USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Templeton > Historical discourse in commemoration of the one hundredth anniversary of the formation of the First Congregational Church in Templeton, Massachusetts : with an appendix, embracing a survey of the municipal affairs of the town > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
Gc 974.402 T249a 1781175
M. L.
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01104 8987
2 copy.
AN
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE
ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE FORMATION OF THE
Ist.
FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN TEMPLETON,
MASSACHUSETTS. -
Wilith an Appendix,
EMBRACING A SURVEY OF THE MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS OF THE TOWN.
BY
EDWIN G. ADAMS,
JUNIOR PASTOR.
-
BOSTON:
CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 111, WASHINGTON STREET. 1857.
2.9 9
8449/201
1781175 A'N
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE
ONE HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY
OF THE FORMATION OF THE
1st FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN TEMPLETON,
MASSACHUSETTS.
Salith an Appendix, y
EMBRACING A SURVEY OF THE MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS OF THE' TOWN.
BY5
EDWIN G. ADAMS,
JUNIOR, PASTOR.
THE NEWBERRY LIBRARY CHICAGO
BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 111, WASHINGTON STREET. 1857.
T 1
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historicaldiscou00adam 0
F
Adams, Edwin Goodine, 1821-1877.
844921 An historical discourse in commemoration of the one .1 hundredth anniversary of the formation of the First Congregational church in Templeton, Massachusetts. With an appendix, embracing a survey of the municipal affairs of the town. By Edwin C. Adams ... Boston, Crosby, Nichols and company, 1857.
D
vi p .. 1 1., 175 p. 23343.
284486 another copy.
.1 1. Templeton, Mass. First Congregational church. 2. Templeton,
CC Cam Mass. That
6 -- 15335
Recat
05 11
Library of Congress
F74.T27A2
PREFACE.
As it seemed desirable to make some commemoration of so interesting an event as the completion of the first cen- tury of the existence of the First Church of Christ in this town, the junior pastor, on Sunday, Dec. 9, 1855, the day preceding the anniversary, preached a Discourse, continued through both parts of the day, containing an historical sketch of the carly settlement of the town and of the annals of the church. Rev. Dr. WELLINGTON, the senior pastor, took part in the services, morning and afternoon, - reading the Scriptures and hymns, and offering prayers.
Soon after the delivery of the Discourse, a request was made to have it printed ; and arrangements were made for that purpose. But, before they were carried into exe- cution, the desire was expressed, from many sources, that the writer should proceed to make some account also of the municipal affairs of the town since its incorpora- tion. IIe assented to this in part, though not ,expecting, at first, to enter into so much detail as is done in the Appendix. The printing of the sermon has accordingly been delayed, in order that the whole might appear to- gether. The amount of time and investigation requisite to make and verify a sketch of the affairs of a town
iv
PREFACE.
and society, extending through a period of a hundred years, can be appreciated only by those who have per- formed similar labors. Often a brief statement, occupying perhaps but a line, especially when it involves the asser- tion of a negative, is the result of hours and days of research among records sometimes not very legible. It has been the author's aim to make the survey contained in the following pages include a correct account of all the important votes and doings recorded on the various subjects named. For this purpose, he has carefully ex- amined . all the warrants ever issued for meetings of the inhabitants of this town, and for meetings of the ancient proprietors and of the parish, with the votes passed, and action taken under each of them. In the Discourse, some passages omitted in the delivery, for want of time, are now inserted ; and several additions have been made, con- sisting chiefly of historical details. A few items, originally in the Discourse, have been placed in the Appendix.
The information respecting the value of land in the township in the carly times was obtained mainly through the courtesy of DANIEL WARD, Esq., the examiner of titles in the Registry of Deeds at Worcester. Assistance in ascertaining various other facts has also been afforded by Rev. JOHN L. SIBLEY, Librarian of Harvard College ; by Rev. Dr. WELLINGTON ; and by others.
E
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE .
1
APPENDIX
75
.
NOTE A. - GRANT OF THE TOWNSHIP
75
NOTE B. - FORTY-ACRE HOUSE-LOTS 78
NOTE C. - MINE HILL
79
NOTE D. - SERMON AT REV. MR. SPARHAWK'S ORDINATION 80
NOTE E. - CHANGE OF PRICES 81
NOTE F. - RESULT OF COUNCIL 83
NOTE G. - RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES . 86
NAMES OF PROPRIETORS OF THE TOWNSHIP IN 1735 89
ORIGINAL DIVISION OF LANDS IN THE TOWNSHIP . 91
VALUE OF LAND IN THE EARLY TIMES 95
SAW-MILL AND GRIST-MILL
97
ROADS . . 100 .
