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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01065 8190 E
HISTORY
OF THE
TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
MASSACHUSETTS
2. 1853-195#
by
Gladys De Maranville Vigers
1853 - 1953 2
One hundredth anniversary of the town of Lakeville
-
LAKEVILLE TOWN HOUSE
1180260
Before the Town House was built, several meetings were held: the first, in the Washburn School; another, in the Pond Meeting House, and still another, in the Upper Four Corners School.
At a meeting held on May 5, 1856, a nominating committee was appointed and later a building committee was elected. The nominating committee included Isaac Sampson, Job T. Nelson, George Osborn, Leonard Washburn and Jeremiah S. Hersey.
Members of the building committee were Job T. Tobey, Sal- mon M. Washburn, Calvin D. Kingman, Leonard Washburn, and Martin K. Haskins.
It was decided that the Town House should be built on the Washburn lot. The money to be used for the building was all that had accrued in the division of property with the Town of Middleboro, except the Rail Road stock.
Copyright 1952 by GLADYS DEMARANVILLE VIGERS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published in November 1952
Photo reproductions by WINTHROP-ATKINS CO., INC. Photo-engravings by BROCKTON PHOTO-ENGRAVING CO., INC. Linotype composition by BROCKTON TYPESETTING CO. Printing by H. L. THATCHER & Co. Binding by EMERY RECORD PRESERVING CO.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter I
Indians .
Page 9
Chapter II
Lakeville
29
Chapter III
The Nelson Family-House and Farm
.
49
Chapter IV
Taverns
62
Chapter V
People
67
.
Chapter VI
Industries
.
87
Chapter VII Short Stories 101
Chapter VIII
Schools
125
.
Chapter IX
Houses
·
.
159
Chapter X Lakes and Rivers 187
Chapter XI
Churches
.
191
Chapter XII
Cemeteries
211
Chapter XIII Servicemen
.
.
·
. 229 .
Chapter XIV
Roads
237
.
.
.
.
·
.
Chapter XV
Did You Know
245
.
.
Dedicated to her six children
MARJORIE THELMA VIGERS EARLE RAYMOND VIGERS
JAMES JASPER VIGERS, 3RD
SHELDON VINCENT VIGERS
VERNON GORDON VIGERS
BETTE GAIL VIGERS
1
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE MASSACHUSETTS
By GLADYS DEMARANVILLE VIGERS
In the State of Massachusetts In its far off southern section Near the land where Pilgrim Fathers Landed in that bitter winter Is a land of peace and plenty, Is a pleasant land and fertile, Is our lovely land of Lakeville.
Gladyo Vingers
PREFACE
Did you ever try writing a history and at the same time be a mother to six children? Well, I did, and found it an exhilarating experience. If you will bear with me, I will try to put in book form some of the material and information which have been gathered about this beautiful town of ours, LAKEVILLE.
It was through my husband that I was induced to write. In 1944, when he was elected highway surveyor for the Town of Lakeville, he showed and told me some of the unusual and interesting things. The first was the Malbone Cemetery, which is partly in the road. Then it was the well in the stone wall on Pickens Street, which has since been filled. From time to time he has called my attention to many things of interest in the town.
At times it has been hard to stay within the boundaries of the town because of unusual or historical incidents occurring just over the line in adjacent towns.
In seeking this information, I have had the pleasure of talking with many of the older residents of Lakeville and, in many cases, have been in touch with people who lived or had relatives in this town. It was very gratifying to talk with people who were so willing to help in every way possible. I wish at this time to thank each and every one who has in any way helped in the compiling of this book. I am greatly indebted to the Town of Lakeville for publishing this book, and for subsidizing a thou- sand dollars. I take this opportunity to thank sincerely those who edited and proofread the manuscript, for sparing no pains to make the book as accurate as possible in text and illustration.
Many of the illustrations are from photographs loaned by their owners and the designs have been made under the super- vision of the author.
