Groton Town (part 4 of 9)

Sartle, (properly Sartell) Nathaniel, of Groton, Esq. - was born in Scotland or England. He came over, with his wife Sarah and several children, about 1720. He was probably master and owner of his vessel. By his will, made in 1710, at Gosport, Eng., in favor of his wife, it appears that he was then about to proceed on one of his trips to America. In his will, he is called of Gosport, sometime of Charlestown in the Colony of N. E. The notary wrote his name Nathaniel Sattle, and he so signed it, perhaps to avoid a new copy, or thinking the will would probably never be used. When offered for probate it was opposed by his son Josiah, on account of its signature and old date ; but he finally withdrew his objections. On a voyage in 17 18, he was shipwrecked, and wrote the following memorandum in his Bible: - "Feb. ye 14, 1 7 18, 1 was cast on the rocks of Quibberone, near Bellisle, in the bay of Resimea, all my men lost. N. Sartell." - Expecting that all hands would be lost, and wishing to inform his family of his fate, he headed up the Bible in a cask, and threw it overboard. When the vessel went in pieces, he took the cabin boy on his back, and swam to a rock. The boy perished in the night, but he was taken the next morning, nearly exhausted, from the rock, by some fishermen. The Bible also was saved, and is now in the possession of Charles J. F. Binney, Esq. It is a large Bible, with oak covers half an inch thick, covered with embossed leather, and having thick wrought brass clasps. His wife sent a vessel in search of him. Mr. Sartell was wealthy, and seems to have been a leading man in the town of Groton. He d. Jan. i6th, 1741, ae. 60. Though he lost large quantities of silver and merchandize by the wreck, he left at his death a valuable property. He left vyarehouses, houses, lands and other property at Charlestown, valued at ;^ii2o; property in Groton ;^3848 ; silver ^47 ; 14 gilt leather chair bottoms; books; surveying instruments etc.

There was early at Watertown a Richard Sawtell. His will, dated 1692, mentions lands in Watertown and Groton. He was probably related to the Groton Sazc/tells, who are said to have been a distinct family from the Sartells of that place.

whose descendants reside in Groton and Pepperell, and 2, Hannah, who m. Hercules Bacon of Charlestown ; H. yosiah, who m. Mary Green, and lived in Groton ; his children, two sons and two daughters, died young, and he left a considerable estate to the church and town of Groton; HI. Margaret, m. Gibbs, of Charlestown ; IV. Sarah, m. Rev. Solomon Prentice, of Grafton, and afterwards of Hull, and had ten children. - Compiled from memoranda, by C. y. F. Binney, Esq. and Miss \Clarissd\ Butler of Groton.

Nathaniel Sartle, Esq., of Groton, was very probably a grandson of Richard Sawtell, an early settler of Watertown, and probably a son of Zachariah Sawtel of Groton. \Dr. H. Bond's Ms. Letteri] He was a representative in the Gen. Court in 1733, 1739, and 1741, and is often mentioned in the journals of that body (pages 274, 27s). D.

Willard'S Body Of Divinity

The Rev. Samuel Willard, minister of Groton before its destruction by the Indians in March, 1676, wrote a book, which was not published until the year 1726, long after the author's death. It is a heavy theological work entitled "A Compleat Body of Divinity " (Boston), which no one of the present century, probably, ever read. It is a folio (pp. 914), and the largest volume which at that time had been printed in America. In the list of subscribers at the beginning of the book appears the name of the " Rev. Mr. Caleb Trowbridge, of Groton" one of Mr. Willard's successors in the ministry.

Belknap'S History Of New Hampshire, And Belknap'S American Biography

In " A Catalogue of Subscribers " to Belknap's History, as printed at the end of the third volume of that work (Boston, 1792), Oliver Prescott's name appears; and in a manuscript list, made by Belknap and now in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society, of the subscribers to his " American Biography," are given the following : -

The name of S. Jackson Prescott, Harvard College (class of 1795), a native of Groton and a son of Dr. Oliver Prescott (H. C. 1750), also appears in the list.

Shakespeare'S Dramatic Works

In the year 1804 the first Boston edition of Shakespeare's " Dramatic Works " was completed, in eight volumes, of which Volume I. appeared in 1802. At the end of the last one is printed a list of the subscribers to the work, in which are the following names : -

American Medical Biography

At the end of the second volume of Dr. James Thacher's American Medical Biography (Boston, 1828) are printed the names of the subscribers ; and among them are the following Groton physicians : Amos Bancroft, Micah Eldredge, and Joshua Green.

Bunker Hill Monument

In the year 1824 the Bunker Hill Monument Association issued an address to the different towns of the Commonwealth, calling for subscriptions in aid of their undertaking. It set forth the fact that all persons who subscribed five dollars or more would become members of the Society, and receive a certificate containing an engraved sketch of the Battle of Bunker Hill. In a pamphlet entitled an " Act of Incorporation, By-laws, and a List of the Original Members of the Bunker Hill Monument Association : with a statement, shewing the magnitude and progress of the work, and a copy of the original estimate. Compiled for the use of the Members " (Boston : 1830), - a list is printed of all who subscribed, with the amount given. The Groton names are found on pages 49 and 50, as follows : -

Amos Farnsworth and Samuel Lawrence were in the battle as soldiers ; and Samson Woods was also present, as a boy of fourteen years, in attendance on his father, Henry Woods, who was the major of Colonel Prescott's regiment. Samson died on February 8, 1826, - which, perhaps, gives an approximation to the time when these subscriptions were made.

Pepperell Fever

Many years ago there prevailed in Pepperell an intermittent fever which was exceedingly fatal. Mr. Butler in his History (pages 349-351) refers to the sickness, and gives some facts concerning it. The disease broke out in the year 1755, and raged during the summer and autumn for several years. It seemed to bafHe the skill of the physicians, and all attempts to subdue it were fruitless. It was caused, probably, by a dam built across the Nissitissett River in order to overflow a swamp and kill some dogwood ; the water being afterward drawn off, the vegetable matter was left to decompose under the hot rays of the sun, and to taint the air with malaria. It is said that during the four years while the epidemic prevailed, no fewer than 540 persons were taken down with the disease, of whom 103 died, including 64 adults.

In the year 1838 there was published at Boston a volume entitled " Boylston Prize Dissertations for the Years 1836 and 1837," by Oliver Wendell Holmes, M. D. One of these dissertations related to indigenous intermittent fever in New England, - a disease known popularly as fever and ague, - concerning which the author had collected many interesting facts and traditions. Among them is the following account by Dr. Samuel Emerson, of Kennebunk, Maine, which was furnished one of Dr. Holmes's correspondents, in consequence of inquiries relating to the subject.

Your request brings to my recollection an important historical fact, which ought not to be suffered to go down to the shades of oblivion. When I was a pupil of old Doctor Oliver Prescott, in Groton, in the county of Middlesex, when visiting a patient in Pepperell, the next town to Groton, and bordering on the State line, we passed a small river, called Nissitisset by the Indians, and which still keeps the name. This beautiful stream has its rise in a pond on the northern side of the above-mentioned State line, in the town of Brookline, in N. H., called Mosquatannipus, meanders through a very rich valley seven or eight miles, and pours its limpid waters into the Nashua. 'I his short description of the geography of that little stream, though apparently irrelevant to the answer to your letter, yet will be explained in the sequel as necessary and important. In the course of our professional ride, the Doctor entertained me highly by the following account : - When I was a young man, and but just commenced practice, I visited an old and highly respectable physician, then living in Concord. Being a distant relative, by the name of Abel Prescott, he was kind enough to take a deep interest in my success in acquiring medical eminence and prosperity. He says to me, " Kinsman, a great proportion of my practice has been in intermittent fevers, for thirty or forty years ; one third part of your business, at least, is the same; but the time is not far distant when this section of the country will be visited by a very fatal malignant fever, after which, the fever and ague will quit this part, and probably all New

England, for ever." The event proved the prediction to be history. A man lived upon Nissitisset river, about the central point from its source in the pond, and its exit in the Nashua. He owned a rich tract of intervale land covered with a poisonous shrub called dogwood, or white sumach (the Linnsean name I do not recollect). The proprietor being subject to eruptions, from working among ivy or dogwood, built a dam across the river, in order to flow this intervale, and clear it from the deleterious vegetable he so much feared. The flowing was continued long enough to effect his purpose, and then drawn off early in summer. The dead brush was cleared away, and the sun let in upon the rich soil. In a short time after this, the man, his wife, and several children were attacked by a disease which the Doctor called a putrid malignant nervous fever ; the vulgar name was the Pepperell fever, from the place of its origin. This horrid distemper began its attack with a high degree of inflammation of the brain, and raving delirium, which made short work of every member of the above family, spread rapidly in the vicinity with equal fatality, and extended through a great part of Middlesex [County] in Mass. and Hillsborough [County] in N. H. The Doctor informed me that he had lost every patient for some time, and nothing that he could oppose to the progress of the deadly ravager had any effect, till, being called to a girl about fourteen, he applied a large epispastic to the back of her neck ; her tossing and struggling through the night, notwithstanding the best exertions of faithful watchers, kept a constant motion from evening, when it was applied, till near morning, when she lay still and fell asleep. Upon examining the blister in the morning, the Doctor found a complete vesication the whole length of the spine. This was the first patient that recovered. From this the Doctor shaped his course, and lost few or none afterwards. My father's house is only three miles from the spot where this disease originated, and I have his testimony to the above facts, which took place in the year 1760, which was four years before my birth ; and from that period the object of our inquiry has never appeared, and I can truly assert that I have never seen a case of pure intermittent except those which have been imported from a warmer climate.

