Worcester City (part 46 of 58)

''AH classes of persons. Christians and sinners, high and low, rich and poor, could meet on same platform solar as drinking rum and brandy was concerned; almost all men would drink, and multitudes to repletion, on such occasions as town-meetings, raisings, huskings, auctions and trainings. Especially was indulgence thought to be not only allowable, but praiseworthy, on the glorious Fourth of July. It would have been looked upon as a most indecorous thing in the year 1800 had a Christian funeral been attended at which the mourners, bearers and other friends were not comforted together in well-filled tumblers of grog. It was a dark day for New England churches. But at the beginning of the 19th century light began to dawn out of darkness. Ministers began to talk and pray and preach dilFerently. They appointed church-meetings for conference and prayer, instituted Bible-classes and Sabbath-schools for the young, preached the Gospel to the poor, and interpreted literally the last command of Christ. They found many supporters in the church, and the result was not one, but repeated visitations of the Holy Spirit upon pastors, churches and congregations, that recalled the day of Pentecost.'' Dr. Fiske was, from the first, fully in spirit and action with these movements. As a result, from 1800 to 1821, with one exception, the church received yearly accessions to its membership by profession of faith. From 1809 to 1811, forty-five ; 1819 to 1821, one hundred. In 1810 it was formally and publicly re-organized with articles of faith essentially the same as in 1850. The later largest accessions during Dr. Fiske's ministry were in 1826, thirty; 1831, twentyfive ; 1845, forty-three.

The church was first gathered and formed (as by memorandum of Deacon Jonathan Woods), April 18, 1754, date of the installation of Mr. Ruggles. No records exist for forty-two years, except in 1778 and 1779. Since 1800 there has been from it a constant emigration. Its membership, in 1800, was fifty-eight ; 1888, seventy-three ; and teaching as high as two hundred in the interval. Its deacons have been William Witt, Samuel Ware, James Woods, Jonathan Woods and Jonathan Gould chosen previous to 1775 ; George Barr, between 1775 and 1800; Abijah Bigelow, 1805; James Woods, 1808; Jacob Pepper and Samuel Warner, 1815 ; Phinehas Warner, 1817 ; Francis Adams, 1828 ; Amasa Bigelow, 1830 ; Welcome Newell, 18.30 ; Henry M. Daniels, 1855; Elbridge Gleason and Moses Pollard, 1802; Dwight G. Barr, 1871. In 1819 a legacy of one hundred dollars was left by Lieutenant Jonas Newell to the church for the purchase of furniture for the communion table.

It was especially true of him that he was youug when he was old and lived until he died. In person, tali and well-proportioned, with large and regular features and but slightly bended form, with eye still liright and voice Btill strong and clear, with slow but solid footstep ; generally reading, writing, singing or talking when he was not Tisiting or sleeping, he seemed, when I firet knew him, at 83 years of age, to be about as vigorous as he was venerable, - with a serene and intelligent countenance, with mild and dignified manners, with an active and well-balanced mind, - discriminating in .Judgment, skillful in management, cautious and yet determined in action, in conversation at once inquisitive and iustructive, deeply interested in the practical aflaire of men aud with as deep an insight into their character and motives, he made his presence to be felt by all around him, without ever attempting to exert an influence or make an impression. Fixed in his opinions and ways, but seldom arbitrary, strict in his principles, severe in his sense of propriety without being sanctimonious, equable in temperament and yet playful in feeling, generous in sympathy and uncommonly companionable to those who really knew him, siding always with a noble impulse and a steady faith in favor of whatever seemed right or useful, nervously sensitive to suflFering, timid and sometimes impatient, but always submissive aud trustful, thoroughly republican in simplicity, truly patriarchal in hospitality, he presented to my eye a rounded completeness of character seldom found, except in those who have grown old with a silent and natural growth without any special excitement or constraint, but in the quiet service of the Gospel. In the pulpit he spoke not with enticing words nor impassionate appeal, but with sterling good sense and with great appropriateness, particularly in prayer. In all the councils of the Church, especially in diflicult cases, he was emiuently wise and eflicieut.

May, 1853, a call was extended to Rev. James T. H3'de to become associate pastor with Dr. Fiske ; salary, eight hundred dollars. The call was unanimous by the church aud three to one in the society. The call was accepted, and Mr. Hyde ordained June 22d following. Mr. Hyde was a graduate of Yale College, ranking second in his class. He was a varied and accurate scholar, an able writer and preacher of refined tastes. His natural gifts were of a high order. Most of those opposed to calling Mr. Hyde were men of extremely liberal views - two or three Unitarian, or with Unitarian views, prominent in society, to whom Mr. Hyde's strong orthodoxy and forcible expression of it were distasteful. During the two years following his settlement twenty withdrew from the society, many of them large property-owners, part from dislike of Mr. Hyde, part on account of the greatly increased rate of taxation, and part through fear of a still higher rate. The breach widened. That spirit of bitterness which Dr. Fiske, in his communication to the society on the eve of settling a colleague, deprecated, had already sprung up. A few determined that Mr. Hyde must go and a few determined that he should stay. Finally, the good sense of the majority triumphed. The votes on the two following resolutions, taken in June, 1855, indicate the true state of affairs. The first resolution wan, " That we, personally, without reference to the feelings or acts of others, are satisfied with the ability and faithfulness of our Pastor." Yeas, 26 ; nays, 2 ; silent, 5. The 2d, " That it is expedient under existing circumstances that the pastoral relation be dissolved." Yeas, 19; Nays, 6.' August 13th the dissolution was effected. Notwithstanding his comparatively unsuccessful pastorate, which he attributed in a measure to his own inexperience, he always retained a strong affection for his first parish, remarking to the writer that he would have been content to have lived and died among this people. He died while Professor of Pastoral Theology in Chicago Seminary. It was said of him that "no man in all the West would be more missed. Another might fill his chair in the seminary, but no man in all the land could be found to touch the seminary at so many points or be so conspicuously useful in all that concerns the welfare of the Churches." Rev. John H. Gurney received a unanimous call to succeed Mr. Hyde, and was installed April 23,1856; salary, nine hundred dollars. A resolution, "That the Church for a third service in the Sabbath be free to other denominations when unoccupied by the pastor," was lost by a majority of one. Mr. Gurney possessed, in addition to other ministerial qualifications, a strong mind, good common sense, a fondness for agriculture and the highest capacities of a citizen. His pastorate lasted thirteen years, during which there was one extensive revival. May 3, 1871, Rev. John Djdge was installed. His pastorate was terminated by his death, in June, 1872. He was much esteemed and beloved. He was succeeded by Rev. William B. Bond October 30th of same year, whose pastorate continued seven years. Of him it could be said, " he never preached a poor sermon." He was the last settled pastor. Since then the church has been supplied successively by Rev. William Barrows, D.D., Rev. T. A. Merrill and Rev. U. W. Small.

Education. - The support of schools has always been liberal and hearty. In 1796 Whitney writes : " The people in New Braintree are particularly attentive to the education of their children and youth. They have eight reputable school-houses, and in the winter season as many in.structors ; two Latin grammar masters, and in the summer they have generally two or three masters and as many mistresses, and they expend more annually in supporting schools than in supporting their public teacher of piety, religion and morality, though he is honorably maintained." This interest was fostered and increased by Dr. Fiske, who for fifty-five years held the active superintendence of the schools, who exercised a sort of parental care over them, and whose constant aim was to raise the standard of qualifications among teachers. In 1845 and for several years previous, the amount rais^ed per scholar exceeded that of any town or city in the State, excepting Boston and six adjoining towns. In the published address at the semi-centennial of the Brcokfield Association, New Braintree is accredited with having furnished to that date eighteen ministers to the Congregational denomination, - two more than any other town in the association. There have been thirty-two liberally educated and professional men from this town, of which the following is a list:

New Brainteee

James Tufls, born 1764, completed his theological studies with Dr. Emmons, of Franklin, and ordained November 4, 1794, over the Congregational Church at Wardsboro', Vermont. His pastorate continued forty -seven years, until his death. He was a minister highly resjjected and venerated in the circles in which he moved.

Luke B. Foster, born 1789, son of Rev. Daniel Foster, second pastor of this church, had but oue pastorate, at Rutland, commencing 1813, and continuing four yeais till his death, 1817.

Edwards Whipple, born 1778, was one of the three most distinguished scholars in his class. He studied theology and was installed at Charlton, January 25, 1804 ; remained there seventeen years ; dismissed March, 1821 ; was then installed colleague pastor at Shrewsbury, where he remained one year, until his death, September 17, 1822. He was an able and faithful piistor, a man of decided talents and undoubted piety.

Luther Wilson, born 1783, son of Joseph and Sarah Mathews Wilson, fitted for college at Leicester Academy, entered Yale 1804, and Williams 1805 ; became English preceptor at Leicester Academy 180G ; received his degree 1807. Made principal of Leicester Academy a few years later, and filled that position three and one-half years ; studied theology with Rev. Zephauiah Swift Moore, D.D. ; settled over First Congregational Church, Brooklyn, Connecticut as colleague pastor with Rev. Josiah Whiting, D.D. , June "9, 1813. During this ministry he changed his theological views and became Unitarian ; resigned his charge September, 1S17; in.^talled pastor First Congregational Church, Petersham, June 23, 1819; resigned his pastorate October 18, 1834 ; died November 20, 1864 ; married November, 30, 1806, Sally, daughter of Abijah Bigelow, of New Braintree.

Frederic Matthews, son of Elisha Matthews, graduated at Harvard Law School ; commenced practice of Ills profession at Albany, N. Y. ; remained until his death, about 1820.

