Boylston Town

Boylston Town

uncommon for them to enter the houses of the settlers. East Woods, a large wooded and rocky tract of land in the easterly part of the town, was said to be another favorite haunt of the reptiles.

It is perhaps known to but few of the present inhabitants of the town that a search was ever carried on here for buried treasure. Mr. Davenport, in his history, says, about the time of the incorporation of the town, in the autumn of the year, twenty or thirty persons from tlie towns of Northborough, West BoyUton, Hubbardston and Brookfield, upon the authority of dream!", began to break the earth on land of Nathaniel Davenport, E-^q., now belonging to the estate of the late Nathan L. Daggett, where they continued their labors, occasionally, for several weeks, until they had made an excavation eight or ten ftet in depth, and perhaps forty feet in circumference. The labor w:\s principally performed in moonlight evenings, with a table on the ground, with an open Bible and rusty sword upon it, one man at the same time sitting upon the bank, with smeet apple-true or witch hazelroAs in his hands, to inform the workingmen in what particular spot the money was, as it was believed the money had the power of locomotion, and was, therefore, uncertain whether it would remain stationary for any length of time. The money was supposed by the searchers to have been placed there by pirates, and that some person was murdered and buried there to take care of it. To appease the manes of this person a dove was one day procured by one of the party and bled over the spot where the treasure was supposed to have been buried, and the blood sprinkled about the excavation. Profound silence was required to be observed while searching for the treasure. One evening a man, while at work alone, struck the point of a bar, as he reported, under the bale of the kettle which contained the money, and heard distinctly the sound of the specie, but hearing at that moment a discharge of musketry, looked and saw upon the summit of the hill an army firing upon him. Just then the bale of the kettle slipped off the point of the bar and could be found no more. This is said to have been the nearest attainment to securing the coveted prize.

From its high elevation Boylston is essentially an agricultural town, and offers but little opportunity for manufacturing or other industries, but as a farming town it takes a liigh rank with the other towns of the county, both in the industry and prosperity of its inhabitants and in the cultivation and appearance of its farms. From the assessors' returns for the present year it appears that the valuation of the town is $.523,573 ; rate of taxation, $1.5 per $1000. There are 160 dwelling-houses, 208 ratable polls, 224 horses, 820 neat-cattle and 147 swine in the town. Its dairy products are extensive, and it has some of the best orchards in the county. According to the Massachusetts State Census of 1875, there were produced in the town during the year ending May 1, 1875, 20,930 oarrels of apples, valued at $8,100 ; 4,639 bushels of corn, valued at §4,706 ; 18,689 bushels of potatoes, valued at §11,847 ; 2,240 tons of hay, valued at S37,- 053; 148,415 gallons of milk, valued at $22,211; 43,500 pounds of pork, valued at $4,521; 49,425 pounds of beef, valued at $3,876. The total value of all agricultural products for that year was $147,537. The only manufacturing interests in the town are situated at Sawyer's Mills, where there is a cotton-mill owned and operated by the Lancaster Mills Company, of Clinton. The resident superintendents of the mills have been Deacon Moses Brigham, Levi Hoi brook, James A. Weeks, Edmund C. Forbes and Thomas C. Sheldon.

The people of the town have always been noted for their healthfulne^s and longevity. For a period from 1797 to 1830 there were thirty-four deaths of persons over eighty years of age. Miss Betsey Stone, a descendant of one of the oldest families, died June 30, 1868, at the great age of one hundred years and eight months. Abel Farwell, a pensioner of the War of 1812, died September 1, 1888, at the age of ninetyseven years, and was at the time of his death the oldest person in the town. Ezra Ball, now in his ninetv-fourth year, at present enjoys that distinction, and is the oldest resident member of the Congregational Church, an honor which was enjoyed by his grandfather at the time of the settlement of Rev. Mr. Hooper in 1794, and by his father when Rev. Mr. Sanford became pastor of the church in 1832. The population of the town, according to the last census, is eight hundred and thirty-four, and it has not varied very much from this number at any period of the town's historj^. The greatest number of inhabitants at any one time was in 1808, the year of the incorporation of West Boylston as a separate town, when it was ten hundred and thirty. In 1885 there were fourteen persons in the town above eighty years of age.

There are six schools in the town. The number of school-children, between five and fifteen years of age. May 1, 1887, was one hundred and sixty-six. The total number of different scholars in the schools for the year 1887 was one hundred and seventy-seven, and the amount expended for all school purposes was $2,228.07.

Boylston has an excellent public library, which was established by the town at its annual meeting, March 1, 1880, when the sum of two hundred dollars and the amount of the dog fund remitted from the county treasurer was appropriated for the purpose.

On the 27th day of the following June the Boylston Social Library - a library existing in the town, organized March 2, 1792, eighty-eight years previous, and consisting of three hundred and eighty-six volumes - was by vote, and subsequently by deed, added to the library. The library was completed by the donation of agricultural works to the amount of fifty dollars, from the Boylston Farmers' and Mechanics' Association, and twenty-five volumes from Mrs. John B.

Gough. The library contained, when open for circulation September 4, 1880, eleven hundred and ten catalogued volumes. It has since received many valuable donations, the more important of which have been from Hon. Phinehas Ball, of Worcester, the late John B. Gough, Esq., the late Oliver Sawyer Kendall, the late Sanford M. Kendall, Miss Ellen William?, of Northborough, Hon. George F. Hoar and others. In 1887 Miss Hannah E. Bigelow. M.D., of Marlborough, Mass., gave to the library one hundred and fifty dollars in books and money, in remembrance of her mother, the late Mrs. Levi Bigelow, of Marlborough, who was a native of the town. An interesting feature of the library is a collection of photographs of the present and former citizens of the town and the soldiers of 1861-05. The collection now comprises five large volumes and was the design of the late Oliver S. Kendall and has been largely carried out by his fiimity. The library now contains about twenty-five hundred volumes. George L. Wright is the librarian, and has held that position since its organization. A library has also been established at Sawyer's Mills by the Lancaster Mills Company for the use of its operatives. There is also a large and flourishing Grange of the Patrons of Husbandry in the town, of which George A. Hastings is the present master. The following is a list of the town officers chosen at the annual town-meeting in March, 1888 : Moderator, George L. Wright; Town Clerk, Henry H. Brigham (died June 19, 1888, and P. M. Brigham chosen to fill the vacancy); Selectmen, George E. Hastings, Penuiman M. Brigham, Wm. A. Andrews ; Assessors, Elmer Shaw, Lyman S. Walker, Wm. H. Hastings ; Overseers of the Poor, Lyman P. Kendall, Nathaniel L. Kendall, Charles E. Smith; Treasurer and Collector, Benj. C. Lane ; School Committee, George L. Wright, F. B. Willard, Thomas C. Sheldon ; Trustees of Public Library, P. M. Brigham, A. V. R. Prouty, George L. Wright, Miss F. M. AVhitcomb, Mrs. Everett Kendall.

