act.

By an act of the General Court, November 17, 172-1, men were allowed two shillings per day for time in service and £100 for each male scalp in addition to other premiums established by law. This oiler of the government was an approved means of defence against the Indians, and aroused Captain John Lovewell, of Dunstable, to raise a company and set out into the wilderness. He made three expeditions, during which several Indians were killed and others were captured alive. The third and memorable expedition of April 15, 1725, proved the most disastrous to the company, nearly one-third being killed, among whom was their leader. In each of the expeditions Bedford men participated, and Josiah Davis was killed, Eleazer Davis wounded, and others experienced the most painful hardship.

From a published sermon of Rev. Thomas Symms, preached at Bradford, on the Sabbath following the return of the unfortunate company, the following account' of the suffering of some of the number is taken : " Eleazer Davis, after being out fourteen days came into Berwick. He was wounded in the abdomen and the ball lodged in his body. He also had his right hand shot off." A tradition says that, arriving at a pond with Lieutenant Farwell, Davis pulled off one of his moccasins, cut it in strings, on which he fastened a hook, caught some fish, fried and ate ihem. They refreshed him; but were injurious to Farwell, who died soon after. Josiah Davis, another of the four, was wounded with a ball which lodged in his body. After being out fourteen days, in hourly expectation of perishing, he arrived at Saco emaciated and almost dead from the loss of blood. He recovered, but became a cripple." This manner of dealing with the Indians must be severely questioned, and enlisting to pursue the scattered remnant of homeless n.atives for such a purpose as actuated Lovewell and his followers must be condemned ; but the narrative serves to show the hardships to which the founders of this town were accustomed and by which they acquired the liabits of self-reliance so evident in their later history.

The Maxwell family furnished some brave military men during the French and Indian Wars, and also in the struggle for freedom from British oppression. Hugh Maxwell entered the service as a private, served five campaigns and held a commission from Governor Pownall as ensign, dated March 31,1759. Thompson, brother to Hugh, was with " Rogers' Rangers" at the destruction of St. Francis and all through the French and Indian Wars. He entered the service at the age of sixteen years. Lemuel Shattuck says : "Several of the inhabitants of Bedford sustained commissions."

The descendants of Nathaniel Page, who settled here in 1687, were commissioned officers for several generations: Cornet Nathaniel Page, born in England in 1679, died in Bedford, 1755 ; his son, John, born in 1704, held commission as cornet from Jonathan Belcher, Colonial Governor in 1737. Ensign Josiah Fassett was at the relief of Fort Williams in May, 1758. Sergeant Page, of Bedford, was with Thompson Maxwell in 1758. Maxwell had a handto-hand conflict with two Indians, - he shot one and brought the other " to a halt." He .says in his published journal : "Being exhausted, I reached a stream and Page swam across with me on his back with his gun and my own. I could not swim. In 1759 our sufiering from cold and hunger cannot be described ; thirty-seven of our number died on the banks of the White River in Vermont, where Royalston is now built. Sergt. Page was with us and a very stout man. He helped me or I doubt how it would have fared with me." "Nathaniel Merriam (son of Dea. Nathaniel) died at Lake George in his Majesty's service, Sept. 15, 1758, aged 19 years."

When the "French Neutrals" were taken from their Arcadian homes and portioned out in the Colonies, Bedford had her share to provide for. Joseph Fitch and John Moore filed the following bill : "The Province of the Mass. Bay Indebted to the Town of Bedford - To providing for the French Neutrals ordered to said town the 16 of Feb. A.D., 1760, 'till the 17ih of June, 1761, £21 7s." Bedford men were at Crown Point, Ticonderoga and at the decisive engagement on the plains of Abraham, and also on the northern frontiers, whei;e troops were kept to watch the Indians until the treaty of peace was concluded, in 1762, by which Canada became a British possession. It is gratifying to know that their services were appreciated as appears from the following :

Voted on March 2, 1763, " To abate Josiah Davis, his son Paul, lately deceased, and Joseph Wilson, their town and Highway Rate and all other soldiers their Highway Rate." Thirteen received abatements. In 1763 the people of this town entered into the " Thanksgiving " ordered by the King for the restoration of peace, with the same will that they had manifested during the protracted war. They labored under the disadvantage of having no minister to inspire or guide them from 1766 to 1771. The minister was the vanguard in many towns. Concord had her Emerson, and Lexington her Clark, but in the absence of such a leader in Bedford, there was no faltering on the part of the people. Hugh Maxwell, the " Christian Patriot," came to the front with somewhat of the heroism and organizing power which inspired his father to lead his entire family across the ocean to escape oppression. There were other brave men whose names appear in the subsequent years of trial.

Chapter Viii

March, 1768, the town voted "To concur with the vote of the town of Boston in October last, to encourage the produce and manufacture of the Province." The women were not behind in expressions of loyalty. They carried on spinning and weaving at an increased rate. A bride from one of the first families of the town is known to have been led to the marriage altar dressed in a "gown" of her own manufacture, the fruit of her own loom. The town sent no representative to the General Court until the Revolutionary struggle was well under way. The "letter of Correspondence " sent out from a Boston town-meeting asking for " a free communication of sentiments," was received and acted upon with a spirit of determination on March 1, 1773. In the following March the town voted " not to use any tea till the duty is taken off." In the " Tea Party," December 16, 1773, Bedford was represented by Thompson Maxwell, although not at that time a resident of the town. His journal reads thus : " In 1773, I went with my team to Boston, which was shut up (blockaded), with a load of provisions for the poor of the town. I had loaded at John Hancock's warehouse and was about to leave town, when Mr. Hancock requested me to drive my team up into his yard, and ordered his servants to take care of it, and requested me to be at Long Wharf at two o'clock p.m., and informed me what was to be done. I went accordingly, joined the band under Captain Hewes. We mounted the ships and made tea in a trice. This done I took my team and went home as au honest man should." '

. 1 Fearing that this narrative and others that will fr)]luw, might he regarded as too good to he credited, we have careful ly studied the facts and have no doubt of the validity of the journal. John Hancock, the famous patriot and merchant of Boston, inherited the estate of his

When "Boston Port Bill" went into operation, June 1, 1774, the old bell pealed forth the sound of alarm over the hills of this town, and the already crumbling "Bell-House" lost its equilibrium, but not so the people. They met on the last day of June, " To know and determiue what measures are Proper to be taken at this present time of Trouble and Distress," etc. They unanimously voted to adopt the covenant of non-intercourse. They chose the Committee of Correspoudeuce, which consisted of Deacon Stephen Davis, John Reed, Joseph Hartwell, John Webber and John Moore.

