Princeton Town

Princeton Town

From whatever 8taniii)oint you looked at him he seemed the same - and the words of the poet in their application to bim are true : *' The elements So mix'd in him that nature might stand up And say to all the world ThU was a Man ! "

Upon the death of Mr. Hill resolutions of the high regard in which he was held were passed by the Millbury Savings Bank, the Grafton National Bank and the Worcester County Musical Association.

Mr. Hill w;i8 united in marriage, May 21, 1839, to Miss Emily B. Wheelock, daughter of the late Capt. Francis Wheelock, of Sturbridge, who survives him, with two of tlieir four daughters - Caroline Wheelock and Ellen Agnes - the latter the wife of Albert L. Fisher, of Fisherville.

Chapter Cxxx

iThe preparation of this history of Princeton was Dr. Allen's last work. He was ably aided by bis daughter, Annie Louise Allen, who completed some of bis untinislied manuscripts. - Editor.

Ecclesiastical History. - The early settlers here, like all our New England towns, were decidedly a religious people. In October, 1759, when Princeton was incorporated, the Rev. Mr. Harrington, from Lancaster, preached the first sermon to a mere handful of people at Mr. Abijah Moore's. In 1762 the first meeting-house was erected and preaching was conducted here till 1764, when a church was organized, consisting of eighteen members. The Rev. Timothy Fuller was ordained as the first pastor of this church in 1767, and dismissed in 1776. The following succeeded him as pastors : Rev. Thomas Craft from 1780 to 1791 ; Rev. Joseph Russell from 1796 to 1801 ; Rev. James Murdock, D.D., from 1802 to 1815. At this time a division occurred in the church ; a large majority of its members, being dissatisfied with the ministrations of Rev. Samuel Clarke, withdrew and organized as a Presbyterian Church. Mr. Clarke was settled, in 1817, in fellowship with the Unitarian denomination, and continued his pastoral labors here until 1832. After his dismission their society employed what were considered evangelical preachers. Rev. John P. Cowley was settled in 1S33 and dismissed in 1834 ; Rev. Elijah Demond was pastor from 1836 to 1839; Rev. Willard M. Harding from 1840 to 1844 ; Rev. Alfred Goldsmith from 1845 to 1849 ; Rev. Henry Weeks from 1852 to 1855; Rev. William T. Briggs, 1856 to 1863; Rev. Mr. Zelie, 1864 to 1867 ; Rev. Roger M. Sargent, 1869 to 1871 ; Rev. George M. Howe, 1876 to 1884 ; Rev. A. L. Love, 1885 to 1887 ; and at present the church is supplied with Rev. Charles A. White. In 1817 a Baptist Society vvas organized by residents of the town and of Holden ; and in July, 1822, a church was formed, and in 1826 Rev. Elias Johnson became its pastor. In 1828 a small brick meeting-house was built a mile north of the centre of the town.

From 1830 to 1832 Rev. Appleton Morse supplied ; from 1832 to 1836 Rev. Nehemiah G. Lovel; from 1837 to 1841 Rev. Mason Ball ; and from 1841 to 1844 Rev. Orlando Cunningham. During this time the society built a new meeting-house in the centre of the town, near the Congregational Church, but in 1844 this society, becoming much reduced in numbers and means, ceai^ed to exist, and its place of worship was sold, and became a hotel, now known as the " Prospect House." In 1839 a Methodist Church was organized, and in 1840 a meeting-house was built onefourth of a mile northwest of the centre of the town. This church has been since supplied by a regular series of pastors, changing often, according to the practice of that denomination. The formation of this society was much indebted to changes in another church organization. In 1817, upon the settlement of Kev. Samuel Clarke over the old Congregational Society, the main body of the church being dissati.sfied with his preaching and doctrines, withdrew and formed a new church, called Presbyterian. In 1820 Rev. 'Alonzo Phillips was ordained its pastor and preached here with great acceptance till J 836. At this time, by the advice of a council, a formal union took place between the two churches, who had worshipped in separate houses for sixteen or seventeen years. Being dissatisfied with the result, quite a number of the leading families connected with Mr. Phillips' church joined in a movement for the formation of a Methodist Society and church in the town.

Name. - Princeton bears an honorable name. Its first cognomen was the East Wing of Rutland. As early as 1686 certain Indians conveyed by deed to Hervey Willard and others a large tract of land twelve miles square, of which Rutland became the centre. From this tract several towns were formed, and the eastern part, comprising about 12,000 acres, was designated East Wing of Rutland. In 1759 the proprietors of this land petitioned the Legislature for incorporation, and it was proposed, as Rev. Thomas Prince was by far the largest proprietor, to call the place Prince-town. Rev. Thomas Prince, besides being associated pastor of the Old South Church, Boston, was the most distinguished writer of his day. In 1771, after other additions of land amounting to some eight thousand acres, had been annexed, the inhabitants petitioned that the town be called Princeton.

Settlement in Princeton. - The first settlement was made. in 1743 by Joshua Wilder, from Lancaster, which had then been settled one hundred years, and was the first place settled in Worcester County. Wilder built a block-house on land since known as the Houghton place and lived here several years, being the only family.

In 1750, Abijah Moore settled on land known as the Reed place, and about the same time a Mr. Cheever settled in the southern part of the town on land since known as the Cobb place. In 1751, Robert Keys settled on land at the easterly base of Wachusett Mountain, and soon after Oliver Davis settled in the western part of the town, known since as Clark Hill. In 1752 these five families were the only ones permanently located in the place, but after this new families came alid gradually increased till 1759, when they numbered thirty. At this time there were seventy-four names attached to a petition for incorporation, but it is understood that more than one-half were single men seeking a settlement.

