306 HISTORY OF MIDDI.ESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

CHAPTER XVI.

..4SHBY.

DJiSCRIPTIVE.

BY ITHAIIA1l B. SAWTELLE.

ASHBY is situated in the extreme northwest corner of the county, bordering upon New Hampshire, and is bounded on the north by Mason and New Ipewich, on the eut by Townlend and Lunenburg, on the south by Fitchburg, and on the west by Ashburn­ham. The central village is forty-seven miles north­westerly frem Boston, thirty-one miles nearly north from W oreester and four hundred and twenty-six miles northeasterly from the city of Washington, in latitude ~ 40' north and longitude 4° 16' (very nearly) eut from Washington. The area ofthe town is about twelve thoWl8.nd and three hundred acree, containing only a small portion either of ledges, ponda or plains. The surtace is hilly and diversified. The outlines of the landscape are majestic and grand. Many of the elevations are bold and rongh, while othen are gracefully rounded and some of the ele­vated swella of land are fertile to the summit. The soil is that common tott.he hill towns in this vicinity­comparatively stubborn and rocky,yel mOltly arable and productive. The subsoil is of the nature of clay, which holds the moisture, and springs of the purest water are abundant.

The town is well watered. All ita streams fiow euterly either into the Souhegan, the Squnnicook or the Nashua Riven. The stream ruuning through the northwest corner of the town, and drllining the northeut part of Ashburnham throngh Ward Pond and Watatic Pond and thence onward through New Ipswich, is really the south branch of the Souhegan River.

WILL.um's STREAK, made up at fint from the drainage of Nemoaet and RUDell Hills in Ashburn­ham, p&llel out of that town and soon falls into the Ashby reaervoir and thence on northeuterly through the entire breadth of the town; It joiDl the Squanni­cook in Ash Swamp, in Townlend.

TRAP FALLS BROOK, having ita origin in the southern slope of the hilla in New Ipswich, takes a southeutern direction through the town, and after receiving the waten of leveral small brooks and leaving the meadows euterly from the town's Com­mon it hurries on,rattling and foaming over the rocks till it leape into the whirling and hiasing water of Willard's Stream.

LocKE BROOK comes from the hills in the north­eut part of tbe town, running BOutbeuterly. For a considerable distance before leaving Ashby it fiows through deep gorges, entering Townsend at the bead of the Ash Swamp, and onward, joining Willard'. Stream only a short distance from ita confiuence with t.he Scllll'lIlllcook. Near tho south om bonlor of the

town a nameless brook, flowing through "Wright's Ponds," takes a southeastern course till it comes near to the corner of the town, where it falls into Pearl Hill Brook, which then makes a detour to t.he left, running nearly north, leaving Ashby and thenco onward through Townsend till it joins the Squanni­cook in Ash Swamp.

W ATATIO MOUNTAIN (sometimes in old rlfcords spelled Watahook and Wettetook or Wateticks) is situated in the northeast comer of Ashburnham, and in the northwest corner of Ashby, the town line p ..... ing over ita northeast alope cutting off about one-third of It and leaving ita I1lmmit in Ashburnham. It haa an altitude 011847 feet above the level of the sea, and according to a map of Aahby delineated and publish­ed in 1881, it is 829 feet higher than the Unitarian Church. It mus~ have been a conspicuous landmark for the Indian in his warlike expeditions, and a resort for the white man for the purpoeea of observa­tion in traveling from t.he seaboard to the Connecticut River.

On ita summit is a pile of stones which has been collected in obedience to an Indian legend, that every one who visited t.he summit must add a atone or be­come unlucky for UCe. From thil standpoint, near at hand, the bold outlines of the hills, with their inter­vening ponds and villages, keep the observer spell­bound; while in the distance the fast-moving rail­road trains, the Ihimmering llikes and riven, many chureh spires and prominent buildings ar" brought to view.

NEMOSIT HILI, (called in the town records 1+01. peel Hill, and known as Blood Hill) is situated in the west part of the town, part of it. heing in Ashburnham. The view from ita lummit nearly equals that from the Watatic. A large part ofthis bill is rough and rocky, but there are nice soils and excellent farm huildings crowning its southeutern 11 ope. The lutanow-drifts of spring linger, diminish and then fade away from its eutern crest.

JBWBLL HILL, in the southwest part of the town, viewed from the school-hoUle yard, near the relenoir dam, surrounded with nice grazing land", with its rough and precipitous out.lines sharply drawn against the Iky, conlrasts heautifully with the water seen at its baae.

JONES HILL, a little west of t.he centre olthe toWII, is wild and rocky on ita louth side, but on the north is euy of ascent. It has a cave or .. Indian house," as it is often called, which is an ohject of lOme curi­osity.

PINB HILL and BATTBRY HILL range along t.be eutern border or the town, overlooking t.he valley ar.,und the Squannicook River.

The arborial production .. of Ashby are not particu­larly different from thOle of the adjoining towns. In the banb of the cuts made in grading the roads may be seen pine stumpe. which, considering their great aize, must havo IUPIJOrted gigantic trees. Tradition

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ASHBY. 307

laYS that the B'lut.b part. of the town was covered witla and around the hills to tJie northwest, till it pUled an exceeding heavy growth of pine when the Bettlers out of the comer of Aehhy and over the north Bide or began to break the wndem8IIIL Variolll kinds or de- Watatio Hill. Daniel Adama and Ephraim Jon88, of oiduolll trees, inoluding theoak,mapleand birch, have Concord, cut a bridle-path and marked the· trees for usnrped the places of these monarchs of the forest. this road from Willard's Stream to Keene, N. H., Many acree are covered ,nth a young growth of and petitioned the General Court to pay them for do­thrif\y trees, among which the sapling pine grows ing the work, whioh the Court refused to do. These rapidly, promising an abundant Bupply of building are the earliest roadB in the tawn known to the ti.mber for the oncoming generations. writer. Ashby baa been very fortuuate in ita choice

The wild anlmala that roamed over these hlllB, and of town clerka. Every entry In the ent.ire six vol­occasionally caught the eye of the settler, were those um .. of recorda hM been made in a neat and schol­common in thla latitude. In 1789 the town voted to arly manner. It may," with propriety, be remarked pay a bounty on wolv .. ; but a town or more t.han Bix t.hat more pag .. in th .. e firet four volumes are given hundred inhabitant. would not. at that time have many to the .ubject of roadl 'than any other single matter, animals of thil lpeciea. Deei' were protected by ofR- which shows that the voters had learned that the dis­Ct'N chOlen for that putpoee. The fox remain8 with tance around a hill W81 about the lame 81 over it, u .... callBing the poulterer Bome troublf', but affording and that roads made to accommodate a few mlllt iD­the aportaman great excitemeDt in the chase through teraect at just the right place with .thOle more trav­the first Inow-fall of winter. Our broob attract the an· eled highwaYB which con verged to their hOIl88 of wor­gler for t.he trout, while other dlaciples of laaac WaI- ship. ton occasionally take good .. ized strings or perch and OLD SBTTLBRS.-It iB not known beyond a doubt pickerel from the r .. ervoir. The roads in the early who were the first settlers in town. Samuel Stone and history of the town were merely II bridle-paths," James Locke, who lived on Battery Hill, were the 'running through the woods aud over the hills, wind- first settiers in the TowDl8nd part of Ashby. iug around and making the traveled diHtance between Samuel Stone built and lived in the houle now two places much greater than what it. is now. Trav- owned by Francis S. Wheeler. Jam .. I.oclte's house eling on horseback WII the custom. Belid .. , there stood in the garden JUBt north of where the old, aria­were 10 many row contemplated, that it WII impoe- tocratic, unpainted Locke manBlon ie now situated Bible for the aettien to mate even bridle-paths or on the westerly Bide of the road to New Ipswich, many of them. nearly a mile nort.herly from the ·house of Samuel

RoAD8.-Between 1784 and 1745 the Townsend Stone. The fear and dread of Indian incursions proprietors deeded a lar,e number of tract. of land hindered the settlement of pioneers in t.his vicinity aituated in Ashby. Iu every one of these convey- tillabout1750. Persons who locat.ed at considerable dia­anCel may be found this reaervatioll: cc There is a110 tance from Beveral neighbors built block-hou888 or an allowance for a road whenever the town shall II garrison houBeI," as they were called, for their pro­think it neceaaary." taction. Theae hOIl8el were made of pine logs of con-

The old Northfield road, runniDg from the middle venient length hewed on two aid .. and set close lo­or Lunenburg weaterly through the BOUth part of gether in the ground. The roof con8isted of timbers Ashby and On through Aehbumham and Winchen- IBid acf08ll the top of the body or the structure, upon don, had Northdeld for ita terminll8. Thla road WII which. dried bark, eit.her of birch or hemlock, 1'181

made in 1788, and fa the old .. t road In town. At laid in couraea, overlapping each other to protect from present different parta of it are IlBed II a public high- the rain, with port-hoi .. on each side. There were way. Northfield was a front.ier town for a long "ime, three hOIl88l of this kind on the land now in ABhby, and had suffered great.ly during the Indian ware, between 1789 and 1750. One W8I situated near the many of ita citizeDl being killed. In 1690 the setLle- Locke place, above described; another 1'181 bum north­ment 1'181 broken up by the IndiaDl, but again com~ westerly from the central village and another on the menced in 1718, at which time the town 1'181 incor- riseoC ground iu the comer made by the road north­pbrated. The aympathi .. of the people of Concord, westerly, and nearly oppoeite to the brick hOllle nqw Groton, Lancaster and Lunenburg were 80 excited in owned and occupied by Paul Gatea. behalf of their rriends at Northfield, that they made John Fitch owned and occupied the 18It-named this road that they might more euily_lat t.hem in garrison, which he made in 1739, when he and hie their skirmish .. with the Indiana. . wife and two children moved there from Bradford,

A road, alluded to in the Townsend recorda 8I.early and from which, on the 5th day of July, 1748, he and u 1742, but of which there Is no record of ita being. hie family were taken by the Indians, and carried to laid out, W81 called the cc Aehuelot Road," which en- CanadL Between the years 1740 and 1748 the Indi­tered Aehby at the lame place where the old road is ans kept the inhabitant. in the frontier toWDI in a now traveled, and followed the lame a Bhort distance ltate of constant alarm. England 1'181 waging war and then tnmed to the lert and went over Trap Falla with France, and her coloni .. Buffered dreadfully from Brook, and then turning to the right, winding oyer the incursions of tho savagee, who were iDlt.igated by

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308 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

the Frencn in CanadL The French government paid a large bounty for Euglish scalps, and a larger one for English prisoners. Indian acouts \Yere frequently aeen in and around Lunenburg, and fears were daily aroUled from a conciousne88 ofinaecurity. Thesavagea had lurted around this locality, taking their observa­tions from the summit of Rollatone Hill. for some time before mating their attact on Mr. Fitch's garrison. The Inhabitants in Lunenburg and vicinity, apprehen­sive of an attack, uaisted Mr. Fitch in fortifying bis hoUBe, and early in tbe year 1748 four soldiers were stationed within the gamson. Mr. Fitch had traded considerably with the Indians, and his frontier pod­tion was well known to them: They were resolved upon his capture, knowing that he was a man of mucb force of character and that bis friends would contrib­ute liberally for his release from caploivity. Accord­ingly a party of them, not far from seventy in number, on the morning of the day above nlentioned, stealthily approached his abode during the absence of two of his soldiers, and suddenly fell upon him and bls two remaining companions, who were a abort distance from the garrison. One of the soldiers named Zac­cbeus Blodgett was instantly killed. Mr. Fitch and the other soldier named Jennings, escaped within the house, where they exchanged shote with the foe for an hour alld a half, when Jennings re­ceived a fatal wound in the neck from a shot througb a port-bole. The wife of Mr. Fitch loaded tbe guns while h,er husband continued his efforts to drive away the 81188i1ants. At length the IndiaDB dl .. tinctly told him that if he persisted in continuing the fight he and his family should perish in the burning of his cabin, but if he would surrender they promised to spare the Uves of all in the hOUle. He then sur­rendered, and hie house and pens,for his animals, with the fences, were immediately burned by the Indians, and Mr. Fitch with his wife and five children were started on their dismal journey towards Montreal. The wife of Mr. Fitch carried an infant in her arms about five months old, the agee of the other children varying from four to thirteen years. The ne,.,s of this capture did not reach Lunenburg until about da,light the next morning, when the alarm (three mUlkets heavily loaded, d\acbarged wlt.h a certain interval ba­tween each report) was immediately fired. ~Idiers arrived iu an incredibly short period from Groton, Lan­caster and even from Westford. They quickly put themselves under command of Major Hartwell and started in pursuit. The Indians proceeded along the south sideof Watatic Mountain, .. nd made their ftrst stop at the meeting-hoUle in Ashburnham. The in­habitants of that place had given up and abandoned their aettlement only a short time previous. Home­where in the township of Ashburnham the soldiers in pursoit diacovered a paper fastened to a tree con­taining a few lines written by Mr. Fitch imploring hie friends not to attempt his rescue, as the Indians had promised to spare all their Jives if unmolested,

but threatened inetant death to himllelf and family if his friends attempted to deprive them of their cap­ture. The pursuing party thfn returned. After en­during the severeat hardships in their long journey through the wilderneaa in captivity, the family were ransomed by their friends in Bradford. Thor returned by way of New York, Providflnce and Boston. The wife of Mr. Fitch, after endnring branl, her captivity. wu taken lick while returning and died in Prod­dence, December 24. 1778, almoet aix montha after t.he date of capture.

Bome of the incidents connected with their jODmfY to Canada are worthy of record. When tbe prisoners left the smoking ruins of the garrieon one of the In­dians, among otber things' plundered, took a btavy draft chain and carried it on h1. shoulders to Canada, and then sold it for a quart of rnm. Catherine, agtd thirteen, and John, eleven years, walked along with their parenta. The two boys, under alx years of agt, were each IItrapped to the back of an Indian and car­ried along. Th~ younger ont, then four years old, sufl'ered much; his legS became dwarfed and much deformed on account of the tightneaa of the deer-skin thong which bound him to the back of the savage. Susanna, the infant prisoner, endured the triale 01 captivity with leas unhappinftll than anyone of the family. She married Jo_bua Chaae, of Shirley, in JUDe, 1770, and aurviving her husband, sbe died in Shirley July 10, 1827. After the return of Mr. Fitch with some of his children to LUlJenburg (now Ashby), he again made himself a bome at or near tbe 88me place where the garrison wu burned. In 1772 be moved to Rindge, N. H., where he owned several lots of land, and after living there several years he moved back to Ashby. He loat hia property in hie old age, his mind being 80mfwhat Impaired, and he becamo an object of charity. In 1793 the town reqord haa the following: .. Voted, that the selectmen provide for Mr. Fitch in the beat manner tbey can at their dis­cretion." From that time until hie death the town supported him.

He was born in Billerica in 1708, died at Asbby April 5, 1795. In January, 1749, lOOn after his re­turn home, he tent the following petition to Hia Ma­jesty'a Governor and Council and House of Repre­sentatives :

.. To lb. 1I0Dorabl. Spoacer Phi ... OoYlraofoolD-chlel 01 the Pn.lace of M_hulOtlll"', ID N •• Bu,I.Dd, for the lime belD,; to tb. HOD­orabl •• HII Mill .. ', .. Council .ad B_ of Bep_ntatl ... In General Court ._mbled:

.. Ju .... ,.u ... "ua,bI, .louwI lIlAt la Ihe ,., •• D.l'. h. purc .. _1 ....... t ou. IlIIud ...... "d Iw.atf.., .... uf I ............. t ... on wllft ...... . h.lf ..... YO Lillie" ....... m ..... h'.bou .... ad ..... ut th_ .1 ......... half ...... 'la, of tb. Ihh ..... taD ... on the road ...... a' from Lu_bal'll to Nortbfttold •• ad th.ra 10, 1 .... 1I8h'J built 101m • bo-, and laaproyod .. alach Ialld • to ra" prvyl8loa for loll ,rowin, tamll1 .Dd _ to "1*1'1. whel"llb, h. eat.rtalned trayoll ..... ad bela,. carpenter. w. furaillbed with _. tooll a_1'J' for that ........... Dd bel .. , dt. Iaat from ael,II"' ... w. obll"" to keep tba chief 01 hie tooIo aDd Uya wlthla hi_If, oad ..... blllboaDolI'J' atealUa and ~oId ltd'. and Ih.t upon the war brook la, out, a1tboa,b he had ao aMr ..... b1lOn \0 Jola wllh him lu 0 prrtaoa. ,et dlY.n of the lallobll\ll\" 01 1 ... _1 ........

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ASHBY. 309 -----------------;------------

kaowlnl thesnat -art", that • prrlma at bl. place mlltbt be, 11""'" blm to balld Oa. i Dd m.a,. or th. Inhabllanta uIIated .ad bllped blm la It, aftlr .bleb tbe .. wet.1 ollloen "ppolated o.,er tbe .. ldlen .nd ..... ta ord ....... qaota to &bat prrImn, &ad It .... plue of remrt .ad nrr.hmeat to towa _ta aud for \arp _ala I'rum Nor&hlleld, Towa­MUd, -'*n.lot.nd o&ber p'- A.Dd 7001' pelmoaer reoelwecJ .ad ea-&enalned the ... aIld la the 76&1' .... D. 1748 the _via from Lnaeabal'l • Dd To.a_ad ..... ordered to mNt tben oace 1 .. 1'7 .eek, .ad b. bad r ... ar ...... Ien allo.ed to keep aid ~.a, .ad oa th. 11th dq or ~al,.la th ..... ,III', b, ........ a ofbodll, lallrmlt" thin ... bat two 1OI .. len with him, elll.oash ou.el'l with the _ala wen to oon.e that da7. Oa Uaa& dq Won nooa, .ad ""'ore thl ..... Ia oeml, tbe ladlan eaen., .p­peared .ad aho& dowa ODe IOIdl.r apoa be,al dlmowered, &ad Imm ... l­alai, drow. him aod the o&IIer .. Idler 'ato the prrlmn, .net, after be­eI.nl the __ "boIlt oae boar "nd • hal f, tb., killed thl other .. I­dler throaah the port-bole In the hnker i .ad th.a ;roar petilioaer _ I.n .Ioae with bl8 .lfe .ad Iha chlldna, _n after .hleb be 8IIma­dered and became • primaer with bl8 aid 1'amII" Dd the en..,. took .nd carrlid • ..., eacb tblnp .. the, ,pI ....... Dd barat the bo_ aDd prrImn wltb the ..... and thea we .ntered Into "me\aacbol, captlwlt,., with 00 •• """1 eblld on tbe mother'. breu&, .ad two mon beoeme .ack­Ing cblldrea la the ..., fltr .... t ofpro.,ie\oal, wblcb, .Itb other bard­.1 ..... broaabt m, dill' wife lato • bed ItaIiI of health.ad IaDsal8b­DlIat, .ad In oar ntara, belal b, New York, Bhod.lllland .nd Prowl­deace, then la n-ber JaR ahe departed thl.llf"aIld .ben I, with m, II .. ohlldren, arrI.,ed at thl8 pro.,lnoe, .e wen .,bJectI of cb.rU,for food IUId raJmeat, .blch lOIISe cbarltabll people beIlo.ed apoa DL Ye& ,our petltIoa.r'. Caml", an dllpened b,. reuoa of poftl't" aDd malt .. re.aln aa .... lOme oharItable blip may "\De _, or other be bIItowed, rur ,oar petlUoDer 18 atterl, anable to pat blmeelf apia lato _Itabli clrca ...... -. aod to brlal bome bl8 dllpened .nd me\ucbol, ramll" b"wlal hl8 .... IaDce barat .. .ror.ald "nd f.n_ "leo i.ad ,.oar petI­tloaer belli lea .. to Inform 10U that he Ie atterl, aDable to bvlld, ral"­alai. "ad rence "ad """atala bla dlapened Camll" two chlldrea lieJal • coatlaual cbafle lIIace oar cepd'll"', Oae belal nder th. duclor'. care • "01' IInoe. Your petltloa.r aIIO 101t bl. oaly san, worth tblrt;r poon"" .nd .a ox .t the _me Ume, aad blw etock of cattle an cblell7 lOne, ba'll .. ao ba, Jut 76&1', and Ia onder "1'7 pitiable cln:u_ ..... Dd hap nllef ID lOme WQ or other, .. thle Honorabll Court IbaII thlak belt, .. 10 da'" boUDd lball .wer pra;r." '.

This petition bean the following endonement: "Ia tbe Roo. of ....-Dtetl.,., A.prll 0, 1'1/l11. a-..,ed aad 0r­

dered &bat tbore be allo.ed oat or th. Publlo -rr-u1'7 to lb. petitloa.r .llht poncll, la ooallderatlon of bla lI,trerlap "Ithla meutloaect, "ad to .Dable blm to HIIWe bl_lf.ad family oa bl8 pl.atatloa. 'Seat liP ror ooncIII'Nace. Tao.,u B v ..... ." 8peaker pro ,. ..

"Iu ooaaell April 0, 17110. B...s and oollCUrred. &IIuar. HOLnoolt. DepL 8ecL"

"Co_ated to, R. PaIN ...

The following petitions show that the Indians were in considerable force, and that lOme of them did not leave with the captivee after the burning of Fitch's little garrilOn:

.. To Ule Ibceltenc:r, William 8hlrl." BIq., Go.,eraor, wltb th. Boa. Ol'llbll Council of the Prv9luCl of lI_b_tta Ba:r _Dlbled: The petllloa or the lab"blteala of Laaeabal'l .ad Le!.ml .... er bumbl, eIIo .. -elh th"t, lVlNrecu the Indlaa ea_, h".,e'l8l'7 I"te", beeu IIIDODI ... la CODIIderableaumben.ad .Ith aaUlWll hol ........ ad ba .. d8llro,ed oUe of oar prrImae, klUlal and capUratial the Inbabl ....... and .. WI

baft DO mar. tbaa tea eoIdlon allo.ed b;r tb. IOYlrameat tor oar pr0-

tection (wbo an ,,11 In Lan.abal'll, aad thoalh In r-mllllter we b".,. " email _& of ,oar Inhabl ....... tbe droame .... _ an 10 weak aod ex~ that th. GOIDmandlnl ollloel'l _ bardl, lblnk 1& prudeat to .. lUI th_ Into the woodl i .. tha&.e are forced to look lIpoa ollreel., .. In a "1'7 buardoae, .. ""II .. dl........., _ to eacb • decree that we canao& .... , of • labor oa DIll' far_ or abld. la our b_ with toler-abl ..... et:r. bat oureel., .. and tamlll .. malt be In danpr ot ea\l'erlaa mvoh, eltber b;r peaal'7 or tbe direct IDIllIIl of. cruel aad barberoae aa­tlon, or bo&b of th_. It II, th_fore, ma,. 1& pl_ ,01Ir Bllcelleuc:r and Ronon, our halllble .... d earaNl pta,er tbat ,oa .ould araut • for 001' protection IllCb • namber of eoldleN .. la ,oar snat wllclom .ad ratbert, oomr-eeJoa ,ou .ball dMm reqalalte ror the ,...""tion of onr eetat'" oar ll~ and oar U..... 8acb klad_ aod teader ClIO la

,.our 1I:&ce118llC7 Dd Honon ••• h"'l enl' .Ith IllMere ptl&utle n­_ber, Dd ,.ovr peliliovan IbaII eYor pra,.."