Chapter Cxviil E.4.Rly Famii,Ies And Settlemekts

Of the territory now constituting the town, about three-fourths belonged to Shrewsbury, the northerly and northeasterly portions were included in the original grant made to the town of Lancaster by Sholan, Indian Sachem of the Nashaways in 1643, and the remainder, a ver)' small tract in the northerly part of the town, was derived from the Lancaster new grant made by George Tahanto, nephew of Sholan, in 1701. It is not certain when the settlement of the town began, but three large grants were made within its territory by the General Court of the Massachusetts Bay long before the actual settlement began.

One of these grants was known as the "Maiden Farm " and was made to the church in Maiden in 1655, and consisted of one thousand acres and lay in the southwest part of the town and partly within what is now West Boylston. This grant was the cause of a long and vigorous suit between the proprietors of Shrewsbury and the church in Maiden. Another grant was that made in 1658 and confirmed in 1659 to Capt. Richard Davenport, commander of the castle in Boston Harbor, and consisted of six hundred acres laying in the northwesterly part of this town and extending along the Nashua River into West Boylston. The third grant was the Sewall farm, comprising within its limits one thousand five hundred acres, and was partly in Boylston and partly in Shrewsbury, and probably adjoined the easterly line of the Maiden farm, and was granted to Chief Justice Samuel Sewall.

The first permanent settlement began in that portion of the territory taken from Lancaster by descendants of Thomas Sawyer, one of the first settlers of Lancaster, on the farm now owned and occupied by James E. Ball. Vestiges of the cellar of this house may now be seen a short distance south of the present buildings. The estate of the Sawyers included the farm now owned by Nathaniel L. and Everett Kendall, sons of the late Oliver Sawyer Kendall, and descendants of the Sawyer family, and extended to Sawyer's Mills village, where the Sawyers erected a corn-mill on the Nashua River. It is uncertain when they settled in that part of Lancaster now Boylston, but they were probably there as early as 1705 or '06. The Sawyer family were long and prominently connected with this part of the town. Lieut. Aaron Sawyer, a member of the tiimily, was prominent in Lancaster affairs during the Revolution ; was first town clerk of Boylston, assistant United States assessor in 1798, and a prominent land surveyor. The house erected by his father, bearing on a stone in its chimney the date 1745, is now standing at Sawyer's Mills, and probably the oldest house in the town. The settlement of that part belonging to Shrewsbury began about 1717. Among the early settlers are found the names of Bennett, Stone, Bigelow, Taylor, Ball, Hastings, Newton, Keyes, Temple, Howe, Bush, Davenport, Flagg, Andrews and Wheeler.

The Ball family was prob.ably the second family that settled in what is now Boylston and came from Watertown. The family is descended from John Ball, who came from Willetshire, England, and settled in that part of Concord now Bedford, where he died October 1, 1655. He had Ebenezer, Eleazer, John and Nathaniel ; the last-named was the father of Caleb, and grandfather of Reuben, who married Experience Flagg in 1713, and had eight children, three of whom lived to be over ninety years of age. The sons of the first-named John Ball settled in Lancaster and Watertown, and were among the first settlers in those places. John Ball, probably a son of the first of that name, settled at South Lancaster, where he, wiih his wife. Elizabeth, and an infant child, were slain by the Indians in the niassaore of February 10, 1(J76, and two others of his family were carried into captivity. The portion of the family which settled in Boylston located in the easterly portion of the town, within the territory derived from Lancaster and very near the line which separated that town from Shrewsbury. The original farm is now occupied b3'Alonzo Ball, and has always been in the possession of the family since its first settlement. The family has always been noted for its longevity.

The Bennett family were from Lancaster, where George Bennett, a descendant of James Bennett, of Concord, and a nephew of Richard Linton, one of the early settlers of Lancaster, came some time previous to 1665. Bennett vpas killed by the Indians August 22, 1675. He left a widow and five small children, among whom was Samuel, born 1665, and who succeeded to his father's estate. This Samuel Bennett, Mr. Ward says, was i)robably the one who was in the Shrewsbury north part as early as 1723, and whose son Samuel was one of the permanent settlers in that part of Shrewsbury. The place where he resided included the farms now owned by Leonard Brewer and Augustus Flagg, situated about one mile east of Boylston Centre, on the road leading to Berlin. The site of the original house may be seen marked by a slight depression in the ground, on the left of the road, a short distance below the present buildings on Mr. Brewer's farm, and near where the brook crosses the road. This house was used during the early settlement as a garrison-house for protection against the Indians. The Bigelow family came from Jlarlborough, where they settled some time between 1690 and 1700, coming to that place from Watertown. The history of the family can be traced in England as far back as the time of Henry III., when the family name was written Bagulay, and was derived from the place where they dwelt. Richard was Lord of Bagulay in the time of Henry VIII. ; Ralph De Bigulay was Lord of Ollerton Hall, and died in 1540. The name has also at different periods been spelled Biggeley, Bigulah, Bigloh, Biglo and Biglow in the early records. John Bigelow was the first of the family in New England, and settled at Watertown, where he married Mary Warner, October 30, 1642. His grandson, John Bigelow, settled at Marlborough. In 1705 he was taken captive by the Indians with Thomas Sawyer, Jr., and his son Elias, and carried to Canada. Sawyer offered to erect a saw-mill for the French government on the Chambly River upon the condition that he should obtain the ransom of the three captives. The Indians, however, refused to accept the ransom of Thomas Sawyer, and bound him to the stake for torture, when a friar excited the fears of the savages by brandishing a key, and threatening with it to unlock the door of purgatory and thrust them into its fires if they did not release their prisoner. They immediately unloosed him, and, (rue to his promise, he completed the mill, which was the first erected in Canada. When Sawyer and Bigelow returned home, Elias Sawyer was detained a year longer to run the mill. Captain Joseph Bigelow, a son of this John Bigelow, settled in the north part of Shrewsbury about 1729, a prominent man there, and was the ancestor of most of the families of the name living in Boylston. Dea. Amariah Bigelow, a son of Samuel, of Marlborough, settled in Shrewsbury North Parish about 1747, in that portion now belonging to West Boylston, and on the farm now owned by George T. Brigham, Esq. He was a prominent man and had a large family of children. One daughter was the wife of Rev. Eleazer Fairbanks, the second minister of the Boylston Church.