I urged Dr. Prescott to write and preserve a faithful detail of this interesting piece of medical history before his death ; but he never did. After his death, I repeatedly requested his son [Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr.], who was two years my senior, but never could induce him to undertake the work, though he felt the importance of it as much as I did. After the death of my very dear friend and fellow student, there remained no one but myself; and I am very glad that you, my dear sir, have put me up to my duty, and I wish it was done in a better style, though not much ought to be expected from an old man of seventy-two. There is nothing to recommend this relation of facts but truth, which I have as carefully adhered to as the strong impressions upon my memory would enable me to do (pages 112-115).

The late Judge Samuel Dana, of Groton, stated to me about five years ago, that he had received from his father,^ or possibly his grandfather, who, as I understood, was formerly a clergyman in that place, the following information. He stated that when he first settled in Groton, intermittent fevers prevailed in a certain part of the town, which was described as being at that time wet, but subsequently drained and cultivated. Judge Dana entered into some particulars on this point, and he evidently understood the subject of which he was speaking, so that it left no doubt in my mind as to the nature of the disease (pages 115, 116).

On January 3, 1760, a day of thanksgiving was set apart at Pepperell by the Reverend Joseph Emerson and his church "to commemorate the goodness of God to them the year past, especially in the removal of sickness and the return of so many soldiers from the army." In the sermon preached on this occasion Mr. Emerson says : " It pleased God, in the summer of I7$S, to visit us with that grievous fever, by which we have suffered so much, and which hath, from its beginning with us, obtained the name of the Pepperell fever!' After enumerating its ravages, he sums up the whole in these words :

In the four years above mentioned, there were about 540 persons sick; 103 died, of whom 16 were soldiers from home, or just after their return ; no less than 48 heads of families ; 64 grown persons. How great was our distress for two years, especially in the height of the sickness, and we, notwithstanding, obliged to find our quota for the war ! I know not that we were eased more than a single man, excepting the time of the general alarm, when fort William Henry was besieged, in 1757, when our proportion was above twenty men, at which time there were not so many able to bear arms in the place, besides those who were necessarily taken up in attending on the sick in their own families, the field officers were so good as not to call for any. One of the years, there were near 200 confined at the same time. Your pastor at the point of death, and then confined from the house of God for four months. And of this large number who have been sick, I know not of ten persons who have been visited with the same distemper twice. Nor should we forget the bounty we received by order of authority, namely, fifty pounds, to be distributed amongst the greatest sufferers. (History of Groton, page 35°-)

It is now difficult to appreciate fully all the hardships of the early settlers ; besides other dangers, they were exposed to certain forms of insidious disease, happily little known to the present generation of this neighborhood.

Naomi Farwell, The Hermitess

Fifty years ago Naomi Farwell lived on the farm now adjoining the south side of the Groton Cemetery. The mere mention of her name will call up many associations in the minds of a few survivors who long since used to go "a-chestnutting" on her grounds. She was a daughter of William and Esther (Woods) Farwell, and born on August 16, 1769. Mr. Butler, referring to her in his History (page 269), says that she "' sustained a character somewhat noted, on account of her solitary and unsocial habits and manners, which gave her the title of hermitess. She lived with her father and mother, while they lived, in a poor small house, about a mile north of the village, and after their decease entirely alone, in the same place. She inherited from her father, of whom she was the sole heir, a farm of about eighty acres of good land, upon and at the foot of ' Chestnut Hills,' a large portion of which had never been stripped of its native forest trees." Her death took place on Monday, January i, 1838, and, owing to the peculiar circumstances attending it, caused considerable excitement in town. The following obituary notice in the Saturday " Evening Gazette " (Boston), January 20, 1838, gives a few facts concerning her life that have long been forgotten by most persons, though the statement there made, that her house was half a mile distant from any other dwelling, is somewhat inaccurate.

Miss Naomi Farwell, the celebrated Hermitess, died at Groton, CMass.) on the ist instant, aged 68 years. Since the death of her father, William Farwell, in 1819, this eccentric woman had lived entirely secluded from the world ; no other human being dwelt beneath her roof, for her cold and decided reply to a female who offered the services of a companion, put to flight even the affection of friendship - "I'll keep no one for their pretty looks," drily adding, "friends have large mouths!" The estate which she inherited consists of about seventy acres of excellent land in the bosom of " Chestnut Hills," together with fifteen acres of meadow in the vicinity of " Half Moon." She has kept usually about ten head of neat cattle, and other stock in proportion, of all which and other domestic concerns she had the sole care. Her agricultural labors were constant and unremitting, hiring no aid but at the season of ploughing and mowing. The seclusion of her abode, being half a mile distant from any other dwelling, her eccentric habits, and the romantic beauty of the walks over her domain, altogether rendered a stroll through harmonious grounds the favorite promenade of all the sentimental lads and lasses of Groton Academy. It was seldom she noticed any one, farther than by a cold glance from beneath her brows.

The writer of this sketch well remembers the first visit which he paid her. In an unwonted fit of kindness, she invited him into her kitchen, and as an inestimable favor, bestowed upon him a handful of chestnuts ! Long did the writer's grinders give twinges of keen remembrance of (hat gift, for the nuts were "veterans of half a century ! " Still, down they must go, and down they went, though " with many a dreary pause between." She would hardly be considered as miserly in her disposition, but rather strictly economical, by which means she soon cleared her estate from the mortgages with which it was embarrassed at the death of her father. She seldom left her own premises, having never been out of Groton but once, when she was persuaded to visit a cousin in Harvard ; and but once only had she seen the Nashua river, although within two miles of her cottage. Her reverence for the memory of her father almost approached the superstitious. By her desire, his remains were buried under a favorite peach tree, within a rod of her dwelling ; yet still, as if in strict keeping with her odd character, the fragrance of her pig-stye breathed forth from the one side, while the odors of her cow-yard were wafted from the other - both in immediate contiguity with her hallowed spot ! Thus she lived until the last severe winter, when not having been seen for many days, her cottage was forcibly entered, and she was found to be ill and helpless ; and in this condition her extremities were so frozen, that she would have died, had not aid arrived. From this exposure she never fully recovered. Her broken constitution yielded to a late attack of cold, and her days of cheerless solitude are ended. - Poor Naomi ! You rejoiced many young hearts with fancied views into futurity; - may your now actual view be the fullness of rejoicing !

The Gilson Family

Michael Gilson, mentioned in the paragraph below, a son of Michael and Susannah (Sawtell) Gilson, of Groton, was born on February 24, 1730-31. His father removed to the Connecticut Valley, now the neighborhood of Charlestown, New Hampshire, probably during the period when several Groton families, including the Farnsworths, the Parkers, and the Sawtells, went to that remote frontier, - which was about the year 1740. It is a curious fact to note that the name of Sawtell has there since become Sartwell. On May 9, 1750, young Michael chose his mother for a guardian, when, according to the Hampshire County Probate Records, he was living in the Province of New Hampshire, above Northfield ; and presumably at that time his father was dead. See David Jillson's " Genealogy of the Gillson and Jillson Family " (page 246;.

Fort Dummer was situated on the west bank of the Connecticut River, now within the limits of Brattleborough, Vermont. The four townships in this neighborhood, on the east bank of the river, before they received their names, were numbered in their geographical order, and known by their numbers alone. They come now within the State of New Hampshire, - Township No. i being known as Chesterfield; No. 2, as Westmoreland ; No. 3, as Walpole ; and No. 4, as Charlestown.

Last Monday Se'nnight [March 6], as one Michael Gilson was going from Fort-Dummer to Numb. 2 [Westmoreland], when he came to the House of Mr. Moore, at a Place called West-River, about three Miles above Fort-Dummer, he found Capt. Fairbanks Moore and his Son Benjamin dead, and saw the House near where they lay, on Fire ; when the said Gilson immediately returned back to the Fort to acquaint them of the Affair ; upon which two Men went with him to the Place where the said Moore lay, to see if they could discover the Enemy, but the Snow being hard, they could not track them. The Wife and Children of the said Benjamin are missing, and suppos'd either to be burnt in the House, or carried off by the Enemy.

The Town-Clock

The old town-clock on the First Parish Meeting-house, so familiar to every man, woman, and child in Groton, was made by James Ridgway, and placed in the tower some time during the spring of 1809. Mr. Ridgway was a silversmith and clockmaker, who during the period of the War with England carried on a large business in this neighborhood. His shop was situated on Main Street, nearly opposite to the present tavern ; but it has long since disappeared. He subsequently removed to Keene, New Hampshire, where he lived for many years.

To grant so much money as the town shall think fit towards providing a Clock to be put up in the Meeting-house, in addition to what has already been subscribed for that purpose, & to order a suitable room to be prepared for it, & to act thereon as the town shall think proper.

Voted that a sum not exceeding seventy Dollars be granted for the purpose of erecting a Town Clock, to be paid after the s'? Clock is Compleated to the satisfaction of the Selectmen. The latter part of this Article was passed over, it being considered more proper for the Parish to prepare a suitable room for s'^ Clock, and an Article having been Inserted in their Warrant for this purpose.

The bell on the same church was made in the year 1819 by Revere and Son, Boston, and, according to an inscription cast on its surface, the weight is 1128 pounds.