Uustavus F. Davis, born in 1797, in Boston. At three years of age his fiither died, and mother married Adiu Ayres, who removed to New Braintree in 1812. Young Davis went to Worcester to learn a trade ; was converted, and became a Baptist, under the preaching if Elder William Bently ; began to preach at the age . of seventeen in .Hampton, Conn.; at nineteen was settled over the Baptist.Church at Preston, Conn.; -at twenty-one became pastor of the church at South Reading (now Wakefield), Mass.; removed to Hartford in 1829, as pastor of the church there ; died in Boston, while on a visit there, September, 1836. He was never a graduate of any college or other institution; a self-educated man, but largely interested in the cause of education ; a trustee of Trinity College, and of the Connecticut Literary Institution ; received the degree of D.D. from Wesleyan University, 1835.

Waldo F. Converse began study of law in 1840 ; commenced practice in Sandusky, Ohio, 1842; continued in practice until 1S50, afterwards engaged in business ; is now president of Sandusky Machine and Agricultural Works.

Simon Barrows, born 1811, studied theology at Union Seminary, N. Y., engaged in various ways in cause of education, then entered into the active and hard duties of home missionary life beyond the Mississippi. Sometimes pastor of four churches, he has carried the New England church and school system into our border land.

William Barrows, born 1815, completed his theological studies at Union Seminary, N. Y., 1843, and since that has been variously in the Gospel ministry. There is space for a few quotations from a sketch of him in the " History of Reading,'' where he has resided since 1856: " Dr. Barrows comes of a type of family slowly disappearing from New England. His early home was a family of twelve; a farm of sixty acres and obstinate for boy's culture; parental common sense; a spindle; a loom; annual barrels of home beef and pork; a few books well chosen; a district school well attended without regard to weather and the Sabbath uniformly divided between home and the Lord's house 3 miles away. The old-fashioned virtues, ideas and knowledge ruled the home more than a dinner, new jacket, or 2-story house. No winter snows were too lively or deep for the ox-sled and aioad of neighborhood children on the way to school, where the firewood was 4 feet long and many of the boys 6. Naturally, from such a home the boys entered college, yet with pecuniary struggles. Garden roots were cultivated by day and Greek roots by night by the youngest of the three in Phillips Academy. In theseminary private teaching by the hour, theological polemics in the seminary, classics in Brooklyn and five minute lunches in Fulton Ferry were sandwiched together. So every bill was paid and every borrowed dollar returned. Ill health has hardly cost him a day from the pulpit, perhaps because he has kindled so many vacation camp-fires all the way from New Brunswick to the head-waters of the Missouri and Columbia. Dr Barrows has had tlii-ee pastorates and was for some years secretary of the Congregational & Publishing

Society and the Massachusetts Home Missionary Society. He has taken deep interest in western civilization and Christianization, and with tliis in view has made eleven tours over the border and published 'The General, or Twelve Nights in the Hunter's Camp,' a true narrative of his brother William's life ; 'Oregon : The Struggle for Possession ;'' The United States of Yesterday and To-morrow ;' also 'The Church and Tier Children;' 'Purgatory, Doctrinally, Practically and Historically Considered;' 'The Indian Side of the Indian Question.' "

David Burt, born 1822, graduated at Andover Theological Seminary 1851 ; preached at Raymond, N. H., 1851-55, at Rutland 1856-58, and acting pastor at Winona, Minn., 1858-66; engaged in work of Freedmen's Bureau 1866-68; State Superintendent of Schools in Minnesota (1875) until his death, 1881.

Eli W. Harrington, born 1804, graduated at Andoyer Theological Seminary 1836; pastor at Lunenburg 1836-47 ; Marion, N. H., 1848-50 ; Rochester, Mass., 1850-59; North Beverly 1860-67. Since that time impaired health has interfered with continuous pastoral service.

Charles Delano, born 1820, called at his death, 1882, the most distinguished member of the Hampshire County bar. Member of Congress 1859-63, resident of Northampton, a close student, a man of broad culture, social, public-spirited, liberal, whose integrity and conscientiousness were never questioned.

George H. Gould, born 1827, graduated Union Seminary, 1853. For eleven years his impaired health seriously interfered with the continuity of his public ministry. Traveled in Europe four years with John B. Gough;1862 and 1863 with Olivet Church, Springfield ; 1864-70 with Centre Church, Hartford, Conn. ; has since resided in Worcester and been acting-pastor of both Piedmont and Union Churches. What a few churches have lost by his inability for continued pastoral service, the general public has gained.

Henry M. Daniels, graduated Chicago Theological Seminary, 1861 ; pastor First Congregational Church, Winnebago, 111., 1861-75 ; home missionary at Dallas, Texas, 1875-79; at Lebanon, Md., 1880-83 ; De Luz, Cal., 1883-88.

Nathan Thompson, born 1837, graduated Andover Theological Seminary, 1865 ; home missionary, at Boulder, Col., 1865-75; acting-pastor at Roxborough and South Acton, 1876-81 ; president of Board of Trustees of Colorado University ; principal Lawrence Academy, Groton, Mass., 1881-86; principal Elgin

Willard Barrows, born in 1800, early in life left the East for the Mississippi Valley, and was for many years deputy-surveyor for Government of wild lands in Missouri, Arkansas, and the territory comprising the present States of Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa. The first map of the latter he published from his own field-notes, which, with his brief historical outline, was afterwards published by the State in 1845. Afterwards he wrote out the history of a part of Iowa, published io " Annals of Iowa." In 1850 he led a company of sixty men and one hundred and twenty-five horses over the plains to California, in the wild rush for gold, when he gained the title of " General.'' In 1864, he made up a private party for adventure into Montana and Idaho, 1600 miles and 160 days; and another the next year to the same region, via the Missouri River, 3000 miles. Died 1868 - ending the career of a stirring frontier man, honored, beloved and lamented.

Revolutionary Period. - On the first Monday in June, 1773, in reply to a letter from " ye Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston," the town voted, "That the Freeholders and other Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston hereby receive the hearty thanks of this district for the vigilance, firmness and wisdom which they have discovered at all times in support of ye rights and liberties of the colony, and so heartily concur with them in all their constitutional determinations.'' March 7, 1774, a committee was chosen to draw up something in reply to "ye Inhabitants of ye Town of Boston" relative to the difliculties the Province labors under. April 4th the following resolves were reported, which being twice read and considered, were passed unanimously :

Ist. That we will, in conjunction with our Brethren in America, Risk our Fortunes & even our Lives in defence of his Majesty Kinp George the third, His Person, Crown and Dignity, and will also with j» 'same Resolution as his free-born subjects in this country, to the utmost of our Powei And Ability, Defend our Charter Rights that they may transmitted Inviolate to the Latest Posterity.

2. Retohed that every British Subject in America has by our happy constitution as well as by Nature, the sole Eight to dispose of his own Property either by himself or by his Representative.

3. Resoheil that y° net of y« British Parliament Laying a Duty on Tea Laniled in America payable here is a Tax whereby the Property of Americans is taken from them without their consent.

Therefore Hemhuil, That we will not, either by ourselves or any for or under us, b>iy or sell or use any of y East India Company Tea Imported from Groat Brittain, or any other Tea with a Duty for raising a Revenue thereon in America, which is affixed by acts of Parliament on the same. Neither will we suffer any such Tea to be made up in our Families.

liesotut'd, that all such persons as shall purchase, sell or use such Tea shall be for the future deemed unfriendly & Enemies to the happy Constitution of this Country,

August 25th Deacons James Woods and Samuel Ware were appointed a committee to meet like committees from other towns in the county, "to consider what measures they ought to come into at tliis critical, difficult day," and a Committee of Correspondence was chosen. September 2d Deacon James Woods chosen a delegate to a Provincial Congres? to be held in October; the town then chose officers for a standing miUtia. November 7th a committee of seven, chosen to inspect all tea-drinkers and post their names. January 9, 1775, the town accepted the proposal of the minute-men to serve without pay, on condition that the other members of the district provide themselves with arms and ammunition. Same date a committee chosen to receive and forward the donations to the poor of Boston, and a committee chosen to see that the Provincial and Continental resolves be strictly adhered to.

May 22, 177(3, "the Question being put whether y" Town would willingly support y' General Congress if it shall declare Independence. Passed unanimously in the affirmative."

February 17, 1777, Ephraim Woods chosen delegate to a County Congress, to obtain a more equal and just representation in the General Court for smaller towns.

February 24th the Committee of Safety, to prevent monopoly ajid oppression, fixed a uniform j.rice of all produce and merchandise and all kinds of labor. Following are a few of these prices :

" For men's labor in haying or reaping, 3 shillings per day, & the same for Carpenters ; Blacksmiths for plain shoeing, all round, 4 shillings ; with steel corkings, 5 shillings. To Cordwainers, for making good men or women's shoes Strong, 2 shillings 8 pence pr., exclusive of thread.

" Doctor's Fea for riding, 6 pence per mile & Business in proportion. Good wheat, 6 sh. per bu.; Rye, 4 sh. ; Ind. corn, 8 sh. ; Oats, 1 sh. 8 Pence ; Fresh Pork, 4 Pence lb. ; Grass-fed Beef, 2} Pence ; Stallfed do. 3J pence; N. B. Rum, 5 sh. per gall. ; Good W. I. Flip, 10 pence per mug ; Horsekeeping at Farmers, 1 sh. pr. night by hay, & 6 Pence bv grass. One meal of victuals of the best, ten pence, other victuals accordingly ; new-milk cheese, six pence per lb. ; firkin butter, 8 pence lb. ; Beans, six shillings bu. ; Potatoes, one shilling per bu. in fall, one & six pence in spring; good yarn, men's stockings, 5 shillings 4 Pence pair; mutton, four pence; veal, two pence per lb. ; Home-made flour, twenty shillings per cwt. ; Eng. Hay, 2 shillings cwt. ; hire of a horse, 2 Pence pr. mile ; maid labor in spring, 3 shillings per week. Mch. 31 a bounty of 20 pounds w.as offered soldiers who should enlist in the Continental Army for 3 years, & a com. chosen to collect evidence against all persons appearing enemical to this country. June 5, 1778, Voted that the town has no objection to articles of Confederation & perpetual Union between the United States of America. But the town refused, 54 to 4, May 19, & again May 31, 1780, to adopt the Constitution of the state of Massachusetts Bay, except on certain conditions, one of which was a provision for a Judge of Probate & Register of Deeds in each town in the county.''