Territory. - The exact amount of land contained in the East Wing of Rutland was eleven thousand six hundred and twenty-six acres. Along the northern boundary of this section there were three thousand acres of uncultivated land, known as the Watertown

Farms, taking this name from the fact that the General Court, for certain considerations, had conveyed to Watertown this strip of land, which was included in the act of incorporation. It seems, also, there was at the same time another large tract of land, not incorporated, called "Province land," which, with five hundred acres including the Wachusett Mountain, were annexed in 1771 to Princeton by the Legislature, amounting in all to about five thousand acres. In 1810 a strip of land - five hundred acres - was taken from Hubbardston, and in 1828 a grove of land called Natown, adjoining Leominster, were both annexed to Princeton. The whole area of land does not vary much from twenty-two thousand acres.

Boundary. - The town is bounded north by Westminster ; east by Leominster and Sterling ; south by Holden and Rutland, and west by Hubbardston. It is seated nearly fifty miles from Boston due west, and is about the same distance east of Connecticut River, occupying the highest ground between these localities and constituting a water-shed, from whence the streams flow either to this river or the ocean. It is situated fourteen miles from Worcester, a little west of north, and only a few miles south of the centre ot the county.

Indian History'. - There is little to be said on this subject. The Indian history of the place is not characterized by so many stri}cing incidents as some places. The Indians generally sought abodes on plain land easy of cultivation or bordering on ponds and rivers ; hence Lancaster and the grounds around the Wachacum Pond in Sterling were jilaces of freciuent rendezvous. Reports state that they gathered occasionally in large numbers around Washusett Mountain for hunting, but, with one exception, no depredations were committed upon the inhabitants here. It may be the tribe - the Nashaways - traversing this region were of a more peaceable disposition and had to some extent come under the favorable influence of the white population. A most noticeable event occurred here long before the place was settled, in the deliverance of Mrs. Rowlandson, taken in 1676 at the burning of Lancaster and carried away captiv^ by the Indians. In another place a particular account of this event will be given, together with the report of the Indians stealing in 1775 a young child, by name Lucy Keyes, and carrj'ing her away into captivity. It may be said that no Indians were ever seen by the settlers in this region.

Soil and Production.?. - The most marked feature of the place is its rocks. These give shape and character to the land. Peter Whitney, in his history of the county in 1790, says, " the land here is naturally moist and springy, hilly and rocky, exceed-. ingly well adapted to pasturage and the growth of English grass. The soil being rich and very productive, people have every encouragement to settle and cultivate the lands. The growth of wood is oak of the various kinds, chestnut, white ash, beech, black

Roads. - -On account of the rocks and hills the making of roads has been attended with great hardship and difficulty since the first settlement of the town. One of the first steps was to provide by legislation a land-tax for this purpose. There was also much trouble in agreeing on the location of roads by marked trees or otherwise, and, as a general thing, the roads were laid out two rods wide. There seemed to be a strong proclivity to lay out roads over the hills rather than on level ground or in the valleys, and when once made, any change was attended with much difficulty. For a hundred years or so, the roads were supported by what was called a '' Highway tax," which could be worked out or paid in money, but now a direct appropriation is made for this purpose. The cost of building and taking care of roads has always been a large annual expenditure. On account of the hills and rocks the roads are constantly exposed by storms and drainage to injury, and require frequent repairs. But notwithstanding this great draft of expense and labor, the roads have been kept in remarkably good condition. Few towns in the State can present such roads, and in very lew places can there be found so many pleasant and rural rides. Good roads are not only a great convenience for permanent residents, but are very desirable for strangers or summer company. In several instances the town has expended large sums of money in the construction and improvement of its roads, particularly upon the road from the centre to the railroad - also upon the one over the western part of Meeting-House Hill and again at the base of Wachusett Mountain.

Topography. - Few towns are so diversified by hills, both large and small, of every description. In fact, the place is made up of rough and uneven land, without plains or valleys worthy of notice. It embraces a range of high lands starting with the White Mountains in New Hampshire, running southward and extending through Worcester County into the State of Connecticut. Wachusett is the highest peak in this range and the most attractive mountain in the State, of which a more particular description will be given in another place. The two next highest peaks are Pine Hill in the east, and Little Wachusett near the centre. The high range of land running north and south through the town constitutes a water-shed, so that the waters falling here divide and flow away by small streams in three directions. It will be seen that as no streams run into the town there can be found no large collections of water or much water-power. Thus, the rain falling in drops on the highest points of land, these immediately separate - a part flow into the Atlantic Ocean and a part into Long Island Sound. As these waters gather at the base of the mountain they are called Wachusett's Brooks - East, South and West - -the first entering into the Nashua, the second into the Quinnepoxet Pond, and thence into the Blackstone River, and the West flows into the Ware River and thence into the Connecticut. There are two small ponds in the town - the Quinnepoxet, in the southern part, on the boundary of Holden, and the Wachusett Pond, a part of which is in Westminster. On account of the great number of natural springs in the mountain and hills, the town has for all necessary purposes an aliundance of the purest water.