There are several families of the name now residing in both towns. The Stone farailj' probably came from Andover and settled in the e.\treme northerly part of the town. The T.iylor, Tveyes, Temple and Bush families came from Marlborough. Lieutenant Eleazer Taylor, first of the name in Boylston, was probably the first settler in the central part of the town. He resided on the place afterwards owned by Rev. Ward Cotton, and now in the possession of Henry V. Woods. He was the father of Anthony and David Taylor, both of whom were noted for their prodigious strength. The Keyes family came here about 1720 and settled in the south part of the town. They were prominent in church, precinct and town affairs. John Keyes, Sr., was the first magistrate in the territory now Boylston, and one of the first deacons of the churches in Shrewsbury and Boylston, first town clerk of Shrewbury, a member of the first Boards of Selectmen, Assessors, etc., and Representative in 1746. Cyprian Keyes was also a deacon in both churches, one of the selectmen of Shrewsbury eighteen years, assessor fourteen years, town clerk seven years, etc. One of his daughters married Major Ezra Beaman and another was the wife of Jotham Bush and mother of Colonel Jotham Bush. Deacon Keyes died June 18, 1802, aged ninety-five years and nine months. His brother, Jonathan Keyes, was also a deacon in the Shrewsbury Norlh Parish (now Boylston). The family name is now e.xtinct in Boylston. The Temples settled in the southwest part of the town and on territorv now embraced within the limits of both Boylston and West Boylston. Isaac Temple was the first of the name and appears to have been a very influential man in the early town and precinct affairs. His son, Lieutenant Jonas Temple, was a very prominent man in both Shrewsbury and Boylston and much employed in town affairs and Representative from both towns.

His residence was within the present limits of West Boylston, and when that town was incorporated, in 1808, he refused to be set off to the latter town, and the Legislature made provisions in the act of incorporation whereby he and his farm should remain a part of Boylston until his decease, which occurred November 3, 1815, at the age of eighty-three years. John Bush was the first of that name who settled in Boylston, and was the son of Abial Bush, who settled in Marlboro', in 1690. John Bush settled on the place now owned by the estate of the late Charles Andrews, Esq., at Boylston Centre; he was prominent in both town and precinct aftairs and was instrumental in the incorporation of the North Parish, their agent before the General Court and the first precinct clerk. His son, Jotham Bush, Jr., and his son-in-law, Rev. Ebenezer Morse, M.D., were royalists in the time of the Revolution; and Jotham Bush was compelled to leave his estates and flee the country; he was finally taken and sent on board a ship in Boston Harbor, where he died of small-pox in 1778. After his deatli his estate came into the hands of his son,' Colonel Jotham Bush, where he erected a large and fine mansion, at the time one of the best in Worcester County. This house was destroyed by fire October 20, 1859; Colonel Bush resided there until his death, November 13, 183ii, at the age of eighty years. He was an honored and influential citizen, devoting himself untiringly to the best interests of the town, and in return was honored with nearly every oflSce within its gift. He was prominently identified with the movement, in 1786, which led to the division of Shrewsbury and incorporation of Boylston. Three of his daughters married clergymen and left descendants who were prominent in that and the medical professions, among whom is Dr. William F. Holcombe, of New York. One daughter, Mrs. Martha Dickinson, of Brooklyn, N. Y., widow of Rev. Baxter Dickinson, was living in 1880, at the age of eighty-eight years. One of her sons is Rev. William Cowper Dickinson, of Cincinnati, Ohio ; another son, Rev. Richard Storrs Dickinson, was associate pastor of Rev. Dr. Barnes, of Philadelphia. Deacon Jotham Bush, son of Colonel Jotham Bush, died here in 1880 and was the last of the family in Boylston.

The Howe family came here about 1725, when Phineas Howe, then a young man, was sent from Marlboro' by his father to form a home in the then more unsettled wilderness ; he settled on the farm now owned by George Hazard, and spent the first winter here alone. It is said that he found his way to and from Marlboro' by blazing the trees with an axe. He married Abigail Bennett, daughter of Samuel Bennett, one of the earliest settlers and his nearest neighbor, and resided here until his death. The family is de-' scended from John Howe, E-q , wlin caine from Warwickshire, in England, and was connected with Lord Charles Howe, Earl of Lancaster, in the reign of Charles I. There are many descendants of the family now living in the town.