The town was represented by four delegates at the county convention held at Concord on August 30th and 31st. On October 11 th the town was represented by Joseph Ballard and John Reed in the iirst Provincial Congress, which had met by adjournment from Salem on the 6th. John Hancock was chairman and Benjamin Lincoln clerk. After a session of three days the Congress adjourned to meet at Cambridge, and then continued from October 17th to December 10th.

Devotion to a noble cause prompted the Representatives from this town, as there was no ort'er of compensation from a depleted treasury, but in March, 1775, the town voted " To allow Doct. Joseph Ballard four shillings per day, for twelve days at Cambridge, and four shillings for expenses at Concord."

January 18, 1775. They at first voted not to send a delegate to the Provincial Congress of February, but on the 27th, in a second meeting, chose John Reed, and, agreeable to a recommendation of the Continental Congress, chose a "Committee of Inspection " consisting of Moses Abbott, Thomas Page, Ebenezer Page, John Reed and Edward Stearns. At the Provincial Congress held at Concord and Cambridge, the plan was adopted for enrolling all the able-bodied men, and the order passed " that these companies should immediately assemble and elect their propper officers ; that these officers, when elected, should assemble and elect field officers, and they enlist at least one-quarter of the men enrolled." These were the "iniuute-men." The people of Bedford gave hearty assent to the appointment of Henry Gardner, of Stow, as treasurer of the Province, and made payment to him rather than to the royal treasurer.

In March, 1775, the town voted " to pay tw'entyfive 'minute-men' one shilling per week until the first of May nest, - they to exercise four hours iu a week, and two shillings to be allowed two officers, they to equip themselves according to the advice of uncle, Thomas Hancock. The warehouse alltiiled to, was a portion, and had been in the family for many years ; liero tlie country farntere had exchanged their produce for otlier wares, the Maxwells among them, very naturally, as they must have become interested in the family through Ebenezer Hancock, brother of Thomas, who had taught the Bedford school and boarded with the family of Rev. Mr. Bowes, whose wife was his sister. The mutual acquaintance had led John Hancock to confide the secret of destroying the tea to a worthy friend whose warlike spirit was gratified in this daring act.

the Congress." While John Reed was laboring in the interests of the town in the Second Congress, the minute-men were being faithfully drilled and the company of militia as well. The minute-men of Bedford were a fair specimen of those forces, so hastily prepared for war, of whom Lord Percy said : " We never saw anything equal to the intrepidity of the New England minute-men." The officers of the minute-men had no commissions, tis did those of the militia already in service; hence their authority came through the suffrage of their associates. The Bedford minute-men organized by choosing Jonathan Wilson as captain and Moses Abbott as lieutenant; Cornet Nathaniel Page was standard-bearer.

The banner illustrated on this page was carried by Cornet Nathaniel Page in the company of minutemen from Bedford to Concord, April 19, 1775. It had, doubtless, been in the Page family in this town for nearly a century before the Revolution. It was returned to the Page mansion after the opening scenes of the war, and there kept until the centennial celebration at Concord, April 10, 1875, when it was carried with the Bedford delegation iu the procession ol that day. Ten years later, October 19, 1885 (the one hundred and fourth anniversary of the surrender by Cornwallis to Washington), it was presented by Captain Cyrus Page to the town of Bedford.

It was thus brought to the attention of the Massachusetts Historical Society at their meeting in the following January, when Mr. Appleton reported upon it as follows :

" It was originally designed in England, in 1660-70, for the three-county troops of Massachusetts, and became one of the accepted standards of the organized militia of this State, and as such it was used by the Bedford company." Mr. Appleton said that in his opinion " This flag far exceeded in historic value the famed flag of Eutaw and Pulaski's banner, and, in fact.

Bedford

is the most precious memorial of its kind we have any knowledge of." The three-county troops, referred to above, originated thus: In May, 164.3, the whole Colony of Massachusetts Bay was divided into four shires - Middlesex, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, named from the lOnglish counties. In the same year, 1643, a new organization of the militia was determined upon, and the Colony forces were divided into three regiments. Middlesex had one, Suffolk one and Essex was joined with Norfolk in one. The valuable relic now owned by the town of Bedford is, without doubt, the banner carried by the Middlesex Regiment.

'* By the rude bridge that arched the flo<»I, Their flag to April's breeze uofurled, Here once the embattled farmers stood, Aad fired the shot heard round the world."

The " Lexington Alarm List," in the archives of the State, gives Bedford credit for twenty -six minutemen,, but has no record of the captain, Jonathan Wilson, who was killed on April 19, 1775. This unfortunate omission is, doubtless, to be accounted for by his brief service (the sacrifice of life being made about mid-day) and the few milts of travel, making the demand against the Province too small to receive the attention of the bereaved family.

The same list is authority in regard to the number of men belonging to the Bedford company of militia of the Seventh Regiment, together with their time of service.

According to the sworn statements of the commanding officers of the Bedford companies, there were, from this town, engaged in that part of the opening scene of the Revolution that took place at Concord, seventy-seven men in organized command, besides uudrilled citizens who joined the ranks on that morning. If, as a recent writer of Concord fight has recorded, the Provincial forces " numbered possibly three hundred and fifty men " at half-past nine o'clock, more than one-fifth of them were from Bedford. Thompson Maxwell (before mentioned) was with the minute-men of Bedford on April 19th. His journal of that date is as follows : "I again happened in Bedford with my team. I left Boston the 18th, and got to my native town that night, and put up with my brother, Wilson (who married my sister), and was Captain of the minute-men. Next morning early he had orders to march with his company to Concord. He requested me to go with him. I went, well armed, and joined in the fight. My brother, Wilson, was killed. Next day I hired a man to drive my team home." His home was at Milford (then Amherst), N. H. He later adds in his journal, "I never went home until after the Battle of Bunker Hill." It is not certain how early the news of the movement of the Regulars first reached Bedford on the night of April 18, 1775, but it is very probable that the town was warned among the first. Nathan Munroe and Benjamin Tidd, at Captain Parker's request, went up to Bedford from Lexington, some time in the evening, and, according to the sworn statement of one of them, " notified the inhabitants." The people had but little sleep that night, and were astir long before the break of day.

There is a tradition that Maxwell's familiarity with war led him to be suspicious of certain movements that he saw in Boston, and that he and Wilson were sitting, late at night, discussing the condition of affairs, when the messenger reached the house. The minute-men rallied at the tavern in the village, kept by Jeremiah Fitch, Jr., and there had some hastily-prepared refreshments. The Captain gave the following encouraging command as the company left for Concord : " It is a cold breakfast, boys, but we'll give the British a hot dinner; we'll have every dog of them before night."

It is probable that the militia rallied at the home of their captain, on the Concord road, and were at the scene of action before Captain Wilson's company reached there. On the arrival of the two companies at Concord they assisted in removing stores to places of greater .safety. It is said that Cornet Page laid down his flag and went to work, and when returning to look for it " found the boys had got it and were playing soldiers with it."

