USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Berlin > History of the town of Berlin, Worcester county, Mass., from 1784 to 1895 > Part 1
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M. L
Gc 974.402 B454h 1154048
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01095 4086
REV. WM. A. HOUGHTON.
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF BERLIN,
WORCESTER COUNTY, MASS.,
FROM 1784 TO 1895. €
By WILLIAM A. HOUGHTON.
WORCESTER, MASS .: F. S. BLANCHARD & CO., PRINTERS, 154 FRONT STREET. 1895.
- 12.50
J. J. Canner
974,43
1154048
TO
THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE TOWN OF BERLIN,
WHETHER AT HOME OR ABROAD, WHO RETAIN AN INHERENT LOVE FOR THE PLACE OF THEIR BIRTII, AND TO ALL OTHERS WIIO BY KINSHIP OR RESIDENCE STILL HAVE AN INTEREST IN THE TOWN, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED.
REV. GEO. F. PRATT.
P. B. SOUTHWICK, EsQ.
HON. WM. BASSETT.
E. C. SHATTUCK. MISS PREBE HOLDER.
PREFACE.
In presenting this volume to the public, it becomes the duty of the committee who have had the work of completing and publishing the "History of Berlin," which was begun by the Rev. Wm. A. Houghton about the year 1885, briefly to relate the circum- stances attending the publishing of this work. The work of Mr. Houghton, in the first place, consisted of collecting the family records of the early settlers of the town. In this he spent much time and labor, but as time went on, his interest in the work increased until he resolved to combine with the ancient records those of modern times, embracing all the families now living here, and also to combine in the work a brief history of the town. The distinguishing feat- ure of his work was evidently to be genealogical rather than historical, and the whole when com- pleted was to be about one-half the size of this volume. He labored alone, without proffered as- sistance or assurance of reward, until 1889, when the town took the matter up and chose a committee of two, consisting of William Bassett and E. C. Shat- tuck, to assist Mr. Houghton in his work, but the committee in this case were merely honorary mem- bers, never having performed any service during the lifetime of Mr. Houghton.
After the death of Mr. Houghton, the town took further action and chose the Rev. George F. Pratt,
vi
PREFACE.
Pliny B. Southwick and Phebe A. Holder to be added to the committee already chosen. We were fortunate in securing the manuscripts before the burning of his house, but his portraits, sufficient in number for the book, werc lost in the conflagration, together with the excellent steel plate from which they were made. The manuscripts, as they came into the hands of the committee, required more than ordinary assiduity and patient research in order to understand what was written, and this may be reasonably attributed in a large degree to the. pe- culiar chirography of the writer, as also to the numerous erasures and interlineations of the text. The only solution of the difficulty seemed to be, in consequence of the many additions necessarily to be made in order to embrace more topics of interest, to rewrite the entire work, preserving at the same time, as near as practicable, the arrangement and form of expression as he left them. Now, after more than two years of labor and anxiety, the com- mittee in charge of the work present to the town this volume, hoping that sufficient material has been gathered up and preserved to warrant the expense incurred in publishing the "History of the Town of Berlin," by Rev. William A. Houghton.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page. Allen, Mr. and Mrs. C. K.
247
B- Group 250
B- Group 254
Babcock, Josiah
252
Bailey, Francis P.
265
Hartshorn, Dr. Edward 373
Hartshorn, Mrs. Edward 374
Hartshorn, Wm. H. 376
Hartshorn, Wm. H., house
378
Bassett, Daniel H.
289
Hartshorn, E. H.
549
Bassett, Wm., house 296
Hastings, Mrs. C. S. 3So
Hastings, Ruthven 380
Hastings, Leslie 380
Berry, Thos. C.
279
Hastings, Arthur 550
Bickford, J. C. 290
Hastings, Arthur, house 552
Bride, Josiah
305
Bruce, Geo. H., house
301
Bullard House
314
C --- Group 316
Carter, Chandler
319
Carter, S. R. . 322
Carter, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis L. 247
Carter, Mary W.
319
Carter, Sanderson, house . 324
Centre Villlage
III
Keyes, Chas. G.
401
Durston, Rev. A. F.
548
Larkin, J. F., house . 417
Longley, A. W.
40€
M- Group 423 Map of Lancaster 8
G. A. R., Post 54
188, 190
Map of Berlin 58
Gott, Dr. Lemuel
366
Maynard, Mrs. Lucinda B. 432
398
llowe, S. H. .
397
Jackson, Henry 435
Johnson, A. J.
401
Jones Inn
98
F- Group
337
Felton, Henry O.