This petition was signed by fifty-eigM of t.he cit.i­zenaofLunenburg and Leominster. and is dated July 8, 1748, three days after the surrender of Mr. Fitch. ~o/ .. 00 • ...,.,.,.... QII-. ...... ~ 0/ r..-h.., .

"Thl bumbl.l'Omoutranoe of th. oommlolloned oll""n.ud the Bel_ Ilea of LVD8abal'l ah.wetb that oa th.lIftla dq of thla I~t, Joly, thl lo.m, ~ alUl ~,ed oae_of tbe ou_ prrImDl of tbe tnwa al'o.-ld, killed two IOIdlen "ad capta ..... "Camll" ooDlIa&IDl of a maa, bla .Ife .nd II .. chlldreD, "ud that oa th •• .,eath dq of the month the, dl8eoftred tb .... I_ la a bold, 101Uitioi manDer three mil .. I'llrthor lato thl to.a than lb. prrl80u .bleb lbe, MIl doetro,ed, wbea the, eb ..... and eliot at ODe of tbe lub"blteDII wbo narrowl, """"""" thall' handI, lIIuce wbleb .. e ba .. bad aadoobted ..... of their belal amoDl DL Se.,erat of the prrImDl ballt b,. ordor of th. paeraJ cour t are alr.d;r ..... rted for _at of belp, .ad _ .. ral more prrlmu of equal Imporl&ll .... that _re ballt "t tbe eOIt "vd ope ..... of partlcalar n,oa,.re .... rted Ilk...... I'or tbree d",. In foarth. Jut ... k the Inbabl .... 1a ._ ..-II, ratlled b, .1"rDlI.ad borrled lato tho woodI.ftar tbe 8nem".ad th ... we b.we Jalt reuo. to ooueta ..... 111 be tbe -. \'requeall, to be called from oar buelo .... for aI_ dall, lbo .a .... ,. an beard eboollulla the woode abo.,e ue, ..... to be thUl (re-

quntl;r called from buelu ... ln lUeba I8IIOn malt bapoqr\eh .... It thl ea • ..., ahould uot dNlro, UI i aud .bat •• lreatl, resret ... ovr .n. .. .... ba.,lol. nameroDl berd of oar cattle to npport th .... I.,. with .ad teut upoa, amoal .. hleb lbe, ba.,. repeatedl,. beea heard MOO,"

101, from .bleb we oonclude that tbere ma:r be 1_ e\aolhter .moDI oar cattle.

" ED .... a R ... 'I'wlILL, JOIIUIUII WILLA"', Joel .. R DoD08,

J .. 008 GoVLD. BIIJU. BELLO ...

} Commlollolled o/IIcere.

JON no ... ButIII'I'IIaII'I', } BIUIJ.OooO&IOII, Beleetmea of JOIIII GUIlT, Lon.nbuJ'l. DDJ.hnU.

" JvJ:r Utb, 1"148."

After the Indian ware were ended. and the war be­tween Great Britain and France was closed by treaty, the I18ttlen in the frontier towns of the Province gave their at.tention particularly to religious matten, among which WII8 the nearest and best way to attend public worship. The language in the charten of moat all th., toWDS in regard to, territory, without fix­iDg the boundaries. expreaaly gives the grantees an area II not exceeding six miles square j,II but in lOme way when the surveyors and ItDOTn chairmen, tUtentkd by i1iUFuted partia. finished their work and submit­ted the plan, their lines inclosed, in many in8tances more than one-third more acres than were granted. This was the case with Lunenburg. chartered in 1728, and with Townsend, chartered in 1782. The distance from LuneDburg meeting-house to its western .bound­ary was about eight and one-half miles. The dis­tance from the meeting-house in Townsend to Ash­burnlwll line was about eight milee. From A..D.

1750 to 1765 the number of inhabitants living in the territory which is now comprised within the limits of Ashby increased considerably. The people of Town­lend had l.,cated more in t.heir western border. The excellent land in the northwestern part of Lunen­burg wa .. settled with neighbors at convenient dis­tance. The northeast part of Ashburnham, contain­ing aD industrions colony of Germane, was only •

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310 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Ibort distance from the present Common in Ashby. All these people were ansioul to have a town of their own and an easy distance to a meeting·boule. Until 1764 the territory included within the present townl of TOWDlelid, Lunenburg, Ashburnham, Fitchburg and Ashby wu embraced by th.. three toWDe fll'llt named. In 1764 Fitchburg was set off from Lunen­burg, and at that tim4 Included the southern part of Ashby. In 17M Ashburnham was incorporated with­out changing any town linea.

On the 6th day of March, 1767, the town of Ashby was incorporated from the weet part of Townlend, the north part of Fitchburg and .bout twelve hun­dred acrea taken from the northealt part of Aahburn­ham. It will thus appear that John Fitch and hia neighbors, living, in 1763, in the lOuthem part of Alhby, were citlzena or Lunenburg; in 1764 they were in Fitchburg; and 1767 they were in AlIhby. In the brief apace of three yean, without changing their domicile, they were voten in three different towns and attended town-meetings in each oCthem.

The petition tor the incorporation of Ashby w .. before the General Court for more than two yearl be­fore it was acted upon. Neither Towneend nor Fitch­burg objected to giving up tbe portions of their ter­ritory uked for by the petitioners. but Alhburnham became much exclled, because 10 many of ita citizenl (owning 10 much territory in that township were anx­ioua to join in making up Ashby. There wereseveral town·meet.ings called on thia lubject and the record of one of them containl the namea of the remon­Itrance of .ixteen of the voten againlt granting the petition. After the matter was fully explained to tbe General Court, only about one-fourth part of the proposed area was levered from Ashburnham. Jamea Locke, Jr., of Townsend, John Fitch, of Fitchburg, and Jacob Bchoif, of Ashburnham, conltituted the committee which appeared before the General Court in behalf of the petilionen. They were in attend­ance at the Court IOmelimee collectively,80metimea lingly, at different timee, and within a few monthl after the creation of the town an amount of money waa voted to pay their espenlel.

There haa been only one alteration in the bound· ar'[ lillea of Ashby aince itl creation. There was, however, a IUgbt alteration in the line between Fitch. burg and Asbby, made by the General Court, March 3, 1829. Some of the citizenl In the northeast part of Alhburnham, in 1791, who did not IUcceed in being annexed to Albby in 1767, remembering their dlaap­pointment for twenty· live yean, and not being in full sympathy with a majority of the town in matters of religion, were determined to make another effort to get away from that town. When a new meeting-honae was propoeed at that. time the deaire to leave was much greater. They gave Ashby to understand that they wanted to be annexed to that town. Alhby, with much promptnel8." Voted to receive uaac Whitney, James Pollard, Jamee Bennett, Joseph Damon, Jeremiah Ab-

bott, John Hall, Daniel Brown, John Abbott, AmOll Brooke, John Shattuck and others, with their land., together with the non-reeident land within the bounds of a plan that they ahall eshibit to the town if they can be legally annued to thia town." Thil movement caUled a Iharp controveny among the cit­izenl of Alhburnham, more bitter, if JKI8Iible, both in and out of eeveral town-meetings, than that of 1767. The dilpute was carried to the lAgialature, where two or the mOllt influential men of the town, with Jacob Willard, who w.. Lhe Representative, made an earneet effort againlt the measure, but the petilionerl accomplilhed tbeir object and the act WAI

puaed November 16, 1792. The act in part ia a. (ollowl:

"Be 1& I_ted "7th .......... B_ 0' ...... D .. II •• IDO •• • enl coan _b1 ........ "7 Ib, .uthorll7 of th ...... tha, lob. AIt-hott, J ... BeDDett, Jam. PoIJard, JobD 8battucIr,J-..b Da .. o., 1_ W"lhle7, J_lah A"boU. JO"D B .. I, A_ BnIoIre .... DaDI.1 BraWD. with their .... 111 ...... -a.. aDd .... the ..... _ .... ed wlthlD lb. MIowIDI liD" (.,....,&IDI the laDdl .ow ow ... ..,. n •• tJ B.II) to wl&: _DDI.,a' the aon .. _ COI'IIer of A ... ".n .... U tbe II ... bel_. the _ of ._ .. _"' .... )f.w Ba ..... I.., aDd rDD' DIDI WMerl7 ..,. .... with IUd ..... liD. ao& poIaa to t ....... of J ..... SpauldlDI; th_ rDDDIDI _therl7 I. a IInI,., II •• ..,. .....

. of .... 8pauldlq141i pol .. to laud of Capt. 10"D )loor. T .... OI nD· .IDI _therl7 I ....... 'hl Hul'1O pol. to ARb7 liD •• t. _Ir. aDd 1toD8I; th.Doe rDDDl., b7 ARb7 II •• T5I poIaa to tlla _r of A ... • bumb_ lIIIIl ••• Uo_ .... aDd ".relIJ' a.., etc."

By thil escllion from Ashbumham Aahbyacqulred about lix hundred acrel of land and fifty inhabitantl. The language of the grant ia quoted here to aCcount for lOme anglee in the town-line not mentioned in the report of the I\electmen of both townl, dated October 16,1793, when the line wal eetabliahed. Thi. line w .. not made according to the grant, but according to the needle of Matthiu MOIIeman, who was the lur­veyor.

As before atatell, Fitchburg wu willing that John Fitch and othen living in that part of Fitchburg which is now in Ashby ahould be let off into a town or pariah. In September, 1764. Fitchburg .. voted that two milee on the weeterly line of thia town, be­ginning at the north welt comer, and half a mile on the easterly Une, beginning at the northeast comer on TowDl8nd line, then running a Itraight line from one diatance to the other, be se .. off to Mr. John Fitch and

. othen in order to make a town or pariah among them­selvee." Mr. Fitch was popular in Fitchburg, having been first on t6e committee which 1''' active in get· tiog the charter of t.he town. Three yean after tbia Ashby entered the alsterhood of town I. The act of incorporation empowered Jamee Prescott, Eaq., of Groton, to call the meeting for the municipal organi­zation of the town, and he drew hia warrant, dated March 23d, directed to John Bates, requiring him, "in hia Majeaty'l name," to notify and wam the inhabit­anti of Aahby qualified to vote in town affain to AI­

.emble at the hoUle of Peter Lawrence .. aU nine o'clock in the forenoon." The hOIl.. where thil meeting wal held WIUI burned. It Ilood on the foun­dation where a cottage·hoUle now ataDdl on the south-

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ASHBY. 311

erly aide of the main atreet running through the central village, and about one-tbird of a mile weal.erly of the Fitch Monument. Peter Lawrence was th.., IOn of Jonathan Lawrence and Tryphena Powen, born in TowDlend October 14,1742, died in Aahby October 21, 1798. Hia house waa probably bum jlllt before hia marriage, of which there ia no record, but his fint child W&I bom May 26, 1766.

The aecond meeting of the town, and the fint under ita own organization, waa held at the hOIll8 of Jonaa Barrett. From the proceedlnga at thi, time it appeara that the houae of Petei' Lawrence waa fixed upon aa the place where their civil and religlolll meetinga were to be held. Twenty pounda were appropriated " to hire preaching" and a committee choBen to ex­pend the lame. Meaaur. were al80 taken to aecure a auitable place to bury the dead. The fint valuation waa made in 1768, which giv. the namea of forty­three of the fat hen of the town, with the account of their eatatea. Like other people in a newly-aettled town, they were poor in thia world;a gooda but rich in all the elements of manhood and patrioUam which came down from the pilgrima of 1620.

Before the town ha4 paaaed one year oC ita munici­pal exiatence, Lieutenant AmOi Whitney, of Town­Bend, waa chosen a delagate to a conv':'tlon called by the inhabitanta of Boeton, to diacUII the critical con­dition of the Coloni. in relation to Great Britain, and the .eleetmen were inatructed to communicate to him the aentimenta of the town, which were aa followa: "AI there ia a prOlpect of aome of Bia M.veat.y'B troopa arriving in thia Province, we judge it. may be ofimportanCf', if they Bhould arrive, that proper meas­urea be taken that their order may be diacovered before they are aufl'ered to land, and the province re-

o ceive notice of the lame: and if, upon diacovery of t.he lame, they appear to be manif.t infringements of the nat.ural righta of t.he people, or upon our Oharter Rights,.oC this Province in particular, that. all proper and prudent meaaurea may be taken to defend and aeeure the Province."

For the next Cew yeal'l the efl'orts of the cUizena of Ashby were mainly directed to aecuring a place of public :wonhip. In. March, 1769, the town voted to build a meeting-houae and decided on ita dimenaiona, but. it waa more than two yeara after that before the frame waa covered and the floor lail{ ao that a town­meeting could be held within its walla.

In t.he mont.h oC March, 1772, the arrangement for finishing the pewa on t.he lower floor or the hOUBe and building a pulpit waa completed and the work done. In 1774 the honae, except finishing the pew ground in the gallery, waa conaidered by those who were to occupy it aa finiahed: and although it was not an elegant atructure, only a mere ahell where two or three hundred people could be aeated, it undoubt­edly held wit.hin ita walis aa aincere wonhipers aa were the contemporariea or David who exclaimed, .. How amil&bl~ are thy tabernaclea,O Lord oC H'!8ta."

The town recorda are ailent In regard to the dedica­tion of t.hla building: neither ia t.he date given when it waa opened for religiona aemC81. J nne'4, 1772, by vote oC the town, was obse"ed aa a day of faating and prayer. Five ministers Crom the neighboring towna were invited to be preaent, and it may be that it. waa dedicated at that time.. The first money ap­propriated for achoola waa in 1778, when four" aquad­rona" (diatricts) were formed, each of which waa to draw ita portion oC what. it. pald from the eight pounda &88eaaed for that purpoae. The aame year the town appropriated thirty pouuda to BUpport preaching.

AI the town recorda come down nearer to the opening of the Revolutionary War we find the opin­iona oC t.he citizena of Aahby, entered on theae recorda more bold and outapoken. When the cit.izena of Boeton reaolved t.hat th'3 tea of the Eut India Com­panyahollid be Bent back to the place from whence it ciune, their action wu quickly reaponded to by the citizena of Ashby, and the meaaage went back "That it ia the opinion of thia town that the proceedinga of the town of Boston at. their meeting in November laat respecting t.he Eaat India Company'a tea imported to, and intended for aale in America, ia agreeable to reaaon and the natural right.a oC this freo people, and the Bame appears to have been neceBll&l'1 at t.hat time." July 11, 1773, the town ordered the selectmen to ofl'er to all persona in town for their aignature the .. Solemn League or Covenant, to alllpend all commer­cial intercourse with the mother country, and neit.her purchaae nor couaume any merchandise imported from Great Britain, "ner the lut day oC Augnat," and the selectmen were inatructed to act aa a Committee of Inapaction to see that. the covenant was fully ob­aerved. October 4,1774, Oaptain Samuel Stone waa ch08ell to repreaent. the town in the Provincial Con­greaa, which met at CoIlCOrd and adjourned to Cam­bridge. In the warrant for thia meeting Hia M.vn­ty'a name waa omitted and the call waa made" By Virtue oC our Charter Right.a," thul ignoring the royal prerogativea and taking t.he fint atep towards independence. .

On the 13th oC October t.he Provincial Congr818 advised the ae\'eral conatables and collectora through­out. t.he provinctl, having money in their p088etBion, payable to the order of Harriaon Gray, to retain t.he same: on the 28th Henry Gardner, of Stow, waa· named aa treaaurer and receiver by the Congreu. Deceinber 29th the town inatructed the conatables to pay the amount. in their handa to Henry Gardner, and that hia receipt ahould diacharge them Crom any obligation to the town. June 16, 1774, the town " voted to inatruct the aeIectmen to procure thirty hogaheada oC aalt for. the llIe of the town." Their Btock of ammunition and arm8 wu alao repleniahed, and when the criaia came they were able to lend to their neighbors. Febrnary 24, 1776, in accordance wit.h the recommendation of t.he Continental Con­greBB, the Solemu Leagne.and ~venantw~diaaolved

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312 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACIlUS1l.'T.l'S.

and thereaolution pall8edSeptember 80th in respect to the impprtation and exportation of any goods from or to any of the ports of Great Britain was adopted, and a Committee of Inspection choaen.

1'he 19th of April, the day on which the troops of Great Britain and her Colonies first came in hOBtile collision, had dawned. The British troops reached {'..oncord at eenn o'clock A.M., and the .. Alarm ., which aroulll'd tbe Ashby minute-men was fired at llbout nine o'clock. There are good reasons for the belief that the II Alarm" WIUl fired in front of Lieu­tenant Jonas Batrett's houle. He was an inn-holder and the second in command of the "minute-men" who Juust have had fome rendezvous for their arm. and equipments. lI'hich were kept in readiness for instantaction. Within a short time this company of forty-six men, under the commarld of Captain Samuel SLOne, shouldered their muskets and burried on towards tbe 1IC6ne of action. Before tbe Ashby men had reached Concord, tbe enemy hurried back and bad arrived at thl'ir quarters by the tlde-watl'r.

"A mlllter Roll ot tb. mlDate com.-n1 and.r the com..-d of Cap. teln s.ma~ISlone ID Colonel William P..-ott·, regl .... at enlllt~ April 19. 1'176: Ilolmael IItone. Captain; JoUM Darrelt, J'lnt Lleut'DaDt; ,,11IIft Denll~tI, 8etoDd Llenlonlat; AblJah W,I11&a, llarpeot; lJfnJ .. OdD S.-uldlolo tlII .... nt; I.ac Brooa, Sa ...... nt; ADlai WbOlI.r, ...... nt; Epbrelm 011JlOa, Corporal; Potter Lawrence, Corporel; 11'1111_ Flag. Corporal; Jobn M ...... Corporel; Samaol Slone, Jr .. ),Iter; Tlmotb, 81one, Drummer.

.. Boldltr.......r_pb ])ay", Calob NnlW, Balmon Dutton. OUyer WrI,bt. Jam .. S.-uldlnlo J_pb Ooodrlcb, Natban ])ayl .. TbOlllal DIII,,"a, BeOJllUlD Ne.,,"n. Jonatball Darrelt, Benjamin Darrett, Bam· ael WIRcb, 0flIrp Newell, Jobn Lawftnce, Walden StoI ... Stephen Patcb. ~nJamln Hudllnan. !fall.... lIotrroa, JOlla.. Darrou, Jacob Wb .. ler. Ellal •• ])ayl .. Thade. Smltb, 1_ St_11II, J_pb Wb .. ler. "lIllam Walker, JODatuo DabJ, Solomon COI ..... n. JODalhaa Glbaoa, Jonathln 8tolle, J ..... Joa ... JODa .... n Lawftnce, Jr .. Joba Slone, John Wh .. ler."

The time of eervice of these men was Bhort, vary­ing from five to thirty days. I~ieutenant Barrett Berved forty-four daYB. They were paid the usual WageB and for one hundred miles travel. April 20th the militia, under command of Captain John Jones. enlisted and hurried on to join the Provincial forces in the field.

")falter Boll ot Aahb,men In COloae\ Ja_ ~tl'a Reglm.nt of m 1111. who marcbed oa tbe 201" of April. 1776: Jol.a Jon~ Captain; Btol,ben G1lJ1Oa. "Im Lieu .. ; Junatban Locke, Socond Lieut.; l1li"'011 )larch. SO .... nt; J_ph Walker. Se ...... nt; DenjlmlD Walker. Ber.

, .. nt; Abn .... m Oat ... B .... b ..

"&'4 ... -J_pb Wb .... r. Bamma Hildreth, Benjamin Hud ....... Jacob UpkID. Dayld Locke, Tlmoth, be_a, Ala Walker, Samuel ),lelCher. Ala S~. Kuru Wilder. JIICOb Law", '- G......,.. Bam­"el Uu_nl, Ira Denaett, John DuDeDlOrP. John G1baoa, J_pb Der ... r. 811u Drowa, John F.-tor. JODatun F_r. Jacob Dunoa, Joba Bead, J_pb Damou, Auoll Col_a."

This company remained in and around Cambridge and Charles&own till April 29th, wbeD ita members were paid for Beven daYB' Bervic.e and for one hundred mile.' travel. These two rolls are copied from Vol­umes XIII. and XIV. in the State archives, which are indexed, " Milit:uy Rolls, Lexington Alarm."

The Provincial Congreaa, considering the nece.tBity of a stronger military force, on the 23d of April re-

solved to raise 18,000 troops from Mauachueet.ts, and in order to promote enlistments 81 fWlt as possible, those who railled companies or regiments were prom­ised com missionB. Under thiB arrangement Abijah Wyman, who waa first Bergeant in the company of "minute-men," raised a company, twenty· four membens of which were Ashby men, eight were from Captain Stone'. company and four from Captain Jones'. Second Lieutenant Thomas Cuminga and ten men were from Westford and others were gath­ered from dilf"rent places. Firat Lieutenant Isaac Brown WIIB .one of the selectmen at that time. He was wounded at. the baltle of Dunker Bill. John Gibaon, of Fitchburg, and CWW' Bason (colored), of Westford, were killed. AmOB Wheeler. of ABbby, wa wounded and died on the 2111t of June. Benja­min Bigelow, of Ashby, and Oliver StevenB,'ofTown­send, were taken priBoners and died in the handB of the enemy. Ezekiel Bigelow was aeverely wounded. John Meede fell on that day.

Forty-three or the citizenB of Ashby participated in the siege of Boston and the organization of the little army of Washington. Seven of her townamen joined in the terribie campaign in Canada and pUled through priva~iollB and sufferings almost unparalleled in modern warfare. Tbey probably marcbed with Arnold tbrough tbe wilderness of Maine, for lieu­tenant Brown Btates in hiB return, made October 8d, that John Campbell was detached frtlm the company September 7tb, and given a command in Quebec.

At a town-meeting held on the 1Bt day of July, 1776, " Voted, That if the Honorable Coogreaa, fllr the Bafety of the Colonies, ahoold declare them independ­ent of the Kingdom of Great Britain, the inhabitants of ABhby willllOlemnly engage with their lives and fortunes to BUpport them in that~eaBure."

On the 24th of July, 1776, fourteen men enliBted for five montha, and Berved at or near Ticonderoga, and Ezekiel Bigelow and William Walker were killed in thiB campaign. At about tbe Nme time three men enlisted for three months and Berved at or around Boston.

In September, 1776, eight men joined" Company No.7," conabiting of sixty men from Townl!end, Pep­perell, Ashby and Groton, in a regiment organized by Brigadier·General Oliver Prescott, of Groton, with Cap­tain Thomas Warren, of Towneend, who were on duty at Nllw York. In December seven more enlisted for three monthB and eerved at the same place. In some one, of the engagementB occurring there Simon Patch was wounded, and died on hiB way home. AuguBt 2, 1777, five men were drafted to Berve three months at .. be westward, and on the 14th of the same month, by an additional draB, five more were required to report for duty ror three months at or near Bennington. On the 80th of September, 1777, in compliance with an order from General PreacoU, Beven teen men were detached from the militia company, to serve for thirty daYB alLer they arrived at the camp of General Gatea,

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ASHBY. 313 ----------------------------_._--and marched the nut morning. ThiR company, con­sisting partly of volunteers, contained six~y·six men, rank and file-James Hosley, of Townsend, cap~in; Aaa Kendall, of Ashby, first lieutenant. In thfl rllll may be found th~ names of "Privates William Prescott, EiCJ., formerly Colonel; Henry Woods, :&!q., formerly Major; Samuel Stone, Major in the militia." When veterans like these join the ranks, no wonder that the over-confident Burgoyne was com· pelled to surrender.