PROCEEDINGS FOR THE SETTLEMENT OF REV. MR. POND 102
ENTERTAINMENT OF GUESTS AT REV. MR. POND'S ORDINATION . 104
COPY OF THE WARRANT AND PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETINGS FOR REV. MR. POND'S DISMISSION . . 106
GROUND-PLAN OF THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE 108
PLAN OF THE GALLERIES IN THE FIRST MEETING-HOUSE, 109
INSCRIPTION ON REV. MR. SPARHAWK'S GRAVESTONE 112
BURYING-PLACES. - PUBLIC COMMON 113
COPY OF THE ACT OF INCORPORATION OF THE TOWN 114
TAXES GRANTED BY THE PROPRIETORS .
115
TAXES IN 1763
116
.
vi
CONTENTS.
APPENDIX, continued.
PAGE.
SUMS GRANTED BY THE TOWN, EACH YEAR SINCE ITS INCORPORA-
TION, FOR HIGHWAYS, FOR SCHOOLS, AND FOR TOWN-CHARGES, INCLUDING SPECIAL GRANTS · 117
SELECTMEN
. 120
TOWN CLERKS AND TOWN TREASURERS FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE PRESENT TIME · 127
REPRESENTATIVES TO THE GENERAL COURT 129
CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS 133
VOTES FOR GOVERNOR FROM 1780 TO 1856 135
SCHOOLS AND SCHOOLHOUSES 139
COMPARISON OF STATISTICS OF THE SCHOOLS . 141
SCHOOL-LAND AND MINISTERIAL LAND . 146
RESOLVES IN BEHALF OF AMERICAN FREEDOM 147
REVOLUTIONARY WAR .
150
PRICES IN THE CONTINENTAL PAPER-MONEY
151
SECOND PRECINCT IN TEMPLETON, AND INCORPORATION OF GERRY, NOW PHILLIPSTON . 154
PAUPERS · . 158
PETITION TO THE SELECTMEN 161
" WOLF ACT." - BOUNTIES FOR CROWS AND HAWKS 162
WARNING TOWN-MEETINGS 163
TOWN-HOUSES 163
PAYMENT OF ACCOUNTS AGAINST THE TOWN . 164
TREATY WITH GREAT BRITAIN 164
SECOND WAR WITH ENGLAND 165
CANAL AND RAILROADS . 166
COUNTY RELATIONS 168
JEHU RICHARDSON FUND AND MASONIC FUND
170
DONATION, BY DR. SHATTUCK, OF SHARES IN THE BOSTON ATHE-
NÆUM 172
POPULATION
. 173
VALUATION
174
MANUFACTURES AND PRODUCTIONS · 174
.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
HISTORICAL DISCOURSE.
Ps. xliv. 1, and lxxviii. 4: "WE HAVE HEARD WITH OUR EARS, O GOD ! OUR FATHERS HAVE TOLD US, WHAT WORK THOU DIDST IN THEIR DAYS, IN THE TIMES OF OLD." - " WE WILL NOT HIDE THEM FROM THEIR CHILDREN ; SHOWING TO THE GENERATION TO COME TIIE PRAISES OF' TIIE LORD, AND HIS STRENGTH, AND HIS WONDERFUL WORKS THAT HE HATH DONE."
THIS congregation has come together to-day with memories and sacred associations filling our minds that are fitted to take a deep hold on the feelings. We have arrived, as you know, at the close of the first century of the existence of our religious orga- nizations. It is a hundred years since the first per- manent establishment was made of gospel-institutions within the territory of this town, by the formation of this church of Christ, and the first settlement of a minister here. Standing now at the point of such a deeply interesting anniversary, our feelings cannot but be in harmony with the sentiment of the texts just read. How could we properly employ our thoughts in the house of God, on this day, except by looking backward to the times of the fathers, - to their noble struggles, their high and worthy views and purposes,
1
2
and the things wrought in their days; by looking also upward to the all-controlling and good provi- dence of God, by which events have been guided, and his people blessed ; and looking forward to the future opening upon us, with its new privileges, duties, and hopes ?
If we go back a hundred and twenty-five years, we find the interior parts of Massachusetts then almost wholly unoccupied by human beings. Throughout the more hilly portion of the State, between the Wachusett Ridge and the meadows of the Connecti- cut River, every thing remained in a state of nature. It was all one vast and dense forest, majestic in its noble growth of the pine, the chestnut, the oak, and many other native trees. Within the pro- found shades dwelt unmolested the wild beasts; and the wilderness blossomed in beauty, unhelped by the hand of man. Even the native tribes of Indians had very few permanent homes within the region : they ranged over this part of the country for hunt- ing and fishing, but built their wigwams in the more favorable places by the seaside and in the rich valleys.
