USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Sutton > History of the town of Sutton, Massachusetts, from 1876 to 1950, Volume II > Part 1
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HISTORY of the Town of Sutton Massachusetts
-
Volume II 1876-1950
M. L.
Gc 974.402 Su8h v.2 1378410 CA 12, 50
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01100 1036
JOHN C. DUDLEY
HISTORYC of the TOWN of SUTTON MASSACHUSETTS
Volume II From 1876 to 1950
Compiled by The Town History Committee John C. Dudley, Chairman
"West Sutton in the Early Days" and "John Wampas and the Beginning of Sutton" By John Fred Humes
Published by THE TOWN OF SUTTON, MASSACHUSETTS 1952
Printed in the United States of America at the Commonwealth Press Worcester, Massachusetts
1378410
APPRECIATION
With the completion of the History of Sutton, Volume II, the History Committee hereby pay tribute to their Chairman, John C. Dudley. His sincere influence was felt through the entire book; his was the desire for accurate material and for an interesting manner of relat- ing it.
John C. Dudley's character has permeated the lives, the activities and the philosophies of those who knew him, worked with him, listened to him and nothing can take away its memory.
Mr. Dudley's outlook on life, his strength of purpose, his charity for all, his deep and hopeful philosophy and his inimitable ability to des- cribe a situation, relate an incident, or just tell a story, will abide with all, unforgettable.
In. 13 52
0
FOREWORD
F OR MANY YEARS the people of Sutton have been interested in the publica- tion of a second volume of the history of the town. During the two or more generations following the first publication, important and interesting events had taken place which, it was felt, should be recorded while information about them could be obtained from the older residents.
Unfortunately, no steps were taken towards that end, until 1931, when the subject came up for discussion in the Sutton Young Women's Club. Mrs. Eunice P. King was its president at that time. Mrs. Ella B. Hartness was chosen to pre- pare and have placed in the warrant of the next Town Meeting an article for the appointment of a History Committee, which she did.
At the Annual Meeting, February 1, 1932, Mrs. Maude R. Maclaren pre- sented the article and moved that "a committee be appointed to have the History of Sutton brought up to date this year or in the near future, or take any action thereto." The motion was carried and the following members were appointed: Mrs. Ella B. Hartness, chairman, Mrs. Gertrude D. Chase, Mrs. E. Florence Freeland, Charles P. King and John C. Dudley.
The committee then began holding meetings to plan the Second Volume of the History of Sutton from the year 1876. Mrs. Hartness prepared outlines for the assembling of data and gave assignments to the different members. It was decided, also, to include in the new edition, items of interest or events, previous to 1876, which had not been included in the first history.
February 3, 1936, two hundred dollars was appropriated by the Town for the expenses of the committee.
Mrs. Hartness resigned in 1937 and John C. Dudley was chosen chairman and Mrs. Gertrude D. Chase, secretary. Mrs. Eunice P. King was appointed a mem- ber of the committee.
Charles P. King died in December 1939. "Mr King's wide and accurate knowledge and memory regarding places and families have been of inestimable value to the work and the committee feels the loss very deeply."
February 3, 1940, six new members were appointed: Vernon S. Johnson, Fred S. Smith, George L. Stockwell, Fred L. Batcheller, Mr. and Mrs. John E. Gifford. Because of ill health, Mr. and Mrs. Gifford served but a few months. In July, Miss Alice Holbrook assisted in the editing and the committee was allowed to
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HISTORY of SUTTON
add others to their group: Mrs. Celia Donaldson, Mrs. Alice Riley, Mrs. Louise Helgesen, Mrs. Carolyn Dukes and Mrs. Lois Boutilier.
Fred S. Smith died in 1947. He contributed much to the history, especially in events of the earlier years. His colorful descriptions appear on many pages. He also covered the manufactures in the eastern district of the town.
In October 1950, the Town appropriated five thousand dollars for the publica- tion of the history.
December 23, 1951, the committee suffered a great loss in the passing of their chairman, John C. Dudley, who had directed the work for fifteen years.
Mrs. John C. Dudley was appointed to the committee, February 1952.