The year 1778 opened with a call for eight men to perform guard duty at. Cambridge, who were prompt­ly furnished. May 18th three men enlisted for nine months in the Continental Army. October 29th be men were detached from the milit.ia and ordered to the frontier, distan~ ISO miles. In addition to these oft-repeated calls the town was rrquired to fill her quota or'three Y8&."8' men for the Continen~l Army. From this record of enlistments it must be evident that Ashby made every poaaible effort to redeem the solemn pledge made July 1,1776.

The first town war-rate made in 1778 to cover its liabilities was £1245'148. 7d., but this sum not being sufficient to meet ita obligations, the. people were obliged to tax themselves the second time, in the same year, to the amount. of £934. The town was re­quired, by the General Court, to furnillh 'many arti­cles of clothing, shoes and blankets for soldiers dur­ing the war, which it found difficult to procure, but which were vigorously exacted by thoee in authority. Here is a receipt for some things sent:

II eoRooa., October 18 l()11o, 1'1.,8,

"Th •• reeel.ec1 from Hr. A. Walker, one ofU" eelectnlftl of AahbJ, fourlefon pnln of ,boaB, fourteen J1aIn of Itocklnp, &.en&7·el,h& oW.., ...... w. &0 &he neoI •• 01 &h. General Court of the .,0. of June bill&.

"J_B n_ ... agen& for JUcldl-."

It appears from the town record of August 1,1776, that one man was suspected of being a Tory, but as nothing III recorded further concerning this matter, the Ilfesumptlon Is that he uncovered before the aa­sembled dignity of the town and made .atisfactory apologies. Article Va 1M tDCJf't"a1It .. II To see if the town will tde under consIderation the case of Oliver Blood concerning toryism, together with the proceed­ings of the committee of safety!' Twelve of t.he citi­zens of Ashby were in sympathy wi~h the ill-advised and irrational revolt known as the Shay's Rebellion. Moat of them were good soldiers in the long War of the Revolution, and all of them were much-respected townsmen. The toWD recorda show tbat they all. at different times (from 1787 to 1791), appeared before some magistrate or the town clerk and .. took the oath of allegiance and delivered up their arms." From the fact that BOme of them took the oath before Oliver Prescott, Esq., of Groton, it may be presumed that they were In Job Shattuck's company. Na.mes of these men: William Stacey, George Darricott, Earl Stone, Benjamin Barrett, ·Jr., Elijah Houghton, Jr., Isaac Grt'gc;ry, Stephen Patch, Chari. Lawrence,

Jonas Barrett, John Lawrence. Benjamin Adams and Eleazer Shattuck. It may be well to allude to some of the caUII88 which induced some of the men of Maaaachusetta to enter upon· an open and armed re­volt agaiDst their government. After the declaration of peace, in 1783. a general stagnat.ion of business ensned. The united Colonies owed a, debt of about t40,OOO,OOO, without any means of paying it. Cfln­gress, under the confllCieration, had power only to ad­vise the Colonies to adopt cer~in measures to meet the wanta olthe times. No uniform system could be agreed upon to pay this debt or even the interest ac­cruing upon it. The whole body of the people be­came alarmed and. all confidence was destroyed. Even the certificates of the public indebtedneBB lost. their credit with the people, and many of the officers and soldiers of the late army, who were poor, were obliged to sell these certificate. at greatly reduced ratea. These soldiers naturally hoped aDd expected that if they could gain their independence and a government of their own be es~blished, that pllblic and private prosperity would· cer~inly follow and everything move on pleaaantly. In this they were greatly disappointed. 1'he war had stopped the in­troduction nf gold and silver money into the Colonies, and paper money was worth only about two shillings on the pound. There was no busineaa, no way for the people to earn any money, and money~lenders were in a panic and commen.ced p,pits against all who were indebted to them. This state of affairs afforded a rich harvest for the sherifti and lawyers. Never were the aerviCls of the lawyers in greater demand or the courts filled with so much busineaa. The pa­tience of the people was entirely uhausted on seeing their property seized on uecutions iaauing from thesf courts. They knew not the origin of the evils, but auppoeed that there WBII some defect in thelawa-that there were too many or not enough. A lawyer on one "Ide and a sherifi' on the other, with poverty in front s~ring a man in the face. will cause him some­times to r8l0rt to desperate measures to utricate himself. Under these circumstances a large number in Worcester County and from tbe towns of Groton, Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend participated in what was known as the "Shay's Inaurrection." From this it will be understood why such men as Jonas Barrett, Dsacon John Lawrence and otbers were obliged to take .. the oath of allegiance and deliver up their arms."

After· the inauguration of Washington, in 1789, Ashby gave strict attention to the improvement of the condition of the schools. The militia was as well organized tben as before the war, and there was much interest taken in its general good appearance at the fan musters. In 1797 the town chose a com­mittee and instructed them .. to procure two horses and a wsgon, to bEl under Captain Kendall's direction, to go to Concord; also to provide. at tlteir own dis­cretion (to be paid for by the town), bread, meat and

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314 HISTORY, OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

cider; al80 one pint of rum per man, for all the mili­tia, both foot and troop, who were obliged to muster at Concord on the 26th of September, inltant."

CHAPTER XVII.

MECHANICAL INDUSTRIES.

TUB numeroua aeata of power along tbe COU1'll88 of the brooka, with their precipitQua banka, invited the people to leave the cultivation of the eoil, and tem­porarily to eDgage in mechanical PUI'IIUUI. There are twenty-three mill-aites in Alhby, where the water at lome time previoul hu been or il now utilized to drive machinery. Some of the primitive milla were limpleill the extreme, having only an "up-and-down" aw, which, with Ilow progft!ll", cut out boarda,joista and timber tor building purpoaea. These, however, were absolutely neceaaary for the progress of the aettlement. Not many of tbeae have contributed much towards the wealth of the town, being in ·U88 only a part of each year, and through neglect they were at an early date allowed to fall to the ground. There hu been po effort made te partiCUlarize all the milll and miU-aeata in town. The fil'llt griRt­mill wu built about 1760, by Jamea Locke, and it atood a ahort distance below the bridge, over the Locke Brook, in the road from Greenville, N. H., to Fitchburg. Thia mill wu burned (date unknown), and one of the run of the atonea wu broken i,n the tire and remaina on the lpot at the present time. One of the lubstantlal contributions, coming from Aahburnham, at the incorporation of Alhby, wu a mill, atanding on the brook which comea from Ward Pond, litll&ted on tbe 80uthweat aide of the road lead­ing from the weat cemetery to New Ipswich. Thia mill wu built by HOI88 FOiter, Jr., and Zimri Hay­ward in 1766, and it wu naed in varloua indua­tries tor more than a century. During ita existence it wu eularged, repaired aud ntilized for grinding, sawing, threllbing and driving lathea for the manufac­ture ot tuba and paila. Some ot the owners, aince the Germana were proprietors, were Richard Richard­IOn, Calvin and Newton Wood, Lewis Whitney (made chairs), Cushing Burr, Joel Balcom, Alvah Stacey, F. W. Wright and Abram M. White. Joel Balcom wu killed in this mill by a circular aaw April 26, ] 845. A part ot the old atone dam and a neglect­ed building, once a paint-ahop, are all that remind ua of the days ot yore.

The next. mill above, on this young Souh~, which hu had many proprietors, is occupied by S. M. Buxton, who uaea modem machinery for sawing aU kinds of building lumber. Mr. Buxton alao makea a large amount ot cider, his customers not havin~ the

tear ot the prohibitioniata before their eyes coming from all direction.. A abort distance' above thia ia another mill owned by Mr. Adriel JeRs, which at preaent ia not uaed. The next mill up stream, litu­ated near tbe town· line, is owned by Mr. Levi E. Flint. Thla is a large and commodioua building, and is used in the manufacture ot boards and shingles, and atock for making tuba and paUa. ,AU the appli­ances her~ for this buaineaa, are flrat-clua 80 far aa room, power and machinery are concerned. A set of tub and pail lathes have recently been put into thia mill. On a brook, which is an aftluent of the Sou­hegan, draining the eaaterly alope of the Watatic, and ita aurroundinl", fa a mill that waa built at an early date at the aide of the New Ipswich road. Here is a atrong atone dam holding in ita grip a nice little privilege, and the mill, owned by Mr. Ala Holt, is in lair condition conlidering iea age. Be8idea he­ing usedaa a .. w·mill it hu been a chair factory, and Colonel George Waters uaed it for a atarch factoryaa long u that buaineaa wu remunerative. At preaent there i. no bqaineaa done here. There wu a law-mill on Trap Falla brook, called" the Ralph Hill mill," near where Perley Galea died, before the town wu incorporated.

About 180' Ramuel Whitney and Asa Wright built a aaw-mill on Willard'a Stream, situated just below the bridge next below the Sheldon bridge. This mm waa carried away in 1866 by the breaking of the reaervoir dam. Before 1791 Captain Abljah Wyman built a saw-mill on Willard'a Stream, a Ihort distance above the Sheldon bridge, which hu bMn gone for a long time, but a part of the atone foun­dation and mud-am atill remain to mark the location. On the next mill-aite above this, a mill wu burned, in which Benjamin D. Lawrence, William Lawrence and Martin Allen, in 1881, m&l\e the first tubs and paila which were made in HU88Chu88tta, which were turn­ed in a lat.he. James O. Kendall in 1846 built the mill now atanding here, which II uaed in aawing, turning and planing, owned Hr. Harry Wilder.

The next mill above thia il the tub and pall factory of Alonzo A. Carr. Thia millalao wu b'uilt by James O. Kendall in 1847. It wu used for a saw-miJ) till 1863, when Abram M. White bought it and put in tub and pail lathes, and from that time to the pretent it hu been med In this manufacture. Thia factory bu always been a IOUNe of wealth ~ ita owners. Mr. Carr employa from twelve to flfteen men and hia annual sales amount to about twenty-five thouand dollars. About 1780 Benjamin Lawrence built a griat-mill which atood about one hundred feet below where the present griat-mill at the South Village now atandl, which. wu in existence till about tbe begin­ning ot the preaent century, when Ephraim Hayward bought it, tore it down, and built tbe mill now in operation. Thil property bu p8l88d tbrough tbe hands of 88veral owners. Jllseph Kendall, father of Jamea O. Kendall, who owned it lOOn after it wu

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ASHBY. 315

built, probably had the largee' amount of cUltom in grinding the. ceftall which were raised in Ashby, at a time wheD a part of the graiD was taken in paymeDt for· grinding. The pr8&lent proprietor, William O. LovelaDd, il doing conliderable bUlinell in griDding Weetern corn and in the sale of grain and meal. With tbe Dew road JUI' finished and the improve­mentslately made in the law-mlll, tbil NtabUlhment mUlt be a lOarce of profit to the owner. In the lOuth­east corner of tbe towD, on the Pearl Hill Brook, and near the Fitchburg line, Daniel Waft baa a laW­mill which il run a part of each year in the manuf.ac­ture of that kind of coopering ltock wbicb il worked by hand. Two mills, on thil brook, one above Ware's mill and tbe other below, called "tbe Lord mill," bave gone down. The lArd mill was made for wool-carding, cloth-dreaalng and coloring, by a man by tbe Dame of Holt, from Fitcbburg,in 1827 or 1828. It was not used mucb for lack of proper management. In 1810, Joseph Kendall built the antique-looking mill which il· situated a sbort diltance above the Carr tab and pail factOry. He put ID macbinery for carding wool" fulling, coloring and dreealng tbe woolen cloth which tbe farmers' wlvee and daugbten SpUD and wove by hand. Thil mill was rented for this bUliness to Paul Gerrish for a term of yean, wbo, after the expiration 01 hll lease, located in the lame bUlin8118 at Townsend Harbor. It was oC great benellt to Ashby and tbe adjoining town. all along till the spinning jenny and "the power loom" took the places of the "patent-bead" and the hand loom of Ie the mothers." Austin Hayward is tbe preeent owner, wbo does IOmething in this line of wool-card­iug for the few who can spin or knit.

Jabea Lawrence,in 1824. bailt a mill for the man­ufacturing ofatareb, which was situated on tbe road from Lunenburg to Ashburnham, on Willard',. Stream 18118 than a mile below the reservoir. The manufac­ture of potato starch at that time 'was a very profita­ble busine88. Potatoes were easily raised in this vicinity then i the farmers had large billee abd .tal­wart bo)'ll capable of doing good work.

Samuel Abbot, an educated man. of Wilton. N. H •• originated the idea of making starch out of thie pro­duct of the lOil; In 1811, Ezra Abbot, brother of Bamuel, erected a baUding aboat twenty feet square, the lower story for a horse to tam a sbaft connected io the second story with machinery for washing and grating the potatoes. and alao having an apparatus for cleanalng and dl')'ing the starch. The building and its contents did Dot COIIt lix hundred dollars. Moutha passed before the machinery was all iu, du­riog which time there was much wODderm~nt in the neighborhood conceming what was to be done beret as Abbot kept hil OWD counlel, and Dever gave &DY­tbing but evasive answers to the queetioDl of the curious. The fint year of bis experience iD this in­dustry Ihowed a manufacture of 6000 poundl of ltarch. at the rate of eight pounda of ltarch to each

bUlhel of potatoee. For a market be made repeated visits to tbe cities on the tidewater, lelling lome and leaving lOme to be IOld OD commluion. He IOld at eight centll a pound, and traden often put the price as high as twenty centl a pound. It was used iD famiJies for making puddings, and otberwieej and was recommended by druggilts as a delicate food for InvaUcla. Boon after the practicability and profitable­n888 of thie bUlineaa wal learned, theee two brothen entered largely into this manufacture. Farmers found a ready market for their "loDg red •• •• and there was lOme rivalry among them as to who could ralae the largNt crop for tbe Abbot.l. The price of pota­toee, at that time, varied from fourteeD to twenty­three cents a bUlhel, according all the SeNlOb was favorable or unfavorable for the productioD of tbe crop. About tbis time a lltarcb-mill was established in Muon. and anotber in New Ipswich, aDd anotber in Jatl'rey, owned by the Abbots. The IUCCeM of the Abbots. presumably, was the incentive which caused Jabez LawrehC8 to build hie factory for this work in .Ashby. Tbe building was large and coDvenient, and the power lumcient to do tbe amount of work re­quired, but the buain818 did bot prove to be M profit­able u was exPflCted, and it was not used In this maD­ufacture for many years. It was afterward converttd into a 8&8h and blind factory. and run in thie busibe .. til 1840, wben it was burned.

In 1858 fivemill-ownere-J'ohn Burr. Joseph Foster, Hiram Aldricb, James O. Kendall and Abram M. Wbite--built tbe reservoir dam and adjusted the dam­age done to the ownen of tbe land wbich the dam caused to be covered with water. On the 11th of April, 1856, this dam broke away, and the valley be­low was flooded, and considerable damage was done. There was a beavy raiDfall for nearly thirty bours before the accident occurred; and when the cloudll lifted, a brisk wind from tbe southw ... t let in, sweep­ing acroaa the pond and driving the waves agaiDlt the dam. Boon a small, but continuous, stream flowed over the top of tbe dam on the IOUtheast end of it. The curreDt at that point plowed deeper and deeper every moment, until the dam yielded to tbe force of the eecaping water. A mounted courier wal dis­patcbed down tbe valley to notify interellted parties of the approaching daDger. The flood dashed rapidly down the bed of the Itream iD its work of destruc­tion. The old dam which Jabez Lawrence made to obtain power for hie lltarch ~tory was Iwept away'i arriving at the grist-mill at the Bouth Village, tbe current Ipread out OD both sides of the building and washed tbe earth and ston. away clean down to the ledge, leaving the mill standing. but carrying away conliderable lumber and other property.

The first bridge below where Carr's tub and pail factorynowstaDds was washed away. On reaching tbe Sheldon bridge, that yielded to the mighty force of the water. Tbe mill which stood jUlt below the next. bridge down Itream, built by Lemuel Whitney

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316 IIISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

and Asa Wright, W8S suddenly lifted to the top of tbe wavea and scattered in the fury of the flood. From thla point the wrathful current went. duhing down stream on a steeper grade between two precipi­tous ba.nks, lifting great boulders from their beds and howling and seething with increased velocity till it reached the more level land in Townsend, where two or three cellars were filled with water, and from whence quite an amount of wood and lumber was carried down into Ash Swamp. The town was obliged to pay large bills for the repair of roads and bridges caused by thla wuhout. The bill for re­building the Sheldon bridge was over t450. The owners of the resenoir, not disheartened at their 1088, soon after employed James O. Kendall, one of their number, to reconstruct. the dam, which he did in a workmanlike, sub.tantial manner, completing the job in the month of the following July.

Three citizeua of Ashby-Abraham Edwards, Alex­ander T. Willard and Philander J. Willard, two brothers-were considerably noted as clock-makers. The clocks made by them were put in cues a trifte more than six feet in height, were metallic and would run for eight days without winding, their dials being nearly one foet in diameter. From 1780 to 18to- this kind of a clock was very much in use. Thla is the time­piece that dudes and people of mawkish sentimentality are 80 anxious to pOlleY. These gentlemen accumb­lated considerable wealth in this trade, as many of their clocks were made to order and the price was fixed accordingly. Mr. Edwards' place of buainess was in a building which atood on the ground on or near where Francia W. Wright, Esq., now lives. The Willards owned and occupied the premises where Lysander Willard now resides. About 1816, Cuhing Burr put in tan-vats and erected buildinga conven­ient for tanning and currying leather, which were situated a little weat of where the Poet-Office now stands. Thla gentleman and those who succeeded him in this branch of industry were successful in that trade till about 1840,'when t.he combined capital in places like Woburn and other large towns, made it impouible for those doing a smaller busin888 to place tbeir goode in the market at the prices then paid. Levi Burr and Jack80n Burr were in this business when it was discontinued. Cuahhig Burr, Jr., was interested here part of the time.

Perhaps Jonas Prescott Whitney excelled all other A.hby men in mechanical ingenuity. While working at the carpenter's trade in Boeton, he bought a small reed organ to gratify his musical taste, upon which he learned to play. On looking it over he concluded that he could make an instrument luperior to the one he had •. Soon after he moved to Ashby and com­menced organ-building in t.he hlJuse now occupied by Mi88 Clara Mansfield. He made every part of his organs: the keYI, the reeds, the bellows and stops; he made c.aea and lawed the veneering, getting hla llOwer from a wind-mill on top of hi. house. He

painted and finilhed hil instruments and tuned them 80 nicely that. they became celebrated. 80me chnrch organl made by blm 801d as high as 11600. Presum­ably he did pot. get rich in thil enterprill', but his'Bon, Andrew Whitney, who went to Fitchburg, owos about as large a part of that city as anyone man. He has followed the advice of the Avon poet:

•• .., _ thall thOll kllOWelC,

Daft mon &ball &bOil _oweR."

A half a century ago the mothers and daughters of Ashby were engaged in braiding palm-leaf hata. The traders furnished the leaf to the workers, who made it into hats and returned them to the ltores and took their pay in good". For some time hats of this kind nicely made, were worn here, but most of them found a market 80uth of Mason and Dixon'l line. In 1837. 69,989 hats of this kind were made in Aahby, valued at t7751.60, and this was about the annual average.

CHAPTER XVIII.

.4.SHB y-( OonliIlW).

EOOLUIA.STIOAL A.PFAIRS.

THREE years before the incorporation of the town the people levied a minlaterial tax upon themselves aud hired itinerant preachen, holding their meetings at private houses, generally at the residence of Peter Lawrence. Thla c6atom was continued until their meeting-houae was in a condition to accommodate them. The intemte of the town and those professing religion were one and inseparable. From these facts it will be easilYI88D that in this.doal arrangement the town held a controlling inftuence in all ita relig­ious interests. In 1771, "voted not to hire Mr. Lan­easter any more." Thi. gent.leman il the first minis­ter named in the recorda. The town was not successful in lecuring the aenicea of a pastor who pleased the people, or, if one was found whom they liked, he could not be induced to aettle with them. Before a church was organized three reverend gent.le­men had each received a formal "call" to become their pastor. One of them wu Rev. Joseph Goodhne, of Dunltable, who gave as a l'ea8On for not accepting that. he" distrusted his ability in making the town united in "pproval of hie services," Different min­isters supplied; the names of some of whom are not on record. Rev. Abraham Fowler was dilmilled 1777. That is all that Ia said of him. About thi .. time Rev. Jabez Fieber supplied the pulpit for a short time (there was a pulpit. in town then), but he did not prove a lucky" fisher of men." In 1788 a call was given to Rev. Samuel Whitman (born in Weymouth, March 1, 1761; Har. Col., 1776), which wu accepted, and he was ordained as the town'l minilter, From

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ASHBY. 317

the commencement there appean to have been a lack of unanimU,y between the church ud the town. In 1781, at their annual town-meeting, thll article wa in the warrant: .. To see if the town will pay Hr. Whitman hil salery for two Jean!' The town voted to pay him, but four of the citizenl "ordered their dia­lent to be placed on record." It wu with conaider­able difficulty that the money wa coDected to pay hi. aalary the next year.

In 1788 he wu obliged to lue the town before hil salary wal paid. Boon after thia he wu dillmiaaed. In 1784 Rev. Joaeph Langdon (Dart. Col., 1788) IUp­plied the pulpit for a abort time. and in 1786 Rev. David Hucol and Rev. -- Bailey were the preach­ers. In 1792 the name'of the prea<;her wu Gideon Dorranel. For the llext four yean they had a variety of minilten U ulual. On the 14th day of June, 1797, Rev. Corneliul Waten waa inatalled. He wa born in Sutton, Hay 6,1749; graduated from Dartmouth College 1774; married Sibyl Gardner, of Brooklyn, N. Y.; died at Aahby, July 80, 1824. He waa dia­milled February 14, 1816. having a paatorate of nine­teen yean. He wal a mu of average ability. The town voted to print hil aermon delivered on Febru­ary 22. 1800. on the death of W ubington. During the latter part of hie putorate lectarianiem and doc­trinal dill'erenCII began t& dieturb the people. Boon arter, the town utended a call to a perlOn whom the cburch would not accept, which caUied a tedioUi con­troveny. In 1818 an ez parte council wu convened which advieed tbe church to withdraw and wonhip aeparatel)' from tbe town; but it wu more than a year before a large meJorit)' of the church dnally left the town'l meeting-houle and held aenieee b)' them­lIelv8. A part of tbe people 01 the town went with the church. At that time the church had one hun­dred and ten membera, all but nine of whom leA­ooe male and eight femalea. After the aeparation in 1819, tbe churcb aod minority of the town wonhiped for more than a year in the hoUle of Fred &tabrook. From 1819 till 1886 the church wu connected with an eccleliutical IOciet)' known u the II Calvinietie CongregatioDal Society." On the 17th of April, 1886, by an act of the Legillature, it took the name of the "Orthodox Oongregat.ional Society in Aahb),." In 1820 thie loeiety built a meeting-honae located on land which at preeent il 'covered by a thrifty apple orchard at the eut lide of Charlea C. Green's houae.

For fifteen ),ean thie building wa quite well filled on the Sabbath, Dear the end of which time it wu conaidered too Imall for vestry and Sabbath-achool accommodationa, and wu aold to a number of gen­tlemen, who moved it to a lot facivg tbe east eud of the Common. ud dtted it for an academy-now Watatie Hall. Thil building ie now OWDed by tbe town. The dnt ltory ia uaed 88 a town-hoUle, the aecond for the High School and the buemeDt con­taioa the aelectmen'l room. with the archivel 01 the to1l'n. The meeting-hOuIe now ueed by the Or-

thodox 19U built in 1885, and dedicated January 1, 1886.

