Webster Town

Webster Town

In the town of Helper, Derbyshire, England, on the 9th of June, 1768, Samuel Slater, the founder of the town of Webster, was born. On the 28th of June, 1782, at the age of fourteen, he was apprenticed for seven years to Jedediah Strutt, a partner of Arkwright, to learn the business of manufacturing cotton. At about the time of the close of his apprenticeship he saw an advertisement of a premium for the introduction of Arkwright machinery into the United States, and being familiar with the methods used by his employer, he determined to seek his fortunes in the New World. On the 1st of September, 1789, he left Derbyshire for London, and on the 13th of the same month sailed for New York, where he arrived after a sixty-six days' passage. He at first engaged his services to the New York Manufacturing Company, but, after a few weeks, hearing of Moses Brown, of Providence, he wrote to that gentleman on the 2d of December, offering his services in the line of his trade. On the 10th of December Mr. Brown replied, inviting him to Providence, to which place he removed in January, 1790. On the 5th of April in that year he signed a contract to construct machinery after the plan of that with which he had become familiar during his apprenticeship. He soon became engaged in Pawtucket, R. I., in the successful manufacture of cotton-yarn, which was sold to be woven on hand-looms into cloth by domestic labor.

While engaged in this business, Mr. James Tiffany, of the town of Wales, in Massachusetts, then known as South Brimfield, became acquainted with Mr. Slater in his trading expeditions to Pawtucket, and at his request Mr. Slater took his two sons, Lyman and Bela TiffaJiy, into his employ. Through Mr. Tiffany, Mr. Slater was informed of the existence of water-power in what is now Webster, and in 1811 Bela Tiffany was sent to examine it. In a letter, dated May 27, 1811, Bela Tiffany wrote to Mr. Slater that he had found on the examined premises a two-story house unfinished, a grist-mill with two sione.s, a good saw-mill, a trip-hammer shop, thirteen or fourteen acres of land, one-half of which was swamp, and water-fall sufficient for all practicable purposes. He added that the region was a most benighted one, four miles from Oxford, three miles from Dudley and six and one-half miles from Thompson, in Connecticut. The price asked was $4000, and he wrote that he had secured a refusal of the property until the 20th of June. The result of the examination was the purchase of the property in the name of Bela Tiffany, and this purchase was followed by others, including a farm of two hundred and twenty acres, with a house and barn, nine and one-half acres bought of Elijah Pratt, and before the close of the year 1812 about two hundred and sixty acres more from various persons. In December, 1812, Mr. Tiflany transferred to Mr. Slater five-sixths of the property, retaining one-sixth as his own interest in the enterprise.

Mills were at once erected, and in 1813 Slater & Tiffany began in what is now Webster the manufacture of cotton yarn. At the same time a dye and bleaching-house was erected and placed under the charge of John Tyson, who took an interest in the business. Mr. Tyson died August 2, 1821, and his interest passed into the hands of Mr. Slater. Other purchases of land were made by Slater & Tiffany in 1814 and 1815, but on the 27th of November, 1816, during the depression in manufactures which followed the War of 1812, Mr. Tiffany sold his interest to Mr. Slater for $8400. During the war the company began the manufacture of broadcloth under the superintendence of Edward Howard, a Yorkshireman, who had at home been engaged in the business.

Up to 1821 the business of Mr. Slater was conducted on a stream which runs from ChaubunnagunganugPond, but in that year, through Mr. Howard, a location was made on French River, where property was bought at a cost of twelve thousand dollars. In 1822 Mr. Howard transferred one-half interest to Mr. Slater for six thousand dollars, and in that year, while the woolen-mill was there building, the old woolen-mill was burned. Additional purchases of land on French River were made by Slater & Howard between 1822 and 1824, including about four hundred and twenty-five acres, and still other purchases were made at later dates.

On the 2d of January, 1829, Mr. Howard sold his interest to Samuel Slater and his sons, George B. Slater and Horatio Nelson Slater, who thus, as Samuel Slater & Sons, became the owners of all the property which had been puchased since 1811, including all the water-power supplied by French River within the limits of what is now Webster and by Chaubunnagunganug Pond. During the year immediately following the purchase of the entire property the firm of Samuel Slater & Sons became involved in embarrassments, from which they were, however, happily and entirely extricated. Mr. Slater died in Webster April 20, 1835. He married, October 2, 1791, Hannah, daughter of Oziel Wilkinson, who died in 1812, and about 1817 he married Esther, daughter of Robert Parkinson, of Philadelphia. His children, all by his first wife, were : William, born August 31, 1796, died January 31, 1801 ; Elizabeth, born November 15, 1798, died November 4, 1801; Mary, born September 28, 1801, died August 19, 1803 ; Samuel, born September 18, 1802, died July 14, 1821; George Bassett, born February 12, 1804, died November 15, 1843 ; John, born May 23, 1805, died January 23, 1838; Horatio N., born March 5, 1808, died August, 1888; William, born October 15, 1809, died September, 1825; Thomas Graham, born September 19, 1812, died 1844.

After the death of Mr. Samuel Slater, in 1835, the business was carried on by George B. Slater and Horatio N. Slater until the death of the former, in 1843, after which date Mr. Horatio N. Slater conducted the business until his death, in August, 1888, and was succeeded by his son, Horatio N. Slater, who is the present manager. The three establishments belonging to the concern are the H. N. Slater Manufacturing Company at the North Village, incorporated in 1836, manufacturing cotton dress-goods, checks, lawns, silesias, jaconets, etc. ; the H. N. Slater Manufacturing Company at the East Village, employed in the finishing of cambrics, silesias, cotton dress-goods, lawns, etc., and the Slater Woolen Company at the East Village, incorporated in 1866, manufacturing broadcloths, flannels, tricots and doeskins. In the three about fifteen hundred hands are employed. The cotton and woolen factories are located on French River and the finishing factory on the outlet from the pond. The water with which the inhabitants of the town and the Fire Department are supplied is furnished from a reservoir belonging to one of these establishments, through pipes of the town water-works, first laid in 1867, for which an annual rental is paid by the town.

new town began to be agitated. His property and interests lay, for the most part within a territory made up of a part of Dudley, a part of Oxford and what was calif d Oxford South Gore, which was a tract of land included in no incorporated town. There were eleven hundred and sixty-eight inhabitants living on this territory, whose wishes in the premises were expressed in a petition to the General Court, which may be found at length in another part of this sketch. An act of incorporation was passed March 6, 1882, ol which the following is the text:

An Act To Incorporatk The Town Of Webster

Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled and by the authority of the same, That the territory in the Southerly part of tlie County of Worcester comprised within the following limits that is to say beginning at the southwest corner of said territory where the line between Massachusetts and Connecticut intersects French Kiver ; thence running easterly by said line to the southwest corner of Douglas ; thence nortlierly by the line which divides Douglas from Oxford South Gore until it intersects the line between Oxford and Douglas ; thence due west two and three-fourths miles and thirty rods to a stone monument about eighty-eight rods west of French River; thence Southerly in the direction of a stone monument in the line of Oxford and Dudley near the house owned by Daniel Greenwood and Samuel Slater to the middle of said river ; thence southerly by said river to the fiiBt mentioned corner together with all the inhabitants dwelling thereon be and they hereby are incorporated into a town by the name of Webster and vested with all the powers, privileges and immunities and subject to all the duties and requirements of other incorporate towns agreeably to the constitution and laws of this Commonwealth.

Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the inhal)itjints of said town of Webster shall be bolden to pay all arrears of taxes which have been legally assessed upon them by the towns of Oxford and Dudley before the passing of this act ; and all taxes assessed and not heretofore collected shall be collected and paid to the treasurer ol the towns of Dudley and Oxford respectively in the same manner as if the act had not been passed.

Sec. 3. Be it further enacted, That the said town of Webster shall hereafter be liable to pay two-seventh parts of the expenses necessarily to be incurred in the support of all i»auper^ who at the time of the passing of this act were actually in need of relief and were receiving support from the town of Dudley and one-fourth part of the expenses so to be incurred by the town of Oxford in the support of paupers at present receiving relief from the said town of Oxford. ,\nd that in all cases of paupei-s who shall hereafter stand in need of relief as paupers whose settlements have been derived or obtained in either of the towns of Oxford or Dudley previous to the passing of this act the said paupers shall be supported by the town within the territorial limits of which such settlement was gained, the said town of Webster being required to support all such as have acquired or shall hereafter acquire a settlement within the territory herein described.

Sec. 4. Be it further enacted. That the said town of Webster shall he holden to pay .and discharge two-seventh parts of all expenses which may accrue to the s-aid town of Dudley in the construction of a county road leading from a point near the dwelling-house of Ralph Vinton to the line of Oxford, which the county commissioners for the county of Worcester have heretofore located and ordered to be wrought ; and shall also pay and discharge two-seventh parts of all debts and obligations duo and incurred by the town of Dudley before the passing of this act by virtue of any contract a'ready executed and shall be holden in the same proportional amount for all legal liabilities heretofore incurred by the said town of Dudley not otherwise provided for in this act, Provided, nevertheless that all monies now in the treasury of the said town of Dudley or which may hereafter be paid into the same as the proceeds of taxes already assessed or of obligations now due or owing to the said town of Dudley shall first be applied to the payment of the debts and expenses and the discharge of the liabilities due from or incurred by the town of Dudley as aforesaid.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the bridge over French River near Preston's cotton-mill and the bridge on the same stream near Slater's cotton thread-mill shall forever hereafter be maintained and kept in repair by said town of Webster and that the bridge on said river near the line of the State of Connecticut shall be maintained and kept in repair by said town of Dudley ; and that the said bridges in regard to all legal liabilities shall be reBpectively deemed and takun to be within the limits of the towu which by this act is required to maintain and repair the same.

Sec. 6. Bo it further enacted, That of all state and county taxes which shall be required of said towns previous to a new valuation the said town of Webster shall pay thereof in the proportion in which the said town of "Webster is liable as aforesaid to the payment of expenses to be incurred as aforesaid in the support of paupers now chargeable to the towns of Oxford and Dudley.

Sec. 7. Be it further enacted, That any justice of the peace for the County of Worcester, upon application therefor is hereby authorized to issue his warrant directed to any freeholder in the said town of Webster requiring him to notify and warn the inhabitants thereof to meet at such time and place as may bo appointed in said warrant for tlie choice of all such towu oflRcers as towns are by law required to choose at the annual t«wn meetings.

On the 27th of February, 1841, an act was passed by the General Court providing that *'from and after the passage of this act the boundary line between Webster and Douglas is hereby coofirmed aud established as follows, viz.: beginning at Nipmuc corner on Oxford line; thence running south seven and a quarter degrees, east one thousand five hundred and seventy-eight rods to the Bald Hill monument on Connecticut line erected by the commissioners of Massachusetts and Connecticut in the year one thousand seven hundred and twelve."

The undersigned iuhabitants of Dudley Oxford and Oxford South Gore BO-called in the County of Worcester represent that they are residents within a territory containing about ten thousand acres of land bounded as follows beginning at the south west corner where the lino between Massachusetts and Connwcticut intersects French River thence Easterly by said line which divides the States to the south west corner of Douglas thence Northerly by the line which divides Douglas from Oxford South Gore till it intersects the lino between Oxford and Douglas thence due west to French River and thence d^-wn said river to the piece of beginning that said Gore which is not within the limits of any municipal corporation contains about four thousand five hundred acres ; that about three thousand five hundred acres are within the limits of Dudley and about two thousand acres witliin the limits of Oxford, that the whole population is 8upi)0sed to be from fifteen to sixteen hundred from seven to eight hundred uf which is in Dudley frOm five to six hundred in Oxford tSc from one hundred to one hundred and fifty in said Gore that said territory was rough and very thinly inhabited until the water-power afforded by said river and a large natural pond invited the enterprise of manufacturers and mechanics from which time it began to fiuurish vigorously and is destined undoubtedly to increase in capital & business and to afford at no distant period a support to a much more numerous population - that there are withiu said territory two religious societies each of which has a meeting-house also a post-office five cotton-mills three woolen-mills ajmachine-sliop, five forge-shops, boe & scythe-shop, a^dyeing and bleaching establishment and six stores in all which extensive and active business ia carried on, that most of said iiopulation is distant from Dudley from three to four miles - from Oxford from fuur to five miles, that the great public highways leading to Boston to Hartford to Providence and other large towns do not pass through Dudley or Oxford so that said population has little nutural connection or connection in business with the villages in the c(;n(ro uf those places, that it is burdensome and inconvenient to travel so great a distance to attend town-meetings and fur other town purposes that it would greatly promote the prosperity happiness and convenience of said population to be admitted to separate municipal privileges, as nearly one-half of said territory has hitherto been denied all pai'ticipation in such rights and the other half is so situated as to be subjected to unreasonable expense and loss of time in obtiining them - that a separation would not be injurious to Dudley or Oxford as each would be left with a large population and territory. Your petitioners therefore pray that they may be incorporated into a town with the

