Shrewsbury Town (part 1 of 3)

The Earliest Times

THERE are moments in history which shine out brightly through the centuries, and to us, who are looking back into the dimness of the past to catch every ray of light that can show us more of the lives of those who came before us, they are full of the most intense interest. Events which seemed trivial to those who were the actors, even as the daily happenings of our lives seem to us, are surrounded with an interest that increases as time passes, and we gather every fragment of a story pertaining to the home life of those who a century ago moved about among these familiar scenes, and linking them together find how our forefathers lived, what heroic deeds they accomplished, what hardships they endured, and in all respects what manner of men and women they were who subdued the wilderness for us, and made the paths smooth in which our more tender feet were to tread.

The earliest recorded fact concerning any inhabitant of Shrewsbury comes to us from the soil itself, and from a grave found upon our borders. Here we learn that the mastodon once roamed in his majesty over our hills, and claimed one of our valleys for his last resting-place. For an unknown number of years no owner of the soil had any suspicion that beneath the smooth, heavy sod m the meadow lay a gigantic body, until the flesh had become a part of the soil and the bones had crumbled to dust. In 1884, while Mr. W. U. Maynard, the present owner, was having a deep trench dug, in order to drain and improve the land, the spades of the workmen brought up with the dark soil nine beautiful, polished teeth darkened with earth stains, and resembling choice specimens of agate. These with a few fragments of bone were all that remained of the "Mastodon Giganteus. " In close proximity to these teeth was found a human skull, and the mystery surrounding the fact, that these two skulls were found in one place eight feet below the surface of the ground, has not yet been cleared away. Perhaps a ray of light is shed upon the human skull by a recent reliable historian, W. T. Harlow, who tells us that undoubtedly this farm was the first in town occupied by a white man, and that this man was ]Mr. Warner. He also tells us that ]Mr. Warner suddenly disappeared and no trace of him was ever found. May not this be a trace, this skull without a name.? Doubtless I\Ir. Warner lost his way in the trackless swamp and sank in the soft mire to the rock bed on which lay the mastodon. This spot may now be seen in the meadow bordering on the Northboro line and the county road, at the right as you go westward. The mastodon teeth are preserved by the Natural History Society in Worcester, and Mr. Warner's skull (if it be Mr. Warner's) was sent to the Peabody Museum in Cambridge, where it has been examined by scientists and pronounced by them to be a remarkable specimen ; they also deemed it worthy of a learned treatise by one of their number. It is fitting that the memory of the first white inhabitant should be thus perpetuated.

The history of the red men who followed the mastodon is also hidden from us, but we feel certain that here some of them lived their lives and passed on, let us hope, to the happy hunting-grounds beyond. Of their names we are ignorant, and it is only by the finding ot their knives, arrow-heads and other stone implements, that we have evidence that their homes were once where ours now are; but it must have been at a very early period, for we do not learn that they claimed any title to the land when the first grants were made. One of these grants was to Mr. Isaac Johnson who sailed with the squadron of twelve ships which left England in 1628, in the stately ship "Arbella, " named in honor of his young and beautiful wife, the Lady Arbella, daughter of the Earl of Lincoln, who had left her luxurious English home with all its comforts to find another, she little knew how comfortless, in the

S Old Times In Shrewsbury

New World which was at that time attracting so many adventurers from beyond the sea, Isaac Johnson had gathered together all that he had, and taken his portion of his grandfathers estate to take himself and his frail young wife to America and establish there a home for themselves. After their arrival, he made himself useful to the government and received as remuneration a grant of several hundred acres of land lying in the northwest part of what was afterwards called Shrewsbury. The Lady Arbella found refuge for a time in Salem in the home of friends, but she soon faded away like a delicate tropical flower in the cold, hard life which she found in New England. Her amiable and heart-broken husband followed her in one month, his grave being the first m King's Chapel burying ground in Boston. It is pleasant to feel that the story of the charming Lady Arbella is even so remotely connected with any part of our town, though it is probable that neither of them ever saw the Shrewsbury land.

A very distinguished man of the early times left his name upon Shrewsbury soil. Rawson's Hill, in the north, is a part of the land granted in 1639 to Edward Rawson, the young and talented man who at the age of three-and-twenty took his seat among the legislators of the colony. Five hundred acres were granted to him for "his paynes" in the public service, "provided he go on with the business of powder making if the Salt Petre come." So he experimented largely upon this land but

The Earliest Times

^ot little Salt Petre ; however the grant was given him for the large amount of time and money he had spent in the search. Edward Rawson was a remarkable man, no blemish being found upon his character save that he used his influence to hang the Salem witches. More than one hundred and fifty years later his descendants, Elijah Rawson and his son Samuel, lived in this town.

On the rocky ledge, not far from Rawson's Hill, at the left as you go toward Boylston, is the "Rocking Stone" or "Dog's Head" as it has been called. It is a large boulder, resting upon a flat rock, but touching it in only one spot, and that scarcely larger than a man's hand. It is said that at one time it was so perfectly balanced that it could be rocked by a child, but so firmly placed that no power could dethrone it. Some years ago several men, to try their own strength and that of their oxen, made great efforts to throw it off from its high pinnacle, but only succeeded in fixing it more firmly in its position and rendering it immovable, so that now it is no longer the "Rocking Stone" but the ''Balanced Rock." A large piece has at some remote period been broken from it and lies by its side, but the memory of the ''oldest inhabitant" fails to recall the time when the two were one. The boulder is of a different formation from the rock below and must have been left there by the ice long before the mastodon passed that way.

Another eminent man of the seventeenth century left his name upon the land here. This was the Hon. Samuel Sewall, who was chief justice of the colony, and it came about in this wise. In his youth he was a student at Cambridge and on the day that he took his degree he also fell in love with the Boston jNIint ^Master's rosycheeked daughter, Hannah Hull. She had gone over from Boston as girls do now to see the young men graduated, and was very favorably impressed with the appearance of Mr. Samuel Sewall. The attraction being mutual, the young man found his way frequently to her home, but her father was not well pleased with his attentions ; finding, however, that he was a godly youth, he reluctantly gave his consent to the marriage. The wedding took place on Feb. 28th, 1676, in Boston, in the old hall, "which was one very large room," and they

The Earliest Times Ii

"were married by Gov. Bradstreet. After the ceremony, which was performed in the presence of a large company, John Hull ordered the servants to "bring in the balances ;" into one scale he placed his daughter, and from a large chest in a corner of the room he took out handful after handful of bright new pine-tree sixpences and shillings of his own coining, throwing them into the other scale until Hannah went up and the shining sixpences and shillings went down, when he presented the contents of both scales to the happy husband, he himself being much delighted with this novel method of bestowing his gifts. He also gave to his daughter a certain grant of land lying within the bounds of Shrewsbury which afterwards became her husband's ; a part of it is yet known to us as Sewall's Hill, and Sewall's Pond. For nearly one hundred years the great men of the times travelled up and down the path which led from Boston out into the wilderness, until settlements sprang up all along, and the path became the King's highway. At first these hills were passed by, when men talked of building, for fairer lands beyond, until at length they began to look with greater favor upon this "shunned forest," and their strong arms longed to grapple with the tough problem of planting a town here. The formative influences which determine the character of a town differ with the times. Oklahoma may have been built in a day, but Rome was not, neither was Shrewsbury. The grant made in 171 7 to a few men was, "provided they number forty families, build themselves houses, and settle an orthodox minister within three years. "' Duringthese three years the pioneers had battles to fight ; the knowledge of this added courage to their strength and zest to their labors. They built their houses with their o-uns at hand, for Indians were still feared, thouo-h the friendly Hassanimiscoes in Grafton were the nearest tribe ; yet they were but Indians, and treachery was a characteristic of the race. The wild beasts prowlingabout their doors must be vanquished ; the ground itself must be wrested from the dominion of the forest, and with the rudest of implements, subdued to fruitfulness, by indefatigable energy and ceaseless toil. A strongpurpose and persevenng labor succeeded in bringing together the elements of a town within the prescribed time. One of the first names that appears to us on the records is that of Gershom Wheelock, who for his enterprise and cheerful disposition, deserves especial mention. He is said to have been the first man to build a house in the new settlement and spent one winter in its erection. This house was situated on what is now the old road to Worcester in the valley near ' ' jNIiddlebrook. "' He labored alone that winter, keeping up his spirits through the cold, dreary days by his merry whistling, sleeping in the loft and pulling the ladder up after him at night, always whistling his morning- song before putting it down again. His courage never failed until the spring birds sang to him while he whistled, and the house was done; then he married Abigail Flagg of Marlboro, and housekeepingbegan in Shrewsbury. In 1720 his father Samuel Wheelock, who owned the land, gave him a deed of eighty acres and the house, "In consideration of Love, Good will and affection which I have and do have towards my dutiful Son Gershom Wheelock !" The first house built in town was the first to be burned ; nothing was saved from the fire but a few pieces of furniture. Being dissatisfied with his ventures in that part of the town, he next built a house on the Boylston road, the one which is now occupied by his great-grandson Erastus Wheelock.