The Newtons also came from Marlborough, and settled in the extreme southeast and northwest parts of the town. The Wheelers were from Watertown. Both of these families are now extinct. The Davenports were descended from Capt. Richard Davenport, the commander of the castle in Boston Harbor, who came over to Salem in September, 1628, with Gov. Endicott. He was a prominent man in the Massachusetts Bay Colony, and was one of the guardians of Adam Winthrop, Jr., a grandson of Gov. John Winthrop, and was also much employed in the service of the colony, and received from the General Court, in 1659, the grant of land already mentioned, and where his grand-ons - William and Nathaniel - settled in 1786, and which remained in the family for eight generations. Capt. Davenport was killed by lightning, July 15, 1665. The family was also connected with the families of Dr. Isaac Addington, whose son of the same name was chief justice under Gov. Dudley, register and judge of probate for Suffolk County, etc. and also with the family of Gov. John Leverett. His grandson, Addington Davenport, was register of deeds and clerk of courts for Suffolk County, clerk of the House of Representatives and judge of the Supreme Court. The history of the family can be traced in England in unbroken descent from the time of the Norman Conquest, and was very highly and honorably connected. What relation Capt. Richard Davenport was to the distinguished Rev. John Davenport is not known, but the relationship, if any, must have been distant, as they were contemporary together, and were not father and son, as stated by Mathew Davenport, Esq., in his " History of Boylston." The Flaggs came from Watertown and Concord. Thomas Flagg was in. the former place as early as 1643. Gershom Flagg was in Boylston in 1729, and was the direct ancestor of the families here of that name. This family has produced many influential men. The Hastings family came from Watertown, in the person of Daniel Hastings, who settled in the easterly part of the town, on the farm now owned by A. V. R. Prouty. He was a prominent man, and much employed in town and precinct affairs. It is said that when he settled here, in 1729, he traveled on horseback with his family and goods through an unbroken wilderness, and was several days in making the journey. This family is of Danish origin, and dates back to the early times, when the Danes made frequent incursions into that part of England and Scotland bordering on the North Sea. In one of these incursions Hastings, a Danish chief, made himself formidable to Alfred the Great by landing a large force of men on the English coast. He took a portion of Sussex, and the castle and seaport were held by his family when William the Conqueror landed in England, and held it for the crown many years. Henry was Lord of Hastings and son of William De Hastings, steward of Henry II. They were allied by marriage with the royal family of England and Scotland. Sir Henry and George Hastings, grandsons of the Earl of Huntingdon, became Puritans, and fled from England to the New World, and were the first of the family in this country.

The Andrews family came here about 17415, when Robert Andrews, a son of Robert Andrews, of Boxford, i-ettled on the farm hitely owned by the heirs of Willard Andrews and now occupied by Henry L. Shumway. This farm was in the possession of Robert Andrews and his descendants from its first settlement until 1887. He was a prominent man, captain of militia and during the Revolution was one of the selectmen of Shrewsbury. He was accidentally killed November 11, 1789. His wife was Lucy Bradstreet, of Top.'-field, a descendant of Governors Dudley and Bradstreet. This family has furnished many influential men to the town. Of all the Boylston families, the Flaggs, Hastings and Andrews were the most numerous, and many families of each name are now residing in the town. It is not known that the early settlers were ever attacked by the Indians in hostile manner, but Shrewsbury and Lancaster were among the frontier towns put into a state of defense by the General Court in 1722, and garrison-houses or stockade forts were early maintained. One of these was at the house of Samuel Bennett, already described, on the farm of Leonard Brewer. Another was at the house of John Bush and the third stood within the present limits of West Boylston, about eighty rods from the present residence of George T. Brigham, Esq. The early settlers carried firearms into their fields of labor and many false alarms of savage incursions are believed to have taken place. One anecdote, said to be authentic, is that the wife of one of the settlers who came from Marlborough was preparing dinner, and putting her meat into the dinner-pot, hung it over the crane, when the family were suddenly alarmed and fled to Marlborough, returning in about a year. She found her dinner preparations in the same situation in which she had left them. Specimens of Indian arrow-points, stone implements, etc, have been found in different parts of the town, and the sites of some of their corn-fields and granaries, which were simple excavations in the ground, have been discovered.

for had both parishes remained together, and Mr. Cotton found himself the pastor of a church united both among themselves and in him as their minister. Mr. Cotton continued as the minister of the towa twenty-eight years, until June 22, 1825, when he was dismissed by a mutual ecclesiastical council. His pastorate during nearly its entire period was characterized by a high degree of harmony.

In the early part of his ministry he inaugurated some important changes in the church policy and discipline, and in 1S17 the custom of receiving members on the Half-way Covenant was discontiuued. In 1818 the present Sabbath-school was organized. The only breach of harmony, which seemed to have occurred during his early ministry began about 1810, when several of the members of the church withdrew and united with the Baptist denomination. A church and society called the Shrewsbury and Boylston Baptist Society, was organized in 1812, holding services alternately in the two towns, and the following year, 1813, a church building was erected in Shrewsbury twenty-five by thirty-two feet, at a cost of four hundred and fifty dollars, and Rev. Elias McGregory was ordained, in 1818, as its regular pastor. This church soon became divided, and the services were afterwards occasionally continued in Boylston, Rev. Henry Archibald and others officiating.

During the ministry of Rev. Mr. Cotton ninetyeight members were added to the church in full communion ; there were also four hundred and one baptisms, three hundred and si.xty-five deaths and one hundred and sixty-seven marriages in the town, exclusive of those who were married by justices of the peace. After his dismission Rev. Mr. Cotton preached for some time to a congregation of his friends and adherents at the Town Hall, and continued to reside in the town until his decease, November 15, 1843, at the age of seventy-four years.