Materials for the articles have been taken, in most cases with- out express acknowledgment, from Ebenezer W. Peirce's Indian History, The Peirce Family, Plymouth County History of Lake- ville, Thomas Weston's History of the Town of Middleboro,
Alvin Weeks' Massasoit, James Raymond Simmons' History of Trees of Massachusetts, Caroline Leonard Goodenough's Loves, Legends and Loyalties, and from news clippings from The Boston Post, The Boston Globe, The Herald-Traveler, The Brockton Enterprise-Times, The Taunton Gazette, The Middle- boro Gazette and the New Bedford Standard-Times. Many dates and records have been taken from the annual Town Reports.
Like the painter who said, "I paint likenesses, not caricatures," so have I used my pen to write facts, not fancies.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
CHAPTER I
INDIANS
T O-DAY, September 16, 1946, as I take my pen in hand and start the story of one of the oldest and most inter- esting subjects in this book, THE INDIANS, I am sitting on the white sands of the shore of the beautiful and historic Lake Assawompsett. It was on this Indian Shore, long, long ago, that the copper-colored people lived and trod. Much has been written of the customs and characters of the Indians who once lived at BETTY's NECK, which they called Nahteawamet. The Indians left no books or records; therefore, all the history ever written has been more or less traditional (verbally trans- mitted from parent to child), with each author forming his own opinion.
The Indians were supposed to have been very numerous in this country until the terrible plague which raged here in 1617. This plague took whole families and the well were so few that they were unable to care for the sick or to bury the dead. For years the former habitations could be located by the white mounds of unburied bones bleached in the sun and washed by the storms.
The red men, as the Indians were often called, are described as having been tall, with great strength. They were dark-skinned with high cheekbones and long black hair. The Indian is thought of as having a heart which was as strong in friendship as in hate.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
Hunting and fishing seemed to have been their main liveli- hood. After the arrival of the white men in 1620 at Plymouth, the Indians traded furs with the Pilgrims for guns, cloth, hatchets, beads, etc. The cultivation of the soil by the Indians was crude, although they taught the whites the artificial method of fertilization. They raised maize and beans in abundance from which was made succotash, a dish originating with them. It was from the Indian women over three centuries ago that we learned of the grinding of corn by rolling round stones over it and of the making of johnny cakes. The Indians' custom of preparing the clambake is still recognized as the one method which gives it the peculiar flavor that cannot be secured in any other way. That method is heating rocks by building fires upon them, and then removing the embers and placing the clams, fish and green corn upon the rocks and covering them with seaweed, to hold the heat until they are thoroughly cooked.
THE WAMPANOAGS
It was on these historical grounds of Lakeville, then a wilder- ness, that the tribe of Wampanoag Indians held supreme power. Here the Indian chieftains led their tribes in hunting and fish- ing and later in fighting the white invaders of their lands. Mas- sasoit was friendly with the carly settlers and helped them in many ways. This Great Sachem had two sons, Wamsutta and Pometicon (or Metacomet), who, at their request, were given the English names of Alexander and Philip respectively.
At the death of Massasoit in 1660, his eldest son, Alexander, became chief of the Wampanoags. Alexander, like his father, was friendly with the white men. But rumors came that he was plotting with the Narragansetts against the English. A meeting was held and a few days later Alexander was taken sick. It was alleged that his death was hastened by ill treatment received at the hands of the English, and that this was one of the causes of King Philip's War. After the death of Alexander, his brother Philip became chief of the tribe. Unlike his father and brother, Philip mistrusted the whites. He believed that sooner or later they would wipe the Indians off the continent. Accordingly, he
Page 10
INDIANS
began preparing for the war, which he thought would occur about 1676. An ambassador from the English was sent to King Philip, requesting him to sign a treaty and to return all fire- arms to the English at Taunton and Plymouth. Philip and four of his chief captains then and there signed this treaty. It is almost needless to say that this promise was not fulfilled.