The Bedford men were on the ridge when they first saw the British, but, with all the Americans, soon turned and made haste to get to the other side of the bridge.

The Bedford companies met with no loss at the bridge, and were all in the pursuit of the retreating enemy. They left the " Great Fields " at Merriam's Corner, and engaged in the attack, then hastened in the pursuit, and were in the thickest of the fight near the " Brooks' Tavern," where Captain Wilson was killed and Job Lane wounded. It is not probable that they continued in pursuit of the retreating enemy, but, with saddened hearts, returned to their homes, bearing their dead and wounded. A British soldier said of them and others: "They fought like bears, and I would as soon .storm hell as fight them again." Bedford homes were full of anxiety that day. The women were engaged in preparing food and sending it on to Concord. One good lady said, "All day long the bell was ringing and guns were firing ; people were dashing back and forth on horseback, and saying there had been an awful fight." She had doubtless seen the Reading and Wilmingtou companies and others as they passed through the town or halted to rest at Fitch's tavern.

Admitting the militia roll, taken twenty-six days after the opening scene of the war, to have been substantially that of a month earlier, it appears that all of the able bodied men of this town, between sixteen and sixty years of age, with the exception of eleven, were on duty in the organized companies at Concord, on April 19, 1775. Had this spontaneous uprising of the people been a mad craze for war they would have

They received no cheer from their minister. When the people were hastening to the scene of conflict, the pastor was comfortably ensconced by bis fire-side, where he was found by a neighboring clergyman, who halted while on his way to Concord.

Both companies reported at Cambridge on the following day, and teams were soon on the road with supplies for the army. No Bedford men were at Le.i;ington on the 19th. It fosters a sort of patriotic pride, that one of the daughters, Lucy Bowes, the wife of Rev. Jonas Clark, was the entertainer of Hancocli and Adams. In 177G the entire population of the town, including negroes and mul.attoes, was 482. Assuming that to have been the number one year earlier, it appears that one-seventh of the entire population participated in the opening scene of the Kevolution. Bedford had credit for seventy-three men, on May 1, 1775, in the regiment under command of Colonel Samuel Gerish.

" Sir, - I have Received a few lines fntni yoii, wherein you requested me to take a list of all that are liable to Bare arms, and in compliance to your request 1 have taken a list of SlI that are betwixt sixteen and sixty, that are liable to do duty. There is eighty-eight in the list, including officers.

January 1, 1777, the number of able-bodied men in town, from sixteen years upwards, was 131, including five negroes. In addition to the other burdens, this town had twenty-nine of the poor of Boston to support, during the siege of that city. A Board of Overseers of the Poor, separate from the selectmen, was first chosen at that time.

The Slaxwell brothers were both in camp at Cambridge. Thompson went with the Bedford men to camp on the day following his experience at Concord, and there joined his company under Captain Crosby, fromMilford, New Hampshire, in Colonel Reed's regiment. Hugh was senior captain in Colonel Prescott's regiment. Their experience in the Battle of Bunker Hill is told in Thompson's journal, and is to the honor of their native town :

*' On the IGth of June Col. Reed w.as ordered to Charlestown neck. About twelve o'clock the same day a niunber of our officers passed us and went on to Bunker Hill. General Ward, with the rest, returned and went to Cambridge. In the evening Colonel Prescott passed with his regiment. My brother Hugh stepped out and asked Colonel Reed and myself if we woidd come on to the hill that night. We did so ; we went to Breed's Hill. We found Colonel Putnam there, with Goiouel Prescott's command.

" Colonel Prescott requested my brother Hugh to lay out the ground for the intrenchment. He did so. I set up the stakes after them. Colonel Prescott seemed to have the sole command. Colonel Reed and I returned to our command on the neck about eleven o'clock P.M. At day, in the morning, we again went to the hill, found Putnam and Prescott there. Prescott still appeared to have command ; no other regiment was there but Prescott's through the night. Captain Maxwell, after day, suggested, in my hearing, to Colonel Prescott the propriety of running an intrenchment from the northeast angle of the night's work to a rail-fence leading to Mystic River. Colonel Prescott approved and it was done. I set up the stakes after my brother. About seven o'clock I saw Colonels Prescott and Putnam in conversation ; immediately after, Putnam mounted his horse and went full speed towards Cambridge. Colonel Reed ordered his men to their commands ; we returned and prepared for action. At eleven o'clock we received ordera from Colonel Prescott to move on. We did so.

" We formed by order of Prescott down to the rail-fence and part on the intrenchment. We got hay and wadded between the rails, after doubling the fence by post and rails from another place. We remained there during the battle."

In 1776 the town took action on tlie question of the Colonies declaring their independence, and voted thus: " That we, the said inhabit.ants, will solemnly engage, with our lives and fortunes, to support them in the measure."

The town hesitated on the adoption of a Constitution and form of government, but iu August, 1779, chose John Reed, Esq., as their representative, "for the sole purpose of forming a new constitution.'' He served in this convention, which was held in the meeting-house at Cambridge, twenty-one days. In the following May the form of government was submitted to the people and received their approval in a meeting, three times adjourned, by a vote of twentyfive to one.

The Declaration of Independence was first read to the people by the minister from the pulpit of the old meeting-house, and is spread, in bold hand-writing, on the records of the town, " There to remain as a perpetual memorial,'' signed James Webber, town clerk.

Chapter Ix Mtlitaey History

In January, 1776, the town furnished six cords of wood and two tons of English hay daily for the army at Cambridge. With each load of hay or wood went packages from the loyal homes to the absent members in camp and the sufterers in the hospitals. Two ot the strong young men of the town, who fought at Concord, fell early victims of camp-fever at Cambridge (Reuben Bacon and Solomon Stearns). The town offered a liberal bounty for volunteers in 1776, and at the close of the year voted "that those who had personally done a turn in any of the Campaigns without any hire be paid the amount of an average of those hired." The committee entrusted with the duty of equalizing, bounty reported in November, 1777, a bill of £1746 IGs. Families of the town cherish with pride the tradition that their grandsires were led by General Washington to Boston, after the evacuation by General Howe, and aided in the shout of joy when the Britisli flag gave way to the tliirleen gorgeous stripes of red and white.

Tt is impossible to make up a complete register or state the exact number of men furnished by this town during the Revolution, and equally difficult to cast up her entire public expenditures. Bedford's Province tax from 1774 to 1776 increased more than five-fold.

