Townsend Town (part 4 of 7)

In addition to all other embarrassments under which the patriotic citizens were laboring, was the discouraging influence of about a dozen men in this town, who were known as tories. These men for more than two years, had clandestinely opposed all measures wliich tended to resist the authorit}' of Great Britain. They were intelligent men, most of them, and they lived on what is known as Wallace hill, also called by an Indian name in this work. During the time the minute-men were absent, after the alarm was made on the 19th of April, 1775, they were offensively outspoken and disagreeable. It was during this year that it was necessary for every man to "screw his courage up to the sticking point." Public opinion demanded that every able-bodied citizen should give an undivided support to the American cause, or be exposed to popular indignation, to prosecutions before a special Court of the Sessions of Peace, to imprisonment, or to a coat of tar and feathers. From that time such persons were watched. Occasionally they were obliged to uncover their heads, and, in presence of the assembled majesty of the town, to promise greater love for the American cause, and a strict conformity to the popular will.

The patriots were determined to remove every obstacle in the way of success and to ferret out every loyalist, who might utter a word against their" cause. Accordingly a committee was chosen "to collect evidence of inimical and unfriendly persons agreeable to an act of the Great and General Court," which attended to that duty.

On the eighth of Jul}', 1776, "Voted that the selectmen lay before the town a list of such persons as they think dangerous or unfriendly to this or the United States, or have been so since the 19th of April, 1775 '' ^^^^ it was done.

"A List of the persons names taken by us the Subscribers and presented to the town of Townshend at a legal tow^n meeting, agreeable to an act of the General Court, entitled an act for securing internal enemies as persons

Town

In this record a pen was drawn across the names of Jonathan Wallace and Ebenezer Giles, and in the margin opposite their names are these words: "erased by the town."

As a matter of policy, rather than principle, these two men, whose names are erased, "came to time" and in every particular contributed their share of wealth to assist in the American cause, rather than lose their property by confiscation. They were governed by the same advice which Polonius gave his son,

Some of these tories were arrested, taken to Townsend Harbor, and confined in a cooper-shop, which stood nearly opposite the leather-board mill at that place, where they were guarded by a detachment of soldiers from Capt. Douglas' company. They were fed by their friends and families, during their imprisonment, which continued more than a month. It is said that as some troops from New Hampshire were passing through town, while viewing the situation of these prisoners, overheard one of them calling them rebels, which so excited these patriots, that it was with much difficulty that the guard restrained them from firing on the inmates of the shop.

Seth Johnson, whose name appears in this list, was a blacksmith, and had a shop on or near the southeast corner of Hathorn's farm. He also came over to the patriots and worked with them. Jonathan Wallis was a man of strong intellectual powers, a good judge of human nature, and he filled many important offices before and after the revolution. He outlived his unpopularity and came down into the present century, in his old age much respected. Ebenezer Giles was a large land holder, and a man of intelligence and influence. He resided on the farm now owned by Mr. Hamor Lewis. A part of the Townsend tories, when the excitement was at its height, who were not land owners, precipitantly left the town. The patriots were after them on all sides.

It is in tradition, that one night, while they were surrounding a house, after a man by the name of Searles, who lived on the northerly side of the hill, near the old burying ground, a younger brother to the man whom thev were after, knocked a board oft' the back side of the house, jumped out, and ran in a westerly direction. The patriots immediately gave chase and came up with him near the Goss bridge, when they discovered the ruse. During the chase, the person sought for made good his escape, and was followed in a few days b}^ his wife. At the close of the war, a correspondence disclosed the fact, that several persons of the tory stripe, among whom were two men and their wives, belonging to Townsend, took refuge in the forests, near the Saco river, where they suffered extremel}' both for food and clothing, in this their self-constituted exile.

Joshua Smith was a trader, the first one in town of which there is any account. He lived at the Harbor, and occupied for a store the old house painted red, now standing on the north side of the road, nearly opposite the millyard. He was ver}^ obnoxious to the patriots, so much so that he was about the first man "to leave his country for his country's good" for fear of being handed over to the board of war. He had no real estate subject to confiscation.

The most prominent Townsend man, who was loyal to the crown and British ministry, was Joseph Adams, a physician. The fact appears in the Middlesex county records, that in 1774, he bought sixty-five acres of land, "situate about a mile north of the meeting house," of one, Josiah Burge. The house he lived in is the same building now occupied as a dwelling by Mr. Daniel Dix. This was just before the road was made, running nearly diagonally through the Hathorn farm, which passes by this house. The name of Dr. Adams appears only once in the town records (except in the tax-lists), and then in connection with the making of this road. His name appears in the list of Middlesex county absentees, in the Massachusetts Archives, volume 154, page 332 ; James Locke being appointed agent, by the Judge of Probate, to take care of the propert}'.

Dr. Adams probably fled from town before the appointment of the committee to look after the tories. From the Boston Gazette, February 14, 1780: -

"Public notice is hereby given, that there .will be a Lett at Public Auction, to the highest Bidder, on Thursday the 1 6th day of March next at One of the Clock afternoon at the house of Nathan Conant, Innholder in said Townshend ; the real Estate of Joseph Adams, Physician, an absentee,' consisting of a good Farm in Townshend, about I mile from the meetinghouse conveniently situated, with good buildings thereon, with a Pew in the meetinghouse - Also a House and about 12 Acres of Land in Pepperell, lying on the County Road. Said premises to be Leased for one year from the First Day of April next.

After the close of the war, the real estate of Dr. Adams, under the confiscation act, was sold by the agent, and James Prescott and others were appointed a committee to settle with his creditors, consisting of Rev. Samuel Dix, Captain Joseph Adams, and others, of this town.*

Lorenzo Sabine, author of the History of the Loyalists, "supposes" that this Dr. Adams was a graduate of Harvard College, in 1743. The Joseph Adams of that class died at Barnstead, New Hampshire, in 1803, but thus far nothing can be traced which goes to show, beyond a doubt, that he was once the tory of Townsend.

At the close of the war, there was considerable pressure on the part of absentees, or runawa}^ tories, from all parts of the country, for the privilege of returning to the places that were once their homes. To this the patriots never consented.

On April 17th, 1783, the town of Boston sent the following letter and a copy of the proceedings of a meeting at Faneuil Hall, concerning the absentees : -

"Gentlemen: By the enclosed Resolve, transmitted to you by the directions of this town at their late meeting, you may form some judgement of their sentiments respecting the absentees, and your Wisdom and Patriotism will determine as to the Propriety and Usefulness of coming into the same or similar Resolves.

" This town does not presume to dictate to any of their Sister Towns, but they always received with pleasure, their Sentiments with respect to what concerns the public Good. The advantages that have been derived from thus freely communicating the sentiments of each other, during the late Struggle with our most inveterate internal and external Enemies, are of too great Magnitude to need pointing out.

"We sincerely congratulate you that through the Favor of Providence, we are now like, if not w^anting to ourselves, to reap the glorious Fruits of the Blood and Treasure we have freely offered, by a Peace, in all its particulars, fully answerable to our most sanguine Expectations.

"Our Happiness as a Nation, will, however, under GOD, depend principly upon preserving our Morals and our Manners, and maintaining good Faith and Friendship with our natural and generous Allies, the French, who reached out to us their supporting Hand in the Hour of our Distress, and whose interest it is to maintain the

"In order to this we must timely and cautiously guard against the Machnations and influence of our late Enemies the Britons ; and surely the British King cannot have more Subservient Tools and Emmessaries amongst us for the purpose of sowing the Seeds of Dissention in this, infant Nation, and disaflfecting us to our magnanimous and faithful Ally, the Monarch of France, than the generality of the Refugees, whose inveteracy to him, and deceit and cruelty to their Countr3-men have been manifest as the Light.

"The inhabitants of this Town do, therefore, in general, most heartil}' depricate their return. Alarmed by a late attempt of a number of the obnoxious Refugees to land at Dartmouth, and by Reports that interest was making for the return of others to their Estates, the Rights of citizenship and the enjoyment of that Happiness they had been the main instruments of making us thus long sorely toil and bleed for, has excited this vigilence and care to prevent their Return.

"They have, therefore, requested the Committee of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, to keep a watchful Eye, in order to discover such intruders, that Informations may be immediately given to proper authority, that they may be dealt with as the Law directs. They have not presumed to draw the line between any Classes of Conspirators and Absentees, as that will be the Business of Government : they have only directed the committee to pursue the directions of Congress, and the Laws of this Commonwealth, as it was before their duty to do. till this line shall be drawn.

"And we cannot but flatter ourselves that it will appear to you, that this town have herein discovered that Judgement, Firmness and Patriotism in the common Cause of their Country, which early distinguished them in their Opposition to the Measures pursued by Britain for their slavery and Ruin. We shall feel happy to be informed that your Town will so far approve of our conduct, as to adopt similar Measures for the Interest, Quiet and Safety of this and the other United States, and we have the honor to subscribe ourselves your most obedient Humble Servents

"At a meeting of the freeholders and other Inhabitants of the Town of Boston, duly qualified and legally warned in public Town Meeting, assembled at Faneuil Hall, by adjournment, April 7, 1783.

