Grafton Town

Grafton Town

This church and society were formed under the care and direction of Rev. Edward Brooks Hall, who after a i'eve months received a call from the First Congregational Society of Providence, and was there installed November 14, 1832. Mr. Hall was born in Medford.on the 2d of September, 1800, and {sraduated at Harvard in 1829. In 1826 he was .-ettled in Northhampton and afterward in Cincinnati. Mr. Hall wa.s the father of Rev. Edward H. Hall, now settled over the Unitarian Society in Old Cambridge.

Rev. Rufus A. Johnson followed Mr. Hall, and was installed October 16, 1833. His pastorate continued until March 12, 1838, and he died in Upton in 1860. Rev. Cazneau Palfrey succeeded Mr. Johnson, and was installed April 2-5, 1838. His pastorate continued until April 2.5, 1843. Mr. Palfrey was born in Boston August 11, 180.5, and graduated at Harvard in 1826. Previous to his ministry at Grafton he was settled over the Unitarian Society in Washington, where he remained six years.

Rev. Edward B. Willson followed Mr. Palfrey, and was ordained January 3, 1844. His pastorate continued until July 1, 1852, when, at his own request, he was dismissed. Mr. Willson was a native of Petersham, and born August 15, 1820. During "his pastorate the question was raised, and probably not for tlie first time, as to who were the rightful owners of the records of the First Church. As has been already stated, in 1832, at the time of the settlement of Mr. Hall, the parish became Unitarian, and the church seceded in a body, carrying the records with them. The seceding church, being unanimous in its action, claimed still to be the First Church, while the old parish claimed that the church emanating from and attached to the First Parish was the First Church, and owned the records. Soon after the secession of the church an application for the records was made by the Unitarian Society, but refused. Now a new application was made in the form of a compromise, which was granted in the same friendly and Christian spirit in which it was made. The controversy was settled by the loan of the first two volumes of the records for the purpose of having copies made by the Unitarian Parish, and by the gift of a copy of that part of the third volume which contained the records of the old church previous to the secession. In the present resting-place of the controversy, the seceding church holds the original records and the First Parish holds the co|)ies. It is of little consequence which is called the First Church and which the Second, provided each adheres to the spirit in which the old church was founded, and performs faithfully the Cnristian work for which it was

Alter the resignation of Mr. Willson the church was without a pastor until 1858, and during a large part of the interval its pulpit was supplied by Rev. Farrington Mclntire, a native of Fitchburg, and a graduate of Harvard in 1843. In 1858 Rev. William G. Scandlin, a native of Portsmouth, England, and a graduate of the Meadville School in 1854, was called. He was installed June 23, J 858, and his pastorate continued until his death, March 17, 1871. In the early days of the War of the Rebellion, in response to his offer of service, he was appointed chaplain of the Fifteenth Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and received a leave of absence from his people. During a subsequent service as a member of the Sanitary Commission he was taken prisoner and confined for a time in Libby prison. His services, both as chaplain and dispenser of the bounties of the Commission, were widely known and gratefully acknowledged. During his pastorate his meeting-house was burned, in 1862, and immediately rebuilt. His death was universally lamented both by his own society and his fellow-citizens of all denominations, and the day of his funeral was observed in Grafton as a day of mourning.

Rev. Charles H. Tindall, a native of New Brunswick, N. J., where he was born October 17, 1841, succeeded Mr. Scandlin. At first a Methodist, he finally entered the Harvard Divinity School, from wh'ch institution he graduated in 1872. He was ordained at Grafton on the 5th of the following September, on which occasion the sermon was preached by Rev. Charles Carroll Everett, of Cambridge. After three years of service Mr. Tindall resigned, and in August, 1875, was settled over the Unitarian Society in Fall River.

Rev. William Smith Burton, a native of Norwich, Vt., succeeded Mr. Tindall. He was born September 29, 1832, and graduated at the Norwich University. He had seen service in the war as a cavalry major, had engaged in the business of farming, and had been settled over the Unitarian Societies of Athol and Clinton. He was installed at Grafton in January, 1876. The present pastor of the society, settled in 1887, is Rev. Edmund Quincy Sewall Osgood, a native of Cohasset and a graduate of Harvard, who had previously been settled for several years over the old First Parish in Plymouth.

After the dismissal of Rev. Mr. Searle in 1831, to which reference has already been made, the seceding church and some of the members of the Old Parish formed a new parish, and built the meeting-house now .standing on the west side of the Common. The first pastor of this society was Rev. John Wilde, a native of Dorchester and a graduate of Jliddlebury College in 1827. He was installed over "The Evangelical Congregational Society," as the new society is called, June 20, 1832. His pastorate continued until

1839, after which time he resided in Conway, N. H., West Falmouth and Topshain, Me., Stamford, Conn., and Alexandria, Va., in which latter place he died, February 10, 1868.

Mr. Wilde was followed by Rev. Thomas Curtis Biscoe, born in Cambridge, July, 1810, and a graduate of Amherst in 1831. He was ordained July 18, 1838, and dismissed July 26, 1868. Rev. John H. Windsor succeeded Mr. Biscoe, and was in.stalled September 29, 1868. The present pastor of the society, whose pastorate has now been extended four years, is the Rev. B. A. Robie, and under his as well as jjreceding pastorates the condition of the society is one of union and prosperity.

The next religious society to be mentioned in the order of its birth, assuming that the Unitarian Society and the Evangelical Congregational have a common date of origin, is the First Baptist Society, which, with the two societies already mentioned, is planted at the central village. It was formed in 1767, and in 1773 had for the first time a minister of its own. From that year until 1775 Rev. Mr. Winchester served, and in 1779 Rev. Mr. Eustick began a three years' ministry. In 1784 Rev. Mr. Ingalls became connected with the society ; but at the end of three years his ministry terminated, and the society gradually faded away. After the dissolution of the society, those holding to the Baptist faith held meetings at private houses until the year 1800, when, on the 20th of June, the present church was organized with the names of sixty persons signed to the Articles of Faith and Covenant. Early in the next year a meeting-house was built which gave place in 1830 to the edifice now used by the society. After various temporary supplies. Rev. Thomas Barrett was ordained June 12, 1816, and remained until 1821, and, after an interval of two years. Rev. Otis Converse was ordained June 25, 1823, and resigned March 31, 1836.

Rev. John Jennings was installed August 10, 1836, and resigned in 1842 to take charge of a church in Worcester. In the year of the resignation of Mr. Jennings, Rev. Calvin Newton assumed the pastorate, and in the next year he also resigned. Mr. Newton was followed by Rev. Benjamin A. Edwards, who was ordained March 19, 1845. After a pastorate of four years, he was succeeded by Rev. Mr. McCiear, who remained only a short time, and was followed by Rev. Joseph Smith in May, 1851. In 1857 the pastorate of Mr. Smith terminated, and in the same year Rev. J. M. Chick began a three years' ministry. In 1861 Rev. Gilbert Robbins became pastor, and remained until 1868. In the following year Rev. De Forest Safford was installed, but remained only a few months. In August, 1872, Rev. A. C. Huzzey was ordained, and was followed by Rev. Frank J. Bartlett, the present pastor.

churches of the central village and of Shrewsbury and Boylston. In 1838 Rev. Minor G. Clarke was settled over the church, and in the next year a meeting-house was built. Mr. Clarke was followed by Rev. William C. Richards in 1841, Rev. Alfred Pinuey in 1844, Rev. William C. Richards in 1846, Rev. William Leverett in 1849, and at later dates by Rev. Joseph M. Rockwood, Rev. J. D. E. Jones and Rev. L. M. Sargent.

