Brookfield Town (part 12 of 18)

Col. Putnam's account of this affair is as follows : ''' Nixon's brigade was put in motion, and marched in close column to the creek, just as the fog broke away, when the whole park of British artillery opened upon us, at not more than five hundred yards distance. Finding we were halted, I rode forward to the head of the brigade, to inquire why we stood there in that exposed situation. But Nixon was not to be found, and Col. Greaton, who commanded the leading regiment, said he had no orders. I then advised the crossing the creek, and covering the troops under the bank, which was done. I then, at the request of Col. Stephens, advanced with my regiment across the plain, and posted them under cover of the bank of an old stockade fort, while Stephens advanced with two field-pieces, to annoy the British, who were attempting to take away some baggage wagons standing about midway between us and the British battery. We remained in this situation about an hour, when I had orders to retreat, and found Nixon near the church, and after some debate, obtained leave to send a party and cut away the British boats, which lay above the mouth of the creek. Capt. Morse, Goodale, and Gates, with seventy or eighty volunteers, started on this service, and effected it without any loss." This plain statement puts the affair in a different position, and shows that but for the promptness and bravery of Putnam in this unexpected dilemma, the loss of Americans must have been much greater. The bold act of cutting loose Burgoyne's storeboats, in the face of his army, was of his suggesting, and accomplished chiefly through the fearless activity of Capt. Goodale, who was noted for daring exploits.

Kosciusko, the philanthropic and brave Polander, who volunteered his services in the cause of American freedom, was placed at the head of the engineering corps in Gates' army, and often consulted Col. Putnam in planning the works of defence and offence, so necessary in the operations of hostile armies. He remained in the northern department until the surrender of Burgoyne, which took place a few days after the last adventure, on the i6th of October; thus closing the career of this haughty Briton who fancied he could march his invincihles frotn Ticonderoga to Albany, in defiance of all the efforts of " the rebels," the common name for the Americans, and there unite his triumphant columns with those of Sir Henry Clinton. This was the most glorious event that had yet attended the arms of the United States, and infused new life into the desponding portion of the community. They learned, by actual experience, that British regulars were not invincible, while their enemies were taught to respect a foe they had heretofore despised. After the cessation of hostilities in this quarter, Nixon's brigade, to which Col. Putnam belonged, went into winter quarters at Albany.

In January, 1778, he received a message from Gov. Clinton and Gen. Israel Putnam, requesting him to repair to West Point, and superintend the fortifications proposed to be erected at this American Gibraltar. He declined the offer, unless his regiment was allowed to go with him, except at the express orders of Gen. Washington. A French engineer had been sent by Congress, to plan and execute the works proposed to be erected ; but his views were not approved by Gov. Clinton and the general officers, as suited to what they deemed necessary, and hence arose the confusion and delay, noticed in Gen. Washington's letter to Congress, of the 13th of March, 1778.

In February he succeeded Col. Greaton in the command of the troops in the northern department, who went home on furlough. It seems that Congress, without consulting the commander-in-chief, had matured a plan for a winter campaign into Canada, which was now left in a manner defenceless. The chief duty of Col. Putnam was to forward provisions and military stores to Coos, on the Onion river, by which route the army of invasion was to pass, as early as the 20th of February. The sound mind of the Colonel at once perceived the fallacy and impossibility of the project. The country was covered with a deep snow, and the soldiers, as usual, only half clothed, and entirely unprepared for a winter campaign. This was always a serious difficulty during the whole war ; our armies were never decently clad, and the poverty of the country was seen in their tattered garments and shoeless feet. When men were required by Col. Hazelet, the quartermaster-general, to open a road, he had the firmness to refuse him, on account of the inclemency of the weather, and the destitute condition of his men.

About this time, the loth or 12th of February, the Marquis Lafayette, who was to command the army of invasion, arrived at Albany, with the Baron de Kalb. After a careful inspection of the troops, he confirmed the views of Col. Putnam, and the expedition was abandoned ; and fortunate for the country was it that they did so, for this was not a war of offence, but of defence ; and whenever the Americans left their own soil, disaster and defeat followed their steps ; but so long as they confined their operations to justice and to right, the God of armies and of justice was on their side.

In March following, he was ordered with his regiment down to West Point, where his valuable services were required to lay out and superintend the construction of fortifications at that important place, and Gen. McDougal, who had been appointed to the command, arrived about the same time. Of all the foreign engineers who had been sought out and employed, not one had yet been found, with the sound judgment and practical skill of this untaught American. The strong mind and calm, considerate reflection of Putnam took in at once the commanding points of the positions to be fortified, and his practical skill soon accomplished what his genius had projected. He found the foreign engineers' main fort laid out on an extreme point next the river, and commanded by the adjacent high grounds. It was abandoned for this purpose, and a simple battery placed there to annoy the enemy's shipping, should they attempt to turn the point and force the boom placed a little higher up. As a defence against an attack by land, a chain of forts and redoubts was laid out on the high ground, bordering the plain, which forms. the point that gives name to the place. The principal fort was built by Putnam's own regiment, and named by Gen. McDougal, " Fort Putnam." It stands on an elevated rocky eminence, which commands both the plain and point. This rock slopes gradually on to the plain, on one side, while to the assailants it presents a mural front of fifty feet perpendicular. It was subsequently strengthened with additional works and made a very formidable place. These defences occupied him until June, when he joined the division of the army under Gen. Gates at Peekskill, and on the 24th of July united with the grand army under Gen. Washington, at White Plains. By his orders he reconnoitred the country about Fredericksburg, Quaker hill, etc., making plans and sketches for the use of the commander. On the i6th of September, the main army was broken into divisions and posted at different places. The division to which he was attached under Gen. Gates, marched to Danbury, Connecticut. While here he was directed by Gen. McDougal to examine the roads and passes from New Milford, leading eastward, which service he accomplished, and made his report to him. Soon after this he received the following letter from Gen. Washington :

"Head Quarters, Oct. 9th, 1778. Sir : I have perused your report of this day to Gen. McDougal. You will continue your examination of the different roads, &c., reconnoiter the most convenient halting places on each ; allowing the interval of one day's march from one to the other, and make report of the whole to me, that I may be enabled to regulate the different routes. The road toward Litchfield offers, from your account of it, to be worth attention, and Col. Hall should be directed to proceed on it accordingly. I am, sir, your obedient servant,

In answer to this letter he made a lengthy and very particular report, exhibiting his tact and sound judgment in such services, for which he was naturally constituted.

Previous to making the final arrangements for winter quarters, he made a tour of reconnoisance with Gen. Greene, in the vicinity of the Pludson river. Late in December Nixon's brigade took up their winter station in the Highlands, on the road from Peekskill to Fishkill. Nixon left the brigade on furlough, and it was placed under Col. Putnam for the winter. Early in February the brigade was ordered to leave their quarters. Col, Putnam's regiment was directed to march to Croton river, and build a bridge across that stream, which was completed about the last of March, and was all extra service, for which no additional pay was given.

At this time he had a furlough to visit his family, where he had not been since December, 1777. This was an inconvenience under which the most useful officers labored ; they could not be spared from the service, while the less valuable procured leave of absence more readily. The families of many of the New England officers, high in command, were in poor circumstances, and required all the industry and foresight of their calculating wives to keep their families in comfortable circumstances during their absence. Mrs. Putnam and the children, the oldest not more than twelve or fourteen years, lived on a small farm of fifty acres of rather sterile land ; while so poor and uncertain was the pay of the soldier, and in 1779, so depreciated in value, that had it not been for the assiduous application of the needle by this patriotic woman, her children would sometimes have been very poorly supplied with food. It was common in those days, which tried the souls of women as well as of men, for females in some of the best families, to make garments gratuitously for the soldiers sent from their vicinity, while many of them made also for their neighbors less skilled in the art, for which they received produce or continental paper in exchange. Mrs. Putnam was one of this class ; and let it be remembered to her honor and praise, that she labored diligently with her hands, both at the distaff and needle, like the virtuous woman of old, for the support of her household, while he who should have been their provider was absent, devoting his time to the cause of freedom, and fighting the battles of his country. Many interesting anecdotes are yet remembered and related by the family, of the frugality and industry practised during this cruel war, for their support.

"Highlands, Danforth's House, June 29, 1779.* Sir : I am very desirous, if possible, to obtain the exact situation of the enemy on Verplank's Point, and of the vessels in the river. As you are well acquainted with the ground on both sides of the river, I would request that you would, to-morrow, reconnoiter the enemy with due precaution, and make such remarks as you may think proper. You will take a part, or the whole of your own light infantry company as a guard. Your knowledge of the country, and abilities, render particular instructions unnecessary.

To execute this order, he had to march through the mountains about twenty miles, by an unfrequented route, and to prevent discovery, conceal his men in the woods. This duty was successfully performed ; but the report is mislaid. Soon after his return, he received the following note from his excellency, the commander-in-chief:

" Col. Putnam has permission to take as many men as he chooses, of his own regiment, or any other, for special service, and to pass all guards.