346
Page- Gott, Mrs. Lemuel, and house 368 Green, Mr. and Mrs. Ed- ward F. 370
11- Group 371
Balance Rock .
47
Barnes, Geo. H., house .
279
Bartlett, Amory Adam, Esq. 286
Belmont House 98
Bennett, A. F. 432
Hastings, R. S., store 194
Hlebard, Ella A. 432
Holt, Mrs. Meriam 562
Houghton, Mrs. W. A. 448
Howe, Wm. A.
viii
ILLUSTRATIONS.
Page.
Page.
Meeting-house (old)
III
Sawyer, Frank L. 491
Meeting-house, ground plan
II2
Sawyer, Edwin 489
Methodist Ministers
132 Sawyer, Mrs. Edwin 490
Methodist Church
129
Sawyer, E. Irving 557
Moore, Joseph .
435
Sawyer, Mrs. E. Irving
558
Moore, John A.
432
Sawyer, Chas. M., house . 369
Morse, Lyman
556
Sawyer, Deacon Josiah's Leap 48
School-house (East) IOI
Newton, Wm. 441
Sleeping Rock 48
Orthodox Church
69
Orthodox Ministers, Dea-
Stone House 269
Store, R. S. Hastings' 194
Street in Centre 45
Street in Carterville
·
46
Parker Shoe Shop (big) . 90
Parker Shoe Shop, present 91
Parker, John H.
562
Peters, Mrs. Luther
448
Pollard, Thos.
401
Powder House
98
Priest, Jo. and the Wid. 457
Priest, Luther and the Sow 457
W- Group
5II
W. C. T. U.
234
Wheeler, Henry A. .
525
Wheeler, Erastus S.
562
Wheeler, Samuel, house
and greenhouses 301
Rice, Nathan
463
Rice, Capt. Seth
463
Wheeler, Daniel, house
98
White, Perry H.
531
S- Group
471
Whitcomb, Myron L.
562
Sawyer, Stephen
558
Women's Relief Corps
151
Sawyer, Josiah E.
487
Town Hall
.
194
Unitarian Church
I27
Unitarian Ministers
128
R- Group
463
Rand, Rev. Francis A.
464
Soldiers Deceased 152, 154, 156, 158 Soldiers Living 162, 164, 166
cons, Superintendents, 124, 125
Osgood, John O.
.
445
Rand, Mr. and Mrs. Mer- rick R. 463
Wheeler, Lewis B., house . 524
Women's Relief Corps
152, 154
HISTORY OF BERLIN.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
We do not dignify our endeavor as a History of Berlin. A recent American author defines his at- tempt as a "History of the People of the United States." It is the people who make most that goes for history. Our town has no town life till the close of the Revolutionary war. Accustomed as we are to the thrilling experiences of Lancaster and Marl- boro, the first thing some will look for will be our relation to matters before we had a town life at all. Only as connected territorily with Lancaster had the families of Berlin any experience with the Indians. The several wars between England and France, which involved the colonies, affected us only as citi- zens of Lancaster, or later, of Bolton. This does not, of course, affect our ancestral connecton with the trying events of those days. Had our territory never been divided, we should have been one in town rela- tionship from King Philip and the Lancaster massa- cre to the surrender of Burgoyne and Cornwallis. What I have endeavored to show in these mat- ters is the relation of the inhabitants of Berlin ter- ritory to the events which have made up our 230 years of associated life, 1654-1884. Six families
2
2
HISTORY OF THE
of the fifty-five original proprietors of Lancaster have been represented in Berlin descendants. In this out relative number exceeds, I think, that of Bolton. We have the names Houghton, Sawyer, Fairbanks, Moore, Kerley and Gates. Of later settlers we have Bailey, Bennett, Butler, Carter, Hudson and Priest. Another list, of course, on the Marlboro side. To find the origin of these families and somewhat of their history, has been my purpose. I came to look upon the effort as a sacred duty. Noting from year to year the death of our most aged inhabitants, who alone had any personal knowledge of our earliest townsmen and townswomen, myself hastening on, who perhaps had the best opportunity to preserve their recollections and obtain the testimony of others, my seniors and equals in age, I appreciated somewhat the statement of the Hon. Marshall P. Wilder, most eminent in American genealogy and historical re- search, in which he said: "To know nothing of our ancestry, or whence we came, to have no reverence for the precious memories of the past, or interest in those who are to succeed us, is to ignore the ele- ments and influences that have made us what we are."