Life In The Wilderness

The late John Langdon Sibley, for many years the Librarian of Harvard College, wrote a History of Union, Maine, his native town ; and, in it, he thus refers to a Groton family :

There was also engaged in the business [of making shingles] a family named Lakin, from Groton, Mass. The husband and the wife, in the winter season, would go into the woods, and, one at each handle of a long saw, work hard through the day, cutting trees into blocks. It may be doubted which of the two was the most expert in splitting and finishing them. And often has the wife come to the Common - eight miles - on horseback, with a child in her arms, and a heavy bunch of shingles on each side of her horse, balanced by means of ropes and withes across the beast's back. Under the ropes and withes, to prevent them from cutting the horse, was a bag of hay. To all these was superadded a mealbag, containing a jug for rum or molasses, or some other articles then deemed necessary for a family (pages loo, loi).

A Stray Cow

The customs and habits of the last century are well depicted in the newspapers of that period. The following advertisement in "The Boston Gazette,' or Weekly Journal," March i8, 1746, shows that the owner of a stray cow had some hopes of finding her, nine months after she was lost, - which to the present generation would seem a rather futile chance. The two persons mentioned in the notice were brothers probably, and sons of Joseph Priest, of Waltham. See Dr. Henry Bond's History of Watertown (page 408). In December, 1747, Joseph Priest appears to have been living at Groton, according to a "covenant" printed in "The Boundary Lines of Old Groton" (pages 82-84).

Stray'd last July from Mr. John Priest of Groton, a large brindle Cow, with some white Spots about her, having the Letter W mark'd with an hot Iron on one Horn, about 7 Years old. Whoever shall give Information of her, either to yohn Priest aforesaid, or to jFonas Priest of Waltham shall be well rewarded.

An Old House, And Some Of Its

During the summer of 1876 there was printed for private circulation a book entitled "Journal of a Tour to Niagara Falls in the year 1805," by Timothy Bigelow. (Boston : octavo, pp. XX, 121.) It is an interesting volume, with an introduction by Abbott Lawrence, a grandson of Mr. Bigelow. The writer of the Journal was a distinguished lawyer, living in Groton at the time, and he tells how he set out from Boston, on July 8, 1805, with four companions, and travelled through the interior of the State of New York, then almost a wilderness, but now teeming with thrifty towns and cities. The party returned by the way of Montreal, having been absent just six weeks and having travelled 1355 miles during the trip. Mr. Bigelow makes the following entry near the end of the Journal : -

To Batchelder's in New Ipswich [New HampshireJ, a very good house, to sleep, ten miles. We arrived here between four and five o'clock ; and, as we were now within twenty miles of Groton, we had sufficient time to have gone there this afternoon. But this was the place established for the stage to stop at over night ; and, as the horses were tired, we could not persuade the driver to proceed. Not being able to procure any other conveyance, we submitted to the necessity of passing the night here.

here, we prevailed on the driver for some additional fare to proceed with us this morning, and we arrived at my house in Groton in convenient season to dine. Here we adjusted our money concerns, which we effected with great facility, in consequence of the simple method which we had adopted at first. This was no other than to take an account of the sum which each one had, deducting from that the sum each now had left, and adding all the balances together gave the whole expense, and enabled us to complete a settlement in a few minutes. The expense to each one was short of one hundred and seventy dollars (pages 120, 121).

Timothy Bigelow was the eldest son of Timothy and Anna (Andrews) Bigelow,^ and born at Worcester, on April 30, 1767. He was fitted for Harvard College under the tuition of Benjamin Lincoln and of the celebrated Samuel Dexter, then a law-student at Worcester. He graduated with high rank at Cambridge in the class of 1786, and entered at once upon the study of his profession, in the office of Levi Lincoln, the elder. Admitted to the bar in the year 1789, he began the practice of law at Groton, living in the house then occupied by Mrs. Converse Richardson, where he also had his office. The dwelling was situated on the south side of what is now Elm Street, near the corner of Pleasant Street, though it was moved away in the autumn of i86o, to a lot near the head of the old Jenkins road, recently discontinued. It is said that he sat in his office six weeks without taking a fee, and then he received a pistareen! He was married on September 3, 1791, to Lucy, daughter of Dr. Oliver and Lydia (Baldwin) Prescott, who was born on March 13, 1771. After his marriage he removed to the house standing, until the summer of 1875, between Governor Boutwell's dwelling and Mr. Graves's. Mr. Bigelow soon acquired a wide reputation and a large practice, by no means confined to Middlesex County. Many young men came to Groton, in order to study law under his tuition, and not a few of them afterward became eminent in their profession. Among them were the following: John Harris, Judge of the Supreme

1 Mr. Bigelow's father died at Worcester on March 31, 1790, aged 50 yearshis mother died at Groton on August 2, 1809, aged 69, and lies buried in the Lawrence lot at the Groton Cemetery.

Court of New Hampshire ; Thomas Rice, of Winslow, Maine, Member of Congress ; John Locke, of Ashby, Member of Congress ; Joseph Locke, Judge of the PoHce Court of Lowell for thirteen years ; John Leighton Tuttle ; Asahel Stearns, University Professor of Law in the Harvard Law School ; John Varnum, of Haverhill, Member of Congress ; Loammi Baldwin, who afterward became a distinguished civil engineer ; John Park Little, of Gorham, Maine ; Tyler Bigelow, of Watertown ; Luther Lawrence, of Groton, and afterward of Lowell, where he died as Mayor of the city April 17, 1839; John Stuart and Augustus Peabody, both of the Suffolk Bar ; and Abraham Moore, of Groton.

Mr. Bigelow took an active part in politics, and for many years was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, chosen first by the town of Groton, and afterward the town of Medford, where he was then living. During eleven years at different times, he was Speaker of this branch of the Legislature, the longest term of service in that capacity ever held by one person.

Amid the engrossing duties of his profession Mr. Bigelow found time for occasional literary work. While living at Groton he delivered the Oration before the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge, July 21, 1796; a Funeral Oration on Samuel Dana, at one time minister of Groton, before the Benevolent Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons, at Amherst, New Hampshire, April 4, 1798 ; and a Eulogy on Washington before the Columbian Lodge of Masons, at Boston, February II, 1800, - all which addresses have been printed. In the year 1806 he removed to Medford, where he died on May 18, 1821.

The house at Groton, in which Mr. Bigelow lived after his marriage, was built probably before the Revolution, and moved from its old site during the summer of 1875, when it was made into two dwellings, now standing on the southerly side of Court Street, near its western end, though one is around the corner. It was known to the present generation as the Dr. Amos Bancroft house ; and I remember distinctly, as a boy more than forty years ago, that it took fire very early one morning, and came near being burnt to the ground. Nothing but the active and intelligent service of the two engine companies and the Groton Fire Club saved it from utter destruction. It has been occupied by so many notable families, that a few facts concerning them may be deemed worthy of record.

The first occupant of this historical building, of whom I can find any trace, was Ebenezer Champney, a descendant of Richard, who came from Lancashire in England during the early days of the Colony, and settled at Cambridge. Ebenezer was born at Cambridge in April, 1744, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1762. He at first thought of entering the ministry, and to that end studied under the direction of Parson Trowbridge, of Groton, whose daughter he subsequently married. Soon afterward leaving this profession he took up the study of law, and in the year 1764 was admitted to the bar at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He then opened an office at New Ipswich, where he began to practise; and in the year 1775 he was appointed Judge of Probate for Hillsborough County, New Hampshire. In the spring of 1783 he came back to Groton and remained until 1 789, when he again returned to New Ipswich.

During the excitement of Shays's Rebellion in the year 1786, owing to some spite which the insurgents had against Judge Champney, an attempt was made to burn his office. Combustibles ready for use were found concealed under the building ; but fortunately the plot was discovered in time to defeat its object. The office stood on the south side of the house, and was afterward used by Mr. Bigelow and Mr. Lawrence, and later by Dr. Amos Bancroft. Subsequently it was moved across the street, and placed in a corner of Dr. Amos B. Bancroft's garden, a short distance north of the present Town House; after which it was again moved to the rear of his dwelling, and still later to the neighborhood of the railroad station, where it now stands.

According to the town-records, Mr. Champney was married on October 9, 1764, to Abigail, daughter of the Reverend Caleb and Hannah (Walter) Trowbridge ; and they had seven children, of whom three died during infancy. By this marriage he became connected with the distinguished families of the Cottons and the Mathers. His wife was born on November 30, 1740, and died on October 23, 1775. In November, 1778, he was married, secondly, to Abigail Parker, a daughter of Samuel Parker, who had gone from Groton to New Ipswich as early as the year 1760; and by this marriage he had four children. The second wife died in the year 1 790 ; and in March, 1796, he was married, thirdly, to Susan Wyman, who died in the following September. Hannah, a daughter by the first wife, married the Honorable James Prescott, Jr. Benjamin, Judge Champney's eldest child, - who was born on August 20, 1764, according to the History of New Ipswich (page 347), - studied law with his father, and after his admission to the bar opened an office with him at Groton, during the year 1786. Here the son remained until 1792, when he joined his father at New Ipswich, who had removed there three years previously.

Judge Champney had a large practice and exercised a wide influence in this neighborhood. During the earlier years of his professional life, while living at New Ipswich, he was the only lawyer between Groton and Keene. He died on September 10, 1810, at the age of 66 years.