The Free-Will Baptist Church, in that part of Grafton called Farnumsville, began to hold meetings in Saundersville in 1838. In 1839 the church was organized with thirteen members, and in 1840 Rev. Benjamin D. Peck was installed as pastor. He was dismissed in 1846, and followed by Rev. George T. Day, who was installed in December, 1846. Rev. Joseph Whittemore was installed April 1, 1851, and dismissed April 5, 1852. During his pastorate the church changed its location to Farnumsville, where it now holds its services. Rev. Joseph Thayer was installed in 1852, and, after a season of languishment, followed by a reorganization, the society settled Rev. B. F. Pritchard in 1862, who remained until 1864. Rev. M. W. Burlingame was installed March 21, 1865, and dismissed the next year. Rev. G. W. Wallace followed in 1867, Rev. Daniel C. Wheeler in 1870, Rev. A. M. Freeman in 1871, Rev. Francis Read in 1876, and Rev. Andrew J. Eastman in 1878. The present pastor is Rev. Mr. Sherw^ood, who succeeded Rev. W. H. Ward.

St. Philip's Church was established in 1848, in which year a small chapel was built in the central village. Until 1858 it was a mission church, and attended by Father Sheridan and other pastors from Blackstone. In 1858 it was annexed to St. Ann's Church of Worcester, and attended by Father Powers of that church until 1869. In July, 1869, it was joined with the Millbury Mission, and made a parish, under the pastorate of Rev. M. J. Doherty. In October, 1869, the (irafton Mission was made a parish, to which that of Upton was joined. Rev. A. M. Barrett was appointed, in 1869, resident pastor, and was succeeded by the present pastor. Rev. James Boyle. There are also Catholic societies, more recently formed, at North Grafton and Fishersville.

The Saundersville Congregational Church was formed in 1860, with sixteen members. Its first pastor was Rev. William Miller, who continued his service from that ye!^r until April 6, 1862. He was succeeded by Rev. Simeon Waters in 1863, who remained about three years. Rev. James E. Hall followed in 1867, and remained one year. His successor was Rev. Alvan J. Bates, who was installed June 22, 1869, and who was followed by Rev. Harvey M. Stone, whose installation took place December 18, 1878. The present pastor is Rev. B. F. Perkins.

The town of Grafton was not destined to a career of peace when its act of incorporation was secured. After a few 3'ears the French and Indian War broke out, and in Grafton and vicinity a company was formed to aid in the relief of Fort William Henry. Of this company thirty-six belonged to Grafton, and the commander of the company was Captain James Whipple, and its march began August 16,1757. In 1758 twenty-three more enlisted for the service, and in 1759 nineteen additional. A list of the soldiers engaged in this war belonging to Grafton may be found in " Pierce's History," already referred to.

In the War of the Revolution Grafton was not behind her sister towns in patriotic efforts to establish the American Union. At a town-meeting held February 1. 1773, in answer to a letter from the Committee of Correspondence in Boston, the town voted, " that they would defend their rights at all hazards ; that they would not suffer their property to be taken from them in an unconstitutional manner, and that they were ready to co-operate with their brethren in Boston and other places in any measures to obtain a redress of grievances." With regard to the importation of tea, the town resolved, "as the people of this town, that any one individual, or any body of men, that shall encourage, aid or as^iist in importing or receiving any such tea, or any other article, while subject to a duty, the sole purpose whereof is to raise money to appropriate to any sordid measure, or any use whatever, contrary to our just rights of distributing our own property, wherewith God and nature hath made us free, can but be viewed as criminal to our country, as well as to the mother-State, and must be so viewed by us." On the occurrence of the battle of Lexington, on the 19th of April, 1775, messengers were sent throughout the State of Massachusetts, and on the same day two companies marched for Boston. These companies were followed by continued enlistments during the war, and the names of those engaged in the war may be found in the history of Mr. Pierce, who has made an exhaustive search of the archives at the State-House, in order to make the lists complete. It is not necessary to repeat these lists in this narrative. It is sufficient to say that Grafton bore her full share of the burdens of the war, and furnished her full quota of the soldiers necessary to bring it to a favorable conclusion.

Neither the French War with England at the close of the last century, in which the maritime towns severely suffered, nor the War of 1812, materially affected the interests and welfare of Grafton. Her interests were at that time chiefly agricultural, and the annoyances of war failed to reach her borders. Her people were at that time also initiating manufacturing enterprises, and the home market they sought was the more thoroughly secured by the distracting influences of the war on foreign trade. It is by no means certain that the foreign complications, which began with the French Revolution and closed with oil the peace of 1815, did not serve to establish on a firmer foundation the manufacturing enterprises of our country, than could have been secured with the channels of trade clear and unobstructed.

Between the War of 1812 and the War of the Rebellion little occurred to demand the services of the pen of the historian. The town enjoyed a peaceful country life, gradually enlarging its population, steadily increasing and perfecting the means of educating its people, constantly extending its manufactures, and the better sustaining its people by honest labor in their search for a more thorough enjoyment of life, by the cultivation of their social and intellectual powers. While in a condition of prosperity never before experienced, the War of 181)1 came on. Though the premonitions had been unfavorable, yet on the whole the war was a surprise, and consequently the news of the attack on Massachusetts troops in Baltimore on the 19th of April, 1861, took the people by surprise. On the 20th of April, the day of the reception of the news, the selectmen called an informal meeting of the town to be held on the afternoon of that day. The selectmen at that time were, Jonathan D. Wheeler, H. S. Warren, George W. Estabrook and John McClellan. Charles Brigham was chosen moderator, and James W. White, secretary. Prayer was offered by Rev. Wm. G. Scandlin, and a committee, consisting of Esek Saunders, Wra. F. Slocum, W. D. Wheeler, J. S. Nelson and Thomas C. Briscoe, was chosen to prepare business for the meeting. Benjamin Smith, an old Revolutionary soldier, ninety-eight years of age, was seated on the platform. At this meeting it was resolved that " we, citizens of the United States residing in Grafton, do pledge to our country in this hour of trial and need, our property, our lives and our unconditional support, and that we will do all in our power to defend our country against the dangers which threaten its existence." It was also resolved that " we will encourage the organization of a company of volunteer militia in the town of Grafton, to be equipped, drilled and ready for service at their country's call, and that it is incumbent on us to see that the families of those who may be called into service are supplied during their absence." It was further resolved that "we recommend the holding of a legal town-meeting as soon as may be, and that it is the sense of this meeting that the town should appropriate the sum of four thnusand dollars, or so much as may be needed to defray the expenses of organizing such company of volunteer militia, and to render such aid to the families of those who enlist as may be needed." A committee of seven was appointed, consisting of Rufus E. Warren, Esek Saunders, Alfred Morse, C. M. Pratt, W. D. Wheeler, L. M. Sargent and Wra. F. Slocum, to procure the enlistment and charter of a volunteer company. At the close of the meeting the selectmen at once issued their warrant for a town-meeting to be held on the 29th of April, and on that occasion S. D. Hall was chosen moderator.

Rev. J. M. Rockwood offered a prayer, and a committee of fourteen was chosen to have a general oversight of military affiiirs. The committee consisted of A. M. Bigelow, Winthrop Faulkner, Rufus E. Warren, Chandler M. Pratt, .Tas])er S. Nelson, Alfred Morse, Levi Rawsou, Esek Saunders, S. P. Champney, J. B. Adams, Charles Brigham, Lawson ]\runyan, S. J. Axtell and A. M. Bigelow. At this meeting it was voted to appropriate four thousand dollars for the purpose of organizing a company, and to pay one dollar per day to each volunteer who engaged in drilling. It is not necessary, however, to repeat here the different votes of the town passed at various times. The town furnished three hundred and ninety-three men for the war, ten of whom were commissioned officers. The whole amount of money expended during the war was .'?(38,001.09, of which the sum of $28,650.86, expended in State aid, was repaid by the Commonwealth.

The following list of persons who enlisted or were drafted into the service during the war is taken from the "Report of the Selectmen of Grafton" for the year ending March 5, 1S(J6 : of Whigs and Tories, as compared with the scenes which were unfoliling on this continent, and mainly within these old provinces, now Massachusetts, from 1720 to 1789? The men and women who came to Grafton to settle were, like their neighbors, the heirs and successors of those heroic men and women who, in the preceding century, had encountered the first perils attendant on establishing;- a foothold for civilization on this continent.