The " special service " here intended, was to reconnoitre the posts on Verplank's and Stony Points, previous to the meditated assault on those places. For this purpose. Col. Putnam left Constitution island, opposite to West Point, in the afternoon of the loth, with fifty men, and landed at Continental village about sunset. Soon after dark, he proceeded, by a back road, to a point near the scene of his intended observations, and concealed his men, as before, in the woods. In a short time it began to rain, and continued all the next day, a part of which time they lay in a barn. On the 12th it was fair, but their ammunition was all wet, and he retired a little distance, to a deserted house, built a fire, and dried their powder, which occupied nearly all day, leaving the party, had they been attacked, entirely defenceless. That evening he approached nearer the works, concealed his men, and commenced reconnoitring their condition. With one or two soldiers, who were famihar with the location, he continued his labor until near morning, creeping on his hands and knees, to avoid detection by the sentries, when very near the works. He ascertained the time of night by the aid of fire-flies, which are abundant at that season, and whose phosphorescent light enabled him to distinguish the hours on his watch. By the approach of early dawn, he had completed his observations, and returned undiscovered to camp, on the 13th. The following day, a full and very intelligent report of the service was made to Gen. Washington ; a copy of which is now among his manuscripts, and no doubt contributed greatly to the success of the attack on Stony Point, which immediately followed. In relation to the statement made by Marshall, that " two brigades under the command of Gen. McDougal, had been ordered to approach the enemy on the east side of the river, &c.," - he doubts whether such an order was ever given, for the reason, that McDougal commanded the post of West Point, and would not be allowed to leave so important a station. He further says, that when he waited on Gen. Washington, to make his report of the reconnoisance on the 14th, he told him that he had relinquished the plan of an actual attack on Verplank's, simultaneously with that on Stony Point, but intended only to make a feint ; and for that purpose had ordered Nixon's brigade to march, that day, to Continental village. He then instructed Col. Putnam to take as many men from the brigade as he thought proper, and make arrangements to be on the ground, ready to fire on the enemy at Verplank's, the moment he discovered that Wayne had begun his attack on Stony Point. At the same time, he told him that no one was aware of the intended attack, but those who were intrusted with its execution, and that but one of his own family was in the secret. From some error in the orders, Nixon's brigade did not march as expected; but on the evening of the 15th, Col. Putnam left Continental village, with Lieut. Col. Smith, and a detachment of men, for Verplank's, and made the feigned attack, by firing on the outer block-house and the guard stationed at the creek, which alarmed the garrison of Fort Fayette for their own safety, ^nd prevented their turning their guns on the Americans in their attack on Stony Point. This was all that was intended to be done on that night. On the morning of the 1 6th, he remained in full view of the enemy until eight or nine o'clock, and then returned to Continental village. In the course of that day, Nixon's and Patterson's brigades arrived at the village, but without field pieces, artillery men, axes, or tools. About ten o'clock at night, Gen. Howe arrived, and took the command. He called on Col. Putnam for information, who told him of the need of artillery, etc., to attack the block-house in advance of the main works, and that they could not cross the creek without rebuilding the bridge, which had been destroyed. On the 1 7th, two twelve pounders arrived ; but before any attack was made, the approach of a numerous body of the enemy, for the relief of the post, caused the Americans to retreat, and Fort Fayette remained in the hands of the British. Stony Point was also abandoned in a short time, and fell into their possession ; so that no advantage was gained, but the capture of six hundred prisoners, and the glory of the victory. It infused fresh spirits into the country, and convinced their enemies that no danger was too great, or achievement too difficult for them to overcome.

In a short time after these events. Col. Putnam was appointed to the command of a regiment of light infantry, in the brigade of Gen. Wayne, composed of four regiments. This body of men was the elite of the army, and the officers selected by the advice of Gen. Wayne, composing as efficient a corps as the world ever saw. He continued in service this year, until the army had generally gone into winter quarters, and did not reach the station in the Highlands, where his regiment was cantoned, until January, 1780; marching through the ice and snow from near Newark, in New Jersey, being a very tedious and fatiguing journey. During 1779, he was ordered on extra service, to erect a battery on the ground of old Fort Montgomery, for the annoyance of the enemy's ships on the Hudson ; and again, in December, by order of Gen. Wayne, he reconnoitred the position of a British fleet at South Amboy, accompanied by eight dragoons, to learn the time of their sailing. This was promptly performed amidst the cold and inclemency of December weather, and he returned to camp by the way of New Brunswick. A number of letters from Gen. Wayne are on his file.

During the campaign of 1 780, no great battle was fought in the northern department. The events along the North river were mostly skirmishes.

In September, the foul treason of Arnold took place, by which the enemy thought to obtain possession of this important post, in a more easy way than by hard fighting, but not half so honorable. A kind Providence, which overlooked and directed the American affairs, caused this wicked plan to be discovered in time to prevent its execution ; and the country was thus saved from threatened ruin. Soon after this affair. Col. Putnam had leave of absence, and returned to camp early in December. On the 6th of July, 1781, the French army, which had been sent to aid us, formed a junction with the Americans near Dobb's Ferry, preparatory to marching for Virginia.

On the 2ist of July, Col. Putnam was ordered by Gen. Heath to take the command of a detachment of three hundred light infantry, Col. Sheldon's legionary corps, with two companies of the New York levies, and one piece of light artillery, with which to cover that part of the country. On this duty he was continued until the last of October, and thus did not witness the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. While here employed, he received the following letter from Gen. Waterbury, of Connecticut :

Sir : After my compliments, I would inform you that I have received orders from his excellency. Gov. Trumbull, to build some places of security for my troops to winter in, and, at the same time, to ask the favor of your assistance, in counseling with me where to build, etc."

This service he performed as requested. In November, he joined his regiment at West Point, and on the 14th of that month, received the following order from Gen. McDougal :

" Sir : Gen. McDougal requests you to repair to Stony and Verplank's Points, and examine minutely into their state in every respect.' The sentry boxes at those advanced works should be destroyed ; every building within cannon range of either of those posts, and any cover that would afford a lodgement for the enemy, must be taken down, and removed before you leave the ground. You will please to have the garrisons paraded, and note every person, and the regiments they belong to, unfit for this service, &c."

This duty was faithfully performed, and was about the last of his military labors ; as after this period, hostilities, in a manner, closed between the two nations, in the northern states.

Sir : I am informed you have had thoughts of retiring from service, upon the arrangement which is to take place on the ist of January. But as there will be no opening for it, unless your reasons should be very urgent indeed ; and as there are some prospects which may perhaps make your continuing more eligible than was expected, I have thought proper to mention the circumstances, in expectation they might have some influence in inducing you to remain in the army. Col. Shepherd having retired and Brig. Gen. Patterson being appointed to the command of the first brigade, you will of consequence be the second colonel in the line and have the command of a brigade, while the troops continue brigaded as at present. Besides I consider it expedient you should be acquainted, that the question is yet before Congress, whether there shall be two brigadiers appointed in the Massachusetts line. Should you continue you will be a candidate for this promotion. The secretary of war is of opinion the promotion will soon take place - whether it will or not, I am not able to determine, and, therefore, I would not flatter you too much with expectations, which it is not in my power to gratify - but if upon a view of these circumstances and prospects, the state of your affairs will permit you to continue in the present arrangement, (which must be completed immediately,) it will be very agreeable to Sir, your most obedient servant,

On the receipt of this letter, and one from Gen. Potter, he repaired immediately to camp ; but being determined not to remain in a situation approaching disgrace, as some of his senior officers had done, when Congress neglected to promote them to actual vacancies, on his arrival he wrote a very interesting letter to Gen. Washington, explaining all his views and thanking him for the interest he took in his welfare, but is too lengthy for insertion here. On the 8th of January following, he was commissioned as a brigadier-general in the army of the United States, and then left without any excuse to leave the service until the declaration of peace, which happily took place on the 9th of April, 1783.

In June the Massachusetts line was reduced to two regiments, of which Gen. Patterson or the oldest officer took the command, and the officers and soldiers retired on furlough, and were finally discharged in November.

During his continuance in the army, he shared largely in the confidence of Gen. Washington, who continued his friendship during his pohtical life, appointing him to various posts of honor and profit.

After his discharge from the army, Gen. Putnam joined his family in Rutland, where they then lived, and resumed the occupations of farming and surveying.

In April, 1784, he addressed a letter to Gen. Washington, on the subject of the projected settlement to be made by the officers and soldiers of the Army, in the Ohio country - a subject which seems to have entered deeply into his heart, and occupied a prominent place in his attention ; and though the project was not then carried out, yet, all things considered, he may well be regarded as the projector and father of the setdements north-west of the Ohio river.

In August, 1784, he was employed by the state of Massachusetts to survey a tract of land, bordering on Passamaquoddy bay, and returned home in November.

In 1785, he was appointed by the Legislature one of a committee to make sale of the eastern lands held by the commonwealth, and also superintendent of the surveys to be made that year.

He was also appointed in June, same year, by Congress, one of the surveyors of the national lands, lying north-west of the Ohio river. At his request Gen. Tupper was appointed in his stead. And the report of those surveys was the moving occasion for the organization, through the influence of these two men, of " The Ohio Company."

In January, 17S7, he volunteered to assist Gen. Lincoln in suppressing the Shays' rebellion. In April he was appointed by Gov. Bowdoin, a justice of the peace ; and in May was chosen by the town of Rutland representative, and attended the spring and autumn sessions of that year.

In November, 1789, he was appointed superintendent of the affairs of "The Ohio Company." The first division of pioneer settlers left Danvers, under Maj. Haffeld White, December i. The second division left Hartford, Ct., the first of January following, under Col. Sproat. Gen. Putnam went by way of New York city, on business for the company, and joined the division Jan. 24, at Swatarra creek. Pa. On that night there fell a deep snow, which blocked up the roads, so that the party could get their wagons no further than Cooper's Tavern, now Strawsburg, at the foot of the Tuscarawas mountain, on the 29th of January. The snow in the mountains was about three feet deep. They therefore abandoned their wagons, built four stout sledges, to which they harnessed their horses in single file, preceded by men on foot who broke a track for the teams, and thus after two weeks of exhausting labor, they overcame the mountain ranges, reaching Simrel's ferry on the Youghiogheny, February 14, where they found the party under Major White, who had arrived January 23.