Gershom Wheelock appears to have been quite an important man in the new town, holding at different times several town offices. He was ensign in the first military company here and afterwards commissioned Captain. The Wheelock house as shown in the engraving is a low, ancient house, shingled on the outside, with narrow windows and quaint, low rooms. It has not been added to, but remains much the same as when built more than a century and a half ago.

house," and they *' voted two hundred and ten pounds for, and towards building a meeting-house, it being five pounds on each proprietor." Measures were also taken to cause two saw-mills to be erected in the town and put in operation by May ist, 1721, to prepare the materials for building. The meetings of the proprietors were held at the house of the widow, Elizabeth How, in Marlboro. May 4th, 1721, the first meeting-house was erected on what was called "Rocky Pine Plain," just a little northeast of the spot where the present church now stands. It was a small building 40x32 feet, a plain, homely structure without steeple or bell ; it is said that people were called to worship by the beating of a drum. The first sermon preached in town was by Rev. Robert Breck of INIarlboro, and was printed by vote of the people. In March, 1732, there was '''granted to Thos. Green ye sum of one pound for sweeping ye meeting-house in ye year 1731." -- "In 1730-31 the town granted the sum of one pound ten shillings for clearing one acre and one half of land for the burying place." "In June, 1729, there was granted fifteen pounds towards building and furnishing the school-house in Shrewsbury, this was made into a rate and committed to Edward Goddard and Thomas Hapgood to collect." The account of Simon Mainard, John Wheeler, Michael Chapman and Elias Keyes, shows that they did most of the work of building. Just where this first school-house stood is not stated, but in 1730 there was laid out fifty acres for a school lot. From an old history of the town we find that "In 1797 a school-house standing in the fork of the Toads opposite the house of Mr. Calvin R. Stone (now Dr. Brigham's) was burnt with many school books therein." *'Nov. 1729 - Granted 20 pounds to pay the school master in Shrewsbury."

Sir : Please to pay to Mr. Daniel Rand & Mr. Abraham ivnowlton ye sum of Seven Pounds out of ye town Treasury to pay a school Dame in ye South part of ye town for three months service.

"August 1 6, 1 73 1. Then reed, of Nahum Ward, Town treasurer, the sum of one pound for one wild cat's head. I say received by me. Henry Keyes. "

The law required all towns to provide stocks and a whipping-post, that offenders might be punished and order preserved. An elm tree that stood near the old tavern in the centre was used as a whipping-post, but tradition tells of only one public wdiipping there. A black man w^as whipped for stealing clothes from a line at the house now owned by William U. Maynard. His piteous wails and cries were long remembered by those who heard them and saw the lashes laid upon his bare back. It is said, too, that the tree died soon after. The stocks were erected in the vicinity of the graveyard, probably that serious thoughts of their final resting-place might dwell in the minds of those who were here imprisoned and fixed for a time, as a penalty for their crimes. It is told that the first man who was punished in the stocks was the one who made them, and the payment he received for the work was the remittance of a fine for some misconduct. A man, then, who was found in the company of a drunken man, was considered to have been guilty of wrong-doing to the extent that sitting: a day in the stocks was not too great a punishment.

The Earliest Times 2E

From the following document it would appear that the town grew careless in regard to the education of the young and set a bad example to towns in the vicinity ; the laws of King George, however, brought them back from the error of their ways :

Att a court of General Sessions of the Peace held at Worcester within and for the County of Worcester on the third Tuesday of August being the Twentieth Day of said Month,

The Town of Shrewsbury in said County having been Presented at the Court of General Sessions of the peace held at Worcester in and for said County on the first Tuesday of November in the fourth year of his Majesty's Reign by the grand jurors for the Body of said County, for that the Said Town of Shrewsbury hath for some years last past, Consisted and does now Consist of more than an Hundred and Fifty Families or House-holders, and so are by Law obliged to Set up a Grammer School and maintain a Grammer SchooU master there, Suitable for such School, yet in Contempt of Law, and in Discouragement of Learning they for the Space of Six Months last pest utterly neglected the same and for the time aforesaid have not been Provided with Such School or School Master, as by the Law is appointed and Required, in evil Example to others against the peace of the said Lord the King and the law in that Case made and Provided. And the Presentment by order of Court hath been Continued from Court to Court until this Court. And now the Selectmen of Shrewsbury Plead and say they will not Contend with our Sovereign Lord the King but put themselves on his Grace.

And the Court having duely Considered of their Neglect order that the Inhabitants of the Town of Shrewsbury aforesaid forfiet and pay the Sum of Seven Pounds Ten Shillings for three months neglecting to Provide and Keep a School as in said presentment mentioned to be Levyed by warrant upon them according to Law and paid into the County Treasury for and Towards the Support of Such School or Schools within the Same County when this Court shall judge there shall be most need and that they pay Costs Taxed at one Pound Ten Shillings Lawll money to be levyed aforesaid."

It was not until 1727 that Shrewsbury was incorporated as a town, and in February, 1727-8, the town "granted to Lieut. Ward i pound 16 shillings for getting the town set off. This was made into a rate and committed to William Taylor and Elias Keyes to collect.' " March 3, 1728-9, granted foi; stating the County Road through the town of Shrewsbury 6-1-3. " The town at first contained all the lands lying between Lancaster, Marlboro, Sutton and Worcester. The first town meeting was held Dec. 29th, 1727.

The Earliest Times

part of the country." The following account is said to have been printed in the only newspaper published at that time in New England. It was a small half sheet, printed by B. Green :

''Boston, August 15, 1723. An exact account of the awful burning of Capt. John Keyes' House, with five persons in it at Shrewsbury, in the night between the 7th and 8th of this inst. taken from a letter of the Rev, Mr. Breck of Marlboro, and from the mouth of Mr. Ebenezer Bragg of the same, formerly of Ipswich, the only person of those, who lodged in the house, who, by a distinguishing Providence, escaped the flames. Capt. Keyes Tv^as building an house about nine or ten feet off his old -one. It was almost finished ; and Mr. Brae"^ aforesaid, Ihe carpenter, with his brother Abiel, of 17 years of age, and William Oaks of 18 his apprentices, were working in it. Capt. Keyes, his wife and four daughters lodged in the old one ; and the three carpenters, with the three sons of the Captain, viz, Solomon of 20, John of 13 and Stephen of 6 years of age, laying in the new. On Wednesday night, going to bed, they took a more than ordinary care of the fire, being excited thereto, by the saying of one, he would not have the house burnt for one hundred pounds ; and the reply of another, he would not for two hundred ; upon which they carefully raked away the chips lying near it and stayed till the rest were almost burnt out ; and then they went all six together into three beds in one of the chambers ; and were very cheerly and merry at their going to bed, which was about ten of the clock. But about midnight, j\Ir. Bragg^ was awakened with a notion of the house being on fire, and a multitude calling to quench it, with which he got up, saw nothing, heard no voice, but could hardly fetch any breath through the stifling smoke ; concluded the house was on fire, perceived somebody stirring against whom he hit two or three times in the dark, and not being able to speak, or breathe any longer, and striking his forehead against the chimney, he thought of the^ window, and happily found it ; when he gained it, he tarried a minute, holding it fast with one hand, and reaching out the other, in hopes of meeting with some one or other to save them, till the smoke and fire came so thick and scorching upon him, he could endure it no longer. And hearing no noise in the chamber, only ashe thought, a faint groan or two, he was forced to jump out, and, the window being small, head foremost ; though he supposes by God's good providence he turned before he came to the ground. As Mr. Bragg was just got up again, Capt. Keyes, being awakened in the old house, was coming to this side of the new, and met him. But the flame immediately burst out of the windows, and the house was quickly all on a light flame. No noise was heard of the other five who perished ; and. it is very questionable, whether more than one of thenx moved out of their beds. The old house was also burnt^ and almost everything in it, but the people were saved.

through the great goodness of God. But a most dreadful sight it was, in the morning, to see the five bodies frying in the fire, among the timbers fallen down into the cellar, till towards the evening, when the few almost consumed fragments, without heads or limbs were gathered, put into one coffin and buried." These houses stood just east of where the currier shop of C. O. Green, now is.

