Upton Town

By William T. Davls

The territory constitutiog the town of Upton was occupied before the migration of the white men from the sea-coast to the interior by the Nipmuck tribe of Indians. Before the incorporation of the town, in 1735, it belonged to the towns of Sutton, Uxbridge, Mendon and Hopkinton. Among the first setilera on this territory were John Hazeltine, David Batcheler, J )nathan Wood, Israel Tait, John Sadler, William Johnson, John Bromly, William Green, Benjamin Perham, Samuel Nelson, Stephen Denny, Samuel Watkius, Marshal Baker, Samuel Work, Samuel ReeTcs, John Warfield, VVillson Rawsou, Robert Tyler, Matthias Taft, Peter Holbrook, Stephen Tenney and Thomas Palmer. Of these, Matthew Taft was a settler as early as 1728, having bought his land of Harvard College. This territory included thirteen thousand and ninety-four acres. A portion of it, including about three thousand acres, formed a part of the tract of land belonging to the Hopkins P^und, which, during nearly a hundred years, was a source of trouble and vexation to the inhabitants. Edward Hopkins came from England in 1637, and settling in Connecticut, became its Governor. He returned to l^ngland and died in 16ri7, giving the sum of five hundred pounds out of his estate in New England to trustees, after die death of his wife, to be invested in houses and lands in New England, the income from which sbould be devoted to the support of students in the grammar and divinity schools at Cambridge, and to the purchase of books to be given to meritorious students at Harvard College. Anne Hopkins, his wife, died in 1G98, and after a suit in Chancery the trustees obtained, in 1715, in satisfaction of the legacy, a verdict and payment of five hundred pounds, with interest, amounting to three hundred more. This money wa-i invested in the purchase of Maguncog from the Natick Indians, which, with other lands, finally became the town of Hopkinton, one of the contributors to the township of Upton.

In 1716 the court gave to the Hopkins Trustees the province lands in Hopkiuton, swelling their possession to twenty-five thousand acres. About onehalf of these acres were lea^^ed for ninety-nine years, dating from March 25, 1728, and the remainder were reserved as common lands. Troubles ensued concerning the payment of rent and taxes ; the courts and the Legislature were resorted to for relief by both trustees and tenants, and not until 1832 was peace restored. In that year the Legislature agreed to pay eight thousand dollars and the tenants two thousand dollars, and for this consideration the trustees abandoned their claim on the lands.

The territory of Upton is not specially attractive in soil or scenery. Its surface abounds in rocky hills, with here and there a plain of better land, like those on which the pleasant villages of. Centre and West Upton are situated, while West River, the chief stream of the locality, finds its way through the richer meadows of the valley towards its outlet in the Blackstone River, at Uxbridge.

On the 31st of January, 1735, John Hazeltine and others, living on this territory, presented a petition to the Provincial Court to be incorporated as a township, and on the 1-lth of June the following act was passed :

.\n Alt for dividing tUo towns of Blendon, Sutton, Uxbridge «nd Hopkinton, iind urccting a. new town in the County of Worcester by the name of Upton.

Tna'ret(«, tlio ontlands of tlie sever.-^l towns of Mendou, Sutton, Uxbiidge and Ilopliinlon tire completely tilled with inhabitants who labor \iuderdiflicnltie8 by reason of their remoteness from the places of public woiship in tlio said towns, and have therefore addressed tliis Court that tboy may be sett off a distmct and separate township and vested

Sect. 1. That all the ontlands of the aforesaid towns of Mendon, Sutton, Uxbridge and Hopkinton comprised within the following bounds, containing in the whole twelve thousand nine hundred and forty-three acres, together with one hundred and fifty-one acres taken off Mr. John Rockwood's farm, bounded as follows, viz, : beginning at a pine tree, being the southeast corner of Grafton, and from thence extending north, bounding west on Grafton till it comes to the northeast corner thereof; and from thence bounding by Westboro' line till it meets with Hopkinton line ; from thence extending southerly two hundred and twelve perch in the bounds between Sutton and Hopkinton; from thence south nine degrees east four hundred and ninety perch, to a stake and heap of stones ; from thence south tliirty-one degrees and thirty niiuutes east one hundred and forty perch ; from thence south sixty-one degrees thirty minutes east two hundred perch to a heap of stones at Haven Meadow ; from thence eafiterl.v one hundred and thirtyfour perch to the north end of a pond called North pond and there bounded easterly on said pond till it comes to the place where tlie Mill River runs out of said pond ; and thence bounding by said River till it comes to a wading place called Peck's Wading Place, above the lower North Meadow, from thence south thirty degrees thirty minntes west two huudred and seventy-four perch ; from thence soutli forty degrees west ninety perch to Tyler's lane alias Marlborough road ; from thence south fifty-five degrees west four hundred perch to Uxbridge, where Uxbridge and Mendon meet ; thence bounding by Misco Hill Brook till it meets with West River so called; then runs north twentyfive degrees west ten hundred and twenty-two perch on Uxbridge line to a heap of stones at Hazeltine's goat pasture ; from thence nortlierly to a pine tree; thence easterl,v to a stake in a meadow ; and thence north twenty-five degrees and thirty minutes west one hundred and seventy perch to Grafton south line ; and thence bovinding northerly on Grafton one hundred and ninety-six perch to tiie bounds first mentioned; be and hereby are set off a distinct and separate township by the name of Upton.

Srct, 2. And that the inhabitants thereof be and hereby are vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities that the other towns in this Province are or ought, by law, to be vested witii.

Sect. 3. That the whole of Mr. Nathan Tyler's farm be and hereby is excluded out of the abovesaid township and he and it forever remains to the town of Mendon as heretofore.

Sect, 4, That the inhabitants of the said town of Upton do within three years build a suitable and convenient house for the public worship of God and settle a learnedorthodox minister and provide for his comfortable and honorable support.

By an order of court passed June 17th John Hazeltine, as one of the principal inhabitants of the new town, was authorized to notify and warn the inhabitants to meet on the 28th of July and choose town officers. On that day the town met at the house of John Sadler and John Hazeltine was chosen moderator, Jonathan Wood was chosen clerk and Samuel Work treasurer. The condition of the town records is such that it is impossible to learn who composed the first Board of Selectmen. Mr. Work, the treasurer, died not long after his election, and on the 10th of November Jonathan Wood was chosen in his place.