The house was next occupied by Mr. Bigelow ; and here his children were born, including the late Reverend Andrew Bigelow, D.D., and the late Honorable John Prescott Bigelow, both graduates of Harvard College, and distinguished men in their respective callings. The latter son was the Secretary of the Commonwealth during seven years from 1836 to 1843 inclusive, and the Mayor of Boston during three years from 1849 to 185 1 inclusive. Two of the former Mayors of Boston have been natives of Groton, and their birthplaces were within a few rods of each other.

Mr. Bigelow was followed by Luther Lawrence, Esq., who lived in the house until November, 181 1, when his new dwelling was completed, which is the one now owned and occupied by Eliel Shumway. Mr. Lawrence was a native of Groton, where he was born on September 28, 1778, and a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1801. He studied law with Mr. Bigelow, and afterward, on June 2, 1805, married Mr. Bigelow's younger sister, Lucy, who was born at Worcester, on May 13, 1774, and died in Boston, on October 6, 1856. For many years he was a member of the Legislature, and at one time Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is somewhat remarkable that two Speakers of the Massachusetts House should have been residents of Groton, and still more so that both should have lived here in the same dwelling. The coincidence is by no means weakened by the fact that Governor Boutwell, the present owner of the place, was once the democratic candidate for the same office, when the Legislature met on January 6, 1847, and he also was a resident of the town at that time. It may be worthy of note that another Speaker, the Honorable Timothy Fuller, the father of Margaret, who is known as the Countess d' Ossoli, was a citizen of Groton for some years before his death, which took place on October i, 1835.

Mr. Lawrence had a large and successful practice in Groton, and among the students who read law in his office may be mentioned : Henry Adams Bullard, and his brother Royal, - sons of the Reverend John Bullard, of Pepperell, - Jonathan Porter, George Frederick Farley, Augustus Thorndike, Edward St. Loe Livermore, Jr., Norman Seaver, and William Amory. Subsequently, during the spring of 183 1, he removed to Lowell, then recently incorporated, where seven years later he became the Mayor of the city. He was killed on April 17, 1839, by falling into a wheel-pit, while showing the large mill of the Middlesex Company to his friend and kinsman, Tyler Bigelow, Esq., of Watertown.

The next occupant of the house was Dr. Amos Bancroft, a physician widely known in Middlesex County. He was the son of Edmund and Rachel (Howard | Barron) Bancroft, of Pepperell, where he was born on May 23, 1767. He graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1791, and studied medicine with Dr. Isaac Hurd, of Concord, and Dr. Oliver Prescott, Jr., of Groton. He began the practice of his profession at Westford, but soon afterward went to Weston, where he remained until the year 181 1, when he removed to Groton.

He was married on August 29, 1796, to Abigail Whiting, of HoUis, New Hampshire. After her death which occurred at Weston, on December 4, 1799, when she was 28 years old, he was married, secondly, on October 7, 1800, to Sarah, daughter of Henry and Faith (Savage) Bass, of Boston, who was born on April 21, 1768, and died on April 30, 1837.

He was married, thirdly, on October 17, 1839, to Eliza Doane, of Boston, who died on November 11, 1840; and on October 31, 1841, he was married, fourthly, to Mary Kneeland, of Westford, a cousin of his first wife, who survived him many years. She was born at Westford on February 25, 1789, and died at Groton on April 22, 1862, aged 73 years.

Dr. Bancroft had a large practice and at various times a considerable number of medical students under his charge, including among them James Freeman Dana and Samuel Luther Dana, grandsons of the Reverend Samuel Dana, a former minister of the town. He was frequently called in consultation, sometimes at a long distance from home. In those days there were no railroads, and travelling was attended with many difficulties. During the winter, when the roads were blocked up with snow, sometimes he was obliged to travel on snow-shoes ; and often, his patients living many miles apart, he would be absent from home several days at a time. To add to his discomfort on such occasions, it was difficult to obtain proper food, though there were at that period but few dwellings where he could not procure some New England rum or other spirit to help restore exhausted nature.

His intimacy with some of the physicians of Boston and its neighborhood, and his punctual attendance at the meetings of the Massachusetts Medical Society, of which association he was a Councillor, obliged him to make frequent journeys to that city, which were always taken with his own horse and chaise or sulky.

A story is told of him that he stopped late one evening at the Ridge Hill tavern, in order to see a patient. Passing through the bar-room he noticed two evil-looking men, who eyed him suspiciously, and when going out, after his visit was made, he looked for them, but they were gone. The road from the tavern was lonely, and the village three miles away. As he had considerable money about him, he felt some misgivings, which proved not to be groundless, for he had no sooner reached a particularly secluded spot, when these very men stepped out of the undergrowth by the roadside and tried to stop his horse. One of them snatched at the bridle, but missed it, as the horse threw up his head at the time ; and Dr. Bancroft, whipping the animal, left the men far behind, but not before a bullet had pierced the back of the sulky, and whizzed close by his ear.

Dr. Bancroft rarely left home for pleasure, but in the year 1829 his health demanded a change, and in company with a brother he went West in order to visit a half-sister, Mrs. Mary (Bancroft) Dana, then living at Marietta, Ohio. It was a long and tedious journey, but the trip benefited him.

Dr. Bancroft was a member of the First Parish Church (Unitarian) in Groton, and one of the eight mentioned in Mr. Butler's History (page 197), who received a note of pretended excommunication from the seceders. He was a constant attendant on the Sunday exercises until his hearing became much impaired. His health was never strong; but the severe attacks of illness to which he was subject decreased in frequency as his years advanced. On July 12, 1848, while walking down State Street in Boston, he stepped from the sidewalk in order to cross the way, when a wagon coming rapidly knocked him down, and injured him so severely that he died a few hours later. The following account of the mishap appears in the "Daily Evening Transcript" of that day.

Serious Accident. As the venerable Dr. Amos Bancroft, of Groton, was crossing State street this morning at 11 o'clock' he was struck in the head by the shaft of a wagon driven through' the street by D. Lawrence, Dover, N. H., knocked down, and rendered senseless by the shock. He was taken up and carried to the apothecary shop of Dr. Brown by police officer Whiting, and Dr. Shattuck and other physicians who happened to be near were promptly on hand to render aid and assistance. He was taken to No. I Crescent Place, where every aid possible for his relief will be administered. He bled profusely from the ear, and it is feared he is fatally injured. Dr. Bancroft is 77 years of age, and partially deaf, and of defective eye sight. The last information we had. Dr. B. had partially recovered his senses, but was very weak from the great loss of blood.

The homestead passed next into the hands of Dr. Bancroft's eldest son, Charles, who lived there until his death, which took place on July 22, 1873. Charles was the father of Colonel William Amos Bancroft, a graduate of Harvard College in the class of 1878, who a few years ago was somewhat noted in college circles as an oarsman, and who at the present time is the Superintendent of the Cambridge Railroad Company.

Amos Bigelow Bancroft was another son of Dr. Arnos ; he was born at Groton, on April 3, 181 1, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1831. He studied medicine with Dr. George Cheyne Shattuck, of Boston, and in the year 1834 began the practice of his profession at Groton. Here he remained until the spring of 1853, when he removed to Charlestown, and became associated with Dr. Jonathan Wheeler Bemis. While living in Charlestown he was physician to the State Prison during more than ten years. Under the administration of General Grant he was appointed Superintendent and Surgeon in charge of the Marine Hospital at Chelsea, which position he held from August i, 1869, to June 30, 1877, when he took up his residence in Boston. While travelling abroad with his family, he died in Florence, Italy, on November 8, 1879, much lamented by a wide circle of friends and patients at home, - leaving a widow and two daughters to mourn his loss.

The estate was then bought by the Honorable George S. Boutwell, in whose possession it now remains, though the house was moved away, as before stated, during the summer of 1875. The large barn on the place was burned in the afternoon of May 8, 1876, and thus disappeared the last vestige of an interesting old landmark of Groton.

Two Balloon Descents In Groton

It is said that lightning never strikes twice in the same place ; but from the following it seems that balloons sometimes come down in the same neighborhood.

On July 4, i860, as a part of the usual city celebration on that day, a balloon ascension was made from Boston Common by Samuel King, in company with his sister Mrs. Porter, and Edwin Bradbury Haskell, of " The Boston Herald " newspaper. The party left the Common, shortly after six o'clock in the afternoon, in the balloon known as " The Queen of the Air ; " and the descent was made a little after one o'clock in the morning, on the hill, immediately south of Snake Hill and contiguous to it, in the open field behind Sumner Graves's house, in the south part of Groton. The "Boston Daily Advertiser," July 6, i860, gives the following account of the trip : -

" The Queen of the Air " went over the harbor, Charlestown, Cambridge, through the valley of Charles river, touching a ledge in Waltham, and finally landed in Groton, at one o'clock yesterday morning. At the time they landed, it was rainy and uncomfortable. The aeronauts were unfortunate in getting shelter. After applying to several of the residents, finally they found a good Samaritan in the person of Mr. Valencourt Stone, who came out with a lantern, and piloted the balloonists to his house, and paid them great attention.

Eleven years later, the same aeronaut made an ascent from Fitchburg, on September 27, 1871, under the patronage of the Worcester North Agricultural Society, and came down on this identical hill. The landing was made near Mr. Graves's house, on the west side of the road to Harvard, while the previous landing was on the east side of the road, nearer the summit. His descent at this particular spot was not influenced by design, any further than that it was a cleared field, and a good place to alight. On the first occasion Mr. King came down in the night time, and, of course, received no clear impressions of the neighborhood. Approaching the hill during the second trip, he did not recognize it as the place of his former landing; nor was he aware of the fact, until told by one of the bystanders, after the descent.