Old Homesteads - Old Homes of the Early Settlers. - There were some peculiarities in the settlement of this town which had an effect on the character of its people. The first settlers came here, not in colonies, nor in the way of relationship or acquaintance, but single and alone, and were mostly young men seeking a home of their own. They did not come in large numbers from any place, but came from almost as many different places as there were individuals. It is evident that the leading influences controlling them were of a decidedly religious character. A few came from places near by, as I/ancaster, Shrew-sbury and Rutland, but most of them came from a distance, as Sudbury, Medfield, Dedham, Watertown, Cambridge, Boston, Charlestown, Concord and Lexington. There was one element that entered largely into the character of these settlers. They must have had some knowledge of the place where they were to make their homes. Here were rocks, hills and forests unequaled at the time. The soil was rich, but required the hardest possible labor for its cultivation. To overcome such obstacles one must have indomitable courage and energy, a selfreliance and a will-power that ne'ser tires, and only those who had such qualities would here seek a home. The presumption is that these settlers linew what hardship, toil and self-denial were in their old homes.

Public Bitildixgs - Meetinq -houses. - In the settlement of all the New England towns one of the first steps to be taken was the building of a meetinghouse. This was sometimes coupled with another question : Where was the centre of the town ? It was generally admitted that their house of worship should stand near the centime of the place. It was not easy to find this spot in Princeton, on account of the hills and the rocks. There was so much difference of opinion on the subject that the voters agreed to submit the question to a committee of three persons, residing in other towns ; but being dissatisfied with the report of their committee, they voted, July, 1761, to locate the meeting-house on the highest part of the land given by John and Caleb Mirick for this purpose. In 1762 a meeting-house was built, forty by fifty feet, with sufficient height for galleries. It was soon occupied, but not fully completed for several years. The first attempt to settle a minister was in 1765, and the one first settled was Rev. Timothy Fuller, in 1767. This house continued to be the place of worship till 1795. In the mean time the population had increased to over one thousand in- habitants, rendering a larger place of worship necessary. A new house was built on the same spot, seventy by fifty-five feet, containing seventy-five ground and twenty gallery pews. As this house stood on high ground, and had a tall spire, it was a conspicuous object in the whole region. It continued to be the place of worship till 1838, when it seemed desirable, not only to have a new church, but to change its location - to go south - towards the Wachusett Hotel, about half way up on the slope of the hill. This house, built more in the modern style of churches, is still used, though within a few years it has been removed to the eastern side of the road. Town-Hall. - The business meetings of the town

Ooodmm Memorial Building. - No town in the county or State can present a public building so conspicuous in position or so beautiful and attractive in its appearance. It is situated in the centre of the town, on the southern slope of what is known as " Meetinghouse Hill," with a triangular tower in front, while on the right is the new Town Hall, and on the left stands the Congregationalist Church. We have here.

Bagg Hall Goodnow Memorial Library Building

were held in the church from 1762 to 1797, when, upon the building of a new meeting-house, the business was transferred to a school-house located near by, where it was continued till 1842. At this time a new building was erected for town business, at the foot of the hill, nearly opposite the new church, called " Boylston Hall," from the fact that W. N. Boylston contributed money for its erection. In 1882 this hall was destroyed by fire, and soon steps were taken for building a new town-hall. This was dedicated in September, 1887, and ])resents quite a contrast with the old hall. It is built of brick, two stories high, having a large hall on each fioor, with kitchen.

side by side, in one row, the three representatives or pillars of the highest type of civilization - the church, the free school and library and the hall for town business. These public buildings stand on higher ground than any others of the kind in the State, while from these buildings a magnificent view of the country can be seen south, east and west; at the same time these edifices can be distinctly recognized at great distances in each of these directions. The Goodnow Memorial Building derives its name from Mr. Edward A. Goodnow, a native of Princeton, but for a long time a resident of Worcester. Some years since Mr. Goodnow conceived the idea of doing some- thing for the permanent benefit of his native place, and at the same time connect with it a memorial of the loss of two wives - natives of the town - and also the loss of his only child. The beautiful building is the result of this design. This structure is pronounced, from every point of view, the perfection of beauty. No language can adequately describe the building or compute the importance and value of the uses to which it is appropriated.

Its object is education of the people of the town, - schools for the young, and a library and readingroom for all, in the broadest and freest sente.

Leonard Wood and Thomas Mason were tbe first college graduates from the town. They belonged to the class of 1796 (Harvard), Leonard Wood being valedictorian and Thomas Jlason the greatest wrestler, thus showing that one excelled in mental power, and the other in physical.

It is related that when word reached the place that a baud of the Kiug's troops had made an excursion up the Mystic River and carried off a quantity of gunpowder from the Charlestown Arsenal, it thoroughly aroused the inhabitants, and they spent the night in converting pewter plates into musket-balls. In March, 1775, a company of minute- men was formed, and ordered to train once a week. On the 19th of April an express came to the town shouting, "To arms! the war is begun." As the news spread, the implements of husbandry were thrown aside in the field, and this company seized their arms and started at once for Lexington and Concord. The records of the great work of the Revolution, at a public town-meeting, the voters denounced the act of Parliament imposing duties on paper, glass, painters' colors and tea imported into the colonies. When, in January, 1773, the grievances under which j they labored from British rule came up for discussion in a public meeting, the subject was referred to a committee to draw up an expression of their views. Dr. Ephraiin Woolson was chairman of this committee, and the following resolutious furnish abundant evidence that he was a complete msister of his subject.

