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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
Nor folk Con, Mass.
Gc
974.402
W45f
Gc 974.402 W45f 1184630
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01067 1029
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/historyoftownofw00fisk 0
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
Wrote all Inen bjuds that We John Magus & Sara Magus; Prisans mbabiting ME Matiche Dos chienat & sett for I'm Confugation of fine parents m money & three pound m Corno will & trusty pays to us by Caf basil fisher, En Thomas fuller X factor& Elice & Nathan & Bullatt ha comida, of Ayant for the Combo of Backson, m the County of Safethe, with which Eight pour's cose the says John Magus & Sura Magus, do h Elt So fully acqua
hereby acknowhly nur saturs fully Saty fy ld & with contentes, & by then,
the a forefayd clank, & the Town of fecham, & there theyers, & Succefors Herfrom, Home -fully or absolutely Given Granted, Harald, Enfield, Solo, & Confirmed to the Coront. of botham a fore pays, the Hoyers, Succeffere, soIffignes forener the rifiuto parcelles fruit of Land as it Lysthim Le Sham Bounds yu bonmoty y a bulleth upon watha towns bonnes in part oupon pro hicken part towards the with & upon Natick Counts towards the will & South west & upon Charl fine towardsthe Soulk, o acute the upon the laws that tokiam Nahayton & his brothers souls fot ccham towards the south caff, Habillethe upon charl/ River towards the Northeast. Il which the a fore Pays track of Land Comprehanded withthis Sohole bouris & abutments afort and FEEL the sayo John Magus, & Bara Magus No havily vouch + declare our Selves, By fibihn Cultome, Right & title' to BE the sole Spreper Egil Burners of all the pomifor afor faye, I'd that we have Legall Regnt a full power the whole miles to make sale of at the day of the tate PerEd And we do. Evarrant the white hounds product- benefits Liberty's & profit theram, theron, tx therunto any way armertayrona to Go to the andy use & Chaffe of the says corone of Becham, & then theyars, Succifors & Affignes formace fre cequ'il, & Ofcharges of any salts. Leafes Sales, Entaylor, Mortgage & all other Legal, mot- - fiftations & encumberances what focker, from, by, or under us the says John Plaques It Sam Fluga car Hayus, Somnies a comuni that any other person from, by or under us, oceny of us , tobe gues So further warrant all the formifis against all Legale Claymes of any foran, or Indians what Areen ded to have by que Lequel tariffich of all the a bour Semift porifer, Stas promise to do any further det, or dets that No, or may any way find to the shore full Conformation & Legal afureance of all the DEmiles when foruse TUES LITE Reasonably Requested thex anto In niknos of & for fut Confirmation ofall the imfas afort faut you the Suis John Magus" of Sart Magus have haceunto get our hands &tufixed our seals in the year are chaufond six huitres Eighty one the Eightmonth of April? -
- marke
John manage
STAT Josin his.
Thomas Batch Esther Higher Amas Battery
Sama
Vagus
Timothy Bright ne vraban chefe maisstate of the indians at
sticky & Kowanuts anchent Indians to Reneby testify that the Land a ore fayd is the the land of John Lagus & Para Magus according to Indian Law Of Custom
attached by his mask hi markis
a
maban
DEED FROM JOHN AND SARAH MAGUS (April 18, 1681)
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
MASSACHUSETTS
BY THE LATE HON. JOSEPH E. FISKE
Edited and enlarged by Ellen Ware Fiske
THE PILGRIM PRESS
BOSTON
CHICAGO
COPYRIGHT 1917 By ELLEN W. FISKE
THE PILGRIM PRESS BOSTON
1184630 INTRODUCTION
It is not the purpose of this book to record what has already been written up by other students of the town's affairs, and so it is best to refer to those who are interested to the following excellent histories which deal more or less with this locality:
A comprehensive history of Dedham up to 1827 written by Erastus Worthington contains in the first sixty pages many things of interest to this part of the Dedham township.