Rev. Mr. Sanford says of him : "As a man, Mr. Cotton was amiable, with strong sympathies for those who were in affliction, obliging in his disposition, took pleasure in conferring favors and never sought to give unnecessary paiu and trouble to those around him." He took a deep interest in the affidrs of the town and especially in the education of the young. He was for many years a member of the School Committee, and for eight years represented the town in the General Court. He was a son of Rev. John Cotton, of Plymouth, and was born there March 24, 1770. He graduated from Harvard College in 1793. He descended from a line of ministers, illustrious in the religious annals of New England. His father graduated from Harvard College and was settled as the first minister in Halil'ax, Mass., in 1735, where he remained until 1756, when he resigned on account of ill health and returned to his native town of Plymouth, where he was chosen register of deeds for Plymouth County, in which office he died. His grandfather was Rev. John Cotton, Jr., born March 15, 1640, gradu- ated at Harvard College 1657, and preached first at Wethersfield, Conn., and from 1664 to 1667 to a congregation of Indians and white people at Martha's Vineyard. He was settled as the minister at Plymouth June 30, 1669, and remained there until October 5, 1697, when he went to Charleston, S. C, and gathered a church there, of which he was the pastor until his death, September 18, 1699. His church erected a handsome monument over his grave. He was distinguished for his knowledge of the Indian language and the whole care of correcting and revising the second edition of Elliott's Indian Bible, published at Cambridge in 1685, was entrusted to him. His greatgrandfather was the distinguished Rev. John Cottou, minister of the First Church in Boston.

After the dismission of Rev. Mr. Cotton the church remained without a pastor for nearly a year, when, after having heard several different candidates, the church, by a unanimous choice, determined upon Mr. Samuel Russell. This choice was concurred in by the parish by a large majority and a call was extended to Mr. Russell to settle with them in the Gospel ministry at a salary of five hundred dollars per year. This call was accepted, and on the 21st of June, a.d. 1826, Mr. Russell was ordained by a council selected by mutual agreement. The examination of Mr. Russell was vigorous, the council frequently assuming the appearance of a heated theological discussion and " in it, says Rev. Mr. Sanford in his anniversary sermon, preached on the completion of the twentieth year of his settlement, in 1853, "were represented all the isms that distracted the Congregational churches of Massachusetts at that time," which was a peculiar crisis in the religious history of New England, and especially in Massachusetts, the condition of this church and people being similarly disturbed with the other Congregational Churches of all this region, and, in liict, through the whole of the New England States', by the conflicting doctrines which had for some years divided their harmony. Some of the church and parish looked for a new pastor from the liberal school, while others were more in sympathy with Calvinist doctrines. These conflicting doctrines and the lack of harmony resulting therefrom had been the cause of the severest trials during the last years of Mr. Cotton's ministry. His dismission bad by no means removed them and it was hardly within the bounds of possibility or reason that the next pastor should unite them. To this arduous and difficult task Mr. Russell had been called. He was at the time of his ordination twenty -seven years of age, having been born at Bow, N. H., September 24, 1799. He was the eldest child of his father's fitmily and had early been intended for the ministry, and at the age of fifteen years had united with the church in Dunbarton, N. H., of which the Rev. Dr. Harris was then pastor. He was graduated at Dartmouth College in the class of 1821 and from the Andover Theological School in 1824. Soon after coming to Boylston he was united in marriage to Miss Mary J. Howe, daughter of Rev. Nathaniel Howe, of Hoplcinton, Mass. His religious faith aud teachings when he entered upon his ministry agreed essentially with the Shorter Catechism of the Westminster Assembly. During his pastorate here the church covenant was changed and the present articles of faith adopted, to which all who should unite with the church in the future should be required to give assent, and to a large extent the entire policy of the church was changed.

While this same controversy was going on in the Congregational Churches of Eastern Massachusetts, the Evangelical Churches of New England experienced one of the most powerful revivals of religion which had been felt since the lime of Rev. George Whitefield. This revival was felt in the Boylston Church, and many were added to its membership.

During Rev. Mr. Russell's ministry in Boylston one hundred and four persons were added to the church - ninety-nine on profession of laith and five by letter from other churches. There were also one hundred and nineteen baptisms, twenty-five marriages and sixty-three deaths in the town. February 13, 1832, Rev. Mr. Russell, by letter, requested his dismission, which was granted by the church and parish, and on the 17th of the following April the pastoral relations were dissolved. His ministry in Boylston covered a period of five years, nine months and twenty-six days. Soon after leaving Boylston he received a call to the church in Norwich, in this State, where he was installed September 5, 1832, and where he remained sustaining the most harmonious relations with his people until his death, which occurred from consumption, Jan. 27, 1885, at the age of thirty-five years. Rev. Dr. John Todd, of the Edwards Church at Northampton, in his sermon preached at the funeral of Mr. Russell, says of him : " In his manners and appearance he was simple, unaflected and kind. His judgment was clear, sound and discriminating. As a husband, a friend, a pastor and a brother he was respected and beloved. As a preacher he was plain in manner and plain in matter, but he was uniformly judicious and practical."

On the 9th of August, 1832, the church and parish, by a unanimous vote, invited Mr. William H. Sanford, of Belchertown, to become its pastor at an annual salary of five hundred dollars. This ofier Mr. Sanford accepted, although at great personal sacrifice, and on the 17th of October, 1SS2, was ordained as their pastor. At the time of his ordination the church consisted of one hundred and forty-eight members. Soon after assuming the pastorate the present church edifice was erected, and was dedicated December 10, 1835. So harmonious was the condition of the church and society at this time that only eight parish meetings were held for the purpose of transacting the business connected with the erection of the house. When the first house of worship was erected, in 1742, not less than fourteen precinct meetings were needed for completing the house, and the erection of the second house, in 1791, was the cause of about twenty town-meetings and a subsequent division of the church, parish and town. During twenty years of Rev. Mr. Sanford's pastorate, from 1832 to 1852, one hundred and thirty-five members were added to the church. There were also one hundred and forty-five baptisms, ninety-one marriages and two hundred and fifty deaths in the town. He had also preached one thousand aud twenty-eight Sabbaths. He was dismissed on account of ill-health, September 15, 1857, after having been the pastor of the church a little less than twenty-five years.

Eev. Mr. Sanford was independent and fearless in his manner and preaching, never hesitating to proclaim what he considered to be the truth, and in all his ministrations was greatly beloved by his people. He ever took a deep interest in the afi'airs of the town, and especially in all matters relating to education. During nearly the entire period of his ministry he served as chairman of the School Committee of the town. In 1857' he represented the town in the General Court. He was a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1827. Previous to coming to Boylston he married Harriet S., daughter of the late Rev. Ethan Smith, A.M., for some time city missionary of Boston, and the author of several theological works. After the termination of his pastorate in Boylston Rev. Mr. Sanford removed to Worcester, where he engaged in the book aud publishing business, which is now carried on by his sons. He died in Worcester, November 27, 1879, aged seventy-nine years, nine months and thirteen days.