I remember seeing the balloon, on the afternoon in question, floating along through the air, just before the descent, at which time Mr. King was busily engaged in waving the American flag, distinctly visible to a large number of beholders gazing at the novel sight.

The Balloon Ascension, which had been announced for Tuesday [September 26], but failed to come off, took place at a quarter to five o'clock [on Wednesday]. The airship, with its solitary passenger, rose gracefully and sailed rapidly away in an easterly direction, wafted by the light, west wind, which was blowing at the time. We learn by telegraph, that Prof. King landed safely near Groton Junction.

The balloon ascension which had been postponed from the previous day [Tuesday] on account of the rain, took place at a quarter to five [on Wednesday]. Prof. King, the aeronaut, after leaving terra firma in his Air-ship " Aurora," rose to the height of about half a mile, and then borne by a slight breeze, floated slowly off to the eastward, and after an hour's sail, landed in the town of Ayer, without mishap.

It is certainly a singular coincidence that an aeronaut, going up from Boston Common, and sailing westward, in a circuitous direction, should make a descent on a hill thirty miles away ; and that the same man, some years later, going up from Fitchburg and sailing eastward, should come down on that identical hill, twelve miles away from the startingpoint, - and this without any design or intention on his part. It seems to have been one of those accidents, which illustrate the French proverb that " Nothing is more probable than the improbable."

A SINGING-BOOK, entitled " Indian Melodies," was published at New York, in the year 1845, containing a tune called " Groton." The compiler of the work was Thomas Commock, a Narragansett Indian, then living at Manchester, Wisconsin Territory ; and, in a note after the Preface, he says that all the tunes mentioned in the book, as well as their names, are Indian, which is a mistake. Groton is an old English word, in use more than eight hundred years ago, and its Latin form is found in Domesday Book.

There are several tunes called " Groton," given in different singing-books, but the earliest one that I can find is in " The Rural Harmony," by Jacob Kimball, Jr., published at Boston, in the year 1793. It is in common metre; and I am inclined to think that the author of the work wrote it himself. Mr. Kimball was born at Topsfield, Massachusetts, on February 15, 1761, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1780. He read law with Judge William Wetmore, of Salem, and was admitted to the bar in the year 1795. Before studying his profession he was a school-master and a somewhat noted composer of music. He wrote quite a number of tunes, and a few of them were named after the towns where he taught singing. At one time he lived in Amherst, New Hampshire; and perhaps while there he named this tune after the town of Groton. He died at Topsfield, on July 24, 1826.

In Andrew Law's " Harmonic Companion " (Philadelphia, copyrighted 1807) is a long metre tune called " Groton." In "The Choir" (Boston, 1833), second edition, by Lowell Mason, another one, in particular metre, is given; and in "The Massachusetts Collection of Psalmody" (Boston, 1840), second edition, by George James Webb, is still another, in long metre.

John Bulkley'S Death

On Thursday the 3d Instant died, of the Strangury, Colonel John BuLKLEY of Groton, JEt. 69, - having suffered with surprizing Fortitude that most painful Disease upwards of eleven Days.

Dr. Wm. Douglass'S Summary

Many plants were brought originally to New England 'from other countries for their medical virtues, and many were introduced by chance. Some have multiplied so rapidly and grown so plentifully in the fields and by the roadside, that they are now considered common weeds. Wormwood, tansy, chamomile, yarrow, dandelion, burdock, plantain, catnip, and mint, all came here by importation. These foreign plants made their way into the interior, as fast as civilization extended in that direction. Dr. William Douglass, in "A Summary, Historical and Political, Of the first Planting, progressive Improvements, and present State of the British Settlements in North- America," first published at Boston, - Volume I. in the year 1749, and Volume II. in 1753, - says : -

Near Boston and other great Towns, some Field Plants which accidentally have been imported from Europe, spread much, and are a great Nusance in Pastures, ... at present they have spread Inland from Boston, about 30 Miles (II. 207).

According to this statement, the pioneers of some of these foreign weeds had reached Groton near the middle of the last century. Dr. Douglass gives another fact about the town, which is worth preserving. He says : - to Groton Meeting-House are 12 miles ; from Groton Meeting House (as surveyed by Col. Stoddard, Major Fulham, and Mr. Dwight, by Order of the General Assembly) to Northfield Meeting- House W. 16 d. N. by Compass, are 41 Miles and half ; from Deerfield Meeting-House near Connecticut River, a little higher [lower ?], to Albany Church upon the West Side of Hudson's river, W. 12 and half d. N. are 57 Miles 20 Rod. From such actual Surveys the publick Roads may be laid out to better Advantage than at present : For Instance, the present Road from Boston to Albany (this is the Road to Monreal in Canada) by Way of Springfield, the Housatonicks, and Kinderhook is about 200 miles ; a new and better Road, but not as yet well improv'd, is via Lancaster and Nichawog [Petersham] to Sunderland upon Connecticut River 84 Miles, and from Deerfield a little higher to Albany are 57 Miles, being in all only about 150 Miles (I. 425 note).

Such surveys, as those mentioned in this extract, were o& more value to the public, before the days of railroads, than they are now ; but, as the author says, they " ought not to be lost in Oblivion."

The South Military Company

The following copies of original papers were given me, some years ago, by Dr. John S. H. Fogg, of South Boston, in whose possession they were at that time. They relate to the South Company of Groton, then commanded by Captain Timothy Bigelow, who afterward became Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as also did Luther Lawrence, to whom one of the warrants is addressed. Tyler Bigelow, one of the private soldiers, was a cousin and subsequently a brother-in-law of Captain Timothy, and the father of the late Honorable George Tyler Bigelow, formerly Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. Loammi Baldwin, Jr., another private, was afterward a distinguished civil engineer, who built the Government dry docks at Charlestown and at Norfolk, Virginia. For many years there were three military companies in the town, known respectively as the North Company, the South Company, and the Groton Artillery; and occasionally they would parade together through the village streets, and drill as a battalion.

All belonging to the South Company in Groton, in said County commanded by me of which Company you are the first sergeant and clerk, to appear on the publick parade, or training field, in said Groton on Thursday the 4"" day of July next, at one of the clock in the afternoon, with their arms and equipments compleat, for the purpose of military instruction and exercise. And in case you cannot conveniently notify and warn the said persons as aforesaid yourself you are to cause the same to be done by some other non-commissioned officer belonging to said company, by giving them, or some of them, orders for that purpose in my name. Hereof fail not, and

In obedience to the within warrant I have notified and warned all the within named persons (or caused the same to be done by a sergeant) to appear at the time and place.

All belonging to the South company in Groton in said County commanded by me of which you are also a member to appear on the public parade or training field in said Groton on Tuesday the third day of May next at one of the clock in the afternoon with their arms and equipments compleat for the purpose of examination and view of arms, and for military instruction and exercise. Hereof fail not and make due return of this order to myself or the commanding officer at said time and place. Given under my hand and seal this eleventh day of April in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and three

In obedience to the within warrant I have given legal notice to all the persons within mentioned (except Amos Davis, Tyler Bigelow, and Daniel Richardson who are out of town) to appear at the time and place within mentioned for the purposes within mentioned.

A Provincial Note-Forger

Last Friday a Man who calls himself Shebuel Hubbard, and says he belongs to Groton, was apprehended and sent to Goal ; he having in a different Dress, and by different Names, viz. Parker, Parks and Fairbanks, four Times receiv'd Warrants or Orders from the Committee appointed by the General Court for receiving and burning the Bills of Credit of this Province, to the Treasurer, for Nineteen Pounds and some odd Shillings, old Tenor each, which he wickedly alter'd into Ninety Pounds, letting the odd Sum stand ; three of which being paid in Silver, a Discovery of the Fraud was made ; and notwithstanding Enquiry was made after him, having got a fourth Order just before by a different Name and in a different Habit, he had the Confidence to go to the Treasury to get it exchang'd, where he was immediately siez'd. Upon his Examination he made many trifling Excuses ; but the Cheat appearing so very plain, he at last confess'd the whole, and that the Money was at his Lodgings, to which he directed the Sheriff, where was found Ninety Dollars, besides Coppers, and sundry other Things.

This Day Shebuel Hubbard of Groton is to stand two Hours in the Pillory, pursuant to a Sentence of the Superiour Court, for altering and forgeing several Warrants from the Committee, to the Treasurer, for exchanging Bills of this Province for Dollars, as mention'd in the public Prints some Time since : He is likewise to suffer three Months Imprisonment.

Commodore Bainbridge And The Lakin Farm

Many years ago Commodore William Bainbridge, one of the heroes of the American navy during the last war with England, owned an undivided third of a farm of 220 acres in Groton, which was used for sheep raising. It has since been known as the David Lakin place, and is situated on the road leading, from the beginning of Farmers' Row to the Great Road, just below the railroad bridge, half a mile north of the Baptist Meeting-House. It extended from the Jenkins road on its southerly border to the Great Road on its northerly ; and on this farm Mr. Lakin took care of the paupers before the town had an alms-house. The Jenkins road was so called from a man who lived in that neighborhood, previous to the Revolution ; but, by a recent vote of the town on April 6, 1885, it has been closed to the public travel on account of its proximity to the Nashua River, and the consequent danger arising therefrom.