JOHN SASSAMON'S MURDER
Then John Sassamon was murdered. He was the educated Indian who preached to his own people and was secretary and interpreter for King Philip as early as 1662. Sassamon, on learn- ing that his countrymen were preparing for a war with the Eng- lish, went to Plymouth and told the Governor. By some means the knowledge of Sassamon's going to Plymouth was commu- nicated to Philip. As a consequence, John Sassamon was con- sidered a traitor and, by the laws of the Indians, had forfeited his life.
Early in the spring of 1675 Sassamon was missing. On search being made, his body was found in Assawompsett Pond, sup- posedly in Sampson's Cove, although some accounts give it as at the foot of Highland Road. It is said that a witness stood on King Philip's Lookout and saw the incident. Sassamon's hat and gun were found on the ice. But the marks upon the body, to- gether with the fact that the neck was broken, led to the con- clusion that he had not drowned but that he was killed before being thrown into the water. January 29, 1675, was the date when Sassamon was said to have been slain. Three Indians were apprehended as murderers: TOBIAS, WAMPAPAUM and MAT- TUSHAMAMA. In the indictment it was charged that they:
"Att a place called Assowamsett Pond, wilfully and of sett purpose and of mallice fore thought and by force and armes did murder John Sassamon, an other Indian, by laying violent hands on him, and striking him, or twisting his necke vntill hee was dead, and to hide and conceale this theire said murder, att the time and place aforesaid, did cast his dead body through a hole in the iyce into said pond."
Page 11
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
One acknowledged his guilt but the other two denied all knowledge of the act. They were sentenced to be hanged "by the head vntill theire bodies are dead." The Indians Tobias and Mattushamama were thus executed on the 8th. day of June 1675. And Wampapaum relieved for a few days, but was shot within the month.
"The Verdict of the Jury giuen into Court in the words fol- lowinge.
"Wee of the Jury one and all both English and Indians doe joyntly and with one consent agree vpon a verdict: that Tobias and his son Wampapaquan, and Mattashunnamo, the Indians whoe are the prisoners are guilty of the blood of John Sassamon, and were the murderers of him according to the bill of indite- ment."
"The Names of the Jury that went on this Tryall :- William Sabine, William Crocker, Edward Sturgis, William Brooks, Nathaniel Winslow, John Wadsworth, Andrew Ringe, Robert Vixon, John Done, Jonathan Banges, Jonathan Shaw, Benjamin Higgins. It was judged very expedient by the Court that to- gether with this English Jury aboue named, some of the most indifferentest grauest and sage Indians should be admitted to be with the said Jury, and to healp to consult and aduice with of and concerning the premises. There names are as followeth, viz .: one called by the English name, Hope, and Maskippague, Wanno, Gorge, Wampye and Acanootus; these fully concurred with the aboue written jury in theire verdict."-Ply. Col. Rec., Vol. V., pp. 167-8.
KING PHILIP'S WAR
Thus with the murdering of John Sassamon and the executing of Tobias, Wampapaum and Mattushamama, the war which was the most disastrous of early New England began before Philip was fully prepared. Many books have been written about King Philip's War. There are however a few incidents which took place within the boundary of Lakeville (at that time the western part of Middleboro) which should be of interest.
Page 12
INDIANS
As we all know, Captain Benjamin Church was in charge of the white forces during that great struggle. Tuspaquin, alias Watuspaquin and called also the Black Sachem, was chief of the Assawompsett tribe of Indians. Captain Church learned that Chief Tuspaquin and his warriors were at Assawompsett Neck or Betty's Neck. At the small stream which runs from Long Pond into Assawompsett Lake and is now spanned by a bridge, Church with his men encountered Tuspaquin and his Indians. This was just in the dusk of the evening and after a few shots were ex- changed the Indians fell back. Church with his followers went on into Assawompsett Neck and in the morning pro- ceeded to the Acushnet River, being fired on by Tuspaquin's scouts while traversing Assawomp- sett Neck but sustaining no injury. The place of encampment of Church and his men that night is thought to have been upon the farm of the late Sidney T. Nelson.