It had never occurred to me to attempt the writing of a history of my native town before our centennial in 1884. I had, indeed, gathered items and data to a very limited extent, only thinking they might be of service to some one who should be called upon or self-moved to undertake the work. Even our cen- tennial did not of itself bring me to any determina- tion of the kind. The motion of Hon. William Bas- sett in town meeting, that we observe our centennial
3
TOWN OF BERLIN.
by celebration, including a historical address by my- self, I freely accepted. That study opened the gen- eral subject in a new light : even of an obligation, as a native citizen, for most of my life, to gather to- gether and to put on permanent record such histori- cal data of our early and later families as are yet ob- tainable, in order that the living may appreciate their indebtedness to their ancestry, and that the coming generations may know something of us when we have passed away. It is a reproach to our modern civil- ization that we may go into many a respectable family and not be able to obtain even the name of the great grand parent on either side, sometimes not even the grand parents. We have been too busy with the present and too anxious for the future to ask what our forefathers did for us, and these estates, which we drive by daily, perhaps held in "fee sim- ple," how many can tell their origin? I confess to the greatly increased enjoyment in traversing my native town, to know the line of ownership and occu- pancy; to know the roots, virtually, of almost every estate in town. How much more to recall the own- ers and toilers thereon.
But the very field we wished to explore, family history, is painfully barren of records. But for the 700 baptisms of children, the task of a history of Berlin families would have been hopeless. The old "Half-way Covenant" was a blessing to Ber- lin, historically at least. The record of marriages is imperfect, of deaths, doubly so. Of such as we have, many were hunted up by some town clerk. Cemetery records include not more than half who have been buried. In 1831 Rev. R. F. Walcut made
4
HISTORY OF THE
a complete record of all inscriptions in the old ceme- tery. This has been a great help. Rev. D. R. Lam- son continued a record of deaths and marriages down to 1840. Dea. John Bartlett, who had been clerk of the Unitarian Church, continued it till the parishes were reunited in 1844.
Not till 1850 did registration laws compel town officers to keep public records of births, deaths and marriages as now. We have a painful gap in the decade 1840-50.
For help and helpers I am much indebted to Mar- vin's "Lancaster," Hudson's "Marlboro," and, unex- pectedly, to Ward's "Shrewsbury." Hon. Henry S. Nourse's "Annals of Lancaster" has been of very much help. My associates also of the Centennial Committee have contributed aid in very many par- ticulars. Mr. Albert Babcock, many years town clerk, "posted" me in many particulars. I am much indebted to very many of our "oldest inhabi- tants."
On the Sawyer families, Mr. Amory Carter, now of Worcester and blind by powder blast, has wrought an extensive work. He has communicated freely. Of others not of the committee, Mrs. Lewis Carter, born 1800, now in good possession of her mental powers, has given many points not otherwise obtain- able. Miss Katy Bride has been abundantly help- ful. Mrs. Oliver Fosgate has contributed valuable reminiscences. Miss Catherine Larkin and Miss Sybil Brigham had already given me useful facts. Mr. Abraham Bigelow, now of Northboro, should have been appointed genealogist of Berlin years ago. To Mr. Artemas Barnes and sisters I am also much in-
5
TOWN OF BERLIN.
debted. Mr. Cyrus Felton of Marlboro has gener- ously aided me, in the Bailey and Jones families especially.
School histories have given to the present genera- tion a moderate knowledge of the origin of our colonies, our states, and our government. When and where do we fall into the great tide of events which have made us a part of the mightiest nation on earth, and the only really Republican government? I must assume the antecedent historic facts without elucida- tion. We find ourselves in possession of our homes, which constitute a township. What was its origin? Our fathers, who were they? The locality is perma- nent. Our ancestors have lived and wrought for us and passed on. A few of the sixth and seventh gen- erations remain. A few of these, only a few, can trace their ancestral line more than three genera- tions. Recent investigations have wrought very helpfully in that line. Some few are able to trace their lineage to first immigrants. A smaller number go back into generations antedating the Pilgrims. I have only sought to reach, by personal investiga- tions, the head of each family at the date of arrival here. The Massachusetts Genealogical and Historical Society, Somerset street, Boston, have agencies abroad connecting American families with their ancestry across the ocean,-not to get great "estates," but to know the stock from which they sprung. Our Hast- ings families can show an ancestry as old as Alfred the Great, founder of English civilization. Lots of "peerages" they have held. Three now seem to be lying about, "with scarcely an heir," says the histo- rian, "to bear the title." They have a better history
-
1
6
HISTORY OF THE
here than "peerages" would give them. The ballot, or a farm, is worth more than a peerage.
HISTORY WHILE OF LANCASTER-1653-1738.