Rev. E. H. Chandler's excellent history of the Wellesley Church renders anything else on the subject a work of absolute superero- gation.
George Kuhn Clarke of Needham, our local historian and com- piler since the death of Charles C. Greenwood of Needham, pub- lished a book of Epitaphs in 1897 and in 1912 followed with a most extended history of Needham. Mr. Clarke's epitaphs contain excellent and interesting descriptions of early families whose last resting places are found in the cemeteries of North Natick, Wellesley, Needham and Newton Lower Falls.
Therefore the editor of this work feels that any similar descrip- tions of families and localities would only be doing over again work that has already been done. So she offers the slight history left by her father, with some amplifications on her part.
This book was undertaken at the request of the Wellesley Club, by whose sanction and encouragement it has been carried on.
V
Herbert mark
0
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Deed from John and Sarah Magus. Frontispiece
OPPOSITE PAGE
Old Grantville Station. 26
Rockland Street Bridge. 26
Third Meeting House. 28
The First Meeting House, Wellesley 28
The Old Unitarian Church. 30
The Old Congregational Church, Wellesley Hills 30
Wellesley Square before 1875. 38
Wellesley College .. 38
Wellesley Hills Square, Looking East. 56
Wellesley Hills Square, Looking West. 56
Maugus Hill from Forest Street 64
View from Maugus Hill. 64
The Hunnewell Gardens 72
ix
DATES OF INTEREST TO THE TOWN
1636 Dedham settled.
1659 Natick Dividend.
1668 Dewin House built.
1699 Hundreds grants.
1701 Mill at Lower Falls.
1711 Needham separated from Dedham-33rd town in State to be incorporated.
1728 First school house.
1774 West Parish set off.
1775 Three companies sent to Lexington.
1778 West Parish incorporated.
1781 Natick set off.
1797 West Needham church settled a pastor.
1797 Needham Leg set off to Natick.
1834 Railroad to West Needham.
1843 Cornwallis Day observed.
1846 Newton Lower Falls Branch Railroad opened.
1847 North Needham Parish-Moses Grant gives bell to Church- name becomes Grantville.
1858 Fells School House built (then Pine Plains).
1862 West Needham name changed to Wellesley.
1874 Shaw School built.
New North School Building erected.
1881 Wellesley incorporated as a town. Catholic Church dedicated.
1882 Woodlawn Cemetery incorporated.
1883 It was voted to have town water.
1884 Woodlawn Avenue lengthened.
Elm Street accepted by the town.
Florence Avenue accepted by the town. Unitarian Church built.
1885 First report of Water Board.
1886 Waban Street accepted.
Front Street and Linden Street connected.
Freshet carried away foot bridge at Newton Lower Falls.
1887 Concrete sidewalks built.
Watering cart used.
May 21, Mr. Hunnewell deeded Town Hall and Library to the town.
Fire Department organized.
1888 Kingsbury Street accepted.
Park Commissioners appointed.
1889 Board of Health established as separate from Board of Select- men.
Wellesley Club organized.
xi
HISTORY OF TOWN OF WELLESLEY
1890 Wellesley Hills Woman's Club organized.
1891 Chestnut Street and Cliff Road accepted. Park Street accepted. Croton Street accepted.
1892 Abbott Street accepted.
Everett Street accepted.
Electric street lighting introduced.
Maugus Club organized.
Fiske School built.
1893 Franchise granted to Natick and Cochituate Street Railway. Old Hunnewell school house sold. Superintendent of Schools appointed.
Maugus Avenue accepted.
"Watchmen" appointed.
1894 New High School Building on Washington Street. Fire Alarm System introduced.
Wellesley Telephone Exchange established at Wellesley Hills.
St. Andrew's Chapel built.