This petition was signed by George B. Slater and one hundred and fourteen others of Dudley, William Kimball and thirty-six others of Oxford, and Paraclete Morris and twenty-one others of Oxford ISouth Gore. It bears no date, but was presented to the General Court in 1831, and referred, June 3d of that year, to the Committee on Towns. On the 8th of June that committee reported through its chairman, David Wilder, that a copy of the petition '* be served on the town clerks of the towns of Oxford aud Dudley, and be published three weeks successively in the Massachusetts Spy and National JEgis^ two newspapers published in Worcester, and that Messrs. John Wyles of Brimfield, Elijah Ingraham of Pawtucket, and William J. Otis of Boston be a committee to view the premises at the expense of the petitioners and report to the nest General Court. This report was accepted, and the matter went over to the Legislature of 1832, and the petition was then re-enforced by another dated December 31, 1831, and signed by Joseph Bracket and five others, who claimed to be residents in Oxford, Dudley and Oxford South Gore.

Commonwealth of Massachusetts. To the Honorable the Senate nud H"use of Eepresentativea to be assembled on the Jiret Wednesday of January, A. I). 1832 : The subscribers, inhabitants of the town of Dudley, in the County of Worcester, beg leave to represent to your honorable body that whereas George B. Slater and a number of other persons, inhabitiints of the town of Oxford and Dudley, and Oxford South Gore, did, at the last session of the General Court of said Conunonwealtb, held on the last Wednesday of May last, present a petition, praying that all of that part of Dudley lying Easterly of French or Stony Kiver, and a part of Oxford defl(?ribed in said petition, together with siiid Oxford South Gore, might be incorporated into a Town, aud whereas there was an order of notice issued on eaid petition, returnable to the next General Court, to be held on the first Wednesday of January, then next following ; we therefore humbly pray that if your Honorable Body shall see fit and proper to grant the prayer of the aforesaid George B. Slater and others, that the following described tract of land, lying in Dudley aforesaid, and westerly of the aforesaid Kiver (containing by estimate eight hundred acres, bounded as follows), viz. : Beginning on the west bank of siiid River being at the southeast corner of the farm formerly owned by Nathan Ward, but now by Zera Prcstou and Joseph Scholfield ; thence on the soutli line uf sjiid farm, westerly about eighty rods, to the southwest corner of said farm ; thence northerly on the west line of said farm to the northwest corner of the same ; thence in a northerly direction to the outlet of Peter Pond (so-called) ; thence in a straight line to a monument on Oxford old line, where Dudley projects northerly into Charlton ; from thence, on Oxford old line, easterly about two hundred rods, to a monument northerly of Olney Esten,in Oxford ; thence southerly, on Oxford line, to the River aforesaid, and down said River to the first-mentioned corner, may be incorporated into the same Town, and be a part thereof as fully and effectually asif the same had been included in the aforesaid petition. Our reasons for earnestly requesting that our petition may be granted are that we are owners of land on both sides of the aforesaid River; that we live from two and one-half to three and onehalf miles from the centre of the Town in Dudley, where public business is done ; that we are but from half a mile to a nnle from the centre of population of the contemplated new Town, and where it is conteml>lated that the town business will be di>ne. That three or four years ' since, we, together with a number of inhabitants on the easterly side of said River, composing a large and respectable School District, erected a larj;;e and commodious stone school-house on the westerly line of said River ; that if the Town is divided by saiil River, our School District will be SLi small that we shall receive but very little advantage of schooling. That our business is almost wholly connected with the first-mentioned petitioners, having very little intercourse with the Town of Dudley, most of us, that we are almost wholly connected, and attend religious meetings at the houses of public worship, east of said River, we therefore humbly beg that your Honorable Body will take this, our petition, under your consideration, and act thereon as you, in your wisdom, shall see fit and proper.

On the 17th of September, 1831, a legal meeting of the inhabitanta of the town of Oxford was held, and Ira Barton, Stephen Davis and Kichard Stover were appointed a committee to confer with the committee appointed by the General Court, and a remonstrance against the petition of George B. Slater, presented by Mr. Barton, was adopted.

At the same date, a meeting of the inhabitants of Dudley was held, and a committee, consisting of George A. Tufts, Morris Larned, John Eddy, William Hancock and Joseph H. Perry, was chosen to oppose the petition for a new town. On the 14th of November, in the same year, another meeting was held in Dudley, and a remonstrance prepared by the committee chosen in September was adopted.

Another remonstrance was presented by Joseph Kingsbury, who represented himself to be a resident in the territory proposed to be incorporated, and asked that he, together with his estate, might remain in the town of Oxford.

The committee appointed by the General Court at the session of 1831 made a report dated September SO, 1831, which, on the 17th of January, 1832, was referred to the Committee on Towns of the General Court of that year. The committee stated that the territory within the towns of Oxford and Dudley and Oxford South Gore contained 39,943 acres, of which Oxford contained 18,250, Dudley 17,200, and the Gore 4,493. The territory included in the petition would take 1,350 acres from Oxford, 3,280 from Dudley, and the whole of the Gore, thus constituting a town of 9,123 acres, and leaving to Oxford 16,900 acres, and to Dudley 13,920 acres.

As regards population, they stated that Oxford contained 1900 inhabitants, Dudley 2155, and the Gore 134, making a total of 4189. The town petitioned for would take 312 inhabitants from Oxford, 722 from Dudley, and all the inhabitants of the Gore, making a total of 1168, leaving in Oxford 1588, and in Dudley 1433. They also stated that in 1731 a portion of the Gore had been annexed to Oxford, and ia 1887 another portion, and that the school ID the Gore wjas supported by voluntary contribution. The taxable property in Oxford in 1830 was $693,333, of which $90,200 belonged to the proposed town, and was owned - by Samuel Slater, $54,450; George and John Slater, $12,316. The valuation of real and personal estate in the Gore for the same year was $28,034. In the part of Dudley proposed to be included in the new town there were twentyfour "eehoklers, with real estate valued at $41,624.40; the Slaters owned real estate in it valued at $63,374, and the personal estate in that portion, including that owned by the Slaters, was valued at $53,886. The committee also stated that the inhabitants of the South Gore in 1831 petitioned for certain highway and school privileges analogous to those of incorporated towns, and that fourteen of the remonstrants were now petitioners for the new town. The committee stated in conclusion, "that, all things considered, the towns of Oxford and Dudley and Oxford South Gore are well calculated to constitute three convenient towns, and that the prayer of the petitioners ought, in the deliberate opinion of the committee, to be granted."