The following were responsible for the assembling of data and for writing the history of the homes: District No. 1, Mrs. E. Florence Freeland; District No. 2; Mrs. Celia Donaldson; District No. 3, Mrs. Freeland and George L. Stockwell; District No. 4, Mrs. Eunice King and Fred L. Batcheller; District No. 5, Vernon S. Johnson; District No. 6, Mrs. Carolyn Dukes and Mrs. John C. Dudley; Dis- trict No. 7; Mrs. Alice Riley; District No. 8, Mrs. Lois Boutilier; Districts Nos. 9 and 12, Mr. and Mrs. John C. Dudley; District No. 10, Mrs. Ella Hartness and Alice Holbrook; District No. 11, Mrs. Gertrude Chase and Fred S. Smith; Dis- trict No. 13, Mrs. Louise Helgesen. Several individuals, as will be noted, pre- pared other articles. Vernon Johnson has furnished facts about different sections of the town, especially of Sutton Center. Special mention should be made of Mrs. Dudley's arduous task in the canvass of three large districts. The actual arranging, editing and assembling of the many pages of material, which has re- quired untold hours and extreme patience, is the work of Miss Alice Holbrook.
The committee expresses appreciation to the residents, who responded to appeals, many and diverse, for information. To Malcolm Pearson, who gener- ously aided the committee and who, with John Mooskian, made it possible to have aerial photographs of the different sections of the town.
There has been pleasure for the committee as well as months of work in col- lecting material for this book. Our efforts, however, seem slight when compared with those of Gardner Hall, who, in 1876, walked from place to place, the town over, to visit different homes; who sat for hours, listening to stories of people and of happenings and who recorded them for the first history, enjoyed by so many readers.
Sutton History, Volume II, 1876-1950, records events of the past seventy-five years, years which have shown greater changes than any other period in the country's history. During this time, in addition to the Spanish War, there were two World Wars, a great boom, followed by a great depression, War in Korea, the introduction of the bicycle, automobile, airplane, phonograph, radio, tele- vision and atomic energy. One wonders what great changes may take place in future years.
We are indebted to the Commonwealth Press, for their constant assistance in our work and for the attractive typographical features of the book.
SUTTON HISTORY COMMITTEE
August 14, 1952
WEST SUTTON in the EARLY DAYS
and
JOHN WAMPAS and the BEGINNING of SUTTON
JOHN FRED HUMES
Attorney John Fred Humes, son of John R. and Sarah (Putnam) Humes, was born in Sutton, Massachusetts, October 10, 1866. He was graduated from Sutton High School in 1883 where he studied Greek in addition to the regular course. Afterwards, he attended Worcester Academy and Brown University. Mr. Humes read law in the offices of the well-known lawyer, Frank P. Goulding and Attorney Charles W. Thayer. Attorney Humes has practiced law more than fifty- five years and is recognized as an exceedingly well-informed consultant. He served Sutton as Town Counsel for almost fifty years and, during that time, gave conscientious devotion to the Town's interest. He has also given much time, over the years, to study and research concerning the early history of Sutton and we are indeed fortunate to be able to present the results of his findings in the present volume.
WEST SUTTON in the EARLY DAYS
W HEN the white man made his first permanent settlement in New Eng- land, he found here a race of men, since known as Indians.1 They belonged to the Algonkin tribe, which was the largest of all the tribes and was divided into many branches, each branch bearing a distinct name. In New England were the Wampanoags, the Narragansetts, the Pequots, the Mohegans or Mohicans, the Massachusetts, the Nipmucks, and perhaps others.
Here we are concerned only with the Nipmucks. The name is spelled: Nip- mug, Nipmuc, Nipmuck, Nipmuk, Nepmuck, Netmoke, Necmok, Nichmuke, Nepmog, Nippamuk, Nippamuck, Nippamaug, Nipnot, Nepnot, Nipnet and Nepnone and is said to mean "Fresh Water" from the large number of ponds and streams in the territory which they occupied.2 This territory was called the "Nipmuck Country". While its boundaries were not clearly defined, it included all of what is now Worcester County, a large part of Middlesex County and some lands beyond.
Mankind has often been divided into four groups: the Savage, the Barbarous, the Half-civilized and the Civilized. The Indians have usually been placed in the first group. In early writings they are almost invariably spoken of as "sav- ages". It may be seriously doubted, however, whether this is a correct classification.
The activities of the Indians were confined largely to the providing of the three essentials to human existence: food, clothing and shelter.
FOOD
Their food came almost entirely from two sources: 1st, hunting and fishing, and 2ndly, tilling the soil. They had no domestic animals to furnish milk or meat and no feathered fowl to furnish eggs or flesh. All of their meat came from wild animals, mostly from the deer with lesser quantities from the bear and smaller animals. Occasionally wild turkeys and partridges were caught but the former are not believed to have been plentiful in this vicinity.