According to the record in the Middlesex Registry of Deeds (Book CCXXIII. page 115) at East Cambridge, Commodore Bainbridge sold his interest in the place, on July 2, 1817, to John Lakin. During four years before this time, in connection with Robert C. Ludlow, of Charlestown, and Charles W. Green, of Boston, Bainbridge had owned several parcels of land in the vicinity, which, presumably, were used for sheep-raising purposes, and perhaps made up this farm. John Lakin died on August 6, 18 17, at the age of 34 years; and the place was then carried on by a brother, David Lakin, Jr., who subsequently married John's widow.

This family of Lakins was descended from William, an original settler of the town, who died here on December 10, 1672, aged 91 years. I have seen a deed, now in the possession of Charles Gerrish, dated 1696 and signed by John Lakin, a grandson of William, giving to his son Benjamin, land lying " nigh the River at Nod." This deed, which is duly recorded at East Cambridge, mentions " Nommucks," and also speaks of the " Lower sledge " and " Smith's sledge," different parcels of land in the same neighborhood. These patches, and perhaps others, probably comprised what was known then as " the sledges." Nod and Naumox are names of places used at a very early period in the annals of the town. See No. XV. (pages 8, 17, 18) of this Historical Series, for a reference to these locaHties.

Theodore Bainbridge, of Philadelphia, was attending school at Groton Academy in the year 1815 ; and I am told that he was a nephew of the Commodore.

Mrs. William Gragg Blood (formerly Mrs. John Lawrence), of East Pepperell, a daughter of John Lakin, tells me that she remembers distinctly the time when Commodore Bainbridge owned an interest in the farm, which he would visit occasionally, and give general directions in regard to its management. At certain seasons there were, according to her recollection, as many as 2000 sheep and lambs on the place, which were raised more for the fleece than the mutton. At that period every farmer's wife had a loom, and homespun fabric was used in every household ; but, independently of this, large mills were then projected, and manufactures were slowly creeping into New England, at Waltham and elsewhere, thus creating a demand for wool. It was thought that merino sheep-raising was to be a great industry, which the actual result did not bear out.

In former times many wild pigeons were caught in this neighborhood, during the harvest season, by means of nets ; and in other country towns generally, until the whistle of the locomotive, and the growing settlements, drove away these birds from their old haunts. To such an extent was the business carried on in Massachusetts that as late as March 13^ 1849, the General Court passed "An Act for the protection of Pigeon Beds," as the places were called to which the birds were tolled. During my boyhood there were on this farm a pigeon stand or roost, and a pigeon bed, near the Tuity Road, where David Lakin, Jr., in the season used to catch large numbers and sell them in the village.

Miss Clarissa Butler

Groton was one of the earliest towns in the Commonwealth to choose a woman as a member of the school committee. When the legality of the measure was first discussed in the State, it met with considerable opposition, which the General Court promptly decided on June 30, 1874, by the following brief enactment : -

Before the passage of this Act, however, the town had chosen, on March 3, 1873, Miss Clarissa Butler and Mrs. Mary T. Shumway as members of the school board. Miss Butler's labors in this new capacity were cut short by her untimely death on December 22, 1875. The following tribute to her memory was paid by the writer of these lines, who remembers her with the pleasantest recollections as the teacher of the first school which he ever attended : -

Miss Clarissa Butler of Groton died in this city last Wednesday, after a long illness. She was a native of Groton and a daughter of the late Caleb Butler, esq., the historian of the town. She will be greatly missed by her neighbors and townfolks, as she occupied a position of remarkable usefulness. For the last forty years she has been closely connected with the local charities and the questions of public education, and she has been so capable in whatever duties she has undertaken that it will be difficult for any one to fill her place. She inherited her father's antiquarian taste, and was more familiar with the history of the town than any other person. At one time she was the preceptress of Lawrence Academy, and of late years has served as a member of the school committee, where her opinions were always justly treated with great deference. She took an active interest in the Groton public library, and made her influence tell in various directions for the benefit of the town. Her loss will be felt in many different walks of life. Apart, however, from her cultivation and strength of mind, she will be remembered best for her conscientious and Christian life. " Boston Daily Advertiser," December 27, 1875.

The school committee, of which body she was the secretary, passed a resolution on January 8, 1876, commemorating her worth, which is printed in their Report for the school year 1875-6 (page 19).

For many years her father, Caleb Butler, was associated in many ways with the history of Groton, and his name is now identified with three schools kept in the High School building, known respectively as the Butler Grammar, the Butler Intermediate, and the Butler Primary. It was given by a vote of the town, on March 2, 1874; and since the daughter's death the name has an increased claim to be remembered by all who value the cause of public education.

The building, known as the High School, was erected in the year 1870, at a cost of $32,000, and now forms a conspicuous feature in the appearance of the village. It is constructed of brick and trimmed with freestone. A view of the building, with a plan and a full description, is given in the "Thirty-Sixth Annual Report of the Board of Education" (January, 1873), where it appears on pages 120-122 of the General Agent's report.

Revolutionary Soldiers

In Hawley, Mr. Joseph Longley, born in Groton, Mass., Aug. 17, 1744. He was great grandson to William Longley, who, with a part of his family, were killed at Groton, by the Indians, in 1684 [1694?] - grandson to John Longley, who was Captain five years in Canada - and son to Joseph Longley, who was mortally wounded in the battle and defeat of Fort William Henry, 1758. When 16, he was in the French war one year and helped to build the stone barracks at Crown Point, 1760. He was five years in the revolutionary war for Independence. In the first eight months' service, 1775. At Ticonderoga in '76. At the capture of Burgoyne, '77. In December following, while in the van of 100 volunteers, under Maj. Hull, pursuing a foraging party, 32 were cut off by the British cavalry, near Derby, deprived of their blankets, and put in prison at Philadelphia, where more than half died of cold, hunger, and disease. In April, '78, he, with others, were put on board a prison ship for New York, where he was exchanged in July, and soon after joined his regiment, and was in the battle in Rhode Island, and in that signal retreat, under Gen. Sullivan. "The Massachusetts Spy" (Worcester), August 24, 1836.

According to the genealogical tables in the Appendix to Mr. Butler's History (page 417), Joseph Longley was born on August 6, 1744. The date of his death was July 8, 1836, according to the American Almanac for the year 1837, where the following notice of him appears under the head of " American Obituary," though his Christian name is erroneously given as William : -

July 8. - At Hawley, Mass., aged 92, William \_ Joseph?'] Longley, who was one year in the French war, and 5 years in the revolutionary war (page 304).

William was an elder brother of Edmund Longley, who was born at Groton, on October 31, 1746, of whom a biographical sketch appears in the American Almanac for the year 1844, under the head of "American Obituary for 1842," as follows : -

Nov. 29. - In Hawley, Ms., Edmund Longley, Esq., aged 96. He erected the first framed house in H. (then called No. 7,) and removed his family into it in 1781. He was sent for many years to the General Court ; was the first Plantation and Town Clerk ; held the offices of Town Clerk, Selectman, and Treasurer ; was a Justice of the Peace for nearly 50 years, and was both a soldier and an officer in the revolutionary war (page 313).

At Groton 15th inst, William Blodgett, formerly of Tyngsboro', a revolutionary pensioner, at the age of 90 years and 8 months. His descendants were 6 children, 37 grand-children, 23 greatgrand-children, and one of the fifth generation. He entered the army at the age of 16 years, and was one of the number to guard Burgoyne's Troops at Winter Hill ; he afterwards shipped on board a Letter of Marque on a trading voyage in 1782. On his return home in the brig Iris, of Boston, they captured at the mouth of James river, in Virginia, an English brig mounting 16 guns, with about 100 prisoners, among whom were 30 Americans in irons. On the 2d day after the battle, they encountered a storm which drove the American brig and the prize both on shore, and dashed them in pieces, and all was lost except the crews, which were saved by the inhabitants. He next entered the service of his Savior, and remained in his service about 60 years, and as he entered the threshhold of eternity, he repeated the following lines : " I'm not ashamed to own ray Lord, Or to defend his cause, Maintain the honor of his word, The glory of his cross." " The Boston Daily Atlas/' November 22, 1852.

Died in Groton, August 2d [185 1], Mr. William Tarbell, one of the last of the Revolutionary patriots, aged 87. Mr. Tarbell joined the army when quite young, and was with General Washington during the last three years of the war, but having been appointed to draw plans and paint sketches of the various battle fields and encampments, by the commander-in-chief, he was never in any action during that time. He was with the army during its encampment at Valley Forge, and his picture of this camp ground, which was painted in the log house then occupied by Gen. Washington, is now in possession of his son in Boston, and though much faded, is still an object of great interest.

The Indian Attack Of July 27, 1694

The following extract is taken from Captain Lawrence Hammond's diary, which was given to the Massachusetts Historical Society with the Belknap Collection, on March 11, 1858. The entry is found under the date of July 27, 1694, and furnishes some details, hitherto unknown, of the attack made at that time.

The Indians Set upon Groton burnt 2 Houses, kild 22 persons - found dead, 13 more missing, they were pursued by about 100 Horse but they returned without finding them.

The Groton Bi-Centennial Celebration

The two-hundredth anniversary of the settlement of Groton was duly celebrated on Wednesday, October 31, 1855, when an historical address was delivered by the Reverend Arthur Buckminster Fuller, of Manchester, New Hampshire. The town was incorporated by the General Court, on May 25, 1655 ; but it was not intended that the exact date of the first settlement should be commemorated, only so far as the year was concerned. The day, finally selected, came just after the harvest season, when the convenience of the inhabitants was best suited, and in the middle of a week, which was another element in the decision.