The Committee on Towns, in accordance with the recommendations of the foregoing report, reported the bill, the text of which has been already quoted, and the bill was duly passed, as before stated, March 6, 1832.

It ia only necessary to refer in this sketch to that part of the town of Webster which was popularly known for many years as Oxford South Gore. The remaining portions of the town, prior to the incorporation of the town of Webster, will be appropriately treated in the histories of the towns of Oxford and Dudley. This Gore was simply a tract of laud which had been included in grants to individuals, but in the formation of towns had never been included within their boundaries. In 1831, when surveyed under a resolve of the Legislature, it contained, as already stated, four thousand five hundred and ninety acres, was irregular in shape, and was bounded by lines running in seven different courses, and by the irregular margin of a part of Chaubunnagunganug Pond, which separated it from Douglas, Dudley and Oxford. It is largely covered by either woods or water, and possesses a soil which did not, in tlie creation of early towns, make it a desirable possession. On the 8th of December, 1731, a small portion of the Gore was annexed to the town of Oxford, in reference to which the following extract from the records of the General Court may not be without interest :

WEPNESDAy, December 8, 1731. A petition of Isaac Larned, in behalf of the town of Oxford, showing that Jogiah Kingsberry and Theodore Kingsberry live upon a farm adjacent to the said town of Oxford, and nearer to the meeting-house there than to any. other meeting house, and are very desirous to be annexed to the said town. Therefore praying that the said farm between the south end of O.xford village and Chaubunnagunganug pond 6o running westward till it comprehends all the said farm and the land of the said Isaac Larned lying eiist of the Road passing from Oxford to Woodstock, be annexed to the said town of Oxford, the saitl petition

In the House of Representatives read and ordered that the petitioners witli their lands within mentioned, be and hereby are to all intents and purposes whatsoever annexed to the town of Oxford.

An act to annex a part of a tract of land commonly called The Oxford South Gore, with the inhabitants and estates thereon to the town of Oxford.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same. That Lemuel Cudworth, Craft Davis, K/.ekiel Davis, David Fitts, Abijah Harris, Joseph Kingsben-y, Epliraim Kingsberry, Samuel Kingsberry, Jereniiah KingsVierry, Jr., John Larned, John Larned the 3d, living on or being owners of a tract of land lying between the towns of Dudley, Douglas and Oxford, commonly called The Oxford South Gore, together with James Wallis, of Dudley, and all others, the inhabitants living on or owning lands in that part of said Gore hereby set off with th*-ir fann'- lies and estates, although not particularly named in this act and witlu)nt the line of the town of Oxford, as the same is described by the following bounds, be, and hereby are, annexed to and made a part of the said town of Oxford, viz.; Beginning at the line at the southeast corner between Dudley and Oxford, and running north thirty-four degrees west three hundred and twelve rods ; thence east eight degrees north two hundred and ten rods; thence north eight degrees and twenty minutes west two hundred and thirty-two rods; thence east eighteen degrees north three hundred and eighty -eight rods; thence s-JUth two degrees and forty minutes west one hundred and thirteen rods; thence west two degrees and forty-five minutes north eighty-five rods; theuce south twenty-one degrees and forty-five minutes west four hundred and thirty rods; thence south eight degrees and twenty minutes east eighty-nine rods to the corner first mentioned.

At the time of the incorporation of the town of Webster there were within its territorial limits a Baptist and a Methodist Episcopal Society. The Baptist Society had its origin at an early period in that part of Dudley which was included in the town of Webster, probably as early as 17-14, though it was not formally organized as a religious body until October 26, 1814. It was then called the Baptist Church of Dudley, and consisted at the time of its organization of twenty- seven males and twenty-eight females. The organization was formed in the district schoolhouse by an ecclesiastical council consisting of Rev. P. Crosby, of Thompson, Conn.; Rev. William Bentley, of Worcester ; Rev. James Boomer, of Charlton ; Rev. Z. L. Leonard, of Sturbridge ; Rev. James Grow, of Pomfret, Conn. ; Rev. Luther Goddard and Messrs. Jeremy F. Tolman and John Walker. Rev. Mr. Bentley was chosen moderator, and Rev. Mr. Leonard scribe, and the sermon was preached by Rev. Mr. Grow. The members of the society as then organized were Smith Arnold, John Baker, Stephen Bartlett, Jr., Stephen Bracket, Thomas Brown, Esek Brown, Nathan Cody, Nathaniel Crosby, David Freeman, Michael Hill, Liberty Ide, William Leonard, John Larned, Eliakim Robinson, John Stockwell, John Stone, Gardner Stone, Jubal Wakefield, Aaron Wakefield, Joel Wakefield, Simeon Wakefiel.l, Luther Whitman, William W. Webster, Nathan Wood, Luther Wood, Lucy Arnold, Lucina Bartlett, Catherine Bartlett, Fanny Bracket, Phebe Brown, Jerusha Bracket,

On the 8th of November, 1814, Mr. Stephen Bartlett and Mr. Nathaniel Crosby were chosen deacons, and on the 15th of June, 1815, Mr. Esek Brown, who had been a deacon of the Sutton Church, was invited to become pastor. The ordination was conducted in a tent, and Rev. Samuel Waters and Rev. Zenas L. Leonard were chosen moderator and scribe of the council. Rev. Mr. Leonard, then of Sturbridge, preached the sermon ; Rev. James Grow, ot Pomfret, made the ordaining prayer ; Rev. Samuel Waters, of Sutton, the charge; Rev. William Bentley, of Worcester, gave the right hand of fellowship, and Rev. Isaac Dwinell, of Auburn, made the concluding prayer. In September, 1818, Mr. Brown removed to the Baptist Church in Lebanon, Conn., and until the spring of 1826 the society was without a pastor. At that time Rev. John B. Ballard was settled and served until the spring of 1828. Mr. Ballard was born in Dudley, October 25, 1795, and was a graduate of the Hamilton Theological Institute in 1820. Before his settlement in Webster he was settled in Masonville, whore he was ordained November 13, 1823. After leaving Webster he was settled in Bloomfield, Conn., and for thirteen years lie was the agent of the American Sabbath-School Union. He died in the city of New York, January 29, 1856, while in the service of the Tract Society. In the year of his settlement the first meeting-house was erected and dedicated on the 26th of December of that year, on which occasion Elder Jonathan Going, of Worcester, preached the sermon.

