Groton Town (part 3 of 9)

This Indenture made the twentyninth day of Sep' In the yeare of our Lord, one thousand six hundred sixty & seaven. Between John Prescott Sen' of Lanchaster in the Coun of Midlesex in the Mattachusets Colony in New England Blackesmith on the one party, and James Parker, James Knap, John Page, and EUiz Barnes, agents & ffeoffees in trust in the behalfe of the Inhabitants of Grotton in the above named County on the other party, Witnesseth that the above named John Prescott Senf hath covenanted, granted & Comissoned, and by these presents for him the said John Prescott, his heyers, executors, and administrate", doth fully, clearly, & absolutely, coven', grant, and condition to and with the said James Parker, James Knap, John Page, and Elliz Barnes to Build and errect in some meet place, within the bounds of the abovenamed Towne of Grotton, a good & sufficient corne mill or mills, and the same to finish so as may be fitting to grind the corne of the said Towne, by the 2g'^ of SeptemB next, next ensueing the date hereof or within foureteen dayes after, and from time to time and at all times after the errection or building thereof to keep and maineteyne the said towne mill in good & sufficient repayre, and therewith to grind the corne all and eure part thereof, that shall from time to time be thither brought by the Inhabitants of the said Towne for such a reasonable allowance and towle as the law of the Country doth pmitt, and at such seasonable times, as shall be orderly agreed upon for the mutuall accomodation of both partyes [inevitable causaltyes by fire, water, or other sudden exegences always excepted] in wch case or cases the sa"" John Prescott Senf his heyres, executors, adinstrators, & assignes of the said mill shall from time to time and at all times make reparation of any such breach or breaches as may so happen, without any unnecessary delay or neglect.

In consideration whereof the above named James Parker, James Knap, John Page, & EUiz Barnes, by the appoyntm', and in the behalfe of the Inhabitants of the abovesaid Towne of Grotton, and by the Power to them betrusted and given, do give and grant unto the said John Prescott his heyres and assignes five hundred acres of Lands with in the lirnitts of the abovesaid Grotton Towne, to be layd out in any place or places as may best accomodate the said mill, and also twenty acres of meadow land in any place not yet in propriety at the choyce of the said John Prescott, also free liberty to vse and improve any streame, or streames of water within the said Towne, and to raise the same to such height as may be for the best good of the said mill or mills, provided he destroy not any mans property already layd out, Also towards the building of the said mills or mill, two dayes worke of a man for every house lott or family within the lirnitts of the said Towne, and at such time or times to be done and performed, as the said John Prescott shall see meete, to call for the same, upon reasonable notice given, also freedome and release from all taxes and rates that the said mill and accomodations of lands above granted may at any time be lyable vnto for the vse of the said Towne, for the terme of Twenty years next ensueing the time of the first grinding of the said mill, and finally that no other person or persons whatsoever shall be allowed or prmitted to build any other corne mill within the said Towne, unless he will do it for his owne private use only and on his owne propriety. To haue and to hold the above granted lands and premisses, and eurie pt and parcell thereof vnto him the said John Prescott Senf his heyres and assignes forever to his and their only propper vse & behooffe. And to the true performance hereof both partyes do mutually bynd themselves their executo'" & administrator each to other firnly by these p'sents.

Simon Willard And Nonacoicus Farm

One of the most prominent men in the early history of the Massachusetts Colony was Major Simon Willard, a Kentish man from England. He had lived at Concord, Lancaster, and Groton, and in all these places exerted a wide influence. He had filled various civil offices, and in his day was a noted military man. For his public services the General Court, at the session beginning May 6, 1657, granted him five hundred acres of unappropriated land, wherever he could find it. One year later, at the session beginning May 19, 1658, after the tract had been selected, a definite grant was rnade, - though under a misapprehension, - which appears to have been in satisfaction, in part at least, of a debt due Major Willard from John Sagamore, an Indian living at Pawtucket, in the neighborhood of the present city of Lowell, though sometimes mentioned as of Groton. The land lay in the south part of Groton, and is now included within the town of Ayer. The entry in the General Court Records is as follows : -

In Answer to the petition of Majo' Symon Willard The Court Judgeth it meete to graunt his Request viz a farme of five hundred Courts Graunt to a-crcs on the south side of the Riuer that Runneth Majo' Sy- from Nashaway [Lancaster] to Merremack betweene mon I ar . Lancaster & Groten & is In satisfaction of a debt of forty fewer pounds Jn° Sagamore of Patuckett doth owe to him Provided he make ouer all his Right title & Interest in the execution . obtayned agt the sajd Sagamore to the countrje wch was donne. (IV. 281.)

In making this extract and the next one, I have followed the General Court Records in the office of the Secretary of State. The volume has been paged differently at three separate times, and I have taken the paging marked with red ink.

Major Willard's petition for five hundred acres in this particular locality was granted by the General Court through a mistake, as the tract of land had been previously taken up by the proprietors of Groton Plantation, though no proper return had been made to the Court. This neglect or oversight led to the mistake, which was recognized years later and rectified by the Legislature. See " The Boundary Lines of Old Groton " (pages 32, 33), for a fuller account of the case.

In Obedience to the act or Graunt of the Honnored Generall Court of the Massachusett, in New England lajd out & exactly meas- Major Wiilards farme """^d Symon willards farme . conteyning of 500 acres fiue hundred acres scittuate lying and being for

:^ betwixt the plantation . graunled to the Inhabitants of Lancaster and the now Inhabitants of Groten at the place wch is Called by the Indians nanajcoyijcus . begining at the great riuer side . about one hundred rodds to the Nortward of nanajcoyijcus brooke begining wee say at the riuers side runing a due east Ijne ninety fewer rodds there making an angle varying forty fiue degrees . to the southward then Runing one mile and a halfe and forty Rods . vpon a southeast point there making an Angle varying twenty degrees from the old Ljne . Runing on that point sixty Rodds . there making an Acute Angle of sixty degrees . Runing on a west & by South point halfe a mile there making an angle varying two & twenty degrees . to the Northward Runing on a west & by North point one mile . there making an Angle . varying thirty three degrees from the old ljne . Runing on a northwest point to the Riuer It being seven Score Rods . and from thence vpon a streight line to the place . where wee begann . wch last ljne doth Crosse Groten Riuer twice .

The Court Allowes & Approoves of this Returne provided the thirtje acres lajd out ouer the North East side of the Riuer be left out & taken on some other part of the Ijnes & that there be not . aboue one hundred acres of meadow lajd out in this farme. (IV. 334-)

About the year 1671, Major Willard removed to Groton from Lancaster, where he bad previously lived for ten or twelve years, and built a house on this tract of land, - now situated in the town of Ayer, and then known as Nonacoicus, - which he continued to occupy until it was burnt by the Indians during Philip's War. It is said to have been the first house destroyed in the assault on the town. At a town meeting, held on October 14, 1672, Major Willard was made a free commoner for feed for cattle and for wood and timber, and he must have been a resident at that time. His place was well known, and often the rendezvous of troops employed in military expeditions. Soon after the destruction of his house he removed to Charlestown, where he died on April 24, 1676, only a few weeks after Groton was abandoned. The outlines of his farm, according to Noyes's survey, were somewhat irregular, but they can still be traced, in part, by the angular boundary of the town of Ayer, along the western half of its southern border. Originally Nonacoicus included the district now known as the Old Mill, in Harvard, - two miles away from Willard's farm, - where Jonas Prescott had his gristmill. John Prescott, of Lancaster, in his will, dated October 8, 1673, and on file in the Middlesex Probate Office at East Cambridge, says, in reference to his third son, Jonas, that " he hath Receiued a full Childs portion at nonecoicus in a Come mill and Lands and other goods." Singularly enough, Mr. Butler, who was familiar with the word, called it Monafocus, and in his History (page 287) so prints it. The name of Nonacoicus is still kept up in the neighborhood, as applied to a brook, though it is frequently contracted to Coicus.

In the summer of 1674, Major Willard conveyed one quarter part of the Nonacoicus grant to his son Henry, and in the following year another quarter to his son Simon. Both these sons afterward reconveyed their respective interests to the mother, then a widow and administratrix of her husband's estate. The original deed of Major Simon Willard to his son Henry is now in my possession, given to me more than thirty-five years ago by the late Honorable John Boynton, of Groton. A copy of it was printed in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register" {VII. 114), for April, 1S52; and soon afterward, at the suggestion of the late Joseph Willard, Esq., it was recorded in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds at East Cambridge. The deed is in the handwriting of the Reverend Samuel Willard, then of Groton, and is as follows : -

Wheras upon a contract, between my son Henry Willard, & Mary Lakin daughter of sergeant Jno Lakin, both of Groton, I thought meet to settle somthing upon him for his outward subsistence : I doe therfpre, by these presents, give, grant, aliene, & confirme, as a free deed of gift, without any entaile, one quartar part of my farm at Nonacoiacus in an equal portion & proportion to meadow, entervaile, & upland, with all the appurtenances therto belonging : excepting any part of the broken up land from coming into the division of the said quarter, only four acres of broken land hee shall have freely to improve for a yeer or two, or till hee bring some of his own into tillage : reserving also to my selfe during my life all the ponds & swamps, with free egresse & regresse,: & for his quartar part of meadow, hee shall not have liberty, during my life, to hire to any other, till I have the forsaking it, on reasonable terms . & in answer to his desire, I grant him the liberty of taking up sixty acres of his proportion of upland, entervail & meadow neere the river in an entire & formable body : also, as to that part of his meadow w'"" shall fall to be above the bridge, I reserve liberty of flowing, & damming the brooke, for the subduing of meadow, unto which worke hee shall contribute proportionably :

To the said Henry Willard, his heirs, execute", administrate", & assignes, to have, & to hold, to occupye & possesse for ever, without any just molestation, encumbrance, lawsuit, whatsoever, from mee, my heirs, execute" & assignes for ever, or from any former alienation, mortgaze, deed of gift, or sale, or obligation to any person, or persons whatsoever.