1895 Washington Elm at Newton Lower Falls taken down. Chief of Police appointed.
1896 Natick and Cochituate Street Railway open for traffic. "Watchmen" made police officers.
1897 Prescott Street accepted; Hillside Road accepted. Cushing Street accepted; Cliff Road accepted. Hawthorne Street accepted; Cypress Street accepted.
1898 Day officers on police staff.
"Our Town" first published.
1899 Friendly Aid organized.
1900 Washington Street widened and rebuilt. Central Street widened and rebuilt.
Three scholarships given to the town by Wellesley College.
Board of Health becomes a separate department.
Library Trustees a separate board.
1901 Police Signal Department established.
1901 New building for Wellesley Hills erected.
Congregational Church
Board of Water and Municipal Light Commissioners created.
1902 Water and Electric Light Commissioners consolidated.
1903 Boston and Worcester Street Railway opened. Police Signal system established.
Hose 3 built. Block System introduced. Town Council without salary.
1904 Wellesley National Bank established.
1905 Brook Street accepted.
Name of Chestnut Street changed to Cliff Road. Wellesley Village Improvement Society organized. "Townsman" first published.
xii
DATES OF INTEREST
1906 Hospital Deed of Trust declared and Trustees appointed. Fairbanks Avenue accepted.
Hills and Falls Village Improvement Society organized.
1907 New High School built on Kingsbury Street.
Cliff Road extended to Weston line.
Bradford Road accepted.
Name of Blossom Street changed back to Weston Road. Wellesley Firemen's Relief Association organized.
1908 Elm Park Hotel and grounds taken over by the town, through private subscriptions and town appropriation. All night schedule for street lights.
1909 Hampton Street accepted.
Appropriation Committee appointed.
Foot bridge at Newton Lower Falls rebuilt.
1910 Town Farm discontinued as such and leased to the Wellesley Country Club.
Pine Street accepted.
Hundreds Road accepted.
Fire whistle instituted.
1911 Alice Phillips Union school built on Seaward Road.
Arlington Road accepted.
Franklin Road accepted.
Fletcher Road accepted.
Advisory Committee appointed and Appropriation Committee discontinued.
Tablet to Revolutionary soldiers dedicated on College grounds. Two additional scholarships given to the town by Wellesley College.
Teachers' pension fund accepted by the town.
Maple Place changed to Seaward Road.
Tablet dedicated to Revolutionary Soldiers.
1912 New set of town by-laws accepted by the town. Expert accountant appointed. Art commissioners chosen.
1913 Library Exchange at Wellesley Hills established. Building laws adopted. River Ridge Road accepted.
Prospect Street accepted.
Livermore Road extension accepted. Solon Street accepted. Middlesex Street accepted.
1914 Bancroft Road accepted. Morton Street accepted. Leighton Road accepted. Main Building Wellesley College burned.
1915 Population 6439. Voted to enter Metropolitan Sewerage System.
1916 St. Paul's Mission built church in Wellesley. Wellesley Congregational Church burned.
xiii
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WELLESLEY
SETTLEMENT AND ORIGINAL GRANTS
The history of the town of Wellesley is necessarily brief as the town was incorporated as late as April 6, 1881. It was, until that time, a part of the town of Needham (incorporated in 1711), and previous to that its territory was included within the limits of Dedham.
In 1635 the general court then sitting at Newtowne (now Cambridge) granted a tract of land south of the Charles River to twelve men. In 1636 nineteen men, including the original twelve, petitioned the general court then at Boston for all the land south of the Charles River and above the falls and a tract five miles square north of the Charles. This land includes what is now Dedham, Wrentham, Needham, Wellesley, Walpole, Bel- lingham, Franklin, Dover, Natick and a part of Sherborn.
On the 28th of September, 1638, several men were sent out from Dedham to "discover the river" above the town. They re- turned on the 10th of October, having gone perhaps ten miles along its course.
In 1643 Major Eleazer Lusher and Lieutenant Daniel Fisher laid out the tract of land which includes Needham, Natick, Welles- ley and a portion of Sherborn.