Under the new arrangement, after the withdrawal from the town, the tint pator waa Rev. John M. Putnam, who waa ordained ud inatalled December 18, 1820; diami .. ed December 18, 1826. Thia gen­tleman 1I'U here jUlt five yean, and he had tbe plealure of receiving fort), ... ix members into the church during tbe lecond year of bie paatorate.

oThe nut man W88 Rev. Albert Barlow Camp, born in Northfield, Vt., February 16, 1797 (Yale College, 1822, Andover 1826); ordained and inltalled January 24, 1827; diemiMed March 28, 1882.

The next paator wu Re .... Onamul Tinker, bom in Worthington November 5, 1801 (Willlami Col­lege 1827, Andover 1880), ioatalJed Juuary1,l884; died October 18. 1888.

Rev. Charln Wilkes Wood, born in Middleborough June 80, 1814 (Brown Univenity 1834, Andover 1888): inl&alled October 80, 1889 i dllmiaaed J uu­ary 7,1858.

Hr. Wood ia a well-balanced man of amiable and exemplary character, besides being a preacher who aecured the attention of hil audience by tile clea..­nell and force of hia arguments. During hil pa­torate of more than eighteen yean he was much reapected. He waa popular u a Ichool superinten­dent. He 19&1 the orator at the Aahby Centennial, September 4, 1867. At preeent be resides at Mid­dleborough.

The IUcceaaor of Mr. Wood, upon whom hil mantle fell, wa Rev. James M. Bell, born in New York City February 26, 1838 (Union College 1854, Ando­ver'1827); ordained aod installed July 21, 1858; dllmiued June 21, 1864. He 11'81 genial and pre­poI8euing in hia mannen, an excellent Icholar, al19a1l knowing what be 1I'uted to lay. and ahvaya aylng jUlt enough. He now hu a putorate at Lilbon, N. H.

Rev. Horace Parbr, who wa graduated from Amhent College in 1860 aud Itudied tbeolOKT with Rev. J. C. Webater. of Hopkinton, 11'88 ioatalled May 18, 1865; dilmiaaed April I, 1870. A corre­lpondent eayl of him: "Hr. Parker did good work here; not a great scholar, but quite original-rather blunt in bia wa)'." During hil miniltry forty-live were added to the church.

Then came Rev. James Monroe Bacon, who wa inltalled November 2. 1870. and hie labon 1I'ere closed b)' death March 6, 18i8.

Rev. George F. Walker (Amhent College 1844) , 1981 inltalled June 11,1873; dilmiaaed November 18,1875.

Rev. Azro A. Smith, a graduate from Andover. IUpplied the pulpit from Juuary 4,1877, till July 14,1878.

Rev. Frank E. HiJll, bomin Charlestown April 8, 1847 (Andover 1878). 19a ordained and inatalled November 13, 1878; dilmiaaed Hay 24, 1882. "

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•

318 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX· COUNTY, MASSACHUSETl'B.

Rev. Melvin J. Allen, bom in Cincinnatua, N. Y •• Hay 7,1862 (Amherllt 1879, Andover 1882). ordained and installed November 8,1882; dismilll!ed 1889. . From wbat hu been gathered from the recorda the inference il that religion in Ashby. among aU ita inhabitants, is a great improvement on that of one hundred, or even fifl.y yean ago. Now a man or one faith can look at another or different views without calling forth a Ihudder or a scowl from either party. HarmoDY and "good ·will" betweeD the Arminian aud the CalviDist have become lubsti­tutes for diecord and bitterDt'81. Some or the peo­ple of Ashby have been slightly initated, however, from the fact that the Orthodox putors in their church maDuals, aDd at all times, when alluding to the history of their church, have iDvariably repre­lented that their church wu tAe cAurcA which wu gathered in 1776.

It il difficult for anyone who il perfectly disinter­eated to understand it in any other way than that there wu a great dift'erence or opinion between a large part of the town and a small part of the churcb

. on ODe part, and a large majority or the church and a ImaH patt of the town on the other part; that the lut-Damed part, angered at not haviDg a controlling influence, Ieceded and eatablished a church of elleir own, and called it the "Calvinistic Congregational Church!' The decisioD or the Court at Concord, in 1822, whereby tboee who withdrew from the town's meeting-house in 1819 were compelled to retarn cer­tain property to the town and church, shows conchl­lively that the church organization was perpetuated by the Dine members and the congregatioD which worshiped with them.

In 1809 the first meeting-house, which was built in 1770, wu torD down, and a Dew one wu erected by the toWD· OD the same location. Thia is the houae DOW in DIe by the Fint Parish. Joseph Kendall and Dariua Wellington, of Aahby, did all the carpeDter'1 work OD thil· building. In 1841 the Fint Parilh re­modeled this hOllIe by making a floor acroel, on a level with the gallery floon, lupported by Itrong in­lulated pillars, thereby making a commodioua audio torium on the lecond flat, with 'a large hall below, which is ueed for Beeular, IOcial and literary purposes. The fundi for the parchase of the bell were raised by lubicription, headed by Lewis Gould, a number of gentlemen following hiB example and giviDg twenty­five dollars. In 1846 he wu a donor to the town of

. 1800, given expreaaly for the purpose of buying the , town clock, to be placed on this church, and in 1847

he contributed ,100 towards defraying the upeDle of the Fitch monument, now on the Common.

"The Congregational Church in .A.hby," with the m~ority of the town sympathizing in its behalf, aOll:­ious to secure the aervicea of a spiritual adviser, exteDded a call to Rev. Ezekiel Lysander Bascom to become their putor. He wu born in Gill, Auguat 20, 1777 (Dartmouth College, 17$); 011 the 24th of

September, 1800, he wu manied, and ordained the eame day at Phillipston, where he wu pastor of the Firat Congregational Church for tweDty yean. . He wu installed in Ashby June 2, 1821. He wu a man of acholarly attainments, a good utemporaneoul speaker, and wu highly appreciated by hiB pariBh­ionera. He retained hie relation with his people till his death, although he wu unable to perform the active dutiea of his office. He died at Fitzwilliam, N. H., April 20, 1841, and w .. buried in Ashby. Hil colleague duriDg the lut six yean of hie life wu Rev. Reuben Bates, who wu 80 much appreciated t,hat he wu choseu u hiB sUCC88llOr. Hr. Batea was hom in Concord, March 2, 1808; Harvard. College, 1829; Harvard Divinity SChool, 1882; diBmieaed Auguat 14, 1846; died December I, 1862.

On the 14th of January, 1846, Rev. William Pit­kin HuntingtoD (Harvard Oollege, 1824), wu in­stalJed and w.. diBmissed on the 20th of the fol­lowing November. Mr. Huntington wu 11Jcceeded by Rev. Theophilua Pipon Doggett, born In TanntOn, January 20,1810 (Brown UniveniLy, 1882; Harvud Divinity School, 1836); inltalled February 24, 1847; dllmW8d April 28, 1868 j died May 7, 1876. He had putoratea in Bridgewater, Ashby, Bamstable and Pembroke, where he performed p~toral duti .. for more than thirty yean. He had a ministerial anceatry. His biographer I&yl of him: "He was a faithful and devoted worker in hiB varioua fields of mini8terial service."

Rev. John Stillman Brown, born In New Ipswich, April 26, 1806 (Union College, 1884), aupplied the pulpit from April 1, 1865, till April 27, 1367, and w .. followed by Rev. Nathaniel Gage, horn in Andover July 16,1800 (Harvard College, 1822; Harvard Di­vinity School, 1827); installed June 6, 1868. He did ministerial work in Nuhua, N. H., Haverhill, Peter­sham and Westford before he came to Ashby. He was a man of attractive penonality, Dever lpoke harshly of other denomiDatioDl, and w .. much re­apeckti. AI a preacher he wu couaiderably above mediocrity. He died in office, much lamented, Hay. 7,1861.

November 1, 1861. Re\". Charlea Bugbee, who grad­uated from Headville Theological Seminary, Head· ville, Pa., 1868, wu called to lupply the place thOl made vacant, but on the 7th I)f July, 1866, he, too, p ... ed over "the peaceful river," leavin, IOrrowfnl friends behind •

Rev. William TaU Phelan, a graduate from Head­ville Theological Seminary, 1862,luppliecl the pUlpit for two yean, from Harch, 1866.

On the 18th pf July, 1868, Rev. George Stetaon Shaw received a unanimou8 call to seUle with the parish, which he accepted. Hr. Shaw was bom in Briltol, R. I., April 8, 1888 (MeadYille Theological Seminary, 1862); married HID Mary E. Gatea, of Alhby, June 1, 1869. ~r. Shaw is courteoua and un ... umiog in hiB intercourse with his fellow·meD,

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and hi. p .. torate, which h .. extended nearly through a quarter oC a century, bu been an era oC concord and good·feeling.

CHAPTER XIX.

A8HBY-(~).

THE GREAT CIVIL WAR.

ON the breaking out of the slave-holdere' Rebel­lion, at a legal town.met"ting held May 1, 1861, the following action w .. taken by the town:

.......... That we pi ..... ounely ...... oar JlClltelft7 to ........ 11M Co .. tltullo .. tho &e.dotD ..... tho rI .... beqa"'" to _1I701U' lathel'lo aDd tllal _ .111 dorelld them to tho Iut.

" • ..,..", That til. to.a n.IIe two tb.-ad dollan, aad that f1Reea huadred doIlan be loa .... to tho 8tate, ud .-de a-pblo to tho order orth.Oo~or.~ ... ta."

At a town-meeting held July 22, 1862, it waa .. B.oI...r, ThallD ?lo. or tho _rlfIooo .hlch meD ml1l& DOW mall ..

ID belDI c:allod hill th.lr buII_ al thla _, aad ID ?I •• of 11M pert ....... hardlblpe tho, an called to aDdorp, It leJI1I& ..... propertho& addlUo'" POOUDIarJ lad __ D. mould be otrend 10 th_ who ""'1 • DIII& to ooDOtitate tb. quota 110m thla to.D."

In coneequence oC thi. vote the treuurer waa ordered to pay one hundred dollan to each volunteer for the .e"ice of the town when he Ihould be mUI­tered into the service oC the United States, and by a subsequent vote in 1864, the bounty waa increaaed to one hundred and twenty-live dollars. At a town­meetiug on the 3d of April, 1865, II voted, that the lelectmen be authorized to procure recruits in num­ber lufficient to make the surplul credited to the town fifteen." During this war Ashby furnished one hundred and nine soldien, eighteen of whom 100t their Uvea ei~er fiom beiDg killed in action, from cruelLy and .tarvation in captivity, or the usual casu­alties of war. John Hayo, Eliab Churchill and Dav.id Wares feU deadat Lookout Mountain ; Albert Davil, at Fredericksburg; Daniel Daily and Amoe E .. tman,. at Antietam; Henry Rice died fiom cruelty and nf-glect in Andersonville prilon; Daniel D. Wiley, at Baltimore; Albert Shattuck, at sea; Lyman W. Holt, John Gilson and Benjamin H. Bigelow, at New Orleans; Daniel CoO'e and James Sullivan, in Louisiana; John R. Wilder, at Baton Rouge; MortoD GillOn and John Savin at home, Crom diaeaee con­tracted in the army; George A. Hitchcock paeeed five monthl at Andenonville, and one or two othere thirty days: Lieutenant Henry S. Hitchcock waa badly wounded at Petereburg; Sanden, at Fredericka­burg; Warea, in the battle of .the Wildern8ll; Hor­gan aDd FergDlOn, at Dallas, Oa; and Davis, in lOme ODe of the many engagementa during the war.

n will thus seem that Aehby did ita honol'able part by contributing bo~ men and money. The

votes of tbe town were earDest and patriotic in maiD­taing the UnioD, while the mothen, wiv., daughten and sieten at home bravely and faithfully did their part to aaallt thOle in the lit!Jd by sending them food, clothing, medicines and home comforts of every

. description, and by keeping np the home farml and households. When the new. ot the lurrender of Lee (on April 16, 1865) reached Aahby, there ws. great rejoicing. Everyone w.. anxious to tell somebody that the war w .. ended. The church bella raDg out their merry peal!!, wbich.reverberated amoDg the hUl.. They were used to

II BlDg out tho old, BlDiID tho DeW,

BlDI oat tho ra .... BlDIIDth.~"

And the only caule of u.dness W88 the tender recol­lection of "the loved and loet," who, during "thil cruel war," were put into" that dreamlea sleep that knows no waking."

OHAPTER XX.

.4.8HBY-(Cominw) •

MISCELLANEOUS.

TIlB TuBNPIKB.-At the commencement of the preseDt century the turnpike mania raged about the same .. the railroad excitement did forty yean after­ward. After the debt caused by the BevolutJonary War w ... paid, and the country had felt the influence of peace in accumulating wealth, a moderate amount of capital began to be collected in the hands of a few men in mOlt every town, and trading and traffickiDg w .. on the increue. Better facilities for travel and frelaht between the larger townl and centres of trade had become necessary when turnpikes began to be built and coDtrolled by private corporatioDl. Towns situated on the lines of these thoroughfare. were greatly benefited. Taverna, stores and blacksmith­ebopa became more numerous, aU of which were, to a great extent, dependent on these roads for patronage. In 1801 the town of Aehby "voted to measure the route from Stone'l tavern in Town. end to Milliken', tavern in J.O'«IY." At that date the turnpike from Keene, through, Peterborough, New Ipswich, TOWD­send and on through GrotOD, had jUlt been com­pleted. In 1803 the town "chOie a committee to look after a turnpike." It will thus be aeen that the town w .. in earnest in its efforts to have .. many im­provements .. were enjoyed by ita neighbon over the line in New Hampehire. The deeired turnpike. from Keene, through RiDdge, Aehbyand Groton, wu incorporated in 1807 and finished in 1811. n inter­eected with the road leading from the weat. pan of Townsend to .New Ipswich at a short distance from

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320 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSAOIIUSETTS. ------------ ------- ------Aahby line, and il now the traveled road between Townlend and Ashburnham, leaving Aahby a sbort distance Irom Watatic. It bad two toll-gates in Asbby, one at each border of the town. This road,like all others of this clus, did not receive the patronage required to return any dividends to the ltockhCllders, and._ after an existence 01 about fil\een years, W&8 given up and &88umed by the towns through which it P&88ed. Stockholders of comparative wealth were financially ruinell, and the hard-earned dollars of those in moderate circumltances were lunk in the general crash. The proDlinent and wealthy. men in Aahby luffered considerably, among_whom were Alex­ander T. Willard, Abraham Edwards, Cushing Burr. the Wymans, the Kendalll and others in aflluent cir­cum8tances, be8ides those who invelted on a much smaller scale. But if from a flnancial ltandpoint turnplkea were failures, they were of great benefit in encouraging the growth of the country, in turning trade into channels heretolore unused, and particu­larly in setting the example of a well Dlade road-bed.

From the time that -this turnpike was completed till the advent of railroads tbere W&8 a grpat amount of travel from the southern part of New Hampshire and Vcrmont through Ashby. Long lines of !.eams and mucb travel for pleasure passed over this road. Heavy wagons, drawn by four. six and lometimt!ll eight horses. loaded with agricultural productl lor Boston market, which returned with full loadl of goods lor the country ltores, were conti Dually going and coming. The lour and six· horse stage-coaches, which p8llled daily each way, were alwaya objectl 01 interest to everybody. There W&8 lite and activity when they arrived and when they departed. The landlords at the taverns answered the callI of many guesta, while their servanta and hostlers grew weary in their constant labor and attendance.

November 6, ]826, the owners of the turnpike re­Jeased and quit-claimed their right to and interest in the land over which their road W&8 built to the town lor $600, which might have been fifteen per cent. of the 008t of the land added to the making and fencing it.

CEHETERIES.-M08t of the older towns, many times by gift, lecured eligible locationl lor the burial of their dead on land joining their first meeting­house, in order that the departed Dlight repose be­neath the ihadow 01 these lacred temples. In 1770 Mr. Jonathan Lawrence, who came from Woburn to Al'hby in 1758,IOId to the town two and one-half acres " for a ceDletery." After the town had taken a title to thil land, it was found that the 'frontage on the main road W&8 leu than W&8 desirable. This tract comprised the west part of the Common and a part of the "church-yard." A meeting-hoUle was in contempla­tion, and a larger lot being the desideratum, Mr. Jo­seph Davis, who owned land joining on the eot side of this two and one-half acres. in 1771, gave the town ODe and one-hall acres, which is now the east part of

the Common and cemetery. When themeeUng-hoU118 WSI builr., six years aflerward, in order to have a spa­cious Common, it was located 80 lar back lrom t.he road that the Imaller part of the lour acres W&8 left for a cemetery. ThiB burial-place containB the usual number and variety of mOIls-covered Ilate stones. "With uncouth rhymes and shapel818 SCUlpture decked," interspersed with nicely-polilhed marble tabletl and costly monumenta. In 1802 the town "Voted to fence the burying·ground bought of Ben­jamin Willingtou." There il nothing further on record concerning the cemetery in the west part of .the town to which allusion is made by this vote. Tra­dition Bayl that a Imall part of the east end of this narrow belt of land wal bought of ·Mr. Benjamin Willington, and that the ,!est end was given by Mr.

·John Wright. Quite a number of gravel are here which have no head-atones. - The oldest date on any stone Is II 1800.". As h&8 before been stated, the Ger· mans living in thil vicinity did not &88oclate cordially with the Ashburnham people, who, at that time, had but one cemetery. From the fact that this spot oc­cupied a central location in their large domain, and that lOme Germans lie buried in a separate place in Ashburnham, outside of the town's Cftmetery,-it may reasonably be inferred that these unmarked graves are those of II ye Dutchmen." and that later, othera were buried here, until fiually it was accepted by the town.

Tlae Glmwood Clmatt".g.-In 1850 there W&8 an effurt made to have a new ceDletery. At a town­meeting a committee W&8 ch08en a.nd instructed to . purchue a suitable. tract 01 land lor that purpose, and in the discharge of ita duty this committee bought a lot of land and the town took a title to it. On reSection, not being quite satisfied with the location, and without much excitement, at a subsequent town­meeting the town, by a large majority, voted to sell this Jand. The citizenl, who were particularly in favor of a new cemetery, induced others to share equally with them in the purchase of four acres of land which they had in view, to be uled (or thil pur­pose. The number of proprietors W&ll lorty, who paid ten dollars each, and became mutually Inter­ested in the ground where lOme 01 them now repose. ThiB "city 01 tbe dead" il conveniently located .nd pleasantly lituated in plain view from the main street. The proprietors have made liberal approllria­tiODS in grading, opening avenues, and improving tbe natdral surface of the ground, and it contalnl many ch&8te and lubatant.i.l works of monumentlll art. .. It wall consecrated with appropriate religioul lervices, and solemnly dedicated &8 • resting-place for tbe dead" on the 30th day of September, 1861. Ad­dr8118 by Rev. Charles W. WoOd" Consecrating prayer by Rev. Theophilus P. Doggett.

SoCIA.L ORG.A.BIZATloNs.-The cltizenl of Ashby, as an aggregate body, have for the l&8t thirty years been noted lor their free intercoune and lamiliarity

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ASHBY, 321

with each ot.her. There is no ariatocracy of ~ealth here to excite the eovy of anyone.· At the meetings of their diffl.'rent orgaoizations, aU assemble and" a good time" is the r('lult. They put their money into their enjoyment. No matter what the occasion may be,--at tbe dance, at the grange, at the Carm818' sup­per, at their Jlterary.entertainments,-their exercil8l are conducted io a friendly and enjoyable manner. The first instance of an organization of a social oa­ture in thia town may be learned from the following extract taken from the recorda of the Grand Lodge of Muooa.in Haaaachuaettll:

II a ...... LoDO" 12C1a lIareb. ·aTII. II A. ",lIlIoa ......... 1.......... .. ... Welllaatoo ... odl_ pnJlag

tor a claara.r to bold al..od .. la the towa or .uhbl, coaa", or Illddl .. .. x. bl ui. __ or 80clal Lodp, ......... by the arall4llecretary with 'he papen __ ","al the ........... belDI properly --acIed, ... , .. that the p~ or the petltIoaen be ~D"""

Abijah Wyman, the .Weliingtona, the KendalIa, Cushing Burr, Sr., and others, not a large oumber, constituted the members of thia fraternity at that time. . During the laat nine or ten years of its exiat­ence Rev. Ezekiel L. Baacom W&II ita chapla1n. This gentleman waaalso Grand Chaplain for ailt years, be­tween 1804 and 1826, of the Grand Lodge of Ml\lsa­chaaetts. This lodge met at Oliver KendaU's house, near the place where Jolln Fitch wu taken captive by the Indians. In a quiet way this fraternity did some good till abou, 1830, when anti-Muonry went. into politics and a great. excitement apread through­out the country, caUied by men who had" a zeal but not according to knowledge."

About that time the temperance cauae beJ{an to be agitated by the people here, and large audiences a8lembled at the Firs~ Parish Hall to liaten to the haranguee of the reformed drunkards, the Waahing­toniaus and the GOII'I of illat period, some of whom were eloquent. Then the pledge was paued aroulld aod pleaaant intercourse followed.

Coming down to the preaeut time, we noUce the May-day gathlrings of veterans who were once .. the boys iu blue," who bear in the place of arms, flowers, to be placed upon the grave. of thoae who gave up their Uvee in the defense of the nation many years ago. 10 those battle years, which aeem so oear but are so far away, theae men weut at their country'. call, and steadily, sometimes wearily, but never doubting, weot forward in their path of duty. From some of them 'he atalwart vigor of manhood hl\l de­parted, and it .is well for them to have theae anDual gatherings to claap each otber'e· handA, to caU to mind again the acenee and incident. of a IOldier'a life; to talk again of bivouac aod battle; to recall faat-vao­ishing recollectiona and, aaddest of all, to mark the changes which the hand of time haa wrought among them. The exercise. of Decoratioo Day are wit­oes.ed by .the town'a people of all ages andconditiona, and it baa become one of the aocial holidays of the year.

Perhapa "The A,hby Farmers' and .Mechanics' 21

Club" haa had aa much influence during the laat de­cade in . leveling oft' differenc.ea of opinion, caUliog kindly feelingt aDd exciting a love of home aa any other auociation in town. This club waa organized February 1 t, 1880, with the following officers: Pres­ident, Francis W.' Wright;. Vice-President, Rev, George 8. Shaw; Secretary and Treaaurer, Jonall P. Haywa,d; Committee, Joel Foster, Edwin K. John­aon, Iven H. Brooke. Mr. Hayward, the . secretary, an excellent. fruit-grower, haa since deceased. The preamble to the conatitution then adopted aets (orth the object in fo>rming the organization in manner aa followa: Ie We the und818igned unite in forming a Club for the diacuuion of que.tions pertaining. to farmiog and other material intereatll of the town." It ia an old maxim that he who needa advice concern­iog any trade or bUllineaa, Ihould 18k it ftom a per­IOn who earns his living by that buain8118. Now these diacuuiona befure thia club are engaged in by men who know wbat they are talking about •. The markai gardener, the man who aoldo grapes receotly for two dollars a pound, the cultivator of small fruits and berries, the man who haa the beat hoed crop, the men who raise grapes I1nd cucumbers under glau, in fact, men who cultinte m!)fJt everything that is produced in this .climate, are in thia club and give the result of their experience. The meetings of the club through the wioter montha are held every two weeks, and they are fully a,ttended by those who enjoy the dill­c08llona. Occ!oaiooally, literary and mualca1 enter­tainments take up the time of an evening. ." The. club haa received and paid out over t2OOO, much being to members as premiuma; haa been the meanl or establishing tbe Ashby Creamery; haa held a number of field meetings and two inatitutee, which were of unquestionable benefit to the farmer and all concerned. Reports of the AmhersL Experimental Station are receivfld by the aecretary and distri~uted each month, also the crop reports sent ont by the State Board of Agriculture." Since its organization there have been twenty-three lecture. de1iver~ before thia club by persons of considerable diatinction, among'whom are Carroll D. Wright, Mrs. Mary Liver­more, ex-Congressman Edward Burnett and othe,..