After the close of Rev. Mr. Sanford's labors a period of supply intervened, and several clergymen were acting pastors, among them the late Rev. William Murdock, of West Boylston, and Rev. Daniel Wight, afterwards for many years librarian of the Morse Institute at Natick, Mass., until October 17, 1861, when Rev. Abel Hastings Ross, a graduate of Oberlin College, Ohio, was ordained. During his pastorate the country passed through the great Civil War, and Rev. Mr. Ross was away from his parish for some time in the service of the Christian Commission. He was a minister of growing ability, and a talented and eloquent preacher. He resigned to accept a call from the Congregational Church at Springfield, Ohio, and was dismissed from the Boylston Church aud Society January 16, 1866. He has been quite prominent in the Congregational denomination, and has received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. He has been for several years Southworth lecturer on Congregationalism in Andover Theological Seminary and special lecturer on Church Polity in Oberlin College. He is now located at Port Huron, Mich. Soon after the close of Rev. Dr. Ross' pastorate Rev. Andrew Bigelow, D.D., became the acting pastor of the church, and remained here until April, 1873. During his service the interior of the church was re- paired and improved by the addition of a fine organ. Rev. Dr. Bigelovsr was a native of the town, and the son of Andrew' and Lydia Bigelow. He fitted for college at the Amherst Academy, under the care of Rev. Dr. Cotton, and graduated at Amherst College in 1838 in a class of forly-two members, nineteen of whom became clergymen. Before en'teriug the ministry he was for two and a half years principal of Rochester Academy, Mass. He read theology with his brother, Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, and Rev. Dr- Thomas Robbins ; was licensed by the Old Colony Association, and ordained over the church at South Dartmouth in 1841. He afterwards was settled at West Needham, West Hampton and Medfield, where he remained eleven years. His pulpit and parish labors were characterized by soundness of theology, spirituality of discourse, and boldness in proclaiming what he thought to be the truth. He took a deep interest in all educational matters, and served during nearly all of his residence here as chairman of the School Committee, and labored earnestly to bring the schools to a high standard. He was twice married - first to Emily Louisa, daughter of Hon. William Marblehead, who died at Medfield July 4, 1857, and second to Nancy J., daughter of Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, of Boston. After finishing his labors here he removed to Southborough, Mass., where he died September 23, 1882, at the age of seventy -two years, nine months. In his will he made provisions for the benefit of the Boylston Church. From April, 1873, to October 1, 1877, the pulpit was supplied by Rev. W. H. S. Packard and Rev. Francis F. Williams and in 1873 the present parsonage was erected. October 1, 1877, Rev. Henry S. Kimball became the acting pastor, and remained until April, 1882. During this period the church debt was paid, largely by J. Avery White, Esq., of Fraraingham, Mas«., and Thomas W. White, E-q., of Brooklyn, N. Y., sons of the late Aaron White, of this town, John B. Gough, Esq., and family, and Rev. Dr. D. O. Mears and others of Piedmont Church, Worcester. During this time, also, a deep religious interest took place.

April 29, 1884, Rev. Israel Ainsworth was installed as pastor, and remained until Sept. 21, 1887, when he was dismissed at his own request. He is now the pastor of the Congregational Church in South Peabody, Mass. Rev. Mr. Ainsworth is a native of England and came to this country about 1870, at the age of eighteen years, and had been for two years previous to that time a preacher in England in fellowship with the Methodist denomination. In 1875 he entered the regular ministry among the Methodists in the New Hampshire Conference, and for the last two years previous to coming to Boylston was pastor of the church in New Boston, N. H. On his change of denominational connection he became a member of the

Congregational Church at Amherst, N. H. He is a man of fine talent, and of independent thought and action, and a pleasing and eloquent speaker. During his pastorate the church building was repaired and thoroughly painted and beautified, and a neat and commodious barn erected for the parsonage by the young people of the parish. Many additions were made to the church membership and a large and flourishing society of the Young People's Christian Endeavor was organized. Rev. Austin Dodge, a graduate of Amherst College, 1861, and of the Andover Theological Seminary, ISGG, came in December, 1887, and is the present acting pastor.

The following persons have served as deacons of the church : John Keyes, Esq., and Cyprian Keyes, chosen 1743, and were formerly deacons of church in Shrewsbury; Jonathan Keyes, chosen 1743; Amariah Bigelow to 1779 ; Levi Moore, 1770-1815 ; Jonathan Bond, 1779 -1793; Jonas Goodenow, 1794-1811; Cyrus Houghton, 1794-1797; Daniel Andrews, chosen 1794; Jonathan Bond, Jr., 1797-1821 ; Joshua Stiles, 1809-a828; Rob't Andrews, Jr., 1821-1829 ; Abijah Flagg, 1829-1837 ; Dr. John Andrew.s, 1829-1837; Wm. HrMoore, 1837- 1846; Jotham Bush, Jr., 1837-1844; Simeon Partridge, 1844-18fi5 ; Henry H. Brigham, 1846-1888 ; Harvey A. Stowell, 1867-1877; Preston P. Lane, 1877-1881. Lyman S. Walker, chosen 1876, and A. V. R. Prouty, chosen 1888, are the present officiating deacons. Of all the persons holding the office, Deas. Levi Moore and Henry H. Brigham held it for the longest period, about fifty years each. At the time of his death, June 1 9, 1888, Dea. Brigham had been town clerk for thirty-eight years and parish clerk for fifty years, and had represented the town twice iu the General Court. He was a man of great usefulness, and in all his long service to both town and church labored with untiring zeal for their best interests.