"Whereas by a Resolve of the Legislature of this Commonwealth, passed on the 13th of February, 1776, the several Towns were directed and empowered, at their annual meetings in March, to choose Committees of Correspondence, Inspection and Safety, whose business (among other things) is to communicate Matters of Importance to Comrnittees of the same Denomination, to any other town, county or state, or to the General Assembl}' or Council.

their utmost Industry and Care to effect the great and important Purposes of their appointment, at a time when Interest is making for the readmitting Absentees and Conspiritors, to return into this and other of the United States : Therefore -

"RESOLVED, That this Town will at all times, (as they have done) to the utmost of their Power, Oppose every Enemy to the just Rights and Liberties of Mankind : And that after so wicked a Conspiric}^ against those Rights and Liberties, by certain Ingrates, most of them Natives of these States, and who have been Refugees and declared Traitors to their Country, - it is the Opinion of this Town, that they ought never to be suffered to return, but be excluded from having Lot or Portion among us.

"And the- Committee of Correspondence are hereby requested, as by the law of this Commonwealth they are fully empowered to write to the several Towns in this Commonwealth, and desire them to come into the same, or similar Resolves if they shall think tit.

Townsend, at a town meeting on the twelfth of May following, voted not to allow the return of the absentees, and that the selectmen communicate the vote of the town to the town of Boston. All the towns on the coast, as well as Boston, had more interest in the return of these tories than the inland towns, for more of them belonged to these towns.* country who inclined to move into Boston with their effects, might have Hberty to do so without molestation." To this the Provincial Congress assented, and "officers were appointed to grant permits, and a large number of tories,' as they were called by the patriots, availed themselves to seek the shelter of the British guns."

There are good reasons for supposing, that two or more of the Townsend tories took advantage of this chance of escape, for their names, as far as is known, never afterward appeared on any records of the town.

It is impossible for the people of the present day, being removed a century from "the time that tried men's souls," to realize how completely that struggle called into exercise every resource, and the entire energy of every individual throughout the town. No matter how low his condition, and how limited his means for supporting himself and his family, every man was called upon to act - to exert himself to the extent of his ability, or be considered a tory. Poverty was no shield against liability to engage in the common cause. The poorest day laborer, though clothed in rags, was required to arouse and render his help in the defence of his country. Men of money were obliged, by law as well as by public opinion, to open their purses, as well as to give neat cattle for beef, salt pork, rye meal, commissary stores, and everything necessary for army supplies.

The women of that period were equally patriotic and strained every nerve in the American cause. One instance, among thousands, of the devotion of the fair sex to the cause of freedom, displayed by the New England women,

"Late one afternoon of one of the last days in May. 1777, when I was a few months short of fifteen years old, notice came to Townsend, where my father used to live, that fifteen soldiers were wanted.

"The train band was instantly called out, and mv brother, next older than myself, was one that was selected. He did not return till late that night when all were in bed. When I arose in the morning, I found my mother in tears, who informed me that my brother John was to march the day alter to-morrow, at sunrise. My father was at Boston, in the Massachusetts Assembl}'. Mother said that though John was supplied with summer clothes, he must be away seven or eight months, and would suffer for want of winter garments. There was at this time, no store, and no articles to be had, except such as each family would make itself. The sight of a mother's tears always brought all the hidden strength of the mind to action. I immediately asked her what garments were needful. She replied, 'pantaloons.' 'Oh, if that is all," said I, 'we will spin and weave him a pair before he goes.'

me wheel and cards, while I went for the wool. I went to the yard with my brother, and secured a white sheep, from which 1 sheared, with my loom shears, half enough for the web ; we then let her go with the rest of the flock. I sent the wool in with my sister. Luther ran off for a black sheep, and held her while I cut ofl:' wool for my filling and half the warp, and then we allowed her to go with the remaining part of her fleece. The wool thus obtained was duly carded and spun, washed, sized and dried ; a loom was found a few doors ofl', the web got in, woven and prepared, and the pantaloons were cut and made, two or three hours before my brother's departure ; that is to say, in forty hours from the commencement, without help from any modern improvement."

The lady closed by saying, "I felt no weariness, I wept not - I was serving my country ; I was assisting poor mother ; I was preparing a garment for my darling brother. The garment being finished, I retired and wept till my overcharged heart was relieved."

James Locke, the father of the lady who gave this account of her brother John's pantaloons, moved from Townsend, to Sullivan, New Hampshire, in 1784, where he died, 1808, aged 78. The heroine of this story, his daughter, Miss Eunice Locke, about that time married a man b}' the name of Richards, who resided in Townsend a year or more. Her husband died in middle age, and she survived him and died somewhere in the state of Michigan, at an advanced age. She is represented as possessing much intelligence combined with great perseverance, and a winning, lady-like modesty.

John, her brother, for whom the garment was made, was born 1761. After serving in the war at two or three different calls upon the town for men, and before peace

This family lived about a mile and a half northeasterlyfrom the Harbor, on the west side of the road that runs almost on the line between the towns of Pepperell and Townsend.

"State of Massachusetts. *Capt. James Hosley's Muster Roll of Volunteers who turned out of the towns of Townshend, Pepperell and Ashby and marched with him to the assistance of Major General Gates, agreeable to a Resolve of the General Court of said State upon September 22d 1777 in the Regiment w^hereof Jonathan Reed is Colonel.

These volunteers were in the service one month and fifteen days, and the pay of the soldiers was £3 15s., that of the officers being about sixty per cent, more than that sum. This was one of the most efficient military companies, that went to the war, from this part of Middlesexcounty, Col. Prescott, the hero of Bunker Hill, and two of his subordinate officers were in the ranks of this corps, which on the seventeenth of October, 1777, assisted in surrounding the haughty Burgoyne, at Saratoga.

Pomp Phillis, whose name appears in this roll, was a servant of one of the privates from Pepperell, in this company, and a few of this black man's descendants may now be found in Temple, New Hampshire, and perhaps in other places. Nearh' all the men under Capt. Hosley had previously been in the service.

army, were quartered there, were drafted from the militia. The names of the Townsend men have not been found, although it is beyond a doubt that the town was represented at that point.

In January, 1778, the town "approved the articles of confederation between the United States of America," and instructed their representative "to give his vote in the General Court in compliance therewith."

The town, during the war, kept up their "committee of correspondence, inspection and safety." In 1778, James Lock, Samuel Manning, Lemuel Petts, Daniel Adams, Jr., and Samuel Ma3'nard, w^ere said committee. At this meeting "voted to give forty pounds to each of the last ten continental men that were hired in this town." In March, 1778, "voted that the selectmen provide for the wives of Messrs. Ephraiii], Warren, Jr., Solomon Parce, William Stacy, John Sloan, and all others, agreeably to the Court's act for providing for the families of such persons as are in the continental service."

This record is instructive in showing, not only the promptness of the town in complying with the act of the Assembly, but the politeness of the town clerk in calling these poor patriots, J/I?55r5., who had "periled all in the sacred cause of freedom."

During this year, 1778, town meetings followed in rapid succession; the fourth one, on May nth, was called "to see if the town will come into some method that will be effectual to raise the men, called for of said town, for the public service by the resolves of the General Court April 20 1778." At this meeting "Voted to give £130 to each of the continental men, and eighty pounds to each of the militia men."

It must be kept in remembrance that when the war commenced, the enthusiasm of the people was at its height and the pay was good : after this period it became necessary to resort to some regular system for keeping our quota good. Besides, the seat of war was so much farther from home than at first, that there was more dread to enlist in the service.

Townsend then had two militia companies, organized about 1774, known as the North Company and the South Company. These companies are called the "training bands" in the records. The men of the town were enrolled from sixteen to sixty-five years of age, in these two companies, the dividing line between the two companies being the old county road. Whenever a call was made for troops from this town, these companies would meet and equalize the number of men each company was obliged to furnish. Generally, the soldiers from this town, during this year, received bounties, but some went for less bounty than was offered by the town at that time. In some instances members of these two companies cast lots among themselves to see who should go. The man upon whom the lot fell had to shoulder his musket and march, or hire a substitute. The number of men who could afford to hire substitutes was limited. One feature is worth recording : Townsend sent no men to the war except its own sons and citizens.

In May, 1778, the State Constitution was submitted to the people for their approval or disapproval. Townsend voted : for the constitution fitly-one, against it two. Considering the importance of the subject, this would seem a small vote for a town of more than six hundred inhabitants ; but it must be recollected that a large number of voters were in the army. In June, more men ^vere called for, to reinforce the army in Rhode Island. In these trying times so great was the demand for the sinews of war, that an article was inserted in the warrant: "To see if the town will sell the school Lot." This article was passed over. At all these town meetings the war w^as the all-absorbing subject, in regard to raising and paying the men. The committee to estimate the services done by the citizen soldiery in the war was active during the year, according to the vote of the town.