The history of Berlin would be incomplete and unsatisfactory if the more important events which transpired while the town was a part of old Lancas- ter should be omitted. The primeval causes which led to the settlement of the mother town, together with the events which followed, are essential factors in presenting a clear view of the town from the be- ginning. While it is not our intention to republish matters having no special connection with our town, it becomes our duty to briefly relate the principal events and occurrences which preceded our munic- ipal life, which had at least an indirect effect in shaping the development of this territory. Of the proprietors and early settlers of Lancaster, six of them, or their descendants, became settlers in what is now the present town of Berlin. To any who may desire a more extended account of early Lan- caster, Marvin's "History" and Nourse's "Annals" of Lancaster will give the desired information. The town of Lancaster was the earliest in settlement and in town grant in Worcester county. What led to the settlement of the town at the early date of 1643 was the trading adventure made by Thomas King of Watertown and Henry Symonds of Bos- ton, by invitation of Sholan, chief of the Nashaway tribe of Indians, whose headquarters were near the Washacum lake, in Sterling. Their trading, or trucking, post was established on the eastern slope of George hill, not far distant from the north branch
1
7
TOWN OF BERLIN.
of the river. The traffic consisted in the exchange of furs and peltries for cloths, hardware and trinkets. This place was quite distant from other settlements, the nearest being Sudbury, fifteen miles distant. Its isolated position was such that immediate succor could not readily be obtained in case of an Indian outbreak. The natives were friendly, and not very numerous in the immediate vicinity. Their num- bers may have been depleted by diseases, as had tribes nearer the coast, or by wars with other tribes. Hence it may be seen that this valley of the Nash- away, with its rich and extensive meadows already bearing grass in abundance for cattle, was an invit- ing field for the enterprising pioneer, who began to feel straitened for room in the older towns. This trucking house became the nucleus around which settlements began. The tract of land bought of Sholan was ten miles north and south and eight miles east and west, and the consideration was twelve pounds. King and Symonds both died within about a year, and consequently their rights in the Nashaway Company fell into other hands. John Prescott of Watertown became the owner of the trucking house lot 1647. He was a man of great energy and enterprise, and was really the founder of the town of Lancaster. Associated with him in the new settlement was Thomas Sawyer, who married his daughter Mary; also John Hough- ton, John Moore, Jonas Fairbanks, William Kerley and Stephen Gates. The descendants of these men were among the first settlers on our territory. The Nashaway plantation was incorporated as the town of Lancaster 1653, but the survey of the township
8
HISTORY OF THE
was delayed till 1659 (Noyes' survey), when it was found by the surveyor that Marlboro had scooped in the valley of the Assabet, which, by the terms of the grant, belonged to Lancaster. Marlboro, al- though later in settlement, was earlier in the field with surveyor, and carved out such as best pleased them.
In surveying the east line of Lancaster, running from the northeast corner southerly, the northwest corner of Marlboro was struck near the Daniel Strat- ton place in Hudson, and thence diverging westerly with the Marlboro line to a point near South Berlin. By the cutting off of this slice the south line was about six and a-half miles in length. The effect of this eventually was the irregular line on our eastern border we have to-day, whereas if the eastern line of Lancaster had been run straight through, as per grant, the whole of Robin hill would naturally have come within our limits.
The most notable events which occurred in the mother town while Berlin territory was part of her domain, were the massacres and destruction caused by the Indian wars. The first of these was King Philip's war, which began 1675, and closed the next year with the death of Philip and the defeat of his savage allies. It is not necessary to detail all the events of King Philip's war. It is sufficient for the purposes of this work to present what happened to Lancaster in consequence of this outbreak. Lancaster had been settled more than thirty years, and had at- tained the proportions of a considerable town. Peace- ful relations had been maintained with the neighbor- ing tribe. Sholan was dead, and Sagamore Sam, alias
MAP ofLANCASTER. 1653- 1883
N
LANCALOSTER.
Bare
N
1732
-
1653
HARVARD
THE MILE
BOLTON
1788
HA
$ 1850 K2
CLIN ATON
HUDSON
: 1868
BERLIN
"NOYES' SURVEY . 1659
9
TOWN OF BERLIN.