By the first of April, having completed their boats and taken in their stores of provisions, they embarked on the western waters for the mouth of the Muskingum, which they reached April 7, and landed at the upper point, where they pitched their camp among the forest trees. The next day, Col. Sproat and John Matthews began the survey of the eight-acre lots, and in a few days after, the city lots and streets, of the town of Marietta.

From his arrival at Marietta, till the day of his death, Gen. Putnam was a leading spirit in all moral, religious, educational and military affairs of the colony, the Territory, and the State of Ohio. And thus the boy, cradled in adversity, became the man, whose home for twenty-seven years of his early manhood was in North Brookfield ; and whose life illustrated the vital power of New England principles and institutions, in moulding character and giving impulses and a guide to conduct ; and in the end received the meed of honor and renown to which a well spent life gives title. He died May 4, 1824, in the 87th year of his age. In person, Gen. Putnam was nearly six feet in height, stout, and commanding ; features strongly marked, with a calm, resolute expression of countenance, indicative of firmness and decision. His manner was abrupt and prompt, yet not hasty, and withal conciliatory, especially during the latter years of his life. His memory was retentive ; and with his long and varied experience, he had at command a rich store of facts relative to the men and events of the two generations covered by his public career.

John Waite And His Sons

Among the planters of Watertown, Mass., in 1637, was Richard Waite, who received several grants of land there, and his homestead lot of six acres can now be pointed out. Of his three sons, John, Thomas and Joseph, the descendants of the former removed to Framingham, Mass., Joseph removed to Marlboro, Mass., and Thomas remained in Watertown, where he appears to have acquired considerable property. His sons were John, Richard, Thomas, and Joseph : the two first died young men in the early Indian wars ; Thomas removed to Lyme, Conn., and was the ancestor of Henry M. Waite, late Chief Justice of Connecticut, whose son, Morrison R. Waite, is the present Chief Justice of the United States ; also of Marvin Waite, a distinguished lawyer of the Revolutionalry period, and his son John Turner Waite, late Representative to Congress from Connecticut.

Joseph removed from Watertown to the adjoining town of Sudbury, and had one son, John, who, with his family, removed to Brookfield in 1746 and settled near Wickaboag pond, on the line between West Brookfield and ^Varren. He soon after removed to a large mansion on " Foster's hill," on the great "post road" from Boston to Albany, and opened the house as an inn, which soon became very popular and the favorite resort of travellers, and also of the soldiers and scouts on their way from Eastern Massachusetts to the Western frontiers during the French war. In fact, the house and its proprietor became so widely known that, although travellers were accommodated there for more than fifty years after any person of the name ceased their connection with the house, the name of the " Old Waite tavern " always clung to it. In 1825 the building was purchased by the late Alanson Hamilton, Esq., who occupied it as a private residence for many years, and in 1857 it was taken down, and the residence of Mr. Horace F. Watson now stands on its site. John Waite, the proprietor of the old tavern, had seven sons, viz.: John, born 1730; Joseph, born 1732; Thomas, 1735; Benjamin, 1737; Richard, \i/\^; Jeduthan, 1754, and William, 1756, who doubtless, during their eariier years, hstened with wonder and admiration to the vivid descriptions, by the scouts and soldiers, of Indian barbarities, daring deeds and hair-breadth escapes, and who were thus early imbued with a desire to imitate the heroism of those so graphically described. However this may have been, these seven brothers have left a rare record as a family for their bravery, patriotism and self-sacrifice.

John, the eldest, in August, 1748, at eighteen years of age, was corporal in Captain Thomas Buckminster's company located at Fort Dummer, and during the French war was in Rogers's corps of Rangers, actively engaged in reducing the fortresses of the French on Lake Champlain and fighting their red allies, then prowling through the wilderness territory of Vermont. In 1761, he administered on his father's estate, and succeeded the latter as landlord of the old tavern for about twelve years, during which time he held various offices - was surveyor, constable, and on several committees. In 1773, his father-in-law. Captain Nathaniel Wolcott, died, who in his will says : " I appoint my trusty and faithful friend and son-in-law, John Waite, to be my sole executor," etc. He purchased of his wife's brothers and sisters their interest in the Wolcott homestead, where he resided for nearly thirty years. The property was afterwards in possession of Jonathan Parks, and the house is still standing near " Wolcott's Mills," on the road from East to North Brookfield. Upon receiving news of the battle of Lexington, Waite, like many others, left his plough in the furrow, and collecting such of his neighbors as would volunteer, hastened to the scene of action, where he served as captain during the remainder of the year. In 1776 he was on the town Committee of Correspondence; in 1777 on committee to consider petition relative to calling in the State's money. In July of this year, he was a volunteer in Captain Daniel Gilbert's company in Colonel Job Cushing's regiment, and served with the rank, but not the command of captain, and on the 5th of August was transferred to " Herrick's Rangers " and participated in the battle of Bennington. He also volunteered, 2nd Sept., under Captain Asa Danforth, and was in the second battle of Saratoga when Burgoyne's army were defeated and surrendered to General Gates. In 1778, he was a member of the Committee of Safety, and on the town committee to instruct their representatives ; in 1779 he was sole representative of the town in the Convention at Concord; in 1782, on committee to draw up instructions to their representatives to have duties on certain articles repealed ; and he was moderator of the Town Meetings from 1778 to 1788, and on numerous other committees. He was one of the six largest tax-payers of Brookfield, his annual tax amounting to ^io6 \\s. ; but having advanced several thousand dollars for the army, he was re-imbursed with continental money, which was of little value ; and having purchased large tracts of land in Vermont under the New Hampshire titles, and not living there to defend his possessions by force - as the settlers were obliged to do - against parties who claimed and took possession of his lands by virtue of a New York title, which was pretended to subvert that of New Hampshire, he became reduced financially, and selling his estates in Brookfield, he removed to a small farm in West Brookfield, where he died about 1815, leaving grandchildren, who are still living in North and East Brookfield and in Ashfield, Mass.

His son Nathaniel, at sixteen years of age, was quartermaster's-sergeant in the American army at Providence, R.I., in 1777, and served until the close of the war. In 1782, Nathaniel married Mercy, daughter of Jonathan Jenks of Providence, and grand-daughter of Rev. Samuel Winsor, whose father, another Rev. Samuel Winsor, married Mercy, daughter of Roger Williams of Rhode Island. The children of Nathaniel and Mercy Waite, born in North Brookfield, were : Sally, who died unmarried in 1 86 1, aged 76 years ; Mercy, who died unmarried in 1877, aged 85 years ; and Otis, a soldier in the war of 18 12, died in 1869, aged 80 years.

Joseph Waite, the second of the seven brothers, entered the provincial army in May, 1754, at the age of twenty-one years, under Capt. Eleazer Melvin, for the defence of the Eastern frontiers. The following December he was corporal in Lieut. John Burk's company of Rangers in the Crown Point expedition stationed at Falltown in the line of forts commanded by Colonel Israel WiUiams until the fall of 1755, when this company were in camp at Lake George in Colonel Seth Pomeroy's regiment, and in December returned to Falltown, where they remained until February, 1756, when Waite was appointed ensign and John Burk captain in Colonel Joseph Dwight's regiment, with headquarters at Forts Edward and William Henry, the rest of the year. Among his associates were Robert Rogers, Israel Putnam and John Stark. In January, 1757, he was transferred to the corps of Rangers commanded by Rogers, whose instructions from the Commander-in-Chief were to enlist none in the corps but such as were " accustomed to travelling and scouting, and in whose courage and fidelity the most implicit confidence could be placed." In April, the Rangers were ordered to New York, and on the 20th of June they sailed for Halifax, where the English army made preparations to attack Louisburg ; but the arrival of a French fleet arrested their progress, and in July the Rangers returned to the Western frontiers. Rogers's Journal, published in London in 1765, is, perhaps, the only account of the expeditions and services of this corps of men, which, during the long and bloody wars of Great Britain and France for the mastery in America, constituted the right arm of the British forces. The disasters of the unfortunate Braddock, and his total defeat on the Monongahela, convinced the British generals of their utter inability to operate in America without the aid of a strong corps of Rangers composed of the natives of the country, whose knowledge of Indian warfare would enable them to prevent a similar surprise and overthrow. A commission was accordingly issued to Rogers to enlist and discipline the corps. The Rangers were raised in New England, were regularly paid by the Crown, and officered by the most hardy, intelligent and enterprising partisans of that day, many of whom were afterwards distinguished in the Revolutionary war. They were picked men, of extraordinary bodily powers, combined with mental energies the most acute, and were trained in a discipline of their own. Their services were attended by difficulties and hardships and beset with dangers, in which men of ordinary stamina would never think of engaging. Their chief theatre of action was the mountainous region of Lake George, between the hostile forts of Ticonderoga and Edward, which was the scene of ceaseless ambuscades, surprises and fierce conflicts, and at this day, on the field of many a forgotten fight, are dug up rusty tomahawks, corroded bullets and human bones, to attest the struggles of the past. In summer, the Rangers passed down the lake in whale-boats or canoes, or threaded the trackless depths of the forest with undeviating foot, guiding their course by the stars, the wind, the streams or the trees : reading the signs of the forest as the scholar reads the printed page. In winter they journeyed through the swamps on snowshoes, skated along the frozen surface of the lake and bivouacked at night among the snow-drifts, with no other food than the game they had killed on the march. They intercepted French messengers, encountered scouting parties of French and Indians, and carried off prisoners from under the very walls of Ticonderoga. As marksmen none surpassed them, and with a sensitiveness to sound approximating to that of instinct, they could detect the sly approach of the foe, or could mark, with an accuracy, almost beyond belief, the place of his concealment. They were an equal match for the resolute Indian, whose birthright was an habituation to daring deeds and wasting fatigue. They were, in fact, the most formidable body of men ever employed as partisans in the wars of this country, and in every regular engagement proved themselves not inferior to British troops. Their hardships and adventures, their marches and countermarches, their frequent skirmishes and mid-winter battles, had made them famous throughout America ; and though it was the fashion of the day to sneer at the efforts of provincial troops, the name of " Rogers's Rangers " was never mentioned but with honor. The description and character of the Scout in Cooper's tale of " The Last of the Mohicans," is not inapplicable to one of them. In March, 1758, Rogers was sent from Fort Edward with 180 men, including Ensign Joseph Waite, to reconnoitre in the neighborhood of Ticonderoga. A deserter from the army having informed the enemy of this scout, the Rangers were attacked on the 13th by six hundred Indians and one hundred French, who killed fifty of them at the first fire ; but the remainder fought with such " intrepidity and bravery," as to oblige the enemy, nearly seven to one in number, to retreat, until, after a constant firing for one hour and a half, during which one hundred and eight of the Rangers were killed, the balance were so hard pushed by overwhelming numbers of Indians, that they were obliged to break and save themselves the best way they could. One company of nineteen men, being surrounded by three hundred Indians, under the strongest assurances of good treatment, capitulated, when most of them were "inhumanly tied to trees and hewn to pieces in a barbarous and shocking manner." The snow was four feet deep, and Rogers, with some of his men, eluded pursuit, until they came to the summit of a mountain four hundred feet high, one-half of the height of one side being a smooth, steep rock, terminating in Lake George. Descending to the top of the rock, they slipped off their snow-shoes, and, without moving them, turned themselves about and put them on again ; and retreating along the brow of the precipice and down a ravine, appeared upon the frozen lake below. The Indians soon coming to the spot, and seeing the tracks all apparently approaching the rock, concluded they had cast themselves down the precipice ; but when they saw the bold Rangers making their way across the ice, they believed they had slid down the steep face of the rock ; and, considering them under the special protection of the Great Spirit, gave over the chase. The rock is still shown to travellers as " Rogers's Slide."