They had drunk deep of the spirit of the great conflict with the Stuarts, which ended with the revolution of 1688, whereby the liberties of Protestant Englishmen everywhere, as they believed, were forever established. In the first place, they were men of eminently sound, practical common sense. You cannot open a page of their records, or trace the faded leaves of the church proceedings without receiving the impression at the outset and carrying it with you to the end, that first of all here was a race of men perfectly soundminded, level-headed, and intent upon the practical aflairs of life. This Saxon good sense and business capacity is the chief feature of their character, subordinating all others. I know it is common to ascribe to colonial settlers of pre-revolutionary days, and to these our fathers, as the predominant trait of their characters, devotion to religion. I do not dissent from the estimate which gives that element a prominent and controlling place. But in religious zeal they have been surpassed by many races. I believe our good friends the Catholics of the Irish race have, on a thousand fields, shown a devotion to the faith of their fathers as great as any the early settlers of this country ever di.-played. And Spaniards and Frenchmen and Netherlanders and Germans and Turks and Africans have, in all times, displayed a zeal which would rival and eclipse that of our fathers who settled here. When Mr. Wilson, in the excellent discourse I before referred to says, that these "grave pioneers, cherishing the same religious zeal which characterized the primitive colonists of New England, made it their first care to provide for the worship of God ; that their first vote at their first meeting relates to the selection of a proper situation for the house of prayer," he tells but half the story, and the impression conveyed is misleading. They do first attend to the building of a meeting-house. The fact is so. But it is also a fact that precisely that was the first condition in their deed, to wit : that they complete a meeting-house in three years. Their whole title depended upon that strict condition. Like business men, therefore, they set about doing the thing necessary to be done at once to prevent a forfeiture. It was an act most characteristic. But it was characteristic of sensible men of affairs, who exactly understood the nature of their grant, and went about complying with its conditions. It was a practical business transaction, and the record of the second meeting of the proprietors at the house of Nehemiah How, here in Hassanamesitt, on April 19-30, 172S, one hundred and fifty-seven years ago tomorrow, when they adjourned once and again, and examined and re-examined the proposed sites and shifted from one to the other until, after mature consideration, they were satisfied that the location would be "accommodable," furnishes a strong illustration of the very trait of character I am now insisting on, a sturdy practical sense, the faculty to adapt means to ends. I should be sorry to be misunderstood. These pioneers, as a general thing, were professors of, and profound believers in, religion. The conditions on which their grant was made undoubtedly received their hearty concurrence. But none of them were religious zealots, and they were not all of them saints, and they knew their own hearts too well to pretend to be, and neither they nor the General Court felt it to be safe to trust the institution and maintenance of religious worship to anything less secure than the express and rigid condition of the deed itself The policy of maintaining the ordinances of religion, as well as public education, was the settled policy of the provinces, and these emigrants believed in it. There was nothing impulsive or sensational in their conduct, but all was well considered, deliberate and eminently worldly wise.

They were, moreover, an industrious people. They came here as a chief end to better their material wealth ; to get on in life.' Mr. Brigham has noted at how extravagant an estimate they held their lands, and how they gloried in the idea that they should leave so valuable an inheritance to their children. He reckons ill who leaves out of the account of the early New England settlers the fact that they were intent upon honest gain. They desired and expected to increase their stores, and to acquire moderate independence. Love of money is said to be the root of all evil, but the hope of acquiring it has sustained many brave hearts in the midst of trials. The early settlers in this town, like most of their contemporaries, had a dim consciousness of the coming greatness of this country. Of course, they knew nothing of the vast resources that lay slumbering in the heart of the continent, and had no correct notion of the real wealth in store for the succeeding generations. But they believed in the boundless productiveness of the soil, and indulged visions of remuneration for their toil of a kind and degree destined never to be realized. They were, indeed, a deeply religious people. They were Puritans without being fanatics. They were Congregationalists and Calvinists. It is evident, however, as well from their church covenant as from the dissensions and differences of opinion which arose within a few years, that they held the tenets of their creed with liberality and a tolerant spirit, and with some conception of the rights of others, as well iis their own, to private judgment in matters spiritual. They were, for the age in which they lived, progresiSee curious pamphlet on New EnglBnd, by Rev. Higginsou ; 1 sive. I am strongly inclined to think that there was a greater degree of liberality of views among the original settlers in respect to religious matters at first than later. After the divisions which arose in 1745 and 1746 in regard to Mr. Prentice, the first pastor, that happened which usually happens is case of religious schism. Each sect draws the lines of ils peculiar belief more rigidly than before, and the minor differences which occasioned the division become the principal and sacred essentials of doctrine.

At any rate, we know that the church creed was revised and made more definitely Calvinistic under the second minister, Mr. Hutchinson, in accordance with the views of that very able and most logical and uncompromising sectarian. That these people were of a courageous disposition, worthy of their ancestors and of their posterity, needs no evidence to verify. They inherited from their fathers the courage of warriors, and it is not unlikely that some of the first fdundere of tlie town had faced the enemy in battle. The war of the Spanish succession, or Queen Anne'.s War, which broke out in 1702, and continued a number of years, so far as this country is concerned, fell with especial fury upon the colony of Massachusetts Bay. The neutrality of the Five Nations protected New York and the central colonies. The province of Massachusetts Bay was desolated, and for her (says Bancroft) " the history of the war is but a catalogue of miseries."

All along the boi'ders of Maine, then a part of Massachusetts, the cloud of war hung black as death. And, nearer home, Deerfieldwas burnt and its inhabitants massacred in 1704, and Haverhill shared the same fate in 1708. For eleven years the war raged till the treaty of Utrecht in 1713. The troubles respecting the eastern boundaries of the province, which arose about 1720, with the tribe of Abenaki Indians, lasted about four years, and the Indians, who had embraced the Catholic faith under the teachings of the Jesuit Rasles, waged a war with Mas-achusetts, animated on both sides with much religious zeal (a circumstance which does not often mitigate the severities of war), which resulted in the success of our colony. These conflicts may have engaged the personal participation of some of our settlers, and at any rate had made them familiar with the wrinkled front of grim-visaged war from their youth.

We can know but little of the persona! appearance and daily life of these ancient pioneers, who first bore into your fair territory the seeds of civilized life. No photographer's art has preserved the lineaments of a single face. For the most part they were too poor to employ the brush of a painter to fix on the canvas the Heeting lines of their features, even if an artist had ever visited the region. I am bound to believe, however, that the men were of well-knit and vigorous frames, and possessed of no small share of manly beauty, and the women well endowed with the comely graces and endearing charms of their sex. If asked the grounds of this belief, standing among the descendants who bear their features by inheritance, I should answer, "(S'i monunientum quaeris, dircumspice." If you want the proof look about you. It would be instructive and curious, if time permitted, to go into an examination of their daily lives, as aflfected by the implements, appliances and facilities they could command in the performance of their labor, and in providing the necessities of existence.

We, who live in this age of curious inventions and elegant devices of convenience, designed and adapted to facilitate labor and render delightful domestic life, can with difliculty realize the rude and scanty tools and implements and barren facilities with which they prosecuted the labors of the house and farm. In the article of dress, if we had the power to recall and materialize the ancient worthies who assembled in yonder old meeting-house one hundred and fifty years ago; if we could look in upon them as through a window, what a source of infinite amusement and interest their quaint figures would excite !