The year 1779 was equally eventful. At this time, the depreciation of the currency was the trouble. The following brief extract describes the affairs, at that time, in a masterh' manner : -

"At the commencement of the war, gold and silver were scarce articles ; and it was soon found that if something could not be devised as a substitute for the precious metals, the patriots must give^up the contest, and surrender all hope of gaining Independence. Congress ordered the issuing of notes, or bills, to a large amount, promising to redeem them at a convenient season. This currency, called Continental Money, soon came into extensive circulation. The bills, instead of being executed in the elegant style of our bank note engravings, were rude, coarse prints on coarser paper, and consequently were easily counterfeited. The British, actuated by the double motive of making monev and ruining the credit of our government, flooded the country with counterfeits, so well executed that they could not be distinguished from the true ones. In 1777, the bills began to depreciate; and all intelligent men soon saw that it w^ould be impossible for the government ever to tultil their pledge of redeeming them. The government, not being able, or not choosing to devise anv other means to raise the credit of the bills.

"The consequence of this measure may be seen at a glance. Never, since the time of the flood, Vvere debtors more ready and anxious to pay their debts, or creditors more unwilling to receive their money. Of mone}', such as it was, there was no scarcity, and miserably poor was he who could not count his thousands. Then was the sun of prosperity darkened upon the prospects of those upon whom it is usually supposed to shine with peculiar favor. I refer to the lenders of money. Hundreds who before were in comfortable circumstances - more than supported by the income of their money - experienced the singular satisfaction of having every debt paid them, and while gazing upon their masses of money, reflecting that they were reduced to poverty."

In June, 1779, a town meeting was called, with this article in the warrant : "To see what the town will give to the men for the nine months continental service, rather than proceed to a draught." On this article "Voted to offer .each Soldier of our quota of the nine months men, 1000 Dollars, or 90 Bushels of Rye."

The average number of men which the town kept in the field from this time to the end of the war is not accurately known, but probably the number will not vary much from twenty. There is little on record concerning this ; and it would be equally difficult to ascertain the amount of money paid the soldiers by the town, inasmuch as the value of the continental money varied all the time. Besides the expense of taking care of the families of about one-third of these men, which bore heavily on the town, can never be estimated.

While the continental scrip was rapidly depreciating in value, the people of Massachusetts did their utmost to arrest its shrinkage and to keep the prices of goods and labor where they then were.

The prominent men, one or two from each town, in this part of the Commonwealth, met in convention at Concord, in July, and^gain in October of this year, "to state the prices of the necessaries of life." This was merely a' repetition of a similar arrangement two years before this time ; the difference being a tenfold increase of prices from that time. It is as difficult to legislate soundness into a paper currency as it is piety into a politician. Public opinion and common sense will scrutinize the intrinsic value, the real gold which each contains. The convention at Concord, in October, tixed the prices for the towns in this neighborhood with much precision. The prices of these "necessaries of life" are in part, as follows, beginning as here inserted : -

They appeared to have forgotten about throwing tea overboard. Everything in this list, long as the previous one, was in proportion, in regard to price, with the foregoing articles. Beans were worth £5 2s., wheat £7 13s., and near the end of the list may be found ''West India Phlip," per mug, 15s., and the last article on the schedule is "Cyder," per mug, 2s.

The resolutions (now on record, vol. 2, town records, page 190,) passed by the town in 1779, concerning the price of labor and goods were similar to those passed by other towns at that period : -

"ist. Resolved that this town will use its utmost endeavors, to carry the resolves of the aforesaid convention (at Concord) into execution, and if any shall be so lost to public virtue and the common interest of America, as to violate said resolves, or any of them, we will view them as enemies of mankind, unworthy to enjoy the benefits of society, and we w^ill withdraw all connections and correspondence from them."

Four other resolves following this are equally pointed. The names of those, who, in any sale, violated this list of prices, were "to be posted up in some public place in this and the adjacent towns," and "published in one of the Boston News Papers." Exchanging gold and silver for paper money at unequal rates, subjected the names of the offenders to the same publicity.

These patriots exhibited the utmost solicitude and the deepest feeling concerning their currency. That men of intelligence should then for a moment suppose, that any action similar to that taken in this case, would in the least increase the value of the scrip, or. would materially alter

This last comparison between the two only held good for a few weeks. In July, 1781, the town ''Voted to raise £40000 to defra}- the charges of the war, and other charges," and ''£6000 to make up the salery of Rev. Mr. Dix." In June, of the same year, the town "Voted to reduce £15000 raised last May to defray town charges, into £200 silver money to be assessed and to be paid in silver, or paper, at the legal exchange, as those that pay may choose." On January nth, 1782, an article was put in the warrant "To see if the town will order the constables not to receive any more paper money upon a town rate." On this, "Voted that Capt. Ball settle the town rates now in his hands that are 3'et unsettled at the rate of one silver dollar in Lieu of 85 paper dollars." This was a specified sum agreed upon by the town in that particular ca^e, and does not express the real value of scrip, which was then almost worthless.

The collection of the foregoing facts in regard to the Revolutionary War, has been attended with much slow, plodding research, in investigating old manuscripts and documents outside of anything afforded by the records of the town. The writer has been unable to do justice, either to the subject, or the determined people of Townsend, who, at a moment's warning, and at different times, grasped their rude muskets and swords, and started to

It has been impossible to give the names of all the men v^ho tilled the quotas at the different calls on the State for soldiers. Neither can the names of all the persons who lost their lives in that conflict be correctly ascertained. Townsend lost six or seven men in this war, and' among that number were James Hosley, (quite a young man) , Israel Richardson, John Locke, and three others. Everything considered, the record of this town stands well, compared with the other towns in the Commonwealth. Within the bosom of the town was a nest of tories which caused them much trouble, but still its quota was always full. The best men of the town, the town clerks, the selectmen, its representatives to the General Court, all took their turn in the continental arm3%

"Oh checkered train of years, farewell, With all thy strifes, and hopes, and tears ; But with us let the memories dwell To warn and teach the coming years."

The Shays Rebellion

<Jauses which Led to the Eevolt - Mob at Springtiekl - Excitement hi Worcester County - The People of Concord in Fear of the Insurgents - Letter from Concord to the Neighboring Towns - Town Meetings and Committees at this Time - Job Shattuck and his Subalterns - Stopping the Courts - Capture of Shattuck - List of the Shaj^ Men Belonging to Townsend - Peter Butterfield - Luke Daj^ the Leading Spirit of the Insurrection - Daniel Shays.

At the close of the revolution, the country was in a demoralized condition. Almost all the available wealth of the people, at the commencement of the war, had been expended to feed, clothe, and pay the troops. There was much dissatisfaction among the soldiers at being paid off in a worthless currency. The increase of the indebtedness of the towns and of individuals, the scarcity of money, the decay of business, numerous lawsuits, and a want of confidence in the goverriment, particularly in regard to matters of finance, generated a depressed state of teeling, which caused great anxiety among the people. This state of feeling, in some degree, w^as coextensive with the commonwealth. People began to express great disapprobation of the manner in which the government was administered, and a revolt was freely discussed, as earl}- as 1782. In Northampton, the insurgents were rather numerous. They were headed by a disappointed and disaffected clergyman, by the name of Ely, who understood all the arts of the demagogue.

In 1783, a mob assembled in the town of Springfield, resolving itself into a general convention. Proceeding to the court house, on the appearance of the judges and sheriff, the\' opposed their entrance to that building. A riot was prevented by the timely intervention of some of the most influential citizens there present.

In 1786, at a convention of insurgents, assembled in Worcester county, at Leicester, thirty-seven towns were represented, which, without any interruption, freely discussed the propriety of obstrucdng the sitting of the General Court at Boston ; the closing of the county courts by force ; law abuses ; and other subjects.*

In the counties of Middlesex, Bristol, and Berkshire, similar conventions were held, and votes and resolves passed. On September 5, 1786, a mob prevented the session of the court at Worcester.

The voters in the towns of Groton, Pepperell, Shirley, and Townsend, were about equally divided on this subject. The town of Concord, where the court was then in session, was much excited, dreading the expected approach of the rebels against the state authorities. A majority of that town were in sympathy with the insurgents. Concord

The Shays Rebellion

''Gentlemen: Alarmed at the threatening aspect of our public affairs, this town has this day held a meeting, and declared unanimously their utter disapprobation of the disorderly proceedings of a number of persons in the counties of Hampshire and Worcester, in preventing the action of the courts. And apprehending the like may be attempted in this county, and probabU^ be attended with very dangerous consequences, we have thought it advisable to endeavor in conjunction with as many of the neighboring towns, as we can give seasonable information to, by lenient measures, to dissuade from such rash conduct as may involve the state in anarchy and confusion, and the deprecated horrors of civil war. We conceive the present uneasiness of the people to be not altogether groundless ; and although many designing men, enemies of the present government, may wish and actually are fomenting uneasiness among the people, yet we are fully pursuaded, that the views of by far the greater part, are to obtain redress of what they conceive to be real grievances. And since the method they have taken cannot fail of meeting the hearty disapprobation of every friend of peace and good order, we cannot but hope, from what we know of the strenuous exertions, which have been made by the towns around us, and in which those disorders above mentioned now exist, to purchase at the expense of blood our independence, and the great unanimity with which they have established our present government ; and from what we know of the real grounds of their complaints ; were lenient measures used, and a number of towns united to endeavor, by every rational argument, to dissuade those wdio may seem refractorv trom measures which tend immediately to destroy the fair fabric of our government, and to join in legal and constitutional measures to obtain redress of what may be found real grievanfces ; they would be attended with happ}- etiects.