The total cost to the town of the war is unknown, but the records from 1778 to '82 are replete with votes for filling quota of men and horses, paying bounties, monthly wages and furnishing clothing and provisions to soldiers and their families. A complete list of the members of the company of minutemen from New Braintree that marched to Boston April 19, 1775, may be found on the town records.

The town furnished sixty-seven men for three years, nineteen men for six months, seventeen men for nine months; thirty-eight men for three months, and fifty men for a less period of service in the Revolutionary War.

May, 1786, the town gave instructions to its Representative to the General Court, Captain Artemas Howe, setting forth the great extortion and oppression practiced by the lawyers of the Commonwealth ; their growing importance as a class in numbers, wealth and grandeur, and the danger to civil liberty thereby; the tardiness in obtaining justice in the courts and the high fees of certain court officers; that instead of the courts and juries being enlightened and assisted in searching after and doing justice in the cases that came before them by the gentlemen of the bar, they were left by them more perplexed and embarrassed ; and expressing the belief that our only hope of existence as a nation rested in the frugality, economy and industry of the people.

Shays' Rebellion. - The views embodied in these resolutions seem to have been held by the large mass of the people of the State. Many were embittered by the feeling that adequate compensation had never been made the soldiers for their sacrifice in saving the country, nor the widows and orphans of those who were killed. That many in office who had remained at home had enriched themselves at the expense of those who had gone to the war. The debtor class was large. The war had demoralized the people. The majority hoped for a remedy for many of the existing evils through the constituted authorities and the General Court, peacefully ; but a great many were in favor of resorting to force for a redress of their wrongs. Conventions were held in several counties. September 25th a committee chosen by the town recommended that for the peace of the town no representative should be sent to the General Court that year. This was the act of the minority, who had no faith in legislation to attain their ends. At ^ subsequent meeting the conservatives rallifd and voted to send its representative as usual and seek redress in a lawful way. The trouble culminated in what is known as " Shays' Rebellion." Twenty-three from New Braintree joined Captain Shays, some of them soldiers in the late war. A large body of insurgents collected at New Braintree. Their chief acts were to obstruct the courts and prevent their assembling.

Jan. 30, 1787, the town characterized the proceedings of the " Regulators," as they termed themselves, as illegal and irregular, and chose Rev. David Foster, Benjamin Joslyn and Percival Hallf Esq., a committee to confer with General Lincoln and officers, and Captain Shays and officers, for the purpose of effecting a leconciliation. February 3d, voted to petition the General Court for a general pardon of the insurgents, provided they laid down their arms and returned to their allejiiance, and issue circular letters to a number of towns in this and other counties to do the same. February 5th, met and heard the report of the conference with General Lincoln, including a letter to the town, in which he advised them " to call home, without delay, all the men then with Captain Shays belonging to the town, and not to aflbrd any aid, support or comfort to any of y insergents." When this letter was received, after being several times read and considered, such a disagreement appeared concerning the adoption of the course advised, that the meeting adjourned without action. Captain Artemas Howe was appointed major and commissioned as aid-de-camp of General Warner, August 28, 1886, in the campaign against the insurgents. The other men from New Braintree, who were in the service of the State and endured the sufferings and dangers of the night-march from Hadley to Petersham, which Minot styles " one of the most indefatigable marches ever performed in America," which resulted in the rout of the rebels, were: Sampson Whitherley, First Lieutenant ; Wyman Hoit, Second Lieutenant: Elisha Mathews, Sergeant ; John Doty, Corporal ; John Thompson, Corporal; James Woods, Corporal; Elijah Barnes, Robert Voaks, William Tidd, Percival Hall, Isaac Denni, George Whetherell, James Weston, Privates: John Stevenson, Drummer; Samuel Shaw, Sergeant ; Lemuel Kenned}-.

March 17, 1787, twenty-two took the oath of allegiance. Some of the insurgents fled from the State, and among them Capt. Francis Stone, who, if not a citizen of the town at the time, was closely connected with some of its families. Hence we find the town, May 21st, instructing its representative to use his utmost exertions for a general pardon of the insurgents, that the banished might return home. The town further instructed him that " In all free governments that idea ought ever be kept in view that the rulers and ministers of state are the honorable servants and not the haughty masters of the people ;" tlfat he should use his influence to restrict the number of lawyers in the commonwealth to a small number of approved and upright character, to dismiss the Courts of Common Pleas, sheriffs and deputy-sheriffs of the county, empower the selectmen to do the business of judge of probate and have the General Court removed from Boston.

Miscellaneous. - June, 1790, the town adopted an act to discourage unnecessary lawsuits, providing for a committee of three discreet freeholders, to whom should be submitted for settlement all demands whatsoever held by one citizen against another. The fees of the committee were two shillings each for each case. Any person refusing to submit his claim to the committee for settlement should be deemed unfriendly to the peace of the town and bad members of society, and treated by the inhabitants with contempt and neglect as to dealings and intercourse, save in the bare offices of humanity, and should have no votes for any town office for three years.

March 20, 1702, the town became security to Maj. Joseph Bowman, Elias Hall, Moses Hamilton and John Joslyn in a contract to support the entire poor of the State for ten years. They in turn agreed to collect all taxes during that time free of expense, to take all kinds of produce in payment of taxes at a generous price, and to purchase at a generous price from said town all produce needed besides for the support of said poor. They were authorized to i>rocure immediately materials for and proceed to erect suitable buildings for their accommodation. The present residence of Wm. A. Felton was one of these buildings. The town was opposed to the War of 1812.

July 2, 1812, voted to co-operate with the town of Boston in using all constitutional means to avert it. July 24th memorialized the President of the United States disapproving of the war and abhorring an alliance with France.

Previous to 1826 the support of the poor had been put up at auction to the lowest bidder. In 1833 the town i)urchased the Little farm and supported its poor thereon. In 1835 rules were adopted for the regulation of its pauper establishment.

March 20, 1843, Congregational parish organized with a membership of seventy-nine. Until then religious institutions had been supported by a town tax.

War OF Rebellion, 1861. - The first town-meeting to act upon matters relating to the War of the Rebellion was held May 7th, at which the selectmen were authorized to pay each volunteer belonging to the town five dollars per month while in service, in addition to regular pay, and four dollars per month to his wife and two dollars to each child under twelve years of age.

New Bkaintkee

August 2(ith, the bounty for three years' volunteers was raised to two hundred dollars and the bounty tor volunteers for nine months fixed at one hundred and fifty dollars, which, November 4th, was raised to two hundred dollars.

April 11, 18G4, voted a bounty of one hundred and twenty-five dollars to volunteers for three years' service, and this bounty was continued to be paid until the end of the war. The town raised .$9000.55 for the war and seventy-eight men - four beyond her quota - two-thirds of the men subject to military duty and one-tenth of her population. One only, Lieutenant George Davis, was a commissioned ofiicer. The following are the names of the volunteers on town records :

For Nine Months.- - Rufus Boyden, Loring S. B.irlow, Frank D. Brigham, Alfred D. Barr, Michael Bowen, Benjamin Fagan, Theodore S. Pierce, Brigham Pierce, Elijah T. Randall, Albert A. Thresher, George Woods. The rest of the seventy-eight were furnished from the surplus in other towns, this town paying the bounties.

Business. - In 1791 Joseph Bowman, Jr., entered into trade in foreign goods in a small one-storied building, situated at the north end of the present line of horse-sheds. In 1793 Henry Penniman, Jr., became a partner with him and for twenty years the firm of Bowman & Penniman was a household word in many homes in towns in the west part of Worcester and east part of Hampshire Counties. Mr. Penniman retired in 1813 and was succeeded by John Wetherell. In 1824 Mr. Wetherell removed to Petersham and Amory H. Bowman assumed the management of the business, his father furnishing the capital. In 1835 he was succeeded by Benj. F. Hamilton, who remained till 1840, when Edwin A. Read (who had had charge of the currying business of Hiram Wadsworlh, at Barre Plains), in coinpauy with Samuel Wadsworth, took the place until 1850. The firm was successively Read & Wadsworth, Read & Smith and Read & Anderson. In 1850 Wm. Bowdoin commenced business and sold out in 1855 to Charles B. Frost. In 1858 Abijah Eddy succeeded Mr. Frost and remained until the spring of 1863, when a protective union store was opened with Mr. Frost as agent. In 1865 Mr. Frost bought out the stockholders and

In 1812 Elisha Mathews, in company with Deacon James Woods, induced by the high price of wooleu goods incident upon the war, purchased a water privilege and erected a mill one-fourth mile below the saw-mill built by his father, Daniel, on the same stream, and commenced the manufacture of woolen cloths. Mr. Mathews was on his way to market with his first load of cloths when peace was declared and prices dropped. Deacon Woods soon sold out his interest, and Mr. Mathews continued for some years, but at a constant pecuniary loss. The enterprise ruined him financially. In 1839 Isaac Hunter, Jr., James Hunter and T. P. Anderson commenced the manufacture of shoes under contract with Clark Bates, of South Carolina, to furnish two thousand pairs per month. In March, 1840, Anderson withdrew and David Wetherell took his place. The enterprise was a failure through the rascality and irresponsibility of the parties to whom the goods were sold. The business, which was carried on in a part of the store, closed in 1841. In 1848 a steam mill was erected by a stock company. This was sold to Joel Garfield, and then to Jos. P. Cheney, and finally to James Penniman, and burned in 1853 ; rebuilt in 1854 by a stock company and sold to Jos. M. Green, Wm. A. Mixter, Moses Pollard, Henry A. Hoyt and Hollis Tidd ; burnt in 1863. Henry A. Delano made carriages and wagons from 1820-60, and later Wm. T. Felton carried on the same kind of business.