The opening of the war (nade a demand for money, and in May, 1775, the Provincial Congress empowered the trea.surer to borrow and gives notes of the Province as security. Soon Continental bills were issued by the General Government. These bills were readily exchanged for cash for a while, but the repeated issues of such bills by both State and nation, and no specie to redeem them, together with the darkening da3's of the war, caused a depreciation in their value. The British officers and those who favored the royal cause lost no opportunity to weaken the Confidence of the people in the bills of credit, until it required about seventy-five jiounds in paper to procure one in specie. £1 or 20s. was worth in January, 1781, only 3d. Iqi: The purchasing value of any sum during the war after January, 1777, can only be determined by referring to a table of depreciation reported once a month, agreeable to a law of the State for the settling of contracts:

In 1777 the town chose a committee at the March meeting to hire the soldiers that might be called for that year and empowered them to borrow money. The amount borrowed with interest was £377 3«. 3(/., paid as follows:

The above amount was assessed and paid that year. An item appears in the records May 8, 1777, which serves to show the cost of powder: "Then renewed the Town stock of powder from Andover 72 weight at six chellings per pound £21 12s."

July 29, 1778, William Page is charged with the overplus of money in collecting clothing by subscription for the Continental soldiers, £9 15s.

Careful research proves that there was scarcely a campaign during the war in which Bedford was not represented by her own citizens, and supplies of boots, shoes, blankets and clothing were continually furnished b}' the people, who bravely endured hardships in their homes. The soldiers, who had enlisted for three years, were paid in the depreciated currency, of which it was said," a hat-full of the stufl' would not buy our families a bushel of salt," and many saw but little inducement to re-enlist; and in 1779 the duty of filling the town's quota became a serious matter. The town added to the commissioned officers three citizens to aid them in procuring men. They were Moses Abbott, Timothy Jones and Jonas Gleason. The commissioned officers were Captain John Moore, Lieutenant Eleazer Davis and Lieutenant Christopher Page.

June, 1780, the town voted to hire the men called for to fill up the Continental Army, and that the treasurer borrow money, if needed. In September the committee reported and it was voted to raise and assess £5500 immediately to pay the debt incurred.

Oct. 2, 1780, " voted that ye sum of £8175 be immediately assessed and collected to enable the committee to procure the Beef required from this town for the army " £8175

By the resolve of December 2, 1780, Bedford was called upon to furnish eight men for three years or the war. The case now became doubly serious. The records show that previous calls for men had been met by citizens of the town, very generally ; but the sight of their illy-paid neighbors returning from three years of service, and the knowledge that hostile fleets were in our ports, and hostile armies were upon our soil, tended to dampen the most ardent patriotism. One man, Joseph Davidson, was hired by the town for -*200 in hard money. Then the town was divided into seven classes to secure the full quota.

'- Clasg I. Capt. John Moore, chairman ; provided a negro called Cambridge Moore (servant of the above), and agreed to give him, as a bounty, Twenty head of cattle, three years old, in case he continued in the service tlir«e years.

"Class IV. Capt. Christopher Page, chairman; 'this class, by reaaon of disappointment, have not provided a man, but are still in pursuit to provide one.'

" Class V. John Reed, Esq., chairman ; hired one James Ingles and gave him as a bounty fifteen head of cattle, three years old, and nine hundred and ninety pound in paper money.

" Claas VI. Mr. William Page, chairman ; hired one John Williams, and gave him, as a bounty, the exchange for two hundred and fifty hard dollars in cash.

" Class VII. Dea. Stephen Davis, chairman ; hired one Joseph Roes, and gave him, aa a bounty, the exchange for two hundred and twenty bard dollars.

" To choose a committee to procure the portion of beef for the army, and directed the assessors to assess such sums as were necessary to answer the demands of the General Court or their committee then, or in the future.

*' Agreeable to a Resolve of the General Court of ye 16 of June, 1781, hired one man to go to Rhode Island, he was a citizen of the town, Samuel Hartwell Blood, tiave him a bounty of £19 10s.

£158 2». "July 2, 1781. Town voted to raise £10i;) hard money, to buy beef, and on the 16th of the same mouth voted to raise £45 hard money, to pay the above-named soldiers what they shall need before marching, and directed the assessors to make an assessments for the balance."

It is plainly seen that town-meetings and assessments occupied the time and minds of the people. In addition to the demand^^ for the war there were the ordinary expenses. It required £3000 of the depleted currency to meet the ordinary charges in the year 1780.

The financial condition of the town became alarming, when in Sept., 1781, "Voted, to borrow £40 to pay interest on town notes.'' The town also held notes against individuals, received by constables in discharge of the oft-repeated rates.

Jan. 22, 1782, " Voted, that ye treasurer receive money of ye delinquent constables agreeable to the depreciation scale, only excepting such sums of money as they may have collected before this time and it remaining on hand." The same course was pursued in discharging the town's debts. The selectmen were directed to assist the treasurer in costing the notes and the interest. At the same time " Voted, to raise £225 for paying notes." Constables were authorized to discount the rates of individuals from notes held' against the town, when they could no longer respond to the calls with cash. While in the midst of the financial difficulty the people manifested their integrity in dealing justly with individuals who had entered the service in the early years of the war without regard for remuneration : " Voted, John Lane, Jr., fourteen pounds in specie, for his services in the army in 1776, and Oliver Reed and Elijah Bacon the same sums for hiring men in 1777, as those had who did personal service in that campaign, $25 each." In January, 1779, the town voted " to abate half of Job Lane's war rates in consideration of his wounds received at Concord fight." In the following year voted " to abate his poll rates for every year since the war began." In 1783 voted " to abate Ebenezer Fitch's rates for being in the service in 1775." He was a " minute-man " at Concord, April 19, 1775, and at Cambridge ten days. March, 1782, the town was divided into three classes to hire three men to serve for three years or during the war.

That this obligation was readily discharged appears from the following : Springfield, .luly 3, 1782. " Eecd. of Mr. Moses Abbott forty-five pound as a bounty to serve three years in the Continental Army for the town of Bedford. William Grant."

It is noticeable that three "negroes, relics of the days of slavery in this town, not registered as liable to do military duty, were in the army during the greater part of the war - Cambridge Moore, Cfesar Prescott and Csesar Jones.

Oct. 26, 1782. Town authorized their treasurer to take up a number of grain notes and substitute notes for hard money, allowing six shillings for each bushel specified and interest for said amount from the time the grain became due.

Injustice to the Revolutionary fathers of this town it is recorded that not the slightest evidence can be found of inclination to repudiate the least obligation, either legal or moral.

From the evidence at hand it appears that the men of this town sutlered the greatest hardship at the battle of White Plains, New York. Moses Fitch was wounded in the shoulder, and was being aided off the field when his comrade. Sergeant Timothy Page, was killed.

In December following this battle, Congress vested Washington with full power to raise an army and gather provisions and to take whatever he might want for the use of the army, if the owners refused to sell. He also had power to arrest and confine persons who refti.sed to take the Continental currency. This was the condition of affairs when Moses Fitch was able to leave the hospital ; he returned to his home disabled for life, having received for his services a portion of the currency that had but little i)urchasing value. He pensioned for life.