"We have therefore chosen a committee to act in concert with the neighboring towns, for the purpose of mediating between opposing parties, should they meet. And we cannot but hope, our united endeavors to support the dignity of government and prevent the effusion of blood, will meet with general approbation, and be attended with happy consequences.

"If the above should meet with your approbation, we request you to choose some persons to meet a committee of this town, chosen for that purpose, at the house of Captain Oliver Brown, innholder in Concord on Monday evening or Tuesday morning next, that we may confer together, and adopt measures which may be thought best calculated for the attainment of the end above proposed.

Townsend, during this period, w^as in a state of great perplexity, judging from the records of many town meetings. In May, 1786, a warrant was posted calling a town meeting on the fifth of June following, when a committee of live men was chosen, "to draft public grievances," consisting of David Spafford, Jonathan Wallace, Daniel Adams, Benjamin Ball, and Thomas Seaver. The first and last named gentlemen on this committee were disaffected men ; the other three were opposed to the insurrection. At the same meeting chose the same men as "a committee to confer with other towns," and then adjourned to the twenty-sixth of the same month. Met at the adjournment, and adjourned for two weeks. At this adjourned meeting, the town "chose two men to attend a convention (of insurgents) to be holden at Concord on the tvvent}-- third of August."

There is no record of anything like a response to the letter sent to Townsend by the town of Concord. On the twelfth of September, three days atl:er the date of this letter, the insurgents marched into Concord and forcibly stopped the court. The "head centre"' of the insurrection, in Middlesex county, was Job Shattuck, of Groton, assisted by Nathan Smith and John Kelse}', of Shirlev, and Peter Butterfield, of Townsend. Shattuck served in the French war, and was a captain in the revolution. Smith, Kelsey, and Butterfield, his lieutenants, were military men, and had all been officers either in the militia or the continental service. Each of these men were well qualified to be conspicuous in such a cause.

Meeting with no resistance in stopping the court at Concord, their deportment was insolent and offensive, in the extreme, towards the judges, the members of the bar, and ever}' one not disposed to be in sympathy with them. The court being about to be holden, at Cambridge, the Governor ordered the militia to be in readiness to march to that place. At this time says a historian, "An influential character in Middlesex undertook to make an ao'reement with the leaders of that county, that no forces should appear on either side, and wrote a letter to the governor on this subject, to their satisfaction. Shattuck broke this agreement and arranged for a larger number of men to be collected from Bristol and Worcester counties."

"Pursuant to this new scheme (the same historian) a small party of Middlesex insurgents, headed by Oliver Parker (Job Shattuck, their former Captain, coming in a secret manner in order to avoid the appearance of breaking his agreement) marched into the town of Concord. Upon their arrival, Shattuck proceeded in the night to Weston, to get intelligence of the Worcester forces, but though they had begun their march, they did not appear, and trom this want of co-operation the whole plan fell through."

At this juncture, when an effort to stop the court, located so near the capital of the state, was nearly a success, without any further parley, or chance for the insurgents to rally their scattered forces, "warrants were issued for apprehending the head men of the insurgents, in Middlesex, and for imprisoning them without bail or mainprise." A company of horse was ordered from Boston to assist the Sheriff in the capture of Shattuck and his officers, which, on its arrival at Concord, was reenforced by a party of mounted men from Groton, under Col. Henry Woods. This force succeeded in capturing two prisoners, Oliver Parker and Benjamin Page, but failed to hnd Shattuck during the day, as he had taken alarm and escaped. "Under this disappointment, at midnight, in the midst of a violent snow-storm, the whole party were ordered on to Shattuck's house, in Groton, where they did not arrive till late in the morning. A search was immediately commenced, and judicious pursuit discovered him to a part}^ of a few persons led by Col. Woods himself. Shattuck obstinately resisted and was not taken till he had received several wounds, which he returned without much injury."*

The following list of the Townsend insurgents has been preservtsd among the papers on file with the town records. It is worthy of notice that about one-fourth of the persons in this list were young men in their minority. Fourteen of them had the suffix of Jr. to their names. Abraham Butterfield, the son of Peter, was less than seventeen years of age, and some of them less than sixteen years old. Man}' of these persons were the best men of the town, misguided though they were : -

About thirty of the young men, whose names appear in the above list, marched to Concord under Lieut. Peter Butterfield, and were present at the time the court was stopped.

A strict search, in and around Townsend, was made tor Butterfield, b}^ the -posse-comitatus under Colonel Woods w^hen Shattuck was taken, but he eluded his pursuers. During a part of this winter, lie secreted himself in a cabin masked with evergreens, on the hill northwesterly from his house, in plain sight of the same, where he was apprised of approaching danger by signals from his wife. At length his retreat was discovered, and his pursuers followed his track on the snow till nearly night, when, getting into a secluded place in a thicket, in the dusk of the evening, they lost sight of his track and abandoned further pursuit. After he was satisfied that his enemies had departed, he took a direct course for the house of one of his friends, who immediately took him over the line into New Hampshire. His exertions to escape flooded him with perspiration, so that waiting, in a frosty atmosphere, to be sure that the officers had gone, he took a violent cold, which induced rheumatism, from which he suffered more or less during the remainder of his life. He never was arrested by the officers, and there is no certificate from an}^ magistrate, showing that he took the oath of allegiance, to be foimd, although the same file of papers in which these names were found, contains the certificates of different magistrates, before whom sixty of these men took that oath. He was a man of excellent moral character, very industrious, and had many friends.

The leading spirit of this insurrection, in Massachusetts, was Luke Day, of Springfield. He had been a captain in the revolution, and was a popular bar room orator in that town.

Daniel Shays, from whom the outbreak takes its name, was born in Hopkinton, 1747. After his rebellion was crushed he fled to Vermont, and afterwards moved to Sparta, New York, where he died September 29, 1825. He was a pensioner of the United States, having been a captain in the revolution.

Perhaps there never was so much smoke and so little fire, or so small a show of talent or brains in any insurrection as in the Shays Rebellion. The insurgents appeared to dread a collision with the troops, during the whole time they were in arms against the government. All the losses in this rebellion were - three killed, and one hundred and fifty taken prisoners - all Shays men.

At the next session of the General Court (1787), an alteration of certain laws was effected, which made ever}- thing satisfactory to the entire voting population of the Commonwealth.

Ed Uca Tioxal His Tob Y.

Early Action of tlie Town to Preserve the *- Candlewood " - Home Instruction in the Log-Cabins - First Record of Any Eftort to Establish a Public School - First School-House - Account of Several of the School-Houses - Division of the Town into "Nine Squadrons" in 1783 - First School Committee in 1706 - West Townsend Female Seminary - Townsend Academy - General Interest in Education - Names of Some Pi-omincnt Teachers- Sketch of Hon. Seth Davis.

The settlers of this town, in common with the citizens of all the tow^ns in this Commonwealth, displayed much sagacity in all matters concerning their future welfare. As early as 1734, the proprietors' records contained the following : -

"Voted that Jasher Wyman, Lieut. Daniel Taylor and Nathaniel Richardson be a com^'''^ to take effectual care that there be no Strip or Waste made of Timber^or Timber cutt - or Pines boxed, or Candlewood picked up for tarr, upon y® undivided Land ; and to sue and Prosecute any persons whom they shall find Guilty of said offences. Also to prosecute any persons who have been Guilty thereof, or take satisfaction therefor for y® use of y*^ proprietors."

In connection with these precautionary measures, one interesting fact may be learned from this extract, and that is, the importance that was attached to the value of the "candlewood," or resinous pitch-pine, scattered on the undivided land.

Families, at that time, were generally quite large, and almost every one of them constituted a school by itself. Around the capacious fireplaces, common in those days, sat the sons and daughters, in order, according to their age and advancement, while the father or mother acted as teacher. Their cabin walls, and the shining faces of youth and beauty within, were illumined through the long winter evenings by the pine knot light ; and no one can say that this training, in their rude domicils, was not sufficient to furnish the town with amiable women and honorable men. Every opportunity for intellectual improvement, within their limited means, was then turned to their advantage, and a complete exemplification of the maxim "where there is a will there is a way" has come down to us in their example.

The first record of any effort for a public school was in 1744, when the town "Voted to raise twenty pounds old tenor for the support of a school, and chose two men as a committee to provide a school-master : John Conant chosen first, Josiah Robbins second." The record further states where the school should be kept at different dwellinghouses, in different parts of the town ; the north school at the house of Benjamin Brooks, the school at the middle of the town at Joseph Baldwin's and the south school at Daniel Taylor's. One man, without doubt, taught the school at these three places. There is no record to show the name of the first teacher in Townsend.