The labors of the pioneers were great and their amusements few ; their books and papers were very few, if any. Their houses were scattered at a distance from each other, and when these far-away neighbors gathered together on winter evenings before some blazing log fire, they made what fun they could for each other, and often for entertainment resorted to the ways of the ancient Britons, who portrayed in rhyme any notable event which took place, and the stories of many unimportant doings have come down to later times hy this means. In our forefathers' days all communities had their rhymesters and fun was generally the object of their verses. There was an eccentric individual whp lived here about 1740 by the name of Tombolin and he seems to have made considerable sport among his townsmen, for we find that more than one comic rhyme was made and sung about him. He lived on the Westboro road not far from the house where Hiram C. Reed now lives, and while absent from home one day the house took fire and Mrs. Tombolin, being alone, had to do the work of a whole fire department, so it cannot be considered strange that the flames became uncontrolable, and she so bewildered that as the song says, "All that she saved was her tea-kettle lid. "' After this misfortune Tombolin built another habitation for himself on land that is still called "The Tombolin " and is owned by \Vm. Rice and Geo. W. Lyon of Chicago, the latter (widely known in musical circles) receiving it from his father, Captain Thomas Lyon, who was formerly a large land owner in Clinton and built the mills on the Assabet in Northboro, where ]Milo Hildreth now manufactures shell jewelry and combs, after which he took up his residence in Shrewsbury for some years. The songs about old Tombolin are nearly extinct, only a few fragments remain in the memories of elderly people and the writer of this memorial has not been able to ascertain if there is a printed copy in existence. One of the rhymes ran something;- in this wise and shows what manner of literature delighted the hard-working, fun-loving, untrained heroes of those rough, "good old times."'

The Song Of Tombolin

THE SONG OF TOMBOLIN. Tombolin was a Scotchman born. His shoes were out and his stocking torn, The calf of his leg came down to his shin ; Lm a nice good figure, says Tombolin. Tombolin had no breeches to wear, So he got his mother to make him a pair, Flesh side out and the wool side in ; They're warmer so, says Tombolin.

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Tombolin wanted new stockings to wear, So he got his old grandmarm to knit him a pair; For want of a needle she knit with a pin ; They're delicate wearing, says Tombolin.

Tombolin, his wife and her mother All went over the bridge together ; The bridge broke down, they all fell in ; ^'The deuce go with you," said Tombolin,

Leather breeches were by no means uncommon then, and not only breeches but aprons and coats were also made from the undressed leather as it came from the tanning. If the Shrewsbury school boys of to-day in their collars and neckties and fine cloth suits, could look into the school-room of Dennis Smith in 1770, they would be greatly astonished at seeing the boys clad in leather breeches and aprons. There is a story that a Scotchman visiting in town called at the school and was so surprised at the leather clothes of the boys, that he asked the teacher if they were all the sons of blacksmiths, or why it was that they wore leather aprons { This amused the children, for leather clothing was quite the fashion then in America.

The First Minister And Other

ALTHOUGH the first meeting-house was raised in 1 72 1 there was no settled minister in Shrewsbury until the Rev. Job Gushing was ordained here December 4th, 1723. and the churcli consisting of sixteen persons then gathered for the first time in the new building. INIr. Gushing was a grandson of ^Matthew Gushing and his wife Nazareth Pitcher, who came from Norfolk, England, with five children and arrived in Boston on the loth of August, 1638, on the ship Diligent, John ]\Iartin of Ipswich, ^Master, and settted in Hingham, where fifty-six years after, the future minister of the Shrewsbury church was born. At the age of twenty he was graduated from Harvard Gollege. After being settled here he received a grant of land, ''house lot No. 22, granted to the first minister, which with other <^'-rants made to him contained some of the best land in town." He built a parsonage on his land and married in 1727 ]Mary, daughter of Rev. John Prentice of Lancaster. This house stood on the spot east from the Town Hall, where now stands the house owned by Mrs.

Arunah Harlow and which was built by the Rev. George Allen, who lived there during his pastorate in town. Mr. Cushing's house was a fine one for the times and stood one hundred years. ]Mr. Josiah G. Stone, a greatgrandson of jNIr. Gushing, was born there and has furnished from memory suggestions for the drawing of the house, which was done by his son Henry J. Stone and from which the engraving was made. It will be seen that the architect departed somewhat from the common rule of building. There was the great stone chimney with a brick top, which most houses had, but the rooms were higher and the windows larger, and the house had an appearance of dignity quite proper, as belonging to the minister, the man who held the highest office in the town. Mr. Gushing received sixty pounds settlement and sixty pounds per year for two years ; after that, four pounds additional each year until it should rise to eighty pounds. He remained the minister here until the year 1760, when, in the heat of an August day, while he was binding sheaves in the field, he suddenly fell to the earth and died before aid could reach him. The spot where he fell is pointed out in the field behind Mr. Josiah Stone's house.

The communion service purchased at the time of the organization of the church in 1723 was of highly polished pewter. The pieces shown in the engraving are upon the original communion cloth, which was presented to the church by Madam Gushing. In Dr. Sumner's time, it being somewhat worn, the ladies of the church presented it to Mrs. Sumner and purchased a new one. The okl one, ^^-hich is still in the Sumner family, is of fine damask, into which is curiously woven a representation of the Old Testament story of Caleb and Joshua and those who went with them to search the land of Canaan to see whether the Israelites would be able to go up and possess it. The portion of the cloth yet remaining contains, it is evident, the whole design, as the edges show that it was repeated. At the top of the pattern are the two men returning with the huge bunch of grapes suspended from a pole borne upon their shoulders. High above the pole reaches the great stem

where it was cut from the vine, the grapes hang down to the knees of the men and the leaves and tendrils compare with them in size. Oi^ie hand of each man is upon the pole, while in the other he carries a basket containing the figs and pomegranates which he had brought from "The land that floweth with milk and honey." Below these figures is the Tabernacle with its curtains. Moses and Aaron are prostrate before it. Above is a representation of God in a cloud with uplifted hands pronouncing judgment upon the people for their distrust and rebellion. At one side, referrme" to the portion of Scripture where the story may be found, are the words - NVMER XIII CAP MOYES. Below these are depicted the walled cities of the giants, their temples, birds on the wing, and trees loaded with fruit. Still further down and completing the design are the figures of two men in armor, one hand of each holdino- a long spear which rests upon the grovmd - and the words CALEB - lOSVE. (Caleb, Joshua). Between them is a tall growing vine, showing even its branching roots and bearing large clusters of grapes. On either side is the word NEHEL, which signifies a possession. The word PHARAN also occurs in the design and is the same as Paran. The story is contained in the 13th and 14th chapters of Numbers. The ancient spelling of the words proves the cloth to be very ancient and the tradition is that it was brought from the old country in the IMayflower, in 1620.

Col. Job Gushing was a son of the minister, and was chosen Captain of a military company raised in Shrewsbury in 1774 and with it started for Lexington at the first announcement of war. We hear of him next at Cambridge with his men, at the time of the battle of Bunker Hill. After his promotion as Colonel of the Sixth Regiment he was in that part of the army to which Gen. Burgoyne with four thousand seven hundred men surrendered on the 17th of October, 1777, when they made him march to the then derisive tune of '"Yankee Doodle." After the war Col. Cushing built a tavern near the common. Gen. Washington once stopped here for refreshment and it is said that Jerome Bonaparte and his suit halted here in passing through town, and after dinner went swimming in Wyman's mill-pond. Samuel Haven bought the tavern of Colonel Cushing and in 1808 added a store, for many years keeping the house open to the public. From time to time other additions were made until it presented quite an imposing appearance and afforded ample accommodations for the travelling public. It was a popular stopping-place for teamsters, and the corral near the road was usually filled with horses at night, the stamping of their hoofs being heard at all hours. After a succession of many landlords, the tavern was removed in 1S71 to give place to the present Town Hall. Detached parts of it still stand in different places, three dwelling houses having been made of it ; the largest and oldest part is nearly opposite its

The First Minister And Other Worthies 35

situation, and its ancient date is shown by the fashion of its architectural finishings. Dr. Flint's journal says : "April 1808 - Col. Gushing returned from Canada and attended lecture, at meeting on Sunday, at Sacrement, at Town INIeeting on IMonday and deceased the i6th, " The following paper shows his faithfulness in attending to his public duties :

''Samuel Jenison, Wm. Jenison & Tylor Curtis all of Worcester Drove their Teams Loaded by my Dwelling House on Sunday Morning about 5 minutes past 6 o'clock on 7 day of April 1782

"Honorable Thomas Flint came from Matlock in Derbyshire England, to Concord in 1638, possessed of wealth, talents, and a christian character." His great grandson Dr Edward Flint came here from Concord in 1756 and took the practice left by Dr. Joshua Smith, who died early that year. Patriotism burning in his veins he joined the army and went as chief "chirurgeon" in Col. Ruggle's regiment in the expedition against Canada. He remained but a short time in the service and returned home to resume his practice, which we read, was "extensive and abundant," and that he added efficacy to his medicine by administering at the same time cheerful stories, which rarely failed to revive the spirits of his de- .sponding patients. Flis son Austin was born in 1760 and received his education at the grammar school of ^Nlr^ Xathan Goddard, a graduate of Harvard College and native of this town, who kept a school here many years. The remuneration that he received for his labors with the Shrewsbury youths may be judged by the following bill signed by himself :

"Shrewsbury. [March 3d - 1777 Then reed, of Artemas Ward Esqr. Eighteen Pounds Lawful Money in full for Schooling his son Artemas forty weeks.