The northern bounds of the plantation were fixed by order of the general court in May 1639, when the southern line of Watertown was stated to run to "Partition Point" and so upon the same point still till it be from their meeting house eight miles, and this line was set up as the bounds between Dedham and Watertown until Dedham shall have taken in the five miles square granted them, "so as it shall not run within two miles of Coij- chawicke Ponds." The line was run by Mr. Oliver. Watertown had accepted against Dedham's claim to land on the north two years before, and not until May, 1651, was the matter settled be- tween the two towns, when a committee of both towns met and agreed upon the line, "beginning at Partition Point and so to run straight west, something inclining toward the south."
This line runs West 13 South, and is in length 993 rods be- tween Weston, which was set off from Watertown, January 1, 1712.
This line became the northern line of Needham when that pre- cinct was set off from Dedham, November 5, 1711, and the north line of Wellesley when that town was set off from Needham, April 6, 1881.
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HISTORY OF TOWN OF WELLESLEY
The land was owned by the Indians and later purchased by the whites, but "the Pilgrims and Puritans mostly looked on the In- dians as heathen whose inheritance God meant to give to his peo- ple as of old he had dealt with Israel and their heathen"; and therefore they agreed that their moral right was practically with- out question.
But there came a time when the inhabitants of Dedham, dreading interference with their title to the lands occupied by them, sought in common with the people of other plantations at this time, to ratify their title so far as possible. They obtained the deeds now preserved in the town archives of Dedham.
In April, 1680, the town of Dedham agreed to give to William Nehoiden ten pounds in money, forty shillings in Indian corn, forty acres of land for territory seven miles long from east to west on the north side of the Charles river and five miles wide. In the same year the town of Dedham gave the sachem Magos three pounds in Indian corn and five in money for his lands around Magos' hill. Thus were the Indian titles to Natick and Needham extinguished. (Dedham Town Records.)
Nehoiden's grant was chiefly connected with the Needham land -Na-ha-tan. Magos, as written by him, though pronounced Mau- gus, deeded what is substantially Wellesley to the town of Dedham. He was one of John Eliot's "Natick Indians."
Maugus' habitation is generally supposed to have been near the spring at the junction of Brookside Road and Oakland Street. He probably had other wigwams, one at Maugus Hill and another in Natick, as it was the custom of the Indians to move about accord- ing to the season. His father was Jacob, whom we find signing a deed in 1639. He probably was one of the Concord Indians. His brother Simon went to Maine. Maugus had no sons, but his daugh- ter Catherine married William Tray. Maugus was taken to Deer Island with other Natick Indians in 1676, and we hear of him as joining Captain Samuel Hunting's Company to aid Seabury. He was one of the few Indians who could write his name, and was one of four teachers who taught the Natick Indians, receiving ten pounds per annum. His confession of faith is given in John Eliot's Fears of Repentance, published in 1652. His wife's Indian name is said to have been Waukeena, though her Christian name after baptism was Sarah.
The deeds are as follows: one is dated April 14, 1680, from William Nahatan (signature written bahaton), Alias Quaanan, his brothers Peter Natoogus and Benjamin Nahaton and their sisters Tahheesaish Nahuton and Hanna Nahaton (signature Nahuton) Alias Iam Mew Wosh, living in Punkapogg, near Blue Hill, "con- veys to Dedham all their interest in a tract of land as it lyeth towards the northerly side of the bounds of Dedham by the Great Falls in the Charles River and bounded upon the Charles River towards the East and upon said River up stream as the river lyeth and so continuing abutting upon said river until it came to the brook called Natick Saw Mill Brook and abutteth upon said brook
4
SETTLEMENT AND ORIGINAL GRANTS
toward the west, and so with a varying line near the southerly side of the herd yards and from thence near the foot of Maugus Hill on the southerly side and from thence the same course until the line come to that brook called Rosemary Meadow Brook and the said Brook to the Charles River is the rest of the bound."