Aahby haa another organization io the inter.t of the hUibandman, called The Grange, which haa been. here for a short time and haa become quite an en­joyable institution. It ia a congener to the Farmers' Club and does not differ materially from it, except that a larger number of the gentler leX Are connected. with it, who hold certaio offices aod participate more freely in ita eurciaea. Every member ia required to ' contribute something, within certain stated times, for the inatruction, amusement or literary entertaiomen~ of the UIOciatioD. Most of the male mem~n are ioterested in'the Farme.,.' Club.

.AsHBY MUSIOA.L 4ss0CIA.TION.-For II, town of its. size (numefically considered), Ashby haa al~ays boaat-. ed of a more than. average oum~er of people ~f

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322 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

musical abilities. The early settlen of the town muet have given the matter lOme attention, or else the pure air of the hills developed a natural talent for mueic, for_their descendants have always been musically inclined. The record of their doings pre­vioue to the presen t century is unknown to the writer, but doubtleaa one uilts. "In 1818 Jonas Bar­ret taught instumental mueic in New Ipswich." In 1826 the Cal vinistic Con~tional Parish "Voted to par the upense of the singers at the ordination of

-Hr. Albert B. Camp." In 1827 "Voted to pay,10 for singing booke, Deacon N. D. Gould'. collection, and that Isaac Patch take charge of them." In 1828 .. V oled 126 for einging, to be laid out by the discre­tion of the aaeeaaora." If these lume seem Imall for these purpoaea, it may be noticed, in pUling, that the miniater's salary for 1828 was only t460, and that "Capt. Jona. Blood undertook to open and sweep the meeting-houae tor one year for 12." He had no firM to build, for the lociety had just" voted not to have a ltove in their meeting-houBe." At a meeting held lOOn after' the musical fund. was, however, in­creased to 150. In 1829 "voted to conBent to have the orgm ltand in their meeting-bouse." This wu probably tbe organ built by Mr. Whitney, referred to in another paragraph. About the year 1827 Deacon N. D. Gould, a noted teacher of vocal muaic, taught a singing-Ichool in Ashby; and he wu followed in later yearl by lauc Wrir:ht, Peter H. Clark, David Wares and Meaara. Fuller, Partridge, Kimball and others. In 1867 a glee club, composed of eighteen young personl, under the leadersbip of Myron W. Whitney, did lOme good singing and enjoyed many pleuant hours, the memol')' of which will linger in tbe hearts of those who participated in it while lire lacta. For many years the mUlical services of the Second Pariah were in the care of Mr. Paul A. Hay­ward, wbo was organist and director. He wu Ulisted by hil wife, .who p088eaaed a soprano voice of rare

·atrength and purity, and in later years by his daugh­ters allO. Since 1875 Mr. Homer J. Hayward hu served u choiriater. The Unitarian Society will' long remembpr with gratitude the services of Hrs. Perley Gatea, now deceased, and of her daugbter, Mary Gates, now the wife of Rev. George S. Shaw, in the cause of sacred music.

Ashby bouts of having furnisbed to America the finest bll8llO, in the penon of Mr. Myron W. Whitner, that this country hu ever produced. AI a represent­ative of oratorio mUlic be has 'probably no equal. Mr. Whitney now resides in Watertown, and a sketch of his lire, accompanied br a ateel engraving, may be found in thil hiltory in that part thereof relating to Watertown.

" The players on instrumenta" have not been lack­ing. or those who achieved marked IUcceall in thil direction may be mentioned Hr. Edward A. Wright, of Boston, lea4er of Wright's Orche.tra, of whom it h811 been said, .. he can play any musical instrument

he sees." His lpecialtles. however, are the cornet and violin. Since the beginning of the present ~ntury several bra88 banda have been organized in Ashby. which, in their time, did lOme good work, but were not long-lived.

At present Ashby hu ,; comet band, composed principally of young performers, but already it givea promise of a lucceaaful future. Its members are prompt in their attendance at its meetings, and, althuugh they have not enjoyed a long practice to­gether, .. discourse IIweet mu.lc."

Frederick A. Willard, leader. b cornet; William O. LOveland, second 'leader, e cornet; Willis G. Spaulding (buslneaa manager), tuba; Harry F. Bing­ham, b tenor; Oscar A. Hubbard, b clarionet; John J. Piper, e alta; Oeorge H. Piper, baritone; Willis B. Hayward, b tenor; Herbert P. Hayward, b clar­ionet; Frank A. Forseman, e tuba; John C. Elliott, b bua; John A. Willard, e aito; Curtis Huckins, b tenor; Clift'urd W. Davia. e alto; George Wrigbt, snare-drum; Charlea A. Porter, b .. -drum; E. Hon~ roe Bennett, e cornet.

The centennial of Alhby wa. celebrated September 14.1867. On tbat pleasant autumn day a large u­lembly was galhered on the Common. The principal addreaa wu made by Rev. Charles W. Wood. It embodied what may be called the domestic history of the town, military, religioua and material, and mUlt have coat a great amount of patient, plodding re­learch. It was delivered well and was r~ived with much relillh. After the usual exertiRell on luch occa­siona, there W88 a Ipontaneous movement for the mammoth tent, which had been improvised, under which long tables, laid with plates .ufficient to ac­commodate seven or eight hundred persona, were covered and loaded with culinary delicaclea. lOch a. farmers' wives and daughters only know how to pre­pare. The rich vianda, the tempting fruita and fra­grant bouquets had rival. in the furms and faCft of the fair onea who moved around among them and waited upon those at the feast. The day will long be remembered by thOle who were in attendance.

ScHooLS.-At the annual town-meeting in 1778, "Voted to. raise eigbt pounda for the support of schools. This W811 the first appropriation made here for school purposes, and about the same amount W&I

raised u to hire preaching." The money thus raised for both of these objects, when changed into our cur­rency would be about thirty dollara, and yet these amall appropriations would compare well with luma raised ill the neighboring town. at. that. time for simi­lar purpoaea. At a town-meeting on tbe 18th of Hay following, "Vo~ed to have but ftlur squadrons. One squadron 'at the centre of the town, one in the south side. two in the north side of the town and that each man sball give their names to the selectmen by the first day of July nut of what part or squadron they will be of. and each party to draw their proportionablll part of the taxes they PRY." The word Iqu.dron W811

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first Uled in thll lellie in thOle toWCI wbieb had bten I1lneyed and laid out into rangee and quadrangular Iota, and the territory contained in a certain number of t.heee Iquaree, which itlelf wu Iquare, conltit.uted a dietrict. In lOme townl at thil time the word .. dioceee It wu uaed inlteaci of dietrict. For the next four years ten poundl were railed, and in 1778 the town railed fifty poundl for achooling. In 1785 the town II Voted to build achool-houel in the four Iquad- . ronl in town, the money to be provided to each Iquad­ron according to th6ir pay, and choee a committee to lee the hoUletl built, and choee in the cent.re iquadron Captain Wyman, Lieutenant Damon and L. Barrett; South, Stephen Barker, Amos Putnam, Stephen Pl&tch; Northeast, First Did.ion, Ml\ior Stone, Ben­jamin Adami, Jonathan Foster; Second Divieion, Jonathan Locke, David Locke, Timothy Emerson; Northweat Iquadron, John Yaqnith, William Rice and Timothy Stone. Voted to niae 120 pounda for t.he above purpoae and chole the followiog committee to expend the .. me: Jonathan Locke, Abijah Wy­man and Deacon Lawrence. Voted that the aeetlllll­ment of the achool-hoDle money be aupended till the town rate II .... ed." At that time they mUlt have bad private achooll or they would not have given to their IOnl and daughters the amount of learning which we know they had. ThO town recorda during the time from ita incorporation to the end of the century were u well kept u at any other period. The amount of matter on record, changing one man from thia diatrict to that, and altering different dis­trict boundariee, ahowa that there wu much intereet in schools at that time. And again in 1792, when the town recflived additional territory and almost fifty inhabitanta from Ashburnham it went through the ex­citement of making another school·houae in a new dil­trict at the extreme northweet part of the town.

Preaumably no person in Ashby can tell where more than one of the achool-housee of 1786 stood, and the location of IKIme of those of a more modern date, where the ferule hu been applied to the disobedient, and where the "lade and IUles" enjoyed themaehee at the evening apelling-echools and in going home, cannot be pointed out. From the beginning of the present century until now Ashby hu made liberal appropriatioDI for the public schools, and from that time to the present the beet men of the toWD have aerved on the School Committee. The reports of the Board of Education for the ·l.at twenty yean show that the Ashby schools have had a good· average at­tendance. In 1868 there were only thirteen townl in the state that had a better average attendance. In 1875 there were twenty-four toWDl which atood bet~r than Aahby; and in 1880, among the three hundred and· fifty cities and town. in thil Commonwealth, Ashby atood first in ita average .chool attendance •.

In 1842 the town "voted to raiae one hundred and thirty-five dollars for the purpoae of eatabliahing a library in each achool diatrict." The town received

from the State just the same amount, which waa added to this appropriation, and the boob were bought and put into the achools. In 1864 the town raised. two hundred and fifty dollars for the support of a high school, and aince then larger appropriaLioDl have been made for the .aty object. .

In 1836 the meeting-houae built by the Orthodox Congregationalista in 1820 having been abandoned for more than a year, lOme of the public-.pirited peo­ple of the town auggeeted that it should be used for an &eademy. This idea met wiLh a favorable response . from ita owners, and accordingly the building, includ­ing th, land, WR8 IOld at auclion, MayU, 1836, for five hundred and twenty dollars, to Amna Wellington. The pew-owners gave their inter"t in the houae in ord ... r to have an academy. A subscription wu tabn to collect money co for the purpo~ of fitting up the meeting-house lately occupied by the 8ccoDd Pariah for an academy, provided eight hundred dollars ia raised for the aaid purpose!' Eztkiel Coleman head-. ed the list of twenty-one subscribers to this docnment, in which the lum <>f $174.50 \\'IUI pledged for the &C­

compliehment of this object. 'fhe ladiea very lOOn collected the aum required to make the original aub­acription binding. The building was lOOn moved to ita preeut location, September 1,1836. Amos Wel­lington aold thie houae to tbe five truateee of thi. academy-" Rev. Orsanus Tinker, Deacon Paul Hayward, Deacon Ephraim Hayward, Mr. Ezekiel Coleman and Amos Willington, Eaq."-for $420. ~o­vember 14, 1836, an uamining committee of eleven men, eight of whom were clergymen, from this and the adjoining towns, waa appointed forthia academy, which commenced Auguat 4, 1836, with WorCHter Willey &II teacher, who waa to receive all the tuition money for his lervicee. The next year he was paid t400 for the lame work, and he was £be only teacher who continned two years in ofBce. There waa no deficiency in numbers on the board of trusteel, R8 it appears that, in 1838, fifteen gentlemen were added, to the five who were choeen two years before. In 1840 Luke Wellington and others and their IUCceaaors, by an act of tlie Legialature, were made a corporation by the name of "The Proprietors of, Ashby Academy," with the power to hold personal and real estate to the amount of tI5,000. Thi. achool did not receive tbe patronage which it appeared to deserve, perhaps on account of ita proximity to New Iptwich Academy, or· from the popularity of older and more richly endowed institutiona of ita kind. It waa diaoontinned at the

'cloae of t.he Inmmer term of 1860, but there 18 0"

doubt that the K00d influences emanating from this academy are atill guiding many of thoee who availed. themaelvC8 cf ita privUegee •. Ashby hu a public library of 1584 volumes, with which itainhabitanta have a pleaaant and profitable acquaintance. The Unitarian Sabbath·School Library, 783 volumes; the Orthodox Sabbatb-School Library, 300 volumes; Ladies' Library, 230 volume ••

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324 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

HOTELS .AND STOBES.-When the town w.. in­corporated there were three inn-bolders in Ashby, who, on a ltDall lcale, .old .pirituoul liquors and occaeionally gave hospitable reception and entertain­ment to travelers. There w .. not much drunkennell in thOle daYI; but the fact that th\ town at an early date put a aet of ltoeb on the Common is luflicient proof that, at least on public and lOCial occaaionl, the place w.. not entirely free from those who loved stF9ng drink. Capt. Samut'l Stone, living in the t' .. t part of the town, was an inn-holder. Jou .. Barrett, who builtland lived in the bOUle now owned by Jon .. Curling, kept a house of tbis kind; and, be'ire the town w .. incorporated, James Coleman kept an inn in tbe westerly part of the town, on the road leading from tbe West Cemetery to tbe old turnpike, only a Ihort distance from the "friendly guide-post" which points toward Aahbumham. He w .. the most popu­lar man among the GermanI who became citlzena bf the town when it w .. created. The foundation of the bouse may lUll be leen, over which the flip w .. drunk and the merry jokes pUaed around. John Abbot kept a tavern, in tbe beginning of the prese,.t cen­tury, in the nortbwt'st part of the town, on the old county road, in the bouse now occupied by Mrs. Amanda Kendall. He had ample room, both in tbe house and at the stabit8, and be gave Itrict attention to bia bUlinell, baving a large acquaintance. and w .. deservedly popular. For a long time Stone's tavern, at the foot 6fthe hilla, in Townsend, and Abbot's tav­ern were the favorite ltopping-places on the road. Cllpt. Abijab Wyman built hil hoUle, about 1780, at tbe lOuthwest corner of the Common. It constituted wbat is now the lOuth end of tbe main building which faces tbeCommon. Two or tbree additionl bave been made to thiB building; bOlides, stables and Ibedl have been added, and'now the many room cover a number of square rods of land. It iB not probable that thil house was built for a tavem, but the location w .. so eligible tbat it eventually w .. uBt'd for this busint'88. John Wyman, a Ion of Capt. Abijab, w .. landlord bere for a Ihort time; but whether he w.. the first man who kept a tavern here il unknown to "th~ writer. In 1809, when the Unitarian meeting-house w .. being built, tbe town voted to hold the town-meeting "at the houle of Nathaniel Adama." Cheat.t'r Mann w .. landlord here for several years, and hiB house w .. extensively patronized by gueatl and hiB stalll were well filled. Besides tbeae men, the house h.. had two or three other laudlorda, among wbom w .. Fran­cis Wyman, a grandlOn of Capt. Abijah Wyman. Tbe bouse did a paying busineaa till the railroads were made, or till about 1850.

Joseph Kendall, Sr., in 1802, built the houae aud out-buildings where" Joel Foster livea expreaaly for a h(ltel. Thom .. Rice w .. either the first or one of the earlieat landlords. ThOle who succeeded bim were Leonard Patch, J OIiab Prentice, Owen WilJard (who was a favorite landlord, and kep~ tbe house a

long time) and Abel Walker, who remained here till the house w .. closed to the public for want of pa­tronag«'.

Stepben Adamsltept a tavt'm near Town'lend line, and bad con8iderable cuatom, more than fifty years ago, at the place where Jobn. But.terfield now lives. "The pIedra," wbich was .trictly kept by "many from 1880 to 1850, and the railroads, wbicb diverted trayel from the main roads and thoroughfares, proved fatal to many of the country hotela of New England. Population of Asbby in .A. D. ~830, 1240; 1840, 1246; 1850, 1208. Si:lce that date the populaUon h .. decreased each year in a .mali degree.

The names of all the traders who nave done buli­neaa in this town cannot be given, but it will intereat lOme people to learn something concerning the men, the places where aod tbe dates whenstorea were kept bere. William Green, grandfather of Charlt'l O. Green, was a trader here at as early a date .. any ex­cept perbaps Captain Abijah Wyman. He came from Pepperell about 1795 and he had a Imall stock of gro~ries in the buildiog wbich ltauds just weat of the post-office. Tbis building w .. anerward con­verted into .. nice cottage-house. He did not continue long in tradt', but lold out to Abijllh Wyman, with wbom he could not compet~ in bUlineu. Wyman'l store w.. at hiB dwelling. bouae, .ituated nearly a quarter of mile weaterly: from tbe Common. Nathan­iel Adams had a store in the tavern on the corner of the Common, at the same time that he kept a public­house there. Noah Start built a atore in 1820, which stood between C. O. Greeu's bOllse and tbe houae on the corner of the street; and he traded there until about 1828, when be .old out to Nathaniel Adams. Mr. AdalllJl w .. fo\lowed by Spooner & Kendall, these men by Nathaniel Whit.temore, and be by Wbite & Adama. Tbe length of time that these meu and firms tradtd here cannot be aacertained, but the building in 1862 w .. moved. to Fitchburg- and con­Yerted into a dwelling-house. A notice of Lewis Gould and his ltore il in another part of this work. The following named gentlemen have traded in the store "on the hill:" Andrewl Edwarda, F. W. Wrigbt, 1844; Martin Howard, 18~ and 1848; George E. Rockwood, J. M.J. Jeftaand Edwin Whit­ney. Commencing about 1840, Abram M. White and Winthrop White (brothers) had a .tore on the road leading northerly and not flU' from the Common. Tbeir room w .. amall, but they bad a good ahare of the trade. They carried the first blueberries from Ashby to the Boston marke~. About 1820 Alfred SpaUlding came from TowDsend to the South Village and put a .tock of goods iuto the building which il now tbe dwelling-honae of W. H. C. Lawrence, and opened a store there. He carried on coopering ill that village and continued in trade aix or seven years," and then .old out hiB busin811 to Jamea Bancroft, an­other Townsend man. Mr. Bancroft continued tbe bnaineaa for a few years, and then sold out to Ephraim

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ASHBY. 325

Hayward, who "aa the iaat person who had a store at the Bouth Village. . Toe following named gentlemen and firms have been in trade in t!le store in which the poat-omce is now located. The date following their namea is the year or about the time when each of them commenced: Burr & Bal~m, 1840; Burr & White, 1843; F. W. Wright, 1846; Toleman, Milli­kin & Co., 1851 i Cushing Burr & Co., 1858 i Burr & WallacE', 1856 i Burr & Green, 1860 i Charles O. Green, 1866; and Mr. Green haa cont.inued in bosi­neBI at this location during the IBsttwenty-five yean, and in connection with dealing in wood and lumber . he doea an extensive buBin ...

CHAPTER XXI.

48IIB Y - (C'rmtiftutd).

CIVIL BI8TOBY.

ft_0IT1CIIIU.

17117. Moderatar. lob. I'Itcb; Clerk. 1_ LoeII. Ir.; SelectmeD. le_ Lock.. Jobn I'Itcb. Jobn Jon-. Jr. nil. Xodera&or. J ..... Lock; Clerk. J_ Lock •• Ir. ;:s.lertmea, J_ Lock. Jr •• Job •• I .... IMob Pulrer. Jo.Mba. Barre&&, Lnl Boqbtca. 17 •• lIode,.. tor. J..... Lock. Jr.; Clerk, WIJlIam Pu1unaa; Selectal ... JMOb Putrer. 'rboDlU IMearna, Be~ .... I. &p.Idl.... 1TJO, lIoderator. Jam. LoeII. Jr. ; Clerk, Willi .... ParJuaaa; BeI_ •• 8tepbe. Olblon. JObD ..... William ParkmaD. 1TJI. lIodera&or. TboaIM St.r.; OI.rk. Jam. Bea.elt; SeIectmeD. J_ l14iaae&&, Jaoob Pulrer. Job. LncIr. 1772. Moderatcr, J ....... Lock, Jr.; Olerk, Joau Berratt; SeleehneD. 10 ... Berral&, Jam. Lock. Jr •• Job. Jo_. 1'/'1a. JIoderator. 1_ Lock, Ir.; 0IerIr, loa.. Bernt&; SelecbDen.8uauel 8tc ... Job. Jo,,-. loau Berratt.. 1TJ4. lIodlratar. Tb_ SlaIr_; OIerk, Jonu Ba ... nU; 8eJec!tIae.. Joau BernI&, 8ua1Ml Ston.. J_ .... tt.. 1116. lIodInIor. Tboma, SIeU'aI ; Ole"'. et.pb .. 01 .... ; 8electme .. Steph •• 01 ..... 8Imael Sto ... lauBrown. ITJI. Moderator. Tho_~; 010:111:. Job. Lawre.ce, Jr. ; 8electme •• 1_ 0 ... 101)'. lob. Lawrence, Ir, ~ Brow •• I_pb W .. klr. Abijah W,maD. 1m. Ilodentor. Ju,. Be.lIIIi; 0IeIk. J_ OftlOl)'; Beleotmen. hue 01'Il0l7. Bem. ... 8toae, JolI&&IIaa LoeII. 1118. JIoderator. ~ ~; OJerk, J_ Or"lor:t; &..Ioot..... 8Imll.1 Sto... Job. Jo.... All W .. ker. hue 0 ...... ..,. Jacob Damo.. 11111. lIodeiatcr. Th_ Steer .. : (JleA. Joaa&b ... Lock; a.\eetmen. Joaetha. LoeII. J&Gob Damo •• Ala Walker. 1710. lIoderator. Th_ St.,..; OIlrk. &uc O~; 8eleetmen. A. Ke.dal" Job. Lawra.ce, Ir •• Hook.r 0Ip00d. 1181. Mod.rator. All Ke.dall; OIerk, I_&ha. Lock; Sel.o&me.. 81"0.1 SIo8 .. All Iteadall. Sleph •• Pa&cla. lTlL lIod.rator. Stephen Olbeoa ; CI.rk lo_&baa LoeII; Seleollllea. Jo_haa Lock. lacob Damo .. Abl. Jah W7maJI. 1183. Moderator. ThoIDDlSteamefClerk.Joaatbe. LoeII; 8eIectln ••• Joaetha. LoeII. ~b\Iah W,._. Jacob DMIo.. ITM. Mod· erator. Tho .... Steer .. ; OIerk, lonathaa Look; Bel_e •• lo.atha. LoeII. AblJah W7maJI. lacob Damo .. Job. l.oJalth. TImoth:t Sto .... nd. lIoderator. AblJah ",maD; Clerk, Jonathen Lock; 8eleetme .. John YAwn.ce, 1_ Orecor:t. Obarl. Lawre_. ITS&. Moderator. Abijab Wtma.; Clerk, J_ 01'Il0l)'; 8electa1 ••• !au 0ftlOl7. Obarl .. Lawreace, StepheD Patcb. 1181. lIoderator. Abijah W,.....; Clerk. !au Orecor:t; Sel_e.. !au 0 ...... r1, SI.ph.. Pa&ch. 0harI .. r.aw,...ce. 1188. lIoderator. AbiJah W,man; Clerk. Waldft. Stoae; Belectm ... W .. d .... Ston.. Benjaml. Ad...... Stephe. Patch. 1188. lIoderator. Be~ .... I. A ....... ; OI.rk, W .. dreD Sto •• ; SeIect,,,eD. Wllldre. 8toae, Be~am\n AdaIu. Stophen Patch. 1Tl11l. JIoderator, Ab\lab W,. .... ; OIark, ~ Oree.; SAleetma.. Iaac Oree.. Jacob Damoa. ~ 0ftlOr:t. 11111. Moderator. BeDJaml. Adame; CierI,

. Iaac Oree.; 8I1eotm.D, ~ 0_0. Stepha. Patch. All Ke.dal" Jr. ITDS. lIoderator. Abijah W)'maJI; CI.rk, Iaac Ora •• ; 8eIeetme •• Steph •• l'IItoh. All K.ad .... Jr .• Benjaml.OoI_. 11 •• Moderator. AbiJab W)'DIa,,; OIerk. J_ Oreen; 8eleetm.n. Iaac G_ •• Stephe. Pa&ch, Be~_I. Cole....... 11M. MIMMator. AblJah W, .... ; Clerk.