In this township, it is not known that there were any cultivated grounds or permanent habitations of the red man. There was really no Indian title to extinguish, because none of that race had actually occupied the soil. There were none even to claim property in it. Very few traces of so much as their wandering presence here have ever been found. An arrow-head or two have been picked up. A
3
stone-mortar and pestle for pounding corn was once found on the banks of Trout Brook. The oldest traditions of the town indicate no signs of any aboriginal dwelling-places, with a single exception, - that of a long-deserted Indian abode, the remains of which were discovered, in early times, in a shel- tered spot within the present bounds of Phillipston. It is believed that no traces of their graves have ever been seen here.
A little more than a century ago, the frontier towns of the white man in this part of the State were Brookfield, Lancaster, and Lunenburg; and then the wilderness was unsettled till the fertile grounds along the Connecticut River were reached, where were the towns of Northfield, Deerfield, and Hadley. But enterprising men from the more eastern section had passed over the country, and marked its advan- tages. There were many disposed to avail them- selves of new lands for settlement. There were sturdy hearts among the young men, glad to think of planting for themselves a home where they might bring the ones they loved, and where they could cul- tivate broad acres to call their own. The General Court of the Province of Massachusetts was glad to give away these lands in the hill-country for the sake of having new townships opened. Those who had done service in King Philip's War, as it was called, against the Narraganset tribe of Indians, having made claim for compensation, the General Court, first in 1728, and afterwards in 1732, granted several townships, each of six miles square, for those
1
4
soldiers and their heirs, to be divided into lots for a hundred and twenty proprietors in each town- ship, who were to apportion to cach other their respective shares. The law also enacted, that sixty families should be settled in each place, with a minister of the gospel, within seven years from the date of the grant; reserving in each township one right of lands for the first minister, one for the support of the ministry in coming times, and one for the support of schools .* Two of these seven townships were finally laid out here, - one called Narraganset No. 2, which is now the town of West- minster; the other called Narraganset No. 6, which included Templeton and the greater part of the present town of Phillipston. Township No. 1 was in Maine. At least one other of the townships granted at this time is said to have been also in Maine; and two seem to have been laid out within the present bounds of New Hampshire, on territory then claimed erroneously by Massachusetts. It is said that the whole body of claimants under the grant for Narraganset soldiers met at Boston, on the Common, June, 1732, and lots were drawn for the respective townships. Our proprietors did not like their first location, and obtained leave to change it for the territory here. Not far from the same time, grants were made by the General Court, on similar conditions, - chiefly to other claimants for services against the Indians, - of the lands in the present
* See APPENDIX A.
-
5
townships of Athol, Petersham, Barre, Winchendon, Ashburnham, and Royalston. Some of the grantees came here in person : many sold their rights for small sums. But there was not much progress in settling any of these towns for fifteen or twenty years at least after those grants by the Legislature ; and, in some cases, the time was extended by the General Court, within which the proprietors might fulfil the conditions prescribed. The war between France and England had involved the Colonies. The French, then holding possession of Canada, encou- raged the Indians in the northern parts of New England to make inroads upon the scattered frontier settlements of the English, - burning and killing. In such times, it required brave men and strong- hearted women to come and plant themselves in the wilderness. And all the more because our fathers were led through such a severe discipline as that by which they were here tried, in many particulars, did they learn to feel the presence of the Divine Power and Goodness ; learn to fear GoD, and not to fear man.
According to the facts now stated, it came to pass, that, throughout this whole section of country, it is just about a hundred years since permanent civil and Christian institutions were planted : in some towns it is now a little more; in others, a little less. Till a sufficient number of inhabitants could be brought in to form a town-organization for civil purposes, it was a necessity that the affairs of the settlement should be managed by the proprietors
6
who held the grant of the soil in the respective townships. The number of rights in this town was a hundred and twenty: in a few cases, one person held two or more rights. The owners of these rights were made a body corporate for the purpose of managing the settlement. They had legal powers similar to inhabitants of towns. They could lay taxes for establishing roads and schools, for support- ing public worship, and for other purposes. These taxes were assessed wholly on the land, and not on personal property nor polls. Previous to incorporation as a town, all proprietors of the township, wherever they might reside, could vote in its affairs. Our proprietors, it appears, lived mostly in the towns of Concord, Groton, Lancaster (especially that part of Lancaster then called Chockset, now Sterling), Bolton, Little- ton, Westford, Chelmsford, Stowe, Marlborough, Bil- lerica, and Woburn. Their earliest recorded meeting as an incorporation was held at Concord, Oct. 29, 1733. At this meeting they chose Samuel Chandler, Esq., of Concord, Jonas Houghton, of Lancaster probably, and John Longley, of Groton, a commit- tee " to lay out a township on the back of Rutland, in lieu of one assigned to us west of Ponocook and Suncook."