A plan of Danforth's survey, drawn upon parchment, is still in existence, the property of a citizen of Groton. It gives the position of Major Willard's house, the course of Nashaway River, and Nonaicoicus Brook ; but these courses are laid down very inaccurately. This "Nonaicoicus Farm" - at a distance from any village, and, until recently, having but few inhabitants - is now a very valuable territory, in the course of rapid development in population and wealth. It is an important point in our extended net-work of railroads. The station-house at "Groton Junction" [now AyerJ is upon this land, and it is the centre of a growing business. (Page 329.)

Perhaps the plan of Danforth's survey, here referred to, is the one given in " The Boundary Lines of Old Groton," and described on page 13 of that book, though the site of Willard's house and the course of the Nonacoicus Brook are not shown in the reproduction.

At the time of his death. Major Willard owed the estate of Hezekiah Usher, a merchant of Boston, the sum of ;^272 2.S. 3^/. ; and on June 20, 1679, the widow Willard, in payment of the debt, sold the farm to the Usher heirs, - three quarters to Hezekiah Usher, Jr., and one quarter to Samuel Nowell, who had married the widow of the elder Usher. The record of the deed reads " of all that farme or Tract of Land commonly called & knowne by the Name of NONAICOICUS farme." Both these parcels of land were afterward conveyed, on May 11, 1687, to Jonathan Tyng, of Dunstable, in trust for his son John, a nephew of Hezekiah. On December 3, 1713, Tyng in his own name transferred the farm to William Farwell and John Sollendine, both of Dunstable.

Mr. Butler, in his History (page 91), mentions, among the garrisons at Groton in the year 1692, one " at Mr. Hezekiah Usher's farm," where there were stationed three soldiers, besides Samuel Bennett and Bennett, in all five men.

He says further, that " the location of Mr. Usher's farm and the Bennett's is not known," but he inclines to the opinion that it was in that part of Groton now included in Littleton.

It was, in fact, the Nonacoicus farm, which then belonged to the Usher family ; and the Bennetts undoubtedly lived in the neighborhood. There is a brook rising near the Shaker Village in Harvard, and running into Spectacle Pond, which has been known for a long period as Bennett's Brook ; and it is highly probable that it took its name from this family.

Hezekiah Usher, Jr., who owned for a while the Willard farm, married Bridget Hoar, the widow of President Leonard Hoar of Harvard College, who was a daughter of John Lisle, one of the Commissioners of the Great Seal under Cromwell ; but the marriage was not a happy one. She left him and went to England in the year 1687, and did not return until after his death, which took place at Lynn on July 11, 1697. Usher's will is dated Nonacoicus, August 17, 1689, and in it he refers very plainly to his domestic troubles, and bitterly blames his absent wife. Usher was a man of morbid temperament and hardly responsible for what he wrote. He says himself, that some people may attribute his will " to melancholy or distractedness," which is probably the correct way of judging him. The document is a long one and published in full in " The Historical Magazine " (Morrisania, N. Y.) for September, 1868 (pages 120-122). The following is an extract taken from the will, on file in the Suffolk County Probate Office, and numbered 2382 : -

And when it Shall please God to bring my change on me, As for my body I desier it may be decently buried. And not much Spent on my funirall, for I haue Seene Some that haue bene Soe Expenciue at there funiralls that the Living haue Suffered, for the burieing of the Deceased - And as to the Dispose of my outward Estate - in the first place I desier that all my due debts Should be payd as Soone as posibly may - And unto my Deere wife whome I may count very deere to me, by her Loue to what I had, But not a Reale Loue to me - which Should a counted it more worth then Anny Other outward Enjoym' - And for her coveteosnes - And over Reaching - and cuning - Impresion - That hath almost Ruinated me, by a Gentele Behavior hauing Oyly words but as Sharp Swords to me, whose cuning is like those to be as a Angle of light to Others, but wanting Loue and charity for me. And like S' Edm° to oprese the people, And his hand not to be Seene in it and don by his counsell - And - therfor - I doe cut her off from y= benefit of all my Estate, and doe not bestow any thing upon her, but what the Law doth allow. Because I Looke at her as deceauable in her goeing over for Engl"*, geeting & grasping all her Estate into her hand and of mine. And what Euer don for her by me to be ungratefuU - And her Staying away to be a Implicit divorce, which Looke at it worse then a pubhck Divorce, And giues the power, in to y': hands of women, to Userpe the power out of y" hands of y".' husbands - And Rather then in a way of Humillity - to Seek there husband's good, if they can Hue comfortably abroad without them - they Regard not the troubles or Temptations of there husbands at home. And Soe become Seperate, which is far worse then

Daughter Bridget, if her Mother had not bene Soe Undermining and over Reaching for her, I Should abene willing to haue done what I could for her, - And doe giue her the Tumbler with the Armes of a Spread Eagle w* two heads - but - I think one head for a Body is Enough - And the Table Cloth of the best Damaske And the Napknies there too, - And this my will I make to be a warning to those women that haue noe Loue for there Husbands - but to what they haue which one had better had a wife that had not bene worth a groat, then to haue one that hath noe Loue for him - And doe desier those many papers y' I haue write as to the Evill of hauing a wife only in Name, And to Seeke them Selves in a way of Seperation from there husbands - or y" Goverm' of wiues to there husbands - and the Duty of wiues to there husbands &c that they - and all my Lett's - Sent to Madam Bridget &c that they might be perused by Some wise Understanding pious person - that wher any thing hath bene' Acted by my Selfe - that is not convenient, And Something may be aded for a Suply - but let it be one that is for men to beare Rule in y" owne howses - that it may be matter of Benefit, to Some that may follow affter me, for which Ende doe propose, that he or they might have, ;£'^o or ^^40 allowed him or them, for y" compyling of y° Same, As to her that is Reputed my wife if She acknowliges any thing where in She hath don amise, I freely forgiue her - I doe not Excuse my Selfe altogether, - But my Loue to her & Admiring of her gentele cariage &c - it Occasioned her and her complyces to Userp y' power over me, whereby I haue bene cuningly over Reached, in, and abused Severall wayes - And therefor propose this for warning to others.

Samuel Carter, Fourth Minister Of

An attempt was made more than a century ago to form a second religious society in Groton. A considerable number of persons who had become dissatisfied with Dr. Chaplin's preaching wished to establish a society of the Presbyterian denomination. The movement naturally met with a good deal of opposition on the part of the First Parish, but in due time the seceders were incorporated by the General Court as a distinct society. In the Act of incorporation fifty-eight persons are mentioned by name, who probably represented nearly as many families, from which fact it may be inferred that they constituted no mere faction of the First Parish, but were highly respectable in numbers.

A few years ago Mr. Jeremiah Colburn, of Boston, kindly gave me some papers connected with this controversy, which have since been placed in the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Among them is a fragment of a petition addressed to the "Rev? Nat" Whittaker D.D. Pastor of a Church in Salem and Moderator of the Salem Presbytery. To be communicated," and ending in these words : -

We therefore humbly request the candid attention of the Presbitery, of which you are Moderator, to our circumstances; that we may be received, (if we have done nothing to bar our admission) under their Care and be directed in the ways of Peace, and harmony and enabled; henceforward to walk, not only in the faith, but in the Order of the gospel ; till we shall' happily arrive to that blessed place where all will live and all love thro' the Influence of the Spirit of that dread being who is the God of Order and not of Confusion and the Merit of that divine person who is the Prince of peace and head over all things to the Church, and your Petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray.

Mr. Butler, in his History (page 187), gives the copy of a paper, dated Salem, September 11, 1783, which is without doubt the answer to this petition.

Another document among these manuscripts is an attested extract from the minutes of the Presbytery. The resolution and vote, given in the History of Groton (pages 190, 191), were passed without doubt in consequence of the action taken by that body. The following is a copy : -

The Presbytery Commonly Called the Salem Presbytery being met at the Presbyterian Meeting house in Groton June 9* 1784 Took into Consideration the request of a Society in Groton according to appointment at a former Meeting, and upon a review of the Minutes made at said former meeting find that there is an Error inadvertently made in S'' Minute as it may import that the Presbytery Recieved Said Society under their Care and Patronage When the Whole Society was Confessed under the Censure of the Cin Groton at the time of there being recived by the Presbytery. Whereas the fact was that Three only of S*? Society were at that time under the Censure of Said C'^i, and now the Presbytery after Mature Consideration of the Circumstances and Situation of S"" Society Do adjudge them a regular Presbyterian Society, Confirm them as part of this Body and Recommend them as Such to all our Presbyterian Brethren with Whom they may in the Course of Providence have Concern.