On the 5th of July the Rangers formed the advanced guard of General Abercrombie's army of sixteen thousand men in the march against Ticonderoga, and beginning the attack upon the outer breastwork, were followed by the regulars and the provincial regiments, who, after toiling with repeated attacks for four hours under a galling fire, being greatly embarrassed by trees felled by the enemy with the branches outward, were ordered to retreat, the Rangers bringing up the rear, in the dusk of the evening. In this engagement the English lost 1,944 men in killed and wounded. Among the former was Lord Howe, the idol of the army, whose adventurous spirit led him, on more than one occasion, to accompany the Rangers on their scouting expeditions. On the 8th of August, Rogers and Putnam, with 530 men, met about the same number of the enemy under the French partisan Molang, and in the terrible encounter that followed, thirty-three of the Rangers were killed and taken prisoners - among the latter was Major Putnam - while 249 of the enemy were killed on the spot. On the 3d of March, 1759, the Rangers marched through the deep snow towards Ticonderoga ; on the 7th, travelling over fifty miles on snow-shoes and engaging in two skirmishes. The cold became so intense, that two-thirds of the detachment were frost-bitten, and some of them were frozen so badly, that the rest were obliged to carry them on their backs. On the 21st of July, General Amherst, with the army, embarked on the lake to attack Ticonderoga and Crown Point. The Rangers were the advance-guard, as usual, and were continually ordered by General Amherst from one place to another to reconnoitre and begin the attack. The nth of August the enemy evacuated their forts and retreated towards Canada.

On the 13th of September General Amherst, at Crown Point, detached Rogers, with two hundred Rangers selected for their bravery and experience, to chastise the St. Francis Indians at their headquarters near Three Rivers in Canada, who, for half a century, had perpetrated their barbarities upon the settlers on the frontiers - their hatred of the English being fostered by the French, who offered bounties for prisoners and scalps. This famous expedition of the Rangers was one of those strikingly perilous incidents of border warfare - a small body of men marching four hundred miles into an enemy's country - that forcibly illustrates the adage that " truth is stranger than fiction." On the morning of the 13th, the Rangers, including Joseph Waite, started out with the utmost secrecy as to their destination, passing down the lake undiscovered by the enemy, who were cruising about in great numbers. The tenth day out they landed with their force reduced to one hundred and forty-two men, by the accidental discharge of a keg of gunpowder, which disabled several, who were taken back to Crown Point, Leaving two men with the boats containing provisions for their return, they struck boldly into the wilderness. On the second day they were overtaken by the guard left in charge of the boats with the disheartening intelligence that a party of about four hundred of the enemy had discovered their boats, and half the number were pursuing them, which, being in the enemy's countr)^, afforded little hope of escape. Their retreat by the boats having been cut off, they determined to outmarch their pursuers, destroy the village and attempt retreat by the way of Charlestown, N.H. ; and Rogers accordingly despatched a messenger to General Amherst to have provisions at Coos, on the Connecticut river, about sixty miles above Charlestown, then the most northern English settlement, in case they ever lived to get there. For nine days they marched through wet, sunken bogs, the water most of the way a foot deep, encamping at night on hammocks made of boughs to keep them from the water. On the evening of the twenty-second day from Crown Point, they came in sight of the principal village of the tribe. Reconnoitring the place, they found the Indians engaged in a high froUc or dance, which was continued until 3 o'clock in the morning. Near the break of day, a general assault was made - so sudden, that the Indians had no time to rally or escape. The orders of General Amherst were, to " take revenge on the dastardly scoundrels for their barbarities and infamous cruelties." As the morning light increased, the fierce wrath of the Rangers was inflamed to the highest degree when they saw English scalps of both sexes, to the number of six hundred, suspended on poles and dangling in the air. Under this new force and irritation of their feelings and passions, they put forth their utmost exertions to avenge the blood of their friends and relatives, by utterly destroying the village and all they could find of its inhabitants. The village contained about three hundred Indians. Twenty women and children were taken prisoners, fifteen of whom were released, and over two hundred warriors were killed. The loss of the Rangers was one killed and seven wounded. At seven o'clock in the morning the affair was finished, which carried consternation and alarm into the heart of Canada and convinced the Indians that the "retaliation of vengeance " was upon them. After refreshing themselves for an hour, the Rangers immediately commenced their retreat, with such provisions as they could easily transport, and with the addition of five English captives they had retaken. Their pursuers pressing them in the rear and killing several of their number, they formed an ambuscade upon their own track in the dusk of the evening and fell upon the enemy when least expected, thus putting an end to further pursuit. For ten days the detachment kept together, marching over steep, rocky mountains and through wet, dirty swamps, till they had passed the eastern side of Lake Memphremagog, when their sufferings began to be severe - not only from the excessive fatigues they had endured, but from hunger. Their provisions failing, they were divided into small parties the better to obtain game, and were to meet at Coos. It is hardly possible to describe their consternation, upon arriving at Coos, to find that the party intrusted with provisions had been at the place ; but seeing nothing of the Rangers, and hearing guns fired, were frightened and hastily departed a few hours before their arrival. Discovering the fires of their retreating comrades, and that no provisions had been left, they were so disheartened that several of them died before the next day. Rogers gave up the command and told his men to take care of themselves. Ground and beech nuts were the only sustenance to be procured in the dreary forests, and to such extremities were they reduced, that they boiled their powder-horns, ball-pouches and other leathern accoutrements. Several perished in the woods of despair, hunger and exhaustion, and the total loss in this retreat amounted to forty-nine men. The skeletons of some of these unfortunate Rangers were found years afterwards.

Joseph Waite, leading one of these companies in their retreat, came upon the northern branch of the principal river of what is now Bradford, Vt., and in a famishing state they followed down this river in search of game. Just as they entered the present site of Bradford, Waite and one or two others proposed to go in advance of the rest and see if they could find something to satisfy their hunger. After travelling two or three miles, they shot a deer, and when they had satisfied their appetites, they hung the rest of the savory meat upon a tree for the relief of their suffering companions in the rear ; and that they might know who killed the deer, and for what purpose the meat was there suspended, Waite cut his name in the bark of the tree on which the meat hung. When the rear came up and found the rich supply of food in readiness for them, they expressed their gratitude to Waite by giving his name to the stream they were then upon, which is still called Waiters River. After almost incredible hardships, they reached Charlestown, and refreshing themselves, marched to Crown Point, where they arrived Dec. ist, 1759, and joined the army quartered there for the winter under General Amherst, who recognized the services of Joseph Waite by honoring him with a captain's commission. The Governor of Canada having capitulated, General Amherst, at Montreal, on the 12th Sept., 1760, instructed " Major Rogers, commanding His Majesty's Independent corps of Rangers," vvith " Captain Waite's and Captain Hazen's companies " under his command, to ascend the lakes and take possession of Detroit and other western outposts included in the capitulation.

The country through which they were to pass was in possession of powerful savage tribes, then in their full strength, and whose intimate connection with the French afforded them every inducement to hate the English and attempt their destruction. They left Montreal on the 13th, two hundred men in fifteen whaleboats. Stemming the surges of La Chine and the Cedars, they gained Lake Ontario, skirted its northern shore amid rough and boisterous weather, and crossing its western extremity, reached Fort Niagara on the ist October. Carrying their boats over the portage, they launched them above the cataract, and slowly pursued their voyage. Four hundred Indian warriors were in ambush near Detroit, waiting to attack the Rangers, but were influenced by the renowned chieftain, Pontiac, to abandon their design. In December, Detroit and the surrounding forts were taken possession of and the garrisons were marched to Philadelphia.