In 1828 Rev. Joshua Eveleth was ordained and served one year, when he was succeeded by Rev. Hubbard Loomis, who also served one year. Mr. Loomis had been tor twenty-four years a settled Congregational minister in Wellington, Conn., and in 1832, after leaving Webiter, he founded the Theological Seminary in Alton, Illinois. Rev. Thomas Barnett, a native of Belchertown, succeeded Mr. Loomis in 1830, and served two years and five months. During his pastorate Webster was incorporated, and the church became by name the Baptist Church in Webster. In December, 1832, Rev. Abiel Fisher was ordained and served one year and six months. Mr. Fisher was born in Putney, Vermont, June 19, 1787, and graduated at the Burlington University in 1812. He studied theology with Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick, of Middlebury, Vermont, and was licensed to preach June 18, 1813. In January, 1816, he was ordained pastor in Bellingham, where he served twelve years. In September, 1828, he went to West Boylston, where he preached three years, and then to Sturbridge,

In April, 1834, Rev. James Grow was settled and remained one year. Mr. Grow died in Thompson, Conn., March 17, 1859, at the age of ninety years. Rev. Loorais G. Leonard, a graduate of the Newton Theological Institute, succeeded in September, 1836, and served six years and seven months. He was dismissed, at his own request, March 3, 1843, and removed to Thompson, Conn., and afterwards to New London, and to Zanesville, Marietta and Lebanon, Ohio. Rev. John F. Burbank was settled in April, 1843, and served three years and five months. He graduated at the Newton Theological Institute in 1840, and died in Worcester November 22, 1853, at the age of forty-two years. Rev. Lyman Jewett, also a graduate of the Newton Theological Institute, succeeded Mr. Burbank, in March, 1848, and Rev. Joseph Thayer, of South Sutton, followed, in April, 1849. Mr. Thayer afterwards was settled as a Freewill Baptist minister in Mendon, and finally removed to Minnesota. Rev. Frederick Charlton, of Plainfield, was settled in April, 1850, and served three years. After leaving Webster he removed to Wilmington, Del., and finally was settled in Sacramento, Cal. In April, 1853, Rev. George W. Dorrence, who had been a chaplain in the navy, was settled, and preached two years, followed in March, 1856, by Rev. J. L. A. Fish, who served seven years and three months. Mr. Fish was a graduate of the Newton Theological Institute. He resigned in June, 1863, and removed to East Tisbury. In April, 1863, Rev. Charles W. Reding was settled, and preached six years, followed by Thomas T. Tilman, in August, 1869, who still remains. During the pastorate of Mr. Reding the present stone meeting-house was built at a cost of $31,067. During his pastorate also the fiftieth anniversary of the formation of the society occurred on the 30th of October, 18fi4, on wliich occasion he delivered a commemorative address.

The Methodist Episcopal Church was organized in September, 1823. Samuel Henderson and John McCausland came from Ireland and settled within the territory afterwards included in the town of Webster. They established class meetings, and in the same year founded a society together with Samuel J. Booth, William Archer, Parsons Tourtellot, Olney Esten, Ebenezer Pluramer, William Harbenson, William Hurd, Hezekiah Davis, Calvin Aldrich, Charles Wait, Henry Davis, John Dixon, William Andrews, Daniel Dwight, Oliver Adams, Jr., ai)d Jeremiah Upham.

The first meeting-house of this society was erected in 1828 and dedicated June 29th of that year. Its cost was $1,467.40. A second and larger meetinghouse was built in 1833 and dedicated January 14, 1834. Its cost was $4,626. A third meeting-house, larger and more commodious as the growing necessities of the society demanded, was built at a cost of $22,000, including land, organ and fixtures, in 1866, and dedicated September 12, 1867.

The above two societies - the Baptist and the Methodist Episcopal - were the only religious societies existing in Webster at the date of its incorporation, March 6, 1832. The first religious society organized alter its incorporation was the First Congregational Church and Society, which was formed Juae 13, 1838, with a membership of forty-one persons, most of whom had previously been attendants on public worship in the Baptist Church. At the first meeting of this society Jonathan Day was chosen moderator, and James J. Robinson, clerk, and George B. Slater, Dexter W. Jones and Lyman Johnson, assessors and standing committee. Its first services were held in the old meeting-house of the Methodist Episcopal Society, where they continued to be held until the present meeting-house was built in 1842. The new house of worship soon proved too small for the needs of the society and was enlarged in 1849.

The Catholic Church and Society was organized in 1844, and placed under the charge of the pastor of St. John's Church at Worcester. The foundations ol the St. louis Church edifice were laid in 1853, while the society was under the ministrations of Rev. Mr. Gib^^on, and cost eight thousand dollars. It was built of brifk, but soon proving too small, was enlarged in 1865 at a cost of twenty thousand dollars,,and soon after a parish-house was built at a cost of seven thousand five hundred dollars. Mr. Gibson was succeeded by Rev. Napoleon Magnault, and in 1858 Rev. James Quan became pastor and still remains. The large number of Catholic French belonging to the church, who could with difficulty speak and understand the English language, soon rendered the formation of a new society desirable, and in 1870 the French-speaking portion of the St. Louis Church organized the Parish of the Sacred Heart in the old Methodist Episcopal meeting-house, which they bought and enlarged, with Rev. J. Cosson as their pastor. Mr. Cosson left in 1871, and was succeeded by Rev. A. A. Landry, of North Adams, who remained until his death, in 1885. He was succeeded by Rev. H.H.Landry in 1885, who was followed in 1887 by Rev. Joseph A. Legris, the present pastor.

The Webster Universalist Society was organized April 22, 18(51, and on the 1st of May, 1864, Rev. George J. Sanger was ordained as its pastor. On the 2d of June, 1866, the society was incorporated under the General Laws. In that year and the next, their meeting-house was built at a cost of about twenty thousand dollars, and dedicated August 21, 1867. Mr. Sanger was followed in 18G9 by Rev. J. W. Keyes, and in 1874 Rev. J. W. Moore was settled and served until 1877. In September, 1878, Rev. J. F. Simmons became pastor, during whose pastorate Mrs. Julia Clemens Murdock, a devoted friend of the society, died on the 27th of April, 1879, and gave to it by her will a bequest of several thousand dollars in value. Rev. Edgar W. Preble is the present pastor, and succeeded Bev. Mr. Simmons in January, 1887.