Thomas J. Hall. B. A. Jourdan. Velorous Taft. Velorous Taft. George D. Whiting. H. C. Holbrook. Thomas J. Hall. B. A. Jourdan. J. Plummer Taft. Thomas J. Hall. B. A. Jourdan. Velorous Taft. Same. Same.

At this point in our narrative a completion of the list of perilous who have held the more prominent offices of the town would he proper. The following is a list of the moderators of annual meetings, of treasurers and town clerks for the years set against their names: lYeasitrers. Ezra Nelson. Ezra Nelson. Harvey Bradish. Harvey Bradish. Harvey Br dish. Harvey Bradish, Harvey Bradish. Harvey Ilradish, Harvey Bradish, Harvey Bradish, Joseph Perry. Joseph Perry. Joseph Perry. Joseph Perry. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson. Elisha B. Fisk. Elisha B. Fisk. Elisha B. Fisk. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson. James A. Nelson,

On the 10th of November, 1735, five months after the incorporation of Upton, the town voted to build a meeting-house on a part of the old burial-ground, about fifty rods north of the south road to Mendon and about one mile from the centre. It was to be forty feet long and thirty-five feet wide, and the sum of one hundred pounds was raised towards defraying its cost. From year to year small sums were raised to complete it, but it was never entirely finished. Twelve years elapsed before a pulpit was built and five yeara before all the windows were glazed. Dur- ing the first three years the town-meetings were held in private houses, but after that time the meetinghouse was so far finished that town-meetings were held within its walls. On the 18th of August, 1735, Rev. Thomas Weld, of Eoxbury, and a graduate of Harvard in 1723, was invited to become pastor and was ordained January 4, 1738.

The sum of one hundred and fifty pounds, old tenor, was given to him as a settlement, and eighty pounds as an annual salary. He was dismissed in December, 1744, and was afterwards settled in Middleboro'. During the French War he entered the army as a chaplain and died in the service. Rev. Elisha Fisk was invited January 2-5, 17.51, and ordained June .Sth, with asettlement of one hundred and twenty pounds, and a salary of sixty pounds. Mr. Fisk was a native of Stonington, and graduated at Harvard in 1750. He married Hannah Forbes, of Westboro', and died August 6, 1795, having had nine children.

During the ministry of Mr. Fisk, in 1761, many of the people became dissatisfied with the location of the meeting-house, and three questions were considered : whether the old meeting-bouse should remain where it was and be finished at once ; whether it should be moved ; and whether a new house should be built. The territorial centre was found to be on the plain not far from the new burial-ground on the Westboro' road, and three sites were at various times discussed : the centre, the ground on which the meeting-house of the First Church now stands and a small hill, which was called Meeting-house Hill. Finding it impossible to come to any harmonious agreement, the town voted to refer the question to a committee composed of Captain Edward Davis, of Oxford; Hezekiah Rice, of Framingham; Colonel Oliver Wilder, of Lancaster ; Major Daniel Hayward, of Worcester; and Captain Caleb Hill, of Douglas. On the 24th of June, 1761, the vote, however, was rescinded, and it was voted to let it remain seven years and then to move it to the spot on which the meetinghouse now stands. On the 23d of March, 1768, at the expiration of the seven years, at a meeting of the town, action was had on the following articles in the warrant:

Will the towD remove the meeting-honse tu the epot agreed upon June 2t, 1761 ? Will the town divide into two pjirishes? and will the town choose a committee to report what in their judgment would be the best coui-se to pursue? On the tiist two questions the town voted in the negative, and on the last in the affirmative. The committee selected consisted of Jonathan Livermore. of Northboro' ; Samuel Keed, of U.xbridge ; William Jenuison, of Meudon ; and Hezekiah Taylor, of Grafton. This committee at a subsequent meeting reported as follows: -'Having taken into serious consideration your complaints and your different opinion«, and after a very patient hearing of all parties so deeply concerned, we are of the opinion that it will he best for the inhabitants of this town to let their meeting-house remain where it now Is. being fully sHti tied that the town will be divided into two parishes before many years. All things, therefore, being duly considered, we thus Judge."

Notwithstanding this advice, two years later, in 1770, the majority voted to build a new house. In 1821 the church built in 1770 was repaired, a belfry

In 1848 the present meeting-house was built on the west side of the Common, and dedicated January 3, 1849. The old house was sold to D. B. Fisk, and now stands on the easterly side of the Common, devoted to other uses.

Rev. Benjamin Wood was invited to settle as the successor of Mr. Fisk, December 17, 1795, and was consecrated June 1, 1798, with a salary which, at the end of fifteen years, was raised to four hundred dollars, and which, during his (lastorate of fifty-one years, never exceeded that sum. Previous to 1812 the church had only a covenant, but in that year adopted articles of faith, and not until 1834 was the parish legally organized. On the 25th of June, 1835, Mr. Wood delivered a centennial address of much interest and value, and in 1848 an address commemorative of the fiftieth year of his settlement. He died April 24, 1849, at the age of seventy-six years, and at his funeral services Rev. A. H. Tracy, of Sutton, preached the sermon. He was born in Lebanon, N. H , September 15, 1772, the youngest of twelve children, and graduated at Dartmouth in 1793. An older brother of Mr. Wool was the teacher who, it is said, fitted Daniel Webster for college.

Rev. William Warren, a native of Maine, and a graduate of Bowdoin, was installed November. 14, 1849, and dismissed April 29, 1856. His successor was Rev. Andrew J. Willard, a native of Vermont and a graduate of Vermont University, who was ordained April 30, 1857, and dismis-ed July 8, 1865. After the dismissal of Mr. Willard, Rev. Spencer O. Dyer supplied the pulpit from November 30, 1865, to November 30, 1870, and was followed by Rev. John E. M. Wright, who was installed November 15, 1871, and dismis!^ed March 31, 1875. Rev. Frank J. Marsh was ordained January 26, 1876, and was succeeded by " the present pastor. Rev. Almon J. Dyer. Mr. Marsh was a native of Leominster, and a graduate of Amherst.