The Rangers returned to New York in March, 1761, where they were disbanded. The war being ended, and the colonies no longer fearing the incursions of French and Indians upon the frontier towns, the spirit of emigration from the older settlements revived and surpassed all before witnessed. The continued passing of the Massachusetts troops over the highlands of Vermont and down the Connecticut river valleys during the war, caused the value of the lands to become generally known. Joseph Waite received several grants, and also made purchases of large tracts of these lands, and was active in inducing settlers to locate on them, personally conducting some emigrations from Massachusetts by way of Springfield and up the Connecticut river.

In Springfield is still standing a monument erected by him in 1763 as a guide to travellers, which is described and illustrated in ' Frank Leslie's Illustrated Paper,' Jan. 2, 1875. It is of red sandstone, about six feet high, two feet broad and one foot thick, and on it are masonic emblems, the Latin motto, " Virtus est sua merces,'" and another, now illegible, though the first word, " Pulsanti " is still clear. Beneath is this inscription, " ' Boston Road.' This stone is erected by Joseph Waite, Esq., of Brookfield. For the benefit of Travelers. xA..D. 1763."

Captain Waite held several important town offices in Brookfield, where he was highly respected for his indomitable energy and uprightness of character. In 1762 he married a sister of Colonel Nathan Stone of Shrewsbury, Mass., who, with his father Zedekiah and brothers David and Samuel, were prominent in the French war. In 1767 they were all living in Windsor, Vt., which had been chartered to them the previous year, and where, by their exertions and enterprise, they increased the wealth and prosperity of the place, and rendered it, at an early period, one of the most flourishing and popular villages in the " New Hampshire Grants," as Vermont was then called.

About 1768, the settlers of Vermont were placed in a peculiarly aggravating situation. They had derived the titles to their lands from the royal governor of New Hampshire. A claim to this territory, however, was soon set up by the government of New York, and certain statesmen of the latter province corruptly combining with influential land speculators, procured, by their intrigues at the British court, a decree establishing Connecticut river as the boundary line between the two belligerent provinces, and thus throwing the whole disputed territory within the jurisdiction of New York. But when, by one of the most bold and singular perversions of law and justice to be found on record, the tribunals of New York decided this decree to have a retrospective operation, so as to involve the titles of the lands as well as the jurisdiction of the territory, the voice of the indignant settlers unitedly rose in loud and determined remonstrances ; for this decision, of itself a legal paradox, destroying the right of property already granted by the Crown - the same source of power by which it was now proposed a new right should be established - subjected them to the exasperating alternative of either relinquishing their farms which they had once honestly purchased and paid for, with all the improvements that had cost them so much labor and privation, or of purchasing and paying for them again on such terms as those who claimed to be their new masters might choose to exact. After vainly exhausting every argument in petition and remonstrance to the governor and his council, and as vainly attempting to defend a few of the first suits brought for the possession of their farms before this obsequious tribunal, they paid no further attention to the summonses to quit which now poured thickly upon them ; but they soon found their settlements invaded by their cormorant foes, attended by sheriffs, each with a large armed posse for a forcible ejection of the inhabitants, and surveyors with their assistants for laying-out and locating the territory. Having thus found that peaceable measures were wholly unavailing, the now-aroused and determined settlers unanimously resolved on resistance, and immediately placed themselves in an attitude to carry their resolution into effect.

This controversy called into existence an effective military organization, known by the name of the Green Mountain Boys ; and although the shedding of blood was generally avoided by them in repelling these intruders upon their soil, yet punishment of some kind was sure, on the commission of every offence, to be promptly administered. The most common mode consisted in the application of the beech rod or beech seal, in allusion to the emblem of the great seal of New Hampshire. In this spirited manner was the contest ^commenced and continued by the settlers ; and although armed forces were several times sent into the Grants to aid the authorities in ejecting the inhabitants, and although all the leaders of the latter were indicted and outlawed as felons by the courts of New York, and proclamation after proclamation issued by the governor of that province, offering large rewards for the delivery of those marked for the punishment of death, and teeming with denunciations against all those who should offer further resistance, yet so united were the people, and so determined the character of their opposition, that their baffled antagonists were never able to accomplish but the most insignificant results for their years of labor in endeavoring to obtain a foothold in the territory of Vermont. Most of the inhabitants of Windsor adhered to the jurisdiction of New Hampshire, denying the authority of the courts established by New York, and were ever ready to resist the execution of writs issuing there from. In May.iyyo, Daniel Whipple, the High Sheriff of the county, under a New York commission, in order to retake Joseph and Benjamin Waite and Nathan and Samuel Stone of Windsor, who having been arrested by him a short time previously on a precept from the court, had been rescued by a number of armed men, collected a posse of a dozen or fifteen persons and with them repaired to the house of Joseph Waite in order to arrest him, but were met by a party led by the latter, and were overpowered and retained as prisoners several hours. On the sth of June, Colonel Stone, Joseph Waite and others, appeared at the court in Chester and denied the authority of New York to establisli the county of Cumberland.

Most grapliic descriptions of actual characters and incidents connected with the early settlement of Vermont, are given in the entertaining, historical tales, entitled "The Green Mountain Boys" and "The Rangers," by Hon, Daniel P. Thompson. The Green Mountain Boys were formed into a regiment as early as 1771. Their colonel and leader was Ethan Allen. Among the captains were Seth Warner, Remember Baker, Robert Cochrane and Joseph Waite. The latter removed from Windsor about 1773 and settled in the adjoining town of Claremont, N.H. He was with Ethan Allen in the memorable capture of Ticonderoga, in May 1775, and served in Canada during part of the following campaign. He was a member of the House of Representatives of New Hampshire in December 1775 and January 1776, and was on several committees of the House. In the latter month, the Continental Congress resolved: "That to make up the battalions voted for the defence of Canada, one battalion be immediately raised in New Hampshire, one in Connecticut and one in New York." In accordance, with this resolve, the General Assembly of New Hampshire voted " to raise one regiment of soldiers forthwith, to consist of eight companies ; and that Joseph Waite, Esq., be colonel of said regiment." But Colonel Timothy Bedel, a senior officer, having just returned from Canada, this regiment was placed under his command, with Joseph Waite as Lieut. - Colonel. General Arnold ordered Colonel Bedel, with a portion of the regiment, to Cedar Rapids, above Montreal, in April, where they were besieged by the enemy; and on the 15th of May, in the absence of Colonel Bedel, they were ingloriously surrendered by the officer left in command. Colonel Waite, with the balance of the regiment, participated in the unsuccessful attack upon Three Rivers, which was followed by other reverses, and by the disastrous retreat of the entire army under Generals Sullivan and Arnold in June, decimated by death and worn-out by sickness and disease.

On their arrival at Crown Point on the 3d of July, two thousand eight hundred out of five thousand two hundred were taken to the hospitals. Col. Waite, at his own request, was immediately ordered by General Sullivan to Onion River with two hundred men to guard the frontiers until Colonel Seth Warner arrived there with his Green Mountain Boys, when Colonel Waite joined the army at Ticonderoga. In September, his command moved down Lake Champlain and landed on Rangers' Island, off Isle la Motte, as the advance guard of Arnold's fleet. In a severe skirmish a few days before the naval battle of " Valcour," Colonel Waite was wounded in the head by a splinter from a gun carriage and died on his way home in Clarendon, Vt., where a monument still stands, on which is the following inscription : " To perpetuate the memory of Lieut-Colonel Joseph Waite, an officer in the American Revolutionary War, who died on his return from an expedition into Canada, September 28th, 1776 ; this stone is erected in testimony of respect by his brethren in arms." On the monument is a figure of an officer in full uniform with a raised sword, and beneath it this inscription : '' Our common country claims our aid. Living or dying I will defend her."

His character as a private citizen was unblemished, and he was ever held in respect as a courageous and heroic soldier. He has a grandson now living in Chicago, 111.

Of Thomas Waite, the third of the brothers, but little is known. In May, 1754, he entered the army in the same company with his brother Joseph, and doubtless continued through the " seven years war." He also removed to Windsor, Vt. Was a patriot in the Revolution ; among the Rangers in the battle of Bennington, and was killed in battle the following year.

