Sharon Town (part 3 of 3)

Then ask - why Cincuuiatus left his farm ? Why science did old Plato's bosom warm? Why Hector in the Trojan war should dare? Or why should Homer trace his actions there? Why Newton in philosophy has shown? Or Charles, for solitude, has left his throne ? Why Locke in metaphysics should delight - Precisian sage, to set false reason right ? Why Albion's Sons should kindle up a war ? Why Jove or Vulcan hurried on the car ? Perhaps the same propensity you use, Has prompted her a martial course to choose. - Perhaps to gain refinements where she could, This rare achievement for her country's good. Or was some hapless lover from her torn - As Emma did her valient Hammon mourn ? Else he must tell, who would this truth attain. Why one is formed for pleasure - one for pain : Or, boldly, why our Maker made us such - Why here he gives too little - there too much!

I WOULD not purposely evade a a pertinent answer; and yet I know not, at present, how to give a more particular one than has already been suggested.

Theatrical Address

and prestimption, because I swerved from the accustomed flowry paths of female delicacy, to walk upon the heroic precipice of feminine perdition! - I indeed left my morning pillow of roses, to prepare a couch of brambles for the night ; and yet I awoke from this refreshed, to gather nought but the thorns of anguish for the next night's repose - and in the precipitancy of passion, to prepare a moment for repentance at leisure!

Had all this been achieved by the rougher hand, more properly assigned to wield the sword in duty and danger in a defensive war, the most cruel in its measures, though important in its consequences ; these thorns might have been converted into wreaths of immortal glory and fame. I therefore yield every claim of honor and distinction to the hero and patriot, who met the foe in his ovv'n name ; though not with more heartfelt satisfaction, with the trophies, which w^ere most to redound to the future grandeur and importance of the country in which he lives.

But repe7itance is a sweet solace to conscience, as well as the most complete atonement to the Supreme Judge of our offences: notwithstanding the tongue of malevolence and scurrility may be continually preparing its most poisonous ingredients for the punishment of a crime which has already received more than half a pardon.

Yet if even this be deemed too much of an extenuation of a breach in the modesty of \.\\^ female world - humilized and contented will I sit down inglorious, for having unfortunately performed an important part assigned for another - like a bewildered star traversing out of its accustomed orbit, whose twinkling beauty at most has become totally obscured in the presence of the sun.

But as the rays of the sun strike the eye with the greatest lustre when emerging from a thick fog, and as those actions which have for their objects the extended hand of charity to the indigent and wretched - to restore a bewildered traveller to light - and, to reform in ourselves any irregular and forlorn course of life; so, allowing myself to be one or the greatest of these, do I still hope for some claim on the indulgence and patronage of the public; as in such case I might be conscious of the approbation of my God.

I CANNOT, contentedly, quit this subject or this place, without expressing, more emphatically, my high respect and veneration for my own sex. The indulgence of this respectable circle supercedes my merit, as well as my most sanguine expectations. You receive at least in return my warmest gratitude. And though you can neither have, or perhaps need, from me the instructions of the sage, or the advice of the counsellor ; you surely will not be wholly indifferent to my most sincere declaration of friendship for that sex, for which this checkered flight of my life may have rendered me the least ornamental example; but which, neither in adversity or prosperity, could I ever learn to forget or degrade.

Theatrical Address. 3

in virtue and in vice, that the uniformly virtuous and reformed in Hfe can derive the greatest and most salu- ' tary truths and impressions. - Who, for example, can contemplate for a moment, the prodigal - from the time of his revelry with harlots, to that of his eating husks I with swine, and to his final return to his father - withj out the greatest emotion of disgust, pity and joy.^* And f without bringing into exercise every passion of abhorrence and commisseration? And yet, happy, those, who at the same time receive a monitor which fixes a resolve, never to embark on such a sea of perdition; w^here we see shipwreck of all that is enobling to the dignity of ma7i - all that is lovely and amiable in the character of

I CANNOT, indeed bring the adventures, even of the worst part of my own life, as parallels with this black catalogue of crimes. But in whatever I may be thought to have been unnatural, unwise and indelicate, it is now my most fervent desire it may have a suitable impression on you - and on me, a penitent for every wrong thought and step. The rank you hold in the scale of beings is, in many respects, superior to that of man. ^ Nurses of his growth, and invariable models of his habits, he becomes a suppliant at your shrine, emulous to I please, assiduous to cherish and support, to live and to this world. - How important then is it, that these blossoms bring forth such fruit, as w^ill best secure your own delights and felicity, and those of him, whose every enjoyment, and even his very existence, is so peculiarly interwoven with your own!

On the whole, as we readily acquiesce in the acknowledgment, that the field and the cabinet are the proper spheres assigned to our Masters and our Lords; may we, also, deserve the dignified title and encomium of Mistress and Lady, in our kitcheiis and xxiOViX parlours. And as an overruling providence may succeed our wishes - let us rear an offspring in every respect worthy to fill the most illustrious stations of their predecessors. -

Historical Society Gatherings

I outing. The forenoon was spent in a walk down Billings street and East street to Rockridge cemetery, and thence to McElroy's grove near Massapoag pond. Here a lunch was served and the company then walked

April 28, 1904. Quarterly meeting of the Society. I Vice President D. Webster Pettee in the chair. Twentyj five new members joined. The by-laws were so changed

Its leading article is "Annals of Sharon, by Jeremiah Gould, 1830." William R. Mann read a paper giving reminiscences of Sharon, 1 831- 1850. James N. Pringle read a communication to the Society from President John G. Phillips about an Italian passenger whom he met on his voyage to Europe. Tea was served at the social half hour.

April 30, 1904. The Corresponding Secretary attended, as delegate, a meeting of the Bay State Historical League at 12 Somerset street, Boston.

June 4, 1904. Several members attended the outing of the Bay State Historical League at Lexington. An address was delivered in the Unitarian Church by Prof. Hart of Harvard College. Rev. C. A. Staples escorted the assembly over the Common and to the house of the Lexington Historical Society, and explained matters of interest.

Aug. 4, 1904. Old Home Week, outing in the forenoon to Moose Hill. Forty-five persons were in the party, having 7 carriages besides a barge. An abandoned burial ground (Lothrop) v^'as examined. At the cellar of the old Morse house, Henry F. Talbot read a description of the place, and of the Smith place on Moose Hill, written by Solomon Talbot. Leonard Billings came out on to his piazza at the foot of the hill and played on a violin manufactured by himself.

In the evening, the quarterly meeting was held in the upper Town Hall. Vice-President D. Webster Pettee in the chair. Sixteen new members joined. Resolutions were passed on the deaths of two members, Frederick L.Holbrook, who died June 1 6th, and William Oscar

Historical Society Gatherings 35

Arnold, who died July i8th. Henry F. Talbot read. a description of old Sharon homesteads written by his father, Solomon Talbot. Miss Elmira S. Winship read a a paper written by her mother, Mrs. Adaliza A. (Johnson) Winship, entitled ''Trip over Moose Hill Road!" Both writers were in the audience. Rev. T. Frank Waters, President of the Ipswich Historical Society, delivered an address on the value of an historical society. Music was furnished by Keach's orchestra of Boston.