Benja .. l. 001_; 8eIoctmen. 8e~1I .. ln Ool.ma.. Stepb." Patch. J_ OralOl)'. 1195. Moderator. AblJab Wtma.; 0Ierk, Be~_ln 00Iemaa ; 8eIectm... De~_I. Ool.ma •• Peter Law ... nce, Abraham Bd...... 11111. Moderator. Ab!Jab W)'ma.; CI.rk. Be~ .... I. 001 .. .... ; 8eIeotme •• Be~ .... I. 001 ..... Abraha .. Bdwardl, A. K"DdelI. Jr. 1m. Mod.rator. Ab\lah WTJIl&ll; CI.rk, Be~aml. Oola .. an; 811_ ••• Be~ .... ln 001_. Abrah .... Bdwardl, A. It.DdalI. 1198. lIod.retor. Abijab W,_. ; O\erk, Be~ ..... I. OolelDUl ; 8e1octmo ... Ben. J .... I. Oolema .. Abraham Bdwardl, A. K.Ddal" Jr. 11111. Moderator. AblJah W)'maJI ; OIlrk. Aile. II'Jan; S.lect ...... Oubla,. Burr. WII­lIun 0..... Benj IIDla Damo.. 18OU. Moderator. AblJlIh W,maD; OI.n. AileD J'\ea; Seleetm .... Oaehl .. Barr. William Oree •• Be~ .. mla Damoa; ...,...tr.tln. 8teph .. Patcb. 1801. lIoderatcr. Oub· I.C Barr; Olerk, All.. J'\ea; Belectme .. O ..... lag Barr. Willi .... Graen. B.~ .... I. Damoa. 18Ol1, Moderatar. Oublag Barr; mlrk, AU •• FJan; BeI_e .. CaehIDg Barr. William O .... D. Iaac Welker • 181& Moderator. OaIhInc Barr; OIerk, All •• J'\ea; BeI_ ... Oub· I .. Barr. WIllIamO ...... AID. Wlllinglo.. 1801. Moderator. Ouebl.g B.rr; OIerk. All •• rlagg; 8e1ec&m ... Oaeblng Burr. WlIllam Oreen. Bea,jaml. Demo.; Be~ntatlY.. Job. I«k.. 1805. Moderator. Oaehlng Burr; Clerk, All •• 1'IIIa; 8e1_e .. Oaehlng Burr. Klijah Pneoot&, BeaJamln DamOD; Be,....ntr.tl ... Joh. LoeII.. 1Il0l. Mod­.rator. AID. WUUngtoa; O\erk, A11.D 1'1l1li; 8eIeo&meD. Allo. J'Jan. AID. WI\II.gto •• Iaac WaIk.r. l8O'f. lIoderator. Amoe WIlli""".; Olerk. AIle. rtagg; Selectme •• All •• J'Ingg, Am. WIIIIDgtoa.8tepb •• l'IItoh. Jr. 1808. Mod.rator. AlDOl WIIUnglo.; OJerk. All.. J'\ea:; 8electmen. Aile. J'\ea. AlDOl WIIII.p .. Steph .. Patob. Jr. 1800. Moderator. Ouhlng Barr; O\erk, Aile. J'I1111; 8I1eotme •• AUe. J'\ea. Oaehlng Barr. A_ WIIIIIJgtoII. 1810. Moderator. Job. Locke; OIerk, AJIIOJI Wllllnglo.; Seleetmen, AlDOl WlIII.gtoa. W .... Oree .. J_ ..... Bolt 1811. lIoderator, Da'rld Wood; Clerk, Aile. J'\ea; BeI_. AlDOl WIIII"""n. WID. 0 ..... Da.,ld Wood ; Bep,..ntell ... AnlOl WIl· IInpn. 18111. Moderator. Am. Wllllnglo.; OIerk, AUe. J'\ea; 81-leet_ .. AIIIOI Wlllingloa. W ... 0 ..... 0. Staph .. Patch, Jr. 1813. Mod· ereIor. Joh. Loeb; Clerk. AIl.n J'\ea; Selee_ .. Alleal'Jagg, Oublng Burr. Olher K ..... II; Be,.....tr.tlve, Job. Loeb. 1811. Moderator. Joh. LoeIIe; 01.",. All •• J'Iagg; Sel __ .. Aile. J'Iea. Oublog Barr. Oll.er K.DdalI. 1818. Moderator. Job. LoeII.; Clerk, Job. LoeIIe; Beloctme .. Joh. Locke. OaIhlng Barr, OU.,.. Ke.dall. 181a. Mod.ratar. Oaohl .. Barr; Olerk, Joh. Lock.; 8e1ect_ .. Job. Lock •• Oublaa Burr. 01\.,., K ..... II. 1817. Ill'deralor. Cubl .. Barr; Olen. Alexander T. Willard; 8eIeetme •• Calbl .. Burr.Olh.r Kendel" H0b­ert W. Barr. 1818. lIoderator. Oublng Burr; Cleft, Alexand.r T. Willard; Seloctme •• au.bl.g Barr. Ollt., K.DdalI. ltobert W. Barr. 1811. Moderator. O ... lolog Burr; 0Ierk, AIlIlIIUIder T. WIUard; Belart­m .... Cubl.g Barr. Ollnr K •• dall. Robert W. Burr. 1820. Moderatar. Jobn Locke; Ol.rk. AI_d.r T. WI\\arcl; 811_ ... OaIbI.g Barr. Olher K.adal" Robert W. B.rr. 1811. Mod.ratar.Job. Lock.; OIerk. AI.lIUIder T. WIllard; 8I1ectm ••• O1IIhI.C Burr, Oll.,er KeDdalI. Rob­ert W. Barr. 1_ Muclera&or. OaIbl.g Burr; CI.rk. Alexaad.r T. Willard; Beleetm ••• Oaebl". Burr. Ollv.r Keadal" Bobert W. Bnrr. 1813. Moderator. Job. Looke; OIerk. Oubl.g Barr. If.; Seleotm ... OuIhlog Barr. Bobert W. Barr. 8Iepb .. W)'1II&II; Jteprwe.tatI.., Job. Lock .. 181&. lIoderator. Cubl .. Barr; Clerk,' Oublng Borr. Ir.; 8electmen. :aoto.rt W. Barr. Stepb.. W)'ma" A. Keadall. lUll. HodInIor. Oaehlng Barr; OIerk, Ouhl .. Burr. Jr.; lleleetmen. St.ph •• W,_.. All K.a ... lI. All Stratto.. 1818. Moderator. NMbeDI.I Adame; 0Ierk, OaIhlng Barr. Ir.; Belectm ••• All Ke.dell. Oll.er Kendall. OIJahI.C Borr. Jr. 1817. Moderator. Nathaal.1 A ...... ; Olerk. ADdn .. Bdwardl; 8eIectln.n. OaIbl., Barr. Jr., ~ Bmw.ll. OU. .,., K.DdalI; ~.tatI,. .. "'klel L. ~. 1828. Moderator. Natbanlel Ada ... ; 0I.rk, A.dra .. Bdwarde; SeI_ ••• Steph •• W7. m.... Oaehl.g Barr. Jr.. Abrahua Hukell; JtepreeenlaU,... ...kl.1 a.-m. 18211. lIoderator. Nathaal.1 Adame; 0Ierk, A.d..... Bd. warde; 8I1ectmea, 8Iepb.n W,_ .. OaIblng Barr. Ir •• Abrah .... Uu. k.ll; Be..,.. ... tI.., ... kl.1 L. a.-m. 1830. lIoderator. Joh. Lock.; CI.rk, Abrah .... Hoek.II, Ir.; 8e1ec&me.. 8lepbe. W)'DIan. ODehlng Barr. Jr •• Joel Balcom ; Bepreeeatr.tl.., Abraha .. Ifukell. Jr. 1881. Iloderator. Natbanlel Adame; Clerk, Abrah .... Huk.11, Ir.; Be­,I.ctmen. OaIhlo, Barr. Jr •• Joel Balcom, Noah 811U't; Be,.....laU ... Ab ............ _nII. P ... .,IOIII to tbta th .... preeeate,l_ wen ob_. I. 11&7. I. N_bar.l88l. OaIhlog Barr wu ob_. BePfteOnla&l •• (or the "'0. of' 188Z, ud .. 1 b .. eD_ra ..... ob_. to MrY. th. oex' wloter aRer their .Ieetto. I. NOYelDbar. 183i. Hoderator. N atha.I.1 Adame; 0IeIk. Abraham Heek.n, Jr.; 811_.0. Cublag Barr. Jr .• Joel Balcom, iliac HertwelL 1888. Moderator. NMba.leI AdaOll; Clerk. Abrah .... Bukell, Jr.; Beloctoae •• CubIDC Barr. Jr., loel Bal.

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326 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS. ----.----.-----com. I_c H.rt .... 11 ; Bel._tatln. Cublnl Barr. Jr. 18M. lIocJe. rator. Nath.nlel Adame; Clerk. Abnh.D' Huk.lI; SeleclmeD. CUlblns Burr. Jr •• StepheD Law ... n .... Jaac Oart .... IL 11136. lIoderator. Na. thuM A ....... ; Clerk. Abrabam O .. kell; SeIect .. eD. Cuhlnl Bu.r. Jr .. J ... I Balcom. SIII))11811 Lawnonce; Vop .... III.U .... Cullins Burr, Jr. 1836. Moderator. N .. b.Dlel Adawa; Clerk. Abrebam Oull.li; SeIt'C&­.D.eD. O ..... lnl Barr. Jr •• 81<'pll8n LawreD .... Joel Balcom. 1837. Mod· eralor. N.tb.Dlel Aduu; Clerk, C ..... IDI Burr. Jr.; Selectmen. sa.plleD IAwre.ace,Joelllaleom, Davlol Lawrence; BepreeeataU .... ClubIDI Burr. Jr. 1838. Moderator. Joel &Ioom; Clerk. Abraham O .. keJI; Selec&-• n.... Joel Balcom. LeYl Barr. c-blng Barr. Jr. 1889. lIoderalor. Jo". Patch; Clerk, Ollll,lnl Burr; SelectmeD, Abr...... U ..... I. Lulie WelllDpD, t-c Hukell. 1HO. )Ioo1erator, Joel Dalcum;' C"'rk. (''ullllni Burr; SelecUl,." Abra"am Bullell. 1_ H.rtwell. aa;'mel DamoD; Repreeealatl .... 81 .. ph.D Joa... 1841. lIIoderator. NadlUllel AtIe .. ; Clerk, C. .... lnl Burr; Selec_D. CulIiDI Barr, lCpbraim H..,.w...... _110 h&cb; BepreeeDtatI.... Aa Walker. Jr. 1M2. Moderator. Joel Balcom; Clerk, Cnelalal Barr; Sel-. Jo_ Palch. lCpbralm 1I.7 .. rd. How.rd 0."",; Rep .... nl.II .... Aa W.lk· • 1', Jr. 1843. lIodel'llior. Joel &ICOID; 01 •• k. CUlblul lIurr; Selec&­Dlen. II8ao Oartwoll. Ephraim U.7 ........ J"'" D"1w.rd; Repnllnta. U" .. A_ Wllllnpn. Jr. 1844. lIIoderator. Joel Bak_ j CI.rk. CUlbIDI Burr; lleledme .. lCpbraiDl H..,. ...... Joel Balcom, Jod 0..,.· " .... ; RepreeeDlatiYe. Booubtn BalM. 18411. lIIod .... lor. Joel &Icom; CI.rk. Cuotillal Durr; Selecl_a. J"'" Balcom, A I ....... lII&c1acoc11. Jan •• na7_n1; ne ...... alatl"e. ltoubooD 1100_ 1848. 1II ..... ralllr. o..pbu W.lklu.; Clerk, C ..... IDI Bun; "Ieclman. Cutbllli Durr. AU ..... JIIlchcoclt, Jamee B..,."IU'II; RepneeDt.&iYe. Chari .. W. WuocI. IN7. lIod.rator. Abrabam oullen; Clerk, CuIIlnl Burr; 8elactmen, Ouob· h'l Burr. Ja_ H..,." ..... 0_ Kendall; Be ...... DIaII" .. Air ..... Jli&chcock. 1848. lIIotieratar. Franchi \Y. Wrllb'; ("erk, J'raDchl TID' ker; Selecl .. eu, Jam .. II..,." ..... AIf ..... Jlltchruok, A. Walker. Jr. ; Be ...... ntatl" .. 11_ Xendall. 18~'. Moderalor. )"redarlek W. II .... .... ; CI.rk, CUIb,nl' Barr; Seledm.d, CUlblul Burr. Martla Ho ....... 81i .. Blca; .p .... Dtatly •• Ho ...... 0..... 18£0. Mod .... tor. )" ..... e .. W. WrI.h&; Clerk.!'raJ1CIa Tlulrer; Selectmen. MartiD 110,..."" S11. BI ... Sa.unel Burr; Bel ..... lllatly .. 1I0w .... O.t... 1861. Modara&or. )'nucl. W. Wrlsh&; Clerk. I'raocle Tiok.r; SelecIDl8D. OUIIblul Bllrr. WllllatD Sheldon.l'raoc" W. Wrllht; 1l ....... 0&Ulv .. B_ KeDclalI • • 1~2. lII .... rator • ........,.. w. Wrllht; CI.rk. 'J'raDC" .Th.ker; Selec&­_D. Cul,lnl Burr. Francia W. WrllbL, lII.rtln DO_I'd; BepreeeDta. &I .... Am ... Welll.paD. 1863. lIIoderator. 8eI'omua Oa&ee; Clerk. )"raD'

..... TIDker; 8elec&meD. lI.rUn 110 ........ 8Iep".D W1DI&D. WllliaJIl 8heldoa: R ....... DtaU., .. Banjamla AileD. 18M. M ........ tor. J'raoc" W. W,,,IIt; Clerk. CuaI.I.1 Barr; Ilelaclmlu. )"raDoia W. W.llbL, ltephen W7m&0. 811 .. RI",,; BepreoaulaU., .. u..njawb. AU .... 18M. ....... ratar. )" .... W. Wrlg"'; Clerk. Cuehlol Burr; Ilelee&m.o. )"ran· ell W. WrI.hL, Lllke Welllogtoll. 8U •• Bin. 1861. lIoderator. Frauchl W. Wrll"'; Clerk. Caablol Burr; SeI .... &III.n.8tepben W7D ..... Lay) Burr. Lhert SpeDcer; BepreeeDlaU .... 0)' ..... A. Da.,... 1867. lIodera· tor,l'. W. Wrllh&; Clerk. P. O. Burr; Selec_n. 1'. W. WrllhL, Lake Welllnilon. J.-ph )"_1'. 18118. Modlrator.)". W. Wrlll,,; Olerll. P. C. Burr; IleleclDl8D. )". W. Wrll"L, Lukl WelUn"tOD. Joeeph I'oater. 1860. lIIode ... lor. 8tephen W7JDaD; CI •• k, P. Co Burr; .. lec&llll •• Ley) Burr. 8&opll.o W7D111n. Sataael P. Oll.on. 1800. M ..... nator. B. W.1Iea­D>&OI; Clerk. P. Co Burr; Seleclmeb. 1'. W, WrllhL, Lak. Welll ..... n, Paul OatH; Be ...... Dt.t1Ye. J_pb 1'_1'. 1861. lIoderator. B. W. 8eamana; Clerk. P. 0. Burr; Sel_n. SlI .. JUce, Joaeph )" .. 1.1'. B. )". WalllL 1862. lIoderator. B. W. 8eama.; Clerk. P. 0. Burr; Se­lectm.D • .roaepb )"""1'. 11. )". Wallla, JOhD 8. Jaquith. 1883. JIod ..... . tor. 1'. W. Wrll"'; Clerk. J. III. J. J.n.; Selec&lllen. )". W. Wrllht, John 8. J.qaltb. lJbool'l7 WelllnlloD; Rep .... Dtad".. hul Oa_ 18M. lIoderator.)". W. Wrllb&; Clark. B. II. BII1-rd; Selectmen. 1'. W. WrlpL, J. 8. Jaquith, Llbort7 WalllupD. 1886. 1I0derat0r. P. W. Wrlgh'; Clerk. B. H. 1Ia7_rd; Salec&wen, 1'. W. W ...... L, J. 8.

,J.qaUb. JJber&;r W.lllnpaD; Bepneenlatl" .. Oeorp L. Hltcheock. 1888. lIIoderator. 1'. W. Wrllb&; CI_rk, P. O. Burr; Ilelt!ctmaD. )". W. WrilbL, J. 8. J.qul&h. Llbel'l7 WelllapD. 1887. lIoderatar. )". W. WrI.h&; Clerk. )" ..... TIDhr; 8alectm.D. Llbtrtr Walliapn, Chu. O. O_D, Juliua X. Oat.. 18GB. lIoderator. I' ... u .... W. Wrllhl ; Cieri<, )"rancla TIDker; Selec&men, Satauel B. Damon. lkbert Spencer. J .. hD O. WldIDa;p. 18811. lIIot1el'll&or. DaDnla 1'..,.; Clerk, AluDIO A. Carr; Se· lec&II,eD. Samu.1 B. Damon. JObD Co WbUue7. Jullua K. Oatea; Repre­aenlali" .. Satauel B. Damo... 1870. Motierator. 1'. W. WrI,bt; Clerk. AlonlO A. Carr; SoIectDl8n. 1'. W. WrllhL, JUbD C. WbUne1. Chari .. 8.

. AIIID. 1871. lIoc1uJ'Hlor. )". W. Wrllb&; Olerk. AioDlO A. Clarr; Se-lectmon. John Co WbItDe,. K. 1'. Slone, Joel F_. 1872. lIoderalor.

)". w. Wrllht; Clerk. A. A. Carr; Selec:lDafon, John 0. WhltDe7 • .,. W. WrlPI. Oeorge H.DdIa;p. 1873. lIoderat.or • .,. W. WrIsh&; Clerk,.L A. Carr; .. lectme •• ·)". W. WrllhL, 0e0I'p Bandle,. J.-ph J'aot.r; lIep_latl" •• AI08IO A. Oarr. 187'.lIodarator.)". W. Wrllh&; Clerk, A. A. Carr; Selec&Dl8a, )". W. WripL, .r_pb )" ...... J_ 1'0000r. 18711. Moclarator. Oeorp 8. Sha,,; Clerk. J. W. 8he\doo; Se­leclme .. J_pb 1'011 .... J_ )"""r. J. P. Ba7_rd. 18711. M .... rator. 1'. W. Wrlp'; merk, J. W. 8beldoo: Selectmen, Jft'. ~.J. P. Ra7-"" 1'. W. WrlP&. 1m. lI .... rator. )". W. Wrllb,; Clerk, J. W. SbeidoD; SelectmeD. J. P. lJaJ ....... )". W. W .... bl. J_ )"081 .... 1878. Moderator. BdwlD K.Johuon; CIerII:. J. W. 8heldoo; .lecl .... . J_ I'oat.r. Joel )" .... 1'. William 8. .. ahroolt; ~"U ...... W. Wrlab&. 187. lIocierator. BdwlD K. Job_; Clerk, J. 1'. SheldoD ; 'Jelectmen. J_ )" ....... Wm. 8. J:etabrook, Joel )"....... 1880. II ....... ralor. )". W. Wrlllht; Clerk. J. W. SheIdoD; tlelec&MeD. W •• 8. Ella. brook. La... 1A ..... nce, Jullua K. Oatoe. 1881. lIoderator • .,. W. Wrllb&; Clerk. J. W. SheldoD; Sel"'-n, Wa L~. Jull. K. O.a.., hen D. Brooke. 1882. Moderator • .,. W. Wrlp&; Clerk, J. W. 8beldoD; Selec&_ .. WDl. L Jratabrook.JDII .. K. Oat-. Inn D • Brooke; Bepne;.Dtatl" .. AloDIO A. o..rr. 1883. lIoderator. )". W. Wrllht; Clark, J. W. 81 .. ldon; Sel_ .. JaU .. K. Oat., Oeorp H.noll.,. Wm. 8. Bltabroolt. 1 .... Mod_tor. )". W. 1'rllII& j Clerk. J. W. 8beldoD; 8elec&men. Oaor. lIandl.1. )". W. WrighL, AIoDIO A. Carr. 1l18li. Moderator • .,. W. Wrlgh&; Clerk. J. 1'. Sheldon; Selec&­meu. )". \Y. WrlgbL, A. A. Carr. Dnl4l1. Damon. 188Il. Moderator. ". W. Wrlalll; OIurk. J. W. S"ottlou; .. I",,&men • .,. W. Wrlgbt, Da,,14 II. DlUIIOn. J_ I'ooler. 1887. Moderator • .,. W. Wrllb&; ''Ierk. J. W. 8heldon; SeleclmeD.)". W. Wrllbl. DaYld B. DamoD. J_ )"oat .... 1888. Moderalor. )". W. Wrllh,; Clt!rk, J. W. Bbeldun; Seleclmell. r. W. Wrllb&, J_ )"oeter. Dorace L Brooke. 1880. lIoderalor. )". W. Wrlll'&; Cllrk. J. W. BbeidoD ; Selec&m ••• Jull .. K. O.tea, Joel )" ...... JOhD T. Carr; BepreeeDlallYe. Jlorace 8. Brooke. .

MAGISTBATES.-There wu no penon appointed here u a justice of the peace by royal favor during the eight years of existence which Ashby had under the relguof His Majeaty. After the adoption of the Con.titution the duty of appointing theee officertl dt'­\,olved upon the Governor. One hundred yeara ago there wu much dignity attached to thi8 office. The salutation on meeting wonld Invariably be II Good morning (if that waa the hour), Eequlre.Smith." E.cJuire Smith. alwaY8 In8tead of Mr. Smith. was tbe prefix used. There baa been a great change within a quarter of a century. and now men bolding thi8 office do not enjoy the distinction that once attended tbe poeition.