Educational History

From 1745 to 1750, the town raised twenty pounds, old tenor, for the support of schools, which were kept at several different places. In 1746, the town "Voted to build a school-house on the highway between John Wallis' and Samuel Manning's." It was to be twenty-three feet long and eighteen feet wide. This house was never built, or rather, there is no further mention of any school-house or school in that locality. In 1749, the town "Voted to raise £10 lawful money to support a school," and designated three places at which it should be kept, one of which was "at the new school-house in the middle of the town." The foundation of this first school-house in Townsend may still be seen, on the easterly side of the highway, nearly opposite to the spot where the first meeting-house stood. There is no record of the time when this house was erected, but probably it was done during 1747.

In 1753, the records show that there was a "schoolhouse on the south side of the river," but the time when it was built, or its size, is not known, neither can the precise spot where it stood be pointed out. At that time, by far the largest part of the inhabitants of Townsend lived in the east part of the town, within three miles of the east line thereof, so that a school on Nissequassick hill, one at the middle of the town, and one just south of the Harbor, would accommodate the people in the best possible manner.

In 1770, "Voted to allow the north end of the town £12 old tenor of their school rate to be spent with a school mistress with that squadron." There is nothing on record, or in tradition, whereby the name of this teacher can be ascertained, but the record, as far as it goes, is interesting, inasmuch as it shows a due appreciation of the worth and ability of women, as educators, more than one hundred years ago. Considering the small amount of money appropriated at that time, it may be inferred that females did a large share of the work of teaching.

From the settlement of the town, to the time at which we have arrived, in its educational history every opportunity was improved by the people to advance the cause of learning and piety.

It is evident, from the manner in which the town records were made during the first half century of our municipal existence, that the town clerks were men of considerable culture. Their chirography will not suffer when compared with their successors, or even with the efforts of the present generation. It is true, that in some instances, they showed bad spelling, but, considering their advantages, the wonder is that they filled this office with so much credit to themselves and to the town.

In 1783, beginning to realize that the}^ had thrown oft' the British yoke, and feeling the spirit of independence stirring within them, the people at a town meeting in Mav, chose a committee of nine "to divide the town into squadrons for convenience for schooling." The word "squadron" - meaning districts - is to be tbund in most of the New England town records of the period now under consideration. It is difficult to understand why this word is used in this sense, unless it was brought over by the puritans, who used it in their native country to express portions of a city, or a county, laid out in a quadrangular manner. The lines of our school districts were verv irregular, whicii makes the term still less appropriate.

The committee divided the town into seven parts, for school purposes, and designated the location of the several school-houses. The names given to these squadrons were, the North, East, South, Bayberry Hill, West, Northwest, and Centre schools.

The North school-house, made at that time, stood at the north end of the six rod road over Wallace hill, a short distance west of the present school-house in that part of the tow^n. About 1807, when the present house was built, that house was found to be too small, and it was abandoned as a school building, and finally sold. It now stands on the said six rod road, about one hundred rods nearly south of where it was built, and is used by our worthy adopted citizen, Mr. Beckernort, for a cooper shop.

The East school-house was situated on the same road over the hill, about a mile and a half south of the north school-house. This was the most populous part of the town one hundred years ago. There are quite a number of old cellars and foundations for dwellings in that vicinity, where once stood the loved homes of "kindred, parents and children," now forgotten and unfrequented, except to gather the luscious berries that cluster around the stone walls near these ruins.

The West school-house was built nearly opposite the spot where the owners of Ash Swamp pass through a gate, leading oft' from the Ashby road, to approach their lands.

The Northwest school-house was situated on the side of the road leading from the cemetery, in West Townsend, to the old turnpike. On the south end of this house was a nice sundial, made and presented to this school by Hezekiah Richardson.

The Centre school-house probably stood on the same foundation, occupied by the first school-house in that district, which, in 1783, had been built thirty-four or thirtvfive years, and it undoubtedly was too small for the accommodation of this central location.

Most of these houses were built in 1784. In October of that year the town appropriated "£40 to build seven school houses." The size and style of these buildings may be learned from the one still standing, which is twenty feet long and fourteen feet wide. These structures were in use for the purposes for which they were intended, till the first years of the present century, when they were superseded by a more commodious and better class of buildings.

The Northwest "squadron" did not build its house for ten or eleven years after all the others were finished. The inhabitants of that part of the town, then as well as now, were scattered over a large territory, and thev probably preferred being without a school, than raise the twenty pounds required to build their house.

On all three roads, leading from different parts of Townsend to Mason, were families which lived within a short distance of the state line, and they were obliged to travel more than two miles to reach their school-house. There was considerable feeling throughout the town when these districts were made. It always has been, and probably always will be, very difficult to satisfy this section of the town in its school accommodations.

In October, 1784, "Voted to raise £24 for the support of a school, in addition to the £6 interest due the town for that- purpose." The six pounds was the interest which accrued on one hundred pounds, left the town by a legacy from Lieut. Amos Whitney, which has been mentioned in another part of this work. From this time, till 1800, the amount appropriated by the town tor schools, varied from thirty to eighty pounds.

Nothing of importance is on record in regard to educational affairs, tVom the time these squadrons were made till the population of the town had increased so that larger houses were required.

In 1796, "Voted to choose a man in each school squadron for a school committee. Chose Samuel Stone, Jonathan Wallace, Life Baldwin, Jacob Blodgett, Ephraim Lampson, John Sherwin, and Daniel Adams, Esq., for said committee."

This first school committee chosen in Townsend, was made up of men of prominence in the districts to which they belonged. What they lacked in the higher branches of mathematics, as taught at the present time in our grammar schools, and on which much time is lost b\' pupils who never expect to fill any learned profession, they made up in square common sense, general intelligence, and integrity of character. A committee of this kind was not chosen every year, till the state made a law obliging ever\- town to elect a superintending school committee.

In 1797, the town appropriated $300 for the schools, and this was the sum raised till 1802, when $350 was the sum. In 1803, $400 was appropriated, and this amount was annually repeated till 1807, when $500 was raised, which sum was found to be sufficient, for the satisfaction of the town for school purposes, for about twenty 3^ears.

The school-houses which took the places of the original seven (of 1784), were made by the several districts, between 1802 and 18 10. The town voted to number the districts eighteen years after the first committee was chosen. In 1814, "chose Rev. David Palmer, in No. I, Samuel Stone, Jr., in No. 2, Peter Manning, in No. 3, Abraham Seaver, in No. 4, Josiah Richardson, Jr., in No. 5, Aaron Warren, in No. 6, John Scales, in No. 7, Walter Hastings, in No. 8, Samuel Walker, in No. 9, Nathaniel Cummings, in No. 10, a committee of inspecting, to inspect the several schools in this town, and each district to choose a clerk, and the clerks to notify their own district meetings, and set up their own schools, provided they do it according to law."

That the town elected their best men on this committee ma}' be inferred from the fact, that it contained the town's minister, one lawyer, and three justices of the peace. And the town from that time to the present has placed men on this committee, who have given their best efforts to the cause of the common schools.

Soon after the baptist meedng-house, at West Townsend, was erected, the subject of establishing a youngladies' seminary at that village began to be discussed. The idea was suggested b}' Mr. Levi Warren, w^ho was at that time the most influential man in that section of Townsend. In 1835, between thirty and forty gentlemen, a part of whom did not belong to Townsend, contributed towards purchasing the land and erecting the building known as "the Seminary." No sum was subscribed less than twenty-five dollars, which was called a share. Most of these subscribers took one share, while others gave according to their interest in education and the prosperity of the village. The largest contributor was Mr. Levi

Warren, who subscribed for nineteen shares, Charles Warren, fourteen shares, and Isaac Davis, Jacob Sanders, and Ralph Warren, six shares each. The building was finished in April, 1836, and the institution was inaugurated under highly favorable circumstances, which more than met the expectations of its patrons and founders. On petition, the General Court granted the following charter : -

Section i. Levi Warren, Jonathan Richardson, Jacob Sanders, and their associates and successors, are hereby made a corporation, by the name of the Proprietors of the Townsend West Village Female Seminarv, in Townsend, in the County of Middlesex, with all the Powers and Privileges, and subject to all the duties, restrictions and liabilities set forth in the forty-fourth Chapter of the Revised Statutes.

Section 2. The said corporation may hold real and personal estate to the amount of twentv thousand Dollars, to be devoted exclusively to purposes of Education.

The lady who was principal when the seminary commenced its existence, remained in office only about a year, when she married and left town. Another principal succeeded her till the fall term of 1839, when the trustees engaged the services of Miss Ruth S. Robinson, a person of excellent judgment and ample scholastic attainments.