At a meeting at Concord, Dec. 3, 1733, they ac- cepted the township thus laid out, and chose a com- mittee " to finish the line and burn the woods till further order." But though the proprietors chose their officers, and sent men here - " into the woods," as the records significantly call it - to
7
survey and explore so early as 1733 and 1734, yet it was not till almost twenty years later that any substantial progress was made in bringing forward the actual settlement. Not only the difficulties of the wilderness were in the way, but also the French and Indian hostilities which raged between 1744 and 1749.
In 1746, one of the Athol settlers was killed by Indians. The same year, a fort, built for the protec- tion of settlers in the town of Adams, Berkshire County, was besieged and taken by a large body of French and Indians. In 1747, the inhabitants of Ashburnham (then called Dorchester-Canada) aban- doned their town for fear of the enemy. In the spring of that year, a man in Athol was taken prisoner by the savages, and carried to Canada. Garrisons of soldiers were for some years stationed by the government in the frontier towns to protect the people. In July, 1748, the house of Mr. John Fitch, in Ashby (who was the first settler of that place, and from whom the town of Fitchburg, it is said, derives its name), was attacked by a party of eighty Indians. The house was occupied by Mr. Fitch, his wife, five children, and three soldiers stationed there for defence. On the morning of that day, two of the soldiers had gone a few miles away; one of them, returning, was fired upon and killed. Mr. Fitch and the remaining soldier de- fended the house for some hours; Mrs. Fitch loading the guns as fast as they fired. At length the soldier was killed by an Indian's shot. Mr. Fitch then
8
agreed to surrender, the foe promising to spare their lives. The Indians then burned the house, taking a little plunder; and carried Mr. and Mrs. Fitch and the five children - marching on foot - as captives to Canada, in order to obtain money from the French. The whole family finally returned to Massachusetts. It is related that a log-chain, taken at Mr. Fitch's house, was carried by one of the Indians on his shoulders all the way to Canada: there he sold it for rum. Such hostilities were suspended, for a few years, after the treaty of Aix-la-chapelle, which was negotiated in 1748.
Surveys had been made here, however, at an early day; and one division of land among the proprietors completed, by laying out to each a lot of about forty acres " of the best of the upland." These were called " house-lots," and the division was made in 1735 .* These sections were intended to be of nearly equal quality ; and they were numbered, and distributed to the proprietors by drawing lots. Some of the owners came here and labored, especially in the summer sea- son, previous to 1750. Something was done towards roads, by marking trees, or clearing them away. Steps had been taken, though at first with but indif- ferent success, to provide a sawmill. But before 1750, probably, there were almost or quite no houses or families established here, owing to the causes just mentioned. From that time, families began to move in. It had been voted, that the sixty families who
* See APPENDIX B.
9
would first settle on their lots should receive a certain sum, amounting, however, to only a few dollars each ; the other sixty " non-settlers " paying the money into the proprietors' treasury for them. The earliest payment from the treasury to any person, for thus building a house on his lot and living in it with a family, was made in September, 1751, to Elias Wilder ; the next in October, 1751, to Deacon Charles Baker ; and the next in May, 1752, to Timothy Chase. In the course of three years and a half afterwards, such payments had been made, in all, to about thirty actual settlers. This includes, it will be observed, settle- ments anywhere within the whole township, - the part now in Phillipston, as well as in Templeton. And from that day to this, through the whole of the hundred years, the number of inhabitants in this territory has been constantly increasing.
r
Those original proprietors and settlers were per- sons whose views were liberal, enlightened, and honest. They came here to labor with their hands, in the pursuit of an honorable livelihood, relying on the bounties of that Providence which they knew would preserve seedtime and harvest. They were seeking no sudden influx of wealth from trade and speculations, or by digging for hidden treasures or ores. They expected to work hard, - they and their families. All they did looked forward to permanency; for they felt, that, when their generation had passed away, they should leave a goodly heritage to the coming times. They meant to lay the foundation of prosperity for the town on the basis of industry, cco-
2
10
nomy, and frugality ; on intelligence, sobriety, and Christian principle.