Hesoli-ed, 1. Tliat tbe comiecOon between the mother- country and these colonies is of great consequence to both, if mutually kept up ; but when digressions are made from established compacts, that connection begins to lessen, and, of course, creates an alienation, the effects of which must be attended with bad conseiinences. For tbe resolute mau, in a just cause, while in a state of freedom, never will consent to any abridgements or deprivations of his just rights, and disdains threats, or any measures of compulsion, to submission thereto - not like tbe dog, the more he is beaten the more he fawns - but, on tbe contrary, witli a noble mind, defends to the last, and every stripe stimulates his efforts and endeavors in defence of his own or Lis country's cause,

2. That this town, as a part of this province, whensoever their rights, libeitiesaud properties are infringed upon, by what authority soever, that they, in honor to their forefathers, by whose solicitude and industry, under God, they for many years have enjoyed the fruits of their labors - for the regard they bear to posterity- as friends to their country have good right to complain, and manifest their uneasiness at such proceedings.

3. That the repeated attempts to make the people of this province subject to unjust taxation, and absolute dependency upon the crown together, appear subversive of, and inconsistent with, the constitution of

4. That such measures are unconstitutional, and demand the attention of all well-disposed people, and a mutual connection and joint adherence in proper means for redress, that thereby the rights and libertiei and religious, which have been transmitted to us from on ancestors, might be kept inviolate by us, their posterity.

.',. That they shall be always ready to concur in all just and proper means that this provicice and the neighboring colonies may come into for the common good, and in conjunction with the friends of liberty, shall bear testimony to all invasions upon our rights and liberties.

B. That this report (these resolutions) be put upon the town records, that posterity may know they bad a sense of their invaluable rights and liberties, and were not willing to part with them but by their own consent, and that thn/ are determin d lo vindkate and support them, at timet and orcasioits may call for.

self sacrificing spirit of its citizens in all matters pertaining to carrying on the war. No town in the State can show a better record in furnishing soldiers or providing means for this purpose.

Princeton as a Health Resort. - The three great natural sources of health are pure air, pure water and a pure soil. Where, then, can pure air be found? Certainly not about cities, or villages, or low ground ; generally, in such places the air is more or less contaminated with poisonous gases or etfluvia arising from sewers, from accumulation of filth, from decomposition of animal and vegetable matter, etc., while about mechanical and manufacturing places the air is vitiated by steam, by smoke, by chemical, mechanical and other impurities. Then, the air passing over a thin or sandy soil, with few trees, becomes parched or dry, while that along the rivers and about large bodies of water is too moist or damp. On the other hand, the air on high mountains is too bracing and changeable for weak lungs and cannot be favorable to good health in any class of persons. Where, then, can the best air be found? It must be upon high ground, sufficiently elevated above the surrounding country to obtain generally a fresh breeze from the four points of the compass. At the same I time the ground should not be level, but so interrupted by hill and valley as to cause not only frequent changes in the circulation, but that the whole surface should be so undulating as to be thoroughly drained and frequently washed by the showers of heaven. The earth itself should not be too rich or highly cultivated, must not all be open land, nor all covered with woods, but always green with vegetation and dotted here and there with trees. The description here given applies pre-eminently to this town. I ' venture the opinion that there is no region or spot in New England where the atmosphere, in quantity, , purity, perhaps in all life-giving properties, can be I found so well adapted in every respect for comfort, health and longevity as in this place.

as a beverage as for culinary purposes. Here it is used in a variety of ways, combining with almost every kind of food cooked. In this way it has a powerful influence upon the liuman system, either for good or evil. As its immediate effects are not so perceptible as some other agents, so in a quiet, gradual manner, comparatively unseen and unfelt, its bad effects became more destructive and fatiil. Many diseases can be traced directly to its impurities, and others indirectly; while, if we could go back and analyze all the primary and occult causes iu producing diseases and derangement of the system, we should be surprised at the great number of diseases produced from impure water.

There are certain conditions connected with the earth which are indispensable for securing the best quality of water. It must come from natural springs suitably located in the ground, where it may be found in abundance and at the same time be fed alone from the rains from the heavens. While the soil should be good - but not too rich - it must not be composed of a clay or lime formation. The rocks should be granite or hard, not soft, nor composed of mineral substances, where, by the laws of chemical afl3nity, the least particle of matter, mineral or gaseous, can become mixed with the water. Neither should there be any decaying animal or vegetable matter upon the surface of the ground or imbedded in it, with which the water can come in contact. It will be seen at once that it is very difficult to find all these conditions combined in one place. But here nature has provided springs orfountains of water, with the means of purifying it, far better than can be furnished by artificial reservoirs, and expedients for filtering it that can be devised by human skill and ingenuity. Nowhere else can water in quantity, purity and health-giving properties be found equal to that found here.

Pure Soil. - This as a condition of health may not seem so important as that of pure air and pure water. In fact, the two latter cannot be found in their best state unless the earth itself is of the right quality. This must be composed of just such materials as make up every part and parcel of this rocky, hilly town. It is said there is not an acre of level ground by itself in the place. There are no swamps and scarcely any decaying animal or vegetable matter. The whole structure of the earth is here made up largely of rocks of the hardest kind, which never breed disease. There are other considerations favorable to health, both of body and mind. These are the stillness and quiet of the place, pleasant rides over fine roads, grand opportunities for exercise by walking amid beautiful scenery, and Wachusett Mountain adds greatly to the advantages and attractions of the place, especially with reference to health and recreation. Such are the relations between the body and the mind that, in order to secure the highest state of health, the proper exercise of both must be taken into account. Pure air, pure water and a pure soil are conditions indispensable for the sanitation of the body, but mental development, improvement and enjoyment require something more. This, in part, is obtained by observing and studying the beauties of nature, in such scenery as this town affords. No town in the State can excel this in the variety, beauty and extent of its scenery. This last condition adds greatly to the merits and attractions of the place as a health resort.