September 22, 1904. The ofificers of the Society called in the evening upon Vice-President Solomon Talbot, at his house on Maskwonicut Street, to coni^ratulate him on reaching the age of ninety years. Timothy F. Quinn made an address presenting a Doulton ware pitcher marked " Solomon Talbot, 1904." On the side is a picture of a vessel sailing, and Mr. Quinn referred to Mr. Talbot's still being at the helm. Response was made by Mr. Talbot, w^ho afterwards spoke about the ancient families of the town. Refreshments were served by the ladies of the family.

October 27, 1904. Quarterly meeting of the Society in the upper Town Hall. President - John G. 'Phillips in the chair. Fourteen new^ members joined. A resolution was passed on the death of a member, Mrs. Eunice L. Gay, who died September 5th, aged 86 years, 9 months, 19 days. During the intermission, Eugene Tappan, addressed the President in a congratulatory manner on liis return home with his family from a prolonged visit in Europe, at the close presenting him with a gavel made from the newel post of the staircase in the house of his birth. Mr. Phillips responded in a

Rev. Anson Titus of Someryille, delivered an address on Old Provincial days with especial reference to Madam Sarah Knight of Boston, who 200 years ago rode on horseback throuG^h Sharon and lod^red at Ebenezer Billings's tavern on her trip from Boston to New York. Singing w^as furnished by a double quartet with Cassius C. Stearns, director, who rendered "Ode on Science," "Invitation" and " Keller's American Hymn."

January 18, 1905. By invitation of the Somerville Historical Society, the Corresponding Secretary attended a meeting of that Society, in the Oliver Tufts house on Sycamore street, and spoke of the work being done by the Sharon Society.

January 26, 1905. Quarterly meeting of the Society. President John G. Phillips in the chair. Tea w^as served, with music by Everett C. Stanton, pianist, and Robert Tappan on the mandolin. Seven new members joined. John G. Phillips delivered an address on Pole Plain, an ancient name for the vicinity, giving some reasons for referring the origin of the term to connection with William Pole and his sister Elizabeth Pole, early settlers in Dorchester and later in Taunton. A short discussion followed. There had been a blizzard the previous day with cold and drifts of snow. Thirty-three persons, however, attended the meeting. A gift presented by Charles E. Hall was explained by the president, being a section of wall paper taken from the Capen house on Massapoag street. The paper on which the design was printed proved to be

Miscellaneous Notes

The plan of an historical scrap book was explained in Publications No. i of the Society, and 31 contributions were there acknowledged. Thirty of these with additional articles have been substantially bound in half morocco, making a book 8. J inches by 10^- inches, and | inch thick. The additional articles are, -

An index is added containing 500 names of persons besides other references. The book is entitled "Scrap Book, Volume i." Volume 2 is nearly ready, and a

In continuation of the purpose of the Society to encourage the practice of getting acquainted with the historic and natural features of Sharon, an Outing Committee has been appointed consisting of the following gentlemen: - Col. Edmund H. Hewins, chairman, A. Alden Carpenter, Charles S. Curtis, Benjamin Raynolds, and Henry F. Talbot.

The Society considers Old Home week to be an ideal occasion for holding one of its Cjuarterly meetings. This week in Massachusetts is appointed by statute law to commence on the last Sunday of July in every year. The next quarterly meeting of the Sharon Society will be held on Thursday evening of that week, August 3, 1905, in the town hall. An outing will also be taken during the same week.

Other meetings of the Society will be held October 26, 1905, January 25 and April 26, 1906. As the next January meeting falls on the anniversary of the birthday of Robert Burns, due recognition will then be taken of that event.

The Sharon Historical Society is deeply grateful for the appreciation shown by its sister societies and many friends, and for the valuable aid and encouragement given. The purpose of the Society to issue a printed annual publication has been warmly commended, and the Society is cheered in continuing this important line of work. To meet the anticipated call for the reprint of Deborah Sampson Gannett's address, the principal article in the present annual, there has been pre- pared for sale a special edition of the reprint of the address and the secretary's introduction. This forms a thin book bound in calf back and boards, with gilt top and uncut edges, the price of which is seventy-five cents. postage prepaid.

A full program of each quarterly meeting is issued before the meeting, and will be sent to societies and friends who request it. Their attendance on the Sharon meetings would be highly appreciated.

The Sharon Historical Society needs a Home for its records and collections and for a place of meeting for members and visitors. Held in lasting remembrance will be the honored name of that man or woman who so loves Sharon as to build an historical house for the Society.

Friends of Sharon are requested to forward to the officers of the Society any information they acquire concerning the town. Early documents and letters, old newspapers references, and diaries are desired. Information will also be acceptable respecting the former existence of moose, and the origin of the names "Pole Plaiii" and "Sharon." Accounts are wanted of migrations of Sharon families to Maine lOO years ago and to the west 75 years ago. The exact identification and proof of the birthplace of Deborah Sampson in Plympton, information as to the site of Wainman's Ordinary, memoranda about Jonathan Billings, Rev, Philip Curtis and other forefathers of Sharon, would be gladly received. The corresponding secretary, on request, will furnish suitable sheets prepared for the Scrap Book. While asking the assistance of others, the Sharon society

Gifts To The Society

Lucy Keyes, the lost child of VVachusett Mountain. Increase Blake. All written by Mr. Blake. Mrs. Ellen A. Bond, Sharon. Photographs found in the stump of a tree. ;

Gifts To The Society

Celebration of 250th anniversary, 1901. - A visit to an early Homestead. A Sunday in the old meeting house. The last two written by William S. Tilden. ^ Col. Edmund H. Hewins, Sharon. Old psalm tune book.

American Baptist Missionary Union, by Dr. Merriam. Also pamphlets by him, on missionary subjects. Nantucket Historical Association, Nantucket. Nantucket Lands and Land Owners. Proceedings of annual meeting, 1904. National Shawmut Bank, Boston. 200 year calendar. New England Historic Genealogical Society. Boston. Librarian's report, 1904.

4 tickets. Providence Street Lottery, 1761. 3 tickets. Providence Great Bridge Lottery, 1790. James N. Pringie, Sharon. History of United States, by John H. Hinton, 1834. (vol. i.)

Reminiscences of Easton, in TJie Parish Visitor. Town Records of Bridgewater, entered by John Gary. Copy of deed from Charles Josiah, Indian Sachem, indorsed, "This deed is not valed nor valebel in law the lawers say."

Gifts To The Society 43

Receipts given by Capt. Edward Bridge Savell to John Drake, Jr., and Archippus Drake, July 11, 1776, for £2, each, paying soldiers for the present expedition."

Gen. John Glover and his Regiment, by Mr. Sanborn. By-laws of Historical Society of Marblehead, 1899. Sharon Club, Sharon. Souvenir programs of annual entertainments, 1902-1905.