A brilliant writer, describing a period fifty years later, gives a lively picture of the dress of the New England farmer : " If the food of such a man was plain, so were his clothes. Indeed, his wardrobe would by his descendants be thought scanty in the extreme. For meeting on a iSabbath and on state occasions during the week, he had a suit of broadcloth or corduroy, which lasted him a lifetime, and was at length bequeathed, little the worse for wear, with his cattle and his farm, to his son. The suit in which his neighbors commonly saw him, the suit in which he followed the plough, tended the cattle and dozed in the chimney corner, while Abigail or Comfort read to him from ' Edwards's Sermons,' was of homespun or linsey-woolsey."' I am inclined to think this picture would be applicable to the farmers who settled (irafton, after deducting the broadcloth, corduroy and " Edwards's Sermons." And yet they were by no means destitute of all ideas of refinement, and most of them had seen glimpses of some of the elegancies of life.

It is quite likely that after a few years, at least, on the Sabbath and important occasions, .some of the more well-to-do among them may have displayed garments more attractive than the ordinary sheepskin deerskin, or coarse knee-breeches and frock. Some of the ladies may even have possessed a gown of silk. At any rate we shall ])resently see that there was one such garment in town. The periwig, which so scandalized the clergy of the preceding century had established itself in fashion, and doubtless might have been seen here early, if not at the very first. Their education was not contemptible, as the records, of their proceedings amply show. They had had the benefit of the long-established policy of the colon}% which made public education the corner-stone of the State. They were familiar with Scripture and fa. miliar with learned preaching. One of the conditions of their grant was that they should maintain a learned Orthodox minister. They coni])lied with the con'lition by calling and settling in December, 1731, the Rev. Solomon Prentice, a young graduate of Harvard in the class of 1727, a classmate of Governor Hutchinson, of Massachusetts Bay, and Trumbull, of Connecticut.

In the following year the young minister married Sarah Sartell, of Groton, and his wife, sixteen year.* of age, is said to have been well i|ualified by her learning and ability to assume the important position of a pastor's wife. I have unmistakable evidence that even in those rude and primitive days, in the infancy of the settlement, the minister's wife was not wholly unacquainted with, nor indifferent to, the elegancies of refined life. For, among my heirlooms, I possess an ample fragment of an elegant dress which was the property of that lady. One tra- ' dition in the family describes it as her own wedding dress, but the better authenticated account is that it came from an aunt of her.'*, and was worn by its former owner at the Court of George II. However that may be, it was undoubtedly worn by the fair lady herself, who was, I imagine, as well by her position as by her accomplishments, the leader of society here in those primitive days. As I look upon its beautiful texture, as perfectly preserved as when, one hundred and fifty years ago, it graced the person of the youthful lady, when I see its unfaded and lovely hues, - a bright canary-colored satin, elegantly brocaded with flowers, - I am struck with the transitory nature of the things we here pursue. By the aid of this talisman I am enabled to look into the and behold one of the figures that moved over these scenes when the curtain of history first rolled up and disclosed this section of the world's stage. For nearly a hundred years, after a long life, the mother and grandmother of a nunjerous posterity, she has slept in yonder ancient cemetery. There remain of her memory only a few fleeting and uncertain traditions, scarcely more in extent than the nearly obliterated inscription upon her tombstone. All the rest has fallen silent and is swallowed up in oblivion, but the frail and beautiful adornment which set off the charms of the stately young minister's wife remains. No shade of the cunningly-wrought design has become in the least dimmed with age. Every line of the delicate tracery, and every lovely variation of color, lives as clear as on the day it left the loom. Venerable ancestress ! I salute you across the gulf of years ! Is it possible to believe that this delicate fabric, this tegument which became so intimately connected with her destiny, is all that survives of her, that all the rest is exhaled like the perfume of the flowers which bloomed a hundred years ago? No ! at least she and her contemporaries, whose lives we are now trying to recall, live in the beneficent influence they exerted. It is not alone by hereditary transmission that the qualities and pecularities of one generation reappear in another. We are creatures of imitation. The manners and individual peculiarities of a strong personality are reproduced by force of the instinct to imitate; and as some individuals of every generation ire contemporaries of the next succeeding, the traits and habits of a vigorous and original character are continued and transmitted from .age to age. The frail memorial, the curiously-wrought fabric, is but a symbol of the graces of personal character which do not perish even from this life, when the tenement of clay dissolves, but survive

The pastoral relation of Mr. Prentice was dissolved in 1747 by reason of troubles which had been brewing for two or three years. I do not propose to enter upon the subject of those troubles. It is enough to say that no impeachment of the integrity of Mr. Prentice was attempted, but it was his orthodoxy alone which was brought in ijuestion. It is essential for me to say that the records of this controversy, faithfully set down in the beautiful handwriting of Mr. Prentice himself, discloses a people of great independence of thought and character, desirous to do fight, but by no mcins to be deterred by authority from asserting their just privileges and opinions. Mr. Prentice was succeeded by Rev. Aaron Hutchinson, a man of great power and great eccentricities, who remained till 1772, and in 1774 Rev. Daniel Grosvenor succeeded him. A lady friend of mine has given me a brace of anecdotes told to her by Mr. Grosvenor himself, one of which well illustrates his sense of the humorous and his dislike of insincerity.

Mr. Grosvenor was dining with a lady of his parish, who was a cook of exquisite skill, and she placed before the pastor a delicious pie, of some kind, and as she helped him to a piece of it, she remarked that ihe hoped he would accept a piece of her poor pie. The minister tasted it with great gravity, and said, "Poor pie! why, I call it a very paxsab/e pie." Whereupon the good lady was in high dudgeon. She declared she never took more pains with a pie in the whole course of her life, aud she did not believe there was ever a better pie made. Fishing for a compliment, she got caught with her own hook.

> I regret that a story so destitute of probability as that relating to the domestic discord between Mr. and Mrs. Prentice, which Mr. Howe deemed worthy of a place in his excellent address, should have received an indorsement so respectable. The frequency with which the story has been applied to ancient couples, who were divided in opinion upon the special tenet of the Baptists, renders it quite too stale for adaptation (o the cultivated and refined first pastor of Grafton and his intelligent and spirited wife.

called upon one of his parishioners, who, it being upon a washing day, and her dinner not being just what she would desire to invite so august a personage as the minister to partake of, did not mean to extend to him the courtesy of an invitation. But the lady's mother, who was of the family, nevertheless asked Mr. Grosvenor to stay. He accepted, and when his young hostess apologized for the quality of the repast, her mother made the following observation, which Mr. Grosvenor thought quite notable. She said there was no occasion for any apology ; for, if Mr. Grosvenor was a good man, he would be content and thankful even with a poor dinner, and, if he was a bad man, it was good enough for him.

I have read a sermon preached by Mr. Hutchinson at Newbury in 1767, and the reply by him to certain strictures thereon, by the Rev. John Tucker, pastor of the first church in Newbury. This famous ecclesiastical controversy related to the necessity of infant baptism in order to insure salvation. It is hardly necessary to say that Mr. Hutchinson maintained the affirmative of that proposition. His discourses are marked by great familiarity with Scriptural texts, much classical learning, fine controversial skill, and by a logic which may fairly be described as of deadly precision. Admit his premises, and you cannot escape his conclusions.

Mr. Hutchinson, like his great contemporary. Dr. Samuel Johnson, coupled with great learning and ability, the manners of a bear. The president ol the day,' who is the repository of all the history and anecdotes connected with the antiquities of the town relates a story of Mr. Hutchinson, illustrating his manners: He was dining at a conference of minis ters, and helped himself to so large a portion of the pudding that there was little left on the platter. Thereupon one of his neighbors at the table helped himself from Mr. Hutchinson's plate, and, when remonstrated with, remarked that he always helped himself from the largest pile.

I do not find in the ancient records of the town, anything to show whether the young settlen.ent contributed men to the expedition which resulted in the brilliant conquest of Louisbourg in 1745. To this enterprise, which owed its conception and execution to the energy of Governor Shirley, this province contributed more than three thousand men, and it i.'- probable that in the ranks were found some residents of this town.