The first meeting to consider the subject was held in Liberty Hall, on May 21, 1855 ; and the call was signed by nineteen persons, who very largely represented, by name and direct descent, the original settlers of the town. Of these signers three are still living, namely, Asa Stillman Lawrence, William Livermore, and Zara Patch. Further action in the matter was deferred until the autumn. At that time Liberty Hall stood on the northerly corner of Main and Court Streets, but the building was burned to the ground on Sunday, March 31, 1878.

Anniversary Of The Settlement Of

The citizens of Groton, who desire to notice by appropriate ceremonies, the second Centennial Anniversary of the settlement of the Town, are invited to meet at LIBERTY HALL, on MONDAY the 2ist inst, at 7 1-2 o'clock P. M.

No further action in regard to the matter appears to have been taken until September 27, the date of a subscription paper, which was circulated in order to raise money for meeting the necessary expenses. It was headed by Walter Shattuck, who put down the sum of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) ; and he was followed by others with smaller amounts.

A meeting of the citizens was held, agreeably to public notice, at Mr. Hoar's tavern, on October 6, - with Walter Shattuck as Chairman, and George Henry Brown as Secretary, - when it was definitely voted to have a celebration ; and two committees were also appointed. Another meeting was held, according to adjournment, on October 9, when reports were heard, and a Committee of Arrangements appointed. As an outcome of this meeting the following circular, now reprinted in fac-simile, was sent to all persons supposed to have an interest in the town : -

Of The Settlement Of Groton

At a meeting of the citizens of Groton, held on the gth inst., it was unanimously voted to commemorate the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the settlement of the Town, by appropriate festivities, and the undersigned were chosen a Committee to carry out the wishes of the people. We would therefore, cordially invite all natives, former residents, and others interested, to meet and participate with us in a Jubilee Gathering, on Wednesday, Oct. T^ist inst.

A Procession will be formed at lo o'clock A. M., at Liberty Hall, under the direction of E. S. Clark, Esq., Chief Marshal, and proceed, escorted by a Band, Cavalcade, Military, &c., to the Orthodox Meeting House, where an Address will be given by Rev. Arthur B. Fuller, of Boston. After the exercises at the Church the procession will repair to one of Yale's Tents, where a suitable Dinner will be provided at One Dollar a ticket.

It is desirable that this Jubilee be a social family greeting of the sons and daughters of old Groton ; - a day that may be kept long in remembrance, so that when future generations behold the Third Centennial return of the memorable event, they may see that we held dear in our hearts, the foundations of the town of our birth or adoption.

"Tickets will remain on sale until Saturday previous to the celebration, in all towns whose present domain or any part thereof, was included in the original Groton Grant. Persons at a distance, and all others, wishing for tickets, must make application to the Chairman or Secretary, before the 27th inst.

Other meetings of the citizens and of the Committee of Arrangements were subsequently held, but the business transacted was of a routine character.

The Reverend Arthur B. Fuller, the orator of the day, was a son of the Honorable Timothy Fuller, who passed the latter days of his life at Groton. The son spent his boyhood in the town, attending school at Groton Academy, and graduated at Harvard College in the class of 1843. He was born at Cambridgeport on August 10, 1822, and killed in the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, on December 11, 1862. It was the intention of the Committee of Arrangements to publish Mr. Fuller's Address, as well as the other proceedings of the celebration, but for some reason this was not carried out. A copy of the Address was furnished Mr. Brown, the Secretary of the Committee, and other papers relating to the occasion were collected by him with reference to their publication. After his death ^ on May 3, 1865, these papers were given to me by his widow ; and subsequently, at my request, the Address was printed in " The Weekly Public Spirit " (Groton Junction), beginning with the issue of March 31, 1870, and running through three other numbers. These various manuscripts have since been carefully arranged and bound, and they are now placed in the Library of the Massachusetts Historical Society.

^ A biographical sketch of Mr. Brown appears in " The New England Historical and Genealogical Register " (XX. 84, 85) for January, 1866, where a reference is made to these papers.

Vice Presidents

O ! for one brief hour roll back ! Sound aloud the bugle note, The call to arms from cannon's throat. The war-whoop's wild terrific sound, The battle thundering o'er the ground. So gloomily, so fearfully. From mount to mount rebound !

Gilding bright its triple crown ' And widening, spread your golden rays. Till every hill-top catch the blaze And gloriously, and dazzlingly.

In death's embrace their warriors sleep, With peace and love our homes are blest, We rise in joy, and sink to rest. As quietly, as peacefully,

Original Hymn

After the removal of the cloth, speeches sentiments, vocal and instrumental milsic, &c., may be expected ; the festivities closing with the following, to be sung by the people.

Song

Of those who acted as Vice-Presidents Joseph F. Hall and Harvey A. Woods alone survive ; and of the Aids to the Chief Marshal all, with the exception of Mr. Brown, are alive at the present time.

The following account of the celebration appeared in the evening edition of the " Boston Daily Journal," November 3, 1855 ; and another account, somewhat fuller, was printed in the '" Worcester Transcript," November 2, 1855 : -

The Jubilee At Groton

There was a great gathering at Groton on Wednesday, of the sons and daughters of that noted and ancient town. It was the two hundredth anniversary of the settlement of the town, and the people of all the neighboring villages came flocking in at an early hour to see and hear. The day was a charming one, and at sunrise was ushered in by the firing of salutes and ringing of bells.

The procession was one of the great features of the occasion. It consisted, besides the officers, singers, &c., of the day, of a cavalcade of young men, Groton Artillery, with their heavy field pieces, (the oldest company, save one, in the State,) Prescott Guards, the Continentals, dressed in old Continental fashion, and a company representing the Indians of olden times, with bows and arrows, tomahawks, and other warlike implements - the best imitation of a tribe of Indians we ever saw. Next came the Shirley Fire Company, with their beautiful machine decorated with flags, flowers, &c., and the citizens of Shirley, Pepperell, Westford, Littleton, Dunstable and Nashua, towns comprising a large portion of what was once Groton.

gain entrance. The address by Rev. A. B. Fuller of this city, was a beautiful production, and abounded with interesting facts connected with the early history of Groton. The beautiful and appropriate ode and hymn, written by Miss Emily E. Poor, was sung by the different choirs of the village with much taste and effect. Seated on {he floor around the pulpit of the church were the chief and braves of the tribe of Indians, which added much interest to the scene.

Yale's mammoth tent, in which the tables were set, was tastefully trimmed with national colors, flowers, &c., and the sides adorned with various mottos and names of the early settlers. Upwards of eleven hundred people sat down to the repast, which was" acknowledged to be the most sumptuous and substantial dinner ever got up for a country celebration, and one that reflects great credit on Messrs. Fuller and Gill who provided it.

Ex-Governor Boutwell presided on the occasion, assisted by sixteen Vice Presidents, and Rev. James Means as toast master. Mr. B. welcomed the guests, in an exceedingly neat and pertinent address. Speeches followed from Rev. Mr. Barry, author of the able History of Massachusetts, Mr. Fuller, the orator of the day. Rev. Messrs. Chandler of Shirley, Nightingale and Bulkley of Groton, and Anderson of Brooklyn, N. Y. Highly interesting letters were read from Messrs. Edward Everett, Robert C. Winthrop, Wm. H. Prescott, Judge Hoar, John P. Bigelow and others, and among the sentiments was one to the memory of Mr. Butler, the historian of Groton, which was most beautifully responded to by the Band, who played Mr. Butler's favorite tune - " old Brattle Street."

Owing to the lateness of the hour, and departure of the cars, several gentlemen, among whom were Richard Frothingham, Jr., Esq. of Charlestown, Gen. Jas. Dana and others, were prevented from speaking, and so the continuance of " friendly greetings " was concluded by singing an original song to the tune of " Auld Lang Syne" by all the people. The meeting was then adjourned for one hundred years ! We learn that the address, speeches, &c., are to be published in pamphlet form.

A Commemoration, July 4, 1876

The town of Groton celebrated the Centennial Anniversary of the Independence of the United States, on July 4, 1876, when an historical address by Dr. Samuel A. Green, and a poem by the Reverend J. M. L. Babcock, were delivered. The address was published in the Proceedings of the celebration, but the poem was omitted, as Mr. Babcock then declined to furnish a copy. During the last year, at my request, the author, who is a practical printer, kindly struck off fifty copies himself, which have since been placed in various public libraries. With his permission I now re-print the poem in this Series ; and without his knowledge I add the following biographical sketch.

John Martin Luther Babcock, a son of James and Hannah (Rice) Babcock, was born at Andover, Oxford County, Maine, on September 29, 1822. His father's family removed to Boston in the year 1825, where he remained until 1846. He then passed two years at Plaistow, New Hampshire, after which he went to Wilmot in the same State, where he studied for the Baptist ministry. He entered the clerical profession in 1852, though not ordained until January, 1854. He held pastorates at Strafford, Vermont, at Farmington and Effingham, both in New Hampshire, and at Buxton, Maine. He now changed his denominational relations, and entered the Unitarian pulpit, being settled, successively, at Lancaster, New Hampshire, and at Groton. He was installed over the First Parish in Groton, on April 26, 1871, and received his dismission on August 31, 1874, since which time he has given up preaching. In the year 1875 he founded " The New Age," a newpaper devoted to the interests of labor and social reform, which was continued for two years.