The other dated April 18, 1681, from John Magus and Sarah Magus, Indians inhabiting Natick, conveys to the town the whole parcel of land in Dedham bounded upon Watertown bounds in part and Natick in part toward the north upon Natick, bounds towards the west and southwest upon the Charles River toward the south and upon the lands that William Nahayton sold to Dedham towards the southeast and upon the Charles River toward the northeast. (Dedham Town Records.) (There was doubt as to whether Nehoi- den did not own all the land in this vicinity, but as Maugus laid claim to this part, his claim was recognized.)
The line between Maugus and Nahaton runs about 200 rods dis- tant northeast from the boundary lines between Needham and Wellesley. Maugus' land included the herd yard which (as near as can be made out) was located between Linden and Seaver Streets on both sides of the brook which flows into Dewing brook not far from the Edwin Fuller place. Mr. Charles Kingsbury occupied a part of an ancient homestead (now belonging to E. H. Fay) and this house probably stands on the herd yard land.
There have been many Indian relics picked up on the old Rice farm at Lower Falls, and there are evidences that the glen north of Glen Road, through which the brook from Indian Spring flows to the river, was a favorite camping place. Here indeed may have been the site of the Indian village called Coowate, a name derived per- haps from words which would signify a sleeping place, or possibly, though not so likely, from the prevalence of pine trees at this bend of the river. The place was so called at the time of King Philip's War.
Natick Saw Mill Brook was the brook which connects Lake Waban with the Charles River, running under Washington Street just east of the Durant residence. John Eliot built a saw mill there in the early settlement of the Indians in that part of Dedham which was called by the Indian name of Natick (a place of hills). At the request of Eliot, the missionary to the Indians, Dedham granted in 1651, two thousand acres of land for the Indian village. The Indians had been gathered together at Nonantum from various other places, but it was deemed advisable to take them further inland away from the whites. Eliot preached his first sermon to the Indians, October 28, 1646, at Nonantum in Waban's wigwam.
Waban was originally a Concord Indian, and died in 1674, aged seventy years. His widow, Tansunsquaw, the eldest daughter of the Concord sachem, Tahattawan, and his son Thomas were living in Natick in 1684. Thomas' Indian name was Weegrammomenet. Waban inherited his property through his wife's family. A war- rant issued by him is interesting for its quaint English:
5
HISTORY OF TOWN OF WELLESLEY
"You, you big constable; quick you catchem Jeremiah Offscow; strong you holdem, safe you bringum afore me, Thomas Waban, Justice peace."
The story is told that Waban's wife said that it was hard work now that her husband had become a gentleman to meet the require- ments, so she went to Mrs. William Deming's to learn how to iron pleated shirts.
The Indians were divided into four companies. Two of them being within our present precincts are worth noting: "1676. . . . Another company live near Natic adjoining the garrison house of Andrew Dewin and his sons, who desire their neighborhood and are under his protection; the number of these be about fifty souls, of whom 10 were men. A third company of them with Waban live near the falls of the Charles River, near to the house of Joseph Miller and not far from Capt. Prentice. The number of these be about sixty souls of whom 12 were men."
Lake Waban, called at different times Saw Mill Pond-Cun- ningham's-Bullard's-received its present name in the early 60's. The Indian name of Charles River was Quinobequin, generally sup- posed to mean the river that turns upon itself. It was named for King Charles by John Smith in his trip along the coast in 1614. Cor- vate, meaning Great Falls, was an early name used in the vicinity. Cochituate, meaning Long Pond, and so called at one time, was variously Cochichawick, Cochitua, and Wachituate.