"Sharon Collections, No. i," containing the following pamphlets: Publications of Historical Society, No. i; History of First Parish, by George Willis Cooke ; Translation of Arabic MS, by Sidney A. Weston, Ph. D.; History of Baptist Church in Sharon, by Rev. Lyman Partridge ; First Anniversary celebration of Stoughtonham Institute, 1864 ; Reunion of Pupils of same ,

An Old Ipswich House. Thomas Weston, Newton. History of Eliot Church in Newton, by Rev. Joshua W. Wellman. ,,, George H. Whiitemore, Sharon.

Essay on Man, 1832 ; Hymns for Infant minds, 181 5 ; Sermons to the rich and studious on Temperance and Exercise, 1772; Faith and Covenant of Baptist Church, 1838 ; Sunday School Class Book, 1859.

List Of Members

Appraisal of estate of Widow Judith Bullard, 1810. . Letters of administration on estate of Benjamin Bullard, 1779. Woburn Public Library, Woburn. Trustees' Report, 1903.

By John Sargent Wise Of New York City

The following address was delivered by Capt. John S. Wise before the Sharon Historical Society, at its celebration in Sharon, February 22, 1907, of the one hundred and seventy-fifth anniversary of the birth of Washington. Capt. Wise is the well known author of "The End of an Era" and "Recollections of Thirteen Presidents." As a lover of all sections of the land, and having an intimate knowledge of his native state of Virginia and her regard for Washington, with skill as an author and speaker and a special interest in the theme, Capt. Wise adds to the common knowledge of the subject a welcome exhibition of the attitude towards Washington of those who dwell on the soil where he lived and died.

It is a great pleasure, I assure you, to meet and greet the people of Massachusetts on the anniversary of the birth of the great and good man whose name and fame are so identified with her early career. Massachusetts began the bloody work of the Revolution before her sisters. Lexington, Concord and Bunker Hill preceded the appointment of a commander-in-chief of the forces of the united colonies. Washington's prominence as a national military character began when he took command of the army at Cambridge; and throughout

Considering the character of the address I should make to the citizens of Sharon to-night, I came to the conclusion that an attempt to deliver an elaborate oration must result disastrously among a people so familiar with American eloquence on the subject of George -'* approach you, not with a set speech with rounded periods, but in simple conversational way repeating to you some of the folk-lore of his fellow citizens in the state w^here he was born and lived and died. Those people knew him and loved him and honored and mourned him as did no others on earth. The task is peculiarly grateful to me for I am a descendant of one of his most devoted soldiers, was reared in a family where veneration of Washington was placed next to faith in God, and have but recently, by the strange . mutations of life and by the death of a great number entitled ahead of me, become entitled to membership in the Society of Cincinnati of which he was the founder.

Washington has been dead over a century. Precious as are his name and character and deeds to the wdiole country, he is more or less an idealized abstraction to the people at large outside of his native State, but is still a concrete entity to the older class of Virginians, and, to a less degree possibly, to her rising generation.

No man ever let't every feature of his personality, every incident in his long public and private career more indelibly impressed upon the people among w^hom he lived. He died childless, it is true. To him this was a bitter disappointment, but among Virginians we I are disposed to be proud of the fact that Nature, despairing of reproducing so matchless a type, broke the die in which he was cast, and left his fame unmarred by any injurious effects of inferior progeny. The name, too, is almost extinct in the old State, having migrated to the North, South and West. I recall but one Washinsrton family still resident in Virginia, and they are distant collaterals. But his collateral kindred, bearing other family names, and the descendants of his adopted children, the Custis offspring of his wife, are numerous, and among them are preserved all the things pertaining to him not in public places. In one way or another, nearly every prominent family in the State is connected with him, or feels identified with him by some service or circumstance in the life of its forbears. For example: I have no blood relationship to the Washingtons, but my grandmother, through John Custis of Arlington, was cousin of the two adopted Custis children of Washington, and her father was a field-officer under his command at Brandywine, Germantown, Valley Forge and Monmouth. Those circumstances alone make people "near i kin" in Virginia. His sister Betty, who married Fielding

Lewis, was the most prolific of his family, and, to this day. Piedmont and Tide-water and the Valley of Virginia are filled with her descendants, the Lewises and Taylors and the rest of them, all preserving and cherishing the minutest incidents of his great life, with the charm peculiar to oral tradition. But, if Washington had left no kinsfolk, it would be the same.

His public career began at such an early age that, although he died comparatively young, it really extended over a period of fifty years, and led him into every section of the Commonwealth which had then been settled. The result was that his personal acquaintance extended not only to the men of prominence but to men of all stations, and to their families; for in the days when men traveled about they lodged at private houses.

About George Washington

Washincrton was decidedlv above the avera2:e of his Colonial associates, and even perhaps above the other members of his own family in his observance of social etiquette. The tradition runs that his fine old mother smoked a pipe, and refused to visit him on a certain occasion because he regarded this habit as beneath the dignity of his home. The story is probably true, for I remember seeing the widow of a Revolutionary General, as late as 1851, sitting by her fire in a split-bottomed chair, on a rag carpet, with a lawn cap and a kerchief crossed upon her breast, smoking her pipe with great satisfaction, with no thought that it was *'infra dig."; and she was as high-bred a dame as any of them, had been a reigning beauty in her day, and had no doubt trod a minuet with Washington.

Father inherited his veneration for Washington and eagerly gathered and remembered every piece of folk-lore he heard. His love was transmitted undiminished to our whole family, and we are provincial or bigoted enough, or whatever you may choose to call it, to think even in this day that George Washington was the greatest man that ever lived. As General Von Moltke seems to have thought likewise, we may be right after all. Of course we know what has been written about him in books, but the things we know better are those which we have heard by oral tradition, through reliable mediums, during the course of our lives, from hearing them at the family fire-side until they were as familiar to us as the Lord's Prayer and the Creed and the Ten Commandments; things vastly more entertaining than what books contain, often too insignificant for historical record, yet frequently shedding a flood of light on character and making a lasting impression on memory, focusing up to us, as no book can do, the figures of the past.

About George Washington 9

a volunteer aide to accompany him on his expedition to Fort Duquesne. Braddock was a high hver. The story is told concerning him that he always insisted that tw^oof his aides should be invited to any dinner he attended, because he expected to require their assistance to reach his quarters after the festivities. Washington was not a total abstinence man. Throughout life he was not averse to a social glass of wine with friends, but he was prudent and abstemious, w^ith little taste for the indulgences and frivolity of his young companions on the staff. They were society men and dandies of the highest British circles. The Headquarters baggage of Braddock was more than that of a Continental Regiment ten years later. The contrast between the simple outfit of Washington and any one of these young British officers was most striking. So much so indeed that, with a person less dignified, they would have been disposed to look down upon him. Washington appreciated the maxim of "'doing like the Romans in Rome," and he ordered a lot of finery from England, but it never came in time to use it on the staff. One thing he had, and that he always had throughout his life. It is part of a true paid little attention to his wise advice at first. Indeed the old campaigner not only ignored Washington's warnings, but was disposed to resent them. Meanwhile, by his enterprise, his courtesy, and his prompt attention to every duty, Washington made friends of the members of the staff; friends who kept up correspondence with him until the Revolutionary War, and even during the war sent him messages of affection and respect through the lines. When it was too late Braddock himself was brought to confess the wisdom of Washington's advice^ to declare that he had been conspicuously reckless on the battle-field, and that Washington had done more than any ofhcer on the field to save the remnant of the British forces. But for him the Massacre would have been complete. He took charge of the retreat and of the wounded General, and, when Braddock died a few days later, thanks of the most touching kind to Wash> ington for his care and tenderness were among his last utterances.