With a population ranging from 470 to 482 engaged in agricultural pursuits, it is wonderful that the town could meet the frequent demands for men and money. Besides the regular calls there were continual demands for delicacies for the suflerers in the hospitals and comforts that could not be furnished by the regular channels of sui)ply. To these the straitened inhabitants were continually responding. The women were busy spinning and weaving. In 1770 the town furnished twelve blankets for the army by order of the General Court of January 4, 1776. Shirts, stockings, shoes and other articles of dress for the soldiers, in addition to the quantities of beef, were supplied by the people of Bedford. The treasurer's accqunts show the cost of a blanket to have been £90, but according to the scale of depreciation, $2] in silver would have satisfied the busy housewife. In 1780 " Eaq. John Reed " was .allowed $25 per day for services and expenses, twenty-one days, in forming the Constitution, but he actually realized less than one dollar per day, as one Spanish milled dollar was equal to forty-two of the old emission on April 1st, and before the close of that year was equal to seventy-four.

The S'l.OO bill, .about two inches square, hiid on its face the Latin words " Depressa resurgit," which is, in our tongue, " The down-trodden rises."

Under the new Constitution of 1780 the vote in this town for Governor, taken on September 4th, gave the successful candidate, John Hancock, twenty-five ballots ag.ainst two for James Bowdoin. " Esq. John Reed" w.as sent to the General Court in 1783 and granted five shillings per day for his services while he attended the court. The town chose a committee to give him instructions in relation to the return of .absentees and conspirators.

To be eligible to the office of representative at this time, one must be an inhabitant of the town and be seized of a freehold of the value of £100 in the town or any estate to the value of £200. The representative was chosen in the month of May, ten days at least before the last Wednesday. The members of the Executive Department were chosen on the first Monday of April, and inducted into office on the last Wednesday of M.ay following.

Chapter Military History

provisions. In the County Convention at Concord, August 23, 1786, "to consult on matters of public grievance, under which the people labor," John Merriam and Timothy Jones represented the town. They were .active in all measures adopted to quiet the minds of the people who attempted to oppose the government. Captain Christopher Page headed a Large company of militia in Shays' Rebellion, and in the following year the town voted " to pay each man who went to Concord and Stow to join General Lincoln six shillings per day."

Foreign troubles and the war with the Western Indians were occasions for calls for soldiers by the General Government, and the town voted on August 28, 1794, " to give each soldier that shall voluntarily enlist the sum of eighteen shillings as a bounty, and to make them up $8.00 per month, including the state pay, in case they are called upon to march, and for the time they are in actual service." The soldiers that enlisted were Moses Abbott, Jr., John Reed, Jr., Eleazer Davis, Jr., John Merriam, Jr., Job Webber, Asa Webber, William J. Lawrence and William Kemp.

In 1798 troubles with the French aroused the people in this town .as elsewhere. Many leading citizens adopted and wore the constitutional badge of attachment to the Government. The town voted on November 5th " that the Selectman be directed to show out to the officers from the town stock as much powder and ball and as many flints as the law requires for each soldier of said company on their inspection days, and also that the selectmen be directed to furnish each soldier on muster days with sixteen cartridges out of said town stock." The alarm of war with Great Britain in 1807 was an occasion for action, and the town voted " U> make up to the soldiers that m.ay voluntarily turn out in defence of our country, fl4-.00 per month as wages, if called into active service, and to give the men, ordered to be discharged from Captain Lane's Company, if they should voluntarily turn out, $3.00 per man, as an encouragement to the same, whether they march or not."

December 27th the town "granted to Captain Lane's soldiers who should enlist in the defence of our country for the term of six months $13 per month .as wages during the time they are in actual service."

The 1812 or Madison's war, was a time of anxiety and increased military duty. The order came for the Bedford company to march at once for the defence ot Boston ; a night was passed in the preparation, women cooked, while men and boys m.ade cartridges. It was on a beautiful Siibbath morning of September that the fife and drum summoned the militia together at the old meeting-house. Captain David Reed in command. With saddened hearts the entire people assembled for a brief religious service. After words .of exhortation and e.arne.st prayer from the patriotic pastor, came the partings and the march.

house, and watched with tearful eyes the departing troops, was the venerable deacon, who, still suffering from the wounds received in the Revolution, felt most keenly the parting from his son. It required but a few days to prove that the call had been a mistaken one, and the company were gladly received to their homes.

The full company of the town was in attendance at the reception tendered Marquis de Lafayette, in 1825, when the corner-stone of Bunker Hill monument was laid. For some years the military duties were but little more than a dull routine, unless enlivened by a sham fight, ending in a representation of the surrender by Lord Cornwallis to Washington. The town had no organized company after 1833. The sentiment of the town was with the Government in regard to the Mexican trouble. In March, 1847, resolutions were adopted and placed upon the records of the town. They begin as follows :

"Resolved, - That we appruve of the courae our government has pui-sued in prosecuting the war with fliexico for tlie attainment of negotiations for an lionorable peace."

The years that followed the Mexican trouble furnished important subjects for debate, and the citizens of this town organized a lyceum, where perfect freedom of speech was enjoyed. The Fugitive Slave Law, the Kansas and Nebraska Bill and many kindred themes were earnestly discussed. The people heartily indorsed the acts of Charles Sumner, Henry Wilson and other unflinching defenders of the cause of freedom. The brutal attack of Preston Brooks upon Charles Sumner in the Senate Chamber, at Washington, was felt by the citizens of this town as a personal insult. A legal meeting of the voters was immediately called and resolutions adopted and placed upon the records.

The people carried out their bold sentiments in their public and private acts. The .advocate of freedom for the slave always secured a hearing, and the homes of leading citizens were open to those who, early or later, espoused the cause of the bondmen. In the fall of 18G0, when the two political parties, " Democrat " and " Republican," were sub-divided into four, this town gave her support to the Republican, and gave a large per cent, of her votes for Abraham Lincoln.

In the months that followed, during which the "Southern Confederacy" was formed, there was a feeling of deep interest in this small town bordering upon excitement.

The attack upon Fort Sumter, April 12, 1861, opened the War of the Rebellion and aroused a generation that had never felt the devastations of war or learned the evolution of troops. The young men of Bedford, true to their ancestral record, began to enlist, and eleven had entered the Union Army before the close of the year. Among them was Cyrus Page, then sixty years of age, and still bearing the honorary title of captain, conferred upon him by the old militia company of the town.