A Baptist Society was organized in 1751, but was never vigorous, and, after a few years under the ministrations of Elder Abraham Bloss, it was dissolved. In 1787 a new society was formed, which at various times was presided over by Elders Ingalls, Simeon, Snow, Sawyer, Smith and Bullard. After the departure of Mr. Dexter Bullard the society was merged in the First Unitarian Society, which was organized in 1846. The last-mentioned society built a church on the easterly side of the Common, which was dedicated in 1848. The first pastor of the society was Rev. William Cutter Tenney, a Harvard graduate in 1838, who left in 1849, and w'as succeeded by Rev. George S. Ball, whose service has continued up to the present time, with the exception of two years (1857- 58) when he was the settled minister over the First Church in Plymouth. During the War of the Rebellion, Mr. Ball served eighteen months as chaplain of the 21st Regiment of Massachusetts Volunteers, and is remembered by all who come within his influence as a fearless soldier as well as a faithful minister of God. As a pastor he extends his sphere of usefulness beyond his church and his flock, and is universally beloved as a citizen, neighbor and friend. In 1873 Hon. William Knowlton built a church at West Upton, the use of which he gave to the Unitarian Society, and in 1874 the old church was sold to the bishop of the diocese for Catholic worship. The Catholic Society has been organized only a few years, but it is steadily gaining in strength and vigor.

A Universalist Society was incorporated March 9, 1825. Like the Baptist Society, it had no church, and when the Unitarian Society was organized the members of the two societies became united.

A Methodist Society was formed in 1873, and has a commodious and handsome house of worship at the southerly end of the Common, in Upton Centre. Its first pastor wa? Kev. N. B. Fisk, who served three years, and was followed by Rev. John Short, the Rev. Mr. Hubbard and the present faithful pastor. Rev. Wm. P. Blackmer.

With the incorporation of the town and the organization of its church, the municipal machinery of Upton was complete. Like all other towns in Massachusetts, in their earlier days, the town was the parish and the parish was the town. The town settled the minister, fixed and raised his salary, built and maintained the place of worship, and the collector of the town collected the precinct or parish tax. With one parish, with united and harmonious interests, and with an industry - that of agriculture - in which most . of the people were engaged, the early life of the town was passed with no disturbance of the public peace to check its development and growth. Before many years, however, had passed away the French War checked for a time its advancing prosperity, and called on its sons to bear their share of the burdens of the strife. Exactly what part the town performed in the war it is difficult to learn from available records. From what can be gleaned from the archives of the State concerning its activity in some of the events of the war, it may be fairly inferred that in all its varying scenes it thoroughly performed its part.

The records state that the following Upton men enlisted " for the intended expedition, in 1756, against Crown Point, under the command of General John Winslow/' and were attached to the regiment of Col. Richard Gridley :

The following is " a list of training soldiers, March 23, 1757, in Upton, under command of Captain Jonathan Wood, alarm-man, and who stand in a body."

The following enlisted for the reduction of Canada in 1759, in the company of Captain Stephen Maynard, attached to the regiment of Colonel Wm. Williams :

The following enli&ted for the invasion of Canada in 1759, in the regiment of Colonel Abraham Williams, under the command of His Excellency, Jeffry Amherst, general and .commander-in-chief:

After the close of the French War the public mind of the Massachusetts Province became so soon agitated concerning the relations of the colonies with the mother country, and actual hostilities broke out after so short an interval of peace, that the small communities into which the province ivas divided had little time to shake ofl'ihe burdens of one season of hostilities before they were called upon to enter upon another with burdens largely increased and much longer continued. It is not necessary to state in detail in this narrative the expressions of patriotism made at various times by the town in sustaining the measures proposed by the Boston Committee of Correspondence and of the enthusiasm with which Upton, in common with other towns, strengthened the arms and intensified the will of that committee in their advancing march towards a Revolution. Let a single extract from the town records suffice. On the 26th of March, 1770, at a town-meeting held for the purpose of considering the condition of public affairs, it was - -

Revived, That we will treat with contempt all those persons that do continue to import goods from Great Britain contrary to the non-impor tatiou Hgreomeut, and that we will look upon such men with detestation, who, for the sake of their own private Interest, are willing to reduce their posterity and their countrj' to a state of abject slavery.

Resolved^ That we will not purchase or drink any foreign teas until the revenue acts are repealed, and that we will discountenance in our families the wearing of or using any foreign superfluities, and that we will use every lawful method in our power to encourage our own manufactures.

As far as can be ascertained from the records at the State-House, the following lists include the names of men who represented Upton in the military service during the war.

On the 19th of April, 1775, after the news of the battle of Lexington had been received, the follow'ing Upton men marched to Roxbury in the company of Captain Robert Taft, attached to the regiment of Colonel Silas Wheelock :

Kohert Taft, captain, William Fisk, let lieutenant. Daniel Boyden, id lieutenant. David Nelson, sergeant. Benjamin Sadler, sergeant. Ebenezer Walker, sergeant. Micah Bates, corporal. Matthew Taft, corporal. Benjaniin Fisk, corporal. Jonas Warren, Jr., corporal. Amos Wood. Henderson Walker, Jr.

On the 20th of April, 1775, the day after the battle of Lexington, the following men marched from Upton to Roxbury in the company of Captain Stephen Sadler, attached to the regiment of Colonel Silas Wheelock :

The following men enlisted for three months in August, 1775, in the company of Captain David Batcheller, attached to the regiment of Colonel Joseph Read :

The other enlistments in 1775 were Joseph Smith in the company of Captain Edward Crafts, and Joshua Felt and Jonathan Gay in the company of Captain Ezra Badlam, both companies being attached to the artillery regiment commanded by Colonel Richard Gridley, and also Joshua Tenney in the company of Captain Isiac Bolster, of Sutton.

The only enlistments in 177G, so f;ir as the records show were those of Peter Holbrook, James Torrey, Benjamin Batcheller and Samuel Wright in the company of Captain Benjamin Richardson, attached to the regiment of Colonel Nicholas Dike, engaged for three months in service at Dorchester.

Frederick Nelson and Lieut. John Nelson, with another whose name cannot be deciphered, in Capt. Baldwin's company ; and Benjamin Brigham, James Johnson, Prince Hazeltine, Abner Stanford (corporal), John Perry (sergeant), and John Green (sergeant), who enlisted in the Continental Army for three years.