The pursuits of the inhabitants have been almost wholly agricultural. Whitney writes of New Braintree, 1796 : " For its bigness it exceeds any other town in the county in fine grazing land, as is evinced by the annual product of the dairy & Beef." Then the product of beef far exceeded that of the dairy. An inventory of that time shows that one man was taxed for twenty-eight oxen ; several years after the same farm maintained thirty cows. The increased profits of the dairy over those of beef changed the business from fatting cattle to making cheese, j\nd the labor also from out-doors to in-doors. New Braintree cheese had acquired an enviable reputation in Boston as early as 1800, and many a dairy of cheese from other towns passed through the hands of Bowman & Penniman to be sold as New Braintree make. Previous to 1865 cheese was made in private dairies ; during that year the New Braintree Cheese Manufacturing Company w.as organized, with a capital of §4000, and erected and furnished a factory at a cost of $11,000. The greatest quantity of milk received for eight months was 3,021,000 lbs. The cheese factory in 1886 became a creamery, and was then abandoned. Making milk supplanted making cheese for Boston market. In 1888 not one dairy in town made cheese through the season, a thing that had not been before for a century.

Besides the mills already referred to, there was a grist-mill built by Solomon Mathews on the site of the present residence of Mrs. li. F. Hamilton, on the stream north of the road.

Physicians - Dr. Percival Hall was probably the first physician in town and almost the only one for thirty years. He commenced practice about 1760 ; married a daughter of Deacon Samuel Ware, 1764; removed to Boston 1793. One of his children, Betsey, born February 29, 1780, died at the age of one hundred and four years. He was a very popular man, holding many town offices, and especially in demand as chairman of committees to draw up instructions to Eepresentatives. His productions are models in their clear, concise and comprehensive statements of the points at issue, and would do credit to any statesman of to-day. Dr. John Frink practiced in 1786-87. In 1794 Dr. Benjamin Severance succeeded Dr. Hall, and continued until his death, in 1832. During that time there were usually two physicians. Dr. Thomas Fletcher, 1789-91 ; Dr. John Blair, Jr., 1793-98; Dr. Increase Ma.- thews, 1799; Dr. March, 1803; Dr. Fairfield, 1805; Dr. John Field, 1810-15 ; Dr. Luther Spaulding. 1816-20; Dr. Thomas Boutelle, 1820-24; Dr. Daniel McGregor, 1825-33; Dr. Oramel Martin, 1833-45; Dr. Julius Miner, 1847-52; Dr. A. A. Kendall, 1852- 65 ; Dr. Saxton Martin, 1857-66. Since that time there has been no resident physician.

" Dr. Martin was a Democrat in politics. When he came, that party in town numbered four ; during his stay it increased to thirty-five. He was thoroughly Democratic (as that word was used then) in town, as well as in State and national afi'airs, and believed that the ability to govern existed in the many, not the few ; accordingly, he labored in all town elections for a more equal distribution of town offices."

The only resident lawyer there has ever been was Hon. Charles Allen, who came here from Worcester after being admitted to the bar in 1818; practiced six years and then returned to Worcester.

Building. - A prominent feature of the Centre is the long row of horse-sheds. Previous to 1816 there were but three sheds to shelter the horses from heat, cold and storm on the Sabbath, owned by Eli-sba Mathews, Lieutenant Jonas Newell and Captain Abijah Bigelow. These, with the old school-house, built in 1774, that replaced the first, built in 1760, " twenty feet square with chimney in the middle,'' occupied the present site of the store. In 1816 Joseph Bowman exchanged the land on which the sheds now stand with the town for a portion of the land on which the store is, and Bowman & Wetherell erected the brick store, sixty by thirty feet and thirty feet high, at a cost of thirty-five hundred dollars. The same year a woodeu building, tweuty-seven by fortythree feet, and two storied, was built five hundred and fifty feet farther north, the lower part of which was used for a school-room and the upper for a hall. In 1865 the building was enlarged, the lower part converted into a cheese factory and the hall retained. In 1861, five school-houses were built; cost, $;5,000.

In 1837 the New Braintree Temperance House was erected by a stock company (co.st, six thousand dollars) to furnish a place of entertainment free from the sale of intoxicating liquors, and for thirty years it remained true to its name. It chauged owners twice, and was burned in 1880. Much of the stock, with a par value of one hundred dollars, sold at eight dollars.

Miscellaneous. - In 1810 the town was visited with the spotted fever, and two hundred and forty dollars paid for attendance of physicians. In 1860 pleuro-pneumonia appeared among cattle ; two whole herds were slaughtered and five hundred dollars paid for relief of the owners. The greatest loss to the town, and one which badly defaced the looks of the Centre, was by fire, in 1880 - one-third of an acre covered with buildings being burned. The cheese factory. Temperance House and Bigelow House were destroyed, and but for the timely assistance of fire companies from North and West Brookfield, the church and other buildings must have shared the same fate. Loss, fifteen thousand dollars. A new cheese factory is on site of the old one. A reward of one thousand dollars offered failed to find the incendiary.

March 7, 1832, the New Braintree Thief Detecting Society was formed, with a membership of fortyeight. It has been chiefly a social organization, having observed for the last forty years, on the first Wednesday in Junuary, nearly every anniversary of its formation by a hot turkey supper. Sometimes the attendance reaches one hundred-. For many years a characteristic feature of society was the annual temperance supper, instituted for the encouragement of the Temperance House. It was thoroughly democratic. Everybody was expected to attend and respond to a toast. It was the occasion for much badinage, wit and some eloquence.

The Free Public Library was founded in 1878 on a gift of one hundred dollars by F. W. Delano, of Boston, and was sustained for a few years by private contributions and the exertions of the Young Ladies' Literary Society. In 1884 it became the property of the town. It numbers eight hundred volumes, well selected.

The Third Regiment State Militia, including, with others, one company of militia from this town and one comjmuy of grenadiers from New Braintree and Oakham jointly, mustered every alternate year on the parade-ground granted by Henry Penniman. The commissioned colonels of the Third Regiment from New Braintree were Samuel Mixter, Louis Blackmer, Henry Penniman, Stejjheu Fay, Asa Barr, Koswell Converse and Amory H. Bowman.

In politics the Federalists, Wbigs and Republicans have in succession usually been in a majority. Notable exceptions occurred in the reign of the Knownothing party and in the Presidential election in 1884, when Blaine and Cleveland polled the same number of votes. The greater inequality was in 1803, when Gerry, the Democratic candidate for Governor, received only one vote against eighty for Strong, his opponent. There has been but little disposition for frequent changes in office. Men once chosen to office, and proving themselves capable and faithful therein, have received the continued support of the people.

In 17% Whitney wrote of the people of New Braintree, " They have the reputation of being good husbandmen, frugal and industrious, and they live much independent." This frugality and industry brought most of them a competence and many wealth. But this wealth was held in no miserly spirit. They could beautify their own homes and the Lord's house, erect and sustain a public house of entertainment in the interests of temperance, give liberally to promote education at home and abroad, and in support of all benevolent objects. They were liberal in appropriations for musical education. The " independent " spirit referred to increased with the increase of wealth and intelligence. There was a just pride in the relative position the town held among other towns and in the character of its men.

IxDiviDUALS. - Of the early settlers, Capt. Eleazer Warner was already a veteran soldier. He was born in 1686, and early entered the military service of his country during the French and Indian Wars. At twenty-seven, was an attendant of a commission sent by Governor Dudley to Canada to redeem prisoners in the hands of the French ; is on record, at forty, as teacher of the first school taught in Brookfield. In 1822 he married Prudence, sister of Comfort Barnes, who built the first house on Brookfield soil, that afterward became New Braintree, and located on the south bank of Sucker Brook, opposite to the house of .Tonathan Nye ; removed 1730 to the place known afterwards as the " Perez Cobb " place, near the North Cemetery, a portion of which house he built. In the " History of Hardwick" he is referred to as probably the first settler in Hardwick, and his son, Wareham, as the first white child born on New Braintree soil ; his nephew, Joseph Barnes, was the second. His farm included a part of the Indian fort before referred to.

Three brothers, active in the town's early history, were David, James and Jonathan Woods, who came from Marlboro' respectively in 1744, 1746 and 1752. David was town clerk (1750-78) and assessor ; Jonathan, second representative to General Court ; James, moderator, treasurer, delegate to Provincial Congress and first representative to General Court. Jacob Pepper was at least fifty times moderator of townmeetings. John Barr, who came from Ireland about 1730, became the owner of five hundred acres of land in the southwestern part of the town, including a large part of present School District No. 5. Cornelius Cannon came from Dartmouth in 1737, and settled on present residence of Mr. Graves. John Peacock, a native of Ireland, was a soldier in the French and Indian War, and his son, John, Jr., an adjutant in Col. Timothy Ruggles' regiment, 1757. Oliver Cobleigh was also a soldier in that war. The Abbots, Barneses, Gilberts and Cannons were all connected by marriage, as well as the Peppers, Woods and Barrs. Abraham Hunter, the father of all the Hunters except Robert, came in 1753, having purchased a large tract of land in the east part of Braintree grant, which he divided among his sons and daughters. Daniel Matthews, who erected the saw-mill in 1749 at Webb's Pond, married Huldah, sister of Gen. Rufus Putnam. To him the general was apprenticed at fifteen years of age. Mr. Matthews was a member of Committee of Correspondence and an inspector of tea-drinkers, 1774. Wm. Tufts came from Brookfield in 1758, purchased land of Richard Faxon, an original proprietor, and was for many years a member of the School Committee.