FiEST Town-Meeting. - The following officers were chosen at the first regular town-meeting, March 16,1761: Moderator, Dr. Zachariah Harvey; Clerk, Dr. Zachariah Harvey; Selectmen, Dr. Zachariah Harvey, Joseph Gibbs, Abijah Moore and Timothy Moseman ; Assessors, Dr. Zachariah Harvey, Abijah Moore and Peter Goodnow; Treasurer, Peter Goodaow; Constables, Caleb Mirick and Sadey Mason; Tythingmen, Samuel Nichols and Joseph Kugg; Highway Surveyors, Paul Mathews, Silas Whitney, Stephen Brigham, Tilly Littlejohn and Timothy Keyes ; Clerks of the Market, Samuel Hashu and Timothy Keyes; Fence-Viewers, Samuel Hastings and Amos Spring; Field-Drivers, James Mirick and Oliver Davis ; Deer-Reeves, Robert Cowden and Edward Wilson ; Hog-Reeves, Amos Powers and Samuel Hastings; Surveyor of Boards and Shingles, Sealer of Leather, Stephen Brigham ; ^Vardens, Peter Goodnow and Timothy Moseman ; Agent to the General Court, Dr. Zachariah Harvey.

A list of these officers is here presented partly for instruction and partly from curiosity. One, a physician, is chosen to five of the most important offices. Twenty other men are chosen to office, making full one-half of all the heads of families.

In 1759 there were only thirty-one voters, but in 1771 they had increased to one hundred voters. In 1791, when the first census was taken, there were one hundred and forty-four dwelling-houses and one thousand and sixteen inhabitants, all within fifty years, showing a rapid increase.

Personal And Family Histoky

Moses Gill was born in Charlestown in 1733, and engaged early in mercantile pursuits in Boston. In 1769 he married Miss Sarah Prince, the only surviving daughter of Rev. Thomas Prince, then pastor of the Old South Church. In 1767 he took up his residence in Princeton, where he inherited from the Prince estate some three thousand acres of land. Here he held important offices, both in the town and the State. Mr. Gill was the first Representative of the town in the Provincial Congress held at Watertown, and of the General Court at Salem in 1774 and 1775. He was a member of the Legislature up to 1780, when he was elevated to the Senate Board, remaining there till 1789. In 1794 he was chosen Lieutenant-Governor, and was annually re-elected, and upon the death of Governor Strong in May, 1800,

Mr. Gill officiated as Governor till the close of the year. He died May 20, 1800, while holding the office of Ijieiitenant-Governor. Aside from these offices he was appointed, in ITT.i, judge of the Court of Common Pleas for Worcester County, which office he held till 1789, when he was transferred to the Governor's Council.

Mr. Gill lost his first wife in 1769, and in 1772 he married Rebecca Boylston, niece of Thomas Boylston and sister of Jlrs. Mary Hallowell, mother of Ward Nicholas Boylston. This marriage formed the link between these two families.

In Ins " History of Princeton " C. T. Russell says of Mr. Gill, " Throughout his whole life he maintained the character of an upright man, a firm, uncompromising patriot, a devoted husband, a liberal townsman, an exemplary public officer, and a consistent Christian."

Warp N. Boylston. - His original name was ^Vard Hallowell, son of Benjamin Hallowell, and born in Boston, November, 1749. His mother was a sister of Thcmas Boylston, and at the solicitation of his maternal uncle, Nicholas Boylston, the distinguished benefactor of Harvard University, he dropped the name Hallowell and added that of his uncle. His full name was known afterwards as Ward Nicholas Boylston. In 1773 he visited Europe for his health, and from 1775 to 1800 he resided in London, engaged in trade. In 1800 he returned to Boston and purchased the estate in Princeton, where he resided summers until his decease in 1827. This place had become famous in this region for its size (three thousand acres), its large and splendid buildings, as well as the high cultivation of its land. Whitney, in his "History of Worcester County in 1793," says at that time, " It is not paralleled by any in the New England States, and perhaps not by any on this side of Delaware." Mr. Boylston spent his winters at Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, where he possessed a beautiful situation. While in Princeton he lived in a princely style, and was remarkable for his politeness to all with whom he came in contact. He possessed an unusual amount of intelligence and liberality in his benefactions.

While residing in London he became familiarly acipiainted with the celebrated Dr. John Hunter, and having had two uncles in this country distinguished members of the medical profession, he became greatly interested in all matters pertaining to medicine. For this purpose he made several handsome donations to Harvard University, so that the name Boylston is honored, being attached to a medical library, an anatomical museum, a medical society, and prize medals for essays to improve medical science. Thus it was said, "He has done more towards raising the standard of the medical profession in this Commonwealth than all others of the profession."

In 1774 and '75 there arose a sharp variance of feeling and opinion between him and his people. A bitter controversy ensued. He was charged with neglect of pastoral duties and Toryism, which he indignantly denied. There was fault on both sides, each being positive, self-willed and determined. Mr. Fuller was dismissed and left the town in 1776. But after awhile he returned and spent several years there. In 1788 he represented the town in the convention which adopted the Federal Constitution. In 1796 he removed to Merrimac, N. H., and engaged in agricultural pursuits, where he died in 1805. One of the peculiar incidents of Mr. Fuller's residence in Princeton was that he became the first owner of Wachusett Hill, which previously was Province land.