Austin Flint's medical education was received from his father. In 1777, when on the i6th of August a call came to Worcester County for men to march to the relief of Gen. Stark at Bennington, Austin Flint then only seventeen years of age, joined a large company of mounted militia and started immediately for Vermont. They rode the first day nearly sixty miles and reached Hadley the next morning before breakfast. To their disappointment they there found counter-orders ; the battle with Burgoyne's troops was over, and the Americans victorious, having put the British to flight. Nothing was left for the Shrewsbury boys to do but to march home again. Having come so near to being in a fight with the enemy, young Flint determined to try again ; the next month he enlisted as private in Col. Job Cushing's regiment and had the gratification of being present at the surrender of Burgoyne. Asa Wheelock, another Shrewsbury boy one year older than Austin, was his companion through the campaign and shared with him its hardships and glories. Austin was taken sick in consequence of the fatigues and unaccustomed hardships he was obliged to endure and was sent home ; however, after his recovery he once more entered the Army, at the age of twenty-one, as surgeon in Colonel Drury's regiment and served at West Point.

We hear of him again in 1786 wdien the troops were called out to quell the Shays rebellion, and he was with General Lincoln in his memorable night march from Hadley to Petersham through the trackless drifts of a blinding snowstorm. At the age of twenty-three Austin Flint settled m Leicester as medical practitioner, and married Elizabeth Henshaw, daughter of Colonel William Henshaw of that town. He became an eminent physician and noted far and wide for his skill in his profession. In looking through a package of papers now yellow with age, though the ink is as black is ever, the writer of this came across one, of which the following is a copy :

"Whereas there is no Justice of the Peace resident in the Town of Shrewsbury, The inhabitants at their Annual Town meeting the Third of this histant, (Agreeable to an article in the warrant) Voted to recommend to your Honours ^Nlr. Edward Flint, as a Gentleman Well Qualified to officiate in the capacity of a Justice of the Peace. We the Subscribers think it incumbent on us as select men of the Town to Certify that we think the Town have made a wise Choice. - And Pray that if your Honours Please the above named 'Sir. Edward Elint may be commissioned for a Justice of the Peace in the Count}^ of Worcester.

One of the first tanners in the town of Shrewsbury was Nathaniel Whittemore, who, if we judge by his account book, was doing a good business here in 1754. The precise location of his house and currier shop is not known, but his tan vats were in the lot where the old cider mill now stands on the Ward Homestead, and the lot is to this day called the "tan vat." An immense number of calf skms were tanned by Whittemore to be' made into aprons for the Shrewsbury men and boys, as well as skins of all kinds for various uses. In September, 1760, Silas Heminw^ay of Framingham came to work one year for him, and for his labor he w^s to receivesixteen pounds. Whittemore died in 1764, and in his last sickness was attended by four physicians, Edward Flint, Samuel Crosby, Ebenezer ]Morse and John Honey- wood, the latter being from Worcester, and it appears that tlie united efforts of these four eminent and skillful men failed to save him from an untimely end. Their entire charges for services, amounted to eight pounds ten shillings.

Daniel Harris was his nurse and also his grave-digger ; for these combined services he charged two pounds and six shillings. Nathaniel Allen furnished the articles for the mourning : his bill was sixteen pounds, seventeen shillings. Jotham How's bill for shoes for the widow Sarah was "Two shillings & fourpence, three farthings & three Fifteenths In full for one pair of Shoes made for ye sd Nathaniel's widow as mourning shoes

The judge allowed her sundry articles from her husband's estate for housekeeping amounting "in ye whole to thirteen pounds eleven shillings and seven pence" also twelve pounds in money. The cost of settling the estate was twenty, six pounds, eleven shillings four pence, three farthings and three tenths." The house, barn, currier shop and bark house were all sold at public vendue the year after Whittemore's death.

Not long after the incorporation of the town, the Knowltons settled here, Joseph and Ezekiel ; the latter came from Manchester with his family and made a home in the south part of the town, on the place now owned by Thomas Henry Knowlton. Deacon Ezekiel married Susanna, daughter of Captain Morgan and his wife, Su~ sanna Pitts, from England. There is a family tradition that this Susanna Pitts married beneath her station in accepting Captain Morgan. He died on the voyage hither, and she found herself not only a widow in a strange land but alienated from her family beyond the sea. She landed friendless and homeless, with her little child, and while wandering upon the shore wringing her hands in despair, she was found by a certain Mr. Clark, who was moved with pity for her sad condition and proved that " pity is akin to love,'' for he wooed and won her from her grief and gave her a happy home. The little fatherless Susanna Morgan became the wife of Deacon Knowlton, and their youngest child Thomas inherited their home, a two story house which was burnt in 1776 during the War of the Revolution. Xails were so scarce at that period that it was with difficulty enough were procured to build a small one-and-a-half story house -on the old site.

In this little home he reared his family of nine children; the two who were born before the destructive fire died in consequence of the inevitable exposure. Kind neighbors furnished the seeds with which to plant a garden from their own scanty store ; many of them were carefully tied in bits of cotton cloth, and these small pieces were so precious to the family who had lost everything, that the thrifty mother sewed them together for. a dish-cloth, necessity then as ever being the "mother of invention. " of his descendants unto the third and fourth generations. Sheep were mysteriously slaughtered in the south-east part of Grafton. In due time evidence pointed to the Captain's dog "Ranger" as the perpetrator of the mischief; his master was interviewed on the subject but thought it impossible that Ranger could be guilty, especially as he lay nightly before the hearth in his master's sleeping room, and was always in his place in the morning. So confident were the accusers that he was the culprit, that the captain promised to watch the following night. He retired but not to sleep. The dog who was in his accustomed place arose and crept to an open window beneath which there was a sloping shed roof; crawling out on this roof he easily reached the ground and disappeared ; some hours after the dog returned by the samo way and again camped before the fire, his wakeful master with sorrow and consternation in his tones said "Ranger you must die for this," and gave himself up to his needed sleep. The next morning the dog was gone and was never seen or heard of again.

The Captain had a talent for music and for a long period led the church choir. The grandson who still owns and occupies the homestead has so renovated and added to the little home of Revolutionary times that it would hardly be recognized now by its former occupants. Next to this homestead in the southeast corner of the town, lies what is known as the Witherby farm.

have owned and occupied this land, having come to Shrewsbury from Marlboro. Since his day five generations have played in its brooks and drank of its cool and refreshing springs. Ward's ' ' History of Shrewsbury" says that Captain Silas married Thankful, probably the daughter of ]\Iaj. John Keyes ; this is confirmed by old records which have more recently come into the possession of the family. They were married in 1728. At a later date it is recorded that they were dismissed to the church m Grafton ; this, however, does not necessitate a change of residence and none appears to have been made. It is thought that at one time this tract of land may have belonged to the township of Grafton. Across the valley on the opposite hill was the John Brooks farm, now known as Kimballville. The then prevalent and much dreaded disease small-pox had attacked the inmates of the farm-house there, when their cat inconsiderately came over, as was its wont, to have a tilt with the Witherby cat. ]Mrs. Thankful in trying to rescue her favorite, caught the other cat and thus took the dread disease, which to her proved fatal, and she was laid to rest in a remote nook of the home farm. Early the following year Captain Silas died and at his own request was laid beside his wife. Their third child, Lt. Thomas Witherby, although a wanderer for a time, returned to the homestead with his family from New Hampshire and died therein 1827 aged 81. The name "Thomas ' seems to have been handed down in the family from an early date, for we learn by ancient records that one Thomas Witherby just escaped martyrdom by burning at the stake, -through the death of ''Bloody jNIary" Nov. 17th, 1558, which was three days before the time fixed upon for his execution. In his life he exemplified the motto of his coat of Arms ''Tenex in Fides." Again it- fell to the lot of the third child, Thomas Witherby, Jr. , to keep the homestead. Perhaps the lodestone which held him was the lovely daughter of his nearest neighbor. Captain Thomas Knowlton, for she came to grace his home and there dispensed an open-handed hospitality for sixty-six years ; there, too, she gathered to her loving heart the " mitherless bairns " of more than one generation. The joys and sorrows, the festivities and merry-makings here witnessed are past recording. It is related that at one time when the Rev. Dr. Sumner came to make a pastoral call, the family rum bottle was found to be empty, a most mortifying occurrence in those days, and one of the boys was called to go in haste to the nearest neighbors, to borrow the needful, such friendly accommodation being not infrequent then. A great tumbler was filled with sweetened water and rum ; a toasted cracker on the top gave this a delicious flavor. The beverage was passed first to the honored guest, who taking the glass in his hand, told a story, took a draught and passed it to the other guest. Captain Thomas Knowlton, who in turn told his story, drank a portion and passed it to "mine host," who followed the example of the others. Three times it travelled round the circle, and who can doubt that each time more zest was infused into the story telling through the exhilarating influence of the toddy.