Joseph Bowman came from Lexington about 1765. He was an ensign of a company of fifty men from this town who marched to Boston on the report of the attack upon the company at Lexington on the 19th of April, 1775. He soon after joined the army, and commanded a battalion at the battle of Bennington and other battles, which resulted in the capture of Burgoyne. He was not only a leading man in New Braintree, but his family, uniting the blood of the Bowmans and Munroes of Lexington, became one of the most influential in this part of Worcester County. His daughters intermarried with the Delanos, Woods, Matthews, Fields, Hoyts, &c., in the town. His son, Hon. Joseph Boivman, born September 11, 1771, entered mercantile business in his minority in New Br lintree without capital or expectation of any. His marriage with the sister of his partner, Col. Henry Penniman, materially aided him, but he was mainly indebted for his success to his untiring energy, industry and perseverance, his sagacity, judgment and unyielding integrity. He remained in trade thirty-five years, and accumulated a large fortune. He became the leading merchant in the region, and his store the principal place of resort for surrounding towns. For twenty-one years he was president of the Hampshire Manufacturers' Bank at Ware. In politics a Whig, but always reserving the right of individual action, independent of party. Office sought him, not he the office. He was elected representative to the General Court in 1806 and thirteen times thereafter ; Senator, 1828-29 ; member of Governor Lincoln's Council in 1832-34. He was a liberal supporter of religious and educational institutions. In private life most agreeable, hospitable, courteous and eventempered. Few retain the confidence of the public as long as he. He died January 30, 1852.

Henry Penniman came from Mendon, 1785, and was for many years the largest landholder in value, if not in acreage. His gifts to the town were, in 1795, six acres of land for a training-field (value, $333.33), east of Centre, and $300 for a new bell in 1800. His son, Colonel Henry Penniman, and Joseph Bowman gave a new town clock in 1802; was partner in trade with Mr. Bowman 1793-1813; also gave an organ for the church, and his family supplied it with players for more than thirty years, one daughter commencing at nine years of age. Colonel Penniman was a trustee and a liberal donor to the funds of Amherst College; was much in town affairs and twice Representative, but declined more honors.

Lieutenant Samuel Mister came from Brookfield, 1775, and reared a large family, who became connected by marriage with the Tidds, Popes and Greens. His son, Honorable Samuel Mister, was in nearly every town office, and settled estates, etc. ; Representative, 1818-19; Senator, 1833-35; Councillor, 1837-38. A man of great native sagacity and influence.

The three brothers Tidd came from Lesington (Ebenezer and Joseph, 1768), the former receiving by his father a large portion of the farm formerly occupied by Hollia Tidd, the latter the farm now occupied by Mr. Mahan. Benjamin came in 1790, and located where Frank Roch now lives. He was a member of the company under Parker that took part in the struggle at Lexington, April 19th, at Cambridge, June 17th, and served Dorchester the following year. Ebenezer, as well as his sou Hollis, were prominent men ; the latter was an aid to General Crawford, School Committee over thirty years ; Representative, and filled other offices. The limited space allotted to New Braintree in this history of the county forbids mention, as they deserve, of many others equally prominent and influential, such as Captain Benjamin Joslyn, Gideon and Philip Delano (the latter a model town clerk for thirty-four years), Elisha Mathews, Colonel Roswell Converse (who, in compliance with Dr. Fiske's wish, bought and fitted a parsonage, running the risk of returns for the investment), Josiah Gleason, Amasa Bigelovv, James Bowdoin and scores of others (not omitting the women), some of whose names are on record and more not, all of whom contributed equally, by private virtues as well as public services, to make the town in a peculiar sense a representative New England town.

f John Hunter. 1 Mary Hunter. r Hon. Washington Tufts, who, a life- I long Democrat, was sent, 1875, to , the State Senate from a Republican

Location. - So far as known, the original settlers located themselves as follows, the second column indicating present occupants of their farms, with due allowance for additions and subtractions incidental to a century and a half:

The cemetery in District No. 3 was given, in 1756, to the town by Edward Blair. For many facts and dates the writer is indebted to Mr. George D. Woods; for some facts relative to that portion of ihe town formerly in Haidwick, to the " History of Hardwick" to C. B. Tillingbast, acting State librarian, for his uniform courtesy and assistance in furnishing access to original documents.

Benjamin F. Hamilton

Benjamin F. Hamilton, son of William and Rhoda Hamilton, and a direct descendant in the fourth generation of James Hamilton, father of Alexander Hamilton, of Revolutionary fame, was born in Conway, February 18, 1809. He received a commonschool education in his native town. His was one of the old families of the town, and the name Hamilton was the name of the leading physician of Conway for nearly a hundred years. During his minority he engaged with his brother and uncle in the manufacture of woolens.

To him much was intrusted of the buying, selling and general management of the business. The depression in American manufacturing in competition with that of England after the declaration of peace following the War of 1812 rendering the business unproiitable, Mr. Hamilton went to Taunton as a clerk. From Taunton, in 1829, when twenty years of age, he came to Barre, in the employ of Harding, Woods & Co., as a clerk and book-keeper in their general store, remaining for six of the most receptive years of his life in one of the best kind of schools for the study of human nature that ever existed. Mr. Woods endorsed his services with him in this remark, that " He had been one of the most faithful, accurate and honest clerks he ever had in his employ." While in Barre he married Catherine Wilson, who died December 16, 1837, and by whom he had one child - Catherine - born December 11, 1837, who also died.

In 1835 he purchased of Amory H. Bowman his stock of goods in the old " Brick Store," and came first to reside in New Braintree. Here he remained until 1840, then removed to Petersham, where, in company with Sampson Wetherell, he engaged in the same kind of business. It was customary then for country traders to purchase large quantities of leaf, parcel it out among their customers to be braided into hats, then buy the hats and pay for the same from the store. The depression in the hat business, and the consequent failure of many large houses, caused the failure of many smaller firms, of which Hamilton & Wetherell were one. Mr. Hamilton returned to New Braintree, and spent the remainder of his days in farming.

May 27, 18-H, he married Hannah D. Gleason, daughter of Josiah Gleason, of New Braintree. During his residence in New Braintree he was closely identified with its interests, civil, parochial, business and political, and was, for a longer or shorter time, the official head of all of them. He was thoroughly faithful to all these interests while in his charge.

From 1863-68 he was a member of the Board of Selectmen, one year its chairman. For the first fifteen years of its existence he was a director of the New Braintree Cheese Manufacturing Company, and five years its president. For eighteen years he was a member of the Parish Committee, and much of the time its chairman. It was a favorite saying of his that " He had been a member of this Parish for a longer consecutive time, and paid a parish tax a greater number of years, than any other living member, with perhaps one exception." In his theological views he was diametrically opposed to the tenets held by the various preachers, to whom he listened nearly forty years, but in the practical af)plication of religious truth he stood upon the broad ground, so common to many men of all denominations, that " Faith without works is dead also," - a doctrine that an eminent divine once said would have classed the Apostle James as a Unitarian had he lived in our day.

Channing, the great apostle of Unitarianism, never had a more devout admirer than Mr. Hamilton. To say that he was always cool and deliberate in judgment, or wise and temperate in action, would be to say more than he would have said of himself. He was always true to his convictions an I fearless in their expression. He believed that truth was its own greatest safeguard and its declaration better than its suppression.

Besides, he never hit a man in the back ; his blows were always in front, and whatever criticisms he had to make were made in so open a manner that the one criticised had ample opportunity to defend himself. If he sometimes went to extremes, he never did things by halves. If he was impulsive, he was also generous. He was methodical in business, paying close attention to details, enterprising and public-spirited. He died August 28, 1884.

Josiah Parsons Gleason, son of Josiah and Mary (Hitchcock) Gleason, was born in New Braiiitree, May 15, 1S22. His early education was mainly obtained in the district-schools of his native town, supplemented with a term or two each at Leicester Academy in 1835, at Phillips Academy, Andover, 1836, and at Munson Academy and Hadley in 1839. In 1837 and '38 he was clerk in the store of his brother-in-law, J. S. Marsh, in Hardwick, Mass. He became the home son and at the death of his father came into possession of the "Homestead " of about 250 acres, situated on the west slope of Fort Hill, overlooking the beautiful valley of the Ware River, and one of the most productive farms in New Braintree.

He was a member of the Board of Selectmen from 18(55 to 1884, excepting 1808, and several years its chairman ; assessor from 1867-80. He was always the scribe of both boards, and the entire transactions of both during his membership are recorded in his bold, legible handwriting. His public as well as private affairs have always been conducted on business principles, with promptness, accuracy, thoroughness and system. He has always advocated a liberal, but never extravagant, expenditure of the public funds, both for the general interests for which the town provides, such as schools, etc., as well as for special objects which the law does not make obligatory.

In politics he has always held it to be the right of the individual to form his opinions and act in accordance with his own convictions, independent of the opinions or acts of others, although by so doing he occupied a position oi>posed to the party to which he nominally belonged. Hence he has found himself at different times allied to both parties. In his early life he was much in general society, but later a family of wife and eiL'ht children furnished him with ample opportunities for the play of h's social faculties, and this devotion to home has been fully reciprocated even after its younger members had grown to maturity and made homes of their own.