William Nelson, son of Thomas Nelson, was born May 17, 1675. From the Nelson Records comes the story that when only four weeks old, he was taken by his mother on horseback to Plymouth, to escape the horrors of King Philip's War. While all the men were away fighting Indians at the "Stock-cade," other Indians were up here burning Lakeville. The burning of Mid- dleboro seems to have been at two different times because E. W. Peirce's Indian History relates that on May 13, 1676, the Indians burned or destroyed the remaining houses at Nemasket.
Within the pages of his book Mr. Peirce has included some old deeds copied from Drake's Book on the Indians. These should be of interest at this present time.
August 9, 1667, to Henry Wood, of Plymouth, in consideration of the sum of £4, land on the east side of Nemasket River, and bounded on one end by Black Sachem's Pond, which in the
Page 13
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
Indian tongue was called Wanpawcut, and on the other end by a small pond then known as Asnemscutt. The chief reserved to himself the right to continue to get cedar bark in the swamp of the tract conveyed.
July 17, 1669, the chief with his son, who was called William Tuspaquin, for £10, sold Experience Mitchell and Henry Samp- son of Duxbury, Thomas Little of Marshfield and Thomas Paine of Eastham, a tract of land described as being near Assawomset, half a mile wide and extending from said pond to Dartmouth path.
June 10, 1670, the same parties, for £6, sold to Edward Grey, meadow near the town of Middleborough on the west side of land then owned by John Alden and Constant Southworth; and further described as being between Assawamset Pond and the Taunton path. It was said to be in three parcels and lying in three brooks. They also conveyed another lot lying upon the other side of the Taunton path.
June 30, 1672, Tuspaquin, who in the deed described as sachem of "Namasskett" and his son William, who in the same document is called Mantowapuct, sold to Edward Grey and Josias Winslow land on the easterly side of Assawompsett, to begin where the Namasket River falleth out of the pond, from thence bounded by the pond, and thence on a line marked by bounds to Tuspaquin's Pond and thence by land formerly sold to Henry Wood.
In 1673 chief, who is called Old Watuspaquin, and his son William Tuspaquin, by deed of gift, conveyed to John Sassamon alias Wassasoman 27 acres of land at Assawamset Neck, March 1673, the same parties deeded to an Indian named Felix, son- in-law to John Sassamon 581/2 acres of land.
July 3, 1673, Tuspaquin and son William for £15 sold Ben- jamin Church of Duxbury, a house carpenter, and John Tomson of Barnstable, land in Middleborough bounded westerly by Mon- higgen River, and thence bounded by a cedar swamp to Tus- paquin's pond and thence by Henry Wood's land to a place called Nahudst River.
Page 14
INDIANS
November 1, 1673, the son William Watuspaquin, and Indians Assaweta, Tobias and Dewat for £16, sold a tract of land bounded northerly by Quetaquash River, easterly by Snepetuitt Pond and also bounded in part by Quetaquash Pond.
December 23, 1673, Old Tuspaquin and his son William made a deed of gift to Assawetough of a neck of land at Assawamset, which they called Nahteawamet.
May 14, 1675, Tuspaquin and his son, for £33 sterling, sold upland and meadows at and about the ponds Ninipoket and Quiticus. John Tompson and Constant Southworth were among the purchasers.
ZERVIAH G. MITCHELL Publisher, "Indian History, Biography and Genealogy"
Page 15
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
INDIAN GENEALOGY
1. MASSASOIT,1 alias Asamequin, or Osamequin, chief of the Wampanoag tribe of Indians at the time of the landing of the English at Plymouth, had children as follows:
2. WAMSUTTA,2 b. at date unknown; m. Namumpum, alias Tata- panum, alias Weetamoo, and sometimes called the Squaw Sachem of Pocasset. Wamsutta appears to have first received the name of Moonanam, which was changed in or about 1641 to Wamsutta; and a few years later he accepted from the English the name of Alexander. He d. in 1662. His wife, thus made a widow, contracted a second marriage with an Indian named Petonowowett; and as he took part with the English in King Philip's war, she left him and became the wife of a Narraganset Sachem named Quinapin whom the English put to death at Newport, R. I., Aug. 25, 1676. Wee- tamoo was drowned in Taunton River, Aug. 6, 1676. Her remains drifted on shore in the town of Swansea.