When Susanna Knowlton came into the family John Keyes Witherby, son of Silas, was still living. In his youth he was very bright and athletic, and often amused his friends by telling their fortunes with cards. One day being sent to the pasture to catch a horse he took out his cards to learn if he was o^oins;- to the ball which was soon to be given. The fates were against him ; he was not to go. Before the day was over he cut his foot so badly as to become disabled, and he determined he would never touch another card. A few years later he met with an accident which laid him on his bed for the rest of his life, thirty years. His astute mind was given to the study of the Bible and he became a most intelligent and godly man.

The Pease Tavern

THE king's highway in Shrewsbury was well supplied with taverns for the entertainment of travellers, and in 1784 there were three noted inns here, - Farrar's, Baldwin's and Howe's. On the corner formed by the junction of the "great road" with the road to Westboro, about one mile from the Northboro line, stands an old house of the last century, conspicuous for its weather-beaten appearance and its substantial look which speaks of better days long since past. This is the "Farrar Tavern" or, as it has more recently been called, the ''Pease Tavern." jMaj. John Farrar, an army officer of good report, kept a public house here during the Revolutionary war, and entertained the military companies as they passed through the town. He was born in Concord and descended from Walkeline de Ferrariis, a Norman of distinction, attached to the suite of William, Duke of Normandy, before the invasion of 1066. A horseshoe is the emblem on the Farrar coat of arms. In 1789, when on his way to Boston, Gen. Washington honored the Farrar Tavern with his presence and we are shown the place in the east front room where he sat and drank his wine while his inferiors took theirs at the bar. When it became known that the hero of the Revolution was to pass this way, the school-children received an extra lesson in makingr their manners, that thev mieht greet the chieftain with proper respect. And so it happened, that as Gen. Washington was riding by in his carriage drawn by two bay horses, preceded by his guard on dapple gray horses, his attention was attracted to a row of children on each side of the road, the boys on one side making their bows and the girls sweeping their graceful courtesies on the other. The outriders in their uniforms bright with scarlet cloth and gold lace, were so splendid that the children hardly noticed the stopping of the carriage, until a gentleman in plain brown dress alighted and Washington himself stood before them, speaking to every child and shaking hands with the older ones. John Farrar's little daughter Han- iiah was among them ; her expectations had been greatly excited concerning the unusual guest for whom such a stir had been made, and who was to receive such distinguishing marks of respect from the children, her imagination picturing him as some buperior being. So when the tall gentleman in the plain brown suit stepped from the carriage, dressed more plainly than his guard and postillions, and she became aware that he was the great Washington, this spirited young w^oman of ten, whose noble ancestor's name was on the Roll of Battle Abbey, refused her courtesy and turning her back upon the ''Father of his Country'" exclaimed, "He is nothing but a man ! ' Her words, accompanied with the look of intense disQ^ust on her face amused Washino^ton, and calling her back to him, he presented her with a silver quarter. This quarter is still preserved in the family as a great treasure. The Farrar Tavern was a popular resort for teamsters going to and from Boston, as well as for military companies. Behind the house was a large open shed for the protection of the loaded wagons when the weather was wet. Another shed attached to the house contained benches and chairs where the teamsters could sit while w^aiting for their suppers, and shelves on which they could put their baggage. Under this shed, in the side of the house, holes were cut, one above another from the ground to the second story. These holes were of the size to admit the toe of a man's boot and by these, and the dexterous use of their hands and feet, the men were expected to reach through a window their sleeping apartments. This arrangemen.t seems to have been made for the convenience of both travellers and the household, as the former could come and go at pleasure, and the latter be not disturbed.

The outside door at the back of the house opens directly into the kitchen and we are told that the logs for the lire were drawn in at this door by a horse and rolled over into the fireplace. The liquor for the bar was in the kitchen and was served through a window opening into the west front room where the bar was. The window is yet in its place, as when the bar-maid passed in the sling and toddy, but it is concealed by the modern wall-paper. Near the bar can be seen the spot where the men used to pitch knives for the first drink and many names of the frequenters of this old bar-room are cut in the wood mantle above the fireplace, but ihe stories that made the place merry are all unwritten. In the north-east room upstairs, the Free Masons held their meetings ; there is but one door to the room and no closet where eaves-droppers might perchance learn their secrets. This is still called the "Mason's room."' Across the entry is the old dancing hall divided in the middle by a swing partition, which could be raised and fastened to the ceiling by a hook when the room was needed for the dances.

The Pease Tavern 49

ney in the middle. Heavy finished beams show around the rooms and in their corners, and across the ceiling is the piece known as the "summer." The windows are narrow and high above the floor in the quaint old style.

Major John Farrar died in 1793 and an extract from a letter written by General Ward, then in Congress in Philadelphia, to his son, shows the regard he had for his near neighbor. "I sympathize with Mrs. Farrar in the loss of my sincere friend and her kind husband. I esteem his death a public loss, not only as a good neighbor, but as a real friend to good government. I have grounds to hope he has made a happy change, and I pray God to take his family into his holy protection and defend them agamst all the darts of their adversaries. I make no doubt they have many, unless the hearts of some are changed since I left Shrewsbury ; he had some open enemies and many secret ones, I fully believe."

But the name John Farrar is not associated with the tavern in this century as closely as that of Levi Pease. He was born in Enfield, Connecticut, in 1740. His father married Miriam Pease, a distant relative, whose grandfather, Robert Pease, with his brother John, removed from Sudbury to Enfield in 1679 and lived the first winter in an excavation which they made in the side of a hill, about forty rods east of the spot where stood the old meetino^-house.

at the commencement of the Revohitionary war. He was a member of a newly formed military company, and one Sabbath afternoon when the people were assembled at the meeting-house for public worship, a messenger arrived callino^ the men to arms, for the war had becfun.

This startling announcement brought the meeting to a sudden close, the company responded on the instant to the call of their Captain and they at once started on theii march toward Boston. He was with the Army during the whole period of the war, doing important work in various ways and by his strict attention to duty meriting the confidence which was placed in him. His remarkable tact and shrewdness rendered him successful as a bearer of despatches. In these expeditions he travelled on foot on horseback as circumstances demanded ; avoiding at times the public roads, he took the by-ways, that he might protect the papers entrusted to his care and prevent being suspected by the tories. When his course lay across a lake, he chose to 2:0 bv nio^ht, and if the moonlight threatened to reveal him to suspicious eyes, he lay upon his back in the boat and used his hands as paddles. Many perilous undertakings were accomplished while under the command of General Thomas on the northern frontier and he nursed him in his last sickness, which was small-pox. General Wadsworth engaged him to purchase horses and stores and trusted him with large sums of money, which confidence he never abused. -' On the arrival of the French fleet and army at Newport, he was directed to purchase horses to drag their artillery to Yorktown " and he foraged for the Army on its march. Lafayette was a warm friend of his and found his keen, good sense and excellent judgment invaluable to him.

The familiar story about him and his horses will not "be out of place here. He had a pair of horses to sell at a time when Washington wished to purchase and an appointment was made for a meeting ; Pease was a few minutes late, and ^^'ashington, who never waited for any one, was gone ! He appears to have profited by this experience, for his punctuality afterward became prover- Toial.

In 1783 Pease went to Boston to start a new enterprise, similar to one projected in England in 1669, and which was destined to make him famous. His plan was to establish a line of stages to run between Boston and Hartford, but his means were small and he found it difficult to persuade any one to engage with him in so hazardous an undertaking. His faith in ultimate success was so great that he was not easily discouraged and he turned for aid to his friend Reuben Sykes, who had previously driven a stage with him from Somers to Hartford,, a dis= tance of twenty miles. Sykes was fifteen years younger than Pease, and his father strongly opposed the scheme and tried to dissuade his son from taking such a venture, telling him it would surely fail and lodge them both in jail as poor debtors. Rejecting his good fathers advice young Sykes went his own way and joined forces witli the ''dauntless Captain." ''Two convenient wagons" were secured and October 20th, 1783, at six o'clock in the morning, they left Boston and Hartford respectively. Pease drove the west bound stage, starting from the sign of the "Lamb," stopping over night at ^Martin's in Northboro, passing through Worcester next day and resting at Rice's in Brookfield. The third day took him through Palmer to his home in Somers and on the fourth day Hartford was reached. A few trips with empty stages did not de- ter them from persevering and tlieir business soon became prosperous. The plan of travel was changed the following ^lay, when Springfield was made a stopping-place and the river crossed at that point or at Enfield. By the new arrangement the stage left Boston from the "Lion," ^larlboro street ; the first night's halt was at Farrar's in Shrewsbury, Spencer being reached the day following. Here at about the highest point between Boston and Springfield the passengeis were transferred to

Sykes, who conveyed them to Hartford. The fare at this time was fourpence per mile, about ten dollars from Boston to Hartford. The business was so successfully carried on that two years later Pease became the owner of a Boston Inn opposite the common and on the spot where St. Paul's Church now stands, which was thereafter the starting point for his stages. The line was later extended to New York, Talmage Hall and Jacob Brown driving between that place and Hartford. After November 15th, 1784, Worcester was reached from Boston in a single day, Hartford at the end of the third day and New York three days later. The fare was reduced to threepence per mile and the baggage allowed to each person was fourteen pounds.