But fifteen days after the outrage upon Sumter, a " Liberty Pole " was erected upon the " Common "' or "Training-Field." Oliver W. Lane, a descendant of the Lanes of Indian and Revolutionary fame, contributed the most towering pine of his forest; every artisan and workman joined in the rally on April 27th, and raised the pole, from which the flag of the Union was unfurled and waved daily during the years ot bloody conflict, now raising the spirits of the people as it waved from its highest point, and anon hushing them to silence, as, from half-mast, it betokened a nation's sorrow.

On June 27th, 18(51, two monthsafter the unfurling of the flag, and directly beneath its folds, occurred the first loss of life in Bedford, indirectly caused by the war. The alarm had led to a very general practice ot firearms, and a young man injudiciously discharged his pistol across the Common and killed a bright boy of nine years, Samuel T. Hughes. The first recorded action on the part of the town was a vote instructing the selectmen to draw from the treasury, according to their discretion, for the support of the families of volunteers and a tender of the free use of the town hall "to the Ladies' Soldiers' Aid Society to hold their meetings to render aid to the sick and wounded soldiers of our army."

This society did most valuable service through the war, continually contributing through the various Christian and Sanitary Commi.ssions. Some of the women gave personal service as nurses in the camp. In August, 181)2, a bounty of $100 was voted to each volunteer for nine months' service. In 1864 the town raised $624 to fill her quota. The sums raised by a vote of the town indicate but a fraction.al part of the money expended by her citizens in the cause. Not less than $5000 were contributed to the war by the town in addition to the long-continued drain by taxation. Besides the direct tax, there was the indirect or "Internal Revenue," which demanded, and vigilant officers collected rates upon almost every transaction. After the war closed, the Ladies' Aid Society turned its attention to procuring funds for the erection of a monument to the memory of those who had died in the struggle.

About $1600 were earned and contributed for that purpose with which a suitable Scotch granite monument has been erected in Shawshiue Cemetery. The inscriptions are as follows :

Memorial dav is sacredly observed on each annual return, and the rapidly increasing listof graves of those who served their country in the war receives the attention of a grateful people.

At the memorial service of 1887, immediately following the death of Captain Cyrus Page, the following hymn was sung. It was composed for the occasion by Abram E. Brown, and " dedicated to the Memory of Captain Cyrus Page and other Brave men who honored Bedford in the war of the Rebellion : "

" Their mounds we'll deck with flowerets bright ; Their noble deeds to children tell ; Through passing years and ages' flight A country's pride their praise shall swell.

"In Thee, O God, we're trusting still, Oiir fathers' God, Thou too hast been, With joy we'll own Thy sovereign will, And toUowlog Thee, life's battle win."

In the army roll ninety names are registered to the credit of Bedford. Seventy-four of them were citizens of the town. Six were in the service of the navy.

1767 - Mr. Thomas Page, who had received Dr. Ballard into his family, as a boarder, iu March or April last, and never had informed thereof, being then present before the selectmen, it was proposed to him, by the selectmen, whether the Dr. Joseph should be warned out of town ; and he, not desiring the same, the selectmen therefore agreed not to caution against the Dr. Joseph, nor yet to admit him as an inhabitant." Dr. Ballard was the second physician of the town, coming from Lancaster. He became a valuable citizen; was a delegate to the Provincial Congress, in Concord, 1774, and was a distinguished man. He died Jan. 29, 1777.

In the list of orders drawn upon the treasury it appears that the constables were liberally paid for "Entering Cautions;" one charge was seventeeen shillings. In 1737 the town had its first lawsuit. It was with the town of Concord, over the supiiort of a family by the name of Ross. Bedford lost the case, but a feeling of unjust dealing appears, from a record made later, when a committee was chosen " to attend to the witnesses who appeared again.st the town in the suit before the Superior Court." How Ross got a settlement in Bedford is not clear. The Lexington records show that he was warned from that town. The original of the constable's return is evidence that Bedford did not fail in trying to locate him in Concord :

"MidUiceex, S.S. Concord, May SO'*", 1737." In obedience to this warrant, I have conveyed ye within named Daniel Rose and his wife unto tlie said town of Concord, k delivered them to one of ye constables of sd. town and at ye same time delivered him a copy of ye within written warrant. ** Ephriam Davis,

That the town furnished more than the necessaries of life for this family appears from the treasurer's report of 1742. " For keeping of Ross £21 3s. Orf. For tobaka for Ross 15s.," and another charge in the same year " For tobaka for Ross 8s., and for a jacket £1," Rev. Mr. Bowes' register of deaths shows that Daniel Ross died " Oct. ye 27, 1748, aged 100 yrs." leading to the conclusion that the appetite, so generously gratified by the town, may have been acquired of the Indians long before the struggle with King Philip. For some years the care of the poor was let out annually by " public vendue," the contract being closed with the lowest bidder. As late as 1804 we find the following action : " Dorcas Bacon put to board with Simeon Stearns, until next March meeting, at sixteen cents per week, they to get what service from her they could." At length this plan gave rise to dissatisfaction, in that the worthy poor were liable to fall to the charge of irresponsible parties, and the duty of assigning homes for the paupers was referred to the selectmen with discretionary power. In 1823 a written contract was made with Thomas Page for the support of the poor, and bonds were required to the

" With regard to their diet, they are to be provided with a sufficiency of good and wholesome food, with tea or coffee twice in each day, if they choose, with sweetening; cleanly and comfortable lodgings, seasonable medical aid in case of sickness, and other things to make them comfortable as their condition may require."

Paupers were boarded by other towns in Bedford families. In 1741 twenty of such are recorded here, some of whom were from New Hampshire. The long distance from their place of settlement made it possible for great injustice to be done them by those who promised faithful care. In the early years of the town's history the needs of paupers were discussed in open town-meeting, and a detailed report made by the treasurer of each bill of charge for their relief.

The records sliow that the needs of a poor widow were annually discussed in town-meeting, for many years, without the slightest regard for her feelings. Further on the charge appears, "for Coffin, grave & gloves £1 5s., and a credit for the sale of her property at Vendue £2 13s. 4rf."

In 1833 the town voted to buy a "poor farm and stock it." This being done, the care of the farm and support of the poor was placed in the hands of a board of overseers, who at the town's expense, employ a superintendent and matron, and public charity is dispensed according to the most approved plans. By a vote of the town, a simple stone, suitably inscribed, is placed at the grave of each pauper, thus preventing the increase of unknown graves in the burial-grounds.