Benjamin Waite, the fourth of the brothers, at eighteen years of age enlisted in the French war in 1755, as a private in one of the provincial regiments. Though still a boy he was tall and large for his age, and as he was known to be a keen and successful hunter he was transferred to Rogers' Corps of Rangers, where his hardihood, skill and daring soon caused him to be included among those selected for the most hazardous undertakings of that famous corps. In 1756 he was captured by the French, taken to Quebec and sent with other prisoners to France, where, before landing, they were re-taken by an English man-of-war and carried to England, from whence they soon returned to America, and Waite enlisted again under Major Rogers, in the same company with his brother Joseph, and distinguished himself in many desperate encounters with the enemy. In 1757 he was taken prisoner by a scouting party of Indians and carried to their village of St. Francis, in Canada, where he was compelled, with two other prisoners, to undergo the ceremony of " running the gauntlet," which was to pass through two lines of the young warriors of the tribe, armed with clubs, and when highly exasperated, with deadly weapons, to strike the prisoners as they passed. The captive was frequently killed before he reached the council-house, at which the two lines of Indians terminated. Waite's companions were severely whipped as they passed through the lines, but he, more athletic and adroit and better comprehending the Indian character, snatched a gun from the nearest Indian and laid about him to the right and left, scattering the Indians before him, and escaped with hardly a blow, greatly to the delight of the old men of the tribe, who sat at some distance witnessing the scene and enjoying the confusion of their young warriors. As he arrived at the end of the race a French woman appeared at the door of a house near by, and beckoning with her hand said : " Venez id, Anglais, venez ici" (come here, Englishman, come here). He placed himself under her protection and was well treated during his captivity, which lasted about three months, when he managed to escape with his companions, and arrived at the English lines in a starving condition. He was with General Amherst in 1758, at the capture of Louisburg, and had command of troops crossing the St. Lawrence River in bateaux, under fire of the enemy. Some of the men faltered and lay down in the boat to screen themselves from the leaden hail faHing thick and fast. He abruptly told them they could follow his example and stand up and work or take the river and " paddle their own canoe." They chose the former and behaved gallantly. He was with Rogers in the celebrated expedition against the St. Francis Indians in September, 1759, that broke the power of the tribe, and was among those sent to Detroit in September, 1760, from whence he was detached with Lieutenant Butler and twenty men to bring in the French garrisons of the forts in Illinois, which difficult service he performed successfully in a winter's march through the storms and gathering ice of the lakes and streams. In describing this march, he said the men would become so benumbed with cold and disheartened that they would beg of him to shoot them, but instead of doing so he would make them angry and wilHng to resume their march by switching them, and arriving at streams that were fordable he considered it a light task to shoulder a couple of the " little fellows " and carry them across. Before he was twenty-four years of age he had been engaged in over forty battles and skirmishes, and although his clothes were several times perforated by musket balls, yet he never received a serious wound. In 1767 he married a daughter of Captain Thomas Gilbert of Brookfield and removed with his brother Joseph to Windsor, Vt. In 1769 he was employed by Benjamin Whiting of Newburg, one of the Deputy-Surveyors-General of New York, to arrest depredators upon the " King's timber." In 1 770, and afterwards, he identified himself decidedly and conspicuously with the Green Mountain Boys in their opposition to New York. He was the sole delegate froin Windsor in the Whig Convention of the county of Cumberland, assembled at Westminster, 7th February, 1775, when he was chosen one of the Standing Committee " to keep the county well informed as to the doings of the friends of liberty in the different colonies." In May, 1775, he joined the expedition under Ethan Allen and Seth Warner for the capture of Ticonderoga and Crown Point. Although an avowed opponent of New York in the pending controversy about jurisdiction and land titles, yet, as there was no legally organized government in the " Grants," he united, in June, 1775, ^'^'^ Major William WilUams and Major Joab Hoisington, in a letter to the New York authorities, which is characteristic both of their patriotism and stern Puritanic religious principles. In it they urged the raising of a regiment of " good, active, enterprising soldiers," in order " to keep under proper subjection, regulars, Roman Catholics and the savages at the northward," and to defend their own rights and privileges "against ministerial tyranny and oppression." August 14th of the same year he signed a list of the officers of the upper regiment of militia in Cumberland county, chosen by their respective companies, as Benjamin Waite, Major ; but the New York Provincial Congress refused to confirm the nomination on account of his opposition to their authority over the New Hampshire Grants. On the loth of October, 1776, he was commissioned captain of one of the ranging companies established under Major Hoisington to protect the northern frontiers and guard the Crown Point road between Connecticut river and Canada, with headquarters at Newbury, Vt.

Upon the death of Major Hoisington early in the following year, he succeeded to the command of the battalion. He was a member of the conventions assembled at Westminster and Windsor that gave the name of Vermont to the New Hampshire Grants, declared the State independent, and formed the State Constitution. While the latter convention was in session, July 6th, 1777, the alarming news was brought to them that Ticonderoga, the supposed impregnable barrier of frontier defence, had fallen, and the scattered American troops were flying in every direction before a formidable British army that was sweeping, unopposed, along the western border of the State, attended by a horde of merciless savages. Major Waite immediately joined his command and they opposed the progress of the enemy by incessant attacks upon their flanks, felling trees across their pathway and destroying bridges.

When the new Vermont Council, with no money in the treasury, voted to raise a regiment of State Rangers and arm and equip them from the proceeds of the confiscation and sale of Tory estates, this battalion, with their leader, left the service of the New York province and enlisted in a body under Lieut. -Colonel Samuel Herrick, and on the 1 6th of August " led the attack on the rear of Baum's right," in the battle of Bennington, where by their " quick and deadly fire," they "piled the ground with the British slain," and driving the Indians in terror from the field, charged with the other troops up to the cannon's mouth, and mounting the earthworks with irresistible force, swept everything be- fore them. On Sept. 3, Waite was commissioned major by the Vermont Council, and on the 24th of the same month he was sent, with Colonel Brown and five hundred men, to the landing at Lake George, more than forty miles in the rear of the British army, to cut off the enemy's communication with Canada.

Colonel Brown's troops gained command of the lake by capturing two hundred bateaux, an armed sloop and several gun-boats, while Major Waite with his men, including Captain Ebenezer Allen's company, surprised and took possession of Mounts Defiance and Hope - both parties capturing 293 prisoners and releasing American prisoners from confinement. What was left of the grand expedition under Burgoyne, that had in great power and splendor ascended Lake Champlain, were ordered to abandon their posts, and Ticonderoga was evacuated.

Major Waite's command pursued the retreating garrison, overtook them at Gilliland's creek, and captured their rear-guard, with horses and baggage. The quickness and secrecy with which these Rangers moved from place to place, their sudden and mysterious attacks, and the deadly execution of their rifles, unnerved the British troops whenever they were supposed to be near, and caused them to be known, in English prints, as " White Indians." This incessant and harassing warfare drew forth from the despairing Burgoyne his best apology for his final defeat and surrender, viz : " The Hampshire Grants - a country unpeopled and almost unknown in the last war - now abounds in the most active and the most rebellious race of men on the Continent, and hangs like a gathering storm on my left."

The Vermont Council, in a letter to Colonel Herrick, November 21st, 1777, dismissing his regiment from further service, expressed much pleasure at the " spirited conduct of Major Wait and Captain Allen in their late expedition," who were also highly complimented by General Gates.

The surrender of Burgoyne terminated the campaign in the northern department, and Vermont was not the scene of any important military movement during the remainder of the war.

On the loth of February, 1778, Major Waite was authorized by the Council of Safety to co-operate with Colonel Herrick in raising three hundred men for an intended expedition into Canada, under General Lafayette, and of this force he was appointed major ; but the project was given up for want of the necessary number of men from other parts of the country. On 23rd October, 1776, the General Assembly of Vermont resolved that North and South Hero, in Grand Isle county, should be chartered unto Ethan Allen, Samuel Herrick, Benjamin W^aite, Jonas Fay and their associates, for the sum of 10,000 pounds. The Heros were so named, because it was meant to have no other grantees than such as were brave and felt warmly disposed toward the revolution ; and on the 27th of the same month, the Legislature granted to Governor Thomas Chittenden, Benjamin Waite, Samuel Herrick, Ebenezer Allen, and their associates, the " Isle of Motte."

Major Waite was appointed High Sheriff of Windsor County, October 23d, 1779, which office he held lor seven years, with the exception of a brief period, when he resigned the office for other service. In 1781, having been appointed colonel, he built a fort in Corinth, Vt., at which a constant garrison was maintained, and from which scouts traversed the country to the northward.

He was one of seven elected a Board of War, 1778-84. On Oct. 22, 1783, he headed a military force to assist the civil authority in suppressing an insurrection in the county of Windham, and on January 19th, 1780, his regiment of State troops marched against the "Yorkers" disturbers of the peace.

As high sheriff, and also colonel of the third regiment of Vermont militia, he was called upon, on the i6th of November, 1786, during the " Shays' rebellion," to aid the civil authority against an armed mob who demanded certain legislation, and with forty men left Windsor for the encampment of the insurgents, where, after a march of five miles, they arrived between three and four o'clock in the morning, and finding over fifty insurgents assembled under arms, the mihtia, after a short but "very resolute " attack, captured twenty-seven of them. So expeditiously was the service performed, that the culprits were lodged in Windsor jail before sunrise.

Several of the sheriff's party were wounded, among them Stephen Jacobs, the State's attorney, and Colonel Waite himself was badly wounded in the head. He used to lament over this affair, saying it was too bad to go through an eight years' war without receiving a scratch, and then to be nearly killed in the discharge of his duty by some of his old fellowsoldiers.

On March ist, 1787, he was chosen brigadier-general of the third brigade of Vermont militia, which office he resigned August 24th, 1788; but his resignation was not accepted, and he was appointed Major-General, the highest military title that could be conferred.

The record of his military achievements is far from complete. He was looked upon by the Vermonters as a man of great energy, firmness, intrepidity and perseverance in the accomplishment of his plans, and a perfectly fearless enemy of every species of injustice and oppression. He transfused into each soldier enough of his own untiring activity to more than double their ordinary military value.

Richard, Jeduthan, And William Waite

At the beginning of the revolution, he converted his property into gold, and loaned the government ^4,000, which was repaid in Continental money, so nearly worthless that at one time he gave $1,200 of it to a pedler for half a pound of tea and a quarter pound of indigo.

The township of Waitsfield, near Montpelier, was chartered to Benjamin Waite, Roger Enos and others, February 25th, 1782, and General Waite removed from Windsor and was the first settler there in 1789. He was the first representative chosen in 1795, and was re-elected until 1802. He was truly the father of the town, which became the last and best fruits of his life in the intelligence, piety and thrift of its people, and where he was held in the greatest respect.

He was one of those worthy fathers of Vermont whose sterling virtues, wisdom and indomitable courage carved out and shaped the destiny of that State amid scenes of convulsion at home and abroad. He died in Waitsfield, June 28th, 1822, aged 86 years, leaving numerous descendants.