There is also a Polish Catholic Society, who.se church was dedicated on the 1st of April, 1888, of which Rev. Franz S. Chalupka is the pastor.

The Protestant Episcopal Church of Webster held its first service in the town-hall at East Webster, July 18, 1869, with Rev. William H. Brooks, D.D., rector of Grace Church, at Oxford, as the oflBciating clergyman. On the 3d of January, 1870, a parish was formed under the name of the Church of the Reconciliation. On the 23d of January, 1870, the church held services in Webster Hall, and on January 30th in Good Templars' Hall, where it continued to hold services until April 10th of that year, when it occupied the Congregational Chapel, which it continued to occupy until its church edifice was erected. On July 18, 1870, the corner-stone of its church was laid on land presented by Mr. William 8. Slater, and on the 3d of January, 1871, it was dedicated by ceremonies conducted by Right Rev. Mantou Easthurn. At the laying of the corner-stone. Dr. Brooks officiated, on which occasion Rev. Thomas L. Randolph, of St. John's Church, of Wilkiusville, made the prayer,

Rev. William N. Ackley, rector of Trinity Church, at Newtown, Conn., delivered the address, and Rev. James W. Clark, of St. Philip's Church, at Putnam, Conn., made the concluding prayer.

Rev. Doctor Brooks, the rector of Grace Church, at Oxford, held one service in Webster, after the formation of the society, until October 1, 1869, and after that date until April 1, 1870, he devoted his whole time to the interests of the society at its urgent request. On the 19th of March, 1870, he was called to the rectorship, and accepted the call at the termination of his temporary service on the 1st of April, serving as rector until his resignation, April 2, 1872. He was a graduate of the Theological Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church of Virginia, July 15, 1852, and was ordained deacon by Right Rev. William Meade, D.D., in Christ Church, Alexandria, Virginia, the next day. On the 13th of January, 1855, he was ordained priest by Right Rev. Alfred Lee, D.D., in St. Thomas' Church, Newark, Delaware. Before his pastorates in Oxford and Webster he was for a time rector of Christ Church, in Plymouth, and is now rector of St. Andrew's Church at Hanover, Mass.

Rev. Roger S. Howard succeeded Dr. Brooks, and resigned in January, 1879. He was followed in 1880 by Rev. Langdon C. Stewardson, who served until 1884, when Rev. A. U. Stanley officiated until 1887, who was succeeded by Rev. J. Eldred Brown, the present pastor.

The Reformed Methodist Church of Webster was organized in 1872, under the direction of Rev. Harvey Wakefield. In 1872 its meeting-house was built at a cost of two thousand five hundred dollars, and dedicated January 1, 1873. Ou the occasion of its dedication the dedicatory pr.ayer was made by Rev. Mr. Wakefield, and the sermon was delivered by Rev. William H. Kirk. Mr. Wakefield still has charge of the pulpit of this society.

The Second Advent Society was established in 1883. Rev. J. E. Cross served as its pastor from 1884 to 1886. Rev. D. Matherson from 1886 to 1887, and its present pastor is Rev. George D. Smith.

The public schools within the territory of Webster were far from being in a satisfactory condition at the time of its incorporation. At a town-meeting held April 23, 1832, a committee consisting of the Board of Selectmen, with Dexter Rawson and Turner Cudworth added, was appointed to divide the town into school districts. At a meeting held on the 28th of May, the committee reported the formation of five districts, as follows :

No. 1. All that part of the town formerly a part of Oxford, and east of French River, including the Oxford South Gore, which lies north of the farm of John Rawson, and a line extending easterly to the Douglas line.

No. 2. All the remainder of the Gore bounded east by Douglas, south by District No. 1, west by what wasDudley east line, and south by the Connecticut line.

No. 3. That part of Dudley bounded east by what was the Gore west line, north by the road leading from Unionville to the four corners near the house of Eev. Thomas Bassett, west by the road leading southerly from said four corners to the Thompson road, and by said Thompson road, including the farm on the we^t side thereof and adjoining the same, and south by the Connecticut line.

No. 4. The territory bounded east by District No. 3, north by the road leading from the Thompson Road, west to the central turnpike and a line extending therefrom in the same direction to the French River, and west by said river and south by the Connecticut line.

No. 5. The remainder of the town bounded east and north by Districts 3 and 1, including the territory that was formerly a part of Oxford, situated on the west side of French River, west by said river and south by Districts 3 and 4.

The district system was abolished in 1867 by law, and since that time.a steady improvement has marked the schools of the town. There are now fourteen schools besides an evening school. There are a High School with an average attendance of 47, a High Grammar School with an average attendance of 34, the No. 1 Centre School with an average attendance of 34, the Fenner Hill School with an average attendance of 29, the Prospect Street Intermediate with an average attendance of 27, the Prospect Street Primary School with an average attendance of 31, a Grammar School with an average attendance of 34, the Gore School with an average attendance of 10, the Kingsbury School with an average attendance of 7, the First Primary, No 4, with an average attendance of ;17, the Second Primary, No. 4, with an average attendance of 38, the Intermediate, No. 4, with an average attendance of 29, the Grammar Room, No. 4, with an average attendance of 33 and the North Village School with an average attendance of 29.

To support these schools appropriations were made at the annual meeting of 1888 of $2000 for the High School, §4200 for the common schools, SIOOO for school incidentals, $300 for books and supplies and $400 for evening schools.

The appropriations for other purposes made at the same meeting, which may properly be mentioned in this place, were: For roads, $2200; sidewalks, $1500 ; repairing sidewalks, $G00 ; Fire Department, $2000 ; water supply, $.565; hook-and-ladder truck, $1000; Memorial Day, 1100; street lights, $1500; salaries, $1500 ; interest, $500 ; insane poor, $4400 ; Poor Farm, $1200 ; railings for dangerous places, $150 ; snow, ice and gutters, $300 ; town incidentals, $2000 ; buildings at town farm, $2600, and repairs of Harris Street, $1000 - -making the total appropriation for the year $30,265, or a valuation of $2,290,844.

During the War of the Rebellion the inhabitants of Webster faithfully performed their duty in the enliijtment of soldiers and in the appropriation of money. There was no military company within the limits of the town and consequently the patriotic rather than the mere military spirit of the young men inspired enlistments in the service. These enlistments began at the earliest period of the war and were kept up with vigor as long as demands were made on the town for recruits. At the close of the war it was found that Webster had furnished three hundred and sixty-seven men, a surplus of fifty-seven over its required quotas.