26, 1846, leaving a daughter, Martha Anna, now Mrs. Cyrus Sanborn Langley, of Wilmot. He was married, secondly, on April 5, 1849, to Miriam Clement Tewksbury, of Wilmot, by whom he has had seven children, five girls and two boys. Two of the daughters by the last marriage died in infancy, and the others are now Mrs. William Wilson Moore, of Bedford, New Hampshire, Mrs. Ellis Boyden McKenzie, of Boston, and Mrs. Joseph Dillaway Sawyer, of New York. Since leaving Groton Mr. Babcock has resided in Cambridge and Boston.

Poem

The Age of Matter ! crushing human hearts Beneath the empire of its marble marts ! Dooming its millions in despair to die To lift Rhodes' mute Colossus to the sky !

And broke a sceptre - set a people free ! 'T was but a word the millions leaped to hear, -^ " All men are equal ! " ^ but it carried cheer To ever}' heart oppressed by cruel power, And promised for the race a happier hour. A thrill of joy through all the nations ran, - The Age of Matter passed, and dawned the Age of Man !

We lay our tributes on our Fathers' graves ; But, while the flag they bore yet freely waves, A nobler height than theirs 't is yours to gain, - New trophies of the heart, new conquests of the brain. What higher honor have you power to give Than prove that still their truth and spirit live ? Save that their purpose in your lives is seen. What do these offerings to their memory mean ? Would you be like them ? Squander not your day In traversing for nought their beaten way ; Their sacred footprints ! - let them only stand To mark your progress in our wide-spread land. Tell me of one was not iconoclast - Breaking forever with the murky Past ! What time their flag was on these shores unfurled. When they a New Age gave a waiting world ; What time the Mayflower wedded Plymouth Rock, - Whose infant struggled, in this new-found clime. For fifteen decades, in the womb of Time ; Then, like Jove's daughter, to the astonished earth Sprang forth a nation, full-grown at its birth ! - - What was their key, the Future to unlock ? What but the legend, - urgent now to you, - " The Old must pass away, and all be New ! "

Defied the bloody torrent when it came ; Saw their homes sink in one wild gulf of flame ! Then gathered round the blackened ruins - still With heart undaunted and unyielding will ; Once more the roof-tree raised, the walls upreared, On the fair soil even danger had endeared. For ancient forests gave us fruitful fields ; Garnered for us the treasures Nature yields ; Planted the trees beneath whose shade we rest ; Prepared the heritage which makes us blest ! These deeds, recounted on this festal day, Live in bright fame ; and, when we pass away, Happy for us if at our setting sun The work they left us be as truly done.

Samuel Lawrence'S Recollections

The following reminiscences were written at my request, nearly ten years ago, by the late Samuel Lawrence, who was born at Grotom on January 15, 1801, and died at Stockbridge on March 18, 1880. He was the youngest child of Major Samuel and Susanna (Parker) Lawrence, and the last survivor of his generation.

My earliest recollection of Groton is the death of Capt. Henry Farwell in the year 1804. Dr. Chaplin was the only minister. Hon. Timothy Bigelow, one of the most prominent lawyers of the State, resided there, and being a graduate of Harvard College, as was Dr. Chaplin, our winter district schoolmasters were all from Cambridge. Dr. Oliver Prescott was the oldest physician. There were three stores ; their owners were called merchants with great propriety, for the number of articles they dealt in was never dreamed of by the merchants of Tyre or Venice. Squire Brazer was the richest and most important ; he was quite old and corpulent, with reddish face, and wore a blue broad-tail dress-coat, with bright brass buttons two inches in diameter, white vest and cravat, and deep ruffled shirt, with black trousers, a high-crowned hat with very broad brim. In the course of my life I have seen some of the mercantile magnates of Europe and this country, such as the Barings and Rothschilds, Stephen Girard and Astor, but I have never been so impressed as when in the presence of Squire Brazer. My most painful early memories are with the bitterly cold church, where there was no stove or furnace in winter.

There were two grist and saw mills, Capell's on the Nashua and Tarbell's on the SquannacooK; on the last named river was also a carding and clothing mill of the three brothers Rockwood. At that time all farmers kept sheep for food, but mainly for clothing. The wool was scoured in the family, carded into rolls about eighteen inches long and two inches in diameter by the Rockwoods, spun in the family on a stand-up wheel, backward and forward movement of the spinner, and generally woven into flannel by the same person, milled into cloth, dyed and finished by the Rockwoods. Sometimes a portion of wool was dyed a dark color, and mixed with white wool to get a pepper and salt color. The flannels for both sexes were made in the family, as well as sheets for winter. Flax was universally raised, rotted (stiff covering over the fibre), broken and hetchelled, and spun on the small wheel with power from the foot, making linen thread, which was woven into fabrics for domestic use. The tow from the flax after hetchelling was made into a coarse fabric for men's frocks and trousers. Men's and women's underclothing, beyond the linen alluded to, was from the East Indies. A cotton fabric from China, called nankeen (nankin), was much used in summer by gentlemen. Carpets made from rags were very common. I do not think there was any other kind in Groton, and not one piano.

The habit then was for all who could get it to use spirits, and drink some before dinner, - even the most temperate. The better class drank West India rum, and the poorer class New England rum. French brandy was seldom taken. Cider was universally used till the temperance movement was started about the year 1817. Dr.

Woods, of Andover, one of the leaders in this cause, told me forty years afterward the reason he engaged in it so actively was that he saw such abuse of ardent spirits among ministers ; for he knew forty-four who drank so much as to affect their brains, and he had assisted in putting four to bed on occasions like ordinations.

At the period above mentioned there was neither a woollen or cotton mill in the State, and but few turnpikes ; the Middlesex canal had just been opened from Chelmsford to Charlestown.

The mode of living in Groton was economical in the extreme. Books were rare indeed, few were published in the State, and Paternoster Row was on the titlepage of all the juvenile literature of that period.

In my earliest years my father's house was thronged by Revolutionary officers and soldiers, and I beard so much that I almost thought I was at Bunker Hill on the glorious Seventeenth. My father was an orderly to Col. Prescott, and knew all about the doings at Cambridge after the troops arrived there till they went to Bunker Hill. These soldiers acted like veterans in consequence of their two months' daily drilling. Enough has not been said on this point. The claim of Gen. Putnam's admirers never was dreamed of till long after both generals had been dead.

Tax On Unappropriated Lands

The following advertisement appears in " The Boston Gazette, or Weekly Journal," April 23, 1745. It shows how much the tax was at that time on unappropriated land in the west Precinct or Parish of Groton, which is now known as Pepperell : -

Notice is hereby given to the Proprietors of Groton in the County of Middlesex, that they shew Cause, if any they have, on the second Wednesday of the next May Sessions of the Great and General Court, why all the unappropriated Lands in the West Precinct in said Town, should not be rated at two Pence per Annum per Acre for three Years next coming.

John Derbyshire

Mr. Butler, in the genealogical Appendix to his History (page 394), mentions the family of " John Darby and Mary," and in the next page gives that of " John Derbyshire and Mary," as if they were different families. They were, however, undoubtedly one and the same. This view is confirmed by the name of the wife, the dates of the birth of the children, and the tendency in former times to cut words short. Before coming to Groton, John lived at Dunstable, where other children had been born (Fox's History of Dunstable, page 242). I have seen a deed given by him to John Shipley, dated March 25, 1710, which was signed John Darbeysher, to which he affixed his mark ; and in the text of the deed the name is written Darbeyshaer.

The following petition, found among the Massachusetts Archives (IX. 164), shows that John and Mary were not happy in their marriage relations, and furthermore it shows how domestic affairs, during the last century, were sometimes brought before the Governor and Council. If family quarrels were now passed upon by the same authorities, there would be but little time left for public business."

That whereas yo' petitioners wife hath for the Space of Two years Last past Seperated herself from yo' petition', living Sometimes out of the Towne, but at p'sent in it, yet wholly refusing to take care of her family or to returne to yo' petition', after y= Utmost Endeavours and perswasions of her Neighbours to returne to her Charge which is to the almost Utter Undoing of your Poor petitioner and his Family.

Wherefore yof humble petitioner intreats the Honourable Board would be pleased to take cognisance of his Cause, and that if possible his wife might be reduced to her duty, and your petitioner shall as in duty bound forever pray &c.

Nathaniel Woods was married to the widow Mary Derbeshere, according to the County records, on June 5, 1725, but according to the church records, on September 14, 1725.

Here are two other instances of domestic infelicity, where the husbands for redress had recourse to the public prints, which is more in accordance with modern customs : -

TJT'Hereas Ann the wife of me William Preston of Groton in the County of Middlesex, hath unjustly eloped from me and my Family, and by the bad Advice of evil-minded Persons hath threatned to injure me by running me in Debt,

THESE are therefore to caution all Persons against trusting or giving any Credit whatsoever to her the said Ann upon my Accompt, for I hereby signify that I will not pay any Debt she shall contract from the Date hereof, unless she speedily returns, and will be a loving and dutiful Wife ; if so she will be kindly receiv'd,

Notice is hereby given to all Persons, That whereas Ruth Woods, the Wife of Nathaniel Woods, of said Groton, Yeoman, has greatly misbehaved her self, and run him in Debt without his Order, and so behaves her self, that he cant live with her, therefore all Persons are hereby forbid to trade any Thing with her, for if they do, I will not pay one Penny

During the last century there was a vehicle, which long since passed out of use, known as a " chair." It resembled a chaise with the top taken off, and was generally wide enough to carry two persons. References to these vehicles may be found in " Groton during the Indian Wars " (pages 158-160).