And with Regard to the Three members who were under Censure of the S'3 C-i! in Groton The Presbytery Considered their Case and the Said C"-i altho Desird thereto by Letter to them addressed from the Presbytery haueing declined to give the Presbytery any light respecting the Ground of their Censure and the Presbytery not being able to Discover any Ground Pretended for the Same Except their having Used their Christian Liberty in joining Said Society Do Judge that the Said Censured Members ought to be Considered by Said Society as in Good Standing in the Church of Christ and Treated by them and all other Christian Professors accordingly.

And ,as the Said Society will have a right to Admit members of their Communion in future according to the rules of the Gospel We recommend to them to Cultivate a harmony with our Congregational Brethren to be Cautious of Recieving any unless to occasional Commuinion Who are not of the Presbyterian Perswasion and Espacially to reject all Whose moral Charactor is Such as to bring Discredit on Religion in General or to the Presbyterian Interest in Particular.

An Act for incorporating a Number of the Inhabitants of the Town of Groton, in the County of Middlesex, of the Presbyterian Denomination, into a separate Parish.

Whereas a number of the inhabitants of the town of Groton, have petitioned this Court to be incorporated, for the reasons expressed in their petition, and it appearing to this Court reasonable that the prayer be granted :

Be it therefore enacted by the Senate, and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same. That jFoseph Sheple, yason Williams, Daniel Williams, Lemuel Blood, Moses Child, Amasa Gillson, David Hazen, Ezekiel Nutting, jun. Solomon Gillson, Thomas Gragg, Levi Lakin, David Lakin, fob Shattuck, jun. Isaac Lakin, Isaac Lakin, jun. Ezekiel Nutting, Benjamin Lawrence, Andrew Dodge, Samuel Gragg, Caleb A. Willard, Oliver Fletcher, John Nutting, Amos Woods, Levi Barker, Silas Blood, Oliver Patch, jfohn Lawrence, yohn Gragg, Jonathan Pratt, Oliver Lakin, Benjamin Hazen, Nehemiah Gillson, John Hazen, Nathaniel Green, Jonas Green, John Woods, Jacob Lakin Parker,

Oliver Fletcher, jun. Jacob Gragg, James Sheple, Wilder Sheple, John Trowbridge, Isaac Lawrence, Elisha Hoit, Thomas Trowbridge, John Johnson, Simeon Williams, Ezra Farnsworth, Royal Blood, James Woods, Ebenezer Stacy, Sadoc Fletcher, Jonathan Sheple, Nathaniel Sartell, Thomas Nutting, Oliver Lakin, jun. Salmon Lawrence and Benjamin Parker petitioners, and inhabitants of the said town of Groton, together with their polls and estates, be, and hereby are incorporated into a seperate parish, or society, by the name of the presbyterian parish or society, in the said town of Groton, with all the priviledges, powers and immunities which other parishes in this Commonwealth, are intitled to by law ; they the said parish or society making provision for, and maintaining the public worship of God, in the said parish or society, according to the presbyterian rules and discipline.

And be it fjurther enacted by the authority aforesaid. That when any person or persons in either parish of the said town of Groton, shall be inclined to join with his or their families, to the other parish in said town, he or they shall have full liberty so to do : Provided he or they signify the same. in writing, lodged with the Town Clerk, three months before he or they, and their estates, shall be considered as belonging to such parish as aforesaid.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That the members of each respective parish, and their families, shall be deemed and considered as continuing members of their respective parishes, until they shall signify their determination to the contrary in manner as above expressed.

And be it further enacted by the authority aforesaid. That Israel Hobart, Esq. be, and hereby is authorized to issue his warrant directed to some principal member of the said presbyterian parish or society, requiring him to warn the members of the said parish or society, qualified to vote in parish affairs, to assemble at some suitable time and place in the said town, to choose such officers as parishes are by law required to choose in the month of March or April, annually, and to transact all matters and things necessary to be done in the said parish.

In the earlier days of the Presbyterian Society, the Reverend Samuel Dana, who had previously been settled over the First Parish, was the minister for a year and a half.

After he gave up the charge, the Society does not appear to have had any regular preacher. During its existence the treasurers were Captain Joseph Sheple, Oliver Fletcher, Samuel Gragg, and Jacob Lakin Parker. As late as April 27, 1799, a committee was appointed to audit the accounts of the last-named treasurer, and probably soon afterward the parish dissolved. Their place of worship was situated at the fork of the roads, opposite to the entrance of the Cemetery.

President Dwight'S Description Of

In the autumn of 1797 President Timothy Dwight of Yale College made a journey to the White Mountains, which at that time was a considerable undertaking. Some years later an account of the trip was published in his " Travels in New- England and New- York" (London, 1823), a work of four volumes. On his return from the White Mountains he passed through Groton, and the following is his account of the town : -

Dunstable is a small town, near the noi»th-west corner of Middlesex County, which contained, in 1790, 59 houses, and 380 inhabitants ; in 1800, 75 houses, and 485 inhabitants; and, in 1810, 475 inhabitants. The surface here began to swell, and to be covered with oak, walnut, and chestnut. A better husbandry soon appeared, exhibiting proofs of thrift and prosperity. These appearances increased till we arrived at Groton, where we found again the good land, and the substantial farming character, so remarkable in the county of Worcester.

Groton, in the early periods of its settlement, experienced its share of Indian depredations. It was incorporated in 1655. In 1676, a body of savages entered it on the 2d of March, plundered several houses, and carried off a number of cattle. On the 9th they ambushed four men, who were driving their carts, killed one, and took a second; but, while they were disputing about the manner of putting him to death, he escaped. On the 13th about four hundred of these people assaulted Groton again. The inhabitants, alarmed by the recent destruction of Lancaster, had retreated into five garrisoned houses. Four of these were within musket shot of each other. The fifth stood at a distance of a mile. Between the four neighbouring ones were gathered all the cattle belonging to the inhabitants.

In the morning two of the Indians showed themselves behind a hill, near one of the four garrisons, with an intention to decoy the inhabitants out of their fortifications. The alarm was immediately given. A considerable part of the men in this garrison, and several from the next, imprudently went out to surprise them ; when a large body, who had been lying in ambush for this purpose, arose instantaneously, and fired upon them. The English fled. Another party of the Indians, at the same time, came upon the rear of the nearest garrison, thus deprived of its defence, and began to pull down the palisades. The flying English retreated to the next garrison ; and the women and children, forsaken as they were, escaped, under the protection of Providence, to the same place of safety. The ungarrisoned houses in the town were then set on fire by the savages.

In a similar manner they attempted to surprise the solitary garrison ; one of their people being employed to decoy the English out of it into an ambush in the neighbourhood. The watch, however, discovering the ambush, gave the alarm, and prevented the mischief intended. The next day the Indians withdrew, having burnt about forty dwelling houses, and the church, together with barns and out-houses. John Monoco, their leader, during the preceding day, with the same spirit, which is exhibited with so much vanity and haughtiness in the proclamations of General Burgoyne, the Duke of Brunswick when entering France, and General Le Clerc when attacking St. Domingo, insulted the inhabitants of Groton with his former exploits in burning Lancaster and Medfield ; threatened that he would burn Groton, Chelmsford, Concord, and Boston ; and declared, amid many taunts and blasphemies, that he could do whatever he pleased. His threatening against Groton he executed ; but, instead of burning the other towns, he was taken a prisoner a few months afterwards, led through the streets of Boston with a halter about his neck, and hanged. His three compeers in haughtiness met with a fate, differing in form from his ; but, by the inglorious and miserable end of their efforts, are exhibited to mankind as solemn monitions of the madness, as well as impiety, of arrogating to a human arm that disposal of events, which belongs only to God. One would think, that Sennacherib and Rabshakeh had long since taught this lesson effectually. For Monoco ignorance may be pleaded ; for the Christian boasters there is no excuse.

As we arrived at Groton in the evening, and left it early in the morning, and as our road passed by the body of the town at some distance on the right, we had no opportunity of observing it particularly. As we saw it, it appeared to be a very pretty village, pleasantly situated on an easy slope, and containing a considerable number of good houses, a church, and an academy. The country around it was apparently fertile. In 1790, the number of inhabitants was 1,840 ; in 1800, 1,802 ; and, in 1810, 1,886. The number of houses, in 1800, was 230. It includes two congregations ; one of them a Presbyterian proper. (II. 237-239.)

President Dwight left Groton on the morning of October 13, and journeyed through Shirley, Lancaster, Sterling, and Princeton to Rutland in Worcester County, where he passed the night ; and he writes that he " found much less agreeable fare in our inn, than we had met with at Groton the preceding evening." While in this town he probably tarried at Richardson's tavern,! g^ noted public house of that day, situated where the Baptist Meeting-house now stands, and on leaving the village he passed along Pleasant Street and Farmers' Row ; and this would agree with his description of the road that it went to the right of " the body of the town." A brief account of the Presbyterian congregation, alluded to in President Dwight's last paragraph, is given in the present Number of this Series (pages 21-25).