The following enlisted for service in Rhode Island, in 1778, in Capt. Thomas Marshal Baker's company, attached to the regiment of Col, Benjamin Hawes:

The following marched to Claverick, on the Hudson River, in 1779, in the company of Capt. Thomas Marshal Baker, attached to the regiment of Col. James Denney :

Other enlistments in 1779 were Ezra Keys and Grindley Jackson, for two months in Khode Island, in the company of Capt. Thomas Fisk and regiment of Col. Nathan Tyler ; James Lackey, Jeremiah Batcheller, Abiel Taylor and Wm. Patten, under Capt. William Henry, for service at Castle and Governor's Islands; and, James Johnson, for the Continental Army.

The only other enlistment in 1781 was that of Abner Warren for four months in Captain Joseph Eliot's company and Colonel William Thomas' regiment.

After the declaration of jjeace, little else was at first considered by the people of the town beside the best means of meeting the jiecuniary liabilities incurred during the exigencies of the war and of putting the town once more on the road to prosperity. The excitement attending the Shays' Rebellion disturbed, for a time, the public mind, but was allayed as suddenly as it rose. For many years the industry of the town was confined to agriculture; but, with the exception of the products of the dairy, the' crops were held for home consumption, and furnished the farmer with little more than the means of support. In later years the growth of the shoe business in New England was shared by the town, and for a time seemed well-rooted and permanently established. At various times John Hill, Daniel Nelson, Josiah Pease, Jr., Adams Batcheller, Adam Wheelock, Reuben Eames, Millet Baker, Newton Warren, Amos Batcheller, Asa Wood, Eli Warren, Daniel W.' Batcheller, Eli W. Batcheller, D. G. Rawson and Tyler Rawson engaged in the manufacture; but in Upton, as in many other small towns, the shoe business ha? been destroyed by the tide of centralization which has given to larger towns, with better facilities for obtaining labor, a rapid growth both in population and wealth. The absence of railroad communication with the world has had its effect, - an effect which is now sought to be repaired by the construction of a line from Worcester through the westerly part of the town to Milford or some other adjacent point.

The tannery business, too, - once an important industry, - has di,?appeared with the shoe business, and, with the exception of the saw-mill and boxfactory of L. W. Hill & Son, at West Upton, and the saw and grist-mills of P. P. Taft, E. C. Fisk, L. & H. Chase and others, the chief industry of the town is the manufacture of straw hats and bonnets. This business is conducted by three concerns, - Windsor Chamberlin, who makes ladies' hats and bonnets, Benson & Nelson, whose product is men's and boys' hats, and William Knowlton & Sons, at West Upton, about a mile from the centre, who are largely engaged in the manufacture of ladies' hats and bonnets. The plant of the Knowltons is a valuable one ; its buildings are large, heated by steam and lighted by electricity, and a large number of hands are employed in turning out an annual product largely in excess of that of any other straw-mill in the country. The career of William Knowlton, the founder of this mill, is worthy of record in this narrative. He was born in Boston, June 29, 1809, and died in Upton, July, 188(i. His parents attended the church over which Dr. Lowell was pastor, whose pulpit is now occupied by Dr. Bartol, and the impressions made by that distinguished clergyman on his youthful mind found their fruit in the later years of his life, when, out of the abundance of his store, he built a church, and gave it to the Unitarian Society of his adopted town. After the death of his father in Hopkinton, where he had removed from Boston with his ftimily, he was, at the age of about twelve years, placed in the family of John Holmes, of Hopkinton, soon after which he was apprenticed to James Bowker, who was a farmer and cooper. At the age of twenty he bought a year's time, and went to Northbridge to learu the trade of bottoming shoes, and at the end of a year found his way to Upton, and entered the employ of Asa Wood, a shoe manufacturer. In 1832 he entered the store of Lyman Stoddard, of Upton, who kept a country store, and bought and sold straw braids made in the families of Upton and its neighborhood. While engaged in this business he attracted the attention of Colonel Elijah Stoddard, an older brother of Lyman, and Mr. Stoddard proposed to him a partnership in the straw business in which he was engaged. In 1833, at the age of twenty-four, the partnership of Stoddard & Knowlton began the business of a country store, to which were added the purchase of domestic straw braids and the manufacture of straw bonnets. The partnership continued until 1830, when Mr. Knowlton moved to West Upton, and, in partnership with William Legg, carried on the manufacture of ladies' goods in both foreign and domestic braids. Joseph S. Farnum, of Upton, succeeded Mr. Legg in the partnership, but after a year left the firm, and Mr. Kaowlton continued the business alone until his sons were old enough to enter the partnership. The four sons - William, Edwin F., George W. and Ebenezer F. Knowlton - since the death of their father, have conducted the business. The firm has salesrooms in New York, which are under the management of Edwin F. Knowlton.

Notwithstanding the engrossing cares of business, Mr. Knowlton felt a deep interest in the public welfare, and found time to make himself useful in its promotion. He represented the Fourth Representative District of Worcester County, consisting of the towns of Northbridge and Upton, in 1868 and 1872, and was a member of the Senate in 1878 and 1879. In 1880 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention, and was' a trustee and patron of the Massachusetts Agricultural College. He was also a director in the First National Bank in Milford, and held other positions of responsibility and

Up to the time of the War of the Rebellion little occurred in the life of Upton worthy of record in this narrative, except what has been already incidentally referred to. In that war, as in the French and Revolutionary Wars, the town performed a creditable work. On the 11th of June, 1861, the town appropriated $2000 for the families of volunteers, and on the 3d of March, 1862, $1500 for the same purpose. On the 21st of July, 1862, the town voted to pay a bounty of $100 to any volunteer enlisting after that date, and March 7, 1864, it appropriated $4000 for further aid to families of the soldiers. On the 8th of August, 1864, it voted to pay $125 in gold to any volunteer in the service. The writer finds on the books of the town, and on the records of the adjutant-general the names of the following volunteers credited to the quota of the town. Many of those whose names are included in the following list enlisted more than

Charles H. Brown. Jonathan 0. Fisk. Lyman A. Leighton, Jr. Wm. A. Aldrich. Charles W. Bogers. Charles W. Aldrich. Davis Southland. Lowell Southland. George H. Walker. Henry A. Whitney. Leander Wood. James W. Goodenow.

Sylvanus W. Farrington. Benjamin F. Gibson. Arthur Hutchinson. Wm. P. Kent. Curtis A. King. Charles H. Nichols. George A. Norcross. Oliver Orr. James Orr.