The treaty of Aix-la-Cha])elle restored to the French the fortress which New England valor had placed in English hands, and left the colonists to the long struggle which was in store for them, with their wily and cruel neighbors of the north ; and the first war, after the settlement of the town, which arose to try the mettle of the inhabitants, was the French War, in which hostilities broke out in 1754. I have already referred to Queen Anne's War of fifty years before. It is undoubtedly true that the protracted .struggle of the English colonists with the French and Indians along our extended northern frontier, from the mouth of the Saint Lawrence to the forks of the Ohio, furnished the training-school in which was raised the generation of soldiers who fought the battles of the Revolution. In the French War Washington won his spurs, and many of the officers and privates who met the British regulars on Bunker Hill, or penetrated the thick forests of Canada and crossed the Saint Lawrence in canoes under the lead of Arnold and Montgomery, to attack Quebec, or joined in the attack on the Hessians at Trenton, or endured the pangs of famine and frost at Valley Forge, had also, twenty years before, rushed upon the defences at Louisbourg, or, under the command of Wolfe, struggled up the cliffs to the Heights of Abraham, or marched with Washington through the dense forests of Western Pennsylvania to the field of Braddock's defeat. To say that the record of this town in that long struggle was distinguished and honorable, is but to faintly praise where words of enthusiastic eulogy are appropriate. In a period of nine years its population was more than decimated by the fatalities of that war. Such a record is of great and unparalleled significance, and imports that here resided a race of heroic men, whose martial virtues were not inferior to any that ever inspired the strains of the lyric muse. In 1757, the fortunes of England in America reached their lowest ebb. For more than two years, disasters had huddled thick upon her arms. At Fort Du Quesne, at Oswego, at Fort William Henry and throughout the whole of the Saint Lawrence valley, an almost unbroken succession of defeats had reduced her prospects here to the verge of despair. And, at home, the gloom which settled on the face of affairs was scarcely less deep and rayless than that of one hundred years before, when the guns of the Dutch fleet were heard in the Thames. It was at this moment that the elder Pitt, the great commoner, seized the reins of power which fell from the nerveless gras]> of the " Whig aristocracy." In less than four years he restored the military glory of his country to the pitch it had attained by the genius of Marlborough, and gave to England an influence in the politics of the world which she had not enjoyed since the days of Oliver Cromwell. The most brilliant of the series of victories by which these results were accomplished was the conquest of Canada. To the conquest of Canada no portion of the British people contributed so much as the province of Massachusetts B.ay, and no portion of the people of this province contributed more of men and money, according to their numbers, than the people of the town of Grafton.

When we read the astounding fact that eighty of her sons out of a population of seven hundred and fifty died in this war, we feel the intense meaning of earth." To quote the language of your great military chieftain, addressed to you at the close, " Your marches, sieges and battles, in distance, duration, resolution and brilliancy of results, dim the lustre of the world's past military achievements, and will be the patriot's precedent in defence of liberty and the right in all time to come."

I have said the first settlers of the town were remarkable for their sturdy sen.se and practical business capacity, and for these their descendants have continued to be distinguished. It would be invidious to name the living, and difficult to select, for special mention, from the long roll of Grafton's sons who have united with a lofty spirit of patriotism the practical wisdom of men of afl'airs. They are found, in no insignificant numbers, in the ranks of those by whom the great business interests of the country are managed. Of profound and brlUiaut scholars, of eminent statesmen and orators, the t<nvn has no list to present. In the main, heretofore, the genius her children have displayed is the genius of honest industry, perseverance, courage, Yankee sense, the capacity to gain solid acquirements, and to use them about the practical business of life, the genius of the true artisans who have wrought out the great material progress and prosperity of the age. And if the past of the town is secure, the present and future are also luminous with hope and promise. It is true that causes, which need not be enumerated, tend to mass l)opulation about great industrial centres, and the country town sufl'ers an apparent diminution of importance. If it is a question of valuation for the purposes of ta.\ation ; if it is a ((uestion of com|)arative gain of population ; if it is a question of relative municipal importance, your town has lost the race. But the true worth of a town is not measured by its valuation list, any oiore than the true wealth of a man is measured by his weight avoirdupois. When the Neto Yor/c Sun wanted to say the most disparaging thing it could think of about General Hancock, it .said he was a good man, and weighed two hundred and fifty pounds. If it is a question what opportunities are here afforded to lead a rational existence ; to appreciate intelligently the great pageant of human life as it moves before the eye ; to cultivate and expand your own powers ; to furnish the minds of your children with correct opinions, and fill their hearts with noble sentiments ; in short, to enjoy all the blessings of civil liberty, at what period of Grafton's history were her prospects more attractive? In 1735 Grafton was what it had been in the days of Hubbard, " a place up into the woods beyond Medfield and Mendon."

The Grafton of 1885 is near the centre of a republic of fifty-five millions of people. The distance of your fathers of the year 1800 from their rural countyseat was greater than yours, at present, from the great city, then a straggling town, now a vast mart of trade and the " mother of arts and eloquence."

Taking into account the conveniences and comforts of modern methods of travel, as well as the element of time, you are nearer to New York, Philadelphia and Washington, than your fathers were to their provincial capital. " No pent up Utica contracts your powers, but the whole boundless continent is yours.'' And it is yours in other senses than that it is accessible. The old charters of Charles, and of William and Mary, granted to the province of Massachusetts Bay all the land lying between a north line three miles north of the Merrimack and a south line three miles south of the Charles, and extending westward to the South Sea. There was an unconscious prophecy in the vague terms of the ancient grants. The royal grantors could deliver but a small part of the vast region they covered by the premises of their parchment. But what the royal .signet could not give title to, the grantees and their children have, nevertheless, possessed. The great West is but a larger New England and a more distinguished Massachusetts. Even the great South, so long shut up against the influence of your free institutions, beholds the coming day. Even there -

The new South means a South which shall yield to the genial influences of New England, such as our fathers planted here, and which have created the greatness of the North and the West. Meanwhile, over your noble hills and through your lovely valleys, "Heaven's breath smells wooin.gly," your ample fields have not sensibly abated their fertility, and your thriving villages are vigorous as of old. Your model free-schools and your noble library open wide their portals and extend their inestimable benefits to the rich and poor alike. No child is born within your borders in circumstances so abject and miserable that the beneficent institutions you have established and maintain will not unlock at the bidding of his diligence and ability, every door that leads to wealth and honorable fame. Standing at the apex (if the second century, reverting to the past and peering into the future, we can discover only reasons for profound gratitude to the founders of the ancient town, and to their heroic successors in every generation, who have preserved for us so noble a heritage.

Biographical Esek Saunders

The subject of this sketch is nearly as old as the century, having been born in Scituate, R. I., May 21, 1800, and is still (January, 1889) living with physical and mental powers remarkably preserved.

The ancestor of the family in this country was Christopher Saunders, who settled at Bristol, R. I.> and attended the first town-meeting there in 1680. He was descended from Sir Robert Saunders, who was knighted by Oliver Cromwell during the civil wars of England. The family name is favorably known in letters, being represented in London by Mr. John Saunders, a writer of marked ability in historical matters, and in this country by Mr. Frederick Saunders, the accomplished librarian of the Astor Library in New York.

Deborah Foster Saunders, the mother of Esek, the daughter of Josiah and Patience Williams Foster, was born December 20, 1776, and died at the great age of ninety-six years, ten months and twenty days, at Saundersville, Mass. She was an estimable woman and retained her mental faculties to a remarkable degree. The town of Foster, R. I., was named for her family. She was a descendant of Roger Williams, the founder of Rhode Island, and of William and Mary Dyer, who came from England with Roger Williams, and settled with him in Rhode Island in 1636. William Dyer was the first secretary of the colony of Rhode Island, and Mary, his wife, was the Quakeress who was executed in Boston during Winthrop's administration.

Esek Saunders was one of six children, having three brothers and two sisters. He was in the seventh generation from Roger Williams, and was most emphatically the architect of his own success, having left home at the early age of eight years, though still for some time under the oversight of loving parents.