Memoranda By Joseph Farwell

The following memoranda are taken from a note-book kept by Joseph Farwell, of Groton, and now in the possession of one of his descendants, Deacon Joseph Farwell, of Hyde Park, Massachusetts. They have previously been copied by me and printed in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register" (XXXV. 275, 276), for July, 1881. The first entries were made in the year 1710, and relate to work done by Farwell. On the fly-leaf is written, "Joseph ffarwell his book if I it luse and you it find giue it me for it is mine." The next leaf contains "An acompt of y^ Berth of Joseph farwells Childeren," as follows : -

Sarah farwell born ieh'^ the 26"" and died July the 4* 172 1 Joseph Farwell the son of Joseph and Hannah Farwell was born the : 24 : 5 ; 1670

August y° 4* 1745 We Began to sing the psalms in the meeting house by Course [subsequently the following was written underneath'\ and sang them throw August y° 30"" 1752 and began and sung the first psalm the first Sabbath in September 1752 \_and in another place"] And sung the Last psalm the Last Sabbath in March 1760 and began and sang the first psalm y° first Sabbath in April 1760

Groton June y'= 29 1750 I was c[h]ose in'° the office of a deacon in the first Church in Groton a for said' and on the first Sabath July 1750 waited on that Duty in Groton January the 22, 1750-1 their was a grate storm of Rain and wind to that Degree that it Blew down 4 Barns and one house and Rent a Grate Number of Barns and other Buldings to that Degree that the oldest person Now Living Cant Rember the Like

August y° 18 1754 vpon the Lords Day mrs Sarah Dicxinson. was taken into our Church the first person that was taken into the Church in the New meeting House

Apriel y" 19* 1775, the Reggulars Came to Concord & kil"* two men & our men followed them to Charlstown & kil" and wounded and took Captive Betwen three & 400

The First Operation Under Ether

A LTFE of Dr. Wm. T. G. Morton, of Boston, the discoverer of the anaesthetic properties of sulphuric ether, was published at New York in the year 1859.- I* was written by Dr. Nathan Payson Rice, and is entitled " Trials of a Public Benefactor, as illustrated in the Discovery of Etherization." In this book is given an account of the first operation ever performed on a patient, while under the influence of ether, which was the extraction of a tooth. The subject was Ebenezer Hopkins Frost, a native of Groton now dead, who is still remembered by many persons. He was a son of Solomon and Dorcas (Hopkins) Frost, and born on December 7, 1824. He became quite noted as a singer and teacher of music, and was a member of the Handel and Haydn Society in Boston.

Delighted with the success of this experiment, I immediately announced the result to the persons employed in my establishment, and waited impatiently for some one upon whom I could make a fuller trial. Toward evening, a man, residing in Boston, came in, suffering great pain, and wishing to have a tooth extracted. He was afraid of the operation, and asked if he could be mesmerized. I told him I had something better, and saturating my handkerchief, gave it to him to inhale. He became unconscious almost immediately. It was dark, and Dr. Hayden held the lamp, while I extracted a firmly-rooted bicuspid tooth. There was not much alteration in the pulse, and no relaxation of the muscles. He recovered in a minute, and knew nothing of what had been done to him. He remained for some time talking about the experiment. This was on the 30th of September, 1846. This I consider to be the first demonstration of this new fact in science. I have heard of no one who can prove an earlier demonstration. If any one can do so, I yield to him the point of priority of time (pages 62, 63).

Immediately after the operation Frost gave a certificate corroborating these statements, which is printed in the book, and signed by him as then living at No. 42 Prince Street, Boston. Nearly twenty years afterward he died at Fitchburg, on September 7, 1865.

A January Thaw

Particularly from Westerly in Rhode Island Colony, we hear a house was blown down, and one Man kill'd ; and from Lancaster, that a Barn there was blown down, and a Horse and six Sheep kill'd.

Also from Groton in the County of Middlesex, that on [Wednesday] the 1 6th Instant, there was a very great Flood, such as not been known for several Years past, and that many Hundred Pounds Damage has been done thereby to the Bridges, &c. it took the Bridge which stood a cross Lancaster-River, so called, intirely off ; which is the fourth Bridge the Town of Groton has built in about 28 Years last past.

It is highly probable that it was during this freshet that the " neck " on the Nashua River was broken through. See No. V. of this Historical Series (page 20), for an account of the disaster ; and see also page 29 of the present Number for a' contemporary reference to the storm, where the date is given as January 22, but this perhaps was the time of entry in the note-book. The island made by the cutting contains not far from twenty acres of land ; and it is now owned by Colonel Daniel Needham, who bought it, on August 10, 1885, of John MeKeen Gilson, who in his turn bought it, on June i, 1855, of the late Miss Elizabeth Farnsworth, who had inherited it from her father, Major Amos Farnsworth.

The New Testament In A Bale Of Cotton

I HAVE lately seen a copy of the New Testament that was published at Groton in the year 1846, by Alpheus Richardson. It was found, during the summer of i860, in a bale of cotton at the Penacook Mills in Fisherville (now Penacook), New Hampshire. The question naturally arises. How did the book get there ? Slavery then prevailed at the South where the cotton was grown ; and perhaps some poor negro left it in his basket, - but this is all conjecture. The little volume now belongs to Miss Lilian Lawrence Richardson, of Jamaica Plain, a daughter of the late William Henry Richardson, who was a son of the publisher. The following is a copy of the titlepage : the | NEW TESTAMENT | OF OUR | lord and

SAVIOUR I JESUS CHRIST, I TRANSLATED OUT OF | SC^© ©KJffilBai ©S(EeE; I AND WITH I THE FORMER TRANSLATIONS DILIGENTLY | COMPARED AND REVISED. || Stereotyped by Luther Roby, Concord, N. H. \ GROTON, MS. published

The Geography Of Groton

[The following paper was prepared for the use of the members of The Appalachian Mountain Club, on their visit to Groton, Saturday, September 18, 1886.]

In early times, before the original Plantation had been cut up in order to form other towns, the Nashua River flowed through the township of Groton for a distance of ten miles or more, and nearly bisected its territory ; while to-day its course within the town's limits is hardly more than three miles. This river is formed by the union of two branches, known respectively as the North Branch and the South Branch, which come together at Lancaster. The former has its source in Ashburnham, near the foot of the Watatuck Mountain, and in Westminster, and passes through Fitchburg and Leominster ; while the latter rises, in the neighborhood of the Wachusett Mountain, at Princeton, and among the hills of Rutland and Holden, and passes through West Boylston and Clinton. Both these branches for a considerable distance above their confluence are known also as the Nashua. The stream at Groton is about one hundred feet above tide-water.

At a very early period the Nashua River was sometimes called the Penacook, and at other times the Groton River. In Thomas Noyes's survey of the grant of Major Simon Willard's farm in the autumn of 1659, the land is described as " lying and being for the most part on the east side of

Groaten Riuer." And, again, at the session beginning on September 6, 1676, the approval of the General Court was given to Jonathan Danforth's survey of lands laid out to William Hauthorne, " lying in the wilderness ; on the North of Groaten Riuer at a place called by the Indians Wistequassuck," now within the limits of Townsend. At a later period it was more frequently referred to as the Lancaster River ; and it is likely that the stream bore different names at different places along its course even at the same time. In the record of " The lands of Mr. Samuell Willard, which is layd out to him in the towne of Grotten," on September 29, 1680, reference is made to the Nashawag River, - another form of spelling.

The Squannacook River forms the divisional line with Shirley for perhaps four miles, which is the whole distance of contact with that town. This stream rises in Ashby and flows through Townsend and by West Groton, emptying into the Nashua. The name is found in the Proprietors' records as early as the spring of 1684.

Baddacook Pond - lies about two miles from the village near the Lowell road. It covers an area of 103 acres, and is the largest pond in the town. It is mentioned in the record of James Parker's land under the date of July 6, 1666.

Cady Pond - a small and deep pond, covering perhaps two acres, lying less than a mile from the village in a southeasterly direction, near the Boston road. It was named after Nicolas Cady, one of the early settlers, who owned land in the neighborhood. This pond and Flat Pond, both very small, are the only ones in the town whose waters ultimately reach the Nashua River.

Duck Pond - near the Ridges, east of Knop's Pond, and separated from it by a ridge only - lies perhaps half a mile south of Cow Pond. It covers 55 acres, and has no outlet.

Knop's Pond - near the Ridges, west of Duck Pond, and is of the same size as that pond, covering 55 acres. So called from James Knapp, or Knop, an early settler who owned land in the neighborhood.

Long Pond - lies on the southern border of the town, partly in Groton, but mostly in Ayer, covering 45 acres. Outlet : a brook into Sandy Pond.

Martin's Pond - near the foot of Gibbet Hill, on its northerly side - covers i6f acres ; it was named after William Martin, an early settler. In the record of James Parker's land, on July 6, 1666, " the pond called Goodman Martin's Pond " is mentioned. The following Article, found in the warrant for the town-meeting held on September 17, 1792, seems to show that the outlet of the pond was formerly through Hog Swamp and Half-Moon Meadow into James's Brook, though there is now no other evidence to confirm this view.

Art. 8. To see if the Town will order the water running from Martin's Pond to be turned into the old Channel as it formerly used to run, through the Town, and appoint some proper person or persons to remove the obstructions and Effect the Business.

In the proceedings of the meeting, it is recorded that this Article was " Past in the Negative." A measurement of the pond was lately made, when frozen over, which proves it to be much smaller than it was a half century ago.