On the 29th of April, 1861, at a legal town-meeting, it was voted "to pay each volunteer, belonging to Webster, five dollars a month while in active service, and to his wife and mother, dependent upon him for support, one dollar and a half per week, and to each child fifty cents per week, and if the family should need more the amounts to be increased at the discretion of the Selectmen." It was also voted to pay volunteers one dollar per day while drilling, the aid to families beginning when the soldiers were sworn into service. At the same meeting the sum of four thousand dollars was appropriated for the establishment of a war fund.

On the 6th of July, 1861, the town voted " to furnish the Slater Guards, then drilling, with uniforms preparatory to its entering the service as Company I of the Fifteenth Massachusetts Regiment of Infantry." On its departure a dinner and the sum of one thousand dollars were given to the men, and swords and belts to the officers. The ladies of the town gave also to each man mittens and socks, and William T. Shumway presented the company with a flag.

On the 5th of November the town voted " that we hereby tender our thanks to the Slater Guards for their bravery at the battle of Ball's Bluff." On the 10th of July, 1862, it was voted " to pay a bounty of one hundred dollars to each soldier enlisting for three years on the quota of the town." On the 8th of December, 1863, the sum of six thousand dollars was appropriated for a war fund and a like sum for recruiting purposes. On the 14th of July, 1864, it was voted to increase the bounty to one hundred and twenty-five dollars. The money appropriated by the town during the war for war purposes, exclusive of State aid, was $28,674.61, and the amount paid for State aid was $18,920.63.

The following is a list of the soldiers furnished by the town with the terms of their enlistments and the organization to which they belonged. The terms of enlistment of those not marked were, in each case, three years, those marked (') enlisted for nine months; those marked (^) for one hundred days; those marked {') for one year; and those marked (*) for three months.

1862. Marcus M. Corbin, died at Newbern, N. C. Louis Dupey, killed at Cold Harbor, June 2, 1864. Samuel Emerson, died at Antietam, September 26, 1862. Charles G. Foster, died at .\ntietam, September 17, 1862. John George, died a prisoner, 1864. John Grady, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. John E. Holland, died November 29, 1864. Joseph Holland, died at Alexandria, Va., November 28, 1862. William Kelley, died at City Point, Va., June 25, 1864. Frederick Levoice, killed at Chantilly, Va., September 1, 1862. Thomas P. Mungan, died of wounds received at Antietam, Md., October

1862. Antoine Phillips, died at Andersonville. Mitchell Prevost, killed at Malvern Hill, Va., July 1, 1S62. George O. Raymond, died of wounds received at Gettysburg, Pa., July

22, 1863. Gottfried Reidman, died of wounds received at Antietam, Md., September 30, 1862. John D. Reynolds, killed at Cold Harbor, Va., May 30, 1864. Francis Sarturn, killed at Gettysburg, Pa., July 3, 1863. Abraham Sargent, killed at Antietam, Md., September 16, 1862. Joseph D. Scholfield, died at Fort Lyons, Va., February 16, 1863. William Scott, drowned at Ball's Blufr, Va., October 21, 1861. William L. Sholes, killed at Antietam, Md.. September 17, 1862. Albert H. Snow, died of wounds received at Gettysburg, Pa., July Id

1863. Frederick Soden, killed at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1861. Frederick Stanton, killed at Gettysburg, Penn., July 3, 1863, Egbert M. Stevens, died Feb. 8, 1863. James Stevens, killed at Ball's Bluff, Va., Oct. 21, 1861. Alfred Tourtellote, died of wounds received at Antietam, Md., Oct.

The first meeting of the town was held under a warrant issued by Charles Allen as justice of the peace, and directed to Jonathan Day, one of the freeholders of the town of Webster, requiring him to notify and warn the freeholders and other inhabitants of the town qualified to vote in the choice of townofficers to meet at the Baptist meeting-house on the 2d day of April, at two o'clock in the afternoon, to choose all necessary oiHcers. The warrant was dated March 7, 1832. On account of the sickness of Judge Allen the meeting was called to order by Ira M. Barton, a justice of the peace, who read the act of incorporation and then put the question to the town, " Will you now proceed to the choice of a clerk '? " which was responded to unanimously in the affirmative. Mr. Barton then read the law prescribing the qualification of voters, and the election followed, which resulted in the casting of oue hundred and three votes, eighty-four of which were for Charles P. Baldwin, and nineteen for Charles Waite, and Mr. Baldwin was chosen.

Charles A. Hodges. James H. Lynch. Asher T. Moore. Asher T, Moore. Charles A. Hodges. Patrick Condren. Charles A. Hodges. Patrick Condren. Austin C. Burnett. Austin C. Burnett. Lyman R. Eddy. Patrick Condren.

The following list will show the persons who have been chosen moderators, clerks and treasurers at the annual lown-meetings since the incorporation of the town -

Clert. John Q. Adams. John Q. Adams. Newton Tourtellotte. P. \V. Bruce. P. W. Bruce. P. W. Bruce. P. W. Bruce. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A, Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A, Tingier, S, .\. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. S. A. Tingier. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Cortland Wood. Charles H. Burr, Louis E, Denfield, Edward P. Carter. Edward P. Carter. Edward P.Caiter. Edward P. Carter. Edward P. Carter.

The following persons have served as Representatives from Webster in the General Court in the years set against their names, down to the representation of districts, in 1858 :

By an amendment of the Constitution, adopted by the Legislatures of 1856 and '57, and ratified by the people May 1, 1857, it was provided that a census of the legal voters in the Commonwealth, on the 1st of May, 1857, should be taken, and returned to the Secretary of the Commonwealth on or before the last day of June, on the basis of which census the Legislature should create representative districts. Under the new arrangement Webster and Douglas formed the Twenty-second Worcester District, which was represented as follows :

Under the census of 18G5 a new apportionment was made, and the Sixteenth Worcester District, including Douglas, Webster, Dudley, Oxford, Sutton and Millbury, was entitled to three Representatives, as follows :

Under the apportionment based on the census of 1875, Webster, Douglas and Dudley formed the Fourteenth Worcester District, with one Representative, as follows :

Under the apportionment based on the census of 1885, Webster, Oxford and Auburn constituted the Eighth Worcester District, with one Representative,

Besides the Slater factories there are only a few other manufacturing industries worthy of mention : A. J. Bates & Co. employ about one hundred and fifty hands, and B. A. Corbin & Son about three hundred and fifty hands in the manufacture of men's and youths' shoes. The Webster Gas Light Company began business in 1865; and is controlled by the Stevens Linen Works, in Dudley, on the other side of French River. Among the institutions may be mentioned the First National Bank of Webster, incorporated in 1875, and having a capital of one hundred thousand dollars. Its present officers are Chester C. Corbin, president ; E. L. Spaulding, cashier ; and C. C. Corbin, Cyrus Spaulding, Josiah Perry, J. M. Morse, L. R. Eddy, George Tracy and E. L. Spaulding, directors. The Webster Five Cent Savings Bank was incorporated in 1868, and had, at the time of its last report, deposits of $683,091, undivided earnings of $7,118.16. and a guaranty fund of .$11,336.26. Its officers are Cyrus Spaulding, president; Waldo Johnson, John F. Hinds, Darius Wood and E. P. Morton, vice-presidents; F. A. Stockwell, treasurer; and L. E. Pattison, secretary. In 1869 the Webster Mutual Fire Insurance Company was incorporated, but was never organized.