The roads were in a poor condition, and Captain Pease with his usual enterprise and energy, interested himself in their improvement and with such success that the line was extended from Portsmouth to Savannah, Ga. He made the first contract with the Government for carrying its mails, and the first mail in this new service passed through Worcester on the 7th of January, 1786. The Postmaster-General reestablished the post office in Worcester March 13th, 1786, and reappointed Isaiah Thomas his deputy. After the death of John Farrar, Captain Pease bought this tavern and brought his family here. Those stage days were great days in the villages along the line and when Captain Pease driving four-inhand awoke the echoes among the hills with the shrill blast from his horn, announcing the arrival of the stage coach, all was excitement until the cloud of dust disappeared and the echo of the horn died away in the distance. When Captain Pease became too feeble to hold the reins and guide the horses, he entrusted the duty to a negro, under whose faithful care the business continued to prosper. The master could now ramble about his farm, fishing in its brooks, while his little granddaughter Eliza carried the bait ; or accompanied by her he took the luncheon to the hay-makers, and together they would hsten for the welcome sound of the horn as the stagecoach came rumbling into town. In winter evenings, the grandchildren gathered about the fire to roast their apples and chestnuts, grandfather Pease entertained them with thrilling tales of his life as a soldier when he with great peril carried despatches, or his adventures as a stage-driver. How he endured the heat and cold and storms, over the rough and ill-kept roads, and how, when the roads were blocked by heavy snow-drifts so that his horses could not travel, he would fasten on his snowshoes, shoulder the mail-bag and plod with his load over Boston Neck. Little Eliza, now with snowy hair and dignified step, is the only one left to rehearse these stories of ''Grandpa Pease," who died in 1824. He was buried with jMasonic honors in the northeast corner of the old "burying place" behind the church. No stone marks the spot where the " Father of Stages " rests, and no inscription recognizes the valuable services of this faithful servant of the Government, whose labors v^ere performed in the most perilous and trying times and who had the confidence and esteem of the commanders of the Army. He was also a benefactor of the town, which owes much of its present prosperity to his untiring efforts for its improvement.

His long experience as a stage driver gave him abundant cause to realize the bad state of the roads and the necessity for better ones. After long and earnest efforts he procured from the Government the first charter granted in the State for a turnpike, and it was laid out in 1808 from Boston to Worcester through South Shrewsbury, about one mile from the "great road" and parallel with it. H^e lived to see it completed and to see the benefit it was to the public. It is said that travel increased and stages and heavy teams became so numerous that drivers of smaller vehicles were obliged to look well to their safety. The new turnpike naturally took most of the heavy travel, and taverns were opened at short intervals along the way.

The Balch Dean Tavern was built in the last century and still stands at the junction of the Westboro road with the turnpike. This house was used as a small-pox hospital in 1792, when this disease was so prevalent in town that several houses were used in that way.

A mile beyond, toward Worcester was Harrington's Tavern, which was built by Captain Thomas Harrington especially for the accommodation of the stages. The sign bore the INIassachusetts coat of arms, and was suspended from a rod attached to the house. On the opposite corner of the town road was the store where he sold groceries to the people of South Shrewsbury.

The tavern has been remodelled into a dwelling and a handsome residence built on the site of the old store, both being occupied by great-grandsons of Thomas Harrington. Opposite these houses is the common surrounded by beautiful maples, where stood the meeting-house of the First Restoration Society of Shrewsbury, which some years ago was removed. On top of the hill west of these stands the "Old Arcade," once used as a tavern, an important looking building with much history laid away within its walls. Like the Balch Dean tavern its front, until the turnpike was made, was toward the south ; but the turnpike was made a strictly straight road without regard to front doors or anything on either side. The Dean Tavern evidently had no respect for the turnpike, for until this day it resolutely stands with its back toward it. The first landlord at the Arcade was Daniel Stone, then Nahum Eager, Abel Wesson and following him the ^Munroes, Isaiah and Reuben.

At Lake Quinsigamond, down at the A^ery water's edge, was the last tavern in Shrewsbury ; it was kept by Joseph Pratt. Several stages ran each way daily, each driver blowing his horn as he drew near his stopping-place, where the travellers alighted for grog and gingerbread. Until Ihe railroad usurped the travel between Boston and Wor-

The Pease Tavern '57

-cester nearly all the freight between these two cities passed over this road. The stages, however, by no means deserted the ''great road" through town, but Levi Pease's two a week multiplied into four each day, one of which carried the mail.

Until about 1806 there was no post-office in this town, all letters being left at Worcester until called for. The first post-office here was kept by Joseph Stone in a small building which stood west of the house now occupied by Dr. Brigham. A mile beyond Cushing's Tavern, later called Haven's, was the tavern in early times kept by Daniel How and, a mile further on, the one kept by Jotham How, afterward by George Slocum and later the residence of Judge Cobb.

The Pease farm has passed from one man's ownership to that of another and is now owned by Mr. George L. Davis. In a shady nook by the woods west of the road there is a sulphur spring. To reach it you cross the lot where Old Brazil, the Indian, and his wife Nancy used to live. This spring has been of some repute at different times, the water being quite medicinal and containing a large per cent, of sulphur. It is a pretty spot to visit and a drink from the spring refreshing after a dusty walk on a summer day. Old Brazil's true name was Basil Mann. He was once a pirate on the high seas and if his bloodcurdling stories were true, many a hapless craft fell into his merciless hands. He enjoyed telling with what deftness he could in those times split a man's head open, with his axe, exactly in the middle; ''one-half would fall on to one shoulder and t'other half on t'other shoulder, ugh ! ugh ! " Such grim and ghastly stories made him a terror to all the children in the neighborhood as well as to some of the older people, and his habit of drinkino^ added not a little to his native fierceness and terrifying power. During his life in Shrewsbury he practiced none of his evil arts, seemingly satisfied with reminiscences of the past. He lived in the small house once occupied by Lorey Pease, son of the Captain, quietly and industriously weaving baskets which he and his wife Nancy went about the country to sell, entertaining his customers with his charming tales. These Indians must have died about the year 1850.

To show their pleasure at the departure of these undesirable neighbors, the village boys procured a bombshell and, placing it in the brick oven, blew the house to fraements.

The Baldwin Tavern And Its Various Owners

ON leaving the Pease Tavern and turning his course westward, the traveller sees before him the white spire of the old church, standing out clear and distinct against the horizon ; nearer are the roofs of some of the village houses which border the hills to the northward. Nearer yet and at his left as he descends the hill the green meadows extend to the distant woodland, and at his right they rise into low hills. In all directions the landscape breaks into pretty pictures, and while charmed with these, his eye is attracted to a ruinous building before him on the right of the road, which excites his curiosity, and speculations arise in his mind which lead him into the yard and up to the very door. Three noble elms stand on the broad common that lies between the building and the road, and a merry brook courses along under their shadows. Before reaching the door the outline of a cellar wall is discerned, but the cellar itself is filled with the stones that once formed a chimney, and now overgrown with a tangle of woodbine, ivy and blackberry vines. Here, as elsewhere, Nature is striving to make beautiful a most unsightly spot. The ancient door stones are left uncovered by briar and woodbine as if to keep in remembrance the forms that once tripped lightly over into the hospitable doors beyond. Seeds from the elms have been wafted among the stones, have taken root, and are becoming stately trees, since the house sheltered the lives of the last of the generations that dwelt beneath its roof. A little beyond and toward the hills are the ruins of an old barn, whose timbers gave way before the winter's blast some years ago. The sheds have gone in like manner and the one remaining barn bears sisfus of soon sharinor- their fate.