Another instance of the innate loyalty to friendship in Washington's temperament is found in his treatment of Bryan Fairfax while the Revolutionary War was in progress. Fairfax was a loyalist. He was perfectly sincere in believing that in the pending crisis his allegiance was due to the King. The feeling against all such was very intense and the disposition of the authorities was to oppress and banish Fairfax. Washington knew him, had faith in him and great respect for him. He gave him protection papers and stood by him, upon his simple assurance that he would be neutral. Fairfax repaid him with devoted friendship and perfect fidelity to his pledges.

No man ever lived who possessed to a greater degree the quality of making devoted personal friends, than did Washincrton. This old forbear of mine of whom I have spoken was a striking instance of the devotion which Washington inspired. He survived until

About George Washington Ii

182 I. My father was born in 1806. My father's mother, died in 181 2, and my grandfather Wise in the following year, so that my orphaned father spent much of his boyhood in the home of General John Cropper, his maternal grandfather, at "Bowman's Folly," the family seat in Accomac County, Virginia. It is on the seaside near Drummondstown, the County seat.

In the autumn of 1776 John Cropper, aged nineteen, marched from Accomac to Philadelphia, as Captain of a company in the 9th Virginia Regiment (Col. Fleming) on Continental establishment to join Washington's Army. He had been married but six weeks to Margaret Pettitt, a granddaughter of John Custis, of Arlington, and a cousin of General Washington's adopted children. Cropper never saw his wife again until some time in 1778, when her first child, Sarah Corbin Cropper, my grandmother, was over a year old. Few of us stretch patriotism that far nowadays. During his absence he [ had fought under Washington at Brandywine and Ger- years were the cream of that boy's life. Washington was his God. His whole career as a soldier had been under Washington's eye. True it was a career of defeats and suffering, but what else draws men so near together or makes them know each other so well.'^

Washington into more intimate relations with his officers than at any other period of his career. The Army grouped about those hills was like a great family of poor people hugging up close to each other to keep warm. Washington was more like a father to them than a general. Every day he was among the men begging them to preserve their beef hides to make hutroofs, and hoofs and horns to make combs, and tallow to make itch-ointment, and doing a thousand other things shov/ing his concern for others.

The orderly book, still preserved, reads like the record of a careful guardian over his improvident wards. What infinite care and solicitude, down to the minutest details, it all displays. With him was his pet, young Lafayette, now a Division Commander, and Cropper's Brigade was under him. I have the original order of Lafayette assigning Col. Crooper (as he wrote it) to command the nth Regiment, and a note in his own hand-writing, written on thin French letter paper, telling Col. "Crooper" he would be over the following day to talk about "those coats for the men." These things bring us pretty close to the old fellows, do they not ? Then came Baron Steuben.

Think of it! A distinguished soldier in European Armies. An aide-de-camp on the Stall of Frederick the Great. What must have been his impressions of that mob ? Washington was quick to utilize his particular talent for organization. He could not have come at a better time or place. He designated him Inspector General and the old Baron entered cheerfully on the task of drilling an Army that never had been drilled.

About George Washington I3

Cadwalader for that and deeply regretted that the job had not fallen to his lot. And there with him, as a Captain in his regiment, and his devoted friend, was young black-haired, diamond-eyed John Marshall, the same who afterwards became the great Chief Justice, but in those days was chiefly prominent as the best quoit pitcher in the Revolutionary Camp. There, too, was Light Horse Harry Lee, the son of Washington's first lady love, beloved of Washington for her sake and his own ; that Light Horse Harry, who, in Congress when his great Commander died, sobbed forth his grief in the immortal resolutions presented by Marshall which declared that he was "First in War, first in Peace and first in the hearts of his Countrymen."

How these men all worshipped Washington! - In my day I have known descendants of them all, and with all exchanged our family traditions concerning the great Father. Heth's and Cropper's Virginia Regiments were hutted next to Cadwalader's. The three men were devoted friends. Within the past twenty years in New- York, John L. Cadwalader, Richard C. Selden and I dined together at my house, great-grandsons of those three old worthies from whom we were taught our veneration for George Washington.

When I was a small boy, my step-mother (only so in name, for she was my own mother, in love) had two old aunts, Aunt Belew and Aunt Claiborne. They were all three related to Mrs. Washington through the Dandridge connection. One of these old ladies lived many years at a place called "Cumberland" on the Pamunky River, adjoining the "White House" where their cousin the widow- Custis lived when Washington married her. They always referred to her as Martha Dandridge, and they knew- her and General Washington just as we do our cousins now-a-days. I remember one of them commenting upon a handsome colored print of

About George Washington I 5

Gilbert Stuart s painting of Washington which was then extensively circulated in aid of the Mount Vernon purchase and saying the eyes were too "soulful" and the color too delicate. They said Washington's eyes were smaller, and not so deep in color as the pictures show them; and that there was a look about them not exactly of cunning but very quick and knowing, by no means so gentle as the ox-eyed expression transmitted to posterity by the artist. Then too, concerning his complexion, their criticism was that while Washington's complexion was healthy, it was not so delicately pink and childlike as It is shown, for he had a few scars of f; small-pox on his face, and his skin showed that thicki details are well remembered in the neighborhood. The Potomac is a famous place for canvas-back and red head ducks. It seems Colonel Washington, as he then was, had carefully baited a certain feeding ground with corn, and that the ducks were coming in finely. But this offender had poached on the place and had been warned away. One morning Washington, who had been absent but had just returned home, went down before day to enjoy the sport of which he was very fond, when, lo ! there in the very spot which he expected to occupy, was the same old intruder. He had ascertained that the Colonel was absent and thought he might trespass with impunity. It is said that he tried to push off his boat and escape, but Washington dashed into the water after him, seized his boat and, towing it to the shore, gave him a sound pommelling. Washington's temper was well known to every one who was intimate with him. He had it under control generally, and no doubt often concealed it with his dignified demeanor, but occasionally he gave his friends an exhibition that they never forgot. History records what he said to Lee at Monmouth. And I for one am glad he said it. It shows he had good red blood in his veins, and it is comfort to feel that great as he was, he was not above the infirmities of us weak mortals. This eternal representation of W^ashington's extreme goodness and his praying out in the snow at Valley Forge, etc., gets to be namby-pamby after a while.