Shoshanim, reigned in his place. The Indians were less friendly than at first, but no immediate rupture was entertained as probable before hostilities were commenced by the southern tribes in the summer, 1675. In the meantime Philip, or his emissaries, had succeeded in enlisting a number of the more northern tribes in his confederacy, and among them were the Nashaways, with Sagamore Sam and Monoco, alias Maliompe (One-eyed John), of the Nipmucks, at Brookfield. The first bloody raid on Lancaster was made August 16, 1675, by Monoco, with the Nashaways and other Indians. Eight per- sons were killed and their bodies mangled in a most horrible and barbarous manner. As a precautionary measure of safety, soon after, five of their houses were fortified, being furnished with a stockade or flankers. The work on these garrisons, as they were called, was incomplete when one of the most bloody tragedies of Indian warfare ever known in the province occurred on the tenth day of February, 1676, in the almost entire destruction of Old Lan- caster. This has sometimes been called the "Row- landson massacre," from the fact that the Rev. Joseph Rowlandson was at the time minister there, and that his wife Mary and three children were carried into captivity, and that after her ransom and return she wrote a book, giving a vivid and thrilling account of her captivity and life among the Indians, which had an extensive circulation. After the defeat of Philip with the Narragansetts the December previous, 500 of his warriors united with the Nashaways, Nipmucks and other tribes for the destruction of the frontier settlements. The plan of
.
IO
HISTORY OF THE
the attack was made undoubtedly by Sagamore Sam and Monoco (One-eyed John), chiefs of the Nash- aways and Nipmucks. The assault was made at sunrise in five places. The people were nearly all in the fortified houses. The greatest slaughter was at the Rowlandson mansion, which was burned, and nearly all the inmates were either killed or carried away captives. Nearly all the houses were burned, except the garrisoned ones. The total number of casualties appear to have been fifty-five. Of these, twenty were carried into captivity, most of whom were afterwards ransomed. Soon after this direful event the town was abandoned, and all the remain- ing houses, except the meeting-house and two on Wataquodock hill, were burned soon after by In- dians prowling in the vicinity. Among the family names of those who suffered in this massacre we note those of Jonas Fairbank, William Kerley and Thomas Sawyer, whose descendants became first settlers on our territory.
At the close of King Philip's war, 1676, the Nash- away tribe was broken up. Numbers joined the Penacooks, Mohawks and other northern and west- ern tribes. The chiefs, Sagamore Sam, alias Sho- shanim, and One-eyed John, alias Monoco, having sur- rendered to the authorities, were hanged in Boston, September 26, 1676, their wives and children sent to the Bermudas and sold as slaves. The great con- spirator and ringleader, King Philip, disheartened by his failures and deserted by his former friends and allies, retired to Mount Hope, the home of Philip, near Swansea, R. I., and was hunted down and killed by one of his own tribe. This ended King
II
TOWN OF BERLIN.
Philip's war, the most bloody tragedy recorded in the history of New England.
RESETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.
After the lapse of three or four years, former resi- dents and settlers began to return and build up the waste places. By the provisions of law they had to begin anew in the organization of the town, the same as if no grant had before been made. Appli- cation was made to the General Court for a new charter, which was granted. The returned refugees and the other settlers constituted seventeen or eight- een families. Among these was John Prescott, the foremost man in the first settlement, and again the prime leader in the second. He died December -, 1681. This famous man, so renowned in the early history of Lancaster, was one of the ancestors of all the Sawyers of Berlin. Among the new-comers was Samuel Carter, the ancestral head of the Berlin Car- ters. These, together with John Houghton, the town clerk in the new regime, and also the Moore and Fairbank families, have been largely repre- sented in Berlin.
KING WILLIAM'S WAR.
The English and French colonies in America became involved in war by reason of the war be- tween England and France during the reign of Wil- liam and Mary, lasting from 1689 to 1697, and this was followed by a succession of three other Indian and French wars, ending in 1763. As early as 1608 the French had made a permanent settlement in
I2
HISTORY OF THE
Canada, hence at the beginning of this war, they had been there nearly a century and occupied a large portion of lower Canada. They, unlike the English, assimilated with the Indians, intermarried with them, gained their friendship and good will, and consequently their adherence as allies.
The object of the French ostensibly was to gain a firmer foothold in Amcrica: by driving away the English colonists, whose settlements were mostly confined to the seaboard, and convert what is now the United States into New France ;- how they suc- ceeded, the history of this and subsequent French and Indian wars will tell. In pursuance of this design, the northern tribes, led in part by French officers, made frequent raids on the more exposed and isolated English settlements. Lancaster was visited by a small band of these savages July 18, 1692, but the town was well fortified, having eight garrisons scattered in different parts of the town.
The family of Peter Joslin was surprised; five were killed and three were captured and carried away. About five years after, Sept. 11, 1697, the town was again attacked, with more serious and disastrous consequences. The garrisons had been increased and strengthened. The people were not apprehensive of danger and they were taken by sur- prise. Men were in the fields or in their houses and the garrison gates were left open. The result of this bloody raid and massacre was that nineteen were killed and eight carried into captivity, some of whom were afterwards ransomed and returned to their homes. Among the slain were a number of the Hudson and Fairbank families, whose descendants
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