The house that once stood over the cellar now filled with stones was the noted Baldwin Tavern, famed far and near for its good cheer and its gentlemanly landlord. The date of its erection takes us back to the time when our orchards and fields were covered with thick forests, and a company of stout-hearted men lifted up their axes against the mighty trees, and laid the foundations of a town among the hills where Edward Rawson made his search for saltpetre. Nahum Ward was one of this company of men, and his was one of the forty families who settled here, established a school, and formed a church in accordance with the conditions of the grant. Nahum Ward's first dwelling-house was near the meeting-house and there his little son Benjamm died at the age of one year. This was the first death on the town record. Nahuni Ward was a Heutenant in the mihtia service. He was an enterprising man, and, as various old deeds show, a large land-owner, adding to his original grant by purchasing from time to time many hundred acres. He bought in 1732 of William Pepperell (who afterward became famous for leading in the siege of Louisburg) and Nathaniel Balston of Boston for the sum of one thousand pounds lawful money, one thousand five hundred acres more or less, the land being theirs by right of their wives, who inherited it from their grandfather, the Honorable Samuel Sewall. In 1742 he purchased for two hundred pounds a part of Nathaniel Treadway's share of "the tract of land called by the name of Haine's Great Farm," which farm contains three thousand and two hundred acres. He built a number of houses in different parts of the town, but the Baldwin Tavern place he must have owned at a very early period, for he selected this spot for his own residence, and removed there from Rocky Plain about 1725. Selecting the spot upon which to build, he drew the stones for his chimney and cellar walls, levelled the sturdy oaks in the surrounding forest to get the strongest timbers for his house, and dug a well close by that gave him a supply of good spring water which is clear and cold to this day. The cellar walls being laid and all things ready, he looked about him for men to help raise the frame ; not finding a sui^cient force in town he mounted his horse and rode off to ^larlboro, arrayed in his Heutenant's uniform, to rally his men who in merry mood set out for the house-raising in Shrewsbury. The ''scribe and tumble" rule for building- prevailed in those days, by which each timber was iitted to its own place and would fit in no other, which explains why in old houses the beams are often larger at one end than at the other, and why no two doors or windows are the same size. In the middle of the house was the large stone chimney expressive of durability, which would outlast a dozen frames that might be successively built around it. Great, wide-mouthed fireplaces were on three sides of it, with immense stone mantels resting on the massive jambs at either end. There were double outside doors opening into the kitchen, through which a pair of oxen drew the "eight foot logs'' for the fireplace. On the north side of the chimney in the garret floor was an open space about four feet square, enclosed on all sides down to the cellar, with no aperture save at the top. The exact purpose of this deep, dark place is not known, but it was called "the dungeon" and may have been intended for a hiding-place, as the times were perilous. A little dog once fell to the bottom and was a prisoner until a ladder was let down and he rescued from the darkness, more frightened than hurt.

The house was square in shape with two stories and a garret, and though durability was in those days the chief requisite of a dwelling-house, to this one was added some display of taste in the finish, and three w^indows with diamond shaped panes and leaden sashes gave a little touch of grandeur to the style.

Martha the wife of Lieutenant Ward, true to her name, was a provident house-wife, and had in abundance everything necessary to the comfort of a well ordered New England home of the olden time. She took pleasure in furnishing her new home, arranging with pride in the kitchen dresser, her store of brass, copper and pewter utensils, shining as the dames of ancient days knew how to make them shine, displaying her silver and china in the new buffet, and fitting up her chambers with her luxurious feather beds, her fine linen and her lace pillowbiers. Lt. Nahum filled his bookcase with law books, hung his silver-hilted swords over the fireplace in the *'best room" and was ready for service either as magistrate or soldier. He was soon called upon to execute the duties of the former office by pleading the cause of the town against the people of Maiden, who were trying to get possession of the now coveted Shrewsbury lands, formerly held by them in light esteem. He was the first representative to the legislature from this town and served in the same capacity seven years, holding also many town offices ; later in life he was appointed Colonel of the militia and judge of the Worcester Court. He died in 1754 and in his will mentions his wife most affectionately, charging his executors to provide amply for her comfort, giving her "six bushels of meal a year,

2 20 lbs. of meat, two barrels of cyder and a sufficiency of apples for her own eating"' also that "they shall yearly and every year provide a sufficiency of good fire wood, cut fit for ye fire and laid at her Door, both summer and Avinter. " He also bequeathed to her his " Riding Chair and all the furniture thereunto belonging," and one half of all his "household stuff besides the improvement of my silver Can and six silver spoons," a goodly sum of money and two good cows. Dr. Crosby's bill for attendance in the last sickness of both Xahum and ]\Iartha his wife, is yet preserved, 'Olarch 25th, 1754, Col. Xahum Ward Dr. To seven visets& Sundry Medicines ;^. o - 15-6 To medicine for Mrs. Patty 0-6-9 J^^^^e 25th, 1755. The widow I\Irs. Martha Ward Deb. to 8 visets Bleeding & Med. jC. o. - 15 - I

The "r\Irs. Patty" in the bill was a daughter who was an invalid all her life, though she lived to be seventy years old. There is in the family a silver spoon which belonged to her and with which she used to stir the porridge in her silver porringer as she lay on her couch ; nearly one half of the spoon is worn away with the constant stirring. This spoon is treasured as a memorial of ''Aunt Patty."

ince of the Massachusetts Bay in New England Clerk, for and in Consideration of the sum of Seventy Eight Pounds in province Bills to me truly paid and signed by Nahum Ward of Shrewsbury in the County of Midd^ in his Majesties Province above s^ yeoman have Sold and Delivered to the S^ Ward My Negro Boy Servant named Caesar for & During the whole term of Sd Boy's Natural Life always hereafter to be and abide to the Sole Use Benefit & Service of the S^ Ward his heirs Executors Administrs & Assigns, & I Do hereby become obliged to Defend my Sd Negro Servt to the Sd Ward against the lawful Claims of any whomsoever. In witness whereof I have hereto Sett my hand and seal this 15th day of November Anno Dom' 1728

The year after the death of Colonel Ward 160 acres of the place, including the buildings, was sold for 540 pounds 13 shillings, to Henry Baldwin, of Pelham, N. H. , who opened there a public house, put a bar across a corner of the southwest room, and set up a tall sign post in the yard, upon which it was announced to the wayfarer that here was to be found refreshment for man and beast. Near the sign stood the old mile stone, now prostrate, proclaiming, by its white letters upon a black surface, that Boston was thirty-six miles away. Henry Baldwin proved himself to be a model landlord ; hospitable, genial and attentive to the wants of his customers, he soon achieved renown in his calling. The handsome tavern, freshened by a new coat of yellow paint, presented an attractive appearance to the weary traveller who was at once conducted to the bar where the most refreshing drink w^as offered him, and whether the partaker was too warm or too cold it always put him in proper condition. The bar had a handsome railing of small rods for ornament, and an outside door opened just beside it. One evening old Richard Grimes of Hubbardston, who had not neglected the bars of other taverns on the way, on drawing rein at this hospitable door, forgot to leave his horse outside, and forthwith into the bar-room came horse and rider for a most unneeded drink. This is the Grimes immortalized in the familiar song, written by Albert G. Green, who lived in the latter part of the last century and the first of the present. It is noticeable that in this curious poem the first two lines of each stanza refer to his character and the last two to his apparel.

Old Grimes

His peaceful moments ran ; And everybody said he was A fine old gentleman. There were many "fine old gentlemen" of the Grimes stamp frequenting that bar-room, and people of all degrees and trades stopped at the Baldwin Tavern. Tradition whispers that some time in the remote past a dark deed was committed within those walls. A certain night two travellers arrived and took lodging in the same room. In the mornins^ one of them was missing and the other was found dead. The blood stains upon the bedstead caused it to be laid aside in the garret where it remained, filling that corner of the garret with spectres to those superstitiously inclined. Who the unfortunate man was, who was his evil disposed companion, or to what place he fled, are matters unknown to history and unsung by tradition.

The family parlor was the southeast room, which had no door but the one into the front entry, and the other part of the house could not be reached except through the bar-room.

This was not always an agreeable transit for the young ladies, who sometimes found a way through a vv^indow and reached the kitchen by a run outside the house. There were seven daughters belonging to this household; and seven girls will make any house merry; so we must believe that there Avere few dull hours in the family that lived in the Baldwin Tavern. Only two of these daughters married Shrewsbury men. Mary married Elisha Ward, the son of Nahum; they went to live in Petersham. Lucretia became the wife of Jonas Stone, who established the Stone homestead near the church, now owned by Mr. Frederick Stone of Boston, grandson of Jonas and Lucretia, who has repaired and enlarged it for his summer residence.

of the Baldwin Tavern was used as a training ground for one of the military companies, formed to accustom the farmers to the use of firearms and prepare them for actual service. Henry Baldwin's mother married a second husband, Col. John Jones of Hopkinton, and after his death came to live with her son, who built an addition to his house for her use ; this is "the part now standing. It was a snug little home for Lady Jones, two rooms below and one above with a fireplace in each and little cupboards for her china and silver. There by the west window sat the fair dame of one hundred years in her white ruffled cap and kerchief, her spinning wheel in the corner, and by her side a little stand containing a few treasured books. In 1793, en the day when she completed her century of life, the Rev. Dr. Sumner took her to a sleighride, and though we do not hear that she had any robe to throw about her save a camlet cloak, we do not hear either that she came near freezing, or took a dreadful cold, or any such thing, but that she had a real good time and lived to take tea with ]\Irs. Sumner on her birthday three years later "in good health and enjoying Reason/' as Dr. Sumner wrote in his journal. Two years longer she lived in her cosy rooms, reading and knitting and spinning, the neighbors' children making the rooms merry with their games - the favorite place for them to hide in playing "hide and whoop" was under Grandma Jones' big apron ; as this mysterious hiding-place was well known to all partakers of the game, there was always a rush for it and a great rush away from it, sometimes nearly dislodging the old lady from her chair, who after all enjoyed the fun and laughed with the children while she replaced her spectacles and rearranged her cap. Lady Jones' fireplaces are desolate now and the cranes move on rusty hinges. Instead of children's voices, the winds howl and storms drive through the sashless windows, and blood-stains are upon the floor she once kept so white, and daily sanded with care.