At sixteen we find him in the employ of Aldricb, Macomber & Fisk, who ran the stage line from Providence to Norwich in connection with the New York Steamship Line, carrying the United States mail. Here he began his connection with what was then one of the great enterprises of the day - stagecoaching, in which he was to have many interesting experiences and a large degree of success. Ten years later he was for eighteen mouths with Thomas Hartshorn, proprietor of a large livery stable, who furnished carriages to people going to all parts of the country. In his employ young Saunders had an opportunity to visit all the principal cities and to meet many of the noted people whose names have become historic. The year 1819 found him with his uncle, John Howard, at Burlington, Vt. Here he was placed on the line between Burlington and Boston, remaining until the spring of 1821, when he became the Boston agent of the line. In 1822 he was connected with the Plymouth line, and in 1823 went on the Eastern line, driving most of the time between Newburyport and Boston, doing an important express business, carrying large sums of money for the bankers, and at the same time maintaining an interest in most of the other lines. Mr. Saunders became one of the best known, most trusted and most popular drivers of the day. His honesty, fidelity, good judgment and urbanity brought him prosperity. His strict temperance principles were remarkable for that day, and the more so for one in his position. Favored parties frequently oflered him cigars, wine, tickets to theatres, etc., all of which he politely but firmly refused. He now loves to tell to appreciative friends most interesting stories of his staging experiences, and of those who have been his passengers. John Quincy Adams, then Secretary of State under Monroe, afterward President of the United States, rode with him, in 1819, from Providence to Quincy. In 1820 he had Gen. Winfield Scott with his staff on their way to Boston, as passengers from Burlington to Royalston. This was the beginning of an intimate acquaintance and friendship. In 1821 he accompanied Gen. Lafayette from Boston to Portsmouth and return. Almost all the men most prominent in the history of the country, in the early part of this century, have been his passengers, including Daniel Webster, Judge Story, Edward Everett, Lyman Beecher and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

In 1835 Mr. Saunders removed to the village which came to bear his name, and |iurchased the small conton-mill built by David Wilkinson. Two of his brothers, George and Benjamin, were associated with him, the former remaining for three years, and the latter for five and continuing to retain afterward an interest in the firm. The mill as purchased had a capacity of 1000 spindles and 24 looms. It was soon replaced by the present substantial structure, - a stone building 175 by 51 feet, three stories in height, with an ell 78 by 38 feet, with a capacity of 12,000 spindles and 210 looms. Under the enterprise of the Saunders Cotton Co., of which Mr. Saunders was the principal stockholder, Saundersville. one of the most beautiful villages on the Blackstone, has grown up. It was laid out with intelligence and taste in the beginning, and trees of the most ornamental varieties were planted at once, and now the shaded houses with their little lawns and gardens are in marked contrast with those of the average mill village. Mr. Saunders looked well to the sanitary, the educational and the moral interests of his little kingdom. He had a care that the children of the village might grow up to be intelligent and worthy citizens; showed adeej) interest in the schools, and once gave one thousand dollars for the library of the village. He endeavored in every way to elevate his employes. In 1838 he erected a convenient building for a church, which, though replaced later by a more commodious structure of brick, is still used as a vestry and for the social needs of the Congregational Church. Mr. Saunders has been the principal financial supporter of the church, always devising liberal things for its welfare. He became identified with it as a member in 1867, and has served it as deacon since 1870. He has ever been the

It is also true of him that he has ever been a kind and generous friend to the poor, and has by his helping hand and wise and sympathetic counsels brightened many a life. It used to be said of him that " he would never have an unworthy man in the village." Xo saloon has ever found a roof to cover it in Saundersville, and no corrupter of the people, a home.

While giving his time to the exacting demands of a large business, and caring like a father for the welfare of the place, Mr. Saunders always manifested an intelligent interest in public aflairs. He has voted at every Presidential election since that of John Quincy Adams in 1824. In the palmy days of the old Whig party he acted with them, and his counsel was frequently sought. Later he became identified with the Republican party. All local enterprises of moment sought his advice and support. He was an advocate of public improvements in the town of Grafton, where he lived, and active in all movements to benefit it- He had a large influence in getting the Providence and Worcester Railroad through, taking a large amount of stock, giving land for a station and settling land damages for the company. He twice represented the town with acceptance in the State Legislature, and served several terms as selectman, overseer of the poor, trustee of the cemetery, etc. ; was director of the Grafton Bank and Savings Bank; also of llillbury Bank and Savings Bank ; was director also of Worcester Safety Deposit Co., and is now the ol<lest director in the Woi'cester Manufacturers' Mutual Insurance Co., being one of its organizers in 1855. The fact that he was frequently called upon to act as arbitrator shows that he was widely recognized as a nuin of intelligence and discrimination in all business ailiiirs.

Mr. Saunders was married at South Deerfield, Mass., in 1825, to Miss Minerva Boyden, and three daughters were born to them. One, Emily B., married William H. Jourdan, now of Worcester ; another, Harriet M., became the wife of John D. Chollar, Esq., of the same city; the third, Minerva, married Robert W. Taylor afterward of Providence. Jlr. Saunders has three grandsons, viz. : William Saunders Jourdan, John Howard Chollar, Bradford Newcomb Taylor; one great-grandson, Harry Putnam Jourdan.

In 1867 Mr. Saunders married for his second wife Miss Margaret Read White, daughter of the late Deacon Washington White, of Grafton, who still, the most devoted of wives, imparts the charm of her presence to his beautiful home.

Changes have come to the village. The business is in other bands. New proprietors are running the mill. But though not enjoying the prosperity ihat once was his, Mr. Saunders can look out from the windows of his residence upon the surrounding activities, upon the mill he erected, upon the church he built, the trees he planted, and the beautiful village he created, and believe that the place that bears his name will retain, long after he has gone, the marks of his formative hand. His influence will live on in what be has done for village improvement, and education and temperance and religion.

Jasper S. Nelson

Jasper Stone Nelson, son of Josiah and Sophia (Goddard) Nelson, was born June 2, 1822, in the town of Shrewsbury, Mass, upon a farm still owned by the Nelson heirs, it having been in the possession of the family for the greater part of the last one hundred and twenty years.

The experiences of Mr. Nelson's early life were those of the farm and the district school, he attending the latter more or less until he was eighteen years of age. This, with three months at Worcester Academy, was all that fell to his lot in the way of educational advantages. After leaving school he learned the trade of shoe-making from an elder brother, and until about twenty-three years of age divided his time between the farm and the bench.

Mr. Nelson's career as a manufacturer of boots and shoes began in Shrewsbury in the year 1845 and was marked by a steady, uninterrupted growth and successful issue. The shop in which he began business was a plain building, ten by thirteen feet in dimensions, situated only a few rods from the place of his birth. This building was subsequently enlarged to about twice its original size. To this place he took the stock of his own selection, and with the help of an elder brother prepared it for market, being his own salesman. Such was the beginning of a now large and flourishing industry, with its agents and branch houses all through the West and South.

In 1848 Mr. Nelson moved to what is now North Grafton and became associated with Mr. James S. Stone, of Boston, a native and former resident of Grafton. In 1850 Messrs. Stone & Nelson purchased a tract of land near the Boston and Albany station, and with it a building which forms part of the present establishment. November 1, 1857, Mr. Nelson b<iught out Mr. Stone's interest, continuing the business in his own name until .January 1, 18(i9, when Mr. Geo. H. Rugg, a tbrmer emiiloy(5, became a partner to the business. In 1873, Mr. Nelson's son, Charles H., was admitted to the firm, and January 1, 1877, Mr. Rugg disposed of his interest to the other meml>ers, since which time the business has been conducted under the firm-name of J. S. Nelson & Son.

The factory, which was originally thirty by forty feet, two stories high, has been enlarged from time to time to meet the requirements of a steadily increasing trade, until the present buildings have a capacity of two hundred and sixty-four by thirty feet, four stories high in which two hundred people find steady employment.