Richard Waite, the fifth of the brothers, at seventeen years of age, enlisted in the provincial army in March, 1762, in Captain Thomas Cowden's company, with the consent of his guardian, the Hon. Jedediah Foster. In December, 1770, he married Susanna Allen and removed to Windsor, Vt., where he was one of the founders of the first church in 1778, was chosen Deacon in 17S1, and was a man of much influence, his name appearing in nearly every page of the records. Like his brothers Joseph and Benjamin, he was an active " Green Mountain Boy." He was with his brother Benjamin during the Revolution, and was captain of a company of Rangers in Herrick's famous regiment in the battle of Bennington. After the war he passed the remainder of his life in Windsor, where he enjoyed the confidence and respect of his fellow-citizens, both in the civil and military capacity, and died in March, 1823. His grandchildren are now living in Windsor and in New York State.

Jeduthan and William Waite, the youngest of the seven brothers, upon the "Lexington alarm," in April, 1775, marched to Roxbury, near Boston, under Captain Peter Harwood, where they were in camp in Colonel Ebenezer Learned's regiment during the rest of the year. The tradition is, that they were in the battle of Bunker Hill. The following years they were both in Captain Toogood's and Captain Heywood's companies, in Colonel Thomas Nixon's Worcester County regiment, encamped about New York City, and were in the numerous battles and skirmishes from Harlem Heights to Saratoga.

In February, 1 780, William was transferred to Colonel Jeduthan Baldwin's regiment of artificers ; and in September, 1 781, Jeduthan was trans- ferred to the "Light Infantry," where they served until 1785. It has been stated that VVilHam's left arm was taken off by a cannon-ball in one of the battles ; but two of Jeduthan's sons, now living, say that it was blown off in firing salutes at a 4th of July celebration.

They removed from Brookfield about 1790, to Waitsfield, Vt., where Jeduthan died about 1 830, leaving a large family ; and William died in 1843, unmarried.

Thus this family of patriot farmers did what they considered to be their duty in their day and generation ; and of such Daniel Webster says : " Nobler records of patriotism exist nowhere. Nowhere can there be found higher proofs of a spirit that was ready to hazard all, to pledge all, to sacrifice all, in the cause of their country, than in the New England towns."

Land Grants

The foregoing Map is compiled from the old Brookfield " Town Book of Records of Lands," with some help from various local maps, and a careful exploration of the ground, for the purpose of identifying such natural objects as are unchangeable. In addition, all the original deeds and later transfers, now on record in the Hampden and Worcester County Registries, have been examined, and are relied on for the settlement of many doubtful and disputed points.

The earliest recorded grants of these lots date in 1687; and the grants continued from time to time till 1720-21, when most of the remaining lands were apportioned to the inhabitants. [See ante, pp. 136- 9, 197-8.] But the description of these granted lots is very imperfect, the bounds usually running from one marked tree or heap of stones to another, without magnetic bearings, and often without distances. The first actual survey, with use of compass, appears to have been made about 1767, by Rufus Putnam; and his minutes have aided materially in determining the lengths of fines and quantity of angles ; and the deeds based on these surveys often give more or less in detail former ownerships. Some small grants of a few acres each, do not appear on the Plan, as they were made to or bought by adjacent owners. The meadows on the brooks were among the earliest grants, and often in small quantities, and little attempt has been made to mark such boundaries.

The roads are seen to be very numerous and very crooked. The rule followed appears to have been, to give every settler who would build a house " a way to get to mill and meeting."

The working out of the problem has been difficult and perplexing and expensive ; but the result herewith presented, claims to be in the main

Lanb Grants

As will be seen, the earliest grants in Brookfield township, made at the Re-Settlement of the place in 1686, lie within the limits of North Brookfield.

Charles E. Jenks

Index and Explanations of the Map. - For the sake of convenience of reference, the numbering of lots begins at the upper left-hand comer, and follows the method of the printed page, instead of beginning w'ith the earliest grants and following a chronological order. The latter S3'stem might perhaps be more logical ; but it would complicate the arrangement, without a corresponding advantage.

Granted 1720 and 1721 ; a hundred acres of the west part sold to his grandson Benjamin Kimball, who built a house ; the remainder sold 1739 to his son William Ayers, who sold, 1762, sixty-five acres to Rufus

Granted 1721 ; sold 1729 to Henry Lee, who sold same year to Col. Thomas Fitch of Boston, who at his death owned this and Nos. 17, 37, 46 ind 57; Col. Fitch's will, probated 1736, makes sons-in-law James AUen and Andrew Oliver, executors. Most of these lots came to William Brattle of Cambridge, by whom they were sold to settlers. They are frequently referred to as '' Mr. Allen's land," "Oliver land," "Madame Brattle's land," and "William Brattle's land."

Granted 1721, together with most of No. 19. Parts of these lots were sold 1749 to Nathan Barker; he sold 1759 to Nathaniel Wait, who built the first mills here. In 1766, twelve acres were sold to Francis Stone; ami in 1769 Stone had a grant of twenty-three acres marked S.

Granted 1719 to J. P., son of William Prichard, deceased; sold 1746 to Thomas Hale, who built a house, afterward occupied by him and his descendants. I No. 14. - See No. 3.

Two hundred acres granted 1721; conveyed 1724 for ^{^60 to Samuel Barnard; by him to Samuel Ware; by him 1747 for ^712 old tenor, to Jedediah How. Stephen Rice bought Oct. 22, 1765, eightysix acres with house and barn for ;j^300 ; sold Feb. 13, 1773, for ;^346 to Nathan Carruth of Westboro, house wright. See No. 7.

Land Grants. 45 1

Samuel Hall of Grafton; sold 1770 to Francis Kidder of Sutton ; sold ^773 to Job Simmons, and conveyed by him 1784 to Jonathan Nye, and from him to Ebenezer Nye, and by him to Bonum Nye.

Granted 1742 to Thomas Tucker, who probably built before 1750. Part of the lot was granted 1757 to Ichabod How, in 1767 to Silas How, in 1754 to Benjamin Adams, and to Thomas Tucker in 1754, 1757, and 1768.

Granted 171 7, 1720 and 1721. The north part was sold 1742 to David Kendall, and he sold 1 746 with house marked H to Nathan Stevens of Andover, and he to Samuel Hoar. The house marked I, where Aikens probably lived in 171 7, and the remainder of the grant was sold 1 730 to Gershom Keyes ; sold to Thomas Gushing of Boston ; sold 1764 to John Witt, who sold 1765 fit"ty-two acres to Samuel Haskell of Middleboro.

Granted at various dates from 1701 to 1721. On the death of Thomas Barns 1 734, Noah Barns took the south part on which he then lived ; sold 1 737, a hundred and seven acres to Jason Bigelow of Marlboro, who built house H, and the farm is continued in the Bigelow family to the present (1886). John Barns took the part next north, and sold 1778 the west part to Solomon Barns, and 1774 the east part to Jesse Barns. Jabez Olmstead took the part next north, a hundred and forty-one acres, which he sold 1735 to Joseph How, who conveyed 1747 to Joseph Stone, who sold, same year, fifty acres to Peter Lampson of Ipswich, on which Lampson built house HI. Stone retained the remainder on which was house IV at Grass hill. The balance of the Thomas Barns grant was taken by Eleazar Warner.

No. 24. - Noah Barns. Granted 1717 to 1721; sold 1741, fifty-four acres at south end to Thomas Gilbert; sold 1758, twenty-one acres with house to Samuel Hodgman, at Grass hill ; sold 1765, twelve acres to Charles Wetherbee.

Granted 1715 to 1720; sold to Gershom Keyes, and by him 1733 to Anthony Cavelly, distiller of Boston; he sold 1742 to Samuel Wells, he in 1747 to Jacob Caldwell, who sold 1750, fifty-five acres of the south part to Elisha Hastings, and the remainder to Theophilus Potter of Marlboro in 1756. Hastings sold the fifty-five acres in 1753 to Reuben Hamilton for ;^45.

Granted 1721 ; sold 1745 to Seth Hinds, he in 1751 to Joseph Bartlett, \\\\Q sold Mar. 3, 1761, to Rufus Putnam, millwright, a saw-mill then being on the place, and conveyed the remainder of the farm in 1767 to Zebulon Rice, who sold 1775 to Rufus Putnam.

Granted 1721; sold 1729 to Samuel Barnard; sold 1734 lot with house I to Samuel Owen ; he sold 1 739, thirty acres of the east part to his son Samuel, who sold the same in 1 744 to Edward Wright, who sold 1747 to William Wright, who had house H. Samuel Owen, Jr., sold the remainder of the lot in 1 740 to Jacob Ball of Framingham, who sold next year to his brother Thomas Ball, and the same was sold -i 768 to John Bruce of Framingham, then to Charles Bruce, then to Nathan Moore, then to Joseph A. Moore.

Granted 1710 to 1721 ; sold 1735 by his heirs to Jonathan Barns, who sold 1738 to Ammiel Weeks, shop joiner, of Marlboro, whose heirs sold 1770 to John Lamson, who conveyed 1773 two and three-quarters acres at north-west corner, with a house on same, to Jacob Batcheller.

Granted 1721 ; sold to Thomas Gibbs, who sold 1750, the south part to John Batcheller, whose heirs sold 1767 to James Drake, and he in 1772 to Thomas Hardy. Thomas Gibbs sold the north part " where his son Isaac Gibbs then lived," to Isaac Cutter in 1752, who sold 1757 to James Grimes, who sold 1771 to Solomon Foster, who sold 1783 to Bryant Foster, who sold 1791 to Benjamin Doane.

Granted 1721 ; this and No. 46 conveyed to William Brattle (see No. 10), who sold 1764 the south-west part to John Bartlett, who sold 1768 to John Bruce, and he, same year, to Samuel Edmands of Framingham. The south-east part with No. 46 was sold 1764 to Peter Harwood, and the remainder to John Watson, and in 1789 to Aaron Forbes, then to Solomon and Edmond Matthews, and they to Ezra Batcheller of Sutton in 1801.