In 1676 the Natick Indians were accused of burning an old barn in Dedham and were sent to Deer Island as punishment. It is questioned whether other Indians or even English hostile to the Praying Indians did not do this, and lay the crime at their door. These Praying Indians were established throughout the colony in about six communities. They and their friends were ridiculed by the other inhabitants and were so obnoxious to them that if they could be injured in any way it was done. About two hundred from Natick were hurried to Deer Island at an hour's notice. They em- barked at The Pines, probably opposite the Arsenal at Watertown, with what household goods they could take with them. Captain Prentice had charge of them and did all he could to aid them. The winter was very severe and they suffered many hardships. When they returned they found their houses burned and their household goods destroyed. Major Gookin had general oversight of all the Indians of the colony and when he died Captain Prentice was given the superintendence of affairs.
The Natick records have the following list of officers elected in the first recorded town meeting:
Selectmen James Speen Capt Thomas Waban Lt. John Wamsquam Tythingmen John Thomas Senr Peter Ephraim
6
SETTLEMENT AND ORIGINAL GRANTS
George Takechap Samel Pegan Samel English
Constable Saml Abraham Fence viewer James Wish
Surveyors of Abraham Speen
Highways Thos. Peegan
Schoolmaster John Thomas Senr
Heywards Peter upbakatah Jun.
Sam'Il Bowman
Jno. Speen
Town Clerk Capt. Waban By John Leveritt's Order
Among intentions of marriage are those of Abraham Speen and Rachel Waban April 20, 1737; Isaak and Elizabeth Peegan August 6, 1738, forbidden by Patiames Tom August 7, 1738; Comacho and Sarah Ephraim January 13, 1741; Sarah Comacho Jr. and Jonas Tom May 16, 1793; Anthony Dego and Thankful Quacco, December 11, 1755. Among the deaths are the following from the church records who were descendants of Waban :-
Waban-Esther wid. of 1747-8
capt., 1722
w. of isaac, 1743
Isaac, Jan. 15, 1745-6
Jabez s. of Hezekiah Mar .- 1751
Moses 1746
Rachel wid. of Dec. 17, 1745
Sarah w. of Thomas Jun. 1752
Solomon s. of Hezekiah 1756
Thom (as) 1733 Thomas 1752
The whole management of the village was given over to the Indians, and they governed and controlled it for many years, but the tribe died out slowly but surely, and by 1826 was extinct. In 1672 the government passed into the hands of the English. Daniel Takawumpbait was an Indian pastor in 1716, and on his death the church broke up and by 1729 there was an English and Indian church under Mr. Peabody.
The earliest general grant of land within the present Wellesley precincts was in 1659 when the Dedham planters laid out a division of corn land called the Natick dividend and the grants were made at Natick Saw Mill Brook to Peter Woodward, John Aldis, Rev. John Allin, Thomas Metcalf, Theophilus Fray, Michael Metcalf, Andrew Dewin, Richard Wheeler, the church of Dedham, Natick School Farm of three hundred acres, this latter being now the B. P. Cheney estate. There were forty-seven grants practically all of them bordering upon
7
HISTORY OF TOWN OF WELLESLEY
Sawmill Pond, Natick Brook, Charles River and Natick. Almost all of this land was in the present precincts of Wellesley, Needham and Dover.
The town record has the following: "Feb. 2, 1659, upon a ques- tion proposed by the committee that were deputed to lay out the land near Natick that is what is the town's intent in their former vote near about Natick wheresoever. The town for explanation therefore declare by their vote that they intend all the land that is fit for corn land first at the southeast side of the Charles River and near or adjoining thereto, and also on plain that lies near our Town containing about 100 acres more or less and also the remainder of that plain whereupon Natick Meeting House stands and also the lands between Natick Brook and the house and about that house and all about Maugus, his wigwam and so down towards the River there, that is so much as is fit for improvements for corn." 1 (Copied from writing book.)
The next grant was in March, 1695, when the proprietors voted to lay out the lands within the town bounds on the northerly side of Sherburne to the lower falls, which lands are in Sherburne. In 1699 thirty-four hundred acres were accordingly laid out and as- signed to those who could show their rights therein. (Vol. 5 Ded- ham Records. P. 249.)
The assignments were as follows:
DEDHAM GRANTS
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