The sinful world is gratified to know that now and then he wrestled with the old Adam. One of the Carys told my father of an experience he had as a boy on a visit to Mount Vernon. The family chariot was full on a certain Sunday, and the General allowed young Gary to ride to church a favorite mare that was in foal. All were very devout during the services, particularly the General. The family coach started home at once, but Mr. Gary lingered a while. The mare, as is usual with high-bred horses, chafed for her companions, and the moment she was headed homeward bolted. The boy lost control of her. She overtook the General's carriage going like a shot. "Stop that ! Stop that !" shouted the General as she passed him. He thought the boy w^as speeding her. His commands receiving no attention, he forgot the sermon and the prayers, and Gary said that as long as he was in ear-shot he heard very sulphurous imprecations from his host. Washington designed the National Capital upon a scale which has rendered it unnecessary to enlarge his plans and has made possible, on the very plan he devised, the most beautiful city in the world. Even I remember when I thought there was great waste of space there, but the innumerable buildings erected there in my day, grand I as many of them are, find ready for them all that the there are things suggestive of him. A little wild pea known as the partridge pea is indigenous to the whole Eastern shore peninsula. It grows luxuriantly and in that sandy section is regarded, for lack of the sturdier grasses on limestone soils, as an excellent hay and good restorer of the land. I never walk out in the spring tim.e and behold its pretty yellow bloom, without recalling a most interesting correspondence between Mr. Custis, who lived at Arlington, seven miles above my place, and General W^ashington, concerning the merits of the partridge pea. Mr. Custis took the trouble to secure some seeds for General Washington, and the General planted them at Mount Vernon and reported the results. He said that it might serve its purpose fairl)^ well in a light soil like that of the peninsula, but on the stronger lands of Piedmont there was a plenty of products of better substance both as feed and fertilizers. Washinsr. i ton was unquestionably a scientific farmer in his day, man's head. In later years, he was in the Virginia Senate. He was then a General, for Washington had , proposed him as Commander of the Virginia troops when the troubles arose with France in 98. At a banquet at the Swan tavern in Richmond a speaker reflected upon Washington. When his remarks had proceeded to a certain point, General Cropper arose, seized a carving knife and started towards him. swearing he would

"-have his ears" for such lano-ua2:e concerning the crreatest and best man that ever lived. It was with great J difficulty that he was restrained and pacified. At the surrender of Yorktown Washington presented twelve French cannon captured from the British to the Marquis de Lafayette for distribution to the favorite officers ' of his division. One of these he gave to Colonel

These scenes were of course part of the youth of my father. Nothing pleased him more than to describe his grandfather speaking upon Washington. The old man would be moved by his own eloquence to defiance, exultation and tears.

When the old Revolutionary hero became too infirm to appear in public, he would on patriotic days assemble his children and grandchildren about him, have them read the old documents and sing the old songs, while he joined in with all his remaining fervor, the tears streaming down his cheeks. I have a letter written by William Wirt to his daughters when General Cropper died and it is one of his most beautiful productions.

If General Washington slept in all the houses in Virginia which have been pointed out to me, from time to time, as his lodging places, he must have done a good deal of napping in day-time; for in his brief lifetime he could not have done the sleeping in the night-time requisite to fill all these beds.

Some of the houses he occupied were very small and very primitive. Indeed it is hard to realize how little of domestic comfort satisfied even the grandest people of his time. Many of the abodes of the wealthiest and most important people of that day in Virginia were not up to those of the humblest today in space and comfort. There were a few handsome houses in Williamsburg and Fredericksburg in Gloucester and upper Potomac and on the lower James, but outside of these the Colonial Mansions of Virginia never w^ere very numerous, or at all up to modern standards.

A hundred years ago the fame of Washington in future ages, elsewhere than in Virginia, may have been problematic. It never was so there. The surroundings of every Virginian born then or since have been such that he was as sure to worship this immortal man as were the goats bred by Jacob to be *'ring-streaked, speckled and grizzled."

About George Washington

Thus, fellow-citizens, have I attempted to lay before you, in simple phrase, the real George Washington, in his daily and private life and in his relations to his neighbors and fellow-citizens. It may have been problematical with the rest of mankind, a hundred years ago, how he would rank in History. It was never so with Virginians. To them he was, even in his lifetime, "the immediate jewel of their souls." A century has rolled by since he died - a century filled with great events that have revolutionized and changed, almost daily, the map of the world, with hosts of great men, from Napoleon and Wellington, down to now, filling Fame's trumpets with their deeds. Yet, there stands the Colossal figure of Washington, his fame enhanced rather than dimin- ished by comparison with them, and likely to increase for a thousand years to come. Our Washington. Not Washington of Virginia or of Massachusetts. Not Washington of the North or of the South. Not even Washington of America. But Washington of the whole world, embodying and expressing the ideas of Liberty, and Justice and Valor and Moderation as the world had never known them before he lived. Quoted to describe him, the oft repeated words are no longer thread-bare. "As some tall clifl that lifts its awful form, Swells from the vale and midway leaves the storm, Though round its breast the roiling clouds are spread. Eternal sunshine settles on its head."

Thank God that in our past there was one great father, at whose tomb we may meet in common brotherhood for all time to come and there forget the differences of intervening years.

Work Of The Society I Quarterly Meetings

singers and musicians, and to the matrons and assistants who have contributed inspiration and good cheer. At the April and January meetings the leading address was given by Mr. John G. Phillips, followed at the last meeting by Messrs. Hewins, Whittemore and Tappan. Mr. Kempton has often given historical readings. Some speakers who came from out of town were Dr. Loring W. Puffer, the president of the Bridgewater Historical Society, in April, Ex-Gov. John D. Long in August, and Dr. William H. P. Faunce, the president of Brown University, in October. A customary feature of the meetings is a social half-hour with service of tea and cakes.

The year's outings were limited, as previously, to the territory of the town, and took place on Saturday afternoons in alternate weeks of May, June, September and October with an all-day outing in Old Home Week. The attendance was greater than in the previous year, 50 or 60 being the number in the last two months. On longer distances carriages are used. Often times a light" lunch is carried by the ramblers, or served to them by the kindness of those living in the places visited. Careful attention is given to antique objects and the history and traditions of the families connected with the places. There was always held on such occasions an informal historical conference, at which some of the speakers were Messrs. Britton, Deming, Drake, Dyer, Field, Fuller, Haskel, Kempton, Mackintosh, Martin, Perry, Pettee, Phillips, Raynolds, Taibot, Tappan, Mrs. Eddy, Miss Felt, Mrs. Mann, Mrs. Talbot, Mrs. Washburn,

Work Of The Society 25

Mrs. White and Miss Winship. Frequent visitors from abroad attend the outings as well as the regular meetings. A scholarly gentleman, while walking with the ramblers in a beautiful grove, expressed his feelings by the remark, "I'd rather walk in these woods than read the best book that ever was written."