Henry Baldwin died in Nov., 1789, leaving his son Henry in possession of the place. But his reign in the Tavern was short, for the next month he fell from the beams in the barn, breaking his neck. The place then came into possession of Capt. Aaron Smith, whose son Ashbel in time married the widow Baldwin. Capt. Smith for some years kept up the tavern, which had become famous. People far and near had heard of its fame and travellers lengthened or shortened a day's journey that they might see for themselves the glories of the Baldwin Tavern.

Aaron Smith was a noted man in these parts ; he was an intrepid soldier, having been engaged in the expedition against Canada, and was one of the few Shrewsbury men who fought at Bunker Hill. Having scented the battle from afar, he evaded the sentry at Charlestown, and was firing away with all his might at the British from behind the hay fence, when a negro at his side became so crippled by a ball from the enemy that he could not rise to discharge his g"un, but he could load his own as well as Smith's while the latter fired them both off until the ammunition was expended. Smith then took the negro on his back to carry him off the field, but the enemy's balls coming thick and fast, one of them shattering the gun in his hand, he was obliged to leave the negro to his fate, only saving himself by a hasty retreat. He lived to fight under Lafayette when they had "such a terrible time in the Jarseys, " and commanded a company of men m the time of the Shays rebellion, of which we shall hear more in another chapter.

The stories which he related in his old age of his many adventures were listened to with great interest, but being then unwritten are lost to us except the few fragments which we have by tradition.

When Lafayette came to Worcester m 1824, the Shrews- L»ury Rifle Company was accorded the post of honor in his escort. ]\Iany gray-haired soldiers pressed forward in the crowd to greet their old commander, and among them Aaron Smith, who in his eighty-ninth year walked from his home to see him. Lafayette at once recognized him and most affectionately embraced him. Captain Smith presented him with a cane which he had carved from a grape-vine brought from the Jerseys, which he accepted with pleasure. Smith was a famous carver of canes and there are some specimens of his skill yet in existence. He was anticipating much satisfaction in being present at the laying of the corner stone of Bunker Hill monument in 1825, but the old man died without the sight on the ninth of the May previous.

Some years before his death he removed to the westerly part of the town, having sold the Baldwin place to ]Mr. Samuel Bullard, who kept the tavern open a few 3'ears, then closing his doors upon the public sold no more comforting drinks from the bar and took down the sign from the tall sign-post by the milestone near the road. Then travellers instead of taking the well known turn into the yard, gaided their horses by, looking sadly at the old place and thinking of the jovial times in the by-gone days, with a sigh drove on to Haven's, a mile beyond, or to Pease's, in the other direction.

The house still wore the friendly look, but the signpost looked forlorn, at least so thought the neighboring boys, who one night decorated it to their satisfaction and in the morning when the owner took his stroll under the elms, he saw a great yellow pumpkin swinging from the hook which once held the sign. This was the last day of the tall sign-post ; before night it had been levelled to the ground, Samuel Bullard wishing to have no more boy's pranks played upon it. It was incorporated into the frame of the yellow barn now standing. He once told a neighbor that there was a large sum of money buried upon the farm, that no one would ever find should he die suddenly. Not long after, while in his wagon around the corner by Haven's tavern, his horse became frightened at a curtain blowingfrom a window and, starting suddenly to run, Mr. Bullard was thrown out injuring his neck so seriously that hedied soon after. It is not known that any discovery was ever made of the buried money. Samuel Bullard's son Jason inherited the place w^hich had been the scene of so many and varied experiences, and at his death it passed into the possession of his children, who are still the owners. It was in 1864 that the house was torn down. For many years it had given .unmistakable evidence of decay ; its late owners had not kept it in repair and winds and storms had played with it unmolested. The timbers were settling at the corners of the rooms and breaking away from the chimneys, the board partitions were warped, and the floors sinking in the middle, in some places broken through and the entire structure going to ruin, except the part built for Lady Jones, which was quite secure, and in it the Bullard sons (the only ones of the family remaining here) took up their abode before the demolition of the ancient part took place. This was a more formidable task than had been anticipated, for although it had such a dilapidated look, there was yet great strength in the wooden pins that held the beams together, and that for some time refused to yield to the united efforts of several pair of oxen to break them apart, for Nahum Ward had built his house to last. The great chimney required more than a steady pull from the oxen to lay it prostrate ; it was firm as the pyramids of Egypt, until a battering ram was in some way constructed and the masonry attacked with it. This proved successful, and the chimney with its fireplaces which spoke of warmth and comfort, soon became the pile of stones which Nature has so gracefully concealed with her vines and spreading elms.

Twelve years later Lady Jones' kitchen became the scene of a tragedy which is still remembered with horror. Ever since that dreadful night in October, 1876, when the whole village was startled by the cold-blooded inurder o«f John Bullard, a peaceable, inoffensive man, the house has stood empty, save as it has been a shelter for squirrels, bats and owls and for homeless cats - or for passing tramps who take refuge there for a night. People who favor ghost stories say that the place is haunted ; be that as it may, it is certainly dismal and forlorn enough by day, and in the moonlight when the wind rattles the loose boards, sets the doors groaning on their rusty hinges, howls up the deserted stairway and the cold chimney, it is uncanny - a place for hags to rest awhile from their broomstick rides and chat with the bats and owls and cats, while they search out the blood-stains upon the floor ! But we would rather leave the witches with their weird companions to their midnight mutterings, and think of dear old Lady Jones in the far-away years rocking and knitting and singing her psalms.

The Last Of Mrs. Jones Chairs Dr. Sumner And The Church

ABOUT the middle of the last century, eight youngmen set out on horseback from their native town Pomfret, Conn., for Yale College, Oliver Grosvenor, a young lad of ten years and brother of one, going with them to bring back the horses. This novel procession attracted much attention as they passed through the village, and a lady from Massachusetts who was visiting in Pomfret asked what was to b'e done with all those young men. The laughing reply was ''We are going to send them as missionaries into Massachusetts." The answer was prophetic, for six of the eight were afterward settled over churches in this state.

The death of the Rev. Job Cushing left the Shrewsbury church without a minister. To obtain another was a serious matter, and a day of fasting and prayer was appointed by the church, to the end that the Lord would guide them in their choice. The one whom they finally chose was Mr. Joseph Sumner, one of the eight young men from Pomfret. He in the meantime had graduated from Vale College with honors, in the class of 1759, ^^^ taught school the next winter in Charlton, Mass., and in the spring had commenced preparing for the ministry with his pastor, Rev. Aaron Putnam, in Pomfret.

During the summer of 1781 he preached here according to request, but declined to remain longer, as he did not desire an early settlement. In March the next year, the church again sought him, and sent him a formal call, which he accepted.

His long and successful pastorate shows that their choice was well made. The salary agreed upon was sixty-six pounds a year, six pounds more than his predecessor, INIr. Cushing, received. ]Mr. Sumner in preparing for his new work, and in accordance with his ideas of propriety, had his hair cut short, and put on a wig in honor of his ordination, never appearing in public after that without one.

The day decided upon for the ordination was the twenty-third of June, 1762, and the day being fine, people from the surrounding towns came in large numbers to witness the ceremony. It was thought unwise to crowd the meeting-house, which was small and too old to be secure. Consequently, when the preparations for the occasion were made, a platform was erected outside, upon which the services were conducted.

The council consisted of nine ministers with their delegates, and it was voted to observe the day solemnly, as a day of fasting and prayer. And so it is to be

The next year Mr. Sumner bought for his residence the house and land owned and occupied by Artemas Ward, then Colonel under King George. When he had all things in readiness, he went to Pomfret to marry Miss Lucy Williams, a worthy young lady of great refinement and intelligence, fr(5m an ancient and noted family, and he writes in his note book June 8th, "We came to live at our own house." Mr. Sumner was not long in winning the favor of his parishioners and he was, in all respects, a man to whom they could look up. Mentally he was strong, calm, and equal to all emergencies. Physically he was tall, with a commanding figure, which he carried with great dignity, his height of six feet and four inches making him a Saul among his people.

The majesty of his appearance, with his white wig, and his three-cornered hat, from underneath which shone a pair of dark, piercing eyes, sent a feeling of awe through the young, and the boys never failed to take off their hats when they met his venerated form on the street.

A child seeing him for the first time ran into the house and told his mother that he had seen God ! To his dignity there was added that courtly and saintly grace, that showed him to be a gentleman and a Christian; and beneath all was his large, kind heart that had room for all his people. His kindly sympathy carried comfort to the homes he visited, and his genial good nature made him everywhere welcome. He was a busy man with his farming, his visiting, and writing two sermons a week, sometimes three, and on Saturday afternoons hearing the school children recite their catechisms.

His sermons were attractive, not being so long as to be wearisome, but always containing that which was not only worth listening to, but which was also well worth remembering. Though not gifted with great fluency of speech, his language was eloquent, and his words convincing.