Massapoag Pond - on the eastern border of the town, but lies mostly in Dunstable and Tyngsborough, covering an area of 56 acres. It is now used as a storage basin of water by the Vale Mills Manufacturing Company of Nashua, New Hampshire, and in dry seasons it is drawn upon for a supply.

Sandy Pond - lying wholly in Ayer, and covering 80 acres. A large quantity of ice is taken from its surface in the winter, the ice-houses on its borders being connected with the Fitchburg Railroad by a branch road.

In this list of ponds I have included two or three which now lie wholly in other towns, inasmuch as they are frequently mentioned in the Groton records. The area of the ponds, with the exception of Martin's Pond, is taken from the

Its outlet was on the easterly side, and as it was the reservoir into which Cowpond brook poured its waters, a considerable millstream issued from it. The waters passed without any rapids for a considerable distance, affording no favorable site for a mill. The north end of the pond was bounded by a ridge of loose sand, rising but little above the surface of the water, and being about six rods only in width ; on the opposite side of which was a descent of about forty feet. Here then, was an eligible spot for an overshot mill. At a town meeting held May 21, 1688, a grant was made to Samuel Adams of a small pond near Buck meadow, and leave given to drain it by a brook running into " Tyng's cove." At the same meeting, for the encouragement of any who would set up iron-works at Massapoag, a grant was offered of the wood on the easterly side of Unquetenassett brook. It is said that Adams, who is supposed to have accepted the grant, erected a grist-mill at the site abovementioned, conducting the water across the sand-bank to the flume of his mill. At the time of a flood about the year 1700, (the precise time is not known,) a breach was made across the sand-bank, and it being very loose and moveable, the whole bank was soon torn down by the water to the depth of more than thirty feet : and consequently a sheet of water of that depth, where the pond was so deep, and where of less depth the whole water upon the surface, flowed suddenly off (all in one night,) with irresistible violence. The mill of course was demolished, and the stones, though diligently sought for, and even the skill of the famous Moll Pitcher, of Lynn, employed in the search, have never yet been found. The bottom of the pond being uneven, fish in abundance were left in the cavities, which were easily taken, and the inhabitants of the neighboring towns, as well as of Groton, came and carried off loads of them. Where the water formerly issued from the pond, a small brook now runs in, and the outlet is, at the place of disruption, called the "gulf." The water finds its way into the old channel, two or three miles from the pond, in a north-westerly direction from Dunstable meeting-house.

The name of Buck Meadow, which has been in use for more than two centuries, is firmly established, and the site well known. The meadow lies near Lovewell's Pond, formerly within the limits of Groton, but now in Nashua; and Adams's mill stood undoubtedly at the outlet of this pond, where there is a small water-power. This theory would tally with the town-records ; and furthermore a tradition is still extant that there was once a mill in the neighborhood. Lovewell's Pond is much smaller than Massapoag, and at that time probably had no designation. It was named after Captain John Lovewell, who was killed by the Indians on May 8, 1725. The following is the entry in the records : -

May: 21. 1688 The inhabitants of Groton Granted to Samull Adams y" pond that lyes neare buck medow which hath its outlet into the medow known by y" name of Tyngs Couee and the swampy land adioyeng ther to prouided y° sd land do not exceed fifteen accers ; atest ; Josiah Parker Clarke and sd adams hath liberty to drean the s"* pond at y" small brook that unes in to Tyng's Coue prouided sd Adames macks good all daraeges that shall be don ther by

There are now three small brooks running into Massapoag Pond on the easterly side, and their fall is too great for any one of them ever to have been the old outlet of the pond. Furthermore, it would have been impossible by any of these brooks to drain the pond (which even at the present time covers 56 acres) without causing too great damage for Adams to make good. There is no indication along their banks that they have been much larger streams than they are to-day. While the formation of the banks at the mouth of the pond, or the "gulf," so called, is peculiar, there are no signs that the water-line was ever any higher than it is at the present time. None of the local antiquaries are able to identify Tyng's Cove, which is a name undoubtedly derived from Jonathan Tyng, one of the earliest settlers of Dunstable.

Deed then by the maior uoat grant for the incoregment of such men as will set up loran works at masabog pond ; that thay shall haue y" ues & improument of the woods and timbr y' is now common one the est sid of uncuttanaset brook and so to nashua riuer and groton line est ward & south ward to good man greens' masabog medow. . . .

I give this extract from the town-records in order to show that the inhabitants at that period knew the pond by its present name ; and if they had seen fit then to grant Adams any special privilege connected with it, they would have called it " Massapoag," and would not have said "y° pond that lyes neare buck medow."

Barralock Hill - is mentioned in the record of Samuel Woods's lands ; but I am unable to identify it. Perhaps it is the hill due north of Baddacook Pond.

Brown Loaf Hill - commonly called Brown Loaf - is a handsome, symmetrical hill standing alone, more than a mile from the village, near the Lowell road. Brown Loaf Hill Meadow is mentioned in the description of Joseph Parker's lands, December 2, 1664, which would imply that the hill was so named before that time. Brown Loaf Hill is also mentioned in the record of James Parker's lands made on July 6, 1666; and Brownloafe Playne and Brownloaf Hill are given in the record of James Fisk's lands in John Morse's handwriting, of which the date is absent, but which was certainly made at a very early period.

Gibbet Hill - a noted landmark, overlooking the village on its easterly side. It is mentioned in the land-grant of Sergeant James Parker, which was entered in the townrecords by Richard Sawtell, the first town-clerk who filled the office, from June, 1662, to January, 1664-65. The tradition is that the hill was so called from the fact that once an Indian was gibbeted on its top. If this ever occurred, it must have happened before Sawtell's term of office. The town was incorporated by the General Court on May 25, 1655. but no public records are known to have been kept before June 23, 1662.

Indian Hill, or Hills - the range beginning near James's Brook, a mile south of the village, and running in an easterly direction on the south side of the Great Road to Boston.

Naumox - a low hill or ridge a short distance west of the road to East Pepperell, near the Longley monument, and running parallel with the road. The name is also used in connection with the neighborhood.

Prospect Hill - very near Cady Pond, and east of it; perhaps 250 feet or more above the Nashua, and said to be the highest elevation in the town.

Ridge Hill, or The Ridges - the name of a peculiar ridge, three miles southeasterly from the village, along which the Great Road runs. It also gave the name to a tavern formerly kept in the immediate neighborhood.

Rocky Hill - there are two hills of this name, one lying northeasterly of Baddacook Pond, near the old District Schoolhouse No. VIII. (now the Trowbridge School), which is also known as the Rocky Hill School ; and the other situated in he southeast part of the town, between Long Pond and the

Shepley Hill - lies west of the East Pepperell road, near Naumox. The name is rarely heard now, though it was in use as far back as February 28, 1670, - evidently so called from the Shepley family.

Snake Hill - in the south part of the town, but lies mostly in Ayer. Rattlesnakes have been killed on it within the memory of the present generation.

The Throne - a high hill in the western part of the town, - on the summit of which is a level field of perhaps sixty acres, containing a small pond, - near the Townsend line. A map of Groton resembles a tea-kettle, the portion west of the Nashua River forming the spout ; and the Throne comes in the spout.

The early settlers of Groton, according to the town-records, had many parcels of meadow allotted to them in the assignment of land. Sergeant James Parker owned in twenty different meadows, and the other settlers also were large owners. It is probable that they did not attach the same signification to the word " meadow " which now belongs to it in New England, where it means low, swampy land, without regard to the mowing. They called by this name all grass-land that was annually mown for hay, and especially that by the side of a river or brook ; and this meaning of the word was and still is the common one in England, whence they brought their language. They sometimes spoke of a " swamp," meaning by it what we call a " bog ; " but much of this kind of land has since been reclaimed, and is known with us as " meadow." As a mat- ter of fact it happened that the lands which could be mown for the fodder were low lands, and it would require perhaps less than a generation to transfer the meaning of mowing lands to the low lands, which were nearly the only ones that could be mown in the early days of the Colony. This explanation will make clear the following vote of the town, passed on February i8, 1 680-81 : -

At the same meeting it was agreed vpon and voted that M' Hubberd should haue all the comon which was capable to mak medow in swan pond medow vp to the vpland for seauen acre and a halfe for to mak vp his fifteen acres of medow

Accident ; Angle, in the northerly part of the town ; Big Spring, in the neighborhood of Hawtree Brook ; Broad, immediately west of the village ; Brook ; Brown Loaf, east of the hill ; Buck, now lying within the limits of Nashua, New Hampshire ; Burnt, in the vicinity of Baddacook Pond ; Cow Pond, near the pond of that name ; East ; Ferney, near Brown Loaf ; Flaggy, to the southward of the Baddacook road, near the pond ; Flax ; Great Flaggy, presumably near Flaggy, and perhaps the same ; Great Half-Moon, the same as Half-Moon, which lies east of the village ; Little Buck, probably a part of Buck Meadow ; Little Half-Moon, a part of Half-Moon, being an offshoot from it ; Lodge ; Long ; Maple ; Massapoag, evidently near Massapoag Pond ; New Angle ; Pine ; Plain ; Pretty ; Providence ; Quasoponagon, " on the other sid of the riuer," near the Red Bridge, through which Wrangling Brook runs ; Reedy, known by this name to-day, lying north of the Reedy Meadow Road ; Rock, south of Snake Hill ; Sallo, perhaps Sallow, a kind of willow ; Sedge ; Skull, through which Unquetenassett Brook runs, near the Dunstable line ; Sledge, north of Reedy Meadow, near the Sledges ; South ; South Brook ; Spang ; Spot ; Spring ; Spruce ; Swamp ; Swan Pond ; and Weavers.

lying within the meadow called Litle Halfe Moone Meadow." This land now belongs to Governor Boutwell ; and I am informed by his son, Francis M. Boutwell, Esq., that there is upon it a small elevation, which is always spoken of as the island, - undoubtedly a survival of the expression applied to it when more or less surrounded by water.