The following ia a li8t of the A8hby justices of-the peace. giving tbe data of their appointment and the dates of their death:

Jonathu Lock.. _'lIIl101oaed 1788, died Aa ..... 20.1808; AileD J'Iau. comm"'oDed 17", died October 7, 18111; AbI,Iah W1-. cum­ml_ODed 1801, dIed Noyembtr 114.180&; JOI.D Locke.commlllloD..a 18ti, died ADI"II 2., 1866; JohD W7mla, commllaio.... IU. died JIa1 tI. 1818; AleuD ..... T. Willard, oow .. -,..o .... 1811.41ed IlKem ..... H. 1860; J:aeklel Coleme .. commllaloDed 1818, died Deeember 10. IBM ; 8lepb •• W7maD. SeD •• oolllmllaloDed 181'7. died April so, 18111; AIDoe WelllDpn.oommlMioDed 1831. died No"_ ..... lID, 1867; Lalle Wol· Unaton, commlllioDed 184.'. died Januar;r 28. 1888; laac htch. _ ml .... aed 1848, died April 28, 1847; Allred Hitchcock. _ ...... 0 .... 1843, died M.~b 80, 187'; ODahlq Barr. _ ...... Ded 1848, died )".brDlll'7 a, 1888; )"raDchI W. W rilhL, commlllloDed 1848; Stephen W7....... Jr •• cumm"'oDed l86O, died )"abraar;p 18. 1888; Launard )"rench. COIIlIDIIIIoDed 18118; KartlD Do ........ ~ed 11611 ; BaD· J.mID W. s-n. .... oommlalioD..a 1 .... died No.,.m ..... 18, l88Il ; r..­Allen, oommllllloued IIM1B, diM III..,. 10. 1887 ; J .. _ II. J. JeRe,-. IllIMi0D&4 1884. diad Decembar 22, 1888; DanD" )"&7. comm .... oned J 8811. died l'.brual'7 21. 1880; l'r&DchI Tlnk.r. COIDmllaioDed 1888 ; Jlonj.mln 1'. Wallace, oommlllioned 1887; AloD80 A, Carr. eommJa. .0Ded 187'; CI ....... O. O .... D. oomm ..... ued ·187. ; Jonu P. B..,.w ..... oomlUlllioued 187 •• died Noyun.boor II. 1887; .... ael B. Damon._ mlloloDed 18T8; 8. J_pb BNdI.., COIIIIDIIIioued III"

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ASIIBY. 327

The l.ut named gentleman hu tbe pow., to iaaue warrants and take bail; and t.he Gffice wu given to bim because Alhby ill situated ahout sevente.n mnH from a Middlesex District Court.

OHAPTER XXII.

ASHBY-( 001"'''-'>.

P08T-OFFICE, PBY8ICLUiB, AGRICULTURAL, PER­

SONAL NOTICES.

P08T-OFFICB.-A POlt-o.ftlce wu eatablifhed in Alhby in 1812, lOOn after the turnpike wu finished. The follGwing li.t o.f poatmaatera, with the datea o.f their appointments, wu furnished by the P08t-oftlce Department at. Wuhington :

Alex&Dder T. Willard, appointed lan\lU'1 IT, 1811; Llol' Ball, a~ pointed October .. 18311; WI\I ... W--. Ir., appointed 1[&1 21, IM7; lIardn Howard, "IIPOInted IIa7 al. 1MB; B...... Whlu.-, a~ pointed Inll .. lilt; Oeorp L. ...... appointed April It, 1161; A....... Wblte, appointed »-naher 18, 1866;......... I[. Allen, a~ pointed .al .. 1880; a.l\lamln W. 1Ieamane, appointed "...-15, 1881; Pe_ C. Barr, appoIuted March lIS, 11M; (Jbu_ O. a_n, ~ppolntecl October aI, 1817; Oeorp HucUq, appolated B_her tI,l885.

Mr. Willard held the Gffice twepty-seven years, eight mGnths and seven daYI. At first the o.ftlce was kept by Nathaniel Adami, at the tavern o.n the corner o.f the CommGn. A part Gf the time it W&l kept at the Start ltore. Mr. Hall W88 a shoemaker, and he had the office in the west wing of· O. O. Green's store. Since 1860 the oftlce hu been kept at its present locatiGn.

PBYBIClANB.-Dr. TAomae 0IrNr wu the tint dis­ciple o.f Galen, who. had the courage to commfnce in the practice o.f hil prof88lio.n in Albby. He settled here in 1774, seven yean af\er tbe iucorporatlo.n of the town, but nothing is kno.wn concerning his birth­place, o.r where he received bis educatio.n. His name do.H not appear on the town recorda mo.re than once or twice when he was chosen o.n a committee. The fact that he remained in practice here fo.r nearly forty yean fUrnIBhea sufficifmt evidence that hlB profeaaio.nal serYicee were appreciated bere. He was a skillful phYlician and an ho.no.rable maD. He died October 7,1816.

Dr • ..4.UM I'lGflg came to Ashby in 1798; his pre. viGUS history is alao unknG"n. He o.pened an oftlce and shared the practice whh Dr. Oaner. While here he built the ho.UIe which ltanda Gn the eat side of the road from the poat-oftlce to the South Village, jUlt after crouing the rivulet, tbe nest house lOuth o.f the Goodnow ho.uae, bnilt by Lewis Gould. He had an exteDBive pracliet>, IOmetimes riding beyo.nd the limits Gf tbe to.wn, and he W8S a mnch-relpected citi­zen.· He was the aecond perlOn in Ashby who. re­ceived tbe appo.!ntment o.f justice of the pface. The

next. year aRer he came here he was elected town clerk, and with the exception of two years he held the oftlce till his deceue. He died October 16, 1816, just. one week after the death of Dr. Carver.

Dr. AbrGAam BaW, Jr., lOOn arter the death of Dr. Flagg located in Ashby, and practiced medicine here about three yean, when he IOld out. to Dr. MOles Kidder and removed to LeomiDBter, where he wu in practice for lOme time, but. he returned to Ashby and bonght. out Dr. Kidder, and remained here till his death, April 28, 1861. ,

Dr. MOMa Kidder was born in Billerica, July 26, 1789. He entered Williaml College two yean in ad­vance, and spent the junior year (1810) in tbat iDBti­tution, but he did not proceed further in a collegiate course of study. He studied with. Dr. Stickney, of Antrim, N. H., during 1811, and with Dr. Mau.hias Spaulding, of Amherst, N. H., during 1812. In 1818 he wu a IlUI80n statiGned at FGrt Warren, where he remained until the clOle Gf the war. He was a sell­m:ute man, quick Gf apprehensiGn, and remarkable in regard to hlB power GfmemGry. He was not a healthy man, and for this reason while he was here at differ­ent times he had two men Gf his prof_on wit.h him as aaaistanta. He wu skillful and faithful to his patienta. He left town about 1826, af\er which time he wu in practice at TGwD88nd, Littleton and Dub­lin, N. H., a Ihort time in each place, and at last he removed to Lowell, where he died.

Dr. Georg~ HaW wu the BUcceaor of Dr. Kidder. There is nGthing palticular in tradition concerning this gentleman. He remained here abont five years when he remo.ved to Alton, lIlino.is.

Dr. DtJniel B. Outler W88 born in Jaffrey, N. H., Hay 10, 1808; graduated from Dartmo.uth College in 1883, from Yale 0011ege Medical Department 1884. He came to Ashby In 1884, and remained bere two. years and then he mo.ved to Peterborough, N. II., where he no.t o.nly became po.pular.as a physician, but he was a pro.minent citizen, ho.lding the mOlt im­portant. Gffices in the gift o.f the town, and where he died in 1889.

Dr. Alfred HatcAcocJ; wu born at Wesbpinater, Vt., October 28, 1t\18. In 1881 he went to New Yo.rk Oity and spent. three o.r fo.ur months to be cured Gf stam­mering, which waa a great annoyance to him and an impediment. frGm which he suffered greatly during his YGnth. He returned partially relieved, but he never entirely overcame the embarraaament. His early educatiGn wu acquired at the." People's Col­Ifge," the commo.n school, althGugh he pursued his ltudies at the academy at Bennington, Vt., and at Phillips Academy, Andover, a. short time at each place. Hil health failed him 10 that he W88 unable to Itudy; and from Ando.ver he went ho.me and pa8Ifd a IGng time under the care of a doctor. In 1884 he commenced the Itudy o.f medicine in bis native town with a phYlician Gf conliduable no.te, with who.m he remained a year o.r mo.re. .He graduated from Dart-

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328 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

mouth College Medical Department in 1887, and commenced the practice of medicine in Ashby the .. me year. In the beginning of hil practice fortune seemed advene, and it is laid that for the first aix weeki he bad no bUline88. Hia merita, however, lOOn began to be appreciated, and it W88 not long before he entered UptID a IIphere of userulne88 which attended all hili labors 88 long u he lived. Through hil intlu­ence Alhby, though a Imall town and lurroundt'd by able phYlician., btcame a centre of medical practice. Young men reabrted thither to avail themlelves of MI teachinliR, particularly in anatomy. He repre­lented .Alhby in the General Court in 1847, Bnd WIUI

one of the lelectmen in 1848. During the out two years he W88 invited and imponuntd even, by the in­fluential people of Fitchburg to remove to the towo. Ue went to Fitchburg in 1850. In 1861 he aLteodl:d medical lectures In Paril during a vilit to Europe. In 1861~2-63 he wal a member of Govemor AndrewB' Council. Hil death, which occurred Marcil 50, 1814, W88 caused by angina pectoria, which W88 exceed­ingly diltreaaing at timea, and at a partial reltef of what proved to be the final paroxYBm hia lut worda were, "Now I will reat."

Dr. Leonard Frmch, Ion of Leonard C. and Nancy (HutchiulOn) French, W88 born in Bedford, N. H., Nov. 11, 1817. Fitled for college at Gilmanton (N. H.) Academy; graduated from Dartmoutb, 1848; took hill degree of M.D. from the .. me college in 1846. -April 1.1847, he came to Aahby Bnd entered into partnership with Dr. Hitchcock, with whom he re­·mained three years. He then located in Fitchburg; but for lOme reBlOn, known only to himself, he only remained tbere three monthl, and then returned to Ashby, and continued the dutiel of hia pror8881on until November, 1861, when he removed to Manchea­ter, N. H., wbere he now Italldl at the head of tbe medical prof8l8ion. While he wos here he had an extensive practice, W88 conlulted in difficult ClleB from the adjoining townl, and W88 much respected. He W88 one of the counlelors of the Maaaachuaetta Medical Society. He h88 two 100B, both of whom were born ,in Alhby, wbo are practical phYBicianl and lurgeonl. Dr. L. MelJville French, bom July 26, 1849, commenced the study of medicine at home in 1869, afterward attended lectures at the Univer­-sity Medical College, New York, through a counJe, aud in 1873 graduated from Dartmouth Coll.ge Med­ical Department. He is now in practice at Manches­ter, N. H. Dr. Henry M. French, hi, second Ion, wal born April I, 1858; graduated (rom Dartmouth College in 1876; took his degree o( M.D. In 1879. from the Bame inltit'lltion. In 1880 he attended a coune of loot.ures in New York City, and anerward was con­nected with the hOlpital at Flatbulh, N. Y. "He il at present in practice at C;)ncord, N~ H., where he is a lucceurul phYl'ician and surgeon. . Dr. Oharlu DafJU followed Dr. French 1000 after ue le1\. Dr. J. B • ..tndmo. W88 in Alhby a Ihort time.

Dr. Jamu EmerlOn wal bom in Barnltead, N.H .• in 1817; gradualed (rom the Dartmouth Medical School in 1867; was in practice a' Ashby (rom 1862 to 1865; residt'd in Gardner since that time until he died there, January 18, 1890.

Dr. JOIio.A M. Blood; BOD of Ebenezer and Betey (Abbott) Blood, was born in Hollia, N. H., JuJy -3, 1832. He fitted for college at Worcester Academy, but did not purlloe a col!egiatecourae. He graduated from University Medical College, New York, in 1867. An alumnul or thil college eays or him, " He wal one of the lis: b8l!t acholara in hil clan or one hundrt'd and twt'nty." He commenced practice in Temple,N. H., and remained more than two yean in that town. From Temple he removed to TOW'DBeod and practiced bie prufc:aiCln until the commencement of the Civil War, when, in 1862, he W88 appoinhd l118iatant lur­geon in the United 8tlltes Army. He remained in the le"ice until the cl~ or the war. He came to Ashby in 1865, and for a quarter or a century he hall held, and now holdl, the confidence of ita citizenl. He il a modest man, skillful, cautioua, prompt to an appointment, and hil record comparee favorably with any of his predOO8ll8Ors who hAve practiced medicine in Ashby.

AGIlICUL'l'UlUL.-The rarming Interestl of Ashby, compared with that of the adjoining toWDl appear to good advantage. The 188t decennial C8Daul (1886) gives the number of farmers u 157, number or farm laborers 88 101. The popnlaLion or the town at that time W88 871-number or maletl, 486; number or femalea, 435. Number of boYlln the public Ichooll, 60. The Iggregate of the farmera, labarers and boya wu 876, leaving 118 malel including thOle who were either too old or too young for labor, who are engaged In every other indultry. or this 118, 48 are repre­lented 88 elther retired or at home (children under ten years), leaving only 75 malee in town who do 1&01 work at farming. These worken produce annually on their farms over 8000 tonI of hay, about 12,000 bUBhels or potatoes, about 8000 bushel, of Indian corn, about 1000 bUlhels of oata, about the aame quantity or barley and other grains and vegetables in about the same proportion. From their orchardl, in every" odd year," they gather about 13,000 bUBbellolmerehanta­ble apples besides the fruit not It for market, which ia made into cider Imounting to about 12,000 gaHons. 'J?hey have 68~ milch cows, and a creamery, operated by a Imall engine, the annual product of which il 40,000 pounda of butter. Quite an amount or dairy products does not go through this creamery, but is Uled at bome. A large amount or milk il put on the can for BOlton market and' lOme retailed in Fitch­burg. Besides these lources of income they have large graperies and acres of land covered with vine­yarda, which {except an occaaional year )Vhen (rolt comes too early) pay them well for their labor. One man IOld twentyittix pounda or grapes recently for fifty-two dollars. - And thell the peaches, the straw-

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ASHBY. 329

berries, and other .Imall fruita, receive an. equal amount of attention, and pay equally u well for the trouble of cultivation. If the farmen in this climate can accomplish BI

much and do BI well u il above represented, it cer­tainly IhowlI a . lack of good judgment for 10 many young men in New England to leave the old home-8tead and begin anew in the land of cyclones at the far West. One thing is certain beyond dispute: it will be long time before any real estate agent will make a fortune on commiuionl in selling farml in Ashby. Ita citizenl love their homes and do every­thing they can to induce tbeir children to be attached to the town, .by approving of all innocent amuaementa, by giving them excellent advantllge8 in achooling, and by aupplying them abundantly with those newI­papers and magazinel which reflect the thoughta of lOme of the keenest minda of thil natIon. The people of thla t9wn have a good amount of wealth, and their building!! are kept up with neatna and good taate. They enjoy good air, good water and delightful acenery, and beat of all, they are cc not Ilothfulin bus­ineal," but IC giveu to hospitality."

The persoll who named the town il unknown, but it is known that ita name hBl for a long time and l\ill ia pronounced wrong by many. It is not Ashbye, but Alhbee, the Iaat Iyllable lOunded like bee. In no other State or nation il it pronounced Aahbye, but it ia Aahbee. No one ever heard of General Canby&­pronounce it Canby and the Indian fighter flubea be­fore the mind.

PERSONAL NOTICBS.-Jmnu Loci', a very enterpri­ling man, came from Hopkinton in 1749, and bought two Iota of land of Amoa Whitney, .ituated on Bat­tery Hill, and commenced a settlement on it the lame year. ·This land wu taken into Ashby at the incorporation of the town, and it lies on both lidea of the road leading from Greenville to Fitchbnrg •. Thil WBI the next year after John Fitch wu captured by the la"agee, and for aetr-preae"ation he bnilt a Itrong garrison-houae near the log cabin in which he lived. Tradition hBl it that he WBI a man of great physical ItrengLh and endurance, and very industrioul. . B, WBI fint in the list of church members, and he built a griat-mill, lituated on the Locke Brook, about a quarter of a mile eaaterly of the lpot where the large, unpainted houae now ltandl on what wu hia home­Itead. Be died September 1, 1782.

Jmnu Loc&, Jr., boro in Hopkinton In 1729, came to Townaend with hil father, and they lived together for lome time, until he married, and then they were near neighbon. He made great exertiou to get a good common education. When the petition for a new town (which reaulted in the incorporation of Ashby) wal before the General Court, he appeared at BOlton at two or·three different timea BI representa­tive of that part of the petitioDers belonging to Town­send.· At the tbat and aecond town-meetings under the 1lbarter he wu choaeil toWD clerk, and for the

next two yean he WBI moderator of the annual town­mp.atiuga.. He served 00 the Board of Selectmen four times, and waa on the committee for building the meeting-hQUIe. In 1773 he moved from Aahby to Townlend, and lived on a farm lituated. about a mne northerly from the harbor, and it WBI at that place where the Iheep were aheared and hia wi fa and daughter 8pun the wool, wove it into cloth, and mRde a 8uit of clothes for one of the family who WBI drafted into the army at 110 8hort a notice.1 He WBI second lieutenant in Captain James Hoaley's company of minute-men, who responded to the call of the 19th of April,I775. From 1774 to 1787 he WBI clerk of the Townaend proprleton, and the recordl he made, both in chirography and language, are equal to those made at the present time. In 1777 and 1778 he repreaeDted Townsend in the General Court.

JonathAn Loci" Jr., born Dec. 7, 1137, a brother of the former Jamea Locke, Jr., came to Alhby from Hopkinton in 1772, at the IIOlicltation of hil father to care for him,.u he had become old and well Itricken in yeare. He wu then thirty-five yean old, and he iDherited the activity and energy of hil father. Be wu town clerk in 1782 and 1785, and one of the selectmen five times from 1777 to 1785. Be W8I on important committeea several times. Be wu second lieutenant in Captain John Jones' company, which marched at the alarm on the 19th of April, 1775. He wu the first man in Ashby who held the oflice of juslice of the peace appointed by the Governor. In proof of his enterprise and force of character, we have only to look at the set of farm buildlngB, which have resisted the force of the elementa (or more than a century, now atanding on the place where he lived and died, and which he built. The farm i. now 'owDed by Lsaac B. Hayward. He died Auguat 29, 1808 •.

Cbptain JoAn JORetI, lIOn of Thoma and Mary (Milea) Jones, WBI born in Concord December 7,1730. Be married, October 24, 17M, Phebe Brewer, of Weaton. He lived in Concord until 1762, wheD. he settled in the northeaat part of Dorcheater Canada (DOW Aahburnham). He W8I a eelectmln of Alh­burnham in 1766 and 1767. In 1767 A..hby wu in­corporated, and his farm WBI a part of the new town. At the flnt town-meeting of A8hby (1767) he Will elected a 8electman, and allo for tbe years 1768, 1778 and 1778. He wu coDitable 1771 and town treaaurer in 1768 and 1771. He wrote a fair hand and gave ev­idence of an education beyond that of a majority of his time. He commanded the· company of militia which marched on the memorable 19th of April. He became one of the original memben of the church, and in town affairs wu often chosen on important committeea. The 10ClP,tion of hi. hoUle and land gave the name to "Jonea' Hill" in the weaterly part of the town. He died December 18, 1811.

Major &un,"l Stone, lIOn of Jonathan and Chary

1" lawt.lI.'. JJ BIItorJ 01 or __ .. ," pp. 101, 101.

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330 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSA.CHUSETTS.

·(Adams) Stone, W88 born in Lexington, June 10, . 17?:!. He moved to Ashby' in 1770, and lOOn after built the house where Francis 1:$. Wheeler now U"es, near Townsend Hne. He W88 an inn·holder here for several years. His grandson, Captain Prentice Stone, of Ashby {now an old gentleman). h88 th" sign which hung in front of his houae, on which is painted a man on homeback with the word" entertainment" under­nNLh. The Stones from whom he descended were among the earlr settien of Lexington, and· "were quite numerous in the town, 10 much 10 that ther were, in many instances, in the Lexington recorda, designated by their geographical position 88 John Stone, eaal. and John Stone, Wll, and Samuel Stone, eaal, and Samuel Stone, flJUt." He bought, in addi­tion to his fimt purchase, four or five Iota of land which were 101d for non-payment of taxes in 1772, 10

-that he had a large amount of land. He 'built the timt mill on the site where Stickney'. mill now stands, at the base of the Ashby Hills, in Towll88nd. At an earlr date he had a brick-kiln near Trap Falla Brook. He commanded the minute-men who responded to the call, April 19, 17.75. In 1776 he W88 chosen major in the militia. From 1772 to 1782 he served six times on the Board of Selectmen. In 1777 he served 88 a private, side and side with Colonel Wil­liam Prescott, of Pepperell, and M~or genry Wood, of Groton, in a volunteer company of sixty men, moat of whom belonged to Townsend, commanded by Cap­tain James Hosler, of Townsend, which went to the aaaistance of General Gates, and ther participated in the battle which reault.ed in the surrender of the over­confident General Burgorne. No other battl., of the Revolution e.a:cept that at Bunker Hill, was of 10 much importanc'e to the patriots. Major Stone died in Ashby, December 15, 1806.

Captam AMJah Wyman, IOn of Abijah and Abigail (Smith) Wrman, W88 born in Lancaster August 9,

·1745. No Ashbr man except John Fitch ever had 10 eventful a life 88 he palled. On the 14th of Au­gust, 1758, he W88 impreaaed into Captain John Car­ter's company for a drummer-boy. This companr marched on an expedition to Fort WUllam Henry and returned the following November. In 1762 he vol­untarilr served In Captain James Reed's company in the same capacitr. This experience on the rough side of life, added to the few weeki in each year p88led at the common echool untH he arrived at m~ori1.y, w .. the extent of his education. With his father, in the manufacture of brick, he accumulated lOme money, and at the age of twentr-six he came to Ashby. In ·1773 he bought a farm of 130 acres of Deacon Jonathan Lawrence, situatc-d northerlr and westerly of the Com­mon and joining land, at that time, of Joseph Davis on the e88t. In 1772 the province laid a tax on all non-resident land in Ashby, and empowered the 8IIIeIISOm to sell all the land on which the tax W88 not paid, to collect the money due the town. At these sales he bought f"uf lots of land for a Imall sum of

money. Soon after he bought three other tracts of land in Ashby, one from Abija.h Wyman, of Woburn, ~aking him owner of nine lots of land in town, lOme of them joining each other. He was fimt sergeant in Captain Stone's company before mentioned. When that company re~urned, under a provincial call for men he enUsted a company conaiating of citizens of Ashby and other towns, of which he wu appointed captain. His company wu in Colonel William Prea­cott's regiment and "u engaged in the baUle of Bun­ker Hill, io which two of his men were killed and two taken prialonem, who lOOn after died of their wounds nceived in the action. He married Bettie Stearn., of Billerica. Atwr the war ended he indua­trioualy applied himself to the improvement of his real estate and the gene~1 prosperity of the town. He served on the Board of Selectmen ave Ye&IB, and w .. moderator of nioe of the town-meetings, from 1774 to 1801. Be " .. one of the charter membera of Social Lodge of Free Muons, and for a ahort time he "as landlord at the tavern which adjoined the IOUth­weat corner of the Common. He died in Ashby, No­vember 24,1804.