3. METACOM,2 alias Pometacom, who accepted from the English the name of Philip, but now better known in history as KING PHILIP. The date of his birth is unknown. He m. Wootone- kanuske, a sister of Weetamoo. He was killed in battle near Mount Hope, in what is now the township of Bristol, R. I., Aug. 12, 1676. He had a son whose name at this time cannot be certainly ascertained. This son, while yet a child, was cap- tured by the English and sold into slavery.
4. SONKANUHOO,? who was perhaps identical with the brother of King Philip said to have been slain at the fight in a swamp in Pocasset (afterwards Tiverton), July 18, 1675.
5. A DAUGHTER,2 whose name is unknown. She is said to have been captured by the English, July 31, 1676.
+6. AMIE," in. Tuspaquin, the Black Sachem.
AMIE2 [No. 6] (Massasoit1), daughter of Massasoit, chief of the Wampanoags, was born at a date unknown. She became the wife of the Black Sachem, so called, the chief of the Assa- wamsett Indians. His name appears in history as Tuspaquin, and also as Watuspaquin. He followed the fortunes of his brother-in-law Philip, was captured by the English and put to death at Plymouth some time in September, 1676.
TUSPAQUIN and wife AMIE2 had children as follows:
7. WILLIAM,3 was so called by the English, though his Indian name was Mantowapuct. He joined in the deeds of conveyance of
Page 16
INDIANS
lands under dates of July 17, 1669, June 10, 1670, June 30, 1672, May 14, 1675. Mantowapuct alias William Tuspaquin, with Assaweta, Tobias and Bewat, for £10. sold to three Eng- lish people at Barnstable a tract of land bounded on Queta- quash Pond, northerly of Quetaquash River and easterly of Suepetuitt Pond. He also joined his father in a deed of land to an Indian named Felix, a son-in-law of John Sassamon. That deed was dated March 11, 1673 (O. S.). So far as can be learned, he never inarried. It is thought he lost his life in King Philip's war, as he was alive up to May 14, 1675, and no mention is made of him after that date.
+8. BENJAMIN,3 m. Weecum.
BENJAMIN TUSPAQUIN8 [No. 8] (Amie,2 Massasoit1), son of Tuspaquin, was born at a date unknown at the present time. He was somewhat distinguished as a warrior, and had a piece of his jaw shot off in battle. He married an Indian named Weecum. He died suddenly, while sitting in his wigwam, hav- ing just before complained of feeling faint. He served the Eng- lish in Capt. James Church's company.
BENJAMIN TUSPAQUIN3 and wife WEECUM had children as follows:
9. ESTHER,4 b. at date unknown; m. Tobias Sampson; they had no children. Tobias Sampson was what was called "a praying Indian," and used to preach at his house in what was then South Freetown, but now East Fall River; by which his house acquired the name of the "Indian College"-or at least such is the tradition.
10. HANNAH,4 m. an Indian named Quam, and had two children: Hope,5 never m .; she taught school at what is called Indian Town in Fall River. John,5 never m .; he was lost at sea. (Tradition).
11. MARY,4 m. Isaac Sissel and had three children: Mercy,5 Mary,5 and Arbella,5 Two of the children died in infancy. (Tradition).
+12. BENJAMIN,4 m. Mercy Felix, of Middleborough, that part now Lakeville.
BENJAMIN TUSPAQUIN4 [No. 12] (Benjamin,3 Amie,2 Mas- sasoit1), son of Benjamin by wife Weecum, was born at date . unknown. He married Mercy Felix.
BENJAMIN TUSPAQUIN4 and wife MERCY FELIX had one child:
+13. LYDIA,5 m. Wamsley. He went to sea and never returned.