Associated with this principal were six teachers of experience in the natural sciences, mathematics, the French, German and Latin languages, intellectual and moral philosoph}-, the ornamental branches and music. This board of instruction was selected with much care by a board of Trustees from different New England states. The Seminary was under the auspices of the baptist denomination, but it enjoyed the confidence and patronage of all sects and creeds. The baptists of the eastern states and some from New York sent their daughters to West Townsend for an education at this seminar}^ which for more than twenty years was very popular. In almost every state in the Union may be found one or more teachers, principals of high schools and seminaries, besides wives of educated professional men, who remember the pleasant days of their youth, passed at this, their Alma Mater.

In 1844, a more lucrative and responsible position was offered to Miss Robinson, when she resigned her office. Two other ladies had charge of the seminary, each in turn, till 1846, when Miss Hannah P. Dodge was selected as principal. Miss Dodge is a native of Littleton, and was graduated at this seminary in 1843. This lady remained at the head of this institution till November, 1853, when, at her solicitation on account of ill-health, she was dismissed. During a larger part of the time since

Belonging to the institution was a very judiciously selected library, a large part of which was presented by Messrs. Levi and Charles Warren, and their baptist friends in Boston.

In every particular, it had no peer in America, except, perhaps. Miss Willard's Female Seminary, at Troy, New York. But after a successful existence of about twentylive years, - after it had shone brightly among the constellations of the literary galaxy of its time, - in an evil hour, it finally sunk, never to rise again from beneath the horizon of financial mismanagement, which enshrouded its exit. Thus this civilizing influence, which to a great extent built up the west village, which gave a fresh impetus to our public schools, and made Townsend an objective point as a seat of learning and refinement, was irretrievably lost.

Among the names of the Trustees, at different times, are Hon. Isaac Davis, Worcester, Massachusetts, William H. Shaler, D. D., Portland, Maine, Dea. George Cummings, Lancaster, Massachusetts, Dea. Simon G. Shipley, Boston, Massachusetts, Henry Marchant, Esq., Pawtucket, Rhode Island, and S. T. Cutting, Esq., New York City.

1863 to 1870, it was used as a dwelling-house. In consequence of the act of the legislature abolishing the district system in 1869, the town in 1870 altered the number and location of the school-houses and bought the seminary building and renovated it for graded schools.

After the seminary had been in successful operation tor four or five years, the congregationalists and others at the centre of the town, observing the good influences eminating from that institution, and that the baptist church was much better filled than at previous times, took the idea of an academy at Townsend Centre into serious consideration. First and foremost in this enterprise, was the Rev. Mr. Stowell, the orthodox minister. Accordingly at a proper time, a meeting of the people of the town, and of the members of the congregational church and society in particular, a sufficient sum of money in addition to the quantity of lumber and materials given by others interested, was subscribed to erect a suitable building. Capt. Elnathan Davis gave the timber for the frame, delivered on the ground where it was erected. The traders at the centre gave the nails, lime and hardware, so that the academy was built by a mutual effort by which no one felt the least impoverished. It was finished in the summer of 1841, and opened the following September with a respectable number of students. It stood on the north side of Main Street, nearly opposite the bank, on a part of what is now the stable yard of Walter Fessenden, Esq. It was not so expensive a structure as the seminary, but was a substantial, well-arranged, two-story building, with a tower and bell surmounting it. For five or six consecutive years this academy received a good share of patronage, and during the autumn months a large number of scholars gathered within its walls.

Mr. Noadiah Dickinson was the first preceptor of this academy. He graduated at Amherst college, was a good scholar, with easy, gentlemanly manners, calculated to keep all his friends and gain as many more as he desired. While Mr. Stowell remained in town he took much interest in this school, and he assisted Mr. Dickinson, when the services of an additional teacher were required, in a manner very acceptable to the students.

The difficulty of supporting two institutions of similar character, like the seminary and the academy, in so small a town as Townsend soon became apparent. After Mr. Stowell and Mr. Dickinson left town, the interest in the academy began to flag, until finally, in 185 1, the old district school-house, situated at the northeast corner of the common, where the blacksmith shop now stands, was much too small for the accommodation of the scholars, and District No. i bought this academy building, and moved it to a spot on the north side of the road, almost due north of, and opposite to, the methodist chapel. It was used for a public school-house till January 5, 1870, when it was burned, as is supposed, by an incendiary. There have been four other school-houses burned in this town, two in what was called the Potunck District (No. 8) , and two in the Harbor District. About 1830, a schoolhouse was burned, which stood about one-fourth of a mile southerly from the bridge over the river at the Harbor, in " the angle of land made by the divergence of the Shirley and "South Row"' roads; and in 1871 another schoolhouse situated on the west side of the Shirley road, nearer the Harbor, was destroyed by fire by the careless deposit of ashes.

Since the SUite Board of Education was established, the town has kept pace with the general progress of education throughout the Commonwealth. The reports of the several school committees, on file with the town records, particularly since the existence of the law requiring that they should be printed, are drawn with great care, and contain many valuable suggestions.

It might afford pleasure to some readers to see the names of the persons, who, since the days of Horace Mann, the efficient secretary of the Board of Education, have served on the school committee in Townsend, but the simple statement of the fact, that, since that time the voters of this town have selected their best men on this committee, will be considered sufficient.* Within the last decade the public schools have been very prosperous.

Thaddeus Spaulding, was the first public school teacher in this town, known to the writer. He taught the North school many terms, commencing 1785, in the school-house described in this chapter, at present a cooper shop. Miss Rebecca Warren taught in the south part of the town previous to 1800. She taught a long time and died at an advanced age, unmarried. Joel Adams was a teacher here more than seventy-five 3^ears ago.

In 1808, Seth Davis, Esq., a native of Townsend, at present an active old gentleman, resident of West Newton, taught school here. A few years later Miss Mary Palmer, Miss Betsey Pratt, Miss Polly Giles, and Miss Mary Adams (now Mrs. Bertram) , were some of the Townsend school teachers. Contemporaneous with the last named individuals, the male teachers were Daniel Conant, Joel

Hon. Seth Davis (whose autograph and likeness, in this book, were made after he was ninety years of age) , was the son of Timothy Davis, who was the son of Timothy Davis, who was a blacksmith, a wrought nail maker in particular, and one of the early settlers of this town. He sold "two house lots numbering twenty-live and twenty-six," for £650, to Daniel Adams, Jr., of Concord, (now Lincoln). These lots included all the land on the west side of the road, leading from the present dwelling-house of Elisha D. Barber, to Brookline, commencing at Darius O. Evans' northeast corner : thence westerly by his north line as far as a point in line of the east line of "the six rod way;" thence southerly by that line to the end of "the. six rod way;" thence easterly on the road by the school-house, and northerU' by the road to the place of beginning, including both the farms of Mr. Barber and Mr. Evans, and all the land between the west end of Mr. Barber's farm and the six rod way. The deed "Timothy Davis to Daniel Adams, Jr.," dated November 3, 1742, "in the sixteenth 3'ear of His Majestv's reign George the Second," is still in existence, the signatures to which are well executed, except that of Hannah Davis, the wife of Timoth}- , who commenced her name with a small //, having however the example of the justice of the peace, who made the draft of the deed, who fell into the same error.

Timothy, the grandfather of Seth Davis, died in this town, in 1800, aged about ninety years. Timothy Davis, father of Seth Davis and son of the nail maker, resided part of the time in Ashby, and part of the time in Townsend.

He was a revolutionary soldier, and a poor man. Seth Davis was born in Ashby, in 1787, and his busy life of more than ninety years, presents one of the best examples of a strictly self-made man. It had never entered his mind that words represented thoughts until he was nearly nine years of age, when he was presented with a copy of Robinson Crusoe, which, by dint of perseverance, he read and understood, giving him a keen relish for reading, and a thirst for knowledge. He passed less than two years of his life in the school-room, as a scholar. He acquired his education while he was teaching school, and during the many leisure hours, while others of his youthful acquaintances were after pleasure, in the sports and gayeties attractive to that period of lile. His first school was at Mason, New Hampshire. In 1808, he taught the winter school in Townsend, in the school-house which stood in the corner of the Battery road, opposite the gate entrance to Ash Swamp. Mr. Benjamin Barrett, now eighty-five years old, attended the school taught by Mr. Davis at that time. In 1809, he taught the winter school in the Battery school-house (now a dwelling), made of brick, on the opposite side of the road and some further east than the old house. During the three succeeding winters he taught at Newton, in this state, where he had formed an acquaintance, and where he finally settled and made himself a home and "troops of friends." For many years he was principal of an academy at that place. He prepared a primary arithmetic, two or three thousand copies being printed and used in that vicinity. He made an orrery to explain the motions of the heavenly bodies, probably the first one used in this Commonwealth, and introduced some valuable improvements in the methods of instruction. His whole teaching was attended with much common sense and wisdom, all his record and examples being worthy of the highest commendation. About 1840, having acquired considerable real estate in the flourishing town of his adoption, he gave up teaching and attended to his property, to business, and rural affairs.