For nearly forty years Mr. Nelson was in close contact and conapetition with business men all over the country, yet no dishonorable act or suspicion of unfairness was ever charged against hira ; his character for strict integrity stood unchallenged to the end. " His word was as good as his bond." As a citizen, Mr. Nelson was public-spirited and patriotic, concerned for the welfare of both his home and his country. He was not, however, ambitious for political honors, though he shrank from the performance of no known duty.

During the War of the Rebellion he was one of a special committee who, with the Board of Selectmen of the town, were entrusted with the management of its military operations, in which capacity he rendered valuable service and was among the foremost to assist, by word and deed, those who gave themselves to fight the country's battles, and many a soldier and soldier's family became the recipients of his practical sympathy and generosity.

October 31, 1844, Mr. Nelson married Mary E., daughter of Gardner Wheelock, who bore him three children - two daughters, Emma Elizabeth and Carrie Oilman, both of whom died before reaching their majority, and a son, Charles Horatio, who, upon the death of the father, succeeded to the business, which, under his wise and vigorous management is still (1889) growing and prosperous. Brought up to labor, Mr. Nelson's sympathies were with the laborer, and the men in his employ both loved and respected him, for they felt that in him they had a friend and benefactor, so that in the establishment of which he was the head, serious differences between employer and employe were practically unknown.

For whatever was false and degrading Mr. Nelson entertained a wholesome contempt and his sympathies were strongly on the side of temperance and moral reform. In him the Baptist Church of the village found a firm friend and generous supporter, and was greatly encouraged and helped by his regular attendance upon public worship - from which he seldom absented himself when in health - as also by his liberal contributions of money.

To know Mr. Nelson at his best was to know him as a friend, and those thus favored - and they were many, for he was a man to attract others - found in him at all times, and under all circumstances, the courteous gentleman, the genial companion and sympathetic helper. He was a man of strong attachments, loyal to his friends and eminently domestic in his habits ; he loved his home and was not easily enticed away from its luxury and comforts.

In person Mr. Nelson was a man of fine physique and commanding presence, blessed with a vigorous constitution, and until the closing year of his life he enjoyed excellent health. He died October 22, 1884,

Erastus Fishee

The little town of Killingly, Conn., was the birthplace of the subject of this sketch, as it had been the home of his ancestors for several generations. To this place his great-grandfather, who bore the scriptural name of Barzillai (born January 6, 1730; died January, 1813), came in 1769 with his wife, Lydia Dexter (whom he married October 3, 1754). They were blessed with nine children, the four oldest of whom rendered valuable service in the War of the Revolution. One of the sons, Nathan, was taken prisoner, and died on the "Jersey" prison-ship. John, the eldest (born December 29, 1755; died June 9, 1843), the grandfather of Erastus, served during the entire war. On the farm now owned by John Williams he bi'ought up his seven children, the second of whom, Laban (born January 1, 1783; died July 3, 1.860), was the father of four childien, of whom Erastus was one. If it be true, as Oliver Wendell Holmes has said, that " the education of a child should begin an hundred years before he is born," the present descendants of Erastus have much to he grateful for in their inheritance from his mother. Abigail Dexter (born April 2, 1789; died July 26, 1862) was a direct descendant of Rev. Gregory Dexter, who came from England in 1644, who was an intimate friend of Roger Williams, and came to this country at his solicitation, and who became pastor of the Fir.st Baptist Church in Providence, R. I. On the old homestead farm these parents reared their children. Both father and mother were earnest, devoted Chris'ians, not only professors but possessors of true religion. Erastus (born November 21, 1810; died April 20, 1880) was sent to the public school, and in his good home he early formed those habits of industry, and acquired those moral characteristics, by which he was afterward so well known.

After his marriage, April 7, 1835, to Mary Fletcher Dresser (born September 19, 1813; died December 6, 1880), who became a worthy helpmeet in all his undertakings, they lived for a year on a leased farm on Allen Hill, near fhe old homestead, where their first son was born. Then, with assistance from his father, he purchased the farm in Grafton, Mass., now owned by George W. Fisher, and by hard work and rigid economy the soil was made to yield a profitable increase. In 1845 he bought a part interest, with his brother Waterman A., in the cotton-mill in wha't is now Fisherville. He took the superintendency, later bought the whole interest, and eventually associated with him his three sons as E. Fisher & Sons, which firm continued until his death. On January 27, 1881, the mills were burned, and a corporation was formed in the following spring, composed largely of his old business friends, and assumed in his honor the name of Fisher Manufacturing Company. By direction of the company, as a testimonial of their high esteem, an excellent crayon portrait of Erastus Fisher has been placed in their office.

In 1861 he removed his residence to Worcester, while his business interests continued in the town of Grafton. He died at his home in Worcester, April 20, 1880, leaving behind him the example of a man who prospeied in the good old-fashioned way, by his own productive industry and by honest methods.

In business life Erastus Fisher was characterized by invincible integrity, industry and perseverance. He was always a man of his word, abhorring deceit, and honorable in all his dealings and methods. Though quiet and unassuming, he was yet outspoken and resolute for the right. He was a good counselor, was possessed of a large fund of that uncommon thing called common sense, was wise in all his plans and energetic in their prosecution.

In his family-life he was a kind husband and a faithful and indulgent lather. He endeavored to bring up his children in the way they should go, trained them to habits of industry and honesty and efficiency, and left them a priceless legacy in his counsels and example.

Politically he was a Whig, and cast his first vote for Henry Clay. Later he acted with the Republican party, and held strong anti-slavery sentiments. He cast his vote always and conscientiously at elections! was interested in the welfare of the town and ready to assist in public improvements. He had no desire for public office, but preferred to see others enjoying its honors and rewards.

He loved to spend his time apart from business hours in his home, yet consented to serve the town as selectman, and while a resident was a director of the Grafton Bank. He was also a member of the "Old City Guards " of Worcester.

He was a constant attendant on public worship and a professed Christian, he, with his wife, having joined the Evangelical Congregational Church in Grafton in 1842. He was benevolent toward his church, and interested in whatever tended to promote the kingdom of God. A handsome window, memorial to him and his wife, the gift of their sons, now adorns their church in Grafton and commemorates their virtues.

After his removal to Worcester he was a useful and valued member of the First Church (Old South) in that city, and served the parish as assessor and treasurer. After his death highly eulogistic resolutions were inscribed upon the parish records, from which the following is an extract: "In the death of our highly esteemed brother the Old South Church and Parish have lost a wise counselor, liberal supporter, and an earnest and devoted friend,- - one whose heart was as full of love as was his life of noble and generous deeds."

His children were Henry Dresser, born at Killingly, Conn., January 18, 1836, died in Worcester March 14, 1886 ; George William (born November 18, 1843), at present the agent of the Fisher Manufacturing Company ; and Albert Laban (born March 10, 1846), also a resident of Fisherville, and lately a member of the State Legislature.

Grafton, a beautiful hill-town of the county, was the birth-place of one of the eminent business men of this country, born there September 17, 1817. His father, a typical New England farmer, had at one time been in business at the South. The early schooldays of the subject of our sketch were passed in his native town. At the tender age of thirteen, his father being dead, he entered Amherst Academy, remaining there two years. Like many a country youth before him, young Warren was filled with the idea that Boston held for him fame and fortune, which in fact was true in his case.

To the tri-mountain city he wended his way, seeking the prize before him. Disappointment was the result, and he returned to his native town. But he was made of the material that would not sutler him to remain in that limited field of action. Mr. Otis Daniell, a relative, saw the young man had a fixed purpose to rise in the world, and offered to him a position in Boston at small pay. The young man saw in this a beginning - a stepping-stone to greater things. He accepted the place with Grant & Daniell, paper dealers. His wages being low, he was compelled to be very frugal in his expenditures. His employers soon saw in him the qualities that go to make the successful man of business. Slowly but surely he was mastering all the details. His success was such, they decided, a few years after, to admit him a member of the firm, which then became Grant, Daniell & Co. Previous to 1853 the concern was engaged only in selling paper. At that time only a small portion of the paper used here was made in this country. P'ive miles from Mr. Warren's birthplace the first paper-mill in Worcester County had been established, in 1776, by Abijah Burbank. As a boy at school, young Warren had used paper bearing the Bui'bank water-mark. No doubt he had seen the vats of blue pulp and noted the process of papermaking in Millbury, crude though it was.