Chapter Xiii Burial-Grounds

A BURIAL-GROUND was indispensable to a well-regulated town, and the incorporators of Bedford hastened to assign a piece of ground convenient to the meeting-house for that use. October 23, 1729, " The selectmen met and laid out a burying-place in the land that Mr. Israel Putnam gave to the town." Later they changed the location a little, making mention of "a bridal way that leads from the road that runs from the meeting-hous to Woburn." In 1734 the town voted " to release John Mansfield's rates if he will keep the brush down in the buryingplace." Thus the citizens early manifested a regard for this sacred spot. Having a central location, it has never been allowed to show signs of neglect that are too often noticed in towns of New England. For one hundred and eighteen years this was the only place of interment in town. The most careful estimate, aided by authentic records, leads to the conclusion that not less than fourteen hundred bodies have been returned to their kindred dust within that enclosure. The town set apart a corner for the burial of the African race, and there in the "African reservation," in unmarked graves, are Cuff, Dinah, Violet, Jack, Ishmael, Quimbo, Toney, Abraham, Domire, Pomp, Ca'sar, Cambridge and others. In 1810 the town erected a house for keeping the hearse. It was in the southwest corner of the yard. The expense was $48.50. The contractor agreed to prepare the ground and underpinning, in addition to erecting the house, which, according to specifications, was " to be built with good material and painted twice over." Here were safely kept the hearse, bier and palL The old, cracked bell was stored here for a while, and here was stored the town's stock of powder and other military equipments, all of which were as-sociated with death or a state of uselessness. The absence of a record of consecration leads one to the conclusion that the incorporators of this town, like the earlier generations of settlers in New England, neither consecrated their burying-ground nor dedicated their meeting-house by special religious service.

The only flimily reservations in the burial-ground were such as were secured through neighborly courtesy. The ground was extended according to the growing needs of the community. In 1795 John Reed aud John Merriam were granted the privilege of erecting a family tomb ; and in 1824 Capt. Eobert Pulsifer built one adjoining it. In 1824 a private enterprise resulted in the erection of thirteen tombs, on land adjoining the public ground. These became the sepulchres of the leading families, and delayed the necessity of selecting a new place of burial for some years. In 1835 the first steps were taken towards ornamenting the grounds. The town appropriated the sum of fifty dollars, and trees were planted on the borders of the yard. In the early years of the observance of "Arbor Day" a large number of trees were planted and special care given to the ground then abandoned for the purpose of interments. The advance from the austerity of the Pilgrims, progress in art and improvement in the financial standing of the sturdy yeomen is in no way more evident than in the memorials erected and attention given to the place of burial. The grim " death-head " gave place to the " willow and urn." In 1837 the first white marble slab was erected in the yard. So conspicuous was it, in the midst of scores of primitive slate stones, that it was an object of general comment.

In 1849 the town laid out a new burial-place, about a mile east of the village. It is the western slope of a commanding hill-side, which terminates in the valley of the Shawshine River.

Shawshine (" Bhawsheen ") Cemetery is of itself a fitting memorial of the perseverance and sacrifice of those who started the enterprise, all of whom now sleep without its borders. Both nature and art have contributed lavishly in making this cemetery an attractive spot. Burial lots are owned by individuals, subject to wise restrictions, and permanent care is insured by a deposit of funds with the town, agreeable to a statute of the Commonwealth, In 1852 John Merriam gave the town $100 to aid in fitting up the grounds.

Chapter Xiv

The territory set oft' as Bedford in 1729 was inhabited by a good number of families who had established homes, but it was traversed by few public roads. The settlers had located their homes on the southern slopes and where they would be the least liable to attacks from the Indians. Neighborly intercourse was carried on by the shortest cuts through comparatively worthless fields, and by the same winding [laths the scattered families reached the "country road." The principal roads from town to town were called country roads, and were the only highways that received public care. The ways for local convenience were designated as "Trodden Paths," and were obstructed by gates and bars. The road from Billerica to Concord was laid out " 19 12""', 1660." The description of that portion of the road which was within the present limits of Bedford aud on to Concord Centre, is as follows : " from ye entrance of Mr. Dudley's farme, until you come to Concord great swamp, it shall lye at least six pole wide ; and from ye great swamp to Concord towne. Centre trees are marked aboute ye old road untill you come to the south corner of the widow foxes land ; then leaving the old dirty road on the right hand, and passing through an opening of the swamp, acording vnto trees marked in y" center of it, we continued to cramfield gate, and from thence, keeping the common road, to ye meeting-house."

If one would follow the road through Bedford at present, he should start at Herrick's corner and continue in the present highway to Proctor's corner and so on over the causeway road to the vicinity of the Sampson estate, entering the present highway east of the dwelling-house and so on in a southwesterly direction to the Henry Wood estate, and then continuing to the " Virginia road," which was doubtless the road first laid from Cambridge to Concord, and over which the pioneers of Concord brought their families and goods. The " Loop " by Josiah Davis is given by some authorities as the section of the Billerica and Concord " Country '' road, but local records do not support such opinions. It is evident that a road from Billerica to Concord was marked out some years later which crossed the higher land, very probably west of the present North Avenue. "September 9, 1743, the selectmen made bounds to the highway leading from Billerica to Concord, beginning at James Lane's" (Coolidge's), "and meeting the present highway at Joseph Fitches" (Wilkins' Hill). Tnis way must have gone below Farrell's and past the mill site in Captain Lane's land.

A road from Billerica to Cambridge (Lexington) known as the road to Bacon's Mill, or Fitches' Mill, is first mentioned, " 16 : 1 : 63" - " Will Tay & George farley are Apojnted to Lay out a highway from the Towne, leading to Mr. Michell's farme, on y" South East end of Mr. Winthrop's great meadow, to be layed out four polls wide." The condition of these early roads for many years is shown by an action of the town of Billerica, mentioned nineteen years later :

" 23. 1". 82. Whereas Mr. Miizey makes a complaint fur want of ye knowledge of ye highway from his farme, that hee bought of Timothy Brooks, to the town " (Brooks had a part of the Oakes grant now the Page estate), " The selectmen lio orderGeorge ITarley, tliat was one of the committee that laid it ont at ye lirst, & corj)! Jii" ffrench, forthwith to go and reuue ye nmrkes if y said way, that it may be obvious to all travellen*; also to draw up a record as distinct that may bee, bow it lyes that so it may be found afterward without much ditScnlty."