Chapter Cxxi Prominent Person.S, College Graduates, Etc

The town of BoyUton has sent forth many men of ability and influence who have honored the several professions and stations in which they have been called to act. Among the most prominent citizens of the Shrewsbury North Parish during the dark period of the Revolution, and one who afterwards became one of the prime movers for the incorporation of the town of Boylston and finally was influential in the separation of that town and the incorporation of the town of West Boylston, was Major Ezra Beaman. He was born October 16, 1736, in Lancaster, in that portion of the town which two years later became the town of Bolton. He came with his father, Capt. Jabez Beaman, in 1746 to that part of the Shrewsbury North

Precinct that is now included within the limits of West Boylston. Upon the death of his father in 1757 the homestead estate came into his possession, and upon it he resided until hisdeaih, June 4, 1811. Thus it may be said of him that he resided successively in the towns of Shrewsbury, Boylston and West Boy Iston without changing his place of residence. During the Revolution he was an ardent patriot and was continuously in the military service of the colonies. He repeatedly served the towns of Shrewsbury, Boylston and West Boylston in their most important town offices. A more extended sketch of his life will probably be given in the historical sketch of West Boylston. Among the most prominent of the citizens of Boylston soon after the incorporation of the town, and who were zealous opposers of Major Beamau in the separation of the parishes in 1795 and the ultimate division of the town in 1808, were James Longley and Aaron White, Esqs. James Longley, Esq., settled in Boylston soon after the close of the Revolution. He was a native of Shirley, in this State, and the son of a large family. At an early age he was apprenticed to a carpenter to remain until he should have reached the full age of twenty-one years. Under this master he received harsh and severe treatment, was coarsely and inefficiently clad and kept constantly at work without obtaining a single day's schooling. After obtaining his freedom he secured a teacher and began to study, and by patient ettbrt gained such an education as enabled him afterwards to take an honorable and useful station in life. He served throughout the Revolutionary War in the service of tbecolonies, first in the marine, or privateering service, and afterwards with the land forces and was present at the battle of Saratoga, and also took an active part in the Shays" War. After coming to Boylston he was continually called upon to assume an active part in the affairs of the town ; was captain of militia, magistrate and held almost every town office, and served as representative to the General Court for thirteen consecutive years. His family, like many other early Boylston families, were of honorable English extraction, and of high standing in Church and State. Several were clergymen of the Established Church, and one of whom became Bishop of Durham, Cardinal and Lord Chancellor. The ancestor of the American branch of the family embraced the Puritan doctrines, and came to New England, where he married a sister of Thomas Gofife, Deputy Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Aaron White, Esq., was born in Roxbury June 9, 1771. His early education was such as the common schools of Roxbury afforded one hundred years ago. Evincing a fondness for reading, he had access to the old Boston Public Library, by the means of which he stored his mind with a good knowledge of English history and literature. At the age of twenty-one years, in 1792, he opened a store in the easterly part of Holden. There he remained five years, until 1797, when he removed to Boylston and engaged in the tavern and store business, and afterwards in the store business alone, keeping a general country store until within a i'ev/ years of his death, in 1847. He served for many years as a magistrate and in nearly all the town offices, and for several years represented the town in the General Court.

In 1798 he married Mary, daughter of Rev. Dr. Joseph Avery, of Holden, and by whom he had a largo family of children, all of whom lived to grow up and have been very successful in the business, professional and other stations to which they have been called.

Ministers. - Rev. Jonathan Bigelow, son of Andrew and Sarah (Fassett) Bigelow, graduated from Brown University in 1817, and at Andover Theological Seminary in 1820 ; married Eliza Tappan, a sister of William Tappan, the poet, and herself a ready writer. He was ordained and settled July 11, 1821, at Lubec, Me., where he remained until 182C. From 1827 to 1849 he was settled at Rochester, Mass., and at Euclid, Ohio, from 1850 until his death, which occurred January 26, 1854, at the age of sixty-one years. Rev. Ashael Bigelow, also a son of Andrew Bigelow, graduated from Harvard College in 1823, and subsequently from Andover Theological Seminary ; he was ordained over the Congregational Church in Walpole, Mass., March 28, 1823, and, in 1850, was installed at Hancock, N. H., where he died August 16, 1817, after a pastorate of twenty-five years, and a ministry of forty-nine years. Rev. Andrew Bigelow, Jr., D.D., brother of above, was for several years the acting pastor of the Boylston Church. A sketch of his life appears in connection with the history of the church. Rev. Jonathan Longley, son of James Longley, E<q., entered Harvard College in 1812, but was forced on account of ill health to leave the University before completing his course. He studied theology with Rev. Nathaniel Emmons, D.D., and resided at Northbridge, where he died January 26, 1850.

Rev. John Flagg graduated at Harvard College 1816 ; ordained pastor of the Second Church in Roxbury February 2, 1825; died March 14, 1831, aged forty-one years.

Rev. William J. White, son of Aaron White, and a graduate of the Andover Theological Seminary, was ordained September 20, 1842, and is now residing in Worcester.

Unitariau clergyman of Worcester County, and chaplain of the Twenty-first Regiment Massachusetts Volunteers during the War of the Rebellion and an ex-member of the Massachusetts Senate, is also a direct descendant of a Boylston family.

Lawyers. - Hon. Asa Andrews, A.M., graduated at Harvard College 1783, studied law and settled at Ipswich, Mass., where he was appointed by President Washington collector of the port, which office he held for over thirty years; he died in 1856. Mathew Davenport, Esq., graduated at Harvard College 1802, studied law and .settled on the homestead of the family in Boylston, where he died in 1860. He was the author of a ''Historical Sketch" of Boylston, published in 1830. James Savvyer, Esq., graduated at Brown University 1814, studied law and settled in Texas, where he died in 1823.

Aaron White, Jr., Esq., graduated at Harvard College 1817, studied law and settled first in Rhode Island, where he took an active part in the " Dorr's Insurrection." He afterwards settled in Connecticut and in Dudley, in this county. He died in Connecticut in 1887.