Cold Spring Brook - a small brook, rising in Cold Spring " on y° Left hand of the high way that goe to Reedy medow." It runs across the Nashua road, the East Pepperell road, through Hazen Swamp and Libby Lobby Moat, into the Nashua River.

Cow Pond Brook - has its source in Cow Pond Meadows and Cow Pond, and empties into Massapoag Pond. Formerly there was a dam between the meadows and the pond, where there was a saw-mill ; and later on the same site a paper-mill, which disappeared about thirty-five years ago.

James's Brook - one of the longest brooks within the limits of the town. It takes its rise in Half-Moon Meadow, crosses Main Street in the village, and runs southerly and westerly for three or four miles into the Nashua River. At its mouth is the beginning of the line separating the town of Ayer from Groton. Formerly there was a tannery on the banks of the brook, near Indian Hill, known as Dix's tannery ; and a mile below, on land of the late Benjamin Moors, east of the road, at one time there was a mill, - but now no traces of either are left. The stream took its name from Captain James Parker, one of the early settlers. It empties into the Nashua River, nearly opposite to the mouth of the Squannacook.

Hawtree Brook - in the northerly part of the town, near Chicopee Row; after it unites with Walnut Run and two or three other small streams, it forms Unquetenassett Brook.

NoNACOicus Brook - frequently contracted into Coicus - was formerly a noted stream in Groton ; but now no part of it comes within the limits of the town. It has its source in Harvard, and runs northerly and then westerly, passing through the village of Ayer, and emptying into the Nashua. It receives as a tributary, Sandy Pond Brook. On this stream John Prescott, about the year 1667, built his mill for grinding and sawing, of which the site was originally in Groton, but is now in Harvard. The neighborhood is still called the Old Mill.

Reedy Meadow Brook - rises in Reedy Meadow and flows northerly, emptying into the Nashua River below East Pepperell. It is sometimes called Johnson's Brook.

Stony Brook - in Westford, the outlet of Forge Pond. It was on this stream that John Prescott built a mill about the year 1683. See "The Early Records of Groton" under the dates of June 15, 1680, June 13, 1681, and April 25, 1682 ; also the agreement following the record of the meeting held on June 25, 1683.

Swan Brook - mentioned in the early records, but I cannot identify it beyond a doubt. Perhaps it was the brook near the divisional line between Groton and Westford, which flows into Forge Pond. See the record of James Knop's lands, made on January 3, 1669.

Unquetenassett Brook - often called Unkety - a stream formed by the union of Walnut Run, Hawtree Brook, and one or two small tributaries, and running northerly through Skull Meadow and that part of Dunstable formerly Groton into the Nashua.

Waii^nut Run - a brook issuing from the sides of the Chestnut Hills, and uniting with Hawtree Brook and one or two other streams, forms the Unquetenassett.

Also the name of a place - perhaps it was the mouth of a stream - on the Nashua River where in olden times there was a bridge. It stood farther up the river than Fitch's Bridge.

Wrangling Brook - in West Groton, a mile and a half in length - meanders through Quasoponagon Meadow, and then empties into the Nashua a short distance below the Red Bridge.

Farmers' Row - applied to the road on the height of land west of the village. It begins at the west end of Pleasant Street and runs in a southerly direction for two miles, passing by the Groton School.

Great Road - one of the principal thoroughfares between Boston and parts of New Hampshire and Vermont. The section of the road through the village is known as Main Street.

Martin's Pond Road - the highway from the site of the first meeting-house to the neighborhood of the pond, where it becomes the Baddacook Pond Road.

Tuity Road - a contraction of Gratuity Road - the road leading to Fitch's Bridge from the Great Road near the Railroad Bridge, half a mile north of the village. The name had its origin in the early history of the town, when grants of land were made to the inhabitants as gratuities. Tuity Brook, a very small stream, crosses this road and empties into the Nashua River, below Fitch's Bridge.

used during the last century ; and probably was the place where the bricks were made for the parsonage, as mentioned in the town-records, June 20, 1706. Only a few traces of it are now left, though a clump of elms by the roadside is a good guide to the site.

Community - the name of a district or neighborhood beyond the Groton School, where many of the residents formerly held similar religious views. It had its origin about forty years ago, when the Second Adventists, or " Millerites," gave up their regular services in the village.

Dead River - the old course of the Nashua River, around the island which was formed by the cutting through of the " neck." See No. V. of this Historical Series (page 20), also No. XIV (page 31).

General Field - often mentioned in the early townrecords, refers to land owned in severalty by the proprietors of Groton, who kept it as one field, for reasons not now understood. It was upland, and lay in the southwest part of the town, near the river. It appears to have been allotted to the proprietors, according to the number of acre-rights which each one owned. Perhaps it was land already cleared when the first settlers came.

trees ; for instance, Zachery Sawtell had meadow-land " Neare the hawtrees" confirmed to him on November i8, 1670. It evidently became the name of a limited district or neighborhood in the north part of the town, and from it undoubtedly Hawtree Brook was named. Professor Asa Gray, the distinguished botanist, writes me that there are three or four species of wild hawthorn in Massachusetts. He says : " One of the forms of the Black or Pear Thorn {Cratcsgus tomentosd) would be the likeliest for Groton, or perhaps the Cockspur Thorn. The former has the more edible fruit, and would be sure to attract attention."

High Plain - on the north side of the Baddacook road, in the neighborhood of the pond. It lies in the angle of the roads, west of the house of John Johnson, Jr., as laid down on the map of Groton, made from a survey during the years 1828 and 1829.

Hog Swamp - lying between the westerly side of Martin's Pond and Martin's Pond Road. Governor Boutwell's private way to the Chestnut Hills passes through it.

Hoyt's Wharf - the name of a place on Cow Pond Brook where one Hoyt formerly kept his boat. It was near the house of Samuel Hazen, - as laid down on Mr. Butler's map of Groton, made from a survey during the years 1828 and 1829, - nearly a mile north of Cow Pond.

LiBBY Lobby Moat - below the Ox Bow, opening into the Nashua River. This word is probably another form of Loblolly, in use at the South, and denoting wet land.

Nod - the district lying in the neighborhood of the four corners, below the soapstone quarry. The road from the Hollingsworth Paper-mills to this place is called the Nod Road.

Paugus Hole - in Paugus Brook, on the west side of Brown Loaf, where, it is said, the body of Paugus's descendant, who came to kill Chamberlain, was sunk, after he himself was killed.

Pine Plain - probably near the Nashua River, and perhaps on the westerly side. In December, 1673, Joseph Morse had meadow-lands on the Pine Plain, " neare the fordway."

Sledges - the name of a meadow northeast of Reedy Meadow, mentioned in the early records, where John Lakin owned land. Mr. Butler, in his History (page 273), says that " this word seems to signify strips of meadow or parcels of low lands abounding in iron ore." Bog-iron is found in that quarter of the town, and in old times was worked by a company formed for that purpose.

Sodom - the district in the northeast part of the town, near the Townsend line. The name refers to the quality of the soil, and not to the character of the inhabitants.

Stony Fordway, or Wading-Place - near the site of the HoUingsworth Paper-mills, on the Nashua River, a mile and a half northwesterly of the village.

Swill Bridge - was between the homesteads of Eber Woods, Jr., and Joel Davis, - as given on Mr. Butler's map of Groton, from a survey made in the years 1828 and 1829, - a short distance west of the present railroad bridge. Originally it was a causeway, perhaps twenty rods in length, over the southerly end of Broad Meadow, though now it is a solid road.

Tobacco Pipe Plain - on both sides of the road from the Ridges to Sandy Pond, near Rocky Hill. It is mentioned in the " Bye-Laws of Groton relative to Schools ; and Instructions of the School Committee, 1805," and in old deeds.

A List Of The Town-Clerks Of Groton Dates Of Their Election And Terms Of Service

In this list the years are given according to the new style of reckoning, and in specifying dates, small fractions of years are overlooked. The town was attacked by the Indians in the spring of 1676, and abandoned by the inhabitants until March, 1678.