Old Home Week

The Society gave unusual attention to the holiday week, called Old Home Week, conducting as already stated the three events of antique concert, quarterly meeting and outing, and also issuing an illustrated program pamphlet for all the exercises of the week, of which 1500 copies were distributed, and a profit realized from the advertisements furnished by friends.

Written Contributions

Each of the meetings and rambles has its historian whose full narrative is printed in the Sharon Advocate, filling one or two columns of that village newspaper. These articles with others are included in the Society Scrap Book, the fourth volume of which has just been bound, its contents being given on another page. These volumes are substantially bound and will last as long as any printed book, and be read with increasing interest as time goes by. Sometimes on a ramble a selection from the Scrap Book has proved appropriate. The Sharon Advocate, by the courtesy of its publisher, contains notifications and historical items concerning the Society as well as the above named narratives. Bound volumes of the Advocate are kept in the Sharon Public Library. ^ , , , .

Historical Building

A goodly number of gifts has been received, as shown on other pages and in the preceding numbers of the PubHcations. "Where shall we put these valuables?" is a natural question frequently asked. A sufficient answer is found in Publication No. 3 issued a year ago, containing as frontispiece a perspective view of a suitable historical building with an article describing the structure and a reliabk builder's estimate that the cost would be $6000. A generous contribution for the beginning of a building fund would attract other similar contributions, resulting at last in a building erected, alike an ornament to the town and a safe deposit of valuable papers and relics. This building would be of great value to the life and prosperity of the Society.

Associated Work

As a member of the Bay State Historical League, the Society sends representatives to the meetings of the Leao-ue. Meetino-s of historical societies have been attended in Somerville, Roxbury, Canton, Hyde Park, and also meetings of the Bridgewater Historical Society, and the American Historical Association. The Sharon Society has been glad to welcome at its meetings the presidents and members of sister organizations.

A larcre membership has been the desire of the Society. Greater interest and more assistance are thus secured. At the be<^inning one hundred subscribers signed the application for incorporation, and at every

Tegular meeting accessions have been made to this number, the total being now 245. While noting with regret the recent loss by death of three members - Mr. Jay Gould of Norw^ood Street at the age of 50 years, Mr. Horace S. Shepard of Ames Street at the age of 74 years, and Mr. William F. Hall at the age of 55 years, the society recalls with gratitude that during the calendar year of 1906, there was not a single loss.

Some Results

tracts of land that have distinctive names, the recovery oi Indian names now dropping out of memory (as Sconcumpenshen swamp in South Sharon), are instances. A diary of natural events might be kept, noting the first appearance of different kinds of birds, insects, leaves and flowers. The pursuit of genealogy, little attended to at present by the Society, might be as interesting and useful in Sharon as in other towns. Repeated requests in the Advocate to search old attics and report results, and to furnish copies of family registers in old Bibles have hitherto elicited no response, yet such registers exist and attics are not often empty.

A list has been made of the cases in the Probate Registry at Dedham from 1793 to 1878 relating to Sharon, and the additional w^ork has been commenced of making an abstract of each case. A member who can spend a day, or several days, in continuing this w^ork would be doing a good service. Another opening for historical work is to edit the records of the Sharon Lyceum in the years 1844 to 1846, presented by Mr. Charles S. Curtis. Such an editor could procure a brief biographical mention of each member of the Lyceum, besides writing a history of such organizations in the town. The building of the railroad in Sharon is another theme toward the preparation of which Mrs. William B. Wickes has contributed a copy of a report in 1829 to the Legislature on the practicability of the road, with plans of several proposed routes through the town. Some members of a practical turn might accomplish the task of setting up a monument on the Randall place, using therefor the stone door step pre- sented by a descendant. A similar work would be the placing of a boulder at the grave of William Tolman, with perhaps this inscription, ''William Tolman requested to be buried on this spot, from which he had often watched the wild geese fly over the pond." Wood paths and historical sites need to be marked. A more ambitious undertaking might be the publication of a small book of the geography and history of Sharon for use in the public schools. There is none of the members who cannot write a page for the Scrap Book.

The habit of historical research gives a pleasant purpose to one's leisure hours, and a local historical society may add materially to the happiness and refinement of the community. By cultivating the loving study of the town, it will do a substantial part in interesting the people in one another and in promoting good citizenship and good fellowship.

1. Spring Outing, Saturday afternoon, April 27. Stone bridge on Puffer's or Maskwonicut brook, in rear of Richards street. Take electric car to Canton street, thence walk along Canton street to Chestnut Tree cemetery, and thence across the fields.

2. Rock Ridge, Saturday afternoon, May 25. Ride as far as Rockridge cemetery, thence walk along the summit of Rock Ridge to George P. Lawrence's house, and from there ride back to the village.

3. Sharon Incorporation Day, f'riday afternoon, June 21. The district was incorporated June 21, 1765. Out-door meeting with special speaker and music.

5. Old Home Week Outing, Saturday, August 3. Ride to Moose hill, lunch on the summit, walk down the west slope to Walpole line at Baker street, and from there ride back to the village.

7. Apple Day (the new holiday), Wednesday afternoon, October 16. Ride to the town farm, giving an entertainment to the inmates, thence across country to Bertram's and home.

The foregoing list of outings was approved by vote of the Historical Society at the last January meeting. A narrative of each outing will be written by one of the company. All persons interested are welcome to join in the excursions.

Historical Scrap Book The Historical Scrap Book

The following Is a list of the articles, with names of writers appended, contained in the fourth volume of the Society's Scrap Book, just completed and bound. Contributions are requested for future numbers, and stationery for the purpose will be supplied on application to the corresponding secretary.

Copied by Eugene Tappan Going to Pigeon Swamp, a sketch, . The Burns Festival .... Historical Meeting, April 26, 1906 . Old Home Week, 1906 Historical Meeting, August 2, 1906 Historical Outing, August 3, 1906 . An Evening in Sicily, October 25, 1906. Historical Meeting, January 31, 1907 Washington Celebration, February 22, 1907 Results of the Celebration. The Brook Unvisited (outing)

Gifts To The Society 33

W. Perry Fiske. Massachusetts of Today (1892). George S. Godard, Hartford, Conn. Triimbuirs Notes on- Constitutions of Connecticut. Notes on Town Representation. Journal of Constitutional Convention (1818). Mr. and Mrs. William K. Hawes, Canton. Mortar and pestle and riding stick formerly belonging to Dr. Elijah Hewins. 1 Eben N. Hewins, Boston. Framed portrait of his father, Amasa i Col. Edmund H. Hewins. Papers of the California Relief Committee of Sharon (relief of earthquake sufferers). I Martha M. Hewins. Governors' proclamations for thanksgiving

1902, 1903. Littleton PIistorical Society. Proceedings of the Littleton Society, No. i (containing article on Littleton Lyceum, 1829), No. 2. Arthur C. Long. Photograph of house formerly standing on site of present water works (given at request of his deceased brother). Marblehead Historical Society. The Fountain Inn, Agnes published by that society. Mrs. Amanda M. Morton. Oracles of Reason by Col. Ethan Allen. Works of William E. Channing, Vol. II. (Slavery, Texas, etc.). Columbian and P2uropean Harmony or Bridgewater Collection of Sacred music, 1S02. Nantucket Historical Assc^ciation. Proceedings of Annual Meeting (1906). Nantucket Lands and Land Owners.