The General Court, in 1768, upon Mr. Fuller's petition setting forth a small salary and hard getting along in the ministry, passed an act giving the mountain, containing five hundred acres, to him. Mr. Fuller married, in 1770, Sarah Williams, daughter of Rev. Mr. Williams, minister of Sandwich, and was the head of a venerable family, several of his children being born in Princeton. Timothy Fuller, his oldest son, formerly a resident of Groton, was a member of Congress and the father of Margaret Fuller, one of the most remarkable women this country ever produced. H. H. Fuller, another son, became a distinguished attorney in Boston. Other descendants of Rev. Timothy Fuller have made their mark in the world.

Samuel Woods. - From the best authorities known, he came from Chelmsford, and became a resident here about the time of the incorporation of Princeton in 1759. Soon after this he opened the first public school in the town near the Wilder place. He became known as " Master Woods," and was the head of a most distinguished family. From the little incidents known about him, it is evident he possessed a brain of remarkable power. As he was noted for his originality. Governor Gill christened him with the name "Philosopher." His s<m, Leonard Woods, was born in 1774, and was graduated from Harvard College in 1796. He became one of the most distinguished preachers and writers in the country. He was graduated at the age of twentytwo, with the highest honors in the class. He was professor in the Andover Theological Seminary for years, and his writings on theology and other subjects are well known. He died August 24, 1856, in his eighty-first year, from heart-disease, brought on from over-exertion and heat.

Solon S. Hastincs.' - The names of men who distinguish themselves for the possession of those qualities of character which in a large degree con- tribute to the success of private life, who have been exemplary in the personal and social relations, thus winning respect and confidence, ought not to perish. Among the individuals of this class, few are better entitled to be held in respectful remembrance than the subject of this sketch.

Solon S., son of Stephen and Silence (Sawyer) Hastings, was born in Sterling, Mass., December 26, 1806. His father was an enterprising and successful farmer, and was one of the early members of the Worcester Agricultural Society, taking an active part in extending the benefits of the organization.

Solon passed his childhood and youth at the farmhouse, becoming familiar with the experiences and incidents peculiar to New England farm life, and, in fact, he remained there until the death of his father in 1840. His educational advantages were of the sort jieculiar to the times, attending the district school in the winter months and working on the farm in the summer. He had, in addition to this, a course of instruction at the Leicester Academy, and in hit early manhood engaged in leaching winter schools in his native town and vicinity, where, for twelve years, he was known as a successful teacher, frecjuently teaching for two terms in the same season in different districts. He also was a teacher in a private school in the city of Boston.

He has always been interested in agriculture, and iu early life became a member of the same society in which his father was so jirominent, as well as in other kindred organizations.

He was actively interested in military atl'airs, and held the offices of brigade and division inspector, with the rank of major in the brigade and lieutenantcolonel in the division.

In 1840 he married Lois R., daughter of Edward and Rebecca (Beaman) Goodnow, of Princeton, Mass., to which town he removed in 1841, and where he now resides.

He has held offices of trust and importance in both his native and adopte<l towns, and discharged the duties thereof with fidelity and intelligence.

For more than twenty-five years he has been a director in the Worcester Mutual Fire Insurance Company, the oldest institution of its kind in the county. In 1859 he was the Representative to the General Court for the towns of Princeton, Rutland and Oakham, and was also, iu 1864, a member of the Senate of Massachusetts.

held a clerkship in the Naval Office at Boston under Hon. Charles Hudson, and in 1850 and 1870 was engaged in taking the United States census for his section. He is of a naturally retiring disposition, conscientious and conservative in all his relations, whether religious, civil or financial.

at his command, he has alternated between town and country, spending his summers at his quiet home in Princeton, directly under the brow of " Old Wachuaett " Mountain, and his winters in the neighboring city of Worcester.

The family is of Danish origin, and has held prominent place in the history of England. In the early days of the British kingdom the Danes made frequent incursions upon that part of England and Scotland bordering on the North Sea. One of these incursions was made by a Danish chief of this family, who landed a large body of his men upon the coast and took possession of Sussex, and the castle and seaport were held by his family when William the Conqueror landed in England, and they held it from the crown for many generations. William de Hastings was steward of King Henry 11. Sir Henry and George Hastings were grandsons of the Earl of Huntingdon.

The first of this family to come to America was Thomas, from whom Solon S. is in direct line. He settled in Watertown, Mass. (then known as a portion of the Massachusetts Bay Colony), in 1634.

For further detail see " Genealogical History of Descendants of Thomas Hastings," by Lydia Nelson (Hastings) Buckminster, published by Samuel G. Drake in 1866.

John Brooks was born in Princeton, February "22, 1789, being the ninth of fourteen children. His father was a master carpenter, and built fourteen meeting-houses; the son worked with his father till he was twenty-four years of age, and was a good mechanic. He went to Boston and was in the broker's business there, at the, corner of State and Kilby Streets. The building in which his office was located is still standing. During or soon after the War of 1812 he went to Canada to buy Spanish dollars for the purpose of selling them again for the broker with whom he wiis in business. He thus earned the sobriqiiet of " Broker Brooks," by which name he was called for a long time.