The earliest records of the town were written by Richard Sawtell, and begin on June 23, 1662, though his election as town-clerk was not recorded until December 24, 1662. During the period since that date, there have been thirty-four townclerks, of whom four, namely, Jonathan Morse, William Longley, Jr., James Blanchard, and Samuel Rockwood, died while in office, - Longley being killed by the Indians, on July 27, 1694. During the early part of 1682 Captain James Parker, Richard Blood, and Jonas Prescott made entries in the records, though no one of them appears to have been at the time townclerk. Jonathan Morse was the first who signed the records with his name, though the practice with him was not constant. William Longley, William Longley, Jr., and John Longley were representatives of three successive generations in the same family, being father, son, and grandson. On December g, 1687, William Longley, Jr., was chosen clerk, but he acted as such during only a part of the next town-meeting on May 21, 1688, when he was followed by Josiah Parker, who made the entry for so much of that meeting as occurred after his election. Mr. Brigham, the present occupant, has filled the position for more than thirty-one years continuously, - by far the longest term of service of any town-clerk. Joseph Lakin, with a record of seventeen years, comes next to him in length of time. Of all the persons mentioned in the list, only the last three are now living, namely, Mr. Boutwell, Mr. Parker, and Mr. Brigham ; and their combined term of service covers just forty years. Since the death of Mr. Park, which took place on September 23, 1875, these three have been the only survivors. Mr. Butler died on October 7, 1854, and Mr. Boynton on November 30, 1854, - less than eight weeks apart.

Station-Masters

The first station-master of the Worcester and Nashua Railroad, in the village of Groton, was Artemas Wood, who served in that capacity from the opening of the road on December 18, 1848,, till September i, 1862, when he was succeeded by John Warren Parker, who held the position until August 16, 1886, - a period of nearly twenty-four years.

Groton Minute-Men At The North Bridge

[The following paper, by William Willder Wheildon, Esq., of Concord, was read at a meeting of The Bostonian Society, on April 14, 1885. It is now, with his permission, reprinted in this Historical Series.

It is not very remarkable, perhaps, that the centennial period since the beginning of the Revolutionary War should be the occasion of bringing to light some new matter in relation to its early incidents, in regard to which more or less secrecy w^as preserved and names withheld at the time. It seems, from evidence which has lately come to the knowledge of the writer, by a casually dropped remark concerning the Concord fight, that the alarm of the movement of General Gage to seize the cannon, stores, and ammunition in Concord was more widely known in Middlesex County than heretofore supposed. It appears, from the testimony of Mr. Artemas Wright, of Ayer, who is a grandson of Mr. Nathan Corey, of Groton, that there were several members of the Groton company of minute-men at Concord, on the morning of the 19th of April, who were in the fight at the North Bridge, and joined in the pursuit of the British troops in the retreat to Lexington.

Mr. Wright'S Story

Mr. Wright says, his grandfather repeatedly told him the story, and often talked of the scenes of that day. A part of his narration was, that on the day before the Concord fight, April 1 8, while he was ploughing in his field, some distance from the middle of the town, he received notice of a meeting of the minute-men, which, of course, demanded immediate attention. It was in the afternoon, toward evening, when he received the notification. He at once unhitched his plough, drove his oxen home, took down his gun and belt, told his wife Molly, as he called her, that he was going away and could not tell when he should come back, and that she must take care of the oxen. He then hastened to the middle of the town and joined his comrades who had assembled there.

The circumstance which had induced them to call the meeting was the arrival of some brass cannon from Concord. Of course the presence of these immediately gave rise to discussion and speculation as to the cause and the reason of their being sent to Groton from Concord. Various suggestions were made, the most prominent of which was a proposition that the company should proceed at once to Concord ; but this, when put to vote, was determined in the negative, most of the members preferring to wait for further intelligence.

This conclusion, it seems, was not entirely satisfactory to all the members of the company, and some of them determined to go at once ; so that, as the story is related to the writer, nine of them, with young Corey among the number, started for Concord the same evening. They travelled all night, carrying lighted pine torches a part of the way, and reached Concord at an early hour in the morning, entering one side of the town some hours before the British troops entered upon the other. Mr. Corey said they all went and got some breakfast at the house of Colonel Barrett, which was afterwards visited by the British troops in search of the cannon, ammunition, and stores, most of which had been fortunately removed, the day before, to places of safety. After getting somethihg to eat they proceeded toward the centre of the town, and soon joined the men of Concord, and finally were in the ranks of the minute-men, at or near the North Bridge, where the fight with the British troops occurred. They continued with the minute-men, and followed the retreating troops to Lexington, or beyond.

This is the story related by Mr. Wright, as often repeated to him by his grandfather Corey ; and this, according to the accepted history of the time, and as at present understood, appeared to the writer, on the instant, as wholly improbable. It must still remain so, unless it can be explained and accounted for in the transactions and events of the period.

The objection to be met and answered is, How could the people of Groton, thirty miles from Boston, at about the time the British troops were moving toward their boats, on the evening of the i8th, know anything of General Gage's purpose or design to visit Concord .-' Of course they knew nothing, excepting such information as the presence of the brass cannon, which had arrived among them, indicated. Probably the men who conveyed the cannon from Concord could not explain the matter, and yet it may possibly be true that they had learned before they left Concord, or suspected, the reason why they were sent ; and, if so, would be sure to communicate it to the people of Groton. This, when we come to think of it, is not very improbable, although no reason is given in the votes of the Committee for their action. However this may be, the improbable story of Mr. Wright may possibly be explained and accounted for by the action of the Committee of Safety in the matter, by showing that the cannon were sent to Groton, and why they came to be sent there at that particular time.

Explanation Of The Story

Almost every person familiar with the history of this period would, on the instant, reject the story as a fiction, and nothing but entire confidence in the truthfulness of the party referred to, and the little probability there is of his being able to invent such a relation, induced the writer to give it a moment's consideration. Turning the history of the period over in our mind, the points of which were very familiar, we thought we could see a possible explanation of the matter, as a consequence of the cautionary action of Warren, and the important services rendered at this time by Paul Revere.

It is well known to most readers and students, who are familiar with the history of this period, that Doctor Warren, so far as is known by his own inclination, remained in Boston while the Provincial Congress was in session at Concord, expressly to observe the action and movements of General Gage in this trying period. In consequence of some of these movements, especially that of launching the transport boats preparatory for use, and taking the Grenadiers and Light Infantry off duty, Warren determined to send notice of them, and of the preparations being made, as he believed, to capture the stores at Concord, to Hancock and Adams, then at Lexington.

This message was sent by Paul Revere, on Sunday, the i6th of April, 1775, to the effect that the British were preparing for an excursion into the country, and it was at once understood that the stores and ammunition collected at Concord were the object. Revere delivered his message promptly at Lexington, and returned in the afternoon, when, before going across the river from Charlestown, he made his arrangements about the signal-lanterns with Colonel Conant, - a matter which, no doubt, he had determined and arranged in his own mind during his solitary ride from Lexington.

Action Of The Committee Of Safety

The Provincial Congress, which had been in session at Concord, adjourned on Saturday, the 15th of April, but the Committees of Safety and Supplies, who had control of the military, and other public matters pertaining thereto, did not adjourn finally on that day. They remained at Concord, and held an important meeting on Monday morning, the 17th, and, no doubt, commenced their proceedings without waiting for the arrival of Hancock from Lexington, where he had

Voted, that two four-pounders, now at Concord, be mounted by the Committee of Supplies, and that Colonel Barrett be desired to raise an Artillery Company, to join the Army when raised, etc. ; and, also, that an instructor for the use of the cannon be appointed, to be put directly in pay.

Voted, unanimously, that £6, lawful money, be a Captain's pay in an Artillery Company ; that the ist and 2d Lieutenants have £4. 5s. ; that the Sergeants have 42s. per month, etc.

After these votes were passed, it is supposed and believed John Hancock arrived from Lexington and joined the Committee in their meeting. Of course he immediately communicated to them the important intelligence which he had received from Dr. Warren the day before, so that, without any reconsideration of the votes just passed, any adjournment or recess, the record shows that they continued the meeting and passed the following votes : -

The next day (Tuesday) a meeting was held, and it was voted that " the two brass two-pounders, and two brass threepounders, be under the care of the Boston Company of Artillery, and of Captain Robinson's (Company)."

A considerable number of them (Concord minute-men) were ordered to assist the citizens who were actively engaged in removing and secreting cannon, military stores, and provisions. The cannon were nearly all conveyed to a distance, some to adjacent towns, and some were buried in the ground, and some under heaps of manure.

Numerous other votes wrere passed for the removal and secretion of ammunition, provisions, etc., and the Committee adjourned to the next day.

On Wednesday (19th) the Committee continued its session, at Menotomy (West Cambridge, now Arlington), and passed additional votes on the same subject.

Thus were the votes first passed, before the arrival of John Hancock, rescinded ; and, of course, the cannon were not mounted, no Artillery Company was formed, nor teacher employed for their instruction.

All this was the result of the information from Dr. Warren, brought to Lexington by Paul Revere ; to Concord by John Hancock, and, we may almost say, carried to Groton by the cannon ! It is believed that no other explanation can be given of the discrepancies in these votes, so entirely different and adverse to each other, than that which has been suggested ; namely, the arrival of Mr. Hancock after the passage of the first-named votes, and the intelligence brought by him of General Gage's movements at Boston.

Sending The Cannon To Groton

In accordance with the final votes of the Committee, the next morning (Tuesday i8th) the cannon were promptly on their way to Groton, and arrived there late in the afternoon, while at Boston the British troops were getting ready to embark in their boats for the opposite side of the river, on their way to Concord.

cannon at Groton communicate to the people, and especially the minute-men of that town ? It will be recollected that only a short time before this (26th of February), General Gage had sent Colonel Leslie to Salem to seize some pieces of cannon there, which he failed to secure, and this was probably known to the people of Groton at this time. There cannot be a doubt, therefore, putting these two things together, as to the story the presence of these cannon told, even if the men who carried them had been speechless.