He married, November 21, 1849, Mary Newton Makepeace, born May 19, 1822 ; died September 16, 1855. His children by this marriage were : Josiah Makepeace, born September 11, 1850, died March 2, 1852; Mary Parsons, born May 29, 1852 ; Robert Rantoul, born September 7, 1855, died September 22, 1855; Albert Makepeace, born September 7, 18.55.

He married, February 24, 1859, Ellen Augusta Tidd, daughter of Hollis Tidd, Esq., born April 30, 1831, The children by this marriage are : Edward Hollis, born February 4, 1860 ; Herbert Parsons, born August 1, 1861; Alexander DeWitt, born March 1, 1863; George Davis, born November 21, 1864 ; Ronald Prentiss, born August 24, 1866 ; Alice Hamilton, born October 15, 1870.

Charles Eames

Charles Eames was a native of New Braintree. His mother was a descendant of the Ebenezer Tidd who emigrated from Lexington to this place in 1768. He was fitted for college when twelve years of age, but did not enter till the next year. He graduated at Harvard at the age of eighteen, the first scholar in a class in which were Wendell Phillips and Motley, the historian, with both of whom his friendship lasted till his death. In early life he acquired fame by his eloquence and rare oratorical powers. At the close of Mr. Polk's administration he was appointed commissioner to the Sandwich Islands, to make a commercial treaty with that government, which he accomplished. President Pierce appointed him Minister Resident at Caraccas, Venezuela, with which government he also negotiated a treaty. On his return from that country he resumed the practice of law in Washington.

During the War of the Rebellion he was counsel for the Navy Department and the captors in all the prize cases, and for the Treasury Department in all the cotton cases. It was in arguing before the Supreme Court of the United States the great prize case of the "Sir William Peel," in which William M. Evarts was the opposing counsel, that he was stricken down with the disease that terminated fatally in two months. He rallied sufficiently in a month to appear again in the Supreme Court as counsel for the navy and the captors in the great prize case of the " Grey JacKet," involving a million of dollars, which he gained for the government, and that ended his professional career. He died March 16, 1867, in his fifty-fifth year. For many years his house was a great centre of celebrities in politics, jurisprudence, letters, art and society. Governor Andrew, in a notice of his death which he wrote for a Boston newspaper, said : " I think this tribute is due to a native of Massachusetts, the first scholar in his class at Cambridge, and a lawyer who has won the leading reputation for his mastery of the learning of Prize, and the various other questions arising out of the War of the Rebellion, involving, as they do under our special national statutes, a great, difiicult and philosophical branch of judicial study.

" Mr. Eames was the special counsel of the Treasury Department in all the great cotton cases, in which he has displayed alike ingenuity and native sagacity and skill.

"Many of our Ma-sachusetts people will always remember the house of Mr. and Mrs. Eames as the most hospitable, agreeable and attractive house in Washington. With great simplicity, but with every charm of gracious and cordial manners, they received constantly, informally, and for years. There all the be.-»t and strongest men were to be seen, and though not exclusive in a political sense in their friends, Mr. Eames was still, while with Democratic antecedents, warmly and faithfully loyal to the most advanced ideas, both during and since our struggle with the rebels. His employment professionally by the government in no sense seemed to compromise his thorough and manly regard for the truth, as it naturally lay in the mind of a man trained to tliink, and educated in the original ideas of Massachusetts. To his birthplace, to his native Commonwealth, he was faithfully and warmly attached."

Ah International Episode. - "By a curious coincidence, just as our attention is turned to Mr. Sandham's notable painting of the 'Battle of Lexington,' I have received a call to-day from a Scotch gentleman who is the great-great-grandson of Major Pitcairn. He was greatly interested in our Pitcairn pistols and other relics, and spent several hours in looking about town. To make the coincidence still more striking, his wife, who accompanied him (an American ladyl, is a descendant of Joseph Tidd, who lived in the old Tidd homestead, which is still standing in Lexington, and whose sons, Benjamin and John, were in Captain Parker's company on the 19th of April, 1775.

" It is related by this John Tidd that, being one of the last to leave the Common, he was pursued by the British, struck down and robbed of his arms. At the same time his cousin. Lieutenant William Tidd, retreating up Hancock St., was chased by a British officer (supposed to be Pitcairn), who cried out, 'Stop or you're a dead man.' The plucky lieutenant sprang over a pair of bars, made a siand, took aim and fired at his pursuer, who dodged the shot, wheeled about, and hastened back to join his men. That a descendant of this ' Britisher ' should, after one hundred years, marry a descendant of this ' rebel,' and that the two should to-day come with eagerness to see, for the first time, the spot where their ancestors fought against each other, is a fact as strange as anything in fiction. Cupid has healed many a wound, but he was more than usually adroit when he contrived that a Pitcairn should at last marry a Tidd."

Moses Thompson

Moses Thompson, son of Nathan and grandson of James Thompson, the first captain of militia in town, whom, under the title of their "well-beloved and faithful'' friend, the inhabitants of '' Braintree Farms " selected from among their number to convey their petition to the non-resident proprietors, and secure their co-operation in their efforts to become incorporated as a town, and who afterwards bore the petition for incorporation to the General Court, was born in the south room of the house now belonging to the estate of M. H. Fay, formerly the residence of his grandfather.

Nathan, the father, died when Moses was seven years old. He remained with his mother three years, then went to live with Moses Felton, where he remained four years, and afterward two years with Joseph Bowman. His mother having bought the farm now owned by Michael Boyle, on the road to West Brookfield from Wait's Corner, Moses went to live with her.

At twenty-two he bought of Baxter Ayres a farm in North Brookfield, where he remained five years. While there he married, June 29, 1830, Hannah Bush, daughter of Josiah and Molly Bush, born December 4, 1811, who has been a faithful and devoted wife and mother. They came to New Braintree in 1831, and bought of Daniel Woods the homestead they now occupy. This farm Mr. Thompson has about doubled in area since the original purchase. Mr. Thompson is the only living original member of the Congregational Parish, that has always retained his connection with it. He was for many years its treasurer and collector and a member of its committee annually chosen to manage its affairs. He held the office of tovirn treasurer, with the exception of two years, from 1858 to 1884, and for some years had the sole management of its town farm, with its occupants. He is conspicuous for the same traits that created public confidence in his grandfather, and his faithfulness, integrity and good sense have especially characterized his public and private dealings. He likes trust and responsibility. He has always been a constant attendant of divine worship (including fast and thanksgiving days), and a constant and liberal supporter of religious institutions, not from impulse, but from principle, and equally liberal in his support of schools.

He is peculiarly fond of his family and friends, of visiting and receiving visits, and seldom is to be seen riding unaccompanied by one or more of his grandchildren. He is a descendiint, through his moiher, Molly Doty, of Edward Doty, who came over in the "Mayflower" in 1620, "and was a party to the first duel fought by Englishmen in New England."

Nathan (to whom further reference is made in list of educated men) married, January 1, 1870, Mary E. Dartt. Their children are: Clarence Dartt, born February 14, 1871, died September 10, 1871 ; Mary Florence, born January 3, 1873; Helen Morton, born March 9, 1875.

Settlement

The town of Leicester stands upon the ridge of the water-shed of Central Massachusetts, one thousand and seven feet above the sea level. Its waters flow easterly, through Lynde and Kettle Brooks, into the Blackstone River; southerly, through French Eiver, into the Quinebaug and Thames, and westerly from Shaw Pond, through the Chicopee River, into the Connecticut. Lynde Brook Reservoir, on the east, is one of the sources of water supply for Worcester, and Shaw Pond, on the we.st, is the source of the supply for Spencer. Leicester is about forty-eight miles from Boston. It is six miles west of Worcester and five hundred feet above that city. Its location is 42° 14' 49" north latitude, and 71° 54' 47" west longitude.

Its villages are the Centre, at first called Strawberry Hill ; Cherry Valley, two miles east of the Centre, generally so-called since 1820; Rochdale, at first South Leicester, named Clappville, from Joshua Clapp, who purchased the mill property in 1829, and changed to Roiihdale in November, 1869; Greenville, which about the middle of the present century began to be so called from its founder. Captain Samuel Green ; Manuville, two miles north of the Centre, which was named after Mr. Billings Mann about the year 1856 ; and Lakeside, which has come to be so called within a few years. The northeast part of the town is called " Mulberry Grove," the name being first given in 1827 to the estate of Silas Earle, on wbich he raised mulberry trees and produced silk from the silk-worm.

At the time of its original purchase the township of l^eicester was a part of the extended domain of the Nipmuck tribe of Indians. The character of this tribe had been greatly changed, and many of its members had been converted to Christianity through the labors of John Eliot and Daniel Gookin. Gookin, in his " Historical Collections," mentions seven " new praying towns" among the Nipmuck Indians. One of these was in Oxford and another was Pacachoag, in Worcester and the southeastern border of Leicester. That the Indians of Leicester had been brought under the same influences is indicated by the fact that one of the signers of the deed is styled '" deacon." Few Indian relics have been found here, there are few Indian traditions, and there is little to indicate that the place ever had a considerable native population, although it was of sufficient importance to have a sachem.

The Massachusetts Colony, like the Plymouth, recognized the claim of the aborigines to the land, and secured it of them by fair purchase. The territory embracing Leicester, Spencer, a pait of Paxton and a small portion of Auburn was bought of the Indians by nine gentlemen of Roxbury and vicinity, who became the original "Associate Proprietors." The sachem, Oraskaso, had recently died, and the deed is signed by his heirs. The price paid for the laud was fifteen pounds. New England money.