He was married, in 1818, to Miss Sarah Eraser, daughter of John Eraser, of Franklin Street, Boston. He went to Princeton in 1824, and took the care of his father's farm and family, the farm being then worth eight hundred dollars, but now it is valued at twelve thousand dollars, the gain being due to the good management of the present owner, his son, John Brooks. He has served in all the offices of the town with the exception of that of town clerk, and has been Representative and Senator in the General Court. He was president of the Worcester Agricultural Society and a member of the State Board of Agriculture, also one of the founders of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of Worcester. He died in Princeton, at the home of his childhood. May 1, 1863. Resolutions were passed on the occasion of his death by the Worcester Agricultural Society and the State Board of Agriculture, both testifying to his useful life as a citizen and a devoted patriot ; to his cultivated mind, his courteous manners and his unswerving integrity, together with his ever-active and earnest labors for the advancements of the pursuits of husbandry. Eev. W. T. Briggs officiated at his funeral and testified to his high character and useful life, and showed that in the midst of life he was prepared for death, and was ready when the summons came to join that innumerable throng of which the poet Bryant so grandly sings.

David Everett, born in 1770 and died in 1813, was a noted journalist and author. He was the author of those well-known school-boy verses, commencing,

Nathan Allen, M.D., LL.D. - Nathan Allen was born at Princeton, Mass., April 25, 1813. His parents, Moses and Mehitabel (Oliver) Allen, were both born in Barre, in the same State. The Allen patronymic is borue by numerous families in the Old and New Worlds. That one with which Dr. Allen is identified is lineally descended from Walter Allen, one of the original proprietors of Old Newbury, in IfilS, andwho died at Cliarlestowu, Mass., in 1G73. The early years of Dr. Allen were spent on the paternal farm. There he was habituated to hard work till the age of seventeen, and consequently received line of the best kinds of preparation for future activities. After an absence of forty years, - ten of which were spent in continued studies and thirty in professional pursuits, - in delivering an address at an agricultural exhibition in his native place, which was published, Dr. Allen alluded to his early life as follows:

I wish here to malce uiy public acknowlddgmenta to that overruling I'rovidence which ordered my birth and early training in this place, distinguished no less for intelligence and morality than for health and devotion to agricultural pursuits. The greatest gift that any human being can receive in this world is that of il sound constitution, which can come alone from parents perfectly healthy in body and mind. The next greatest blessing is that this constitution be early strengthened and developed iu accordance with natural laws, while at the same time llio mental habits and moral character receive proper training and right direction. To these blessings I confess the strongest possible obligations; first, to the Creator; second, to parents; and third, to the healthy educational and mor.al influences of this quiet rural town.

At the age of seventeen he commenced academical studies, and matriculating at Amherst College in 1832, he graduated from it in 1836. Having decided to study medicine, and wishing to avail him- self of the best advantages in the country, he went to Philadelphia in the autumn of 1837. Here he pursued medical studies and attended lectures till ihe spring of 1841. During his residence in this city he had the entire charge for three years of the American Phrenological Journal, which proved, in many ways, a valuable experience. Here he learned some things respecting the use of the pen and the power of the press, and also to do his own thinking. He was also brought into contact with a variety of persons, some of them distinguished. Among these were Dr. Charles Caldwell, of Kentucky, the profoundest physiologist of his day ; the Hon. Horace Mann, of Massachusetts, who, as an educator, has never been excelled; and also George Combe, Esq., of Edinburgh, unequaled as a practical philosopher. From correspondence and personal acquaintance with these men Dr. Allen acknowledges that he obtained most instructive lessons for future life.

In March, 1841, he received the diploma of M.D. from the Pennsylvania Medical College, upon which occasion he presented a thesis upon "The Connection of Mental Philosophy with Medicine." This essay was published in tlie American Phrenological Journal and in pamphlet form. It attracted much attention at the time and indicated the department of scientific investigation, in which he has since become distinguished.

In the autumn of 1841 Dr. Allen settled in Lowell, Mass., and from that time until his death, January 1, 1889, a period of nearly fifty years, he continued to be a most active and successful medical practitioner in that city. Soon after commencing medical practice Dr. Allen's attention was arrested by the great difference in the birth-rate between the native New England women and the English, the Irish, the Scotch, the Canadian French and the German ; and also by the small number of children in a New England family compared to what it was fifty or a hundred years ago. From many years of study and observation he became convinced that the " arts of prevention and destruction " were not sufficient in all cases to account for this great diflTerence in birthrate, but that there must be some other primary cause - that there might exist some difference or change in the organization itself to account for it. This inquiry led to a wide range of studies, such as census and registration reports, works on population, vital statistics and obstetrics. His works were not confined to these matters, but he also published essays on physical culture and degeneracy, insanity and state medicine, heredity and hygiene, education and temperance, divorces and the femily institution. There were over thirty publications of different kinds, and these were in quarterly journals and reviews, and were widely copied by the press, and some of them were published in Great Britain and commented on by distinguished scholars. In France and Germany his writings have also attracted attention.

Since this list was published, Dr. Allen has written several other papers, among which was " The Relations between Sanitary Science and the Medical Profession," written and read by him at the fourteenth annual meeting of the American Health Association, October 5, 188ti, at Toronto, Canada, also the " Dedicatory Address for the Goodnow Memorial Building'' at Princeton, September G, 1887. He was also skilled in genealogy and in local history, and at the time of his death was engaged upon a history of his native Princeton for the Worcester County history. In 1872 Dr. Allen visited Europe. He went as a delegate, commissioned by Governor Washburn, to the International Congress of Prison Reform. His reputation had preceded him, and secured a cordial welcome from eminent men in his own profession. In attending a large, public health meeting in London, presided over by Mr. Edwin Chadwick, being called upon to speak, he apologized, after making remarks, saying that he was a stranger, etc., whereupon .several gentlemen as.sured him he was not a stranger, as his name was quite familiar to them by his writings.