From 1840 to 1844, he was one of the county commissioners, and during these three years he made all the surveys which the duties of the board required. He is fond of flowers, gardens, lawns, and all that is beautiful in nature. More than three-fourths of all the trees now growing in West Newton, including the stately elms and clean sugar-maples, which make its streets delightful, as well as the fruit trees, were set out by his hands, during every year of his life from 1811 to the present time. His untiring labors, with his head and his hands, through a long life, have been crowned with a success to a degree that must be exceedingly gratifying to a man of his generous and honorable purposes.

His ninetieth birthday, the third day of September 1877, was observed in a special manner, at his house in West Newton. His former pupils, together with his numerous friends, responded enthusiastically to the call, that suitable honors should be shown to their old master and fellow-citizen. On that occasion were speeches,

Mills And Manufactures

First Mill in Town at the Harbor, 1733 - Mill" at West Townseud - Hezekiah Richardson's Mill and tlie Variet}- of Bnslness at that Place - James Giles' Mill - Eben Butler's Mill- Daniel Giles' Mill, afteiwards Owned by Adams & Powers - Steam Mill of Giles & Larkin - Steam Mill of Walter Fessenden & Son - Sketch of Walter Fessenden - The Work done by these Mills - Morocco Factory of Abram S. French - Sketch of Abram S. French - Clothiers and Wool Carders - Hezekiah Eichardson and his Sons - Samuel Whitney, the Inventor of the Planer - Peter Manning, the Saddler - Townsend Harbor in 17tl(l - The Tanning Business Carried on by Several Parties - Hats Made of Fur, and Palm Leaf Hats - Foundry at the Harbor- Statistics of the Manufactures of Townsend. for 1875. taken from the Decennial Census.

The lirst mill in Townsend, was built at the Harbor, by John Stevens and John Patt, by mutual agreement in writing, each binding himself, his heirs and executors, to the other, his heirs and executors, "to furnish onehalf of the labor, timber, stone and iron, necessary for the erection of said mill for sawing boards;" and "to keep the same in repair for twenty years.'' This written agreement, drawn in a neat, bold hand, worded in a scholarly manner, and legally binding on both parties, is now in the possession of the Ball family, which was connected by marriage with the Stevens family. The signatures of these men, and of two witnesses to the instrument.

would be particularly noticeable in a collection of autographs. John Patt owned the land on the north side ot^ the river, and John Stevens on the south side where the mill was built. This agreement was executed in January, 1733, and the mill was built and completed before the thirtieth of November following. A dam, suitable in height, was thrown across the river at or near where the stone dam now stands, which stopped the water much further up the river than was agreeable to the engineering of these two men. A meeting of the proprietors was called in August of that year, when it was voted to allow Ephraim Sawtell an "equivalent for such land as may be flowed by the raising of the dam."

The mill was located a few rods westerly of the place where the leather-board factory now stands. A grist-mill was soon after put in this building. This mill was sold by the builders a few years after its erection, including the privilege and a certain amount of land, to John Conant, who was the owner and occupant lor a long time. The large two-story house, now standing near the south end of the dam, was built by this John Conant, away back in the provincial times, when all legal documents specifled the year of "His Majesty's Reign." This house was a tavern tor manv years. Con ant's mill had no competitor in Townsend, till about 1768, when a dam was made and a mill erected on the south side of the Squanicook, at West Townsend, near the west side of the stone bridge. The name of the man who built the mill is unknown to the writer, but about 1775, William Hobart was the proprietor. This mill was known in its day as "Hubbard's mill," and it was burned about 1790. The privilege remained unoccupied till 1798, when Hezekiah Richardson bought the property, and the canal leading easterly from the stone bridge was made, which remains in use to the present day. The labor in excavating this canal was most all done gratuitously, by the farmers and others, in consideration of better saw and grist-mill accommodations. Mr. Richardson made a mill nearly on the same site where a mill now stands. The water at this mill has been utilized for more different kinds of business than at any other place in this tow'n. Here has been a saw and grist-mill, a wool carding mill, a cotton yarn factory, a stocking factory, a machine shop, and a leather-board mill, the last being the present business.

James Giles had a small mill, where the kit mill of A. M. Adams now stands, as early as 1787 ; and about the same time Major Samuel Stone, of Ashb}', built a mill on Willards stream, in the fork of the two roads leading to Ashby. Afterwards this mill was owned by Eben Butler, of whom, in 1819, Benjamin Barrett and son bought this property. They demolished the old mill, made a stone dam, and the second mill at this place. Quite recently a mill, three stories in height, and rather capacious, was built here ; and in 1871, another stone dam, further up the stream, was made for reservoir purposes, bv which the privilege was much enhanced in value. This mill is now used for the manufacture of coopers' stock, and owned by Lewis Sanders, who built it.

In 181 7, Daniel Giles erected a mill on the spot now occupied at the Centre for a grain elevator. This mill has not passed through many hands, although it has been enlarged and greatly improved. Adams & Powers were the next owners, and at present, Alfred M. Adams, a son of the senior partner of the above firm, is the proprietor.

For the last half of a century, this saw and grist-mill, in connection with the coopering business, and on account of its central location in relation to a market for flour and meal, has done the most business of any mill in this town. Soon after Daniel Giles disposed of this mill, he built a steam mill on the west side of the Brookline road, about half a mile northerly of the common, where a new building erected for a mill now stands. This mill w^as not long in operation before it was burned, and he lost heavily by the fire. The citizens of the town, and his friends, with much sympathy for the loser, contributed liberally to his relief, so that with the money, he purchased a shell of a mill at Sharon, New Hampshire, and removed it on to the same spot where his mill was burned. This building was converted into a steam mill for the purpose of making coopering stock, and was run by the firm of Giles & Larkin, until the death of Mr. Giles, in 1858, when Mr. Edwin A. Larkin bought the property and continued the coopering business. Through the carelessness of an engineer, or the wickedness of one of his enemies who intended to destroy his reputation, or perhaps his life, the boiler burst in this mill, in May, 1862, killing three men, and tearing out one side of the mill, besides doing considerable other damage. This mill was taken down, 1874, and the present structure on its site, put in its place.

In 1867, a large two-story and basement factory for manufacturing coopers' stock of all kinds, operated by steam, was built at the centre of the town by Walter Fessenden & Son. This mill gave employment to about thirty workmen. The building, motive power, machinery, and everv facility for the manufacture of this stock, was first class. Except the usual vacation of fcnir or five weeks, it was kept running during the year. In August, 1874, ^^^^ "''^^^ ^^^ burned, the fire being undoubtedly the work of an incendiary. This large structure was, at that time, full of combustible goods, made from pine lumber. There was no wind ; the evening was dark during the fire which raged furiously ; when the roof fell in, a gleaming and hissing sheet of flame shot upward to the sky, which was visible for a long distance around. Had the fire happened when the wind blew, or any time except when the mill yard and surrounding roofs were wet, the central village would have been reduced to ashes. The factory now standing on the same site, altered slightly in its architectural proportions from the model of the mill that was burned, was finished and commenced running, February 4, 1875.

Hon. Walter Fessenden was born September 20, 1813. He obtained his education at the people's college - the common school - where a great majority of our prominent business men take their "degrees" of good sense and selfreliance. A certain prominent educator was once asked what studies should be taken by boys. Said he, "Teach them that which they will practice when they become men." Mr. Fessenden received just that kind of an education. He lived more than two miles from the schoolhouse, during his boyhood, while the school terms were much shorter than at present, so that his educational advantages were rather limited. During his minority he learned the coopers' trade, a vocation which he plied with success, having large vitality and muscular strength. Up to 1845, he just made the two pages of the ledger balance, though occasionally it was up grade with him. The impetus given to business by the California excitement in 1849. and other causes operating in his favor, established him in the coopering business so that he began to employ quite a number of men in that branch of industry.

The number of his operatives, and the amount of his trade, began to increase, so that he soon did a heavy business, shipping his goods to California, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and even to the Sandwich Islands, besides supplying his share \o the usual trade of the cities on the coast. In 1859, ^^^^ ^"^^ ^^ Walter Fessenden & Son was formed, since which time Albert L. Fessenden has been the junior partner. This is the leading manufacturing firm in this town ; and up to 1875, fi'om sixt}^ to eighty men have been in its employment as laborers, woodsmen, teamsters, millers, and coopers, who have converted many thousand cords of pine lumber into goods which have tbund a read}- market. Walter Fessenden was one of the most influential men in securing from the Legislature a charter for the Townsend Bank. This institution has been under his charge, as president, for more than twenty 3'ears, during which time it has paid good dividends and added a surplus of about forty per cent, to its capital stock. In 1865, it became a National Bank, in conformity to the United States laws. In 1856, he w'as a member of the National Democratic Convention at Cincinnati, when Mr. Buchanan was nominated; and again, in i860, he was chosen a delegate to the National Democratic Convention which assembled at Charleston, South

Mills And Manufactures

Carolina, where he was an unfaltering Douglas man. In 1861, he was chosen a member of the Massachusetts Senate. He is fond of travel having been two or three times to the Pacific slope, and, during the summer and fall of 1874, he made the tour of Europe, in company with a part of his family. He married Harriet E. Lewis, February 6, 1838.