HOft. JOM Locu, 100 of Jonathan and Marr (Haven) Nichola Locke, W88 born in Hopkinton Feb­ruary 14, 1764. He W88 no~ a brilliant echolar, bu~ he had much patience, and while engaged in teach­iog school through several terms he, for the most part, fiLted himself for college. He graduated from Har­vard College in 1792. In 1796 he wu admitted to the bar, and commenced the practice of law in ABh~ by. He held the responsible offices in the gift of the town, and took much interest in its welfare. He rep­resented Ashbr in the GenerlAl Court in 1804, 1805, 1818 and 1823. In 1820 .he W88 the member for Ashbr in the Constitutional Convention. .In 1823 he W88 elected a member of Congress for the North Wor­cester .District, Ashby being then in that Congres­sional District, and W88 twice re-elected, making a lib: yeara' service in Coogr_. As a lawrer he was noL an eloquent advocate, bu~ .. a judge oftaw and u a counselor he stood in the front rank in the profes­sioo. In 1804 he built the dwelling-house on Hain Atreet, now owned and occupied by Mm. Willard, which has been kept in excellent condition aince he lert the town, and it is decidedly the most substantial and elegant dwelling-houae in Ashby. He lived a few yeam in Lowell, but th, latter part of hla life he spent in Boston, where he died Auguat 24, 1855.

a",hiflg Burr, son of John and Emma (Cush­ing) Burr, w .. born in Bingham January 21, 1759. He settled in Ashbr about 1788. He carried on a farm a part of the time j belides belng interelted in the tannerr, he "88 engaged in making wooden dry­measures, consisting of those holding from half a buahel to quart-measures. He was a man of ac~ion rather than of worda j very decided in his opinions, although always courteous towards every ooe.. H. .was much r4jllpected br hil townsmen, being one of

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ASHBY. 331

the lelectmen fifteen timea between 1801 and 1825, and modera~or of the annual town-meetingB thirteen times between 1800 and 1825. He accumulated a large amount of property for hil time, the appraiaal or hia estate at hie cJeceue amounting toover'16,000. He died September 19, 1838. .

/..evIiJ Gould ([ han been uDable to learn t~e names of hil puente) wu born in Franklin October 16,1771, W&8 graduated from Ha"ard College 1797, and tradition 8&)'1 that he punued a coune of theo­logical ItUelles with the iDtentioD of enwring the miniltry. Litlle ie known concerning him prior to 1804, when he came to Ashby and opened a ltore in a buildiDg which ltood where AUltin Hayward's house now stande. He a1wa)'l dresaed in a IcrupU­lously neat manner with the rume Ihirt accompani­ment of hie time; wal eccentric, and 80metimea hie language would be in bad talte fur a maD holding hie pOlit..!on in aociety. But UDder a BOmew hat rough ex­terior he carried a warm heart, aDd in all hil dealiDgB he waa Itrictly honest, COUrteoUI and obliging. Dllr­Ing the 10Dg time in which he wu in trade here he must have acquired a email fortune, &8 his family u­pens811 were light and he waa prudent, but not mil­erly. In 1846, at\er a reaidence here of more than forty yeara. be wrote a polite letter "To the Inhabit-­anta cf the Town of Aabby," in which,oD certain conditions, he offered to give three hundred dollara with wblch to buy a town· clock. The town acceded to bil wishes, wbich were in regard to the tower on which it. W&8 to be put and the care that mould be taken of it. At\er the object W&8 accompliabed the town, not williDg to be outdone in etiquette by the donor. chose a committee to draA suitable reaolu­tionl to be Ipread on the town recorda concerning -the matter, of which the following are a copy:

.. ......" TlIat th • .",. teDden to 1Ir. Len Ooald u..tr r.pect and paUtude lor h .. ..., .. acla ....... aDd ....... doaa&loD of 1800 lor &b. paNllue ot a TowD aack.

"...,..." That ID .-pIID' Kr: Ooald'. dODetloD ..... _p17ID, wllIt hie ..... ID am-DUD, a Town Clock, W. ha .. a .... tltDl .....

. • DdarlaS_.Dto of hleJD.u..- .... pahllo ..,.r1t aDd beD •• ol.Dce. "Bo_lInIIeaa, "A!.rOD BI'fOReomt, .. ~ ..

Mr. Gould, &8 haa before been ltated, gave the town-clock, the Fitch Monument on the Common t. the town, and twenty-five dollara toward. the bell on the chinch of the Firat Parish.' He died in Alhby April Ur, 1851, and wu buried at Hount Auburn Cemetery.

Benja.miA, EliM, ..(rIIOI tmtl LilHrty Wellingllm, BOnl of Benjamin and Lucy (Smith) Wellington, were borD in Brookfield. Benjamin in 1764, Ellaa in 1766, Amos in 1770, and Liberty in 1774. They came to Ashby between 1786 and 1790, and settled on farml in th. nortb weat pan of the town, lome of them on the north­erly brow of Jones Hill. They were carpeDtera and bricklayen, and well adapted to make them.elveahomea in a newly-settled town. They made large and com­modioaa dwelllng-houaea, br9ught manyacree of wild

land into a good state of cultivation, and let out large orchard., which they enclosed with atone walle. They and their descendante were much-respected eitizen!!. Benjamin died November 9, 1817; Eli&8 died Janu­ary 28, 1824; Am.,. died November 20, 1857, and Liberty died April 24,1861. Amos waa town clerk, 1810, 1812; representative in 1812; lelect.man six times between 1806 and 1818, and moderator at the annual town-meetingB seven timea in the aame length of tim a. His BOn, Amos Wellingtou, Jr., represented the town in 1862. Liberty served on the Board of Selectmen for five yean, and wu. choaen on leveral important committees.

Cu,hiag Burr. BOn of CUlihiDg and Emma (Cush­ing) Burr, W&8 born in Ashby October 24.1791. He waa decidedly a busineaB man: engaged in a tannery, -in storekeeping and in the lumber bUlin ... - Novem­ber 21, 1821. he married Mi .. Hulda Wright, and lived and died in the house which il the present rea­idence of Charles O. Green. He waa a popular and uleful citizen, waa moderator several times, and town clerk for thirteen yean between 1840 and 1867. He W&8 one of tbe selectmen for seventeen yeara, between 1824 and 1862, and he served on the moat important t.OWD committees. He represented Alhby in the Gen­eral Court in 1832.1838 and 1835. He died in Ashby February 8, 1866, and W&8 buried with Haaonic honora.

J47MI O. Kendall, son of Joseph and Mary (Haynel) Kendall, was born in Alhby January 4. 1821. He i. one of the succellllful mlln w lao were borll in thil town. In his youth hie time Wall divided between an attend­ance at the diatrict school and working with hie father at. the carpenter'. trade. On hil arrival at manhood he bpgan in the manufacture of tuba and paill at the South Village. He built two of the milla now in operation there. In 1868 he married MiIII Phe" H • Denny, of Leicester. He waa one of the five mill­ownera who built. the reservoir. - In 1866 he moved to Hartford, . Wiaconsln, where, for a few yean, he had liberal pay for hil services &8 a mill-wright. In 1860 be bought In interest in the Hartford mill property, including the water-power, saw·mill and flouring­mill at that place, situated OD the Milwatikee aad Saint Paul Railroad. Tb. firm with which he is con­nected does buuaeaa onder the name of J. O. Ken­dall & Co. The bUllin .. of tbie firm increased 10 rapidly that, in 1878, they built an utenaive brick flouring-mill. known &8 The Hartford Hill.. In 1883 the firm remodeled the mill into a complete roller­IYltem, and IIOW the firm bandlea from 125,000 to 150,000 bushele of grain annually.

JiJ-anciI finm-, BOn of John and Philena (Francie) Tinker, waa born in Worthington Janu~ 8, 1816. He acquired a good education at the academy in bis natbe town and at the academy at Ashby. Be learned the harueaa-maker'1 trade, and wbile here be worked at it for BOme t.ime,· wbich is good evidence that he had a lIensibl" parentage. Hen who graduate

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332 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

from tbe benches or tbe New England mechanics generally carry with them the best 'equipment to enter the battle of 11fe. He came to Ashby in 1842, and remained here until 1868, wben he removed to Leominster, and while he W88 there, i.n 1860, he wu elected one of the three representatives to the Gen­eral Court from the Sixtb W orc8llter Diatrict. In IBM he removed back til Ashby and wu four times elected u town clerk and baa served on the Behool Committee in a very acceptable manner. In 1866, Asbby chose" committee" to compile incidents and facts in regard to the early history of the town," con­sisting of ., William Sheldon, Joel Hayward, Stephen Wyman, Jonu Patch, George ~. Hitchcock and Francia Tinker." Generally the gentleman fint named on a committee hu "to bear the heat and burden ohhe day." Not 10 in thia instance, as Mr. Tinker worked faithrully and wu the only active member of that committee: and ju .. t here I wish to acknowledge my indebtedness to him for mOlt of the facts and incidents relating to the part ta~n by the citizens of Ashby in the Revolutionary War and in the War of the Rebellion. He ia author of " History of Norwood" in the .. History of Norfolk County," edited by D. H. Hurd. At pretent this gentleman rttlides at Norwood, where he has held the office of town clerk since 1872, when that town was incorpor­ated, where, like mine, his

0I)f1.,J or llr. Ia tall'. IDto the .. ,., tb. ,ellow lMt."

l+ancU Walter Wriglat, IOn of Abiel and Martha (Baker) Wright, wai born in NeIlSOn, N. H., Septem­ber 27, 1819. He worked on his father's farm while he W88 not at ichool, until lie was twenty yean old. Like many New Hampshire young men who have amounted to something, he took his tum at teaching school. He wu a trader in Marlow, N. H., for about a year. He came to Ashby in·]844 and opened a store in the bnilding which stands next west of his dwelllng-houle. After being in trade here for some time, he exchanged his ltock of goods for an interest in a tub and pail factory, which stood in the north­westerly part or the town. This bUliness requia:ed too much of hia personal attention and interrered with hia taste for general speculation 10 much that he sold out, and since 1848 he bu been trading in Deat stock, horses. real eltate, and, in fact, most every­thing that could be bought and IOld at a profit. He hu Ihipped many car-loads· of horses from Canada and IOld them in thil vicinity. He hu held nearly all t.he town offices. He has served 88 moderator of thirty-one abnual town-meetings since 1850, besides holding the same office many times at special town­meeting!!. and hilS held the office of justice of the peace since 1848. He represented Ashby in the General Court in 1879, and he pays tbe mOlt money in taxes of any citizen of AIIhby.

BIOGRAPHICAL.

KYRON W. WBITlfBY.

The subject of thil sketch wal born in Ashby Sep­tember 5,1886. He il descended from John Whit­ney, who lived in I"leworth, near London, in the early part of the seventeenth century, and who embarked at London for New England in April, 1686, in the "Elizabeth and Ann," Roger Cooper, muter, with his wife, Elinor, and five chUdren-John, Rich­ard, Nathaniel, Thomu and Jonathan. At the date of emigration John Whitney was thirty-five yean of age, hi. wife thirty, and the Ions were eleven, nine, eight, six and one, respectively. Boon after hia ar­rival Mr. Whitney settled in Watertown, where he bought sixteen acrei of land which had been granted by the MuaachuBetts C.,lony to Juhn Strickland. These acres were, however, onll the nucleul of a much larger estate of which he was the pOYe8aor at the time of hia death. Mrs. Whitney died May II, 1659, and her htllband married, September 29, 1669, Judith or Judah Clement, whose death was followed by tbat of Mr. Whitney June 1, 1678, at the age of seventy-four. Three IOns-JOIhua, Caleb and Ben­jamin-were bom in Watertown, and there, with tbe exception of Caleb, all the other brothen were living at the time of their father's death.

John Whitney, Jr., IOnoftheancestqr, was born in England in 1624, and married Rutb, daughter of Robert lWynoldl, of Boston. He wu a prominent man in Watertown, and served on the Board of Select­men from 1678 to 1679, inclulive. He had ten chil­dren: John, born September 17, 16t3; Ruth, April 15, 1645; Nathaniel, February 1, 1646-47; Samuel, July 28, 1648; Mary, April 29, 1650; Joseph, Janu­ary 15,16(n-52; Sarah, March 17,1653-54; Elizabeth, June 9,1656; Hannah (date of birth unknown), and Benjamin, June 28, 1660. Of these children Benja­miu marrifld, March 80,1687, Abigail Hagar and a second wife, Elizabetb, and remained in Watertown. Hia children were Abigail. bom May 8, 1688; Benja­min, baptized July 10, 1698; Ruth, baptized JUly 10, 1698; Juhn, born June 15,1694; David,June 16, 1697, and Daniel, July 17, 1700. Of these children David settled in Waltham and married a wife, Re­becca. He wu an ensign in the navy, and died be­fore April 30,1745, the date of the diviaion of hls estate. Hia children were Rebecca, born in Novem­ber, 1721; David, September 25,1728; Anna or Han­nah, August 8, 1725; Rut.h, February 28,1728-29; JOIiah, November 22,1730; J,onu, June 25, 1738, and Jonathan, February 10,1786. OCtbeae children JOIiah lived in Waltham, and married, June 15, 1762, Sarah Lawrence. He died December 8,1800, and his children were Sarah, bom April 18, 1768; JOItiah, June 23, 1765; Rhoda, August 22, 1768; Jonalhan, May 8, 1772; Allnle, baptized April 2, 1775, and Lucy, baptized July 28,1776. Of these

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ASHBY. .333

J08iah married Mary Barrett, of Ashby, to whom he was published January 10, 1794. His children were Josiah, born in Willtham March 20, 1791; Sally, born in 19,1792; Jon4?4? 4?',","",,,,,,#.t born in W&hlth4?'m 22,1793; Waltham 1796: William,

born April 7,18hl Alice, December 17#

was, with hItmDeeed to the churcb November 24, 1799, and in that town the death of hie wife occurred, August 28, 1841, followed by hi!! own, December 24, 1842. Of these children William lived in Ashby and married Fanny Lincoln, a native of Marlboro', :N. H. He is the father of Myron W. Whitney, the subject ofthi" sketch, and is still living (June, town at the ad4?&hfi4545b of ninety-tfi("

Myron 7.zutil the age of tended th( of Ash by, and th45.T% tfi##1t#',fi#'#¥ to Boston, 45ge of twenty, oped inUSkfiR talents of great began with E. H. Froat to study for the profeeaion in which he haa won diatinction, and soon became a member of the well-known Tremont Temple Choir, of which Mr. Froat .waa director. During his mem­bership in the choir, which continued several years, he Bang with marked succeea :in oratorios and con-

o certs: but, h##wers which needhl education ##wuld afford, he WW.T%t in 1869 at wIt I tty-three, and avaHwb of the the celebrated

Florence he Wfifit don, and, Randt'gger, the Uliliilitmigllltfi#1t.7 oratorio teacher, perfected himself in that department of musical art. While in England his singing of Elijah, with the Birmingham Festival Ohoral Society won for him a reputation which opened the way for a brilliant reception and career on his return to hie native land. After his return he sang in HFF.r."'·FFt

concerts afiIt .T%.T%til 1878, when h.T% lted Engl452Rd. .tmktract with soprano, to sing witb concert a.T%#~ ,.·.q#r through Engl.T%.T%d# and ScoUfifih, which he h.T%d -.fi ......... at his earlier appearance in England 1(IS enbanced by his later efforts, and the power and compau of hie voice, ranging from low 0 to high F, gave him a uni­versally acknowledged claim to a place in the front rank of the bauoe of his day.

In the autumn of 1878 he sang at Covent Garden in London durinIt concert and

0"0"1#.'11##11, under the directI.T%fi ATI"tbur Sullivan, Benedict and .T%.T%R.T%b11.T%Red directors,

iliili.T%t.T%med home in tb.T% Ib74 to fill en-.T%.T%R#TI".T%kTI" .. ·te at various AmTI"45R&h.T% and made a

United States Thomu and his unequalled· orchestra. In 1876 he again visited England under a contract with Novello, Ewer & Co. for a three montha' season of oratorio and concert in

Royal Albert Hall, London. This engngement was unusually brilliant and Bucc8l8ful, and at its close Mr. Whitney sang almost nightly in the larger cities

Great Britain u45¥.H to America, in !Spring of )876, whieb by an urgent eitation to take pa:rt of the CentenfiieTI Altposition in year. Mr. WPit· kR45Y was on that soloiat of the celkR" lH"ation. The imkR"kR&htkR front of the building was filled by a crowd estimated approJti­mately at 100,000, and the voices of the speakers failed to reach the eare of more than one-ter.th part

'of the multitude. Far within the circumference of the audience the voices of even the chorus were in­distinct, but over and beyond the limits of the great e.:rngregation the Mr. Whitney their way with a ,cYessifDet18 which eltcitkR"H the wonder and fin who were presekR*' ssfid heard them. ssfiIiliilie wu ever 8ubjecAH"H

such a test, and leu magnitude SS17er by the humakR tTI"Rumpharltly met.

Since 1876, though frequently urged to repeat his visits to England, he has confined himself to engage­ments at home, which have been arduous and unre­mitting. He has sung in all the large festivals of the country, with the Handel and Haydn Society in their Boston oratorios. in eight of the nine festivals

Cincinnati and Chicago, Clevel&h.T%d, Pittsburgh and t4513tlssa\s. He probadzH dfi8 the most extiliilimt%nkR of any bauo

E&hikRr efforts have opera also.

kRperatic eltperien{1ss, kRsser a period of lekR years, and including two 8euons with the American Opera Company through the United States, has crowned a reputation as bauo which no other singer of our country has ever attained. His SUCQe88 in the grand rile of King, in "Lohengrih," no American &h"dience has ever 11kRA#f"4?'iliilied. if even equaled,

Among the morkR .T%rtists with whom ItPhitney has 8ung m'%fitit:med,-Parepa Christine Ni1180n. Annie Louise CaB'O:'h. Glara ,Kellogg, Ch&hdes Adams, CanPI. hus and Gorg HenR4?~bssl %n.T%ited States; Mf"P, ame Titlens, Madame GR4?mmens Sderrington, Madame Trebelli, Madame Patey, Antoinette Sterling, SiDlS Reeves, Vernon Rigby and Juliua StockhaU8(ln in England; and Madame Rudendorf and Edward Lloyd in both the United States and England. As conductors he hu sung under Sir Michael Coata, Sir J,dikRt Sir Arthur SUUiVfi45.

ImtfikRfAIt1f45 and Sir Charles T"~,,ri ..... ,- H'bomas, Carl

the present year .. FROF........ of Boston, t:lprifi;hItt:·!t:E.

Pittsburgh, anIt end only with the advent of summer.

Mr. Whitney married, May 4,1869, Eleanora Brea- . aba, of Boston, in which city he beld his residence

D DogIe

334 HISTORY OF MIDDLESEX COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS.

until December. 1888, and haa three children,-Wil­}jam Lincoln, Lizzie Gertrude and Myron W., Jr. In 1888 he removed to Watertown, where he bought an estate whicb he hu lince occupitd, and which he haa dilcovered is a part of the eatate owned by hi. ancestor, John Whitney, during hil residence in that town. In 1880 he bought land on the shore of Long Pond. in the town of Plymout.h, on whicb he built a houle whicb he occupies as a lummer residence. The pond on whOlle margin his bouse Btands, ILnd t.he large namer of other pondl in the vicinit.y, ILlford bim ILbundant. opportunity for the indulgence of his taBte for til\hing during intermissionl from hi. profeaBionlL1 llLboJ'jl. Hil Bkill wit.h the rod is only lurpaaeed by hi. mUBlcal ILttainmenta, ILnd it is IL mat.ter of doubt whether be ia not. leu proud of his reput.at.ion as an artiBt tban of tbe felLt he haa performed of IILnding IL trout weighing twenty-tive pounds ILnd fourt.een ouncel witb ILn elevenoOunce rod.

Mr. Wbitney is in the prime of life, with health unimpaired, and with a voice promiling Btill greater triumphs than It hal ever yet ILchleved. During hll Bummer residence in the nlLtive town of the writer of thiB lketch he haa won hoeta of friende, and not tlae leut of hiB lucceuel waa the part gracefully accepted by him at the celebration of the completion of the National Monument to tbe PilgrimB on the let of Auguet, 1889. On that occulon t.be beautiful hymn of Mrs. Hemanl, "The Breaking Waves Daehed High," aa Bung by him before an audience of 2000 personB, wu one of the moet interesting features of the day.'

Ihadow of N emoett HUl, known allO aa Prospect Hill and Blood HiIl~ Edwin K. dbltinctly rememb'8I'I hil grandfather, and when not at echool he worked wit.h hil father on his farm. He at.tended t.he academy at Hancock, N. H., one term, was at. New Ipswich Academy three terllil, and at the Aahby Academy moet of the t.ime for two yean. ,He learned the malOn'. trade, ILnd after he became maater of the buaineM he went to Boaton, where he made a lpecial­ty of letting boilers, ranges and fumILC8I, and he fol­lowed thil occupat.ion .ucceufully for twenty-one years. He attended ItricUy to hll bUline81, .. ved hie money and inveated it wiLh good judgment. For the laat t.wenty years he haa lived on the ancaotral home­stead, where be cared for ht. parenta in their declining yeu. and to lOme extent haa improved his farm. He haa never conted office, ILlthougb he haa aerved a. moderl\tor at the annual town-meetings and haa been on the School Committee levenl yean. He ie a Re­publican in politiea, baving vo~ for every Republi­can candidate for the Presidency since that party was formed.

CHAPTER XXIII.

WOBURN.

BY WILl.IAM Il. CUTTEIL.

INTRODUCTION.

WOBURN, according to a recent autbor:ty, is one of the older town. of Muaachl1l8tta, having been lettled

EDWIN X. JOHNSON. in 1642. Ita growth, however,-it contioues,-wu Edwin Kendall JohnlOn,lon of Will lam and Betsey Ilow, and it i. ooly in rect'nt years that i' hu at­

(Wright) Johnson, wu born in Asbby October 6, tained to marlted importance. Thill indeed ill true. 1827. He married Lucy M. Thayer, of Lebanon, Itill, Woburn hu, naverthel8ll, quite a biI~ry, and Maine, July 19, 1866. She died in Alhby October in the put hu faithfully performed her part In the 19, 1870. No children. He ill dABC8nded in the tifth State and country. In the earlier daye. when the geoeration from Captai"o Edward Johnlon, born in fathers were II10wly and broadly laying the foundation Herne Hill, Kent, England, in 1699. He came to of the privilegel and advantagell her preeen' IOn. en­New England in 1687, and eettled in Charlestown in joy, many of her sons were eant to adorn aDd benetit that part thereof which is oow Woburn. He is known othermunicipalitiee,wheretheircareersnotonlygained u the author of the remarkable historical work credit for themselvee but increUed the renown of the entitled " Wonder-Working Providence of 8ion'I Sa- placee they llad eelected for their adopted hom ... viour in New England." He waB a joiner, a prom i- The ame i. true of her daughters; and the careers nent military man, and deputy from Woburn to the of these, and of the others whoee Uvea have been Genenl Court many time.. He died in Woburn Ipent on .their natailOil, in very maDY instancee have April 28, 1762, and hilllOnB were the leading men of Ihown commendable examples of worth and uaeful-, that town. William wae a favorite Chriatian name in neBI, IObrlety, indultry, good eenee and abounding the .Johnson family. and every paternal ancestor of activity in all common employmentll. Due regan! the Rubject of thil IIketch linlle the time of Captain hu allo been paid to all religious, educational and Edward had that name. Hil grandfather lived in moral, and pecuniary obliglLtions. The financial Acton, was a prominent man there, a 101dier in the credit of the tow~ and city in ita corporate capacity Revolution under GeDeral Arnold, waa in the battle has always been good; and ita bills have always been , at Santoga when Burgoyne lunendered. He saw paid with commendable promptD8II. The place haa . }I~or Andr6 executed 'and testitied to his attractive allO contained among ita inhabi&anta many public­personality and his quiet IlUbmiasion to hil fate. He Bpirited ci,izens, both male and female, who have moved to Ashby i.n 1791 andaettled bene&th the evening , given ,enerously of their time and meaoa for ita 10-.

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