1876. New England Catholic Historical Society, Boston. Fr. Sebastian Rasle (missionary of Abenaquis Indians). Old Dartmouth Historical Society, and Edward Denham. Old

Dartmouth Historical Sketches, Nos. 13, 14, 15, 16. Dr. Loring W. Pup^fer, Brockton. The Delhi Gazette (News- I paper) Dec. 27, 1852, "published on the latest safe date of i Eugene Tappan. Letters No. i (bound volume of letters of historical interest). Series of plans of Boston, 1630-35-40-45, by George Lamb. Rev. Anson Titus, Somerville. Proceedings of the Bostonian

Society, 1906, containing Mr. Titus's paper on Franklin. RuFUS B. ToBEV, WoUaston. Passport, 1868, signed by William H. Seward. Shipping paper of ship Bowditch, 185 1. English bill of lading for 2818 rails, 1870. Dominican shipping document, 1846. Fac simile of Washington letter. Parchment

Officers And List Of Members

President, Col. Edmund H, Hewins. Vice-Presidents, Solomon Talbot, William R. Mann, D. Webster Pettee. Recording Secretary, George H. Whittemore. Corresponding Secretary, Eugene Tappan. Treasurer, Eliza L. White. Custodian, Loring M. Monk. Auditor, Joiii\ A. Bowman. The Directors consist of the president, the secretaries, treasurer and custodian with the following additional members, Timothy F. Quinn, Amanda M. Eddy, George Kempton, Eliza J. Kempton. The above named officers were at the annual meeting, April 26, 1906.

Foreword

The Minister's Record of the Second Parish of Stoughton (later the First Parish of Stonghtonhani, now Sharon) is the property of Mr. Charles S. Curtis of Sharon, the great grandson of Rev. Phihp Curtis the first minister, who has kindly loaned the manuscript lor copy and publication.

In form the Record is a little book 6 1-2 by 4 1-2 inches in size, hound in thick brown paper covers and contains nearly 100 pages; the b»nd writing, originally distinct, is now much faded, blurred in many places, and often can be deciphered only with considerable difficulty; the leaves are stained with much use, yellowed and crumljling with age, and in spite of the watchful custodianship now exercised over it, the Record must inevitably soon become a relic of sentimental value only.

A study of the contents will reveal many items of Vital Statistics from 1742-1797 not appearing in the town records which were not begun until 1765, The foot-notes will throw light upon some matters otherwise obscure, but in addition it should be understood that throughout the book, in almost every instance, the dates in the columns .headed "Deaths" are really those of burials, usually three days later than the actual dates of deaths as given in the town records.

As evidence of the progressive characteristics of Rev. Mr. Curtis it is interesting, and worthy of note, that the first entry in the Record, a baptism Jan. 17^^^- 1742, shows that he was using the new style of dating. It was not until September 1752 that January i^"^- was legally adopted as the beginning of the year and double dating between January i^^- and IMarch 25^^- was continued by many until an even later date.

A special effort has been made to reproduce the spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and the general arrangement of the records, as they appear in the original manuscript. .Mihough other copies have already been made it is believed thai no such exactness of detail has been heretofore attempted. A full index is appended. At the close of the records several pages were devoted to a review of the principal events in his own life by the minister and these have also been copied and included with the rest.

In publishin*::: the Minister's Record of Rev. Philip Curtis the Sharon Historical Society feels that it is performing a duty not only to its members and fellow citizens of the town but also to that increasing nuniber of students all over the country who are actively j at work, and Lo a still larger number of persons who are at least

\ Tupper, a native of the territory now Sharon, who served throughout the Rcvolutinni ary War an-i v>as a pioneer in the settlement of Marietta. Ohio.

* This entire paragraph has been blurred over with ink, but is distinctly legibJe. t These names are crowded into the margin. The name missing at the bottom of the page probably began with S. X Mary, crossed out.

May 18 Daniell Richards child hannah. was buried. Aprill 16 The Widow Blackman was buried August 17. John Whites child Jonathan was buried October 19 Xath": Woodcock was buried & 20^^. Solomon Leonard.

[10] For the Year 1753 Baptisms Jan: 7. Jere'^ : Gould'^. Prisciila March 11. Royall Kollock Ebenezor Aprill 15. Will -: Coney. Abigail May 20. Elijah Bakers. Elijah

Deaths April 29 Stephen Hollands Infant Child was buried July 19 Sam". Coney's Child was buried Octo. 17. Job Swift's Child Philip was buried Nov: 13 Job Swifts Child Charity was buried

Deaths Feb. 19 Pcletiah Esty Child was buried. Feb. 20. Eb^. Billing Child was buried Feb. 25 Elder Hewins was buried March 18. John W^hites Son Simeon was buried April 13 W.~ Whood Child was buried April 18. John White oldest dau was buried May 3 Widow Hewdns was buried. - May 12 John White Son Levi was buried. - June 6 Mrs Gilbirt was buried June 8 W^'- Tolman Child was buried June 29. J.'Iassah Gilbert was buried. - July 5. Mrs. Tolman was buried July 18. Eben: Capen's Son, was buried.

Add: Chk: June II. Admitted Jeremiah Belcher Ju''. & wife August 2y. Elisabetli Hixson was Admitted into the Chh : November 5 X Edward Bridge Savel & his wife made Confession . . .

+ Edward I'ridpe Savel was Captain of tlie ist Company of Stoughtonham Militia, tinder CoIoitjI Rcbinson. They marched on the alarm of April lo, 1775. He was captain of other coirpanies. serving seven years.

Billings, & Daniel Bacon Admitted into the Chh : - March 18 Judith Payson Addmitted into the Chh. Aug: 5. Benjamin White & wife Ad: into the Chh: Sep : 9 SuSannah Whittemore Admitted into y^ Chh Oct 28- Experience Fuller Admitted into the Chh :

[21] For the Year 1764. Baptisms Feb: 19. Israeli Smith Child Levi March II. Philip Withinton Child Rebeccnh March 18. Silas Morse. Child Silas

For the Year 1765 Baptisms Feb: 11. P: Witthington: Hannah Feb: 17. John Johnson Mary March 10. Sam^ Payson'^ Sarah Joseph Morse'-" Child Charlotte & Na^ Morses Child Hannah. March

Add: 171 to Cliii: Feb: 8. Daniel Richard Ju^ & wife Add: into Chh: Feb. 22. Ruth Tisdall Ad: into the Chh: March 15. Ad. E^ekiel Capen & his Wife JNIarch 30. Ad: Mary Atherton. April 19. Ad : Jacob Hawse & his wife. ^lay. 3. Ad Rebecah Tupper. July 5. Ad: Hiildah Oliver Sep^". 21. Ad. Matthias Pufier Ju^". & his Wife Oct: II. Ad. Mary Johnson

Sharon). On June 6. 1770. in company with Col. Richard Gridky and Joseph Jack- ! son. he purchased 430 acres, including .Massapoag J'ond, for the purpose of extracti ing iron ore for tlie marnifacture of war supplies. They bought a furnace, partially ball and shot, in certain auantitics, to be carried to storehouses in Worcester, Sudbury, etc. From these stations, supplies were distributed to the colonists, who were thus made ready for the Lexington alarm and th.e raids that were to follow. Mortars also were made and tested at the Pond, sent in to Roxbury, and used for the fortification of Dorchester Heights.