The Indians were expert fishermen and the ponds and streams doubtless yielded an abundance of fish. In our immediate neighborhood, Manchaug was the only natural pond but it covered about 250 acres and probably furnished all the fish the red men needed for food or fertilizer.3
1
2
HISTORY of SUTTON
By cultivation the Indians raised corn and beans, pease and pompions and squashes, musk-millions and water-millions, and many other "Odde fruits" which Graves, an early writer, says he cannot name. The king of all these crops was, of course, corn. This was grown in every locality where the red men lived. Some of their corn fields were 20 acres in extent, indeed it is said some covered 40 acres.4 Even with their primitive methods they sometimes raised 40 bushels to the acre. Gookin says that the Woodstock Indians had a "very rich soil" and raised "not less than forty bushels upon an acre". A Rev. Mr. Higgeson writing in 1629 says he has seen "red, blew and yellow", 400-500 kernels on an ear.
Tilling the soil was all done by the women and mostly with a rude pick axe made of a sharp pointed stone, fastened to a wooden handle. About their only fertilizer was fish.
The wild fruits and nuts gathered by the Indians for food included mulberries, plums, raspberries, corrance (Currants), chestnuts, walnuts, "Fillberds", hurtle- berries, ground nuts, and grapes, "some four inches about".
While their chief article of food was corn, the ground nut probably played a more important part than is generally supposed. Mrs. Rowlandson, who was taken prisoner by the Indians at the Lancaster fight in February 1675, says that during her weeks of captivity:
"Their chief and commonest food was groundnuts. They eat also acorns, artichokes, lily roots, ground beans, and several other weeds and roots that I knew not."
When hard pressed they were equal to the emergency and would eat turtles, frogs, snakes, skunks, "and the very bark of trees." After the coming of the whites, they ate dogs and all parts of horse flesh, "even the ears". When driven to extremity, they would boil old bones and horses feet and drink the broth and then pound up the bones and eat the meal. Mrs. Rowlandson says:
"Though many times they would eat that that a hog or dog would hardly touch, I never knew any of them to die with hunger."
Some of their food was cooked; some eaten raw. One of the main dishes was succotash, made of corn and kidney beans boiled together. To this they often added fish, both fresh and dried; and meat from the deer, bear, moose, beaver, otter, coon and squirrel. We have found no mention of the hare or rabbit.
From corn meals they made a dough which they covered with leaves and baked in hot ashes. (Our Johnny cake). From corn meal they also made hasty pudding but had to eat it without milk. The Rhode Island clambake is of pure Indian origin. The ingredients and processes employed in a present day clam- bake are almost identical with those employed by the Narragansett Indians, except that now the corn is probably of a different variety.
From parched corn they made a meal called "Nokake"" or "Nokehick"7, which was said to be "sweet, toothsome and hearty". An Indian would travel many days with no food except a small quantity of this meal. This was the food always carried by a messenger or runner, who wished to go a long distance, in the shortest possible time. It is said to have been not at all uncommon for a young brave with a little bag of "nokake" tied to his belt to go from the Mis- souri River across what is now the State of Iowa to the Mississippi, a distance of 300 miles, in three days and make the return trip in three days more. Such feats
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EARLY DAYS
were doubtless equaled by Nipmuck braves in our neighborhood. An account, said to be authentic, states that a Sonora Indian once ran 800 miles in five days,
CLOTHING
Their clothing was made mostly from the skins of the deer, coon and fox. In summer they usually went with bare heads and bare feet. Roger Williams once said:
"It is admirable to see what paths their naked hardened feet have made in the wilder- ness in most stony and rockie places."
For use in cold weather they had the fur cap or hood, the moccasin and the snowshoe. The moccasin was made from deer skin, tanned by the women, and is said to be the best type of footwear ever devised.
For ornament the men often wore head-dresses made of feathers which were obtained mostly from the wild turkey. The women wore bracelets, necklaces and head-bands made of colored beads. The most highly prized beads were made of black and white wompon, obtained from wilk or whelk shells, found mostly on Long Island.
SHELTER
Their shelter was the wigwam which here-abouts was made of two rows of poles stuck in the ground, pulled together and fastened at the top, and covered either with strips of dried bark or with mats made of bulrush. A well built wigwam was wind and water proof and is said to have been as warm as the best English house.
The wigwam was heated by a fire made of wood upon the ground. A small wigwam had one fire, the larger ones more than one. There were no chimneys but at the center of the roof was a smoke hole.