They relied, we have said, on the cultivation of the soil, and its growth of timber. There had been rumors, indeed, of something remarkable and precious in the locality. There was a spot called Mine Hill, and there were other places, where rocks had been found of yellow and shining appearance. Some thought there might be large profits yet out of digging for such treasure. In those early times, one of the first inquiries, whenever a new region was explored anywhere in New England, was, " Are there any pre- cious ores there ?" But our oldest records contain an evident proof of the good sense of our proprietors on that subject. At a meeting on the 8th of June, 1743, held at Concord, there was an article in the warrant in these words, - " to act as the said proprietors shall think proper concerning the mines in said town- ship." But they voted, in these positive words, " that the article be entirely dismissed for the present." It was never renewed .* Their attention was turned to more practicable matters. A road was marked from the township to Narraganset No. 2, that is, Westmin- ster. Committees were authorized to buy lands that had before been lotted out to individuals, in order that the settlers might secure mill-privileges. Only a few years after the first organization, they engaged Mr. Sheldon to build a sawmill. They early chose out a place for the meeting-house. In 1744, they
* See APPENDIX C.
1
11
voted to lay a road from the meeting-house place to the sawmill, and thence onward toward Westminster. However, Mr. Sheldon could not build the sawmill, as was expected ; and a bargain was made to give land to others who agreed to build a mill. The first sawmill seems to have been erected just before the French and Indian War of 1744, already spoken of, and to have lain neglected for some years during those hostilities ; no permanent inhabitants coming in till the peace. It was then found not to be in good working order; for, in 1749, the clerk was directed to write to the owners " to rectify the sawmill." But, as it never proved satisfactory, another was built not many years after. We have said that houses seem to have been first erected and occupied by families in 1750 or 1751; and within two years more, as soon as there were twenty families or thercabouts in the township, it was determined to build a meeting-house, fifty feet long by forty widc.
The Lord's Day was respected from the very begin- ning. Before the meeting-house was built, and at a time when the congregations in the neighboring settlements at Athol, Petersham, and elsewhere, felt obliged to carry their weapons with them, when assembled for public worship, for fear of Indians, and the ministers preached with a loaded gun by their side, did the settlers here regularly assemble in private houses to consecrate the day with psalm and prayer, and listen to the preacher's discourse. In the autumn of 1752, when there were probably not more than fifteen or eighteen families in the town-
12
ship, the proprietors granted a tax of four shillings on each right of land to provide preaching for the ensuing winter. This was a far larger sum, in pro- portion to the property then here, than what is now paid for the support of public worship in this town by all denominations. In 1753, they did the same. Rev. Aaron Whitney, of Petersham, and Mr. Boaz Brown, were the committee to obtain a preacher. They employed Dr. Joseph Lord, of Athol, then called Pequoiage, who was a physician and preacher, a man of good ability, and the most prominent per- son among the settlers of that township. He was the first and only preacher employed here till Rev. Mr. Pond came. Dr. Lord was son of Rev. Joseph Lord, who was minister at Charleston, S. C. He was graduated at Harvard University in 1726; and prac- tised medicine in the town of Sunderland, previous to his residence in Athol. He afterwards removed to Vermont, and was a judge of a county. court. He died in Westmoreland, N.H., in 1788 .*
As soon as the meeting-house was finished, it was determined to settle a minister, and make ready for all the institutions on which they relied for the pros- perity of the town. About the same time, a grist- mill was built by Mr. Thomas Sawyer, by help of a tax on each lot granted by the proprietors. From the survey of the records and history of the town up to the point when these things were first executed
* These facts concerning Mr. Lord's life are taken from Rev. Samuel F. Clarke's Centennial Discourse at Athol.
13
a hundred years ago, we cannot but be struck with a sense of the enlarged and far-sighted views of those earliest settlers. What objects were their greatest sacrifices immediately aimed at ? What were they most anxious to secure? To what did they devote every dollar they could spare, or gain by extra labors ? Clearly, the four great things they were most resolved upon in their public affairs, and determined to have, whatever else they might go without, were roads, mills, schools, and church insti- tutions. And now that a hundred years have rolled on, and our Commonwealth has increased so much in population; has so vastly enlarged its wealth, multiplied its comforts of living, and gained such an honorable fame over the whole world for the intelligence and character of its citizens, for its prin- ciples of civil liberty and of religion, - tell me from what sources of public effort have sprung this won- drous prosperity, this intelligence and honorable character, and the abounding charities of the sons and daughters of Massachusetts ? While relying as our fathers did, under Providence, upon the annual fertility of the soil, as the great source from which sustenance comes, has not this great expansion of the prosperity of the husbandman and of all classes been precisely owing to the surpassing interest mani- fested by our State in just those same four subjects ? that is to say, first, in improving the means of com- munication by common roads, and at length by steam transportation ; secondly, by looking to the advan- tages of machinery in situations to be driven by the
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.