Page 17
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAKEVILLE
NOTE-Mercy Felix, who became the wife of Benjamin Tuspaquin [No. 12], was a daughter of an Indian named Felix, who married Assowetough, a daughter of John Sassamon, alias Wassasamon. The Indian Felix received from the Sachem Tuspaquin, and his son William Tuspaquin, a deed of 582 acres of land, as "a home lott," March 11, 1673, O. S. That land is in what is now the town of Lakeville. The chief, Tuspaquin, and his son William Tuspaquin, by deed without a date, save that of the year 1673, conveyed to John Sassa- mon, alias Wassasamon, "27 acres of land for a home lot at Assowamsett necke," which land Sassamon not long after in writing conveyed to his son- in-law Felix, the husband of his daughter Assowetough. Under date of Dec. 23, 1673, Tuspaquin, with his son William Tuspaquin, "with the consent of all the chieffe men of Assowamsett," conveyed by deed of gift to Asso- wetough, daughter of John Sassamon, a neck of land at Assowamsett, called Nahteawamet, bounded by Mashquomoh swamp, Sasonkususett pond, and a large pond called Chupipoggut. In 1679, Governor Winslow, of the Ply- mouth Colony, ordered "that all such lands as were formerly John Sassa- mon's in our collonie, shall be settled on Felix his son-in-law," and to remain his and his heirs forever. The Indian, Felix, died before Assowetough, the wife, and she, in a will made in 1696, gave her lands to her daughter Mercy Felix, the wife of Benjamin Tuspaquin [No. 12]. Thus we see that Benja- min Tuspaquin [No. 12], a great-grandson of the chieftain Massasoit, married Mercy Felix, a granddaughter of John Sassamon, and thus the lands granted to John Sassamon and to his daughter Assowetough, and to her husband Felix, came into the possession and ownership of the Tuspaquin family. As Assowetough the daughter of John Sassamon received from the English the name of Betty, her lands thus came to be called, and are still known as "Betty's Neck." Esther Sampson, Hannah Quam and Mary Sissel were quite indignant at this act of their brother Benjamin Tuspaquin, viz., marrying a granddaughter of John Sassamon, whom they regarded as the prime betrayer of the cause of their countrymen and people in the struggle still known as King Philip's war; a conflict in which their grandfather, the Black Sachem Tuspaquin, had laid down his life, their great uncle Philip had lost his kingdom and life, and the hopes of the red men had perished. And the strong dislike of these Indian women did not end with the person of their brother's wife, but was entertained also against their brother's daugh- ter, Lydia Tuspaquin, the wife of the Indian Wamsley and grandmother of Mrs. Zerviah Gould Mitchell. Another objection to the wife of Benjamin Tuspaquin, entertained by his sisters, doubtless was that the Indian Felix, in King Philip's war, had taken part with and fought for the English. In the war with the Pequots, waged in 1637, an Indian named "Sosomon" assisted the English, and as the men of the Pequot tribe were then nearly all slain, the women and children were appropriated by the victors and sold as slaves. Capt. Israel Stoughton wrote to the Governor of Massachusetts: "By this pinnace you shall receive 48 or 50 women and children unless there stay any here to be helpful. Concerning which there is one, I formerly men- tioned, that is the fairest and largest that I saw amongst them, to whom I have given a coat to cloathe her. It is my desire to have her for a servant if it may stand with your good liking-else not. There is a little squaw that Steward Culacut desireth, to whom I have given a coat. Lieut. Davenport
Page 18
INDIANS
also desireth one, to wit, a small one &c. Sosomon the Indian desireth a young little squaw. which I know not."
In the Tuspaquin family it is handed down traditionally that the Indian Sosomon, who aided the English in the Pequot War, was identical with John Sassamon, the educated and praying Indian, and that the "young little squaw" he desired and was permitted from among the female captives to take, was a daughter of the Pequot chief Sassacus, which daughter, Sassa- mon made his wife, and she thus became the mother of Assowetough, who by the English was called Betty. Admitting the truth of this Indian tradi- tion, it is shown that Zerviah Gould Mitchell is of the sixth generation in lineal descent from Sassacus, the earliest chief known of the numerous and powerful Pequot tribe of Indians.
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