The above list comprises one hundred and eightythree volunteers, nine less than are claimed by the town as the number of enlistments. The remainiuonine would doubtless be made up by double enlistments, only a few of which are iucluded in the list. Of these, Harrison T. Bosworth, Charles E. Haynes and Charles H. Thompson died in Andersonville prison, the last on the 4th of July, 1864; David J. Messenger was killed at the battle of Ball's Bluff, Charles A. Kogers was killed at Newbern, Simon Curling was killed at Fair Oaks, J. Orson Fisk was killed at Newbern, and Lieutenant Charles K. Stoddard was killed at Annapolis Junctiou.

On the 25th of June, 1835, the town celebrated the one hundredth anniversary of its incorporation. Daniel Fisk presided on the occasion, assisted by Dr. John Starkweather and Mr. 0. Walker, and Lyman Stoddard acted as chief marshal. A procession, numbering fifteen hundred persons, marched through the streets, escorted by a volunteer militia company commanded by Captain Wood, and seven hundred sat down at dinner. At the centennial service an oration was delivered by Rev. Benjamin Wood, and other parts of the service were taken by Rev. Mr. Fisk-, of Wrentham, Rev. Mr. Long, of Milford, Rev. Mr. Johnson, of Grafton, and Rev. Mr. Forbush, of Northbridge ; an ode, written by Mr. Charles Thurber, was sung, and the music was under the direction of Colonel Daniel Newhall.

A public library was established by the town in 1874, a reference to which must not be forgotten. This institution and the High School, which was established by the voluntary action of the people, are creditable indications of a public spirit and a regard for the cause of education not often found in the small towns of the Commonwealth. Various gift^ have been made to enlarge the usefulness of the library, among which was one of §500 by Wm. Knowlton, in 1876, and it receives an annual appropriation from the town. It was formerly kept in Waverly Hall, which was the old Congregational meeting-house when the hall was used by the town, but was removed to the Town House when that building was finished in 1884. According to the last report of the librarian, there were, on the 1st. of March, 1888, two thousand live hundred and eighty-eight volumes on its shelves, and si.x thousand four hundred and eighly-eight volumes had been delivered for circulation during the year ending at tliat date.

Previous to the erection of the present town hall, it has been already stated that the town held its meetings in Waverly Hall. Before that hall became available, meetings were held in the meeting-house in early times, and later, in one of the school-houses. In the autumn of 1884 the commodious building now in use was finished and dedicated. Its cost was 819,- 945.87. On the occasion of its dedication, George H. Stoddard presided and after a prayer by Rev. George S. Ball, the keys were presented to the selectmen by Velorous Taft. After a poem by Mrs. M. A. Stoddard had been read, Hon. Elijah W. Wood, of Newton, delivered an address, and was followed by Hon. Elijah Brighara Stoddard, of Worcester, Stephen S. Taft, of Palmer, natives of the town, Hon. S. N. Aldrich, of Marlboro', whose mother was a native of Upton, and Rev. Fr. Boyle, of Grafton, in interesting remarks. The house was built on the site of the old Nelson tavern, on the westerly side of the Common, which was one of the ancient landmarks of the town. Ezra Perry, Joseph Perry, Sylvanus Aldrich, E. H. Fisk, Luther Pike and Judson Childs were among its landlords in days when country taverns ware important features in every town.

In an earlier part of this narrative lists of persons who have held the prominent town offices have been given to show who among the inhabitants of the town were conspicuous in their day and generation. That this may be further shown, it will be proper to insert in this record the names of those who have at various periods represented the town in the General Court. The first General Court of Massachusetts, after the adoption of the Constitution, was held in what is now called the old State House, on State Street, in Boston, on Wednesday, October 25, 1780. The writer has no record of the Representatives from Upton prior to 1786, but the following list covers the period from that date to 1889, inclusive :

On the 1st of May, 1857, the twenty-first article of amendment of the Constitution, which had been adopted by the General Court of the years 1856 and 1857, was ratified by the peonle. That amendment provided that a census of the legal voters of each city and town on the 1st of May shall be taken and returned to the Secretary of the Commonwealth on or before the last day of June in the year 1857 ; and a census of the inhabitants and legal voters of each city and town in 1865 and every tenth year thereafter. It further provided that the House of Representatives should consist of two hundred and forty members, which shall be apportioned by the Legislature to the several counties, which counties should be divided into Representative districts by the county commissioners, except in Suffolk County, where the division should be made by the mayor and alderman of the city of Boston. Under the apportionment made in 1857, Northbridge and Upton constituted the Eighteenth Worcester District, and were represented until the next apportionment as follows :

Under the apportionmentof 1866, based on the census of 1865, Northbridge and Upton constituted the Nineteenth Worcester District, and were represented until the next apportionment as follows :

Under the apportionment of 1876, based on the census of 1875, Mendon, Milford and Upton constituted the Second Worcester District, and were represented until the next apportionment as follows:

Under the apportionment of 1886, based on (he census of 1885, Northbridge, Upton and Uxbridge constitute the Tenth Worcester District, and have been represented as follows :

But there have been other representative men who must not be forgotten, some of whom have passed away and some of whom are now living, reflecting credit on their native town in the places of their adoption. Among these may be mentioned Hon. Georo-e W. Johnson, who was born in Upton October 6, 1832, and became a prominent citizen of Milford, where he died respected by the citizens of his adopted town, and remembered with affection by his old townsmen of Upton as their frequent and liberal benefactor. Samuel Austin Nelson, too, who was born in Upton October 9, 1819, and died in Charleston, South Carolina, June 26, 1887, carried with him to his distant home the seeds of his New England training, and developed into a successful, largehearted Christian gentleman, who secured the respect and love of all who were so fortunate as to live within the sphere of his influence. Hon. Henry Chapin,' of Worcester, was born in Upton May 13, 1811, and died in Worcester October 13, 1878.