TlKit the heii-8 of Oraskaso, Sachem of a place called Towtaid, situate and lying near the new town of the English, called Worcester, with all others which may, under them, belong nntu the same place aforesaid, Towtaid, these heirs being two women, with their husbands, newly married; which, being hy name called Philip Tray, with his wife, Momokhue; and John Wampkson, with Waiwaynom, his wife, for divers good causes ami considerations us thereunto moving ; and more especially for and in consideration of the sum of fifteen pounds, current money of New England to us in hand paid by Joshua Lamb, Nathaniel Page, Andrew Gardner, Benjamin Gamblin, Benjamin Tucker, John Curtice, Richard Draper and Samuel Ruggles, with Half Bradhurst, of Ruxbury, in the county of Suffolk, in New England, the receipt of which we do fully acknowledge ourselves to be fully satisfied and eight miles square, situate, lying and being near Worcester aforesaid, abutting southerly, on the lands of Joseph Dudley, Esq., lately purchased of the Indians ; and westerly, the most southernmost corner of a little pond called I'aupakquamcock, then to a bill called Wakapukotownow, and from thence to a little hill called Mossonachud, and unto a great hill, called Aspomsok ; and so then easterly, upon a line, until it comes against Worcester bounds, and joins unto their bounds ; or howsoever otherwise abutted and bounded, &c.

In witness whereof, the said Philip Tray and Momokhue, and John Wampscou, Waiwaynow, being their wives, have hereunto set their hands and seals, this twenty-seventh day of January, anno Domini^ one thousand six hundred and eighty-six.

Phillip Tuay X his mark. [Seal.] Momokhue Tr-kt X her mark. [Seal ] John Wamscon. [Seal.] Waiwaynow Wamscon X her mark. [Seal.] Wandwoasiag, X the deacon, his mark. [Seal.] Jonas, his X wife's mark. [Seal.]

The deed was acknowledged before William Stoughton, " one of his Majesty's Council, of his territory and dominions of New England," June 1, 1087.

Leicester

tors was increased to twenty-two. They were men of wealth and influence, and some of them were owners of large tracts of laud in other towns of Central Massachusetts. None of them ever settled in Leicester. The purchase was a pecuniary investment, but was also designed to encourage the speedy settlement of the province.

The speculative venture was, however, for a long time unremunerative, and Towtaid remained for almost twenty seven years an unbroken wilderness. The period was unpropitious for interior setilement, and it was well that none was undertaken. Leicester was thus saved from perils and horrors to which other towns were subjected, while her primeval forests waited in silence for more peaceful occupation. Under the influence of the Christian religion, the Nipmuck Indians had become a peaceable and friendly people ; but upon the outbreak of King Phillip's War, they became divided and broken. That wily and powerful chief came among them, and by persuasions and threats, and by the lorce of his fiery eloquence, won a portion of them to his cause. Many of them remained true to their English neighbors ; but others followed their great leader. Their savage instincts were reawakened, they took the warpath, and brought disaster and ruin to the scattered settlements. In this, and the successive French and Indian Wars, all the earlier settlements of Central Massachusetts were broken up. Worcester was twice attacked, and the colonisls killed or driven out. Lancaster was burned, and its people massacred. Brookfield suffered the same fate; and the interesting colony of Huguenots in Oxford, were attacked, and forced to abandon their homes, their vineyards, their church and the burial-place of their dead.

There was little encouragement in circumstances so adverse to seek homes on the bleak hills of Leicester, in the heart of the Indian territory.

After the close of the French war in 1713, measures were taken to make the grant available. The original deed was recorded March Sth, 1713-14. The title bad been confirmed by the General Court, February 15th, with the usual conditions, that portions of the land should be reserved for the Gospel ministry, and for a school, and that within seven years fifty families should settle themselves, with reasonable provision for self-defence, on a part of the land. This was a virtual, and indeed is the only, act of incorporation of the town of Leicester.

The early English explorers found on Leicester hill a luxuriant growth of strawberries, and therefore gave the place the name of Strawberry Hill, which it had hitherto retained. It now received the name of Leicester, and was assigned to Middlesex County. It was on the 23d day of the same month that the number of proprietors was increased from nine to twenty-two. At this meeting the proprietors voted_ to offer one-half of the town to settlers, and chose a couimiltee, consisting of Colonel William

Dudley, Captain Joshua Lamb, Captain Thomas Howe and Captain Samuel Euggles, to determine which half should be opened for settlement, and which should be reserved for later and more advantageous sale. They decided to offer for occupation the eastern half. On the 14th day of Jlay the allotment was made ; and the next day the committee came to Leicester to locate the lots. In June the township was, by order of the General Court, surveyed by John Chandler, " to fix the bounds."

Fifty " house-lots," of from thirty to fifty acres each, were laid out, and sold for one shilling an acre, with " after rights " of one hundred acres for each ten acres of " house-lot." Thus the purchaser secured a farm of five hundred and fifty acres for fifty shillings. The lots were to be settled in three years or forfeited for the benefit of the public. One lot of forty acres was to be reserved for the ministry, one of one hundred acres for schools, and three lots of thirty acres each for mills.

Special grants were also made of seven and a half acres of "meadow," to each lot, for "feed." These meadows were evidently regarded as of special v.alue ; but the event has proved that the hilly ridges and slopes are more productive. The cedar swamps were left undivided.

The lots were numbered, and the purchasers drew for choice. The first choice was drawn by John Stebbins. He chose the lot on Strawberry Hill, on which the house of Kev. Samuel May now stands. Here the first house in town was probably built.

At a meeting of the proprietors, held July 23, 1722 a committee of the proprietors was appointed to convey deeds to those who had complied with the terms of purchase. The deed itself was not, however, executed till January 11, 1724, (O. S.), more than fortyseven years after the purchase of the town. It was recorded November 29, 1729.

These men and their families, and those who had already joined them, together with those who soon afterward united their fortunes witii the infant colony, were the founders of Leicester. Some of them were men of superior quality. To the hardships and toils of these pioneer families, to their intellectual and moral character and their Christian fortitude, the town is largely indebted for its prosperity and its worthy standing and honorable history.

The settlement of the place began soon after the allotment was made. In a few instances the purchasers engaged families to hold the lots for them, but others took direct possession.

According to early traditions, the first inhabitants found upon their arrival a solitary hermit, named Arthur Carey, living on the hill which from him was named Carey's Hill. Whitney, in his County History, states that he " went thither and digged a cave in the side of this hill, and lived there as a hermit many years, while that part of the country was in its wilderness state." What were his feelings wlien his solitude was disturbed by the approach of civilization no one now can tell, nor what had been the romance or the tragedy of his life, nor why he had retired from the world and buried himself in the lonely forest.

Leicester was then an unbroken wilderness. Worcester was just beginning, for the third time, to be resettled. There was no settlement of whites, except Brookfield, between Leicester and the Connecticut River. Bears and wolves and wild-cats and moose and other wild beasts roamed undisturbed in the forests, and the place was infested with serpents. The dams and curious homes of the beaver were long afterward visible in the meadows. There were, as late as 1740, pits for the capture of wolves ; and the names "Moose Hill," "Raccoon Hill" and "Rattlesnake Hill" are suggestive of realities familiar to the early inhabitants, while " Bald Hill " stood peculiar as a tract of land which had been already cleared.

The first town-meeting of which there is any record was on March 6, 1721-22, although meetings had evidently been held for two or three years previously. A meeting-house had already been built. Judge John Menzes^had served the town in the General Court the year before, and was re-elected the two succeeding years. He declined any remuneration for bis services, "being fully satisfied and paid." The precedent thus established was so popular that when, in 1724, a successor was to be elected, it was voted that whoever should be chosen "should be paid the same as Judge Menzes and no other." Lieutenant Thomas Newhall was then elected "to serve on the above conditions."

At the first recorded town-meeting Samuel Green was chosen moderator, first selectman, first assessor and grand juror. The town offices then were the same as those now filled at town-meeting. Two tithingmen were also elected to keep order in the meetinghouse.

At first the families were sheltered in rude loghouses. The first impression which one of these houses made upon the mind of a little child is indicative of their outward aspect. Daniel Henshaw came to Leicester about thirty-four years after its first settlement to take possession of a house already built for the family. The household goods had been moved from Boston on an ox-cart. As the family approached the house, by the narrow cart-path, the little daughter exclaimed "Oh, father, this is Leicester jail, isn't it? " In this household was a dog, named Hero, which came with the family from Boston. There was then no regular means of communication with the outside world, and Hero was for several years the mail-carrier of the family. Receiving verbal instructions as to his destination, he hastened at a rapid pace to Boston, with letters fastened to his neck, delivered them as directed, and after rest and refreshment returned with letters to the home friends.

In February and March of 1717, when there were only a few families here, and these were provided with hardly more than temporary shelters, the whole of New England was visited with a series of snow storms of almost unparalleled severity. For several weeks no mails could reach Boston, and when they came they were brought by men on snow-shoes. The low houses were covered so that in some cases the chimneys could not be seen. Families for days were prisoners in their own houses, and first made their exit from the atlic windows. Many domestic animals perished, and some were said to have been rescued alive week.s afterward. After the storm ceased, cattle could be seen walking over drifts twelve feet deep, and feeding upon twigs on the tops of trees. Such was the welcome of these hills to the men and women who settled Leicester.

It was not far from this time that Dr. Thomas Green, then a boy of eighteen years, was left alone, in the summer, in charge of his father's cattle. Attacked with a fever, he sheltered himself under a shelving rock, by the stream on which his father's mill afterward stood. Here, alone in the wilderness, his shrewdness saved him. He tied one of the calves within reach, and as the cow came to it, nourished himself with her milk. In this distressing condition he remained till found by passing land-owners, in the vicinity. They hastened on to inform his friends. His father at once came and removed him back to Maiden, on horseback - a four days' journey.