The part thus played in Colonial History by Ediinind Quincy \'. was no less important than that of his brother-in-law, John Hancock, the Governor-to-be, and their friend Samuel .Adams, whose names, however, are better known to posterity.

Add: Church Feb: 18. Lois Gould Ad: into Chh : - Sep: 30. Sarah Hewins Ad: into Chh Nov: 18. Ad: into the Chh: Asa Clark & his wife. Hannah Johnson.

§ Col. Louis de Maresquells (Marie Louis Armand Anstart de Maresquells) signed, Dec. 6, 1776, a lengthy and important contract with the Colonial Government, for the manufacture of a superior kind of cannon. The peculiarity of their construction was that they were cast solid and then bored out by a process learned from his father, the ^L'\rqu^s of Montelurbert. The Marquis had since 1750 been manufacturing such cannon for the supply of the French Government. The cannon for the coJony were to be cast at the Stoughtonham Iron Foundry, proved by de Maresquells in the presence of the Commissioners of the State, and to be furnished by him throughout the war. In return, he was to receive a larj^c sum of money annually during the war and an annuity for life, and was to have the honorary rank of Colonel.

H This paragraph has hten crossed out; it belonjrs in the record of 1781. ** Reference to the dates of tJie births of these children in the Town Records show that this heading should be Baptisms. ft Very indistinct. Town Records: Hettee.

I Town Records: Reupeke. John Christian Reupke was a native of Hesse, in Germany. He vas a scldier in the British army with Gen. Burgoyne at the surrender at Saratoga in 1777. Not being allowed to return to his own country, he settled in Sharon, marrying at Foxboro a Miss Clark of this town.

transferred from the Chh : of Walpole to this Chh. December 5^^^. . Ad : The widow Keziah Gould & Zibble Holmes December 26. Add: Elijah Baker & wife

Deaths Jan^. 5. Sam^: Billings Child buried. Male Jan^ 24. J^ Jngraham child. 8 m''. Male. Jany. 24. Wid : Everet of Rhumatism between 75 & 80 Age Jany 25. D°. Joseph Ilewins. 85. Age. of Cancer Feb^. 19. Mat: Harlow Child died of Th: Dis^ 5 years old female March 5. M"^'. Richard 75. old, died of ComplicaUd Disease. - March 22 Job Esty'^ Child", died. Ruth 2 years old, by worms, &

23*^ Ebenezer by Throat Distemper i year old. March. 31. Mrs Johnson 80 years old. died Lern. Capen. Child Aug^ female i year old 19 died of Quincy Aug*. 23. Wid: Clark died ^" 46 year of her Age of Jaundice &

Feb^'. 12. Elijah Capen wife was buried. - -.,... Aprill 3. Ezra Gould Child was buried. May 18. Sani^ : Capen wife was buried. - June 18. D". lacob Hewins Wife buried Nov'". 20. Oliver Bird Child buried. Decem"". 20. Nathaniel Billings Child Buried. -

Marriages March 8.^^. John Richards & Mary Bird. Married. All back returned to the Clerk April 26. Married Gilead Morse & Mary Fisher & Obed Johnson & Lucy Holmes.

Marriages March 14. Married John Rhodes & Molley Haden. April 16. Married Andrew Capen & Hannah Richards May 22. Married Elijah Capen & Massah Johnson. - Sep^. 24. Married Jsrael Smith & Zipperow BuUard All Back Returned to the Clerk.

Marriages May. 18 Married Matthias Puffer Sz Bathsheba French. Oc^ 19. Married loshua Clap Esq. & Deborah Hewins Oct: 20. Nat: Adams & Zebiah Kollock. Oc^ 21. Doctor Jerre Lyon & Mary Richards All Back Returned to the Clerk

For the Year [1791] Baptisms April 10. Elijah Johnson Son; Marcus May I. My Son Philips Son was Baptised.. Willard July 10. Wolly Leonard Child Lewis. July 24. Joseph Cumings. Hitte Aug^ 21. Thomas Glover Child, Sukee Oc^ 2. Benj"\ Hodges Child. Anna.

Tho*'. Coney April. 2^. Benj". Johnson Child buried. April 17 Widow Plarlow Child Buried Another of her Children Buried April 20. July 12. Jos*^. Cumings Child Buried. Another of his Children buried Sep"". 4. Tho: Kollock Child buried.

[83] Marriages JanJ'. 7. Eben'* Fisher. & Nancy Morse. - April 25. My Son Calvin was Married April! 26. Joseph Billings & Sible Kingsbury April. 27. Nat". Morse Rebcccah. Fisher All Back Returned to the Clerk luly 24. Oliver Shepherd Sz Susanah Baker Decern: 15 Jncrease Hewins & Sarah Toleman.

Deaths Sep*". 18. 1796 Hannah Withcrton Buried Oct. 3. 1796 M*^ Shephard Buried Melzar Drak Child Buried. Sep: 30. 1796. Oct: 8. 1796 Philip Witherton was buried Nov. 30. 1796 W'idow Coney was Buried Nov: 13. 1796 Francis Curtis'^ Wife & Child Died- December 26 1796. Philip Curtis Child Obadiah was buried

June 22. Hittee Leonard Died Daugh'". of Wol! : Leonard November ye 22 Died the Hev*^ M*". Curtis- '' Baptism Aug^ 27. Tho. Glover Child Elijah* Thomas Kollock Child *

Catari)ie Clarck adcd into the Chli Benjamin Richards -^^'. & wife aded to thic Church. - Total Added into the Church two hundred & Sixty-four

The Rev<^. . Mr. Philip Curtis was Ordained over the second church in Stoughton in January 1742, and died Nov. 22^\ 1797 in the 81 Year of his age and 56 Year of his Ministry.

[The rest of tiiis page is blank, as are the five remaining pages in the book. The upper third of the last leaf has been cut out. A fragment of a letter remaining on the margin on the binding side shows that it had been written upon, probably by the writer of the summary on page [90]. Three more leaves have also been cut out. The "Account" of Rev. Mr. Curtis's family, following, is written on two of the leaves evidently cut out long ago. The "Account" is in Mr. Curtis's hand through the twenty-second item.]

3. -J preached my first Sermon at the 2"^. chh in Stoughton t in the month May 1741. & was ordained to the work of the ministry there January 13^^. 1741.2