Nor must Colonel Elijah Stoddard be overlooked in this narrative, who, with the exception of a temporary residence at the South, where he had formed business connections, was a lite-long citizen of Upton, and filled a large space in its social and business life. Though more than once he was a member of the Board of Selectmen, he never sought office, and only accepted it under the urgent pressure of his fellowcitizens. Colonel Stoddard was descended from Anth<my Stoddard, who appeared in Boston in 1639. Through John, Daniel and Samuel came Jeremiah, the son of Samuel, who lived in Hingham and married Rebecca Bates, of Bellingham. Jeremiah Stoddard had a son Ezekiel, also of Hingham, who married Lucy Forrestall. Both Jeremiah, the father, and Ezekiel, the son, were soldiers in the Revolution. Jeremiah Stoddard removed to Milford, and his son Ezekiel in early life removed to Upton, where he bought a farm and carried on the business of a farmer until his death. His children, all born in Upton, were Elijah, the subject of this sketch, born in 1785; Lucy, who married Daniel Forbes ; Polly, who married Asa Wood ; Lyman, who married Effa Colburn ; Lucretia, who married a Moors ; Electa, who married William Hale, of Fairhaven ; Hartford, who married Sarah Taft ; Rebecca, who married Merrill Ruggles; and Ezekiel Bates, who married Sarah Starkweather. Colonel Stoddard married, in 1809, Zilpha, daughter of Isaac and Hannah (Fisk) Nelson, and Isaac Nelson, the father of his wife, as well as his own father, was a soldier in the Revolution. His children were Ann Maria, born in 1810, who married Charles H. Batcheller, of Grafton, and Lemuel Torrey, of Weyraoulh; Isaac Nelson (1812), of whom later mention will be made; Lucy Jane (1815), who married Sylvanus N. Aldrich, and whose son, Hon. S. N. A.ldrich, is at present United States sub-treasurer at Boston; Lois Nelson (1817), who married Joseph S. Farnum, at one time partner in business with William Knowlton; Electa (1819), who died young; Electa Julania (1824), who married David Atwood; Elijah Brigham (1826), of whom also later mention will be made; and Janette (1829).

Colonel Stoddard, soon after bis marriage, became connected with business operations in Savannah, Georgia, but returned home at the outbreak of the War of 1812, and bought the Farmer farm, in the south part of the town, which he occupied and managed about six years. About the year 1820 he resumed his business connections at the South, locating himself in Charleston, where he remained four years. Not long after bis return he opened a store, in which he began the business of buying and selling straw braid, which soon developed into the liat and bonnet manufacturing industry. In those days the farmers about Upton brought their various products to the town stored for sale and e.Kchange, and among these were straw plaits, which their wives and daughters braided from rye straw. These plaits were at first used for trimming purposes, but became, finally, the seed from which the large straw hat and bonnet business of Worcester County has grown. Colonel Stoddard and the firm of Fisk & Bradish were among the pioneers in this branch of industry. For a time Colonel Stoddard was a partner with William Knowlton, under the name of Stoddard & Knowlton, but after the removal of Mr. Knowlton to West Upton, he carried on the business alone for some years, and finally retired to his new farm on the Mendou Road, nut far from the Common, where he died in 1865. He was a man of indomitable energy, of uncompromising integity, and at his death was a considerable owner of real estate, the management of which divided his time with the usual ruutiue occupations of the farm.

Isaac Nelson Stoddard, the oldest son of Colonel Stoddard, was brought up in the schools of his native town, and at the early age of fifteen years taught a school in Medford. He was born, as above slated, October 29, 1812, and graduated at Amherst in 1832, having during his college career taught school in Mendon, Upton and Holliston. Alter leaving college he taught a classical .school in Jledway, and in 1833 became teacher of the High School in Plymouth. In 1835 he went to New Bedford to teach, remaining there until 1837, when he returned to Plymouth and resumed his old situation, which he continued to occupy with success until 1841. The writer of this sketch was fitted by him for Harvard in 1838, and among his scholars at various times were Judge Charles G. Davis, William G. Russell, Esq., of Boston, and the late Thomas Drew, at one lime a resident in Worcester.

In 1841 Mr. Stoddard was appointed by Harrison collector of the port of Plymouth, and held oflice until 1845, in which year he was appointed cashier of the Plymouth Bank as the successor of Nathaniel Goodwin, and succeeded to the presidency of the Plymouth National Bank in 1879. He married, in 1836, Martha Le Baron, daughter of the late Hon. John B. Thomas, for many years clerk of the courts for Plymouth County, and has a large family of children and grandchildren, one of his sons, Charles B. Stoddard, being the cashier of the bank of which he (Isaac N. Stoddard) is president, and William S. Morrissey, the husband of one of his daughters, being the cashier of the Old Colony National Bank in the same town. Mr. Stoddard has been successful as a business man, and in the various trusts confided to

Of his brother, Elijah Brigham Stoddard, it will be perhaps superfluous to speak, as the chapter on the Bench and Bar of Worcester County contains a sketch of his career. The writer will content himself with stating that he was born in Upton in June, 1826, and graduated at Brown University in 1847. He was admitted to the bar in 1849, and settled in Worcester, where he married Mary, daughter of Hon. Isaac Davis. Mr. Stoddard has held many offices, having been a member of the House and Senate in the General Court, a member of the Executive Council, a member of the staff of the Governor, and mayor of his adopted city. He has been a director in the Providence and Worcester Railroad Company, and now holds the offices of secretary of the Mechanics' and Farmers' Mutual Fire Insurance Company, and of president of the Quinsigamond National Bank, both in Worcester.

In closing this history of the town of Upton there is little to add. The schools of the town are in a satisfactory condition and in the hands of a committee devoted to their interests. During the year 1887-88 the sum of $4840.62 was expended for their support. The other expenditures of the town for the same year were : For principal and interest of the town "debt, §5803.75 ; for roads and bridges, $1993.59 ; support of poor, $2256.79 ; Fire Department, consisting of an engine and a hook-aud-ladder company, with their apparatus, $352.59 ; town library, $250 ; town officers, $750.54; State tax, $1102.50 ; county tax, $655 ; State aid, $270; military aid, $288 ; and sundries, $1243.88. The town has no water works, but William Knowlton & Sons, of West Upton, are liberally supplied with water and apparatus, aflbrding abundant means of protection to their own and surrounding property in that village.

The population of the town in 1885 was 2265, showing an increase from 1880 of 242, and at the same date its valuation was $880,247. Though the increase in population and wealth has been small, and the general business of the town has somewhat declined, there is reason to hope and believe that with the advent of a railroad, and the consequent facilities for reaching a market for products, the prosperity of the town will be secured.