Perhaps memories of this mill were in his mind when, in 18.33, he determined upon manufacturing paper himself He accordingly leased a small mill at Pepperell, Mass., as an experiment. But, it proving too small a field, he abandoned it and bought mills at Cumberland Falls, Me. The mills were old and much in need of repair, and a fortune for those days was expended on them before he was satisfied. The best machinery known was introduced and every appliance to facilitate the business. It was a rule with him that to successfully do a job, good tools must be used. At that time, it is said, he was deeply engaged in the manufacturing part of his business, leaving the other arrangements mostly with his partners.

The business at Cumberland Falls was successful in all its details. An enterprising community sprang up about there, in consequence of good management. An idea of the magnitude of the business of this firm in paper-making can be gathered when it is known that the daily production of the firm's mills in 1888 was forty-five tons of paper, and tlie same number of tons of wood-pulp. A small mill was bought in 1874 at Yarmouth, Me., where a series of experiments were begun in making pulp of wood-fibre by a chemical process. With a tenacity characteristic of Mr. Warren, he held on to his purpose until his fondest dreams were realized. The business successfully started grew until twenty-five tons daily were made, all of which was put on the market.

Another pulp-mill was set up at Cumberland Falls in 1879, to make the pulp for their own paper-mills. Not having reached the height of his ambition as a business man, Mr. Warren decided to add to their other business the importation of rags. Several journeys to Europe were made by him before his plans were all perfected. In this, too, he was also successful, his firm at one time becoming the largest importers of rags in the country. About 1S75 the firm decided to abandon this part of the business.

Mr. Daniell having withdrawn from the firm in 1855, the name of Grant, Warren & Co. was used in the business until 1867, although Mr. Grant had died in 1863. S. D. Warren was now alone in this immense business, and continued so until 1871, when the firm became S. D. Warren & Co. Thus, by steady application to business, he had made for himself the place he sought. He had scaled the heights his ambition had reared before him. His name was a power in the financial and business world. He had gone through the many paths of business for long years, and had come out with an unspotted reputation.

Respected by his fellow-citizens, he had been honored by them with many important trusts, - a trustee of the McLean Asylum and of the Adams Nervine Asylum, a director in the First National Bank and of the Provident Savings Institution; also of the Fireman's Relief Fund.

His wife was Miss Susan, daughter of Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., by whom he liad six children, of whom four sons and one daughter are now living.

Mr. Warren died May 11, 1888. His funeral was held at Mount Vernon Church the 14th, Rev. Samuel E. Herrick officiating. Memorial services were also held at the same hour at Cumberland Falls, where his large mills were situated. The burial was at Mount Auburn. He was a member of Mount Vernon Church, on Ashburton Place, and his Christian deeds are well known. Liberal in all useful ways, his heart was ever ojjen to the needy poor. Broad in his charity, sweet memories cluster around his name.

His was a genial nature, ever looking on the bright side of life. For the young he ever had a kind word of encouragement an<l advice. Numerous instances might be given where he has a'sisted such to place and fortune.

As a business man he had few equals. His sterling integrity soon became known in the business world, and " his word was as good as his bond." His name sheds lustre upon the place of his birth. Fitting il is that his features should be preserved in the history of the county he loved so well.

George W. Hammond

George Warren Hammond, eldest son of Josiah Hovey Hammond and Anna Grout (Warren) Hammond, was born in Grafton, Mass., April 4, 183.3. His father was descended from Thomas Hammond, of Lavrenham, England, who came to this country in 1636, with his wife Elizabeth (Cason) Hammond. This family of Hammonds settled in Hingham and Newton, and for six generations the Hammond family lived at Chestnut Hill, where Josiah Hovey Hammond was born in 1806. The Warren family came from Wayland, England. Capt. Samuel Warren bought his land in Grafton of his brother, in 1731, who bought it of the Indians in 1728. A part of the old Warren homestead has remained in possession of the Warren family until recently, when it passed by will into the hands of the subject of this sketch.

George Warren Hammond's business career began at Cumberland Mills, Maine, April 12, 1854, under the care of his uncle, the late Samuel D. Warren, of S. D. Warren & Co., Boston. Mr. Hammond became agent at Cumberland Mills iu 1863. These mills manufacture paper of the finest quality and are among the largest in the world. In 1874 they began the development of the new industry of chemically-prepared wood-fibre, to be used in superior pa|)er ; this industry has been carried on at Yannouthville, Maine, under the name of the Forest Paper Co., the sole owners being Messrs. S. D. Warren and G. W. Hammond.

Mr. Hammond married Ellen I. S. Clarke (October 15, 1874), daughter of Rev. Dorus Clarke, D.D., of Boston. Since that time Mr. Hammond has been a resident of Boston, although continuing the direction of his business in Maine.

As this history of Worcester County contains records of many of its pioneers and representative men, there seems a peculiar appropriateness in preserving here this mention of the four nephews of S. D. Warren, which appeared in the Portland Advertiser. Monday, July 9, 1888, after the commemorative service to the late S. I). Warren had been held at Cumberland Mills and Yarmouth Mills, Maine. The Advertiser says - - ton, May 11th. They were George W. Hammond, long associated with the Cumberland Mills as agent and later joint owner with Mr. Warren in the Fore^it Paper Co.'s mills, for the nuiHufacture of wood-fibre, at Yarmouthville ; John E. Warren, present agent at Cumberland Mills, son uf Joseph A. Warren, who was born in Grafton, Mass. ; Ueury E Merriam, agent of the Copseecook Mills, Gardiner, Maine, and M. BMason, a partner in the Boston house of S. D. Warren & Co.

These nephews have faitlifiilly sought to develop, not only the business, but the social and religious interests in their respective places. These men represent the devotion, loyalty, integrity and ability essential to success. Those who rightly appreciate the training of the home and the church, and who mark the influence of birth and family, will note with interest Mr. Warren's fortunate position in being supported and succeeded by such men.

James S. Stone

There were two early settlers of the name of Stone, from whom most of the very numerous families of that name in New England are de.scended, viz., Simon and his younger brother Gregory. The latter moved from Watertown to Cambridge, probably about 1636. Gregory was the ancestor of the families in this town.

Nahum Stone, born 17.53, married Hannah Haven, died August 30, 1803; he died September 7, 1821. Children: Gregory, born July 11, 1776, married Prudence Leland ; David, born January 18, 1778, died September 22, 1778; Albert, born August 5, 1779, married Sally B. Kimball; Daniel, born December 4, 1781, married Sally Williams ; Josiah H., born June 28, 1783, married Betsey Bent.

He was a man of sound judgment and stern integrity, with a liberal turn of mind. He was much interested in town affairs, and always looked for the welfare and prosperity of the town. He held many town oflices, such as selectman, overseer of the poor, assessor, and collector of ta.Kes, and was Representative for two years; he also served on various town committees of importance.

In early life he was a clothier by trade. He had a fulling-mill. About 1812 he built a two-story building for machinery for carding wool for farmers who made their own cloths, as everything was high during the war.

In about 1825 he, with his neighbors, sold out his farm in New England Village, and later bought on Brigham Hill, his honored wife being unwilling to move out of town and away from their numerous acquaintances.

Children : Hannah, born May 23, 1804, married Benjamin Kingsbury ; Mary, born September 3, 1806, married Lincoln Wood ; Lorana, born August 19, 1808, married Elijah L. Case ; Sally, born August 27,