During his forty-eight years' residence in Lowell Dr, Allen was always prominent in local and State affairs. He served on the School Committee in 1851, and in the Common Council in 1867, and was city physician in 1864 and '65. He was ihree terms on the Board of Health, and was at one time a nominee for State Senator. He was a prominent member of the Massachusetts and the North Middlesex Medical Societies. He was secretary of the medical staff of St. John's Hospital for over twenty-five years, for over twenty years president of the City Institution for Savings, president of the Board of Physicians at the dispensary, president of the Amherst Alumni .\^8sociation of Lowell, and not long since his alma mater conferred on him the degree of LL.D. In 1856 he was chosen by the Legislature a trustee of Amherst College, and took a leading part in establishing the department of physical culture in that institution. Dr. Edward Hitchcock, professor of hygiene in the college for over twenty-five years, pays Dr. Allen a high compliment, in which he calls him the godfather of this department.

Dr. Allen was a member of the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Medicine, the American Pul)lic Health Association, the Massachusetts Medical Society, and was one of the founders of the American Social Science Association, and the National Conference of Charities, and frequently wrote pai)ers and reports for those bodies.

Dr. Allen sustained concussion of the brain as the result of a serious fall at his home, December 16, 1888. By means of his vigorous constitution and great vitality he lingered in an unconscious condition for two weeks, but just at sunset, on the first day of the new year, he breathed his last, and we know that he has gone to his reward, and that he will long be "remembered by what he has done." '

SuJiMER Guests of Hide and Seek Town. - Hide and Seek town, as Mrs. Helen Hunt Jackson so aptly christened the Princeton of to-day, is most charmingly described in a delightful sketch written by her for Scribner^s Monthli/, and published in 1876. In this sketch the real name was not revealed, and very likely it was this mysterious veiling of the town's identity that gave so much interest to it. But the summer guests whose good fortune it had already been to have traversed its hills and dales, and tasted of its delicious and invigorating air, recognized at once its alluring descriptions, and its (juaint and truthful illustrations. A'ery likely this sketch did much in its way to advertise the town's attractions, and so increase its annual influx of summer guests. It is said that " the quiet hill town of forty years ago has become each season the popular New England summer Mecca for eight or nine hundred seekers of health, and pleasure.'' Although Princeton has long been known to the outside world as a healthy summer resort, it is only within the last fifteen or twenty years that it has become widely enough known to attract any large number of people.

In the centre of the town the " Wachusett House " is the largest hotel, and also the oldest established ; its i)ro])rietor and owner, Mr. P. A. Beaman, may be called the pioneer in the summer hotel business, having been connected with the Wachusett House for over thirty years. When he fir.it took charge of the hotel it was simply a country tavern, probably an old-time " tavern-in-the-town," open all the year ; but although having more guests in the summer, l>n)bably there were not more than one-tenth of the number who now annually spend their summers there. From time to time improvements were made to this house, and its capacity increased. It now accommodates from one hundred and fifty to one hundred and seventy-five guests, and for a period of over a month, during the last summer the guests numbered nearly two hundred. During the last twenty years the Howard House, Mount Pleasant House, Linden House, Forrest House, and Princeton House have been opened for the accommodation of summer company. Additions were made to the Wachusett House, Prospect House and Mountain House, which now accommodates one hundred and fifty, and is so delightfully situated several miles from town, nestling close to the mountain's side and commanding a most extensive and beautiful view of the surrounding country for miles around. Its latch-string is always open, and its hospitable proprietor and owner, Mr. M. H. Bullaril, is ever ready to " welcome the coming, speed the parting guest." Several farm-houses have also made themselves known to city families, and, indeed, it seems as if every man, woman and child in the place were only too glad to welcome the city travelers and share with them their privileges.

A comfortable and attractive house has been built on the top of Mount Wachusett, and this, together with the ease of traveling to the summit over a fine road, has drawn an immense number of tourists. The present Summit House, which is kept by Mr. G. A. Derby, was built in 1884 by Beaman & Son, of the \Vachusett House.

They came into possession of the whole mountain aljout the year 1880, buying it from a land company who had built the road to the summit a few years before.

The number of visitors to thetoi)ofthe mountain is now estimated at ten thousand to fifteen thousand yearly, and some two thousand horses go over the road.

Princeton now has an extra summer population of over si.K hundred people, and probably twenty-five hundred tourists visit the town every summer, exclusiveof those already mentioned as going to the mountain top. Of course neai-ly all of these twenty-five hundred make the trip to the top of the mountain during their stay in the town, and so the number who visit the summit - ten thousand to fifteen thousand - may be taken as the estimate of the guests who yearly visit Princeton. Before the opening of the Boston,

Barre and Gardner Railroad, in 1869-70, the difficulty in reaching Princeton kept away many people. Then the summer guests were obliged to ride seven miles by coach from the nearest station to Princeton Centre, while now the iron horse ploughs his way to within a mile of the Centre hotels. Formerly the visitors to Princeton went with the intention of remaining through the entire season ; but now the town is so easily reached from Worcester, Boston and the other large cities, that people come and go to a much greater extent, and during the course of the season the number of guests is greatly increased. These guests go from Boston, Worcester, Lowell. Providence, N'ew York, New Haven, Fall River, Philadelphia, Baltimore and many other places. In fact, the reputation of Hide and Seek town is now so well established that, while other resorts complain of a lack of patronage, no such report comes forth from Princeton. For the summer visitors soon learn to love the quaint old town, and their days spent there are long remembered, and amid the chilling blasts of winter their memories and fancies go back to the happy summer time, and they commence then to plan their next summer's visit to gain new strength and life.'