Granted 17 14 and 1721. A house was built on this lot by Mr. Olmstead soon after his first grant; he sold 1729 to Gershom Keyes, and Keyes sold 1739 to Ephraim Cutter, glazier, of Watertown.

Granted 1710 to 1721, described as "at Tower hill;" in 1741, he conveys the south and west part to Uriah Gilbert where he builds house I. Uriah Gilbert has a grant marked a in 1748, and in 1757 conveys to the Second Precinct the east part of the Burying Ground. Thomas Gilbert conveys 1742 the remainder of the lot to Jonathan Gilbert, where he built house II. Eighty acres of this were sold 1758 to Ebenezer Parkman, who sold 1762 to Thomas Hardy, and he in i 791 to Eleazar Bradshaw ; who sold 1795, thirty acres to Peter Harwood, and in 1797, six and one-half acres lying north of the Burying Yard to Rufus Hardy, who sold the six and one-half acres in 1798 to William Doane, "with house, 'barn and black-smith's shop," and he sold the same in 1800 to Walter Walker.

Granted 1719 and 1721 ; the north part sold 1721 to Samuel Porter, the south part in 1722 to Capt. Thomas Baker, then with No. 53, conveyed 1726 to Samuel Porter, and all conveyed 1734 to Ebenezer Witt, who sold the north part i 780 to Witt Taylor, which was sold to Eleazar Bradshaw, then to Joseph Poland ; the remainder was sold 1 780 to Ebenezer Newell, he in 1784 to Jeduthan Baldwin, and next to Israel Hamilton.

Granted 1720 and 1721 ; the west part sold 1735 to Charles Adams of Ipswich; the central part sold 1732 to John Maclung who probably built house II, and sold 1740 to John Watson, who conveyed it same year to William Watson of Leicester; the east part sold about 1732 to John Watson who built house IJI, and afterwards sold to Eleazar Bradshaw.

Granted 1714 and 1717 ; Gibbs also had grant north-west of No. 42, marked G; a house was standing on the lot in 171 7; sold 1721 to Samuel Owen, who sold 1729 to John Patterson, afterwards sold to William Dane.

Granted 171 7 and 1721; sold to John Barns; who sold 1736 the north part to Benjamin Adams of Marlboro ; the south-west part in 1 747 to Moses Barns, who probably built house I ; the south-east part in 1747 to Aaron Barns who probably built house II. Subsequent owners of the last named part, Joseph Bruce, Thomas Bond, Amos Bond.

Granted 1714, and covers a considerable part of what is now the Centre village ; sold 1725 for ;^20 to Richard Burk; he sold 1726 to Jonathan Burk who built house I, now .standing (18S6) ;.he sold for P^i,4i2 old tenor, this lot with the lot marked b on the north side (which had been granted to him in 1742 and 1745) to Benjamin Gilbert of Ipswich in 1747, who sold in 1756, forty acres of the south-west part to Daniel Gilbert who conveyed the same in 1757 to Dr. Benjamin Gott of Marlboro, who built the first house on it. The administrator of Gott sold 1764 to Ebenezer Parkman, and he in 1777 to Rev. Joseph Appleton. Rev. Eli Forbush bought in 1752 of Benjamin Gilbert, nine acres of the north side, and of Ebenezer Witt the lot marked c (granted Ebenezer Witt in 1745). Mr. Forbush also bought at the same time twenty acres still farther north, and built house II; he sold 1760 thirty acres with house to Jeduthan Baldwin, which, with other lands, was conveyed by his heirs in 1794 to John Cutler, who sold in 1797 to Jonathan Wetherbee, at which time there was on the premises a house, barn and cider mill, all of which were sold 1805 to Samuel Skerry, and by his heirs in 1821 and 1832 to Tyler Batcheller. In the year 1768, one hundred and eighty rods of land, marked d, where the railroad station stands, was granted to Jeduthan Baldwin. This was the last lot of " Common Land " in the Centre, granted by the Town.

Granted 1720; conveyed to Roger Wellington, who sold 1764 to Ebenezer Smith, who the next year sold to Jonathan Goodale of Marlboro, and he to Josiah Goodale.

Granted 1721 and 1735; conveyed to Thomas Fitch (see No. 10) and by .'\ndrew Oliver in 1759 to Benjamin Wellington. The west part was sold 1761 to Joseph Morse, who sold 1764 to Roger Bruce of Westboro, and he to Noah Hardy ; the remainder was sold to William Harrington, who sold 1778 to Daniel Forbes.

Granted 1703 to 1721; conveyed 1736 to Gershom Keyes, then to John Hamilton, then 1744 to John Hinds, jr., on which was then a cornmill, then to Timothy Hall, then to Jonas Harwood.

No. 61. - Thomas Bartlett. Granted 1721 ; conveyed 1744 to son Joseph Bartlett, "excepting a saw mill ; " sold to Seth Hinds ; sold to Joseph Hatfield of Sturbridge, 1752, " excepting the saw mill of Joseph Bartlett."

No. 62. - Benjamin Bartlett. Granted 1721 ; sold this lot and No. 74 in 1726, to Henry Dwight, who sold 1737 to Nathaniel Bartlett, wheelwright.

No. ()2). - John Ayres (son of Samuel). Granted 1 715 ; house built near this date ; sold 1 733 to Daniel Barns ; sold 1 746 to Abner Tyler of Boxford.

Granted 17 18; conveyed to his son Onesiphorus, then to grandson Jabez; he to Horace Bailey in 1819. The north part was sold to Stephen Bailey, then to Cheney Dane, then in 1824 to Elijah Bates, then to Theodore C. Bates.

Granted 1714 ; the north-east part sold 1744 to Daniel Potter; Potter sold the south part to Jeduthan Baldwin, and the same with a house was sold 1760 to Rev. Eli Forbes. The house I was built by Potter; II indicates the spot where the First Meeting-house was built.

Granted 1714 ; after his death held by Joseph and William Ayres, and sold by them 1725, to Jonathan Nutting of Framingham, gunsmith, who sold this and No. 81, in 1729, to John Hamilton, who sold the south part in 1 73 1 to John Burr " late of Ireland," subsequently owned by Samuel Pickard ; the north part was sold to Amos Smith, and afterwards owned by Thomas Ball,

Land Grants

Granted 1717 to 1721; Thomas Bartlett built house on the lot; 10 acres sold 1732 to Abraham How ; 5 acres on west part of the 10 acres sold 1770 for ;^26 to William Bowman; sold same with house, tanner's and currier's shop 1781 for;^i20 to Samuel Hardy of Oxford; sold 1782 for ;^50 to Samuel Watson and Silas Hazeltine ; sold 1787 for ;^i30 to Aaron Forbes; sold same year for ;^ 100 to Dudley Jurdon, tanner; sold 1793, for ;^2 10 to Ephraim Spalding, jr. ; sold 1794 for ;,^240 to Solomon Doane ; sold 1805 for $1,0.00 to Charles Bruce; sold Aug. 23, 1S09 to Oliver Ward of Grafton, tanner.

Granted 1713 ; house built before 1718 ; conveyed 1719 to son John of Lancaster ; conveyed to Corlis Hinds : afterwards owned by John Raymond, a descendant of the John Raymond who was the hero of the

Granted 1713; sold 1721 to Jonathan Burk, 1726 to Richard Burk, 1729 to Thomas Gibbs, 1730 to Solomon Goodale, who left it by will 1744 to John Goodale ; next owned by Joseph Chaddock (Chadvvick), then by Gideon Jenks, then by Nathaniel Waite. The house (standing 1886) was built before 1744.

Granted 1720. His son Simeon'sold the west part in 1754 to Silas How, he in 1764 to Jonathan Bond, and he in 1777 to Jonathan Jenks. Levi Walker, another son, sold the north part in 1776 to Robert Richmond, and the east part in 1766 to Daniel Forbes of Westboro.

No. 76. - John Pynchon, Sen. " Pynchon's Farm " is named in the earliest notices of Quabaug, and was granted near tlie beginning of the First Settlement of the place, A description of the lot is attested as follows : " A True Copy, extracted from the Records for Quabougue, and taken out of that Book where the Grants and Records of Quabogue alias Brookfield lands are entered while said Book was in Mr. Pynchon's Custody as recorder thereof. This done this 5th day of November, 1674 - John Pynchon, Recorder." The "Farm" comprised 50 acres of upland. The Grant appears to be conveyed in 1742 to Joseph Dvvight, and by him sold in 1744 to Elisha Dwight, and called in the deed " Pynchon's Matchuk Farm." Elisha Dwight sold 1757 to Daniel Gilbert.

No. 77. - Matchuk Meadows. The larger part of these meadows were granted - mostly in small lots - to the first settlers, before 1673. The southerly part of this lot came into possession of Joseph Ayres, who built the house before 1720. His gifts and purchases embraced most of the land in town lying southwest of his house. He and his son William, and great-grandson WilHam, held this estate till the death of the latter in 1835.

No. 79. - John Ayres (son of Joseph). Granted 1714 to 1719. This place has always been in possession of the Ayres family, direct descendants of John ; and is the only farm in town that has had such continuous ownership in a family.

No. 80. - Samuel King alias Rice. Granted 1721. Surveyed by John Haynes, and a plan of the same entered on the record, and is the only instance of such record of North Brookfield lands.

No. 82. - Edward Ayres. Granted 171 7; sold 1 719 to Benjamin Bartlett ; conveyed 1737, together with No. 83, to Joseph Bartlett, in 1750 to John Cutler, in 1752 to Job Lane, and by the executors of Lane in 1758 to Jonas Brewer; now the town farm.