Thomas W. White, Esq., brother of above'uamed, studied law, and is now engaged in business in Brooklyn, N. Y. Hon. William N. Davenport studied law at the University of Michigan 'and at Hudson, Mass., and is now engaged in practice at Marlborough, Mass., which place he represented in the General Court in 1885-86, and has just been elected to the Massachusetts Senate. Asa Wellington, Esq , who studied law and practiced in Boston, is now residing at Quincy, Mass.

Among the physicians of the town have been Drs. Abraham Howe, who died October 19, 1779, aged twenty-one years ; Amariah Bigelow, Jr., Uriah Bigelow, Eliakim Morse, son of Rev. Ebenezer Morse, M. D., who afterwards settled in Watertown, and died at the age of nearly a century ; Samuel Brigham, Seth Knowlton, Thaddeus Chinnery, William Davenport, who died at Boston in 1816, aged twenty-two years, and John Andrews. The latter was the physician of the town for forty years, and a man of much influence and prominence in the civil, parish and church relations of the town. William S. Bigelow, M. D., graduated at New York HonKPopathic Medical College 1S84, and is now located at Phillipsburg, Pa. Charles A. .Stearns, A.B., M,D., graduated at Amherst College 1881, and Harvard Medical School 1884, and is now located at Pawtucket, R. I. Dr. Fred Bigelow, now located in Maine. Rev. Ebenezer Morse, A.M., M.D., the first minister of the town, united in himself the threefold offices of minister, lawyer and physician. Among others who have gone from the town and held prominent positions elsewhere should be noticed James Longley, Jr., who settled in Boston, where he was well-known in the hotel business, and afterwards largely connected with several manufacturing interests. He was twice elected an alderman of the city of Boston. In 1863 he gave the sum of five hundred dollars to the town for the benefit of the Old Cemetery.

The late Major-General Aaron Sawyer Gibbs, once prominent in the military circles of Massachusetts and New York, and the late General Lysander Flagg, a prominent capitalist and business man of Rhode Island, and formerly quartermaster-general of that State.

Hon. Phinehas Ball, of Worcester, is a native of the town. He served the city of Worcester in 1865 as mayor, and was for many years city engineer. He is a well-known civil engineer, and for many years a partner of Elbridge Boyden, which firm built Mechanics' Hall, Worcester, Taunton Insane Hospital and the jails at Greenfield and Fitchburg. He planned and constructed the water-works at Worcester, Springfield and other places. He is now president of the Union Water-Meter Company. Hon. Charles B. Pratt, mayor of Worcester in 1877- 78-79, is emphatically a Boylston man, coming to the town when very young. His early years were spent here. Mr. Pratt has been city marshal, alderman and, in fact, has held nearly all the city offices, and in 1859 represented the city of Worcester in the House of Representatives, and has since been a member of the State Senate. He is now president of the First National Fire Insurance Company.

Hon. Charles G. Reed, ex-mayor of Worcester, is also a descendant, on his mother's side, of another Boylston family. Boylston has sent many men of influence and note into the city government of Worcester. Hardly a year has elapsed since Worcester became a city, but what the town has been represented to a greater or lesser extent. It has also many representatives among the successful business men of the city.

For more than forty years this town was the chosen home of John B, Gough, the distinguished temperance orator, lecturer and philanthropist. Coming here in 1843, Mr. Gough married Miss Mary G. Whitcomb, and purchased a large tract of land, situated midway between Boylston and Worcester, where he erected large and fine buildings, constructed the finest avenues through his grounds, planted thousands of fruit and ornamental trees and developed his beautiful homestead of " Hillside," the mansion of which he filled to repletion with the bric-a-brac of all climes, and with a magnificent library of the choicest works, and one of the finest and most valuable private collections in America. To this beautiful home Mr. (xough came for recuperation and rest after his extended and successful lecture tours through this country and abroad, and here he delighted to gather about him the most distinguished and cultured of both contiueuts.

The story of Mr. Gough's remarkable life is so well known to all, that an extended notice of it hardly seems necessary here. A brief sketch of it is, however, appended. He was born at Sandgate, England, a romantic little watering-place, about ten miles from Dover. Hi.-j fatlier was a veteran of the Peninsular War, and his mother was a schoolmistress of the village. When about six years of age he was sent to a seminary at Folkstone, two or three miles from Sandgate. About this time, attracting the attention of the visitors at the little watering-place, he was often sent for to read to the ladies and gentlemen gathered at a small reading-room in the place.

In 1829, when twelve years of age, he came to America with a family from Sandgate. He reached New York, after a voyage of fifty-four days, and soon after removed, with the family, to a farm in Oneida County, iu that State. Alter remaining here two years, he went to New York City, where he entered the Methodist Book Concern as an errand boy and apprentice to the book-binding trade. After this followed the dark and discouraging period of his lifei duringwhich he drifted about todifferentplaces, - first to Bristol, R. I., then to Providence, R. I., and Newburyport, Mass., and finally to Worcester, Mass. This was during the Washingtonian Temperance movement, and, after coming to Worcester, he was induced to take the pledge, and, after a long and desperate struggle, overcame his appetite for strong drink, and entered the work as a speaker. From 1843 until the time of his death not a year passed without his entering the lecture field.

In 18S3 he went to England at the invitation of the London Temperance League, and was absent two years, speaking throughout all parts of Great Britain. In Edinborough alone seventeen thousand people flocked to hear him, and the London Temperance Society gave him a silver dinner service.

In 1877 he again visited Great Britain, and spent three years in England and Ireland, delivering in England alone three hundred and ninety addresses to five hundred thousand people, and secured twelve thousand signatures to the pledge. After his return to America he began to speak on other topics besides temperance. His published works have had a large sale, - one million copies of his lectures have been sold, and over one hundred thousand copies of his autobiography.

On the 1st of January, 1886, he had delivered eight thousand five hundred and sixty-seven lectures and traveled five hundred thousand miles. He was stricken with apoplexy while speaking at Frankford, Pa., aad died there February 17, 1886, at the age of sixty-eight years, six months and twenty-six days.