Biographical Hon. William Knowlton

In the lives of active and prominent citizens of our New England towns may be found much that is very instructive and inspiring to the present generation, inasmuch as they generally achieve their positions and fairly win their honors. Hon. William Knowlton, long identified with the business interests of Upton and one of the most active business men of southern Worcester County, was born June 29, a.d. 1809, at Boston. As a boy he was susceptible of deep and lasting impressions. For, although so young, he had a deep reverence for the late Dr. Lowell, of the West Church at Boston, where his parents worshipped. Perhaps that impression might have come in part from the deep reverence in which the doctor was held by his parents, but he retained it to the last. His parents for some reason moved to Hopkinton, Mass. There were then three sons and one daughter, William being the youngest. Somehow the family were in reduced circumstances. The father died, leaving these children to the care of the devoted mother. Each one was called to help keep the wolf from the door of this fatherless household, and William, though small and not more than ten or eleven years old, was put into the family of Mr. John Holmes, ol' Hopkinton, who died a half-century ago. While here as a boy he made a deep impression upon the whole family ; his intelligence and fidelity won their hearts. While living here", his two older brothers, then quite young men, were drowned together in what is now called Echo Lake, Hopkinton. His mother was so lonely alter the death of his brothers she took her youngest son, William, home. She lived then in Hayden row, Hopkinton. But his energy and his mother's needs and wisdom soon apprenticed him to the late James Bowker as a farmer and cooper. He carried on a small farm, bought the staves and hoop-poles standing, and went himself with his help or apprentices into the woods to cut and split them for the casks he made. Here he remained until he was twenty years of age; then, honorably, he bought the remaining year's time of his apprenticeship and went to Adams' Corner, in Northbridge, where he learned to bottom shoes. HU sojourn here lasted about one year, when we find him in Upton, in the employ of the late Asa Wood. His energy and faithfulness made a most favorable impression upon all with whom he had to do, but tlie work was too confining and hard. His health failed, and he went to recruit at the home of his sister, who had married the late Daniel J. Coburn, then of Hopkinton, afterward of Boston, and at one time sheriff of Suffolk County, and who died at his home in Maiden a few years ago. It became evident to his physician that he must have a more active, outdoor life, and after recruiting at his sister's some time, he entered the employ of Lyman Stoddard,. in Upton Centre, in the year 1832. Mr. Stoddard kept a country store, and in connection therewith bought and sold domestic straw braids. Here he was in the open air a large part of the time, as he traveled to purchase the braids, though in the intervals of such employment took his place in the store. He apparently regained his health completely. While thus employed he impressed the late Col. Elijah Stoddard as the man he wanted. He proposed a copartnership. There was no building open in which the new firm could operate. They at once set about building a store, Mr. Knowlton going into the woods with Col. Stoddard to cut and hew the timber for it. In 1833 the firm of Stoddard & Knowlton was in it. It was a country store in Upton Centre, and in connection with it they bought domestic straw braids and also manufactured these into straw bonnets. This year, on the 1st of January, Mr. Knowlton married Miss Caroline Taft, and they began housekeeping over the store occupied by the new firm. This partnership lasted until 1836, when Mr. Knowlton moved to West Upton and formed a copartnership with Capt. William Legg, doing a general manufacturing business of ladies' goods in foreign and domestic braids. Mr. Legg before many years withdrew from the firm, and the late Joseph Farnum, of Worcester, took hi^ place. Mr. Farnum withdrew after one year and Mr. Knowlton continued the business alone. Under his talents and energy it grew into a large business. In the mean time his own sons had grown up, and were from time to time admitted to the firm, and under the name of William Knowlton & Sons the business has been most prosperous and successful. Mr. Knowlton leaves four sons and one daughter. Some years ago the family were saddened by the sudden death of a beautiful daughter in the bloom of womanhood and usefulness, and his wife has only preceded him a few months into the invisible land.

As a man of great public spirit he has held the town office of selectman, but found himself earlier in life too absorbed in business to yield to the desire of his townsmen to give him office. But, as a Republican, he hiis been a liberal member of that party, and represented later in his life his district in the State

Legislature, as a member of the House in 1868 and 1872, and in the Senate in 1878 and 1879. In 1880 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention at Chicago, where he became a strong supporter of James A. Garfield. His interest in education was most marked. He early saw a need of higher education in agriculture, and as a member of the State Board he did what he could to promote it. When the Agricultural College started he was deeply interested in its success, and became a patron and trustee of it, giving to it most liberally of his means; and as a member of its executive board, rendered it in its time of need most valuable services. He also has been a liberal donor to the Worcester County Free Institute of Industrial Science at Worcester, and gave some five hundred dollars to the town library of Upton. As a charter member of the First National Bank at Milford, he was from its start made a director, and at his death was the last original survivor of that board. As a townsman he was always interested in the welfare of the town, and his liberality has been felt in all its departments. His most marked traits of character were untiring energy and perseverance. It built up and firmly established a business that has become immense, even against the obstacles of want of capital at first, and frequent and severe losses, but when defeat came that would have crushed one with less power and energy his faith never faltered. His word was as good as his bond in business transactions. In the year 1857 he lost largely but paid his debts at maturity. Soon after this, at the breaking out of the war in 1861, came another commercial panic. But amid his great losses he met all his obligations except those of four of his largest New York creditors, who, seeing his burdens, advised him to make a small compromise, but in a few years he paid them in full, dollar for dollar. Thus, honest and true, he has reared a noble monument of sterling character and a successful business enterprise. His own opportunity for an education was exceedingly limited, but his mind was quick to learn in the school of life. His business ability was somewhat remarkable. He would often decide almost instantly in great transactions involving thousands of dollars, and seldom make a mistake. Such a man, of course, was a man of vast executive power. He could, in his best days, conduct his manufactory, run his farm and keep his many workmen feeling the ubiquitous power of his master-mind. As he prospered in business he grew in benevolence. He never forgot his early poverty, and hence was most generous to the poor. In later years he has not sought to increase his estate so much as to distribute to the poor and to help the indigent, but in all so modest and reticent in his gifts as to hardly let his left hand know what his right gave. His patriotism through the war and since has pi-ompted him to help the disabled soldiers and the families of such whenever he felt they could be aided by his gifts. Rarely are riches given to one more broad and generous. In his aflec- tions he was very strong. He never forsook or forgot a friend. The simplicity of his character grew in beauty and attraction as he grew old. He loved little children and they loved him. He rarely passed one without a smile and such a gentle, winning recognition that the little one was drawn to him. And this simplicity expressed itself in a reverence that made him a constant attendant at church, and in earlier days a worker in the Sunday-school. Never a sectarian, he worshipped with those with whom he happened to be. He, however, loved the Unitarian faith, and gave freely to promote its interests. Identified from the first with the Unitarian Society here, a few years ago he built a church at West Upton and gave its use to the society for purposes of worship, and followed it with interest as long as he lived. In his family, as a tender husband, father and grandfather, his character shone out with all its ripe beauty. When terrible suffering and pain came he bore it most patiently and with humble submission to God's will, and tenderly and gratefully, even when he could not speak, by his eye and smile recognized the blessed ministry of his own loved.