It appears unnecessary to pursue the description of the Townsend lumber mills any further, although many have had their "exits and entrances" since the town was settled. The coopering business, for the last fifty years, has kept these establishments hard at work during a large part of the year. The timber is converted into barrels, shooks, kegs, kits, tubs, and pails, which, after shipment to the various cities of the United States, are filled with fruit, fish, syrup, spices, edibles of different kinds, chemicals, various manufactures and products, from whence they go on the wings of commerce to every market known to the enterprising American merchant.

In 1833, Abram S. French built a morocco factorv, on the brook running northeasterly from Bayberr\- hill, near its junction with the river, and near where James Giles built his saw-mill, described in this chapter. He erected a dam on this brook, which afforded sufiicient water to operate a fulling-mill during the largest part of the 3'ear. This establishment was in successful operation till 1853, employing constantly ten or twelve workmen: and from the fact of a continuation of twent}' years in the trade, the presumption is that the business was a source of wealth to the proprietor.

Abram S. French was born in Boston, in 1809. His mother was a daughter of Isaac Kidder, of Townsend, where he has resided most of the time during his life. He made one or two voyages to the West Indies, as a cabin boy, but not being captivated with a maritime life, he was sent to New^ Ipswich, New Hampshire, where he acquired a good academical education. Preferring to enter business rather than pursue a course of study for a protession, and having a taste for rural pursuits, he carried on a farm for a few years. After closing up his morocco dressing business, before mentioned, he stocked a tannery at Lockport, New York, and carried on business successfully at that place with a partner to whom he sold his interest in the trade. He then went to Wellsville, New York, and built a large tannery, and pursued that branch of industry for several years very profitably to himself, leaving it most of the time in charge of a reliable and competent superintendent. Partially losing his health, and seeing a good chance to sell, in 1864, he disposed of this factory and its stock in trade, and retired from business. The prices of everything being inflated b}- the paper currency caused by the war, leather was worth more than double when he sold compared with its cost when he built the factory. He married Lois P. Richardson, in 1831, and although they have always had an abundance of wealth and friends, they have been severely bereaved by the loss of four of their six children ; a son in the rebellion, two daughters, each about twenty years of age, and a daughter in childhood. Mr. French has always been fond of books, which during the days of bad health have been a source of much pleasure to him. He has a retentive memory - is well posted in history, and possesses a large amount of miscellaneous information. During the holidays he may be seen dispensing his gifts among his friends, and particularly to those who are in need of assistance. In 1861 and 1862, he was the representative in the Legislature, for Townsend and Ashby.

Nathan Carlton was a clothier, at the Harbor, as early as 1790, and the mill where he obtained his power stood where Spaulding's planing mill is now situated. He was in business for considerable time and his house stood on or near the spot where Abel Eaton's house was recently burned. Silas Lawrence followed him in the same trade and at the same place. In 182 1, Paul Gerrish took possession of the property which he enlarged and improved. He put in a wool carding machine, a spinning jenny, and a loom, or looms, and engaged in the manufacture of woolen goods, with good success. This gentleman was one of the most prominent citizens of the town. He was a justice of the peace, and one of the selectmen quite a number of years. In 1832, he represented Townsend in the Legislature. An accurate town officer and an exemplary man. He continued in this branch of more than twenty years.

About 1807, Jonathan Richardson came into the possession and ownership of the saw and grist-mill erected by Hezekiah Richardson & Sons, which stood a few rods easterly of the present leather-board factory. Connected with this building was an ell, or wing, which contained the first wool carding machine ever in operation in this town. Previous to this time, most of the wool produced in town was carded at the mills in Pepperell or Groton ; the rolls of wool were then returned to the farmers' wives who spun it with Richardson's "patent head," and wove it into cloth, which was put into the hands of the clothier for coloring and dressing. Capt. Josiah G. Heald was the owner of this machine. He was a clothier, and he continued in that trade and wool carding more than a quarter of a century. He had the confidence of the people, gave strict attention to his business, and was much respected.

Hezekiah Richardson, (born in Townsend, 1741.) and his sons Zaccheus, Hezekiah, and Levi, were ingenious mechanics. A part of their business was chairmaking, and the manufacture of spinning-wheels, both for wool and flax. The house in which Hezekiah, senior, lived, is now standing about a third of a mile northwest from the "turnpike bridge," on the premises, triangular in shape, surrounded on its three sides by public highways. It was built about 1746, has always been occupied by a family, and remains to this day a comfortable dwelling-house. These three sons were born in this house, between 1770 and 1776.

Levi constructed a wool spinning-wheel with an extra gear, which was patented. It was a favorite with the women, and was known among them as "the patent head.'" He was also the inventor of a set of sliding blocks, which, after a log was put upon the saw carriage and the saw put in motion, would set for each board till the whole log was sawed. Through the influence of General Varnum, of Dracut, a member of Congress from this district at that time, he obtained a patent on this invention.

Soon after the close of the revolution, the Warrens, and others, were engaged in the manufacture of potash, and this business was followed in a profitable manner till about 1820, when wood became more ^-aluable.

Previous to the commencement of the present century, the principal branch of industry of .the town, from which was derived the greatest amount of money, was the manufacture of beef, pork, and rum barrels. These casks were drawn to market, at Boston, by ox teams, usually about four days being spent in making the journey.

Within the last fifty years most of the families in this town manufactured woolen goods for their own clothing. A tailoress would be in attendance with these families, once a year, and make these woolens into clothing for its members. So with regard to boots and shoes. The farmers sent their hides, marked so as to be recognized, to the tanners, where they were made into leather. A boot and shoemaker would go around to each house and make those goods, sufficient for a years stock, for the family.

Samuel Whitney, of this town, was the inventor of what is known as the Woodworth planer. He spent considerable time and money on this machine. He had a model made by a competent machinist, which did the work admirabh', and he intended to secure a patent on the same, but while he delayed in attending to that business, and dreaming about the fortune he hoped to make by it, a dishonest man stealthily invaded the premises in which the model was stored, took drawings and admeasurements of it, from which another model was made and sent to Washington, and a patent was taken out in another man's name. By this bold and villainous theft, Mr. Whitnev was defrauded out of the benefit of his ingenious and useful invention.

In the days of equestrianism, practiced by both sexes, when pleasure wagons were unknown, a saddler was almost as indispensable in every town as a minister.

In 1787, Peter Manning was engaged in this trade at the Harbor. His house and shop, all in one building, stood where Charles Emery now resides. He is represented as a very polite gentleman, a skilful mechanic, and a good singer ; but he rebelled against the practice of alternate reading and singing the lines of the hymn, which was the custom in public service on the sabbath. Through his influence, that fashion was laid aside.

At that time, Townsend Harbor was the only collection of houses in town which could be called a village. It contained a tavern, the large, old house (now standing) , at or near the south end of the dam at the river, kept by John Conant, a very popular landlord ; a saw and gristmill, a blacksmith shop, a clothier (1790), a tanner, a trader, (Life Baldwin, in 1788,) who occupied the building for a store, which is painted red and stands on the north side of the road, nearly opposite to Jonas Spaulding's counting-room. This was the first store in Townsend, and its proprietor at that time, Mr. Baldwin, was a man of good influence. He was town clerk and one of the selectmen of this town for several years.

About the commencement of the present century, there was quite a heavy growth of pitch-pine where the central village now stands, the nearest houses to which were the red house, now standing on the north side of the road, just south of the Walker pond, so called, and two or three small dwellings situated at the westward of the old burying ground, or in that vicinity.

At the west village, that now is, the hotel now standing and two or three houses, constituted all the buildings of that locality. The borders of the town, at that time, probablv contained as many inhabitants as at the present time.

In 1789, Capt. Timothy Fessenden was engaged in the tanning business on land now owned by Harriet Read, near the north end of the dam over the Squanicook, at the Harbor. John and Samuel Billings, of Lunenburg, were interested in this property, but whether as part owners, mortgagees, or otherwise, is unknown. John Jewett followed Fessenden in this business, till about 1808, when Oliver Read bought the place and worked at the same trade till about 1827.

Soon after 1800, Benjamin Pierce started a tannerv near the first little brook crossing the road leading from the depot, at West Townsend, to the post office in that village. It stood on the north side of the road. Several proprietors followed him in the business, among whom were George Hartwell, Levi Stearns (about 1825), and iVlexander Lewis (about 1828).

The amount of business done in these establishments varied from one to two thousand dollars per annum. In 1827, Curtis Stevens bought the mill, supplied bv water from "Willards stream," in the fork of the Ashbv roads (where Lewis Sanders' mill now^ stands), - built tan vats on the north side of the mill and udlized the water power to grind bark and for other purposes in the tanning business, w^hich he pursued till about 1835.

John Orr, in 1854, erected quite a large two-story and attic building near the railroad track at West Townsend Depot for a tannery, which was operated by steam power. He employed five or six workmen in the business till 1858, when the property went into the hands of a firm under the name of Freeman & Avery. These men increased the business, constantly employing fifteen or twenty operatives. They shipped a large amount of their goods into the