The following societies are now in existence in the town: The Sovereigns of Industry; the Webster Lodge, A. F. and A.M. ; the Webster Lodge, No. 56, A. O. U. W. ; the Sigel Lodge, No. 93, D. O. H. ; the Benjamin Franklin Council, No. 333 ; the Loyal Order of Tonti, No. 107 ; the Maanexit Lodge, No. 117, I. O. 0. F. ; the Nathaniel Lyon Post, G. A. R. ; the Assembly, No. 4060, K. of L. ; the Royal Arcanum Relief Association ; the St. Jean Baptiste Society ; La Ligue Du Cffiur de Jesus ; the Gesangverein Deutschen Liederkranz; the Deutsch Dramatischen Verein ; the Deutsche Liederkranz Band ; the Turnverein Vorwiirts ; the Deutsehen Theater Club ; the St. Patrick's Temperance Society ; the Sodality of the Sacred Heart ; and the Ladies of St. Ann.

The post-office, now located at the main village of Webster, was located at the time of the incorporation of the town and had been for some years at the east village and was called the South Oxford oifice, but, in 1841, nine years after the incorporation, was moved to its present location. The main, or depot village, as it is called, shows many signs of prosperity. It is the chief business section, and there are located the banks, the town offices, the apparatus of the Fire Department, the hotel, and most of the stores. It lies on the Southbridge section of the Boston and New England Railroad, and also on the Norwich and Worcester Railroad, thus having easy access to Boston by two routes, and also to Providence, Worcester and New York. It not only enjoys its own local trade but the people in the settlements at Jericho, Marino Village, Chaseville and Perryville, in Dudley, across the river, not inconsiderable in numbers, patronize its shops, its shows, its various societies, and attend its churches. The population of the town, which, at the time of its incorporation, was 1168, increased to 1403 in 1840, to 2371 in 1850, to 2912 in 1860, to 4763 in 1870, to 5696 in 1880, and to 6220 in 1885. The valuation, which was $277,118 at the time of the incorporation, increased to $2,466,428 in 1885.

Two newspapers are published in Webster, The Webster Times and the Worcester County News, biith published weekly in Webster and both are enterprising and successful journals. The former is edited by John Cort and the latter by John T. Miniter, and a job printing office is connected with each.

In concluding this sketch the following list of the present town officers is added : Selectmen, Charles A. Hodges, Patrick Condren, Austen C. Burnett; Town Clerk, Edward P. Carter; Treasurer, Oscar Shumway ; Overseers of the Poor - for three years, John Flint ; for two years, Elisha N. Bigelow ; for one year, John F. Hinds; Assessors, William F. Gale, William Shanley, Monroe H. Corbin, Michael Scholfield, Russell B. Putnam ; Auditors, James Maguire, James Cocks, John B. McQuaid ; School Committee - for three years, Edward P. Carter; for two years, Henry F. Thompson ; for one year, Charles B. Kendrick ; Constables, Thomas Farrell, William Hanley, Joseph C. Spaulding, Patrick H. Grimley, O. W. Emerson, John J. Dwyer, Uzziel Gleason, Joseph P. Love, Daniel G. Blackman> Solomon Shumway, George D. Adams, John Sullivan, Collector, Charles E. Brown ; Deputy Sheriff, Solomon Shumway.

Biographical Frederick D. Brown, M.D.

Frederick Davis Brown, M.D., was born in the town of Sutton, Mass., on September 5, 1824. His early life was in many respects similar to that of most country boys of the period, working on the farm in the summer and attending the district school in the winter. But, unlike many of his boyhood associates, he was not "bound out" for a term of years to the farmer or the blacksmith, but was given the opportunity of pursuing such course of study as best suited his inclination. He chose that of medicine, and at the age of seventeen entered the office of Dr. George Rawson, of Grafton. Reading with a country doctor of that time meant chiefly the care of the doctor's horse, doing the numerous chores about the premises, assisting his instructor in gathering and drying the herbs and simples 80 commonly used in those days, and in preparing the powders and pills, and on rare occasions helping the doctor in some minor surgical operations.

After two years of such training he removed to Worcester and entered the Baptist Academy. He did not, however, abandon his medical studies, but continued them with Dr. Samuel Green, until the doctor accepted the position of medical missionary to Ceylon, tendered him by the Board of Foreign Missions. Dr. Green placed his young charge in the care of his relative, Dr. John Green, at that time the most eminent physician in the county. After two years' reading with this learned preceptor he continued his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and at Castleton (Vt.) Medical College, where he was graduated in 1849. He served for about a year at the Bloomingdale Asylum Hospital in New York, and in 1850 located in Webster, when he at once entered upon an active professional career, which he followed with unremitting energy for thirty-six years.

He was widely known throughout the southern part of Worcester County as a most devoted and successful practitioner, gaining the confidence and esteem of all with whom he came in contact. He was a zealous member of the Massachusetts and the Worcester District Medical Societies, at one time being president of the latter. His close application to his practice did not debar him from taking an active part in the affairs of his town, and he identified himself with many of its political and social organizations. For nearly twenty consecutive years he was elected to the office of School Committee. In 1864-65 he served on the Board of Selectmen ; in 1863 he represented his district in the Legislature, and in 1868 was sent to the State Senate.

During his term of service in the latter body he was instrumental in securing the incorporation of the Webster Five Cent Savings Bank, of which he was president at the time of his death. To him work was never a hardship, but a pleasure ; its perplexities only added to his zeal and stimulated his ambition. His ready willingness to do what was asked of him, and the liberality of his views, made him the counselor of many.