Ellsworth Huntington says: "Among all the discoveries and inventions made by men, only a few such as speech, writing and agriculture have borne such momentous fruit as has the discovery of how to make and use fire." "The use of fire is the basis of practically all forms of modern manufacturing and trans- portation." "It is the background and basis of our modern industrial life."8
Sumner and Kellar state, "that it is certain that over the whole earth no fire- less tribe of men has ever been found."
Some of the earliest uses of fire were for warmth and for the cooking of food. The Nipmuck Indians used it for both, and also for destruction in warfare.
The wigwams varied greatly in size, some only large enough to accommodate two or three persons, others 100 feet long and 30 feet wide. Gookin in 1674 said the Sagamore's wigwam at Wabquissit (Woodstock) was "spacious, about sixty feet in length and twenty feet in width". About 200 persons are said to have gathered at one time in the wigwam of Cutshamekin near Dorchester Mills.
Their furniture consisted mostly of one piece - a bunk. This was a wooden frame work, six to eight feet square, built about a foot from the ground across which they placed poles or strips of wood. Spread over the poles were mats or animal skins. On this they sat, reclined and slept.
Their household utensils consisted chiefly of pots and bowls, made of clay or soapstone, used in cooking their food, and spoons and dishes made of wood. Pails in which they carried water were made of birch bark. From corn husks, wild
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HISTORY of SUTTON
grasses and bark they made baskets of many sizes and shapes, some of which were ornamented with likenesses of birds, animals, fishes and flowers in colors. The skill of the Indian in basket making has never been excelled. They also made a great variety of mats which were used for many purposes. The mats, baskets and pails were always made by the women; the pots, bowls, dishes and spoons by the men.
For use upon the water they had canoes, some made of tree trunks (logs) which were hollowed out by burning and scraping, and some made of birch bark. The former were sometimes 40 to 50 feet long and would carry 20 persons. The bark canoe was so light that a man could easily carry on his back one large enough to hold 5 or 6 persons.
CUSTOMS, HABITS, ETC.
From the sumach and certain berries and roots they made paints or dyes of red, black and white and probably of other colors. No amount of rain or washing would cause some of these colors to fade. The women at all times and the men, when going to war, smeared their faces with these paints. When in mourning a woman would paint her face black and keep it so for many days.
From the fever bush or wild allspice they made perfume.
Two of their most notable social functions were the harvest festival and the fishing carnival, each of which usually lasted a week or more. One of the chief features of the former was weird dancing at night in which the men alone took part, one at a time. One of the most popular fishing resorts was Pawtucket Falls at the junction of the Merrimack River and the Concord, at Lowell. Here thou- sands of Indians would gather from all over New England and catch fish by the canoe-load. It was much more trouble to get the fish home than it was to catch them. The fish obtained here are said to have been mostly salmon and were shot by an arrow or pierced by a spear as they jumped the falls.
Except at carnivals, most of the fishing was done with a weir which was placed at the outlet of a pond or across a stream. The weir was an enclosure made of sticks so arranged that the water and fish of all sizes could get in but only the water and the very small fish could get out.
CONDITION OF THE COUNTRY
When the white man first came to Massachusetts most of the country was wooded, yet in many places fields of considerable size had been cleared by the Indians. A Rev. Mr. Higgeson writing in 1629 says that from a hill in or near Salem one could see several thousand acres of good land "without a tree upon it". And a Mr. Graves, an engineer, writing at about the same time, says:
"This much I can affirm in general, that I never came in a more godly country in all my life, all things considered. If it hath not at any time been manured and husbanded, yet it is very beautiful in open lands mixed with goodly woods, and again open plains, in some places five hundred acres, some places more, some lesse, not much troublesome to clere for the plough to goe in; no place barren but on the tops of the hills; the grasse and weeds grow up to a man's face, in the low lands and by fresh rivers aboundance of grasse, and large meddows without any tree or shrub to hinder the sith."
The wild grasses were excellent feed for the domestic animals which the set- tlers brought with them. Most of the land hereabouts was probably wooded
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EARLY DAYS
except the hills which lie to the southwest of West Sutton village. About 1670 a portion at least of this land was cultivated by the Indians and it seems to be highly probable that this land had been tilled by them many years, perhaps cen- turies, before that date (Other fields tilled).
The trees, of course, were mostly of the kinds we have now. An early writer enumerates: "Four kinds of oak, ash, elme, willow, birch, beech, saxafras, juniper, cipres, cedar, spruce, pine and firre". From this list are two very con- spicuous omissions: the maple and the chestnut, although both were doubtless here.