Action Of The Groton Men

The proceedings and action which followed, on the part of the Groton minute-men, were both natural and reasonable, and fully authorized the action of the volunteers, even supposing they were moved by curiosity alone, - a mere desire to see British soldiers. The minute-men, as we have stated, were promptly called together, and some of them determined to go to Concord that night ; and, while Colonel Smith was moving his troops over the Cambridge marshes and swamps, these patriots were on their way to meet them at Concord bridge, without knowing who they were to meet or what was in store for them. What followed has been stated. The Groton minute-men arrived, and were among their brethren of Concord, Acton, Carlisle, Lincoln, and Bedford, in following and harassing the retreating troops; and it would seem, from the relation which we have given, that the improbability of Mr. Wright's story has been removed : the cannon certainly went to Groton, and almost as certainly the Groton minutemen came to Concord. The minute-men of the other towns named were notified of the coming of the British troops by special messengers. The cannon sent to Acton, no doubt, upon their arrival there on Tuesday (i8th), told the same story as did the cannon at Groton ; but, being so near to Concord, the citizens very naturally concluded that if they were wanted word would be sent to them at the earliest moment, is was the case ; but the Groton men, though few in number, were the first to arrive.

Mr. Corey, who used to tell his story in relation to the Concord fight to his grandchildren in his talk about the war, continued in the service of his country, and prior to his death a pension was granted to him (or aftei'wards to his widow) ; but nothing was ever received by either of them.

Confirmatory Evidence

Since the first mention of this subject by the writer. Dr. Samuel A. Green, a native of Groton, has published a handsome volume, entitled " Epitaphs from the Old Burying Ground in Groton, Mass." One of the inscriptions, found upon the monument to the memory of Captain Abraham Child, contains the following sentence : " He was a Lieutenant among the minute men, and aided in the Concord fight and the battle of Bunker Hill, 1775." The remainder of the inscription shows that Captain Child went through the war with Washington, and was the oldest Captain in the service at the capture of Stony Point, in 1779. He was just the man for a night expedition to Concord.

Mr. George William Curtis, in speaking of this incident in the history of the Concord fight, in a letter to the writer, says : " Your new chapter throws light upon the tradition of the horsemen at Acton rousing the house with the news after midnight on the i8th. The whole legend is very interesting." And, we may add, seems to be confirmed most unexpectedly from various quarters. The Groton men, of course, came down through Acton, probably after midnight, and no doubt, with or without their burning torches, produced some excitement on the road.

Importance Of The Service Of Warren And Revere

One result of this story is particularly worthy of notice, since it shows very clearly what has scarcely ever been considered, or, in fact, alluded to, and that is the importance of the service rendered by Paul Revere in his journey to Lexington, on Sunday prior to the much more celebrated midnight ride which followed it. The story of this ride, quiet and peaceful as it was, has never been immortalized in the lines of the poet ; yet it shows very clearly that the preservation of the cannon, - nearly all that the Colony possessed at that time, - and probably the largest portion of the ammunition and stores at Concord, were saved, as we have seen, by the cautionary measures of Dr. Warren, and the essential service of Paul Revere, on the Sunday previous to the fight at Concord bridge.

The Sunday before, by desire of Dr. Warren, I had been to Lexington, to Messrs. Hancock and Adams, who were at the Rev. Mr. Clark's. I returned at night through Charlestown ; there I agreed with a Colonel Conant, and other gentlemen, that if the British went out by water, we would show two lanterns in the North Church Steeple, and if by land, one, as a signal; for we were apprehensive it would be difficult to cross the Charles River, or get over Boston Neck.

Note

Since this paper was read before the Bostonian Society, Mr. Wright has informed the writer that his grandfather, after he had told him the story about the Concord fight, gave to him an old powder-horn which he had used during the war. This powderhorn, he said, he took from a British soldier who had been shot on the retreat to Lexington, and whose body was lying by the roadside in Lincoln. Some of the other men, he said, took off his boots and some of his clothes. The powder-horn, Mr. Wright says, was quite a nice piece of work, and held just one pound of powder. It had a peculiar stopper (probably a spring snapper, like some now known), and at the larger end, on the under side (when hung over the shoulder), was engraved the English coat of arms, and on the upper side, what Mr. Wright says they call the British Ensign. The bottom of the horn was made of brass, saucer-shaped, with a hole half an inch in diameter, in the centre, serving as a tunnel to pour in the powder, with a wooden stopper. The horn had been used by Mr. Wright and his brother, in their hunting excursions, for many years, and they agree perfectly in the description of it. It was finally lost, by the brother who owned it, in the burning of his house some years ago.

After having written the above, the writer was informed by Mr. Winsor, librarian of Harvard College, that there was a powder-horn somewhat answering the above description in possession of the Massachusetts Historical Society. The next day (June ii, 1885) the writer visited the rooms of the Society, in Boston, and was shown by Dr. Green, the librarian, several old powder-horns of a similar character, all of them quite elaborately engraved and similar in many respects apparently to that described by Mr. Wright, with the exception that these all appeared to be American powder-horns, as one of them seemed to say, " To be used in the cause of liberty." Mr. Wright's story of this old powder-horn which he had, and the way his grandfather came into possession of it, and its distinct resemblance to those in use at the time, give additional weight and interest to the original story that the Groton men were in the Concord fight on the 19th of April, 1775. The dead soldier was probably one of those buried in the Lincoln graveyard.

List Of Groton Subscribers To Important Books, Etc Prince'S Annals

In the year 1736 the Reverend Thomas Prince, of Boston, published " A Chronological History of New-England in the Form of Annals :" to which the Introduction alone, "Containing a brief Epitome of the most remarkable Transactions and Events Abroad, from the Creation : " comprises more than a third of the volume. This book was followed by three thin numbers, which form a second volume. The work began with Adam ; but so much space was devoted to the Greek and Roman empires and to Great Britain that the Annals come down only to the year 1733. It was evidently the intention of the author to give some account of the older New England towns. In an advertisement on the last page of Number 2, Volume II., he says : -

Having no Accounts from those ancient Towns, viz. Newtown, Groton, Chelmsford, Billerica, Woburn, Dunstable and Manchester, in the Massachusetts; nor of Saybrook, New-Haven, Fairfield nor Stamford in Connecticut ; nor of Bristol in the ancient Plimouth Patent ; The Rev. Ministers of those Towns are earnestly intreated to Enquire of their Records, Grave-Stones and ancient People, and send the Remarkables of their History from the Beginning in a Cronological Order ; to the Compiler of these Annals with all convenient Expedition.

Mr. Prince was eminent as a preacher and a man of learning, and for many years the minister of the Old South Church. A list of the subscribers is printed at the beginning of the book ; and these names may justly be regarded as representing at that period the literary class of New England. Among them are those of "Benjamin Prescot of Groton, Esq ; " and '' Nathanael Sartle ^Groton, Esg ; ."

Brief notices of some of these subscribers appeared manyyears ago in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register;" and I copy from Volume VI. (July, 1852) of that periodical the following sketches then given of Mr. Prescott and Mr. Sartle: -

Prescott, Hon. Benjamin, born in Groton, 4 Jan. 1695-6, mar. II June, 1 7 18, Abigail, dau. of Hon. Thomas Oliver of Cambridge, and died 3 Aug. 1738, aged 43 years. He was the third son (twelfth child) of Jonas Prescott of Groton, who, born in Lancaster, Mass. June, 1648 - was the third son (seventh child) of John Prescott of Lancashire, England, who married in England, Mary Platts of Yorkshire, and in England several of their children were born. John Prescott went first to Barbadoes, (it is said) and owned lands there in 1638. About 1640 he came to New England, and after remaining some time in Charlestown and Watertown, settled in Lancaster, where he had a good estate. He was one of the first settlers of Lancaster, which is said to have been so named in compliment to him.

Benjamin Prescott, the subject of this sketch was in 1717 appointed a lieutenant of the first company of foot; in 1723, being then 27 years of age, he first represented the town of Groton in the General Court, where he remained eight years. In 1724, he was commissioned a Justice of the Peace, and afterward Quorum unus ; in 1732 a Lieutenant Colonel in a Middlesex and Worcester regiment ; in 1735 a Justice of the Superior Court, and in 1738, the year of his death, he was chosen to represent the Province at the Court of Great Britain, which office he declined, giving as a reason, that he had never had the small pox. The Hon. Edmund Quincy was chosen in his stead, and died on his Mission, of the disease which Mr. Prescott feared would prove fatal to himself.

Hon. Benjamin P. wa? father of the Hon. James, Col. William, and the Hon. Oliver Prescott, M. D. He was grandfather of the late Judge William Prescott of Boston, and great-grandfather of W. H. P., the historian. f. w. p.

Another notice of Benjamin Prescott, Esq., has been received, and though a very good one, this is considered as preferable, the principal early fact[s] being from original MSS. preserved in that branch of the family represented by the above subscriber (page 274). j3_

The initials F. W. P. are those of Frederick Wilham Prescott, a grandson of Dr. Oliver Prescott, Senior, and D. is the signature of Samuel G. Drake.