He passed to his rest Sunday, July 18, 1886, at the age of seventy-seven. Then his active life closed, - dust to dust, ashes to ashes, - nature claims her own ahvay, yet he lives in what he accomplished, in his acts of beneficence, in the hearts of the poor who bless his name, in the affections of his family, in the memory of little children who loved him and of his fellow-townsmen and friends, and in the mansions of the Father's house on high.

Bev. Benjamin Wood.'

BEV. BENJAMIN WOOD.' Benjamin Wood was born in Lebanon, N. H., September 15, 1772. He was the youngest but one of twelve children, seven of whom were sons; of these, three became ministers of the Gospel, - Samuel, the eldest, known as Dr. Wood, of Boscawen, N. H. ; Benjamin, and Luther, the youngest of the family.

Benjamin fitted for college with his brother Samuel, and entered Dartmouth at the age of sixteen. He graduated in 1793, commenced the study of theology with Samuel, completing his preparation for the ministry with Dr Nathaniel Emmons, a noted divine of Franklin, Mass.

He preached as a candidate for the first time in Upton the second Sunday in June, 1795, and received a call from the church to be their pastor the following December. The town assembled on the 31st of the same month to see if they would concur with the church in giving him a call to settle with them, and the result is seen on the records of the town as follows : " Voted, unanimously, to unite with the church in calling Mr. Benjamin Wood to the work of the ministry in this place, and to give him two hun-

His reply was given in the aflirmative the following March, and he was ordained and installed on the 1st day of June, 1796. Rev. Samuel Wood, D.D., of Boscawen, N. H., delivered the ordination sermon; Rev. Isaiah Potter, of Lebanon, N. H., gave the charge to the pastor ; and Rev. John Crane, of Northbridge, the right hand of fellowship. He succeeded Rev. Elisha Fish, who had been settled with this church forty-three years. After Mr. Wood had preached fifteen years, finding his salary inadequate for his support, an additional settlement was made upon him and he was paid $400 annually.

During the following year he married Betsey Dustan , a descendant of the famous Hannah Dustan , of Haverhill, Macs. Their union was blest by a family of eight children - six daughters and two sons - whose names were as follows: Betsey, Palmer, Fanny, Philena, Samuel AVillard, Judith Maria, Lue Ann and Hannah F., who is the widow of Colonel David C. Wood, of Upton, and is the only one now alive.

Five of Mr. Wood's children made for themselves homes in Upton. Betsey married and went to Holden to lii-e, Judith Maria to Westboro", and Lue Ann to Boston. Several of them became members of the church, .and all were highly respected citizens of the town. Samuel Willard settled in Upton ; died February 10, 1838, twenty-seven years of age. leaving a widow and one daughter. Lue Ann, wife of Clark B. Wood, of Boston, died about forty-five years of age, leaving a husband and three daughters. The other members of the family lived to an advanced age, and left children and children's children after them. Early in life Mr. Wood was interested in Free Masonry and was a member of Solomon's Temple Lodge of Uxbridge.

He was deeply interested in everything that concerned the welfare of the town. He served one term Representative to the. General Court, and several years one of the Superintending School Committee.

His great province, which acquired him his fame, was preaching. He had all the qualifications of a fine pulpit orator. He was an able theologian, with a commanding presence, easy and graceful in manner, possessing a voice of rare excellence that charmed his hearers, and made him one of the most popular preachers in all the region round about. In the Harmony Association, of which he was a member, he commanded the highest respect, and was greatly beloved, being affectionately and reverently called by them " Father Wood."

He was not only a pleasant speaker, but a powerful sermonizer. During his ministry he witnessed eight seasons of special outpouring of the Spirit, and admitted four hundred members to the church.

Junu 25, 1835, whea the town was a hundred years old, he delivered the centennial address, - the records say, " in a strain of lofty and touching eloquence." This address, his ordination sermon anil the fir.st one he preached alter his ordination, his farewell to the old meeting-house and the dedication of the new, with numerous other sermons, which were printed soon after they were written, are now preserved in a bound volume in the Upton Town Library.

He lived with the beloved wife of his youth and the mother of his children nearly fifty years. After her decease, September 16, 1845, he married Miss Almira Howe, who was a devoted wife to him during the remainder of his life, a space of about three years. He was well preserved physically and mentally, and able to preach till within a short time of his death.

He had preached in the old meeting-house more than half a century when the society began to discuss the need of a new one. He was very anxious to keep the church and society united and to see them located in a new edifice while he lived, and was gratified in the consummation of his hopes early in January, 1849, by the dedication of a large and commodious house of worship by a church and society in thriving condition. At the sale of pews soon after its com|iletion theye was a call for more pews than there were pews for sale. He did not preach long in the new church. His health began to fail. He preached his last sermon the last Suuday in March.

He was very fond of singing, and took great interest in that part of divine worship. During his last sickness he sent for the choir to come to his room that he might once more listen to their voices in a hymn of praise.

The love of his people was manifested in his last days, when they formed a procession and marched by the open door of his sick-room to take a last fond look of their much-loved pastor. The strong attachment between him and his people was mutual.

He died April 24, 1849, in the seventy-sixth year of his age, and fifty-third of his ministry. His funeral sermon was preached by Rev. H. A. Tracy, of Sutton. The inscription on his monument in the village cemetery sums up his life in the following touching tribute : -

L. L. Warren

L. L. Warren was born near Upton, August 2, 1808. His ftither. Major Eli Warren, a man of sterling worth and generous spirit, had been for many years identified with the interests of Upton, and had

Partaking of this nature, the son, after completing his education at Amherst Academy, entered into business relations with his father, and prosecuted this vocation industriou.s