The wild animals included the bear, wolf, fox, beaver, otter, martin, wild cat, coon, several kinds of deer, and a great beast called a "molke as bigge as an oxe". (Supposed to be the moose). No mention is made of the hare or the rabbit although both were doubtless here in considerable numbers. Higgeson says there were "lyons" at Cape Ann, but this, of course, is a mistake. He says he has seen the skins of all the enumerated animals, except the "lyon".
"Also here are great store of squerrels, some greater and some smaller and lesser, there are some of the lesser sort, they tell me, that by a certain skill will fly from tree to tree though they stand farre distant". (Our little flying squirrel ).
The game birds particularly mentioned by Higgeson were partridges which he said were as big as hens, wild turkeys and pigeons of many colors. He makes no mention of the wild waterfowl, although ducks and geese were probably here in large numbers at certain seasons of the year.
NOW LET US TURN TO THE WHITE MAN
As everyone knows the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Bay on December 21, 1620. Salem was settled in 1629; Boston, Roxbury, Dorchester and Charlestown in 1630. All these settlements were upon or near the sea coast. About 1630, however, the settlement of New England by the white man had begun in earnest, and he proceeded to make his way into the western wilderness. But his advance was painful and slow and it was many years before he had penetrated far into the Nipmuck country.
OLDHAM
In 1623 John Oldham came from England to Plymouth. He was 23 years of age, active and energetic, but heretical in his views. Soon after his arrival he attempted to set up a new form of government and change the prevailing manner of religious worship, but failed and was driven from Plymouth. He went first to Hull where he remained a short time and then to Cape Ann. He was an enterprising trader and dealt with both the Indians and the white settlers in Virginia.
In 1628 he went back to England to promote a trading venture but was unsuccessful, returned to America and settled in Watertown.9
The records of the Massachusetts Bay Colony10 under date of May 11, 1629 contain this entry :
"This day Mr. Oldum propounded to Mr. White that he would have his patten exam- ined and its agred by the Comte not to have any treatye with him about it by resone its thought he doth it not out of love but out of some synister respect"11
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HISTORY of SUTTON
Evidently not a person of high standing at this time. However, he was elected a representative to the General Court in 1632 and again in 1634. Governor Winthrop in his journal under date of August 14, 1632 says:
"Mr. Oldham had a small house near the wear in Watertown made all of clapboards, burnt down by making a fire in it when it had no chimney".
By 1634 he was known as "Captain".
Governor Winthrop's Journal under date of September 4, 1633 has this entry.
"John Oldham, and three with him, went overland to Connecticut to trade. The sachem used them kindly, and gave them some beaver. They brought of the hemp which grows there in great abundance and is much better than the English. He accounted it to be about 160 miles. He brought some black lead whereof the Indians told him there was a whole rock. He lodged at Indian towns all the way".
In my opinion in making this journey Oldham and his companions followed the trail, variously known as the Great Trail, the Old Connecticut Trail, the Old Connecticut Path, later the Old Connecticut Highway at least, as far west as Oxford. This trail began at Cambridge and ran westerly through Watertown, Waltham, Weston, Wayland, Framingham, Hopkinton, Westboro, Grafton, Sutton over Freeland Hill to Oxford.
At or near Oxford this trail apparently divided, one branch going through Oxford Center, Charlton, Sturbridge, Brimfield, Monson and Wilbraham to Springfield; the other running through Webster, Dudley, Woodstock and so on to Hartford.
In 1630 the Indians of Wabquisset (now Woodstock) passed over this trail to bring corn to the famine-threatened12 settlers near Boston. This incident perhaps gave the whites their first knowledge of this old path.
A local historian of Sturbridge thinks that Oldham followed the trail which leads through that town, and he bases his opinion upon the fact that Oldham brought home some black lead, and that the only place in all that region where such lead has ever been found is the Old Lead Mine in Sturbridge. It is probable that the lead which Oldham brought back came from this old mine. But a careful reading of Governor Winthrop's record seems to prove pretty con- clusively that Oldham never saw this mine. Winthrop says "He brought some black lead whereof the Indians told him there was a whole rock". If Oldham had himself seen the mine or "rock", it seems improbable that he would have made a report based on what the "Indians told him", but would have stated what he himself saw. Furthermore Oldham was an adventurer, young and active, and, if he had knowingly come close to a place as rare and interesting as a "Lead- Mine", he in all probability would have taken pains to see it. My opinion is that he went by the other route.
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