The progress of the settlement for many years was slow. Its location was isolated, and the people, on their scattered farms, must have been lonely in the extreme. Expected and unexpected difficulties opposed their prosperity. The soil was hard and cold, although in many parts rich and strong. They cut down the forests and cleared the fields, they were busy "breaking stubble," "ditching meddows," "splitting ye hills," and making roads. They struggled with rocks, and winds, and snow, and sufl'ered from cold, the degrees of which there were no thermometers to mark. Portions of the town were infested with rattlesnakes, and as now there were various enemies to vegetation. A bounty of "Six Pence pr. hed"wa3 voted by the town " for killing Battel Snakes/' In one year, nearly a quarter of a century after the incor- poration of the town, Benjamin Richardson received eleven shillings as a bounty for killing twenty-eight rattlesnakes ; and in 1740 the town paid in bounties forty-one pounds and three pence "for killing rattlesnakes, jays, red and gray squirrels, red-headed woodpeckers, and black birds," and even then there were " pits '' for the capture of wolves.

The life of the town in the last century was primitive and rural. The cattle ran at large, and the office of " hog rieVe " was no sinecure. In the town records are voluminous minutes of the special marks which each person adopted to distinguish his own cattle; and of the horses, cows, hogs, " hiffers," " steares," etc., which had " strayed " and were " taken up in damiag." The question annually came up whether " horses might go at large, being fettered and clogged as the law directs," and whether "hoggs" .should "go at large, yoked and ringed as the law directs."

Even the best of the houses were devoid of architectural attractions, and of the conveniences and comforts which we regard essential. They are described as "small, low one-story buildings,"' with a "front room and kitchen," and in some cases an added bedroom. The hinges of the doors were of wood ; there were no handles; and the wooden latch was raised by a " latch string " passing through a hole to the outside. The fire in the immense fire-places served to scorch one side, while the other was freezing. The hard necessities of frontier aftbrded little opportunity for adornment.

The people generally rode on horseback, the women often seated behind the men on pillions. In 1790 a lady, attended by her husband, rode from Leicester to Vermont on horseback, holding a child two years old in her arms. In 1733 there were four chairs in town. Daniel Henshaw's family came to Leicester in a chaise in 1748. In his account-book that year and onwarrl there are charges for the use of a "chair." The rate from Leicester to Boston or Maiden was three pounds. There was not a "buggy wagon " in town till 1810. Books were rare. Thomas Earle was repairing watches in 1768 and later. In Daniel Henshaw's account-book is a memorandum of his verbal agreement to "take care," for a year " of his watch when wanted, for one cord of wood.'' Watches, clocks and looking-glasses, however, were evidently rare. The hour-glass measured the hours, and " dinner-time " was indicated by the shadow at the " noon-mark " on the window-sill.

In 1722 the town voted that if Joseph Parsons would build a "corn-mill it should not be taxed." The mi 11 was soon afterward erected at the outlet of " Town Meadow," where Sargent's brick factory now stands. The first saw-mill was built by Captain Samuel Green, at Greenville. He also, in 1724, built a grist-mill on the same stream, where Draper's grist-mill now stands. The " Mill lot " of Thomas Richardson also came, probably, into his possession, so that he became the owner of the original mill lots. The second saw-mill was

There was plenty of land, and land which had been secured at low rates. But, although the first distribution was on equitable terms, the equality of ownership did not long continue, and it came to pass, in the buying and selling of " rights," that some of the farms contained from twelve to fifteen hundred acres.

Even that early period of labor and struggle was not exempt from class distinctions and jealousies. .Some of the families that came early to Leicester were in those days regarded as rich. Some were well-educated and refined. Ooming'thus from Boston, w-hich had been settled a hundred years, their style of dress and their manners were doubtless somewhat in contrast with those of some of their neighbors. Soon after the family to which reference has already been made came to town, the congregation, one Sunday, was startled by the entrance of a man dressed in smallclothes, a green calamanco coat and gold-laced hat, and with a cavalry sword hanging at his side, which thumped against the floor as he strode to his seat. When asked, at the close of the service, the occasion of this remarkable display, he said, " It is to let the Henshaws know that there is a God in Israel."

In 1722, when there were hardly fifty families on the scattered farms in the wilderness, the Indians of Maine and Canada resumed hostilities. This war is called " Lovell's War," from its most tragic incident, " Lovell's fight," in which Colonel Lovell routed the savages, but lost his own life on the shore of the beautiful lake in Fryeburg, Maine, which bears his name.

There were no general engagements in this region, but the frontier towns were harassed and kept in fear four years by roving bands of Indians, who lurked in the woods waiting to shoot down or capture their unsuspecting victims. The tidings that Worcester was threatened, and that three men had been shot and scalped in Rutland, naturally alarmed the people of Leicester. Although there are no traditions of similar attacks here, the marks of bullets in the fortified King house remained for a century afterward. In a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Dummer, Thomas Newhall gives information that " a man reaping here, informs us an Indian had got within seven rods of him, and, looking up, he had a certain discovery of him ; and stepping a few rods for his gun, he saw him no more, but hastened home."

Draper, also, in his " History of Spencer," informs us that " the earlier settlers of the town were frequently alarmed and disturbed by small parties or individual Indians prowling about the n'eighborhood, or through the town." Indians were also said to have been seen

In 1722 two Worcester men were sent to Leicester as scouts. In the correspondence of those years there are affecting references to the sad, anxious and defenceless condition of the people. In an appeal for help from Worcester, in 1724, to Colonel John Chandler, of Woodstock, who had command of the defensive forces in this vicinity, there is this significant reference to Leicester : " As to Leicester, the people there more need helj) from us than are able to render us any." Colonel Chandler himself, in a letter to Lieutenant-Governor Dummer, seconding the request for protection, expresses his regret, in view of the disappointment of " the poor people of Worcester, Leicester," etc., in not receiving it, and pleads for " consideration of the distressed circumstances of the poor people of these towns." Soon after, twentynine soldiers were posted in Leicester.

The next April the Lieutenant-Governor gave Colonel Chandler notice of the apjiroach of several parties of Indians from Canada, and ordered him to visit and warn the towns. The whole region was soon thrown into consternation by tidings that two companies of Indians were between them and "the Warchusetts," and the citizens of Leicester applied to the Lieutenant-Governor for speedy assistance of soldiers to defend them. " Our number of inhabitants," they write, " is very small, and several were much discouraged ; it was so late last summer before we had soldiers that we were exceedingly behind with our business." That year the town was, by the General Court, released from the payment of the "Province tax" of seven pounds, on account, as the people in their petition say, " of being a frontier," and " being very much exposed and reduced to very low circumstances by the late Indian war."

The house of the minister was, at the first, surrounded by a "garrison" or stockade, and in 1726 this defense was, by vote of the town, repaired and strengthened. There was also a garrison on the place of Judge Menzes, the outlines of which, near the Henshaw place, remained till the middle of the present century. A hou.se at Mannville was also fortified. The house of John King, between Leicester and Greenville, was made a fort. This house still stands, a solitary relic of those early times.

After its early trials and struggles, the town seems to have prospered generally as a farming community. Some of the early inhabitants were men of means, as well as of culture and standing, and other valuable families came into town. The farms greatly increased in value, and, with the building of better houses, the removal of the forests and the laying out and improvement ©f roads, the prosperity and comfort of the people were increased. Still, the growth of the place vi'as slow, and there were repeated periods of great trial and depression. After forty years, there were less than one hundred families in the Eastern Precinct. At the time of the Declaration of Independence the population was ten hundred and seventyeight. There was no increase during the war. At the opening of the present century the number was eleven hundred and three.

During a considerable portion of the last century the town, like other communities, suffered from the depreciation of the currency, and losses I'rom State loans and private banking enterprises. These difficulties confronted the settlers almost at the first, and were increased by the heavy demands made necessary by successive wars; in the time of the Revolution paper-money depreciated so rapidly that it became necessary to rate its value every few weeks. It finally became worthless.

Even in these circumstances money was counterfeited, and in 1747 we find the town voting Mr. William Green the sum of " 2 pounds towards the counterfeit bill he took as town treasurer."

The danger oi' small-pox at times called for town action. The question of establishing an inoculating hospital was evidently a subject of controversy. It was finally disposed of in 1777 (after being repeatedly deferred) by a vote "that the physician provide a hospital at his own cost, subject to the selectmen." September 17, 1792, the town "voted to have smallpox in town by inoculation."

At the March meeting in 1771 the town voted " that a list presented by the selectmen of the names of those persons who have come into town, and the place where they came from since June 1, 1767, be put on the town records, in order that posterity may know when and from whence they came, and that the selectmen be directed to present such a list at the town-meeting in March for the future." Such a list was presented every year; notices were recorded of persons who came to town until the year 1780 ; and as late as 179.S certificates were x'ecorded of persons taken into houses and families.

On the afternoon of July 10, 1759, the town was visited by a remarkable cyclone. Two numbers of the Boston Post of that time are largely devoted to the details. It struck the tavern-house of Mr. Samuel Lynde, the last on the road to Spencer, passing from southwest to northeast. The house was lifted a considerable distance from its foundations, " and in the space of two minutes tore all to pieces." Several persons in the house were severely injured. " A little girl, being also at the Door, was carritd by the Force of the Wind upwards of 40 rods, and had an arm broke." Four women were afterwards found in the cellar, "but could give no account how they got there." Articles from the house were found in Holden, ten miles distant, and " a watch was taken up above a mile from where the house stood." The barn and farm buildings were " torn to pieces," and a horse was killed. Trees were torn up by the roots, and fences broken down. A negro " standing at the door of that House was carried near 10 Rods Distance in the Air," and was so mucli injured that he died ; and "a Pile of Boards ('tis said 7,000 Feet), being near the house, was shivered to Splinters, and carried to a great Distance, so that there was not Pieces large enough to make a Coffin to bury the Negro in."