It is obvious that a public way was marked out from Billerica to Wilson's Mill (Staples') about as early as to Bacon's Mill, as it was " made passable " in 1683, and quite probable that it followed the present discontinued highway from Frost's by Hunuewell's. In April, 1694, a committee was directed " to lay out sufiicient highway from Mr. Michael's farm, through Mrs. Page's land to Shawshin River ; and over Shawshin River unto Lt. John Wilson's Mill to Cambridge line; and from the same road to lay out a suphicient highway through Mrs. Page's land unto the land of Patrick Fasset, unto the hou.se of Patrick Fasset, and from thence to state the highway in the most convenient place from Patrick Fassett's house leading up to Concord Road, and from there to Mr. Laines." This road may, doubtless, be traced at present over the hill by Wilson's house (Ladds') to the Cummings road, which led eastward to Woburn, and westerly by the present highway, by the cemetery, crossing the Lexington road at Fitches' corner, by Patrick Fassett's (William Page place), following the old road to Nathaniel Merriam's (Mudge's), and on to McGovern's, and over the discontinued road to the " Virginia " road to Concord. If " the road to Mr. Lane's " is understood as beginning at Fassett's, it may be indicated by the present highway from Mudge's to the village ; but if from " Concord road " to Mr. Lane's, it is the present highway from the Hartwell place to the village, which the town in 1734 tried to make William Hartwell " easy about." There was a road farther south from the Concord road towards Cambridge. It doubtless branched off" at Proctor's corner, before mentioned, passed Samuel Huckins' estate, and over Pine Hill by the Brown estate to the Page dwelling, and so on by the cemetery to Fassett or William Page estate and to Lexington, then " Cambridge farms." Pine Hill road appears as a "country" road, in a deed of conveyance in 1721, proving that it was a highway before Bedford was incorporated. It is also described in 1718, in laying out a way from " Shawshine Bridge" to Concord River, near James Lane's house. A road from Concord to Woburn was undoubtedly in use before the incorporation, and followed substantially the present Main Street until it met the Billerica and Cambridge road at the Page dwelling, which it followed as far as Webber's (Kenrick's) and then passed over " Cummings' Hill."

Concord and Woburn road is mentioned in a deed as going by Josiah Fassett's in 1721. Charles Wood's estate was bought by James Wright, of Fassett, which aids in the above conclusion. The " burying-place" laid out in October, 1729, was bounded on the Woburn road ; three months later the location was changed "a little to the northward," giving the present location of the burial-ground. " A bridalway is alowed to goe from the road that leads from the meeting-house to Woburn. ' The bridle- way or horse track referred to represents, substantially, the present Spring Street, until it reaches the " country " road at Brown's corner.

The meeting-house, which was nearly completed before the act of incorporation was passed, naturally became the nucleus of the village. The site had been selected as a geographical centre, for it is apparent that the dwellings were as scattering here as in other locations; there is positive evidence of only two within the present limits of the village. Deacon Israel Putnam's, and Benjamin Kidder's, which was occupied by Mansfield, after Kidder built the house now standing and owned by Miss C. M. Fitch.

The meeting-house was the centre from which the early roads of the new town radiated. September, 1730, in laying out the land about the meeting-house, " a trodden path that goes to Deacon Nathaniel Merriam's from the meeting-house" is alluded to, and "Mr. Bowes' compliment of land is laid out on the west side of the trodden path to Deacon Merriam's, next to Concord Old Line,'' " leaving two poles for convenience for the highway." As Deacon Merriam's is represented by the Mudge estate of to- day, it appears that the " trodden path " was the only road to the south part of the town. The reservation of two poles " for convenience for the highway" shows the width of the road later agreed upon. In 1731 the selectmen laid out the road from the meeting-house to Stephen Davis' (John Neville's) and on to Lexington line. This is substantially the present traveled highway from the village by the Mudge place to John Neville's where it may be traced in front (south) of the house, across the fields by a deserted cellar to Lexington line. The present traveled road from Neville's to Lexington is a more modern way. The front entrance of the house, when built, was convenient to the road as then traveled.

At the same meeting a road was laid out from the meeting-house to John Stearns' land. This may be the road which, at first, passed north of the present Main Street, in the rear of the Fitch dwelling, and connected with the " country " road after going northward to the present estate of Edward Butters.

A road was at once laid out from Kidder's (Miss C. M. Fitch's) to Joseph Fitch's (W'ilkins' place), "and over to Cedar Swamp to the land of Davis & Taylor, to Concord River meadow path." This at once suggests the [jresent liighway from Wilkins' Hill to the Sampson place.

In the same year, 1731, a highway, two poles wide, was laid out from the meeting-house to Lexington, which may be the present road by the Hosmer and Muzzy estate, over the causeway a few rods when it branched off to the south and passed the Mead's place to Lexington. In the descriptive record of this road, a causeway from Woolley's to Hartwell's, twenty-five feet wide, is mentioned, over which the road pcssed for a short distance. All the remaining road was two poles wide.

In 1734 the road from Benjamin Kidder's (Miss Fitch's) to Ensign James Lane's (Cooledge) was laid out, and later, relieved of its curves, became the present North Avenue.

In 1738 the road passing in the rear of Kidder's dwelling was exchanged for the present street, passing south of the dwelling. It was widened at that time, and is the present Main Street from the Common to Wilson Park.

March 4, 1734, " Town accepted the way that the selectmen layed out from south side of Oakes' farm to Kidder's land, so on to Deacon Israel Putnam's laud by the buring-place, and gave him (Putnam), in exchange for it, theRangeway on the easterly side of his land." We here see, with slight alterations, the road from the springs to JIaiu Street. In 1733-34 a road \Yas laid out which corresponds with the present Concord road across the causeway (McGovern's).

From the descriptions thus far made, it appears that within the first decade of the town's corporate history highways were laid out to each quarter of the town, but this does not imply that they were in condition for travel ; on ihe contrary, these acts had been little more than otficial indications of prospective highways.

In almost every case the owners of the land were allowed gates or bars ; in some, however, the time for such accommodation was limited. It may be inferred by this that fences were to be built to divide possessions within a specified time.

The unimproved condition of the roads made it easy to change locations, as it seemed wise to do, after more mature consideration. Several decided changes were made during the first ten years, and some roads, of which there is record, are entirely lost.

September 18, 1732, the first highway rate was allowed (£50), and Cornet Nathaniel Page was the first highway surveyor, aiid in each succeeding year similar sums were apjiropriated for the roads, but the roads were improved slowly, as more than a score ot miles had been laid out already.

The new town was favorably situated as regarded the building of bridges. The expense of preparing ways across the streams was very small for a good many years. In 173G the bridge near the Kenrick place is referred to as the "great bridge on the road to Lexington."

The Hill's bridge "Episode," in which Billerica's first and perhaps only mob is seen, caused this town not a little anxiety, and in 1734 'Town voted that the way of Hill's Bridge is not a public good and benefit."

Perhaps the people of this town thereby escaped being forced to contribute to the building of the bridge and road which the Court ordered to be done.

In 1747 the selectmen laid out a road leading from Joseph Fitch's house southerly, by the cedar swamp to the Concord and Billerica road. It passed through "Hastings' improvement," where he was allowed "to have gates or bars for a period of four years and no more." The road was over a trodden path beforementioned. The name suggests the means of conveyance of that time; the better roads were passable for carts, but very many of them could be traveled only on horse-back or on foot. AVagons were unknown, and the "one-horse chaise," which first appeared about 1800, was a luxury only enjoyed by the minister and a few wealthy citizens. A special tax was levied on a chaise, and the aristocratic owner erected a house for its safe keeping.